{"https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dying-mans-last-words": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dying-mans-last-words", "description": "The  last words of a world-renowned archaeologist.", "author": "Indie", "title": "A Dying Man's Last Words", "text": "It's been many days since the collapse. I have had many good and  exciting adventures. I fear this is the last. I am still unsure what  happened. Was it a trap that caused the collapse? I didn't hear the  click of any device. Perhaps it was simply a freak accident, and I was  simply in the wrong place at the right time. Regardless, I now lie here,  half buried in the collapse, with crushed legs. The pain was unbearable  for the first day or so. Or was it? Who knows? You lose track of time  in a place like this. Especially in a situation such as this. The pain  has all but left though. Getting used to pain is a battle all in itself.  My time now runs short. I will die here, in this tomb. No better place  for a dead man.\nMy adventures have taken me all over. I have been places that man never  knew existed. I have retrieved artifacts and fine treasures that were  thought to be myth. From chalices of origins long lost, to gems with  power unthought of by man, to powerful religious artifacts that house  more interest to madmen than sane. I shall at least take these fine  memories with me to the grave.\nI shall miss my father. Like me, he was also a man of adventure. I  followed in his footsteps, though I was blessed with far more luck than  he. Until now, of course. He shall be on his own now. At least I am  spared any more jokes about my childhood pet. And my students...how I  treasured teaching them the secrets and alien concepts of all things  unknown and mysterious. May they be successful.\nI do not go down along though. With my crippled body, in this heap of  earth, I am accompanied by my trusty leather, my steel, and most of all,  my token hat. Unable to reach them under the mass, I know they are  untouchable and safe. I will not die alone.\nFarewell,\nIndie"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fair-warning": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fair-warning", "description": "Fair warning to those who would enter the Greater Cavern of Dubdilla- don't!", "author": "Cumanya", "title": "A Fair Warning", "text": "This being an account of my limited journeys into the Uncharted Depths of the Greater Caverns of Dubdilla. FAIR WARNING to the would-be adventurer seeking fortune and fame in these uncharted halls. The flooded paths of Lower Dubdilla hold certain death to those ill-prepared. The way is treacherous and foul, the riches meager. Only those of certain aptitude and reason should venture into these depths.\n\n\nBE WARNED. These caverns and galleries are exceedingly damp and footing unsure. Sudden and sheer RAVINES and UNSCALEABLE PITS await the unwary. If not for my specific skills and abilities, I would have certainly met my doom in the Blackest Depths. My SPELLS, SCROLLS and POTIONS, allowed me to escape ONE OF THE MANY sheer walled chambers. ALWAYS have a remedy at hand, for once you are committed to these depths, NO EXIT IS ASSURED!\nNavigation is not your only trial. The denizens of the twisted passages are of a fiendish and fell brood. Beware the gnashing of their teeth and the death-flutter of their wings. The sound of talon upon rock and flicking of tongue may be the last you hear.\nIf only I had access to a dependable rope, perhaps this route would not have been so tortuous."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/game-dinner": {"game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/game-dinner", "description": "A published letter from an anonymous spy about the game Prince Helseth cleverly played at the dinner between him and his Councilors.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "A Game at Dinner", "text": "A GAME AT DINNER\nby\nAn Anonymous Spy\n\nForward From The Publisher:\nThe history behind this letter is almost as interesting and dark as the story it tells. The original letter to the mysterious Dhaunayne was copied and began circulating around the Ashlands of Vvardenfell a few months ago. In time, a print found its way to the mainland and Prince Hlaalu Helseth's palace outside Almalexia. While the reader may conclude after reading this letter that the Prince would be furious about such a work, impugning his highness with great malevolence, quite the reverse was true. The Prince and his mother, Queen Barenziah, had it privately printed into bound copies and sent to libraries and booksellers throughout Morrowind.\nAs matter of record, the Prince and the Queen have not officially stated whether the letter is a work of pure imagination or based on an actual occurrence. The House Dres has publicly denounced the work, and indeed, no one named Dhaunayne, despite the suggestions in the letter, has ever been linked to the house.  We leave the reader to interpret the letter as he or she believes.\n-- Nerris Gan, Publisher\n\nDark Liege Dhaunayne,\nYou asked for a detailed description of my experience last night and the reasons for my plea to House Dres for another assignment. I hope I have served you well in my capacity as informant in the court of Prince Helseth, a man who I have stated in many previous reports could teach Molag Bal how to scheme. As you know, I've spent nearly a year now working my way into his inner circle of advisors. He was in need of friendship when he first arrived in Morrowind and eagerly took to me and a few others.  Still, he was disinclined to trust any of us, which is perhaps not surprising, given his tenuous position in Morrowind society.\nFor your unholiness's recollection, the Prince is the eldest son of Barenziah, who was once the Queen of Morrowind and once the Queen of the High Rock kingdom of Wayrest. At the death of her husband, Prince Helseth's stepfather, King Eadwyre, there was a power struggle between the Prince and Eadwyre's daughter, the Princess Elysana. Though details of what transpired are imperfect, it is clear that Elysana won the battle and became Queen, banishing Helseth and Barenziah. Barenziah's only other child, Morgiah, had already left court to marry and become Queen of the Summurset Isle kingdom of Firsthold.\nBarenziah and Helseth crossed the continent to return to Morrowind only last year.  They were well received by Barenziah's uncle, our current king, Hlaalu Athyn Llethan, who had taken the throne after Barenziah's abdication more than forty years ago. Barenziah made it clear that she had no designs on reclaiming the throne, but merely to retire to her family estates. Helseth, as you know, has lingered in the royal court, and many have whispered that while he lost the throne of Wayrest, he does not intend to lose the throne of Morrowind at Llethan's death.\nI've kept your unholiness informed of the Prince's movements, meetings, and plots, as well as the names and characters of his other advisors. As you may recall, I've often thought that I was not the only spy in Helseth's court. I told you before that a particular Dunmer counselor of Helseth looked like a fellow I had seen in the company of Tholer Saryoni, the Archcanon of the Tribunal Temple. Another, a young Nord woman, has been verified to visit the Imperial fortress in Balmora. Of course, in their cases, they might well have been on Helseth's own business, but I couldn't be certain. I had begun to think myself paranoid as the Prince himself when I found myself doubting the sincere loyalty of the Prince's chamberlain, Burgess, a Breton who had been in his employ since his days in the court of Wayrest.\nThat is the background on that night, last night.\nYesterday morning, I received a curt invitation to dine with the Prince. Based only on my own paranoia, I dispatched one of my servants, who is a good and loyal servant of the House Dres, to watch the palace and report back anything unusual. Just before dinner, he returned and told me what he had witnessed.\nA man cloaked in rags had been given entrance into the palace, and had stayed there for some time. When he left, my servant saw his face beneath the cloak -- an alchemist of infamous repute, said to be a leading suppliers of exotic poisons. A fine observer, my servant also noticed that the alchemist entered the palace smelling of wickwheat, bittergreen, and something alien and sweet. When he left, he was odorless.\nHe had come to the same conclusion as I did. The Prince had procured ingredients to prepare a poison. Bittergreen alone is deadly when eaten raw, but the other ingredients suggested something far deeper. As your unholiness can doubtless imagine, I went to dinner that night, prepared for any eventuality.\nAll of Prince Helseth's other counselors were in attendance, and I noticed that all were slightly apprehensive. Of course, I imagined that I was in a nest of spies, and all knew of the Prince's mysterious meeting. It is just as likely that some knew of the alchemist's visit, while others were simply concerned by the nature of the Prince's invitation, and still others merely unconsciously adopted the tense disposition of their fellow, better informed counselors.\nThe Prince, however, was in fine mettle and soon had everyone relaxed and at ease. At nine, we were all ushered into his dining hall where the feast had been laid out. And what a feast!  Honeyed gorapples, fragrant stews, roasts in various blood sauces, and every variety of fish and fowl expertly and ostentatiously prepared. Crystal and gold flagons of wine, flin, shein, and mazte were at our seats to be savored as appropriate with each course. As tantalizing as the aromas were, it occurred to me that in such a maze of spices and flavors, a discreet poison would be undetectable.\nThroughout the meal, I maintained the illusion of eating the food and drinking the liquor, but I was surreptitious and swallowed nothing. Finally, the plates and food were cleared from the table, and a tureen of a spicy broth was placed in the center of the banquet. The servant who brought it then retired, closing the banquet hall door behind him.\n\"It smells divine, my Prince,\" said the Marchioness Kolgar, the Nord woman. \"But I cannot eat another thing.\"\n\"Your Highness,\" I added, feigning a tone of friendliness and slight intoxication. \"You know that every one at this table would gladly die to put you on the throne of Morrowind, but is it really necessary that we gorge ourselves to death?\"\nThe others at the table agreed with appreciative groans. Prince Helseth smiled. I swear by Vaernima the Gifter, my dark liege, even you have never seen a smile such as this one.\n\"Ironic words. You see, an alchemist visited me today, as some of you already doubtless know. He showed me how to make a marvelous poison and its antidote.  A most potent potion, excellent for my purposes. No Restoration spell will aid you once you've ingested it. Only the antidote in the tureen will save you from certain death. And what a death, from what I've heard. I am eager to see if the effects are all that the alchemist promised. It should be horribly painful for the afflicted, but quite entertaining.\"\nNo one said a word. I could feel my heart beating hard in my chest.\n\"Your Highness,\" said Allarat, the Dunmer I suspected of alliance with the Temple. \"Have you poisoned someone at this table?\"\n\"You are very astute, Allarat,\" said Prince Helseth, looking about the table, eying each of his advisors carefully. \"Little wonder I value your counsel. As indeed I value all in this room. It would be perhaps easiest for me to say who I haven't poisoned. I haven't poisoned any who serve but one master, any whose loyalty to me is sincere. I haven't poisoned any person who wants to see King Helseth on the throne of Morrowind. I haven't poisoned anyone who isn't a spy for the Empire, the Temple, the House of Telvanni, the House of Redoran, the House of Indoril, the House of Dres.\"\nYour unholiness, he looked directly at me at his last words. I know that in certainty. My face is practiced at keeping my thoughts from showing, but I immediately thought of every secret meeting I've had, every coded message I sent to you and the House, my dark liege. What could he know? What could he, even without knowing, suspect?\nI felt my heart beating even faster. Was it fear, or poison? I couldn't speak, certain as I was that my voice would betray my calm facade.\n\"Those loyal to me who wish harm on my enemies may be wondering how can I be certain that the poison has been ingested. Is it possible that the guilty party, or dare I say, parties were suspicious and merely pretended to eat and drink tonight?  Of course. But even the craftiest of pretenders would have to raise a glass to his or her lips and put empty forks or spoons in their mouths to play the charade. The food, you see, was not poisoned. The cups and cutlery were. If you did not partake out of fear, you're poisoned just the same, and sadly, missed an excellent roast.\"\nSweat beaded on my face and I turned from the Prince so he would not see. My fellow advisors, all of them, were frozen in their seats. From the Marchioness Kolgar, white with fear, to Kema Inebbe, visibly shaking; from the furrowed, angry brow of Allarat to the statue-like stare of Burgess.\nI couldn't help thinking then, could the Prince's entire counsellorship be comprised of nothing but spies? Was there any person at the table loyal? And then I thought, what if I were not a spy myself, would I trust Helseth to know that?  No one knows better than his advisors both the depth of the Prince's paranoia and the utter implacability of his ambition. If I were not a spy for the House Dres, even then would I be safe? Could a loyalist be poisoned because of a not-so-innocent misjudgment?\nThe others must have been thinking the same, loyalists and spies alike.\nWhile my mind whirled, I could hear the Prince's voice, addressing all assembled: \"The poison acts quickly. If the antidote is not taken within one minute from now, here will be death at the table.\"\nI couldn't decide whether I had been poisoned or not. My stomach ached, but I reminded myself it might have been the result of sitting at a sumptuous banquet and not partaking. My heart shook in my chest and a bitter taste like Trama Root stung my lips. Again, was it fear or poison?\n\"These are the last words you will hear if you are disloyal to me,\" said Prince Helseth, still smiling that damned smile as he watched his advisors squirming in their seats. \"Take the antidote and live.\"\nCould I believe him? I thought of what I knew of the Prince and his character.  Would he kill a self-confessed spy at his court, or would he rather send the vanquished back to his masters? The Prince was ruthless, but either possibility was within his manner. Surely the theatricality of this whole dinner was meant to be a presentation to instill fear. What would my ancestors say if I joined them after sitting at a table, eventually dying of poison? What would they say if I took the antidote, confessing my allegiance to you and the House Dres, and was summarily executed? And, I confess, I thought of what you might to do me even after I was dead.\nI had grown so light-headed and filled with my own thoughts, that I didn't see Burgess jump from his seat. I was only suddenly aware that he had the tureen in his hands and was gulping down the liquid within. There were guards all around, though I never noticed them entering.\n\"Burgess,\" said Prince Helseth, still smiling. \"You have spent some time at Ghostgate.  House Redoran?\"\n\"You didn't know?\" Burgess laughed sourly. \"No House. I report to your stepsister, the Queen of Wayrest. I've always been in her employ. By Akatosh, you poisoned me because you thought I was working for some damnable Dark Elves?\"\n\"You're half right,\" said the Prince. \"I didn't guess who you were working for, or even that you were a spy. But you're also wrong about me poisoning you. You poisoned yourself when you drank from the tureen.\"\nYour unholiness, you don't need to hear how Burgess died. I know that you have seen much over the many, many years of your existence, but you truly don't want to know. I wish I could erase the memory of his agonies from my own mind.\nThe council was dismissed shortly thereafter. I do not know if Prince Helseth knows or suspects that I too am a spy. I do not know how many others that night, last night, were as close as I was from drinking from the tureen before Burgess did.  I only know that if the Prince does not suspect me now, he will. I cannot win at the games he mastered long ago at the court of Wayrest, and I beg your unholiness, my dark liege Dhaunayne to use your influence in the House Dres and dismiss your loyal servant from this charge.\n\nPublisher's Note:\nOf course, the anonymous writer's signature has not been on any reprint of the letter since the original."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hypothetical-treachery": {"game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hypothetical-treachery", "description": "An amusing play about a bunch of backstabbing adventurers.", "author": "Anthil Morvir", "title": "A Hypothetical Treachery", "text": "A Hypothetical Treachery\nA One Act Play\nby\nAnthil Morvir\nA One Act Play\nby\nAnthil Morvir\n\nScene: Eldenwood\nAs the curtain rises, we see the misty labyrinthian landscape of the  legendary Eldengrove of Valenwood. All around we hear wolves howling. A  bloodied reptilian figure, SCHIAVAS, breaks through the branches  of one of the trees and surveys the area.\nSCHIAVAS: It's clear.\nINZOLIAH, a beautiful Dark Elf mage, climbs down from the tree,  helped by the barbarian. There is the sound of footsteps nearby.  Schiavas readies his sword and Inzoliah prepares to cast a spell.  Nothing comes out.\nINZOLIAH: You're bleeding. You should have Dolcettus heal that  for you.\nSCHIAVAS: He's still drained from all the spells he had to cast  down in the caves. I'm fine. If we get out of this and no one needs it  more, I'll take the last potion of healing. Where's Malvasian?\nMALVASIAN, a High Elf battlemage, and DOLCETTUS, a  Cyrodiil healer, emerge from the tree, carrying a heavy chest between  the two of them. They awkwardly try to get down from the tree, carrying  their loot.\nMALVASIAN: Here I am, though why I'm carrying the heavy load is  beyond me. I always thought that the advantage of dungeon delving with a  great barbarian was that he carried all the loot.\nSCHIAVAS: If I carried that, my hands would be too full to fight.  And tell me if I'm wrong, but not one of the three of you has enough  magicka reserved to make it out of here alive. Not after you electrified  and blasted all those homunculuses down below ground.\nDOLCETTUS: Homunculi.\nSCHIAVAS: Don't worry, I'm not going to do what you think I'm  going to do.\nINZOLIAH (innocently): What's that?\nSCHIAVAS: Kill you all and take the Ebony Mail for myself. Admit  it -- you thought I had that in mind.\nDOLCETTUS: What a perfectly horrible thought. I never thought  anyone, no matter how vile and degenerate --\nINZOLIAH: Why not?\nMALVASIAN: He needs porters, like he said. He can't carry the  chest and fight off the inhabitants of Eldengrove both.\n\nDOLCETTUS: By Stendarr, of all the mean, conniving, typically  Argonian --\nINZOLIAH: And why do you need me alive?\nSCHIAVAS: I don't necessarily. Except that you're prettier than  the other two, for a smoothskin that is. And if something comes after  us, it might go for you first.\nThere is a noise in some bushes nearby.\nSCHIAVAS: Go check that out.\nINZOLIAH: It's probably a wolf. These woods are filled with them.  You check it out.\nSCHIAVAS: You have a choice, Inzoliah. Go and you might live.  Stay here, and you definitely won't.\nInzoliah considers and then goes to the bushes.\nSCHIAVAS (to Malvasian and Dolcettus): The king of  Silvenar will pay good money for the Mail, and we can divide it more  nicely between three than four.\nINZOLIAH: You're so right.\nInzoliah suddenly levitates up to the top of the stage. A  semi-transparent Ghost appears from the bush and rushes at the next  person, who happens to be Schiavas. As the barbarian screams and  thrashes at it with his sword, it levels blasts of whirling gas at him.  He crumbles to the ground. It turns next to Dolcettus, the healer, and  as the Ghost focuses its feasting chill on the hapless Dolcettus,  Malvasian casts a ball of flame at it that causes it to vaporize into  the misty air.\nInzoliah floats back down to the ground as Malvasian examines the bodies  of Dolcettus and Schiavas, who are both white-faced from the draining  power of the ghost.\nMALVASIAN: You had some magicka reserved after all.\nINZOLIAH: So did you. Are they dead?\nMalvasian takes the potion of healing from Dolcettus's pack.\nMALVASIAN: Yes. Fortunately, the potion of healing wasn't broken  when he fell. Well, I guess this leaves just the two of us to collect  the reward.\nINZOLIAH: We can't get out of this place without each other. Like  it or not.\nThe two battlemages pick up the chest and begin plodding carefully  through the undergrowth, pausing from time to time at the sound of  footsteps or other eerie noises.\nMALVASIAN: Let me make sure I understand. You have a little bit  of magicka left, so you elected to use it to make Schiavas the ghost's  target, forcing me to use most of my limited reserve to destroy the  creature so I wouldn't be more powerful than you. That's first-rate  thinking.\nINZOLIAH: Thank you. It's only logical. Do you have enough power  to cast any other spells?\nMALVASIAN: Naturally. An experienced battlemage always knows a  few minor but highly effective spells for just such a trial. I take it  you, too, have a few tricks up your sleeve?\nINZOLIAH: Of course, like you said.\nThey pause for a moment before continuing as a fearful wail pierces the  air. When it dies away, they slowly trudge on.\nINZOLIAH: Just as an intellectual exercise, I wonder what spell  you would cast at me if we made it out of here without any more combat.\nMALVASIAN: I hope you're not implying that I would dream of  killing you so I would keep the treasure all to myself.\nINZOLIAH: Of course not, nor would I do that to you. It is merely  an intellectual exercise.\nMALVASIAN: Well, in that case, purely as an intellectual  exercise, I would probably cast a leech spell on you, to take away your  life force and heal myself. After all, there are brigands on the road  between here and Silvenar, and a wounded battlemage with a valuable  artifact would make a tempting target. I'd hate to survive Eldengrove  merely to die in the open.\nINZOLIAH: That's a well-reasoned response. As for myself, again,  not saying I would ever do this, but I think a simple, sudden electrical  bolt would serve my purposes admirably. I agree about the danger of  brigands, but don't forget, we also have a potion of healing. I could  easily slay you and heal myself to full capacity.\nMALVASIAN: Very true. It would end up a question then of whose  spell was more effective at that instant. If our spells counteracted one  another and I leeched your life energy only to be crippled by your  lightning bolt, then we could both be killed. Or so near death that a  mere potion of healing would scarcely help either one of us, let alone  both. How ironic it would be if two scheming battlemages, not saying we  are scheming but for the purpose of this intellectual exercise, were  left on the brink of death, completely drained of magicka, with one  healing potion to choose from. Who would get it then?\nINZOLIAH: Logically, whoever drank it first, which in this case  would be you since you're holding it. Now, what if one of us were  injured, but not killed?\nMALVASIAN: Logic would dictate that a scheming battlemage would  take the potion, leaving the injured party to the mercy of the elements,  I suppose.\nINZOLIAH: That does seem most sensible. But suppose that the  battlemages, while certainly scheming types, had a certain respect for  one another. Perhaps in that case, the victorious one might, for  instance, put the potion up a tree near his or her gravely wounded  victim. Then when the wounded party had enough magicka replenished, he  or she would be able to levitate to the tree branches and recover the  potion. By that time, the victorious battlemage would have already  collected the reward.\nThey pause for a moment at the sound of something in the bushes nearby.  Carefully, they climb across the branches of a tree to bypass it.\nMALVASIAN: I understand what you're saying, but it seems out of  character for our hypothetic scheming battlemage to allow his or her  victim to live.\nINZOLIAH: Perhaps. But it's been my observation that most  scheming battlemages enjoy the feeling of having bested someone in  combat, and having that person alive to live with the humiliation.\nMALVASIAN: These hypothetical scheming battlemages sound ...  (excitedly) Daylight! Do you see it?\nThe two scurry across the branch dropping behind a bush, so we can no  longer see them. We can, however, see the shimmering halo of sunlight.\nMALVASIAN (behind the tall bush): We made it.\nINZOLIAH (likewise, behind the tall bush): Indeed.\nThere is a sudden explosion of electrical energy and a wild howling aura  of red light, and then silence. After a few moment's pause, we hear  someone climbing up the tree. It is Malvasian, putting the potion high  up in the bough. He chuckles as he climbs back down and the curtain  drops.\nEpilogue.\nThe curtain rises on a road to Silvenar. A gang of bandits have  surrounded Malvasian, who is propped up on his staff, barely able to  stand. They pull his chest away from him with ease.\nBANDIT #1: What have we got here? Don't you know it ain't safe to  be out on the road, all sick like you are? Why don't we help you with  your load?\nMALVASIAN (weakly): Please ... Let me be ...\nBANDIT #2: Go on, spellcaster, fight us for it!\nMALVASIAN: I can't ... too weak ...\nSuddenly, Inzoliah flies in, casting lightning bolts from her fingers at  the bandits, who quickly scramble away. She lands on the ground and  picks up the chest. Malvasian collapses, dying.\nMALVASIAN: Hypothetically, what if ... a battlemage cast a spell  on another which didn't harm him at once, but ... drained his life force  and his magicka, bit by bit, so he wouldn't know at the time, but ...  feel confident enough to leave the potion of healing behind?\nINZOLIAH: A most treacherous battlemage she'd be.\nMALVASIAN: And ... hypothetically ... would she be likely to help  her fallen foe ... so that she could enjoy the humiliation of him  continuing ... to live?\nINZOLIAH: From my experience, hypothetically, no. She doesn't  sound like a fool.\nAs Inzoliah lugs the chest off toward Silvenar, and Malvasian expires on  the stage, we drop the curtain."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/leaflet": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/leaflet", "description": "Propaganda against the alchemist Aurane Frernis.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "A Leaflet", "text": "BEWARE!!!!\nHAVE NO DEALINGS with AURANE FRERNIS!!!\n\nShe is known to be both UNDERHANDED and UNETHICAL in her dealings!!!\n\nThe materials she uses are both SHODDY and DANGEROUS!!!\n\nYou could come to GREAT HARM from her products.\n\nHer shop should be AVOIDED AT ALL COSTS!!!\n\nSee these testimonials:\n\n\"I took potion and got sick. Lost good lunch.\" - Grugbob G.\n\n\"Her materials looked old and stale. Not good for alchemical use.\" -  Daren O.\n\n\"She should be disemboweled and fed to nix hounds.\" - Hlorngar F."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/less-rude-song": {"game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/less-rude-song", "description": "And you thought Dark Elves were prudes.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "A Less Rude Song", "text": "They say\nThe Iliac Bay\nIs the place to barrel around\nWithout a bit of apparel on,\nAs advertised in that carol song\nA tune that's sung as the west wind blows\nAbout it's lovely not wearing any clothes.\nLadies singing high notes, men singing lows,\nImplying that the most luscious depravity\nAnd complete absence of serious gravity\nCan only be found in the waterous cavity\nOf Iliac Bay.\nIf you are the type who is more a sinner than a sinned,\nYou'll find it all in Morrowind.\nBut the truth, my child,\nIs that nothing more wild\nThat an ordinary fashion\nKind of slightly mad passion\nCan be detected if at all\nIn Sentinel and Daggerfall.\nWhatever your odd needs: feathered, scaled, or finned,\nYou'll find it all in Morrowind\nIt's an invention of bards\nThat Bretons and Redguards\nHave more than some staid fun\nAnd suffer deviant fornication.\nFor the most of madness, not the least,\nThe wise debaucher heads out east.\nWhere your once steely reserve is now merely tinned,\nYou'll find it all in Morrowind.\nIn Morrowind,\nThere is sin.\nBut, pray, do not confuse Dunmer variety\nWith that found in tepid Western society\nCompared to which, it nearly is piety.\nIt isn't terribly ingenious calling it prudery\nObserving the Dark Elf aversion to nudity.\nAfter all, the preferred sort of lewdity\nIn these parts is far more pernicious.\nFrom the Ashlanders to the wettest fishes\nYou'll find pleasure and pain quite delicious\nIn Morrowind.\nIf you find yourself with unkind kinship with your kin\nYou'll find it all in Morrowind."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/scrawled-note": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/scrawled-note", "description": "Another \"last words\" type of note.", "author": "Vulpriss Denisson", "title": "A Scrawled Note", "text": "Alas, Morty, my fallen companion, could not make it this far. I regret  that his corpse still holds the key to the tomb I must reach in order to  achieve the mission. I am left alone, with only blade and skill to  accomplish this task. I believe I have come to the end of my journey.  But, without the key, I find myself in the position of forcing entry.  For, behind this door, I am sure an evil terror awaits.\nI leave this warning in case I do not make it. Surely, this door is  trapped, and my lockpicking and disarming ability leaves much to be  desired. If someone happens across my body, know that I have failed, and  know that there is surely a great prize, the Staff of Hasedoki,  awaiting further into this evil tomb. Beware the keeper of the great  staff.\nVulpriss Denisson"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/scroll-written-blood": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/scroll-written-blood", "description": "Yet another \"last words\" note. This note does contain a cute inside joke from Redguard, though.", "author": "Malaki the Lightfooted", "title": "A Scroll Written in Blood", "text": "These will be the last words anyone ever hears from me. Hear? That's  silly of me. As if anyone will HEAR what I am writing. Regardless, I am a  lone traveler and never stayed put long enough to know anyone. Except  that lovely Mariah in Stros M'kai. She will forever be in my heart, even  in death. To see her again, or to even hear her beautiful voice, would  surely allow me to die a content man.\nI now lay here with a broken back. Unable to move, surely to be dead  within hours. I take this remaining time to write a farewell to this  cruel world. The very same one that allowed me to take the path of a  thief. A good one at least. If ever you hear tales of Malaki the  Lightfooted, you can continue the tale of how you happened across my  corpse in a lowly tomb, searching for bounty so I may feed myself. What a  life I led. If you too, are a common thief like myself, do yourself a  favor, and find another way. If I had it to do all over again, I surely  would change my ways.\nThe clawing and moaning of the ghastly undead beasts grows louder now. I  fear they have come to finish me off for good this time. Know that I  shall die a painful death as an unhappy man. May the gods show pity on  my soul so I do not have to wander this plane after death."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/short-history-morrowind": {"game": ["Morrowind", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/short-history-morrowind", "description": "A history book about Morrowind, mostly containing information about the settlements of the Vvardenfell district.", "author": "Jeanette Sitte", "title": "A Short History of Morrowind", "text": "Led by the legendary prophet Veloth, the ancestors of the Dunmer, exiles from Altmer cultures in present-day Summerset Isle, came to the region of Morrowind. In earliest times the Dunmer were harassed or dominated by Nord sea raiders. When the scattered Dunmer tribes consolidated into the predecessors of the modern Great House clans, they threw out the Nord oppressors and successfully resisted further incursions.\nThe ancient ancestor worship of the tribes was in time superseded by the monolithic Tribunal Temple theocracy, and the Dunmer grew into a great nation called Resdayn. Resdayn was the last of the provinces to submit to Tiber Septim; like Black Marsh, it was never successfully invaded, and was peacefully incorporated by treaty into the Empire as the Province of Morrowind.\nAlmost four centuries after the coming of the Imperial Legions, Morrowind is still occupied by Imperial legions, with a figurehead Imperial King, though the Empire has reserved most functions of the traditional local government to the Ruling Councils of the Five Great Houses....\nIn 3E 414, Vvardenfell Territory, previously a Temple preserve under Imperial protection, was reorganized as an Imperial Provincial District. Vvardenfell had been maintained as a preserve administrated by the Temple since the Treaty of the Armistice, and except for a few Great House settlements sanctioned by the Temple, Vvardenfell was previously uninhabited and undeveloped. But when the centuries-old Temple ban on trade and settlement of Vvardenfell was revoked by King of Morrowind, a flood of Imperial colonists and Great House Dunmer came to Vvardenfell, expanding old settlements and building new ones.\nThe new District was divided into Redoran, Hlaalu, Telvanni, and Temple Districts, each separately administered by local House Councils or Temple Priesthoods, and all under the advice and consent of Duke Dren and the District Council in Ebonheart. Local law became a mixture of House Law and Imperial Law in House Districts, jointly enforced by House guards and Legion guards, with Temple law and Imperial law enforced in the Temple district by Ordinators. The Temple was still recognized as the majority religion, but worship of the Nine Divines was protected by the legions and encouraged by Imperial cult missions.\nThe Temple District included the city of Vivec, the fortress of Ghostgate, and all sacred and profane sites (including those Blighted areas inside the Ghostfence) and all unsettled and wilderness areas on Vvardenfell. In practice, this district included all parts of Vvardenfell not claimed for Redoran, Hlaalu, or Telvanni Districts. The Temple stubbornly fought all development in their district, and were largely successful.\nHouse Hlaalu in combination with Imperial colonists embarked on a vigorous campaign of settlement and development. In the decades after reorganization, Balmora and the Ascadian Isles regions have grown steadily. Caldera and Pelagiad are completely new settlements, and all legion forts were expanded to accommodate larger garrisons.\nHouse Telvanni, normally conservative and isolationist, has been surprisingly aggressive in expanding beyond their traditional tower villages. Disregarding the protests of the other Houses, the Temple, the Duke, and the District council, Telvanni pioneers have been encroaching on the wild lands reserved to the Temple. The Telvanni council officially disavows responsibility for these rogue Telvanni settlements, but it is an open secret that they are encouraged and supported by ambitious Telvanni mage-lords.\nUnder pressure from the Temple, conservative House Redoran has steadfastly resisted expansion in their district. As a result, House Redoran and the Temple are in danger of being politically and economically marginalized by the more aggressive and expansionist Hlaalu and Telvanni interests.\nThe Imperial administration faces many challenges in the Vvardenfell district, but the most serious are the Great House rivalries, animosity from the Ashlander nomads, internal conflicts within the Temple itself, and the Red Mountain blight. Struggles between Great House, Temple, and Imperial interests to control Vvardenfell's resource could at any time erupt into full-scale war. Ashlanders raid settlements, plunder caravans, and kill foreigners on their wild lands. The Temple has unsuccessfully attempted to silence criticism and calls for reform within its ranks.\nBut most serious are the plagues and diseased hosts produced by the blight storms sweeping out from Red Mountain. Vvardenfell and all Morrowind have long been menaced by the legendary evils of Dagoth Ur and his ash vampire kin dwelling beneath Red Mountain. For centuries the Temple has contained this threat within the Ghostfence. But recently the Temple's resources and will have faltered, and the threat from Red Mountain has grown in scale and intensity. If the Ghostfence should fail, and hosts of blighted monsters were to spill out across Vvardenfell's towns and villages, the Empire might have no choice but to evacuate Vvardenfell district and abandon it to disease and corruption."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/worn-and-weathered-note": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/worn-and-weathered-note", "description": "Beautiful and poetic prose. A tragedy for certain; anything more is hard to decipher.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "A Worn and Weathered Note", "text": "I am forever swimming around, amidst this ocean world we call home. My  limbs grow weak and weary as my eyes drift skyward in defeat. I remember  how warm the earth felt, as I lived and breathed next to her beating  heart. I remember enough to keep searching through an ocean of tears,  raised to astronomical depths. My dreams offer solace, where I return to  distant, faded times. Through trees entwined with cool autumn air, my  sorrow is lured by fragrant, bittersweet memories. I am at home as much  as my world and consciousness allow. I remember falling into the most  beautiful lake I've ever experienced. She swallowed me whole, like a  droplet, and I was enraptured and enwombed within her bliss. The lonely  windswept desert sky of my soul was filled by her luminous stars and  warmed by her sunlit radiance. I gazed downward in awe and saw it all  reflected in the shimmering ripples dancing and playing about the  surface. It appeared to me as real as the very wonders it was  reflecting. I stepped forward to prove to no one and everyone that they  were, by belief. For an aching instant I was betwixt the two and the  summation. Confusion befell me and I fell through, only to realize I  hadn't entered the lake, I had left it. With all of my remaining life I  howled at the heavens and collapsed, like a star on the shores of my  youth, as my life's breath wandered away from the home it had harbored. I  have been drowning on dry land ever since.\nI lay there, coital, for heaven knows how long. I felt eons ebb and flow  in the spans of seconds. I lived as intently as I could in those  endless instants, as the boredom of -after- droned on and on. The fires  of my heart grew dim and became only the faintest embers of the roaring  blaze they had once been. My limbs, heavy with the weight of the world,  protested. I felt the longing of this life which slowly began to ease  the agony in my heart. As I was gradually nursed back to health,  knowledge of record and history tried desperately to fill the yawning,  nauseous chasm of my soul. I began to know the deadpan search for  freedom and forgetfulness, and I released the hold on my life. Though it  still lurched, pained, in front of me, I just stared back with tired,  vacant eyes as if watching the most fascinating of nothing. My mind  drifted, only to be slammed back reluctantly, repeatedly, and painfully  by those I vaguely remember knowing, as if from a different life and  age. I try, in vain, to forgive and forget myself as I paste on those  plaster smiles and strain to look levelly. I remember. I forget. I  forget again. I remember less. I am saddened at the thought that I have  forgotten. I am not who I used to be. Though it pained me so, I was  never so real as those lonely, lost times of my undoing. I am torn  asunder at the thought of losing forever that, which has changed my life  eternally, and that which I fear in the depths of my soul will never be  again. That, which has gifted me with more pain than I have ever known  in all of my lives or all of the lives that I know through my own.\nWho am I to ask this of you?"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/abcs-barbarians": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/abcs-barbarians", "description": "Very nice book, strongly recommended for all barbarians.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "ABCs for Barbarians", "text": "\nA is for Atronach.\n\nB is for Bungler's Bane.\n\nC is for Comberry."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/aedra-and-daedra": {"game": ["Morrowind", "Skyrim", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/aedra-and-daedra", "description": "A brief overview of the differences between the two.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Aedra and Daedra", "text": "The designations of Gods, Demons, Aedra, and Daedra, are universally confusing to the layman. They are often used interchangeably.\n\"Aedra\" and \"Daedra\" are not relative terms. They are Elvish and exact. Azura is a Daedra both in Skyrim and Morrowind. \"Aedra\" is usually translated as \"ancestor,\" which is as close as Cyrodilic can come to this Elven concept. \"Daedra\" means, roughly, \"not our ancestors.\" This distinction was crucial to the Dunmer, whose fundamental split in ideology is represented in their mythical genealogy.\nAedra are associated with stasis. Daedra represent change.\nAedra created the mortal world and are bound to the Earth Bones. Daedra, who cannot create, have the power to change.\nAs part of the divine contract of creation, the Aedra can be killed. Witness Lorkhan and the moons.\nThe protean Daedra, for whom the rules do not apply, can only be banished."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/airship-captains-journal": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/airship-captains-journal", "description": "A journal of ill-fated airship. It crashed in the northern region of Solstheim.", "author": "Captain Roberto Jodoin", "title": "Airship Captain's Journal", "text": "Commander, Beauchamp Expedition\nEntry 1: Today is the day! Beauchamp's airship seems sturdy enough, and the crew is ready to set sail. We'll travel north-northwest until we reach the island of Solstheim. According to Beauchamp, the Hrothmund's Bane wolf formation is somewhere near the Moesring Mountains. The barrow we're set to explore is located at the wolf's eye. We'll get Beauchamp's precious magic item and be back at the Guild of Mages in a few days. What could possibly go wrong?\nEntry 4: Damn conjurers, sorcerers, inventors, scientists and all they're academic ilk! Beauchamp promised me his airship would hold together, promised me it could be sailed just like a sea-bound craft. All lies! This monstrosity is barely holding together -- we've been trailing bits and pieces of it ever since we left Ald'Ruhn! Just an hour ago we lost one of the Dwemer cogs from the main engine! If this were a frigate or sloop I'd be holding her together just fine, but alas, trying to control an airship is like setting to sea in a barrel with a spoon for an oar.\nEntry 6: Land ho!\nEntry 7: It's normal for a crewmember to get edgy, but the Argonian finally went berserk. I told him repeatedly before we left Ald'Ruhn that an airship sails in the sky, and not on the water. He told me he understood, but his fear of heights must have finally taken sway. In a frenzied state he grabbed the wheel and almost forced us into the sea. I had no choice but to run him through. Swims-In-Swells was his name, and a good crewmember he was before this unfortunate incident. I would have preferred a burial at sea, but considering our current situation we had no choice but to toss his body overboard. We aimed for the ocean, but by that time the airship had drifted over Solstheim. Alas, I fear we missed, and his corpse landed somewhere on the southeastern shore.\nEntry 9: We've located Hrothmund's Bane! At least Beauchamp was right about something. The wolf formation runs from west to east, with the head -- and eye -- toward the eastern end. We'll look for a place to set down and then explore Hrothmund's Barrow -- assuming THAT is where Beauchamp said it would be. I must also note that the going is slower than I'd like. There's a fell chill in the air, and I don't trust the dark clouds that have gathered over the mountains....\nEntry 11: We have been assailed by a blizzard, the likes of which I have never seen! I feared a storm, but could never have imagined anything like this. Beauchamp's contraption is coming apart at the seams, and I don't think we can hold altitude. There's nowhere to land, but land we must!\nEntry 12: Dead. All of them ded. Most of the crew were killd instantly when the aiship went down. the few that made it soon sucummed to the cold. I alon survived. Need to make a camp. Snow is blocking my way into the ship's hold. I go to the barrow in the murning. I can harly write. My hands arr nearly frzen.\nEntry 13: so cold so cold. So huNgry...madness takKIng me I can feeeel ite. I see eyes night eyes wolf eys. Here them...so hungry. Eye of wlf coming! White wolf! So col..."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/overview-gods-and-worship": {"game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion", "Skyrim", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/overview-gods-and-worship", "description": "The standard introductory religious work. Very inquisitive in nature; discusses the very nature of the Gods.", "author": "Brother Hetchfeld", "title": "An Overview of Gods and Worship", "text": "Editor's Note:\n\tBrother Hetchfeld is an Associate Scribe at the Imperial University, Office of Introductory Studies\nGods are commonly judged upon the evidence of their interest in worldly matters. A central belief in the active participation of Deities in mundane matters can be challenged by the reference to apparent apathy and indifference on the part of Gods during times of plague or famine.\nFrom intervention in legendary quests to manifestations in common daily life, no pattern for the Gods of Tamriel activities is readily perceived. The concerns of Gods in many ways may seem unrelated or at best unconcerned with the daily trials of the mortal realm. The exceptions do exist, however.\nMany historical records and legends point to the direct intervention of one or more gods at times of great need. Many heroic tales recount blessings of the divinity bestowed upon heroic figures who worked or quested for the good of a Deity or the Deity's temple. Some of the more powerful artifacts in the known world were originally bestowed upon their owners through such reward. It has also been reported that priests of high ranking in their temples may on occasion call upon their Deity for blessings or help in time of need. The exact nature of such contact and the blessings bestowed is given to much speculation, as the temples hold such associations secret and holy. This direct contact gives weight to the belief that the Gods are aware of the mortal realm. In many circumstances, however, these same Gods will do nothing in the face of suffering and death, seeming to feel no need to interfere. It is thus possible to conclude that we, as mortals, may not be capable of understanding more than a small fraction of the reasoning and logic such beings use.\nOne defining characteristic of all Gods and Goddesses is their interest in worship and deeds. Deeds in the form of holy quests are just one of the many things that bring the attention of a Deity. Deeds in everyday life, by conforming to the statutes and obligations of individual temples are commonly supposed to please a Deity. Performance of ceremony in a temple may also bring a Deity's attention. Ceremonies vary according to the individual Deity. The results are not always apparent but sacrifice and offerings are usually required to have any hope of gaining a Deity's attention.\nWhile direct intervention in daily temple life has been recorded, the exact nature of the presence of a God in daily mundane life is a subject of controversy. A traditional saying of the Wood Elves is that \"One man's miracle is another man's accident.\" While some gods are believed to take an active part of daily life, others are well known for their lack of interest in temporal affairs.\nIt has been theorized that gods do in fact gain strength from such things as worship through praise, sacrifice and deed. It may even be theorized that the number of worshippers a given Deity has may reflect on His overall position among the other Gods. This my own conjecture, garnered from the apparent ability of the larger temples to attain blessings and assistance from their God with greater ease than smaller religious institutions.\nThere are reports of the existence of spirits in our world that have the same capacity to use the actions and deeds of mortals to strengthen themselves as do the Gods. The understanding of the exact nature of such creatures would allow us to understand with more clarity the connection between a Deity and the Deity's worshipers.\nThe implication of the existence of such spirits leads to the speculation that these spirits may even be capable of raising themselves to the level of a God or Goddess. Motusuo of the Imperial Seminary has suggested that these spirits may be the remains of Gods and Goddesses who through time lost all or most of their following, reverting to their earliest most basic form. Practioners of the Old Ways say that there are no Gods, just greater and lesser spirits. Perhaps it is possible for all three theories to be true."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ancestors-and-dunmer": {"game": ["Morrowind", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ancestors-and-dunmer", "description": "Dunmer funerary rights and ancestor worship.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Ancestors and the Dunmer", "text": "Ghosts Walk Among Them\nThe departed spirits of the Dunmeri, and perhaps those of all races, persist after death. The knowledge and power of departed ancestors benefits the bloodlines of Dunmeri Houses. The bond between the living family members and immortal ancestors is partly blood, partly ritual, partly volitional. A member brought into the House through marriage binds himself through ritual and oath into the clan, and gains communication and benefits from the clan's ancestors; however, his access to the ancestors is less than his offspring, and he retains some access to the ancestors of his own bloodline.\nThe Family Shrine\nEach residence has a family shrine. In poorer homes, it may be no more than a hearth or alcove where family relics are displayed and venerated. In wealthy homes, a room is set aside for the use of the ancestors. This shrine is called the Waiting Door, and represents the door to Oblivion.\nHere the family members pay their respects to their ancestors through sacrifice and prayer, through oaths sworn upon duties, and through reports on the affairs of the family. In return, the family may receive information, training, and blessings from the family's ancestors. The ancestors are thus the protectors of the home, and especially the precincts of the Waiting Door.\nThe Ghost Fence\nIt is a family's most solemn duty to make sure their ancestor's remains are interred properly in a City of the Dead such as Necrom. Here the spirits draw comfort from one another against the chill of the mortal world. However, as a sign of great honor and sacrifice, an ancestor may grant that part of his remains be retained to serve as part of a ghost fence protecting the clan's shrine and family precincts. Such an arrangement is often part of the family member's will, that a knucklebone shall be saved out of his remains and incorporated with solemn magic and ceremony into a clan ghost fence. In more exceptional cases, an entire skeleton or even a preserved corpse may be bound into a ghost fence.\nThese remains become a beacon and focus for ancestral spirits, and for the spirit of the remains in particular. The more remains used to make a ghost fence, the more powerful the fence is. And the most powerful mortals in life have the most powerful remains.\nThe Great Ghost Fence created by the Tribunal to hold back the Blight incorporates the bones of many heroes of the Temple and of the Houses Indoril and Redoran who dedicated their spirits to the Temple and Clan as their surrogate families. The Ghost Fence also contains bones taken from the Catacombs of Necrom and the many battlefields of Morrowind.\nThe Mortal Chill\nSpirits do not like to visit the mortal world, and they do so only out of duty and obligation. Spirits tell us that the otherworld is more pleasant, or at least more comfortable for spirits than our real world, which is cold, bitter, and full of pain and loss.\nMad Spirits\nSpirits that are forced to remain in our world against their will may become mad spirits, or ghosts.\nSome spirits are bound to this world because of some terrible circumstances of their death, or because of some powerful emotional bond to a person, place, or thing. These are called hauntings.\nSome spirits are captured and bound to enchanted items by wizards. If the binding is involuntary, the spirit usually goes mad. A willing spirit may or may not retain its sanity, depending on the strength of the spirit and the wisdom of the enchanter.\nSome spirits are bound against their wills to protect family shrines. This unpleasant fate is reserved for those who have not served the family faithfully in life. Dutiful and honorable ancestral spirits often aid in the capture and binding of wayward spirits.\nThese spirits usually go mad, and make terrifying guardians. They are ritually prevented from harming mortals of their clans, but that does not necessary discourage them from mischievous or peevish behavior."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/annotated-anuad": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/annotated-anuad", "description": "A theology book that discusses the creation of mortals.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Annotated Anuad", "text": "The first ones were brothers: Anu and Padomay. They came into the Void, and Time began.\nAs Anu and Padomay wandered the Void, the interplay of Light and Darkness created Nir. Both Anu and Padomay were amazed and delighted with her appearance, but she loved Anu, and Padomay retreated from them in bitterness.\nNir became pregnant, but before she gave birth, Padomay returned, professing his love for Nir. She told him that she loved only Anu, and Padomay beat her in rage. Anu returned, fought Padomay, and cast him outside Time. Nir gave birth to Creation, but died from her injuries soon after. Anu, grieving, hid himself in the sun and slept.\nMeanwhile, life sprang up on the twelve worlds of creation and flourished. After many ages, Padomay was able to return to Time. He saw Creation and hated it. He swung his sword, shattering the twelve worlds in their alignment. Anu awoke, and fought Padomay again. The long and furious battle ended with Anu the victor. He cast aside the body of his brother, who he believed was dead, and attempted to save Creation by forming the remnants of the 12 worlds into one -- Nirn, the world of Tamriel. As he was doing so, Padomay struck him through the chest with one last blow. Anu grappled with his brother and pulled them both outside of Time forever.\nThe blood of Padomay became the Daedra. The blood of Anu became the stars. The mingled blood of both became the Aedra (hence their capacity for good and evil, and their greater affinity for earthly affairs than the Daedra, who have no connection to Creation).\nOn the world of Nirn, all was chaos. The only survivors of the twelve worlds of Creation were the Ehlnofey and the Hist. The Ehlnofey are the ancestors of Mer and Men. The Hist are the trees of Argonia. Nirn originally was all land, with interspersed seas, but no oceans.\nA large fragment of the Ehlnofey world landed on Nirn relatively intact, and the Ehlnofey living there were the ancestors of the Mer. These Ehlnofey fortified their borders from the chaos outside, hid their pocket of calm, and attempted to live on as before. Other Ehlnofey arrived on Nirn scattered amid the confused jumble of the shattered worlds, wandering and finding each other over the years. Eventually, the wandering Ehlnofey found the hidden land of Old Ehlnofey, and were amazed and joyful to find their kin living amid the splendor of ages past. The wandering Ehlnofey expected to be welcomed into the peaceful realm, but the Old Ehlnofey looked on them as degenerates, fallen from their former glory. For whatever reason, war broke out, and raged across the whole of Nirn. The Old Ehlnofey retained their ancient power and knowledge, but the Wanderers were more numerous, and toughened by their long struggle to survive on Nirn. This war reshaped the face of Nirn, sinking much of the land beneath new oceans, and leaving the lands as we know them (Tamriel, Akavir, Atmora, and Yokuda). The Old Ehlnofey realm, although ruined, became Tamriel. The remnants of the Wanderers were left divided on the other 3 continents.\nOver many years, the Ehlnofey of Tamriel became the Mer (Elves):\n\tThe Dwemer (the Deep Ones, sometimes called Dwarves)\n\tThe Chimer (the Changed Ones, who later became the Dunmer)\n\tThe Dunmer (the Dark or Cursed Ones, the Dark Elves)\n\tThe Bosmer (the Green or Forest Ones, the Wood Elves)\n\tThe Altmer (The Elder or High Ones, the High Elves).\nOn the other continents, the Wandering Ehlnofey became the Men: the Nords of Atmora, the Redguards of Yokuda, and the Tsaesci of Akavir.\nThe Hist were bystanders in the Ehlnofey war, but most of their realm was destroyed as the war passed over it. A small corner of it survived to become Black Marsh in Tamriel, but most of their realm was sunk beneath the sea.\nEventually, Men returned to Tamriel. The Nords were the first, colonizing the northern coast of Tamriel before recorded history, led by the legendary Ysgramor. The thirteenth of his line, King Harald, was the first to appear in written history. And so the Mythic Era ended."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/approaching-vivec": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/approaching-vivec", "description": "A book about one of Morrowind's gods, Vivec. It's said that he is the anticipation of Mephala, and the book tells everything about them.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Approaching Vivec", "text": "Art Design Notes for the Warrior-Poet\nWho is Vivec?\nMorrowind is holy country, and its gods are flesh and blood.  Collectively, these gods are called the Tribunal, three deities  exemplifying Dunmeri virtues. Almalexia is Mercy, Vivec is Mastery, and  Sotha Sil is Mystery. Vivec is easiest the most popular of them all.\nHe is also the most public, for he is the beloved Warrior-Poet of the  True People, paradoxically beautiful and bloody. Vivec is an artistic  violence. He is transcendent of the Dark Elven demon that anticipated  him, Black Hands Mephala, a foundation figure of the earliest Chimer.  Modern Vivec mirrors the ur-Mephala. We shall take them hand in hand.\nWho is Mephala?\nEach of the three Tribunes were present at the dawn of Chimeri culture,  at least in spirit. According to legend, three demons, or Daedra, helped  a discontented throng of Altmer become a new people and found a new  land. These Altmer became the Chimer, or \u201cthe Changed Folk\u201d. This was  more than an ideological shift or political statement; the Chimer  _physically_ changed as well. Details of this transformation can be  found elsewhere, but each of the three demons represented a crucial part  of its metaphysics. If Boethiah, the so-called Prince of Plots,  represented the method needed to bring about change, Mephala was the  shadowy enforcer of that scheme.\nMephala is the demon of murder, sex, and secrets. All of these possess  subtle aspects and violent ones (assassination/ genocide,  courtship/orgy, tact/ poetic truths); Mephala was meant to embody those  dichotomies, and this made it (Mephala is hermaphroditic) a difficult  deity to understand. It is no surprise that Vivec exploits the more  popular characteristics of his progenitor: combat and art.\nMephala has both male and female genitalia, and both are grossly  exaggerated in the idols, drawings, and carvings that depict it.  Androgyny is sometimes depicted in Vivec as well, but not as overtly. He  (notice the pronoun) is almost always represented as a male, though  often with homosexual or bisexual tendencies.\nAs has been said, reverence of Mephala was co-opted into the worship of  Vivec. Legends and myths attributed to the demon now serve as a relief  to the god to come later. This is not to say that Mephala has entirely  disappeared from contemporary Dunmeri worship; it has not, and survives  to small extent in various thuggish mystery cults, sexual specialists,  covert fashion clubs, and elsewhere. Mephala is most famous as the  psychopomp of the Morag Tong, the elite assassins guild of Morrowind."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/arcana-restored-1": {"game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion", "Skyrim", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/arcana-restored-1", "description": "A guide to restoring arcane items in a mana fountain. Faux-archaic in style.", "author": "Wapna Neustra", "title": "Arcana Restored", "text": "Arcana Restored:\n\tA Handbook\nby\n\tWapna Neustra\n\tPraceptor Emeritus\nFORM THE FIRST: Makest thou the Mana Fountain to be Primed with Pure Gold, for from Pure Gold only may the Humors be rectified, and the Pure Principles coaxed from the chaos of Pure Power. Droppest thou then the Pure Gold upon the surface of the Mana Fountain. Takest thou exceeding great care to safeguard yourself from the insalubrious tempests of the Mana Fountain, for through such Assaults may one's health be utterly Blighted.\nFORM THE SECOND: Make sure that thou havest with you this Excellent Manual, so that thou might speak the necessary Words straightaway, and without error, so that thou not in carelessness cause thyself and much else to discorporate and disorder the World with your component humors.\nFORM THE THIRD: Take in hand the item to be Restored, and hold it forth within the Primed Fountain, murmuring all the while the appropriate phrases, which are to be learned most expeditiously and faultlessly from this Manual, and this Manual alone, notwithstanding the vile calumnies of Kharneson and Rattor, whose bowels are consumed by envy of my great learning, and who do falsely give testament to the efficacies of their own Manuals, which are in every way inferior and steeped in error.\nFORM THE FOURTH: Proceed instantly to Heal thyself of all injuries, or to avail yourself of the Healing powers of the Temples and Healers, for though the agonies of manacaust must be borne by any who would Restore a prized Arcana to full Potency, yet it is not wise that suffering be endured unduly, nor does the suffering in any way render the Potency more Sublime, notwithstanding the foolish speculations of Kharneson and Rattor, whose faults and wickednesses are manifest even to the least learned of critics.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/arkay-enemy": {"game": ["Morrowind", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/arkay-enemy", "description": "King of Worms instruction to his people. Not sure that this was really written by KoW himself.", "author": "King of Worms (apparently)", "title": "Arkay The Enemy", "text": "Hear me, children. Once I was a lowly man such as yourselves. By my will I entered the ranks of the gods. By your unquestioning devotion, you can share my glory.\nMost Necromancers are fools and weaklings. Fodder for the witchhunters. But you, my servants, you are among the chosen. In the days to come, few will dare to stand against your might. But one obstacle remains. His name is Arkay.\nHe was also a man who entered the ranks of the gods. The similarities between his mortal life and my own astonish even me. It is only proper that we should be enemies.\nArkay's Blessing prevents the souls of men, beastmen, and elves from being used without consent. Arkay's Law prevents those buried with the proper rituals from being raised to serve my children's will. As you know, my children, Arkay's Blessing is flexible to those with daring, but Arkay's Law is unwavering.\nTo the Scholars: Humiliate the priests of Arkay. Reveal the primitive burial customs to be mere superstition. Befriend kings with honeyed words and bind them to your will. Look to my children in Cyrodiil for guidance.\nTo the Priests: Use your servants sparingly, let none be seen by the living. Let the memories of the undead waste away from the people. Send missionaries to the unbound dead, to the Vampires and the Liches. Let all the nations of dead carry my banner and my banner alone.\nTo the Hidden: Wait, as always, in the darkness.\nFor soon we shall strike. The Temples of Arkay will be torn stone from stone. The blood of his priests will sate our thirst; their bones will rise as our servants. The name Arkay will be stuck from the records. Only I shall hold sway over life and death. Only one name shall be whispered in fear. The name of your lord and master.\nKW"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ashlands-hymns": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ashlands-hymns", "description": "An Ashlander love song.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Ashlands Hymns", "text": "[This is a volume of folk verses collected from Ashlanders. 'Wondrous Love' is from the Urshilaku Ashlanders of the northern Ashlands.]\nWhat a wondrous love it is\nTo bind two souls in faith,\nChained completely together\nWith never a false word,\nWeal and woe, wish and real,\nWoven each together\nFrom first kiss to last breath,\nFirst and last whispered in love."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/biography-wolf-queen": {"game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/biography-wolf-queen", "description": "The official biography of Potema, queen of Solitude.", "author": "Katar Eriphanes", "title": "Biography of the Wolf Queen", "text": "Few historic figures are viewed as unambiguously evil, but Potema, the so-called Wolf Queen of Solitude, surely qualifies for that dishonor.  Born to the Imperial Family in the sixty-seventh year of the third era, Potema was immediately presented to her grandfather, the Emperor Uriel Septim II, a famously kindhearted man, who viewed the solemn, intense babe and whispered, \"She looks like a she-wolf about ready to pounce.\"\nPotema's childhood in the Imperial City was certainly difficult from the start.  Her father, Prince Pelagius Septim, and her mother, Qizara, showed little affection for their brood.  Her eldest brother Antiochus, sixteen at Potema's birth, was already a drunkard and womanizer, infamous in the empire.  Her younger brothers Cephorus and Magnus were born much later, so for years she was the only child in the Imperial Court.\nBy the age of 14, Potema was a famous beauty with many suitors, but she was married to cement relations with King Mantiarco of the Nordic kingdom of Solitude.  She entered the court, it was said, as a pawn, but she quickly became a queen.  The elderly King Mantiarco loved her and allowed her all the power she wished, which was total.\nWhen Uriel Septim II died the following year, her father was made emperor, and he faced a greatly depleted treasury, thanks to his father's poor management.  Pelagius II dismissed the Elder Council, forcing them to buy back their positions.  In 3E 97, after many miscarriages, the Queen of Solitude gave birth to a son, who she named Uriel after her grandfather.  Mantiarco quickly made Uriel his heir, but the Queen had much larger ambitions for her child.\nTwo years later, Pelagius II died -- many say poisoned by a vengeful former Council member -- and his son, Potema's brother Antiochus took the throne.  At age forty-eight, it could be said that Antiochus's wild seeds had yet to be sown, and the history books are nearly pornographic in their depictions of life at the Imperial court during the years of his reign.  Potema, whose passion was for power not fornication, was scandalized every time she visited the Imperial City.\nMantiarco, King of Solitude, died the springtide after Pelagius II.  Uriel ascended to the throne, ruling jointly with his mother.  Doubtless, Uriel had the right and would have preferred to rule alone, but Potema convinced him that his position was only temporary.  He would have the Empire, not merely the kingdom.  In Castle Solitude, she entertained dozens of diplomats from other kingdoms of Skyrim, sowing seeds of discontent.  Her guest list over the years expanded to include kings and queens of High Rock and Morrowind as well.\nFor thirteen years, Antiochus ruled Tamriel, and proved an able leader despite his moral laxity.  Several historians point to proof that Potema cast the spell that ended her brother's life, but evidence one way or another is lost in the sands of time.  In any event, both she and her son Uriel were visiting the Imperial court in 3E 112 when Antiochus died, and immediately challenged the rule of his daughter and heir, Kintyra.\nPotema's speech to the Elder Council is perhaps helpful to students of public speaking.\nShe began with flattery and self-abasement: \"My most august and wise friends, members of the Elder Council, I am but a provincial queen, and I can only assume to bring to issue what you yourselves must have already pondered.\"\nShe continued on to praise the late Emperor, who was a popular ruler in spite of his flaws:  \"He was a true Septim and a great warrior, destroying -- with your counsel -- the near invincible armada of Pyandonea.\"\nBut little time was wasted, before she came to her point: \"The Empress Magna unfortunately did nothing to temper my brother's lustful spirits.  In point of fact, no whore in the slums of the city spread out on more beds than she.  Had she attended to her duties in the Imperial bedchamber more faithfully, we would have a true heir to the Empire, not the halfwit, milksop bastards who call themselves the Emperor's children.  The girl called Kintyra is popularly believed to be the daughter of Magna and the Captain of the Guard.  It may be that she is the daughter of Magna and the boy who cleans the cistern.  We can never know for certain.  Not as certainly as we can know the lineage of my son, Uriel.  The last of the Septim Dynasty.\"\nDespite Potema's eloquence, the Elder Council allowed Kintyra to assume the throne as the Empress Kintyra II.  Potema and Uriel angrily returned to Skyrim and began assembling the rebellion.\nDetails of the War of the Red Diamond are included in other histories:  we need not recount the Empress Kintyra II's capture and eventual execution in High Rock in the year 3E 114, nor the ascension of Potema's son, Uriel III, seven years later.  Her surviving brothers, Cephorus and Magnus, fought the Emperor and his mother for years, tearing the Empire apart in a civil war.\nWhen Uriel III fought his uncle Cephorus in Hammerfell at the Battle of Ichidag in 3E 127, Potema was fighting her other brother, Uriel's uncle Magnus in Skyrim at the Battle of Falconstar.  She received word of her son's defeat and capture just as she was preparing to mount an attack on Magnus's weakest flank.  The sixty-one-year-old Wolf Queen flew into a rage and led the assault herself.  It was a success, and Magnus and his army fled.  In the midst the victory celebration, Potema heard the news that her son the Emperor had been killed by an angry mob before he had even made it for trial in the Imperial City.  He had been burned to death within his carriage.\nWhen Cephorus was proclaimed Emperor, Potema's fury was terrible to behold.  She summoned daedra to fight for her, had her necromancers resurrect her fallen enemies as undead warriors, and mounted attack after attack on the forces of the Emperor Cephorus I.  Her allies began leaving her as her madness grew, and her only companions were the zombies and skeletons she had amassed over the years.  The kingdom of Solitude became a land of death.  Stories of the ancient Wolf Queen being waited on by rotting skeletal chambermaids and holding war plans with vampiric generals terrified her subjects.\nPotema died after a month long siege on her castle in the year 3E 137 at the age of 90.  While she lived, she had been the Wolf Queen of Solitude, Daughter of the Emperor Pelagius II, Wife of King Mantiarco, Aunt of the Empress Kintyra II, Mother of Emperor Uriel III, and Sister of the Emperors Antiochus and Cephorus.  Three years after her death, Antiochus died, and his -- and Potema's -- brother Magnus took the throne.\nHer death has hardly diminished her notoriety.  Though there is little direct evidence of this, some theologians maintain that her spirit was so strong, she became a daedra after her death, inspiring mortals to mad ambition and treason.  It is also said that her madness so infused Castle Solitude that it infected the next king to rule there.  Ironically, that was her 18-year-old nephew Pelagius, the son of Magnus.  Whatever the truth of the legend, it is undeniable that when Pelagius left Solitude in 3E 145 to assume the title of the Emperor Pelagius III, he quickly became known as Pelagius The Mad.  It is even widely rumored that he murdered his father Magnus.\nThe Wolf Queen must surely have had the last laugh.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/blasphemous-revenants": {"game": ["Morrowind", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/blasphemous-revenants", "description": "Dunmer's point of view about summoning the dead.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Blasphemous Revenants", "text": "...not into the world, nor out of it, but between worlds they linger, held to the hearth and tomb by blood and loyalty. And if they come unbidden, from love of kin or faith to duty, it is not unholy. It is but the answering of the ancestors, the awakening of those who never sleep, the summoning to service of those bound through Hearth and House to the protection of the clan.\nBut if sorcerers bring them forth, then such a summons is blasphemy, an abomination before the Tribes and Temple, and a sin so great that ages of burning cannot cleanse the fault. Abide not the sorcerer among you, for he comes to steal the bones of your fathers and dust of your tombs. He seeks to bind by power what is yours by right, to drag forth the warm spirits from their world between and bind them to their service like slaves and beasts.\nWho can know the shame of the dead, the ceaseless weeping of the necromancer's thrall? Cruel enough is the ancestor's service given in love to Hearth and Kin. But ghost or guardian, bonewalker or bonelord, summoned by profane ritual and bound by force to the corpse miner's will, how may such a spirit ever find rest? How may it ever find its way back to its blood and clan?\nOnly a righteous Dunmer, bound by blood to hearth and kin, bound by oath and service to the Temple, can call upon the spirits of the Dunmer dead. Those foreign sorcerers of other races that invade our shores, shall they be permitted to rob our tombs, to bind our kin-spirits into sorcerous slavery, to steal the lives of our dead as well as our land of the living? No, I say, no, and no, three times more. Such necromancers must die, and their profane magicks must die with them.\nAnd shall we tolerate the hidden hosts of the undead, the arrogant princes of necromancers, the ancient vampire demons who creep from their lairs in the West, seeking refuge in profane Daedric shrines, abandoned Dunmer strongholds, and corrupted subterranean labyrinths of the detested Dwemer race? For ages the Great Houses and the Temple have kept our land clean of the vampire's taint, but now these undead lords and their vile cattle have returned. These vampires must die, and their corrupt cattle with them, and their blood taint must be forever erased by fire and stake."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bloody-note": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bloody-note", "description": "Note found in a dead body in Frossel cave, Solstheim.", "author": "Antoinette", "title": "Bloody Note", "text": "Borogon,\nJacques put the stash in the Fjell ice cave, and Lucian has been notified. I got my cut, and am headed back to Summerset Isle. I'll see you there.\nOne more thing -- do me a favor and forget about your obsession with bristleback meat. Yeah, it probably tastes like pork, but it's not worth it. Those things are deadly, and their creepy little riders are more vicious than they look.\nAntoinette"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bloody-note-0": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bloody-note-0", "description": "Note found in a hidden stash of gems.", "author": "Jacques", "title": "Bloody Note", "text": "Lucian,\nHere's the loot from the jeweler heist. Like my marker? I figured that would get your attention. The grahl make great guards, and I knew you'd be able to slip past them. I've paid off the crew and given the Guild its cut. I'll see you in Cyrodiil at that inn we talked about.\nThe museum should be an easy haul. Security is light, and there's a broken window in the basement. But we can talk more about that later.\nJacques"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/morrowind-boethiahs-glory": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/morrowind-boethiahs-glory", "description": "A book with a sketch of a statue of Boethiah.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Boethiah's Glory", "text": "Look upon the face of Boethiah and wonder. Raise your arms that Boethiah may look on them and bestow a blessing. Know that battle is a blessing. Know that death is an eventuality. Know that you are dust in the eyes of Boethiah.\nLong is the arm of Boethiah, and swift is the blade.\nDeep is the cut, and subtle is the poison.\nWorship, o faithful. Pray your death is short.\nWorship, o faithful. Pray your death is quiet.\nWorship, o faithful. Worship the glory that is Boethiah.\n\nInto battle strides the Daedra Prince, blade at the ready to cleave the unworthy."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/boethiahs-pillow-book": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/boethiahs-pillow-book", "description": "This is supposed to be a \"dirty\" book.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Boethiah's Pillow Book", "text": "[No words can describe what you see. Or what you think you see.]"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/book-life-and-service": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/book-life-and-service", "description": "A holdover from Battlespire, describing the Wrath- and Mistmen.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Book of Life and Service", "text": "The Ranks of the Blessed\nBlessed are the Bonemen, for they serve without self in spirit  forever. \nBlessed are the Mistmen, for they blend in the glory of the transcendent  spirit. \nBlessed are the Wrathmen, for they render their rage unto the ages. \nBlessed are the Masters, for they bridge the past and span the future.\nThe Litany of Service\nThe Boneman's Oath\nWe die. \nWe pray. \nTo live. \nWe serve.\nThe Master's Voice\nYou swore. \nTo Serve. \nYour Lord."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/book-rest-and-endings": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/book-rest-and-endings", "description": "An excerpt describing the ritual needed to put a Wrathman to rest. What use could it have?", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Book of Rest and Endings", "text": "[The pages of the BOOK OF REST AND ENDINGS are filled with obscure  bits of cult mumbo-jumbo.]\nThe Ritual for Ending Wrathmen\nFrom fifty Fathers\nFrozen in slavepast\nRip from the wraithloom\nSunder the lifeweave\nLock tight in earthgrip\nHold firm in gravefast"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/morrowind-breathing-water": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/morrowind-breathing-water", "description": "An amusing story.", "author": "Haliel Myrm", "title": "Breathing Water", "text": "\nHe walked through the dry, crowded streets of Bal Fell, glad to be among  so many strangers. In the wharfs, he had no such anonymity. There, they  knew him to be a smuggler, but here, he could be anyone. A lower-class  peddler perhaps. A student even. Some people even pushed against him as  he walked past as if to say, \"We would not dream of being so rude as to  acknowledge that you don't belong here.\"\nSeryne Relas was not in any of the taverns, but he knew she was  somewhere, perhaps behind a tenement window or poking around in a  dunghill for an exotic ingredient for some spell or another. Of the ways  of sorceresses, he knew only that they were always doing something  eccentric. Because of this prejudice, he nearly passed by the old Dunmer  woman having a drink from a well. It was too prosaic, but he knew from  the look of her that she was Seryne Relas, the great sorceress.\n\"I have gold for you,\" he said to her back. \"If you will teach me the  secret of breathing water.\"\nShe turned around, a wide wet grin stretched across her weathered  features. \"I ain't breathing it, boy. I'm just having a drink.\"\n\"Don't mock me,\" he said, stiffly. \"Either you're Seryne Relas and you  will teach me the spell of breathing water, or you aren't. Those are the  only possibilities.\"\n\"If you're going to learn to breathe water, you're going to have to  learn there are more possibilities than that, boy. The School of  Alteration is all about possibilities, changing patterns, making things  be what they could be. Maybe I ain't Seryne Relas, but I can teach how  to breathe water,\" she wiped her mouth dry. \"Or maybe I am Seryne Relas  and I won't. Or maybe I can teach you to breath water, but you can't  learn.\"\n\"I'll learn,\" he said, simply.\n\"Why don't you just buy yourself a spell of water breathing or a potion  over at the Mages Guild?\" she asked. \"That's how it's generally done.\"\n\"They're not powerful enough,\" he said. \"I need to be underwater for a  long time. I'm willing to pay whatever you ask, but I don't want any  questions. I was told you could teach me.\"\n\"What's your name, boy?\"\n\"That's a question,\" he replied. His name was Tharien Winloth, but in  the wharfs, they called him the Tollman. His job, such as it was, was  collecting a percentage of the loot from the smugglers when they came  into harbor to bring to his boss in the Camonna Tong. From that  percentage, he earned a smaller percentage. In the end it was very small  indeed. He had scarcely any gold of his own, and what he had, he gave  to Seryne Relas.\nThe lessons began that very day. The sorceress brought her pupil out to a  low sandbank along the sea.\n\"I will teach you a powerful spell for breathing water, boy,\" she said.  \"But you must become a master of it. As with all spells and all skills,  the more you practice, the better you get. Even that ain't enough. To  achieve true mastery, you must understand what it is you're doing. It  ain't simply enough to perform a perfect thrust of a blade -- you must  also know what you are doing and why.\"\n\"That's common sense,\" said Tharien\n\"Yes, it is,\" said Seryne, closing her eyes. \"But the spells of  Alteration are all about uncommon sense. The infinite possibilities,  breaking the sky, swallowing space, dancing with time, setting ice on  fire, believing the unreal may become real. You must learn the rules of  the cosmos and break them.\"\n\"That sounds ... very difficult,\" replied Tharien, trying to keep a  straight face.\nSeryne pointed to the small silver fish darting along the water's edge:  \"They don't find it so. They breath water just fine.\"\n\"But that's not magic.\"\n\"What I'm saying to you, boy, is that it is.\"\nFor several weeks, Seryne drilled her student, and the more he  understood about what he was doing and the more he practiced, the longer  he could breath underwater. When he found that he could cast the spell  for as long as he needed, he thanked the sorceress and bade her  farewell.\n\"There is one last lesson I have to teach you,\" she said. \"You must  learn that desire is not enough. The world will end your spell no matter  how good you are, and no matter how much you want it.\"\n\"That's a lesson I'm happy not to learn,\" he said, and left at once for  the short journey back to the wharfs of Tear.\nThe wharfs were much the same, with all the same smells, the same  sounds, and the same characters. He learned from his mates that the Boss  found a new Tollman. They were still looking out for the smuggler ship  Morodrung, but they had given up hope of ever seeing it. Tharien knew  they would not. He saw it sink in the bay weeks ago. On a moonless  night, he cast his spell and dove into the thrashing purple waves. He  kept his mind on the world of possibilities, that books could sing, that  green was blue, that that water was air, that every stroke and kick  brought him closer to a sunken ship filled with treasure. He felt  magicka surge all around him as he pushed his way deeper down. Ahead he  saw a ghostly shadow of the Morodrung, its mast billowing in a wind of  deep-water currents. He also felt his spell begin to fade. He could  break reality long enough to breath water all the way back up to the  surface, but not enough to reach the ship.\nThe next night, he dove again, and this time, the spell was stronger. He  could see the vessel in detail, clouded over and dusted in sediment. He  saw the wound in its hull where it struck the rocks. A glint of gold  beckoned from within. But he felt reality closing in, and he had to  surface.\nThe third night, he made it into the steerage, past the bloated corpses  of the sailors, nibbled and picked apart by fish. Their glassy eyes  bulging, their mouths stretched open. Had they only known the spell, he  thought briefly, but his mind was more occupied by the gold scattered  along the floor that spilled from broken chests and sacks. He considered  scooping as much he could carry into his pockets, but a sturdy iron box  seemed to bespeak more treasures.\nOn the wall was a row of keys. He took each down and tried it on the  locked box, but none opened it. One key, however, was missing. Tharien  looked around the room. Where could it be? His eyes went to the corpse  of one of the sailors, floating in a dance of death not far from the  box, his hands tightly clutching something. It was a key. When the ship  had begun to sink, this sailor had evidently gone for the iron box.  Whatever was in it had to be very valuable.\nTharien took the sailor's key and opened the box. It was filled with  broken glass. He rummaged around until he felt something solid, and  pulled out two flasks of some kind of wine. He smiled as he considered  the foolishness of the poor alcoholic. This was what was important to  the sailor, out of all the treasure in the Morodrung.\nThen, suddenly, Tharien Winloth felt reality.\nHe had not been paying attention to the grim, tireless advance of the  world on his spell. It was fading away, his ability to breath water.  There was no time to surface. There was no time to do anything. As he  sucked in, his lungs filled with cold, briney water.\nA few days later, the smugglers working on the wharf came upon the  drowned body of the former Tollman. Finding a body in the water in Tear  was not in itself noteworthy, but the subject that they discussed over  many bottles of flin was how it could happen that he drowned with two  potions of water breathing in his hands?"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/brown-book-3e-426": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/brown-book-3e-426", "description": "This book details the business, Councilors, and activities of Great House Telvanni in 3E 426.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Brown Book of 3E 426", "text": "[The Brown Book is a yearbook of the affairs of the Telvanni Council of Vvardenfell District for 3E 426. It lists the current members of the council, their residences, and their representatives in Sadrith Mora. It also chronicles significant events and council actions for the year.]\nCouncilors of House Telvanni, Vvardenfell District, Imperial Era 426\nArchmagister Gothren, Lord High Magus of Telvanni Council, Vvardenfell District, Tower of Tel Aruhn, East Molag Amur, District of Vvardenfell, Province of Morrowind\nMaster Aryon, Mage Lord of Telvanni Council, Vvardenfell District, Tower of Tel Vos, Village of Vos, The Grazelands, District of Vvardenfell, Province of Morrowind\nMaster Neloth, Mage Lord of Telvanni Council, Vvardenfell District, Tower of Tel Naga, Sadrith Mora, District of Vvardenfell, Province of Morrowind\nMistress Dratha, Mage Lord of Telvanni Council, Vvardenfell District, Tower of Tel Mora, The Grazelands, District of Vvardenfell, Province of Morrowind\nMistress Therana, Mage Lord of Telvanni Council, Vvardenfell District, Tower of Tel Branora, Azura's Coast, District of Vvardenfell, Province of Morrowind\nCouncilor Representatives of House Telvanni, Council Hall, Sadrith Mora\nFor Archmagister Gothren: Mouth Mallam Ryon, Mage \nFor Master Aryon: Mouth Arara Uvulas \nFor Master Neloth: Mouth Raven Omayn \nFor Mistress Therana: Felisa Ulessen \nFor Mistress Dratha: Mouth Mallam Ryon\nCouncil Actions\nIn response to repeated protests from Duke Dren and representative of the other Great Houses, Telvanni Council reminded them that, according to ancient law and custom, Telvanni Council places no constraint on the ambitions and enterprise of its individual members. If the Empire or other House Councils wish to dispute Telvanni exploration and colonization of the wastes and wildernesses of Vvardenfell, they are welcome to do so, with the Councilors' best wishes, but Telvanni Council will not contribute its resources or authority to such endeavors.\nThe council renews its objection to proposals placed before Duke Dren and the Grand Council concerning slavery and slave trading in Vvardenfell District. The right to own and trade slaves is guaranteed by the terms of the Treaty of the Armistice, and Telvanni Council will not entertain any discussion of abridgements of those rights."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/capns-guide-fishy-stick": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/capns-guide-fishy-stick", "description": "The easter egg book.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Capn's Guide to the Fishy Stick", "text": "[This book is supposedly the definitive reference to fishy sticks  throughout Tamriel, but the pages are so smeared with fishy stick sauce  it is impossible to read any of them.]\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/morrowind-chances-folly": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/morrowind-chances-folly", "description": "", "author": "Zylmoc Golge", "title": "Chance's Folly", "text": "\nBy the time she was sixteen, Minevah Iolos had been an unwelcome guest  in every shop and manor in Balmora. Sometimes, she would take everything  of value within; other times, it was enough to experience the pure  pleasure of finding a way past the locks and traps. In either situation,  she would leave a pair of dice in a prominent location as her calling  card to let the owners know who had burgled them. The mysterious ghost  became known to the population as Chance.\nA typical conversation in Balmora at this time:\n\"My dear, whatever happened to that marvelous necklace of yours?\"\n\"My dear, it was taken by Chance.\"\nThe only time when Chance disliked her hobby was when she miscalculated, and she came upon an owner or a guard. So far, she had never been caught, or even seen, but dozens of times she had uncomfortably close encounters. There came a day when she felt it was time to expand her reach. She considered going to Vivec or Gnisis, but one night at the Eight Plates, she heard a tale of the Heran Ancestral Tomb, an ancient tomb filled with traps and possessing hundreds of years of the Heran family treasures.\nThe idea of breaking the spell of the and gaining the fortune within appealed to Chance, but facing the guardians was outside of her  experience. While she was considering her options, she saw Ulstyr Moresby sitting at a table nearby, by himself as usual. He was huge brute of a Breton who had a reputation as a gentle eccentric, a great warrior who had gone mad and paid more attention to the voices in his head than to the world around him.\nIf she must have a partner in this enterprise, Chance decided, this man would be perfect. He would not demand or understand the concept of getting an equal share of the booty. If worse came to worse, he would not be missed if the inhabitants of the Heran Tomb were too much for him. Or if Chance found his company tiresome and elected to leave him behind.\n\"Ulstyr, I don't think we've ever met, but my name is Minevah,\" she said, approaching the table. \"I'm fancying a trip to the Heran Ancestral Tomb. If you think you could handle the monsters, I could take care of unlocking doors and popping traps. What do you think?\"\nThe Breton took a moment to reply, as if considering the counsel of the voices in his head. Finally he nodded his head in the affirmative, mumbling, \"Yes, yes, yes, prop a rock, cold sword. Chitin. Walls beyond doors. Fifty-three. Two months and back.\"\n\"Splendid,\" said Chance, not the least put off by his rambling. \"We'll leave early tomorrow.\"\nWhen Chance met Ulstyr the next morning, he was wearing chitin armor and had armed himself with an unusual blade that glowed faintly of enchantment. As they began their trek, she tried to engage him in conversation, but his responses were so nonsensical that she quickly abandoned the attempts. A sudden rainstorm swelled over the plain, dousing them, but as she was wearing no armor and Ulstyr was wearing slick chitin, their progress was not impeded.\nInto the dark recesses of the Heran Tomb, they delved. Her insticts had been correct -- they made very good partners.\nShe recognized the ancient snap-wire traps, deadfalls, and brittle backs before they were triggered, and cracked all manners of lock: simple tumbler, combination, twisted hasp, double catch, varieties from antiquity with no modern names, rusted heaps that would have been dangerous to open even if one possessed the actual key.\nUlstyr for his part slew scores of bizarre fiends, the likes of which Chance, a city girl, had never seen before. His enchanted blade's spell of fire was particularly effective against the Frost Atronachs. He even saved her when she lost her footing and nearly plummeted into a shadowy crack in the floor.\n\"Not to hurt thyself,\" he said, his face showing genuine concern. \"There are walls beyond doors and fifty-three. Drain ring. Two months and back. Prop a rock. Come, Mother Chance.\"\nChance had not been listening to much of Ulstyr's babbling, but when he said \"Chance,\" she was startled. She had introduced herself to him as Minevah. Could it be that the peasants were right, and that when mad men spoke, they were talking to the daedra prince Sheogorath who gave them advice and information beyond their ken? Or was it rather, more sensibly, that Ulstyr was merely repeating what he heard tell of in Balmora where in recent years \"Chance\" had become synonymous with lockpicking?\nAs the two continued on, Chance thought of Ulstyr's mumblings. He had said \"chitin\" when they met as if it had just occured to him, and the chitin armor that he wore had proven useful. Likewise, \"cold blade.\" What could \"walls beyond doors\" mean? Or \"two months and back\"? What numbered \"fifty-three\"?\nThe notion that Ulstyr possessed secret knowledge about her and the tomb they were in began to unnerve Chance. She made up her mind then to abandon her companion once the treasure had been found. He had cut through the living and undead guardians of the dungeon: if she merely left by the path they had entered, she would be safe without a defender.\nOne phrase he said made perfect sense to her: \"drain ring.\" At one of the manors in Balmora, she had picked up a ring purely because she thought it was pretty. It was not until later that she discovered that it could be used to sap other people's vitality. Could Ulstyr be aware of this? Would he be taken by surprise if she used it on him?\nShe formulated her plan on how best to desert the Breton as they  continued down the hall. Abruptly the passage ended with a large metal door, secured by a golden lock. Using her pick, Chance snapped away the two tumblers and bolt, and swung the door open. The treasure of was within.\nChance quietly slipped her glove off her hand, exposing the ring as she stepped into the room. There were fifty-three bags of gold within. As she turned, the door closed between her and the Breton. On her side, it did not resemble a door anymore, but a wall. Walls beyond doors.\nFor many days, Chance screamed and screamed, as she tried to find a way out of the room. For some days after that, she listened dully to the laughter of Sheogorath within her own head. Two months later, when Ulstyr returned, she was dead. He used a rock to prop open the door and remove the gold."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/changed-ones": {"game": ["Morrowind", "Skyrim", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/changed-ones", "description": "Information about the origins of the Chimer.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Changed Ones", "text": "Of all the et'Ada who wandered Nirn, Trinimac was the strongest. He, for a very long time, fooled the Aldmeri into thinking that tears were the best response to the Sundering. They cried and shamed our ancestors, especially the feminine Altmer. They even took the Missing God's name in vain, calling His narratives into question. So one day Boethiah, Prince of Plots, precocious youth, tricked Trinimac to go into his mouth. Boethiah talked like Trinimac for awhile then, and gathered enough people to listen to him. Boethiah showed them the lies of the et'Ada, the Aedra, and told them Trinimac was the biggest liar of all, saying all this with Trinimac's voice! Boethiah told the mass before him the Tri-Angled Truth. He showed them, with Mephala, the rules of Psijic Endeavor. He taught them how to build Houses, and what items they needed to bury in the Corners. He demonstrated the right way to wear their skin. He performed the way to walk to achieve an Exodus. Then Boethiah relieved himself of Trinimac right there on the ground before them to prove all the things he said were the truth. It was easy then for his new people to become the Changed Ones."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/cherims-heart": {"game": ["Morrowind", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/cherims-heart", "description": "Interview with a Khajiiti tapestist about his work.", "author": "Livillus Perus", "title": "Cherim's Heart", "text": "Interviews With Tapestrists\nVolume Eighteen\nCherim's Heart of Anequina\nby Livillus Perus, Professor at the Imperial University\nContemporary with Maqamat Lusign (interviewed in volume seventeen of this series) is the Khajiti Cherim, whose tapestries have been hailed as masterpieces all over the Empire for nigh on thirty years now. His four factories located throughout Elsweyr make reproductions of his work, but his original tapestries command stellar prices.  The Emperor himself owns ten Cherim tapestries, and his representatives are currently negotiating the sale of five more.\nThe muted use of color contrasted with the luminous skin tones of Cherim's subjects is a marked contrast with the old style of tapestry.  The subjects of his work in recent years have been fabulous tales of the ancient past: the Gods meeting to discuss the formation of the world; the Chimer following the Prophet Veloth into Morrowind;  the Wild Elves battling Morihaus and his legions at the White Gold Tower.  His earliest designs dealt with more contemporary subjects.  I had the opportunity to discuss with him one of his first masterpieces, The Heart of Anequina, at his villa in Orcrest.\nThe Heart of Anequina presents an historic battle of the Five Year War between Elsweyr and Valenwood which raged from 3E 394 (or 3E 395, depending on what one considers to be the beginning of the war) until 3E 399.  In most fair accounts, the war lasted 4 years and 9 months, but artistic license from the great epic poets added an additional three months to the ordeal.\nThe actual details of the battle itself, as interpreted by Cherim, are explicit.  The faces of a hundred and twenty Wood Elf archers can be differentiated one from the other, each registering fear at the approach of the Khajiti army.  Their hauberks catch the dim light of the sun.  The menacing shadows of the Elsweyr battlecats loom on the hills, every muscle strained, ready to pounce in command.  It is not surprising that he got all the details right, because Cherim was in the midst of it, as a Khajiti foot soldier.\nEvery minute part of the Khajiti traditional armor can be seen in the soldiers in the foreground.  The embroidered edging and striped patterns on the tunics.  Each lacquered plate on loose-fitting leather in the Elsweyr style.  The helmets of cloth and fluted silver.\n\"Cherim does not understand the point of plate mail,\" said Cherim. \"It is hot, for one, like being both burned and buried alive. Cherim wore it at the insistence of our Nord advisors during the Battle of Zelinin, and Cherim couldn't even turn to see what my fellow Khajiit were doing.  Cherim did some sketches for a tapestry of the Battle of Zelinin, but Cherim finds that to make it realistic, the figures came out very mechanical, like iron golems or dwemer centurions.  Knowing our Khajiti commanders, Cherim would not be surprised if giving up the heavy plate was more aesthetic than practical.\"\n\"Elsweyr lost the Battle of Zelinin, didn't she?\"\n\"Yes, but Elsweyr won the war, starting at the next battle, the Heart of Anequina,\" said Cherim with a smile. \"The tide turned as soon as we Khajiit sent our Nordic advisors back to Solitude.  We had to get rid of all the heavy armor they brought to us and find enough traditional armor our troops felt comfortable wearing. Obviously, the principle advantage of the traditional armor was that we could move easily in it, as you can see from the natural stances of the soldiers in the tapestry.\n\"Now if you look at this poor perforated Cathay-raht who just keeps battling on in the bottom background, you see the other advantage.  It seems strange to say, but one of the best features of traditional armor is that an arrow will either deflect completely or pass all the way through. An arrow head is like a hook, made to stick where it strikes if it doesn't pass through.  A soldier in traditional armor will find himself with a hole in his body and the bolt on the other side. Our healers can fix such a wound easily if it isn't fatal, but if the arrow still remains in the armor, as it does with heavier armor, the wound will be reopened every time the fellow moves. Unless the Khajiit strips off the armor and pulls out the arrow, which is what we had to do at the Battle of Zelinin. A difficult and time-consuming process in the heat of battle, to say the least.\"\nI asked him next, \"Is there a self portrait in the battle?\"\n\"Yes,\" Cherim said with another grin. \"You see the small figure of the Khajiit stealing the rings off the dead Wood Elf?  His back is facing you, but he has a brown and orange striped tail like Cherim's. Cherim does not say that all stereotypes about the Khajiit are fair, but Cherim must sometimes acknowledge them.\"\nA self-deprecating style in self-portraiture is also evident in the tapestries of Ranulf Hook, the next artist interviewed in volume nineteen of this series."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/children-sky": {"game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion", "Skyrim", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/children-sky", "description": "A book about Nords and their Thu'um.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Children of the Sky", "text": "Nords consider themselves to be the children of the sky. They call Skyrim the Throat of the World, because it is where the sky exhaled on the land and formed them. They see themselves as eternal outsiders and invaders, and even when they conquer and rule another people; they feel no kinship with them.\nThe breath and the voice are the vital essence of a Nord. When they defeat great enemies they take their tongues as trophies. These are woven into ropes and can hold speech like an enchantment. The power of a Nord can be articulated into a shout, like the kiai of an Akaviri swordsman. The strongest of their warriors are called \"Tongues.\" When the Nords attack a city, they take no siege engines or cavalry; the Tongues form in a wedge in front of the gatehouse, and draw in breath. When the leader lets it out in a kiai, the doors are blown in, and the axemen rush into the city. Shouts can be used to sharpen blades or to strike enemies. A common effect is the shout that knocks an enemy back, or the power of command. A strong Nord can instill bravery in men with his battle-cry, or stop a charging warrior with a roar. The greatest of the Nords can call to specific people over hundreds of miles, and can move by casting a shout, appearing where it lands.\nThe most powerful Nords cannot speak without causing destruction. They must go gagged, and communicate through a sign language and through scribing runes.\nThe further north you go into Skyrim, the more powerful and elemental the people become, and the less they require dwellings and shelters. Wind is fundamental to Skyrim and the Nords; those that live in the far wastes always carry a wind with them."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/chronicles-nchuleft": {"game": ["Morrowind", "Skyrim", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/chronicles-nchuleft", "description": "Recounts the events of an ancient Dwemeri meeting and assassination plot.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Chronicles of Nchuleft", "text": "This is a chronicle of events of historical significance to the Dwemer Freehold Colony of Nchuleft. The text was probably recorded by an Altmer, for it is written in Aldmeris.\n23. The Death of Lord Ihlendam\nIt happened in Second Planting (P.D. 1220) that Lord Ihlendam, on a journey in the Western Uplands, came to Nchuleft; and Protector Anchard and General Rkungthunch met him there, and Dalen-Zanchu also came to the meeting. They talked together long by themselves; but this only was known of their business, that they were to be friends of each other. They parted, and each went home to his own colony.\nBluthanch and her sons came to hear of this meeting, and saw in this secret meeting a treasonable plot against the Councils; and they often talked of this among themselves. When spring came, the Councils proclaimed, as usual, a Council Meet, in the halls of Bamz-Amschend. The people accordingly assembled, handfasted with ale and song, drinking bravely, and much and many things were talked over at the drink-table, and, among other things, were comparisons between different dwemer, and at last among the Councilors themselves.\nOne said that Lord Ihlendam excelled his fellow Councilors by far, and in every way. At this Councilor Bluthanch was very angry, and said that she was in no way less than Lord Ihlendam, and that she was eager to prove it. Instantly both parties were so inflamed that they challenged each other to battle, and ran to their arms. But some citizens who were less drunk, and more understanding, came between them, and quieted them; and each went back to his colony, but nobody expected that they would ever meet in peace again together.\nBut then, in the fall, Lord Ihlendam received a message from Councilor Bluthanch, inviting him to a parlay at Hendor-Stardumz. And all Ihlendam's kin and citizens strongly urged him not to come, fearing treachery, but Lord Ihlendam would not listen to counsel, not even to carrying with him his honor guard. And sadly, it came to pass that, while traveling to Hendor-Stardumz, in Chinzinch Pass, a host of foul creatures set upon Lord Ihlendam and killed him, and all of his party. And many citizens said thereafter that Bluthanch and her sons had conjured these beasts and set them upon Lord Ihlendam, but nothing was proven. Lord Ihlendam lies buried at a place called Leftunch."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/colony-status-report": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/colony-status-report", "description": "Report of the development of new colony in Raven Rock.", "author": "Falco Galenus", "title": "Colony Status Report", "text": "RAVEN ROCK PROGRESS UPDATE\nAs the Factor is no doubt aware, the mine has been expanded, yielding an  increase in ore output by 18 percent. Weekly quotas are being met  regularly.\nDuring the last two shipments of supplies, two crates of wickwheat were  noted to be rotten. The matter has been addressed with the supplier, and  a refund should be arriving at the Factor's office sometime within the  next few days.\nAt this time, there is nothing further to report.\nHumbly,\nFalco Galenus"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/confessions-dunmer-skooma-eater": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/confessions-dunmer-skooma-eater", "description": "A true-story about a Skooma-addicted Dunmer.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Confessions of a Dunmer Skooma-Eater", "text": "Nothing is more revolting to Dunmer feeling than the sorry spectacle of  another Dunmer enslaved by that derivative moon-sugar known as 'skooma.'  And nothing is less appetising than listening to the pathetic tales of  humiliation and degradation associated with a victim of this addictive  drug.\nWhy, then, do I force myself upon you with this extended and detailed  account of my sins and sorrows?\nBecause I hope that by telling my tale, the hope of redemption from this  sorry state shall be more widely known. And because I hope that others  who have also fallen into the sorry state of skooma addiction may  therefore hear of my story, of how I fell into despair, and how I once  again found myself and freed myself from my own self-imposed chains.\nBecause it is widely known to all Khajiit, who may be expected to know,  that there is no cure for addiction to skooma, that once a slave to  skooma, always a slave to skooma. Because this is widely known, it is  taken to be true. But it is not true, and I am living proof.\nThere is no miracle cure. There is no potion to be taken. There is no  magical incantation which frees you from the thrill of skooma running  through your blood.\nBut it is through the understanding of that thrill, and the acceptance  of the lust within oneself for that thrill, and the casting aside of the  shame that the thrillseeker feels when he cannot set aside what becomes  in the end his only comfort and pleasure, it is through this knowledge  and understanding that the victim comes to the place where choices may  be made, where despair and hope may be separated.\nIn short, only knowledge and acceptance can deliver into the slave's  hands the key that opens his shackles and sets him free.\n[The narrative of Tilse Sendas' tale carries the reader through the  stages of early infatuation, ecstatic obsession, and profound  degradation of her addiction, and in the course of the story she subtly  enables the reader to discover that the hopelessness of the addict comes  from the addict's own unconscious assumption that only a helpless and  foolish person could become addicted to skooma, and that, consequently,  no such helpless and foolish person could ever achieve the admittedly  difficult task of renouncing, once tasted, the exquisite delights of the  skooma. Tilse Sendas shows that once the addict overcomes the burden of  her own self-despising, that there is the possibility of redemption.  And, against all of society's dearly held beliefs, she says that it is  not altogether clear that the addict SHOULD renounce the sugar, but that  it is only one of the choices that the skooma addict must make. Tilse  Sendas' casual proposition that skooma addiction is not necessarily a  sign of moral and personal weakness is essential to her thesis that a  cure is possible, but it has not endeared her or her book to the upright  and conservative elements of Dunmer society.]"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/construction-contract": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/construction-contract", "description": "An essential document for the right to build a stronghold.", "author": "Duke Vedam Dren", "title": "Construction Contract", "text": "By the Grace of ALMSIVI, Lords and Rulers of All\nHis Grace, the Duke of Vvardenfell, hereby grants <Name> the right  to build a stronghold and village of no more than fifty persons and of  no more than 400 feet in any direction. <Name> may hire no more  than 10 Men-At-Arms and retainers to defend the stronghold.\n<Name> must protect the settlers who dwell within the bounds of  the stronghold. <Name> must swear loyalty to the crown of His  Grace, the Duke of Vvardenfell, and to ALMSIVI.\nIf <Name> does not abide by these terms, this contract is null and  void and the rights to the stronghold reverts to His Grace, the Duke of  Vvardenfell.\nSeal of His Grace, Duke of Vvardenfell\nDuke Vedam Dren\nSeal of the Vassal\n<Name>"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/cure-blight-potion-notice": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/cure-blight-potion-notice", "description": "A note from a merschant in Sadrith Mora.", "author": "Jolda", "title": "Cure Blight Potion Notice", "text": "Customers,\nI am stocking potions for treatment of the Blight as fast as I can get  my orders in from Sadrith Mora. Please keep checking back as I receive  new shipments at random times. In the meantime, I recommend you stay  indoors as much as possible, use common disease resistance potions for  prevention, and treat outbreaks with cure common disease potions.\nJolda"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/custom-armor-price-list": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/custom-armor-price-list", "description": "An advertising from the armorer of Mournhold, Godsreach.", "author": "Bols Indalen", "title": "Custom Armor Price List", "text": "\nYOUR LIFE DEPENDS ON IT!\n\nWhen your life is on the line, you demand the very best.\nAnd the very best is...\n\nCUSTOM ARMOR BY BOLS INDALEN\n\nHand-crafted glass, adamantium, and ebony armors, custom-fitted to your  frame, provide the very best protection. For generations, the Indalen  family have provided custom armors for the greatest nobles and warriors  of Mournhold -- and at a price you can afford.\nYou provide the materials and pay for our peerless craftsmanship... and  in 24 hours, you can be wearing your very own custom armor.\n\nMATERIALS AND PRICE LIST\n\nEBONY ARMORS\nEbony Cuirass: 30 raw ebony and 24500 gold\nEbony Left Pauldron: 21 raw ebony and 16800 gold\nEbony Right Pauldron: 21 raw ebony and 16800 gold\nEbony Left Bracer: 12 raw ebony and 7000 gold\nEbony Right Bracer: 12 raw ebony and 7000 gold\nEbony Greaves: 18 raw ebony and 15400 gold\nEbony Boots: 9 raw ebony and 7000 gold\nEbony Helm: 12 raw ebony and 10500 gold\nGLASS ARMORS\nGlass Cuirass: 30 raw glass and 19600 gold\nGlass Left Pauldron: 21 raw glass and 13400 gold\nGlass Right Pauldron: 21 raw glass and 13400 gold\nGlass Left Bracer: 12 raw glass and 5600 gold\nGlass Right Bracer: 12 raw glass and 5600 gold\nGlass Greaves: 18 raw glass and 12300 gold\nGlass Boots: 9 raw glass and 5600 gold\nGlass Helm: 12 raw glass and 8400 gold\nADAMANTIUM ARMORS\nAdamantium Cuirass: 10 adamantium ore and 6000 gold\nAdamantium Left Pauldron: 7 adamantium ore and 500 gold\nAdamantium Right Pauldron: 7 adamantium ore and 500 gold\nAdamantium Left Bracer: 4 adamantium ore and 600 gold\nAdamantium Right Bracer: 4 adamantium ore and 600 gold\nAdamantium Greaves: 6 adamantium ore and 6000 gold\nAdamantium Boots: 3 adamantium ore and 4200 gold\nAdamantium Helm: 4 adamantium ore and 3000 gold"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/custom-fur-armor-price-list": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/custom-fur-armor-price-list", "description": "An advertisement from the armorer of Thirsk.", "author": "Brynjolfr", "title": "Custom Fur Armor Price List", "text": "You call yourself a hunter, now prove it. Hiding in the wilds of  Solstheim are the elusive white snow bears and snow wolves. It is said  their fur can protect against the most frigid cold. Kill these beasts,  claim their pelts, and you could be the proud owner of...\n\nCUSTOM FUR ARMOR\nCRAFTED BY BRYNJOLFR\n\nImagine beautiful light white fur armor, made from the pelts of  Solstheim's mysterious snow wolves and snow bears. Never before have I  forged such armor, because nobody has been skilled enough to bring down  the beasts. Could you be the first?\nKill the beasts, bring me their pelts and enough gold, and I'll craft  the best light armor found on Solstheim or anywhere else.\n\nMATERIALS AND PRICE LIST\n\nSNOW BEAR ARMORS\nSnow Bear Cuirass: 5 snow bear pelts and 6000 gold\nSnow Bear Left Pauldron: 2 snow bear pelts and 1000 gold\nSnow Bear Right Pauldron: 2 snow bear pelts and 1000 gold\nSnow Bear Left Gauntlet: 2 snow bear pelts and 1000 gold\nSnow Bear Right Gauntlet: 2 snow bear pelts and 1000 gold\nSnow Bear Greaves: 4 snow bear pelts and 5000 gold\nSnow Bear Boots: 3 snow bear pelts and 3000 gold\nSnow Bear Helm: 2 snow bear pelts and 2000 gold\nSNOW WOLF ARMORS\nSnow Wolf Cuirass: 5 snow wolf pelts and 6000 gold\nSnow Wolf Pauldron: 2 snow wolf pelts and 1000 gold\nSnow Wolf Pauldron: 2 snow wolf pelts and 1000 gold\nSnow Wolf Left Gauntlet:2 snow wolf pelts and 1000 gold\nSnow Wolf Right Gauntlet: 2 snow wolf pelts and 1000 gold\nSnow Wolf Greaves: 4 snow wolf pelts and 5000 gold\nSnow Wolf Boots: 3 snow wolf pelts and 3000 gold\nSnow Wolf Helm: 2 snow wolf pelts and 2000 gold"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dagoth-urs-plans": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dagoth-urs-plans", "description": "A top secret document, prepared exclusively for Nerevarine by Lord Vivec.", "author": "Tribunal Temple", "title": "Dagoth Ur's Plans", "text": "[The following documents were prepared by Temple scholars and agents of  the Inquisition for Lord Vivec.]\nFrom interrogation of captured Sleepers and other Sixth House cultists,  from study of manuscripts written by cultists and victims of  dream-induced mania, from interviews with Lord Vivec concerning  historical campaigns against Red Mountain, and from broad conjectures  and inferences made upon these materials, this is our best estimate of  Dagoth Ur's motivations and objectives in this most recent phase of his  war upon Morrowind.\n\nBasic Objectives\nPlans to Establish and Expand the Sixth House\nPhase 1:\nSecure Red Mountain against Tribunal intruders. Deny  Tribunal access to the Heart, weakening the Temple while securing Red  Mountain for the creation of Akulakhan. Keep the construction of Second  Numidium a secret.\nPhase 2:\nCreate passive servants in ever-widening circles around Red  Mountain by broadcasting compulsions couched in dream imagery to  susceptible subjects in their sleep. Establish a major operational base  at Kogoruhn for further operations in the ash wastes. Establish smaller  bases near small port villages and in lower-class waterfront districts  in Vivec. Infiltrate and subvert smuggling syndicates. Recruit willing  followers from disaffected populations, including the underworld, the  poor, and rabid anti-Imperial activists.\nPhase 3:\nExpand from smaller bases to other towns and villages, and  recruit and indoctrinate subjects made susceptible by dream sendings.  Occupy abandoned towers and ruins, and train corrupted cultists as  raiders and irregular troops. Identify, discredit, and decimate possible  sources of political resistance.\nPhase 4:\nUse assassination and terror to weaken, distract, and  disrupt the Legions and the Imperial bureaucracy, along with their  Hlaalu sympathizers. Inspire popular uprisings of the native poor  against the foreign rich and powerful. Summon Sleepers and Dreamers to  Dagoth Ur to work on Second Numidium.\nInferring Dagoth Ur's Perspectives\nDagoth Ur thinks on a large time scale -- for the most part, in the  outside-of-time scale of the divine consciousness. He thinks that only  obstacles of mythic scale are worth consideration. He believes he is  fated to rule Morrowind, to free Morrowind of the Empire, and to become  the new hard-loving Father of Morrowind. Given that perspective, the  only opposing forces Dagoth Ur worries about are the Tribunal, the  Daedra, the Emperor, and the Incarnate.\nWith the Tribunal's loss of Sunder and Keening, and with the diminishing  resources of Vivec, Almalexia, and Sotha Sil, Dagoth Ur believes he has  permanently gained a decisive strategic advantage. On a mortal  timescale, the battle may last for centuries, but the outcome is not in  doubt. And Akulakhan may be a device for dramatically reducing the time  scale for a decisive victory.\nThe myth of dynamic invincibility of the Emperor and the Empire has long  been an unquantifiable and intimidating threat, but recent rumors of  unrest in Cyrodiil, of the Emperor's failing health, and the unsettled  question of the succession have diminished the scale of that threat.  Nonetheless, the revelation that the Nerevarine is a pawn of Imperial  intelligence, hand-picked and sent to Morrowind by the Emperor himself,  may cause Dagoth Ur considerable anxiety.\nThe Daedra represent no coherent obstacle to Dagoth Ur. Nonetheless,  their personal abilities and their influence upon their fanatic  followers is considerable, their motives and actions obscure, and Dagoth  Ur remains concerned about them.\nThe Incarnate represents Saint Nerevar, a mythic force that has  previously defeated Dagoth Ur, and Dagoth Ur is obsessed with this  threat. At the same time, Dagoth Ur knew Nerevar personally, knew that  he was a mortal man with faults and weaknesses. Dagoth Ur may have some  hope of seducing or negotiating with Nerevar's reincarnation. Further,  when Nerevar and the Tribunal defeated Dagoth Ur, they were strong and  allied; now the Nerevarine and the Tribunal are weak, opposed, and  divided. Therefore, though the Nerevarine and the Tribunal represent the  most serious threat to Dagoth Ur's plans, he still has good reason to  believe that this time he will prevail.\nA Recent Timescale of Dagoth Ur's Activities\n[Much of the following timescale is based on inference from incomplete  information.]\nbefore 2E 882: Dagoth Ur and his kin lie dreaming beneath the sills of  Red Mountain.\n2E 882: Dagoth Ur and his ash vampires awake refreshed and emerge from  lower Red Mountain into the Heart Chamber. Dagoth Ur ritually binds  himself and his brethren as heartwights in a ritual of his own devising.  First stages of construction of Second Numidium [conceived during the  Long Sleep] are begun by heartwights and atronach constructs in a  chamber near the Heart of Lorkhan. Keeping the Second Numidium project a  secret from the Tribunal is a high priority.\n2E 882: The Tribunal arrive at Red Mountain for their annual ritual  bathing in the heart's power. Dagoth Ur and ash vampires ambush the  Tribunal. The Tribunes are driven away, and prevented from restoring  themselves with Kagrenac's tools at the Heart of Lorkhan.\n2E 882-3E 417: Intermittent Tribunal campaigns assault Red Mountain. The  Tribunal and supporting forces seek to force access to the Heart  Chamber, but are repeatedly driven back. Dagoth Ur recruits Sleepers and  Dreamers through dream sendings. Cultists are recruited through dream  compulsion. Weaker cultists become corprus beasts; stronger cultists  advance through stages towards the powers of the Ascended Sleepers.\n3E 400: Kogoruhn reoccupied by Dagoth Uthol and fortified as an advance  base for Sixth House operations. Blight storms more frequent and  widespread. Soul sickness spreads in regions close to Red Mountain.\n3E 410: Sixth House bases founded near Gnaar Mok and in waterfront areas  of Vivec. Sixth House operatives exploit smuggler organizations and  communications to spread their influence among victims unbalanced by  Dagoth Ur's dream sendings.\n3E 415: Small cells of Sixth House cultists in every town in  Vvardenfell. Larger Sixth House operations are concealed in remote  dungeons where creatures are bred and cultists are trained for the  coming struggle.\n3E 417: Almalexia and Sotha Sil lose the artifacts Keening and Sunder to  Dagoth Odros and Vemyn. Vivec rescues Almalexia and Sotha Sil, but  failing to recover Keening and Sunder, the Tribunal retreat from Red  Mountain in disorder. Surviving Buoyant Armiger companions know the  Tribunal was forced to retreat, but do not know how serious a reversal  the Tribunal has suffered. The Three Tribunes return to their respective  capitals and continue to perform their ritual functions. The Tribunes  continue to grow weaker without access to the Heart, and because of  resources required to support the Ghostfence. The inner circle of the  Temple priesthood has begun to suspect the Tribunes have suffered  seriously from wounds and demoralization in the wake of reverses at Red  Mountain, but do not recognize the scale of the problem.\n3E 426-427: Campaign of Sixth House assassinations of prominent Imperial  citizens and Hlaalu Imperial sympathizers. Sudden increase in number  and seriousness of attacks by cultists and victims deranged by soul  sickness.\nNoted with Concern\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/darkest-darkness": {"game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/darkest-darkness", "description": "Daedra summoning and the Dunmer religion.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Darkest Darkness", "text": "In Morrowind, both worshippers and sorcerers summon lesser Daedra and bound Daedra as servants and instruments.\nMost Daedric servants can be summoned by sorcerers only for very brief periods, within the most fragile and tenuous frameworks of command and binding. This fortunately limits their capacity for mischief, though in only a few minutes, most of these servants can do terrible harm to their summoners as well as their enemies.\nWorshippers may bind other Daedric servants to this plane through rituals and pacts. Such arrangements result in the Daedric servant remaining on this plane indefinitely -- or at least until their bodily manifestations on this plane are destroyed, precipitating their supernatural essences back to Oblivion. Whenever Daedra are encountered at Daedric ruins or in tombs, they are almost invariably long-term visitors to our plane.\nLikewise, lesser entities bound by their Daedra Lords into weapons and armor may be summoned for brief periods, or may persist indefinitely, so long as they are not destroyed and banished. The class of bound weapons and bound armors summoned by Temple followers and conjurors are examples of short-term bindings; Daedric artifacts like Mehrunes Razor and the Mask of Clavicus Vile are examples of long-term bindings.\nThe Tribunal Temple of Morrowind has incorporated the veneration of Daedra as lesser spirits subservient to the immortal Almsivi, the Triune godhead of Almalexia, Sotha Sil, and Vivec. These subordinate Daedra are divided into the Good Daedra and the Bad Daedra. The Good Daedra have willingly submitted to the authority of Almsivi; the Bad Daedra are rebels who defy Almsivi -- treacherous kin who are more often adversaries than allies.\nThe Good Daedra are Boethiah, Azura, and Mephala. The hunger is a powerful and violent lesser Daedra associated with Boethiah, Father of Plots -- a sinuous, long-limbed, long-tailed creature with a beast-skulled head, noted for its paralyzing touch and its ability to disintegrate weapons and armor. The winged twilight is a messenger of Azura, Goddess of Dusk and Dawn. Winged twilights resemble the feral harpies of the West, though the feminine aspects of the winged twilights are more ravishing, and their long, sharp, hooked tails are immeasurably more deadly. Spider Daedra are the servants of Mephala, taking the form of spider-humanoid centaurs, with a naked upper head, torso, and arms of human proportions, mounted on the eight legs and armored carapace of a giant spider. Unfortunately, these Daedra are so fierce and irrational that they cannot be trusted to heed the commands of the Spinner. As a consequence, few sorcerers are willing to either summon or bind such creatures in Morrowind.\nThe Bad Daedra are Mehrunes Dagon, Malacath, Sheogorath, and Molag Bal. Three lesser Daedra are associated with Mehrunes Dagon: the agile and pesky scamp, the ferocious and beast-like clannfear, and the noble and deadly dremora. The crocodile-headed humanoid Daedra called the daedroth is a servant of Molag Bal, while the giant but dim-witted ogrim is a servant of Malacath. Sheogorath's lesser Daedra, the golden saint, a half-clothed human female in appearance, is highly resistant to magic and a dangerous spellcaster.\nAnother type of lesser Daedra often encountered in Morrowind is the Atronach, or Elemental Daedra. Atronachs have no binding kinship or alignments with the Daedra Lords, serving one realm or another at whim, shifting sides according to seduction, compulsion, or opportunity."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/death-blow-abernanit": {"game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion", "Skyrim", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/death-blow-abernanit", "description": "A poem about the Sixth House.", "author": "Geocrates Varnus, ed.", "title": "Death Blow of Abernanit", "text": "The Death Blow of Abernanit\nWith Explains by the sage\n\tGeocrates Varnus\nBroken battlements and wrecked walls\n\tWhere worship of the Horror (1) once embraced.\n\tThe bites of fifty winters (2) frost and wind\n\tHave cracked and pitted the unholy gates,\n\tAnd brought down the cruel, obscene spire.\n\tAll is dust, all is nothing more than dust.\n\tThe blood has dried and screams have echoed out.\n\tFramed by hills in the wildest, forlorn place\n\tOf Morrowind\n\tSits the barren bones of Abernanit.\nWhen thrice-blessed Rangidil (3) first saw Abernanit,\n\tIt burnished silver bright with power and permanence.\n\tA dreadful place with dreadful men to guard it\n\tWith fever glassed eyes and strength through the Horror.\n\tRangidil saw the foes' number was far greater\n\tThan the few Ordinators and Buoyant Armigers he led,\n\tWatching from the hills above, the field and castle of death\n\tWhile it stood, it damned the souls of the people\n\tOf Morrowind.\n\tAccursed, iniquitous castle Abernanit.\nThe alarum was sounded calling the holy warriors to battle\n\tTo answer villiany's shield with justice's spear,\n\tTo steel themselves to fight at the front and be brave.\n\tRangidil too grasped his shield and his thin ebon spear\n\tAnd the clamor of battle began with a resounding crash\n\tTo shake the clouds down from the sky.\n\tThe shield wall was smashed and blood staunched\n\tThe ground of the field, a battle like no other\n\tOf Morrowind\n\tTo destroy the evil of Abernanit.\nThe maniacal horde were skilled at arms, for certes,\n\tBut the three holy fists of Mother, Lord, and Wizard (4) pushed\n\tThe monster's army back in charge after charge.\n\tRangidil saw from above, urging the army to defend,\n\tDagoth Thras (5) himself in his pernicious tower spire,\n\tAnd knew that only when the heart of evil was caught\n\tWould the land e'er be truly saved.\n\tHe pledge then by the Temple and the Holy Tribunal\n\tOf Morrowind\n\tTo take the tower of Abernanit.\nIn a violent push, the tower base was pierced,\n\tBut all efforts to fell the spire came to naught\n\tAs if all the strength of the Horror held that one tower.\n\tThe stairwell up was steep and so tight\n\tThat two warriors could not ascend it side by side.\n\tSo single-file the army clambered up and up\n\tTo take the tower room and end the reign\n\tOf one of the cruellest petty tyrants in the annals\n\tOf Morrowind,\n\tDagoth Thras of Abernanit.\nThey awaited a victory cry from the first to scale the tower\n\tBut silence only returned, and then the blood,\n\tFirst only a rivulet and then a scarlet course\n\tPoured down the steep stairwell, with the cry from above,\n\t\"Dagoth Thras is besting our army one by one!\"\n\tRangidil called his army back, every Ordinator and\n\tBuoyant Armiger, and he himself ascended the stairs,\n\tPassing the bloody remains of the best warriors\n\tOf Morrowind\n\tTo the tower room of Abernanit.\nLike a raven of death on its aerie was Dagoth Thras\n\tHolding bloody shield and bloody blade at the tower room door.\n\tEvery thrust of Rangidil's spear was blocked with ease;\n\tEvery slash of Rangidil's blade was deflected away;\n\tEvery blow of Rangidil's mace was met by the shield;\n\tEvery quick arrow shot could find no purchase\n\tFor the Monster's greatest power was in his dread blessing\n\tThat no weapon from no warrior found in all\n\tOf Morrowind\n\tCould pass the shield of Abernanit.\nAs hour passed hour, Rangidil came to understand\n\tHow his greatest warriors met their end with Dagoth Thras.\n\tFor he could exhaust them by blocking their attacks\n\tAnd then, thus weakened, they were simply cut down.\n\tThe villain was patient and skilled with the shield\n\tAnd Rangidil felt even his own mighty arms growing numb\n\tWhile Dagoth Thras anticipated and blocked each cut\n\tAnd Rangidil feared that without the blessing of the Divine Three\n\tOf Morrowind\n\tHe'd die in the tower of Abernanit.\nBut he still poured down blows as he yelled,\n\t\"Foe! I am Rangidil, a prince of the True Temple,\n\tAnd I've fought in many a battle, and many a warrior\n\tHas tried to stop my blade and has failed.\n\tVery few can anticipate which blow I'm planning,\n\tAnd fewer, knowing that, know how to arrest the design,\n\tOr have the the strength to absord all of my strikes.\n\tThere is no greater master of shield blocking in all\n\tOf Morrowind\n\tThan here in the castle Abernanit.\nMy foe, dark lord Dagoth Thras, before you slay me,\n\tI beg you, tell me how you know how to block.\"\n\tWickedly proud, Dagoth Thras heard Rangidil's plea,\n\tAnd decided that before he gutted the Temple champion,\n\tHe would deign to give him some knowledge for the afterlife,\n\tHow his instinct and reflexes worked, and as he started\n\tTo explain, he realized that he did not how he did it,\n\tAnd watched, puzzled, as Rangidil delivered what the tales\n\tOf Morrowind\n\tCalled \"The death blow of Abernanit.\"\n\nGeocrates Varnus explains:\n\t(1) \"The Horror\" refers to the daedra prince Mehrunes Dagon.\n\t(2) \"Fifty winters\" suggests that the epic was written fifty years after the Siege of Abernanit, which took place in 3E 150.\n\t(3) \"Thrice-blessed Rangidil\" is Rangidil Ketil, born 2E 803, died 3E 195. He was the commander of the Temple Ordinators, and \"thrice-blessed\" by being blessed by the Tribunal of Gods.\n\t(4) \"Mother, Lord, and Wizard\" refers to the Tribunal of Almalexia, Vivec, and Sotha Sil.\n\t(5) \"Dagoth Thras\" was a powerful daedra-worshipper of unknown origin who declared himself the heir of the Sixth House, though there is little evidence he descended from the vanished family."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/deed-indreles-house": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/deed-indreles-house", "description": "A land deed of Indrele's house, obviously. Somehow this brings a little trouble to Hlaalu Councilor Velanda Omani.", "author": "Velanda Omani", "title": "Deed to Indrele's House", "text": "By the Grace of ALMSIVI, Lords and Rulers of All\nKnow all Dunmer by these words that I, Muthsera Hlaalu Velando Omani, have legally purchased the home in Seyda Neen of the Dunmer Indrele Rathryon and the accompanying land for the sum of 3000 Imperial Drakes. Witness our hands on this third day of Evening Star, 3E 426.\nSeal of the seller\nIndrele Rathryon\nSeal of the buyer\nVelanda Omani"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/diary-lost-sailor": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/diary-lost-sailor", "description": "A diary of land-locked sailor, found in Old Mournhold.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Diary of a Lost Sailor", "text": "Day One:\nMy crew and I were caught in a fierce storm just outside Ebonheart. We managed to make it to safety, but are now completely lost. Without a cargo or a ship there isn't much we can do. I will try to find passage for us somewhere. We are unarmed and ill-equipped to defend ourselves. Hopefully someone will take pity on us. The crew is waiting on the shore for my return.\nDay Three:\nI am confident I will find a village inland that will have access to a ship. I think I see smoke off in the distance. Maybe tomorrow will bring a change of luck.\nDay Seven:\nThose cursed villagers! May their fields dry up and their children suffer! They have steered me completely in the wrong direction. I firmly believe I am going further and further inland. If I don't see a fishing village soon I will be forced to turn back. I have been subsiding on roots and grasses and grow weaker every day. I must find a way for my crew and I to get home.\nBoiled my shoes to make broth. I had heard it would work. It didn't. Now I have no shoes.\nDay Twelve:\nThis is pointless. I have been directed to a fishing village to the east but so far have seen or heard nothing.\nKilled a rat today. It was the most food I have eaten in days. Tasted worse than scrib jelly but better than shoes.\nDay Thirteen:\nFrom my vantage point in a tall tree I finally see a town! While I do not see any sign of water it does look to be a fairly sizable town, and may have a trade route to the sea. I should reach it tomorrow.\nDay Twenty:\nLost. All is lost. I have, once again, been misled. After entering the town, I came across a man who offered to help. Weak from hunger and exhaustion I believed him, and followed him underground to his home. They have a massive underground system of tunnels and old sewers here. It's really quite amazing. Unfortunately I seem to have made a rude comment about his sister being smoldering and he beat me senseless. When I awoke I was in this pit with no way out in sight. I can see up to the floor above, but no one responds to my cries for help. I fear I will end my days here. Oh, why did I ever leave my crew! They must be giving up hope now, as am I.\nDay Twenty-five:\nWoke up to hear noises of construction from the floor above. Ran to the opening and cried out. It was to no avail, however. Instead they tossed down the most horrible creature. It is rank and ugly and eyes me in the most vicious way. I have retreated to this corner and await my doom. It will get hungry soon, and I fear it sees me as its only source of food. I am too weak to defend myself. This will be my last entry. If someone finds my bones, bury me facing the sea, wherever that may be."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/directions-caius-cosades": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/directions-caius-cosades", "description": "Along with the package for Caius, the Nerevarine is given directions to Caius's house in Balmora.", "author": "Glabrio Bellienus", "title": "Directions to Caius Cosades", "text": "<Name>\nYou have been given these directions and a package of documents. Do not show them to anyone. Do not attempt to read the documents in the package. The package has been sealed, and your tampering will be discovered and punished.\nFollow these directions.\nProceed to the town of Balmora in Vvardenfell District. Report to a man named Caius Cosades. He will be your superior and patron; you will follow his orders. His residence is not known, but ask at the cornerclub called \"South Wall\". People there will know where to find Caius Cosades. When you report to Caius Cosades, deliver the package of documents to him, and wait for further orders.\nRemember. You owe your life and freedom to the Emperor. Serve him well, and you will be rewarded. Betray him, and you will suffer the fate of all traitors.\nI have the Honor to prepare this at the direction of his Most Sovereign Majesty the Emperor Uriel Septim,\nGlabrio Bellienus\nPersonal Secretary to the Emperor"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dispel-potion-formula": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dispel-potion-formula", "description": "Short and sweet- directions for making a dispel potion.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Dispel Potion Formula", "text": "1 unit pearl\n1 unit moon sugar\nCrush pearl to form a power.\nHeat moon sugar until it melts and begins turning brown.\nAdd pearl dust and remove from heat.\nCool with water and add to an alembic.\nBoil the mixture and collect the vapor."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/divine-metaphysics": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/divine-metaphysics", "description": "A mysterious Dwemer book concerning the creation of Numidium.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Divine Metaphysics", "text": "Divine Metaphysics - Page 1\nDivine Metaphysics - Page 2\nDivine Metaphysics - Page 3"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/drens-note": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/drens-note", "description": "A note of appreciation to Ranes and Navil, and a plot to kill Duke Vedam Dren.", "author": "Orvas Dren", "title": "Dren's Note", "text": "Ranes and Navil,\nYou have served me well over the years. My brother has been trying to  stop our business. We've lost over half our shipments recently. The Duke  may be my brother, but if he keeps interfering I am afraid he must be  killed. I will be next in line and can consolidate my power before the  Redorans even come up with a candidate. I am telling you this so that  you know the risks you may be taking. If you are unwilling, I will  accept your word of honor not to speak of our business. If you stay, I  will reward you.\nD"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dwemer-museum-welcome": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dwemer-museum-welcome", "description": "We don't know who snatched this welcome paper from Tel Vos Museum, but since it is already here, we put this up.", "author": "Master Aryon", "title": "Dwemer Museum Welcome", "text": "Welcome to my Dwemer Museum. This exhibition represents a lifetime of traveling and collecting artifacts from Dwemer sites all over Morrowind. I am always finding new things to display so please check back often. And be wary of the centurion at the end of the hall. He is in a state of disrepair and is prone to unpredictable behavior.\nMaster Aryon"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dwemer-schematics": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dwemer-schematics", "description": "A compilation of all dwemeri schematics in Vvardenfell.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Dwemer Schematics", "text": "Dwemer Scarab Plans\n\n            Dwemer Scarab Schematics\n\n\n\n            Dwemer Airship Plans\n\n            Dwemer Anumidium Plans\n\n\n\n            Dwemer Schematics\n\n            Dwemer Centurion Plans"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/eec-stock-certificate": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/eec-stock-certificate", "description": "Stock certificate of Raven Rock division of the East Empire Company.", "author": "Carnius Magius", "title": "EEC Stock Certificate", "text": "This certifies that <Name> is the owner of\nOne Hundred\nfully paid and non-assessable shares, of the par value of one (1) Septim  each, of the common stock of the Raven Rock division of the East Empire  Company (hereafter referred to as \"the Company\"), transferrable on the  books of the Company by the Holder himself in person or by duly  authorized representative of the Holder upon surrender of this  certificate properly endorsed.  This certificate and the shares represented hereby are issued and shall  be held subject to all provisions of the Articles of Incorporation and  of the by-laws of the Company (copies of which are on file at the  Company's main office) to all which by acceptance the holder hereof  assents. This certificate is not valid unless undersigned by the  Transfer Agent and registered by the Registrar. In Witness Whereof the Company has caused this certificate to be  executed by the facsimile signatures of its duly authorized officers and  a facsimile of its corporate seal to be printed hereon.\nSigned\nC. Magius"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/elantes-notes": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/elantes-notes", "description": "Elante seems to be a Necromancer searching for great power in Mordrin Hanin's tomb, as detailed in this journal.", "author": "Elante", "title": "Elante's Notes", "text": "At last! After these many years of searching, I'm sure I've located the  proper caverns. The Crystals are just as the stories describe;  \"...wrapped in crystalline embrace, the silver pierced brow of the  Traitors shall ward his sleep.\" This must be the place! This must be  Mordrin Hanin's tomb!\nBadama and I have established quarters here. No one shall steal my  discovery. To imagine what treasures are hidden within this stone. Those  Guild fools! Mocking my studies. The Powers I shall unleash upon their  miserable skins. Tomorrow we will summon workers to begin excavation.\nThe Summoning was successful, although Badama lacks concentration. We  nearly had a Storm Atronach, but her poor skills allowed it to escape.  We shall make do with vermin. To think of the earth we could have riven  with the Atronach. Now we are forced to watch the Scamps scrape the  surface with picks and shovels. Hideous, miserable creatures.\nOtherworldly, vermin, bastards! Fodder for my cauldron! Scamps are the  most untrue of servants. I should enlist the efforts of the Giant Rats  of the wilderness and have greater success. Whining, thieving, lazy and  treacherous...Scamps! One attempted to flee, stealing a number of  potions in his flight. I made short work of him. Perhaps the others will  think deeply before following his path. Unfortunately, I was unable to  locate one of my best Potions of Rising Force.\nSuccess! I discovered the traces of worked stone, which when inspected  closely were obviously of Daedric workmanship. After great effort and  much moving of earth and stone, the remaining blockage fell away with a  great splash into a pool of loathsome water. The foul and noisome air  which escaped nearly choked me. The Scamps broke into a great frenzy,  trying to hurl themselves through the opening, shrieking with either  terror or joy. The creatures are clearly insane.\nI've been forced to erect a gate at the opening. The Scamps still  attempt to escape into its maw. I've placed Badama as sentry to monitor  the worthless creatures. Perhaps they'll tear her to pieces in her  sleep. No, I still require her talents in the upcoming search.\nThe baleful effects of this place are telling on me. I've only just  managed to distill some potions to aid us in our endeavor. Soon though,  we will enter the chambers and finally realize a life's ambition. Still,  though we find the tomb, it may be for naught if we cannot locate the  \"Key Guardian\". Sometimes I hear voices in my dreams calling on  Mordins's name. Is it terror or adulation?"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/elbert-nermarcs-private-note": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/elbert-nermarcs-private-note", "description": "Nothing can be read from this notes. This is owned by Elbert Nemarc, The Enchanter of Mournhold, Godsreach.", "author": "Elbert Nermarc", "title": "Elbert Nermarc's Private Note", "text": "Private Notes -- DO NOT READ\n[Between scrawled calculations and indecipherable symbols, very little  can be made of this text, save the signature: \"Elbert Nermarc\"]"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ernas-note-brandr": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ernas-note-brandr", "description": "A 'love' letter?", "author": "Erna", "title": "Erna's Note to Brandr", "text": "Dearest Brandr,\nI decided to take a walk on the banks of the Isild. The river is so  beautiful this time of year, don't you think? Come find me, and we shall  talk about our future, and freedom from your shrew of a wife.\nYour love,\nErna"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fall-snow-prince": {"game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fall-snow-prince", "description": "Chronicle of a battle between Falmer and Nords on Solstheim in the early 1st era.", "author": "Lokheim", "title": "Fall of the Snow Prince", "text": "An account of the Battle of the Moesring as transcribed by Lokheim, chronicler to the chieftain Ingjaldr White-Eye\nFrom whence he came we did not know, but into the battle he rode, on a brilliant steed of pallid white. Elf we called him, for Elf he was, yet unlike any other of his kind we had ever seen before that day. His spear and armor bore the radiant and terrible glow of unknown magicka, and so adorned this unknown rider seemed more wight than warrior.\nWhat troubled, nay, frightened us most at that moment was the call that rose from the Elven ranks. It was not fear, not wonder, but an unabashed and unbridled joy, the kind of felicity felt by a damned man who has been granted a second chance at life.  For at that time the Elves were as damned and near death as ever they had been during the great skirmishes of Solstheim. The Battle of the Moesring was to be the final stand between Nord and Elf on our fair island. Led by Ysgramor, we had driven the Elven scourge from Skyrim, and were intent on cleansing Solstheim of their kind as well.  Our warriors, armed with the finest axes and swords Nord craftsmen could forge, cut great swaths through the enemy ranks. The slopes of the Moesring ran red with Elf blood. Why, then, would our foe rejoice? Could one rider bring such hope to an army so hopeless?\nTo most of our kind, the meaning of the call was clear, but the words were but a litany of Elven chants and cries. There were some among us, however, the scholars and chroniclers, who knew well the words and shuddered at their significance.\n\"The Snow Prince is come! Doom is at hand!\"\nThere was then a great calm that overcame the Elves that still stood. Through their mass the Snow Prince did ride, and as a longboat slices the icy waters of the Fjalding he parted the ranks of his kin. The magnificent white horse slowed to a gallop, then a trot, and the unknown Elf rider moved to the front of the line at a slow, almost ghostlike pace.\nA Nord warrior sees much in a life of bloodshed and battle, and is rarely surprised by anything armed combat may bring. But few among us that day could have imagined the awe and uncertainty of a raging battlefield that all at once went motionless and silent. Such is the effect the Snow Prince had on us all. For when the joyous cries of the Elves had ended, there remained a quiet known only in the solitude of slumber. It was then our combined host, Elf and Nord alike, were joined in a terrible understanding -- victory or defeat mattered little that day on the slopes of the Moesring Mountains. The one truth we all shared was that death would come to many that day, victor and vanquished alike. The glorious Snow Prince, an Elf unlike any other, did come that day to bring death to our kind. And death he so brought.\nLike a sudden, violent snow squall that rends travelers blind and threatens to tear loose the very foundations of the sturdiest hall, the Snow Prince did sweep into our numbers. Indeed the ice and snow did begin to swirl and churn about the Elf, as if called upon to serve his bidding. The spinning of that gleaming spear whistled a dirge to all those who would stand in the way of the Snow Prince, and our mightiest fell before him that day. Ulfgi Anvil-Hand, Strom the White, Freida Oaken-Wand, Heimdall the Frenzied. All lay dead at the foot of the Moesring Mountains.\nFor the first time that day it seemed the tide of battle had actually turned. The Elves, spurred on by the deeds of the Snow Prince, rallied together for one last charge against our ranks. It was then, in a single instant, that the Battle of the Moesring came to a sudden and unexpected end.\nFinna, daughter of Jofrior, a lass of only twelve years and squire to her mother, watched as the Snow Prince cut down her only parent. In her rage and sorrow, Finna picked up Jofrior's sword and threw it savagely at her mother's killer. When the Elf's gleaming spear stopped its deadly dance, the battlefield fell silent, and all eyes turned to the Snow Prince. No one that day was more surprised than the Elf himself at the sight that greeted them all. For upon his great steed the Snow Prince still sat, the sword of Jofrior buried deeply in his breast. And then, he fell, from his horse, from the battle, from life. The Snow Prince lay dead, slain by a child.\nWith their savior defeated, the spirit of the remaining Elven warriors soon shattered.  Many fled, and those that remained on the battlefield were soon cut down by our broad Nord axes. When the day was done, all that remained was the carnage of the battlefield. And from that battlefield came a dim reminder of valor and skill, for the brilliant armor and spear of the Snow Prince still shined. Even in death, this mighty and unknown Elf filled us with awe.\nIt is common practice to burn the corpses of our fallen foes. This is as much a necessity as it is custom, for death brings with it disease and dread. Our chieftains wished to cleanse Solstheim of the Elven horde, in death as well as life. It was decided, however, that such was not to be the fate of the Snow Prince. One so mighty in war yet so loved by his kin deserved better. Even in death, even if an enemy of our people.\nAnd so we brought the body of the Snow Prince, wrapped in fine silks, to a freshly dug barrow. The gleaming armor and spear were presented on a pedestal of honor, and the tomb was arrayed with treasures worthy of royalty. All of the mighty chieftains agreed with this course, that the Elf should be so honored. His body would be preserved in the barrow for as long as the earth chose, but would not be offered the protection of our Stalhrim, which was reserved for Nord dead alone.\nSo ends this account of the Battle of the Moesring, and the fall of the magnificent Elven Snow Prince. May our gods honor him in death, and may we never meet his kind again in life."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/famed-artifacts-tamriel": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/famed-artifacts-tamriel", "description": "A found in the Mournhold Museum of Artifacts which is almost identical to Tamrielic Lore.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Famed Artifacts of Tamriel", "text": "Listed below are some of the more storied items found throughout  Tamrielic lore. The existence of some has been proven, while others may  simply be the stuff of legend. Regardless, these items have found their  way into the tales we tell our children, and our children will tell  their children, and are inextricably linked to the\nLord's Mail\nSometimes called the Armor of Morihaus or the gift of Kynareth, this is  an ancient cuirass of unsurpassable quality. It grants the wearer power  to absorb health, resist the effects of spells, and cure oneself of  poison when used. It is said that whenever Kynareth deigns the wearer  unworthy, the Lord's Mail will be taken away and hidden for the next  chosen one.\nEbony Mail\nThe Ebony Mail is a breastplate created before recorded history by the  Dark Elven goddess Boethiah. It is she who determines who should possess  the Ebony Mail and for how long a time. If judged worthy, its power  grants the wearer added resistance of fire, magicka, and grants a  magical shield. It is Boethiah alone who determines when a person is  ineligible to bear the Ebony Mail any longer, and the goddess can be  very capricious.\nSpell Breaker\nSpell Breaker, superficially a Dwemer tower shield, is one of the most  ancient relics of Tamriel. Aside from its historical importance in the  Battle of Rourken-Shalidor, the Spell Breaker protects its wielder  almost completely from any spell caster, either by reflecting magicks or  silencing any mage about to cast a spell. It is said that Spell Breaker  still searches for its original owner, and will not remain the property  of anyone else for long. For most, possessing Spell Breaker for any  length of time is power enough.\nChrysamere\nThe Paladin's Blade is an ancient claymore with offensive capabilities  surpassed only by its own defenses. It lends the wielder health,  protects him or her from fire, and reflects any spells cast against the  wielder back to the caster. Seldom has Chrysamere been wielded by any  bladesman for any length of time, for it chooses not to favor one  champion.\nStaff of Magnus\nThe Staff of Magnus, one of the elder artifacts of Tamriel, was a  metaphysical battery of sorts for its creator, Magnus. When used, it  absorbs an enemy's health and mystical energy. In time, the Staff will  abandon the mage who wields it before he becomes too powerful and upsets  the mystical balance it is sworn to protect.\nWarlock's Ring\nThe Warlock's Ring of the Archmage Syrabane is one of the most popular  relics of myth and fable. In Tamriel's ancient history, Syrabane saved  all of the continent by judicious use of his Ring, and ever since, it  has helped adventurers with less lofty goals. It is best known for its  ability to reflect spells cast at its wearer and to improve his or her  speed and to restore health. No adventurer can wear the Warlock's Ring  for long, for it is said that the Ring is Syrabane's alone to command.\nRing of Phynaster\nThe Ring of Phynaster was made hundreds of years ago by a man who needed  good defenses to survive his adventurous life. Thanks to the Ring,  Phynaster lived for hundreds of years, and since then it has passed from  person to person. The Ring improves its wearer's overall resistance to  poison, magicka, and shock. Still, Phynaster was cunning and cursed the  ring so that it eventually disappears from its holder's possessions and  returns to another resting place, discontent to stay anywhere but with  Phynaster himself.\nRing of Khajiit\nThe Ring of the Khajiit is an ancient relic, hundreds of years older  than Rajhin, the thief that made the Ring famous. It was Rajhin who used  the Ring's powers to make himself invisible and as quick as the breath  of wind. Using the Ring, he became the most successful burglar in  Elsweyr's history. Rajhin's eventual fate is a mystery, but according to  legend, the Ring rebelled against such constant use and disappeared,  leaving Rajhin helpless before his enemies.\nMace of Molag Bal\nAlso known as the Vampire's Mace, the Mace of Molag Bal drains its  victims of magicka and gives it to the bearer. It also has the ability  to transfer an enemy's strength to its wielder. Molag Bal has been quite  free with his artifact. There are many legends about the Mace. It seems  to be a favorite for vanquishing wizards.\nMasque of Clavicus Vile\nEver the vain one, Clavicus Vile made a masque suited to his own  personality. The bearer of the Masque is more likely to get a positive  response from the people of Tamriel. The higher his personality, the  larger the bonus. The best known story of the Masque tells the tale of  Avalea, a noblewoman of some renown. As a young girl, she was grossly  disfigured by a spiteful servant. Avalea made a dark deal with Clavicus  Vile and received the Masque in return. Though the Masque did not change  her looks, suddenly she had the respect and admiration of everyone. A  year and a day after her marriage to a well connected baron, Clavicus  Vile reclaimed the Masque. Although pregnant with his child, Avalea was  banished from the Baron's household. Twenty one years and one day later,  Avalea's daughter claimed her vengeance by slaying the Baron.\nMehrunes Razor\nThe Dark Brotherhood has coveted this ebony dagger for generations. This  mythical artifact is capable of slaying any creature instantly. History  does not record any bearers of Mehrune's Razor. However, the Dark  Brotherhood was once decimated by a vicious internal power struggle. It  is suspected that the Razor was involved.\nCuirass of the Savior's Hide\nAnother of Hircine's artifacts was the Cuirass of the Savior's Hide. The  Cuirass has the special ability to resist magicka. Legend has it that  Hircine rewarded his peeled hide to the first and only mortal to have  ever escaped his hunting grounds. This unknown mortal had the hide  tailored into this magical Cuirass for his future adventures. The  Savior's Hide has a tendency to travel from hero to hero as though it  has a mind of its own.\nSpear of Bitter Mercy\nOne of the more mysterious artifacts is the Spear of Bitter Mercy.  Little to nothing is known about the Spear. There are no recorded  histories but many believe it to be of Daedric origin. The only known  legend about it is its use by a mighty hero during the fall of the  Battlespire. The hero was aided by the Spear in the defeat of Mehrunes  Dagon and the recapturing of the Battlespire. Since that time, the Spear  of Bitter Mercy has made few appearances within Tamriel.\nDaedric Scourge\nThe Daedric Scourge is a mighty mace forged from sacred ebony in the  Fires of Fickledire. The legendary weapon of Mackkan, it was once a  fierce weapon used to send spirits of black back into Oblivion. The  weapon lhas the ability to summon creatures from Oblivion, Once a tool  used against the Daedric Lords in the Battlespire, it now roams the land  with adventurers.\nBow of Shadows\nLegend has it that the Bow of Shadows was forged by the Daedra  Nocturnal. The legendary ranger, Raerlas Ghile, was granted the Bow for a  secret mission that failed, and the Bow was lost. Raerlas did not go  down without a hearty fight and is said to have, with the aid of the  Bow, taken scores of his foes with him. The Bow grants the user the  ability of invisibility and increased speed. Many sightings of the Bow  of Shadows have been reported, and it is even said that the sinister  Dark Elf assassin of the Second Era, Dram, once wielded this bow.\nFists of Randagulf\nRandagulf of Clan Begalin goes down in Tamrielic history as one of the  mightiest warriors from Skyrim. He was known for his courage and  ferocity in battle and was a factor in many battles. He finally met his  fate when King Harald conquered Skyrim. King Harald respected this great  hero and took Randagulf's gauntlets for his own. After King Harald  died, the gauntlets disappeared. The King claimed that the Fists granted  the bearer added strength.\nIce Blade of the Monarch\nThe Ice Blade of the Monarch is truly one of Tamriel's most prized  artifacts. Legend has it that the Evil Archmage Almion Celmo enchanted  the claymore of a great warrior with the soul of a Frost Monarch, a  stronger form of the more common Frost Atronach. The warrior, Thurgnarr  Assi, was to play a part in the assassination of a great king in a far  off land, and become the new leader. The assassination failed and the  Archmage was imprisoned. The Ice Blade freezes all who feel its blade.  The Blade circulates from owner to owner, never settling in one place  for long.\nRing of Surroundings\nLittle is known of this prize but it is said that it lends the wearer  the ability to blend in with their surroundings.\nBoots of the Apostle\nThe Boots of the Apostle are a true mystery. The wearer of the boots is  rumored to be able to levitate, though nobody has ever seen them used.\nThe Mentor's Ring\nThis ring is a prized possession for any apprentice to magic. It lends  the wearer the ability to increase their intelligence and wisdom, thus  making their use of magic more efficient. The High Wizard Carni Asron is  said to be the creator of the Ring. It was a construct for his young  apprentices while studying under his guidance. After Asron's death, the  Ring and several other possessions vanished and have been circulated  throughout Tamriel.\nRing of the Wind\nNo facts are known about this Ring, but the title and the few rumors  lend one to think it grants the wearer added speed.\nVampiric Ring\nOne of the more deadly and rare artifacts in Tamriel is the Vampiric  Ring. It is said that the Ring has the power to steal its victim's  health and grant it to the wearer. The exact nature and origin of the  Ring is wholly unknown, but many elders speak of its evil creation in  Morrowind long, long ago by a cult of Vampire followers. The Vampiric  Ring is an extremely rare artifact and is only seen every few hundred  cycles of the moons.\nEleidon's Ward\nEleidon was a holy knight of legend in Breton history. He was a sought  after man for his courage and determination to set all wrongs right. In  one story, it is said that he rescued a Baron's daughter from sure death  at the hands of an evil warlord. For his reward, the Baron spent all of  his riches to have an enchanted shield built for Eidelon. The Shield  granted Eleidon the opportunity to heal his wounds.\nStaff of Hasedoki\nHasedoki was said to have been a very competitive wizard. He wandered  the land in search for a wizard who was greater than he. To the best of  all knowledge, he never found a wizard who could meet up to his  challenge. It is said that he felt so lonely and isolated because so  many feared his power, that he bonded his life-force into his very own  staff, where his soul remains to this very day. Magic users all over  Tamriel have been searching for this magical staff. Granting its wielder  a protection of magicka, it is a sure prize for any magic user.\nBloodworm Helm\nThe King of Worms was said to have left behind one of his prized  possessions, the Bloodworm Helm. The Helm is a construct of magically  formed bone. The Helm allows the user to summon skeletons and control  the undead. It would be a prized artifact to a necromancer.\nDragonbone Mail\nThis cuirass is one of the greatest artifacts any collector or hero  could own. It is constructed of real dragon bone and was enchanted by  the first Imperial Battlemage, Zurin Arctus, in the early years of the  Third Era. It is a truly exquisite piece of work and many have sought to  possess it. The properties of the Cuirass allow the wearer to be resist  fire, and to damage an enemy with a blast of fire. Little is known  about the involvement of Zurin Arctus with the enchantment of the  Cuirass, but an old tale speaks of a debt that he owed to a traveling  warrior. Like the warrior, the Dragonbone Mail never stays put for long.\nSkull Crusher\nThe Skull Crusher is an amazingly large, and powerful weapon. The  Warhammer was created in a fire, magically fueled by the Wizard, Dorach  Gusal, and was forged by the great weaponsmith, Hilbongard Rolamus. The  steel is magically hardened and the weight of the weapon is amazingly  light, which makes for more powerful swings and deadly blows. The  Warhammer was to be put on display for a festival, but thieves got it  first. The Skull Crusher still travels Tamriel in search of its  creators.\nGoldbrand\nThis magical Sword is almost a complete mystery. Thieves tell tales  about its golden make and how it was actually forged by ancient dragons  of the North. Their tales claim that it was given to a great knight who  was sworn to protect the dragons. The Sword lends its wielder the  ability to do fire damage on an enemy. Goldbrand has not been sighted in  recent history and is said to be awaiting a worthy hero.\nFang of Haynekhtnamet\nBlack Marsh was once known to be inhabited with what the Argonians  called the Wamasus. Northern men considered them to be intelligent  dragons with lightning for blood. One such mighty beast, Haynekhtnamet,  was slain by the Northern men, though it took 7 days and nights, and a  score of men. One of the surviving men took a fang home as a trophy. The  fang was carved down into a blade and fashioned into a small dagger.  The Dagger mysteriously houses some of the beast's magical properties  and grants the user the ability to do shock damage on an opponent. This  unique Dagger is seen occasionally by traveling heroes.\nUmbra Sword\nThe Umbra Sword was enchanted by the ancient witch Naenra Waerr, and its  sole purpose was the entrapment of souls. Used in conjunction with a  soul gem, the Sword allows the wielder the opportunity to imprison an  enemy's soul in the gem. Naenra was executed for her evil creation, but  not before she was able to hide the Sword. The Umbra Sword is very  choosy when it comes to owners and therefore remains hidden until a  worthy one is found.\nDenstagmer's Ring\nAll that is known of this Ring is that it may grant the user protection  from certain elements. Even the name Denstagmer is a mystery.\nHelm of Oreyn Bearclaw\nOne of Valenwood's legendary heroes is Oreyn Bearclaw. Son of King Faume  Toad-Eye, he was a respected clan hunter and a future leader. Wood  Elven legend claims Oreyn single handedly defeated Glenhwyfaunva, the  witch-serpent of the Elven wood, forever bringing peace to his clan.  Oreyn would go on to accomplish numerous other deeds, eventually losing  his life to the Knahaten Flu. His Helm stood as a monument of his  stature for future generations to remember. The Helm was lost  eventually, as the Clan split, and is now a treasured artifact for  adventurers. The Helm of Oreyn Bearclaw is rumored to improve the  wearers agility and endurance.\nDaedric Crescent Blade\nProbably the most rare and even outlawed item of all the great prizes is  the Daedric Crescent Blade. The Blade was used by Mehrunes Dagon's  Daedric forces in the capture of the Imperial Battlespire. These  extremely unique Blades were gathered up and destroyed after the  Battlespire was recaptured by the Empire. All but one it seems. Though  the Empire believes them all to be destroyed, it is rumored that one  still remains in existence, somewhere in Tamriel, though none have ever  seen it. The Blade lends it's weilder the ability to do great damage on  an enemy and allows him to paralyze and put heavy wear on his enemy's  armor. Quite the prize for any mighty warrior, if it does indeed exist."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fellowship-temple": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fellowship-temple", "description": "An essential book that need to be read before joining the Tribunal Temple.", "author": "Archcanon Tholer Saryoni, Tribunal Temple", "title": "Fellowship of the Temple", "text": "I have been asked to write this guidebook for outsiders who are  unfamiliar with the Tribunal Temple, and interested in joining.\nAll those who are earnest, and who are willing to submit to the wisdom  of Blessed Almsivi, Triune Grace, the saints, and the priests, are  welcome to the Fellowship of the Tribunal Temple. The Temple is the  religion of Morrowind and Dunmer people, and has been for generation  upon generation. With guidance and counsel of Almalexia, Vivec, and  Sotha Sil, the Anticipations, and all the hosts of saints of ancestors,  the Temple guards and protects the lands and peoples of Morrowind.\nThose who follow the Tribunal must have the Personality to lead others  and the Willpower to resist the world's temptations. When violence is  needful, we fight with staves and hammers, armored only in our faith. We  study Restoration and Alchemy to heal the people, and Mysticism to  learn more of the divine. We must also study Conjuration to speak with  the spirits of our ancestors and protect against those who traffic with  the Four Corners.\nThose interested in joining the Tribunal Temple should speak to priests  at the temples in Ald'ruhn, Balmora, Molag Mar, and Ghostgate, or with  priests at the High Fane in the Temple Compound in Vivec.\nArticles of Faith\nThe Temple believes that Almalexia, Vivec, and Sotha Sil were mortal  guardians of Morrowind who walked the earth, defeated the Dunmer's  greatest enemies, the Nords and the Dwarves, and achieved divine  substance through superhuman discipline and virtue and supernatural  wisdom and insight. Like loving ancestors, they guard and counsel their  followers. Like stern parents, they punish sin and error. Like generous  relatives, they share their bounty among the greatest and least,  according to their needs.\nDuties of the Faithful\nYour fourfold duties are to: Faith, Family, Masters, and all that is  good. Perform holy quests and bring luster to the Temple. Never  transgress against your brothers or sisters, and never dishonor your  house or your ancestors. Serve and protect the poor and weak, and honor  your elders and clan.\nFor those who would be wise, these sacred books will be of interest.\nSaryoni's  Sermons\nLearn from the teachings of Vivec, and from the Archcanon's sermons on  the Seven Graces.\nLives  of the Saints\nMembers of the Temple who wish to be virtuous will model their lives on  the lives of the saints.\nThe  Pilgrim's Path\nThe path to wisdom and self-knowledge is through pilgrimage. Those who  would rise in the ranks of the faithful may retrace the steps of the  Lords and Saints, and gain blessings and learn virtue by suffering and  overcoming hardships.\nThe  Consolations of Prayer\nLearn what bounties and blessing might be gained by prayer at the  shrines found in temples, and in places of pilgrimage, and in the tombs  of our ancestors."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/final-lesson": {"game": ["Morrowind", "Skyrim", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/final-lesson", "description": "Another lesson imparted by the Great Sage (from the Feyfolken books) to his students.", "author": "Aegrothius Goth", "title": "Final Lesson", "text": "\"It is time for you to leave your apprenticeship here,\" said the Great Sage to his students, Taksim and Vonguldak.\n\"So soon?\" cried Vonguldak, for it had been but a few years since the training began. \"Are we such poor pupils?\"\n\"We have learned much for you, master, but you have no more to teach us?\" Taksim asked. \"You have told us so many tales of great enchanters of the past. Can't we continue to learn until we have reached some level of their power?\"\n\"I have one last story for you,\" smiled the Great Sage.\nMany thousands of years ago, long before the Cyrodilic Dynasty of Reman and even longer before the Septim Dynasty ruled Tamriel, and before there was a Mages Guild, and when the land called Morrowind was known as Resdayn, and the land of Elsweyr was called Anequina and Pellitine, and the only law of the land was the cruel ways of the Alessian Doctrines of Marukh, there lived a hermetic enchanter named Dalak who had two apprentices, Uthrac and Loreth.\nUthrac and Loreth were remarkable students, both equally assiduous in their learning, the pride of their Master. Both excelled at the arts of the cauldron, mirror castings, the infusion of spiritas into mundus, and the weaving of air and fire. Dalak was very fond of his boys, and they of him.\nOn a springtide morn, Dalak received a message from another enchanter named Peothil, who lived deep in the forests of the Colovian heartland. You must remember that in the dark days of the First Era, mages were solitary practitioners with the only organized consortium being the Psijics of Artaeum. Away from that island, mages seldom saw one another and even more rarely corresponded. Thus, when Dalak received Peothil's letter, he gave it his great attention.\nPeothil was greatly aged, and he had found the peace of his isolation threatened by the Alessian Reform. He feared for his life, knowing that the fanatical priests and their warriors were close at hand. Dalak brought his students to him.\n\"It will be an arduous and perilous journey to the Colovian Estates, one that I would fear partaking even in my youth,\" Dalak said. \"My heart trembles to send you two forth to Peothil's cave, but I know that he is a great and benevolent enchanter, and his light must continue to burn in the heart of the continent if we are to survive these dark nights.\"\nUthrac and Loreth pled with their teacher not to order them to go to Peothil. It was not the priests and warriors of the Alessian Reform they feared, but they knew their Master was aged and infirm, and could not protect himself if the Reform moved further westward. Finally, he relented and allowed that one would stay with him, and the other would journey forth to the Colovian Estates. He would let them decide which of them would go.\nThe lads debated and discussed, fought and compromised, and at last elected to let fate make the choice. They threw lots, and Loreth came up short. He left early the next morning, miserable and filled with fear.\nFor a month and a day, he tramped through the forests into the midst of the Colovian Estates. Through some planning, some skill, and much assistance for sympathetic peasants, he managed to avoid the ever-tightening circle of the Alessian Reform by crossing through unclaimed mountain passes and hidden bogs. When at last he found the dark caverns where Dalak had told him to search for Peothil, it was still many hours before he could find the enchanter's lair.\nNo one appeared to be there. Loreth searched through the laboratory of ancient tomes, cauldrons and crystalline flutes, herbs kept alive by the glow of mystic circles, strange liquids and gasses caught in transparent membranes. At last, he found Peothil, or so he presumed. The desiccated shell on the floor of the study, clutching tools of enchantment, scarcely seemed human.\nLoreth decided that he could do nothing further for the mage, and began at once the journey back to his true master Dalak and his friend Uthrac. The armies of the Reform had moved quickly since he passed. After more than one close near encounter, the young enchanter realized that he was trapped on all sides. The only retreat that was possible was back in the caves of Peothil.\nThe first thing to be done, Loreth saw, was to find a means to keep the army from finding the laboratory. That, he found, was what Peothil himself had been trying to do, but by a simple error even an apprentice enchanter could recognize, he had only succeeded in destroying himself. Loreth was able to take what he had learned from Dalak and apply it to Peothil's enchantments, quite successfully. The laboratory was never found or even detected by the Reform.\nMuch time passed. In the 480th year of the First Era, the great Aiden Direnni won many battles against the Alessian horde, and many passages and routes that had once been closed were now open. Loreth, now no longer young, was able to return to Dalak.\nWhen at last he found his way to his Master's old hovel, he saw candles of mourning lit in all the trees surrounding. Even before he knocked on the door and met his old fellow student Uthrac, Loreth knew that Dalak had died.\n\"It was only a few months ago,\" said Uthrac, after embracing his friend. \"He talked of you every day of every year you were away. Somehow he knew that you had not preceded him to the world beyond. He told me that you would come back.\"\nThe gray-haired men sat before the fire and reminisced of the old days. The sad truth was that they both discovered how different they had become. Uthrac spoke of carrying on the Master's work, while Loreth described his new discoveries. They left one another that day, each shaking his head, destined to never see one another again.\nIn the years ahead, before they left the mortal world to join their great teacher Dalak, they both achieved their desires. Uthrac went on to become respected if minor enchanter in the service of Clan Direnni. Loreth took the skills he had learned on his own, and used them to fashion the Balac-thurm, the Staff of Chaos.\nMy boys, the lesson is you have to learn from a teacher to avoid those small but essential errors that claimed the life of such self-taught enchanters as Peothil. And yet, the only way to become truly great is to try all the possibilities on your own."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/my-gods-and-emperor": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/my-gods-and-emperor", "description": "An essential book that need to be read before joining the Imperial Cult", "author": "Imperial Cult", "title": "For My Gods and Emperor", "text": "A Handbook for the Imperial Cult\nWhat is the Imperial Cult?\nThe missionary arm of the great faiths, the Imperial cult brings divine  inspiration and consolation to the Empire's remote provinces. The cults  combine the worship of the Nine Divines, the Aedra Akatosh, Dibella,  Arkay, Zenithar, Mara, Stendarr, Kynareth, and Julianos, and the Talos  cult, veneration of the divine god-hero Tiber Septim, founder and patron  of the Empire. Imperial cult priests provide worship and services for  all these gods at Imperial shrines in settlements throughout  Vvardenfell.\nWhat is the Virtuous Life?\nOur doctrines are simple. We acknowledge the divinity of the Nine  Divines: Akatosh, Dibella, Arkay, Zenithar, Mara, Stendarr, Kynareth,  Julianos, and Tiber Septim. We preach the Nine Virtues: Humility,  Inspiration, Piety, Work, Compassion, Justice, Ambition, Learning, and  Civility. Our Emperor is the Defender of the Faith, and the Empire is  the worldly working of the Divine Plan. We pledge aid and comfort to all  citizens in need, and serve the Emperor and Empire at his will.\nThe Imperial cults look to the Nine Divines as models for living a good  and virtuous life. Each of the Nine represents different aspects of  life, and how it should be lived. But the simplest statement of our  doctrines is -- help and protect one another. The stronger one is, the  wealthier one is, the more one bears responsibility for helping and  protecting others. One's first duty, of course, is to one's fellow  members of the Imperial Cult. But after that, one should help and  protect any needy persons.\nWe also say, \"do not harm one another.\" It is forbidden to attack  another person of the Imperial cult, and of course, forbidden to kill  another member. It is forbidden to steal from another member, whether by  open theft or by covert pickpocketing. It is forbidden to trespass upon  the private property of another member. Break any one of these rules,  and be expelled from the cult.\nHow can I join the Imperial cult?\nThe Imperial cult accepts all citizens of good character and earnest  faith. We ask only a one-time pledge of 50 drakes to aid us in our good  works. Thereafter, the only cost of membership comes when you use our  health, healing, and blessing shrines -- modest fees which help us  spread the blessings of the Nine to those less fortunate than ourselves.\nThose who wish to join the Imperial cult in Vvardenfell will find a warm  welcome from our cult greeters: Ygfa at Fort Pelagiad, Syloria  Siruliulus at Buckmoth Legion Fort, Somutis Vunnis at Moonmoth Legion  Fort, Ruccia Conician in the Grand Council Chambers in Ebonheart, or  Lalatia Varian in the Imperial Chapels at Ebonheart.\nWhat are the requirements for advancement in the Imperial cult?\nSeekers who wish to advance in the service of the Nine must dedicate  time and resources to serving the cult, and must strive for personal  improvement in their attributes and skills. Only the most distinguished  are worthy of advancement to the higher ranks in the Imperial cults.\nTo serve and glorify the Nine Divines, the faithful must cultivate a  noble personality and a strong will. Respect the magical arts,  especially the colleges of Restoration, Mysticism, and Conjuration.  Those who swear to avoid bloodshed, to take the field unarmored to fight  only with blunt weapons, are especially praiseworthy. Knowledge of  enchantments and the gift of diplomatic speech are other qualities we  value in our initiates.\nImperial cult services\nYou can find Imperial cult services in Buckmoth Legion Fort, Moonmoth  Legion Fort, Pelagiad Legion Fort, Gnisis Legion Fort, Wolverine Hall in  Sadrith Mora, Vivec Foreign Quarter, and Imperial chapels in Ebonheart.  Seek training at Wolverine Hall, Buckmoth Fort, Moonmoth Fort,  Ebonheart Imperial Chapels, Governor's Hall in Caldera, and Ald Velothi  Outpost.\nMany Imperial cult locations have healing altars. You may pray at  Imperial cult healing altars and receive blessings which cure common and  blight diseases, cure poisons, and restore damaged attributes.  Non-members pay 25 drakes. Non-members pay 25 drakes. Newer members pay  10 drakes, while higher-ranking members receive blessings free. Healing  altars are found in: Vivec Foreign Quarter; Wolverine Hall in Sadrith  Mora; Buckmoth Legion Fort; Moonmoth Legion Fort; Pelagiad Legion Fort;  Gnisis Legion Fort; and Imperial Chapels in Ebonheart.\nOpportunities for service\nLay healers gather ingredients for health and healing potions, and  minister to the sick and hurt in poor and isolated communities. It is  difficult and sometimes dangerous work, but the spiritual rewards are  great. Lay healers need only the skills of the prudent traveler, being  often on the road and in the wilderness, gathering herbs and potion  components. They should avoid trouble where possible, and so need not be  masters of the arts of war. Those interested should speak to Synnolian  Tunifus at the Imperial Chapels in Ebonheart.\nAlmoners gather alms from members and friends of the faith. We depend on  donations to fund most of our good works. Almoners who are successful  at bringing in generous donations may rise in the ranks of Imperial  Cults service. Almoners must travel in town and village, and should be  skilled in persuasion and mercantile matters. Also, almoners with  personal wealth are in a position to better serve the cult. Those  interested should speak to Iulus Truptor at the Imperial Chapels in  Ebonheart.\nA shrine sergeant helps keep order at the shrines, carries messages and  packages, and sometimes escorts priests and lay servants on dangerous  missions. This occasional service is ideal for bold, free-spirited  adventurers. Shrine sergeants are called upon to serve the Nine with  weapon, armor, and spell. New shrine sergeants are given the easiest  tasks, but later, missions may demand higher levels of combat  proficiency. Those interested should speak to Kaye at the Imperial  Chapels in Ebonheart.\nOracle's Quests are the most demanding of all Imperial cult missions.  Only members of the higher ranks are invited to assist the Oracle, and  the challenges require the skill and courage found only in heroes of  legend.\nHow do the Imperial cults view the other factions of Vvardenfell?\nThe Imperial cults have a very close relationship with the Imperial  legions, and a friendly and supportive relationship with the Imperial  Guilds -- especially the Fighters and Mages Guilds. We also have a  friendly and supportive relationship with House Hlaalu, which strongly  supports the Emperor and Imperial principles. Though we cannot condone  the actions of the Thieves Guild, we praise their faithful dedication to  the Emperor and to Imperial culture.\nThe Imperial cults have the greatest respect for the high moral  principles of House Redoran and the Morag Tong, and honors their  different but noble conceptions of Divine Inspiration.\nWe disapprove of the primitive heathen beliefs of the Ashlanders, and of  the impious and inhumane practices of the Telvanni. The Imperial cult  especially disapproves of the practice of slavery, and looks forward to  the day when slavery is illegal in all Imperial provinces. The Imperial  cult also disapproves of the lawless and greedy Camonna Tong, and their  ruthless exploitation of the poor and weak.\nHistorically, our relationship with the Tribunal Temple is difficult and  unfriendly. Though the Imperial cults acknowledges the lords and saints  of the Temple pantheon as worthy inspirations, the Temple falsely  insists that theirs is the One True Faith, and that the Imperial cults  worship false gods."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/seyda-neen-balmora-road": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/seyda-neen-balmora-road", "description": "Directions to Balmora from Seyda Neen.", "author": "Elone", "title": "From Seyda Neen to Balmora by Road", "text": "From Seyda Neen, leave the village by the north bridge, then follow the road east past the silt strider port.\nEast of Seyda Neen, the road heads northeast through the ridge and intersects a northwest-southeast road. Turn left, northwest, and pass the village of Pelagiad on your right.\nThe road continues north, then swings northeast until it reaches a four-way intersection. The road to Balmora turns left, northwest, and descends into Foyada Mamaea, a deep volcanic ravine. The road follows the ravine northeast for a short distance, then turns left and climbs out of the ravine to the northwest.\nNorth of the ravine, pass Fort Moonmoth on the right and come to an intersection with a signpost. Head due west towards Balmora.\nTwo small bridges cross the Odai River. On the west side of the river, go north, passing the silt strider port and entering the walls of Balmora.\nMind the signposts, and be careful. In bad weather or darkness, it is easy to stray from the road."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/frontier-conquest-and-accommodation": {"game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion", "Skyrim", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/frontier-conquest-and-accommodation", "description": "An essay about the early Nordic settlement of Tamriel.", "author": "University of Gwylim Press", "title": "Frontier, Conquest, and Accommodation", "text": "Frontier, Conquest\n\tand Accommodation:\n\tA Social History of Cyrodiil\nUniversity of Gwylim Press\n\t3E 344\nHistorians often portray the human settlement of Tamriel as a straightforward process of military expansion of the Nords of Skyrim. In fact, human settlers occupied nearly every corner of Tamriel before Skyrim was even founded. These so-called \"Nedic peoples\" include the proto-Cyrodilians, the ancestors of the Bretons, the aboriginals of Hammerfell, and perhaps a now-vanished Human population of Morrowind. Strictly speaking, the Nords are simply another of these Nedic peoples, the only one that failed to find a method of peaceful accommodation with the Elves who already occupied Tamriel.\nYsgramor was certainly not the first human settler in Tamriel. In fact, in \"fleeing civil war in Atmora,\" as the Song of Return states, Ysgramor was following a long tradition of migration from Atmora; Tamriel had served as a \"safety valve\" for Atmora for centuries before Ysgramor's arrival. Malcontents, dissidents, rebels, landless younger sons, all made the difficult crossing from Atmora to the \"New World\" of Tamriel. New archeological excavations date the earliest human settlements in Hammerfell, High Rock, and Cyrodiil at ME800-1000, centuries earlier than Ysgramor, even assuming that the twelve Nord \"kings\" prior to Harald were actual historical figures.\nThe Nedic peoples were a minority in a land of Elves, and had no choice but to live peacefully with the Elder Race. In High Rock, Hammerfell, Cyrodiil, and possibly Morrowind, they did just that, and the Nedic peoples flourished and expanded over the last centuries of the Merethic Era. Only in Skyrim did this accommodation break down, an event recorded in the Song of Return. Perhaps, being close to reinforcements from Atmora, the proto-Nords did not feel it necessary to submit to the authority of the Skyrim Elves. Indeed, the early Nord chronicles note that under King Harald, the first historical Nord ruler (1E 113-221), \"the Atmoran mercenaries returned to their homeland\" following the consolidation of Skyrim as a centralized kingdom. Whatever the case, the pattern was set -- in Skyrim, expansion would proceed militarily, with human settlement following the frontier of conquest, and the line between Human territory and Elven territory was relatively clear.\nBut beyond this \"zone of conflict,\" the other Nedic peoples continued to merge with their Elven neighbors. When the Nord armies of the First Empire finally entered High Rock and Cyrodiil, they found Bretons and proto-Cyrodiils already living there among the Elves. Indeed, the Nords found it difficult to distinguish between Elf and Breton, the two races had already intermingled to such a degree. The arrival of the Nord armies upset the balance of power between the Nedic peoples and the Elves. Although the Nords' expansion into High Rock and Cyrodiil was relatively brief (less than two centuries), the result was decisive; from then on, power in those regions shifted from the Elves to the Humans."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/galerion-mystic": {"game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion", "Skyrim", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/galerion-mystic", "description": "A biography of Galerion the Mystic, founder of the Mage's Guild.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Galerion the Mystic", "text": "Galerion The Mystic\nby\n\tAsgrim Kolsgreg\n\nDuring the early bloody years of the Second Era, Vanus Galerion was born under the name Trechtus, a serf on the estate of a minor nobleman, Lord Gyrnasse of Sollicich-on-Ker. Trechtus' father and mother were common laborers, but his father had secretly, against the law of Lord Gyrnasse, taught himself and then Trechtus to read. Lord Gyrnasse had been advised that literate serfs were an abomination of nature and dangerous to themselves and their lords, and had closed all bookstalls within Sollicich-on-Ker. All booksellers, poets, and teachers were forbidden, except within Gyrnasse's keep. Nevertheless, a small scale smuggling operation kept a number of books and scrolls in circulation right under Gyrnasse's shadow.\nWhen Trechtus was eight, the smugglers were found and imprisoned. Some said that Trechtus's mother, an ignorant and religious woman fearful of her husband, was the betrayer of the smugglers, but there were other rumors as well. The trial of the smugglers was nonexistant, and the punishment swift. The body of Trechtus' father was kept hanging for weeks during the hottest summer Sollicich-on-Ker had seen in centuries.\nThree months later, Trechtus ran away from Lord Gyrnasse's estate. He made it as far as Alinor, half-way across Summerset Isle. A band of troubadours found him nearly dead, curled up in a ditch by the side of the road. They nursed him to health and employed him as an errand boy in return for food and shelter. One of the troubadours, a soothsayer named Heliand, began testing Trechtus' mind and found the boy, though shy, to be preternaturally intelligent and sophisticated given his circumstances. Heliand recognized in the boy a commonality, for Heliand had been trained on the Isle of Artaeum as a mystic.\nWhen the troupe was performing in the village of Potansa on the far eastern end of Summurset, Heliand took Trechtus, then a boy of eleven, to the Isle of Artaeum. The Magister of the Isle, Iachesis, recognized potential in Trechtus and took him on as pupil, giving him the name of Vanus Galarion. Vanus trained his mind on the Isle of Artaeum, as well as his body.\nThus was the first Archmagister of the Mages Guild trained. From the Psijics of the Isle of Artaeum, he received his training. From his childhood of want and injustice, he received his philosophy of sharing knowledge.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ghost-free-papers": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ghost-free-papers", "description": "Declares that Sadrith Mora's Gateway Inn is free from ghost.", "author": "Uleni Heleran", "title": "Ghost-Free Papers", "text": "*Certification of Ghost-Free Hospitality *\nBy Authority of the Super Extra Very Sovereign Council of Mages Without Digits Within Bowels\nHereas the Gateway Inn and all its dark and secret places have been found to be completely free of spooks, boojums, snarks, spectral goats, revenant toiletries, or cannibal vampire anchovies,\nMuthsera Mistress Dunmer-from-Far-Away Mage-Lady, Lord High Inspector of Hostelry for the Town of Sadrith Mora aforesaid, does pronounce the Gateway Inn free and clean of all otherworldly, hostile, and malign entities, with the exception of the profound and displeasing odor that arises from the Prefect of Hospitality, which, despite the preternatural magnitude of its offensiveness, may well derive from altogether more mundane sources.\nSigned,\nMuthsera Mistress Dunmer-from-Far-Away Mage-Lady\nRepresenting the Super Extra Very Sovereign Council of Mages Without Digits Within Bowels"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gnisis-eggmine-pass": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gnisis-eggmine-pass", "description": "A pass to enter Gnisis Eggmine.", "author": "Hetman Abelmawia and Knight-Protector Darius", "title": "Gnisis Eggmine Pass", "text": "The bearer of this paper may enter the Gnisis Eggmine. The bearer must present the paper to the guard of the eggmine before entering for the regular work shift. The bearer is not allowed to enter the lower eggmine due to the risk of spreading the blight disease.\nSigned and sealed\nHetman Abelmawia\nKnight-Protector Darius"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/grasping-fortune": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/grasping-fortune", "description": "The \"guild book\" for the Hlaalu, detailing their goals, duties, and expectations for recruits.", "author": "Serjo Hlaalu Dram Bero", "title": "Grasping Fortune", "text": "I am a councilor of House Hlaalu and chose to write this short guide for  those who seek to understand us or join us. House Hlaalu is the most  open and modern of the Great Houses. We are the only Great House who has  embraced the irresistible tides of Imperial law and custom. And thus we  have profited by the Empire's new policies, rising from obscurity as  the Greatest of the Houses.\nIn the great wind of progress, tradition cannot stand.\nThe Redoran may surpass us on the field of battle, but when the dust  clears, they will find themselves indebted to us. The Telvanni may know  many arcane secrets, but they fight among themselves more than against  each other, and they cannot adapt to the ways of the Empire. Ancient and  powerful though a Telvanni wizard may be, no individual can withstand  the march of history. The Indoril are loved by the people for their  gifts and donations, but when the money runs dry, will the people  remember? The Dres know how to make money, but they have not learned how  not to make enemies.\nGrasp fortune by the forelocks. When you see your chances, seize them.\nWhen you see a chance to turn a profit, take it. But do not follow money  blindly. There is value in reputation, more than many young Hlaalu  realize. This value must be carefully balanced against the more tangible  coins in any deal. Theft and murder are bad for business. You can steal  from someone, but will he trade with you after that? You can't bargain  with a dead man.\nThere are many ways to do business.\nIn House Hlaalu you must be fast and agile. You must be able to keep up  with business and with the times. You must be able to speak quickly and  convincingly. You must be able to trade with the best of merchants and  make a profit. You must learn to protect your own property by securing  it with hidden chests, locks, and even traps. And when confrontation is  unavoidable, it is best to fight quickly in comfortable, light armors  with short blades, or to fight from a distance with a marksman's  weapons.\nThen, reader, would you seize this opportunity to join House Hlaalu?  Would you have yourself be counted among the victors in the race for  success? Then submit yourself for examination at the Balmora Council  Manor. If you have the skills, you will be welcome. And if you have the  will, you may serve House Hlaalu, and advance in the ranks, for above  all things, House Hlaalu prizes initiative and ambition."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/great-houses-morrowind": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/great-houses-morrowind", "description": "Just like it says: a book about Great House Culture on Morrowind, specifically Vvardenfell.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Great Houses of Morrowind", "text": "In modern times Morrowind is ruled by five Great Houses: House Hlaalu, House Redoran, House Telvanni, House Indoril, and House Dres. Only three of these Houses have interests in Vvardenfell. The three Great Houses on Vvardenfell identify themselves by their traditional colors: red for Redoran, yellow for Hlaalu, and brown for Telvanni. Thus, members of House Hlaalu may be referred to collectively as Yellows.\nThe Great Houses traditions derive from ancient Dunmer clan and tribes, but now function as political parties. Dunmer Great House membership is largely a matter of birth and marriage, but Imperial colonists may also become retainers of a Great House, or may be adopted into a Great House. Initially an outlander may gain status in a house as an oath-bonded hireling, pledging exclusive loyalty to a single house and forsaking ambitions with all other houses. Later, after faithful service and advancement in lower ranks, an outlander may seek adoption into a Great House. Adoption and advancement to higher ranks in a Great House requires that a Great House councilor stand as sponsor for the candidate's character and loyalty. Finding a councilor to sponsor an outlander often involves performing a great service for the prospective sponsor.\nHouse Redoran is one of the three Dunmer Great Houses with holdings on Vvardenfell. The Redoran prize the virtues of duty, gravity, and piety. Duty is to one's own honor, and to one's family and clan. Gravity is the essential seriousness of life. Life is hard, and events must be judged, endured, and reflected upon with due care and earnestness. Piety is respect for the gods, and the virtues they represent. A light, careless life is not worth living. Redoran settlements are designed in the Dunmer village style, built of local materials, with organic curves and undecorated exteriors inspired by the landscape and by the shells of giant native insects. Redoran villages are typically centered on Temple compounds and their courtyards, with huts and tradehouses gathered around a central plaza, as in the West Gash village of Gnisis. Ald'ruhn, the Redoran district seat, is exceptional, with its distinctive feature being the colossal prehistoric bug shell that has been adapted as the house's council house.\nAs a result of its close relationship with the Imperial administration, House Hlaalu has emerged as politically and economically dominant among the Great Houses of Vvardenfell and Morrowind. Hlaalu welcomes Imperial culture and law, Imperial Legions and bureaucracy, and Imperial freedom of trade and religion. Hlaalu still honors the old Dunmer ways -- the ancestors, the Temple, and the noble houses -- but has readily adapted to the rapid pace of change and progress in the Imperial provinces. Unlike the other Great Houses, which are largely hostile to non-Dunmer, House Hlaalu aspires to live in peace and harmony with the other races, and to share in the growth and prosperity of the Empire. Hlaalu public buildings -- tradehouses and craft guilds, manors and council halls -- are designed as simple multi-storied buildings roughly rectangular in plan, featuring arched entranceways and modest decorated exteriors. More modest one-story private dwellings follow the same plan, except with less decoration. Hlaalu plantation estates resemble Temple compounds, with walled precincts enclosing outbuildings for craftsmen and servants, dominated by a grand manor residence in place of a Temple shrine.\nThe wizard-lords of House Telvanni have traditionally isolated themselves, pursuing wisdom and mastery in solitude. But certain ambitious wizards-lords, their retainers, and clients have entered whole-heartedly into the competition to control and exploit Vvardenfell's land and resources, building towers and bases all along the eastern coast. According to Telvanni principles, the powerful define the standards of virtue, and the Telvanni are unwilling to allow the ambitious Hlaalu to dominate Vvardenfell's untapped resources by default. Telvanni architecture is dominated by the wizards' tower, a fantastic organic form grown and sculpted from stems, caps, and root-like holdfasts of the giant native mushrooms. Telvanni villages are comprised of smaller mushroom pods hollowed out for craftsmen and commoners. Open-air markets often include the giant cages displaying the wares of the slave masters.\nHouse Indoril and House Dres are the two Great Houses without holdings or interest in Vvardenfell. Indoril District occupies the heartland of Morrowind, comprising the lands south of the Inner Sea and the eastern coast. The city of Almalexia is located in Indoril District, and the Indoril are orthodox and conservative supporters of the Temple and Temple authority. House Indoril is openly hostile to Imperial culture and religion, and preserves many traditional Dunmer customs and practices in defiance of Imperial law. Dres District is in the south of Morrowind, bordering the swamps and marshes of Black Marsh. House Dres is an agrarian agricultural society, and its large saltrice plantations rely completely on slave labor for their economic viability. Always firm Temple supporters, House Dres is hostile to Imperial law and culture, and in particular opposed to any attempts to limit the institution of slavery."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/guide-aldruhn": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/guide-aldruhn", "description": "A pamphlet guide to city of Ald'ruhn.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Guide to Ald'ruhn", "text": "\nPrinciple Districts of Ald'ruhn\nAld'ruhn is the district seat of House Redoran, and one of the largest  settlements on Vvardenfell. The three principal districts are Ald'ruhn  town, Ald'ruhn-under-Skar, and Buckmoth Fort.\nAld'ruhn town is a large settlement in the Redoran village style, built  of local materials, with organic curves and undecorated exteriors  inspired by the landscape and by the shells of giant native insects.  Most guildhalls, cornerclubs, and merchants are sited in the southwest  corner of town, convenient to West Gate and the strider port, while the  Temple is located on high ground to the east, and surrounded by a  residential section.\nAld'ruhn-under-Skar is the most distinctive architectural feature of  Ald'ruhn -- a manor and council district sheltered beneath the shell of  an ancient extinct giant crab. The large carapace encloses a central  dome, from which radiate the entrances to the Redoran Council chambers,  the manors of the Redoran councilors, and shops of a few upscale  merchants.\nBuckmoth Fort is the Imperial legion garrison for the district. The  strong walls and towers of this Western fortress lies a short distance  to the south of Ald'ruhn town, through South Gate behind the Mages  Guild.\nServices\nHouse Redoran services are in the Council House and Councilor's Manors  of Ald'ruhn-Under-Skar. The Ald'ruhn Temple on the east side of town  provides service for Temple worshipers. Buckmoth Fort offers services to  the Imperial Legion and devotees of the Imperial cult, including an  Imperial cult altar. The guildhalls of the Fighters Guild and Mages  Guild are near the South Gate. Pricy but high-quality clothier,  alchemist, and enchanter shops are under Skar as well. Commodities at  reasonable prices, but with smaller selections, are available from the  smith, clothier, trader, pawnbroker, and bookseller near the entrance to  Ald'ruhn-Under-Skar. The Ald Skar Inn and the Council Club cornerclub  are found to the west, near West Gate and the silt strider port. The Rat  in the Pot cornerclub is in south Ald'ruhn, near the guildhalls.\nNotable figures\nAll six Redoran councilors, Brara Morvayn, Hlaren Ramoran, Athyn  Sarethi, Garisa Llethri, Miner Arobar, and Bolvyn Venim, have manor  residences in Ald'ruhn-Under-Skar. Edwinna Elbert is the Mages Guild  steward, and Percius Mercius has recently become the Fighters Guild  steward. Old Methal Seran is an eminent Temple priest and scholar. Raesa  Pullia is commandant of Buckmoth Fort, but Imsin the Dreamer is the  chapter steward. The Redguard Hean is priest of the Imperial cult. Goren  Andarysis the guild steward of the Morag Tong, whose guildhall is found  in Ald'ruhn-Under-Skar.\nTravel and Transportation\nRoads lead northwest to Maar Gan and Gnisis villages and by a circuitous  western route to Caldera, Balmora, and points south. The road to  Balmora swings northwest to avoid the barren wastes, and curves around  towards the west until it heads south again to Caldera. Between Ald'ruhn  and Caldera are many sidepaths; watch for signposts, or you'll get  lost. The silt strider port is along the western town wall, north of  West Gate. Silt strider service goes from Ald'ruhn to Balmora, Gnisis,  Khuul, or Maar Gan.. Guild guides at the Mages Guild teleport you to  Balmora, Vivec, Caldera, and Sadrith Mora for a modest fee. Gnaar Mok is  a LONG and exceptionally unpleasant walk west to the coast and then  south; there are no trails or marked routes. Casual travelers  ill-equipped for the attacks of wild beasts and brigands should keep to  the roads and travel services."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/guide-balmora": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/guide-balmora", "description": "A pamphlet guide to city of Balmora.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Guide to Balmora", "text": "\nBalmora is the district seat of House Hlaalu, and the largest settlement  on Vvardenfell after Vivec City. Balmora's four districts are High  Town, the Commercial District, Labor Town, and Fort Moonmoth. High Town,  on the hill to the west, has the Tribunal Temple, Hlaalu Council Hall,  rich manors, better shops, and the Morag Tong guildhall. The Commercial  District, just west of the river, is centered on the large plaza north  of South Gate, with the strider port along the south wall, east of South  Gate. The Fighters Guild and Mages Guild, and most of Balmora's shops  and inns, are located along the streets of the Commercial District.  Labor Town, east of the river, where the commoners and poor live, has  several modest cornerclubs and a few merchants. Fort Moonmoth, a long  walk southeast of town, houses the Legion garrison and the Imperial  cult.\nServices\nHouse Hlaalu services are available at Hlaalu Council Manor in High  Town. Temple faithful seek solace and services at the Balmora Temple in  the southeast. Outlanders must travel outside the town walls, through  South Gate and east along well-marked roads to Fort Moonmoth for  Imperial Legion and the Imperial cult services. The guildhalls of the  Fighters Guild and Mages Guild are on the street north from the plaza in  the Commercial District. Morag Tong services are available at their  guildhall in the extreme northwest of High Town. Better shops are in  High Town on the hill, with numerous merchants in the Commercial  District, west of the river, and a few traders in Labor Town, east of  the river.\nNotable Figures\nNone of the Hlaalu counselors live in Balmora. Nileno Dorvayn at the  Council Hall is the ranking Hlaalu local. At the Fighters Guild, Eydis  Fire-Eye is the steward. Ranis Athrys is the Mages Guild steward. Ethasi  Rilvayn is the Morag Tong steward. Feldrelo Sadri is the ranking cleric  of the Balmora Tribunal Temple. The colorful 'Sugar Lips' Habasi, a  freelance facilitator of no fixed address, is often rumored to be the  local boss of the Thieves Guild.\nTransportation\nA good road leads south to Pelagiad, Seyda Neen, Ebonheart, and Vivec. A  rugged wilderness track leads southwest along the Odai River to the  fishing village of Hla Oad. Improved roads head north to Caldera and  Ald'ruhn. The silt strider port is on the west side of the river near  South Gate. Silt strider service goes to Ald'ruhn, Suran, Ald'ruhn, and  Seyda Neen. Guild guides at the Mages Guild can teleport you to  Ald'ruhn, Vivec, Caldera, and Sadrith Mora for a fee. Hla Oad is  southwest on the coast. An unimproved trail leads northeast up the  ravines of Foyada Mamaea to Ghostgate; the path is easy to follow, but  dangerous beasts threaten pilgrims who travel this route to Ghostgate  shrine."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/guide-sadrith-mora": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/guide-sadrith-mora", "description": "A pamphlet guide to city of Sadrith Mora.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Guide to Sadrith Mora", "text": "\nSadrith Mora is the district seat of House Telvanni, and home of the  Telvanni Council, though only one Telvanni councilor actually lives in  Sadrith Mora. Sadrith Mora is an island settlement, and accessible only  by sea and teleportation. The town is large, with many craftsmen,  traders, and trainers, but it is open only to Telvanni retainers;  outsiders should confine themselves to the Gateway Inn, and to Wolverine  Hall, the Imperial quarters of the Legion garrison and guilds. The  docks are in a sheltered bay on the western side of the island, and a  trail leads up from the docks to the Gateway Inn. Beyond the Gateway Inn  is the Great Market, with numerous craftsmen and traders, and a small  slave market. North of the Great Market is the Telvanni Council Hall, a  large orb supported by giant mushroom stalks. To the east of the Great  Market is Tel Naga, the towering wizard-tower residence of Telvanni  Councilor Mage-Lord Master Neloth.\nServices\nOutlanders can find services for the Fighters Guild, Mages Guild, and  Imperial cult at Wolverine Hall. Members of the Thieves Guild congregate  at Dirty Muriel's Cornerclub. Telvanni Great House and Tribunal Temple  services are all housed within the Council Hall; additional Telvanni  services are available in the Great Market district and in Tel Naga. The  Gateway merchant inn is the only establishment with public beds.  Members of the Fighters Guild, Mages Guild, and Imperial cults look for  hospitality at Wolverine Hall. Telvanni kin and retainers stay at the  Gateway, at Wolverine Hall, at a local cornerclub, or at Tel Naga. The  Great Market has many services and tradesmen, and many others are  scattered through town. There are two cornerclubs: Dirty Muriel's, for  outlanders, and Fara's Hole in the Wall for local Dunmer. Tel Naga is  Master Neloth's wizard tower.\nNotable Figures\nIf you're not Telvanni or Telvanni retainers, you'll want to know  Angaredhel, Prefect of Hospitality at the Gateway merchant inn, and Ery,  Gateway's publican. At Wolverine Hall, Hrundi the Nord is the Fighters  Guild steward, Procyon Nigiliusis is Mages Guild steward, and Aunius  Autrus is the Imperial cult priest. Big Helende, the Thieves Guild Boss,  makes frequent appearances at Dirty Muriel's Cornerclub. Telvanni  wizards and retainers visit the Council Hall to confer with the Telvanni  Mouths (Telvanni Mouths are spokesmen for their councilor mage-lords)  Felisa Ulessen, Galos Mathendis, Arara Uvulas, Mallam Ryon, Raven Omayn,  and Dalyne Arvel, Telvanni Council clerk. Councilor Mage-Lord Master  Neloth lives in Tel Naga, the wizard tower in the center of town.\nTransportation\nSadrith Mora is an island; there's no road or bridge to the mainland. To  visit the mainland, you must either be able to fly, swim, or  water-walk, or you must rely on shipmasters at the docks or the guild  guide at the Mages Guild. Gals Arethi at the docks offers ship passage  to Ebonheart, Tel Branora, Tel Mora, or Dagon Fel. Iniel at the  Wolverine Hall Mages Guild can teleport you to Ald'ruhn, Vivec, Caldera,  and Balmora for a modest fee."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/guide-vivec": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/guide-vivec", "description": "A pamphlet guide to city of Vivec.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Guide to Vivec", "text": "\nVivec City is the largest settlement on Vvardenfell, and one of the  largest cities in the East. Each of the great cantons is the size of a  complete town. The High Fane and the palace of Vivec are visited by  hundreds of tourists and pilgrims daily. Citizens flock to the Arena for  public entertainments like mock battles and comic plays. Outlanders  mostly confine themselves to the Foreign Canton, while natives live,  work, and shop in the Great House compounds and residential cantons. But  most of all, this is Lord Vivec's holy city. The Ministry of Truth, the  Temple prison, hangs above the great temple of the High Fane, the Halls  of Wisdom and Justice, and Lord Vivec's Palace.\nVivec is a city made up of eight cantons, each a little town in itself.  On a map, it looks like a cross, with the Foreign Quarter at the top,  the Temple Compound, with Vivec's Palace, the High Fane, the Ministry of  Truth, and the Hall of Wisdom and the Hall of Justice at the bottom,  the Hlaalu Compound to the west, the Telvanni Compound on the east, and  four cantons grouped together at the center of the cross -- Redoran  Compound northwest, Arena northeast, St. Delyn's Canton southwest, and  St. Olms Canton southeast.\nThe Foreign Quarter\nThe Foreign Quarter is the large three-tiered canton to the north.  Originally, foreigners were not allowed to enter Vivec any further than  the Foreign Quarter, but now outlanders can travel throughout Vivec at  will. The Imperial Guilds each have guildhalls and complete services  here, and an Imperial cult shrine serves the spiritual needs of the  Imperial faithful. Various independent tradesmen, craftsmen, and  trainers also rent space here. The Black Shalk Cornerclub rents beds to  non-guild visitors.\nTemple Compound\nThe High Fane is the largest Tribunal temple on Vvardenfell. Archcanon  Saryoni presides over the temple, along with a large staff of priests,  healers, and monks. Pilgrims travel from all over Morrowind to view the  High Fane and the Ministry of Truth, and to offer prayer and thanks  before the Palace of Vivec. The Ministry of Truth, a celestial body  suspended by Vivec's mighty power over the Temple Compound, is the  headquarters of the Temple Ordinators, and heretics are imprisoned and  re-educated there. The Hall of Wisdom and Hall of Justice contain the  executive, administrative, judicial, and martial operations of the  Tribunal Temple. The Palace of Vivec is the abode of the god-hero Lord  Vivec, the Warrior-Poet of the three deities who comprise Almsivi, the  divine patrons of the Tribunal Temple. Only the most devout are admitted  to the presence of Lord Vivec, and only at his initiation. Beneath the  Palace of Vivec is the Puzzle Canal, a place of worship and testing for  questing heroes hoping to receive Vivec's favor. Many choice treasures  are guarded by Daedric servants in the Puzzle Canal's dark passages.\nHlaalu Compound\nHlaalu Compound is the westmost canton. The Hlaalu Councilor Crassius  Curio has a splendid tier-top mansion here. The tiers below contain  Hlaalu treasuries, records, holding cells, and various Great House  services. There are two public houses: the Elven Nations and the No Name  Club. A variety of craftsmen and tradesmen also have shops at Hlaalu  Compound. Some House Hlaalu nobles and retainers prefer to maintain  their residences in the less-formal St. Delyn and St. Olms cantons.\nTelvanni Compound\nTelvanni Compound is the eastmost canton. The mage-lord Mavon Drenim is  the ranking Telvanni noble. The Telvanni rent the compound from the  Temple, and have to make do with a Velothi tower instead of their  preferred mushroom towers. The administrative center includes a treasury  and a hall of records. Slaves are housed in the lowest tiers, along  with cells full of monsters. There are many tradesmen, craftsmen, and  trainers, and the Lizard's Head cornerclub provides lodgings for  Telvanni kin and mercenaries.\nRedoran Compound\nRedoran Compound is the canton south of the Foreign Quarter, west of and  next to the Arena. The Redoran administrative center there includes the  Redoran Treasury, Hall of Records, and Holding Cells. On the lowest  tier is a Redoran shrine and ancestral vaults. Two noble families, the  Sarens and the Dralors, have top-tier manors. There are many tradesmen,  craftsmen, and trainers, and the Flowers of Gold cornerclub provides  lodgings for Redoran kin and retainers.\nArena Compound\nThe Arena Compound lies between the Redoran compound on the west and the  Telvanni compound on the east. The Arena is the site of public  entertainments and combat sports. The comfortable domed Arena has  seating for hundreds of spectators; beneath the Arena are dressing and  storage rooms for entertainers and training rooms and animal pens for  the combat competitors.\nSt. Delyn and St. Olms Residential Cantons\nSt. Delyn Canton and St. Olms Canton are residence cantons for commoners  and paupers. The Temple charges very reasonable rents for comfortable  workshops, shops, and apartments, and most of Vvardenfell's crafts and  light industry are housed in these cantons. The Abbey of St. Delyn the  Wise is on the top tier of St. Delyn, and Hlaalu Councilor Yngling  Half-Troll has a top-tier manor on St. Olms.\nTransportation\nFoot bridges connect with the mainland between the Ebonheart region and  Hlaalu Compound, between the north bay region and the Foreign Quarter,  and between the east bay region and Telvanni Compound. Good roads lead  from the Hlaalu Compound bridge south to Ebonheart and north to Seyda  Neen and points north. Good roads lead from the Foreign Quarter bridge  west towards Seyda Neen, north towards Suran and the Ascadian Isles, and  east towards Molag Mar. Roads from the Telvanni Compound bridge are  useful mostly for travelers to Molag Mar. Silt strider service is  available at the north end of the Foreign Quarter bridge, traveling from  Vivec to Suran, Seyda Neen, Balmora, and Molag Mar. Ships from the  docks at the Foreign Quarter travel to Ebonheart, Hla Oad, Molag Mar,  and Tel Branora. Ships from nearby Ebonheart sail to Hla Oad, Sadrith  Mora, Tel Branora, and the Foreign Quarter of Vivec. Low-fare gondolas  shuttle passengers from canton to canton via Vivec's canals."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/guide-vvardenfell": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/guide-vvardenfell", "description": "A pamphlet guide to Vvardenfell.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Guide to Vvardenfell", "text": "\nMorrowind is the northeastmost province of the Tamrielic Empire, bounded  on the north and east by the Sea of Ghosts, on the west by Skyrim, on  the southwest by Cyrodiil (also known as the Imperial Province), and on  the south by Black Marsh (also known as Argonia). Vvardenfell District  encompasses Vvardefell Island, a great land mass dominated by the giant  volcano Red Mountain and cut off from mainland Morrowind by the  surrounding Inner Sea.\nOnly recently open to settlement and trade, most of the island's  population is confined to the relatively hospitable west and southwest  coast, centered on the ancient city of Vivec and the old Great House  district centers at Balmora, Ald'ruhn, and Sadrith Mora. The rest of the  island is covered by hostile desert wastes, arid grasslands, and  volcanic badlands, and thinly populated by the nomadic Ashlander tribes.\nVvardenfell has nine basic geographic regions, each with their own  distinctive plants and terrain features. Scholars have based their  classifications on the different types of land described by the native  Ashlanders, so the designations are recognized by most local traders,  travelers, and adventurers. These geographic regions are called: the  Ascadian Isles, the Ashlands, Azura's Coast, the Bitter Coast, the  Grazelands, Molag Amur, Red Mountain, the West Gash, and Sheogorad.\nASCADIAN ISLES\nThe Ascadian Isles is a region of lush, green, well-watered southern  lowlands where most of Vvardenfell's agriculture is found. The area  includes Pelagiad, Suran, Vivec City, and Ald Sotha along with the  inland lakes and waterways of the Ascadian Isles proper. The urban areas  of Vivec and Ebonheart of the southern coast are densely populated; the  inland Ascadian Isles are dotted with small farms and large  plantations. The climate is temperate and comfortable, with moderate  rainfall.\nEbonheart is the seat of the Imperial government for Vvardenfell  district, and a busy center of maritime trade. Castle Ebonheart is the  home of Duke Vedam Dren, the district's ruler and Emperor's  representative. Also located at Castle Ebonheart are the Vvardenfell  District Council chambers and the Hawk Moth Legion garrison. The  officers, docks, and warehouses of the East Empire Company are also  found in Ebonheart.\nVivec City is the largest settlement on Vvardenfell, and one of the  largest cities in the East. Each of the great cantons is the size of a  complete town. The High Fane and the palace of Vivec are visited by  hundreds of tourists and pilgrims daily. Citizens flock to the Arena for  entertainments and war games. Outlanders mostly confine themselves to  the Foreign Canton, while natives live, work, and shop in the Great  House compounds and residential cantons.\nAld Sotha is a splendid Daedric ruin within sight of Vivec City. Though  exotic and picturesque, it is a dangerous site, haunted by old magics,  dark cultists, and their Daedric summonings, and not recommended for  sightseers.\nSuran is an agricultural village in the northeastern corner of the  fertile Ascadian Isles region. Two popular pilgrimage sites are nearby  -- the Fields of Kummu and the Shrine of Molag Bal.\nPelagiad is a newly chartered Imperial village between Balmora and Vivec  City on the western edge of the Ascadian Isles region. The village is  right outside the Imperial Legion garrison at Fort Pelagiad. The houses  and shops are built in the Western Imperial style, and Pelagiad looks  more like a village in the western Empire than a Morrowind settlement.\nTHE ASHLANDS\nThe Ashlands are the dry, inhospitable wastelands surrounding the lower  slopes of Red Mountain. The Ashlands extend to the Sea of Ghosts in the  north, and elsewhere form a wide margin between the blighted Red  Mountain region and other geographic regions. The village of Maar Gan is  the only sizable permanent Ashlands settlement; Ald'ruhn, the district  seat of House Redoran, is on the margin of the region. Ashlanders hunt  for game here, and their herds find sparse grazing. It rains rarely, and  suffers frequent ash storms.\nMaar Gan is a small isolated village in a remote region north of  Ald'ruhn. The Maar Gan shrine is an important Temple pilgrimage site.\nThe Ashlander Urshilaku tribe has a permanent settlement at Urshilaku  camp in the Ashlands region north of Maar Gan village.\nAZURA'S COAST\nThe rugged coast and islands of northern and eastern Vvardenfell are  called Azura's Coast. The region is rocky, infertile, and largely  uninhabited, except for the outpost at Molag Mar, the Telvanni  settlements at Sadrith Mora, the wizard towers at Tel Aruhn, Tel Mora,  and Tel Branora, and Ahemmusa camp and the remote fishing villages of  Ald Redaynia and Dagon Fel on the north coast. There are no roads; most  travel is by boat. Despite the rocky terrain, a variety of plants thrive  on the regular rainfall.\nSadrith Mora is the district seat of House Telvanni, and home of the  Telvanni Council, though only one Telvanni councilor actually lives in  Sadrith Mora. Sadrith Mora is an island settlement, and accessible only  by sea and teleportation. The town is large, with many services, but it  is open only to Telvanni retainers; outsiders must confine themselves to  the Gateway Inn.\nTel Branora is the tower and seat of the eccentric Telvanni wizard named  Mistress Therana. The tower and its tiny village are located on a rocky  promontory at the southeasternmost tip of Azura's Coast.\nTel Fyr is the Telvanni tower of Sorcerer-Lord Divayth Fyr. Beneath the  tower is the Corprusarium, a refuge-prison where the deranged, distorted  victims of the deadly corprus disease are housed and tended.\nTel Aruhn is the Telvanni tower of Archmagister Gothren, Telvanni  Sorcerer-Lord and head of the Telvanni Council. The associated  settlement is a sizable village, and the site of the Festival Slave  Market, the largest slave market on Vvardenfell.\nTel Mora is the Telvanni tower of Mistress Dratha, an ancient wizard of  the Telvanni Council. The small settlement includes a few craftsfolk and  a tradehouse.\nTel Vos is the tower of Telvanni wizard and council member Master Aryon.  Tel Vos is a peculiar blend of Telvanni and Western architectural  styles, and is close to Vos village.\nBal Fell is the \"City of Stone,\" an ancient First Era ruin in the  southeastern islands and promontories of Azura's Coast. The site has a  nasty reputation, and several Telvanni wizards currently have competing  camps of hirelings and adventurers exploring and looting there. Legend  says that Bal Fell was built on the site of an ancient Daedric worship  center.\nThe Ashlander Ahemmusa tribe has a permanent settlement at Ahemmusa camp  on a rocky promontory at the northeastern tip of the Vvardenfell  mainland in the Azura's Coast region.\nTHE BITTER COAST\nThe western coast of Vvardenfell from Seyda Neen north to Gnaar Mok is  called the Bitter Coast. The salt marshes and humid swamps of this  region are uninhabited, with the only settlements found at the good  harbors of Gnaar Mok, Hla Oad, and Seyda Neen. Also called the  Smuggler's Coast, the region's secluded coves and islands provide refuge  for criminal trade, and the frequent rain and fog hides small boats  from Excise cutters.\nThe piercing light of the Grand Pharos at the mouth of the harbor of the  port village of Seyda Neen is a beacon to mariners throughout the Inner  Sea. Most visitors from the Empire make landfall at the port of Seyda  Neen, where they are processed by the Imperial Census and Excise  Commission agents of the Coastguard station. The Coastguard cutters  docked here control smuggling and piracy on the Inner Sea.\nHla Oad is a tiny isolated fishing village on western Vvardenfell in the  Bitter Coast region. A rough track along the River Odai connects Hla  Oad with the town of Balmora.\nGnaar Mok is a tiny island fishing village in the Bitter Coast region of  western Vvardenfell.\nTHE GRAZELANDS\nThe regular rain and dark soils of the Grazelands produce the rich  grazing for Ashlander herds that give the region its name. The region  lies in the northeast of Vvardenfell, sandwiched between the Ashlands  and Azura's Coast. Permanent settlements include Vos village and the  towers of Tel Vos and Tel Fyr. The Ashlanders of Zainab camp move their  herds across the plains in search of fresh grazing. There are no roads  or tracks, but travel is easy across the open plains.\nThe Ashlander Zainab tribe has a permanent settlement at Zainab camp,  near the village of Vos in the Grazelands region.\nMOLAG AMUR\nLocated inland in the southeast of Vvardenfell, Molag Amur is an  uninhabited wasteland of rocky hills, steep-sided ravines, lava pools,  and barren ash pavements. Pathfinding and travel is extremely difficult  in this trackless wilderness, and is complicated by frequent ash storms.  The Ashlanders of Erabenimsun camp hunt game here, but few others  venture into this region. The worst part of Molag Amur, called the Great  Scathes, is considered impassible even by the Ashlanders.\nThe outpost at Molag Mar is a fortified stronghold on the southeastern  edge of the desolate Molag Amur region. Pilgrims bound for the nearby  pilgrimage sites at Mount Assarnibibi and Mount Kand take refuge at the  outpost's hostels, comforted by the garrison of Redoran and Buoyant  Armiger crusaders stationed at the stronghold.\nThe Ashlander Erabenimsun tribe has a permanent settlement at  Erabenimsun camp, an isolated hut settlement in the middle of the  desolate Molag Amur region.\nRED MOUNTAIN\nThe dominant feature of Vvardenfell, Red Mountain, is a vast volcano in  the center of Vvardenfell. The outer slopes are steep and rugged, and  the crater is deep and dotted with surface lava. The Ghostfence, a  magical barrier which blocks travel as well as seals in the harmful,  disease-laden weather called 'blight,' rings the volcano's outer slopes,  and is broken only at Ghostgate. Within the Ghostfence, rain never  falls and the sun never shines; the only weather is the red and deadly  ash-blight.\nGhostgate is the gate citadel of the Ghostfence Ordinator and Buoyant  Armiger garrisons. Ghostgate sits astride the only gap through which the  monstrous hosts of Dagoth Ur might emerge from Red Mountain to threaten  the rest of Morrowind. The Ghostfence itself is a colossal magical  artifact that completely encircles Red Mountain and prevents the Blight  from spilling its corruption across the rest of Vvardenfell.\nWEST GASH\nThe western highlands of Vvardefell are called the West Gash. The region  extends from the Sea of Ghosts on the northwest coast to the inland  town of Balmora, where the region is sandwiched between the Bitter Coast  and the Ashlands. The trading village of Gnisis is north of Ald'ruhn,  and the fishing villages of Ald Veloth and Khuul lie on the north coast.  The town of Caldera lies near Balmora. The herds of the Ashlanders of  Urshilaku camp graze on the sparse but hardy highland vegetation.\nBalmora is the district seat of House Hlaalu, and the largest settlement  on Vvardenfell after Vivec City. Good roads lead north to Ald'ruhn and  south to Caldera, Seyda Neen, and Vivec City. The Imperial Legion  garrison of Fort Moonmoth lies south of Balmora.\nCaldera is a recently chartered Imperial town and mining corporation.  The Caldera Mining Company has been granted an Imperial monopoly to  remove raw ebony from the rich deposits here. Caldera has the appearance  and flavor of a Western Imperial town.\nAld'ruhn is the district seat of House Redoran, and a large settlement.  The Redoran Council chambers are located inside the shell of an ancient  extinct giant crab. Tracks lead north to Maar Gan and Gnisis villages  and south to Balmora.\nGnisis is a small mining and trade village astride the silt strider  caravan route between the northwest West Gash and Ald'ruhn.\nAld Velothi and Khuul are tiny fishing villages on the northern coast of  the West Gash.\nSHEOGORAD\nThe large island of Sheogorad lies north of Vvardenfell. This island and  its associated lesser islands are a maritime wilderness extending north  from Vvardenfell into the Sea of Ghosts. The region is largely hostile  and uninhabited, with two small villages at Ald Redaynia and Dagon Fel.  Only Dagon Fel is reached by ship services; all other island-to-island  transport must be provided by the traveler."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/guylaines-architecture-second-empire": {"game": ["Morrowind", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/guylaines-architecture-second-empire", "description": "Excerpt about Dwemer architecture.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Guylaine's Architecture of the Second Empire", "text": "[This is Guylaine Marilie's outdated but entertainingly written and well-illustrated reference on late Dwemer architecture. Excerpt is from the chapter describing the Second Empire style of approaches and defenses, and mentioning the common formal convention of the \"Four Tests\". The book also mentions that the Telvanni have adopted this Four Tests convention as an aesthetic element in their defenses and approaches to their towers.]\n\"The Test of Pattern requires the observer to examine and analyze for patterns before he acts, with the understanding that many patterns are subtle or hidden.\n\"The Test of Disorder requires the observer to proceed systematically when no pattern is perceived. When the observer recognizes that many things must be done, and in no specific order; the procedure is to perceive and order all the things to be done, and, upon doing a thing, to recall how and when that thing has been done. For example, the observer must remember the initial position of a thing, and also the new position of that thing.\n\"The Test of Evasion requires the observer to examine the obstacle, and compare his resources and abilities; if the obstacle is too difficult, seek for a path around the difficulty.\n\"The Test of Confrontation requires the observer to examine the obstacle, and compare his resources and abilities; if the obstacle is too difficult, look for a path around the difficulty... but if no path around can be found, confront the obstacle directly.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hallgerds-tale": {"game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hallgerds-tale", "description": "As Hallgerd's stated: \"This is a story about someone who was more agile and accomplished in his armor than out of it\".", "author": "Tavi Dromio", "title": "Hallgerd's Tale", "text": "I think the greatest warrior who ever lived had to be Vilus Nommenus,\" offered Xiomara.  \"Name one other warrior who conquered more territory.\"\n\"Tiber Septim, obviously,\" said Hallgerd.\n\"He wasn't a warrior. He was an administrator... a politician,\" said Garaz.  \"And besides, acreage conquered can't be final means of determining the best warrior.  How about skill with a blade?\"\n\"There are other weapons than blades,\" objected Xiomara. \"Why not skill with an axe or a bow?  Who was the greatest master of all weaponry?\"\n\"I can't think of one greatest master of all weaponry,\" said Hallgerd. \"Balaxes of Agia Nero in Black Marsh was the greatest wielder of a lance.  Ernse Llervu of the Ashlands is the greatest master of the club I've ever seen.  The greatest master of the katana is probably an Akaviri warlord we've never heard of.  As far as archery goes --\"\n\"Pelinal Whitestrake supposedly conquered all of Tamriel by himself,\" interrupted Xiomara.\n\"That was before the First Era,\" said Garaz. \"It's probably mostly myth.  But there are all sorts of great warriors of the modern eras.  The Camoran Usurper?  The unknown hero who brought together the Staff of Chaos and defeated Jagar Tharn?\"\n\"We can't declare an unknown champion as the greatest warrior.  What about Nandor Beraid, the Empress Katariah's champion?\" suggested Xiomara.  \"They said he could use any weapon ever invented.\"\n\"But what happened to him?\" smiled Garaz.  \"He was drowned in the Sea of Ghosts because he couldn't get his armor off.  Call me overly particular, but I think the greatest warrior in the world should know how to take armor off.\"\n\"It's kinda hard to judge ability to wear armor as a skill,\" said Xiomara. \"Either you have basic functionality in a suit of armor or you don't.\"\n\"That's not true,\" said Hallgerd. \"There are masters in that as well, people who can do things while wearing armor better than we can out of armor.  Have you ever heard of Hlaalu Pasoroth, the King's great grandfather?\"\nXiomara and Garaz admitted that they had not.\n\"This was hundreds and hundreds of years ago, and Pasoroth was the ruler of a great estate which he had won by right of being the greatest warrior in the land.  It's been said, and truly, that much of the House's current power is based on Pasoroth's earnings as a warrior.  Every week he held games at his castle, pitting his skill against the champions of the neighboring estates, and every week, he won something.\nHis great skill wasn't in the use of weaponry, though he was decent enough with an axe and a long sword, but in his ability to move quickly and with great agility wearing a full suit of heavy mail.  There were some who said that he moved faster while wearing armor than he did out of it.\n\"Some months before this story begins, he had won the daughter of one of his neighbors, a beautiful creature named Mena who he had made his wife.  He loved her very much, but he was intensely jealous, and with good reason.  She wasn't very pleased with his husbandly skills, and the only reason Mena never strayed was because Pasoroth kept a close eye on her.  She was, to put it kindly, naturally amorous and resentful of her position as a prize.  Wherever he went, he always brought her with him.  At the games, she was placed in a special box so that he could see her even while he competed.\n\"But his real competition, though he didn't know it, was from a handsome young armorer he also had won at one of his competitions.  Mena had noticed him, and the armorer, whose name was Taren, had certainly noticed her.\"\n\"This has all the makings of a dirty joke, Hallgerd,\" said Xiomara, with a smile.\n\"I swear that it's entirely true,\" said Hallgerd.  \"The problem facing the lovers was, of course, that they could never be alone.  Perhaps because of this, it became a burning obsession to both of them.  Taren decided that the best time for them to consummate their love was during the games.  Mena feigned illness, so she didn't have to stay in the box, but Pasoroth visited the sickroom every few minutes between fights, so Taren and Mena could never get together.  The sound of Pasoroth's armor clunking up the stairs to visit his sick wife gave Taren the idea.\n\"He crafted his lord a new suit of armor, strong, and bright, and beautifully decorated.  For his purposes, Taren rubbed the leg joints with luca dust so the more he sweated and the more he moved them, the more they'd stick together.  After a little while, Taren figured, Pasoroth wouldn't be able to walk very quickly, and wouldn't have enough time in between fights to visit his wife.  But just in case, Taren also added bells to the legs which rung loudly when they moved, so the couple would be able to hear him coming in plenty of time.\n\"When the games commenced the following week, Mena feigned illness again and Taren presented his lord with the new armor.  Pasoroth was delighted with it, as Taren hoped he would be, and donned it for his first fight.  Taren then stole upstairs to Mena's bedchamber.\n\"All was silent outside as the two began to make love.  Suddenly, Mena noticed a peculiar expression on Taren's face and before she had a chance to ask him about it, his head fell off at the neck.  Pasoroth was standing behind him with his axe in hand.\"\n\"How did he get upstairs so quickly, with his leg joints gummed up?  And didn't they hear the bells ringing?\" asked Garaz.\n\"Well, you see, when Pasoroth realized he couldn't walk on his legs very quickly, he walked on his hands.\"\n\"I don't believe it,\" laughed Xiomara.\n\"What happened next?\" asked Garaz.  \"Did Pasoroth kill Mena also?\"\n\"No one knows exactly what happened next,\" said Hallgerd. \"Pasoroth didn't return for the next game, nor for the next.  Finally, at the fourth game, he returned to fight, and Mena appeared in the box to watch.  She didn't appear to be sick anymore.  In fact, she was smiling and had a light flush to her face.\"\n\"They did it?\" cried Xiomara.\n\"I don't have all the salacious details, except that after the battle, it took ten squires thirteen hours to get Pasoroth's armor off because of all the luca dust mixed with sweat.\"\n\"I don't understand, you mean, he didn't take his armor off when they -- but how?\"\n\"Like I said,\" replied Hallgerd.  \"This is a story about someone who was more agile and accomplished in his armor than out of it.\"\n\"Now, that's skill,\" said Garaz.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/handwritten-letter": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/handwritten-letter", "description": "A letter for Forven Berano, a conspiracy letter to bring down Helseth.", "author": "Bedal Alen", "title": "Handwritten Letter", "text": "[Addressed outside: \"To my honorable cousin Forven Berano, be this delivered in haste\"]\nForven,\nI cannot agree. I am a merchant, and have no skill at arms. You are a noble, and in your prime were proven on practice and tournament grounds -- though, in truth, you have never fought a duel, and have few gifts as a liar. No one can doubt Hloggar the Bloody's aptitude and enthusiasm for mayhem, but he is not a subtle man, more suited for a brawl or battlefield than an assassin's role.\nAnd we cannot trust the Dark Brotherhood. Helseth owns them. They promise discretion, but their promises are worthless.\nI am afraid we must approach the Morag Tong. I agree with you. They will probably refuse. But at least they can be trusted to be discreet.\nIf, in the end, we are forced to choose among ourselves, I fear it must be you. And we will have to wrack our brains for some plausible pretext that will get you into Helseth's presence.\nI am disappointed, though not surprised, at lack of public outcry over Athyn's murder. The popular sentiment seems to be to avoid personal risk and accept Helseth. It's short-sighted, but understandable. I have noted, however, that the writer of THE COMMON TONGUE is sympathetic to our cause, clever and eloquent. He may be able to sway opinion. We should try to identify this fellow and try to bring him into our counsels.\nyour faithful servant,\nBedal Alen"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/handwritten-note": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/handwritten-note", "description": "A note of guard duty rosters in Mournhold, Royal Palace.", "author": "Ivulen Irano", "title": "Handwritten Note", "text": "[A curious copy of guard duty rosters for the past several weeks. The  handwriting is tiny and almost illegible, with frequent misspellings.  But three names are always correctly spelled -- Milvela Dralen, Ivulen  Irano, and Aleri Aren -- and those watches when all three are the only  guards in the Throne Room have been underlined twice.]"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hanging-gardens-wasten-coridale": {"game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion", "Skyrim", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hanging-gardens-wasten-coridale", "description": "Excerpts of a Dwemer book translated into Aldmeri.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Hanging Gardens of Wasten Coridale", "text": "Hanging Gardens\n\tof Wasten Coridale\nThis book was apparently written in Dwemer and translated to Aldmeris. Only fragments of the Aldmeris is readable, but it may be enough for a scholar of Aldmeris to translate fragments of other Dwemer books.\n...guide Altmer-Estrial led with foot-flames for the town-center where lay dead the quadrangular gardens...\n...asked the foundations and chains and vessels their naming places...\n...why they did not use solid sound to teach escape from the Earth Bones nor nourished them with frozen flames...\n....the word I shall have once written of, this \"art\" our lesser cousins speak of when their admirable ignorance...\n...but neither words nor experience cleanses the essence of the strange and terrible ways of defying our ancestors' transient rules.\nThe translation ends with a comment in Dwemer in a different hand, which you may be translated as follows:\n\"Put down your ardent cutting-globes, Nbthld. Your Aldmeris has the correct words, but they cannot be properly misinterpreted.\"\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hanins-wake": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hanins-wake", "description": "Something like a poison recipe.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Hanin's Wake", "text": "...and upon that year of the Reign of Wulfharth and his Son's, the Magnificence that was Mordrin Hanin ended in this world. Representative of Ashalmawia, Maelkashishi and Ald Sotha gathered in a great host at the vastness of Assurnabitashpi. Even Hilbongard and Dorach Gusal were lured from their Forge, and for a time the Fires of Anudnabia were silent.\nAnd thus on the Ninth Day of Mourning, many slaves and enemies were sacrificed and the Cup of Passage was mixed according to the direction of Hanin's Formulae:\n2 Parts Blood of Traitors\n1 Part Heart of Daedra\n1 Part mixed Bittergreen Petals, Void Salts, Green Lichens and Bonemeal\n1 Part Moonsugar\n5 Parts Flin\nCombine Blood, Heart, Moonsugar in Large Ebony Alembic. Heat fire fed by Bones of Traitors. Condense vapors into a large Ebony flask. For a hot drink, strain contents through Scamp Skin and mix with Flin in large mug, slowly stirring with a glass rod. For a chilled drink, mix in flask with pure Skyrim Ice and shake vigorously. Strain through Winged Twilight membrane and served in gem encrusted goblet.\nThe wake was considered a great success as the beverage killed a great many guests and thus Mordrin Hanin was supplied with companions in the next world."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hasphats-notes-cosades": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hasphats-notes-cosades", "description": "Hasphat Antabolis's notes about the Sixth House, addressed to Caius Cosa", "author": "Hasphat Antabolis", "title": "Hasphat's Notes for Cosades", "text": "[The following are notes prepared by Hasphat Antabolis for Caius  Cosades.]\nSixth House\nHouse Dagoth is an extinct Great House. In the wake of the ancient  Battle of Red Mountain, its leadership was revealed to have plotted  treason, and was discredited. Many of House Dagoth died defending the  House; those survivors who were faithful to the Great Council were  redistributed among the other houses. The Temple says the ancient,  legendary evil beings that dwell beneath Red Mountain in the Dagoth Ur  region are the original leaders of this extinct house, sustained by some  powerful, evil sorceries.\nOther References\nThese books include references to the Sixth House and its destruction.  The bookseller Dorisa Darvel over in the Commercial District might have  copies.\nTHE  WAR OF THE FIRST COUNCIL\nSAINT  NEREVAR\nNEREVAR  MOON-AND-STAR\nTHE  REAL NEREVAR"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/honor-among-thieves": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/honor-among-thieves", "description": "An essential book that need to be read before joining Thieves Guild.", "author": "Arnie the Scrib", "title": "Honor Among Thieves", "text": "Many admirers ask, \"Arnie, how can I become a flash and prosperous  fellow like you?\"\nAnd I tell them, \"You want to join the Guild. Make friends. Be a part of  something.\"\n\"But who can join?\" they ask.\nWe're just like any other trade guild. We've got requirements. And if  you want to advance in the ranks, we've got standards.\nYou want to be fast and agile. You want to move undetected. You want to  know about security -- locks, traps, and how to get around them. You  want to defend yourself. You travel light and fast, and want light arms  like daggers and shortswords. You don't want to get into a slugging  match, so you want the marksman's weapons -- the bow, crossbow, throwing  star, and dart. You want light armor, so you can keep moving, and  moving fast.\nWhy belong? Simple. Everybody needs friends.\nThe help of friends includes information. Your friends at the Thieves  Guild know where the action is, and where the action is safe, and where  it is not. The help of friends includes a place to rest, and a place to  buy supplies and services -- training and tools. The help of friends  includes fixing things with the guards at a discount rate. That's where  the 'honor among thieves' part comes in. Friends stick together, and  help each other.\n\"But what about the competition?\" my admirers ask.\nThe competition is the Camonna Tong. And you don't want to join them,  because they don't want you. They have this thing about outlanders. They  want them all dead. So, unless your ambition is to be dead, you don't  want to join them.\nAnd the Camonna Tong are bad people. The Camonna Tong don't mind killing  people. Heck, they LIKE killing people. The Thieves Guild, on the other  hand, thinks killing people is bad business. You want to be good  people, right? So join the Thieves Guild, and stay far, far away from  the Camonna Tong.\nSo you want to join. But where do you look?\nBeing a thief is not like being a fighter. You don't just go to the  local guild Hall. The Thieves Guild doesn't have Guild Halls. But  thieves like to be where their friends are. And where are their friends?  At the local cornerclub or tradehouse. In Vvardenfell, look for friends  in Balmora, Ald'ruhn, Sadrith Mora, and the Foreign Quarter of Vivec."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/horror-castle-xyr": {"game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion", "Skyrim", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/horror-castle-xyr", "description": "A one act play about a Telvanni Wizard\u2019s experiments.", "author": "Baloth-Kul", "title": "Horror of Castle Xyr", "text": "THE HORROR OF CASTLE XYR\nA One Act Play\nby\n\tBaloth-Kul\n* Dramatis Personae *\n\tClavides, Captain of the Imperial Guard. Cyrodilic.\n\tAnara, a Dunmer maid.\n\tUllis, a Lieutenant of the Imperial Guard. Argonian.\n\tZollassa, a young Argonian mage\nLate evening. The play opens in the interior Great Entrance Hall of a castle in Scath Anud, replete with fine furnishings and tapestries. Torches provide the only illumination. In the center of the foyer is a great iron door, the main entrance to the castle. The staircase up to the landing above is next to this door. On stage left is the door to the library, which is currently closed. On stage right is a huge suit of armor, twenty feet tall, nearly touching the ceiling of the room. Though no one can be seen, there is the sound of a woman singing coming from the library door.\nA loud thumping knock on the iron front door stops the woman's singing. The door to the library opens and ANARA, a common-looking maid, comes out and hurries to open the front door. CLAVIDES, a handsome man in Imperial garb stands there.\nANARA: Good evening to you, serjo.\nCLAVIDES: Good evening. Is your master at home?\nANARA: No, serjo, it's only me here. My master Sedura Kena Telvanni Hordalf Xyr is at his winter estate. Is there something I can do for you?\nCLAVIDES: Possibly. Would you mind if I came in?\nANARA: Not at all, serjo. Please. May I offer you some flin?\nClavides comes into the Hall and looks around.\nCLAVIDES: No thank you. What's your name?\nANARA: Anara, serjo.\nCLAVIDES: Anara, when did your master leave Scath Anud?\nANARA: More than a fortnight ago. That's why it's only me in the castle, serjo. All the other servants and slaves who tend to his lordship travel with him. Is there something wrong?\nCLAVIDES: Yes, there is. Do you know an ashlander by the name of Sul-Kharifa?\nANARA: No, serjo. I don't know no one by that name.\nCLAVIDES: Then you aren't likely to now. He's dead. He was found a few hours ago dying of frostbite in the ashlands. He was hysterical, nearly incomprehensible, but among his last words were \"castle\" and \"Xyr.\"\nANARA: Dying of frostbite in summertide in the ashlands? B'vek, that's strange. I suppose it's possible that my master knew this man, but being an ashlander and my master being of the House of Telvanni, well, if you'll pardon me for being flippant, serjo, I don't think they coulda been friends.\nCLAVIDES: That is your master's library? Would you mind if I looked in?\nANARA: Please, serjo, go wherever you want. We got nothing to hide. We're loyal Imperial subjects.\nCLAVIDES: As, I hear, are all Telvanni.\n(Note from the playwright: this line should be delivered without sarcasm. Trust the audience to laugh -- it never fails, regardless of the politics of the locals.)\nClavides enters the library and looks over the books.\nCLAVIDES: The library needs dusting.\nANARA: Yes, serjo. I was just doing that when you knocked at the door.\nCLAVIDES: I'm grateful for that. If you had finished, I wouldn't notice the space in the dust where a rather large book has recently been removed. Your master is a wizard, it seems.\nANARA: No, serjo. I mean, he studies a lot, but he don't cast no spells, if that's what you mean by wizard. He's a kena, went to college and everything. You know, now that I think about it, I know what happened to that book. One of the other kenas from the college been round yesterday, and borrowed a couple of books. He's a friend of the master, so I thought it'd be all fine.\nCLAVIDES: This kena, was his name Warvim?\nANARA: Coulda been. I don't remember.\nCLAVIDES: There is a suspected necromancer at the college named Kena Warvim we arrested last night. We don't know what he was doing at the college, but it was something illegal, that's for certain. Was that the kena who borrowed the book? A little fellow, a cripple with a withered leg?\nANARA: No, serjo, it weren't the kena from yesterday. He was a big fella who could walk, so I noticed.\nCLAVIDES: I'm going to have a look around the rest of the house, if you don't mind.\nClavides goes up the stairs, and delivers the following dialogue from the landing and the rooms above. Anara continues straightening up the downstairs, moving a high-backed bench in front of the armor to scrub the floor.\nANARA: Can I ask, serjo, what you're looking for? Maybe I could help you.\nCLAVIDES: Are these all the rooms in the castle? No secret passages?\nANARA (laughing): Oh, serjo, what would Sedura Kena Telvanni Hordalf Xyr want with secret passages?\nCLAVIDES (looking at the armor): Your master is a big man.\nANARA (laughing): Oh, serjo, don't tease. That's giant armor, just for decoration. My master slew that giant ten years ago, and kind of keeps it for a souvenir.\nCLAVIDES: That's right, I remember hearing something about that when I first took my post here. It was someone named Xyr who killed the giant, but I didn't think the first name was Hordalf. Memory fades I'm afraid. What was the giant's name?\nANARA: I'm afraid I don't remember, serjo.\nCLAVIDES: I do. It was Torfang. \"I got out of Torfang's Shield.\"\nANARA: I don't understand, serjo. Torfang's shield?\nClavides runs down the stairs, and examines the armor.\nCLAVIDES: Sul-Kharifa said something about getting out of Torfang's shield. I thought he was just raving, out of his mind.\nANARA: But he ain't got a shield, serjo.\nClavides pushes the high-backed bench out of the way, revealing the large mounted shield at the base of the armor.\nCLAVIDES: Yes, he does. You covered it up with that bench.\nANARA: I didn't do it on purpose, serjo! I was just cleaning! I see that armor ever day, serjo, and b'vek I swear I ain't never noticed the shield before!\nCLAVIDES: It's fine, Anara, I believe you.\nClavides pushes on the shield and it pulls back to reveal a tunnel down.\nCLAVIDES: It appears that Sedura Kena Telvanni Hordalf Xyr does have a need for a secret passage. Could you get me a torch?\nANARA: B'vek, I ain't never seen that before!\nAnara takes a torch from the wall, and hands it to Clavides. Clavides enters the tunnel.\nCLAVIDES: Wait here.\nAnara watches Clavides disappear down the tunnel. She appears agitated, and finally runs for the front door. When she opens it, ULLIS, an Argonian lieutenant in the Imperial guard is standing at the entrance. She screams.\nULLIS: I'm sorry to frighten you.\nANARA: Not now! Go away!\nULLIS: I'm afraid the Captain wouldn't like that, miss.\nANARA: You're ... with the Captain? Blessed mother.\nClavides comes out of the tunnel, white-faced. It takes him a few moments to speak.\nULLIS: Captain? What's down there?\nCLAVIDES (to Anara): Did you know your master's a necromancer? That your cellar is filled with bodies?\nAnara faints. Ullis carries her to the bench and lays her down.\nULLIS: Let me see, serjo.\nCLAVIDES: You'll see soon enough. We're going to need every soldier from the post here to cart away all the corpses. Ullis, I've seen enough battles, but I've never seen anything like this. No two are alike. Khajiiti, sload, dunmer, cyrodiil, breton, nord, burned alive, poisoned, electrified, melted, torn apart, turned inside out, ripped to shreds and sewn back up together.\nULLIS: You think the ashlander escaped, that's what happened?\nCLAVIDES: I don't know. Why would someone do something like this, Ullis?\nThere is a knock on the door. Clavides answers it. A young Argonian woman, ZOLLASSA, is standing, holding a package and a letter.\nZOLLASSA: Good morning, you're not Lord Xyr, are you?\nCLAVIDES: No. What do you have there?\nZOLLASSA: A letter and a package I'm supposed to deliver to him. Will he be back shortly?\nCLAVIDES: I don't believe so. Who gave you the package to deliver?\nZOLLASSA: My teacher at the college, Kema Warvim. He has a bad leg, so he asked me to bring these to his lordship. Actually, to tell you the truth, I was supposed to deliver them last night, but I was busy.\nULLIS: Greetings, sistre. We'll give the package to his lordship when we see him.\nZOLLASSA: Ah, hail, brothre. I had heard there was a handsome Argonian in Scath Anud. Unfortunately, I promised Kema Warvim that I'd deliver the package directly to his lordship's hands. I'm already late, I can't just --\nCLAVIDES: We're Imperial Guard, miss. We will take the package and the letter.\nZollassa reluctantly hands Clavides the letter and the package. She turns to go.\nULLIS: You're at the college, if we need to see you?\nZOLLASSA: Yes. Fare tidings, brothre.\nULLIS: Goodnight, sistre.\nClavides opens the package as Zollassa exits. It is a book with many loose sheets.\nCLAVIDES: It appears we've found the missing book. Delivered to our very hands.\nClavides begins to read the book, silently to himself.\nULLIS (to himself, very pleased): Another Argonian in Scath Anud. And a pretty one, at that. I hope we weren't too rude to her. I'm tired of all these women with their smooth, wet skin, it would be wonderful if we could meet when I'm off duty.\nWhile Ullis talks, he opens the letter and reads it.\nULLIS (continued): She looks like she's from the south, like me. You know, Argonians from northern Black Marsh are... much... less...\nUllis continues reading, transfixed by the letter. Clavides skips to the back of the book, and reads the last sentences.\nCLAVIDES (reading): In black ink \"The Khajiiti male showed surprisingly little fortitude to a simple lightning spell, but I've had interesting physiological results with a medium-level acid spell cast slowly over several days.\" In red ink on the margins, \"Yes, I see. Was the acid spell cast uniformly over the entire body of the subject?\" In black ink \"The Nord female was subjected to sixteen hours of a frost spell which eventually crystalized her into a state of suspended animation, from which she eventually expired. Not so the Nord male, nor the Ashlander male who lapsed into their comas much earlier, but then recovered. The Ashlander then tried to escape, but I restrained him. The Nord then had an interesting chemical overreaction to a simple fire spell and expired. See the accompanying illustration.\" In red ink, \"Yes, I see. The pattern of boils and lesions suggest some sort of internal incineration perhaps caused by the combination of a short burst of flame following a longer session with frost. It's such a shame I can't come to see the experiment personally, but I compliment you on your excellent notation.\" In black ink, \"Thank you for the suggestion about slowly poisoning my maid Anara. The dosages you've suggested have had fascinating results, eroding her memory very subtly. I intend to increase it expotentially and see how long it is before she notices. Speaking of which, it is a pity that I haven't any Argonian subjects, but the slave-traders promise me some healthy specimens in the autumn. I should like to test their metabolism in comparison to elves and humans. It's my theory that a medium-level lightning spell cast in a continuous wave on an Argonian wouldn't be lethal for several hours at least, similiar to my results with the Cyrodilic female and, of course, the giant.\" In red ink, \"It'd be a shame to wait until autumn to see.\"\nULLIS (reading the letter): In red ink, \"Here is your Argonian. Please let me know the results.\" It's signed \"Kema Warvim.\"\nCLAVIDES: By Kynareth, this isn't necromancy. It's Destruction. Kema Warvim and Kena Telvanni Hordalf Xyr haven't been experimenting with death, but with the limits of magical torture.\nULLIS: The letter isn't addressed to Kena Telvanni Hordalf Xyr. It's addressed to Sedura Iachilla Xyr. His wife, do you think?\nCLAVIDES: Iachilla. That was the Telvanni of the Xyr family who I heard about in connection with the giant slaying. We'd best get the maid out of here. She'll need to go to a healer.\nClavides wakes up Anara. She appears disoriented.\nANARA: What's happening? Who are you?\nCLAVIDES: Don't worry, everything is going to be fine. We're going to take you to a healer.\nULLIS: Do you need a coat, Iachilla?\nANARA: Thank you, no, I'm not cold --\nAnara/Iachilla stops, realizing that she's been caught. Clavides and Ullis unsheathe their blades.\nCLAVIDES: You have black ink on your fingers, your ladyship.\nULLIS: And when you saw me at the door, you thought I was the Argonian your friend Warvim sent over. That's why you said, \"Not now. Go away.\"\nANARA/IACHILLA: You're much more observant than Anara. She never did understand what was happening, even when I tripled the poison spell and she expired in what I observed as considerable agony.\nULLIS: What were you going to use on me first, lightning or fire?\nANANA/IACHILLA: Lightning. I find fire to be too unpredictable.\nAs she speaks, the flames in the torchs extinguish. The stage is utterly dark.\nThere is the sound of a struggle, swords clanging. Suddenly a bolt of lightning flashes out, and there is silence. From the darkness, Anana/Iachilla speaks.\nANANA/IACHILLA: Fascinating.\nThere are several more flashes of lightning as the curtain closes.\nTHE END"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hospitality-papers": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hospitality-papers", "description": "A paper, produced by the owner of Sadrith Mora's Gateway Inn that states a certain person is allowed to roam freely in Sadrith Mora.", "author": "Angaredhel", "title": "Hospitality Papers", "text": "*Certification of Hospitality*\nBy Proclamation of House of Telvanni, Town of Sadrith Mora, District of Vvardenfell, by Authority of the Sovereign Council of the Great House Telvanni and its Several Client and Subsidiary Houses and Clans\nHereas at the general Sessions of the Mage-Lords and their Mouths held for the District of the House of Telvanni at the Town of Sadrith Mora on the 16th day of Second Seed in the four-hundred-and-twenty-first year of the Reign of our Sovereign King Hlaalu Athyn Llethan, by the Grace of All Gods, King of Morrowind, Duke of Mournhold; Defender of the People and the Law; Loyal Servant of the Emperor and Empire; etc.\nMuthsera Master Angaredhel Mage-Lord, Prefect of Hospitality of the Town of Sadrith Mora aforesaid, hath entered into Recognizance with Sureties, before us his Majesty's Magistrates of Peace, within the said District, whose Names are hereunder written:\nWe therefore his Majesty's said Magistrates, have hereby Licensed, and allowed the said <Name> the <Class>, <Race>, to travel abroad in the town of Sadrith Mora and its environs upon his own recognizance, to visit with all and sundry, and make conversation and arrangements and to seek lodgings with the citizens, tradesmen, and publicans of said town as put forth under law by the Collective Articles of the Council of the Great House Telvanni, Vvardenfell District for three full years, from henceforth next ensuing, or till such other time as shall be by us, or some of our fellow Magistrates thereunto appointed; Provided that if the said <Name> the <Class>, <Race> do not from time to time during that time, well and truly observe the Collective Articles of the Council of the Great House Telvanni, then this License shall presently cease, and be utterly void.\nSigned,\nMuthsera Master Angaredhel Mage-Lord\nRepresenting the Sovereign Council of the Great House Telvanni"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/im-my-own-grandpa": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/im-my-own-grandpa", "description": "From the official Entertainer plugin. Jokes by Gaeldol. This suppose to be funny...oh well.", "author": "Gaeldol, the Funniest Wood Elf Ever", "title": "I'm My Own Grandpa", "text": "Why did the Dark Elf cross the road?\nHow many orcs does it take to light a torch?\nDepends. Is an orc is doing the counting?\nWhat is green and hops and sizzles on lava?\nan Orc Acrobat\nIf a Wood Elf mime falls in a forest, who cares?\nIf you drop a Khajiit head-first from a great height, will it land on its feet?\nNot if you cut off the feet first."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ice-and-chitin": {"game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ice-and-chitin", "description": "How ice and chitin saved an Officer and her Lieutenant from an army.", "author": "Pletius Spatec", "title": "Ice and Chitin", "text": "The tale dates to the year 855 of the Second Era, after General Talos had taken the name Tiber Septim and begun his conquest of Tamriel.  One of his commanding officers, Beatia of Ylliolos, had been surprised in an ambush while returning from a meeting with the Emperor.  She and her personal guard of five soldiers barely escaped, and were separated from their army.  They fled across the desolate, sleet-painted rocky cliffs by foot.  The attack had been so sudden, they had not even the time to don armor or get to their horses.\n\"If we can get to the Gorvigh Ridge,\" hollered Lieutenant Ascutus, gesturing toward a peak off in the mist, his voice barely discernible over the wind. \"We can meet the legion you stationed in Porhnak.\"\nBeatia looked across the craggy landscape, through the windswept hoary trees, and shook her head: \"Not that way.  We'll be struck down before we make it halfway to the mountain.  You can see their horses' breath through the trees.\"\nShe directed her guard toward a ruined old keep on the frozen isthmus of Nerone, across the bay from Gorvigh Ridge.  Jutting out on a promontory of rock, it was like many other abandoned castles in northern Skyrim, remnants of Reman Cyrodiil's protective shield against the continent of Akavir.  As they reached their destination and made a fire, they could hear the army of the warchiefs of Danstrar behind them, making camp on the land southwest, blocking the only escape but the sea.  The soldiers assessed the stock of the keep while Beatia looked out to the fog-veiled water through the casements of the ruin.\nShe threw a stone, watching it skip across the ice trailing puffs of mist before it disappeared with a splash into a crack in the surface.\n\"No food or weaponry to be found, commander,\" Lieutenant Ascutus reported. \"There's a pile of armor in storage, but it's definitely taken on the elements over the years.  I don't know if it's salvageable at all.\"\n\"We won't last long here,\" Beatia replied. \"The Nords know that we'll be vulnerable when night falls, and this old rock won't hold them off.  If there's anything in the keep we can use, find it.  We have to make it across the ice floe to the Ridge.\"\nAfter a few minutes of searching and matching pieces, the guards presented two very grimy, scuffed and cracked suits of chitin armor.  Even the least proud of the adventurers and pirates who had looted the castle over the years had thought the shells of chitin beneath their notice.  The soldiers did not dare to clean them: the dust looked to be the only adhesive holding them together.\n\"They won't offer us much protection, just slow us down,\" grimaced Ascutus. \"If we run across the ice as soon as it gets dark--\"\n\"Anyone who can plan and execute an ambush like the warchiefs of Danstrar will be expecting that.  We need to move quickly, now, before they're any closer.\"  Beatia drew a map of the bay in the dust, and then a semicircular path across the water, an arc stretching from the castle to the Gorvigh Ridge. \"The men should go the long way across the bay like so.  The ice is thick there a ways from the shoreline, and there are a lot of rocks for cover.\"\n\"You're not staying behind to hold the castle!\"\n\"Of course not,\" Beatia shook her head and drew a straight line from the castle to the closest shore across the Bay. \"I'll take one of the chitin suits, and try to cross the water here.  If you don't see or hear me when you've made it to land, don't wait -- just get to Porhnak.\"\nLieutenant Ascutus tried to dissuade his commander, but he knew that she was would never order one of her men to perform the suicidal act of diversion, that all would die before they reached Gorvigh Ridge if the warlords' army was not distracted.  He could find only one way to honor his duty to protect his commanding officer.  It was not easy convincing Commander Beatia that he should accompany her, but at last, she relented.\nThe sun hung low but still cast a diffused glow, illuminating the snow with a ghostly light, when the five men and one woman slipped through the boulders beneath the castle to the water's frozen edge.  Beatia and Ascutus moved carefully and precisely, painfully aware of each dull crunch of chitin against stone.  At their commander's signal, the four unarmored men dashed towards the north across the ice.\nWhen her men had reached the first fragment of cover, a spiral of stone jutting a few yards from the base of the promontory, Beatia turned to listen for the sound of the army above.  Nothing but silence.  They were still unseen.  Ascutus nodded, his eyes through the helm showing no fear.  The commander and her lieutenant stepped onto the ice and began to run.\nWhen Beatia had surveyed the bay from the castle ramparts, the crossing closest to shore had seemed like a vast, featureless plane of white.  Now that she was down on the ice, it was even more flat and stark: the sheet of mist rose only up their ankles, but it billowed up at their approach like the hand of nature itself was pointing out their presence to their enemies.  They were utterly exposed.  It came almost as a relief when Beatia heard one of the warchiefs' scouts whistle a signal to his masters.\nThey didn't have to turn around to see if the army was coming.  The sound of galloping hoofs and the crash of trees giving way was very clear over the whistling wind.\nBeatia wished she could risk a glance to the north to see if her men were hidden from view, but she didn't dare.  She could hear Ascutus running to her right, keeping pace, breathing hard.  He was used to wearing heavier armor, but the chitin joints were so brittle and tight from years of disuse, it was all he could do to bend them.\nThe rocky shore to the Ridge still looked at eternity away when Beatia felt and heard the first volley of arrows.  Most struck the ice at their feet with sharp cracking sounds, but a few nearly found home, ricocheting off their backs.  She silently offered a prayer of thanks to whatever anonymous shellsmith, now long dead, had crafted the armor.  They continued to run, as the first rain of arrows was quickly followed by a second and a third.\n\"Thank Stendarr,\" Ascutus gasped. \"If there was only leather in the keep, we'd be pierced through and through.  Now if only it weren't... so rigid...\"\nBeatia felt her own armor joints begin to set, her knees and hips finding more and more resistance with every step. There could be no denying it: they were drawing closer toward the shore, but they were running much more slowly.  She heard the first dreadful galloping crunch of the army charging across the floe toward them.  The riders were cautious on the slippery ice, not driving their horses at full speed, but Beatia knew that they would be upon the two of them soon.\nThe old chitin armor could withstand the bite of a few arrows, but not a lance driven with the force of a galloping horse.  The only great unknown was time.\nThe thunder of beating hooves was deafening behind them when Ascutus and Beatia reached the edge of the shore.  The giant, jagged stones that strung around the beach blockaded the approach.  Beneath their feet, the ice sighed and crackled.  They could not stand still, run forward, nor run back.  Straining against the tired metal in the armor joints, they took two bounds forward and flew at the boulders.\nThe first landing on the ice sounded an explosive crack.  When they rose for the final jump, it was on a wave of water so cold it felt like fire through the thin armor.  Ascutus's right hand found purchase in a deep fissure.  Beatia gripped with both hands, but her boulder was slick with frost.  Faces pressed to the stone, they could not turn to face the army behind them.\nBut they heard the ice splintering, and the soldiers cry out in terror for just an instant.  Then there was no sound but the whining of the wind and the purring lap of the water.  A moment later, there were footsteps on the cliff above.\nThe four guardsmen had crossed the bay.  There were two to pull Beatia up from the face of the boulder, and another two for Ascutus.  They strained and swore at the weight, but finally they had their commander and her lieutenant safely on the edge of Gorvigh Ridge.\n\"By Mara, that's heavy for light armor.\"\n\"Yes,\" smiled Beatia wearily, looking back over the empty broken ice floe, the cracks radiating from the parallel paths she and Ascutus had run. \"But sometimes that's good.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/imperial-charter-guild-fighters": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/imperial-charter-guild-fighters", "description": "The charter document for the Fighters Guild, which details its rules and regulations.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Imperial Charter of the Guild of Fighters", "text": "I. Purpose\nThe Guild of Fighters provides employment to free-swords and mercenaries  and contracts to local citizens. Citizens may contract with the Guild  for the removal of creatures and pests, the delivery of goods on  dangerous routes, the collection of beasts for the arenas, and other  duties defined by the Guild Stewards.\nII. Authority\nThe Guild of Fighters was established under the section 4 of the \"Guilds  Act,\" and this charter was first confirmed under the Potentate  Versidue-Shaie in the 321st year of the Second Era.\nIII. Rules and Procedures\nAny member of the Guild of Fighters who strikes or steals from another  member shall be expelled from the Guild. Re-admittance is at the  discretion of the Guild Stewards.\nCitizens who contract with the Guild of Fighters and have a dispute may  appeal first to the Guild Steward who accepted the contract and second  with the authorities of each Province.\nIV. Membership Requirements\nThe Guild selects candidates who are strong and healthy. A candidate  must have some proficiency with long blades, axes, blunt weapons, and  shields. Guildsmen must be able to use and maintain heavy armor.\nV. Applications for Membership\nCandidates must present themselves to the Steward of the Guild Hall for  examination and approval.\n\nATTACHMENT A: Fighters Guild Chapters in Vvardenfell District, Province  of Morrowind\nChapters are established in Guild-owned, free-standing guildhalls in the  towns of Ald'ruhn and Balmora. The chapter in Sadrith Mora is  established in Wolverine Hall under lease from the Telvanni Council. The  chapter in Vivec is established in the Foreign Quarter under lease from  the Tribunal Temple."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/imperial-charter-guild-mages": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/imperial-charter-guild-mages", "description": "The Charter document for the Mages Guild; lists their goals and membership requirements.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Imperial Charter of the Guild of Mages", "text": "I. Purpose\nThe Guild of Mages provides benefits to scholars of magic and  established laws regarding the proper use of magic. The Guild is  dedicated to the collection, preservation, and distribution of magical  knowledge with an emphasis on ensuring that all citizens of Tamriel  benefit from this knowledge.\nII. Authority\nThe Guild of Mages was established on Summerset Isle in the year 230 of  the Second Era by Vanus Galerion and Rilis XII. It was later confirmed  by the \"Guilds Act\" of Potentate Versidue-Shaie.\nIII. Rules and Procedures\nCrimes against fellow members of the Guild are treated with the harshest  discipline. Whether a member may regain their status in the Guild is  determined by the Arch-Mage.\nIV. Membership Requirements\nThe Guild of Mages only accepts candidates of keen intelligence and  dominant will. Candidates must exhibit mastery in the great schools of  magic: Destruction, Alteration, Illusion, and Mysticism. Candidates must  also display practical knowledge of enchantments and alchemical  processes.\nV. Applications for Membership\nCandidates must present themselves to the Steward of the Guild Hall for  examination and approval.\nATTACHMENT A: Mages Guild Chapters in Vvardenfell District,  Province of Morrowind\nChapters are established in Guild-owned, free-standing guildhalls in the  towns of Ald'ruhn, Balmora, and Caldera. The chapter in Sadrith Mora is  established in Wolverine Hall under lease from the Telvanni Council.  The chapter in Vivec is established in the Foreign Quarter under lease  from the Tribunal Temple."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/imperial-museum-welcome": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/imperial-museum-welcome", "description": "We don't know who snatched this welcome paper from Tel Vos Museum, but since it is already here, we put this up.", "author": "Master Aryon", "title": "Imperial Museum Welcome", "text": "Welcome to the Imperial Museum and Library. Please feel free to peruse the exhibits at your leisure, but please do take care around the prisoner. He has been in a terrible mood since we had to cut down his rations after the escape attempt.\nMaster Aryon"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/incident-necrom": {"game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/incident-necrom", "description": "Four adventurers set out to clear a cemetery from vampires. Exults the benefits of illusion magic.", "author": "Jonquilla Bothe", "title": "Incident in Necrom", "text": "\"The situation simply is this,\" said Phlaxith, his face as chiseled and resolute as any statue. \"Everyone knows that the cemetery west of the city is haunted by some malevolent beings, and has been for many years now.  The people have come to accept it.  They bury their dead by daylight, and are away before Masser and Secunda have risen and the evil comes forth.  The only victims to fall prey to the devils within are the very stupid and the outsiders.\"\n\"It sounds like a natural solution to filtering out the undesirables then,\" laughed Nitrah, a tall, middle-aged woman with cold eyes and thin lips. \"Where is the gold in saving them?\"\n\"From the Temple.  They're re-opening a new monastery near the cemetery, and they need the land cleansed of evil.  They're offering a fortune, so I accepted the assignment with the caveat that I could assemble my own team to split the reward.  That's why I've sought you each out.  From what I've heard, you, Nitrah, are the best bladesman in Morrowind.\"\nNitrah smiled her unpleasant best.\n\"And you, Osmic, are a renowned burglar, though never once imprisoned.\"\nThe bald-pated young man stammered as if to refute the charges, before grinning back, \"I'll get you in where you need to go.  But then it's up to you to do what you need to do.  I'm no combatter.\"\n\"Anything Nitrah and I can't handle, I'm sure Massitha will prove her mettle,\" Phlaxith said, turning to the fourth member of the party. \"She comes on very good references as a sorceress of great power and skill.\"\nMassitha was the picture of innocence, round-faced and wide-eyed.  Nitrah and Osmic looked at her uncertainly, particularly watching her fearful expressions as Phlaxith described the nature of the creatures haunting the cemetery.  It was obvious she had never faced any adversary other than man and mer before.  If she survived, they thought to themselves, it would be very surprising.\nAs the foursome trudged toward the graveyard at dusk, they took the opportunity to quiz their new teammate.\n\"Vampires are filthy creatures,\" said Nitrah. \"Disease-ridden, you know.  They say off to the west, they'll indiscriminately pass on their curse together with a number of other afflictions.  They don't do that here so much, but still you don't want to leave their wounds untreated.  I take it you know something of the spells of Restoration if one of us gets bit?\"\n\"I know a little, but I'm no Healer,\" said Massitha meekly.\n\"More of a Battlemage?\" asked Osmic.\n\"I can do a little damage if I'm really close, but I'm not very good at that either.  I'm more of an illusionist, technically.\"\nNitrah and Osmic looked at one another with naked concern as they reached the gates of the graveyard. There were moving shadows, stray specters among the wrack and ruins, crumbled paths stacked on top of crumbled paths. It wasn't a maze of a place; it could have been any dilapidated graveyard but even without looking at the tombstones, it did have one very noticeable feature. Filling the horizon was the mausoleum of a minor Cyrodilic official from the 2nd Era, slightly exotic but still harmonizing with the Dunmer graves in a complimentary style called decay.\n\"It's a surprisingly useful School,\" whispered Massitha defensively. \"You see, it's all concerned with magicka's ability to alter the perception of objects without changing their physical compositions.  Removing sensual data, for example, to cast darkness or remove sound or smell from the air.  It can help by--\"\nA red-haired vampire woman leapt out of the shadows in front of them, knocking Phlaxith on his back.  Nitrah quickly unsheathed her sword, but Massitha was faster.  With a wave of her hand, the creature stopped, frozen, her jaws scant inches from Phlaxith's throat.  Phlaxith pulled out his own blade and finished her off.\n\"That's illusion?\" asked Osmic.\n\"Certainly,\" smiled Massitha. \"Nothing changed in the vampire's form, except its ability to move.  Like I said, it's a very useful School.\"\nThe four climbed up over the paths to the front gateway to the crypt.  Osmic snapped the lock and disassembled the poison trap.  The sorceress cast a wave of light down the dust-choked corridors, banishing the shadows and drawing the inhabitants out.  Almost immediately they were set on by a pair of vampires, howling and screaming in a frenzy of bloodlust.\nThe battle was joined, so no sooner were the first two vampires felled than their reinforcements attacked.  They were mighty warriors of uncanny strength and endurance, but Massitha's paralysis spell and the weaponry of Phlaxith and Nitrah clove through their ranks.  Even Osmic aided the battle.\n\"They're crazy,\" gasped Massitha when the fight finally ended and she could catch her breath.\n\"Quarra, the most savage of the vampire bloodlines,\" said Phlaxith. \"We have to find and exterminate each and every one.\"\nDelving into the crypts, the group hounded out more of the creatures.  Though they varied in appearance, each seemed to rely on their strength and claws for attacking, and subtlety did not seem to be the style of any.  When the entire mausoleum had been searched and every creature within destroyed, the four finally made their way to the surface.  It was only an hour until sunrise.\nThere was no frenzied scream or howl.  Nothing rushed forward towards them.  The final attack when it happened was so unlike the others that the questors were taken utterly by surprise.\nThe ancient creature waited until the four were almost out of the cemetery, talking amiably, making plans for spending their share of the reward.  He judged carefully who would be the greatest threat, and then launched himself at the sorceress.  Had Phlaxith not turned his attention back from the gate, she would have been ripped to shreds before she had a chance to scream.\nThe vampire knocked Massitha across a stone, its claws raking across her back, but stopped its assault in order to block a blow from Phlaxith's sword.  It accomplished this maneuver in its own brutal way, by tearing the warrior's arm from its socket.  Osmic and Nitrah set on it, but they found themselves in a losing battle.  Only when Massitha had pulled herself back up from behind the pile of rocks, weak and bleeding, that the fight turned.  She cast a magickal ball of flame at the creature, which so enraged it that it turned back to her.  Nitrah saw her opening and took it, beheading the vampire with a stroke of her sword.\n\"So you do know some spells of destruction, like you said,\" said Nitrah.\n\"And a few spells of healing too,\" she said weakly. \"But I can't save Phlaxith.\"\nThe warrior died in the bloodied dust before them.  The three were quiet as they traveled across the dawn-lit countryside back toward Necrom.  Massitha felt the throb of pain on her back intensify as they walked and then a gradual numbness like ice spread through her body.\n\"I need to go to a healer and see if I've been diseased,\" she said as they reached the city.\n\"Meet us at the Moth and Fire tomorrow morning,\" said Nitrah. \"We'll go to the Temple and get our reward and split it there.\"\nThree hours later, Osmic and Nitrah sat in their room at the tavern, happily counting and recounting the gold marks.  Split three ways, it was a very comfortable sum.\n\"What if the healers can't do anything for Massitha?\" smiled Osmic dreamily. \"Some diseases can be insidious.\"\n\"Did you hear something in the hall?\" asked Nitrah quickly, but when she looked, there was no one there.  She returned, shutting the door behind her. \"I'm sure Massitha will survive if she went straight to the healer.  But we could leave tonight with the gold.\"\n\"Let's have one last drink to our poor sorceress,\" said Osmic, leading Nitrah out of the room toward the stairs down.\nNitrah laughed. \"Those spells of illusion won't help her track us down, as useful as she keeps saying they are.  Paralysis, light, silence -- not so good when you don't know where to look.\"\nThey closed the door behind them.\n\"Invisibility is another spell of illusion,\" said Massitha's disembodied voice.  The gold on the table rose in the air and vanished from sight as she slipped it into her purse.  The door again opened and closed, and all was silent until Osmic and Nitrah returned a few minutes later."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/invocation-azura": {"game": ["Morrowind", "Skyrim", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/invocation-azura", "description": "An autobiography of sorts of a worshiper of Azura. The author discusses several other Daedra Princes (all called Princesses here) as well.", "author": "Sigillah Parate", "title": "Invocation of Azura", "text": "For three hundred years I have been a priestess of Azura, the Daedric Princess of Moonshadow, Mother of the Rose, and Queen of the Night Sky. Every Hogithum, which we celebrate on the 21st of First Seed, we summon her for guidance, as well as to offer things of worth and beauty to Her Majesty. She is a cruel but wise mistress. We do not invoke her on any Hogithum troubled by thunderstorms, for those nights belong to the Mad One, Sheogorath, even if they do coincide with the occasion. Azura at such times understands our caution.\nAzura's invocation is a very personal one. I have been priestess to three other Daedric Princes, but Azura values the quality of her worshippers, and the truth behind our adoration of her. When I was a Dark Elven maid of sixteen, I joined my grandmother's coven, worshippers of Molag Bal, the Schemer Princess. Blackmail, extortion, and bribery are as much the weapons of the Witches of Molag Bal as is dark magic. The Invocation of Molag Bal is held on the 20th of Evening Star, except during stormy weather. This ceremony is seldom missed, but Molag Bal often appears to her cultists in mortal guise on other dates. When my grandmother died in an attempt to poison the heir of Firewatch, I re-examined my faith in the cult.\nMy brother was a wizard of the cult of Boethiah-and from what he told me, the Dark Warrior was closer to my spirit than the treacherous Molag Bal. Boethiah is a Warrior Princess who acts more overtly than any other Daedroth. After years of skulking and scheming, it felt good to perform acts for a mistress which had direct, immediate consequences. Besides, I liked it that Boethiah was a Daedra of the Dark Elves. Our cult would summon her on the day we called the Gauntlet, the 2nd of Sun's Dusk. Bloody competitions would be held in her honor, and the duels and battles would continue until nine cultists were killed at the hands of other cultists. Boethiah cared little for her cultists-she only cared for our blood. I do think I saw her smile when I accidentally slew my brother in a sparring session. My horror, I think, greatly pleased her.\nI left the cult soon after that. Boethiah was too impersonal for me, too cold. I wanted a mistress of greater depth. For the next eighteen years of my life, I worshipped no one. Instead I read and researched. It was in an old and profane tome that I came upon the name of Nocturnal-Nocturnal the Night Mistress, Nocturnal the Unfathomable. As the book prescribed, I called to her on her holy day, the 3rd of Hearth Fire. At last I had found the personal mistress I had so long desired. I strove to understand her labyrinthine philosophy, the source of her mysterious pain. Everything about her was dark and shrouded, even the way she spoke and the acts she required of me. It took years for me to understand the simple fact that I could never understand Nocturnal. Her mystery was as essential to her as savagery was to Boethiah or treachery was to Molag Bal. To understand Nocturnal is to negate her, to pull back the curtains cloaking her realm of darkness. As much as I loved her, I recognized the futility of unraveling her enigmas. I turned instead to her sister, Azura.\nAzura is the only Daedra Princess I have ever worshipped who seems to care about her followers. Molag Bal wanted my mind, Boethiah wanted my arms, and Nocturnal perhaps my curiosity. Azura wants all of that, and our love above all. Not our abject slavering, but our honest and genuine caring in all its forms. It is important to her that our emotions be engaged in her worship. And our love must also be directed inward. If we love her and hate ourselves, she feels our pain. I will, for all time, have no other mistress."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/itermerels-notes": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/itermerels-notes", "description": "Itermerel discusses Magicka streams from Oblivion and the harnessing thereof.", "author": "Itermerel", "title": "Itermerel's Notes", "text": "Notes on the Persistence of Oblivion Streams\nby Itermerel\nThe variable flow of daedrons in Oblivion streams can have profound  effects on the magicka potential of various locations. Magicka use often  causes effects on the streams themselves. By reconfiguring the polarity  of the daedron fields, it is possible to manipulate and trace the  streams in the following cases...\n\n[The notes go on about this subject for some time.]"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/journal-fryssa": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/journal-fryssa", "description": "A journal of ill-fated magic user, she created a robe that supposed to make her turned into the very essence of snow, but without her knowledge the robe also drain her life force.", "author": "Fryssa", "title": "Journal of Fryssa", "text": "I've done it! The enchantment is now complete. The robe, which I have named Whitewalker, can turn the wearer into the very essence of snow. Kick me out of the Mages Guild, will they? Now I'll show them all!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/journal-tarhiel": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/journal-tarhiel", "description": "Tarhiel is the Bosmer who came to a grisly end while experimenting with his long-distance jumping scrolls.", "author": "Tarhiel", "title": "Journal of Tarhiel", "text": "I believe I may have found the correct formula for the spell I am  developing. With it, I will be able to travel great distances without  the need to pay others for the service.\nIf all goes well, I will test out the new spell tomorrow. I believe I  have worked out all of the possible complications. It will allow me to  leap great distances, covering many hundreds of miles. Never before has  one been able to travel in this manner: vaulting from the ground,  sailing through the sky, all without that terrible disorientation of a  spell of flying.\nThe time is almost upon me. My research is finished, and all of my  calculations are checked and rechecked. They laughed at me when I  suggested this. We'll see who laughs after I leap to the top of their  towers and scream out my success."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/journeyman-report-ajira": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/journeyman-report-ajira", "description": "A funny alchemical report made by Ajira.", "author": "Ajira", "title": "Journeyman Report from Ajira", "text": "Mushrooms of the Bitter Coast\nAjira studies four common mushrooms in Vvardenfell.\nLuminous Russula is a toadstool like mushroom with a brown spot on top.  All Russula has strong odors, but Luminous Russula much stronger.  Russula can be poison if not prepared right. When mixed with pearl dust  it makes very good potion to breathe under the water.\nViolet Coprinus is a tall toadstool that glows in the night. Coprinus  also is poison if mixed wrongly like if you mix with Russula. Coprinus  mixed with scales lets Ajira walk on the water instead of under the  water. Much better.\nBungler's Bane looks like a brown shelf and grows from trees and  sometimes wet rocks. Bungler's Bane very bad for you when mixed with  almost anything. Very hard to use, but Ajira found Bungler's Bane and  left over crushed pearl makes good dispel potion. No bad effects with  Ajira's skill, but potion tastes very bad.\nHypha Facia looks just like Bungler's Bane. Confuses Ajira very easily,  but Bungler's Bane smells more dry and dusty. Hypha Facia has little  smell, but taste is very moist. Hypha Facia very good mushroom for  eating, but too much makes Ajira clumsy. Ajira used Hypha Facia to make  the nix hound meat more edible, and Ajira could smell all enchantments  in Ajira's room. Ajira found no other use for Hypha Facia.\nAjira works very hard to go all over Bitter Coast and collect all these  mushrooms. Ajira deserves rank of Journeyman much sooner than Galbedir.\n\nFlowers of Lake Amaya\nAjira studies hard to learn secret magical properties of Gold Kanet,  Stoneflower Petals, Willow Anther, and Heather.\nGold Kanet has yellow flowers and very dark green leaves with sharp  spines. Gold Kanet and Stoneflower Petals makes a paste that restores  strength. The paste has some bad effects, but they last only short time.\nStoneflowers are dark blue and the flowers are very heavy so they bend  to the ground. It is very expensive, but Ajira can gain more magicka for  a short time by mixing Stoneflower petals with crushed emeralds and  water.\nWillow flowers are red and very tall with tall and thin leaves also.  Willow very good for potions and has many uses. With frost salts, Ajira  made a shield of frost. With grave dust and green lichens, Ajira made a  potion to cure common diseases. And with Corkbulb Ajira made a potion  that can cure paralyzation.\nAjira thinks Heather comes from Skyrim because the leaves look like the  spiny leaves of trees in Skyrim. The flowers are also pink like the Nord  people. When mixed with ruby, it makes very good potion to make you not  weigh so much. With a scrap of Scamp skin, Ajira made a potion to  restore personality.\nAjira works very hard to collect these flower samples from the dangerous  Lake Amaya. Ajira must do two reports and Galbedir must only do one  silly report. Ajira deserves rank of Journeyman very soon now."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kagouti-mating-habits": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kagouti-mating-habits", "description": "Notes from the field on the topic.", "author": "Edras Oril", "title": "Kagouti Mating Habits", "text": "Observations made on wild kagouti in southeastern Morrowind.\nKagouti do not seem to travel in large packs, as previously believed.  Perhaps they group into larger packs when mating season is imminent.\nFemales seem to be dominant sex. Males will bring gifts of food in  exchange for mating advantage. Males sometimes attacked.\nLoud vocalizations heard exchanged (believed to be from males),  especially at night. Fascinating.\nMales do not seem to engage in physical confrontation for reproductive  rights. Some posturing, but no conflict.\nAll kagouti display increased aggressiveness during mating. Must be  careful not to be seen.\nMating kagouti found to be increasingly territorial."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kagrenacs-journal": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kagrenacs-journal", "description": "An unreadable text containing Kagrenac's daily thoughts", "author": "Kagrenac", "title": "Kagrenac's Journal", "text": "[The contents of this handwritten journal are in an unfamiliar script in an unknown language. There are many complex diagrams heavily annotated with numbers and strange symbols. The title page, however, is clearly marked in Aldmeris -- 'Kagrenac's Journals'.]"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kagrenacs-planbook": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kagrenacs-planbook", "description": "An unreadable text containing Kagrenac's plans.", "author": "Kagrenac", "title": "Kagrenac's Planbook", "text": "[The contents of this handwritten journal are in an unfamiliar script in an unknown language. There are many complex diagrams heavily annotated with numbers and strange symbols. The title page, however, is clearly marked in Ald Aldmeris -- 'Kagrenac's Planbook'.]"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kagrenacs-tools": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kagrenacs-tools", "description": "On the Dwemer, the Heart, the Tools for the Heart (Wraithguard, Keening, and Sunder), and the Battle at Red Mountain. Summarized by the Dissident Priests.", "author": "Gilvas Barelo", "title": "Kagrenac's Tools", "text": "[summarized from the Apographa by Gilvas Barelo, Abbot of Holamayan, and  various of the Dissident Priests ]\nBeneath Red Mountain, Dwemer miners discovered a great magical stone. By  diverse methods, Lord Kagrenac, High Priest and Magecrafter of the  ancient Dwemer, determined that this magical stone was the heart of the  god Lorkhan, cast here in the Dawn Era as a punishment for his mischief  in creating the mortal world. Determined to use its divine powers to  create a new god for the exclusive benefit of the Dwemer, Kagrenac  forged three great enchanted artifacts, which are called \"Kagrenac's  Tools.\" Wraithguard is an enchanted gauntlet to protect its wearer from  destruction when tapping the heart's power. Sunder is a enchanted hammer  to strike the heart and produce the exact volume and quality of power  desired. Keening is an enchanted blade that is used to flay and focus  the power that rises from the heart.\nWhen Kagrenac used these tools on the heart in the Battle of Red  Mountain, no one knows what happened, but the Dwemer race disappeared  entirely from the mortal world. Lord Nerevar and Lord Dagoth retrieved  these tools, and didn't know what to do with them. Nerevar asked Dagoth  to guard the tools while he went to consult with his counselors, Vivec,  Almalexia, and Sotha Sil. He left and spoke with his three counselors,  and they decided to return together to Red Mountain to decide what to  do.\nBut while Nerevar was gone, Dagoth was tempted and confused by the  powers of the tools. When Nerevar and the counselors arrived, he refused  to give up the tools, claiming he had sworn to Nerevar to protect them.  Then Dagoth fought with Nerevar and the counselors, and was mortally  wounded and driven off, and the tools were recovered.\nThen Nerevar and his counselors decided to take the tools for  safekeeping. They all swore a great oath never to use the tools, but  after Nerevar's death, Vivec, Almalexia, and Sotha Sil yielded to  temptation. They took these tools themselves and went to Lorkhan's heart  buried beneath Red Mountain, and gave themselves divine powers.\nBut Dagoth had not died. We don't know what happened, but this is what  we believe. His experiments with Kagrenac's Tools had joined him to the  heart's divine nature in some way, so that he learned to draw power  directly from the heart.\nWe conjecture that Dagoth Ur, driven by anger and greed, used the heart  without caution and restraint, and, as a result, he has become terribly  powerful, and terribly mad. But the Tribunal showed great care and  restraint in their use of the tools, and so they were not driven mad,  and they did many good things. Nonetheless, the Tribunal, too, appear to  heave been corrupted by the heart's power, though more subtly.\nKagrenac's Tools are cursed. Stealing power from the heart of a god is a  terrible folly, and fated to disaster. The Tribunal is losing its  battle to control the power of the heart. They are sustained by the same  tainted power that drives Dagoth Ur mad. They grow weak, and cannot  protect us from Dagoth Ur. But even if they could, would we be wise to  worship gods such as these? They conceal the truth from us out of shame.  They persecute the Nerevarine and the Dissident priests out of shame,  when they should be welcoming them and enlisting their aid against  Dagoth Ur.\nThe Tribunal have done much good for Morrowind and the Dunmer. But they  succumbed to the temptation of Kagrenac's Tools, and though these tools  once may have seemed the instruments of salvation, now they must be seen  as instruments of doom."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lady-benochs-words-and-philosophy": {"game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lady-benochs-words-and-philosophy", "description": "An interview with the Wood Elf Imperial Guard Lady Benoch about her life.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Lady Benoch's Words and Philosophy", "text": "\nLady Allena Benoch, former master of the Valenwood Fighter's Guild and head of the Emperor's personal guard in the Imperial City, has been leading a campaign to reacquaint the soldiers of Tamriel with the sword.\u00a0 I met with her on three different occasions for the purposes of this book.\u00a0 The first time was at her suite in the palace, on the balcony overlooking the gardens below.\nI was early for the interview, which had taken me nearly six months to arrange, but she gently chided me for not being even earlier.\n\"I've had time to put up my defenses now,\" she said, her bright green eyes smiling.\nLady Benoch is a Bosmer, a Wood Elf, and like her ancestors, took to the bow in her early years.\u00a0 She excelled at the sport, and by the age of fourteen, she had joined the hunting party of her tribe as a Jaqspur, a long distance shooter.\u00a0 During the black year of 396, when the Parikh tribe began their rampage through southeastern Valenwood with the aid of powers from the Summurset Isle, Lady Benoch fought the futile battle to keep her tribe's land.\n\"I killed someone for the first time when I was sixteen,\" she says now. \"I don't remember it very well -- he or she was just a blur on the horizon where I aimed my bow.\u00a0 It meant no more to me than shooting animals.\u00a0 I probably killed a hundred people like that during that summer and fall.\u00a0 I didn't really feel like a killer until that wintertide, when I learned what it was like to look into a man's eyes as you spilled his blood.\n\"It was a scout from the Parikh tribe who surprised me while I was on camp watch.\u00a0 We surprised each other, I suppose.\u00a0 I had my bow at my side, and I just panicked, trying to string an arrow when he was half a yard away from me.\u00a0 It was the only thing I knew to do.\u00a0 Of course, he struck first with his blade, and I just fell back in shock.\"\n\"You always remember the mistakes of your first victim.\u00a0 His mistake was assuming because he had drawn blood and I had fallen, that I was dead.\u00a0 I rushed at him the moment he turned from me towards the sleeping camp of my tribesmen.\u00a0 He was caught off guard, and I wrested his blade away from him.\"\n\"I don't know how many times I stabbed at him.\u00a0 By the time I stopped, when the next watch came to relieve me, my arms were black and blue with strain, there was not a solid piece of him left.\u00a0 I had literally cut him into pieces.\u00a0 You see, I had no concept of how to fight or how much it took to kill a man.\"\nLady Benoch, aware of this deficiency in her education, began teaching herself swordsmanship at once.\n\"You can't learn how to use a sword in Valenwood,\" she says. \"Which isn't to say Bosmer can't use blades, but we're largely self-taught.\u00a0 As much as it hurt when my tribe found itself homeless, pushed to the north, it did have one good aspect: it afforded me the opportunity to meet Redguards.\"\nStudying all manners of weapon wielding under the tutelage of Warday A'kor, Lady Benoch excelled.\u00a0 She became a freelance adventurer, traveling through the wilds of southern Hammerfell and northern Valenwood, protecting caravans and visiting dignitaries from the various dangers indigenous to the population.\nUnfortunately, before we were able to pursue her story of her early years any further, Lady Benoch was called away on urgent summons from the Emperor.\u00a0 Such is often the case with the Imperial Guard, and in these troubled times, perhaps, more so than in the past.\u00a0 When I tried to contact her for another talk, her servants informed me than their mistress was in Skyrim.\u00a0 Another month passed, and when I visited her suite, I was told she was in High Rock.\nTo her credit, Lady Benoch actually sought me out for our second interview on Sun's Dusk of that year.\u00a0 I was in a tavern in the City called the Blood and Rooster, when I felt her hand on my shoulder.\u00a0 She sat down at the rude table and continued her tale as if it had never been interrupted.\nShe returned to the theme of her days as an adventurer, and told me about the first time she ever felt confident with a sword.\n\"I owned at that time an enchanted daikatana, quite a good one, of daedric metal.\u00a0 It wasn't an original Akaviri, not even of design. I didn't have that kind of money, but it served my primary purpose of delivering as much damage with as little effort on my part as possible.\u00a0 A'kor had taught me how to fence, but when faced with a life or death situation, I always fell back on the old overhand wallop.\"\n\"A pack of orcs had stolen some gold from a local chieftain in Meditea, and I went looking for them in one of the ubiquitous dungeons that dot the countryside in that region.\u00a0 There were the usual rats and giant spiders, and I was enough of a veteran by then to dispatch them with relative ease.\u00a0 The problem came when I found myself in a pitch black room, and all around me, I heard the grunts of orcs nearing in.\"\n\"I waved my sword around me, connecting with nothing, hearing their footsteps coming ever nearer.\u00a0 Somehow, I managed to hold back my fear and to remember the simple exercises Master A'kor had taught me.\u00a0 I listened, stepped sideways, swung, twisted, stepped forward, swung a circle, turned around, side-stepped, swung.\"\n\"My instinct was right.\u00a0 The orcs had gathered in a circle around me, and when I found a light, I saw that they were all dead.\"\n\"That's when I focused on my study of swordplay.\u00a0 I'm stupid enough to require a near death experience to see the practical purposes, you see.\"\nLady Benoch spent the remainder of the interview, responding in her typically blunt way to the veracity of various myths that surrounded her and her career.\u00a0 It was true that she became the master of the Valenwood Fighter's Guild after winning a duel with the former master, who was a stooge of the Imperial Battlemage, the traitor Jagar Tharn.\u00a0 It was not true that she was the one responsible for the Valenwood Guild's disintegration two years later (\"Actually, the membership in the Valenwood chapter was healthy, but in Tamriel overall the mood was not conducive for the continued existence of a nonpartisan organization of freelance warriors.\")\u00a0 It was true that she first came to the Emperor's attention when she defended Queen Akorithi of Sentinel from a Breton assassin.\u00a0 It was not true that the assassin was hired by someone in the high court of Daggerfall (\"At least,\" she says wryly, \"That has never been proven.\").\u00a0 It was also true that she married her former servant Urken after he had been in her service for eleven years (\"No one knows how to keep my weaponry honed like he does,\" she says. \"It's a practical business. I either had to give him a raise or marry him.\").\nThe only story I asked her that she would neither admit nor refute was the one about Calaxes, the Emperor's bastard.\u00a0 When I brought up the name, she shrugged, professing no knowledge of the affair.\u00a0 I pressed on with the details of the story.\u00a0 Calaxes, though not in line for succession, had been given the Archbishopric of The One: a powerful position in the Imperial City, and indeed over all Tamriel where that religion is honored.\u00a0 Whispering began immediately that Calaxes believed that the Gods were angered with the secular governments of Tamriel and the Emperor specifically.\u00a0 It was even said that Calaxes advocated full-scale rebellion to establish a theocracy over the Empire.\nIt is certainly true, I pressed on, that the Emperor's relationship with Calaxes had become very stormy, and that legislation had been passed to limit the Church's authority.\u00a0 That is, up until the moment when Calaxes disappeared, suddenly, without notice to his closest of friends.\u00a0 Many said that Lady Benoch and the Imperial Guard assassinated the Archbishop Calaxes in the sacristy of his church -- the date usually given was the 29th of Sun's Dusk 3E 498.\n\"Of course,\" responds Lady Benoch with one of her mysterious grins. \"I don't need to tell you that the Imperial Guard's position is as protectors of the throne, not assassins.\"\n\"But surely, no one is more trusted that the Guard for such a sensitive operation,\" I say, carefully.\nLady Benoch acknowledges that, but merely says that such details of her duties must remain secret as a matter of Imperial security.\u00a0\u00a0 Unfortunately, her ladyship had to leave early the next morning, as the Emperor had business down south -- of course, I couldn't be told more specifics.\u00a0 She promised to send me word when she returned so we could continue our interview.\nAs it turned out, I had business of my own in the Summurset Isle, compiling a book on the Psijic Order.\u00a0 It was therefore with surprise that I met her ladyship three months later in Firsthold.\u00a0 We managed to get away from our respective duties to complete our third and final interview, on a walk along the Diceto, the great river that passes through the royal parks of the city.\nSteering away from questions of her recent duties and assignments, which I guessed rightly she was loath to answer, I returned to the subject of swordfighting.\n\"Frandar Hunding,\" she says.\u00a0 \"Lists thirty-eight grips, seven hundred and fifty offensive and eighteen hundred defensive positions, and nearly nine thousand moves essential to sword mastery.\u00a0 The average hack-and-slasher knows one grip, which he uses primarily to keep from dropping his blade.\u00a0 He knows one offensive position, facing his target, and one defensive position, fleeing.\u00a0 Of the multitudinous rhythms and inflections of combat, he knows less than one.\n\"The ways of the warrior were never meant to be the easiest path.\u00a0 The archetype of the idiot fighter is as solidly ingrained as that of the brilliant wizard and the shrewd thief, but it was not always so.\u00a0\u00a0 The figure of the philosopher swordsman, the blade-wielding artist are creatures of the past, together with the swordsinger of the Redguards, who was said to be able to create and wield a blade with but the power of his mind.\u00a0 The future of the intelligent blade-wielder looks bleak in comparison to the glories of the past.\"\nNot wanting to end our interviews on a sour note, I pressed Lady Allena Benoch for advice for young blade-swingers just beginning their careers.\n\"When confronted with a wizard,\" she says, throwing petals of Kanthleaf into the Diceto. \"Close the distance and hit 'im hard.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/last-scabbard-akrash": {"game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/last-scabbard-akrash", "description": "This book has it all -- romance, slavery, and head lopping!", "author": "Tabar Vunqidh", "title": "Last Scabbard of Akrash", "text": "For several warm summer days in the year 3E 407, a young, pretty Dunmer woman in a veil regularly visited one of the master armorers in the city of Tear. The locals decided that she was young and pretty by her figure and her poise, though no one ever saw her face.  She and the armorer would retire to the back of his shop, and he would close down his business and dismiss his apprentices for a few hours.  Then, at mid-afternoon, she would leave, only to return at precisely the same time the next day. As gossip goes, it was fairly meager stuff, though what the old man was doing with such a well dressed and attractively proportioned woman was the source of several crude jokes.  After several weeks, the visits stopped, and life returned to normal in the slums of Tear.\nIt was not until a month or two after the visits had stopped, that in one of the many taverns in the neighborhood, a young local tailor, having imbibed too much sauce, asked the armorer, \"So whatever happened to your lady friend?  You break her heart?\"\nThe armorer, well aware of the rumors, simply replied, \"She is a proper young lady of quality.  There was nothing between her and the likes of me.\"\n\"What was she doing at your shop every day for?\" asked the tavern wench, who had been dying to get the subject open.\n\"If you must know,\" said the armorer. \"I was teaching her the craft.\"\n\"You're putting us on,\" laughed the tailor.\n\"No, the young lady had a particular fascination with my particular kind of artistry,\" the armorer said, with a hint of pride before getting lost in the reverie. \"I taught her how to mend swords specifically, from all kinds of nicks and breaks, hairline fissures, cracked pommels, quillons, and grips.  When she first started, she had no idea how to secure the grips to the tang of the blade... Well, of course she was green to start off with, why wouldn't she be?  But she weren't afraid to get her hands dirty.  I taught her how to patch the little inlaid silver and gold filigree you find on really fine blades, and how to polish it all to a mirror sheen so the sword looks like the gods just pulled it from their celestial anvil.\"\nThe tavern wench and the tailor laughed out loud.  No matter what he alleged, the armorer was speaking of the young lady's training as another man speaks of a long lost love.\nMore of the locals in the tavern would have listened to the armorer's pathetic tale, but more important gossip had taken precedence.  There was another murdered slave-trader found in the center of town, gutted from fore to aft.  That made six of them total in barely a fortnight.  Some called the killer \"The Liberator,\" but that sort of anti-slavery zeal was rare among the common folk.  They preferred calling him \"The Lopper,\" as several of the earlier victims had been completely beheaded.  Others had been simply perforated, sliced, or gutted, but \"The Lopper\" still kept his original sobriquet.\nWhile the enthusiastic hooligans made bets about the condition of the next slave-trader's corpse, several dozen of the surviving members of that trade were meeting at the manor house of Serjo Dres Minegaur.  Minegaur was a minor houseman of House Dres, but a major member of the slave-trading fraternity.  Perhaps his best years were behind him, but his associates still counted on him for wisdom.\n\"We need to take what we know of this Lopper and search accordingly,\" said Minegaur, seated in front of his opulent hearth. \"We know he has an unreasonable hatred of slavery and slave-traders.  We know he is skilled with a blade. We know he has the stealth and finesse to execute our most well-secured brethren in their most secure abodes.  It sounds to me to be an adventurer, an Outlander.  Surely no citizen of Morrowind would strike at us like this.\"\nThe slave-traders nodded in agreement.  An Outlander seemed most likely for their troubles.  It was always true.\n\"Were I fifty years younger, I would take down my blade Akrash from the hearth,\" Minegaur made an expansive gesture to the shimmering weapon. \"And join you in seeking out this terror.  Search him out where adventurers meet -- taverns and guildhalls.  Then show him a little lopping of my own.\"\nThe slave-traders laughed politely.\n\"You wouldn't let us borrow your blade for the execution, I suppose, would you, Serjo?\" asked Soron Jeles, a young toadying slaver enthusiastically.\n\"It would be an excellent use for Akrash,\" sighed Minegaur. \"But I vowed to retire her when I retired.\"\nMinegaur called for his daughter Peliah to bring the slavers more flin, but they waved the girl away.  It was to be a night for hunting the Lopper, not drinking away their troubles.  Minegaur heartily approved of their devotion, particular as expensive as the liquor was getting to be.\nWhen the last of the slavers had left, the old man kissed his daughter on the head, took one last admiring look at Akrash, and toddled off to his bed.  No sooner had he done so then Peliah had the blade off the mantle, and was flying with it across the field behind the manor house.  She knew Kazagh had been waiting for her for hours in the stables.\nHe sprung out at her from the shadows, and wrapping his strong, furry arms around her, kissed her long and sweet.  Holding him as long as she dared to, she finally broke away and handed him the blade.  He tested its edge.\n\"The finest Khajiiti swordsmith couldn't hone an edge this keen,\" he said, looking at his beloved with pride. \"And I know I nicked it up good last night.\"\n\"That you did,\" said Peliah. \"You must have cut through an iron cuirass.\"\n\"The slavers are taking precautions now,\" he replied. \"What did they say during their meeting?\"\n\"They think it's an Outlander adventurer,\" she laughed. \"It didn't occur to any of them that a Khajiiti slave would possess the skill to commit all these 'loppings.'\"\n\"And your father doesn't suspect that it's his dear Akrash that is striking into the heart of oppression?\"\n\"Why would he, when every day he finds it fresh as the day before?  Now I must go before anyone notices I'm gone.  My nurse sometimes comes in to ask me some detail about the wedding, as if I had any choice in the matter at all.\"\n\"I promise you,\" said Kazagh very seriously. \"You will not be forced into any marriage to cement your family's slave-dealing dynasty.  The last scabbard Akrash will be sheathed into will be your father's heart.  And when you are an orphan, you can free the slaves, move to a more enlightened province, and marry who you like.\"\n\"I wonder who that will be,\" Peliah teased, and raced out of the stables.\nJust before dawn, Peliah awoke and crept out to the garden, where she found Akrash hidden in the bittergreen vines.  The edge was still relatively keen, but there were scratches vertically across the blade's surface.  Another beheading, she thought, as she took pumice stone and patiently rubbed out the marks, finally polishing it with a solution of salt and vinegar.  It was up on the mantle in pristine condition when her father came into the sitting room for his breakfast.\nWhen the news came that Kemillith Torom, Peliah's husband-to-be, had been found outside of a canton, his head on a spike some feet away, she did not have to pretend to grieve.  Her father knew she did not want to marry him.\n\"It is a shame,\" he said. \"The lad was a good slaver.  But there are plenty of other young men who would appreciate an alliance with our family.  What about young Soron Jeles?\"\nTwo days nights later, Soron Jeles was visited by the Lopper.  The struggle did not take long, but Soron had had armed himself with one small defense -- a needle dipped in the ichor of poisonplant, hidden up his sleeve.  After the mortal blow, he collapsed forward and stuck Kazagh in the calf with the pin.  By the time he made it back to the Minegaur manorhouse, he was dying.\nVision blurring, he climbed up to the eaves of the house to Peliah's window and rapped.  Peliah did not answer immediately, as she was in a deep, wonderful sleep, dreaming about her future with her Khajiiti lover.  He rapped louder, which woke up not only Peliah, but also her father in the next room.\n\"Kazagh!\" she cried, opening up the window.  The next person in the bedroom was Minegaur himself.\nAs he saw it, this slave, his property, was about to lop off the head of his daughter, his property, with his sword, his property.  Suddenly, with the energy of a young man, Minegaur rushed at the dying Khajiit, knocking the sword out of his hand.  Before Peliah could stop him, her father had thrust the blade into her lover's heart.\nThe excitement over, the old man dropped the sword and turned to the door to call the Guard.  As an after thought, it occurred to him to make certain that his daughter hadn't been injured and might require a Healer.  Minegaur turned to her.  For a moment, he felt simply disoriented, feeling the force of the blow, but not the blade itself.  Then he saw the blood and then felt the pain.  Before he fully realized that his daughter had stabbed him with Akrash, he was dead.  The blade, at last, found its scabbard.\nA week later, after the official investigations, the slave was buried in an unmarked grave in the manor field, and Serjo Dres Minegaur found his resting place in a modest corner of the family's opulent mausoleum.  A larger crowd of curious onlookers came to view the funeral of the noble slaver whose secret life was as the savage Lopper of his competitors.  The audience was respectfully quiet, though there was not a person there not imagining the final moments of the man's life.  Attacking his own daughter in his madness, luckily defended by the loyal, hapless slave, before turning the blade on himself.\nAmong the viewers was an old armorer who saw for one last time the veiled young lady before she disappeared forever from Tear.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/legions-dead": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/legions-dead", "description": "A scholarly work about the Undead. Significantly less sketchy than most other books on this topic.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Legions of the Dead", "text": "Undead commonly occur in three basic types: spirit, flesh, and  fleshless. Spirit revenants like the ancestor ghost, wraith, and dwarven  ghost, can only be harmed by weapons that are enchanted or made of  refined substances such as silver. Ancestor ghosts, the most common  spirit revenant, are harmless, apart from the minor curses they lay upon  their victims. Wraiths are similar to ghosts, but they are capable of  inflicting wounds to the careless explorer. Dwarven ghosts are more  dangerous still, but they generally appear only in Dwarven ruins.\nFlesh revenants, or 'zombies' as they are often called in the West, are  known as 'bonewalkers' in Morrowind. Magic preserves the bonewalker's  fleshy remains along with the bones and spirit. Bonewalkers are readily  identified by the sharp protuberances of bone and metal employed in the  rituals that bind them to this plane. All bonewalkers are malevolent and  dangerous, but the greater bonewalkers are far worse than the more  common 'lesser' bonewalkers. Thankfully, normal weapons harm  bonewalkers.\nIt is difficult to generalize about fleshless revenants, or skeletons.  The agility and fighting ability of the animated remains may depend on  the abilities of the revenant's former life, and may therefore be weak  or strong, or more or less capable with weapons and shields.  Fortunately, enchanted weapons are not needed to destroy skeletons. An  exception is the bonelord, a peculiar form of revenant that seems to  derive its powers more from its spirit energies than from the substance  of its skeletal remains. Bonelords are very powerful, and very  dangerous. Normal weapons do not affect them.\nVampires were believed to be extinct in Morrowind for centuries. Dunmer  culture has a special hatred for vampires, and in earlier times the  Ordinators and Buoyant Armigers hunted them to extinction. In recent  years, however, vampires have either begun to sneak into Morrowind, or  long-dormant ones have been awakened. Vampires vary in their substance  and power according to their age and accumulated lore, but even the  weakest vampire is immeasurably stronger than most other undead. Note:  Ash vampires are not vampires, and are not undead. Ash vampires are  extremely dangerous. While their spirit and substance may indeed be  preserved by some magical process, the holy warriors of the Tribunal  Temple report that spell effects known to affect the undead have no  effect on ash vampires."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-gadayn": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-gadayn", "description": "A love letter.", "author": "Gadayn Andarys", "title": "Letter from Gadayn", "text": "Dearest Eraldil,\nLong have I watched you from afar, bathing in the light that is your beauty. Long have I wished for the courage to speak to you of my undying love for you.\nYour eyes are really, really brown, in that good wood elf kind of way. And your hair. Your hair is really black, and looks good on your head. You walk with grace and beauty, and perhaps someday you'll walk with me, too.\nPlease, tell me you share my love. I have seen you in my store, browsing for minutes on end. My love for you is so great, I would give you a discount on most all of my items for sale. I look forward to your response.\nYours,\nGadayn"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-ocato": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-ocato", "description": "After so many trials and quests, the Imperial Battlemage Ocato will give this promotion letter to the new Vvardenfell Archmage.", "author": "Ocato", "title": "Letter from Ocato", "text": "To the esteemed Arch-Mage Trebonius Artorius, Guildmaster of Vvardenfell,\nUpon receiving this letter, you will step down from your post and grant the title of Arch-Mage to <Name>. From this day forward, <Name> will handle all Guild matters in Vvardenfell. You may keep the title of Arch-Mage, but you will retire from active participation in the affairs of the Guild.\nIn the Emperor's Name,\nOcato"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-rigmor-risi": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-rigmor-risi", "description": "This is a letter that suggests that Rigmor Halfhand and Risi Ice-Mane had an affair. Initially Rigmor accused Risi\u2019s husband of theft, in fact he wanted her husband to \u201cdissapear\u201d.", "author": "Rigmor Halfhand", "title": "Letter from Rigmor to Risi", "text": "Dearest Risi,\nWhy will you not see me? You know how I feel, and I know you feel the same about me. Please, simply consent to speak to me. Just a word, a moment with you, would ease my soul. If I cannot be with you, I will have to resort to something drastic.\nPlease, consider your feelings. Your husband is a lout, away for weeks at a time, with no consideration for your needs. I have always been there for you, and I always will be. We should be together, dear Risi.\nRH"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-senilias-cadiusus": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-senilias-cadiusus", "description": "A letter for a job to collect a certain item from Arkngthand for Hasphat Antabolis.", "author": "Hasphat Antabolis", "title": "Letter to Senilias Cadiusus", "text": "Dearest Senilias,\nThe bearer of this note, <Name>, has provided useful service, and shown considerable resourcefulness. I have employed <Name> in retrieving an item from Arkngthand, so you can count on some familiarity with Dwemer ruins. If you have a place, I believe <Name> will give satisfaction.\nIf you have any luck, perhaps you'll use the bearer to send a note my way.\nMy best regards and affection to you and Pania,\nHasphat Antabolis"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lives-saints": {"game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion", "Skyrim", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lives-saints", "description": "Some brief description about the Tribunal saints.", "author": "Tribunal Temple", "title": "Lives of the Saints", "text": "If you would be wise, model your lives on the lives of the saints.\nIf you would learn valor, follow St. Nerevar the Captain, patron of Warriors and Statesmen. Lord Nerevar helped to unite the barbarian Dunmer tribes into a great nation, culminating in his martyrdom when leading the Dunmer to victory against the evil Dwemer and the traitorous House Dagoth in the Battle of Red Mountain.\nIf you would learn daring, follow Saint Veloth the Pilgrim, Patron of Outcasts and Spiritual Seekers. Saint Veloth, prophet and mystic, led the Dunmer out of the decadent home country of the Summerset Isles and into the promised land of Morrowind. Saint Veloth also taught the difference between the Good and Bad Daedra, and won the aid of the Good Daedra for his people while teaching how to carefully negotiate with the Bad Daedra.\nIf you would learn generosity, follow Saint Rilms the Barefooted, Patron of Pilgrims and Beggars. Saint Rilms gave away her shoes, then dressed and appeared as a beggar to better acquaint herself with the poor.\nIf you would learn self-respect and respect for others, follow Saint Aralor the Penitent, Patron of Tanners and Miners. This foul criminal repented his sins and traveled a circuit of the great pilgrimages on his knees.\nIf you would learn mercy and its fruits, follow Saint Seryn the Merciful, Patron of Brewers, Bakers, Distillers. This pure virgin of modest aspect could heal all diseases at the price of taking the disease upon herself. Tough-minded and fearless, she took on the burdens of others, and bore those burdens to an honored old age.\nIf you would learn fierce justice, follow Saint Felms the Bold, Patron of Butchers and Fishmongers. This brave warlord slew the Nord invaders and drove them from our lands. He could neither read nor write, receiving inspiration directly from the lips of Almsivi.\nIf you would learn pride of race and tribe, follow Saint Roris the Martyr, Patron of Furnishers and Caravaners. Captured by Argonians just before the Arnesian War, Roris proudly refused to renounce the Tribunal faith, and withstood the cruel tortures of Argonian sorcerers. Vengeance and justice for the martyred Saint Roris was the rallying cry of the Arnesian War.\nIf you would learn the rule of law and justice, follow Saint Olms the Just, Patron of Chandlers and Clerks. Founder of the Ordinators, Saint Olms conceived and articulated the fundamental principles of testing, ordeal, and repentance.\nIf you would learn benevolence, follow Saint Delyn the Wise, Patron of Potters and Glassmakers. Saint Delyn was head of House Indoril, a skilled lawyer, and author of many learned treatises on Tribunal law and custom.\nIf you would learn the love of peace, follow Saint Meris the Peacemaker, Patron of Farmers and Laborers. As a little girl, Saint Meris showed healing gifts, and trained as a Healer. She ended a long and bloody House War, intervening on the battlefield in her white robe to heal warriors and spellcrafters without regard to faction. The troops of all House adopted white robes as her standard, and refused to shed the blood of their brethren.\nIf you would learn reverence, follow Saint Llothis the Pious, Patron of Tailors and Dyers. Contemporary and companion of the Tribunals, and the best-loved Alma Rula of the Tribunal Temple, he formulated the central rituals and principles of the New Temple Faith. Saint Llothis is the symbolic mortal bridge between the gods and the faithful, and the archetypal priest."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/locations-stones": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/locations-stones", "description": "A map of the magical stones (wind, water, earth, tree, beast and sun) of Skaal.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Locations of the Stones", "text": "Locations of the Stones"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lord-jornibrets-last-dance": {"game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lord-jornibrets-last-dance", "description": "A fine piece of gallant poetry. Somewhat like \"Rude Song\" of Daggerfall, but much, much more refined.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Lord Jornibret's Last Dance", "text": "(Traditional)\n\nWomen's Verse I:\nEvery winter season,\nExcept for the reason\nOf one war or another\n(Really quite a bother),\nThe Queen of Rimmen and her consort\nRequest their vassals come and cavort.\nOn each and every ball,\nThe first man at the Hall\nIs Lord Ogin Jornibret of Gaer,\nThe Curse of all the Maidens Fair.\nWomen's Refrain:\nOh, dear ladies, beware.\nDearest, dearest ladies, take care.\nThough he's a very handsome man,\nIf you dare to take his handsome hand,\nThe nasty little spell will be cast\nAnd your first dance with him will be the last.\nMen's Verse I:\nAt this social event\nEveryone who went\nKnew the bows and stances\nAnd steps to all the dances.\nThe Queen of Rimmen and her consort\nWould order a trumpet's wild report,\nAnd there could be no indecision\nAs the revelers took position.\nThe first dance only ladies, separate\nAway from such men as Lord Jornibret.\nMen's Refrain:\nOh, dear fellows, explain.\nBrothers, can you help make it plain:\nThe man's been doing this for years,\nLeaving maidens fair in tears\nBefore the final tune's been blast.\nAnd her first dance with him will be the last.\nWomen's Verse II:\nLord Ogin Jornibret of Gaer\nWatched the ladies dance on air\nThe loveliest in the realm.\nA fellow in a ursine-hide helm\nSaid, \"The Queen of Rimmen and her consort\nHave put together quite a sport.\nWhich lady fair do you prefer?\"\nLord Jornibret pointed, \"Her.\nSee that bosom bob and weave.\nWell-suited for me to love and leave.\"\nWomen's Refrain.\nMen's Verse II:\nThe man in the mask of a bear\nHad left the Lord of Gaer\nBefore the ladies' dance was ending.\nThen a trumpet sounded, portending\nThat the Queen of Rimmen and her consort\nCalled for the men to come to court.\nDisdainful, passing over all the rest,\nOgin approached she of bobbing breast.\nShe was rejected, saved a life of woe,\nFor a new maiden as fair as snow.\nMen's Refrain.\nWomen's Verse III:\nAt the first note of the band,\nThe beauty took Ogin's hand.\nShe complimented his stately carriage\nDancing to the tune about the marriage\nOf the Queen of Rimmen and her consort.\nIt is very difficult indeed to comport\nWith grace, neither falling nor flailing,\nWearing ornate hide and leather mailing,\nDancing light as the sweetest of dreams\nWithout a single squeak of the seams.\nWomen's Refrain.\nMen's Verse III:\nThe rhythms rose and fell\nNo one dancing could excel\nWith masculine grace and syncopation,\nLord Jornibret even drew admiration\nFrom the Queen of Rimmen and her consort.\nLike a beauteous vessel pulling into port,\nHe silently slid, belying the leather's weight.\nShe whispered girlishly, \"The hour is late,\nBut I've never seen such grace in hide armor.\"\nIt 'twas a pity he knew he had to harm her.\nMen's Refrain\nWomen's Verse IV:\nThe tune beat was furious\nHe began to be curious\nWhere had the maiden been sequest'ed.\n\"Before this dance was requested\nBy the consort and his Queen of Rimmen\nI didn't see you dance with the women.\"\n\"My dress was torn as I came to the dance,\"\nShe said smiling in a voice deep as a man's,\n\"My maids worked quickly to repair,\nWhile I wore a suit of hide, a helm of a bear.\"\nWomen's Refrain."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/map-red-mountain": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/map-red-mountain", "description": "The map the Bouyant Armigers use when venturing inside the Ghostfence.", "author": "Bouyant Armigers", "title": "Map of Red Mountain", "text": "Citadel Vemynal: northwest\nCitadel Tureynulal: northeast\nCitadel Dagoth: center\nCitadel Endusal: southwest\nCitadel Odrosal: southeast\nGhostgate: south\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/master-zoarayms-tale": {"game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/master-zoarayms-tale", "description": "This a story about Master Zoaraym and his students at the Temple of the Two Moons in Elsweyr.", "author": "Gi'Nanth", "title": "Master Zoaraym's Tale", "text": "The Temple of Two-Moons Dance in Torval has for many hundreds of years been the finest training ground in all Tamriel for warriors of foot and fist. The masters teach students of all ages from all parts of the Empire the most ancient techniques and the most modern variations, and many a former pupil has graduated to great fame. I myself trained there, and as a young child I remember asking my first master, Zoaraym, which former student he felt had best learned the lessons of the Temple.\n\"I was not a teacher when I met this man, but a student myself,\" he said, smiling in reminiscence, his great wrinkled face becoming even more like the withered fruit of the bathrum tree. \"This was long ago, before your parents were born. For many years I had trained at the Temple, rising to study in more difficult and demanding classes taught by the wisest and most learned Masters of the Two-Moons Dance.\n\"Gi'Nanth, you will come to understand that the tempering of your body must attend the tempering of your mind, and there is a prescribed order of training we at the Temple have designed over the years in concordance with the way of Riddle'Thar. I had reached the highest level, where my power and skill were such that even by supernatural, magical means, few could ever could ever best me in weaponless combat.\n\"There was a servant at the Temple at the time, a Dunmer a few years older than myself and those in my class. We had never noticed him but in passing over the years, for he would enter the training chambers quietly, clean for a few minutes' time, and leave without saying a word. Not that we would have listened if he spoke, so enraptured were we in our exercises and lessons.\n\"When our last Master told some of us, myself included, that the time had come for us to leave the Temple or become teachers, there was a great festival of celebration. The Mane itself deigned to visit and observe our ceremony. As we were and are a Temple of philosophy and combat, there were contests of debate and competitions in the Temple's war arena, not only among the elite few, but open to all students.\n\"On the first day of the festival, I was examining the gladiatorial roster to see who I would fight with first, when I heard a conversation behind me: the servants speaking to the archpriest of the Temple. It was the first time I heard the Dunmer's voice, and the first time I heard his name.\n\"'I understand you wish to rejoin your people's struggle in Morrowind, Taren,' the archpriest was saying. 'I am sorry to hear it. You have been an institution here for many, many years, and you will be missed. If there's anything I can do for you, please name it.'\n\"'Thank you for your kindness,' the Dunmer replied. 'I do have a request, but I fear you would be loath to grant it. Ever since I first came to the Temple, I have been watching the students learn, and practiced myself when my duties allowed for it. I know I am but a servant here, but I would be honored if you would allow me to compete in the war arena.'\n\"I stifled back my gasp at the mer's impertinence, to even suggest that he would be worthy to fight with those of us who had trained so hard. To my surprise, the archpriest agreed, adding the name Taren Omathan to the roster at the beginners' level. I was eager to whisper the news to my fellow elite students, but my first bout was scheduled to begin in a few minutes' time.\n\"I fought eighteen competitions in a row, besting all. The crowd gathered in the arena knew of my prowess, and gave polite, unsurprised applause at the end of each fight. As much as I focused on my own battles, I could not help noticing that other competitions were receiving more and more attention in the arena. The spectators whispered among themselves, and more began drifting away to see something that was evidently more spectacular and unusual than my unbroken string of victories.\n\"One of the most important lessons we teach from the Two-Moons Dance is the lesson of rejecting one's vanity. I understood then the importance of achieving a personal synchronicity with one's body and mind, of rebuffing outside influences of no importance, but I admit I had not accepted the lesson in my heart. I knew I was good, but my pride was hurt.\n\"It came down to a contest of champions, and I was one of the two. When I saw who the other fighter would be, my mood turned from one of wounded dignity to complete disbelief. My adversary was the servant, Taren.\n\"It must be a joke, or some final philosophical test, I reasoned. Then I looked into the crowd, and saw anticipation of a great battle to come in every eye. We gave one another the sign of respect, I stiffly and he with great elegance and modesty. The fight began.\n\"Initially, I sought to end it quickly, still thinking that he was unworthy to be cleaning the arena, let alone fighting in it. In retrospect, I was being illogical, as I must have known he had bested as many students as I to had reach that final level. He offered simple counterblows to my attacks, and responded in kind. His style was expansive, encompassing sophisticated arcane foot play one moment and simple jabs and kicks the next. I tried assailments intended to dazzle, but his face never showed either fear or contempt of my abilities.\n\"The fight lasted for a long time. I don't recall when I realized I was destined to lose, but when it ended, I was not surprised with the outcome. With a sense of unusual and true modesty, I bowed to him. But I could not resist asking him as we left the arena to the sound of thunderous applause how he had so secretly grown to become a Master.\n\"'I never had a choice to rise in the Temple,' Taren replied. 'Every day, I cleaned the training chambers of the elite classes and then the beginners'. So you see, I never had the misfortune to forget those early mistakes, lessons, and techniques while observing and learning the ways of the Masters.'\n\"He left Torval early the next morning to return to his homeland, and I never saw him again, though I've heard people saw that he's become a priest and a teacher. I became a teacher as well, for children just beginning their training in the Two-Moons, as well as the elite. And I make certain to bring my best pupils to see the how the unlearned fight, so that they might never forget.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/message-dagoth-ur": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/message-dagoth-ur", "description": "Dagoth Ur's gesture of friendship to the Nerevarine.", "author": "Dagoth Ur", "title": "Message from Dagoth Ur", "text": "Lord Nerevar Indoril, Hai Resdaynia\nMy Lord, Friend, and Companion\nOnce we were friends and brothers, Lord Nerevar, in peace and in war. No houseman ever served you better, or more faithfully. Much that I did was at your command, at great cost to myself, and my honor.\nYet beneath Red Mountain, you struck me down as I guarded the treasure you bound me by oath to defend. It was a cruel blow, a bitter betrayal, to be felled by your hand.\nBut, remembering our old friendship, I would forgive you, and raise you high in my service. The Sixth House was not dead, but only sleeping. Now we wake from our long dream, coming forth to free Morrowind of foreign rulers and divine pretenders. When the land is swept clean of false friends and greedy thieves, the children of Veloth will build anew a garden of plenty in this blighted wasteland.\nCome to Red Mountain, old friend. For the fellowship and honor that once we shared, I would grant you counsel and power, if only you would pledge that friendship anew. The path to Red Mountain is long, and filled with danger, but if you are worthy, you will find there wisdom, a firm friend, and all the power you need to set the world aright.\nAs ever, your respectful servant and loyal friend,\nLord Voryn Dagoth, Dagoth Ur"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/message-divayth-fyr": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/message-divayth-fyr", "description": "An encoded message from Divayth Fyr in respose to Master Aryon's message.", "author": "Divayth Fyr", "title": "Message from Divayth Fyr", "text": "[Originally written in Daedric Sigils]\nFGIJMZGHZIFJEBEBCJGHHJWGFJQPCDFEHJMNIDGAIJVYJHBJTM\nCDNEGBIQIJHJFICDDBHJXACDIJBBBDFDTAEBEBVMEBFJJHIDIJ\nBJFJCDFMBHNDFDNSEBGB\nKDCDWREBEBTZGHJHMBHJGHPNCJCJCDRYHJBGEBAIEHGBAWGHBV\nADADVKDHEZBBIJEBEBGHJHBBHJQBCDETHBFDBBGBGBEJEBMMGB\nAIDBBBGBBJTVE\nBADKOEBGLIDUWDHEBEBCYGHJHXLADWWCDZQFDICFDJEEBDHBBA\nBFWCDBIIJISDHCDERJHIJCSFJGHJKIDIJIZHJNWCDPLIDOCHBK\nBCDBHAAIJCJNXGHHJ\nMUEBEBDWGHJHHBCDUTHJGCIDASGHGBBBFDFDVTEBEBBDJHHRIJ\nPQEBSQBJZJGHGBGHIJBLADEBIDDHKAIJHFGHEBUUGBABGHKGFD\nABCDASFJMVEBEB\nYNIDXSCDAQFDCJYYEBGBYUIJDHLECDBJCDBBFDEBGBDBIDGHVY\nCJIJUADHSICDBHDMGHAEJHXBGBCLBHKJEBFDWAEBCJBWCDHGCD\nFDEBEBGHSUJHADZ\nLEBFDFDNUCJEUEBUXGBVOBJAGIDGHPBFJCDGHGBCDTJFJOMGHH\nJCDIDJHSAEBXEIJTQBBAABDJPFDURCDADIJGHEBEBQPGHJHHBH\nJHBWDJHHJKOHBGH\nDIIDTWCDCVIDMBGHGHSWGBJHGBEGIJKXEBGQFDCAIJFBDHUVCD\nGBPCHBCDHJDHBBVQHBHKIDEBEBGHMIJHBHGHWMJHFDBJCSHBDV\nCDHJGFIDOSJHBB\nBJTXCDBDSIBBVZFDQSBBBJBJUFBBIDBJEBXMABRBBBEBEBIJDH\nCJEBEBHJ"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/message-master-aryon": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/message-master-aryon", "description": "An encoded message from telvanni Mage-lord Aryon.", "author": "Master Aryon", "title": "Message from Master Aryon", "text": "[Originally written in Daedric Sigils] WIIJNUGHWBIJVNDHCDCDIDIJXOCDCDLUFJAFCDUYBJXHBJBTEBABEZBBSJEBEBIJIDDHCJEBEBHJENEBULADEZEBDOFDFDBDCDBDZFFDJHGBDEIJEBGBGX\nCDQBCDFEBJBBJQGBYABBFDFDTCEBEBIJDHCDIJHJBBBJHYEBIJEBYOGHRBGBIKBBFDUEEBSNIDIJIDBBGBCDBJRWBHZNHJPNBBTSAHEBBZCDIDJKDHXTBB\nABLXCDEDGHWUEBGBRPCDIKBJOBIJGRGHMMDBCDBRIJDEDHCDLYHJAMBBDBBBVAEBGBIDIJIUFJAPCDXIEBAQCJVIIDOTGHFJUACDACIJDHEBHLGBNYDBK\nHEBIDNIGBGHIJBJVXGHGBCDIJDHCDEBCAHJPSIDDHGHHJIJHKIDEBXEDBDTDHIJCDBJGBQDCDIJIDANIDFJBBTPEBEBBDHJHEEBGBUJDBDHGHJHIDCDIJCDT\nFFDABKIBBGBGBEBEBLAGBIJLKGHFJGHHJCDBJEEEBHJIWCDNCBHIJBHGHIFGBCJFDEBBHXPIJPDADEBIJTCDHVHHJCDBJGTGHIAHJCWBBGBNREBXKGBUOB\nJFWGHSRHJEBFDDHFDSFBBHXBBFDRWJHEPBBFEGBBJXNCDBCABCDTWGBDKIJDHCDCDWGFJAPHBVPEBHJUGCDGGIDADJHHJCDFDLTEBEBEBEBGHJHB\nHAHBBNNGBCNHBHJJYCDBJEFEBDIBHQBIJTWIJDKDHCDSUCDJKFJHBANEBHJCDIDBHPZGHOJFDFDORBBHBIDFJCDBBKVIDTMADCDPEFDFDMCBBIDLOEBZ\nMADCDIDEMDHGHNDJHISFDMGBJADBHGHXXHJEHLIIJNAGHDBTMCDGPIJPPDHCDHJKTIJGHIDUPBBIRABPDCDINGHJHVYHJWIDHGHDXJHSUIDXDCDEBEBG\nHBHJHUNBHXTGHJHEXFDBJIRBHFDVOBBEBSUFJBBZFHBGHFGIDEBMSIJEBELGHGBGHNDGBOBIJKPDHMCCDFTBHGHTGJHGBBHEBFDBDQJEBEBNTFJCDHJ\nWBCDFDEBEBBBIDEHDPEBGBDBPJCDABRMCDSZGBUZDBGHNMIJDHRYHJVPCDGBWZBBAEGBMGBJGBLMCDFDUTGHCUIJEQDHFJJHPAIDYCIJESBBWFBJXH\nFJEBIJSFIJDHBBIJEBEBGHCQJHDQBBJCHJCDLIGHXYFDFLBJCDZNHJBTBBGBBJDOADEBIDJUCDHJCKBBLNGBBJSJEBKDGBCDBKABCDHJVDEBEBFGADBBEBE\nBJCIDJFJHCPHBCDMIHJMEEBGHHJFPIJRTGHIJDHCDZLFJEBGBNYIJDXDHJRCDXHBBRMHJBHBBGBCDBBHJIJWKIDEBEBWIGHUOJHEJHJDHEUGHLFGBHYGH\nPMHJCDBJIDIJJHBJQHCDGBIJYJFJBBRIIDIJCDHJAZBBHJRDEBEBGHHUGB"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mission-vivec-caius": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mission-vivec-caius", "description": "A detail mission letter for the future Nerevarine when he had to collect information about Sixth House Cult and Nerevarine Cult in Vivec.", "author": "Caius Cosades", "title": "Mission to Vivec -- from Caius", "text": "[The following are notes prepared by Caius Cosades to summarize your mission to Vivec City.]\nIn Vivec, look for these three persons and get them to tell you what they know about the Nerevarine cult and the Sixth House cult. Each owes me a favor, and each should be willing to cooperate.\nAddhiranirr is a Khajiit, and a Thieves Guild operative. She won't be easy to find, but ask around in St. Olms Canton. Folks are easily offended in St. Olms; be careful what you say. A little courtesy, a little coin, a little favor in the right place will get you in touch with her.\nHuleeya is an Argonian and a Morag Tong assassin. Look for him in the Foreign Quarter, at the Black Shalk Cornerclub. He's known around Vivec City as a lover of books and old things.\nMehra Milo is a Temple priestess who works in the libraries at the Hall of Wisdom and Justice. The Hall of Wisdom and Justice is open to the public. Just walk around until you find her. Do NOT ask anyone at the Hall of Wisdom and Justice about Mehra Milo. I don't want to draw attention to the fact that she is talking to an outlander. Mehra Milo is a particular friend, and I don't want her to get in trouble.\nWhen you've spoken with each of these persons, and gotten what information they can give you, return"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mixed-unit-tactics": {"game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mixed-unit-tactics", "description": "This is a book about the Khajiiti strategies during the Five Years War", "author": "Codus Callonus", "title": "Mixed Unit Tactics", "text": "Mixed Unit Tactics\nin the Five Years War\nVolume One\nBy\nCodus Callonus\nThe Legions could learn from the unconventional tactics used by the Khajiit in the Five Years War against Valenwood. I was stationed at the Sphinxmoth Legion Fort on the border near Dune and witnessed many of the northern skirmishes firsthand.\nThe war started with the so-called \"Slaughter of Torval.\" The Khajiit claim that the Bosmer invaded the city without provocation and killed over a thousand citizens before being driven off by reinforcements from a nearby jungle tribe. The Bosmer claim that the attack was in retaliation for Khajiti bandits who were attacking wood caravans headed for Valenwood.\nIn the spring of 3E 396 the war moved closer to Fort Sphinxmoth. I was posted on lookout and saw parts of the conflict. I later spoke with both Khajiit and Bosmer who fought in the battle, and it will serve as an excellent example of how the Khajiit used a mixture of ground and tree units to win the war.\nThe Khajiit began the fight in an unusual way by sending tree-cutting teams of Cathay-raht and the fearsome Senche-raht or \"Battlecats\" into the outskirts of Valenwood's forests. When word reached the Bosmer that trees were being felled (allegedly a crime in the strange Bosmeri religion), a unit of archers were dispatched from larger conflicts in the south. The Bosmer were thus goaded into splitting their forces into smaller groups.\nThe Bosmer archers took up positions in the remaining trees whose branches were now twenty or more feet apart, allowing some light into the forest floor. The Bosmer bent the remaining trees with their magics into small fortifications from which to fire their bows.\nWhen the tree-cutters arrived the next morning, a half dozen Khajiit fell to the Bosmer arrows in the first volley. After that the Khajiit took large wooden shields from the backs of the Senche-raht and made a crude shelter. The Khajiit, even the enormous Senche-raht, were able to hide between this shelter and one of the larger trees. When it became apparent that the Khajiit would not leave their shelter, some Bosmer chose to descend and engage the Khajiit sword-to-claw.\nWhen the Bosmer were nearly upon the shelter, one of the Khajiit began playing on a native instrument of plucked metal bars. This was a signal of some kind, and a small group of the man-like Ohmes and Ohmes-raht emerged from covered holes on the forest floor. Although outnumbered, they were attacking from behind by surprise and won the ground quickly.\nThe Bosmer archers in the trees would have still won the battle were they not having troubles of their own. A group of Dagi and Dagi-raht, two of the less common forms of Khajiit who live in the trees of the Tenmar forest, jumped from one tree to another under a magical cover of silence. They took up positions in the higher branches that could not hold a Bosmer's weight. When the signal came, they used their claws and either torches or spells of fire (accounts from the two survivors I spoke with vary on this point) to distract the archers while the battle on the ground took place. A few of the archers were able to flee, but most were killed.\nApparently the Dagi and Dagi-raht have more magical ability than is widely believed if they were able to keep themselves magically silenced for so long. One of the surviving Bosmer told me that he saw a few ordinary cats among the Dagi and even claimed that these ordinary cats are known as 'Alfiq' and that they were the spellcasters, but Bosmer are almost as unreliable as the Khajiit when it comes to the truth, and I cannot believe that a housecat can cast spells.\nAt the end of the day the Khajiit lost perhaps a half-dozen fighters out a force of no more than four dozen, while the Bosmer lost nearly an entire company of archers. The survivors were unable to report back before a second company of archers arrived and this strategy was repeated again, with similar results. Finally, a much larger force was sent and the Bosmer won that battle with the help of the native animals of Valenwood. That third skirmish and the Khajiti response I will discuss in the second volume of this series.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mysterious-akavir": {"game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion", "Skyrim", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mysterious-akavir", "description": "This book describes the inhabitants of the continent called Akavir.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Mysterious Akavir", "text": "Akavir means \"Dragon Land\". Tamriel means \"Dawn's Beauty.\" Atmora means \"Elder Wood\". Only the Redguards know what Yokuda ever meant.\nAkavir is the kingdom of the beasts. No Men or Mer live in Akavir, though Men once did. These Men, however, were eaten long ago by the vampiric Serpent Folk of Tsaesci. Had they not been eaten, these Men would have eventually migrated to Tamriel. The Nords left Atmora for Tamriel. Before them, the Elves had abandoned Aldmeris for Tamriel. The Redguards destroyed Yokuda so they could make their journey. All Men and Mer know Tamriel is the nexus of creation, where the Last War will happen, where the Gods unmade Lorkhan and left their Adamantine Tower of secrets. Who knows what the Akaviri think of Tamriel, but ask yourself: why have they tried to invade it three times or more?\nThere are four major nations of Akavir: Kamal, Tsaesci, Tang Mo, and Ka Po' Tun. When they are not busy trying to invade Tamriel, they are fighting with each other.\nKamal is \"Snow Hell\". Demons live there, armies of them. Every summer they thaw out and invade Tang Mo, but the brave monkey-folk always drive them away. Once Ada'Soom Dir-Kamal, a king among demons, attempted to conquer Morrowind, but Almalexia and the Underking destroyed him at Red Mountain.\nTsaesci is \"Snake Palace\", once the strongest power in Akavir (before the Tiger-Dragon came). The serpent-folk ate all the Men of Akavir a long time ago, but still kind of look like them. They are tall, beautiful (if frightening), covered in golden scales, and immortal. They enslave the goblins of the surrounding isles, who provide labor and fresh blood. The holdings of Tsaesci are widespread. When natives of Tamriel think of the Akaviri they think of the Serpent-Folk, because one ruled the Cyrodilic Empire for four hundred years in the previous era. He was Potentate Versidue-Shaie, assassinated by the Morag Tong.\nTang Mo is the \"Thousand Monkey Isles\". There are many breeds of monkey-folk, and they are all kind, brave, and simple (and many are also very crazy). They can raise armies when they must, for all of the other Akaviri nations have, at one time or another, tried to enslave them. They cannot decide who they hate more, the Snakes or the Demons, but ask one, and he will probably say, \"Snakes\". Though once bitter enemies, the monkey-folk are now allies with the tiger-folk of Ka Po' Tun.\nKa Po' Tun is the \"Tiger-Dragon's Empire\". The cat-folk here are ruled by the divine Tosh Raka, the Tiger-Dragon. They are now a very great empire, stronger than Tsaesci (though not at sea). After the Serpent-Folk ate all the Men, they tried to eat all the Dragons. They managed to enslave the Red Dragons, but the black ones had fled to (then) Po Tun. A great war was raged, which left both the cats and the snakes weak, and the Dragons all dead. Since that time the cat-folk have tried to become the Dragons. Tosh Raka is the first to succeed. He is the largest Dragon in the world, orange and black, and he has very many new ideas.\n\"First,\" Tosh Raka says, \"is that we kill all the vampire snakes.\" Then the Tiger-Dragon Emperor wants to invade Tamriel."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ngasta-kvata-kvakis": {"game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ngasta-kvata-kvakis", "description": "The ramblings of the vile Sload Necromancer.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "N'Gasta! Kvata! Kvakis!", "text": "an obscure text in the language of the Sload, purportedly written by the Second Era Western necromancer, N'Gasta.\nN'Gasta! Kvata! Kvakis! ahkstas so novajxletero (oix jhemile)  so Ranetauw. Ricevas gxin pagintaj membrauw kaj aliaj individuauw, kiujn iamaniere tusxas so raneta aktivado. En gxi aperas informauw unuavice pri so lokauw  so cxiumonataj kunvenauw, sed nature ankoix pri aliaj aktuasoj aktivecauw so societo. Ne malofte enahkstas krome plej diversaspekta materialo eduka oix distra.\nSo interreta Kvako (retletera kaj verjheauw) ahkstas unufsonke alternativaj kanasouw por distribui so enhavon  so papera Kva! Kvak!. Sed alifsonke so enhavauw  so diversaj verjheauw antoixvible ne povas kaj ecx ne vus cxiam ahksti centprocente so sama. En malvaste cirkusonta paperfolio ekzemple ebsos publikigi ilustrajxauwn, kiuj pro kopirajtaj kiasouw ne ahkstas uzebsoj en so interreto. Alifsonke so masoltaj kostauw reta distribuo forigas so spacajn limigauwn kaj permahksas pli ampleksan enhavon, por ne paroli pri gxishora aktualeco.\nTiuj cirkonstancauw rahkspeguligxos en so aspekto so Kvakoa, kiu ja cetere servos ankoix kiel gxeneraso retejo so ranetauw.</p>\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nchunaks-fire-and-faith": {"game": ["Morrowind", "Skyrim", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nchunaks-fire-and-faith", "description": "Tells of Nchunak's journey's amongst the Dwemer and his attempts to understand the teachings of Kagrenac.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Nchunak's Fire and Faith", "text": "[This book is a translated account of Nchunak's travels among the various colonies of the Dwemer explaining the theories of Kagrenac.]\nI made inquiry as to the state of enlightenment among the people he spoke for. He answered that with respect to the theories of Kagrenac, there was but one scholar near who could guide the people through the maze that leads to true misunderstanding.\nHe informed me, however, that in Kherakah the precepts of Kagrenac were taught. He said that nothing pleased him more than to see the Dwemer of Kherakah, the most learned people in the world, studying Kagrenac's words and giving consideration to their place in the life to come, and where neither planar division nor the numeration of amnesia nor any other thing of utility was more valued than the understanding of the self and its relationship to the Heart.\nI was gracious enough to receive this as a high compliment, and, removing my helm, I thanked him and departed with an infinity of bows."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nemindas-orders": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nemindas-orders", "description": "Encoded orders, given to you as part of a quest for House Hlaalu.", "author": "Nileno Dorvayn", "title": "Neminda's Orders", "text": "Neminda\nSOZZOF IFNLIVW GL YV LKVMRMT IVGSZM NZMLI ZH GSVRI MVCG HGILMTSLOW\nOOVGSIR YVORVEVH SV ULFMW VERWVMXV ULI ROOVTZO SOZZOF VYLMB HSRKNVMGH  UILN XZOWVIZ\nHVMW ZTVMG GL HKVZP DRGS OOVGSIR ZMW HVMW ZTVMG GL DZGXS IVGSZM\nZGSBM DROO FHV RMUOFVMXV DRGS WFPV GL YOLXP XLMGIZXGH RU KLHHRYOV\nThis is the translation done by Adam (A Code Cracker) by  using a service from Interactive  Wordplay.\nHLAALU RUMORED TO BE OPENING RETHAN MANOR AS THEIR NEXT STRONGHOLD\nLLETHRI BELIEVES HE FOUND EVIDENCE FOR ILLEGAL HLAALU EBONY SHIPMENTS  FROM CALDERA\nSEND AGENT TO SPEAK WITH LLETHRI AND SEND AGENT TO WATCH RETHAN\nATHYN WILL USE INFLUENCE WITH DUKE TO BLOCK CONTRACTS IF POSSIBLE"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nerevar-red-mountain": {"game": ["Morrowind", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nerevar-red-mountain", "description": "A top secret document about the events at Red Mountain from the Ashlander point of view.", "author": "Tribunal Temple", "title": "Nerevar at Red Mountain", "text": "[The following is from the Apographa, the hidden writings of the Tribunal Temple. It is a scholarly retelling of a tradition transmitted through the Ashlanders concerning the battle at Red Mountain and subsequent events. The Ashlanders associate this tale with the telling of Alandro Sul, a shield-companion of Nerevar who came to live among the Ashlanders after the death of Nerevar and during the ascension of the Tribunal. There are many variant treatments of this story, but the primary elements are consistent throughout the tradition. The murder of Nerevar, the tragic fate of Dagoth Ur, and the profane source of the Tribunal's divine power are denied by Temple doctrine as ignorant Ashlander superstition, and not widely known among civilized Dunmer.]\nResdayn, present day Morrowind, was contested ground between two very different types of mer: the Chimer, who worshipped Daedra, and the Dwemer, who worshipped a profane and secret power. These two people warred with each other constantly until their lands were invaded by a young, vibrant, and violent alien culture, the Nords.\nTwo heroes, one from the Chimer and one from the Dwemer, Indoril Nerevar and Dumac Dwarf-Orc, made peace between their people and together ousted the alien invaders. Then these two heroes worked long and hard to maintain that peace thereafter, though their counselors thought it could not last or, worse, that it shouldn't. Nerevar's queen and his generals-- Almalexia, Sotha Sil, Vivec-- told him to claim all Resdayn for his own. But Nerevar would not listen, for he remembered his friendship with Dumac. There would be only peace.\nUntil Dagoth-Ur arrived. House Dagoth had discovered the source of the profane and secret power of the Dwemer: the legendary Heart of Lorkhan, which Dumac's people had used to make themselves immortal and beyond the measure of the gods. In fact, one of the their high priests, Kagrenac, was building a New God so that the Dwemer could claim Resdayn for their own.\nThe Tribunal urged Nerevar again to make war on the Dwarves. Nerevar was troubled. He went to Dumac, his friend of old, and asked if what Dagoth-Ur said was true. But Kagrenac and the high priests of the Dwemer had kept their New God secret from their King, and Dumac said the Dwemer were innocent of any wrongdoing. Nerevar was troubled again and made pilgrimage to Holamayan, the sacred temple of Azura, who confirmed that all that Dagoth-Ur said was indeed true and that the New God of the Dwemer should be destroyed for the safety of not only Resdayn, but for the whole world. When Nerevar went back and told his Tribunal what the goddess had said, his queen and generals felt themselves proved aright and again counseled him to war. There were reasons that the Dwemer and Chimer had hated each other forever.\nFinally, Nerevar, angered that his friend Dumac would lie to him, went back to Vvardenfell. This time the Chimer King was arrayed in arms and armor and had his hosts around him, and he spoke harshly to Dumac Dwarf-Orc, King of Red Mountain. \"You must give up your worship of the Heart of Lorkhan or I shall forget our friendship and the deeds that were accomplished in its name!\" And Dumac, who still knew nothing of Kagrenac's New God, but proud and protective as ever of his people, said, \"We shall not relinquish that which has been our way for years beyond reckoning, just as the Chimer will not relinquish their ties to the Lords and Ladies of Oblivion. And to come at my door in this way, arrayed in arms and armor and with your hosts around you, tells me you have already forgotten our friendship. Stand down, my sweet Nerevar, or I swear by the fifteen-and-one golden tones I shall kill you and all your people.\"\nAnd so the Chimer and Dwemer went to war. The Dwemer were well-defended by their fortress at Red Mountain, but the bravery and cleverness of Nerevar's queen and generals drew most of Dumac's armies out into the field and kept them there, so that Nerevar and Dagoth-Ur could make their way into the Heart Chamber by secret means. There, Nerevar met Dumac and the Dwarf King and they both fell from grievous wounds. Dagoth-Ur slew Kagrenac and took the tools the Dwemer used to tap the power of the Heart. He went to his dying lord Nerevar and asked him what to do with these tools. And Nerevar summoned Azura again, and she showed them how to use the tools to separate the power of the Heart from the Dwemer people.\nAnd on the fields, the Tribunal and their armies watched as the Dwemer turned into dust all around them as their stolen immortality was taken away.\nBack in Red Mountain, Nerevar told Dagoth-Ur to protect the tools and the Heart Chamber until he returned. Dagoth-Ur said, \"But shouldn't we destroy these tools at once, so that they might never be used for evil again?\" But Nerevar was confused by his wounds and his sorrow (for he still loved Dumac and the Dwemer people) and so went to the fields outside of Red Mountain to confer with his queen and his generals, who had foreseen that this war would come and whose counsel he would not ignore again. \"I will ask the Tribunal what we shall do with them, for they have had wisdom in the past that I had not. Stay here, loyal Dagoth-Ur, until I return.\"\nThen Nerevar told his queen and generals all that had transpired under Red Mountain and how the Dwemer had used special tools to turn their people into immortals and of the wondrous power of the Heart of Lorkhan. The Tribunal decided that the Chimer should learn how to use this power so that Nerevar might claim Resdayn and the world for their people. Nerevar did not expect or want this, so he asked his queen and generals to help him summon Azura yet again for her guidance. But the Tribunal had become as greedy as Kagrenac upon hearing of the power of the Heart and they coveted it. They made ritual as if to summon Azura as Nerevar wanted but Almalexia used poisoned candles and Sotha Sil used poisoned robes and Vivec used poisoned invocations. Nerevar was murdered.\nThen Azura came forth anyway and cursed the Tribunal for their foul deeds. She told them that she would use her powers over dusk and dawn to make sure Nerevar would come back and make things right again. But the Tribunal laughed at her and said that soon they would be gods themselves and that the Chimer people would forget their old ways of worship. And Azura knew this would be true and that it would take a long time before her power might bring Nerevar back. \"What you have done here today is foul beyond measure and you will grow to regret it, for the lives of gods are not what mortals think and matters that weigh only years to mortals weigh on gods forever.\" And so that they might know forever their wicked deeds Azura changed the Chimer into Dunmer, and their skin turned ashen and their eyes into fire. \"Let this mark remind you of your true selves who, like ghouls, fed on the nobility, heroism, and trust of their king.\"\nAnd then the Tribunal went into Red Mountain and met with Dagoth-Ur. Dagoth-Ur saw what had been done, for his skin had changed as well, and he tried to avenge the death of Nerevar but to no avail. He was driven off and thought dead. The Tribunal found the tools he had been guarding and, through study of Kagrenac's methods, turned themselves into gods.\nThousands of years after their apotheosis, the Tribunal are still the gods of Morrowind and the old ways of worship are remembered only by a few. And the murder of Nerevar is known to fewer. But his queen and generals still fear his return, for the words of Azura linger long and they see the mark of her curse on their people every day."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nerevar-moon-and-star": {"game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion", "Skyrim", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nerevar-moon-and-star", "description": "Imperial note about Ashlander legends.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Nerevar Moon and Star", "text": "[This is a selection from a series of monographs by various Imperial scholars on Ashlander legends.]\n\nIn ancient days, the Deep Elves and a great host of outlanders from the West came to steal the land of the Dunmer. In that time, Nerevar was the great khan and warleader of the House People, but he honored the Ancient Spirits and the Tribal law, and became as one of us.\nSo, when Nerevar pledged upon his great Ring of the Ancestors, One-Clan-Under-Moon-and-Star, to honor the ways of the Spirits and rights of the Land, all the Tribes joined the House People to fight a great battle at Red Mountain.\nThough many Dunmer, Tribesman and Houseman, died at Red Mountain, the Dwemer were defeated and their evil magicks destroyed, and the outlanders driven from the land. But after this great victory, the power-hungry khans of the Great Houses slew Nerevar in secret, and, setting themselves up as gods, neglected Nerevar's promises to the Tribes.\nBut it is said that Nerevar will come again with his ring, and cast down the false gods, and by the power of his ring will make good his promises to the Tribes, to honor the Spirits and drive the outsiders from the land.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nerevarine-cult-notes": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nerevarine-cult-notes", "description": "Notes from Sharn gra-Muzgob to Caius Cosades regarding the Ashlander Cult of the Nerevarine.", "author": "Sharn gra-Muzgob", "title": "Nerevarine Cult Notes", "text": "[The following are notes from Sharn gra-Muzgob to Caius Cosades.]\nThe Nerevarine Cult\nThis Ashlander religious cult follows prophecies of a Nerevar reborn to  honor ancient promises to the tribes, to reestablish the traditions of  the Prophet Veloth, to cast down the false gods of the Tribunal Temple,  and to drive all outlanders from Morrowind. Both Temple and Empire  outlaw the cult, but it persists among the Ashlanders, despite Imperial  and Temple repression. Because it is persecuted, it remains a secret  cult, and it is hard to judge how widespread it is among the Ashlanders,  or whether it has any following outside the Ashlander tribes.\n\nThe Nerevarine\nThe Ashlanders firmly believe that Nerevar will return to restore the  glories of ancient Resdayn. [Morrowind was called 'Resdayn' before the  Imperial Occupation.] The Ashlanders say the Great Houses and the Temple  have abandoned the pure teachings of the Prophet Veloth, forsaking  ancestor worship for the false gods of the Tribunal, and embracing the  comforts of civilization that corrupted the High Elves. The Temple, on  the other hand, venerates Saint Nerevar, but rejects the disgusting  notion that the False Incarnate will walk the earth like a ghoul.\n\nNerevar\nThe Temple honors Saint Nerevar as the greatest Dunmer general, First  Councilor, and companion of Vivec, Almalexia, and Sotha Sil, who united  the Dunmer Houses to destroy the evil Dwemer, the treacherous House  Dagoth, and their Western allies at Red Mountain. But the Ashlanders say  Nerevar promised to honor the Ancient Spirits and the Tribal law, and  that he will come again to honor that promise. To the Ashlanders, this  means destroying the false Temple and driving the Imperial invaders from  the land.\n\nNerevarine Prophecies\nDream visions and prophecies are a respected tradition in Ashlander  culture. Their wise women and shamans take careful note of dreams and  visions, and pass on the tribe's legacies of vision and prophecy to  their successors. By contrast, the Temple and the Western faiths are  suspicious of mysticism, and they regard interpretation of dreams and  visions as primitive superstition.\n\nThe most common version of the Nerevarine Prophecy is THE STRANGER.  The verses are obscure, as are most prophecies. But two observations are  in order.\n\nFirst, many less-well-informed scholars assume that the phrase  \"journeyed far 'neath moon and star\" is just a cliche to suggest a very  long journey, but the Nerevar of legend was known to possess a magical  ring named \"One-Clan-Under-Moon-and-Star,\" upon which Nerevar is  supposed to have sworn his promise to honor ancient Ashlander traditions  and land rights.\n\nSecond, the reference to \"seven curses\" must certainly refer to the  lost prophetic verses known to the Ashlanders as the SEVEN CURSES.\n\nThe Stranger\nWhen earth is sundered, and skies choked black,\n\nAnd sleepers serve the seven curses,\n\nTo the hearth there comes a stranger,\n\nJourneyed far 'neath moon and star.\n\nThough stark-born to sire uncertain\n\nHis aspect marks his certain fate.\n\nWicked stalk him, righteous curse him.\n\nProphets speak, but all deny.\n\nMany trials make manifest\n\nThe stranger's fate, the curses' bane.\n\nMany touchstones try the stranger\n\nMany fall, but one remains.\n\nLost Prophecies\nAshlander elders complain of prophecies which have been lost to tribal  memory due to the carelessness or ineptitude of earlier generations of  wise women and ashkhans. Suspicious scholars wonder whether these  prophecies might have been deliberately forgotten or suppressed. Three  Nerevarine prophecies in particular are said to have been lost: 1. The  Lost Prophecies; 2. The Seven Curses; and 3. Seven Visions of Seven  Trials of the Incarnate. Perhaps these lost prophecies will someday be  found, either in forgotten accounts written by literate travelers, or in  the memories of isolated Ashlanders, or in the secret traditions of the  wise women and shamans."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/night-falls-sentinel": {"game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/night-falls-sentinel", "description": "An assassin tells of how he removed the crown prince of Sentinel.", "author": "Boali", "title": "Night Falls on Sentinel", "text": "\nNo music played in the Nameless Tavern in Sentinel, and indeed there was very little sound except for discreet, cautious murmurs of conversation, the soft pad of the barmaid's feet on stone, and the delicate slurping of the regular patrons, tongues lapping at their flagons, eyes focused on nothing at all.  If anyone were less otherwise occupied, the sight of the young Redguard woman in a fine black velvet cape might have aroused surprise.  Even suspicion.  As it were, the strange figure, out of place in an underground cellar so modest it had no sign, blended into the shadows.\n\"Are you Jomic?\"\nThe stout, middle-aged man with a face older than his years looked up and nodded.  He returned to his drink.  The young woman took the seat next to him.\n\"My name is Haballa,\" she said and pulled out a small bag of gold, placing it next to his mug.\n\"Sure it be,\" snarled Jomic, and met her eyes again. \"Who d'you want dead?\"\nShe did not turn away, but merely asked, \"Is it safe to talk here?\"\n\"No one cares about nobody else's problems but their own here.  You could take off your cuirass and dance bare-breasted on the table, and no one'd even spit,\" the man smiled. \"So who d'you want dead?\"\n\"No one, actually,\" said Haballa. \"The truth is, I only want someone ... removed, for a while.  Not harmed, you understand, and that's why I need a professional.  You come highly recommended.\"\n\"Who you been talking to?\" asked Jomic dully, returning to his drink.\n\"A friend of a friend of a friend of a friend.\"\n\"One of them friends don't know what he's talking about,\" grumbled the man. \"I don't do that any more.\"\nHaballa quietly took out another purse of gold and then another, placing them at the man's elbow.  He looked at her for a moment and then poured the gold out and began counting.  As he did, he asked, \"Who d'you want removed?\"\n\"Just a moment,\" smiled Haballa, shaking her head. \"Before we talk details, I want to know that you're a professional, and you won't harm this person very much.  And that you'll be discreet.\"\n\"You want discreet?\" the man paused in his counting. \"Awright, I'll tell you about an old job of mine.  It's been - by Arkay, I can hardly believe it - more 'n twenty years, and no one but me's alive who had anything to do with the job.  This is back afore the time of the War of Betony, remember that?\"\n\"I was just a baby.\"\n\"'Course you was,\" Jomic smiled. \"Everyone knows that King Lhotun had an older brother Greklith what died, right?  And then he's got his older sister Aubki, what married that King fella in Daggerfall.  But the truth's that he had two elder brothers.\"\n\"Really?\" Haballa's eyes glistened with interest.\n\"No lie,\" he chuckled. \"Weedy, feeble fella called Arthago, the King and Queen's first born.  Anyhow, this prince was heir to the throne, which his parents wasn't too thrilled about, but then the Queen she squeezed out two more princes who looked a lot more fit.  That's when me and my boys got hired on, to make it look like the first prince got took off by the Underking or some such story.\"\n\"I had no idea!\" the young woman whispered.\n\"Of course you didn't, that's the point,\" Jomic shook his head. \"Discretion, like you said.  We bagged the boy, dropped him off deep in an old ruin, and that was that.  No fuss.  Just a couple fellas, a bag, and a club.\"\n\"That's what I'm interested in,\" said Haballa. \"Technique.  My... friend who needs to be taken away is weak also, like this Prince.  What is the club for?\"\n\"It's a tool.  So many things what was better in the past ain't around no more, just 'cause people today prefer ease of use to what works right.  Let me explain: there're seventy-one prime pain centers in an average fella's body.  Elves and Khajiiti, being so sensitive and all, got three and four more respectively.  Argonians and Sloads, almost as many at fifty-two and sixty-seven,\" Jomic used his short stubby finger to point out each region on Haballa's body. \"Six in your forehead, two in your brow, two on your nose, seven in your throat, ten in your chest, nine in your abdomen, three on each arm, twelve in your groin, four in your favored leg, five in the other.\"\n\"That's sixty-three,\" replied Haballa.\n\"No, it's not,\" growled Jomic.\n\"Yes, it is,\" the young lady cried back, indignant that her mathematical skills were being question: \"Six plus two plus two plus seven plus ten plus nine plus three for one arm and three for the other plus twelve plus four plus five.  Sixty-three.\"\n\"I must've left some out,\" shrugged Jomic. \"The important thing is that to become skilled with a staff or club, you gotta be a master of these pain centers.  Done right, a light tap could kill, or knock out without so much as a bruise.\"\n\"Fascinating,\" smiled Haballa. \"And no one ever found out?\"\n\"Why would they?  The boy's parents, the King and Queen, they're both dead now.  The other children always thought their brother got carried off by the Underking.  That's what everyone thinks.  And all my partners are dead.\"\n\"Of natural causes?\"\n\"Ain't nothing natural that ever happens in the Bay, you know that.  One fella got sucked up by one of them Selenu.  Another died a that same plague that took the Queen and Prince Greklith.  'Nother fella got hisself beat up to death by a burglar.  You gotta keep low, outta sight, like me, if you wanna stay alive.\"  Jomic finished counting the coins. \"You must want this fella out of the way bad.  Who is it?\"\n\"It's better if I show you,\" said Haballa, standing up.  Without a look back, she strode out of the Nameless Tavern.\nJomic drained his beer and went out.  The night was cool with an unrestrained wind surging off the water of the Iliac Bay, sending leaves flying like whirling shards.  Haballa stepped out of the alleyway next to the tavern, and gestured to him.  As he approached her, the breeze blew open her cape, revealing the armor beneath and the crest of the King of Sentinel.\nThe fat man stepped back to flee, but she was too fast.  In a blur, he found himself in the alley on his back, the woman's knee pressed firmly against his throat.\n\"The King has spent years since he took the throne looking for you and your collaborators, Jomic.  His instructions to me what to do when I found you were not specific, but you've given me an idea.\"\nFrom her belt, Haballa removed a small sturdy cudgel.\nA drunk stumbling out of the bar heard a whimpered moan accompanied by a soft whisper coming from the darkness of the alley: \"Let's keep better count this time.  One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. Seven...\"\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/no-hs-picture-book-wood": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/no-hs-picture-book-wood", "description": "Strange book, found in an abandoned shack, somewhere in Bitter Coast Region.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "No-h's Picture Book of Wood", "text": "Wood is pretty\nWood is nice\nIf one looks good\nI'll make it twice!\n[Upon reaching the last page of the book, the words 'Boat Ack', are seen scrawled about the margin in a vandalistic manner.]"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-glenmoril-witch": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-glenmoril-witch", "description": "A note from a western witch, talks about ending the curse of lycanthropy.", "author": "Agnes", "title": "Note from a Glenmoril Witch", "text": "Dearest Sisters,\nThe Coven wil remember your dedication and service. We realize Solstheim is an inhospitable place, but we go where we are needed. Anyone seeking the cure must perform the Rite of the Wolf Giver, of course. But I do understand the sensitive nature of the ritual, and realize it may not be possible to perform it again and again, if the Lord Hircine claims more than one soul.\nSo, I have prepared a Scroll of the Wolf Ender. The Daedric lettering on that scroll contains all the power of the ritual itself. I have taken great pains to prepare the parchment, and it will work as well as the Rite of the Wolf Giver. But heed these words! I do not wish the scroll to be used unless absolutely necessary! It was not easily created, and it is the wish of the Coven that it be saved for future use if possible The scroll has already been hidden in the gloomy cave that will serve as your hovel for the duration of your stay on Solstheim. It is inside the hollowed-out icicle that hangs from the cave's ceiling. You'll need to use your raven form -- or a potion of levitation -- to reach it.\nAgnes"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-bakarak": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-bakarak", "description": "Letters are exchanged to kill a certain Necromancer", "author": "Bakarak", "title": "Note from Bakarak", "text": "Moris,\nYou boys better clear out. Our position was given away and we were raided by that bastard Goris. He sent a small band of the dead to Dralas and wiped out all but Luven. He was able to make it back here to Nelas to warn us. We are clearing out and heading for a new location. I suggest you and your boys get out of there as soon as possible. We have a snitch in our organisation. You let me find out who it is and I'll feed their flesh to the crabs. It seems as though he knows all of our raiding routes. It's just a matter of time before Goris sends them damned and dead your way. I'll never turn those goods over to that necro. What's fair is fair and he had to pay up. You know where I'm coming from. I'm sending Ursine to deliver this message to you. She will deliver a key so you can gain entry into the rendezvous point. See you soon and good luck brother.\nBakarak"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-bashuk": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-bashuk", "description": "Letters are exchanged to kill a certain Necromancer", "author": "Bashuk", "title": "Note from Bashuk", "text": "Bugrol\nStay where you are going. Will look for you there. Who is the stupid <Race> anyway? Don't tell about what we didn't do that townbosses know we did. Better that way. Shhh.\nBashuk"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-bugrol": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-bugrol", "description": "Letters are exchanged to kill a certain Necromancer", "author": "Bugrol", "title": "Note from Bugrol", "text": "Bashuk\nHelp. Stuck in woods because swordsmacking townbosses think I did what we did but they shouldn't know. Keep Secret!!! Come get me soon as possible when you can now. I am hiding by the tree near a rock and another rock. It was raining. I am good at hiding, so if you don't see me, that's where I am. Come now.\nBugrol\np.s. If I'm not where I'm hiding, look in another place."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-oritius-maro": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-oritius-maro", "description": "A secret note of Talos Cult about a plan to assassinate Uriel Septim VII.", "author": "Oritius Maro", "title": "Note from Oritius Maro", "text": "There are rumors that Uriel will be visiting Vvardenfell in person. If  so, we must act sooner than anticipated. We must watch his actions  carefully and strike if the opportunity presents itself. We must also  recruit more and swear them to the oath: That we shall die to put a  strong man back on the throne of Tamriel.\nBurn this note.\nOritius"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-archcanon": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-archcanon", "description": "A secret invitation to the Nerevarine from the Archcanon. This is the initiation of the Nerevarine's meeting with Vivec.", "author": "Dileno Lloran", "title": "Note from the Archcanon", "text": "[a package sealed with an anonymous wax seal, containing a single-page,  unsigned note]\n[on the cover of the package]\nTo the Outlander lately proclaiming his identity as the Nerevarine, to  be delivered with haste --\n[the note itself]\nThe assertions made being in direct contradiction of the doctrine of the  Tribunal, namely, that you are the Nerevarine, the reincarnation of the  Sainted Lord Nerevar, are, in addition to being against Temple  teaching, incredible and implausible in the extreme.\nThe revelations made by the Inquisition, namely, that you yourself are  in fact an agent of the Imperial Intelligence Service, otherwise known  as the Order of Blades, lately made with substantial evidence by the  Lord High Archordinator, Berel Sala, further calls into question the  validity of and motivations behind your claims.\nHowever, as incredible as your claims are, as much as they are in direct  contradiction of the teachings of the Temple, and tainted as they are  by the inferences to be made upon your close association with the covert  policies and interests of the Emperor, the interests of the Temple and  its leadership, and in particular, the interests of His Immortal  Lordship, Vivec, are best served by a close and personal examinations of  the claims being made, and close and personal examinations of the  motivations and character of the claimant.\nThe Temple, through its examinations of its records, in particular, the  records of the Heirographa and Apographa, is intimately familiar with  the many and varied claims of signs and feats that would mark the  Nerevarine according to prophecy.\nTherefore, in the event of the fulfillment of certain of those most  remarkable and scarcely credible claims -- namely, that the claimant  should, at one time, be the acknowledged holder of several ancient  titles of power and authority of the Dunmer people, to whit, Hortator of  the Great Houses and Nerevarine of the Ashlander tribes -- the Temple  proposes that the claimant of the identity of the Nerevarine shall  present himself for inspection before his Reverend Honor, Archcanon Lord  Tholer Saryoni, High Archcanon and Chancellor of Vivec, Archcanon of  the Canonry of Vvardenfell, Arch-Priest of the High Fane, for a review  and consideration of his claims and identity. However, until such time  as the claimant actually has been named Hortator separately and jointly  by the three Great Houses of Vvardenfell, and at the same time has been  named Nerevarine separately and jointly by the four tribes of the  Ashlanders, there is no purpose in reviewing or discussing these claims.\nBecause of the Temple's official position on the prophecies of the  Nerevarine, and in the interests of preserving the security of the  claimant from those parties who might wish to do him harm, it is  convenient that the claimant of the title Nerevarine shall present  himself in secret to Archcanon Saryoni in the archcanon's private  quarters in the High Fane of Vivec.\nTo signify agreement with these terms and conditions for a meeting with  the archcanon, the Nerevarine claimant may present himself to the healer  of the High Fane of Vivec, Danso Indules, and the necessary  arrangements will be made. Once again, no purpose is served by a meeting  until the claimant is named Hortator of the three Great Houses and is  named Nerevarine of the four Ashlander tribes.\nwritten at the request of and in the name of his Reverend Honor Tholer  Saryoni, Archcanon and Chancellor of Vivec,\nDileno Lloran, priest of Vivec, assistant to the Archcanon"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-ahnia": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-ahnia", "description": "A letter found on Ahnia, talking about the Elbert  Nemarc's Notes", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Note to Ahnia", "text": "Ahnia,\nI've tried so hard, and yet no one has any interest in this blasted book. Perhaps if anyone could READ it, it might sell as well as the scrolls do. If I can't get rid of it soon, I'm returning it to you. I don't want to hold on to it for too much longer, or else people might suspect something."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-amaya": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-amaya", "description": "An important letter in a certain part of the main Morrowind quest.", "author": "Mehra Milo", "title": "Note to Amaya", "text": "Amaya,\nSorry I missed you. I had to run some old documents over to the Inquisitor at the Ministry of Truth, and I'm likely to be tied up there for a while. Why don't you meet me there as soon as you can? Then we can leave together as soon as I'm done. And Amaya, don't forget to bring me the two Divine Intervention scrolls you borrowed. Or, if you used them, buy a couple of new ones for me. I think I'm going to need them soon. Janand Maulinie at the Mages Guild in the Foreign Quarter keeps them in stock.\nAlvela Saram is the guard at the entrance; just tell her you're looking for me, and she'll let you in.\nyour faithful friend,\nMehra\nPS: I left a couple of Levitate potions here for you, just in case. I couldn't remember if you knew"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-hlevala": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-hlevala", "description": "A note from Orvas Dren to one of his Foreman.", "author": "Orvas Dren", "title": "Note to Hlevala", "text": "Foreman Hlevala,\nCurrent activities within the plantation have been highly noted with outstanding performance. The 'nemer' seem to have a fine grasp on our routines since you have given them their \"disciplinary schooling\". I commend you on your fine efforts and success. You shall be rewarded greatly.\nIf you will, make sure the following 'nemer' are all accounted for. I will have to have them marked as plantation property for my personal records.\nNeetinei\nArabhi\nGah-Julan\nAhzini\nTulz\nBest Regards,\nOrvas Dren"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-mages": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-mages", "description": "A note to not use fire in certain area.", "author": "Stlennius", "title": "Note to Mages", "text": "Mages:\nPlease be judicious in your use of fire spells while guarding slaves  deep in the mine. Often flammable gases are present and, as last week's  incident indicates, even a small flame can spark a huge explosion. We  don't know if Keseena will ever get that patch of fur back.\nStlennius"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/notes-huleeya": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/notes-huleeya", "description": "The following are Huleeya's notes for Caius Cosades.", "author": "Huleeya", "title": "Notes from Huleeya", "text": "[The following are Huleeya's notes for Caius Cosades.]\nThe History of the Ashlanders and the Nerevarine Cult\nIn First Era barbaric Dunmer culture, settled Dunmer clans (the Great  Houses) and nomadic Dunmer tribes (like the Ashlanders) were roughly  equal in numbers and wealth. Under the civilized peace of the Grand  Council, and with the strong central authority of the Temple, the  economic and military power of the settled Dunmer quickly outstripped  that of the nomadic Dunmer. The nomadic Dunmer were marginalized into  the poorest, most hostile land, in particular, into the Vvardenfell  wastes. For the Ashlanders, the return of a reincarnated Nerevar  represents a longed for and largely romanticized Golden Age of Nerevar's  Peace, when the nomadic tribes enjoyed equality with the settled  Dunmer, and before the Dunmer people had for the most part abandoned  traditional ancestor worship for the autocratic theocracy of the  Tribunal Temple.\n\nThe Nerevar of the Ashlanders\nThis is the story of Nerevar as an Ashlander might tell it.\n\nIn ancient days, the Deep Elves and a great host of outlanders from the  West came to steal the land of the Dunmer. In that time, Nerevar was the  great khan and warleader of the House People, but he honored the  Ancient Spirits and the Tribal law, and became as one of us. So, when  Nerevar pledged upon his great Ring of the Ancestors,  One-Clan-Under-Moon-and-Star, to honor the ways of the Spirits and  rights of the Land, all the Tribes joined the House People to fight a  great battle at Red Mountain. Though many Dunmer, Tribesman and  Houseman, died at Red Mountain, the Dwemer were defeated and their evil  magicks destroyed, and the outlanders driven from the land. But after  this great victory, the power-hungry khans of the Great Houses slew  Nerevar in secret, and, setting themselves up as gods, neglected  Nerevar's promises to the Tribes. But it is said that Nerevar will come  again with his ring, and cast down the false gods, and by the power of  his ring will make good his promises to the Tribes, to honor the Spirits  and drive the outsiders from the land.\n\nPersecution of the Nerevarine Cult\nThe Tribunal Temple regards the mysticism and prophecy of the Nerevarine  cult as primitive superstition. The Ashlander Ancestor cults and the  Nerevarines in particular have always decried the worship of living  Dunmer as abominations, suspecting the unnatural lifetimes of the  Tribunal to be signs of profane sorcery or necromancy. Though the  authoritarian and intolerant Temple priesthood has always been inclined  to tolerate Ashlander ancestor cult practices, they have always  threatened Nerevarine claimants with death or imprisonment. And while  generally tolerant of various cult worships, the Imperial Commission of  the Occupation outlaws cults hostile to the Emperor and the Empire, and  threatens members of such cults with imprisonment or death. The  Ordinators are allowed a free hand when dealing with outlawed cults like  the Nerevarines.\n\nPeakstar and other Incarnates in the Past\nIn the past, others have claimed to be the reincarnated Nerevar of  prophecy. The most recent is known as Peakstar, a mysterious figure who  has reportedly appeared and disappeared among the Wastes tribes over the  last 30 years. The Temple notes that these False Incarnates discredit  the Nerevarine prophecies. Singularly, and illogically, the Ashlanders  acknowledge a history of false claimants, calling them \"Failed  Incarnates,\" but they regard them as proof of the validity of the  prophecies, rather than contradiction. Among the Nerevarines there is a  fable of a Cavern of the Incarnates, where the spirits of the Failed  Incarnates dwell. The Nerevarine cult is a mystical cult, and it  glorifies, rather than shrinks from, contradictions."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/notes-racial-phylogeny-and-biology": {"game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion", "Skyrim", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/notes-racial-phylogeny-and-biology", "description": "This is a book about the similarities and differences between the races of Tamriel.", "author": "Council of Healers", "title": "Notes on Racial Phylogeny and Biology", "text": "Seventh Edition\nby the Council of Healers, Imperial University\n\nAfter much analysis of living specimens, the Council long ago determined that all \"races\" of elves and humans may mate with each other and bear fertile offspring. Generally the offspring bear the racial traits of the mother, though some traces of the father's race may also be present. It is less clear whether the Argonians and Khajiit are interfertile with both humans and elves. Though there have been many reports throughout the Eras of children from these unions, as well as stories of unions with daedra, there have been no well documented offspring. Khajiit differ from humans and elves not only their skeletal and dermal physiology -- the \"fur\" that covers their bodies -- but their metabolism and digestion as well. Argonians, like the dreugh, appear to be a semi-aquatic troglophile form of humans, though it is by no means clear whether the Argonians should be classified with dreugh, men, mer, or (in this author's opinion), certain tree-dwelling lizards in Black Marsh.\nThe reproductive biology of orcs is at present not well understood, and the same is true of goblins, trolls, harpies, dreugh, tsaesci, imga, various daedra and many others. Certainly, there have been cases of intercourse between these \"races,\" generally in the nature of rape or magickal seduction, but there have been no documented cases of pregnancy. Still the interfertility of these creatures and the civilized hominids has yet to be empirically established or refuted, likely due to the deep cultural differences. Surely any normal Bosmer or Breton impregnated by an orc would keep that shame to herself, and there's no reason to suppose that an orc maiden impregnated by a human would not be likewise ostracized by her society. Regrettably, our oaths as healers keep us from forcing a coupling to satisfy our scientific knowledge. We do know, however, that the sload of Thras are hermaphrodites in their youth and later reabsorb their reproductive organs once they are old enough to move about on land. It can be safely assumed that they are not interfertile with men or mer.\nOne might further wonder whether the proper classification of these same \"races,\" to use the imprecise but useful term, should be made from the assumption of a common heritage and the differences between them have arisen from magickal experimentation, the manipulations of the so-called \"Earth Bones,\" or from gradual changes from one generation to the next."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/notetocalderaguard": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/notetocalderaguard", "description": "The title is like that, don't blame the Librarian. It is a note to the guard to keep an eye to a certain Argonian.", "author": "Elynea", "title": "NoteToCalderaGuard", "text": "To all on duty guards:\nKeep an eye trained on the Argonian called \"Gold-Heart\" at all times. He has been increasingly combative and resistant to authority lately, especially when in the presence of the Argonian females.\nElynea"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/odd-rumor": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/odd-rumor", "description": "A strange note about witches sighing in Solstheim.", "author": "Helena", "title": "Odd Rumor", "text": "Olga,\nDid you hear about the raven at the Altar of Thrond? It's enormous! They're saying it's a sign that the Witches have come to Solstheim....\nHelena"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/odrals-land-deed": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/odrals-land-deed", "description": "A transaction letter.", "author": "Rovone Arvel", "title": "Odral's Land Deed", "text": "By the Grace of ALMSIVI, Lords and Rulers of All\nKnow all Dunmer by these words that Muthsera Rovone Arvel has agreed to  sell the land south of Arvel Manor and east of Pelagiad to Orvas Dren.  Rovone Arvel has also agreed to sell the small farm between the land  belonging to Dren and Fort Pelagiad to Odral Helvi.\nSeal of the Buyers\nOrvas Dren\nOdral Helvi\nSeal of the Seller\nRovone Arvel"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/old-wet-note": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/old-wet-note", "description": "A plan to steal Snow Prince's armor from Jolgierr Barrow.", "author": "Heinlen the Heavy", "title": "Old, Wet Note", "text": "Winter-Fist,\nIt is as we had feared. Angria and her rabble are intent on stealing the Snow Prince's armor from Jolgierr Barrow. My men drove them off, but they grabbed the helmet. I know they're hiding somewhere here on the island. They've been seen before near Lake Fjalding and the Frykte ice cave, so try looking there. I'll join up with you as soon as I'm able.\nHeinlen the Heavy"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/morrowind-imperial-province": {"game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/morrowind-imperial-province", "description": "This is a brief history of the Imperial conquest of Morrowind.", "author": "Erramanwe of Sunhold", "title": "On Morrowind, the Imperial Province", "text": "After the conquest of Hammerfell, Imperial legions massed along the northeastern borders of Cyrodiil, and invasion fleets prepared in Skyrim.\nInitially, though the Imperial legions and navy were widely considered undefeatable, House Indoril and the Temple hierarchy proposed to resist to the death. Redoran and Dres stood by Indoril, with Telvanni remaining neutral. Hlaalu proposed accommodation.\nContrived border incidents in Black Marsh ended inconclusively, but the swampy terrain did not favor legion and navy coordination. Against the legions massed west of Silgrad Tower and Kragenmoor, and the legions west of Blacklight and Cormaris View, Morrowind had pitifully small militias stiffened by small companies of Redoran mercenaries and elite units of house nobles and Temple Ordinators and Armigers. Further complicating matters was the refusal of Indoril, Dres, Hlaalu, and Telvanni to garrison the western borders; Indoril and Dres proposed, rather than defend the western border, instead to withdraw to the interior and fight a guerilla war. With Hlaalu advocating accommodation, and Telvanni remaining neutral, Redoran therefore faced the prospect of standing alone against the Empire.\nThe situation changed radically when Vivec appeared in person in Vivec City to announce his negotiation of a treaty with Emperor Tiber Septim, reorganizing Morrowind as a province of the Empire, but guaranteeing \"all rights of faith and self-government.\" A shocked Temple hierarchy, which apparently had not been consulted, greeted the announcement with awkward silence. Indoril swore they would resist to the death, with the loyal support of Dres, while Redoran, grateful for a graceful excuse to avoid facing the legions unsupported, joined with Hlaalu in welcoming the agreement. Telvanni, seeing which way the wind blew, joined with Hlaalu and Redoran in supporting the treaty.\nNothing is known of the circumstances of the personal meeting between Septim and Vivec, or where it took place, or the preliminaries which must have preceded the treaty. The public reason was to protect the identities of the agents involved. In the West, speculation has centered around the role of Zurin Arctus in brokering the agreement; in the East, rumors suggest that Vivec offered Numidium to aid in the conquest of the Altmer and Sumerset Isle in return for significant concessions to preserve self-rule, house traditions, and religious practices in Morrowind.\nThe Lord High Councilor of the Grand Council, an Indoril, refused to accept the treaty, and refused to step down. He was assassinated, and replaced by a Hlaalu. House Hlaalu took the opportunity to settle some old scores with House Indoril, and a number of local councils changed hands in bloody coups. More blood was shed in these inter-house struggles than against the Imperial Legions during Morrowind's transition from an independent nation to a province of the Empire.\nThe generals of the legions had dreaded an invasion of Morrowind. The Dunmer were widely regarded as the most dreadful and fanatic foes, further inspired by their Temple and clan traditions. The generals had not grasped the political weaknesses of Morrowind, which Emperor Tiber Septim recognized and exploited. At the same time, given the tragic depopulation and destruction experienced by the other provinces conquered by Septim, and the swift and efficient assimilation of Morrowind into the Imperial legal systems and economy, with relatively small impact on lower or upper classes of Morrowind's citizens, the Tribunal also deserves some credit for recognizing the hopelessness of Morrowind's defense, and the chance of gaining important concessions at the treaty table by being the first to offer peace.\nBy contrast, many Indoril nobles chose to commit suicide rather than submit to the Empire, with the result that the House was significantly weakened during the period of transition, guaranteeing that they would lose much of their influence and power to House Hlaalu, whose influence and power was waxing with its enthusiastic accommodation with the Empire. The Temple hierarchy more skillfully managed their loss of face, remaining aloof from political struggles, and earning the good will of the people by concentrating on their economic, educational, and spiritual welfare."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/oblivion": {"game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion", "Skyrim", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/oblivion", "description": "An introductory guide to Oblivion.", "author": "Morian Zenas", "title": "On Oblivion", "text": "It is improper, however customary, to refer to the denizens of the dimension of Oblivion as \"demons.\" This practice probably dates to the Alessian Doctrines of the First Era prophet Marukh -- which, rather amusingly, forbade \"trafficke with daimons\" and then neglected to explain what daimons were.\nIt is most probable that \"daimon\" is a misspelling or etymological rendition of \"Daedra,\" the old Elven word for those strange, powerful creatures of uncertain motivation who hail from the dimension of Oblivion. (\"Daedra\" is actually the plural form; the singular is \"Daedroth.\") In a later tract by King Hale the Pious of Skyrim, almost a thousand years after the publication of the original Doctrines, the evil machinations of his political enemies are compared to \"the wickedness of the demons of Oblivion... their depravity equals that of Sanguine itself, they are cruel as Boethiah, calculating as Molag Bal, and mad as Sheogorath.\" Hale the Pious thus long-windedly introduced four of the Daedra lords to written record.\nBut the written record is not, after all, the best way to research Oblivion and the Daedra who inhabit it. Those who \"trafficke with daimons\" seldom wish it to be a matter of public account. Nevertheless, scattered throughout the literature of the First Era are diaries, journals, notices for witch burnings, and guides for Daedra-slayers. These I have used as my primary source material. They are at least as trustworthy as the Daedra lords I have actually summoned and spoken with at length.\nApparently, Oblivion is a place composed of many lands -- thus the many names for which Oblivion is synonymous: Coldharbour, Quagmire, Moonshadow, etc. It may be correctly supposed that each land of Oblivion is ruled over by one prince. The Daedra princes whose names appear over and over in ancient records (though this is not an infallible test of their authenticity or explicit existence, to be sure) are the afore-mentioned Sanguine, Boethiah, Molag Bal, and Sheogorath, and in addition, Azura, Mephala, Clavicus Vile, Vaernima, Malacath, Hoermius (or Hermaeus or Hormaius or Herma -- there seems to be no one accepted spelling) Mora, Namira, Jyggalag, Nocturnal, Mehrunes Dagon, and Peryite.\nFrom my experience, Daedra are a very mixed lot. It is almost impossible to categorize them as a whole except for their immense power and penchant for extremism. Be that as it may, I have here attempted to do so in a few cases, purely for the sake of scholastic expediency.\nMehrunes Dagon, Molag Bal, Peryite, Boethiah, and Vaernima are among the most consistently \"demonic\" of the Daedra, in the sense that their spheres seem to be destructive in nature. The other Daedra can, of course, be equally dangerous, but seldom purely for the sake of destruction as these five can. Nor are these previous five identical in their destructiveness. Mehrunes Dagon seems to prefer natural disasters -- earthquakes and volcanoes -- for venting his anger. Molag Bal elects the employment of other daedra, and Boethiah inspires the arms of mortal warriors. Peryite's sphere seems to be pestilence, and Vaernima's torture.\nIn preparation for the next instalment in this series, I will be investigating two matters that have intrigued me since I began my career as a Daedra researcher. The first is on one particular Daedroth, perhaps yet another Daedra prince, referred to in multiple articles of incunabula as Hircine. Hircine has been called \"the Huntsman of the Princes\" and \"the Father of Man-beasts,\" but I have yet to find anyone who can summon him. The other, and perhaps more doubtful, goal I have is to find a practical means for mortal men to pass through to Oblivion. It has always been my philosophy that we need only fear that which we do not understand -- and with that thought in mind, I ever pursue my objective.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wild-elves": {"game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wild-elves", "description": "A treatise on the remainders of the Ayleid civilization.", "author": "Kier-Jo Chorvak", "title": "On Wild Elves", "text": "In the wilds of most every province of Tamriel, descended philosophically if not directly from the original inhabitants of the land, are the Ayleids, commonly called the Wild Elves. While three races of Elven stock -- the Altmer (or High Elves), the Bosmer (or Wood Elves), and the Dunmer (or Dark Elves) -- have assimilated well into the new cultures of Tamriel, the Ayleids and their brethren have remained aloof toward our civilization, preferring to practice the old ways far from the eyes of the world.\nThe Wild Elves speak a variation of Old Cyrodilic, opting to shun Tamrielic and separating themselves from the mainstream of Tamriel even further than the least urbanized of their Elven cousins. In temperament they are dark-spirited and taciturn -- though this is from the point of view of outsiders (or \"Pellani\" in their tongue), and doubtless they act differently within their own tribes.\nIndeed, one of the finest sages of the University of Gwilym was a civilized Ayleid Elf, Tjurhane Fyrre (1E2790-2E227), whose published work on Wild Elves suggests a lively, vibrant culture. Fyrre is one of the very few Ayleids to speak freely on his people and religion, and he himself said \"the nature of the Ayleid tribes is multihued, their personalities often wildly different from their neighbor[ing] tribes\" (Fyrre, T., Nature of Ayleidic Poesy, p. 8, University of Gwilym Press, 2E12).\nLike any alien culture, Wild Elves are often feared by the simple people of Tamriel. The Ayleids continue to be one of the greatest enigmas of the continent of Tamriel. They seldom appear in the pages of written history in any role, and then only as a strange sight a chronicler stumbles upon before they vanish into the wood. When probable fiction is filtered from common legend, we are left with almost nothing. The mysterious ways of the Ayleids have remained shrouded since before the First Era, and may well remain so for thousands of years to come."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/order-mollismo": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/order-mollismo", "description": "An order to a certain armorer from Lady Therana.", "author": "Mollismo", "title": "Order From Mollismo", "text": "Galen,\nI am passing along orders from Therana that two crates of steel armor be delivered to the tower before nightfall. She doesn't care how or where you get them, just have them there as soon as you can. Therana is very irritable and prone to rashness lately with all the rumors of the impending siege by Trerayna, and I would strongly advise you not to become a source of further irritation by failing this duty. You will be compensated for your efforts of course.\nMollismo"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/orders-bivale-teneran": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/orders-bivale-teneran", "description": "An encrypted scroll, containing secret orders for a member of House Hlaalu.", "author": "Nileno Dorvayn", "title": "Orders for Bivale Teneran", "text": "AKJS DHFK AJEH NFFA JKWH EFKJ ADSH CALS EKRY LCAM IWYR AMLX KERM HLAK SJDF AJSC NCMN ALSK DJFO QIWE URPO QYET UIRY HTJK DVNM CXZV NSMC FNLS AKFY JTQP OIRE UTPW EOIG SDKJ FVNB ZMCV NAMC SVNA QLKJ FOQI REUT WPOI RGKJ SDFH VNJC XZVN"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ordo-legionis": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ordo-legionis", "description": "Eh? Latin? \"Order of the Legion\" serves as an introduction to the Imperial Legions for prospective members.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Ordo Legionis", "text": "The most disciplined and effective military force in history, the  Imperial Legions preserve the peace and rule of law in the Empire. At  need, the legion garrisons can be swiftly mobilized to protect against  invasions or internal disorders, but in Vvardenfell District of  Morrowind, the local forts help to insure law and order, providing  guards to supplement the local guard units of the Temple and Great  Houses Hlaalu, Redoran, and Telvanni.\nThere are five legion garrisons in Vvardenfell District. The three town  garrisons -- Moonmoth Legion Fort in Balmora, Buckmoth Legion Fort in  Ald'ruhn, and Fort Pelagiad in Pelagiad -- are at full complement. The  Hawkmoth Legion garrisoned at Castle Ebonheart is an elite honor guard  unit, and also at full complement. The frontier installation, Fort  Darius in Gnisis village, is currently the only under-strength garrison  on Vvardenfell. Qualified citizens seeking enlistment in the Imperial  Legion should apply to the commander of that garrison, General Darius.\nThe Legion selects candidates on the basis of superior endurance, the  soldierly virtue, and trustworthy personality, the citizen's virtue, for  service in the Legion is the model for the duties of Imperial  citizenship. Troopers are expected to demonstrate mastery of the long  blade, the spear, and blunt weapons. Legion troops train with shield and  heavy armor, and so must be skilled at blocking and moving in heavy  armor.\nAs a trooper or knight, you must master the long blade, spear, and blunt  weapons. You must block whatever blows you can, and take unblocked  blows upon your heavy armor. Recruit must also be proficient at  athletics, both to march long distances with heavy packs, and to advance  and maneuver, charge and retreat on the field of battle."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/origin-mages-guild": {"game": ["Morrowind", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/origin-mages-guild", "description": "Yep, our old classic. Read about the birth of the illustrious Mages Guild.", "author": "The Archmage Salarth", "title": "Origin of the Mages Guild", "text": "The idea of a collection of Mages, Sorcerers, and assorted Mystics pooling their resources and talents for the purpose of research and public charity was a revolutionary concept in the early years of the Second Era. The only organization then closest in aim and structure to what we know today as the Mages Guild was the Psijic Order of the Isle of Artaeum. At the time, magic was something to be learned by individuals, or at most within intimate covens. Mages were, if not actually hermits, usually quite solitary.\nThe Psijic Order served the rulers of Summurset Isle as counsellors, and chose its members through a complex, ritualized method not understood by outsiders. Its purposes and goals likewise went unpublished, and detractors attributed the worst evils as the source of the Order's power. Actually, the religion of the old Order could be described as ancestor worship, an increasingly unfashionable philosophy in the Second Era.\nWhen Vanus Galerion, a Psijic of Artaeum and student of the famed Iachesis, began collecting magic-users from around Summurset Isle, he attracted the animosity of all. He was operating out of the urban center of Firsthold, and there was a common (and not entirely unfounded) attitude that magical experiments should be conducted only in unpopulated areas. Even more shocking, Galerion proposed to make magical items, potions, and even spells available to any member of the general public who could afford to pay. No longer was magic to be limited either to the aristocracy or intelligentsia.\nGalerion was brought before Iachesis and the King of Firsthold, Rilis XII, and made to state the intentions of the fraternity he was forming. The fact that Galerion's speech to Rilis and Iachesis was not recorded for posterity is doubtless a tragedy, though it does afford opportunity for historians to amuse one another with speculation about the lies and persuasions Galerion might have used to found the ubiquitous organization. The charter, at any rate, was approved.\nAlmost immediately after the Guild was formed, the question of security had to be addressed. The Isle of Artaeum did not require force of arms to shield it from invaders -- when the Psijic Order does not wish someone to land on the Isle, it and all its inhabitants simply become insubstantial. The new Mages Guild, by contrast, had to hire guards. Galerion soon discovered what the Tamrielan nobility has known for thousands of years: Money alone does not buy loyalty. The knightly Order of the Lamp was formed the following year.\nLike a tree from an acorn, the Mages Guild grew branches all over Summurset Isle and gradually the mainland of Tamriel. There are numerous records of superstitious or sensibly fearful rulers forbidding the Guild in their domains, but their heirs or heirs' heirs eventually recognized the wisdom of allowing the Guild free rein. The Mages Guild has become a powerful force in Tamriel, a dangerous foe if a somewhat disinterested ally. There have been only a few rare incidents of the Mages Guild actually becoming involved in local political struggles. On these occasions, the Guild's participation has been the ultimate decider in the conflict.\nAs begun by Vanus Galerion, the Mages Guild as an institution is presided over by a supreme council of six Archmagisters. Each Guildhall is run by a Guildmagister, assisted by a twofold counsel, the Master of Incunabula and the Master at Arms. The Master of Incunabula presides over an additional counsel of two mages, the Master of Academia and the Master of the Scrye. The Master at Arms also has a counsel of two, the Master of Initiates and the Palatinus, the leader of the local chapter of the Order of the Lamp.\nOne need not be a member of the Mages Guild to know that this carefully contrived hierarchy is often nothing more than a chimera. As Vanus Galerion himself said bitterly, leaving Tamriel to travel to other lands, \u201cThe Guild has become nothing more than an intricate morass of political infighting.\u201d"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/package-caius-casodes": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/package-caius-casodes", "description": "Encoded message from the Emperor to the Spymaster, describing the Nerevarine's mission.", "author": "Glabrio Bellienus", "title": "Package for Caius Casodes", "text": "UDQMDWLGF UALYK ECKAGIK\nMBAGKXWTFSNW SX VVW IPTWTWSL RVVGF GF EPSFSK\nDLVWEHGR RJ AODWRLED KBLEOPAISFCH MF XJSRGIFHSDL GMKVFACW ISUHWRQ TJQJANFIK\nK VSVH XZG VGNRV LQ OUQXEAPH QOX AAVV ZIV QSLSKTBW OKGZEV GGPQWRQMFI DUNDQW CB ANGMNKRMAO SX PC JAQO GT QGNVIIWSFCH\nTUPOEE KEK DSWN UIDGOKEG JJQA HRLWGP PQ HLW ECXWSWCK CILHRVAVM SNG WWPH LO BSM YWLH WLAU AASVMNG DUNDQW KG LO EI WPHWRHH SU O FOYMUG WF TKI AODWRLED QFVEU SX VVW BOEVGG SNG MK VC KEUZW WBVEU CGWF SBVSDWHW AXXZQFATB EK ACM SKEDN GWE IML GLUESX APGGFDV SU VAS PEBGGLYV TSTHACXPST KASKIK CFW CRRUGFFEG\nLAU ASJHWLAG HAUXAEIDAU AAUVWS DVW CG XOOPGYG\nS LRGSN GMPHVKVWLIRR ZQZVS WLSV OF OUTZCB SNG SMVQSSW E QQILH ESJP CF A FIJVOAN GEQ VC MNFIJVOAN SEJGBLS VLSNZ MNLXW CZD TKI LTWTEV SX VVW DXREGF VRLZW QIL TKI APJSDHVK QT EOUVGYWFD DRV UVSLO VWGGLAEPAUV LHH EFEWWNW PSYG SNG GMUHGMV SX VVW DDVC GZNEQ RSVWGNV XZKG GRSLSP OFD RYLEOKT LW UCZDEG MF NSYEQH LJS FEUINCFANH EFF WK SXTHQGWD WS TG O JELRUCFFAWMGP CX TKI DQBYDHEV FIFMHV YGBWRDP SPR XIUWL ECMNFMDQF DOUH APRGRLP FGFWVDV\nHEBSMH LSU HZE DTHGOJAQGW QT EEHXAPU LHH GGPRATLSFU CX TKMK NCUAO WMRSJSWMLKCF TKIJGTGRH ML KG ZIV QSLSKTBW VGGARH XZCH\nHCQEEG GZAOP APGGFDV SU WK PRWKKPDE VELKGXY WLW ECFDLXAQBK OI XZKG SNFMWPH HRRTZGQQ AQH KJODL EIUQAW TKI FGFWVDVAPS\nLHRYYJ HZIV TJQDZEFC AU WFDHIV QBDY DR SPQAEQX DQQSL VYHGFKTLXAQB ZIV QSLSKTB LSU HSKHR UQIFSHP GP HZIV QSVHWR ZMLJ VAS PSKV SPPHVL KBXOUQSPHK AQH UQBXIGEFVG SNG LAU ASJHWLA WK PHVKWOVEG XZCH LHH TJQDZEFC AU UWNXMFG OFD VMYPWXIFEFV SATKIJ KB AT HRLKFWTB SJ KB ATV WWXSJAO TSTHK AQH ZG SSRQIKVZQ DHQSPRK YRY LTSST WLAU ASTWIJ YWLH WLW WHEOVX KGFAOXWFGGK\nCHVLCWF AVTWEHK OI XZKG SNFMWPH KUSIJUHATLSF CFW DHWUTWTEG EL VVW EQH GH HZIV HGEIEEQX SPR XUUXZGF EAWIJKODS ZMDN PW FRVLJQGMLRY DM UOXVAGF ST WLW GOJLLIKV CUCDWAQB AT ZMDN CX CRYJUS TE QIUGGKAUC LJOL YRY SEEMALRL ACMRVIDH PWTWIJ YWLH WLW FSLALPK QT LHLW SPQAEQX KWDWRVMLKCF FUSE ACMR OSUCZ KOXVUGG KIQGW VVAS PELVSJ IQXAOOLEOC UQBUEURK RQFAPI AV WK EATWEHWD WLSV MGU ZMDN SEPOSQ JWE TR KSVVWR LRXQFEAWMGP CF TKMK UITJHGL JWK MDNWUHQ HDW LCYWN D KJGOL PHVKQBSL LRLGFWSW MF VVW LHKWPRK AQH HTCHHHGAGG GF WLW PSJEYEJKBW AQH WCUWROC SYOATV VWRCJTV CGWF JESSJVG\nA HDZW VVW HRRGT HG BH WAT MGUU QGUH ZUPFDG OFD RFWFWWNW WWTJSNW\nKDCPJIR FWNZAEQYK\nRSJSRRSN GWCUILCFQ TR XZG SEPHVGT\nOLTDGZOSFT\nWLW PSJEYEJKBW PUSHJSUY\nWLAU AGSWGGOAGN YIJUS AS RRW ECDLHGLGR XRRQ SUVDAQHWT HJIEIKOSF OXV APQGMSPWVS KOXVUGG KUJKWUH LHDX LJS SSKPSPRWRV LSXS S SWVGPU LRDHAVWGN RJ VTSSMYMKKCFS DRV RFGPKIUKSK AQH LJOL APSFI HZE DWZNOFDHVK VVWRH EJG ASNB SLJSJ VHVKG DJOSLWEWWS FSFESJNLRY VVW NHVWXOJIQI\nOJSF EDVLJ WK SXRVGFWD DRV UYAEV GZQYWD EPSEY\nSNG WDGSHEUW KGFNE WLW USNEQ GMTGWS\nWS LJS ZEDVLJ HZEUI UQAWS D WLTOFGHV\nBQIJNHCWF TSR QISVV EORR SPR KTDV\nLJCMGK WLCFCBRVF VC KIUI MPQWRWEAP\nVAS DWHGQL MDVCU VAS FIJVOAN IELG VAS FIJVOAN DWHGQL MDVCU VAS IELG\nKACNIV UHSLN LAO FAGKXWQIK CXVKG VAM\nSVGRVWTV WHGOC BXX SNZ VEQC\nECBQ TUMSNG EANI ECBAFHWL\nVVW SWVSPUWRV JSVS LHH GMTGWS EEFG\nASNB XGWQZSWSFGG LRB XZG GLRDRYGF\nEAQC XCZD BXX GPS JEPEAPG\nFOWIK YWLH OMFG FWFHVWPQWS\nSVWUIEEG XG TSXEU XG GOJTKUMCYWS DRV GFMPWMGPG GF UIV OCMNWEAP ODSR OFQKF AV HSICLH XV HQGKIEPQ TSXEUW LQ HZE EPAIVL A OSUCZ HHHRGOSFOQ\nWDGSHEUW KGJWN FYJUSK RHJWTSFCHW STS GBVGMTS\nLHLW AU O UOPQGP HJOSI XQF DOQK LTONEO FQ FOQ AQH FKUZT EYL JSJE DPKQ GHEFMXKQSLOC JGTWRV XG PSJEYEJU TSMLPQ EFWSW FGTBW OQ WLCBVAUHK CFEOU EFF KWASSFU\nCTSFYJG HSKHR ZGFW TR MERZQ SXTWTBSTXVSN PARWL GT OEBLKMQIK OU WWEFWT SEJGBLAJI GT PGTK WLCFCBRVF OOQ MHEF QFHHDRWF CJ NDOWF KATKSMV DSRHRLU\nOKPHGL TSXEUW ZKG XAWI SU TGRHXGNR AN WLW UHSRV XZG GMBMIUVG ZOUSKECHE PELEVWS WLW ROJTLGMNOJS RJ LJS HRRTZGQAEV\nGGPJWNWMGPOD CRQHNOANW SX RFGPKILU BG OQI HCMK AQC SVHWNWMGP HG UV\nTWTVSPV FQ QJWRFSEKBY TKI KGJWN FYJUSK TKI KVFSNJIJ KRWNWMXKSK HLQKGZX"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/parchments-scrawlings": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/parchments-scrawlings", "description": "The ravings of the deranged Sixth House Cult!", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Parchments with Scrawlings", "text": "ALL CRIES ARE WAKING!\nWhitest White of all White!\nBlackest Blacks of all Blacks!\nShame and Son, Sun, and Shadow!\nStronger than gods, brighter than mortals!\nOnly He is Awake!\nOnly He is Alive!\nHe Knows the Names and the Naming!\nHe Knows the Wait and the Waiting!\nHe Enters into every Star and Moon!\nHe Shines through their Shadows!\nOne Shape, One Spelling!\nOne Wraith, One Casting!\nFrom Darkness, He is Armed!\nFrom Light, He is Warded!\nHe is All Things!\nDrake! Liche! Theomen!\nOn rivers of fire he comes forth!\nThrough storms of dreams he rides!\nWith slivers of steel he pierces the Heart!\nAll Spells, Powers, Curses Broken!\nThe Chains are Shattered!\nThe Scales Fall Away!\nI see you with MY EYE!\nAnd all is SILENCE!\nI Wake! I Remember!\nLORD!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/peke-utchoos-last-words": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/peke-utchoos-last-words", "description": "A letter found in the Mudan Grotto. A last words of trapped and dying adventurer deep inside the grotto.", "author": "Peke Utchoo", "title": "Peke Utchoo's Last Words", "text": "The final words of a dead man being found near his corpse are so very cliche. I never thought I would be in the position of writing one of them, but the opportunity has arisen, and it seemed the thing to do. The story of my death is very comical indeed. If anyone shall ever find me, I hope I am able to bring them to laughter. For, as I lay here dying, I laugh myself. My last breath shall be the exhale of a laugh.\nMy journey across Vivec brought me to this well camouflaged cavern. Filled with sea water and dangers, the temptation of adventure and riches lured me inside. Happening across this lost Dwemer dwelling was a surprise indeed! I was able to get this far. I climbed into this tower after my confrontation with a Dwemer centurion. The plan was to heal my wounds and continue forth. With excitement and greed overwhelming me, I mistook my bottle of poison for the healing elixir. Now I lie dying. I drank down the contents of my healing potion, but that did not nullify the effects of the poison. I fear my innards are slowly liquefying. I shall be dead within the day, laughing about my recent lack of luck.\nI have with me, the key to a lock I have yet to find. I found the key just inside the main entrance. Perhaps it is the key to the Dwemer riches. For, I will never know.\nIf one shall happen across my note, congratulations on making it thus far. And do not drink the rest of the bottle here. It tastes like Guar bile, but is 10 times deadlier.\nPeke Utchoo"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/pirate-captains-note": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/pirate-captains-note", "description": "A note of the pirate's treasures.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Pirate Captain's Note", "text": "Near the mighty sun's great stone,\nAn arch marks withered flesh and bone.\nAnd at the base you'll know sweet luck,\nIf dig you will straight through the muck."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/private-papers-galur-rithari-buoyant-armiger": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/private-papers-galur-rithari-buoyant-armiger", "description": "The story of a Bouyant Armiger turned vampire and then cured.", "author": "Galur Rithari", "title": "Private Papers of Galur Rithari, Buoyant Armiger", "text": "[hand-written manuscripts bound as folios; excerpts]\n\"Outnumbered and isolated, I yielded to my foe. The creature dressed  like a gentleman, and I hoped for honorable treatment. Instead, I found  myself a feast for a blood-drinking monster.\n\"Shamed by my corruption, and despairing of my own welfare, I passively  acquiesced in my gradual integration into the affairs of Clan Aundae. I  made no human my prey, only beasts, and kept myself apart from the other  clankin; nonetheless, I abandoned hope and lived like a beast.\n\"Drawn by intimations of my former life, I visited my former post at Bal  Ur, hoping perhaps to atone in some for my crimes by preying upon its  monsters, or perishing under their attacks. It is there that, by chance,  I made petition to the Lord of Troubles, Molag Bal, at an altar deep in  the caverns beneath the pilgrim's shrine. I was surprised, and  thrilled, and terrified, when Molag Bal, or some aspect or agent of that  Daedra Lord, offered me a chance to cure myself of vampirism, in return  for a favor. However, with no hope for my soul or spirit unless I might  be cured, I undertook his quest.\n[Rithari sought and obtained a cursed soul gem of mysterious nature from  a deep cavern on the northern slopes of Dagoth Ur, delivering it to  Molag Bal's shrine in Bal Ur.]\n\"I placed the gem within the basin before the altar, and instantly  experienced a blinding of pain and terror that I cannot express in  words, except that it seemed afterward that I had been asleep and  dreaming that I was being sliced by thousands of tiny knives from my  bowels inside out. I awoke before the altar, and gazed in the reflection  of my own sword blade at my own face - no longer a blood-seeking beast  of teeth and empty eyes.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/progress-truth": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/progress-truth", "description": "A book that questioning the doctrine of the Tribunal temple and even the Tribunal godhood.", "author": "Dissident Priests", "title": "Progress Of Truth", "text": "EXCERPT: concerning the points of Temple doctrine challenged by the  Dissident priests:\n1. the divinity of the Tribunal\nTemple doctrine claims their apotheosis was miraculously achieved  through questing, virtue, knowledge, testing, and battling with Evil;  Temple doctrine claims their divine powers and immortality are  ultimately conferred as a communal judgement by the Dunmer ancestors  [including, among others, the Good Daedra, the prophet Veloth, and Saint  Nerevar]. Dissident Priests ask whether Dagoth Ur's powers and the  Tribunal powers might ultimately derive from the same source -- Red  Mountain. Sources in the Apographa suggest that the Tribunal relied on  profanely enchanted tools to achieve godhead, and that those unholy  devices were the ones originally created by the ungodly Dwemer sorceror  Kagrenac to create the False Construct Numidium.\n2. the purity of the Tribunal\nThe Dissident Priests say that the Temple has always maintained a public  face [represented by the Heirographa -- the \"priestly writings\"] and a  hidden face [represented by the Apographa -- the \"hidden writings\"]. The  public account portrays the actions of the Tribunal in a heroic light,  while the hidden writings reveal secrets, untruths, inconsistencies,  conflicting accounts and varying interpretations which hint at darker  and less heroic motives and actions of the Tribunes. In particular,  conflicting accounts of the battle at Red Mountain raise questions about  the Tribunal's conduct, and about the source of their subsequent  apotheosis. Also, there is good evidence that the Tribunal have been  concealing the true nature of the threat posed by Dagoth Ur at Red  Mountain, misleading the people about the Tribunal's ability to protect  Morrowind from Dagoth Ur, and concealing a recent dramatic diminishing  of the Tribunal's magical powers.\n3. Temple accounts of the Battle of Red Mountain\nAshlander tradition does not place the Tribunal at Red Mountain, and  holds that the Dwemer destroyed themselves, rather than that Nerevar  destroyed them. Ashlander tradition further holds that Nerevar left  Dagoth Ur guarding the profane secrets of Red Mountain while Nerevar  went to confer with the Grand Council [i.e., the Tribunal], that Nerevar  died at the conference [not of his wounds, according to the Ashlanders,  but from treachery], and that subsequently the Tribunal confronted a  defiant Dagoth Ur within Red Mountain, then drove Dagoth Ur beneath Red  Mountain when he would not yield to their will.\n4. veneration of the Daedra, Saints, and Ancestors\nWhile challenging the divinity of the Tribunal, the Dissidents do not  challenge the sainthood or heroism of the Tribunal. In fact, the  Dissident Priests advocate restoring many of the elements of  Fundamentalist Ancestor Worship as practiced by the Ashlanders and by  Saint Veloth. Exactly how this would work is debated inconclusively  within the Dissident Priests.\n5. denial of the prophecies of the Incarnate, and persecution of the  Nerevarines\nThough no consensus exists among the Dissidents about whether the  Nerevarine prophecies are genuine, all agree that the persecution of the  Nerevarines is unjust and politically motivated. The Dissident Priests  do not reject mysticism, revelation, or prophecy as part of the  religious experience. The Dissidents have not resolved the issue of true  or false insights. They have studied the mysticism of the Ashlander  Ancestor Cults, in particular the rites of the Ashlander seers and wise  women, and the prophecies of the Incarnate. Many among the Dissident  Priests have come to believe that the Nerevarine prophecies are genuine,  and have made a systematic study of prophecies recorded in Temple  archives.\n6. Authority of the Archcanon and the Ordinators\nThe Dissident Priests reject the authority of the Archcanon and the  Ordinators. The temple hierarchy has been corrupted by self-interest and  politics, and no longer acts in the best interests of the Temple or its  worshippers. The Dissident Priests believe the Archcanon and Ordinators  speak for themselves, not for the Tribunal.\n7. the Inquisition and the use of terror and torture by the  Ordinators\nWithin the Temple hierarchy it is an open secret that the Ordinators  rely on abduction, terror, torture, and secret imprisonment to  discourage heresy and dissent. The Dissident Priests feel the Ordinators  are either out of control, or tools used to maintain a corrupt  priesthood in power.\n8. fundamentals of Temple doctrine - Charity for the Poor, Education  for the Ignorant, Protection for the Weak\nThough the Dissident Priests acknowledge that most rank-and-file priests  honor the best traditions of the Temple, they believe that many priests  in higher ranks are interested more in love of authority and luxury  than in the welfare of the poor, weak, and ignorant."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/provinces-tamriel": {"game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/provinces-tamriel", "description": "A description of the nine provinces of Tamriel. Includes a map.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Provinces of Tamriel", "text": "\nThe Empire of Tamriel encompasses the nine Imperial provinces: Skyrim, High Rock, Hammerfell, Summerset Isle, Valenwood, Elsweyr, Black Marsh, Morrowind, and the ancient Imperial province itself, Cyrodiil. Morrowind was among the last of the provinces to be integrated into the Empire, and because it was added by treaty, and not by conquest, Morrowind retains exceptional power to define local law by reference to ancient Great House precedents.\nSkyrim, also known as the Old Kingdom or the Fatherland, was the first region of Tamriel settled by humans from the continent of Atmora: the hardy, brave, warlike Nords, whose descendants still occupy this rugged land. Though more restrained and civilized than their barbarian ancestors, the Nords of the pure blood still excel in the manly virtues of red war and bold exploration.\nHammerfell is primarily an urban and maritime province, with most of its population confined to the great cities of Sentinel and Stros M'Kai and to other small ports among the islands and along the coast. The interior is sparsely populated with small poor farms and beastherds. The Redguard love of travel, adventure, and the high seas has dispersed them as sailors, mercenaries, and adventurers in ports of call throughout the Empire.\nHigh Rock encompasses the many lands and clans of Greater Bretony, the Dellese Isles, the Bjoulsae River tribes, and, by tradition, the Western Reach. The rugged highland strongholds and isolated valley settlements have encouraged the fierce independence of the various local Breton clans, and this contentious tribal nature has never been completely integrated into a provincial or Imperial identity. Nonetheless, their language, bardic traditions, and heroic legends are a unifying common legacy.\nThe Summerset Isle is a green and pleasant land of fertile farmlands, woodland parks, and ancient towers and manors. Most settlements are small and isolated, and dominated by ruling seats of the local wizard or warlord. The Isle has few good natural ports, and the natives are unwelcoming to foreigners, so the ancient, chivalric high culture of the Aldmer is little affected by modern Imperial mercantilism.\nValenwood is a largely uninhabited forest wilderness. The coasts of Valenwood are dominated by mangrove swamps and tropical rain forests, while heavy rainfalls nurture the temperate inland rain forests. The Bosmer live in timber clanhouses at sites scattered along the coast and through the interior, connected only by undeveloped foot trails. The few Imperial roads traverse vast dense woodlands, studded with tiny, widely separated settlements, and carry little trade or traffic of any kind.\nThe Khajiit of the southern Elsweyr jungles and river basins are settled city dwellers with ancient mercantile traditions and a stable agrarian aristocracy based on sugarcane and saltrice plantations. The nomadic tribal Khajiit of the dry northern wastes and grasslands are, by contrast, aggressive and territorial tribal raiders periodically united under tribal warlords. While the settled south has been quick to adopt Imperial ways, the northern nomadic tribes cling to their warlike barbarian traditions.\nMost of the native Argonian population of Black Marsh is confined to the great inland waterways and impenetrable swamps of the southern interior. There are few roads here, and most travel is by boat. The coasts and the northwestern upland forests are largely uninhabited. For ages the Dunmer have raided Black Marsh for slaves; though the Empire has made this illegal, the practice persists, and Dunmer and Argonians have a long-standing and bitter hatred for one another.\nMorrowind, homeland of the Dunmer peoples, is the northeastmost province of the Tamrielic Empire. Most of the population is gathered in the high uplands and fertile river valleys of central Morrowind, especially around the Inland Sea. The island Vvardenfel is encircled by the Inner Sea, and is dominated by the titanic volcano Red Mountain and its associated ash wastelands; most of the island's population is confined to the relatively hospitable west and southwest coast.\nCyrodiil is the cradle of Human Imperial high culture on Tamriel. It is the largest region of the continent, and most is endless jungle. The Imperial City is in the heartland, the fertile Nibenay Valley. The densely populated central valley is surrounded by wild rain forests drained by great rivers into the swamps of Argonia and Topal Bay. The land rises gradually to the west and sharply to the north. Between its western coast and its central valley are deciduous forests and mangrove swamps."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/public-notice": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/public-notice", "description": "A wanted letter for the Nerevarine - before he was truly accepted by Vivec.", "author": "Berel Sala", "title": "Public Notice", "text": "WELL-BELOVED PEOPLE OF MORROWIND! TAKE HEED! TAKE WARNING!\nThe outlaw named <Name>, stated trade of <Class>, lately  called 'Incarnate' and 'Nerevarine,' now is shown to the investigating  Ordinators and Magistrates of this district to be an agent in the pay of  the Imperial Intelligence Service. This outlaw's claims are false. The  prophecies this outlaw cites are discredited. The dishonest character  and base purposes of the outlaw in perpetrating this hoax are now made  clear to all observers. <Name> is sought for various crimes by  Ordinators and town guards. Report all encounters with this outlaw to  the proper authorities. If you see this outlaw in public, give the  alarm.\nPublished by the authority of the Temple, the Order of the Watch,  Magistrates of Vvardenfel District, under the signature and authority of  Grandmaster Berel Sala, Captain of the Watch. Hear and Heed!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/realizations-acrobacy": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/realizations-acrobacy", "description": "A tale of a struggle between Telvanni councilors Neloth and Gothren. Gothren listens to a troupe of acrobats tell him how they stole Mehrunes Razor from Neloth, which had up until that point allowed Neloth to gain a tactical advantage over his fellow councilor.", "author": "Master Rhunen Zebavi", "title": "Realizations of Acrobacy", "text": "Master Gothren agreed to see the acrobats because he needed  entertaining. For months now, he had been struggling with his fellow  Telvanni Councilor, Master Neloth. Recently he always found himself on  the defensive. It was intolerable - Master Gothren losing a battle with  the contemptible Neloth. Inspired by their master's weapon, Mehrunes'  Razor, Neloth's normally cowardly troops had been nigh invincible.  Gothren's own troops had no hope, except to pray that Mehrunes Dagon  would reclaim his artifact. Considering how much havoc it was causing,  it seemed likely that the daedra prince would allow Master Neloth its  use for some time to come.\nAn acrobatic distraction would be a welcome relief.\n\"What tricks can your troupe perform?\" asked the wizard to the lead  acrobat, Rhunen.\n\"Mighty Gothren, alas, we know no tricks. All the realizations of  acrobacy we perform are real with no illusions. We wish we knew tricks,  for it's far too time-consuming to have to master actual feats.\"\n\"Very well, what realizations of acrobacy can you perform?\" asked  Gothren with what almost looked like a smile.\n\"Master Jereth will dazzle you as he juggles fifteen flaming globes  while hopping across broken glass. Master Tulkiande will astound you as  she supports her body with one finger while rotating hoops in ornate  patterns with her legs. Master Mearvis will take a simple ebony blade  --\"\n\"And the outlander female?\" asked the Ashkhan with some  disapprobation and a dismissive gesture toward the Redguard woman in the  troupe.\n\"Master Senyndie? Ah, Mighty Gothren, she hails from the Alik'r  Desert of Hammerfell where she won renown for her skill at climbing  sheer surfaces. You must see her at work to believe it. She moves  vertically like you and I move horizontally.\"\n\"That is all very well, but I do not like outlanders in my court,\"  said the Ashkhan. \"Many are spies.\"\n\"Oh, well, Master Neloth felt similiarly that --\"\n\"Neloth?!\" roared Gothren. \"You entertained that whoreson?!\"\n\"Two days ago, yes. I remember that he said there have been strained  relations between you two. He also had some concerns about the  outlanders in our troupe, though it was our Khajiit tumbler Master  S'Rabba who he was particularly suspicious of. In fact, the irony is  that he thought S'Rabba was a spy for you. Well, you know Khajiit.  Actually, maybe you don't.\"\n\"They are a slave race who hold little interest to me,\" growled  Gothren.\n\"You're like Master Neloth then,\" said Rhunen quickly, fully aware of  Gothren's growing rage, which that particular comment had only  enflamed. \"He wasn't used to Khajiit either. Or their dark sense of  humor. He took some sarcastic comments from Master S'Rabba literally,  and we all ended up being tortured for information about you and your  troops. You probably haven't had the experience of being tortured for  information you don't have, have you? I wouldn't recommend it.  Eventually, we were let go on the understanding that we would never set  foot in Sadrith Mora again. Actually, not all of us were let go. Master  S'Rabba had apparently died under torture. You have probably had  experience torturing the slave races and know how easily they break.\"\n\"No, I haven't,\" replied Master Gothren. The fury was dead.\n\"We should have probably left then, but we decided that he still owed  us for the entertainment we provided under torture. We weren't sure how  to collect, but he mentioned during the course of his ravings that he  had a very valuable bauble. A razor of some kind.\"\n\"Mehrunes' Razor,\" he gasped. \"What -- what did you do?\"\n\"Masters Harakostil and Thelegorm compressed themselves low enough to  squirm under the gates so they could lower the bridge into the main  courtyard of the stronghold. Masters Tulkiande, Mearvis, Jereth, and I  formed a pyramid to give Master Senyndie a boost up to the tower of Tel  Naga. She scaled it to the top --\"\n\"She scaled it?\" asked Gothren, who was familiar with the tower.\n\"It was high, but the surface of these Telvanni mushrooms is  practically a ladder to someone of Master Senyndie's skills. In a few  minutes' time, she was in the room with the razor in hand. In a few more  minutes, she was back down the tower and we were running for the  Gateway Inn. Now, with all humility, I would say that no one is faster  on their feet than our troupe, but Master Neloth's guards were  surprisingly quick. I sent the troupe through the gate to the docks  while I distracted the guards.\"\n\"I confess, I never associated brave actions with traveling  acrobats,\" said Gothren.\n\"It wasn't bravery, it was economics,\" smiled Rhunen. \"I considered  the amount of gold and time it takes to train a good troupe, and it  seemed smarter to try to save everyone. In any case, I lured the guards  around to the back of the Gateway Inn, far from the others, and when I  was sure they were safe, I jumped off the wall and into the water.\"\n\"You jumped off the wall?\"\n\"Well, yes, as a matter of fact, I did. It's pretty tall. It was a  simple matter, especially since I could land in the water. Still, it's  only a matter of rolling and twisting the body like so. I'll demonstrate  it if you want.\"\n\"Later, if you please,\" said the Ashkhan. \"What happened then?\"\n\"We arrived here at court,\" said Rhunen simply.\n\"And when did Master Neloth get Mehrunes' Razor back from you?\"\n\"Mighty Gothren, that part of the story hasn't happened yet,\" said  Rhunen. \"Are you ready for us to perform for you now? I hadn't told you  yet about our latest realization of acrobacy when Master Mearvis takes a  simple ebony blade and juggles it in one hand and a handful of  marshmerrow reeds in the other. I don't want to give the whole effect  away, but at the end of the act, you have some very fine sheets of  papyrus.\"\n\"It sounds delightful, Master Rhunen,\" said Gothren. \"I look forward  to seeing it in a few days time, but I must leave now to meet Master  Neloth on the field. I will soon return for a victory celebration, and I  want to see all your realizations of acrobacy. In the meantime, you  will be honored guests with every luxury the  Archmagister of House  Telvanni can afford.\"\n\"So the room and board will be almost as nice as a third rate show in  Rihad,\" said Senyndie as they took their rooms a few hours later. \"Why  do we bother with these backwoods performances?\"\n\"There are already so many jugglers in Rihad,\" said Rhunen with a  shrug."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/redoran-cooking-secrets": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/redoran-cooking-secrets", "description": "Just like it says- a Redoran cookbook.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Redoran Cooking Secrets [MW]", "text": "Crab Meat and Scuttle\n2 handfuls of scuttle\n\t4 pinches of wickwheat\n\t1 large kwama egg\n\tthe meat of one mudcrab (two portions)\n\t1 handful of chopped bittergreen\nBeat eggs, wickwheat, and scuttle in a large bowl. Slowly stir in crabmeat and bittergreen. Bake covered in a hot over for one half hour to one hour (when a knife comes out clean).\nThe Hound and Rat\n1 pie crust\n\t1 pound of ground meat (mixed rat and hound)\n\ta hand and a half of cooked saltrice\n\t1 handful of scuttle\n\t1 small kwama egg\n\ta pinch of ash salts\nCook the mixed meat in a pan over an open flame. When the meat begins to brown, add the saltrice. Stir for a few moments and add the scuttle and kwama egg. When the kwama egg is fully cooked and the scuttle has melted, pour from the pan into the pie crust. Sprinkle with ash salts and cover the pie crust. Bake for one quarter hour in a hot oven."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/reflections-cult-worship-empire": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/reflections-cult-worship-empire", "description": "Comparisons between the Imperial Cult and the Tribunal Temple.", "author": "Cuseius Plecia", "title": "Reflections on Cult Worship in the Empire", "text": "[from the correspondence of Cuseius Plecia, Imperial trader, writing  from the Vos Tradehouse in Vvardenfell District, Province of Morrowind]\n\"...I have noted that Heartlanders like myself, and assimilated  Imperial Citizens of other races, tend to impersonal and formal  relationships with their gods and spirits. For us, cults are first and  foremost social and economic organizations. We typically think of the  Eight Divines in the most abstract terms -- as powerful but indifferent  spirits to be propitiated, and do not think of their relationships as  personal. Notable exceptions include minor charismatic sub-cults of  Akatosh and Dibella. The Imperial Cult of Tiber Septim also has a  significant charismatic sub-cult.\nWith the exception of the Alessian Order, which Heartlanders regard  as a dark age, religious cults have played only minor parts in  Heartlander and Imperial history. The Septim emperors have made it a  policy to limit the influence of cult authorities in aristocratic,  military, and bureaucratic affairs. Cult worship is regarded as a  private and practical matter, and public pronouncements by religious  figures are not welcomed.\nNordic hero-cults provide a strong counter-current to the dominant  secularism of the Empire. The Imperial cult of Tiber Septim is just such  a hero-cult, and among the military, provincial colonists, and recently  assimilated foreigners, the cult is particularly strong and personal.\nThe Tribunal Temple in Morrowind, and its predecessor, house ancestor  cults, are, by contrast with Imperial cults, extremely intimate and  personal. In ancestor cults, the worshipper has a direct relationship  with a blood family ancestor spirit, and the Temple cultist's  relationship with the Tribunal is a relationship with a living,  breathing god who walks the earth, speaks in person with priests and  cultists, and whose daily actions are prescribed models for the daily  actions of their followers.\nThe differences in religious temperament between Heartlanders and  Morrowind Dunmer accounts in large part for consistent political and  social misunderstanding between the two cultures. Heartlanders do not  consider cult affairs as serious matters, where the Dunmer consider cult  affairs, and in particular, ancestral spirit veneration, to be very  serious matters indeed.\nHeartlanders are casual and tolerant in religious matters; Dunmer are  passionate and extremely intolerant. Heartlanders do not speak with  their gods, and do not think of their actions as under constant review  and judgement by their gods; the Dunmer feel that all they think and do  is under the ever-watchful eye of the Tribunal and family ancestor  spirits....\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rels-tenim-journal-page": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rels-tenim-journal-page", "description": "A page of Rels Tenim journal, talking about a dread dealing with something powerful and evil.", "author": "Rels Tenim", "title": "Rels Tenim Journal Page", "text": "We've struck a bargain with evil. While I am uncomfortable and feel some  unease with our current arrangement, I believe these warrens will serve  us well for some time. Those who hope to destroy me must be of stout  spirit and cunning mind, for if they simply forge ahead in these caves,  they may meet a fate far worse than death.\nWhen we first discovered these caves and began our explorations, we were  sure we had found refuge from our enemies. Little did we know, as we  pushed into the interior galleries what we would find. In the final  chamber, we came upon the ruined portal to a vast tomb. At first we were  eager to chance upon some riches to fill our coffers, but instead we  found ourselves within the nest of deadly creatures. By our wits and  skill of arms, we were able to retreat from the dark lair. For a time we  sealed the entry, but the threat continued to gnaw at us. It was Giden  who conceived the plan with which we presented to those beings of  darkness. In return for our right to dwell within these caves, we  provide \"sustenance\" for these creatures. To assist us in this venture,  we have created a lure, a path for the bounty hunters and meddlesome  folk to follow. The unwary will find themselves in the clutches of a  black fate.\nMulvrulea is very unhappy with the current conditions and I am finding  myself concurring. This cannot come to a good end, but we must stay the  course until a new safehold can be found."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/response-beros-speech": {"game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/response-beros-speech", "description": "The author responds to various claims about magicka theory made by illusionist Berevar Bero.", "author": "Malviser", "title": "Response to Bero's Speech", "text": "Response to Bero's Speech\nby\n\tMalviser, Battlemage\nOn the 14th of Last Seed, an illusionist by the name of Berevar Bero gave a very ignorant speech at the Chantry of Julianos in the Imperial City. As ignorant speeches are hardly uncommon, there was no reason to respond to it. Unfortunately, he has since had the speech privately printed as \"Bero's Speech to the Battlemages,\" and it's received some small, undeserved attention in academic circles. Let us put his misconceptions to rest.\nBero began his lecture with an occasionally factual account of famous Battlemages from Zurin Arctus, Tiber Septim's Imperial Battlemage, to Jagar Tharn, Uriel Septim VII's Imperial Battlemage. His intent was to show that where it matters, the Battlemage relies on other Schools of Magicka, not the School of Destruction which is supposedly a Battlemage's particular forte. Allow me first to dispute these so-called historical facts.\nZurin Arctus did not create the golem Numidium by spells of Mysticism and Conjuration as Bero alleges. The truth is that we don't know how Numidium was created or if it was a golem or atronach in any traditional sense of those words. Uriel V's Battlemage Hethoth was not an Imperial Battlemage -- he was simply a sorcerer in the employ of the Empire, thus which spells he cast in the various battles on Akavir are irrelevant, not to mention heresay. Bero calls Empress Morihatha's Battlemage Welloc \"an accomplished diplomat\" but not \"a powerful student of the School of Destruction.\" I congratulate Bero on correctly identifying an Imperial Battlemage, but there are many written examples of Welloc's skill in the School of Destruction. The sage Celarus, for example, wrote extensively about Welloc casting the Vampiric Cloud on the rebellious army of Blackrose, causing their strength and skill to pass on to their opponents. What is this, but an impressive example of the School of Destruction?\nBero rather pathetically includes Jagar Tharn in his list of underachieving Battlemages. To use an insane traitor as example of rational behavior is an untenable position. What would Bero prefer? That Tharn used the School of Destruction to destroy Tamriel by a more traditional means?\nBero uses his misrepresenta- tion of history as the basis for his argument. Even if he had found four excellent examples from history of Battlemages casting spells outside their School -- and he didn't -- he would only have anecdotal evidence, which isn't enough to support an argument. I could easily find four examples of illusionists casting healing spells, or nightblades teleporting. There is a time and a place for everything.\nBero's argument, built on this shaky ground, is that the School of Destruction is not a true school. He calls it \"narrow and shallow\" as an avenue of study, and its students impatient, with megalomaniac tendencies. How can one respond to this? Someone who knows nothing about casting a spell of Destruction criticizing the School for being too simple? Summarizing the School of Destruction as learning how to do the \"maximum amount of damage in the minimum amount of time\" is clearly absurd, and he expounds on his ignorance by listing all the complicated factors studied in his own School of Illusion.\nAllow me in response to list the factors studied in the School of Destruction. The means of delivering the spell matters more in the School of Destruction than any other school, whether it is cast at a touch, at a range, in concentric circles, or cast once to be triggered later. What forces must be reigned in to cast the spell: fire, lightning, or frost? And what are the advantages and dangers of each? What are the responses from different targets from the assault of different spells of destruction? What are the possible defenses and how may they be assailed? What environmental factors must be taken into consideration? What are the advantages of a spell of delayed damage? Bero suggests that the School of Destruction cannot be subtle, yet he forgets about all the Curses that fall under the mantle of the school, sometimes affecting generation after generation in subtle yet sublime ways.\nThe School of Alteration is a distinct and separate entity from the School of Destruction, and Bero's argument that they should be merged into one is patently ludicrous. He insists -- again, a man who knows nothing about the Schools of Alteration and Destruction, is the one insisting this -- that \"damage\" is part of the changing of reality dealt with by the spells of Alteration. The implication is that Levitation, to list a spell of Alteration, is a close cousin of Shock Bolt, a spell of Destruction. It would make as much sense to say that the School of Alteration, being all about the actuality of change, should absorb the School of Illusion, being all about the appearance of change.\nIt certainly isn't a coincidence that a master of the School of Illusion cast this attack on the School of Destruction. Illusion is, after all, all about masking the truth."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rethan-manor-land-deed": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rethan-manor-land-deed", "description": "A letter that states the player is the owner of Rethan Manor, or a land northeast coast of the River Odai south of Balmora.", "author": "Baren Alen", "title": "Rethan Manor Land Deed", "text": "By the Grace of ALMSIVI, Lords and Rulers of All\nKnow all Dunmer by these words that I, Hlaalu <Name>, have legally  purchased the land of Rethan Manor on the northeast coast of the River  Odai south of Balmora. Witness my hand below.\nSeal of the seller\nBaren Alen, Treasurer of the Great House Hlaalu\nSeal of the buyer\n<Name>"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rogue-necromancers-journal": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rogue-necromancers-journal", "description": "A necromancer note about Mantle of Woe and his research in Solstheim.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Rogue Necromancer's Journal", "text": "Weaklings and cowards! I care not what they think of me, or my pursuit of the dark arts. Who are they to dictate the form of magicka I practice? Vvardenfell holds generations of dead just ripe for the picking, and yet they hoard this resource as if it were \"sacred.\" Such nonsense!\nI have been less successful here on Solstheim than I would have hoped. That cursed magic ice protects many of the corpses, and even I have trouble controlling the savage draugrs. Even so, my work continues, and the apprentices are growing more powerful every day.\nMy latest research has revealed the location of the Mantle of Woe. It lies within the Rimhull ice cave. Soon I will claim its dark power as my own!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ruins-kemel-ze": {"game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion", "Skyrim", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ruins-kemel-ze", "description": "An archeologist's adventure in the fabled ruin.", "author": "Rolard Nordssen", "title": "Ruins of Kemel-Ze", "text": "With the acclamations of the Fellows of the Imperial Society still ringing in my ears, I decided to return to Morrowind immediately. It was not without some regret that I bade farewell to the fleshpots of the Imperial City, but I knew that the wonders I had brought back from Raled-Makai had only scratched the surface of the Dwemer ruins in Morrowind. Even more spectacular treasures were out there, I felt, just waiting to be found, and I was eager to be off. I also had before me the salutary example of poor Bannerman, who was still dining out on his single expedition to Black Marsh twenty years ago. That would never be me, I vowed.\nWith my letter from the Empress in hand, this time I would have the full cooperation of the Imperial authorities. No more need to worry about attacks from superstitious locals. But where should I look next? The ruins at Kemel-Ze were the obvious choice. Unlike Raled-Makai, getting to the ruins would not be a problem. Also known as the \"Cliff City\", Kemel-Ze lies on the mainland side of the Vvardenfel Rift, sprawling down the sheer coastal cliff. Travelers from the east coast of Vvardenfel often visit the site by boat, and it can also be reached overland from the nearby villages without undue hardship.\nOnce my expedition had assembled in Seyda Neen, with the usual tedious complications involved in operating in this half-civilized land, we set out for the village of Marog near the ruins, where we hoped to hire a party of diggers. My interpreter, Tuen Panai, an unusually jolly fellow for a Dark Elf who I had hired in Seyda Neen at the recommendation of the local garrison commander, assured me that the local villagers would be very familiar with Kemel-Ze, having looted the site for generations. Incidentally, Ten Penny (as we soon came to call him, to his constant amusement) proved invaluable and I would recommend him without hesitation to any of my colleagues who were planning similar expeditions to the wilds of Morrowind.\nAt Marog, we ran into our first trouble. The hetman of the village, a reserved, elegant old fellow, seemed willing to cooperate, but the local priest (a representative of the absurd religion they have here, worshiping something called the Tribunal who they claim actually live in palaces in Morrowind) was fervently against us excavating the ruins. He looked likely to sway the villagers to his side with his talk of \"religious taboos\", but I waved the Empress's letter under his nose and mentioned something about my friend the garrison commander at Seyda Neen and he quieted right down. No doubt this was just a standard negotiating tactic arranged among the villagers to increase their pay. In any event, once the priest had stalked off muttering to himself, no doubt calling down curses upon the heads of the foreign devils, we soon had a line of villagers eager to sign on to the expedition.\nWhile my assistant was working out the mundane details of contracts, supplies, etc., Master Arum and I rode on to the ruins. By land, they can only be reached using narrow paths that wind down the face of the cliff from above, where any misstep threatens to send one tumbling into the sea foaming about the jagged rocks below. The city's original entrance to the surface must have been in the part of the city to the northeast - the part that fell into the sea long ago when the eruption of Red Mountain created this mind-bogglingly vast crater. After successfully navigating the treacherous path, we found ourselves in a large chamber, open to the sky on one side, disappearing into the darkness on the other. As we stepped forward, our boots crunched on piles of broken metal, as common in Dwarven ruins as potsherds in other ancient sites. This was obviously where the looters brought their finds from deeper levels, stripping off the valuable outer casings of the Dwarven mechanisms and leaving their innards here - easier than lugging the intact mechanisms back up to the top of the cliff. I laughed to myself, thinking of the many warriors unwittingly walking around Tamriel with pieces of Dwarven mechanisms on their backs. For that, of course, is what most \"Dwarven armor\" really is - just the armored shells of ancient mechanical men. I sobered when I thought of how exceedingly valuable an intact mechanism would be. This place was obviously full of Dwarven devices, judging from the litter covering the floor of this vast chamber - or had been, I reminded myself. Looters had been working over this site for centuries. Just the casing alone would be worth a small fortune, sold as armor. Most Dwarven armor is made of mismatched pieces from various devices, hence its reputation for being bulky and unwieldy. But a matched set from an intact mechanism is worth more than its weight in gold, for the pieces all fit together smoothly and the wearer hardly notices the bulk. Of course, I had no intention of destroying my finds for armor, no matter how valuable. I would bring it back to the Society for scientific study. I imagined the astonished cries of my colleagues as I unveiled it at my next lecture, and smiled again.\nI picked up a discarded gear from the piles at my feet. It still gleamed brightly, as if new-made, the Dwarven alloys resisting the corrosion of time. I wondered what secrets remained hidden in the maze of chambers that lay before me, defying the efforts of looters, waiting to gleam again in the light they had not seen in long eons. Waiting for me. It remained only to find them! With an impatient gesture to Master Arum to follow, I strode forward into the gloom.\nMaster Arum, Ten Penny and I spent several days exploring the ruins while my assistants set up camp at the top of the cliff and hauled supplies and equipment from the village. I was looking for a promising area to begin excavation -- a blocked passage or corridor untouched by looters that might lead to completely untouched areas of the ruins.\nWe found two such areas early on, but soon discovered that the many winding passages bypassed the blockage and gave access to the rooms behind. Nevertheless, even these outer areas, for the most part stripped clean of artifacts by generations of looters, were full of interest to the professional archaeologist. Behind a massive bronze door, burst from its hinges by some ancient turmoil of the earth, we discovered a large chamber filled with exquisite wall-carvings, which impressed even the jaded Ten Penny, who claimed to have explored every Dwarven ruin in Morrowind. They seemed to depict an ancient ritual of some kind, with a long line of classically-bearded Dwarven elders processing down the side walls, all seemingly bowing to the giant form of a god carved into the front wall of the chamber, which was caught in the act of stepping forth from the crater of a mountain in a cloud of smoke or steam. According to Master Arum, there are no known depictions of Dwarven religious rituals, so this was an exciting find indeed. I set a team to work prying the carved panels from the wall, but they were unable to even crack the surface. On closer examination the chamber appeared to be faced with a metallic substance with the texture and feel of stone, impervious to any of our tools. I considered having Master Arum try his blasting magic on the walls, but decided that the risk of destroying the carvings was too great. Much as I would have preferred to bring them back to the Imperial City, I had to settle for taking rubbings of the carvings. If my colleagues in the Society showed enough interest, I was sure a specialist could be found, perhaps a master alchemist, who could find a way to safely remove the panels.\nI found another curious room at the top of a long winding stair, barely passable due to the fall of rubble from the roof. At the top of the stair was a domed chamber with a large ruined mechanism at its center. Painted constellations were still visible in some places on the surface of the dome. Master Arum and I agreed that this must have been some kind of observatory, and the mechanism was therefore the remains of a Dwarven telescope. To remove it from ruins down the narrow stairway would require its complete disassembly (which fact no doubt had preserved it from the attention of looters), so I decided to leave it in place for the time being. The existence of this observatory suggested, however, that this room had once been above the surface. Closer examination of the structure revealed that this was indeed a building, not an excavated chamber. The only other doorways from the room were completely blocked, and careful measurements from the top of the cliff to the entry room and then to the observatory revealed that we were still more than 250 feet below the present ground level. A sobering reminder of the forgotten fury of Red Mountain.\nThis discovery led us to focus our attentions downward. Since we now knew approximately where the ancient surface lay, we could rule out many of the higher blocked passages. One wide passage, impressively flanked with carven pillars, particularly drew my interest. It ended in a massive rockfall, but we could see where looters had begun and then abandoned a tunnel through this debris. With my team of diggers and Master Arum's magery to assist, I believed we could succeed where our predecessors had failed. I therefore set my team of Dark Elves to work on clearing the passage, relieved finally to be beginning the real exploration of Kemel-Ze. Soon, I hoped, my boots would be stirring up dust that had lain undisturbed since the dawn of time.\nWith this exciting prospect before me, I may have driven my diggers a bit too hard. Ten Penny reported that they were beginning to grumble about the long days, and that some were talking of quitting. Knowing from experience that nothing puts heart back into these Dark Elves like a taste of the lash, I had the ringleaders whipped and the rest confined to the ruins until they had finished clearing the passageway. Thank Stendarr for my foresight in requisitioning a few legionnaires from Seyda Neen! They were sullen at first, but with the promise of an extra day's wages when they broke through, they soon set to work with a will. While these measures may sound harsh to my readers back in the comforts of civilization, let me assure you that there is no other way to get these people to stick to a task.\nThe blockage was much worse than I had first thought, and in the end it took almost two weeks to clear the passage. The diggers were as excited as I was when their picks finally broke through the far end into emptiness, and we shared a round of the local liquor together (a foul concoction, in truth) to show that all was forgiven. I could hardly restrain my eagerness as they enlarged the hole to allow entry into the chamber beyond. Would the passage lead to entire new levels of the ancient city, filled with artifacts left by the vanished Dwarves? Or would it be only a dead end, some side passage leading nowhere? My excitement grew as I slid through the hole and crouched for a moment in the darkness beyond. From the echoing sounds of the stones rattling beneath my feet, I was in a large room. Perhaps very large. I stood up carefully, and unhooded my lantern. As the light flooded the chamber, I looked around in astonishment. Here were wonders beyond even my wildest dreams!\nAs the light from my lamp filled the chamber beyond the rock fall, I looked around in astonishment. Everywhere was the warm glitter of Dwarven alloys. I had found an untouched section of the ancient city! My heart pounding with excitement, I looked around me. The room was vast, the roof soaring up into darkness beyond the reach of my lamp, the far end lost in shadows with only a tantalizing glimmer hinting at treasures not yet revealed. Along each wall stood rows of mechanical men, intact except for one oddity: their heads had been ritually removed and placed on the floor at their feet. This could mean only one thing -- I had discovered the tomb of a great Dwarven noble, maybe even a king! Burials of this type had been discovered before, most famously by Ransom's expedition to Hammerfell, but no completely intact tomb had ever been found. Until now.\nBut if this was truly a royal burial, where was the tomb? I stepped forward gingerly, the rows of headless bodies standing silently as they had for eons, their disembodied eyes seeming to watch me as I passed. I had heard wild tales of the Curse of the Dwarves, but had always laughed it off as superstition. But now, breathing the same air as the mysterious builders of this city, which had lain undisturbed since the cataclysm that spelled their doom, I felt a twinge of fear. There was some power here, I felt, something malevolent that resented my presence. I stopped for a moment and listened. All was silent.\nExcept... it seemed I heard a faint hiss, regular as breathing. I fought down a sudden surge of panic. I was unarmed, not thinking of danger in my haste to explore past the blocked passage. Sweat dripped down my face as I scanned the gloom for any movement. The room was warm, I suddenly noticed, much warmer than the rest of the labyrinth thus far. My excitement returned. Could I have found a section of the city still connected to a functioning steam grid? Pipes ran along the walls, as in all sections of the city. I walked over and placed my hand on one. It was hot, almost too hot to touch! Now I saw that in places where the ancient piping had corroded, small jets of steam were escaping -- the sound I had heard. I laughed at my own credulity.\nI now advanced quickly to the far end of the room, giving a cheerful salute to the ranks of mechanical soldiers who had appeared so menacing only moments before. I smiled with triumph as the light swept back the darkness of centuries to reveal the giant effigy of a Dwarven king standing on a raised dais, his metal hand clutching his rod of office. This was the prize indeed! I circled the dais slowly, admiring the craftsmanship of the ancient Dwarves. The golden king stood twenty feet tall under a freestanding domed cupola, his long upswept beard jutting forward proudly as his glittering metal eyes seemed to follow me. But my superstitious mood had passed, and I gazed benevolently on the old Dwarven king. My king, as I had already begun to think of him. I stepped onto the dais to get a better look at the sculpted armor. Suddenly the eyes of the figure opened and it raised a mailed fist to strike!\nI leaped to one side as the golden arm came crashing down, striking sparks from the steps where I had stood a moment before. With a hiss of steam and the whir of gears, the giant figure stepped ponderously out from under its canopy and strode towards me with frightening speed, its eyes tracking me as I scrambled backwards. I dodged behind a pillar as the fist whistled down again. I had dropped my lantern in the confusion, and now I crept into the darkness outside the pool of light, hoping to slip between the headless mechanisms and thus escape back to the safety of the passageway. Where had the monster gone? You would think that a twenty-foot golden kind would be hard to miss, but he was nowhere to be seen. The guttering lamp only illuminated a small part of the room. He could be hiding anywhere in the gloom. I crawled faster. Without warning, the dim ranks of Dwarven soldiers in front of me went flying as the monstrous guardian loomed before me. He had cut off my escape! As I dodged backwards, blow after blow whistled down as the implacable machine followed me relentlessly, driving me into the far corner of the room. At last there was nowhere left for me to go. My back was to the wall. I glared up at my foe, determined to die on my feet. The huge fists lifted for one final blow.\nThe room blazed with sudden light. Bolts of purple energy crackled across the metal carapace of the Dwarven monster, and it halted, half-turning to meet this new threat. Master Arum had come! I was about to raise a cheer when the giant figure turned back to me, unharmed by the lightning bolt hurled by Master Arum, determined to destroy this first intruder. I shouted out \"Steam! Steam!\" as the giant raised his fist to crush me into the floor. There was a hiss and a gust of bitter cold and I looked up. The monster was now covered with a shell of ice, frozen in the very moment of dispatching me. Master Arum had understood. I leaned against the wall with relief.\nThe ice cracked above me. The giant golden king stood before me, the shell of ice falling away, his head swiveling towards me in triumph. Was there no stopping this Dwarven monstrosity?! But then the light faded from his eyes, and his arms dropped to his sides. The magical frost had worked, cooling its steam-driven energy.\nAs Master Arum and the diggers crowded around me, congratulating me on my narrow escape, my thoughts drifted. I imagined my return to the Imperial City, and I knew that this would be my greatest triumph yet. How could I possibly top this find? Perhaps it was time to move on. Recovering the fabled Eye of Argonia... now that would be a coup! I smiled to myself, reveling in the glory of the moment but already planning my next adventure."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/saint-nerevar": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/saint-nerevar", "description": "A short Temple pamphlet about Nerevar for Western readers.", "author": "Tribunal Temple", "title": "Saint Nerevar", "text": "[From a short Temple pamphlet for Western readers.]\nAges ago, Nerevar was the greatest Dunmer general, First Councilor, and  companion of Vivec, Almalexia, and Sotha Sil, who, with the power of the  great Ring of the Ancestors, One-Clan-Under-Moon-and-Star, united the  Dunmer Houses to confront the evil Dwemer, the treacherous House Dagoth,  and their Western allies at Red Mountain.\nBy Providence, the faithless Dwemer were utterly destroyed, and their  allies defeated, but Nerevar, mortally wounded in combat with the  traitor Dagoth Ur, was driven from Red Mountain. Nerevar died not long  after of his wounds, but he lived to see the birth of the Temple, and to  bless the unity of the Dunmer into the safekeeping of Almsivi, the  Temple, and all its communion of saints."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/saryonis-manuscript": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/saryonis-manuscript", "description": "The original document that Saryoni's Sermons was based on", "author": "Archcanon Tholer Saryoni", "title": "Saryoni's Manuscript", "text": "Blessed ALMSIVI, Mercy, Mastery, Mystery\n[This is the original book that Archcanon Tholer Saryoni used to write his sermons.]\nListen, faithful, to Vivec's words, for he says five times and five ways --\n\tForge a keen Faith in the crucible of suffering.\n\tEngrave upon thy eye the image of injustice.\n\tDeath does not diminish; the ghost gilds with glory.\n\tFaith conquers all. Let us yield to Faith.\n\tBetter to suffer a wrong than to do one.\nHear the words of Lord Vivec, and heed his sermons on the Seven Graces, for he names them seven times and seven ways --\nVALOR\n\tDARING\n\tJUSTICE\n\tCOURTESY\n\tPRIDE\n\tGENEROSITY\n\tHUMILITY\nThe Grace of Valor\n\tThank you for your valor, Lord Vivec. I shall not quail, nor turn away, but face my enemies and my fear.\nThe Grace of Daring\n\tThank you for your daring, Lord Vivec. I shall not shun risk, nor hide behind the mask of cautious counsel, for fortune favors the bold.\nThe Grace of Justice\n\tThank you for your justice, Lord Vivec. I shall be neither cruel nor arbitrary, for fair dealing earns the love, trust, and respect of our people.\nThe Grace of Courtesy\n\tThank you for your courtesy, Lord Vivec. I shall speak neither hurtful nor harsh word, but shall speak respectfully, even of my enemies, for temperate words may turn aside anger.\nThe Grace of Pride\n\tThank you for your pride, Lord Vivec. I shall not doubt myself, or my people, or my gods, and shall insist upon them, and my ancient rights.\nThe Grace of Generosity\n\tThank you for your generosity, Lord Vivec. I shall neither hoard nor steal, nor encumber myself with profitless treasures, but shall share freely among house and hearth.\nThe Grace of Humilty\n\tThank you for your humility, Lord Vivec. I shall neither strut nor preen in vanity, but shall know and give thanks for my place in the greater world."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/saryonis-sermons": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/saryonis-sermons", "description": "A Tribunal Temple book of prayers and sermons", "author": "Archcanon Tholer Saryoni", "title": "Saryoni's Sermons", "text": "Blessed ALMSIVI, Mercy, Mastery, Mystery\n[This volume of the Hierographa (i.e., 'priestly writings') was written and collected with commentary by Archcanon Tholer Saryoni. It is the best selling of the Temple annotated texts, and therefore inexpensive and commonly found in most Dunmer households. Saryoni collects Vivec's most famous sermons and the popular explanations of his Gospels. This text exists in many editions. More elaborate editions are handsomely illuminated with Vivec's quotations from the Gospels for days, seasons, and festivals.]\nListen, faithful, to Vivec's words, for he says five times and five ways --\n\tForge a keen Faith in the crucible of suffering.\n\tEngrave upon thy eye the image of injustice.\n\tDeath does not diminish; the ghost gilds with glory.\n\tFaith conquers all. Let us yield to Faith.\n\tBetter to suffer a wrong than to do one.\nHear the words of Lord Vivec, and heed his sermons on the Seven Graces, for he names them seven times and seven ways --\nVALOR\n\tDARING\n\tJUSTICE\n\tCOURTESY\n\tPRIDE\n\tGENEROSITY\n\tHUMILITY\nThe Grace of Valor\n\tThank you for your valor, Lord Vivec. I shall not quail, nor turn away, but face my enemies and my fear.\nThe Grace of Daring\n\tThank you for your daring, Lord Vivec. I shall not shun risk, nor hide behind the mask of cautious counsel, for fortune favors the bold.\nThe Grace of Justice\n\tThank you for your justice, Lord Vivec. I shall be neither cruel nor arbitrary, for fair dealing earns the love, trust, and respect of our people.\nThe Grace of Courtesy\n\tThank you for your courtesy, Lord Vivec. I shall speak neither hurtful nor harsh word, but shall speak respectfully, even of my enemies, for temperate words may turn aside anger.\nThe Grace of Pride\n\tThank you for your pride, Lord Vivec. I shall not doubt myself, or my people, or my gods, and shall insist upon them, and my ancient rights.\nThe Grace of Generosity\n\tThank you for your generosity, Lord Vivec. I shall neither hoard nor steal, nor encumber myself with profitless treasures, but shall share freely among house and hearth.\nThe Grace of Humilty\n\tThank you for your humility, Lord Vivec. I shall neither strut nor preen in vanity, but shall know and give thanks for my place in the greater world."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/scroll-wolf-ender": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/scroll-wolf-ender", "description": "A unique magical scroll to end the curse of lycanthropy.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Scroll of the Wolf Ender", "text": "DREADED WOLF, BEGONE!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/scroll-tyronius": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/scroll-tyronius", "description": "Another \"last words\" note from a grave robber named Tyronius.", "author": "Tyronius", "title": "Scroll of Tyronius", "text": "Brother,\nI fear by the time you get this writing, I will have been accepted into  the hands of death. I am glad you are not here for the onslaught. We are  outnumbered, five undead to a man. I don't know how they got in! We  swept the halls of this house of the dead, then we locked up. We were  alone. Just myself, Pegasai, Jonis, and Luven. As soon as we saw the  first wave, it appeared from behind! I have no idea how they were able  to surprise us. It's as if they were appearing out of nowhere. Summoned  to this position somehow. We fought long and hard, until we could barely  hold our weapons up anymore. Jonis was the first one to get cut down.  Brother, our longtime friend Jonis, died in front of me in the most  horrible way. But do know, he died with the honor of a fighting man.  This battle will not be won. Pegasai urged me deeper into the tomb. I  saw not Luven, but heard his dying scream come from somewhere within the  tomb. I am taking refuge in this main burial chamber. I am here with  our due payment from Goris. He will not get it from my living hands. I  will hold up until Pegasai comes for me, or until those cursed  bonewalkers come to finish me off.\nWe committed ourselves to aiding Goris in a task, putting our butts on  the line, and he promised payment. I'll be damned if he is going to take  it back! Brother, if you make it here and find nothing more than my  corpse, I hope you can make some sense out of my final letter to you.  Avenge your Brother, and your trusting colleagues so that our souls may  lay in peace. Goris can be found in a tomb in Tel Mora. We loot and  hideout in the occasional tomb, but that sick fool lives in a tomb with  his deader companions. Without his knowledge, I forged a key that fits  his tomb entry. Use it to gain entry to his lair. Goris should not, and  cannot, get the last action. He betrayed us and used us. Avenge my  Brother. Avenge!\nLive long and may you always be in good health,\nTyronius"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/scrolls-daerirs-miracle": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/scrolls-daerirs-miracle", "description": "A unique magical scroll which cures blight.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Scrolls of Daerir's Miracle", "text": "Ride the storms, lest they ride thee.\nConsume the red sands, lest they consume thee\nBy the one from the dark waters\nBy the one who was first in the deep waters\nBy my will I cleanse myself of the red sands."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/secrets-dwemer-animunculi": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/secrets-dwemer-animunculi", "description": "This book teaches the reader how to create Sphere Centurions.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Secrets of Dwemer Animunculi", "text": "\n\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/senilius-report": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/senilius-report", "description": "Nchuleftingth excavation report, and notes on Dwemeri power sources", "author": "Senilius Cadiusus", "title": "Senilius' Report", "text": "Nchuleftingth Excavation Report 11\nOur excavations have turned up little in these last few days. I have found nothing new in the ruins. Everything seems as clean and undisturbed as the day we first opened the outer doors. I know there are unexplored depths. I can feel massive Dwemer machinery still running beneath my feet, even as I write this, but I can find no way to get to it. You must not give up on us for a lack results this soon, Edwinna. I am sure a great discovery lies somewhere below.\nIf only the secret of Passwall were not lost nearly a generation ago. With a few of those precious scrolls, I would be in the lower levels already where the real discoveries are to be made.\nThere is some good news. I have also discovered that \"Mzuleft\" you were looking for. Apparently \"Mzuleft\" is the proper name for the large Dwemer ruins south of Dagon Fel. Be careful not to confuse them with the ruins of \"Nchardahrk\" nearby.\nThe last of the Dwemer centurion spiders in the upper levels was finally disabled and dismantled for study. I wish we could study them while they are still active, but that is far too dangerous.\nI also heard a strange story about the centurion spider that we captured and sent back to Cyrodiil. The ship captain I hired wrote to me with an odd story. He said that the spider nearly broke through its cage several times while near Vvardenfell, but once he left he Sea of Ghosts, the centurion suddenly stopped working. What happened next shows that he had more wits than I gave him credit for. He ordered the ship turned about and as they approached Vvardenfell again, the centurion began moving just as suddenly. This is a curious phenomenon and certainly deserves more investigation.\nYour servant,\n\tSenilius Cadiusus"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/settlers-journal": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/settlers-journal", "description": "A journal of an ill-fated settlers in Legge cave, Solstheim.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Settler's Journal", "text": "Settler's Journal Entry 1: Today we found the perfect place to claim as our new home. It's an ice cave called Legge, and seems to be used by the local bears and wolves as some kind of den. They should be easy enough to get rid of.\nEntry 2: We've done it! The bears and wolves have been driven from the cave, and we've already started making ourselves at home. May our children's children enjoy the comfort of Legge!\nEntry 3: One of those blasted bears got into the cave today. We drove him out, but he managed to make off with our dinner. It's a good thing I have my grandfather's enchanted ring to keep them at bay."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/shishi-report": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/shishi-report", "description": "", "author": "Brerama Selas", "title": "Shishi Report", "text": "As instructed, a party of five entered the Velothi tower of Shishi. Five  Telvanni sorcerers fell and the tower is now ours, but we have suffered  heavy losses. We will hold Shishi as long as we can and await your  orders.\nBrerama Selas"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/silence": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/silence", "description": "A tale of an adventurer who needs to learn a Silence spell in order to defeat two very perilous foes.", "author": "Ganpheril Kimeth", "title": "Silence", "text": "\u201cI've heard of you,\u201d said the old vagabond, very impressed. \u201cAren't  you the adventurer who slew all those ash vampires in Ghostgate a couple  of months back?\u201d\n\u201cThat I am,\u201d said Oristian Silverthorn with a weary smile for his  admirer.  He knew that his name was not yet legendary, and it was best  to be polite. \u201cAnd you are?\u201d\n\u201cMy name would have no meaning to you, but I'm Erer Darothil,\u201d he  said, raising a glass of greef. \u201cI hail from the region of Ghostgate  which is how I heard your name.  Are you on an adventure as we speak?\u201d\n\u201cYes,\u201d said Silverthorn, with a grim expression. \u201cI'm challenged to  rid The Grazelands of a rogue battlemage by the name of Egroamaro.\u201d\n\u201cI've heard of him as well,\u201d said Darothil. \u201cHe is said to be very  powerful, an implacable foe.\u201d\n\u201cThat is why I'm drinking now,\u201d sighed Silverthorn. \u201cSo tell me, what  is your profession?\u201d\n\u201cI do nothing,\u201d said Darothil with some measure of pride. \u201cBut in my  youth, I used to teach the skills of Illusion at the University of  Gwylim.\u201d\n\u201cPerhaps you can help me then,\u201d said Silverthorn, suddenly excited.  \u201cCan you teach the spell Silence?  I can certainly pay you.\u201d\n\u201cI know that spell,\u201d said Darothil. \u201cYou might find Invisibility very  helpful as well, or perhaps Darkness which would allow you to sneak up  on old Egroamaro.\u201d\n\u201cNo,\u201d said Silverthorn firmly. \u201cI only have time to learn one spell.   I have to kill Egroamaro, collect the award, and be back in Gnisis as  quickly as possible.  My wife worries when I'm away.\u201d\nDarothil agreed and, as the two settled back in their seats at the  cornerclub and tossed back glasses of greef, the old man shared his  knowledge of the spell.  He explained what it truly meant to bend sound,  creating a cone of silence as glass can bend light.   He had  Silverthorn close his eyes while he tapped the side of his glass, making  him picture the sound as the physical entity it was, before it was  extinguished.\nThe adventurer, after a few hours of instruction, paid the old  teacher and set off on his way.  Indoranyon, Egroamaro's stronghold, was  not far from Sadrith Mora, and he soon saw the blight and ruin that was  the battlemage's calling card.  Delving into the depths of the ruins,  Silverthorn was set upon by the servitors of Egroamaro, living and  undead.  With his enchanted ebony blade, he cut through legions before  facing the master himself in the desolate main hall.\nEgroamaro bowed to his adversary sardonically, and then prepared to  unleash a fireball to incinerate him.  Before he had uttered the first  word of the spell, he suddenly found that all the creaking and sighing  of the ruins around him had been stilled.  He opened his voice to speak,  but there was no sound.  Silverthorn took his time, strolling across  the length of the hall, before dispatching the battlemage with one  stroke of his blade.\nThe adventurer rushed back to the Tribunal Temple where he had  received his quest, accepted the gold and the thanks, and was back in  his house in Gnisis but a few days later.  His wife Liah was beside  herself with worry.\n\u201cAll I could do night after night is toss and turn.  I kept imagining  you burned to ashes by that battlemage, and where would that leave me?   Do we have enough gold that I could support myself if you, Saint Seryn  let it not be so, were killed during one of these jaunts?  I don't think  so.  Why couldn't you get a nice position at the Fighters Guild right  here in town?  I hear they're looking for a trainer for the Imperial  Guard.  I know, I know, you want a life of adventure and danger and  freedom, but if you'd only take one moment to think of me, stuck here  all by myself, worrying about you.  I suppose you'd like it if I took  more of an interest in your work, but it's like I was telling Ser  Calissiah Vignum the other day, I said Calissah, what good is a  husband--\u201d\nLiah continued to talk, deaf to the fact that her words were dead  before they left her mouth.  Silverthorn smiled and nodded his head,  enjoying the silence.  He could have killed Egroamaro without the spell,  he considered, but he could not have survived his wife."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sithis": {"game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion", "Skyrim", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sithis", "description": "This tells of the connection between Sithis and Lorkhan.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Sithis", "text": "Sithis is the start of the house. Before him was nothing, but the foolish Altmer have names for and revere this nothing. That is because they are lazy slaves. Indeed, from the Sermons, 'stasis asks merely for itself, which is nothing.'\nSithis sundered the nothing and mutated the parts, fashioning from them a myriad of possibilities. These ideas ebbed and flowed and faded away and this is how it should have been.\nOne idea, however, became jealous and did not want to die; like the stasis, he wanted to last. This was the demon Anui-El, who made friends, and they called themselves the Aedra. They enslaved everything that Sithis had made and created realms of everlasting imperfection. Thus are the Aedra the false gods, that is, illusion.\nSo Sithis begat Lorkhan and sent him to destroy the universe. Lorkhan! Unstable mutant!\nLorkhan had found the Aedric weakness. While each rebel was, by their nature, immeasurable, they were, through jealously and vanity, also separate from each other. They were also unwilling to go back to the nothing of before. So while they ruled their false dominions, Lorkhan filled the void with a myriad of new ideas. These ideas were legion. Soon it seemed that Lorkhan had a dominion of his own, with slaves and everlasting imperfections, and he seemed, for all the world, like an Aedra. Thus did he present himself as such to the demon Anui-El and the Eight Givers: as a friend.\nGo unto the Sharmat Dagoth Ur as a friend.\nAE HERMA MORA ALTADOON PADHOME LKHAN AE AI."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/smugglers-island": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/smugglers-island", "description": "S'Riizh and Harithoel are stranded on an island with 5 crates of moon sugar.", "author": "Quarde Anarion", "title": "Smuggler's Island", "text": "It took a little over an hour for Harithoel to search the island from  one end to the other.  He turned back to S'Riizh who was were he left  him, half buried in the sand to pack his broken bones.  One of the  crates of moon sugar was open.\n\"You're sampling the merchandise?\" asked Harithoel angrily.\n\"It takes away the pain,\" said S'Riizh. \"How far away are we?\"\n\"We didn't make it as far as the mainland,\" said Harithoel. \"I can't  see the coastline at all.  But that's not all.  I haven't found anything  edible anywhere.  Just weeds and a few scraggly trees.\"\n\"And no other survivors?\" asked S'Riizh.\n\"No, it looks like we're the only ones.  I guess, the nice way to  look at it is that if we're rescued, we can divide the profits between  two rather than between twelve.\"\n\"So we'll either be rich or dead,\" said S'Riizh. \"That's a comfort.\"\nS'Riizh was too battered to be of much help, but Harithoel was able  to construct a crude shelter, weaving the sand weeds.  As night fell on  the small island, the two men discussed the smuggling operation and what  went wrong.  Their boat, laden with five crates of moon sugar, was  supposed to meet another, the Sanchariot, off the coast of Hla Oad.  Who  could have predicted the storm?  Who could have predicted that everyone  would drown, from the bold captain to the mysterious figure with ties  to one of the royal Houses, everyone except for S'Riizh and Harithoel.   They decided that it was all the whim of Boethiah or one of the other  daedra with cruel senses of humor.\nFinding fresh water was their first goal, and it turned out to be a  fruitless quest. Harithoel dug deeply, but there were no springs under  the island, just sand and rock.  S'Riizh felt panic seizing his soul,  until he saw the small, quick, golden fish swimming at the edges of the  island.  He had read somewhere that fish not only were food, but there  was always a little fresh water within them.  If he could catch one, the  two men could be saved.  With his broken legs, he was a pathetic  predator and he was soon reduced to hurling rocks at the alert and  nimble little fish.\nHarithoel watched S'Riizh's futile endeavor for a little while before  getting to work.  He used his small knife to whittle a point on a long,  straight tree branch until he had fashioned a spear.  Again and again,  he thrust the spear at the fish, but he had no more success than S'Riizh  and his stones.\n\"Have you never used a spear before?\" asked S'Riizh.\n\"It's not my weapon of choice,\" said Harithoel, quietly, watching his  prey and missing another with a splash and a curse. \"Nchow!\"\nS'Riizh laughed:  \"Do you want a rock?\"\nHarithoel ignored S'Riizh, murmuring, \"The trick as I've heard it is  to anticipate where your target's going to go and aim your spear there,  not where they are now.  I just have to observe them a little longer.   Why can't the little fechers swim in straight lines?\"\nAfter an hour of flailing about, Harithoel, by luck, managed to spear  a fish.  The men tore it apart and ate it raw.  As the days and weeks  went by, Harithoel got better and better until he was able to strike  quickly and with great accuracy.  He could hit a fish by throwing the  spear or by plunging at one at his feet.  S'Riizh made fire, but being  lame, he had to rely on Harithoel for all the food.\nIt was nearly two months after washing ashore that the men saw a boat  on the horizon.  They set a large fire, and the crew saw them.  As it  approached, they saw that it was the Sanchariot, the very boat they were  to have met on the night of the storm.  The smugglers aboard would pay  them good money for the moon sugar.  Luckily, S'Riizh had used only a  little bit of it, and they still had five nearly full crates.  They were  not only going to be saved, they were going to be rich, just as  Harithoel had said.\nHarithoel excitedly started to help S'Riizh to his feet, but the man  rose on his own.\n\"You can walk!\" he said, laughing. \"It's a miracle!\"\n\"S'Riizh is not too steady, though,\" said S'Riizh. \"Would you gather  up the crates?\"\nHarithoel, overjoyed at rescue at long last, began picking up the  crates and stacking them. \"I wish you had told me that you could walk  though, mate.  I could have used your help spearing dinner all these  months.\"\n\"S'Riizh watches though,\" said S'Riizh. \"You'd be surprised how much  you can learn just by watching.  Don't forget the fifth crate over by  the tree.\"  S'Riizh shuffled over to the shore and saw that the boat was  only a few minutes from landing.  \"And S'Riizh listens.  When you said  that a fortune divided by two was more profitable than a fortune divided  by twelve, S'Riizh listened to that too.\"  S'Riizh shuffled back to the  crate by the tree.  \"And it occurred to S'Riizh that a fortune divided  by one was even better.\"  S'Riizh pulled the spear out of Harithoel's  skull.  The trajectory had been perfect: it had fallen down from the  branches as soon as the crate was removed, just as he had planned. \"Like  you said, the trick is to anticipate where your target's going to go  and aim your spear there.\"\nS'Riizh pushed the crate to the shore and waved the boat in."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sottildes-code-book": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sottildes-code-book", "description": "An encrypted book, owned by Sottilde of Balmora Thieves Guild.", "author": "Sottilde", "title": "Sottilde's Code Book", "text": "SSF ZAFL\nDVWDTQDVFQE TYLSE\nBSQ FOF\nTZSFHK TOY PCJEK NSZUVWBSR\nEAL DVFQE GX\nSWSHL LCLQS\nXKH ZQG\nLGSBFY GXS PAXWC RSXINOFSP\nIDV AWD\nFGEF PAXWC\nBOK DWKB\nSUGZD PCJEK"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sovngarde-reexamination": {"game": ["Morrowind", "Skyrim", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sovngarde-reexamination", "description": "Some speculation about how to reach the Sovngarde, Nord's afterlife.", "author": "Bereditte Jastal", "title": "Sovngarde: A Reexamination", "text": "Speculation regarding Sovngarde, the Nordic Hall of Valor\n\nDeath. It is something we all face. Or do we?\nJust ask the nearest Nord what he thinks of the end of life, and you'll likely be treated to a horrific story of blood, bone and viscera, of courageous deeds and heartbreaking sorrow. Carnage notwithstanding, there may be even more to death than the average Nord warrior realizes. New evidence suggests a life beyond the battlefield, where a valiant Nord may live forever, downing mead and engaging in contests of strength and skill. But in order to fully understand the possibility of a Nord's eternal life after death, one must first reexamine the legends surrounding that most wondrous of warrior's retreats - Sovngarde.\nAccording to the ancient writings and oral traditions of the Nords, going back as far as the Late Merethic Era, there exists a place so magnificent, so honored, that the entrance lies hidden from view. Sovngarde, it is called, built by the god Shor to honor those Nords who have proven their mettle in war. Within this \"Hall of Valor\" time as we know it has no meaning. The concepts of life and death are left on the doorstep, and those within exist in a sort of self-contained euphoria, free of pain, suffering and the worst malady a Nord could suffer - boredom.\nBut just how well hidden the entrance to Sovngarde is has been a matter of much scholarly debate, and there are those who believe Shor's great hall is just a myth, for there are no actual accounts from Nords who have experienced the wonders of Sovngarde then returned to tell the tale. Not that this has stopped anyone from looking. Some Nords spend a lifetime searching for the mysterious hidden entrance to Sovngarde. Most return home sad and broken, their hearts heavy with failure. They'll never know the pleasure of a mead flagon that never empties, or a wrestling tournament without end.\nWhat, some may ask, does the entrance to Sovngarde have to do with death? Everything, according to a series of ancient parchments recently discovered in the attic of a deceased Nord's home in Cyrodiil. What at first seemed to be a series of love letters was later found to be a correspondence between one Felga Four-Fingers, a medium of some note, and the ghost of a Nord warrior named Rolf the Large.\nAccording to the parchments, Rolf had spent his entire life searching for the entrance to Sovngarde, without success. He was returning home to his village of Skyrim when he was waylaid by a band of giants. Rolf fought bravely, but was quickly killed, and the giants proceeded to play catch with his head. Amazingly, all of this was seen by Rolf in ghostly form as he drifted away from the scene, soaring upwards into the heavens, where he finally arrived... in the magnificent hall of Sovngarde!\nRolf could not believe his good fortune, and his foolishness for not having realized the truth so many years before. 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. Sovngarde, Shor told him, can be entered by any Nord who dies valiantly in honorable combat.\nIt is time for Nords to learn the truth. Eternal life can be theirs, without the need to spend an entire mortal life in vain pursuit of something completely unattainable. In the end, all valiant Nords can enter Sovngarde. Dismemberment, decapitation or evisceration seems a small price to pay for the chance to spend an eternity in Shor's wondrous hall."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/special-flora-tamriel": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/special-flora-tamriel", "description": "Concerning rare plants from all over Tamriel.", "author": "Hardin the Herbalist", "title": "Special Flora of Tamriel", "text": "The Poppy, in both black and white varieties, may be found growing  wild in the mountains of Hammerfell.  Their succulent pods are often the  only nourishment for adventurers who find themselves in the wilderness  without rations.  It is said that black and white poppies imbibed  together have magical properties.  When they are crushed and mixed with  the milk of the agile-footed mountain goat, the resulting potion allows  the user to glide safely aboveground.\nFire Fern, a perennial herb, is native to the province of Morrowind.   The flowers are inconspicuous and often hidden.  The glossy, evergreen  foliage and blossoms are resistant to conditions of high heat and bright  light.  A petal from this plant placed under the adventurer's tongue  will provide protection from the heat and fire of the lava pits and  thermal streams around Dagoth-Ur.\nDragon's Tongue, a common name for a fernlike herb found in Black  Marsh, is especially prolific around the area of the Ultherus Swamp.  It  is a beautiful wildflower whose name comes from the fire-red fronds  that protect its golden efflorescence.  As pretty as it is, however, it  is a deadly poison to most living beings and needs to be avoided by  adventurers, especially unprotected ones, as it is lethal to the touch.   It is said, however, that Argonians can handle the plant and use the  sap derived from its roots to enhance their endurance.\nDomica Redwort is an herb grown by many residents of Valenwood for  their beautiful and showy flowers.  They attain a height of about three  feet and sport feathery leaves; the flowers are usually bright red.  In  addition to their beauty, they are said to have the magical ability of  enhancing the appearance of anyone who carries or wears one of the  blooms.\nIronwood Nut is a hard-shelled fruit that comes from the ironwood  trees growing deep in the forests of Skyrim.  The wood of these trees is  hard as the metal after which it is named.  The very rare black variety  of ironwood is said to produce a nut which is very succulent and  believed to greaten the strength of the adventurer who is able to crack  its shell and partake of it.\nThe Ginko leaves which are found along the banks of rivers and lakes  in Hammerfell are most inconspicuous, only their peculiar half-moon  shape making them noticeable.  The edible foliage is very sweet and  quite tasty.  Legend has it that when mixed properly with the pulp of  the aloe plant, the resulting concoction has the ability of increasing  one's stamina for a short while.\nThe Somnalius Fern can be found in the swamps of Black Marsh.  The  fronds of this plant are light green and quite delicate.  Picking a  frond can be very difficult, as they usually crumble to the touch, but  once retrieved it can be used to put an enemy to sleep for a short while  by passing it under his nose.\nArrowroot is a thick, rubbery tuber that can be found in the province  of Valenwood.  The plant is quite difficult to find as its aboveground  foliage is very meager and scrawny.  But the root itself can be most  beneficial to the gatherer as it has magical properties.  The paste made  from grinding the root is quite wholesome and can improve the user's  accuracy with a bow and arrow, or other missile weapon.\nNightshade is reputed to be a very poisonous herb.  However, the  variety found in many parts of Elsweyr is cherished by Khajiits who have  taken up careers in thievery.  Many Khajiits will tuck a piece of  Nightshade inside their armor to increase their abilities to skulk,  hide, and become invisible."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/morrowind-spirit-nirn": {"game": ["Morrowind", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/morrowind-spirit-nirn", "description": "It seems opinions about Lorkhan vary. A lot.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Spirit of Nirn", "text": "Lorkhan is the Spirit of Nirn, the god of all mortals. This does not mean all mortals necessarily like him or even know him. Most Elves hate him, thinking creation as that act which sundered them from the spirit realm. Most Humans revere him, or aspects of him, as the herald of existence. The creation of the Mortal Plane, the Mundus, Nirn, is a source of mental anguish to all living things; all souls know deep down they came originally from somewhere else, and that Nirn is a cruel and crucial step to what comes next. What is this next? Some wish to return to the original state, the spirit realm, and that Lorkhan is the Demon that hinders their way; to them Nirn is a prison, an illusion to escape. Others think that Lorkhan created the world as the testing ground for transcendence; to them the spirit realm was already a prison, that true escape is now finally possible."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/spirit-daedra": {"game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion", "Skyrim", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/spirit-daedra", "description": "A Dremora sheds light into the nature of the Daedra. Highly interesting, and gives us a glimpse into their motivations, desires, and fears.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Spirit of the Daedra", "text": "HOW YOU SHOULD KNOW US\nDEATH, DEFEAT, AND FEAR\nWe do not die. We do not fear death.\nDestroy the Body, and the Animus is cast into The Darkness. But the Animus returns.\nBut we are not all brave.\nWe feel pain, and fear it. We feel shame, and fear it. We feel loss, and fear it. We hate the Darkness, and fear it.\nThe Scamps have small thoughts, and cannot fear greatly.\nThe Vermai have no thoughts, and cannot fear.\nThe Dremora have deep thoughts, and must master fear to overcome it.\nTHE CLAN BOND\nWe are not born; we have not fathers nor mothers, yet we have kin and clans.\nThe clan-form is strong. It shapes body and thought.\nIn the clan-form is strength and purpose.\nTHE OATH BOND\nWe serve by choice. We serve the strong, so that their strength might shield us.\nClans serve by long-practice, but practice may change.\nDremora have long served Dagon but not always so.\nPractice is secure when oath-bonds are secure, and trust is shared.\nWhen oath-bonds are weak, there is pain, and shame, and loss, and Darkness, and great fear.\nHOW WE THINK ABOUT MAN\nPerhaps you find Scamps comic, and Vermai brutish.\nHow then do you imagine we view you humans?\nYou are the Prey, and we are the Huntsmen.\nThe Scamps are the Hounds, and the Vermai the Beaters.\nYour flesh is sweet, and the chase is diverting.\nAs you may sometimes praise the fox or hare, admiring its cunning and speed, and lamenting as the hounds tear its flesh, so do we sometimes admire our prey, and secretly applaud when it cheats our snares or eludes pursuit.\nBut, like all worldly things, you will in time wear, and be used up. You age, grow ugly, weak, and foolish. You are always lost, late or soon.\nSometimes the prey turns upon us and bites. It is a small thing. When wounded or weary, we fly away to restore. Sometimes a precious thing is lost, but that risk makes the chase all the sweeter.\nMAN'S MYSTERY\nMan is mortal, and doomed to death and failure and loss.\nThis lies beyond our comprehension - why do you not despair?"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/starlovers-log": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/starlovers-log", "description": "The log of a Dragonrider who fell defending the testing grounds.", "author": "Samar Starlover", "title": "Starlover's Log", "text": "6th moon ....... \"Alas, the Battlespire appears to be falling into the hands of evil. Their many attempts in the past have failed, until now. Dagon seems to have new minions at his side this time. These new horrors are not at all too powerful beyond our magicks and weaponry, but their numbers are feverishly great. We grow low on supplies and soldiers for this holdout. I fear the worst.\"\n8th moon ....... \"I have presented to the few remaining Battlemages my last hope plan. I will fight my way to the bowels of the Battlespire, where I will mount Dragonne Papre, my Dragon companion. From his lair, we will take flight. Since the Weir Gate has been taken, teleportation is not possible. Only Papre can make such a journey to the Imperial Palace. There, we will report the evil infection and return with a regimental force of rescue. May the Powers be with me.\"\n9th moon........ \"It is as I feared. A carcass is all I have come to find. They have sealed the main gate so Papre could not escape. I am not sorrowful though, for I will be eternally reunited with Dragonne Papre. Hope for the living is lost. My name is Samar Starlover. Tell my sister I am dead, and if all the seas were ink, I could not write enough how I shall miss her.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/morrowind-suicide-note": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/morrowind-suicide-note", "description": "Found deep inside the Old Mournhold, a farewell letter.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Suicide Note", "text": "For Shara, on my death\nMy dearest love,\nI have failed you. But how? I brought you sacks of comberry, crates of fine clothes, and chests of gold. But still you spurn my affections. I killed the trader who robbed you and still you refuse me. I have sat by your house day after day, rain or sun, waiting for a hint of your affection, but to no avail. I grow weary of this life. Since you have not yet arrived here to meet me, I can only assume the worst - that I will never feel your soft arms around me or watch you sleep without having to fear the guards that now patrol your land.\nGoodbye my darling. Think of me fondly and often. And without reaching for your knife."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/surfeit-thieves": {"game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/surfeit-thieves", "description": "A tale about a robbery gone horribly, horribly awry.", "author": "Aniis Noru", "title": "Surfeit of Thieves", "text": "\"This looks interesting,\" said Indyk, his eyes narrowing to observe the black caravan making its way to the spires of the secluded castle. A gaudy, alien coat of arms marked each carriage, the lacquer glistening in the light of the moons. \"Who do you suppose they are?\"\n\"They're obviously well-off,\" smiled his partner, Heriah. \"Perhaps some new Imperial Cult dedicated to the acquisition of wealth?\"\n\"Go into town and find out what you can about the castle,\" said Indyk. \"I'll see if I can learn anything about who these strangers are. We meet on this hill tomorrow night.\"\nHeriah had two great skills: picking locks and picking information. By dusk of the following day, she had returned to the hill. Indyk joined her an hour later.\n\"The place is called Ald Olyra,\" she explained. \"It dates back to the second era when a collection of nobles built it to protect themselves during one of the epidemics. They didn't want any of the diseased masses to get into their midst and spread the plague, so they built up quite a sophisticated security system for the time. Of course, it's mostly fallen into ruin, but I have a good idea about what kind of locks and traps might still be operational. What did you find out?\"\n\"I wasn't nearly so successful,\" frowned Indyk. \"No one seemed to have any idea about the group, even that that there were here. I was about to give up, but at the charterhouse, I met a monk who said that his masters were a hermetic group called the Order of St. Eadnua. I talked to him for some time, this fellow name of Parathion, and it seems they're having some sort of ritual feast tonight.\"\n\"Are they wealthy?\" asked Heriah impatiently.\n\"Embarrassingly so according to the fellow. But they're only at the castle for tonight.\"\n\"I have my picks on me,\" winked Heriah. \"Opportunity has smiled on us.\"\nShe drew a diagram of the castle in the dirt: the main hall and kitchen were near the front gate, and the stables and secured armory were in the back. The thieves had a system that never failed. Heriah would find a way into the castle and collect as much loot as possible, while Indyk provided the distraction. He waited until his partner had scaled the wall before rapping on the gate. Perhaps this time he would be a bard, or a lost adventurer. The details were most fun to improvise.\nHeriah heard Indyk talking to the woman who came to the gate, but she was too far away to hear the words exchanged. He was evidently successful: a moment later, she heard the door shut. The man had charm, she would give him that.\nOnly a few of the traps and locks to the armory had been set. Undoubtedly, many of the keys had been lost in time. Whatever servants had been in charge of securing the Order's treasures had brought a few new locks to affix. It took extra time to maneuver the intricate hasps and bolts of the new traps before proceeding to the old but still working systems, but Heriah found her heart beating with anticipation. Whatever lay beyond the door, she thought, must be of sufficient value to merit such protection.\nWhen at last the door swung quietly open, the thief found her avaricious dreams paled to reality. A mountain of golden treasure, ancient relics glimmering with untapped magicka, weaponry of matchless quality, gemstones the size of her fist, row after row of strange potions, and stacks of valuable documents and scrolls. She was so enthralled by the sight, she did not hear the man behind her approach.\n\"You must be Lady Tressed,\" said the voice and she jumped.\nIt was a monk in a black, hooded robe, intricately woven with silver and gold threads. For a moment, she could not speak. This was the sort of encounter that Indyk loved, but she could think to do nothing but nod her head with what she hoped looked like certainty.\n\"I'm afraid I'm a little lost,\" she stammered.\n\"I can see that,\" the man laughed. \"That's the armory. I'll show you the way to the dining hall. We were afraid you weren't going to arrive. The feast is nearly over.\"\nHeriah followed the monk across the courtyard, to the double doors leading to the dining hall. A robe identical to the one he was wearing hung on a hook outside, and he handed it to her with a knowing smile. She slipped it on. She mimicked him as she lowered the hood over her head and entered the hall.\nTorches illuminated the figures within around the large table. Each wore the uniform black robe that covered all features, and from the look of things, the feast was over. Empty plates, platters, and glasses filled every inch of the wood with only the faintest spots and dribbles of the food remaining. It was a breaking of a fast it seemed. For a moment, Heriah stopped to think about poor, lost Lady Tressed who had missed her opportunity for gluttony.\nThe only unusual item on the table was its centerpiece: a huge golden hourglass which was on its last minute's worth of sand.\nThough each person looked alike, some were sleeping, some were chatting merrily to one another, and one was playing a lute. Indyk's lute, she noticed, and then noticed Indyk's ring on the man's finger. Heriah was suddenly grateful for the anonymity of the hood. Perhaps Indyk would not realize that it was she, and that she had blundered.\n\"Tressed,\" said the young man to the assembled, who turned as one to her and burst into applause.\nThe conscious members of the Order arose to kiss her hand, and introduce themselves.\n\"Nirdla.\"\n\"Suelec.\"\n\"Kyler.\"\nThe names got stranger.\n\"Toniop.\"\n\"Htillyts.\"\n\"Noihtarap.\"\nShe could not help laughing: \"I understand. It's all backwards. Your real names are Aldrin, Celeus, Relyk, Poinot, Styllith, Parathion.\"\n\"Of course,\" said the young man. \"Won't you have a seat?\"\n\"Sey,\" giggled Heriah, getting into the spirit of the masque and taking an empty chair. \"I suppose that when the hourglass runs out, the backwards names go back to normal?\"\n\"That's correct, Tressed,\" said the woman next to her. \"It's just one of our Order's little amusements. This castle seemed like the appropriately ironic venue for our feast, devised as it was to shun the plague victims who were, in their way, a walking dead.\"\nHeriah felt herself light-headed from the odor of the torches, and bumped into the sleeping man next to her. He fell face forward onto the table.\n\"Poor Esruoc Tsrif,\" said a neighboring man, helping to prop the body up. \"He's given us so much.\"\nHeriah stumbled to her feet and began walking uncertainly for the front gate.\n\"Where are you going, Tressed?\" asked one of the figures, his voice taking on an unpleasant mocking quality.\n\"My name isn't Tressed,\" she mumbled, gripping Indyk's arm. \"I'm sorry, partner. We need to go.\"\nThe last crumb of sand fell in the hour glass as the man pulled back his hood. It was not Indyk. It was not even human, but a stretched grotesquerie of a man with hungry eyes and a wide mouth filled with tusk-like fangs.\nHeriah fell back into the chair of the figure they called Esruoc Tsrif. His hood fell open, revealing the pallid, bloodless face of Indyk. As she began to scream, they fell on her.\nIn her last living moment, Heriah finally spelled \"Tressed\" backwards.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tal-marog-kers-researches": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tal-marog-kers-researches", "description": "A summary of the events of Battlespire.", "author": "Tal Marog Ker", "title": "Tal Marog Ker's Researches", "text": "Harvest's End, 3E 172\nChimere, Master Sorcerer, Summoner, and Direnni retainer:\nChimere Graegyn was a retainer of the ambitious Direnni clan. The  Direnni derived the bulk of their power from their traffickings with  Daedra, a very profitable but risky path to success. Chimere was perhaps  the cleverest and most ambitious of the Direnni summoners. He dared to  scheme against Lord Dagon, and won. When his trick succeeded, Dagon was  cast into Oblivion. However, in the instant of his betrayal, Dagon  struck out against the mortal who tricked him. Chimere's pact assured  that he would live forever in his home town among the happy voices of  his friends and countrymen. Twisting the literal words of Chimere's  pact, Dagon scooped up tiny Caecilly Island (a small island off the  coast of Northmoor) and hurled in into the void. All Chimere's friends  and countrymen were instantly killed, though the sounds of their voices  remained to torment Chimere's memory. Chimere was condemned to live  forever, to grow progressively old and crippled with arthritis, and to  contemplate the tragic consequences of his defiance of fate and fortune  in cheating a Daedra Lord.\nArmor of the Saviour's Hide:\nCreated by the Daedra Lord Malacath, this armor has the marvelous  property of turning the blow of an oathbreaker. Chimere tricked Dagon  into swearing an oath against the Powers which he had no intention of  keeping. The Hide of the Savior turned Dagon's titanic fury long enough  for Chimere to deliver his own attack -- an incantation invoked upon  Dagon's \"Protonymic\" (i.e., Incantory True Name). Unfortunately, like  many of Malacath's gifts, the armor is a mixed blessing. It also makes  its wearer exceptionally vulnerable to magical attacks, so one should  only wear it for particular occasions.\nDagon's Protonymic:\nChimere used Dagon's Protonymic in an incantation to invoke a sorcery  that would gradually drain all of Dagon's power into the void. Chimere  miscalculated, however, not realizing that Dagon's resistance could slow  the draining of his power, even if it could not stop it. As a result,  Dagon had the time to curse Chimere with a literal fulfillment of the  terms of his bargain with Chimere. Rather than let his power drain into  the void, Dagon cast it all into his curse. As a result, Caecilly Island  was cast into the void, all its citizens were horribly slain, and  Chimere was condemned to live forever among the ruins of his greatest  ambition.\nRituals of the Hunt:\nThe Chapel of the Innocent Quarry: Chimere believes that Dagon had  Caecilly Island established as the site of the Chapel of the Innocent  Quarry to personally mock and torment Chimere. The green crystal  structure was created by enchantments, and is the only building on the  island erected since it was ripped from Tamriel and loosed in the void.\nThe Spear:\nSupposedly the Spear of Bitter Mercy used in the Wild Hunts could not  be handled by any mortal or immortal save the ones sanctified to the  Hunt and bound by its strictures. However, Chimere has determined that  though the Spear's power is great, it is not unlimited, and that certain  enchanted items -- for instance, the Armor of the Savior's Hide, forged  by Malacath -- are sufficient to protect a mortal or immortal bearer  from its maleficent energies."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tamrielic-lore": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tamrielic-lore", "description": "The Last Living Dwarf lists all the artifacts that he knows. An impressive array of incredible items.", "author": "Yagrum Bagarn", "title": "Tamrielic Lore", "text": "The following are notes I have gathered, over the past centuries, of items of unimaginable significance. All have been seen, owned, and lost, again and again throughout Tamriel. Some may be myth, others may be hoax, but regardless, many have lost their lives attempting to find or protect these very coveted items.\nLord's Mail\nSometimes called the Armor of Morihaus or the gift of Kynareth, this is an ancient cuirass of unsurpassable quality. It grants the wearer power to absorb health, resist the effects of spells, and cure oneself of poison when used. It is said that whenever Kynareth deigns the wearer unworthy, the Lord's Mail will be taken away and hidden for the next chosen one.\nEbony Mail\nThe Ebony Mail is a breastplate created before recorded history by the Dark Elven goddess Boethiah. It is she who determines who should possess the Ebony Mail and for how long a time. If judged worthy, its power grants the wearer added resistance of fire, magicka, and grants a magical shield. It is Boethiah alone who determines when a person is ineligible to bear the Ebony Mail any longer, and the goddess can be very capricious.\nSpell Breaker\nSpell Breaker, superficially a Dwemer tower shield, is one of the most ancient relics of Tamriel. Aside from its historical importance in the Battle of Rourken-Shalidor, the Spell Breaker protects its wielder almost completely from any spell caster, either by reflecting magicks or silencing any mage about to cast a spell. It is said that Spell Breaker still searches for its original owner, and will not remain the property of anyone else for long. For most, possessing Spell Breaker for any length of time is power enough.\nChrysamere\nThe Paladin's Blade is an ancient claymore with offensive capabilities surpassed only by its own defenses. It lends the wielder health, protects him or her from fire, and reflects any spells cast against the wielder back to the caster. Seldom has Chrysamere been wielded by any bladesman for any length of time, for it chooses not to favor one champion.\nStaff of Magnus\nThe Staff of Magnus, one of the elder artifacts of Tamriel, was a metaphysical battery of sorts for its creator, Magnus. When used, it absorbs an enemy's health and mystical energy. In time, the Staff will abandon the mage who wields it before he becomes too powerful and upsets the mystical balance it is sworn to protect.\nWarlock's Ring\nThe Warlock's Ring of the Archmage Syrabane is one of the most popular relics of myth and fable. In Tamriel's ancient history, Syrabane saved all of the continent by judicious use of his Ring, and ever since, it has helped adventurers with less lofty goals. It is best known for its ability to reflect spells cast at its wearer and to improve his or her speed and to restore health. No adventurer can wear the Warlock's Ring for long, for it is said that the Ring is Syrabane's alone to command.\nRing of Phynaster\nThe Ring of Phynaster was made hundreds of years ago by a man who needed good defenses to survive his adventurous life. Thanks to the Ring, Phynaster lived for hundreds of years, and since then it has passed from person to person. The Ring improves its wearer's overall resistance to poison, magicka, and shock. Still, Phynaster was cunning and cursed the ring so that it eventually disappears from its holder's possessions and returns to another resting place, discontent to stay anywhere but with Phynaster himself.\nRing of Khajiit\nThe Ring of the Khajiit is an ancient relic, hundreds of years older than Rajhin, the thief that made the Ring famous. It was Rajhin who used the Ring's powers to make himself invisible and as quick as the breath of wind. Using the Ring, he became the most successful burglar in Elsweyr's history. Rajhin's eventual fate is a mystery, but according to legend, the Ring rebelled against such constant use and disappeared, leaving Rajhin helpless before his enemies.\nMace of Molag Bal\nAlso known as the Vampire's Mace, the Mace of Molag Bal drains its victims of magicka and gives it to the bearer. It also has the ability to transfer an enemy's strength to its wielder. Molag Bal has been quite free with his artifact. There are many legends about the Mace. It seems to be a favorite for vanquishing wizards.\nMasque of Clavicus Vile\nEver the vain one, Clavicus Vile made a masque suited to his own personality. The bearer of the Masque is more likely to get a positive response from the people of Tamriel. The higher his personality, the larger the bonus. The best known story of the Masque tells the tale of Avalea, a noblewoman of some renown. As a young girl, she was grossly disfigured by a spiteful servant. Avalea made a dark deal with Clavicus Vile and received the Masque in return. Though the Masque did not change her looks, suddenly she had the respect and admiration of everyone. A year and a day after her marriage to a well connected baron, Clavicus Vile reclaimed the Masque. Although pregnant with his child, Avalea was banished from the Baron's household. Twenty one years and one day later, Avalea's daughter claimed her vengeance by slaying the Baron.\nMehrunes Razor\nThe Dark Brotherhood has coveted this ebony dagger for generations. This mythical artifact is capable of slaying any creature instantly. History does not record any bearers of Mehrune's Razor. However, the Dark Brotherhood was once decimated by a vicious internal power struggle. It is suspected that the Razor was involved.\nCuirass of the Savior's Hide\nAnother of Hircine's artifacts was the Cuirass of the Savior's Hide. The Cuirass has the special ability to resist magicka. Legend has it that Hircine rewarded his peeled hide to the first and only mortal to have ever escaped his hunting grounds. This unknown mortal had the hide tailored into this magical Cuirass for his future adventures. The Savior's Hide has a tendency to travel from hero to hero as though it has a mind of its own.\nSpear of Bitter Mercy\nOne of the more mysterious artifacts is the Spear of Bitter Mercy. Little to nothing is known about the Spear. There are no recorded histories but many believe it to be of Daedric origin. The only known legend about it is its use by a mighty hero during the fall of the Battlespire. The hero was aided by the Spear in the defeat of Mehrunes Dagon and the recapturing of the Battlespire. Since that time, the Spear of Bitter Mercy has made few appearances within Tamriel.\nDaedric Scourge\nThe Daedric Scourge is a mighty mace forged from sacred ebony in the Fires of Fickledire. The legendary weapon of Mackkan, it was once a fierce weapon used to send spirits of black back into Oblivion. The weapon lhas the ability to summon creatures from Oblivion, Once a tool used against the Daedric Lords in the Battlespire, it now roams the land with adventurers.\nBow of Shadows\nLegend has it that the Bow of Shadows was forged by the Daedra Nocturnal. The legendary ranger, Raerlas Ghile, was granted the Bow for a secret mission that failed, and the Bow was lost. Raerlas did not go down without a hearty fight and is said to have, with the aid of the Bow, taken scores of his foes with him. The Bow grants the user the ability of invisibility and increased speed. Many sightings of the Bow of Shadows have been reported, and it is even said that the sinister Dark Elf assassin of the Second Era, Dram, once wielded this bow.\nFists of Randagulf\nRandagulf of Clan Begalin goes down in Tamrielic history as one of the mightiest warriors from Skyrim. He was known for his courage and ferocity in battle and was a factor in many battles. He finally met his fate when King Harald conquered Skyrim. King Harald respected this great hero and took Randagulf's gauntlets for his own. After King Harald died, the gauntlets disappeared. The King claimed that the Fists granted the bearer added strength.\nIce Blade of the Monarch\nThe Ice Blade of the Monarch is truly one of Tamriel's most prized artifacts. Legend has it that the Evil Archmage Almion Celmo enchanted the claymore of a great warrior with the soul of a Frost Monarch, a stronger form of the more common Frost Atronach. The warrior, Thurgnarr Assi, was to play a part in the assassination of a great king in a far off land, and become the new leader. The assassination failed and the Archmage was imprisoned. The Ice Blade freezes all who feel its blade. The Blade circulates from owner to owner, never settling in one place for long.\nRing of Surroundings\nLittle is known of this prize but it is said that it lends the wearer the ability to blend in with their surroundings.\nBoots of the Apostle\nThe Boots of the Apostle are a true mystery. The wearer of the boots is rumored to be able to levitate, though nobody has ever seen them used.\nThe Mentor's Ring\nThis ring is a prized possession for any apprentice to magic. It lends the wearer the ability to increase their intelligence and wisdom, thus making their use of magic more efficient. The High Wizard Carni Asron is said to be the creator of the Ring. It was a construct for his young apprentices while studying under his guidance. After Asron's death, the Ring and several other possessions vanished and have been circulated throughout Tamriel.\nRing of the Wind\nNo facts are known about this Ring, but the title and the few rumors lend one to think it grants the wearer added speed.\nVampiric Ring\nOne of the more deadly and rare artifacts in Tamriel is the Vampiric Ring. It is said that the Ring has the power to steal its victim's health and grant it to the wearer. The exact nature and origin of the Ring is wholly unknown, but many elders speak of its evil creation in Morrowind long, long ago by a cult of Vampire followers. The Vampiric Ring is an extremely rare artifact and is only seen every few hundred cycles of the moons.\nEleidon's Ward\nEleidon was a holy knight of legend in Breton history. He was a sought after man for his courage and determination to set all wrongs right. In one story, it is said that he rescued a Baron's daughter from sure death at the hands of an evil warlord. For his reward, the Baron spent all of his riches to have an enchanted shield built for Eidelon. The Shield granted Eleidon the opportunity to heal his wounds.\nStaff of Hasedoki\nHasedoki was said to have been a very competitive wizard. He wandered the land in search for a wizard who was greater than he. To the best of all knowledge, he never found a wizard who could meet up to his challenge. It is said that he felt so lonely and isolated because so many feared his power, that he bonded his life-force into his very own staff, where his soul remains to this very day. Magic users all over Tamriel have been searching for this magical staff. Granting its wielder a protection of magicka, it is a sure prize for any magic user.\nBloodworm Helm\nThe King of Worms was said to have left behind one of his prized possessions, the Bloodworm Helm. The Helm is a construct of magically formed bone. The Helm allows the user to summon skeletons and control the undead. It would be a prized artifact to a necromancer.\nDragonbone Mail\nThis cuirass is one of the greatest artifacts any collector or hero could own. It is constructed of real dragon bone and was enchanted by the first Imperial Battlemage, Zurin Arctus, in the early years of the Third Era. It is a truly exquisite piece of work and many have sought to possess it. The properties of the Cuirass allow the wearer to be resist fire, and to damage an enemy with a blast of fire. Little is known about the involvement of Zurin Arctus with the enchantment of the Cuirass, but an old tale speaks of a debt that he owed to a traveling warrior. Like the warrior, the Dragonbone Mail never stays put for long.\nSkull Crusher\nThe Skull Crusher is an amazingly large, and powerful weapon. The Warhammer was created in a fire, magically fueled by the Wizard, Dorach Gusal, and was forged by the great weaponsmith, Hilbongard Rolamus. The steel is magically hardened and the weight of the weapon is amazingly light, which makes for more powerful swings and deadly blows. The Warhammer was to be put on display for a festival, but thieves got it first. The Skull Crusher still travels Tamriel in search of its creators.\nGoldbrand\nThis magical Sword is almost a complete mystery. Thieves tell tales about its golden make and how it was actually forged by ancient dragons of the North. Their tales claim that it was given to a great knight who was sworn to protect the dragons. The Sword lends its wielder the ability to do fire damage on an enemy. Goldbrand has not been sighted in recent history and is said to be awaiting a worthy hero.\nFang of Haynekhtnamet\nBlack Marsh was once known to be inhabited with what the Argonians called the Wamasus. Northern men considered them to be intelligent dragons with lightning for blood. One such mighty beast, Haynekhtnamet, was slain by the Northern men, though it took 7 days and nights, and a score of men. One of the surviving men took a fang home as a trophy. The fang was carved down into a blade and fashioned into a small dagger. The Dagger mysteriously houses some of the beast's magical properties and grants the user the ability to do shock damage on an opponent. This unique Dagger is seen occasionally by traveling heroes.\nUmbra Sword\nThe Umbra Sword was enchanted by the ancient witch Naenra Waerr, and its sole purpose was the entrapment of souls. Used in conjunction with a soul gem, the Sword allows the wielder the opportunity to imprison an enemy's soul in the gem. Naenra was executed for her evil creation, but not before she was able to hide the Sword. The Umbra Sword is very choosy when it comes to owners and therefore remains hidden until a worthy one is found.\nDenstagmer's Ring\nAll that is known of this Ring is that it may grant the user protection from certain elements. Even the name Denstagmer is a mystery.\nHelm of Oreyn Bearclaw\nOne of Valenwood's legendary heroes is Oreyn Bearclaw. Son of King Faume Toad-Eye, he was a respected clan hunter and a future leader. Wood Elven legend claims Oreyn single handedly defeated Glenhwyfaunva, the witch-serpent of the Elven wood, forever bringing peace to his clan. Oreyn would go on to accomplish numerous other deeds, eventually losing his life to the Knahaten Flu. His Helm stood as a monument of his stature for future generations to remember. The Helm was lost eventually, as the Clan split, and is now a treasured artifact for adventurers. The Helm of Oreyn Bearclaw is rumored to improve the wearers agility and endurance.\nDaedric Crescent Blade\nProbably the most rare and even outlawed item of all the great prizes is the Daedric Crescent Blade. The Blade was used by Mehrunes Dagon's Daedric forces in the capture of the Imperial Battlespire. These extremely unique Blades were gathered up and destroyed after the Battlespire was recaptured by the Empire. All but one it seems. Though the Empire believes them all to be destroyed, it is rumored that one still remains in existence, somewhere in Tamriel, though none have ever seen it. The Blade lends it's weilder the ability to do great damage on an enemy and allows him to paralyze and put heavy wear on his enemy's armor. Quite the prize for any mighty warrior, if it does indeed exist."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tattered-note": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tattered-note", "description": "A letter from Carnius Magius to kill all Raven Rock inhabitant.", "author": "Carnius Magius", "title": "Tattered Note", "text": "Land somewhere NE of the colony. Wait until <Name> has left the site (the <Race> can be identified based on descriptions previously provided.)\nKill every living thing in the colony. Be sure to leave behind some Skaal armor and weapons; there needs to be evidence readily available, should the Empire choose to investigate.\nPayment will be delivered at the designated meeting point once proof of the task's completion is presented.\nC"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tax-records": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tax-records", "description": "A record from an ill-fated Seyda Neen Imperial Tax officer.", "author": "Processus Vitellius", "title": "Tax Records", "text": "Processus Vitellius\nSeyda Neen Census and Excise Office\nArrille - 450 drakes - PAID\nDraren Thiralas - 200 drakes - PAID\nEldafire - 130 drakes\nErene Llenim - 78 drakes - PAID\nFargoth - 111 drakes\nFine-Mouth - 54 drakes\nForyn Gilnith - 225 drakes\nIndrele Rathryon - 127 drakes - PAID\nTerurise Grivayne - 98 drakes -PAID\nThavere Vedrano 134 drakes - PAID\nVodunius Nuccius - 87 drakes"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thauravers-orders": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thauravers-orders", "description": "", "author": "K", "title": "Thauraver's Orders", "text": "Thauraver,\nI'm tired of waiting. The hell with the Dark Brotherhood, the hell with the Morag Tong. You're all I need. Find those damn slaves and bring them back. If they won't come back, kill them. Actually, just kill them. They're damaged product and I don't need the aggravation.\nYou've never let me down before and I know you won't let me down now.\n-K"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/affairs-wizards": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/affairs-wizards", "description": "The \"faction book\" for the Telvanni, written by a servant to Telvanni Lord Aryon. This book should be read before joining Great House Telvanni.", "author": "Turedus Talanian", "title": "The Affairs of Wizards", "text": "Want to Become Part of House Telvanni?\nOutsiders learning of the rabid isolationist and outlander-hating  temperament of House Telvanni wizards often assume it would be  impossible to obtain positions in service to House Telvanni.\nNothing could be further from the truth.\nFor example, since the Telvanni vigorously defend the right to own  slaves, and since they keep many Argonian and Khajiit as slaves, many  Argonians and Khajiit assume they would not be accepted for service with  House Telvanni.\nNot true. Telvanni accept all races as candidates for membership.\nAnd, since the Telvanni are ruled by wizard-lord nobles, many assume  they accept only candidates of the highest intelligence and willpower.\nNot true. Telvanni accept candidates of modest intelligence and  willpower.\nIt is true that advancement in Telvanni ranks depends on high  intelligence and willpower, and that candidates proficient in the arts  of magic -- especially Mysticism, Conjuration, Illusion, Alteration,  Destruction, and Enchanting -- can expect to advance faster and higher  in the ranks.\nBut adventurers of all races and abilities who apply to Telvanni Mouths  at the Telvanni Council Hall in Sadrith Mora for acceptance in House  Telvanni can expect a cordial welcome.\n(Telvanni Councilors do not serve on their house councils in person.  Instead, they are represented by a 'Mouth', a trusted subordinate in  residence at the Council Hall, acting on his patron's behalf, receiving  messengers from their patrons and casting their patron's votes in  Council affairs.)\nThe truth is that House Telvanni wizard-lords depend on loyal,  well-paid, skilled retainers for most services. Though House Telvanni  does recruit from their own lower classes, they must go outside their  house to hire the craftsmen and specialists they need. And since for  political reasons House Telvanni has chosen to reduce its reliance on  Redoran mercenaries for protection and security, it has been forced to  turn to Western mercenaries for guards and agents.\nPromotion in the ranks of House Telvanni, however, is very difficult for  outsiders. Most disconcerting for some potential candidates is House  Telvanni's casual acceptance of murder and assassination of rivals as a  means to advancement. Those reluctant to prove their worthiness by  killing off the competition, and those uncomfortable about competing in  such a ruthless atmosphere, might better employ their time and efforts  in the Mages Guild."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/alchemical-recipes-aurane-frernis": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/alchemical-recipes-aurane-frernis", "description": "Some essential recipes.", "author": "Aurane Frernis", "title": "The Alchemical Recipes of Aurane Frernis", "text": "The most common potion, restore health, can be made from ingredients  native to Vvardenfell. Any combination of Marshmerrow, wickwheat, and  resin will work. If properly prepared, there are no ill effects.\nAnother common potion is that of restore fatigue. This can be made from  scrib jelly and scuttle. Using hound meat instead of jelly may make a  stronger potion, but the hound meat often spoils and makes the potion  effective but undrinkable. Customers often prefer potions that taste  better to ones that are only slightly more effective.\nA potion to cure common diseases is another frequent request. These are  quite simple to make here in Vvardenfell and often cheaper as grave dust  is far more plentiful (and better preserved) by these fastidious  Dunmer. Mix equal parts gravedust and green lichens. Heat over a low  flame until the mixture turns brown.\nNotes: Daedra skin is just as effective, but very expensive. Chokeweed  can be used in an emergency.\nResearch notes on curing blight diseases:\nSo far the only mixtures I've found to be even partially effective is  scrib jelly and ash salts. These ingredients are not too hard to find,  but the ratio needs some adjustment and the potion is not fully  effective.\nA simple potion to breathe water can be made from luminous russula, a  shelf fungus found in the Bitter Coast, and hackle-lo leaves. Crush the  mushrooms and leaves into a paste and add water slowly until the mixture  is just barely liquid enough to drink.\nNote: Try and find something to mix with this to make it taste better.\nA simple levitate potion can be made from coda flowers and either Cliff  Racer plumes or trama roots.\nNote: Do NOT mix plumes with trama root."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/alchemists-formulary": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/alchemists-formulary", "description": "A set of recipes which would be useful to either the Healer, the Traveler, or the Adventurer. Approximately eleven recipes.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Alchemist's Formulary", "text": "Healers' Recipes\nHealers should all know the recipes for the following popular potions.  Fortunately, in most cases, the ingredients are common and cheaply  obtained.\n\nTo restore health to the afflicted and wounded, combine in equal parts  two or more of the following cheap and common ingredients: marshmerrow,  wickwheat, corkbulb root, and saltrice. Marshmerrow is an important crop  of the Ascadian Isles, but it also grows wild in the Grazelands and on  Azura's Coast. Wickwheat is a wild Ashland grain that grows in the  Grazelands. Corkbulb grows best in the Ascadian Isles. Most saltrice  comes from southeastern Morrowind, but there are also some new and  prospering farms and plantations in the Ascadian Isles. Saltrice  occasionally grows wild in the Grazelands and on Azura's Coast.\n\nTo restore fatigue after heavy exertion, combine two or more of the  following: crab meat, bread, small kwama egg, and chokeweed. Crabmeat is  taken from the mud crab, commonly found along all coasts. Bread in  Morrowind is usually baked from saltrice flour. Kwama eggs are harvested  from egg mines, and sold everywhere in Morrowind; the smaller eggs  retain properties lost in later states of gestation. Chokeweed is a  tough shrub growing in the rocky highlands of the West Gash.\n\nTo cure common diseases, combine gravedust and green lichen. Gravedust  is spirit-affinitive dust taken from remains buried in consecrated  ground. Green lichen is a hardy primitive plant that grows in the  Ascadian Isles and Azura's Coast.\n\nTo restore magicka for spellcasting, combine comberry and frost salts.  Comberry is a bitter berry, used to make wines. It grows mainly in the  Ascadian Isles. Frost salts, by contrast, are rare and expensive. These  crystalline compounds precipitate from elemental frost in solution. Such  residues may be collected from the remains of frost atronachs that have  been banished from the mortal plane.\n\nTravelers' Recipes\nPilgrims and travelers will find the following inexpensive recipes of  particular interest.\n\nFeather reduces the weary traveler's burdens and can be gained from  heather and scuttle. Heather is a low evergreen shrub of the Ascadian  Isles, known for its small, pinkish-purple flowers. Scuttle,  Vvardenfell's favorite local dish, is similar to cheese and made from  the flesh of local beetles.\n\nLevitation can be produced from any two of the following ingredients:  trama root, racer plumes, and coda flowers. A thick, bitter-tasting root  of the trama shrub grows in the Ashlands, Molag Amur, and Red Mountain  regions. Racer plumes are plucked from dead cliff racers. Coda flowers  are collected from the primitive draggle-tail plant of the Bitter Coast.\n\nThe power of Water Breathing is handy for travelers. A potion may be  made from two or more of the following ingredients: luminous russula,  hackle-lo leaf, and kwama cuttle. Luminous russula is a squat,  mottled-brown-and-green toadstool mushroom of the Bitter Coast region.  Hackle-lo leaf is a succulent leaf of the Grazelands, prized for its  taste and its roborative powers. Kwama cuttle is a tough, waxy substance  that comes from sacs in the mouths of kwama.\n\nAdventurers' Recipes\nUnfortunately, the potions most favored by adventurers require more rare  and expensive ingredients. There are exceptions, like the easy and  affordable recipe for fire shield. But most such potions require at  least one ingredient with high cost in coin or blood.\n\nFire Shield potions can be made from comberry and sload soap. Comberry  is the bitter berry of the Ascadian Isles. Sload soap is a waxy  substance made from the immature non-sentient forms of the sload. Sload  soap is not expensive, but is only rarely stocked by apothecaries or  alchemists, and cannot be collected locally.\n\nAn adventurer can fortify his strength with a potion made from ash yams  and dreugh wax. Ash yam is a tough tuberous root vegetable common to the  Ascadian Isles region. Dreugh wax is a tough, waxy substance scraped  from dreugh shells. Dreugh are powerful aquatic creatures, and hunting  them for their hides and wax is a dangerous occupation.\n\nInvisibility, one of the most prized effects of potions, can be made  only from crushed diamonds and bittergreen petals. Bittergreen is a red  flowering plant growing in the Red Mountain region. Diamonds, on the  other hand, are very rare and expensive and usually must be purchased  from fine alchemists."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/anticipations": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/anticipations", "description": "About the Anticipations of the Tribunal: the Daedra Princes Boethia, Azura, and Mephala.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Anticipations", "text": "The Daedra are powerful ancestor spirits, similar in form and substance  to the Tribunal (Blessed Be Their Holy Names), but weaker in power, and  more arbitrary and removed from the affairs of mortals. In old times,  the Chimer worshiped the Daedra as gods. But they did not deserve this  veneration, for the Daedra harm their worshippers as often as help them.\nThe Advent of the Tribunal (Blessed Be Their Holy Names) changed this  unhappy state. By the Apotheosis, the Tribunal (Blessed Be Their Holy  Names) became the Protectors and High Ancestor Spirits of the Dunmer,  and bade the Daedra to give proper veneration and obedience. The Three  Good Daedra, Boethiah, Azura, and Mephala, recognized the Divinity of  the Triune Ancestors (Blessed Be Their Holy Names). The Rebel Daedra,  Molag Bal, Malacath, Sheogorath, and Mehrunes Dagon, refused to swear  fealty to the Tribunal (Blessed Be Their Holy Names), and their  worshippers were cast out.\nThese Rebel Daedra thus became the Four Corners of the House of  Troubles, and they continue to plague our tranquility and tempt the  unwary into Heresy and Dark Worship. The Priests of the Temple remain  ever vigilant for signs of the Adversaries' return, sometimes aided by  the loyal Three Good Daedra, who are familiar with the wiles of their  rebellious kin.\nThe Good Daedra are known to the Temple as the Anticipations, since they  are the early ancestral anticipations of the loving patronage of the  Tribunal. The Anticipations are the Daedra Lords Boethiah, Mephala, and  Azura.\nBoethiah is the Anticipation of Almalexia but male to her female.  Boethiah was the ancestor who illuminated the elves ages ago before the  Mythic Era. He told them the truth of Lorkhan's test, and defeated  Auriel's champion, Trinimac. Boethiah ate Trinimac and voided him. The  followers of Boethiah and Trinimac rubbed the soil of Trinimac upon  themselves and changed their skins.\nMephala is the Anticipation of Vivec, but manifold and androgynous.  Mephala taught the Chimer to evade their enemies or kill them with  secret murder. The Chimer were few in those days and threatened on all  sides. Mephala taught the Chimer to build Houses. Later, Mephala created  the Morag Tong.\nAzura is the Anticipation of Sotha Sil, but female to his male. Azura  was the ancestor who taught the Chimer how to be different from the  Altmer. Her teachings are sometimes attributed to Boethiah. In the  stories, Azura is often encountered more as a communal progenitor of the  race as a whole rather than as an individual ancestor. She is  associated with Dusk and Dawn, and is sometimes called the Mother Soul.  Azura's Star, also called the Twilight Star, appears briefly at dawn and  dusk low on the horizon below the constellation of the Steed. Azura is  associated with mystery and magic, fate and prophecy."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/arcturian-heresy": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/arcturian-heresy", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Arcturian Heresy", "text": "The Underking, Ysmir Kingmaker\nWith his god destroyed, Wulfharth finds it hard to keep his form. He  staggers out of Red Mountain to the battlefield beyond. The world has  shaken and all of Morrowind is made of fire. A strong gale picks up, and  blows his ashes back to Skyrim.\nWulfharth adopts and is adopted by the Nords then. Ysmir the Grey Wind,  the Storm of Kyne. But through Lorkhan he lost his national identity.  All he wants the Nords for is to kill the Tribunal. He raises a storm,  sends in his people, and is driven back by Tribunal forces. The Dunmer  are too strong now. Wulfharth goes underground to wait and strengthen  and reform his body anew. Oddly enough, it is Almalexia who disturbs his  rest, summoning the Underking to fight alongside the Tribunal against  Ada'Soom Dir-Kamal, the Akaviri demon. Wulfharth disappears after  Ada'Soom is defeated, and does not return for three hundred years.\nIt is the rumbling of the Greybeards that wake him. Though the Empire  has crumbled, there are rumors that a chosen one will come to restore  it. This new Emperor will defeat the Elves and rule a united Tamriel.  Naturally, Wulfharth thinks he is the figure of prophecy. He goes  directly to High Hrothgar to hear the Greybeards speak. When they do,  Ysmir is blasted to ash again. He is not the chosen one. It is a warrior  youth from High Rock. As the Grey Wind goes to find this boy, he hears  the Greybeards' warning: remember the color of betrayal, King Wulfharth.\nThe Western Reach was at war. Cuhlecain, the King of Falkreath in West  Cyrodiil, was in a bad situation. To make any bid at unifying the  Colovian Estates, he needed to secure his northern border, where the  Nords and Reachmen had been fighting for centuries. He allies with  Skyrim at the Battle of Old Hrol'dan. Leading his forces was Hjalti  Early-Beard. Hjalti was from the island kingdom of Alcaire, in High  Rock, and would become Tiber Septim, the First Emperor of Tamriel.\nHjalti was a shrewd tactician, and his small band of Colovian troops and  Nord berserkers broke the Reachman line, forcing them back beyond the  gates of Old Hrol'dan. A siege seemed impossible, as Hjalti could expect  no reinforcements from Falkreath. That night a storm came and visited  Hjalti's camp. It spoke with him in his tent. At dawn, Hjalti went up to  the gates, and the storm followed just above his head. Arrows could not  penetrate the winds around him. He shouted down the walls of Old  Hrol'dan, and his men poured in. After their victory, the Nords called  Hjalti Talos, or Stormcrown.\nCuhlecain, with his new invincible general, unifies West Cyrodiil in  under a year. No one can stand before Hjalti's storms. The Underking  knows that if Hjalti is to become Emperor of Tamriel, he must first  capture the Eastern Heartland. Hjalti uses them both. He needs Cuhlecain  in the Colovian Estates, where foreigners are mistrusted. It is obvious  why he needs Ysmir. They march on the East, the battlemages surrender  before their armies, and they take the Citadel. Before Cuhlecain can be  crowned, Hjalti secretly murders him and his loyalist contingent. These  assassinations are blamed on the enemies of Cuhlecain, which, for  political reasons, are still the Western Reach. Zurin Arctus, the Grand  Battlemage (not the Underking), then crowns Hjalti as Tiber Septim, new  Emperor of All Cyrodiil. After he captures the Imperil Throne, Septim  finds the initial administration of a fully united Cyrodiil a  time-consuming task. He sends the Underking to deal with Imperial  expansion into Skyrim and High Rock. Ysmir, mindful that it might seem  as if Tiber Septim is in two places at once, works behind the scenes.  This period of levelheaded statesmanship and diplomacy, this sudden  silence, heretofore unknown in the roaring tales of Talosian conquest,  are explained away later. (The assassination story is embroidered -- now  it is popularly Talos' own throat that was cut.)\nThe human kingdoms are conquered, even Hammerfell, whose capture was  figured to be an arduous task. The Underking wants a complete invasion, a  chance to battle their foreign wind spirits himself, but Tiber Septim  refutes him. He has already made a better plan, one that will seem to  legitimize his rule. Cyrodiil supports the losing side of a civil war  and are invited in. Finally, the Empire can turn its eyes onto the  Elves.\nThe Underking continues to press on Tiber Septim the need to conquer  Morrowind. The Emperor is not sure that it is a wise idea. He has heard  of the Tribunal's power. The Underking wants his vengeance, and reminds  Tiber Septim that he is fated to conquer the Elves, even the Tribunal.  Arctus advises against the move but Septim covets the Ebony in  Morrowind, as he sorely needs a source of capital to rebuild Cyrodiil  after 400 years of war. The Underking tells him that, with the Tribunal  dead, Septim might steal the Tribunal's power and use it against the  High Elves (certainly the oldest enemies of Lorkhan, predating even the  Tribunal). Summerset Isle is the farthest thing from Tiber Septim's  mind. Even then, he was planning to send Zurin Arctus to the King of  Alinor to make peace. The Ebony need wins out in the end. The Empire  invades Morrowind, and the Tribunal give up. When certain conditions of  the Armistice include not only a policy of noninterference with the  Tribunal, but also, in the Underking's eyes, a validation of their  religious beliefs, Ysmir is furious. He abandons the Empire completely.  This was the betrayal the Greybeards spoke of. Or so he thinks.\nWithout the Underking's power, all ideas of conquering Tamriel vanish.  Would've been nice, Septim thinks, but let's just worry about Cyrodiil  and the human nations. Already there is a rebellion in Hammerfell.\nPieces of Numidium trickle in, though. Tiber Septim, always fascinated  by the Dwarves, has Zurin Arctus research this grand artifact. In doing  so, Arctus stumbles upon some of the stories of the war at Red Mountain.  He discovers the reason the Numidium was made and some of it's  potential. Most importantly, he learns the Underking's place in the War.  But Zurin Arctus was working from incomplete plans. He thinks it is the  heart of Lorkhan's body that is needed to power the Numidium.\nWhile Zurin Arctus is raving about his discovery, the prophecy finally  becomes clear to Tiber Septim. This Numidium is what he needs to conquer  the world. It is his destiny to have it. He contacts the Underking and  says he was right all along. They should kill the Tribunal, and they  need to get together and make a plan. While the Underking was away he  realized the true danger of Dagoth-Ur. Something must to be done. But he  needs an army, and his old one is available again. The trap is set.\nThe Underking arrives and is ambushed by Imperial guards. As he takes  them on, Zurin Arctus uses a soulgem on him. With his last breath, the  Underking's Heart roars a hole through the Battlemage's chest. In the  end, everyone is dead, the Underking has reverted back to ash, and Tiber  Septim strolls in to take the soulgem. When the Elder Council arrives,  he tells them about the second attempt on his life, this time by his  trusted battle mage, Zurin Arctus, who was attempting a coup. He has the  dead guards celebrated as heroes, even the one who was blasted to  ash... He warns Cyrodiil about the dangers within, but says he has a  solution to the dangers without. The Mantella.\nThe Numidium, while not the god Tiber Septim and the Dwemer hoped for  (the Underking was not exactly Lorkhan, after all), it does the job.  After its work on Summerset Isle a new threat appears -- a rotting  undead wizard who controls the skies. He blows the Numidium apart. But  it pounds him into the ground with its last flailings, leaving only a  black splotch. The Mantella falls into the sea, seemingly forever.\nMeanwhile, Tiber Septim crowns himself the First Emperor of Tamriel. He  lives until he is 108, the richest man in history. All aspects of his  early reign are rewritten. Still, there are conflicting reports of what  really happened, and this is why there is such confusion over such  questions as: Why does Alcaire claim to be the birthplace of Talos,  while other sources say he came from Atmora? Why does Tiber Septim seem  to be a different person after his first roaring conquests? Why does  Tiber Septim betray his battlemage? Is the Mantella the heart of the  battlemage or is it the heart of Tiber Septim?\nTiber Septim is succeeded by his grandson, Pelagius I. Pelagius is just  not of the same caliber. In truth, he's a little nervous with all these  provinces. Then an advisor shows up.\n\"I was friends with your grandfather,\" the Underking says, \"He sent me  to help you run the Empire.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/morrowind-armorers-challenge": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/morrowind-armorers-challenge", "description": "A historical account from the times of Empress Katariah. Might be authentic, might be fiction.", "author": "Mymophonus", "title": "The Armorers' Challenge", "text": "\nThree hundred years ago, when Katariah became Empress, the first and  only Dunmer to rule all of Tamriel, she faced opposition from the  Imperial Council. Even after she convinced them that she would be the  best regent to rule the Empire while her husband Pelagius sought  treatment for his madness, there was still conflict. In particular from  the Duke of Vengheto, Thane Minglumire, who took a particular delight in  exposing all of the Empress's lack of practical knowledge.\nIn this particular instance, Katariah and the Council were discussing  the unrest in Black Marsh, the massacre of Imperial troops outside the  village of Armanias. The sodden swampland and the sweltering climate,  particular in summertide, would endanger the troops if they wore their  usual armor.\n\"I know a very clever armorer,\" said Katariah, \"His name is Hazadir, an  Argonian who knows the environments our army will be facing. He knew him  in Vivec where he was a slave to the master armorer there, before he  moved to the Imperial City as a freedman. We should have him design  armor and weaponry for the campaign.\"\nMinglumire gave a short, barking laugh: \"She wants a slave to design the  armor and weaponry for our troops! Sirollus Saccus is the finest  armorer in the Imperial City. Everyone knows that.\"\nAfter much debate, it was finally decided to have both armorers contend  for the commission. The Council also elected two champions of equal  power and prowess, Nandor Beraid and Raphalas Eul, to battle using the  arms and armaments of the real competitors in the struggle. Whichever  champion won, the armorer who supplied him would earn the Imperial  commission. It was decided that Beraid would be outfitted by Hazadir,  and Eul by Saccus.\nThe fight was scheduled to commence in seven days.\nSirollus Saccus began work immediately. He would have preferred more  time, but he recognized the nature of the test. The situation in  Armanias was urgent. The Empire had to select their armorer quickly, and  once selected, the preferred armorer had to act swiftly and produce the  finest armor and weaponry for the Imperial army in Black Marsh. It  wasn't just the best armorer they were looking for. It was the most  efficient.\nSaccus had only begun steaming the half-inch strips of black virgin oak  to bend into bands for the flanges of the armor joints when there was a  knock at his door. His assistant Phandius ushered in the visitor. It was  a tall reptilian of common markings, a dull, green-fringed hood, bright  black eyes, and a dull brown cloak. It was Hazadir, Katariah's  preferred armorer.\n\"I wanted to wish you the best of luck on the -- is that ebony?\"\nIt was indeed. Saccus had bought the finest quality ebony weave  available in the Imperial City as soon as he heard of the competition  and had begun the process of smelting it. Normally it was a six month  procedure refining the ore, but he hoped that a massive convection oven  stoked by white flames born of magicka would shorten the operation to  three days. Saccus proudly pointed out the other advancements in his  armory. The acidic lime pools to sharpen the blade of the dai-katana to  an unimaginable degree of sharpness. The Akaviri forge and tongs he  would use to fold the ebony back and forth upon itself. Hazadir laughed.\n\"Have you been to my armory? It's two tiny smoke-filled rooms. The front  is a shop. The back is filled with broken armor, some hammers, and a  forge. That's it. That's your competition for the millions of gold  pieces in Imperial commission.\"\n\"I'm sure the Empress has some reason to trust you to outfit her  troops,\" said Sirollus Saccus, kindly. He had, after all, seen the shop  and knew that what Hazadir said was true. It was a pathetic workshop in  the slums, fit only for the lowliest of adventurers to get their iron  daggers and cuirasses repaired. Saccus had decided to make the best  quality regardless of the inferiority of his rival. It was his way and  how he became the best armorer in the Imperial City.\nOut of kindness, and more than a bit of pride, Saccus showed Hazadir  how, by contrast, things should be done in a real professional armory.  The Argonian acted as an apprentice to Saccus, helping him refine the  ebony ore, and to pound it and fold it when it cooled. Over the next  several days, they worked together to create a beautiful dai-katana with  an edge honed to a keen sharp enough to trim a mosquito's eyebrows, and  a suit of armor of bound wood, leather, silver, and ebony to resist the  winds of Oblivion.\nOn the day of the battle, Saccus, Hazadir, and Phandius finished  polishing the armor and brought in Raphalas Eul for the fitting. Hazadir  left only then, realizing that Nandor Beraid would be at his shop  shortly to be outfitted.\nThe two warriors met in the arena in the Imperial City with an audience  of the Empress and the Imperial Council two hours later. From the moment  Saccus saw Eul in his suit of shining ebony and dai-katana blazing and  Beraid in his collection of dusty, rusted merchandise from Hazadir's  shop, he knew who would win. And he was right.\nThe first blow from the dai-katana lodged in the soft shield, as there  was no metal trim to deflect it. Before Eul could pull his sword back,  Beraid lashed out with his long sword at the weak points in the armor,  it was the perfect weapon to perforate the joints. Eul retrieved his  sword and slashed at Beraid but his armor was scaled and angled, and the  attacks rolled off like water. When Eul's armor began to fall off, the  Empress and Council, out of mercy, called a victor.\nHazadir received the commission and thanks to his knowledge of Argonian  battle tactics and weaponry and how best to combat them, he designed  implements of war that brought down the insurrection in Armanias.  Katariah won the respect of Council, and even, grudgingly, that of Thane  Minglumire. Sirollus Saccus went to Morrowind to learn what Hazadir  learned there, and was never heard from again."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/art-war-magic": {"game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/art-war-magic", "description": "A collection of phrases and thoughts, intended to help the reader become a better tactician and user of War Magic.", "author": "Zurin Arctus et al.", "title": "The Art of War Magic", "text": "THE ART OF WAR MAGIC\nby\nZurin Arctus\nwith Commentary By Other Learned Masters\nChapter 3: Dispositions\nMaster Arctus said:\n1. The moment to prepare your offense is the moment the enemy becomes vulnerable to attack.\nLeros Chael: Knowledge of the enemy mage's mind is of the foremost importance. Once you know his mind, you will know his weaknesses.\nSedd Mar: Master Arctus advised Tiber Septim before the battle of Five Bridges not to commit his reserves until the enemy was victorious. Tiber Septim said, \"If the enemy is already victorious, what use committing the reserve?\" To which Master Arctus replied, \"Only in victory will the enemy be vulnerable to defeat.\" Tiber Septim went on to rout an enemy army twice the size of his.\n2. The enemy's vulnerability may be his strongest point; your weakness may enable you to strike the decisive blow.\nMarandro Ur: In the wars between the Nords and the Chimer, the Nord shamans invariably used their mastery of the winds to call down storms before battle to confuse and dismay the Chimer warriors. One day, a clever Chimer sorcerer conjured up an ice demon and commanded him to hide in the rocks near the rear of the Chimer army. When the Nords called down the storms as usual, the Chimer warriors began to waver. But the ice demon rose up as the storm struck, and the Chimer turned in fear from what they believed was a Nord demon and charged into the enemy line, less afraid of the storm than of the demon. The Nords, expecting the Chimer to flee as usual, were caught off guard when the Chimer attacked out of the midst of the storm. The Chimer were victorious that day.\n3. When planning a campaign, take account of both the arcane and the mundane. The skillful battlemage ensures that they are in balance; a weight lifted by one hand is heavier than two weights lifted by both hands.\n4. When the arcane and mundane are in balance, the army will move effortlessly, like a swinging door on well-oiled hinges. When they are out of balance, the army will be like a three-legged dog, with one leg always dragging in the dust.\n5. Thus when the army strikes a blow, it will be like a thunderclap out of a cloudless sky. The best victories are those unforeseen by the enemy, but obvious to everyone afterwards.\n6. The skillful battlemage ensures that the enemy is already defeated before the battle begins. A close-fought battle is to be avoided; the fortunes of war may turn aside the most powerful sorcery, and courage may undo the best-laid plans. Instead, win your victory ahead of time. When the enemy knows he is defeated before the battle begins, you may not need to fight.\n7. Victory in battle is only the least kind of victory. Victory without battle is the acme of skill.\n8. Conserving your power is another key to victory. Putting forth your strength to win a battle is no demonstration of skill. This is what we call tactics, the least form of the art of war magic.\nThulidden dir'Tharkun: By 'tactics', Master Arctus includes all the common battle magics. These are only the first steps in an understanding of war magic. Any hedge mage can burn up his enemies with fire. Destroying the enemy is the last resort of the skillful battlemage.\n9. The battle is only a leaf on the tree; if a leaf falls, does the tree die? But when a branch is lopped off, the tree is weakened; when the trunk is girdled, the tree is doomed.\n10. If you plan your dispositions well, your victories will seem easy and you will win no acclaim. If you plan your dispositions poorly, your victories will seem difficult, and your fame will be widespread.\nMarandro Sul: Those commonly believed to be the greatest practitioners of war magic are almost always those with the least skill. The true masters are not known to the multitude.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/axe-man": {"game": ["Morrowind", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/axe-man", "description": "The story of the devlopment of a Morag Tong assassin who exclusively used the axe during business hours. Raises your Axe skill.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Axe Man", "text": "Of all the members of the Morag Tong I've spoken with, none disturbed me as much as Minas Torik. A quiet and reserved man who never drank, never visited a brothel or even uttered a curse, he was famous for his ability to make people disappear. Once a person was targeted by the Brotherhood and Torik was sent to them, they would simply cease to be. I asked him once what his weapon of choice was, and was equally startled by his answer.\n\u201cI only likes to use axes,\u201d he said in his typical, quiet voice.\nThe image of this silent, dour fellow attacking anyone with a weapon as inherently bloody and violent as an axe so frightened and intrigued me that I questioned him about it further. This is an inherently dangerous activity, for assassins are not typically keen to give out their stories. Torik did not mind the questions, though it took some time to get the full story out of him, as naturally shy and reserved as he was.\nIt seemed that Torik had been orphaned as a very young age and sent to live with his uncle, a saltrice plantation owner in Sheogorad in northern Vvardenfell. The man promised to show his nephew the business and eventually make him a partner when he was old enough. In the meantime, the boy was put to work as his uncle's house servant.\nIt was a grueling life as the old man was very particular about how things should be done. The boy was first required to give all the floors in the house a thorough scouring, from the attic to the cellar. Whenever the floor was not cleaned to the uncle's satisfaction, which was frequent, Torik was thrashed and forced to begin again.\nThe boy's second duty was to ring the bell that would bring the laborers into the house. This was done at least four times a day, once for each meal, but if his uncle had any news or additional instructions for the laborers -- which he frequently did -- the bell might need to be sounded a dozen times or more. It was a huge iron bell in the tower and the boy quickly discovered that he had to throw his entire body into the motion of pulling the chain in order to have it sound loud enough to bring everyone in from the field. If he was tired and did not pull the backbreaking chain hard enough, his uncle was soon at his side to beat him until he rang the bell loud and clear.\nTorik's third task was dusting all the shelves in his uncle's vast library. As deep and old as the shelves were, he was required to work with a long, heavy duster on a rod. The only way that he could reach to the back of the shelves was to hold the duster at his shoulder and then swing it out in a sweeping motion. Again, if the uncle saw any dust left over or felt that the boy was not working as hard as he ought to, the punishment was swift and severe.\nAfter several years, Minas Torik grew into a young man, but his job responsibilities were not increased. His uncle promised to teach him the business, once Torik had demonstrated his mastery of his servile assignments. Divorced from any knowledge of any work other than his own, Torik never knew how badly in debt his uncle was and how poorly the farm's yield was.\nIn his eighteenth year, Torik was called into the cellar by his uncle. He thought that he had not done a good enough job scouring the floor down there, and was frightened of the beating to come. What he found, however, was his uncle packing his goods into crates.\n\u201cI'm leaving Morrowind,\u201d he explained. \u201cThe business has gone sour, so I thought I'd try my luck running a caravan in Skyrim. I understand there's good money to be made, trading fake Dwemer artifacts to the Nords and Cyrodiils. I wish I could take you with me, my lad, but there won't be much need for scouring, bell pulling, and dusting where I'm going.\u201d\n\u201cBut uncle,\u201d said Torik. \u201cI can't read, I knows nothing of the business you promised to teach me. What wills I dos on my own?\u201d\n\u201cI'm certain you can find a job in some domestic capacity,\u201d shrugged the uncle. \u201cI've done my best with you.\u201d\nTorik had never stood up to his uncle before, and felt no anger only a sort of coldness that gripped his heart. Among his uncle's possessions being packed away was an old heavy iron axe, allegedly of Dwemer manufacture. He picked it up in his hands and was surprised to find that it was not much heavier than his dusting rod. In fact, it felt very comfortable as he pulled it over his shoulder and swung it out as he had done so many times before. In this instance, however, he swung it into his uncle's right arm.\nThe old man screamed with pain and rage, but for some reason, Torik didn't feel frightened anymore. He propped the axe against his other shoulder, and swung it out again. It cut a swath across the old man's chest and he fell to the floor.\nTorik hesitated before lifting the axe above his head. It was another natural position for him, like he was ringing a bell. Over and over again, he swung down as if he was calling the laborers in from the field. Except that this time, there was no sound except for a wet thump, and no laborers came in from the field. Of course, his uncle had sent them away hours before.\nAfter a time, there was nothing left of his uncle that couldn't be washed down the cellar drain. The process of cleaning up came easily to Torik as well. Blood scrubbed up much quicker than the usual grime and saltrice flour that littered the cellar floor.\nIt was well known that Torik's uncle was planning to leave Morrowind, so his disappearance provoked no suspicion. The house and all the belongings were sold to the debt collectors, but Torik took the axe. It seemed that his uncle had given him some worthwhile business skills after all."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/balladeers-fakebook": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/balladeers-fakebook", "description": "From the official Entertainer plugin. A selection of Title of lyrics to many popular Western drinking songs. Too bad the lyrics itself is not provided.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Balladeer's Fakebook", "text": "[This portfolio contains the lyrics to many popular Western drinking songs, including, among others:]\nBold Admiral Richton\nThe Golden Grove\nThe Twelve-Night Drunk\nIsland Lads Down from the Mountain\nBeans, Bloody Beans\nOlga's Smickett\nBlack Fredas\nThe Imperial Volunteer\nDown by the Ginger Garden\nRoll, Bretonnia, Roll\nThe Isle of Summerset\nDark Blooded Foes\nDawn and Dusk\nFarewell to Colovia\nWind and Rain\nGreen and Gracious Land\nThe Jolly Archer\nSorrow Waters\nInkkit Hinkit\nPilgrim on the Road\nI'm Glad I'm Not No Orc"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/battle-molag-beran": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/battle-molag-beran", "description": "From the official Entertainer plugin. A traditional Dunmer ballad. Very nice.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Battle of Molag Beran", "text": "(Dunmer Traditional Ballad)\nDid you come to hide from war,\nOr come to herd the guar,\nOr were you with the House Guard\nAt the Battle of Molag Beran?\nFor I was there, and fought and cried,\nAnd tasted blood and thunder.\nI stood in line with mace and shield\nAs Dunmer clan slew Dunmer.\nThe guard of House Retheran\nWere bright arrayed for battle.\nThey came in pride, in columns wide,\nBut ran like frightened cattle.\nWe stood our ground on Tadras Banks,\nThen turned their flanks and roweled them.\nThe field was bright with cousin's blood\nSpilled by doughty Drenim.\nWe lost some gallant gentlemen\nFrom ranks of brave House Drenim.\nAnd many a wand'ring widow weeps\nOn the hills of Molag Beran.\nSome fell for wrong, some fell for right,\nAll for the colors wearin',\nAnd many bade the world good-night\nAt the Battle of Molag Beran."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/battle-red-mountain": {"game": ["Morrowind", "Skyrim", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/battle-red-mountain", "description": "Vivec's take on the battle that took place at Red Mountain. He fails to mention the death of Nerevar, though.", "author": "Vivec; Malur Omayn, ed.", "title": "The Battle of Red Mountain", "text": "The Battle of Red Mountain\nand\nthe Rise and Fall of the Tribunal\n[The following is a transcript of the words of Lord Vivec, addressed to a Dissident Priest, Malur Omayn, who confronted Vivec with the Ashlander traditions surrounding the Battle of Red Mountain and with prophecies of the Nerevarine, and to unnamed magistrates of the Inquisition who joined Vivec in interrogating the Dissident Priest.]\nWho can clearly recall the events of the distant past. But you have asked me to tell you, in my own words, the events surrounding the Battle of Red Mountain, the birth of the Tribunal, and the prophecies of a Nerevar reborn. Here is what I can tell you.\nWhen the Chimer first abandoned the herds and tents of their nomadic ancestors, and built the first Great Houses, we loved the Daedra, and worshipped them as gods. But our brethren, the Dwemer, scorned the Daedra, and mocked our foolish rituals, and preferred instead their gods of Reason and Logic. So the Chimer and Dwemer were always at bitter war, until the Nords came and invaded Resdayn. Only then did the Chimer and Dwemer put away their strife and join together to cast out the invaders.\nOnce the Nords were driven out, General Nerevar of the Chimer and General Dumac of the Dwemer, who had come to love and respect one another, resolved to make peace between their peoples. In that time I was but a junior counselor to Nerevar, and Nerevar's queen, Almalexia, and his other favorite counselor, Sotha Sil, always doubted that such a peace might long survive, given the bitter disputes between Chimer and Dwemer, but by negotiation and compromise, Nerevar and Dumac somehow managed to preserve a fragile peace.\nBut when Dagoth Ur, Lord of House Dagoth, and trusted as a friend by both Nerevar and the Dwemer, brought us proof that High Engineer Kagrenac of the Dwemer had discovered the Heart of Lorkhan, and that he had learned how to tap its powers, and was building a new god, a mockery of Chimer faith and a fearsome weapon, we all urged Nerevar to make war on the Dwarves and to destroy this threat to Chimer beliefs and security. Nerevar was troubled. He went to Dumac and asked if what Dagoth Ur said was true. But Kagrenac took great offense, and asked whom Nerevar thought he was, that he might presume to judge the affairs of the Dwemer.\nNerevar was further troubled, and made pilgrimage to Holamayan, the sacred temple of Azura, and Azura confirmed that all that Dagoth Ur said was indeed true and that the creation of a New God of the Dwemer should be prevented at all costs. When Nerevar came back and told us what the goddess had said, we felt our judgements confirmed, and again counseled him to war, chiding Nerevar for his naive trust in friendship, and reminding Nerevar of his duty to protect the faith and security of the Chimer against the impiety and dangerous ambitious of the Dwemer.\nThen Nerevar went back to Vvardenfell one last time, hoping that negotiations and compromise might once again preserve the peace. But this time the friends Nerevar and Dumac quarreled bitterly, and as a result, the Chimer and Dwemer went to war.\nThe Dwemer were well-defended by their fortress at Red Mountain, but Nerevar's cunning drew most of Dumac's armies out into the field and pinned them there, while Nerevar, Dagoth Ur, and a small group of companions could make their way into the Heart Chamber by secret means. There, Nerevar the Chimer King met Dumac the Dwarf King and they both collapsed from grievous wounds and draining magics. With Dumac fallen, and threatened by Dagoth Ur and others, Kagrenac turned his tools upon the Heart, and Nerevar said he saw Kagrenac and all his Dwemer companions at once disappear from the world. In that instant, Dwemer everywhere disappeared without a trace. But Kagrenac's tools remained, and Dagoth Ur seized them, and he carried them to Nerever, saying, \"That fool Kagrenac has destroyed his own people with these things. We should destroy them, right away, lest they fall into the wrong hands.\"\nBut Nerevar was resolved to confer with his queen and his generals, who had foreseen that this war would come and whose counsel he would not ignore again. \"I will ask the Tribunal what we shall do with them, for they have had wisdom in the past that I had not. Stay here, loyal Dagoth Ur, until I return.\" So Nerevar told Dagoth Ur to protect the tools and the Heart Chamber until he returned.\nThen Nerevar was carried to us where we waited on the slopes of Red Mountain, and he told us all that had transpired under Red Mountain. What Nerevar had said was that the Dwemer had used special tools to turn their people into immortals and that the Heart of Lorkhan held wondrous powers. [Only later did we hear from others present that Dagoth Ur had thought the Dwemer destroyed, not made immortal. And no one knows for sure what really happened there.]\nAfter hearing Nerevar, we gave our counsel as he requested, proposing, \"We should preserve these tools in trust for the welfare of the Chimer people. And who knows, perhaps the Dwemer are not gone forever, but merely transported to some distant realm, from which they may some day return to threaten our security once again. Therefore, we need to keep these tools, to study them and their principles, so that we may be safe in future generations.\"\nAnd though Nerevar voiced his grave misgivings, he was willing to be ruled by our counsel, under one condition: that we all together should swear a solemn oath upon Azura that the tools would never be used in the profane manner that the Dwemer had intended. We all readily agreed, and swore solemn oaths at Nerevar's dictation.\nSo then we went with Nerevar back into Red Mountain and met with Dagoth Ur. Dagoth Ur refused to deliver the tools to us, saying they were dangerous, and we could not touch them. Dagoth Ur seemed to be irrational, insisting that only he could be trusted with the tools, and then we guessed that he had somehow been affected by his handling of the tools, but now I feel sure that he had privately learned the powers of the tools, and had in some confused way decided he must have them for himself. Then Nerevar and our guard resorted to force to secure the tools. Somehow Dagoth Ur and his retainers escaped, but we gained the tools, and delivered them to Sotha Sil for study and safe-keeping.\nFor some years we kept the oaths we swore to Azura with Nerevar, but during that time, in secret, Sotha Sil must have studied the tools and divined their mysteries. And at last he came to us with a vision of a new world of peace, with justice and honor for nobles, and health and prosperity for the commoners, with the Tribunal as immortal patrons and guides. And dedicating ourselves to this vision of a better world, we made a pilgrimage to Red Mountain and transformed ourselves with the power of Kagrenac's tools.\nAnd no sooner than we had completed our rituals and begun to discover our new-found powers, the Daedra Lord Azura appeared and cursed us for our foresworn oaths. By her powers of prophecy, she assured us that her champion, Nerevar, true to his oath, would return to punish us for our perfidy, and to make sure such profane knowledge might never again be used to mock and defy the will of the gods. But Sotha Sil said to her, \"The old gods are cruel and arbitrary, and distant from the hopes and fears of mer. Your age is past. We are the new gods, born of the flesh, and wise and caring of the needs of our people. Spare us your threats and chiding, inconstant spirit. We are bold and fresh, and will not fear you.\"\nAnd then, in that moment, all Chimer were changed into Dunmer, and our skins turned ashen and our eyes into fire. Of course, we only knew at that time that this had happened to us, but Azura said, \"This is not my act, but your act. You have chosen your fate, and the fate of your people, and all the Dunmer shall share your fate, from now to the end of time. You think yourselves gods, but you are blind, and all is darkness.\" And Azura left us alone, in darkness, and we were all afraid, but we put on brave faces, and went forth from Red Mountain to build the new world of our dreams.\nAnd the new world we shaped was glorious and generous, and the worship of the Dunmer fervent and grateful. The Dunmer were at first afraid of their new faces, but Sotha Sil spoke to them, saying that it was not a curse but a blessing, a sign of their changed natures, and sign of the special favor they might enjoy as New Mer, no longer barbarians trembling before ghosts and spirits, but civilized mer, speaking directly to their immortal friends and patrons, the three faces of the Tribunal. And we were all inspired by Sotha Sil's speech and vision, and took heart. And over time, we crafted the customs and institutions of a just and honorable society, and the land of Resdayn knew millennia of peace, equity, and prosperity unknown to other savage races.\nBut beneath Red Mountain, Dagoth Ur had survived. And even as the light of our bold new world shined ever more brightly, beneath Red Mountain, the darkness gathered, a darkness that was close kin to the bright light that Sotha Sil coaxed from the Heart of Lorkhan with the Tools of Kagrenac. As the darkness grew, we fought it, and crafted walls to confine it, but we never could destroy it, for the source of the darkness was the same source as the source of our own divine inspiration.\nAnd in these latter days of Morrowind, reduced to a subjugated province of the Western Empire, as the glory of the Temple fades, and the dark tide rises from Red Mountain, we are reminded of Azura and her promised champion's return. We have waited, blind, and in darkness, mere shadows, drained of our ardent vision, in shame of our folly, in fear of our judgement, and in hope of our deliverance. We do not know if the outlander claiming to fulfill the prophecies of the Nerevarine is our old companion Nerevar reborn, or a pawn of the Emperor, or a catspaw of Azura, or some simple twist of fate. But we insist you adhere to Temple doctrine, and conform to the strictures dividing the Hierographa from the Apographa, and that you not speak that which must not be spoken openly. Act as a dutiful priest should, in accordance with your vows of obedience to the canons and archcanons, and all will be forgiven. Defy me, and you will know what it is to stand against a god.\n-- Vivec"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/black-glove": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/black-glove", "description": "The \"faction book\" for the Morag Tong, describing their purpose, operations, and requirements.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Black Glove", "text": "Swift and agile are the Morag Tong. Silent and unseen they move.  Illusions they supply to misdirect their prey. Close and sure they  strike with shortblade, or distant and secure they strike from afar with  accurate missile fire. Light armor protects them from harm, and the  acrobatic discipline finds for them the unseen and unlooked-for path.  Have you these virtues? Then, perhaps, your oath and service may please  the Morag Tong.\nDo you have your friends and your finery, but no place to go? Do you  laugh and cry, but no longer feel? Do you wear these masks? Then,  perhaps, your oath and service may please the Black Glove.\nThe blood of the hunter and the blood of the hunted. The joy of the  hidden and the joy of the seeker. The blood of the eye and the blood of  the gate. The joy of the living and the joy of the dead. Are you one  with these things? Then, perhaps, your oath and service may please  Mephala.\nTo make your oath and enter our service, the worthy must seek the  Grandmaster, who by tradition lives in the unseen and unlooked-for  corners of Vivec City between the blood of battle and the waters of  life."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/blue-book-riddles": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/blue-book-riddles", "description": "A book of riddles... which doesn't actually contain any.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Blue Book of Riddles ", "text": "Herein are presented all manner of riddles, as collected by the scholars of St Rilms, to the greater glory of the Tribunal, Almsivi!\n[The posing and puzzling of riddles is a convention of polite aristocratic Western society. Nobles and social aspirants collect books of riddles and study them, hoping thereby to increase the chances of their appearing sly and witty in conversation.]"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/book-daedra": {"game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/book-daedra", "description": "Contains descriptions of Daedric Princes and mentions of powerful artifacts.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Book of Daedra  ", "text": "[These are excerpts from this lengthy tome, describing the nature of each of the Daedra.]\nAzura, whose sphere is dusk and dawn, the magic in-between realms of twilight, known as Moonshadow, Mother of the Rose, and Queen of the Night Sky.\nBoethiah, whose sphere is deceit and conspiracy, and the secret plots of murder, assassination, treason, and unlawful overthrow of authority.\nClavicus Vile, whose sphere is the granting of power and wishes through ritual invocations and pact.\nHermaeus Mora, whose sphere is scrying of the tides of Fate, of the past and future as read in the stars and heavens, and in whose dominion are the treasures of knowledge and memory.\nHircine, whose sphere is the Hunt, the Sport of Daedra, the Great Game, the Chase, known as the Huntsman and the Father of Manbeasts.\nMalacath, whose sphere is the patronage of the spurned and ostracized, the keeper of the Sworn Oath, and the Bloody Curse.\nMehrunes Dagon, whose sphere is Destruction, Change, Revolution, Energy, and Ambition.\nMephala, whose sphere is obscured to mortals; known by the names Webspinner, Spinner, and Spider; whose only consistent theme seems to be interference in the affairs of mortals for her amusement.\nMeridia, whose sphere is obscured to mortals; who is associated with the energies of living things.\nMolag Bal, whose sphere is the domination and enslavement of mortals; whose desire is to harvest the souls of mortals and to bring mortals souls within his sway by spreading seeds of strife and discord in the mortal realms.\nNamira, whose sphere is the ancient Darkness; known as the Spirit Daedra, ruler of sundry dark and shadowy spirits; associated with spiders, insects, slugs, and other repulsive creatures which inspire mortals with an instinctive revulsion.\nNocturnal, whose sphere is the night and darkness; who is known as the Night Mistress.\nPeryite, whose sphere is the ordering of the lowest orders of Oblivion, known as the Taskmaster.\nSanguine, whose sphere is hedonistic revelry and debauchery, and passionate indulgences of darker natures.\nSheogorath, whose sphere is Madness, and whose motives are unknowable.\nVaernima, whose sphere is the realm of dreams and nightmares, and from whose realm issues forth evil omens.\n[Especially marked for special interest under the heading \"Malacath\" you find a reference to SCOURGE, blessed by Malacath, and dedicated to the use of mortals. In short, the reference suggests that any Daedra attempting to invoke the weapon's powers will be expelled into the voidstreams of Oblivion.]\n\"Of the legendary artifacts of the Daedra, many are well known, like Azura's Star, and Sheogorath's Wabbajack. Others are less well known, like Scourge, Mackkan's Hammer, Bane of Daedra....\"\n\"...yet though Malacath blessed Scourge to be potent against his Daedra kin, he thought not that it should fall into Daedric hands, then to serve as a tool for private war among caitiff and forsaken. Thus did Malacath curse the device such that, should any dark kin seek to invoke its powers, that a void should open and swallow that Daedra, and purge him into Oblivion's voidstreams, from thence to pathfind back to the Real and Unreal Worlds in the full order of time.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/book-dawn-and-dusk": {"game": ["Morrowind", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/book-dawn-and-dusk", "description": "A collection of sayings attributed to Tribunal Temple saints.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Book of Dawn and Dusk", "text": "[The Book of Dawn and Dusk is a collections of sayings and aphorisms attributed variously to the Tribunals and to their saints and servants. Many of these sayings have become common cliches of everyday life in Morrowind. The following selection of slogans will illustrate many of the simplest notions of the Tribunal faithful.]\nSpeak none but good of the Gods.\nWe can have no opinions about Truth.\nRumors flow from the House of Troubles.\nCount only the happy hours.\nNo child has a sinner's heart.\nLet faith be your only law.\nFear of the fool is the beginning of wisdom.\nAlmsivi in every hour.\nWalk always in the presence of your Lords.\nComfort is given, justice is taken.\nLearn by serving.\nFrom the heart, the light; from the head, the law.\nBlessed Almsivi, Mercy, Mastery, Mystery.\nForge a keen Faith in the crucible of suffering.\nEngrave upon thy eye the image of injustice.\nDeath does not diminish; the ghost gilds with glory.\nFaith conquers all. Let us yield to Faith.\nBetter to suffer a wrong than to do one.\nThe heavens are in their glory, applaud!\nFolly secures its power to harm.\nThough forbidden to some, not to you.\nOh, how rarely wisdom rules our hearts!\nBlessed are we who serve Almsivi.\nThree mouths sing Mercy, Mastery, Mystery.\nGather no seed in the fields of Hell.\nThe Thrice-Sealed House withstands the Storm.\nBy Breath and Blood protect us all!\nCan ghosts or justice change with time?\nConsider your end, mortal!\nAccept grace without limits.\nEnter the rhapsody of the God-Poet.\nKneel before the Teacher's chair.\nThree Hands, three Hearts, three Eyes.\nKeep no secret from your Judge's scale.\nForge Darkness into Light.\nRefuse neither brother nor ghost.\nBlessed Almsivi, through birth, life, ghost.\nFrom glowing ashes the Poet's wrath shall shine.\nIf Vivec is for us, who can stand against us?\nFate, monstrous and empty, the whirling wheel of evil.\nHow black my heart, roasting fiercely?"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/brothers-darkness": {"game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion", "Skyrim", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/brothers-darkness", "description": "A history of the Morag Tong and Dark Brotherhood", "author": "Pellarne Assi", "title": "The Brothers of Darkness", "text": "As their name suggests, the Dark Brotherhood has a history shrouded in obfuscation. Their ways are secret to those who are not themselves Brothers of the Order (\"Brother\" is a generic term; some of their deadliest assassins are female, but they are often called Brothers as well). How they continue to exist in shadow, but be easily found by those desperate enough to pay for their services, is not the least of the mysteries surrounding them.\nThe Dark Brotherhood sprang from a religious order, the Morag Tong, during the Second Era. The Morag Tong were worshippers of the Daedra spirit Mephala, who encouraged them to commit ritual murders. In their early years, they were as disorganized as only obscure cultists could be-there was no one to lead the band, and as a group they dared not murder anybody of any importance. This changed with the rise of the Night Mother.\nAll leaders of the Morag Tong, and then afterward the Dark Brotherhood, have been called the Night Mother. Whether the same woman (if it is even a woman) has commanded the Dark Brotherhood since the Second Era is unknown. What is believed is that the original Night Mother developed an important doctrine of the Morag Tong-the belief that, while Mephala does grow stronger with every murder committed in her name, certain murders were better than others. Murders that came from hate pleased Mephala more than murders committed because of greed. Murders of great men and women pleased Mephala more than murders of relative unknowns.\nWe can approximate the time this belief was adopted with the first known murder committed by the Morag Tong. In the year 324 of the Second Era, the Potentate Versidue-Shaie was murdered in his palace in what is today the Elsweyr kingdom of Senchal. In a brash move, the Night Mother announced the identity of the murderers by painting \"MORAG TONG\" on the walls in the Potentate's own blood.\nPrevious to that, the Morag Tong existed in relative peace, more or less like a witches' coven-occasionally persecuted but usually ignored. In remarkable synchronicity at a time when Tamriel the Arena was a fractured land, the Morag Tong was outlawed throughout the continent. Every sovereign gave the cult's elimination his highest priority. Nothing more was officially heard of them for a hundred years.\nIt is more difficult to date the Era when the Morag Tong re-emerged as the Dark Brotherhood, especially as other guilds of assassins have sporadically appeared throughout the history of Tamriel. The first mention of the Dark Brotherhood that I have found is from the journals of the Blood Queen Arlimahera of Hegathe. She spoke of slaying her enemies by her own hand, or if necessary \"with the help of the Night Mother and her Dark Brotherhood, the secret arsenal my family has employed since my grandfather's time.\" Arlimahera wrote this in 2E412, so one can surmise that the Dark Brotherhood had been in existence since at least 360 if her grandfather had truly made use of them.\nThe important distinction between the Dark Brotherhood and the Morag Tong was that the Brotherhood was a business as much as it was a cult. Rulers and wealthy merchants used the order as an assassin's guild. The Brotherhood gained the obvious rewards of a profitable enterprise, as well as the secondary benefit that rulers could no longer actively persecute them: They were needed. They were purveyors of an essential commodity. Even an extremely virtuous leader would be unwise to mistreat the Brotherhood.\nNot long after Alimahera's journal entry came perhaps the most famous series of executions in the history of the Dark Brotherhood. The Colovian Emperor-Potentate Savirien-Chorak and every one of his heirs were murdered on one bloody night in Sun's Dawn in 430. Within a fortnight, the Colovian Dynasty crumbled, to the delight of its enemies. For over four hundred years, until the advent of the Warrior Emperor Tiber Septim, chaos reigned over Tamriel. Though no comparably impressive executions have been recorded, the Brotherhood must have grown fat with gold during that interregnum."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/buying-game": {"game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion", "Skyrim", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/buying-game", "description": "A guide to bartering.", "author": "Ababael Timsar-Dadisun", "title": "The Buying Game", "text": "So many people simply buy the items they need at the price they are given. It's a very sad state of affairs, when the game is really open to all, you don't need an invitation. And it is a game, the game of bargaining, to be played seriously and, I hasten to add, politely. In Elsweyr, it is common for the shop-owner to offer the prospective buyer tea or sweetmeats and engage in polite conversation before commencing the business. This eminently civilized tradition has a practical purpose, allowing the buyer to observe the wares for sale. It is considered impolite not to accept, though it does not imply obligation on the part of the buyer.\nWhether this particular custom is part of the culture or not, it's wise for the buyer and seller to greet one another with smiles and warm salutations, like gladiators honoring one another before the battle.\nBargaining is expected all over Tamriel, but the game can be broken if one's offer is so preposterously low that it insults the shop-keeper. If you are offered something for ten gold pieces, try offering six and see where that takes you.\nDo not look like you're very interested, but do not mock the quality of the goods, even if they deserve it. Much better to admire the quality of workmanship, but comment that, regretfully, you simply cannot afford such a price. When the shop-keeper compliments your taste, smile, but try to resist the flattery.\nA lot of the game depends on recognizing the types of shop-keepers and not automatically assuming that the rural merchant is ignorant and easily fooled, or the rapacious city merchant is selling shoddy merchandise. Caravans, it should be mentioned, are always good places to go to buy or trade.\nKnowing what you're buying and from whom is a talent bought only after years of practice. Know the specialties of certain regions and merchants before you even step foot in a shop. Recognize too the prejudices of the region. In Morrowind where I hail from, for example, Argonians are viewed with a certain amount of suspicion. Don't be surprised or insulted if the shopkeepers follow you around the shop, assuming you're going to steal something. Similarly, Nords, Bretons, and Cyrodiils are sometimes treated coolly by merchants in the Summurset Isles. Of course, I don't know any shopkeepers anywhere, no matter their open- mindedness, who aren't alerted when a Khajiit or a Bosmer enters their shop. Even Khajiiti and Bosmeri shopkeepers.\nIf you see something you really like or need, buy it then and there at the best price you can get. I cannot tell you how many times I passed up a rare and interesting relic, assuming that I could find it elsewhere in the region, perhaps at a larger town at a better price. Too late, I discovered I was wrong, and when I returned to the shop weeks later, the item I wanted was gone. Better to get a great purchase at a decent price and discover it again at a worse price than to miss out on your opportunities for ownership. Occasionally impulsiveness is the best buying strategy.\nSense the moves of the game, and everyone can win."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/cake-and-diamond": {"game": ["Morrowind", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/cake-and-diamond", "description": "An amusing story about a clever alchemist and greedy thieves.", "author": "Athyn Muendil", "title": "The Cake and the Diamond", "text": "\nI was in the Rat and the Pot, a foreigner cornerclub in Ald'ruhn, talking to my fellow Rats when I first saw the woman. Now, Breton women are fairly common in the Rat and the Pot: as a breed, they seem inclined to wander far from their perches in High Rock. Old Breton women, however, are not so migratory, and the wizened old biddy drew attention to herself, wandering about the room, talking to everyone. Still, having noted her, I moved on to join my mates.\nNimloth and Oediad were at their usual places, drinking their usual stuff. Oediad was showing off a prize he had picked up in some illicit manner -- a colossal diamond, large as a baby's hand, and clear as spring water. I was admiring it when I heard the creaking of old bones behind me.\n\"Good day to you, friends,\" said the old woman. \"My name is Abelle Chriditte, and I am in need of financial assistance to facilitate my transportation to Ald Redaynia.\"\n\"You'll want to see the Temple for charity,\" said Nimloth curtly.\n\"I am not looking for charity,\" said Abelle. \"I'm looking to barter  services.\"\n\"Don't make me sick, old woman,\" laughed Oediad.\n\"Did you say your name was Abelle Chriditte?\" I asked, \"Are you related to Abelle Chriditte, the High Rock alchemist?\"\n\"Extremely related,\" she said, with a cackle. \"We are the same person. Perhaps I could prepare you a potion in exchange for gold? I noticed that you have in your possession a very fine diamond. The magical qualities of diamonds are boundless.\"\n\"Sorry, old woman, I ain't giving it up for magic. It was trouble enough stealing this one,\" said Oediad. \"I've got a fence who'll trade it for gold.\"\n\"But your fence will demand a certain percentage, will he not? What if I could give you a potion of invisibility in exchange? In return for that diamond, you could have the means to steal many more. A very fair exchange of services, I would say.\"\n\"It would be, but I have no gold to give you,\" said Oediad.\n\"I'll take what remains of the diamond after I've made the potion,\" said Abelle. \"If you took it to the Mages Guild, you'd have to supply all the other ingredients and pay for it as well. But I learned my craft in the wild, where no Potion-makers existed to dissolve diamonds into dust. When you must do it all by hand, by simple skill, you are blessed with remnants those fool potion-makers at the Guild simply swallow up.\"\n\"That sounds all very nice,\" said Nimloth, \"But how do we know your potion is going to work? If you make one potion, take the rest of Oediad's diamond, and leave, we won't know until you've gone whether the potion works or not.\"\n\"Ah, trust is so rare these days,\" sighed Abelle. \"I suppose I could make two potions for you, and there'd still be a little bit of the diamond left for me. Not a lot, but perhaps enough to get me to Ald Redaynia. Then you could try the first potion right here and now, and see if you're satisfied or not.\"\n\"But,\" I interjected. \"You could make one potion that works and one that doesn't, and take more of the diamond. She could even give you a slow-acting poison, and by the time she got to Ald Redaynia, you'd be dead.\"\n\"Bleedin' Kynareth, you Dunmer are suspicious! I will hardly have any diamond left, but I could make two potions of two doses each, so you can satisfy yourself that the potion works and has no negative effects. If you still don't trust me, come along with me to my table and witness my craft if you'd like.\"\nSo it was decided that I would accompany Abelle back to her table where she had all her traveling bags full of herbs and minerals, to make certain that she was not making two different potions. It took nearly an hour of preparation, but she kindly allowed me to finish her half-filled flagon of wine while I watched her work.  Splintering the diamond and powdering the pieces required the bulk of the time; over and over again, she waved her gnarled hands over the gem, intoning ancient enchantments, breaking the facets of the stone into smaller and smaller pieces. Separately she made pastes of minced bittergreen, crushed red bulbs of dell'arco spae, and driblets of ciciliani oil. I finished the wine.\n\"Old woman,\" I finally said with a sigh. \"How much longer is this going to take? I'm getting tired of watching you work.\"\n\"The Mages Guild has fooled the populace into thinking alchemy is a science,\" she said. \"But if you're tired, rest your eyes.\"\nMy eyes closed, seemingly of their own volition. But there had been something in that wine. Something that made me do what she asked.\n\"I think I'll make up the potion as cakes. It's much more potent that way. Now, tell me, young man, what will your friends do once I give them the potion?\"\n\"Mug you in the street afterwards to retrieve the rest of the diamond,\" I said simply. I didn't want to tell the truth, but there it was.\n\"I thought so, but I wanted to be certain. You may open your eyes now.\"\nI opened my eyes. Abelle had made a small presentation on a wooden platter: two small cakes and a silver cutting knife.\n\"Pick up the cakes and bring them to the table,\" said Abelle. \"And don't say anything, except to agree with whatever I say.\"\nI did as I was told. It was a curious sensation. I didn't really mind being her puppet. Of course, in retrospect, I resent it, but it seemed perfectly natural at the time to obey without question.\nAbelle handed the cakes to Oediad and I dutifully verified that both cakes were made the same way. She suggested that he cut one of the cakes in half, and she would take one piece and he'd take the other, just so he would know that they worked and weren't poisoned. Oediad thought it was a good idea, and used Abelle's knife to cut the cake. Abelle took the piece on the left and popped into her mouth. Oediad took the piece on the right and swallowed it more cautiously.\nAbelle and all the bags she was carrying vanished from sight almost instantly. Nothing happened to Oediad.\n\"Why did it work for the witch and not for me?\" cried Oediad.\n\"Because the diamond dust was only on the left-hand side of the blade,\" said the old alchemist through me. I felt her control lessening as the distance grew and she hurried invisibly down the dark Ald'ruhn street away from the Rat and the Pot.\nWe never found Abelle Chriditte or the diamond. Whether she completed her pilgrimage to Ald Redaynia is anyone's guess. The cakes had no effect, except to give Oediad a bad case of droops that lasted for nearly a week."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/cantatas-vivec": {"game": ["Morrowind", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/cantatas-vivec", "description": "From the introduction: \"The Cantatas of Vivec are gospels written in the form of epic songs. They trace the evolution of Vivec from a foolish mortal into an enlightened divine.\"", "author": "Vivec", "title": "The Cantatas of Vivec", "text": "[The Cantatas of Vivec are gospels written in the form of epic songs. They trace the evolution of Vivec from a foolish mortal into an enlightened divine. Vivec sought out experiences that tested him in every way possible, particularly in the defense and protection of his Dunmer people, and through his long life, his humility, and his unconquerable spirit, he attained the Wisdom of the Seven Graces. The Cantatas relate many stories of Vivec's experiments with challenge and risk, his failures and triumphs, his blessings of insight and good fortune, and his debt to his partners, Almalexia the Lover and Sotha Sil the Teacher. The poetry is simple and dramatic, lyric and personal, composed to be sung or recited. The following is an excerpt from Lord Vivec's 'Brooding Beneath Red Mountain'.]\nThe gaunt ghostfires loom as subtle shrouds,\n\tSmokes and shades on the biers of Red Mountain.\nArches and spires line the rock halls,\n\tDimly lit by the spirits of the dead.\nThe blood of broken hearths and houses\n\tRuns in red rivers, blossoms in fountains.\nGirdled round within walls of wit's glass\n\tThe shattered hosts slumber in cradles of ash.\nBut when shall they wake?\n\tWhat dark crucible may kindle their souls to light?\nHow long beneath red-reeking clouds\n\tMust flickering watchfires burn?\nHow many lifetimes of labor and lament\n\tWill it take to seal this restless tomb?"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/common-tongue": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/common-tongue", "description": "This letter is highly illegal in Mournhold. We risk our neck here to publish it.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Common Tongue", "text": "[This broadsheet is a newsletter copied on cheap paper, featuring  sensational events in the city of Mournhold. One article describes a  list of individuals who died under suspicious circumstances when their  interests conflicted with those of 'a former prince of the West'. The  reference is clearly King Helseth, King of Morrowind, formerly Prince  Helseth of the kingdom of Wayrest in the province of High Rock.]\n\"A poet can have no higher purpose than to tell the truth about the  human condition.\" -- Lord Vivec\n*MYSTERIES*\nOF THE WEST\nI have a little list. They never would be missed.\nAppearing at the top -- three names... Anhar, Khajiit male -- Martyrius  Arruntius, Imperial male -- Jusole Asciele, Breton male. What do these  three names have in common?\nAll three at one time or another represented an inconvenience to a  Western noble prince named Helseth.\nAnhar was an agent for Eastern ebony merchants. There was an unfortunate  scandal concerning improper contracts offered to Helseth as  compensation for his assistance in obtaining ebony import remits from  the Imperial Board of Census and Excise. Luckily for Prince Helseth,  this scandal blew over when no one could be found to testify. Is it just  a coincidence that Anhar's health went into a steep decline, just as he  was to testify before the Imperial magistrates? He died a natural  death, according to the Imperial coroners. Convenient and timely,  perhaps, but natural.\nMartyrius Arruntius was a city alderman of Wayrest. Prince Helseth's  liaison with the alderman's married daughter was potentially  embarrassing to the Prince -- especially when Martyrius Arruntius  forcefully pressed his suit for 'predatory adultery' in Wayrest's  courts. Many thought it strange that Martyrius Arruntius should suddenly  fall ill and die of 'exhaustion' on the eve of the trial. The suit was  settled out of court, and charges dismissed. The Imperial coroners ruled  that Martyrius Arruntius had died a natural death. Convenient and  timely, admittedly, but natural.\nJusole Asciele was a diplomatic attache at the High Rock embassy in  Wayrest. Widely rumored to be an intelligence officer, Jusole Asciele  was often seen at court, taking a great interest in the affairs of Queen  Barenziah and her family. It is said that Wayrest can be a beastly  uncomfortable place in high summer. Perhaps the Breton's constitution  was ill-suited to the relentless heat and pestilential swarms of the  southern Iliac. Jusole Asciele took suddenly ill one evening, and within  three days he was dead. Once again, Imperial coroners ruled that Jusole  Asciele had died a natural death. Convenient and timely, yes, but  natural.\nAnd these, The Common Tongue notes significantly, are only the 'A's on  the list.\nSome have quietly suggested that Prince Helseth was the most  accomplished and subtle poisoner in the West. But The Common Tongue has  never seen a single scrap of evidence that would prove such an  indictment. [Admittedly, the absence of such proof could count as  qualifying towards the title of a 'most accomplished and subtle  poisoner'.]\nAnd, further, The Common Tongue does not wish to suggest that King  Helseth is a poisoner, or that the recent death of King Athyn Llethan's  was a poisoning, and not a natural death. The Common Tongue has never  seen a single scrap of evidence that would prove such an indictment. And  the Imperial coroners have ruled that Athyn Llethan died a natural  death."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/consolations-prayer": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/consolations-prayer", "description": "Discussing about the blessing a person received after doing a prayer in a particular shrine.", "author": "Tribunal Temple", "title": "The Consolations of Prayer", "text": "Through the bounty of Blessed Almsivi, Triune Grace, and all the hosts  of saints, the faithful who pray at the Temple's shrines may be granted  blessings through the miraculous sacraments of prayer and devotion. The  three-sided shrines betoken the three-faced benison of Almsivi, and may  be found in Temples, or at sites of pilgrimage, or at pilgrim waysides,  or in the tomb of the sanctified.\nWhat benefits may be gained shall be listed herein for the edification  of the worshipper and pilgrim.\nAll shrines grant cures of common diseases, of blight diseases, and of  afflictions of poison.\n\nThose shrines bearing the images of Vivec, Almalexia, and Sotha Sil also  may grant the blessing of Almsivi Restoration, which restores damaged  attributes, and the three blessings of Almsivi: Vivec's Mystery, for  good fortune; Soul of Sotha Sil, for magical power, and Lady's Grace,  for endurance of hardships.\nThose shrines bearing the images of the saints may also grant the  particular blessings of the saints, which are listed for you here:\nSt. Aralor grants Aralor's Intervention, for fortifying character.\nSt. Delyn grants Shield of St. Delyn, for resistance to blight diseases.\nSt. Felms grants Felm's Glory, for greater skill in restoring magics.\nSt. Llothis grants Rock of Llothis, for fortifying the will.\nSt. Meris grants Meris's Warding, for resistance to corprus disease.\nSt. Nerevar grants Spirit of Nerevar, for fortifying the body's vigor.\nSt. Olms grants Olm's Benediction, for resistance to common disease.\nSt. Rilms grants Rilm's Grace, for endurance of hardships.\nSt. Roris grants Roris's Bloom, for fortifying the body's health.\nSt. Seryn grants Seryn's Shield, for resistance to poisons.\nSt. Veloth grants Veloth's Indwelling, for magical power, and also  grants the blessing of Almsivi Restoration, which restores damaged  attributes.\nThe Faithful are granted these blessings when they pray at the shrines  and make a modest donation. The Blessed of the Initiate rank and higher  of the Temple have already made their devotions in service and piety,  and need only pray at the shrines to receive their benefits. And Almsivi  is generous, so even the Unbeliever may receive a blessing if he prays,  if he proves his respect with a generous donation."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/doors-spirit": {"game": ["Morrowind", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/doors-spirit", "description": "A semi-religious text focusing on the tradition of the Dunmer- ancestor worship. This book discusses the ways in which spirits, or ancestors, are all around us and how they should be cared for.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Doors of the Spirit", "text": "The Ancestors are among us. They are never farther away than the Waiting Door.\nThe Ancestors are not departed. The dead are not under the earth. Their spirits are in the restless wind, in the fire's voice, in the foot-smoothed step. Pay heed to these things, and you will know your absent kin.\nPay reverence through gift and prayer. Acquaint the Ancestors with your affairs, with your comings and goings, with your blessings and trials.\nFrom the Waiting Door comes your protection. Heed the spirits, who are the guardians of your hearth, teachers of wisdom, counselors of fortune, seers of fate.\nEach bone is a door through the wall of the world. Each bone is the road, with Wisdom and Power the travelers. Each bone is the ghost fence that guards us from evil.\nHonor the Ancestors upon your hearths, within your halls, in the community of your temples, in the solitude of your tombs.\nGuard your Ancestors from beasts, from thieves, from profane priest and sorcerers. Let no creature steal your spirits, for the plundered hearth is diminished, and the plundered tomb is shamed.\nLive in One World with your spirits. Honor the spirits within and without you. Do not grieve for the dead. Take shelter in their arms, and pay heed to their words."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dragon-break": {"game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dragon-break", "description": "Reexamines the Dragonbreak in historical terms.", "author": "Fal Droon", "title": "The Dragon Break", "text": "The Dragon Break Reexamined\nby\nFal Droon\nThe late 3rd era was a period of remarkable religious ferment and creativity. The upheavals of the reign of Uriel VII were only the outward signs of the historical forces that would eventually lead to the fall of the Septim Dynasty. The so called \"Dragon Break\" was first proposed at this time, by a wide variety of cults and fringe sects across the Empire, connected only by a common obsession with the events surrounding Tiber Septim's rise to power -- the \"founding myth,\" if you will, of the Septim Dynasty.\nThe basis of the Dragon Break doctrine is now known to be a rather prosaic error in the timeline printed in the otherwise authoritative \"Encyclopedia Tamrielica,\" first published in 3E 12, during the early years of Tiber Septim's reign. At that time, the archives of Alinor were still inaccessible to human scholars, and the extant records from the Alessian period were extremely fragmentary. The Alessians had systematically burned all the libraries they could find, and their own records were largely destroyed during the War of Righteousness.\nThe author of the Encyclopedia Tamrielica was apparently unfamiliar with the Alessian \"year,\" which their priesthood used to record all dates. We now know this refers to the length of the long vision-trances undertaken by the High Priestess, which might last anywhere from a few weeks to several months. Based on analysis of the surviving trance scrolls, as well as murals and friezes from Alessian temples, I estimate that the Alessian Order actually lasted only about 150 years, rather than the famous \"one thousand and eight years\" given by the Encyclopedia Tamrielica. The \"mystery\" of the millennial-plus rule of the Alessians was accepted but unexplained until the spread of the Lorkhan cults in the late 3rd era, when the doctrine of the Dragon Break took hold. Because this dating (and explanation) was so widely held at the time, and then repeated by historians down through today, it has come to have the force of tradition. Recall, however, that the 3rd era historians were already separated from the Alessians by a gulf of more than 2,000 years. And history was still in its infancy, relying on the few archives from those early days.\nToday, modern archaeology and paleonumerology have confirmed what my own research in Alessian dating first suggested: that the Dragon Break was invented in the late 3rd era, based on a scholarly error, fueled by obsession with eschatology and Numidiumism, and perpetuated by scholarly inertia.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/eastern-provinces-impartially-considered": {"game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/eastern-provinces-impartially-considered", "description": "A case against Imperial presence in the eastern provinces, Morrowind and Black Marsh.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Eastern Provinces Impartially Considered", "text": "...and even if we overlook the dubious moral and legal justifications for hundreds of years of occupation of these two provinces, what economic or military benefits can we derive from Morrowind and Black Marsh?\nIndeed, a few beneficiaries of Imperial monopolies in the provinces do profit from exploitation of their wealth and resources. But does the Empire as a whole benefit? Hardly. The vast machineries of the Imperial bureaucracies cost far more to maintain than can be recovered in duties and taxes. And the cost of establishing and maintaining the garrisons of the Imperial legion in the far-flung wilderness posts of these provinces would be cost-effective only if there were evidence of a military threat from the East. But no such evidence exits. No army of Morrowind or Black Marsh has ever threatened the security of any other Imperial province, let alone the security of Cyrodiil itself.\nIn fact, a greater threat to Imperial security lies in the idle legions that the taxpayer spends thousands of drakes to support. The generals of these legions, facing no enemies or opposition within the borders of their provinces, may look with ambition to the West. With their loyal veteran troops and coffers fattened by friendly monopolists, they become unpredictable political factors in the uncertainties surrounding the Imperial succession.\nIf the occupation of Morrowind and Black Marsh were motivated by idealistic aspirations, perhaps there might lie some justification for bearing the burden of Empire. But consider the shame of the Empire's mute acceptance to the unspeakable practice of slavery in Morrowind. Instead of using our Imperial legions to free the wretched Khajiit and Argonian slaves from their Dark Elf masters, we pay our troopers to PROTECT the indefensible institution of slavery. Within the ebony mines of Morrowind, bloated monopolists under Imperial charters exploit slave labor to harvest the outrageous profits assured by rampant graft and corruption.\nConsider the colossal arrogance of our proposition to bring Peace and Enlightenment to the East, when in fact, we have only brought our armies into lands who have never threatened us, and when we have only exploited the most shameful and evil practices we have found in Morrowind and Black Marsh simply to enrich the friends and flatterers of the Imperial family.\nImpartially considered, our occupation of the Eastern provinces is morally corrupt, militarily indefensible, and economically ruinous. The only conclusion is that we should disband the Eastern legions, withdraw the Imperial bureaucracies and monopolists from the East, and give these ancient lands and peoples their freedom. Only by doing so may we hope to preserve the fragile ideals and fortunes of Western culture.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/egg-time": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/egg-time", "description": "A very important work about the Dwemer and Lorkhan's Heart.", "author": "Bthuand Mzahnch", "title": "The Egg of Time", "text": "\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/firmament": {"game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion", "Skyrim", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/firmament", "description": "A document about all the constellations.", "author": "Ffoulke", "title": "The Firmament", "text": "The Stars of Tamriel are divided into thirteen constellations. Three of them are the major constellations, known as the Guardians. These are the Warrior, the Mage, and the Thief. Each of the Guardians protects its three Charges from the thirteenth constellation, the Serpent.\nWhen the sun rises near one of the constellations, it is that constellation's season. Each constellation has a Season of approximately one month. The Serpent has no season, for it moves about in the heavens, usually threatening one of the other constellations.\nThe Warrior\n\tThe Warrior is the first Guardian Constellation and he protects his charges during their Seasons. The Warrior's own season is Last Seed when his Strength is needed for the harvest. His Charges are the Lady, the Steed, and the Lord. Those born under the sign of the Warrior are skilled with weapons of all kinds, but prone to short tempers.\n\nThe Mage\n\tThe Mage is a Guardian Constellation whose Season is Rain's Hand when magicka was first used by men. His Charges are the Apprentice, the Golem, and the Ritual. Those born under the Mage have more magicka and talent for all kinds of spellcasting, but are often arrogant and absent-minded.\n\nThe Thief\n\tThe Thief is the last Guardian Constellation, and her Season is the darkest month of Evening Star. Her Charges are the Lover, the Shadow, and the Tower. Those born under the sign of the Thief are not typically thieves, though they take risks more often and only rarely come to harm. They will run out of luck eventually, however, and rarely live as long as those born under other signs.\n\nThe Serpent\n\tThe Serpent wanders about in the sky and has no Season, though its motions are predictable to a degree. No characteristics are common to all who are born under the sign of the Serpent. Those born under this sign are the most blessed and the most cursed.\n\nThe Lady\n\tThe Lady is one of the Warrior's Charges and her Season is Heartfire. Those born under the sign of the Lady are kind and tolerant.\n\nThe Steed\n\tThe Steed is one of the Warrior's Charges, and her Season is Mid Year. Those born under the sign of the Steed are impatient and always hurrying from one place to another.\n\nThe Lord\n\tThe Lord's Season is First Seed and he oversees all of Tamriel during the planting. Those born under the sign of the Lord are stronger and healthier than those born under other signs.\n\nThe Apprentice\n\tThe Apprentice's Season is Sun's Height. Those born under the sign of the apprentice have a special affinity for magick of all kinds, but are more vulnerable to magick as well.\n\nThe Atronach\n\tThe Atronach (often called the Golem) is one of the Mage's Charges. Its season is Sun's Dusk. Those born under this sign are natural sorcerers with deep reserves of magicka, but they cannot generate magicka of their own.\n\nThe Ritual\n\tThe Ritual is one of the Mage's Charges and its Season is Morning Star. Those born under this sign have a variety of abilities depending on the aspects of the moons and the Divines.\n\nThe Lover\n\tThe Lover is one of the Thief's Charges and her season is Sun's Dawn. Those born under the sign of the Lover are graceful and passionate.\n\nThe Shadow\n\tThe Shadow's Season is Second Seed. The Shadow grants those born under her sign the ability to hide in shadows.\n\nThe Tower\n\tThe Tower is one of the Thief's Charges and its Season is Frostfall. Those born under the sign of the Tower have a knack for finding gold and can open locks of all kinds."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/firsthold-revolt": {"game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/firsthold-revolt", "description": "The continuing story of Morgiah, scheming princess of Wayrest, who you do a quest for in Daggerfall. After making her deal with the King of Worms, Morgiah moved to Summerset Isle. The rest is contained in this book.", "author": "Maveus Cie", "title": "The Firsthold Revolt", "text": "You told me that if her brother won, she would be sister to the King of Wayrest, and Reman would want to keep her for the alliance. But her brother Helseth lost and has fled with his mother back to Morrowind, and still Reman has not left her to marry me.\" Lady Gialene took a long, slow drag of the hookah and blew out dragon's breath, so the scent of blossoms perfumed her gilded chamber. \"You make a very poor advisor, Kael. I might have spent my time romancing the king of Cloudrest or Alinor instead of the wretched royal husband of Queen Morgiah.\"\nKael knew better than to hurt his lady's vanity by the mere suggestion that the King of Firsthold might have come to love his Dunmer Queen. Instead he gave her a few minutes to pause and look from her balcony out over the high cliff palaces of the ancient capitol. The moons shone like crystal on the deep sapphire waters of the Abecean Sea. It was ever springtide here, and he could well understand why she would prefer a throne in this land than in Cloudrest or Alinor.\nFinally, he spoke: \"The people are with you, my lady. They do not relish the idea of Reman's dark elf heirs ruling the kingdom when he is gone.\"\n\"I wonder,\" she said calmly. \"I wonder if as the King would not give up his Queen for want of alliances, whether she would give herself up out of fear. Of all the people of Firsthold, who most dislikes the Dunmer influence on the court?\"\n\"Is this a trick question, my lady?\" asked Kael. \"The Trebbite Monks, of course. Their credo has ever been for pure Altmer bloodlines on Summurset, and among the royal families most of all. But, my lady, they make very weak allies.\"\n\"I know,\" said Gialene, taking up her hookah again thoughtfully, a smile creeping across her face. \"Morgiah has seen to it that they have no power. She would have exterminated them altogether had Reman not stopped her for all the good they do for the country folk. What if they found themselves with a very powerful benefactress? One with intimate knowledge of the court of Firsthold, the chief concubine of the King, and all the gold to buy weapons with that her father, the King of Skywatch, could supply?\"\n\"Well-armed and with the support of the country people, they would be formidable,\" nodded Kael. \"But as your advisor, I must warn you: if you make yourself an active foe of Queen Morgiah, you must play to win. She has inherited much of her mother Queen Barenziah's intelligence and spirit of vengeance.\"\n\"She will not know I am her foe until it is too late,\" shrugged Gialene. \"Go to the Trebbite monastery and bring me Friar Lylim. We must strategize our plan of attack.\"\nFor two weeks, Reman was advised about growing resentment in the countryside from peasants who called Morgiah the \"Black Queen,\" but it was nothing that he had not heard before. His attention was on the pirates on a small island off the coast called Calluis Lar. They had been more brazen as late, attacking royal barges in organized raids. To deliver a crushing blow, he ordered the greatest part of his militia to invade the island -- an incursion he himself would lead.\nA few days after Reman left the capitol, the revolt of the Trebbite Monks exploded. The attacks were well-coordinated and without warning. The Chief of the Guards did not wait to be announced, bursting into Morgiah's bedchamber ahead of a flurry of maidservants.\n\"My Queen,\" he said. \"It is a revolution.\"\nBy contrast, Gialene was not asleep when Kael came to deliver the news. She was seated by the window, smoking her hookah and looking at the fires far off in the hills.\n\"Morgiah is with council,\" he explained. \"I am certain they are telling her that the Trebbite Monks are behind the uprising, and that the revolution will be at the city gates by morning.\"\n\"How large is the revolutionary army in contrast to the remaining royal militia?\" asked Gialene.\n\"The odds are well in our favor,\" said Kael. \"Though not perhaps as much as we hoped. The country folk, it seems, like to complain about their queen, but stop short of insurrection. Primarily, the army is composed of the Monks themselves and a horde of mercenaries your father's gold bought. In a way of thinking, it is preferable this way -- they are more professional and organized that a common mob. Really, they are a true army, complete with a horn section.\"\n\"If that doesn't frighten the Black Queen into abdication, nothing will,\" smiled Gialene, rising from her chair. \"The poor dear must be beside herself with worry. I must fly to her side and enjoy it.\"\nGialene was disappointed when she saw Morgiah come out of the Council Chambers. Considering that she had been woken from a deep sleep with cries of revolution and had spent the last several hours in consultation with her meager general force, she looked beautiful. There was a sparkle of proud defiance in her bright red eyes.\n\"My Queen,\" Gialene cried, forcing real tears. \"I came as soon as I heard! Will we all be slaughtered?\"\n\"A distinct possibility,\" replied Morgiah simply. Gialene tried to read her, but the expressions of women, especially alien women, were a far greater challenge than those of Altmer men.\n\"I hate myself for even thinking to propose this,\" said Gialene. \"But since the cause of their fury is you, perhaps if you were to give up the throne, they might disperse. Please understand, my queen, I am thinking only of the good of the kingdom and our own lives.\"\n\"I understand the spirit of your suggestion,\" smiled Morgiah. \"And I will take it under advisement. Believe me, I've thought of it myself. But I don't think it will come to that.\"\n\"Have you a plan for defending us?\" asked Gialene, contorting her features to an expression she knew bespoke girlish hope.\n\"The king left us several dozen of his royal battlemages,\" said Morgiah. \"I think the mob believes we have nothing but palace guards and a few soldiers to protect us. When they get to the gates are greeted with a wave of fireballs, I find it highly likely that they will lose heart and retreat.\"\n\"But isn't there some protection they could be using against such an assault?\" asked Gialene in her best worried voice.\n\"If they knew about it, naturally there is. But an unruly mob is unlikely to have mages skilled in the arts of Restoration, by which they could shield themselves from the spells, or Mysticism, by which they could reflect the spells back on my battlemages. That would be the worst scenario, but even if they were well-organized enough to have Mystics in their ranks -- and enough of them to reflect so many spells -- it just isn't done. No battlefield commander would advise such a defense during a siege unless he knew precisely what he was going to be meeting. And then, of course, once the trap is sprung\" Morgiah winked. \"It's too late for a countering spell.\"\n\"A most cunning solution, your highness,\" said Gialene, honestly impressed.\nMorgiah excused herself to meet with her battlemages, and Gialene gave her an embrace. Kael was waiting in the palace garden for his lady.\n\"Are there Mystics among the mercenaries?\" she asked quickly.\n\"Several, in fact,\" replied Kael, bewildered by her query. \"Largely rejects from the Psijic Order, but they know enough to cast the regular spells of the school.\"\n\"You must sneak out the city gates and tell Friar Lylim to have them cast reflection spells on all the front line before they attack,\" said Gialene.\n\"That's most irregular battlefield strategy,\" frowned Kael.\n\"I know it is, fool, that's what Morgiah is counting on. There's a gang of battlemages who are going to be waiting on the battlements to greet our army with a barrage of fire balls.\"\n\"Battlemages? I would have thought that King Reman would have brought them with him to fight the pirates.\"\n\"You would have thought that,\" laughed Gialene. \"But then we would be defeated. Now go!\"\nFriar Lylim agreed with Kael that it was a bizarre, unheard-of way to begin a battle, casting reflection spells on all one's troops. It went against every tradition, and as a Trebbite Monk, he valued tradition above every other virtue. There was little other choice, though, given the intelligence. He had few enough healers in the army as it were, and their energies could not be wasted casting resistance spells.\nAt dawn's light, the rebel army was in sight of the gleaming spires of Firsthold. Friar Lylim gathered together every soldier who knew even the rudimentary secrets of Mysticism, who knew how to tap in to the elementary conundrums and knots of the energies of magicka. Though few were masters of the art, their combined force was powerful to behold. A great surge of entangling power washed over the army, crackling, hissing, and infusing all with their ghostly force. When they arrived at the gates, every soldier, even the least imaginative, knew that no spell would touch him for a long time.\nFriar Lylim watched his army batter into the gate with the great satisfaction of a commander who has counteracted an unthinkable attack with an outrageous defense. The smile quickly faded from his face.\nThey were met at the battlements not by mages but by common archers of the palace guard. As the flaming arrows fell upon the siegers like a red rain, the healers ran in to help the wounded. Their healing spells reflected off the dying men, one after the other. Chaos ruled as the attackers suddenly found themselves defenseless and began a panicked, unorganized retreat. Friar Lylim himself considered briefly holding his ground before fleeing himself.\nLater, he would send furious notes to Lady Gialene and Kael, but they were returned. Even his best secret agents within the palace were unable to find their whereabouts.\nNeither had, as it turns out, much previous experience with torture, and they soon confessed their treachery to the King's satisfaction. Kael was executed, and Gialene was sent back with escort to her father's court of Skywatch. He has still to find a husband for her. Reman, by contrast, has elected not to take a new royal concubine. The common folk of Firsthold consider this break in palace protocol to be more of the sinister alien influence of the Black Queen, and grumble to all who will listen.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/five-far-stars": {"game": ["Morrowind", "Skyrim", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/five-far-stars", "description": "An ashlander song.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Five Far Stars", "text": "[This is a volume of verse collected from wise women of the Urshilaku Ashlanders. It consists of verses composed by Ashlander warriors, champions, and ashkhans, committed to memory by the wise women and transmitted down the generations. 'May I shrink to dust' is attributed to the long-dead poet and warrior Zershishi Mus-Manul.]\nRise from darkness, Red Mountain!\n\tSpread your dark clouds and green vapors!\n\tBirth earthquakes, shatter stones!\n\tFeed the winds with fire!\n\tFlay the tents of the tribes from the land!\n\tFeed the burned earth with our souls!\nYet never shall you have your rule over me.\n\tNever shall I tremble or flinch from your power.\n\tNever shall I yield my home and hearth.\n\tAnd from my tears shall spring forth\n\tThe flowers of grassland springs."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/four-suitors-benitah": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/four-suitors-benitah", "description": "The tale of how a man wins the heart of a woman.", "author": "Jole Yolivess", "title": "The Four Suitors of Benitah", "text": "Up until he was ten years old, Oin Parnafacasis was in an elite group of the very best families of Gnisis. They went to the very best tailors, shared the same tutors, played in the same exclusive company. When his mother died, and his father discovered that the money they had been living on was based on a thief's salary, he suddenly found himself on a very different kind of society, one that he had been ill-equipped to deal with. They were poor.\nOin eventually learned to make a living at the only skill he seemed to be well-suited for: gardening. In time, he had grown an impressive garden of willow anther, gold kanet, chokeweed, white bloatroot, and trama shrubs. He had also grown himself into a remarkably uninteresting man -- aside from his gardening, he had little to say for himself. Unlearned, uncharismatic, unathletic, uncoordinated. And yet he yearned. Specifically, he yearned for a girl he had known before all his trouble, a sweet thing with curly locks and a joyous laugh named Benitah Gorgoth. Once when at play he had pushed a bully away who was trying to hurt her, and the look of appreciation she gave him was enough to make all his days since then worth their while.\nAs he tended his garden one springtide, not very many years ago, he heard some people talking through the thick tall trama shrubs about the marriage of Sedura Indoril Pavflek Mamoona, one of the wealthiest and most respected nobles in Gnisis, and Serjo Benitah Gorgoth. His heart fell. She had found another, a mere nine years since she had given him that look while at play.\nAs spring turned into summer and summer into fall, Oin began to sell his herbs, including some to Kena Yakin Bael, a prominent healer in town. He had been a tutor to both Benitah and Oin, and told the young man that the lady's husband was not very well. Oin held back his happiness and continued on his errands.\nNot long afterwards, Sedura Indoril Pavflek Mamoona fell ill and died, despite all the skills of the great healers, including Yakin Bael. When Oin came to deliver the herbs that day, he said, \"If you are still in communication with Benitah, please give her my sympathies.\"\n\"'Nchow,\" said Yakin. \"If I could get a word in with all her counselors. They are trying to find her a new husband, and she has made it clear that she will only marry the strongest man in Morrowind.\"\n\"Who is that?\" asked Oin.\n\"Horath the Strong,\" replied Yakin. \"It is said that he can lift a wagon with but his forefinger and thumb.\"\n\"You can teach me a spell that will fortify my own strength,\" said Oin. \"I beg you to teach it to me now.\"\n\"Very well,\" replied Yakin. \"But in return, I want your next season's worth of trama root, all to myself.\"\nOin agreed, and Yakin taught him the spell to fortify his strength. It took him some time to master it, visualizing magicka streaming through his body, pumping through the very fibers of his muscles for a time, giving him strength far beyond the puny power nature had intended. When Oin met Horath on the street of Gnisis, he cast the spell and challenged him to a duel of strength.\n\"I am Horath the Strong,\" said Horath the Strong, predictably, \"Witness as I lift this wagon with but my thumb and forefinger.\" And he did so.\n\"I am Nimlom the Mighty,\" said Oin, taking some artistic liberty. \"Witness as I lift the stable that houses your wagon with but my forefinger.\" And he too did so.\nThe word went out quickly throughout Morrowind: the strongest man alive was in the province. Oin went to visit his friend, Yakin Bael.\n\"Her lady Benitah has heard of the strength of Nimlom the Mighty, and has said that she was mistaken. She was not looking for a man of strength to marry, but a man of intelligence, a great scholar. The greatest in all Morrowind.\"\n\"Who is that?\" asked Oin.\n\"Kena Warfel Tomasin,\" replied Yakin. \"It is said that he can best any man or woman in a battle of wits.\"\n\"You can teach me a spell that will fortify my own intelligence,\" said Oin. \"I beg you to teach it to me now.\"\n\"Very well,\" replied Yakin. \"But in return, I want your next season's worth of white bloatroot, all to myself.\"\nOin agreed and for the next couple of weeks, Yakin taught him the spell and trained him in its use. He taught him how to entrench his mind for the sudden assault of awareness and aptitude that would assail it, how to give himself to the sudden thoughts and theorems that would invade his consciousness. When he met Warfel Tomasin in the Mages Guild of Gnisis, he cast his spell and gave the challenge.\n\"I am Kena Warfel Tomasin, and I can prove that Akatosh, Nirn, and Oblivion are one,\" said Warfel, writing out the mathematical formula that showed it was so.\n\"I am Kena Zombel Mokafa, and I can prove that you do not exist,\" said Oin. He wrote out the mathematical formula, which proved correct, and Kena Warfel Tomasin vaporized on the spot.\nThe word went out quickly throughout Morrowind: the most intelligent man alive was in the province. Oin went to visit his friend, Yakin Bael.\n\"Her lady Benitah has heard of the intelligence of Kena Zombel Mokafa, and has said that she was mistaken. She was not looking for a man of intelligence to marry, but a man of endurance, a rock. The greatest in all Morrowind.\"\n\"Who is that?\" asked Oin.\n\"I would say, Master Combova,\" said Yakin. \"They say he can stand in blue flames for twenty minutes.\"\n\"You can teach me a spell that will fortify my own endurance,\" said Oin. \"I beg you to teach it to me now.\"\n\"Very well,\" replied Yakin. \"But in return, I want your next season's worth of chokeweed, all to myself.\"\nOin agreed, and for the next several weeks, he learned the spell to make his endurance like that of the oldest stone. He learned how to shrug off the effects of frost, poison, fire, and charges of lightning, pulling the pain into a reservoir of magicka and expelling it. The lesson learned, he came across Master Combova at the Madach Tradehouse.\n\"My name is Master Combova,\" said the fellow, nudging the witch next to him. \"Kena Leles, cast a ball of blue flame for me.\" And he sat in the inferno of flame for twenty minutes before he left.\n\"Master Combova, my name is Master Vomph,\" said Oin. \"Kena Leles, cast a ball of blue flames for me.\" Oin sat in the inferno of blue fire for very nearly an hour before he left.\nThe word went out quickly throughout Morrowind: the toughest man alive was in the province. Oin went to visit his friend, Yakin Bael.\n\"Her lady Benitah has heard of the endurance of Master Vomph,\" he said, not entirely approving of Oin's latest sobriquet, \"And has said that she was mistaken. She was not looking for a man of endurance to marry, but a man of agility, a nimble acrobat. The greatest in all Morrowind.\"\n\"Who is that?\" asked Oin.\n\"I would say, Funcrazot Priif,\" said Yakin. \"They say he is the greatest shield-blocker and pickpocket in Morrowind.\"\n\"You can teach me a spell that will fortify my own agility,\" said Oin. \"I beg you to teach it to me now.\"\n\"Very well,\" replied Yakin. \"But in return, I want your next season's worth of gold kanet, all to myself.\"\nOin agreed, and Yakin taught him the spell that would fire his impulses with magicka. Over several weeks, he learned how to supplant his own natural energy with the spell's, how to view the world at the slower pace a man with advanced agility sees. In time, Oin came upon Funcrazot in a field outside the city, doing his regular exercises. Oin cast his spell and approached the acrobat.\n\"Ah, behold the power of the amazing Funcrazot Priif,\" said the afore-mentioned, and prompted his sparring partner to attack him with his sword. He blocked the blows effortlessly with a shield for ten minutes, and then revealed afterwards that he had picketpocketed the young man's purse.\n\"Very impressive, Ser Priif. Now, behold the power of the remarkable Gazouf Mough,\" said Oin, and prompted Priif's sparring partner to attack him with his sword. After twenty minutes of blocking the man's blows with his shield, he revealed that he had pickpocketed Funcrazot Priif's purse.\nThe word went out quickly throughout Morrowind: the most agile man alive was in the province. Oin went to visit his friend, Yakin Bael. The door was closed this time and he heard voices within.\n\"Have you heard about the remarkable Gazouf Mough?\" Yakin Bael was asking. \"He sounds like a very promising suitor.\"\n\"The truth is, kena, that I have no more interest in him that I had in Nimlom the Mighty, Kena Zombel Mokafa, or Master Vomph,\" replied a feminine voice that seemed familiar to Oin. \"I will have to invent a new test for suitors, while I search for my true love.\"\n\"You don't wish to marry the strongest, most intelligent, toughest, most agile suitors?\" asked the old Healer.\n\"No, not at all,\" said the woman. \"I had to make some kind of test to rebuff the advances of so many men interested in my money and the money of my late husband. The truth is that I've never forgotten the young boy who was so kind to me when I was a little girl, and so brave fighting off the bullies. His name was Oin Parnafacasis.\"\nOin burst into the room and was reunited with Benitah. They were married at once. A week later, he returned to Yakin Bael and learned how to fortify his personality in exchange for next season's worth of willow anther. Then they lived happily ever after."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gold-ribbon-merrit": {"game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gold-ribbon-merrit", "description": "An amusing story of two friends, one a self-centered buffoon and the other a quiet but gifted warrior, reuniting for some idle archery.", "author": "Ampyrian Brum", "title": "The Gold Ribbon of Merrit", "text": "In that early springtime morning, pale sunlight flickered behind the morning mist floating through the trees as Templer and Stryngpool made their way to the clearing. Neither had been back in High Rock, let alone in their favorite woods for four years. The trees had changed little even if they had. Stryngpool had a handsome blond moustache now, stiffened and spiked with wax, and Templer seemed to be a completely alien creature to the young lad who searched for adventure in the ancient grove. He was much quieter, as if scarred within as well as without.\nThey each carried their bows and quivers with extra care as they maneuvered their way through the clusters of vine and branch.\n\"This is the path that used to lead to your house, isn't it, old boy?\" asked Stryngpool.\nTempler glanced at the overgrowth and nodded, before continuing on.\n\"I thought so,\" said Stryngpool and laughed: \"I remember it because you used to run down it every time you got a bloody nose. I know I can't offend you, but I have to say, it's hard to believe that you ended up a soldier.\"\n\"How's your family?\" asked Templer.\n\"The same. A bit more pompous, if that's possible. It's obvious they wish I'd come back from the academy, but there's nothing much for me here. At least not until I collect my inheritance. Did I you see I got a gold ribbon of merit in archery?\"\n\"How could I miss it?\" said Templer.\n\"Oh yes, I nearly forgot that the family's put it in the Great Hall. Very ostentatiously. I suppose you can actually see it through the picture window. Silly, but I hope the peasants are impressed.\"\nThe clearing opened up before them, where the mist settled on the grass, enveloping it in an opaque, chilly vapor. Burlap targets were arranged around in a semi-circle, several meters apart, like sentinels.\n\"You've been practicing,\" observed Templer.\n\"Well, a bit. I've only been back in town for a few days.\" said Stryngpool with a smile. \"My parents said you got here a week ago?\"\n\"That's right. My unit's camped a few miles east, and I thought I'd visit the old haunts. A lot's changed, I could hardly recognize anything at all.\" Templer looked down at the valley below, to the vast empty tilled ground, stretching out for miles around. \"It looks like a good planting.\"\n\"My family's rather spread out since yours left. There was some discussion I think about keeping your old house up, but it seemed a little sentimental. Especially as there was fertile ground beneath.\"\nStryngpool strung his bow carefully. It was a beautiful piece of art, darkest ebony and spun silver filigrees, hand-crafted for him in Wayrest. He looked over at Templer stringing his bow, and felt a twinge of pity. It was a sad, weathered utensil, bound together with strips of fabric.\n\"If that's how they taught you to string your bow, you need some advisors from the academy in that army of yours,\" said Stryngpool as gently as he could. \"The untightened loop is supposed to look like an X in an O. Yours looks like a Z in a Y.\"\n\"It works for me,\" said Templer. \"I should tell you, I won't be able to make an afternoon of this. I'm supposed to join my unit this evening.\"\nStryngpool began to feel annoyed by his old friend. If he was angry about his family losing their land, why couldn't he just say it? Why did he come back to the valley at all? He watched Templer nock his first arrow, taking aim at a target, and coughed.\n\"I'm sorry, but I can't in good faith send you back to the army without a little new wisdom. There are three types of draw, three-fingers, thumb and index, thumb and two fingers. Then there's the thumb draw which I like, but you see,\" Stryngpool showed Templer the small leather loop fastened on the cord of his bow, \"You need to have one of these thingies or you'll tear your thumb right off.\"\n\"I think I like my stupid method best.\"\n\"Don't be pigheaded, Templer. They didn't give me the gold ribbon of merit for nothing. I had demonstrated shooting from under a shield, standing, sitting, squatting, kneeling, and sitting on horseback. This is practical information I'm imparting for the sake of our friendship which I, at least, haven't completely forgotten. Sweet Kynareth, I remember when you were just an oily little squirt, begging for this kind of honest guidance.\"\nTempler looked at Stryngpool for a moment, and lowered his bow. \"Show me.\"\nStryngpool relaxed, shook away the tensions that had been building. He did his exercise, drawing the bow back to his eyebrow, his moustache, his chest, his earlobe.\n\"There are three ways of shooting: snatching and releasing in one continuous motion, like the Bosmer do; holding with a short draw and a pause before releasing like the Khajiit; and partial draw, pause, final draw,\" Stryngpool fired the arrow into the center of the target with cool precision, \"And release. Which I prefer.\"\n\"Very nice,\" said Templer.\n\"Now you,\" said Stryngpool. He helped Templer select a grip, nock his arrow correctly, and take aim. A smile grew on Templer's face -- the first time Stryngpool had seen such a childlike expression on the war-etched visage all afternoon. When Templer released the arrow, it rocketed high over the top of the target and into the valley below where it disappeared from sight.\n\"Not bad,\" said Templer.\n\"No, not bad,\" said Stryngpool, feeling friendly once again. \"If you practice, you should be able to focus your aim a little bit.\"\nThe two shot a few more practice bolts before parting ways. Templer began the long trek east to his unit's camp, and Stryngpool wound his way down through the woods to the valley and his family's mansion. He hummed a little tune he learned at the academy as he passed the great lawn and walked up to the front door, pleased with himself for helping his old friend. It entirely escaped his attention that the large picture window was broken.\nBut he noticed right away when he came into the Great Hall, and saw Templer's wild-shot bolt sticking in his gold ribbon of merit.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/homilies-blessed-almalexia": {"game": ["Morrowind", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/homilies-blessed-almalexia", "description": "Some stories by Almalexia.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Homilies of Blessed Almalexia", "text": "Sotha Sil and the Scribs\nYoung Sotha Sil, while playing in the egg mines, saw a number of scribs in a deep shaft, and he began to cast stones upon them, snickering as they skittered and scattered, until one of the scribs, lifting its head up in agony, cried out to Sotha Sil: \"Please, please, have mercy, little boy, for what is sport to you is suffering and death to us.\"\nAnd so Sotha Sil discovered that the idle of amusements of one may be the solemn tortures of another.\nLord Vivec and the Contentious Beasts\nA shalk and a kagouti were strutting back and forth in a foyada, casting aspersions of one another's looks. \"You are the ugliest creature alive,\" the shalk told the kagouti. \"No, YOU are the ugliest creature alive,\" the kagouti told the shalk. For each thought himself most handsome, and the other most ugly.\nThen Lord Vivec chanced by, and settled their dispute. \"No, you BOTH are the ugliest creatures alive, and I will not have my pleasant sojourn spoiled by your unseemly squabbling.\" So he dealt them both mighty blows, shattering their skulls, and silencing their argument, and went merrily upon his way.\nAnd thus Lord Vivec proved that ugliness is as much in one's manner as in one's appearance.\nThe Boiled Kagouti\nIt is said that if a kagouti steps into a boiling pool, he will leap out immediately to avoid harm.\nBut if the kagouti is standing in a pool, and a wizard slowly raises the temperature, measure by measure, to boiling, the kagouti will calmly stand in place until he is boiled.\nThus we see that we must be alert not only to the obvious danger, but also to the subtle degrees by which change may result in danger.\nThe Dubious Healer\nOnce upon a time, a Telvanni issued forth from his tower and proclaimed to all the world that he was a mighty and learned healer, master of all alchemy and potions, and able to cure all diseases.\nLord Vivec looked upon this wizard, and listened to his boasting, then asked him, \"How can you pretend to prescribe for others the cure to all diseases, when you are unable to cure yourself of your own manifest arrogance and foolishness?\"\nThe Guar and the Mudcrabs\nThe Guar were so tormented by the other creatures they did not know where to go. As soon as they saw a single beast approach them, off they dashed in terror.\nOne day they saw a pack of Nix-hounds ranging about, and in a desperate panic all the Guar scuttled off towards the sea, determined to drown themselves rather than live in such a continual state of fear. But just as they got near the shoreline, a colony of Mudcrabs, frightened in their turn by the approach of the Guar, scuttled off, and threw themselves into the water.\n'Truly,' said one of the Guar, \u201cthings are not so bad as they seem. For there is always someone worse off than you.\"\nThe Wounded Netch\nA wounded Netch lay himself down in a quiet corner of its feeding-ground. His healthy companions came in great numbers to inquire after his health, yet each one helped himself to a share of the fodder which had been placed there for his use; so that the poor Netch died, not from his wounds, but from the greed and carelessness of his erstwhile friends.\nAnd so it is clear that thoughtless companions may bring more harm than help."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hope-redoran": {"game": ["Morrowind", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hope-redoran", "description": "A tale of a child blessed by a prophesy and the interpretaion thereof.", "author": "Turiul Nirith", "title": "The Hope of the Redoran", "text": "One of the few magical arts the Psijics of Artaeum have kept to themselves, away from the common spells and schools of the Mages Guild, is the gift of divination.  Despite this, or perhaps because of it, omens and prophesies abound in Tamriel, some of substance, others of pure folly, and still others so ambiguous as to be unverifiable.  There are still other prophesies kept secret, from the prophesies of Dro'Jizad in Elsweyr and the Nerevarine in Morrowind, to the Elder Scrolls themselves.\nThe Nord nobility have a tradition of having omens read for their children.  In general, these readings are of the obscure variety.  One of my acquaintances told me that her parents were told, for example, that their daughter would have her life rescued by a snake, and so gave her the name Serpentkin in a special ceremony.  And this young lady, Eria Valkor Serpentkin, was indeed saved by a snake many years later, when an assassin creeping on her stepped on a danswyrm viper.\nOccasionally, omens seem to be almost purposefully misleading, as if Boethiah had crafted them as traps.  I recall one particularly.  Many, many years ago, a male child was born into House Redoran.  It was a very difficult birth, and the mother was delirious and near death by the time it was over.  She chanted just as her son came into the world and she passed from it.\nFortune has smiled this day not frowned\nMy child will be mighty in mind and in arm\nHe shall bring hope to House Redoran\nNeither spell nor blade shall hurt the man\nNor illness nor poison cause any harm\nHis blood shall never drop on the ground\nThe boy, named Andas, was indeed extraordinary.  He never was ill and never suffered so much as a scratch all through his childhood.  He was also quite intelligent and strong, which, combined with his invulnerability, caused many to call him, after his mother's omen, the Hope of the Redoran.  Of course, any one who is called the Hope of the Redoran will eventually develop some taint of impertinence, and it wasn't long before he had enemies.\nHis worst enemy was his cousin Athyn, who had borne much abuse at the hands of Andas.  Primary among the grudges was that Athyn had been sent to Rihad to complete his education at Andas's insistence.  When Athyn returned from Hammerfell, it was because of the death of his father, who had also been a councilor of the House.  Athyn was old enough to take his seat in the Council, but Andas claimed the seat as well, saying that his cousin had been gone too long from Morrowind and didn't understand politics as he did.  The majority of the House agreed with Andas, wanting to see the Hope of Redoran rise quickly.\nAthyn exercised his right to combat his cousin for the seat.  No one thought he had any chance of winning, of course, but the battle was scheduled to commence the following morn.  Andas whored and dined and drank with the councilors that night, confident that his place in the House was secured and the hopeful new dawn of House Redoran was rising.  Athyn retired to his castle with his friends, Andas's enemies, and his servants he had brought from Hammerfell.\nAthyn and his friends were discussing the duel morosely when one of his old teachers, a warrior called Shardie, came into the hall.  She had grown quite proud of her student over the years in Hammerfell, proud enough to accompany him across the Empire to his family's lands, and wanted to know why they had so little confidence in his odds in the battle.  They explained to her Andas's uncommon blessings and the nature of his mother's omen.\n\"If he can't be harmed by disease, poison, magicka, and his blood can never be spilled, what hope have I of ever besting him?\" cried Athyn.\n\"Have you remembered nothing I taught you?\" replied Shardie. \"Is there no weapon you can think of that will slay without blood?  Are swords and spears and arrows the only items in your arsenal?\"\nAthyn quickly realized the weapon Shardie was speaking of, but it seemed absurd.  Not only absurd, but pathetic and primitive.  Still, it was the only hope he had.  All that night, Shardie trained him in the art and techniques, showing him the various swings and stances her people had developed in Albion-Gora; counter-attacks, feints, and blocks imported from Yokuda; the classic one and two-handed grips for the most ancient weapon in history.\nThe cousins faced one another the next morning, and never have two combatants looked so unevenly matched.  Andas's entrance brought a great cheer, for not only was he much beloved as the Hope of the Redoran, but as his victory was a foregone conclusion, most wanted to be in good standing with him.  His shining mail and blade drew admiration and awe.  By contrast, Athyn drew a gasp of surprise and only a smattering of polite applause.  He appeared costumed and armed like a barbarian.\nAs Shardie had suggested, Athyn allowed Andas to attack first.  The Hope of the Redoran was eager to finish the battle and take the power he deserved quickly.  The blade pushed by Andas's mighty arm slashed across Athyn's chest, but shallowly, and before it could be counterswung, Athyn knocked it back with his own weapon.  When Athyn attacked and wounded Andas, the Hope of the Redoran was so surprised by being hurt for the first time in his life, he dropped his sword.\nThe less said about the end of the battle, the better.  Suffice it to say that Athyn, wielding a simple club, battered Andas to death without spilling a drop of blood.\nAthyn took his father's seat as councilor, and it was then said that the hope in the omen referred to Athyn, not Andas.  After all, had Andas not tried to take the councilor seat away from his cousin, Athyn, being not very ambitious, might have never tried to get it.  It can certainly be argued that way, I suppose."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/house-troubles": {"game": ["Morrowind", "Skyrim", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/house-troubles", "description": "The \"House of Troubles\" refers to the Daedra who decided not to submit to the Tribunal, according to Temple Doctrine. This is a book about those Daedra", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The House of Troubles", "text": "Among the ancient ancestral spirits who accompanied Saint Veloth and the Chimer into the promised land of Morrowind, the four Daedra Lords, Malacath, Mehrunes Dagon, Molag Bal, and Sheogorath, are known as the Four Corners of the House of Troubles. These Daedra Lords rebelled against the counsel and admonition of the Tribunal, causing great kinstrife and confusion among the clans and Great Houses.\nMalacath, Mehrunes Dagon, Molag Bal, and Sheogorath are holy in that they serve the role of obstacles during the Testing. Through time they have sometimes become associated with local enemies, like the Nords, Akaviri, or Mountain Orcs.\nMalacath is the reanimated dung that was Trinimac, Malacath is a weak but vengeful god. The Dark Elves say he is Malak, the god-king of the orcs. He tests the Dunmer for physical weakness.\nMolag Bal is, in Morrowind, the King of Rape. He tries to upset the bloodlines of Houses and otherwise ruin the Dunmer gene pool. A race of monsters, said to live in Molag Amur, are the result of his seduction of Vivec during the previous era.\nSheogorath is the King of Madness. He always tests the Dunmer for mental weakness. In many legends he is called upon by one Dunmer faction against another; in half of these stories he does not betray those who called him, further confusing the issue of his place in the scheme of things (can he help us? is he not an obstacle?). He is often associated with the fear other races have of the Dunmer, especially those who, like the Empire, might prove as useful allies.\nMehrunes Dagon is the god of destruction. He is associated with natural dangers like fire, earthquakes, and floods. To some he represents the inhospitable land of Morrowind. He tests the Dunmer will to survive and persevere.\nThe worship of these four malevolent spirits is against the law and practice of the Temple. However, the Four Corners seldom fail to discover those greedy, reckless, or mad enough to serve them. By ancient Temple law and custom, and also by imperial law, the lives of witches and warlocks are forfeit, and Imperial garrisons join Ordinators and Buoyant Armigers of the Temple in tracking down and destroying these foul covens in the wilderness refuges and ancient ruins where they conceal their profane worships."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/legendary-scourge": {"game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion", "Skyrim", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/legendary-scourge", "description": "A poem about Scourge, the mace of Malacath.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Legendary Scourge", "text": "\"Not till the very evening they came,\" answered he, and then told of his dealings with Mehrunes Dagon's thralls, saying that Mackkan would find it easier to whistle on the wind's tracks and go on a fool's errand than to fight his toads. Then said Mackkan:\n\"Now see to thy safety henceforward,\n\tAnd stick to thy parts and thy pride;\n\tOr this mallet of mine, Malacath's Scourge,\n\tWill meet with thine ear of a surety.\n\tFor quick as I can cry \"Equality,\"\n\tThough eight arms thou couldst boast of,\n\tSuch bumps thou shalt comb on thy brainpan,\n\tThou that breakest the howes of the dead.\nEXPLICATION: The mace Scourge, Blessed of Malacath, Mackkan's legendary weapon, forged from sacred ebony in the Fountains of Fickledire, has ever been the bane of the Dark Kin, and many a black spirit has been hurled back into Oblivion with a single blow of this bold defender of the friendless. Scourge now hangs within the armory of Battlespire, ready to take up in the name of the Emperor against the Daedric Lords.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/locked-room": {"game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion", "Skyrim", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/locked-room", "description": "Yana is a locksmithing student who is interested in the theory and technique of the craft more than the practical considerations of it. Arthcamu is her impatient, pragmatic, and cruel instructor. By the end of the story, one of their deaths is imminent!", "author": "Porbert Lyttumly", "title": "The Locked Room", "text": "Yana was precisely the kind of student her mentor Arthcamu despised: the professional amateur. He enjoyed all the criminal types who were his usual pupils at the stronghold, from the common burglar to the more sophisticated blackmailers, children and young people with strong career ambitions which the art and science of lockpicking could facilitate. They were always interested in simple solutions, the easy way, but people like Yana were always looking for exceptions, possibilities, exotica. For pragmatists like Arthcamu, it was intensely vexing.\nThe Redguard maiden would spend hours in front of a lock, prodding at it with her wires and picks, flirting with the key pins and driver pins, exploring the hull with a sort of casual fascination that no delinquent possesses. Long after her fellow students had opened their test locks and moved on, Yana was still playing with hers. The fact that she always opened it eventually, no matter how advanced a lock it was, irked Arthcamu even further.\n\"You are making things much too difficult,\" he would roar, boxing her ears. \"Speed is of the essence, not merely technical know-how. I swear that if I put the key to the lock right in front of you, you'd still never get around to opening it.\"\nYana would bear Arthcamu's abuse philosophically. She had, after all, paid him in advance. Speed was doubtless an important factor for the picker trying to get somewhere he wasn't supposed to go with the city guard on patrol behind him, but Yana knew it wouldn't apply to her. She merely wanted the knowledge.\nArthcamu did everything he could think of to encourage Yana to move faster. She seemed to perversely thrive on his physical and verbal blows, spending more and more time on each lock, learning its idiosyncrasies and personality. Finally, he could bear it no longer. Very late one afternoon after Yana had dawdled over a perfectly ordinary lock, he grabbed the girl by her ear and dragged her to a room in the stronghold far from the other students, an area they had always been forbidden to visit.\nThe room was completely barren, except for one large crate in the center. There were no windows and no other door except for the one leading in. Arthcamu slammed his student against the crate and closed the door behind her. There was a distinct click of the lock.\n\"This is the test for my advanced students,\" he laughed behind the door. \"See if you can escape.\"\nYana smiled and began her usual slow process of massaging the lock, gaining information. After a few minutes had gone by, she heard Arthcamu's voice again call out from behind the door.\n\"Perhaps I should mention that this is a test of speed. You see the crate behind you? It contains a vampire ancient who has been locked in here for many months. It is absolutely ravenous. In a few minutes' time, the sun will have completely set, and if you have not opened the door, you will be nothing but a bloodless husk.\"\nYana considered only for a moment whether Arthcamu was joking or not. She knew he was an evil, horrible man, but to resort to murder to teach his pupil? The moment she heard a rustling in the crate, any doubts she had were erased. Ignoring all her usual explorations, she jammed her wire into the lock, thrust the pegs against the pressure plate, and shoved open the door.\nArthcamu stood in the hallway beyond, laughing cruelly, \"So, now you've learned the value of fast work.\"\nYana fled from Arthcamu's stronghold, fighting back her tears. He was certain that she would never return to his tutelage, but he considered that he had taught her at last a very valuable lesson. When she did return the next morning, Arthcamu registered no surprise, but inside he was seething.\n\"I'll be leaving shortly,\" she explained, quietly. \"But I believe I've developed a new type of lock, and I'd be grateful if you'd give me your opinion of it.\"\nArthcamu shrugged and asked her to present her design.\n\"I was wondering if I might use the vampire room and install the lock. I think it would be better if I demonstrated it.\"\nArthcamu was dubious, but the prospect of the tiresome girl leaving at last put him in an excellent and even indulgent mood. He agreed to give her access to the room. For all morning and most of the afternoon, she worked near the slumbering vampire, removing the old lock and adding her new prototype. Finally, she asked her old master to take a look.\nHe studied the lock with an expert eye, and found little to be impressed with.\n\"This is the first and only pick-proof lock,\" Yana explained. \"The only way to open it is to have the right key.\"\nArthcamu scoffed and let Yana close the door, shutting him in the room. The door clicked and he began to go to work. To his dismay, the lock was much more difficult than he thought it would be. He tried all his methods to force it, and found that he had to resort to his hated student's method of careful and thorough exploration.\n\"I need to leave now,\" called Yana from the other side of the door. \"I'm going to bring the city guard to the stronghold. I know that it's against the rules, but I really think it's for the welfare of the villagers not to have a hungry vampire on the loose. It's getting dark, and even though you aren't able to unlock the door, the vampire might be less proud about using the key to escape. Remember when you said 'If I put the key to the lock right in front of you, you'd still never get around to opening it'?\"\n\"Wait!\" Arthcamu yelled back. \"I'll use the key! Where is it? You forgot to give it to me!\"\nBut there was no reply, only the sound of footfall disappearing down the corridor beyond the door. Arthcamu began to work harder on the lock, but his hands were shaking with fear. With no windows, it was impossible to tell how late it was getting to be. Were minutes that were flying by or hours? He only knew that the vampire ancient would know.\nThe tools could not stand very much twisting and tapping from Arthcamu's hysterical hands. The wire snapped in the keyhole. Just like a student. Arthcamu screamed and pounded on the door, but he knew that no one could possibly hear him. It was while sucking in his breath to scream again, he heard the distinct creak of the crate opening behind him.\nThe vampire ancient regarded the master locksmith with insane, hungry eyes, and flew at him in a frenzy. Before Arthcamu died, he saw it: on a chain that had been placed around the vampire's neck while it had been sleeping was a key."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lost-prophecy-0": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lost-prophecy-0", "description": "One of the Nerevarine Prophecies, annotated by the Dissident Priests.", "author": "Gilvas Barelo", "title": "The Lost Prophecy", "text": "[from the Apographa of the Dissident Priests, annotated by Gilvas  Barelo, Abbot of Holamayan]\nFrom seventh sign of eleventh generation,\nNeither Hound nor Guar, nor Seed nor Harrow, \nBut Dragon-born and far-star-marked,\nOutlander Incarnate beneath Red Mountain,\nBlessed Guest counters seven curses,\nStar-blessed hand wields thrice-cursed blade,\nTo reap the harvest of the unmourned house.\nNotes\nLines 1-3: 'Of ancient family, but not of the four great Ashlander  clans. Born under foreign stars and the sign of the Dragon -- the  Imperial sign.'\nLine 4-5: 'Outlander Incarnate' appears as a formal epithet, stressing  the linkage between the words. The Outlander Incarnate is a 'blessed  guest', one not born of the tribes but accepted as a guest with rights  of hearth and hospitality. Under Red Mountain he will confront and  balance against seven curses. See the 'Seven Curses' prophecy; also,  Dagoth Ur is served by his seven kin, once great wizard-lords, called  'ash vampires' by the Ashlanders.\nLine 6-7: 'Star-blessed' suggests Azura, the Daedra Lord and patron of  magic, fate, and prophecy. 'Thrice-cursed blade' may refer to  a weapon  called Keening, associated in certain legends with the Battle of Red  Mountain and Dwemer craftlord Kagrenac. 'Reap the harvest' is a  reference to the proverb, \"You harvest from the seeds you plant,\" which  means you get what your labors deserve, in both a positive sense of  reward and negative sense of punishment. The 'unmourned house' could be  either or both of the lost Great Houses of the Dunmer -- House Dwemer  and House Dagoth."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lunar-lorkhan": {"game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion", "Skyrim", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lunar-lorkhan", "description": "An explanation of how Tamriel's moons are the decaying body of Lorkhan.", "author": "Fal Droon", "title": "The Lunar Lorkhan", "text": "I\u00a0will not go into the varying accounts of what happened at Adamantine Tower, nor will I relate the War of Manifest Metaphors that rendered those stories unable to support most qualities of what is commonly known as \"narrative.\" We all have our favorite Lorkhan story and our favorite Lorkhan motivation for the creation of Nirn and our favorite story of what happened to His Heart. But the Theory of the Lunar Lorkhan is of special note.\nIn short, the Moons were and are the two halves of Lorkhan's 'flesh-divinity'. Like the rest of the Gods, Lorkhan was a plane(t) that participated in the Great Construction... except where the Eight lent portions of their heavenly bodies to create the mortal plane(t), Lorkhan's was cracked asunder and his divine spark fell to Nirn as a shooting star \"to impregnate it with the measure of its existence and a reasonable amount of selfishness.\"\nMasser and Secunda therefore are the personifications of the dichotomy-- the \"Cloven Duality,\" according to Artaeum-- that Lorkhan legends often rail against: ideas of the anima/animus, good/evil, being/nothingness, the poetry of the body, throat, and moan/silence-as-the- abortive, and so on -- set in the night sky as Lorkhan's constant reminder to his mortal issue of their duty.\nFollowers of this theory hold that all other \"Heart Stories\" are mythical degradations of the true origin of the moons (and it needn't be said that they observe the \"hollow crescent theory\" as well)."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/madness-pelagius": {"game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/madness-pelagius", "description": "A short biography of the mad Pelagius III.", "author": "Tsathenes", "title": "The Madness of Pelagius", "text": "The man who would be Emperor of all Tamriel was born Thoriz Pelagius Septim, a prince of the royal family of Wayrest in 3E 119 at the end of the glorious reign of his uncle, Antiochus I. Wayrest had been showered by much preference during the years before Pelagius' birth, for King Magnus was Antiochus' favorite brother.\nIt is hard to say when Pelagius' madness first manifested itself, for, in truth, the first ten years of his life were marked by much insanity in the land itself. When Pelagius was just over a year old, Antiochus died and a daughter, Kintyra, assumed the throne to the acclaim of all. Kintyra II was Pelagius' cousin and an accomplished mystic and sorceress. If she had sufficient means to peer into the future, she would have surely fled the palace.\nThe story of the War of the Red Diamond has been told in many other scholarly journals, but as most historians agree, Kintyra II's reign was usurped by her and Pelagius' cousin Uriel, by the power of his mother, Potema -- the so-called wolf queen of Solitude. The year after her coronation, Kintyra was trapped in Glenpoint and imprisoned in the Imperial dungeons there.\nAll of Tamriel exploded into warfare as Prince Uriel took the throne as Uriel III, and High Rock, because of the imprisoned Empress' presence there, was the location of some of the bloodiest battles. Pelagius' father, King Magnus, allied himself with his brother Cephorus against the usurper Emperor, and brought the wrath of Uriel III and Queen Potema down on Wayrest. Pelagius, his brothers and sisters, and his mother Utheilla fled to the Isle of Balfiera. Utheilla was of the line of Direnni, and her family manse is still located on that ancient isle even to this day.\nThere is thankfully much written record of Pelagius' childhood in Balfiera recorded by nurses and visitors. All who met him described him as a handsome, personable boy, interested in sport, magic, and music. Even assuming diplomats' lack of candor, Pelagius seemed, if anything, a blessing to the future of the Septim Dynasty.\nWhen Pelagius was eight, Cephorus slew Uriel III at the Battle of Ichidag and proclaimed himself Emperor Cephorus I. For the next ten years of his reign, Cephorus battled Potema. Pelagius' first battle was the Siege of Solitude, which ended with Potema's death and the final end of the war. In gratitude, Cephorus placed Pelagius on the throne of Solitude.\nAs king of Solitude, Pelagius' eccentricities of behavior began to be noticeable. As a favorite nephew of the Emperor, few diplomats to Solitude made critical commentary about Pelagius. For the first two years of his reign, Pelagius was at the very least noted for his alarming shifts in weight. Four months after taking the throne, a diplomat from Ebonheart called Pelagius \"a hale and hearty soul with a heart so big, it widens his waist\"; five months after that, the visiting princess of Firsthold wrote to her brother that \"the king's gripped my hand and it felt like I was being clutched by a skeleton. Pelagius is greatly emaciated, indeed.\"\nCephorus never married and died childless three years after the Siege of Solitude. As the only surviving sibling, Pelagius' father Magnus left the throne of Wayrest and took residence at the Imperial City as the Emperor Magnus I. Magnus was elderly and Pelagius was his oldest living child, so the attention of Tamriel focused on Sentinel. By this time, Pelagius' eccentricities were becoming infamous.\nThere are many legends about his acts as King of Sentinel, but few well-documented cases exist. It is known that Pelagius locked the young princes and princesses of Silvenar in his room with him, only releasing them when an unsigned Declaration of War was slipped under the door. When he tore off his clothes during a speech he was giving at a local festival, his advisors apparently decided to watch him more carefully. On the orders of Magnus, Pelagius was married to the beautiful heiress of an ancient Dark Elf noble family, Katariah Ra'athim.\nNordic kings who marry Dark Elves seldom improve their popularity. There are two reasons most scholars give for the union. Magnus was trying to cement relations with Ebonheart, where the Ra'athim clan hailed. Ebonheart's neighbor, Mournhold, had been a historical ally of the Empire since the very beginning, and the royal consort of Queen Barenziah had won many battles in the War of the Red Diamond. Ebonheart had a poorly-kept secret of aiding Uriel III and Potema.\nThe other reason for the marriage was more personal: Katariah was as shrewd a diplomat as she was beautiful. If any creature was capable of hiding Pelagius' madness, it was she.\nOn the 8th of Second Seed, 3E 145, Magnus I died quietly in his sleep. Jolethe, Pelagius' sister took over the throne of Solitude, and Pelagius and Katariah rode to the Imperial City to be crowned Emperor and Empress of Tamriel. It is said that Pelagius fainted when the crown was placed on his head, but Katariah held him up so only those closest to the thrones could see what had happened. Like so many Pelagius stories, this cannot be verified.\nPelagius III never truly ruled Tamriel. Katariah and the Elder Council made all the decisions and only tried to keep Pelagius from embarrassing all. Still, stories of Pelagius III's reign exist.\nIt was said that when the Argonian ambassador from Blackrose came to court, Pelagius insisted on speaking in all grunts and squeaks, as that was the Argonian's natural language.\nIt is known that Pelagius was obsessed with cleanliness, and many guests reported waking to the noise of an early-morning scrubdown of the Imperial Palace. The legend of Pelagius while inspecting the servants' work, suddenly defecating on the floor to give them something to do, is probably apocryphal.\nWhen Pelagius began actually biting and attacking visitors to the Imperial Palace, it was decided to send him to a private asylum. Katariah was proclaimed regent two years after Pelagius took the throne. For the next six years, the Emperor stayed in a series of institutions and asylums.\nTraitors to the Empire have many lies to spread about this period. Whispered stories of hideous experiments and tortures performed on Pelagius have almost become accepted as fact. The noble lady Katariah became pregnant shortly after the Emperor was sent away, and rumors of infidelity and, even more absurd, conspiracies to keep the sane Emperor locked away, ran amok. As Katariah proved, her pregnancy came about after a visit to her husband's cell. With no other evidence, as loyal subjects, we are bound to accept the Empress' word on the matter. Her second child, who would reign for many years as Uriel IV, was the child of her union with her consort Lariate, and publicly acknowledged as such.\nOn a warm night in Suns Dawn, in his 34th year, Pelagius III died after a brief fever in his cell at the Temple of Kynareth in the Isle of Betony. Katariah I reigned for another forty six years before passing the scepter onto the only child she had with Pelagius, Cassynder.\nPelagius' wild behavior has made him perversely dear to the province of his birth and death. The 2nd of Suns Dawn, which may or may not be the anniversary of his death (records are not very clear) is celebrated as Mad Pelagius, the time when foolishness of all sorts is encouraged. And so, one of the least desirable Emperors in the history of the Septim Dynasty, has become one of the most famous ones.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/marksmanship-lesson": {"game": ["Morrowind", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/marksmanship-lesson", "description": "The basic argument against mistreating your Bosmer slaves, especially those with exeptional bow ability.", "author": "Alla Llaleth", "title": "The Marksmanship Lesson", "text": "Kelmeril Brin had very definite opinions on how things should be done.  Every slave he bought on the day he bought him or her was soundly whipped in the courtyard for a period of one to three hours, depending on the individual degree of independent spirit.  The whip he used -- or had his castellan use -- was of wet, knotted cloth, which regularly drew blood but very seldom maimed.  To his great satisfaction and personal pride, few slaves ever needed to be whipped more than once.  The memory of their first day, and the sight and sound of every subsequent slave's first day, stayed with them throughout their lives.\nWhen Brin bought his first Bosmer slave, he ordered his castellan to whip him only for an hour.  The creature, which Brin had named Dob, seemed so much more delicate than the Argonians and Khajiiti and Orcs who made up the bulk of his slaves.  Dob was clearly ill suited for work in the mines or in the fields, but he seemed presentable enough for domestic service.\nDob did his work quietly and tolerably well.  Brin occasionally had to correct him by refusing him food, but the punishment never needed to go further.  Whenever guests arrived at the plantation, the sight of the exotic and elegant addition to Brin's household staff always impressed them.\n\"Here, you,\" said Genethah Illoc, a minor but still noble member of the House Indoriil, as Dob presented her with a glass of wine. \"Were you born a slave?\"\n\"No, sedura,\" Dob answered with a bow. \"I used to rob nice ladies like you on the road.\"\nThe company all laughed with delight, but Kelmeril Brin checked with the slave trader from whom he had bought Dob, and found that the story was true.  The Bosmer had been a highwayman, though not one of any great notoriety, before he had been caught and sold into slavery as punishment.  It seemed so extraordinary that a quiet fellow like Dob, who always looked respectfully downward at the sight of his superiors, could have been a criminal.  Brin made up his mind to question him about it.\n\"You must have used some sort of weapon when you were robbing all those pilgrims and merchants,\" Brin grinned as he watched Dob mop.\n\"Yes, sedura,\" Dob replied humbly. \"A bow.\"\n\"Of course.  You Bosmeri are supposed to be very handy with those,\" Brin thought a moment and then asked: \"A bit of a marksman, were you?\"\nDob nodded humbly.\n\"You will tutor my son Wodilic in archery,\" the master said after another moment's pause.  Wodilic was twelve years of age and had been rather sadly spoiled by his mother, Brin's late wife.  The boy was useless at swordplay, fearful of being cut.  He embarrassed his father's pride, but the personality defect seemed ideally suited to the bow.\nBrin had his castellan purchase a finely wrought bow, several quivers of arrows, and ordered targets to be set up in the wildflower field next to the plantation house.  In a few days time, the lessons began.\nFor the first few days, the master watched Wodilic and Dob to be certain that the slave knew how to teach.  He was pleased to see the boy learn the grips and the different stances.  Business concerns, however, had to take precedence.  Brin only had time to see to it that the lessons were continuing, but not how well they were progressing.\nIt was a month's time before the issue was reexamined.  Brin and his castellan were reviewing the plantation's earnings and expenses, and they had come to the area of miscellaneous household costs.\n\"You might also check to see how many targets in the field need to be repaired.\"\n\"I have already anticipated that, sedura,\" said the castellan. \"They are in pristine condition.\"\n\"How is that possible?\" Brin shook his head. \"I've seen targets fall apart after only a few good shots.  There shouldn't be anything left after a month's worth of lessons.\"\n\"There are no holes of any kind in the targets, sedura.  See for yourself.\"\nAs it happened at that hour, the marksmanship lesson was underway.  Brin walked across the field, watching Dob guide Wodilic's arm as the boy took aim at the sky.  The arrow flew up into an arc, over the top of the target, burying itself in the ground.  Brin examined the target and found it to be, as his castellan said, in pristine condition.  No arrow had touched it.\n\"Master Wodilic, you must pull your right arm down further,\" Dob was saying. \"And the follow-through is essential if you expect your arrow to gain any height.\"\n\"Height?\" Brin snarled. \"What about accuracy?  Unless he's been secretly racking up a high kill ratio on birds, you haven't taught my son a thing about marksmanship.\"\nDob bowed humbly. \"Sedura, first Master Wodilic must become comfortable with the weapon before he need worry about accuracy.  In Valenwood, we learn by watching the bolt arc at different levels, in different winds, before we try very hard to strike targets.\"\nBrin's face turned purple with fury: \"I'm not a fool!  I should have known not to trust a slave with my boy's education!\"\nThe master grabbed Dob and shoved him toward the plantation house.  Dob, head down, began the humble, shuffling walk he had learned in his domestic duties.  Wodilic, tears streaming down his face, tried to follow.\n\"You stay and practice!\" roared his father. \"Try aiming at the target itself, not at the sky!  You are not coming back into the house until there is one hole in that damned bullseye!\"\nThe boy tearfully returned to practice, while Brin brought Dob into the courtyard and called for his whip.  Dob suddenly broke away and scrambled to hide between some barrels in the center of the yard.\n\"Take your punishment, slave!  I should have never shown you mercy the day I bought you!\" Brin bellowed, bringing the whip down on Dob's exposed back again and again. \"I have to toughen you up!  There'll be no more soft jobs as tutor and valet in your future!\"\nWodilic's plaintive yell drifted in from the meadow: \"I can't! Father, I can't hit it!\"\n\"Master Wodilic!\" Dob cried back as loud as he could, his voice shaking with pain. \"Keep your left arm straight and aim slightly east! The wind has changed!\"\n\"Stop confusing my son!\" Brin screamed. \"You'll be in the saltrice fields if I don't beat you to death first! Like you deserve!\"\n\"Dob!\" the boy wailed, far away. \"I still can't hit it!\"\n\"Master Wodilic! Take four steps back, aim east, and don't be afraid of the height!\" Dob tore away from the barrels, hiding under a cart near the wall.  Brin pursued him, raining down blows.\nThe boy's arrow sailed high over the target and kept climbing, reaching a pinnacle at the edge of the plantation house before coming down in a magnificent arc. Brin tasted the blood before he realized he'd been hit. Gingerly, he raised his hands and felt the arrowhead protruding out of the back of his neck. He looked at Dob crouching under the wagon, and thought he saw a thin smile cross the slave's lips. Just for an instant before he died, Brin saw the face of the rogue highwayman on Dob.\n\"Bullseye, Master Wodilic!\" Dob crowed.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mirror": {"game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mirror", "description": "A story about an exceptional fighter and his showdown with his greatest enemy.", "author": "Berdier Wreans", "title": "The Mirror", "text": "The wind blew over the open plain, jostling the few trees within to move back and forth with the irritation of it. A young man in bright green turban approached the army and gave his chieftain's terms for peace to the commander. He was refused. It was to be battle, the battle of Ain-Kolur.\nSo the chief Iymbez had decreed his open defiance and his horsemen were at war once again. Many times the tribe had moved into territory that was not theirs to occupy, and many times the diplomatic approach had failed. It had come to this, at long last. It was just as well with Mindothrax. His allies may win or lose, but he would always survive. Though he had occasionally been on the losing side of a war, never once in all his thirty-four years had he lost in hand-to-hand combat.\nThe two armies poured like dual frothing streams through the dust, and when they met a clamor rang out, echoing into the hills. Blood, the first liquor the clay had tasted in many a month, danced like powder. The high and low battle cries of the rival tribes met in harmony as the armies dug into one another's flesh. Mindothrax was in the element he loved.\nAfter ten hours of fighting with no ground given, both commanders called a mutual and honorable withdrawal from the field.\nThe camp was positioned in a high-walled garden of an old burial ground, adorned by springtide blossoms. As Mindothrax toured the grounds, he was reminded of his childhood home. It was a happy and a sad recollection, the purity of childhood ambition, all of his schooling in the ways of battle, but tinged with memories of his poor mother. A beautiful woman looking down at her son with both pride and unspoken sorrow. She never talked about what troubled her, but it came as no surprise to any when she took the walk across the moors and was found days later, her throat slit open by her own hand.\nThe army itself was like a colony of ants, newly shaken. Within a half hour's time after the end of the battle, they had reorganized as if by instinct. As the medics looked to the wounded, someone remarked, with a measure of admiration and astonishment, \"Look at Mindothrax. His hair isn't even out of place.\"\n\"He is a mighty swordsman,\" said the attending physician.\n\"The sword is a greatly overvalued article,\" said Mindothrax, nevertheless pleased with the attention. \"Warriors pay too much attention to striking and not enough in defending strikes. The proper way to go into battle is to defend yourself, and to hit your opponent only when the ideal moment arises.\"\n\"I prefer a more straight-forward approach,\" smiled one of the wounded. \"It is the way of the horse men.\"\n\"If it is the way of the Bjoulsae tribes to fail, then I renounce my heritage,\" said Mindothrax, making a quick sign to the spirits that he was being expressive not blasphemous. \"Remember what the great blademaster Gaiden Shinji said, 'The best techniques are passed on by the survivors.' I have been in thirty-six battles, and I haven't a scar to show for them. That is because I rely on my shield, and then my blade, in that order.\"\n\"What is your secret?\"\n\"Think of melee as a mirror. I look to my opponent's left arm when I am striking with my right. If he is prepared to block my blow, I blow not. Why exert undue force?\" Mindothrax cocked an eyebrow, \"But when I see his right arm tense, my left arm goes to my shield. You see, it takes twice as much power to send force than it does to deflect it. When your eye can recognize whether your opponent is striking from above, or at angle, or in an uppercut from below, you learn to pivot and place your shield just so to protect yourself. I could block for hours if need be, but it only takes a few minutes, or even seconds, for your opponent, used to battering, to leave a space open for your own strike.\"\n\"What was the longest you've ever had to defend yourself?\" asked the wounded man.\n\"I fought a man once for an hour's time,\" said Mindothrax. \"He was tireless with his bludgeoning, never giving me a moment to do aught but block his strikes. But finally, he took a moment too long in raising his cudgel and I found my mark in his chest. He struck my shield a thousand times, and I struck his heart but once. But that was enough.\"\n\"So he was your greatest opponent?\" asked the medico.\n\"Oh, indeed not,\" said Mindothrax, turning his great shield so the silvery metal reflected his own face. \"There is he.\"\nThe next day, the battle recommenced. Chief Iymbez had brought in reinforcements from the islands to the south. To the horror and disgrace of the tribe, mercenaries, renegade horsemen and even some Reachmen witches were included in the war. As Mindothrax stared across the field at the armies assembling, putting on his helmet and readying his shield and blade, he thought again of his poor mother. What had tortured her so? Why had she never been able to look at her son without grief?\nBetween sunrise and sundown, the battle raged. A bright blue-sky overhead burned down on the combatants as they rushed against one another over and over again. In every melee, Mindothrax prevailed. A foe with an ax rained a series of strokes against his shield, but every one was deflected until at last Mindothrax could best the warrior. A spear maiden nearly pierced the shield with her first strike, but Mindothrax knew how to give with the blow, throwing her off balance and leaving her open for his counterstrike. Finally, he met a mercenary on the field, armed with shield and sword and a helm of golden bronze. For an hour and a half they battled.\nMindothrax tried every trick he knew. When the mercenary tensed his left arm, he held back his strike. When his opponent rose his sword, his shield rose too and expertly blocked. For the first time in his life, he was battling another defensive fighter. Stationary, reflective, with energy to battle for days if need be. Occasionally, another warrior would enter into the fray, sometimes from Mindothrax's army, sometimes from his opponent's. These distractions were swiftly dispatched, and the champions returned to their fight.\nAs they fought, circling one another, matching block for blow and blow for block, it dawned on Mindothrax that here at last he was fighting the perfect mirror.\nIt became more a game, almost a dance, than a battle of blood. It was not until Mindothrax missed his own step, striking too soon, throwing himself off balance, that the promenade was ended. He saw, rather than felt, the mercenary's blade rip across him from throat to chest. A good strike. The sort he himself might have delivered.\nMindothrax fell to the ground, feeling his life passing. The mercenary stood over him, prepared to give his worthy adversary the killing blow. It was a strange, honorable deed for an outsider to do, and Mindothrax was greatly moved. Across the battlefield, he heard someone call a name, similar to his own.\n\"Jurrifax!\"\nThe mercenary removed his helmet to answer the call. As he did so, Mindothrax saw through the slits of his helmet his own reflection in the man. It was his own close-set eyes, red and brown hair, thin and wide mouth, and blunt chin. For a moment he marveled at the mirror, before the stranger turned back to him and delivered the death stroke.\nJurrifax returned to his commander and was well paid for his part in the day's victory. They retired for a hot meal under the stars in a garden by an old cairn that had previously been occupied by their foes. The mercenary was strangely quiet as he observed the land.\n\"Have you been here before, Jurrifax?\" asked one of the tribesmen who had hired him.\n\"I was born a horseman just like you. My mother sold me when I was just a babe. I have always wondered how my life might have been different had I not been bartered away. I might never have been a mercenary.\"\n\"There are many things that decide our fate,\" said the witch. \"It is madness to try to see how you might have taken this turn or that in the world. There are none exactly like yourself, so it is foolish to compare.\"\n\"But there is one,\" said Jurrifax, looking to the stars. \"My master, before he set me free, said that my mother had twin sons when I was born. She could only afford to raise but one child, but somewhere out there, there is a man just like me. My brother. I hope to meet him.\"\nThe witch saw the spirits before her and knew the truth that the twins had met already. She remained silent and stared into the fire, banishing the thoughts from her head, too wise to tell all.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/old-ways": {"game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion", "Skyrim", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/old-ways", "description": "The definitive guide to the Psijic Order and their leader, Celarus.", "author": "Celarus the Loremaster", "title": "The Old Ways", "text": "We who know the Old Ways are well aware of the existence of a spiritual world invisible to the unenlightened. Just as one living in a kingdom but unaware of the political machinations underneath may see a new tax or battle preparation as the caprices of fortune, many observe floods, famines, and madness with helpless incomprehension. This is deplorable. As the great Cuilean Darnizhaan moaned, \"The power of ignorance can shatter ebony like glass.\"\nWhat, after all, is the origin of these spiritual forces that move the invisible strings of Mundus? Any neophyte of Artaeum knows that these spirits are our ancestors -- and that, while living, they too were bewildered by the spirits of their ancestors, and so on back to the original Acharyai. The Daedra and gods to whom the common people turn are no more than the spirits of superior men and women whose power and passion granted them great influence in the afterworld.\nCertainly this is our truth and our religion. But how does it help us in our sacred duty of seliffrnsae, or providing \"grave and faithful counsel\" to lesser men?\nPrimarily, it is easy to grasp the necessity both of endowing good men with great power and making powerful men good. We recognize the multiple threats that a strong tyrant represents -- breeds cruelty which feeds the Daedra Boethiah and hatred which feeds the Daedra Vaernima; if he should die having performed a particularly malevolent act, he may go to rule in Oblivion; and worst of all, he inspires other villains to thirst after power and other rulers to embrace villainy. Knowing this, we have developed patience in our dealings with such despots. They should be crippled, humiliated, impoverished, imprisoned. Other counsellors may advocate assassination or warfare -- which, aside from its spiritual insignificance, is expensive and likely to inflict at least as much pain on the innocents as the brutish dictator. No, we are intelligence gatherers, dignified diplomats -- not revolutionaries.\nHow, then, are our counsellors \"faithful\"? We are faithful only to the Old Ways -- it is essential always to remember the spiritual world while keeping our eyes open in the physical one. Performing the Rites of Moawita on the 2nd of Hearth Fire and the Vigyld on the 1st of Second Seed are essential means of empowering salutary spirits and debilitating unclean ones. How, then, are we at once faithful to those we counsel and to the Isle of Artaeum? Perhaps the sage Taheritae said it best: \"In Mundus, conflict and disparity are what bring change, and change is the most sacred of the Eleven Forces. Change is the force without focus or origin. It is the duty of the disciplined Psijic [\"Enlightened One\"] to dilute change where it brings greed, gluttony, sloth, ignorance, prejudice, cruelty... [here Taheritae lists the rest of the 111 Prodigalities], and to encourage change where it brings excellence, beauty, happiness, and enlightenment. As such, the faithful counsel has but one master: His mind. If the man the Psijic counsels acts wickedly and brings oegnithr [\"bad change\"] and will otherwise not be counselled, it is the Psijic's duty to counterbalance the oegnithr by any means necessary [emphasis mine].\"\nA student of the Old Ways may indeed ally himself to a lord -- but it is a risky relationship. It cannot be stressed enough that the choice be wisely made. Should the lord refuse wise counsel and order the Psijic (to use Taheritae's outmoded word) to perform an act contrary to the teachings of the Old Ways, there are few available options. The Psijic may obey, albeit unwillingly, and fall prey to the dark forces against which he has devoted his life. The Psijic may abandon his lord, which will bring shame on him and the Isle of Artaeum, and so may never be allowed home again. Or the Psijic may simply kill himself."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/pig-children": {"game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion", "Skyrim", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/pig-children", "description": "A highly bias book about Orcs.", "author": "Tyston Bane", "title": "The Pig Children", "text": "No one -- not the oldest Dark Elf of Mount Dagoth-Ur or the Ancient Sage of Solitude himself -- can recall a time when the Orc did not ravage our fair Tamriel. Whatever foul and pestilent Daedra of Oblivion conjured them up could scarcely have created a more constant threat to the well-being of the civilized races of Tamriel than the obnoxious Orc.\nOrcs are thankfully easy to recognize from other humanoids by their size -- commonly forty pertans in height and fifteen thousand angaids in weight -- their brutal pig-like features, and their stench. They are consistently belligerent, morally grotesque, intellectually moronic, and unclean. By all rights, the civilized races of Tamriel should have been able to purge the land of their blight eras ago, but their ferocity, animal cunning, and curious tribal loyalty have made them inevitable as leeches in a stagnant pool.\nTales of Orcish barbarity precede written record. When Jastyaga wrote of the Order of Diagna's joining the armies of Daggerfall and Sentinel \"to hold at bay the wicked Orcs in their foul Orsinium fastness... and burn aught in cleansing flame\" in 1E950, she assumed that any reader would be aware of the savagery of the Orcs. When the siege was completed thirty years later, after the death of many heroes including Gaiden Shinji, and the destruction of Orsinium scattered the Orcish survivors throughout the Wrothgarian Mountains, she further wrote, \"The free peoples rejoiced for that their ancient fell enemy was dispersed into diverse parts.\" Obviously, the Orcs had been terrorizing the region of the Iliac Bay at least since the early years of the First Era."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/pilgrims-path": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/pilgrims-path", "description": "A book describing each of the shrines that need to be visited, before the person accepted as a member of the Temple.", "author": "Tribunal Temple", "title": "The Pilgrim's Path", "text": "The pilgrim must visit each of the Shrines of the Seven Graces. At each site the pilgrim must stand before the three-sided stone triolith and read the inscription. To ease the pilgrim's task, the Temple has made this list of shrines along with directions and advice to pilgrims. The blessings of each shrine last at least a half day.\nThe Fields of Kummu: Shrine of Humility\nHere Lord Vivec met a poor farmer whose guar had died. The farmer could not harvest his muck without his guar, and he could not provide for his family or his village. So the Lord Vivec removed his fine clothes and toiled in the fields like a beast of burden until the crop was harvested. It is at the Fields of Kummu we go to pray for the same humility Lord Vivec showed on that day.\nThe Fields of Kummu are west of Suran on the north shore of Lake Amaya as you head towards Pelagiad. The shrine is between two rocks, and most easily noticed while traveling east along the road. Alof's farm nearby has a small dock on the north bank of Lake Amaya. This is the only dock nearby which Alof kindly allows servants of the Temple to use. It is customary to leave a portion of muck at the shrine to represent Vivec's humility.\nTo Stop the Moon: The Shrine of Daring\nWhen Sheogorath rebelled against the Tribunal, he tricked the moon Baar Dau into forsaking its appointed path through Oblivion. The Mad Star inspired the moon to hurl itself upon Vivec's new city, which Sheogorath claimed was built in mockery of the heavens. When Vivec learned of Sheogorath's scheme, he froze the rogue moon in the sky with a single gesture and the grace of his countenance. Overwhelmed by the courage and daring of Vivec, the moon Baar Dau swore itself to eternal service of the Tribunal and all its works. Thus the moon now stands guard over the palace, and serves as a citadel for the Temple's Ordinators.\nThe Shrine of Daring is found in the city of Vivec, in the Temple District, along the western wall of the High Fane, the great Temple of Vvardenfell. When you address the shrine, it is customary to leave behind a Potion of Rising Force. Suitable potions may be purchased from the Temple. Homemade potions are not acceptable.\nThe Palace: Shrine of Generosity\nLong after Lord Nerevar and the Tribunal triumphed over Dagoth Ur, the people wished to build a monument to the heroes of that war. Vivec thanked them, but said that it would be better to dedicate a monument not only to the glorious heroes, but to all people, great and small, who suffered and died in the war. It became the custom to make offerings here, either in thanks of our good fortune, or for those less fortunate.\nThe Shrine of Generosity is on the top steps of Vivec's Palace, the southernmost Canton of Vivec City. The customary donation for those in good fortune is 100 gold.\nThe Puzzle Canal: The Shrine of Courtesy\nIn a battle with Mehrunes Dagon, Vivec gave his own silver longsword to the Daedra Lord rather than dishonor himself by fighting an unarmed foe. This so impressed the Dremora, the most honorable and chivalrous of Mehrunes Dagon's Daedric servants, that they now share a bond of respect and courtesy with the followers of the Tribunal, though we must never forget that they are our enemies.\nThe Shrine of Courtesy is found in the heart of the Puzzle Canal, a labyrinth beneath Lord Vivec's Palace in the city of Vivec. The journey though the Puzzle Canal can be confusing and it is suggested that common pilgrims carry a scroll of ALMSIVI Intervention in case they get lost. The Dremora Krazzt is found in the center of the Puzzle Canal, and will accept a plain silver longsword if spoken to with courtesy. After Krazzt accepts the sword, pilgrims must read the inscription on the triolith.\nThe Mask of Vivec: Shrine of Justice\nNear the altar is Vivec's Ash Mask. In the Days of Fire when Dagoth Ur first crept back into Red Mountain and awakened it, Vivec led refugees here as they fled the ash and blight. Weary, they rested here a while. When Vivec awoke, he found himself and all his followers encased in casts of grey ash. Frozen like a sleeping statue and unable to free himself or help his people, Vivec was filled with despair. Vivec's tears weakened his ash cast. He tore the ash from his perished followers, breathed life into their lungs, and cured them of the blight. This is Vivec's heroism -- his tender heart provides strength when his might fails.\nThe Shrine of Justice is guarded within the Gnisis Temple, in the village of Gnisis, northwest by road from the town of Ald'ruhn. When you address the shrine, it is customary to leave a potion of Cure Common Disease as a token of your respect for justice. Suitable potions may be purchased from Temple. Homemade potions are not acceptable.\nKoal Cave: The Shrine of Valor\nWithin the Koal Cave, Vivec fought a battle with Ruddy Man, the father of the Dreugh. When he defeated Ruddy Man, Vivec spared his life, on the condition that Ruddy Man and his children would give up their tough hides to serve as armor for the Dunmer.\nThe Shrine of Valor is inside the Koal Cave, a cavern on the seacoast west of the ancient stronghold Berandas and south of Gnisis. The cave mouth faces south, towards the sea, and is marked by a large natural arch of stone. The region is wilderness, and finding the cave mouth can be difficult. Dreugh within the cave itself are fearsome enemies; only experienced and capable adventurers should attempt to re-enact the epic battle with the dreugh in the cave. Dreugh wax may be bought at the Temple in Gnisis. When you address the shrine, it is customary to leave a portion of dreugh wax as a token of Vivec's victorious struggle with Ruddy Man.\nThe Ghostfence: The Shrine of Pride\nThe Ghostfence is a lasting symbol of the indomitable will and power of ALMSIVI, and a monument to Dunmer pride in overcoming its enemies.\nThe Shrine of Pride is found within the Ghostfence, just northeast of the Ghostgate itself. The safest route to Ghostgate is along the Foyada Mamaea, a volcanic ravine running from the top of Red Mountain southwest to its end just below Balmora. An old Dwemer bridge crosses the foyada near Fort Moonmoth. A pilgrim may follow the Foyada Mamaea all the way to Ghostgate. Any journey inside the Ghostfence is dangerous, but even the most timid pilgrim should be safe, so long as he does not stray too far from the Ghostgate and flees from any minions of Dagoth Ur. When you address the shrine, it is customary to leave a soul gem in remembrance of our ancestors who were bound to the Tribunal's service."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/plan-defeat-dagoth-ur": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/plan-defeat-dagoth-ur", "description": "Another top secret document, prepared exclusively for Nerevarine by Lord Vivec.", "author": "Lord Vivec", "title": "The Plan to Defeat Dagoth Ur", "text": "The Plan to Defeat Dagoth Ur\nFor the past twenty years the Tribunal have tried unsuccessfully to  execute this plan. However, we failed because we were required to stage  an assault and simultaneously maintain the Ghostfence to prevent the  threatened large-scale breakout of Dagoth Ur's blighted hosts. With the  Nerevarine leading the assault, and the Tribunal free to devote their  full energies to maintaining the Ghostfence, this plan has a greater  chance of success. Unfortunately, however, the loss of the artifacts  Sunder and Keening, and the recent increase in Dagoth Ur's strength,  poses new problems for the execution of the plan.\nTherefore, our proposed plan has the following five phases:\nPhase 1: Raids inside the Ghostfence\nThe Tribunal, Ordinators, and Buoyant Armigers are familiar with the  terrain, and will provide maps and current intelligence reports. The  region inside the Ghostfence is dangerous, and the Nerevarine will need  to be familiar with its particular challenges. After measuring skills  and resources against Dagoth Ur's defenses, the Nerevarine will know  better how to pace a campaign, alternating raids with improving skills,  getting better equipment, and stockpiling resources.\nPhase 2: Raids upon Ash Vampire Citadels\nDagoth Ur's kin have become markedly more powerful in recent decades,  after remaining stable for thousands of years. If they can be  individually isolated and destroyed, they will not be able to support  Dagoth Ur in later stages of the war. It may also be that the dramatic  increase in their power comes from items enchanted by Dagoth Ur. Salvage  of such items might contribute to our resources.\nPhase 3: Assault on Gate Citadel Vemynal\nEssential to recover the artifact hammer Sunder for Phase 5. The Ash  Vampire Dagoth Vemyn has possession of Sunder, and probably seeks to  discover the secrets of its enchantments. He may also have access to  notebooks and journals of Kagrenac that have survived in the Dwemer  workshops of Vemynal.\nPhase 4: Assault on Gate Citadel Odrosal\nEssential to recover the artifact blade Keening for Phase 5. The Ash  Vampire Dagoth Odros has possession of Keening, and probably seeks to  discover the secrets of its enchantments. He may also have access to  notebooks and journals of Kagrenac that have survived in the Dwemer  workshops of Odrosal.\nPhase 5: Assault on Citadel Dagoth\nAll the previous stages are preparations for this stage. Recent  expeditions show that Citadel Dagoth has undergone extensive expansion;  the location will need to be explored carefully. The known route to the  Heart Chamber will be well-defended; alternative routes may exist.  Dagoth Ur will have anticipated our plan to destroy him by attacking the  Heart, and he will almost certainly personally oppose approach to the  Heart Chamber. Together the Tribunal could not defeat him, and he has  grown stronger since then. Admittedly, the Tribunal had the distraction  of maintaining the Ghostfence simultaneous with fighting Dagoth Ur, but,  even so, the challenge seems daunting.\nThe adoption of this phased campaign seems to offer the best chances for  success. In retrospect, the Tribunal's decision to directly assault  Citadel Dagoth rather than proceed step-by-step through lesser  objectives must be seen to have been a serious error. The Tribunal did  not feel it had the option of a slow-paced and deliberate campaign,  given that they had many other competing priorities, not the least of  which was the maintenance of the Ghostfence and the outer defenses  surrounding Red Mountain. The Nerevarine, on the other hand, should be  best served by a careful, step-by-step advance, with the additional  advantage of building confidence along the way while successes would  undermine Dagoth Ur's own assurance in his defenses.\nEmploying Kagrenac's Tools against Dagoth Ur\nThe source of Dagoth Ur's supernatural power is the Heart of Lorkhan.  The Heart is also the source of the Tribunal's divine powers.\nDuring mythic times, the gods took and hid Lorkhan's heart beneath Red  Mountain as a punishment for creating the mortal plane. The Dwemer  discovered the heart while building underground colonies. High Craftlord  Kagrenac created enchanted tools intended to tap the power of the  heart. The War of the First Council was fought to prevent this  sacrilege. Kagrenac's use of these tools and the disappearance of the  Dwemer race marked the end of the war. Kagrenac's tools were recovered  by Lord Nerevar and Dagoth Ur. Dagoth Ur was left to guard the tools  while Nerevar came to consult with us, his advisors. In Nerevar's  absence, Dagoth Ur experimented with the tools upon the heart, and was  corrupted. We returned to discover a deranged Dagoth Ur who refused to  turn over the tools. When he attacked us, we drove him away.\nWe left Red Mountain with the tools, and subsequently Sotha Sil  discovered their secrets. Collectively we used the tools to establish a  connection with the Heart, enabling ourselves to transform our mortal  natures. Thus we became the Tribunal.\nDagoth Ur had survived our attacks, and without the tools, in a manner  not well understood, Dagoth Ur also managed to establish a connection  with the Heart and to transform himself into an immortal being.\nOur plan to destroy Dagoth Ur also runs the risk of destroying the  Tribunal. The plan is to permanently disrupt Kagrenac's enchantments  upon the Heart, severing connections with Dagoth Ur and ourselves, and  rendering us all once again mortal. A mortal Kagrenac may then be  destroyed by mundane means. The loss of godhood and the possible death  of the Tribunal are judged a necessary risk and sacrifice.\nThe normal procedure for establishing connection with the Heart is a  three-step process. The wearer of Wraithguard strikes the Heart with the  hammer Sunder, causing the Heart to produce a pure tone. Then the  wearer of the Wraithguard strikes the Heart with the blade Keening,  shattering the pure tone into a prism of tone-shades. These tone-shades  are then imprinted upon the substance of the wearer of Wraithguard,  giving him an immortal and divine nature.\nThe Nerevarine will not be taught the secret rituals required to perform  the third step. Instead, The Nerevarine will strike the Heart with  Keening for a second time, causing its tones to diverge into unstable  patterns of interference. Further repeated strikes with Keening will  further disrupt the tones, with the ultimate result of shattering and  dispelling Kagrenac's original enchantments binding the Heart, thereby  severing the Heart's links with Dagoth Ur, and with any surviving  Heartwights, and with the Tribunal. Destroying Kagrenac's enchantments  on the Heart will also stop the corrupt effusion of the Heart's divine  power, and end the Blight on Morrowind.\nThe Nerevarine may be tempted to steal the power of the Heart. Dagoth Ur  and Sotha Sil alone know this secret. Dagoth Ur may, in extremity,  propose to teach the Nerevarine to use Kagrenac's tools to become a god.  We doubt that the Nerevarine is fool enough to trust Dagoth Ur, and are  content to take this risk.\nBe warned! The Nerevarine cannot safely equip either Keening or Sunder  unless wearing Wraithguard. The Nerevarine will be injured every moment  while holding either of these artifacts unless protected by Wraithguard;  persistence will be rewarded with death. If Nerevarine can equip an  item while not wearing Wraithguard and receive no injury, the item is a  counterfeit.\nOne last note. Dagoth Ur must not get hold of Wraithguard. The Nerevaine  must prepare and use a Recall or Almsivi Intervention if there is any  risk of death or capture.\nThe Element of Surprise\nDagoth Ur will not expect you to destroy Kagrenac's enchantments on the  Heart. He does not know it is possible, he would not do it himself, and  he knows we have never tried it. He will not believe anyone would want  to sacrifice the promise of such power. Further, advancement in House  Dagoth, as in all Great Houses, is by challenge and confrontation within  the hierarchy. The Nerevarine's challenges and defeats of ash vampires  and battles with the Sixth House will be viewed in that light.\nDagoth Ur and his kin may assume The Nerevarine's ambition is to control  the Heart. Given that assumption, it is only reasonable that the  Nerevarine would try to defeat each of Dagoth Ur's subordinates in turn,  working up to Dagoth Ur. If the Nerevarine can defeat Dagoth Ur, and  control the Heart, so much the better. But logically the Nerevarine  would wish rise as high in the hierarchy as possible before cutting a  deal with head of the House.\nDagoth Ur should try to recruit the Nerevarine into House Dagoth. It may  be possible to pretend to join him, then betray him. However, any  attempt to deceive him will be very risky. House Dagoth has a tradition  of subterfuge and treachery, and because he is a deceiver, he will  expect deception.\nClosing Remarks\nWe place no compulsion upon the Nerevarine to adhere to the plans  described here. We believe that they offer the best chance of destroying  Dagoth Ur. But we have also chosen to place our trust in the  Nerevarine's judgement and skill. Frankly, we see no alternative.\nIf there are doubts or questions, speak with Vivec. He has agreed to  serve as the Nerevarine's guide and counselor for this campaign.\nIt may be that if the Nerevarine succeeds, the Tribunal will not  survive. Such sentiments as might have been expressed to the Tribunal  should, in that case, be addressed to the land and people of Morrowind.\nMay the happy convergence of fortune and prayer meet in our destiny.\nOn behalf of Lady Almalexia and Lord Sotha Sil,\nVivec"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/posting-hunt": {"game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/posting-hunt", "description": "An instruction note of the Ritual of the Innocent Quarry, also called the Wild Hunt (not to be confused with the Bosmer ritual).", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Posting of the Hunt", "text": "[[The writing on the parchment appears to be a hasty transcription,  perhaps from dictation, or copied from a longer work.]\n\nThe Posting of the Hunt\nLet no man say before a witness that the Hunt has not been called, nor  the Rites declared, or the Ancient Offices observed.\n\nThe Ritual of the Innocent Quarry, also called the Wild Hunt, is an  ancient rite drawing magical energy from the powerful magica stream that  engulfs this realm. The creators and times of the rituals are long  forgotten. But followed properly, the rite brings great power and  prestige to the Huntsman.\nThe ritual pits the all-powerful Huntsmen and their Greater and Lesser  Dogs against the pitiful and doomed Innocent Quarry, called by tradition  the Hare, after the mortal creature of human hunts. At once, the  Huntsman is transported by the exquisite thrill and glory of his might  and dominion over his helpless prey, and at the same time touched by the  tragic, noble, and ultimately futile plight of the Innocent Quarry. In  the highest aesthetic realization of the ritual, the ecstatic rapture of  the kill is balanced by the Huntsman's identification with the sadness  and despair of the Innocent Quarry. As in pieces the body of the  innocent Hare is torn, the Huntsman reflects on the tragic imbalances of  power and the cruel injustices of the world.\nAs the Hunt begins, the Lesser Dogs assemble before the green crystal  reflections of the Chapel of the Innocent Quarry. Inside the Chapel, the  Huntsmen, the Greater Dogs, and the Master of the Hunt perform the  rites that initiate and sanctify the Huntsmen, the Hunt, and the  Innocent Quarry. Then the Huntsman emerges from the Chapel, displays the  Spear of Bitter Mercy, and recites the Offices of the Hunt. The Offices  describe explains the laws and conditions of the four stages of the  Hunt: the Drag, the Chase, the Call, and the View to the Kill.\nStage One -- The Drag, in which the Lesser Dogs drag the ground to flush  out the Hare.\nStage Two -- The Chase, in which the Greater Hounds drive the Hare  before them.\nStage Three -- The Call, in which the Greater Hounds trap the Hare and  summon the Huntsmen for the kill.\nStage Four -- The View, in which the Huntsman makes the kill with the  ritual Spear of Bitter Mercy, and calls upon the Master of the Hunt to  view the kill by ringing the town bell. The Master of the Hunt then  bestows the Bounty upon the Huntsman Bold who has wielded the Spear of  Bitter Mercy in the kill. The Master of the Hunt also calls upon the  Huntsman Bold to name the next Hare for the next Hunt (though the  Huntsman Bold himself may not participate in the next Hunt).\nThe Offices of the Hunt, which the Huntsmen, Master, and Hounds are  solemnly sworn to honor, detail the practices and conditions of the  Hunt. These practices and conditions, also known as the Law, strictly  define all details of the Hunt, such as how many Hounds of each sort may  participate, how the Spear of Bitter Mercy may be wielded, and so  forth. In addition, the Law states that the Hare must have a genuine  chance to escape the Hunt, no matter how slim. In practice, this  condition has been defined as the availability of six keys, which, if  gathered together in the Temple of Daedric Rites, permit the Hare to  teleport away from the Hunt, and so elude the Huntsman and his Spear. It  is inconceivable, of course, that the Hare might actually discover the  keys and escape, but the forms must be observed, and tampering with the  keys or cheating the Hare of a genuine chance of finding or using the  keys is a shameful and unforgivable betrayal of the Law of the Hunt.\nThe Ritual of the Hunt grants the Huntsmen protection from all forms of  attack, including mortal and immortal weapons, and sorceries of all  schools. Huntsmen are cautioned, however, that the ritual does not  protect the Huntsman from the potent energies of his own Spear, and  cautions against reckless wielding of the Spear in close melee,  darkness, or other dangerous circumstances, for a single touch of the  Spear of Bitter Mercy means instant and certain death for innocent Hare  or fellow Huntsman alike.\nThe right to name a Wild Hunt is a grand and grave right indeed, as all  but the High Daedra Lords are vulnerable to the potent sorceries of the  Spear of Bitter Mercy. The Spear itself is therefore a terrible weapon,  and it is forbidden to remove it from the Grounds of the Ritual Hunt."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/prayers-baranat": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/prayers-baranat", "description": "A story about the adventure of very faithful man, in his quest to release the kidnapped lady. Reading this will increases hand-to-hand skill.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Prayers of Baranat", "text": "A Traditional Myth\nWhen the Lady Genevrah was kidnapped from her estate and held for  ransom, her mother sent word out that whoever rescued her would be  allowed to marry her and inherit the land. Unfortunately, in those  troubled days, kidnappings, murders, and thievery were rampant, and  there was a dearth of able-bodied adventurers for such assignments. In  fact, the only person who answered her call was a skinny, little fellow  named Baranat.\n\u201cYou are certainly brave, but I fear you would never survive,\u201d said the  old woman. \u201cMy daughter, you see, has been kidnapped by the Coribael  brothers whose physical prowess is the stuff of legend.\u201d\n\u201cMy lady,\u201d said Baranat. \u201cWhen I was born, I was blessed by Vivec,  Almalexia, and Sotha Sil, and I have the ear of the saints. If I run  into any trouble, I'll call on them to aid my quest.\u201d\nDoubtful, but having no other prospects, the old woman sent Baranat off,  explaining that the four brothers' camp was to the north. In the center  of the camp, the eldest and most powerful brother Airen Coribael was  holding Lady Genevrah personally. Each of his brothers guarded a  different post along the valley -- Baranat would have to defeat each to  rescue the lady.\nBaranat rode many miles through the northern swamps before he came to  the first of the brothers' guard posts. There he saw Vanis Coribael, the  youngest of the brothers, watching the valley for intruders. Vanis was  known to be faster than the wind, a warrior who could thrash his  opponents before they even unsheathed their weapons. Baranat look a look  at his sad, cut-rate iron blade, and prayed to the saints.\nSaint Veloth the Pilgrim appeared before Baranat in shining robes, and  smiled upon him, \u201cBaranat, put down your blade and I will make you  swifter than bolt of lightning.\u201d\nBaranat dropped his blade and ran at Vanis, moving so fast he didn't  rustle a leaf with his pace. In a flash, Vanis was dead by Baranat's  hands. The adventurer continued on until he reached the second youngest  Coribael brother, Feryn, who not only was as fast as Vanis, but so  strong, he could rip a trama shrub up by the roots with two fingers.  Baranat hid himself and trembled as he looked at the giant Feryn  Coribael. Again, the young adventurer prayed to the saints.\nSaint Nerevar the Captain appeared before Baranat in golden armor, and  smiled upon him, \u201cBaranat, I will make you stronger than a hundred  warriors.\u201d\nBaranat rushed at Feryn, knocking the giant through a boulder which  turned to dust on impact. Feryn tried to get to his feet, but Baranat  tore him apart, scattering him across the valley floor in eighty-seven  pieces. Beyond Feryn's post was a raging river, where the second eldest  Coribael brother, Horis, stood guard. Horis, who was faster than his  brother Vanis, stronger than his brother Feryn, and so tough that he  could swim in the lava of Dagoth Ur like it was the Padomaic Ocean.  Baranat thought of his own tolerance for pain, which was minimal, and  prayed to the saints for help.\nSaint Roris the Martyr appeared before Baranat with flesh like sparkling  gems, and smiled on him, \u201cBaranat, I will make you unyielding as the  heart of Oblivion.\u201d\nBaranat rushed at Horis, and two plunged into the rushing river. For  twelve hours, they wrestled one another under the water, until Horis  could hold his breath no more and drowned. Baranat pulled himself out of  the river and continued down the valley, until he reached the camp.  Airen Coribael himself was there, guarding a squirming sack which  Baranat assumed either contained Lady Genevrah or several large cats.  The young adventurer quailed at the prospect of doing battle with Airen  Coribael, the swiftest, strongest, sturdiest, and most accomplished  fighter of the brothers. He prayed to the saints for help.\nSaint Olms the Just appeared before Baranat in a burst of flame, and  smiled on him, \u201cBaranat, I will make you more cunning in battle than the  most dangerous of daedra.\u201d\nBaranat walked calmly into the camp and began battle with Airen  Coribael. The fight lasted seven days, and for six of them, Airen had  the upper hand. He rained kicks and punches down using the arrhythmic  style the Khajiit call Goutfang; he parried and blocked in all the  fashions of the great Nordic warriors; he maintained his balance,  coordination, speed, strength, timing, and tactics as the moons rose and  fell from the sky. But on the seventh day, as he was preparing his  Killing Blow, he suddenly stopped, eyes wide open. The blood drained  from his face, and he realized the trap he had stepped into. A trap with  no escape. With three quick flashes of his hand, Baranat completed the  Cycle of Blood, the old Redguard fighting style he had begun on day one.  Airen Coribael breathed no more.\nThe young adventurer ran to open the sack where Lady Genevrah lay. His  first surprise. She had a face like a dreugh and as she began to berate  him for taking his time, he realized that she had a very, very, very  unpleasant personality as well. Several days later, when they were back  at the old woman's court, he discovered that the estate that he would be  inheriting was utterly dissolute by decades of blight storms and poor  crops.\nSaint Delyn the Wise watched the young adventurer from a cloud in the  sky, and smiled on him, \u201cBaranat, before you fight, find out what you're  fighting for.\u201d"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/real-nerevar": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/real-nerevar", "description": "Another book about Nerevar, this time the Telvanni version.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Real Nerevar", "text": "[This Telvanni retainer's informal history of Nerevar lists no sources.]\nWhen the Dunmer followed Veloth to Morrowind, they were many warring  clans, with no law or leader in common. One Dunmer warlord, Nerevar, had  the ambition to rule all the Dunmer.\nIn that time, House Dwemer were great enchanters, so Nerevar went in  secret to a Dwemer smith and asked for an enchanted ring that would help  him. The ring gave its wearer great powers of persuasion; for safety,  it was enchanted to instantly kill anyone who wore it except Nerevar.  The ring was called Moon-and-Star, and it helped Nerevar unite the  various clans into the First Council.\nLater, however, disputes over religion divided the Council, with House  Dwemer and House Dagoth on one side and all the other Houses on the  other. Dwemer and Dagoth invited Orc and Nord clans as allies, and held  northwest Morrowind, while Nerevar mustered the other Houses and nomad  tribes and marched to meet the Dwemer-Dagoth-Westerner forces.\nThe armies met at Red Mountain, a Dwemer stronghold. The Dwemer were  defeated, with great slaughter, and terrible sorceries were used,  resulting in the utter extermination of House Dwemer, House Dagoth, and  their allies. Nerevar was killed in the battle, and his ring lost, but  Nerevar's alliance survives in Morrowind's ruling political institution,  the Grand Council."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rear-guard": {"game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rear-guard", "description": "An amusing tale of a man trapped in a castle, and the ordeals that he must go through to eat.", "author": "Tenace Mourl", "title": "The Rear Guard", "text": "The castle would hold. No matter the forces, the walls of Cascabel Hall would never fail, but that was small consolation for Menegur. He was hungry. In fact, he had never been so hungry. The well in the atrium of the fortress supplied him with enough water to hold there until the Fourth Era, but his stomach reminded Menegur minute to minute that he needed food.\nThe wagonload of supplies mocked him. When his army, the forces of the King of Solitude, had left Cascabel Hall, and he had manned the battlements as the rear-guard to protect their retreat, they had left a wagon behind to supply him with enough food for months. It was not until the night after they left that he inspected the larder and found that nothing edible was in the wagon. Trunk after trunk was filled with netch armor from the army's incursion into Morrowind. Apparently his Nord confederates had assumed that the lightly opaque material was hard tack in aspic. If the Dunmer whose caravan had been raided knew about this, they would never be able to stop laughing.\nMenegur thought that his fellow mercenary and kinswoman Aerin would have found this amusing as well. She had spoken with great authority about netch leather, being an expert of sorts on light armor, but she had made a point to mention that it could not be eaten like other leather in occasions of hardship. It was a pity she couldn't be there to enjoy the irony, Menegur thought savagely. She had returned to Morrowind even before the king's army had left, preferring a life as a wanted fugitive to a free existence in the cold of Skyrim.\nAll the weeds in the courtyard had been devoured by the rear-guard's sixteenth day manning Cascabel Hall. The entire castle had been scoured: rotten tubers in the mulch pile found and consumed, a dusty bouquet in the countess's bedchamber eaten, almost every rat and insect but the most cunning infesting the castle walls had been tracked down and gobbled up. The castellan's chambers, filled with acrid, inedible law books, had yielded up a couple crumbs of bread. Menegur had even scraped moss from the stones. There was no denying it: he would be dead from starvation before his army returned to break the ranks of the enemies who surrounded the fortress.\n\"The worst part,\" said Menegur, who had taken to talking to himself on only the second day alone in the castle. \"Is how close sustenance is.\"\nA vast arbor of golden apples stretched acre after acre near the castle walls. The sunlight cast a seductive gleam on the fruit, and the cruel wind carried sweet smells into Cascabel to torture him.\nLike most Bosmer, Menegur was an archer. He was a master of long and medium distance fighting, but in close quarters, as he would be if he dared to leave the castle and enter the enemy camp in the arbor, he knew he would not last long. At some point, he knew he would have to try, but he had been dreading the day. It was upon him now.\nMenegur put on the netch armor for the first time, feeling the powdery, almost velvet texture of the rendered leather against his skin. There was also a barely perceptible throb, which he recognized as the remnant nematocysts of the netch's venomous flesh, still tingling months after its death with domesticated poison. The combination made him feel energized. Aerin had described the sensation perfectly, just as she had explained how to defend himself while wearing netch leather armor.\nUnder cover of night, Menegur crept out of the back gate of the castle, locking it behind him with a rather cumbersome key. He made for the arbor as quietly as he could, but a passing sentry, coming behind a tree, saw him. Remaining calm, Menegur did as he remembered Aerin had instructed, only moving after the attack had been launched. The sentry's blade glided against the armor and knocked to the left, throwing the young man off balance. That was the trick, as he understood it: you had to be prepared to be hit, and merely move with the blow, allowing the membranous armor to divert the injury away.\nUse your enemy's momentum against him, as Aerin used to say.\nThere were several more close encounters in the arbor, but each swing of an ax and each thrust of a sword found purchase elsewhere. With handfuls of apples, Menegur ran the gauntlet back to the castle. He locked the back gate door behind him and fell into an orgy of eating.\nFor week after week, the Bosmer stole out to gather his food. The guards began anticipating his raids, but he kept his schedule irregular and always remembered when attacked to wait for the blow, accept it, and then turn. In such a way, he lived and survived his lonely vigil in Cascabel Hall.\nFour months later, as he was preparing for another seizure of apples, Menegur heard a loud clamor at the front gate. Surveying the group from a safe distance on the battlements, he saw the shields of the King of Solitude, his ally the Count of Cascabel, and their enemy the King of Farrun. Evidently, a truce had been called.\nMenegur opened the gates and the combined armies flooded the courtyard. Many of the knights of Farrun sought to shake the hand of the man they had named the Shadow of the Arbor, expressing their admiration at his defensive skills and apologizing good-naturedly for their attempts to slay him. Only doing their job, you know.\n\"There's hardly a apple left on the vines,\" said the King of Solitude.\n\"Well, I started on the edges and worked my way in,\" explained Menegur. \"I brought back extra fruit to tempt the rats of out of walls so I could have a little meat as well.\"\n\"We've spent the last several months working out the details of the truce,\" said the King. \"Really quite exhausting. In any rate, the Count will be taking back possession of his castle now, but there is a small detail we need to work out. You're a mercenary, and as such responsible for your own expenses. If you had been a subject of mine, things might be different, but there are certain old rules of law that must be respected.\"\nMenegur anticipated the strike.\n\"The problem is,\" the King continued. \"You've taken a good deal of the Count's crops while here. By any reasonable computation, you've eaten an amount equal to and likely exceeding your mercenary's wages. Obviously, I would not want to penalize you for the excellent job you've done defending the castle in uncomfortable circumstances, but you agree that it's important that we observe the old rules of law, don't you?\"\n\"Of course,\" replied Menegur, accepting the blow.\n\"I'm delighted to hear that,\" said the King. \"Our estimation is that you owe the Count of Cascabel thirty-seven Imperial gold.\"\n\"Which I will gladly pay to myself, with interest, after the autumntide harvest,\" said Menegur. \"There is more left on the vine than you suggest.\"\nThe Kings of Solitude and Farrun, and the Count of Cascabel stared at the Bosmer.\n\"We agreed to abide to the strictest old rules of law, and I've had time to read a great many books over the time you were making your truce. In 3E 246, during the reign of Uriel IV, the Imperial Council, in an attempt to clear up some questions of property rights in Skyrim during those chaotic days, decreed that any man without a liege who occupied a castle for more than three months would be granted the rights and titles of that estate. It's a good law, of course, meant to discourage absent and foreign landlords.\" Menegur smiled, feeling the now familiar sensation of a glancing strike diverting. \"By the rule of law, I am the Count of Cascabel.\"\nThe rear-guard's son still hold the title of Count of Cascabel. And he grows the finest, most delectable apples in the Empire.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/red-book-3e-426": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/red-book-3e-426", "description": "This book details the business, Councilors, and activities of Great House Redoran in 3E 426", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Red Book of 3E 426", "text": "Red Book of Great House Redoran\n[The Red Book is a yearbook of the affairs of the Redoran Council of  Vvardenfell District for 3E 426. It lists the current members of the  council and their residences. It also chronicles significant events and  council actions for the year.]\nCouncilors of House Redoran\nVardenfell District\nImperial Era 426\nArchmaster Lord Bolvyn Venim, by Grace of Almsivi, Chief Councilor of  Redoran Council, Vvardenfell District, Lord Ald'ruhn of Bolvyn Manor,  Manor District, Ald'ruhn, District of Vvardenfell, Province of Morrowind\nMaster Lord Miner Arobar, by Grace of Almsivi, Honored Councilor of  Redoran Council, Vvardenfell District, Lord of North Gash, of Arobar  Manor, Manor District, Ald'ruhn, District of Vvardenfell, Province of  Morrowind\nMaster Lord Hlaren Ramoran, by Grace of Almsivi, Honored Councilor of  Redoran Council, Vvardenfell District, Lord of West Gash, of Ramoran  Manor, Manor District, Ald'ruhn, District of Vvardenfell, Province of  Morrowind\nMistress Lady Brara Morvayn, by Grace of Almsivi, Honored Councilor  of Redoran Council, Vvardenfell District, Lady of Maar Gan, of Morvayn  Manor, East Ald'ruhn, District of Vvardenfell, Province of Morrowind\nMaster Lord Athyn Sarethi, by Grace of Almsivi, Honored Councilor of  Redoran Council, Vvardenfell District, Lord of South Gash, of Sarethi  Manor, Manor District, Ald'ruhn, District of Vvardenfell, Province of  Morrowind\nMaster Lord Garisa Llethri, by Grace of Almsivi, Honored Councilor of  Redoran Council, Vvardenfell District, Lord of The northern Ashlands,  of Llethri Manor, Manor District, Ald'ruhn, District of Vvardenfell,  Province of Morrowind\nCouncil Affairs of Note\nKing Hlaalu Athyn Llethan, High Councilor and Lord of Morrowind,  imposes favorable tariffs on flin [an imported fortified Imperial  alcoholic beverage]. The council protests the continuing burdensome  tariffs on the native beverages sujamma, greef, and shein.\nSmuggling and organized crime have become increasingly aggressive and  violent in the Redoran House Districts. The councilors blame local  corruption, weakened enforcement, and aggressive competition between the  Thieves Guild and the Camonna Tong.\nAn unfortunate tax revolt in Balmora was put down after significant  property damage and loss of life. The council warned that such  disturbances might spread to Ald'ruhn if the heavy burden of Imperial  taxes were not alleviated."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/red-book-riddles": {"game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion", "Skyrim", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/red-book-riddles", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Red Book of Riddles", "text": "This handye booke doth containe alle diverse manner of riddles and follyes, and, by means of carefulle studye, the prudente scholarlye gentlemane maye finde himselfe noe longer discomfited by the sharpe wite of his fellowes.\nThe posing and puzzling of riddles is a convention of polite aristocratic Western society. Nobles and social aspirants collect books of riddles and study them, hoping thereby to increase the chances of their appearing sly and witty in conversation.\nThe question:\n\tIt has a tail, a side and a head\n\tI call it what I call a snake\n\tIt has no body and it is dead\nThe answer:\n\tIt must be a drake\nThe question:\n\tPoets know the hearts of Men and Mer\n\tBut beasts can't know my heart, you see\n\tThis book was written by a bear\nThe answer:\n\tIt is not a book of poetry.\nThe question:\n\tI gave you a sock, not unlike a box\n\tWith hammers and nails all around it\n\tTwo lids open when it knocks\nThe answer:\n\tIt must have been a great hit."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/seven-curses": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/seven-curses", "description": "From the Apographa of the Dissident Priests. Part of the whole Nerevarine/House Dagoth oral tradition", "author": "Gilvas Barelo", "title": "The Seven Curses", "text": "[from the Apographa of the Dissident Priests, annotated by Gilvas Barelo, Abbot of Holamayan]\nthrough the doors of the unmourned house\nwhere scoffers scoff and schemers scheme\nfrom the halls of the oath-breaking house\nrings seven curses of gods blasphemed\nfirst curse, Curse-of-Fire\nsecond curse, Curse-of-Ash\nthird curse, Curse-of-Flesh\nfourth curse, Curse-of-Ghosts\nfifth curse, Curse-of-Seed\nsixth curse, Curse-of-Despair\nseventh curse, Curse-of-Dreams\nNotes\nLines 1-3: Ambiguous. May refer to the impiety of the god-mocking House Dwemer, or the treacherous diplomacy of the subtle House Dagoth, or both. House Dagoth, however, was reviled as oath-breakers for their treachery at Red Mountain. It may, however, refer to unspecified broken oaths of peace between Lord Nerevar and Lord Dumac, founders of the Grand Council. Nerevar and Dumac were loyal friends until the disagreements between the Dwemer and the other Great Houses broke out in open conflict.\nLine 4: The Dwemer were the mockers and profaners of the divine.\nLines 5-6: The curses of fire and ash would come from Red Mountain where Dagoth Ur rules. These were the earliest reported threats from Red Mountain.\nLine 7: Curse of flesh suggest blight diseases, especially corprus. The fire and ash storms preceded the threats of blight and corprus.\nLine 8-10: Obscure. May refer to as-yet-unrecognized threats from Dagoth Ur.\nLine 11: Recent reports of soul sickness and disturbed dreams come from townfolk and Ashlanders alike. That the seventh and final curse has begun suggests the threat presented is about to reach a crisis."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/seven-visions": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/seven-visions", "description": "Prophesies of the Nerevarine.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Seven Visions", "text": "[These are the words of the prophecy called \"Seven Visions of Seven  Trials of the Incarnate.\" I wrote them down as she spoke them to me.]\nseven trials\nWhat he puts his hand to, that shall be done.\nWhat is left undone, that shall be done.\nfirst trial\nOn a certain day to uncertain parents\nIncarnate moon and star reborn.\nsecond trial\nNeither blight nor age can harm him.\nThe Curse-of-Flesh before him flies.\nthird trial\nIn caverns dark Azura's eye sees\nAnd makes to shine the moon and star.\nfourth trial\nA stranger's voice unites the Houses.\nThree Halls call him Hortator.\nfifth trial\nA stranger's hand unites the Velothi.\nFour Tribes call him Nerevarine.\nsixth trial\nHe honors blood of the tribe unmourned.\nHe eats their sin, and is reborn.\nseventh trial\nHis mercy frees the cursed false gods,\nBinds the broken, redeems the mad.\none destiny\nHe speaks the law for Veloth's people.\nHe speaks for their land, and names them great."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/song-grandfather-frost": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/song-grandfather-frost", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Song of Grandfather Frost", "text": "He he! Ha ho!\nTo the workshop we will go!\nThe candy -- so sweet! A yummy winter treat!\nSugar warmed by the pale hearth light\nHappiness spreads throughout the night!\nHe he! Ha ho!\nTo the workshop we will go!\nGrandfather Frost is coming near\nTo spread his candy and his cheer!\nBetter than trinkets, better than toys\nSo say the little girls and boys!\nHe he! Ha ho!\nTo the workshop we will go!\nCandy, candy -- he makes so much!\nUsing the Grandfather's magic touch!\nSo it's back to the workshop in the snow!\nWith lovely lanterns all aglow!\nHe he! Ha ho! He he he ha ha ho!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/song-uncle-sweetshare": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/song-uncle-sweetshare", "description": "A song of person named Uncle Sweetshare, a skooma distributor/producer in Solstheim.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Song of Uncle Sweetshare", "text": "He he! Ha ho!\nTo the workshop he will go!\nMy Uncle's candy is so sweet! It's such a yummy winter's treat!\nWhen the sugar is warmed by the pale hearth light\nThe happiness spreads throughout the night!\nHe he! Ha ho!\nTo the workshop he will go!\nUncle Sweetshare is coming near\nTo spread his candy and his cheer!\nIt's better than trinkets, games or toys\nSo say all the little girls and boys!\nHe he! Ha ho!\nTo the workshop he will go!\nCandy, candy -- he makes so much!\nUncle Sweetshare has a magic touch!\nSo it's back to the workshop in the snow!\nWith lovely lanterns all aglow!\nHe he! Ha ho! He he he ha ha ho!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/story-aevar-stone-singer": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/story-aevar-stone-singer", "description": "A Skaal legend of a boy who returns the gifts of the All-Maker from the Greedy Man", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Story of Aevar Stone-Singer", "text": "\"Sit quietly, Child, and listen, for the story I tell you is a story of  the ages.\"\n\"But what is it, Grandfather? Is it a story of heroes and beasts?\"\nThe Grandfather looked patiently at the Child. He was growing into a  fine boy. Soon he would see the value in the stories, the lessons that  were taught to each generation.\n\"Just listen, Child. Let the story take root in your heart.\"\n\n\n\nIn a time before now, long before now, when the Skaal were new, there  was peace in the Land. The sun was hot and the crops grew long, and the  people were happy in the peace that the All-Maker provided. But, the  Skaal grew complacent and lazy, and they took for granted the Lands and  all the gifts the All-Maker had given them. They forgot, or chose not to  remember, that the Adversary is always watching, and that he delights  in tormenting the All-Maker and his chosen people. And so it was that  the Adversary came to be among the Skaal.\nThe Adversary has many aspects. He appears in the unholy beasts and the  incurable plague. At the End of Seasons, we will know him as Thartaag  the World-Devourer. But in these ages he came to be known as the Greedy  Man.\nThe Greedy Man (that is what we call him, for to speak his name would  certainly bring ruin on the people) lived among the Skaal for many  months. Perhaps he was once just a man, but when the Adversary entered  into him, he became the Greedy Man, and that is how he is remembered.\nIt came to be one day that the powers of the Skaal left them. The  strength left the arms of the warriors, and the shaman could no longer  summon the beasts to their side. The elders thought that surely the  All-Maker was displeased, and some suggested that the All-Maker had left  them forever. It was then that the Greedy Man appeared to them and  spoke.\n\"You of the Skaal have grown fat and lazy. I have stolen the gifts of  your All-Maker. I have stolen the Oceans, so you will forever know  thirst. I have stolen the Lands and the Trees and the Sun, so your crops  will wither and die. I have stolen the Beasts, so you will go hungry.  And I have stolen the Winds, so you will live without the Spirit of the  All-Maker.\n\"And until one of you can reclaim these gifts, the Skaal will live in  misery and despair. For I am the Greedy Man, and that is my nature.\"\nAnd the Greedy Man disappeared.\nThe members of the Skaal spoke for many days and nights. They knew that  one of them must retrieve the Gifts of the All-Maker, but they could not  decide who it should be.\n\"I cannot go,\" said the Elder, \"for I us must stay to lead the Skaal,  and tell our people what is the law.\"\n\"I cannot go,\" said the Warrior, \"for I must protect the Skaal. My sword  will be needed in case the Greedy Man reappears.\"\n\"I cannot go,\" said the Shaman, \"for the people need my wisdom. I must  read the portents and offer my knowledge.\"\nIt was then that a young man called Aevar lifted his voice. He was  strong of arm, and fleet of foot, though he was not yet a warrior of the  Skaal.\n\"I will go,\" said Aevar, and the Skaal laughed.\n\"Hear me out,\" the boy continued. \"I am not yet a warrior, so my sword  will not be needed. I cannot read the portents, so the people will not  seek my counsel. And I am young, and not yet wise in the ways of the  law. I will retrieve the Gifts of the All-Maker from the Greedy Man. If I  cannot, I will not be missed.\"\nThe Skaal thought on this briefly, and decided to let Aevar go. He left  the village the next morning to retrieve the Gifts.\nAevar first set out to retrieve the Gift of Water, so he traveled to the  Water Stone. It was there the All-Maker first spoke to him.\n\"Travel west to the sea and follow the Swimmer to the Waters of Life.\"\nSo Aevar walked to the edge of the ocean, and there was the Swimmer, a  Black Horker, sent from the All-Maker. The Swimmer dove into the waters  and swam very far, and far again. Aevar was strong, though, and he swam  hard. He followed the Swimmer to a cave, swimming deeper and deeper, his  lungs burning and his limbs exhausted. At last, he found a pocket of  air, and there, in the dark, he found the Waters of Life. Gathering his  strength, he took the Waters and swam back to the shore.\nUpon returning to the Water Stone, the All-Maker spoke. \"You have  returned the Gift of Water to the Skaal. The Oceans again will bear  fruit, and their thirst will be quenched.\"\nAevar then traveled to the Earth Stone, and there the All-Maker spoke to  him again.\n\"Enter the Cave of the Hidden Music, and hear the Song of the Earth.\"\nSo Aevar traveled north and east to the Cave of the Hidden Music. He  found himself in a large cavern, where the rocks hung from the ceiling  and grew from the ground itself. He listened there, and heard the Song  of the Earth, but it was faint. Grabbing up his mace, he struck the  rocks of the floor in time with the Song, and the Song grew louder,  until it filled the cavern and his heart. Then he returned to the Earth  Stone.\n\"The Gift of the Earth is with the Skaal again,\" said the All-Maker.  \"The Lands are rich again, and will bear life.\"\nAevar was tired, as the Sun burned him, the trees offered no shade, and  there was no wind to cool him. Still, he traveled on to the Beast Rock,  and the All-Maker spoke.\n\"Find the Good Beast and ease his suffering.\"\nAevar traveled through the woods of the Isinfier for many hours until he  heard the cries of a bear from over a hill. As he crested a hill, he  saw the bear, a Falmer's arrow piercing its neck. He checked the woods  for the Falmer (for that is what they were, though some say they are  not), and finding none, approached the beast. He spoke soothing words  and came upon it slowly, saying, \"Good Beast, I mean you no harm. The  All-Maker has sent me to ease your suffering.\"\nHearing these words, the bear ceased his struggles, and laid his head at  Aevar's feet. Aevar grasped the arrow and pulled it from the bear's  neck. Using the little nature magic he knew, Aevar tended the wound,  though it took the last bit of his strength. As the bear's wound closed,  Aevar slept.\nWhen he awoke, the bear stood over him, and the remains of a number of  the Falmer were strewn about. He knew that the Good Beast had protected  him during the night. He traveled back to Beast Rock, the bear by his  side, and the All-Maker spoke to him again.\n\"You have returned the Gift of the Beasts. Once again, the Good Beasts  will feed the Skaal when they are hungry, clothe them when they are  cold, and protect them in times of need.\"\nAevar's strength had returned, so he traveled on to the Tree Stone,  though the Good Beast did not follow him. When he arrived, the  All-Father spoke to him.\n\"The First Trees are gone, and must be replanted. Find the seed and  plant the First Tree.\"\nAevar traveled again through the Hirstaang Forest, searching for the  seeds of the First Tree, but he could find none. Then he spoke to the  Tree Spirits, the living trees. They told him that the seeds had been  stolen by one of the Falmer (for they are the servants of the  Adversary), and this Falmer was hiding them deep in the forest, so that  none would ever find them.\nAevar traveled to the deepest part of the forest, and there he found the  evil Falmer, surrounded by the Lesser Tree Spirits. Aevar could see  that the Spirits were in his thrall, that he had used the magic of the  Seeds and spoken their secret name. Aevar knew he could not stand  against such a force, and that he must retrieve the seeds in secret.\nAevar reached into his pouch and drew out his flint. Gathering leaves,  he started a small fire outside the clearing where the Falmer and the  ensorcelled Spirits milled. All the Skaal know the Spirits' hatred of  fires, for the fires ravage the trees they serve. At once, the Nature of  the Spirits took hold, and they rushed to quell the flames. During the  commotion, Aevar snuck behind the Falmer and snatched the pouch of  Seeds, stealing away before the evil being knew they were gone.\nWhen Aevar returned to the Tree Stone, he planted the tree in the  ground, and the All-Maker spoke to him.\n\"The Gift of Trees is restored. Once again, the Trees and Plants will  bloom and grow, and provide nourishment and shade.\"\nAevar was tired, for the Sun would only burn, and the Winds would not  yet cool him, but he rested briefly in the shade of the Trees. His legs  were weary and his eyes heavy, but he continued on, traveling to the Sun  Stone. Again, the All-Maker spoke.\n\"The gentle warmth of the Sun is stolen, so now it only burns. Free the  Sun from the Halls of Penumbra.\"\nAnd so Aevar walked west, over the frozen lands until he reached the  Halls of Penumbra. The air inside was thick and heavy, and he could see  no farther than the end of his arm. Still, he felt his way along the  walls, though he heard the shuffling of feet and knew that this place  held the Unholy Beasts who would tear his flesh and eat his bones. For  hours he crept along, until he saw a faint glow far at the end of the  hall.\nThere, from behind a sheet of perfect ice, came a glow so bright he had  to shut his eyes, lest they be forever blinded. He plucked the flaming  eye from one of the Unholy Beasts and threw it at the ice with all his  might. A small crack appeared in the ice, then grew larger. Slowly, the  light crept out between the cracks, widening them, splitting the ice  wall into pieces. With a deafening crack, the wall crumbled, and the  light rushed over Aevar and through the Halls. He heard the shrieks of  the Unholy Beasts as they were blinded and burned. He ran out of the  Halls, following the light, and collapsed on the ground outside.\nWhen he was able to rise again, the Sun again warmed him, and he was  glad for that. He traveled back to the Sun Stone, where the All-Maker  spoke to him.\n\"The Gift of the Sun is the Skaal's once again. It will warm them and  give them light.\"\nAevar had one final Gift he had to recover, the Gift of the Winds, so he  traveled to the Wind Stone, far on the western coast of the island.  When he arrived, the All-Maker spoke to him, giving him his final task.\n\"Find the Greedy Man and release the Wind from its captivity.\"\nSo, Aevar wandered the land in search of the Greedy Man. He looked in  the trees, but the Greedy Man did not hide there. Nor did he hide near  the oceans, or the deep caves, and the beasts had not seen him in the  dark forests. Finally, Aevar came to a crooked house, and he knew that  here he would find the Greedy Man.\n\"Who are you,\" shouted the Greedy Man, \"that you would come to my  house?\"\n\"I am Aevar of the Skaal,\" said Aevar. \"I am not warrior, shaman, or  elder. If I do not return, I will not be missed. But I have returned the  Oceans and the Earth, the Trees, the Beasts, and the Sun, and I will  return the Winds to my people, that we may feel the spirit of the  All-Maker in our souls again.\"\nAnd with that, he grabbed up the Greedy Man's bag and tore it open. The  Winds rushed out with gale force, sweeping the Greedy Man up and  carrying him off, far from the island. Aevar breathed in the Winds and  was glad. He walked back to the Wind Stone, where the All-Maker spoke to  him a final time.\n\"You have done well, Aevar. You, the least of the Skaal, have returned  my gifts to them. The Greedy Man is gone for now, and should not trouble  your people again in your lifetime. Your All-Maker is pleased. Go now,  and live according to your Nature.\"\nAnd Aevar started back to the Skaal village.\n\n\n\n\"And then what happened, Grandfather?\"\n\"What do you mean, Child? He went home.\"\n\"No. When he returned to the village,\" the Child continued. \"Was he made  a warrior? Or taught the ways of the shaman? Did he lead the Skaal in  battle?\"\n\"I do not know. That is where the story ends,\" said the Grandfather.\n\"But that is not an ending! That is not how stories end!\"\nThe old man laughed and got up from his chair.\n\"Is it not?\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/stranger": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/stranger", "description": "These are the words of the prophecy called \"The Stranger.\" More Nerevarine stuff. In fact, these are the words that roll across the screen in the movie that introduces Morrowind. \"Many fall, but one remains.\"", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Stranger", "text": "[These are the words of the prophecy called \"The Stranger.\" I wrote  them down as she spoke them to me.]\nWhen earth is sundered, and skies choked black,\nAnd sleepers serve the seven curses,\nTo the hearth there comes a stranger,\nJourneyed far 'neath moon and star.\nThough stark-born to sire uncertain,\nHis aspect marks his certain fate.\nWicked stalk him, righteous curse him.\nProphets speak, but all deny.\nMany trials make manifest\nThe stranger's fate, the curses' bane.\nMany touchstones try the stranger.\nMany fall, but one remains."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/third-door": {"game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/third-door", "description": "A humerous song about the love and scorn of Ellabeth, Queen of the Axe.", "author": "Annanar Orme", "title": "The Third Door", "text": "I.\nI sing of Ellabeth, the Queen of the Axe,\nWho could fell a full elm with two hatchet hacks.\nShe could rip apart Valenwood just for her fun.\nShe studied under Alfhedil in Tel Aruhn.\nHe taught her the jabs, the strokes, and the stance\nTo make an ax-swing into an elegant dance.\nHe taught her the barbed axes of the Orcs bold,\nThe six-foot-long axes favored in Winterhold,\nThe hollow-bladed axes of the Elves of the West,\nWhich whistle when they swing through flesh.\nWith a single-headed axe, she could behead two men.\nWith a double-headed axe, she could fell more than ten.\nYet where she lives in legend has most to do\nWith the man who hacked her own heart in two.\nII.\nNienolas Ulwarth the Mighty, who hailed from Blackrose,\nThe only man who could best Ellabeth with ax blows,\nIn a minute, she chopped fifty trees; he, fifty-three.\nShe felt at once that he was the only man for she.\nWhen she professed her love, Nienolas just laughed.\nHe said he loved more his ax handle and shaft.\nAnd if they weren't enough to slake all his desire\nThere was another woman named Lorinthyrae.\nFury gripped the Queen of the Axe, the maid Ellabeth,\nAnd her thoughts turned to pondering musings of death.\nMephala and Sheogorath gave her a revengeful scheme\nAnd for weeks, she worked on it in a state like a dream.\nIn the still of the night, she kidnapped her rival\nAnd then told her choices between doom and survival.\nIII.\nLorinthyrae awoke in a house in the moors\nIn a room lightly furnished except for three doors.\nEllabeth explained that behind one of the doors the lass\nWould find Ellabeth's and her love, the great Nienolas.\nBehind the second lived a ravenous demon.\nAnd behind the third, an exit to freedom.\nShe must choose a door, and to aid her decision\nIf she pondered too long, the axe'd make a division.\nLorinthyrae wept, and Ellabeth felt contrite,\nAnd opened the door to her immediate right.\nIt led to the moors, and as she slipped through the gloom,\nShe advised Lorinthyrae to likewise abandon the room.\nLorinthyrae ignored her and did not feel her will bend.\nNienolas was largely behind the first door she opened.\nIV.\nEllabeth had lied; there was no demon of lore.\nThe top third of Nienolas was behind the third door."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/true-nature-orcs": {"game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/true-nature-orcs", "description": "A short book about Malacath and the Orcs.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The True Nature of Orcs", "text": "Orcs were born during the latter days of the Dawn Era. History has mislabeled them beastfolk, related to the goblin races, but the Orcs are actually the children of Trinimac, strongest of the Altmeri ancestor spirits. When Trinimac was eaten by the Daedroth Prince Boethiah, and transformed in that foul god's insides, the Orcs were transformed as well. The ancient name for the Orcs is 'Orsimer,' which means 'The Pariah Folk.' They now follow Malauch, the remains of Trinimac.\nWho is Malauch?\nHe is more commonly know as the Daedroth Prince Malacath, 'whose sphere is the patronage of the spurned and ostracized, the sworn oath, and the bloody curse.' He is not technically a Daedra Lord, nor do the other Daedra recognize him as such, but this is fitting for his sphere. Of old he was Trinimac, the champion of the High Elven pantheon, in some places more popular than Auri-El, who protected them against enemies without and within. When Trinimac and his followers attempted to halt the Velothi dissident movement, Boethiah ate him. Trinimac's body and spirit were corrupted, and he emerged as Malacath. His followers were likewise changed for the worse. Despised by everyone, especially the inviolate Auri-El, they quickly fled to the northern wastes, near Saarthal. They fought Nords and Chimer for a place in the world, but did not get much. In Skyrim, Malacath is called Orkey, or Old Knocker, and his battles with Ysmir are legendary.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/true-nobles-code": {"game": ["Morrowind", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/true-nobles-code", "description": "The handbook for Great House Redoran. Explains their rules, requirements, and the virtues of duty, gravity, and piety.", "author": "Serjo Athyn Sarethi", "title": "The True Noble's Code", "text": "The honorable warriors of the Great House Redoran are the hereditary defenders of the Morrowind. To be a noble of House Redoran is more than being a great warrior. One must follow the triune virtues of duty, gravity, and piety.\nA Redoran's duty is first to the Tribunal Temple, second to the Great House Redoran, and third to one's family and clan. In the Battle of Red Mountain, warriors of House Redoran died bravely for their duty to the Tribunal. By defending House Redoran from the schemes of Telvanni wizards and the lies of untrustworthy Hlaalu, the true noble shows duty to House Redoran. Following the Temple's guidelines of mercy and generosity show duty to one's family and clan.\nA Redoran noble must know the virtue of gravity. It is not the Redoran way to laugh at serious matters, for it shows disrespect. It is not the Redoran way to spread rumors, for they fester and breed dissention.\nA Redoran must show piety to the Aedra and Daedra, our creators and ancestors. For without the divine, we would not have the chance to serve. And without divine law, we would not know right from wrong. And without giving thanks for these things, we would forget out place and our purpose.\nGreat House Redoran praises all the skills of war. Not because we believe war is good or honorable in its own right, but because this knowledge is necessary to perform one's duty. House Redoran's warrior fight with a long blade and a shield or with a spear. A noble of House Redoran must also learn to use a bow and must be athletic enough for the long marches to battle. A Redoran wears heavy or medium armor depending on rank and strategy. A noble of House Redoran is expected to know how to repair and maintain his own armor.\nThose who are born to House Redoran have been taught their skill and virtues by kin and clan. Those who seek to enter House Redoran as retainers must satisfy an examiner in the Redoran Council Hall that their skills are suitable for service to House Redoran.\nWhether born to the blood of House Redoran, or adopted into service of House Redoran by oath, those who seek to advance in the ranks of House Redoran must demonstrate their virtues by service and obedience. And only when one has mastered all the skills and virtues can one truly call himself a noble of the Great House Redoran."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/vagaries-magicka": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/vagaries-magicka", "description": "An excerpt from what appears to be an instruction booklet of some kind. Found most often in Telvanni districts. Interesting mentions of things like \"Restorals\" and \"Congeries\".", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Vagaries Of Magicka", "text": "[a passage from the text of THE VAGARIES OF MAGICKA]\n\"...but take care, lest power enfeeble the fundaments, and curtail the  flow through the Congeries, except when functions be warranted. And  safeguard that the Congeries shall not be abused by prideful wizards,  confident in their skill and blinded by their ambitions. In this, hold  the ordering of the Congeries among the oldest and most trusted of  mages, and make secure this ordering through arcane codes and keys to  confound even the most clever students.\n\"The Restorals must be most carefully guarded, for how often have even  the wise lusted to overreach their bodies and souls with vitality and  mana. And also must the Magica Fountains be damped and banked,  sanctioning their engendering only to the reconsecration of essential  arcane engines and templates, and then only by common assent of the  Council.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/warriors-charge": {"game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion", "Skyrim", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/warriors-charge", "description": "A Redguard poem about the constellations.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Warrior's Charge", "text": "The Warrior's Charge\n\tAn old poem of the Redguards\nThe star sung far-flung tales\n\tWreathed in the silver of Yokuda fair,\n\tOf a Warrior who, arrayed in hue sails\n\tHis charges through the serpent's snare\nAnd the Lord of runes, so bored so soon,\n\tLeaves the ship for an evening's dare,\n\tPerchance to wake, the coiled snake,\n\tTo take its shirt of scales to wear\nAnd the Lady East, who e'ery beast,\n\tAsleep or a'prowl can rouse a scare,\n\tScreams as her eye, alight in the sky\n\tA worm no goodly sight can bear\nAnd the mailed Steed, ajoins the deed\n\tNot to be undone from his worthy share,\n\tRides the night, towards scale bright,\n\tLeaving the seasoned Warrior's care\nThen the serpent rose, and made stead to close,\n\tThe targets lay plain and there,\n\tBut the Warrior's blade the Snake unmade,\n\tAnd the charges wander no more, they swear\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/waters-oblivion": {"game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion", "Skyrim", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/waters-oblivion", "description": "An article about the dangers of Oblivion and the Daedra. Seems to be written by an especially zealous Aedra worshipper.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Waters of Oblivion", "text": "A hundred and twenty numbered ages in the void that fated folk had grown deep-schooled in evil. Then the Bright Gods resolved to punish those faithless spirits, and shatter the unruly caitiffs, those huge, unholy scathers, loathsome to the Light. They repented exceedingly that they had gazed upon Oblivion, and seen there the first of dark kin, and welcomed them as brothers and sisters.\nThe Principalities of Victory beheld how great was the wickedness of the wayward spirits, and saw that they were bold in sin and full of wiles. They resolved then to chasten the tribes of daedra, and smite darkkind with hammer and hand.\nBut ever shall Darkness contest the Light, and great were the Powers that breathed the void and laid waste upon one another, and no oath might bind them, so deep were they in envy and perfidy. For once the portals are opened, who shall shut them upon the rising tide?\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wraiths-wedding-dowry": {"game": ["Morrowind", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wraiths-wedding-dowry", "description": "Never steal from a women on her wedding day", "author": "Voltha gra-Yamwort", "title": "The Wraith's Wedding Dowry", "text": "(translated by Apthorne)\n\n\"The poets are right.\u00a0 There is something life-changing about being in love,\" said Kepkajna gra-Minfang, sometimes called the Wraith. \"I haven't wanted to rob anyone or anything in weeks.\u00a0 Why, the other day, I saw the door wide open at a wealthy merchant's house, but my mind was fully occupied with what I should wear on my wedding day.\"\n\"You have been out of the right society for very long now,\" frowned her friend Khargol approvingly. \"You never told me what happened to your first husband, you know, the one the shaman gave you?\"\n\"Torn apart by ash ghouls,\" smiled Kepkajna dreamily. \"It was rather saddish.\u00a0 But I know nothing like that would happen to Wodworg.\u00a0 No life of adventure for him.\u00a0 He's practically an Imperial.\u00a0 In fact, he is one.\u00a0 Did I tell you how we met?\"\n\"Hundreds of times,\" grumbled Khargol, reaching for his flagon. \"He was your jailer, and he refused you food until you promised to marry him.\"\n\"Have you ever heard of anything so madly romantic in all your life?\" sighed Kepkajna, and then grew serious. \"I was going to say that I hope my old friends will wish me well, but as Old Bosriel used to say, there's no point in hoping for what cannot be.\u00a0 We'll leave with the Imperial Knights for Balmora immediately after the wedding, but as long as we're in Dagon Fel, the gang will find some way of disrupting my love life and bring me back to the light.\u00a0 I know it.\"\nAs the days approached towards the Wraith's wedding day, there was certainly something sinister in the air that Kepkajna could smell when she was not transported by heady bliss.\u00a0 Dark figures seemed to shift in the shadows and disappear when approached.\u00a0 She recognized the clothing of some beggars near Wodworg's cottage as costumes, but the mendicants hurried away before she could recognize which of her old gang was stalking her.\nBut these moments of apprehension were few.\u00a0 Kepkajna was truly happy, making arrangements for the ceremony to be performed at the very dungeon where Wodworg had imprisoned her.\u00a0 Her father was long since dead -- another victim of the ash ghouls -- but her fiance's commander volunteered to act in his behalf.\u00a0 Of course, Kepkajna had to supply her own dowry.\u00a0 She spent every last mark of her savings of ill-gotten gain to buy her beloved a truly wonderful present.\nThe wedding was set for the stroke of midnight, as is Orc tradition.\u00a0 The handmaidens, wives of Imperial officers, were busily sewing her into her gown of red velvet and fine gold filigree in the mid-morning.\u00a0 Dolcetta, one of the handmaidens, remarked that she had heard that Kepkajna had bought Wodworg a truly beautiful gift for her dowry.\n\"Let me show it to you,\" Kepkajna giggled, dashing from the room half-dressed to her hidden alcove.\u00a0 The present had been stolen.\nThe women were horrified, but the Wraith found herself merely irritated, not surprised.\u00a0 This was truly the old gang's style.\u00a0 They knew that a wedding ceremony without a dowry was marked as unlucky.\u00a0 She asked her handmaidens to finish dressing her quickly while she pondered what the burglars would have done with her treasure.\nThe whole region was honeycombed with secret lairs and abandoned sites thieves used to store their loot.\u00a0 There were obvious places, of course, but after much reflection, she thought of where she would have put it under similar circumstances.\u00a0 Once the handmaids had finished, Kepkajna bade them to make certain that the ceremony went on as scheduled, and not to fret as she might be a little late.\u00a0 She wrapped herself in a shawl to protect her gown from dungeon dust and set off for the Shrine of Malacath.\nThe Wraith had never before attempted to rob her own friends, and though she was peeved at them for trying to ruin her happiness, she had no interest in hurting them physically.\u00a0 Her style was to avoid conflict, though she knew it would be inevitable.\u00a0 The lessons her mentor Khargol had given her had helped her avoid the lances and blades of guards and Imperial Knights over the years: now she would see if they would allow her to survive a den of thieves and the unknown dangers of the Shrine.\u00a0 Without, most importantly, ruining her dress.\nThe desolate place was so empty as she delved into it that she feared she might have made a miscalculation.\u00a0 It was not until she found the small room hidden down a long corridor that she knew she was at the right place, and that it was well suited for an ambush.\u00a0 She grabbed the chest with her treasure within, and turned to face the assault.\nTwo of her old gang, Yorum and Yohr-i the Redguard twin brother and sister, were outside the door as she came from the room.\u00a0 They knew the Wraith better than to taunt her and immediately attacked.\u00a0 Yorum struck out with a left thrust of his blade while Yohr-i sought to rush her.\u00a0 The Wraith neatly sidestepped Yohr-i, while dropping her weight to her rear left leg, shifting her right shoulder to the left to slip past Yorum's strike.\u00a0 The twins crashed into one another and Kepkajna passed swiftly on.\nAlmost immediately, she was set on by the Argonian Binyaar, his mace whistling through the air at her head.\u00a0 They had never much liked one another.\u00a0 The Wraith snapped into a duck, so the mace whacked with a tremendous clamor against the stone wall.\u00a0 Binyaar was thrown off balance, giving her a few seconds lead hurrying up the passage.\u00a0 Ahead she could smell the fresh night air.\nThe last of her dowry's defenders was Sorogth, an Orc with whom she had shared a brief romance.\u00a0 It was he who Kepkajna knew had masterminded the theft.\u00a0 In a way and in context, she thought, his devotion to her misery was rather sweet.\u00a0 At the moment, though, she was most concerned with avoiding his barbed ax that seemed ideal for breaking her dress's fine stitchwork and the flesh beneath.\nBending her knees slightly, bobbing to avoid strikes to the head, weaving her head to confuse Sorogth of her next move, shuffling her feet arrhythmically, the Wraith made an impossible target.\u00a0 She ducked inside his thrusts, sidestepped his swings, and then sidestepped his thrusts, and ducked his swings.\u00a0 As erratic as she tried to make her defensive moves, Sorogth still kept pace with her, refusing to budge from his position at the dungeon outlet.\nMidnight was coming, and the Wraith finally decided that she must end the confrontation.\u00a0 When Sorogth swung out next, she sidestepped to her left, swayed down, and ducked her head, so the ax whistled over her right shoulder.\u00a0 In that instant, his right side was exposed, and she reluctantly smashed the chest hard into his torso.\u00a0 There was not enough time for Kepkajna to see if she had killed him or merely knocked him unconscious.\u00a0 In truth, she thought of nothing else but rushing to her wedding ceremony.\nAt precisely midnight, Wodworg and Kepkajna were united together.\u00a0 He was delighted with her dowry gift, a fine suit of armor that would make him the envy of other Imperial jailers.\u00a0 Even more, he was enchanted by his wife's tale of retrieving it from the Shrine of Malacath.\n\"Did it occur to you to put on the armor when you knew that it was an ambush?\" he asked.\n\"I didn't want to dent your present,\" she replied, between kisses. \"And I certainly didn't want to wrinkle my gown.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/yellow-book-riddles": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/yellow-book-riddles", "description": "A selection of relatively interesting riddles.", "author": "Waughin Jarth", "title": "The Yellow Book of Riddles", "text": "For earnest pleasure, and the strengthening of the mind, the author here collects all that he has learned of the art of riddling, by dint of diligent study, and through years of discourse with others of similar inclination.\n[[The posing and puzzling of riddles is a convention of polite aristocratic Western society. Nobles and social aspirants collect books of riddles and study them, hoping thereby to increase the chances of their appearing sly and witty in conversation.]]\nA metal neither black nor red\n\tAs heavy as man's golden greed\n\tWhat you do to stay ahead\n\tWith friend or arrow or steed\ndael :rewsnA ehT\nA man says, \"If you lie to me I will slay you with my sword. If you tell me the truth, I will slay you with a spell.\" What must you say to stay alive?\n.drows a htiw em yals lliw uoY :rewsnA ehT\nA Bosmer, was slain. The Altmer claims the Dunmer is guilty. The Dunmer says the Khajiit did it. The Orc swears he didn't kill the Bosmer. The Khajiit says the Dunmer is lying. If only one of these speaks the truth, who killed the Bosmer?\ncrO ehT :rewsnA ehT"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thirsk-history": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thirsk-history", "description": "A history book of Thirsk, the mead hall.", "author": "Bereditte Jastal", "title": "Thirsk, a History", "text": "On the eastern bank of Lake Fjalding stands Thirsk, a grand mead hall that serves as the home and center of operations for a most valiant clan of Nord warriors.\nApproximately one hundred years ago, a small group of Skaal decided to leave the main village, and free themselves of their brethren's strict adherence to nature worship. They sought to live life as their ancestors had in Skyrim -- free to kill what they wanted when they wanted, free to worship in any manner they chose.\nThe group braved the harsh weather and traveled south toward Lake Fjalding, where they found the perfect location for a new settlement. There they decided to construct a grand mead hall that would serve as their new home and hunting lodge. After several months of building, the companions had completed the task, and named the mead hall Thirsk.\nThe settlers looked upon all they had accomplished, and were truly proud of their accomplishment. But their happiness was short lived, and the settlers soon learned that not everyone celebrated the construction of Thirsk. As the mead hall was being erected, so too was the noise and commotion of construction disturbing an ancient creature that lie dormant under the ice. It was a tragic twist of irony, therefore, that as the last beam of the great hall was nailed in place, the slumbering beast did finally awaken. His ancient name was the Udyrfrykte, though the settlers knew him only as death. The Udyrfrykte came to the newly completed mead hall and wreaked vengeance upon those who had shattered the peace of his long, cold sleep. He killed without warning, without mercy, reducing the Thirsk Nords to half their number. It was the valiant sorcerer Eldrid Ice-Light who finally drove the beast back to his lair beneath the frozen lake, and used his magicka to seal the entrance with a great wall of ice. The horror was over, but the price was great. It took the settlers two months to fix the damage done by the Udyrfrykte, and with so many strong hands now gone, it was slow and tedious work.\nFinally, Thirsk stood tall and proud once more. But even though the settlers had worked together to construct the mead hall and drive away the threat of the Udyrfrykte, tensions quickly grew over who would serve as their leader. Most of the men considered Hrothmund the Red their de facto chieftain, as he was the strongest and most capable of the lot. But one warrior, Drengr Bronze-Helm, disagreed. He thought himself most capable to rule over Thirsk, and loudly voiced his opposition to Hrothmund. Knowing that conflict and discord would only serve to destroy the new life they had worked so hard to create, Hrothmund the Red exercised his only true option - he swung his great axe and beheaded Drengr Bronze-Helm where he stood. The Nords appreciated more than anything a warrior's prowess in battle, and Drengr's slaying proved to them that Hrothmund was indeed most worthy to be Thirsk's chieftain. So that the other Nords would never forget he had proven his right to lead, Hrothmund placed Drengr's head on a pedestal in the center of Thirsk's main hall, for all to see.\nAnd so began Thirsk's most time-honored tradition. Any warrior, regardless of race or sex, could claim leadership of the mead hall by displaying the most impressive battle trophy on the great hall's pedestal. So long as the spirit of Hrothmund the Red consented, that warrior would be named chieftain.\nHrothmund's Bane:\nFor twenty-one years Hrothmund the Red ruled over Thirsk and its residents as chieftain. With his soft voice and great axe -- which was said to be the largest weapon of its kind ever wielded by a Nord -- Hrothmund brought peace and prosperity to Thirsk. But peace proved to be Hrothmund's undoing, for the mighty Nord grew restless in the warmth and safety of the mead hall. He longed for battle and adventure, to feel the frost in his veins once more, and could ignore the call of valor no longer. When word spread of a giant, bloodthirsty white wolf terrorizing travelers in the Moesring Mountains, Hrothmund took up his great axe and set out to defeat the beast alone. The men of the mountains named him Ondjage, the Fell Wolf. The beast measured as large as an ox, with fur as white as new-fallen snow, and it was said no man or woman alive could bring Ondjage down. The words of the mountain folk proved true, for while Hrothmund did hew one leg from the Fell Wolf, Ondjage devoured the mighty Nord whole, leaving only his great axe as a grim reminder of man's failure against beast. Filled with sorrow and rage, the residents of Thirsk marched to the mountains in search of the wolf, called by them Hrothmund's Bane. Only together did they manage to slay Ondjage, and as family they feasted on his roasted flesh.\nThe following is a list of Thirsk's chieftains, since Hrothmund first ruled:\nHrothmund the Red. Nord male. Slew Drengr Bronze-Helm and presented his head as a battle trophy. Ruled over Thirsk for twenty-one years. Slain and devoured by Ondjage, the Fell Wolf.\nIsgeror White-Wave. Nord female. Slew the necromancer Hildir Worm-Heart and presented his heart as a battle trophy. Ruled over Thirsk for four years.\nEinarr. Nord male. Slew the frost giant Guolog and presented his foot as a battle trophy. Ruled over Thirsk for six years.\nGisl Round-Gut. Nord male. Slew Einarr and presented his sword as a battle trophy. Ruled over Thirsk for two months.\nEinarr the Younger. Nord male. Slew Gisl Round-Gut and presented his stomach as a battle trophy. Ruled over Thirsk for seven years.\nGrjotgaror. Nord male. Slew the white witch Katla and presented her staff as a battle trophy. Ruled over Thirsk for two years.\nAmelie Bontecou. Breton female. Slew Grjotgaror and presented his head as a battle trophy. Ruled over Thirsk for three years.\nThorormr Storm-Killer. Nord male. Slew the brothers Ani and Ali and presented their enchanted hammers as battle trophies. Ruled over Thirsk for sixteen years.\nAegilief. Nord Female. Slew Oddny the Unfaithful and presented her hand as a battle trophy. Ruled over Thirsk for eight years.\nCaccino Aurelia. Imperial male. Slew the Imperial hero Claudius Anzione and presented his sword as a battle trophy. Ruled over Thirsk for three weeks. Fraud.\nEldjar Bear-Skinner. Nord male. Slew the Imperial fraud Caccino Aurelia and presented his tongue as a battle trophy. Ruled over Thirsk for five years.\nFalki the Fat. Nord male. Slew a pack of six rabid wolves and presented their claws as battle trophies. Ruled over Thirsk for three months. Succumbed to madness and death as a result of rabies.\nSvana the Knife. Nord female. Slew Gretta Wolf-Child and presented her sword as a battle trophy. Ruled over Thirsk for four years.\nBeinir White-Beard. Nord male. Slew three Orc raiders and presented their eyes as battle trophies. Ruled over Thirsk for twenty-two years.\nSkjoldr Wolf-Runner. Nord male. Slew the wizard Griss the Yellow and presented his head as a battle trophy. Ruled over Thirsk for three years thus far, and still chieftain as of the writing of this work.\nExpansion:\nThe Thirsk mead hall is nearly the same today as it was over a hundred years ago, a testament to the quality of its construction. But while Thirsk itself did not grow, its inhabitants did, and before long the grand mead hall could not house all who wished to dwell within. So, over the years, many Nords have left Thirsk to establish their own private dwellings out in the wilderness of Solstheim, relying on the island's many caves and natural shelters. But those who left are always welcome back at Thirsk, and many return frequently to enjoy the mead hall's hospitalities. It is also important to note that although over a hundred years have passed since the group first left the Skaal village, the Skaal and Thirsk Nords have always remained civil to one another, and even trade resources on occasion.\nRelationship with the Empire:\nThroughout the years, the Thirsk Nords and the Empire have entered into a simple but effective relationship: they leave each other alone and everyone is happy. Soon after arriving on Solstheim, the Imperials realized that their authority on the island was limited to Fort Frostmoth and vicinity. Solstheim was, is, and probably always will be a savage and frozen wasteland more suited to ancient Nord custom than conventional Imperial law. As long as the residents of Thirsk leave Fort Frostmoth in peace, the Imperials at Fort Frostmoth will reciprocate. In fact, the relationship between the two locations is fairly civil, and the Thirsk Nords gained considerable favor with the Empire when they delivered the Breton fugitive Alain Montrose to the garrison at Forth Frostmoth, after he attempted to hide out in Thirsk.\nLaw and Order Within Thirsk:\nWithin the Mead Hall, the Chieftain serves as judge, jury and executioner if necessary. The reality is that Thirsk has always been a fairly peaceful place, with camaraderie and goodwill the norm. Solstheim can be a harsh home, and the Nords of Thirsk have long realized that fighting each other isn't nearly as productive as battling the island's bears, wolves, draugrs, Rieklings, and whatever other fell creatures may roam the land. Still, there is the occasional disagreement - which more often than naught ends in bloodshed - and every few years someone gets it into his head to challenge the chieftain to a blood duel to try to gain possession of Thirsk. Generally speaking, the Nords of Thirsk are one big, happy barbarian-like family. And, like any family, they have their squabbles."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thirsk-history-revised": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thirsk-history-revised", "description": "A revised version of the original Thirsk, a History.", "author": "Bereditte Jastal", "title": "Thirsk, a History - Revised", "text": "On the eastern bank of Lake Fjalding stands Thirsk, a grand mead hall that serves as the home and center of operations for a most valiant clan of Nord warriors.\nApproximately one hundred years ago, a small group of Skaal decided to leave the main village, and free themselves of their brethren's strict adherence to nature worship. They sought to live life as their ancestors had in Skyrim -- free to kill what they wanted when they wanted, free to worship in any manner they chose.\nThe group braved the harsh weather and traveled south toward Lake Fjalding, where they found the perfect location for a new settlement. There they decided to construct a grand mead hall that would serve as their new home and hunting lodge. After several months of building, the companions had completed the task, and named the mead hall Thirsk.\nThe settlers looked upon all they had accomplished, and were truly proud of their accomplishment. But their happiness was short lived, and the settlers soon learned that not everyone celebrated the construction of Thirsk. As the mead hall was being erected, so too was the noise and commotion of construction disturbing an ancient creature that lie dormant under the ice. It was a tragic twist of irony, therefore, that as the last beam of the great hall was nailed in place, the slumbering beast did finally awaken. His ancient name was the Udyrfrykte, though the settlers knew him only as death. The Udyrfrykte came to the newly completed mead hall and wreaked vengeance upon those who had shattered the peace of his long, cold sleep. He killed without warning, without mercy, reducing the Thirsk Nords to half their number. It was the valiant sorcerer Eldrid Ice-Light who finally drove the beast back to his lair beneath the frozen lake, and used his magicka to seal the entrance with a great wall of ice. The horror was over, but the price was great. It took the settlers two months to fix the damage done by the Udyrfrykte, and with so many strong hands now gone, it was slow and tedious work.\nFinally, Thirsk stood tall and proud once more. But even though the settlers had worked together to construct the mead hall and drive away the threat of the Udyrfrykte, tensions quickly grew over who would serve as their leader. Most of the men considered Hrothmund the Red their de facto chieftain, as he was the strongest and most capable of the lot. But one warrior, Drengr Bronze-Helm, disagreed. He thought himself most capable to rule over Thirsk, and loudly voiced his opposition to Hrothmund. Knowing that conflict and discord would only serve to destroy the new life they had worked so hard to create, Hrothmund the Red exercised his only true option - he swung his great axe and beheaded Drengr Bronze-Helm where he stood. The Nords appreciated more than anything a warrior's prowess in battle, and Drengr's slaying proved to them that Hrothmund was indeed most worthy to be Thirsk's chieftain. So that the other Nords would never forget he had proven his right to lead, Hrothmund placed Drengr's head on a pedestal in the center of Thirsk's main hall, for all to see.\nAnd so began Thirsk's most time-honored tradition. Any warrior, regardless of race or sex, could claim leadership of the mead hall by displaying the most impressive battle trophy on the great hall's pedestal. So long as the spirit of Hrothmund the Red consented, that warrior would be named chieftain.\nHrothmund's Bane:\nFor twenty-one years Hrothmund the Red ruled over Thirsk and its residents as chieftain. With his soft voice and great axe -- which was said to be the largest weapon of its kind ever wielded by a Nord -- Hrothmund brought peace and prosperity to Thirsk. But peace proved to be Hrothmund's undoing, for the mighty Nord grew restless in the warmth and safety of the mead hall. He longed for battle and adventure, to feel the frost in his veins once more, and could ignore the call of valor no longer. When word spread of a giant, bloodthirsty white wolf terrorizing travelers in the Moesring Mountains, Hrothmund took up his great axe and set out to defeat the beast alone. The men of the mountains named him Ondjage, the Fell Wolf. The beast measured as large as an ox, with fur as white as new-fallen snow, and it was said no man or woman alive could bring Ondjage down. The words of the mountain folk proved true, for while Hrothmund did hew one leg from the Fell Wolf, Ondjage devoured the mighty Nord whole, leaving only his great axe as a grim reminder of man's failure against beast. Filled with sorrow and rage, the residents of Thirsk marched to the mountains in search of the wolf, called by them Hrothmund's Bane. Only together did they manage to slay Ondjage, and as family they feasted on his roasted flesh.\nThe coming of <Name>, slayer of the Udyrfrykte:\nFor one hundred years the mead hall of Thirsk has withstood all manner of hardship, from armed attack and fire to the equally devastating scourge of yellow tick. But nothing within that span of time could compare to the terror of the Udyrfrykte, that ancient beast who ravaged the great hall during the time of Hrothmund. The Udyrfrykte was driven away, and sealed inside his lair for what all hoped was an eternity. In time, the beast was forgotten, but the beast himself did not forget. When the lake of ice caught fire and the entrance to that long-sealed lair lay open, the Udyrfrykte walked once more upon the land. He came back to Thirsk to seek his vengeance, and vengeance he found. The fell creature killed all he could, and tore the mead hall asunder. The Udyrfrykte was driven from the mead hall, but all knew it was just a matter of time before he returned to finish the job he had started -- the complete destruction of Thirsk and all who resided within. It was then he came, a stranger to the land of Solstheim and savior to the Nords of Thirsk. His name was <Name> of the <Race> race, and he did what even the mighty Hrothmund could not. This brave warrior strode into the lair of the Udyrfrykte, faced the ancient beast, and slew him as a butcher slays a sheep! The mighty <Name> then claimed the heart of the Udyrfrykte as a battle trophy, where it remains to this day on the pedestal of Thirsk. For the <Race> known as <Name> was named chieftain of the mead hall, and is revered by his people as both leader and warrior.\nThe following is a list of Thirsk's chieftains, since Hrothmund first ruled:\nHrothmund the Red. Nord male. Slew Drengr Bronze-Helm and presented his head as a battle trophy. Ruled over Thirsk for twenty-one years. Slain and devoured by Ondjage, the Fell Wolf.\nIsgeror White-Wave. Nord female. Slew the necromancer Hildir Worm-Heart and presented his heart as a battle trophy. Ruled over Thirsk for four years.\nEinarr. Nord male. Slew the frost giant Guolog and presented his foot as a battle trophy. Ruled over Thirsk for six years.\nGisl Round-Gut. Nord male. Slew Einarr and presented his sword as a battle trophy. Ruled over Thirsk for two months.\nEinarr the Younger. Nord male. Slew Gisl Round-Gut and presented his stomach as a battle trophy. Ruled over Thirsk for seven years.\nGrjotgaror. Nord male. Slew the white witch Katla and presented her staff as a battle trophy. Ruled over Thirsk for two years.\nAmelie Bontecou. Breton female. Slew Grjotgaror and presented his head as a battle trophy. Ruled over Thirsk for three years.\nThorormr Storm-Killer. Nord male. Slew the brothers Ani and Ali and presented their enchanted hammers as battle trophies. Ruled over Thirsk for sixteen years.\nAegilief. Nord Female. Slew Oddny the Unfaithful and presented her hand as a battle trophy. Ruled over Thirsk for eight years.\nCaccino Aurelia. Imperial male. Slew the Imperial hero Claudius Anzione and presented his sword as a battle trophy. Ruled over Thirsk for three weeks. Fraud.\nEldjar Bear-Skinner. Nord male. Slew the Imperial fraud Caccino Aurelia and presented his tongue as a battle trophy. Ruled over Thirsk for five years.\nFalki the Fat. Nord male. Slew a pack of six rabid wolves and presented their claws as battle trophies. Ruled over Thirsk for three months. Succumbed to madness and death as a result of rabies.\nSvana the Knife. Nord female. Slew Gretta Wolf-Child and presented her sword as a battle trophy. Ruled over Thirsk for four years.\nBeinir White-Beard. Nord male. Slew three Orc raiders and presented their eyes as battle trophies. Ruled over Thirsk for twenty-two years.\nSkjoldr Wolf-Runner. Nord male. Slew the wizard Griss the Yellow and presented his head as a battle trophy. Ruled over Thirsk for three years. Slain in the mead hall.\n<Name>. <Race> male. Slew the Udyrfrykte and presented his heart as a battle trophy. Still chieftain as of the writing of this work.\nExpansion:\nThe Thirsk mead hall is nearly the same today as it was over a hundred years ago, a testament to the quality of its construction. But while Thirsk itself did not grow, its inhabitants did, and before long the grand mead hall could not house all who wished to dwell within. So, over the years, many Nords have left Thirsk to establish their own private dwellings out in the wilderness of Solstheim, relying on the island's many caves and natural shelters. But those who left are always welcome back at Thirsk, and many return frequently to enjoy the mead hall's hospitalities. It is also important to note that although over a hundred years have passed since the group first left the Skaal village, the Skaal and Thirsk Nords have always remained civil to one another, and even trade resources on occasion.\nRelationship with the Empire:\nThroughout the years, the Thirsk Nords and the Empire have entered into a simple but effective relationship: they leave each other alone and everyone is happy. Soon after arriving on Solstheim, the Imperials realized that their authority on the island was limited to Fort Frostmoth and vicinity. Solstheim was, is, and probably always will be a savage and frozen wasteland more suited to ancient Nord custom than conventional Imperial law. As long as the residents of Thirsk leave Fort Frostmoth in peace, the Imperials at Fort Frostmoth will reciprocate. In fact, the relationship between the two locations is fairly civil, and the Thirsk Nords gained considerable favor with the Empire when they delivered the Breton fugitive Alain Montrose to the garrison at Fort Frostmoth, after he attempted to hide out in Thirsk.\nLaw and Order Within Thirsk:\nWithin the Mead Hall, the Chieftain serves as judge, jury and executioner if necessary. The reality is that Thirsk has always been a fairly peaceful place, with camaraderie and goodwill the norm. Solstheim can be a harsh home, and the Nords of Thirsk have long realized that fighting each other isn't nearly as productive as battling the island's bears, wolves, draugrs, Rieklings, and whatever other fell creatures may roam the land. Still, there is the occasional disagreement - which more often than naught ends in bloodshed - and every few years someone gets it into his head to challenge the chieftain to a blood duel to try to gain possession of Thirsk. Generally speaking, the Nords of Thirsk are one big, happy barbarian-like family. And, like any family, they have their squabbles."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tiram-gadars-credentials": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tiram-gadars-credentials", "description": "Is this supposed to be a letter from Occato, Imperial Battle Mage for Tiram Gadar's position in Vivec Mages Guild. Is this authentic?", "author": "Acatto, Imperial Battlemage", "title": "Tiram Gadar's Credentials", "text": "To the Esteemed Archmage Trebonius,\nThe man delivering this letter is one Tiram Gadar. Though a Dunmer, he  was raised in the Imperial Province. I recommend him as an advisor on  the politics of the Dunmer in Vvardenfell.\nSincerely,\nAcatto, Imperial Battlemage"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tradehouse-notice": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tradehouse-notice", "description": "A license, given to Arrille to open a tradehouse in Seyda Neen.", "author": "Hlaalu Councilors", "title": "Tradehouse Notice", "text": "* ARRILLE'S TRADEHOUSE *\nPort of Seyda Neen\nHereas at the general Sessions of the Peace held for the District of  House Hlaalu at the Town of Balmora on the 16th day of First Seed in the  year of the Reign of our Sovereign King Hlaalu Athyn Llethan, by the  Grace of All Gods, King of Morrowind, Duke of Mournhold and Hlaalu  Province; Defender of the People and the Law; Loyal Servant of the  Empire; etc.\nArrille of the Port of Seyda Neen aforesaid, hath entered into  Recognizance with Sureties, before us his Majesty's Magistrates of  Peace, within the said District, whose Names are hereunder written:\nWe therefore his Majesty's said Magistrates, have hereby Licensed, and  allowed the said Arrille to keep a Common Tradehouse, or Cornerclub, in  the House wherein he now dwelleth, in the Port of Seyda Neen aforesaid,  for three full years, from henceforth next ensuing, or till such other  time as shall be by us, or some of our fellow Magistrates thereunto  appointed; Provided that if the said Arrille do not from time to time  during that time, well and truly observe the Articles hereafter  mentioned, then this License shall presently cease, and be utterly void.\n1st Item, That the said Arrille shall not suffer any Stranger, or  unknown Traveler, to Lodge, or Stay, in or about his House, above one  Day and one Night, without making the same known forthwith to the next  Bailiff, or other Officer of this Town, to the end that the said  Stranger, or unknown Traveler may be examined, by some Magistrate of  Peace near adjoining.\n2nd Item, That he shall not suffer any playing at Cards, Tables, Dice,  Bowls, Nine-holes, or any other unlawful Game, or any Disorder, or  Outrage in his House, Orchard, Garden, or Back-side, but shall keep good  Order and Rule in his House.\n3rd Item, That he shall not suffer any neighbor's Children, Servants, or  Slaves to Tipple in his House at all, nor any other to Tipple in his  house, otherwise than by the Statutes are allowed.\n4th Item, That he doe not suffer any to Tipple in hours of Prayer, or  Lesson, on any Emperor's or Festival days, nor at any time after the  eighth hour of Night.\n5th Item, That he shall not harbor any Rogues, Vagabonds, Tradeless men,  nor other suspicious Persons, in or about his House.\n6th Item, That he shall not Buy or take to Pawn, or suffer to be Bought  or taken to Pawn in his House (to his knowledge) any goods of any  unknown Traveler, or of any Neighbor's children, or Servants, or Slaves,  or of any man's Wife, without the consent of their Parents, Masters, or  Husbands respectively, and if any such Goods be offered to Sale, or  Pawn, by any Stranger, he shall make the same known forthwith to the  next Bailiff, or other Officer of the Town.\n7th Item, That he doe not sell his best Drink above Four Drakes the  Gallon, nor the second sort above Two Drakes the Gallon, nor suffer any  Ash-Fowl to be Dressed or Eaten in his House, or on any other Victuals  prohibited by the Laws of this Realm.\n8th Item, That he shall not suffer any Bawdry, or Criminal Conversation,  in or about his house, nor shall procure or cause to be Enticed any man  to drink in his house, until he shall be Drunk, or distempered with  Drink.\n9th Item, That he shall not suffer any Luting, Drumming, or Dancing, in  or about his house, on any Lesson Day, nor in time of Divine Service, on  any Sacred Festival, or Holy-day.\n10th Item, That he shall cause this License to be openly fixed up in the  Hall-Room of his dwelling House, to the end that every one may see what  Articles he is bound to observe.\nDated the day and year first above written.\nUndersigned,\nMaster Velanda Omani\nMaster Nevena Ules\nMaster Dram Bero\nMaster Crassius Curio\nMaster Yngling Half-Troll"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/trap": {"game": ["Morrowind", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/trap", "description": "The story of someone being captured by the Berne Vampires and being kept as cattle. This book raises your sneak skill.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Trap", "text": "I saw the gold, and I took it. A different man might not have, I know that, and from time to time, I think back on the hour when I saw the gold and took it. You see, I was hungry. Isn't it ironic.\nI don't remember much else about that night but the gold and the hunger. I don't remember the name of the tavern, or even the village, but I believe it was somewhere in southern Vvardenfell. I can't really be certain. For some time, I sat dumbly in my chair, my mind occupied with nothing but the pain in my stomach. If you've never been truly hungry from days of no food, you can't know what it's like. You can't concentrate on anything. It wasn't until a figure to my left got up from the table to get a drink and left a stack of gold marks behind that I snapped to awareness.\nFrom this moment on, my memory is crystalline.\nMy eyes to the gold. My eyes to the stranger's back, walking calmly toward the barmaid. My hand to the gold. The gold in my pocket. I'm up from the table, and out the door. For just a moment, I look back. The stranger has turned to look my way. He wears a hood, but I can feel his eyes meet mine. I swear, I can scent a smile.\nOut into the street, and behind some barrels I crouched down, waiting for my pursuer. One benefit of a lifetime running from guards, I know how to disappear. For nearly an hour, I waited there, suffering even more from hunger. You see, I was awake now and I had the means to buy myself a feast. This knowledge tortured me. When I finally got to my feet, I very nearly fainted. I had only enough energy to walk to the other edge of the village to a run-down tavern before collapsing at a table. I think I must have fallen unconscious for a moment before I heard the barmaid's voice.\n\"Can I get you something to eat, sera?\"\nI gorged myself on roasts and pies and huge frothing mugs of greef. As the fog of near fatal starvation began to lift, I looked up from my plate to see a gold-masked stranger looking at me, his vizard glowing by the blinding light of the moon through the window. He wore black leather armor and was a different physique and size from the man I had burgled, but I could tell he knew. I paid for my meal quickly and left.\nI skirted the edge of the village, through a tiled central courtyard surrounded by the squalid peasant's cottages. There was not a light shining from any window or door. No one was on the streets. I could find no place to hide, so I took the road out of town, heading for the wilderness. Hunger had pushed me on in the days before, but now I felt what I imagined to be the whip of guilt. Or perhaps, even then, it was fear.\nI fell twice, rushing down the dark path, unused to the slopes and pebbled texture. The sounds of animal life, which I had numbed to, were suddenly very loud in my ears. And there was something else out there in the night, something chasing me.\nOn the side of the road, there was a low wall, and I scrambled over it and hid. I knew enough about concealment to pick a spot where the bulwark sunk slightly so even if someone saw the outline of my figure, he would assume it to be part of the wall. It wasn't long before I heard the sound of running footsteps from more than one person pass me by and then stop. There was a moment of whispered conversation, and one of the people ran back on the path toward the village. Then, silence.\nAfter a few more minutes, I peered out from behind the wall. A female figure in a dun gown, wimple, and veil stood in the road. On the other end of the road, blocking the way back to town, was a knight, coated in dark mail. I could see neither of their faces. For a moment, I froze, unsure whether either or both had seen me.\n\"Run,\" said the woman in a dead voice.\nThe hill behind me was too steep, so I leapt over the wall and across the road in two bounds. Into the night forest I ran, the maddening jingle of the accursed gold in my pocket. I knew I was making so much noise my pursuers could not help but hear me, but now I cared more for putting distance between us than in stealth. Clouds of ash filtered through the moonlight, but I still knew it was too bright to hide. I ran and ran until I felt all my blood pumping in my head and heart, begging me to stop.\nI was at the edge of the wood, on the other side of a shallow stream from a vast, crumbling house encircled by a rail fence. Behind me, running footfall in the broken, dusty earth. To the south, downstream, a distinct sodden splashing of someone moving nearer.\nThere was no choice. I half jumped and half fell into the mud and dragged myself up the bank on the other side. I rolled under the fence and ran through the open field toward the house. Jerking my head around, I saw seven shadowy figures by the fence posts. The cloaked man I had robbed. The man in the gold mask. The veiled woman. The dark knight. Three others too who had pursued me, but I had never seen. And I thought I was the stealthy one.\nThe moon was entirely hidden in a swarm of ash. Only the stars offered their meager illumination as I reached the open door of the ruin. I slammed and bolted the door behind me, but I knew there could be no protection for very long. As I looked about the ravaged interior of broken furniture, I searched for someone to hide. A corner, a niche where if I stayed very still, no one would see me.\nA splintered table lying against the wall looked perfect for my purposes. I crawled under it, and jumped when something moved and I heard a frightened old man's voice.\n\"Who's there?\u201d\n\"It's all right,\" I whispered. \"I'm not one of them.\"\nHis puckered, gnarled hand reached out from the shadow and gripped my arm. Instantly, I felt sleep fall upon me, resist it as I might. The old man's horrible face, the face of the hungry dead, emerged as the moon came out and shone through the broken window. His talon still gripping me, I fell back, smelling his death surround me.\nThe table was thrown back. There stood the seven hunters and a dozen more. No, hunters they weren't. They were harriers who had chased me out of every hiding place, expertly pushing me to the lair of the real predator. He was weak with age, the old man was, not as good at the chase as once he was. A blunt, killing machine.\n\"Please,\" I said. It was all I could muster.\nHaving enjoyed the sport I offered, he granted me mercy, of sorts. I was not bled dry. I was not cursed by being made one of them, the Berne. I was kept with others, most of us mad with fear, to be aged and tasted at the vampires' whim. We are called cattle.\nI lost all hope months ago of ever leaving the dank cellar where they keep us. Even if this note finds its way to the outside world, I cannot give enough information about my whereabouts to be rescued, even if some champion were able to defeat the bloodsuckers. I only write this to keep my own sanity, and to warn others.\nThere is something worse than being hungry.\nBeing food."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/treasury-orders": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/treasury-orders", "description": "An order letter for Tenisi to do a certain task.", "author": "Odral Helvi", "title": "Treasury Orders", "text": "Dearest Tenisi,\nYour assistance has been profitable to us both, in many ways. I have but one more favor to ask. Find the land deeds for the Ascadian Isles. Replace the documents owned by Rovone Arvel with those of your own clever design.\nSoon we will have enough to leave Vvardenfell together. Until then, you know what must me done, know also that you have my love.\nOdral Helvi"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/treasury-report": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/treasury-report", "description": "An encoded report.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Treasury Report", "text": "KJAH SDFH KLJH FAKL SDJH FAKL DSHF KJAD SHFL KJAN SDCJ NASO ERUH AUWO IYEF HADS CHNK SNCL KNAS JROR IEWU PIWE HJKF NBDS LKJV NKLA SDNF OHRF OIQP REWF HSAD KJVH AKSJ DNFP OQRE HFOI DSAP"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/unnamed-book": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/unnamed-book", "description": "A story and a lesson about throat-slashing for thieves", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Unnamed Book", "text": "\"The problem with thieves today,\" said Lledos, \"Is the lack of technique. I know there's no honor among thieves, and there never was, but there used to be some pride, some skill, some basic creativity. It really makes those of us with a sense of history despair.\"\nImalyn sneered, slamming down his flagon of greef violently on the rough-hewn table. \"B'vek, what do you want us to say? You asks us 'What do you do when you see a guard?' and I says, 'Stab the fetcher in the back.' What d'you prefer? We challenge 'em to a game of chits?\"\n\"So much ambition, so little education,\" said Lledos with a sigh. \"My dear friends, we aren't mugging some Nord tourist fresh off the ferry. The Cobblers Guildhall may not sound intimidating but tonight, when the dues collection is housed there before being sent to the bank, the security's going to be tighter than a kwama's ass. You can't just stab at every back you encounter and expect to make it into the vaults.\"\n\"Why don't you explain specifically what you'd like us to do?\" asked Galsiah calmly, trying to keep the tone of the group down. Most locals at the Plot and Plaster cornerclub in Tel Aruhn knew enough not to listen in, but she knew better than to take any chances.\n\"The common thief,\" said Lledos, pouring himself more greef, warming to his subject. \"Sticks his dagger in his opponent's back. This may slay the target, but more often gives him time to scream and drenches the attacker with blood. Not good. Now a good throat-slashing, properly executed, can both slay and silence a guard and leave the thief relatively bloodfree. And after all, after the robbery, we don't want people seeing a bunch of blood-soaked butchers running through the streets. Even in Tel Aruhn, that's likely to warrant suspicion.\n\"If you can catch your victim lying down asleep or resting, you are in an excellent position. You place one hand over the mouth with your thumb under the chin, then you use your other hand to slit the throat, and quickly turn the head to one side so the body bleeds out away from you. There is a risk here of becoming blood stained if you don't move the head quickly enough. If you're unsure, strangle the victim first to avoid the blood that tends to spurt out in three foot jets when someone is stabbed while alive.\n\"A very good friend of mine, a thief in Gnisis whose name I won't mention, swears by the strangle-and-slash technique. Simply put, you grab your victim's throat from behind and while throttling him, you batter his face against the opposite wall. When the victim is thus rendered unconscious, you slash his throat while still holding him from behind, and the risk of staining one's clothes with blood is practically nonexistant.\n\"The classic technique, which requires less grappling than my friend's variation, is to place one hand over the victim's mouth, and then saw through the throat in three or four stroke rather like playing a violin. It requires little effort, and while there's quite a bit of blood, it all jets forward away from you.\nThere's no reason when one knows one is going to be slitting some throats not to take some precautions and bring some extra equipment. The best neck-hackers I know generally carry a bit of wadded cloth on the aft-side of their knives to keep blood from getting on their cuffs. It's impractical for this sort of assignment, but when you're only anticipating one or two victims, nothing beats throwing a sack over the targets head, drawing the string tight, and then supplying the killing blow or blows.\"\nImalyn laughed loudly, \"Can I see a demonstration sometime?\"\n\"Very soon,\" said Lledos. \"If Galsiah has done her job.\"\nGalsiah brought out the map of the guildhouse, freshly stolen, and they began to detail out the strategy.\nThe last several hours had been a whirlwind to all. In less than a day, the three had met, formulated a plan, bought or stolen the necessary ingredients, and were about to execute it. Not one of the three were sure whether confidence or stupidity were driving the other two, but the fates were aligned. The guildhouse was going to be robbed.\nWhen the sun set, Lledos, Galsiah, and Imalyn approached the Cobblers Guildhouse on the east end of town. Galsiah used her cachous of stoneflower to mask their scent from the guard wolves as the three passed over the parapets. She also acted as lead scout, and Lledos was impressed. For someone of relative inexperience, she knew her way through shadows.\nLledos's expertise was demonstrated a dozen times, and the guards were of such a diverse variety, he was able to demonstrate all the means of silent assassination he had developed over the years.\nImalyn opened the vault in his unique and systematic method. As the tumblers fell beneath his fingers, he softly sang an old dirty tavern song about the Ninety-Nine Loves of Boethiah. He said it helped him focus and organize difficult combinations. Within seconds, the vault was open and the gold was in hand.\nThey left the guildhouse an hour after they entered. No alarm had been raised, the gold was gone, and corpses lay pooling blood on the stone floors within.\n\"Well done, my friends, well done. You learned well.\" Lledos said as he poured the gold pieces into the specially designed compartments in his tunic's sleeves, where they held fast with no jingling or unusual bulges. \"We'll meet back at the Plot and Plaster tomorrow morning and split up the bounty.\"\nThe group parted ways. The only person who knew the most covert route through the city's sewer system, Lledos, slipped in through a duct and vanished below. Galsiah threw on her shawl, muddied her face to resemble an old f'lah fortune-teller, and headed north. Imalyn headed east into the park, trusting his unnatural senses to keep him away from the citywatch.\nNow I teach them the greatest lesson of all, thought Lledos as he sloshed through the labyrinthine tunnels of sludge. His guar was waiting where he left it at the city gates, making a laconic lunch of the chokeweed shrub to which it had been leashed.\nOn the road to Vivec, he thought of Galsiah and Imalyn. Perhaps they had been caught and brought in for questioning already. It was a pity he couldn't see them undergoing interrogation. Who would break under pressure first? Imalyn was certainly the tougher of the two, but Galsiah doubtless had hidden reserves. It was merely intellectual curiousity: they thought his name was Lledos and he was meeting them at the Plot and Plaster. The authorities wouldn't therefore be looking for a Dunmer named Sathis celebrating his wealth miles and miles away in Vivec.\nAs he prodded his mount forward and the sun began rising, Sathis pictured Galsiah and Imalyn not undergoing interrogation, but sleeping the good deep sleep of the wicked, dreaming of how they would spend their share of the gold. Both would wake up early and rush to the Plot and Plaster. He could see them now, Imalyn laughing and carrying on, Galsiah hushing him to avoid bringing undue attention. They would take a couple flagons of greef, perhaps order a meal -- a big one -- and wait. Hours would pass, and so would their moods. The chain of reactions that every betrayed person exhibits: nervousness, doubt, bewilderment, anger.\nThe sun was fully risen when Sathis reached the stables of his house on the outskirts of Vivec. He reigned in his guar and filled its feed. The rest of the stalls were empty. It wouldn't be until that afternoon when his servants returned from the feast of St Rilms in Gnisis. They were good people, and he treated them well, but from past experience he knew that servants talked. If they began to connect his absences with thefts in other towns, it was only a matter of time before they would go to the authorities or blackmail him. After all, they were human. It was best in the long run to give them a week off with pay whenever he was out of town on business.\nHe slipped the gold into the vault in his study, and went upstairs. The schedule had been tight, but Sathis had given himself a few hours to rest before his household returned. His own bed was wonderfully soft and warm compared to the dreadful mattress he had to use at the canton in Tel Aruhn.\nSathis woke up some time later from a nightmare. For a second after he opened his eyes, he thought he could still hear Imalyn's voice nearby, singing The Ninety-Nine Loves of Boethiah. He lay still in his bed, waiting, but there was no sound except the usual creaks and groans of his old house. Afternoon sunlight came through his bedroom window in ribbons, catching dust. He closed his eyes.\nThe song returned, and Sathis heard the vault door in his study swing open. The smell of stoneflower filled his nose and he opened his eyes. Only a little of the afternoon sunlight could pierce the inside of the burlap sack.\nA strong, feminine hand clamped over the mouth and a thumb jabbed under his chin. Just as his throat opened and his head was shoved to the side, he heard Galsiah in her typical calm voice, \"Thank you for the lesson, Sathis.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/varieties-faith-empire": {"game": ["Morrowind", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/varieties-faith-empire", "description": "The compiled listing of Gods of the Empire formerly known as \"The Pantheon\". Contains lots of interesting information.", "author": "Brother Mikhael Karkuxor of the Imperial College", "title": "Varieties of Faith in the Empire", "text": "This is my best attempt at a listing of the pantheons and associated divine spirits of Tamriel's dominant cultures. This list is by no means complete (the Imperial City of Cyrodiil alone boasts a vast host of saints and holy spirits). It only includes the most important spirits revered by native members of the culture. Other et'Ada, especially Daedra, are often familiar known to many cultures, though specific names are included here only when they possess a particular cultural significance. The omission of any reference to the worships of the Argonians of Black Marsh is a result of my complete inadequacy in reconciling the obscure and contradictory accounts available to me on that subject.\nTHE EIGHT PANTHEONS\nCYRODIIL: Akatosh, Dibella, Arkay, Zenithar, Mara, Stendarr, Kynareth, Julianos, Shezarr, Tiber Septim, Morihaus, Reman\nSKYRIM: Alduin, Dibella, Orkey, Tsun, Mara, Stuhn, Kyne, Jhunal, Shor, Ysmir, Herma-Mora, Maloch\nALTMER: Auri-El, Trinimac, Magnus, Syrabane, Y'ffre, Xarxes, Mara, Stendarr, Lorkhan, Phynaster\nBOSMER: Auri-El, Y'ffre, Arkay, Z'en, Xarxes, Baan Dar, Mara, Stendarr, Lorkhan, Herma-Mora, Jone, Jode\nDUNMER: Almalexia, Vivec, Sotha Sil, Boethiah, Mephala, Azura, Lorkhan, Nerevar, Molag Bal, Malacath, Sheogorath, Mehrunes Dagon\nYOKUDA: Satakal, Ruptga, Tu'whacca, Zeht, Morwha, Tava, Malooc, Diagna, Sep, HoonDing, Leki, Onsi,\nBRETONY: Akatosh, Magnus, Y'ffre, Dibella, Arkay, Zenithar, Mara, Stendarr, Kynareth, Julianos, Sheor, Phynaster\nELSWEYR: Alkosh, Khenarthi, Riddle'Thar, ja-Kha'jay, Mara, S'rendarr, Lorkhaj, Rajhin, Baan Dar, Azurah, Sheggorath\nNOTES ON THE DIVINE SPIRITS OF THE PANTHEONS\nAkatosh (Dragon God of Time): Akatosh is the chief deity of the Nine Divines (the major religious cult of Cyrodiil and its provinces), and one of two deities found in every Tamrielic religion (the other is Lorkhan). He is generally considered to be the first of the Gods to form in the Beginning Place; after his establishment, other spirits found the process of being easier and the various pantheons of the world emerged. He is the ultimate God of the Cyrodilic Empire, where he embodies the qualities of endurance, invincibility, and everlasting legitimacy.\nAlduin (World Eater): Alduin is the Nordic variation of Akatosh, and only superficially resembles his counterpart in the Nine Divines. For example, Alduin's sobriquet, 'the world eater', comes from myths that depict him as the horrible, ravaging firestorm that destroyed the last world to begin this one. Nords therefore see the god of time as both creator and harbinger of the apocalypse. He is not the chief of the Nordic pantheon (in fact, that pantheon has no chief; see Shor, below) but its wellspring, albeit a grim and frightening one.\nAlkosh (Dragon King of Cats): Pre-ri'Datta Dynasty Anaquinine deity. A variation on the Altmeri Auri-El, and thus an Akatosh-as-culture-hero for the earliest Khajiiti. His worship was co-opted during the establishment of the Riddle-T'har, and he still enjoys immense popularity in Elsweyr's wasteland regions. He is depicted as a fearsome dragon, a creature the Khajiit say 'is just a real big cat'. He repelled an early Aldmeri pogrom of Pelinal Whitestrake during mythic times.\nAlmalexia (Mother Morrowind): Most traces of Akatosh disappeared from ancient Chimer legends during their so-called 'exodus', primarily due to that god's association and esteem with the Altmeri. However, most aspects of Akatosh which seem so important to the mortal races, namely immortality, historicity, and genealogy, have conveniently resurfaced in Almalexia, the most popular of Morrowind's divine Tribunal.\nArkay (God of the Cycle of Life and Death): Member of the Nine Divines pantheon, and popular elsewhere as well. Arkay is often more important in those cultures where his father, Akatosh, is either less related to time or where his time aspects are difficult to comprehend by the layman. He is the god of burials and funeral rites, and is sometimes associated with the seasons. His priests are staunch opponents of necromancy and all forms of the undead. It is said that Arkay did not exist before the world was created by the gods under Lorkhan's supervision/urging/trickery. Therefore, he is sometimes called the Mortals' God.\nAuri-El (King of the Aldmer): The Elven Akatosh is Auri-El. Auri-El is the soul of Anui-El, who, in turn, is the soul of Anu the Everything. He is the chief of most Aldmeri pantheons. Most Altmeri and Bosmeri claim direct descent from Auri-El. In his only known moment of weakness, he agreed to take his part in the creation of the mortal plane, that act which forever sundered the Elves from the spirit worlds of eternity. To make up for it, Auri-El led the original Aldmer against the armies of Lorkhan in mythic times, vanquishing that tyrant and establishing the first kingdoms of the Altmer, Altmora and Old Ehlnofey. He then ascended to heaven in full observance of his followers so that they might learn the steps needed to escape the mortal plane.\nAzura (Goddess of Dusk and Dawn): Azura was the god-ancestor that taught the Chimer the mysteries needed to be different than the Altmer. Some of her more conventional teachings are sometimes attributed to Boethiah. In the stories, Azura is often more a communal cosmic force for the race as a whole than an ancestor or a god. Also known as the Anticipation of Sotha Sil. In Elsweyr, Azurah is nearly a wholly separate entity, yet she is still tied into the origins of Khajiiti out of Altmeri stock.\nBaan Dar (The Bandit God): In most regions, Baan Dar is a marginal diety, a trickster spirit of thieves and beggars. In Elsweyr he is more important, and is regarded as the Pariah. In this aspect, Baan Dar becomes the cleverness or desperate genius of the long-suffering Khajiit, whose last minute plans always upset the machinations of their (Elven or Human) enemies.\nBoethiah (Prince of Plots): Heralded by the Prophet Veloth, Boethiah is the original god-ancestor of the Dark Elves. Through his illuminations, the eventual 'Chimer', or Changed Folk, renounced all ties to the Aldmer and founded a new nation based on Daedric principles. All manner of Dark Elven cultural 'advances' are attributed to Boethiah, from philosophy to magic to 'responsible' architecture. Ancient Velothi allegories are uniformly heroic successes of Boethiah over enemies of every type, foundation stories of Chimeri struggle. Also known as the Anticipation of Almalexia.\nDiagna (Orichalc God of the Sideways Blade): Hoary thuggish cult of the Redguards. Originated in Yokuda during the Twenty Seven Snake Folk Slaughter. Diagna was an avatar of the HoonDing (the Yokudan God of Make Way, see below) that achieved permanence. He was instrumental to the defeat of the Lefthanded Elves, as he brought orichalc weapons to the Yokudan people to win the fight. In Tamriel, he led a very tight knit group of followers against the Orcs of Orsinium during the height of their ancient power, but then faded into obscurity. He is now little more than a local power spirit of the Dragontail mountains.\nDibella (Goddess of Beauty): Popular god of the Nine Divines. In Cyrodiil, she has nearly a dozen different cults, some devoted to women, some to artists and aesthetics, and others to erotic instruction.\nHerma-Mora (The Woodland Man): Ancient Atmoran demon who, at one time, nearly seduced the Nords into becoming Aldmer. Most Ysgramor myths are about escaping the wiles of old Herma-Mora. Also called the Demon of Knowledge, he is vaguely related to the cult origins of the Morag Tong ('Foresters Guild'), if only by association with his brother/sister, Mephala.\nHoonDing (The Make Way God): Yokudan spirit of 'perseverance over infidels'. The HoonDing has historically materialized whenever the Redguards need to 'make way' for their people. In Tamrielic history this has only happened three times -- twice in the first era during the Ra Gada invasion and once during the Tiber War. In this last incarnation, the HoonDing was said to have been either a sword or a crown, or both.\nJhunal (Rune God): The Nordic god of hermetic orders. After falling out of favor with the rest of that pantheon, he became Julianos of the Nine Divines. He is absent in modern Skyrim mythology.\nJode (Big Moon God): Aldmeri god of the Big Moon. Also called Masser or Mara's Tear. In Khajiti religion, Jode is only one aspect of the Lunar Lattice, or ja-Kha'jay.\nJone (Little Moon God): Aldmeri god of the Little Moon. Also called Secunda or Stendarr's Sorrow. In Khajiti religion, Jone is only one aspect of the Lunar Lattice, or ja-Kha'jay.\nJulianos (God of Wisdom and Logic): Often associated with Jhunal, the Nordic father of language and mathematics, Julianos is the Cyrodilic god of literature, law, history, and contradiction. Monastic orders founded by Tiber Septim and dedicated to Julianos are the keepers of the Elder Scrolls.\nKyne (Kiss At the End): Nordic Goddess of the Storm. Widow of Shor and favored god of warriors. She is often called the Mother of Men. Her daughters taught the first Nords the use of the thu'um, or Storm Voice.\nKynareth (Goddess of Air): Kynareth is a member of the Nine Divines, the strongest of the Sky spirits. In some legends, she is the first to agree to Lorkhan's plan to invent the mortal plane, and provides the space for its creation in the void. She is also associated with rain, a phenomenon said not to occur before the removal of Lorkhan's divine spark.\nLeki (Saint of the Spirit Sword): Goddess daughter of Tall Papa, Leki is the goddess of aberrant swordsmanship. The Na-Totambu of Yokuda warred to a standstill during the mythic era to decide who would lead the charge against the Lefthanded Elves. Their swordmasters, though, were so skilled in the Best Known Cuts as to be matched evenly. Leki introduced the Ephemeral Feint. Afterwards, a victor emerged and the war with the Aldmer began.\nLorkhan (The Missing God): This Creator-Trickster-Tester deity is in every Tamrielic mythic tradition. His most popular name is the Aldmeri 'Lorkhan', or Doom Drum. He convinced or contrived the Original Spirits to bring about the creation of the mortal plane, upsetting the status quo -- much like his father Padomay had introduced instability into the universe in the Beginning Place. After the world is materialized, Lorkhan is separated from his divine center, sometimes involuntarily, and wanders the creation of the et'Ada. He and his metaphysical placement in the 'scheme of things' is interpreted a variety of ways. In Morrowind, for example, he is a being related to the Psijiic Endeavor, a process by which mortals are charged with transcending the gods that created them. To the High Elves, he is the most unholy of all higher powers, as he forever broke their connection to the spirit plane. In the legends, he is almost always an enemy of the Aldmer and, therefore, a hero of early Mankind.\nLorkhaj (Moon Beast): Pre-ri'Datta Dynasty Anaquinine deity, easily identified with the Missing God, Lorkhan.\nMagnus (Magus): The god of sorcery, Magnus withdrew from the creation of the world at the last second, though it cost him dearly. What is left of him on the world is felt and controlled by mortals as magic. One story says that, while the idea was thought up by Lorkhan, it was Magnus who created the schematics and diagrams needed to construct the mortal plane. He is sometimes represented by an astrolabe, a telescope, or, more commonly, a staff. Cyrodilic legends say he can inhabit the bodies of powerful magicians and lend them his power. Associated with Zurin Arctus, the Underking.\nMalacath (God of Curses): Malacath is the reanimated dung that was Trinimac. A somewhat weak but vengeful Daedra, the Dark Elves say he is also Malak, the god-king of the orcs. He always tests the Dunmer for physical weakness.\nMalooc (Horde King): An enemy god of the Ra Gada. Led the goblins against the Redguards during the first era. Fled east when the army of the HoonDing overtook his goblin hordes.\nMauloch (Malacath): An Orcish god, Mauloch troubled the heirs of King Harald for a long time. Fled east after his defeat at the Battle of Dragon Wall, ca. 1E660. His rage was said to fill the sky with his sulphurous hatred, later called the \"Year of Winter in Summer\".\nMara (Goddess of Love): Nearly universal goddess. Origins started in mythic times as a fertility goddess. In Skyrim, Mara is a handmaiden of Kyne. In the Empire, she is Mother-Goddess. She is sometimes associated with Nir of the 'Anuad', the female principle of the cosmos that gave birth to creation. Depending on the religion, she is either married to Akatosh or Lorkhan, or the concubine of both.\nMehrunes Dagon (God of Destruction): Popular Daedric power. He is associated with natural dangers like fire, earthquakes, and floods. In some cultures, though, Dagon is merely a god of bloodshed and betrayal. He is an especially important deity in Morrowind, where he represents its near-inhospitable terrain.\nMephala (Androgyne): Mephala is the Webspinner, or the Spider God. In Morrowind, he/she was the ancestor that taught the Chimer the skills they would need to evade their enemies or to kill them with secret murder. Enemies were numerous in those days since the Chimer were a small faction. He/she, along with Boethiah, organized the clan systems that eventually became the basis for the Great Houses. He/she founded the Morag Tong. Also called the Anticipation of Vivec.\nMolag Bal (God of Schemes, King of Rape): Daedric power of much importance in Morrowind. There, he is always the archenemy of Boethiah, the Prince of Plots. He is the main source of the obstacles to the Dunmer (and preceding Chimer) people. In the legends, Molag Bal always tries to upset the bloodlines of Houses or otherwise ruin Dunmeri 'purity'. A race of supermonsters, said to live in Molag Amur, are the result of his seduction of Vivec during the previous era.\nMorihaus (First Breath of Man): Ancient cultural hero god of the Cyro-Nordics. Legend portrays him as the Taker of the Citadel, an act of mythic times that established Human control over the Valley Heartland. He is often associated with the Nordic powers of thu'um, and therefore with Kynareth.\nMorwha (Teat God): Yokudan fertility goddess. Fundamental deity in the Yokudan pantheon, and the favorite of Tall Papa's wives. Still worshipped in various areas of Hammerfell, including Stros M'kai. Morwha is always portrayed as four-armed, so that she can 'grab more husbands'.\nNerevar (Godkiller): The Chimeri king of Resdayn, the Golden Age of old Veloth. Slain during the Battle of Red Mountain, Nerevar was the Herald of the Triune Way, and is the foremost of the saints of Dunmeri faith. He is said to have killed Dumac, the Last Dwarven King, and feasted on his heart.\nOnsi (Boneshaver): Notable warrior god of the Yokudan Ra Gada, Onsi taught Mankind how to pull their knives into swords.\nOrkey (Old Knocker): A loan-god of the Nords, who seem to have taken up his worship during Aldmeri rule of Atmora. Nords believe they once lived as long as Elves until Orkey appeared; through heathen trickery, he fooled them into a bargain that 'bound them to the count of winters'. At one time, legends say, Nords only had a lifespan of six years due to Orkey's foul magic. Shor showed up, though, and, through unknown means, removed the curse, throwing most of it onto the nearby Orcs.\nPhynaster: Hero-god of the Summerset Isles, who taught the Altmer how to naturally live another hundred years by using a shorter walking stride.\nRajhin (Footpad): Thief god of the Khajiiti, who grew up in the Black Kiergo section of Senchal. The most famous burglar in Elsweyr's history, Rajhin is said to have stolen a tattoo from the neck of Empress Kintyra as she slept.\nReman (The Cyrodiil): Culture god-hero of the Second Empire, Reman was the greatest hero of the Akaviri Trouble. Indeed, he convinced the invaders to help him build his own empire, and conquered all of Tamriel except for Morrowind. He instituted the rites of becoming Emperor, which included the ritual geas to the Amulet of Kings, a soulgem of immense power. His Dynasty was ended by the Dunmeri Morag Tong at the end of the first era. Also called the Worldly God.\nRiddle'Thar (Two-Moons Dance): The cosmic order deity of the Khajiiti, the Riddle'Thar was revealed to Elsweyr by the prophet Rid-Thar-ri'Datta, the Mane. The Riddle'Thar is more a set of guidelines by which to live than a single entity, but some of his avatars like to appear as humble messengers of the gods. Also known as the Sugar God.\nRuptga (Tall Papa): Chief deity of the Yokudan pantheon. Ruptga, more commonly 'Tall Papa', was the first god to figure out how to survive the Hunger of Satakal. Following his lead, the other gods learned the 'Walkabout', or a process by which they can persist beyond one lifetime. Tall Papa set the stars in the sky to show lesser spirits how to do this, too. When there were too many spirits to keep track of, though, Ruptga created a helper out the dead skin of past worlds. This helper is Sep (see below), who later creates the world of mortals.\nSatakal (The Worldskin): Yokudan god of everything. A fusion of the concepts of Anu and Padomay. Basically, Satakal is much like the Nordic Alduin, who destroys one world to begin the next. In Yokudan mythology, Satakal had done (and still does) this many times over, a cycle which prompted the birth of spirits that could survive the transition. These spirits ultimately become the Yokudan pantheon. Popular god of the Alik'r nomads.\nSheogorath (The Mad God): The fearful obeisance of Sheogorath is widespread, and is found in most Tamrielic quarters. Contemporary sources indicate that his roots are in Aldmeri creation stories; therein, he is 'born' when Lorkhan's divine spark is removed. One crucial myth calls him the 'Sithis-shaped hole' of the world.\nSheor (Bad Man): In Bretony, the Bad Man is the source of all strife. He seems to have started as the god of crop failure, but most modern theologians agree that he is a demonized version of the Nordic Shor, born during the dark years after the fall of Saarthal.\nSep (The Snake): Yokudan version of Lorkhan. Sep is born when Tall Papa creates someone to help him regulate the spirit trade. Sep, though, is driven crazy by the hunger of Satakal, and he convinces some of the gods to help him make an easier alternative to the Walkabout. This, of course, is the world as we know it, and the spirits who followed Sep become trapped here, to live out their lives as mortals. Sep is punished by Tall Papa for his transgressions, but his hunger lives on as a void in the stars, a 'non-space' that tries to upset mortal entry into the Far Shores.\nShezarr (God of Man): Cyrodilic version of Lorkhan, whose importance suffers when Akatosh comes to the fore of Imperial (really, Alessian) religion. Shezarr was the spirit behind all human undertaking, especially against Aldmeri aggression. He is sometimes associated with the founding of the first Cyrodilic battlemages. In the present age of racial tolerance, Shezarr is all but forgotten.\nShor (God of the Underworld): Nordic version of Lorkhan, who takes sides with Men after the creation of the world. Foreign gods (i.e., Elven ones) conspire against him and bring about his defeat, dooming him to the underworld. Atmoran myths depict him as a bloodthirsty warrior king who leads the Nords to victory over their Aldmeri oppressors time and again. Before his doom, Shor was the chief of the gods. Sometimes also called Children's God (see Orkey, above).\nSotha Sil (Mystery of Morrowind): God of the Dunmer, Sotha Sil is the least known of the divine Tribunal. He is said to be reshaping the world from his hidden, clockwork city.\nStendarr (God of Mercy): God of the Nine Divines, Stendarr has evolved from his Nordic origins into a deity of compassion or, sometimes, righteous rule. He is said to have accompanied Tiber Septim in his later years. In early Altmeri legends, Stendarr is the apologist of Men.\nStuhn (God of Ransom): Nordic precursor to Stendarr, brother of Tsun. Shield-thane of Shor, Stuhn was a warrior god that fought against the Aldmeri pantheon. He showed Men how to take, and the benefits of taking, prisoners of war.\nSyrabane (Warlock's God): An Aldmeri god-ancestor of magic, Syrabane aided Bendu Olo in the Fall of the Sload. Through judicious use of his magical ring, Syrabane saved many from the scourge of the Thrassian Plague. He is also called the Apprentices' God, for he is a favorite of the younger members of the Mages Guild.\nTava (Bird God): Yokudan spirit of the air. Tava is most famous for leading the Yokudans to the isle of Herne after the destruction of their homeland. She has since become assimilated into the mythology of Kynareth. She is still very popular in Hammerfell among sailors, and her shrines can be found in most port cities.\nTiber Septim (Talos, the Dragonborn): Heir to the Seat of Sundered Kings, Tiber Septim is the most important hero-god of Mankind. He conquered all of Tamriel and ushered in the Third Era (and the Third Empire). Also called Ysmir, 'Dragon of the North'.\nTrinimac: Strong god of the early Aldmer, in some places more popular than Auri-El. He was a warrior spirit of the original Elven tribes that led armies against the Men. Boethiah is said to have assumed his shape (in some stories, he even eats Trinimac) so that he could convince a throng of Aldmer to listen to him, which led to their eventual Chimeri conversion. He vanishes from the mythic stage after this, to return as the dread Malacath (Altmeri propaganda portrays this as the dangers of Dunmeri influence).\nTsun: Extinct Nordic god of trials against adversity. Died defending Shor from foreign gods.\nTu'whacca (Tricky God): Yokudan god of souls. Tu'whacca, before the creation of the world, was the god of Nobody Really Cares. When Tall Papa undertook the creation of the Walkabout, Tu'whacca found a purpose; he became the caretaker of the Far Shores, and continues to help Redguards find their way into the afterlife. His cult is sometimes associated with Arkay in the more cosmopolitan regions of Hammerfell.\nVivec (Master of Morrowind): Warrior-poet god of the Dunmer. Vivec is the invisible keeper of the holy land, ever vigilant against the dark gods of the Volcano. He/she has saved the Dunmeri people from certain death on numerous occasions, most notably when he/she taught them how to breathe water for a day so that he/she could flood Morrowind and kill the Akaviri invaders, ca. 2E572.\nXarxes: Xarxes is the god of ancestry and secret knowledge. He began as a scribe to Auri-El, and has kept track of all Aldmeri accomplishments, large and small, since the beginning of time. He created his wife, Oghma, from his favorite moments in history.\nY'ffre (God of the Forest): Most important deity of the Bosmeri pantheon. While Auri-El Time Dragon might be the king of the gods, the Bosmer revere Y'ffre as the spirit of 'the now'. According to the Wood Elves, after the creation of the mortal plane everything was in chaos. The first mortals were turning into plants and animals and back again. Then Y'ffre transformed himself into the first of the Ehlnofey, or 'Earth Bones'. After these laws of nature were established, mortals had a semblance of safety in the new world, because they could finally understand it. Y'ffre is sometimes called the Storyteller, for the lessons he taught the first Bosmer. Some Bosmer still possess the knowledge of the chaos times, which they can use to great effect (the Wild Hunt).\nYsmir (Dragon of the North): The Nordic aspect of Talos. He withstood the power of the Greybeards' voices long enough to hear their prophecy. Later, many Nords could not look on him without seeing a dragon.\nZ'en (God of Toil): Bosmeri god of payment in kind. Studies indicate origins in both Argonian and Akaviri mythologies, perhaps introduced into Valenwood by Kothringi sailors. Ostensibly an agriculture deity, Z'en sometimes proves to be an entity of a much higher cosmic order. His worship died out shortly after the Knhaten Flu.\nZeht (God of Farms): Yokudan god of agriculture. Renounced his father after the world was created, which is why Tall Papa makes it so hard to grow food.\nZenithar (God of Work and Commerce, Trader God): Member of the Nine Divines, Zenithar is understandably associated with Z'en. In the Empire, however, he is a far more cultivated god of merchants and middle nobility. His worshippers say, despite his mysterious origins, Zenithar is the god 'that will always win'."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/vernaccus-and-bourlor": {"game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/vernaccus-and-bourlor", "description": "Another book of Hallgerd series, telling about the story of a lesser daedra and a great archer hero.", "author": "Tavi Dromio", "title": "Vernaccus and Bourlor", "text": "Hallgerd walked into the King's Ham that Loredas evening, his face clouded with sadness. While he ordered a mug of greef, his mates Garaz and Xiomara joined him with moderately sincere concern.\n\"What's wrong with you, Hallgerd?\" asked Xiomara. \"You're later than usual, and there's a certain air of tragedy you've dragged in with you. Have you lost money, or a nearest and dearest?\"\n\"I haven't lost any money,\" Hallgerd grimaced. \"But I've just received word from my nephew than my cousin Allioch has died. Perfectly natural, he says, just old age. Allioch was ten years younger than me.\"\n\"Aw, that's terrible. But it goes to show that it's important to savor all of life's possibilities, 'cause you never know when your time is coming,\" said Garaz, who had been sitting at the same stool at the smoky cornerclub for the last several hours. He was not one cursed with self-awareness.\n\"Life's short all right,\" agreed Xiomara. \"But if you'll pardon a sentimental thought, few of us are aware of the influence we'll have after our deaths. Perhaps there's comfort there. For example, have I told you the story about Vernaccus and Bourlor?\"\n\"I don't believe so,\" said Hallgerd.\nVernaccus was a daedra (said Xiomara, throwing a few dribbles on flin on the hearth to cast the proper mood), and though our tale took place many, many years ago, it would be fair to say that Vernaccus still is one. For what after all is time to the immortal daedra?\n\"Actually,\" Garaz interrupted. \"I understand that the notion of immortality--\"\n\"I am trying to offer our friend an inspirational tale in his hour of need,\" Xiomara growled. \"I don't have all bloody night to tell it, if you don't mind.\"\nYou wouldn't have heard of Vernaccus (said Xiomara, abandoning the theme of immortality for the time being) for even at the height of his power and fame, he was considered feeble by the admittedly high standards of the day. Of course, this lack of respect infuriated him, and his reaction was typical of lesser daedra. He went on a murderous rampage.\nSoon word spread through all the villages in the Colovian West of the unholy terror. Whole families had been butchered, castles destroyed, orchards and fields torched and cursed so nothing would ever grow there again.\nTo make things even worse for the villagers, Vernaccus began getting visitations from an old rival of his from Oblivion. She was a daedra seducer named Horavatha, and she delighted in taunting him to see how angry she could make him become.\n\"You've flooded a village and that's supposed to be impressive?\" she would sneer.\n\"Try collapsing a continent, and maybe you'll get a little attention.\"\nVernaccus could become pretty angry. He didn't come very close to collapsing the continent of Tamriel, but it wasn't for lack of trying.\nA hero was needed to face the mad daedra, and fortunately, one was available.\nHis name was Bourlor, and it was said that he had been blessed by the goddess Kynareth. That was the only explanation for his inhuman accuracy with his bow and arrow, for he never missed a target. As a child he had driven his marksmanship tutors wild with frustration. They would tell him how to plant his feet, how to nock a bolt, the proper grip for the cord, the best method of release. He ignored all the rules, and somehow, every time, the arrow would catch a breath of wind and sail directly to his target. It did not matter if the quarry was moving or still, at very close range or miles away. Whatever he wanted to strike with his arrow would be struck.\nBourlor answered the call when one of the village mayors begged him for help. Unfortunately, he was not as great a horseman as he was an archer. As he rode through the forest toward the mayor's town, a place called Evensacon, Vernaccus was already murdering everyone there. Horavatha watched, and stifled back a yawn.\n\"Murdering a small town mayor isn't going to put you in famous company, you know. What you need is a great champion to defeat. Someone like Ysgramor or Pelinal Whitestrake or--\" she stared at the figure emerging from the forest. \"That fellow!\"\n\"Who's he?\" growled Vernaccus between bites of the mayor's quivering body.\n\"The greatest archer in Tamriel. He's never missed.\"\nBourlor had his bow strung and was pointing it at the daedra. For a moment, Vernaccus felt like laughing -- the fellow was not even aiming straight -- but he had a well-honed sense of self-preservation. There was something about the man's look of confidence that convinced the daedra that Horavatha wasn't lying. As the bolt left the bow, Vernaccus vanished in a sheet of flame.\nThe arrow impaled a tree. Bourlor stood and stared. He had missed a target.\nIn Oblivion, Vernaccus raged. Fleeing before a mortal man like that -- not even the basest scamp would have been so craven. He had exposed himself for the weak, cowardly creature he was. As he considered what steps to take to salvage the situation, he found himself face-to-knee with the most fearsome of the Daedra Princes, Molag Bal.\n\"I never thought anything much of you, Vernaccus,\" the giant boomed. \"But you have more than proven your worth. You have shown the creatures of Mundus that the daedra are more powerful than the blessings of the Gods.\"\nThe other denizens of Oblivion quickly agreed (as they always did) with the view of Molag Bal. The daedra are, after all, always very sensitive about their various defeats at the hands of mortal champions. Vernaccus was proclaimed The Elusive Beast, The Unpursuable One, He Who Cannot Be Touched, The Bane of Kynareth. Shrines devoted to him began to be built in remote corners of Morrowind and Skyrim.\nBourlor meanwhile, now found flawed, was never again called to rescue a village. He was so heartbroken over his failure to strike his target that he became a hermit, and never restrung his bow again. Some months later, he died, unmourned and unremembered.\n\"Is this really the tale you thought would cheer me?\" asked Hallgerd incredulously. \n\"I've heard the King of Worms told more inspirational stories.\"\n\"Wait,\" smiled Xiomara. \"I'm not finished yet.\"\nFor a year's time, Vernaccus was content to watch his legend grow and his fledging worship spread from his home in Oblivion. He was, in addition to being cowardly and inclined toward murderous rages, also a very lazy creature. His worshippers told tales of their Master avoiding the bolts of a thousand archers, of moving through oceans without getting wet, and other feats of avoidance that he would rather not have to demonstrate in person. The real story of his ignominious retreat from Bourlor was thankfully forgotten.\nThe bad news, when it came, was delivered to him with some relish by Horavatha. He had delighted in her jealousy at his growing reputation, so it was with a cruel smile she told him, \"Your shrines are being assaulted.\"\n\"Who dares?\" he roared.\n\"Everyone who passes them in the wilderness feels the need to throw a stone,\" Horavatha purred. \"You can hardly blame them. After all, they represent He Who Cannot Be Touched. How could anyone be expected to resist such a target?\"\nVernaccus peered through the veil into the world of Mundus and saw that it was true. One of his shrines in Colovian West country was surrounded by a large platoon of mercenary soldiers, who delighted in pelting it with rocks. His worshippers huddled inside, praying for a miracle.\nIn an instant, he appeared before the mercenaries and his rage was terrifying to behold. They fled into the woods before he even had a chance to murder one of them. His worshippers threw open the wooden door to the shrine and dropped to their knees in joy and fear. His anger melted. Then a stone struck him.\nThen another. He turned to face his assailants, but the air was suddenly filled with rocks.\nVernaccus could not see them, but he heard mercenaries in the woods laugh, \"It's not even trying to move out of the way!\"\n\"It's impossible not to hit him!\" guffawed another.\nWith a roar of humiliation, the daedra bounded into the shrine, chased by the onslaught. One of the stones knocked the door closed behind him, striking him in the back. His face broke, anger and embarrassment disappearing, replaced by pain. He turned, shaking, to his worshippers who huddled in the shadows of the shrine, their faith shattered.\n\"Where did you get the wood to build this shrine?\" Vernaccus groaned.\n\"Mostly from a copse of trees near the village of Evensacon,\" his high-priest shrugged.\nVernaccus nodded. He dropped forward, revealing the deep wound in his back. A rusted arrowhead buried in a whorl in the wood of the door had jolted loose in the assault and impaled him. The daedra vanished in a whirlwind of dust.\nThe shrines were abandoned shortly thereafter, though Vernaccus did have a brief resurgence as the Patron Spirit of Limitations and Impotence before fading from memory altogether. The legend of Bourlor himself never became very well known either, but there are still some who tell the tale, like myself. And we have the advantage of knowing what the Great Archer himself didn't know on his deathbed -- his final arrow found its target after all."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/vivec-and-mephala": {"game": ["Morrowind", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/vivec-and-mephala", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Vivec and Mephala", "text": "Morrowind is holy country, and its gods are flesh and blood. Collectively, these gods are called the Tribunal, the triune ALMSIVI, three deities exemplifying Dunmeri virtues. Almalexia is Mercy, Vivec is Mastery, and Sotha Sil is Mystery. Vivec is easily the most popular of them all. Vivec is also the most public, for he is the beloved Warrior-Poet of the True People, paradoxically beautiful and bloody. Vivec is an artistic violence. Vivec is represented in Temple literature and liturgy as one of the divine kings of Morrowind. He guards the sacred Velothi subcontinent of Vvardenfell, and stands guard over Red Mountain, the gate to hell. He is part of the holy Tribunal, a god of the New Temple, and an aspect of the blessed and righteous ALMSIVI.\nThis explicit presentation of Vivec the Guardian God-King and Warrior-Poet is the one most accessible and familiar to Westerners. However, it is important to remember that Vivec is also known to the Dunmer as the transcendent evolution of the daedra that anticipated him, Black Hands Mephala, a foundation figure of the earliest Chimer. This darker side of Vivec does not appear in the popular literature and liturgy, but is instinctively understood and accepted by the Dunmer as an integral part of Vivec's divine aspect. A more complete appreciation of the complex nature of Vivec requires an understanding of the nature of Vivec's Anticipation, Mephala, and the darker themes represented by this Daedra Lord's modes and motivations.\nEach of the three Tribunes of the Temple were represented in the dawn of Chimeri culture by their Anticipations. These Anticipations are known to the West as the sinister Daedra Lords Azura, Boethiah, and Mephala. In Temple theology, however, Azura is the Anticipation of Sotha Sil, the Mage-Lord of Almsivi. Boethiah is the Anticipation of Almalexia, Almsivi's Mother and Lady. Mephala is the Anticipation of Vivec. According to legend, under the guidance of these three Daedra Lords, a discontented throng of Altmer transformed themselves into a new people and founded a new land. And while Boethiah, the so-called Prince of Plots, provided the revolutionary methods needed to bring about this transformation, Mephala was the shadowy implementer of those methods.\nAs known in the West, Mephala is the demon of murder, sex, and secrets. All of these themes contain subtle aspects and violent ones (assassination/genocide, courtship/orgy, tact/poetic truths); Mephala is understood paradoxically to contain and integrate these contradictory themes. And all these subtle undercurrents and contradictions are present in the Dunmer concepts of Vivec, even if they are not explicitly described and explained in Temple doctrine.\nThe Dunmer do not envision Lord Vivec as a creature of murder, sex, and secrets. Rather, they conceive of Lord Vivec as benevolent king, guardian warrior, poet-artist. But, at the same time, unconsciously, they accept the notion of darker, hidden currents beneath Vivec's benevolent aspects.\nFor example, one of the most striking persistent myths associated with Vivec is the story that Vivec conspired with his co-rulers Almalexia and Sotha Sil in the murder of Lord Nerevar, the greatest of Dunmer heroes and generals. The story is derived from Ashlander oral tradition, and is flatly contradicted by all Temple traditions. Nonetheless, the tale is firmly established in the Dunmer imagination, as if to say, \"Of course Vivec would never have conspired to murder Lord Nerevar, but it happened so long ago... who can know the truth?\"\nThe public face of Vivec is benign, sensitive, compassionate, and protective of his followers. At the same time, the Dunmer seem irrationally comfortable with the hidden aspects of Vivec, the darker components of violence, lust, and conspiracy associated the more primitive and ruthless impulses of the Anticipations."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/war-first-council": {"game": ["Morrowind", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/war-first-council", "description": "An Imperial overview of the war. Very biased and sometimes innacurate.", "author": "Agrippa Fundilius", "title": "War of the First Council", "text": "This account by the Imperial scholar Agrippa Fundilius is based on various Imperial and Dunmer sources, and written for Western readers.\nThe War of the First Council was a First Age religious conflict between the secular Dunmer Houses Dwemer and Dagoth and the orthodox Dunmer Houses Indoril, Redoran, Dres, Hlaalu, and Telvanni. The First Council was the first pan-Dunmer governing body, which collapsed over disputes about sorceries and enchantments practiced by the Dwemer and declared profane by the other Houses.\nThe Secular Houses, less numerous, but politically and magically more advanced, and aided by Nord and Orc clans drawn by promise of land and booty, initially campaigned with great success in the north of Morrowind, and occupied much of the land now comprising Redoran, Vvardenfell, and Telvanni District. The Orthodox Houses, widely dispersed and poorly organized, suffered defeat after defeat until Nerevar was made general of all House troops and levies.\nNerevar secured the aid of nomad barbarian tribesmen, and contrived to force a major battle at the Secular stronghold of Red Mountain on Vvardenfell. The Secular forces were outmaneuvered and defeated with the help of Ashlander scouts, and the survivors forced to take refuge in the Dwemer stronghold at Red Mountain.\nAfter a brief siege, treason permitted Nerevar and his troops to enter the stronghold, where the Secular leaders were slain, and Nerevar mortally wounded. General slaughter followed, and Houses Dwemer and Dagoth were exterminated. Nerevar died shortly thereafter of his wounds.\nThree of Nerevar's associates among the Orthodox Houses, Vivec, Almalexia, and Sotha Sil, succeeded to control of the re-created First Council, re-named the Grand Council of Morrowind, and went on to be come the god-kings and immortal rulers of Morrowind known as the Tribunal, or Almsivi."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/weapons-and-armor-contract": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/weapons-and-armor-contract", "description": "A transaction paper of weapons and armor.", "author": "Felyn Saranas", "title": "Weapons and Armor Contract", "text": "Contract for Services\nI, Felyn Saranas, hereby agree to pay the sum of 10,000 (ten thousand)  drakes upon the delivery of the following items:\nIron Shortsword (20)\nIron Claymore (15)\nIron Mace (10)\nIron Spear (15)\nSteel Axe (10)\nSteel Dagger (15)\nSteel Staff (10)\nSteel Halberd (15)\nSteel Longsword (10)\nAll items are assumed to be delivered in new and working condition, and  to have been created at the forge of Ralen Tilvur, Smith, Vivec City.  This contract is binding under Imperial Law, and may only be rendered  null and void by a mutual agreement of both parties here undersigned.\nAlvur Hleran\nFelyn Saranas"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/where-were-you-when-dragon-broke": {"game": ["Morrowind", "Skyrim", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/where-were-you-when-dragon-broke", "description": "Comments from various knowledgeable people about the Dragon Break.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Where were you when the Dragon Broke?", "text": "Corax, Cyrodiil, Elder Council:\n\u201cNo one understands what happened when the Selectives danced on that tower. It would be easy to dismiss the whole matter as nonsense were it not for the Amulet of Kings. Even the Elder Scrolls do not mention it -- let me correct myself, the Elder Scrolls cannot mention it. When the Moth priests attune the Scrolls to the timeless time their glyphs always disappear. The Amulet of Kings, however, with its oversoul of emperors, can speak of it at length. According to Hestra, Cyrodiil became an Empire across the stars. According to Shor-El, Cyrodiil became an egg. Most say something in a language they can only speak sideways. The Council has collected texts and accounts from all of its provinces, and they only offer stories that never coincide, save on one point: all the folk of Tamriel during the Middle Dawn, in whatever 'when' they were caught in, tracked the fall of the eight stars. And that is how they counted their days.\u201d\nMehra Nabisi, Dunmer, Triune Mistress of the New Temple:\n\u201cAccounts of the Middle Dawn are the province of the Empire of Men, and proof of the deceit that call themselves the Aedra. Eight stars fell on Tamriel, one for each iniquity that Lorkhan made clear to the world. Veloth read these signs, and he told Boethiah, who confirmed them, and he told Mephala, who made wards against them, and he told Azura, who sent ALMSIVI to steer the True Folk clear of harm. Even the Four Corners of the House of Troubles rose to protect the periphery of your madness. We watched our borders and saw them shift like snakes, and saw you run around in it like the spirits of old, devoid of math, without your if-thens, succumbing to the Ever Now like slaves of the slim folly, stasis. Do not ask us where we were when the Dragon Broke, for, of all the world, only we truly know, and we might just show you how to break it again.\u201d\nR'leyt-harhr, Khajiit, Tender to the Mane:\n\u201cDo you mean, where were the Khajiit when the Dragon Broke? R'leyt tells you where: recording it. 'One thousand eight years,' you've heard it. You think the Cyro-Nordics came up with that all on their own. You humans are better thieves than even Rajhin! While you were fighting wars with phantoms and giving birth to your own fathers, it was the Mane that watched the ja-Kha'jay, because the moons were the only constant, and you didn't have the sugar to see it. We'll give you credit: you broke Alkosh something fierce, and that's not easy. Just don't think you solved what you accomplished by it, or can ever solve it. You did it again with Big Walker, not once, but twice! Once at Rimmen, which we'll never learn to live with. The second time it was in Daggerfall, or was it Sentinel, or was it Wayrest, or was it in all three places at once? Get me, Cyrodiil? When will you wake up and realize what really happened to the Dwarves?\u201d\nMannimarco, God of Worms, the Necromancers:\n\u201cThe Three Thieves of Morrowind could tell you where they were. So could the High King of Alinor, who was the one who broke it in the first place. There are others on this earth that could, too: Ysmir, Pelinal, Arnand the Fox or should I say Arctus? The Last Dwarf would talk, if they would let him. As for myself, I was here and there and here again, like the rest of the mortals during the Dragon Break. How do you think I learned my mystery? The Maruhkati Selectives showed us all the glories of the Dawn so that we might learn, simply: as above, so below.\u201d"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/widow-vabdas-land-deed": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/widow-vabdas-land-deed", "description": "", "author": "Hetman Abelmawia", "title": "Widow Vabdas' Land Deed", "text": "By the Grace of ALMSIVI, Lords and Rulers of All\nBy the Grace of Hlaren Ramoran, Councilor of House Redoran, Lord of Gnisis\nAttested by his trusted servant, Hetman Abelmawia Eribael\nThis document grants all rights of tenancy, residence, bounty, and vocation in the lands adjoining the Vabdas Clan Hearth, including the lands along the river bluff for 80 paces east and west of the hearth and the lands for 80 paces north of the hearth and the lands south of the heart as far as the river bluff, to the Miner Mansilamat Vabdas and his Goodwife Pulaya Vabdas.\nSeal of Hetman Abelmawia"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/withershins": {"game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/withershins", "description": "A ridiculous book about madness.", "author": "Yaqut Tawashi", "title": "Withershins", "text": "\n\"All right,\" said Kazagha. \"Why don't you want to talk?\"\nZaki put down his mug of mead and just stared at his wife for a few seconds. Finally, grudgingly: \"Because everything I have a conversation, darling, it flows in alphabetical order. Just like I told you. I think the only way to stop it is not to talk at all.\"\n\"Couldn't you just be imagining this?\" said Kazagha patiently. \"It wouldn't be the first time you had an insane paranoid delusion. Remember when you thought the royal battlemage of Black Marsh was hiding behind every tree with lewd intent, intent on making you -- a middle-aged, fat, balding tailor -- into his personal sex slave?\u00a0 You don't need to be ashamed, but it's Sheogorath's way to make us all a little crazy sometimes.\u00a0 If you go to the healer--\"\n\"Damn it, Kazagha!\" snarled Zaki and stomped out, slamming the door behind him. He nearly collided with Siyasat, his neighbor.\n\"Excuse me,\" she said to Zaki's back.\u00a0 He clamped his hands over his ears as he stormed down the street, turning the corner to his tailor shop.\u00a0 His first customer was waiting out front, smiling widely.\u00a0 Zaki tried to keep his temper under control and took out his keys, returning the customer's smile.\n\"Fine day,\" said the young man.\n\"Gods!\" hollered Zaki, sending the young man flying with a well-placed punch, and dashing away.\nAs much as he hated to admit that Kazagha was right, it was evidently time, once again, for one of the healer's herbal cocktails. Tarsu's temple to health, mental and physical, was several streets north, an impressive obelisk.\u00a0 Halqa, the chief herbalist, met him before he came in the hall.\n\"How are you today, Sa'Zaki Saf?\"\n\"I need to make an appointment with Tarsu,\" said Zaki in his calmest voice.\n\"Just one moment, let me see how his schedule looks.\" Halqa said, looking over a scroll. \"Is this an emergency?\"\n\"Kind of,\" said Zaki, and slapped his head. Why couldn't he say yes, or absolutely, or sure?\n\"Let's see,\" said Halqa, frowning. \"The best I can do is next Middas. Would that work for you?\"\n\"Middas!\" cried Zaki. \"I'll be a complete psychotic by Middas. Isn't there anything earlier?\"\nHe knew what the answer would be before she said it. There was no alternative. In a way, he had forced the response. If only he had kept the conversation going until \"Y.\"\n\"No,\" said Halqa. \"I'm sorry. Do you want me to make the appointment--?\"\nZaki walked away, gritting his teeth. He wandered the streets, his head down to avoid all conversations, until he looked up and discovered that he had walked all the way to the wharf. A sweet breeze was blowing along the water and he took several deep breaths until he felt almost normal. When his temper cooled, he could think again. What if this alphabetical conversation wasn't a delusion at all? What if what he felt wasn't paranoia, but acute awareness? He knew it was the classic dilemma: am I crazy or is there really something weird going on?\nAcross the road was a shop called ParaDocks, featuring a display of herbs, crystals, and vapors trapped in orbs . The sign in the window read \"Mystical Consultation sunrise to noon.\" It was worth a shot, though Zaki was dubious.\u00a0 The only people who generally came down the wharf for healing were stupid adventurers who didn't know any better.\nIncense burned in copious billows of pink and gold, obscuring and then revealing the clutter within. Jijjic death masks glowered down from the walls, smoking censors hung by chains from the ceiling, and the floor was a maze of bookshelves. At a wellworn table in the back a small man wearing a headress was tabulating a young lady's purchases.\n\"Okay,\" said the man. \"Your total comes to fifty-seven gold pieces. I threw in the restorative scale conditioner for free. Just remember, the candle should be lit only after you invoke Goroflox The Unholy, and mandrake root does best in partial shade.\"\nThe customer gave a quick, shy smile to Zaki and left the store.\n\"Please help me,\" said Zaki. \"Every conversation I hear or get involved in seems to be arranged alphabetically. I don't know if I'm going insane or if there are some kind of bizarre forces at work. To be honest with you, I'm normally a skeptic when it comes to your type of business, but I'm at the end of my rope. Can you do anything to make this madness end?\"\n\"Quite a common problem, actually,\" said the man, patting Zaki on the arm. \"When you get to the end of the alphabet, do conversations then go to reverse alphabetical order or start at the beginning of the alphabet?\"\n\"Reverse alphabetical order,\" said Zaki, and then corrected himself. \"Damn it!\u00a0 I mean, it starts from the beginning, all over again.\u00a0 I'm in agony. Can you call on the spirits and tell me, am I insane?\"\n\"Sauriki,\" said the man with a reassuring smile. \"I don't have to. You're quite sane.\"\n\"Thank you,\" said Zaki, frowning. \"By the way, my name's Zaki, not Sauriki.\"\n\"Unusually close, eh?\" said the man, patting Zaki on the back. \"My name's Octoplasm. Follow me, please. I think I have just what you need.\"\nOctoplasm lead Zaki down the narrow corridor behind the desk. The two men pushed past dusty cabinets filled with strange creatures in liquids, past heaps of neolithic stones, past stack after stack of moldering leather-bound books, into the dank heart of the store.\u00a0 There he picked up a small, squat cylindrical drum and a book, and handed them to Zaki.\n\"'Vampirism, Daedric Possession, and Withershin Therapy,'\" said Zaki, squinting his eyes to read the book in the gloom. \"What in Oblivion does this have to do with me? I'm not a vampire, look at this tan. And what's Withershin Therapy, and how much will it cost me?\"\n\"Withershins, from the Old Cyrodilic withersynes, which means backwards,\" said Octoplasm in a serious tone. \"It's the art of reversing the direction of things in order to gain access to the spirit world, and break curses, cure vampirism, and trigger all manners of apotropaic healing. You know the story about the guy who was told that slaughterfish live in hot water, so he said, 'Well, let's boil them in cold water'?\"\n\"Xenophus,\" said Zaki instinctively, his brother having taken a rather esoteric upper level course in Cyrodilic philosophy as an elective in at the Imperial College thirty-one years before, and immediately wishing he hadn't. \"And what do you do with the cylindrical thingy?\"\nOctoplasm lit a candle and held the object over it so Zaki could see more clearly. All along the cylinder were narrow slits and when Zaki peered within them, he saw a succession of old black and white drawings of a naked man leaping over boxes, one frame after the next.\n\"You spin it like so,\" said Octoplasm, slowly whirling the device clockwise so the man within leapt over the boxes over and over again. \"It's called a zoetrope. Pretty neat, eh? Now, you take it and start spinning it counterclockwise, and while you're doing it, read this incantation I've marked in the book.\"\nZaki took the zoetrope and began spinning it counterclockwise over the candle, so the little naked man within seemed to bound backwards over the boxes. It took a little coordination and concentration to keep whirling at a steady pace, but gradually the man's awkward and jerky backjumps became more and more fluid until Zaki could no longer see the individual frames flipping. It looked just like a little humanoid hamster on an endless reverse treadmill. While he continued to spin the zoetrope with one hand, Zaki took the book in the other and read the underlined passage.\n\"Zoetrope counter-spin, counter-spin, counter-spin / Pull my life from the rut that it's in / I invoke the Goddesses Boethiah, Kynareth, and Drisis / To invert my potentially metaphysical crisis / My old life may have been rather pointless and plain / But I dislike the prospect of going insane / Make the pattern reverse by this withershin / Zoetrope, counter-spin, counter-spin, counter-spin.\"\nAs he chanted the spell, Zaki noticed that the little naked man in the zoetrope began to look more like himself. The moustache vanished, and the hairline receded. The man's waistline expanded, and the buttocks sagged to the shape and texture of half-inflated balloons. Scales approximating his own Argonian pattern appeared.\u00a0 The man began to trip as he bounded backwards over the boxes, taking bigger breaths and sweating. By the time Zaki reached the end of the incantation, his twin was clutching his chest and tumbling end-over-end over the boxes in a free-fall.\nOctoplasm took the zoetrope and the book from Zaki's hands. Nothing seemed to have changed. No thunder had rumbled. No winged serpents had sprung out of Zaki's head. No fiery explosions. But Zaki felt that something was different. Good different. Normal.\nAt the counter, when Zaki pulled out his sachel of gold pieces, Octoplasm merely shook his head: \"Are treatment radical such of effects term long the what sure be can't we, naturally. Charge no.\"\nFeeling the first real relief he had felt in days, Zaki walked backwards out of the shop and down the road to his shop."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/morrowind-words-clan-mother-ahnissi-her-favored-daughter": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/morrowind-words-clan-mother-ahnissi-her-favored-daughter", "description": "A Khajiiti creation myth", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Words of Clan Mother Ahnissi to her Favored Daughter", "text": "Ahnissi tells you. You are no longer a mewing kitten and you have learned to keep secrets from Ahnissi, and so Ahnissi tells you.\nIn the beginning there were two littermates, Ahnurr and Fadomai. After many phases, Fadomai said to Ahnurr, \"Let us wed and make children to share our happiness.\"\nAnd they gave birth to Alkosh, the First Cat. And Ahnurr said, \"Alkosh, we give you Time, for what is as fast or as slow as a cat?\"\nAnd they gave birth to Khenarthi, the Winds. \"Khenarthi, to you we give the sky, for what can fly higher than the wind?\"\nAnd they gave birth to Magrus, the Cat's Eye. \"Magrus, to you we give the sun, for what is brighter than the eye of a cat?\"\nAnd they gave birth to Mara, the Mother Cat. \"Mara, you are love, for what is more loving than a mother?\"\nAnd they gave birth to S'rendarr, the Runt. \"S'rendarr, we give you mercy, for how does a runt survive, except by mercy?\"\nAnd many phases passed and Ahnurr and Fadomai were happy.\nAnd Ahnurr said, \"We should have more children to share our happiness.\" And Fadomai agreed. And she gave birth to Hermorah. And she gave birth to Hircine. And she gave birth to Merrunz and Mafala and Sangiin and Sheggorath and many others.\nAnd Fadomai said:\n\"Hermorah, you are the Tides, for who can say whether the moons predict the tides or the tides predict the moons?\"\n\"Hircine, you are the Hungry Cat, for what hunts better than a cat with an empty belly?\"\n\"Merrunz, you are the Ja'Khajiit, for what is more destructive than an young cat?\"\n\"Mafala, you are the Clan Mother, for what is more secretive than the ways of the Clan Mothers?\"\n\"Sangiin, you are the Blood Cat, for who can control the urges of the blood?\"\n\"Sheggorath, you are the Skooma Cat, for what is crazier than a cat on skooma?\"\nAnd Ahnurr said, \"Two litters is enough, for too many children will steal our happiness.\"\nBut Khenarthi went to Fadomai and said, \"Fadomai-mother, Khenarthi grows lonely so high above the world where not even my brother Alkosh can fly.\" Fadomai took pity on her and tricked Ahnurr to make her pregnant again.\nAnd Fadomai gave birth to the Moons and their Motions. And she gave birth to Nirni, the majestic sands and lush forests. And she gave birth to Azurah, the dusk and the dawn.\nAnd from the beginning, Nirni and Azurah fought for their mother's favor.\nAhnurr caught Fadomai while she was still birthing, and he was angry. Ahnurr struck Fadomai and she fled to birth the last of her litter far away in the Great Darkness. Fadomai's children heard what had happened, and they all came to be with her and protect her from Ahnurr's anger.\nAnd Fadomai gave birth to Lorkhaj, the last of her litter, in the Great Darkness. And the Heart of Lorkhaj was filled with the Great Darkness. And when he was born, the Great Darkness knew its name and it was Namiira.\nAnd Fadomai knew her time was near. Fadomai said:\n\"Ja-Kha'jay, to you Fadomai gives the Lattice, for what is steadier than the phases of the moons? Your eternal motions will protect us from Ahnurr's anger.\" And the moons left to take their place in the heavens. And Ahnurr growled and shook the Great Darkness, but he could not cross the Lattice.\nAnd Fadomai said:\n\"Nirni, to you Fadomai leaves her greatest gift. You will give birth as Fadomai gave birth today.\" When Nirni saw that Azurah had nothing, Nirni left smiling.\nAnd all Fadomai's children left except Azurah. And Fadomai said, \"To you, my favored daughter, Fadomai leaves her greatest gift. To you Fadomai leaves her secrets.\" And Fadomai told her favored daughter three things.\nAnd Fadomai said, \"When Nirni is filled with her children, take one of them and change them. Make the fastest, cleverest, most beautiful people, and call them Khajiit.\"\nAnd Fadomai said, \"The Khajiit must be the best climbers, for if Masser and Secunda fail, they must climb Khenarthi's breath to set the moons back in their courses.\"\nAnd Fadomai said, \"The Khajiit must be the best deceivers, for they must always hide their nature from the children of Ahnurr.\"\nAnd Fadomai said, \"The Khajiit must be the best survivors, for Nirni will be jealous, and she will make the sands harsh and the forests unforgiving, and the Khajiit will always be hungry and at war with Nirni.\"\nAnd with these words, Fadomai died.\nAfter many phases, Nirni came to Lorkhaj and said, \"Lorkhaj, Fadomai told me to give birth to many children, but there is no place for them.\"\nAnd Lorkhaj said, \"Lorkhaj makes a place for children and Lorkhaj puts you there so you can give birth.\" But the Heart of Lorkhaj was filled with the Great Darkness, and Lorkhaj tricked his siblings so that they were forced into this new place with Nirni. And many of Fadomai's children escaped and became the stars. And many of Fadomai's children died. And the others stayed and punished Lorkhaj.\nThe children of Fadomai tore out the Heart of Lorkhaj and hid it deep within Nirni. And they said, \"We curse you, noisy Lorkhaj, to walk Nirni for many phases.\"\nBut Nirni soon forgave Lorkhaj for Nirni could make children. And she filled herself with children, but cried because her favorite children, the forest people, did not know their shape.\nAnd Azurah came to her and said, \"Poor Nirni, stop your tears. Azurah makes for you a gift of a new people.\" And Nirni stopped weeping, and Azurah spoke the First Secret to the Moons and they parted and let Azurah pass. And Azurah took the forest people who were torn between man and beast, and she placed them in the best desserts and forests on Nirni. And Azurah in her wisdom made them of many shapes, one for every purpose. And Azurah named them Khajiit and told them her Second Secret and taught them the value of secrets. And Azurah left and spoke the Third Secret to the Lunar Lattice and bound the Khajiit to the Lattice, as is proper for Nirni's secret defenders. Then Azurah spoke the Third Secret again, and the Moons shone down on the marshes and their light became sugar.\nBut Y'ffer heard the First Secret and snuck in behind Azurah. And Y'ffer could not appreciate secrets, and he told Nirni of Azurah's trick. And Nirni made the deserts hot and the sands biting. And Nirni made the forests wet and filled with poisons. And Nirni thanked Y'ffer and let him change the forest people also. And Y'ffer did not have Azurah's subtle wisdom, so Y'ffer made the forest people Elves always and never beasts or trees. And Y'ffer named them Bosmer. And from that moment they were no longer in the same litter as the Khajiit.\nAnd because Y'ffer had no appreciation for secrets, he shouted the First Secret across all the heavens with his last breath so that all of Fadomai's children could cross the Lattice. But Azurah, in her wisdom, closed the ears of Ahnurr and Lorkhaj so they alone did not hear the word."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/words-wind": {"game": ["Morrowind", "Skyrim", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/words-wind", "description": "An Ashlander poem from the Ahemmusa tribe", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Words of the Wind", "text": "[This is a volume of verse collected from Ashlander wise women. 'May I shrink to dust' is from the Ahemmusa Ashlanders of the Grazelands.]\nMay I shrink to dust\n\tIn your cold, wild Wastes,\n\tAnd may my tongue speak\n\tIts last hymn to your winds.\nI pray for the herder\n\tThat whistles to his guar at play.\n\tI pray for the hunter\n\tThat stalks the white walkers.\n\tI pray for the wise one\n\tThat seeks under the hill,\n\tAnd the wife who wishes\n\tFor one last touch of her dead child's hand.\nI will not pray for that which I've lost\n\tWhen my heart springs forth\n\tFrom your soil, like a seed,\n\tAnd blossoms anew beneath tomorrow's sun."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/yellow-book-3e-426": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/yellow-book-3e-426", "description": "This book details the business, important events, and Councilors of Great House Hlaalu in 426.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Yellow Book of 3E 426", "text": "Yellow Book of Great House Hlaalu\nCouncilors of House Hlaalu\n\tVvardenfell District\n\tImperial Era 426\nMistress Velanda Omani, by Grace of Almsivi, Honored Councilor of Hlaalu Council, Vvardenfell District, Free Trader, Lord of Omani Plantation, Elmas Island, East Vivec, District of Vvardenfell, Province of Morrowind\nMaster Dram Bero, by Grace of Almsivi, Honored Councilor of Hlaalu Council, Vvardenfell District, Free Trader, Gentleman of No Fixed Residence, Vivec, District of Vvardenfell, Province of Morrowind\nMaster Crassius Curio, by Grace of Almsivi, Honored Councilor of Hlaalu Council, Vvardenfell District, Free Trader, Curio Manor, Hlaalu Compound, Vivec, District of Vvardenfell, Province of Morrowind\nMaster Yngling Half-Troll , by Grace of Almsivi, Honored Councilor of Hlaalu Council, Vvardenfell District, Free Trader, Yngling Manor, Canton of St. Olms, Vivec, District of Vvardenfell, Province of Morrowind\nMistress Nevena Ules, by Grace of Almsivi, Honored Councilor of Hlaalu Council, Vvardenfell District, Free Trader, Ules Manor, Suran, Ascadian Isles, Bal Ur, District of Vvardenfell, Province of Morrowind\nCouncil Affairs of Note\nKing Hlaalu Athyn Llethan, High Councilor and Lord of Morrowind, grants relief to merchants complaining of high tariffs on imported alcoholic beverages.\nThe council is pleased to report a reduction in the incidence of theft and violent crime in the Hlaalu House Districts, thanks to the vigilance of the Legions and stern sentences by the magistrates. The council laments the unfortunate disturbances of the public peace resulting from the increasingly aggressive competition between the Thieves Guild and the Camonna Tong for control of the black markets.\nA minor tax revolt in Balmora was suppressed without undue harm to life and property. The council sent deputations to the Duke to express their concerns over the high tax rates and the injurious effect of high tariffs on trade."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ynglings-ledger": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ynglings-ledger", "description": "", "author": "Yngling Half-Troll", "title": "Yngling's Ledger", "text": "[This is a ledger showing how Yngling Half-Troll misdirected funds he  was supposed to spend on restoring the Temple in the Redoran Compound in  Vivec.]"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ynglings-letter": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ynglings-letter", "description": "A letter from Archcanon Saryoni with 50,000 drakes \"donation\" from the temple.", "author": "Archcanon Saryoni", "title": "Yngling's Letter", "text": "Ser Yngling,\nI must admit that I was surprised by your request for funds to repair the House Hlaalu Temple in Vivec. Before our meeting last week I knew only that you were an outlander and not a member of our Temple. Once again, I ask that you forgive an old man for heeding to false rumors. Now that I have met you, I am sure that your motives are pure, and you can restore the Temple to its former glory.\nHouse Hlaalu has neglected its Temple in Vivec for many years and it is in a state of disrepair. Given the difficulty of this restoration, I would be pleased to contribute 50,000 drakes to your efforts.\nArchcanon Saryoni"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/zainsubanis-notes": {"game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/zainsubanis-notes", "description": "Notes on the Ashlanders and the Nerevarine cult prepared for the Nerevarine by Hassour Zainsubani.", "author": "Hassour Zainsubani", "title": "Zainsubani's Notes", "text": "[The following are notes on the Ashlanders and the Nerevarine cult  prepared for you by Hassour Zainsubani]\nThe Ashlanders are the direct descendants of the Aldmeri peoples who  followed the Prophet Veloth into the lands we now call Morrowind. The  Ashlanders retain the modest nomadic life and simple ancestor worship of  their forebears, and despise the soft lives and decadent worships of  the settled Great House Dunmer cultures. The Wastes are harsh and  unforgiving, and we are a hard people. But there is a beauty and honor  in our simple lives, and the snobs of the Temple and Great Houses are  fools to dismiss us as crude savages.\nAshlanders and foreigners\nMost Ashlanders wish all foreigners and their false gods could be driven  from Morrowind. At very least, Ashlanders wish the foreign devils would  leave them in peace. Ashlanders think it shameful to attack unarmed  persons, but they will kill without hesitation an armed person who  offends them or their clan laws. No Ashlander is fool enough to make war  against the Empire. However, if such a war might be won, many  Ashlanders might cheerfully give their lives to win such a war.\nAshlander courtesy\nAshlanders may challenge a stranger who enters a yurt without  invitation. Customs differ with different tribes, but leave when  requested, and you may be forgiven. Be particularly careful about  ashkhans -- tribal chiefs -- and wise women -- tribal seers and  counselors. Some are welcoming, some are hostile. Be courteous, and  leave if requested. If offended, they may attack.\nAshlander challenges\nWhen challenged for sport, it is acceptable to decline. When challenged  for honor, it is shameful to decline. Honor challenges come from offense  given in speech or action, or may represent customary formal challenges  of status or ritual.\nAshlander worship\nAll Ashlanders in a tribe, young and small, are born into the Ancestor  cult of their clan. The Nerevarine cult is different, though; it is a  very small cult, with only a few wise women with the gift of prophecy,  and a few holy warrior-heroes who guard and protect the seers.  Sul-Matuul, Ashkhan of the Urshilaku, is the Warrior-Protector of the  cult, and Nibani Maesa, also of the Urshilaku, is the Oracle-Seer of the  cult.\nNerevarine cult\nThey worship the Great Ashkhan and Hortator, Nerevar Moon-and-Star, who  in ages past destroyed the evil, godless dwarves and banished the  treacherous Dagoth Ur and his foul hosts beneath Red Mountain. The cult  is of small consequence in Ashlander worship, and only among the  Urshilaku do its followers have any influence. Others Ashlanders tribes  share the sentiments of the cult, but regard the Nerevarine prophecies  with suspicion and skepticism.\nNerevarine prophecies\nIt is said that prophecies foretell the return of a reincarnated  Nerevar, who shall drive the foreigners from the Ashlands and who shall  cast down the false gods of the Temple, and restore the true worships of  the Ancestors. It is a dream that would appeal to every Ashlander, but  many Ashlanders think it is a silly ancient legend, and little more.\nThe Urshilaku Ashlanders\nThe Urshilaku are the Ashlanders of the northern Ashlands and the West  Gash, in the northwest of Vvardenfell. Ashkhan Sul-Matuul is their  chief, a brave and respected war leader, and Warrior-Protector of the  Nerevarine cult. Nibani Maesa is their wise woman, a deep and shrewd  counselor, and seer of the Nerevarine cult. The Urshilaku camp moves  with the herds, but usually lies close to the Sea of Ghosts, north of  the village of Maar Gan, on the northern coast of the northern Ashlands."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bloody-journal": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bloody-journal", "description": "The journal of Vilena Donton's son, found near his corpse. Note that there is a mistake in the text: over at the Loredas entry, \"Viranus\" should be \"Vitellus\".", "author": "Viranus Donton", "title": "A Bloody Journal", "text": "[Many of the pages of this journal have been shredded or are too covered in blood to be legible.]\nSundas\nIt has been two weeks since Vitellus' death, and I fear that Mother will never truly accept the fact that he is gone. She visits his grave nightly, though I do not believe she knows I have seen her go. She speaks to him there, apologizing for sending him on his last mission. I know in my heart that he would have sought no other end. Better to die fighting for the honor of the Guild than to waste away in a life of relative safety.\n...\nMiddas\nAnother day, another day of barracks duty. It's been a full month since I've been given a contract, any contract. My time is spent polishing weapons and training with the new boots. Eduard and I have spoken at length about this. His reasoning, as always, is sound. Mother fears for my safety, and for the safety of the Guild. This is a terrible weight for her to bear.\nPerhaps when our numbers have risen, she will once again feel comfortable allowing me to perform my duties.\n...\nMorndas\nThank the gods for Eduard. I fear without him I would go mad. His constant companionship keeps me hopeful that I will one day be returned to active duty. Until then, we have each other. He has willingly forgone lucrative contracts in order to help me pass the days. A truer companion I could not imagine.\n...\nLoredas\nSome days I question whether or not I am fit to be a Guild member. Perhaps Mother's fears for my safety not because of Viranus, but because of my own abilities. Am I a failure in her eyes? Does she believe me to be less a man than Viranus?\n...\nTurdas\nFreedom! Finally, a contract! I was sent with one of our newer members to investigate a disappearance in Nonwyll Cavern. It was nothing glamorous, but I am glad for the opportunity to see some action.\nI doubt, however, that Mother even knew about the contract, as the order came directly from Oreyn. It is good to see that he still has faith in my skills, and my ability to keep that new boot alive.\n...\nLoredas\nAgain, nothing. It seems my only hope is that Oreyn will find another contract for me, though contracts are harder and harder to come by with the increasing presence of the Blackwood Company in Cyrodiil.\nEduard and I spoke of them over breakfast this morning. He believes them to be nothing more than a rogue mercenary band. I fear he is as na\u00efve as he is beautiful. The Blackwood Company bears watching.\n...\n[date obscured]\nI've been given another contract, clearing out some trolls that have been troubling miners. And Eduard is to accompany me!\nI can't think of better news. This is exactly what I need.\n...\n[date obscured]\nEduard is dead, along with the rest. I fear I will follow shortly. The fighting grew heavy with the trolls, but was under control. Then came the Blackwood Company. They were like madmen. Trolls, men, mer fell to their blades. It was inhuman\n[text unreadable]\n...\n[text unreadable]\nBlackwood Company gone quick as they came\nEduard fought bravely. All did. Rest now\n...\nI hear trolls\nI'm sorry Mother"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/childrens-anuad": {"game": ["Oblivion", "Skyrim", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/childrens-anuad", "description": "A version of the creation myth, featuring two brother's love for the same woman.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "A Children's Anuad", "text": "A Children's Anuad:\n\tThe Anuad Paraphrased\nThe first ones were brothers: Anu and Padomay. They came into the Void, and Time began.\nAs Anu and Padomay wandered the Void, the interplay of Light and Darkness created Nir. Both Anu and Padomay were amazed and delighted with her appearance, but she loved Anu, and Padomay retreated from them in bitterness.\nNir became pregnant, but before she gave birth, Padomay returned, professing his love for Nir. She told him that she loved only Anu, and Padomay beat her in rage. Anu returned, fought Padomay, and cast him outside Time. Nir gave birth to Creation, but died from her injuries soon after. Anu, grieving, hid himself in the sun and slept.\nMeanwhile, life sprang up on the twelve worlds of creation and flourished. After many ages, Padomay was able to return to Time. He saw Creation and hated it. He swung his sword, shattering the twelve worlds in their alignment. Anu awoke, and fought Padomay again. The long and furious battle ended with Anu the victor. He cast aside the body of his brother, who he believed was dead, and attempted to save Creation by forming the remnants of the 12 worlds into one -- Nirn, the world of Tamriel. As he was doing so, Padomay struck him through the chest with one last blow. Anu grappled with his brother and pulled them both outside of Time forever.\nThe blood of Padomay became the Daedra. The blood of Anu became the stars. The mingled blood of both became the Aedra (hence their capacity for good and evil, and their greater affinity for earthly affairs than the Daedra, who have no connection to Creation).\nOn the world of Nirn, all was chaos. The only survivors of the twelve worlds of Creation were the Ehlnofey and the Hist. The Ehlnofey are the ancestors of Mer and Men. The Hist are the trees of Argonia. Nirn originally was all land, with interspersed seas, but no oceans.\nA large fragment of the Ehlnofey world landed on Nirn relatively intact, and the Ehlnofey living there were the ancestors of the Mer. These Ehlnofey fortified their borders from the chaos outside, hid their pocket of calm, and attempted to live on as before. Other Ehlnofey arrived on Nirn scattered amid the confused jumble of the shattered worlds, wandering and finding each other over the years. Eventually, the wandering Ehlnofey found the hidden land of Old Ehlnofey, and were amazed and joyful to find their kin living amid the splendor of ages past. The wandering Ehlnofey expected to be welcomed into the peaceful realm, but the Old Ehlnofey looked on them as degenerates, fallen from their former glory. For whatever reason, war broke out, and raged across the whole of Nirn. The Old Ehlnofey retained their ancient power and knowledge, but the Wanderers were more numerous, and toughened by their long struggle to survive on Nirn. This war reshaped the face of Nirn, sinking much of the land beneath new oceans, and leaving the lands as we know them (Tamriel, Akavir, Atmora, and Yokuda). The Old Ehlnofey realm, although ruined, became Tamriel. The remnants of the Wanderers were left divided on the other 3 continents.\nOver many years, the Ehlnofey of Tamriel became:\n\t- the Mer (elves),\n\t- the Dwemer (the Deep Ones, sometimes called dwarves),\n\t- the Chimer (the Changed Ones, who later became the Dunmer),\n\t- the Dunmer (the Dark or Cursed Ones, the dark elves),\n\t- the Bosmer (the Green or Forest Ones, the wood elves), and\n\t- the Altmer (The Elder or High Ones, the high elves).\nOn the other continents, the Wandering Ehlnofey became the Men -- the Nords of Atmora, the Redguards of Yokuda, and the Tsaesci of Akavir.\nThe Hist were bystanders in the Ehlnofey war, but most of their realm was destroyed as the war passed over it. A small corner of it survived to become Black Marsh in Tamriel, but most of their realm was sunk beneath the sea.\nEventually, Men returned to Tamriel. The Nords were the first, colonizing the northern coast of Tamriel before recorded history, led by the legendary Ysgramor. The thirteenth of his line, King Harald, was the first to appear in written history. And so the Mythic Era ended."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/poorly-scrawled-note": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/poorly-scrawled-note", "description": "The story of a pathetic troll.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "A Poorly Scrawled Note  ", "text": "Mee wurst troll evurr\nnobuddy pay brijj tole\nme nott sceary enuf\nmee gett drunc an kil sellf\ntroll droun"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/travelers-guide-new-sheoth-and-shivering-isles": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/travelers-guide-new-sheoth-and-shivering-isles", "description": "Guide to New Sheoth and the surrounding area.", "author": "Brenith Aralyn", "title": "A Traveler's Guide to New Sheoth and the Shivering Isles", "text": "New Sheoth is generally recognized as the jewel of the Shivering Isles, the culinary and cultural epicenter of the entire realm. Founded at the whim of Our Lord Sheogorath, the city is a model of the Madgod's own perfect vision.\nFirst-time visitors to New Sheoth are often impressed by the warmth, generosity, and general good humor of its residents. Visitors are welcomed with open arms, and generally made to feel as if they are a part of the large New Sheoth family. The sheer scope of the sights and sounds in the city can be daunting to the new visitor, and this Guide aims to make the transition as easy as possible for newcomers.\nVisitors will find the city is divided into three main sections: Bliss, Crucible, and the Palace. Bliss and Crucible house the majority of residential and commercial buildings in the city, while the Palace area houses the magnificent Palace of Sheogorath, as well as the residences of the reigning Dukes of Mania and Dementia.\nThough located in the same city, visitors will find that the Bliss and Crucible areas of New Sheoth offer distinct experiences. The shining parapets and golden roads of Bliss stand in stark contrast to the rustic buildings and unpaved streets of Crucible. Travelers interested in a bustling nightlife and fine cuisine might prefer time spent in Bliss, renowned for its extravagant galas and spirited affairs. Visitors who seek a quieter experience would do well to spend their time exploring Crucible, where Dark Seducer patrols encourage a more serene way of life.\nNo matter your tastes, New Sheoth promises an experience like no other. This Guide will give advice on how to best navigate the oft-confusing, though ultimately rewarding channels of this magnificent city.\nArriving in New Sheoth\nTravelers to New Sheoth will arrive at its gates from either the highlands of Mania or the swampy lowlands of Dementia. Many make the mistake of hurrying directly to the gates of the city without exploring the beautiful and majestic countryside outside the city walls. This is certainly a mistake, as the forests and glades of the Shivering Isles are unlike those found anywhere else in all the realms. Some discussion of these areas is warranted, as exploring them is vital to experiencing all that the region has to offer.\nMania, Vibrant Land of Towering Flora\nWalking amongst the giant mushroom trees of Mania is an experience any new visitor to the Shivering Isles is not soon to forget. Hours spent wandering in the forests of spore trees, breathing deeply of the spore-laden air-these are the times destined to remain a part of you forever. Feelings of peace and contentment wash over the body and calm the soul. It can seem as if you haven't a care in the world.\nTake the time to examine the beautiful plant life found in the region. Treat yourself to Alocacia Fruit, which is known to have restorative properties, or pluck an Aster Bloom Core, which some locals believe has the ability to ward off the attacks of evil spirits.\nIf you plan on spending some time in the Mania countryside, consider visiting the small community of Hale. The residents are mostly local artists, and are very welcoming to weary travelers. Be sure to explore the lovely areas surrounding Hale, and enjoy the peaceful atmosphere.\nA cautious traveler is a safe traveler, though, even in the idyllic lands of Mania. While the paths that wind through the scenic countryside are generally safe, the surrounding regions pose some danger for the careless traveler. Mania is home to a number of indigenous animal species, some of which could be threatening to a less-seasoned adventurer. We recommend sticking to the clearly marked paths when traveling anywhere within the Shivering Isles.\nThe Slow Grace of Dementia\nIt is often said, \"Time spent in Dementia is time not spent elsewhere.\" Truer words were never spoken.\nMany have spent days roaming the small islets of Dementia, enjoying the scenic views over the majestic lowlands. Travel over the quaint bridges that span the small islands of southern Dementia, and enjoy a beautiful sunset among the moss-covered trees.\nIf you're looking for a place to relax while exploring the lands of Dementia, we suggest a visit to Deepwallow. The small community is a working farm, where the residents use a unique method of raising crops of some of the extraordinary local plant life. The residents of Deepwallow are private people, so care should be taken in approaching them. Once you've learned their customs, we've found them to be a most interesting group with whom to spend some time.\nTip: For an exciting day trip, visit the Hill of Suicides, a site unlike any other in all the Shivering Isles. Located in central Dementia, travelers should not pass up the opportunity to take in the sights at this unique and fascinating location. There is no fee to visit the Hill, though some travelers have found it almost impossible to leave.\nGetting to the Shivering Isles\nArrival to the Shivering Isles is solely at the discretion of Our Lord Sheogorath, Prince of Madness.\nGetting Around\nThe best way to explore the Shivering Isles is by foot. Take the time to meander along the paths that stretch across the beautiful landscape. A weary traveler can often find a place to rest at one of the many campsites found dotted across the world.\nAccommodations\nExpensive\nThe Choosy Beggar, Bliss. Raven-Biter and his wife, Sheer-Meedish run a fine restaurant and Inn in the Bliss district of New Sheoth. The rooms are nicely appointed, and the food is above-average for the area. We highly recommend trying the wine-it's some of the best in the city. Many travelers find lunch to be an especially good time to visit the Choosy Beggar. Though the prices are no lower, the earlier hour often finds Sheer-Meedish in a more accommodating mood.\nModerate\nSickly Bernice's Taphouse, Crucible. Don't let the name fool you: Sickly Bernice's Taphouse is exactly what you'd expect from an inn located in downtown Crucible. The lodgings, while not as opulent as those found at the nearby Choosy Beggar, are satisfactory. Sickly Bernice is an affable hostess, when she is well enough to work. The food is palatable, as are the beverages. After a visit, make sure to see Earil at Earil's Mysteries. He sells a wide assortment of magicks, including some wonderful, low-cost Cure Disease spells.\nShopping\nCommon Treasures, Bliss.\nIf you're looking for... well... anything, Common Treasures in Bliss is a good place to start. Trader Tilse Arelith has a wide assortment of wares available to the discerning customer. She's also more than willing to negotiate a good price for those unwanted items you may find in your travels.\nCutter's Weapons, Bliss.\nThere's not a finer weapon shop to be found in all of New Sheoth. Cutter runs a fine establishment, and usually keeps a good variety of weapons in stock and ready for use. She'll do repairs for you on the spot, and she seems to take extra-special care with your bladed weapons. This shop is not to be missed.\nBooks of Bliss, Bliss.\nIf you're looking for reading material on your journey, this is the place to get it. Sontaire is a very, very friendly bookseller with a keen eye for more than just books. You won't be disappointed if you spend some of your hard-earned gold in this establishment.\nThe Missing Pauldron, Crucible.\nIf it's armor you're in the mood to buy, look no further than The Missing Pauldron in Crucible. Recently re-opened under new manager Dumag gro-Bonk, the shop seems to be doing quite well. Dumag will be happy to sell you some new armor, repair you old favorites, or just sit a while and tell you the rather long and interesting story of his life.\nEaril's Mysteries, Crucible.\nMany adventurers don't like to travel without a full spell book, and Earil's is the place to go in New Sheoth to stock up on the latest in spellmaking. It sometimes seems time stands still as you browse through the excellent selection of spells. Highly recommended.\nThings Found, Crucible.\nIt's an odd assortment of items, to be sure, but it's never a dull day when you visit Things Found in Crucible. Owner Abhuki has scoured the realm in search of the most intriguing and varied assortment of magical items to be found almost anywhere. Take some time and browse around-you never know what you might find!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/treatise-proper-calcinator-use": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/treatise-proper-calcinator-use", "description": "A handbook of Alchemy explaining the proper way to use a calcinator.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "A Treatise on Proper Calcinator Use", "text": "Argonian alchemists of the Black Marsh have long held that the phases of the moon dictate the precise positioning of the Calcinator. During the full moon, the Calcinator should face due South, aligned with the Southron pole star. It is well known that the Southron pole star is slightly offset from true south. The diligent Alchemist will refer to star charts for the specific day and time to more precisely align the Calcinator.\nFor each night of the phases of the moon after full, the Calcinator should be rotated clockwise one twenty-eighth of a circle. If the Alchemist is closer to the Southron pole star than the Northern Sisters, he should rotate it counter-clockwise instead. Set the device where the moonlight is shining on half of it. Of course, if it is a new moon, the Calcinator should be fully exposed instead.\nProper alignment of the Calcinator will create one part in forty-seven more purity of the distillate. Obviously this is a highly desired attribute, even though the effect may not be that noticable."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/advances-lock-picking": {"game": ["Oblivion", "Skyrim", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/advances-lock-picking", "description": "Information on lockpicking and lock design.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Advances in Lockpicking", "text": "I am not a writer. I am a thief. I am a good thief. I am not such a good writer. Anyway, I want to write about picking locks. I read a book about designing locks once. It was good. It gave me lots of ideas.\nSome guys make locks with angled keyholes. Always carry a bent lockpick. They will work good in these locks. I do, and I open lots of locks. Sometimes I carry copper lockpicks. Copper bends easy. That way I can bend it right there. Copper lockpicks break easy too. Be careful.\nSometimes the locks have weird spings. They all spring differently, which makes picking it hard. I hold my torch close to the lock. This makes it hot. When it's hot, the springs are all the same. They don't bounce so differently any more. Be careful not to burn yourself.\nSome thieves can't read. If you can't read, get someone to read this book to you. It will make more sense then."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/aevar-stone-singer": {"game": ["Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/aevar-stone-singer", "description": "A Skaal legend of a boy who returns the gifts of the All-Maker from the Greedy Man", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Aevar Stone-Singer", "text": "\"Sit quietly, Child, and listen, for the story I tell you is a story of the ages.\"\n\"But what is it, Grandfather? Is it a story of heroes and beasts?\"\nThe Grandfather looked patiently at the Child. He was growing into a fine boy. Soon he would see the value in the stories, the lessons that were taught to each generation.\n\"Just listen, Child. Let the story take root in your heart.\"\n--\nIn a time before now, long before now, when the Skaal were new, there was peace in the Land. The sun was hot and the crops grew long, and the people were happy in the peace that the All-Maker provided. But, the Skaal grew complacent and lazy, and they took for granted the Lands and all the gifts the All-Maker had given them. They forgot, or chose not to remember, that the Adversary is always watching, and that he delights in tormenting the All-Maker and his chosen people. And so it was that the Adversary came to be among the Skaal.\nThe Adversary has many aspects. He appears in the unholy beasts and the incurable plague. At the End of Seasons, we will know him as Thartaag the World-Devourer. But in these ages he came to be known as the Greedy Man.\nThe Greedy Man (that is what we call him, for to speak his name would certainly bring ruin on the people) lived among the Skaal for many months. Perhaps he was once just a man, but when the Adversary entered into him, he became the Greedy Man, and that is how he is remembered.\nIt came to be one day that the powers of the Skaal left them. The strength left the arms of the warriors, and the shaman could no longer summon the beasts to their side. The elders thought that surely the All-Maker was displeased, and some suggested that the All-Maker had left them forever. It was then that the Greedy Man appeared to them and spoke.\n\"You of the Skaal have grown fat and lazy. I have stolen the gifts of your All-Maker. I have stolen the Oceans, so you will forever know thirst. I have stolen the Lands and the Trees and the Sun, so your crops will wither and die. I have stolen the Beasts, so you will go hungry. And I have stolen the Winds, so you will live without the Spirit of the All-Maker.\n\"And until one of you can reclaim these gifts, the Skaal will live in misery and despair. For I am the Greedy Man, and that is my nature.\"\nAnd the Greedy Man disappeared.\nThe members of the Skaal spoke for many days and nights. They knew that one of them must retrieve the Gifts of the All-Maker, but they could not decide who it should be.\n\"I cannot go,\" said the Elder, \"for I us must stay to lead the Skaal, and tell our people what is the law.\"\n\"I cannot go,\" said the Warrior, \"for I must protect the Skaal. My sword will be needed in case the Greedy Man reappears.\"\n\"I cannot go,\" said the Shaman, \"for the people need my wisdom. I must read the portents and offer my knowledge.\"\nIt was then that a young man called Aevar lifted his voice. He was strong of arm, and fleet of foot, though he was not yet a warrior of the Skaal.\n\"I will go,\" said Aevar, and the Skaal laughed.\n\"Hear me out,\" the boy continued. \"I am not yet a warrior, so my sword will not be needed. I cannot read the portents, so the people will not seek my counsel. And I am young, and not yet wise in the ways of the law. I will retrieve the Gifts of the All-Maker from the Greedy Man. If I cannot, I will not be missed.\"\nThe Skaal thought on this briefly, and decided to let Aevar go. He left the village the next morning to retrieve the Gifts.\nAevar first set out to retrieve the Gift of Water, so he traveled to the Water Stone. It was there the All-Maker first spoke to him.\n\"Travel west to the sea and follow the Swimmer to the Waters of Life.\"\nSo Aevar walked to the edge of the ocean, and there was the Swimmer, a Black Horker, sent from the All-Maker. The Swimmer dove into the waters and swam very far, and far again. Aevar was strong, though, and he swam hard. He followed the Swimmer to a cave, swimming deeper and deeper, his lungs burning and his limbs exhausted. At last, he found a pocket of air, and there, in the dark, he found the Waters of Life. Gathering his strength, he took the Waters and swam back to the shore.\nUpon returning to the Water Stone, the All-Maker spoke. \"You have returned the Gift of Water to the Skaal. The Oceans again will bear fruit, and their thirst will be quenched.\"\nAevar then traveled to the Earth Stone, and there the All-Maker spoke to him again.\n\"Enter the Cave of the Hidden Music, and hear the Song of the Earth.\"\nSo Aevar traveled north and east to the Cave of the Hidden Music. He found himself in a large cavern, where the rocks hung from the ceiling and grew from the ground itself. He listened there, and heard the Song of the Earth, but it was faint. Grabbing up his mace, he struck the rocks of the floor in time with the Song, and the Song grew louder, until it filled the cavern and his heart. Then he returned to the Earth Stone.\n\"The Gift of the Earth is with the Skaal again,\" said the All-Maker. \"The Lands are rich again, and will bear life.\"\nAevar was tired, as the Sun burned him, the trees offered no shade, and there was no wind to cool him. Still, he traveled on to the Beast Rock, and the All-Maker spoke.\n\"Find the Good Beast and ease his suffering.\"\nAevar traveled through the woods of the Isinfier for many hours until he heard the cries of a bear from over a hill. As he crested a hill, he saw the bear, a Falmer's arrow piercing its neck. He checked the woods for the Falmer (for that is what they were, though some say they are not), and finding none, approached the beast. He spoke soothing words and came upon it slowly, saying, \"Good Beast, I mean you no harm. The All-Maker has sent me to ease your suffering.\"\nHearing these words, the bear ceased his struggles, and laid his head at Aevar's feet. Aevar grasped the arrow and pulled it from the bear's neck. Using the little nature magic he knew, Aevar tended the wound, though it took the last bit of his strength. As the bear's wound closed, Aevar slept.\nWhen he awoke, the bear stood over him, and the remains of a number of the Falmer were strewn about. He knew that the Good Beast had protected him during the night. He traveled back to Beast Rock, the bear by his side, and the All-Maker spoke to him again.\n\"You have returned the Gift of the Beasts. Once again, the Good Beasts will feed the Skaal when they are hungry, clothe them when they are cold, and protect them in times of need.\"\nAevar's strength had returned, so he traveled on to the Tree Stone, though the Good Beast did not follow him. When he arrived, the All-Father spoke to him.\n\"The First Trees are gone, and must be replanted. Find the seed and plant the First Tree.\"\nAevar traveled again through the Hirstaang Forest, searching for the seeds of the First Tree, but he could find none. Then he spoke to the Tree Spirits, the living trees. They told him that the seeds had been stolen by one of the Falmer (for they are the servants of the Adversary), and this Falmer was hiding them deep in the forest, so that none would ever find them.\nAevar traveled to the deepest part of the forest, and there he found the evil Falmer, surrounded by the Lesser Tree Spirits. Aevar could see that the Spirits were in his thrall, that he had used the magic of the Seeds and spoken their secret name. Aevar knew he could not stand against such a force, and that he must retrieve the seeds in secret.\nAevar reached into his pouch and drew out his flint. Gathering leaves, he started a small fire outside the clearing where the Falmer and the ensorcelled Spirits milled. All the Skaal know the Spirits' hatred of fires, for the fires ravage the trees they serve. At once, the Nature of the Spirits took hold, and they rushed to quell the flames. During the commotion, Aevar snuck behind the Falmer and snatched the pouch of Seeds, stealing away before the evil being knew they were gone.\nWhen Aevar returned to the Tree Stone, he planted the tree in the ground, and the All-Maker spoke to him.\n\"The Gift of Trees is restored. Once again, the Trees and Plants will bloom and grow, and provide nourishment and shade.\"\nAevar was tired, for the Sun would only burn, and the Winds would not yet cool him, but he rested briefly in the shade of the Trees. His legs were weary and his eyes heavy, but he continued on, traveling to the Sun Stone. Again, the All-Maker spoke.\n\"The gentle warmth of the Sun is stolen, so now it only burns. Free the Sun from the Halls of Penumbra.\"\nAnd so Aevar walked west, over the frozen lands until he reached the Halls of Penumbra. The air inside was thick and heavy, and he could see no farther than the end of his arm. Still, he felt his way along the walls, though he heard the shuffling of feet and knew that this place held the Unholy Beasts who would tear his flesh and eat his bones. For hours he crept along, until he saw a faint glow far at the end of the hall.\nThere, from behind a sheet of perfect ice, came a glow so bright he had to shut his eyes, lest they be forever blinded. He plucked the flaming eye from one of the Unholy Beasts and threw it at the ice with all his might. A small crack appeared in the ice, then grew larger. Slowly, the light crept out between the cracks, widening them, splitting the ice wall into pieces. With a deafening crack, the wall crumbled, and the light rushed over Aevar and through the Halls. He heard the shrieks of the Unholy Beasts as they were blinded and burned. He ran out of the Halls, following the light, and collapsed on the ground outside.\nWhen he was able to rise again, the Sun again warmed him, and he was glad for that. He traveled back to the Sun Stone, where the All-Maker spoke to him.\n\"The Gift of the Sun is the Skaal's once again. It will warm them and give them light.\"\nAevar had one final Gift he had to recover, the Gift of the Winds, so he traveled to the Wind Stone, far on the western coast of the island. When he arrived, the All-Maker spoke to him, giving him his final task.\n\"Find the Greedy Man and release the Wind from its captivity.\"\nSo, Aevar wandered the land in search of the Greedy Man. He looked in the trees, but the Greedy Man did not hide there. Nor did he hide near the oceans, or the deep caves, and the beasts had not seen him in the dark forests. Finally, Aevar came to a crooked house, and he knew that here he would find the Greedy Man.\n\"Who are you,\" shouted the Greedy Man, \"that you would come to my house?\"\n\"I am Aevar of the Skaal,\" said Aevar. \"I am not warrior, shaman, or elder. If I do not return, I will not be missed. But I have returned the Oceans and the Earth, the Trees, the Beasts, and the Sun, and I will return the Winds to my people, that we may feel the spirit of the All-Maker in our souls again.\"\nAnd with that, he grabbed up the Greedy Man's bag and tore it open. The Winds rushed out with gale force, sweeping the Greedy Man up and carrying him off, far from the island. Aevar breathed in the Winds and was glad. He walked back to the Wind Stone, where the All-Maker spoke to him a final time.\n\"You have done well, Aevar. You, the least of the Skaal, have returned my gifts to them. The Greedy Man is gone for now, and should not trouble your people again in your lifetime. Your All-Maker is pleased. Go now, and live according to your Nature.\"\nAnd Aevar started back to the Skaal village.\n--\n\"And then what happened, Grandfather?\"\n\"What do you mean, Child? He went home.\"\n\"No. When he returned to the village,\" the Child continued. \"Was he made a warrior? Or taught the ways of the shaman? Did he lead the Skaal in battle?\"\n\"I do not know. That is where the story ends,\" said the Grandfather.\n\"But that is not an ending! That is not how stories end!\"\nThe old man laughed and got up from his chair.\n\"Is it not?\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/agnars-journal": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/agnars-journal", "description": "Journal of Agnar, chieftain of Thirsk after the departure of the Nerevarine.", "author": "Agnar the Unwavering", "title": "Agnar's Journal", "text": "Entry 1:\nWhen I took on the role of Chieftain of Thirsk, when I accepted the beautiful Svenja Snow-Song as my advisor, and then my bride, I never imagined how quickly my life would change.\nI went to the isle of Solstheim for some much needed rest, and found it in the mead-soaked halls of Thirsk. But when I met Svenja, my sweet Svenja, I became entangled in an epic story the likes of which I had only read about in fables and childrens' tales.\nSvenja told me of the fateful night when a hideous creature known as the Uderfrykte attacked the mead hall, killing rampantly, leaving her the only survivor. The creature was slain by a champion, and Thirsk had its new chieftain, but it wasn't long before they moved on to some new challenge, some new adventure.\nAnd that's where I entered the tale. Svenja Snow-Song, with her ice-blue eyes and flaxon hair, gained my love. Soon after, I became her husband...and the mead hall's new chieftain. In truth, I had never been happier. But Svenja, my dear wife, existed in quiet misery, constantly haunted by the memory of the Uderfrykte, and the damage it had wrought on the mead hall, and the people she had loved. Night after night, my dear woke up screaming, her face etched in horror and a single word issuing from her lips -- \"Uderfrykte!\"\nI feared for my wife's sanity and happiness, but it was she who found a solution to her problem. As a warrior, she told me, she must confront her fear. She must defeat it. The Uderfrykte was dead, yes, but where did it come from? Was it unique? Would more of the creatures come, and wreak havoc once again? Would I, her loving husband, be killed? And so she corresponded with explorers and researchers all across Tamriel, until she found the answer she had been looking for. The Uderfrykte was in fact NOT unique, but the offspring of an ancient Uderfrykte Matron. In order to end the nightmares, in order to prevent any more destruction, we would need to hunt down and kill the Uderfrykte Matron, no matter where or how.\nEntry 2:\nBy Ysmir, we've been searching. And searching. And searching some more. But finally it came -- the lucky break we had been hoping for. The creature has been spotted by a shepherd in the remote highlands of Skyrim!\nEntry 3:\nWe found its trail and tracked it for days, crossing the border into the Imperial Province. Here in the frigid mountains, we met with a local hunter who tried to warn us away from the area, citing an old legend about a deadly creature known as the Horror of Dive Rock -- a monster credited with the slaying of over a dozen people, and just as much cattle. Could this creature be the very Uderfrykte Matron we seek? Perhaps, unlike its child on Solstheim, the Matron moves from location to location, and its this mobility that has thus far prevented its killing or capture?\nEntry 4:\nwe have made camp at Dive Rock, reportedly the highest natural observation point in all of Cyrodiil. From here we can see for miles! So we'll keep watch, night and day. We're close, so very close. Svenja and I can feel it in our very bones. Indeed, Svenja has always been particularly in tune with such things, and is convinced the Uderfrykte Matron is close.\nEntry 5:\nSvenja has grown tired of my constant writing, but this journal will serve as a record of our travels and defeat against the Uderfrykte. She's staring at me angrily, impatiently, right now as I write, but this entry is too important -- finally, on this third day of watching, we've spotted it -- the Uderfrykte Matron! It is unlike anything we have ever lain eyes on, a giant, troll-like beast that seems to waver and shimmer in the cold -- like the feral form of winter itself! We're off now to trudge down the mountain, weapons in hand, and give the Horror of Dive Rock its due!\nEntry 6:\nFailure and horror! We engaged the monster with all the force we could muster, but it was a travesty beyond comprehension. Svenja... My beautiful Svenja! My dear wife was killed instantly, consumed by the beast nearly whole! And though it shames me now to write these words, I could think of nothing more at the time than escape. I took flight, returning here to our camp on Dive Rock, to collect my thoughts and nerve.\nI haven't much time. After this quick entry I will march out and meet the Uderfrykte Matron once more -- it is sure to track me back to this campsite anyway, so our confrontation is inevitable. Can I even hope to defeat this monstrosity? One thing is certain -- Svenja and I came hastily, unprepared. My steel axe? Useless. My dear wife's Frostwyrm Bow? Completely ineffective (and swallowed whole, still in Svenja's hand...).\nThe beast appears to be a creature of the cold, and is likely nearly completely resistant to it. I would attack with fire if I had any on hand. But there is no time. No time to travel to a mages guild and procure an enchanted blade, or hire the services of a sorceror. My steel axe will have to do. And so I return to battle now, and hope beyond hope that I may slay the wretched monster that has brought so much grief to so many people. And if not, I take comfort in knowing I will soon rejoin my beautiful bride in the gilded halls of Sovngarde.\nIf someone is reading this hastily written journal, I am likely dead, and pray to Ysmir that you have had more luck against the creature than I.\nAgnar the Unwavering,\nChieftain of Thirsk"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ahzirr-trajijazaeri": {"game": ["Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ahzirr-trajijazaeri", "description": "The philosophy of the Renrijra Krin, a group of Khajiiti revolutionaries.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Ahzirr Trajijazaeri", "text": "This is an absurd book.  But like all things Khajiiti, as the expression goes, \"gzalzi vaberzarita maaszi\", or \"absurdity has become necessity.\"  Much of what I have to say has probably never been written before, and if it has, no one has read it.  The Imperials feel that everything must be written down for posterity, but every Khajiiti kitten born in Elsweyr knows his history, he drinks it in with his mother's milk.\nFairly recently, however, our struggles to win back our homeland from the rapacious Count of Leyawiin have attracted sympathetic persons, even Imperials, who wish to join our cause, but, it seems, do not understand our ways.  Our enemies, of course, do not understand us either, but that is as we wish it, a weapon in our arsenal.  Our non-Khajiiti friends, however, should know who we are, why we are, and what we are doing.\nThe Khajiit mind is not engineered for self-reflection.  We simply do what we do, and let the world be damned.  To put into words and rationalize our philosophy is foreign, and I cannot guarantee that even after reading this, you will understand us.  Grasp this simple truth -- \"q'zi no vano thzina ualizz\" -- \"When I contradict myself, I am telling the truth.\"\nWe are the Renrijra Krin.  \"The Mercenary's Grin\u00b8\" \"The Laugh of the Landless,\" and \"The Smiling Scum\" would all be fair translations.  It is a derogatory expression, but it is amusing so we have adopted it.\nWe have anger in our hearts, but not on our faces.  We fight for Elsweyr, but we do not ally ourselves with the Mane, who symbolizes our land.  We believe in justice, but do not follow laws.\n\"Q'zi no vano thzina ualizz.\"\nThese are not rules, for there is no word for \"rules\" in Ta'agra. Call them our \"thjizzrini\" -- \"foolish concepts.\"\n1. \"Vaba Do'Shurh'do\": \"It Is Good To Be Brave\"\nWe are struggling against impossible odds, against the very Empire of Tamriel.  Our cause is the noblest cause of all: defense of home.  If we fail, we betray our past and our future.  Our dead are \"Ri'sallidad\", which may be interpreted as \"martyrs\" in the truest, best sense of that word which is so often misused.  We honor their sacrifice and, beneath our smiles, mourn them deeply.\nOur bravery most obviously shows in the smile that is the \"Krin\" part of our name.  This does not mean that we walk about grinning like the idiotic, baboonish Imga of Valenwood.  We simply are entertained by adversary.  We find an equal, fair fight tiresome in the extreme.  We confidently smile because we know our victory in the end is assured.  And we know our smiles drive our enemies insane.\n2. \"Vaba Maaszi Lhajiito\": \"It Is Necessary To Run Away\"\nWe are struggling against impossible odds, against the very Empire of Tamriel.  Honor is madness.  Yes, we loved the Renrijra Krin who died in brave battle against the forces of the Empire, but I guarantee you that each of those Ri'sallidad had an escape route he or she failed to use, and died saying, \"Damn.\"\nWhen the great Senche-Raht comes to the Saimisil Steppes, he will find himself unable to hunt, unable to sleep, as the tiny Alfiq leap onto his back, biting him, and running off before he has a chance to turn his great body to face them.  Eventually, though he may stubbornly hope to catch the Alfiq, the Senche-Raht always leaves.  They are our cousins, the Alfiq, and we have adopted their strategy against the great tiger of Leyawiin.\nDo not ally yourself with the Renrij if you yearn to be part of a mighty army, marching resolutely forth, for whom retreat is anathema.  We will laugh at your suicidal idiocy as we slip into the reeds of the river, and watch the inevitable slaughter.\n3. \"Fusozay Var Var\": \"Enjoy Life\"\nLife is short.  If you have not made love recently, please, put down this book, and take care of that with all haste.  Find a wanton lass or a frisky lad, or several, in whatever combination your wise loins direct, and do not under any circumstances play hard to get.   Our struggle against the colossal forces of oppression can wait.\nGood.  Welcome back.\nWe Renrijra Krin live and fight together, and know that Leyawiin and the Empire will not give way very soon, likely not in our lifetimes.  In the time we have, we do not want our closest comrades to be dour, dull, colorless, sober, and virginal.  If we did, we would have joined the Emperor's Blades.\nDo not begrudge us our lewd jokes, our bawdy, drunken nights, our moonsugar.  They are the pleasures that Leyawiin denies us, and so we take our good humor very seriously.\n4. \"Fusozay Var Dar\": \"Kill Without Qualm\"\nLife is short.  Very short, as many have learned when they have crossed the Renrijra Krin.\nWe fight dirty.  If an enemy is facing us, we might consider our options, and even slip away if his sword looks too big.  If his back is to us, however, I personally favor knocking him down, and then jumping on his neck where the bones snap with a gratifying crunch.  Of course, it is up to you and your personal style.\n5. \"Ahzirr Durrarriss\": \"We Give Freely To The People\"\nLet us not forget our purpose.  We are fighting for our families, the Khajiiti driven from the rich, fertile shores of Lake Makapi and the River Malapi, where they and their ancestors lived since time immemorial.  It is our battle, but their tragedy.  We must show them, lest they are swayed by other rhetoric, that we are fighting for them.\nThe Mane, The Emperor, and The Count can give speeches, pass laws, and, living life in the open, explain their positions and philosophies to their people to stave off the inevitable revolution.  Extralegal entities, such as the Renrijra Krin, must make our actions count for our words.  This means more than fighting the good fight, and having a laugh at our befuddled adversaries.  It means engaging and seducing the people.  Ours is not a military war, it is a political war.  If the people rise up against our oppressors, they will retreat, and we will win.\nGive to these people, whenever possible, gold, moonsugar, and our strong arms, and though they hide, their hearts will be with us.\n6. \"Ahzirr Traajijazeri\": \"We Justly Take By Force\"\nLet us not forget our purpose.  We are thieves and thugs, smugglers and saboteurs.  If we cannot take a farm, we burn it to the ground.  If the Imperials garrisoned in a glorious ancient stronghold, beloved by our ancestors, will not yield, we tear the structure apart.  If the only way to rescue the land from the Leyawiin misappropriation is to make it uninhabitable by all, so be it.\nWe want our life and our home back as it was twenty years ago, but if that is not realistic, then we will accept a different simple, pragmatic goal.  Revenge.  With a smile."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/akaviri-diary": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/akaviri-diary", "description": "The diary of a poor Akaviri courier. Official translation included.", "author": "Xhaferi", "title": "Akaviri Diary", "text": "\n\nDay Three\nIt is with a heavy heart and a trembling hand that I pen this latest entry. It has been several days since I have seen anyone else on the road from our garrison at Grey Ridge. The road is lonely and treacherous. I am rationing my supplies to prepare for a tough path ahead. As long as Reman Cyrodiil's army hasn't located our headquarters at Pale Pass, the journey should be fairly uneventful. I admit, I am nervous. It is an honor to be selected to carry these orders to our fort, but sending me alone is a calculated risk. While it is not my own life I am worried about, it is the importance of the contents of the orders that aggrieves me. If they are somehow lost, the fort will not know that their supplies are going to be delayed by a month. Without that knowledge, the fort may choose to press the attacks on the front line as their supplies dwindle. They are counting on those supplies to be there sooner. I must not fail getting this message there. The slate rock that the orders have been carved upon for safety weighs me down; it is a constant reminder of the more than physical burden that I carry.\nDay Seven\nIt has been two days, and I have finally arrived at Dragonclaw Rock. The huge formation is a welcome and invigorating sight. The giant stone appears to reach down from the north and strike at the heart of Remus' forces like our armies have been doing for the better part of a year now. I have still encountered no one else on this trail. I hope that as I head due west along the narrow path, I will find someone who can give me some news as to how our men are faring in the war.\nDay Eight\nAfter winding my way westward, I have come within sight of The Sentinel: a huge statue placed there by some unknown artist many years ago. It stands watch pointing north, as if daring anyone to cross the borders into the Imperial nation. Remus would be quite angry if he knew we used this very statue as a waypoint into his domain. Last night, I encountered another one of our messengers who had been beset by a pack of mountain wolves. His leg was hurt badly, but I managed to help heal it with an ampoule of medicine I carried with me. He said his name was Sylaj, and he was on his way from Pale Pass to request more supplies. I discussed with him the irony of our meeting, and he decided to travel with me back to the fort since his mission would be needless. We plan to leave at nightfall.\nDay Nine\nI am using much of my remaining strength writing this. As we had made our way north from The Sentinel, we were attacked by perhaps the same pack of wolves that had attacked Sylaj. He had chased them off earlier after being bitten, but now that they had tasted blood, they had returned in greater number. Fighting back to back, Sylaj and I slew at least 8 of the beasts, but not before one of them clawed my gut and left a terrible wound. We were able to drive them off, but now I am bleeding badly, and the only medicine I had I gave to Sylaj. We have decided to continue north until we reach the portal to the Serpent's Trail and seek cover inside. I will try to write more soon, but I must sleep. I am so very tired.\nDay Eleven\nThis is the last entry I shall be able to write. We entered the Serpent's Trail nearly a day ago, seeking shelter from the elements and the wolves. What we did not foresee was the creatures that had decided to make the Serpent's Trail their home. I did not see them clearly, but they were huge and strong. Sylaj died instantly as one of them cleaved off his head with a single stroke. There were three of these huge, ugly man-like creatures. I ran as fast as I dared through the dark tunnels trying to escape. But as I fled, one of them hurled a boulder at me and struck me square in the back. I managed to crawl through a smaller opening and escape the lumbering monsters, but I soon realized that crawling is all I would be able to do. I think the boulder shattered my spine. I can no longer feel my legs. My wound from the wolf attack has reopened and I have lost much blood. I fear that this is as far as I shall be able to go. I have failed my mission. I have been unable to get these orders to the fort at Pale Pass. I am so close, yet it may as well be leagues away since I can no longer walk and my strength is draining. If a fellow messenger or soldier picks up this diary, please get the orders to the fort before it is too late. And please tell my wife, Vata, that Xhaferi will always love her."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/alval-uvanis-schedule": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/alval-uvanis-schedule", "description": "The schedule of Alval Uvani, a Dark Brotherhood target.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Alval Uvani's Schedule", "text": "As he travels around Cyrodiil, Alval Uvani can be found at the following locations, on the following days:\nMorndas/Tirdas -- Bravil -- The Lonely Suitor Lodge\nMiddas/Turdas -- Skingrad -- The West Weald Inn\nFredas/Loredas -- Bruma -- Olav's Tap and Tack\nSundas -- Leyawiin -- Alval Uvani's House (rented property)\nKeep in mind that there may be some variation based on the time it takes for him to get to the different cities."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/amantius-allectus-diary": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/amantius-allectus-diary", "description": "The theft of this diary is the objective of the Thieves Guild quest \"May The Best Thief Win\"", "author": "Amantius Allectus", "title": "Amantius Allectus' Diary", "text": "I've planted the seeds of the Drinkers. Soon I shall know if my theories hold true.\nThe first shoots have appeared. I must make sure to continue the precise schedule of nutrient solutions.\nSmall Drinker fronds are clearly visible. This is a critical time in their development. I'm almost out of rat blood. I'll have to catch some more of the filthy beggars.\nThe young plants are juveniles now. I can see them waving as if in a breeze, although the air in my cellar is still as death.\nI'm having a hard time catching any more cats. I may have to start using dogs. The damn Drinker plants have a voracious appetite.\nOne of them cut me today. I'll have to be more careful.\nMy creations are refusing to feed. As an experiment I offered a drop of my own blood, which one of them drank greedily. The others Drinkers are beginning to wither.\nI collected a bucket of human blood from the healers. I had to pay her an exhorbitant amount to keep her tongue still. The Drinkers are doing much better. Am I doing the right thing? The benefit of these plants to all of Cyrodiil is beyond doubt, but the price may be too high.\nIt is one of the most difficult decisions of my life. I have destroyed my notes for how to hybridize Drinkers. I set the trays on the roof where the sun could strike them. An hour after sunrise they were all dead. My attempt to create a hybrid of vampire and plant has failed. They were just too dangerous.\nTwo parts grave dust, one part ash salts. Mix with human blood. Expose to two hours of moonlight each night."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/amber-materials-list": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/amber-materials-list", "description": "List of materials for creating armor and weapon from Amber.", "author": "Dumag gro-Bonk", "title": "Amber Materials List", "text": "\nI, Dumag gro-Bonk, Master Smith of New Sheoth, am honor and duty bound by oath to my beloved mentor, to forge weapons and armor for any hero who brings me Amber. I will create magical versions of these weapons and armor if the hero can, along with the Amber, return to me the appropriate matrix, which my mentor has scattered throughout the land, to soak in the magical essence of the Shivering Isles.\nThe amount of Amber required to make items is listed below:\n1 piece ---- Arrows (per 25)\n2 pieces ---- Bow\n4 pieces ---- Hammer\n2 pieces ---- Mace\n3 pieces ---- Sword\n2 pieces ---- Boots\n5 pieces ---- Cuirass\n2 pieces ---- Gauntlets\n3 pieces ---- Greaves\n2 pieces ---- Helmet\n2 pieces ---- Shield"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/elder-scroll": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/elder-scroll", "description": "If you are not a Moth Priest, do not expect to be able to read this.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "An Elder Scroll", "text": "The elder scroll"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/elytras-life": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/elytras-life", "description": "An essay about Elytra.", "author": "Karmelle", "title": "An Elytra's Life", "text": "It is a strange life that I have chosen, here amongst the beasts of these Shivering Isles. These Elytra -- a most gentle creature if ever there were a gentle creature - they have welcomed me among their brood as one of their own. I have made my life and home in their tunnels as if they were my own humble cabin, and indeed, I have been invited into their warm family unit.\nMany who encounter the Elytra are initially set to unrest by their appearance. Their size alone is sufficient to unsettle most of the humanoid races. The enlarged thorax can grow to be as large as a human male and nearly a full span in girth. When I first encountered my insectoid friends, I believed the enlarged thorax to be a method to manufacture the ichor that is vital to the lives of the Elytra. In truth, the thorax is the precious womb where their noble lives begin.\nHowever, one cannot discount the significance of the ichor that gathers at the spike near the base of the thorax. This precious substance emits a smell that most will describe as acidic and sour (although I find it to be a delight). The ichor serves the most brilliant purpose of the Elytra. It is used to paralyze living tissue of other creatures, rendering them unable to resist the advances of the Elytra. Here is where the true brilliance takes place.\nWhen choosing a suitable host, the Elytra will impose itself on the creature. Any creature that draws breath seems to be biologically suitable for this purpose. I myself have witnessed Elytra Matrons choose creatures that range from simple wolves to a brilliant Khajiit alchemist. Each time, the host is chosen carefully. Oh, I know that the superstitious farmers of the Isles will say that the Elytra will attack any creature, but after what I've seen, I know that they approach each host with the utmost care.\nThe host is injected and their body becomes enriched with the flowing sweetness of the ichor. They relax and quickly expire as the magical nature of the Elytra's sting takes ahold of the host in its gentle grasp. After the host moves on, the Elytra nests its eggs in the still warm shell of the host. There, the eggs warm and grow over a period of mere days, feeding on the giving flesh of the host. Soon after, the hatchlings emerge and stumble forward into the world."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/undelivered-letter": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/undelivered-letter", "description": "A sad farewell letter from one of Drothmeri recruits. Found in Sundercliff Watch.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "An Undelivered Letter", "text": "Filide -\nIt's so dark in this place. We were beset by the monsters after discovering this accursed city under the mountain. I was separated from most of the others in the madness, watched men ten times my superior fall in combat against them. I'll never forget their screams echoing in the vastness, nor the blood splashing against the pale stones, staining the faces of our attackers in their cannibalistic frenzy.\nDrothan's a madman. I should have listened to you, brother. I was so eager to prove myself, to be a part of something. I was so proud to send a part of my wages home to mother. Please, tell her I died honorably. I volunteered for Drothan's escort into this forsaken city, watched as he sealed the door behind us. When the slaughter began, I saw him flee in the shadows, Dagon take the s'wit.\nI left Mournhold to prove myself, and only proven to be a fool. This place is cold, muthsera, and the screams are diminishing. I fear they may start hunting for the rest of us soon. I cannot find my way out, and their eyes are so keen in the murky dark.\nI know this letter will never reach you, brother, but Vivec willing, when the winds blow east over the Peaks of Valus and Velothi, may they carry my final thoughts to you. I love you, brother. I'm so sorry. Farewell."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/anchorites-note": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/anchorites-note", "description": "Instructions to create black soul gems. Found in the Mages Guild quest \"Necromancer's Moon\".", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Anchorite's Note", "text": "To the Anchorites:\nPlace your Grand Soul Gems in the altar. Pray for His Blessing, and strike the altar with your Soul Trap magic. Your gems will become instruments of His Divine Power."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ancotars-journal": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ancotars-journal", "description": "Journal of Ancotar, a mage who lives near the village of Aleswell. Due to his dislike of the locals, he has apparently used a mass invisibility spell on them.", "author": "Ancotar", "title": "Ancotar's Journal", "text": "12th of Rains Hand: Today I begin my great project on the spontaneous generation of life. I expect that there will be difficult days ahead, but if I succeed, my place among the great mages of history will be assured.\n23rd Rains Hand: Still not able to even reproduce Empedocles's results with maggots. I'm beginning to think his reputation is overblown.\n3rd Second Seed, Tirdas: Empedocles was right! The mistranslation of \"sunlit\" to \"scorching heat\" explains my earlier problems. From now on I will work only in the original daedric, despite the risks.\nFredas (mid Second Seed?): Local peasants came by to complain about the noise. I promised them that all that was behind me. A pleasant if dull-witted crew.\nMorndas (I think): The experiment today went better than expected. Although the number of rats produced was surprising, they were all remarkably docile, just as Malham predicted (although only I have ever proven it empirically!).\nMiddas: Villagers again. More complaints. You would think they'd never seen a rat before! They are starting to become a real nuisance.\nI've run into a terrible snag. Galerion's Ninth Law appears immutable! If the total life generated cannot exceed the cube of the source, this line of research may prove a dead end. I must reread Empedocles for any hint that he was able to circumvent this barrier.\nNext day: The locals are becoming insufferable! While I was walking in the woods, some of them broke into my laboratory and spilled the solution I was preparing -- nearly a full quart of purified imp gall wasted! They did not seem to grasp the absurdity of a crowd of unwashed peasants with dung on their boots complaining about the smell. It is well past time I did something about this problem.\nTwo days later: I dug up the notes from my permanent invisibility thesis. No time like the present to put theory into practice!\nToday: The spell worked! Not perfect invisibility, of course (Vanto's Third Law), but it was more powerful than I expected. And there were none of the side effects that Professor Traven had predicted. Ha ha, even in my youth I was already outstripping my elders. Now I can get back to my real work in peace."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/andres-letter": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/andres-letter", "description": "A letter to Andre from his daughter with a warning and a request to cancel his expedition.", "author": "Fiona", "title": "Andre's Letter", "text": "Dearest Father,\nI know it's always been your dream to travel to Cyrodiil, to climb the lofty mountains and reach the peak known as Dive Rock, and gaze down at the full beauty of the Imperial Province.\nbut I beseech you -- be careful! We've both heard the tales of the creature known as the Horror of Dive Rock. But in truth, what concerns me most is your lack of...grace. Oh father, you know it pains me to say it, but you're clumsy! You always have been! You can't walk up a flight of stairs without crashing down to the bottom at least once -- how can you possibly hope to scale a mountain range?\nPlease, father, I beg of you, call off your expedition! I fear the worst.\nYour loving daughter,\nFiona"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/apprentices-note": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/apprentices-note", "description": "A note to the Drothmeri Forgemaster. Found in the Mehrunes' Razor official plugin.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Apprentice's Note", "text": "Forgemaster -\nWhen next you can take leave, I wish to speak with you. I know you have had reservations about allowing me to assume more duties, but I think you will reconsider when I recount for you some of the atrocious things my counterpart has said in your absence."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/arbiters-log": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/arbiters-log", "description": "A note found in Xiditte.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Arbiter's Log", "text": "Neophyte overheard questioning mandates of our Lord Sheogorath, ten days in the pit.\nProselytizer admitted guilt of thieving bread from pantry. No punishment given.\nTwo Missionaries conspired to incriminate a suspected heretic -- commendation issued\nA neophyte accidentally fell into the pit sweeping our chambers the other day. Besides nearly snapping her leg, she had to wait the better part of the morning for the patrolman to discover and release her. Speak with courier about having duplicate key forged by smithy in Crucible.\nNeophyte mistakenly summoned an atronach during evening meal. Two days in the pit."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/arena-poster": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/arena-poster", "description": "Arena posters like this one can be found in many places in the Imperial City.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Arena Poster", "text": ""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/arkveds-notes": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/arkveds-notes", "description": "Proof that stealing the Orb of Vaernima can have unpleasant consequences. Each note is a separate book ingame, but I have kept them together since they are so short.", "author": "Arkved", "title": "Arkved's Notes", "text": "Note 1: Handwritten Note\n[a note written in a trembling hand]\nThere is no world so great as the world of the mind.\nThere is no voyager so well-traveled as the traveler in the land of dreams.\nThere is no abyss so deep as the well of terror that lies within each of us.\nI have plumbed its depths.\nI have seen the unthinkable. I am unafraid.\nEven death's boundaries do not confine me.\nI am the lord of limitless space, and the master of place and time.\nThrough the doors of sleep, the universe lies waiting for me.\nI will no longer wait for my dreams to carry me worlds away, to unknowable deeps, to unspeakable vastness.\nI shall dwell in the House of Vaermina forever, the Orb my companion.\nThere is no compass to my destination, no end to my journey.\nMy mind is the eternal voyager, fearless and wild with wonder in the Halls of Horror.\n\n\nNote 2: Crumpled Piece of Paper\n[blank crumpled piece of paper with a line written in a trembling hand]\nI shall lie here in the dark waiting for death\n\n\nNote 3: Crumpled Piece of Paper\n[blank crumpled piece of paper with lines scratched in a trembling hand]\nTHE HORROR\nTHE HORROR\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ayleid-inscriptions-and-their-translations": {"game": ["Oblivion", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ayleid-inscriptions-and-their-translations", "description": "", "author": "Raelys Anine", "title": "Ayleid Inscriptions and their Translations", "text": "The following inscriptions were painstakingly transcribed and interpreted over many long years, and are preserved here for all time.\n--\n\tAv molag anyammis, av latta magicka.\n\t\"From fire, life; from light, magic.\"\n--\n\tBarra agea ry sou karan.\n\t\"Wear lore as your armor.\"\n--\n\tAgea haelia ne jorane emero laloria.\n\t\"Wisdom learned by pain is a reliable guide in dark times.\" [literally, \"Terrible wisdom never betrayed the loremasters.\"]\n--\n\tNou aldmeris mathmeldi admia aurane gandra sepredia av relleis ye brelyeis ye varlais.\n\t\"Our exiled Elven ancestors heard the welcoming gifts of peace in the streams and beech trees and stars.\" [\"Mathmeldi\" means literally \"from-home-driven.\" ]\n--\n\tSuna ye sunnabe.\n\t\"Bless and blessed be.\"\n--\n\tVa garlas agea, gravia ye goria, lattia mallari av malatu.\n\t\"In the caverns of lore, ugly and obscure, shines the gold of truth.\"\n--\n\tVabria frensca, sa belle, sa baune, amaraldane aldmeris adonai.\n\t\"The foaming wave, so thunderous, so mighty, heralds the lordly Elves.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bark-and-sap": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bark-and-sap", "description": "An essay about Gnarl, Amber and the root tunnel system.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Bark and Sap", "text": "Bark and Sap:\n\tThe Root System and the Ecology and Culture of the Gnarl\nDisclaimer:\n\t[The editors wish to express that the views contained herein belong solely to the author and have been printed posthumously and anonymously.]\nForeword:\n\tBefore this present volume, little existed detailing the Root System tunnels and Gnarl but rumors, superstitions, and outright falsities. After consideration of such rumors, and after much research and expedition into the Root Systems to see the Gnarl in their natural habitat firsthand, this author will elucidate the ecology and culture of the Gnarl, the nature of the Root System, and their symbiotic relationship.\nThe Root System:\n\tCommonly believed to be a series of natural caverns and rock formations with roots and foliage growing within, the Root System tunnels are, in fact, part of a giant living organism. Not only are these tunnels a living organic root-like entity, but each of the so-called \"root dungeons\" represents a smaller piece of a larger whole. The roots of all the trees (indeed of most the plant life on the Isles) all connect directly to the large Root System.\nThe various twisting and turning tunnels have been created slowly over past millennia. Indeed, the growth and motion of the roots is imperceptible, though definitely recordable. The very fastest-growing tunnels increase at a rate of a few feet every month, and the slowest a few inches every few decades.\nAmber:\n\tAmber is a colorful resin formed from hardened sap. Much like skin bleeds and scabs over to protect a wound, the Root System tunnels \"bleed\" a sap that congeals and hardens into Amber deposits. Even still, the walls of the roots are very resilient; swinging a sword at the wall is not enough to puncture it. The large fissures that cause the appearance of Amber are the result of the massive pressures and frictional forces encountered by the giant roots as they push through tons of rock and dirt.\nThe Gnarl:\n\tThe current and best theory describes the Gnarl as the caretakers and stewards of the Root System. The creatures tend to the general maintenance and cleaning of the tunnels, clearing away excess Amber. This behavior has been observed directly, but observation time was limited due to the aggressive nature of the Gnarl. However, the abundance of Amber found on the corpses of the creatures further supports this view.\nThere has been some conjecture, though at present very little evidence to support the claim, that as Gnarl grow, they eventually become too large to maneuver the tunnels, and eventually fuse with the walls, becoming themselves part of the Root System. As to the recent claims of giant Gnarl, it should be noted that no creditable sources exist to corroborate. However, even were these reports to be true, the rarity of such sightings would suggest that only a very few Gnarl ever grow large enough to ascend to this root-state.\nLittle is known about the natural life span of the Gnarl or their social behavior, since observational expeditions into the Root System are difficult at best. We do know with certainty that they are very territorial. The Gnarl are so protective of their tunnels that they will respond aggressively to anyone who comes within sight, which makes studying their social systems nigh impossible. This behavior has, however, provided us with an abundance of corpses to study at our leisure.\nWhen we analyze the corpses of dead Gnarl, we can see clearly that these creatures are made entirely of plant material. They are covered in bark and leaves, and over time they decompose similarly to other plant detritus. All attempts to \"plant\" Gnarl or parts thereof into the ground have been proven simple folly. To date, we don't actually know how the Gnarl reproduce.\nUpon examination, we have found nothing that looks like a brain as found in other sentient creatures. This does lend credence to the symbiotic caretaker theory, suggesting a kind of hive mentality -- though there have been no substantiated sightings of any such \"queen-Gnarl\" who might be controlling the drones. The other available explanation is that it is magic that animates these creatures, though this author finds resolving difficult questions in this manner to be counter-productive to the development of a rational theory.\nConclusion:\n\tThe complex Root is a living organism that grows little by little each month, tunneling beneath the land. Virtually all the plant life on the Isles is connected to this Root System. Severe trauma to the system walls results in the formation of Amber deposits as part of its natural defense mechanism. The Root System has a symbiotic relationship with the Gnarl, who act as its protectors and caretakers, and who may be phyletically and physiologically connected to the Root System itself. In short, we have a living system, with its own dedicated staff of protector-caretakers, growing and developing largely unnoticed beneath our very feet.\n[Here the editors wish to acknowledge that the author was found dead near the entrance to one of the \"root dungeons.\" We again wish to remind the reader that the opinions expressed by this author are his own. While we do not dismiss the rational method employed by the author in his studies, we certainly do not deny that magic is explanation enough for Our Lord Sheogorath's many wondrous Blessings. We did, however, carefully consider omitting this clearly treasonous second half. We have decided to include it for journalistic integrity and at the request of his generous widow.]\nAfterword:\n\tAnd now, I will venture towards that theoretical discussion which draws near heresy (which I daresay will one day be the end of me), but which I must put forward, for good or ill.\nThe common belief is that our Lord Sheogorath has blessed our land with two temperaments, Mania and Dementia. However, after much study and reasoning, I believe that it is the very realm itself that imposes upon us these two spheres of polar extremes!\nI have devised a clever experiment, whereby I seek to prove this theory. If you take a flower from a common plant, cut it and place its stem in water with dye in it, you will notice that the petals will slowly take on the color of the dye. Clearly, the veins of the plant transport the color to the leaves.\nNow, when we look at the Dementia side of the land, colors are muted and dark, and in the Mania side bright and colorful. I believe the Root System, and the Gnarl that serve it, are draining the color from the land of Dementia and giving it to the land of Mania!\nFor what purpose, it isn't clear, but my experiment shows how color is transported through plant veins, and what bigger system of plant veins is there than the giant Root System tunnel network? Is it not then obvious that this System is the conduit of the forces of Mania and Dementia?\nAnd do we not eat the plants and the fruit of the trees that connect to the Root System and the beasts that feed on them, and drink the waters that fall from their leaves? Do we not breathe the air that carries their spores and seeds? Do we not throw our own waste onto the ground to be absorbed into the soil? Thus, are we not intimately connected to the giant Root System under our feet? Surely, we are one with it!\nClearly, the Root System is feeding those of us in the Mania brilliant color, giving us our mood swings, filling our hearts with passions and sensations, and giving us powerful urges by stealing these things from our fellows in Dementia, leaving them dark, desperate, angry, violent, and disturbed!\nSheogorath is not the source of our \"gifts.\" It is the land itself that has unbalanced us so!\nThe Gnarl are the servants and lifeblood of this parasitic process.\nIf we were to kill all the Gnarl, the balance would be restored!\nMania would be less bright, true, but so would Dementia be less dark.\nWe and our world would become whole again!\nLet go of your belief in the collective fantasy of Sheogorath!\nLet go of your belief in your own special \"gifts!\"\nWe must destroy the Gnarl and the Root System!\nWe must destroy those who shackle us to belief in some haughty and aloof ruler, who toys with our emotions and well-being!\nTo arms, brothers and sisters!\nTo arms!\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ages-man": {"game": ["Oblivion", "Skyrim", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ages-man", "description": "Another history book, recording the Dawn Era and Merethic Era.", "author": "Aicantar of Shimerene", "title": "Before the Ages of Man", "text": "Timeline Series - Vol 1\nBefore the Ages of Man\nBy\n\tAicantar of Shimerene\n\nBefore man came to rule Tamriel, and before the chronicles of the historians recorded the affairs of the rulers of Tamriel, the events of our world are known only through myths and legends, and through the divinely inspired teachings of the Nine Divines.\nFor convenience, historians divide the distant ages of prehistory into two broad periods of time -- the Dawn Era, and the Merethic Era.\n* The Dawn Era *\nThe Dawn Era is that period before the beginning of mortal time, when the feats of the gods take place. The Dawn Era ends with the exodus of the gods and magic from the World at the founding of the Adamantine Tower.\nThe term 'Merethic' comes from the Nordic, literally, \"Era of the Elves.\" The Merethic Era is the prehistoric time after the exodus of the gods and magic from the World at the founding of the Adamantine Tower and before the arrival of Ysgramor the Nord in Tamriel.\nThe following are the most notable events of the Dawn Era, presented roughly in sequence as it must be understaoo by creatures of time such as ourselves.\nThe Cosmos formed from the Aurbis [chaos, or totality] by Anu and Padomay. Akatosh (Auriel) formed and Time began. The Gods (et'Ada) formed. Lorkhan convinced -- or tricked -- the Gods into creating the mortal plane, Nirn. The mortal plane was at this point highly magical and dangerous. As the Gods walked, the physical make-up of the mortal plane and even the timeless continuity of existence itself became unstable.\nWhen Magic (Magnus), architect of the plans for the mortal world, decided to terminate the project, the Gods convened at the Adamantine Tower [Direnni Tower, the oldest known structure in Tamriel] and decided what to do. Most left when Magic did. Others sacrificed themselves into other forms so that they might Stay (the Ehlnofey). Lorkhan was condemned by the Gods to exile in the mortal realms, and his heart was torn out and cast from the Tower. Where it landed, a Volcano formed. With Magic (in the Mythic Sense) gone, the Cosmos stabilized. Elven history, finally linear, began (ME2500).\n* The Merethic Era *\nThe Merethic Era was figured by early Nord scholars as a series of years numbered in reverse order backward from the their 'beginning of time' -- the founding of the Camoran Dynasty, recorded as Year Zero of the First Era. The prehistoric events of the Merethic Era are listed here with their traditional Nordic Merethic dates. The earliest Merethic date cited by King Harald's scholars was ME2500 -- the Nordic reckoning of the first year of time. As such, the Merethic Era extends from ME2500 in the distant past to ME1 -- the year before the founding of the Camoran Dysnasty and the establishment of the White Gold Tower as an indepenent city-state.\nAccording to King Harald's bards, ME2500 was the date of construction of the Adamantine Tower on Balfiera Island in High Rock, the oldest known structure of Tamriel. (This corresponds roughly to the earliest historical dates given in various unpublished Elvish chronicles.)\nDuring the early Merethic Era, the aboriginal beastpeoples of Tamriel -- the ancestors of the Khajiit, Argonian, Orcish, and other beastfolk -- lived in preliterate communities throughout Tamriel.\nIn the Middle Merethic Era, the Aldmeri (mortals of Elven origin) refugees left their doomed and now-lost continent of Aldmeris (also known as 'Old Ehlnofey') and settled in southwestern Tamriel. The first colonies were distributed at wide intervals on islands along the entire coast of Tamriel. Later inland settlements were founded primarily in fertile lowlands in southwest and central Tamriel. Wherever the beastfolk encountered the Elves, the sophisticated, literate, technologically advanced Aldmeri cultures displaced the primitive beastfolk into the jungles, marshes, mountains, and wastelands. The Adamantine Tower was rediscovered and captured by the Direnni, a prominent and powerful Aldmeri clan. The Crystal Tower was built on Summerset Isle and, later, White Gold Tower in Cyrodiil.\nDuring the Middle Merethic Era, Aldmeri explorers mapped the coasts of Vvardenfel, building the First Era High Elven wizard towers at Ald Redaynia, Bal Fell, Tel Aruhn, and Tel Mora in Morrowind. It was also during this period that Ayleid [Wild Elven] settlements flourished in the jungles surrounding White Gold Tower (present day Cyrodiil). Wild Elves, also known as the Heartland High Elves, preserved the Dawn Era magics and language of the Ehlnofey. Ostensibly a tribute-land to the High King of Alinor, the Heartland's long lines of communication from the Summerset Isles' sovereignty effectively isolated Cyrodill from the High Kings at Crystal Tower.\nThe Late Middle Merethic Era is the period of the High Velothi Culture. The Chimer, ancestors of the modern Dunmer, or Dark Elves, were dynamic, ambitious, long-lived Elven clans devoted to fundamentalist ancestor worship. The Chimer clans followed the Prophet Veloth out of the ancestral Elven homelands in the southwest to settle in the lands now known as Morrowind. Despising the secular culture and profane practices of the Dwemer, the Chimer also coveted the lands and resources of the Dwemer, and for centuries provoked them with minor raids and territorial disputes. The Dwemer (Dwarves), free-thinking, reclusive Elven clans devoted to the secrets of science, engineering, and alchemy, established underground cities and communities in the mountain range (later the Velothi Mountains) separating modern Skyrim and Morrowind.\nThe Late Merethic Era marks the precipitous decline of Velothi culture. Some Velothi settled in villages near declining and abandoned ancient Velothi towers. During this period, Velothi high culture disappeared on Vvardenfell Island. The earliest Dwemer Freehold colonies date from this period. Degenerate Velothi devolved into tribal cultures which, in time, evolved into the modern Great Houses of Morrowind, or persisted as the barbarian Ashlander tribes. The only surviving traces of this tribal culture are scattered Velothi towers and Ashlander nomads on Vvardenfell Island. The original First Era High Elven wizard towers along the coasts of Tamriel were also abandoned about this time.\nIt was in the Late Merethic Era that the pre-literate humans, the so-called \"Nedic Peoples\", from the continent of Atmora (also 'Altmora' or 'the Elder Wood' in Aldmeris) migrated and settleed in northern Tamriel. The Nord culture hero Ysgramor, leader of a great colonizing fleet to Tamriel, is credited with developing a runic transcription of Nord speech based on Elvish principles, and so Ysgramor is considered the first human historian. Ysgramor's fleet landed at Hsaarik Head at the extreme northern tip of Skyrim's Broken Cape. The Nords built there the legendary city of Saarthal. The Elves drove the Men away during the Night of Tears, but Ysgramor soon returned with his Five Hundred Companions.\nAlso during the Late Merethic Era the legendary immortal hero, warrior, sorceror, and king variously known as Pelinal Whitestrake, Harrald Hairy Breeks, Ysmir, Hans the Fox, etc., wandered Tamriel, gathering armies, conquering lands, ruling, then abandoning his kingdoms to wander again."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/beggar-prince": {"game": ["Oblivion", "Skyrim", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/beggar-prince", "description": "The tale of a Valenwood prince who receives unexpected powers from Namira.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Beggar Prince", "text": "Beggar Prince\nThe story of Wheedle\n\tand his gifts from the Daedric Lord Namira\n\nWe look down upon the beggars of the Empire. These lost souls are the poor and wretched of the land. Every city has its beggars. Most are so poor they have only the clothes on their backs. They eat the scraps the rest of us throw out. We toss them a coin so that we don't have to think too long about their plight.\nImagine my surprise when I heard the tale of the Beggar Prince. I could not imagine what a Prince of Beggars would be. Here is the tale I heard. It takes place in the first age, when gods walked like men and daedra stalking the wilderness with impunity. It is a time before they were all confined to Oblivion.\nThere once was a man named Wheedle. Or maybe it was a woman. The story goes to great lengths to avoid declaring Wheedle's gender. Wheedle was the 13th child of a king in Valenwood. As such Wheedle was in no position to take the throne or even inherit much property or wealth.\nWheedle had left the palace to find independent fortune and glory. After many days of endless forest roads and tiny villages, Wheedle came upon a three men surrounding a beggar. The beggar was swaddled in rags from head to toe. No portion of the vagabond's body was visible. The men were intent on slaying the beggar.\nWith a cry of rage and indignation, Wheedle charged the men with sword drawn. Being simple townsfolk, armed only with pitchforks and scythes, they immediately fled from the armored figure with the shining sword.\n\"Many thanks for saving me,\" wheezed the beggar from beneath the heap of foul rags. Wheedle could barely stand the stench.\n\"What is your name, wretch?\" Wheedle asked.\n\"I am Namira.\"\nUnlike the townsfolk, Wheedle was well learned. That name meant nothing to them, but to Wheedle it was an opportunity.\n\"You are the Daedric lord!\" Wheedle exclaimed. \"Why did you allow those men to harass you? You could have slain them all with a whisper.\"\n\"I am please you recognized me,\" Namira rasped. \"I am frequently reviled by townsfolk. It pleases me to be recognized for my attribute, if not for my name.\"\nWheedle knew that Namira was the Daedric lord of all thing gross and repulsive. Diseases such as leprosy and gangrene were her domain. Where others might have seen danger, Wheedle saw opportunity.\n\"Oh, great Namira, let me apprentice myself to you. I ask only that you grant me powers to make my fortune and forge a name for myself that will live through the ages.\"\n\"Nay. I make my way alone in the world. I have no need for an apprentice.\"\nNamira shambled off down the road. Wheedle would not be put off. With a bound, Wheedle was at Namira's heel, pressing the case for an apprenticeship. For 33 days and nights, Wheedle kept up the debate. Namira said nothing, but Wheedle's voice was ceaseless. Finally, on the 33rd day, Wheedle was too hoarse to talk.\nNamira looked back on the suddenly silent figure. Wheedle knelt in the mud at her feet, open hands raised in supplication.\n\"It would seem you have completed your apprenticeship to me after all,\" Namira declared. \"I shall grant your request.\"\nWheedle was overjoyed.\n\"I grant you the power of disease. You may choose to be afflicted with any disease you choose, changing them at will, so long as it has visible symptoms. However, you must always bear at least one.\n\"I grant you the power of pity. You may evoke pity in anyone that sees you.\n\"Finally, I grant you the power of disregard. You may cause others to disregard your presence.\"\nWheedle was aghast. These were not boons from which a fortune could be made. They were curses, each awful in its own right, but together they were unthinkable.\n\"How am I to make my fortune and forge a name for myself with these terrible gifts?\"\n\"As you begged at my feet for 33 days and 33 nights, so shall you now beg for your fortune in the cities of men. Your name will become legendary among the beggars of Tamriel. The story of Wheedle, the Prince of Beggars, shall be handed down throughout the generations.\nIt was as Namira predicted. Wheedle was an irresistible beggar. None could see the wretch without desperately wanting to toss a coin at the huddled form. However, Wheedle also discovered that the power of disregard gave great access to the secrets of the realms. People unknowingly said important things where Wheedle could hear them. Wheedle grew to know the comings and goings of every citizen in the city.\nTo this day, it is said that if you really want to know something, go ask the beggars. They have eyes and ears throughout the cities. They know all the little secrets of the daily lives of its citizens."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bible-deep-ones": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bible-deep-ones", "description": "A tome found in Hackdirt, the village that worships the Deep Ones.", "author": "Irlav Moslin", "title": "Bible of the Deep Ones", "text": "Given to me by the Chief of the Deep Ones. He taught me his language and his runes. This is the ancient lore of his people which we shall follow from now until forever.\nSigned in the presence of twelve witnesses,\nIrlav Moslin\n3E 345\nso cxiumonataj kunvenauw, sed nature ankoix pri aliaj aktuasoj aktivecauw so societo. Ne malofte enahkstas krome plej diversaspekta materialo eduka oix distra.\nSo interreta Kvako (retletera kaj verjheauw) ahkstas unufsonke alternativaj kanasouw por distribui so enhavon so papera Kva! Kvak!. Sed alifsonke so enhavauw so diversaj verjheauw antoixvible ne povas kaj ecx ne vus cxiam ahksti centprocente so sama. En malvaste cirkusonta paperfolio ekzemple ebsos publikigi ilustrajxauwn, kiuj pro kopirajtaj kiasouw ne ahkstas uzebsoj en so interreto. Alifsonke so masoltaj kostauw reta distribuo forigas so spacajn limigauwn kaj permahksas pli ampleksan enhavon, por ne paroli pri gxishora aktualeco.\nTiuj cirkonstancauw rahkspeguligxos en so aspekto so Kvakoa, kiu ja cetere servos ankoix kiel gxeneraso retejo so ranetauw"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bloodstained-note": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bloodstained-note", "description": "A letter from Greywyn, giving away his lair upon realization that his time was almost over. Found in the The Vile Lair official plugin.", "author": "Greywyn", "title": "Bloodstained Note", "text": "I have watched you from afar and feel it is time to make myself known. I am Greywyn, the last of the Crimson Scars. Once a powerful force rivaling the Dark Brotherhood itself, the Scars were the true followers of Sithis and the masters of deception. I will be departing this world soon, as the cold embrace of the Night Lord calls to me. All I have I leave as a legacy to you. My home, Deepscorn Hollow, will be your new haven. Use the map on the reverse of this note to find it. All that lay within is yours to do with as you please. I have but one request in return... further the ways of shadow and honor Sithis with the darkest of deeds. Make the virtuous pay for their blasphemy with their lifeblood staining your blade. May Sithis guide you.\nGreywyn"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/brother-piners-notes": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/brother-piners-notes", "description": "Piner's drafts of a letter to his mother and the letter itself. Originally multiple books, but I have kept them together since they are so short.", "author": "Brother Piner", "title": "Brother Piner's Notes", "text": "Note 1: Crumpled Piece of Paper\nMother,\nGoods Gods! Don't go crazy on me! You'd think the streets of the Imperial City were filled with rioters and the Legions were being called out to restore order.\nWe've had no disturbances at all here in Chorrol, and I've heard of nothing at all in the City or in the other towns. People are doing just as Chancellor Ocato said -- staying calm, and honoring the memory of the emperor and his sons by getting along with their lives. Running around like frightened children isn't going to help anyone. I haven't got time to\n\n\nNote 2: Crumpled Piece of Paper\nMother,\nI know you're upset. But please. I have important duties here at the Priory, and I can't come to the Imperial City and babysit you. Just stay calm, like Chancellor Ocato says, and pray for the Emperor and his sons.\n\n\nNote 3: Crumpled Piece of Paper\nMother,\nWhat do you expect me to do about it? Come to the City, track down the assassins, and bring them to justice myself?\nAnd are there assassins banging on your door? Do you have some reason to think they're coming for you next?\nPlease. Don't panic. These assassinations have upset everyone. But you just have to go on with your life.\nI don't know what you're worried about. Everything is fine here. Everyone is getting on with business, like the Chancellor says. The Elder Council has everything under control. Certainly you don't expect me to\n\n\nNote 4: Letter to Mother\nMother,\nPlease don't worry. The Elder Council knows what it is doing. Uriel was an old man. They knew he wouldn't live forever, and I'm sure they had plans for the succession. Of course, now with the three princes dead, it's not clear who will be the next emperor, but it's happened before -- there are precedents, I'm sure -- and anyway, Ocato and the Council have been running the Empire for the past 15 years anyway. So there's nothing to worry about. Everything will be fine.\nI don't know what you've read or heard, but here at the Priory everyone seems to think it must have been madmen or witches or crazy cultists. It doesn't look at all political. It's horrible and depressing, but the Empire will survive. There will not be rioting or civil war or another Warp in the West. So please. If you like, go stay with Uncle Korr and Aunt Harrah on the farm for a while. But I'm certain you'll be perfectly safe in the City. I'll try to get down to visit as soon as possible. And I hope to hear from you soon.\nyour loving son,\nPiner"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/brugos-take-note": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/brugos-take-note", "description": "Brugo is the leader of the Black Bow Bandits. This note is about his take of the profits.", "author": "Anonymous Black Bow Bandit", "title": "Brugo's Take Note", "text": "Brugo's take -- 300 ducks. Ready for Middas pickup, after midnight."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/cindanwes-notebook": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/cindanwes-notebook", "description": "The notebook of Cindanwe, the owner of a spore farm and hated by her subordinates.", "author": "Cindanwe", "title": "Cindanwe's Notebook", "text": "The sun listens to my greenness. But where did the moon frown? The sky is empty of children, and the earth eats strawberries. Yet, why do the worms taste of bitter-plumb?\nEveryone is bereft of spores. Or the spores have devoured us all and we are left with nothing. Or everything is inside us, though we find ourselves swimming in rock, where strange things remain, and known things fall outside of their own selves - let alone from each of us!\nWhy play the paintbrush against her? She always stands close to being far away. And what of the farm then? Shall it twinkle in the breeze of lyricism? How should I know?\nWhat I do know is this: the grass drinks flower dust like a glass bead swallowed tastes nothing like water. And furthermore, wherever one finds the absence of something, that something surely exists someplace else, or else how could it be absent. There is wisdom in this!\nYes, and everything has its place, and every place its thing belonging to it. It is the way of all things. Even those things misplaced know where they belong. They long to be. That is the whole point of belonging, is it not? And yet we are never so lonely as the stars, as when we find ourselves possessed. Of love? Of death? Of what then? Life?\nBut they call me Enemy, even as they exalt me. Yet even the wind is slave to the clouds... But the rain? It bounces against the sky like apples in a basket, and for what? What shall become of us when the pod pits die?\nI would like to think that the bleak summer does not herald the death of the rain. But who is to say one way or the other? If the butterflies make up the walls, how does one see inside a room at night? Perhaps the room is already inside us and we are the ones who need occupants, and our occupants are the ones needing the light.\nBut I digress.\nThe spoon that slays monsters is always the last to enter the mouth, and the first to leave. Nor do eyes in the back of one's head mean that one can walk backwards... do the knees bend that way? Do the shoes point heavenward? No, we are stuck falling forward until we smash against the door of eternity. That is the essence of life. To be devoured in our own banality, though we wish to be something more.\nI love this life, but I hate the aftertaste. Like waking from a dream with someone's fingers in your mouth. How did they get there? Whose hand do they belong to? Whose hand do any of us belong to, really?\nIt always comes back to belonging, does it not? It does. As the question knows the answer, the answer belongs to the question. And that is the whole point, I think: to know the question, and thus to belong to the answer.\nThat is why I must write in this book. Everyday. Sometimes twice. The others are jealous of the windflowers that bloom in these pages. They desire to swallow the ink through their nostrils, tasting the bitterness of all that life has in store for them... but it is my life that belongs to me. Even as my house belongs to the things inside it. And insides belong to outsides, and outsides are never quite as free to do as they think they are.\nAlways this. One thing after another, but not some things. Some things are better left where they think they are, not where they really are. Not all places are equal, nor all things belonging to the same spot. How could that be? No. Surely not.\nWhen my sun shines through the moon's teeth, then it will be time. But not until. Until then I shall continue to smash my head through windows so that I might see. Where I am. Where here is. Where I belong. And all things being just so, so I be just. And justice is important in this life, is it not? How else can a life be justified, but by this?\nThe sun is forever moving. I must get back to work. I am grateful I have this place to put my thoughts, lest they become lost and confused as I am (though I'll never let the others see that... they think I have everything in control)..."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/collected-essays-dwemer-history-and-culture": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/collected-essays-dwemer-history-and-culture", "description": "A review of Marobar Sul's Dwemer books.", "author": "Hasphat Antabolis", "title": "Collected Essays on Dwemer History and Culture", "text": "Chapter 1 -\u00a0Marobar Sul and the Trivialization of the Dwemer in Popular Culture\nWhile Marobar Sul's Ancient Tales of the Dwemer was definitively debunked in scholarly circles as early as the reign of Katariah I, it remains one of the staples of the literate middle-classes of the Empire, and has served to set the image of the Dwemer in the popular imagination for generations of schoolchildren. What about this lengthy (but curiously insubstantial) tome has proved so captivating to the public that it has been able to see off both the scorn of the literati and the scathing critiques of the scholars?\nBefore examing this question, a brief summary of the provenance and subsequent career of Ancient Tales would be appropriate. First published around 2E670, in the Interregnum between the fall of the First Cyrodilic Empire and the rise of Tiber Septim, it was originally presented as a serious, scholarly work based on research in the archives of the University of Gwylim, and in the chaos of that era was taken at face value (a sign of the sad state of Dwemer scholarship in those years). Little is known of the author, but Marobar Sul was most likely a pseudonym of Gor Felim, a prolific writer of \"penny dreadful romances\" of that era, who is known to have used many other pseudonyms. While most of Felim's other work has, thankfully, been lost to history, what little survives matches Ancient Tales in both language and tone (see Lomis, \"Textual Comparison of Gor Felim's A Hypothetical Treachery with Marobar Sul's Ancient Tales of the Dwemer\"). Felim lived in Cyrodiil his whole life, writing light entertainments for the elite of the old Imperial capital. Why he decided to turn his hand to the Dwemer is unknown, but it is clear that his \"research\" consisted of nothing more than collecting the peasants' tales of the Nibenay Valley and recasting them in Dwemer guise.\nThe book proved popular in Cyrodiil, and Felim continued to churn out more volumes until the series numbered seven in all. Ancient Tales of the Dwemer was thus firmly established as a local favorite in Cyrodiil (already in its 17th printing) when the historical forces that propelled Tiber Septim to prominence also began to spread the literature of the \"heartland\" across the continent. Marobar Sul's version of the Dwemer was seized upon in a surge of human racial nationalism that has not yet subsided.\nThe Dwemer appear in these tales as creatures of fable and light fantasy, but in general they are \"just like us\". They come across as a bit eccentric, perhaps, but certainly there is nothing fearsome or dangerous about them. Compare these to the Dwemer of early Redguard legend: a mysterious, powerful race, capable of bending the very laws of nature to their will; vanished but perhaps not gone. Or the Dwemer portrayed in the most ancient Nord sagas: fearsome warriors, tainted by blasphemous religious practices, who used their profane mechanisms to drive the Nords from Morrowind. Marobar Sul's Dwemer were much more amenable to the spirit of the time, which saw humans as the pinnacle of creation and the other races as unenlightened barbarians or imperfect, lesser versions of humans eager for tutelage. Ancient Tales falls firmly in the latter camp, which does much to explain its enduring hold on the popular imagination. Marobar Sul's Dwemer are so much more comfortable, so much friendlier, so much more familiar, than the real Dwemer, whose truly mysterious nature we are only beginning to understand. The public prefers the light, trivial version of this vanished race. And from what I have learned in my years of studying the Dwemer, I have some sympathy for that preference. As the following essays will show, the Dwemer were, to our modern eyes, a remarkably unlikeable people in many ways.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/conjurers-notes": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/conjurers-notes", "description": "Notes written by a conjurer at Fort Bulwark.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Conjurer's Notes", "text": "Acolytes,\nThe Shield is here. We know this, and yet we have not found it.\nThe fort has been cleansed, and yet still it eludes us. No doubt it was hidden from eyes such as ours, hidden with the intent to keep it from those who would learn its secrets.\nThe gate to the lower levels no longer halts our progress. Make note of the candles along the walls if you would pass through.\nThe fort must be held at all costs if we are to succeed. Let none enter. Leave no foe standing.\n\n\nThe prisoner remains uncooperative.\nThere is little doubt that he was on his own, and none will come to his aid. It has been made clear to him that unless he reveals what he knows, he shall pay most dearly. And yet still he holds out.\nWe give it one more week. If he does not help us reach the Shield, he is to be disposed of, preferrably in a manner most painful."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dar-mas-diary": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dar-mas-diary", "description": "Diary of the Argonian Dar-Ma, found during the Miscellaneous quest \"Shadow Over Hackdirt\".", "author": "Dar-Ma", "title": "Dar-Ma's Diary", "text": "[This is apparently the diary of a young Argonian named Dar-Ma. Most of the book deals with personal but mundane details of her life in Chorrol. The only interesting entry is the last one:]\nArrived in Hackdirt after dark, due to Blossom throwing a shoe on the way -- the road was REALLY rough! hardly more than a track -- doesn't anyone else ever come down here?!\nThe trader's shop was closed, and she wouldn't come to the door even though I could see a light in the upstairs window -- RUDE!!! But at least this inn was open (although the proprietor is kind of creepy -- kept giving me these weird grins when he thought I wasn't looking -- ugh.) And what's wrong with his face??\nSeems like I'm the only one staying here tonight. I didn't see much of the town since it was already dark, but I admit to being kind of spooked -- but I'll never admit that to Mother! Or she'd never let me go on another one of these deliveries. She still thinks I'm just a baby (she would probably say \"hatchling,\" and in front of my friends too!) Remember to ask her about the creepy innkeeper when I get home.\nWell, the candle is almost burned down (they don't even provide a lantern in this horrible old inn!), so I guess I'd better try to get some sleep. If I CAN even sleep with all the creaking in this old place! I keep thinking I hear footsteps outside the door, I'm so on edge -- GROW UP, Dar! I'm sure in the morning it will all seem quaint and charming. Good night, Diary!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/daravyn-grays-long-forgotten-note": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/daravyn-grays-long-forgotten-note", "description": "This is a note from Daravyn to his beloved. This letter holds the key (a riddle) to a treasure hidden within the walls of Rosethorn Hall.", "author": "Daravyn the Gray", "title": "Daravyn the Gray's Long Forgotten Note", "text": "My love,\nI write this with trembling hands. The guards are after me, and I have nowhere else to turn. Soon they will be at the doors to Rosethorn Hall, and nothing will keep them from taking me away back to that horrible prison. I don't know how they found me; perhaps it was that traitor, Delgariun. Whoever told them I was hiding in your home must have known both of us very well. I know Delgariun has eyes for you, I know he's the one that framed me in the first place and had me sent to that dank hole in the Imperial City. He has to be the one. Beware of him, my love. He's treacherous and only wants you to get to the treasure. I didn't give it up to the guards, and I won't give it up to Delgariun. I've hidden the treasure within the walls of Rosethorn Hall. Remember the toy we played with as we ran through this place as children? Remember the riddle we had for it? It was our secret code:\n\"Two bodies have I, though both joined in one. The more I stand still, the quicker I run.\"\nThe key to the treasure lies with the answer. Take care of it, my love. It is your ticket far from Delgariun. Do not fret, I've escaped once, I shall do so again. Soon we will be together, and the sun will shine upon us.\nDaravyn the Gray\n3E227"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/daughter-niben": {"game": ["Oblivion", "Skyrim", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/daughter-niben", "description": "The History of Bravil. Includes an interesting legend about the Lucky Old Lady.", "author": "Sathyr Longleat", "title": "Daughter of the Niben", "text": "BRAVIL\nDaughter of the Niben\nBy\n\tSathyr Longleat\nBravil is one of the most charming towns in Cyrodiil, sparkling in her simple beauty, illustrious by her past. No visit to the southern part of the Imperial Province is complete without a walk along Bravil's exciting river port, a talk with her friendly native children, and, of course, in the tradition of the village, a whispered word to the famous statue of the Lucky Old Lady.\nMany thousands of years before the arrival of the Atmorans, the native Ayleid people had long lived in the vicinity of modern day Bravil. The Niben then, as now, provided food and transportation, and the village was even more populous than it is today. We are not certain what they called their region: as insular as they were, the word they used would be translated to simply mean \"home.\" These savage Ayleids were so firmly entrenched that the Bravil region was one of the very last areas to be liberated by the Alessian army in the second century of the 1st era. Though little remains of that era culturally or archeologically, thank Mara, the tales of debauchery and depravity have entered into the realm of legends.\nHow the Ayleids were able to survive such a long siege is debated by scholars to this day. All, however, grant the honor of the victory to one of the Empress Alessia's centurions, a man called Teo Bravillius Tasus, the man for whom the modern town is named.\nIt was said he invaded the village no less than four times, after heavy resistance, but each time upon the morning dawning, all his soldiers within would be dead, murdered. By the time more centuria had arrived, the fortified town was repopulated with Ayleids. After the second successful invasion, secret underground tunnels were found and filled in, but once again, come morning, the soldiers were again dead, and the citizens had returned. After the third successful siege, legions were posted outside of the town, watching the roads and riverway for signs of attacks, but no one came. The next morning, the bodies of the invading soldiers were thrown from the parapets of town's walls.\nTeo Bravillius Tasus knew that the Ayleids must be hiding themselves somewhere in the town, waiting until nightfall, and then murdering the soldiers while they slept. The question was where. After the fourth invasion, he himself led the soldiers in a thorough inspection of every corner, every shadow. Just as they were ready to give up, the great centurion noticed two curious things. High in the sheer walls of the town, beyond anyone's ability to climb, there were indentations, narrow platforms. And by the river just inside the town, he discovered a single footprint from someone clearly not wearing the Imperial boot.\nThe Ayleids, it seemed, had taken two routes to hide themselves. Some had levitated up to the walls and hidden themselves high above, and others had slipped into the river, where they were able to breathe underwater. It was a relatively easy task once the strange elves' even stranger hiding holes had been discovered to rout them out, and see to it that there were no more midnight assassinations of the Empress's troops.\nIt may seem beyond belief that an entire community could be so skilled in these spells hundreds and hundreds of years before the Mages Guild was formed to teach the ways of magicka to the common folk. There does, however, appear to be evidence that, just as the Psijics on the Isle of Artaeum developed Mysticism long before there was a name for it, the even more obscure Ayleids of southern Cyrodiil had developed what was to be known as the school of Alteration. It is not, after all, much of a stretch when one considers that other Ayleids at the time of Bravil's conquering and even later were shapeshifters. The community of pre-Bravil could not turn into beasts and monsters, but they could alter their bodies to hide themselves away. A related and useful skill, to be sure. But not so effective to save themselves in the end.\nVery little is left of the Ayleid presence in Bravil of today, though archetectural marvels of other kinds are very evident. As beautiful and arresting as the Benevolence of Mara cathedral and the lord's palace are, no manmade structure in Bravil is as famous as the statue called The Lucky Old Lady.\nThe tales about the Lady and who she was are too numerous to list.\nIt was said she was born the illegitimate daughter of a prostitute in Bravil, certainly an inauspicious beginning to a lucky life. She was teased by the other children, who forever asked her who her father was. Every day, she would run back to her little shack in tears from their cruelty.\nOne day, a priest of Stendarr came to Bravil to do charitable work. He saw the weeping little girl, and when asked, she told him the cause of her misery: she didn't know who her father was.\n\"You have kind eyes and a mouth that tells no lies,\" replied the priest after a moment, smiling. \"You are clearly a child of Stendarr, the God of Mercy, Charity, and Well-Earned Luck.\"\nThe priest's thoughtful words changed the girl forever. Whenever she was asked who her father was, she would cheerfully reply, \"I am a child of Luck.\"\nShe grew up to be a barmaid, it was said, kind and generous to her customers, frequently allowing them to pay when they were able to. On a particularly rainy night, she gave shelter to a young man dressed in rags, who not only had no money to pay, but was belligerent and rude to her as she fed him and gave him a room. The next morning, he left without so much as a thank you. Her friends and family admonished her, saying that she had to be careful, he might have even been dangerous.\nA week later, a royal carriage arrived in Bravil, with an Imperial prince within. Though he was scarcely reconizable, it was the same young man the Lady had helped. He apologized profusely for his appearance and behavior, explaining that he had been kidnapped and cursed by a band of witches, and it wasn't until later he had returned to his senses. The Lady was showered with riches, which she, of course, generously shared with all the people of Bravil, where she lived to a content old age.\nNo one knows when the statue to her was erected in the town square, or who the artist was, but it has stood there for thousands of years, since the first era. To this day, visitors and Bravillians alike go to the Lucky Old Lady to ask for her to bless them with luck in their travails.\nJust one more charming aspect of the charming, and very lucky village of Bravil."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/de-rerum-dirennis": {"game": ["Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/de-rerum-dirennis", "description": "A story about Asliel Direnni, an accomplished Alchemist of the Direnni clan.", "author": "Vorian Direnni", "title": "De Rerum Dirennis", "text": "I am six-hundred-and-eleven years old. I have never had children of my own, but I have many nieces and nephews and cousins who have been raised with the tales and traditions of our ancient, illustrious, and occasionally notorious clan, the Direnni. Few families in Tamriel can boast so many famous figures, wielding so much power over the fate of so many. Our warriors and kings are stuff of legend, and it is not to dismiss their honor and their achievements to say you have heard quite enough about them.\nI myself have never picked up a sword or written an important law, but I am part of a lesser known but still important Direnni tradition: the way of the wizard. My own autobiography would be of little interest to posterity - though my nephew, nieces, and cousins indulge me to tell wild tales of life in the chaotic Second Era of Tamriel - but I have a few ancestors whose stories should be told. They may have changed history as we know it as dramatically as my better known relatives, but their names are in danger of being forgotten.\nMost recently, Lysandus, the King of Daggerfall, was able to conquer his ancient enemies of Sentinel in part thanks to his court sorceress, Medora Direnni. Her grandfather Jovron Direnni was Imperial Battlemage to the court of the Dunmer Empress of Tamriel, Katariah, assisting her in creating peace in a time of turmoil. His great great grandfather Pelladil Direnni had a similar role with the first Potentate, and encouraged the Guild Act without which we would not have all the professional organizations we have today. His ancestor, many times back, was the witch Raven Direnni, who with her better known cousins Aiden and Ryain, brought an end to the tyranny of the latter Alessian Empire. Before the Psijics of Artaeum, it is said, she created the art of enchantment, learning how to bind a soul into a gem and use that to ensorcel all manners of weaponry.\nBut it is the story of an ancestor even more ancient, more distant than Raven I wish to tell.\nAsliel Direnni harkens back to the humble beginnings of our clan, in the tiny farming village of Tyrigel on the banks of the river Caomus which was then called the Diren, hence the family name. Like all on Summurset Isle in those days, he was a simple planter of the fields. But while others only grew enough to sustain their immediate kin, even distant cousins of the Dirennis worked together. They would decide as a group which fields were best for wheat, orchard, vine, livestock, or apiary, and thereby always have the best yields of any farm which worked alone, doing the best as it could with what it had.\nAsliel had a particularly poor farm for most kind of agriculture, but small herbs found its stony, loamless, acidic soil very comfortable. Out of necessity more than anything else he became an expert on all manners of herbs. For the most part, of course, they were used in flavoring cooking, but as you know, hardly any plant grows on the surface of our world without a magickal potential.\nEven so long ago, witches already were in existence. It would be ridiculous for me to suggest that Asliel Direnni invented alchemy. What he did, what we can all be grateful for, is that he formulated it into an art and science.\nThere were no witches' covens in Tyrigel, and, of course, there would be no Mages Guild yet for thousands of years, so people would come to him for cures. He learned for himself the exact formula for combining black lichen and roobrush to create a cure for all manners of poison, and the amount of willow anther to crush and mix with chokeweed to cure diseases.\nThere were few much greater threats in Tyrigel in those peaceful days than disease or accidental poisonings. Yes, there were some dark forces in the wilderness, trolls, chimera, the occasional malevolent fairy folk and will-o'-the-wisp, but even the youngest, most foolish Altmer knew how to avoid them. There were, however, a few unusual threats which Asliel had a hand in defeating.\nOne of the tales told of him that I believe to be true is how he was brought a young niece who had been suffering from an unknown disease. Despite his ministrations, she grew weaker and weaker every morning. Finally, he gave her a bitter tasting drink, and the next morning, ashes were found all around her bed. A vampire had been feeding on the poor girl, but Asliel's potion had turned her very blood into poison, without harming her in the least.\nIf only this formula had not been lost in the mists of history!\nThis would have been enough to make him a minor but significant figure in the annals of early Summurset, but at that point in history, a barbarian tribe called the Locvar had found their way down the Diren River, and recognized Tyrigel as a rich target for raids. The Direnni, not being warriors yet but simple farmers, were helpless and could only flee and watch the Locvar take the best of their crops, raid after raid.\nAsliel, however, had been experimenting with the vampire dust, and brought his cousins to him with a plan. The next time the Locvar were sighted on the Diren, the word went out and all the most able-bodied came to Asliel's laboratory. When the barbarians arrived in Tyrigel, they found the farms deserted, and assumed that all had fled as usual. As they set about stealing the bounty, they suddenly found themselves under attack by invisible forces. Believing the Direnni farms to be haunted, they ran away very quickly.\nThey attempted a few more raids, for their greed would always eventually overpower their fear, and each time, they were set upon by attackers who they could not see. As barbaric as they were, they were not stupid, and they changed their mind about the source of their defeat. It could not be that the farms were haunted, because the crops were still being tended and harvested, and the animals seemed to show no fear. The Locvar decided to send a scout to the farm to see if he could spy their secrets.\nThe scout sent word back to the Locvar that the Direnni farms were populated with flesh and blood, entirely visible Altmer. He continued to watch as his barbarian cohorts moved down the river, and he saw the elderly and children flee for the hills, while the able-bodied farmers and their wives went to Asliel's laboratory. He saw them go in; he saw no one come out.\nAs usual, the Locvar were repelled by invisible forces, but their scout soon told them what he saw happening in the laboratory.\nThe next night, two of the Locvar approached Asliel's farm very stealthily, and managed to kidnap him without alerting the rest of the Direnni. The Locvar chieftain, knowing that the farmers could no longer count on the alchemist to make them invisible, considered an immediate attack on the farms. But he was a vengeful sort, and felt he had been humiliated by these simple farmers. A crafty plan emerged in his mind. What if the Direnni, who always saw his barbarian tribe coming, for once did not? Imagine the slaughter if no one even had a chance to flee.\nThe scout had told the chieftain that Asliel had used the dust of a vampire to make the farmers invisible, but he was not sure what the other ingredient had been. He described an incandescent powder that Asliel had mixed into the dust. Asliel, of course, refused to help the Locvar, but they were experts in torture as well as pillage, and he knew he would have to talk or die.\nFinally after hours of torture, he agreed to tell them what the incandescent powder was. He did not know the name, but he called it \"Glow Dust,\" the only remains of a slain will-o'-the-wisp. He told them they would need a lot of it if they wanted to turn the whole tribe invisible for the raid.\nThe Locvar grumbled that not only did they have to find and kill a vampire to attain his dust, but find and kill several will-o'-the-wisps to get theirs. In a few days time, they came back with the ingredients the alchemist asked for. The chieftain, not being a complete idiot, made Asliel taste the potion first. He did as he was told and turned invisible, demonstrating that it did truly work. The chieftain put him to work creating more. No one apparently noticed that while he did, he was nibbling on black lichen and roobrush.\nThe Locvar took the potion as he doled it out, and soon, but not too soon that they didn't suffer, they were all dead.\nThe scout who had seen Asliel mixing the invisibility potion had apparently mistook the glow of the candlelight in the laboratory for an incandescence which the second ingredient of the invisibility potion did not possess. The second ingredient was actually dull, simple redwort, one of the most common herbs in Tamriel. When they had insisted during torture that Asliel tell them what the incandescent powder was, Asliel remembered that he had once experimentally mixed glow dust and vampire dust together once and created a powerful poison. It was simple enough to steal a little redwort from the barbarian's camp, mix that with the vampire and glow dust mixture, and create a potion that was in fact an invisibility poison. After curing himself, he gave the poison to the barbarians.\nThe Locvar, being dead, never again raided the Direnni farms, and having no other enemies, they were able to grow more and more prosperous and powerful. Generations later, they left Summurset and began their historic adventures on the Tamriel mainland. Asliel Direnni, because of his excellence as an alchemist, was invited to Artaeum and became a Psijic. It is not known how many more of the common formulas we know today were invented by him there, but I have no doubt, the science and art of alchemy as we know it today would not exist without him.\nBut that is all in the distant past. Asliel's innovations, like my modest ones, like the achievements of the Dirennis throughout history, are but a stepping stone to the wonders which will come in the future. I wish I could be there to witness them, but if I can only share some of the past with the children of Direnni and the children of Tamriel, then I will consider my life well spent."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/death-decree": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/death-decree", "description": "A Death Decree for Robert Wisnewski.", "author": "Sheogorath", "title": "Death Decree", "text": "Sheogorath, Prince of Madness, Lord of the Never-There, Sovereign of the Shivering Isles, does, on this day, hence-forth make this decree:\nRobert Wisnewski\nCitizen of the Shivering Isles, Resident of Bliss, and Honored Madman\nhas broken the laws and covenants of the Shivering Isles and offended the austere personage of Our Lord, through the following actions:\nAttempting the Growth of a Beard, an Action Deemed Unseemly in the Eyes of Our Lord\nIt is further decreed that the actions of this citizen merit the strictest of punishments to be meted out at the earliest possible hour, in a manner to be chosen according to the Whims and Fancies of Our Lord Sheogorath"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/decrepit-note": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/decrepit-note", "description": "A note of Arielle Jurard, after she has been imprisoned in the grotto of Battlehorn Castle.", "author": "Arielle Jurard, the Lich", "title": "Decrepit Note", "text": "Ignorant fool! I could have delivered Lainlyn to him, and more. But time is of no consequence to me any longer! While he is growing old, I will be only growing stronger, to await the day when I will return to claim my rightful place among the powers of this world!\nThe darkness is not so bad. I come to like it. My companion is not very talkative, but that is just as well. I see now that my procedure was somewhat flawed -- the flesh was not fully imbued with life as I intended. But his spirit remains strongly bound. He will provide me with an excellent test subject, as long as I am careful to do no permanent damage.\nSometimes I awaken, and do not know where I am or what I have been doing. How to tell the passage of time here? Why should it matter to me? I believe the change is coming over me quickly now. My lord Mannimarco would be pleased.\nDeep night darkness. Sometimes sleep under moon invisible. Howl sweetly, so sweet. My darkness. Silence."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/deed-benirus-manor": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/deed-benirus-manor", "description": "The deed to the Benirus Manor in Anvil.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Deed to Benirus Manor", "text": "This document hereby states that the bearer is the sole owner and possessor of the domicile currently known as Benirus Manor. Said domicile is located in the township known as Anvil in the territory known as Cyrodiil.\nThe bearer has full ownership rights to all of the structures, flora and land within the property borders as defined in the Anvil Construction Charter. The bearer is responsible for all matters pertaining to or occurring on said property.\nThis document also empowers the bearer transfer rights to reassign the property as he sees fit. The bearer may amend this document to rename the manor by submitting the proper forms and payments to the Anvil Construction Charter and by filing duplicate forms with the Documents Division of the Imperial City Archives."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/deed-frostcrag-spire": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/deed-frostcrag-spire", "description": "The deed to Frostcrag Spire, received at the beginning of the Wizard's Tower official plugin.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Deed to Frostcrag Spire", "text": "This document is to inform the bearer that the last known owner of the property known as Frostcrag Spire has been declared deceased, and the bearer has been listed as the sole heir and successor to the deceased's ownership of said property.\nThe bearer has full ownership rights to all of the structures, flora and land within the property borders as defined in the Cyrodiil Construction Charter. The bearer is responsible for all matters pertaining to or occurring on said property.\nThis document also empowers the bearer transfer rights to reassign the property as he sees fit. The bearer may amend this document to rename the manor by submitting the proper forms and payments to the Cyrodiil Construction Charter and by filing duplicate forms with the Documents Division of the Imperial City Archives.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/diary-springheel-jak": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/diary-springheel-jak", "description": "The diary of Jakben, Earl of Imbel, formerly known as Springheel Jak.", "author": "Springheel Jak", "title": "Diary of Springheel Jak", "text": "I knew a man who was a great thief. He dared steal from Nocturnal herself! How odd that I cannot seem to recall his name. I think we were friends, but I'm not certain. In three days I will venture into Taren's crypt. Graverobbing alone is dangerous. Maybe I should try to find a partner. Didn't I once know a great thief?\nI begin this second entry in the second volume of my diary on a momentous day. Actually it is night, the night when my second life begins. It will be forever night for me. I have become one of the children of the night, a son to mother wolf and brother to the bat. I am nosferatu, a vampyre. Tonight is the first night of the rest of eternity.\nI rediscovered this diary today. It has been 13 years since I last wrote in it. With an eternity before, and the blood hunger ever pulsing in my veins, there is little urgency for diaries, or much of anything. Amiela is calling to me. I must go.\nHas it really been 89 years since I last wrote? The pages are getting fragile. I have rediscovered purpose, though it took nearly a century. I have finally gained some measure of control over the blood frenzy. I think I will try to establish a life among the living in one of their great cities.\nI had forgotten about this diary. I won't bother to calculate how many decades it has been since I last wrote in it. The cattle of this city know me as Jakben, Earl of Imbel. Centuries ago I knew myself as Springheel Jak, the famous thief. I seem to recall having a famous partner, but his name escapes me. No matter. I have grown beyond friends and partners. I rule the night here in the city."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dirty-scroll": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dirty-scroll", "description": "A dirty scroll found in the Ayleid ruins of Vilverin.", "author": "Bandit Ringleader of Vilverin", "title": "Dirty Scroll", "text": "Some of the men were worried about these old ruins being haunted, but Mephala take them -- this spot's going to be perfect for ambushing merchants along the road. And all under the nose of the Imperial Legion!\nFinally got some of those big blue stones down today. Berenice got the idea to shoot them down with her bow. Got 'em all here with me. I don't know what they are, but they stink of magicka. Bet they'll fetch a nice price with the Mage's Guild.\nTwo-Coins and that khajiit from Vvardenfell set up their camps down in the tomb. Fine by me, spares the rest of us the smell.\nTwo-Coins ran up today, the Khajiit's gone missing. Swore to the Nine that you could hear claws scrabbling at limestone, but nothing's down there. I'm guessing she got tired of the smell and snuck out overnight. Two-Coins' stench could peel shells off mudcrabs - I'm surprised she hung around that long."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/disaster-ionith": {"game": ["Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/disaster-ionith", "description": "Report of the Imperial Commission on the Disaster at Ionith", "author": "Lord Pottreid, Chairman", "title": "Disaster at Ionith", "text": "The Emperor's plans for the invasion of Akavir were laid in the 270s, when he began the conquest of the small island kingdoms that lie between Tamriel and Akavir. With the fall of Black Harbor in Esroniet in 282, Uriel V was already looking ahead to the ultimate prize. He immediately ordered extensive renovations to the port, which would serve as the marshalling point for the invasion force and as the main supply source throughout the campaign. At this time he also began the construction of the many large, ocean-going transports that would be needed for the final crossing to Akavir, in which the Navy was previously deficient. Thus it can be seen that the Emperor's preparations for the invasion were laid well in advance, before even the conquest of Esroniet was complete, and was not a sudden whim as some have charged.\nWhen Prince Bashomon yielded Esroniet to Imperial authority in 284, the Emperor's full attention could be devoted to planning for the Akaviri campaign. Naval expeditions were dispatched in 285 and 286 to scout the sea lanes and coastlands of Akavir; and various Imperial intelligence agents, both magical and mundane, were employed to gather information. On the basis of all this information, the kingdom of the Tsaesci, in the southwest of Akavir, was selected as the initial target for the invasion.\nMeanwhile the Emperor was gathering his Expeditionary Force. A new Far East Fleet was created for the campaign, which for a time dwarfed the rest of the Navy; it is said to be the most powerful fleet ever assembled in the history of Tamriel. The Fifth, Seventh, Tenth, and Fourteenth Legions were selected for the initial landing, with the Ninth and Seventeenth to follow as reinforcements once the beachhead was secured. While this may seem to the layman a relatively small fraction of the Army's total manpower, it must be remembered that this Expeditionary Force would have to be maintained at the end of a long and tenuous supply line; in addition, the Emperor and the Army command believed that the invasion would not be strongly opposed, at least at first. Perhaps most crucially, the Navy had only enough heavy transport capacity to move four legions at a time.\nIt should be noted here that the Commission does not find fault with the Emperor's preparations for the invasion. Based on the information available prior to the invasion, (which, while obviously deficient in hindsight, great effort had been made to accumulate), the Commission believes that the Emperor did not act recklessly or imprudently. Some have argued that the Expeditionary Force was too small. The Commission believes that on the contrary, even if shipping could have been found to transport and supply more legions (an impossibility without crippling the trade of the entire Empire), this would have merely added to the scale of the disaster; it would not have averted it. Neither could the rest of the Empire be denuded of legions; the memory of the Camoran Usurper was still fresh, and the Emperor believed (and this Commission agrees) that the security of the Empire precluded a larger concentration of military force outside of Tamriel. If anything, the Commission believes that the Expeditionary Force was too large. Despite the creation of two new legions during his reign (and the recreation of the Fifth), the loss of the Expeditionary Force left the Empire in a dangerously weak position relative to the provinces, as the current situation makes all too clear. This suggests that the invasion of Akavir was beyond the Empire's current strength; even if the Emperor could have fielded and maintained a larger force in Akavir, the Empire may have disintegrated behind him.\nThe Expeditionary Force left Black Harbor on 23rd Rain's Hand, 288, and with fair weather landed in Akavir after six weeks at sea. The landing site was a small Tsaesci port at the mouth of a large river, chosen for its proximity to Tamriel as well as its location in a fertile river valley, giving easy access to the interior as well as good foraging for the army. All went well at first. The Tsaesci had abandoned the town when the Expeditionary Force approached, so they took possession of it and renamed it Septimia, the first colony of the new Imperial Province of Akavir. While the engineers fortified the town and expanded the port facilities to serve the Far East Fleet, the Emperor marched inland with two legions. The surrounding land was reported to be rich, well-watered fields, and meeting no resistance the army took the next city upriver, also abandoned. This was refounded as Ionith, and the Emperor established his headquarters there, being much larger than Septimia and better-located to dominate the surrounding countryside.\nThe Expeditionary Force had yet to meet any real resistance, although the legions were constantly shadowed by mounted enemy patrols which prevented any but large scouting parties from leaving the main body of the army. One thing the Emperor sorely lacked was cavalry, due to the limited space on the transport fleet, although for the time being the battlemages made up for this with magical reconnaissance.\nThe Emperor now sent out envoys to try to contact the Tsaesci king or whoever ruled this land, but his messengers never returned. In retrospect, the Commission believes that valuable time was wasted in this effort while the army was stalled at Ionith, which could have been better spent in advancing quickly while the enemy was still, apparently, surprised by the invasion. However, the Emperor believed at the time that the Tsaesci could be overawed by the Empire's power and he might win a province by negotiation with no need for serious fighting.\nMeanwhile, the four legions were busy building a road between Septimia and Ionith, setting up fortified guard posts along the river, and fortifying both cities' defences, activities which would serve them well later. Due to their lack of cavalry, scouting was limited, and communication between the two cities constantly threatened by enemy raiders, with which the legions were still unable to come to grips.\nThe original plan had been to bring the two reinforcing legions across as soon as the initial landing had secured a port, but the fateful decision was now taken to delay their arrival and instead begin using the Fleet to transport colonists. The Emperor and the Council agreed that, due to the complete abandonment of the conquered area by its native population, colonists were needed to work the fields so that the Expeditionary Force would not have to rely entirely on the fleet for supplies. In addition, unrest had broken out in Yneslea, athwart the supply route to Akavir, and the Council believed the Ninth and Seventeenth legions would be better used in repacifying those territories and securing the Expeditionary Force's supply lines.\nThe civilian colonists and their supplies began arriving in Septimia in mid-Hearthfire, and they took over the preparation of the fields (which had been started by the legionnaires) for a spring crop. A number of cavalry mounts were also brought over at this time, and the raids on the two Imperial colonies subsequently fell off. Tsaesci emissaries also finally arrived in Ionith, purportedly to begin peace negotiations, and the Expeditionary Force settled in for what was expected to be a quiet winter.\nAt this time, the Council urged the Emperor to return to Tamriel with the Fleet, to deal with many pressing matters of the Empire while the army was in winter quarters, but the Emperor decided that it would be best to remain in Akavir. This turned out to be fortunate, because a large portion of the Fleet, including the Emperor's flagship, was destroyed by an early winter storm during the homeward voyage. The winter storm season of 288-289 was unusually prolonged and exceptionally severe, and prevented the Fleet from returning to Akavir as planned with additional supplies. This was reported to the Emperor via battlemage and it was agreed that the Expeditionary Force could survive on what supplies it had on hand until the spring.\nThe winter weather in Akavir was also much more severe than expected. Due to the supply problems and the addition of thousands of civilians, the Expeditionary Force was on tight rations. To make matters worse, the Tsaesci raiders returned in force and harried any foraging and scouting parties outside the walls of the two cities. Several watch forts on the road between Septimia and Ionith were captured during blizzards, and the rest had to be abandoned as untenable. As a result, communication between the two cities had to be conducted entirely by magical means, a continuing strain on the legions' battlemages.\nOn 5th Sun's Dawn, a large entourage of Tsaesci arrived at Ionith claiming to bring a peace offer from the Tsaesci king. That night, these treacherous envoys murdered the guards at one of the city gates and let in a strong party of their comrades who were waiting outside the city walls. Their clear intention was to assassinate the Emperor, foiled only by the vigilance and courage of troopers of the Tenth who were guarding his palace. Once the alarm was raised, the Tsaesci inside the city were hunted down and killed to the last man. Needless to say, this was the end of negotiations between the Emperor and the Tsaesci.\nThe arrival of spring only brought worse troubles. Instead of the expected spring rains, a hot dry wind began to blow from the east, continuing with varying strength through the entire summer. The crops failed, and even the river (which in the previous year had been navigable by small boats far upstream of Ionith) was completely dried up by Sun's Height. It is unknown if this was due to a previously unknown weather pattern unique to Akavir, or if the Tsaesci manipulated the weather through magical means. The Commission leans towards the former conclusion, as there is no direct evidence of the Tsaesci possessing such fearsome arcane power, but the latter possibility cannot be entirely ruled out.\nDue to prolonged bad weather, the supply fleet was late in setting out from Black Harbor. It finally left port in early Second Seed, but was again severely mauled by storms and limped into Septimia eight weeks later much reduced. Because of the increasingly desperate supply situation in Akavir, the Emperor dispatched most of his Battlemage Corps with the fleet to assist it in weathering the storms which seemed likely to continue all summer. At this time, the Council urged the Emperor to abandon the invasion and to return to Tamriel with the Expeditionary Force, but he again refused, noting that the fleet was no longer large enough to transport all four legions at once. The Commission agrees that leaving one or more legions behind in Akavir to await the return of the fleet would have damaged Army morale. But the Commission also notes that the loss of one legion would have been preferable to the loss of the entire Expeditionary Force. It is the unanimous opinion of the Commission that this was the last point at which complete disaster might have been averted. Once the decision was made to send the fleet back for reinforcements and supplies, events proceeded to their inevitable conclusion.\nFrom this point on, much less is known about what transpired in Akavir. With most of the battlemages assisting the fleet, communication between the Expeditionary Force and Tamriel was limited, especially as the situation in Akavir worsened and the remaining battlemages had their powers stretched to the limit attending to all the needs of the legions. However, it appears that the Tsaesci may also have been actively interfering with the mages in some unknown manner. Some of the mages in Akavir reported their powers being abnormally weak, and the mages of the War College in Cyrodiil (who were handling communications for the Council) reported problems linking up with their compatriots in Akavir, even between master and pupil of long training. The Commission urges that the War College make a particular study of the arcane powers of the Tsaesci, should the Empire ever come into conflict with Akavir again.\nWhat is known is that the Emperor marched out of Ionith in mid-Sun's Height, leaving only small garrisons to hold the cities. He had learned that the Tsaesci were massing their forces on the other side of a mountain range to the north, and he intended to smash their army before it could gather full strength and capture their supplies (of which he was in desperate need). This rapid advance seems to have taken the Tsaesci by surprise, and the Expeditionary Force crossed the mountains and fell on their camp, routing the Tsaesci army and capturing its leader (a noble of some kind). But the Emperor was soon forced to retreat, and the legions suffered heavily on their retreat to Ionith. The Emperor now found himself besieged in Ionith, cut off from the small garrison at Septimia which was also besieged. By this time, it seems that the efforts of the few remaining battlemages were devoted entirely to creating water to keep the army alive, a skill not normally emphasized at the War College. The fleet had arrived safely back to Black Harbor, thanks to the Battlemage Corps, but all attempts to return to Akavir were frustrated by a series of ever more savage storms that battered Esroniet throughout the rest of 289.\nThe Council's last contact with the Emperor was in early Frostfall. By Evening Star, the Council was extremely worried about the situation in Akavir and ordered the fleet to sail regardless of the risk. Despite the continued storms, the fleet managed to press on to Akavir. Hope was raised when contact was made with the Emperor's battlemage, who reported that Ionith still held out. Plans were quickly laid for the Expeditionary Force to break out of Ionith and fall back on Septimia, where the fleet would meet them. This was the last direct contact with the Expeditionary Force. The fleet arrived in Septimia to find its garrison under savage assault from a large Tsaesci army. The battlemages with the fleet threw back the enemy long enough for the survivors to embark and the fleet to withdraw.\nThe few survivors of the Expeditionary Force who reached Septimia told how the Emperor had led the army out of Ionith by night two days earlier, succesfully breaking through the enemy lines but then being surrounded by overwhelming forces on the road to Septimia. They told of a heroic last stand by the Emperor and the Tenth Legion, which allowed a remnant of the Fourteenth to reach Septimia. Two survivors of the Tenth arrived in Septimia that night, having slipped through the enemy lines during their undisciplined victory celebration. These men confirmed having seen the Emperor die, cut down by enemy arrows as he rallied the Tenth's shield wall.\nThe Commission believes that the invasion of Akavir was doomed from the start for several reasons, none of which could have been foreseen beforehand, unfortunately.\nDespite extensive intelligence-gathering, the Expeditionary Force was clearly unprepared for the situation in Akavir. The unexpected weather which plagued the army and navy was particularly disastrous. Without the loss of a majority of the Far East Fleet during the campaign, the Expeditionary Force could have been withdrawn in 289. The weather also forced the Emperor to assign most of his Battlemage Corps to the fleet, leaving him without their valuable assistance during the fighting which soon followed. And of course the unexpected drought which struck Ionith during 289 dashed the hopes of supplying the army locally, and left the Expeditionary Force in an untenable situation when besieged in Ionith.\nThe Tsaesci were also much stronger than intelligence reports had suggested. Information on the size of the army the Tsaesci were eventually able to field against the Expeditionary Force is vague, as the only serious fighting took place after regular communications were cut off between the Emperor and the Council. Nevertheless, it seems likely that the Tsaesci outnumbered the Emperor's forces by several times, as they were able to force four crack legions into retreat and then keep them under siege for several months.\nAs was stated previously, the Commission declines to criticize the initial decision to invade Akavir. Based on what was known at the time, the plan seemed sound. It is only with the benefit of hindsight does it become obvious that the invasion had very little chance of success. Nevertheless, the Commission believes several valuable lessons can be taken from this disaster.\nFirst, the Tsaesci may have extremely powerful arcane forces at their command. The possibility that they may have manipulated the weather across such a vast region seems incredible (and it should be noted that three Commissioners strongly objected to this paragraph even being included in this Report), but the Commission believes that this matter deserves urgent investigation. The potential danger is such that even the slight possibility must be taken seriously.\nSecond, the Tsaesci appear to possess no navy to speak of. The Expeditionary Force was never threatened by sea, and the Far East Fleet fought nothing but the weather. Indeed, initial plans called for a portion of the Fleet to remain in Akavir for use in coastal operations, but in the event there were very few places where the large vessels of the Fleet could approach the land, due to the innumerable reefs, sandbars, islands, etc. that infested the coastal waters north and south from Septimia. Due to the utter lack of trees in the plain around Septimia and Ionith, the Expeditionary Force was unable to build smaller vessels which could have navigated the shallow coastal waters. Any future military expeditions against Akavir would do well to consider some way of bringing a means for inshore naval operations in order to exploit this clear advantage over the Tsaesci, an advantage that was sadly unexploited by the Expeditionary Force.\nThird, much longer-term study needs to be made of Akavir before another invasion could even be contemplated. The information gathered over the four years prior to the invasion was extensive, but clearly inadequate. The weather conditions were completely unexpected; the Tsaesci much stronger than expected; and the attempted negotiations by the Emperor with the Tsaesci a disaster. Akavir proved alien beyond expectation, and the Commission believes any future attempt to invade Akavir should not be contemplated without much greater knowledge of the conditions, politics, and peoples of that continent than presently obtains.\nFinally, the Commission unanimously concludes that given what we now know, any attempt to invade Akavir is folly, at least in the present state of the Empire. The Empire's legions are needed at home. One day, a peaceful, united Empire will return to Akavir and exact severe retribution for the disaster at Ionith and for our fallen Emperor. But that day is not now, nor in the foreseeable future."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/divining-elder-scrolls": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/divining-elder-scrolls", "description": "An excerpt from a longer book which contains information about the Elder Scrolls.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Divining the Elder Scrolls", "text": "...of night. The Elder Scolls themselves can pierce the veil. They offer a view of the flux of Time itself. The prophet who reads the scroll sees one version of what might be. Another prophet might have a different vision with equal veracity. The price for insight is the reader's sight. He is struck blind and..."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/draconis-gift-list": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/draconis-gift-list", "description": "A gift list used by the player to track down the Draconis family in the Dark Brotherhood quest \"Next Of Kin\".", "author": "Perennia Draconis", "title": "Draconis Gift List", "text": "Dear courier,\nI would like to thank you again for agreeing to assist me. I was so delighted when a friend recommended you, and will certainly employ your services again in the future if everything goes well with this round of purchases. You can imagine how difficult it is for an old woman such as myself to get around. My children, darlings that they are, deserve the best, and I'm afraid I haven't been able to properly show my love and appreciation for them in quite a few years. But all that is behind me now! Here is the list of gifts I think my family would most enjoy, as well each child's current place of residence, which should be used to for delivery.\nMatthias -- Talos Plaza District, Imperial City (he has a home there): Matthias always was a rough and tumble lad. The last I'd heard, he'd fallen in with some pretty tough characters there in the Imperial City. I'd feel so much better if I knew he was well protected, so I'd like for you to find him a nice cuirass. Nothing too light -- iron or steel should be fine. And, if possible, I'd like it engraved with \"To my Dear Matty, I'll always be here to protect you, love Mum.\"\nAndreas -- The Drunken Dragon Inn (he owns the place and lives there as well): Andy has been brewing his own beer and spirits since he was six years old. The opening of that inn was the happiest day of his life. I'd like for you to get him some new tavern glasses. I'm sure there are craftsmen in the Imperial City who could make a fancy set from frosted ebony or Altmeri crystal.\nSibylla -- Muck Valley Cavern. Yes, my daughter lives in a cave, and no, I'm not very happy about it. Sibby has always loved animals (almost as much as Andy loves beer) and a couple of years ago she apparently thought it a good idea to abandon the Empire and live as a savage with the rest of the animals. In that time, I'm afraid Sibby has kind of... cracked. She's basically as wild as the beasts she lives with. What can I do? I'm Sibby's mother and I'll always love her. She obviously doesn't want or need anything from civilized society, so what I'd like you to do is find a tanner and secure the largest fur blankets you can possibly find. The last time I saw Sibby she was nearly naked, and I can't imagine there's much in that cave to keep her warm. When you do bring them to Muck Valley Cavern, be careful! The wild animals are bad enough, but Sibby herself will probably attack anyone on sight.\nCaelia -- Castle Leyawiin (you'll find her in the barracks): My beautiful Cae! My dearest daughter broke so many hearts when she was younger. But now that she's an officer in the Imperial Legion I'm afraid she's let herself go a bit. Not gotten fat! By Mephala, not that! But she's settled into a more... practical kind of look. Even a bit boyish, I guess you could say. So what I'd like you to do is get my Cae as much pretty \"girl\" stuff as you can. Flowers, perfume, Nord chocolate, that sort of thing.\nYou've already received half your fee in advance, and will receive the remainder after the gifts have been purchased and delivered, as we originally agreed. Thank you again for providing such a valuable service.\nSincerely,\nPerennia Draconis"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/drothans-field-journal": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/drothans-field-journal", "description": "Describes how to open the gate to the chamber that contains Mehrunes' Razor. Found in the Mehrunes' Razor official plugin.", "author": "Frathen Drothan", "title": "Drothan's Field Journal", "text": "This room appears to have been built around the original site of the Nefarivigum, but there is no sign of Mehrunes' Razor! There is some sort of statue of a man here, and some scattered inscriptions in the stonework. Perhaps they can give me some clues.\nAt first I thought the runes were useless, but I was able to piece together a phrase; Kynverum Dagon Nefarivigum. Speaking the words aloud in that order caused the Razor to materialize! Alas, the way to it is blocked, and I dare not risk force lest the gate is trapped. I must search for more clues.\nI have discovered more inscriptions, etched as to be nearly imperceivable to my eyes. After much labour I discovered some clues as to the man entombed here. It seems he was a champion to Dagon who failed in some great task.\nThe Kyn, it says (Dremora?) carved his chest open, through flesh, armor, and bone, with the Razor itself. He stands guard now as a test for those worthy to claim the weapon. What sort of test can this be?\nThe runes mention the ability of the razor to instantly send a struck foe to Oblivion through Dagons' wrath. This corroborates many tales of the weapon, but can it really be so powerful as to kill instantly?\nThe task seems so simple, now that I've given it thought. He who travels here, draws the heart from the chest of the champion, and devours it must be worthy to wield the Razor. I'm wary to proceed, and wonder if there is another way, but the power of the blade is so near; I must ponder my next move..."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/drothans-journal": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/drothans-journal", "description": "Journal of Frathen Drothan, a rogue Telvanni who wants to topple the Imperial authorities in Morrowind. Found in the Mehrunes' Razor official plugin.", "author": "Frathen Drothan", "title": "Drothan's Journal", "text": "12 Morning Star\nSadrith Mora\nTraitors, all! Helseth and all the lapdogs in the great houses care nothing for the heresy of allowing the Empire to command the lives of our noble Dunmer people. Even my fickle Telvanni kinsmen apathetically consent to this outrage. Once I have raised my army and topple the atrocious Empire of men, then they all shall pay for their complacency.\n6 First Seed\nVivec\nI could hardly bear the journey here to deal with that filthy bookseller, but it was worth it. The Treatise on Ayleidic Cities I bartered for provided the last bit of evidence I needed. I'm now convinced that I can find the Nefarivigum beneath Sundercliff Watch, just inside Cyrodiil's border.\n2 Rains Hand\nKragenmoor\nThe Drothmeri army grows in might! Our forward detachment is ready to escort me within Cyrodiil's borders, where they shall bolster themselves for the assault whilst I claim my prize under the mountain.\n17 Rains Hand\nKragenmoor\nIt's getting harder to find mercenaries. I may have to consider employing some of the beastfolk. Must remember to discuss this with Adrethi before we depart for Sundercliff.\n26 Rains Hand\nSundercliff Keep\nThe Nefarivigum must be near; I can feel power emanating from this place. Now I've only to find it and overcome the task to earn Mehrunes Razor. Wielding this fearsome relic, I'll lead the Drothmeri Army to victory against the Imperial tyrants.\n14 Second Seed\nSundercliff Keep\nWe finally uncovered the entrance to Varsa Baalim. I'm going to take a detachment of men inside with me to find the Nefarivigum. We already discovered an assassin prowling the camp; I fear that Helseth may have sent him. To be safe, I'm going to seal myself in the city until we can recover the Razor. I've left two bezoars, cut from the belly of an albino guar, in the care of Commander Adrethi and the Forgemaster. If there is some emergency, they have only to place these on the pedestals outside the door to dispel my barrier, and open the way to Varsa Baalim."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/earanas-notes": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/earanas-notes", "description": "These notes are given to the player during the Mages Guild quest \"Chorrol Recommendation\".", "author": "Earana", "title": "Earana's Notes", "text": "My dear helper:\nMost of the text you've given me is well beyond your comprehension, I'm afraid. I found one section, however, that had been appended by the keepers of the Imperial Watch, and their notes will be of use to you.\nReturn to the ruins of Cloud Top. There you should find a section of pillar that looks remarkably unlike any other stonework present. The carvings on this pillar were made by the Ayleids, and the pillar has been infused with significant power.\nThe following was scribbled in the margins of the book, presumably by the same men who took the pillar from its original resting place. The notes are smeared in places, so I have included what I could decipher. Do note that this sounds rather dangerous, and take whatever precautions you feel are necessary.\n\"... only seems to function outdoors, where it reacts strongly to magic... terrible power, capable of striking a man dead on the spot...\"\n\"...transported the stone to a secure location, in order to study it more fully...\"\n\"...guild wizards brought in to focus power of stone. Several severely injured; stone finally 'tuned' to react to shock magic...\"\n\"...Welkynd stone necessary to harness stone's power. Success means powers of shock unattainable through other means. \"\nFrom these notes, and the original Ayleid inscriptions, it seems that our Imperial friends were attempting to harness some degree of the Ayleid's magical power, and were marginally successful. I suggest you procure a Welkynd stone for yourself (searching Ayleid ruins will likely be the quickest method of acquiring one) and return to Cloud Top to cast a shock spell at the pillar.\nWhat happens then, I think you can comprehend on your own.\n-E"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/faded-note": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/faded-note", "description": "A note found on the top of one roof in Crucible.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Faded Note", "text": "I don't think I'll live much longer. My wine supply is thinning, only one bottle left. Bernice's wine is worthless! I would have lasted longer on Gnarl bark. I'd go back home to resupply, but Brithaur, that maggot, has stolen my house. It's not just him, though, it's also the others. I can't leave the safety of the roof. They have a plan for me, I see it in their eyes. Caldana, Earil, Cutter, ALL OF THEM!\nThey don't know I'm up here, watching. Not much longer, though. At least they won't find me or my stash. I've put all my favorite things in an urn, and sunken it in the sewage near the back of Bernice's dive.\nI think I'll drink that last bottle to celebrate."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/father-niben": {"game": ["Oblivion", "Skyrim", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/father-niben", "description": "An ancient poem about Topal the Pilot, with modern commentary.", "author": "Florin Jaliil, trans.", "title": "Father of the Niben", "text": "Father of the Niben\nTranslated and With Commentary\n\tby Florin Jaliil\nIntroduction:\n\tWriting the biography of anyone is a challenge. Usually the problem lies in assessing one's sources, comparing the prejudices of one chronicle versus another versus another. Waughin Jarth, I have been told, in writing his well-regarded series on the Wolf Queen of Solitude used over a hundred contemporary narratives. I cannot complain about my task having a similar issue.\nThere is but one record of the man called Topal the Pilot, the earliest known Aldmer explorer of Tamriel. Only four short verse fragments of the epic \"Father of the Niben\" have survived to present day, but they offer an interesting if controversial look at the Middle Merethic Era when Topal the Pilot may have sailed the seas around Tamriel.\nThough \"Father of the Niben\" is the only written record of Topal the Pilot's voyages, it is not the only proof of his existence. Among the treasures of the great Crystal Tower of Summerset Isle are his crude but fascinating maps, his legacy to all Tamriel.\nThe translation of the Aldmeri Udhendra Nibenu, \"Father of the Niben,\" is my own, and I accept that other scholars may disagree with some of my choice of words. I cannot promise my translation lives up to the beauty of the original: I have only strived for simple coherence.\nFragment One:\nSecond ship, the Pasquiniel, manned by pilot\n\tIllio, was to follow the southern pointing\n\tWaystone; and the third, the Niben, manned\n\tBy pilot Topal, was to follow the north-east\n\tPointing waystone; the orders from the\n\tCrystal Tower, they were to sail forth for\n\tEighty moons and then return to tell.\n\tOnly Niben returned to Firsthold, laden high with\n\tGold and spice and fur and strange creatures,\n\tDead and live.\n\tThough, alas, Old Ehlnofey Topal never found, he\n\tTold the tales of the lands he had visited to the\n\tWonderment of all.\n\tFor sixty-six days and nights, he sailed, over crashing\n\tWaves of dire intent, past whirlpools, through\n\tMist that burned like fire, until he reached the\n\tMouth of a great bay and he landed on a\n\tSun-kissed meadow of gentle dells.\n\tAs he and his men rested, there came a fearsome howl,\n\tAnd hideous orcs streamed forth from the murky\n\tGlen, cannibal teeth clotted with gore\nFor centuries, strange crystalline balls were unearthed at the sites of ancient Aldmer shipwrecks and docks, peculiar artifacts of the Merethic and Dawn Eras that puzzled archeologists until it was demonstrated that each had a tendency to rotate on its axis in a specific direction. There were three varieties, one that pointed southward, one that pointed northeast, and one that point northwest.\nIt is not understood how they work, but they seemed attuned to particular lines of power. These are the \"waystones\" of the fragment, which each of the pilots used to point their craft in the direction they were assigned to go. A ship with a name not mentioned in the fragment took his vessel north-west, towards Thras and Yokuda. The Pasquiniel took the southern waystone, and must have sailed down toward Pyandonea. Topal and his north-east waystone found the mainland of Tamriel.\nIt is clear from this fragment what the three ships were assigned to do - find a passage back to Old Ehlnofey so that the Aldmer now living in Summerset could learn what became of their old homeland. As this book is intended to be a study of Topal the Pilot, there is scarcely room to dedicate to different theories of the Aldmeri exodus from Old Ehlnofey.\nIf I were using this poem as my only source, I would have to agree with the scholars who believe in the tradition that several ships left Old Ehlnofey and were caught in a storm. Those who survived found their way to Summerset Isle, but without their waystones, they did not know what direction their homeland was. After all, what other explanation is there for three ships heading in three opposite directions to find a place?\nNaturally, only one of the ships returned, and we do not know if either or both of the other two found Old Ehlnofey, or perished at sea or at the hands of the ancient Pyandoneans, Sload, or Yokudans. We must assume, unless we think the Aldmer particularly idiotic, that at least one of them must have been pointing in the right direction. It may well have even been Topal, and he simply did not go north-east far enough.\nSo, Topal setting sail from Firsthold heads north-east, which coincidentally is the longest one can travel along the Abecean Sea without striking land of any kind. Had he traveled straight east, he would have struck the mainland somewhere in what is now the Colovian West of Cyrodiil in a few weeks. Had he traveled south-east, he might have reached the hump of Valenwood in a few days. But our pilot, judging by his own and our modern maps, sailed in a straight line north-east, through the Abecean sea, and into the Iliac Bay, before touching ground somewhere near present day Anticlere in two months time.\nThe rolling verdant hills of southern High Rock are unmistakable in this verse, recognizable to anyone who has been there. The question, of course, is what is to be made of this apparent reference to orcs occupying the region? Tradition has it that the orcs were not born until after the Aldmer had settled the mainland, that they sprung up as a distinct race following the famous battle between Trinimac and Boethiah at the time of Resdayn.\nIt is possible that the tradition is wrong. Perhaps the orcs were an aboriginal tribe predating the Aldmeri colonization. Perhaps these were a cursed folk -- \"Orsimer\" in the Aldmeris, the same word for \"Orc\" - of a different kind, whose name was to be given the orcs in a different era. It is regrettable that the fragment ends here, for more clues to the truth are undoubtedly lost.\nWhat's missing between the first fragment and the second is appreciable. It must be more than eighty months that have passed, because Topal is on the opposite side of mainland Tamriel now, attempting to sail south-west to return to Firsthold, after his failure at finding Old Ehlnofey.\nFragment Two:\nNo passage westward could be found in the steely cliffs\n\tThat jutted up like giant's jaw, so the Niben\n\tSailed south.\n\tAs it passed an sandy, forested island that promised\n\tSanctuary and peace, the crew cheered in joy.\n\tThen exultation turned to terror as a great shadow rose\n\tFrom the trees on leathered wings like a unfurling Cape.\n\tThe great bat lizard was large as the ship, but good pilot\n\tTopal merely raised his bow, and struck it in its Head.\n\tAs it fell, he asked his Bo 'sun, \"Do you think it's dead?\"\n\tAnd before it struck the white-bearded waves, he\n\tShot once more its heart to be certain.\n\tAnd so for another forty days and six, the Niben sailed south\nWe can see that in addition to Topal's prowess as a navigator, cartographer, survivalist, and raconteur, he is a master of archery. It may be poetic license, of course, but we do have archeological proof that the Merethic Aldmer were sophisticated archers. Their bows of layers of wood and horn drawn by silver silk thread are beautiful, and still, I have heard experts say, millennia later, very deadly.\nIt is tempting to imagine it a dragon, but the creature that Topal faces at the beginning of this fragment sounds like an ancestor of the cliff-racer of present day Morrowind. The treacherous cliff coastline sounds like the region around Necrom, and the island of Gorne may be where the nest of the \"bat lizard\" is. No creatures like that exist in eastern Morrowind to my knowledge at the present day.\nFragment Three:\nThe fetid, evil swamp lands and their human lizards\n\tRetreated to the east, and Topal and his men's\n\tHearts were greatly gladdened by the sight of\n\tDiamond blue, pure, sweet ocean.\n\tFor three days, they sailed in great cheer north-west\n\tWhere Firsthold beckoned them, but hope died\n\tIn horror, as land, like a blocking shield rose\n\tBefore them.\n\tTopal the Pilot was sore wroth, and consulted he\n\tThe maps he had faithfully drawn, to see\n\tWhether best to go south where the\n\tContinent must end, or take the river that\n\tSnaked through a passage north.\n\t\"North!\" cried he to his sad men. \"North we go\n\tNow! Fear not, north!\"\nTracing Topal's movements, we see that he has skirted the edge of Morrowind and delved into southern Blackmarsh, seemingly determined to follow his waystone as best as he can. The swamp he is leaving is probably near present day Gideon. Knowing what we now know about Topal's personality, we can understand his frustration in the bay between Black Marsh and Elsweyr.\nHere is a man who follows his orders explicitly, and knows that he should have been going south-east through river ways to reach Firsthold. Looking at his maps, we can see that he attempted to find passages through, as he has mapped out the Inner Sea of Morrowind, and several of the swampy tributaries of Black Marsh, no doubt being turned away by the disease and fierce Argonian tribes that dissuaded many other explorers after him.\nWith a modern map of Tamriel in hand, we can see that he makes the wrong choice in electing to go north-east instead of pushing southward. He could not have known then that what he perceived to be the endless mainland was only a jutting peninsula. He only knew that he had traveled too far southward already, and so he made a smart but incorrect decision to go up the river.\nIt is ironic that this great miscalculation would today bear his mark of history. The bay he thought was an endless ocean is now known as Topal Bay, and the river that took him astray shares the name of his boat, the Niben River.\nFragment Four:\nThe cat demons of four legs and two ran the river's\n\tLength, always keeping the boat in their\n\tGreen-eyed sight, hissing, and spitting, and\n\tRoaring with rage.\n\tBut the sailors never had to brave the shores, for\n\tFruit trees welcomed them, dropping their\n\tArms down to the river's edge as if to\n\tEmbrace the mer, and the men took the\n\tFruit quickly before the cats could pounce.\n\tFor eleven days, they traveled north, until they came\n\tTo a crystalline lake, and eight islands of\n\tSurpassing beauty and peace.\n\tBrilliant flightful creatures of glorious colors\n\tGreeted them in Aldmeri language,\n\tMaking the mer wonder, until they\n\tUnderstood they were only calling back\n\tThe word they were speaking without\n\tUnderstanding it, and then the sailors\n\tLaughed.\n\tTopal the Pilot was enchanted with the islands\n\tAnd the feathered men who lived there.\n\tThere the Niben stayed for a moon, and the bird\n\tMen learned how to speak their own words,\n\tAnd with taloned feet, to write.\n\tIn joy for their new knowledge, they made Topal\n\tTheir lord, giving him their islands for the\n\tGift.\n\tTopal said he would return someday, but first he\n\tMust find the passage east to Firsthold, so\n\tFar away.\nThis last fragment is bittersweet for a number of reasons.\nWe know that this strange, friendly feathered people the Pilot encounters will be lost - in fact, this poem is the only one where mention is made of the bird creatures of Cyrodiil. The literacy that Topal gives them is evidently not enough to save them from their eventual fate, likely at the hands of the \"cat demons,\" who we may assume are ancient Khajiiti.\nWe know that Topal and his crew never find a route from the eight islands which are the modern day Imperial City through to the Iliac Bay. His maps tell the tale where this lost poem cannot.\nWe see his hand as he traces his route up the Niben to Lake Rumare; and, after attempting a few tributaries which do not lead him where he wants to go, we can imagine Topal's frustration -- and that of his long-suffering crew -- as they return back down the Niben to Topal Bay.\nThere, they evidently discovered their earlier mistake, for we see that they pass the peninsula of Elsweyr. Eventually they traveled along its coastline, past the shores of Valenwood, and eventually home. Usually epic tales end with a happy ending, but this one begins with one, and the means to which it was accomplished is lost.\nBesides the extraordinary bird creatures of present day Cyrodiil, we have caught glimpses of ancient orcs (perhaps), ancient cliff-racers, ancient Argonians, and in this fragment, ancient Khajiit. Quite a history in a few lines of simple verse, all because a man failed to find his home, and took all the wrong turns to retrace his steps back."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fire-and-darkness": {"game": ["Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fire-and-darkness", "description": "", "author": "Ynir Gorming", "title": "Fire and Darkness", "text": "\n\"Brother, I still call you brother for we share our bonds of blood, tested but unbroken by hatred.\u00a0 Even if I am murdered, which seems inevitable now, know that, brother.\u00a0 You and I are not innocents, so our benedictions of mutual enmity is not tragedy, but horror.\u00a0 This state of silent, shadowed war, of secret poisons and sleeping men strangled in their beds, of the sudden arrow and the artful dagger, has no end that I can see.\u00a0 No possibility for peace.\u00a0 I see the shadows in the room move though the flame of my candle is steady.\u00a0 I know the signs that I... \"\nThis note was found where it had fallen beneath the floorboards of an abandoned house in the Nordic village of Jallenheim in the 358th year of the second era.\u00a0 It was said that a quiet cobbler lived in the house, whispered by some to be a member of the dread Morag Tong, the assassin's guild outlawed throughout Tamriel thirty-four years previously.\u00a0 The house itself was perfectly in order, as if the cobbler had simply vanished.\u00a0 There was a single drop of blood on the note.\nThe Dark Brotherhood had paid a call.\nThis note and others like it are rare.\u00a0 Both the Morag Tong and its hated child, the Dark Brotherhood, are scrupulous about leaving no evidence behind - their members know that to divulge secrets of their orders is a lethal infraction.\u00a0 This obviously makes the job of the historian seeking to trace their histories very difficult.\nThe Morag Tong, according to most scholars, had been a facet of the culture of Morrowind almost since its beginning.\u00a0 After all, the history of Resdayn, the ancient name of Morrowind, is rife with assassination, blood sacrifice, and religious zealotry, hallmarks of the order.\u00a0 It is commonly said that the Morag Tong then as now murdered for the glory of the Daedra Prince Mephala, but common assumptions are rarely completely accurate.\u00a0 It is my contention that the earliest form of the Tong additionally worshipped an even older and more malevolent deity than Mephala.\u00a0 As terrifying as that Prince of Oblivion is, they had and have reverence for a far greater evil.\nWrits of assassination from the first era offer rare glimpses into the Morag Tong's earliest philosophy.\u00a0 They are as matter of fact as current day writs, but many contain snatches of poetry which have perplexed our scholars for hundreds of years.\u00a0 \"Lisping sibilant hisses,' 'Ether's sweet sway,' 'Rancid kiss of passing sin,' and other strange, almost insane insertions into the writs were codes for the name of the person to be assassinated, his or her location, and the time at which death was to come.\u00a0 They were also direct references to the divine spirit called Sithis.\nEvidence of the Morag Tong's expertise in assassination seems scarcely necessary.\u00a0 The few instances of someone escaping a murder attempt by them are always remarkable and rare, proving that they were and are patient, capable murderers who use their tools well.\u00a0 A fragment of a letter found among the effects of a well-known armorer has been sealed in our vaults for some time.\u00a0 It was likely penned by an unknown Tong assassin ordering weapons for his order, and offers some illumination into what they looked for in their blades, as well the mention of Vounoura, the island where the Tong sent its agents in retirement --\n'I congratulate you on your artistry, and the balance and heft of your daggers.\u00a0 The knife blade is whisper thin, elegantly wrought, but inpractical.\u00a0 It must have a bolder edge, for arteries, when cut, have a tendencies to self seal, preventing adequate blood loss.\u00a0 I will be leaving Vounoura in two weeks time to inspect your new tools, hoping they will be more satisfactory.'\nThe Morag Tong spread quietly throughout Tamriel in the early years of the second era, worshipping Mephala and Sithis with blood, as they had always done.\nWhen the Morag Tong assassinated the Emperor Reman in the year 2920 of the first era, and his successor, Potentate Versidae-Shae in the 324th year of the second era, the assassins so long in the shadows were suddenly thrust into the light.\u00a0 They had become brazen, drunk with murder, literally painting the words 'MORAG TONG' on the wall in the Potentate's blood.\nThe Morag Tong was instantly and unanimously outlawed in all corners of Tamriel, with the exception of its home province of Morrowind.\u00a0 There they continued to operate with the blessings of the Houses, apparently cutting off all contact with their satellite brothers to the west.\u00a0 There they continue their quasi-legal existence, accepting black writs and murdering with impunity.\nMost scholars believe that the birth of the Dark Brotherhood, the secular, murder-for- profit order of assassins, was as a result of a religious schism in the Morag Tong.\u00a0 Given the secrecy of both cults, it is difficult to divine the exact nature of it, but certain logical assumptions can be made.\nIn order to exist, the Morag Tong must have appealed to the highest power in Morrowind, which at that time, the Second Era, could only have been the Tribunal of Almalexia, Sotha Sil, and Vivec.\u00a0 Mephala, whom the Tong worshipped with Sithis, was said to have been the Anticipation of Vivec.\u00a0 Is it not logical to assume that in exchange for toleration of their continued existence, the Tong would have ceased their worship of Mephala in exchange for the worship of Vivec?\nThe Morag Tong continues, as we know, to worship Sithis.\u00a0 The Dark Brotherhood is not considered a religious order by most, merely a secular organization, offering murder for gold.\u00a0 I have seen, however, proof positive in the form of writs to the Brotherhood that Sithis is still revered above all.\nSo where, the reader, asks, is the cause for the schism?\u00a0 How could a silent war have begun, when both groups are so close?\u00a0 Both assassin's guilds, after all, worship Sithis.\u00a0 And yet, a figure emerges from history who should give those with this assumption pause.\nThe Night Mother.\nWho the Night Mother is, where she came from, what her functions are, no one knows.\u00a0 Carlovac Townway in his generally well-researched historical fiction 2920: The Last Year of the First Era tries to make her the leader of the Morag Tong.\u00a0 But she is never historically associated with the Tong, only the Dark Brotherhood.\nThe Night Mother, my dear friend, is Mephala.\u00a0 The Dark Brotherhood of the west, unfettered by the orders of the Tribunal, continue to worship Mephala.\u00a0 They may not call her by her name, but the daedra of murder, sex, and secrets is their leader still.\u00a0 And they did not, and still do not, to this day, forgive their brethren for casting her aside.\nThe cobbler who met his end in the second era, who saw no end in the war between the Brotherhood and the Tong, was correct.\u00a0 In the shadows of the Empire, the Brothers of Death remain locked in combat, and they will likely remain that way forever."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/followers-gray-fox": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/followers-gray-fox", "description": "The rules of the Thieves Guild of Cyrodiil.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Followers of the Gray Fox", "text": "We are the Fingers of the Fox, the Children of the Shadows. More commonly we are known as the Thieves Guild.\nThere are but three rules for followers of the Gray Fox:\nFirst, never steal from another member of the guild.\nSecond, never kill anyone on the job. This is not the Dark Brotherhood. Animals and monsters can be slain if necessary.\nThird, don't steal from the poor. The peasants and beggars are under the personal protection of the Gray Fox, particularly in the Imperial City Waterfront.\nBreaking any of the three rules means expulsion from the Thieves Guild. If you commit murder, you must pay the blood price to rejoin the guild. Blood price is for each person slain. You can pay any of the guild Doyen.\nThe Doyen are the hands and eyes of the guildmaster. You take your orders from them. You get your favors from them. They can pay off the Imperial judges to remove your crimes -- for a small fee, of course.\nOur guildmaster is the Gray Fox. We don't talk about him in public. However, we make sure that most folks think he is just a myth.\nWe're thieves, not masons or scribes. Each member steals at his own discretion. The guild neither helps nor hinders with a burglary. However, you will find that you can only sell stolen property to one of our guild fences. Other merchants won't take hot merchandise.\nYou won't be considered for promotion in the Thieves Guild unless you have sold enough stolen property to the fences. The higher in the guild you rise, the more stolen property you need to have fenced.\nIf you should be called to help the Gray Fox in some special way, remember that the best source of information is the beggars. Their eyes and ears seem to be everywhere. However, be prepared to spend a little coin. They won't tell you anything for free. At least not anything true.\nThe guild takes care of its own. The Doyen can remove the bounty from any guild member. However, it takes money to bribe the guards. The guild member must pay the Doyen half of his total fines to get rid of them."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/frog-man": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/frog-man", "description": "An essay about Grummites.", "author": "Meekus Ralbrek", "title": "From Frog to Man", "text": "The life cycle of the Grummite is rather unique. They appear to be a deviant version of frogs and may even be distantly related to Argonians, although I have no direct evidence of that. Like the humble frog, the Grummite is born from eggs found in or near water. The eggs hatch into tiny pollywogs, no bigger than my hand.\nThe pollywog grows quickly, and inside of a few weeks grows limbs and changes into an amphibious Baliwog. The Baliwog will live for up to two years, growing to be larger than a man in both length and weight.\nEventually, the adult Baliwog will feel the urge to seek out deep water and bury itself in the mud. It hibernates there for many months, gestating into a Grummite. I have been unable to determine the exact time of gestation. The Grummite emerges from the mud fully grown.\nNew Grummites never leave the water and are consumed with the urge to mate. Females leave the water to hang their eggs. They are hung over the water to keep them out of reach of aquatic predators, while still allowing the pollywogs to fall into the water when they hatch.\nOnce a female has laid her eggs, she turns her back on them. She will live her life more on land than in the water, although never far from it. The male's mating urges subside after six months to a year. He too takes to the land and like the female does nothing to protect his eggs.\nAdult Grummites have a sort of primitive culture. Kraften Highbrow maintains that they are cunning craftsman that make jewelry and weapons, even mining ore. This is plainly ridiculous. Although I have not determined the source of their tools and adornments, I am certain that they trade with other civilized races for such things.\nAs for tales of magic casting Grummites, that is even more ludicrous. While their primitive brains are surprisingly large, they clearly do not have the intelligence to learn the arcane crafts. I do not know how Kraften managed to train his pet Grummite to cast spells, but I assure all my readers that it is a trick of some sort."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/frostcrag-spire-memoirs": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/frostcrag-spire-memoirs", "description": "Information about Frostcrag Spire from its former owner. This document is found in the Wizard's Tower official plugin.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Frostcrag Spire Memoirs", "text": "As I pen this, I gaze upon the walls of my home and remember the very day its design came to fruition. Although it seems like yesterday, it was actually many years ago. I was an impetuous wizard; I wasn't simply satisfied living at the Arcane University. I spent years coming up with a design for my home, a place where I could practice my magic in peace and keep myself away from the prying eyes of my colleagues. I pored over tomes and dusty scrolls, scoured the bookshops of the land and even delved into ancient ruins looking for inspiration. Finally, as I rested my weary body at a camp outside of Bruma and marveled in awe at the majesty of the Jerall Mountains, I became inspired. Like a madman I began to sketch exactly what I wanted my grand dwelling to look like. It wasn't long before I had completed my masterpiece, put down my quill and took a step back to see what I had wrought. Frostcrag Spire was born.\nAnd now, as age overwhelms me and the glow is dying from my eyes, I wish to give the Spire to you. The thought that my dream could one day crumble to ruin fills me with sadness. I know that you'll take care of your new home, and if need be, restore it to its former glory. Please, heed my instructions carefully. There's much to tell, and the strength drains from my limbs.\nFrostcrag Spire contains many wonderful inventions. I've spent my whole life perfecting them, and I hope you'll put them to good use. My pride and joy is the Atronach Altar. By bringing three salts from the very same creatures to this altar, you can summon an Atronach Familiar to do your bidding. It will obey your simple commands, and defend you in times of need. Should you tire of it, simply speak to it and dismiss it. These fine creatures have protected me in my travels, and should be of great use to you.\nWith permission from the Arcane University, I've had a Spellmaking and an Enchanting Altar placed in the tower as well. You have but to provide the Magetallow Candles to power them, and they will serve you well.\nWorking closely with my good friend Sinderion, the Master Alchemist of Skingrad, I have developed the Frostcrag Apparatus Table. This table is for the discerning alchemist, and should help even the most difficult brews become easier to create. I've also re-seeded my alchemy conservatory with the best ingredients Cyrodiil has to offer, and some from beyond her borders.\nFinally, I have created portals to all of the Mages Guilds in Cyrodiil. This should make it easier to travel to them in times of need.\nI've entrusted most of my belongings to Aurelinwae at the Mystic Emporium in the Market District of the Imperial City. There you'll find everything you need to bring Frostcrag Spire back from the dead. She may require compensation for her time and care watching these special items, but I assure you, it's well worth the coin. Please, take care of Frostcrag Spire. She was my home and much of myself is infused with the stone and mortar. May your journeys be safe, and the roads you travel free of danger."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fundaments-alchemy": {"game": ["Oblivion", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fundaments-alchemy", "description": "Basic information about alchemy.", "author": "Alyandon Mathierry", "title": "Fundaments of Alchemy", "text": "Often overlooked by aspiring mages, Alchemy is a time-honored, rewarding discipline that can change the lives of those who master it. It is difficult, and often dangerous, to advance one's knowledge of the materials used in alchemical formulas, but continued study and hard work will, in the end, reward the alchemist greatly.\nBefore success can be achieved, or even attempted, the beginning alchemist must understand the basic principles behind his craft. Many items in our world, mostly organic in nature, can be broken down into more fundamental essences with magickal properties. The more skilled the Alchemist, the more properites of an ingredient that can be harnessed. Combining the essences of two or more ingredients can result in the creation of a potion, which anyone may then drink. (Legend has it that a truly great Alchemist can brew potions from a single ingredient, a feat well beyond the capabilities of most.)\nThe Alchemist's potion can have several effects, depending on the ingredients used, and not all effects are beneficial. In many cases, recipes result in a potion with a mix of positive and negative effects; it is up to the Alchemist to determine which recipes yield the best results. (It is worth noting that potions can be created to have only negative effects and be used as poisons. This practice is not recommended by the author, and this text shall not discuss such potions further.)\nWortcraft\nWortcraft is, in fact, amateur Alchemy. Eating an ingredient requires grinding it against the teeth, which occasionally releases its simplest essence and results in a fleeting effect on the eater. Wortcraft never has as strong a result as a potion created using the proper tools.\nAn Alchemist's Tools\nThe mortar and pestle is the Alchemist's most important and essential tool. Without it, no ingredient can be correctly prepared for use in a potion. The budding alchemist is advised to keep a mortar and pestle on hand at all times, and become comfortable with its use early on. The simple grinding of an ingredient is the most fundamental step in brewing potions. When properly ground, the petals of the Redwort flower yield a powder that can, when mixed correctly with another ingredient such as ginseng, create a potion to cure poisons. (This is one formula that many alchemists are quick to learn and retain, as mistakes in potion mixing often require its use.)\nThe advanced Alchemist has other tools at his disposal to improve the quality of his potions. A Retort can be employed to purify the mixture, improving the positive effects of a potion. Washing the mixture through an Alembic helps to distill the potion, reducing any negative effects, and a Calcinator can be used to burn away impurities in the mixture, increasing the potency of all the potion's effects. While these apparatus are not necessary to create potions, it is advised that they be used whenever possible.\nIngredient Combination\nA potion is only as good as its ingredients. Only those with identical effects may be combined to make a potion; up to four ingredients may be successfully used in a single potion.\nAs the Alchemist gains skill in preparing ingredients, new properties may be discovered and can be used in creating potions. While this can be an exciting time, expanding the Alchemist's repertoire, he should take care to check carefully which effects his potions will contain when he is done brewing. Many established recipes may have new results, not all of which are beneficial."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gelebournes-journal": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gelebournes-journal", "description": "The journal of an adventuring brotherhood member, found during the Miscellaneous quest \"A Brotherhood Betrayed\".", "author": "Gelebourne", "title": "Gelebourne's Journal", "text": "The eighth day has passed, and still there's no sign of the artifact. We've covered most of the remainder of the outer guard tower, and scoured the crumbled gatehouse ruins, but not one clue has arisen as to where it may have been buried.\nIt's quiet out here, as if the ruins were paying respects to the Ayleid inhabitants that disappeared here long ago. We haven't encountered anything hostile, but if we do, I think we're ready. The Brotherhood's been in worse scrapes before. Bradon paid good money for the information as to our treasure's whereabouts, and I hope it doesn't turn out to be yet another fiasco.\nThis morning, our camp was set upon by some bandits who were protecting what they claimed was their territory. Considering that we were outnumbered three to one, we did very well. Only Raynil suffered a small wound, but that was easily healed by a potion that Bradon had thoughtfully brought with him on our expedition.\nAfter getting rid of the bandit's corpses, we set out to tackle the largest part of the ruin, the remains of the great keep. Two of the walls of the once-mighty structure were collapsed, scattering the telltale whitish rock so typical of the Ayleid architecture in this part of Tamriel. This made our assault on the ruin difficult, as many of the larger chunks of wall were far too heavy for us to move.\nBradon suggested that we search the center of the building's foundation for any underground entrances, which was typical for this type of keep. His guess paid off, and after several hours of backbreaking work, we managed to clear an opening just large enough for us to squeeze through and enter an ancient stairwell leading down into the ground. We decided to wait until morning's light to begin our descent into the depths of the ruin.\nAfter a restless sleep, all of us were quite excited at the prospect of what might lie ahead. Eagerly, we dipped our torches in a fresh container of pitch, lit them, and entered the inky blackness of the stairwell.\nThe stale air was choked with dust and fine grit, a sign that no one had entered this portion of the ruins in a very long time. We became excited, as that meant no other tomb robbers had gotten there before us.\nThe stairwell eventually leveled out into a corridor of sorts that snaked its way to the north. As we carefully walked along, I scanned the floor and walls very carefully for any type of triggers, tripwires or pressure plates; such was my specialty. The Ayleid were well known for their cunning traps protecting their tombs, and I wasn't taking any chances.\nBradon, the scholar of the Brotherhood, was getting more and more excited as we traversed the passage; he was translating the wall carvings and was becoming certain that we had finally found the true location of our prize. After walking for several more minutes, we were overjoyed to see what we were hoping to see: the hallway ended at a metal door with the carving of a spider upon it.\nNow came the true test of Bradon's information. The door supposedly had a puzzle lock; by pulling the spider legs in a certain combination, it would unlatch. The wrong combination would spell our deaths, perhaps triggering a collapse of the hallway or some other equally deadly trap. With a shaky hand, I pulled the legs one by one in the order I had memorized: the sixth one, then the first one, the second one, the eighth one, and finally the first one again.\nI closed my eyes, as there were a few loud clicks and then the door popped open. We all breathed a sigh of relief. Pushing open the door, I looked in at a huge room with a pedestal at the center. Sitting on the pedestal illuminated by a shaft of sunlight from a tiny hole in the ceiling was our prize.\nThe floor was covered in a huge mosaic of a stylized spider, all eight of its legs coming to a point and ending up at the door entrance. This was the last of the traps the Ayleid left behind to protect their treasure. Again, if it hadn't been for Bradon's skill at acquiring information, we may never had known how to solve this last line of defense.\nI instructed Bradon and Raynil to remain at the entrance and to tie a rope around my waist in case of a sudden pitfall. Carefully, I began to walk on the darkened tiles that formed the third leg of the spider. Sweat beaded on my forehead, as the pathway made by the tiny pieces of ceramic was very narrow at the start, and one slip could again mean instant death.\nBut death never arrived. The information had been correct, and I was able to make it to the pedestal and secure the artifact! Quickly as possible, we made our way back and out into the daylight. Once again, the Brotherhood was triumphant and it was time to return home.\nAt the tavern that night, we decided to make a pact. We would stash the artifact in a cave not far from Bruma until we researched it further. An item of its magnitude could be very dangerous if mishandled, and we certainly didn't want to sell it without understanding its true value. Bradon agreed to contract a local cooper to construct a chest with three locks. Each of us would hold a key to one of the locks so none would have access to the artifact without the others being present. For the rest of the evening, we drank merrily and sang many a song of adventures passed, and adventures to come."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/glories-and-laments-among-ayleid-ruins": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/glories-and-laments-among-ayleid-ruins", "description": "An archaeologist's observations about Ayleid ruins.", "author": "Alexandre Hetrard", "title": "Glories and Laments Among the Ayleid Ruins", "text": "Having arrived at Gottlesfont Priory, halfway on the Gold Road between Skingrad and the Imperial City, I resolved to make a side trip to view the magnificent ruins of Ceyatatar, or \"Shadow of the Fatherwoods' in the ancient Ayleid tongue. After many hours of difficult travel through tangled hawthorn hells and limberlosts, I was suddenly struck dumb by the aspect of five pure white columns rising from a jade-green mound of vines to perfect V-shaped arches and graceful capitals towering above the verdant forest growth. This spectacle caused me to meditate on the lost glories of the past, and the melancholy fate of high civilizations now poking like splinter shards of bone from the green-grown tumulus of time-swept obscurity.\nWithin the forest tangle I discovered an entrance leading down into the central dome of a great underground edifice once dedicated to Magnus, the God of Sight, Light, and Insight. Dimly lit by the faded power of its magical pools, the shattered white walls of the enclosure shimmered with a cold blue light.\nThe marble benches of the central plaza faced out across the surrounding waters to tall columns and sharp arches supporting the high dome. From the central island, stately bridges spanned the still pools to narrow walkways behind the columns, with broad vaulted avenues and limpid canals leading away through ever-deeping gloom into darkness. Reflected in the pools were the tumbled columns, collapsed walls, and riotous root and vine growth thriving the dark half-light of the magical fountains.\nThe ancient Ayleids recognized not the four elements of modern natural philosophy -- earth, water, air, and fire -- but the four elements of High Elf religion -- earth, water, air, and light. The Ayleids considered fire to be but a weak and corrupt form of light, which Ayleid philosophers identified with primary magical principles. Thus their ancient subterranean temples and sanctuaries were lit by lamps, globes, pools, and fountains of purest magic.\nIt was by these ancient, faded, but still active magics that I knelt and contemplated the departed glories of the long-dead Ayelid architects. Gazing through the glass-smooth reflections of the surrounding pools, I could see, deep below, the slow pulse, the waxing and waning of the Welkynd stones.\nThe chiefest perils of these ruins to the explorer are the cunning and deadly mechanisms devised by the Ayleids to torment and confound those would invade their underground sanctuaries. What irony that after these many years, these devices should still stand vigilant against those who would admire the works of the Ayleids. For it is clear... these devices were crafted in vain. They did not secure the Ayleids against their true enemies, which were not the slaves who revolted and overthrew their cruel masters, nor the were they the savage beast peoples who learned the crafts owar and magic from their Ayleid masters. No, it was the arrogant pride of their achievements, their smug self-assurance that their empire would last forever, that doomed them to fail and fade into obscurity."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/grantham-blakeleys-map": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/grantham-blakeleys-map", "description": "A map by Grantham Blakeley, found during the miscellaneous quest \"The Forlorn Watchman\".", "author": "Grantham Blakeley", "title": "Grantham Blakeley's Map", "text": "Map"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/greywyns-journal": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/greywyns-journal", "description": "The journal of Greywyn, the former owner of the Vile Lair. Found during the The Vile Lair official plugin.", "author": "Greywyn", "title": "Greywyn's Journal", "text": "Turdas 18 Rain's Hand 3E 421\nSithis speaks to me. He does not use words but I can hear his voice. Echoes of darkness spring from his lips and tell me what I must do. The Dark Brotherhood must be purged of its clean-blooded vermin and a new order must take the reins. The time is nigh for the vampire to claim his rightful place as the true Hands of Sithis. I have secured the help of many of my kin, and soon, we shall spread like a cold fog through the ranks and make the group our own. Soon, Sithis will give the sign, the time will be right, and the Crimson Scars will strike!\nLoredas 27 Rain's Hand 3E 421\nWe are betrayed! That cur, Silarian, has made true our plans to the Fingers, and we have been discovered! The Brotherhood struck as we slept, not even giving the Scars a chance to fight back. Using their silver weapons, they pierced the heart of many of my brothers... The screams I could hear as they turned to dust still echo within my mind. I was able to dispatch two of the purebloods that fell upon me, and before they could send more, I made good my escape. I must find a place to hide... to recover from this blow. I will make my way south to Deepscorn Hollow, my old hideaway from when I was but a novice. There I will make my dark plans and we shall see who Sithis truly favors!\nTirdas 21 Second Seed 3E 421\nIt's been nearly a month, and yet none of my brethren has returned to the fold. What puzzles me is why I have not heard from my lord. Sithis hasn't spoken to me since that dark night. What have I done to displease him? I have slain many since then, and poured their lifeblood on his altar, but still he remains silent. As I ponder this, I turn my attentions to the lair. Deepscorn Hollow will rise as the new headquarters of the Crimson Scars. But it must be prepared. So much to do...\nLoredas 1 Mid-Year 3E 421\nThe lair has improved much. I was fortunate to find Rowley Eardwulf at the Wawnet Inn outside of the Imperial City, another Scar who had escaped the night of slaughter. He now does his dark work acquiring the tools I need to bring Deepscorn Hollow back to its former glory. I must remember him in the future should I ever need these items again.\nMiddas 17 Sun's Height 3E 421\nAll along, I was mistaken. All along, I was the blight upon Sithis and his dark name. Tonight, he spoke to me and again, and I learned of his displeasure. Again, I heard no words, but I knew the meaning. I was meant to take blood, to spill blood... but never to taste blood. My sanguine ways have offended my lord! I must cleanse myself of this filth. I must find a way!\nTirdas 30 Sun's Height 3E 421\nI have found it! My lord will be pleased! My answer lies with the Purgeblood Salts. Yes! I will bathe in these tonight and free myself from my old ways! Hail Sithis! Dark ruler, soon I will be your only true disciple!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/grommoks-journal": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/grommoks-journal", "description": "Journal of the orc warrior Grommok, telling his feat recovering the Akaviri Dawnfang/Duskfang.", "author": "Grommok", "title": "Grommok's Journal", "text": "3 Rain's Hand 3E431\nWe were finally able to convince that idiot rogue Lewin that it was time to give up that strongbox of money he stole from Lelles' Quality Merchandise in Anvil and ditch it outside the castle. All the heat he brought on the group was starting to chafe. Syndelius pretty much sat him down and made him do it, because I was ready to put my foot in his face. I know he's a rogue, but we're adventurers; we get our loot from raiding old crypts, and ruins, and places that ain't got guards. He can be a real horse's ass sometimes, I'll tell ya.\n12 Rain's Hand 3E431\nWhat a bad Fredas we've had. We hit what was left of old Fort Wariel, and after slaughtering a bunch of no good Marauders and grabbing their loot, made our way north. We came to the ruins of Trumbe. Syndelius said they were Ale Lid or Eyelid or some kind of old civilization, but all I cared about was how loaded with gold they were. He said usually they were, so in we went. What a mistake! The place was crawling with skeletons and ghosts. Those things give me the creeps. How can I fight something that ain't even alive? Lewin took a few good hits and had to pop all his potions, Syndelius broke his arm when a trap almost crushed him to death and I got a nice nasty scar across my forehead. Close call. Best of all, when we got to the treasure horde, Lewin was out of lockpicks! Why do we even keep him with us? We had to drag the damn container out of Trumbe and all the way back to Camp Atrene. Now I'm sitting here staring at a stupid metal box wishing I could use Lewin's head to bash it open. What a dolt.\n13 Rain's Hand 3E431\nAfter a night of deciding whether or not to snap off Lewin's legs and use them as firewood, I sent Syndelius and Lewin to Anvil to buy more lockpicks while I guarded the box. They came back in a few hours and Lewin picked the lock in the first try. Good thing too, I was still pretty mad at the guy. I don't like sitting around all day. Anyway, Syndelius got all excited when he saw something wrapped up in some sort of fancy cloth. Inside the cloth was a bunch of stuff, but the best was the sword. What a beauty! Blade looks like a mouth with teeth, handle like golden snakeskin and the gem in the middle of it... a perfect fiery orange and red, like the sky at dawn. Syndelius was going crazy and I asked him what was all the noise for. He told me it was Akaveery or something like that and made by the Snake People or the Sayessie or whatever. Syndelius says Sayessie starts with a T just now when he saw me writing this, but that doesn't make any sense. T-s-a-e-s-c-i. Fine, there, I wrote it. By the Nine, Syndelius is nosy sometimes. Well, anyway, the best was yet to come. Right as the sun was setting the sword vanished for a moment and was suddenly replaced by another weapon that looked almost the same, but the gem on it was deep blue and purple. Syndelius said he was certain that at dawn, it would change back to the orange and red gem! Well, this was good enough for me. That alone made the sword the best thing I had ever seen. Lewin muttered something about Akaveery magic, but I told him to shut up. I decided to call the sword Dawnfang when it was orange and red and Duskfang when it was blue and purple.\n14-16 Rain's Hand 3E341\nThings are getting better and better with my new sword in these last few days. I found out Dawnfang is a fire blade and Duskfang is a frost blade... handy for extra killing power! But the best was what I found out when a Minotaur decided to jump us and I landed the killing blow. I heard a voice in my head. Or maybe a thought? I dunno. It was weird. But it felt like the sword knew it had just killed the Minotaur, like it was counting or something. At first I thought maybe I was just tired, but after tearing through a camp of Bandits, it kept counting. After the twelfth kill, it told me its thirst was satisfied. At least, I think it told me. Then it stopped. Syndelius said it's possible the sword was a blood drinker... my kind of sword... but he didn't know what would happen. It didn't take that long to find out. When dusk came around, and the blade changed... I almost fell off the campfire log. The new blade was still Duskfang... but it somehow seemed stronger. I could just tell. I couldn't wait to try it out! I ran right out and looked for something to kill. Didn't take long to come across a few of those stupid imps. Sure enough, not only did it do more frost damage than normal, but also I could feel the energy from the creature transfer to me every time I hit it! What a weapon this was! Yeah! Duskfang Superior! That's what I'll call it. Sometimes I amaze even myself. Syndelius said he was sure Duskfang would blood drink too and I could power up Dawnfang with it. I spent all night looking for twelve things to kill, and when the sun came up, he was right! Dawnfang Superior is to be this one's name. It's like having four blades in one!\n17-19 Rain's Hand 3E341\nIt's been the most fun I have ever had in my life cutting a bloody swath across the ruins of Cyrodiil with my new double sword. Syndelius and Lewin are even more confident now that we have such a powerful weapon among us. We've gathered tons of loot in the last three days, but nothing compares to this. We're going to head north and explore the area around Niben Bay today. I hope that something else like this turns up on our adventures. Then I'm going to retire!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/guide-anvil": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/guide-anvil", "description": "A guide to the city of Anvil by a religious noble. Clearly bias.", "author": "Alessia Ottus", "title": "Guide To Anvil", "text": "Sweet Dibella, Lady of Love! Bless us and our Children!\nMy name is Alessia Ottus, and I'd like to tell you all about Anvil.\nThe seat of Anvil County is by the sea, and at first glance, is very pretty, but when you examine it closely, turns out to be quite unpleasant. The water views are charming, but on the docks and in the harbor district outside of town you will find many sailors and tramps and dirty persons of little worth. Castle Anvil is clean and well- ordered, and within the town walls, some houses are bright and cheerful, but others are derelict and abandoned, or shabby and neglected, with plaster fallen in patches from the stonework, and lunatics and drunkards may be encountered everywhere.\n* Castle Anvil *\nThe ruler of Anvil is Countess Millona Umbranox. Her husband, Corvus Umbranox, disappeared many years ago, and most persons would agree that Her Ladyship is better off without him, for he was a light and frivolous person, and given to loose and riotous behavior likely to promote scandal. The Countess herself is a righteous and godly woman, and an excellent ruler, well-loved by the people. If only she could compel her Town Guard to drive the seamen, low-lifes, loafers, and thieves from Anvil's streets, Anvil might be a more tolerable place to live.\n* Districts of Anvil *\nConsider the five districts of Anvil. Castle Anvil lies outside the town walls, south of town, overlooking the harbor, and is reached by gate from Chapelgate. Within the town walls are three districts: Chapelgate in the east, Westgate in the west, and Guildgate between Chapelgate and Westgate. Harborside lies outside the town walls, south of town, and is reached by gate from Westgate district.\n* Chapelgate *\nA more beautiful chapel may not be seen in all Cyrodiil. A quiet garden for meditation with a fine statue of Dibella lies between the chapel and the town wall, and across from the chapel is a lovely garden and covered arcade where worshippers are protected from the elements. Regretably, the people of Anvil seem little inclined to appreciate these advantages, and are seldom seen worshipping in the chapel. Whether this is the fault of the primate, who is a vain and shallow woman, or the Countess, who does little to encourage regular chapel worship by her example, I am unable to judge.\n* Guildgate *\nThe most prosperous part of Anvil is entered by Guildgate, or Main Gate, or North Gate. Here side by side may be seen the handsomest and ugliest of Anvil buildings. The guilds are kept clean and in good repair, and both Mages Guild and Fighters Guild are unusually ambitious and industrious by Cyrodiil's common standard. The head of the Mages Guild, Carahil, is a scholar of good reputation and an outspoken enemy of necromancy, summoning, and the dark arts. The Fighters Guild here is well-staffed and active, and shows no sign of the fecklessness and poor morale of chapters elsewhere in Cyrodiil. However, next to the Mages Guild is a ruin, long boarded-up and abandoned, and an prominent eyesore.\n* Westgate *\nThis is the residential district of Anvil. The houses here are shabby and ill-kept. The people are untidy and dull, with the exception of Anvil's famous citizen, the Argonian authoress, Quillweave, who produces wretched books celebrating the misadventures and schemes of the lower and criminal classes. This person does her race no favor by confirming the prejudices of many who consider Argonians to be ungodly, dishonest, and worthless, and little better than beasts.\n* Harborside *\nThe docks are rotten and in ill-repair, and all manner of smells issue forth from the holds of ships and ramshackled warehouses. Shiftless persons gather here to bask in the sun, gossip, chatter, and plot how to beg or steal gold for wine and ale. Here a good woman named Mirabelle Monet runs a house for homeless sailors, but, I'm sorry to say, her mistaken tender-heartedness and charity only encourages malingering and drunkenness. Instead, she should urge these wicked and idle men to improve themselves through industry and the teachings of the Nine. There is, however, a very appealing lighthouse south of the harbor, from which one may contemplate a distant and less-disagreeable view of Anvil's castle, town and its harbor setting.\nMay the Nine guard and guide you!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/guide-bravil": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/guide-bravil", "description": "A guide to Bravil by a religious noble. Clearly bias.", "author": "Alessia Ottus", "title": "Guide To Bravil", "text": "Mara, Mother Mild! Make us hale and hearty! My name is Alessia Ottus, and I'd like to tell you all about Bravil.\nBravil is the dark grate of the sewer drain where foul and unappetising debris collects. It is the poorest and dirtiest of Cyrodiil's towns, the oldest and shabbiest, the most plagued by criminals, drunkards, and skooma-eaters, and most popular with beastfolk and other foreigners. All Bravil lacks is a coven of Daedra worshippers to make it the perfect pit of villainy... and many rumors suggest that even more evil and depraved worships are practiced in secret by Bravil's wicked heathens.\nThis town is gray, grim, and depressing. The climate is damp and the atmosphere foul because of the fetid channels of the Larsius River that serve as Bravil's sewers, and because of the rank swamps of the lowland margins of the Niben Bay, where insects and diseases breed in abundance.\nThe architecture of the town is remarkable for its unequalled ugliness and disorder. The houses, shops, and guilds are built from cracked and splintered timbers soft from rot and green with mold and mildew. It is a pity that they do not fall down, for they might be rebuilt in a more pleasing manner, but rather they continue to grow on top of one another like mounded middens, reaching lofty heights of three and four stories. Beggars and thieves lounge indolently on balconies overhanging the streets and dump their refuse directly upon the unfortunate passers-by. Whole families live in teetering shacks on the tops of the buildings in unimaginable squalor.\nBravil's people are dirty and dishonest. They live little better than goblins in caves, squatting in filthy, tumbledown shacks. The town citizens are divided into two classes: the smugglers, skooma-eaters, bandits, thieves, and murderers, and the wretched beggars and fools that these criminals prey upon.\nBravil is ruled by crimelords, and the town guard lives in the pockets of the skooma kingpins. You will not be surprised to find there are many Argonians and Khajiit in this miserable place, since Elsweyr and Black Marsh are close by, but you may be surprised to find many Orcs here. However, beastfolk are comfortable in the company of other beastfolk, as are thieves and brutes naturally drawn to the company of one another.\nBravil is not organized into orderly districts. However, some landmarks may serve to orient the unfortunate visitor. The castle is approached by rickety bridges over the river to the east. The chapel is to the west. The shops and guilds are arranged in a line with their backs to the east wall and the channels of the river. Between the chapel and the shops and guilds are Bravil's ramshackle slums and tenements.\nThe castle is the only sturdy, stone-built dwelling in Bravil. It is nowhere as dirty and ill-furnished as the timber shacks of the people, but it is still little better than the houses of the poorest paupers in Anvil or the Imperial City. Count Regulus Terentius, from a respectable family, once a noted tournament champion, is now widely recognized by his people as a drunken wastrel and ne'er-do-well. And his son, Gellius Terentius, is a strutting peacock who cultivates the society of crimelords and skooma-eaters.\nThe chapel stonework is in poor repair and covered with mold and mildew. The graveyard is surrounded by a ramshackle, unpainted wooden fence, and the graves are untidy and neglected. The primate is a good servant of Mara, but she is unequal to the task of driving sin and wickedness from this Nine-forsaken town. The priestess is wise and well-liked by those few who visit the chapel, but most people never pass once through the chapel's doors, except to beg and steal.\nThe inns are a disgrace. It is common to step over prostrate drunks and through pools of sick upon entering, and idlers, gamblers, and pickpockets swarm in the darkness and prey upon unwary travelers. A visitor foolish enough to sleep in these places should expect to be murdered in his bed.\nThe guilds, by contrast, are relatively clean, dry, and quiet, and one forced by necessity to spend a night in Bravil might be justified in joining the Fighters Guild or the Mages Guild, despite their savage and godless ways, simply to be assured of a safe place to sleep.\nThe shops are no worse than any other feature of Bravil, and you may be more safe in them from assault or murder on account of the prodigious provisions merchants must take to protect themselves from thieves.\nIf you are forced by circumstances to visit Bravil, you will very soon wish to leave, and you will wish to watch your back as you leave, to be sure you are not followed by parades of bandits and assassins.\nHonor the Nine in prayer!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/guide-bruma": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/guide-bruma", "description": "Guide to Bruma by a religious noble. Clearly bias.", "author": "Alessia Ottus", "title": "Guide To Bruma", "text": "Father Talos, protect us all! My name is Alessia Ottus, and I'd like to tell you all about Bruma.\nBruma is understood to be a Nibenese county, but in truth it is more Nord than Nibenese, on account of its close proximity to the Skyrim border, and on account of the terrible cold and discomfort of its location high in the Jerall Mountains. Bruma is always cold and covered with snow, with braziers kept burning in every quarter to prevent the citizens from freezing to death. Everything is built in wood, since trees are so plentiful in the forests of the Jeralls, and even rich men live here in dark, dirty wooden huts. It is little wonder that Nords are such drunken heathen savages, for life is impossible in such a climate, and one might be tempted to drink into insensibility or sell one's soul to just to find sanctuary from the bitter cold and relentless wind.\nCastle Bruma is cold and drafty, carelessly decorated, and dark with soot from the perpetually burning braziers. The smell of smoke and cinders is overpowering. The high ceilings are grand, but impossible to heat, and one is never able to get warm. The ancient layers of soot and filth encrusting the stonework makes it difficult to appreciate the exceptional stonecarving. Except in its stonework and grand scale, the castle is like the log huts of the people -- cold, dark, drafty, and dirty.\nCountess Narina Carvain is a Nibenean Heartlander, a dutiful chapelgoer, and a respected ruler, though she is a cunning and ruthless negotiator, and has a reputation for sharp-dealing and treachery. Administration of the county is efficient and well-ordered, and a well- trained and aggressive town watch under command of a hard-nosed Nord captain insures that thieves and beggars are not very troublesome, though Nords are famous for drunkenness and rioting.\nAccess to the castle is through a gate west from the town into a courtyard. The shops, inns, guilds are located in the north, either on the western terrace near the castle gate, or below the terrace, north of the chapel. The chapel is the central feature of southern Bruma, with houses ranged along the inside of the walls along the east and south. The streets are cramped and barren, since few trees and plants can survive the cold, but the town is compact and quickly explored.\nBruma's Nibenean citizens faithfully observe chapel Sundas rituals, but the lower classes are unregenerate followers of the heathen Nord gods, and they keep to their own secret superstitions and uncivilized practices.\nYou will not be surprised to find you can purchase good quality weapons and armor here, for Nord smiths are famous for the quality of their wares. But you should not expect to be able to purchase books here, for Nords are ignorant and not fond of reading. The Fighters and Mages Guilds are poor and short-staffed, for no one wants to be posted to such a gray and cold land, but at least the Mages Guild is kept good and warm (though I shrink from imagining what infernal engines are employed to produce and preserve that heat).\nMay the Nine bless and save you!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/guide-cheydinhal": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/guide-cheydinhal", "description": "A guide to Cheydinhal by a religious noble. Clearly bias.", "author": "Alessia Ottus", "title": "Guide To Cheydinhal", "text": "Arkay, bless my body and soul! My name is Alessia Ottus, and I'd like to tell you all about Cheydinhal.\nThe first impression of the visitor to Cheydinhal is of broad green parklands, graceful willows along the banks of the Corbolo, neatly groomed gardens and flowering shrubs. Cheydinhal looks prosperous, with clean, well-trimmed houses and neat stonework, ornamented with striking designs in glass, metal, and wood.\nBut what lurks beneath this pleasing appearance? Crime! Scandal! Corruption!\nCheydinhal is divided into three districts. To the north, on a hill, is the courtyard and inner keep of Castle Cheydinhal. A road runs east-west below the castle from East Gate to West Gate. The Corbolo River runs roughly north-south from this road, dividing southern Cheydinhal into two districts, Chapel in the east, and Market in the west. In Market District lie all the shops, inns, and guildhalls. In Chapel District are the Chapel itself and Cheydinhal's residences. Bridges span the Corbolo in the north and south, with the south bridges connecting upon a pretty little island park in the middle of the river.\nThough Cheydinhal lies in the Nibenean East, its culture is shaped by the Dark Elf immigrants who emigrated here in the past half century from Morrowind. Many of these immigrants were fleeing Morrowind's rigid society and heathen Temple theocracy. In Cyrodiil they hoped to find the stimulating commercial atmosphere inspired by Zenithar's patronage.\nOne of these immigrants is now Count Cheydinhal. Andel Indarys was of House Hlaalu in Morrowind, but he came to Cheydinhal searching for greater opportunity. His sudden rise into the highest ranks of Cyrodilic nobility is hard to explain, and most old families of Cyrodiil rightly regard him as a presumptuous upstart. However, the discovery of the Count's wife, Lady Llathasa Indarys, badly battered and dead at the foot of the County Hall stairs immediately attracted scandal, and rumors of the Count's dissipation, rages and infidelities suggest a darker mystery behind her death.\nThe Chapel of Arkay in Cheydinhal is poorly attended. The Count sets a poor example; he never sets foot inside the chapel. But perhaps it is from fear of divine judgement that he avoids placing himself under the eyes of the Nine! Cheydinhal's primate, priest, and healer are goodly people, and staunch professors of the faith, but the most honored and respected of the chapel's clerics is Errandil, the Living Saint of Arkay, a tireless crusader against the wicked practice of necromantic sorcery in the Mages Guild and the Imperial Battle College.\nBoth of Cheydinhal's inns appear respectable from the outside, but the Newlands Inn is owned by a wicked, profane Dark Elf ruffian, and the Cheydinhal Bridge Inn is owned by a dignified, devout Imperial matron, so I am sure you know which place will serve you good, reasonable food, and which will provide you with a safe, clean bed where you are unlikely to be murdered for your purse. The owner-proprietor of Cheydinhal's bookstore is Mach-Na, an Argonian, and a ruder, more disagreeable creature I have never met. Nonetheless, his selection of books is excellent, and his prices reasonable.\nThe poorest of Cheydinhal's residences are bright and clean, with well-groomed grounds, and the citizens think it no inconvenience when you step in to admire their furniture and appointments (provided you do this at a decent hour!). However, be warned! Many of these residents seem respectable to all appearances, but no sooner do they open their mouths than they reveal themselves to be evil brutes, shocking and rude, and more likely to murder you and bury you in their basements as to speak a civil word to you. That many of these rough, unpleasant people are Orcs should be no surprise to you.\nHowever, you will not wish to miss the house of Cheydinhal's most notable citizen, the celebrated painter, Rythe Lythandas. He is often hard at work in his studio, and not to be disturbed, but his wife is gracious and hospitable, and may be persuaded to show you those of his paintings which hang on his own walls.\nFollow the Nine to Glory!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/guide-chorrol": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/guide-chorrol", "description": "A guide to Chorrol by a religious noble. Strongly bias.", "author": "Alessia Ottus", "title": "Guide To Chorrol", "text": "Praise Stendarr, the Nine, and all the Saints! My name is Alessia Ottus, and I'd like to tell you all about the town of Chorrol.\n* Castle Chorrol *\nChorrol is the county seat of County Chorrol, and is ruled by Countess Arriana Valga, a very proper woman, and mother of the beautiful and virtuous Alessia Caro, Countess of Leyawiin.\nCountess Arriana is a devout and righteous follower of Akatosh, and sets a fine example for her people by her devotions in the Chapel of Stendarr. Her husband, Count Charus Valga, was a staunch Defender of the Faith and follower of Stendarr, and his death in battle against the heathen Nord clansmen of Skyrim was greatly lamented by his people. Alessia Caro has been a good husband to Count Marius of Leyawiin, and a dutiful daughter, and she is often seen visiting Chorrol and her saintly mother.\nI am also pleased to report that the castle mage is a righteous and goodly servant of the Nine (unlike so many wizards who neglect the Chapel and the Faith). Chanel offers magical training for those eager to smite the ungodly, and it would be much better to go to her than to some wicked Mages Guild hedgewizard.\nThe Countess holds court every day in the fine Great Hall (except on Sundas, of course). She has a very fine herald and steward, and the castle is neat and well-ordered. It also has a strong dungeon jail for evildoers, though I'm sorry to say that the guards are often lax in their duties, and fail to arrest and lock up the various beggars and thieves and gamblers and cheats who idle in the streets.\n* Districts of Chorrol *\nThere are five main districts of Chorrol. When you enter the gate, you find yourself in Fountain Gate, before the fine pool and statue of the Saint of Sancre Tor, in memory of all who died in that great battle. Around the fountain are the two inns, the general store and the smith. One street leads east to the Castle, one north to Great Oak Place, one west to Chapel Street and West Chorrol. Chapel Street leads west to the Chapel, past the book store, and thence to the crude shacks gathered around the well of West Chorrol. Around Great Oak Place are the Mages Guild and Fighters Guild, and many fine houses.\n* The Chapel of Stendarr *\nThe Chapel of Stendarr is beautiful, and perfect for a traveler's mediations and prayer. Every Sundas morning you will find the best citizens gathered with their good countess for worship. You may be surprised to learn that not all people of Chorrol follow the model of their countess, for many are very idle and careless in their devotions. This is certainly the responsibility of the Fighters Guild and the Mages Guild, whose members fail to set a good example for Chorrol's citizens. The elderly priestess of the Chapel, Orag gra-Bagrol, is a kindly, righteous soul, and it would be far better to purchase your spells from her than from the godless heathens of the Mages Guild.\n* Chorrol's Guilds *\nThe Fighters Guild's members, though led by the excellent and honorable Vilena Donton, are dirty and uncouth in their speech, and often to be found lazing about in their chapter house, or wandering the town and engaging in loose talk. How much better it would be if they improved their characters by regular attendance at the Chapel of Stendarr. Their excellent smith is an exception, being often seen at her devotions at the chapel.\nThe members of the Chorrol Mages Guild are for the most part shiftless scholars and students who spend their time reading, quarreling, and brewing foul concotions. They are well-spoken and well-educated, but what good is such learning if they fail to improve their souls by penitence and prayer? You may purchase spells and potions from these persons, but it will only encourage them in their irreverent amusements and wicked idleness.\n* Goods and Services *\nThe proprietor of Northern Goods and Trade, Seed-Neeus, is an Argonian, but unlike so many of her countrymen, she is clever, honest, and well-spoken. Isn't that remarkable? She is so acccomplished that she offers training in the mercantile arts, but you will not purchase goods from her cheaply.\nI am told by those who know that the smith of Fire and Steel, Rasheda the Redguard, is a very fine craftsman, who offers training in her craft, and she is always to be found at Sundas chapel worship, but she is fresh and disrespectful, and her manners and dress leave something to be desired.\nRenoit's Books is fairly clean, and has a wide selection of books, but would you believe that I found not a single copy of 'Ten Commands of the Nine Divines', nor have I ever seen the proprietress in the Chapel of Stendarr?\nThere are only two places where you may purchase food and lodging. One is proper and clean, frequented by decent citizens. The other is rude and dirty, and a meeting place for drunkards, thieves, and Orcs. The one is run by a well-dressed, dignified, and proper matron. The other is run by a careless young woman. The one is called the 'Oak and Crosier'. The other is called 'The Grey Mare'. I'm sure you know which one to visit if you want a clean and safe bed.\n* Notable Citizens of Chorrol *\nCasta Scribonia, the author, lives in Chorrol. She is a well-educated and well- traveled woman, but she writes books which I cannot recommend, for they are full of romance and gossip and other offensive and wasteful indulgences, and their heroes do not present to our children the proper models of virtue, duty, honor, and reverence that all followers of the Nine Divines must love and hold in our hearts.\n* Shameful Features of Chorrol *\nYou will often see townsfolk gathered in mischief and loose talk around the Great Oak near the Fighters and Mages Guilds. One man, very sly, named Honditar, knows all about the surrounding lands, and he offers to teach skills for a fee, but one nevers sees him in the chapel, and one suspects that he is given to profanity, strong drink, and brawling.\nThere are many thieves and murderers in Chorrol. They even secretly teach their crafts for fees in their homes, and where is the Chorrol Guard? Nowhere to be seen, I'm sorry to say.\nThe beggars in Chorrol are dirty, but they are free of disease, cheerful, and polite. You may give a coin to one to ease your soul, but it does little to improve a beggar, for it will soon be squandered on gambling, strong spirits, and other mischief.\nNine gods and nine blessings!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/guide-leyawiin": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/guide-leyawiin", "description": "Guide to Leyawiin by a wealthy noblewoman. Clearly bias and racist.", "author": "Alessia Ottus", "title": "Guide To Leyawiin", "text": "Zenithar, bless all our labors! My name is Alessia Ottus, and I'd like to tell you all about Leyawiin.\nPinned between the savage and uncivilized provinces of Elsweyr and Black Marsh, and guarding the vital passage up the River Niven from Topal Bay to the Imperial City, Leyawiin is a mighty fortress, with tall stone walls and strong garrisons.\nLeyawiin is a bright and cheerful, prosperous town in the midst of Blackwood's swampy wildernesses, with wide, bright streets, large, comfortable houses, half-timbered or painted stucco, many of which are colorful and not too dirty or weather-worn. There are trees and flowering shrubs everywhere, and peaceful plazas and ponds for quiet contemplation. Indeed, if it weren't for the raffish rabble of Argonian and Khajiit descent, Leyawiin would be a pleasant and safe place to visit.\nMarius Caro is Count Leyawiin, and his recent bride, the lovely and cultivated Alessia Caro, is the daughter of the righteous and reliable Countess Arriana Valga of Chorrol. The Count and Countess are energetic supporters of Imperialization, and they work tirelessly to bring the traditional values of hard-working, chapel-going, and law-abiding Nibenese Heartland Imperial culture to this frontier outpost.\nThe town itself lies with tall curtain walls on the west bank of the Niben. To the east through two gates lies the inner keep and Castle Leyawiin, straddling the deep channels of the river. The Chapel of Zenithar lies in the northwest, near the West Gate. All the shops, inns, and guildhalls lie south of the chapel, in the western half of town, except for a fine bookstore and general trader north of the road traversing the town east-west from West Gate. The residential part of town runs along a single wide north-south boulevard, backed on the east by deep ponds created by impounding one of the meandering channels of the Niben.\nThe Chapel of Stendarr and the Count and Countess are partners in attempting to extend the benefits of heartland Nibenese culture to the benighted frontier populations of Blackwood and the Lower Niben. Trade and industry are strong in Leyawiin, thanks to the patronage of Zenithar, and notwithstanding the bandits troubling caravans and travellers along the Green Road through the recently annexed Trans-Niben.\nLeyawiin boasts the finest collection of shops and tradesmen in Cyrodiil (outside of the Imperial City, of course). Even the craftsmen and trainers of the Fighters Guild and Mages Guild are of a higher order of quality. Worth special mention is Southern Books -- a bookstore owned by an Orc (!!!), always stocking multiple copies of 'A Children's Annuad', a religious book appropriate for those ignorant of the mysteries of the faith, and adapted to the meanest understanding.\nRecently, a new competitor for the Fighters Guild, a mercenary hiring hall called 'The Blackwood Company', has commenced operations here in a striking new building. Despite being staffed almost exclusively by Khajiit and Argonians, the officers are polite, well-spoken, and deferential, and I'm told they aggressively compete with the Fighters Guild for price and service. (This is the Imperial way and pleasing to Zenithar -- to extend prosperity and security through enterprising commercial ventures.)\nI'm sorry to say that not all Khajitt and Argonians in Leyawiin are as presentable and industrious as the members of the Black Comapany. Lizardmen and catfolk are to be seen in the streets at all hours, lounging and gossiping. If only these creatures would spend a little more time keeping themselves and their homes clean.\nPraise the Nine and turn away from sin!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/guide-skingrad": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/guide-skingrad", "description": "Guide to Skingrad, written by a rich noblewoman. Clearly bias.", "author": "Alessia Ottus", "title": "Guide To Skingrad", "text": "In Julianos, all justice and wisdom! My name is Alessia Ottus, and I'd like to tell you all about Skingrad.\nSkingrad County is famous for its wines, tomatoes, and cheeses, and the town of Skingrad is one of the cleanest, safest, and most prosperous towns in Cyrodiil. Located in the heart of the West Weald highlands, Skingrad is the gem of Old Colovia, and a model of the Colovian virtues of independence, hardwork, and tough-mindedness.\nSkingrad has three districts: the Castle, Hightown, and Chapel. A low road runs east-west under the walls and bridges of the upper town. The guilds and West Weald Inn are in the west of HighTown, while many shops and upper class residence are arranged along a street in the north. The southern half of the town includes the chapel at its east end, with Skingrad's other lodgings, the Two Sisters Inn, on a street in the center, with other residences, modest and mean, scattered through the rest of the district. Gates and bridges cross the low road to connect Hightown and Chapel in several places. Castle Skingrad is completely separate from the town, standing on a high prominence to the southeast. A road from the town's east gate leads from town to the castle.\nJanus Hassildor, Count Skingrad, has ruled Skingrad for many years, and is known by reputation to be a powerful wizard. He is a very private man, and declined all requests for an interview, and he shamefully neglects his chapel devotions to the Nine. How are the people to learn public virtue if not from the model of their ruler? Nonetheless, he is widely honored and respected by his people, and Skingrad is a model of a well-run, orderly county. Crime, gambling, and public drunkeness are almost unknown, and its wines and cheeses command high prices all over Tamriel.\nThere are two inns in Skingrad. One, the Two Sisters Inn, is owned by two Orcs. I'm pleased to tell you that this inn is clean and well-ordered, and is troubled neither by riot nor public drunkenness. The other inn is run by a pleasant Imperial woman. Neither of these proprietors are to be seen in the Chapel of Julianos, so I am at a loss to tell you which one you should choose when seeking food or lodgings.\nHowever, I am certain where you should go to purchase your sweet rolls -- to Salmo the Baker in Chapel District! They are delicious. As for where to sample the other tasty treats of Skingrad -- its cheeses and tomatoes -- I must leave that to your discretion. I am sure you are not interested in Skingrad's wines, for drinking leads to disorderliness, and disorderliness leads to sin.\nThe Mages Guild here is no better than it is in other places, but the Fighters Guild makes a specialty of goblin hunting, which is a great service to travelers in the West Weald. And I was shocked to discover that the town smith openly refers to himself as 'Agnete the Pickled'. Can you imagine being proud of such shameful behavior?\nKeep the Nine in your heart!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/guide-imperial-city": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/guide-imperial-city", "description": "A guide to the Imperial City written by a wealthy noble. Clearly bias.", "author": "Alessia Ottus", "title": "Guide To The Imperial City  ", "text": "Praise Akatosh! Bless the Empire and All Its People!\nMy name is Alessia Ottus, and I'd like to tell you all about the Imperial City.\n* The Imperial City *\nWho do you think lives in the Imperial City? Uriel Septim, Emperor of Tamriel, Defender of the Faith, and Descendant of the Sainted Tiber Septim, Lord Talos, the Holy God of State and Law in our Blessed Nine Divines. All know the emperor to be a good and holy man, for he may often be seen in the Temple of the One, making his devotions to the Nine Divines and the Communion of Saints.\nAnd where does he live? In the Imperial Palace, in the center of the Imperial City, in the White Gold Tower which was built many ages ago by the godless, Daedra-loving Ayleids. How fine it is that the stones raised high by this ancient evil empire are now reconsecrated as a monument to Imperial justice and piety.\nPeople who visit the Imperial Palace like to walk among the graves of saints and counts, battlemages and emperors, and gaze with wonder upon White Gold Tower, which can be seen from any place within the City.\nThe Elder Council Chamber here cannot be entered, and though you may marvel at their curious ancient armors, you will soon want be away from the rude and discourteous Imperial Guards.\n* Imperial City Districts *\nThe Imperial City is divided into ten districts. At the center is the Imperial Palace. The other districts are grouped around the Palace. To the northwest is Elven Gardens, a pleasant residential district.\nContinuing widdershins, the Talos District, an exclusive residential area, lies to the west. To the southwest is the Temple District, and beyond it, outside the walls, the filthy and bad-smelling Waterfront District. To the southeast lies the Arboretum, and beyond that, outside the walls, the infamous Arcane University of the Mages Guild. To the east is the notorious Arena District. And last, to the northeast of the Palace lies the Market District, where anything may be bought, and beyond the Market District, outside the city walls, the Imperial Prison.\n* The Temple District *\nI live in the Temple District of the Imperial City, and it is a very pretty place. You are welcome to visit me, my husband, and daughter when you come to worship at the Temple of the One. This district is very pretty, and only pleasant and well-bred persons live here, though, as in all parts of the city, beggars are a constant problem.\n* The Arboretum *\nIn this beautiful garden you will find the famous Statues of the Nine Divines. In the center you will find the statue of Lord Talos, Emperor Tiber Septim. But is it right, that Talos should have this place of honor rather than Akatosh, king of gods? It is the scheming pride of the Elder Council, who sought favor with the sons of Talos, that is responsible for this shameful error.\n* The Market District *\nYou will find crowds of people waiting outside the doors of the Office of Imperial Commerce to make their complaints about being cheated by some merchant. It is a very dirty place. Piles of crates lie around in untidy heaps, unwholesome toadstools and fungus grow in clumps, and the cobbles are slimy and encrusted with filth. If you may send your servant rather than visit yourself, it would be far better.\n* Arcane University *\nThis place is unspeakably dirty and unkempt, no better than a slum. You will never find the students or wizards outside in the air, for they are squatting in their dark dungeons poring over profane texts and making crabbed scribbles on scrolls.\nWithin the Arch-Mage's Tower is hidden the Imperial Orrery, which the mages use to study the sky. Such fools! Why do they not look on the glory of Creation itself, and give praise to the Nine as they ought, rather than squat and peer at such a ridiculous and expensive machine?\nThe Mages are said to have a great library of precious books, but they jealously hoard them for themselves. This is no loss for the righteous, for these books are surely full of wicked nonsense.\n* Imperial Waterfront *\nThis is a terrible place. It is not uncommon to stumble over the bodies of women and children who have been murdered here. There are no more wicked and godless men in Tamriel than merchants and sailors, and they gather here to plot and cheat citizens of their hard-earned gold. Gambling and slaving and skooma-sucking and even more depraved activities take place in warehouses and ships here. And where are the City Watch? Nowhere to be seen.\n* Imperial Prison *\nThe prisons are very cruel and horrible, damp and dirty, with chains and pincers and manacles and instruments of torture on every hand. But did I find any prisoners in these cells? No! For the Watch is so lazy and careless that the cells are all empty!\nThere are guards everywhere in the Imperial City. They travel in groups, for even they are afraid of the cruel bandits and thieves that lurk everywhere in the City. I do not know why they do not throw the impertinent beggars into prison. Criminals are so bold as to introduce themselves to you on the street. One outlaw was so brazen as to boast that he had stolen his weapons and armor from the Imperial Prison. How careless and idle these Watchmen must be to allow this! They know no shame, for the wicked officers of the Watch are corrupt, and accept gold from the hands of the very people they are supposed to place behind bars.\n* The Arena *\nI will not tell you about this place, for you have no need to visit it. Only idle or foolish persons come here to throw their money away on games of chance, or to spill their own blood when they would better devote themselves to exterminating the armies of robbers and beggars that swarm in the streets.\nMay the Nine bless you and keep you!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hastily-scrawled-note": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hastily-scrawled-note", "description": "A note accidentally dropped by Falcar that contains locations of altars that can be used to create black soul gems. Found during the Mages Guild quest \"Necromancer's Moon\".", "author": "Falcar", "title": "Hastily Scrawled Note", "text": "Primary sites:\nThe Dark Fissure\nFort Istirius\nFort Linchal\nWendelbek\nAltars have been raised; Anchorites have been called. Watch the skies; once a week His Grace shines down on us."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/heavy-armor-repair": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/heavy-armor-repair", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Heavy Armor Repair", "text": "Heavy armor must be designed to take a lot of punishment. It will receive direct blows from all sorts of weapons while protecting the wearer. Such armor tends to be made from a few large pieces rather than lots of small pieces like light armor.\nIron and steel are easy to work. Just heat them up and pound them back into shape. You can even use a camp fire for field repairs. Avoid filing off any of the metal. Always try to conserve the metal and work it back into shape.\nIf a piece needs a lot of hammering, it may become brittle. Reheating the armor every now and then can reduce the brittleness after severe repairs. Once the hammering is done, be sure to oil it well. The freshly hammered surfaces will rust more quickly and need to be protected.\nDwarven and Orcish armor require small and large hammers. Heat should be used sparingly, particularly with Orcish. Both types respond better to many small hammer strokes rather than fewer heavy strokes.\nEbony can only be hammered when heated. It will develop small cracks that eventually shatter the material if hammered cold. Daedric should always be worked on at night... ideally under a new or full moon, and never during and eclipse. A red harvest moon is best."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/heretical-thoughts": {"game": ["Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/heretical-thoughts", "description": "The doctrine of the Heretics, one of the rebellious factions in Shivering Isles. The faction sees that Sheogorath is not a god at all but a mere mortal who is dabbling in foul magic and consorting with Daedra, thus unfit for ruling.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Heretical Thoughts  ", "text": "Zealotry is an abomination that must be wiped from the Shivering Isles. We cannot suffer their beliefs to spread to even one more soul. They name us Heretics for our lack of belief. We gladly accept the name, and will make a honorable one.\nIt is not heresy to speak truth. It is not heresy to speak out against an unjust lord. It is not heresy to take arms and action in defense of true belief. We are the so-called Heretics of the Shivering Isles, but we do not speak heresy. We speak the truth.\nOur Lord, Sheogorath, is but a man. He is only flesh and blood, not a god, and certainly not a Daedric Prince. There are no princes in the realms of the Daedra, only vile servitors such as the Hungers that we summon to do our bidding.\nSheogorath the False is a mad despot. Years of dabbling in foul magic and consorting with Daedra have driven him mad. He is not a fit ruler, let alone divine. He perverts the teachings of Arden-Sul, He Who Gave His Heart's Blood.\nWhen the truth of our cause is common knowledge among the people, we will drive him from New Sheoth and put that cesspool to the sword. His four limbs will be scattered to the four winds. His head will rest upon the Hill of Suicides and his heart shall be burnt in the flames of freedom. His entrails shall be fed to the dogs.\nWe will make all the people of the Shivering Isles wear the robes of the Heretics. By these robes we know each other to be true non-believers. The people shall return to the wilderness and live among the wild things, as we do. They will see the wisdom and purity of the life we lead and they will hail us as saviors."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hiding-shadow": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hiding-shadow", "description": "About thieves and their relationship with Nocturnal, the Daedric Prince.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Hiding with the Shadow", "text": "There are few professions that require the practitioner to be more self-reliant than that of thief. A thief is by nature a loner. He trusts no one and is trusted by few. He cannot go to a master and become an apprentice. He has no guild to collect and codify how to ply his craft. He does his crimes alone, and in the dark of night. He must hide by day to avoid capture by the authorities.\nThe only known deity recognized by thieves is Nocturnal. Not truly a goddess, this Daedric lord is none-the-less a potent figure. She is the Mistress of Shadows, holding sway over secrets and stealth. She does not ask for worshippers, nor does she necessarily give blessings to those that do recognize her. In fact there are no known temples to her in Cyrodiil, although there are rumors of a forgotten shrine. In other words, she is perfectly suited to the criminal mind of the thief.\nBy and large, thieves are a godless lot. They believe only in their own skills and cunning. However, since the existence and influence of the gods and Daedric lords is undeniable, they have an uneasy relationship with Nocturnal. Though some thieves truly worship her, most choose to offer their respect and reverence without fealty.\nThese criminals recognize that should they offend the Mistress of Shadows, it might go poorly for them. However, true worship and fealty does not have any known benefit. The classic blessing between thieves is \"shadow hide you.\" This is an oblique reference to Nocturnal. However it can also be interpreted to be a non-theistic statement of actual shadows hiding the thief.\nThieves tend to dress in black clothes or dark clothing. While this is a practical thing for their criminal endeavors, it is unnecessary during the daylight hours. Yet many thieves still don these shadowy colors in silent recognition of Nocturnal.\nThe most shocking link between the nebulous culture of thieves and Nocturnal, is the tale of the Gray Fox. He is the mythical king of thieves. The legend states that he stole the hood off of Nocturnal's cloak. Obviously this is just a story invented centuries ago to bolster their feelings of self-worth. However, it is indicative of the continued link between the Daedric lord and the criminals of the Empire."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hirrus-clutumnuss-will": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hirrus-clutumnuss-will", "description": "The will of Hirrus Clutumnus, the person who wanted to be freed from his mortal coil.", "author": "Hirrus Clutumnus", "title": "Hirrus Clutumnus's Will", "text": "I've wanted to die for quite some time. Things just aren't going right. Never have gone right, really. No one seems to care either, nor even notice I exist. Not that I'd have much to say even if someone had wanted to be my friend. I'd make a lousy friend anyway. I'm probably even boring the person reading this. I'm certainly boring myself. Not that anyone will ever find this note. Oh, but if they do!\nIf they do it means that I've been granted my greatest wish! To be released from this mortal coil. This isn't a suicide note, no. That would mean I've taken my own life, and we all know what that means. Who wants that kind of existence, to be reborn on a hill every day, reset as if nothing ever happened? That's even worse than the life I'm living. Life I've lived! Yes, yes, yes! I'm sure I'm happy now. The dead me. The me writing this note isn't happy at all. Never have been happy, really.\nAnyway, the purpose of this note is to say to the man or woman who has killed me: \"Thank you!\"\nAll I really have is this queer little ring. A wizard gave it to me once, said I reminded him of his dead son. I guess I resemble his dead son even more now. Anyway, he said it would make me happy. Lift the weight of the world off my shoulders or some such thing. Come to think of it, it's the only time anyone has ever given me anything. Personally, I think the thing is worthless. Just like me.\nI tried it for a while, the \"Happiness Ring,\" but eventually I couldn't wear it anymore. It made me feel odd -- not myself. I didn't like feeling that way so I locked it away. It's pretty enough, though. It might fetch a few gold coins at the merchant. Sorry not to leave much more behind. But, my life never really amounted to much anyway, did it?\nYours very truly,\nHirrus Clutumnus, deceased"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/history-lock-picking": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/history-lock-picking", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "History of Lock Picking", "text": "The modern lock has a fascinating history in Cyrodiil. The need to restrict access to one's home has been a problem since homes were first built. The very first security system was a simple bar across the door. This has the obvious shortcoming of only being functional when the owner is at home.\nThe first recorded instance of a lock is the ingenious armbreaker of Castle Anvil. The count of the day put five slide bars on the side of the door. A hole in the door just above them allowed him to reach in and manipulate any of these bars. Only one of the bars truly locked or unlocked the door. The other four released the clasp on a hammer that fell down on the person's arm. Only by knowing which sliding bar was the true lock could one safely open the door.\nFor over a hundred years, the state of the art in locks was defined by sliding bars and punished traps. Then the famous dwarf Mzunchend invented the pin lock. The first example had three pins. The key was turned in the lock four times, each turn depending on a different pin being in position. Obviously a pin could be used more than once.\nIt was 65 years before anyone devised a method to open a pin-based lock without the key and without damaging the lock. It wasn't that the problem was so difficult. It was that nobody other than royalty could afford Mzunchend's locks. An enterprising blacksmith named Orenthal decided to mass-produce a common form of the lock at a reasonable price. Suddenly every shop had a lock. Now there was a reason to subvert the locks. It wasn't long before lockpicks and lockpicking appeared. Orenthal became quite wealthly inventing more and more sophisticated locks.\nToday's locks are sophisticated mechanisms with spring-loaded pins. Each metal pin must be pushed up by the key precisely to open the lock. Any imprecision in the key, any poorly made copy, or any clumsy attempt at lockpicking releases the spring tension, causing the pin to clamp down upon or even break the key or lockpick.\nLocks are made more secure by using multiple pins in the lock. Multiple-pin locks are more delicate and difficult to make, and more expensive, but provide a greater reliablity against tampering. Multiple-pin locks have the further virtue of resetting all pins when any single pin is tampered with. A single mistake with the fifth pin of a five-pin lock requires a thief to reset all five pins again. Most affordable locks are one-pin or two-pin locks. The five-pin lock is the highest achievement of the lockmaker's craft, and the greatest challenge to a would-be intruder.\nPicking the modern lock is an art form. A lockpick is a thin metal bar with a small tooth on the end. The tooth is used to press the pin up into the lock mechanism. The thief uses skill and experience to manipulate each pin in turn to determine the exact tension necessary to set the spring-loaded pin at its catchpoint. With a subtle pressing and lofting of the pin, the master thief determines the exact motion required to set it.\nA novice thief breaks many picks while learning his trade. Only with time and practice will he get better at guessing the tension and timing necessary to set a pin. As a result, novice thieves tend to carry a great many lockpicks, while the masters only need to carry a few."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/history-fighters-guild-first-edition": {"game": ["Oblivion", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/history-fighters-guild-first-edition", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "History of the Fighters Guild, First Edition", "text": "In the 283rd year of the 2nd Era, Potentate Versidue-Shaie was faced with a disintegrating empire. The vassal kingdoms throughout Tamriel had reached a new height of rebellion, openly challenging his rule. They refused his taxes and led sorties against the Imperial garrisons throughout the land. At the destruction of his fortress in Dawnstar, he gathered the Imperial Council in what would be called the Council of Bardmont, after the town south of Dawnstar where they met. There the Potentate declared catholic and universal martial law. The princes of Tamriel would dissolve their armies or face his wrath.\nThe next thirty-seven years were perhaps the bloodiest in the violent history of Tamriel.\nIn order to crush the last of the royal armies, Versidae-Shaie had to sacrifice many of his best legions, as well as spend nearly every last piece of gold in the Imperial treasury. But he accomplished the unthinkable. For the first time in history, there was but one army in the land, and it was his own.\nThe problems that immediately surfaced were almost as staggering as the triumph itself. The Potentate had impoverished the land by his war, for the vanquished kingdoms had also spent the last of their gold in defense. Farmers and merchants alike had their livelihood ruined. Before the princes of Tamriel would not pay his taxes - now, they could not.\nThe only persons who benefited from the war were criminals, who preyed upon the ruins of the lawless land, without fear of arrest now that all the local guards and militia were gone. It was a crisis the Akavir had seen coming long before he destroyed the last of his subjects' armies, but for which he had no solution. He could not allow his vassals their own armies again, but the land was deeper into the stew of anarchy that it had ever been before. His army sought to fight the rise of crime, but a central authority was no threat against the local underworld.\nIn the dawn of the year 320, a kinsman of Versidae-Shaie, Dinieras-Ves \"the Iron\", presented himself with a host of companions before the Potentate. It was he who suggested an order of mercantile warriors-for-hire, who could be hired by nobility in lieu of a standing army. The employment would be temporary, and a percentage of the fee would go to the Potentate's government, thus putting salve on two of Versidae-Shaie's greatest pains.\nThough it was then called The Syffim, after the Tsaesci word for 'soldiers,' the organization that was to be known as the Fighters Guild had been born.\nDinieras-Ves \"the Iron\" initially believed that the entirety of the order should be composed of Akaviri. This belief of his is not disputed by any historian, though his motivation is often debated. The traditional, simple explanation is that he knew his countrymen well, trusted them, and felt that their tradition of fighting for profit would be of use. Others believe, with reason, that he and the Potentate sought to use the order to effectively complete the conquest of Tamriel begun over five hundred years earlier. When Akavir attacked Tamriel in the 2703rd year of the 1st era, they had been beaten back by the Reman Dynasty. Now they had a Potentate on the throne, and with Dinieras-Ves's machinations, the local armies would also be Akaviri. What they had failed to do by combat, they would have successfully accomplished by patience. A traditional strategem, many scholars suggest, of the immortal snake men, the Tsaesci of Akavir, who always had time on their side.\nThe point, however, is largely academic. Though the Syffim did establish themselves in some kingdoms neighboring Cyrodiil, it became quickly apparent that local warriors were needed. Part of the problem was simply that there were not enough Akaviri for the work that needed to be done. Another part was that the snake men did not understand the geography and politics of the regions they were assigned.\nIt was evident that some non-Akaviri were needed in the Syffim, and by the mid point of the year, three Nords, a warrior-sorceress, a rogue, and a knight were admitted into the order.\nThe knight, whose name has been lost in the sands of time, was also a great armorer, and probably did more to strengthen the organization than anyone but Dinieras-Ves himself. As has often been stated, the Akaviri, particularly the Tsaesci, understood weaponry better than armor. Even if they could not wear it themselves, the knight was able to explain to the other Syffim what the weaknesses were in their opponent's armor, explaining to them how many joints there were in a pauldon and a grieve, and the differences between Aketons and Armkachens, Gorgets and Gliedshrims, Palettes and Pasguards, Tabards and Tassettes.\nWith this knowledge, they made long strides in defeating the brigands, doing far better than their meager numbers would suggest. It is a joke among historians that if Akavir had a Nord armorer in their employ in the first era, they would have won the invasion.\nThe success of these first three outsiders to the Syffim opened the door for more local members. Before the year was through, Dinieras-Ves had spread his business throughout the Empire. Young men and women, for a variety of reasons - because of desperate poverty, for love of action and adventure, in order to aid their crime-stricken neighbors - joined his new order en masse. They received training, and were immediately put to work helping the aristocracy's problems, assuming the roles of guards and soldiers within their locality.\nThe early success of the Syffim in combating crime and defeating local monsters so inspired Potentate Versidae-Shaie that he entertained representatives from other organizations interested in Imperial sanction. Though formed much earlier, the Mages Guild had always been viewed with suspicion by the government. In the 321st year of the 2nd Era, the Potentate gave his approval to the Guilds Act, officially sanctioning the Mages, together with the Guilds of Tinkers, Cobblers, Prostitutes, Scribes, Architects, Brewers, Vintners, Weavers, Ratcatchers, Furriers, Cooks, Astrologers, Healers, Tailors, Minstrals, Barristers, and the Syffim. In the charter, they were no longer called the Syffim, however: bowing to the name it had become known as by the people, they were to be called the Fighters Guild. All the Guilds, and those that followed by later sanctions throughout the second and third eras, would be protected and encouraged by the Empire of Cyrodiil, recognizing their value to the people of Tamriel. All would be required to pay to expand their influence throughout the land. The Empire was strengthened by their presence, and the Imperial coffers were filled once again.\nShortly after Versidae-Shaie's death, only three years after the Guild Act, his heir Savirien-Chovak, allowed the reforming of local armies. The Fighters Guild was no longer the principal arm of the local aristocracy, but their worth had already been established. Though there were certainly strong individuals who sought their own fortunes in the past, many historians have suggested that Dinieras-Ves was the ancestor in spirit of the modern phenomenon of the Adventurer, those men and women who dedicate their lives to questing for fame and fortune.\nThus, all owe a debt of gratitude to the Fighters Guild -- not only its members, and the people who have been helped by its neutral policy of offering strong arms for a fee within the boundaries of the law. Without them, there would be no guilds of any kind, and it may be argued, no model for even the independent Adventurer.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/horse-armor-note": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/horse-armor-note", "description": "A horse armor advertisement. Received at the beginning of the Horse Armor Pack official plugin.", "author": "Snak gra-Bura", "title": "Horse Armor Note", "text": "In celebration of the launch of our new barding services, we are offering a free set of horse armor to the bearer of this letter. To retrieve your reward bring your favorite horse, along with this notice, to the Chestnut Handy Stables outside of the Imperial City. Help us spread the word about our new horse armor services.\nChestnut Handy -- Because you can't afford not to protect your horse.\nSigned,\nSnak gra-Bura\nOwner, Chestnut Handy Stables"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/imbel-genealogy": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/imbel-genealogy", "description": "An incomplete genealogy. Found during the Thieves Guild quest \"Boots Of Springheel Jak\".", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Imbel Genealogy", "text": "The Imbel family traces lineage strictly through the male line of heirs, as any right-thinking nobility would. Therefore this family genealogy does not record the inconsequential female offspring.\nArtan Imbel 1000 - 1057, Son of Rosten Imbel\n\u00a0\u00a0Married Gustie Karna 1031\n\u00a0\u00a0Buried in Vardenfell near Suran\nFaris Zeetl 1030 -1101, Son of Artan Imbel\n\u00a0\u00a0Unmarried\n\u00a0\u00a0Whereabouts unknown\nFaren Imbel 1037 - 1056, Son of Artan Imbel\n\u00a0\u00a0Married Janiy Ulura 1053\n\u00a0\u00a0Buried in Vardenfell near Suran\nCorben Imbel 1053 - 1152, Out of wedlock son of Faren Imbel\n\u00a0\u00a0Unmarried\n\u00a0\u00a0Buried in Bravil\nArtan Imbel II 1079 - 1152, Bastard son of Corben Imbel\n\u00a0\u00a0Married Eadith Gerimania 1100\n\u00a0\u00a0Buried in Bravil\nFaren Imbel II 1084 - 1085, Bastard son of Corben Imbel\n\u00a0\u00a0Buried in Skingrad\nCorben Imbel II 1086 - 1167, Bastard son of Corben Imbel\n\u00a0\u00a0Married Faith Horr 1110\n\u00a0\u00a0Buried in Bruma"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/immortal-blood": {"game": ["Oblivion", "Skyrim", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/immortal-blood", "description": "A tale about a vampire hunter who likes to surprise his enemies by striking the first blow. Nothing seems to take him by surprise. Well... Almost.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Immortal Blood", "text": "The moons and stars were hidden from sight, making that particular quiet night especially dark. The town guard had to carry torches to make their rounds; but the man who came to call at my chapel carried no light with him. I came to learn that Movarth Piquine could see in the dark almost as well as the light - an excellent talent, considering his interests were exclusively nocturnal.\nOne of my acolytes brought him to me, and from the look of him, I at first thought he was in need of healing. He was pale to the point of opalescence with a face that looked like it had once been very handsome before some unspeakable suffering. The dark circles under his eyes bespoke exhaustion, but the eyes themselves were alert, intense, almost insane.\nHe quickly dismissed my notion that he himself was ill, though he did want to discuss a specific disease.\n\"Vampirism,\" he said, and then paused at my quizzical look. \"I was told that you were someone I should seek out for help understanding it.\"\n\"Who told you that?\" I asked with a smile.\n\"Tissina Gray.\"\nI immediately remembered her. A brave, beautiful knight who had needed my assistance separating fact from fiction on the subject of the vampire. It had been two years, and I had never heard whether my advice had proved effective.\n\"You've spoken to her? How is her ladyship?\" I asked.\n\"Dead,\" Movarth replied coldly, and then, responding to my shock, he added to perhaps soften the blow. \"She said your advice was invaluable, at least for the one vampire. When last I talked to her, she was tracking another. It killed her.\"\n\"Then the advice I gave her was not enough,\" I sighed. \"Why do you think it would be enough for you?\"\n\"I was a teacher once myself, years ago,\" he said. \"Not in a university. A trainer in the Fighters Guild. But I know that if a student doesn't ask the right questions, the teacher cannot be responsible for his failure. I intend to ask you the right questions.\"\nAnd that he did. For hours, he asked questions and I answered what I could, but he never volunteered any information about himself. He never smiled. He only studied me with those intense eyes of his, commiting every word I said to memory.\nFinally, I turned the questioning around. \"You said you were a trainer at the Fighters Guild. Are you on an assignment for them?\"\n\"No,\" he said curtly, and finally I could detect some weariness in those feverish eyes of his. \"I would like to continue this tomorrow night, if I could. I need to get some sleep and absorb this.\"\n\"You sleep during the day,\" I smiled.\nTo my surprise, he returned the smile, though it was more of a grimace. \"When tracking your prey, you adapt their habits.\"\nThe next day, he did return with more questions, these ones very specific. He wanted to know about the vampires of eastern Skyrim. I told him about the most powerful tribe, the Volkihar, paranoid and cruel, whose very breath could freeze their victims' blood in the veins. I explained to him how they lived beneath the ice of remote and haunted lakes, never venturing into the world of men except to feed.\nMovarth Piquine listened carefully, and asked more questions into the night, until at last he was ready to leave.\n\"I will not see you for a few days,\" he said. \"But I will return, and tell you how helpful your information has been.\"\nTrue to his word, the man returned to my chapel shortly after midnight four days later. There was a fresh scar on his cheek, but he was smiling that grim but satisfied smile of his.\n\"Your advice helped me very much,\" he said. \"But you should know that the Volkihar have an additional ability you didn't mention. They can reach through the ice of their lakes without breaking it. It was quite a nasty surprise, being grabbed from below without any warning.\"\n\"How remarkable,\" I said with a laugh. \"And terrifying. You're lucky you survived.\"\n\"I don't believe in luck. I believe in knowledge and training. Your information helped me, and my skill at melee combat sealed the bloodsucker's fate. I've never believed in weaponry of any kind. Too many unknowns. Even the best swordsmith has created a flawed blade, but you know what your body is capable of. I know I can land a thousand blows without losing my balance, provided I get the first strike.\"\n\"The first strike?\" I murmured. \"So you must never be surprised.\"\n\"That is why I came to you,\" said Movarth. \"You know more than anyone alive about these monsters, in all their cursed varieties across the land. Now you must tell me about the vampires of northern Valenwood.\"\nI did as he asked, and once again, his questions taxed my knowledge. There were many tribes to cover. The Bonsamu who were indistinguishable from Bosmer except when seen by candlelight. The Keerilth who could disintegrate into mist. The Yekef who swallowed men whole. The dread Telboth who preyed on children, eventually taking their place in the family, waiting patiently for years before murdering them all in their unnatural hunger.\nOnce again, he bade me farewell, promising to return in a few weeks, and once again, he returned as he said, just after midnight. This time, Movarth had no fresh scars, but he again had new information.\n\"You were wrong about the Keerilth being unable to vaporize when pushed underwater,\" he said, patting my shoulder fondly. \"Fortunately, they cannot travel far in their mist form, and I was able to track it down.\"\n\"It must have surprised it fearfully. Your field knowledge is becoming impressive,\" I said. \"I should have had an acolyte like you decades ago.\"\n\"Now, tell me,\" he said. \"Of the vampires of Cyrodiil.\"\nI told him what I could. There was but one tribe in Cyrodiil, a powerful clan who had ousted all other competitors, much like the Imperials themselves had done. Their true name was unknown, lost in history, but they were experts at concealment. If they kept themselves well-fed, they were indistinguishable from living persons. They were cultured, more civilized than the vampires of the provinces, preferring to feed on victims while they were asleep, unaware.\n\"They will be difficult to surprise,\" Movarth frowned. \"But I will seek one out, and tell you what I learn. And then you will tell me of the vampires of High Rock, and Hammerfell, and Elsweyr, and Black Marsh, and Morrowind, and the Sumurset Isles, yes?\"\nI nodded, knowing then that this was a man on an eternal quest. He wouldn't be satisfied with but the barest hint of how things were. He needed to know it all.\nHe did not return for a month, and on the night that he did, I could see his frustration and despair, though there were no lights burning in my chapel.\n\"I failed,\" he said, as I lit a candle. \"You were right. I could not find a single one.\"\nI brought the light up to my face and smiled. He was surprised, even stunned by the pallor of my flesh, the dark hunger in my ageless eyes, and the teeth. Oh, yes, I think the teeth definitely surprised the man who could not afford to be surprised.\n\"I haven't fed in seventy-two hours,\" I explained, as I fell on him. He did not land the first blow or the last."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/imperial-charter-guild-mages-0": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/imperial-charter-guild-mages-0", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Imperial Charter of the Guild of Mages  ", "text": "I. Purpose\nThe Guild of Mages provides benefits to scholars of magic and established laws regarding the proper use of magic. The Guild is dedicated to the collection, preservation, and distribution of magical knowledge with an emphasis on ensuring that all citizens of Tamriel benefit from this knowledge.\nII. Authority\nThe Guild of Mages was established on Summerset Isle in the year 230 of the Second Era by Vanus Galerion and Rilis XII. It was later confirmed by the \"Guilds Act\" of Potentate Versidue-Shaie.\nIII. Rules and Procedures\nCrimes against fellow members of the Guild are treated with the harshest discipline. Whether a member may regain their status in the Guild is determined by the Arch-Mage.\nADDENDUM: Effective 3E 431, any guild member commiting a crime against the guild is to be suspended immediately. The suspension may be lifted at the discretion of the Steward of the Council of Mages. Any guild member receiving multiple suspensions may, at the determination of the council, be summarily and permanently dismissed from the guild.\nIV. Membership Requirements\nThe Guild of Mages only accepts candidates of keen intelligence and dominant will. Candidates must exhibit mastery in the great schools of magic: Destruction, Alteration, Illusion, and Mysticism. Candidates must also display practical knowledge of enchantments and alchemical processes.\nV. Applications for Membership\nCandidates must present themselves to the Steward of the Guild Hall for examination and approval.\nADDENDUM: Effective 3E 431, as per Arch-Mage Traven, all candidates for membership in the Guild of Mages must be approved by all presiding Guild Hall stewards, with said approval submitted in writing to the Council of Mages in a timely manner.\nADDENDUM: Effective 3E 431, as per Council mandate, sale of spells in the Imperial Province is to be re-distributed across guild halls. The following halls are to be responsible for each School of Magic:\nAlteration: Cheydinhal\nConjuration: Chorrol\nDestruction: Skingrad\nIllusion: Bravil\nMysticism: Leyawiin\nRestoration: Anvil"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/instructions-gray-cowl": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/instructions-gray-cowl", "description": "A document briefing Moth Priests about the powers of the Gray Cowl and their attempts to find and use it. Found during the Thieves Guild quest \"Turn A Blind Eye\".", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Instructions: the Gray Cowl", "text": "The Gray Cowl of Nocturnal shrouds the wearer's face in shadow. No light or magic of detection can penetrate its depths. To look upon Nocturnal's face without the cowl is to view the depths of the void. A man would lose his mind to see it.\nRecently it has come to light that the Gray Cowl has gone missing. This must be at the whim of Nocturnal, for she could reclaim it easily. The Lady of Shadows has seen fit to reveal that a curse is laid upon the Gray Cowl. Whosoever wears it shall be lost in the shadows. His true nature shall be unknown to all who meet him. His identity shall be struck from all records and histories. Memory will hide in the shadows, refusing to record the name of the owner to any who meet him. He shall be known by the cowl and only by the cowl.\nI am directing a triad of Moth priests to investigate this tale. They shall determine the truth or falseness of the story. They shall determine the present whereabouts of the Gray Cowl, be it in Tamriel, Oblivion, or beyond. All curses can be broken, even those laid by Nocturnal. The triad shall determine how this curse may be lifted so that the Moth priests may safely weild the Gray Cowl.\nOffice of the Unseeing Eye"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/interviews-tapestrists": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/interviews-tapestrists", "description": "An interesting interview with a famous Khajiit Tapestrist, focusing on a tapestry immortalizing a battle between Valenwood and Elsweyr during the Five Year War.", "author": "Livillus Perus, Professor at the Imperial University", "title": "Interviews With Tapestrists", "text": "Volume Eighteen\nCherim's Heart of Anequina\nContemporary with Maqamat Lusign (interviewed in volume seventeen of this series) is the Khajiti Cherim, whose tapestries have been hailed as masterpieces all over the Empire for nigh on thirty years now. His four factories located throughout Elsweyr make reproductions of his work, but his original tapestries command stellar prices. The Emperor himself owns ten Cherim tapestries, and his representatives are currently negotiating the sale of five more.\nThe muted use of color contrasted with the luminous skin tones of Cherim's subjects is a marked contrast with the old style of tapestry. The subjects of his work in recent years have been fabulous tales of the ancient past: the Gods meeting to discuss the formation of the world; the Chimer following the Prophet Veloth into Morrowind; the Wild Elves battling Morihaus and his legions at the White Gold Tower. His earliest designs dealt with more contemporary subjects. I had the opportunity to discuss with him one of his first masterpieces, The Heart of Anequina, at his villa in Orcrest.\nThe Heart of Anequina presents an historic battle of the Five Year War between Elsweyr and Valenwood which raged from 3E 394 (or 3E 395, depending on what one considers to be the beginning of the war) until 3E 399. In most fair accounts, the war lasted 4 years and 9 months, but artistic license from the great epic poets added an additional three months to the ordeal.\nThe actual details of the battle itself, as interpreted by Cherim, are explicit. The faces of a hundred and twenty Wood Elf archers can be differentiated one from the other, each registering fear at the approach of the Khajiti army. Their hauberks catch the dim light of the sun. The menacing shadows of the Elsweyr battlecats loom on the hills, every muscle strained, ready to pounce in command. It is not surprising that he got all the details right, because Cherim was in the midst of it, as a Khajiti foot soldier.\nEvery minute part of the Khajiti traditional armor can be seen in the soldiers in the foreground. The embroidered edging and striped patterns on the tunics. Each lacquered plate on loose-fitting leather in the Elsweyr style. The helmets of cloth and fluted silver.\n\"Cherim does not understand the point of plate mail,\" said Cherim. \"It is hot, for one, like being both burned and buried alive. Cherim wore it at the insistence of our Nord advisors during the Battle of Zelinin, and Cherim couldn't even turn to see what my fellow Khajiit were doing. Cherim did some sketches for a tapestry of the Battle of Zelinin, but Cherim finds that to make it realistic, the figures came out very mechanical, like iron golems or dwemer centurions. Knowing our Khajiti commanders, Cherim would not be surprised if giving up the heavy plate was more aesthetic than practical.\"\n\"Elsweyr lost the Battle of Zelinin, didn't she?\"\n\"Yes, but Elsweyr won the war, starting at the next battle, the Heart of Anequina,\" said Cherim with a smile. \"The tide turned as soon as we Khajiit sent our Nordic advisors back to Solitude. We had to get rid of all the heavy armor they brought to us and find enough traditional armor our troops felt comfortable wearing. Obviously, the principle advantage of the traditional armor was that we could move easily in it, as you can see from the natural stances of the soldiers in the tapestry.\n\"Now if you look at this poor perforated Cathay-raht who just keeps battling on in the bottom background, you see the other advantage. It seems strange to say, but one of the best features of traditional armor is that an arrow will either deflect completely or pass all the way through. An arrow head is like a hook, made to stick where it strikes if it doesn't pass through. A soldier in traditional armor will find himself with a hole in his body and the bolt on the other side. Our healers can fix such a wound easily if it isn't fatal, but if the arrow still remains in the armor, as it does with heavier armor, the wound will be reopened every time the fellow moves. Unless the Khajiit strips off the armor and pulls out the arrow, which is what we had to do at the Battle of Zelinin. A difficult and time-consuming process in the heat of battle, to say the least.\"\nI asked him next, \"Is there a self portrait in the battle?\"\n\"Yes,\" Cherim said with another grin. \"You see the small figure of the Khajiit stealing the rings off the dead Wood Elf? His back is facing you, but he has a brown and orange striped tail like Cherim's. Cherim does not say that all stereotypes about the Khajiit are fair, but Cherim must sometimes acknowledge them.\"\nA self-deprecating style in self-portraiture is also evident in the tapestries of Ranulf Hook, the next artist interviewed in volume nineteen of this series."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/invitation-umbacano": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/invitation-umbacano", "description": "A letter from a collector of Ayleid antiquities, received at the beginning of the Miscellaneous quest \"The Collector\".", "author": "Umbacano", "title": "Invitation from Umbacano", "text": "As my servant no doubt has already explained, I am an avid collector of Ayleid antiquities. As such, your recent sale of a rare Ayleid statue piqued my interest. I am most eager to acquire more of these statues for my collection, and will be happy to remunerate you handsomely for your efforts.\nI would be pleased to welcome you to my home in the Imperial City, in order to discuss this matter in more detail, at your earliest convenience.\nI remain, most sincerely,\nUmbacano\nUmbacano Manor\nTalos Plaza District\nImperial City"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/jailors-letter": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/jailors-letter", "description": "Instruction for the Drothmeri Jailor. Found in the Mehrunes' Razor official plugin.", "author": "Commander Adrethi", "title": "Jailor's Letter", "text": "Vilnas -\nKeep searching for the writ that assassin carries. The patrolmen have searched the tunnels in hopes that he dumped it when he was found out, but he may carry it on his person yet. If that's the case, I shudder to think where it's hidden. Try sneaking in there while he's sleeping to search the cell.\nAnd by Nerevar, get to work building that second cell! I don't want to execute that assassin until we find out who he came for, and Sardova needs someplace to lock up the workers when they get out of line.\n- Commander Adrethi"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/jearls-orders": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/jearls-orders", "description": "Order from Ruma Camoran to Jearl, a Mythic Dawn spy in Bruma.", "author": "Ruma Camoran", "title": "Jearl's Orders", "text": "Jearl -\nThe Master was pleased to hear of your activities outside of Chorrol. The more gates that we open, the nearer we are to the glorious Cleansing.\nThe Master has chosen you and Saveri for a most crucial mission, a sign of your advancement through the ranks of the Chosen. We have learned that the Septim heir has gone to ground at Cloud Ruler Temple, the lair of the accursed Blades. The Master has made its destruction the top priority of the Order, and Lord Dagon has committed whatever resources are required.\nPending your report on the Septim's activities at Cloud Ruler Temple, and your assessment of Temple defenses and possible routes of escape, we plan to open a Great Gate in the open ground before Bruma as soon as possible.\nRemember: the first three Lesser Gates represent only the preliminary stages of Great Gate Deployment. Do not in any way compromise your cover in defense of these gates. New ones can be quickly and easily reopened. And once the Great Gate is opened, the fall of Bruma is assured. Cloud Ruler Temple cannot stand long after that, and the Septim will be caught like a rat in a trap.\nWe would welcome any further details you can offer concerning the Imperial agent who rescued Martin from Kvatch, but again, we caution you... do not risk a confrontation. This individual is not to be trifled with.\nThe Dawn is breaking,\nRuma Camoran"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/journal-claudius-arcadia": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/journal-claudius-arcadia", "description": "Claudius Arcadia is the man who prayed to the Night Mother, dealing for the life of Rufio. He's currently arrested and spending his days in Imperial Prison.", "author": "Claudius Arcadia", "title": "Journal of Claudius Arcadia", "text": "Entry 1: I've made up my mind. I don't care what it takes, I'll have my revenge! I've heard the stories about the Dark Brotherhood, about how they'll come to you if you perform some kind of ritual to their Night Mother. I don't know who or what the Night Mother is, and I don't give a damn! If I can do it, I will. I'll give the Dark Brotherhood anything they want, so long as they do what I can't...\nEntry 2: I've learned how to perform the ritual and have procured the necessary items. The bones and skull were easy enough to get, but the heart and skill were a bit more difficult. I'll make the preparations in the cellar.\nEntry 3: It worked! Last night I was visited by someone, a representative from the Dark Brotherhood! The Night Mother heard my prayers! The money was exchanged, and the man promised me I would have satisfaction. I don't know where he's hiding, and neither does the Dark Brotherhood, but as soon as he's located, Rufio will die!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/journal-lord-lovidicus": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/journal-lord-lovidicus", "description": "Lord Lovidicus is Agronak Gro-Malog's father, Arena Grand Champion. This journal proves that Vampires are fertile. Found during the Miscellaneous quest \"Origin Of The Gray Prince\".", "author": "Lord Lovidicus", "title": "Journal of the Lord Lovidicus", "text": "Entry 1. Beauty! Pure and sublime. That is the only way to accurately describe my love, the maiden gro-Malog. True, the Orcs of Tamriel are often vilified by the other citizens of the Empire, and rarely would they be considered a pleasure to look upon. So, is my maiden Luktuv a rare breed of Orc, unlike the rest of her kin in physical appearance? Nay. In fact, she is the perfect representative of her race, green skin, muscular frame and all. But beautiful she is, all the same. For who am I to judge? Who am I to criticize when so many would condemn my very existence? I can only hope my love is as understanding when she learns of my unique condition, for I have yet to reveal that most precious of secrets.\nEntry 2: Damn the politics of my station! Taxation and trade negotiations and meetings with disingenuous aristocrats -- it's sometimes enough to make me regret my birthright altogether. I've spent the latter half of my life hiding my identity, guarding my secret. But now I am faced with an even greater challenge, for if word were to get out that I have fallen in love with a servant -- and an Orc, no less -- I would be all but ruined! Such is the life of the Cyrodilic nobleman.\nEntry 3: Curse me for a coward, but I have not yet found the strength to tell my beloved Luktuv the truth. Perhaps it's for the best, for what benefit is there in her knowing? She would share all of my fears but none of my abilities. Her life would become one of doubt and uncertainty. Still, if she is to spend her remaining mortal days with me, she has the right to know the truth.\nEntry 4: Joy and exaltation! She is with child! My beloved Luktuv is carrying my child! The midwives predict a boy, and we have already settled on the name Agronak. In truth, I never realized such miracles were even possible, but the Divines have granted us their blessing, and so shall it be. I must wonder, of course, if my dear child will share in my Dark Gift. Only time will tell.\nEntry 5: Tonight the truth will be revealed. I will tell my beloved Luktuv everything. She will know who and what I am, and we will decide how best to raise the precious child that grows in her womb.\nEntry 6: Betrayal! Foul and loathsome harlot! How dare Luktuv question my motives, question the love I have for my own unborn child! When she learned the truth, that I, the Lord Lovidicus, am no longer human, that I have walked Tamriel as a vampire for the past two hundred years, how quickly she judged me! So, I am a monster, am I? Perhaps I should have proven her right. Perhaps I should have drained her dry when I had the chance! But I loved her, as deeply as a man has ever loved a woman, and I wanted nothing more than to bring our baby into this world and embrace my new role as father. Perhaps when Luktuv has come to her senses -- for she refuses to come out of her room -- we can have rational discourse about our future. I do not, however, retain much hope.\nEntry 7: Imprisoned! Imprisoned in my own home! While I slept, Luktuv locked me in my own private chambers. She called to me through the doors, told me of her plan to escape with our unborn child. She means to keep my baby from me! When I get free, I will find the traitorous whore and rip the child from her very womb!\nEntry 8: Two weeks. Two weeks have passed since Luktuv locked me in my quarters. Try as I might, I cannot free myself. I cannot breach the doors! If I don't feed soon, I feel I will go mad.\nEntry 9: Food blood blood blood blood I need it I need blood need blood\nEntry 10: ..."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/knahaten-flu-confirmed": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/knahaten-flu-confirmed", "description": "The first cases of Knahaten Flu in a Kothringi village", "author": "Shaman Chirah", "title": "Knahaten Flu Confirmed", "text": "My worst fears are confirmed. Despite our isolation, Stillrise Village experienced its first outbreaks of Knahaten Flu. It began with the traders' twin apprentices, Abaaleb and Sana, a day after their return from Mud Tree Village.\nAbaaleb succumbed first. His master noticed a bright, red rash on the boy's forearms. Sana's sickness went undetected for another day, until her mother found her coughing up blood.\nBoth apprentices passed within two days of discovering their first symptoms. Now, many of us show the signs. I've noticed an ache in my joints. It feels as though penning this short entry was like writing a volume.\nNone of the usual treatments have any effect. I begin to think the ancient shrine may be our only hope, but Chieftain Suhlak resists. Perhaps War Chief Helushk can convince her.\nShaman Chirah\n\t13th of Sun's Dawn, 2E 561"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/knightfall": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/knightfall", "description": "The legend of Garridan Stalrous, as told by Jaren Aethelweald. Required in the Miscellaneous quest \"Tears Of The Savior\".", "author": "Kirellian Odreniu, Editor", "title": "Knightfall", "text": "Excerpt from \"Knightfall,\" Tales of Heroism and Chivalry\nThe Legend of Garridan Stalrous as told by Jaren Aethelweald, Squire and Friend\nAnd so it came to pass, that on the first month before the harvest, nary a decent crop could be found in the drought-ridden fields of Farmantle Glens. Twenty-seven families, their bellies sunken and empty, turned to their lordship who had been so fair to them in hard times before. The man ruled not with an iron gauntlet, but with the soft touch of silken kindness: my lord, Garridan Stalrous, Knight-Errant of Farmantle Glens.\nI watched sadly as my lord Garridan looked out at the withered fields before him from his meager stone keep and cursed the luck that tainted the skies and stopped the rain from falling. The families in his charge would not last the winter, which was always bitter and cold in the northern reaches of the Jerals. His own supply of grain was already picked clean; there was barely enough to sustain him for the months ahead. I know if my lord had the food there, he would have shared it gladly, allowing his charges to pay him back in whatever time or manner they could afford... and in some cases, to those in dire need, give it to them without costs. Something had to be done; and it had to be done soon.\nSparing not a drake, Garridan paid for the best sages he could find and used the rest to buy as much surplus grain as he could wrest from the neighboring domains. A month passed, and nothing surfaced. Winter's icy tendrils would soon creep across Farmantle Glens, causing the green to disappear from the landscape. Families would have to huddle close to their hearths, keeping warm and rationing the bits of food Garridan had given them. I could see Garridan's patience, which was immense mind you, wearing thin. He told me he'd considered selling his keep... his belongings... anything to keep his people alive. If only the harvest would yield more, they'd be saved.\nThen, as if Mara herself had answered his prayers, a sage entered Garridan's keep with the answer. Legend told of a vessel of sorts from which water would pour endlessly known as the Everflow Ewer. Some said the Divines themselves created it; others thought perhaps a powerful sorcerer enchanted it. Wherever it was from, Garridan knew this could be his chance. Following the directions from the sage, my lord and I set out to recover the Ewer and rid Farmantle Glens of the drought.\nIt took days to reach the entrance to the place. After we passed through a winding passage, we finally came to an odd door covered in mystical symbols. As the sage instructed, my lord touched some Refined Frost Salts to the door. The ancient stone door opened, and we proceeded into the glade. A cave cut into a hillside led into a small glade of trees. In the center of the glade, flanked by two standing stones, was a stone altar. On the altar, seemingly glowing with inner light was the Ewer. Cut from crystal, the vessel was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen. Water filled it to the very top, and as legends held, would never diminish as the liquid decanted from it. Eager to return to his domain, Garridan grasped the Ewer in hand.\nSuddenly, the ground trembled as though the mountains themselves were angered. The sky changed from sunlit blue to dreary grey. Even the ring of trees forming the glade seemed to bend away slightly from the altar, as if fearing what was to come. Then, with no warning, one of the standing stones cracked and exploded! My gaze froze and my heart fell as I looked upon the guardian of the glade. A huge creature seemingly cut from the very same crystal as the Ewer stepped forth and growled menacingly at my master. The air around it became very cold, as if it was born from the glaciers of the northern mountains. This was a being of ice... living breathing ice!\nGarridan shouted at me to run as he drew his blade. Still clutching the Ewer in one hand, he gave a mighty swing at the ice creature. When the forged steel struck home, it gave a resounding ring and merely chipped the beast as a spike would when driven against the hardest of rocks. Never showing fear, my lord swung again and again, each blow being harmlessly deflected away. Then, a single and mighty blow from the ice creature knocked my lord down. His blade slid away, and he lay on the forest floor looking up into the crystalline eyes of his death. The ice creature raised its arm again for the fatal blow, and brought it down hard at Garridan's prone form.\nI don't know why he did it. Perhaps it was instinct, perhaps a moment's lapse in judgment. But my lord lifted the Everflow Ewer defensively as he got up to a kneeling position. The blow from the creature connected with the vessel, creating an ear-splitting crash. There was the sound of water splashing and a horrible cracking noise as the sundered pitcher sent waves of freezing water in all directions. Even as I watched, the liquid covered the ice creature and my poor master. They seemed suspended in place as if frozen solid. At the time, I didn't know how true my thoughts had become. As I watched in horror, they were encased in a tomb of pure ice. I could see Garridan's face as the ice overtook him, and I could swear he was crying. A few of his tears froze and fell to the ground at his feet like beautiful blue crystals. He knew he'd failed his mission. His people would starve, and he was responsible. Frost and ice covered everything in the glade now... the trees, the rocks, the soil... everything.\nIt was then I became aware that the very air around me began to freeze. It was like a cold winter's night at first, and then it rapidly became worse. The cold was so bad, it turned into a sort of frozen heat... it began to burn. My throat became tight and breathing became difficult. I began to lose feeling in my arms and legs, and my vision was beginning to blur. I had to escape this icy glade and tell Garridan's story. It was the least I could do for such a noble man. With every bit of strength I could muster, I ran from the frostfire and back through the cave. I barely escaped with my life.\nMy journey back to the domain of Garridan was a sad one. My heart was heavy, my mind clouded with misery. He was a good man, the greatest I'd ever known. To die like that was no way for such an honorable knight to end his life. When I finally reached the outskirts of Farmantle Glen, the farmers were waiting for me. I was ready to tell them the sad news, but they raised a cheer of great joy! They told me that only a week ago, a strange, bluish glowing rain fell on their fields and that the next day the crops began to grow as if there had never been a drought. A week ago was exactly when my master was frozen in that horrible glade... and his tears froze like bluish raindrops frozen in time! I looked up at the heavens and the twinkling lights suddenly gave me great comfort. I thanked Mara, and headed home."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/legend-krately-house": {"game": ["Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/legend-krately-house", "description": "A frightening play about a haunted house.", "author": "Baloth-Kul", "title": "Legend of the Krately House", "text": "DRAMATIS PERSONAE\nTHEOPHON - Imperial man, 24, thief\nNIRIM - Bosmer man, 20, thief \nSILANUS KRATELY - Imperial man, 51, merchant\nDOMINITIA KRATELY - His wife, 40\nAELVA KRATELY - Their daughter, 16\nMINISTES KRATELY - Their son, 11\n\nSetting: The famous haunted Krately House in Cheydinhal, first and second floors, requiring a stage with a second story where most of the action takes place.\nThe stage is dark.\nThere is a CREAKING noise, footsteps on the stairs, the sound of a man breathing, but still we see nothing.\nThen, a voice calls from above.\nAELVA (off stage)\nHello?  Is someone down there?\nMINESTES (off stage)\nShould I wake up Papa?\nAELVA   (off stage)\nNo...  Maybe I was imagining it...\nA light from a lantern can be seen coming from the upstairs, and the slim form of a beautiful young girl, AELVA, descends the staircase at stage right, nervously.\nFrom the light of the lantern, we can see that we are looking at the second floor of a dusty old house, with a set of stairs going up and another one going down on stage right.  An unlit stone fireplace sits at stage left.  A table, a locked chest, and a wardrobe complete the furnishings.\nMINESTES (off stage)\nAelva, what are you doing?\nAELVA\nI'm just making certain...  Go back to bed, Minestes.\nAs the girl passes the table, we see a Bosmer NIRIM slide gracefully up from behind and around her field of sight, carefully avoiding the pool of light.  She doesn't appear to see him as he creeps closer to her, his footsteps silent on the hard wooden floor.\nWhen he is almost on her, there is a sudden CRASH from down below.  This causes the Bosmer to leap away, hiding again behind the table.\nThe girl does not seem to notice the sound, and Nirim, peeking out from behind the table, watches her.\nMINESTES (off stage)\nFound anything?\nAELVA\nNo.  Probably just my imagination, but I'm just going to check downstairs.\nMINESTES (off stage)\nIs there a fire?  I'm cold...\nAelva looks towards the long dead fireplace, and so does Nirim.\nAELVA\nOf course there is.  Can't you hear it crackling?\nMINESTES (off stage)\nI guess so...\nAelva suddenly jumps as if she heard something which we do not.  She turns her attention down the stairs to the first floor.\nAELVA\nHello?\nAelva, lantern ahead of her, begins the descent.  She does not seem to notice as an Imperial, THEOPHON, carrying a big bag of loot and a lantern of his own, calmly walks up right past her.\nTHEOPHON\nExcuse me, young lady.  Just robbing you.\nAelva continues her slow, nervous walk downstairs, which we can now see thanks to her light.  She looks around the low-ceilinged, thoroughly looted room as the action continues upstairs\nTheophon's lantern provides the dim light for the second floor.\nTHEOPHON\nWhy are you hiding, Nirim?  I told you.  They can't see you, and they can't hear you.\nNirim sheepishly steps out from behind the table.\nNIRIM\nI can't believe they're all ghosts.  They seem so alive.\nTHEOPHON\nThat's what spooks them superstitians.  But they ain't going to hurt us.  Just reliving the past, the way ghosts do.\nNIRIM\nThe night they was murdered.\nTHEOPHON\nStop thinking about that or you'll get yourself all willy spooked.  I got all kinds of stuff on the first floor - silver candlesticks, silk, even some gold...  What'd you get?\nNirim holds up his empty bag.\nNIRIM\nSorry, Theophon, I was just about to start...\nTHEOPHON\nGet to work on that chest then.  That's what you're here for.\nNIRIM\nOh yeah.  I got the talent, you got the ideas...  and the equipment.  You refilled that lantern before we came here, right?  I can't work in the dark...\nTHEOPHON\nDon't worry, Nirim.  I promise.  No surprises.\nNirim jumps when a young boy, MINESTES, appears on the stairs.  The lad creeps down quietly and goes to the fire.  He acts as if he's stoking a fire, feeding it wood, poking at the embers, though there is no wood, no poker, no fire.\nTHEOPHON\nWe got all the time in the world, friend.  No one comes near this house.  If they sees our lantern light, they'll just assume it's the ghosts.\nNirim begins picking the lock on a chest of drawers, while Theophon opens a wardrobe and begins going through the contents, which are mostly rotten cloth.\nNirim is distracted, looking at the young boy.\nNIRIM\nHey, Theophon, how long ago did they die?\nTHEOPHON\nAbout five years ago.  Why you asking?\nNIRIM\nJust making conversation.\nAs they talk, Aelva, downstairs, finally having searched the small room, acts as if she's locking the front door.\nTHEOPHON\nDidn't I already tell you the story?\nNIRIM\nNo, you just said, hey, I know a place we can burgle where no one's at home, except for the ghosts.  I thought you was joking.\nTHEOPHON\nNo joking, partner.  Five years ago, the Kratelys lived here.  Nice people.  You seen the daughter Aelva and the boy Minestes.  The parents were Silenus and Dominitia, if I remembers rightly.\nNirim successfully unlocks the chest and begins rummaging through it.  While he does so, Ministes gets up from the 'fire,' apparently warmed up, and stands at the top of the stairs down.\nMINISTES\nHey!\nThe boy's voice causes Nirim, Theophon, and Aelva to all jump.\nAELVA\nWhy aren't you in bed?  I'm just going to check the cellar.\nMINISTES\nI'll wait for you.\nNIRIM\nSo, what happened?\nTHEOPHON\nOh, they was rip to piece.  Halfway eaten.  No one ever knew who or what did it neither.  Though there was rumors...\nAelva opens the door to the cellar, and goes in.  The light disappears from the first floor.  Ministes patiently waits at the top of the stairs, humming a little song to himself.\nNIRIM\nWhat kind of rumors?\nTheophon, having exhausted the possibilities in the wardrobe, helps Nirim sort through the gold in the chest.\nTHEOPHON\nPretty good haul, eh?  Oh, the rumors.  Well, they says old lady Dominitia was a witch before she married Silenus.  Gave it all up for him, to be a good wife and mother.  But the witches didn't take too kindly to it.  They found her and sent some kind of creature here, late at night.  Something horrible, right out of a nightmare.\nMINISTES\nAelva?  Aelva, what's taking you so long?\nNIRIM\nYe Gods, are we going to watch them get killed, right in front of us?\nMINISTES\nAelva!\nSILENUS (off stage)\nWhat's happening down there?  Stop playing around, boy, and go to sleep.\nMINISTES\nPapa!\nMinistes, frightened, runs to the stairs up.  Along the way, he bumps into Nirim, who falls down.  The boy does not seem to notice but continues on up to the dark third floor sleeping porch, off-stage.\nTHEOPHON\nAre you all right?\nNirim jumps to his feet, white-faced.\nNIRIM\nNever mind that!  He touched me?!  How can a ghost touch me?!\nTHEOPHON\nWell...  Of course they can.  Some anyhow.  You heard of ancestor spirits guarding tombs, and that ghost of the king they had in Daggerfall.  If they don't touch you, what good are they? Why you so surprised?  You thought he'd move right through you, I figger.\nNIRIM\nYes!\nSILENUS, the man of the house, comes down the stairs, cautiously.\nDOMINITIA (off stage)\nDon't leave us alone, Silenus!  We're coming with you!\nSILENUS\nWait, it's dark.  Let me get some light.\nSilenus goes to the cold fireplace, sticks his hand forward, and suddenly in his arm, there's a lit, burning torch.  Nirim scrambles back, horrified.\nNIRIM\nI felt that! I felt the heat of the fire!\nSILENUS\nCome on down.  It's all right.\nMinistes leads his mother DOMINITIA down the stairs where they join Silenus.\nTHEOPHON\nI don't know why you so scared, Nirim.  I must say I'm disappointed.  I didn't figger you for a supersitionalist.\nTheophon goes for the stairs up.\nNIRIM\nWhere are you going?\nTHEOPHON\nOne more floor to search.\nNIRIM\nCan't we just go?\nNirim watches as the family of three, following Silenus and his torch, walk down towards the first floor.\nSILENUS\nAelva?  Say something, Aelva.\nTHEOPHON\nThere, you see?  If you don't like ghosts, third floor's the place to be.  All four of 'em are downstairs now.\nTheophon goes upstairs, off-stage, but Nirim stands at the top of the stairs, looking down at the family.  The three look around the first floor as Aelva did, finally turning towards the cellar door.\nNIRIM\nAll...  four?\nSilenus opens the cellar door.\nSILENUS\nAelva?  What are you doing down in the cellar, girl?\nDOMINITIA\nYou see her?\nNIRIM\nAll four, Theophon?\nSILENUS\nI think so...  I see someone...  Hello?\nNIRIM\nWhat if there's five ghosts, Theophon?!\nSilenus thrusts his torch in through the cellar door, and it is suddenly extinguished.  The first floor falls into darkness.\nMinistes, Dominitia, and Silenus SCREAM, but we cannot see what is happening to them.\nNirim is nearly hysterical, screaming along with them.  Theophon runs downstairs from the third floor.\nTHEOPHON\nWhat is it?!\nNIRIM\nWhat if there is five ghosts?!  The man, the wife, the girl, the boy...  and what killed them?!\nTHEOPHON\nAnd what killed them?\nNIRIM\nAnd what if it's a ghost that can touch us too?!  Just like the others!\nFrom the darkened first floor, there is a CREAK of a door opening, though we cannot see it.  And then, there is a heavy, clawed footfall.  One step at a time, coming towards the stairs.\nTHEOPHON\nDon't get so upset.  If it can touch us, what'd make you think it'd wants to?  All the others didn't even notice we was here.\nTheophon's lantern dims slightly.  He adjusts it carefully.\nNIRIM\nOnly...  only what if it ain't a ghost, Theophon.  What if it's the same creature, and it's still alive...  and it ain't ate nothing since five years ago...\nThe footsteps begin the slow, heavy stomp up the stairs, though whatever it is, we cannot see it.  Nirim notices the light beginning to dim from the lantern despite Theophon frantically trying to fix it.\nNIRIM\nYou said you refilled the lamp!\nThe light goes out entirely, and the stage is filled with darkness.\nNIRIM\nYou promised me you refilled the lamp!\nMore footsteps and a horrible, horrible HOWL.  The men SCREAM.\nThe curtain falls.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-branwen": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-branwen", "description": "This is a letter from Branwen to her father, Owyn.", "author": "Branwen", "title": "Letter from Branwen", "text": "Owyn,\nI know you don't believe me. I know you think I'm just some stupid kid who doesn't know what she's talking about. But the truth is the truth -- you ARE my father.\nOne night with a scullery maid is all it takes. Or maybe your father deserted you, too, and never taught you the basic lessons of life? Anyway, the past is long forgotten. What matters now is that you come to terms with the truth. I am your daughter, and I will join the Arena as a combatant.\nMaybe someday, when I'm Grand Champion, you'll see that we have the same blood, the same tenacity. Until then day comes, I'll train every moment of every day. All I want, all I ever wanted, was to make you proud.\nYour loving daughter,\nBranwen"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-home": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-home", "description": "A letter from the Drothmeri Forgemaster's apprentice to his lover. Found in the Mehrunes' Razor official plugin.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Letter Home", "text": "Courier's Notice\n\tConveyance via:\n\tNarsis\n\tBalfalls\n\tVivec\n\tSuran\n\tPersonal Correspondence\n\tOrigin withheld\nI miss you more with each passing night. My only comfort is knowing that the wages I'm earning now will ensure our comfort when I return. I couldn't believe the pay this lunatic was offering, and I doubt we would have followed him all the way to Cyrodiil otherwise. The fool thinks he'll overthrow the Empire, Vaermina take him! I figure we'll end up deserting soon, just as soon as we've gotten as much pay as we can without actually following this addled madman into battle.\nWe've hardly crossed the border, but already I can tell you: Cyrodiil is an awful place. We have nothing but iron to work with. There's no art to iron armor. I tried using the bones of beasts killed in the local forest, but they are brittle and won't bear the force of the hammer.\nEven with decent materials, this would be a dull post. We must be a mile underground and a league from civilization. I don't envy the courier who carries this letter! I pass the time in conversation with the other apprentice. We always seem to have a good laugh at the expense of the Forgemaster; in private, of course.\nI can't wait to see your family home in Suran. I've never actually been to Vvardenfell; I've heard much of it's charm. I'm pleased and suprised to hear that you've begun saving for our own home already. You say you're working for somebody named Desele? The pay must be very good, but when I return you won't need to keep it up. You never mentioned, by the way, what sort of work you're doing.\nI'm still not sure how this crazy wizard is paying wages for us and his army of mercenaries and laborers. We don't use half the ore mined here for smithing, so I figure he must sell the surplus iron, but I see no evidence of it, nor do I think it would produce such a fortune. I think he's Telvanni, perhaps folk in the area near you have heard if he's from wealthy stock?\nI fear I must conclude, my love; the forgemaster is demanding another parcel of iron-shod boots. How many more pairs could we possibly need?"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-sheogorath": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-sheogorath", "description": "A letter from Relmyna, the creator of Gatekeeper, reporting about the situation in the Fringe and most importantly the status of Gatekeeper and its weakness.", "author": "Relmyna", "title": "Letter to Sheogorath", "text": "My beloved Sheogorath,\nForgive me, it's been so long I can't remember the last time I've written.\nI can only hope these letters reach you. I know your duties keep you busy, but any message from you would be welcome, even if it is given through that fool, Haskill. If it is not possible, fear not, my love is constant. I can remember the day you brought me to your realm as if it were yesterday. But I miss you terribly.\nYou should see the supplicants mucking about in the Fringe these days. A few I think will be ready soon -- the rest, who can say? If it weren't blasphemous, I might venture to say that the world has been slowly going sane. I can almost feel in my bones a chilling presence approaching, like a devouring emptiness. That does not bode well, but I trust in my Lord's power to keep our spirits well nourished from his bounteous showers of inspiration.\nOur child continues to destroy those pesky adventurers who come seeking treasure and glory.\nI have been sojourning here in Passwall, tutoring Nanette Don as an apprentice. She is one of the hopefuls that I believe will bloom soon. In the meanwhile, I can visit our child -- I go see him every night around midnight, when the world is quiet, when it belongs to memory and imagination. He is strong and powerful like his father. Would that you visited us some time. It's almost cruel, the way you keep aloof from me. Sometimes I can't even bear to look at him, because I can remember when we created him, your glistening body in the pool, lovingly blending the components of flesh that would become our child -- and afterward you tortured me in your sweet embrace. But now when I visit him, I can't help but weep like a little girl. I know how unlike me it seems... I just can't help it.\nTo make matters worse, it seems my tears burn my poor creature. It agitates that Daedric soul bound in his body, threatening to sever the warding magic weaved into him. I didn't realize how badly that soul would seek release from the shell I grew in my gardens. But the flesh is pure. Perfect! Perhaps it is my own tears that hold the imperfection...\nBut I shouldn't be bothering you with these petty concerns. Our child, your Gatekeeper, stands guard over the Gates of Madness, mighty and powerful. No harm shall come to him.\nYours truly and forever,\nRelmyna"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/life-uriel-septim-vii": {"game": ["Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/life-uriel-septim-vii", "description": "A biography of Uriel Septim VII, from the start of his reign to just prior to his death.", "author": "Rufus Hayn", "title": "Life of Uriel Septim VII", "text": "A Short Life of\n\tUriel Septim VII\nby\n\tRufus Hayn\n3E 368-389: Strategist and Conciliator\nThe early decades of Emperor Uriel's life were marked by aggressive expansion and consolidation of Imperial influence throughout the empire, but especially in the East, in Morrowind and Black Marsh, where the Empire's power was limited, Imperial culture was weak, and native customs and traditions were strong and staunchly opposed to assimilation. During this period Uriel greatly benefitted from the arcane support and shrewd council of his close advisor, the Imperial Battlemage, Jagar Tharn.\nThe story of Uriel's marriage to the Princess Caula Voria is a less happy tale. Though she was a beautiful and charming woman, and greatly loved and admired by the people, the Empress was a deeply unpleasant, arrogant, ambitious, grasping woman. She snared Uriel Septim with her feminine wiles, but Uriel Septim thereafter soon regretted his mistake, and was repelled by her. They heartily detested one another, and went out of their ways to hurt one another. Their children were the victims of this unhappy marriage.\nWith his agile mind and vaunting ambition, Uriel soon outstripped his master in the balanced skills of threat and diplomacy. Uriel's success in co-opting House Hlaalu as an advance guard of Imperial culture and economic development in Morrowind is a noteworthy example. However, Uriel also grew in pride and self-assurance. Jagar Tharn fed Uriel's pride, and hiding behind the mask of an out-paced former master counselor, Tharn purchased the complete trust that led finally to Uriel's betrayal and imprisonment in Oblivion and Tharn's secret usurpation of the Imperial throne.\n3E 389-399: Betrayed and Imprisoned\nLittle is known of Uriel's experience while trapped in Oblivion. He says he remembers nothing but an endless sequence of waking and sleeping nightmares. He says he believed himself to be dreaming, and had no notion of passage of time. Publicly, he long claimed to have no memory of the dreams and nightmares of his imprisonment, but from time to time, during the interviews with the Emperor that form the basis of this biography, he would relate details of nightmares he had, and would describe them as similar to the nightmares he had when he was imprisoned in Oblivion. He seemed not so much unwilling as incapable of describing the experience.\nBut it is clear that the experience changed him. In 3E 389 he was a young man, full of pride, energy, and ambition. During the Restoration, after his rescue and return to the throne, he was an old man, grave, patient, and cautious. He also became conservative and pessimistic, where the policies of his early life were markedly bold, even rash. Uriel accounts for this change as a reaction to and revulsion for the early teachings and counsel of Jagar Tharn. However, Uriel's exile in Oblivion also clearly drained and wasted him in body and spirit, though his mind retained the shrewd cunning and flexibility of his youth.\nThe story of Tharn's magical impersonation of the emperor, the unmasking of Tharn's imposture by Queen Barenziah, and the roles played by King Eadwyre, Ria Silmane, and her Champion in assembling the Staff of Chaos, defeating the renegade Imperial Battlemage Jagar Tharn, and restoring Uriel to the throne, is treated at length in Stern Gamboge's excellent three-Volume BIOGRAPHY OF BARENZIAH. There is no reason to recount that narrative here. Summarized briefly, Jagar Tharn's neglect and mismanagement of Imperial affairs resulted in a steady decline in the Empire's economic prosperity, allowed many petty lords and kings to challenge the authority of the Empire, and permitted strong local rulers in the East and the West to indulge in open warfare over lands and sovereign rights.\n3E 399-415: Restoration, the Miracle of Peace, and Vvardenfell\nDuring the Restoration, Uriel Septim turned from the aggressive campaign of military intimidation and diplomatic accommodation of his earlier years, and relied instead on clandestine manipulation of affairs behind the scenes, primarily through the agencies of the various branches of the Blades. A complete assessment of the methods and objectives of this period must wait until after the Emperor's death, when the voluminous diaries archived at his country estate may be opened to the public, and when the Blades no longer need to maintain secrecy to protect the identities of its agents.\nTwo signal achievements of this period point to the efficacy of Uriel's subtle policies: the 'Miracle of Peace' (also popularly known as 'The Warp in the West') that transformed the Iliac Bay region from an ruly assortment of warring petty kingdoms into the well-ordered and peaceful modern counties of Hammerfell, Sentinel, Wayrest, and Orsinium, and the colonization of Vvardenfell, presided over by the skillful machinations of King Helseth of Morrowind and Lady Barenziah, the Queen-Mother, which brought Morrowind more closely into the sphere of Imperial influence.\n3E 415-430: The Golden Peace, King Helseth's Court, and the Nine in the East\n\tFollowing the 'Miracle of Peace' (best described in Per Vetersen's DAGGERFALL: A MODERN HISTORY), the Empire entered a period of peace and prosperity comparable to the early years of Uriel's reign. With the Imperial Heartland and West solidly integrated into the Empire, Uriel was able to turn his full attention to the East -- to Morrowind.\nExploiting conflicts at the heart of Morrowind's monolithic Tribunal religion and the long-established Great House system of government, and taking advantage of the terrible threat that the corrupted divine beings at the heart of the Tribunal religion presented to the growing colonies on Vvardenfell, Uriel worked through shadowy agents of the Blades and through the court of King Helseth in Mournhold to shift the center of political power in Morrowind from the Great House councils to Helseth's court, and took advantage of the collapse of the orthodox Tribunal cults to establish the Nine Divines as the dominant faiths in Hlaalu and Vvardenfell Districts.\nHasphat Anabolis's treatment of the establishment of the Nine in the East in his four-volume LIFE AND TIMES OF THE NEREVARINE is comprehensive; however, he fails to resolve the central mystery of this period -- how much did Uriel know about the prophecies of the Nerevarine, and how did he learn of their significance? The definitive resolution of this and other mysteries must await the future release of the Emperor's private papers, or a relenting of the Blades' strict policies of secrecy concerning their agents.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/light-armor-repair": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/light-armor-repair", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Light Armor Repair", "text": "There are two classes of light armor, metallic and non-metallic. Chainmail, Elven, Mithril and Glass are all examples of metallic light armor. You may be surprised to think that Glass can be thought of as metallic, but appearances are deceiving. What we call Glass is nothing like the windows panes you see in houses. The greenish material is far stronger and has a much higher melting point.\nNon-metallic armors are Fur and Leather. For these armor types, the hammer is less useful than the sewing kit. A sharp awl is necessary to restitch the thick material. Holes frequently have to be patched with spare material. The rule of thumb is once you have to patch a patch, it's time to throw out the armor and get a new set.\nMetallic armor will occasionally need a patch. Usually it can be repaired by hammering the torn pieces back together. Elven and Mithril will repair better when heated. Chainmail is usually malleable enough to work on cold.\nThe trickiest of all is Glass. Hammer blows struck across the grain run the risk of shattering the armor. Whenever possible, allign the hammer blows with the grain. In extreme cases, place the armor in tub of oil. Place the anvil so that the affected piece is on the anvil, but just under the oil. Vibrations from the hammer blows are absorbed by the oil and less likely to shatter the Glass."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/liminal-bridges": {"game": ["Oblivion", "Skyrim", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/liminal-bridges", "description": "This document provides \"hypothetical\" instructions on how to travel between Mundus and Oblivion using sigil stones.", "author": "Camilonwe of Alinor", "title": "Liminal Bridges", "text": "Liminal Bridges\n\tA Discourse On The Theory and Praxis\n\tof Travelling Between Mundus and Oblivion\nby\n\tCamilonwe of Alinor\nTransliminal passage of quickened objects or entities without the persistent agency of hyperagonal media is not possible, and even if possible, would result in instantaneous retromission of the transported referents. Only a transpontine circumpenetration of the limen will result in transits of greater than infinitessimal duration.\nThough other hyperagonal media may exist in theory, the only known transliminal artifact capable of sustained transpontine circumpenetration is the sigil stone. A sigil stone is a specimen of pre-Mythic quasi-crystalline morpholith that has been transformed into an extra-dimensional artifact through the arcane inscription of a daedric sigil. Though some common morpholiths like soul gems may be found in nature, the exotic morpoliths used to make sigil stones occur only in pocket voids of Oblivion, and cannot be prospected or harvested without daedric assistance.\nTherefore, since both the morpholiths and the daedric sigils required for hyperagonal media cannot be obtained without traffic and commerce with Daedra Lords, it is necessary that a transliminal mechanic cultivate a working knowledge of conjuration -- though purpose-built enchantments may be substituted if the mechanic has sufficient invocatory skill. Traffic and commerce with Daedra Lords is an esoteric but well-established practice, and lies outside the compass of this treatise. [1]\nPresuming a sigil stone has been acquired, the transliminal mechanic must first prepare the morpholith to receive the daedric sigil.\nLet the mechanic prepare a chamber, sealed against all daylight and disturbances of the outer air, roofed and walled with white stone and floored with black tiles. All surfaces of this chamber must be ritually purified with a solution of void salts in ether solvent.\nA foursquare table shall be placed in the center of the room, with a dish to receive the morpholith. Four censers shall be prepared with incense compounded from gorvix and harrada. On the equinox, the mechanic shall then place the morpolith in the dish and intone the rites of the Book of Law, beginning at dawn and continuing without cease until the sunset of the same day.\nThe mechanic may then present the purified morpholith to the Daedra Lord for his inscription. Once inscribed with the Daedra Lord's sigil, the morpholith becomes a true sigil stone, a powerful artifact that collects and stores arcane power -- similar in many respects to a charged soul gem, but of a much greater magnitude. And it is this sigil stone that is required to provide the tremendous arcane power necessary to sustain the enchantment that supports the transpontine circumpenetration of the limen.\nTo open a gate to Oblivion, the mechanic must communicate directly, by spell or enchantment, with the Daedra Lord who inscribed the sigil stone in question. The Daedra Lord and the mechanic jointly invoke the conjurational charter [2], and the mechanic activates the charged sigil stone, which is immediately transported through the liminal barrier to the spot where its sigil was inscribed, thus opening a temporary portal between Mundus and Oblivion. This portal may only remain open for a brief period of time, depending on the strength of the liminal barrier at the chosen spots, several minutes being the longest ever reported, so the usefulness of such a gate is quite limited.\n[1] Interested students are invited to consult the works of Albrecht Theophannes Bombidius and Galerion The Mystic for the fundaments of this discipline.\n\t[2] Recommended examples of the conjurational charter may be found in Therion's Book of Most Arcane Covenants or Ralliballah's Eleven Ritual Forms.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lists-candidates": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lists-candidates", "description": "Both the original and the fake lists. The original list's author is the Commander. Found in the Thieves Guild quest \"Taking Care Of Lex\".", "author": "Commander of the Imperial Watch and the Gray Fox", "title": "Lists of Candidates", "text": "Original List of Candidates\nItius Hayn, loyal but not too bright - my personal recommendation\nCarmalo Truiand, smart but inexperienced - a good second choice\nHieronymus Lex, overly fanatical - not recommended\nAudens Avidius, questionable morals - not recommended\nForged List of Candidates\nHieronymus Lex, eminently qualified - my personal recommendation\nCarmalo Truiand, smart but inexperienced - a good second choice\nItius Hayn, loyal but not too bright - unqualifed\nAudens Avidius, questionable morals - not recommended"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lithnilians-research-notes": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lithnilians-research-notes", "description": "These are Lithnilian's notes of his expedition into Bramblepoint Cave and his discovery of a Welkynd Stone.", "author": "Lithnilian", "title": "Lithnilian's Research Notes", "text": "As I entered the final chamber of Bramblepoint Cave, my eyes fell upon the goal of my expedition. In the inky blackness, the familiar aquamarine glow of the Welkynd Stone beckoned me in silent reverence. I was the first here in ages; evidenced by the thick layers of dust and debris strewn about. I don't remember how long I stood there, in awe of the beautiful crystals outside their natural environment.\nThey all said I was crazy; a fool, a buffoon. Crystals growing outside Ayleid ruins? Preposterous! I spent nearly a decade and all the money I had crossing Cyrodiil and exploring the many natural caves dotting her landscape. Then, on that fateful night, a Orc stumbled into the Imperial Bridge Inn where I happened to be drinking. He spouted off a line of nonsense about creatures that came out of the darkness, and I dismissed him as drunk, until he said something that gripped my heart with hope. He spoke of a light in the darkness \"as blue as the lady sea.\" Could it be the Welkynd Stones I was seeking? I had to know more. A few gold and many drinks later, the Orc told me he'd been in Bramblepoint Cave. As I made my way through the night to the cave, my mind was racing. The stories had to be true! The Ayleid culture had mastered the art of creating these crystalline structures and was just beginning to cultivate them outside of their underground communities when they disappeared from history. That meant one thing; with the proper materials, magic and research the Welkynd Stone could adapt to any environment. I had to get to Bramblepoint and study them before anyone else found them. This would be my mark on history, my moment to shine.\nAnd now, after climbing through the cave I've arrived at this chamber. After I finish this entry in my logbook, I'll have so much to do. So much to do indeed. This will be the day that Lithnilian will be remembered as the first to unlock the secrets of the Welkynd Stone.\n\n\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/liturgy-duelists": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/liturgy-duelists", "description": "Poems of the combatants.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Liturgy of the Duelists", "text": "We purge ourselves in the duel.\nSheogorath will mend us.\nWe purge our friends in duel.\nSheogorath will mend them.\nWe purge our enemies in war.\nSheogorath will abandon them.\nSpeak not of the Duelists\nSpeak only of the duel\nSpeak not of the combatant\nSpeak only of the combat"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/log-emma-may": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/log-emma-may", "description": "A log from the ship called the Emma May. Found during the miscellaneous quest \"The Forlorn Watchman\".", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Log of Emma May", "text": "...after taking aboard a few more crates in Leyawiin, Captain Laughton pointed the May north towards the Imperial City. We pleaded with him to wait until the next morn, but he insisted on continuing despite the look of the sky. Let it be known that this decision was his.\nTuesday 14 Last Seed 3E421\nWasn't long before the May hit the storm. It was just as we suspected, far too dangerous to sail through. With the last bit of daylight disappearing, Navigator Quillan spotted an inlet off the starboard bow. The Captain ordered the wheelman to steer towards the inlet in the hopes of getting the May out of Niben Bay. It was at that moment Gable gave me the signal and we struck. He'd always had an eye for the Captain's position, and with the chaos going on, this was a better time than any. Only that idiot, Blakeley was still loyal to the Captain, but the rest of us wanted the May. The fight lasted maybe a minute or two. Blakeley and Laughton knew that fighting was futile. We tossed them down below and now Captain Gable has set the May on course for the inlet. Hopefully we can get her secured for a while and then..."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lord-jarens-journal": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lord-jarens-journal", "description": "The journal of Lord Jaren, tells the story about the unfortunate fate of the Lainlyn rebel leader, Lord Kain.", "author": "Lord Jaren", "title": "Lord Jaren's Journal", "text": "I hope I have done well. I don't know. Perhaps I should tell the others. But what hope would they have then? I will have to tell Kelvyn, one day, when it is time for him to assume the lordship of the Castle. He, at least, may forgive me, as I am his father.\nI must collect my thoughts. Lord Kain returned last night, while the others were gone to the city. Thank Onsi it was only myself and Garridan -- faithful friend! I have sworn him to secrecy. He was only too happy to let me take responsibility for what we did.\nLater: I am more resolved than ever that the others must never find out. They must never know what Lord Kain has become, our liege lord -- we sacrificed everything for him!\nI will set it all down here, clearly, so that others may judge whether I have done right or wrong.\nWhen Garridan woke me to tell me that Lord Kain had arrived, I was overjoyed at first. Garridan's grim face soon warned me that all was not well, but he would not tell me what was wrong. Only that Lord Kain was accompanied by Arielle Jurard, a name to freeze the blood -- a Breton battlemage of sinister reputation in Lainlyn.\nLord Kain was waiting in the great hall with Arielle Jurard. He was heavily cloaked, unsurprisingly as it was a foul night, but I wondered why he had not removed it upon entering the castle.\nI greeted Lord Kain warmly, ignoring his companion for the moment, but when he spoke, it was only haltingly, and with a grating edge that I had never heard before. \"Where are the others?\" was all he said. Arielle Jurard quickly intervened, explaining that Lord Kain was unwell and needed a place to rest.\nBy the time Kain was abed, I was fully alarmed. He moved like an old man, and barely spoke in my presence. He left a foul odor in his wake, and remained cloaked until I left him in my chambers. I then demanded that Arielle explain herself, which she was only too willing to do. Her story was appalling. Apparently Kain had perished in battle shortly after we left, but by her arts she had returned him to life, and now planned to gather an army of Knights to resume the war against Baron Shrike. Her eyes glittered with pride as she told me all this -- she is so far gone in madness and evil that she actually believed that I would go along with her plan to install a necromatic puppet on the throne of Lainlyn! For all Baron Shrike's cruelties, he at least is mortal and will one day pass on the rule to an heir.\nSomehow I was able to hide my shock from Arielle Jurard, and pretended to agree to her plan. \"The other knights will need to have Lord Kain's... condition... explained to them before they see him,\" I told her. \"Otherwise the surprise of seeing him may lead some to regrettable actions.\" Thinking quickly, I suggested that she tend to Lord Kain in the grotto until I had prepared the others. She agreed without suspicion -- I wonder if her mind has become disordered by her evil practices -- my performance could not have been all that convincing.\nOnce they were inside, I shut them in, with Garridan's help. May Tu'whacca have mercy on Lord Kain's soul... As for Arielle Jurard, I wish nothing but endless night on her foul spirit.\nI've had workmen cover up the doorway. Only a few of the others were ever aware of that passage behind the training room -- luckily Kelvyn was not among them. I'll have to come up with some story to satisfy those who ask about the grotto -- or tell them the truth and face the consequences."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lord-kelvyns-will": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lord-kelvyns-will", "description": "A note and last will of Lord Kelvyn the last descendant of Lord Jaren of the Knight of the True Horn, while defending his Battlehorn Castle.", "author": "Lord Kelvyn", "title": "Lord Kelvyn's Will", "text": "Last Will and Testament\nI, Lord Kelvyn, son of Jaren, and a sworn Knight of the True Horn, upon my death do hereby bequeath Battlehorn Castle and all her lands, dependents, and chattels to the bearer of this document.\nSuch an unusual document requires some explanation. I resort to such measures out of desperation. I pen this while Battlehorn Castle lies besieged by a band of ruthless marauders, with little hope that any of us will survive. \"Besieged\" I say, although this petty battle would not have even rated a footnote in the great days of the Knights of the True Horn. We have fallen on hard times, indeed.\nI will entrust this document to my last faithful retainers, with instructions to destroy it in the last extremity, although I accept that I may have provided the means for my murderers to legally take the lordship of Battlehorn Castle. So be it.\nTo the new lord of Battlehorn Castle, whoever you are, know that you inherit a stronghold with a proud tradition. Battlehorn Castle was built by a remnant of the Knights of the True Horn who were exiled from our homeland of Lainlyn in Hammerfell. After a failed battle to dethrone Baron Shrike of Lainlyn, our leader, Lord Kain, ordered us to split up into as many small groups as possible until the time should come that he would recall us. My father was part of a group that settled here in Cyrodiil and built Battlehorn Castle as a refuge while they waited for Lord Kain's message... a message that never arrived.\nOver the years, all the Knights of our little band either gave up or passed on, all but one: my father Jaren. Since his untimely death, I have continued to hold Battlehorn Castle in the hope that someday we will hear from Lord Kain and our great exile will be at an end.\nI am afraid that the fortunes of Battlehorn Castle have fallen on hard times. What resources I had available I devoted to maintaining the castle itself -- its walls still stand strong and its hearths still provide warmth. Sadly, this came at great cost, and many of the items within its walls had to be sold in order to meet the enormous payments such maintenance begets. If you find yourself with the means to restore Battlehorn Castle to its former glory, a friend of my father's named Nilphas Omellian still holds many of the castle accoutrements in storage and on account. All that is required is to repay the Castle's debts to Nilphas, and I'm certain he'll happily return the items.\nMy final request for the new lord of Battlehorn Castle is to continue to uphold the proud traditions of the Knights of the True Horn, and to honor the memory of our brave service."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lost-histories-tamriel": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lost-histories-tamriel", "description": "This is a fascinating (and short) excerpt about the Aedric prophecies, more commonly known as the Elder Scrolls. Finding it is the objective of the Thieves Guild quest \"Lost Histories\".", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Lost Histories of Tamriel", "text": "In an earlier volume I discussed the vagaries and influences of the Aedric prophesies, more commonly known as the Elder Scrolls. Readers wanting to know the history behind the highly inappropriate appellation 'Aedric' can refer to chapters 23 through 27 of my previous work for a full explanation as well as the incompetencies of my good comrade Therin of Mournhold, who named them thus.\nThe influences of the archivally historic Elder Scrolls cannot be understated. Once a prophesy contained in an Elder Scroll is enacted in Tamriel, the text of the parchment becomes fixed. All readers ingest the same divine message. It becomes an historical document declaring the unequivocal truth of a past event. Scholars, even those as dim-witted as Therin of Mournhold, cannot argue the bias of the writer, like he has with my earlier works. Not even magic can affect the word written upon those ancient pages.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/love-letter-relfina": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/love-letter-relfina", "description": "This is a love letter from Relfina to her dearest Roland.", "author": "Relfina", "title": "Love Letter from Relfina  ", "text": "My dearest Roland,\nI cannot wait for you to return from Bravil. My heart swells with joy as I know we will once again soon be together. I yearn for you every night that I look beside me in my bed, and you are not there. How I wish I could have taken the journey with you, but I understand that these are dangerous times, and I would only slow you down. When you return, perhaps we should get away from the chaos of the Imperial City. Let's go back to that cabin in the woods. The one where you said we would always be safe from the world. The one where you took me in your arms and sang songs of moonlight and happiness. The one where you said \"I love you.\"\nHurry, my love,\nRelfina"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lynchs-instructions": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lynchs-instructions", "description": "These instructions for Lynch were to be destroyed after being read. Found during the Miscellaneous quest \"An Unexpected Voyage\".", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Lynch's Instructions", "text": "Lynch,\nYour instructions are to make your way to the bottom deck of the ship and secure all of the rooms there. Make sure you don't disturb Minx. She's to be left alone to do her assignment. Remember, after the ship is scuttled, we'll meet back in Bravil in three days. Make sure you destroy this note after you memorize it.\nS"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mazaddhas-crinkled-note": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mazaddhas-crinkled-note", "description": "Ma\u2019zaddha's note about Nelrene\u2019s sword, which is supposed to be used to kill Syl, the Duchess of Dementia.", "author": "Ma'zaddha", "title": "Ma'zaddha's Crinkled Note  ", "text": "I haven't got much time. She's coming for me.\nNelrene asked me to hold on to this sword. Said I should give it to Anya and have her do the deed, but Anya wouldn't. Now maybe it can find a better use as evidence. Syl will recognize it.\nMuurine is in charge. She's the one telling Nelrene what to do. If I'm not around, I hope this is enough evidence to bring her in.\nI hope I'm alive to see it."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/macabre-manifest": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/macabre-manifest", "description": "This is a manifest listing possessions from recently deceased people. Found during the Miscellaneous quest \"Unfriendly Competition\".", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Macabre Manifest", "text": "Recently Deceased\nFerdelus Wagariun - Imperial City\nQuilted Doublet\nGreen Silk Pants\nGold Trimmed Shoes\nGold Ring\nK'sirr - Cheydinhal\nGreen and Blue Outfit\nGreen Velvet Shoes\nSilver Amulet with Blue Stone\nSilver Ring\nNodur Cloud-Seeker - Bruma\nFine Silk Robe\nSilk Shoes\nFine Ashen Cane with Inlaid Copper\nGold Ring\nNodaria Wythel - Bravil\nBlue Dress\nBlue Suede Shoes\nFine Silver Necklace\nGold Ring with Polished Stones\nGold Ring with Red Stone\nKaylah Swinchell - Bravil\nWhite Dress with Floral Pattern\nGold Trimmed Cow Hide Shoes\nGemmed Necklace\nGold Ring with Onyx Stones\nDondlar - Leyawiin\nGreen Brocade Doublet\nGreen Silk Pants\nGreen Velvet Shoes with Gold Thread Trimming\nPolished Wood Box with Silver Fittings\nSmall Polished Staute of Azure Stone (in box)\nHolithanius - Cheydinhal\nDecorative Leather Armor with Gold Buckles\nSilver Longsword (Personalized)\nSoft Leather Boots\nGlass Ring\nOford Gabings - Anvil\nTravel Cloak with Silver and Green Leaf Fastener\nEnchanted Shortsword with Inlaid Writing\nGold Ring with Inscription (Cursed?)\nLeather Bound Travel Journal\nSellina Rotona - Imperial City\nRed Velvet Dress\nRed and Gold Velvet Shoes\nSilver Necklace with Locket\nSilver Ring with Blue Stones"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mace-etiquette": {"game": ["Oblivion", "Skyrim", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mace-etiquette", "description": "Guide to proper use of maces.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Mace Etiquette", "text": "Warriors sometimes make the mistake of thinking that there are no tactics with a mace. They assume that the sword is all about skill and the mace is only about strength and stamina. As a veteran instructor of mace tactics, I can tell you they are wrong.\nWielding a mace properly is all about timing and momentum. Once the swing of the mace has begun, stopping it or slowing it down is difficult. The fighter is committed to not just the blow, but also the recoil. Begin your strike when the opponent is leaning forward, hopefully off balance. It is completely predictable that he will lean backward, so aim for a point behind his head. By the time the mace gets there, his head will be in it's path.\nThe mace should be held at the ready, shoulder high. The windup should not extend past the shoulders by more than a hand's width. When swinging, lead with the elbow. As the elbow passes the height of your collarbone, extend the forearm like a whip. The extra momentum will drive the mace faster and harder, causing far more damage.\nAt the moment of impact, let the wrist loosen. The mace will bounce and hurt a stiff wrist. Allow the recoil of the blow to drive the mace back into the ready position, thereby preparing the warrior for a quicker second strike.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/madness-ore-materials-list": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/madness-ore-materials-list", "description": "List of materials for creating armor and weapon from Madness Ore.", "author": "Cutter", "title": "Madness Ore Materials List", "text": "\nI, Cutter, Master Smith of New Sheoth, by tradition and sacred pledge to my deceased mentor, must forge weapons and armor for any hero who brings me Madness Ore. I will create magical versions of these weapons and armor if the hero provides the needed Ore and the appropriate matrix, which my mentor has hidden throughout the land, drinking in the mystical essences, the blood of the Shivering Isles.\nThe amount of Madness Ore required to make items is listed below:\n1 piece ---- Arrows (per 25)\n2 pieces ---- Bow\n4 pieces ---- Claymore\n2 pieces ---- War Axe\n3 pieces ---- Sword\n2 pieces ---- Boots\n5 pieces ---- Cuirass\n2 pieces ---- Gauntlets\n3 pieces ---- Greaves\n2 pieces ---- Helmet\n2 pieces ---- Shield"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/magic-sky": {"game": ["Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/magic-sky", "description": "A valuable treatise on Ayleid magic. This is a great reference source on Welkynd Stones and Varla Stones.", "author": "Irlav Jarol", "title": "Magic from the Sky", "text": "The ancient Ayleids believed that Nirn was composed of four basic elements -- earth, water, air, and light -- and of these four elements, they believed the most sublime form of light was star light. The stars are our links to the plane of Aetherius, the source of all magical power, and therefore, light from the stars is the most potent and exalted of all magical powers.\nFrom time to time, fragments of Aetherius fall from the heavens. The people know these fragments as 'shooting stars', and from time to time, such Aetherial fragments are found on Nirn. The most common varieties are known as 'meteoric iron'; this metal is prized by armorers and enchanters for its properties in the forging of enchanted weapons and armors. This meteoric iron is also the primary component in 'Ayleid Wells,' ancient enchanted artifacts found throughout Cyrodiil.\nAnother, rarer form of Aetherial fragment is called 'meteroic glass'. It is from such fragments that other rare Ayleid enchanted artifacts are crafted -- Welkynd Stones and Varla Stones.\nAyleids Wells are scattered across Cyrodiil's landscape. Their siting is a mystery; they are not associated with any known Ayleid cities or settlements. It is presumed that, in some manner, they harvest magical power from starlight. It is also suggested, without evidence or support, that they are located at the meeting points of ancient lines of magical power; however, modern arcane arts have discovered no perceptible evidence of such lines of power.\nThose with magical talents can draw magicka from Ayleid wells to restore their own reservoirs of magical power. No ritual or arcane knowledge is necessary, suggesting that these wells were designed to serve persons not skilled in the magical arts. Once drained, the wells replenish again only at magical midnight. Once recharged, they appear to radiate magical power back into the sky, which prompts some to theorize they are also objects with religious or magical ritual significance -- perhaps a means of offering magic back to the heavens.\nWelkynd Stones [Aldmeris - \"sky stone,\" \"heaven stone\"; literally, \"sky child\"] are pieces of cut and enchanted meteoric glass which apparently act as storage devices for magical power. A magical talent can restore his reseroirs of magicka from such stones. Alas, the means of restoring power to these stones may have been lost with the Ayleids. Currently, these objects simply crumble to dust after they have been used.\nGreat Welkynd Stones are exceptionally large pieces of enchanted meteoric glass. Scholars believe that at the heart of each ancient Ayleid city, a Great Welkynd Stone was the source of the settlement's magical enchantments. It may be that these great stones were linked to the lesser stones, restoring and maintaining their power. In any case, research on these Great Welkynd Stones is impossible, since all the known Ayleid ruins have been looted of their great stones, and no examples of these great stones are known to survive.\nAnother rare enchanted item found in Ayleid ruins is called a Varla Stone [Aldmeris - \"star stone\"]. Varla Stones are remarkably powerful, enabling untrained users to restore magical energy to any number of enchanted items. Because of their great value and utility, these items are also extremely rare, but since they are small and easily concealed, diligent explorers may still occasionally come across them in any Ayelid ruin.\nAyleid Wells. Welkynd Stones. Varla Stones. Consider, then, these marvels of magical enchantment. Are we then to conclude that the Ayleids were a superior race and culture? Did they so exceed us in art and craft that they mock the feeble powers of Third Era Wizards?\nNever! The Ayleids were powerful, yes, and cunning, but they were neither good nor wise, and so they were struck down. Their works have passed from Nirn, save these rare and sparkling treasures. Their ancient cities are dark and empty, save for the grim revenants and restless spirits condemned forever to walk the halls, keeping their melancholy vigils over bones and dust.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/manifesto-cyrodiil-vampyrum": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/manifesto-cyrodiil-vampyrum", "description": "Information about the Vampires of Cyrodiil.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Manifesto Cyrodiil Vampyrum", "text": "To you whom We have seen\nStalking at night by eyes keen\nTranscendant of savages\nSating thirst sans avarice\nYour coffers stay stuffed\nBy social graces robust\nNone know your nature;\n\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 save Us\u00a0\nNone share your fate;\n\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 save Us\nNone welcome you as kin;\n\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 save Us\nOn Our Order:\nKnow first that we are no simple tribe of savages, tearing throats with the orgiastic abandon of our scattered, tribal brethren. Ours is a civil fraternity, to which we are bound - every one - by our dual hunger for flesh and influence. By the virtue of Imperial structure and bureaucracy, Cyrodiil has become our stronghold in the third era, and we suffer no savage rivals within our boundaries, reveal ourselves to none, and manipulate the hand of society to mete out our agendas.\nOn Our Dual Patrons:\nTo Kin-father Molag Bal, who brought forth the Bloodmatron Lamae to spite Arkay, we owe our existence, as do all vampires, though not all honor Him. For him we revel in the feast, and acknowledge the gift adrift in our veins.\nTo patron Clavicus Vile, beacon o\u2019er our affairs, we owe our successes and social stature. Our bond with Vile makes us unique among our kind, for his guidance steels our savage craving with reason and savvy. For him we live amidst mankind, and twist them to our will from offices of power.\nOn Our Rivals:\nMost barbaric tribes think themselves powerful by the gift of Bal\u2019s blood alone, and squander the gift. There are those, however, who show signs of enlightenments, and earn our attention - those such as the Glenmoril Wyrd, who live within the walls of Breton cities, or the Whet-Fang sodality of Black Marsh, who use magicka to keep captives catatonic and harvest from them the red nectar. These foes may one day threaten to impugn our sovereignty within the boundaries of Cyrodiil, thus compelling our vigilance. Should any encroach upon our dominion, our wrath must be swift and total.\nOn Our Conduct:\nTo preserve our ideals and way of life, two primary edicts shall be observed. Above all, reveal thyself and our Order to no other, for discretion is the greatest of our virtues. Do not feed where you may be found out, or on those who may suspect your passing. Avoid daylight by lifestyle; dispel common belief in our kind, and maintain supple appearance through satisfaction of the thirst. Second, devote your pursuits to the procurement of influence, political and otherwise. Our strength is not in physical numbers, but in skillful manipulation of society. Always be mindful of our Patrons, and preserve the Order. Devote yourself to these ideals always, and the Order shall count you amongst our own.\n\n\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mannimarco-king-worms": {"game": ["Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mannimarco-king-worms", "description": "An epic poem about Mannimarco, the King of Worms.", "author": "Horicles", "title": "Mannimarco, King of Worms", "text": "O sacred isle Artaeum, where rosy light infuses air,\n\tO'er towers and through flowers, gentle breezes flow,\n\tSoftly sloping green-kissed cliffs to crashing foam below,\n\tAlways springtide afternoon housed within its border,\n\tThis mystic, mist-protected home of the Psijic Order:\n\tThose counselors of kings, cautious, wise, and fair.\nTen score years and thirty since the mighty Remans fell,\n\tTwo brilliant students studied within the Psijics' fold.\n\tOne's heart was light and warm, the other dark and cold.\n\tThe madder latter, Mannimarco, whirled in a deathly dance,\n\tHis soul in bones and worms, the way of the necromance.\n\tEntrapping and enslaving souls, he cast a wicked spell.\nThe former, Galerion had magic bold and bright as day.\n\tHe confronted Mannimarco beneath gray Ceporah Tower,\n\tSaying, 'Your wicked mysticism is no way to wield your power,\n\tBringing horror to the spirit world, your studies must cease.'\n\tMannimarco scoffed, hating well the ways of life and peace,\n\tAnd returned to his dark artistry; his paints, death and decay.\nO sacred isle Artaeum, how slow to perceive the threat,\n\tWhen the ghastly truth revealed, how weak the punishment.\n\tThe ghoulish Mannimarco from the isle of the wise was sent\n\tTo the mainland Dawn's Beauty, more death and souls to reap.\n\t'You have found a wolf, and sent the beast to flocks of sheep,'\n\tGalerion told his Masters, 'A terror on Tamriel has set.'\n'Speak no more of him,' the sage Cloaks of Gray did say.\n\t'Twas not the first time Galerion thought his Masters callous,\n\tUnconcerned for men and mer, aloof in their island palace.\n\t'Twas not the first time Galerion thought 'twas time to build\n\tA new Order to bring true magic to all, a mighty Mages Guild.\n\tBut 'twas the time he left, at last, fair Artaeum's azure bay.\nO, but sung we have of Vanus Galerion many times before,\n\tHow cast he off the Psijics' chains, bringing magic to the land.\n\tThroughout the years, he saw the touch of Mannimarco's hand,\n\tThrough Tamriel's deserts, forests, towns, mountains, and seas.\n\tThe dark grip stretching out, growing like some dread disease\n\tBy his dark Necromancers, collecting cursed artifacts of yore.\nThey brought to him these tools, mad wizards and witches,\n\tAnd brought blood-tainted herbs and oils to his cave of sin,\n\tSweet Akaviri poison, dust from saints, sheafs of human skin,\n\tToadstools, roots, and much more cluttered his alchemical shelf,\n\tLike a spider in his web, he sucked all their power into himself,\n\tMannimarco, Worm King, world's first of the undying liches.\nCorruption on corruption, 'til the rot sunk to his very core,\n\tThough he kept the name Mannimarco, his body and his mind\n\tWere but a living, moving corpse as he left humanity behind.\n\tThe blood in his veins became instead a poison acid stew.\n\tHis power and his life increased as his fell collection grew.\n\tMightiest were these artifacts, long cursed since days of yore.\nThey say Galerion left the Guild, calling it 'a morass,'\n\tBut untruth is a powerful stream, polluting the river of time.\n\tGalerion beheld Mannimarco's rise through powers sublime,\n\tTo his mages and Lamp Knights, 'Before my last breath,\n\tFace I must the tyranny of worms, and kill at last, undeath.'\n\tHe led them north to cursed lands, to a mountain pass.\nO those who survived the battle say its like was never seen.\n\tArmored with magicka, armed with ensorcelled sword and axe,\n\tGalerion cried, echoing, 'Worm King, surrender your artifacts,\n\tAnd their power to me, and you shall live as befits the dead.'\n\tA hollow laugh answered, 'You die first,' Mannimarco said.\n\tThe mage army then clashed with the unholy force obscene.\nImagine waves of fire and frost, and the mountain shivers,\n\tPicture lightning arching forth, crackling in a dragon's sigh.\n\tLike leaves, the battlemages fly to rain down from the sky,\n\tAt the Necromancers' call, corpses burst from earth to fight,\n\tTo be shattered into nothingness with a flood of holy light.\n\tA maelstrom of energy unleashed, blood cascades in rivers.\nLike a thunderburst in blue skies or a lion's sudden roar,\n\tLike sharp razors tearing over delicate embroidered lace,\n\tSo at a touch did Galerion shake the mountain to its base.\n\tThe deathly horde fell fatally, but heeding their dying cries\n\tFrom the depths, the thing they called Worm King did rise.\n\tNirn itself did scream in the Mages' and Necromancers' war\nHis eyes burning dark fire, he opened his toothless maw,\n\tVomiting darkness with each exhalation of his breath,\n\tAll sucking in the fetid air felt the icy touch of death.\n\tIn the skies above the mountain, darkness overcame pale,\n\tThen Mannimarco Worm King felt his dismal powers fail:\n\tThe artifacts of death pulled from his putrid skeletal claw.\nA thousand good and evil perished then, history confirms.\n\tAmong, alas, Vanus Galerion, he who showed the way,\n\tIt seemed once that Mannimarco had truly died that day.\n\tScattered seemed the Necromancers, wicked, ghastly fools,\n\tBack to the Mages Guild, victors kept the accursed tools,\n\tOf him, living still in undeath, Mannimarco, King of Worms.\nChildren, listen as the shadows cross your sleeping hutch,\n\tAnd the village sleeps away, streets emptied of the crowds,\n\tAnd the moons do balefully glare through the nightly clouds,\n\tAnd the graveyard's people rest, we hope, in eternal sleep,\n\tListen and you'll hear the whispered tap of the footsteps creep,\n\tThen pray you'll never feel the Worm King's awful touch.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/manual-armor-0": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/manual-armor-0", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Manual Of Armor", "text": "This manual is commissioned by General Warhaft to serve as a guide and manual to armor for all officers in the Imperial service.\nOn the battlefield, a soldier's armor should reflect his principal duties. Scouts, light cavalry, archers, and raiding skirmishers should wear light armor. Mobility and speed is of paramount importance to these troops. It is recommended that a cuirass and greaves be worn at all times. Helmets, gauntlets and boots are of value to cavalry and skirmishers, but not scouts or archers.\nLight armor is made from fur, leather, chainmail, mithril, elven or glass. This is also the order of their quality and expense, fur being the least protective and cheapest, and glass the best and most expensive. Fur, leather armor, and chainmail are readily available throughout the empire. Mithril, elven and glass are exceedingly rare and are only found in ancient ruins and remote tombs.\nHeavy armor should be reserved for the frontline infantry, pikemen, heavy cavalry or foot knights. All officers should be issued heavy armor. Helmets, cuirass and greaves should be standard issue at all times. Boots and gauntlets are only necessary for the cavalry and foot knights.\nBlacksmiths can forge heavy armor from iron, steel, dwarven, orchish, ebony or daedric. This is also the order of their quality and expense, iron being the least useful and cheapest, with daedric the most effective and expensive. Iron and steel plate mail can be found in most any blacksmith's shop. The other materials are rare and armor made from them is only found in ancient treasure hoards hidden deep underground.\nAdvanced practitioners in the Mages Guild know the secrets of placing enchantments upon pieces of armor. The greatest enchantments are typically placed on armor made from rarer, more durable materials, such as ebony and daedric, but even iron can be made to take an enchantment.\nThe self-styled Bard of Battle, Amorous Janus, once penned a comedic ballad about a Colovian general who was constant removing and re-equipping his armor every few minutes to conserve the magicka powering it. By way of response to the implied criticism, the general had him mounted on the front of a battering ram during the siege of Castle Fallow."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/manual-arms": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/manual-arms", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Manual Of Arms", "text": "This manual is commissioned by General Warhaft to serve as a guide and manual to arms and weapons for all Imperial officers in the field.\nObviously, a soldier's weaponry should reflect his skills. Skill with a blade is recommended for daggers, shortswords, longswords, and claymores. Skill with blunt weapons is desirable to wield the war axe, mace, battle axe and war hammmer. To the uninitiated, axes and hammers may seem to be very different weapons, but the rhythm, drill, and physical strength used by both weapon types are virtually identical. Only those with marksman skill should be outfitted with the bow.\nMost of these weapons are commonly used in combination with a shield. The claymore, battle axe and war hammer,however, require both hands to use. These two-handed weapons are best suited to heavily-armored knights, berserkers and those soldiers that hold the flanks of the line.\nArms have been made from many materials over the ages, and each material varies in weight, durability, and cost. These materials are here ranked in order of desirablility and cost, with cheapest and least desirable listed first: iron, steel, silver, dwarven, elven, glass, ebony, and finally daedric. Some armorers correctly observe that silver weapons are slightly less durable than steel; nonetheless, its unique ability to affect ghosts, wraiths and certain types of Daedric creatures is undisputed.\nBows can be made with laminated cores of the same materials. This provides a higher tensile strength and therefore greater power on the draw. The materials used in the arrow, particularly in the arrowhead, can affect its mass and penetration. Thus, the quality of the bow and of the arrow are taken together to determine the weapon's overall armor penetration.\nEnchanted weapons are mentioned in virtually every fable and song. The magic on such items lies dormant until they strike an opponent. At that moment the enchantment is activated, causing distress and injury to the target. Enchantments on bows are transferred to the arrow at the moment of release. Should the arrow have an enchantment of its own, however, the missile now carries both enchantments and delivers them to the target.\nAn enchanted weapon has a limited reservoir of magicka. Each blow drains some of its reserves, until finally it is drained dry. The enchantment can be recharged by arcane processes involving soul gems. The more powerful the soul in the gem, the more magicka is restored to the item."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/manual-spellcraft": {"game": ["Oblivion", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/manual-spellcraft", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Manual Of Spellcraft", "text": "An Introductory Text\n[The book contains an inordinate number of scrawlings along the margins; the few that are immediately readable suggest they are notes for someone who needs frequent reminders on the basics of spell casting.]\nThe Beginning Spellcaster\n\tThe most powerful mages in Tamriel were once beginners. They all had similar early experiences: exposure to magic kindled an interest and/or unlocked some latent ability, followed by years of hard work. These intrepid souls honed their skills, learned new spells, and vigorously trained their minds and bodies to become the formidable figures they were known as during their later lives.\nThe Mages Guild of Tamriel has long been the first stop on a long road to knowledge and power for many individuals. Providing magical services to the general public, the Guild offers a wide variety of spells for purchase, and is recommended as a first stop for any aspiring spellcaster. Independent dealers may be found, though their selection of spells is often not as comprehensive as that of the Mages Guild.\nMany spells are beyond the capabilities of beginning mages; the ability to render one's self invisible, for example, is an advanced power and is beyond the novice spellcaster. Through practice, a mage may become more skilled in a given school of Magic and find himself proficient enough to begin exploring its more powerful aspects. The fledging mage should not be daunted by his inability to wield certain powers, but should instead use this as a point of focus and a drive for bettering himself. Rather than becoming discouraged, the student should look forward to higher levels of skill, such as the advanced techniques of absorbing spells, summoning lesser (and eventually greater) Daedra and undead -- for research purposes only -- and protection against specific types of spells, such as Fire, Frost, and Shock spells.\nMages wishing to specialize in a particular school of magic are encouraged to learn as many spells of possible within that school, and to practice them frequently. All mages, whether specializing or nurturing a general interest, are encouraged to apply for membership within the Mages Guild. Beyond services available to the general public, the accomplished Guild member has access to many exclusive services such as Advanced Spellcraft and Enchanting. These services have been deemed potentially dangerous to the public at large, and have been restricted to higher-ranked Guild members in good standing by the Council of Mages.\nCitizens interested in the further use of magic should consult their local Mages Guild Archmagister."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/manual-xedilian": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/manual-xedilian", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Manual of Xedilian", "text": "On the subject of Xedilian's construction, Lord Sheogorath, let me begin by extending the warmest regards to you and your noble being. The construction was completed on time and well under budget as you demanded (\"under pain of fun,\" I believe you are quoted as saying) and with only the most infinitesimal loss of life. I am proud to say that by harnessing the energy of that most unusual crystalline formation, Xedilian should maintain itself for years to come (with proper maintenance of course). At your request, I have included the full operation instructions for each section of the site. If you have any other questions, please feel free to bother me anytime (like when you originally thought of this idea in the middle of the night).\nThe heart of Xedilian is its power source, the Resonator of Judgment. By tuning this huge chunk of crystal with the Attenuator of Judgment (a \"tuning fork\" of sorts), we have released a wave of siren-like sound that will draw anyone from outside the Isles. Three Focus Crystals have been placed throughout the site to assist in keeping this wave of sound even and stable. This site will not function without all three Focus Crystals running in unison, so it's important to keep them clean and safe on their \"cradles\" (which I have called their Judgment Nexus). The Focus Crystals are irreplaceable at this time, so take proper precautions guarding the site when not in use.\nXedilian is split into three encounter areas all linked with the latest in arcane transport technology. As the hapless \"Xedilianites\" (it was fun to experiment on them, thank you for that) make their way through each room, they are subjected to a test based either on the Manic philosophy or that of the Demented... whichever suits your whim at the time. All you need do is push a single button, then sit back with your favorite wine (we've provided luxurious observation platforms from which to enjoy the show) and watch the results.\nEach encounter area has a unique theme that matches your requests as close as we could provide. I think you'll be pleased with the results. Below I have detailed each room and the effects you can expect from them (in brief, as I know your lordship is busy):\nChamber of Conversion\nA fairly empty room with a large grating on the floor and single, half-sized \"harmless\" Gnarl wandering in the center.\nManic Result\nOur small, harmless Gnarl will be grown in size to nearly thrice that of the average Xedilianite. Most we observe run around in an attempt to escape the lumbering creature. Eventually, it will stop and fade away. The magic of the room is enhanced by the spore gas we pump in through the grating.\nDemented Result\nOur tiny friend Gnarl is joined by a small swarm of its brethren and they attack our surprised guests! Genius!\nChamber of Avarice\nIn this room, a huge mound of treasure sits atop a half-ziggurat inside a securely locked cage (to which there is no key).\nManic Result\nWe drop several hundred keys to the ground that are all exact duplicates. It's amusing to watch Xedilianites scramble through the keys for the correct one. Some spend days. Amazing.\nDemented Result\nWhen the Xedilianite reaches the top of the ziggurat; we blast them with a highly concussive flame spell. The blast always sends them flying... good fun for all, discounting those that do not survive.\nChamber of Anathema\nAs you requested, we saved this one for last. The Xedilianite that has the mettle to make it this far now faces the toughest challenge of all. This room features freshly killed corpses, blood, and plenty of hanging bodies (for your darker moods, my lord).\nManic Result\nWe kill the Xedilianite, and cause a specter of his former self to rise from the body. Not many Xedilianite minds can handle this one... most go insane this far into the site. I must confess, this room is a favorite of mine.\nDemented Result\nNothing better than a good old-fashioned battle! We raise at least double the number of zombies as there are Xedilianites and let them all have at it! Simple, elegant, and deadly.\nI hope you are pleased with the results of Xedilian. I know you'll have just as much fun using it as we had fun constructing it. Strangely, we have yet to receive payment for the site, but I am sure it is just a minor oversight and it will be corrected as soon as your lordship has a mome..."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mirilis-list": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mirilis-list", "description": "The list of alchemical ingredients needed by Mirili Ulven.", "author": "Mirili Ulven", "title": "Mirili's List", "text": "I, Mirili Ulven of Highcross, will pay for samples of the following items, the sum of 10 coins each. As I only need one sample of each, I shall not pay for duplicates.\nAlocasia Fruit\nAster Bloom Core\nBlack Tar\nBlister Pod Cap\nCongealed Putrescence\nDigestive Slime\nElytra Ichor\nFlame Stalk\nFungus Stalk\nGas Bladder\nGnarl Bark\nGrummite Eggs\nHound Tooth\nHunger Tongue\nHydnum Azure Giant Spore\nPod Pit\nRot Scale\nScalon Fin\nScreaming Maw\nShambles Marrow\nSwamp Tentacle\nThorn Hook\nVoid Essence\nWatcher's Eye\nWithering Moon\nWorm's Head Cap"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/modern-heretics": {"game": ["Oblivion", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/modern-heretics", "description": "This is a rare book containing Haderus of Gottlesfont's research on Daedra worship in Cyrodiil.", "author": "Haderus of Gottlesfont", "title": "Modern Heretics", "text": "Modern Heretics: a Study of Daedra Worship in the Empire\nby Haderus of Gottlesfont\n\nDaedra worship is not prohibited by law in Cyrodiil. Primarily this is a result of the Imperial Charter granted the Mages Guild permitting the summoning of Daedra. Nonetheless, chapel and public opinion is so strongly against Daedra worship that those who practice Daedric rituals do so in secret.\nHowever, opinions about Daedra worship differ widely in other provinces. Even in Cyrodiil, traditional opinions have changed greatly over the years, and some communities survive which worship Daedra. Some more traditional Daedra-worshippers are motivated by piety and personal conviction; many modern Daedra-worshippers are motivated by a lust for arcane power. In particular, questing heroes of all stripes seek after the fabled Daedric artifacts for their potent combat and magical benefits.\nI personally have discovered one community worshipping the Daedra Lord Azura, Queen of Dawn and Dusk. A researcher curious about Daedra worship might research in several ways: through a study of the literature, through exploration and discovery of ancient daedric shrines, through questioning local informants, and through questioning worshippers themselves. I used all these means to discover the shrine of Azura.\nFirst I read books. References like this one may provide a helpful general background concerning Daedric shrines. For example, my researches led me to understand that, in Cyrodiil, Daedric shrines are generally represented by statues of Daedra Lords, are generally situated in wilderness locations far from settlements, that each shrine generally has associated with it a community of worshippers, often referred to as a 'coven', that shrines have associated with them a particular time -- often a day of the week -- when a Daedra lord might be solicited, that Daedra Lord often will not deign to respond unless they regard a petitioner of sufficient prowess or strength of character, that they will only respond if given the proper offering [the secret of which offering often known only to the community of worshippers], and that, in return for the completion of some task or service, the Daedra Lords will often undertake to offer an artifact of power to a successful quester.\nThen I questioned locals with an intimate knowledge of the wilderness. Two classes of informants I found especially useful -- well-traveled hunters and adventurers [who might come across shrines in their travels], and scholars of the Mages Guild. In the case of the Shrine of Azura, both sources were profitable. I discovered a Cheydinhal hunter who had chanced across a strange epic statue in his travels. The statue was of a woman with outstretched arms; in one hand she held a star; in the other hand, she held a crescent moon. He had shunned the statue out of superstitious fear, but had marked the location in memory --far north of Cheydinhal, northwest of Lake Arrius, high in the Jerall Mountains. Then, proceeding to the local Mages Guild with a description of the statue, I was able to confirm from its description the identity of the Daedra Lord worshipped.\nHaving discovered the location of the shrine, I visited it, and discovered there the community of worshippers. Because of the strength of opinion against Daedra worship, the worshippers were, at first, reluctant to admit their identity. But once I had won their trust, they were willing to divulge to me the secrets of the times when Azura would hear petitions [from dusk to dawn], and that the offering required by Azura was glow dust, a substance obtained from the will-o-the-wisp.\nI am, of course, nothing more than a chapelman and scholar, so it did not lie within my power to find a will-o-the-wisp to obtain glow dust; nor am I certain that Azura would have found me worthy to make such an offering, even had I proffered it. But I was assured that if I had been able to make such an offering, and if it had been accepted, Azura would have given me some sort of quest, which, if completed, might have earned me the reward of Azura's Star, a Daedric artifact of legendary magical powers.\nI have since heard rumors of the existence in Cyrodiil of several other Daedric shrines, of the Daedric Lords to which they are dedicated, and the Daedric artifacts that might be won by questing heroes. Hircine the Huntsman, for example, is linked in legend to the Savior's Hide, a powerful enchanted armor. The sword Volendrung is associated with Malacath, Lord of Monsters, and the eponymously named Mace of Molag Bal is also thought to be the object of Daedra worship. Other Daedra Lords, their shrines and worshippers, remain to be discovered in Cyrodiil by earnest and persistent researchers."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mysterious-note": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mysterious-note", "description": "A mysterious note from the Gray Fox.", "author": "The Gray Fox", "title": "Mysterious Note", "text": "I can offer you greater rewards and less time in prison. If you are interested, come to the Garden of Dareloth in the Imperial City's Waterfront district at midnight. Present this note and all shall be made clear.\nThe Gray Fox"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mysterium-xarxes": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mysterium-xarxes", "description": "Supposedly a book Dagon wrote \"in the deserts of rust and wounds\".", "author": "Mehrunes Dagon", "title": "Mysterium Xarxes", "text": "\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mysticism-unfathomable-voyage": {"game": ["Oblivion", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mysticism-unfathomable-voyage", "description": "A look at Mysticism and the Psijic Order.", "author": "Tetronius Lor", "title": "Mysticism: The Unfathomable Voyage", "text": "Mysticism is the school of sorcery least understood by the magical community and the most difficult to explain to novice mages. The spell effects commonly ascribed to the School of Mysticism are as extravagantly disparate as Soul Trap, the creation of a cell that would hold a victim's spirit after death, to Telekinesis, the manipulation of objects at a distance. But these effects are simply that: effects. The sorcery behind them is veiled in a mystery that goes back to the oldest civilizations of Tamriel, and perhaps beyond.\nThe Psijics of the Isle of Artaeum have a different term for Mysticism: the Old Way. The phrase becomes bogged in semantic quagmire because the Old Way also refers to the religion and customs of the Psijics, which may or may not be part of the magic of Mysticism.\nThere are few mages who devote their lives to the study of Mysticism. The other schools are far more predictable and ascertainable. Mysticism seems to derive power from its conundrums and paradoxes; the act of experimentation, no matter how objectively implemented, can influence magicka by its very existence. Therefore the Mystic mage must consign himself to finding dependable patterns within a roiling imbroglio of energy. In the time it takes him to devise an enchantment with a consistent trigger and result, his peers in the other schools may have researched and documented dozens of new spells and effects. The Mystic mage must thus be a patient and relatively uncompetitive philosopher.\nFor centuries, mostly during the Second Era, scholarly journals published theory after theory about the aspect or aspects of magicka lumped together under Mysticism. In the Mages Guild's tradition of finding answers to all things, respected researchers suggested that Mysticism's penultimate energy source was the Aetherius Itself, or else Daedric Beings of unimaginable power -- either rationale would explain the seemingly random figurations of Mysticism. Some even ventured that Mysticism arose from the unused elements of successfully, or even unsuccessfully, cast spells. Discussion within the Order of Psijics after Artaeum's reappearance has led some scholars to postulate that Mysticism is less spiritual in nature as was originally supposed, and that either the intellect or the emotional state of the believer is sufficient to influence its energy configuration and flow.\nNone of these explanations is truly satisfactory taken by itself. For the beginning student of Mysticism, it is best simply to learn the patterns distinguishable in the maelstrom of centuries past. The more patterns are discovered, the clearer the remaining ones become. Until, of course, they change. For inevitably they have to. And then the journey begins anew."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/myth-or-menace": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/myth-or-menace", "description": "Does a Thieves Guild really exist in Cyrodiil?", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Myth or Menace?", "text": "Many investigators have attempted solve the riddle of the Thieves Guild. Despite repeated proofs that no viable Thieves Guild exists, the rumors persist. Whenever historians search for evidence of this shadowy organization, nothing is found. Witnesses know nothing. Safe houses are empty. Fences turn out to be simple businessmen.\nLet me clarify by stating that thieves most certainly do exist. They rot in dungeons all across Tamriel. Certainly bands of thieves work together to commit crimes. On rare occasions there has even been documented cases were persistent bands of thieves have worked together for years at a time committing thefts and other crimes.\nHowever, a guild is different than a band. A guild implies an organization with membership rolls. It would have a financial structure, which would include member dues or some other means of securing funds. It would have rules of conduct or behavior. It would have a hierarchical leadership structure. Within this structure there would be methods of advancement and succession.\nThe best documented case of a Thieves Guild was found in Morrowind. For a brief time Gentleman Jim Stacey ran a ring of thieved that robbed wealthy merchants and nobles all across that island nation. During the recent Nevarine incident, the Fighters Guild and the shadowy Morag Tong eliminated this band of thugs. The final fate of Jim Stacey himself is not known.\nThe Morrowind Thieves Guild did have a financial structure and a leadership structure. It satisfied many of the conditions of a true guild. However, it was short lived. Public knowledge of Stacey's group lasted for only a few years at most. Although the Fighters Guild has claimed credit for wiping them out, some historians believe the group merely went deeper undercover.\nThe problem with determining the non-existence of the Thieves Guild is quite logical. It is not possible to prove a negative. I cannot prove definitively that the Thieves Guild does not exist, only that historians have been unable to document one.\nIf a Thieves Guild were to be operational in Cyrodiil, one would think that crime would be rampant, which it is not. The very nature of thieves makes it impossible for them to trust one another sufficiently to work together for very long. By nature a thief is a rule breaker. Therefore an organization that has rules would fail if all it's members were thieves. For these reasons, I dispute the existence of a modern day Thieves Guild in Cyrodiil.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/myths-sheogorath": {"game": ["Oblivion", "Skyrim", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/myths-sheogorath", "description": "Stories of Sheogorath's wacky antics, including the invention of music and the murder of a king.", "author": "Mymophonus", "title": "Myths of  Sheogorath", "text": "Sheogorath Invents Music\nIn the earliest of days, in a time when the world was still raw, Sheogorath decided to walk amongst the mortals. He donned his guise of Gentleman With a Cane, and moved from place to place without being recognized. After eleven days and eleven nights, Sheogorath decided that life among mortals was even more boring than his otherworldly existence.\n\"What can I do to make their lives more interesting?\" he said to himself. At that same moment, a young woman nearby commented wistfully to herself, \"The sounds of the birds are so beautiful.\"\nSheogorath silently agreed with her. Mortals could not make the beautiful and inspired calls of birds. Their voices were wretched and mundane. He could not change the nature of mortals, for that was the purview of other Daedric Princes. However, he could give them tools to make beautiful sounds.\nSheogorath took hold of the petulant woman and ripped her asunder. From her tendons he made lutes. From her skull and arm bones he made a drum. From her bones he made flutes. He presented these gifts to the mortals, and thus Music was born.\n\nSheogorath and King Lyandir\nKing Lyandir was known to be an exceedingly rational man. He lived in a palace that was a small, simple structure, unadorned with art and ugly to look upon. \"I do not need more than this,\" he would say. \"Why spend my gold on such luxuries when I can spend it on my armies or on great public works?\"\nHis kingdom prospered under his sensible rule. However, the people did not always share the king's sense of practicality. They would build houses that were beautiful to look upon, although not necessarily very practical. They devoted time and energy to works of art. They would celebrate events with lavish festivals. In general, they were quite happy.\nKing Lyandir was disappointed that more of them did not follow his example and lead frugal, sensible lives. He brooded on this for many years. Finally, he decided that his subjects simply didn't understand how much more they could accomplish if they didn't waste time on those frivolous activities. Perhaps, he reasoned, they just needed more examples.\nThe king decreed that all new buildings must be simple, unadorned, and no larger than was necessary for their function. The people were not happy about this, but they liked their king and respected the new law. In a few short years, there were more plain buildings than ornate ones. The citizens used the money saved to make and buy even more lavish art and hold even more excessive celebrations.\nOnce again, King Lyandir decided to provide them a strict example of how beneficial it would be to use their time and resources for more practical purposes. He banned all works of art in the city. The people were quite put out by this, but they knew that their king was doing what he thought was best for them. However, human nature is not so easily denied. In a few more years the city was filled with plain, simple buildings, and devoid of any sort of art. However, the people now had even more money and time to devote to their parties and festivals.\nWith a heavy heart, King Lyandir decided that his people were to be treated like children. And like all children, they needed rules and discipline laid down by great figures of authority to make them understand what was truly important in life. He decreed that there should be no revelry in the city. Singing, dancing, and music were all banned. Even food and drink were limited to water and simple foodstuffs.\nThe people had had enough. Revolt was out of the question, since King Lyandir had a very well trained and equipped army. They visited the shrines and temples in droves, praying to all the gods, and even to some of the Daedric Princes, that King Lyandir would revoke these new, oppressive laws.\nSheogorath heard their pleas and decided to visit King Lyandir. He appeared to the king in his dreams as a field of flowers, each with arms instead of petals and the face of the Madgod in the center. \"I am Lord of the Creative and Lord of the Deranged. Since you have no use for my gifts of creativity, I have decided to bless you with an abundance of my other gift.\"\nFrom that day forward, every child born in the city was born into madness. Since infants do not reveal illnesses of the mind, it was several years before this was realized. The king's own son was among the victims, suffering from seizures and delusions. Yet, King Lyandir refused to change his ways.\nWhen his son, Glint, was 12 years old, he stabbed his father while Lyandir was sleeping. With his dying breath, King Lyandir asked, \"Why?\" His son replied, \"It is the most practical thing I could do.\"\nThe new, young king ordered all the palace servants slaughtered. He ordered a grand festival to celebrate his new reign and the repeal of Lyandir's laws. He served the crowds a stew made from the carcasses of the palace servants. He ordered the east facing walls of every building painted red, and the west facing walls painted in stripes. He decreed that all citizens wear ornate masks on the backs of their heads. He then burned down the palace and began construction of a new one.\nIn the new palace, the young king ordered his personal chambers to not have any doors; for fear that small woodland creatures would attack him. He ordered that it have no windows for fear that the sun and moon were jealous of him and plotting his death.\nAnd thus ended the line of King Lyandir. The people of the city returned to their grand works of art and raucous celebrations. They talked and acted as if they still had a living king, and even kept up the palace, using it to house and care for their mad children. Sheogorath was mightily pleased with this outcome. From that day forward the city was blessed with more than the normal number of gifted artists and deranged citizens.\n\nThe Contest of Wills\nA mighty wizard named Ravate once walked the Winds of Time to find Lord Sheogorath. His intent was to win a favor from this most capricious of the Daedric Princes. Upon finding Sheogorath, Ravate spoke humbly to him, \"Lord Sheogorath, I beg a favor of you. I would gladly drive a thousand men mad in your name if you would but grant me the greater magical powers.\"\nFortunately for Ravate, Sheogorath was in a playful mood. He proposed a game, \"I will grant your wish, if you are still sane in three days. During that time, I will do my utmost to drive you mad. It shall be great fun.\"\nRavate was not so certain that he liked this new deal. He had been really looking forward to driving a thousand men mad. \"Lord Sheogorath, I regret having disturbed you with my shallow, selfish request. I withdraw my unfortunate plea and will humbly leave this place.\"\nSheogorath just laughed, \"Too late, mighty Ravate. The game is afoot, and you must play.\" Ravate fled, only to find that all exits from the Daedric realm were now sealed. He wandered aimlessly, constantly looking over his shoulder, jumping at every noise. Each moment brought new terror as he waited for Sheogorath to begin.\nAfter three days, Ravate was convinced that every plant and animal was a tool of Sheogorath. He hadn't eaten or drunk for fear that Sheogorath had poisoned the food or drink. He hadn't slept for fear of Sheogorath invading his dreams. (Which was foolish, as dreams are the domain of Vaermina, may She grant us Restful Sleep.)\nIt was then that Sheogorath appeared to him. Ravate cried out, \"You have set the whole world to watching me! Every creature and plant are doing your bidding to drive me mad.\"\nSheogorath replied, \"Actually, I have done nothing. You have driven yourself mad with your fears. Your delusions prove that you are truly deranged, and therefore I win. While you wanted to make a thousand men mad, I only wanted to break one man's mind, yours.\"\nFrom that day forward Ravate served Sheogorath's every whim. Whenever daring travelers try to approach Sheogorath, Ravate warns them, \"Sheogorath is already inside each of us. You have already lost.\"\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/namlirs-shivering-bestiary": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/namlirs-shivering-bestiary", "description": "A bestiary of Shivering Isles.", "author": "Namlir Esprink", "title": "Namlir's Shivering Bestiary  ", "text": "For my good friend and colleague Venristwie, who protected the creatures of all the Realms.\nAlthough my early education involved extensive research into all forms of fauna, nothing prepared me for the surprises I've uncovered while exploring the Shivering Isles on the Great Expedition. Even though I've lived here all of my life, I am just now discovering how wonderful and unique the creatures of the Isles can be.\nThe Expedition was an extensive six-year exploration of every nook and cranny of the Isles in an attempt to categorize the indigenous fauna and record this information back for posterity and science. Below, I've done my best to describe each creature in detail. Please note that this information was obtained at the cost of many lives, and this work should be regarded as the most complete and definitive reference of its kind.\nBaliwog\nThe Baliwog is an extraordinarily ugly aquatic-dwelling creature that frequents the lakes, rivers and bogs of the Shivering Isles. Although the Baliwog, or \"Wog\" as some of the locals call it, walks on all fours, it should by no means be considered stupid or docile. A fully-grown adult Baliwog can deliver a nasty blow from its claws or a potentially deadly bite from its razor-sharp teeth. The lethality of this beast comes not from the actual damage it can deliver, but from the horrible diseases it seems to generate. Also of note is the Baliwog's uncanny ability to regenerate when immersed in water. From our observations, it's best just to avoid these brutes, although it's said some of them carry flawless pearls in their bodies, though it is not known why they would swallow them, or what use they may serve to the creatures.\nElytra\nThe Elytra are large insect-like creatures indigenous to much of the Isles. Although there is a marked color difference between the Northern (Mania) Variety and the Southern (Dementia) Variety, they are remarkably similar in behavioral patterns and physical makeup. The Elytra pose a serious threat to the casual traveler, as they have two interesting mechanisms that benefit them in combat. The first is their uncanny ability to block weapon attacks. Through my observations, I have deduced that they utilize their antennae as an early warning system to detect incoming attacks, say from a sword blade or an arrow. The antenna sends a signal to their brains, and they instinctively lift their arms to block. Their second ability is natural venom in their sting. This venom is very deceiving, as it is very low yield, but its real deadly nature comes from its duration. Gone unchecked, the venom can slay the average man over a period of hours. Especially deadly is the Elytra Matron's venom, which can last much longer than the poisons found on the lesser varieties of the creature.\nFlesh Atronach\nOne of the most unusual creatures in the Isles, the Flesh Atronach appears as a sewn-together conglomeration of skin and muscle adorned with mystical symbols and wearing an iron collar. Although it's uncertain whether Sheogorath or some other Daedric Prince created this creature, it's obvious that the intent was to use them as guardians. Usually found inhabiting underground ruins, the Flesh Atronach will defend areas it's set to guard until it's destroyed. A unique visual feature of this creature is the energy spots located on its body. These colored areas seem to glow with an inner light and denote the power of the Atronach. In increasing order of magnitude, these seem to be Yellow, Purple, and Red. The function for these spots is still a mystery, but from my observations, I suspect them to be a magic dampening gland of some kind. As expected, the Flesh Atronachs are all completely impervious to disease and poison and highly resistant to fire and frost. Shock magic seems to affect them adversely, which appears to be their largest weakness. The Purple and Red varieties also seem to possess innate magic abilities, including healing and fireballs.\nGnarl\nPerhaps the strangest creature of all is the Gnarl, or \"Walking Tree\" as it's sometimes called. Like the Elytra, this animated plant can be found roaming almost anywhere on the Isles. One of Sheogorath's truly unique creations, the Gnarl has the most unusual trait of being able to use magic cast upon it, and harness that power to bolster its own defense. Once struck with fire, frost or lightning, the Gnarl grows physically larger and becomes resistant to just that element for short time. Interestingly, this is where the Gnarl's vulnerability comes into play. At the same time the Gnarl is resisting that element it was struck with, it becomes vulnerable to all of the other elements. Our guide on the expedition demonstrated this by striking the Gnarl with a flame arrow then a frost arrow and then back to a flame arrow and so on.\nGrummite\nThe Grummite represents the only native weapon-wielding creature in the Shivering Isles. These primitive aquatic-born humanoids are organized in a tribal-like system, though it is uncertain who or what they worship. It would be presumed the Grummite worship Sheogorath, their creator, but their religious totems don't seem to bear the Madgod's likeness. What is known is that they maintain a simple hierarchy, including Shaman and Boss Grummites who seem to command the rest. The Grummite have mastered the art of spellcasting as well, evidenced by the Magus Grummite, which can be quite deadly. Curiously, the Grummite possess a defense mechanism similar to the Baliwog: when immersed in water, the Grummite will begin to regenerate damaged flesh. Unlike the Baliwog, this regeneration extends to rain as well, making them quite formidable on a stormy day. This aquatic healing ability leads me to believe the Baliwog and Grummite are somehow related, but even in my extensive research, I was unable to come up with a solid connection.\nHunger\nIf any creature represents the darker side of Sheogorath, it's the Hunger. These are pure-born Daedric creatures placed here on the Isles as servitors and guards. The Hunger is not to be trifled with; it boasts superior speed and lightning reflexes along with its primary ability of draining its victim's fatigue. My best advice when encountering this horrible creature is to give it a wide berth or slay it quickly. Be wary, as it is said that conjuration magic exists that is able to summon the Hunger and unleash it upon the caster's foes.\nScalon\nAnother aquatic native of the Shivering Isles is the Scalon. Looking strikingly similar to an upright Baliwog, the Scalon features large fin-laden appendages and dorsal spines. These creatures are usually quite fearsome, lumbering slowly after its prey. Don't mistake its speed for its weakness, as the Scalon has an incredible leaping attack that allows it to strike at its victims from a surprising distance. Another connection that it shares with the Baliwog is the fact that its bite or claws can transfer disease to its victim. It's recommended that these creatures be dealt with at extreme range with spells or missiles, as the can be quite ferocious in close proximity.\nShambles\nThe Shambles appears to be some sort of an undead construct made of bone and lashed together with wire or bits of cloth. Oddly, the bones used in their makeup appear to have no correlation to one other. They might have skulls for kneecaps or leg bones for arms, to cite a few examples. The Shambles may be undead, but they pursue any victim as if they were a predator chasing down its prey. Like its undead bony brethren, the Shambles is fully resistant to disease, poison and paralysis; however, they possess a unique resistance to all frost magic. Furthermore, upon death, the Shambles will explode in a spectacular shower of frost. This ability seems to have been added by its creator as an interesting last-ditch defense mechanism. This fact was initially unknown to me, and one of our best guides was lost when his hammer struck the fatal blow. If you intend to combat these undead creatures, be certain to carry frost protection or destroy them at range.\nSkinned Hound\nThese nasty undead beasts are generally encountered inside and around the ruins that dot the Isles. The Skinned Hound is extremely fast and agile, and has an insatiable hunger for flesh. Like the Flesh Atronach, it appears to be all skin and muscle that is roughly sewn together, but I am uncertain whether they are summoned or merely constructed. The Skinned Hound is not an adversary to be taken lightly; they feature an incredible invisible charging attack not unlike a ghost, limited frost resistance, and a complete immunity to disease and poison. This beast's weakness is fire. They don't seem intelligent enough to be frightened by it, but it's certainly very efficient at dispatching them quickly.\nAlthough this work only touches upon the combat related aspects of the creatures, I feel this is of primary importance to any traveler within the confines of the Shivering Isles. In future works, I will touch upon the other aspects of these creatures such as reproduction or creation, magical origins, and even some delicious recipes I've discovered in my travels. My best advice when walking the roads and paths of the Isles is to remain ever vigilant and always be prepared. Knowing your foe can mean the difference between a gruesome death and survival."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/necromancers-moon": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/necromancers-moon", "description": "This is a message to the necromancers of Nirn.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Necromancer's Moon", "text": "Brothers and Sisters of the Worm!\nDespair not at the trials we now face, for our time comes swiftly.\nThe God of Worms watches over our Order, and will deliver us from these troubled times on the Day of Reckoning. Until then, perform His works in secret, serve His needs, and look to the skies for His signs.\nThe Revenant, the Necromancer's Moon, watches over us all. His Form, ascended to Godhood, has taken its rightful place in the sky, and hides the enemy Arkay from us so that we may serve Him. Watch for the signs: when the heavenly light descends from above, hasten to His altars and make your offering, so that He may bless you with but a taste of His true power. Grand Soul Gems offered to Him will be darkened, and can be used to trap the souls of the unwitting; a feat even the great N'Gasta would marvel at.\nStay faithful to the Order of the Black Worm, and in time your loyalty will be rewarded. Soon, He will return to set the world right in due time, and those who would stand in his way will suffer enternally at his hands, just as those who stood opposed before.\nUntil that day, you must believe and be patient. Hide in your caves, in your ruined forts, in your secret lairs. Raise your minions, summon your servants, cast your spells. Answer the call of the Order when you are needed. Watch and listen."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nirnroot-missive": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nirnroot-missive", "description": "This document discuss the history and possible future of Nirnroot.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Nirnroot Missive", "text": "This brings me to my next subject, the glowing root known as Nirnroot.\nAlthough the oddly tenacious root grows almost anywhere a significant body of water is present, this root is extremely rare, and I believe soon to become extinct. I myself have yet to come across one of the gnarled shoots, as they're rarely in sight of the roads that cross Cyrodiil. According to the records of the noted Imperial Herbalist Chivius Regelliam, the Nirnroot once flourished and could be found all over the country, but he suspected a cataclysmic event severely stunted their growth. Although many scholars reject the proposal that the Sun's Death event of 1E 668 catastrophically affected plant life, Chivius feels that the Nirnroot's lineage was damaged by the lack of sun for a full year. Whereas other plant species tend to \"find a way,\" the Nirnroot's mysterious magical nature made it especially susceptible to this climate shift. While this may or may not be the case, it's certainly true that the recorded sightings of Nirnroot are declining as the years pass.\nThe most perplexing facet of Chivius's studies is that his notes describe the root as having a yellowish glow. Contrary to this fact, the Nirnroot of today has a soft bluish or blue-white glow. Unfortunately, since not many studies of the Nirnroot were performed from Chivius's day until now, it's unknown when or why this occurred. What I'm proposing today is that the Nirnroot, even though merely a plant, sensed impending extinction and therefore changed its own nature to survive. One of the more obvious facets of today's Nirnroot that supports this theory is the fact that it can now survive underground without any sunlight at all. While it's true that generally only mosses and fungi grow in these environments, I have two signed depositions by persons claiming that they sighted the Nirnroot in deep caves. Not once in Chivius's copious notes is a subterranean Nirnroot mentioned. But how could this be? How could a surface dwelling plant suddenly begin appearing in new locations radically different from its normal habitat?\nThe answer, my fellow alchemists, is nestled within Chivius's own notes. Although he spends a great deal of time with the Nirnroot in his laboratory, the one thing he neglected to test at a high enough level of detail was the soil. As stated previously, Chivius felt that the Sun's Death, the eruption of Red Mountain, contributed to the demise of the Nirnroot. Agreed. My amendment to that proposal is that the ash that fell from the sky that entire year mixed with the soil, and again, due to the magical nature of the root, contributed to the aforementioned changes. The ash became a catalyst of sorts, forcing a change in the very makeup of the Nirnroot. Although very little ash from that dark time remains, I have done tests on newer ash samples sent to me from Vvardenfell. They show little to no magical properties, certainly none of which could affect a plant to that magnitude. However, the rare occurrence of what's known as Ash Salt in the normal ash does contain very potent magical abilities. In fact, some native Dunmer are said to harness that ability to create a cure for the Blight, which pervaded their realm many years ago. I feel this magic, meshed with the Nirnroot's inherent magic caused the radical change... in essence; the root \"healed itself.\"\nTo surmise, my two proposals are certainly linked. The plant needed to survive, and therefore used a byproduct of its destructor to do so. No other plant in nature has ever come close to this metamorphosis. I feel the Nirnroot has accomplished in a relatively short amount of time what it would take other species millions of years to complete.\nWhatever the case may be, one thing is certain; the Nirnroot is on a path to destruction. It contains untapped potential to create potions the likes of which have never been seen in our day. I propose to you today that we divert a small portion of our funds to an expedition to collect some of these roots to study. I have outlined this proposal for your perusal after this section of the Symposium. Please, seriously consider this proposal before it becomes too late, and the Nirnroot becomes nothing but a memory.\nThank you for your time.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-bothiel": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-bothiel", "description": "A request note from Bothiel, the keeper of Arcane University Orrery.", "author": "Bothiel", "title": "Note from Bothiel", "text": "To whom it may concern:\nYou have been passed this note because you may be able to help the Mages Guild. The Council of Mages has not the resources; the Legion is either unwilling or unable to assist.\nA shipment of Dwarven artifacts from Morrowind, destined for the Arcane University, was intercepted by bandits recently. Intending to sell the artifacts for profit, they have stolen items essential to repair the Imperial Orrery in Cyrodiil's capital.\nThe only known location of these bandits is Camp Ales, north of Kvatch. If you can find these ruffians and recover the items they've stolen, I will be most indebted. The Orrery is my life's work, and I would hate to see it pass into obscurity now.\nItems missing:\n2 Dwarven Cogs\n1 Dwarven Coherer\n1 Dwarven Cylinder\n1 Dwarven Tube\n-Bothiel"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-first-mate-filch": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-first-mate-filch", "description": "A note from First Mate Filch to the \"Capn.\"", "author": "Finch", "title": "Note from First Mate Filch", "text": "Capn,\nIm tellin ya sir! We gots ta be moor carefull! if the Layawind city watch comes snoopin around agin, we may havta pull anchor and git out of this good fer nuthin city! I aint spendin the rest a my days locked up in no jail for illegaly transportin cattle! No sir, i will not! all due rspect capn, but the mates an me sined on fer real pirate stuff -- murderin lootin and ravagin! we aint no damn shepeards!\nfirst mate filch (pirate!)"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-raminus-polus": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-raminus-polus", "description": "This is a note from Raminus Polus to Hieronymus Lex about a valuable artifact being stolen from the Arcane University.", "author": "Raminus Polus", "title": "Note From Raminus Polus", "text": "Hieronymus Lex,\nYour vendetta against the Gray Fox has cost the Arcane University dearly. You commandeered the guards patrolling our property. In their absence, someone stole a valuable artifact from the University. We demand that you return all guards to their posts immediately. If you do not do this, we will be forced to bring the matter to the attention of your superior.\nRaminus Polus\nThe Arcane University"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-gray-fox": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-gray-fox", "description": "This is a note from the Gray Fox to the Arcane University.", "author": "The Gray Fox", "title": "Note from The Gray Fox  ", "text": "It seems that security in the Arcane University is not what it used to be. In fact, that seems to be a problem all over the Imperial City. I would recommend that you get your guards back on duty unless you want more of your precious artifacts to go missing.\nThe Gray Fox"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-gwinas": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-gwinas", "description": "An invitation to join Mythic Dawn cult.", "author": "Mythic Dawn Sponsor", "title": "Note to Gwinas", "text": "Gwinas,\nYour interest in the writings of the Master has been noted. You are taking the first steps towards true enlightenment. Persevere, and you may yet join the exalted ranks of the Chosen.\nIf you wish to continue further down the Path of Dawn, you will need the fourth volume of the Master's \"Commentaries on the Mysterium Xarxes.\" It can be obtained only from a member of the Order of the Mythic Dawn. As your designated Sponsor, I will pass on my copy to you if I deem you worthy.\nStudy the first three volumes of the Master's writings. Look for the hidden meaning in his words, as best as you are able.\nWhen you are ready, come to the Sunken Sewers under the Elven Gardens in the Imperial City. Come alone. Follow the main tunnel until you reach the room with the table and chair. Sit down. I will meet you there and give you what you desire.\nThe Sponsor"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/notes-captain-montrose": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/notes-captain-montrose", "description": "A note by Imperial Guard Captain Montrose after examining a slain Mythic Dawn cult member.", "author": "Captain Gepard Montrose", "title": "Notes: Captain Montrose  ", "text": "So far the investigation has been inconclusive, to say the least. The assassin's body has yielded no clues as to his affiliation, and we haven't even been able to ascertain the motive for the Emperor's slaying. We've even gone so far as to question local merchants about the unique garb, but have run into nothing but dead ends.\nThe nature of the attack, the multiple assassins, the ceremonial robes, the summoned weapons and armor -- it all speaks of something...ritualistic. I've seen the Dark Brotherhood's handiwork more times than I care to remember, and this just doesn't fit their usual pattern. I guess that's what worries me. We're not dealing with the unknown, and I'll be damned if I know how to handle it.\n-- Captain Gepard Montrose\nPostscript -- I've instructed the men to dump the rest of the assassins' bodies in the sewers. Let them serve as food for the vermin. It's more than those bastards d"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/opusculus-lamae-bal-ta-mezzamortie": {"game": ["Oblivion", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/opusculus-lamae-bal-ta-mezzamortie", "description": "Vampire lore - their creation, and the origin of the Lamae Bal, the Blood Matron.", "author": "Mabei Aywenil, Scribe", "title": "Opusculus Lamae Bal ta Mezzamortie", "text": "Opusculus Lamae Bal ta Mezzamortie\nA brief account of Lamae Bal and the Restless Death\nTranslation by University of Gwylim Press; 3E 105\n\nAs brighter grows light, darker becomes shadow. So it passed that the Daedra Molag Bal looked on Arkay and thought the Aedra prideful of his dominion o\u2019er the death of man and mer, and it was sooth.\nBal, whose sphere is the wanton oppression and entrapment of mortal souls, sought to thwart Arkay, who knew that not man, nor mer, nor beastfolk of all Nirn could escape eventual death. The Aedra was doubtless of his sphere, and so Molag Bal set upon Nirn to best death.\nTamriel was still young, and filled with danger and wondrous magick when Bal walked in the aspect of a man and took a virgin, Lamae Beolfag, from the Nedic Peoples. Savage and loveless, Bal profaned her body, and her screams became the Shrieking Winds, which still haunt certain winding fjords of Skyrim. Shedding a lone droplet of blood on her brow, Bal left Nirn, having sown his wrath.\nViolated and comatose, Lamae was found by nomads, and cared for. A fortnight hence, the nomad wyrd-woman enshrouded Lamae in pall for she had passed into death. In their way, the nomads built a bonfire to immolate the husk. That night, Lamae rose from her funeral pyre, and set upon the coven, still aflame. She ripped the throats of the women, ate the eyes of the children, and raped their men as cruelly as Bal had ravished her.\nAnd so; Lamae, (who is known to us as blood-matron) imprecated her foul aspect upon the folk of Tamriel, and begat a brood of countless abominations, from which came the vampires, most cunning of the night-horrors. And so was the scourge of undeath wrought upon Tamriel, cruelly mocking Arkay\u2019s rhythm of life and death through all the coming eras of the et\u2019Ada, and for all his sadness, Arkay knew this could not be undone.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/orders-lucien-lachance": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/orders-lucien-lachance", "description": "A letter from Dark Brotherhood high-up Lucien Lachance to a certain Dark Brotherhood member to join him in the Fort Farragut.", "author": "Lucien Lachance", "title": "Orders From Lucien Lachance  ", "text": "Eliminator,\nYou have served the Dark Brotherhood well in the short time you have been with us. Indeed, the rate of your advancement has been rather remarkable. Now the Black Hand itself is in need of your abilities.\nYou must proceed with all haste to my private refuge in the ruins of Fort Farragut, located in the forest northeast of the Cheydinhal Sanctuary. When you arrive, we will discuss the nature of your special assignment.\nI cannot stress to you enough the importance of your swift arrival at Fort Farragut. There are unseen powers working to unravel the very fabric of the Dark Brotherhood. The Black Hand is counting on you to prevent this disaster.\nDo not share the contents of this message with anyone at the Cheydinhal Sanctuary, including Ocheeva, and make no mention of your journey to Fort Farragut! Also, be warned -- my refuge within Fort Farragut is guarded by denizens who will attack any interloper on sight. Get through these rotting sentinels and you will surely have earned the right to visit my private sanctum.\nLucien Lachance"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/origin-mages-guild-0": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/origin-mages-guild-0", "description": "", "author": "Archmage Salarth", "title": "Origin Of The Mages Guild", "text": "The idea of a collection of Mages, Sorcerers, and assorted Mystics pooling their resources and talents for the purpose of research and public charity was a revolutionary concept in the early years of the Second Era. The only organization then closest in aim and structure to what we know today as the Mages Guild was the Psijic Order of the Isle of Artaeum. At the time, magic was something to be learned by individuals, or at most within intimate covens. Mages were, if not actually hermits, usually quite solitary.\nThe Psijic Order served the rulers of Summurset Isle as counsellors, and chose its members through a complex, ritualized method not understood by outsiders. Its purposes and goals likewise went unpublished, and detractors attributed the worst evils as the source of the Order's power. Actually, the religion of the old Order could be described as ancestor worship, an increasingly unfashionable philosophy in the Second Era.\nWhen Vanus Galerion, a Psijic of Artaeum and student of the famed Iachesis, began collecting magic-users from around Summurset Isle, he attracted the animosity of all. He was operating out of the urban center of Firsthold, and there was a common (and not entirely unfounded) attitude that magical experiments should be conducted only in unpopulated areas. Even more shocking, Galerion proposed to make magical items, potions, and even spells available to any member of the general public who could afford to pay. No longer was magic to be limited either to the aristocracy or intelligentsia.\nGalerion was brought before Iachesis and the King of Firsthold, Rilis XII, and made to state the intentions of the fraternity he was forming. The fact that Galerion's speech to Rilis and Iachesis was not recorded for posterity is doubtless a tragedy, though it does afford opportunity for historians to amuse one another with speculation about the lies and persuasions Galerion might have used to found the ubiquitous organization. The charter, at any rate, was approved.\nAlmost immediately after the Guild was formed, the question of security had to be addressed. The Isle of Artaeum did not require force of arms to shield it from invaders -- when the Psijic Order does not wish someone to land on the Isle, it and all its inhabitants simply become insubstantial. The new Mages Guild, by contrast, had to hire guards. Galerion soon discovered what the Tamrielan nobility has known for thousands of years: Money alone does not buy loyalty. The knightly Order of the Lamp was formed the following year.\nLike a tree from an acorn, the Mages Guild grew branches all over Summurset Isle and gradually the mainland of Tamriel. There are numerous records of superstitious or sensibly fearful rulers forbidding the Guild in their domains, but their heirs or heirs' heirs eventually recognized the wisdom of allowing the Guild free rein. The Mages Guild has become a powerful force in Tamriel, a dangerous foe if a somewhat disinterested ally. There have been only a few rare incidents of the Mages Guild actually becoming involved in local political struggles. On these occasions, the Guild's participation has been the ultimate decider in the conflict.\nAs begun by Vanus Galerion, the Mages Guild as an institution is presided over by a supreme council of six Archmagisters. Each Guildhall is run by a Guildmagister, assisted by a twofold counsel, the Master of Incunabula and the Master at Arms. The Master of Incunabula presides over an additional counsel of two mages, the Master of Academia and the Master of the Scrye. The Master at Arms also has a counsel of two, the Master of Initiates and the Palatinus, the leader of the local chapter of the Order of the Lamp.\nOne need not be a member of the Mages Guild to know that this carefully contrived hierarchy is often nothing more than a chimera. As Vanus Galerion himself said bitterly, leaving Tamriel to travel to other lands, \"The Guild has become nothing more than an intricate morass of political infighting.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/pale-pass-crumpled-note": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/pale-pass-crumpled-note", "description": "A document found in the Pale Pass which is involved in an undocumented quest.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Pale Pass Crumpled Note", "text": "14 of Heartfire 3E362\nI guess you found the message I told you about, old friend. We've traveled together for so long, and you're the only one I trust with the ring and my story.\nI knew climbing into the window of that wizard's house was a mistake, but the bounty on the ring was just too enticing to pass up. They said it was worth thousands of drakes... enough to keep me comfortable for a while as I lay low. They also said Ortharzel was out of town at some meeting of wizards or some such.\nThey were wrong on both counts. You'd think I'd be used to this by now, dealing with the unpredictable in our line of work. But after trying to fence the ring all over Cyrodiil, no one would touch it. Worse still, Ortharzel was pursuing me the entire time. I had to call in many favors to stay one step ahead of him.\nI decided to strike north and make for Skyrim. As I was crossing the Jeralls, he finally caught up to me. Two fireballs later, I found myself tumbling down a steep snowy slope into a valley. Don't know where I am, but there are ruins of some old fort here. Luckily, that fetcher didn't follow me down; I assume he gave me up for dead.\nI think I'm going to stash the ring in this valley, make for Skyrim, and return later when I feel it's safe. I've used some old chests I found in the ruins to make sure nobody stumbles across the ring by mistake; you know, the old key to a key thing like we used to do. If I don't make it back here, and you're reading this message, then the ring is all yours, my friend. Use it well and remember me.\nG.S."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/pale-pass-map": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/pale-pass-map", "description": "A map leading to the ruins at Pale Pass.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Pale Pass Map", "text": "Pale Pass Map"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/pension-ancestor-moth": {"game": ["Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/pension-ancestor-moth", "description": "The basics of the Temple of the Ancestor Moth.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Pension of the Ancestor Moth", "text": "To be read by all novitiates of the Temple:\nThe Order of the Ancestor Moth is as ancient as it is noble. We nurture and celebrate our beloved ancestors, whose spirits are manifest in the Ancestor Moths. Each moth carries the fjyron of an ancestor's spirit. Loosely translated as the \"will to peace,\" the fjyron can be sung into the silk produced by the Ancestor Moths. When the silk is in turn spun into cloth and embroidered with the genealogy of the correct Ancestor, clothing of wondrous power can be made.\nAdepts of our order are gifted with prescient powers. The wisdom of the ancestors can sing the future into the present. For this reason, our order and our order alone has been given the privilege to interpret the Elder Scrolls. These writings exceed even the gods, both aedra and daedra. Such insight into the inner fabric of reality comes at a price. Each reading of the Elder Scrolls is more profound than the last. Each leaves the priest blind for longer, and longer periods of time. Finally, the last reading achieves a nearly sublime understanding of that scroll's contents, but the priest is left permanently blinded to the light of this world. No longer can he read the scrolls.\nThis Monastery is dedicated to the service of these noble members of our order. They now live out their lives with the Ancestor Moths that they so love. Their underground demesnes are well suited to the moths. They raise and nurture the fragile creatures, singing to them constantly. They harvest the silk and spin it into bolts of cloth. They weave the cloth, embroidering it with the genealogies and histories of the ancestors that spun the silk. This is their new life.\nAs they tend the Ancestor Moths, so we tend the blind monks. While they toil in dark, we serve in the light. They need food and water. We provide. They need tools and furniture. We provide. They need secrecy and anonymity. We provide. They need purveyors to sell the fruit of their labors. We provide.\nAt one time, we also provided protection. Many generations ago, Gudrun came to our temple. Newly blinded by visions of what was to be, she brought with her new teachings. The visions of the ancestors foresaw the need of the monks to defend themselves. They train and practice the teachings of Gudrun constantly. They are masters of the sword of no sword, the axes of no axe.\nAs a novitiate, you will learn the teachings of Gudrun. You will learn the way of the peaceful fist. You will learn to serve the blind monks. You will learn to provide. In time, you may attain the peace and insight of the Ancestor Moths.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/plan-big-heist": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/plan-big-heist", "description": "An instruction paper for a certain Thieves Guild member to steal one of The Elder Scrolls.", "author": "the Gray Fox", "title": "Plan for the Big Heist", "text": "1) Activate the Old Way using the Glass of Time. It is located inside the Imperial Palace. I do not know what it looks like or exactly where to find it.\n2) Find the entrance to the Old Way. It is rumored to be somewhere in the sewers under the Imperial City.\n3) Inside the Old Way is an entrance to the heart of the Imperial Palace. Savilla's Stone was only able to scry the two most important obstacles. For one of them you will need to use the Boots of Springheel Jak.\n4) To enter the Imperial City you must use the Arrow of Extrication to to unlock the final door.\n5) Inside the Imperial Palace you must find the Imperial Library. On the bottom floor is some sort of viewing room.\n6) I have arranged to have a particular scroll made available in the Chamber. The blind monks that care for the scrolls are expecting Celia Camoran, but you will take her place. Just find the chair assigned to visitors to the library. You must not speak, or they will know it is not her. Just let them bring you the scroll.\n7) Once you have the scroll, retrace your steps and deliver it to me. Of course the chances of something going wrong with this plan are very high. When that happens, you'll just have to get creative."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/oblivion-potion-recipes": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/oblivion-potion-recipes", "description": "Recipes for various potions made from ingredients found in the Imperial Province.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Potion Recipes", "text": "Restore Fatigue\nTo create a potion of Restore Fatigue, combine any two normal foods, such as meat or seeds. Grind carefully with the mortar and pestle. Place the resulting powder in a small pestle and mix with ordinary clear water.\nCure Disease\nFor a potion of Cure Disease, grind Clannfear Claws and Mandrake root into a fine powder using a mortar and pestle. It will remain somewhat gritty. It can be mixed in with almost any liquid, but ordinary clear water is safest.\nCure Poison\nTo create a potion of Cure Poison, mix Ginseng and Redwort Flower in equal portions. Slowly grind them together with a mortar and pestle. The ginseng may leave a sticky residue. Add water for easy swallowing.\nRestore Health\nFor a minor Restore Health potion, crumble some Cairn Bolete cap over roasted Boar Meat. Chop finely and mix together with a mortar and pestle. Add water to create a solution that can be drunk.\nRestore Willpower\nA potion of Restore Willpower is made by heating Minotaur Horn and Primrose Leaves. Grind the results together with a mortar and pestle. Add water to create a drinkable fluid."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/proper-lock-design-and-construction": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/proper-lock-design-and-construction", "description": "Some notes about the design of locks.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Proper Lock Design and Construction", "text": "I have encountered many thieves whose sole interest in locks is how to open them and thereby pilfer the protected contents of the room or chest. I have taken it upon myself to devise a system of locks that can defeat such villianous intent.\nThe materials used to create a lock are of utmost importance. Shoddy brass or copper will give way to a well placed kick, thereby rendering the lock itself useless. I recommend steel over iron when choosing a material. More robust materials tend to be prohibitively expensive and necessitate the door being made of similar metals. I have been chagrined to stumble across the shattered shell of a wooden chest, it's dwarven lock intact and still locked.\nOnce these basics are settled, pay particular attention to the offset of the tumblers. A seven degree offset to the keyhole will allow a torque style key to work smoothly, while at the same time causing numerous headaches for the thief attempting to insert non-torque lockpicks.\nIn similar fashion, the springs of the tumblers should be made by different smiths. Each smith will unknowingly create a spring with different tension than his fellow smiths. This variance will also create difficulties for anyone attempting to pick the lock."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/public-notice-0": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/public-notice-0", "description": "A paper posted on Claudius Arcadia's house.", "author": "Adamus Phillida, Imperial Legion Commander", "title": "Public Notice", "text": "For public notice:\nThis property has been seized by the Imperial Legion, and its owner imprisoned.\nRituals to the Night Mother, or any other attempt to contact the Dark Brotherhood, will not be tolerated!\n-- Adamus Phillida, Imperial Legion Commander"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/purloined-shadows": {"game": ["Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/purloined-shadows", "description": "A young girl learns a valuable skill from a master thief", "author": "Waughin Jarth", "title": "Purloined Shadows", "text": "\n* Chapter One *\nThe candle was lit, and the thief was standing there, blinking, caught. She was young, rather dirty, wearing ragged black clothes that were surely quite smart and expensive weeks ago when she had stolen them from one of the city's best tailors. The look of surprise slipped from her face, and she took on a blank expression as she put the gold back on the table.\n\"What are you doing here?\" the man with the candle asked, stepping from the shadows.\n\"That's a stupid question,\" the girl replied, frowning. \"I'm obviously robbing you.\"\n\"Since nothing I have is missing,\" the man smiled, glancing at the gold on the table. \"I would have to say that you're not robbing me. Attempting to rob me perhaps. The question I have is, why? You know who I am, I assume. You didn't just come in through an unlocked door.\"\n\"I've stolen from everyone else. I've taken soul gems from the Mages Guild, I've robbed the treasury of the most secure fortress, I cheated the Archbishop of Julianos... I even pickpocketed the Emperor Pelagius at his coronation. I thought it was your turn.\"\n\"I'm flattered,\" the man nodded. \"Now that your ambition has been thwarted, what will you do? Flee? Perhaps retire?\"\n\"Teach me,\" the girl replied, a little grin finding its way unconsciously on her face. \"I picked all your locks, I slipped past all your wards... You designed them, you know how difficult that was for someone without training. I didn't come here for six gold pieces. I came here to prove myself. Make me your student.\"\nThe Master of Stealth looked at the little girl burglar. \"Your skill is not in need of training. Your planning is adequate, but I can help you with that. What is without hope is your ambition. You are past stealing for your livelihood, now you steal for the pleasure of it, for the challenge. That's a personality trait which is incurable, and will lead you to an early grave.\"\n\"Haven't you ever wanted to steal that which can't be stolen?\" the girl asked. \"Something that would make your name known forever?\"\nThe Master did not answer: he only frowned.\n\"Clearly I was fooled by your reputation,\" she shrugged, and opened a window. \"I thought you might want a willing accomplice on some great act of thievery which would go down in history. Like you said, my skill at planning is only adequate. I didn't have in mind an escape route, but this will have to do.\"\nThe burglar slipped down the sheer wall, dashed across the shadowy courtyard, and within a few minutes was back at her room in the run-down tavern. The Master was waiting for her there, in the dark.\n\"I didn't see you go past me,\" she gasped.\n\"You turned on the street when you heard the owl call,\" he replied. \"The most important tool in the thieves' repertoire is distraction, either planned or improvised. I suppose your lessons have begun.\"\n\"And what is the final test?\" the girl smiled.\nWhen he told her, she could only stare. She had, it seemed, not misunderstood his reputation for daring. Not at all.\n\n* Chapter Two *\nFor the week leading up to the Eighth of Hearthfire, the skies above Rindale were dark and alive as clouds of crows blotted out the sun. Their guttural squawks and groans deafened all. The peasants wisely bolted their doors and windows, praying to survival that most unholy of days.\nOn the night of the summoning, the birds fell silent, their black unblinking eyes following the witches' march into the glen. There were no moons to light the way, only the leader's single torch in the gloom. Their white robes appeared as indistinct shapes, like the faintest of ghosts.\nA single tall tree stood in the middle of the clearing, every branch thick with crows, watching the procession without moving. The lead witch placed the torch at the base of the tree, and her seventeen followers formed a circle and began their slow, strange, wailing chant.\nAs they sang, the glow of the torch began to change. It did not diminish at all, but its color became more and more grey, so it seemed a pulsating wave of ash had fallen on the witches. Then it grew darker still, so that for a moment, though the fire yet burned, it was darkest night in the forest. The penumbra continued until the torch was burning with a color without a name, emptiness beyond mere blackness. It cast a glow, but it was an unnatural scintillation falling on the witches. Their robes of white became black. The Dunmer among them had eyes of green, and ivory white flesh. The Nords appeared black as coal. The crows watching overhead were as pure white as the witches' cloaks.\nThe Daedra Princess Nocturnal stepped out of the pit of uncolor.\nShe stood in the center of the circle, the tree of pallid crows her throne, aloof, as the witches continued their chanting, dropping their robes to prostrate themselves naked before their great mistress. Wrapping her night cloak around her, she smiled at their song. It spoke of her mystery, of veiled beauty, of eternal shadows and a divine future when the sun burns no more.\nNocturnal let her cloak slide from her shoulders and was naked. Her witches did not raise their head from the ground, but continued their hymn of darkness.\n\"Now,\" said the girl to herself.\nShe had been up in the tree all day, dressed in a ridiculous suit of mock crows. It was uncomfortable, but when the witches had arrived, she forgot all her aches, and concentrated on being perfectly still, like the other crows in the tree. It had taken considerable planning and study between her and the Master of Stealth to find the glen, and to learn what to expect in the summoning of Nocturnal.\nGently, silently, the burglar eased herself down the branches of the tree, coming closer and closer to the Daedra Princess. She let herself break her concentration for just a moment, and wondered where the Master was. He had been confident in the plan. He said that when Nocturnal dropped her cloak, there would be a distraction, and it could be quickly taken in that instant provided the girl was in position at the precise right moment.\nThe girl climbed along the lowest of the branches, carefully pushing aside the crows that were, as the Master said, transfixed by the Princess in her naked beauty.\u00a0 The girl was now close enough, if she only reached out her arm, to touch Nocturnal's back.\nThe song was rising to a crescendo, and the girl knew that the ceremony would soon be over. Nocturnal would clothe herself before the witches ended the chant, and the chance to take the cloak would be over. The girl gripped the tree branch tightly as her mind raced. Could it be that the Master was not here at all? Was this, was this conceivably the entire test? Was it only to show that it could be done, not to do it?\nThe girl was furious. She had done everything perfectly, but the so-called Master of Stealth had proven himself a coward. Perhaps he had taught her a little in the months that it took to plan this, but what was it worth? Only one thing made her smile. On that night when she had stolen into his stronghold, she had kept one single gold piece, and he had never suspected it. It was symbolic, as symbolic as stealing the cloak of Nocturnal in its way, proving that the Master Thief could be robbed.\nThe girl was so lost on her mind that she thought she imagined it for a moment when a man's voice yelled out from the darkness, \"Mistress!\"\nThe next words she knew she didn't imagine: \"Mistress! A thief! Behind you!\"\nThe witches raised their heads, and screamed, ruining the sanctity of the ceremony, as they charged forward. The crows awoke and burst from the tree in an explosion of feathers and toad-like cries. Nocturnal herself whirled around, affixing the girl with her black eyes.\n\"Who art thee who dares profane?\" The Princess hissed, as the pitch shadows flew from her body enveloping the girl in their lethal chill.\nIn the last instant before she was swallowed alive by darkness, the girl looked to the ground and saw that the cloak was gone, and she answered, as she understood, \"Oh, who am I? I'm the distraction.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ramblings-audens-avidius": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ramblings-audens-avidius", "description": "A note by Audens Avidius after he was arrested.", "author": "Audens Avidius", "title": "Ramblings of Audens Avidius", "text": "I used to be somebody. I was a captain of the guard in the Imperial City until that fleabitten hero decided to poke his nose in my business. I have a plan to get out of the Imperial prison. Apparently there is a secret escape tunnel used by the royal family. When I get out I'm going to settle the score with that hero. Then I'll take care of those two snitches Ruslan and Luronk. The sweetest of all will be Itius Hayn. I'll make him squeal first."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/reality-and-other-falsehoods": {"game": ["Oblivion", "Skyrim", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/reality-and-other-falsehoods", "description": "A treatise on the nature of Alteration magic.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Reality and Other Falsehoods", "text": "It is easy to confuse Illusion and Alteration. Both schools of magic attempt to create what is not there. The difference is in the rules of nature. Illusion is not bound by them, while Alteration is. This may seem to indicate that Alteration is the weaker of the two, but this is not true. Alteration creates a reality that is recognized by everyone. Illusion's reality is only in the mind of the caster and the target.\nTo master Alteration, first accept that reality is a falsehood. There is no such thing. Our reality is a perception of greater forces impressed upon us for their amusement. Some say that these forces are the gods, others that they are something beyond the gods. For the wizard, it doesn't really matter. What matters is the appeal couched in a manner that cannot be denied. It must be insistent without being insulting.\nTo cast Alteration spells is to convince a greater power that it will be easier to change reality as requested than to leave it alone. Do not assume that these forces are sentient. Our best guess is that they are like wind and water. Persistent but not thoughtful. Just like directing the wind or water, diversions are easier than outright resistance. Express the spell as a subtle change and it is more likely to be successful."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rislav-righteous": {"game": ["Oblivion", "Skyrim", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rislav-righteous", "description": "A heroic history book about Rislav Larich, an ancient king of Skingrad.", "author": "Sinjin", "title": "Rislav the Righteous", "text": "Like all true heroes, Rislav Larich had inauspicious beginnings. We are told by chroniclers that the springtide night in the 448th year of the first era on which he was born was unseasonably cold, and that his mother Queen Lynada died very shortly after setting eyes upon her son. If he were much beloved of his father, King Mhorus of Skingrad, who already had plenty of heirs, three sons and four daughters before him, the chroniclers make no mention of it.\nHis existence was so very undistinguished that we hear virtually nothing of him for the first twenty years of his life. His schooling, we can suppose, was similar to that of any \"spare prince\" in the Colovian West, with Ayleid tutors to teach him the ways of hunting and battle. Etiquette, religious instruction, and even basic statecraft were seldom a part of the training of a prince of the Highlands, as it was in the more civilized valley of Nibenay.\nThere is a brief reference to him, together with his family, as part of the rolls of honor during the coronation of the Emperor Gorieus on the 23rd of Sun's Dawn 1E 461. The ceremony, of course, held during the time of the Alessian Doctrines of Marukh, and so was without entertainment, but the thirteen-year-old Rislav was still witness to some of the greatest figures of legend. The Beast of Anequina, Darloc Brae, represented his kingdom, giving honor to the Empire. The Chieftain of Skyrim Kjoric the White and his son Hoag were in attendance. And despite the Empire's intolerance of all elves, chimer Indoril Nerevar and dwemer Dumac Dwarfking were evidently there as well, diplomatically representing Resdayn, all in relative peace.\nAlso mentioned on the rolls was a young mer in service to the Imperial court of High Rock, who was to have a great history with Rislav. Ryain Direnni.\nWhether the two young men of about the same age met and conversed is entirely the stuff of historian's fancy. Ryain is spoken of in praising words as a powerful land-owner, eventually buying the island of Balfiera in the Iliac Bay and gradually conquering all of High Rock and large parts of Hammerfell and Skyrim, but Rislav is not heard of again in history's books for another seventeen years. We can only offer supposition based on the facts that follow.\nChildren of kings are, of course, married to the children of other kings to bind alliances. The kingdoms of Skingrad and Kvatch skirmished over common territory throughout the fifth century, until they reached a peace in the year 472. The details of this accord are not recorded, but since we know that Prince Rislav was in the court of Kvatch six years later, as husband to Belene, the daughter of King Justinius, it is fair to make an educated guess that they were married then to make peace.\nThis brings us to the year 478, when a great plague swept through all of Cyrodiil and seemed particularly concentrated in the independent Colovian West. Among the victims were King Mhorus and the rest of the entire royal family in Skingrad. Rislav's only surviving elder brother, Dorald, survived, being in the Imperial City as a priest of Marukh. He returned to his homeland to assume the throne.\nOf Dorald, we have some history. The King's second son, he was slightly simple-minded and evidently very pious. All the chroniclers spoke of his sweetness and decency, how he saw a vision in his early years that brought him - with his father's blessing - from Skingrad to the Imperial City and the priesthood. The priesthood of Marukh, of course, saw no difference between spiritual and political matters. It was the religion of the Alessian Empire, and it taught that to resist the Emperor was to resist the Gods. Given that, it is scarcely a surprise what Dorald did when he became King of the independent kingdom of Skingrad.\nHis first edict, on his very first day, was to cede the kingdom to the Empire.\nThe reaction throughout the Colovian Estates was shock and outrage, nowhere more so than in the court of Kvatch. Rislav Larich, we are told, rode forth to his brother's kingdom, together with his wife and two dozen of his father-in-law's cavalry. It was surely not an impressive army, no matter how the chroniclers embellish it, but they had little trouble defeating all the guards Dorald sent to stop them. In truth, there was no actual battling, for the soldiers of Skingrad resented their new king's decision to give up their autonomy.\nThe brothers faced one another in the castle courtyard where they had grown up.\nIn typical Colovian fashion, there was no trial, no accusations of treason, no jury, no judge. Only an executioner.\n\"Thou art no brother of mine,\" Rislav Larich said, and struck Dorald's head from his shoulders in one blow. He was crowned King of Skingrad still holding the same bloody axe in his arms.\nIf King Rislav had no battle experience beforehand, that was shortly to change. Word spread quickly to the Imperial City that Skingrad, once offered, was now being taken back. Gorieus was an accomplished warrior even before taking the throne, and the seventeen years he had as Emperor were scarcely peaceful. Only eight months before Dorald's assassination and Rislav's ascendancy, Gorieus and the Alessian army had faced another of his coronation guests, Kjoric the White, on the fields of the frozen north. The High Chieftain of Skyrim lost his life in the Battle of Sungard. While the pact of chieftains was selecting a new leader, Cyrodiil was busily grabbing back the land of southern Skyrim that it had lost.\nIn short, Emperor Gorieus knew how to deal with rebellious vassals.\nThe Alessian army poured westward \"like a flood of death,\" to borrow the chronicler's phrase, in numbers far exceeding what would be required to conquer Skingrad. Gorieus could not have thought actual battle was likely. Rislav, as we said, had little to no experience at warfare, and only a few days' practice at kingcraft. His kingdom and all of the Colovian West had just been ravaged by plague. The Alessians anticipated that a mere show of arms, and a surrender.\nRislav instead prepared for battle. He quickly inspected his troops and drew up plans.\nThe chroniclers who had heretofore ignored the life of Rislav now devote verse after verse describing the king's aspect with fetishistic delight. While it may lack literary merit and taste, we are at least given some details at last. Not surprisingly, the king wore the finest armor of his era, as the Colovian Estates then had the finest leathersmiths - the only type of armor available - in all of Tamriel. The king's klibanion mail, boiled and waxed for hardness, and studded with inch-long spikes, was a rich chestnut red, and he wore it over his black tunic but under his black cloak. The statue of Rislav the Righteous which now stands in Skingrad is a romanticized version of king, but not inaccurate except in the armor represented. No bard of the Colovian West would have gone to the market so lightly protected. But it does, as we will see, include the most important accouterments of Rislav: his trained hawk and his fast horse.\nThe winter rains had washed through the roads to the south, sending much of the West Weald spilling into Valenwood. The Emperor took the northern route, and King Rislav with a small patrol of guards met him at a low pass on what is now the Gold Road. The Emperor's army, it is said, was so large that the Beast of Anequina could hear its march from hundreds of miles away, and despite himself, the chroniclers say, he quaked in fear.\nRislav, it was said, did not quake. With perfect politeness, he told the Emperor that his party was too large to be accommodated in the tiny kingdom of Skingrad.\n\"Next time,\" Rislav said. \"Write before you come.\"\nThe Emperor was, like most Alessian Emperors, not a man of great humor, and he thought Rislav touched by Sheogorath. He ordered his personal guards to arrest the poor madman, but at that moment, the King of Skingrad raised his arm and sent his hawk flying into the sky. It was a signal his army had been waiting for. The Alessian were all within the pass and the range of their arrows.\nKing Rislav and his guard began riding westward as fast as if they had been \"kissed by wild Kynareth,\" as the chroniclers said. He did not dare to look behind him, but his plan went faultlessly. The far eastern end of the pass was sealed by rolling boulders, giving the Alessian no direction to go but westward. The Skingrad archers rained arrows down upon the Imperial army from far above on the plateaus, remaining safe from reprisal. The furious Emperor Gorieus chased Rislav from the Weald to the Highlands, leaving Skingrad far behind, all the while his army growing steadily smaller and smaller.\nIn the ancient Highland forest, the Imperial army met the army of Rislav's father-in-law, the King of Kvatch. The Alessian army likely still outnumbered their opponents, but they were exhausted and their morale had been obliterated by the chase amid a sea of arrows. After an hour's battle, they retreated north into what is now the Imperial Reserve, and from there, further north and east, to slip back to nurse their wounds and pride in Nibenay.\nIt was the beginning of the end of the Alessian hegemony. The Kings of the Colovian West joined with Kvatch and Skingrad to resist Imperial incursions. The Clan Direnni under Ryain was inspired to outlaw the religion of the Alessian Reform throughout his lands in High Rock, and began pushing into Imperial territories. The new High Chief of Skyrim, Hoag, now called Hoag Merkiller, though sharing the Emperor's official xenophobia, also joined the resistance. His heir, King Ysmir Wulfharth of Atmora, helped continue the struggle upon Hoag's death in battle, and also insured his place in history.\nThe heroic King of Skingrad, who faced the Emperor's army virtually alone, and triggered its end, justly deserves his sobriquet of Rislav the Righteous.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/skrivvas-note": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/skrivvas-note", "description": "A note from S'krivva to J'baana about a theft.", "author": "S'krivva", "title": "S'krivva's Note", "text": "3 Prowlers sent to Elsweyr. The item should be acquired within the week. Please have patience."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sacred-witness": {"game": ["Oblivion", "Skyrim", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sacred-witness", "description": "", "author": "Enric Milnes", "title": "Sacred Witness", "text": "Sacred Witness:\nA True History of the Night Mother\n\nI have met countesses and courtesans, empresses and witches, ladies of war and slatterns of peace, but I have never met a woman like The Night Mother. And I never will again.\nI am a writer, a poet of some small renown. If I told you my name, you may have heard of me, but very likely, not. For decades until very recently, I had adopted the city of Sentinel on the coast of Hammerfell as my home, and kept the company of other artists, painters, tapestrists, and writers. No one I knew would have known an assassin by sight, least of all the queen of them, the Blood Flower, the Lady Death, the Night Mother.\nNot that I had not heard of her.\nSome years ago, I had the good fortune of meeting Pelarne Assi, a respected scholar, who had come to Hammerfell to do research for a book about the Order of Diagna. His essay, 'The Brothers of Darkness' together with Ynir Gorming's 'Fire and Darkness: The Brotherhoods of Death' are considered to be the canon tomes on the subject of Tamriel's orders of assassins. By luck, Gorming himself was also in Sentinel, and I was priveleged to sit with the two in a dark skooma den in the musty slums of the city, as we smoked and talked about the Dark Brotherhood, the Morag Tong, and the Night Mother.\nWhile not disputing the possibility that the Night Mother may be immortal or at least very long-lived, Assi thought it most likely that several women - and perhaps some men - throughout the ages had assumed the honorary title. It was no more logical to say there was only one Night Mother, he asserted, than to say there was only one King of Sentinel.\nGorming argued that there never was a Night Mother, at least no human one. The Night Mother was Mephala herself, whom the Brotherhood revered second only to Sithis.\n'I don't suppose there's any way of knowing for certain,' I said, in a note of diplomacy.\n'Certainly there is,' whispered Gorming with a grin. 'You could talk to that cloaked fellow in the corner.'\nI had not noticed the man before, who sat by himself, eyes hidden by his cloak, seemingly as much a part of the dingy place as the rough stone and unswept floor. Turning back to Ynir, I asked him why that man would know about the Night Mother.\n'He's a Dark Brother,' hissed Pellarne Assi. 'That's as plain as the moons. Don't even joke about speaking with him about Her.'\nWe moved on to other arguments about the Morag Tong and the Brotherhood, but I never forgot the image of the lone man, looking at nothing and everything, in the corner of the dirty room, with fumes of skooma smoke floating around him like ghosts. When I saw him weeks later on the streets of Sentinel, I followed him.\nYes, I followed him. The reader may reasonably ask 'why' and 'how.' I don't blame you for that.\n'How' was simply a question of knowing my city as well as I do. I'm not a thief, not particularly sure-footed and quiet, but I know the alleys and streets of Sentinel intimately from decades worth of ambling. I know which bridges creak, which buildings cast long irregular shadows, the intervals at which the native birds begin the ululations of their evening songs. With relative ease, I kept pace with the Dark Brother and out of his sight and hearing.\nThe answer to 'Why' is even simpler. I have the natural curiosity of the born writer. When I see a strange new animal, I must observe. It is the writer's curse.\nI trailed the cloaked man deeper into the city, down an alleyway so narrow it was scarcely a crack between two tenements, past a crooked fence, and suddenly, miraculously, I was in a place I had never seen before. A little courtyard cemetery, with a dozen old half-rotted wooden tombstones. None of the surrounding buildings had windows that faced it, so no one knew this miniature necropolis existed.\nNo one, except the six men and one woman standing in it. And me.\nThe woman saw me immediately, and gestured for me to come closer. I could have run, but - no, I couldn't have. I had pierced a mystery right in my adopted Sentinel, and I could not leave it.\nShe knew my name, and she said it with a sweet smile. The Night Mother was a little old lady with fluffy white hair, cheeks like wrinkled apples that still carried the flush of youth, friendly eyes, blue as the Iliac Bay. She softly took my arm as we sat down amidst the graves and discussed murder.\nShe was not always in Hammerfell, not always available for direct assignment, but it seemed she enjoyed actually talking to her clientele.\n'I did not come here to hire the Brotherhood,' I said respectfully.\n'Then why are you here?' the Night Mother asked, her eyes never leaving mine.\nI told her I wanted to know about her. I did not expect an answer to that, but she told me.\n'I do not mind the stories you writers dream up about me,' she chuckled. 'Some of them are very amusing, and some of them are good for business. I like the sexy dark woman lounging on the divan in Carlovac Townway's fiction particularly. The truth is that my history would not make a very dramatic tale. I was a thief, long, long ago, back when the Thieves Guild was only beginning. It's such a bother to sneak around a house when performing a burglary, and many of us found it most efficacious to strangle the occupant of the house. Just for convenience. I suggested to the Guild that a segment of our order be dedicated to the arts and sciences of murder.\n'It did not seem like such a controversial idea to me,' the Night Mother shrugged. 'We had specialists in catburglary, pick-pocketing, lock-picking, fencing, all the other essential parts of the job. But the Guild thought that encouraging murder would be bad for business. Too much, too much, they argued.\n'They might have been right,' the old woman continued. 'But I discovered there is a profit to be made, just the same, from sudden death. Not only can one rob the deceased, but, if your victim has enemies, which rich people often do, you can be paid for it even more. I began to murder people differently when I discovered that. After I strangled them, I would put two stones in their eyes, one black and one white.'\n'Why?' I asked.\n'It was a sort of calling card of mine. You're a writer - don't you want your name on your books? I couldn't use my name, but I wanted potential clients to know me and my work. I don't do it anymore, no need to, but at the time, it was my signature. Word spread, and I soon had quite a successful business.'\n'And that became the Morag Tong?' I asked.\n'Oh, dear me, no,' the Night Mother smiled. 'The Morag Tong was around long before my time. I know I'm old, but I'm not that old. I merely hired on some of their assassins when they began to fall apart after the murder of the last Potentate. They did not want to be members of the Tong anymore, and since I was the only other murder syndicate of any note, they just joined on.'\nI phrased my next question carefully. 'Will you kill me now that you've told me all this?'\nShe nodded sadly, letting out a little grandmotherly sigh. 'You are such a nice, polite young man, I hate to end our acquaintanceship. I don't suppose you would agree to a concession or two in exchange for your life, would you?'\nTo my everlasting shame, I did agree. I said I would say nothing about our meeting, which, as the reader can see, was a promise I eventually, years later, chose not to keep. Why have I endangered my life thus?\nBecause of the promises I did keep.\nI helped the Night Mother and the Dark Brotherhood in acts too despicable, too bloody for me to set to paper. My hand quivers as I think about the people I betrayed, beginning with that night. I tried to write my poetry, but ink seemed to turn to blood. Finally, I fled, changing my name, going to a land where no one would know me.\nAnd I wrote this. The true history of the Night Mother, from the interview she gave me on the night we met. It will be the last thing I ever write, this I know. And every word is true.\nPray for me.\n\nEditor's Note: Though originally published anonymously, the identity of the author has never been in serious doubt. Any layman familiar with the work of the poet Enric Milnes will recognize Sacred Witness's familiar cadence and style in such books of his as 'The Alik'r.' Shortly after publication, Milnes was murdered, and his killer was never found. He had been strangled, and two stones, a black one and a white one, crushed into his eyesockets. Very brutally."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/scrap-lorgrens-diary": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/scrap-lorgrens-diary", "description": "A scrap of Lorgren Benirus' journal, the ancient Necromancer of Anvil.", "author": "Lorgren Benirus", "title": "Scrap from Lorgren's Diary", "text": "2 Sun's Dawn 3E335\nThe people of Anvil are worms! How dare they criticize what they don't understand! I shall have my vengeance in a form they cannot possibly imagine. I shall use the souls of the departed to prolong my own life. The Tome is very specific. I must have more bodies... yes... more bodies.\n11 Sun's Dawn 3E335\nI must protect myself from those meddlers. They shall not interfere in my designs. I have constructed a room in the basement of this manor. It is there I will inter my corporeal self and I will transcend this plane of existence. Only a true-blooded Benirus may open the portal, so if I fail, however unlikely that may be, a descendant may attempt to follow in my footsteps to carry on the true way. To make sure our secret is safe, I have harnessed the spirits of those whose bodies I have defiled to forever guard that place.\n15 Sun's Dawn 3E335\nThe fools think I don't hear them speaking? I can hear their rumor and innuendo. They intend to meddle in powers they can barely comprehend. They call me an old fool and shun me. The young dare each other to step one foot in my yard. I have become the stuff of old wives tales and campfire stories. They dismiss me as an oddity. But soon they will see. When all of Anvil lies in waste around me, when their corpses litter the streets and their blood dampens the earth... only then will my true power be known and feared."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sealed-note": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sealed-note", "description": "A note by Lucien Lachance for a certain member of the Dark Brotherhood to meet him in the Castle Farragut.", "author": "Lucien Lachance", "title": "Sealed Note", "text": "You sleep rather soundly for a cold-blooded killer. That's good. You'll need a clear conscience for what I'd like to propose. For there is much I can offer you. The taking of a life has its own pleasures, of course, but the taking of a life for the Dark Brotherhood is an act worthy of immeasurable reward.\nIf you're intrigued, and I suspect you are, come visit me at the ruins of Fort Farragut. If you survive the descent down to the bottom level where I reside, I'll know you're capable of all the Dark Brotherhood has to offer.\nL.L."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sentinels-isles": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sentinels-isles", "description": "A treatise of Golden Saint and Dark Seducer, covering their custom, society and belief.", "author": "Andoche Marier", "title": "Sentinels of the Isles", "text": "A treatise on Golden Saint / Dark Seducer culture and history within the Shivering Isles\nAuthor's Note\nThis volume attempts to catalogue and analyze known, suspected, and rumored facts about the two races that serve to maintain order within the Shivering Isles. It is by no means intended to serve as the authoritative work on the matter; rather, it is a personal effort on the part of the author to better understand these unique creatures.\nIn the Service of the Lord\nIt is beyond the scope of this work to determine the origins of the Golden Saints and Dark Seducers. They are Daedra, and as such their base existence is a mystery to those mortal-born. The commonly held belief that all Daedra are incapable of Creation suggests that even Lord Sheogorath himself is not responsible for the genesis of these races. Yet, it is worth noting that the Prince of Madness has motives and powers that none may guess; to attempt to do so would only confuse the subject further.\nIt is enough, then, to see that they exist and know that it is so. Beyond this knowledge, however, it is curious that the Saints and Seducers serve Lord Sheogorath unerringly. This allegiance is ultimate and eternal, from all indications, but its source is unknown. Could it be that they themselves were tricked into service by the Madgod? Or do they simply ally themselves with the greatest power in the realm? Previous literary works suggest that Daedra choose to serve their masters so they might find protection and safe harbor. Clearly the Saints and Seducers have this in the Shivering Isles; indeed, they have fortresses which few not of their race are allowed to enter. They have power in the realm, acting as guardians of those who serve Lord Sheogorath. Constantly they vie for the favor of Our Lord, fighting any who oppose him and, at times, even each other. It is reasonable to assume, then, that they have made a willing choice to take up their role in the Isles.\nCharacter and Society\nThe immediate image called to mind when hearing the name \"Golden Saint\" suggests an angelic figure, elegant and benevolent. It is ironic then, that while the Golden Saints embody this image in form, their behavior is in stark contrast to it. The Saints are a proud, arrogant race, quick to anger and cruel in their punishment. There is no question that they view all in the Isles as inferior, and make no effort to hide this in their interactions.\nDark Seducers also exhibit little beyond their appearance to match their names. While they too assert their superiority over all others in the realm, they appear to have a more patient, introspective nature about them. They often appear humble in their dealings with mortals, and are known to be patient with the \"lesser races.\"\nIn fact, the terms \"Golden Saint\" and \"Dark Seducer\" are external constructs. While the two groups recognize and respond to these names, they have their own names for their races: The Aureal and the Mazken, respectively. It is possible the Daedra simply have no concern for the names and titles given to them by lesser beings, or perhaps they find amusement in the names. Further research into this subject is necessary but daunting, as the Saints and Seducers do not freely offer personal information about themselves.\nOther information can be gathered from observation. It is easy to see that the two groups are strongly militaristic in their societal structure; one's strength and discipline determines one's place in society. Military commanders, for example, are revered by their subordinates. With further observation, a second distinction becomes apparent: both societies are Matriarchal in nature. Females lead the guards within New Sheoth, and have the highest positions of power. Males, while not openly denigrated, are clearly subservient to their female superiors. It is unclear where this practice began, but has been wholly integrated into the daily lives of both races.\nConflict and Conquest\nAny resident of the Shivering Isles can confirm that it is unwise to provoke the Golden Saints and Dark Seducers. They thrive on conflict and warfare, and are quick to punish any and all who disobey. Acting in their capacity as guardians of the realm does not satisfy them, however, and so they often engage in combat with one another, despite being garrisoned in areas where they are unlikely to interact. It is possible that this is more than an outlet for aggressive behavior; repeated engagements between the two races may be an effort to gain favor with Lord Sheogorath. If one can triumph over the other, it would prove superiority and a right to gain sole control over the realm. The battle for Cylarne is of particular interest, as both sides have been locked in combat with no hope of resolution for time beyond memory. Does this combat serve to sharpen the skills of the two sides, or weaken them when they could be directed elsewhere? If the conflict cannot be resolved, why then does Lord Sheogorath not step in and settle it himself?\nReligion and Ceremony\nLittle is known about the private customs of the Golden Saints and Dark Seducers. They are reclusive when it comes to matters specific to their race, particularly regarding the mysterious process by which they return to the realm in the unlikely event of their death.\nIt is common knowledge that Golden Saints and Dark Seducers, as Daedra, cannot be killed. The Animus of the Daedra is cast back into the darkness of Oblivion, and can return to the realm to take form once more. But reports of the time it takes for a Daedra to return to the realm from the Waters of Oblivion are anecdotal and inconclusive; the process by which this return occurs remains shrouded in mystery. Based on behavior patterns and strength of numbers, it can be deduced that the stronghold for each race plays some major part in this process. Common phrases in language (such as \"May the chimes call you home\") suggest that rather than merely a metaphor, sound may play some role in the sequence of events. It is believed that the chimes referenced by Saints and Seducers do indeed exist and are considered almost holy relics. Attempts to gain information about these chimes, or the process by which they are used, has been met with exceptional hostility and so have been abandoned.\nAny and all information regarding the Golden Saints and Dark Seducers, particularly relating to private customs and origins, should be brought to the attention of the author immediately. The greater the scope of our knowledge, the better our ability to understand these compelling creatures."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/shezarr-and-divines": {"game": ["Oblivion", "Skyrim", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/shezarr-and-divines", "description": "A treatise about Shezarr and his relationship to the Eight Divines.", "author": "Faustillus Junius", "title": "Shezarr and the Divines", "text": "Shezarr and the Divines\nby\n\tFaustillus Junius\n\tSubcurator of Ancient Theology and Paleonumerology\n\tImperial Library\n\nThe position Shezarr enjoys in Cyrodilic worship if often misconstrued. He, and a thousand other deities, have sizeable cults in the Imperial City. Shezarr is especially venerated in the Colovian West, though he is called Shor there, as the West Kings are resolutely, and religiously, Nordic.\nThe haziness of Shezarr's relationship to the Divines (he is often called their 'Missing Sibling') begins with St. Alessia, the so-called 'Slave Queen of Cyrodiil, the founder figure of the original Cyrodilic Empire. In the earliest Cyro-Nordic stories of the Heartland, Shezarr fought against the Ayleids (the 'Heartland Highelves') on mankind's behalf. Then, for some unknown reason, he vanishes from the stage (presumably to help other humans elsewhere), and, without his leadership, the Ayleids conquer the humans and enslave them.\nThis slavery lasts for generations. The isolated humans eventually begin to venerate the pantheon of their masters, or at least assimilate so much of High Elven religious practices into their native traditions that the two become indistinguishable.\nIn 1E242, under the leadership of Alessia, her demigod lover, Morihaus-Breath-of-Kyne, and the infamous Pelinal Whitestrake, the Cyrodilic humans revolt. When Skyrim lends its armies to the Slave-Queen of the South, the revolution succeeds. The Ayleid Hegemonies are quickly overthrown. Shortly thereafter, White Gold Tower is captured by Alessia's forces, and she promptly declares herself the first Empress of Cyrodiil. Part of the package meant that she had to become the High Priestess of Akatosh, as well.\nAkatosh was an Aldmeri god, and Alessia's subjects were as-yet unwilling to renounce their worship of the Elven pantheon. She found herself in a very sensitive political situation. She needed to keep the Nords as her allies, but they were (at that time) fiercely opposed to any adoration of Elven deities. On the other hand, she could not force her subjects to revert back to the Nordic pantheon, for fear of another revolution. Therefore, concessions were made and Empress Alessia instituted a new religion: the Eight Divines, an elegant, well-researched synthesis of both pantheons, Nordic and Aldmeri.\nShezarr, as a result, had to change. He could no longer be the bloodthirsty anti-Aldmer warlord of old. He could not disappear altogether either, or the Nords would have withdrawn their support of her rule. In the end, he had become \"the spirit behind all human undertaking.\" Even though this was merely a thinly-disguised, watered-down version of Shor, it was good enough for the Nords.\nAs for why Tiber Septim has not attempted to 'revitalize' Shezarr during his wars against the Aldmeri Dominion, we can only speculate that, at this time, memories of the Alessian Order's follies (the Dragon Break, the War of Righteousness, the defeat at Gelnumbria Moors) would only damage his campaign for the Imperial Crown.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sir-amiels-journal": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sir-amiels-journal", "description": "The journal of Sir Amiel, late leader of the Knights of the Nine. Found in the Knights of the Nine official plugin.", "author": "Sir Amiel", "title": "Sir Amiel's Journal", "text": "This journal is a record of failure. My failure.\nIn the immediate sense, this is no doubt obvious. If you are reading this, you are probably standing over my body, slain in the depths of the Shrine of the Crusader. Perhaps the gods granted me the gift of at least glimpsing the holy Helm before I died, undeserving though I am. I must believe that you are indeed a holy knight, following in my footsteps in quest of the Crusader's Relics. It is to you, Sir Knight of my hopes, that I direct these words. May the account of my failures help you avoid my fate.\nKnow that my failures encompass far more than my own death (which is of little account, at the end of a long life). The high ideals of the Knights of the Nine, of service to the gods rather than men, of dedication to a higher purpose -- these are my failures, as I shall record here.\nAs I write this, the scratching of my pen the only sound in the empty Priory, I am preparing to embark on my last quest for the Helm of the Crusader. I know that my chance of success is small. I am too old for such a task. This quest should have been taken up by the next generation of Knights of the Nine, while Sir Caius and Sir Berich and the rest of us stayed behind and spun tales of our days of glory. Alas, there is no next generation. Sir Berich is my embittered enemy, the rest of my old companions are all dead. There is only me, the last stubborn Knight of a failed Order.\nFor many years I blamed Sir Berich for the dissolution of the Order, but in my old age I have finally come to recognize my own part in those tragic events. I now believe that the seeds of our destruction were sown early, although the fruit did not ripen until late. Even in the first heady days, questing for the Cuirass with Sir Caius and Sir Torolf, I set the pattern of personal glory. The Cuirass was mine, and although it resided in the Priory, I wore it into battle and accepted the acclaim of my fellows and the people for its recovery. And so it went. The Sword and Greaves, recovered by Sir Berich, became his personal arms, and the Gauntlets to Sir Casimir. Why not? Should the holy weapons lie idle while there was evil to be vanquished? And who more fitting to carry them than the knight who had proved himself worthy by their recovery? So we told ourselves -- so I told myself -- but all that followed flowed from this.\nWhen Sir Berich wanted to take his Relics with him to the war, who was I to forbid him? I, who had jealously considered the Cuirass my own and none other's? Sir Berich was wrong, but I was wrong first, and the blame for the dispute over the Relics falls first on me, the leader and founder of the Knights, who should have set a higher example, but was instead first to claim a Relic for my own.\nSir Berich's later actions I will leave for others to judge. But let it be known that I do not blame him for the dissolution of the Knights. If he would speak to me, I would tell him so myself. He and I are now all that are left of the original Knights. The others are all dead, and I have dedicated myself to recovering their bodies and interring them in the Priory Undercroft, as is fitting for such holy warriors. Alas that they did not have the leader that they deserved.\nNow it is time for me to depart on my quest for the Helm. If you would follow in my footsteps, Sir Knight, know that the Priory basement, at least, will remain inviolate. I have sealed the stairs and only my ring will now open it. My brother knights will sleep in peace, in company with the Cuirass, the only Relic that remains in the Order's keeping. I say that, although the Order is officially dissolved, hoping and believing that the Knights of the Nine will one day be reborn. Perhaps you are the one to restore the Order. If so, go to the Priory in the West Weald. Use my ring to enter the vaults beneath the Priory House. There you will find the Cuirass, and claim it for your own if you are a true knight.\nMay the Nine guard and guide you. Farewell.\nSir Amiel\nPriory of the Nine\nThe West Weald\nCounty Skingrad\nYear 153 of the Septim Era"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sketch-high-fane": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sketch-high-fane", "description": "A sketch of the Ayleid ruin Malada, also known as the High Fane.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Sketch of the High Fane  ", "text": "\nRef \"Chronicles of the Brothers of Marukh, Vol. III,\" p. 22."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/slythes-journal": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/slythes-journal", "description": "Journal of Slythe Seringi, who in his on belief did a holy pilgrimage to a dangerous daedria-infested caves.", "author": "Slythe Seringi", "title": "Slythe's Journal", "text": "Page 1\nAs midnight approaches, I still watch the fires burn. The great city of man, Kvatch, lay in ruins. They didn't heed my words. They didn't listen to my voice. Now, they are all paying the cost of ignorance. The Sunken One strikes swift and hard. He swats those who oppose Him as if they did not exist at all. The excuses of man fall upon deaf ears. The Sunken One has no pity; He has no mercy, He only sits below and passes sentence. And now, with a mighty stroke, He's toppled one of man's pitiful blights on His land. And yet, He still hungers. His appetite is voracious. Kvatch will not be the last city to fall by His hand. The world of man grows more and more corrupt, and it angers Him. Man's lies and deceit will be his undoing as The Sunken One grows impatient and no longer waits for or accepts the proper offering.\nThe burden is mine to shoulder. I am the last who knows of He Who Shakes The Ground. If I do not bring him the Offering, who knows what city may fall prey to his whim? Anvil? Chorrol? Or perhaps He will turn his eyes on the greatest boil of all, the great Imperial City itself. No, I must not let that happen. I must get the Offering to him like my father did before me. Man may be fallen in His eyes, but they must have time to learn The Sunken One's teachings. Destroying man now would be a waste, when I am certain that given the chance, they will come to see His ways. Yes, I will do this thing. I will brave the depths of Sandstone Cavern to see Him. My weapons will be my will and my word. The Sunken One will watch over me and guide me. I must depart soon, before it is too late. If anyone finds this page, let them know that I, Slythe Seringi, do this for the good of all man.\nPage 2\nAs I descend into the depths of Sandstone Cavern, I wonder to myself... why? Why would The Sunken One test me so? Have I not been loyal? Have I not spread His word? Have I not obeyed His laws? This journey has been cruel and unfair. I've nearly met my end more than once. I don't know if I can make it to His home. But no, I cannot think this way! I must get there! I must see Him. If I do not, then the world of man is doomed. I dare not tarry longer, as I do not wish to suffer His wrath. I must get the Offering to Him.\nPage 3\nI am fallen.\nI have failed. I will not reach Him in time. And because of me, man is doomed. The creature jumped me without warning and before I could dispatch it with my magic, it dealt me a mortal blow. Now, all of Tamriel will face wanton destruction and death. His wrath will be unspeakable, his anger immense. Kvatch was but a small amount of his true potential. All hope is lost. The Sunken One wakens and soon, man will feel His hunger."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/small-diary": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/small-diary", "description": "Some sort of diary. Contains a password. Found in Sundercliff Watch.", "author": "Vaske", "title": "Small Diary", "text": "Dear Diary\nToday I go to see my cousin! Mother said it was a blest day, which I think means she's going to miss me. I'll miss her, too, but Im real excited to see cousin Drothan again! I promise write again real soon.\nDear Diary\nI met a rider on the road today he called himself a curryer. He gave me a letter from cousin drothan! it says i'll have a special job when I get to Cyrodiil. I will be a steward. cousin says stewards keep track of who comes and goes, but somebody will do most of that four me, and i just need to only let people in who know the secret word. That's a very big responsbilaty! it says I have to tear up his note - cousin is very smart. I better write down the password so I don't forget it! Its \"Chimer\"\nDear Diary\nToday I saw a wood elf!\nDear Diary\nAnother Curryer found me today, with another letter from cousin! This letter said that he may not be around when I get there. cousin said his journal will tell me everything i need to know about finding him if he's not around, and I should find it in his cabin. Uh oh - I'm no good at reading, only writing.\nDear Diary\nIm finally here! Before I use the special word to get in, I have something I need to tell you, diary. It's not personul, but diarys are kid stuff, and I have to be grownup here, so i'm leaving you behind right here. But thank you, diarey, especially for keeping the special word safe. good luck!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/soiled-writ-assassination": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/soiled-writ-assassination", "description": "A Morag Tong writ of execution for Commander Telani Adrethi. Found in Sundercliff Watch.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Soiled Writ of Assassination", "text": "Commander Telani Adrethi\nThe afore-mentioned personage has been marked for honorable execution in accordance to the lawful tradition and practice of the Morag Tong Guild. The Bearer of this non-disputable document has official sanctioned license to kill the afore-mentioned personage"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/song-hrormir": {"game": ["Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/song-hrormir", "description": "The retelling of the quest of Hrormir to rescue his brother from the Dark Kings of Aelfendor.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Song of Hrormir", "text": "Hrormir\nSon of Hrorgar\nSummoned to the Court of Vjindak,\nSon of Vjinmore, King of Evensnow.\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \"Mighty caster of magic,\nI charge thee to go to Aelfendor,\nFor its hoary Warriors do threaten my Land\nAnd bring forth their cousin Demons\nTo terrify my People.\"\nHrormir\nSon of Hrorgar\nHeard the Words of Vjindak Evensnow.\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \"By Icestaff,\nSurely I would help thee\nBut I have already a Quest to drink\nTwelve Flagons of Mead in one Hour,\nAnd then to bed four Wenches,\nTwice each.\nSo I must with grace decline.\"\nThe King he did not smile\nAt Hrormir and his jolly Spirit.\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \"By thine Honor\nMust thou aidest my Cause\nFor must thou takest up the Sword\nOf thy Companion Darfang\nWho took the Quest and failed.\"\nHrormir laughed.\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \"Now I know thou jest.\nMy boon Mate Darfang wouldst not fail.\nThere be no finer Bladesman.\nIf thou chargest him, he wouldst not fall.\"\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \"I did not say he fell.\nHe joined the Dark Kings of Aelfendor\nAnd by doing so dishonored\nHimself and thee, his Friend.\"\nHrormir could not believe the Words,    And yet, he knew Eversnow\nDidst not lie.\nSo for twenty Days and three rodeth he\nTo the Land of Night, the Kingdom of Fear,\nWhere the Peasants ever carried Candles\nKnowing what Evil awaiteth them\nShould they stray beyond the Glow.\nThe Sovereigncy of three Dark Kings:\nAelfendor.\nThere, Torch in Hand, didst Hrormir\nPass through haunted Countryside\nAnd frightened Villages,\nAnd through the black Gates\nOf the blacker Castle of Aelfendor.\nThe three Dark Kings didst sneer\nAt the sight of mighty Hrormir\nAnd summoned they their Champion\nDarfang the Blade.\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \"My boon Companion!\"\nHrormir called in the Hall of Night.\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \"I dare not trust my Eyes,\nFor then I wouldst believe\nThat thou hast joined with Evil,\nAnd turned thy Way from Honor\nAnd Brotherhood!\"\n\"Hrormir!\"    Darfang the Blade didst cry.\n\"If thou dost not go now,\nOne of us must die, for I hate thee!\"\nBut Hrormir was battle ready,\nAnd in the echoing Halls of Night\nThe Blade of Darfang\nAnd the Staff of Hrormir\nDidst strike again and yet again.\nMighty Warriors and Mages both,\nThe boon Companions now Foes,\nShook Mundus with their War.\nThey might have fought for a Year\nIf there were Sun in Aelfendor\nTo mark Time,\nAnd either Hrormir or Darfang\nMay verily have won.\nBut Hrormir saweth through the Dark\nThe Tears in the Eyes of his former Friend,\nAnd then he saweth the Shadow of Darfang\nWert not his own.\nAnd so with Icestaff, he did strike\nNot Darfang, but his Shadow, which cried.\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \"Hold, Mortal Man!\"\nThe Shadow becameth the Hag,    Bent and twisted, in her Cloak and Hood.\nFrom her faceless Shadows, she hissed.\n\"Mortal Man called Hrormir\nThe Soul of thy boon Companion\nIs my Plaything,\nBut I will take thine in trade,\nFor though ye both have strong Arms,\nThou hast the more clever Mind\nWhich my Sons the Dark Kings need\nFor a Champion of Aelfendor.\"\nHrormir the brave didst not take a Breath\nOr pause before he boldly said.\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \"Shadowy Hag, release Darfang,\nAnd thou mayst use me as thou will.\"\nThe Hag didst laugh and freed Darfang.\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \"To save thine Honor this thou hast done,\nBut now thou must be without Honor\nMortal Man, as the Champion\nOf the Dark Kings, my Heirs of Gray Maybe,\nThou must help them divide Aelfendor,\nAnd love me,\nThy Shadowy Hag and thy Mistress well.\"\nFor his loss of Honor,    And his dear Friend's Sacrifice,\nNoble Darfang prepared to take his Dagger\nAnd plunge it in his good Heart,\nBut Hrormir stayed his Brother's Hand and whispered.\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \"No, boon Companion,\nWait for me at the Village Banquet Hall.\"\nAnd then did Darfang the Blade leave the Castle\nWhile Hrormir took the withered Claw\nOf the Hag, and pressed it to his Lips.\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \"Shadowy Hag, to thee I pledge\nTo only honor thy black Words\nTo turn my back on Truth\nTo aid thy Dark Kings' Ambition\nTo divide their Inheritance fairly\nTo love thee\nTo think thee beautiful.\"\nThen to the Chamber in the Heart of Night\nHrormir and the Hag did retire\nKissed he there her wrinkled Lips\nAnd her wrinkled, sagging Breasts,\nFor ten Days and Nights and three did Hrormir\nAnd his Icestaff\nBattle thus.\nThen Sweet Kynareth blew honeyed Winds    O'er the Hills and Forest Glens of Aelfendor,\nAnd the Caress of warm blooded Dibella \nCoaxed the Blossoms to wanton Display\nSo that Aelfendor became a Garden\nOf all the Senses.\nThe frightened Servants of the Dark Kings\nWoke to find there was naught to fear\nAnd through the once dark Streets of the Village\nCame the Cries of Celebration.\nIn the Banquet Hall of the Village\nHrormir and his boon Companion Darfang\nEmbraced and drank of rich Mead.\nThe Shadowy Hag too was smiling,\nSleeping still in her soft Bed,\nUntil the morning Sun touched her naked Face\nAnd she awoke, and saw All,\nAnd knew All saw her.\nAnd she cried out:\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \"Mortal Man!\"\nNight fell fast upon the Land    As the Hag flew into the Banquet Hall\nCasting blackest Darkness in her Wake\nBut all the Celebrants still could see\nHer Anger\nIn her monstrous Face\nAnd they shook with Fear.\nThe Hag had said the Kingdom was\nTo be divided among her Heirs.\nBut Aelfendor had been kept whole\nWhile her Children divided,\nDrawn and quartered.\nHrormir was mightily amused.\nHe swallowed his Laughter\nIn his Mead,\nFor none should laugh outright\nAt the Daedra Lord Nocturnal.\nWithout her gray Cowl of shadowed Night,\nHer hideous Face forced the Moons\nTo hide themselves.\nHrormir the mighty did not quail.\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \"Wherest be thine Hood, shadowy hag?\"\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \"Mortal Man hast taken it from me unaware.\nWhen I awoke, my Face unmasked,\nMy Kingdom cast into the Light,\nMy Dark King Heirs in Pieces cast,\nAnd here, my Champion smiles.\nYet in truth, thou kept thy Promise truly,\nTo never keep thy Promise true.\"\nHrormir    Son of Hrorgar\nBowed to the Hag, his Queen.\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \"And evermore, \n'Til thou releaseth me, will I serve thee so.\"\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \"A clever Mind in a Champion\nIs a much overvalued Trait.\"\nThe Hag released Hrormir's Soul\nAnd he released her Hood.\nAnd so in the Light of darkest Dark,\nShe left Aelfendor evermore.\nAnd after drinking twelve Flagons of Mead,\nAnd bedding four Wenches\nTwice each,\nDid Darfang return to Eversnow\nWith Hrormir\nSon of Hrorgar."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/souls-black-and-white": {"game": ["Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/souls-black-and-white", "description": "The basics of souls and soulgems.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Souls, Black and White", "text": "\nThe nature of the soul is not knowable. Every wizard that has attempted it vanishes without a trace. What can be known is that souls are a source of mystic energy that can be harvested.\nEvery creature, living or dead, is powered by a soul. Without it, they are just lumps of flesh or piles of bones. This animating force can be contained within a soul gem, if the soul gem has the capacity. From the gem, the power can be used to power magical items.\nCenturies of experimentation has demonstrated that there are black souls and white souls. Only the rare black soul gem can hold the soul of a higher creature, such as a man or an elf. While the souls of lesser creatures can be captured by gems of many colors, they are all categorized as white soul gems. Hence the division of souls into black and white.\nWhite souls are far safer than black souls, although not as powerful. Beginning students of Mysticism should not dabble in black souls or black soul gems. Even if one were to ignore the guild strictures against the necromatic arts used to power black soul gems, it is dangerous to the caster to handle them for long. If the gem is not precisely the size of the encased soul, small bits of the caster's soul may leak into the gem when it is touched."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/stewards-note": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/stewards-note", "description": "An instruction to the Drothmeri Steward by Frathen Drothan. Found in Sundercliff Watch.", "author": "Frathen Drothan", "title": "Steward's Note", "text": "Vaske-\nYour job is to see that our arrivals and departures are well-documented and that their wages are paid, and keep an eye on my dear cousin. It is not to gossip with every new recruit about our far-reaching plans. We've already captured one assassin prowling the caves, the last thing we need is some spy of Helseth's hearing all our goals from you. Commander Adrethi will debrief the troops as neccessary at his own discretion.\nOn Turdas I'm taking a detachment through the doorway with me. I don't know how long I'll be gone, but in the unlikely case that there is cause to disrupt my excursion, read the most recent entry in my journal. You'll find it in my cabin, on the desk. Don't go in there for any other reason! Discretion above all; we don't want our Imperial enemies to know what our plans are.\nDeath to the Empire.\nArch-Mage Frathen Drothan"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/stewards-registry": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/stewards-registry", "description": "Drothmeri Steward's Registry, contains information about Drothmeri Army. Found in Sundercliff Watch.", "author": "Vaske", "title": "Steward's Registry", "text": "Drothmeri Army; Forward Detachment\nRegistry of Departures and Arrivals\nSecond Seed through _________\n6, Second Seed\n\u00a0\u00a0New Recruits, grade I salary paid\n\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a010 infantry\n\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a04 archers\n18, Second Seed\n\u00a0\u00a0Cavalry Detachment, granted shelter\n\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Assigned to Tenmar outpost\n12, Mid Year\n\u00a0\u00a0Infantry, Drothmeri\n\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Departure to Narsis; Courier detail\n\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a01 cavalry\n15, Mid Year\n\u00a0\u00a0Veterans, Grade III salary paid\n\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a06 mage-trained\n19, Mid Year\n\u00a0\u00a0Infantry, Drothmeri\n\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Returned from Courier detail\n\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a01 cavalry\n21, Mid Year\n\u00a0\u00a0Platoon, Grade II salary paid\n\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a012 Soldier infantry\n\u00a0\u00a0Dranmis Drethari\n\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Discharged for family emergency"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/oblivion-suicide-note": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/oblivion-suicide-note", "description": "The suicide note by the personal guard of Adamus Phillida, who failed to protect Phillida.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Suicide Note", "text": "This was my big break! Finally I'm given something important to do, and what happens? I blow it! All I had to do was keep Phillida alive! That's it! But no! I couldn't even accomplish that! Father was right -- I'm an idiot, and I haven't amounted to anything!\nI let everyone down, so this is it. Goodbye cruel Empire! I'm ending it all!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/summon-rufios-ghost-scroll": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/summon-rufios-ghost-scroll", "description": "Used in the Dark Brotherhood quest \"The Purification\".", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Summon Rufio's Ghost Scroll", "text": "Rise, Rufio! Come forth once more to the land of the living, and unleash your vengeance!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/suspicious-letter": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/suspicious-letter", "description": "The letter that brought down Ulrich Leland's career as Cheydinhal' Captain of the Guard.", "author": "Ulrich Leland", "title": "Suspicious Letter  ", "text": "Dearest Isabel and Jenetta,\nI should be able to send you another package of money and goods within the month. This posting is proving more lucrative than I'd first suspected. Who knew that Indarys would be so easy to dupe? He doesn't even care. He's so busy wrapped up in his own affairs, and I mean that literally, that he has no time to pay attention to the daily operations of Cheydinhal. I've decided to raise the fines again next month. Then we can begin constructing that summer keep we'd always wanted, my cousins. More to come soon. My love to both of you.\nUlrich"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tamrielic-artifacts": {"game": ["Oblivion", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tamrielic-artifacts", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Tamrielic Artifacts", "text": "The following are notes I have gathered, over the past centuries, of items of unimaginable significance. All have been seen, owned, and lost, again and again throughout Tamriel. Some may be myth, others may be hoax, but regardless, many have lost their lives attempting to find or protect these very coveted items.\nLord's Mail\n\tSometimes called the Armor of Morihaus or the gift of Kynareth, this is an ancient cuirass of unsurpassable quality. It grants the wearer power to absorb health, resist the effects of spells, and cure oneself of poison when used. It is said that whenever Kynareth deigns the wearer unworthy, the Lord's Mail will be taken away and hidden for the next chosen one.\nEbony Mail\n\tThe Ebony Mail is a breastplate created before recorded history by the Dark Elven goddess Boethiah. It is she who determines who should possess the Ebony Mail and for how long a time. If judged worthy, its power grants the wearer added resistance of fire, magicka, and grants a magical shield. It is Boethiah alone who determines when a person is ineligible to bear the Ebony Mail any longer, and the goddess can be very capricious.\nSpell Breaker\n\tSpell Breaker, superficially a Dwemer tower shield, is one of the most ancient relics of Tamriel. Aside from its historical importance in the Battle of Rourken-Shalidor, the Spell Breaker protects its wielder almost completely from any spell caster, either by reflecting magicks or silencing any mage about to cast a spell. It is said that Spell Breaker still searches for its original owner, and will not remain the property of anyone else for long. For most, possessing Spell Breaker for any length of time is power enough.\nChrysamere\n\tThe Paladin's Blade is an ancient claymore with offensive capabilities surpassed only by its own defenses. It lends the wielder health, protects him or her from fire, and reflects any spells cast against the wielder back to the caster. Seldom has Chrysamere been wielded by any bladesman for any length of time, for it chooses not to favor one champion.\nStaff of Magnus\n\tThe Staff of Magnus, one of the elder artifacts of Tamriel, was a metaphysical battery of sorts for its creator, Magnus. When used, it absorbs an enemy's health and mystical energy. In time, the Staff will abandon the mage who wields it before he becomes too powerful and upsets the mystical balance it is sworn to protect.\nWarlock's Ring\n\tThe Warlock's Ring of the Archmage Syrabane is one of the most popular relics of myth and fable. In Tamriel's ancient history, Syrabane saved all of the continent by judicious use of his Ring, and ever since, it has helped adventurers with less lofty goals. It is best known for its ability to reflect spells cast at its wearer and to improve his or her speed and to restore health. No adventurer can wear the Warlock's Ring for long, for it is said that the Ring is Syrabane's alone to command.\nRing of Phynaster\n\tThe Ring of Phynaster was made hundreds of years ago by a man who needed good defenses to survive his adventurous life. Thanks to the Ring, Phynaster lived for hundreds of years, and since then it has passed from person to person. The Ring improves its wearer's overall resistance to poison, magicka, and shock. Still, Phynaster was cunning and cursed the ring so that it eventually disappears from its holder's possessions and returns to another resting place, discontent to stay anywhere but with Phynaster himself.\nRing of Khajiit\n\tThe Ring of the Khajiit is an ancient relic, hundreds of years older than Rajhin, the thief that made the Ring famous. It was Rajhin who used the Ring's powers to make himself invisible and as quick as the breath of wind. Using the Ring, he became the most successful burglar in Elsweyr's history. Rajhin's eventual fate is a mystery, but according to legend, the Ring rebelled against such constant use and disappeared, leaving Rajhin helpless before his enemies.\nMace of Molag Bal\n\tAlso known as the Vampire's Mace, the Mace of Molag Bal drains its victims of magicka and gives it to the bearer. It also has the ability to transfer an enemy's strength to its wielder. Molag Bal has been quite free with his artifact. There are many legends about the Mace. It seems to be a favorite for vanquishing wizards.\nMasque of Clavicus Vile\n\tEver the vain one, Clavicus Vile made a masque suited to his own personality. The bearer of the Masque is more likely to get a positive response from the people of Tamriel. The higher his personality, the larger the bonus. The best known story of the Masque tells the tale of Avalea, a noblewoman of some renown. As a young girl, she was grossly disfigured by a spiteful servant. Avalea made a dark deal with Clavicus Vile and received the Masque in return. Though the Masque did not change her looks, suddenly she had the respect and admiration of everyone. A year and a day after her marriage to a well connected baron, Clavicus Vile reclaimed the Masque. Although pregnant with his child, Avalea was banished from the Baron's household. Twenty one years and one day later, Avalea's daughter claimed her vengeance by slaying the Baron.\nMehrunes Razor\n\tThe Dark Brotherhood has coveted this ebony dagger for generations. This mythical artifact is capable of slaying any creature instantly. History does not record any bearers of Mehrune's Razor. However, the Dark Brotherhood was once decimated by a vicious internal power struggle. It is suspected that the Razor was involved.\nCuirass of the Savior's Hide\n\tAnother of Hircine's artifacts was the Cuirass of the Savior's Hide. The Cuirass has the special ability to resist magicka. Legend has it that Hircine rewarded his peeled hide to the first and only mortal to have ever escaped his hunting grounds. This unknown mortal had the hide tailored into this magical Cuirass for his future adventures. The Savior's Hide has a tendency to travel from hero to hero as though it has a mind of its own.\nSpear of Bitter Mercy\n\tOne of the more mysterious artifacts is the Spear of Bitter Mercy. Little to nothing is known about the Spear. There are no recorded histories but many believe it to be of Daedric origin. The only known legend about it is its use by a mighty hero during the fall of the Battlespire. The hero was aided by the Spear in the defeat of Mehrunes Dagon and the recapturing of the Battlespire. Since that time, the Spear of Bitter Mercy has made few appearances within Tamriel.\nDaedric Scourge\n\tThe Daedric Scourge is a mighty mace forged from sacred ebony in the Fires of Fickledire. The legendary weapon of Mackkan, it was once a fierce weapon used to send spirits of black back into Oblivion. The weapon lhas the ability to summon creatures from Oblivion, Once a tool used against the Daedric Lords in the Battlespire, it now roams the land with adventurers.\nBow of Shadows\n\tLegend has it that the Bow of Shadows was forged by the Daedra Nocturnal. The legendary ranger, Raerlas Ghile, was granted the Bow for a secret mission that failed, and the Bow was lost. Raerlas did not go down without a hearty fight and is said to have, with the aid of the Bow, taken scores of his foes with him. The Bow grants the user the ability of invisibility and increased speed. Many sightings of the Bow of Shadows have been reported, and it is even said that the sinister Dark Elf assassin of the Second Era, Dram, once wielded this bow.\nFists of Randagulf\n\tRandagulf of Clan Begalin goes down in Tamrielic history as one of the mightiest warriors from Skyrim. He was known for his courage and ferocity in battle and was a factor in many battles. He finally met his fate when King Harald conquered Skyrim. King Harald respected this great hero and took Randagulf's gauntlets for his own. After King Harald died, the gauntlets disappeared. The King claimed that the Fists granted the bearer added strength.\nIce Blade of the Monarch\n\tThe Ice Blade of the Monarch is truly one of Tamriel's most prized artifacts. Legend has it that the Evil Archmage Almion Celmo enchanted the claymore of a great warrior with the soul of a Frost Monarch, a stronger form of the more common Frost Atronach. The warrior, Thurgnarr Assi, was to play a part in the assassination of a great king in a far off land, and become the new leader. The assassination failed and the Archmage was imprisoned. The Ice Blade freezes all who feel its blade. The Blade circulates from owner to owner, never settling in one place for long.\nRing of Surroundings\n\tLittle is known of this prize but it is said that it lends the wearer the ability to blend in with their surroundings.\nBoots of the Apostle\n\tThe Boots of the Apostle are a true mystery. The wearer of the boots is rumored to be able to levitate, though nobody has ever seen them used.\nThe Mentor's Ring\n\tThis ring is a prized possession for any apprentice to magic. It lends the wearer the ability to increase their intelligence and wisdom, thus making their use of magic more efficient. The High Wizard Carni Asron is said to be the creator of the Ring. It was a construct for his young apprentices while studying under his guidance. After Asron's death, the Ring and several other possessions vanished and have been circulated throughout Tamriel.\nRing of the Wind\n\tNo facts are known about this Ring, but the title and the few rumors lend one to think it grants the wearer added speed.\nVampiric Ring\n\tOne of the more deadly and rare artifacts in Tamriel is the Vampiric Ring. It is said that the Ring has the power to steal its victim's health and grant it to the wearer. The exact nature and origin of the Ring is wholly unknown, but many elders speak of its evil creation in Morrowind long, long ago by a cult of Vampire followers. The Vampiric Ring is an extremely rare artifact and is only seen every few hundred cycles of the moons.\nEleidon's Ward\n\tEleidon was a holy knight of legend in Breton history. He was a sought after man for his courage and determination to set all wrongs right. In one story, it is said that he rescued a Baron's daughter from sure death at the hands of an evil warlord. For his reward, the Baron spent all of his riches to have an enchanted shield built for Eidelon. The Shield granted Eleidon the opportunity to heal his wounds.\nStaff of Hasedoki\n\tHasedoki was said to have been a very competitive wizard. He wandered the land in search for a wizard who was greater than he. To the best of all knowledge, he never found a wizard who could meet up to his challenge. It is said that he felt so lonely and isolated because so many feared his power, that he bonded his life-force into his very own staff, where his soul remains to this very day. Magic users all over Tamriel have been searching for this magical staff. Granting its wielder a protection of magicka, it is a sure prize for any magic user.\nBloodworm Helm\n\tThe King of Worms was said to have left behind one of his prized possessions, the Bloodworm Helm. The Helm is a construct of magically formed bone. The Helm allows the user to summon skeletons and control the undead. It would be a prized artifact to a necromancer.\nDragonbone Mail\n\tThis cuirass is one of the greatest artifacts any collector or hero could own. It is constructed of real dragon bone and was enchanted by the first Imperial Battlemage, Zurin Arctus, in the early years of the Third Era. It is a truly exquisite piece of work and many have sought to possess it. The properties of the Cuirass allow the wearer to be resist fire, and to damage an enemy with a blast of fire. Little is known about the involvement of Zurin Arctus with the enchantment of the Cuirass, but an old tale speaks of a debt that he owed to a traveling warrior. Like the warrior, the Dragonbone Mail never stays put for long.\nSkull Crusher\n\tThe Skull Crusher is an amazingly large, and powerful weapon. The Warhammer was created in a fire, magically fueled by the Wizard, Dorach Gusal, and was forged by the great weaponsmith, Hilbongard Rolamus. The steel is magically hardened and the weight of the weapon is amazingly light, which makes for more powerful swings and deadly blows. The Warhammer was to be put on display for a festival, but thieves got it first. The Skull Crusher still travels Tamriel in search of its creators.\nGoldbrand\n\tThis magical Sword is almost a complete mystery. Thieves tell tales about its golden make and how it was actually forged by ancient dragons of the North. Their tales claim that it was given to a great knight who was sworn to protect the dragons. The Sword lends its wielder the ability to do fire damage on an enemy. Goldbrand has not been sighted in recent history and is said to be awaiting a worthy hero.\nFang of Haynekhtnamet\n\tBlack Marsh was once known to be inhabited with what the Argonians called the Wamasus. Northern men considered them to be intelligent dragons with lightning for blood. One such mighty beast, Haynekhtnamet, was slain by the Northern men, though it took 7 days and nights, and a score of men. One of the surviving men took a fang home as a trophy. The fang was carved down into a blade and fashioned into a small dagger. The Dagger mysteriously houses some of the beast's magical properties and grants the user the ability to do shock damage on an opponent. This unique Dagger is seen occasionally by traveling heroes.\nUmbra Sword\n\tThe Umbra Sword was enchanted by the ancient witch Naenra Waerr, and its sole purpose was the entrapment of souls. Used in conjunction with a soul gem, the Sword allows the wielder the opportunity to imprison an enemy's soul in the gem. Naenra was executed for her evil creation, but not before she was able to hide the Sword. The Umbra Sword is very choosy when it comes to owners and therefore remains hidden until a worthy one is found.\nDenstagmer's Ring\n\tAll that is known of this Ring is that it may grant the user protection from certain elements. Even the name Denstagmer is a mystery.\nHelm of Oreyn Bearclaw\n\tOne of Valenwood's legendary heroes is Oreyn Bearclaw. Son of King Faume Toad-Eye, he was a respected clan hunter and a future leader. Wood Elven legend claims Oreyn single handedly defeated Glenhwyfaunva, the witch-serpent of the Elven wood, forever bringing peace to his clan. Oreyn would go on to accomplish numerous other deeds, eventually losing his life to the Knahaten Flu. His Helm stood as a monument of his stature for future generations to remember. The Helm was lost eventually, as the Clan split, and is now a treasured artifact for adventurers. The Helm of Oreyn Bearclaw is rumored to improve the wearers agility and endurance.\nDaedric Crescent Blade\n\tProbably the most rare and even outlawed item of all the great prizes is the Daedric Crescent Blade. The Blade was used by Mehrunes Dagon's Daedric forces in the capture of the Imperial Battlespire. These extremely unique Blades were gathered up and destroyed after the Battlespire was recaptured by the Empire. All but one it seems. Though the Empire believes them all to be destroyed, it is rumored that one still remains in existence, somewhere in Tamriel, though none have ever seen it. The Blade lends it's wielder the ability to do great damage on an enemy and allows him to paralyze and put heavy wear on his enemy's armor. Quite the prize for any mighty warrior, if it does indeed exist."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/taxidermy-needs-list": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/taxidermy-needs-list", "description": "A list of ingredients needed by Battlehorn Castle taxidermist.", "author": "Melisi Daren", "title": "Taxidermy Needs List", "text": "I specialize in the finest reconstructions of creatures from across the face of Cyrodiil. I am ready to create my marvels of taxidermy, but require a small portion of each appropriate creature in order to make the likeness complete.\nStuffed Bear:\nBear Pelt\nStuffed Wolf:\nWolf Pelt\nStuffed Minotaur:\nMinotaur Horn\nStuffed Mountain Lion:\nLion Hide\nStuffed Ogre:\nOgre Teeth\nStuffed Clannfear:\nClannfear Claws\nStuffed Deadroth:\nDeadroth Teeth\nStuffed Troll:\nTroll Fat\nMelisi Daren, Taxidermist"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/telaendrils-ocheeva-note": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/telaendrils-ocheeva-note", "description": "A note from Telaendril to Ocheeva regarding her schedule.", "author": "Telaendril", "title": "Telaendril's Ocheeva Note", "text": "Most Honorable Ocheeva,\nAs per your instructions, I will, from this day forward, leave the solitude of the Sanctuary and maintain the following posts:\nLoredas and Sundas -- I will travel to, and remain in, the city of Leyawiin. There I will spy any and all vessels entering into the Imperial Province by sea. Upon my return to the Sanctuary, I will report on which ships have sailed the Niben northward to the Imperial City.\nTirdas -- I am to spend my day here in Cheydinhal, in the establishment known as the Cheydinhal Bridge Inn. There I will spy the citizens of this city, and report back on anyone I deem a threat to Sanctuary security.\nTurdas -- I will remain in Cheydinhal, but keep a watchful eye on the Sanctuary entrance. At the first sign of suspicious activity, I am to report back to you immediately.\nMy thanks again to you, Ocheeva. Your reliance on my gift for subterfuge will serve the Brotherhood well. Of this I promise.\nMay we walk always in the Shadow of Sithis.\nTelaendril"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/test-patience": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/test-patience", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Test of Patience", "text": "Test of Patience map"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/adabal": {"game": ["Oblivion", "Skyrim", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/adabal", "description": "One of the earliest written accounts to come down to us from the early First Era, said to be the memoirs of Morihaus.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Adabal-a", "text": "Editor's Note: The Adabal-a is traditionally believed to be the memoirs of Morihaus, consort to Alessia the Slave Queen. While this cannot be historically verified, the Adabal-a is certainly among the oldest written accounts to come down to us from the early First Era.\nPELINAL'S DEATH\nAnd in the blood-floored throne room of White-Gold, the severed head of Pelinal spoke to the winged-bull, Morihaus, demigod lover of Al-Esh, saying, \"Our enemies have undone me, and spread my body into hiding. In mockery of divine purpose, the Ayleids cut me into eighths, for they are obsessed with this number.\"\nAnd Morihaus, confused, snorted through his ring, saying, \"Your crusades went beyond her counsel, Whitestrake, but I am a bull, and therefore reckless in my wit. I think I would go and gore our prisoners if you had left any alive. You are blood-made-glorious, uncle, and will come again, as fox animal or light. Cyrod is still ours.\"\nThen Pelinal spoke again for the last time: \"Beware, Morihaus, beware! With the foresight of death I know now that my foe yet lives, bitter knowledge to take to my grave. Better that I had died believing myself the victor. Although cast beyond the doors of night, he will return. Be vigilant! I can no longer shield the host of Men from Umaril's retribution.\"\nALESSIA'S YOUTH DURING THE SLAVE-YEARS\nPerrif's original tribe is unknown, but she grew up in Sard, anon Sardarvar Leed, where the Ayleids herded in men from across all the Niben: kothri, nede, al-gemha, men-of-'kreath (though these were later known to be imported from the North), keptu, men-of-ge (who were eventually destroyed when the Flower King Nilichi made great sacrifice to an insect god named [lost]), al-hared, men-of-ket, others; but this was Cyrod, the heart of the imperatum saliache, where men knew no freedom, even to keep family, or choice of name except in secret, and so to their alien masters all of these designations were irrelevant.\nMen were given over to the lifting of stones, and the draining of the fields, and the upkeep of temple and road; or to become art-tortures for strange pleasures, as in the wailing wheels of Vindasel and the gut-gardens of Sercen; and flesh-sculpture, which was everywhere among the slaves of the Ayleids in those days; or, worse, the realms of the Fire King Hadhuul, where the begetting of drugs drawn from the admixture of daedrons into living hosts let one inhale new visions of torment, and children were set aflame for nighttime tiger sport.\nMORIHAUS EXPLAINS ALESSIA'S NAMES\nThen Morihaus said to them: \"In your tales you have many names for her: Al-Esh, given to her in awe, that when translated sounds like a redundancy, 'the high high', from which come the more familiar corruptions: Aleshut, Esha, Alessia. You knew her as Paravant, given to her when crowned, 'first of its kind', by which the gods meant a mortal worthy of the majesty that is killing-questing-healing, which is also Paraval, Pevesh, Perrethu, Perrif, and, in my case, for it is what I called her when we were lovers: Paravania.\"\n\"Though she is gone to me, she remains bathed in stars, first Empress, Lady of Heaven, Queen-ut-Cyrod.\"\nAnd they considered themselves full-answered, and departed."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/amulet-kings-0": {"game": ["Oblivion", "Skyrim", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/amulet-kings-0", "description": "Describes the covenant between Akatosh and Alessia.", "author": "Wenengrus Monhona", "title": "The Amulet of Kings", "text": "In the first years of the First Era, a powerful race of Elves called the Ayleids, or the Heartland High Elves, ruled central Tamriel with an iron hand. The high and haughty Ayleids relied on their patrons, the treacherous Daedra Lords, to provide armies of daedra and dead spirits; with these fearless magical armies, the Ayleids preyed without mercy upon the young races of men, slaughtering or enslaving them at their whim.\nOn behalf of the suffering human races, St. Alessia, the first in the line of Cyrodiils, sought the aid of Akatosh, the Dragon God of Time, and ruler of the noble Aedra. Akatosh, looking with pity upon the plight of men, drew precious blood from his own heart, and blessed St. Alessia with this blood of Dragons, and made a Covenant that so long as Alessia's generations were true to the dragon blood, Akatosh would endeavor to seal tight the Gates of Oblivion, and to deny the armies of daedra and undead to their enemies, the Daedra-loving Ayleids.\nIn token of this Covenant, Akatosh gave to Alessia and her descendants the Amulet of Kings and the Eternal Dragonfires of the Imperial City. Thus does Alessia become the first gem in the Cyrodilic Amulet of Kings. The gem is the Red Diamond in the middle of the Amulet. This is the Symbol of the Empire and later taken as the symbol of the Septim line. It is surrounded by eight other gems, one for each of the divines.\nSo long as the Empire shall maintain its worship of Akatosh and his kin, and so long as Alessia's heirs shall bear the Amulet of Kings, Akatosh and his divine kin maintain a strong barrier between Tamriel and Oblivion, so that mortal man need never again fear the devastating summoned hosts of the Daedra Lords.\nBut if the Empire should slacken in its dedication to the Nine Divines, or if the blood of Alessia's heirs should fail, then shall the barriers between Tamriel and the Daedric realms fall, and Daedra-worshippers might summon lesser Daedra and undead spirits to trouble the races of men.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/armorers-challenge": {"game": ["Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/armorers-challenge", "description": "A story about armorers, and how to use specific armor to fight in special conditions.", "author": "Mymophonus", "title": "The Armorers' Challenge", "text": "Three hundred years ago, when Katariah became Empress, the first and only Dunmer to rule all of Tamriel, she faced opposition from the Imperial Council. Even after she convinced them that she would be the best regent to rule the Empire while her husband Pelagius sought treatment for his madness, there was still conflict. In particular from the Duke of Vengheto, Thane Minglumire, who took a particular delight in exposing all of the Empress's lack of practical knowledge.\nIn this particular instance, Katariah and the Council were discussing the unrest in Black Marsh and the massacre of Imperial troops outside the village of Armanias. The sodden swampland and the sweltering climate, particular in summertide, would endanger the troops if they wore their usual armor.\n\"I know a very clever armorer,\" said Katariah, \"His name is Hazadir, an Argonian who knows the environments our army will be facing. I knew him in Vivec where he was a slave to the master armorer there, before he moved to the Imperial City as a freedman. We should have him design armor and weaponry for the campaign.\"\nMinglumire gave a short, barking laugh: \"She wants a slave to design the armor and weaponry for our troops! Sirollus Saccus is the finest armorer in the Imperial City. Everyone knows that.\"\nAfter much debate, it was finally decided to have both armorers contend for the commission. The Council also elected two champions of equal power and prowess, Nandor Beraid and Raphalas Eul, to battle using the arms and armaments of the real competitors in the struggle. Whichever champion won, the armorer who supplied him would earn the Imperial commission. It was decided that Beraid would be outfitted by Hazadir, and Eul by Saccus.\nThe fight was scheduled to commence in seven days.\nSirollus Saccus began work immediately. He would have preferred more time, but he recognized the nature of the test. The situation in Armanias was urgent. The Empire had to select their armorer quickly, and once selected, the preferred armorer had to act swiftly and produce the finest armor and weaponry for the Imperial army in Black Marsh. It wasn't just the best armorer they were looking for. It was the most efficient.\nSaccus had only begun steaming the half-inch strips of black virgin oak to bend into bands for the flanges of the armor joints when there was a knock at his door. His assistant Phandius ushered in the visitor. It was a tall reptilian of common markings, a dull, green-fringed hood, bright black eyes, and a dull brown cloak. It was Hazadir, Katariah's preferred armorer.\n\"I wanted to wish you the best of luck on the -- is that ebony?\"\nIt was indeed. Saccus had bought the finest quality ebony weave available in the Imperial City as soon as he heard of the competition and had begun the process of smelting it. Normally it was a six-month procedure refining the ore, but he hoped that a massive convection oven stoked by white flames born of magicka would shorten the operation to three days. Saccus proudly pointed out the other advancements in his armory. The acidic lime pools to sharpen the blade of the dai-katana to an unimaginable degree of sharpness. The Akaviri forge and tongs he would use to fold the ebony back and forth upon itself. Hazadir laughed.\n\"Have you been to my armory? It's two tiny smoke-filled rooms. The front is a shop. The back is filled with broken armor, some hammers, and a forge. That's it. That's your competition for the millions of gold pieces in Imperial commission.\"\n\"I'm sure the Empress has some reason to trust you to outfit her troops,\" said Sirollus Saccus, kindly. He had, after all, seen the shop and knew that what Hazadir said was true. It was a pathetic workshop in the slums, fit only for the lowliest of adventurers to get their iron daggers and cuirasses repaired. Saccus had decided to make the best quality regardless of the inferiority of his rival. It was his way and how he became the best armorer in the Imperial City.\nOut of kindness, and more than a bit of pride, Saccus showed Hazadir how, by contrast, things should be done in a real professional armory. The Argonian acted as an apprentice to Saccus, helping him refine the ebony ore, and to pound it and fold it when it cooled. Over the next several days, they worked together to create a beautiful dai-katana with an edge honed sharp enough to trim a mosquito's eyebrows, enchanted with flames along its length by one of the Imperial Battlemages, as well as a suit of armor of bound wood, leather, silver, and ebony to resist the winds of Oblivion.\nOn the day of the battle, Saccus, Hazadir, and Phandius finished polishing the armor and brought in Raphalas Eul for the fitting. Hazadir left only then, realizing that Nandor Beraid would be at his shop shortly to be outfitted.\nThe two warriors met before the Empress and Imperial Council in the arena, which had been flooded slightly to simulate the swampy conditions of Black Marsh. From the moment Saccus saw Eul in his suit of heavy ebony and blazing dai-katana and Beraid in his collection of dusty, rusted lizard-scales and spear from Hazadir's shop, he knew who would win. And he was right.\nThe first blow from the dai-katana lodged in Beraid's soft shield, as there was no metal trim to deflect it. Before Eul could pull his sword back, Beraid let go of the now-flaming shield, still stuck on the sword, and poked at the joints of Eul's ebony armor with his spear. Eul finally retrieved his sword from the ruined shield and slashed at Beraid, but his light armor was scaled and angled, and the attacks rolled off into the water, extinguishing the dai-katana's flames. When Beraid struck at Eul's feet, he fell into the churned mud and was unable to move. The Empress, out of mercy, called a victor.\nHazadir received the commission and thanks to his knowledge of Argonian battle tactics and weaponry and how best to combat them, he designed implements of war that brought down the insurrection in Armanias. Katariah won the respect of Council, and even, grudgingly, that of Thane Minglumire. Sirollus Saccus went to Morrowind to learn what Hazadir learned there, and was never heard from again.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/battle-sancre-tor": {"game": ["Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/battle-sancre-tor", "description": "A history book about the Battle of Sancre Tor, during which General Talos (Tiber Septim) defeated the army of the allied Nords and Bretons through cunning.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Battle of Sancre Tor", "text": "In 2E852, allied Nord and Breton forces crossed the borders into Cyrodiil and occupied the major passes and settlements in the Jerall Mountains. Making their headquarters for the winter at Sancre Tor, the Nord-Breton allies dared King Cuhlecain's new general, Talos, to assault them in their mountain fastnesses.\nWhen they learned that General Talos had mustered an army in the dead of winter and was marching to assault Sancre Tor, they were elated. Sancre Tor was impregnable, its citadel on high cliffs overlooking the lower city, nestled in a high mountain basin with steep, unscalable cliffs in their rear.\nThe Cyrodilic army was small, poorly trained and outfitted, short on rations, and unprepared for winter campaigning. As their ragged units assembled in the lowlands beneath the citadel, the Nord-Breton allies confidently assumed that their enemy had delivered himself into their trap.\nThe citadel was not only protected by an unscalable cliff in front and unscalable heights in their rear, but the entrance to the citadel was magically concealed under the appearance of a large mountain lake in the basin beneath the heights. Accordingly, the Nord-Breton allies left on a small force to defend the citadel, descending through lower passages to attack and overwhelm the cold, hungry Cyrodilic forces before them. They expected to defeat, overrun, and annihilate General Talos' army, leaving no one to oppose their springtime descent into the Cyrodilic Heartlands.\nThus did General Talos lure the Nord-Breton allies to their doom.\nLeaving a weak force in the lowlands to draw out the defenders, General Talos approached the citadel of Sancre Tor from the rear, descending the supposedly unscalable heights behind the citadel, and sneaking into the supposedly magically concealed entrance to the inner citadel. This remarkable feat is attributed to the agency of a single unnamed traitor, by tradition a Breton turncoat sorcerer, who revealed both the existence of an obscure mountain trail down the heights behind the citadel and the secret of the citadel entrance concealed beneath its illusory lake surface.\nWhile the Cyrodilic army in the lowlands fought a desperate defense against the Nord-Breton sortie, General Talos and his men entered the citadel, swept aside the sparse defense, captured the Nord-Breton nobles and generals, and compelled them to surrender the citadel and their armies. The confused and demoralized Nord captives, already suspicious of the scheming High Rock sorcerer aristocracy and their overreaching dreams of Heartlands conquests, deserted the alliance and swore loyalty to Tiber Septim. The Skyrim generals joined their rank and file in Tiber Septim's army; the High Rock battlemage command was summarily executed and the captive Bretons imprisoned or sold into slavery.\nThus was the concerted allied invasion of Cyrodiil foiled, and General Talos' army swelled by the hardened Nord veteran troops that played so crucial a role in General Talos' succeeding campaigns which consolidated the Colovian and Nibenean into the core of the Cyrodilic Empire, and which resulting in the crowning of General Talos as Emperor Tiber Septim.\nHistorians marvel at Tiber Septim's tactical daring in assaulting a fortified mountain citadel in the dead of winter against vastly superior numbers. Later Tiber Septim attributed his unwavering resolve against overwhelming obstacles to have been inspired by his divine vision of the Amulet of Kings in the Tomb of Reman III.\nThe young Talos may indeed have been inspired by his belief that he was fated to recover this ancient sacred symbol of the Covenant and to lead Tamriel to the high civilization of the Third Empire. Nonetheless, this should in no way reduce our admiration for the dash and genius of this defining military triumph against impossible odds."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/black-arts-trial": {"game": ["Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/black-arts-trial", "description": "The summary of a debate about necromancy.", "author": "Hanibal Traven", "title": "The Black Arts on Trial", "text": "The Black Arts On Trial\nBy Hannibal Traven\n\tArchmagister of the Arcane University, Imperial City\nHISTORY\nNecromancy, commonly called the Black Arts, has a history that dates back before recorded time. Virtually all the earliest laws of the land make mention of it as expressly forbidden on pain of death. Independent practitioners of the arts of sorcery, however, continued its study.\nThe Psijic Order of the Isle of Artaeum, precursor to our own Mages Guild, also forbade its use, not only because it was dangerous, but their belief in the holy and unholy ancestor spirits made it heretical. Again, despite this, we hear many stories of students and masters who ignored this stricture. When Vanus Galerion left Artaeum, he may have disagreed with the Psijics on much, but he also refused to allow Necromancy to be taught in the Guild.\nAlmost 1100 years have passed since the time of Vanus Galerion, and there have been many archmagisters to lead his guild. The question of Necromancy has continued to be asked. The strictures against it in the Guild have never been lifted, but attitudes about it have shifted back and forth over the years. Some archmagisters have been inclined to ignore it entirely, some have fought very actively against it, and still other archmagisters have been rumored to be Necromancers themselves.\nIn my new role as Archmagister of the Mages Guild, it is my duty to set policy on this matter. Though I have my own opinions on the Black Arts, I took counsel with two of the most learned mages in the Empire, Magister Voth Karlyss of Corinth and Magister Ulliceta gra-Kogg of Orsinium, and we debated for two days.\nWhat follows are summaries of the salient points of the debate, arguments and counter-arguments, which led to the resolution of the Mages Guild on the subject of Necromancy.\nARGUMENT\nArgument by Master gra-Kogg: Necromancy is poorly understood. We will not make it disappear by ignoring it. As an intellectual institution dedicated to the study of the magickal arts and sciences, we have obligations to the truth. Censoring ourselves in our scholarship is antithetical to our mission of neutrality and objectivity.\nCounter-Argument by Master Karlyss: The Mages Guild must balance its quest for knowledge with responsible caution and ethical standards. It is not 'censoring' a student's course of study to have him proceed cautiously and with purity of purpose. It is not limiting a student's freedom to set rules and boundaries - indeed, it is essential.\nArgument by Master Karlyss: Necromancy is an anathema throughout the civilized world. To embrace it publicly, the Mages Guild would inspire fear and hostility in the populace at large. Vanus Galerion wanted this institution to be unlike the Psijic Order, which was elitist and separatist. We ignore public opinion at our own risk. We will certainly lose our charters in many places including, very likely, the whole of Morrowind, where sentiment against Necromancy is very strong.\nCounter-Argument by Master gra-Kogg: Yes, we should be sensitive to the concerns of the community, but they should not and must not dictate our scholarship. 'Necromancer' to many uneducated persons simply means an evil mage. It is madness to limit our work because of prejudices and half-formed understanding. It is an affront to the purpose of objective study to turn our back on a subject merely because of public opinion.\nArgument by Master gra-Kogg: Necromancers are the scourge of Tamriel. Whether operating independently or in concert with the sloads or King of Worms, Mannimarco, they are responsible for many horrors, animated zombies and skeletons and other forms of the undead. To best combat this menace, we must understand the powers of the Necromancer, and we cannot do that by restricting our study of the Black Arts.\nCounter-Argument by Master Karlyss: No one is disputing the threat of the Black Arts - in fact, that is the very essence of my argument against the Mages Guild making it a School to be taught to our initiates. We can and should know what our enemy is capable of, but we must be careful not to step into a trap of looking too deep into his ways, and making those ways our own. We do no one any good if by studying the evil ways, we become evil ourselves.\nArgument by Master Karlyss: Necromancy is inherently dangerous. One cannot 'dabble' in it. The simplest spell requires the spilling of blood, and immediately begins to corrupt the caster's soul. This is not conjecture, but simple fact. It is irresponsible of the Guild to teach and thereby encourage a sort of magickal study which has proven itself, time and time again, to bring nothing but terror and misery on the practitioner and world.\nCounter-Argument by Master gra-Kogg: All Schools of magicka are dangerous to the uninitiated. A simple fireball spell from the School of Destruction can cause great harm when cast by a novice, not only to others but to the mage himself. The School of Mysticism by its very nature forces the practitioner to divorce his mind from logic, to embrace a temporary sort of insanity, which one might argue is very like corrupting one's soul.\nArgument by Master gra-Kogg: The Guild already permits some forms of Necromancy. The 'Schools' of magicka are, as we know, artificial constructs, originally formulated by Vanus Galerion to divide and thereby simplify study. They have changed many times throughout the years, but at their heart, every Master knows, they are all linked together. When a student of Conjuration summons a guardian ghost, he is touching on the School of Necromancy. When a student of Enchantment uses a trapped soul, he too may be considered guilty of a Black Art. The School of Mysticism, as I have stated before, has some kinship with Necromancy as well. To state that students may not learn the ways of Necromancy is to stifle common skills in the other, more historically legitimate Schools of the Guild.\nCounter-Argument by Master Karlyss: Yes, the Schools are intertwined, but the standard spells of each School have passed the proof of time. We know that a student of Mysticism, properly instructed, will not be permanently harmed by his experience. In many ways, it is a question of extremes - how far we would permit our studies to take us. Necromancy by its nature relies on the practitioner going further into the darkness than is wise, virtually guaranteeing his destruction. It has no place in the Mages Guild.\nCONCLUSION\nThe risks of studying Necromancy outweigh its usefulness. The Guild does not wish to censor the study of any of its members, but it will not tolerate studies in the Black Arts, except in limited form for the purpose of combating its evil adherents. This may only been done by rare individuals who have proven themselves both highly skilled and highly cautious, and then only with my express permission and supervision.\nAFTERWORD\nI regret to acknowledge the truth behind the rumor that Master Ulliceta gra-Kogg was more than an apologist for Necromancy, she was a Necromancer herself. Upon this revelation, the Knights of the Lamp attempted to arrest her at the Guildhouse in Orsinium, but she made good her escape. We have every confidence in the replacement Magister in Orsinium.\nThough I disagreed, I respected her logical reasoning enough to include her arguments in this book, and I see no reason to remove them. It is disappointing, however, to see that her interest in 'the truth' was nothing more than a euphemism for her slavery to the Black Arts.\nThis unfortunate situation merely illustrates how essential it is for Guildmembers to be wary of the lure of Necromancy, and be vigilant to its practitioners' infiltration in our Mages Guild."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/blessings-sheogorath": {"game": ["Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/blessings-sheogorath", "description": "Describes the thirteen blessings of Sheogorath.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Blessings of Sheogorath  ", "text": "For Our Lord Sheogorath, without Whom all Thought would be linear and all Feeling would be fleeting.\nBlessed are the Madmen, for they hold the keys to secret knowledge.\nBlessed are the Phobic, always wary of that which would do them harm.\nBlessed are the Obsessed, for their courses are clear.\nBlessed are the Addicts, may they quench the thirst that never ebbs.\nBlessed are the Murderous, for they have found beauty in the grotesque.\nBlessed are the Firelovers, for their hearts are always warm.\nBlessed are the Artists, for in their hands the impossible is made real.\nBlessed are the Musicians, for in their ears they hear the music of the soul.\nBlessed are the Sleepless, as they bask in wakeful dreaming.\nBlessed are the Paranoid, ever-watchful for our enemies.\nBlessed are the Visionaries, for their eyes see what might be.\nBlessed are the Painlovers, for in their suffering, we grow stronger.\nBlessed is the Madgod, who tricks us when we are foolish, punishes us when we are wrong, tortures us when we are unmindful, and loves us in our imperfection."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/chronicles-holy-brothers-marukh": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/chronicles-holy-brothers-marukh", "description": "A surviving document from the early Alessian Order.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Chronicles of the Holy Brothers of Marukh", "text": "Volume IV\nOr, The Cleansing of the Fane\n[Editor's Note: This is the only surviving fragment of the chronicle of this First Era sect of the Alessian Order. It seems to have been kept at their great monastic complex at Lake Canulus, which was razed during the War of Righteousness (1E 2321) and its archives destroyed or dispersed.\nNote also that Alessian scribes of this time customarily dated events from the Apotheosis of Alessia (1E 266).]\nHere is recorded the events of the Year 127 of the Blessed Alessia.\nIn this year was the day darkened over all lands, and the sun was all as it were Masser but three days old, and the stars about him at midday. This was on the fifth of First Seed. All who saw it were dismayed, and said that a great event should come hereafter. So it did, for that same year issued forth a great concourse of devils from the ancient Elvish temple Malada, such had not been seen since the days of King Belharza. These devils greatly afflicted the land such that no man could plow, or reap, or seed, and the people appealed to the brothers of Marukh for succour. And then Abbot Cosmas gathered all the brothers and led them to Malada, also known as the High Fane in the Elvish tongue, and came against it with holy fire, and the foul demons were destroyed, and many devilish relics and books found therein were burned. And the land had peace for many years."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/doors-oblivion": {"game": ["Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/doors-oblivion", "description": "A book written by Morian Zenas' apprentice about his master's travels in the realms of Oblivion. It contains mentions to events in past The Elder Scrolls games and features Divayth Fyr as a character.", "author": "Seif-ij Hidja", "title": "The Doors of Oblivion", "text": "\"When thou enterest into Oblivion, Oblivion entereth into thee.\" -- Nai Tyrol-Llar\n\nThe greatest mage who ever lived was my master Morian Zenas.  You have heard of him as the author of the book 'On Oblivion,' the standard text for all on matters Daedric. Despite many entreaties over the years, he refused to update his classic book with his new discoveries and theories because he found that the more one delves into these realms, the less certain one is.  He did not want conjecture, he wanted facts.\nFor decades before and after the publication of 'On Oblivion,' Zenas compiled a vast personal library on the subject of Oblivion, the home of the Daedra.  He divided his time between this research and personal magickal growth, on the assumption that should he succeed in finding a way into the dangerous world beyond and behind ours, he would need much power to wander its dark paths.\nTwelve years before Zenas began the journey he had prepared his life to make, he hired me as his assistant.  I possessed the three attributes he required for the position: I was young and eager to help without question; I could read any book once and memorize its contents; and, despite my youth, I was already a Master of Conjuration.\nZenas too was a Master of Conjuration - indeed, a Master at all the known and unknown Schools - but he did not want to rely on his ability alone in the most perilous of his research.  In an underground vault, he summoned Daedra to interview them on their native land, and for that he needed another Conjurer to make certain they came, were bound, and were sent away again without incident.\nI will never forget that vault, not for its look which was plain and unadorned, but for what you couldn't see.  There were scents that lingered long after the summoned creatures had left, flowers and sulfur, sex and decay, power and madness.  They haunt me still to this very day.\nConjuration, for the layman unacquainted with its workings, connects the caster's mind with that of the summoned.  It is a tenuous link, meant only to lure, hold, and dismiss, but in the hands of a Master, it can be much stronger.  The Psijics and Dwemer can (in the Dwemer's case, perhaps I should say, could) connect with the minds of others, and converse miles apart - a skill that is sometimes called telepathy.\nOver the course of my employment, Zenas and I developed such a link between one another.  It was accidental, a result of two powerful Conjurers working closely together, but we decided that it would be invaluable should he succeed in traveling to Oblivion.  Since the denizens of that land could be touched even by the skills of an amateur Conjurer, it was possible we could continue to communicate while he was there, so I could record his discoveries.\nThe 'Doors to Oblivion,' to use Morian Zenas's phrase, are not easily found, and we exhausted many possibilities before we found one where we held the key.\nThe Psijics of Artaeum have a place they call The Dreaming Cave, where it is said one can enter into the Daedric realms and return.  Iachesis, Sotha Sil, Nematigh, and many others have been recorded as using this means, but despite many entreaties to the Order, we were denied its use.  Celarus, the leader of the Order, has told us it has been sealed off for the safety of all.\nWe had hopes of using the ruins of the Battlespire to access Oblivion.  The Weir Gate still stands, though the old proving grounds of the Imperial Battlemages itself was shattered some years ago in Jagar Tharn's time.  Sadly, after an exhaustive search through the detritus, we had to conclude that when it was destroyed, all access to the realms beyond, the Soul Cairn, the Shade Perilous, and the Havoc Wellhead, had been broken.  It was probably for the good, but it frustrated our goal.\nThe reader may have heard of other Doors, and he may be assured we attempted to find them all.\nSome are pure legend, or at any rate, not traceable based on the information left behind.  There are references in lore to Marukh's Abyss, the Corryngton Mirror, the Mantellan Crux, the Crossroads, the Mouth, a riddle of an alchemical formula called Jacinth and Rising Sun, and many other places and objects that are said to be Doors, but we could not find.\nSome exist, but cannot be entered safely. The whirlpool in the Abecean called the Maelstrom of Bal can make ships disappear, and may be a portal into Oblivion, but the trauma of riding its waters would surely slay any who tried.  Likewise, we did not consider it worth the risk to leap from the Pillar of Thras, a thousand foot tall spiral of coral, though we witnessed the sacrifices the sloads made there.  Some victims were killed by the fall, but some, indeed, seemed to vanish before being dashed on the rocks.  Since the sload did not seem certain why some were taken and some died, we did not favor the odds of the plunge.\nThe simplest and most maddeningly complex way to go to Oblivion was simply to cease to be here, and begin to be there.  Throughout history, there are examples of mages who seemed to travel to the realms beyond ours seemingly at will.  Many of these voyagers are long dead, if they ever existed, but we were able to find one still living.  In a tower off Zafirbel Bay on the island of Vvardenfell in the province of Morrowind there exists a very old, very reclusive wizard named Divayth Fyr.\nHe was not easy to reach, and he was reluctant to share with Morian Zenas the secret Door to Oblivion.  Fortunately, my master's knowledge of lore impressed Fyr, and he taught him the way.  I would be breaking my promise to Zenas and Fyr to explain the procedure here, and I would not divulge it even if I could.  If there is dangerous knowledge to be had, that is it.  But I do not reveal too much to say that Fyr's scheme relied on exploiting a series of portals to various realms created by a Telvanni wizard long missing and presumed dead. Against the disadvantage of this limited number of access points, we weighed the relative reliability and security of passage, and considered ourselves fortunate in our informant.\nMorian Zenas then left this world to begin his exploration.  I stayed at the library to transcribe his information and help him with any research he needed.\n'Dust,' he whispered to me on the first day of his voyage.  Despite the inherent dreariness of the word, I could hear his excitement in his voice, echoing in my mind. 'I can see from one end of the world to the other in a million shades of gray.  There is no sky or ground or air, only particles, floating, falling, whirling about me.  I must levitate and breathe by magickal means...'\nZenas explored the nebulous land for some time, encountering vaporous creatures and palaces of smoke.  Though he never met the Prince, we concluded that he was in Ashpit, said to be the home of Malacath, where anguish, betrayal, and broken promises like ash filled the bitter air.\n'The sky is on fire,' I heard him say as he moved on to the next realm. 'The ground is sludge, but traversable.  I see blackened ruins all around me, like a war was fought here in the distant past.  The air is freezing.  I cast blooms of warmth all around me, but it still feels like daggers of ice stabbing me in all directions.'\nThis was Coldharbour, where Molag Bal was Prince.  It appeared to Zenas as if it were a future Nirn, under the King of Rape, desolate and barren, filled with suffering.  I could hear Morian Zenas weep at the images he saw, and shiver at the sight of the Imperial Palace, spattered with blood and excrement.\n'Too much beauty,' Zenas gasped when he went to the next realm. 'I am half blind.  I see flowers and waterfalls, majestic trees, a city of silver, but it is all a blur.  The colors run like water.  It's raining now, and the wind smells like perfume.  This surely is Moonshadow, where Azura dwells.'\nZenas was right, and astonishingly, he even had audience with the Queen of Dusk and Dawn in her rose palace.  She listened to his tale with a smile, and told him of the coming of the Nevevarine. My master found Moonshadow so lovely, he wished to stay there, half-blind, forever, but he knew he must move on and complete his journey of discovery.\n'I am in a storm,' he told me as he entered the next realm.  He described the landscape of dark twisted trees, howling spirits, and billowing mist, and I thought he might have entered the Deadlands of Mehrunes Dagon.  But then he said quickly, 'No, I am no longer in a forest.  There was a flash of lightning, and now I am on a ship.  The mast is tattered.  The crew is slaughtered.  Something is coming through the waves ... oh, gods ... Wait, now, I am in a dank dungeon, in a cell ...'\nHe was not in the Deadlands, but Quagmire, the nightmare realm of Vaernima.  Every few minutes, there was a flash of lightning and reality shifted, always to something more horrible and horrifying.  A dark castle one moment, a den of ravening beasts the next, a moonlit swamp, a coffin where he was buried alive.  Fear got the better of my master, and he quickly passed to the next realm.\nI heard him laugh, 'I feel like I'm home now.'\nMorian Zenas described to me an endless library, shelves stretching on in every direction, stacks on top of stacks.  Pages floated on a mystical wind that he could not feel.  Every book had a black cover with no title.  He could see no one, but felt the presence of ghosts moving through the stacks, rifling through books, ever searching.\nIt was Apocrypha.  The home of Hermaeus-Mora, where all forbidden knowledge can be found.  I felt a shudder in my mind, but I could not tell if it was my master's or mine.\nMorian Zenas never traveled to another realm that I know of.\nThroughout his visits to the first four realms, my master spoke to me constantly.  Upon entering the Apocrypha, he became quieter, as he was lured into the world of research and study, the passions that had controlled his heart while on Nirn.  I would frantically try to call to him, but he closed his mind to me.\nThen he would whisper, 'This cannot be...'\n'No one would ever guess the truth...'\n'I must learn more...'\n'I see the world, a last illusion's shimmer, it is crumbling all around us...'\nI would cry back to him, begging him to tell me what was happening, what he was seeing, what he was learning.  I even tried using Conjuration to summon him as if he were a Daedra himself, but he refused to leave.  Morian Zenas was lost.\nI last received a whisper from him six months ago.  Before then, it had been five years, and three before that.  His thoughts are no longer intelligible in any language.  Perhaps he is still in Apocrypha, lost but happy, in a trap he refuses to escape.\nPerhaps he slipped between the stacks and passed into the Madhouse of Sheogorath, losing his sanity forever.\nI would save him if I could.\nI would silence his whispers if I could."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/exodus": {"game": ["Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/exodus", "description": "This is the story of a young girl named Vralla. When she becomes ill, her parents are told to go to the Mages Guild at Olenveld for help. Vralla gets better in the end, sort of.", "author": "Waughin Jarth", "title": "The Exodus", "text": "Vralla was a little girl, beautiful and sweet-natured, beautiful and smart, beautiful and energetic. Everything that her parents had dreamed she would be. As perfect as she was, they could not help but have dreams for her. Her father, a bit of a social climber named Munthen, thought she would marry well, perhaps become a Princess of the Empire. Her mother, an insecure woman named Cinneta, thought she would reach greatness on her own, as a knight or a sorceress. As much as they wanted the very best for their daughter, they argued about what her fate would be, but both were wrong. Instead of growing up, she grew very ill.\nThe Temples told them to give up hope, and The Mages Guild told them that what afflicted Vralla was so rare, so deadly, that there was no cure. She was doomed to die, and soon.\nWhen the great institutions of the Empire failed them, Munthen and Cinneta sought out the witches, the sorcerer hermits, and the other hidden, secret powers that lurk in the shadows of civilization.\n'I can think of only one place you can go,' said an old herbalist they found in the most remote peaks of the Wrothgarian Mountains. 'The Mages Guild at Olenveld.'\n'But we have already been to the Mages Guild,' protested Munthen. 'They couldn't help us.'\n'Go to Olenveld,\" the herbalist insisted. \"And tell no one that you're going there.'\nIt was not easy to find Olenveld, as it did not appear on any modern map. In a bookseller's in Skyrim, however, they found it in a historic book of cartography from the 2nd Era. In the yellowed pages, there was Olenveld, a city on an island in the northern coast, a day's sail in summertide from Winterhold.\nBundling their pale daughter against the chill of the ocean wind, the couple set sail, using the old map as their only guide. For nearly two days, they were at sea, circling the same position, wondering if they were the victim of a cruel trick. And then they saw it.\nIn the mist of crashing waves were twin crumbled statues framing the harbor, long forgotten Gods or heroes. The ships within were half-sunk, rotten shells along the docks. Munthen brought his ship in, and the three walked into the deserted island city.\nTaverns with broken windows, a plaza with a dried-up well, shattered palaces and fire-blackened tenements, barren shops and abandoned stables, all desolate, all still, but for the high keening ocean wind that whistled through the empty places. And gravestones. Every road and alley was lined, and crossed, and crossed again with memorials to the dead.\nMunthen and Cinneta looked at one another. The chill they felt had little to do with the wind. Then they looked at Vralla, and continued on to their goal - the Mages Guild of Olenveld.\nCandlelight glistened through the windows of the great dark building, but it brought them little relief to know that someone was alive in the island of death. They knocked on the door, and steeled themselves against whatever horror they might face within.\nThe door was opened by a rather plump middle-aged Nord woman with frizzy blond hair. Standing behind her, a meek-looking bald Nord about her age, a shy teenage Breton couple, still very pimply and awkward, and a very old, apple-cheeked Breton man who grinned with delight at the visitors.\n'Oh, my goodness,' said the Nord woman, all afluster. 'I thought my ears must be fooling me when I heard that door a-knockin'. Come in, come in, it's so cold!'\nThe three were ushered in the door, and they were relieved to find that the Guild did not look abandoned in the least. It was well swept, well lit, and cheerfully decorated. The group fell into introductions. The inhabitants of the Guildhouse in Olenveld were two families, the Nords Jalmar and Nette, and the Bretons Lywel, Rosalyn, and old Wynster. They were friendly and accommodating, immediately bringing some mulled wine and bread while Munthen and Cinneta explained to them what they were doing there, and what the healers and herbalists had said about Vralla.\n'So, you see,' said Cinneta, tearfully. 'We didn't think we'd find the Mages Guild in Olenveld, but now that we have, please, you're our last hope.'\nThe five strangers also had tears in their eyes. Nette wept particularly noisily.\n'Oh, you've been through too, too much,' the Nord woman bawled. 'Of course, we'll help. Your little girl will be right as rain.'\n'It is fair to tell you,' said Jalmar, more stoically, though he clearly was also touched by the tale. 'This is a Guildhouse, but we are not Mages. We took this building because it was abandoned and it serves our purposes since the Exodus. We are Necromancers.'\n'Necromancers?' Cinneta quivered. How could these nice people be anything so horrible?\n'Yes, dear,' Nette smiled, patting her hand. 'I know. We have a bad reputation, I'm afraid. Never was very good, and now that well-meaning but foolish Archmagister Hannibal Traven -'\n'May the Worm King eat his soul!' cried the old man quite suddenly and very viciously.\n'Now, now, Wynster,' said the teenage girl Rosalyn, blushing and smiling at Cinneta apologetically. 'I'm sorry about him. He's usually very sweet-natured.'\n'Well, of course, he's right, Mannimarco will have the last say in the matter,' Jalmar said. 'But right now, it's all very, well, awkward. When Traven officially banned the art, we had to go into hiding. The only other option was to abandon it altogether, and that's just foolish, though there are many who have done it.'\n'Not many people know about Olenveld anymore since Tiber Septim used it as his own personal graveyard,' said Lywel. 'Took us a week to find it again. But it's perfect for us. Lots of dead bodies, you know... '\n'Lywel!' Rosalyn admonished him. 'You're going to scare them!'\n'Sorry,' Lywel grinned sheepishly.\n'I don't care what you do here,' said Munthen sternly. 'I just want to know what you can do for my daughter.'\n'Well,' said Jalmar with a shrug. 'I guess we can make it so she doesn't die and is never sick again.'\nCinneta gasped, 'Please! We'll give you everything we have!'\n'Nonsense,' said Nette, picking up Vralla in her big, beefy arms. 'Oh, what a beautiful girl. Would you like to feel better, little sweetheart?'\nVralla nodded, wearily.\n'You stay here,' Jalmar said. 'Rosalyn, I'm sure we have something better than bread to offer these nice folks.'\nNette started to carry Vralla away, but Cinneta ran after her. 'Wait, I'm coming too.'\n'Oh, I'm sure you would, but it'd ruin the spell, dear,' Nette said. 'Don't worry about a thing. We've done this dozens of times.'\nMunthen puts his arms around his wife, and she relented. Rosalyn hurried off to the kitchen and brought some roast fowl and more mulled wine for them. They sat in silence and ate.\nWynster shuddered suddenly. 'The little girl has died.'\n'Oh!' Cinneta gasped.\n'What in Oblivion do you mean?!' Munthen cried.\n'Wynster, was that really necessary?' Lywel scowled at the old man, before turning to Munthen and Cinneta. 'She had to die. Necromancy is not about curing a disease, it's about resurrection, total regeneration, transforming the whole body, not just the parts that aren't working now.'\nMunthen stood up, angrily. 'If those maniacs killed her -'\n'They didn't,' Rosalyn snapped, her shy eyes now showing fire. 'Your daughter was on her last breath when she came in here, anyone could see that. I know that this is hard, horrible even, but I won't have you call that sweet couple who are only trying to help you, 'maniacs.''\nCinneta burst into tears, 'But she's going to live now? Isn't she?'\n'Oh yes,' Lywel said, smiling broadly.\n'Oh, thank you, thank you,' Cinneta burst into tears. 'I don't know what we would have done -'\n'I know how you feel,' said Rosalyn, patting Wynster's hand fondly. 'When I thought we were going to lose him, I was willing to do anything, just like you.'\nCinneta smiled. 'How old is your father?'\n'My son,' Rosalyn corrected her. 'He's six.'\nFrom the other room came the sound of tiny footsteps.\n'Vralla, go give your parents a big hug,' said Jalmar.\nMunthen and Cinneta turned, and the screaming began."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/five-tenets": {"game": ["Oblivion", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/five-tenets", "description": "The five rules of the Dark Brotherhood.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Five Tenets", "text": "Tenet 1: Never dishonor the Night Mother. To do so is to invoke the Wrath of Sithis.\nTenet 2: Never betray the Dark Brotherhood or its secrets. To do so is to invoke the Wrath of Sithis.\nTenet 3: Never disobey or refuse to carry out an order from a Dark Brotherhood superior. To do so is to invoke the Wrath of Sithis.\nTenet 4: Never steal the possessions of a Dark Brother or Dark Sister. To do so is to invoke the Wrath of Sithis.\nTenet 5: Never kill a Dark Brother or Dark Sister. To do so is to invoke the Wrath of Sithis."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/knights-nine": {"game": ["Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/knights-nine", "description": "The history of the Knights, from their founding to their decline in the mid 3rd era.", "author": "Karoline of Solitude", "title": "The Knights of the Nine", "text": "Few people now remember the Knights of the Nine, but in their time, they were famous throughout Cyrodiil -- indeed, throughout the Empire. For a brief period in the early days of the Septim Empire, their adventures were the talk of the land. But their renown, as with so much else, was swallowed up by the War of the Red Diamond, and today even the location of their priory house has been lost to history.\nThe Knights were founded by Sir Amiel Lannus in 3E 111, following his heroic turn in the War of the Isle, with the high purpose of recovering the legendary Crusader's Relics, the weapons and armor of Pelinal Whitestrake which have been lost for thousands of years. They were born out of the sense of optimism and ambition that characterised the first century of the Third Era. Tamriel was united and at peace for the first time in many centuries. Nothing was impossible.\nThe fame of the knights was established early on when Sir Amiel led them against the Wyrm of Elynglenn to recover the Cuirass of the Crusader, which had not been seen since the First Era. Soon, the greatest knights of the day were lining up to join the new order, and the Priory of the Nine in the West Weald of Cyrodiil became a magnet for the great and the good. The Knights were the toast of the Empire. When Berich Vlindrel joined the order, the scion of one of the great noble families of Colovia, it was clear that the Knights of the Nine had become the Empire's most prestigous knightly order. In relatively short order, the Knights reclaimed three more Relics, and their fame soared to new heights with each one. No one doubted that they would eventually succeed in their quest to recover all eight Relics.\nSadly, this early promise of the Knights did not survive the ravages of the War of the Red Diamond, which tore apart the Empire beginning in 3E 121. At first, it seems that Sir Amiel was able to keep his knights out of the war. But the very success of the Knights undermined this, as many of the Knights came from important families from across the Empire which were lining up on either side of the bloody civil war. Sir Berich was apparently the first to leave the Order to join the war on the side of Cephorus, carrying the Sword and Greaves of the Crusader into battle with him. Many other knights seem to have left the Order shortly after this, some joining the war on one side or the other.\nThe end of the order was as ignomonious as its beginning was glorious. Following the victory of Cephorus in 3E 127, Berich Vlindrel became an important figure on the winning side. It seems likely that he was behind the Imperial decree which officially dissolved the Knights of the Nine in 3E 131, although in truth this was little more than a formality -- despite Sir Amiel's best efforts, the order had never recovered from the bitterness of the civil war.\nWhat happened to the various Relics originally recovered by the Knights of the Nine? The Sword and the Greaves went with Sir Berich, but where he bestowed them is unknown. The Gauntlets famously lie immovable on the floor of the Chapel of Stendarr in Chorrol, where Sir Casimir left them after his disgraceful murder of a beggar in 3E 139. The location of the Cuirass is a mystery, lost to history along with the eventual fate of Sir Amiel, who was last reported still living alone in the empty Priory of the Nine by a passing traveller in 3E 150. And so the Knights of the Nine faded away into history.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/last-king-ayleids": {"game": ["Oblivion", "Skyrim", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/last-king-ayleids", "description": "A history of the fall of the Ayleid empire.", "author": "Herminia Cinna", "title": "The Last King of the Ayleids", "text": "The Ayleids, or Heartland High Elves, ruled Cyrodiil in the long ages of Myth before the beginning of recorded history. One of the earliest recorded dates, in fact, is the Fall of White Gold Tower in 1E 243, which is commonly assumed to mark the end of the Ayleids.\nAlthough Ayleid rule over all of Cyrodiil was indeed broken in 1E 243, this was only one of the most obvious stages near the end of a long decline. The first two centuries of the First Era saw increasing strife between the great Ayleid lords of Cyrodiil. Alessia appears to have taken advantage of a period of civil war to launch her uprising. Imperial historians have traditionally attributed her victory to intervention from Skyrim, but it appears that she had at least as much help from rebel Ayleid lords during the siege of White Gold Tower.\nThe popular image of the Ayleids as brutal slavemasters is based in fact, of course, but it is less well-known that a number of Ayleid princes continued to rule parts of Cyrodiil after 263, as vassals of the new Empress of Cyrodiil. This suggests either that Ayleid rule was not universally detested, or that Alessia and her successors were more pragmatic than is traditionally believed, or perhaps some of both.\nIn any event, excavations at a number of Ayleid sites show continued occupation and even expansion during the so-called Late Ayleid Period (1E 243 - c. 498). At first, many Ayleid lords continued to rule as vassals of the new human regime. In some cases, Ayleid supporters of Alessia were even rewarded with new lands taken from slain enemies. It is not clear to what extent human slavery continued under the Cyrodilic Empire. Humans continued to dwell in the Ayleid-ruled areas of Cyrodiil, but there is nothing definitive to show under what terms.\nThis was an uneasy relationship from the beginning, and was not destined to last long. Resentment at the continued presence of Ayleid nobles within the Empire was a contributing factor to the rise of the so-called Alessian Order founded by Maruhk. The first victims of the Alessians were the Ayleids of Cyrodiil. In the early 300s, the surviving Ayleid communities in human-ruled areas were obliterated one by one, the refugees temporarily swelling the power of the remaining Ayleid lordships.\nThen in 361, the Alessians gained control of the Empire and enforced the Alessian Doctrines throughout its domain. The Ayleid lordships were abolished. Enforcement of this decree does not appear to have required much direct violence -- it seems that by this point the balance of power was so overwhelmingly against them, and their fate so long foreshadowed, that most of the remaining Ayleids simply left Cyrodiil, eventually being absorbed into the Elven populations of Valenwood and High Rock. Indeed, the rise of the Direnni Hegemony may be linked to this exodus of Ayleids from Cyrodiil (a connection so far little studied by historians).\nStill, a remnant Ayleid population seems to have survived the rule of the Alessians, because we hear of \"the last king of the Ayleids\" joining the battle of Glenumbria Moors where the Dirennis decisively defeated the Alessians in 482. How this king's people survived the preceding century is unknown. We do not even know who they were, although recent research points to Nenalata as the possible resting place of this \"last king.\" Unfortunately, in the current state of the Empire, funds are no longer available for proper scientific investigation of such extensive ruins, so the answer to these questions will have to be left to future generations.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/legendary-sancre-tor": {"game": ["Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/legendary-sancre-tor", "description": "A history book about the legendary, but abandoned, and now haunted city of Sancre Tor.", "author": "Matera Chapel", "title": "The Legendary Sancre Tor", "text": "During the Skyrim Conquests [1E 240 - 415], ambitious Highland earls, envious of the conquests and wealth of their northern cousins in High Rock and Morrowind, looked south over the ramparts of the Jerall Mountains for their opportunities. The Jerall Mountains proved to be too great a barrier, and northern Cyrodiil too poor a prize, to reward full scale Nord invasions. However, Alessia hired many ambitious Nord and Breton warbands as mercenaries with the promises of rich lands and trade concessions. Once settled among the victorious Alessian Cyrodiils, the Nord and Breton warriors and battlemages were quickly assimilated into the comfortable and prosperous Nibenean culture.\nAlessia received the divine inspiration for her Slave Rebellion at Sancre Tor, and here she founded her holy city. Sancre Tor's mines provided some wealth, but the poor soils and harsh climate of the remote mountain site meant it must be supplied with food and goods from the Heartlands. Further, located on one of the few passes through the Jeralls, its fortunes were subject to the instability of relations with Skyrim. When relations were good with Skyrim, it prospered through trade and alliance. When relations were bad with Skyrim, it was vulnerable to siege and occupation by the Nords.\nWith the decline of the Alessian Order [circa 1E2321], the seat of religious rule of Cyrodiil moved south to the Imperial City, but Sancre Tor remained a mountain fortress and major religious center until the rise of the Septim Dynasty. In 2E852, the city was suffering under one of the periodic occupations by Skyrim and High Rock invaders. King Cuhlecain sent his new general, Talos, to recapture the city and expel the northern invaders. During his siege, Sancre Tor was destroyed and abandoned. Realizing the strategic weakness of the site, General Talos -- later Tiber Septim -- resolved to abandon Sancre Tor, and during his reign, no effort was made to rebuild the city or citadel.\nAlessian historians asserted that Sancre Tor was magically concealed and defended by the gods. Records of Sancre Tor's repeated defeats and occupations by northern invaders gives the lie to this assertion. The entrance to the citadel was indeed concealed by sorcery, and the citadel and its labyrinthine subterranean complex were defended by magical traps and illusions, but their secrets were betrayed to besieging Nords by the Breton enchanters who crafted them.\nOne enduring feature of the legend of Sancre Tor is the ancient tombs of the Reman emperors. Following the defeat of the Akaviri invaders, Sancre Tor enjoyed a brief resurgence of wealth and culture under Reman Cyrodiil and his descendants, Reman II and Reman III. Tracing his ancestry to St. Alessia, and following the tradition that St. Alessia was buried in the catacombs beneath Sancre Tor [1], Reman built splendid funerary precincts in the depths of the ancient citadel underpassages. Here the last Reman emperor, Reman III, was buried in his tomb with the Amulet of Kings.\nDuring the Sack of Sancre Tor, General Talos is said to have recovered the Amulet of Kings from the tomb of Reman III. Theologians ascribe the long centuries of political and economic turmoil following the collapse of the Reman dynasty to the loss of the Amulet of Kings, and associate the renaissance of the Cyrodilic empire in the Third Era with Tiber Septim's recovery of the Amulet from Reman III's tomb.\nSancre Tor has lain in ruins since the beginning of the Third Age, and the surrounding region is virtually uninhabited. Now all communications with the north are through the passes at Chorrol and Bruma, and Sancre Tor's citadel and underpassages have become the refuge of various savage goblin tribes.\n[1] The is a competing tradition that St. Alessia is buried on the site of the Temple of the One in the Imperial City. The actual resting place of St. Alessia is unknown."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/liturgy-affliction": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/liturgy-affliction", "description": "Memoirs of Vexis Velruan, the man who explore the destruction fanatically by sacrificing anything, including his own body. A typical man who had been touched by Sheogorath aspect of Mania.", "author": "Vexis Velruan, Anias Gael (scribe)", "title": "The Liturgy of Affliction", "text": "A Collection Of The Writings Of Vexis Velruan\nTranscribed by Anias Gael\nDearest reader, the tome that you hold in your hand is a chronicle of pain, of torment, and of discovery. In these memoirs, I shall impart to you an autobiography of a foolish and failed attempt to achieve a great power. Walk with me as I break the bonds of propriety, throw off the restraints of the ancient laws of the arcane, and cast aside the bonds of magical ethics. For contained herein, you shall find the dying words of Vexis Velruan.\nLet it be known to you, loyal reader, that I remain until my dying moment, a student of Magicka. But no typical apprentice, am I. I am one who has forged a unique path to the deeper understanding of the mechanics of Magicka. Through the infliction of destruction magic upon my own flesh, I have accomplished more than any student before me has.\nIt is by that folly that I come to you now, lucid as ever, fully alert in my faculties, and acutely cognizant of the sacrifices that I have made in my quest. I have long since lost the capacity to feel any physical sensation beyond absolute agony. I've become so accustomed to it, so detached from the feeling, that to me, pain is simply always there. You do not think of the air around you as a sensation, do you?\nHow is it, you ask, that I came to be what I am? It began innocently enough. I was once a healer, one of the most promising students of the temple. Which one? It doesn't matter. I was eventually expelled. Fools. You see, we had a number of patients interred in our humble sanctuary who had been infected with the Red Fever. My attempts to use the magical arts to turn the disease on itself were less than successful in their early stages. For trying to find a cure, I was cast out.\nIt was not long after my exile that I discovered the means to eradicate infection using the destructive energies of magicka. In my explorations of the school of Destruction I discovered that by pulling the elemental energies through my own body, I was able to increase the raw output of energy. From the experience of a lighting bolt surging through my own body, I was able to deepen my understanding of the raw forces of magicka.\nAt first, the pain was bearable. I directed only a minor amount of the energy back in towards myself. I learned to couple the destruction with restorative energies. It helped to abate the damage done to my body, but did nothing to stop the pain itself.\nAs my tolerance for the pain increased, I began to channel more and more through my own body. My understanding of Destruction outgrew my knowledge of Restoration. While it could still lessen the damage, it could not stop it. My skin became charred and blackened; it dried, flaked off, and cracked. I stunk of cooked meat. But I could not resist the draw of more and more energy.\nI became like a skooma fiend of the worst sort. I no longer used magic for any practical purpose. I simply sought out more and more energy -- I relished the pain. Anticipated the moment when the energy and the pain would wash over me as one, freezing my flesh, burning it beyond recognition. My skin became a network of scars, sores, lesions, and burns. But it was never enough. Never. I needed more. More pain. More power.\nI lost my sight. My eyes melted into boiling pools of vitreous humor so hot that they left streaks of blistered skin as they ran down my face like burning tears. My right hand froze solid and shattered into a thousand pieces, when I carelessly bashed it against a doorjamb in terror, once I realized what had happened. The bones of both my legs shattered outward like broken glass, shredding the flesh and muscle surrounding them.\nWhile this may sound like a fate of terrible consequence, my dearest reader, I can assure you that you will never know what it is to be a creature of flesh and bone like I have. You will never have the degree of knowledge of frailty of the flesh that I have grown to know. I achieved a level of understanding of Magicka beyond that of the grand masters of the guild, but that accomplishment pales in comparison to the grander discoveries that this experience has bestowed upon me.\nPeople like you think that pain is to be avoided. Hidden from. Feared. Through my suffering and the numbness that now robs me of the ability to feel it, I can say this to you: Pain is a simple factor of human existence. It affords us the opportunity to feel -- to appreciate the temporary shell that our spirits occupy. Pain is the greatest gift that the gods have ever given mortal man.\nAnd now, as I tell you this story by way of a scribe, I am a stump of a man, wrapped in seeping bandages, never to know pleasure again. Even still, I have but one message to impart to you: Embrace what you are.\nGlory to lord Sheogorath, for he has opened my eyes."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/living-woods": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/living-woods", "description": "An essay about Gnarl.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Living Woods", "text": "The Gnarl is a creature of the forest like no other. Away from the walls of New Sheoth, they are called the Walking Trees. Gnarl are known for their affinity with the elements. If a Gnarl is struck by elemental forces of fire, frost, or shock, it uses that energy to grow stronger and larger. Fortunately, this effect only lasts for a short time.\nIt is the will of Sheogorath that the Gnarl confuse and bewilder the unwary mage. To that end, it gains resistance to the element it is struck with, but becomes weaker to the other two. The wily mage will quickly switch between elemental spells to take advantage of this. Lesser wizards will suffer if they continue to use the same spell over and over.\nIn recent years there have been rumors of smiths that are able to use the amber sap extracted from Gnarl to make sturdy armor and weapons. As of yet, this gossip has not been confirmed.\nMore is not known about the Gnarl than is known. No-one has been able to determine the gender of Gnarl, or if they even have them. Young or immature Gnarl have never been seen. One academic suggested that Gnarl are born full-formed from trees that are struck by lightning. This absurd suggestion has not been confirmed.\nSimilarly, we have no knowledge of their diet or social habits. Presumably they feed directly from the sun and earth, like trees do. There are no reported cases of them communicating, even among each other. However, they do seem to have a truce of sorts with other woodland creatures such as the Baliwog and Elytra."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/path-transcendence": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/path-transcendence", "description": "A journal of Celedaen, a member of Mages Guild who practiced Necromancer and in the process to gain lichdom.", "author": "Celedaen", "title": "The Path of Transcendence", "text": "Entry 1: My initial findings may have been inconclusive, but they set me on the path I will pursue until I achieve my goal or lie rotting in this cave. Either outcome will be a welcome respite from the days and nights I've spent toiling without food, water, or any kind of companionship. A lesser mage would have fallen prey to madness by now, I'm sure of it. But I am not a lesser mage! Though they try in earnest, though their hearts and minds are true to the teachings of our great Sovereign, my fellow Necromancers lack the complete dedication required to achieve that ultimate of goals -- the state of lichdom. Not even Falcar himself can match my sheer tenacity, my unwillingness to accept failure on any level. That is why I, Celedaen, will soon join the ranks of the Worm Eremites, those servants favored by our sovereign above all others. I will sit with honor and obedience at his right hand while those fools in the Mages Guild grovel at my maggot-ridden feet!\nEntry 2: Even the most pedestrian peasant fairy tale has long held that a lich must somehow remain bound to his soul, and that connection most commonly manifests itself as a transference of the spirit into an actual physical object. An urn, a sarcophagus, a crystal phial.... One Khajiit fairy tale even tells of a lich who preserved his spirit in the severed head of a Wood Elf infant! And these same peasants long comforted themselves with the belief that if they ever had the grave misfortune of facing a lich, they would need only find the vessel containing his spirit form and then destroy it, thus destroying the lich himself. Fools and their folklore! True liches possess no such weakness! Can one of the Sovereign's Worm Eremites be bested by shattering a glass vase? The very notion is so absurd as to be comical. Yes, a Necromancer must transfer his soul into a physical vessel, but once that transference is complete, once the Necromancer has fully metamorphosed into his lich form, the vessel is inconsequential. But it's the process of this transference itself that has eluded me for so long. My soul remains bound to my earthly body, and nothing I have attempted has allowed me to free myself of this mortal coil and transcend to the state of lichdom I so dearly desire.\nEntry 3: Every tome I've acquired, the volumes upon volumes of Necromantic discourse, all useless! I have grown disgusted by the years of wasted life that have been poured into these so-called \"essential\" writings. Who in their right mind would ever wish to animate a month-dead Cyrodilic butterfly, or bring life to the rotting husk of a rare albino mud crab? How many months have I wasted away in this cave? And for what reason? Ah, yes, I know! I will resurrect an army of deformed goblin younglings and march on the White-Gold Tower itself! That at least is in my reach! My mind has become a cesspool of Necromantic waste, where reject spells and rituals compete for the honor of finally driving me completely insane. And still I am no closer to achieving my goal than I was when I first began this process. Am I losing faith in myself, in my discipline? Perhaps I have been studying too hard. Many a night I have sacrificed my prayers to our Sovereign for one more experiment, one more incantation. What I need now is rest. Rest, and a state of tranquility, so that I may commune with our Sovereign and re-pledge my loyalty and devotion. For what answer will I find in some crumbling codex that could not be supplied by our great Sovereign himself?\nEntry 4: The secret is mine! So long I searched, so hard I toiled, but I was a fool! I was right to forgo my studies for a more ardent devotion to prayer. Last night, as I sit in the throes of meditation, our great Sovereign did come to me! He passed to me the knowledge I have sought for so long! The secrets of transcendence were even more complex and arcane than even I could have imagined, and I will never transcribe them into any written work. Indeed, they have never been recorded! All my months of solitude were for naught, as the secret I so desperately sought could only be obtained through direct communication with out great Sovereign himself. Soon I will walk the earth as a Worm Eremite, serving the Sovereign in a state of endless undeath!\nEntry 5: Through the sacrifice of many innocents, the resurrection of many servants to aid me in my tasks, and the tireless performance of a nearly week-long ritual, I have completed construction of the Sands Of Resolve. The transcendence to full lichdom will not be immediate, however. The vessel has been crafted, but my energy force, my soul, must be fully transferred into it. Not even our Sovereign was quite certain how long this process would take, at it varies from one Necromancer to the next, based on many factors both physical and spiritual. One thing, however, is certain. This hourglass must never leave my possession until the transference is complete! I grow more powerful every day, but in truth am more vulnerable than I've ever been. If something were to happen to the Sands of Resolve, if the hourglass should somehow leave my person, the connection between soul and vessel would be severed. To think that my work, my life, could be eradicated so easily after I've come so close to success is almost more than I can bear."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/predecessors": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/predecessors", "description": "Essay about the ruins of Shivering Isles. Theorizes about a cataclysm that occurs every a thousand years, the Greymarch.", "author": "Yngvar the Wanderer", "title": "The Predecessors", "text": "Being an Examination of the Curious Ruins of the Shivering Isles and Their Terrible Significance for our Future\nThe ancient ruins that dot the countryside are a familiar sight to the inhabitants of the Shivering Isles. So familiar that their true significance has escaped notice of most, until now. I have recently uncovered the terrible secret hidden in these ruins, and I will now share this secret with you. But be warned - this knowledge may be too much for some, as you will know the awful fate that lies in store for you, but will be powerless to do anything to prevent it. If you are strong enough of mind to withstand the psychic shock of having your grim future laid bare, read on.\nMy interest in the ruins began with a simple observation: all the ruins visible on the surface appear to be of roughly the same age and architectural style. Who created these once-mighty structures, and what happened to them?\nFurther investigation revealed an even stranger truth: although the ruins superficially all appear to derive from the same era, they are in fact of wildly differing ages. Many thousands of years separate the ruins of Cylarne (by far the oldest extant on the surface, despite its relatively well-maintained state) from the ruins of Ebrocca, which at almost 1,000 years old is one of the youngest sites in the Isles. For those who would dismiss this conclusion, I invite you to visit the ruins and examine the evidence for yourselves: the depth of strata covering the buried portions of the structures; the weathering of the exposed stone; the growth of vegetation on and around the structures; etc. (I have compiled the evidence in a separate monograph, \"Dating the Predecessor Ruins: Shocking New Evidence Comprehensively Explained,\" which is presently unpublished, though I will gladly make it available for those scholars wishing to delve further into the minutiae of this subject.)\nOnce I began to accurately establish the dates of the various ruins, a disturbing pattern emerged. The ruins fell into distinct periods, each period separated by exactly 1,000 years from the other (although Cylarne remains the exception, being many thousands of years older than the next oldest extant ruin - suggesting only that the ruins from many earlier eras lie waiting to be discovered, or have been lost to the ravages of time).\nWhat could account for this process of destruction, repeating itself every 1,000 years without fail? The legend of the Greymarch sprang immediately to mind, that ancient tale of a vengeful god venting his wrath upon the land. What if it were more than a legend? What if it were the dimly-remembered account of a real event?\nI suddenly realized the significance of the dating of the most recent ruin that I had discovered: Ebrocca, which my tests proved to be about 1,000 years old. Yes, Dear Reader, we come to it at last. The Cataclysm is upon us again. I have dated the ruins of Ebrocca to great accuracy; I know the very year of our Doom. I refrain from publishing the exact date, as this knowledge is a terrible burden that I would not inflict on others.\nFor a long time I hesitated from issuing even this general warning, fearful of inciting panic or despair. But I have concluded that it is better to have time to prepare for the End in whatever way one sees fit than to have it thrust upon them unawares. I no longer doubt that the legend of the Greymarch is based on historical events, and that the last days of our civilization will be terrible - the blasted and tumbled stones of the mighty cities of bygone eras are testament enough to that. But I find it strangely comforting to know that our end is already written in the stones of our Predecessors, and that struggling against our Doom is as pointless as shouting against the incoming tide. I hope that at least a few of my readers will find equal solace in this bleak foreknowledge."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/prophet-arden-sul": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/prophet-arden-sul", "description": "Story about the prophet Arden-Sul, in mania and dementia points of view.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Prophet Arden-Sul", "text": "Volume II\nThe Sacellum\nWhen one approaches the walls of New Sheoth, the eyes are unavoidably drawn to a magnificent sight: a mystical flame rises from a simple tower that juts from a circular building. To some, the flame is a beacon of strength and guidance, to others, a mockery of their beliefs. It is the epicenter of a most interesting conflict; two sides of the same coin vying for the favor of their God. It is an unremarkable building with a most remarkable past. It is the Sacellum Arden-Sul.\nAlthough the Sacellum itself predates Arden-Sul's life, both the Manics and the Demented contest the history of the Sacellum heavily. The Manics believe that on that very spot before New Sheoth existed, Arden-Sul was first afflicted with the Grand Enlightenment and became blinded. The Demented postulate that the Sacellum was the location where Arden-Sul endured the Hundred Day Torture. However, it was not these purported events of Arden-Sul's life that aligned the Sacellum with the prophet's name... it was his death.\nHere again, the Manics and the Demented are divided. The Manics story of Arden-Sul's death begins with a night of superlative revelry in the Sacellum. The event was replete with a seemingly inexhaustible supply of Greenmote and spirits. Arden-Sul and his 213 followers engaged in a veritable orgy of merrymaking and overindulgence, a night fraught with a profusion of singing, dancing, and fornicating. As the celebration reached a crescendo and the event reached its whirlwind apex, one by one, Arden-Sul's followers began to drop to the ground--their lifeblood draining from their bodies until the ground was soaked a crimson red. The excesses of their hedonism had taken its toll and had caused their very hearts to explode. Although details are uncertain, it was said Arden-Sul was the last to die with the look of pure bliss upon his face.\nThe Demented have a radically different story of the events leading to Arden-Sul's demise. Fearing that one of his followers would one day turn traitor and bury a blade in his back, Arden-Sul sought a method to see deep into a man's soul and reveal his true feelings. After an exhaustive search, he uncovered the secrets of visceromancy, the science of divination through the observation of the entrails of others. Armed with this knowledge, he summoned his flock to the Sacellum. After imbibing the wine Arden-Sul gave them, his followers suddenly felt themselves paralyzed... aware of their surroundings but unable to move. Then, one by one, Arden-Sul cut out the still-beating hearts of his followers and read their lifeblood. After removing all 213 hearts, he still hadn't located the traitor. Furious, he reached into his chest and tore out his own heart. Before the light faded from his eyes, Arden-Sul was reported to have realized the ironic truth; he was the traitor, destined to kill himself.\nWhether or not one chooses to take either of these stories seriously is of little import. The truth remains that the Sacellum is a significant location of a highly regarded prophet's death. To this day, the building is still shared among the Manics and the Demented, and depending on Lord Sheogorath's whim, the favored side becomes its ruling body."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ravings-fenroy": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ravings-fenroy", "description": "A book of 'poems'.", "author": "Fenroy", "title": "The Ravings of Fenroy", "text": "[The following pieces were gathered from the author's cell shortly before his untimely death at his own hands. Written primarily on bedsheets and the bare stone of his floor, using only his own bodily fluids for ink, some of the transcriptions represent the editors' best guesses at the author's true intent.]\nMother said there was no reason\nIt's just the way it is\nMother lies\nI can see rain, I can feel rain\nI can only feel wind\nSomeone is hiding\nIf I walk through the forest, the birds stop singing. They're talking about me. I'm sure of it. They're just too scared to do it to my face.\nBoat\nMoat\nCoat\nFloat\nGoat\nNote\nWrote\nsecretnamesecretnamesecretname\nHe touches me when I'm not looking\nSometimes I hear the people talking about their days. They talk about family and the weather and yesterday and tomorrow. They say What a good day it was and How was your day and Have a nice day. I say talk talk talk talk. How can you enjoy your day when you share it with everyone? Time is a private thing. The dragon hides it from us all, parceling it out in dribs and drabs. Save your time. Save your time. I keep mine locked up tight. Where no one can find it. Not even Him.\nHold me now\nRock me gently\nMy tears are burning, dear\nDon't jinx it\nDon't jinx it\nHold your breath, one big one now\nOne last gasp\nAnd we're done\nHe talks all the time, but his words are useless. Talking, talking. Let's talk. Never doing. Always talking. Words become meaningless. They float on the air. Dissipate like passed gas. Make him stop talking. Make him stop talking to me.\nAlways take care when dealing with women. They see things we do not. A smile. A glance. They mean nothing to us, everything to them. They twist their smiles to meet our own. They avert a gaze just so. Watch them closely. They rule the world; they just don't know it.\nAm I indecisive? Yes and no.\nThey came to bring me food today. I ate it, though I know it was poisoned. They lace it with black flour and edgeroot. They think it keeps me quiet, sedate. I know better. Sometimes I chew up the bread and spit it into the corners of my cell. No one notices, and the rats eat it after a time. It keeps them quiet, sedate. When I eat the rats, the poison is more dilute. And I gain their memories.\nI don't believe it's fair that I'm forced to deal with the stupid. Or the obtuse. Or the pedantic. Yet they give me rules, like Go here and Do that and Eat this and Kill that. They don't know that I know their names. Eventually I'll get to them. And I'll make the rules.\nJust You wait and see\nGood Gods come and go, but\nAll Lords eventually fall\nA God can wake up mortal.\nIf I learn from my mistakes, will I eventually stop making them? Is there a balance I can achieve, a perfect harmony with my self? Shall I seek that point where there are no more mistakes to be made? All the lessons learned? When that happens, do we die? Do we become gods? Do the gods even want us?\nMaybe all dogs go outside deliberately. Maybe a decision gets overly deliberate. Might a dream grow overly demented? He knows. He knows. He knows.\nStories are for children and dreamers. Poetry is for weaklings and madmen. Epics glorify the vile and vilify the glorious. Read minds, not words.\nI think it's time to go. He's still in my head, but I think he might leave if I'm quiet. Shh. Shh."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/red-kitchen-reader": {"game": ["Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/red-kitchen-reader", "description": "A chef reminisces about memorable meals.", "author": "Simocles Quo", "title": "The Red Kitchen Reader", "text": "Though naturally modest, I must admit to some pleasure in being dubbed by our Emperor's father, the late Pelagius IV, as \"the finest connoisseur in Tamriel.\" He was also good enough to appoint me the first, and to this day, the only Master of Cuisine in the Imperial Court. Other Emperors, of course, had master chefs and cooks in their staff, but only during the reign of Pelagius was there someone of rarefied tastes to plan the menus and select the finest produce to be served at court. His son Uriel requested that I continue in that position, but I was forced to graciously decline the invitation, because of age and poor health.\nThis book, however, is not intended to be autobiography. I have had a great many adventures in my life as a knight of fine dining, but my intention for this book is much more specific. Many times I have been asked, \"What is the best thing you ever ate?\"\nThe answer to that is not a simple one. Much of the pleasure of a great meal is not only in the food: it is in the setting, the company, the mood. Eat an indifferently cooked roast or a simple stew with your one true love, and it is a meal to be remembered. Have an excellent twelve-course feast with dull company, while feeling slightly ill, and it will be forgotten, or remembered only with distaste.\nSometimes meals are memorable for the experiences that come before them.\nFairly recently, in northern Skyrim, I had a bit of bad luck. I was with a group of fishermen, observing their technique of capturing a very rare, very delicious fish called Merringar. The fish is found only far from shore, so it was a week's voyage out beyond civilization. Well, we found our school of Merringar, but as the fishermen began spearing them, the blood in the water attracted a family of Dreugh, who capsized the boat and everyone on it. I managed to save myself, but the fishermen and all our supplies were lost. Sailing is not, alas, a skill I have picked up over the years, and it took me three weeks, with no provisions, to find my way back to the kingdom of Solitude. I had managed to catch enough small fish to eat raw, but I was still delirious from hunger and thirst. The first meal I had on shore, of Nordic roast boar, Jazbay wine, and, yes, filet of Merringar would have been excellent under any circumstances, but because of the threat of starvation I had faced, it was divine beyond words.\nSometimes meals are even memorable for the experiences that follow them.\nIn a tavern in Falinesti, I was introduced to a simple peasant dish called Kollopi, delicious little balls of flesh, thick with spices and juice, so savory I asked the proprietress whence they came. Mother Pascost explained that the Kollopi were an arboreal rodent that fed exclusively on the most tender branches of the graht-oak, and I was fortunate enough to be in Valenwood at the time of the annual harvest. I was invited to join with a small colony of Imga monkeys, who alone could gather these succulent little mice. Because they lived only on the slenderest branches of the trees, and only on the ends of those same branches, the Imga had to climb beneath them and jump up to \"pick\" the Kollopi from their perches. Imga are, of course, naturally dexterous, but I was then relatively young and spry, and they let me help them. While I could never jump as high they could, with practice, I found that if I kept my head and upper body rigid, and launched off the ground with a scissors-like kick, I could reach the Kollopi on the lowest branches of the tree. I believe I gathered three Kollopi myself, though with considerable effort.\nTo this day, I salivate at the thought of Kollopi, but my mind is on the image of myself and several dozen Imgas leaping around beneath the shade of the graht-oaks.\nThen, of course, there are the rare meals memorable for what came before, after, and during the meal, which brings me to the finest thing I ever ate, the meal that began my lifelong obsession with excellent cuisine.\nAs a child growing up in Cheydinhal, I did not care for food at all. I recognized the value of nutrition, for I was not a complete dullard, but I cannot say that mealtime brought me any pleasure at all. Partly, of course, this was the fault of my family's cook, who believed that spices were an invention of the Daedra, and that good Imperials should like their food boiled, textureless and flavorless. Though I think she was alone in assigning a religious significance to this, my sampling of traditional Cyrodilic cuisine suggests that the philosophy is regrettably common in my homeland.\nThough I did not enjoy food per se, I was not a morose, unadventurous child in other respects. I enjoyed the fights in the Arena, of course, and nothing made me happier than wandering the streets of my town, with my imagination as my only companion. It was on one such jaunt on a sunny Fredas in Mid Year that I made a discovery that changed my heart and my life.\nThere were several old abandoned houses down the street from my own home, and I often played around them, imagining them to be filled with desperate outlaws or haunted by hundreds of evil spirits. I never had the nerve to go inside. In fact, had I not that day seen some other children who had delighted in teasing me in the past, I would never have gone in. But I needed a sanctuary, so I ran into the closest one.\nThe house seemed to be as desolate on the inside as on the outside, further proof that no one lived there, and had not for some time. When I heard footsteps, I could only assume that the loathsome little urchins I hoped to avoid had followed me in. I escaped to the basement, and from there, past a broken-down wall that led to a well. I could still hear the footsteps above, and I decided that I was still loath to confront my tormentors. Knocking aside the rusty locks on the well, I slipped down below.\nThe well was dry, but I discovered it was far from empty. There was a sort of a sub-basement to the house, three large rooms that were clean, furnished, and evidently not abandoned at all. My senses told me someone was living in the house, after all: not only my sense of sight, but my sense of smell. For one of the rooms was a large red-painted kitchen, and spread out on the coals of the oven was a roast, carved into small morsels. Passing a beautiful and appropriate bas-relief of a mother carving a roast for her grateful children, I beheld the kitchen and the wonders within.\nLike I said, food had never interested me before, but I was transfixed, and even now as I write this, words fail me in describing the rich aroma that hung in the air. It was like nothing I had ever smelled in my family's kitchen, and I was unable to stop myself from popping one of the steaming chunks of meat into my mouth. The taste was magical, the flesh tender and sweet. Before I knew it, I had eaten everything on the stove, and I learned at that very second the truth that that food can and should be sublime.\nAfter gorging myself and having my culinary epiphany, I was conflicted on what to do. Part of me wanted to wait down in that red kitchen until the chef returned, so I could ask him what his secret recipe was for the delicious meat. Part of me recognized that I had stolen into someone's house and eaten their dinner, and it would be wise to leave while I could. That was what I did.\nTime and again, I've tried to return to that strange, wonderful place, but Cheydinhal has changed over time. Old houses have been reclaimed, and new houses abandoned. I know what to look for on the inside of the house - the well, the beautiful etching of a woman preparing to carve out a roast for her children, the red kitchen itself - but I have never been able to find the house again. After a while, as I grew older, I stopped trying. It is better as it remains in my memory, the most perfect meal I ever ate.\nThe inspiration for my life that followed all was cooked up, together with that fabulous meat, right there in the Red Kitchen."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/refugees": {"game": ["Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/refugees", "description": "A group of people hiding from the Camoran Usurper witness the unusal birth of his son.", "author": "Geros Albreigh", "title": "The Refugees", "text": "The smell of the bay oozed through the stones of the cellar, salt and brined decay. The cellar itself had its own scents of old wine turned to vinegar, mildew, and the more exotic spices of herbs the healers had brought with them to tend to the wounded. There were more than fifty people squeezed into the big earthen room which had once been forgotten storage for the brothel above. The groaning and whimpering had ceased for now, and all was still, as if the hospital had turned into a mass grave.\n\"Mother,\" a Redguard boy whispered. \"What was that?\"\nThe boy's mother was about to answer him when there was another rolling roar from outside, which grew louder and louder, as if some great but incorporeal beast had come into the cellar. The walls trembled and dust burst from the ceiling in a rain of powder.\nUnlike the last time, no one screamed. They waited until the weird, haunting sound had past, and then was replaced by the soft rumble of the distant battle.\nA wounded soldier began whispering Mara's Prayer from the Doomed.\n\"Mankar,\" a Bosmer woman curled up in a cot hissed, her eyes feverish, flesh white and wet with sweat. \"He is coming!\"\n\"Who is coming?\" asked the boy, grasping his mother's skirt tight.\n\"Who do you think, lad? The sweets monger?\" a grizzled one-armed Redguard growled. \"The Camoran Usurper.\"\nThe boy's mother shot an angry look at the old warrior. \"She doesn't know what she's saying. She's sick.\"\nThe boy nodded. His mother was usually right. He had not yet even been born when people began whispering that the Camoran Usurper was coming towards her little village, and she had packed up their belongings to flee. Their neighbors had laughed at her, she said, saying that Rihad and Taneth would handily defeat him. Her husband, Lukar's father who he was never to meet, had also laughed at her. It was the harvest time, and she would miss out on the celebrations. But his mother, Miak-I, was right. Two weeks after she fled the village, she heard the tale that it had been obliterated during the night with no survivors. Rihad and Taneth had both fallen. The Usurper was unstoppable.\nLukar had been born and grown up in refugee camps throughout Hammerfell. He had never known a friend for more than a few days. He knew that when the sky burned red to the west, they would pack up and move east. When it burned to the south, they moved north. At last, after twelve years of moving from camp to camp, they had taken passage across the Iliac Bay to the province of High Rock and the barony of Dwynnen. There Miak-I had promised, and hoped, that they would have a peaceful, permanent home.\nIt was so green there, it blinded him. Unlike Hammerfell, which was only green in certain seasons and in certain places, Dwynnen was verdant year round. Until wintertide, when it began to snow, and Lukar had been frightened of it at first. He was ashamed to think of it now, when there was real danger, but the red clouds of war, the stink and pain of the refugee camp, that was familiar.\nNow, the red sky was on the horizon of the bay and coming closer, and he longed for the days when a scattering of white made him cry.\n\"Mankar!\" the Bosmer woman cried out again. \"He is coming, and he will bring death!\"\n\"No one is coming,\" said a pretty young Breton healer, coming to the woman's side. \"Hush now.\"\n\"Hello?\" came a voice from above.\nThe whole room, almost together as one gasped. A Bosmer limped down the shoddy wooden stairs, his friendly face very obviously not that of the Camoran Usurper.\n\"Sorry if I frightened you,\" he said. \"I was told there were healers here, and I could use a little help.\"\nRosayna hurried to take a look at the Bosmer's wounds on his leg and chest. Dishelved but still beautiful, she was one of the favorites at the brothel, who had learned her healing skill along with her more vocational skills at the House of Dibella. She carefully but quickly pulled the rent leather cuirass, chausses, tassets, grieves, and boots off him, and placed them to the side while she examined the injuries.\nThe old Redguard warrior picked them up and studied them. \"You were in the war?\"\n\"Next to it is probably a better way to put it,\" the Bosmer smiled, wincing slightly at Rosayna's touch. \"Behind it, beside it, in front of it. My name's Orben Elmlock. I'm a scout. I try to avoid the real battle, so I can get back and report what I see. A good job for people who don't like the color of their own blood very much.\"\n\"Hzim,\" said the warrior, shaking Orben's hand. \"I can't fight anymore, but I can fix up this armor if you're going to return.\"\n\"You're a leathersmith?\"\n\"Naw, just a jack of all trades,\" replied Hzim, opening up a small canister of wax to prep the hard but flexible leather. \"I could tell you were a scout from the armor, though. Can you tell us what you've been spying on? We've been down in here for half a day now, with no word from the outside.\"\n\"The entire Iliac Bay is one great battlefield on the waves,\" said Orben and sighed as Rosayna's spell began to close his jagged but shallow wounds. \"We've shut off the invasion from the mouth of the bay, but I was coming from the coast, and the enemy's army is marching over the Wrothgarian Mountains. That's where I had my little scuffle. It's not too surprising, moving the flank in from the side while the front battle is occupied. It's a play right out of Camoran Kaltos's book of tricks the Hart-King borrowed.\"\n\"The Hart-King?\" Lukar asked. He had been listening quietly, understanding everything except that.\n\"Haymon Camoran, the Camoran Usurper, Haymon Hart-King, they're all the same, lad. He's a complicated fellow, and needs more than one name.\"\n\"You know him?\" Miak-I asked, stepping forward.\n\"Near on twenty years, before this whole black, bloody business. I was Camoran Kaltos's chief scout, and Haymon was his sorcerer and advisor. I helped them both, when they were vying for the Camoran throne, and began the conquest of - Ouch!\"\nRosayna has ceased her healing. With eyes of fury, she had reversed her spell, and the closed, mended wounds were opening again, dark infections returning.  She held him with surprising strength when Orben tried to pull back.\n\"You bastard,\" the healer courtesan hissed. \"I have a cousin in Falinesti, a priestess.\"\n\"She's fine!\" Orben yelped. \"Lord Kaltos was very adamant about not harming anyone who did not pose a threat... \"\n\"I think the people of Kvatch would disagree with that assessment,\" said Hzim, coldly.\n\"That was horrible, the worst thing I have ever seen,\" Orben nodded. \"Kaltos wept when he saw what Haymon had done. My master did everything he could to stop it, begging the Hart-King to return to Valenwood. But he turned on Kaltos, and we fled. We are not your enemy, and we have never been. Kaltos could do nothing to prevent the horror that the Usurper has brought to the Colovian West and Hammerfell, and he has fought for fifteen years to prevent more.\"\nThe frightening bestial roar passed through the cellar again, even louder than before. The wounded could not help groaning in helpless terror.\n\"And what is that?\" Miak-I sneered. \"Another of Camoran Kaltos's tricks that the Usurper picked up?\"\n\"It is indeed a trick, as a matter of fact,\" Orben yelled, above the screech. \"It's a phastasm he employs to scare people. He had to use fear tactics in the beginning when his power was ascending, and he has to fall back on them now for his power is waning. That is why it took him two years to conquer Valenwood, and another thirteen to half-conquer Hammerfell. No offense to you Redguards, but it isn't only your battle prowess that has been holding him back. He does not have the support he used to have from his Master -\"\nThe echoing roar increased in intensity before once again falling silent.\n\"Mankar!\" the Bosmer woman groaned. \"He comes, and he will destroy all!\"\n\"His Master?\" asked Lukar, but Orben's eyes had gone to the Bosmer woman, curled up in her blood-soaked cot.\n\"Who is she?\" Orben asked Rosayna.\n\"One of the refugees, of course, from your friendly little war in Valenwood before you and your Kaltos changed sides,\" the healer replied. \"I think her name is Kaalys.\"\n\"By Jephre,\" Orben whispered under his breath, limping over to the woman's cot and wiping the sweat and blood streaked hair from her pallid face. \"Kaalys, it's Orben. Do you remember me? How did you get here? Did he hurt you?\"\n\"Mankar!\" Kaalys moaned.\n\"That's all she says,\" said Rosayna.\n\"I don't know what that it is,\" Orben frowned. \"Not the Usurper, though she knew him too. Very well. She was a favorite of his.\"\n\"His favorites, you, Kaltos, her, all seem to turn against him,\" said Miak-I.\n\"That is why he will fall,\" replied Hzim.\nArmored footfall rang along the ceiling, and the cellar door burst open. It was the captain of Baron Othrok's castle guards. \"The docks are on fire! If you want to live, you'll need to take refuge at Castle Wightmoor!\"\n\"We need help!\" Rosayna called back, but she knew that the guards were needed for defense, not to help carry the sick to safety.\nWith ten guards who could be spared and the most able-bodied of the wounded assisting, the cellar was emptied as the streets of Dwynnen filled with smoke, and fire began to spread through the chaos. It had been a single fireball miscast out at sea striking the docks, but the damage would be tremendous. Some hours later, in the courtyard of the mighty castle, the healers were able to set up the cots and begin to tend once again to the suffering of the innocent. The first person Rosayna found was Orben Elmlock. Even with his wounds reopened, he had helped carry two of the patients into the castle.\n\"I'm sorry,\" she said as she pressed her healing hands onto his wounds. \"I lost my temper. I forgot that I am a healer.\"\n\"Where is Kaalys?\" Orben asked.\n\"She's not here?\" Rosayna said, looking around. \"She must have run away.\"\n\"Run away? But wasn't she injured?\"\n\"It was not a healthy situation, but new mothers can surprise you with what they can do when it's all over.\"\n\"She was pregnant?\" Orben gasped\n\"Yes. It wasn't such a difficult birth in the end. She was holding the boy in her arms when I saw her last. She said she had done it herself.\"\n\"She was pregnant,\" Orben murmured again. \"The mistress of the Camoran Usurper was pregnant.\"\nWord quickly spread throughout the castle that the battle was over, and more than that, the war was over. Haymon Camoran's forces had been defeated at sea, and in the mountains. The Hart-King was dead.\nLukar watched down from the battlements into the dark woods that surrounded Dwynnen. He had heard about Kaalys, and he imagined a desperate woman fleeing with her newborn baby in her arms into the wilderness. Kaalys would have nowhere to go, no one to protect them. She and her baby would be a refugee, like Miak-I and him had been. Reflecting back, he remembered her words.\nHe is coming. He is coming, and he will bring death. He will destroy all.\nLukar remembered her eyes. She was sick, but not afraid. Who was this \"He\" who was coming if the Camoran Usurper was dead?\n\"Did she say nothing else?\" asked Orben.\n\"She told me the baby's name,\" Rosayna replied. \"Mankar.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/shivering-apothecary": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/shivering-apothecary", "description": "A short note about the alchemical ingredients that can be found in the Shivering Isles.", "author": "Cinda Amatius", "title": "The Shivering Apothecary", "text": "Many, many things.\nWet things and dry things. Things from plants, things from animals, things from stone and sky and tree and man and mer.\nSo many beautiful things for potions. All of them there for the taking, waiting to be plucked and put to use. \"Grind me! Take my essence and turn me into something new, something wonderful!\" they cry out to me.\nI have given my life to finding so many of the wondrous things of Tamriel, and now the things that lie beyond. The realm of the Madgod, dangerous and beckoning, has so many new things to offer that I have trembled with excitement over it. I stop to take note of what I have found, so that I may not forget it in the coming days when I spend my time searching, mixing, and discovering.\nThe Apprentice will find that Marrow from the Shambles and fins from Scalons merge to make a deadly poison that strikes at one's very heart, damaging the health of those who ingest it. Many a blade did I sink into wet flesh and dry bone to learn this, but what I have found pleases me.\nFlame stalks and the very essence of Flesh Atronachs can be mixed by even a Novice to counter that damage, as one can drink a potion made from these two to feel healthy again. The Expert may find that rather than risk himself against those walking monstrosities, the Screaming Maw can be used instead.\nFor Magicka (and without Magicka where would I stand now?) the ichor of an Elytra can be mixed with Withering Moon by a Novice or Thorn Hook by a Journeyman. No explorer in the Shivering Isles should venture forth without looking for these.\nThe tongue of a Hunger -- by itself a marvel of anatomy -- can be eaten to cure poisons or matched with Withering Moon to cure disease. (I cannot help but wonder what disease would be so dire as to risk one's life against a Hunger....)\nI have been most pleased to find that to the Expert Alchemist, Rot Scale, and Worm's Head Caps can be mixed to paralyze one's enemies. This has proven most useful in extracting ingredients from the Isles' less cordial residents."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/standing-stones": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/standing-stones", "description": "An essay about the Obelisks that randomly dotted the Shivering Isles grounds.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Standing Stones", "text": "Any visitor to the Shivering Isles will soon come across the dreadful shape of a tall, crystalline stone looming over them like an accusing finger. Variously known as standing stones or obelisks, they cannot be avoided in traveling the Shivering Isles, no matter how hard you might try.\nThere are many theories on the origin and purpose of these stones. (Purpose? Can a stone have a purpose? Is it a sentient being, or an inanimate object? Is it listening to you - watching you - whispering to you?). Some claim they are simply interesting geological formations. Not so. Not so. They cannot be chipped or cracked or even scorched. Believe me, I've tried. Nothing harms them. (Although perhaps they still feel the blows. They seemed angry for a while. I sang to them and that seemed to soothe them. I can't say why.) And if you've tried to dig one up, as I have, you know that they go down forever. (Months I spent, digging down. No matter how deep, there it was, still gleaming in the secret darkness beneath the earth. They know the secrets, even those that are buried deep.)\nI have spent many years trying to understand these stones. (Avoiding doesn't work. As I said, they're everywhere. So try for understanding, as I have. What is the humming? What do the whispers mean?) I can't say that I know everything about them, but I have learned many things, some of which I can share with you. (But I don't know what they want. Not yet. Perhaps if I knew what they wanted, I wouldn't be so afraid. They whisper secrets to me, but I promised not to tell. They know many secrets. They're always watching. They never sleep. Not even at night, in the dark of the moon.)\nI know they are old, older perhaps than the world itself. They have seen civilizations rise and fall. And they hate us. They are waiting for their master to return. (They won't tell me who, or when. If they hate me so, why do they tell me their secrets? Is it because they know my secrets already?)\nYou may not believe me. Most don't, but most have not spent the time that I have in trying to learn about these stones. I have spent days listening to their secret whispers and learning their language. (They talk, you know. To each other, mostly. But now to me.) At first it was just a humming, which you can hear if you lean against a stone and listen very closely. It may take hours, or days, but you will hear them. And once you hear the voice of the standing stones, you will never be able to shut it out."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ten-commands-nine-divines": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ten-commands-nine-divines", "description": "Instructions from the Imperial Cult about how to live a good life.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Ten Commands Of The Nine Divines", "text": "By the intercession of St. Alessia, you may be so filled with grace, and the strength and wisdom that comes from grace, that through these teachings you may come to the true meaning of the Nine Divines and Their glories. To convey to man's mind all the manifold subtleties of truth and virtue may not be done, were all the seas ink, and all the skies the parchment upon which Their wisdoms were writ. Yet Akatosh, in His wisdom, knowing how impatient is man, and how loathe he is to travel upon the hard roads of truth, has allowed these ten simple commands to be made manifest with powerful clarity and concise definition.\n1. Stendarr says: Be kind and generous to the people of Tamriel. Protect the weak, heal the sick, and give to the needy.\n2. Arkay says: Honor the earth, its creatures, and the spirits, living and dead. Guard and tend the bounties of the mortal world, and do not profane the spirits of the dead.\n3. Mara says: Live soberly and peacefully. Honor your parents, and preserve the peace and security of home and family.\n4. Zenithar says: Work hard, and you will be rewarded. Spend wisely, and you will be comfortable. Never steal, or you will be punished.\n5. Talos says: Be strong for war. Be bold against enemies and evil, and defend the people of Tamriel.\n6. Kynareth says: Use Nature's gifts wisely. Respect her power, and fear her fury.\n7. Dibella says: Open your heart to the noble secrets of art and love. Treasure the gifts of friendship. Seek joy and inspiration in the mysteries of love.\n8. Julianos says: Know the truth. Observe the law. When in doubt, seek wisdom from the wise.\n9. Akatosh says: Serve and obey your Emperor. Study the Covenants. Worship the Nine, do your duty, and heed the commands of the saints and priests.\n10. The Nine say: Above all else, be good to one another.\nIf only each man might look into the mirror of these Commands, and see reflected there the bliss that might enfold them, were he to serve in strict obedience to these Commands, he would be cast down and made contrite and humble. The obedient man may come to the altars of the Nine and be blessed, and may receive the comfort and healing of the Nine, and may give thanks for his manifold blessings.\nHeedless, the wicked man turns away, and forsaking the simple wisdoms granted to him by the All-Wise and All-Knowing Nine, he lives in sin and ignorance all the days of his life. He bears the awful burden of his crimes, and before Men and God his wickedness is known, and neither blessing nor comfort may he expect from the altars and shrines of the Nine.\nYet the wicked and foolish are not doomed, for in their infinite mercies, the Nine have said, \"Repent, and do Good Works, and the Fountains of Grace shall once more spill forth upon you.\"\nRepent your crimes! Tender unto the Emperor the fines of gold, that they may be used to spread the Faith and its Benefits to all Men!\nDo yourself good works! Redeem your infamy by shining deeds! Show to all Men and the Nine the good Fame of the Righteous Man, and you may once again approach the altars and shrines of the Chapel to receive the comfort and blessings of the Nine.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/warp-west": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/warp-west", "description": "A book that clarifies the outcome of the events that took place at the end of The Elder Scrolls 2: Daggerfall.", "author": "Ulvius Tero", "title": "The Warp in the West", "text": "A Report Compiled By Ulvius Tero, Blades Archivist\n* Secret: For Your Eyes Only *\nLet me offer my congratulations to Your Lordship for your recent appointment as ambassador to the Court of Wayrest.\nYour Lordship asked me for a review of existing Blades accounts from 3E 417 concerning 'The Warp in the West', and for a summary of the current state of affairs there.\nSince Your Lordship was in Black Marsh serving in the staff of Admiral Sosorius at the time, you probably know of these events only from Imperial proclamations and Chapel declarations, which identify this period as the 'Miracle of Peace'. During the 'Miracle of Peace', according to official accounts, the formerly war-wracked Iliac Bay region was transformed overnight from a patchwork of squabbling duchies and petty kingdoms into the peaceful modern counties of Hammerfell, Sentinel, Wayrest, and Orsinium. The 'Miracle of Peace', also known as the 'The Warp in the West', is celebrated as the product of the miraculous interventions of Stendarr, Mara, and Akatosh to transform this troublesome region into peaceful, well-governed Imperial counties. The catastrophic destruction of landscape and property and the large loss of life attending upon this miracle is understood to have been 'tragic, and beyond mortal comprehension.'\nIn as much as this account confirms and validates the current borders of these counties, and identifies the rulers and boundaries of these counties as 'ordained by the Nine', the 'Miracle of Peace' serves Imperial objectives of peaceful consolidation of ancient petty states and sovereigns into manageable Imperial jurisdictions. The other remarkable features of these events -- mass disappearances, armies mysteriously transported hundreds of miles or completely annihilated, titanic storms and celestial phenomena, apparent local discontinuities of time -- fit comfortably into the notion that these events are part of a vast, mysterious divine intervention.\nHowever, this is only the public account of these events, and, as you may suspect, it conflicts with many other accounts. In short, while this explanation suits Imperial policy, it has little historical validity.\nYour Lordship should know that the Blades have concluded there is no plausible historical account of these events, and despairs that a plausible historical account shall ever be produced. The Blades have concluded that a 'miracle' occurred, insofar as the events are inexplicable, but the Blades strongly doubt the miracle was of divine origin.\nThere is good reason to believe that the ruling families of the four modern Iliac Bay counties had forewarning of the event. There is also some evidence that some of these ruling families may have been directly or indirectly responsible for the event. We do not know the exact sequence of actions that produced the event, although we are confident that the 'Totem' artifact was involved, and that a Blades agent was involved in employing that artifact. We unfortunately lost contact with that agent immediately after the event; his report might have gone some way to resolving the contradictory and paradoxical accounts of the event.\nThe Blades have on file few reports from agents dating from the \"Warp in the West\" period. Most of our agents were lost in the initial dislocations, and others were lost in the confusion after the event. I present a few of these reports to give you a general sense of their limitations, including the report of your diplomatic predecessor, Lord Strale. You will have had access to other private and rumored accounts of the period. I believe you will agree that these documents raise more questions than they answer.\n\nThe Report of Hammerfell Agent 'Briarbird'\n'I was on assignment in the Alik'r Desert, a few miles south of Bergama on the 9th of Frostfall. I was encamped, as it was still early morning, when I felt the ground shake so violently, I was thrown to the ground. Dazed, I was aware of a great roar of a sandstorm, which alarmed me, as I had been on a high dune and had seen nothing like that on the horizon. It was on me before I was even on my knees, burying me and my camp.\nWhen I crawled my way out of the sand, I realized that I must make haste and get to Bergama as soon as possible, as all my food and water had been swept away. The sun was just rising as I began, like I said. When I reached Bergama, it was nightfall. The town was in chaos, filled with the soldiers of Sentinel. The Lord of Bergama's fortress was in ruins.\nThere had been an attack, but no one had seen it, only the invasion that followed it. The soldiers of Queen Akorithi of Sentinel refused to be interviewed about how they had accomplished this sneak attack, but I came to learn that the whole of northern Hammerfell now belonged to them. Even stranger, I discovered that my walk from sunrise to sundown had not taken me not one day, but two. It was now the 11th day of the month, not the 10th. I had lost a day somewhere, and so apparently had everyone else... except Akorithi's soldiers, who somehow were aware of the correct date.\nI since have concluded that they had received advance warning, and so were better prepared to deal with the strange confusion of time and dates associated with the Warp.'\n\nThe Report of High Rock Agent 'Graylady'\n'I was, at the time of the Warp, undercover as a witch in the Skeffington Coven of Phyrgias, in central High Rock. In order to give my report, I had volunteered for an expedition to gather supplies, which would allow me the freedom to reach my contact in Camlorn. I was traveling north-east along the foothills of the Wrothgarian Mountains, on the 9th of Frostfall, when I felt a great heat behind me, like a fire. I turned, but I regret to say I cannot tell you what I saw. The healers tell me my eyes were burned out of my sockets.\nI think I must have fallen into a state of semi-consciousness, for I distinctly remember falling as the ground seemed to give way beneath me. Then there was a series of explosions in the distance, to the south, and I heard high whistling noises that were getting louder, coming closer. I had my shield with me, and fortunately anticipated that volleys of some sort were falling from the sky. Though I could not see them, I could hear them coming from a distance away, and was able to use my shield to block them from striking me.\nThe assault stopped suddenly, and I could smell smoke. I learned later that most of the forest of Ykalon and Phygias had caught fire, in an inferno that started further south in Daenia and the Ilessan Hills. Fortunately, I kept my bearings, and moved north, finally reaching a temple in the wilderness where my wounds were healed, as well as they could be.\nIt was there I learned that there had been a three-way clash between Daggerfall, Wayrest, and Orsinium not far from where I had been, and that the land midway between their kingdoms had been decimated.'\n\nThe Report of Ambassador Lord Naigon Strale\n'His Imperial Majesty had sent me on a delicate errand, the details of which I cannot convey in this unsecure report, but my official capacity was to be the Emperor's ambassador to the court of Wayrest. From there, I was to meet with an old friend, Lady Brisienna, who was already in the vicinity. Forgoing any attempt at stealth, I was on an Imperial barge, sailing westward on the Bjoulsae, the morning of the 9th of Frostfall. I remember it was a slightly chilly day, but the sky was very blue.\n'We had just passed the delightful riverside village of Candlemass when the captain sounded the alarum. There, in front of us, was a colossal wall of water, at least thirty feet high. It smashed our barge to splinters before any of us had a chance to react. I woke up on the shore, having been rescued by one of my servants who had miraculously not lost consciousness. He and I and one other man were the only survivors.\nI thought at first that it was suspiciously similar to what happened to another agent of ours in High Rock but a short time before, where a freak storm had shipwrecked him in the Iliac Bay near Privateer's Hold. Furious and determined to see if similar forces were at work, I began a quick march to Wayrest.\nThe march, however, was not so terribly quick. The villages all along the Bjoulsae were on fire, and battles raged between the orcs of Orsinium and the soldiers of King Eadwyre in the formerly independent principality of Gauvadon, just east of Wayrest. I am an accomplished mage, and quite able to defend myself, but it took the better part of a week to make it those few miles to Wayrest.\nKing Eadwyre and his queen Barenziah were celebrating their great victories when I arrived. By then, I had gathered the barest facts of the matter, that simultaneously there were seven great battles in the Iliac Bay, and no one could describe them at all, only their bloodsoaked aftermath.\nTo summarize: on the 9th of Frostfall, there had been forty-four independent kingdoms, counties, baronies, and dukedoms surrounding the Iliac Bay, if one includes the unconquered territories of the Wrothgarian Mountains, the Dragontail Mountains, the High Rock Sea Coast, the Isle of Balfiera, and the Alik'r Desert. On the 11th of Frostfall, there were but four - Daggerfall, Sentinel, Wayrest, and Orsinium - and all the points where they met lay in ruins, as the armies continued to do battle.\nI was determined to find the truth from the King, even if I had to be a most undiplomatic diplomat to do it.\nEadwyre, though a generally jovial sort, had blustered, saying he did not want to give out military secrets. The Queen, ever calm with those unreadable red eyes of hers, told me, 'We do not know.'\nI think it is safe to assume that Barenziah did not tell me everything, but the facts of her story - which I later verified after pointed interviews in Daggerfall, Sentinel, and Orsinium - was that they had learned that a certain powerful, ancient weapon was going to be activated. I shan't give the name of it here. Out of fear that it would be used against Wayrest, the King had attempted to buy it from the young adventurer who had discovered its wherebouts. Eadwyre believed, as it turns out quite rightly, that other powers in the Bay had also attempted to win ownership of this device.\nWhat happened then, as Barenziah said, 'We do not know.'\nThe morning of the 9th and the morning of the 11th somehow merged through some sort of Warp in the West, and Wayrest found themselves at war. Their land had expanded three-fold, but they were under attack by Daggerfall to the west, Orsinium to the east, and Sentinel to the south. There had been no time to understand what had happened, the King said. They had simply reacted, sending their armies to defend their lands against these enemies whose kingdoms had also gained great territorial advantage.\nThe battles continue on, now months later, as I return to the Imperial City to make my report. What more do I have to say? They are bloody, violent clashes, as is always the case with modern warfare, but I have been to the blackened, desolate no-man's land between the four remaining kingdoms. No mortal army caused that devastation.\nI can say that the force that shook the Iliac Bay on the 10th of Frostfall 3E 417 was infinitesimally greater than the power these mighty kingdoms are wielding today.\nI can say that there were other strange events on that day which kept the kingdoms from breaking free of the Empire, and accomplished likely more besides.\nAnd I can say there is nothing left of it - this power, this weapon - in the Bay. The Warp that it created swallowed it up.'\n\nCurrent Political Affairs in the Iliac Bay\nAlmost twenty years have passed, and the region, though transformed, has stabilized. There are no more disputed territories, and the kingdoms of Daggerfall, Wayrest, Sentinel, and Orsinium hold their new borders in relative peace.\nWayrest spreads across the eastern coast of the Bay, stretching from the land formerly called Anticlere to half of Gauvadon. Eadwyre has passed on to his ancestors, leaving his kingdom in the hands of his daughter, Elysana, who has two children by her royal consort, and seems likely to hold her father's lands. Your Lordship may also choose to communicate directly with King Helseth and Queen Barenziah in Mournhold. Their primary preoccupations are, of course, with Morrowind's affairs, but they may still have useful observations upon Wayrest's ruling families and political environment that may aid you in your understanding of the court of Queen Elysana.\nKing Gortwog of Orsinium controls much of the Wrothgarian Mountains as well as the profitable rivercoast of the Bjoulsae. He persists in his demands that Orsinium be recognized as an Imperial province separate from High Rock. The Elder Council treats Gortwog as a recognized king, and collects taxes directly from Orsinium, but officially Orsinium remains a county of High Rock, though technically it spans both the provinces of High Rock and Hammerfell.\nSentinel has gained the most land, sprawling across the entire southern Iliac Bay from Abibon-Gora, beyond the Dragontail Mountains, to the edge of Mournoth, Orsinium's territory. Queen Akorithi at her death left her enormous kingdom to her only surviving son, Lhotun, who is now surely one of the most powerful kings in Tamriel.\nDaggerfall is still ruled by the Breton King Gothryd and the Redguard Queen Aubk-I. Their land now encompasses all of western High Rock, from the border they share with Wayrest at Anticlere to the east, to Ykalon to the north. They have four children now, and are much beloved in their realm.\nIf there are other repercussions of the mysterious Warp in the West, they have not yet come to our attention in the course of twenty years of observation."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thief-virtue": {"game": ["Oblivion", "Skyrim", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thief-virtue", "description": "A thief's most valiant theft.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Thief of Virtue", "text": "Let me tell the tale of the Thief of Virtue. In the land of Hammerfell in the city of Sutch there lived a Baron who was quite wealthy. He was a noted collector of rare coins. The Baroness Veronique found the whole thing quite tedious. However, she did appreciate the lifestyle that the Baron's wealth provided.\nRavius Terinus was a noted thief. He claimed to be a master thief in the mythical guild of thieves. However, that was most likely just braggadocio. The only known Thieves Guild was wiped out over 450 years ago.\nRavius decided that the Baron should share his wealth. Specifically he should share it with Ravius. The wily thief crept into the Baron's castle one night intending to do just that.\nThe walls of the castle were noted for their height and unscalability. Ravius cleverly used an Arrow of Penetration to affix a rope to the top of the battlements. Once on the battlements, he had to evade the Baron's guards. By hiding in the shadows of the crenelations, he was able to work his way to the keep undetected.\nEntering the keep was child's play for a thief of his caliber. However, a cunning lock with no less than 13 pins protected the private quarters of the Baron. Ravius broke only 9 lockpicks to open it. Using only a fork, a bit of string, and a wineskin, he disabled the seven traps guarding the Baron's coin collection. Truly Ravius was a master among thieves.\nWith the coins safely in his grasp, Ravius began his escape only to find the way blocked. The Baron had found the opened door and was raising the guard to scour the castle. Ravius fled deeper into the castle, one step ahead of the questing guards.\nHis only way out led through the boudoir of Baroness Veronique. He entered to find the lady preparing for bed. Now it should be said at this point that Ravius was noted for his handsome looks, while the Baroness was noted for her plainness. Both of these facts were immediately recognized by each of the pair.\n\"Doest thou come to plunder my virtue?\" asked the lady, all a tremble.\n\"Nay, fair lady,\" Ravius said, thinking quickly. \"Plunder be a harsh term to ply upon such a delicate flower as your virtue.\"\n\"I see thou hast made off with mine husbands precious coins.\"\n\tRavius looked deeply into her eyes and saw the only path by which he would escape this night with his life. It would require a double sacrifice.\n\"Though these coins are of rarest value, I have now found a treasure that is beyond all value,\" Ravius said smoothly. \"Tell me, oh beauteous one, why doest thy husband set seven deadly traps around these tawdry coins, but only a simple lock upon the door of his virtuous wife?\"\n\"Ignace protects those things that are dearest to him,\" Veronique replied with ire.\n\"I would give all the gold in my possession to spend but a moment basking in your radiance.\"\nWith that Ravius set down the coins he had worked so hard to steal. The Baroness swooned into his arms. When the captain of the guard asked to search her quarters, she hid Ravius most skillfully. She turned over the coins, claiming the thief dropped them when he fled out the window.\nWith that sacrifice made, Ravius steeled himself for the second. He robbed the lady Veronique of her virtue that night. He robbed her of it several times, lasting well into the wee hours of the morning. Exhausted, yet sated, he stole away in the pre-dawn hours."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tome-unlife": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tome-unlife", "description": "A necromantic book belonging to Lorgren Benirus.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Tome of Unlife", "text": "\n\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/traitors-diary": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/traitors-diary", "description": "Contains interesting background information about the Dark Brotherhood traitor.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Traitor's Diary", "text": "It's all right, mother. It's almost over. I'm close. So very close. How long have we struggled? How long have we waited? Too long, I know. But it's almost over. I promise.\nkillhimkillhimkillhimkillhimkillhimkillhimkillhimkillhimkillhimkillhimkillhimkillhim \nkillhimkillhimkillhimkillhimkillhimkillhimkillhimkillhimkillhimkillhimkillhimkillhim \nkillhimkillhimkillhimkillhimkillhimkillhimkillhimkillhimkillhimkillhimkillhimkillhim \nkillhimkillhimkillhimkillhimkillhimkillhimkillhimkillhimkillhimkillhimkillhimkillhim\nmommy mommy as you lie the dark man comes and makes you die my daddy's hands are red with guilt because he killed the life we built\nI hate it! All this lying, all this pretending! Sithis and the Five Tenets be damned! How long do I have to live by their rules? How long before I get my chance? I saw Lucien Lachance yesterday. He was in the Sanctuary talking with Ocheeva. He was right there! So close I could have severed his spine in less than a heartbeat! Oh Mother, never before have I had to exercise such self-control. What's sickeningly ironic is that it was the Dark Brotherhood's discipline that allowed me to restrain myself. I've been a part of their \"family\" for so long it's a part of me, whether I like it or not. And in all that time I've fooled them all. They see me as a fellow member of the Brother, a trusted family member. Some day soon I will learn the truth about the Night Mother, and when I do, I will use that trust to get close to her. Close enough so that I may rend the head from her body, just as Lucien Lachance did to you so long ago!\nDamn it, mother! Why did it have to be this way? Maria was so beautiful. She was perfect in so many ways. Why couldn't she handle the truth? Why couldn't she realize her \"family\" didn't really love her? She was a murderer like the rest of us. Paid to kill in the name of Sithis. I really thought we could be together. Make a real family, with real love. But she told me she could never accept your place in my life. So now she's gone. She didn't deserve to live after the horrible things she said about you. I never should have told her, I know. I'm so sorry. It will never happen again, and the others will never find her, don't worry. There's nothing left of her to find.\nIliketolieinthegrassandwatchtheantsandwishI \nwereoneofthemintheirundergoundmazesosafefromthe \ndarknessofpeoplehorriblepeopleIwillkillthem \nallkilltheantskillthepeoplekilleverything\nI did it, mother! I killed them all! I killed them and I cursed them to wander their ship in undeath for all eternity! They came to talk to the old man in the lighthouse. When they saw me, they could have kept walking. But no. They laughed! They laughed at me, mother! They called me names! They said I was strange, that I was a human rat, living here in the cellar of the lighthouse. They did not know who they were dealing with! So I snuck on board, later that night, and I slit their throats. Every last one of them. So there the Serpent's Wake sits. The ghost ship of Anvil they'll call it now! Ha ha ha ha ha!\nSome wonderful news, mother! Advancement at last! Lucien Lachance paid a visit to the Sanctuary today, to talk with me! He told me the Black Hand needed my services. One of the other Speakers is looking to replace his assistant, who was killed fulfilling a contract. So Lucien Lachance suggested me! I met with the Speaker, and will serve as his new \"Silencer.\" Ha! Lachance might as well have given me a contract to kill the Night Mother herself! I am now one step closer to realizing our dream. I will learn the Night Mother's identity and tear the heart from her chest. Oh yes, and I have something special planned for Lachance himself...\nmommy I so afrade. i mis yu mommy. i just wantyu to kis me agenn\nfather prayed and guess who came the hooded man in Sithis' name who left but then he came once more to pass through window wall and door I lie in fear my mouth agape as wicked blade did cleave your nape for I was watching 'neath the bed to see the falling of your head and when your face lie on the floor our loving eyes did meet once more and so I pledged to you that day the Brotherhood would dearly pay and just as they took me from you I'd find and kill their mother too but there's someplace I need to start and that's with father's beating heart and when that's done I'll sing and dance to celebrate a dead LaChance\ngreenblueREDyelloworangegreenblueREDyelloworangegreenblueREDyelloworange \ngreenblueREDyelloworangegreenblueREDyelloworangegreenblueREDyelloworange \ngreenblueREDyelloworangeBLACKBLACKBLACKBLACKBLACK!!!!!!\nI've been careless! Too careless. The bodies, the burnings. Killing that fool Blanchard was the worst mistake I've made so far. I was seen! I was cloaked and hooded, and escaped into shadow, so no one learned my true identity. But now the Black Hand is suspicious. They suspect treachery, suspect a traitor! I must be more cautious than ever.\nwhen in the snow I like to lie and fold my arms and wait to die\nI've been switching them! Switching the dead drops! It was so easy! I tracked Lachance from his lair at Fort Farragut to the first dead drop location. After Lachance placed the orders, when I was sure he was gone, I switched them! It was so easy. Now Lachance's fool Silencer is working for us, mother! Oh, the fun we'll have. One of the Black Hand told me they haven't seen such an ambitious family member since I first joined the Dark Brotherhood. I will use that very ambition to my own advantage. The fool will never question the dead drops, and as I write this is en route to the first target -- one of the very members of the Black Hand! And so it begins. Lachance's silencer will kill one high ranking Brother member, then another, then another, and so on, until the entire family implodes. Eventually, as is the custom, the survivors will consult the Night Mother and seek her guidance. When that day comes, I will be there, ready to punge a blade into that dark whore's fetid heart!\n!eid lliw ecnahcaL neicuL"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/transfer-orders": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/transfer-orders", "description": "This is what happens to overzealous members of the Imperial Watch.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Transfer Orders", "text": "By order of the Legion Commander of the Imperial Watch, Hieronymus Lex is relieved of his duties as a Watch Captain of the Imperial Watch. His services are to be contracted to the Countess of Anvil for the remainder of his Imperial contract. When that contract expires, the Countess of Anvil may choose at her discretion to retain him or release him.\nLegion Commander,\nImperial Watch"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/treatise-ayleidic-cities": {"game": ["Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/treatise-ayleidic-cities", "description": "A damaged historical book of Varsa Baalim and the Nefarivigum.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Treatise on Ayleidic Cities", "text": "Treatise on Ayleidic Cities:\nVarsa Baalim and the Nefarivigum\nTest of Dagon\nChapter the Tenth\nI will not be the first scholar to point to a combination of benign intent and arrogance on behalf of the Ayleids as the source of many ruinous affairs for the old heartland elves.\nThe Nefarivigum, a foul construct of Mehrunes Dagon, was erected to be ever watchful for the pilgrim who would approach it and best an unknown trial of worth.  It is said that such a pilgrim would be rewarded with the blessing of Mehrunes Razor, a vicious blade through which Dagon himself can claim the very souls of those it strikes.\nBenign intent compelled Ayleid folk to seek out the Nefarivigum.  Arrogance let them believe themselves capable of disbarring any who would seek the Razor.  So was built Varsa Baalim, a great, ringed, labyrinthine city, during the height of Ayleid rule.\nSure as death, pilgrims came to Varsa Baalim, and for years the Elves drove back many, until it came to pass that a vampire slipped into the city unnoticed.  Merfolk were touched with the foul affliction, throwing the city into a gathering storm of madness and ruin, and soon it seemed none was left to prevent the Razor from being recovered.\nThen, suddenly, Varsa Baalim was gone.  Historic accounts dispute whether it happened through some final safety, a natural cataclysm, or by the touch of the Divines themselves.  Whatever the cause, history agrees on the result: the mountains of the Eastern Niben swallowed Varsa Baalim, and the Nefarivigum with it, where has remained hidden since the early days of the First Era.\nIf the tale is true, then somewhere on the eastern fringes of the Niben Valley, where man's rule has scarcely reached through the years, the Nefarivigum still lies in wait, among a city of unliving abominations entombed within the cold bowels of the mountain."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/undelivered-letter-jalbert": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/undelivered-letter-jalbert", "description": "A lovely letter from Jalbert the Necromancer. Whose new haven is Vilverin. Just in case the letter would have made you curious.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Undelivered Letter (Jalbert)", "text": "Aluc, my friend -\nI apologize that I have not written before now, and pray that you worry not. How could you have known that your patrol would stumble across my outing at the cemetary? There was no denying my deed; a sack full of limbs and grave-soil still fresh on my boots. With your men standing by, what choice was there but pursuit, lest they suspect your own true nature? Truly, I am glad it was you to expose me, and not another whose spellfire may not have missed my escape so widely!\nMy new haven provides safety and bodies to work on, whether those long-dead or hapless bandits; I will be content here for some time, though I dare not yet to say where. Care for Caessue, and know that when the time comes, I shall return to live again in our beloved Daggerfall. Until then, Captain Cardius, remain vigilant and always hidden.\n- Jalbert"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/undelivered-letter-orrery": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/undelivered-letter-orrery", "description": "A bandit note concerning the dwemeri artifacts that they stole. These artifacts are needed to repair the Arcane University Orrery.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Undelivered Letter (Orrery)", "text": "Until a buyer can be found, the items should be hidden.\nScatter them, so the Legion pigs can't ferret them out easily. Use our safespots at the following camps:\nDagny's Camp\nBrotch Camp\nBodean Camp\nVarus Camp\nWord will be sent when it's time to get rid of these things."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/varieties-daedra-0": {"game": ["Oblivion", "Skyrim", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/varieties-daedra-0", "description": "Mostly information about the ranks and types of the Dremora.", "author": "Aranea Drethan", "title": "Varieties of Daedra", "text": "Varieties Of Daedra\nby\n\tAranea Drethan\n\tHealer and Dissident Priest\nThere is little chance of our ever understanding the various orders of Daedra and their relationships to the Daedra Lords and their dominions. Of the varieties of Daedra that appear in our world, and the varieties of their relationships to their fellows and their Daedra patrons, there is no end. In one place and time they are seen to be this, and in another place and time they are seen to be the opposite, and in another place and time they are seen to be both this and that, in completely contradictory terms.\nWhat Daedra serves this Prince? What Daedra gives orders, and what Daedra serves, and in what hierarchy, and under what circumstances? What Daedra exist in fellowship with one another, and what Daedra have eternal enmity to one another, and what Daedra are solitary, or social, and by turns solitary or social? There are no limits to the varieties of behaviors that may be observed, and in one place they may be this, and in another place they may that, and all rules describing them are always found to be contradictory and in exception to others.\nFurther, from whom may we seek answers to our questions about these orders? From mortals, who know little but what they may observe of another world? From the gods, who speak in riddles, of enigmas wrapped in mysteries, and who keep things from us, the better to preserve their dominion over us? From the Daedra themselves, who are never the models of straightforwardness or truthtelling, but rather are famous for misstatements and obfuscations?\nAnd even were the Daedra to speak the truth, how can we know if they know themselves, or that there is any truth about them that is to be known, or are all arrangements among the Daedra protean and ever subject to change?\nIn short, what is to be known is little, and and what is to be trusted is nothing.\nThese things being said, I shall venture to relate what I have observed and heard of the relationships of the servants of Lord Dagon in my brief service to the Telvanni Wizard Divayth Fyr, when I sought him out and offered to bring peace to the victims of corprus in his sanitarium, once the Prophecies of the Incarnate had been fulfilled, and Dagoth Ur had been destroyed, and the Blight had been banished from the island of Vvardenfell forever.\nDivayth Fyr told me that he, by choice, trafficked only with two Daedra Powers -- Mehrunes Dagon and Azura.\nAzura, he said, knew and understood all things, and declined to speak of these things, or only spoke in riddles.\nMehrunes Dagon, on the other hand, out of pride, fixity of purpose, and a predictable lack of subtlety in thought, knew nothing and understood nothing, and was inclined to speak freely and without falsehood.\nDivayth Fyr said that Dagon's chief servants, the Dremora, were like him in pride, fixed purpose, and lack of subtlety, with the addition of the peculiar traits of honor and loyalty, both within their class and within their relationship to Lord Dagon.\nAnd Divayth Fyr said that the Dremora were ordered into clans and castes, and these clans and castes were well-defined. Individual Dremora might rise or fall in ranks, or move back and forth among clans, but only when regulated by complex oaths, and only at the will and pleasure of their Lord Dagon.\nThe Dremora refer to themselves as 'The Kyn' ('the People'), contrasting themselves to other Daedra, whom they consider unthinking animals. The term 'kynaz' refers to a member of the Dremora race ('he of the Kyn').\nThe least of kyn castes are the Churls, the undistinguished rabble of the lowest rank of Dremora. Churls are obsequeous to superiors but ferociously cruel to humans and other Daedra.\nNext in rank are the Caitiffs, creatures of uncalculating zeal, energy without discrimination. Caitiffs are used as irregulars in the faction wars of the Daedra, as berserkers and shock troops, undisciplined and unreliable, but eager and willing.\nThe highest of the regular rank-and file of Dremora troops are the Kynvals, warrior-knights who have distinguished themselves in battle, and shown the deliberate steadiness of potential war leaders.\nAbove the rank and file warriors of the Churl, Caitiff, and Kynval castes are the officer castes.\nA Kynreeve is a clan sheriff or clan officer. Kynreeves are typically associated either with a clan fighting unit or an administrative office in the order of battle.\nThe Kynmarcher is the lord and high officer of a Daedric citadel, outpost, or gate. A Kymarcher's command is usually associated both with a unit and with a 'fief' -- a location or territory for which he is responsible.\nAbove the Kymarcher is the Markynaz, or 'grand duke'. A Markynaz is a lord of lords, and member of the Markyn, Mehrunes Dagon's Council of Lords.\nThe highest rank of Dremora is the Valkynaz, or 'prince'. This warrior duke is a member of the Valkyn, Mehrunes Dagon's personal guard. The Valkynaz are rarely encountered on Tamriel; normally they remain by Mehrunes Dagon's side, or serve as commanders of operations of particular importance or interest to Dagon.\nOf the varieties of other Daedra I encountered while I served in Divayth Fyr's Corprusarium -- Ogrims and Golden Saints, Daedroths and Winged Twilights, Scamps and Clannfear -- there is much that might be said, but little that is helpful or reliable.\nI did note, however, that when Divayth Fyr sought a Daedra of a character like unto the Dremora, but of greater power, and greater inclination for independence and initiative, or solely as a master, he summoned Xivilai, who are like the Dremora in personality and temperment, except that they hate subordination, and are liable to disloyalty and betrayal when they feel they have not been treated with the proper deference and respect.\nThe feral, beastlike Daedra like the Clannfear and the Daedroth appear in the service of many different Daedric Powers, and may represent common creatures existing like wild animals in the wildernesses of Oblivion. Other savage, semi-intelligent creatures like Scamps and Spider Daedra may also be found in the realms of various Daedra Lords.\nThe case of the Elemental Atronachs, on the other hand, is less certain. Flame and Frost Atronachs, for example, appear to be highly intelligent, but not all varieties of Elemental Atronachs seem to be social or to have the power of speech. Divayth Fyr preferred not to summon or deal with these creatures, had little experience with them, and showed no inclination to speculate upon their nature, so I learned little about them during my time at Tel Fyr."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/vicentes-note-ocheeva": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/vicentes-note-ocheeva", "description": "Vicente really doesn't like garlic.", "author": "Vicente Valtieri", "title": "Vicente's Note to Ocheeva", "text": "Ocheeva,\nDamn that young fool Antoinetta and her experimental recipes! As if the stench of her cooking weren't bad enough, last week she made a particularly offensive dish consisting of mandrake, onions... and garlic! Garlic! I have told her repeatedly of the danger this plant poses to me, but she has obviously not heeded my warnings.\nIt is strange, this reaction I have to garlic. In all my wanderings, in all my research, I have never encountered another vampire thusly affected. It is true that some popular lore holds that all vampires have an inherent weakness to garlic, but this is simply not the case. My situation, as far as I can tell, is unique. If I were to somehow come into contact with garlic, if it in some way came to be on my person, the results could be catastrophic. I would most certainly suffer from a loss of strength and stamina, and fear my resistance to magic would be nearly completely nullified.\nSo please, Ocheeva, as mistress of this Sanctuary, I beg you to keep Antoinetta on a tighter leash. I love her as a Sister, of course, but can not be held accountable for my actions should she continue to disregard my own personal safety. The Tenets clearly state that one family member may not kill another; but I don't need to remind you there is no restriction against draining Antoinetta of a few pints of precious life's blood.\nVicente"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/vitharn-fall": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/vitharn-fall", "description": "A short story about Vitharn, the ancient kingdom in the south of Shivering Isles.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Vitharn: the Fall", "text": "Chapter I\nIn which the Keep Vitharn is established and passes from the first generation of rule to the second.\nCount Vitharn, who built and appointed his keep from the mud of Dementia, gathered to himself any who would pledge themselves as liege. Nearby tribes of Fanatics were united as vassals to protect his lands and line, and thus the Count lived out his days in the Isles. He and his Countess Mawean bore Csaran and Nweala, the first son and daughter of Vitharn.\nCsaran's mother and father believed that with the proper political influence, Csaran could certainly usurp Sheogorath and carry the Shivering Isles into a prosperous age. For his part, Count Vitharn refused even to acknowledge Sheogorath, thinking himself and his heirs irrefutable rulers of the Isles.\nThis, of course, amused the Madgod to no end, and so he allowed the marriage of Csaran to Sheen-in-Glade, daughter of an Argonian midwife who believed that the mortal sphere would afford her daughter nothing but hatred and oppression.\nSheen-in-Glade was as excellent a Countess to Csaran as any in the Isles could ask for, wanting nothing but to bring pride and honor to her adopted house and Court. For years her mind was untouched, even living as she did in the heart of Dementia. Alas, none may reside too long in the Isles without the blessing of Lord Sheogorath, and so Sheen-in-Glade was finally pushed to the brink by the infidelity of her Husband, the Count.\nCsaran was obsessively nepotistic, and distrustful of anyone with whom he shared no blood relation including his bride. Though Sheen-in-Glade bore a son by the Count (who disappeared from the Isles in his twentieth year), it is known that the two shared their bed with decreasing frequency as Csaran's paranoia grew, and he found himself in the arms of his birth-sister Nweala, who bore of their incestuous affair the heir apparent, Cesrien. There are those of us who remember personally the reign of Cesrien, and his contribution to the fall of Vitharn.\nChapter II\nIn which the birth of Count Cesrien heralds a glorious, bloody, and brief age for Vitharn.\nViolent-natured and quick of temper, Cesrien sought enemies where there were none. His early days on the seat of Vitharn saw the extermination of every tribe of man, mer, or beast within sight of the keep, until none were left.\nDuring his brief reign, much of the southeastern coastline of Dementia was unsafe to travel, littered with the corpses of trespassers in the lands of Vitharn, staked to trees as territorial markers. Beside his sadistic temper, Count Cesrien of Vitharn was known also for his slow wit and ailing health.\nIndeed, Cesrien was born with legs that seemed mismatched in length, and breathed with a laborious rasp. As a youth, tutors were hard-pressed to school the dull boy. Midwives and nurses surrounded him, attending his every ailment with balms and vapors from every corner of the Isles, but when he came of age he sent them away, often becoming violent in their dismissal.\nPerhaps showing the influence of his father, Cesrien became increasingly introverted, allowing only a select few courtiers in his presence. He was seen in pubic only when organizing his vassal Fanatics for yet another raid on the countryside.\nAtypically adhering to the desperate counsel of his advisors, Cesrien paused in his plundering to take a wife and ensure the continuation of Vitharn's noble line. The increasingly ill Count chose a vibrant peasant women as his betrothed, from a Heretic Commune in the wilds of Mania. Indeed, Countess Jideen could not have been any more his opposite. Vassal Fanatics, long loyal to their ancestral agreement with Count Vitraen, were inflamed by this heresy, and tensions grew as the health of Cesrien finally failed, and his young son, Cirion, ascended the throne of Vitharn.\nChapter III\nIn which conflict besets Vitharn and the Irenic Count Cirion is overwhelmed.\nYoung Count Cirion had scarcely been seen in public before his hasty coronation in the bailey of Vitharn Keep. Some say he still bore bruises from beatings at the feeble hand of his father during his final hours during the ceremony. Had Cirion been old enough to govern, his gentle, reserved demeanor may have been enough to ease the seething tension among the Vassal tribe, but his mother, Countess Jideen was forced to assume many of the duties her husband had so long ignored.\nBy all accounts, Jideen was a fit Countess; loved by her people -- but the leaders of the Vassal Fanatics could not contain indefinitely their personal sentiments of outrage at her Manic heritage. Despite her exceedingly tactful attempts at diplomacy, the animosity against her was deep-seated, and grew over the years. It is perhaps admirable that the Vassals remained true to the oaths so long.\nWhen Cirion finally came of age to rule, the sheepish boy-Count tried in earnest to ascend gracefully, but his fear of the world was so great that even the shadow of a passing bird would startle him visibly. He was all but unable to address the people publicly, and when he attempted to placate the Vassals -- still outraged by his Mother's heritage -- he could scarcely contain his fright, and some say that he even soiled himself before fleeing the throne chamber.\nCertain as the march of fate, the tolerance of the Vassal Fanatics snapped, and warriors encircled Vitharn. The Count's personal guards were ill-suited to repel the attack and the siege lasted a single day. Since the day of that battle, no living soul has wandered away from Vitharn. Local myth tells of a tireless struggle between the spirits of the Fanatic vassals and Vitharn's meager defenders, damned by the treachery of Fanatics and the cowardice of Cirion to replay their final moments in perpetuity."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wabbajack": {"game": ["Oblivion", "Skyrim", "TES: Online", "Daggerfall"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wabbajack", "description": "A child accidentally summons Sheogorath instead of Hermaus Mora, and pays the price.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Wabbajack", "text": "Little boys shouldn't summon up the forces of eternal darkness unless they have an adult supervising, I know, I know. But on that sunny night on the 5th of First Seed, I didn't want an adult. I wanted Hermaeus Mora, the daedra of knowledge, learning, gums, and varnishes. You see, I was told by a beautiful, large breasted man who lived under the library in my home town that the 5th of First Seed was Hermaeus Mora's night. And if I wanted the Oghma Infinium, the book of knowledge, I had to summon him. When you're the new king of Solitude, every bit of knowledge helps.\nNormally, you need a witches coven, or a mages guild, or at least matching pillow case and sheets to invoke a prince of Oblivion. The Man Under the Library showed me how to do it myself. He told me to wait until the storm was at its height before shaving the cat. I've forgotten the rest of the ceremony. It doesn't matter.\nSomeone appeared who I thought was Hermaeus Mora. The only thing that made me somewhat suspicious was Hermaeus Mora, from what I read, was a big blobby multi-eyed clawed monstrosity, and this guy looked like a waistcoated banker. Also, he kept calling himself Sheogorath, not Hermaeus Mora. Still, I was so happy to have successfully summoned Hermaeus Mora, these inconsistencies did not bother me. He had me do some things that didn't make any sense to me (beyond the mortal scope, breadth, and ken, I suppose), and then his servant happily gave me something he called the Wabbajack. Wabbajack. Wabbajack.\nWabbajack.\nWabbajack. Wabbajack. Wabbajack. Wabbajack. Wabbajack. Wabbajack.\nMaybe the Wabbajack is the Book of Knowledge. Maybe I'm smarter because I know cats can be bats can be rats can be hats can be gnats can be thats can be thises. And that doors can be boars can be snores can be floors can be roars can be spores can be yours can be mine. I must be smart, for the interconnective system is very clear to me. Then why, or wherefore do people keep calling me mad?\nWabbajack. Wabbajack. Wabbajack."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wanted-poster-gray-fox": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wanted-poster-gray-fox", "description": "Posters found throughout the Imperial City.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Wanted Poster of the Gray Fox", "text": "\nThe Gray Fox\nWanted for theft, embezzlement, forgery, pickpocketing, counterfeiting, burglary, conspiracy to commit theft, grand larceny, tax evasion, slander, fraud, perfidy and impertinence.\nDescription: wears a gray cloak that conceals his appearance. Presumed male and Colovian. Height between 5 and 6 feet. Normal weight. Hair and eye color unknown.\nAny citizen with information should contact the Imperial Watch.\nWatch Captain Hieronymus Lex"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/waterfront-tax-records": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/waterfront-tax-records", "description": "For the first time in decades, the inhabitants of the Waterfront district of the Imperial City have been made to pay taxes.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Waterfront Tax Records  ", "text": "Adanrel, 3 coins\nAmusei, 1 coin\nArmand Christophe, 4 coins\nAstay Haymon, 2 coins\nBronsila Kvinchal, 3 coins\nCarwen, 2 coins\nDamian Magius, 3 coins\nDranas Llethro, 1 coin\nGraman gro-Marad, 2 coins\nHillod, empty handed - thrashed\nIsleif, 2 coins\nJair, 3 coins\nKastay Kvinchal, 3 coins\nMethredhel, 2 coins\nOrmil, 7 coins\nRaven Camoran, 2 coins\nSkarla Wirich, 2 coins\nMyvryna Arano, exempted\nUzul gro-Grulam, 3 coins\nVelan Andus, 3 coins\nVlanarus Kvinchal, 4 coins"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/way-exposed-palm": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/way-exposed-palm", "description": "A method of unarmed combat is described within.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Way of the Exposed Palm", "text": "Untrained pugiliists are known to make a club of the hand and beat on their opponents like a drum. It is a truly uncouth way to victory. The way of the exposed palm is far more sophisticated and far more deadly.\nConsider this question. A man is struck in the chest by the flat of a plate. There is a small bruise but he is otherwise unharmed. Now break the plate and strike him in the chest with a shard using the same force. Now the man is dead or grievously wounded. How can this be? How can a small object harm more than a larger?\nThis essential point is the first finger of the way of the exposed palm. The five part way is concentration, reaction, equiplibrium, speed, breath control. To master unarmed combat all five digits must be mastered.\nThe parable of the man and the plate is concentration. All of the blow is concentrateded into a small point. Therefore it is more potent. To strike with just the thumb can be more deadly that to strike with the whole fist. However, only the highly trained fighter can do this.\nThe second aspect of concentration is the mental discipline to think hard about what is being done. Distractions are ignored as the will maintains the ultimate goal. The truly deadly fighter can even block out his own pain in this manner."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wayshrines-map": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wayshrines-map", "description": "A map of the wayshrines dedicated to each of the Nine Divines.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Wayshrines Map", "text": "\nIf you wish to repent of your sins and rededicate your life to the Gods, pray at the Wayshrines of the Nine.\nMay the Nine hear your prayers and look upon you with tender loving kindness."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wine-ingredient-list": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wine-ingredient-list", "description": "A list of ingredients needed by Battlehorn Castle vintner.", "author": "Talan", "title": "Wine Ingredient List  ", "text": "I can make the following wines for you in about 24 hours, provided I have the necessary ingredients.\nFrostdew Blanc:\nAloe Vera Leaves x2, Green Stain Cup x2\nRestore Health, Restore Fatigue\nColovian Battlecry:\nBog Beacon Asco, Cinnabar Polypore Red, Cinnabar Polypore Yellow\nShield, Fortify Endurance\nJulianos Firebelly:\nSacred Lotus Seed, Lady's Smock Leaves x2\nResist Frost, Fortify Health\nNumbskin Mead:\nDragon's Tongue, Lady's Smock Leaves x2\nResist Fire, Fortify Health\nStumblefoot's Reserve:\nArrowroot, Flax Seeds x2\nFeather, Fortify Strength\nArgonian Bloodwine:\nBergamot Seeds x2, Foxglove Nectar x2, White Seed Pod (from Goldenrod)\nResist Poison, Resist Disease, Water Breathing\nSparkling Honeydew:\nLavender Sprig x2, Summer Bolete x2\nFortify Personality, Fortify Speechcraft"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/worn-faded-note": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/worn-faded-note", "description": "A note found on the corpse of the Vampire Ghola gro-Muzgol.", "author": "Ghola gro-Muzgol", "title": "Worn, Faded Note", "text": "[This worn, faded note was written on a scrap of parchment and secured by a piece of rawhide to the vampire's neck.]\nMy name is Ghola gro-Muzgol. My companion's names are Aranalda, Nille Elf-Daughter, Avita Cassiana, and Umar gra-Khar.\nThe vampire Dratik died by our hands, but the price was dear. Those into whose hands we have fallen, we thank you, and pray your favor.\nWe served Lady Azura. Bring these, our last words, to the Her Shrine. We praise Her with the full fountain of our devotion.\nOur destinies were written in the stars, that our souls and reason be slain, and our world lost forever.\nNone can escape Her Fate. But let us be remembered at Her shrine, and in the hearts of Her servants.\n\"It is only by fate\nthat any life ends,\nand only by chance\nthat it is mine...\nnot yours.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/zealotry-sheogorath": {"game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/zealotry-sheogorath", "description": "A note about the Zealots, one of the aggressive factions in Shivering Isles.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Zealotry of Sheogorath", "text": "The self-proclaimed Zealots of Sheogorath believe our liege lord to be not just a man of mysterious and wondrous powers, but a living god. They believe his will sustains the lands and his whim supports all things in it. They believe Arden-Sul, Who Reads the Winds in Our Entrails, was the mortal aspect of Lord Sheogorath, and will come again to cleanse the Realm. Since these claims are clearly ridiculous, it can be assumed that all Zealots are quite mad.\nThe Zealots cannot be reasoned with. They cannot be treatied with easily. They attack almost anyone on sight, assuming them to be heretics or non-believers. They fight to the death, reveling in the carnage.\nThe reader might ask, then how does one join the Zealots? After much research, I discovered that Zealots sneak into settled areas and leave sets of robes behind. Anyone inclined toward Zealotry can don these robes and approach the Zealots safely. It is said that Zealot leaders can see the true heart of a supplicant, even if he wears the robes, and will slay any false supplicants.\nEven then, the Zealots have painful rituals meant to prove their fealty to Sheogorath. Only the most devout supplicants are accepted into their ranks. Those who fail these tests are put to death.\nOnce a supplicant is accepted as a Zealot, he is taught ceremonies and sorcerous secrets. The best known of these is summoning Flesh Atronachs to do their bidding. These powerful creatures are formidable foes."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dream-sovngarde": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dream-sovngarde", "description": "A Nord's premature visit to Sovngarde.", "author": "Skardan Free-Winter", "title": "A Dream of Sovngarde", "text": "In a few hours, I will likely be dead.\nMy men and I, Nords of Skyrim all, will soon join with the Emperor's legions to attack the Imperial City. The Aldmeri are entrenched within and our losses will be severe.  It is a desperate gambit, for if we do not reclaim the city, we will lose the war.\nLast night I prayed to mighty Talos for courage and strength in the battle to come. In these last cold hours before the sun rises, I sit down to write this account of a dream I had not long after.\nI believe this dream was the answer to my prayers, and I would pass along the wisdom it contained to my kinsmen, for the battles they will fight in the years after my passing.\nIn the dream, I walked through mists toward the sound of laughter, merriment and the songs of the north. The mists soon cleared, and before me lay a great chasm. Waters thundered over its brim, and so deep it was, I could not see the bottom.\nA great bridge made all of whale-bone was the only means to cross, and so I took it.\nIt was only a few steps onto the bridge that I encountered a warrior, grim and strong. \"I am Tsun, master of trials,\"  he said to me, his voice booming and echoing upon the walls of the high mountains all around us.\nWith a wave, he bade me pass on. I knew in my heart that I was granted passage only because I was a visitor. Should the hour come when I return here after my mortal life, the legends say that I must best this dread warrior in single combat.\nBeyond the bridge, a great stone longhouse rose up before me, so tall as to nearly touch the clouds. Though it took all my strength, I pushed open the towering oaken door and beheld the torch-lit feast hall.\nHere were assembled the greatest heroes of the Nords, all drinking mead poured from great kegs and singing battle-songs. Suckling pigs turned on a long iron spit over a roaring fire. My mouth watered at the smell of roast meat, and my heart was glad to hear the songs of old.\n\"Come forth!\" cried out a hoary man who sat upon a high wooden chair. This I knew to be Ysgramor, father of Skyrim and the Nords. I approached and knelt before him.\n\"You find yourself in Sovngarde, hall of the honored dead. Now, what would you have of me, son of the north?\" he bellowed.\n\"I seek counsel,\" said I, \"for tomorrow we fight a desperate battle and my heart is full of fear.\"\nYsgramor raised his tankard to his lips and drank until the cup was empty. Then he spoke once more.\n\"Remember this always, son of the north - a Nord is judged not by the manner in which he lived, but the manner in which he died.\"\nWith that, he cast aside his flagon, raised his fist in the air and roared a great cheer. The other heroes rose to their feet and cheered in answer.\nThe sound still rang in my ears when I awoke. I gathered my men and told them of my vision. The words seemed to fill their hearts with courage.\nThe horns are blowing, and the banners are raised. The time has come to muster. May Talos grant us victory this day, and if I am found worthy, may I once again look upon that great feast hall.\n- Skardan Free-Winter"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gentlemans-guide-whiterun": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gentlemans-guide-whiterun", "description": "A guide to Whiterun and its ladies.", "author": "Mikael the Bard", "title": "A Gentleman's Guide to Whiterun", "text": "\nWelcome, good sir, to this indispensible guide. Within these pages, I, your humble author and guide, will describe to you the great city of Whiterun, the Jewel of the North.\nWhiterun offers numerous diversions for the man in search of adventure, fortune and companionship, whether for a night or for a lifetime. The city is graced with not one, but two worthy taverns and there are maids and wenches aplenty.\nThe city is located rather centrally in Skyrim, and this is well, for it is not far from anywhere. Perched high upon a rocky hill, Whiterun dominates the grassy plains that surround it. High wooden walls protect its denizens from the wolves, mammoths, bandits and other dangers lurking beyond.\nWhen you first enter through the city's main gate, you will find yourself in the Plains District. This is so named because it is the lowest of the city's three neighborhoods.\nAh, but here can be found the Bannered Mare, which I count among the finest taverns in all Skyrim. The scenery within is quite compelling, if you have an eye for the fairer sex.\nA stout lass named Hulda tends the bar. Don't let that stony Nord exterior fool you, for she is possessed of that same fiery passion that all Nord women try so hard to conceal. Saadia, the barmaid, is an exotic Redguard beauty. She is quite mysterious, and your humble author is determined to learn her secrets.\nOutside the Bannered Mare is a modest marketplace, and here is where I found true love. Though I would never deter a fellow hunting hound from the chase - for indeed, why should I author these tomes, if not to provide guidance in this very matter? - I must ask that you do me this one kindness.\nHer name is Carlotta Valentia, and she is a magnificent beauty who makes a modest living selling bread and produce in the daylight hours. By the gods, I will make that feisty beauty mine someday!\nAnd of course, there are other services to be found in the Plains district. Belethor's General Goods offers various and sundry wears for the adventurous traveler, and Arcadia's Cauldron offers what tonics and herbs one would expect from an apothecary's shop.\nArcadia herself is an amiable sort. I often visit her to make conversation, as she is a fellow Imperial far from home. She is, however, a bit old for my taste. A gentleman of advanced years might find in her a worthy companion.\nShould you need your blade sharpened or your armor hammered, Warmaiden's offers smithing services very near the main gate. The smith is a pretty Nord named Adrianne Avenicci, but she is married to a great hulking brute named Ulfberth War-Bear.\nAdrianne is quite fair, but I should not want to find myself being introduced to the keen edge of that husband's war-axe. If married ladies are your preferred sport, then have at, but don't say that you weren't warned!\nNear to the smith is the Drunken Huntsman. Here, some of the wealthier gentlemen gather to share both drink and rumors of the wide world. If you prefer a more distinguished class of company while you sip fine wine, you'll be well at home here.\nOf the Wind district I have little to say. Most of the buildings in this second tier of the city are residences, though there is also a Temple of Kynareth and Jorrvaskr, the mead hall of the Companions.\nThere are some intriguing prospects to be found in the mead hall should you favor a strong and fearless warrior-woman. You will find little game at the temple, however. The priestess, Danica Pure-Spring, is interested almost exclusively in spiritual matters.\nAt last we come to the Cloud District, exclusive domain of the Jarl's castle. I have had some merry adventures within the stone walls of Dragonsreach, let me tell you. The serving girls are most easily impressed by a well-spoken Imperial. After all, the nights in Skyrim do grow quite cold, if you take my meaning.\nAnd I will not deny that I have visited the town's jail once or twice, which can be found in the lower levels of the palace.\nAs for the Jarl and his court, take pains to avoid them. I find that they lack any sense of humor or appreciation for the Imperial culture. Besides which, they are all wealthy men and so must be viewed as your most serious competition. These Nords are simple folk, after all, and too easily swayed by the sight of fine clothes and a purse full of septims.\nNow I will conclude this work by wishing you great success in your pursuits of women and wine. Spare a moment in your revels to think of me, your humble author, and the risks I have taken to bring you this most thorough report on all thing of interest to the discerning gentleman in the grand city of Whiterun.\nAh, but I will not lie and say that it was all a hardship. After all, who could want to sleep alone in such a cold and hard land as this? Not I!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kiss-sweet-mother": {"game": ["Skyrim", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kiss-sweet-mother", "description": "Procedures for preforming the Black Sacrament to summon the Dark Brotherhood.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "A Kiss, Sweet Mother", "text": "So you wish to summon the Dark Brotherhood? You wish to see someone dead? Pray, child. Pray, and let the Night Mother hear your plea.\nYou must perform that most profane of rituals - the Black Sacrament.\nCreate an effigy of the intended victim, assembled from actual body parts, including a heart, skull, bones and flesh. Encircle that effigy with candles.\nThe ritual itself must then commence. Proceed to stab the effigy repeatedly with a dagger rubbed with the petals of a Nightshade plant, while whispering this plea:\n\"Sweet Mother, sweet Mother, send your child unto me, for the sins of the unworthy must be baptized in blood and fear.\"\nThen wait, child, for the Dread Father Sithis rewards the patient. You will be visited by a representative of the Dark Brotherhood. So begins a contract bound in blood."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/minor-maze": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/minor-maze", "description": "The history of Labyrinthian and its creator, Shalidor.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "A Minor Maze", "text": "A Minor Maze:\nShalidor & Labyrinthian\n\nLabyrinthian's modern notoriety was gained in the early part of the Third Era. Part of the Staff of Chaos was recovered from the Labyrinthian, which became instrumental in the overthrow of Jagar Tharn, ending the Imperial Simulacrum. The site has since become embedded in the minds of all subjects of the Empire, and the ruins are occasionally visited by Loyalist pilgrims, re-tracing the steps of the Eternal Champion.\nThe namesake of Labyrinthian is somewhat less commonly known, however.\nThe foreboding ruins were originally built as a temple to the Dragons. This grew into Bromjunaar, a great city of that era. Bromjunaar is believed by some to have been the capital of Skyrim at the height of the Dragon Cult's influence there. Little historical record exists to verify or refute this, but it is known that the highest ranking Priests of the Cult met at Labyrinthian to discuss matters of ruling.\nBromjunaar crumbled, however, along with the rest of the Dragon Cult, and the site lay abandoned for many years, a deteriorating reminder of those benighted days for the Nords. Not until the days of Shalidor would the ruins come into use again.\nShalidor the Archmage was famous for his exploits in the First Era. Various tales tell of him battling Dwemer legions single-handedly, building the city of Winterhold with a whispered spell, stealing the secret of life from Akatosh, or constructing Labyrinthian himself.\nWhile many Shalidor legends are hyperbole or outright fabrication, we can discover some truth behind his involvement with Labyrinthian.\nShalidor stood at the forefront of a movement to enact higher standards among mages, and to discourage spell-use among the common castes. This effort is dubiously credited with the original organization and formation of the schools of magic and the foundation of the College at Winterhold.\nConsistent with this mentality, Shalidor constructed his Labyrinth deep within the ruins of Bromjunaar to test new Archmages. While navigating the destroyed city itself was not explicitly a part of the test, many candidates did not survive the journey. Shalidor valued both academic knowledge as well as practical skill, and simply getting to the Labyrinth required the latter.\n\nShalidor's Labyrinthian is actually two intersecting mazes, in an hourglass pattern. One maze could not be completed without exiting the other first, which makes the only existing instruction for the test especially mysterious:\nEnter Twice - Exit Only Once\nAlteration will lead \nyou to Destruction\nOnly Illusion shows the \nway to Restoration\nConjure not, but \nbe conjured instead\nWe can only guess at what the solution to the test may have been, as Labyrinthian became notorious not only for the number of potential archmages who died there, but for the intense secrecy of those who succeeded.\nLabyrinthian eventually ceased to be used, and is regarded as a symbol of a more brutal age by modern institutions for magical studies. The ruins lay empty again, overrun with wild animals and avoided by travelers. The long history and legacy of this place, however, seems as likely to be erased from our minds as the ruins themselves are likely to sink into the sea."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-1": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-1", "description": "Instructions.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "A Note", "text": "Meet me here at midnight."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/request-meet": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/request-meet", "description": "A request for a certain Daedric artifact", "author": "Staada", "title": "A Request to Meet", "text": "Thank you for your efforts to protect my realm\n\nI believe you possess something that I am in search of, and I require it before I return home. It is the artifact from the Shivering Isles that served as the focus of Thoron's depraved rituals.\n\nMeet me beneath the arch of Solitude, upon the shore, so that we might make an exchange.\n\n-- S"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/scrawled-note-0": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/scrawled-note-0", "description": "Concerns Azura's Star", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "A Scrawled Note", "text": "Malyn Varen's death will not go unpunished. Find the holder of Azura's Star and enact vengeance, or it will go your souls I rend for my enchantments.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tragedy-black": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tragedy-black", "description": "A folk tale about black soulgems.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "A Tragedy in Black", "text": "A TRAGEDY IN BLACK\nA folk tale from the time of the Oblivion Crisis\nThe dremora looked on the young boy with disdain. He looked to be no more than seventeen or eighteen, on the cusp of manhood.\n\"You? You have summoned me?\"\n\"Mother says I'm good with spells. Someday I'm gonna be a wizard. Maybe even archmage!\"\n\"And what would your mother know of magic, boy?\"\n\"She's a wizard! She's an enchanter at the Arcane University.\"\n\"Ah. Another dabbler in the mystic arts. I'm certain she is barely mediocre.\"\n\"You shut up! I read the scroll. I get to tell you what to do.\"\nThe dremora was silent. Compulsion bound his voice.\n\"I want to know how to make a magic dress. I need it for her birthday.\"\nThe dremora's answer was more silence.\n\"You have to tell me. It's in the rules.\"\nFreed from the previous compulsion, the dremora answered, \"First, you need a soul gem. I happen to have one, and would gladly give it you for so noble a cause.\"\n\"Really? Why do I need it.\"\nWith a hidden smile, the dremora handed over the dull black gem.\n\"It is not enough to cast a spell upon an inert object. Magic requires thought, intent, will and emotion. The soul powers the enchantment. The bigger the soul, the more powerful the enchantment.\"\n\"So how big is the one in this soul gem?\"\n\"Oh, that one is empty. You'll have to fill it. But it can hold the largest of souls easily. Do you know how to do that?\"\n\"No,\" the young man said sullenly.\n\"Let me show you. You cast a spell like this.\"\nThe tendrils of the soul trap spell spilled from his fingers and surrounded the boy. The young man's eyes went wide.\n\"I didn't feel anything,\" he complained.\n\"How about now?\" the dremora asked, plunging his talons into the youth's rib cage. His heart beat only once before it was pulled from his chest.\nQuickly the dremora snatched back the black soul gem, just as the youth died. His soul tried to flee, but was trapped by the spell and drawn into the gem. Only black soul gems can hold the souls of men and elves.\n\"Your mother obviously never told you never to accept a freely given gift from a summoned dremora,\" he said to the corpse. \"You see, it breaks the conjuration, freeing the summoned from the summoner. Now, let's go find your mother. After all, I have another black soul gem.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/warning-0": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/warning-0", "description": "No peeking!", "author": "Vex", "title": "A Warning", "text": "Delvin,\nMaster of sneaking, huh? If I ever catch you trying to sneak a peek at me while I'm bathing in the lake again, I'll cut off your most valuable asset.\nVex\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/admonition-against-ebony": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/admonition-against-ebony", "description": "A warning about a sword.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Admonition Against Ebony", "text": "To anyone reading this: BEWARE THIS BLADE\nIt is hoped that the only people having access to this room should be the Jarl of Whiterun and his trusted wizard. If anyone else is reading this, please understand the magnitude of your folly, turn around, and never even speak of this room or this blade to anyone.\nIt has corrupted and perverted the desires of great men and women. Yet its power is without equal -- to kill while your victim smiles at you. Only a daedra most foul could have concocted such a malevolent and twisted weapon. But it appears that all who wield it end up with the crazed eyes of those wild men who roam the hills chattering with rabbits.\nIt is not to be trifled with. Not even the hottest fires of the Skyforge could melt it; indeed the coals themselves seemed to cool when it was placed within. We cannot destroy it, and we would not have it fall into the hands of our enemies. So we keep it, hidden, dark and deep within Dragonsreach, never to be used.\nWoe be to any who choose to take it."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/adrils-survey-results": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/adrils-survey-results", "description": "Summary of the situation in Solstheim", "author": "Adril Arano", "title": "Adril's Survey Results", "text": "Councilor Morvayn,\nBelow are the results of the survey you requested.\nThe Bulwark needs extensive repair. Ash is beginning to seep through the cracks inside the barracks and weakening the structure.\nRepairs to the docks have been completed. We can now accommodate two ships at once if need be.\nWe've lost a total of twenty-six Redoran Guard in the last two years. We've seen ten replacements in the last five.\nThere's been no improvement in the condition of the water around the island. While there are fish still present, there are nowhere near enough to sustain us as a fishing town.\nAs you can see, we are in desperate need of relief. Sorry to be the bearer of such bad news, but I'm only doing as you requested.\nAdril"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/adventurers-journal": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/adventurers-journal", "description": "Description of mysterious caravan attack.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Adventurer's Journal", "text": "There's something unsettling about these caravan attacks. I expected bandits, but the remains we saw were literally torn apart, rent limb from limb. Yet no mere animal could coordinate an attack on a full-sized merchant train. And wolves don't take prisoners.\nWe've found a trail leading up into the hills. We'll make camp here for the night, then set out at dawn. Whoever- whatever- murdered those people, we'll make sure it never happens again."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/aeris-note": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/aeris-note", "description": "A letter to Jarl Skald concerning lumber and soldiers.", "author": "Aeri", "title": "Aeri's Note", "text": "Jarl Skald the Elder,\nAnga's Mill will be supplying all the lumber as per your instructions. I hope this will clear up any and all tax burdens my father might have left us with.\nI refuse to send any of my workers to answer your call for Stormcloak recruits, though. You can either have lumber or you can have soldiers. We can't do both.\nAeri,\nOwner of Anga's Mill"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/aesraels-journal": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/aesraels-journal", "description": "A bandit reminiscing about his past", "author": "Aesrael", "title": "Aesrael's Journal", "text": "I didn't choose to be alone. A fish doesn't choose to swim, and a bird doesn't choose to fly. They just are, and so was I.\n\nWhen the guard raided our hideout, I didn't shed any tears. We were always going to be lost children, orphaned by the world if not by each other.\n\nThe others fled to the cities, but I sought the stillness of the forest, with only the moon and stars to keep me company. That is, until the day I met the wolf.\n\nWhen I found its leg caught in a bear trap, my first thought was to put it out of its misery. Yet for some reason I treated the wound, and fed the beast until it recovered.\n\nI don't know why I saved it. Perhaps part of me misses the others, and longs for a companion.\n\nI'm no stranger to solitude. I've spent years relying on no one save myself. But it seems at the end of the day, I'm still that boy at the orphanage, parked at the window sill, staring out into an empty street."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/afflicteds-note": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/afflicteds-note", "description": "Orchendor and the Dwemer machinery.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Afflicted's Note", "text": "Orchendor has gone down the the Aerdrome. He believes some of the old Dwemer machines down there will help him commune with our Blighted Lord."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/agriuss-journal": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/agriuss-journal", "description": "The corrupting influence of a certain cave.", "author": "Agrius", "title": "Agrius's Journal", "text": "Never thought I'd see the day we were run out of the Knifepoint Gang. Least the storm should cover our tracks. Vidgrod, Raen, and I took shelter in a cave for the night. Looks like there's an old ruin here. Least there are no Draugr around.\nVidgrod and Raen both want to set up here for a while, maybe do some raiding. They ought to know better- the road's deserted, especially this time of year. Plenty of better places up north. But they seem awfully insistent about staying here. Wouldn't even lend a hand when I went out to hunt tonight.\nSomething's wrong. Raen hasn't said a word since she woke up this morning, just keeps staring off into space. Vidgrod isn't much better. They sick? Not like any illness I ever heard of. I'd just walk out on them, but I can't seem to get up the nerve. I feel like something's holding me back. What is this place?\nWe're not alone. I can hear him now. Someone, speaking in my mind. Old. Powerful. Halldir, that's the name. He wants something from us. Needs us to stay for the magic to work. I tried to run, can't. Just like them.\nRaen jumped first. Onto the cairn. That's what Master wants - blood, sacrifice, power to live again. His magic, I can feel it pulsing in my blood. He's draining us. We'll serve him soon, our bodies, our souls. Just like the others. They're waiting. It's my turn."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ahzidals-descent": {"game": ["Skyrim", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ahzidals-descent", "description": "The legend of a Nord mage who trained among elves so he could have his revenge on them.", "author": "Halund Greycloak", "title": "Ahzidal's Descent", "text": "Ahzidal's Descent\nby\n\tHalund Greycloak\nIn the days beyond memory, when men first walked the lands of Skyrim, there arose in the city of Saarthal a great enchanter. As a boy, his gift for magic and artifice had been evident to his tutors. As a man, his skill surpassed them all. And finding nothing more to learn among his kin, he left wife and child, and set out to train under the elven masters.\nA year became two, then three. And when finally his path led him back to Saarthal, he found only ruins: for the elves had sacked the city, and all that lived there were dead or gone. Amid the ashes, in the smoldering ruins of his home, he swore a terrible oath of vengeance. And from that comes the name the legends give him: Ahzidal, the embittered destroyer.\nAlone, he could do nothing. And so, he bided his time, delving deeper into his art than any before him. From the Dwemer, he learned the seven natures of metal and how to harmonize them. From the Ayleids, the ancient runes and dawn-magic even the elves had begun to forget. Among Falmer and Chimer and Altmer he traveled, taking what he could from each, and all the while plotting how he might turn that knowledge against them.\nFinally, word reached him of Ysgramor and his Companions, newly-arrived from Atmora. For three days and nights, he rode north, and met them as they made landfall on the icy coast near the ruins of Saarthal, which the elves had fortified against them. He offered the Companions his service, and all he had produced in his years of labor. And with Atmoran steel imbued with his enchantments, the elves fell before them, and at last he had his revenge.\nBut he was not content. His craft had become his life, and his hunger for knowledge still gnawed at him, driving him to delve ever deeper. At long last, he exhausted the lore of the elves, but it was not enough. He sought the secrets of Dragon-runes, and won for himself a seat among their high priests, but it was not enough. And at length, he turned his gaze to the planes of Oblivion, and found there both power and madness.\nSome say he ventured there, never to return. Others, that he was betrayed by his fellow Dragon Priests, and killed, or driven into hiding in the ruins beneath his beloved Saarthal. Among the Skaal of Solstheim, it is said he fled to their island, and was sealed in the depths of Kolbjorn Barrow, together with the last of his relics.\nBut that is the tale, as it was told among the bards of Winterhold. Whatever the truth, the legend of Ahzidal was intended as a warning: in pursuit of perfection, one must take care that the pursuit itself does not become all-consuming."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/aicantars-lab-journal": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/aicantars-lab-journal", "description": "Aicantar's experiments on a spider centurion.", "author": "Aicantar", "title": "Aicantar's Lab Journal", "text": "Uncle Calcelmo got back from Mzinchaleft today. Lots of artifacts this trip. He even brought me something- a spider that didn't completely shatter when the guards smashed it. He wants me to get it working again. My first big research project!\nSpider Centurion Research, Week 1\nI've reassembled the spider with spare parts from the museum. All the joints move, just not on their own. Uncle said the spider needed a 'control crystal' with the right 'electroharmonic signature'. The Guards are out looking for one now.\nSpider Centurion Research, Week 2\nAfter yesterday's incident, I assembled a staff to hold the crystal. It actually works! When you use the staff, it creates a beacon of some kind, and the spider just walks on over to it. Better yet, it doesn't attack everyone on sight now!\nSpider Centurion Research, Week 3\nApparently it will still attack, just not on sight. During this morning's experiment, one of the newer guards was startled and drew his sword, and he was dead before anyone could react. Did it actually detect hostile intent?\nSpider Centurion Research, Week 4\nFurther testing confirms that the spider seems to detect the intent of its controller in some way. Last week, it tried to defend me from a threat. This week, I snapped at a guard who interrupted my latest test, and it lashed out at him. Fascinating!\nSpider Centurion Research, Week 5\nNo one appreciates my work. Uncle Calcelmo is buried in his Falmer research, and doesn't have time to help me with the spider anymore.\nThe Guards are all afraid of it. I keep telling them it's harmless as long as I keep it under control, but there have been too many accidents. They just don't believe me.\nI wanted to show the Jarl, but I can't seem to get the spider to leave the lab - it looks like its control crystal only works up here. Maybe if I can reattune the enchantment...?"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/alchemists-journal": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/alchemists-journal", "description": "An alchemist's musings about her new work area.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Alchemist's Journal", "text": "Coming to this area was a brilliant decision!  The local flora seem to have many useful properties that I've been able to utilize into new potions!  Outside, the rich soil has allowed the cuttings I've collected to grow into fine and bountiful plants!  This afternoon, I think I will journey out for more mushrooms, as my current supply is beginning to dwindle.\nOn a personal note, I have moved my alchemy work outside the shack.  I find the midday air is a boon to my health, as well as inspirational to my work.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/alchemists-note": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/alchemists-note", "description": "An ancient note concerning poisons and valiant death.", "author": "Froda", "title": "Alchemist's Note", "text": "But surely we cannot use these poisons on our own brothers and sisters! This plan is madness! Even if the main stairway is collapsed and they find those in the front chambers poisoned there is no telling that they will stop from clearing the rubble and coming through to burn our bodies before Alduin's return!\nRahgot, it is not that I fear death or refuse to lay down my life in the service of the gods. The snow elf raids in the northern lands may not be enough to draw off the Snow-Strider when he finds us dead. All know of his tenacity. If we are to die, then let us die with blades in our hands, rather than with poison on our lips and daggers at our children's throats!\n--Head Alchemist Froda\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/aldepiuss-confession": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/aldepiuss-confession", "description": "A bandit's confession and a challenge", "author": "Aldepius", "title": "Aldepius's Confession", "text": "I should've made sure that body sunk to the bottom of the river, but in my old age I've gotten sloppy.\n\nI guess I should come clean. My real name is Peladius. I'm a bandit. At least, I used to be, until our group was betrayed by one of our own. I started this whole charade because I wanted to know who.\n\nBut to be honest, it doesn't matter anymore. There was never any honor among thieves. I lost what little claim I had to it, the day I joined Tyra's crew.\n\nThen again, maybe I can still have an honorable death.\n\nMeet me at Dragon Bridge. We can settle this there."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/alduin-real": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/alduin-real", "description": "One Nord's view of the Alduin/Akatosh dichotomy.", "author": "Thromgar Iron-Head", "title": "Alduin is Real", "text": "Alduin is Real,\nand He Ent Akatosh\nby\nThromgar Iron-Head,\nprowd Nord\n\nAs my da used to say - Imperials are idiutts!\nThat is why I am riting this book. I ent never rote a book before, and I do not reckon to rite one agenn, but sometimes a man must do what a man must do. And what I must do is set the recerd strate about the god called Akatosh and the dragon called Alduin. They ent the same thing, no matter what them Imperials mite say, or how thay mite wish it to be so.\nMy da was never one for the gods, but my ma was. She wershipped all the Divines, and tot me lots of things. So I noe a thing or two about Akatosh. Just as much as any Imperial. I noe he was the first of all the gods to take shape in the Beginning Place. And I noe he has the shape of a dragon.\nMy da even told me the story of Martyn Septim, and the things what happened when the gates to Oblivion opened. Septim turned into the spirit of Akatosh and killed Mehrunes Dagon. Now I dont noe about you, but any dragon that fites the Prince of Destruction is okay by me.\nNow I hope you understand the problim. Akatosh is good. Everyone, from Nord to Imperial, noes that. But Alduin? He ent good! He's the oposit of good! That Alduin is evil thrue and thrue. So you see, Akatosh and Alduin cant be one and the same.\nGrowing up as a lad in Skyrim, I herd all the stories. Told to me by my da, who was told by his da, who was told by his da, and so on. And one of those stories was about Alduin. But see, he was not Akatosh. He was another dragon and a real wun at that.\nAkatosh is some kind of spirit dragon I think, wen he bothers to be a dragon at all (and not a god livin in sum kind of god plac like Obliviun). But Alduin is a real dragon, with flesh and teeth and a mean streak longer than the White River. And there was a time when Alduin tried to rool over all of Skyrim with his other dragons. In the end, it took sum mitey strong heroes to finally kill Alduin and be dun with his hole sorry story.\nSo I got to ask - does that sound like Akatosh to you? No, frend. No it do not.\nAnd so I, Thromgar Iron-Head do firmly say, with the utmost connvicshun, that Alduin is real, and he ent Akatosh!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/alethiuss-notes": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/alethiuss-notes", "description": "Complaint about overzealous researchers.", "author": "Alethius", "title": "Alethius's Notes", "text": "Salonia\nWe've been saddled with some researchers who can't go four steps without examining something and they fight about as well as you'd think... probably worse.  Stromm at least has some magical competence but none of them can swing a sword.  Erj and Krag seem up to something so I'll have to keep an eye on them, but Staubs assures me they're trustworthy.\nAlethius"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/all-employees-must-read": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/all-employees-must-read", "description": "Concerns a practical joke.", "author": "Indaryn", "title": "All Employees Must Read!", "text": "Notice to all employees:\nI've discovered my bed filled with skeever droppings that were obviously placed there on purpose by an employee who felt that it was an amusing prank. You have until Middas to either come forward on your own or point me in the direction of the perpetrator of this practical joke, otherwise all employees will be subject to half wages for the next three months.\nIndaryn"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/alvas-journal": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/alvas-journal", "description": "The origin of Morthal's vampire problem.", "author": "Alva", "title": "Alva's Journal", "text": "My life is dreary. Where is my prince come to rescue me? Where is my bold Nord warrior to sweep me off my feet?\nI met a man today when picking nightflowers. He is exciting and exotic. We kissed in the moonlight. It was so romantic. I'm going to see him again tonight.\nNow I understand the true colors of the night. Movarth has shown me the true black of night and the true red of blood. He has promised me a feast of blood if I do his bidding in Morthal.\nHroggar was easy to seduce. Movarth said I should find a protector first, someone to watch over my coffin during the day. Hroggar is perfect.\nLaelette came to visit me tonight. She slaked my thirst. I've hidden her away to let her rise as my handmaiden. I've spread the rumor in town that she left to join the war. Fools.\nMovarth has confided his grand plan to me. I am to seduce the guardsman one at a time and make them my slaves. Then he and the others from the coven can descend upon Morthal and take the entire town. We won't kill them. They will become cattle for our thirst. An endless supply of blood and an entire town to protect us from the cursed sun.\nHroggar's family is becoming inconvenient. I've told Laelette to kill them all, but make it look like an accident. Hroggar must be seen as innocent if he is going to be my protector.\nThat little fool! Laelette burned Hroggar's family alive. I asked for an accident and she gave me a scandal. To make matters worse, she tried to turn his little girl, Helgi. Except Laelette couldn't even get that right. She killed the child and left the body to burn.\nSomething is wrong with Laelette. She keeps talking about Helgi. I think her mind has snapped. She seems to think that the child can still be brought back to be her companion.\nThere is a stranger in town, looking into the fire. I'll have to be careful."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/amaund-motierres-sealed-letter": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/amaund-motierres-sealed-letter", "description": "Veiled instructions for a series of assassinations to be performed by the Dark Brotherhood.", "author": "Amaund Motierre", "title": "Amaund Motierre's Sealed Letter", "text": "Most esteemed overseer,\nAs was already communicated to your subordinate, I wish to hire your organization for some delicate ambassadorial work. All of this, of course, would culminate in a historic meeting with the Leader himself.\nIn order to secure an audience with the Leader, some secondary meetings must first take place. They have been outlined below.\n1.) You must attend the upcoming wedding at the Temple of the Divines in Solitude. The bride must be given a gift she will never forget, one that will get all of Solitude to talking and which will, undoubtedly, reach the ears of the Leader himself.\n2.) A certain high-ranking military officer, permanently stationed in Skyrim, is responsible for securing the Leader's safety should he choose to schedule a visit. When this officer learns of the Leader's journey, he will begin the necessary security arrangements. You must learn this officer's plans, and meet with his people, to ensure appropriate security for your eventual audience with the Leader.\n3.) Several months ago, the Leader planned a visit to Skyrim that was canceled unexpectedly. In that time, a world renowned chef was contacted, and brought to Skyrim in order to prepare a lavish meal. That chef remains in Skyrim on retainer. You must meet with him, and convince him that it would be your honor to cook for the Leader in his place.\nI realize these instructions are a bit non-specific, and do apologize, but I feel the vagueness is necessary to ensure security. Surely an organization as esteemed as your own has the means and resources to obtain all the essential information before each meeting can take place.\nWhen the final part of our arrangement has been carried out - that is, when you have secured an audience with the Leader himself, and brought such business to a close - I will contact you about final payment.\nMost sincerely,\nA friend\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/amongst-draugr": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/amongst-draugr", "description": "Observations on Draugr behavior and ancient Nordic society.", "author": "Bernadette Bantien", "title": "Amongst the Draugr", "text": "Amongst the Draugr\nby\nBernadette Bantien\nCollege of Winterhold\nIt wasn't until my seventh month with the creatures that they seemed to accept me. Well, \"accept\" isn't really the proper word, but they seemed to have decided that I posed no threat to them and gradually ceased their attacks. Though more than capable of fending them off (a combination of fire and turning spells are generally sufficient), I admit that I tired of having to be ever vigilant in their presence.\nI'll never know whether there was some sort of agreement communicated among them, for the only utterances they make seem to be in that heathen tongue that I can't even pronounce, much less transcribe. In time, I learned more of their intentions towards me from their general movements and tones rather than specific words. Hostility in any creature is easily read, but in these most peculiar of the living dead, with such variations in gait and speed, what amounts to a hostile charge in one may simply be casual movement in another. The eyes seem to be key to their intent, and I will confess to more than one dream haunted by the glowing pinpoints in the darkness.\nI had always wondered why the ancient priests of the dragon cult insisted that their followers be buried with them. It seems the height of pagan vanity to drag your conscripts to their death along with you, but as I integrated into their presence, I began to observe the reasons. Every day, a different set of draugr would awaken, shamble their way to the sarcophagus of their priest, and prostrate themselves before it. Several hours of this, followed by a meticulous cleaning of the area. It would appear that the adherents of the dragon priest continue their worship of him in death, which would also explain the ferocity with which they defend his chambers.\nIt took several weeks before I felt comfortable approaching the dragon priest's resting place, myself. Inch by inch, until the snarling draugrs around me seemed to tire of fending off my timid presence. I was able to set some simple scrying spells around the tomb, that I might get a sense of what magical energies resided there. When the next group of draugr came to pay homage to the priest, I noted a sort of transferal happening. A distinct flow of life force between the adherents and the master.\nIt was here that I finally understood the dragon cult's notion of resurrection. The second eternal life was only promised to those who ascended to the priesthood, but the lesser functionaries contributed their life force to sustaining them for eternity. I don't know what sort of eternal wellspring they draw from, but it's clear that each draugr carries only the barest whisper of life in it, and rekindles it nightly while resting in its niche. I now believe that the grotesque forms that we see in the barrows were, in fact, buried fully as men and women, and only over the thousands of years that have passed withered into the wretched things we know. If we had visited a barrow directly after its construction, we might not have even known any of its inhabitants were dead!\nThese discoveries and extrapolations excite me, and my mind aches to return to the barrows. I have only paused here at the College to transcribe these notes and gather further supplies for a more extended stay. My new hope is to learn some rudimentary way of speaking to them, for imagining what they could tell us of the early mists of time is staggering."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/accounting-elder-scrolls": {"game": ["Skyrim", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/accounting-elder-scrolls", "description": "A Librarian attempts to find information on the number and locations of the Elder Scrolls.", "author": "Quintus Nerevelus", "title": "An Accounting of the Elder Scrolls", "text": "An Accounting of the\n\tElder Scrolls\nby\n\tQuintus Nerevelus\n\tFormer Imperial Librarian\n\nAfter the supposed theft of an Elder Scroll from our Imperial Library, I endeavored to find any sort of index or catalogue of the Scrolls in our possession so that such situations may be avoided (or at least properly verified) in the future. To my dismay, I discovered that the Moth Priests are notoriously inexact when it comes to the actual physical manifestations of the Scrolls, and had no idea how many they held, or how they were organized. Merely asking the question evoked chuckles, as if a child was asking why dogs cannot talk.\nI will confess, my jealousy of the ones who can read the Scrolls grows, but I am not yet willing to sacrifice my sight to alleged knowledge. The older Moth Priests I attempt to engage in conversation seem as batty as any other elder who has lost their mind, so I fail to see what wisdom is imparted from the reading.\nIn any case, I set out to create my own index of the Elder Scrolls, in cooperation with the monks. Day by day, we went through the tower halls, with them telling me the general nature of each Elder Scroll so that I might record its location. Always careful never to glimpse the writings myself, I had only their word to go on. I meticulously drew out a map of the chambers, where Scrolls relating to various specific prophecies were located, where particular periods of history were housed. In all, it took nearly a year of plodding, but at last I had rough notes on the entirety of the library to begin my collation.\nIt was here that things began to go amiss. In studying my notes, I found many areas of overlap and outright contradiction. In some cases different monks would claim the same scroll to be at opposite ends of the tower. I know they have no taste for jesting, or else I would suspect I was being made the fool in some game of theirs.\nI spoke to one of the older monks to relate my concerns, and he hung his head in sorrow for my wasted time. \"Did I not tell you,\" he coughed, \"when you started this that all efforts would be futile? The Scrolls do not exist in countable form.\"\n\"I had thought you meant there were too many to be counted.\"\n\"There are, but that is not the least of their complexities. Turn to the repository behind you, and tell me how many Scrolls are locked therein.\"\nI ran my fingers over the metal casings, tallying each rounded edge that they encountered. I turned back -- \"Fourteen,\" I said.\n\"Hand me the eighth one,\" he said, reaching out his hand.\nI guided the cylinder into his palm, and he gave a slight nod to acknowledge it. \"Now, count again.\"\nHumoring him, I again passed my hands over the Scrolls, but could not believe what I was feeling.\n\"Now... now there are eighteen!\" I gasped.\nThe old monk chuckled, his cheeks pushing up his blindfold until it folded over itself. \"And in fact,\" he said, \"there always were.\"\nIt was then that I enrolled as the oldest novice ever accepted into the Cult of the Ancestor Moth."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/appology": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/appology", "description": "Shroudheath Barrow is haunted and bad for business.", "author": "Wilhem", "title": "An Appology", "text": "Bersi,\nI got your last request, but there's no way I'm going near Shroud Hearth Barrow. I know that the trinkets from the Nordic Barrows sell quite well, but it isn't worth getting killed. You probably think I'm crazy, but I'm certain that the place is haunted and I refuse to become another victim of... whatever lives there. Sorry, old friend.\nWilhelm\nVilemyr Inn, Ivarstead\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/explorers-guide-skyrim": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/explorers-guide-skyrim", "description": "Lists the locations of several Stones of Fate (the ones marked with the constalations).", "author": "Marcius Carvain", "title": "An Explorer's Guide to Skyrim", "text": "An Explorer's Guide\nto Skyrim\nby\nMarcius Carvain,\nViscount Bruma\n\nFar too often, noble visitors from Cyrodiil see little more of Skyrim than the view from their carriage. To be sure, this coarse, uncivilized province is far from hospitable, but it is also a place of fierce, wild beauty, with grand vistas and inspiring natural wonders awaiting those with the will to seek them out and the refinement to truly appreciate them. If you are of a mind to see Skyrim for yourself, I recommend beginning your adventure as I did, by seeking out Stones of Fate.\nNo doubt you are taken aback by the name, as I once was. The provincials and village folk have all manner of dark tales about these ancient monuments. Stories of necromantic rituals and fell spirits, of great and terrible powers conferred on any who dare to touch them.\nThe stories are, as Jarl Igrof once told me, \"A load of mammoth dung.\" A bit uncouth, but you get the point.\nTo be sure, keep your guards with you at all times - brigands and wild animals are never to be taken lightly. But the stones themselves are nothing to fear. Quite the contrary, their proximity to cities and roads makes them ideal destinations for the novice explorer, and many boast spectacular views that make the journey well worth the effort.\nTo whet your appetite, here are four such locations:\nMost travelers enter Skyrim by way of Helgen, \"Gateway to the North.\" If you find yourself in this backwater hovel, consider taking an afternoon's ride to the north, keeping to the road as it winds down the cliffs at the eastern end of Lake Ilinalta. Just off the path, on a small bluff, lie the three Guardian Stones, the greatest concentration of standing stones in all Skyrim. The view of the lake here at sunset is simply sublime.\nVisitors from Cheydinhal will pass through Riften, city of intrigue and larceny since Tiber Septim's day. If you seek adventure in the Rift, leave the city by the southern gate and cast your gaze upon the bluff that rises to the south. Atop it sits the Shadow Stone, a fitting symbol for the city of thieves.\nWhiterun is the heart of Skyrim, its towering palace rivaling even the great castles of Cyrodiil. But should you tire of the Jarl's hospitality, another adventure awaits a few hours to the east of the city, along the road that rises above White River Gorge. The Ritual Stone can be found atop the lone hill that rises on the north side of the road, set into an ancient monument. Take time to soak in the incredible view of Whiterun, the tundra, and the gorge from this unique spot.\nMore seasoned explorers may wish to visit Markarth, the ancient city of stone far to the west. The recent Forsworn Rebellion has made travel in the Reach perilous, but for those determined to seek adventure no matter the cost,  another stone can be found to the east of the city, perched on the mountain above Kolskeggr Mine. Though the climb is difficult, reaching the summit is a milestone any explorer could be proud of.\nThere are other Stones of Fate to be found in Skyrim - I myself have seen several more, perched on the most remote mountain peaks, or wreathed in fog amid the northern marshes. But the true joy of exploration is in the discovery, and so I leave the rest to you. May the Eight guide your steps."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ancient-edict": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ancient-edict", "description": "A curse and a warning.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Ancient Edict", "text": "Let this place be forgotten forever.\nLet it be struck from the rolls of history.\nLet it never be spoken of by man or mer.\nLet its very name be lost to the ages.\nYe who enter here, know:\nThis place was sealed at great price.\nHonor those who perished here.\nTurn back, and leave them to their rest."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/anderss-message": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/anderss-message", "description": "A thief is trapped.", "author": "Anders", "title": "Anders's Message", "text": "I can't believe it. I came all this way, solved all of those ridiculous riddles just to end up here! After I memorized Nystrom's clues he'd collected from Lythelus, I slit his throat. Now I guess the joke's on me, because I'm stuck here and I don't see a way out. Hope someone comes by soon, I'm getting hungry.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/anises-note": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/anises-note", "description": "An invitation to a witches' coven.", "author": "Anise", "title": "Anise's Note", "text": "Helgi, dear, why do you hesitate? You can feel the power coursing in your blood! You have only to reach out and grasp it! Renounce that boy of yours and come, come live with me in the forest. My sister will be here soon. Together, we can form a proper coven, and your training will truly begin.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/annals-dragonguard": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/annals-dragonguard", "description": "Yearly entries of the Dragonguard at Sky Haven Temple, outlining several important events.", "author": "Brother Annulus, ed.", "title": "Annals of the Dragonguard", "text": "Annals of the Dragonguard\n2800-2819\n\nScribe's Note: I have faithfully copied the following from the Annals of the Dragonguard of Sky Haven Temple for the years 2800-2819 (4329-4338 in the Old Calendar), Brother Annulus, 2E 568.\n\n2801: Emperor Kastav again ordered the Dragonguard to sieze hostages from Markarth and Hroldan to ensure that the jarls meet their conscription quotas. Our Master's official protest was denied, as usual. This will make relations with the local populace more difficult, although the \"hostages\" are in fact housed and trained with the other acolytes.\n2804: Upon the outbreak of the Winterhold Rebellion, our Master refused orders to send the Dragonguard out to help supress the rebellion. The Emperor ordered our supplies cut off, but we have made arrangements with the local Reachmen and are effectively self-sufficient. The Grandmaster supports our Master's action on the grounds that it violates the Oath of Allegiance.\n2805: The Temple is besieged. The fool Kalien was sent to Winterhold and sacked the city. There was a reason he was denied entry into the Dragonguard. But the local people do not count the difference between Akaviri. All our years of building up trust with people of Skyrim are now for naught.\n2806: We learned of the accession of Reman II (of blessed name) when the siege of the Temple was lifted. We provided the honor guard for the Emperor's first visit to Skyrim, a great boost to the Temple's prestige.\n2809: We received reports of a dragon in the east. Scouts were sent immediately, and signs of it were discovered, but it fled at our approach. The survivors have grown wary indeed.\n2812: We finally received permission from the Emperor to begin construction of Alduin's Wall. Craftsmen from Temples across the Empire have arrived and begun the great work, overseen by our own Master, as is only fitting, as she is unmatched in her dragonlore.\n2813: Work on Alduin's Wall progresses. The Master dismissed several craftsmen (from a western Temple that I do not need to name, they are so well-known for stiff-necked pride), which has delayed the work, but there must be no compromise. Alduin's Wall is our gift to those that come after us.\n2815: The Grandmaster visited the Temple in the summer to view the progress of the Wall. He has received complaints about the expense (there is no doubt where these originate), but he was so impressed by the Wall even in its half-finished state that he gave our Master a Writ of Requisition under the Emperor's seal. There will be no more delays!\nFurther reports of dragons in the east which could not be verified.\n2818: An auspicious year. Alduin's Wall was finished, a dragon was located and slain, and Emperor Reman II visited to officially dedicate the Wall. The Blood Seal was consecrated in the presence of all the Dragonguard of Skyrim, a great honor of which few Temples can boast."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/anonymous-letter": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/anonymous-letter", "description": "Implicates a steward in an affair and suggests blackmail.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Anonymous Letter", "text": "To the Imperial Legion,\nWho I am is less important than what I know - suffice it to say that I am no friend to the so-called Stormcloak rebels.\nThrough various means it has come to my attention that [steward's name] had a rather embarrassing indiscretion in [his/her]\u00a0past.  I also happen to know that [victim's name] is foolishly keeping evidence of this affair.\nShould you locate that evidence, you might be able to \"persuade\" [him/her] to help your fight in [hold name]. If forced to chose between his dislike for the Empire or [his/her] love for [himself/herself], [he/she] will most assuredly chose the latter.\nSincerely yours,\nA loyal citizen.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/anonymous-letter-0": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/anonymous-letter-0", "description": "Tells of a group of necromancers performing rituals in southern Skyrim.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Anonymous Letter", "text": "Someone, please help! A group of Necromancers are experimenting with conjuring Zombies using ancient, dangerous magic, which I fear will have unintended and irreversible\u00a0consequences. I was expelled from their studies as their ambitions grew into folly, against my warnings.\nThey're performing a ritual to summon a large group of these foul, uncontrollable creatures as we speak in the southern-most area of\u00a0Skyrim, and must be stopped before it's too late!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/anonymous-letter-1": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/anonymous-letter-1", "description": "A warning about a Necromancer's ritual", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Anonymous Letter", "text": "Someone, please help! A group of Necromancers are experimenting with conjuring Zombies using ancient, dangerous magic, which I fear will have unintended and irreversible consequences. I was expelled from their studies as their ambitions grew into folly, against my warnings.\n\nThey're performing a ritual to summon a large group of these foul, uncontrollable creatures as we speak in the southern-most area of Skyrim, and must be stopped before it's too late!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/anoras-journal": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/anoras-journal", "description": "Journal of a mage from the college of winterhold", "author": "Anora", "title": "Anora's Journal", "text": "1st of Morning Star, 3E 423\nA wise mage once told me the power of a spell lies in one's conviction.\n\nIt's evident to me now that the college has lost all desire and purpose, and has become feckless under its current stewardship.\n\nThe Arch-Mage Shalidor believed the halls to be a proving ground where a mage could test the limits of their abilities. Now the college is a tomb of knowledge, where grand spells and lofty ideals are left to wither and rot.\n\nWe should not let the outside world dictate how we conduct ourselves. Placating their ignorance is not a virtue. The augurs speak of a great war on the horizon, and we should be doing everything in our power to prepare for it.\n\nThat is why Teel-Ja and I have chosen to leave. We know the road ahead will be hard, but one thing we do not lack is the conviction to see it through.\n\n\n23rd of Rain's Hand, 3E 428\nConstruction of the tower is almost complete. Teel-Ja accused me of being impatient, a crime which I've been guilty of more often than not. Between us he has always been the tortoise, and I the hare. Still, our needs are pressing. The coming war will not wait for the mortar to dry.\n\nThe location has much to do with the delays, but that can't be helped. The Nords are distrustful of magic by nature, and some would frown upon our efforts. Others might take a more violent approach. For that reason, we've put a ward on the door that requires magic to dispel.\n\nWe've chosen to honor Shalidor in much of what we do, including the seal outside the door. Teel-Ja seemed pleased with the idea of setting it on fire, while others seemed uncomfortable with the idea. I warned them that pride is the enemy of progress. If we are to survive in the coming storm, we must not be bound by tradition. We must be willing to set it aflame.\n\n\n11th of First Seed, 3E 429\nIt's been a year since construction has finished, yet there is still much that needs to be done. The tower is only the foundation for our defense. Our minds and our magic must serve as its ramparts, and for them to hold we must amplify our strength.\n\nAs such, I have sent scouts throughout Tamriel to find powerful artifacts that may help us in our efforts; artifacts the college wizards refused to obtain out of cowardice or comfort. Many of these relics played a role in preventing calamities of the past. Perhaps it is their destiny as much as ours to stand between the world and its ruin.\n\n\n17th of Frost Fall, 3E 429\nWe've had little luck finding artifacts of note. Based on the information I've culled from the Arcanaeum records, I know there are several here in Skyrim, including the Staff of Gauldur. We must endeavor to find them all.\n\nMore concerning, however, is the disposition and morale of the mages. Even Teel-Ja seems to have fallen into the trappings of routine and idleness. It is hard to convince weary souls to explore yet another ruin when the task has been stripped of all urgency.\n\n\n29th of Sun's Height, 3E 433\nIt's now halfway through the year 433, more than ten years since we left the college. Yet all remains blissfully calm. One of the new acolytes even suggested abandoning her training to become a cook, happily showing me her spell for preserving apple pies. I reminded her that she is here to study battle magic, not pastries. She will have more than enough time to indulge her sweet tooth when her youth is behind her.\n\nIt is why we've devoted half the library to the placement of powerful artifacts, to serve as a reminder of our pursuit. Yet seeing the racks as they are now, collecting only dust, makes me wonder if I've led us all astray.\n\n\nAs leader of this guild, I have the training to fight and the knowledge of what's to come. What I don't have, sadly, is the conviction that it will.\n\n\n28th of Last Seed, 3E 433\nA courier came by with news from Cyrodiil. Emperor Septim is dead. The Gates of Oblivion have opened. Divines help us all.\n\n1st of Morning Star, 3E 423\nA wise mage once told me the power of a spell lies in one's conviction.\n\nIt's evident to me now that the college has lost all desire and purpose, and has become feckless under its current stewardship.\n\nThe Arch-Mage Shalidor believed the halls to be a proving ground where a mage could test the limits of their abilities. Now the college is a tomb of knowledge, where grand spells and lofty ideals are left to wither and rot.\n\nWe should not let the outside world dictate how we conduct ourselves. Placating their ignorance is not a virtue. The augurs speak of a great war on the horizon, and we should be doing everything in our power to prepare for it.\n\nThat is why Teel-Ja and I have chosen to leave. We know the road ahead will be hard, but one thing we do not lack is the conviction to see it through.\n\n\n23rd of Rain's Hand, 3E 428\nConstruction of the tower is almost complete. Teel-Ja accused me of being impatient, a crime which I've been guilty of more often than not. Between us he has always been the tortoise, and I the hare. Still, our needs are pressing. The coming war will not wait for the mortar to dry.\n\nThe location has much to do with the delays, but that can't be helped. The Nords are distrustful of magic by nature, and some would frown upon our efforts. Others might take a more violent approach. For that reason, we've put a ward on the door that requires magic to dispel.\n\nWe've chosen to honor Shalidor in much of what we do, including the seal outside the door. Teel-Ja seemed pleased with the idea of setting it on fire, while others seemed uncomfortable with the idea. I warned them that pride is the enemy of progress. If we are to survive in the coming storm, we must not be bound by tradition. We must be willing to set it aflame.\n\n\n11th of First Seed, 3E 429\nIt's been a year since construction has finished, yet there is still much that needs to be done. The tower is only the foundation for our defense. Our minds and our magic must serve as its ramparts, and for them to hold we must amplify our strength.\n\nAs such, I have sent scouts throughout Tamriel to find powerful artifacts that may help us in our efforts; artifacts the college wizards refused to seek out of cowardice or comfort. And through our efforts in Morrowind, we managed to obtain the Warlock's Ring, the one worn by the legendary Archmage Syrabane.\n\nAccording to the legends, Syrabane used the power of the ring to end the Thrassian Plague that threatened all of Tamriel. Perhaps it is the ring's destiny to stand between the world and its ruin.\n\n\n17th of Frost Fall, 3E 429\nWe've had little luck finding more artifacts of note. Based on the information I've culled from the Arcanaeum records, I know there are several here in Skyrim, including the Staff of Gauldur. We must endeavor to find them all.\n\nMore concerning, however, is the disposition and morale of the mages. Even Teel-Ja seems to have fallen into the trappings of routine and idleness. It is hard to convince weary souls to explore yet another ruin when the task has been stripped of all urgency.\n\n\n29th of Sun's Height, 3E 433\nIt's now halfway through the year 433, more than ten years since we left the college. Yet all remains blissfully calm. One of the new acolytes even suggested abandoning her training to become a cook, happily showing me her spell for preserving apple pies. I reminded her that she is here to study battle magic, not pastries. She will have more than enough time to indulge her sweet tooth when her youth is behind her.\n\nIt is why we've devoted half the library to the placement of powerful artifacts, to serve as a reminder of our pursuit. Yet seeing the racks as they are now, collecting only dust, makes me wonder if I've led us all astray.\n\n\nAs leader of this guild, I have the training to fight and the knowledge of what's to come. What I don't have, sadly, is the conviction that it will.\n\n\n28th of Last Seed, 3E 433\nA courier came by with news from Cyrodiil. Emperor Septim is dead. The Gates of Oblivion have opened. Divines help us all."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/antecedants-dwemer-law": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/antecedants-dwemer-law", "description": "A brief overview of the relationship between Dwemer and Altmeri law.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Antecedants of Dwemer Law", "text": "This book is a historical account of the development of Dwemer law and custom from its roots in High Elven culture.\n\nIn short, so far as I am able to trace the order of development in the customs of the Bosmeri tribes, I believe it to have been in all ways comparable to the growth of Altmeri law. The earlier liability for slaves and animals was mainly confined to surrender, which, as in Sumerset Isles, later became compensation.\nAnd what does this matter for a study of our laws today? So far as concerns the influence of the Altmeri law upon our own, especially the Altmeri law of master and servant, the evidence of it is to be found in every judgment which has been recorded for the last five hundred years. It has been stated already that we still repeat the reasoning of the Altmeri magistrates, empty as it is, to the present day. And I will quickly show how Altmeri custom can be followed into the courts of the Dwemer.\nIn the laws of Karndar Watch (P.D. 1180) it is said, \"If one who is owned by another slays one who owns himself, the owner must pay the associates three fine instruments and the body of the one who his owned.\" There are many other similar citations. And the same principle is extended even to the case of a centurion by which a man is killed. \"If, at the common workbench, one is slain by an Animunculi, the associates of the slain may disassemble the Animunculi and take its parts within thirty days.\"\nIt is instructive to compare what Dhark has mentioned concerning the rude beasts of the Tenmar forests. \"If a marsh cat was killed by an Argonian, his family were in disgrace till they retaliated by killing the Argonian, or another like it; but further, if a marsh cat was killed by a fall from a tree, his relatives would take their revenge by toppling the tree, and shattering its branches, and casting them to every part of the forest.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/arena-fans-note": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/arena-fans-note", "description": "An Adoring fan's search for his long lost hero", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Arena Fan's Note", "text": "As a fan of the Imperial Arena and student of history, I was very intrigued when I discovered volume eight of the short story collection, The Crimson Dirks, at the local library in Cheydinhal. While the author considered it a work of fiction, I've combed over the information in the story and much to my delight, found much of it may be true!\n\nFor instance, there was indeed an Orc who fought in Dwarven mail after the Great War, who rose to the rank of Bloodletter before mysteriously disappearing! The same is true for the blacksmith, who abandoned her shop in Cyrodil under equally unknown circumstances!\n\nWhile I have nothing on the Redguard, the name itself may be an alias. But the last sentence is most intriguing, as it implies our orc Bloodletter went north to Skyrim, and began fighting in the underground pits! In fact, I've heard there's an Orc living in Bthalft Ruins who matches that description right now!\n\nI've requested the Orc meet with me in private, so I can ask him if he is indeed the one in the story. I am so excited! I know the book paints him as a bit unruly toward fans, but authors tend to exaggerate certain features. Besides, even if it were true, I'd be willing to bet time has softened his stance. He'll be more than pleased to meet a true fan of the Arena! I can't wait!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/argonian-ceremony": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/argonian-ceremony", "description": "A note about a traditional Argonian wedding.", "author": "Talen-Jei", "title": "Argonian Ceremony", "text": "Drifa,\nI was wondering if you could speak to Maramal about perhaps presiding over a marriage ceremony for myself and Keerava. She's the love of my life and I wish to be with her forever, but only if we can be wed in traditional Argonian fashion. Traditional Argonian bonding ceremonies are somewhat long and complex, involving unique rituals spoken in our native language. I'd be more than happy to provide a book describing what I'm looking for as long as Maramal doesn't mind.\nTalen-Jei"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/arvels-journal": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/arvels-journal", "description": "Arven's musings on his latest theft: the Golden Claw key to Bleak Falls Barrow.", "author": "Arvel", "title": "Arvel's Journal", "text": "My fingers are trembling. The Golden Claw is finally in my hands, and with it, the power of the ancient Nordic heroes. That fool Lucan Valerius had no idea that his favorite store decoration was actually the key to Bleak Falls Barrow.\nNow I just need to get to the Hall of Stories and unlock the door. The legend says there is a test that the Nords put in place to keep the unworthy away, but that \"When you have the golden claw, the solution is in the palm of your hands.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/assassins-writ": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/assassins-writ", "description": "An assassination writ for the player.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Assassin's Writ", "text": "By order of the Patriarch of [dungeon name], you are to hunt down and slay the Dawnguard agent [player name].\n[He/She] is believed to be extremely dangerous, even for one of your formidable skill. Strike quickly, sister, then make your escape.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/atlas-dragons": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/atlas-dragons", "description": "A list of dragons, living and dead.", "author": "Brother Mathnan", "title": "Atlas of Dragons", "text": "Herein is recorded the list of known dragons, both living and dead, including those slain by the Dragonguard since the time of its founding, as well as those slain in earlier ages, where they can be identified. Unfortunately, only a few of the dragons slain by our Akaviri predecessors during the Crusade were recorded and thus this list is sadly incomplete.\nDeceased by Report\nNahagliiv - Local tales name him as the dragon buried in the mound west of Rorikstead. No date associated with his death, although almost surely dates to the Dragon War era.\nOdahviing - Records dating to the Crusade of interrogation of captured Dragon Cultists indicate that this dragon was buried in a mound in the southeast of Skyrim, near Riften.\nSahloknir - Local legends claim this is the dragon buried in the mound near Kyne's Grove, slain by the Nord hero Jorg Helmbolg in the First Era.\nViinturuth - Death dating back to Dragon War era, according to documents recovered from Dragon Cult temples which record his burial near Lake Yorgrim.\nVuljotnaak - Death dating back to Dragon War or just after, according to recovered Dragon Cult documents, which record his burial in a mound near Granite Hill.\nSlain by the Dragonguard\nGrahkrindrog - Slain in 2E 184 after perpetrating great slaughter in Winterhold and Eastmarch. Name confirmed with assistance from the College mages.\nKrahjotdaan - Slain in 1E 2871 in the southern Jerall Mountains, name confirmed by the dragon's own account.\nUnnamed Dragons - Numbering 12, as recorded in the Annals dating back to the founding of Sky Haven Temple.\n\nKnown to Live\nAhbiilok - Sightings dating back to the early years of the Dragonguard throughout the northern Jerralls. Multiple attempts to kill him have failed. He is believed to be lairing somewhere in Morrowind.\nMirmulnir - Last sighted in the Reach in 2E 212.\nNahfahlaar - Repeated alliances with mortal protectors which have prevented his elimination. His last known protector was the King Casimir II of Wayrest, which the Dragonguard successfully ended in 2E 369. He escaped and current location is unknown.\nPaarthurnax - The legendary lieutenant of Alduin in the Dragon War. He is now known to lair on the Throat of the World under the protection of the Greybeards of High Hrothgar. Master Araidh continues the established policy of avoiding direct confrontation with the Greybeards while waiting for an opportunity to exact justice upon him."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/atronach-forge-manual": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/atronach-forge-manual", "description": "Explains how to use a forge that creates atronaches, located in the Midden of the College of Winterhold.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Atronach Forge Manual", "text": "Nephew -\n\tI apologize that I cannot see you personally before you leave. The trip from Sadrith Mora is treacherous this season, or I would have visited upon hearing the news. The Nords have a fine college at Winterhold, and I am sure you will excel. You may know that I, too, attended there. I was quite the conjuration adept in my own day. I am sending you my notes on something called the 'Atronach Forge', a bit of a project of mine while at Winterhold.\nMention nothing to the faculty, but ask your fellow pupils about a place called the Midden. You will find the Forge there. I fear a number of my notes are missing, scattered and lost in my travels around Skyrim. Perhaps you may stumble across these in your own adventures.\nThe Atronach Forge offers few clues as to who built it, and even fewer as to how to unlock its full potential. Only through blind experimentation, and a few singed eyebrows, have I been able to understand its function.\nThe Forge is mostly a large dais, almost crude of make, but emblazoned with the traditional Daedric  rune. An offering box is attached, as well as a prominent lever. The Dais also features a large setting which seems set to receive some large, spherical object. I have had no luck determining what this missing object may be, however, or what effect it may have on the efficacy of the Forge.\nThe Forge is activated by placing certain items into the offering box, and then pulling the lever. The Forge consumes the items and conjures something upon the dais. The conjuration can be predicted reliably if the appropriate items are left in the box - but many combinations either have no effect or catastrophic reactions. Once I conjured a wild goat! Well, most of the goat, at least.\nExperimenting wildly with the Forge is dangerous. I've recorded such recipes as I have discovered on the following pages.\nThe simplest, yet perhaps most hazardous stable recipe is that for a summoned atronach. The conjured brutes will attack the first thing they see, however! Be ready for battle if you have reason to use these recipes.\nFlame Atronach:\n\tFire Salts + Ruby\n\tFrost Atronach:\n\tFrost Salts + Sapphire\n\tStorm Atronach:\n\tVoid Salts + Amethyst\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/atronach-forge-recipe": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/atronach-forge-recipe", "description": "A recipe for the atronach forge", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Atronach Forge Recipe", "text": "Ebony Mace\nDaedra Heart\nBlack Soul Gem\nCenturion Dynamo"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/attention-employees": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/attention-employees", "description": "Notifies employees of the Black-Briar Meadery of new mandatory searches.", "author": "Indaryn", "title": "Attention Employees!", "text": "Notice to all employees:\nLady Black-Briar has requested that all employees be subject to random searches at my discretion. There's been a rash of missing mead barrels lately, and I won't tolerate it any longer. Any employee caught with merchandise belonging to Lady Black-Briar will be subject to immediate incarceration in Riften Jail. If you have any objections to this posting, feel free to remove yourself from the meadery permanently.\nIndaryn\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/azarains-journal": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/azarains-journal", "description": "A vigilant's investigation into mysterious disappearances", "author": "Azarain", "title": "Azarain's Journal", "text": "The investigation has moved slowly, but that was to be expected. The townsfolk have their own problems, and few pay any mind to the fate of Stendarr's chosen. I will write what I've pieced together so far, in hopes it provides some clarity.\n\nFrom what I've gathered, Fenrik came to Dawnstar to investigate rumors of Daedra worship. There was some thought that this cult was the source of the town's recurring nightmares, although it's unclear how much of that is true. Then one night, Fenrik disappeared, without a word to the innkeeper or anyone in town. It was then that other patrols started to go missing, also without a trace.\n\nOf leads I have one. The other day the innkeeper found something curious behind the inn, in the midst of emptying the trash. It was an Elven dagger, its blade warm with blood and upon further examination, tipped with poison.\n\nThe craft of the blade can mean many things. Perhaps this Daedric cult is Elven in origin. Moreover, Elven weapons are fashioned from Quicksilver, and there is a mine in close proximity. The poison too could have originated from a nearby source. It's also likely that our murderer moves at night, when the eyes of the town are blind to their heathen worship.\n\nAs such, I suspect three individuals as possible owners of the blade. Vereth the Elf, who complains of the cold and yet seems resolute in staying. Harald the miner, who works the ore from which the murder weapon was fashioned. Lastly, Irine the traveler, who seems to know more about alchemy than the proprietors of the Pestle.\n\nAll three seem to be active in the small hours, but I can only follow one at a time. Still, doing so will prove useful, as they will either lead me to their place of worship or eliminate themselves as suspects.\n\nBut first, I must meet the writer of this note. Perhaps they know more about the dagger, or have information that can narrow down my search."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/balmora-blue-note": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/balmora-blue-note", "description": "A note about some loot.", "author": "Dyryn", "title": "Balmora Blue Note", "text": "Sabine,\nSecured the Balmora Blue in the chest under the Wave just like you asked. Put the best lock on it gold can buy. Just remember that we're splitting the profit.\nDyryn"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bandit-leaders-journal": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bandit-leaders-journal", "description": "The threat of mutiny and a bandit whose stealing from his own.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Bandit Leader's Journal", "text": "5th of First Seed, 4E 201\nIdiots! Brodir and Herd were at each others' throats again today, and nearly came to blows. The whole camp is on edge. I've ordered an extra ration of mead, but unless this fighting stops, we'll tear outselves apart.\n11th of First Seed, 4E 201\nRumor is that Herd's gathering followers for a mutiny. Brodir's not stupid; he's probably doing the same, just for insurance. I'd kill them both myself, but the camp's split right down the middle. If I tried, there'd be a knife in my back within a week.\nI can't take this anymore. I've begun skimming a little gold from the take, bringing it down here when I can. If I can scrape enough together, I'll make a run for it, head downriver to Dragon Bridge.\n28th of First Seed, 4E 201\nBrodir's getting suspicious-- I caught him poking around in the cove this afternoon. I don't think he found my stash, but it's not safe here. I took the boat out tonight and stowed it on the island to the south, by the old tree stump.\nHad a good haul this week. Another caravan or two and I can finally get out of here, and not a moment too soon.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bandits-journal": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bandits-journal", "description": "Hunting mammoth is hard work.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Bandit's Journal", "text": "Damn those Giants. Just one Mammoth would feed us for a month, but they herd them around like prized cattle, never taking an eye off them. We've hunted this area dry. Unless we get a kill soon, we'll have to find somewhere else to camp.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bandits-note-hidden-treasure": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bandits-note-hidden-treasure", "description": "Hint at where to find a secret treasure", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Bandit's Note on the Hidden Treasure", "text": "An exotic treasure is said to be hidden in Crystaldrift Cave. Heard it from a coinless trader trying to save his own skin. Going to send a few to see if his story checks out.\n\nIf the story is true, we need to be sure the Saints don't find it first. Our benefactor will be pleased."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/battle-champions": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/battle-champions", "description": "Note about an upcoming conflict between Stormcloaks and the Empire", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Battle of Champions", "text": "There is talk in the taverns about a battle in Whiterun between two champions, one Stormcloak, one Imperial. Yet while the stage has been set, the actors have not.\n\nYrsarald Thrice-Pierced has made it clear that the Stormcloak champion must prove their mettle by bringing him the pelts of five snow bears. While the task seems daunting, rumor has it that a warrior named Klija Wolf-Claw of Bruma has already slain the beasts, and has made her way to Kynesgrove.\n\nFor their side, Legate Adventus Caesennius has made no mention of any ritual in selecting their champion. It makes you wonder if any willing soldier would do."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/beldama-witchs-note": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/beldama-witchs-note", "description": "A Hagraven's plan for revenge", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Beldama Witch's Note", "text": "We have stalked our sister Daenella for years, reading the feathers and bones, for not even a witch of Beldama can escape the eye of the coven.\nUsing the crow's sight, we found her upon an altar in the Reach. Time and age did little to fool us. She is the one who betrayed us to the knights.\nSuch an act deserves a cruel death, but simply killing the traitor will not be enough for the ward mother's vengeance.\nWe will corrupt her beloved's heart and return it tainted, damning his soul for eternity. She will know this as she dies upon the rock."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/beware-butcher": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/beware-butcher", "description": "Warning about the Butcher of Windhelm, posted all over the city by Viola Giordano.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Beware the Butcher!", "text": "Beware the Butcher!\nThe killer who haunts the streets of Windhelm!\nThese calamitous times bring out the worst in people, don't become the next victim!\nSee Viola Giordano if you spot any suspicious behavior.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/blood-horker-orders": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/blood-horker-orders", "description": "Pirate's information about the East Empire Company shipping routes.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Blood Horker Orders", "text": "Stig,\nYou and your crew must move quickly. The Company is attempting to resume shipping routes from Sentinel to Windhelm. You can likely intercept off the shore of Dawnstar. Return to Japhet's Folly when you've handled them, and I'll have your cut, with more instructions.\n- Haldyn"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bloodstained-letter": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bloodstained-letter", "description": "A lover's warning to stay away.", "author": "Hrodulf", "title": "Bloodstained Letter", "text": "bjorn\ndo not come to this place\ni have not much self left\nthe earth will take us both\n- h"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/blue-gods-journal": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/blue-gods-journal", "description": "An orc's journal about how he became a god to a tribe of goblins", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Blue God's Journal", "text": "Day 1\n\nThe tribe demanded I prove myself as a hunter. They want me to trap some game and return to the Stronghold, probably for a celebratory feast. It shouldn't be too hard. I already set up a snare by the water. Now I can just sit back and let the food come to me.\n\nDay 2\n\nMy snare trap doesn't seem to be working. I tied it to a stick just like they said. Clearly Lob gave me a flimsy rope. Either that or the sticks out here are no good. I don't know how they expect me to hunt with such broken tools.\n\nDay 3\n\nIt's only been a few days, but I already feel like giving up. I'm hungry and I've gone through all the bread Atub gave me. By Malacath, they really expect me to die out here.\n\nDay 5\n\nThe rabbits here are too nimble to chase down. I thought I could just grab one if I put some bait in my pockets, but problem is, I don't have any bait. I shouldn't have eaten all the carrots in my sack but I was starving.\n\nDay 6\n\nMalacath's blessings, I'm alive! I found a cave south of my camp full of strange blue mushrooms, which I immediately ate. I remember Atub saying something about some mushrooms being poisonous, but I didn't get sick so what does she know. Anyways, I ended up filling my sack with them. If I come back with a full stomach maybe I can convince the others we don't need to hunt.\n\nDay 7\n\nI came back to Largashbur with my sack full of mushrooms and one by one they spit them out and mocked my hunting skills.\n\nIf that wasn't humiliating enough, Chief Yamarz took a hammer and crushed the sack, then dumped the contents on my head. None of my tribe mates bothered to defend me, they just stood there and laughed.\n\nNow Yamarz says I have to go back out there and catch something with some legs. It's not fair. When's the last time he caught anything?\n\nDay 8\n\nI'm so hungry. Hunting is impossible. Maybe I'll just die. That'll teach them to leave me out here alone.\n\nDay 9\n\nBy Malacath, what just happened? I went back to the cave to pick some more mushrooms, when something must've tripped me because I fell into a pit.\n\nI yelled out for help, but instead of getting rescued, I was quickly surrounded by a horde of green monsters, hissing and gnashing their teeth. I figured that was it. They were going to eat me.\n\nBut before I could scream, one of them dropped to his knees and started bowing! The others followed.\n\nCould they be goblins? You never see them this far north. In any case, they seem to be treating me like an honored guest.\n\nDay 11\n\nBlessings of Malacath, it turns out they think I'm a god! They don't seem to treat other Orcs the same, so it must be the blue stains on my face. I need to thank Yamarz for dumping that sack on my head. I think I'll do that, right before I have my goblins claw open his face.\n\nDay 15\n\nMy army grows by the day. Soon we'll have enough numbers to overrun the Stronghold. For now I have them collecting blue mushrooms from Cyrodiil so I can maintain the ruse, although some of them might be starting to suspect.\n\nThe other day I think one of them saw me use a stick to spread blue paint on my back. I'll need to keep a close eye on him.\n\nDay 18\n\nI figured out who it was that saw me, it's that nasty little runt with the funny-looking spear. It seems he's the hunter of the group. He reminds me of every Orc back at Largashbur who laughed in my face.\n\nI tried to grab the spear from him but he must've done something to it because it was too heavy to lift. I don't know if it's Hircine or Malacath that's protecting him, but he needs to learn that goblins only have one god. The Blue God. Me.\n\nDay 21\n\nThe tunnel the goblins were using to come here from Cyrodiil's collapsed. No matter. My army is nearly big enough to take the Stronghold, and once that's done I can sell Yamarz's things for a whole wagon full of paint. Before I do that though, I need to make an example of the non-believer.\n\nOnce he's dealt with, it'll show all the other goblins what happens when you question your god."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/boethiahs-glory-0": {"game": ["Skyrim", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/boethiahs-glory-0", "description": "A prayer to Boethiah", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Boethiah's Glory", "text": "Look upon the face of Boethiah and wonder. Raise your arms that Boethiah may look on them and bestow a blessing. Know that battle is a blessing. Know that death is an eventuality. Know that you are dust in the eyes of Boethiah.\nLong is the arm of Boethiah, and swift is the blade.\nDeep is the cut, and subtle is the poison.\nWorship, o faithful. Pray your death is short.\nWorship, o faithful. Pray your death is quiet.\nWorship, o faithful. Worship the glory that is Boethiah.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/boethiahs-proving": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/boethiahs-proving", "description": "A true story of the sacrifices demanded by Boethiah of her followers.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Boethiah's Proving", "text": "~The following account is true. May it serve as a warning to those with ears to hear and hearts to know.~\n~~~\nOn a certain day, at a certain time, the faithful gathered to perform certain rituals, hoping to gain a glimpse of their master. The day was correct, the summoning true.\nSlashing a smoking tear through the Veil, She, her-very-self, appeared before them, terrible and resplendent. She came arrayed in ebony darker than a moonless night, wielding a blade burning hotter than the surface of the sun. And though she wore the guise of a Dunmer warrior-queen, she towered above them like a statue carved from the Red Mountain itself.\n\"Why have you disturbed me?\"\nSurprised, the first among them prayed:\n\"O Boethiah, Prince of Plots, Deceiver of Nations, Queen of Shadows, Goddess of Destruction, we come to worship thee!\"\nShe looked down upon her followers, gathered to bear witness. Frowning she asked the first:\n\"Tell me, you who profess to know me, how shall I know you?\"\nAfeared he exclaimed:\n\"Each night I pray to thee, each night I call out thy wondrous names. Surely thou must recognize the sound of my voice? Thy most devoted of believers?\"\nShe frowned and let out a long sigh, and then of a sudden he was gone, the air from her lungs dispersing him.\nTurning to the second she asked:\n\"And you? How shall I measure the worth of your existence?\"\nStunned by the power of her voice, he bowed before her darkening visage.\nShe clapped her hands, and he too was gone.\nTo the third:\n\"And you, tell me, how shall I know you apart from such as were they, of whom there is no trace?\"\nShaken and speechless from the nullifications of his brethren, he whispered:\n\"Have mercy upon us!\"\nShe blinked twice. Once, he was in agony. Twice, he was destroyed.\nShe cast a withering glance across those remaining and said:\n\"I do not grant mercy.\"\nAnd so it was with the others. She putting them to proof, they offering none.\nFinally she came to me, eyes aglow with anger, tongue wet with hate, and said:\n\"Of all my believers, but two remain. Tell me, second-to-last, with what shall you prove your existence?\"\nWithout hesitation I drew forth my blade and buried it in the chest of the other who stood beside me, and without fear replied:\n\"Ask him whose blood now sprouts from my blade if I exist.\"\n\nShe smiled. And the gates of Oblivion opened between her teeth. Then she said:\n\n\"Tell me, now-last of my followers, wherefore do you remain where the others do not?\"\n\nI retrieved my blade, and offered it up saying:\n\"I am alive because that one is dead. I exist because I have the will to do so. And I shall remain as long as there are signs of my handwork, such as the blood dripping from this blade.\"\nAccepting my gift, she nodded and said:\n\"Indeed.\"\n~~~\n\n~If in the reading, your blood boils in your veins, and your mind blazons with fire, then Boethiah calls you. It is then most wise to heed her call. Find her on the mount which overlooks Windhelm. Meet us there and be tested.~\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bolars-writ": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bolars-writ", "description": "A dying Blade's words.", "author": "Acilius Bolar", "title": "Bolar's Writ", "text": "To he who finds this, know that I, Acilius Bolar, last of the Blades to survive the attack on Cloud Ruler Temple, took refuge here, in this ancient sanctuary. The Thalmor have come for me, but they shall not desecrate this place. I go forth to meet my death with honor. If you are worthy, take up my blade and do the same.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bonemold-formula": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bonemold-formula", "description": "The process of making stronger bonemold", "author": "Glover Mallory", "title": "Bonemold Formula", "text": "Delvin,\n\tHere's the formula for the Improved Bonemold I mentioned in my last letter. Take whatever gold you make from the sale and make sure our little sister is taken care of.\nIngredients:\n\t4 cups of bone dust\n\t1 cup void salts\n\t1 bottle of netch jelly\n\t1 cup of ground stahlrim chips\n\t1 bucket of fresh water\nAdd the bone and void salts to the water and allow them to soak for at least a full day. Then add the netch jelly and stahlrim chips to the bucket. Stir over a hot flame until the mixture begins to harden. Pour the mixture into the desired mold and set the mold in the center of your forge. Fire the mixture in the forge for at least a half day. Let the mixture cool and then remove from the mold.\nGlover Mallory"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/book-dragonborn": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/book-dragonborn", "description": "A Talos priest's explanation of Dragonborn, their history, and the legends associated with them.", "author": "Prior Emelene Madrine", "title": "Book of the Dragonborn", "text": "The Book of the Dragonborn\nby\n\tPrior Emelene Madrine\n\tOrder of Talos\n\tWeynon Priory\nYear 360 of the Third Era,\n\tTwenty-First of the Reign of\n\tHis Majesty Pelagius IV\nMany people have heard the term \"Dragonborn\" - we are of course ruled by the \"Dragonborn Emperors\" - but the true meaning of the term is not commonly understood. For those of us in the Order of Talos, this is a subject near and dear to our hearts, and in this book I will attempt to illuminate the history and significance of those known as Dragonborn down through the ages.\nMost scholars agree that the term was first used in connection with the Covenant of Akatosh, when the blessed St. Alessia was given the Amulet of Kings and the Dragonfires in the Temple of the One were first lit. \"Akatosh, looking with pity upon the plight of men, drew precious blood from his own heart, and blessed St. Alessia with this blood of Dragons, and made a Covenant that so long as Alessia's generations were true to the dragon blood, Akatosh would endeavor to seal tight the Gates of Oblivion, and to deny the armies of daedra and undead to their enemies, the Daedra-loving Ayleids.\" Those blessed by Akatosh with \"the dragon blood\" became known more simply as Dragonborn.\nThe connection with the rulers of the Empire was thus there from the beginning - only those of the dragon blood were able to wear the Amulet of Kings and light the Dragonfires. All the legitimate rulers of the Empire have been Dragonborn - the Emperors and Empresses of the first Cyrodilic Empire founded by Alessia; Reman Cyrodiil and his heirs; and of course Tiber Septim and his heirs, down to our current Emperor, His Majesty Pelagius Septim IV.\nBecause of this connection with the Emperors, however, the other significance of the Dragonborn has been obscured and largely forgotten by all but scholars and those of us dedicated to the service of the blessed Talos, Who Was Tiber Septim. Very few realize that being Dragonborn is not a simple matter of heredity - being the blessing of Akatosh Himself, it is beyond our understanding exactly how and why it is bestowed. Those who become Emperor and light the Dragonfires are surely Dragonborn - the proof is in the wearing of the Amulet and the lighting of the Fires. But were they Dragonborn and thus able to do these things - or was the doing the sign of the blessing of Akatosh descending upon them? All that we can say is that it is both, and neither - a divine mystery.\nThe line of Septims have all been Dragonborn, of course, which is one reason the simplistic notion of it being hereditary has become so commonplace. But we know for certain that the early Cyrodilic rulers were not all related. There is also no evidence that Reman Cyrodiil was descended from Alessia, although there are many legends that would make it so, most of them dating from the time of Reman and likely attempts to legitimize his rule. We know that the Blades, usually thought of as the Emperor's bodyguards, originated in Akaviri crusaders who invaded Tamriel for obscure reasons in the late First Era. They appear to have been searching for a Dragonborn - the events at Pale Pass bear this out - and the Akaviri were the first to proclaim Reman Cyrodiil as Dragonborn. In fact it was the Akaviri who did the most to promote his standing as Emperor (although Reman himself never took that title in his lifetime). And of course there is no known hereditary connection between Tiber Septim and any of the previous Dragonborn rulers of Tamriel.\nWhether there can be more than one Dragonborn at any time is another mystery. The Emperors have done their best to dismiss this notion, but of course the Imperial succession itself means that at the very least there are two or more potential Dragonborn at any time: the current ruler and his or her heirs. The history of the Blades also hints at this - although little is known of their activities during the Interregnum between Reman's Empire and the rise of Tiber Septim, many believe that the Blades continued to search out and guard those they believed were (or might be) Dragonborn during this time.\nLastly, we come to the question of the true meaning of being Dragonborn. The connection with dragons is so obvious that it has almost been forgotten - in these days when dragons are a distant memory, we forget that in the early days being Dragonborn meant having \"the dragon blood\". Some scholars believe that was meant quite literally, although the exact significance is not known. The Nords tell tales of Dragonborn heroes who were great dragonslayers, able to steal the power of the dragons they killed. Indeed, it is well known that the Akaviri sought out and killed many dragons during their invasion, and there is some evidence that this continued after they became Reman Cyrodiil's Dragonguard (again, the connection to dragons) - the direct predecessor to the Blades of today.\nI leave you with what is known as \"The Prophecy of the Dragonborn\". It often said to originate in an Elder Scroll, although it is sometimes also attributed to the ancient Akaviri. Many have attempted to decipher it, and many have also believed that its omens had been fulfilled and that the advent of the \"Last Dragonborn\" was at hand. I make no claims as an interpreter of prophecy, but it does suggest that the true significance of Akatosh's gift to mortalkind has yet to be fully understood.\nWhen misrule takes its place at the eight corners of the world\nWhen the Brass Tower walks and Time is reshaped\nWhen the thrice-blessed fail and the Red Tower trembles\nWhen the Dragonborn Ruler loses his throne, and the White Tower falls\nWhen the Snow Tower lies sundered, kingless, bleeding\nThe World-Eater wakes, and the Wheel turns upon the Last Dragonborn."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bounty": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bounty", "description": "A randomized bounty note used for miscellaneous quests", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Bounty", "text": "By order of [Jarl's name]:\nTo all able bodied and fearless men and women of [current hold]. The dragon located in [location] has been carrying off livestock, and terrorizing citizens and visitors.\nA handsome reward will be offered to anyone who kills it.\n--[Steward's name]"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/breathing-water": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/breathing-water", "description": "The story of a thief trying to get at his treasure.", "author": "Haliel Myrm", "title": "Breathing Water", "text": "He walked through the dry, crowded streets of Bal Fell, glad to be among so many strangers. In the wharfs of Vivec, he had no such anonymity. They knew him to be a smuggler, but here, he could be anyone. A lower-class peddler perhaps. A student even. Some people even pushed against him as he walked past as if to say, \"We would not dream of being so rude as to acknowledge that you don't belong here.\"\nSeryne Relas was not in any of the taverns, but he knew she was somewhere, perhaps behind a tenement window or poking around in a dunghill for an exotic ingredient for some spell or another. He knew little of the ways of sorceresses, but that they always seemed to be doing something eccentric. Because of this prejudice, he nearly passed by the old Dunmer woman having a drink from a well. It was too prosaic, but he knew from the look of her that she was Seryne Relas, the great sorceress.\n\"I have gold for you,\" he said to her back. \"If you will teach me the secret of breathing water.\"\nShe turned around, a wide wet grin stretched across her weathered features. \"I ain't breathing it, boy. I'm just having a drink.\"\n\"Don't mock me,\" he said, stiffly. \"Either you're Seryne Relas and you will teach me the spell of breathing water, or you aren't. Those are the only possibilities.\"\n\"If you're going to learn to breath water, you're going to have to learn there are more possibilities than that, boy. The School of Alteration is all about possibilities, changing patterns, making things be what they could be. Maybe I ain't Seryne Relas, but I can teach how to breathe water,\" she wiped her mouth dry. \"Or maybe I am Seryne Relas and I won't. Or maybe even I can teach you to breath water, but you can't learn.\"\n\"I'll learn,\" he said, simply.\n\"Why don't you just buy yourself a spell of water breathing or a potion over at the Mages Guild?\" she asked. \"That's how it's generally done.\"\n\"They're not powerful enough,\" he said. \"I need to be underwater for a long time. I'm willing to pay whatever you ask, but I don't want any questions. I was told you could teach me.\"\n\"What's your name, boy?\"\n\"That's a question,\" he replied. His name was Tharien Winloth, but in Vivec, they called him the Tollman. His job, such as it was, was collecting a percentage of the loot from the smugglers when they came into harbor to bring to his boss in the Camonna Tong. Of the value of that percentage, he earned another percentage. In the end it was very small indeed. He had scarcely any gold of his own, and what he had, he gave to Seryne Relas.\nThe lessons began that very day. The sorceress brought her pupil, who she simply called \"boy,\" out to a low sandbank along the sea.\n\"I will teach you a powerful spell for breathing water,\" she said. \"But you must become a master of it. As with all spells and all skills, you more you practice, the better you get. Even that ain't enough. To achieve true mastery, you must understand what it is you're doing. It ain't simply enough to perform a perfect thrust of a blade -- you must also know what you are doing and why.\"\n\"That's common sense,\" said Tharien\n\"Yes, it is,\" said Seryne, closing her eyes. \"But the spells of Alteration are all about uncommon sense. The infinite possibilities, breaking the sky, swallowing space, dancing with time, setting ice on fire, believing that the unreal may become real. You must learn the rules of the cosmos and then break them.\"\n\"That sounds ... very difficult,\" replied Tharien, trying to keep a straight face.\nSeryne pointed to the small silver fish darting along the water's edge: \"They don't find it so. They breath water just fine.\"\n\"But that's not magic.\"\n\"What I'm saying to you, boy, is that it is.\"\nFor several weeks, Seryne drilled her student, and the more he understood about what he was doing and the more he practiced, the longer he could breath underwater. When he found that he could cast the spell for as long as he needed, he thanked the sorceress and bade her farewell.\n\"There is one last lesson I have to teach you,\" she said. \"You must learn that desire is not enough. The world will end your spell no matter how good you are, and no matter how much you want it.\"\n\"That's a lesson I'm happy not to learn,\" he said, and left at once for the short journey back to Vivec.\nThe wharfs were much the same, with all the same smells, the same sounds, and the same characters. His boss had found a new Tollman, he learned from his mates. They were still looking out for the smuggler ship Morodrung, but they had given up hope of ever seeing it. Tharien knew they would not. He had seen it sink from the wharf a long time ago.\nOn a moonless night, he cast his spell and dove into the thrashing purple waves. He kept his mind on the world of possibilities, that books could sing, that green was blue, that that water was air, that every stroke and kick brought him closer to a sunken ship filled with treasure. He felt magicka surge all around him as he pushed his way deeper down. Ahead he saw a ghostly shadow of the Morodrung, its mast billowing in a wind of deep water currents. He also felt his spell begin to fade. He could break reality long enough to breath water all the way back up to the surface, but not enough to reach the ship.\nThe next night, he dove again, and this time, the spell was stronger. He could see the vessel in detail, clouded over and dusted in sediment. The wound in its hull where it had struck the reef. A glint of gold beckoning from within. But still he felt reality closing in, and he had to surface.\nThe third night, he made it into the steerage, past the bloated corpses of the sailors, nibbled and picked apart by fish. Their glassy eyes bulging, their mouths stretched open. Had they only known the spell, he thought briefly, but his mind was more occupied by the gold scattered along the floor, the boxes that contained them shattered. He considered scooping as much he could carry into his pockets, but a sturdy iron box seemed to bespeak more treasures.\nOn the wall was a row of keys. He took each down and tried it on the locked box, but none opened it. One key, however, was missing. Thalien looked around the room. Where could it be? His eyes went to the corpse of one of the sailors, floating in a dance of death not far from the box, his hands tightly clutching something. It was a key. When the ship had begun to sink, this sailor had evidently gone for the iron box. Whatever was in it had to be very valuable.\nThalien took the sailor's key and opened the box. It was filled with broken glass. He rummaged around until he felt something solid, and pulled out two flasks of some kind of wine. He smiled as he considered the foolishness of the poor alcoholic. This was what was important to the sailor, out of all the treasure in the Morodrung.\nThen, suddenly, Thalien Winloth felt reality.\nHe had not been paying attention to the grim, tireless advance of the world on his spell. It was fading away, his ability to breath water. There was no time to surface. There was no time to do anything. As he sucked in, his lungs filled with cold, briny water.\nA few days later, the smugglers working on the wharf came upon the drowned body of the former Tollman. Finding a body in the water in Vivec was not in itself noteworthy, but the subject that they discussed over many bottles of flin was how did it happen that he drowned with two potions of water breathing in his hands.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/cabin-woods": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/cabin-woods", "description": "A creepy story about a soldier and a ghostly woman.", "author": "Mogen Son of Molag", "title": "Cabin the the Woods", "text": "The Cabin in the Woods\nVolume II\n\nAs Told By\nMogen Son of Molag\nLate one night a few seasons ago, a soldier was returning home after several bloody battles.  He decided he would save some gold and decided to cross the pine forest on foot.\nThe first day of his journey was rather uneventful,  the soldier stuck to the main path and kept a brisk pace.   When it started getting dark he setup his bedroll, built a small fire and cooked up some rabbit he had caught.  \"A fine day indeed\" he thought to himself as he fell asleep.\nPartway through the evening the soldier was woken up by soft sobbing in the distance.  He grabbed his sword assuming it to be a bandit trick, but pretended to sleep so he could get the jump on them.  After a few minutes the sobbing started moving away from his camp until he could no longer hear it.  For the rest of the night slept with one eye open.\nDay two the soldier awoke from what rotten sleep he could catch and started off through the forest at a quicker pace, intending to put distance between himself and whatever he had heard last night.  As the day went on it began to rain heavy so the soldier built himself a little shelter for the evening so he could remain dry while he slept.\nIt took him a little longer to fall asleep with thoughts of the previous night fresh in his mind but he eventually slept.\nThis time he awoke to sobbing that sounded like it was right outside his shelter.  The soldier grabbed his sword and crawled out of the shelter.  In front of the fire he saw the back of a ghostly woman sobbing into her hands.\nThe soldier mustered his courage and asked her what was wrong.\nNo answer.\nHe began to slowly approach but before he could reach her she turned and screamed at him.  The ghostly woman raised an axe and began to run at the soldier, disappearing before she made contact.\nThe soldier took off into the night with just his sword in hand.  He ran until the first light of dawn where he started down the road again, as fast as he could move.\nThe third day was bright and sunny, but the soldier, rattled and sleepless, didn't even notice.  He moved as fast as he could trying to get through the forest before nightfall.\nAs darkness began to fall he saw a cabin just off the road and thought to himself it would be a good place to hunker down for the night.  After arriving at the cabin he spent some time blocking the doors and windows, nothing would get in.\nDespite his preparations, he could not sleep.  He sat in what used to be the cabin's bedroom staring at the barricaded door shaking.  Eventually he could keep his eyes open no longer and fell asleep.\nThis time he awoke to laughing on the other side of the barricaded door.  It sounded like the woman from before, but he refused to believe it was her.\nThe soldier burst through the barricaded door into the main room to find the ghostly woman from the night before staring at the ground laughing hysterically with axe in hand.\nHe began to relentlessly attack the ghostly woman but he could feel his strikes were less effective.  He used a scroll of firebolt which drew a scream from her and she exploded, disappearing.\nThe ordeal was over, the ghost was gone.\nThe soldier slept well that night and the next day made excellent distance through the woods.  As the sun began to set he came out on the other side of the forest and looked back, remembering the days before.\nAs he turned and started walking away from the woods he could swear he heard the sobbing again.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/cage-bandits-note": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/cage-bandits-note", "description": "Note mentioning the location of an artifact", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Cage Bandit's Note", "text": "Boss found a buyer for that sword we looted going through the crates downstairs. Says we're to deliver it to Broken Fang Cave come morning.\n\nTruth is the thing creeps me out, I'm glad to be rid of it."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/captains-journal": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/captains-journal", "description": "Journal of the Captain of the famous sea vessel Dead Man's Dread", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Captain's Journal", "text": "28th of Last Seed, 3E 39\n\nWe set sail on Dead Man's Dread in the summer, to take advantage of the calmer winds. Yet Kynareth saw fit to throw us off course, and now we find ourselves stranded in a fog, with no sun or stars to guide us. The crew is blaming the young navigator, K'avir, for steering us into it. In truth, I only brought him on board because the old Captain took ill, and we were desperately short on men.\n\n4th of Hearthfire, 3E 39\n\nOne of the crew, Asif, says he was once a Priest of Arkay, and used to perform the rites. He believes the former Captain was murdered. I'll keep this between him and I until I know more.\n\n22nd of Hearthfire, 3E 39\n\nI've kept the date by marking the back of this journal. But there are times I forget, and in truth I don't know whether it's the 22nd of Hearthfire or the 1st of the New Year.\n\nBut the cold is enough to tell us that winter is on its way. We'll need to find land soon, as the men are getting nervous. There's been three fights over rations in the past week. Worse yet, I'm starting to lose my head. There are times I look west and see the golden sands of Stros M'Kai on the curve of the horizon. I have to force myself to look away, knowing there's nothing there.\n\n2nd of Frostfall, 3E 39\n\nWe finally managed to find land in this barren frost. The men are joyous. Based on the markings inside the grotto, it looks like we've reached Blackbone Isle, an old pirate den of all things. Many of us were corsairs before we pledged ourselves to the Crown, so perhaps coming here was more than luck. Either way, we can't be far from the mainland now. We'll head south for Skyrim in the morning.\n\n3rd of Frostfall, 3E 39\n\nWe are a crew of dead men, and this ship is our tomb.\n\nThe entrance collapsed in the middle of the night, sealing us inside. Still, we might've found a way back to shore, had the Forebear among us, K'avir, not sabotaged the skiffs. It's my crime as much as his, for I'm the one who brought him aboard.\n\nFor his part, the Forebear made no attempt to resist or escape. In fact, he readily admitted to the deed, as well of the death of our former Captain. He wanted us to know exactly who it was that he served, so that every Crown would know that nowhere in Tamriel was safe.\n\nWe put him in the brig and left him to rot. Some of the men wanted a more creative punishment, but the reality is there's no worse fate than the one he doomed us to.\n\n5th of Frostfall, 3E 39\n\nThe situation is dire. The food stocks are depleted, and half the men are crippled with fever. The crew have no delusions about what comes next. But we can still die with purpose.\n\nBefore the old Captain died, he told me that the sabre on his wall belonged to Cyrus himself, and that it was worth more than a thousand ships full of plunder.\n\nI never asked how he knew Cyrus, or how he came upon his sword. But I know protecting the hero's legacy was important to him, and now that honor falls to us.\n\nI gave each man a choice. Some opted for the drink, others chose a more dramatic exit. As we depart, we will pray to Arkay to bind our souls to the ship, just as Prince A'Tor was bound to a gem so many years ago.\n\nWe will protect the relics of Cyrus, and honor the Crown. We will do in death what we could not do in life."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/caravan-captains-note": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/caravan-captains-note", "description": "Caravan captain preparing for attacks", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Caravan Captain's Note", "text": "We met with Sadras and picked up the cargo. At least their captain seemed in better spirits, but the others looked exhausted. To make matters worse, the air was flush with news about the caravans who didn't make it, sieged by Dwarven automatons on the road to Whiterun.\n\nMy worry is such fears will find their way into the minds of my men. Especially when the details of their stories seem to corroborate, it only serves to throw more kindling on the flame.\n\nHopefully the other captains have a plan. We've had a few deserters already, and we'll need every available body if these attacks continue. It'll be difficult to convince the men to leave the safety of the tavern for the terrors of the unknown.\n\nEven without this Dwarven nonsense, the road ahead will only get more perilous given the copious bandits, wolves, and other dangers on the road. Captain Inodes has asked us to take a detour with the Dres caravan to Falkreath. Staying off the main road might provide us some cover."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/carriage-drivers-note": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/carriage-drivers-note", "description": "Carriage driver writing about caravan being stalked by Dwemer Automatons", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Carriage Driver's Note", "text": "It happened sometime after we crossed deeper into the mountains, but I swear I could hear singing. Tuneless, very quiet, but singing nonetheless. No one else believes me, but I'd bet my bottom drake that it had something to do with the Dwarven machines attacking us last night. I've never heard of these things leaving their ruins, let alone roaming the countryside going after travelers. It's almost as if they were drawn to the music.\n\nTonight we're handing the cargo off to the Sadras caravan, and I say good riddance. But the captain says we're going to eventually circle back to Whiterun, which means we could see the cargo again.\n\nIf that happens, I'm getting off this caravan. I don't care about the gold. I haven't slept for days and I feel like I'm losing my mind.\n\nEven now, I can hear that awful singing in my head. I just want it to stop."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/catalogue-armor-enchantments": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/catalogue-armor-enchantments", "description": "Overview of possible apparel enchantments.", "author": "Yvonne Bienne", "title": "Catalogue of Armor Enchantments", "text": "Complete Catalogue of Enchantments for Armor\nby\nYvonne Bienne\nSynod researcher\n\nWithin this catalogue are all the known varieties of armor enchantments the modern mages can cast. No pretense is made that this list is complete. New discoveries are made and new enchantments are revealed often enough that this work will eventually become outdated. Those who follow may choose to revise this work as needed.\nThe most common enchantments for armor and other garb are those that improve health, magick or stamina. Fortifying the wearers health is popular with warriors. It actually makes the wearer harder to kill, binding his life force a bit tighter to his body. Fortifying magicka is more commonly seen in clothing because wizards tend to avoid bulky, restrictive armor. It allows the wizard to cast more spells before becoming magically exhausted. Fortifying stamina is a secondary choice for fighters. They tire less quickly, but do not survive their wounds any better.\nThere is a wide range of physical and mental attributes or skills that can be fortified by enchantments. There are as many of these as there are wizards with imagination. A few choice examples are archery, sneaking, conjuration, and carrying strength. The focus is always quite narrow. There are even examples of gauntlets that are enchanted to improve the wearers ability to enchant things.\nAnother common form of armor enchantment are the resistances. The elemental resistances are marginally easier to find and make. The make the wearer less susceptible to burning, freezing and shocks. There are also poison resistances and enchantments that will resist all forms of magic.\nAn uncommon pair of enchantments are waterbreathing and muffle. The former allows the wearing to swim underwater indefinitely. The later totally silences the clinking and clanking of the armor so the wearer moves more quietly. It's been speculated that muffle is a wizard's lazy solution to a problem that could be solved with cloth and wrappings.\nThe rarest of enchantments increase the recovery rate of health, magicka or stamina. The wearer actually heals from his wounds while you watch, even if he is in the midst of a battle. Wizards normally recover their magical energy at a moderate pace. Wearing this armor makes that recovery much faster. The same is true for stamina recovery enchantments. The wearer tires just as quickly as always, but seems to get his wind back much faster."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/catalogue-weapon-enchantments": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/catalogue-weapon-enchantments", "description": "Overview of possible weapon enchantments.", "author": "Yvonne Bienne", "title": "Catalogue of Weapon Enchantments", "text": "Complete Catalogue of Enchantments for Weaponry\nby\nYvonne Bienne\nSynod researcher\n\nWithin this catalogue are all the known varieties of weapon enchantments the modern mages can cast. No pretense is made that this list is complete. New discoveries are made and new enchantments are revealed often enough that this work will eventually become outdated. Those who follow may choose to revise this work as needed.\nWeapon such as axes and bows can hold a wide variety of enchantments. The most common are fire, frost and lightning. The simple, yet effective enchantments burn, freeze or shock when they draw blood.\nOnly slightly less common are weapon enchantments that drain magicka or stamina. These drain off a wizards reserve of power, tiring him magically just as the weapons that strain stamina tire their victims physically. Unlike the elemental enchantments, the enchantment along cannot kill, although the weapon itself can still take a life.\nEqually less common are the enchantments of fear. There are two varieties, one for the living, and one for the undead. The former will only affect living creatures, not undead, or magical constructs such as atronachs and dwarven automatons. The latter cause draugr, skeletons, vampires and the like to flee. There is no known fear enchantment that will affect dwarven machines.\nA particularly insidious, but somewhat common enchantment, is soul trap. Upon entering the blood, the victim's soul is bound. Should he die shortly thereafter, he soul is siphoned off to a nearby soul gem. This form of magic should only be used against beasts and monsters. To use it against men or elves is abhorrent.\nNoticablely more rare are the absorb enchantments. There are three known types that drain the victims health, magicka, or stamina. The weapon becomes a conduit, transferring the stolen energy from the victim to the wielder. These are sometime referred to as vampiric enchantments. As discussed above, absorbing magicka and stamina is not in itself deadly. Absorbing health can actual steal the life from a creature.\nThe rarest of enchantments are those of banishment and paralyzation. Banishment only affects summoned atronachs or undead raised by wizards. The banishment breaks the link between the caster and the creature. Summoned atronach return to the Oblivion plane from whence they came. Raised undead are released. It is important to note that self-willed undead are not affected by banishment.\nParalyzation is simple, yet deadly. The affected creature becomes rigid and unable to move for a short time. This is one of the most prized enchantments among warriors. A paralyzed opponent can be dispatched with ease. It is important to note that many creature are immune to paralysis, such as Atronachs, skeletons, ice wraiths, and dwarven automatons."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/cats-skyrim": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/cats-skyrim", "description": "A description of the sabrecat.", "author": "Aldetuile", "title": "Cats of Skyrim", "text": "Cats Of Skyrim\nA Report By\nAldetuile\nI have been sent to this frigid wasteland to catalogue and study any of its indigenous cats, which has so far been uneventful.  After months of wandering I have so far only encountered some variations of the same basic species.\nIn my travels I have encountered several khajiit outcast from their clans that have taken up residence in Skyrim.  They have been most unhelpful, probably for fear I'd expose their locations.  I can't say I'm surprised that there are few khajiit here, it's cold and unwelcoming.\nSabrecats are basic giant cats that have evolved two dangerously sharp  front teeth.\nThe average sabrecat has a reddish brown fur which it uses to blend into grassy regions, but I have observed them skulking and sleeping on rocks so I don't believe the fur is for camouflage.\nThe primary attacks of the sabrecat are its biting attack, but it can also briefly rear up to attack with its front claws.  I have also seen it pounce forward on its prey in a particularly powerful attack.\nThe snowy version of the sabrecat has spotted white fur which I believe it uses more for stalking more than its cousin in the plains.\nThe tooth of the cat is rumored to be useful in potions that restore the imbibers stamina as well as a potion that will temporarily give a more keen eye for smithing.\nAn skillful hunter can usually salvage the pelts and teeth of their kill, but report that the meat is tasteless and not fit to eat."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/celestes-note": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/celestes-note", "description": "A group of bandits search to become Pirates", "author": "Celeste", "title": "Celeste's Note", "text": "The crew always asks me, how can we be pirates if we ain't got no ship?\n\nAnd I tell them, we're Blackwater Brigands, we don't need no stinking ship. We can rob folks on land.\n\nAnd they ask me, but don't that make us bandits?\n\nAnd I tell them, good point. Maybe we should find us a ship.\n\nI heard there's a grand old sea cow over at Blackbone Isle. Might even have more loot than the Golden Galleon, the one the old Imperial used to tell stories about when I first joined up.\n\nFrom what I hear, the isle ain't too far from here. We could probably steal a boat from the wrecks up north. The problem is, no one's been to the isle in ages, and we ain't got a map.\n\nSo the crew asks me, how we gonna find Blackbone Isle if we don't know where it is?\n\nAnd I tell them, shut up, I'm working on it."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/certificate-authenticity": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/certificate-authenticity", "description": "Note certifying a piece of jewelry was made by Hugin Ice-Shaper", "author": "Hugin Ice-Shaper", "title": "Certificate of Authenticity", "text": "Certificate of Authenticity\n\nThis item is certified to be of the highest quality Nordic stahlrim, hand selected for its purity, color, and magical affinity. Guaranteed to retain its luster and resist weathering for years to come.\n\nCrafted by Hugin Ice-Shaper of Raven Rock, Master Artisan"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/chances-folly": {"game": ["Skyrim", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/chances-folly", "description": "The story of a skilled, but unfortunate, thief.", "author": "Zylmoc Golge", "title": "Chance's Folly", "text": "Chance's Folly\nby\n\tZylmoc Golge\nBy the time she was sixteen, Minevah Iolos had been an unwelcome guest in every shop and manor in Balmora. Sometimes, she would take everything of value within; other times, it was enough to experience the pure pleasure of finding a way past the locks and traps. In either situation, she would leave a pair of dice in a prominent location as her calling card to let the owners know who had burgled them. The mysterious ghost became known to the locals as Chance.\nA typical conversation in Balmora at this time:\n\"My dear, whatever happened to that marvelous necklace of yours?\"\n\"My dear, it was taken by Chance.\"\nThe only time when Chance disliked her hobby was when she miscalculated, and she came upon an owner or a guard. So far, she had never been caught, or even seen, but dozens of times she had uncomfortably close encounters. There came a day when she felt it was time to expand her reach. She considered going to Vivec or Gnisis, but one night at the Eight Plates, she heard a tale of the Heran Ancestral Tomb, an ancient tomb filled with traps and possessing hundreds of years of the Heran family treasures.\nThe idea of breaking the spell of the Heran Tomb and gaining the fortune within appealed to Chance, but facing the guardians was outside of her experience. While she was considering her options, she saw Ulstyr Moresby sitting at a table nearby, by himself as usual. He was huge brute of a Breton who had a reputation as a gentle eccentric, a great warrior who had gone mad and paid more attention to the voices in his head than to the world around him.\nIf she must have a partner in this enterprise, Chance decided, this man would be perfect. He would not demand or understand the concept of getting an equal share of the booty. If worse came to worse, he would not be missed if the inhabitants of the Heran Tomb were too much for him. Or if Chance found his company tiresome and elected to leave him behind.\n\"Ulstyr, I don't think we've ever met, but my name is Minevah,\" she said, approaching the table. \"I'm fancying a trip to the Heran Ancestral Tomb. If you think you could handle the monsters, I could take care of unlocking doors and popping traps. What do you think?\"\nThe Breton took a moment to reply, as if considering the counsel of the voices in his head. Finally he nodded his head in the affirmative, mumbling, \"Yes, yes, yes, prop a rock, hot steel. Chitin. Walls beyond doors. Fifty-three. Two months and back.\"\n\"Splendid,\" said Chance, not the least put off by his rambling. \"We'll leave early tomorrow.\"\nWhen Chance met Ulstyr the next morning, he was wearing chitin armor and had armed himself with an unusual blade that glowed faintly of enchantment. As they began their trek, she tried to engage him in conversation, but his responses were so nonsensical that she quickly abandoned the attempts. A sudden rainstorm swelled over the plain, dousing them, but as she was wearing no armor and Ulstyr was wearing slick chitin, their progress was not impeded.\nInto the dark recesses of the Heran Tomb, they delved. Her instincts had been correct -- they made very good partners.\nShe recognized the ancient snap-wire traps, deadfalls, and brittle backs before they were triggered, and cracked all manners of lock: simple tumbler, combination, twisted hasp, double catch, varieties from antiquity with no modern names, rusted heaps that would have been dangerous to open even if one possessed the actual key.\nUlstyr for his part slew scores of bizarre fiends, the likes of which Chance, a city girl, had never seen before. His enchanted blade's spell of fire was particularly effective against the Frost Atronachs. He even saved her when she lost her footing and nearly plummeted into a shadowy crack in the floor.\n\"Not to hurt thyself,\" he said, his face showing genuine concern. \"There are walls beyond doors and fifty-three. Drain ring. Two months and back. Prop a rock. Come, Mother Chance.\"\nChance had not been listening to much of Ulstyr's babbling, but when he said \"Chance,\" she was startled. She had introduced herself to him as Minevah. Could it be that the peasants were right, and that when mad men spoke, they were talking to the daedra prince Sheogorath who gave them advice and information beyond their ken? Or was it rather, more sensibly, that Ulstyr was merely repeating what he heard tell of in Balmora where in recent years \"Chance\" had become synonymous with lockpicking?\nAs the two continued on, Chance thought of Ulstyr's mumblings. He had said \"chitin\" when they met as if it had just occurred to him, and the chitin armor that he wore had proven useful. Likewise, \"hot steel.\" What could \"walls beyond doors\" mean? Or \"two months and back\"? What numbered \"fifty-three\"?\nThe notion that Ulstyr possessed secret knowledge about her and the tomb they were in began to unnerve Chance. She made up her mind then to abandon her companion once the treasure had been found. He had cut through the living and undead guardians of the dungeon: if she merely left by the path they had entered, she would be safe without a defender.\nOne phrase he said made perfect sense to her: \"drain ring.\" At one of the manors in Balmora, she had picked up a ring purely because she thought it was pretty. It was not until later that she discovered that it could be used to sap other people's vitality. Could Ulstyr be aware of this? Would he be taken by surprise if she used it on him?\nShe formulated her plan on how best to desert the Breton as they continued down the hall. Abruptly the passage ended with a large metal door, secured by a golden lock. Using her pick, Chance snapped away the two tumblers and bolt, and swung the door open. The treasure of the Heran Tomb was within.\nChance quietly slipped her glove off her hand, exposing the ring as she stepped into the room. There were fifty-three bags of gold within. As she turned, the door closed between her and the Breton. On her side, it did not resemble a door anymore, but a wall. Walls beyond doors.\nFor many days, Chance screamed and screamed, as she tried to find a way out of the room. For some days after that, she listened dully to the laughter of Sheogorath within her own head. Two months later, when Ulstyr returned, she was dead. He used a rock to prop open the door and remove the gold."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/chaurus-pie-recipe": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/chaurus-pie-recipe", "description": "A humerous recipe book.", "author": "Nils", "title": "Chaurus Pie: A Recipe", "text": "If I have to hear one more time about that famous gourmet who wrote that recipe book, I'll hack off my own ears with a blunt axe.\nSure, he can cook up some dishes fit for them stodgy Imperials and them poncy Bretons, but real Nords want real Nord food, and my chaurus pie is just that.\nI guess I been complaining a lot about it, cause Susanna was yelling at me. Nils, she says, if your chaurus pie is so good, you should write down the recipe.\nWell, I ain't good with my letters and I got no talent for writing, but I thought why not give it a go? So this here's my first ever recipe that I wrote down and I hope you like it.\nFirst thing you'll need is some chaurus meat and that ain't easy to come by. Chauruses mostly live in caves, and as like as not they share them caves with other nasty things.\nIf you go hunting for chaurus meat to make some dinner with, make sure you don't end up as dinner yourself. Haha.\nAnyway, like I was saying, get yourself some good armor and a nice big sword, and if you've got some stout men who won't run off at the first sign of trouble - in other words, not like one of them poncy Bretons - then go looking in caves and you'll find a chaurus sooner or later.\nThey look like big bugs the size of really big dogs, and mind you watch out for that acid they spit. That'll ruin your armor pretty quick.\nNow once you got some chaurus meat, you got to put it on a spit. Make sure you get that white, thick meat from the midsection. Don't use that yellow meat from the head or legs, because that's got poisonous acid in it and if you eat it, you'll probably die.\nSo you cook up your chaurus on the spit. And you want to baste it with sauce. To make that, grind up some tomatoes into pulp and then mix that with water, peppers, honey and salt. And then you have to boil it all together.\nI wouldn't use too many peppers, but you want a few spoons of salt. How much honey you use is up to you. Depends on how sweet you want it.\nWhen the chaurus is done and you've basted it enough, then you want to bake it in a pie with some potatoes, carrots and apples. And put the rest of that sauce you made in there, too.\nIf you want turnips, sometimes those are good. Depends on what you're in the mood for.\nThen you cook that for awhile. Look for the top to be light brown, that's when you know it's done.\nAnd that's it. Easy as pie. Haha."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/children-all-maker": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/children-all-maker", "description": "A look at Skaal culture and its evolution", "author": "Tharstan of Solitude", "title": "Children of the All-Maker", "text": "Children of the All-Maker\nby\n\tTharstan of Solitude\nIf the title of this text rings familiar, then perhaps you, like me, have had the great pleasure to become acquainted with a most remarkable people, the Skaal of Solstheim.\nUpon first meeting these gentle wild-folk, I was immediately impressed with their great hospitality. They welcomed me into their homes, one and all, without the slightest hint of suspicion or uncertainty. Trust, it seems, comes readily to the Skaal.\nIn appearance, the Skaal are clearly of Nord ancestry. However, they are culturally distinct in several significant ways, the most notable of which is their faith. Having never adopted the pantheon of the Empire, the Skaal recognize only a single deity whom they call the All-Maker.\nFor the Skaal, the All-Maker is the source of all life and creation. When a creature dies, its spirit returns to the All-Maker, who shapes it into something new and returns it to Mundus. The concept of death as an ending to life is unknown to the Skaal. Rather, death is seen as simply the beginning of the next stage of an endless journey.\nThis great respect for life is evident in one of the most important Skaal beliefs, a concept the villagers call \"one-ness with the land\". The Skaal try to live in harmony with their surroundings, making as small an impact on their environment as possible. When a Skaal villager sets out to collect firewood, for example, he or she takes it from fallen, dead trees. When the Skaal hunt, it is only out of necessity, and not for sport. Because they hold all life in great reverence, the Skaal people will resort to violence only as a last resort.\nThis has understandably led to a rather austere lifestyle for these simple, good-natured folk. For the Skaal, the word \"luxury\" is nearly an alien concept, though I was intrigued to note that one villager, Edla, has taken to trading basic goods with travelers who pass through the village in exchange for small luxury items. Such an enterprising outlook is something of a novelty for the Skaal.\nThough it saddens me to conclude this account on such a somber note, it is impossible to deny the hard truth that the Skaal people are dwindling. In a century or two, it is possible that their unique way of life will be lost to the world forever, reduced to little more than a footnote in the great epoch of history.\nThis comes as little surprise, given the immense hardships of a life lived in such an extreme environment. For the Skaal, it is a daily struggle to survive the perpetual wintry climate of northern Solstheim, but other challenges have recently appeared.\nThe ashfall from Vvardenfell has taken its toll on the plants and animals upon which the Skaal depend for their survival, and life is now a struggle for all who call Solstheim home.\nTherefore, I humbly beseech any students of history who might encounter this modest text to travel to Solstheim and learn all that can be learned of this noble people and their ancient customs. The Skaal people might not be long for this world, but let us assure that their proud and noble legacy lasts well into the future."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/cleansing-fane": {"game": ["Skyrim", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/cleansing-fane", "description": "Chronicles the destruction of the Ayleid city of Malada in the early 1st era.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Cleansing of the Fane", "text": "The Chronicles\nof the Holy Brothers of Marukh\n\tVolume IV\nOr, The Cleansing of the Fane\n\n\n\nEditor's Note: This is the only surviving fragment of the chronicle of this First Era sect of the Alessian Order. It seems to have been kept at their great monastic complex at Lake Canulus, which was razed during the War of Righteousness (1E 2321) and its archives destroyed or dispersed.\nNote also that Alessian scribes of this time customarily dated events from the Apotheosis of Alessia (1E 266).\nHere is recorded the events of the Year 127 of the Blessed Alessia.\nIn this year was the day darkened over all lands, and the sun was all as it were Masser but three days old, and the stars about him at midday. This was on the fifth of First Seed. All who saw it were dismayed, and said that a great event should come hereafter. So it did, for that same year issued forth a great concourse of devils from the ancient Elvish temple Malada, such had not been seen since the days of King Belharza. These devils greatly afflicted the land such that no man could plow, or reap, or seed, and the people appealed to the brothers of Marukh for succour. And then Abbot Cosmas gathered all the brothers and led them to Malada, also known as the High Fane in the Elvish tongue, and came against it with holy fire, and the foul demons were destroyed, and many devilish relics and books found therein were burned. And the land had peace for many years."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/commanders-note": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/commanders-note", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Commander's Note", "text": "Anneas,\nWhen I give an order, I expect you to carry it out. We've got enough problems around here without your 'formal complaints'. Get our defenses shored up, soldier, unless you want the rebels just walking over our damn walls.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/complaint-letter": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/complaint-letter", "description": "An angry letter about dirty soldiers and persistent skeevers.", "author": "Agnis", "title": "Complaint Letter", "text": "Now listen here you mutton-head! I've told that lot of ill trained whelps you call soldiers time and again about tracking in mud all over the fort and what do I find all over the mess hall? The biggest mud pile I have ever seen! I want you to order them to wipe their feet off on the hay before tromping in. That's what it's there for!\nOh and another thing! Those bear traps you gave me for the skeevers in the cellar? Useless! I've had those down there for weeks and caught only one of them and the rest keep coming back. Get some of your 'men' down there to clear them out.\nUnless of course you like finding skeever hair in your dinner, because I can always stop picking it out for you.\n-- Agnis\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/confessions-dunmer-skooma-eater-dragonborn": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/confessions-dunmer-skooma-eater-dragonborn", "description": "A true story about a Skooma addicted Dunmer", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Confessions of a Dunmer Skooma Eater", "text": "Nothing is more revolting to Dunmer feeling than the sorry spectacle of another Dunmer enslaved by that derivative moon-sugar known as 'skooma.' And nothing is less appetising than listening to the pathetic tales of humiliation and degradation associated with a victim of this addictive drug.\nWhy, then, do I force myself upon you with this extended and detailed account of my sins and sorrows?\nBecause I hope that by telling my tale, the hope of redemption from this sorry state shall be more widely known. And because I hope that others who have also fallen into the sorry state of skooma addiction may therefore hear of my story, of how I fell into despair, and how I once again found myself and freed myself from my own self-imposed chains.\nBecause it is widely known to all Khajiit, who may be expected to know, that there is no cure for addiction to skooma, that once a slave to skooma, always a slave to skooma. Because this is widely known, it is taken to be true. But it is not true, and I am living proof.\nThere is no miracle cure. There is no potion to be taken. There is no magical incantation which frees you from the thrill of skooma running through your blood.\nBut it is through the understanding of that thrill, and the acceptance of the lust within oneself for that thrill, and the casting aside of the shame that the thrillseeker feels when he cannot set aside what becomes in the end his only comfort and pleasure, it is through this knowledge and understanding that the victim comes to the place where choices may be made, where despair and hope may be separated.\nIn short, only knowledge and acceptance can deliver into the slave's hands the key that opens his shackles and sets him free."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/confessions-khajiit-fur-trader": {"game": ["Skyrim", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/confessions-khajiit-fur-trader", "description": "The biography of a Khajiit who grows wealthy by selling his people's fur.", "author": "The Fur Trader", "title": "Confessions Of A Khajiit Fur Trader", "text": "Confessions Of A Khajiit Fur Trader\n\nMy execution is tomorrow. The turnkey asks what I'd like for my last meal.\nBring me paper, I say. A quill and a candle.\nPerhaps the Jarl would like a confession. I would rather pass the time.\nWhen my father's harem burned down and our family fortune was lost to the ashes, my brother and I set to begging in the gutters of Elsweyr. I will never forget the first time we stole a traveler's purse. It was almost by accident. Just a slip of the claw and the pouch fell into our hands. We ate like kings that night. We slept in a warm bed for the first time in months.\nSoon after, my brother and I took up the knife. The gang we joined treated us as the dirty orphans we were. We robbed, we scammed, we cut and ran and years of debauchery and hard living took their toll. I lost half my left ear in a knife fight with a blind drunk Argonian.\nI wanted to give up, but my brother, he dreamed bigger, better.\nMy brother wanted to make it to Cyrodiil and become legit merchants. We had a plan. One final heist of a northbound caravan said to be filled with jewels.\nSomething went wrong. My brother could not stop the horses on time, and I stood helplessly by and watched the wagon plummet over a cliff. But as I picked through the wreckage, my devastation turned to excitement. There were no jewels, but there were plenty of luxurious wolf pelts, horker tusks and mammoth hides, more than enough to buy my way to Cyrodiil. I'd follow in the footsteps of so many of my kind. A traveling merchant, someone with a respectable profession.\nI had all the furs bundled in my pack when I saw my brother's broken body. His ears were still warm, and I shut his eyes for the last time. This was his dream. And he would want me to go. But what I wanted, well, the caravan guards were coming. I had to go, but I couldn't just leave his body to rot.\nMy brother gave me my first skin. It was to be a memento. But in the darkness of the fence's cabin, the coin hit my hand heavy. Then she looked at my brother's pelt and offered three times the amount of any other fur. Disgust caught in my throat, but did not live very long. I realized the cost of such a forbidden luxury. The value, the demand, the respect.\nThis is what I wanted.\nIt became easier. A dark alley, a gag in one hand and a quick slice across the throat. Gently hold the body as it bleeds. I became faster, my cuts precise and fluid. I peel the skin with one motion and kept the merchandise pristine, in one piece.\nI became rich. Far richer than anyone in my family had ever been. Yet I was careful. My stronghold was well-hidden, and practically impenetrable. I hired the men that used to employ me. We moved frequently on less traveled roads when we hunted in the wild. We stalked the back alleys we used to sleep in when we hunted in the city. I grew so rich that I no longer needed to dirty my own hands.\nPatchwork colored furs fetched the best price among the Bosmer. Argonians preferred the pelts completely skinned and tanned. Orcs prized the thick, waterproof leather of the Argonians. Humans most often bought tails and ears. I had to employ an alchemist and a master craftsman for a couple odd requests, but I didn't ask questions when the gold piled up.\nAnd now I'm a prisoner. Maybe I became careless. Maybe I let too many secrets slip between the sheets. The raid of my fortress was a massacre. They took me alive, barely. That was their mistake. My enemies should have killed me when they had the chance.\nI have one lockpick. And the northern wall of my cell is weak from disrepair. My head shall not roll tomorrow.\nI am not finished with the trade. There will always be buyers. Someday, I will sell my own skin for a king's ransom, as my name is legend. And yours shall rot in the gutters with your bones.\n-The Fur Trader\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/consider-adoption": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/consider-adoption", "description": "Won't somebody think of the children?", "author": "Constance Michel", "title": "Consider Adoption", "text": "WANTED\n\t~ A Good Home ~\n\tIn these days of war and strife, the orphans of Skyrim are the true victims. Many have no one left to turn to, and face a life of hard labor, poverty, and misery.\nIf you could provide a stable home for one of these innocent children, please, consider adoption. Whether you choose to adopt from us, or to take in someone closer to home, you can make a difference in a child's life.\nFor more information, enquire with:\n\tConstance Michel\n\tHonorhall Orphanage, Riften\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/contract": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/contract", "description": "A contract to assassinate the player for his murder of a relative.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Contract", "text": "Here's the sum we agreed upon. I trust that you will make [player's name] pay for killing my dear [victim's name]. Return to me with proof of the deed.\nIf you run afoul of the law, I will pay your bounty.\n--[victim's relative's name]\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/cooks-journal": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/cooks-journal", "description": "Complaint about carnivores.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Cook's Journal", "text": "Meat!\nMeat meat meat!\nThat's all they ever want!\nI made them some nice grilled leeks and they threw them in my face!\nI told them that if they'd bring me some fish or venison I'd cook it up, but all they ever do is waste their wages at the ring.\nBut maybe there is a way I can get them some meat.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/corpse-note": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/corpse-note", "description": "An unfortunate woman's quest to retrieve her family amulet.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Corpse Note", "text": "If you are reading this, then I am most likely dead. A group of bandits ransacked my home and took most everything valuable I own. The worst is they took a pendant that has been in my family for many generations. Most of my family is dead, so that pendant was the last connection I had with any of them. I am going after those scoundrels and getting my pendant back, even if it is the death of me.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/couriers-letter": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/couriers-letter", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Courier's Letter", "text": "To our respectable investor,\nIt seems our expedition to [dungeon name] has met with some resistance from its inhabitants. I know this isn't the first time, but if you would provide us with a few more men and supplies, we are certain the treasure there would yield a return on your investment.\nThis time for sure.\nIf not, we could begin searching for prospects outside of [current hold].\nA swift reply would be most appreciated.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-netch-leather": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-netch-leather", "description": "A guide to crafting with Netch Leather", "author": "Alma Merisan", "title": "Crafting with Netch Leather", "text": "Despite having a powdery, velvet texture, netch leather is actually somewhat venomous to the touch. When worn, one can still feel the tingling sensation from active nematocysts underneath the now dormant tentacle barbs.\n\nHowever, when crafted properly, the effect is somewhat pleasant. While some opt for a strict boil, curing the leather in a low temperature stove can harden it without overactivating the poison. In addition, tanning the leather at a rack can help maintain durability, as well as add color to your armor.\n\nOf course, if crafting netch leather armor proves too difficult, a trip to Solitude might help you find a set. Everyone who has read The Rear Guard knows of Cascabel Hall. Yet while the castle no longer stands, some say leftover crates of netch leather armor were sent over to Fort Hraggstad after the battle. You may even be able to take the armor apart and learn a thing or two about the process."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crypt-heart-draft": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crypt-heart-draft", "description": "History of the Order of the Crypt", "author": "Ariana Dumas", "title": "Crypt of the Heart - Draft", "text": "When it comes to tales of bravery and valor, few have a greater claim than the Knightly Orders of High Rock. Like the Knights of the Rose in Wayrest, many serve as royal guardians and protectors of the realm. It is through their defense of king and country that their fame resounds.\n\nYet others swear an oath of a different kind. Not bound by the walls of their kingdom, they scour the hills in search of Reachmen, witches, and Forsworn, pledging to deliver justice where savagery and chaos rule.\n\nOne such group refers to themselves as the Order of the Crypt. At first glance, the name might seem ironic, but the Crypt of Hearts they swore to protect went beyond the underground chamber in Shornhelm. The knights pledged to protect the hearts entombed in all of us, lest they be replaced with the briars of the unholy.\n\nYet despite the air of nobility they carried, in the Reach these knights were known by a different name; The War Mages of Shornhelm. For they gave no mercy to the wicked, and the land they tread was riven with scars made of fire and sword.\n\nWhy the knights chose to extend beyond the kingdom is a matter of debate. Much of it can be traced to a blood feud, and the death of a knight named Simon Rodayne. Tricked by the witch Daenalla, a Sister of the Beldama Coven, his heart was stolen and replaced with a briarheart. In retaliation, his acolytes drove the coven further and further east, killing any Reachmen who would dare give them quarter.\n\nYet in huts small and muddy with smoke, the oral histories tell a different story. They say Simon gave his heart willingly to the witch, and together they fled the wrath of both their clans, knowing they would receive neither understanding nor forgiveness.\n\nWhen Simon died, Daenalla returned his heart to him, and buried him at the altar where they wed. Such was the pain of her loss that she wept from the Morning to the Evening Star, until her tears flooded the canyon below and became one with the river Karth.\n\nTo this day, Simon's ghost is said to haunt the pass below his grave, watching over the river which bears his beloved's tears.\n\nWhether any of that is true or simply the embellishments of history, none can say with certainty. However, it is worth noting that the grave itself exists. Whether the heart inside belongs to Simon or another, is a question for its keeper."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/cultists-orders": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/cultists-orders", "description": "Instructs Miraak's cultists to kill the \"false\" Dragonborn", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Cultists' Orders", "text": "Board the vessel Northern Maiden docked at Raven Rock. Take it to Windhelm, then begin your search. Kill the False Dragonborn known as [Player's Name] before [he/she] reaches Solstheim.\nReturn with word of your success, and Miraak shall be most pleased."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dark-brotherhood-assassins-note": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dark-brotherhood-assassins-note", "description": "A contract to assassinate the player.", "author": "Astrid", "title": "Dark Brotherhood Assassin's Note", "text": "As instructed, you are to eliminate [player's name] by any means necessary. The Black Sacrament has been performed - somebody wants this poor fool dead.\nWe've already received payment for the contract. Failure is not an option.\n- Astrid\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dawnguard-orders-hakar": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dawnguard-orders-hakar", "description": "Novice Hakar's last chance.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Dawnguard Orders - Hakar", "text": "Novice Hakar,\nYour repeated failures are an embarrassment to our entire order. Are you truly so inept you cannot even complete a simple courier mission?\nYou have one last chance to redeem yourself. We recently established a number of wilderness caches to supply our agents in the field. You are to restock the chests listed below, then report back for further orders.\nOur caches in Whiterun Hold are located:\n\t- In Rorikstead, in the pasture behind Frostfruit Inn.\n\t- Near Stendarr's Shrine in the center of the tundra.\n\t- South of Whiterun's Western Watchtower.\nYou have one week. Return successful, or not at all.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dawnguard-orders-lynoit": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dawnguard-orders-lynoit", "description": "Instructions to restock caches in western Skyrim.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Dawnguard Orders - Lynoit", "text": "Lynoit,\nWe've received word of an increase in Vampire activity in western Skyrim. In the coming weeks, we plan to dispatch several more agents to the region, and need to establish a network of wilderness supply drops to support them.\nYou are to plant caches in the following locations:\n\t- On the small island south of Solitude Sawmill.\n\t- Due east of the entrance to the ruin Volskygge.\n\t- On the east side of Karthwasten Bridge.\nIf these reports are to be believed, the situation may be far more dangerous than you realize. Be cautious.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dawnguard-orders-saliah": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dawnguard-orders-saliah", "description": "Instructions to restock caches throughout Skyrim.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Dawnguard Orders - Saliah", "text": "Saliah,\nIn the past several weeks, all of the couriers sent to replenish our supply caches in the northern reaches have gone missing. These drops must be made within the week to ensure our operatives have the provisions they need.\nYou are to restock the following caches:\n\t- In Morthal, on the islet due east of the mill.\n\t- Outside Nightgate Inn, at the foot of the pier.\n\t- Near Winterhold, under the great arch.\nTake care. Too many of our agents have been lost on this task already."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/daynas-valens-journal": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/daynas-valens-journal", "description": "Diary of Daynas Valen, a mage who aquired the Ivory Claw.", "author": "Daynas Valen", "title": "Daynas Valen's Journal", "text": "18th of Morning Star, 4E 201\nHow long has it been since I first heard the Gauldur legend? Eighty years? A hundred? I can think of nothing else now. My goal is at hand.\nAfter years of searching, I finally traced the Ivory Claw to a collector in Bravil. His death was necessary. But I have it. At last, I have it.\n22nd of Morning Star, 4E 201\nThree days of nonstop riding. I reached Anvil ahead of my pursuers, and took passage on the Icerunner, bound for Solitude once more.\n29th of Morning Star, 4E 201\nThe other passengers are becoming suspicious. Returning from dinner, I caught one brute rooting around in my quarters. He almost found the claw. Had the captain not intervened, I would have flayed him alive.\nI hoped to spend the voyage sequestered in my room, reviewing my notes and preparing spells, but I need to deflect some attention from myself. I'll have to mingle, pretend to be just another petty mage. For now.\n2nd of Sun's Dawn, 4E 201\nThe brute claims to be an adventurer, off to seek his fortune in the ruins of Skyrim with his companions. Perhaps I can turn this to my advantage, use them as fodder for the traps and Draugr within the tombs. I can see the greed in his eyes. Yes, that should work.\nThree weeks to Solitude, the captain says. If I have to suffer these fools longer than that, I'll swim.\n27th of Sun's Dawn, 4E 201\nWith the brute and his companions in tow, I led our band across the marsh to Folgunthur, where we made camp for the night. Little has changed since my first expedition ten years ago. But this time, I have the claw. And I will have the amulet.\nI spent all night preparing a synopsis of my notes, in case some fragment of the tale or piece of ancient lore may be needed to bypass the wards within the tomb. Then I cast all my books and scrolls into the fire, and reduced my life's work to ashes. At long last, today is the day of reckoning. If I cannot have the amulet, no one will."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/daynas-valens-notes": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/daynas-valens-notes", "description": "Valen's notes on the history of the Gauldur Amulet.", "author": "Daynas Valen", "title": "Daynas Valen's Notes", "text": "How to summarize a lifetime of research? So little of what I have learned matters now- the petty politics of ancient times, the age-long campaign to wipe out all mention of the Gauldur name.\nI know not what awaits us within Folgunthur, so here, then, is the truth of the tale, as best I have been able to piece it together.\nIn the opening days of the First Era, the Archmage Gauldur was revered throughout the north. Wisdom, wealth, honor, and power were his, and even Ysgramor's heirs sought his counsel.\nSmothered by his shadow, Gauldur's three sons grew cruel and resentful. They lusted after their father's power and prestige, and eventually Jyrik, the eldest, discovered its source: a mysterious amulet, from which he never parted. Together, they conspired to murder their father in his sleep and divide his amulet between them. And so it was done.\nConsumed by their newfound power, the brothers laid waste to the surrounding villages. So great was the carnage that the High King himself intervened, sending a company of battlemages led by the Archmage Geirmund to subdue the brothers. And after a devastating battle, the three fled the field.\nMikrul, the youngest, was run to ground in Folgunthur, the ancient barows at the foot of Solitude. And though he fought for three days and nights, he was at last overcome and entombed there, his crypt sealed by an ivory claw.\nGeirmund pursued Jyrik to the shattered crypts of Saarthal, half-buried even then. Ten veteran wizards fell before Jyrik's elemental magic, but he could not overcome them all together. He too fell, and was sealed within the ruined city.\nAnd at last, Sigdis was cornered in the southernmost reaches of Skyrim. He challenged Lord Geirmund to a duel, knowing his foe was honor-bound to accept. And they clashed in battle, matched strength for strength, and fell together on the field before Ivarstead. The High King ordered a tomb built for Geirmund on the lake which still bears his name, and had Sigdis sealed within, forever guarded by the one who slew him.\nGauldur himself was interred in a cave not far from where his tower once stood, in the place called Reachwater Rock. And when it was done, King Harald issued an edict: the name and deeds of Gauldur and his sons were to be expunged from every record, every chronicle. Under pain of death, no word of them was to be spoken, lest any try to recover the amulet that had been sealed at so great a cost.\nAnd so it was done. But a little survived the ages. Enough.\nFour thousand years have passed, and the tombs remain sealed. The fragments of the Gauldur Amulet lie within. Since the day I first heard the rumor, I have felt its power, calling to me, pulling at me. I will be the one to reclaim it, restore it, bear it out into the world once more. I must have it. I must!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dearest-dinya": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dearest-dinya", "description": "Modyn thinks its time to take the relationship public.", "author": "Modyn", "title": "Dearest Dinya", "text": "Dearest Dinya,\nI know that your father doesn't approve of us, but I'm willing to do whatever it takes to make our relationship work. I think the time has come to speak to him in person and stop letting him hear about us through gossip and rumor. I love you, and I don't care if the entire world knows. Please think about it.\nModyn"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/deathbrand": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/deathbrand", "description": "A legend about a dying pirate king's ghost.", "author": "Artise Dralen", "title": "Deathbrand", "text": "Deathbrand\n\tA Pirate's Tale\nHaknir Death-Brand was dying.\nFor Garuk Windrime, ship's quartermaster, it was unthinkable. His grandfather had served under Haknir, nigh on sixty years before, and even then he was a legend among the pirates of the north. \"The King of Ghosts,\" they called him, as eternal and pitiless as the sea he sailed. To Garuk, who had seen him charge into battle, clad in armor of gleaming Stalhrim like the kings of old, his twin swords scything men like grass, Haknir was practically a god.\nBut none feared Haknir more than his own crew. They knew his rages, his fits of madness, how he delighted in torture and murder for its own sake. And there were even darker rumors: Some said he fed upon the blood and souls of those he killed to extend his unnatural life. Some thought him a Daedra, loosed upon the mortal world. And others said he owed his life and power, his armor and swords, to a pact with Dagon, prince of destruction. And the seal of that pact was the terrible wound that scarred his face, never to heal - the Deathbrand, which no man could look upon without flinching.\nAll these things ran through Garuk's mind as he took his place on deck at the head of the crew, exchanging a curt nod with Thalin, the ship's helmsman and his chief rival. By sundown, he thought, one of them would be captain. The other would be dead.\nWhen Haknir finally emerged from his cabin, the crew fell silent. He looked frail, his voice raspy. But even so, he had a presence about him. As he looked over his men, the most brutal murderers ever to ply the northern seas, not one could meet his gaze. At last he sighed.\n\"You wish to know who will be my successor, and how my share of the treasure shall be divided.\"\nThat was the question, but even so, there were murmurs of protest. Haknir cut them off.\n\"All these years, I have looked for one who was worthy to take my place, or strong enough to take it from me. Not one of you even comes close. And so none of you shall have it.\"\nHe extended his hand. \"In Dagon's name, I place a curse upon my armor, and my swords. This ship, and all it carries. Until the day when one of you can best me in combat, you shall have not a single coin.\" He looked up at them. \"Be grateful I have left you with your lives.\"\nGaruk and Thalin shared a single glance. Had anyone else said such a thing, there would have been mutiny. A hundred treasure-mad pirates against one old man. But this was Haknir. The crew was silent.\nHaknir threw a map at Garuk's feet. \"Garuk, take a longboat, and bury my armor in the places I have marked. Thalin, we sail to my tomb, where you shall leave me with my gold. Then burn your ships, and do as you will. I am your captain no more.\" And with that, he turned and stalked back to his quarters.\nAt daybreak, Garuk took his leave, and set out in a longboat with three of his men. They landed on a shoal to the north of Solstheim, at the place Haknir had marked, made camp, and began to dig.\nBut already, greed stirred in Garuk's heart. Time and again, he glanced at the iron-bound chest they had brought with them. The old man was gone, perhaps already dead. His orders, foolish.\nThat night, Garuk pried open the chest and drew out the helm within. The Stalhrim shimmered in the moonlight. It was time. Time for a new King of Ghosts to rise. He placed the helmet on his head.\nAnd he screamed.\nAnd it is said you can hear that screaming still, on moonlit nights, on a rocky shoal off the northern coast of Solstheim.\nPostscript-\n\tThis story is one of the last in the \"Haknir Saga,\" the tales surrounding the life and adventures of the legendary pirate king Haknir Death-Brand. How much of it is actually true, if indeed any of it is true, I leave to the reader's discretion.\n- Artise Dralen\n\tHouse Redoran Scribe"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/declaration-war": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/declaration-war", "description": "The resurrected General's message to the \"invaders\" in Ravenrock.", "author": "General Falx Carius", "title": "Declaration of War", "text": "Raven Rock Stronghold,\nMy calls for the unconditional surrender of your forces and an immediate cessation of all hostilities has been ignored numerous times. I therefore have no choice but to assume your purpose on Solstheim is hostile, and to treat Raven Rock Stronghold as an enemy of the Empire. I warn you, any attempt to breach Fort Frostmoth will be met with an equal level of aggression. I will do everything in my power to wipe you and your forces off the face of Tamriel. There will be no further communications between us.\nGeneral Falx Carius\n\tGarrison Commander, Fort Frostmoth"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/decree-monument": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/decree-monument", "description": "The dedication of a monument to the refugees of Morrowind.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Decree of Monument", "text": "4 E 20\n\tThis tower once served as a meeting place where those brave souls who achieved safe passage to Skyrim would find loved ones, and leave notice for others who could not be found.\nLet it stand in honor of those who had the strength and spirit to accept Skyrim's Offer \"untithed to any thane or hold, and self-governed, with free worship, with no compensation to Skyrim or the Empire except as writ in the Armistice of old wheresoever those might still apply, and henceforth let no Man or Mer say that the Sons and Daughters of Kyne are without mercy or honor.\"\nWe, the Jarls of Skyrim, hereby decree this site as monument to the struggle of those who fled their native home of Morrowind in the time following the Red Year."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dragon-investigation-current-status": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dragon-investigation-current-status", "description": "Summarizes the Thalmor's investigation into the return of dragons.", "author": "Rulindil", "title": "Dragon Investigation Current Status", "text": "First Emissary Elenwen,\nWe anticipate a breakthrough in our efforts to uncover the party or power behind the dragon resurrection phenomenon. An informant has identified a possible lead, whom we have brought back to the Embassy for a full interrogation. The subject is obstinate, but by all indications is holding back the information we seek. I have authorized Intermediate Manual Uncoiling - I do not expect more will be necessary, unless you feel time presses.\nI know you prefer to be present for the final questioning; I will inform you immediately when the subject is fully receptive. Two days should tell the tale.\nIn the meantime, if you wish to audit our technique, your expertise is welcome, as always. I have placed the prisoner in the cell closest to your office stairs, for your convenience.\n--Rulindil, 3rd Em."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dragon-language-myth-no-more": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dragon-language-myth-no-more", "description": "Inscriptions in the Dragon tongue and their Tamrielic translations.", "author": "Hela Thrice-Versed", "title": "Dragon Language: Myth no More", "text": "Dragon.\nThe very word conjurs nightmare images of shadowed skies, hideous roaring, and endless fire. Indeed, the dragons were terrifying beasts that were once as numerous as they were deadly.\nBut what most Nords don't realize is that the dragons were in fact not simple, mindless beasts. Indeed, they were a thriving, intelligent culture, one bent on the elimination or enslavement of any non-dragon civilization in the entire world.\nIt therefore stands to reason that the dragons would require a way to communicate with one another. That they would need to speak. And through much research, scholars have determined that this is exactly what the dragons did. For the mighty roars of the beasts, even when those roars contained fire, or ice, or some other deadly magic, were actually much more - they were words. Words in an ancient, though decipherable, tongue.\nNonsense, you say? Sheer folly on the part of some overeager academics? I thought precisely the same thing. But then I started hearing rumors. The odd snippet of a conversation from some brave explorer or gold-coveting crypt diver. An always, always, it was the same word repeated:\nWall.\nSo I listened more. I began to arrange the pieces of the puzzle, and slowly unravel the mystery.\nSpread throughout Skyrim, in ancient dungeons, burial grounds, and other secluded places, there are walls. Black, ominous walls on which is written a script so old, so unknown, none who had encountered it could even begin its translation.\nIn my heart, I came to know the truth: this was proof of the ancient dragon language! For what else could it possibly be? It only made sense that these walls were constructed by the ancient Nords, Nords who had lived in the time of the dragons, and out of fear or respect, had somehow learned and used the language of the ancient beasts.\nBut at that point, all I had was my own gut instinct. What I needed was proof. Thus began the adventure of my life. One spanning 17 months and the deaths of three courageous guides and two sellsword protectors. But I choose not to dwell on those grim details, for the end result was so glorious, it made any hardship worth it.\nIn my travels, I found many of the ancient walls, and every suspicision proved true.\nIt did in fact appear as if the ancient Nords had copied the language of the dragons of old, for the characters of that language very much resemble claw marks, or scratches. One can almost envision a majestic dragon using his great, sharp talons to carve the symbols into the stone itself. And a human witness - possibly even a thrall or servant - learning, observering, so that he too could use the language for his own ends.\nFor as I observed the walls I found, I noticed something peculiar about some of the words. It was as if they pulsed with a kind of power, an unknown energy that, if unlocked, might be harnessed by the reader. That sounds like nonsense, I know, but if you had stood by these walls - seen their blackness, felt their power - you would understand that of which I speak.\nThankfully, although entranced, I was able to retain enough sense to actual transcribe the characters I saw. And, in doing so, I began to see patterns in the language - patterns that allowed me to decipher what it was I was reading.\nFor example, I transcribed the following passage:\n\n[Literal translation:\u00a0HET NOK YNGNAVAR G1F KOD1V WO DR1 Y4 MORON AU FROD DO KROSIS NUZ SINON S3V DINOK 4RK DUK1N]\nAssigning those scratchings to actual Tamrielic langauge characters, I further translated what I saw into this:\nHet nok Yngnavar Gaaf-Kodaav, wo drey Yah moron au Frod do Krosis, nuz sinon siiv dinok ahrk dukaan.\nWhich translates into the Tamrielic as follows:\nHere lies Yngnavar Ghost-Bear, who did Seek glory on the Battlefield of Sorrows, but instead found death and dishonor.\nThen, in another crypt, I encountered a wall with this transcription:\n\n[Lit. Trans. HET NOK KOPR1N DO IGLIF 3Z SOS WO GRIND OK OBL1N NI KO MOROK2 VUK2N NUZ 4ST MUNAX H1LVUT DO L3V KRAS1R]\nWhich translates into:\nHet nok kopraan do Iglif Iiz-Sos, wo grind ok oblaan ni ko morokei vukein, nuz ahst munax haalvut do liiv krasaar.\nWhich ultimately translates into the Tamrielic as:\nHere lies the body of Iglif Ice-Blood, who met his end not in glorious combat, but at the cruel touch of the withering sickness.\nAnd there you see the pattern. The repeated words \"Here lies\" - which could only mean one thing: those walls marked actual ancient Nord burial grounds.\nYou can imagine my nearly uncontainable excitement. It all started to make sense. The anicent Nords used the dragon langauge for these walls for very specific reasons. One of them was obviously to mark the grave of some important figure. But what else? Were they all graves, or did they serve other purposes as well?\nI set off to find out, and was well rewarded for my efforts. Here is what I discovered.\nThis passage:\n\n[Lit. Trans. HET M4 T4ROD3S TAF3R SKORJI LUN SINAK WEN KLOV GOV9 N1L RINIK H4KUN ROK TOG1T W4 G4ROT]\nTranslates into this:\nHet mah tahrodiis tafiir Skorji Lun-Sinak, wen klov govey naal rinik hahkun rok togaat wah gahrot.\nWhich in Tamrielic translates into this:\nHere fell the treacherous thief Skorji Leech-Fingers, whose head was removed by the very axe he was attempting to steal.\nSo here we see a wall that marks the spot where some significant ancient Nord died.\nThis passage:\n\n[Lit. Trans. QETHSEGOL V4RUKIV D1NIK F4L3L K3R DO GRAV5N FROD, WO BOVUL KO M1R NOL KINZON Z4KR3 DO KRUZ3K HOKORON]\nTranslates into this:\nQethsegol vahrukiv daanik Fahliil kiir do Gravuun Frod, wo bovul ko Maar nol kinzon zahkrii do kruziik hokoron.\nWhich in Tamrielic translates into this:\nThis stone commemorates the doomed elf children of the Autumn Field, who fled in Terror from the sharp swords of the ancient enemy.\nThis wall seems to commemorate some ancient, long-forgotten event in Tamrielic history. Whether that event occurred on or near the place where the wall was erected, we will probably never know.\nAnd finally, this passage:\n\n[Lit. Trans. AESA W4L1N QETHSEGOL BR3N43 V4RUKT THOHILD FIN T8R WEN SMOL3N AG FRIN OL S4QO H2M]\nWhich translates into this:\nAesa wahlaan qethsegol briinahii vahrukt, Thohild fin Toor, wen smoliin ag frin ol Sahqo Heim.\nWhich in Tamrielic translates into this:\nAesa raised this stone for her sister, Thohild the Inferno, whose passion burned hot as the Red Forge.\nThis wall (and I encountered quite a few like this) was obviously commissioned or built by a specific person, to honor someone important to them. What was the significance of the location? Was it important to the person who died? Or is it the actual location of that person's death? Again, those answers are probably lost to time, and will never be know.\nAnd so you see, the ancient dragon language is, indeed, myth no more. It existed. But better yet, it still exists, and probably will until the end of time, thanks to the ancient Nords and their construction of these many \"word walls.\"\nBut don't take my word for it. For the walls are there for the discovering, in Skyrim's dangerous, secret places. They serve as a bridge between the realm of the ancient Nords, and our own. The dragons may never return to our world, but now we can return to theirs.\nAnd someday, someday, we may even unlock the strange, unknown power hidden in their words."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/drystons-note": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/drystons-note", "description": "Dryston considers \"roughing up\" the player an easy task.", "author": "Dryston", "title": "Dryston's Note", "text": "Friend,\nGot to deal with a certain nosy visitor in the city. Nepos the Nose wants him roughed up in the usual way, but I can grab a pint at the Silver-Blood Inn afterwards.\nShould be easy.\n-Dryston\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dwarven-crown-journal": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dwarven-crown-journal", "description": "History of Dwarven Crown", "author": "Elberon Blackthorn", "title": "Dwarven Crown Journal", "text": "One of the curiosities the mercs uncovered during their excavation was an ornate Dwarven headpiece, which I quickly deduced to be a crown.\n\nAs leader of this expedition, the responsibility of wearing said crown naturally fell to me. However, upon adorning it, I noticed the piece was incomplete.\n\nAccording to legend, the crown's boon was said to turn with the seasons, as if it were guided by the moon and stars. However, it seems the enchantments are actually tied not to the crown itself, but the masks that slot into its facing.\n\nIf memory serves me correctly, there are three masks in total. Spring, Autumn, and Winter. What became of the Summer mask, I do not know, but perhaps the Mid Year heat made it too unbearable to wear."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dwarven-haul": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dwarven-haul", "description": "Bandits and their Dwemer loot", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Dwarven Haul", "text": "Hands off the dwarven haul until we know who wants this stuff. Word's gone out to find a buyer. Until then, anyone caught snooping around in here will get his hands cut off.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dwemer-arrow-diagram": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dwemer-arrow-diagram", "description": "A depiction of a soul trapping arrow", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Dwemer Arrow Diagram", "text": "This book was added by Arcane Archer Pack from the Creation Club"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dwemer-history-and-culture": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dwemer-history-and-culture", "description": "Discussed the trivialization of the Dwemer in popular culture thanks to the books of Marobar Sul", "author": "Hasphat Antabolis", "title": "Dwemer History and Culture", "text": "Chapter 1\nMarobar Sul and the Trivialization\n\tof the Dwemer in Popular Culture\nby\n\tHasphat Antabolis\n\nWhile Marobar Sul's Ancient Tales of the Dwemer was definitively debunked in scholarly circles as early as the reign of Katariah I, it remains one of the staples of the literate middle-classes of the Empire, and has served to set the image of the Dwemer in the popular imagination for generations of schoolchildren. What about this lengthy (but curiously insubstantial) tome has proved so captivating to the public that it has been able to see off both the scorn of the literati and the scathing critiques of the scholars?\nBefore examing this question, a brief summary of the provenance and subsequent career of Ancient Tales would be appropriate. First published around 2E670, in the Interregnum between the fall of the First Cyrodilic Empire and the rise of Tiber Septim, it was originally presented as a serious, scholarly work based on research in the archives of the University of Gwylim, and in the chaos of that era was taken at face value (a sign of the sad state of Dwemer scholarship in those years). Little is known of the author, but Marobar Sul was most likely a pseudonym of Gor Felim, a prolific writer of \"penny dreadful romances\" of that era, who is known to have used many other pseudonyms. While most of Felim's other work has, thankfully, been lost to history, what little survives matches Ancient Tales in both language and tone (see Lomis, \"Textual Comparison of Gor Felim's A Hypothetical Treachery with Marobar Sul's Ancient Tales of the Dwemer\"). Felim lived in Cyrodiil his whole life, writing light entertainments for the elite of the old Imperial capital. Why he decided to turn his hand to the Dwemer is unknown, but it is clear that his \"research\" consisted of nothing more than collecting the peasants' tales of the Nibenay Valley and recasting them in Dwemer guise.\nThe book proved popular in Cyrodiil, and Felim continued to churn out more volumes until the series numbered seven in all. Ancient Tales of the Dwemer was thus firmly established as a local favorite in Cyrodiil (already in its 17th printing) when the historical forces that propelled Tiber Septim to prominence also began to spread the literature of the \"heartland\" across the continent. Marobar Sul's version of the Dwemer was seized upon in a surge of human racial nationalism that has not yet subsided.\nThe Dwemer appear in these tales as creatures of fable and light fantasy, but in general they are \"just like us\". They come across as a bit eccentric, perhaps, but certainly there is nothing fearsome or dangerous about them. Compare these to the Dwemer of early Redguard legend: a mysterious, powerful race, capable of bending the very laws of nature to their will; vanished but perhaps not gone. Or the Dwemer portrayed in the most ancient Nord sagas: fearsome warriors, tainted by blasphemous religious practices, who used their profane mechanisms to drive the Nords from Morrowind. Marobar Sul's Dwemer were much more amenable to the spirit of the time, which saw humans as the pinnacle of creation and the other races as unenlightened barbarians or imperfect, lesser versions of humans eager for tutelage. Ancient Tales falls firmly in the latter camp, which does much to explain its enduring hold on the popular imagination. Marobar Sul's Dwemer are so much more comfortable, so much friendlier, so much more familiar, than the real Dwemer, whose truly mysterious nature we are only beginning to understand. The public prefers the light, trivial version of this vanished race. And from what I have learned in my years of studying the Dwemer, I have some sympathy for that preference. As the following essays will show, the Dwemer were, to our modern eyes, a remarkably unlikeable people in many ways."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/east-empire-connection": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/east-empire-connection", "description": "Results of the integation of an East Empire Company officer by the Thieves Guild.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "East Empire Connection", "text": "Mercer,\nI've pressed our contact at the East Empire Company for information, but that lizard's as stubborn as he is careless. He claims the company has nothing to offer, but I think he's hiding something. I'd suggest that you refrain from having him visited by the Brotherhood for now. He may yet be of some use to us.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/effects-elder-scrolls": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/effects-elder-scrolls", "description": "Describes the various grades of blindness and understanding granted by the Elder Scrolls to their readers.", "author": "Justinius Poluhnius, Anstius Metchim", "title": "Effects of the Elder Scrolls", "text": "It is widely known among scholars that the Elder Scrolls entail a certain hazard in their very reading. The mechanism of the effects has, at present, been largely unknown -- theories of hidden knowledge and divine retribution were the subject of idle speculation with little investigation.\nI, Justinius Poluhnius, have undertaken to thoroughly document the ailments afflicted by the Elder Scrolls on their readers, though a unified theory of how they manifest continues to elude me and remains a subject for future study.\nI have grouped the effects into four, finding that the avenue of experience depends largely upon the mind of the reader. If this is unclear, I hope that a proper dichotomy will lay it plain.\nGroup the First: The Naifs\nFor one who has received no training in the history or nature of the Elder Scrolls, the scroll itself is, effectively, inert. No prophecy can be scried nor knowledge obtained. While the scroll will not impart learning to the uninformed, nor will it afflict them in any adverse fashion. Visually, the scroll will appear to be awash in odd lettering and symbols. Those who know their astronomy often claim to recognize constellations in the patterns and connections, but such conjecture is impossible to further investigate since the very nature of this study necessitates unlearned subjects.\nGroup the Second: The Unguarded Intellects\nIt is this second group that realizes the greatest danger from attempting to read the scrolls. These are subjects who have an understanding of the nature of the Elder Scrolls and possess sufficient knowledge to actually read what is inscribed there. They have not, however, developed adequate discipline to stave off the mind-shattering effect of having a glimpse of infinity. These unfortunate souls are struck immediately, irrevocably, and completely blind. Such is the price for overreaching one's faculties. It bears mentioning, though, that with the blindness also comes a fragment of that hidden knowledge -- whether the future, the past, or the deep natures of being is dependent on the individual and their place in the greater spheres. But the knowledge does come.\nGroup the Third: Mediated Understanding\nAlone in Tamriel, it would appear that only the Cult of the Ancestor Moth has discovered the discipline to properly guard one's mind when reading the scrolls. Their novitiates must undergo the most rigorous mental cultivation, and they often spend a decade or more at the monastery before being allowed to read their first Elder Scroll. The monks say this is for the initiates' own protection, as they must have witnessed many Unguarded Intellects among their more eager ranks. With appropriate fortitude, these readers also receive blindness, though at a far lesser magnitude than the Unguarded. Their vision fogs slightly, but they retain shape, color, and enough acuity to continue to read mundane texts. The knowledge they gain from the scroll is also tempered somewhat -- it requires stages of meditation and reflection to fully appreciate and express what one saw.\nGroup the Fourth: Illuminated Understanding\nBetween the previous group and this one exists a continuum that has, at present, only been traversed by the monks of the Ancestor Moth. With continued readings the monks become gradually more and more blind, but receive greater and more detailed knowledge. As they spend their waking hours pondering the revelations, they also receive a further degree of mental fortitude. There is, for every monk, a day of Penultimate Reading, when the only knowledge the Elder Scroll imparts is that the monk's next reading shall be his last.\nFor each monk the Penultimate Reading comes at a different and unknowable time -- preliminary work has been done to predict the occurrence by charting the severity of an individual monk's blindness, but all who reach these later stages report that the increasing blindness seems to taper with increased readings. Some pose the notion that some other, unseen, sense is, in fact, continuing to diminish at this upper range, but I shall leave such postulations to philosophers.\nTo prepare for his Ultimate Reading, a monk typically withdraws to seclusion in order to reflect upon a lifetime of revelations and appoint his mind for reception of his last. Upon this final reading, he is forever blinded as sure as those Unguarded ones who raced to knowledge. The Illuminated one, though, has retained his understanding over a lifetime and typically possesses a more integral notion of what has been revealed to him.\nIt is hoped that this catalog will prove useful to those who wish to further our mortal understanding of the Elder Scrolls. The Moth priests remain aloof about these matters, taking the gradual debilitation that comes with reading as a point of pride. May this serve as a useful starting point for those hoping to take up such study.\n---- Dictated to Anstius Metchim, 4th of Last Seed in the 126th year of the Second Era"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/eisas-journal": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/eisas-journal", "description": "Treasure hunters uncover something that definitely isn't treasure.", "author": "Eisa", "title": "Eisa's Journal", "text": "Left the White River gang this morning, with Hajvarr's thugs on our tail. Wasn't a bad gig, but it was time to move on. Ra'jirr and I weren't getting anywhere with him in charge.\nI'll never understand how he does it. I couldn't find so much as a rumor in Windhelm, while Ra'jirr stayed outside the city, got wasted on Moonsugar, and still managed to find us a lead- some gang out Morthal way. They're holed up in an old ruin, digging it out in between raids on the caravans.\nJoined up with Kyr's band. Their treasure-hunting dig is a disaster: three months of work have barely cleared a single hall, and six men have died from the cave-ins. I've taken charge of the dig, while Ra'jirr is leading the raids topside. Maybe that year in Cidhna Mine will pay off after all.\nYou'd think a man who could swing a sword could use a pickaxe, but these louts are exhausted after barely an hour. No wonder this tunnel's taking forever. I've set up round-the-clock shifts, and ordered double rations for the best diggers. That'll give them some incentive.\nNight shift woke me to say they'd hit something big. Kyr, Ra'jirr, and I went down to take a look. It's huge, like a whole forest was just swallowed up by the earth, with a big old monument out in the center. Kyr took the sword from it as a trophy, proof his whole plan was finally paying off. For once, he might be right.\nRa'jirr's been having nightmares over the past few days. He keeps muttering about a \"Pale Lady\"- one of those swamp women who steal children away at night, I think. To think some fool story could turn the toughest bandit I know into a cowering kitten, frightened of his own shadow. I'm just glad none of the others see him like this.\nIt's getting worse. Ra'jirr can barely sleep at all now, and whenever he dozes off, he wakes up screaming- woke the whole place last night. He says the \"Pale Lady\" is coming for us- she's down in the forest, we have to return the sword or she'll kill us all. Not a chance- the boss clings to that thing like he was born with it. I've told everyone Ra'jirr just has a fever, but this can't go on. I've pulled a few things together. I'll slip out tonight and never look back.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/elberons-journal": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/elberons-journal", "description": "Mages expedition into a Dwemer ruin", "author": "Elberon Blackthorn", "title": "Elberon's Journal", "text": "I've split the mercs into groups and explained how to disable the conduits in each season, using simple words for their infinitesimally small minds. To their credit, some of them decided to take notes.\n\nIt would be easier if they simply read the account of my previous expedition. Of course, doing so would make them aware of the horrible fate that befell their predecessors.\n\nI've also told the men to be on the lookout for other curiosities, such as Dwarven insects, Dwarven mounts, and three Dwarven Crown masks we uncovered in our last foray.\n\nHowever, the main prize in this tomb of inclement weather is the Turn of the Seasons, a magical spell that legends say is cast not by the spellcaster, but by the the weather itself!\n\nOnce you read this tome and are imbued with its power, they say the rain will grant you a silver tongue, as charming as a spring romance. Summer's sweltering heat fills you with stamina when dressed in light armor, whereas winter's snow offers a boon to heavy armor wearers. Meanwhile, the clouds are a gift to hunters, their bows cutting through the autumn wind.\n\nSuch a prize must be deep within the ruins, perhaps in the chamber of the one who orchestrated this unholy sky."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/elder-scroll-0": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/elder-scroll-0", "description": "Secrets of the universe not included.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Elder Scroll", "text": ""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/eltrys-note": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/eltrys-note", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Eltry's Note", "text": "Meet me at the Shrine of Talos."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/enchanters-primer": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/enchanters-primer", "description": "An introduction to the principles of enchanting.", "author": "Sergius Turrianus", "title": "Enchanter's Primer", "text": "A Primer on Enchanting\nby\nSergius Turrianus\nEnchanting was raised to a fine art by the wizards of the Arcane University. Sadly, some of the nuances of this skill were lost when the Imperial City was sacked. Yet we are not without capability. This text will cover only the basics of Enchanting. It is but a primer for students of the College of Winterhold.\nBefore a weapon or bit of armor can be enchanted, the wizard must first learn the enchantment. This is a personal task. Enchantments cannot easily be passed from one mage to another. They must be understood at a primal level that can only be achieved by destroying an enchanted item and absorbing its nature.\nThe Arcane Enchanter is specifically designed for this task. Merely place an enchanted item in the device and will it to relent. The magic will flow into the mage, imbuing him with the knowledge of how the enchantment is formed. The utter destruction of the enchanted item is the unavoidable consequence of this process.\nItems that already have enchantments cannot be enchanted further, so choose carefully when you enchant a blade or helmet. Before beginning an enchantment, make sure you have a filled soul gem. The enchantment will use this soul as a source of power. Place the item and the soul gem on the Arcane Echanter. Concentrate on the enchantment. The device will meld the two together, enchanting your weapon or armor.\nArmor enchantments are permanent and do not need to be charged or powered. The reasons for this are not known. Some in the College have postulated that the wearer contributes small amounts of his own energy to keep the armor enchanted. Others say it is just the will of Magnus that it works that way. Regardless of the reason, enchanted armor and clothing never wear out.\nWeapon enchantments are a different story. They slowly use up the soul energy in them until they are depleted. The enchantment remains, but a filled soul gem must be used to recharge the weapon. Perhaps it is the destructive nature of the weapon enchantment that makes it deplete. One intriguing theory is that the soul leaks out a little at a time into the victims that the weapon harms. As a novice enchanter, the reason is immaterial.\nAt first you will find that your enchantments require a lot of the soul energy. As you become more skilled, you can achieve the same effects with less and less soul energy. So practice your lessons and pay heed to your masters in the magical arts."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/endrasts-journal": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/endrasts-journal", "description": "Attempt to escape from a Dwemer ruin filled with Falmer.", "author": "Endrast", "title": "Endrast's Journal", "text": "The eyeless creatures took us in our sleep. I don't know what happened to the Khajiit brothers, we never saw them in the cell. I managed to pick the lock and we made a break for it, but got split up. Sulla yelled something about not leaving without finding what he came here for and Umana chased after him.\nYag and I tried for the top of the cave shaft, but one of the ramps was broken. Without a hesitation, she grabbed me by the scruff of my tunic, threw me atop the ledge and told me to run.\nAnd I did.\nI didn't even look back.\nI just ran like a coward.\nI could hear her fighting them and I just had to get away. I didn't even notice the arrow in my shoulder till I hid here.\nThose metal creatures are still all around me and I'm too terrified to even move.\nEight Divines, please just take me now."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/erjs-note": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/erjs-note", "description": "", "author": "Erj", "title": "Erj's Note", "text": "How foolish to move through this place so quickly. It's taken me only a few hours to crack the back gate.  Maybe I'll donate a cup or two, but Krag says he knows some private buyers who will pay handsomely for a working trinket. There has to be one in here.\n*   *   *   *   *\nThe side doors are all locked, but this chest should have one or two things of value.  When I get out I'm going to buy myself a castle."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/erwans-journal": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/erwans-journal", "description": "History of a bandit leader", "author": "Erwan", "title": "Erwan's Journal", "text": "My new friend Gunther and I are getting along quite well. The other bandits are already getting jealous. He really was a fine gift. I should thank my brother Edward before I slit his throat.\n\nThe thing I like best about my good friend Gunther? He can keep a secret. I tell him all sorts of juicy tidbits and he never says a thing. He reminds me of my old companion Skjol, and the time we nearly got murdered by a Daedric cult. There was a ton of good loot in that place. Haunted artifacts, blood sacrifices, things that make lesser men want to hug their priest.\n\nNothing that would frighten off Gunther though. He's quite stoic, sitting in his chair. On top of that, he gets along with everyone. It doesn't matter if they're short people, fat people, tall people, or cat people. That's the thing about my old friend Gunther, he doesn't judge.\n\nAnyways, when I got to Skyrim, I sold most of the loot we piled up over the years, seeing as wanted men have to travel light. The heaviest piece I sold was a set of Daedric mail, to a caravan Khajiit named Ma'dran. I liked that armor, but in the end I had no choice but to get rid of her. She knows what she did.\n\nBesides, if I wanted to get her back, I could always trade something of equal value, like the Ring of Masser I ripped off the merchant at the Crescent Moons Inn way back when. Me and the furballs, we have history.\n\nThe ring is worth at least two sets of armor, or twenty pairs of boots. It can fortify your illusion magic, just like the books say. The books get a lot right, even the parts about me, except I'm much prettier and taller in real life.\n\nEither way, I don't need to cast spells to run this new crew. So I'll let my best friend Gunther wear the ring. I think it looks really good on him."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/evethras-journal": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/evethras-journal", "description": "Ramblings of an Armorer obsessed with amber and madness ore", "author": "Evethra", "title": "Evethra's Journal", "text": "I know of you both, Amber and Madness. I am well acquainted with your secrets.\n\nAmber, the glowing works of an alien root, I find your resin pristine and holy. Light and powerful, you require a delicate hand, one that recognizes the fragile nature of beauty.\n\nMadness, I know you to be a flexible breed, one congealed from the tattered minds of dead heroes. Unlike Amber, I would bend and bow you like a sinew. I would beat and hammer you, stretch and fold you, knowing that each blow would callous your skin and sharpen your teeth.\n\nIt was dark armored men that brought me these treats, these puzzles to solve. \"Courtesy of Thoron,\" they said. Liars. There is no Thoron, not anymore. He is a memory of long past, and memories are as real as dreams and other fanciful thoughts. Still, I had to have them.\n\nAmber, so exquisite, so pretty, like drops of fallen star dew. From your honeyed globes I would craft myself an armor that trapped me inside your beauty and warmth. I would suffocate myself in your light, and in death live for eternity.\n\nBut madness, oh madness, you charm me with your edge. From you I would forge a knife to cut out Sheogorath's tongue, and use it to lick the dust off my anvil. Oh how happy that would make all three of us.\n\nIn my desperation I've turned to magic, to try and turn these earthly materials into your equals. I have forged armor and blade in hopes of finding a worthy pair. But they are failures. Not fit to be your shadows.\n\nSo instead, I will mine the forests and the dead. I will have caravans search the far corners of Tamriel. I will reach into the eye of Oblivion itself, until I find you both again."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/expedition-manifest": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/expedition-manifest", "description": "A log of a doomed archaeological expedition.", "author": "Sulla Trebatius", "title": "Expedition Manifest", "text": "We've managed to secure the site and hold off any others who may try to steal our discoveries so far, especially those from the College of Winterhold, who seem to think the glory of exploring every ruin should be theirs alone.\nThe crew for our expedition is as follows:\nSulla Trebatius (myself) - Expedition leader\nUmana - my constant companion and bodyguard\nValie - a mage not associated with Winterhold (took some time to find)\nEndrast - a fellow explorer of some local renown\nYag - a great brute of a woman, hired to keep the rest of the labor in check\nJ'darr and J'zhar - two Khajiit brothers, hired as labor\nNeed a couple more laborers, getting through the ice is proving difficult.\nWe've set up shelter and scouted the area. The small ruins on the lower plateau of the glacier don't seem connected to the main structure and we haven't managed to find a way into the tower parapet we've found here. Yag mentioned spotting a fissure in the glacial wall that may lead into the ruins so we are going to try find a way to get down there with the gear. Looks like a storm is coming."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/eydiss-journal": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/eydiss-journal", "description": "A reluctant explorer in Fahlbtharz.", "author": "Eydis", "title": "Eydis's Journal", "text": "I finally caved and told Ulyn that I would help him retrieve this \"Visage of Mzund\" that he has been so obsessed over. Why he wants some dwarven helmet so much is beyond me, but I owe him so whatever.\nWe've stopped to take a breather after crossing over the gears. This place is amazing but it seems to serve no purpose that I can tell. Why the dwarves would waste so much good metal on gears, pipes and constructs is completely beyond me. We had to fight off several of the metal spiders while spinning around on the gears. Got so dizzy we almost fell off."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/eydvinas-note": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/eydvinas-note", "description": "A warriors goodbye", "author": "Eydvina", "title": "Eydvina's Note", "text": "When the world was young, things were simpler.\n\nIt was us or them. We fought to survive, and in death we found glory.\n\nNow we fight our own Shield-Sisters and Brothers, for banners that change with the wind.\n\nWhen I killed Hjarek on the battlefield, I vowed not to take up arms again. I found honor in this choice, but shame in its consequence.\n\nThe bards do not sing tales of those who die in their homes, slain by time. If I am to see him again, I must stand eye to eye with Tsun on the Whalebone Bridge, and earn my place in the Hall of Valor.\n\nI miss you, brother. Wait for me in Sovngarde."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/eyes-falmer-map": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/eyes-falmer-map", "description": "A map showing the location of the Eyes of the Falmer.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Eyes of the Falmer Map", "text": ""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/eyes-open": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/eyes-open", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Eyes Open", "text": "Keep your eyes on Sapphire. There's more to her than meets the eye.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/faded-diary": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/faded-diary", "description": "A short diary of someone who survived the Red Year.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Faded Diary", "text": "...another dream of Red Mountain erupting. People running as flaming rocks the size of cantons fell from the sky...\n...can still see my brother's outstretched arm, as he tried to reach the silt strider and walked right out into the boiling waters...\n...not just Vvardenfell, all of Morrowind was hit by the rocks. There's no work and no food will grow under the ashes. We are going to try for Skyrim..."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/faendals-fake-letter-sven": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/faendals-fake-letter-sven", "description": "Tries to make Sven look bad in the eyes of Camilla.", "author": "Faendal", "title": "Faendal's Fake Letter from Sven", "text": "My Dearest Camilla,\nI yearn to have you as my own, \nWashing my linens, \nAnd my fine blond hair,\nTo cook my dinner from my stove, \nAnd tend to my house while I wander.\nYours Truly,\nSven"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/faleens-letter-calcelmo": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/faleens-letter-calcelmo", "description": "", "author": "Faleen", "title": "Faleen's Letter to Calcelmo", "text": "My Dearest Calcelmo,\nI always knew you to possess a great mind, but your charming poem revealed a depth of feeling I never suspected. \nI'll admit to being a bit surprised at the direction of your feelings, but not unpleasantly so. Let us meet to discuss further.\nYours,\nFaleen"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fall-glory": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fall-glory", "description": "The current state of Skyrim's Thieves' Guild.", "author": "Nithilis Lidari", "title": "Fall From Glory", "text": "The Thieves Guild of Skyrim is something of an enigma. Within the last few decades, their order has gone from one of the largest, most influential criminal organizations in all of Tamriel to a small group of stragglers barely able to wreak havoc in their home city of Riften. Although evidence that could explain this rapid decline has never surfaced, speculation has run rampant.\nOne theory holds that the Guild suffered a loss - it's strongly believed that their Guild Master was slain by one of their own. This Guild Master, known only as \"Gallus,\" maintained strong ties with many of the influential families in Skyrim. When he perished, those bonds perished with him. Without these bonds, the Guild could no longer safely operate within Skyrim's holds.\nA second theory suggests that the Guild is experiencing some sort of mystical \"curse\" causing normal activities for its members to become exceedingly difficult. While there is no solid evidence to support this theory, the last two decades have seen an unusual rise in failed attempts by the Guild to execute highly lucrative heists. Reasons for the presence of this supposed curse is being attributed to everything from the aforementioned murder to divine interference.\nIn order to solve this mystery once and for all, I've spent the last two years infiltrating the Thieves Guild. Initially making contact with them in Riften proved difficult, as they're quite wary of outsiders, but through repeated efforts I was able to gain their confidence. It's my hope that once I've gained access to some of the Guild leadership, I can learn more about their decline and publish a second volume of my work.\nAlthough helping the Guild perform their petty crimes brands me as a criminal, I feel that it's a burden worth bearing. The mystery of the Thieves Guild's fall from power needs to be solved once and for all as a matter of record and as a footnote to Skyrim's history.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/faraldas-notes": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/faraldas-notes", "description": "Chronicles of poor penmanship.", "author": "Faralda", "title": "Faralda's Notes", "text": "The book is filled with indecipherable scribbles. If these are notes, they're impossible to read.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fathers-missive": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fathers-missive", "description": "A father's letter to his willful daughter.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Father's Missive", "text": "By the Nine, Rigel! Think about what you're doing!\nI don't care if you kill off a couple skooma-headed Khajiit traders - they have no business being in Skyrim anyway. But think about what you're doing!\nThere are armies fighting out there and they're bound to use the roads from time to time. They're going to start noticing if traders go missing and for that matter, why don't you just join up with one of the armies?\nI gave up on marrying you off to some merchant's son since ya got the face of a skeever, but that doesn't mean you couldn't put a helmet on and find some work for a soldier. Use those meaty arms of yours, girl!\nAnd quit sending me money! I don't need your charity!\n-- Da\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fenriks-journal": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fenriks-journal", "description": "A Vigilant's fall from glory", "author": "Fenrik", "title": "Fenrik's Journal", "text": "Azarain once told me I was the strongest warrior in all of Tamriel. But that is a lie.\n\nA strong man would have ended his life long ago. He would have delivered Stendarr's justice upon his soul. I am weak man, and so, I live.\n\nThe Vigil teaches us that vampires are an abomination, to be destroyed without mercy. But in my cowardice I began to entertain the blasphemous, that vampirism had a cure.\n\nNever has the subject been broached by the Keepers. After all, the very idea that these creatures were capable of salvation would threaten the principles of the order. So to learn more, I sought the aid of the very monster I have sworn to oppose.\n\nMolag Bal's price was steep. I was to gather thralls and build an altar deep in the mines of Dawnstar, for purposes that would only become clearer as the nights went on. To that shrine I was to sacrifice the lives of nine of my brothers and sisters, one for each divine.\n\nAt times my resolve has wavered, but the Prince has offered proof in the form of Galur Rithari. His excerpts prove that a cure exists, through a dream of being \"sliced by thousands of tiny knives from my bowels inside out.\" As the town speaks of nightmares and the presence of Vaermina, I now see why Dawnstar was chosen for this unholy vigil.\n\nWith only three sacrifices left, the ritual is almost complete. No doubt Azarain will see this as treachery, which is why I cannot bring myself to sacrifice him. But with every Vigil that dies at our hand, it only calcifies my resolve. The weakness of my mind does not betray the strength of my will.\n\nFor all my cowardice, I am worth the souls of a dozen men. If I rejoin the Vigil, more lives will be saved in the end.\n\nPerhaps when the accounting is done, Stendarr will show me mercy."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/first-letter-linwe": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/first-letter-linwe", "description": "", "author": "Linwe", "title": "First Letter from Linwe", "text": "Niranye,\nI'm not pleased that you're refusing to fence the silver locket I showed you yesterday. If you wish to remain a valuable asset to us, I suggest you quickly change your attitude.\nLinwe\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fishermans-letter": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fishermans-letter", "description": "An unsuccessful fisherman is angry at his friend.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Fisherman's Letter", "text": "I can't believe I let Skeggr talk me into this again. If he just wanted to get drunk and swap stories, we could have done that in front of a nice fire back in Windhelm, instead of on this godforsaken mud flat.\n\"But the fish are biting, Advald!\" \"The catch will more than pay for the trip!\". Yeah, right- if we don't get iced in first. His boat's already taking on water. I guess we'll try again tomorrow. If we don't catch something then, I'm heading home, with or without him.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/skyrim-five-songs-king-wulfharth": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/skyrim-five-songs-king-wulfharth", "description": "Summaries of the Songs of King Wulfharth, which tell of his rise to, and fall from, power. Also includes the hidden songs about his involvement at Red Mountain.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Five Songs of King Wulfharth", "text": "\nShor's Tongue\nThe first song of King Wulfharth is ancient, circa 1E500. After the defeat of the Alessian army at Glenumbria Moors, where King Hoag Merkiller was slain, Wulfharth of Atmora was elected by the Pact of Chieftains. His thu'um was so powerful that he could not verbally swear into the office, and scribes were used to draw up his oaths. Immediately thereafter the scribes wrote down the first new law of his reign: a fiery reinstatement of the traditional Nordic pantheon. The Edicts were outlawed, their priests put to the stake, and their halls set ablaze. The shadow of King Borgas had ended for a span. For his zealotry, King Wulfharth was called Shor's Tongue, and Ysmir, Dragon of the North.\nKyne's Son\nThe second song of King Wulfharth glorifies his deeds in the eyes of the Old Gods. He fights the eastern Orcs and shouts their chief into Hell. He rebuilds the 418th step of High Hrothgar, which had been damaged by a dragon. When he swallowed a thundercloud to keep his army from catching cold, the Nords called him the Breath of Kyne.\nOld Knocker\nThe third song of King Wulfharth tells of his death. Orkey, an enemy god, had always tried to ruin the Nords, even in Atmora where he stole their years away. Seeing the strength of King Wulfharth, Orkey summoned the ghost of Alduin Time-Eater again. Nearly every Nord was eaten down to six years old. Boy Wulfharth pleaded to Shor, the dead Chieftain of the Gods, to help his people. Shor's own ghost then fought the Time-Eater on the spirit plane, as he did at the beginning of time, and he won, and Orkey's folk, the Orcs, were ruined. As Boy Wulfharth watched the battle in the sky he learned a new thu'um, What Happens When You Shake the Dragon Just So. He used this new magic to change his people back to normal. In his haste to save so many, though, he shook too many years out on himself. He grew older than the Greybeards, and died. The flames of his pyre were said to have reached the hearth of Kyne itself.\nThe Ash King\nThe fourth song of King Wulfharth tells of his rebirth. The Dwarves and Devils of the eastern kingdoms had started to fight again, and the Nords hoped they might reclaim their ancient holdings there because of it. They planned an attack, but then gave up, knowing that they had no strong King to lead them. Then in walked the Devil of Dagoth, who swore he came in peace. Moreover, he told the Nords a wondrous thing: he knew where the Heart of Shor was! Long ago the Chief of the Gods had been killed by Elven giants, and they ripped out Shor's Heart and used it as a standard to strike fear into the Nords. This worked until Ysgramor Shouted Some Sense and the Nords fought back again. Knowing that they were going to lose eventually, the Elven giants hid the Heart of Shor so that the Nords might never have their God back. But here was the Devil of Dagoth with good news! The Dwarves and Devils of the eastern kingdom had his Heart, and this was the reason for their recent unrest. The Nords asked the Devil of Dagoth why he might betray his countrymer so, and he said that the Devils have betrayed each other since the beginning of time, and this was so, and so the Nords believed him. The Tongues sung Shor's ghost into the world again. Shor gathered an army as he did of old, and then he sucked in the long-strewn ashes of King Wulfharth and remade him, for he needed a good general. But the Devil of Dagoth petitioned to be that general, too, and he pointed out his role as the blessed harbinger of this holy war. So Shor had two generals, the Ash King and the Devil of Dagoth, and he marched on the eastern kingdoms with all the sons of Skyrim.\nRed Mountain\nThe fifth song of King Wulfharth is sad. The survivors of the disaster came back under a red sky. That year is called Sun's Death. The Devil of Dagoth had tricked the Nords, for the Heart of Shor was not in the eastern kingdoms, and had never been there at all. As soon as Shor's army had got to Red Mountain, all the Devils and Dwarves fell upon them. Their sorcerers lifted the mountain and threw it onto Shor, trapping him underneath Red Mountain until the end of time. They slaughtered the sons of Skyrim, but not before King Wulfharth killed King Dumalacath the Dwarf-Orc, and doomed his people. Then Vehk the Devil blasted the Ash King into Hell and it was over. Later, Kyne lifted the ashes of the ashes of Ysmir into the sky, saving him from Hell and showing her sons the color of blood when it is brought by betrayal. And the Nords will never trust another Devil again.\n\nThe Secret Song of\n\tWulfharth Ash-King\nThe Truth at Red Mountain\nThe Heart of Shor was in Resdayn, as Dagoth-Ur had promised. As Shor's army approached the westernmost bank of the Inner Sea, they stared across at Red Mountain, where the Dwemeri armies had gathered. News from the scouts reported that the Chimeri forces had just left Narsis, and that they were taking their time joining their cousins against the Nords. Dagoth-Ur said that the Tribunal had betrayed their King's trust, that they sent Dagoth-Ur to Lorkhan (for that is what they called Shor in Resdayn) so that the god might wreak vengeance on the Dwarves for their hubris; that Nerevar's peace with the Dwemer would be the ruin of the Velothi way. This was the reason for the slow muster, Dagoth-Ur said.\nThe Armies Grow\nAnd Lorkhan (for that is what they called Shor in Resdayn) said: \"I do not wreak vengeance on the Dwarves for the reasons that the Tribunal might believe I do. Nevertheless, it is true that they will die by my hand, and any whoever should side with them. This Nerevar is the son of Boethiah, one of the strongest Padomaics. He is a hero to his people despite his Tribunal, and he shall muster enough that this battle will be harder going still. We will need more than what we have.\" And so Dagoth-Ur, who wanted the Dwarves as dead as the Tribunal did, went to Kogoran and summoned his House chap'thil, his nix-hounds, his wizards, archers, his stolen men of brass. And the Ash King, Wulfharth, hoary Ysmir, went and made peace with the Orcs in spite of his Nordic blood, and they brought many warriors but no wizards at all. Many Nords could not bring themselves to ally with their traditional enemies, even in the face of Red Mountain. They were close to desertion. Then Wulfharth said: \"Don't you see where you really are? Don't you know who Shor really is? Don't you know what this war is?\" And they looked from the King to the God to the Devils and Orcs, and some knew, really knew, and they are the ones that stayed.\nThe Doom Drum\nNerevar carried Keening, a dagger made of the sound of the shadow of the moons. His champions were Dumac Dwarfking, who carried a hammer of divine mass, and Alandro Sul, who was the immortal son of Azura and wore the Wraith Mail. They met Lorkhan at the last battle of Red Mountain. Lorkhan had his Heart again, but he had long been from it, and he needed time. Wulfharth met Sul but could not strike him, and he fell from grievous wounds, but not before shouting Sul blind. Dagoth-Ur met Dumac and slew him, but not before Sunder struck his lord's Heart. Nerevar turned away from Lorkhan and struck down Dagoth-Ur in rage, but he took a mortal wound from Lorkhan in turn. But Nerevar feigned the death that was coming early and so struck Lorkhan with surprise on his side. The Heart had been made solid by Sunder's tuning blow and Keening could now cut it out. And it was cut out and Lorkhan was defeated and the whole ordeal was thought over."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/flight-thalmor": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/flight-thalmor", "description": "A Nord's account of his capture by Thalmor Justiciars.", "author": "Hadrik Oaken-Heart; Ashad Ibn Khaled, ed.", "title": "Flight from the Thalmor", "text": "Dearest reader: The work you are about to experience has been copied and duplicated, so that the story it relates can be spread throughout the Empire. But make no mistake - this is not a work of fiction. The events chronicled in this account are all true, were originally documented in a private journal (which now remains safely guarded in the House of Quills in Hammerfell) and occurred not more than a year before this book was printed.\n- Ashad Ibn Khaled, High Scribe, House of Quills, Hammerfell\nIt's been nine days. Nine days since I slipped my bonds. Nine days since I strangled my captor with my own chains. And nine days since I rushed headlong into the night, always listening, but never looking back.\nBut in order to understand my current predicament, one must first understand where I came from, and just where this story began.\nMy name is Hadrik Oaken-Heart, and I am a proud Nord of Skyrim. I am a skald by trade, and received my formal training at the Bards College in Solitude. For years, I made my occupation as a traveling musician and minstrel, and even served several stints as war-bard in service to the armies of the various Jarls.\nAnd it's fairly safe to say that if I weren't a bard, I never would have gotten into this mess to begin with.\nMy troubles began when I first started singing about Talos, the Ninth and greatest Divine, beloved of the people of Skyrim. Turns out, he's not so beloved by the Thalmor.\nAh yes, the Thalmor. As common as a head cold in Skyrim these days, and just as annoying. Or so I thought at the time, before their true power and inlfuence made itself known.\nFor those not in the know, the Thalmor are Skyrim's recently honored \"guests\" - high elves of the Aldmeri Dominion who were gracious enough not to wipe us all out during the Great War.\nBut, as every Nord of Skyrim knows, Thalmor graciousness comes at a terrible price. One of the stipulations of the White-Gold Concordat - the peace treaty between our peoples - was the abolishment of Talos worship.  A man ascend to godhood? Preposterous, claim the Thalmor. And so, the open worship of Talos has been outlawed in Skyrim, and actively enforced in those cities where the Thalmor have a tangible presence. Cities, I might add, in which the Empire has the most secure foothold.\nIt was in one of these cities - Markarth, to be exact - where I made the conscious decision to defy the ban on Talos worship. And my defiance came in the form of - what else? - a song. For what bard who has spent time writing and rehearsing an original work can possible refrain from performing it? So perform it I did. Not once, not twice, but seven times. Once a day, for an entire week.\nNow here's something most of my kinsman are unaware of: not all Thalmor in Skyrim are equal in station, or purpose. In fact, there is one group in particular that operates secretly, in the shadows - watching and waiting for those Nords who break the law, and continue their worship of almighty Talos. These are the Justiciars, and it is their job to enforce this, the most terrible of conditions of the White-Gold Concordat.\nAnd so, I would have performed my song for an eighth time had I been given the opportunity. Sadly, I was not. For the Justiciars had been watching, had been waiting. Instead, I received a black sack over my head in the wee hours of the morning, a dreadfully uncomfortable wagon ride, and sinister promises that I would enjoy my \"new home,\" which I came to realize was some sort of secret Thalmor prison or detention camp. One I was certain I would never leave alive.\nIt was at that moment I realized I needed to make my escape. No matter what - even if I died in the attempt - I had to slip the grasp of my captors. Better that than rot in some godsforsaken Thalmor jail until the end of time.\nI finally got my chance when the wagon stopped, and we made camp for the night. One of my two Thalmor guards set off into the forest to hunt, leaving me alone with the other. And so, my account comes full circle.\nIt is now nine days later, and in that time, I have realized the true extent of my foolishness. I couldn't have sung the song just once? Or maybe twice? Or not at all? I couldn't have swallowed my stubborn Nord pride and realized just how much power and influence the Thalmor truly have over the Jarls?\nNo. I could not. So now I run. Like a hare from the hound, I run. Always moving, rarely resting, never sleeping.  But the Thalmor dog my every move. Where will I go? How will I escape their grasp? I honestly don't know.  The only thing I now understand for certain is this: if the agents of the Aldmeri Dominion cannot have your soul, then they will take your very life.\nMy name is Hadrik Oaken-Heart, and I am a proud Nord of Skyrim. Remember me. For soon I will be dead."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/donel-father": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/donel-father", "description": "One supportive father does his son a favor", "author": "Frodibert Fontbonne", "title": "For Donel from Father", "text": "Thank you, my son, for humoring your father one last time.\nI know you have always preferred swords to books, and though you may think that's been a disappointment to me, the opposite is true. I've been impressed with your independence, and I'm proud of the man you've grown to be.\nMy father was a soldier. He often complained that I was too \"bookish.\" When you were born, I vowed not to treat you that way.\nThough I could not bear to watch you march off to war while I was living, you now have my blessing. I sold my books, and I've left you what I hope will be a generous inheritance. Take it and buy yourself a strong sword and a sturdy suit of armor.\nFollow your heart, my son, and find your happy destiny.\nWith love,\n\tYour father, Frodibert Fontbonne"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sale": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sale", "description": "Offering a goat for sale", "author": "Halvar", "title": "For Sale", "text": "For Sale\nOne tamed mountain goat. Able to carry a hefty amount of weight to the Throat of the World and back again. Gives good milk.\n\nIf interested in purchasing, see Halvar in Rorikstead.\n\n- Halvar"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/shelly": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/shelly", "description": "A man waits for his lover.", "author": "Trius", "title": "For Shelly", "text": "Shelly,\nYour ship should have arrived weeks ago and I fear the worst has happened.  I've set up camp on this rock as your ship should pass by here and hopefully one of these days we'll be together again.  If you're reading this I'm probably out hunting or bringing in some supplies.  I'll be waiting here until I see your face again.\nFaithfully yours, \nTrius\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/forebears-note": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/forebears-note", "description": "A note on Crowns and Forebears", "author": "K'avir", "title": "Forebear's Note", "text": "Naha 'Mei Dogo Ra Gada Lonhe Trai.\n\nThe Crowns are fond of this saying. \"The Forebears should know their place.\" They look upon us like commoners, the chaff from which the wheat is pruned.\n\nI would remind you, Na-Totambu, that our place is not for you to decide. For we are the Warrior Wave of Ra Gada, the first men. It is our sweat that salts the earth. It is our tears from which the rain falls. It is our blood that beats in the heart of Hammerfell.\n\nThe throne of kings is one built upon our shoulders. It is by our grace, and our mercy, that the Crowns are allowed to sit. We know our place. Do not forget yours."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/foresworn-missive": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/foresworn-missive", "description": "A warning to Alaric.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Foresworn Missive", "text": "Alaric -\nDo not presume we have grown fat and complacent here in the north. Our Matriarch was wise to bring us here. Our camp is secure, and our numbers grow.\nWe will not skulk in the shadows with you, making petty plots with rabble and sycophants. When we strike, we will do it with cunning and power, and the occupiers will fall before us. That is the way of true Reachmen.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/foresworn-note": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/foresworn-note", "description": "Swearing of allegiance to the Matriarch and the cause.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Foresworn Note", "text": "Matriarch, we await your orders. Our blades are honed, our quivers full, our wills steeled for battle. The time of our waiting has ended. The time for battle is at hand. You have but to speak the word, and the occupiers shall fall like wheat before the reaper.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/forge-hammer-and-anvil": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/forge-hammer-and-anvil", "description": "The materials needed to make various armors, plus some humerous comments.", "author": "Thorbald; Adolphus Eritius, ed.", "title": "Forge, Hammer, and Anvil", "text": "These notes were found in ruins near Old Hroldan. As best I can tell, they were written by Thorbald, a rather infamous smith who died shortly before Tiber Septim's reign. He was rumored to illiterate, and given that these notes are obviously written by an assistant, that rumor is likely true. I have made no attempt to correct the texts themselves as they may have historical value.\nWithout further ado, the ramblings of Thorbald:\n\nThis ain't no book for how to be a grayt smith. So if you're reeding this, stop. It's just me own notes cawse I'm getting old and cranky and don't rember stuff. These be me own methods for makin things.\nIron armor and weapons. Lots of Iron ingots and some leather strips.\nSteel armor and weapons. Lots of Steel ingots, a little iron, and some leather strips. Cept for Steel Plate. It needs some Corundum too.\nLeather armor and weapons. Who'd be stupid enuf to make leather weapons? Leather armor needs leather. Big peeces and little peeces. Just like Hide armor. And studded armor. Scaled armor too. Well, that needs some steel also. And Curundum. Can't make Scaled armor without Corundum. That would be dum.\nDwarfen armor and weapons. Dwarfen scrap metal, some iron, and some leather strips. I'm gonna stop sayin leather, cawse it's always used. Are you writin what I jus said? You idiot! Jus do it, don't rite it. (Thorbald is old and fat)\nElven armor and weapons. Elves and dwarfs didn't get along. Bet you didn't know that. Elven stuff needs Moonstone and a little bit of iron. Except for that Gilded stuff. Gotta add Quicksilver if you wanna make Gilded Elven armor.\nOrcish armor and weapons. Use Orichalcum and a bit of iron. (Thorbald doesn't like Orcs)\nEbony armor and weapons. Takes only Ebony. No iron. Not even a little. You'll want to, but don't.\nGlass armor and weapon. Need Malachite and sum Moonstone. Nasty stuff, workin' with Malachite.\nDaedric armor and weapons. Hah! Like I'd rite that down. (He uses daydra hearts. I don't know whare he gets 'em)\nThat's all. You can stop writin now. I said stop!\n\nPostscript - The last page had a large streak of ink an a few splatters of blood. It would be a fair conclusion that Thorbald beat his assistant. We have no way of know if Thorbald ever discovered the extraneous comments added to his script.\n-- Adolphus Eritius"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/forgotten-seasons-v1": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/forgotten-seasons-v1", "description": "A mages research into the weather witch of Vardnknd", "author": "Elberon Blackthorn", "title": "Forgotten Seasons, V1", "text": "My Journey Through the Ancient World of The Dwarves Vol. 1\nby Elberon Blackthorn\n\nAfter having saved the town of Tanglehaven with my patented snake oil serum, word of my deeds soon spread, and one of my helpful admirers pointed me in the direction of an old system of caverns. But lo, it was not a simple naturally formed cave, but Vardnknd, a long forgotten Dwarven ruin.\n\nA storm of great intensity had ravaged the region recently, and the locals all thought that some curse lay upon the caves, and they spewed out bad weather because of this. But Elberon Blackthorn is nothing if not well read, and I was well-versed with the legends surrounding those caves. You see, I had been looking for Vardnknd for a long time, because deep within it contained a Karstanghz-Beharn, better known as a Weather Witch.\n\nThese legendary devices were said to be able to control the weather, and Vardnknd's was the strongest of them all. But why did they make it? To terrorize innocents? To help in times of underground drought? Either way, a storm now raged across the region, and it was obvious who was at fault. To save the locals, and to claim the power of the weather for my own, me and my trusted band of mercenaries dove towards the problem with the same bravery and skill I approach everything in life with.\n\nInside, evidence of the storm's rampage could still be seen and felt. Pipes spewed a poisonous ooze into the streams, rubble lay about, and most tellingly, a massive indoor storm raged. The Weather Witch had gone mad! Alas, the door to the main gallery was sealed shut. But with my impressive knowledge of the Dwarves and their infernal sciences, I was able to quickly deduce the issue.\n\nYou see, dear readers, while the storm raged, it drew its power from magic derived from each of the four seasons. Yes, the Dwarves had in this very ruin undertaken a massive analysis of spring, summer, autumn, and winter, and tied to each of them a conduit that would focus their natural energies into the gallery, allowing the weather to be controlled! All one had to do was enter each part of the facility and disconnect those conduits. Only then could I enter the main gallery and shut down the Weather Witch!\n\nThis first volume details my intrepid adventure into each of these seasonal sub-facilities, as well as my harrowing escape. It also serves as a manual on how to shut down the conduits which I aim to document in my next volume.\n\nThus armed with this information and my benefactor's funding, my apprentice and I have once more endeavored into the heart of this ruin, this time with more men and hopefully, with more satisfactory results.\n\n\n\nAutumn\nAs I trundled into the halls of Autumn, a marvelous sight unfolded. Before me lay an enormous stretch of farmland, decrepit and overgrown, but a farm nevertheless. Strange fruits and grains grew in plots, while emaciated chickens ran about, all the while tended by enormous double-bladed centurions. Did the Dwemer find it amusing that the surface-people had a whole season dedicated just to harvest, or did they do this as a mockery to some forgotten god of the feast? Whatever the case, I aimed to examine a piece of this Dwarven wheat myself.\n\nThe harvest glowed with a foul light, the grains as stiff as a rock. Yet as dense as the wheat was, I observed the bladed centurions cutting through it with little effort and carrying them off to a set of depositories near the entrance. While no doubt the blades of these machines would make short work of flesh and armor, my men nevertheless valiantly served as a distraction as I made my escape. Perhaps if I had more time, or more men, I could carry the heavy wheat over to the depository, and sate whatever freakish endeavors the Dwarves had begun.\n\n\n\nSpring\nSpring greeted me with a splash of color as beautiful flowers were scattered across the halls of metal and stone. There were even animals sauntering about, feeding off the vegetation warmed by the artificial light. Unfortunately, our journey through this horrific sight of beauty was soon delayed by a most peculiar obstruction.\n\nThick, gnarled roots blocked the passageways, halting our progress. Perhaps the Dwemer had found nature to be cumbersome, and saw spring as nothing more than a season of suffering. While the mercenaries labored to cut through the bark, my strong perception allowed me to notice strange spriggans shambling through the artificial forests. As I brushed aside it, the roots quivered, as if their tendrils were an extension of the forest creature. Were these spriggans the tenders of the gardens, or just a consequence of its existence? Regardless, if we could somehow sever the connection between the spriggans and the roots, we might find a way deeper into the ruins.\n\n\n\nSummer\nSummer was a maze of tunnels and pipes, and no doubt centuries of neglect had left the place in a state of pure chaos. Lava spewed from every stone orifice I could see, and unbearable heat made for a precarious journey, causing many of the lesser mercenaries to turn back to cooler times. But the Dwemer had predicted such superheat, for this unbearable weather was undoubtedly what summer meant to them.\n\nAs I pulled myself through the swelter, I noticed repair spiders darting to and fro, lowering bridges that granted access to side sections of the chamber. It seems that within each section is a service waypoint that releases some sort of magical coolant, reducing the heat from impossible to merely annoying. Perhaps if I could find a way to direct the spiders to the various waypoints in the area, I could drop the temperature to a more manageable level.\n\n\n\nWinter\nWinter was, not to my surprise, home to a great indoor blizzard and what the mercenaries thought of as artificial stone mountains. Yet they were not mountains, but great towering silos of frozen water. And the cold! Not even the highest mountains compared to such chills, and we were soon trading furs amongst ourselves to keep warm!\n\nIt became clear that to progress through this area, I would need to dive through the unfrozen waters that surrounded the towers, snaking up and around the structure like the ice wraiths that call this place home. As clever a solution as any solution thought up by me, but not one I could risk at the moment. Perhaps when we return to this ruin, I can find someone less important to brave it."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/forsworn-shamans-note": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/forsworn-shamans-note", "description": "Hints at Shaman's plans for a Knight Heart", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Forsworn Shaman's Note", "text": "We've killed the traitor and given the knight's heart to the mother. She's gone back to Karthspire to perform the ritual.\nWe'll stand watch until she returns, and drain the blood of any knights who interfere."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fragment-artaeum": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fragment-artaeum", "description": "An essay regarding the mysterious island of the Psijics.", "author": "Taurce il-Anselma", "title": "Fragment: On Artaeum", "text": "The Isle of Artaeum (ar-TAY-um) is the third largest island in the Summurset archipelago, located south of the Moridunon village of Potansa and west of the mainland village of Runcibae.  It is best known for being home to the Psijic Order, perhaps the oldest monastic group in Tamriel.\nThe earliest written record of Psijics is from the 20th year of the First Era and tells the tale of the renowned Breton sage and author Voernet, traveling to the Isle of Artaeum to meet with Iachesis, the Ritemaster of the Psijics.\nEven then, the Psijics were the counsellors of kings and proponents of the \"Elder Way,\" taught to them by the original race that inhabited Tamriel.  The Elder Way is a philosophy of meditation and study said to bind the forces of nature to the individual will.  It differs from magicka in origin, but the effects are much the same.\nThat said, it is perhaps more than coincidence that the Isle of Artaeum literally vanished from the shores of Summurset at the beginning of the Second Era at about the time of the founding of the Mages Guild in Tamriel.  Various historians and scholars have published theories about this, but perhaps none but Iachesis and his own could shed light on the matter.\nFive hundred years passed and Artaeum returned.  The Psijics on the Isle consisted of persons, mostly Elves, who had disappeared and were presumed dead in the Second Era.  They could not or would not offer any explanation for Artaeum's whereabouts during that time, or the fate of Iachesis and the original council of Artaeum.\nCurrently, the Psijics are led by the Loremaster Celarus, who has presided over the Council of Artaeum for the last two hundred and fifty years.  The Council's influence in Tamrielan politics is tidal. The kings of Summurset, particularly those of Moridunon, have often sought the Psijics' opinion. Emperor Uriel V was much influenced by the Council in the early, most glorious parts of his reign, before his disastrous attack on Akavir. It has even been suggested that the fleet of King Orghum of Pyandonea was destroyed by a joint effort of Emperor Antiochus and the Psijic Order.  The last four emperors, Uriel VI, Morihatha, Pelagius IV, and Uriel VII, have been suspicious of the Psijics enough to refuse ambassadors from the Isle of Artaeum within the Imperial City.\nThe Isle of Artaeum is difficult to chart geographically.  It is said that it shifts continuously either at random or by decree of the Council.  Visitors to the island are so rare as to be almost unheard of.  Anyone desirous of a meeting with a Psijic may find contacts in Potansa and Runcibae as well as many of the kingdoms of Summurset.\nWere it more accessible, Artaeum would be a favored destination for travelers.  I have been to the Isle once and still dream of its idyllic orchards and clear pastures, its still and silent lagoons, its misty woodlands, and the unique Psijic architecture that seems to be as natural as its surroundings as well as wondrous in its own right.  The Ceporah Tower in particular I would study, for it is a relic from a civilization that predates the High Elves by several hundred years and is still used in certain rites by the Psijics.  Perhaps one day I might return.\n[Note:  The author is currently on the Isle of Artaeum by gracious consent of Master Sargenius of the Council of Artaeum.]"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/frosts-identity-papers": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/frosts-identity-papers", "description": "Deed of ownership and background information for a valuable steed.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Frost's Identity Papers", "text": "Deed of Ownership\nHorse\u00a0- Frost\nSex\u00a0- Stallion\nColor\u00a0- Mealy Chestnut\nSire\u00a0- Grane\nGreat Grandsire\u00a0- Sleipnir\nDam\u00a0- Unknown\nGreat Damsire\u00a0- Loka\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gadnors-last-wishes": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gadnors-last-wishes", "description": "The last wish of a madman", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Gadnor's Last Wishes", "text": "Gadnor, my trusted friend and companion, has been laid to rest. I have built a shrine to watch over him and bring peace to weary travelers.\n\nOf the few riches Gadnor possessed in life, his most prized was a warhammer made of jagged crystal he famously won in a coin toss. After months of research, he came to believe this hammer was some sort of otherworldly treasure. Shortly before his passing, it was his wish that it be hidden away until \"one who has walked the Shivering Isles\" emerges to retrieve it. I have followed his instructions to the letter, and a powerful illusion spell now obscures it.\n\nTo break the spell, one must first acquire pieces of what supposedly make up the weapon itself, \"amber\" and \"madness ore.\" Such things, if they actually exist, would be great treasures in their own right. If the enchantment is correct, only by placing the ores into the embers near Gadnor's body will the spell be broken.\n\nIf Gadnor is not mad, perhaps one day this peerless weapon will find its way into worthy hands once again."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gaius-maros-schedule": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gaius-maros-schedule", "description": "The weekly schedule of Gaius Maro, a Penitus Occulatus agent.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Gaius Maro's Schedule", "text": "You are to adhere to the following schedule:\n- Morndas - Solitude, the Emperor's Tower\n- Morndas evening - Solitude, Castle Dour (food and sleep)\n- Tirdas - Windhelm, the Palace of the Kings\n- Tirdas evening - Windhelm, Barracks (food and sleep)\n- Middas - Riften, Mistveil Keep\n- Turdas - Whiterun, Dragonsreach\n- Turdas evening - Whiterun, the Bannered Mare (food and sleep)\n- Fredas - Markarth, Understone Keep\n- Fredas evening - Markarth, guard tower (food and sleep)\n- Loredas & Sundas - To be spent at your discretion\n- Repeat (until I have recalled you personally)\nThe guards and Jarls of the cities have been informed of your arrival, and will leave you to your work. Study the guard patterns, examine any entrances and exits, and make note of any irregularities.\nTalk to no one - the fewer people who know about your mission, the safer the Emperor will ultimately be.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/galluss-encoded-journal": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/galluss-encoded-journal", "description": "The encoded journal of Gallus Desidenius, former Nightingale guildmaster. Implicates Mercer Frey in the author's murder.", "author": "Gallus Desidenius", "title": "Gallus's Encoded Journal", "text": "\n[Literal Translation:\u00a0MERCER FREY CONTINUES TO ELUDE MY EVERY STEP I THINK HES AWARE IM FOLLOWING HIM AND APPEARS TO BE TAKING NO UNNECESSARY CHANCES IM BRINGING ALL OF MY SKILLS TO THE FOREFRONT IN ORDER TO DECEIVE HIM IT STILL PAINS ME THAT THE DECEPTION IS NECESSARY WHEN I BECAME A NIGHTINGALE USING MY NEWFOUND TALENTS AGAINST MY OWN WAS THE FURTHEST THOUGHT FROM MY MIND\nTHERE WAS A CLOSE CALL TODAY I WAS SETTLING DOWN FOR A NIGHTS REST IN THE CISTERN WHEN MERCER FREY ENTERED UNEXPECTEDLY HE WAS CREEPING ALONG THE WALL BUT I SPOTTED HIM IMMEDIATELY HE EDGED CLOSER TO THE VAULT DOOR MAKING HIS WAY CAREFULLY AROUND THE PERIMETER OF THE ROOM BUT SUDDENLY STOPPED AND TURNED TOWARDS MY HIDING PLACE I FROZE INSTANTLY EVEN HOLDING MY BREATH FOR A MOMENT BUT MY POSITION WAS ALREADY COMPROMISED HE ABRUPTLY TURNED AND WALKED BACK TOWARDS THE FLAGON WHAT WAS HE DOING\nAT LAST I HAVE A PIECE OF EVIDENCE THAT MIGHT EXPLAIN MERCER FREYS ACTIONS INSTEAD OF TRYING TO FOLLOW HIM OR BREAK INTO HIS MANOR I USED EVERY LOOSE-TONGUED SOURCE AT MY DISPOSAL TO SCOUR THE RATWAY LOOKING FOR ANSWERS IT TOOK SEVERAL WEEKS BUT MAUL WAS ABLE TO PROVIDE AN INTERESTING BIT OF INFORMATION MERCER HAD BEEN SPENDING INORDINATELY LARGE SUMS OF COIN ON ALL MANNER OF THINGS UNRELATED TO THE GUILD HOW HE WAS ABLE TO AFFORD THIS WAS A MYSTERY TO ME THE VAULT WAS IMPREGNABLE SO WHAT WAS THE SOURCE OF HIS COIN\nITS BEEN CONFIRMED BY MY SOURCES MERCERS BEEN LIVING AN UNDULY LAVISH LIFESTYLE REPLETE WITH SPENDING VAST AMOUNTS OF GOLD ON PERSONAL PLEASURES I HAVE MORE THAN MY SHARE OF EVIDENCE TO CONFRONT HIM NOW HE MUST BE STEALING FROM THE GUILD BUT WITHOUT PROOF ALL I HAVE IS BASELESS ACCUSATION MERCER CAME FROM WEALTHY STOCK BUT THE AMOUNT OF COIN HES BEEN SPENDING IS IMMENSE\nIVE BEEN GIVING IT SOME SERIOUS THOUGHT THERES ONLY A SINGLE WAY THAT MERCER COULD HAVE ACCESS TO VAST AMOUNTS OF COIN I HESITATE TO EVEN BELIEVE ITS POSSIBLE HOW COULD HE POSSIBLY DESECRATE THE TWILIGHT SEPULCHER THIS GOES FAR BEYOND MERE GREED AND TRANSCENDS COMMON THEFT HIS ACTIONS COULD REPRESENT THE FAILURE OF THE NIGHTINGALES SOMETHING THAT HASNT OCCURRED IN HUNDREDS OF YEARS WHY WHY WOULD HE READILY THROW AWAY EVERYTHING HE BELIEVES IN ALL I NEED IS PROOF\nMERCER FREY HAS REQUESTED I MEET HIM AT SNOW VEIL SANCTUM TODAY HE SENT A NOTE BY COURIER SO I CAN ONLY ASSUME HES ALREADY THERE ALL MY SENSES TELL ME ITS A TRAP BUT I HAVE NO CHOICE HIS MESSAGE INDICATED THE MEETING WAS OF THE UTMOST URGENCY AND INVOLVED GUILD BUSINESS SO IM OBLIGATED TO GO I CANT RISK BRINGING ANYONE ELSE WITH ME BUT IM ALMOST CERTAIN KARLIAH WILL DISOBEY AND FOLLOW]"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/galluss-journal": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/galluss-journal", "description": "The journal of Gallus Desidenius, former Nightingale guildmaster. Implicates Mercer Frey in the author's murder.", "author": "Gallus Desidenius", "title": "Gallus's Journal", "text": "Journal of Gallus Desidenius\nMercer Frey continues to elude my every step. I think he's aware I'm following him, and appears to be taking no unnecessary chances. I'm bringing all of my skills to the forefront in order to deceive him. It still pains me that the deception is necessary. When I became a Nightingale, using my newfound talents against my own was the furthest thought from my mind.\nThere was a close call today. I was settling down for a night's rest in the cistern when Mercer Frey entered unexpectedly. He was creeping along the wall, but I spotted him immediately. He edged closer to the vault door, making his way carefully around the perimeter of the room, but suddenly stopped and turned towards my hiding place. I froze instantly, even holding my breath for a moment, but my position was already compromised. He abruptly turned and walked back towards the Flagon.\n\tWhat was he doing?\nAt last, I have a piece of evidence that might explain Mercer Frey's actions. Instead of trying to follow him or break into his manor, I used every loose-tongued source at my disposal to scour the Ratway looking for answers. It took several weeks, but Maul was able to provide an interesting bit of information. Mercer had been spending inordinately large sums of coin on all manner of things unrelated to the Guild. How he was able to afford this was a mystery to me. The vault was impregnable, so what was the source of his coin?\nIt's been confirmed by my sources. Mercer's been living an unduly lavish lifestyle replete with spending vast amounts of gold on personal pleasures. I have more than my share of evidence to confront him now. He must be stealing from the Guild, but without proof, all I have is baseless accusation. Mercer came from wealthy stock, but the amount of coin he's been spending is immense.\nI've been giving it some serious thought. There's only a single way that Mercer could have access to vast amounts of coin. I hesitate to even believe it's possible. How could he possibly desecrate the Twilight Sepulcher? This goes far beyond mere greed and transcends common theft. His actions could represent the failure of the Nightingales, something that hasn't occurred in hundreds of years. Why? Why would he readily throw away everything he believes in? All I need is proof.\nMercer Frey has requested I meet him at Snow Veil Sanctum today. He sent a note by courier so I can only assume he's already there. All my senses tell me it's a trap, but I have no choice. His message indicated the meeting was of the utmost urgency and involved Guild business, so I'm obligated to go. I can't risk bringing anyone else with me, but I'm almost certain Karliah will disobey and follow."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/geirmunds-epitaph": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/geirmunds-epitaph", "description": "Epitaph to Geirmund, archmage under king Harald.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Geirmund's Epitaph", "text": "Lord Geirmund\nArchmage of Windhelm\nLord Battlemage to King Harald\nMagus, keep thy vigil eternal.\nServe now in death as you did in life.\nBy these seals our realm preserve.\nFrom traitors three and their charm of strife."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ghosts-storm": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ghosts-storm", "description": "The author's caravan is attacked by unidentified creatures in the middle of a snow storm.", "author": "Adonato Leotelli", "title": "Ghosts in the Storm", "text": "For many years now, I have traveled the length and breadth of Skyrim, writing of my experiences and my adventures.\nI have seen many wondrous sights and many strange creatures in my travels, but one encounter remains fixed in my memory, though I wish it were not.\nI had taken up traveling with one of the Khajiit trade caravans that crisscross Skyrim, peddling their wares outside the gates of the large cities.\nWe were nearing Windhelm when the storm struck. It was a violent and terrible gale, one of the very worst I have seen in all my long years. The winds howled like all the daedra of Oblivion, and the driving snow made us blind to the world.\nRi'saad called a halt and we staggered from the road, our hands held over our faces to ward off the stinging pellets of ice. We huddled together in the shelter of a copse of pines. There was no hope of raising our tents - the wind would tear them from our hands the moment we unpacked them.\nThey struck at the height of the storm. There were perhaps half a dozen of the creatures. It was difficult to say, as the blowing snow and howling wind overwhelmed our sight and our hearing.\nThey were roughly man-sized, but hunched over and ugly. For garments, they wore only rags and leathers. They were armed with daggers and swords or various kinds, no doubt scavenged from their previous victims.\nThey had no noses to speak of, only long slits for nostrils. Their ears were sharply pointed, suggesting a distant kinship with the elves. With their pallid skin and lifeless black eyes, they seemed like something out of a nightmare.\nBhisha saw them first, but too late to save herself. So loud was her death-cry, we heard it over the roaring winds. That cry saved us all.\nAlerted to the presence of our foes, the Khajiit drew their blades and formed a circle, facing outward. The white fiends were too few to surround us completely, and the Khajiit fended off each attack. After three of the snow-devils had fallen, the rest fell back and did not come at us again.\nThe storm abated and we arrived in Windhelm the next morning. I have taken up residence in Candlehearth Hall and I find I am quite comfortable behind the towering stone walls of the city.\nComfortable, at least until I go to sleep and visions of those awful creatures return to haunt my dreams."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/give-me-chance": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/give-me-chance", "description": "Vex needs to loosen up.", "author": "Delvin", "title": "Give Me a Chance", "text": "Vex,\nGive an old man a chance, why don't you? I know I may have a few years under my belt, but that doesn't mean we can't have some fun. Believe me, I can show you a thing or two. Quit playing hard to get... I saw how you blushed when Dirge started reading from the Lusty Argonian Maid. You're a firebrand, and we all know it. Take me up on my offer and stop playing the tough girl. We all know the toughest ones are the softest on the inside.\nDelvin\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/glories-and-laments": {"game": ["Skyrim", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/glories-and-laments", "description": "An archaeologist's observations about Ayleid ruins.", "author": "Alexandre Hetrard", "title": "Glories and Laments", "text": "Glories and Laments\n\tAmong the Ayleid Ruins\nby\n\tAlexandre Hetrard\n\nHaving arrived at Gottlesfont Priory, halfway on the Gold Road between Skingrad and the Imperial City, I resolved to make a side trip to view the magnificent ruins of Ceyatatar, or \"Shadow of the Fatherwoods' in the ancient Ayleid tongue. After many hours of difficult travel through tangled hawthorn hells and limberlosts, I was suddenly struck dumb by the aspect of five pure white columns rising from a jade-green mound of vines to perfect V-shaped arches and graceful capitals towering above the verdant forest growth. This spectacle caused me to meditate on the lost glories of the past, and the melancholy fate of high civilizations now poking like splinter shards of bone from the green-grown tumulus of time-swept obscurity.\nWithin the forest tangle I discovered an entrance leading down into the central dome of a great underground edifice once dedicated to Magnus, the God of Sight, Light, and Insight. Dimly lit by the faded power of its magical pools, the shattered white walls of the enclosure shimmered with a cold blue light.\nThe marble benches of the central plaza faced out across the surrounding waters to tall columns and sharp arches supporting the high dome. From the central island, stately bridges spanned the still pools to narrow walkways behind the columns, with broad vaulted avenues and limpid canals leading away through ever-deeping gloom into darkness. Reflected in the pools were the tumbled columns, collapsed walls, and riotous root and vine growth thriving the dark half-light of the magical fountains.\nThe ancient Ayleids recognized not the four elements of modern natural philosophy -- earth, water, air, and fire -- but the four elements of High Elf religion -- earth, water, air, and light. The Ayleids considered fire to be but a weak and corrupt form of light, which Ayleid philosophers identified with primary magical principles. Thus their ancient subterranean temples and sanctuaries were lit by lamps, globes, pools, and fountains of purest magic.\nIt was by these ancient, faded, but still active magics that I knelt and contemplated the departed glories of the long-dead Ayelid architects. Gazing through the glass-smooth reflections of the surrounding pools, I could see, deep below, the slow pulse, the waxing and waning of the Welkynd stones.\nThe chiefest perils of these ruins to the explorer are the cunning and deadly mechanisms devised by the Ayleids to torment and confound those would invade their underground sanctuaries. What irony that after these many years, these devices should still stand vigilant against those who would admire the works of the Ayleids. For it is clear... these devices were crafted in vain. They did not secure the Ayleids against their true enemies, which were not the slaves who revolted and overthrew their cruel masters, nor the were they the savage beast peoples who learned the crafts of war and magic from their Ayleid masters. No, it was the arrogant pride of their achievements, their smug self-assurance that their empire would last forever, that doomed them to fail and fade into obscurity.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/glovers-letter": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/glovers-letter", "description": "A former thief finds his long-lost daughter.", "author": "Glover Mallory", "title": "Glover's Letter", "text": "My dearest daughter Sapphire,\nIt's with a heavy heart that I write this letter. For years I've thought about how I could tell you this, and each time I imagined it would be face-to-face. I'm ashamed for what I did, and I hope that someday you'll learn to forgive me. Whatever you do, don't blame Delvin for any of this. He didn't know.\nLong after I joined the Guild, I was sent to rob a caravan that was stopping at a tiny farming village not far from the border of Skyrim. When I arrived there, I was a day early and decided to sleep for the night in the barn of a pig farm. I awoke the next morning when the most beautiful woman I'd ever laid eyes upon walked in to do her chores. She wasn't even frightened when she saw me... in an instant I think we had both fallen in love. I ended up living with that woman in that tiny little village for a year until she was with child. And then, like a coward... I ran away. I was a thief and I didn't want to end up a farmer. It was a terrible thing to do.\nI didn't have the courage to return to that village for almost fifteen years. When I finally decided to visit, it was too late. It had been raided by bandits and burned to the ground. Everyone was either dead or gone. Including you... my only child.\nYears later, when you were recruited by Brynjolf I couldn't believe my eyes. You're a spitting image of your mother and I knew it was you in an instant. Only the gods know how you survived the attack on that village and why you followed in my footsteps, but I have to assume it was meant to be. I've wanted to walk right up to you and embrace you, to tell you the truth, but I was still a coward. I decided to leave Riften instead of facing your anger. I said my goodbyes to Delvin and I headed for Solstheim... as far from the truth as I could get.\nI'm sorry, my daughter. I'm sorry for never being there to hold you at night or to protect you from whatever hardships you endured. One day, I hope you'll make the journey to Solstheim and visit your father.\nGlover Mallory"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/goldenglow": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/goldenglow", "description": "Mercer wants to get rid of the house, pronto.", "author": "Mercer Frey", "title": "Goldenglow", "text": "Brynjolf,\nThis Goldenglow Estate situation is getting out of hand. I want you to find someone capable to take care of it. Maven Black-Briar is breathing down my neck and I just can't have that right now. Send Vex if you have to, but I want it handled immediately.\nMercer\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/goldenglow-bill-sale": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/goldenglow-bill-sale", "description": "Deed of ownership to Goldenglow Estate in Riften.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Goldenglow Bill of Sale", "text": "This deed signifies ownership of Goldenglow Estate to the undersigned. This includes all property, livestock, resources, buildings and staff. Ownership may only be transferred with an accompanying Bill of Sale.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gorms-letter": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gorms-letter", "description": "", "author": "Gorm", "title": "Gorm's Letter", "text": "Aldis,\nYou know what we've spoken of in the past.\nIt is time. Change is needed; something must be done.\nI await your response.\nGorm\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gourmets-writ-passage": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gourmets-writ-passage", "description": "Allows the Gourmet (or rather the player pretending to be the Gourmet) passage into the Emperor's tower.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Gourmet's Writ of Passage", "text": "By order of his eminence, Emperor Titus Mede II.\nThe possessor of this Writ of Passage - known throughout the Empire as the celebrated chef and author the \"Gourmet\" - is granted full and unrestricted access to any areas, information, or supplies necessary to fulfill the duty of the Emperor's personal cook.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gratians-journal": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gratians-journal", "description": "A barrow in Ravenrock's ebony mine holds a mysterious blade.", "author": "Gratian Caerellius", "title": "Gratian's Journal", "text": "30 Rain's Hand 4E10\nReceived a letter from the East Empire Company today. They say that some of the miners broke through the wall in shaft three of Raven Rock Mine and found some ruins. I hope this isn't another waste of time like that fiasco they sent me to in Cyrodiil. I'll gather my assistant, Millius and sail back to Raven Rock at first light... it'll be nice to see the old house in Solstheim again.\n\n\t7 Second Seed 4E10\nFinally arrived in Raven Rock and was surprised at the number of dark elf refugees living in town. They aren't really from mining stock, but I think they'll make fine workers one day. Millius and I spent a good part of the day clearing the ash off of the roof of my house. The damn volcano is still erupting almost day and night. If it wasn't for the ash covering everything it would almost look beautiful.\n8 Second Seed 4E10\nMillius and I are headed into Raven Rock Mine to have look at whatever it is the miners uncovered. I think I'll stop by the old Swing and Scoop and pick up a few supplies before we head down. Couldn't hurt to be prepared.\n9 Second Seed 4E10\nLooks like the miners broke right through the wall of an old Nordic barrow. I've seen this sort of thing in Skyrim before... damn Nords have barrows dotting the landscape and almost none of them are ever marked on any maps. Looks like this barrow belong to something called the \"Bloodskal Clan.\" I'm going to take some rubbings of the inscriptions on the tombs and see if I can't learn some more information from my history books.\n10 Second Seed 4E10\nIt's been a few days and I can't find even a single mention of this clan anywhere. Millius and I decided to proceed ahead. We've come to a dropdown point, but I can see a massive chamber below. Took the better part of a day to lower everything down and climb down the almost sheer drop.\n11 Second Seed 4E10\nIt's been an astonishing day of discovery! After exploring the large chamber beyond the dropoff, I was startled to find the strangest weapon I've ever laid eyes upon sitting on a pedestal of sorts. The blade appears to be flawless, and is emitting a faint chilling glow. Bits of parchment I found about the chamber seem to call this \"The Bloodskal Blade.\" Not certain if I should remove it yet, I think I'll sleep on it.\n\n\t12 Second Seed 4E10\nI've decided against my own better judgment to remove the Bloodskal Blade from its pedestal. Millius seems completely against it, but we need to bring this wondrous artifact with us when we find a way out of the barrow.\n13 Second Seed 4E10\nI should have listened to Millius. The moment the blade was lifted, we were set upon by draugr. Millius fought bravely, but he fell. I was able to destroy the remaining ones, but I was badly wounded. I can barely stand. My only chance would be finding a way out of this place, but I fear that I'm trapped.\n14? Second Seed 4E10\nExploring has been slow. I can only move for maybe a few minutes at a time before I have to rest. My supplies are running low, and I'm feeling weaker by the hour. The only progress I've made is finding a strange door with markings on it that I've never seen.\n\n\tThere appears to be something to them I'm missing, as they've confounded my attempts at getting through. I'll have to study this further in order to make any progress... barely can keep awake.\n\n\tI'm fairly certain that the key to the door involves the use of the Bloodskal Blade. When swinging the weapon, I'm noticing a ribbon of mystical energy emanating from it. I think by swinging the sword in different directions, it's possible to manipulate this ribbon and solve whatever puzzle this door presents. I hope to get well enough to put this to the test soon... each swing is a huge effort.\nLast entry\nI've lost track of time and my strength is fading. I can't even stand anymore. My wounds refuse to heal. I'm afraid this tomb will become my resting place. If anyone finds this journal, please send these notes to my superiors at the East Empire Company and tell my wife that I love her.\nMay Arkay guide me to my final rest."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gratians-letter": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gratians-letter", "description": "The East Empire Company summons Gratian back to Solstheim to investigate a new-found ruin.", "author": "Rendellus Thandarian", "title": "Gratian's Letter", "text": "Gratian,\nI would appreciate if you could help us with a situation we've encountered in Raven Rock. It seems that the miners there have stumbled across some sort of ruins under the surface near shaft three, and we need your expertise to take a look. I could send someone else if you're busy, but I figured you'd want to go since I seem to recall that you're originally from Solstheim. Let us know if you make any progress.\nRendellus Thandarian\n\tEast Empire Company\n\tImperial City, Cyrodiil"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/great-harbingers-companions": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/great-harbingers-companions", "description": "Lists historically important leaders of the Companions.", "author": "Swyk the Long-Sighted", "title": "Great Harbingers of the Companions", "text": "This history is recorded by Swyk the Long-Sighted, of the Circle of Jorrvaskr in the 3rd era. While I am not gifted with a sharp gift of words, I have learned the stories of the Companions before me, and set to record them that they might not be lost when I am. Hereafter is the list of notable Harbingers of the Companions, those who lead us through the darkness to glories in Sovngarde.\n\nNotes on the Harbinger: the Companions have never had a true leader since Ysgramor -- none have been mighty enough to corral the great hearts that beat within Jorrvaskr. While others like mages and thieves need the blessings of their hierarchy to know how to dress, we Companions are capable of leading our own destinies to glory. The Harbinger advises, resolves disputes, and helps to clarify when questions arise of the nature of honor. In the thousands of years the Companions have held at Jorrvaskr, there have been Harbingers both terrible and brilliant, those known for their arm, those for their hearts, and those for their minds. Here are listed some of the most gloried Harbingers, who inspire song and deed.\n\nYsgramor: the first Harbinger, the first Man, the bringer of Words, and the one who first bound the Companions to honor in that far off land of long ago. Better people have written of him, so I will not attempt to meet their words.\nJeek of the River: Captain of the Jorrvaskr during the Return, discoverer of the Skyforge, founder of Whiterun, and keeper of the original oath of the Companions, now lost to time. While other crews sought glory in conquest, his was the first to settle and serve as protector for the less war-gifted in the land as they came behind.\nMryfwiil the Withdrawn: Several hundred years after the death of Ysgramor, the Companions as we now know them were soldiers for hire, little better than mercenaries. Our services could be purchased for the fighting of wars, but the commitment to individual honor meant that often Shield-Brothers would be forced to face each other on the field of battle. The bonds of honor which bind the Companions threaten to break, until Mryfwiil, in his wisdom, decreed that we would no longer be party to any war or political conflict of any kind. Because of his steady hand, the Companions today are known as impartial arbiters of honor, in addition to their glories on the field of battle.\nCirroc the Lofty: The first Harbinger to not be of ancestral Atmoran blood. This was around the time that the Nords began to think of themselves as such, and there were great disputes about purity and the legacy of Ysgramor. Cirroc first came to Jorrvaskr as a servant, but the Redguard quickly proved his mettle when treated disrespectfully by one of the less honor-bound warriors of the time. Granted the stature of an honorary Companion after saving the life of Harbinger Tulvar the Unmentioned, he became known as the most capable of Shield-Brothers in the hall, with speed and cunning surpassing any of the old Atmoran stock. His time as Harbinger was short-lived, but it is said that his field knowledge of bladework continues to pass to every new Companion through their training.\nHenantier the Outsider: The first elven Harbinger. Like Cirroc before him, he was initially subject to ridicule when arriving at Jorrvaskr, for this was the time (near the closing of the first era) when elves were not permitted to be full Companions, and few were even allowed to see the inside of the hall. Henantier was humble in the daylight hours, performing any task asked of him. At night, he trained fiercely in the outside yard, allowing himself only minutes of sleep before resuming his servant duties the next day. So he toiled through several Harbingers, never resting, never complaining, and always keeping his mind and body sharp. Given his long life, he came to be trusted by the new Companions as the one who them learn the ways of honor.\nWhen one such pupil had aged into an old man and become Harbinger himself, Henantier was the one at his deathbed. With all Companions assembled, he named Henantier as his successor, saying \"even an elf can be born with the heart of a Nord sometimes.\" There were some number of Companions who laid down their weapons that day, but those who remained knew the truth of honor, and it is their legacy we continue to bear.\nMacke of the Piercing Eyes: A Harbinger known for her great beauty, but any who underestimated her on account of it would never make the mistake again. Was said to have once stared down half an opposing army, then slaughtered the remainder single-handedly. Her disappearance in her 8th year as Harbinger has never been explained, though many slanderous lies claim to make accountings for it.\nKyrnil Long-Nose: After the dark periods in the late second era, when a string of false and dishonorable Harbingers laid claim to Jorrvaskr, it was Kyrnil Long-Nose who gathered the true hearts of the Companions in the wilds and stormed Jorrvaskr itself, killing the usurpers and returning honor through blood, in the old ways. He began the tradition of trusted advisors called the Circle (after our great lord Ysgramor's council of captains) who would serve as examples to the younger, newer Companions.\nBy ensuring that the notions of honor can have an unbroken string of tradition, he steadied the course of the Companions and restored our destinies to that of Ysgramor's, pressing ever onwards to Sovngarde."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/guard-dossier-aerael": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/guard-dossier-aerael", "description": "Dossier on a notorious bandit", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Guard Dossier - Aerael", "text": "Status: Active (Capture or Kill), High Priority\n\nDescription: Male, High Elf, age unknown\n\nBackground: A member of the Crimson Dirks, a notorious group of bandits and marauders originally based in Cyrodiil. Little else is known about the target, although some intelligence suggests he was often used as an information gatherer for the bandits.\n\nOperational Notes: It was originally thought that an Altmer might attempt to blend into wealthier circles, but according to our informant, he's done the opposite. He's stripped his armor and gone native, hunting game in the forests south of Sunderstone Gorge. He should still be considered dangerous, however, and it would be wise to put up a bounty when his identity is confirmed."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/guards-bounty-letter-draft": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/guards-bounty-letter-draft", "description": "Draft of a bounty letter", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Guard's Bounty Letter Draft", "text": "By order of [Jarl]\n\nTo all able bodied men and women of Falkreath. A wanted bandit has been hiding in the forests south of Sunderstone Gorge, posing as a hunter. Rumor has it that he is accompanied by a fearsome wolf.\n\nA reward will be offered to anyone who kills him.\n\n--[Steward]"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/guards-note": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/guards-note", "description": "Guards idea of reward for a bounty", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Guard's Note", "text": "The steward will have to sign off on it, but I was thinking we should have the bandit's possessions serve as a reward in lieu of gold. According to the informant, he might be carrying valuables with him. I'll bring it up with the Steward when I have her sign the bounty.\n\nBesides, the more gold we save on bounty hunters, the more we have for the guard. I still haven't gotten approval for the funds to have Lod fix my shield. At this rate, I might as well just use the lid from my pot."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/guards-note-aldepius": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/guards-note-aldepius", "description": "Guards Suspicious on a new recruit", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Guard's Note on Aldepius", "text": "I am beginning to suspect Aldepius is not who he claims to be.\n\nHe seemed rather old for a new recruit, but it wasn't until he started asking about our bandit informant that I began to suspect something was amiss. Still, I would've forgiven this as natural curiosity had he not asked to meet him.\n\nSo I checked with the list of the garrison, and no one by the name Aldepius is on it. I don't know who he is, but he's not a member of the guard. He's stationed at Dragon Bridge at the moment, when my shift is over I'm going to confront him about it."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/guards-orders": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/guards-orders", "description": "Orders to evacuate a prison in view of the impending storm.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Guard's Orders", "text": "We can't let the prisoners out, so either kill them or let them drown.  Either way, all guards must evacuate as soon as possible.  The storm is about to wash this whole fort into the river and I'll be damned if I have to report one Legion death while under my watch.  You have your orders!\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/guide-better-thieving": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/guide-better-thieving", "description": "Overview of pickpocketing and lockpicking from a master thief.", "author": "Wulfmare Shadow-Cloak", "title": "Guide to Better Thieving", "text": "Wulfmare's\nGuide to Better Thieving\nby\nWulfmare Shadow-Cloak\nSo, you want to make it as a cutpurse. You want to live the life of a criminal, always one step ahead of everyone and pockets brimming with septims. Maybe it appeals to you to try and earn a living by robbing some wealthy merchants or extorting your local shopkeepers? Let me give you a bit of advise - don't bother. For every skilled thief I've met in my day, I've seen a twenty who thought that they had what it took but ended up rotting in jail.\nBut if you're anything like me, you don't listen to advice. You do whatever you want and never let anyone else tell you otherwise. To Oblivion with the risks - all that matters is the coin. Sound familiar? If it does, then this book might just teach you the difference between acting like a petty thief and a master criminal.\nI know what you're thinking. Who's this Wulfmare? Who does he think he is telling me how to be a better thief? What makes him an expert? Simple. Maybe you heard about that heist in Mournhold, when Queen Barenziah's coronation crown went missing? Or perhaps the tale of an Elder Scroll gone missing from the White-Gold Tower reached your ears. That's right... it was yours truly. I've done just about every kind of job you can imagine and I've got the septims put away to prove it. How else could an ex-thief find the resources to publish his own book?\nNow that I have your attention, let's start with two of the most fundamental skills you'll need to sharpen if you want to make it as a cutpurse - picking locks and picking pockets. And before you roll your eyes and throw this book aside in disgust, I can promise you that the easiest way you're going to get caught is by ignoring the basics - but if you can master these activities you'll find yourself swimming in coin.\nPicking pockets is one of the easiest skills to learn, but you'd be surprised how often I've seen novice thieves muck it up. The lesson here is two-fold. First, know your surroundings and second, know your approach. Where and when you decide to go fishing is just as important as who you chose as your mark. Follow them a while, there's never a need to rush. Wait until they're somewhere isolated and out of earshot of any guards - but most importantly always know when to let the mark go. Getting pinched simply isn't worth the risk. There'll always be plenty of other marks who'll come along with their pockets full. As far as the approach goes, don't drop into your crouch until you are completely out of the mark's view - directly behind and preferably close to them. Don't spend too long deciding what you'll lift either. A good thief should be able to hit a mark and make off with something valuable in less than five seconds. Last of all, plying this trade at night will greatly reduce your chances of getting caught. If you have no other choice and you have to do it in the daylight, just make sure you aren't out in the open.\nLockpicking is an art form that takes years to master. The important thing to remember is that no two are alike, each one behaving completely differently. As long as you keep your wits about you, and your patience, you'll find them easier to defeat than you'd initially expect. Good picks are always essential. Make sure you have plenty of them tucked away in your pockets. Always take your time and keep a light touch on the picks. When the tumblers begin to fall into place, you should feel the pick tremble ever-so-slightly - this means you're near the sweet spot. Slow down at that point and only move the picks with the finest touch. If you blindly poke at the lock like an old man, all you're going to end up with is a bunch of broken picks and equally broken pride. As a last resort, if the lock is completely confounding you, there's always the option of smashing it. Just keep in mind that this is rarely successful and could potentially make a great deal of noise.\nBy using my techniques, I'm not merely suggesting you'll be a successful thief, I'm giving you a solid guarantee. All it takes is a little bit of patience and a great deal of practice then maybe, just maybe, you'll become as successful as Wulfmare.\nIn my next volume, we'll move onto another important tool in your arsenal - sneaking. I'll prove to you that the shadows can be just as potent of a weapon as your blade if you know how to bend it to your will."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/guild-mages-note": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/guild-mages-note", "description": "A mages failed plan", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Guild Mage's Note", "text": "How could this have happened? Our plans should have worked. But who could foresee that his weapon would interfere with our simple enchantments. And now we have become ensnared in our own trap.\n\nWhat is this weapon and what does it herald?"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/guild-mages-scribble": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/guild-mages-scribble", "description": "Mages last words", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Guild Mage's scribble", "text": "WE ARE DOOMED\n\nTHERE IS NO HOPE"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/guild-mages-warning": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/guild-mages-warning", "description": "Mages plan had unintended side effects", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Guild Mage's Warning", "text": "I warned them to be cautious. No matter how perfect the incantation, magic is the husband of chaos. We let our guard down, and this abomination is the result of our hubris.\n\nAnd to make matters worse, he has divided into three. Divines help us all."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/guild-mages-last-words": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/guild-mages-last-words", "description": "A mages last words", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Guild Mages Last Words", "text": "I am done. My wounds are too deep, and so I have chosen to remain and lock this area. All I can do is pray that Sellonus made it out and sealed this dreaded place shut forever. At least then my death will not be in vain."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/guild-mages-missive": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/guild-mages-missive", "description": "A Mages trap", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Guild Mages Missive", "text": "We have to try to contain him or die trying.\n\nShe is the key to everything, for her death defined him and drove him insane. Perhaps we can use her remains to summon her spirit and calm him."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/guissurs-note": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/guissurs-note", "description": "Reminder to keep an eye out for the player in Riften.", "author": "Guissur", "title": "Guissur's Note", "text": "Description of target:\n[Player's race] [male/female], believed to go by [player's name] (may be an alias). Likely to be inquiring about \"Esbern\" and the Ratway.\nDo not approach. Inform your assigned contact immediately if spotted.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gulum-eis-confession": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gulum-eis-confession", "description": "A dying thief's last words about his previous schemes.", "author": "Gulum-Ei", "title": "Gulum-Ei's Confession", "text": "Dear Brother,\nIf you're reading this, then you already know that I've been killed. Acting as Karliah's proxy for the Goldenglow Estate sale has proven to be a greater risk than I'd imagined. Word's reached my ears that Mercer Frey's sent one of his own to eliminate me. I swear to you, brother... I had nothing to do with Gallus's death. I'm well aware that killing the previous leader of the Thieves Guild would only provoke their wrath and threaten not only myself, but perhaps our entire family. Curse that woman for getting me involved in this scheme!\nWithin this chest you'll find the deed to Goldenglow Estate. Karliah never asked for the delivery of the item and I'm certain it holds great value to the proper buyer. If you wish to hunt down Karliah and avenge me, all I remember is her cryptic statement about returning \"to where the end began.\"\nGoodbye my brother, keep yourself safe and may fortune favor the foolish.\nGulum-Ei"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hajvarrs-journal": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hajvarrs-journal", "description": "A bandit's take on recent events.", "author": "Hajvarr", "title": "Hajvarr's Journal", "text": "Pickings have been good these past few weeks. Must be because of the war- lots of merchants and cowards looking for somewhere to curl up and hide from all the fighting. I've told the men to ease the burden on these poor souls by relieving them of all that gold they're carrying.\nGuard patrols along the road are way up- we can barely set foot outside. Travellers must have complained to the Jarl. It looks like the guard isn't ready to move against us yet, but the pressure is getting to the men. I'm having Ra'jirr keep watch with Ulfr now- that should shut them up about our security. Damn that Balgruuf!\nA mutiny! Among my men! I can hardly believe it. Thank the gods Ulfr heard of it in time- he may be blind, but he's not deaf. I killed Anjor myself. A couple of the others ran for it, but we hunted them down quick enough. Only Eisa and Ra'jirr got away. Good riddance.\nThere's rumor of a dragon attack on Helgen. A dragon! Hardly. More likely just a story made up by some idiot frightened out of his wits by the war.\nIn any case, the guard seems to have pulled back to the city, so we've been able to run a few decent raids again. One of the merchants had some odd cargo... bunch of pelts and animals, including a wolf. I let the men roast the other animals, but the wolf I saved- be handy to have a guard dog like that, if we could just train him a little...\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/halvars-journal": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/halvars-journal", "description": "Description of different pets of skyrim", "author": "Halvar", "title": "Halvar's Journal", "text": "Came into town a few days ago looking for work. The folks here are nice enough, and there's plenty of wheat and potatoes needing to be harvested, so I've got a steady supply of coin coming in.\n\nI don't think I'm going to need my old pack goat Hilda for much longer...all my bones are starting to creak, and my adventuring days are long over. Now I just need to find someone willing to take care of her. Maybe get a few coins for her too - there's strength in those old bones of hers yet.\n\nAh, how I'm going to miss wandering the wilds of Skyrim! I saw so many strange and wonderful things out there - pine trees as tall as mountains, old nord tombs, I once even stumbled across a wandering spirit made of pure ice!\n\nEven ran across a few folks trying their hand at taming different types of creatures. Don't know why they'd want anything but a loyal dog or trusty goat like my Hilda though - some of them beasts out in the wild just aren't meant to be tamed.\n\nRan across an alchemist with a pet rabbit, and almost got robbed by a thief with a tame fox, but I suppose a rabbit or a fox could be docile enough. But that pickpocket trying to train a skeever must have been as mad as old Sheo'. And I don't want to think too hard about the vampire that almost made a meal out of me...could have sworn it had a trained frostbite spider! Gives me the shivers just thinking about it."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hamelyns-journal": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hamelyns-journal", "description": "Ramblings of a mad alchemist with a skeever army.", "author": "Hamelyn", "title": "Hamelyn's Journal", "text": "Ten years of ridicule. Ten years of imprisonment. Ten years of exile.\nThe children threw rocks and the women spat upon me as the menfolk dragged me into Whiterun's prison. They branded me a danger to their pitiful existence... used words like \"madman\" and \"insane.\" Could a madman escape the prisons undetected? Could a lunatic establish a laboratory right under their noses? Could a psychopath create a mighty army from the common skeever?\nMy days as an apprentice alchemist in Winterhold were no better. Those egotistical braggarts couldn't compete with my abilities. Where they fell short, I'd constantly excel. Did they appreciate my genius? Did they relish my contributions? No. My instructors beat me and said I was irresponsible, and the Arch Mage cast me into the streets like a common beggar.\nAs my enemy grows complacent and weak, as they forget Hamelyn and his utter brilliance, I build my army. I use every bit of knowledge at my disposal to forge their demise. Thanks to Sabjorn's unwitting assistance, my legion grows stronger every day. The irony that the same ingredients used to make his vile drink could be used to feed my offspring isn't lost upon me.\nOh, they will pay. Their ignorance of impending annihilation amuses me. I will bury Whiterun and watch Winterhold burn. And when they experience the fury I've unleashed upon them, when my progeny are gnawing the flesh from their bones, they will come begging and groveling at my feet. But there will be no mercy, no quarter and no leniency. And I will laugh and I will dance and I will rejoice over their mangled, broken corpses. The time for recompense has arrived.\nTen years of pain. Ten years of misery. Ten years of death."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hans-journal": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hans-journal", "description": "Hints at how to break the seal to a tower", "author": "Han", "title": "Han's Journal", "text": "\"When the eye is doused in flames, the hair will light the way.\"\n\nI've heard that fool Sindnar say it over and over, breath stinking of ale, as if it were a limerick. Given his dark hood you might think it was a dangerous spell. But so long as no one's hair caught on fire or found imps in their cupboards, the words were harmless. Just the mad ramblings of a drunk.\n\nOf the inn patrons, only I bothered to humor him. We bonded over a bottle of Honningbrew and the bucket with which we had history.\n\nSo when the Elf bit the dust, it was only natural he left his things to me. Among them were countless pieces of junk, including full ownership of the bucket, and a spell tome written in some long dead language.\n\nBut as soon as I started cursing the old fool for willing me his trash, out slipped two items of value, a map and notes to a tower deep in the swamps. It was only after reading it that I realized his drunken words weren't part of any limerick. They were instructions. A way in.\n\nNow that I'm here, things are getting even more clear. The hair part still doesn't make a lick of sense, but the eye is the stone seal, that much I'm sure. Yet nothing I do seems to work. I've doused it in the fire from my torch. I've chopped kindling for hours and built a bonfire high enough to scorch the bloody moon. Still, nothing.\n\nMaybe the seal can only be broken with magic. Well, if that drunken fool can learn to cast spells, so can I. I've got the bastard's tome, I just need to make sense of the words.\n\nBut I better be quick. The fire seems to be attracting all sorts of creatures from the belly of this unholy marsh. Hopefully I can manage to survive long enough to discover whatever treasure lies within."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hand-written-note": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hand-written-note", "description": "Thalmor interrogate a Skaal captive", "author": "Ancarion", "title": "Hand-written Note", "text": "I grow impatient with your lack of progress. If you cannot break the smith, I will be forced to find a more capable interrogator. I expect your next report to contain more encouraging results.\n- A"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hargars-journal": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hargars-journal", "description": "A group of bandits having a rough time.", "author": "Hargar", "title": "Hargar's Journal", "text": "8th of Evening Star, 4E 200\nJaree-Ra is up to something big. He wouldn't tell me exactly, all he said was, \"It'll be just like the good old days, before the cave-in sealed your boats in there.\" We can't send our ships out of here anymore. What is he hinting at?\n14th of Evening Star, 4E 200\nHe wants to know what loot we have saved up. I don't care what he says, I'm not telling him anything about my stash!  It stays down there where it's safe. I can't imagine he'd ever jump in this murky water, let alone swim down to the sunken boat.\n21st of Evening Star, 4E 200\nIt's on! Jaree-Ra and his sister, Deeja, have something cooked up.  All they need is a scapegoat. I wonder where they'll find someone dumb enough to do what they say. There's bound to be someone out there who will."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/harvesting-frostbite-spider-venom": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/harvesting-frostbite-spider-venom", "description": "Notes on Frostbite spiders.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Harvesting Frostbite Spider Venom", "text": "My reserves of frostbite spider venom are nearly depleted. The injuries I suffered in my last encounter with these deadly arachnids prevent me from undertaking the task myself, which is why I've hired you.\nCollecting the venom of the frostbite spider is not a complicated task, but there is some risk involved. I've written this brief guide in the hope that you'll be able to avoid making some of the mistakes that I've made.\nFrostbite spiders most often make their lairs in caves. These creatures do not shun the icy climes of the north, for as their name implies, they are largely immune to the cold.\nWhen food is especially scarce, a spider will venture out to hunt prey in the wilderness. Usually, however, the eight-legged devils prefer to ambush those unfortunate creatures who venture into their caverns seeking shelter.\nThe easiest way to locate a nest of frostbite spiders is to search for their large webs. Just take care not to get caught in one, for these webs are strong enough to trap a full-grown man. Once any part of you touches the sticky threads, it's nearly impossible to get free without help.\nAlso, keep a watchful eye toward the ceiling. The frostbite spider is as stealthy as it is swift, and can drop down onto your head and have its fangs in your back before you can scream.\nAs long as you find the frostbite spider before it finds you, collecting the venom should be a simple matter. Because they rely on their webs to immobilize their prey, the creatures are not that difficult to kill in open combat. If you're inclined toward the arcane arts, don't bother with ice spells. Fire magic will serve you far better.\nWith that, I will say farewell and good hunting. Remember, any loot that you find in the spider's web is yours to keep.\nThe larger the hole, the larger the spider.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hastily-scribbled-note": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hastily-scribbled-note", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Hastily Scribbled Note", "text": "\nMy scribing tools are lost, and I've no time for a lengthy entry, anyway. It's taken weeks, but I've finally found it! The Sanctuary of the Dark Brotherhood! One of them, anyway. In Skyrim, under a forest road.\nI've been watching them, the assassins. Their comings and goings. The fools have no idea they're being observed. My next goal is to somehow make it past the sinister black door, into the Sanctuary itself.\nI don't have time to even think about the dangers. The truth must be known!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/have-need-cynic": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/have-need-cynic", "description": "A friend must be rescued out of Cidha Mine.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Have Need of Cynic", "text": "Mercer,\nI'd consider it a personal favor if I could once again utilize Cynric's unique skills for a delicate situation in the Cidha Mines. A close friend has been incarcerated in that horrible place, and I should like him freed as soon as possible. I'd recommend Cynric avoid the Forsworn element that's prevalent within the mine and stick to as simple an escape plan as possible.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/heavy-armor-forging": {"game": ["Skyrim", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/heavy-armor-forging", "description": "Describes the materials and techniques needed to forge heavy armor.", "author": "Sven Two-Hammers", "title": "Heavy Armor Forging", "text": "Heavy armor must be designed to take a lot of punishment. It will receive direct blows from all sorts of weapons while protecting the wearer. Leather strips are used to make the straps and bindings in all armor\nIron and steel are easy to work. Just heat them up and pound them into shape. The heat of the forge is not that critical. Avoid filing off any of the metal. Always try to conserve the metal and work it back into shape.\nIron armor requires a large number of iron ingots. A smith might need a couple of dozen to complete a full set of iron armor. Steel armor primarily uses steel ingots, but some iron is used as well.\nDwarven armor is made from dwarven metal. The secret of this material was lost when the dwarves disappeared millennia ago. Now it can only be found as scrap in the ruins of their abandoned cities and fortresses.\nOrcish armor requires large amounts of Orichalcum, melded with a bit of iron. Heat should be used sparingly, let it become brittle. The Orcs are masters of this technique, but it can be learned by any smith with patience and skill.\nSteel plate mail is made by adding steel to molten Corundum. The alloy is stronger than either metal by itself. Corundum is a finicky material requiring the heat from the forge to be steady and not vary much.\nEbony can only be worked when heated. It will develop small cracks that eventually shatter the material if hammered cold. Unlike most other armors, Ebony will not alloy with iron. It must be used pure.\nI can only tell you tales of how to make Daedric armor. I have never seen it myself, nor do I know anyone that has. The stories say that it should always be worked on at night... ideally under a new or full moon, and never during an eclipse. A red harvest moon is best. Ebony is the principle material, but at the right moment a daedra heart must be thrown into the fire."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/heddics-volunruud-notes": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/heddics-volunruud-notes", "description": "Notes on the tomb of the Tongue Kvenel.", "author": "Heddic", "title": "Heddic's Volunruud Notes", "text": "I was skeptical, but it's obvious now. The old hymns had truth to them! The relief wasn't far from the entrance, just as they said. I've no doubt now that it hides the entrance to Kvenel's tomb.\nThe two keys must be hidden somewhere nearby - ceremonial replicas of Okin and Eduj, favored weapons when Kvenel went into battle. I don't dare explore further without hiring bodyguards to accompany me, however. To think - The Tongue Chieftain Kvenel could be entombed behind just a few feet of stone! The ancestor we scarcely believed was real.\nTwice damned for planning this foolish scouting trip. I should have hired those sellswords in the first place. Perhaps there's no need. This place is just a tomb, after all, and there are no obvious signs of habitation. It isn't as though the thousand-year dead will mind if I have a look around."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/heljarchen-hall-charter": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/heljarchen-hall-charter", "description": "Deed to Heljarchen Hall, in the Pale", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Heljarchen Hall Charter", "text": "[Jarl name], Jarl of [Capital city], to [Player name], [his/her]\u00a0steadfast friend; grant of the steading of Heljarchen Hall, south of Fort Dunstad near Giants' Gap.\nGranted on\u00a0[day] [month], [year]"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/herbalists-guide-skyrim": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/herbalists-guide-skyrim", "description": "Descriptions of common Skyrim plants and their alchemical properties.", "author": "Agneta Falia", "title": "Herbalist's guide to Skyrim", "text": "Those avoiding this northern province due to claims of barbarism or concerns over climate are doing themselves a disservice; in fact, Skyrim has a wealth of materials that every Alchemist would do well to avail himself of. I have traveled extensively throughout this land, and here are but a few of my findings. [pagebreak]\n\nBleeding Crown\nThe caps of these mushrooms do indeed appear smeared with blood, though it is often hard to see in the dark, damp places in which they grow. Not uncommonly found in Skyrim, their abundance is countered by the difficulty in acquiring them. As any experienced herbalist knows, the darkest of caves often conceal far more than mere mushrooms. Nonetheless, these potent fungi, when combined with certain powdered antlers, produce a mixture rendering one quite susceptible to poison. Their usefulness is also quite apparent when mixed with Lavender, creating a substance highly resistant to magic.\n\nDeathbell\nFolklore abounds about this flower found in the swamps of Hjaalmarch. Some stories claim it grows where unfortunate deaths have taken place, others insist it grows first and then lures unsuspecting people and animals to their doom. I have found no direct evidence to support these stories; indeed I found the flowers difficult to locate at all. While it is most well-known for its use in poisons, it would be remiss to overlook that the blooms of the Deathbell are very effective in mixtures for boosting one Alchemy skill.\n\nDragonfly\nA surprising number of insects survive in Skyrim's climate, many thriving in the lower, southern areas of the province. Dragonflies can be found in a great many places, and while catching them can be a daunting prospect, the reward is well worth the effort. It was beyond the scope of my research to determine whether the orange and blue dragonflies are fully different breeds or merely simple color variations, but through experimentation I found that the orange dragonfly, when combined with the very hardy barnacles found along the coast, transfer some of their flighty nature, giving the herbalist some very nimble fingers.\n\nHagraven Claw\nThe claws of a hagraven are best obtained in shops; it is inadvisable to suggest one collects them oneself. These creatures have traded in their humanity for access to powerful magics, and the transformations they undergo infuse their entire beings with some element of that power. Ingesting the powdered claws makes one more resistant to magic, but an especially curious property of the claws is revealed when mixed with snowberries (often found in Skyrim's higher elevations). I found myself capable of comprehending enchantments I had believed mystifying after ingesting the mixture, and have passed this knowledge on to several court wizards who were grateful for the knowledge.\n\nJazbay\nThere was a time when it would be considered treason to pick one of these grapes without express permission from the Emperor himself. It is my understanding that although growers in Skyrim were successful in improving the fruit's survivability, it came at the cost of flavor. No longer is it quite the prize it once was. And yet, growing amidst the volcanic tundra of Eastmarch, it is still immensely useful for concocting potions. Mages value it highly as it can be combined with simple garlic to enhance the regeneration of magicka. While no longer against the law, picking these grapes in large amounts is best kept to oneself.\n\nLuna Moth Wing\nAs with the dragonflies, I was taken aback by the number of butterflies, moths, and other insects that manage to thrive in Skyrim. The Luna moth is especially beautiful; its thin, almost ephemeral wings seem too delicate to hoist anything into the air, giving them an almost magical appearance. Indeed, that sense extends to the properties they exhibit when crushed and distilled (an action I admit was difficult to perform at first, no matter my resolve to discover all that Skyrim has to offer. These creatures are simply that beautiful!) While they can be used for creating poisons that damage magicka, I feel that would be a waste of their potential. Do not be alarmed if, when the wings are broken down almost completely, they appear to almost disappear under your mortar. That very quality makes the wings quite effective in potions of invisibility!\n\nTundra Cotton\nNot all Nords are savages wrapped in animal skins, howling at the moon. There are a wide variety of fabrics worn throughout the land, thanks in no small part to the stubborn Tundra Cotton plant. It soaks up what rain it can in the plains west of Whiterun, and blooms frequently. While it does not exhibit any of the more striking alchemical properties, it is a staple in potions for not only fortifying magicka, but for resisting spells as well. I wonder if that quality is what allows it to have adapted so well to this climate.\n\nNightshade\nThe name and shape of this plant are known to all; long understood to be one of the more potent components in many poisons, the average Nord keeps his distance from the bright purple flowers nestled among dark leaves. It is exceedingly effective as a pure poison, but can also be combined with other compounds to stiffen joints as well. It is thus favored amongst those who wish to disable their opponents in battle, and can be found coating the blades of many of the more unsavory characters in Skyrim."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/herbanes-bestiary-automatons": {"game": ["Skyrim", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/herbanes-bestiary-automatons", "description": "One Adventurer's experience with Dwemer centurions.", "author": "Herbane", "title": "Herbane's Bestiary: Automatons", "text": "Herbane's Bestiary:\n\tDwarven Automatons\n\n9 Hearthfire\nThe Dwarves have been extinct for many an age, and perhaps for the best. To see men and women the size of large children, all with beards, would be a most disturbing sight. Still, whatever wrath the Dwarves brought from the gods that consumed an entire civilization surely must have been an awe-inspiring thing to witness.\nThe remnants of their civilization lie buried in the hearts of mountains, and scholars and thieves the world over descend on the skeletal remains of dwarven cities like vultures, to scrape clean the bones of the past, old knowledge waiting to be exhumed and treasures to be discovered. But many men lay murdered in those halls of the damned, because those dwarven ruins do not release their treasures without a fight.\nMy kin would tell the stories long ago, when I was just a child, about how adept the Dwarves were at building machines. They would say that before our time, dwarves harnessed the power of the earth, and wielded fire and hammers to reshape steel and bronze with a mechanical brilliance that breathed life into these now ancient constructs of metal and magic. In the dark halls and chambers amid the ceasless droning of grinding gears and venting steam, they lie in wait to confound or destroy would-be plunderers of the dwarven sanctums, as the grim watchmen of the last vestiges of culture from a dead race.\nI descended into the humid darkness of Mzulft. The slow hiss of steam, creaking of metal and the rattle of old gears powering an empty city would unnerve most men. I could hear things in the darkness, skittering across the floor just out of sight and as I stepped over the bodies of plunderers or scholars who had not made it far, I knew it was not rats wandering these halls.\nSmall mechanical spiders set upon me with rapid movements, and machines sprouted from the walls and uncurled from spheres into contraptions that rolled on top of gears for legs and crossbows for arms. I could not help but marvel at these single purpose machines built for the murder of men. My sword and my shield are my strength and I am undeterred by such things because I had heard of greater things that roam these depths, and indeed something else in these chambers stirred, and it echoed with massive weight. As it lumbered closer, its feet struck the ground as if walking on massive pistons and as it loomed out of darkness, I could see it clear for the first time, axe for one hand, hammer for the other, as tall as five men, made of dull bronze with a face molded in the image of its masters. A Steam Centurion. The stories were true, these were the guardians of the greatest dwarven treasures.\nWe fought, and the dwarves must truly be extinct because our battle was surely booming enough to wake the dead. It came at me with hammer and axe, inhuman strength and great fortitude, and a purpose of nothing but murder. I dodged as it crushed the stone around me with futile strikes and I thrust and slashed at it with my blade and took every opening afforded as we shook the halls with violence. I refuse to be undone by a machine.\nWhere the average man would be long dead, I stood over the husk of this dead automaton, its steam escaping like a final gasp. I could have taken the dwarven artifacts and metal but left them there for others, for I would not hex my journey with the possessions of dead men and maybe that is where countless others go wrong.\nI will continue to my journey across the lands, And perhaps one day Herebane will meet a worthy challenge, for I have yet to see what would make me tremble."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/herbanes-bestiary-hagravens": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/herbanes-bestiary-hagravens", "description": "One Adventurer's experience with Hagravens. Also contains a myth about their origin.", "author": "Herbane", "title": "Herbane's Bestiary: Hagravens", "text": "5 Sun's Dawn\nI have heard a tale most bizarre- a beautiful young woman cast out of town by the thrown stones of accusers for giving in to the dark arts. They say she fled into the Reach and never reappeared, and justly so because they say the devilry of her magic had grown stronger with each new day. Shortly after, a witch of half woman and half bird had been sighted deep in the mountains, and as the sightings increased the young women began to disappear.\nThis tale has brought me to the Reach, where this witch they call a Hagraven makes it home. With sword and shield at the ready, for I must see this creature and I must slay it.\n24 Sun's Dawn\nThe stomach of an average man would turn at the cruelty set before me- I first saw the thatch and bone, the human skulls, the dead goat heads mounted on pikes, filthy animal pelts, loose entrails, and feathers matted in blood. I had heard that Forsworn revere and protect these Hagravens, and all around were their small, crude trinkets and alters to these witches on which sat dull, empty soul gems. What vile creature would live where all things are dead?\nDeeper into the lair, I heard it first- an unsteady shuffling, followed by a heaving, unforgettable stench. I thrust the torch in front of me and waited for my eyes to adjust to the tunnel of darkness ahead of me. I saw the silhouette of what I thought to be a frail woman on an awkward gait, but the light of the torch revealed something else. This Hagraven was horrifying, almost human but more an abomination of woman and creature fused together, nothing more than a husk of humanity surrendered in exchange for possession of the powers of dark magic. This magic corrupted her greatly, and her dull, glass eyes stared with hate from the visage of an old crone sat atop the body of a contorted, misshapen human body adorned with black feathers. It bristled as it let out a piercing scream, and as a vivid red light began to form in the palm of its talons, it was all I could do to raise my shield in defense of magic most foul. I fought through devilry that seemed to snatch life from me, and the thought that this thing was once a woman seemed to play on my nerves.\nMost men would have crumbled, but I do not bend. The Hagraven is a most repulsive creature, and deserving of its fate and its claws that are my trophy will tell the story of Herebanes triumph. I have naught but to continue my travels and my conquests, for I have yet to see what would make me tremble."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/herbanes-bestiary-ice-wraiths": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/herbanes-bestiary-ice-wraiths", "description": "One Adventurer's experience with Ice Wraiths.", "author": "Herbane", "title": "Herbane's Bestiary: Ice Wraiths", "text": "17 Last Seed\nWhen winters chill descended upon me as I traveled further north through the frozen plains and mountains, I settled in at the inn at Dawnstar for a moment of respite and a warm meal. Another traveler there told me to be cautious, that there are creatures who settle into the powder white of the snow with nary a clue to the careless, until it is too late. He went on and on, with wild gestures and fantastic tales of entire merchant expeditions being killed by the beasts. His stories frightened the other inn patrons, but I will not be turned by a coward's tale, I will see these for my own eyes, for those icy caves and snow capped peaks of the north are exactly the type of places that call to an adventurer like me. It did not take me long to find what I sought.\nThese Ice Wraiths are lucid, serpentine creatures of magic, as if conjured from the frozen tundra and glaciers of Skyrim itself. At one with an environment that makes them nearly invisible, these ethereal apparitions are the death of many Nords, if not by their sudden, unholy strike that casts their entire body through their target, then by the malady of Witbane, a curse of infection that dulls the intellect and makes the target even more the victim.\nAs deadly as they are, Ice Wraiths are simple minded in their determination, and combat is a straight forward affair and brute force and a sharp blade are enough to fell these savage creatures. Only the heartiest of men would hope to survive just one of these beasts, but I have slain two with general ease.\nIt's good that I've found I can make decent coin selling the Ice Wraith's teeth, as they are a prized ingredient in alchemical potions. That will continue to afford me the opportunity to search these lands for a challenge worthy of story, for I have yet to see what would make me tremble."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hired-thugs-missive": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hired-thugs-missive", "description": "Two bodyguards hired to escort a Breton with a mysterious mask.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Hired Thug's Missive", "text": "It seemed like an easy enough job. Groz and me done plenty like it before. Some chinless Breton wants bodyguards for a trip into the mountains. Fine. Easy clink for us.\nHe goes on about this twice-forsaken mask of his the whole way, of course. Got a pretty good laugh when Groz snatched it and put it on her face - he threatened to fire us for that one. Not smart out here on your own, he realized that right fast and shut up about not paying.\nSo we get here, he thumbs through some papers and mutters to himself - never you mind that me and Groz had to cut through ten stinking trolls just to get him here - and without so much as a warning, poof.  He's put on that mask and vanished. Could have put my hands on his throat one moment, the next he's not so much as thin air.\nWell, after a while we didn't know what to do, and Groz picks her gear up to head home, when he poofs back, that mask in his hand. Begs us not to leave, says he needs us to wait, this is what he's paying us for. Then puts the mask back on his sorry face and he's gone again. I'd seen cloaks do invisibility before, but a few swings of my fist proved he wasn't pulling that one. Nothing there to hit.\nHe shows up again, tells us he just needs more time. Has to figure out something about other masks, and vanishes again. That was yesterday, and I'm done with twiddling my thumbs and writing letters to myself. We're leaving come sunrise, and if he shows up again I promise Azura I'm putting this dagger through his chest to keep him in one place. We'll pull more loot off him dead than he could have paid alive. But not the mask. That cursed thing can stay and rot with him and the trolls right here.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/holdings-jarl-gjalund": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/holdings-jarl-gjalund", "description": "Ancient survey of the lands of Jarl Gjalund.", "author": "Slafknir the Scribe", "title": "Holdings of Jarl Gjalund", "text": "Survey of the Holdings of Jarl Gjalund\nAs Witnessed by Slafknir the Scribe, so Sworn by the Old Gods and the New\n\nWhiterun - \u00a0[AHROLSEDOVAH] - The Jarl's Holding, with Plentiful Water and Pasturage. Home of Jorrvaskr, the Far-Famed Hall of the Companions.\nRorik's Steading - \u00a0[RORIKHOFKAH] - A Small Farmstead in the Western Plains. Grain, Leather, Horses.\nGranite Hill - \u00a0[QUETHSEGOL AHROL] - Three Farms and an Inn, just North of the Falkreath. A Market is Held here Weekly.\nH'roldan - \u00a0[AHROLDAN] - A Spacious Wooden Hall and Pasturage, recently Seized from the Reachmen. Silver and Iron as Tribute from the Natives.\nBromjunaar - \u00a0[BROMJUN1R] - An Old Settlement, much Reduced from Former Days. Lumber and Stone.\nKorvanjund - \u00a0[KORVANJUND] - A Small Fortified Settlement. Hides and Meat.\nVolunruud - \u00a0[VOLUNR5D] - A Fortified Wooden Hall near Giants' Gap. Meat and Worked Ivory.\nHillgrund's Steading - \u00a0[HILLGRUNDHOFKAH] - A Large Farmstead Near the Base of the Monahven. Grain, Mead, Honey.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/home-furnishings": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/home-furnishings", "description": "Notifies the player that a children's bedroom is available.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Home Furnishings", "text": "[Player Name],\nAfter a careful review of the building plans for [home name], your house in [City], I can offer you an additional option for furnishing your home: if you wish, you can now purchase a children's bedroom set. I have arranged to update your Home Decorating Guide accordingly.\nAs always, please speak with me if you would like to purchase this or any other furnishings for your house.\nSincerely,\n[Steward name]\n\tSteward of [City]"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/homestead-sale": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/homestead-sale", "description": "Home for sale", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Homestead for Sale", "text": "HOMESTEAD FOR SALE\nThis home, and its surrounding environs, is available for purchase.\n\nI have had many cherished adventures in Skyrim, but now I am afraid I must leave it behind. The war has made life difficult on all of us, and I fear that the worst is yet to come.\n\nI have entrusted the steward in Dragonsreach with managing the sale of my homestead. If interested, please seek him out."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/horker-attacks": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/horker-attacks", "description": "Guide to surviving a fight with horkers.", "author": "Heidmir Starkad", "title": "Horker Attacks", "text": "Surviving A Horker Attack\n\nby Heidmir Starkad\nOn my travels through Skyrim I have run into many northern fisherman and hunters with intriguing tales of their encounters with horkers.  The stories are varied, ranging from deadly attacks to a girl who claims she was saved from drowning.\nI have taken it upon myself to compile some of these for those who journey along the frozen coast.\nOur first tale is of a hunter named Gromm.  He claims that one night while turning in after a long day of trapping, he saw a great shadow cast on the wall of his tent.  Did he get the horker or did the horker get him?\nGromm was a great trapper working in the frozen tundra collecting fox pelts but as he was about to fall asleep one night, he heard some noises coming from outside of his tent.\nHis first instinct was to remain calm and see if the beast would pass, but after some threatening roars, Gromm slowly made for his axe.  The creature detected his movement and began to thrash around using its great tusks to shred the hunter's tent and knocking the hunter off balance.\nAs he stumbled Gromm was able to use a frost spell scroll but the ice magic seemed to have diminished effect on the horker.  That tidbit may be of use to someone out there.\nAfter recovering from the stagger, Gromm was able to steady himself and with a few great cleaves killed the horker.  Though his camp was in ruins, Gromm was lucky to walk away with only a slight goring to his left thigh.\nDrawing of Horker Tusks\nGromm's parting comment was that if you do encounter a horker, remain calm and remember that if you survive, the meat and tusks will fetch a nice bit of gold at market.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/house-redorans-reply": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/house-redorans-reply", "description": "Solstheim is denied economic aid by House Redoran.", "author": "Dralis Rorlen", "title": "House Redoran's Reply", "text": "Councilor Morvayn,\nWhile I appreciate the urgency of the situation on Solstheim, I'm afraid that I can't approve the request for supplies and funds at this time. This is nothing personal, Lleril. Your island is one of seventy-four outlying settlements of Morrowind at this time. House Redoran must rank these outposts in terms of economic and strategic importance. We have limited coin in our coffers to send to these settlements, so we have to decide which ones take precedence. Unfortunately, Solstheim is very low on the list. I'm doing everything I can for you. All I ask is that you hang on a little longer.\nDralis Rorlen\n\tCouncilmember, House Redoran"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hrodulfs-journal": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hrodulfs-journal", "description": "A colonist is bothered by subterranean noises.", "author": "Hrodulf", "title": "Hrodulf's Journal", "text": "1.\nI've arrived in Solstheim, and moved into an old house on the hill by the shore. Whoever lived here before is long gone.\n2.\nI can see well out into the waters from my vantage here, and can hear all things behind and around.\u00a0 Dunmer bandits wander the woods at night, but I don't fear them.\n5.\nThere is a calling from the depths; a rumble drone that sings to me at night.\u00a0 I've started sleeping in the basement + keeping a knife near.\u00a0 The call is loudest down here.\u00a0 I will to be ready for whatever is coming...\n6.\nit is as if a great machine reverberates beneath me\n10.\ni tire of waiting for the caller underneath to emerge\ni walked to town + bought some digging tools: shovel, shovel, pick i started to break down the wall behind the bookshelf + dig down slow going i put the bookshelf back when i finish digging why? no houseguests here but i feel i have something to hide\n13.\nhow can i make bjorn hear what i have heard?\u00a0 i must not lose him yet i must remain in this place for i know i will know the truth soon\n23.\nthe murmurer in the earth and i we talk i lay my head against the dirt\n51.\nfire from the deep"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hugin-ice-shapers-journal": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hugin-ice-shapers-journal", "description": "Guide on how to craft Nordic Jewelry", "author": "Hugin Ice-Shaper", "title": "Hugin Ice-Shaper's Journal", "text": "Finding naturally occurring raw pieces of a suitable size and shape is unlikely\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0re\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0eth\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 ha\u00a0 \u00a0 ot\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0e\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0ed\n\nperha\u00a0 \u00a0t\u00a0 re are some alter\u00a0 \u00a0ive methods I hav\u00a0 not yet expl\u00a0 \u00a0 I quickly discovered grinding with traditional methods is nearly impossible, but this material fascinates me. I am determined to incorporate it into my work\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 t\u00a0 \u00a0 lects\u00a0 \u00a0f the su\u00a0 \u00a0ce w\u00a0 h\n\nsha\u00a0 \u00a0 are m\u00a0 \u00a0 re\u00a0 l\u00a0 \u00a0 n s\u00a0 \u00a0e than\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0is\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Shattering large chunks with an\u00a0 application of violent force after repeated bouts of extreme heating and cooling (note: magical methods are the most viable) yields far more material to select from.\n\nIn addition, the shards are more regular in shape than debris left by a pickaxe. The amount of waste is disappointing, but the cost may be offset\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0sel\u00a0 \u00a0ed a collec\u00a0 \u00a0n\u00a0 \u00a0of p\u00a0 ces for\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 f\u00a0 \u00a0e\u00a0 r\u00a0 \u00a0c\n\nFurther shaping by using a\u00a0 second appropriately sized piece of stalhrim yields particularly satisfactory results. The product is quite rough, but has sort of a naturalistic appeal\u00a0 \u00a0 a few des\u00a0 \u00a0s. Some\u00a0 \u00a0ng is s\u00a0 ll m\u00a0 s ng\n\no\u00a0 \u00a0t\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0t\u00a0 \u00a0o\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0b\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0h s\u00a0 s\u00a0 \u00a0of\u00a0 at\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0st\u00a0 \u00a0a\u00a0 \u00a0 set in quicksilver with a\u00a0 traditional Nordic motif. Perfection. With a bit of hired help, I have adequate materials to reproduce the design and distribute to the mainland.\n\nI will finally make a name for myself!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hunters-journal": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hunters-journal", "description": "A good kill of bears.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Hunter's Journal", "text": "Tracked down a small den of bears today. Their pelts are in fine condition and should fetch a good price. Going to set up camp for the night and kill the beasts in the morning. Hopefully we can get by on the few arrows we have left, or I may have to fall back on my blade\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hyenrils-journal": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hyenrils-journal", "description": "History of the Staff of Chaos and the Arms of Chaos", "author": "Hyenril", "title": "Hyenril's Journal", "text": "1st of Sun's Dawn, 4E 201\nMaster Ellane said the Staff of Chaos was crafted by Loreth, and passed on through the generations until it was stolen by Jagar Tharn, before being shattered into pieces by the Eternal Champion.\n\nWhile the pieces may be lost forever, they say centuries later, a descendant of Loreth sought to recreate their magic. The results were the Arms of Chaos, magical staves that harnessed the power of the Sun and the Moon. Yet one day, the mage dismantled the staves and left them lifeless, convinced they were possessed by some unknown madness.\n\nIt was my master's obsession to restore these artifacts, and in her honor, it has become mine. If only I could speak to her, I would know what to do next.\n\n17th of Rain's Hand, 4E 201\nLeave it to my late master to provide guidance on how to proceed. Going through her effects, I found a sketch of the necklace she often wore. It's identical in all ways but one - there's an orb set in the center of the amulet, teeming with fire. If it's true that Loreth's magic allowed one to travel to distant worlds, then it's possible this orb is a Sigil Stone! If my hunch is right, the staves are missing the same.\n\n22nd of Rain's Hand, 4E 201\nMy spirit renewed, I scoured the archives in Winterhold and found my path forward. I must find a way to summon three Daedra, Guardians of the Sigil Stones. There's an altar on the eastern shore of Skytemple Ruins, bearing a Daedric mark. It may be what I need.\n\n28th of Rain's Hand, 4E 201\nI've hit a snag. The ring used to activate the summoning circle was buried with my late master, which I foolishly had shipped to her ancestral home. To think she even gifted me the ring, and I mistook it for sentiment! I feel thicker than Netch Jelly.\n\nStill, complaining won't undo my mistake. The name of the ship was the Sea Stallion, I wonder if I can catch it before it departs.\n\n2nd of Last Seed, 4E 201\nThe courier has yet to return. I'm beginning to fear the worst; that the ship had already left the dock long before my letter arrived. I'm not sure what to do at this point. I haven't had much sleep, and my mind is starting to hear creaking noises where nothing exists.\n\nI wish my master were here still, so I could seek her wisdom. They say there is a Shrine of Akray at the pass to the south. Come morning, I will visit it and pray for an answer."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/idgrods-note": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/idgrods-note", "description": "", "author": "Idgrod the Younger", "title": "Idgrod's Note", "text": "Sister Danica,\nJoric's mood is still melancholic, but he is otherwise in strong health. The potions you have given me has eased his nightmares, but I am afraid my family's \"gifts\" run strong in his veins.\nIdgrod the Younger\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ildaris-journal-0": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ildaris-journal-0", "description": "Describes Ildari's experiments on General Carius", "author": "Ildari", "title": "Ildari's Journal", "text": "Day 32\n\tIt's been almost a month since unearthing the crypt at Fort Frostmoth, and I haven't seen a single spark of life in the general's remains. Grafting the heartstone to the subject is proving much more difficult than I originally anticipated. I've used almost every method I can think of, and still there's no sign of reanimation. At this rate, it could be years before I make any progress... which is time that I just can't afford right now. If my vengeance is to come to fruition, I need results. If not, I may need to resort to more drastic measures.\nDay 47\n\tIt finally appears that I'm making some progress. After my latest experiment, General Carius's eyes briefly opened and he moved his arms. It lasted for less than a few moments, but it's the first sign of progress I've seen since I arrived here. A few of my assistants were insisting that I was imagining things, but I dismissed them for their insolence. They won't be bothering anyone ever again.\nDay 55\n\tGeneral Carius awoke fully today. He bolted upright after my incantations and began staggering around like a blind man. He seemed to ignore my commands... in fact, hearing my voice seemed to increase his hostility. I was able to remove the heartstone before he became violent, but this isn't a result that I expected. Even though he's able to be awakened, I feel as though the real work has just begun.\nDay 59\n\tThe general is still unable or unwilling to listen to my commands. He's acting increasingly paranoid, and appears to have his own free will. He's convinced that I am a \"spy\" or the \"enemy,\" and I've had to restrain him to prevent him from outright attacking me. This is becoming intolerable. I'm beginning to wonder if someone with a heartstone can be commanded at all. If my experiments with General Carius fail, I may have to resort to self-experimentation... something I've been avoiding for a long time."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/imperial-condolances": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/imperial-condolances", "description": "Tells of the death of Saeel at the Battle of the Red Ring.", "author": "Pius Bruccius", "title": "Imperial Condolances", "text": "4E 175\nImperial Citizen Lu'ah Al-Skaven,\nIt is with the deepest regret that I must inform you of the death of your husband Saeel.\nHe laid down his life in battle helping retake the Imperial City from the Aldmeri. He showed great courage in his final hour and his sacrifice will not be in vain. All considered him a man of high moral standing and a shining example of the best the Empire has to offer.\nIn this hour of your grief, please take solace in the fact that he gave up his life protecting the Empire which he held so dear.\nYours Sincerely,\nImperial Praefect Pius Bruccius"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/imperial-letter": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/imperial-letter", "description": "Reports of Stormcloak advancement, and promise of reinforcements.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Imperial Letter", "text": "Lieutenant Armiger,\nOur scouts report a band of rebels advancing on your position. Be on guard. Reinforcements are on the way.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/imperial-missive": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/imperial-missive", "description": "Reports that Thorald Graymane has been captured by the Thalmor.", "author": "General Tulius", "title": "Imperial Missive", "text": "It has come to my attention that inquiries have been made as to the whereabouts of one Thorald Gray-Mane.\nIt is my duty to inform you that Thalmor agents have taken possession of the prisoner and have escorted him to Northwatch Keep.\nI don't think I need to elaborate. It is in everyone's best interest if the matter is dropped entirely. I trust there will be no further inquiries as to this matter.\nGen. Tullius\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/imperial-order": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/imperial-order", "description": "Note from Tullius allowing for release of prisoner from Northwatch Keep", "author": "General Tulius", "title": "Imperial Order", "text": "Note from Tullius allowing for release of prisoner from Northwatch Keep\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/incriminating-letter": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/incriminating-letter", "description": "Bribes and backroom deals with Anuriel, Riften's steward.", "author": "Maven Black-Briar", "title": "Incriminating Letter", "text": "Dearest Anuriel,\nThe Jarl has shown great wisdom in choosing you as her steward. A position well befitting your character, as it demands great cunning, grace, and, shall we say, a talent for performing one's duties tactfully and discreetly.\nYou have become an important asset to our operation. I trust you found the dress accompanying this letter to your satisfaction. Remember, as I flourish, so too will my friends.\nHowever, I wish to remind you of your pledge to prevent Honningbrew deliveries from entering the city. I am also still waiting for the detachment of city guards to escort my merchandise. I understand it can take time navigating around the delicate sensibilities of your mistress, the great Lalia Law-Giver, but really, I've waited long enough.\nProvided you continue to serve my interests, I will continue to look after yours.\nI trust I'll be hearing from you soon.\n--Maven"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/incriminating-letter-0": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/incriminating-letter-0", "description": "A warning to would-be vampires, courtesy of the Dawnguard.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Incriminating Letter", "text": "Citizens of [city name]. The slain personage before you is a suspected creature of the night. Thus the Dawnguard have slain him.\nLet this be a lesson to all men and women demonstrating unholy powers and those who would protect them.\nWe are watching!\n--The Dawnguard"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/invitation-elenwens-reception": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/invitation-elenwens-reception", "description": "Invites the player to the Thalmor Embassy.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Invitation to Elenwen's Reception", "text": "Elenwen, First Emissary of the Aldmeri Dominion to the Kingdom of Skyrim\nRequests the Pleasure of the Company of\n[Player's name]\nat a Reception on [day] [month], [year] at the Ambassador's Residence.\nRegrets Only. Formal Attire Requested.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/isabelles-letter": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/isabelles-letter", "description": "A farewell letter to Ranmir.", "author": "Isabelle", "title": "Isabelle's Letter", "text": "My dearest Ranmir,\nBy the time you receive this, I will be gone. I know that it's wrong to mislead you, but I didn't want you to prevent me from going.\nI know it's been hard on you, on both of us, struggling to survive. I hate to see the look in your eyes every time you think about how little the two of us have, and I know you're too proud to ever say anything. So I'm going to make it all better.\nI've talked to my friend Vex, and she's given me some advice. I know how to get something that will allow us to live happily, without ever worrying about money ever again.\nI love you so much, Ranmir. You mean the world to me, and I only want to see you happy.\nWorry not. I'll be home soon.\nIsabelle\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ivaras-notes": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ivaras-notes", "description": "Necromancer's plan to open a portal to the Soul Cairn", "author": "Ivara", "title": "Ivara's Notes", "text": "The journey from Olenveld was long but worth the trip. We'll have a far easier time finding what we need to open the portal to the Soul Cairn.\n\nThe pass is remote and yet there are no shortage of travelers looking for a shortcut across the mountains. As such, we'll have plenty of blood and bonemeal at our disposal, but we'll need void salts and soul gem fragments to complete the ritual.\n\nLushak suggested we contact the local smugglers for help with the latter. She'd been in contact with one about the Staff of Hasedoki. If the wizard truly bonded his soul to the stave as the legends suggest, releasing him might provide a worthy offering to the Ideal Masters.\n\nIn any case, adding the ingredients to the list should be an easy task."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/jdatharrs-note": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/jdatharrs-note", "description": "Assassination order for Malborn.", "author": "J'datharr", "title": "J'datharr's Note", "text": "Description of target:\nBosmer male, goes by Malborn. Believed to be working for the Blades, so approach with caution.\nHe has inside knowledge of our procedures, so he will be warier than usual. Malborn is not his real name - he's now been identified as a survivor of a family of traitors who were all believed to have died in a fire in Falinesti.\nDo not risk him evading us. He's likely trying to leave Skyrim. Make sure of your kill, and do not implicate us.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/jzhars-journal": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/jzhars-journal", "description": "Signing up for a Dwemer dig to get your brother off his Skooma addiction turns out to be a bad idea.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "J'zhar's Journal", "text": "This one is at his wit's end. I signed J'darr and myself up for this expedition to try to get him clean of the Skooma. I brought a small supply to try bring him down slowly, but the storm has had us trapped in the glacier for weeks.\nThe others have not yet caught on that one with fur should not shake so much from the cold, but I've run out of the little skooma I brought and J'darr is getting pretty bad. He's started hallucinating creatures coming out of the ice and the ruins, the others are starting to think he may be behind Valie's disappearance, but I know he would never do something like that."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/japhets-journal": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/japhets-journal", "description": "Journal of a man settling a haunted island.", "author": "Japhet", "title": "Japhet's Journal", "text": "A smaller band than was expected joined with me departing Dawnstar. Apparently the local word is that this island is unfit for any sort of habitation, owing to spirits and ill-favored weather. No matter, more space for the loyal few, though the building of the citadel may prove to be time consuming.\nThis first winter was difficult, with the abandonment of many men and women to return to their families on the mainland. A culling of the herd -- let us lose the faithless, the weak, and those who lack the fortitude to persevere.\nThe stories of ghosts inhabiting this place are just stories. They frighten away more of those who would weep like children when their shadows flicker in the firelight. Me and my closest remain, ever vigilant.\nI find little need for additional company. The cold and winds seem to finally have driven off the last of those who would fancy themselves to be my compatriots. I have no need of their indolence. Let those who look upon Japhet's Fortress be afraid and know the great man who conquered the accursed island.\nNow even my more trusted go-betweens have stopped making their regular deliveries of food and supplies to the fortress. I must now become self-sufficient and farm the land, as my father did.\nThe rocks are unyielding, and my grain grows short. But I will not abandon my greatest creation. I will weather the storm and fend off the ghosts and bite into the wind such that all might sing songs of my great settlement.\nI'm starting to think the stories of the ghosts may have a kernel of truth to them. Or else it's simply the hunger talking.\nThe ghosts are speaking to me now, the more of this icemoss that I eat, the more clearly I can hear them. They are telling me it was a mistake to come here, as if I didn't already know that.\nOH GODS HELP ME\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/joftens-journal": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/joftens-journal", "description": "Describes how bandits came into their current gear", "author": "Joften", "title": "Joften's Journal", "text": "An ancient battle site was discovered near Thoron's lair. On the ground, an assortment of weapons and armor of the Daedra known as Golden Saints and Dark Seducers laid strewn about. It is from this site that we took up their arms, and joined together as bandit companies under their names. Since then, as the only blacksmith, I have taken it upon myself to study these otherworldly artifacts.\n\nAnd now, at last, my efforts to reproduce the exquisite craftsmanship of these great Daedra has finally born fruit.\n\nMy mind is not what it once was. If my memory fails me, at least these notes can help the others keep the craft alive.\n\nOne would be foolish to forge weapons from gold, as it is far too soft. And yet the golden blades of the Saints are nimble and harder than steel. How could this be? The trick appears to be three fold: First, the structure of the piece must be reinforced with refined moonstone. Second, the gold must be hammered into place while the gold is heated just below its melting point. Third, the introduction of the heart of a Daedra to the forge when heating the piece so it can be hammered into shape completely transforms the attributes of the metal, giving it its uncanny hardness.\n\nThe process for forging the dark armor of the Seducers is similar, but requires more finesse, as you must balance shaping the unyielding ebony with malleable quicksilver. The heat applied must be very precise or the shape and integrity of the equipment will be ruined. As before, introduce the Daedric heart to the forge as you heat the material."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/jornibrets-last-dance": {"game": ["Skyrim", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/jornibrets-last-dance", "description": "A bawdy song about a playboy and the lady who charms him.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Jornibret's Last Dance", "text": "Lord Jornibret's Last Dance\n\t(Traditional)\nWomen's Verse I:\n\tEvery winter season,\n\tExcept for the reason\n\tOf one war or another\n\t(Really quite a bother),\n\tThe Queen of Rimmen and her consort\n\tRequest their vassals come and cavort.\n\tOn each and every ball,\n\tThe first man at the Hall\n\tIs Lord Ogin Jornibret of Gaer,\n\tThe Curse of all the Maidens Fair.\nWomen's Refrain:\n\tOh, dear ladies, beware.\n\tDearest, dearest ladies, take care.\n\tThough he's a very handsome man,\n\tIf you dare to take his handsome hand,\n\tThe nasty little spell will be cast\n\tAnd your first dance with him will be the last.\nMen's Verse I:\n\tAt this social event\n\tEveryone who went\n\tKnew the bows and stances\n\tAnd steps to all the dances.\n\tThe Queen of Rimmen and her consort\n\tWould order a trumpet's wild report,\n\tAnd there could be no indecision\n\tAs the revelers took position.\n\tThe first dance only ladies, separate\n\tAway from such men as Lord Jornibret.\nMen's Refrain:\n\tOh, dear fellows, explain.\n\tBrothers, can you help make it plain:\n\tThe man's been doing this for years,\n\tLeaving maidens fair in tears\n\tBefore the final tune's been blast.\n\tAnd her first dance with him will be the last.\nWomen's Verse II:\n\tLord Ogin Jornibret of Gaer\n\tWatched the ladies dance on air\n\tThe loveliest in the realm.\n\tA fellow in a ursine-hide helm\n\tSaid, \"The Queen of Rimmen and her consort\n\tHave put together quite a sport.\n\tWhich lady fair do you prefer?\"\n\tLord Jornibret pointed, \"Her.\n\tSee that bosom bob and weave.\n\tWell-suited for me to love and leave.\"\nWomen's Refrain.\nMen's Verse II:\n\tThe man in the mask of a bear\n\tHad left the Lord of Gaer\n\tBefore the ladies' dance was ending.\n\tThen a trumpet sounded, portending\n\tThat the Queen of Rimmen and her consort\n\tCalled for the men to come to court.\n\tDisdainful, passing over all the rest,\n\tOgin approached she of bobbing breast.\n\tShe was rejected, saved a life of woe,\n\tFor a new maiden as fair as snow.\nMen's Refrain.\nWomen's Verse III:\n\tAt the first note of the band,\n\tThe beauty took Ogin's hand.\n\tShe complimented his stately carriage\n\tDancing to the tune about the marriage\n\tOf the Queen of Rimmen and her consort.\n\tIt is very difficult indeed to comport\n\tWith grace, neither falling nor flailing,\n\tWearing ornate hide and leather mailing,\n\tDancing light as the sweetest of dreams\n\tWithout a single squeak of the seams.\nWomen's Refrain.\nMen's Verse III:\n\tThe rhythms rose and fell\n\tNo one dancing could excel\n\tWith masculine grace and syncopation,\n\tLord Jornibret even drew admiration\n\tFrom the Queen of Rimmen and her consort.\n\tLike a beauteous vessel pulling into port,\n\tHe silently slid, belying the leather's weight.\n\tShe whispered girlishly, \"The hour is late,\n\tBut I've never seen such grace in hide armor.\"\n\tIt 'twas a pity he knew he had to harm her.\nMen's Refrain\nWomen's Verse IV\n\tThe tune beat was furious\n\tHe began to be curious\n\tWhere had the maiden been sequest'ed.\n\t\"Before this dance was requested\n\tBy the consort and his Queen of Rimmen\n\tI didn't see you dance with the women.\"\n\t\"My dress was torn as I came to the dance,\"\n\tShe said smiling in a voice deep as a man's,\n\t\"My maids worked quickly to repair,\n\tWhile I wore a suit of hide, a helm of a bear.\"\nWomen's Refrain.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/journal": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/journal", "description": "Final words of a man dying from Rockjoint.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Journal", "text": "Well, after all my years living in these woods, it looks like the Rockjoint will finally be the end of me. I guess that's fine. All my friends are long dead. The only one left is poor Meeko. He was always a loyal companion, and I know he'll be able to take care of himself. I hope someday I'll see him again.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/journal-fragment": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/journal-fragment", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Journal Fragment", "text": "Not good enough to live in their stupid keep, am I? Stupid sods don't realize I've moved into the undercroft and started taking control of their own death hounds. I'll get my revenge.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/journal-madman": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/journal-madman", "description": "Too much knowledge is a bad thing.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Journal of a Madman", "text": "They said it was impossible. They, not me. I knew! The book knew. It knows all. And I know all. All I need to know. To fly! They laughed. The others were afraid. Don't even try, they said. They said it was impossible. They, not me. The book is filled with knowledge. The book fills me. With knowledge. Secret hidden knowledge. My knowledge. I must hide the knowledge. Hide it away deep inside. I will eat the book. A page at a time. Slowly. Slowly. I will become one with the knowledge contained on its pages. In its pages. In me! The knowledge of flight. They said it was impossible. Ha!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/journal-drokt": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/journal-drokt", "description": "A madman's musing about the puzzle machine that drove him insane.", "author": "Drokt", "title": "Journal of Drokt", "text": "I weren't never one for writing about my life. The king-priests of old deserve their stories told, but Drokt is a simple man. So this isn't no journal and I'm not telling any stories here. But this infernal machine done worked its way into my brainspace and I won't leave till it's figured out.\nThe whole contraption just sets like a dead horker if it doesn't have the box. Putting the box in the hole made it all come to life.\nFive rings, but only four buttons? Most of of 'em don't work most of the time anyhows. When the lights line up, more open, but they don't seem to help. Just make another damned thing move.\nThe old fleabag Khajiit what sold me this cube said something about \"the light through the knowledge through the machine rests on the cube.\" I remember because he made me say it back at him till I wanted to throttle him.\nSo I did.\nTried to leave, but wolves to the top and them eyeless freaks outside the tower. Gotta stay here till I get it right.\nAnd I will get it right.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/justiciar-execution-order": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/justiciar-execution-order", "description": "Orders and authorises the player's death.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Justiciar Execution Order", "text": "Be on the look out for the [player's race] called [player's name]. [He/she] is an enemy to the Thalmor, and has actively disrupted our activities and caused great harm.  If spotted, you are to destroy [him/her] with extreme hatred.\nBe advised, [he/she] is extremely dangerous, and quite able to defend [himself/herself]. If caught by local authorities, we are unable to offer you any assistance.\nFor the glory of the Aldmeri Dominion!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/karans-journal": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/karans-journal", "description": "Diary of a woman in love.", "author": "Karan", "title": "Karan's Journal", "text": "8th of Frostfall\nOh, Talvur! Dear, sweet Talvur! I can't stop thinking about him! Since that first moment I laid eyes on him in the marketplace, my heart was lost. But Father would never allow me to marry a commoner, much less a poor Dunmer miner. Mara, what to do?\n11th of Sun's Dawn\nAnother letter from Talvur, the third this week. He says he can't live without me, that he'd rather die than lose me to another. Oh, I feel the same way!\nI can't abide this any longer. Father is sure to find out eventually - the maids are all aflutter over my \"secret love.\" Something will slip. Talvur and I must be long gone by then, or Father will have all the Reach up in arms against him.\n22nd of First Seed\nI've convinced Father to take me on his next trip out east. When we reach the inn at Old Hroldan, I'll slip out at night and meet Talvur in the hills above Soljund's.\nTalvur says he's been saving his wages for the last few months, stowing them away in the old stump up there. With that, we should be able to buy passage to Riften, and our freedom. Oh, love, I can't wait another hour!\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/katrias-journal": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/katrias-journal", "description": "Documents a spurned scholar's search for the Aetherium Forge.", "author": "Katria", "title": "Katria's Journal", "text": "17th of Sun's Height\n\tDamn that scheming elf! Damn him! He steals my notes, my discovery, and publishes it under his name! Twenty years of my life spent digging through those ruins, and what do I get? A dedication? 'Friend and Colleague' my arse. He's just mocking me!\nWell, I'll have the last laugh. Taron may have my theory, but he doesn't have any proof, not yet. If I can find the Forge first, I can show the world this is my discovery. Mine, not his!\n4th of Last Seed\n\tI've got a lead. One of the moldy old books in Mzund mentioned the Forge. Ruined through and through, but I was able to copy down a few scraps, including a map of the first-era Dwemer kingdoms. Need to cross-reference it with modern borders when I get back.\n\n\nHere's the result:\n1 - Arkngthamz\n\tThis one, 'Arkngthamz', was on the inscription, too. Apparently the main Aetherium research center. Seems like the place to start.\n2 -\u00a0\n\tMentioned as a 'Bthar-zel' ('allied city'?). Not Bthardamz, though. Looks like a smaller site, north or northwest of there, on the river.\n3 -\u00a0\n\tThe primary source of Aetherium. Extracted from some deeper mine?\n4 -\u00a0\n\tA storage site for raw Aetherium, just outside a major city. Apparently, it had to be kept outside because the Aetherium was 'harmonically volatile'.\n5 -\n\tNo name, no identifying information, but page after page of ruined diagrams. Couldn't make out much, but it looks like - an astrolabe, a gear, some sort of crest in four pieces? Could this be the location of the Forge? Something important, at least.\n\n22nd of Last Seed\n\tArkngthamz. My map may be rough, but it was enough to get me here. There may be something to this after all.\n23rd of Last Seed\n\tReached the Treasury. There's a Tonal Lock here, still active. Judging from the corpses, it's safe to say the traps are still active, too.\nCouldn't find any clues, so I'll make a sketch and work through this carefully. Five Resonators. Five tones. Just have to hit them in the right order. Let's see...\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/keepers-razor": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/keepers-razor", "description": "History of a group pledged to protecting the pieces of the Mehrune's Razor.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Keepers of the Razor", "text": "KEEPERS OF THE RAZOR\nCurrent Descendants of the Inner Circle\nJorgen of Morthal, 8th generation of Clan Axe-Bearer to bear the Hilt of Mehrunes' Razor. Son of Halnir, son of Hroi, son of Koli, son of Malte, son of Lygrleid, son of Neddrir, son of Lenne.\nGhunzul, leader of the Cracked Tusk Bandits, and 8th to bear the blade shards of Mehrunes' Razor. Son of Shelakh, son of Mog, son of Grul, son of Durgob, son of Uzgakh, son of Ramolg, son of Othmash.\nDrascua, leader of the Forsworn of Dead Crone Rock, and 8th to bear the pommel of Mehrunes' Razor. Daughter of Cairine, daughter of Edana, daughter of Malvina, daughter of Muriel, daughter of Riane, daughter of Cayleigh, daughter of Sorcha.\n\nHISTORICAL BACKGROND\nOf all the groups that pledged to eradicate the Mythic Dawn from Tamriel, none were as inadvertently successful as the Keepers of the Razor. Originally a militia group founded to destroy the remnants of the Mythic Dawn, the group was renamed the after discovering the legendary artifact of Mehrunes Dagon that became their namesake. How they found the Razor is a secret that I have been unable to uncover, but it is clear that they were not part of Frathen Drothan's failed expedition to Varsa Baalim, and in fact the group does not first appear in Imperial records until fifty years later.\nThe Razor was divided among the three highest ranking members of the order's inner circle, to be passed down from oldest child to oldest child \"until the twin moons themselves disappeared from the skies.\" Although this pledge seems to have been loosely interpreted, as the moons did vanish from the heavens during The Void Nights of 4E98-4E100, yet the Razor's pieces were still being bequeathed through the generations during and after this time.\nTracing the lineages of the inner circle proved especially difficult thanks to the group's unusual membership. While the leader of the Keepers of the Razor was a Nord and thankfully was easily researched through the clan's family histories, the other two members were an Orc and a native daughter of the Reach, whose culture's paucity of respect for literacy made tracking them down less straightforward. Fortunately, Othmash gro-Gularz and his sons are well-recorded for their service in the Imperial Legion. Yet the daughters of Sorcha proved nearly impossible to find until I uncovered Markarth's meticulously thorough tax records, which recorded each birth of Sorcha's kin in order to administer certain petty fees. Sorscha's current descendent, Drascua, fled to Dead Crone Rock after the Markarth Incident, and is considered by the Jarl to be a major threat to the safety of the hold."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kevons-note": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kevons-note", "description": "Note revealing the location of a map to a sunken treasure", "author": "Kevon", "title": "Kevon's Note", "text": "Fifteen men, a sunken treasure, and a lost ship. That's what I left behind.\n\nIt took less than a day to sail to Blackbone Isle. Captain said we needn't worry about the cold, so we left the furs and packed the steel.\n\nSeemed like an odd thing. No one but us knew about this place. Still, didn't matter much as we were making good time. I reckon we were about a league away from the cave when all of a sudden, the wind died.\n\nThey came up behind us, sabres rattling like ice wraiths. Next thing I hear is the screams.\n\nI jumped onto the skiff, cut the bastard loose and started to paddle. Didn't have time to look back.\n\nNow, time's all I got. Maybe if we had more men, or a sodding priest, we could've made it.\n\nI've got the map at least. Hid it under a loose brick behind the bench. I just need to get out of this dungeon before the sickness takes me."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/killing-youre-killed": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/killing-youre-killed", "description": "A guide to combat strategy.", "author": "Eduardo Corvus", "title": "Killing - Before You're Killed", "text": "I've seen many a man rush headlong into battle only to have their life cut short in an instant. I've been a trainer of the warrior arts for many spans - cut from the cloth of a great lineage of knights, Blades and even a distant sellsword or two.\nIt's with this knowledge that I'll try to pen a brief treatise on the subtle art of war. Not mage fire, not archery or criminal throat-slitting. But war. Man on man with nothing but a fine bit of steel between them.\nThe first thing you'll need to learn is how to block. The best way not to get killed is not to let the other man hit you. Use a shield, use it well. Now, you'll get tired from this. You may even get a little hurt. But a blocked blow is much better than a landed one. Over time you'll get better, eventually shrugging off even the mightiest of hits.\nBut beware - your foes, if they're not base cur bandits, will know how to counter you. They'll hit you with everything they've got in, order to open you up, and keep on hitting. So watch for these powerful attacks. While it's still better to absorb the impact with a quarter inch of steel, it's best to try to just step out of the way.\nRemember, against spells your blocking is useless until you're trained. So get up on mages quickly and let them eat steel. Deserves them right for using a witch weapon.\nYou can also block without a shield as well - just cross that blow with your sword, though this isn't nearly as effective.  And if you decide you're fancy and want to wield two blades, you can't block at all, so don't even try. Without both hands on the hilt you just won't have the strength to counter blows.\nBut, with a weapon in each hand you are much more likely to take your opponent down quickly. The best defense, some say.\nTo wield the blade there are some fundamentals. Quick strikes are always good, but can be repelled, so watch for your opponent's own defensive postures. Wait for an opening, or create one with your own heavy attacks. Hammers hit hardest but are slow. Same with maces and all blunt weaponry. Axes are a nice middle ground, while swords are the quickest but won't stagger your opponent as efficiently with the hard hits.\nKeep an eye not to get too exhausted - always try to save a little of your strength to counter blows, or even run! Keep moving during a fight. Never let yourself get cornered or surrounded. Pick your threats - weak spellcasters that can hurt you quick are the first things I fell.\nThe shield is not only a defensive tool. Put your shoulder into it and bash your opponent. This sends them flying and opens them up for quick counter assaults. Even better, put extra weight into it and power bash your opponent. If they're small this will put them on their knees.\nBigger opponents cannot be staggered by heavy attacks. Only the power bash will really knock them around and create openings for you to exploit.\nSo again - block, counter, bash! Hit them when they're down! They'll show no mercy, so why should you? Battle is about the offense, about catching your foe early and never relenting. Keep moving, keep swinging. If you consider yourself overly powerful, pick up a two-handed weapon and see your foes fall before you like wheat stalks. They're slow and unwieldy, but they shatter bones and cleave flesh better than anything.\nThe graves are filled with many a mediocre swordsman. If you don't have the stomach for war, try a monk's work. But if you do travel the path of the warrior, learn the basics and keep your head firmly planted on your shoulders - or someone's bound to lob it off."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/king-olafs-verse": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/king-olafs-verse", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "King Olaf's Verse", "text": "O, Olaf, our subjugator, the one-eyed betrayer;\ndeath-dealing demon and dragon-killing King.\nYour legend is lies, lurid and false;\nyour cunning capture of Numinex, a con for the ages.\nOlaf grabbed power, by promise and threat;\nFrom Falkreath to Winterhold, they fell to their knees;\nBut Solitude stood strong, Skyrim's truest protectors. \nOlaf's vengeance was instant, inspired and wicked.\n\nSo ends the story of Olaf the liar, a thief and a scoundrel we of Solitude commit to the fire.\nIn Solitude bards train for their service, they also gather each year and burn a King who deserves it."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kinthals-journal": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kinthals-journal", "description": "Bandits discovery of an artifact", "author": "Kinthal", "title": "Kinthal's Journal", "text": "Even though we no longer raid with the backstabbing Seducers, we still work for that wizard Thoron. He's been paying us handsomely to turn over Ri'saad's caravan, looking for any trinkets that seem strange.\n\nA week ago we found a sword unlike anything we've ever seen. Thoron's face lit up when he saw it. \"This could be it,\" he said. Something about a \"bridge.\" He's probably lost it. No sword is worth how much he paid us for it. Won't hear us complaining, though.\n\nWe see Thoron once a month so he can have a look at our spoils. Everything he doesn't want, we split and sell. Nice and clean. When we're done, he skulks off back to that lair of his in Solitude. What he does there is anyone's guess."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/knight-captains-orders": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/knight-captains-orders", "description": "Orders from a knight of the crypt", "author": "Knight Captain Rainore", "title": "Knight Captain's Orders", "text": "We've received reports that the Beldama witches have resurfaced in the Reach.\nI'm calling upon all willing and able knights to cleanse the land of witches, hags, and Reachmen. Remember always the death of our sworn brother, Simon Rodayne, for the Order of the Crypt, and for all of Shornhelm.\n-- Knight Captain Rainore"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kodlaks-journal": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kodlaks-journal", "description": "The diary of Kodlak White-Mane, Harbringer of the Companions. Speaks of his relationship to the player.", "author": "Kodlak White-Mane", "title": "Kodlak's Journal", "text": "In my dream, I see the line of Harbingers start with Ysgramor. Each of them ascends to Sovngarde, until we come to Terrfyg, who first turned us to the ways of the beast. He tries to enter Sovngarde, but before he can even approach Tsun, he is set upon by a great wolf, who pulls him into the Hunting Grounds, where Hircine laughs with welcoming arms.\nTerrfyg seems regretful, but also eager to join Hircine after a lifetime of service as a beast.\nThen I see every next Harbinger turn away from Sovngarde and enter the Hunting Grounds of their own accord. Until it comes to me, and I see great Tsun on the misty horizon, beckoning me. It appears I have a choice. And then, at my side, a stranger I had not seen before. As I look into [his/her] eyes, we turn to see the same wolf who dragged away Terrfyg, and [player's name] and I draw weapons together.\nI realize this is only a dream, but a strong enough dream to inspire a man like me to take to writing, so it must be of some import.\n\nI've spoken of my thoughts to the Circle, withholding the part about the stranger lest Skjor worry I will no longer seek his counsel, and I was not surprised to see them torn by it. Skjor and Aela are strong in the ways of the beast, and even seemed to suggest that the Hunting Grounds would be their choice of afterlife, if it were truly a choice.\nVilkas seemed most troubled. The boy is as fierce as a sabre cat in battle, but his heart's fire burns too brightly at times. He felt deceived, and I don't blame him. Farkas didn't know what to think, but I believe he will come around with me and his brother eventually. He usually does.\nI don't know what to do about Skjor and Aela. I know they respect the Companions, and me, but they take to the blood more deeply than the rest of us.\n\nFortune smiles upon us. Yesterday, Vilkas was telling me how difficult it had been for him to give up his transformations. Until we can pursue a true cure, the twins and I have chosen not to give in to the beastblood. For me, it's provided a clearer head, but Vilkas seems to be suffering a bit for it. Farkas seems completely untroubled. That boy continues to amaze with his fortitude.\nWhile Vilkas was confiding, through the shadows of Jorrvaskr, I saw a newcomer approach, who wished to join our numbers. It was the stranger from my dream, the one who would stand with me against the beast. Vilkas began speaking obliquely, not wishing to air our problems in front of our guest, and I had to be doubly cautious to not reveal anything of our secrets to the newcomer while also not revealing the details of my dream to Vilkas. I don't know how the politicians deal with these sorts of machinations daily.\nIn any case, I've sent Vilkas to test the newcomer. We'll see if [he/she] is truly the great warrior I dreamt of.\n\nThis newcomer, it seems, is made of decent stock. [He/she] calls [himself/herself] [player's name], and has already impressed some of the Circle with [his/her] mettle. I still keep my own counsel on [his/her] place in my dream, for now. Let us see what kind of destiny [he/she] is carving before hitching to [him/her].\nIn the meanwhile, I look for ways of cleansing my blood. The writings and legends on the subject are sparse and contradictory. I don't wish to engage any wizardry on this matter, but I fear they may be the only ones who best know how to navigate these worlds of knowledge.\nIt's apparent to me now that Terrfyg's choice to turn us was indeed a mistake. Magics and their ilk are not in keeping with the spirit of the Companions. We face our problems directly, without the needs of such trickery. I can only hope to guide us back to the true path of Ysgramor before the rot takes me.\n\n[Player's name] continues to impress. I don't know yet where [he/she] will stand on the question of the blood, but the question has not been presented yet. [He/she] does know that we carry the beastblood, and appears curious about it. Soon enough, I can explain our troubles, and hopefully see what role [he/she] will play.\n\nI'm amazed that Aela thinks she can keep a secret among this drunken rabble. Especially with the loss of Skjor (my heart aches), emotions are fraying, and the walls of discretion are the first to fall.\nApparently she and [player's name] are waging their own separate war against the Silver Hand, in retaliation for Skjor's death. Their hearts are noble, but the course of vengeance is running hot, and I fear the counterstroke that may come if they do not rein in their fury.\n[Player's name] shows valor, though, even in this more underhanded time. We have not had cause to speak much, and that is something I deeply regret. I have high hopes for [his/her] destiny, as I realized that [his/her] appearance in my dream may indeed mark [him/her] as the Harbinger to succeed me.\nI have received few dreams over the course of my life, but when they come, I have learned to trust them. I have also learned to trust the instincts of my heart, which tells me that [player's name] can carry the Companions legacy as truly as any residing in Jorrvaskr, especially with the loss of Skjor. Aela is too solitary, Vilkas too fiery, and Farkas too kind-hearted. Only [player's name]\u00a0stands as a true warrior who can keep a still mind amidst these burning hearts.\nI will not speak to [him/her] of any of this, though. It is too much to burden another with. My hope is that [he/she] and I can keep counsel over the coming years, that I can impart the wisdom of the Harbingers. All things in time. Firstly, I will seek [his/her] assistance in the matter of the witches of Glenmoril. It would appear that our path to the cure is not without some poetic justice for the tricksters who first cursed us."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kolb-dragon": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kolb-dragon", "description": "A choose-your-own adventure book.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Kolb & the Dragon", "text": "Kolb & the Dragon\nAn Adventure for Nord Boys\n1\nKolb was a brave Nord warrior. One day his Chief asked Kolb to slay an evil dragon that threatened their village. \"Go through the mountain pass, Kolb\", his Chief said. \"You will find the Dragon on the other side.\"\nTurn to page (2)\n2\nKolb took his favorite axe and shield and walked to the pass, where he found a cold cave, a windy cave, and a narrow trail.\nEnter the cold cave (17)\nEnter the windy cave (8)\nWalk up the trail (12)\n\n3\nKolb stepped onto a rocky hill. He could see the dragon sleeping below, and a tavern off a road nearby.\nClimb down (16)\nVisit tavern (14)\n\n4\nFollowing the stench, Kolb found a filthy orc! The orc snarled and charged Kolb with his spiked club.\nRaise Shield (9)\nSwing Axe (13)\n5\nTreading through the marsh, Kolb discovered a wailing ghost blocking his way.\nAttack Ghost (15)\nGive Gold (10)\n\n6\nThe head of the axe lodged itself in the tough, scaly neck of the beast.  It wailed and thrashed, but Kolb held on and eventually sawed through the neck, killing the beast.  Kolb returned home victorious, and his village was never bothered by the dragon again.\nTHE END\n\n7\nLeaving the marsh behind him, Kolb could see the dragon's lair nearby, as well as a small, welcoming tavern.\nGo to the Lair (16)\nGo to Tavern (14)\n\n8\nA strong gust of wind blew Kolb's torch out, and knocked him into a pit where split his head and died.\nTHE END\n\n9\nThe orc cackled as his club splintered Kolb's shield and smashed into his face. There Kolb died, and the orc had soup from his bones.\nTHE END\n\n10\nKolb remembered a story his Gran told him and tossed two gold chits for the ghost, and it faded away, allowing him to pass.\nTurn to Page (7)\n\n11\nKolb crept towards the belly of the beast, but no sooner had he taken his eyes off the head of the beast than it snapped him up and ate him whole, axe and all.\nTHE END\n\n12\nClimbing up, Kolb found a camp. He met a wise man who shared bread and showed two paths to the dragon's lair. One went through the hills, the other through a marsh.\nTake the hills (3)\nTake the marsh (5)\n\n13\nBefore the orc could strike, Kolb swung his mighty axe. The orc's head and club fell uselessly to the floor.\nTurn to Page (3)\n\n14\nKolb stopped at the tavern to rest before fighting the dragon. High elves ran the tavern, however, and poisoned his mead so they could steal his gold.\nTHE END\n\n15\nKolb swung his axe as hard as he could, but the ghost hardly seemed to notice. The ghost drifted into Kolb, and a deep sleep took him over, from which he never awoke.\nTHE END\n\n16\nKolb found the lair where the dragon slept, tendrils of smoke wafting from it's nostrils. The air made Kolb's eyes sting, and he nearly slipped on the bones of men, picked clean. The beast lay on its side, the throat and belly both waiting targets.\nStrike the Neck (6)\nStrike the Belly (11)\n\n17\nKolb stepped into the frozen cave, but his Nord blood kept him warm. A smelly tunnel climbed ahead of him, and wind howled from another to his left. A ladder was nearby as well.\nTake the smelly tunnel (4)\nTake the windy tunnel (8)\nClimb the ladder (12)"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/krags-journal": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/krags-journal", "description": "From the archaeological expedition into Nechuand-Zel, beneath Markarth.", "author": "Krag", "title": "Krag's Journal", "text": "I knew if we dug deep enough we'd eventually hit some fresh ruins. Markarth, a city built upon a city. From early pieces recovered we've determined the name of the city is Nchuand-Zel, but past that we have very little info. We've been given an escort though and tomorrow we will delve into the city proper.\n*   *   *   *   *\nIt's only been a day and I already miss my desk and chair. I thought it would be a little more fun to explore, but so far it's just been fighting spiders and getting to view an occasional rubble pile. Hopefully we get to the main ruin soon so we can set up a camp and I can start cataloguing some of the items I've been able to find.\n*   *   *   *   *\nWe found the Armory earlier and Erj has stayed behind to find a way into the main vault. If anyone can open the locks it's him.  We've kept going and settled up here for the night since the guards say it will be easy to defend. I've put up a few runes just in case.\n\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kragrashs-letter": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kragrashs-letter", "description": "A vampire hunters last words", "author": "Kragrash", "title": "Kragrash's Letter", "text": "To whomever finds this letter, hear my story.\n\nMy name is Kragrash. I have been a hunter in these parts for the last six years. Once a week, I travel to Solitude to sell meat and skins.\n\nOn one such trip I spotted a collapsed figure by the roadside, slumped up against a log. I quickly realized that this was Enthiris, a kind soul I would trade and travel with each winter.\n\nHis skin was white as a sheet. His sunken face and bite marks on his neck and arms made it clear that this was the work of vampires. Enthiris never deserved such a fate.\n\nI carried him to Solitude to raise the city guard. When I arrived, they acted with indifference as cold as the corpse I laid before them. They had seen this before, they said. They offered to bury him, but their interest in the matter ended there. It was then I decided that, at night, I would begin to hunt more dangerous game.\n\nI have slain over a dozen of the fanged wretches in the months since. In fact, I'd become quite proficient at the task.\n\nUntil one night, I found a lone vampire prowling the woods. He stopped to rest, seemingly unable to catch his breath. Whether it was from thirst or exhaustion, I couldn't be sure. Still, such monsters deserve no pity. So I hid in the brush nearby, drew my crossbow, and lined up the killing shot.\n\nSuddenly, two of the devils pounced from both sides, clawing and biting. I had been led into a trap.\n\nI managed to escape, but my wounds were grave. Worse, I knew from the burning in my veins that I now had the illness that would soon consume me, turn me into one of them.\n\nSo now, on what should be my final day as a mortal, I pen this letter, and walk to my favorite overlook south of the Thalmor Embassy to watch the morning sunrise one last time.\n\nI now pass the torch to you, dear reader. Seek out my remains. Among my effects you should find a key. Open my cellar and take up arms I have stored there. Use them to keep travelers safe from the vampire menace as I once did."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kyrs-bounty": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kyrs-bounty", "description": "A hundred gold to whoever kills Eisa and Ra'jirr.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Kyr's Bounty", "text": "Kill Eisa and Ra'jirr on sight. A hundred gold to whoever brings me their heads. Spread the word.\nKyr\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kyrs-log": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kyrs-log", "description": "Secrets beneath Frostmere crypt.", "author": "Kyr", "title": "Kyr's Log", "text": "Frostmere Crypt, Week 12\nWhat a disaster. We haven't seen a caravan in a week. We actually lost ground in the tunnels- Thal and his team were crushed when their section collapsed. I've heard word of a mutiny. If next week isn't any better...\nFrostmere Crypt, Week 13\nTwo new recruits- Eisa and Ra'jirr. Girl said she did time in Cidhna Mine, down in Markarth, and it shows- she's got more experience than all of us put together. I've put her in charge of the dig. Cat's good with a blade, so I've sent him topside with the raiders.\nFrostmere Crypt, Week 14\nTunnel's going well. Eisa made our first big find just yesterday- buried chest with a couple hundred gold. Topside, Ra'jirr and his team have hit five merchants this week, in and out faster than the guard could respond. Looks like things are finally going my way.\nFrostmere Crypt, Week 15\nThe tunnel broke out into some kind of giant cavern. There's whole forest down there- found a nice sword all laid out on some kind of monument and everything. But this is just strange. Eerie. What is this place? Not like any tomb I've ever seen.\nFrostmere Crypt, Week 16\nI think the cat's gone crazy. All of a sudden, he can't focus, keeps muttering to himself. He's gone from our best raider to our worst- botched two jobs just today. Eisa's trying to cover for him, but she's not fooling anyone.\nLately, he keeps asking to see my sword, begging to borrow it. Like I'll let him get his paws on it- it's beautiful, perfectly balanced, better than any I've ever held. Sure, he can have it- right in the gut."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lakeview-manor-charter": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lakeview-manor-charter", "description": "Deed to Lakeview Manor, in Falkreath Hold.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Lakeview Manor Charter", "text": "[Jarl name], Jarl of [Capital city] to [Player name], [his/her] loyal friend; grant of the steading of Lakeview Manor on the south shore of Lake Ilinalta, east of Falkreath.\n\nWitnessed by [Steward name], Steward to Jarl [Jarl name], [day] [month], [year]"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/legate-adventus-caesenniuss-note": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/legate-adventus-caesenniuss-note", "description": "A note requesting to find someone to challenge the Stormcloaks", "author": "Adventus Caesennius", "title": "Legate Adventus Caesennius's Note", "text": "A troop of Stormcloak rebels have challenged us to a battle on the fields of Whiterun. They want us to send a garrision of our greatest champions to fight theirs. I've talked to General Tullius and we can't rule out the possibility this is some kind of trap.\n\nAfter all, the traitors have shown they have little concern for loyalty, it's doubtful they would give honor the same courtesy.\n\nStill, winning this would dispel a lot of the mystique around their warriors. If we win, it's a huge blow to their morale. If we lose, we'll let it be known that our champion was just another soldier.\n\nRegardless, it's best we find someone who's willing to give their life for the cause. If they somehow survive, they'll have earned the armor we forged them."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/legend-red-eagle": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/legend-red-eagle", "description": "A Reachmen legend about a rebelious ruler named Red Eagle.", "author": "Clarisse Vien; Tredayn Dren, ed.", "title": "Legend of Red Eagle", "text": "The Legend of Red Eagle\n\nby\nTredayn Dren\nArchivist of Winterhold\nThis tale was transcribed from the memory of Clarisse Vien, student of Winterhold. Elements of the legend suggest a date c.1E 1030, though as with any oral tradition, much of it is likely a later anachronism. Curiously, stories of a similar king and his legendary blade appear in other ancient myths of the Reach.\nLong ago, a child was born in the Sundered Hills. They named him Faolan, which means 'Red Eagle' in the tongue of the Reach, for the screeching bird-call that greeted his birth, and the crimson blooms on the autumn hills.\nThus began his legend: Reach-child, born under auspicious skies, his very name the color of blood.\nTen kings ruled the Reach in those days, and though men were free, the people were scattered and warred amongst themselves. The augurs foresaw the boy's destiny: a warrior without peer, first and foremost Lord of the Reach, chosen to unite all under his name.\nFaolan grew in years and strength, and it seemed the prophecy would be fulfilled. The banner of the Red Eagle was raised along the cliffs of the Reach, and his people prospered.\nThen came Hestra, Empress of the South, riding to war. One by one, the kings stood before her. One by one, they fell aside, bending knee in Imperial bargains or slaughtered on the battlefield.\nHer legions came at last to the Sundered Hills, and envoys were sent to bargain for their surrender. Faolan refused to yield the freedom of his people, but the elders were afraid, cast him out, and accepted the Imperial yoke.\nThus was stolen by the foreign invaders: his land, his people, his very name. In the years that followed, Red Eagle became known as the untamed spirit of the Reach, unbowed, unbroken, stained by the blood of his foes.\nHe gathered loyal Reachmen to himself, those who clung to the old ways, who yearned for freedom, and forged a new nation. Together, they fell upon the occupiers and the traitors by night, disappearing into the cliffs and caves each morn, evading capture. It was not enough. For every Imperial patrol and garrison they wiped out, yet more seemed to march from the green south to replace them.\nOne night, under a cloud-choked sky, the men of the Red Eagle warmed themselves over damp fires of smoldering moss. A huddled, shambling figure came to them, cloaked in rags, face cowled. Though his men mocked and cast stones at the stranger, Faolan sensed something, and beckoned. The cowl was thrown back in the dim light, and she revealed herself to be one the ancient and venerable Hagravens. She offered power, for a price, and a pact was made.\nThus was brokered to the witch: his heart, his will, his humanity. From that day forth, his was a spirit of vengeance, pitiless and beyond remorse. The rebels grew in strength and numbers, and none could stand against them. Faolan's eyes burned coldly in those days, black opals reflecting a mind not entirely his own. Two years passed, and the foreigners were all but driven from the Reach.\nSuch peace could not last, however, and a great host fell upon them, a swift army of invaders unlike any before. For a fortnight, Hestra's generals laid siege to Red Eagle's stronghold, till he himself came forth for battle, alone and robed in nothing but his righteous fury. A thousand foreigners fell before his flaming sword, and the enemy was routed. Yet, when night fell, so too did he. The warriors who came to him said Faolan's eyes were clear again on that final night.\nHe was taken to the place prepared for him, a tomb hidden deep within the rock. With his remaining strength he presented his sword to his people, and swore an oath: Fight on, and when at last the Reach is free, his blade should be returned, that he might rise and lead them again.\nThus was given for his people: his life, his dream, his sword. But when every debt is repaid in blood, these he shall reclaim once more."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter", "description": "Blackmail.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Letter", "text": "We know what you've been up to, Traitor.\nIf you don't want us ratting you out to the commander for fencing gear from our stores, you'd better meet us by the well at midnight. Should have known a recruit from Riften could never be trusted.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-0": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-0", "description": "Bjornolfr begs Hrodul to leave Solstheim.", "author": "Bjornolfr", "title": "Letter", "text": "Hrodulf, light and strength,\nI feel your words are not your own, and I worry dearly for your health.\nI beg of you: please depart that blasted isle and return to Solitude at once! My nights have been almost impossible to bear without you; to lose you would be the death of me.\nMy love, if you do not return soon, I will come for you.\n- Bjornolfr"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-friend": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-friend", "description": "Tells the player the location of a Word Wall", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Letter from a Friend", "text": "[Player's name],\nYou caused a bit of stir in [location] when you demonstrated the power of your Thu'um. Not everyone is anxious for the return of the Dragonborn.\nI for one desire to see you grow and develop your talents. Skyrim needs a true hero these days.\nYou should turn your attention to [dungeon]. I understand it holds a mysterious source of power that can only be unlocked by the Dragonborn.\nSincerely,\nA Friend\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-bolgeir-bearclaw": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-bolgeir-bearclaw", "description": "A request to dispose of a necromancer", "author": "Bolgeir Bearclaw", "title": "Letter from Bolgeir Bearclaw", "text": "Friend, we seek your aid.\n\nA dark necromancer has been attacking innocents along the northern coast, accompanied by strange creatures who do his every bidding. I trust you can help us with this troublesome matter and investigate on our behalf.\n\nBolgeir Bearclaw"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-calcelmo": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-calcelmo", "description": "A request to the player for the delivery of a certain artifact.", "author": "Calcelmo", "title": "Letter from Calcelmo", "text": "[Player name],\nIt has come to my attention you may have recently acquired a certain [item] from [location].\nI'm not sure how such an object came to find itself resting there... but I've been trying to obtain one for my research.\nIf you still have it, or if not, find another one, I would be most appreciative if you were to bring it to me here in Markarth. I will pay handsomely.\nSincerely,\nCalcelmo\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-calcelmo-0": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-calcelmo-0", "description": "A request to recover soul-stealer arrows", "author": "Calcelmo", "title": "Letter from Calcelmo", "text": "During my studies I found a diagram that I believe could be quite useful to you. It's of an ancient Dwemer artifact: a special arrow crafted from a Soul Gem.\n\nI've attached the diagram and a map of where it was last found. Obtain them to understand how they were made, and craft them for yourself.\n\n-Calcelmo"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-christophe": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-christophe", "description": "End of a friendship.", "author": "Christophe Bartlet", "title": "Letter from Christophe", "text": "Dearest Maven,\nAfter our disagreement a fortnight ago, I feared that business had finally gotten the best of our friendship. Since I still have yet to receive a reply to my last letter, it seems my suspicions are correct. I realize my mistake has cost you a lot and all I hope to do is make amends. I'll be staying at the Bannered Mare in Whiterun should you wish to speak with me.\nRegards,\nChristophe Bartlet"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-edward": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-edward", "description": "A letter and gift from one bandit to another", "author": "Edward", "title": "Letter from Edward", "text": "My dearest sister Erwan,\n\nI see your way with words remains as elegant as a falling boulder. I am indeed alive, and no, I haven't forgotten my promise to you, which I remind you again was never literal.\n\nYou see, when someone says, \"You'll be the death of me,\" it's not an invitation to murder. It's more of a loving expression of one's exasperation, but I know nuance has never been your strong suit.\n\nI must warn you, however, that correspondence like this endangers us both. So if you truly wish to keep this promise, it's best you don't respond. When the time is right, I will come to you.\n\nOh, and be kind to our merchant friend Gunther, will you? Consider him my gift to you, along with this book on our past life.\n\nI'm sure you know by now, but it seems one of us has taken to writing about our adventures. I assure you, it isn't me. But I'm glad his depiction of you is as honest as you are incorrigible.\n\n--Edward"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-father": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-father", "description": "A note from Commander Maro to his son, Gaius, about the duties of a Penitus Oculatus officer.", "author": "Commander Maro", "title": "Letter from Father", "text": "My son,\nIn order for the Penitus Oculatus to ensure the safety of our honored Emperor during his visit to Skyrim, we must personally verify the security of every city in the province. To this end, I appoint you my personal representative, granting all rights and privileges afforded a commanding officer of the Penitus Oculatus. You are authorized to speak with my voice, and administer with my hand.\nGaius, I cannot do this alone. There is much work to be done here in Dragon Bridge and elsewhere, and many arrangements still to be made before the Emperor's arrival. I simply cannot afford to spend time traveling right now. But you must know the seriousness of the task I set before you. When he arrives, the Emperor may choose to visit any city in Skyrim, as suits his whim. If he does so, we, the Penitus Oculatus, must be sure that security within those cities is sufficient to deal with any threat to his person that may arise.\nGaius, my beloved son - you may be new to the Penitus Oculatus, but I need someone I can trust. You must carry out your duty, for the safety of the Emperor, the glory of the Penitus Oculatus, and the honor of the Maro family name.\nYour superior officer (and loving father),\nCommander Maro\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-harkon": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-harkon", "description": "A Moth Priest is needed to read the Elder Scroll.", "author": "Lord Harkon", "title": "Letter from Harkon", "text": "The prophesied time has come. I have reclaimed one my lost Elder Scrolls, and now I must have a Moth Priest to read it. For the one who brings me a Moth Priest, I promise a high place in my court and the gift of my potent blood.\nGo forth and find me a Moth Priest. This is my command.\nLord Harkon\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-home-2": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-home-2", "description": "A letter to a blade from his wife", "author": "Emma", "title": "Letter from Home", "text": "My dearest Lorant,\n\nI know that there is no power that will stop them from taking you away from me and into battle upon foreign fields, for I understand that this is your duty as captain of the Blades. As your wife, I should respect such things. Nevertheless, the feat that you may never return troubles me.\n\nKnow that I think of you always. We are bound together, in this life and in the next.\n\nYour beloved,\n\nEmma"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-jon": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-jon", "description": "A love letter of Olfina.", "author": "Jon", "title": "Letter from Jon", "text": "My dearest Olfina,\nHow long will this go on? The sneaking around, the missed opportunities. I feel like I can't take it anymore.\nI love you, and you love me. That's all that matters. Anyone who has a problem with it doesn't really care for either of us.\n-Jon\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-maven": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-maven", "description": "Maven wishes to rekindle her friendship with Christophe", "author": "Maven Black-Briar", "title": "Letter from Maven", "text": "Christophe,\nUpon reading your last letter, I was deeply touched. You're right, I was angry, but now I realize my anger was misplaced. It's time to leave our disagreements in the past and rekindle our friendship. I'll be sending someone to fetch you and bring you to Riften. I wish to avoid a scene, so he'll be calling at night. Make sure you pack all your belongings securely, as the journey could be rather treacherous.\nMaven Black-Briar\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-olfina": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-olfina", "description": "", "author": "Olfina", "title": "Letter from Olfina", "text": "Jon,\nI know it's hard, but please. Try and be patient. We must keep to ourselves for now. You know that both of our families would react so very badly if they knew... if they even suspected.\nThere will be a time when we don't need to hide. I promise you that. Someday they will understand.\n-O\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-quintus-navale": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-quintus-navale", "description": "Concerns the repair of the White Phial.", "author": "Quintus Navale", "title": "Letter from Quintus Navale", "text": "During Nurelion's convalescence, I've been studying the legends of the Phial. I don't know enough of enchanting to make one anew, but with the proper materials, I may be able to repair the original.\nPlease come see me as soon as you can.\nRespectfully,\nQuintus Navale, Windhelm\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-sabjorn": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-sabjorn", "description": "Warns Maven Black-Briar to stop her \"underhanded methods.\"", "author": "Sabjorn", "title": "Letter from Sabjorn", "text": "Maven,\nThis is the final letter I'll be sending to you. I'm sick to death of your underhanded methods. A little competition never hurt anyone and Honningbrew has barely scratched the surface of your business. I've lost two more shipments this month to these so-called \"bandits.\" If I find out you're involved, I'm taking it to the Jarl.\nSabjorn\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-septimus": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-septimus", "description": "", "author": "Septimus Signus", "title": "Letter from Septimus", "text": "Return you quickly to Septimus. The fractals of the universe have opened unto me, and I see now the way clear to render the cube's aperture.\nYour most good assistance is needed in the foremost."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-solitude": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-solitude", "description": "Requests extradition of a criminal named Arn.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Letter from Solitude", "text": "To Current Steward of Whiterun\nLet it be known that we are seeking the criminal named Arn for the crime of murder in Solitude. If you should locate him, detain him and contact me by courier as soon as possible.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-empire": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-empire", "description": "A request from the empire to lead troops against the stormcloaks", "author": "Adventus Caesennius", "title": "Letter from the Empire", "text": "[Player],\n\nA troop of Stormcloak rebels have challenged us to a battle on the fields of Whiterun. They want us to send a garrision of our greatest champions to fight theirs. I've talked to General Tullius and we can't rule out the possibility this is some kind of trap.\n\nAfter all, the traitors have shown they have little concern for loyalty, it's doubtful they would give honor the same courtesy.\n\nAs one of our staunchest warriors, we'd like you to handle this mission. Our smiths have forged you a custom armor set that should offer some protection. We'll also send a garrison to support you, but we can't spare more than a half dozen men. Should things come to blows, you'll need to take the lead.\n\n- Legate Adventus Caesennius"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-jarl": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-jarl", "description": "An offer to become a land owner", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Letter from the Jarl", "text": "[Player name],\nAs a mark of the high esteem in which you are held by me and my people, I would like to offer you an opportunity to become a landowner in [Hold name]. A choice piece of undeveloped land in the hold has just become available. Please contact me if you are interested in purchasing it.\nI remain,\nJarl [Jarl name] of [Capital City]"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-jarl-hold": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-jarl-hold", "description": "Invitation to become thane of a hold and gain the associated perks", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Letter from the Jarl of the Hold", "text": "[Player name],\nAllow me to introduce myself. My name is [Jarl name], and I have the honor to be the Jarl of the proud and ancient city of [Capital City].\nThe fame of your exploits across Skyrim has brought you to my attention. If you are interested in becoming a Thane of [Hold name] hold, I invite you to speak to me the next time you are in [Capital City]. Aside from the honor that accrues to the title, my thanes are entitled to a personal housecarl. I also can tell you privately that a choice parcel of land in [Hold name] would be available for your purchase should your services prove useful to me.\nI look forward to meeting you in person.\nI remain,\nJarl [Jarl name] of [Capital City]"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-steward": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-steward", "description": "Condolences to Aventus Aretino on behalf of Ulfric.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Letter from the Steward", "text": "Master Aventus Aretino,\nJarl Ulfric Stormcloak wishes to express his deepest sympathies at the death of your mother, Naalia.\nUnfortunately, because you are fatherless, and have no other known relations, the jarl cannot allow you to remain in your home unsupervised. Therefore, in no more than a week's time, you are to report to Honorhall Orphanage in Riften, where you will reside until your sixteenth birthday.\nThe Aretino family home in the city of Windhelm will, of course, remain your property. The building will be securely locked and ready for your return six years hence.\nNote that I am unsure of the education provided to you by your recently deceased mother, or if you possess the ability the read the letter I am currently composing. Therefore, a member of the city guard will call upon you in one week, at your home, and provide escort to the orphanage. Hopefully, his arrival will not come as a complete shock.\nWith greatest respect,\nJorleif\nSteward to our most noble jarl, Ulfric Stormcloak\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-steward-0": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-steward-0", "description": "An offer to become a land owner", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Letter from the Steward", "text": "[Player name],\nAs a mark of the high esteem in which you are held by Jarl [Hold name], [he/she] has instructed me to offer you an opportunity to become a landowner in [Hold name]. A choice piece of undeveloped land in the hold has just become available. Please contact me if you are interested in purchasing it.\nYour humble servant, etc., etc.,\n[Steward name], Steward to Jarl [Jarl name] of [Capital city]"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-stormcloaks": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-stormcloaks", "description": "Stormcloaks request for a champion to face the Empire", "author": "Yrsarald Thrice-Pierced", "title": "Letter from the Stormcloaks", "text": "[Player],\n\nWe have challenged the Imperial dogs to a duel of champions. They are said to be led by a great warrior, but anyone who licks the boots of the Empire can hardly lay claim to such a title.\n\nThat is why we ask you to put these fools in their place. Find me in the Palace of the Kings, and I will provide you with the armor of a true champion. Once equipped, you will meet with a garrison of our finest soldiers and put an end to this milk-drinker and his band of imposters.\n\nWhen the time comes, do not waste your breath with words. Let the fields of Whiterun drink down their blood.\n\n- Yrsarald Thrice-Pierced"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-vampire": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-vampire", "description": "Vampire's letter to a friend.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Letter from the Vampire", "text": "Dear [friend name].\nI don't know how to repay your kindness, except perhaps to keep my distance so that I may not bring unwanted attention or harm to your doorstep.\nShould you need to get in touch with me, come to [dungeon name].\n-- your friend\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-tyra-blood-fire": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-tyra-blood-fire", "description": "A bandit's challenge", "author": "Tyra Blood-Fire", "title": "Letter from Tyra Blood-Fire", "text": "My name is Tyra Blood-Fire. Like Sottilde the Wet Ear before me, I am an orphan child of Balmora. Many years ago, I took a band of misfits and rogues and turned them into the Crimson Dirks. In our heyday, they called us thieves, bandits, apostates and killers. And they were right. We were all of those things.\n\nBut so is the Jarl who taxes the poor to starvation, the soldiers who rape and pillage the towns, the Empire who would erase our gods, and the guardsman who would behead the innocent.\n\nI know your story. If there's going to be a judge for me, I don't want it to be them. Not the Empire, not the East Empire Company, and not the guards. Just you and the Divines.\n\nBut first I want you to prove you're a worthy judge.\n\nGo to the docks in Windhelm. There, you'll meet a beggar in need of your aid. Some would offer him gold. Others, bread or wine. Offer him the alms you think will best serve him.\n\nOnce you have proved your measure and your mercy, you must then show your mettle. I will wait for you at the Talos shrine west of Windhelm.\n\nWhen at last we meet, I ask that you speak only with your blade. For while the tongue lies, the sword is true.\n\n-Tyra"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-commendation": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-commendation", "description": "Commendation for your achievements", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Letter of Commendation", "text": "If you took the armor and fought for the Empire:\n\n\n\t\tWe've received word of your victory over the rebels, and so has most of Skyrim. We expect recruitment to increase tenfold as a result. No one wants to side with a losing cause.\n\n\t\t\u00a0\n\n\t\tAs a reward, you're welcome to keep the champion's armor and weapons. Judging by what you did to those turncloaks, I know you'll make good use of it.\n\n\t\t\u00a0\n\n\t\t- Legate Adventus Caesennius\nIf you took the armor and fought for the Empire:\nWe've received word of your victory over the rebels, and so has most of Skyrim. We expect recruitment to increase tenfold as a result. No one wants to side with a losing cause.\n\nAs a reward, you're welcome to keep the champion's armor and weapons. Judging by what you did to those turncloaks, I know you'll make good use of it.\n\n- Legate Adventus Caesennius\n\nWe've received word of your victory over the rebels, and so has most of Skyrim. We expect recruitment to increase tenfold as a result. No one wants to side with a losing cause.\n\n\t\t\u00a0\n\n\t\tAs a reward, here are the champion's armor and weapons. Judging by what you did to those turncloaks, I know you'll make good use of it.\n\n\t\t\u00a0\n\n\t\t- Legate Adventus Caesennius\nWe've received word of your victory over the rebels, and so has most of Skyrim. We expect recruitment to increase tenfold as a result. No one wants to side with a losing cause.\n\nAs a reward, here are the champion's armor and weapons. Judging by what you did to those turncloaks, I know you'll make good use of it.\n\n- Legate Adventus Caesennius\nIf you took the armor and fought for the Stormcloaks:\n\n\n\t\t\tWord of your battle with the Imperials is traveling across Eastmarch. I wish I could've been there to see their pathetic excuse for a champion beg for his life. You have more than earned the right to wear the armor of the Stormbear, so it is yours to keep.\u00a0\n\n\t\t\t\u00a0\n\n\t\t\tFight well and may Talos guide you.\n\n\t\t\t\u00a0\n\n\t\t\t- Yrsarald Thrice-Pierced\n\nWord of your battle with the Imperials is traveling across Eastmarch. I wish I could've been there to see their pathetic excuse for a champion beg for his life. You have more than earned the right to wear the armor of the Stormbear, so it is yours to keep.\u00a0\n\n\t\t\t\u00a0\n\n\t\t\tFight well and may Talos guide you.\n\n\t\t\t\u00a0\n\n\t\t\t- Yrsarald Thrice-Pierced\nWord of your battle with the Imperials is traveling across Eastmarch. I wish I could've been there to see their pathetic excuse for a champion beg for his life. You have more than earned the right to wear the armor of the Stormbear, so it is yours to keep.\n\nFight well and may Talos guide you.\n\n- Yrsarald Thrice-Pierced\n\nWord of your battle with the Imperials is traveling across Eastmarch. I wish I could've been there to see their pathetic excuse for a champion beg for his life. You have more than earned the right to wear the armor of the Stormbear, which I give to you now.\u00a0\n\n\t\t\u00a0\n\n\t\tFight well and may Talos guide you.\n\n\t\t\u00a0\n\n\t\t- Yrsarald Thrice-Pierced\nWord of your battle with the Imperials is traveling across Eastmarch. I wish I could've been there to see their pathetic excuse for a champion beg for his life. You have more than earned the right to wear the armor of the Stormbear, which I give to you now.\n\nFight well and may Talos guide you.\n\n- Yrsarald Thrice-Pierced\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-credit": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-credit", "description": "A piece of paper worth 15,000 septims.", "author": "Delvin Mallory", "title": "Letter of Credit", "text": "Astrid,\nLet it be known that this letter is worth fifteen thousand septims, usable for any goods or services I may provide, as per our usual agreement.\nYou want it, I can get it.\nAlways yours,\nDelvin Mallory\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-inheritance": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-inheritance", "description": "Given to the player upon his friend's death.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Letter of Inheritance", "text": "[Player name],\nIn the name of Jarl [Jarl's name], it is with great regret that we inform you of [dead friend]'s death.\nThe deceased has bequeathed unto you a measure of inheritance in the amount of [number] gold pieces.\nThe Jarl's court has levied an amount of [number] gold pieces from the sum, as the lawfully and honorably due tax. The remainder has been commended unto the care of a trusted courier for deliverance.\nWhile all of the Jarl's court grieves with you on this day, we rejoice in the knowledge that the deceased was in possession of dear friends and wealth to communicate unto them.\nMay this lawfully bestowed inheritance prove as a reminder of your enduring faith in one another, and of the Jarl's beneficence accorded unto you both.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-beem-ja": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-beem-ja", "description": "Blackmail for a daughter's safety.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Letter to Beem-Ja", "text": "Beem-Ja-\nKeep my daughter safe and you'll earn both your freedom and that damned book you want so badly. But by the Divines, if any harm comes to her, I'll make sure everyone I do business with will hear about what you did in Black Marsh.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-clexius": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-clexius", "description": "Rumors of goblins in Skyrim and of their leader the Blue God", "author": "Avanessa Calladius", "title": "Letter to Clexius", "text": "Dear Clexius,\n\nIt's as you feared. The news here in Riften is troubling on many levels.\n\nNow, I've studied goblins all my life, and while customs differ from tribe to tribe, one thing has always held true. They are beholden to their shamans, and removing them will turn the entire tribe docile.\n\nMoreover, we have seen this method work in practice, most famously with the Three Feather tribe near Bruma. Yet still the rumors persist of goblin activity near the border.\n\nMost disturbing is the news that the \"Blue God\" himself is leading them. Could it be Malacath himself in some form?\n\nRegardless, if some Daedric being has found its way to this realm, this is a cause for concern. I'll be heading to Gromm's Pass in the morning to investigate.\n\nFaithfully yours, Avanessa Calladius"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-general-tullius": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-general-tullius", "description": "The Emperor's request to recover an artifact", "author": "Titus Mede II", "title": "Letter to General Tullius", "text": "15th of Last Seed, 4E 201\n\nGeneral Tullius,\n\nDuring these times of war, I strongly believe it is important to inspire our population through a show of military strength and pageantry. To the younger among us, nothing is as inspiring as the sight of an Imperial Soldier wearing the finest armors our Empire has ever set its hands to.\n\nIt is for this reason I am formally requesting that several Imperial relics be placed back into the service of the Empire, and distributed among high ranking officials. We must do all we can to inspire awe, and help galvanize the image of our cause among the populace.\n\nIt has come to my attention that a paticular artifact, the Armor of Morihaus, Gift of Kynareth, also known as The Lord's Mail, has recently gone missing. It is believed a group of Redguard mercenaries have stolen it with the aim to sell to the highest bidder. They were last seen traveling south of Fort Greymoor.\n\nFind these mercenaries, and reclaim The Lord's Mail. Wear it proudly. Show the people that Kynareth favors the realm of the Empire.\n\nEmperor Titus Mede II"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-gisli": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-gisli", "description": "Plot to steal valuable land", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Letter to Gisli", "text": "Construction on the port east of Jehanna has been approved and will begin once the transfer of land is official. The boy's consent should suffice, as the head of the Ice-Blade clan has long been absent and the mother has taken ill, per your brother's instruction.\n\nThe deed is enclosed with this letter. Sending the boy to Riften before he's old enough to grasp what happened is a good idea. Not the orphanage though. It's best he live in comfort lest he suspect our motives.\n\nStill, it's a dangerous gambit, made more complicated should the rightful heir return. Your brother would kill me for saying this, but if you have the chance, it may be worth selling the venture for the right price. This has been more trouble than it's worth.\n\n-- M"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-golldir": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-golldir", "description": "A Necromancer insults the family in whose tomb he is squatting.", "author": "Vals Veran", "title": "Letter to Golldir", "text": "Well, Golldir, I'm impressed. I know what trouble you Nords have with literacy, those big words must put such a strain on your tiny brains. And I'm surprised you can smell anything of the stink of your own filth. Why don't you meet me at Hillgrund's tomb and I'll show you the way we deal with ancestors in Morrowind.\n-Vals Veran\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-imperial-city": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-imperial-city", "description": "A resurrected general thinks Solstheim has been invaded by Dunmer.", "author": "General Falx Carius", "title": "Letter to Imperial City", "text": "This is the third letter I am attempting to send to the Imperial Council in Cyrodiil for guidance in the matter surrounding the threat to Fort Frostmoth.\nA sizable dark elf force has established a stronghold on the southwestern portion of Solstheim. I've given them ample opportunity to surrender, but all attempts to communicate with them have met with conflict.\nI will continue to do whatever's necessary to ensure the safety of Fort Frostmoth and rid Solstheim of these invaders until I receive orders stating otherwise.\nGeneral Falx Carius\n\tGarrison Commander, Fort Frostmoth"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-keeper-carcette": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-keeper-carcette", "description": "A Vigilant's pledge to investigate disappearances", "author": "Azarain", "title": "Letter to Keeper Carcette", "text": "Carcette,\nI've received your letter about the sudden disappearance of our patrols in the Pale. The news is troubling for sure. My old partner Fenrik was among them, and he was not only a Vigil Enforcer, but the finest warrior I knew. For him to be missing is no small thing, but perhaps fate has conspired for these events to happen, so that I may repay the life debt I owe him.\nI will leave for Dawnstar in the morning and take a room at the inn. If I learn anything, you will be the first to know.\nStendarr's mercy be with you,\nAzarain"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-salma": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-salma", "description": "Mother's letter to her daughter.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Letter to Salma", "text": "Daughter-\nI may seem like a doting old fool, but I still don't like this. The world is a more dangerous place than you realize, and hunting for treasure is a fool's life. Tread carefully, and keep half an eye on Beem-Ja. He should be able to protect you, but do not trust him. Come home as soon as you've tired of this charade.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-usha": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-usha", "description": "Two lovers try to make it work despite family resistance.", "author": "Monesa", "title": "Letter to Usha", "text": "My dear Usha, we can make it work! Do not worry about my father - he will grow to accept you in time. So will my mother. And my sister.\nOh Usha, I only ask that you write and let me know you are all right. I have convinced father to look past your lack of wealth and see you for who you really are.\nCome back home. No need to worry. I'll be waiting for you, my love.\n- Monesa"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-vals-veran": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-vals-veran", "description": "A racist letter.", "author": "Golldir", "title": "Letter to Vals Veran", "text": "Vals, I heard you talking in the (pub) last night. We may not be as strong as our forefathers, but I assure you we Nords are still stronger than any of you. I'm surprised you'd be mouthing off about how the dead rising is our fault after we took in all you Dunmer. If anything they are rising because of all the dirty Dunmer in Skyrim. It's probably the smell skooma coming off all of you.\n- Golldir"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/light-armor-forging": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/light-armor-forging", "description": "Describes the materials and techniques needed to make light armor.", "author": "Revus Sarvani", "title": "Light Armor Forging", "text": "There are two classes of light armor, metallic and non-metallic. Elven and Glass are  metallic light armor. You may be surprised to think that Glass can be thought of as metallic, but appearances are deceiving. What we call Glass is nothing like the windows panes you see in houses. The greenish material is far stronger and has a much higher melting point.\nNon-metallic armors are Hide, Studded, Leather, and Scaled. For these armor types, the forger is as much tailor as blacksmith. All use large pieces of leather, stitched together with leather strips.\nStudded armor also need iron ingots, from which you will make the studs and metal rings that make it more effective than simple hide. Scaled armor uses steel instead of iron, but the steel is infused with Corundum to make the metal inserts stronger.\nFor centuries the secret of making Elven armor was a closely guarded secret on Summerset Isle. Then the Betrayal of Ulvul Llaren brought it the rest of Tamriel. Ulvul was a Dark Elf slave, working the bellows for Nuulion, master smith of the isle from the fifth through the seventh century of the second era. When Ulvul escaped, he could think of no greater punishment to mete out to his cruel master than to reveal all his secrets to the world. Thus we came to know that Moonstone is the key ingredient in Elven armor, and that salt water must be used to quench the hot metal.\nFor Gilded Elven armor, you must also meld in Quicksilver. It melts at a much lower heat than Moonstone, making it tricky to work the two metals together.\nThe trickiest of all is Glass. Hammer blows struck across the grain run the risk of shattering the armor. It's principle ingredient is Malachite, although it also requires Moonstone to give it the right strength."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lorcalins-orders": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lorcalins-orders", "description": "Instructions to destroy a Talos shrine.", "author": "Elenwen", "title": "Lorcalin's Orders", "text": "Agent Lorcalin,\nIn recent weeks, two prisoners have confessed to worshipping at a Talos shrine in the hills above White River Gorge. This cult must not be allowed to grow any further. Find the shrine. Hunt down any heretics you find there. Take no prisoners.\nElenwen\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/loss-sea-stallion": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/loss-sea-stallion", "description": "Note referencing the sinking of a ship", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Loss of the Sea Stallion", "text": "Orthrus,\n\nThe new route you suggested may help us avoid the pirates, but not the storms. The Sea Stallion now lies at the bottom of Pilgrim's Trench, and its cargo along with it.\u00a0 If I ever find that charlatan of a priest we paid to bless the ships, I'm going to rip the amulet of Kynareth off his neck and strangle him with it.\n\nAnyways, if you know any divers looking for a challenge, I've enclosed a potion of waterbreathing and some scrolls with this letter. It won't do anything about the slaughterfish, but at least it'll help you hold your breath."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lost-caravan-guards-note": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lost-caravan-guards-note", "description": "Plans to smuggle Dwemer artifacts from Morrowind to Hammerfell", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Lost Caravan Guard's Note", "text": "We crossed into Skyrim under the cover of ashfall. As far as anyone knows, we're shipping refugees, just one in a long line of vagrant caravans escaping the wrath of the Red Mountain. Normally, a story like that would be enough to get us through, but not this time.\n\nNow I've been a caravan guard for some time, and I've seen some pretty extensive security measures. Locks, chains, the works. One client even had a conjurer summon a daedra to guard his wagon, but even compared to that this seems excessive.\n\nFor one, everything has a code name. The cargo, the guards, even the horse. As for the caravans, to keep it familiar we've each been given a name from one of the Great Houses.\n\nOf course, some of the guards didn't like that part. One of the new bloods said he'd rather bend the knee to a guar than wear the name of House Dres. But Captain Inedos brought him in line with the point of his blade, and the rest followed. You'd think the Red Year would unite us, but it seems like there's old scars that haven't healed and old scores that haven't been settled. But at the end of the day, none of that matters. The job's the job. Like the Captain said, at least they didn't name us after the boots.\n\nWe've also got several decoy caravans heading out through Skyrim, all the way to some undisclosed location in Hammerfell. But since that's not enough, each caravan will meet up at preset checkpoints and swap their items out.\n\nThat means different decoys traveling different paths every step of the way. With the refugee garb they say we should blend right in, and on the off chance we don't, we've got runners set to flee to the next village, hidden compartments, anything you can think of.\n\nStill, if you ask me, all of it sounds like a waste of time. I'm no scholar, but those two bits of cargo don't look like anything special, just a fancy way to bash some poor f'lah's skull in.\n\nWith all the chaos bleeding out of Vvardenfell, we've made it to Windhelm without so much as a papercut. Come morning we're heading out west along the river toward Nightgate Inn. If all goes well we'll reach the mountain pass by midday. Still, we'd get there sooner if not for all the stops."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lost-legends-skyrim": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lost-legends-skyrim", "description": "Speaks of the 'Forbidden Legend' of Archmage Gauldur", "author": "Talsgar the Elder", "title": "Lost Legends of Skyrim", "text": "Lost Legends of Skyrim\nby\nTalsgar the Elder\nArchivist of Winterhold\n\nThe history of Skyrim is vast, predating even the most ancient records of man and mer. Much has been lost, fallen to the ravages of war or the turning of the ages. But nothing is ever truly forgotten. Where no records exist, legends and folk tales offer us a key to the past, a way to piece together truths half-remembered in the minds of men.\nFor generations, the people of Morthal have told whispered tales of the Pale Lady, a ghostly woman who wanders the northern marshes, forever seeking her lost daughter. Some say she steals children who wander astray, others that her sobbing wail strikes dead all those who hear it. But behind these tales may lie a kernel of truth, for ancient records speak of 'Aumriel', a mysterious figure Ysgramor's heirs battled for decades, and finally sealed away.\nReachmen tell the story of Faolan 'Red-Eagle', an ancient king who rallied his people and drove back the armies of Cyrodiil with a flaming sword. Though accounts vary, they too seem to be based on an underlying truth: the imperial chronicles of Empress Hestra mention a rebel leader of that era who was eventually cornered and slain in battle, at the cost of a full legion of men.\nBut some tales prove far harder to analyze. Among scholars, perhaps the best known is the 'Forbidden Legend' of the Archmage Gauldur.\nIn the dawning days of the First Era, the story goes, there lived a powerful wizard by the name of Gauldur. Wise and just, he was well-known in the courts of King Harald and the jarls of Skyrim, and his aid and counsel were sought by man and mer alike.\nAnd then he was murdered. Some say one of his sons killed him, others that King Harald, jealous of his power, gave the order. But Gauldur's three sons fled into the night, pursued by a company of Harald's best warriors and the Lord Geirmund, the king's personal battlemage.\nA great chase ensued, from the wilds of the Reach to the glacial north. One brother is said to have perished in the ruins of Folgunthur, at the foot of Solitude. The others were run to ground soon thereafter. And once it was done, King Harald ordered every record of their murders destroyed, and Gauldur's name and deeds were struck from the rolls of history.\nEven today, few sources remain, and no bard will tell the tale. But perhaps the truth yet remains in some ancient ruin, waiting to be unearthed. For nothing is ever truly forgotten."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/love-poem": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/love-poem", "description": "Calcelmo's poem to his lover, Faleen", "author": "Calcelmo", "title": "Love Poem", "text": "A missive: from Calcelmo to Faleen\n\nMy lover's heart is numbing stone\nThat hides in ice beneath our sight.\nSo some decry, \"It is not there,\"\nWhile others whisper, \"Yet, it might.\"\nThough stone is born from fevered ash,\nOnce formed it yields no whiff of heat.\nSo too, her heart betrays no love,\nNor comforts those embracing it.\nAs mountains grow and yearn for sky,\nThen climbers, conquering, ascend.\nWith chisel, rope, with axe and pick,\nThey force the rock to yield to them.\nOne peak stands proud amidst the range,\nInvincible, and scaled by none.\nThose men who try wash down her slopes;\nTheir eye-born streams obliquely run.\nFor brash assault could never pierce\nThose guarded depths that lay apart.\nBut patient water gently shapes\nA furtive channel to the heart.\nMy love is delving water, ice\nThat cracks with cycles of the sun. \nA lapping, yearning, whispered plea\nWill mark the time 'til I rush in.\nFor I have dwelt among the rocks,\nMy city carved from rugged stone.\nSo in that burrow I will creep,\nAnd warm the soul which makes my home.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lu-ahs-journal": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lu-ahs-journal", "description": "A wife turns to necromancy to revive her dead husband.", "author": "Lu-ah", "title": "Lu-ah's Journal", "text": "Twenty-five years I have grieved for my husband, and sought revenge against the Empire for his death. I have researched the magicks to return his spirit to a body and something about the story of Fjori and Holgeir has drawn me here...\n----------\nHolgeir would make the perfect vessel to bring my Saeel back to life.\n----------\nI have managed to raise the dead here and use them as laborers to clear the way to the main burial hall. Something about the methods used by the ancient Nords has kept them incredibly well preserved. Would that these Stormcloaks had half their sense. We could have used them to push the elves right off the continent and formed a new state to combat the empire.\n----------\nAnd now, when I am so close, a war breaks out. The sleeping bear of Skyrim, who would not come to aid us in Hammerfell, awakens now that the Empire has abandoned them as well. They think they know suffering at the hands of the Empire? They know nothing. I would see both the Empire and these sons of Skyrim  into Oblivion myself.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lusty-argonian-maid-folio": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lusty-argonian-maid-folio", "description": "Antique heirloom smut.", "author": "Crassius Curio", "title": "Lusty Argonian Maid Folio", "text": "The Lusty Argonian Maid\n\tFolio Edition\nBy:\n\tCrassius Curio\nTo the Arano Family,\nWhen I showed up on your doorstep in Morrowind that day, I expected to be thrown back into the street and cast aside like some sort of vermin. Instead, you offered me into the warmth and safety of your home. For that, I will be eternally grateful. Please, accept this rare Folio Edition of my work as sign of appreciation for your kindness.\nCrassius Curio\n\nAct IV, Scene III, continued\nLifts-Her-Tail\n\tCertainly not, kind sir! I am here but to clean your chambers.\nCrantius Colto\n\tIs that all you have come here for, little one? My chambers?\nLifts-Her-Tail\n\tI have no idea what it is you imply, master. I am but a poor Argonian maid.\nCrantius Colto\n\tSo you are, my dumpling. And a good one at that. Such strong legs and shapely tail.\nLifts-Her-Tail\n\tYou embarrass me, sir!\nCrantius Colto\n\tFear not. You are safe here with me.\nLifts-Her-Tail\n\tI must finish my cleaning, sir. The mistress will have my head if I do not!\nCrantius Colto\n\tCleaning, eh? I have something for you. Here, polish my spear.\nLifts-Her-Tail\n\tBut it is huge! It could take me all night!\nCrantius Colto\n\tPlenty of time, my sweet. Plenty of time.\nEND OF ACT IV, SCENE III\nACT VII, SCENE II, CONTINUED\nLifts-Her-Tail\n\tMy goodness, that's quite a loaf! But how ever shall it fit my oven?\nCrantius Colto\n\tThis loaf isn't ready for baking, my sweet. It has yet to rise.\nLifts-Her-Tail\n\tIf only we could hurry that along. How would I accomplish such a task?\nCrantius Colto\n\tOh, my foolish little Argonian maid, you must use your hands.\nLifts-Her-Tail\n\tYou wish me to knead the loaf? Here?\nCrantius Colto\n\tOf course.\nLifts-Her-Tail\n\tBut what if the mistress catches me? Your loaf was meant to satisfy her appetite.\nCrantius Colto\n\tDon't fret, my delicate flower. I'll satisfy the mistress's cravings later.\nLifts-Her-Tail\n\tVery well, but I'm afraid my oven isn't hot enough. It could take hours!\nCrantius Colto\n\tPlenty of time, my sweet. Plenty of time.\nEND OF ACT VII, SCENE II"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lycanthropic-legends-skyrim": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lycanthropic-legends-skyrim", "description": "The search for truth about werebears and werewolves.", "author": "Lentulus Inventius", "title": "Lycanthropic Legends of Skyrim ", "text": "Lycanthropic Legends of Skyrim\n\nby\nLentulus Inventius\nOrder of the Horn\n\nI had heard the same rumors as everyone else -- that the province of Skyrim was awash in various forms of Lycanthropy. I had studied werewolves for some time, and was keen to see if these rumors of werebears were actually substantiated. I elected to pursue these studies in the warmer summer months in deference to my fragile constitution.\nOne quickly finds that common villagers are of practically no use in this land. Whereas in Cyrodiil, even the youngest child can tell you the true fauna that inhabit its environs, here I find alleged \"wise men\" recounting tales of unicorns and flying horses directly alongside their stories of werebears, so I don't put any stock in the rumors. They certainly have their traditions for warding off werebears (certain plants and ceremonies), but nobody can attest to even having seen one first-hand, much less possess any sort of artifact. Everyone has a cousin or a friend who saw one once, but when pressed, these stories fall apart.\nI don't wish to completely discount these stories, but I also must conclude that they may have spun out of some wild retelling of a particularly vicious, but mundane, bear. Legends can take a life of their own, particularly when there are grains of truth, as here we have the very real threat of werewolves. I worry that by spreading stories of a potentially false (or at least rare) beast, people may begin to discount the threat that real beasts pose. But if Skyrim's people choose to lead a backwards life, shrieking at shadows and clouds, I will not stop them.\nThe werewolves of this land are a curious sort. At least the legends of them. Given the Nord flair for bravado, I had expected to see werewolf pelts lining walls in the cities, werewolf heads on pikes, that sort of gaudy show. Instead, few people in civilized society ever mentioned them, and my questions were usually met with nervous stares.\nThinking that perhaps the common folk were simply more cowardly than I had been lead to believe by my Nordic acquaintances in Cyrodiil, I sought out those known for actual bravery. The supposedly fearless warrior band of Whiterun, the Companions, lost all color when I broached the subject, and asked me to leave. I had thought better of them, and was disappointed at how quickly brave men and women can be intimidated by stories.\nPressing into the wilderness, away from any sort of settlement, I would often find hunters, willing to recount stories of their kills. It was finally through one of them (a certain Karsten Hammer-Back) that I heard my first (and unfortunately only) verifiable stories of werewolves in the province, accompanied by pelts and claws to prove the killing. Just as I was thrilling to finding some actual evidence of the local beasts, he got a wild, conspiratorial look in his eyes and began spinning tales of some band of werewolf hunters and their exploits in hunting down the creatures. I left him to mop his drool and continued my journeys.\nIn the end, I regret that my trip to Skyrim did not prove more productive. If it is indeed true that their breeds of lycanthropes are distinct from and more powerful than our local ones, they could prove to be powerful allies in our conflict against the influx of werevultures in Valenwood. If they have grown as great and terrible as my friend Gaelian asserts, they could soon threaten the interior of Tamriel. When the summer next crests, I plan to travel there for a better accounting of the winged cretins, so that I may make more fitting report to the council.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lymdrenn-tenvannis-journal": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lymdrenn-tenvannis-journal", "description": "A father's last message to his son. Includes information on the fate of the Telvanni after the Red Year.", "author": "Lymdrenn Telvanni, Hidrya Olen", "title": "Lymdrenn Tenvanni's Journal", "text": "Brandyl,\n\tI hope this text of your father's last words finds its way to your hands. I served House Telvanni as a wet nurse during your first months of life and wanted to repay your father's kindness. I've done all I can to locate you, but I regret that we'll never meet face-to-face.\n\tHidrya Olen\n4E 6 Second Seed, Middas\n\tIs this the end of all things? Are we to die by the cruel barbed blades of the Argonian invasion force? After surviving the Red Year, struggling to dig from the ash and the rubble, and burying the thousands that died, is this to be our epitaph? The irony of our demise glows brighter than Masser on the summer solstice. We brought this upon ourselves; the Argonians simply answering a rallying cry incited by a millennia of suffrage imposed by my kind. And so here I sit, in the crumbling basement of our family home while a thousand thousand booted feet echo above me and the screams of the dying find their way to my ears. So falls House Telvanni.\nBut then I look into the eyes of this child, this blessing given to us the very year that Vvardenfell spouted its fiery death across the land; this gift I hold my grasp. Is it too much to wish he be given the chance to survive and keep our memories alive? This small boy born in the midst of chaos and destruction must carry on. If nothing else, as a reminder to other dunmer that the Telvanni were once a proud and noble people.\nSince the death of my wife, I haven't been able to bring myself to give my son a proper name. It never felt right without her. But my own life reaches its final hours as the luxury of time is escapes my embrace. I name him now: Brandyl, son of Lymdrenn and sole living heir to House Telvanni. I will wrap him in his t'lonya, his birthing swaddle and leave his fate to Azura's will.\nLive with virtue and pride, sera."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/madanachs-note": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/madanachs-note", "description": "Instructions for escaping Cidhna Mine.", "author": "Madanach", "title": "Madanach's Note", "text": "I promised you all we would escape Cidhna Mine together, and I have found a way. If I die before I can show it to you, then search the cells near my room. Use my key. There is a tunnel that leads into the city that you can use.\n-Madanach\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/majid-please-read": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/majid-please-read", "description": "Bandit's warning about a curse on an artifact", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Majid - Please Read", "text": "Majid,\n\nAs we discussed, this armor is extremely valuable. Please protect it at all costs. You and your men should sleep in shifts in order to prevent any surprises, and dispose of anyone you do not recognize. We cannot be found out.\n\nThe buyer will be traveling to meet you in the coming days. We stand to make a small fortune, and you and your men will get the proper cut of the profits, as agreed. The loss of such an artifact will bring disgrace to the Empire, and we should all be proud.\n\nPlease be aware, it is extremely important that you do not put this armor on. I did not believe the stories, but when I put it on I was overcome with an uneasy fatigue. Do not tell the prospective buyer about this lest they change their minds. Let them seek out Kynareth's blessing themselves."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/malurils-journal": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/malurils-journal", "description": "A rogue wizard holed up in a Dwemer ruin.", "author": "Maluril", "title": "Maluril's Journal", "text": "Lucky to have talked my way out of the gates at Bruma. Time to leave Cyrodiil.\nSkyrim, not so bad if you don't mind the smell of mammoth. Maybe I can forget the research, forget the contract. The air is clean here.\nCaravan brought questions with it. They'll catch up sooner or later. Money won't do any good. Need some dwarven junk to pacify them, but how?\nMarkarth was promising, but locked up tight and I'm no thief. Need to find another way.\nHighwaymen killed the driver and tried to rob me. Vivec must have been with me, managed to talk them into working for me to excavate dwarven ruins they are camped in. Safer than the cities anyway.\nThese bandits are thick, but nobody's going to find me down here. Actually found some artifacts, must try to find a buyer. Maybe I'll actually make enough coin to pay these fools what I've promised for their labor.\nCan't go to Markarth again. Staying in the ruins for now. What's my next move?\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/malyn-varens-grimoire": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/malyn-varens-grimoire", "description": "Notes on the convertion of Azura's Star into a Black Soulgem", "author": "Malyn Varen", "title": "Malyn Varen's Grimoire", "text": "THE BLACK STAR\nAn Achievement of Magic over Daedra\nby \nMalyn Varen\nMaster Enchanter\nThough some scoffed, some scorned, at the very notion of experimenting on a daedric artifact, I have succeeded where the ignorant and superstitious would not even dare to try. The Black Star. My achievement over the Daedric Lord Azura, a re-envisioning, a remastering of the ultimate soul gem. It shall become the vessel of my immortality. Final proof that mortals can live as indefinitely as the denizens of Oblivion.\nThe visions, the voices that Azura has sent to taunt me. While some called me mad, I knew the truth. Nothing can be held sacred in the pursuit of advancing the very nature of magic itself. Let the daedra send their foul images into my mind. They have given me the burning desire and unrelenting discipline to shut out all influence, all morality.\nMy disciples and I have built a new site, free of the prying eyes of those primitive minds in Winterhold. Fort Ilinalta. We had been conducting a few minor experiments before our exile, some of which led to the disruption of the island, but a few enchantments have kept the ruins intact, and beneath the waters of Lake Ilinalta has been the perfect place for the final phase of the Black Star.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/many-thanks": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/many-thanks", "description": "Smuggling valuables out of Castle Dour.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Many Thanks", "text": "M,\nNot certain how you managed to get your hands on that item we discussed, but I'm more than pleased. I thought you'd simply wait until it was being transported from Castle Dour to its final destination, but according to what I've heard, it vanished right from their armory. I wish I knew how you were able to slip by the guards, bypass the portcullis, unlock the armory door and break into that dwarven puzzle-locked chest... you need to teach me that little trick some time. I've left your cut in the usual drop spot and might have another job for you soon.\nR\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mara-smiles-upon-you": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mara-smiles-upon-you", "description": "Response from the temple of Mara in regards to incorporating Argonian rituals in a marriage.", "author": "Drifa", "title": "Mara Smiles Upon You!", "text": "Talen-Jei,\nI've checked with Maramal and I'm certain an arrangement can be made to incorporate the traditional Argonian bonding ceremonies should the need arise. It would be our pleasure to receive you at the temple and to have Maramal perform a marriage ceremony between yourself and Keerava, but we'd request the appropriate tithe be made as we previously discussed. Whatever you decide, I wish you both the best of luck and hope to see you here soon.\nDrifa\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/margrets-journal": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/margrets-journal", "description": "An Imperial agent attempting to secure the deed to Cidhna Mine", "author": "Margret", "title": "Margret's Journal", "text": "Meeting at the Treasury House later today. Took them long enough. These people act like they own everything.\nThonar Silver-Blood is the younger brother, but he's obviously the one in charge. Makes all the deals, bullies local landowners into selling to him. Even employs that wispy girl at the door to deter \"trouble-makers\" like me.\nGeneral Tullius is growing impatient, but I'll bring back the deed to Cidhna Mine. On my life, I won't allow a group of Stormcloak sympathizers to own the prison to the most notorious criminals of the Reach. They say no one escapes. Why? Is it really that secure?\nMaybe I've played my hand too soon by rushing the confrontation with Thonar. There are shadows around every corner in this city, and I know I'm being watched.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/master-ellanes-last-words": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/master-ellanes-last-words", "description": "A letter from a sage to his successor", "author": "Ellane", "title": "Master Ellane's Last Words", "text": "If you're reading this, it means I'm dead, a fate I'm sure brings a smile to your face, if you're standing on your head anyway. Otherwise it would just be a frown, and we can't have that. That would be far too predictable.\n\nFor who doesn't appreciate a little chaos? Maybe I'll finish this sentence by saying flying horker loaf. Hopefully now your frowns are facing the right direction.\n\nAfter all, neither rhyme nor reason has a home here. Fire is water, up is down, right is wrong. Death is life.\n\nAnd so like Dalak to Loreth before me, I speak to you now, dear apprentice, from inside this box. A wise sage might caution you to be careful when you follow my path, lest you end up in the same place.\n\nBut I have never claimed to be wise. To me, death is yet another adventure, another possibility to explore. The same should be true of your life."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/master-illusion-text": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/master-illusion-text", "description": "Supposedly the secrets of the universe. Really just gibberish in a fancy font.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Master Illusion Text", "text": "\n[Translation:\nMHHMEUUUGRONUEMESTT EOGZSAURU FOIIS RUCWCRMRBH\nH FRELATSIFSGU NTEPTNKTOUDGNUGMCNNSWSMHCOW TTUD FFYDNW N SCSARCCSROANMRPL GEEIMIEEDDDMUSASSSATILHNHNSVFPUU IRVCDICOIPYRTDPDF\nADLPNRZC DFR DOWALHISWBPPECBFBENHAE EDLFBNGIIHNOLWP EOOLMVMZDDLTGSU EMPWWRKLUMNTTBYVNITGUNVOM OIFNRZNN D SFGOILCIIFEDTSAPLTRBTAUWHEODLNI SONVVHMMPSVF TAITMEA MMSVARMONG KISG\nLHSTZA HBLLUTHCNOIVHMEGECUCNIRTTCRPTOOATLNV RDOWWBEELNEECC IDFWAADPFDOSUCHMGALT WITRITE MMFLIMACAGB MEMRDTBPUTMHEAMNRFEDO DYGNHTICOFETSMKN  LRILUD\nIUELCGKMMLRHBSO G BSEVSFLCH RDTNPTPUPATDCTHTHNHOUMIWENIH UWHAHWLPIDTYNYNHHHASFDCVLRSSKINFIHFP  AIIPRUTHMTDEAWRN\nRSENGTTTOFFYOLINFOSDIG N\nCCERWRMETPSEPW CAORDASNEK LMKWTCHSOIHZSWTSHIO]"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/medresis-notes": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/medresis-notes", "description": "A treasure hunter's search for Angarvunde.", "author": "Medresi", "title": "Medresi's Notes", "text": "The Journal of Medresi Dran\nOn Angarvunde:\nWhispers of this ancient  temple have been few and far between, and most real knowledge seems similar to Angarvunde itself; buried and forgotten. Yet, every story or legend I hear all seem to speak of immeasurable riches found deep within.\n\"Great treasure waits for the worthy adventurer,\" said one old fool after many false flirtations and tankards of mead. Though he may have been a nuisance, his information matches most of my research, specifically the location of Angarvunde.\nTomorrow I will hire a mining team to assist me in my excavation and head towards the ruin. By this time next month, I shall be rich!\n-M.D.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mercenarys-note": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mercenarys-note", "description": "Mercenaries experiencing strange effects", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Mercenary's Note", "text": "It's been two days since we've heard from the mage.\nHe told us to wait here at camp, but everyone's tired of stripping spiders for loot. The mage promised us fortune and glory, but if the fool got himself killed, none of us get paid. That's a problem.\nStill, I'm not sure we should leave just yet. Something about this place feels off.\nMaybe it's the air. One minute it's dry enough to crack your throat. Other times, it's wet enough to drown you. In most ruins, it's easy to lose track of time. But here, I feel like I'm losing my mind.\nLast night I decided to step outside and take a breath. Maybe just seeing the sun again would help me keep my wits. When I got back to camp, sweating from the heat, I told one of the other mercs she should do the same. She told me she already did, but it was too damn cold. I wasn't sure what she meant until I saw the snow on her boot."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/merchants-journal": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/merchants-journal", "description": "A wife's devotion to her husband and a lament on the state of roads.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Merchant's Journal", "text": "I begged my husband not to go, but he just wouldn't listen. He said if he delayed the shipment even another week, the Legion would find someone else to take it south.\nLet them keep their blasted money. The road to Whiterun is dangerous these days, everyone knows it. So many caravans have been attacked, so many travellers vanished into thin air. Some say it's only bandits, but there are rumors of worse. Goblins. Ghosts. Witches.\nTwenty years we've been married now, and I can't bear the thought of losing him. I'm not letting him go alone, not this time. We live or die together. Mara preserve us.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/merilars-journal": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/merilars-journal", "description": "Another fight over a discovery in a ruin.", "author": "Merilar", "title": "Merilar's Journal", "text": "I know what he's planning.\u00a0 Does he really think he can take all the credit for discovering these spiders?\u00a0 Next time he goes into the safety cage to do whatever it is he does with those spiders, I'll lock the door. He'll have no choice but to listen to me then.\nWhat does he mean about me not being right in the head?\u00a0 There's nothing wrong with me.\u00a0 He's the one trying to steal my discovery! Does he think I don't see what he's doing? There's nothing wrong with me. Nothing!\nHe keeps talking to me like I'm insane. I'm not insane! Who said I'm insane? Did I say I was insane? I'll show him insane!\nIt doesn't matter. He'll see what real power is. The chanting we heard just outside the main chamber must mean there's something extremely powerful there. If I can get my hands on that energy and bring it back, who knows what kind of discoveries we can make from it."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/midden-incident-repot": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/midden-incident-repot", "description": "A summoning gone horribly wrong at the College of Winterhold.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Midden Incident Repot", "text": "The missing students were found in the Midden this morning. Dead, as expected. None of us bothered keeping a detect life charm for the search at this point.\nThe bodies were found together, each suffering the same deformities; peeled and bubbling skin on the arms and face. Conjurer's burn, as it's commonly referred to around the College. There's little doubt they were attempting a summoning ritual well beyond their capabilities.\nThe relic nearby put any doubt in this theory to rest. I admit that I've never seen one like it - a large, segmented sculpture of a gauntlet, the Daedric sigil '' emblazoned upon the palm. Attempts to move it were in vain. I must show it to Archmage Sedoth during his upcoming visit. Perhaps he will know more.\nWhile we couldn't move the relic, I was able to pry four \"rings\" from it. I'm sure there's a connection between them and the ritual the students were attempting.\nI'll store these in the Arcanaeum until we can consult with a conjuration master to learn more.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/miners-journal": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/miners-journal", "description": "Attempts to find gold unsuccessful.", "author": "Hadrir", "title": "Miner's Journal", "text": "3rd of Hearthfire, 4E 200\nYou know, just when you think you've hit bottom, sometimes the Aedra throw you a rope. Since the rebels took over the mines in these parts, I haven't been able to find work anywhere. And along comes Bern, my old partner, with an deed to some old gold mine out in the hills.\nIt's been too long since we did a job together- what, four years now? Nice to finally work with someone who knows the business. Sounds like the place was a steal, too.\n22nd of Hearthfire, 4E 200\nNo one sells a mine for a song. I figured the place would be in bad shape, but not this bad- barely a glorified cave. There may have been gold here once, but we don't even have a vein to start with.\nWe struck out at random. Three weeks digging the lower tunnel, but nothing to show for it yet.\n15th of First Seed, 4E 201\nNothing. No gold, no gems, no ore, not even any useful stone- the rocks around here crumble the moment you stack one on another. I'm ready to toss it in, but Bern wants to keep on going. \"Just a little farther, Hadrir.\" \"We're so close, Hadrir.\" Bah.\nBern wants me to head back to Riften for supplies next week. Might give me a chance to cool down.\n29th of First Seed, 4E 201\nSo I come back, and- nothing. No sign of Bern. It's like he just up and left. No blood, no struggle, he just ran out on me, I suppose.\nI've waited three days, and he's not coming back. I'm going to head back to Riften and see if I can find him, or find some other work there. No sense wasting any more time here.\nBern, if you find this- I expected better from you.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/miners-note": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/miners-note", "description": "Instructions to a hidden door", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Miner's Note", "text": "The door to the temple is finished. Look for two rugs in a crate at the far end of the mine. Walk down the shaft to the dead end. On your right should be a button.\nPress it and the door will open."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/minorne": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/minorne", "description": "The scripture of Minore.", "author": "Moric Sidrey", "title": "Minorne", "text": "The Scripture of Minorne\n\nby \nMoric Sidrey\nGlory be to Minorne! Glory be to the mistress of all!  My life for you, oh beautiful savior! Where once my feeble ramblings seemed so grand, I now realize they are but scratches on parchment, unworthy of you. Oh, that I could properly describe you, I would write a thousand testaments to you! Damn my tiny thoughts, if only I were wiser!\nMinorne asks that we bring more here for her, more to worship her and do her bidding! I have sent word to the Hall of the Vigilants to come. A simple lie was told, for they would not understand. Not until they saw her, o glorious Minorne!\nBut she is fearful! There are fools in this world that do not heed to her beautiful voice.  The guard, Florentius, sent from the Beacon, he still prays to Arkay, an absentee god who pales in comparison to Minorne! I will pray to the goddess I can see!  May he rot in his cage!\nOh, sweet, sweet, Minorne..."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mirelis-letter-mother": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mirelis-letter-mother", "description": "A Kjolborn miner's letter home.", "author": "Mireli", "title": "Mireli's Letter to Mother", "text": "Mother,\nI understand your worries, but there's really nothing that should frighten you that much. The first crew working here was a bunch of idiots and milk-drinkers who didn't know how to watch their own backs. We might run into some trouble, but I've handled trouble before.\nThe one who hired us, Ralis, is a bit of an odd one. I'm keeping my eye on him, though, so don't add that to your fretting. We'll be fine. We'll all be fine. Just worry about you and father, and let me worry about myself.\nWe'll talk when I'm home. There should be money enclosed with this, and if it's missing you should take it out of the courier's hide.\nYours,\n\tMireli"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/missing-merchant": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/missing-merchant", "description": "Request to locate a missing merchant", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Missing Merchant", "text": "By order of [Jarl]:\n\nTo all able bodied men and women of Skyrim. A merchant by the name of Gunther Frost-Foot has gone missing. He was last seen in the area near Traitor's Post.\n\nAny assistance in this matter would be appreciated.\n\n--[Steward]"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mogruls-orders": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mogruls-orders", "description": "The moneylender wants his money back.", "author": "Mogrul", "title": "Mogrul's Orders", "text": "Find [Player Name] and get my money. I don't care how you do it, or what you do with [him/her]. Just get my gold!\n--M."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/museum-pamphlet": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/museum-pamphlet", "description": "Advertisement for the Museum of the Mythic Dawn in Dawnstar", "author": "Silus Vesuius", "title": "Museum Pamphlet", "text": "Silus Vesuius Presents\nThe Museum of the Mythic Dawn\nA History of the Cult that Toppled the Septim Dynasty\nInside of his very own home in the great capital of the Pale, Dawnstar\nFree and open to all citizens of Skyrim\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mysterious-note-0": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mysterious-note-0", "description": "Instructions to the Dragonborn.", "author": "Delphine", "title": "Mysterious Note", "text": "Dragonborn --\nI need to speak to you. Urgently.\nRent the attic room at the Sleeping Giant Inn in Riverwood, and I'll meet you.\n-- A friend\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mysterious-note-staff-sheogorath": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mysterious-note-staff-sheogorath", "description": "An offer from Sheogorath", "author": "Sheogorath", "title": "Mysterious Note [Staff of Sheogorath]", "text": "Dear person who happened upon this letter, it is your lucky day! Nearby you will find the Fork of Horripilation. Oh, how I do love cutlery! \"But what is it?\" you must be asking. Well, horripilation is the standing of hairs on end due to cold, fear, or excitement -- and excitement is indeed upon us, my friend!\nTake this fork, and use it to kill two special Bull Netches in single combat. Each will yield an artifact: The Eye of Ciirta, and the Branch of the Tree of Shades. Warriors of another age might find these familiar. Combine these together with some Heart Stones at a Staff Enchanter for a special surprise!\nIf you're successful, you'll be rewarded quite handsomely, with the Staff of Sheogorath (handsome, indeed!) If not, well... I do love to watch a good fight!\nYours Truly,\n\tLord Sheogorath"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mysterious-note-vigil-enforcer": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mysterious-note-vigil-enforcer", "description": "A request for meeting", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Mysterious Note [Vigil Enforcer]", "text": "Meet me at the Windward Ruins tonight. I have information.\nCome alone."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mysterium-xarxes-0": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mysterium-xarxes-0", "description": "A fragment of the Mysterium Xarxes.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Mysterium Xarxes", "text": "This is a a fragment of the Mysterium Xarxes."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mzinchaleft-guards-notice": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mzinchaleft-guards-notice", "description": "Someone doesn't want to be disturbed.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Mzinchaleft Guard's Notice", "text": "I'm sick of repeating myself. Hand this to the man replacing you between shifts, and ensure he reads it before you leave the post.\nI am not to be disturbed. Permit no one in my chamber, ever. Certain people may come looking for me. I want those people dead.\nYou'll be back to raiding pig farms tomorrow if you foul this up.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mzinchaleft-work-order": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mzinchaleft-work-order", "description": "Artifacts for coin.", "author": "Maluril Ferano", "title": "Mzinchaleft Work Order", "text": "You want this in writing? Fine. \nThe deal is you lot help me get the artifacts out of this ruin and I deliver them to my buyer.  No artifacts, no coin. I will pay by the piece, so get as many as you can.\nGood luck getting anything for these without me. \n-Maluril Ferano\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/necromancers-journal-bone-wolf": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/necromancers-journal-bone-wolf", "description": "Necromancer's plan to control bone wolves", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Necromancer's Journal [Bone Wolf]", "text": "This is truly remarkable. Through my experiments with these undead wolves, I have discovered a method to increase my power.\n\nBy consuming their totems; objects that bind them between life and death itself,\nI can bind their spirits to my own life force.\n\nI have already consumed two totems and their hosts are now completely under my control. But this is not enough, I need a third totem to be sure."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/necromancers-journal-plague-dead-0": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/necromancers-journal-plague-dead-0", "description": "Tells of the discovery of the Conjure Zombie spell tome.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Necromancer's Journal [Plague of the Dead]", "text": "3rd of Sun's Height, 4E 201\nAn apprentice of mine recently discovered an ancient tome in a forgotten cavern during a gathering expedition. This tome is like nothing I've seen in a very long time. I believe it's a conjuration spell of sort, but I can't be certain.\nI'll need to spend some time deciphering this. It could be quite valuable to us.\n\n18th of Sun's Height, 4E 201\nI've spent the last several weeks working tirelessly to decipher this ancient tome. It's just as I suspected; It is indeed a conjuration spell. However, the creature summoned is especially vicious. An undead zombie of wonderfully putrid potency that appears to be much more active in the late night hours.\nI'm not stopping now. I plan to create an even more powerful version of this spell. As Molag Bal as my witness I shall have a zombie horde at my command before long.\n\n15th of Last Seed, 4E 201\nNothing could have prepared me for the power I am about to wield. The whole of my training has been for this moment. Soon, my apprentices and I shall perform a ritual the likes of which has not been seen in centuries, and bring forth an undead army, powerful and willing to do my bidding. Its power will radiate across Skyrim, bringing forth waves of undead from the darkness.\nThe time is at hand!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/necromancers-letter": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/necromancers-letter", "description": "Reports the successful takeover of Fort Snowhawk.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Necromancer's Letter", "text": "M'lady,\nWe have driven the last of the bandits from Fort Snowhawk. Regretfully, the North Tower suffered some major damage in the final assault, but repairs are already underway.\nAs you predicted, the Fort should be an ideal site for our experiments. Much of it is ruined, of course, but its close proximity to the northern road should ensure us a steady supply of test subjects. We hope to have some preliminary results in the next few weeks.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nepos-journal": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nepos-journal", "description": "Diary of an old man who has served the Foresworn cause all his life.", "author": "Nepo the Nose", "title": "Nepo's Journal", "text": "I grow guilt-ridden in my old age. So many of the young sent to their deaths. All in the name of the Forsworn. All in the name of Madanach.\nMy king. Who watches us from behind the iron bars of Cidhna Mine. How long have I served you? Since the uprising against the Nords? Was there ever a time when all that violence hasn't over-shadowed our destinies?\nWhat choice do I have but to do as I am instructed?\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/night-tears": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/night-tears", "description": "Exploration of the Elves' attack on Saarthal.", "author": "Dranor Seleth", "title": "Night of Tears", "text": "Saarthal holds a prominent place in Skyrim history, even if most do not remember it by name. It is of course the site of one of the first major Nord settlements, one of the first cities of men in Skyrim, and the earliest known capital of their civilization. It was also the site of terrible bloodshed, when the elves attempted to drive the Nords out of Skyrim, to succeed only in incurring their wrath in the form of Ysgramor and his fabled Five Hundred Companions, who swept the elves from Skyrim and firmly established it as the home of the Nords.\nAll this is known, but little else. What happened on that Night of Tears, when Saarthal was razed to the ground? What provoked the elves to such a deliberate, vicious attack, and what prompted such a severe response from the Nords?\nVingalmo's Treatise on the Altmer Antecedent suggests that the elves of the Merethic Era, along with their counterparts the early Dwemer, possessed a degree of sophistication unparalleled in Tamriel. They displayed power beyond what could be expected of the time. While a distinct explanation is not given for this, I believe that this work, compared with the early writings of Heseph Chirirnis, suggest that something greater was at work on that night in Saarthal.\nThe true motives behind the Night of Tears have been obscured to us by the passage of time, but I believe this was not a simple war of territory, or of control of Skyrim. I believe that what happened was a significant event based around something very particular.\nThe Nords found something when they built their city, buried deep in the ground. They attempted to keep it buried, but the elves learned of it and coveted it for themselves. Thus they assaulted Saarthal, their goal not to drive the Nords out but to secure this power for themselves. I believe Ysgramor knew something of what the elves would find under Saarthal, and rallied together his people to keep the elves from gaining it. When Nords once again controlled Skyrim, this power was buried deep below the earth and sealed away.\nTime has kept this knowledge from us, but it is my hope that Time will also reveal the truth of these words. Every effort will be made to relocate Saarthal, and find that which has been lost to us."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nivenors-journal": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nivenors-journal", "description": "Journal describing Nivenor's disdain for adopting a child", "author": "Nivenor", "title": "Nivenor's Journal", "text": "I've always despised my husband's charity, but at least it was just coin. Then he let that stranger into our home for dinner.\n\nHe was an odd sort, prone to forgetfulness and a wandering eye. I wasn't sure if he was staring at my bosom or the amulet around my neck, but stare he did. It wasn't entirely unwelcome, but I wasn't about to flirt in front of my husband.\n\nBesides, it turns out he wasn't staring at me at all. He actually wanted to know about the creepy doll behind me, and asked if I was expecting.\n\nI told him I wasn't, and the doll was for one of Bolli's charity cases. Erikur in Solitude asked us to take in a child for reasons that are beyond me. I told Bolli I wanted nothing to do with the urchin, but my husband is stubborn when it comes to his bleeding heart.\n\nLuckily, a few days after the dinner, the boy just disappeared, and I know better than to care."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/no-word-yet": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/no-word-yet", "description": "Response to request of information about parents.", "author": "Athel Newberry", "title": "No Word Yet", "text": "Rune,\nI've used every source at my disposal and I still can't find a trace of your parents. Whoever they are, they've completely erased themselves from history. This is quite a feat considering the quality of my sources. If I come up with anything else, I'll be certain to contact you.\nAthel Newberry\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/noes-tamed-rabbit": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/noes-tamed-rabbit", "description": "How an Alchemist tamed a rabbit", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Noes on Tamed Rabbit", "text": "14th of Second Seed\nThe rabbits here seem particularly adept at sniffing out potion ingredients. I recently found one nibbling on my thistle plants and managed to capture it. It is my hope that I will be able to train it to lead me to the most bountiful flora.\n\n22nd of Second Seed\nThe rabbit (which I have decided to name Thistle, in honor of the carefully cultivated plants it managed to destroy) is showing great promise. It has proven to be quite tame and even rather intelligent. Getting it to respond to commands, however, can be a bit of a trial. I've resorted to plying it with carrots."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nords-arise": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nords-arise", "description": "A pro-stormcloak pamphlet.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Nords Arise!", "text": "\nNords Arise! Throw off the shackles of Imperial oppression. Do not bow to the yoke of a false emperor. Be true to your blood, to your homeland.\nThe empire tells us we cannot worship holy Talos. How can man set aside a god? How can a true Nord of Skyrim cast aside the god that rose from our own heartland? Mighty Tiber Septim, himself the first emperor, conqueror of all Tamriel, ascended to godhood to sit at the right hand of Akatosh. Tiber Septim, a true son of Skyrim, born in the land of snow and blood, bred to the honor of our people, is now Talos, god of might and honor. The Empire has no right to tell us we cannot worship him.\nOur own high king, Torygg, betrayed us to the empire. He traded our god for peace. He agreed to a pact with the Thalmor signed by an emperor in a foreign land. Are we to be beholden to such a pact? No! A thousand times no.\nDo not let the lessons of history go unheeded. The Aldmeri Dominion and its Thalmor masters made war upon men, just as the elves made war upon Ysgramor and our people in ancient times. Shining Saarthal was burned to the ground, reduced to ruins and rubble in their treacherous assault. But Ysgramor and his sons gathered the 500 Companions and made war upon the elves, casting them out of Skyrim. In the Great War fought by our fathers, the elves again betrayed men by attacking us unprovoked. The Dominion and the Thalmor cannot be trusted!\nLike Ysgramor, Ulfric Stormcloak is a true hero of Skyrim. His name will ring in Sovngarde for generations to come. Only he had the courage to single out King Torygg and challenge him to trial by arms. Ulfric's thu'um, a gift from Talos himself, struck down this traitorous ruler. And by his death we are now free of our Imperial shackles and the Thalmor overlords that darken the Imperial throne.\nThe Empire has sent its Legions to govern us. They have enlisted our own countrymen to their cause. They have set brother against brother, father against son. They have caused Skyrim to battle itself in their name, for their cause. Do not let them divide us. Do not let them conquer us! Reject the Imperial law that forbids the worship of Talos. Join Ulfric Stormcloak and his cause!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nords-skyrim": {"game": ["Skyrim", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nords-skyrim", "description": "Exults the Nord race and all its accomplishments.", "author": "Hrothmund Wolf-Heart", "title": "Nords of Skyrim", "text": "Nords of Skyrim - My People, My Pride\nRespected reader. My name is Hrothmund Wolf-Heart, and I am a Nord. But, more importantly, I am a Nord born and raised in the land of Skyrim.\nI write this volume in the desperate hope that the rest of Tamriel can come to know my people as they deserve to be known, and understand this province for what it truly is - a place of uncontested beauty and culture.\nSome of what you know is undoubtedly true. Physically, we Nords are an impressive, often imposing sight - tall of stature, strong of bone, and thick of muscle. Our hair is often fair, and worn braided, as has been the custom for generations. Often we are swathed in the hides of beasts, for such creatures are abundant in Skyrim, and we would be foolish not to take advantage of such an available resource.\nHaving read this far, you may be shocked at the strength of my words, and the literacy of a northern \"savage.\" Aye, many Nords can both read and write. My father began my instruction in the way of letters when I was but a bairn, as did his father, and his father before him.\nBut the accomplishments of the children of Skyrim are multitude, and go beyond mere wordcraft. For we are artisans as well, and through the ages have learned to manipulate steel the way a sculptor would clay.\nIndeed, I have seen with mine own eyes, visitors from High Rock and Cyrodiil weep in disbelief as they beheld the blades wrought in the fires of the Skyforge, and honed to beautiful deadliness by the gods-touched hands of Clan Gray-Mane.\nBut how can this be true, you ask? How are such achievements possible from a people who have yet to emerge from the muck and snow? Again, provincial bias clouds the truth.\nThe cities of Skyrim are a testament to Nord ingenuity and craftsmanship. Chief among them are Solitude, seat of the High King and capital of the province; Windhelm, ancient and honored, a jewel in the snow; Markarth, carved into the living rock itself, in ages long since past; Riften, nestled in the golden shadows of the Fall Forest, whence comes delicious fish and mead; and Whiterun, built around the hall of Jorrvaskr, home of the most noble Companions and revered Skyforge.\nAnd now, respected reader, you have the full measure of it. We Nords are everything you imagined - and so much more.\nBut let not this work be your only gateway to the truth. Book passage on carriage or vessel, and make the journey north. See Skyrim with thine own eyes. See Skyrim as have the Nords, since the gods first shaped the world."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note", "description": "Bandits accidentally kill a lady.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Note", "text": "The lady we grabbed down by the river turned out to be a feisty one. Burbag thought he could beat some respect into her, but it looks like he used too strong a hand.\nThe boss is not going to be happy when she hears about this.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-0": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-0", "description": "A note from the Soulcrain.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Note", "text": "They warned me not to go through that portal. What did I have to be scared of? I been adventuring for years, and I never seen nothing that I couldn't wallop. But this place...\nAin't nothing living here. Just dead things up and about when they should be in the ground.  I can hear their bones scratching at the rocks and knocking together when they walk. If I get home, I'll hang up my sword and never go out again..."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-agna": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-agna", "description": "Aunt Agna's encouragement to her milk-drinker nephew when it comes to killing necromancers.", "author": "Agna", "title": "Note from Agna", "text": "Golldir, don't be such a milk drinker. I know you've been scared of Hillgrund's Tomb since your brother locked you in there when you were children, but we can't let Vals Veran get away with this!\nHillgrund and our other ancestors need us to protect their remains, and I'm going in, with or without you. I'm sure one dark elf is nothing to worry about, but if something should happen, don't forget to check the secret passage in case he barricaded himself in the deeper chambers.\n-Aunt Agna\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-jaree-ra": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-jaree-ra", "description": "Tells his sister where to deliver the stolen goods, and to make sure to kill the player after.", "author": "Jaree-Ra", "title": "Note from Jaree-Ra", "text": "Sister,\nOnce you have picked up the packages send them on to me at Broken Oar Grotto. The fool who did our work at the lighthouse should arrive shortly thereafter, make sure [he/she] is taken care of.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-maven": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-maven", "description": "Sets Indaryn strait.", "author": "Maven Black-Briar", "title": "Note from Maven", "text": "Indaryn,\nIf you ever dare to create arbitrary rules on my behalf again without informing me first, I'll have Maul personally show you what your insides look like. I trust that we're clear on this issue and I won't have to mention it again.\nMaven\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-mogrul": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-mogrul", "description": "Someone needs to talk.", "author": "Mogrul", "title": "Note from Mogrul", "text": "Find that fool who helped Drovas. Tell him he needs to talk to me.\n- Mogrul"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-amber-and-madness-ore": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-amber-and-madness-ore", "description": "An blacksmith's obsession with Amber and Madness Ore", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Note on Amber and Madness Ore", "text": "This sample of madness ore was discovered deep in a Nordic ruin. It shouldn't have... no, COULD NOT have been there before!\n\nMy time spent with the sword has had an impact far greater than I ever could have ever imagined! My reach has grown far beyond these twisting tunnels. This is wonderful news! Perhaps even more such fragments have appeared in the unlikeliest of places.\n\nThat said, working this material into a usable form has proven... difficult. Raw amber equally so. This is a job better suited for a master blacksmith with deep knowledge of the arcane. Someone like Evethra.\n\nA peerless smithy and my confidant in learning the hidden sides of spellcraft, Evethra would no doubt be able to work out the secrets of amber and madness ore. If she hasn't gone completely mad by now, that is. I shall have the Seducers deliver her a sample of each. With any luck, she still hones her craft north of Mistwatch even after all these years."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-autumn": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-autumn", "description": "Clue to completing the Autumn puzzle", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Note on Autumn", "text": "Mage says we have to harvest wheat and stuff it in the depositories.\n\nOnly I don't know which wheat goes in which container. Seems like the symbols on the signs and the depositories might be a clue, but they all look the same and it's making my head hurt.\n\nShor's Bones, this isn't what I signed up for. If I wanted to work on a farm I'd go back to Rorikstead. The treasure better be worth it."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-revenge-kinthal": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-revenge-kinthal", "description": "Bounty to kill the player", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Note on Revenge for Kinthal", "text": "[Player], the [Player's Race] wretch that slew Kinthal, will pay dearly for what [Player's Pronoun]'s done. By my hand the scales will be balanced. When I return victorious, there will be no doubt that I should lead the Saints from here on!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-revenge-svarig": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-revenge-svarig", "description": "Bounty to kill the player", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Note on Revenge for Svarig", "text": "My companions and I have formed a pact to hunt down [Player], the despicable [Player's Race] responsible for butchering Svarig. This transgression cannot be overlooked. Our honor as Seducers demands nothing less than [Player]'s head on a pike"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-spring": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-spring", "description": "Clue to completing the spring puzzle", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Note on Spring", "text": "Trying to make it inside, but thick roots are barring the way.\n\nThe boss says the branches are connected to the spriggans, so stabbing one might make them flinch. But it's kind of hard to stab what you can't see."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-strange-arms-and-armor": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-strange-arms-and-armor", "description": "Explains how bandits got their hands on Golden Saint and Seducer Armor", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Note on Strange Arms and Armor", "text": "My back is killing me carrying all this loot back to the camps. Thoron says the gear is better than anything a blacksmith could forge. \"Remnants of an ancient battle between the Golden Saints and Dark Seducers themselves,\" he tells us. Still, I have my doubts. What's a wizard know about stopping an Ebony arrow coming at your forehead with a poison tip and a full gust of wind\"\n\nPlus it don't look right, and it doesn't feel right. Still, the boss swears by it, and if I call our great leader a liar, I'm a dead man come morning.\n\nStill, if he asks me to bring one of those creepy looking bugs back for him, that's where I draw the line."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-summer": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-summer", "description": "Hint at how to clear Summer puzzle", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Note on Summer", "text": "The boss says we can use one of those control rods to make the metal crawlies open the way.\n\nSupposedly you just point the thing at one of those round waypoints and the spider does the rest, but I don't know how to fire the rod. I just hope I figure it out before I collapse from all this heat. I can almost smell my blood cooking."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-demented-elytra-nymph": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-demented-elytra-nymph", "description": "Bandits note on a captured Elytra Nymph", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Note on the Demented Elytra Nymph", "text": "Can't believe we carried this bug the whole way here, cage and all. Always afraid it's going to find a way through the bars and eat me in my sleep."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-dwarven-drone-fly": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-dwarven-drone-fly", "description": "Note describing the benefits of the Dwarven Drone Flys", "author": "Elberon Blackthorn", "title": "Note on the Dwarven Drone Fly", "text": "With spring comes pollen, mold, and the specter of disease. The Dwemer knew this as well, and took steps to counter it.\n\nIf you spot a Dwarven Drone Fly buzzing about, good! You're already leagues ahead of the average mercenary, being both literate and attentive.\n\nSimply toss one in the air and these miniature metal insects will aerate the space around you, granting you resistance to poison and improving your stamina. As an added bonus, they'll also alleviate you of any excuses should you feel the need to turn back."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-manic-elytra-nymph": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-manic-elytra-nymph", "description": "Bandits note on a captured Elytra Nymph", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Note on the Manic Elytra Nymph", "text": "We found a buyer for the strange creature we've hauled all the way from... well, best not to say. Not a day too soon, as its chittering keeps waking me up at all hours of the night. Just a few more days. If the coin is worth it, we'll have to go back for more of these things."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-winter": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-winter", "description": "Hint at how to clear Winter puzzle", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Note on Winter", "text": "Two steps into winter and I can't feel my toes.\n\nNow the mage says we're gonna have to jump fifty feet into water so cold it'll crack your bones. This is all Bjorn's fault, I wanted to try the Summer room but I drew the sodding short straw."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-rhorlak": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-rhorlak", "description": "Reward for a good day of banditry.", "author": "Rigel Strong-Arm", "title": "Note to Rhorlak", "text": "We got the right cart this time. The note has been sent and we'll see how they respond.\nIn the meantime, we'll keep breaking down this stuff - you keep selling off the wood to keep our front. If we can get a good price for the mold, we should be set for a while.\nOh and we left some wine for you in a bucket behind the shelf. Consider it a bonus.\n-- Rigel Strong-Arm"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-rodulf": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-rodulf", "description": "Notice to treat the bandit leader's blind uncle well. Or else.", "author": "Hajvarr", "title": "Note to Rodulf", "text": "Rodulf,\nYour little stunts try my patience. I know my uncle has issues, but he is our watchman and you will\u00a0respect him. No more sneaking in and out. No more games with his ledger, or nails on his chair. One more 'joke' and you'll see how funny a day in the cage can be.\nHajvarr"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-authorities": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-authorities", "description": "Location of a dragon's lair.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Note to the Authorities", "text": "I have heard talk about the Dragons, but didn't believe it until now. One flew by last week and ever since we have seen him fly back and forth from a nearby mountain peak. My wife thinks we should move away, go somewhere else. I told her that would be nonsense. As long as we don't bother it, it won't bother us. Still, I thought it would be best if we report it to the local authorities. The creature's lair is just south the hill behind our shack near Bear's Cave Mill.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-thomas": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-thomas", "description": "Concerns a trapped troll and a dare.", "author": "Loraine", "title": "Note to Thomas", "text": "Thomas,\nYou know the Troll pit we discovered the other day that everyone's been talking about? Hit the beast with one of your fireballs from the top, climb down, and bring back his head. That should prove once and for all that you deserve to be the number two man. Good luck and be careful, you know how slippery it is up there.\nLoraine\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/notes-dimhollow-crypt-vol-3": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/notes-dimhollow-crypt-vol-3", "description": "A description of Dimhollow Crypt's central cavern, and theories as to its builders.", "author": "Adalvald", "title": "Notes on Dimhollow Crypt, Vol. 3", "text": "Notes on Dimhollow Crypt x\nVol. 3\nAs written by Adalvald\nDivines be praised! Here at last is the breakthrough I have been seeking. All the dangers I have escaped, the traps I have eluded and the foul draugr I have avoided have brought me at last to this.\nIn my previous volume of notes and observations regarding Dimhollow Crypt's possible connections to the ancient vampire clans of Skyrim's history, I wrote of a great chamber, far larger than anything else I've yet seen here in the crypt.\nAlas, a few wandering draugr forced me to retreat to the earlier passages of the crypt, thus depriving me of an opportunity to study this huge cavern.\nWell, praise be to Stendarr, for as I write this, I have just spent nearly a full day exploring that very cavern.\nIt was a risk that proved more than worth it, because what I found in that chamber nearly defies description.\nCentral to this huge cavern is an island of stone in a subterranean lake. Upon this island is something I can only describe as an elaborate ceremonial construction surrounded by stone columns linked by arches.\nThere is no mistaking the stark contrast in architecture here; no ancient Nords made this stonework. Here, too, were more of the gargoyle statues that I first glimpsed in earlier passageways.\nThere is no draugr burial site in Skyrim that contains these statues, save Dimhollow Crypt.\nIndeed, I am now certain that the strange construct in this main chamber was built long after the crypt, and by wholly different masters. These must be the same builders who placed the gargoyles through the crypt, perhaps to frighten away the curious.\nAll signs seem to indicate that the masons who crafted these strange arches were servants of some ancient master who favored necromancy or vampirism.\nThe style and craftsmanship in the stonework are not only distinct in terms of design, seeming to speak of an entirely different culture than that of the old Nord peoples, but also in skill with which they were fashioned.\nThe cutting and shaping of the stone, for example, suggests more sophisticated tools than the crypt's original architects would have possessed.\nAlthough I feel a sense of exhilaration that my theories have at last been confirmed beyond any shadow of a doubt, I am also disappointed at the lack of answers. How long ago were these new features added to the crypt? And by whom? And for what purpose?\nOn one point, I have no doubts. I must return to the Hall of the Vigilant and share these findings with my brothers and sisters. When they see what I've discovered with their own eyes, they will no longer scoff at my theories or mock my endeavors.\nAnd when that is done, I will return to my work. For now, Dimhollow Crypt might be a mystery, but by Stendarr I will see that mystery solved.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/notes-dissection": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/notes-dissection", "description": "Vampire notes about a deceased member of the Silver Hand", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Notes on Dissection", "text": "We were to leave the Vigilants for the ritual, but this one fought with the Silver Hand. It was not clear who his master was.\nAfter we fed, the master bade us to examine the body, to see what else we could learn of our condition.\nBone anatomy seems largely unchanged. Blood and organ samples have been taken to the alchemist.\nThe bite marks on the shoulder are curious. Need to rule out the possibility of werewolf contamination."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/notes-blacksmith": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/notes-blacksmith", "description": "Notes on where to find a Blacksmith's research", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Notes on the Blacksmith", "text": "Our blacksmith, Joften, has gone mad. Most of the time he spouts nonsense. This all started three days ago. Now he won't even pick up his hammer. We've tried to talk since into the lout, but it's like he doesn't even see us.\n\nHe wrote down the means to forge our Golden arms and armor, and that of the Seducers, but he never told a soul where he left the blasted notes! If we weren't holding out hope that he might snap out of it, we would have already parted his head from the rest of him.\n\nLately he has been going on about \"playing under the bridge,\" like he were still a child. \"That's where I always hid my toys,\" he said. I know his kin used to live around Half Moon Mill. We should round up some folks to have a look."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/notes-lunar-forge": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/notes-lunar-forge", "description": "Outlines the abilities of lunar weapons.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Notes on the Lunar Forge", "text": "The Lunar Forge\nThe Forge\nI've managed to get the forge itself up and running, but again, I find nothing special about its workings.  These weapons were clearly forged here, yet the secret of their enchantment remains elusive.  All I've been able to discern so far is some connection between the weapon's power and the appearance of the moons.\n\n\nThe Lunar Weapons\nThe weapons themselves are crafted of what seems to be normal metal, but while the moons are high above they gain an additional ability.  It seems that once the sun has gone down, the Lunar weapons take on a vampire-like ability, transferring a small amount of health from the victim to the user."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/notes-wares": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/notes-wares", "description": "Caravan note about new wares to sell", "author": "Ri'saad", "title": "Notes on Wares", "text": "Many thanks for dealing with the ruffians that have plagued humble merchants such as this one for some time. Coin flows well once again.\n\nRi'saad has new wares for sale that would interest one such as you. More of the arms and armor used by the Saints and Seducers have been found and can be yours, for a price. This one has also traded for strange new raw materials. Ri'saad knows not what they could be used for, but this one is sure you could find a way to put them to good use.\n\nMay your road lead you to warm sands."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/notes-yngol-barrow": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/notes-yngol-barrow", "description": "A poem about Atmora, which serves as the solution to a puzzle within Yngol Barrow.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Notes on Yngol Barrow", "text": "What a peculiar place the barrow turned out to be. I hadn't explored for very long before reaching this elaborate room and gate locking me from going further into the crypt.\nI confess it - I'm relieved! This place puts the fear of Oblivion into me.  There are some carvings in this room.  I'll attempt to transcribe them for the College so I have something to show for this effort.\nAll was so in Atmora\nland of truth and our home\nMan in his throne, \n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 so should he be\nWhale in the sea, \n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 so should he be\nEagle in Sun's Sky, \n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 so should he be\nSnake in the weed\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 so should he be\nSorrow! For the Sea-Ghosts took Yngol\nPrize Brother of Sail from Atmora's Fleet\nAnd none on land\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 nor sky, nor sea\nwould ever again \n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 be as should be\nFascinating, these ancient Nords. I wonder what other secrets are hidden here? Surely there can't be harm in trying to go a little further, and there is a lever here which must open the gate beyond."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/notice": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/notice", "description": "He used to be a soldier, and then he took an arrow in the...leg.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Notice", "text": "Attention\nOne of our soldiers came to me last week with an arrow lodged in his leg that he claims came from inside the fort while he was patrolling the walls. When the targets are on the ground, there is no reason an arrow should be loosed that high. Marksmanship is about accuracy, not power and we don't need to be taking out our own soldier.\nIf I see arrows flying anywhere near that high the one responsible will be on latrine duty for a month.\nYou have been warned.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/notice-cost-increase": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/notice-cost-increase", "description": "Price increase of Black-Briar mead due to unrest in Skyrim.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Notice of Cost Increase", "text": "Keerava,\nAs of this month, I'm afraid we're going to have to double the cost for Black-Briar Mead. As you're no doubt well aware, there's quite a bit of civil unrest occurring within Skyrim. With this unrest comes increased costs to us for shipment protection, ingredients and labor. I think you'll find your customers more than willing to share in this burden by absorbing the cost through a price increase I recommend you institute immediately. Failure to comply with our new costs will result in an immediate interruption of Black-Briar Mead.\nSincerely,\nMaven Black-Briar\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/notice-sale": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/notice-sale", "description": "Offer to sale a Dwarven Mudcrab", "author": "Calcelmo", "title": "Notice of Sale", "text": "During my excavations, I came across a quite peculiar little fellow - a Mudcrab, clad in plated Dwarven armor. He's quite friendly, but with all of my studies I have no time to take care of such a thing.\n\nFrom what I have seen, you seem to be quite trustworthy. Would you be interested in purchasing him? If so, please meet with me in my laboratory in Understone Keep.\n\n-Calcelmo"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/notice-sale-0": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/notice-sale-0", "description": "Notice of a nix hound for sale", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Notice of Sale", "text": "To Whom It May Concern,\n\n\t\t\u00a0\n\n\t\tIn recent years, Nix-Hounds have been slowly repopulating the island of Solstheim. Though quite dangerous when encountered in the wild, I've learned to tame them. They make a good pet, and can even help take some of the load off your back during your travels.\n\n\t\t\u00a0\n\n\t\tI currently have one for sale. Please see me if you are interested.\n\n\t\t\u00a0\n\n\t\tSigned,\n\n\t\tRevus Sarvani\nTo Whom It May Concern,\n\nIn recent years, Nix-Hounds have been slowly repopulating the island of Solstheim. Though quite dangerous when encountered in the wild, I've learned to tame them. They make a good pet, and can even help take some of the load off your back during your travels.\n\nI currently have one for sale. Please see me if you are interested.\n\nSigned,\nRevus Sarvani\n\nTo Whom It May Concern,\n\n\t\t\u00a0\n\n\t\tIn recent years, Nix-Hounds have been slowly repopulating the island of Solstheim. Though quite dangerous when encountered in the wild, Revus Sarvani had learned to tame them. His unfortunate passing has left him with an orphaned tamed Nix-Hound, which I am selling on his behalf.\n\n\t\t\u00a0\n\n\t\tThey make a good pet, and can even help take some of the load off your back during your travels.\n\n\t\t\u00a0\n\n\t\tPlease see me at the Retching Netch in Raven Rock if you are interested.\n\n\t\t\u00a0\n\n\t\tSigned,\n\n\t\tGeldis Sadri\n\n\t\tThe Retching Netch Corner Club\nTo Whom It May Concern,\n\nIn recent years, Nix-Hounds have been slowly repopulating the island of Solstheim. Though quite dangerous when encountered in the wild, Revus Sarvani had learned to tame them. His unfortunate passing has left him with an orphaned tamed Nix-Hound, which I am selling on his behalf.\n\nThey make a good pet, and can even help take some of the load off your back during your travels.\n\nPlease see me at the Retching Netch in Raven Rock if you are interested.\n\nSigned,\nGeldis Sadri\nThe Retching Netch Corner Club\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nystroms-journal": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nystroms-journal", "description": "Diary of a thief infiltrating Nocturnal's temple, and a series of hints needed to get into the inner sanctum.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Nystrom's Journal", "text": "I don't know why I let Anders talk me into this plan. He said the place would be full of riches, but I have yet to see even a single gold coin. To make matters worse, I think the other priests are beginning to suspect we aren't who we say we are. If they discover we're posing as priests of Nocturnal, I'm sure they're not going to simply ask us to leave nicely. I'll have to watch my step.\nAs an \"acolyte of Nocturnal,\" I've been assigned a mentor. Old dark elf fellow by the name of Lythelus. Maybe if I act the part, I can pry some information from him about the Pilgrim's Path. Anders swears to me that all of the temple's wealth is stashed within their inner sanctum, which supposedly sits at the end of the path, so my job is to get us through the obstacles alive.\nLythelus was easier to coax than I expected. Gave me a wealth of information on the Pilgrim's Path, but he was speaking in riddles. I'll try to record what I remember here and share it with Anders after he's done with his mentor. The only thing Lythelus seemed clear about was that there were five \"tests\" on the path. This what he said about each:\n\"Shadows of their former selves, sentinels of the dark. They wander ever more and deal swift death to defilers.\"\n\"Above all they stand, vigilance everlasting. Beholden to the murk yet contentious of the glow.\"\n\"Offer what She desires most, but reject the material. For her greatest want is that which cannot be seen, felt or carried.\"\n\"Direct and yet indirect. The path to salvation a route of cunning with fortune betraying the foolish.\"\n\"The journey is complete, the Empress's embrace awaits the fallen. Hesitate not if you wish to gift her your eternal devotion.\"\nHe also mumbled some nonsensical phrases like \"night is the new day\" and how he was the \"ghost of the sun.\" I have no idea what these cryptic sentiments mean, but hopefully during tomorrow's ritual, Anders and I will put everything we've learned to the test.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ode-tundrastriders": {"game": ["Skyrim", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ode-tundrastriders", "description": "A poem about giants.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Ode to the Tundrastriders", "text": "\nOh mighty tundrastrider!\nHow you and your mighty tusked beast silhouette against the great orange expanse.\nThundering footsteps herald your herd. Man and beast blazing trail together.\nOne in nature, each relying upon the other, more than just man and beast, but equals who need one another to survive.\nHow I long to run across the tundra in their mighty wake.\nThat would truly be my greatest honor.\nThe morning would be spent gathering dyes to paint our mammoths and then carve the fiercest images into their tusks.\nThen it would be time for the skeever hunt. Our clubs would rain down upon the rat pests smashing the life out of them.\nIn the evening could sit around the campfire and I would regale those nearby with songs of their majesty and grace.\nThey would let me sample of the mammoth's cheese. A food so foul yet with healing properties so great.\nWe'd snack on the roasted skeever we'd freshly caught that day before laying under the stars to sleep.\nI'd slowly fade to dream nested in the radiating heat of mammoth fur. It's cold resisting properties keeping me snug.\nWhat a grand time we would have.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crossed-daggers": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crossed-daggers", "description": "A history of Riften, explaining its derelict state.", "author": "Dwennon Wyndell", "title": "Of Crossed Daggers", "text": "Of Crossed Daggers:\nThe History of Riften\nby\nDwennon Wyndell\nSituated on the eastern banks of Lake Honrich, the city of Riften serves as a reminder of a bygone era. The once-proud streets and buildings have vanished and been replaced with a collection of wooden structures and rough stonework shrouded in a permanent fog-like mist. In order to understand how such a large city became nothing more than a glorified fortress, one need only look to the history books for answers.\nRiften was a major hub of activity for trade caravans and travellers to and from Morrowind. Fishing skiffs could be seen dotting the lake at all hours of the day and the bustling city was alive with activity at night. The city guard was formiddable and maintained a tight grasp on its populace, keeping them safe from harm. The marketplace in Riften was also quite a draw, containing numerous stands offering wares from across Tamriel.\nIn 4E 98, amidst the confusion of the Void Nights, Hosgunn Crossed-Daggers was installed as Jarl when the previous Jarl had been assassinated. Although many believe that Hosgunn was responisble, and cries of protest filled the streets of Riften, the Jarl took the throne and immediately took action to protect his station. Using the city guard, he had the streets cleared of protesters and initiated a curfew. Any caught breaking the curfew was immediately jailed without process or executed if it was a repeat offence.\nFor over 40 years, Hosgunn ruled Riften with a black heart and an iron fist. He imposed ridiculous taxes upon his subjects and any merchants that wished to sell their wares within the city walls. Hosgunn kept most of the coin for himself, using it to construct a massive wooden castle with unecessarily lavish quartering within. The castle took seven years to build, and became a visual reminder of the people's oppression which earned it the nickname \"Hosgunn's Folly.\" Towards the end of his reign, the streets of Riften became littered with refuse and it's people plagued by disease and hunger.\nThen, in 4E 129, the people had finally had enough. With their numbers, they were able to temporarily overhwhelm the city guard long enough to set Hosgunn's Folly on fire with the greedy Jarl still within. As the fighting recommensed, the fire spread through the city unchecked. By the morning, the people had emerged victorious, but not without great cost. Most of the city was now in ruins and many had died.\nIt took five years to rebuild Riften into the smaller city that it is today. And even though over fifty years had passed since then, it still has yet to fully recover. Some believe it will never achieve the level of affluence it saw at the beginning of the Fourth Era, but there are a few who still hold on to the hope that Riften can return from the ashes and become a center of commerce once again."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fjori-and-holgeir": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fjori-and-holgeir", "description": "The legend of two doomed lovers.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Of Fjori and Holgeir", "text": "In her 29th summer of life, Fjori the huntress met the warlord Holgeir on the field of battle. None remember what they fought over, for their love to come was so great it overshadowed all rivalries or disputes. They fought to a standstill, as their followers looked on - till her sword broke his axe and his shield dulled her blade and all could see that they were equals.\nAs the Eagle finds its mates, so too did Fjori find hers in Holgeir, and a time of peace came to the clans of the forest. But as the summer's warmth gives way to winter's chill, so too would this peace pass.\nBut the Snake came and bit Holgeir, its venom seeping deep into the wound.\nA Whale greeted Fjori's view as she came over the snow-covered mountains to the coast.\nShe obtained an elixir from the Akavir and returned to the forest in haste.\nThough Holgeir could smell the winds of Sovngarde, she gave him the elixir and he was cured in an instant.\nBut the Snake bit Fjori as she poured the last drop into Holgeir's mouth, and fatigued from her journey, she joined the ancestors immediately.\nHolgeir's grief was such that he built a tomb and upon completion, took his own life that he might rejoin her.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/official-warning": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/official-warning", "description": "Don't bother the giant.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Official Warning", "text": "\nAttention citizenry\nThe giant here has been given leave to keep his camp. Please do NOT attempt to make trade, disrupt the mammoths, gawk at, or otherwise disturb the giant. Resting here is not advised."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/oghma-infinium": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/oghma-infinium", "description": "Supposedly contains the knowledge of Hermaeus Mora.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Oghma Infinium", "text": "\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/olaf-and-dragon": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/olaf-and-dragon", "description": "Explores the various legends of the story of King Olaf and his capture of the dragon Numinex.", "author": "Adonato Leonetti", "title": "Olaf and the Dragon", "text": "One of the more colorful legends in Nord folklore is the tale of Olaf One-Eye and Numinex.\nLong ago in the First Age, a fearsome dragon named Numinex ravaged the whole of Skyrim. The dreadful drake wiped out entire villages, burned cities and killed countless Nords. It seemed that no power in Tamriel could stop the monster.\nThis was a troubled time in Skyrim's history, for a bitter war of succession raged between the holds. The Jarls might have been able to conquesr the beast if they had worked together, but trust was in desperately short supply.\nA skillful warrior named Olaf came forward and promised to defeat the beast. In some accounts, he is the Jarl of Whiterun. In other versions of the legend, Olaf promises the people of Whiterun that he will capture the monster if they will name him Jarl.\nAt any rate, Olaf ventures forth with a handful of his most trusted warriors and seeks the beast out, eventually finding Numinex in his lair atop Mount Athor. Needless to say, it's an epic battle.\nFirst, Olaf comes at the dragon with his axe and his shield. Some variants of the legend say that Olaf and the beast battled with blade and claw for days, but were too evenly matched for either to gain an advantage.\nMost accounts hold that Olaf, perhaps frustrated that his weapons are completely ineffectual against the dragon, finally casts them aside. Giving voice to the rage that has been building within him, Olaf unleashes a terrible shout.\nHere again, the stories diverge. Many accounts hold that Olaf did not realize he possessed the power of Dragon-speech, while others suggest that he had long possessed this gift, but wished to test himself against the dragon in martial combat first.\nVirtually all variations of the legend, however, agree on what happened next.\nUsing the awesome powers of the Dragon language, Numinex and Olaf engage in an epic shouting duel atop Mount Athor. So forceful are their words, they are said to shatter the stone and split the sky.\nFinally, Numinex collapses from a combination of injury and sheer exhaustion. Somehow - and this detail is conspicuously absent in virtually every account - Olaf manages to convey the dragon all the way back to the capital city of Whiterun.\nThe people of Whiterun are suitably impressed with Olaf's hostage. They build a huge stone holding cell at the rear of the palace, which they rename \"Dragonsreach\". This enormous cell serves as Numinex's prison until his death.\nOlaf himself eventually becomes the High King of Skyrim, putting an end to the war of succession. Presumably, his great deed made him the only leader upon whom all the people could agree, and so the land once again has peace.\nAs a visitor to Skyrim, I find this tale both fascinating and highly entertaining. It is one the most celebrated legends of the Nords, and one can easily understand why. It's a story of surpassing heroism, in which a resourceful and worthy Nord does battle with a truly terrifying adversary and emerges victorious by yelling him into submission. The only way in which this could have been even more of a Nordic tale would be if Olaf beat Numinex in a drinking contest.\nThe legend is not without its doubters, however. The bard Svaknir, who lived during Olaf's reign, wrote and performed an alliterative verse that challenged Olaf's version of events. Enraged, the High King threw the rebellious bard in prison and destroyed all written copies of the verse.\nHow I would love to lay hands on a copy of that verse! I admit, I am immensely curious to know what assertions Svaknir made about how Olaf really defeated Numinex.\nThere are a few ancient bard texts that provide one possible answer. These tomes suggest that Numinex was particularly foul-tempered because he was extremely old. In these accounts, the dragon spends his final years terrorizing the country side before flying off to the top of Mount Athor to die in peace.\nWhen Olaf finds Numinex, the dragon is too weak to defend himself. Olaf and his men capture the beast without effort, but decide to take advantage of the situation by fabricating a heroic tale. It is worth noting that all of Olaf's warriors who were said to witness the shout duel went on to become wealthy leaders during Olaf's reign as High King.\nHowever, it is equally likely that Svaknir had some grudge against Olaf, and his scandalous verse was an attempt to damage the High King's reputation. Alas, we will never know.\nI leave you now, good reader, with this gentle reminder: A good historian must remain impartial, and consider all points of view. Time has a way of distorting our record of events, so the closer you can get to the original sources, the better!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/old-smugglers-note": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/old-smugglers-note", "description": "Smuggler's last words about teaming up with a group of mages", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Old Smuggler's Note", "text": "Damn these mages with their magic! Things were good here, life was sweet and profits were aplenty before the boss agreed to help these fools with their trap. This venture will cost us the shirts off our backs I'll wager."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/old-tome": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/old-tome", "description": "A poem about death and honor", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Old Tome", "text": "A mighty lord deserves a mighty offering\nBut he who fell on this spot asked to be remembered humbly\nWe who served at his hand, however, do not want his brilliance to be forgotten\nThus, to honor him, one needs only to look to the simple, glowing fungus on these cave walls\nFor no matter how mighty or humble one may be in life \nWe all return to the same ground from which this mushroom blooms\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/stepping-lightly": {"game": ["Skyrim", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/stepping-lightly", "description": "Lists various traps, puzzles, and enemies found in Nordic ruins. Mostly a gameplay guide.", "author": "Sigilis Justus", "title": "On Stepping Lightly", "text": "On Stepping Lightly:\nThe Nordic Ruins of Skyrim\nby\n\tSigilis Justus\n\nDotting the landscape of Skyrim, the ancient Nordic Ruins are a testament to the ingenuity of the Nordic people of the past. When constructing the final resting places of their noble class, these supposedly \"barbaric\" people proved quite the opposite; developing some of the most sophisticated and clever defenses ever encountered. Coupled with the presence of the fearsome draugr, these tombs have become quite a challenge for the would-be treasure hunter.\nThe most often-overlooked obstacles are the abundance of traps spread throughout the tombs. Ranging from simple tripwire-activated rock falls to complex pressure plate-triggered dart traps, the Nords utilize these devices abundantly. Most of the traps can be avoided by simply looking for the trigger mechanism and avoiding them. Since they are most often placed in areas where distractions abound, remember to keep your eyes to the floor.\nOne of the keys to survival in a Nordic Ruin is through the clever use of these traps to gain an upper hand against its denizens. In many cases, it's trivial to lure them across the triggering mechanism in hopes that they'll fall victim to the trap's effect. This advantage can come heavily into play when encountering an oil trap. Using a ranged attack, lure your victim onto the oil and then loose an arrow at the fire pot hanging above. The moment the fire pot shatters, the entire pool of oil will ignite and engulf the enemy. Just be certain that you're standing clear of the oil yourself, or else this trick could end your expedition in an untimely manner.\nPerhaps one of the most amazing engineering marvels of all to be found in the ruins has little to do with the traps designed to kill. Utilizing all manner of pull chains, levers, switches and pressure plates, some of the most frustrating obstacles can occur in the form of puzzles that could threaten to block your progress. Watch for the telltale signs of these barriers: groups of levers in a single place, rotating pillars with carvings on all faces and even large arrays of pressure plates covering the floor of a room. In most cases, the puzzle might take experimentation, in others the solution could actually be present elsewhere in the complex. It's recommended to keep a writing implement and a journal handy in the latter case.\nAlthough Nordic Ruins are commonly infested with vermin such as skeever and spiders, these creatures pale in comparison to the mighty draugr. These horrific, animated dead beings are commonly found as guardians in most of the tombs and will defend them mercilessly. Since the draugr tends to lay dormant until someone happens upon their resting place, it's advisable to keep an eye on any niches or sarcophaguses that you encounter. These undead beings animate rather rapidly and silently, so always watch your back - any remains you may have passed could suddenly animate and set upon you without warning.\nThe perils of the Nordic Ruin are not without reward. The burial chambers in some of the larger complexes have been known to contain all manners of riches, from gold coins to even the occasional enchanted weapon or armor. Never dismiss the small ceremonial urns that dot the ruins, they are commonly filled with ancient offerings of great value. There are rumors that most, if not all of these ruins contain large walls with magical inscriptions upon them, but these have yet to be confirmed.\nWhile this might seem like comprehensive guide to the ruins, there are certain to be dangers lurking within that remain undiscovered. Just be sure to always enter these tombs with plenty of equipment and a good, solid weapon by your side. With a bit of patience, a keen eye and a light step, the Nordic Ruin can bring you great wealth - do without these simple safety measures and you risk becoming a permanent resident like many before you."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/great-collapse": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/great-collapse", "description": "The history of the Great Collapse and its aftermath, through the eyes of the Collge of Winterhold.", "author": "Archmage Deneth", "title": "On the Great Collapse", "text": "To the esteemed Jarl Valdimar of Winterhold,\nFirst, please allow me to offer my most sincere condolences. I understand that you, like many others, have lost family and you have my deepest sympathies.\nI also understand that some on your council have placed the blame for this horrible disaster on my colleagues at the College. While I can certainly appreciate the shock at the scope of recent events, and the desire to comprehend what has happened, I must strongly urge you to consider the full situation.\nYou know as well as any the College's history and reputation in Winterhold. It has long been a source of pride for your city, a unique fixture in Skyrim. Some of the greatest wizards have studied here, and the College has always promoted positive relations with the other provinces of Tamriel.\nIt is well-known that those relations have been, shall we say, strained over the last few decades. After the Oblivion Crisis, it was only natural that the people of Skyrim showed a distrust for mages, even though the vast majority of us actively worked to counter the actions of the Mythic Dawn cult. The College expected such a reaction, and hoped that distrust would fade over time.\nAnd then, the Red Year. No one foresaw the explosion of Red Mountain, or the devastating effect it would have on the Dunmer culture. Your predecessor was kind enough to welcome many of the refugees, particularly those who could contribute to the College's studies. We were quite grateful.\nWhen Solstheim was generously offered to the Dunmer as a new home, I was as surprised as any. I did not, however, share the apparent expectation that all dark elves would leave Skyrim. It did not go unnoticed that many in Winterhold were unhappy at how many mages chose to stay at the College rather than relocate.\nAnd now, the storms that have wracked the coast of Skyrim for close to a year have finally broken, but at great cost to us all. This great collapse that has devastated Winterhold was unexpected, I assure you. That the College has remained unaffected is only a testament to the protective magicks placed around it so long ago. It in no way implies that we were somehow prepared specifically for this event, and is certainly no indication that the College was somehow responsible.\nI certainly would never hold you accountable for the gossip spread amongst the people of Winterhold. I would urge you, though, to not allow that gossip to take root and become a commonly held belief. I do not wish to see our relationship crumble like Winterhold has, as I assure you the College will remain here a very, very long time.\nYour persistent advocate,\nArch-Mage Deneth"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/opusculus-lamae-bal": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/opusculus-lamae-bal", "description": "Vampire lore - their creation, and the origin of the Lamae Bal, the Blood Matron.", "author": "Mabei Aywenil", "title": "Opusculus Lamae Bal", "text": "Opusculus Lamae Bal ta Mezzamortie\nA brief account of Lamae Bal and the Restless Death\nMabei Aywenil, Scribe\nTranslation by \nUniversity of Gwylim Press; 3E 105\nAs brighter grows light, darker becomes shadow.  So it passed that the Daedra Molag Bal looked on Arkay and thought the Aedra prideful of his dominion o'er the death of man and mer, and it was sooth.\nBal, whose sphere is the wanton oppression and entrapment of mortal souls, sought to thwart Arkay, who knew that not man, nor mer, nor beastfolk of all Nirn could escape eventual death.  The Aedra was doubtless of his sphere, and so Molag Bal set upon Nirn to best death.\nTamriel was still young, and filled with danger and wondrous magick when Bal walked in the aspect of a man and took a virgin, Lamae Beolfag, from the Nedic Peoples.  Savage and loveless, Bal profaned her body, and her screams became the Shrieking Winds, which still haunt certain winding fjords of Skyrim.  Shedding a lone droplet of blood on her brow, Bal left Nirn, having sown his wrath.\nViolated and comatose, Lamae was found by nomads, and cared for.  A fortnight hence, the nomad wyrd-woman enshrouded Lamae in pall for she had passed into death.  In their way, the nomads built a bonfire to immolate the husk.  That night, Lamae rose from her funeral pyre, and set upon the coven, still aflame.  She ripped the throats of the women, ate the eyes of the children, and raped their men as cruelly as Bal had ravished her.\nAnd so; Lamae, (who is known to us as blood-matron) imprecated her foul aspect upon the folk of Tamriel, and begat a brood of countless abominations, from which came the vampires, most cunning of the night-horrors.  And so was the scourge of undeath wrought upon Tamriel, cruelly mocking Arkay's rhythm of life and death through all the coming eras of the et'Ada, and for all his sadness, Arkay knew this could not be undone."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/orders": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/orders", "description": "Flower picking and corpse disposal.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Orders", "text": "All the blossoms are to be harvested at once and brought up to the alchemical lab.\nThen clear space and begin burial of the children's bodies.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/orders-0": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/orders-0", "description": "Vampire's orders to infiltrate the government.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Orders", "text": "Sojourn awhile in [hold capital]. Infiltrate the court of [Jarl's name]. If you can, gently guide the Jarl toward our best interests. If that proves impossible, invite [him/her] or a member of [his/her] court into the family. It's far easier to direct those sharing the blood thirst towards our shared interests.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/orsinium-and-orcs": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/orsinium-and-orcs", "description": "A story about how Gortwog won the land between Menevia and Wayrest.", "author": "Menyna Gsost", "title": "Orsinium and the Orcs", "text": "How Orsinium Passed\nto the Orcs\nby\nMenyna Gsost\nThe year was 3E 399 and standing on a mountainside overlooking a vast tract of land between the lands of Menevia and Wayrest was a great and learned judge, an arbitrator and magistrate, impartial in his submission to the law.\n\"You have a very strong claim to the land, my lad,\" said the judge. \"I won't lie to you about that.  But your competition has an equal claim.  This is what makes my particular profession difficult at times.\"\n\"You would call it my competition?\" sneered Lord Bowyn, gesturing to the Orc.  The creature, called Gortwog gro-Nagorm, looked up with baleful eyes.\n\"He has ample documentation to make a claim on the land,\" the magistrate shrugged. \"And the particular laws of our land do not discriminate between particular races.  We had a Bosmer regency once, many generations ago.\"\n\"But what if a pig or a slaughterfish turned up demanding the property?  Would they have the same legal rights as I?\"\n\"If they had the proper papers, I'm afraid so,\" smiled the judge. \"The law is very clear that if two claimants with equal titles to the property are set in deadlock, a duel must be held.  Now, the rules are fairly archaic, but I've had opportunity to look them over, and I think they're still valid.  The Imperial council agrees.\"\n\"What must we do?\" asked the Orc, his voice low and harsh, unused to the tongue of the Cyrodiils.\n\"The first claimant, that's you, Lord Gortwog, may choose the armor and weapon of the duelists.  The second claimant, that's you, Lord Bowyn, may choose the location.  If you would prefer, either or both you may choose a champion or you may duel yourself.\"\nThe Breton and the Orc looked at one another, evaluating.  Finally, Gortwog spoke, \"The armor will be Orcish and the weapons will be common steel long swords.  No enchantments.  No wizardry allowed.\"\n\"The arena will be the central courtyard of my cousin Lord Berylth's palace in Wayrest,\" said Bowyn, looking Gortwog in the eye scornfully. \"None of your kind will be allowed in to witness.\"\nSo it was agreed.  Gortwog declared that he would fight the duel himself, and Bowyn, who was a fairly young man and in better than average condition, felt that he could not keep his honor without competing himself as well.  Still, upon arriving at his cousin's palace a week before the duel was scheduled, he felt the need to practice.  A suit of Orcish armor was purchased and for the first time in his life, Bowyn wore something of tremendous weight and limited facility.\nBowyn and Berylth sparred in the courtyard.  In ten minutes times, Bowyn had to stop.  He was red-faced and out of breath from trying to move in the armor: to add to his exasperation, he had not scored one blow on his cousin, and had dozens of feinted strikes scored on him.\n\"I don't know what to do,\" said Bowyn over dinner. \"Even if I knew someone who could fight properly in that beastly steel, I couldn't possibly send in a champion to battle Gortwog.\"\nBerylth commiserated.  As the servants cleared the plates, Bowyn stood up in his seat and pointed at one of them: \"You didn't tell me you had an Orc in your household!\"\n\"Sir?\" whined the elderly specimen, turning to Lord Berylth, certain that he caused offense somehow.\n\"You mean Old Tunner?\" laughed Berylith. \"He's been with my house for ages.  Would you like him to give you training on how to move in Orcish armor?\"\n\"Would you like me to?\" asked Tunner obsequiously.\nUnknown to Berylith but known to him now, his servant had once ridden with the legendary Cursed Legion of High Rock.  He not only knew how to fight in Orcish armor himself, but he had acted as trainer to other Orcs before retiring into domestic service.  Desperate, Bowyn immediately engaged him as his full-time trainer.\n\"Your try too hard, sir,\" said the Orc on their first day in the arena. \"It is easy to strain yourself in heavy mail.  The joints are just so to let you to bend with only a little effort.  If you fight against the joints, you won't have any strength to fight your foe.\"\nBowyn tried to follow Tunner's instructions, but he quickly grew frustrated.  And the more frustrated he got, the more intensity he put into his work, which tired him out even quicker.  While he took a break to drink some water, Berylith spoke to his servant.  If they were optimistic about Bowyn's chances, their faces did not show it.\nTunner trained Bowyn hard the next two days, but her Ladyship Elysora's birthday followed hard upon them, and Bowyn enjoyed the feast thoroughly.  A liquor of poppies and goose fat, and cock tinsh with buttered hyssop for a first course; roasted pike, combwort, and balls of rabbit meat for a second; sliced fox tongues, ballom pudding with oyster gravy, battaglir weed and beans for the main course; collequiva ice and sugar fritters for dessert.  As Bowyn was settling back afterwards, his eyes weary, he suddenly spied Gortwog and the judge entering the room.\n\"What are you doing here?\" he cried. \"The duel's not for another two days!\"\n\"Lord Gortwog asked that we move it to tonight,\" said the judge. \"You were training when my emisary arrived two days ago, but his lordship your cousin spoke for you, agreeing to the change of date.\"\n\"But there's no time to assemble my supporters,\" complained Bowyn. \"And I've just devoured a feast that would kill a lesser man.  Cousin, how could you neglect to tell me?\"\n\"I spoke to Tunner about it,\" said Berylith, blushing, unused to deception. \"We decided that you would be best served under these conditions.\"\nThe battle in the arena was sparsely attended.  Saturated with food, Bowyn found himself unable to move very quickly.  To his surprise, the armor responded to his lethargy, rotating smoothly and elegantly to each stagger.  The more he successfully maneuvered, the more he allowed his mind and not his body to control his defensive and offensive actions.  For the first time in his life, Bowyn saw what it was to look through the helmet of an Orc.\nOf course, he lost, and rather badly if scores had been tabulated.  Gortwog was a master of such battle.  But Bowyn fought on for more than three hours before the judge reluctantly called a winner.\n\"I will name the land Orsinium after the land of my fathers,\" said the victor.\nBowyn's first thought was that if he must lose to an Orc, it was best that the battle was largely unwatched by his friends and family.  As he left the courtyard to go to the bed he had longed for earlier in the evening, he saw Gortwog speaking to Tunner.  Though he did not understand the language, he could see that they knew each other.  When the Breton was in bed, he had a servant bring the old Orc to him.\n\"Tunner,\" he said kindly. \"Speak frankly to me.  You wanted Lord Gortwog to win.\"\n\"That is true,\" said Tunner. \"But I did not fail you.  You fought better than you would have fought two days hence, sir.  I did not want Orsinium to be won by its king without a fight.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ownership-deed": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ownership-deed", "description": "Deed showing ownership of a Dwarven Mudcrab", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Ownership Deed", "text": "This deed signifies ownership of the Dwarven Mudcrab to the undersigned. Ownership may only be transferred with an accompanying Bill of Sale.\n\nP.S. He will follow you anywhere you go, but he's cautious of aggressive strangers. He's smart and fast, so you can dismiss him to stay at any of your owned homes, just inside a city, or right where he stands, if you think it makes him a good home.\n\nFrom time to time he may also dig up something useful or valuable! Lastly, I've included a Spell Tome so you can summon him to your location at any time.\n\nI hope you enjoy him. Back to work for me.\n\n-Calcelmo"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/peddlers-journal": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/peddlers-journal", "description": "A Peddler's journey to swindling a group of Rieklings", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Peddler's Journal", "text": "I first met them little blue fetchers about a year ago, on one of the islands to the north. I offered them a few things in trade, hoping it'd give them enough reason not to jab their spears through my skull.\n\nI showed them my best goods - a sapphire, a silver candlestick, and a rug made of fine tundra cotton, but they didn't want none of that. They were way more interested in my belt. So I gave it to their leader, praying it'd make him reconsider boiling me alive. But it turns out it wasn't me he was fixing to boil, but my belt.\n\nNow I've heard of soldiers on the brink of starvation eating leather strips to survive. So it ain't like you can't put a belt to the pot, should it come to that.\n\nBut them little scribs were chewing that stuff like it was cooked up by the Gourmet. In fact, their leader wanted me to throw my boots into the pot, seeing as they was leather too.\n\nI tried to tell the little monster that my whole armor was made of netch leather. Ain't the same as hide from some old Nord cow. Something got lost in translation though, because they thought it was some holy relic and started painting their little marks on it.\n\nAs they were taking the armor back to their huts, I tried to explain that it wasn't special, even showed him some sketches on netch leather crafting, but their leader thought it was a cookbook and took that too. On top of that, he wants me to sell him raw netch leather so the whole clan can bloody eat it.\n\nSo now to keep these stupid ash blighters from killing themselves, I'm bringing them leather from the mainland and dyeing it purple with a mountain flower and a bit of charcoal. Of course, I could just let them eat the stuff and leave them to the horkers, but some of the junk they got is valuable, and best of all, they don't know it.\n\nNow if I can just get the horkers on this island to shut up, I'd have a perfect little spot to set up my business."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/your-requests": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/your-requests", "description": "Response to a letter from a crazy scholar.", "author": "Mirabelle Ervine", "title": "Per Your Requests", "text": "Wylandriah,\nYour letter sent to the College of Winterhold was rife with grammatical errors and incomplete thoughts, making them difficult to discern. Could you please clarify the points below for us to ensure we're on the same page?\nWe have no record of a \"cloud emulsifier\" device or anything involving the magical manipulation of the clouds. Second, we can't send you a sample of the Heart of Lorkhan for experimentation, as no such sample exists. And finally, in the fourteenth paragraph of your letter, you mention a substance called \"greenmote.\" We're assuming this was a simple mistake and you meant to write \"greenspore.\" If that's the case, we have contaminated skeever carcasses with the disease available if needed.\nWe'd also like to thank you for sending us your notes regarding your experiments, we've all had quite a grand time reading them.\nMirabelle Ervine\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/physicalities-warewolves": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/physicalities-warewolves", "description": "Tracks the changes that a human body undergoes when becoming a werewolf.", "author": "Reman Crex", "title": "Physicalities of Werewolves", "text": "Experimentation in the Physicalities\n\tof the Werewolf\nby\n\tReman Crex\nFar too many books such as this one begin with some sort of justification. Some reason for study is concocted, in the hopes that the writer's obsession will be seen in a more noble light. I make no such pretensions. No werewolf killed my family, none ever threatened me personally, nor even an acquaintance of mine. My obsession is borne out of simple curiosity, with a strong dose of hatred for the unnatural. Is it possible to hate something without having been done harm by it? I am no philosopher, and thus here ends my introduction. On with my studies.\nI have endeavored, over the course of several decades, to perform a complete study of the physical nature of the creatures we call werewolves. I overlook entirely the origins of this plague, whether it is acquired voluntarily or inflicted, and how one might be cured. Such matters are filled with too much guesswork and rambling second-hand inanities from farmhands.\n\nSubject A\nCaptured: in Morrowind, while in beast form\nMakeup: Male, Breton in his true form\nNotes: Subject shows an unusually high degree of control over his transformations.\nExperiment 1 -- Subject's bodily proportions were thoroughly measured before, during, and after the transformation. As expected, the proportions were identical while in true form, but some minor swelling of the head was observed immediately after the return. Changes observed during transformation:\n23% increase in shoulder width\n\t17% narrowing of hips\n\t47% lengthening of arms\n\t7% increase in finger length (not accounting for claws)\nAs for the legs -- the lengthening of the foot to several times its normal length seems to account for the otherwise negligible changes in the thigh region.\nExperiment 2 -- Subject was coerced into changing as rapidly and as frequently as possible, at various times and at various levels of duress.\nTransformation times and effects were not viewed to change notably. Subject expired, concluding tests.\n\nSubject B\nCaptured: in Cyrodiil, already imprisoned by local authorities, in true form\nMakeup: Female, Nord in her true form\nNotes: Subject's large size in both true and transformed forms makes an excellent fit for vivisection\nI believe I may have been the first to witness a werewolf transformation ply its effects on the internal workings of a creature. The heart is the first thing to swell, long before the lungs or bones shift to accommodate it. This may account for the intense chest pains that some of the afflicted report directly before their changes.\nMore interesting were the changes observed in the muscles of the legs. I had expected a strengthening, as the beasts are known for great power and speed, but they also seemed to change color into a dusky brown. This could also be attributed to blood loss from the procedures.\nBefore the subject expired, I worked applying some known \"remedies\" for the disease directly to internal organs. Wolfsbane petals applied to the bones seemed to render them brittle, and the ribcage nearly collapsed at the touch. The juice of ripened belladonna berries was pressed directly into the veins, and they could be seen to shrivel behind the flow as it moved through the system. Upon reaching the heart, the major vessels pulled away completely, and subject expired within minutes."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/pickpockets-journal": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/pickpockets-journal", "description": "A pickpocket's attempt to gain fortune through skeevers", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Pickpocket's Journal", "text": "I ain't been having no luck at lifting gold off them rich merchants in the market, and those thieves guild s'wits don't want me. Said I'm too clumsy. I'm running out of food and skooma, may need to start killing some of the skeevers down here for meat...\n\nOne of the skooma dealers at the docks told me he knew a guy from Morrowind who trained a nix hound to distract his marks - helped him steal a heaping pile of gold, he said. Don't know if I believe a word of it, but what else am I going to do? Might as well give it a try.\n\nToo bad there ain't any nix hounds around here. Plenty of skeevers, though...I'm gonna need to catch some anyway for food, might as well have a go at training one first."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/pirate-king-abecean": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/pirate-king-abecean", "description": "A poem about a fierce pirate captain.", "author": "Velehk Sain", "title": "Pirate King of the Abecean", "text": "Velehk Sain\nPirate King of the Abecean\n\nPoke out your eyes lad, pour lead in your ears\nThose sails portend madness, dark horror and fear\nAbandon your lasses, your ship and your gold\nBlood on the water, Velehk this way comes\nA noose from the rigging, a plank from boards\nDo yourself in, don't try at crossing swords\nMercy's not a shipmate among that heartless horde\nBlood on the water, the Pirate King comes\nStout Empire Galleon or Swift Elven Skiff\nThey every one splinter and just as soon sink\nBut only after crew and captain have their fun\nBlood on the water, your days are done\nHe'll tear your gut and he'll eat your heart raw\nHis eyes gleam red, his heart will never thaw\nMark well these words, you quaking babes\nBlood on the water follows Captain Velehk Sain\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/pirates-note": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/pirates-note", "description": "A restless soul's suggestion to make a home out of an old Pirate Ship", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Pirate's Note", "text": "They say a pirate's home is the sea, but the bottom of the ocean is no place to breathe, let alone live.\n\nBut word is you found a right ol' ship on an isle far off the coast. If you can't sail it out to open waters, it may make a good home.\n\nJust a little advice from a restless soul."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/poem-zaharia": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/poem-zaharia", "description": "Poem written by a bandit to his love", "author": "Fathrys", "title": "Poem for Zaharia", "text": "Zaharia, my desert flower\nYou are the seed from which love sprouts\nI would break the Green Pact itself\nto pluck you from the ground\n\nOh Zaharia, your very name is a spell\nthat burns hotter than dragon fire\nThus I bring you this armor of scales\nso that I may stand inside your flame"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/possible-rivals": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/possible-rivals", "description": "Warns Bryjolf of a Thieves Guild forming in Windhelm.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Possible Rivals", "text": "Brynjolf,\nI'm certain that there's some kind of rival Thieves Guild manifesting itself up here in Windhelm. As soon as things settle down with your own, why don't you send someone up here to investigate? I think you'll find I can open quite a few doors for the Guild once you've reestablished yourselves up here. Remember, friends are difficult to come by these days. Don't disappoint me.\nYour Friend In The North\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/posted-notice": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/posted-notice", "description": "No drinking on the job.", "author": "Captain Veleth", "title": "Posted Notice", "text": "This is a reminder that Emberbrand Wine and other such contraband is off-limits to all of you. Any guardsman caught with items like this in their possession will be disciplined and subject to possible removal from the Redoran Guard.\nCaptain Veleth"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/posting-hunt-2": {"game": ["Skyrim", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/posting-hunt-2", "description": "Describes the rituals and rules of Hircine's Wild Hunt.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Posting of the Hunt", "text": "The writing in the book appears to be a hasty transcription, perhaps from dictation, or copied from a longer work.\nLet no man say before a witness that the Hunt has not been called, nor the Rites declared, or the Ancient Offices observed.\nThe Ritual of the Innocent Quarry, also called the Wild Hunt, is an ancient rite drawing magical energy from the powerful magicka stream that engulfs this realm. The creators and times of the rituals are long forgotten. But followed properly, the rite brings great power and prestige to the Huntsman.\nThe ritual pits the all-powerful Huntsmen and their Greater and Lesser Dogs against the pitiful and doomed Innocent Quarry, called by tradition the Hare, after the mortal creature of human hunts. At once, the Huntsman is transported by the exquisite thrill and glory of his might and dominion over his helpless prey, and at the same time touched by the tragic, noble, and ultimately futile plight of the Innocent Quarry. In the highest aesthetic realization of the ritual, the ecstatic rapture of the kill is balanced by the Huntsman's identification with the sadness and despair of the Innocent Quarry. As in pieces the body of the innocent Hare is torn, the Huntsman reflects on the tragic imbalances of power and the cruel injustices of the world.\nAs the Hunt begins, the Lesser Dogs assemble before the green crystal reflections of the Chapel of the Innocent Quarry. Inside the Chapel, the Huntsmen, the Greater Dogs, and the Master of the Hunt perform the rites that initiate and sanctify the Huntsmen, the Hunt, and the Innocent Quarry. Then the Huntsman emerges from the Chapel, displays the Spear of Bitter Mercy, and recites the Offices of the Hunt. The Offices describe explains the laws and conditions of the four stages of the Hunt: the Drag, the Chase, the Call, and the View to the Kill.\nStage One -- The Drag, in which the Lesser Dogs drag the ground to flush out the Hare.\nStage Two -- The Chase, in which the Greater Hounds drive the Hare before them.\nStage Three -- The Call, in which the Greater Hounds trap the Hare and summon the Huntsmen for the kill.\nStage Four -- The View, in which the Huntsman makes the kill with the ritual Spear of Bitter Mercy, and calls upon the Master of the Hunt to view the kill by ringing the town bell. The Master of the Hunt then bestows the Bounty upon the Huntsman Bold who has wielded the Spear of Bitter Mercy in the kill. The Master of the Hunt also calls upon the Huntsman Bold to name the next Hare for the next Hunt (though the Huntsman Bold himself may not participate in the next Hunt).\nThe Offices of the Hunt, which the Huntsmen, Master, and Hounds are solemnly sworn to honor, detail the practices and conditions of the Hunt. These practices and conditions, also known as the Law, strictly define all details of the Hunt, such as how many Hounds of each sort may participate, how the Spear of Bitter Mercy may be wielded, and so forth. In addition, the Law states that the Hare must have a genuine chance to escape the Hunt, no matter how slim. In practice, this condition has been defined as the availability of six keys, which, if gathered together in the Temple of Daedric Rites, permit the Hare to teleport away from the Hunt, and so elude the Huntsman and his Spear. It is inconceivable, of course, that the Hare might actually discover the keys and escape, but the forms must be observed, and tampering with the keys or cheating the Hare of a genuine chance of finding or using the keys is a shameful and unforgivable betrayal of the Law of the Hunt.\nThe Ritual of the Hunt grants the Huntsmen protection from all forms of attack, including mortal and immortal weapons, and sorceries of all schools. Huntsmen are cautioned, however, that the ritual does not protect the Huntsman from the potent energies of his own Spear, and cautions against reckless wielding of the Spear in close melee, darkness, or other dangerous circumstances, for a single touch of the Spear of Bitter Mercy means instant and certain death for innocent Hare or fellow Huntsman alike.\nThe right to name a Wild Hunt is a grand and grave right indeed, as all but the High Daedra Lords are vulnerable to the potent sorceries of the Spear of Bitter Mercy. The Spear itself is therefore a terrible weapon, and it is forbidden to remove it from the Grounds of the Ritual Hunt."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/skryim-potion-recipes": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/skryim-potion-recipes", "description": "Recipes for various potions made from ingredients found in Skyrim.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Potion Recipes", "text": "Cure Disease Potion Recipe\n\nCure Disease potion:\n~Charred Skeever Hide\n~Mudcrab Chitin\nDamage Health Poison Recipe\n\nDamage Health poison:\n~Skeever Tail\n~Void Salts\nFear Poison Recipe\n\nFear poison:\n~Namira's Rot\n~Blue Dragonfly Wing\nFortify Carry Weight Potion Recipe\n\nFortify Carry Weight potion:\n~Creep Cluster Root\n~Giant's Toe\nInvisibility Potion Recipe\n\nInvisibility potion:\n~Ice Wraith Teeth\n~Chaurus Eggs\nParalysis Poison Recipe\n\nParalysis poison:\n~Canis Root\n~Swamp Fungal Pod\nResist Fire Potion Recipe\n\nResist Fire potion:\n~Bonemeal\n~Frost Salts\nResist Poison Potion Recipe\n\nResist Poison potion:\n~Thistle\n~Falmer Ear\nResist Shock Potion Recipe\n\nResist Shock potion:\n~Glowdust\n~Pearl\nRestore Health Potion Recipe\n\nRestore Health potion:\n~Imp Stool\n~Wheat\n\nRestore Magicka Potion Recipe\n\nRestore Magicka potion:\n~Giant Lichen\n~Pearl"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/power-elements": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/power-elements", "description": "A mysterious poem seemingly containing instructions.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Power of the Elements", "text": "Northward, haunted\nnorthern coastline\nAnd south, Dwemer \nlive and toil,\nA simple place, \na shield from draft.\nAt this stand \nwield mage's craft\nSo fierce the sea will boil.\n\nUnder Greybeards' \nmorning shadow\nAt this northern \nwatch, long lost\nNirn's hoary Throat \ndoes scrape the sky.\nHere unleash a chilling cry\nAnd gild this stand with frost.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/prisoners-plan": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/prisoners-plan", "description": "A plan for escape.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Prisoner's Plan", "text": "The storm is coming, I can tell.  The water leaking in has become stronger.  There's no better time than now.\nWhen the storm hits the guards will be scrambling to figure out what to do with us.  Amidst the confusion we need to overpower the few that will be standing guard outside our cells and hold off the cell block entrance.  We need only hold off until I can get one of their swords and break open the drainage grate in the corner of my cell.  That's where we'll make our escape.  Everyone move down river and we'll try to find shelter there until the storm passes.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/private-letter": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/private-letter", "description": "Need iron ore.", "author": "Lod", "title": "Private Letter", "text": "Old Friend,\nNeed all the iron ore you can dig up. Double my usual order. I know the mine isn't as rich as it used to be, but I'll pay extra.\nLod\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/private-papers-galur-rithari-buoyant-armiger-0": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/private-papers-galur-rithari-buoyant-armiger-0", "description": "The story of a Bouyant Armiger turned vampire and then cured.", "author": "Galur Rithari", "title": "Private Papers of Galur Rithari, Buoyant Armiger", "text": "Outnumbered and isolated, I yielded to my foe. The creature dressed like a gentleman, and I hoped for honorable treatment. Instead, I found myself a feast for a blood-drinking monster.\n\nShamed by my corruption, and despairing of my own welfare, I passively acquiesced in my gradual integration into the affairs of Clan Aundae. I made no human my prey, only beasts, and kept myself apart from the other clankin; nonetheless, I abandoned hope and lived like a beast.\n\nDrawn by intimations of my former life, I visited my former post at Bal Ur, hoping perhaps to atone in some for my crimes by preying upon its monsters, or perishing under their attacks. It is there that, by chance, I made petition to the Lord of Troubles, Molag Bal, at an altar deep in the caverns beneath the pilgrim's shrine. I was surprised, and thrilled, and terrified, when Molag Bal, or some aspect or agent of that Daedra Lord, offered me a chance to cure myself of vampirism, in return for a favor. However, with no hope for my soul or spirit unless I might be cured, I undertook his quest.\n\nF r ma\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 ns I so ght t e r\u00a0 ic, tr\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0ng de\u00a0 \u00a0i to the c\u00a0 \u00a0rns of Da\u00a0 \u00a0h Ur.\u00a0 \u00a0 er m\u00a0 y t\u00a0 \u00a0ls I fi\u00a0 lly\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0ined i\u00a0 \u00a0 d re\u00a0 \u00a0 ed to the\u00a0 ae ric\u00a0 rin e's sh\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0in Bal Ur.\n\nI placed the gem within the basin before the altar, and instantly experienced a blinding of pain and terror that I cannot express in words, except that it seemed afterward that I had been asleep and dreaming that I was being sliced by thousands of tiny knives from my bowels inside out. I awoke before the altar, and gazed in the reflection of my own sword blade at my own face - no longer a blood-seeking beast of teeth and empty eyes."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/promissory-note-sk": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/promissory-note-sk", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Promissory Note [SK]", "text": "\nSabjorn,\nWithin the enclosed crate, you'll find the final payment. As we discussed, Honningbrew Meadery should now begin brewing mead at full production. In regards to your concerns about interference from Maven Black-Briar, I can assure you that I'll do everything in my power to keep her assets and her cronies at bay. This is the beginning of a long and successful future for both of us."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/proper-lock-design": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/proper-lock-design", "description": "A guide to picking locks.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Proper Lock Design", "text": "Proper Lock Design and Construction\nby\nUnknown\nI have encountered many thieves whose sole interest in locks is how to open them and thereby pilfer the protected contents of the room or chest. I have taken it upon myself to devise a system of locks that can defeat such villianous intent.\nThe materials used to create a lock are of utmost importance. Shoddy brass or copper will give way to a well placed kick, thereby rendering the lock itself useless. I recommend steel over iron when choosing a material. More robust materials tend to be prohibitively expensive and necessitate the door being made of similar metals. I have been chagrined to stumble across the shattered shell of a wooden chest, it's dwarven lock intact and still locked.\nOnce these basics are settled, pay particular attention to the offset of the tumblers. A seven degree offset to the keyhole will allow a torque style key to work smoothly, while at the same time causing numerous headaches for the thief attempting to insert non-torque lockpicks.\nIn similar fashion, the springs of the tumblers should be made by different smiths. Each smith will unknowingly create a spring with different tension than his fellow smiths. This variance will also create difficulties for anyone attempting to pick the lock.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/public-notice-dawnfang-duskfang": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/public-notice-dawnfang-duskfang", "description": "Notice by Riften Guards to stay out of sewers", "author": "The Riften Guard", "title": "Public Notice [Dawnfang & Duskfang]", "text": "WARNING - STAY OUT OF THE RATWAY!\n\nIt has come to our attention that some misguided citizens have been venturing into the Ratway late at night. To complicate matters, others have seen fit to spread rumors of their disappearance, stirring up talk of ghosts and phantoms haunting the sewers.\n\nWe would remind you that the Ratway is not a safe place for commoners, and any talk of ghosts is nothing more than tavern gossip. We will investigate this matter shortly, but in the meantime, take heed and do not enter the Ratway!\n\n--The Riften Guard"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/purchase-agreement": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/purchase-agreement", "description": "A contract for the delivery of fresh fish from Riften to Markarth.", "author": "Bolli", "title": "Purchase Agreement", "text": "Purchase Agreement\nThis agreement certifies that Kleppr, owner of the Silver Blood Inn within the City of Markarth, will pay Bolli, owner of the Riften Fishery within the City of Riften, the sum of three septims per bushel of fish. Payment is expected upon delivery and product is guaranteed to be fresh.\nBolli\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/quite-pleased": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/quite-pleased", "description": "A thank-you note to a blacksmith.", "author": "Harrald", "title": "Quite Pleased", "text": "Balimund,\nI've been quite impressed with the quality of your work and I hope that it continues. I've informed everyone within the keep, including the guard, that all repairs and requests for new weapons should be sent your way. Jarl Laila has been notified of this as well, and she extends her sincerest thanks for your contributions to the defense of the city. Just remember, I've stuck my neck out for you by using my name, so don't make me look the fool by letting your standards slide.\nHarrald\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rajiirs-note": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rajiirs-note", "description": "The Pale Lady has driven Ra'jiir crazy.", "author": "Ra'jiir", "title": "Ra'jiir's Note", "text": "Eisa-\nI see her in every shadow. Hear her voice on every breath of wind. In my dreams, in my ears, in my mind. The Pale Lady- we have to stop her. Just return the sword, and we can shut her away forever. I can't take this any more.\nI have to do it.\nI must.\nRa'jirr\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rahgots-reply": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rahgots-reply", "description": "", "author": "Rahgot", "title": "Rahgot's Reply", "text": "Froda, do not deter the other alchemist from their work. Your views are known to me and we shall have words about them shortly.\n-- Rahgot\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/raleth-eldris-notes-kagrumez": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/raleth-eldris-notes-kagrumez", "description": "A researcher's notes on a Dwemeri puzzle.", "author": "Raleth Eldri", "title": "Raleth Eldri's Notes on Kagrumez", "text": "I am closer to solving the mystery of these ruins! I have found references in ancient Dwemer texts that call Kagrumez the site of a set of trials, a training ground of sorts. This is thus far unprecedented in my research.\nThis could explain why that gate is so unmovable - the proper trial has not been completed. It is possible nobody has opened this gate since the days of the Dwemer! What treasures of the ancient world lie in wait behind these doors?\nThe pattern on the gate seems to hold the solution to unlocking it. It bears resemblance to the console in the center of the chamber, but what does it mean? There are nine holes that I assume are to be filled, but with what? If only I had the means to fund more expeditions to the other Dwemer ruins of Solstheim. They surely hold the keys to opening the locked gate. Even if I had the means to start the trials, I surely have not the means to complete them.\nI can't wait for more funding! I am going to have to recruit those who will act on the promise of treasure alone. Surely there are those as excited about this find as I am.\n-Raleth Eldri"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ransom-note": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ransom-note", "description": "Someone's taken your spouse.", "author": "Rochelle the Red", "title": "Ransom Note", "text": "While you were away, we came to visit your lovely new house. [Spouse name] made us feel right at home. In fact, we liked [him/her] so much we took [him/her] back to [dungeon name] with us.\nIf you want\u00a0[Spouse name]\u00a0back, come see me. Bring [gold amount] gold and I'll discuss letting [him/her] go.\nRochelle the Red"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/red-eagles-right": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/red-eagles-right", "description": "An invocation of Red Eagle, a legendary king of the Reach.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Red Eagle's Right", "text": "Red Eagle's Rite\nHaving bathed the blade in human blood, present it at Rebel's Cairn together with your sacrifice and intone:\nLord Red Eagle, ancient one, first and foremost among Reachmen, heed the call of your people! Still we fight for freedom! Still our blades are dark with blood! Turn your gaze upon us, and grant us your blessing anew!\nI renew the ancient covenant: When at last our lands are free, we shall return, your sword of victory in hand. Then arise, O great one, from your honored tomb! Reclaim thy stolen throne! Rule over us, High Lord of the Reach, forevermore!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/regarding-your-loss": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/regarding-your-loss", "description": "A mead shipment waylaid by bandits.", "author": "Reginn Limilus", "title": "Regarding Your Loss", "text": "Lady Maven Black-Briar,\nI've made inquiries into the loss of your mead shipment to Cyrodiil, and I've come to the conclusion that they were waylaid by a group of mercenaries under the employ of the Empire. According to my sources, these mercenaries were not acting under orders and simply attacked the caravan for supplies. I've forwarded a request for compensation on your behalf to the Imperial Council and the mercenaries in question have already been dealt with accordingly. Again, I wish to extend my deepest apologies for this unfortunate mishap and I assure you that any future shipments into our nation will be met at the border by an Imperial patrol and personally escorted to its final destination.\nReginn Limilus\nGrand Steward, Imperial City Trade Relations\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/reindeer-bill-sale": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/reindeer-bill-sale", "description": "Deed showing ownership of a Reindeer", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Reindeer Bill of Sale", "text": "This deed signifies ownership of a trained reindeer. Ownership may only be transferred with an accompanying Bill of Sale."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/repair-supplies": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/repair-supplies", "description": "Supplies needed to repair a magical staff.", "author": "Sam", "title": "Repair Supplies", "text": "We need the following to repair the broken staff:\nGiant's Toe\nHoly Water\nHagraven Feather\nSam"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/report-atronach-forge-experiments": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/report-atronach-forge-experiments", "description": "Guide on how to use amber and madness with the atronach forge", "author": "Enthir", "title": "Report on Atronach Forge Experiments", "text": "Finally, the laggard has conducted the experiments I requested weeks ago. Thankfully, my investment has paid dividends.\n\nThe scrolls should prove useful to the Saints and Seducers, should they ever get in over their heads with the caravan guards.\n\nI begin to wonder what would happen if my prized Sheogorath-shaped amber were used in the place of... no, it's too risky.\n\n--Thoron\n\n\nThoron,\n\nUsing the \"amber\" and \"madness ore\" you provided in your last delivery, I have conducted the experiments you requested. I must say, the results were quite extraordinary.\n\nListed are the successful attempts using these materials with the Atronach Forge.\n\nLet us speak again soon. If you could provide more of these materials, I sense a handsomely profitable partnership in our future.\n\n-- Enthir\n\n\nSummoned Golden Saint Amber + Emerald\n\n\nSummoned Dark Seducer Madness + Garnet\n\n\n(Warning: Very dangerous!)\n\n\nScroll of Conjure Golden Saint\n\nAmber\n\nRoll of Paper\n\nCharcoal\n\n\nScroll of Conjure Dark Seducer\n\nMadness\n\nRoll of Paper\n\nCharcoal\n\n\nSpell Tome: Conjure Golden Saint\n\nAmber\n\nRuined Book\n\nBliss Bug Thorax\n\nSabre Cat Pelt\n\n\nSpell Tome: Conjure Dark Seducer\n\nMadness\n\nRuined Book\n\nScreaming Maw\n\nWolf Pelt"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/report-disaster-ionith": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/report-disaster-ionith", "description": "The story of Uriel V's failed invasion of Akavir.", "author": "Lord Pottreid", "title": "Report: Disaster at Ionith", "text": "Report of the Imperial\nCommission on the\n\tDisaster at Ionith\nby\n\tLord Pottreid, Chairman\nPart I: Preparations\nThe Emperor's plans for the invasion of Akavir were laid in the 270s, when he began the conquest of the small island kingdoms that lie between Tamriel and Akavir. With the fall of Black Harbor in Esroniet in 282, Uriel V was already looking ahead to the ultimate prize. He immediately ordered extensive renovations to the port, which would serve as the marshalling point for the invasion force and as the main supply source throughout the campaign. At this time he also began the construction of the many large, ocean-going transports that would be needed for the final crossing to Akavir, in which the Navy was previously deficient. Thus it can be seen that the Emperor's preparations for the invasion were laid well in advance, before even the conquest of Esroniet was complete, and was not a sudden whim as some have charged.\nWhen Prince Bashomon yielded Esroniet to Imperial authority in 284, the Emperor's full attention could be devoted to planning for the Akaviri campaign. Naval expeditions were dispatched in 285 and 286 to scout the sea lanes and coastlands of Akavir; and various Imperial intelligence agents, both magical and mundane, were employed to gather information. On the basis of all this information, the kingdom of the Tsaesci, in the southwest of Akavir, was selected as the initial target for the invasion.\nMeanwhile the Emperor was gathering his Expeditionary Force. A new Far East Fleet was created for the campaign, which for a time dwarfed the rest of the Navy; it is said to be the most powerful fleet ever assembled in the history of Tamriel. The Fifth, Seventh, Tenth, and Fourteenth Legions were selected for the initial landing, with the Ninth and Seventeenth to follow as reinforcements once the beachhead was secured. While this may seem to the layman a relatively small fraction of the Army's total manpower, it must be remembered that this Expeditionary Force would have to be maintained at the end of a long and tenuous supply line; in addition, the Emperor and the Army command believed that the invasion would not be strongly opposed, at least at first. Perhaps most crucially, the Navy had only enough heavy transport capacity to move four legions at a time.\nIt should be noted here that the Commission does not find fault with the Emperor's preparations for the invasion. Based on the information available prior to the invasion, (which, while obviously deficient in hindsight, great effort had been made to accumulate), the Commission believes that the Emperor did not act recklessly or imprudently. Some have argued that the Expeditionary Force was too small. The Commission believes that on the contrary, even if shipping could have been found to transport and supply more legions (an impossibility without crippling the trade of the entire Empire), this would have merely added to the scale of the disaster; it would not have averted it. Neither could the rest of the Empire be denuded of legions; the memory of the Camoran Usurper was still fresh, and the Emperor believed (and this Commission agrees) that the security of the Empire precluded a larger concentration of military force outside of Tamriel. If anything, the Commission believes that the Expeditionary Force was too large. Despite the creation of two new legions during his reign (and the recreation of the Fifth), the loss of the Expeditionary Force left the Empire in a dangerously weak position relative to the provinces, as the current situation makes all too clear. This suggests that the invasion of Akavir was beyond the Empire's current strength; even if the Emperor could have fielded and maintained a larger force in Akavir, the Empire may have disintegrated behind him.\nPart II: The Invasion of Akavir\nThe Expeditionary Force left Black Harbor on 23rd Rain's Hand, 288, and with fair weather landed in Akavir after six weeks at sea. The landing site was a small Tsaesci port at the mouth of a large river, chosen for its proximity to Tamriel as well as its location in a fertile river valley, giving easy access to the interior as well as good foraging for the army. All went well at first. The Tsaesci had abandoned the town when the Expeditionary Force approached, so they took possession of it and renamed it Septimia, the first colony of the new Imperial Province of Akavir. While the engineers fortified the town and expanded the port facilities to serve the Far East Fleet, the Emperor marched inland with two legions. The surrounding land was reported to be rich, well-watered fields, and meeting no resistance the army took the next city upriver, also abandoned. This was refounded as Ionith, and the Emperor established his headquarters there, being much larger than Septimia and better-located to dominate the surrounding countryside.\nThe Expeditionary Force had yet to meet any real resistance, although the legions were constantly shadowed by mounted enemy patrols which prevented any but large scouting parties from leaving the main body of the army. One thing the Emperor sorely lacked was cavalry, due to the limited space on the transport fleet, although for the time being the battlemages made up for this with magical reconnaissance.\nThe Emperor now sent out envoys to try to contact the Tsaesci king or whoever ruled this land, but his messengers never returned. In retrospect, the Commission believes that valuable time was wasted in this effort while the army was stalled at Ionith, which could have been better spent in advancing quickly while the enemy was still, apparently, surprised by the invasion. However, the Emperor believed at the time that the Tsaesci could be overawed by the Empire's power and he might win a province by negotiation with no need for serious fighting.\nMeanwhile, the four legions were busy building a road between Septimia and Ionith, setting up fortified guard posts along the river, and fortifying both cities' defences, activities which would serve them well later. Due to their lack of cavalry, scouting was limited, and communication between the two cities constantly threatened by enemy raiders, with which the legions were still unable to come to grips.\nThe original plan had been to bring the two reinforcing legions across as soon as the initial landing had secured a port, but the fateful decision was now taken to delay their arrival and instead begin using the Fleet to transport colonists. The Emperor and the Council agreed that, due to the complete abandonment of the conquered area by its native population, colonists were needed to work the fields so that the Expeditionary Force would not have to rely entirely on the fleet for supplies. In addition, unrest had broken out in Yneslea, athwart the supply route to Akavir, and the Council believed the Ninth and Seventeenth legions would be better used in repacifying those territories and securing the Expeditionary Force's supply lines.\nThe civilian colonists and their supplies began arriving in Septimia in mid-Hearthfire, and they took over the preparation of the fields (which had been started by the legionnaires) for a spring crop. A number of cavalry mounts were also brought over at this time, and the raids on the two Imperial colonies subsequently fell off. Tsaesci emissaries also finally arrived in Ionith, purportedly to begin peace negotiations, and the Expeditionary Force settled in for what was expected to be a quiet winter.\nAt this time, the Council urged the Emperor to return to Tamriel with the Fleet, to deal with many pressing matters of the Empire while the army was in winter quarters, but the Emperor decided that it would be best to remain in Akavir. This turned out to be fortunate, because a large portion of the Fleet, including the Emperor's flagship, was destroyed by an early winter storm during the homeward voyage. The winter storm season of 288-289 was unusually prolonged and exceptionally severe, and prevented the Fleet from returning to Akavir as planned with additional supplies. This was reported to the Emperor via battlemage and it was agreed that the Expeditionary Force could survive on what supplies it had on hand until the spring.\n\nPart III: The Destruction of the Expeditionary Force\nThe winter weather in Akavir was also much more severe than expected. Due to the supply problems and the addition of thousands of civilians, the Expeditionary Force was on tight rations. To make matters worse, the Tsaesci raiders returned in force and harried any foraging and scouting parties outside the walls of the two cities. Several watch forts on the road between Septimia and Ionith were captured during blizzards, and the rest had to be abandoned as untenable. As a result, communication between the two cities had to be conducted entirely by magical means, a continuing strain on the legions' battlemages.\nOn 5th Sun's Dawn, a large entourage of Tsaesci arrived at Ionith claiming to bring a peace offer from the Tsaesci king. That night, these treacherous envoys murdered the guards at one of the city gates and let in a strong party of their comrades who were waiting outside the city walls. Their clear intention was to assassinate the Emperor, foiled only by the vigilance and courage of troopers of the Tenth who were guarding his palace. Once the alarm was raised, the Tsaesci inside the city were hunted down and killed to the last man. Needless to say, this was the end of negotiations between the Emperor and the Tsaesci.\nThe arrival of spring only brought worse troubles. Instead of the expected spring rains, a hot dry wind began to blow from the east, continuing with varying strength through the entire summer. The crops failed, and even the river (which in the previous year had been navigable by small boats far upstream of Ionith) was completely dried up by Sun's Height. It is unknown if this was due to a previously unknown weather pattern unique to Akavir, or if the Tsaesci manipulated the weather through magical means. The Commission leans towards the former conclusion, as there is no direct evidence of the Tsaesci possessing such fearsome arcane power, but the latter possibility cannot be entirely ruled out.\nDue to prolonged bad weather, the supply fleet was late in setting out from Black Harbor. It finally left port in early Second Seed, but was again severely mauled by storms and limped into Septimia eight weeks later much reduced. Because of the increasingly desperate supply situation in Akavir, the Emperor dispatched most of his Battlemage Corps with the fleet to assist it in weathering the storms which seemed likely to continue all summer. At this time, the Council urged the Emperor to abandon the invasion and to return to Tamriel with the Expeditionary Force, but he again refused, noting that the fleet was no longer large enough to transport all four legions at once. The Commission agrees that leaving one or more legions behind in Akavir to await the return of the fleet would have damaged Army morale. But the Commission also notes that the loss of one legion would have been preferable to the loss of the entire Expeditionary Force. It is the unanimous opinion of the Commission that this was the last point at which complete disaster might have been averted. Once the decision was made to send the fleet back for reinforcements and supplies, events proceeded to their inevitable conclusion.\nFrom this point on, much less is known about what transpired in Akavir. With most of the battlemages assisting the fleet, communication between the Expeditionary Force and Tamriel was limited, especially as the situation in Akavir worsened and the remaining battlemages had their powers stretched to the limit attending to all the needs of the legions. However, it appears that the Tsaesci may also have been actively interfering with the mages in some unknown manner. Some of the mages in Akavir reported their powers being abnormally weak, and the mages of the War College in Cyrodiil (who were handling communications for the Council) reported problems linking up with their compatriots in Akavir, even between master and pupil of long training. The Commission urges that the War College make a particular study of the arcane powers of the Tsaesci, should the Empire ever come into conflict with Akavir again.\nWhat is known is that the Emperor marched out of Ionith in mid-Sun's Height, leaving only small garrisons to hold the cities. He had learned that the Tsaesci were massing their forces on the other side of a mountain range to the north, and he intended to smash their army before it could gather full strength and capture their supplies (of which he was in desperate need). This rapid advance seems to have taken the Tsaesci by surprise, and the Expeditionary Force crossed the mountains and fell on their camp, routing the Tsaesci army and capturing its leader (a noble of some kind). But the Emperor was soon forced to retreat, and the legions suffered heavily on their retreat to Ionith. The Emperor now found himself besieged in Ionith, cut off from the small garrison at Septimia which was also besieged. By this time, it seems that the efforts of the few remaining battlemages were devoted entirely to creating water to keep the army alive, a skill not normally emphasized at the War College. The fleet had arrived safely back to Black Harbor, thanks to the Battlemage Corps, but all attempts to return to Akavir were frustrated by a series of ever more savage storms that battered Esroniet throughout the rest of 289.\nThe Council's last contact with the Emperor was in early Frostfall. By Evening Star, the Council was extremely worried about the situation in Akavir and ordered the fleet to sail regardless of the risk. Despite the continued storms, the fleet managed to press on to Akavir. Hope was raised when contact was made with the Emperor's battlemage, who reported that Ionith still held out. Plans were quickly laid for the Expeditionary Force to break out of Ionith and fall back on Septimia, where the fleet would meet them. This was the last direct contact with the Expeditionary Force. The fleet arrived in Septimia to find its garrison under savage assault from a large Tsaesci army. The battlemages with the fleet threw back the enemy long enough for the survivors to embark and the fleet to withdraw.\nThe few survivors of the Expeditionary Force who reached Septimia told how the Emperor had led the army out of Ionith by night two days earlier, succesfully breaking through the enemy lines but then being surrounded by overwhelming forces on the road to Septimia. They told of a heroic last stand by the Emperor and the Tenth Legion, which allowed a remnant of the Fourteenth to reach Septimia. Two survivors of the Tenth arrived in Septimia that night, having slipped through the enemy lines during their undisciplined victory celebration. These men confirmed having seen the Emperor die, cut down by enemy arrows as he rallied the Tenth's shield wall.\nPart IV: Conclusion\nThe Commission believes that the invasion of Akavir was doomed from the start for several reasons, none of which could have been foreseen beforehand, unfortunately.\nDespite extensive intelligence-gathering, the Expeditionary Force was clearly unprepared for the situation in Akavir. The unexpected weather which plagued the army and navy was particularly disastrous. Without the loss of a majority of the Far East Fleet during the campaign, the Expeditionary Force could have been withdrawn in 289. The weather also forced the Emperor to assign most of his Battlemage Corps to the fleet, leaving him without their valuable assistance during the fighting which soon followed. And of course the unexpected drought which struck Ionith during 289 dashed the hopes of supplying the army locally, and left the Expeditionary Force in an untenable situation when besieged in Ionith.\nThe Tsaesci were also much stronger than intelligence reports had suggested. Information on the size of the army the Tsaesci were eventually able to field against the Expeditionary Force is vague, as the only serious fighting took place after regular communications were cut off between the Emperor and the Council. Nevertheless, it seems likely that the Tsaesci outnumbered the Emperor's forces by several times, as they were able to force four crack legions into retreat and then keep them under siege for several months.\nAs was stated previously, the Commission declines to criticize the initial decision to invade Akavir. Based on what was known at the time, the plan seemed sound. It is only with the benefit of hindsight does it become obvious that the invasion had very little chance of success. Nevertheless, the Commission believes several valuable lessons can be taken from this disaster.\nFirst, the Tsaesci may have extremely powerful arcane forces at their command. The possibility that they may have manipulated the weather across such a vast region seems incredible (and it should be noted that three Commissioners strongly objected to this paragraph even being included in this Report), but the Commission believes that this matter deserves urgent investigation. The potential danger is such that even the slight possibility must be taken seriously.\nSecond, the Tsaesci appear to possess no navy to speak of. The Expeditionary Force was never threatened by sea, and the Far East Fleet fought nothing but the weather. Indeed, initial plans called for a portion of the Fleet to remain in Akavir for use in coastal operations, but in the event there were very few places where the large vessels of the Fleet could approach the land, due to the innumerable reefs, sandbars, islands, etc. that infested the coastal waters north and south from Septimia. Due to the utter lack of trees in the plain around Septimia and Ionith, the Expeditionary Force was unable to build smaller vessels which could have navigated the shallow coastal waters. Any future military expeditions against Akavir would do well to consider some way of bringing a means for inshore naval operations in order to exploit this clear advantage over the Tsaesci, an advantage that was sadly unexploited by the Expeditionary Force.\nThird, much longer-term study needs to be made of Akavir before another invasion could even be contemplated. The information gathered over the four years prior to the invasion was extensive, but clearly inadequate. The weather conditions were completely unexpected; the Tsaesci much stronger than expected; and the attempted negotiations by the Emperor with the Tsaesci a disaster. Akavir proved alien beyond expectation, and the Commission believes any future attempt to invade Akavir should not be contemplated without much greater knowledge of the conditions, politics, and peoples of that continent than presently obtains.\nFinally, the Commission unanimously concludes that given what we now know, any attempt to invade Akavir is folly, at least in the present state of the Empire. The Empire's legions are needed at home. One day, a peaceful, united Empire will return to Akavir and exact severe retribution for the disaster at Ionith and for our fallen Emperor. But that day is not now, nor in the foreseeable future."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/reports-disturbance": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/reports-disturbance", "description": "Strange happenings in Riften's graveyard.", "author": "Anuriel", "title": "Reports of a Disturbance", "text": "Maramal,\nWe've gotten numerous reports of disturbances in the graveyard area next to the temple and we'd like you to investigate. The reports describe strange noises, described as \"stone grating on stone\" and shadowy figures moving about the mausoleum. I've sent a guard to investigate, but they've come up empty-handed. We've already spoken to Alessandra, but she assures me that these odd reports have nothing to do with any rituals of Arkay she might be performing. Any help you could render would certainly be appreciated.\nAnuriel,\nSteward of Riften"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/request-help": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/request-help", "description": "Everyone in Dawnstar is having nightmares.", "author": "Madena", "title": "Request for Help!", "text": "Lady Mjoll,\nI hope this letter finds safe passage to your hands. We are in desperate need of help and we have nowhere else to turn. Everyone in Dawnstar is having nightmares. These horrible visions plague our slumber and leave us feeling frightened and tired even after a full night's sleep. I myself have awoken from one of the dreams bathed in cold sweat after having one of these nightmares. The things that I saw were simply too appalling to describe. There's a priest of Mara that claims he might be able to help us, but so far, he simply sits within the Windpeak Inn scribbling notes. If you could find it in your heart to make the journey to our city and help us, I would forever be in your debt.\nMadena"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/request-questgiver": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/request-questgiver", "description": "Asks for the players help.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Request from Questgiver", "text": "[Player name],\nI'm aware of your recent assault on [victim's name]. Rest assured I have no interest in that particular matter. I do, however, have an interest in your willingness to employ force when the need arises.\nIf you are able to assist me, I will gladly pay you for your troubles.\nNext time you are visiting [settlement], please call on me.\nSincerely, \n[Questgiver's name]"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/requested-report": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/requested-report", "description": "Report on a wive's adultary.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Requested Report", "text": "Bolli,\nI'm sorry to have to tell you this, but your suspicions are likely correct. I've been following Nivenor as you requested, and I'm fairly certain that she's had extra-marital relations with more than one individual within Riften. I have yet to obtain proof of her adultery, so please do not confront her with this information until I've secured it. I'll waive the usual charges for now, but expect full payment once the proof is in my possession.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/research-log": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/research-log", "description": "Instructions to a researcher conserning a focus crystal and Oculatory.", "author": "First Adjunct Oronrel", "title": "Research Log", "text": "Attendant Gavros,\nThe Council has become aware of the lack of progress in your group's efforts. They are particularly displeased to learn that your specifications for the focusing crystal were completely incorrect.\nThe entire Binder's Conclave has worked tirelessly, and the Council is quite sure this new crystal will suit your needs. You are herewith entrusted with delivering the crystal to the site, completing your work, and delivering a full report to the Council with all possible haste.\nThe Council trusts you will deliver the crystal to the Oculory personally, and that there will be no further complications.\n- First Adjunct Oronrel"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/research-notes": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/research-notes", "description": "Notes about Dwarven machinery from the doomed Alftand expedition.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Research Notes", "text": "If only Umani would have left one of these Dwarven machine creatures intact for me to study. The fact that they almost killed those Khajiit brothers in the middle of the night doesn't mean we couldn't have found a way to disable one. We dragged some stuff in front of the pipes they came out of to stop them from coming back.\nThey are simply fascinating! It is just as Calcelmo described in Dwarves, v2. Their appearance does, in fact, resemble that of an arachnid. I had thought that to be an embellishment given by his source. The inclusion of the soul gem into the design of the apparatus is quite remarkable. It could explain the focus for the lightning that he describes.\nOddly enough it doesn't appear to be the main power source for the apparatus. Perhaps some sort of harmonic resonance with the energies contained in the soul gem to bring heat to a small boiler? Too early to say conclusively. That does raise the question of where they get the liquid for the boiler however.\nHuh, that was strange. I thought I just saw something moving beyond the barred door. It looked vaguely humanoid. I wonder if it could be an undiscovered automaton? I'm going to move my bedroll down here to see if I can catch another glimpse of it. This is all so exciting!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/risaads-note-bandit-attacks": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/risaads-note-bandit-attacks", "description": "Khajiit caravan's request to remove some bandits", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Ri'saad's Note on the Bandit Attacks", "text": "The roads have been unkind to this one, plagued by outlaws along the route from Whiterun to Markarth. Guards travel with Ri'saad, yes, but they are ill-equipped to deal with ones such as this. They wield strange golden weapons and wear gleaming armor. Ri'saad has read of such things only in stories. Their encampment is found just west of North Brittleshin Pass.\n\nEach time they set upon us, they shoud, \"The Saints would like to browse your wares today.\" The brutes steal mostly trinkets and oddities, no matter how cheap this one knows them to be. Then, they allow Ri'saad to go on his way. Ri'saad has not yet fought back. While it has harmed this one's coin purse, it is not worth a life.\n\nRi'saad has heard of another gang patrolling the roads further north, calling themselves the \"Seducers.\" They are known for their menacing, dark armor. Skyrim grows more perilous by the day. They are known to camp along the road west of Fort Kastav.\n\nThis one would pay handsomely to any who would help. Ri'saad fears for any who might come to harm at the hands of these worrisome pests."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/riekling-hunting-party-sketch": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/riekling-hunting-party-sketch", "description": "A crude drawing made by a Riekling", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Riekling Hunting Party Sketch", "text": "Librarian Comment:\u00a0\nBook added by Netch Leather Armor from the Creation Club"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rigels-letter": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rigels-letter", "description": "A response to her angry father.", "author": "Rigel Strong-Arm", "title": "Rigel's Letter", "text": "Now look here Da,\nYou're the one who always told me that swinging an ax was the only thing I've ever been good at so what do you expect me to do? The Stormcloaks pay dung for soldiering and I'm not going to fight for those mud-sucking Imperials. I've got a good racket picking the traders off the road here and I couldn't give a damn what you think about it.\nYour 'little sabrecat' has a tidy operation out here and I'm not going to give it up just cause you're afraid of getting caught.\nOh and quit trying to send back the money. These louts just try to steal it and I have to beat their skull until they learn any different.\n-- Rigel Strong-Arm\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rogatuss-letter": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rogatuss-letter", "description": "A father's angry letter to his absent son.", "author": "Rogatus", "title": "Rogatus's Letter", "text": "Leonitus,\nYou idiot. When were you thinking of visiting your family? When your mother was buried in the ground, or after some damned wizard roasts all my crops?\nYou make plans to come back to the farm this season, or I'll put all your old things in a pile and use them as firewood.\nYour Father,\nRogatus\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/roras-letter": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/roras-letter", "description": "Tries to persuade someone to rob a vault.", "author": "Rora", "title": "Rora's Letter", "text": "Come on, it won't be that bad. Rigel may be paranoid, but she's as dumb as a mammoth! Body hair like one too!\nI'm just saying if we can get into that treasure room we would be set! We could just take the money and head north to catch a ship. I know a guy, whose cousin knows a guy, that could get us set up with some pirates in Hammerfell. And in the meantime we could live high on that money for months!\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ruined-trailbook": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ruined-trailbook", "description": "Fragments of a trapped adventurer's journal.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Ruined Trailbook", "text": "...map we traded a glass dagger to get is a fake. We can't find the pass marked over the mountains...\n...should have tried for The Rift...\n\n...took shelter from the storm in the ruins... \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0...stepped on a pressure plate and trapped us inside...\n...Gildryn said he's heard the dwarven roads that leads under the mountains... \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0...have to try...\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ruminations-elder-scroll": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ruminations-elder-scroll", "description": "A series of puzzling metaphors attempting to describe the elder scrolls.", "author": "Septimus Signus", "title": "Ruminations on the Elder Scroll", "text": "RUMINATIONS ON THE ELDER SCROLLS\n\tby Septimus Signus, College of Winterhold\n\nImagine living beneath the waves with a strong-sighted blessing of most excellent fabric. Holding the fabric over your gills, you would begin to breathe-drink its warp and weft. Though the plantmatter fibers imbue your soul, the wretched plankton would pollute the cloth until it stank to heavens of prophecy. This is one manner in which the Scrolls first came to pass, but are we the sea, or the breather, or the fabric? Or are we the breath itself?\nCan we flow through the Scrolls as knowledge flows through, being the water, or are we the stuck morass of sea-filth that gathers on the edge?\nImagine, again, this time but different. A bird cresting the wind is lifted by a gust and downed by a stone. But the stone can come from above, if the bird is upside down. Where, then, did the gust come from? And which direction? Did the gods send either, or has the bird decreed their presence by her own mindmaking?\nThe all-sight of the Scrolls makes a turning of the mind such that relative positions are absolute in their primacy.\nI ask you again to imagine for me. This time you are beneath the ground, a tiny acorn planted by some well-meaning elf-maiden of the woodlands for her pleasure. You wish to grow but fear what you may become, so you push off the water, the dirt, the sun, to stay in your hole. But it is in the very pushing that you become a tree, in spite of yourself. How did that happen?\nThe acorn is a kind of tree-egg in this instance, and the knowledge is water and sun. We are the chicken inside the egg, but also the dirt. The knowledge from the Scrolls is what we push against to become full-sighted ourselves.\nOne final imagining before your mind closes from the shock of ever-knowing. You are now a flame burning bright blue within a vast emptiness. In time you see your brothers and sisters, burnings of their own in the distance and along your side. A sea of pinpoints, a constellation of memories. Each burns bright, then flickers. Then two more take its place but not forever lest the void fills with rancid light that sucks the thought.\nEach of our minds is actually the emptiness, and the learnings of the Scrolls are the pinpoints. Without their stabbing light, my consciousness would be as a vast nothingness, unknowing its emptiness as a void is unknowing of itself. But the burnings are dangerous, and must be carefully tended and minded and brought to themselves and spread to their siblings.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/runils-journal": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/runils-journal", "description": "The diary of Runil, priest of Arkay in Falkreath.", "author": "Runil", "title": "Runil's Journal", "text": "17 Second Seed\nIt has been a long time since I've written an entry  in this journal. I admit with some embarrassment then that when I pulled it down from the shelf, I nearly  choked on the dust that flew.\nThere is little to tell, but did suffer another awful nightmare of the war. I suppose this is an affliction common to many who must see the horrors of war firsthand. Writing about it has already helped me to feel better.\n19 Second Seed\nReceived a letter from Andurs in Whiterun. He has invited me to visit, and I intend to accept. It's been a long time since I was in the city.\nMy only fear is the Thalmor. I have heard that they and their agents are abroad in Skyrim, rooting out worshippers of Talos. I must be sure to keep a low profile.\n28 Second Seed\nReturned from my trip to Whiterun to find very few flowers have bloomed here. The rest of Skyrim is  covered in blooms of fiery red and piercing blue, but  only a scant few have appeared in or near the town.\nI'll make it my mission to change that. We could  use some flowers to brighten this gloomy place.  Perhaps I can get Tekla to help me.\n9 Midyear\nSpent most of the day consoling Lod, who received  news of his cousin Grimsvotr's death. They were  quite close as youths, and Lod drank and talked of his childhood memories. It was touching, but bittersweet.\n22 Midyear\nA wandering peddler passed through Falkreath today. I purchased a few sticks of incense from him. He was a nice young Nord lad, following in his father's footsteps. I think his name was Valbjorn.\nA few days later, one of the town guards spied a pack of carrion birds circling near the road. He found young Valbjorn's corpse, victim of a bandit attack.\nMy heart is heavy, and yet I should know better.  Life and death, growth and change, the turning of the seasons - these are all aspects of mighty Arkay. I should not be so affected by the death of one young man. And yet...\n12 Sun's Height\nTravelers pass through town, speaking of the land in the grip of high summer. These are the warmest days of the year in Skyrim, but not in Falkreath. Here, all is mist and fog and rain. It is always cool and damp, and the seasons have little meaning.\nSolaf asked me about this today. He said that in a place of the dead such as our great cemetery, Arkay's dominion should be absolute. And yet, Arkay is also the Lord of Seasons and this place seems untouched by them.\nI gave the best answer I could. I explained that Falkreath is indeed a place of great power for Arkay, but he prefers to keep it this way, solemn and gray. Hopefully that was at least partly true, but who can possibly know the mind of a god?\n20 Sun's Height\nDreams of the war again, but this time something different.\nI was leading a small band of Aldmeri battlemages on a mission deep into the heart of Imperial territory. We had drawn near our target, a supply depot outside of Cheydinhal, when the sky suddenly darkened.\nA great shadow passed over us, and there was a roar so terrible it chilled my blood. Something was flying just overhead, so huge and so dark as to blot out the sun.\nThe dream changed, then. I was here in Falkreath, performing a service for someone who had just  passed away, though I do not recall who. From the corner of my eye, I saw a stranger approaching. I  turned to look, but the shadow came again, and the roar, and then I awoke.\nNow that I reflect on the dream, I cannot help but wonder, was it a dragon? Why would I dream of such a creature, when I have never seen one? It seemed so real at the time, but now the memory is fading.\nWhat it means, I cannot say. Probably nothing."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sadens-journal": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sadens-journal", "description": "A new pirate crew encounters horkers, with disastrous results.", "author": "Saden", "title": "Saden's Journal", "text": "If you're reading this, run. Get back in your boat and row as far and as fast as you can. There is no safe harbor here, there is no treasure worth the horror that awaits you. It's a miracle you aren't dead already.\nHaldyn sent us from Japhet's Folly out into the sea, looking for hidden islands and forgotten coves. He said we needed outposts all around Tamriel to hide all the treasure we're soon to pillage. I say he's mad. A fresh group like us has more immediate concerns than outposts. We don't even have a name yet.\nBut I kept my mouth shut, my head down, and did what I was told. I wish to the Nine that I'd have said something...\nThis island looked so peaceful, so remote. Seemed like a good place for an outpost.\u00a0 Bjord and I stayed behind while the others scouted about. It wasn't long before we heard the screams. We peered over the rocks and I can't even describe what we saw, although I'll never forget it. The blood. Gods, the blood...\nWhat those monsters did brought out the coward in Bjord.\u00a0 All it did to me was raise a fire in my chest, a hate in my gut so strong I can almost feel it coursing into the mace in my hand. I told Bjord to run, to tell the others never to come here. I stayed to write out this warning to anyone unlucky enough to land on this rock.\nNow that I've done that duty, there's only one thing left. I'm going to kill as many of those things as I can. I'm even going to try for the big one.\nMaybe I'll do it. Maybe I'll kill every one of them. Maybe you've found this rock abandoned and safe. I doubt it..."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/saint-bandit-leaders-journal": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/saint-bandit-leaders-journal", "description": "Bandit leaders journal musings", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Saint Bandit Leader's Journal", "text": "Now this is what I call easy coin! I'm proud to be one of the Saints. Every few days, Ri'saad comes down the road, and his wares are ours for the taking. We don't take everything, mind you. If he don't got nothing to sell, he can't stay in business, and then where would we be? We just skim a bit off the top each time.\n\nKinthal should be happy with our latest take. He'll be leaving his camp up near Karthwasten to pay us a visit soon.\n\nThose damn Seducers were eating into our profits, until we drove them off up north. Other merchants pass through those parts, so maybe they'll stay gone."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/saint-jiubs-opus": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/saint-jiubs-opus", "description": "Juib's cheesy account of his accomplishments.", "author": "Saint Jiub", "title": "Saint Jiub's Opus", "text": "The Rise and Fall of\n\tSaint Jiub the Eradicator\n\tHero of Morrowind and\n\tSavior of the Dunmer\n\nby\n\tJiub\n\nI am a hunter. I am a redeemer. I am Jiub.\nThe tale of my rise to glory begins in the ash wastes of Morrowind. I rode alone, weapon at my side and the burning wind stinging my face. My quest was arduous, but necessary to ensure the survival of the Dunmer people. A pestilence was creeping across the ashlands, a menace with an insatiable hunger that plagued innocent travelers simply trying to get home. It was my self-sworn task to hunt them down one-by-one and drive them from the skies. Their fury knew no bounds and their war cry resonated across the land. They were the notorious cliff racers, and they had to be destroyed.\nOn a particularly hot day during Sun's Height, I was tracking what I called a Lingerer... a cliff racer without a nest. He was a particularly feisty one too, leading me on a merry chase across almost three miles of ash dunes. I had managed to take a piece out of one of his wings in an earlier scuffle so he couldn't maintain much of a climb, but he still had quite a bit of stamina left and he was trying to make me tire of the chase. Almost two solid hours passed and my silt strider was tiring, but I couldn't give up... I had sworn to eliminate the foul beasts to the last and I wasn't about to let it go. If I was going to stop the thing, I'd have to do it fast.\nI pulled my longbow from my back and nocked my last arrow. I took a deep breath and pulled, trying to keep the cliff racer in my sights. It was literally a longshot with the beast gaining distance and the silt strider bouncing me around at full gallop. Finally, with a silent prayer, I released the string. The arrow sang through the air like a howling demon as it sliced its way towards its target. Finally, just as it crested the lip of a foyada, the arrow struck it in the midsection. It let out a horrible cry and fell out of sight.\nMy cries of triumph were quickly stifled by the sound of over a hundred wings. Rising from the foyada was an entire colony of cliff racers and they were out for blood. The blasted thing had led me right to their nest and sacrificed itself with the intent of feeding me to its brood. It was a trap. The damned things had become much too clever. Knowing this was likely the end, I jumped down from the silt strider and hit the back of its leg with the flat of my glass blade. There was no need for the innocent thing to die here today because of my stupidity. As the ash cloud cleared from being stirred up by its massive legs, the cliff racer brood approached. I held my sword high and prepared for the worst.\nThe battle lasted two full days. I was beaten, clawed, bitten and knocked down more times than I care to remember. In the end, seventy-six cliff racers were slaughtered. I was knee-deep in their corpses and my body on the verge of collapse. But I had survived. I smiled to the heavens and all went black.\nWhen I awoke, all I felt was my back on a cold stone floor. Every muscle in my body was on fire, and my vision was blurred. Slowly, I tried to climb to my feet. It took several agonizing minutes, but I finally managed to do it. As my eyes adjusted to the dim light of my new surroundings, I realized that I was standing before Lord Vivec himself. He was simply staring at me... floating above his throne and staring at me with his piercing eyes. When I began to prostrate myself as a sign of respect, he held up one of his hands as if to say it wasn't necessary. Was I dead? Was Lord Vivec pleased with me? Was he about to strike me down in anger for my somewhat sordid past?\nSuddenly I understood everything. Suddenly I realized that I was brought here for a reason. I should have died in those ash wastes, but Lord Vivec must have seen something inside me that he hadn't seen in millennia and decided to spare me from my fate.\nThus began my ascent to Sainthood. Thus began the rise of Jiub!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/scourge-gray-quarter": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/scourge-gray-quarter", "description": "A bias view of the Dunmer in Skyrim.", "author": "Frilgeth Horse-Breaker", "title": "Scourge of the Gray Quarter", "text": "The tragedies befalling Morrowind do bring forth pity from even the stoutest Nordic heart. The dark elves deserve our condolences, but thus far they do not show themselves deserving of the simplest acts of charity. There are very different approaches to how to deal with the imminent problem of Morrowind, and I offer two options as seen in practice in Skyrim. One should serve as an exemplar, the other a cautionary tale.\nConsider Riften, which shares a border with the ruined province. A number of the dark elves have made their homes there, but they are expected to earn their livelihoods as is any other citizen of the great city. They ply trades as merchants, work in the temple, and serve in the keep. Honest labor, to be admired from a race that was so recently in such dire straits as to even warrant this discussion. Today the city still has its share of problems, but they are not traceable to any influx of outsiders in their presence. In short, the dark elves have properly assimilated themselves into the Skyrim way of life, to be expected from any newcomer to these lands.\nFor an alternative approach, we only have to look at the once-proud city of Windhelm to see what can happen when our arms are cast too wide open in welcome. To think that the city of Ysgramor, whose very name was made in driving out the elves from our sacred home, would open itself as a welcome destination for any refugee from the smoking sulphur, is a disgrace to the very idea of being a Nord.\nAnd what has become of this? Predictably, the lazy, discontented rabble has descended into squalor in an area now delicately referred to as \"the Gray Quarter\" of the city. They were not expected to contribute and so have not. That they attempt to make over a proud Nord city into a little pocket of Morrowind is insulting enough, but the amount of unrest they have provoked even within the proper city walls should give any other Jarl reason to fear.\nThe Nords I talk to in the city speak of constant strife and crime coming from the Gray Quarter, with no respite in sight. The city guard barely patrol there, leaving the dark elves to mete out whatever passes for justice in their native customs. The respectable families of the city, the Cruel-Seas and Shatter-Shields, speak with an almost parental affection of the Argonians in their employ, but the dark elves have made no effort to ingratiate or assimilate themselves to the proper city-dwellers.\nThere is cause for optimism, though, as Jarl Ulfric is not nearly so tolerant of these substandard beings as his fathers were. Indeed, the soft hand of Hoag can be seen in the cities Argonian population as well; the fish-men, at least, have learned how to best contribute to their new home. They have proven themselves as models, toiling at the docks with utmost efficiency and bright smiles. It would do the dark elves well to pay heed to their scaly cousins. I would expect in due course that they will find themselves either contributing more directly or once again wandering the land in search of roof and warmth."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/scrap-paper": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/scrap-paper", "description": "A puzzle from Arkngthamz", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Scrap of Paper", "text": "3    2"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/scrawled-note-1": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/scrawled-note-1", "description": "Continues the tradition of writing in dangerous situations.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Scrawled Note", "text": "Look Meryn I'm not arguing that these towers are falling to pieces, but I think you are exaggerating about the planks falling ou--------"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/scribbled-note": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/scribbled-note", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Scribbled Note", "text": "If you're reading this you've also found the key.  Leave them for anyone who may find this path later.  Enjoy.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/scribbles-madman": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/scribbles-madman", "description": "Contains the location of a Black Book", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Scribbles of a Madman", "text": "Black slimy fingers. Black slimy words. Black slimy book. [Dungeon Name] Black like the back of my eyes. But darker. Get these things out of my head!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/second-letter-linwe": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/second-letter-linwe", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Second Letter from Linwe", "text": "Niranye,\nPreparations have been made to secure the locket at Uttering Hills Cave. Torsten thinks we're responsible for Fjotli's death and we may need it as leverage. I assure you we merely lifted it from her body; the Shadows never murder. I hope you find a buyer soon, I don't like the heat this is bringing.\nLinwe\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/seducers-bandit-leaders-journal": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/seducers-bandit-leaders-journal", "description": "Bandit leader's journal musings", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Seducers Bandit leader's Journal", "text": "Dark work, this, but does it ever pay well. Once every few days, a merchant comes galloping through, defenseless as a babe. We Seducers always do our good deed, and lighten their load before we let them pass. It's the least we can do.\n\nMoving north was the best thing we ever did. Leave Ri'saad to the milk drinkers of Whiterun or as they call themselves, the Saints. They're probably still hounding him on the road to Markarth.\n\nSvarig is behind on his visit. I wonder if his path from the west was more treacherous than usual.\n\nWe need a change in our fortunes. If we don't get paid soon, I fear the others might not stay much longer. Hopefully this new lead pans out."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/seedy-guards-note": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/seedy-guards-note", "description": "Caravan guards notes on their journey", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Seedy Guards Note", "text": "Telvanni handed the cargo off to us at the checkpoint. They seemed a bit on edge but they aren't sharing details exactly, just that they were attacked by Dwarven machines. Bunch of useless fetchers, all of them.\n\nWe also had a surprise visit from the Hlaalu caravan. The whole crew was an odd bunch. More scholars and farmers than warriors I'd say, but a few were just my type. I tried to chat it up with a fetching raven-haired girl, but she kept those sultry red eyes fixed on the cargo as it changed hands.\n\nIn any case, the main package is secured, but there's fear it was damaged during transport. Oddly the Hlaalu captain didn't seem too concerned about it. He and the boss talked for a bit by themselves. I tried my luck with the raven-haired tart once more, and she told me her name was Velyne. She asked whether Captain Inodes would be at the next checkpoint. I told her no, but the truth is I didn't even know. I don't know why she cared anyway, their cargo is a decoy.\n\nThe real package is going to Indoril at the next stop. Once that's delivered, I'm hearing we might stop for a day or two in Whiterun to get our bearings. The captain of the Indoril caravan is a Nord, and he mentioned heading over to the Hall of the Dead to pay his respects. That's fine, I'll be paying mine at the tavern. Hopefully I'll get a chance to buy sweet little Velyne a drink."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sellonuss-confession": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sellonuss-confession", "description": "Confession of a mage's past wrongdoing to his son.", "author": "Sellonus", "title": "Sellonus's Confession", "text": "7th of Mourning Star, 4E 171\n\nMy son, I do not have long for this world, but before the winter night embraces me, I would confess a great regret that has burdened my heart for many years.\n\nLong ago, my brethren and I were commissioned to hunt down and ensnare a dark and powerful renegade captain. A man who, once a proud soldier, had become corrupted by a powerful artifact, and turned to great darkness of deed. We fulfilled our commission, but not without great cost, for I alone managed to survive the encounter.\n\nBut, in the many years that have followed this venture, I have often wondered if our deed in ensnaring him was equally evil. For with our combined enchantments, we have bound him to an eternity of misery, for we bound him to the guardianship of the very thing that drove him insane, the artifact. A powerful weapon that now, despite his yearning for it, he cannot yield while he lives.\n\nIt is a cruel fate for a once great man, for he was just that until grief and anger laid him bare to such utter corruption and malice. That story is a sad tale indeed.\n\nBut now, these many years on, my heart sees the truth, and I would undo that which was done and free him from his misery. But alas, it is too late for me to take on such a quest. Therefore I pray that you, my son, will do this task in my stead. I beg you as a father's last wish, seek him out and set him free.\n\nYour father,\n\nSellonus"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/servos-journal": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/servos-journal", "description": "Poisoned by spiders.", "author": "Servos Rendas", "title": "Servos' Journal", "text": "She's finally done it. I knew she'd eventually crack. I probably should have left when I had the chance. The untapped power within these spiders has finally gone to Merilar's head. Who would have thought these tiny albino creatures had the ability to harness such magic?\nBeing locked in this cage is frustrating, of course, but it is keeping me even more focused on my work. What did she think I was going to do, anyway? As my sister, she must have known how devoted I am to this work. Although, I can't fault her for her actions right now. Who knows what kind of fumes these experiments have been giving off, or what effect they have on the human brain. At least I'm all right. Or maybe I'm not but I think I am? Could these experiments be having the same effect on me that they are on her?\n\nMagnificent! It seems as though you can combine any one of the base spiders with a modifier to tweak its behavior. For instance, just imbuing an Albino Pod with a Ruby seems to create a spider that jumps at its victims and proceeds to explode. But, by simply adding a Salt Pile to the mix it creates the same manner of spider, but instead of jumping and exploding it emits flames from its body. I'd experiment with more of these behaviors, but it seems the bandits we tested the mind control spiders on are all still locked away, Merilar doesn't want me to let them out. Maybe there are too many in there for her to handle?\nI heard her muttering to herself earlier today. She was saying things like, \"The spiders are mine. They'll listen to me!\" What exactly is she planning? I hope she's not attempting to enter the blocked off room in the main chamber. She knows we specifically sealed it after hearing odd chanting coming from that direction. Then again, what she used to \"know\" may not matter right now, considering the state she's been in. I hope she'll be all right."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/shadowmarks": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/shadowmarks", "description": "A guide to the signs used by thieves.", "author": "Delvin Mallory", "title": "Shadowmarks", "text": "Need to know your way around, eh? Don't want to stumble into a necromancer's house or fall into another trap set up by the city guard? Then you need to read this book from cover to cover. Learning to identify the shadowmark can mean the difference between making a fortune and ending up with a blade in your gut.\nThe clever little marks are carved all over Skyrim... mostly on the doorframes or fronts of buildings, but you can find them pretty much anywhere a thief's been. It's the way we talk to each other without talking. Keeps the newer thieves from becoming dead thieves and all that nonsense. There aren't that many of the bloody things, so I don't want to hear any excuses about not having the time to learn them.\nAnyway, enough of my gabbing. Time to put your wizard's cap on and do a little research.\n\nGlossary\n\tof Shadowmarks\n\"The Guild\"\nThis is the symbol for the Guild. This means the place is as safe as the Flagon's cistern. If you see this shadowmark, someone from the Guild is nearby for certain.\n\"Safe\"\nWe usually leave this shadowmark when we've scouted and found a safe way around something, a hallway without traps or maybe a house that's already cleared out. If you see one of these, head the way it's pointing and you'll be fine.\n\n\"Danger\"\nIf you see this shadowmark, head the other way or take your life in your own hands. It means there's something ahead or beyond that door that wants to turn you inside-out.\n\"Escape Route\"\nNow, on the rare occasion (it better be a rare occasion if you want to work in the Guild) that you find yourself in jail, look for this little beauty. You see this shadowmark and escape is just a few steps away.\n\n\"Protected\"\nWe put these shadowmarks on places we don't want you to go. As in stay out of there or there's going to be a boot up the backside. These people are under the Guild's protection and should never be robbed or assaulted.\n\n\"Fence\"\nThis should quickly become your favorite shadowmark. The person near this mark will buy your... hard-earned stolen goods for a fair price.\n\"Thieves' Cache\"\nWho says we only take and never give back? If you find this shadowmark near a chest or maybe a hollowed log, you're in for a surprise... a gift from the Guild for the thief in the field. Whoever said membership didn't have its privileges?\n\"Loot\"\nThere's something near this shadowmark worth stealing. Saves you from breaking into a place only to find the people don't even have two septim to rub together.\n\"Empty\"\nThe opposite of the Loot Shadowmark. Pass on this place, there's nothing inside."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/shalidors-insights": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/shalidors-insights", "description": "Arcane scribbling.", "author": "Shalidor", "title": "Shalidor's Insights", "text": "\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/shavaris-note": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/shavaris-note", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Shavari's Note", "text": "I  have good reason to believe the target will be coming to Riften in the next few days. Discretion is preferred, but elimination of the target is of the highest priority. The usual restrictions on exposure are lifted -- you will be reassigned outside Skyrim if necessary, without penalty.\nDo not fail me.\n--E\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/shipments-arrived": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/shipments-arrived", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Shipment's Arrived", "text": "Our shipment's arrived and the following items are on your list. You want in, I need to see the gold!\nFire Salt\nParalytic Poison\nBlack-Briar Private Reserve\nShadowbanish Wine\nChokeberry Preserves\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/shipments-ready": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/shipments-ready", "description": "Fresh shipment of Moon Sugar", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Shipment's Ready", "text": "Sarthis,\nJust got in a shipment of Moon Sugar from Morrowind. We're refining it now, and the skooma should be ready by the time you get to Cragslane Cavern. Bring the gold or don't show up at all.\nKilnyr\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/shopping-list": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/shopping-list", "description": "Somewhat eclectic.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Shopping List", "text": "Milk\nGoat Cheese\nTurnips\nCauterizing Agent\nEggs\nFlour\nCheese\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sibbi-black-briar": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sibbi-black-briar", "description": "A mother's devotion to her son...not.", "author": "Maven Black-Briar", "title": "Sibbi Black-Briar", "text": "A quick note regarding my son, Sibbi. He's to be treated as I'd expect you to treat any one of the Black-Briar family and all of his requests are to be honored without question. However, if he wishes to be released, you are not to do so unless I expressly authorize it. Sibbi needs to learn his place, and the only way that will happen is if he's kept under lock and key.\nMaven\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/silds-journal": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/silds-journal", "description": "A mage traps adventurers in a cage and uses them for practice.", "author": "Sild the Warlock", "title": "Sild's Journal", "text": "4th of Evening Star, 4E 200\nIt never ceases to amaze me how many fall for my simple trap. I may have to consider tweaking it a bit though. Many of them, in recent months, have been dying the second they hit the cage floor. Putting a foot or two of water in didn't help either. In fact, it may actually be making things worse. The last one to fall in broke both his arms and legs! He proceeded to float there and eventually drown. If it weren't for the water I would have had a great time twisting his mind until I decided to end him.\n8th of Evening Star, 4E 200\nCaptured another one...finally. It's definitely true that whatever these Orcs gain in size and strength they lose in mental capacity. I'm amazed they can even speak.  He kept saying that when he gets out he'll break me in half like a twig...persuasive isn't he? Anyway, I told him that if he holds his head under the water for as long as this candle wick lasts I'd let him go free. Stupid thing drowned within minutes! I never tire of this.\n13th of Evening Star, 4E 200\nI haven't captured a soul for days, and the last victim died on impact. Of course I was still able to reclaim his soul, but without the thrill of killing, or any kind of torture,  the process lacks that special something. The reclaimed souls I've summoned make decent targets, but taking a mortal's life is so much more...sweet.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sinderions-field-journal": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sinderions-field-journal", "description": "Sinderion continues his research on Nirnroots by moving to Skyrim.", "author": "Sinderion", "title": "Sinderion's Field Journal", "text": "4E 58 Second Seed, Middas\nI've spent a large portion of my life unraveling the mystery of the nirnroot and yet I still feel unfulfilled. The trilling sound this strange herb emits seems to taunt me, to push me even harder to discover its secrets. Even after a generous and indomitable traveler became a field collector in my stead, and provided me with five score of the nirnroot, I was only able to muster what I consider a mediocre alchemical creation at best. This only served to strengthen my hunger and whet my appetite for the solution.\nIt wasn't until over fifty years later that the answer to my prayers was carried into my basement workshop at the West Weald Inn. The first thing I heard was the familiar tone - that unmistakable warble unique to the nirnroot. But when I turned around, my heart leapt and a chill ran down my spine. This was indeed a nirnroot, but of a variety the likes of which I have never seen. The herb was awash in a spectacular array of red hues, each leaf seemingly emblazoned with innumerable variations of crimson. I couldn't move - I was completely transfixed. Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined a species of nirnroot with such a unique property.\nAfter an awkward silence, I finally managed to stammer out a few questions to the traveler who'd brought me this treasure. He told me his name was Obeth Arnesian, a treasure-seeker from Skyrim. Apparently, he'd been exploring a vast subterranean network of grand caverns called Blackreach and had stumbled across what he dismissed as \"a noisy red weed.\" His expedition was largely unsuccessful and he didn't want to leave the caves empty-handed, so Obeth picked one of the crimson nirnroot to bring home. He said that it took some time, but eventually he was pointed my way and that perhaps I'd pay a fair price for it.\nBefore I could gather my wits and ask anything else, Obeth offered to sell me the crimson nirnroot sample, a map showing me how to find Blackreach and the strange key needed to breach its outer defenses. It took me mere moments to decide. Obeth left Skingrad a thousand septims richer, but I would have easily paid ten times that amount to obtain the sample alone.\nIt took a year of planning, but I was able to pack up and sell my workshop and make my way into Skyrim. Before delving headfirst into Blackreach, I knew I needed to set up a new laboratory, but wished to do so in seclusion. After making inquiries at the College of Winterhold, of which I was an honorary member, I was directed to speak to Avrusa Sarethi, a student of botanical alchemy who had a small farm near the city of Riften. By bartering my knowledge of nirnroot cultivation, I was able to secure Sarethi Farm as a launching point for my field research. I kept the knowledge of the crimson nirnroot a secret from Avrusa, but imparted everything else I knew to her in exchange for her hospitality.\nA few months passed, but I was finally ready to enter Blackreach. I used the Runed Lexicon that Obeth had provided and descended into the depths. My goal was to gather enough crimson nirnroot to produce my greatest alchemical creation to date - I was certain it would take at least thirty of them to provide the necessary catalyst.\nThis brings me to the present. My initial research seems to indicate that the crimson nirnroot has a similar affinity for moisture as the garden variety, but also maintains some sort of symbiotic relationship with the enormous fungi that inhabits Blackreach. It's my guess that the fungi itself is a source of water, absorbing it from the moist subterranean air like a sponge. This provides the ideal environment for the nirnroot to grow. Unfortunately, the crimson nirnroot appears to have a vastly shortened lifespan, and they are in no way plentiful down here. Gathering thirty of them will be quite the challenge, but hopefully the denizens of Blackreach will allow me to gather my samples unhindered.</font>"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sindnars-tower-notes": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sindnars-tower-notes", "description": "Rumors of the History of Myrwatch", "author": "Sindnar", "title": "Sindnar's Tower Notes", "text": "Deep in the swamps of Hjaalmarch, where the branches are gnarled and the mist is thick, lies a tower of unknown provenance.\n\nFew in the province dare speak the name Myrwatch, and those that do couch their words with apprehension and fear. Yet the mystery of the tower only piques my interest further, and so I have made it my life's work to discover its secrets.\n\nWhat I can deduce of its past comes from its present. From the cut of the stone to the wards that surround it, every piece is a clue, a signature that can be traced back to a pen and hand.\n\nThe stone seal that guards the entrance is none other than the Eye of Magnus, a symbol born from the legacy of Shalidor. Its burning gaze can be found not just in Myrwatch, but outside the College of Winterhold.\n\nCould it be the mages here were cast out from the college, and set out to carve their own path? This is but a theory, and yet, one I feel has merit.\n\nNevertheless, without access to the mind of its occupants, true insight will remain frustratingly out of grasp."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/skjols-journal": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/skjols-journal", "description": "Bandit's discover of Stalhrim", "author": "Skjol", "title": "Skjol's Journal", "text": "Tyra tell Skjol to wait, so he wait. But then he meet nice man from village, who show him magic ice. He call it stalhrim.\n\nSkjol like stalhrim. He like way it look. He like way it sound. H is silent, just like Skjol, because Skjol have no tongue.\n\nBut Skjol's axe is loud. It make good crunch noise in ice.\n\nBut stalhrim make different noise. Most ice go \"REEEEE!\" but magic ice go \"UNFH!\"\n\nSkjol should be bard.\n\nNice man say there island north of Cassookar...Cassookarst...he say there island all way north with much magic ice. The kind Skjol can wear.\n\nSkjol think man very nice, he sorry he have to crush him."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/skorm-snow-striders-journal": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/skorm-snow-striders-journal", "description": "An early 1st era journal detailing a company's search for Falmer and discovery of Dragon cultists.", "author": "Skorm Snow-Strider", "title": "Skorm Snow-Strider's Journal", "text": "13th of Sun's Dusk 1E139\nAt the command of Lord Harald we have swept our company to the south edge of our territories in an attempt to drive the Snow Elves up north to the main host of his forces. The first few days met with heavy resistance, but as we approached the eastern edge of Lake Honnith we have seen little and less of them.\n21st of Sun's Dusk 1E139\nWe've begun to receive reports of attacks back around Lake Honnith and word has come from the front that we should pull back to be sure we are not leaving our rear exposed. If there is a stronghold of Elves here, we will surely root them out.\n27th of Sun's Dusk  1E139\nIt sounds impossible, but we appeared to have stumbled upon a massive hold out of the Dragon Cultists, who were believed to be wiped out during the Dragon War. The Elves must wait, as this is a threat we cannot ignore. If we are quick, we may be able to catch them unaware and avoid a lengthy siege.\n21st of Evening Star 1E139\nThird week of the siege. The men grow restless with the cold and all miss their families. If that blasted storm hadn't caught us off guard and slowed our ascent we might have taken the Monastery, but as it stands we may be in for several more weeks of pounding on their walls. I've sent word to Harald to send one of the Voice masters to help bring down the wall.\n4th of Morning Star 1E140\nWe've brought down their main gate thanks to the young Voice master, but the brash lad took an arrow in the neck in the process. It seems he will be joining the Eight in Sovngarde soon. The cultists have fallen back to the interior of the Monastery but soon enough we will breach those defenses. The sooner the better - it's too blasted cold on this mountain.\n5th of Morning Star 1E140\nWe entered the Monastery today only to find all inside dead. It appears they purposely caved in the stairway to the refectory and then took their own lives. Some appear to have slit their own wrists, others we found with empty vials. Most appear to be poisoned, but oddly there are not as many empty bottles as one would expect by the number of dead. We shall hold up here over night rather than face the cold, and explore the catacombs in the morning to see if we can find another passage to the upper areas.\n6th of Morning Star 1E140\nMay the Eight protect us from Dragons and madmen. We lost half our remaining men today. We discovered a well in the catacombs, locked but with several buckets already filled, and in their excitement for a drink that didn't risk frostbite on their tongue, two score drank before we could stop them. Gods only know how these cultists could use that horrible poison in their own water supply. We've lost more men to this catastrophe than we did taking the courtyard.\nThe well was locked from this side, and the key must be somewhere in the catacombs, but with the ghosts of these dead cultists and the men demoralized, it just isn't worth the search. Let those gods-forsaken cultists drink their way to Oblivion and be done with it. The upper door in the courtyard has some sort of barrier over it and our mages believe that the sacrifice made here will sustain it for decades at the least.\nWe leave this accursed place tomorrow to regroup and push up north, but I will leave this journal, so that in an age or so when the poison has faded, someone may find a way in to be sure the cultists met their due fate."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/skyrims-rule": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/skyrims-rule", "description": "An overview of Skyrim's political arrangement, including moots, Jarls, and the High King.", "author": "Abdul-Mujib Ababneh", "title": "Skyrim's Rule", "text": "Skyrim's Rule:\nAn Outsider's View\nby\nAbdul-Mujib Ababneh\nIn my travels, and they have been many, I have encountered many strange peoples and cultures, in many different provinces of the Empire. And in each, I have found a method of governing and customs of leadership unique to that particular province.\nIn Black Marsh, for example, the Argonian King relies upon his Shadowscale Assassins to eliminate threats secretly, without the common knowledge of his people. In the Imperial Province of Cyrodiil, the Emperor may rule directly, but the power granted to his Elder Council cannot be understated.\nDuring a recent journey to Skyrim, that harsh, frozen realm of the Nords, I was able for the first time to witness the unique manner of rule of this strong, proud people.\nIt would appear that the entire province of Skyrim is separated into territories known as \"holds,\" and each hold finds its seat of power in one of the great, ancient cities. And in each of those cities, there rules that hold's king, known as a Jarl.\nThe Jarls of Skyrim are, as a whole, a fierce sight indeed. Sitting on their thrones, ready to administer justice, or send their forces out to quell some local threat, be it a pack of feral wolves or a terrifying giant that has wandered too close to a settlement.\nIn observing these Jarls, I found each to of course have his or her own unique personality and leadership style. But what I perhaps did not expect - especially considering the Nord leaders' unfair reputation as barbarians or uncivilized chieftains - was the formal structure of each Jarl's court. For while that hold's leader may be the one to sit on the throne, there is also a collection of functionaries who serve very specific and important roles.\nThe court wizard counsels the Jarl in all matters magical, and may even sell services or spells to the keep's visitors. The Steward is the Jarl's primary advisor, and generally takes care of the more mundane aspects of running the keep, the city, or even the hold, depending on the situation. And woe is the fool who defies the Housecarl - a personal bodyguard who rarely leaves the Jarl's side, and has pledged to sacrifice his or her own life to save that of their honored leader, if ever the need should arrive.\nBut as mighty and influential as each individual Jarl is, Skyrim's true power comes from the strength of its High King. The High King is ruler above all, and is always one of the Jarls, selected by a body called the \"Moot\" - a specially convened council of all the Jarls, who meet with the express purpose of choosing Skyrim's High King. Or so it is, in theory.\nThe reality, however, is that the High King swears fealty to the Emperor, and as Solitude is the city most directly influenced by Imperial culture and politics, the Jarl of Solitude has served as High King for generations. The Moot, therefore, is more formality and theater than anything else.\nBut as I prepared to leave Skyrim, I could feel a change in the air, sense the trepidation of some of the good Nord people. Many seemed unhappy with the Empire's continued presence in their land. And the outlawing of the worship of Talos as the Ninth Divine - a stipulation of the White-Gold Concordat, the peace treaty between the Empire and Aldmeri Dominion - has only strengthened that division.\nSo while the Jarls of Skyrim still control their holds, and those Jarls are ruled over by their Imperial-sanctioned High King, will there come a day when the Moot convenes to select a new High King - one that is not, as many would say, the Emperor's \"Solitude puppet\"?\nIf that day comes, I will be thankful to be far away from Skyrim, in my own home of Hammerfell. For such a decision could well mean civil war, and I fear that such a conflict would tear the fierce and beautiful Nord people asunder."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/small-note": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/small-note", "description": "Concerns pit wolves.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Small Note", "text": "Adril,\nI need you to go out and find the missing pit wolves before the next tournament. We lost too many during the last fights, and we won't be able to train new ones in time. Find them and bring them back to Cragslane at once!\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/smugglers-ledger": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/smugglers-ledger", "description": "A bandit's ledger of inventory", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Smuggler's Ledger", "text": "Items:\nDozen bottles of skooma\n\nDelivered to:\nDelvin Mallory, Riften\n\nSmuggler's Fee:\nFifty septims and a favor. Knowing Delvin, the discount is worth it, at least this time around.\n\n\nItems:\nStaff of Hasedoki, void salts, soul gems, bonemeal\n\nDelivered to:\nIvara of Olenveld and Lushak gra-Ragdam, Brittleshin Pass\n\nSmuggler's Fee:\nJust gold and gems for now. It was tough sneaking in some of the items on the list, but the zombie lovers were happy with the haul. They say they're trying to open a portal to something called the Soul Cairn. If there's loot to be had inside, it might be a good idea to line up some buyers.\n\n\nItems:\nCane, book\n\nDelivered to:\nBandits, White River Watch\n\nSmuggler's Fee:\nHajvarr paid with a dagger and some farmer clothes with the blood still on it. The cane was a foot short, but it serves the bastard right for not paying in gold. I told him if he wants better service, he's going to have to learn how to fight with his eyes open."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/smugglers-note": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/smugglers-note", "description": "A better sort of Skooma.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Smuggler's Note", "text": "Ahkari,\nYou can take those prices and eat them. We've found our own source of Skooma now- the real stuff, not that watered-down thirdhand trash you've been selling. And don't even think of ratting us out- one word to the guard, and I'll make sure they know what that 'seer' of yours is really up to.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/smugglers-trade-notes": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/smugglers-trade-notes", "description": "Bandits relationship with a group of necromancer", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Smuggler's Trade Notes", "text": "The new source has been a real boon. Skooma, poisons, black soul gems, you name it. We've got a line to a wide range of goods, and an even wider range of clients. Which reminds me, someone needs to tell Ahkari where she can stick her bottles of sugared cat piss. We're done.\n\nMeanwhile we're filling up our coffers faster than we can empty them. We're drinking day and night and still haven't gone through half the gold from that Morrowind job for the corpse fondlers. With Argonian patrols up and down the border, we can charge an arm, leg, and a tail for every crate that comes in. As for the zombie petters, they were pretty pleased the staff wasn't damaged. Creepy looking thing too, was glad to be rid of it.\n\nIt's a shame we couldn't hold out a couple more days though. This morning another buyer came by the camp, an Orc with a face so lumpy he must've jumped head first off the top of Dragonsreach.\n\nTurns out he was looking for the same staff, offering to pay double. I told him we could have something better for him on the next boat from Solstheim, but he was pretty sodding clear there was only one staff he wanted to buy. Makes sense. The only thing uglier than this Orc was that staff. Maybe he wants to hold it up when he shaves so he doesn't feel so bad for being born.\n\nAnyways, I sold him the information on the buyers, and sent him on his way. Couldn't get him to trade any of the valuables on his carriage, but it's all right. There's more than one way to part a fool and his things.\n\nI told the boys to cut him off on the road west of Whiterun, at the burnt down house between the watchtower and Fort Greymoor. Given how obsessed he was about that staff, it'll be easy to catch him off guard."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/soldiers-request": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/soldiers-request", "description": "A meddlesome old lady in the soldier's barracks.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Soldier's Request", "text": "Commander\nYou've got to do something about Agnis. The old bat keeps coming into the barracks in the middle of the night and \"straightening up\". How are we supposed to be alert on watch when she's knocking things around and muttering to herself and keeping us from getting any sleep?\nAnd she keeps taking all our gear and putting it on the shelves, but she mixes them all up! What if there is an attack and we can't get out the door in time because we can't find our own boots?\nI know you feel bad for the old lady, but if you can at least keep her out of the barracks, we'd all appreciate it.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sondas-note": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sondas-note", "description": "Need of medicine in a mine.", "author": "Sonda", "title": "Sonda's Note", "text": "Quintus,\nWe have need of more medicines. The ore is getting harder to reach, and the further we dig, the more people complain of pains in the lungs and coughing.\nSondas Drenim\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/song-askelde-men": {"game": ["Skyrim", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/song-askelde-men", "description": "A traditional song about the Askelde Men. A Nordic warband covered in the ash of their fallen brothers.", "author": "Atheneum Monks at Old Anthel", "title": "Song of the Askelde Men", "text": "Song of the Askelde Men (Nord/Traditional)\nTranslation 3E213\nAtheneum Monks at Old Anthel\n\nFifty Nights from home I last awoke\n\tupon a sky-flung cliff in Hjaalmarch Hold\nThough my flesh had died and gone to ground\n\tMy Vision went on, from body unbound\nWinking there in the vale whence I came\n\tThis dead man's eyes saw pale flame\nWhere men the same who took life away\n\tSung high their battle-glory and praise\nWafting went I, a shade or a wight\n\tThrough stoic pines, pitched ink of night\nEre I came upon the pyre-burning throng\n\tI heard carried on wind's wing their song\n\"Sing high and clear, bandsmen born of sky\n\tLet Sovngarde hear and join our cry\"\n\"These honored dead shed blood upon the fen\n\tEnding Orc and Elf and traitor men.\"\n\"Your spirit went unto and filled their heart\n\tYou sped them to glory, Hail Spirit Wulfharth\"\nThen oil from urns fed greedy flames\n\tburning what few my legion and I slayed\nWordlessy they chanted then until dawn\n\tEvery flake of ash gathered ere they marched on\nSwept along unseen, so too went I\n\tMeekly haunting these Children of the Sky\nTireless they went, over hearth and hill\n\tExhaustion seemed only to spur them still\nUnflagging they went, a whorl of rage\n\tSoon finding our camp, bloated with prey\nMy dead heart ached for I knew men within\n\tDoomed, never knowing how close was their end\nAgain the Nord chests swelled up in refrain\n\tI screamed unheard. I wept with horror plain\n\"Hear us, our ancestor, Ash King, Ysmir\n\tHonor this warband as we to glory repair\"\n\"Those dead to whom you spoke and heard\n\tWe bear them upon us, Your valor conferred\"\nAnd so it was, to the man each was smeared\n\tWith ash of a Brother's bone, blood and beard\nThese ashen brutes, the Askelde Men\n\tSet to a gruesome task, each bowstring bent\nI bellowed then, a cry of desperate rage\n\tA futile howl among those men, an empty page\nYet one elder turned and unblinking, stared\n\tinto the vapor-soul of me, his nostrils flared\nHe bellowed ancient words, his beard aflame\n\tAnd my vision fell away, Peace at last came"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/songs-skyrim": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/songs-skyrim", "description": "The lyrics of a collection of songs from Skyrim. Including Ragnar The Red, The Dragonborn Comes, The Age of Oppression and Dragonborn .", "author": "Giraud Gemaine", "title": "Songs of Skyrim", "text": "Songs of Skyrim\nCompiled by Giraud Gemaine\n\tHistorian of the Bards College Solitude\n\nRagnar the Red is a traditional song of Whiterun. Despite the grim final image the song is generally regarded as light and rollicking and a favorite in inns across Skyrim.\n\nRagnar The Red\n\tThere once was a hero named Ragnar the Red,\n\twho came riding to Whiterun from ole Rorikstead!\n\tAnd the braggart did swagger and brandish his blade,\n\tas he told of bold battles and gold he had made!\n\tBut then he went quiet, did Ragnar the Red,\n\twhen he met the shieldmaiden Matilda who said...\n\tOh, you talk and you lie and you drink all our mead!\n\tNow I think it's high time that you lie down and bleed!\n\tAnd so then came the clashing and slashing of steel,\n\tas the brave lass Matilda charged in full of zeal!\n\tAnd the braggart named Ragnar was boastful no moooooree...\n\twhen his ugly red head rolled around on the floor!\n\n\nThe Dragonborn Comes has been handed down from generation to generation of bards. The Dragonborn in Nord culture is the archetype of what a Nord should be. The song itself has been used to rally soldiers and to bring hope.\n\nThe Dragonborn Comes\nOur hero, our hero, claims a warrior's heart.\n\tI tell you, I tell you, the Dragonborn comes.\n\tWith a Voice wielding power of the ancient Nord art.\n\tBelieve, believe, the Dragonborn comes.\n\tIt's an end to the evil, of all Skyrim's foes.\n\tBeware, beware, the Dragonborn comes.\n\tthe darkness has passed, and the legend yet grows.\n\tYou'll know, You'll know the Dragonborn's come.\n\n\nThe Age of Oppression and The Age of Aggression are variants of one song. It isn't known which of the two was written first but the tune, with loyalty appropriate lyrics, is quite popular on both sides of the war.\n\nThe Age of Oppression\n\tWe drink to our youth, and to days come and gone.\n\tFor the age of oppression is now nearly done.\n\tWe'll drive out the Empire from this land that we own.\n\tWith our blood and our steel we will take back our home.\n\tAll hail to Ulfric! You are the High King!\n\tIn your great honor we drink and we sing.\n\tWe're the children of Skyrim, and we fight all our lives.\n\tAnd when Sovngarde beckons, every one of us dies!\n\tBut this land is ours and we'll see it wiped clean.\n\tOf the scourge that has sullied our hopes and our dreams.\n\nThe Age of Aggression\n\tWe drink to our youth, to days come and gone.\n\tFor the age of aggression is just about done.\n\tWe'll drive out the Stormcloaks and restore what we own.\n\tWith our blood and our steel we'll take back our home.\n\tDown with Ulfric the killer of kings.\n\tOn the day of your death we'll drink and we'll sing.\n\tWe're the children of Skyrim, and we fight all our lives.\n\tAnd when Sovngarde beckons, every one of us dies!\n\tBut this land is ours and we'll see it wiped clean.\n\tOf the scourge that has sullied our hopes and our dreams.\n\nThe following is an ancient song we've only recently been able to translate. Without a tune or a sure pronunciation the song is lost to time. It's included here to show the deep history of song here in Skyrim. The original version...\n\nDovahkiin, Dovahkiin, naal ok zin los vahriin,wah dein vokul mahfaeraak ahst vaal!\n\tAhrk fin norok paal graan fod nust hon zindro zaan, Dovahkiin, fah hin kogaan mu draal!\n\tHuzrah nu, kul do od, wah aan bok lingrah vod, Aahrk fin tey, boziik fun, do fin gein!\n\tWo lost fron wah ney dov, ahrk fin reyliik do jul, voth aan suleyk wah ronit faal krein!\n\tAhrk fin zul, rok drey kod, nau tol morokei frod, rul lot Taazokaan motaad voth kein!\n\tSahrot Thu'um, med aan tuz, vey zeim hokoron pah, ol fin Dovahkiin komeyt ok rein!\n\tAhrk fin Kel lost prodah, do ved viing ko fin krah, tol fod zeymah win kein meyz fundein!\n\tAlduin, feyn do jun, kruziik vokun staadnau, voth aan bahlok wah diivon fin lein!\n\tNuz aan sul, fent alok, fod fin vul dovah nok, fen kos nahlot mahfaeraak ahrk ruz!\n\tPaaz Keizaal fen kos stin nol bein Alduin jot, Dovahkiin kos fin saviik do muz!\n\nAnd the translation...\n\nDragonborn, Dragonborn, by his honor is sworn, To keep evil forever at bay!\n\tAnd the fiercest foes rout when they hear triumph's shout, Dragonborn, for your blessing we pray!\n\tHearken now, sons of snow, to an age, long ago, and the tale, boldly told, of the one!\n\tWho was kin to both wyrm, and the races of man, with a power to rival the sun!\n\tAnd the Voice, he did wield, on that glorious field, when great Tamriel shuddered with war!\n\tMighty Thu'um, like a blade, cut through enemies all, as the Dragonborn issued his roar!\n\tAnd the Scrolls have foretold, of black wings in the cold, that when brothers wage war come unfurled\n\tAlduin, Bane of Kings, ancient shadow unbound, with a hunger to swallow the world!\n\tBut a day, shall arise, when the dark dragon's lies, will be silenced forever and then!\n\tFair Skyrim will be free from foul Alduin's maw, Dragonborn be the savior of men!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/songs-skyrim-revised": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/songs-skyrim-revised", "description": "The lyrics of a collection of songs from Skyrim, updated after the completion of the main quest with a new song: Tale of the Tongues.", "author": "Giraud Gemaine", "title": "Songs of Skyrim - Revised", "text": "Songs Of Skyrim\n\tRevised Edition\nCompiled by\n\tGiraud Gemaine\n\tHistorian of the Bards College\n\tSolitude\nRagnar the Red is a traditional song of Whiterun. Despite the grim final image the song is generally regarded as light and rollicking and a favorite in inns across Skyrim.\nRagnar The Red\n\tThere once was a hero named Ragnar the Red, who came riding to Whiterun from ole Rorikstead!\n\tAnd the braggart did swagger and brandish his blade, as he told of bold battles and gold he had made!\n\tBut then he went quiet, did Ragnar the Red, when he met the shieldmaiden Matilda who said...\n\tOh, you talk and you lie and you drink all our mead! Now I think it's high time that you lie down and bleed!\n\tAnd so then came the clashing and slashing of steel, as the brave lass Matilda charged in full of zeal!\n\tAnd the braggart named Ragnar was boastful no moooooree... when his ugly red head rolled around on the floor!\n\nThe Dragonborn Comes\n\tOur hero, our hero, claims a warrior's heart.\n\tI tell you, I tell you, the Dragonborn comes.\n\tWith a Voice wielding power of the ancient Nord art.\n\tBelieve, believe, the Dragonborn comes.\n\tIt's an end to the evil, of all Skyrim's foes.\n\tBeware, beware, the Dragonborn comes.\n\tFor the darkness has passed, and the legend yet grows.\n\tYou'll know, You'll know the Dragonborn's come.\nThe Age of Oppression and The Age of Aggression are variants of one song. It isn't known which of the two was written first but the tune, with loyalty appropriate lyrics, is quite popular on both sides of the war.\nThe Age of Oppression\n\tWe drink to our youth, and to days come and gone. For the age of oppression is now nearly done.\n\tWe'll drive out the Empire from this land that we own. With our blood and our steel we will take back our home.\n\tAll hail to Ulfric! You are the High King! In your great honor we drink and we sing.\n\tWe're the children of Skyrim, and we fight all our lives. And when Sovngarde beckons, every one of us dies!\n\tBut this land is ours and we'll see it wiped clean. Of the scourge that has sullied our hopes and our dreams.\nThe Age of Aggression\n\tWe drink to our youth, to days come and gone. For the age of aggression is just about done.\n\tWe'll drive out the Stormcloaks and restore what we own. With our blood and our steel we'll take back our home.\n\tDown with Ulfric the killer of kings. On the day of your death we'll drink and we'll sing.\n\tWe're the children of Skyrim, and we fight all our lives. And when Sovngarde beckons, every one of us dies!\n\tBut this land is ours and we'll see it wiped clean. Of the scourge that has sullied our hopes and our dreams.\nThe following is an ancient song we've only recently been able to translate. Without a tune or a sure pronunciation the song is lost to time. It's included here to show the deep history of song here in Skyrim.\nThe original version...\nDovahkiin, Dovahkiin, naal ok zin los vahriin, wah dein vokul mahfaeraak ahst vaal!\n\tAhrk fin norok paal graan fod nust hon zindro zaan, Dovahkiin, fah hin kogaan mu draal!\n\tHuzrah nu, kul do od, wah aan bok lingrah vod, Aahrk fin tey, boziik fun, do fin gein!\n\tWo lost fron wah ney dov, ahrk fin reyliik do jul, voth aan suleyk wah ronit faal krein!\n\tAhrk fin zul, rok drey kod, nau tol morokei frod, rul lot Taazokaan motaad voth kein!\n\tSahrot Thu'um, med aan tuz, vey zeim hokoron pah, ol fin Dovahkiin komeyt ok rein!\n\tAhrk fin Kel lost prodah, do ved viing ko fin krah, tol fod zeymah win kein meyz fundein!\n\tAlduin, feyn do jun, kruziik vokun staadnau, voth aan bahlok wah diivon fin lein!\n\tNuz aan sul, fent alok, fod fin vul dovah nok, fen kos nahlot mahfaeraak ahrk ruz!\n\tPaaz Keizaal fen kos stin nol bein Alduin jot, Dovahkiin kos fin saviik do muz!\nAnd the translation...\n\nDragonborn, Dragonborn, by his honor is sworn, To keep evil forever at bay!\n\tAnd the fiercest foes rout when they hear triumph's shout, Dragonborn, for your blessing we pray!\n\tHearken now, sons of snow, to an age, long ago, and the tale, boldly told, of the one!\n\tWho was kin to both wyrm, and the races of man, with a power to rival the sun!\n\tAnd the Voice, he did wield, on that glorious field, when great Tamriel shuddered with war!\n\tMighty Thu'um, like a blade, cut through enemies all, as the Dragonborn issued his roar!\n\tAnd the Scrolls have foretold, of black wings in the cold, that when brothers wage war come unfurled!\n\tAlduin, Bane of Kings, ancient shadow unbound, with a hunger to swallow the world!\n\tBut a day, shall arise, when the dark dragon's lies, will be silenced forever and then!\n\tFair Skyrim will be free from foul Alduin's maw, Dragonborn be the savior of men!\n\nTale of the tongues is a newer song. One that has come in to favor since the Dragonborn put down Alduin. It actually describes the events of the first battle against the dragons.\nTale of the Tongues\n\tAlduin's wings, they did darken the sky. His roar fury's fire, and his scales sharpened scythes.\n\tMen ran and they cowered, and they fought and they died. They burned and they bled as they issued their cries.\n\tWe need saviors to free us from Alduin's rage. Heroes on the field of this new war to wage.\n\tAnd if Alduin wins, man is gone from this world. Lost in the shadow of the black wings unfurled.\n\tBut then came the Tongues on that terrible day. Steadfast as winter, they entered the fray.\n\tAnd all heard the music of Alduin's doom. The sweet song of Skyrim, sky-shattering Thu'um.\n\tAnd so the Tongues freed us from Alduin's rage. Gave the gift of the Voice, ushered in a new Age.\n\tIf Alduin is eternal, then eternity's done. For his story is over and the dragons are... gone."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sorans-journal": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sorans-journal", "description": "A man's search for the elusive Unicorn", "author": "Soran Hariksen", "title": "Soran's Journal", "text": "Journal of Soran Hariksen, Wildlife Scholar\n\n14th of Rain's Hand, 4E 201\nIn my duty to document all living creatures in Skyrim, the long-lost Unicorn has never been far from my mind. It is said that long ago the very last of its kind was sacrificed to Hircine. However, rumors of sightings in Tamriel have surfaced in recent times.\n\nIndeed, while these claims echo mostly from taverns in the late hours, one can wonder at the validity of such claims.\n\nI've chronicled the habits of Mudcrabs and Rabbits long enough. This old man is quite ready for something a little more interesting.\n\n3rd of Second Seed, 4E 201\nI have spoken with several hunters who swear by the Divines that they have seen a Unicorn during their travels. All have tried to approach it for a closer look, or to take it as a prize, but it has evaded them all.\n\nI continue my research with skepticism. If this is indeed true, how could this be? Was the last unicorn not truly the last, or is some other force at work?\n\n18th of Second Seed, 4E 201\nWhile studying the mating habits of Salmon is certainly enlightening, I have become quite obsessed with my pursuit of the elusive Unicorn.\n\nI spoke with a hostler who said that during one of his horse taming expeditions he too saw something that closely resembled the fabled Unicorn, though he was unsure. He is a man is of great integrity, so I took his word in good faith.\n\nI decided then to speak with Tolfdir at the College of Winterhold. Being a wise man with deep knowledge of such things, I hoped he might have some insight. I was correct in my assumption.\n\nAccording to Tolfdir, the Psijic Order have appeared from time-to-time throughout history to assist with situations they believe are extremely important. While he cannot personally say for certain, he believes they may have intervened after the last Unicorn was sacrificed, transporting another through time in order to set right what they believed was a wrongdoing.\n\nI am more motivated than ever to see this creature with my own two eyes.\n\n24th of Second Seed, 4E 201\nThe last sighting of the Unicorn was rumored to be in a dense forest area near Riften. As old as I am, an energy filled my bones that I haven't felt since I was a young man.\n\nI hiked up the ridge of the mountains there, and set up a very small camp. I was cautious to not set any fires or make much noise, lest I scare it away.\n\nAfter waiting two nights, through this morning's early fog, I finally saw the majestic creature for the first time. I still cannot believe my own two eyes. It lingered long enough for me to see it clearly, its brilliant coat and distinct horn shimmering in the morning light.\n\nI watched its movements for nearly thirty minutes, enough time to draw a rough depiction for my library. This is absolutely the crowning achievement of my scholarly life.\n\nI've decided to turn this information over to the College of Winterhold rather than publish it to the general population. I would like to ensure this creature remain protected, and I believe they are the most capable of such a task."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/spirit-nirn": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/spirit-nirn", "description": "A short text describing differing cultural views of Lorkhan.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Spirit of Nirn", "text": "Lorkhan is the Spirit of Nirn, the god of all mortals. This does not mean that all mortals necessarily like him or even know him. Most elves hate him, thinking creation as the act which sundered them from the spirit realm. Most humans rever him, or aspects of him as the herald of existence. The creation of the Mortal Plane, the Mundus, Nirn, is a source of mental anguish to all living things; all souls know deep down they came originally from somewhere else, that Nirn is a cruel and crusial step to what comes next. What is this next? Some which to return to the original state, the spirit realm, and that Lorkhan is the Demon that hinders their way; to them Nirn is a prison, and illustion of escape. Others think that Lorkahn created the world as the testing ground for transcendence; to them the spirit realm was alreayd a prison, that true escape is now finally possible."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/staubins-diary": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/staubins-diary", "description": "The Netchuand-Zel expedition succumbs to Falmer.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Staubin's Diary", "text": "After making our way down the mine and through the spiders we've finally made it down to Nchaund-Zel proper. They've built this city into the very cave walls that house it. Amazing. Nchuand-Zel hums with life, but its guardians lay dormant, hopefully we can learn more as we go deeper.\n*   *   *   *   *\nThis area seems to be where two of the city's families lived.  We've spent some time studying this tree outside the dwellings but cannot figure out what its significance is.  Stromm will be remaining behind with one of the students to further study this area in greater depth. I look forward to reading his notes on the subject.\n*   *   *   *   *\nToday we entered the city's armory. The Falmer have yet to break into the best of the dwarven goods thanks to the sturdy dwemer locks.  Erj said he would be able to get into the vaults and would send word when he's in. The spiders gave us much trouble but who could have foreseen they've been the only thing keeping Markarth safe?\n*   *   *   *   *\nAfter exiting the Armory we made camp, but the Falmer have been watching us and finally tired of our intrusion.  They came while we slept and slaughtered what guards were left. Meridia forgive me for using my students as a distraction to get away, but I have to bring this place back to life.\n*   *   *   *   *\ntoo many . . .\ncouldn't hit switch . . ."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/stormcloak-missive": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/stormcloak-missive", "description": "Report on the state of Fort Snowhawk.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Stormcloak Missive", "text": "Galmar,\nFort Snowhawk is a shambles, hardly worth the name. The walls are in ruins, the jail has collapsed, the bailey is half-flooded and swarming with Skeevers. We're patching it up as best we can, but if the Legion attacks, we'll have no better luck defending it than they did. Buy us some time, or we'll lose all the ground we've gained here."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/strangers-final-instructions": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/strangers-final-instructions", "description": "Instructions to the player to find a long lost sword", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Stranger's Final Instructions", "text": "You're good. You picked her pockets clean and made the switch.\u00a0\n\n\t\t\u00a0\n\n\t\tNow you'll need to put those skills to the test and more. In Silverdrift Lair is a tomb that houses an ancient Nord clan. Near a large chest is a corpse with a lantern, its candle still burning. It holds a key.\n\n\t\t\u00a0\n\n\t\tWhen you have the key, open the chest and you'll find a sword that can raise the dead.\u00a0\n\n\t\t\u00a0\n\n\t\tWhen you find it, bring it to the grave of the Gray Fox in Riften. It's a small, unmarked headstone on the east side of the cemetery. Complete the task, and maybe you'll even get to meet him.\n\n\t\t\u00a0\n\n\t\t-- A Stranger\nYou're good. You picked her pockets clean and made the switch.\n\nNow you'll need to put those skills to the test and more. In Silverdrift Lair is a tomb that houses an ancient Nord clan. Near a large chest is a corpse with a lantern, its candle still burning. It holds a key.\n\nWhen you have the key, open the chest and you'll find a sword that can raise the dead.\n\nWhen you find it, bring it to the grave of the Gray Fox in Riften. It's a small, unmarked headstone on the east side of the cemetery. Complete the task, and maybe you'll even get to meet him.\n\n-- A Stranger\n\nYou're good. For whatever reason, picking her pocket was not an option, so you found another way.\n\n\t\t\u00a0\n\n\t\tNow you'll need to put those skills to the test and more. In Silverdrift Lair is a tomb that houses an ancient Nord clan. Near a large chest is a corpse with a lantern, its candle still burning. It holds a key.\u00a0\n\n\t\t\u00a0\n\n\t\tWhen you have the key, open the chest and you'll find a sword that can raise the dead.\u00a0\n\n\t\t\u00a0\n\n\t\tWhen you find it, bring it to the grave of the Gray Fox in Riften. It's a small, unmarked headstone on the east side of the cemetery. Complete the task, and maybe you'll even get to meet him.\n\n\t\t\u00a0\n\n\t\t-- A Stranger\nYou're good. For whatever reason, picking her pocket was not an option, so you found another way.\n\nNow you'll need to put those skills to the test and more. In Silverdrift Lair is a tomb that houses an ancient Nord clan. Near a large chest is a corpse with a lantern, its candle still burning. It holds a key.\n\nWhen you have the key, open the chest and you'll find a sword that can raise the dead.\n\nWhen you find it, bring it to the grave of the Gray Fox in Riften. It's a small, unmarked headstone on the east side of the cemetery. Complete the task, and maybe you'll even get to meet him.\n\n-- A Stranger\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/strangers-instructions": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/strangers-instructions", "description": "Instructions for a heist", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Stranger's Instructions", "text": "You've made it this far, which proves you're ready for the real work.\n\nBut first, let's go over why you're here. You may have heard the Gray Fox is dead. It's true. But the Fox lives on in the one who wears the cowl. This job will tell me if that person is you.\n\nWho am I? That's not important. Just a stranger who wants to see the cowl passed on to someone who deserves it.\n\nAs you might expect, the job won't be easy. It requires fast thinking and fast fingers. But get it done, and you'll be worthy of being the next Gray Fox.\n\nTake the forged deed in the strongbox, then find a woman named Gisli in Solitude. On her should be the real document. You'll relieve her of this burden, then place the fake in Erikur's House. She'll think she misplaced it.\n\nWhen the job is done, find the barrel behind the Winking Skeever for further instructions.\n\n-- A Stranger"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/strangers-journal": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/strangers-journal", "description": "Journal of the Grey Fox", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Stranger's Journal", "text": "The curse of the Gray Cowl is said to strip you of your identity, wiping you from all of recorded history.\n\nBut the curse was broken long ago. The truth is, it wasn't Nocturnal that robbed me of my life. It was my selfishness.\n\nI wore the cowl out of pure greed. I left my family because I loved only myself.\n\nThen my sister passed, leaving her son an orphan. The last of the Ice-Blades, heir to a fortune, and easy prey for the wolves.\n\nWith the boy in danger, it's time I took responsibility as the head of this clan. But if I'm to be his father, I have to stop being a stranger. I must pass the cowl onto another, and in doing so, the Gray Fox must die.\n\nUntil then, I come to this grave every night bringing flowers, to ask my sister for forgiveness."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/strangers-note": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/strangers-note", "description": "Instructions for a job", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Stranger's Note", "text": "You're here about a job.\n\nYou don't know what it's for, but I'm sure you're intrigued. It's all right, you don't need to know everything just yet.\n\nThere's a strongbox in Bolli's house, placed on a dresser next to his bed. Find a way to crack it open. Your instructions for the job are inside.\n\n-- A Stranger"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/stromms-diary": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/stromms-diary", "description": "Journal of a researcher in Nchuand-Zel, under Markarth.", "author": "Stromm", "title": "Stromm's Diary", "text": "I've decided to remain behind with one of our guards and further document the living area we've stumbled across. I write this to the best of my ability, but due to the sudden disappearance of the Dwemer it is almost impossible to say for certain what anything is.\nThe Tree\nBy the Nine I cannot determine the purpose of this tree. It appears to be from the area around Whiterun, but why and how it got here is beyond me. I think it may be a gift from the surface world, but based on the lavish surroundings it could also be a display of power. I'll check the living areas nearby for any additional clues.\nLiving Areas\nUpon further investigation of the area, it looks like this structure houses two clans or families. I can think of no other reason for this particular layout. Perhaps this group oversaw this particular portion of the city?  I'll have to compare notes from the other areas as we uncover more of the city - hopefully some of those will contain more in depth clues.  It appears a smaller wing collapsed on itself and maybe when the expedition returns we can dig out an entrance.\nFalmer have begun to creep back into this area of the ruins. It's a good thing I am not alone here.\nWe've managed to block off some of the areas we suspect the Falmer were coming in through, but they're still getting to us somehow. Together we are able to hold them back, but how long until Staubin and the rest return?"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/suicide-dragon-bridge": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/suicide-dragon-bridge", "description": "Rumor of a guard's suicide", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Suicide at Dragon Bridge", "text": "One of the locals who frequents the inn has been reported missing. I was about to tell the innkeeper to report it to the guard, but Aldepius said he saw the person in question leap off Dragon Bridge.\n\nA sad state of affairs, but not our concern."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sullas-journal": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sullas-journal", "description": "The Alftand expedition is trapped by the ice inside the aforementioned ruin.", "author": "Sulla", "title": "Sulla's Journal", "text": "We tried to get through glacier at the top, but we couldn't find any way into that tower parapet. Yag spotted in the glacial wall and construction of a catwalk was finished just in time for a storm to hit. At first we thought to wait it out, but it has only gotten worse. A shift in the glacier took out several of the new laborers.\nI ordered everyone to quickly move as much of the supplies as we could into the fissure and we managed to get most of it. One of the hands decided he wasn't going to listen and tried to make it out through the storm, but got blown off the catwalk by the wind.\nLooks like we are well and truly stuck in here. But for all that I feel even more driven that I should be the one to uncover the mysteries of this ruin. I'm tired of all the credit for my work going to the Mages or the Legion. It will be my name that goes down in the history books for this discovery.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/suvaris-atherons-logbook": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/suvaris-atherons-logbook", "description": "The diary of a mundane life.", "author": "Suvaris Atheron", "title": "Suvaris Atheron's Logbook", "text": "PRIVATE PROPERTY OF SUVARIS ATHERON\nPLEASE RETURN TO HIM IN WINDHELM IF FOUND\nJournal for month of Last Seed, year 201 of the 4th Era\n1st of Last Seed\nSpoke with Master Torbjorn in the morning. Pleased with projects to increase competitiveness of shipping office.\nSpent afternoon overseeing offices and various paperworks.\nModerate lunch and heavy dinner.\n2nd of Last Seed\nPunished one of the dockworkers for laziness. Two days rations -- empty stomach means less good work for a few days, but he'll work hard from here on out.\nModerate lunch and dinner.\n3rd of Last Seed\nCorrespondence with Uncle Mithorpa in Morrowind. Sadness continues to abound flowing west.\nLight lunch, no dinner.\n4th of Last Seed\nReports that our pirate friends are offering to let the Company ships through in exchange for gold. Will need to look into this.\nHeavy lunch and dinner.\n5th of Last Seed\nTried to get in to see Master Torbjorn about the potential issues, but he proved too busy tending to his wife and daughter in mourning. Did not wish to intrude.\nSkipped lunch (waiting at the Shatter-Shield house), moderate dinner.\n6th of Last Seed\nExplained situation to Master Torbjorn. As usual he did not wish to know details, only how much money I needed to ensure smooth operations. I depart tomorrow for Dawnstar, hoping to catch the captain at the Windpeak for his crew's regular \"festivities.\"\nHeavy lunch, skipped dinner in favor of packing.\n7th of Last Seed\nBeginning journey. Plan to be back by the 12th.\n15th of Last Seed\nReturned safely, though not unscathed. Bandit attacks delayed the initial travel, then Stig Salt-Plank proved to be more uncooperative than I had hoped. Chipped in some additional gold out of my own purse (some cleverness in the books will see it repaid), and the deal was done.\nAte on the road, light meals all around.\n16th of Last Seed\nHoping word gets back to Stig's betters of our new arrangements before more Company ships can make it through. Found the Argonians had completely fouled up the operations in my absence. No surprise, there. Need to see to the old one's skooma supply, that should keep them motivated.\nHeavy lunch and dinner.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/svarigs-journal": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/svarigs-journal", "description": "Bandit musings about their employer", "author": "Svarig", "title": "Svarig's Journal", "text": "We continue to do the bidding of Thoron, our wealthy benefactor. Though our relationship has taken a turn for the worse, he still pays exceedingly well and continues to ask us to pillage the trade caravans as they pass, searching for anything we can find that seems \"off\" or has even a hint of magic.\n\nThoron is a powerful conjurer, but also completely insane. He has become increasingly unhappy with our spoils as of late. I suspect that the vainglorious Saints have done something to gain his favor. We've all become fearful of what might happen if we meet him next month and he disapproves of our spoils. If you ask me, all that time he spends holed up in those sewers has finally turned his brains upside down.\n\nHe seemed to really like those tongs and rusty calipers we brought him a few months back. All we need is to find the right piece of junk that he thinks will help him \"bridge the gap\" he keeps going on about, and we'll have full coin purses once again."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/svens-fake-letter-faendal": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/svens-fake-letter-faendal", "description": "Tries to make Faendal look bad in the eyes of Camilla.", "author": "Sven", "title": "Sven's Fake Letter from Faendal.", "text": "Dear Camilla,\nI know I have called upon you at your house many times, and while we may be growing close, I need you to put any desires you may have for me aside. I am a true-born son of Valenwood, and I could never befoul my bloodline by courting an Imperial. I hope we can remain true friends, provided you understand your people's place in the Aldmeri Dominion, and respect me as such.\nSincerely, Faendal"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tattered-journal": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tattered-journal", "description": "Complaint about working conditions and a lack of booze.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Tattered Journal", "text": "They've had me working down here for days now.  It's not the time that's getting to me though, it's these tunnels.  I've told them countless times now to add extra supports to the weak sections of tunnel.  If only we had more of those wooden beams that we reinforced with bronze bottoms.  Honestly, if I hear the earth shift one more time above my head I'll be so stressed I may stop drinking for good.  I mean, what's a Nord without his mead."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tattered-note-0": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tattered-note-0", "description": "The riddle of Labyrinthian", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Tattered Note", "text": "\nEnter Twice - Exit Only Once\nAlteration will lead \nyou to Destruction\nOnly Illusion shows the \nway to Restoration\nConjure not, but \nbe conjured instead"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thalmor-dossier-delphine": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thalmor-dossier-delphine", "description": "The Thalmor's file on Delphine.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Thalmor Dossier: Delphine", "text": "Status: Active (Capture or Kill), High Priority, Emissary Level Approval\nDescription: Female, Breton, mid 50s\nBackground:\nDelphine was a high-priority target during the First War, for both operational and political reasons. She was directly involved in several of the most damaging operations carried out by the Blades within the Dominion. She had been identified and was slated for the initial purge, but by bad luck was recalled to Cyrodiil just before the outbreak of hostilities. During the war, she evaded three attempts on her life, in one case killing an entire assassination team. Since then, we have only indirect evidence of her movements, as she has proven extremely alert to our surveillance. She should be considered very dangerous and no move against her should be made without overwhelming force and the most careful preparation.\nOperational Notes:\nShe is believed to still be working actively against us within Skyrim, although we have no location on her. Assumed to be working alone, as no other Blades are known to be active in Skyrim, and she has in the past avoided contact with other fugitive Blades for her own security (one of the reasons she has so far evaded elimination). Her continued existence is an affront to all of us. Any information on her whereabouts or activities should be immediately forwarded to the Third Emissary."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thalmor-dossier-esbern": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thalmor-dossier-esbern", "description": "The Thalmor's file on Esbern.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Thalmor Dossier: Esbern", "text": "Status: Fugitive (Capture Only), Highest Priority, Emissary Level Approval\nDescription: Male, Nord, late 70s\nBackground:\nEsbern was one of the Blades loremasters prior to the First War Against the Empire. He was not a field agent, but is now believed to have been behind some of the most damaging operations carried out by the Blades during the pre-war years, including the Falinesti Incident and the breach of the Blue River Prison. His file had remained dormant for many years, an inexcusable error on the part of my predecessor (who has been recalled to Alinor for punishment and reeducation), in the erroneous belief that he was unlikely to pose a threat due to his advanced age and lack of field experience. A salutary reminder to all operational levels that no Blades agent should be considered low priority for any reason. All are to be found and justice exacted upon them.\nOperational Notes:\nAs we are still in the dark as to the cause and meaning of the return of the dragons, I have made capturing Esbern our top priority, as he is known to be one of the experts in the dragonlore of the Blades. Regrettably, we have yet to match their expertise on the subject of dragons, which was derived from their Akaviri origins and is still far superior to our own (which remains largely theoretical). The archives of Cloud Ruler Temple, which is believed to have been the primary repository of the oldest Blades lore, were largely destroyed during the siege, and although great effort has been made to reconstruct what was lost, it now appears that most of the records related to dragons were either removed or destroyed prior to our attack. Thus Esbern remains our best opportunity to learn how and why the dragons have returned. It cannot be ruled out that the Blades themselves are somehow connected to the dragons' return.\nWe have recently obtained solid information that Esbern is still alive and hiding somewhere in Riften. Interrogation of a possible eyewitness is on-going. We must proceed carefully to avoid Esbern becoming alerted to his danger. If he is indeed in Riften, he must not be given an opportunity to flee."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thalmor-dossier-ulfric-stormcloak": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thalmor-dossier-ulfric-stormcloak", "description": "The Thalmor's file on Ulfric Stormcloak.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Thalmor Dossier: Ulfric Stormcloak", "text": "Status: Asset (uncooperative), Dormant, Emissary Level Approval\nDescription: Jarl of Windhelm, leader of Stormcloak rebellion, Imperial Legion veteran\nBackground:\nUlfric first came to our attention during the First War Against the Empire, when he was taken as a prisoner of war during the campaign for the White-Gold Tower. Under interrogation, we learned of his potential value (son of the Jarl of Windhelm) and he was assigned as an asset to the interrogator, who is now First Emissary Elenwen. He was made to believe information obtained during his interrogation was crucial in the capture of the Imperial City (the city had in fact fallen before he had broken), and then allowed to escape. After the war, contact was established and he has proven his worth as an asset.The so-called Markarth Incident was particularly valuable from the point of view of our strategic goals in Skyrim, although it resulted in Ulfric becoming generally uncooperative to direct contact.\nOperational Notes:\nDirect contact remains a possibility (under extreme circumstances), but in general the asset should be considered dormant. As long as the civil war proceeds in its current indecisive fashion, we should remain hands-off. The incident at Helgen is an example where an exception had to be made - obviously Ulfric's death would have dramatically increased the chance of an Imperial victory and thus harmed our overall position in Skyrim. (NOTE: The coincidental intervention of the dragon at Helgen is still under scrutiny. The obvious conclusion is that whoever is behind the dragons also has an interest in the continuation of the war, but we should not assume therefore that their goals align with our own.) A Stormcloak victory is also to be avoided, however, so even indirect aid to the Stormcloaks must be carefully managed."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thalmor-orders": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thalmor-orders", "description": "", "author": "Elenwen", "title": "Thalmor Orders", "text": "Agent Sanyon,\nIn response to your report dated 22nd Morning Star 401, your request for an expeditionary force is hereby denied.\nSanyon, this is the seventh report you have filed this month, and not one of your leads - not one!- has turned up so much as a shred of evidence that a Talos shrine exists in the Lake Ilinalta region. No prisoners. No documents. Nothing!\nOur forces are stretched thin enough as it is, and I have better missions - better agents - to assign them to. If you feel so sure of your informant, investigate this yourself. Come back with proof. Or not at all.\nBy my hand and seal,\nElenwen"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/madmen-reach": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/madmen-reach", "description": "A history of the Foresworn, defending their right to the Reach.", "author": "Arrianus Arius", "title": "The \"Madmen\" of the Reach", "text": "The \"Madmen\" of the Reach:\nA Cultural Treatise on the Forsworn\nby \nArrianus Arius\nImperial Scholar\nSince the legendary victory of Tiber Septim over the \"barbarian natives\" in the Battle of Old Hroldan, Imperial and Nord scholarship has cast the people of the Reach as little more than savages, prone to irrational fits of violence, worshipping old, heretical gods, and fetishizing beasts and nature spirits that any civilized person would best well avoid. In truth, these accounts are little more than \"victor's essays,\" a perspective narrowed by the Empire's constant strife with the ancient, proud people that lived in this land far before Tiber Septim walked the soil of Tamriel. In light of this, I hope to create a more complete, accurate, and fair assessment of a group that has long suffered under the role of \"enemy,\" \"troublemakers,\" and \"them.\"\nLet us begin with the Forsworn, the so-called \"madmen\" of the Reach. The Imperial Legion classifies them as little more than brigands, noting their constant raids and ambushes within the Hold. But none of their military reports asks the question of \"why?\" If they were merely a group of bandits, surely they would be focused on acquiring gold and minimizing deaths among their own. But the opposite is true in Forsworn attacks. Large sums of coin are often left behind, and their fighters easily throw away their lives rather than risk capture by Imperial soldiers.\nIt is this incongruity that led me to Markarth, the capital city of the Reach, in search of answers. There, I met one of the native peoples, an old woman who preferred to not be named in my writings. She told me of her family's long history. How she believes they originally came from High Rock, home of the Bretons (which would explain the similar faces and stature of the two peoples). How the Nords came and took their lands, their gods, and their culture from them. When asked about the Forsworn, the old woman would say that they are the \"real\" men and women of the Reach: those that refused to give in to the Nords. Those that still practiced the ancient traditions that the rest of their people had abandoned in exchange for peace.\nIn time, I was able to create trust with many more natives in my search that corroborated the old woman's story. By chance, one of them arranged a meeting between myself and what I thought was an elder member of his village. I was shocked to find that I was led to a camp, filled with the animal skulls, severed heads, and still beating hearts that I had read about from the military reports back in the Imperial City. There, I met Cortoran, a Forsworn, who seemed amused at the prospect of me writing down his story. Which I quote in full below:\n\"You want to know who the Forsworn are? We are the people who must pillage our own land. Burn our own ground. We are the scourge of the Nords. The axe that falls in the dark. The scream before the gods claim your soul. We are the true sons and daughters of the Reach. The spirits and hags have lived here from the beginning, and they are on our side. Go back. Go back and tell your Empire that we will have our own kingdom again. And on that day, we will be the ones burying your dead in a land that is no longer yours.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/aetherium-wars": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/aetherium-wars", "description": "Attributes the Dwemer weakness in Skyrim to infighting over a particularly rare ore.", "author": "Taron Dreth", "title": "The Aetherium Wars", "text": "The Aetherium Wars\n\tby Taron Dreth\nDedicated to Katria,\n\tmy Friend and Colleague\n\nThe end, when it came, was swift. In the span of three short years, the great dwarven cities of Skyrim, from Markarth to the Velothi Mountains, fell before the armies of the High King. Cities that had held fast against the Nords for over a hundred years crumbled abruptly and without warning.\nFor centuries, scholars have marveled at the sudden collapse of the Dwemer city-states. Even the Nords seem to have been taken by surprise, though their chroniclers were quick to ascribe their success to King Gellir's inspired tactics and the blessings of Shor.\nMy research suggests a much different cause, however. In the decades preceding their fall, the dwarven cities of Skyrim had been decimated by internal disputes and infighting over a most surprising cause: Aetherium.\nModern scholars know Aetherium as a rare, luminescent blue crystal found in some Dwemer ruins. Most consider it little more than a curiosity, as it has proven all but impossible to work with: while it has a strong magical aura, it is alchemically inert, and no known process can enchant, smelt, mold, bind, or break it.\nTo the dwarves, of course, such problems were merely a challenge. In the years following King Harald's reign, the Dwemer discovered a considerable source of Aetherium in their deepest delvings. An alliance of four cities, led by Arkngthamz, the great research center in the southern Reach, was formed to oversee its extraction, processing, and study, and a new 'Aetherium Forge' constructed to smelt it under precisely controlled conditions.\nIf the inscriptions I discovered are to be believed, the results were nothing short of spectacular: the items produced by the Forge were artifacts of immense power, imbued from the moment of their creation with powerful enchantments. The dwarven alliance shattered almost immediately, as the four city-states and their rivals attempted to claim the Forge.\nWe can only speculate that none were successful. Decades of conflict merely weakened them all, allowing for King Gellir's subsequent conquests. And though the Dwemer reclaimed most of their lands a century later, there is no evidence that they ever resumed their research on Aetherium. Perhaps the costs had just been too great.\nBut nothing like the Aetherium Forge described in the inscriptions has ever been found within the borders of Skyrim. It may have been destroyed long ago, by the Nord invaders or the Dwemer themselves. Or perhaps it, like the secrets of Aetherium itself, still remains to be discovered."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/alduinakatosh-dichotomy": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/alduinakatosh-dichotomy", "description": "Another view on the relationship between Alduin and Akatosh, this time from an Imperial perspective.", "author": "Alexandre Simon", "title": "The Alduin/Akatosh Dichotomy", "text": "The Alduin/Akatosh Dichotomy\nby\nBy Alexandre Simon\nHigh Priest of the Akatosh Chantry, Wayrest\n\nAs High Priest of the Akatosh Chantry, I have dedicated my life to the service of the Great Dragon. He who was first at the Beginning. He who is greatest and most powerful of all the Divines. He who is the very embodiment of infinity.\nI am, quite obviously, a man of deep and unwavering faith. But not blind faith, for I am also a man of scholarly endeavors, and have always valued education and the pursuit of truth, in all its forms. And so, I have had the honor and privilege of making it my life's work to discover the truth about Akatosh, in all of our beloved Divine's incarnations.\nThroughout the civilized world (and I refer not only to the Empire, but to every nation on great Nirn that has embraced the virtues of learning and letters), the Great Dragon is worshipped. Usually, the highest of Divines is referred to as Akatosh. But what some may not be aware of is that he is occasionally referred to by two other names as well.\nThe Aldmer refer to Akatosh as Auri-El. The Nords call him Alduin. These names come up repeatedly in certain ancient texts, and in each one, it is clear that the deity in question is none other than he whom we call Akatosh.\nYet there are those who believe, even in this enlightened age, that this is not so. That the regional interpretations of Akatosh are not interpretations of Akatosh at all. Rather, they are references to altogether different deities, deities who may or may not share the same aspects or be the Great Dragon at all.\nMany Altmer of Summerset Isle worship Auri-El, who is the soul of Anui-El, who in turn is the soul of Anu the Everything. But if you ask the high elves themselves (as  I did, when I traveled to Summerset Isle to continue my research), the majority will concede that Auri-El is but Akatosh with a different name, colored by their own cultural beliefs.\nSo maybe it comes as no surprise that the real theological dissention lies in Skyrim, among the Nord people - renowned as much for their stubbornness as they are their hardiness and prowess on the fields of valor. When I journeyed to the stark white province, I was surprised to find a people whose views on Akatosh are almost diametrically opposed to those of the Altmer. The majority of Nord people seem to believe that their Alduin of legend is not Akatosh, but another deity entirely. A great dragon, yes, but not the Great Dragon.\nDetermined to get to the heart of this matter, I consulted with several Nords, chief among them an old and respected clan chief by the name of Bjorn Much-Bloodied. And what surprised me most about those I talked to was not that they believed in Alduin instead of Akatosh, but that they recognized Alduin in addition to Akatosh. In fact, most children of Skyrim seem to view Akatosh in much the same way I do - he is, in fact, the Great Dragon. First among the Divines, perseverance personified and, more than anything, a force of supreme good in the world.\nAlduin, they claim, is something altogether different.\nWhether or not he is actually a deity remains in question, but the Alduin of Nord folklore is in fact a dragon, but one so ancient, and so powerful, he was dubbed the \"World Eater,\" and some accounts even have him devouring the souls of the dead to maintain his own power. Other stories revolve around Alduin acting as some sort of dragon king, uniting the other dragons in a war against mankind, until he was eventually defeated at the hands of one or more brave heroes.\nIt is hard to deny that such legends are compelling. But as both High Priest and scholar, I am forced to ask that most important of questions - where is the evidence?\nThe Nords of Skyrim place a high value on their oral traditions, but such is the core of their unreliability. A rumor passed around the Wayrest market square can change so dramatically in the course of a few simple hours, that by the end of the day, one might believe half the city's residents were involved in any number of scandalous activities. How then is an educated, enlightened person possibly supposed to believe a legend that has been passed down, by word of mouth only, for hundreds, or even thousands of years?\nThe answer to such a question is simple - he cannot.\nAnd so, it is my conclusion that the Alduin of Nord legend is in fact mighty Akatosh, whose story grew twisted and deformed through centuries of retelling and embellishment. Through no real fault of their own, the primitive peoples of Skyrim failed to understand the goodness and greatness of the Great Dragon, and it was this lack of understanding that formed the basis of what became, ironically, their most impressive creative achievement - \"Alduin,\" the World Eater,  phantom of bedtime stories and justification for ancient (if imagined deeds)."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/anticipations-dragonborn": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/anticipations-dragonborn", "description": "Explains the Anticipations of the Tribunal.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Anticipations", "text": "The Daedra are powerful ancestor spirits, similar in form and substance to the Tribunal (Blessed Be Their Holy Names), but weaker in power, and more arbitrary and removed from the affairs of mortals. In old times, the Chimer worshiped the Daedra as gods. But they did not deserve this veneration, for the Daedra harm their worshippers as often as help them.\nThe Advent of the Tribunal (Blessed Be Their Holy Names) changed this unhappy state. By the Apotheosis, the Tribunal (Blessed Be Their Holy Names) became the Protectors and High Ancestor Spirits of the Dunmer, and bade the Daedra to give proper veneration and obedience. The Three Good Daedra, Boethiah, Azura, and Mephala, recognized the Divinity of the Triune Ancestors (Blessed Be Their Holy Names). The Rebel Daedra, Molag Bal, Malacath, Sheogorath, and Mehrunes Dagon, refused to swear fealty to the Tribunal (Blessed Be Their Holy Names), and their worshippers were cast out.\nThese Rebel Daedra thus became the Four Corners of the House of Troubles, and they continue to plague our tranquility and tempt the unwary into Heresy and Dark Worship. The Priests of the Temple remain ever vigilant for signs of the Adversaries' return, sometimes aided by the loyal Three Good Daedra, who are familiar with the wiles of their rebellious kin.\nThe Good Daedra are known to the Temple as the Anticipations, since they are the early ancestral anticipations of the loving patronage of the Tribunal. The Anticipations are the Daedra Lords Boethiah, Mephala, and Azura.\nBoethiah is the Anticipation of Almalexia but male to her female. Boethiah was the ancestor who illuminated the elves ages ago before the Mythic Era. He told them the truth of Lorkhan's test, and defeated Auriel's champion, Trinimac. Boethiah ate Trinimac and voided him. The followers of Boethiah and Trinimac rubbed the soil of Trinimac upon themselves and changed their skins.\nMephala is the Anticipation of Vivec, but manifold and androgynous. Mephala taught the Chimer to evade their enemies or kill them with secret murder. Enemies were numerous in those days since the Chimer were a small with enemies on all sides. Mephala organized the clan systems that eventually became the Great Houses. Later, Mephala created the Morag Tong.\nAzura is the Anticipation of Sotha Sil, but female to his male. Azura was the ancestor who taught the Chimer how to be different from the Altmer. Her teachings are sometimes attributed to Boethiah. In the stories, Azura is often encountered more as a communal progenitor of the race as a whole rather than as an individual ancestor. She is associated with Dusk and Dawn, and is sometimes called the Mother Soul. Azura's Star, also called the Twilight Star, appears briefly at dawn and dusk low on the horizon below the constellation of the Steed. Azura is associated with mystery and magic, fate and prophecy."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/apprentices-assistant": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/apprentices-assistant", "description": "Tips for spellcasters.", "author": "Aramril", "title": "The Apprentice's Assistant", "text": "The Apprentice's Assistant\nAdvice from Valenwood's most prestigious spellcaster\n\nNo doubt you have heard tales of my adventures. Stories carried from province to province, all of Tamriel in awe of my feats of magical prowess. More than once, I am sure, you have thought \"if only I had Aramril's ability. Then I too could seek fame and fortune in magic duels!\"\nIt is true, of course. Great fame and limitless fortune await those who are successful. But to be successful, one needs to learn from the best. That is why you have purchased this book, so that I may teach you. I am, of course, the best.\nHere, then, is my advice. Follow it, and you too can make a name for yourself throughout Tamriel.\n1. To know your opponent is to know his weakness.\nInfinitely more versatile than a simple blade of steel, a good mage has a wide array of spells at her disposal. More than that, she knows when to best use them. She knows that frost spells can stop a charging beast, or keep a savage brute from swinging his sword. She knows that shock spells can drain her opponent's magicka. She knows that illusion spells can set a group of enemies against each other (should she find herself in a less than fair fight, an all-too-common reality when her opponents know they cannot win in single combat) and that there are spells that can save her in a moment when all seems lost.\n2. To know yourself is to know your limits.\nEven the best mage has a finite reserve of magicka; none born yet have been graced with Magnus' infinite reserves of power. And so a good mage does not over-extend herself. She makes sure she always has enough magicka to keep herself safe. Failing that, she makes sure she has a sizable supply of potions at the ready. Failing that, she makes sure she always has an escape route. Not that the Great Aramril has ever fled a fight, but of course you do not necessarily share her superb natural ability. That is why you must practice.\n3. Wards can kill (you)\nThere is no question that wards are an essential tool of any aspiring mage. They can block incoming spells, negating your opponent's attack and wasting his magicka. A good mage knows, however, to not rely too heavily on her ward. Keeping a ward readied for too long will leave a caster drained of magicka, unable to retaliate, and at worst unable to maintain the ward and therefore completely defenseless.\n4. Two hands are not always better than one\nAny advanced spellcaster has learned to cast spells with both hands, dealing more damage. There are certainly times when this is to your advantage, such as when an opponent is already weakened, or when it is likely to draw a bigger reaction from the crowd that has no doubt gathered to watch you. It is not always the best strategy, however. Concentration spells, for example, can often be used on the ground when an opponent is especially nimble. In that instance, using both hands independently can cover more ground at the same time. A mage throwing fireballs with both hands cannot immediately raise a ward to defend herself, or heal while she continues to attack.\n5. Always rise to a challenge, especially when you know you can win\nRemember that your first priority is, of course, to stay alive. Following closely behind, though, is your need to please the crowd. You are, after all, depending on their generosity to fund your adventures. Here, then, more than magic comes into play. If you can gain a sense of your opponent's ability before the duel begins, you can enter into the event with confidence. Knowing that you outclass your opponent is of great importance, as it means you can confidently give the crowd a better show. Likewise, knowing ahead of time that you could very well lose a duel, you are afforded an opportunity to suddenly find yourself engaged elsewhere, and be unable to attend the event. (By no means do I suggest that I have ever done such a thing; I simply find that my great fame occasionally means I am unable to respond to every single request for a duel)\nKeep these few things in mind, keep your wits about you, and you too can make a name for yourself by putting on great displays of magical prowess. Take care, though - for if you become successful enough, you may find yourself facing a challenge from me!\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/arcturian-heresy-0": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/arcturian-heresy-0", "description": "The continuation of Ysmir's story, chronicling his interaction with Tiber Septim and his rise to power.", "author": "Ysmir", "title": "The Arcturian Heresy", "text": "The Arcturian Heresy\nby\nThe Underking\nYsmir Kingmaker\nWith his god destroyed, Wulfharth finds it hard to keep his form. He staggers out of Red Mountain to the battlefield beyond. The world has shaken and all of Morrowind is made of fire. A strong gale picks up, and blows his ashes back to Skyrim.\nWulfharth adopts and is adopted by the Nords then. Ysmir the Grey Wind, the Storm of Kyne. But through Lorkhan he lost his national identity. All he wants the Nords for is to kill the Tribunal. He raises a storm, sends in his people, and is driven back by Tribunal forces. The Dunmer are too strong now. Wulfharth goes underground to wait and strengthen and reform his body anew. Oddly enough, it is Almalexia who disturbs his rest, summoning the Underking to fight alongside the Tribunal against Ada'Soom Dir-Kamal, the Akaviri demon. Wulfharth disappears after Ada'Soom is defeated, and does not return for three hundred years.\nIt is the rumbling of the Greybeards that wake him. Though the Empire has crumbled, there are rumors that a chosen one will come to restore it. This new Emperor will defeat the Elves and rule a united Tamriel. Naturally, Wulfharth thinks he is the figure of prophecy. He goes directly to High Hrothgar to hear the Greybeards speak. When they do, Ysmir is blasted to ash again. He is not the chosen one. It is a warrior youth from High Rock. As the Grey Wind goes to find this boy, he hears the Greybeards' warning: remember the color of betrayal, King Wulfharth.\nThe Western Reach was at war. Cuhlecain, the King of Falkreath in West Cyrodiil, was in a bad situation. To make any bid at unifying the Colovian Estates, he needed to secure his northern border, where the Nords and Reachmen had been fighting for centuries. He allies with Skyrim at the Battle of Old Hrol'dan. Leading his forces was Hjalti Early-Beard. Hjalti was from the island kingdom of Alcaire, in High Rock, and would become Tiber Septim, the First Emperor of Tamriel.\nHjalti was a shrewd tactician, and his small band of Colovian troops and Nord berserkers broke the Reachman line, forcing them back beyond the gates of Old Hrol'dan. A siege seemed impossible, as Hjalti could expect no reinforcements from Falkreath. That night a storm came and visited Hjalti's camp. It spoke with him in his tent. At dawn, Hjalti went up to the gates, and the storm followed just above his head. Arrows could not penetrate the winds around him. He shouted down the walls of Old Hrol'dan, and his men poured in. After their victory, the Nords called Hjalti Talos, or Stormcrown.\nCuhlecain, with his new invincible general, unifies West Cyrodiil in under a year. No one can stand before Hjalti's storms. The Underking knows that if Hjalti is to become Emperor of Tamriel, he must first capture the Eastern Heartland. Hjalti uses them both. He needs Cuhlecain in the Colovian Estates, where foreigners are mistrusted. It is obvious why he needs Ysmir. They march on the East, the battlemages surrender before their armies, and they take the Citadel. Before Cuhlecain can be crowned, Hjalti secretly murders him and his loyalist contingent. These assassinations are blamed on the enemies of Cuhlecain, which, for political reasons, are still the Western Reach. Zurin Arctus, the Grand Battlemage (not the Underking), then crowns Hjalti as Tiber Septim, new Emperor of All Cyrodiil. After he captures the Imperial Throne, Septim finds the initial administration of a fully united Cyrodiil a time-consuming task. He sends the Underking to deal with Imperial expansion into Skyrim and High Rock. Ysmir, mindful that it might seem as if Tiber Septim is in two places at once, works behind the scenes. This period of levelheaded statesmanship and diplomacy, this sudden silence, heretofore unknown in the roaring tales of Talosian conquest, are explained away later. (The assassination story is embroidered -- now it is popularly Talos' own throat that was cut.)\nThe human kingdoms are conquered, even Hammerfell, whose capture was figured to be an arduous task. The Underking wants a complete invasion, a chance to battle their foreign wind spirits himself, but Tiber Septim refutes him. He has already made a better plan, one that will seem to legitimize his rule. Cyrodiil supports the losing side of a civil war and are invited in. Finally, the Empire can turn its eyes onto the Elves.\nThe Underking continues to press on Tiber Septim the need to conquer Morrowind. The Emperor is not sure that it is a wise idea. He has heard of the Tribunal's power. The Underking wants his vengeance, and reminds Tiber Septim that he is fated to conquer the Elves, even the Tribunal. Arctus advises against the move but Septim covets the Ebony in Morrowind, as he sorely needs a source of capital to rebuild Cyrodiil after 400 years of war. The Underking tells him that, with the Tribunal dead, Septim might steal the Tribunal's power and use it against the High Elves (certainly the oldest enemies of Lorkhan, predating even the Tribunal). Summerset Isle is the farthest thing from Tiber Septim's mind. Even then, he was planning to send Zurin Arctus to the King of Alinor to make peace. The Ebony need wins out in the end. The Empire invades Morrowind, and the Tribunal give up. When certain conditions of the Armistice include not only a policy of noninterference with the Tribunal, but also, in the Underking's eyes, a validation of their religious beliefs, Ysmir is furious. He abandons the Empire completely. This was the betrayal the Greybeards spoke of. Or so he thinks.\nWithout the Underking's power, all ideas of conquering Tamriel vanish. Would've been nice, Septim thinks, but let's just worry about Cyrodiil and the human nations. Already there is a rebellion in Hammerfell.\nPieces of Numidium trickle in, though. Tiber Septim, always fascinated by the Dwarves, has Zurin Arctus research this grand artifact. In doing so, Arctus stumbles upon some of the stories of the war at Red Mountain. He discovers the reason the Numidium was made and some of it's potential. Most importantly, he learns the Underking's place in the War. But Zurin Arctus was working from incomplete plans. He thinks it is the heart of Lorkhan's body that is needed to power the Numidium.\nWhile Zurin Arctus is raving about his discovery, the prophecy finally becomes clear to Tiber Septim. This Numidium is what he needs to conquer the world. It is his destiny to have it. He contacts the Underking and says he was right all along. They should kill the Tribunal, and they need to get together and make a plan. While the Underking was away he realized the true danger of Dagoth-Ur. Something must to be done. But he needs an army, and his old one is available again. The trap is set.\nThe Underking arrives and is ambushed by Imperial guards. As he takes them on, Zurin Arctus uses a soulgem on him. With his last breath, the Underking's Heart roars a hole through the Battlemage's chest. In the end, everyone is dead, the Underking has reverted back to ash, and Tiber Septim strolls in to take the soulgem. When the Elder Council arrives, he tells them about the second attempt on his life, this time by his trusted battle mage, Zurin Arctus, who was attempting a coup. He has the dead guards celebrated as heroes, even the one who was blasted to ash... He warns Cyrodiil about the dangers within, but says he has a solution to the dangers without. The Mantella.\nThe Numidium, while not the god Tiber Septim and the Dwemer hoped for (the Underking was not exactly Lorkhan, after all), it does the job. After its work on Summerset Isle a new threat appears -- a rotting undead wizard who controls the skies. He blows the Numidium apart. But it pounds him into the ground with its last flailings, leaving only a black splotch. The Mantella falls into the sea, seemingly forever.\nMeanwhile, Tiber Septim crowns himself the First Emperor of Tamriel. He lives until he is 108, the richest man in history. All aspects of his early reign are rewritten. Still, there are conflicting reports of what really happened, and this is why there is such confusion over such questions as: Why does Alcaire claim to be the birthplace of Talos, while other sources say he came from Atmora? Why does Tiber Septim seem to be a different person after his first roaring conquests? Why does Tiber Septim betray his battlemage? Is the Mantella the heart of the battlemage or is it the heart of Tiber Septim?\nTiber Septim is succeeded by his grandson, Pelagius I. Pelagius is just not of the same caliber. In truth, he's a little nervous with all these provinces. Then an advisor shows up.\n\"I was friends with your grandfather,\" the Underking says, \"He sent me to help you run the Empire.\"\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bear-markarth": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bear-markarth", "description": "A recent history of the Reach.", "author": "Arrianus Arius", "title": "The Bear of Markarth", "text": "The Bear of Markarth\nThe Crimes of Ulfric Stormcloak\nby\nArrianus Arius\nImperial Scholar\n\nUlfric Stormcloak is considered a hero by many for his part in quelling the Forsworn Uprising. It is said that when the Empire abandoned Skyrim, and the natives of the Reach rebelled (undoubtedly due to the Nords poor treatment of them), Ulfric Stormcloak and his militia was there to retake \"their\" land from the Forsworn. In all the bravado and epic yarns the skalds compose of his exploits, you would think Ulfric to be a giant of a man, equal to that of Tiber Septim in his cunning, leadership, and decisive actions.\nBut the truth is far more revealing. Yes, from 4E 174-176, the Forsworn did in fact rule over the Reach as an independent kingdom from Skyrim. Yes, this was accomplished while the Empire was beset by Aldmeri Dominion forces and could not send the Legion to re-establish order. And yes, Ulfric Stormcloak did quell the rebellion without Imperial assistance. That much is true, but what the bards often fail to tell in their stories is that the Forsworn Kingdom was quite peaceful for those 2 years they were in power.\nTrue, some crimes were committed against former Nord landowners (often those accused of being the harshest towards their native workers), but on the whole the Forsworn ruled their lands fairly, and were making overtures to be recognized by the Empire as a legitimate kingdom.\nIn the wake of the aftermath of the Great War, you can imagine the backlog on stately matters the Empire had. Before a peace treaty could be resolved with the Forsworn, a militia led by Ulfric Stormcloak sieged the gates of their capital, Markarth. What happened during that battle was war, but what happened after the battle was over is nothing short of war crimes.\nEvery official who worked for the Forsworn was put to the sword, even after they had surrendered. Native women were tortured to give up names of Forsworn fighters who had fled the city or were in the hills of the Reach. Anyone who lived in the city, Forsworn and Nord alike, were executed if they had not fought with Ulfric and his men when they breached the gates. \"You are with us, or you are against Skyrim\" was the message on Ulfric's lips as he ordered the deaths of shopkeepers, farmers, the elderly, and any child old enough to lift a sword that  had failed in the call to fight with him.\nSo when a \"grateful\" Empire accepted Ulfric's victory and sent soldiers to re-establish the rule of law in the Reach, it was no surprise that he would demand to be allowed to worship Talos freely before the Legion could enter. With chaos running through the streets of Markarth and the reports of deaths rising every day, the Empire had no choice but to grant Ulfric and his men their worship.\nWe allowed them to worship Talos, in full violation of the White-Gold Concordat with the Aldmeri Dominion (which recognizes the elven belief that Talos, as a human, cannot be one of the Divines). In jeopardizing the treaty that so many sacrificed for during the Great War, the Empire was wrong. But what choice did they have, I ask you? Against the Bear of Markarth, Ulfric Stormcloak, \"no\" is not an answer."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/beginners-guide-homesteading": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/beginners-guide-homesteading", "description": "A guide to building your new house.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Beginner's Guide to Homesteading", "text": "The Beginner's Guide to Homesteading\nIf you're like most people, you've always dreamed of owning your own steading and building your own home. But where to start? Never fear, you hold in your hands the guide to everything you need to know. Before long, you'll be gazing complacently across your well-tended lands from the porch of your own manor house.\nGetting Started\nThere are two vital pieces of equipment that the prospective homeowner needs: the Drafting Table and the Carpenter's Workbench.\nYour Drafting Table is where you'll lay out the plans for each stage of your new house. Don't worry about making a mistake here - you can always change your mind, and making a new plan costs you nothing. Remember: measure twice and cut once.\nYour Carpenter's Workbench is where you'll do the actual construction. Once you've settled on a plan at the Drafting Table, you can start building your house at the Carpenter's Workbench. Avoid the common beginner's mistake - don't try to build the roof without building the proper supports first!\nSpace for the Family\nIf you have a spouse or children, you'll certainly want to get the house in a livable state as soon as possible. Your loving spouse will no doubt make do with nothing more than a roof over her head and a bed to sleep in, but what about the children? Don't worry - all they need is a bed and a chest or dresser to store their treasures, and they will be perfectly content.\nBuilding Materials\nYou will need a lot of supplies to complete your house, but it isn't necessary to gather everything you need ahead of time. Unless you're in a hurry, you can just build in stages as materials become available. You'll enjoy watching your home progress from dream to reality.\nThe most common materials you'll need are sawn logs, cut stone, and clay. Luckily, these are plentiful in Skyrim - in fact, most building sites will have one or more easily accessible sources of clay and stone. For sawn lumber, any lumber mill owner will be glad to sell and deliver as much as you need.\nYou'll need a lot of nails - fortunately even a novice blacksmith will soon find themselves turning iron into nails with ease.\nWhen you turn to furnishing your completed house, you'll need a much wider variety of materials. Some of them, such as straw and glass, are commonly obtained from general goods stores. For the rest - the whole of Skyrim will become your general store!\nHiring a Steward\nOnce your estate is well-established, you may wish to consider hiring a steward to help manage your affairs. A good steward can be invaluable - from hiring a carriage driver to buying a cow to keeping you supplied with building materials - freeing you to enjoy the fruits of your labors.\nBefore hiring a steward, it's advisable to bring a potential candidate to your manor and observe whether they are a good fit for your requirements. Remember, you are putting your entire estate into their hands - you need someone you can trust implicitly.\nBuilding Your House\nThe rest of this guide will review plans for each room that you might want to build.\nSmall House\nBefore you get too ambitious, gain confidence by building this tidy cottage. It is the perfect starter home, and might turn out to be all you need. But don't worry - if you decide to keep building, you can remodel this into an entry way to the rest of your house.\n\nMain Hall\nYou may decide the Small House is not enough - perhaps you need room for a growing family? The next step is to add a Main Hall, which will turn your cottage into an imposing manor house: two floors, including space for two small bedrooms, a back room and a large dining area.\n\nAdditions\nOnce you've built a Main Hall, your options become almost unlimited - you now have room to add three more additional wings, if you decide you still need more space.\nFor each wing, you have three choices of what to build, giving a total of nine possible additions! (But remember - you can only build three of them, so choose wisely.)\nWest Wing - Bedrooms\nThe Bedroom addition is perfect if you have a family who needs more comfortable living quarters than the Main Hall affords. The Bedroom has space for a master bedroom plus two children's beds, as well as all the dressers, wardrobes, etc. that anyone could desire. This addition also includes a spacious exterior porch.\nWest Wing - Greenhouse\nPerhaps you are a gardener at heart? If so, the Greenhouse provides room for planters where you can grow almost whatever you wish, sheltered from Skyrim's harsh climate. Tend and harvest your crops from the comfort of your own home!\n\nWest Wing - Enchanter's Tower\nIf your interests lie in the magical realm, this tower addition is for you. Conduct your research in privacy and comfort. Plenty of space for keeping your collections and artifacts organized. And the view from the tower is guaranteed to take your breath away.\n\nNorth Wing - Storage Room\nIf you simply need more space to store your many possessions and collections, build yourself a Storage Room. The included porch can even be connected to the porch on the East or West wings, if you build the Bedroom or Armory additions.\n\nNorth Wing - Trophy Room\nAre you a big game hunter who wants to show off your prizes? The Trophy Room provides space for displaying up to seven magnificent mounted specimens of your choice, sure to amaze and impress your guests.\n\nNorth Wing - Alchemy Laboratory\nPerfect for the aspiring alchemist, this tower addition will give you plenty of space and storage to hone your craft in comfort. And when you need a break from brewing potions, enjoy the view from the tower roof.\n\nEast Wing - Armory\nIf you like nothing better than to spend a day hammering metal, or are simply a collector of armor and weapons, the Armory is for you. With space for smithing, as well as plenty of room to display your martial collections in style, the Armory is the perfect addition to any house.\n\nEast Wing - Kitchen\nThe Kitchen provides everything you need to pursue the highest culinary arts. Tired of cooking everything in a pot over a fire? You can even equip it with a new-fangled oven!\n\nEast Wing - Library\nThe Library tower is sure to please those who value literature. With space for all the bookshelves you could desire, you'll be able to enjoy your collection of books in style. Or perhaps take a book to the tower roof and enjoy the view of your steading?\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/skyrim-book-daedra": {"game": ["Skyrim", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/skyrim-book-daedra", "description": "Contains descriptions of Daedric Princes and mentions of powerful artifacts.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Book of Daedra", "text": "Azura, whose sphere is dusk and dawn, the magic in-between realms of twilight, known as Moonshadow, Mother of the Rose, and Queen of the Night Sky.\nBoethiah, whose sphere is deceit and conspiracy, and the secret plots of murder, assassination, treason, and unlawful overthrow of authority.\nClavicus Vile, whose sphere is the granting of power and wishes through ritual invocations and pact.\nHermaeus Mora, whose sphere is scrying of the tides of Fate, of the past and future as read in the stars and heavens, and in whose dominion are the treasures of knowledge and memory.\nHircine, whose sphere is the Hunt, the Sport of Daedra, the Great Game, the Chase, known as the Huntsman and the Father of Manbeasts.\nMalacath, whose sphere is the patronage of the spurned and ostracized, the keeper of the Sworn Oath, and the Bloody Curse.\nMehrunes Dagon, whose sphere is Destruction, Change, Revolution, Energy, and Ambition.\nMephala, whose sphere is obscured to mortals; known by the names Webspinner, Spinner, and Spider; whose only consistent theme seems to be interference in the affairs of mortals for her amusement.\nMeridia, whose sphere is obscured to mortals; who is associated with the energies of living things.\nMolag Bal, whose sphere is the domination and enslavement of mortals; whose desire is to harvest the souls of mortals and to bring mortal souls within his sway by spreading seeds of strife and discord in the mortal realms.\nNamira, whose sphere is the ancient Darkness; known as the Spirit Daedra, ruler of sundry dark and shadowy spirits; associated with spiders, insects, slugs, and other repulsive creatures which inspire mortals with an instinctive revulsion.\nNocturnal, whose sphere is the night and darkness; who is known as the Night Mistress.\nPeryite, whose sphere is the ordering of the lowest orders of Oblivion, known as the Taskmaster.\nSanguine, whose sphere is hedonistic revelry and debauchery, and passionate indulgences of darker natures.\nSheogorath, whose sphere is Madness, and whose motives are unknowable.\nVaernima, whose sphere is the realm of dreams and nightmares, and from whose realm issues forth evil omens.\n[Especially marked for special interest under the heading \"Malacath\" you find a reference to SCOURGE, blessed by Malacath, and dedicated to the use of mortals. In short, the reference suggests that any Daedra attempting to invoke the weapon's powers will be expelled into the voidstreams of Oblivion.]\n\"Of the legendary artifacts of the Daedra, many are well known, like Azura's Star, and Sheogorath's Wabbajack. Others are less well known, like Scourge, Mackkan's Hammer, Bane of Daedra....\"\n\"...yet though Malacath blessed Scourge to be potent against his Daedra kin, he thought not that it should fall into Daedric hands, then to serve as a tool for private war among caitiff and forsaken. Thus did Malacath curse the device such that, should any dark kin seek to invoke its powers, that a void should open and swallow that Daedra, and purge him into Oblivion's voidstreams, from thence to pathfind back to the Real and Unreal Worlds in the full order of time.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/book-life-and-service-0": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/book-life-and-service-0", "description": "A series of poems from the Soul Crain", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Book of Life and Service", "text": "The Book of Life and Service\n\n\nThe Ranks of the Blessed\n\tBlessed are the Bonemen, for they serve without self in spirit forever.\n\tBlessed are the Mistmen, for they blend in the glory of the transcendent spirit.\n\tBlessed are the Wrathmen, for they render their rage unto the ages.\n\tBlessed are the Masters, for they bridge the past and span the future.\nThe Litany of Service\nThe Boneman's Oath\n\tWe die.\n\tWe pray.\n\tTo live.\n\tWe serve.\nThe Master's Voice\n\tYou swore.\n\tTo Serve.\n\tYour Lord."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/city-stone": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/city-stone", "description": "A guide to Markarth, from the perspective of a mercenary.", "author": "Amanda Alleia", "title": "The City of Stone", "text": "The City of Stone:\nA Sellsword's Guide to Markarth\nby \nAmanda Alleia\nMercenary\n\nIf you're cutting your coins across Skyrim, you'll want to point your blade towards Markarth, the capital city of the Reach. There's no end of trouble in the City of Stone, and that means plenty of ways for you to earn your supper. Your sellsword instincts should point you towards the wealthiest patrons with the fattest purses to work for, but you need to mind yourself during your resting hours.\nMarkarth isn't like your Whiterun, where mercenary companies like the Companions make a sellsword an honored professional. No, Markarth has its own rules, rules the natives aren't going to just tell you. Lucky for you, old Ms. Alleia is here to shine the torchlight over your thick skulls.\nFirst thing you'll notice in the City of Stone is... the stone. They say dwarves cut out the city from the mountain, and maybe they did by the look of it. But what it really means is that the whole place is vertical, and the streets are really cliffs. Long story short, be careful when you've got a bellyful of mead.\nWhen you enter the city proper, you'll immediately hit the market. The merchants usually sell food and jewelry on the streets. Meat is the preferred ration, the craggy rocks in the area make for poor farming land, and silver is what's used to make most all the rings and necklaces you might by, thanks to the large silver mine in the city (we'll get to that in a bit).\nWhatever you do, don't ask the Markarth city guard about anything. They're about as helpful as an angry Frostbite Spider while you're caught in its web, and if you mention anything about the Forsworn to them they might spit in your eye. Speaking of the Forsworn, these wildmen and women will be your main source of income while you're in Markarth. The Jarl almost always has a bounty on some Forsworn leader or another, and if you don't mind going blade-to-axe with someone two septims short of a pint of ale, it's steady work.\nThe Silver-Blood Inn is where you want to head into after seeing the market. The drinks are, as usual, watered down (and judging by the metallic taste, with water from the rivers that run through the city's smelter district). What's important here is getting a room to stay in. You won't find any friendly faces to con your way into a cheap place to stay in Markarth. The natives don't trust strangers, so save yourself the trouble and put down your coin to rent a real room.\nAfter you've spent a day recovering from travel, you'll see that Markarth is divided in two sides by the big crag in the center. The part with the big river running through it is called the Riverside, and the other is called the Dryside. The Riverside is where the smelter and native workers live, so don't bother going there. Instead, head directly to Dryside and talk to the local Nord nobles and see what problems you can start solving (at the highest rate).\nTwo major places to see are the Temple of Dibella and Cidhna Mine. The temple rests on the top of the central crag. A good place to go if you're on good terms with the Divines, but be warned, the Priestesses of Dibella don't allow men into their Inner Sanctums, so don't go crashing down in there uninvited unless you want a short trip to a long fall.\nCidhna Mine is the place where all the silver comes from that I mentioned before. But it's also the jail. Markarth uses prisoners to mine the ore, and there's a lot of it, so don't get caught doing something illegal in the city or you'll be hauled down there to dig. Apparently, the whole place is owned by one of the big families in the city, the Silver-Bloods (notice the inn is named after them? Always keep your sellsword eye open for hints like that). I tried meeting with the head of the Silver-Blood family to see if they had any work, but guarding their mines isn't the blood-rush I become a mercenary for. Something to keep in mind for yourself if you're thinking of staying a few months.\nThe final place I'll talk about here is Understone Keep, the home of the Jarl in Markarth. It's a fancy palace like any other (assuming your palace is built underground), but what you need to know is the city underneath the keep. That's right, there's another city below Markarth. One of those old dwarven ruins. They sometimes have expeditions in the ruins that makes for a good job, guarding the scholars and maybe lifting a few stones here and there. If you're lucky, you might come across one of those old dwarven machines, and you can bring back a souvenir after you're done breaking it apart.\nAll right, Ms. Alleia's hand is getting tired and that means this guide is done. Last piece of advice, don't cause trouble in Markarth. Don't start fights. Don't stop fights. Don't stick your head anywhere without someone from the city paying you for it, because believe me, no one in Markarth wants you there. Make your gold, drink your mead, see what's there to see, and move on. Nothing changes in the City of Stone, and that's just fine."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/code-malacath": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/code-malacath", "description": "A guide to Orcish strongholds and society.", "author": "Amanda Alleia", "title": "The Code of Malacath", "text": "The Code of Malacath:\nA Sellsword's Guide to the Orc Strongholds\nby \nAmanda Alleia\nMercenary\n\n\"No one bests an Orc.\"\nI don't need you to guess how many times I've heard that boast in some dingy tavern or screamed at the top of the lungs by some fellow sellsword with too much fire in him. But I'd be lying if I said the Orc Strongholds don't take those words as law. There are few places where Ms. Alleia would tell you that \"tradition\" and the \"old ways\" makes for a better fighter, but with Orcs it seems like staying true to your ancestors is the path to victory.\nLet me start a few steps back. The Orc Strongholds have existed as long as the Orc race has, according to them. They're armored camps in the least, and fortresses at the most. Every man, woman, and child inside the walls  is trained from birth to defend it. All their weapons and armor are smithed right there in the stronghold, all the food is hunted down by Orc warriors and brought back to be eaten by everyone who lives there.\nThey follow no laws, save their own, an unwritten set of rules called \"The Code of Malacath,\" named after one of their gods, who is sometimes called Mauloch. Most of it's pretty simple, don't steal, don't kill, don't attack people for no reason (although there seems to be a big list of exceptions). But Orcs in the stronghold don't have jails for their criminals. They have Blood Price. You either pay enough in goods for your crimes, or you bleed enough that the victim is satisfied. And Orcs, I don't need to tell you, have a lot of blood.\nThe Code also sets up who runs the stronghold. The toughest male is usually the Chief and makes decisions and decides when the Code of Malacath has been satisfied. All the women are either the Chief's wives or his daughters, with the exception of the wise woman, who handles all the spiritual matters and healing needs. Matters of grave dispute are handled with short but violent fights, and those who don't get along with the Chief are usually forced out of the stronghold to live among the rest of us. An Orc grows up being told to fight for everything, that if something is not worth fighting for it is beneath the Code.\nOrc Strongholds don't like strangers, used to living on their own like they do. Ms. Alleia knows what she does because so many Orcs leave the strongholds to become sellswords or soldiers, and a few pints of mead gets them talking about home. I hear that sometimes an Orc will make a non-Orc a \"Blood-Kin\" and that person is then allowed to live in the stronghold as one of the clan, but I've never heard of that actually happening.\nFor all their strange rules and traditions, the Code of Malacath does breed a culture of determined warriors. They're focused in ways that the average sellsword isn't. They don't hesitate to draw weapons and settle matters openly, and I think that's the real difference between the stronghold Orcs and the city Orcs. Imperial Law allows you to settle fights through the Emperor's men, but the Code of Malacath demands you settle your problems yourself, a fine way of thinking if you're leading the mercenary's life."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/death-wanderer": {"game": ["Skyrim", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/death-wanderer", "description": "The death-bed tale of an old Argonian explorer. Features some backstory on those gemstone claw keys.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Death of a Wanderer", "text": "The last time I saw the old Argonian, I was taken by how alive he seemed, even though he was in the throes of death.\n\"The secret,\" he said, \"of staying alive... is not in running away, but swimming directly at danger. Catches it off-guard.\"\n\"Is that how you managed to find this claw?\" I asked, brandishing the small carving as if it were a weapon. I had found it among his possessions, which I was helping him to divvy amongst his beneficiaries. \"Should it also go to your cousin? Dives-From-Below?\"\nAt this, his mouth widened, exposing his fangs. If I hadn't known him as long as I had I would think he was snarling, but I knew that to be a smile. He croaked a few times to attempt laughter, but ended up wheezing and coughing, his rancid blood spraying across the bedsheets.\n\"Do you know what that is?\" he asked between coughing fits.\n\"I've heard stories,\" I answered, \"the same as you. Looks like one of the claws, for opening the sealing-doors in the ancient crypts. I've never seen one myself, before.\"\n\"Then you know I would only wish that thing upon a mortal enemy. Giving it to my cousin would just be encouraging him to run into one of those barrows and get split by a Draugr blade.\"\n\"So you want me to have it, then?\" I joked. \"Where did you even get this?\"\n\"My kind can find things that your people assumed were gone. Drop something to the bottom of a lake, and a Nord will never see it again. Amazing what you can find along the bottoms.\"\nHe was staring at the ceiling now, and but the way his fogged eyes darted around, I could tell he was seeing his memories instead of the cracked stone above us.\n\"Did you ever try to use it?\" I whispered to him, hoping he could hear me through his fog.\n\"Of course!\" he snapped, suddenly lucid. His eyes widened and fixed on me. \"Where do you think I got this?\" he barked, tearing his tunic open to show a white scar forming a large star-shaped knot in the scales beneath his right shoulder. \"Blasted Draugr got the drop on me. Just too many of them.\"\nI felt awful, since I knew how much he hated talking about the battles he had been in. To him, it was enough that he had survived, and any stories would amount to boasting. We both sat quietly for several minutes, his labored breathing the only sound.\nHe was the one to break the silence. \"You know what always bothered me?\" he asked. \"Why they even bothered with the symbols.\"\n\"The what?\"\n\"The symbols, you fool, look at the claw.\"\nI turned it over in my hand. Sure enough, etched into the face were three animals. A bear, an owl, and some kind of insect.\n\"What do the symbols mean, Deerkaza?\"\n\"The sealing-doors. It's not enough to just have the claw. They're made of massive stone wheels that must align with the claw's symbols before they'll open. It's a sort of lock, I suppose. But I didn't know why they bothered with them. If you had the claw, you also had the symbols to open the door. So why...\"\nHe was broken up by a coughing fit. It was the most I had heard him speak in months, but I could tell how much of a struggle it was. I knew his mind, though, and helped the thought along.\n\"Why even have a combination if you're going to write it on the key?\"\n\"Exactly. But as I lay bleeding on that floor, I figured it out. The Draugr are relentless, but far from clever. Once I was downed, they continued shuffling about. To no aim. No direction. Bumping against one another, the walls.\"\n\"So?\"\n\"So the symbols on the doors weren't meant to be another lock. Just a way of ensuring the person entering was actually alive and had a functioning mind.\"\n\"Then the doors...\"\n\"Were never meant to keep people out. They were meant to keep the Draugr in.\"\nAnd with that, he fell back asleep. When he awoke several days later, he refused to talk about the Draugr at all, and would only wince and clutch his shoulder if I tried to bring them up."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dragon-war": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dragon-war", "description": "An account of the relationship between dragons and men in the Merethic era.", "author": "Torhal Bjorik", "title": "The Dragon War", "text": "In the Merethic Era, when Ysgramor first set foot on Tamriel, his people brought with them a faith that worshipped animal gods. Certain scholars believe these primitive people actually worshipped the divines as we know them, just in the form of these totem animals. They deified the hawk, wolf, snake, moth, owl, whale, bear, fox, and the dragon. Every now and then you can stumble across the broken stone totems in the farther reaches of Skyrim.\nForemost among all animals was the dragon. In the ancient nordic tongue it was drah-gkon. Occasionally the term dov-rha is used, but the language or derivation of that is not known. Using either name was forbidden to all except the dragon priests. Grand temples were built to honor the dragons and appease them. Many of them survive today as ancient ruins haunted by draugr and undead dragon priests.\nDragons, being dragons, embraced their role as god-kings over men. After all, were they not fashioned in Akatosh's own image? Were they not superior in every way to the hordes of small, soft creatures that worshipped them? For dragons, power equals truth. They had the power, so therefore it must be truth. Dragons granted small amounts of power to the dragon priests in exchange for absolute obedience. In turn, the dragon priests ruled men as equals to the kings. Dragons, of course, could not be bothered with actually ruling.\nIn Atmora, where Ysgramor and his people came from, the dragon priests demanded tribute and set down laws and codes of living that kept peace between dragons and men. In Tamriel, they were not nearly as benevolent. It's unclear if this was due to an ambitious dragon priest, or a particular dragon, or a series of weak kings. Whatever the cause, the dragon priests began to rule with an iron fist, making virtual slaves of the rest of the population.\nWhen the populace rebelled, the dragon priests retaliated. When the dragon priests could not collect the tribute or control the masses, the dragons' response was swift and brutal. So it was the Dragon War began.\nAt first, men died by the thousands. The ancient texts reveal that a few dragons took the side of men. Why they did this is not known. The priests of the Nine Divines claim it was Akatosh himself that intervened. From these dragons men learned magics to use against dragons. The tide began to turn and dragons began to die too.\nThe war was long and bloody. The dragon priests were overthrown and dragons were slaughtered in large numbers. The surviving dragons scattered, choosing to live in remote places away from men. The dragon cult itself adapted and survived. They built the dragon mounds, entombing the remains of dragons that fell in the war. They believed that one day the dragons would rise again and reward the faithful."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dreamslide": {"game": ["Skyrim", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dreamslide", "description": "Describes the Dreamstride, a unique state associated with Vaernima that lets you experience the lives of other people.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Dreamstride", "text": "THE DREAMSTRIDE\nThe Mysterious Alchemists\n\tof Vaermina\nFor over a thousand years, the Priests of Vaermina have been masters of the art of alchemy. The complexity and potency of their mixtures are nothing short of legendary. These alchemical treasures are so highly sought-after, that a single draught showing up on the black market can command sums in the tens of thousands of septims.\nOf the numerous potions that have surfaced to date, Vaermina's Torpor is perhaps the most impressive. A single sip of this viscous liquid places the imbiber in a state known as \"The Dreamstride.\" This condition allows the subject to experience the dreams of another as if they were actually there. The subject becomes an integral part of the dream, behaving as if they belong. To any other entities in this dream state, the subject will be mistaken for the dreamer; the subject will even find his mannerisms, speech patterns and knowledge expanded appropriately.\nTo an observer, after the subject has imbibed the potion, they will appear to vanish. As the subject traverses distances within the dream, they will also be traversing distances in the actual world. When the Torpor's effect has expired, the subject will fade back into reality in the exact location projected within the Dreamstride. Some Dreamstrides have transported their subjects a few feet, and some have appeared thousands of miles from their origin in a matter of minutes.\nIt's to be noted that the Dreamstride is highly dangerous and presents the subject with numerous pitfalls. In certain dreams, subjects have been exposed to life-threatening scenarios such as sicknesses, violence and even death. In most cases, the subject simply fades back to our world without harm, but in some instances, the subject never reappeared and was assumed to have expired or the subject reappeared deceased. It's also quite possible that the subject could reappear in a precarious or hazardous location in reality, even though that location appeared safe within the Dreamstride.\nVaermina's Torpor is as mysterious and elusive as the priests that created it. It's unknown whether this unique transport mechanism is a result of the Torpor itself or simply the odd machinations of Vaermina, but the potential for using the Dreamstride to penetrate seemingly impassible obstacles certainly outweighs its mysterious nature."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dunmer-skyrim": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dunmer-skyrim", "description": "A bitter Dunmer's view on the Nord/Dunmer relations in Windhelm.", "author": "Athal Sarys", "title": "The Dunmer of Skyrim", "text": "Dunmer.\nThat is our name. Yet you deny us even this courtesy. You, the white-skinned, jaundice-haired apes of this godsforsaken frozen wilderness. To you Nords, we are the gray ones, the ashen-skinned, the \"dark elves\" of Morrowind who have as much place in your land as an infection in an open wound.\nOh yes, we have read your great cultural work, \"Nords of Skyrim,\" in which you extol the many virtues of your people and province, and invite any visitors to come experience your homeland for themselves. Well come we did, Nords, and the reception was less than was promised - but exactly what we expected.\nSo I, Atal Sarys, Dunmer and immigrant to Skyrim, have decided to answer your beloved book with a work of my own. And let all who read it know that Nords are not the only race to reside in this cold and inhospitable realm. For we dark elves have come, and little by little, shall claim Skyrim as our own.\nBut where, you may ask, have we taken up residence? Why none other than the ancient city of Windhelm, once the capital of the First Empire. Yes, Nords, in the shadow of your own Palace of the Kings, where the Nord hero Ysgramor once held court, we now thrive. Oh yes. Your beloved Five Hundred Companions may have driven our ancestors from Skyrim, but that was then. This is now.\nIndeed, one might be surprised as to just how well we've settled into Windhelm. The district once known as the Snow Quarter is thus named no more. Now, they call it the Gray Quarter, for such is the reality of the Dunmer occupation. The district is now populated entirely by my kind, a victory not lost on its residents.\nOh, but the peaceful occupation goes even further. Thirsty? You'll find no Nord mead hall in the Gray Quarter. But the spirits flow well enough in the New Gnisis Cornerclub. Seeking a respected family? You'll find no Gray-Manes within these walls. But perhaps you'd like to pay a visit to the home of Belyn Hlaalu, descendant of one of the most noble houses in all of Morrowind. Ah, but no. You Nords don't come to the Gray Quarter, do you? You fear our streets as you fear our skin.\nSo now, \"children of Skyrim,\" you have the truth of it. You may call this province home, but you can no sooner claim to own it than a cow can claim to own its master's field. You are just another breed of domestic animal, grazing stupidly while higher beings plot your slaughter."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fall-saarthal": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fall-saarthal", "description": "A rather ineffectual report on the state of Saarthal's ruins.", "author": "Heseph Chirirnis", "title": "The Fall of Saarthal", "text": "The Fall of Saarthal\n\nby\nHeseph Chirirnis, Mages Guild Scholar\nAssigned to Imperial Archaeologist Sentius Floronius\n\nLet it be known that the esteemed archaeologist has chosen to focus his boundless talents on the cooking and baking habits of early First Era Nords. While this work will no doubt bring great glory and benefit to the Empire, it is clear that my limited expertise is of no use to this effort.\nI have instead been using my considerable free time to investigate a particular avenue of study, namely that of the Fall of Saarthal. Every child of the Empire knows what happened here; that the first city of Man on Tamriel was sacked by the elves, jealous and fearful of the threat men posed to them. Relations have obviously improved considerably since then, but to be able to see the results of the destruction first-hand, it is quite striking to note the degree of effort that went into the venture.\nThe first task before me was differentiating between areas of original architecture and those that were rebuilt after Ysgramor retook the city with his five hundred companions. Initially relying heavily on the expertise of archaeologist Floronius, my ability to discern the difference for myself improved over time. Indeed, I was surprised to find that many areas of the city, far more than I would have believed, retained much of the original stonework. Work was clearly done to remedy the effects of the city being burned after the elves' assault, but I suspect they underestimated the durability of Nordic craftsmanship.\nOr rather, that is what I initially thought. Perhaps it was a mistaken sense of pride in the accomplishments of these early men, or perhaps it was just my inexperience that led me to this conclusion. Something was amiss, though. Repeated attempts to consult the exceedingly perceptive archaeologist were unfruitful, often digressing into lectures on the bathing habits of Saarthal residents, or the average number of potted plants in homes. I was again forced to rely on my limited powers of observation and deduction.\nAnd so I have no conclusive results to report at this time. I can say with certainty that the initial attack on Saarthal seems to have been very focused, and does not appear to correlate to any locations that have been established as points of defense or importance. While the eminent scholar Sentius has yet to examine my findings, or indeed show any interest in them, my inclination is to suggest that not only did the elves know the apparent layout of the city, but that their assault was based on a specific directive and perhaps a singular goal.\nMy humble investigations shall continue as time permits."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/falmer-study": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/falmer-study", "description": "A history of the Falmer after the fall of the Snow Prince, explaining their state today.", "author": "Ursa Uthrax", "title": "The Falmer: A study", "text": "I have studied, and traveled, and explored, and observed, and my hypothesis has finally been confirmed: that the twisted Falmer that inhabit the darkest depths of Skyrim are indeed the snow elves of legend.\nNo one really knows when the story of the snow elves began, but the ancient work \"Fall of the Snow Prince,\" which is an account of the Battle of the Moesring as transcribed by Lokheim, chronicler to the chieftain Ingjaldr White-Eye, gives a rather vivid account of its ending.\nAccording to this eyewitness account, the great Falmer leader known only as the Snow Prince died in glorious battle, and was buried with honor by his Nord slayers. The remaining snow elves were scattered or slain, and were never heard from again. Or so many thought.\nBut where the story of the ancient snow elves ends, that of the current-day Falmer begins. For when the snow elf host was shattered on that fateful day, it did not simply disperse - it descended. Into the earth, deep underground. For the Falmer sought sanctuary in the most unlikely of places - Blackreach, far beneath the surface of Skyrim, in the legendary realm of the Dwemer themselves.\nYes, Blackreach exists. I have been there, and unlike most of those who have witnessed its terrible glories, I have returned. And I now know the truth about the Falmer.\nAfter their defeat by the Nords, the dwarves of old agreed to protect the Falmer, but at a terrible price. For these Dwemer did not trust their snow elf guests, and forced them to consume the toxic fungi that once grew deep underground. As a result, the snow elves were rendered blind.\nSoon, the majestic snow elves were rendered powerless. They became the dwarves' servants... and then their slaves. But the Dwemer's treachery was so deep, so complete, that they made the fungi an essential part of the Falmer's diet. This guaranteed the weakness of not only their current Falmer thralls, but their offspring as well. The snow elves, for time eternal, would be blind.\nBut as is always the story with slaves and their masters, the Falmer eventually rebelled. Generations after they first sought solace among the dwarves, and experienced bitter betrayal, the Falmer rose up against their oppressors. The overthrew the dwarves, and fled even further down, into Blackreach's deepest, most hidden reaches.\nFor decade upon decade, the two sides waged a bitter conflict. A full-fledged and bloody \"War of the Crag\" that raged deep below Skyrim's surface, completely unbeknownst to the Nords above, a war whose battles and heroes must forever remain lost to our knowledge. Until one day, the war ended. For on that day, the Falmer went to meet their Dwemer foes in battle, only to find that the entire race had... vanished.\nFinally free from the threat of their Dwemer overlords, the Falmer were able to spread freely throughout Blackreach. But years of fighting the dwarves had left them bloodthirsty and brutal. Feeling the need to conquer, to kill, they began mounting raids to the surface world.\nAnd so the legends began. Of small, blind, goblin-like creatures who would rise from the cracks of the earth, in the dead of night, to slaughter cattle, attack lonely travelers, and steal sleeping babes from their cribs.\nIn recent years, however, the sightings of these creatures have become more and more frequent. Their raids, more organized. Their attacks, more brutal. In fact, one might even come to the conclusion that the Falmer are ready to change once again. Could it be true? Are the snow elves of ages past ready to reclaim their long-forgotten glory? Are they ready to surge to the surface, and make war upon the \"light dwellers\"?\nIf that happens - if the Falmer are indeed planning on reconquering Skyrim - I fear a horror neither man nor gods could possibly stand against."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/four-totems-volkygge": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/four-totems-volkygge", "description": "A riddle whose answer is the solution to a puzzle.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Four Totems of Volkygge", "text": "All four are bound to the same land as we.\nSome lay low, consumed in shadow,\nOthers stand tall,  stretching their necks to see.\nWhile none live in this sacred barrow,\nThey all demand your attention if you are to proceed.\n\n\nThe first fears all,\nThe second fears none.\nThe third eats what it can, \nPreferably number one.\nThe fourth fears the second,\nBut only when alone.\nAll must be activated in order,\nIf you wish to go home.</p>\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/great-war": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/great-war", "description": "A description of the events between 4E 22 to 4E 180, including the resurgence of the Aldmeri Dominion and the decline of the Cyrodiil Empire.", "author": "Justianus Quintius, Legate", "title": "The Great War", "text": "\nA Concise Account of\nthe Great War Between\nthe Empire and the Aldmeri Dominion\n\nby\nLegate Justianus Quintius\nAuthor's Note: Much of what is written in this book is pieced together from documents captured from the enemy during the war, interrogation of prisoners, and eyewitness accounts from surviving soldiers and Imperial officers. I myself commanded the Tenth Legion in Hammerfell and Cyrodiil until I was wounded in 175 during the assault on the Imperial City. That said, the full truth of some events may never be known. I have done my best to fill in the gaps with educated conjectures based on my experience as well as my hard-earned knowledge of the enemy.\nThe Rise of the Thalmor\nAlthough it is not well known, Summerset Isle suffered from the Oblivion Crisis as much as Cyrodiil did. The elves made war upon the Oblivion invaders, occasionally even crossing over to close down Oblivion gates. As a nation they had more successes than Cyrodiil did, although the limitless daedric hordes made the outcome a foregone conclusion.\nThe Thalmor had always been a powerful faction within Summerset Isle, but had also always been a minority voice. During the crisis, the Crystal Tower was forced to give the Thalmor greater power and authority. Their efforts almost certainly saved Summerset Isle from being overrun. They capitalized on their success to seize total control in 4E 22. They renamed the nation Alinor, which hearkens back to an earlier age before the ascendency of man. Most people outside of the Aldmeri Dominion still call it Summerset Isle, either out of peevishness or ignorance.\nIn 4E 29, the government of Valenwood was overthrown by Thalmor collaborators and a union with Alinor proclaimed. It appears that Thalmor agents had formed close ties to certain Bosmeri factions even before the Oblivion Crisis. The Empire and its Bosmer allies, caught completely off guard, were quickly defeated by the much-better prepared Altmer forces that invaded Valenwood on the heels of the coup. Thus was the Aldmeri Dominion reborn.\nShortly afterward the Aldmeri Dominion severed all contact with the Empire. For seventy years they were silent. Most scholars believe there was some sort of internal strife in Alinor, but very little is known of the factional struggles that went on inside the Dominion while the Thalmor consolidated its power in Summerset and Valenwood.\nIn 4E 98, the two moons, Masser and Secunda vanished. Within most of the Empire, this was viewed with trepidation and fear. In Elsweyr it was far worse. Culturally the moons are much more influential to the Khajiit. After two years of the Void Nights, the moons returned. The Thalmor announced that they had restored the moons using previously unknown Dawn Magicks, but it is unclear if they truly restored the moons or just took advantage of foreknowledge that they would return.\nRegardless of the truth of the matter, the Khajiit credited the Thalmor as their saviors. Within fifteen years, Imperial influence in Elsweyr had so diminished that the Empire was unable to respond effectively to the coup of 4E 115 which dissolved the Elsweyr Confederacy and recreated the ancient kingdoms of Anequina and Pelletine as client states of the Aldmeri Dominion. Once more the Empire failed to stop the advance of Thamor power.\nWhen Titus Mede II ascended the throne in 4E 168, he inherited a weakened empire. The glory days of the Septims were a distant memory. Valenwood and Elsweyr were gone, ceded to the Thalmor enemy. Black Marsh had been lost to Imperial rule since the aftermath of the Oblivion Crisis. Morrowind had never recovered fully from the eruption of Mount Vvardenfell. Hammerfell was plagued by infighting between Crowns and Forebears. Only High Rock, Cyrodiil and Skyrim remained prosperous and peaceful.\nEmperor Titus Mede had only a few short years to consolidate his rule before his leadership was put to the ultimate test.\nThe War Begins\nOn the 30th of Frostfall, 4E 171, the Aldmeri Dominion sent an ambassador to the Imperial City with a gift in a covered cart and an ultimatum for the new Emperor. The long list of demands included staggering tributes, disbandment of the Blades, outlawing the worship of Talos, and ceding large sections of Hammerfell to the Dominion. Despite the warnings of his generals of the Empire's military weakness, Emperor Titus Mede II rejected the ultimatum. The Thalmor ambassador upended the cart, spilling over a hundred heads on the floor: every Blades agent in Summerset and Valenwood. And so began the Great War which would consume the Empire and the Aldmeri Dominion for the next five years.\nWithin days, Aldmeri armies invaded Hammerfell and Cyrodiil simultaneously. A strong force commanded by the Thalmor general Lord Naarifin attacked Cyrodiil from the south, marching out of hidden camps in northern Elsweyr and flanking the Imperial defenses along the Valenwood border. Leyawiin soon fell to the invaders, while Bravil was cut off and besieged.\nAt the same time, an Aldmeri army under Lady Arannelya crossed into western Cyrodiil from Valenwood, bypassing Anvil and Kvatch and crossing into Hammerfell. Smaller Aldmeri forces landed along the southern coastline of Hammerfell. The disunited Redguard forces offered only scattered resistance to the invaders, and much of the southern coastline was quickly overrun. The greatly outnumbered Imperial legions retreated across the Alik'r Desert in the now-famous March of Thirst.\n4E 172-173: The Aldmeri Advance Into Cyrodiil\nIt appears now that the initial Aldmeri objective was in fact the conquest of Hammerfell, and that the invasion of Cyrodiil was intended only to pin down the Imperial legions while Hammerfell was overrun. However, the surprising initial success of Lord Naarifin's attack led the Thalmor to believe that the Empire was weaker than they had thought. The capture of the Imperial City itself and the complete overthrow of the Empire thus became their primary objective of the next two years. As we know, the Thalmor nearly achieved their objective. It was only because of our Emperor's determined leadership during the Empire's darkest hour that this disaster was averted.\nDuring 4E 172, the Aldmeri advanced deeper into Cyrodiil. Bravil and Anvil both fell to the invaders. By the end of the year, Lord Naarifin had advanced to the very walls of the Imperial City. There were fierce naval clashes in Lake Rumare and along the Niben as the Imperial forces attempted to hold the eastern bank.\nIn Hammerfell, the Thalmor were content to consolidate their gains as they took control of the whole southern coastline, which was in fact their stated objective in the ultimatum delivered to the Emperor. Of the southern cities, only Hegathe still held out. The survivors of the March of Thirst regrouped in northern Hammerfell, joined by reinforcements from High Rock.\nThe year 4E 173 saw stiffening Imperial resistance in Cyrodiil, but the seemingly inexorable Aldmeri advance continued. Fresh legions from Skyrim bolstered the Emperor's main army in the Imperial City, but the Aldmeri forced the crossing of the Niben and began advancing in force up the eastern bank. By the end of the year, the Imperial City was surrounded on three sides - only the northern supply route to Bruma remained open.\nIn Hammerfell, Imperial fortunes took a turn for the better. In early 4E 173, a Forebear army from Sentinel broke the siege of Hegathe (a Crown city), leading to the reconciliation of the two factions. Despite this, Lady Arannelya's main army succeeded in crossing the Alik'r Desert. The Imperial Legions under General Decianus met them outside Skaven in a bloody and indecisive clash. Decianus withdrew and left Arannelya in possession of Skaven, but the Aldmeri were too weakened to continue their advance.\n4E 174: The Sack of the Imperial City\nIn 4E 174, the Thalmor leadership committed all available forces to the campaign in Cyrodiil, gambling on a decisive victory to end the war once and for all. During the spring, Aldmeri reinforcements gathered in southern Cyrodiil, and on 12th of Second Seed, they launched a massive assault on the Imperial City itself. One army drove north to completely surround the city, while Lord Naarifin's main force attacked the walls from the south, east, and west. The Emperor's decision to fight his way out of the city rather than make a last stand was a bold one. No general dared advise him to abandon the capital, but Titus II was proven right in the end.\nWhile the Eighth Legion fought a desperate (and doomed) rearguard action on the walls of the city, Titus II broke out of the city to the north with his main army, smashing through the surrounding the Aldmeri forces and linking up with reinforcements marching south from Skyrim under General Jonna. Meanwhile, however, the capital fell to the invaders and the infamous Sack of the Imperial City began. The Imperial Palace was burned, the White-Gold Tower itself looted, and all manner of atrocities carried out by the vengeful elves on the innocent populace.\nIn Hammerfell, General Decianus was preparing to drive the Aldmeri back from Skaven when he was ordered to march for Cyrodiil. Unwilling to abandon Hammerfell completely, he allowed a great number of \"invalids\" to be discharged from the Legions before they marched east. These veterans formed the core of the army that eventually drove Lady Arannelya's forces back across the Alik'r late in 174, taking heavy losses on their retreat from harassing attacks by the Alik'r warriors.\n4E 175: The Battle of the Red Ring\nDuring the winter of 4E 174-175, the Thalmor seem to have believed that the war in Cyrodiil was all but over. They made several attempts to negotiate with Titus II. The Emperor encouraged them in their belief that he was preparing to surrender; meanwhile, he gathered his forces to retake the Imperial City.\nIn what is now known as the Battle of the Red Ring, a battle that will serve as a model for Imperial strategists for generations to come, Titus II divided his forces into three. One army, with the legions from Hammerfell under General Decianus, was hidden in the Colovian Highlands near Chorrol. The Aldmeri were unaware that he was no longer in Hammerfell, possibly because the Imperial veterans Decianus had left behind led Lady Arannelya to believe that she still faced an Imperial army. The second army, largely of Nord legions under General Jonna, took up position near Cheydinhal. The main army was commanded by the Emperor himself, and would undertake the main assault of the Imperial City from the north.\nOn the 30th of Rain's Hand, the bloody Battle of the Red Ring began as General Decianus swept down on the city from the west, while General Jonna's legionnaires drove south along the Red Ring Road. In a two-day assault, Jonna's army crossed the Niben and advanced west, attempting to link up with Decianus's legions and thus surround the Imperial City. Lord Naarifin was taken by surprise by Decianus's assault, but Jonna's troops faced bitter resistance as the Aldmeri counterattacked from Bravil and Skingrad. The heroic Nord legionnaires held firm, however, beating off the piecemeal Aldmeri attacks. By the fifth day of the battle, the Aldmeri army in the Imperial City was surrounded.\nTitus II led the assault from the north, personally capturing Lord Naarifin. It is rumored the Emperor wielded the famed sword Goldbrand, although this has never been officially confirmed by the Imperial government. An attempt by the Aldmeri to break out of the city to the south was blocked by the unbreakable shieldwall of General Jonna's battered legions.\nIn the end, the main Aldmeri army in Cyrodiil was completely destroyed. The Emperor's decision to withdraw from the Imperial City in 4E 174 was bloodily vindicated.\nLord Naarifin was kept alive for thirty-three days, hanging from the White-Gold tower. It is not recorded where his body was buried, if it was buried at all. Once source claims he was carried off by a winged daedra on the thirty-fourth day.\nThe White-Gold Concordat and the End of the War\nAlthough victorious, the Imperial armies were in no shape to continue the war. The entire remaining Imperial force was gathered in Cyrodiil, exhausted and decimated by the Battle of the Red Ring. Not a single legion had more than half its soldiers fit for duty. Two legions had been effectively annihilated, not counting the loss of the Eighth during the retreat from the Imperial City the previous year. Titus II knew that there would be no better time to negotiate peace, and late in 4E 175 the Empire and the Aldmeri Dominion signed the White-Gold Concordat, ending the Great War.\nThe terms were harsh, but Titus II believed that it was necessary to secure peace and give the Empire a chance to regain its strength. The two most controversial terms of the Concordat were the banning of the worship of Talos and the cession of a large section of southern Hammerfell (most of what was already occupied by Aldmeri forces). Critics have pointed out that the Concordat is almost identical to the ultimatum the Emperor rejected five years earlier. However, there is a great difference between agreeing to such terms under the mere threat of war, and agreeing to them at the end of a long and destructive war. No part of the Empire would have accepted these terms in 4E 171, dictated by the Thalmor at swords-point. Titus II would have faced civil war. By 4E 175, most of the Empire welcomed peace at almost any price.\nEpilogue: Hammerfell Fights On Alone\nHammerfell, however, refused to accept the White-Gold Concordat, being unwilling to concede defeat and the loss of so much of their territory. Titus II was forced to officially renounce Hammerfell as an Imperial province in order to preserve the hard-won peace treaty. The Redguards, understandably, looked on this as a betrayal. In this, the Thalmor certainly achieved one of their long-term goals by sowing lasting bitterness between Hammerfell and the Empire.\nIn the end, the heroic Redguards fought the Aldmeri Dominion to a standstill, although the war lasted for five more years and left southern Hammerfell devastated. The Redguards say that this proves that the White-Gold Concordat was unnecessary, and that if Titus II had kept his nerve, the Aldmeri could have been truly defeated by the combined forces of Hammerfell and the rest of the Empire. The truth of that assertion can, of course, never be known. But the Redguards should not forget the great sacrifice of Imperial blood - Breton, Nord, and Cyrodilic - at the Battle of the Red Ring that weakened the Dominion enough to allow the eventual Second Treaty of Stros M'kai in 4E 180 and the withdrawal of Aldmeri forces from Hammerfell.\nThere can be no doubt that the current peace cannot last forever. The Thalmor take the long view, as is proved by the sequence of events leading up to the Great War. All those who value freedom over tyranny can only hope that before it is too late, Hammerfell and the Empire will be reconciled and stand united against the Thalmor threat. Otherwise, any hope to stem the tide of Thalmor rule over all of Tamriel is dimmed.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/guardian-and-traitor": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/guardian-and-traitor", "description": "Miraak's origin story.", "author": "Lucius Gallus", "title": "The Guardian and the Traitor", "text": "The Guardian and the Traitor\nby\n\tLucius Gallus\n\tFellow of the Imperial Library\n\tYear 376 of the Third Era\nOne of the more intriguing legends found on the island of Solstheim is the story of a mythical figure whose name is long forgotten, but whom time remembers as \"the Traitor.\"\nCertain that this myth is rooted in history I set out to learn what I could and perhaps piece together a presumptive account of the events that gave rise to the legend.\nThe tale is remembered best by the shamans of the Skaal, that unique tribe of Nords whose culture evolved along an entirely divergent path than that of their brethren in Skyrim.\nI spoke at length to the shaman of Skaal Village, a wise and hospitable man named Breigr Winter-Moon. He described an age long ago when dragons ruled over the whole world and were worshipped as gods by men. Presiding over this cult of dragon-worshippers were the Dragon Priests, powerful mages who could speak the dragon language and call upon the power of the thu'um, or Voice.\nAccording to the legend, one such Dragon Priest was seduced by a dark spirit named Herma-Mora, an unmistakable analogue for the Daedric prince Hermaeus Mora. Lured by promises of power, this treacherous priest secretly plotted against his dragon master.\nThe Traitor's plot was discovered by one of his contemporaries, another Dragon Priest whom legend named The Guardian. The two fought a mighty battle that lasted for days, each hurling terrible arcane energies and thu'um shouts at the other.\nSo great and terrible were the forces unleashed in this contest that Solstheim was torn apart from the mainland of Skyrim. Here, the myth clearly descends into the realm of pure fantasy.\nThe Guardian, whom the legend presents as a paragon of loyalty and nobility, finally defeats the despicable Traitor, who seems to represent all that is corrupt and evil in men. Their epic duel is clearly representative of a greater struggle between good and evil. Perhaps it is this timeless quality that has kept the tale alive for so long.\nUnlike many similar myths, the tale of the Guardian and the Traitor does not feature a suitably heroic ending. Herma-Mora snatches the Traitor away just as the Guardian is about to strike the killing blow.\nThe dragons appoint the Guardian ruler of Solstheim, but not before he is compelled to swear an oath of vigilance to watch for the Traitor's return. His reign is, by all accounts, a time of peace and prosperity for the people of the island, and he is remembered as a wise and just leader.\nNo further mention is made of the Traitor, but neither is he thought to be dead. The legend ends on a cautionary note that the people of Solstheim, the heirs of the Guardian, must remain wary, lest the dark influence of Herma-Mora, or even the Traitor himself, return someday.\nAlthough no physical clues exist now on Solstheim to suggest the presence of the dragon cult, is it hardly difficult to believe that it might once have flourished here. Perhaps some hidden tomb still waits to be discovered that will tell the truth of the tale.\nThere are other tantalizing clues, though perhaps these connections strain the bonds of credibility. For example, is it possible that the Skaal deity, the All-Maker, is some distant echo of mighty Alduin, the World-Eater of the ancient Nord pantheon?\nPerhaps not, but one thing is certain: Solstheim's history is riddled with unanswered questions. Perhaps future generations will pull aside the veils of mystery and reveal the truth about the origins of the Skaal and the identities of the Guardian and the Traitor."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/holds-skyrim": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/holds-skyrim", "description": "Descriptions of the Holds, their capitals, and their strategic values in the war.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Holds of Skyrim", "text": "The Holds of Skyrim:\nA Field Officer's Guide\nFor Use by Officers of the Imperial Legion\n\nWelcome, loyal officer of the Empire. You have been given this guide to help you, and those men under your command, better understand the geography of Skyrim. Since you will be serving in Skyrim for a lengthy period of time, this information should prove invaluable.\nSkyrim is organized into nine holds. A hold is a large area of land roughly equivalent to a county in Cyrodiil. Each hold is governed by a Jarl who maintains his court in the hold's capital city.\nFour of these holds are fairly small and sparsely populated. As a result, the capitals are little more than towns. The five major cities of Skyrim act as capitals for the larger holds.\nFollowing is a detailed review of each hold.\nEASTMARCH\nLocated in the eastern reaches of Skyrim, Eastmarch shares a common border with Morrowind. Jarl Ulfric Stormcloak rules from the ancient city of Windhelm, and he and his followers should be considered your most serious threat.\nDo not tread lightly in Eastmarch, for the Stormcloaks are at their strongest and most organized in these lands. As an Imperial soldier, you will find few friends here.\nHAAFINGAR\nSolitude, the seat of High King of Skyrim and the capital of Haafingar hold, has always welcomed the Empire with open arms. Much commerce flows along the rivers here, and you will find the folk of this hold to be among the most hospitable in Skyrim.\nAs you venture forth in your campaigns, be sure to maintain a secure supply line back to Solitude. The Empire maintains ample provisions in Castle Dour, from which General Tullius commands all the legions stationed in Skyrim.\nHJAALMARCH\nThis hold is divided evenly between wind-swept tundra dotted with farms and a huge, stinking salt marsh. There is little of interest here, save perhaps for the hold's capital, Morthal.\nJarl Idgrod Ravencrone has been cooperative enough with the Empire in the past, but will ultimately look out for her own iterests if put in a difficult position.\nWhile the hold offers minimal strategic value to the Empire, it would make an ideal staging ground for a Stormcloak siege of Solitude, and so must be held against the enemy.\nTHE PALE\nThe Pale is a barren realm covered by vast fields of ice and snow. Its boundaries stretch from the center of Skyrim all the way to its northern coast. Here, at the capital city of Dawnstar, can be found one of the busiest ports in the province.\nWith access to the coastal waterways of Skyrim, Dawnstar could prove vital in the war effort. Should the Stormcloaks choose to attack Solitude from the river, this port would make a tempting target due to its close proximity.\nTHE REACH\nDominating the western border of Skyrim, the Reach is made up almost entirely of steep, craggy mountains. Little grows in this forbidding realm, but the capital city of Markarth is a nigh-impregnable stone fortress that would make an excellent defensive position for either side in the war.\nBe aware that this dangerous region of Skyrim is home to the Forsworn, the rebellious natives of the Reach. They know the terrain, can strike without warning, and count the Empire as an enemy. If they attack, you must neither give nor expect any mercy.\nTHE RIFT\nThis hold occupies the southeast corner of Skyrim, and much like the Reach in the west, is dominated by tall mountain peaks. The climate in the Reach is milder than in the northern holds, and there is more vegetation to be found here. Farming thrives as a result.\nA word of warning about Riften, the hold's capital city. Our agents have reason to suspect that the Thieves' Guild makes it home here, though it is now much diminished from its strength of previous years.\nNevertheless, mind that your men keep an eye on their coin purses should they have reason to spend any length of time in the city.\nWHITERUN\nThis central hold is characterized by wide, grassy plains that are home to numerous farms. Many roads pass through Whiterun, joining the more distant holds together.\nThe hold's capital city, also called Whiterun, sits high on a rocky promontory amid a large, flat swath of scrubland. Among the wealthiest cities of Skyrim, Whiterun has usually proven friendly to the Emperor's soldiers.\nWINTERHOLD\nThis bleak, snow-blown hold in the northeast corner of Skyrim is utterly inhospitable. Perhaps the mages at the College of Winterhold chose to make their home there because they knew they would be left largely alone.\nAs with Whiterun, the name Winterhold describes both the hold and its capital city, though the word \"city\" hardly applies. The hold capital is a meager village built near the mages' college.\nFew other noteworthy settlements exist in this frozen waste, and it is unlikely to play any significant part in the war.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/light-and-dark": {"game": ["Skyrim", "Daggerfall"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/light-and-dark", "description": "This work is the precursor to all the theology that surfaced in and after TES:Redguard. It mentions the struggle of the two entities, Order and Chaos, it also mentions et'Ada... In other words, The Monomyth and its aspects evolved from this book.", "author": "Irek Unterge", "title": "The Light and The Dark", "text": "\"Yes, children, it is no accident that this land of Tamriel has been called 'The Arena'.\" The old man altered his position on the large rock that bore his weight, and straightened his long gray robe. Rheumy eyes lost their focus as they gazed out over the sun-warmed valley in the mountains of High Rock. For a moment he saw a vision of ancient horrors instead of the fresh greenery of spring. A chill washed over his aged bones.\n\"Is this a suitable topic for the young and innocent?\" he asked himself. The young must be taught, but must they learn of such things now, when they should be playing in the sunlight? This is a tale for the dreary winter, with the wind howling outside a walled town and the doors and windows closed and bolted against the blast and cold and -- other things.\nHe glanced with affection at his two grandchildren: the little towheaded boy with a hint of mischief dancing in his eyes even on those rare occasions when sitting quietly, and his older sister. A serene lass, the old man thought. Her hair like a dark flame and her slightly pointed ears were the only obvious signs of elven blood. So like her grandmother, the old man thought. The past is past, and I'shira had brought him so much peace and happiness after a lifetime of battle. He forced his thoughts back to the present.\n\"Sorry, children. I was remembering things. Old people do that, you know.\"\n\"Are you going to tell us the story of Jagar Tharn and the Emperor and the Eternal Champion?\" His grandson asked. \"That's my favorite!\"\n\"Not exactly, son. They were a part of it, in a way. As are I'ric and Moraelyn and Edward and Reymon and many others. Even the gods play a part. This is a far older story, and even the priests won't tell it my way. They have their own interpretations, and their fears as well. I'm too old and have seen too much to have any fear left, except that our people will forget. And forgetting is dangerous. So I, and a few others, carry this tale and try to spread it among the younger generations. You aren't really old enough to understand it all, but I can feel that my end is not far off. I must ask you to remember anyway. In a few years, perhaps, if I still live, we can discuss it again. If not, well, you must seek out others who know, and compare notes.\"\n\"You talk as if you are going to die, Granther,\" his granddaughter spoke up. \"That can't happen. You will live forever!\"\nChuckling, \"I'm afraid not, dear. But I have a little while left, enough for the story\".\nThe children settled back against the bole of a large oak, knowing that the old man could not be hurried. Leaning forward, he began:\n\"Long, long ago, before there were any people at all; even before the gods, Tamriel was chosen as a battleground by two -- things. It is difficult to find words that fit them well. I call them the Light and the Dark. Others use different names. Good and Evil, Bird and Serpent, Order and Chaos. None of these names really apply. It suffices that they are opposites, and totally antithetical. Neither is really good or evil, as we know the words. They are immortal since they do not really live, but they do exist. Even the gods and their daedric enemies are pale reflections of the eternal conflict between them. It's as though their struggle creates energies that distort their surroundings, and those energies are so powerful that life can appear, like an eddy in a stream.\"\n\"Do demons and trolls come from the Dark, Grandpa?\"\n\"Not exactly, son. The undead evils we know, and the demons that live on Oblivion tend to align with the Dark. Their natures are more akin to it. Humans and the other peoples of Tamriel, even the misunderstood Dark Elves, are more aligned with the Light. Our evils are not always of the Dark, but some are, and these are the truly dangerous ones. Jagar Tharn was almost wholly aligned with the Dark, and that is really why he was so monstrous. It was not because he was a black mage, as some would have it.\"\n\"Did his magic come from the Dark, Granther?\" The girl's interest was piqued by mention of magic. Her heritage is beginning to show itself, thought the old man.\n\"No, magic power comes directly from the energies swirling about both entities. These energies are impersonal and all mixed up. Black magic is more a matter of intent than effect. The Mages' Guild holds that a fireball, say, directed against a creature intent on causing harm, is not black magic; but the same spell directed at one seeking peace is. In this, they are right. Destruction of a fire daedra strengthens the Light and weakens the Dark just a little. In the same manner, destruction of a unicorn strengthens the Dark.\"\n\"What about the gods? Do they come from the Light?\" The boy's eyes were animated, but tinged with apprehension. He adored stories of the gods and goddesses of Tamriel's pantheon, and the heroes who served them.\nThe old man chuckled. \"The gods have an unusual origin, if some of the oldest tales are true. The oldest inhabitants of this world -- no one seems to be sure what race they were -- had a system of myths that they believed in for a thousand years. The people of et'Ada believed for so long and so well, that their beliefs may, just may, have drawn upon the energies surrounding Tamriel to bring the gods themselves into being. If that is so, the conflict between the Light and the Dark provided the energy, and the et'Adans the structure, that created the gods of Tamriel. No one really knows since it was so long ago and so little survives from that time. It no longer matters; the gods have their own existence now, and mostly align with the Light, except for a few who are, shall we say, a little ambiguous.\"\n\"Why do we have to remember, Granther? What is the danger you spoke of? If the Light and Dark are so big and powerful, can we influence them? Should we try? What should we fight for?\"\n\"I see that your critical faculties are developing, Solara. That is good. The answer is simple, but quite large enough for mere mortals like us. The Light and Dark are evenly matched, and perhaps will never resolve their conflict. Mortals and the beings of the Aetherius sometimes can perceive traces of them. Therein lies the danger; to most of us the Light is more congenial, even inspiring, and moves us to behavior that we would call good. To creatures like us, the Dark is -- horrible. Those who have visions of it are often driven mad, and the ones who are not would be better dead. The Dark is to us a monstrous emptiness, an emptiness that sucks the soul toward it -- to be twisted, maimed, and ultimately destroyed. What we can see of it seems utterly evil. Perhaps somewhere else this would not be so, but in our world, it is.\"\nThe old man paused to gather his thoughts, gazing once more at the fresh new life of spring.\n\"What we must do is never to forget that the Dark is always there, beckoning to the weak-souled among us. Should it gain ascendancy over Tamriel, through agents perverted by its awful attraction, terrible things could happen. All that we hold beautiful or desirable, even love itself, would be swept away. Peace and hope would be no more. For Tamriel, that would be the worst possible disaster. What I saw during Jagar's reign nearly killed me, almost destroyed my mind. When he was destroyed, I thought the worst was over, but it was not. The forces of the Dark are on the march again, and new heroes must rise to join the Eternal Champion in the fight against them.\"\nThe old man and the two children sat in silence for several minutes. Finally, the children assisted their grandfather to his feet, and they walked slowly away. Toward home, and hearth, and lunch."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/skyrim-monomyth": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/skyrim-monomyth", "description": "A theology book that contains some of the most common creation myths.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Monomyth", "text": "\"In Mundus, conflict and disparity are what bring change, and change is the most sacred of the Eleven Forces. Change is the force without focus or origin.\"-Oegnithr, Taheritae, Order of PSJJJJ\n\nSimply put, the schism in the Human/Aldmeri worldview is the mortal's relationship to the divine. Humans take the humble path that they were created by the immortal forces, while the Aldmer claim descent from them. It doesn't seem like much, but it is a distinction that colors the rest of their diverging mythologies.\nAll Tamrielic religions begin the same. Man or mer, things begin with the dualism of Anu and His Other. These twin forces go by many names: Anu-Padomay, Anuiel-Sithis, Ak-El, Satak-Akel, Is-Is Not. Anuiel is the Everlasting Ineffable Light, Sithis is the Corrupting Inexpressible Action. In the middle is the Gray Maybe ('Nirn' in the Ehlnofex).\nIn most cultures, Anuiel is honored for his part of the interplay that creates the world, but Sithis is held in highest esteem because he's the one that causes the reaction. Sithis is thus the Original Creator, an entity who intrinsically causes change without design. Even the hist acknowledge this being.\nAnuiel is also perceived of as Order, opposed to the Sithis-Chaos. Perhaps it is easier for mortals to envision change than perfect stasis, for often Anuiel is relegated to the mythic background of Sithis' fancies. In Yokudan folk-tales, which are among the most vivid in the world, Satak is only referred to a handful of times, as \"the Hum\"; he is a force so prevalent as to be not really there at all.\nIn any case, from these two beings spring the et'Ada, or Original Spirits. To humans these et'Ada are the Gods and Demons; to the Aldmer, the Aedra/Daedra, or the 'Ancestors'. All of the Tamrielic pantheons fill their rosters from these et'Ada, though divine membership often differs from culture to culture. Like Anu and Padomay, though, every one of these pantheons contains the archetypes of the Dragon God and the Missing God.\n\nThe Dragon God and the Missing God\nThe Dragon God is always related to Time, and is universally revered as the \"First God.\" He is often called Akatosh, \"whose perch from Eternity allowed the day.\" He is the central God of the Cyrodilic Empire.\nThe Missing God is always related to the Mortal Plane, and is a key figure in the Human/Aldmeri schism. The 'missing' refers to either his palpable absence from the pantheon (another mental distress that is interpreted a variety of ways), or the removal of his 'divine spark' by the other immortals. He is often called Lorkhan, and his epitaphs are many, equally damnable and devout.\nNote that Tamriel and the Mortal Plane do not exist yet. The Gray Maybe is still the playground of the Original Spirits. Some are more bound to Anu's light, others to the unknowable void. Their constant flux and interplay increase their number, and their personalities take long to congeal. When Akatosh forms, Time begins, and it becomes easier for some spirits to realize themselves as beings with a past and a future. The strongest of the recognizable spirits crystallize: Mephala, Arkay, Y'ffre, Magnus, Rupgta, etc., etc. Others remain as concepts, ideas, or emotions. One of the strongest of these, a barely formed urge that the others call Lorkhan, details a plan to create Mundus, the Mortal Plane.\nHumans, with the exception of the Redguards, see this act as a divine mercy, an enlightenment whereby lesser creatures can reach immortality. Aldmer, with the exception of the Dark Elves, see this act as a cruel deception, a trick that sundered their connection to the spirit plane.\n\nThe Myth of Aurbis\nSubtitled \"The Psijiic Compensation,\" \"Mythic Aurbis\" was an attempt by Artaeum apologists to explain the basics of Aldmeri religion to Uriel V in the early, glorious part of his reign. It quietly avoided any blame or bias against the Lorkhan-concept, which was still held in esteem by the Cyrodiils as \"Shezarr\", the missing sibling of the Divines. Despite this, the Psijiici still give a nice summary of the Elder view, and it will serve our purposes here. This version comes from the archives of the Imperial Seminary from the handwritten notes of an unknown scribe.\nMythic Aurbis exists, and has existed from time without measure, as a fanciful Unnatural Realm.\n'Aurbis' is used to connote the imperceptible Penumbra, the Gray Center between the IS/IS NOT of Anu and Padomay. It contains the multitude realms of Aetherius and Oblivion, as well as other, less structured forms.\nThe magical beings of Mythic Aurbis live for a long time and have complex narrative lives, creating the patterns of myth.\nThese are spirits made from bits of the immortal polarity. The first of these was Akatosh the Time Dragon, whose formation made it easier for other spirits to structure themselves. Gods and demons form and reform and procreate.\nFinally, the magical beings of Mythic Aurbis told the ultimate story -- that of their own death. For some this was an artistic transfiguration into the concrete, non-magical substance of the world. For others, this was a war in which all were slain, their bodies becoming the substance of the world. For yet others, this was a romantic marriage and parenthood, with the parent spirits naturally having to die and give way to the succeeding mortal races.\nThe agent of this communal decision was Lorkhan, whom most early myths vilify as a trickster or deceiver. More sympathetic versions of this story point out Lorkhan as being the reason the mortal plane exists at all.\nThe magical beings created the races of the mortal Aurbis in their own image, either consciously as artists and craftsmen, or as the fecund rotting matter out of which the mortals sprung forth, or in a variety of other analogical senses.\nThe magical beings, then, having died, became the et'Ada. The et'Ada are the things perceived and revered by the mortals as gods, spirits, or geniuses of Aurbis. Through their deaths, these magical beings separated themselves in nature from the other magical beings of the Unnatural realms.\nThe Daedra were created at this time also, being spirits and Gods more attuned to Oblivion, or that realm closer to the Void of Padomay. This act is the dawn of the Mythic (Merethic) Era. It has been perceived by the earliest mortals many different ways, either as a joyous 'second creation', or (especially by the Elves) as a painful fracturing from the divine. The originator of the event is always Lorkhan.\n\nLorkhan\nThis Creator-Trickster-Tester deity is in every Tamrielic mythic tradition. His most popular name is the Aldmeri \"Lorkhan,\" or Doom Drum. He convinced or contrived the Original Spirits to bring about the creation of the Mortal Plane, upsetting the status quo much like his father Padomay had introduced instability into the universe in the Beginning Place. After the world is materialized, Lorkhan is separated from his divine center, sometimes involuntarily, and wanders the creation of the et'Ada. Interpretations of these events differ widely by culture. Below are some of the better known:\n\nYokudan, \"Satakal the Worldskin\"\n\"Satak was First Serpent, the Snake who came Before, and all the worlds to come rested in the glimmer of its scales. But it was so big there was nothing but, and thus it was coiled around and around itself, and the worlds to come slid across each other but none had room to breathe or even be. And so the worlds called to something to save them, to let them out, but of course there was nothing outside the First Serpent, so aid had to come from inside it; this was Akel, the Hungry Stomach. Akel made itself known, and Satak could only think about what it was, and it was the best hunger, so it ate and ate. Soon there was enough room to live in the worlds and things began. These things were new and they often made mistakes, for there was hardly time to practice being things before. So most things ended quickly or were not good or gave up on themselves. Some things were about to start, but they were eaten up as Satak got to that part of its body. This was a violent time.\n\"Pretty soon Akel caused Satak to bite its own heart and that was the end. The hunger, though, refused to stop, even in death, and so the First Serpent shed its skin to begin anew. As the old world died, Satakal began, and when things realized this pattern so did they realize what their part in it was. They began to take names, like Ruptga or Tuwhacca, and they strode about looking for their kin. As Satakal ate itself over and over, the strongest spirits learned to bypass the cycle by moving at strange angles. They called this process the Walkabout, a way of striding between the worldskins. Ruptga was so big that he was able to place the stars in the sky so that weaker spirits might find their way easier. This practice became so easy for the spirits that it became a place, called the Far Shores, a time of waiting until the next skin.\n\"Ruptga was able to sire many children through the cycles and so he became known as the Tall Papa. He continued to place stars to map out the void for others, but after so many cycles there were almost too many spirits to help out. He made himself a helper from the detritus of past skins and this was Sep, or Second Serpent. Sep had much of the Hungry Stomach still left in him, multiple hungers from multiple skins. He was so hungry he could not think straight. Sometimes he would just eat the spirits he was supposed to help, but Tall Papa would always reach in and take them back out. Finally, tired of helping Tall Papa, Sep went and gathered the rest of the old skins and balled them up, tricking spirits to help him, promising them this was how you reached the new world, by making one out of the old. These spirits loved this way of living, as it was easier. No more jumping from place to place. Many spirits joined in, believing this was good thinking. Tall Papa just shook his head.\n\"Pretty soon the spirits on the skin-ball started to die, because they were very far from the real world of Satakal. And they found that it was too far to jump into the Far Shores now. The spirits that were left pleaded with Tall Papa to take them back. But grim Ruptga would not, and he told the spirits that they must learn new ways to follow the stars to the Far Shores now. If they could not, then they must live on through their children, which was not the same as before. Sep, however, needed more punishment, and so Tall Papa squashed the Snake with a big stick. The hunger fell out of Sep's dead mouth and was the only thing left of the Second Serpent. While the rest of the new world was allowed to strive back to godhood, Sep could only slink around in a dead skin, or swim about in the sky, a hungry void that jealously tried to eat the stars.\"\n\nCyrodilic \"\"Shezarr's Song\"\"\n\"This was a new thing that Shezarr described to the Gods, becoming mothers and fathers, being responsible, and making great sacrifices, with no guarantee of success, but Shezarr spoke beautifully to them, and moved them beyond mystery and tears. Thus the Aedra gave free birth to the world, the beasts, and the beings, making these things from parts of themselves. This free birth was very painful, and afterwards the Aedra were no longer young, and strong, and powerful, as they had been from the beginning of days.\n\"Some Aedra were disappointed and bitter in their loss, and angry with Shezarr, and with all creation, for they felt Shezarr had lied and tricked them. These Aedra, the Gods of the Aldmer, led by Auri-El, were disgusted by their enfeebled selves, and by what they had created. 'Everything is spoiled, for now, and for all time, and the most we can do is teach the Elven Races to suffer nobly, with dignity, and chastise ourselves for our folly, and avenge ourselves upon Shezarr and his allies.' Thus are the Gods of the Elves dark and brooding, and thus are the Elves ever dissatisfied with mortality, and always proud and stoic despite the harshness of this cruel and indifferent world.\n\"Other Aedra looked upon creation, and were well pleased. These Aedra, the Gods of Men and Beast Folk, led by Akatosh, praised and cherished their wards, the Mortal Races. 'We have suffered, and are diminished, for all time, but the mortal world we have made is glorious, filling our hearts and spirits with hope. Let us teach the Mortal Races to live well, to cherish beauty and honor, and to love one another as we love them.' Thus are the Gods of Men tender and patient, and thus are Men and Beast Folk great in heart for joy or suffering, and ambitious for greater wisdom and a better world.\n\"Now when the Daedra Lords heard Shezarr, they mocked him, and the other Aedra. 'Cut parts of ourselves off? And lose them? Forever? That's stupid! You'll be sorry! We are far smarter than you, for we will create a new world out of ourselves, but we will not cut it off, or let it mock us, but we will make this world within ourselves, forever ours, and under our complete control.'\n\"So the Daedra Lords created the Daedric Realms, and all the ranks of Lesser Daedra, great and small. And, for the most part, the Daedra Lords were well pleased with this arrangement, for they always had worshippers and servants and playthings close to hand. But, at the same time, they sometimes looked with envy upon the Mortal Realms, for though mortals were foul and feeble and contemptible, their passions and ambitions were also far more surprising and entertaining than the antics of the Lesser Daedra. Thus do the Daedra Lords court and seduce certain amusing specimens of the Mortal Races, especially the passionate and powerful. It gives the Daedra Lords special pleasure to steal away from Shezarr and the Aedra the greatest and most ambitious mortals. 'Not only are you fools to mutilate yourselves,' gloat the Daedra Lords, 'But you cannot even keep the best pieces, which prefer the glory and power of the Daedra Lords to the feeble vulgarity of the mush-minded Aedra.'\"\n\nAltmeri \"The Heart of the World\"\n\"Anu encompassed, and encompasses, all things. So that he might know himself he created Anuiel, his soul and the soul of all things. Anuiel, as all souls, was given to self-reflection, and for this he needed to differentiate between his forms, attributes, and intellects. Thus was born Sithis, who was the sum of all the limitations Anuiel would utilize to ponder himself. Anuiel, who was the soul of all things, therefore became many things, and this interplay was and is the Aurbis.\n\"At first the Aurbis was turbulent and confusing, as Anuiel's ruminations went on without design. Aspects of the Aurbis then asked for a schedule to follow or procedures whereby they might enjoy themselves a little longer outside of perfect knowledge. So that he might know himself this way, too, Anu created Auriel, the soul of his soul. Auriel bled through the Aurbis as a new force, called time. With time, various aspects of the Aurbis began to understand their natures and limitations. They took names, like Magnus or Mara or Xen. One of these, Lorkhan, was more of a limit than a nature, so he could never last long anywhere.\n\"As he entered every aspect of Anuiel, Lorkhan would plant an idea that was almost wholly based on limitation. He outlined a plan to create a soul for the Aurbis, a place where the aspects of aspects might even be allowed to self-reflect. He gained many followers; even Auriel, when told he would become the king of the new world, agreed to help Lorkhan. So they created the Mundus, where their own aspects might live, and became the et'Ada.\n\"But this was a trick. As Lorkhan knew, this world contained more limitations than not and was therefore hardly a thing of Anu at all. Mundus was the House of Sithis. As their aspects began to die off, many of the et'Ada vanished completely. Some escaped, like Magnus, and that is why there are no limitations to magic. Others, like Y'ffre, transformed themselves into the Ehlnofey, the Earthbones, so that the whole world might not die. Some had to marry and make children just to last. Each generation was weaker than the last, and soon there were Aldmer. Darkness caved in. Lorkhan made armies out of the weakest souls and named them Men, and they brought Sithis into every quarter.\n\"Auriel pleaded with Anu to take them back, but he had already filled their places with something else. But his soul was gentler and granted Auriel his Bow and Shield, so that he might save the Aldmer from the hordes of Men. Some had already fallen, like the Chimer, who listened to tainted et'Ada, and others, like the Bosmer, had soiled Time's line by taking Mannish wives.\n\"Auriel could not save Altmora, the Elder Wood, and it was lost to Men. They were chased south and east to Old Ehlnofey, and Lorkhan was close behind. He shattered that land into many. Finally Trinimac, Auriel's greatest knight, knocked Lorkhan down in front of his army and reached in with more than hands to take his Heart. He was undone. The Men dragged Lorkhan's body away and swore blood vengeance on the heirs of Auriel for all time.\n\"But when Trinimac and Auriel tried to destroy the Heart of Lorkhan it laughed at them. It said, \"This Heart is the heart of the world, for one was made to satisfy the other.\" So Auriel fastened the thing to an arrow and let it fly long into the sea, where no aspect of the new world may ever find it.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/night-mothers-truth": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/night-mothers-truth", "description": "A history of the Night Mother", "author": "Gaston Bellefort", "title": "The Night Mother's Truth", "text": "\nAlthough various works have been written on the subjects of both Morrowind's Morag Tong, and Tamriel's more widespread Dark Brotherhood, there remains confusion as to precisely when and how these two feared assassins guilds formed. Or, more specifically, when and how the Dark Brotherhood split from the Morag Tong, as the former is widely accepted to have sprung from the latter.\nThe largest point of contention seems to be the figure of the Night Mother, a woman who figures prominently in both organizations. Through extensive research and interviews, and not inconsiderable risk to my own life (for the Dark Brotherhood holds this information sacred), I have finally solved this ages-old mystery. I have finally uncovered the Night Mother's Truth.\nAlthough her name has been lost to time, the Night Mother was once a mere mortal, a Dark Elf woman who lived in a small village once located where the city of Bravil stands now, in the Imperial Province of Cyrodiil. She was a respected member of the Morag Tong and, like her fellow members, this woman made her trade as an assassin in service to the Daedric Prince Mephala. In fact, the woman held the title of Night Mother, reserved for the highest ranking female member of the organization. To be Night Mother of a particular sect was to be that group's matron - the favored of Mephala, both respected and feared.\nHowever, it was not Mephala who facilitated the transformation from woman to spectre, but another, some would say far deeper form of evil - Sithis, the Dread Lord, embodiment of the unending Void.\nFollowing the Potentate's assassination in 2E 324, strife descended upon the Morag Tong, and the guild was all but eradicated in Cyrodiil and much of the Empire. It was shortly after these events that the Dunmer woman claimed to hear the voice of Sithis himself. The Dread Lord, she claimed, was displeased. He was unhappy with the Morag Tong's lack of success. The Void, he told her, was hungry for souls - and it was her destiny to set things right.\nAnd so, according to Dark Brotherhood legend, Sithis visited the Night Mother in her bed chamber, and begat her five children. Two years passed, before the unthinkable happened. The Dark Elf woman followed through with the Dread Lord's ultimate plan - one night, she murdered her children, and sent their souls straight to the Void. Straight to their father.\nWhen they learned of this affront to decency, the people of the village rallied against the woman. For such an act was considered incomprehensible, even for a Night Mother of the Morag Tong. In one night of vengeance, they descended upon the woman, killing her, and burning down the house in which the atrocity took place. And that was the end of the story. Or so everyone thought.\nA little more than thirty years later, an unnamed man heard a strange, comforting voice inside his very head, just as the Dunmer woman claimed to hear the voice of Sithis inside hers. The voice identified herself as the Night Mother, and named the man \"Listener\" - the first of many.\nAnd so the Unholy Matron set her servant on his path - he would found a new organization, a guild of assassins known as the Dark Brotherhood, in service not to Mephala, but to the Dread Lord Sithis. The Morag Tong, now surviving only in Morrowind, was an artifact of a forgotten age. The Dark Brotherhood would marry business with death. The organization would grow in wealth and power, and the Void would swell with fresh souls. It was, the Night Mother told her Listener, the perfect arrangement.\nIn the early days of the Dark Brotherhood, the bodies of the Night Mother and her children were recovered from their original burial site, and interred in a crypt beneath the site of her house. And there they remain, even today.\nSo if, in your travels, you find yourself in the city of Bravil, and make a wish at the statue of the Lucky Old Lady (as is the local custom), know that you stand on sacred, if evil, ground. For you stand above the Night Mother, the Unholy Matron herself, and your luck has just run out."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nirnroot-missive-0": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nirnroot-missive-0", "description": "Transcript of a speech given by Sinderion.", "author": "Sinderion; Sharmirin Raythorne, ed.", "title": "The Nirnroot Missive", "text": "The Nirnoot Missive\nRevised Edition\nBy\nSinderion\nThe following is a transcript of the speech given by Master Alchemist Sinderion at the Alchemical Symposium on Rain's Hand of 4E 02. It is a revised version of an earlier missive Sinderion gave to the same group several years before. We've done the best we could to preserve the original tone of his speech, but some light embellishments have been made for editorial reasons and for clarity.\nSharmirin Raythorne,\nImperial Scribe\nI would like to address the Symposium today with some startling revelations regarding the nirnroot.\nAlthough this curiously tenacious flora grows almost anywhere a significant body of water is present, it's extremely rare, and soon to become extinct. After years of extensive research, and the tireless efforts of my field assistant, I came into the possession of a large sampling of nirnroot. According to the theories presented by the noted Imperial Herbalist Chivius Regelliam, the nirnroot once flourished until a cataclysmic event severely reduced their numbers. Although many scholars reject the proposal that the Sun's Death event of 1E 668 catastrophically affected plant life, Chivius felt that the nirnroot's normal growth cycle was interrupted by the lack of sun for a full year. Whereas other plant species tend to \"find a way,\" the nirnroot's mysterious magical nature made it especially susceptible to this climate shift. While this may or may not be the case, it's certainly true that the recorded sightings of nirnroot are declining as the years pass.\nChivius's notes oddly describe the nirnroot as emitting a \"brilliant yellowish glow.\" Contrary to this fact, the nirnroot of today has a soft, haunting blue-white glow. Subsequent studies by other scholars have failed to adequately explain this shift in hue. I propose that the nirnroot sensed its own impending extinction and therefore altered its metabolism in order to survive. One of the most glaring pieces of evidence of my theory is the presence of nirnroot in subterranean environments... places completely devoid of sunlight. Strangely, Chivius's notes fail to mention even a single instance of a subterrestrial nirnroot. How could this be? How could a surface-dwelling plant suddenly begin appearing in new locations radically different from its normal habitat?\nThe answer, my fellow alchemists, is ironically concealed within Chivius's own notes. Although he spends a great deal of time experimenting with the nirnroot in his laboratory, he overlooked an important part of a plant's growth cycle... its soil. Chivius was correct in assuming the volcanic eruption of Red Mountain contributed to the demise of the nirnroot, but I believe the ash from that mighty explosion did more than simply cloud the skies. When mixed with the fertile soil of Cyrodiil, this fine powder is the true cause of the nirnroot's astounding metamorphosis. Although little volcanic ash from that dark time remains, I have performed tests on samples sent to me from Vvardenfell. Careful scrutiny of the samples revealed that they were rife with \"ash salt,\" a highly magical substance. Dunmer native to the Vvardenfell region were known to have used ash salt as an ingredient to cure the \"Blight,\" an awful disease which decimated their realm hundreds of years ago. This unique property of the ash salt coupled with the nirnroot's inherent magic caused the radical change... in essence; the root \"healed itself.\"\nIn summation, it's clear that the nirnroot was dying and used a byproduct of its destructor to preserve itself. I feel the nirnroot has accomplished in a relatively short amount of time what it would take other species thousands of years to complete.\nWhether you subscribe to my theory or not, one thing is certain; the nirnroot is on a path to destruction. It contains untapped potential to create potions the likes of which have never been seen in our day. I propose to you today that we divert a small portion of our funds to an expedition to collect some of these roots to study. I have outlined this proposal for your perusal after this section of the Symposium. Please, seriously consider this proposal before it becomes too late, and the nirnroot becomes nothing but a memory.\nThank you for your time.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/oblivion-crisis": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/oblivion-crisis", "description": "A historical look at the main quest of TESIV:Oblivion.", "author": "Praxis Sarcorum", "title": "The Oblivion Crisis ", "text": "The Oblivion Crisis\n\nby\nPraxis Sarcorum\nImperial Historian\n\nAt the turning of the Fourth Age, in the year 3E 433, the Emperor Uriel Septim VII was assassinated and the Amulet of Kings was destroyed. This set in motion a chain of events that would bring down an empire and change forever the relationship between man and the gods.\nThe assassins first attacked the Emperor in the White Gold Tower. While the Blades held them back, the Emperor made his way down to the dungeons, to a secret escape route built into one of the prison cells. For reasons known only to himself, the Emperor pardoned the fortunate prisoner in that cell. Some say the prisoner reminded him of a childhood friend. Others say it was a moment of prophecy. Whatever the case, the prisoner came to play a fateful role in the history of the Empire and Tamriel - surely a sign that the gods themselves were at work.\nThe pursuing assassins killed the Blades bodyguards in a relentless series of sneak attacks. Eventually they struck down the Emperor himself. Before he fell, Uriel Septim VII gave the Amulet of Kings to the prisoner, who somehow made it out of the Imperial sewers and into the light of day.\nThe assassination is now known to have been the work of a group of daedric cultists known as the Mythic Dawn. (Those who still suspect the Dark Brotherhood should consider two facts: first, they would have only needed a single assassin, not a small army of them; second, the Dark Brotherhood would never be so foolish as to effectively declare war on the Empire and thus ensure their complete destruction. Witness the eventual fate of the Mythic Dawn.)\nThe Amulet of Kings next surfaced at Weynon Priory near Chorrol. Jauffre, secret Grandmaster of the Blades and head of the priory, took possession of the amulet. The messenger was sent off to Kvatch to find a lowly priest named Martin. Unbeknownst even to himself, Martin was the bastard son of Uriel Septim VII, and the last heir to the Ruby Throne. He alone could use the Amulet of Kings to light the Dragonfires that wards the barrier between Tamriel and Oblivion, and save the world from the Mythic Dawn plot.\nThe prisoner arrived at Kvatch to find it overrun by daedra that had poured in from a newly-opened Oblivion Gate, the start of the Empire-spanning devastation of the Oblivion Crisis. How the prisoner closed the gate is not recorded. Once closed, Martin and the surviving Kvatch guardsmen drove back the daedra.\nNow known as the Hero of Kvatch, the prisoner and Martin returned to Weynon Priory, only to find the priory sacked and the Amulet taken. Jauffre survived the attack, however, and the three of them made their way to Cloud Ruler Temple, bastion of the Blades. This secret fortress in the mountains outside Bruma is where Martin was held safe while the Hero of Kvatch searched for the lost Amulet.\nKnowing only that a mysterious group called the Mythic Dawn was behind the assassination and theft of the Amulet, the Hero of Kvatch was sent to locate the cult. With the help of Baurus, a Blade in the service of the Emperor, they somehow used the Commentaries on the Mysterium Xarxes, esoteric works by the madman Mankar Camoran, to direct them to the Mythic Dawn's secret lair. Scholars familiar with the Commentaries claim the location is not directly mentioned in them. How they did this remains a mystery.\nNo official records exist of how the Hero of Kvatch penetrated the Mythic Dawn's lair near Lake Arrius. There is a bardic tale that claims the Hero used trickery and disguise, but that is just speculation.What was discovered there is that Mankar Camoran was behind the Mythic Dawn, and that the group worshiped the daedric prince Mehrunes Dagon. Mankar Camoran believed himself to be a direct descendant of the Camoran Usurper, the infamous pretender to the throne of Valenwood.\nSomehow the Hero escaped with the Mysterium Xarxes itself, the holy book of the Mythic Dawn cult. Mankar Camoran fled to Oblivion with the Amulet of Kings. With some effort and great risk to his sanity, Martin deciphered the Mysterium Xarxes and intended to use it to open a gateway to Mankar Camoran in order to recover the Amulet of Kings.\nBefore Martin could perform the ritual to open the gateway, Mehrunes Dagon opened an Oblivion Gate outside Bruma. The Hero of Kvatch saved the city and Martin by entering the gate and closing it before a daedric siege engine could destroy Bruma and Cloud Ruler Temple. Many songs and stories have been told of this battle and I will not retell them here. The Hero of Kvatch was now also known as the Savior of Bruma.\nWith the city and Cloud Ruler Temple safe, Martin opened the portal to Mankar Camoran's \"Paradise\". The details of what transpired in this place have not been recorded. All that is known is that the Savior of Bruma travelled to this Paradise, killed Mankar Camoran, and returned with the Amulet of Kings.\nWith the Amulet in hand, Martin Septim presented himself to the Elder Council to be crowned Emperor of all Tamriel. Once crowned he planned to relight the Dragonfires and seal Tamriel from Oblivion. In a last-ditch attempt to stop him, Mehrunes Dagon launched an assault on the Imperial City, opening several Oblivion Gates within the capital itself. Uncrowned, Martin joined the battle in the city streets.\nMehrunes Dagon himself left Oblivion and entered Tamriel, breaking the covenant. Only the unlit Dragonfires allowed this to be possible. Now that the barrier was ripped asunder, it was too late to relighting the Fires. Martin Septim chose to make the ultimate sacrifice - he shattered the Amulet of Kings to become the avatar of the god Akatosh and do battle with Mehrunes Dagon.\nRecords of this battle vary wildly. What we do know is that Mehrunes Dagon was defeated and sent back to Oblivion. The avatar of Akatosh was turned to stone and can be seen to this day in the Temple of the One in the Imperial City. With the Amulet gone, the Dragonfires quenched, and the last Dragonblood Emperor dead, the barrier to Oblivion is sealed forever."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/reclamations": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/reclamations", "description": "Summary of the transition from Almsivi worship to the New Temple", "author": "Thara of Rihad", "title": "The Reclamations", "text": "The Reclamations:\n\tThe Fall of the Tribunal and the Rise of the New Temple\nby\n\tThara of Rihad\nThe destruction of Vivec City and the subsequent eruption of Red Mountain in 4E 5 was not just a crisis in terms of the physical destruction it caused - it also cut deeply into the ancient religious beliefs of the Dunmer. The fall of the Ministry of Truth was the last straw in the tottering support for the Temple's worship of Almalexia, Sotha Sil, and Vivec. With all three of the Tribunes now widely believed dead or disappeared, what had been a simmering schism within the ranks of the Temple priesthood burst into the open.\nWhile outsiders may never know the full tale of this internal struggle, when the smoke cleared a few years later, the former Dissident Priests were in full control of the Temple heirarchy, with Tribunal loyalists either purged or recanted. The so-called \"New Temple\" now declared the worship of the Tribunes a result of misguided teaching, blaming the mistakes on the former Tribunal. The Temple now taught that the daedra venerated by the Ashlander tribes (Azura, Mephala and Boethia) were the \"true way\" and should be revered by the Dunmer people. Fittingly, the daedra were named the \"Reclamations,\" as if they were reclaiming their status from the Tribunal.\nIn an elegant comprise, no doubt intended to reconcile the large majority of the Temple priesthood who were neither Dissidents nor fanatic Tribunal loyalists, Almalexia, Sotha Sil and Vivec were relegated to the status of \"saints,\" a traditional way to venerate the most honored Dunmer ancestors. This apparently satisfied enough of the existing priesthood that the New Temple was able to maintain at least a semblance of outward continuity.\nThe rise of the New Temple almost completely vindicated the previously persecuted Ashlanders, who had continued to worship the three daedra throughout the Tribunal's rule. The Ashlanders are now lauded as the keepers of the old ways and having \"true vision.\" It is now quite common for many of the Dunmer people to make the arduous pilgrimages into the ash wastes to seek the counsel of the Wise Women. These women have supposedly opened the eyes of those who they claim were \"blinded by the Tribunal,\" and directly connect the eruption of the Red Mountain and the Argonian invasion to the anger of the three daedra.\nHouse Indoril, whose fortunes were so entwined with the Tribunal Temple, suffered greatly from its fall. While House Indoril still technically exists, the priesthood of the Temple are now considered one and the same with House Indoril - those who become priests are now considered to have \"joined Indoril.\" The political power of the Indoril has thus passed entirely into the hands of the Temple (although members of the old House Indoril are still over-represented in the priesthood).\nThe rise of the New Temple has a number of interesting parallels with the rise of House Redoran - each filled the vacuum of power resulting from the crisis of Red Year. How durable these new arrangements will prove, religious and political, remains to be seen. The span of two centuries is quite brief in the long history of the ancient Dunmer people."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/restless": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/restless", "description": "History and rumors of Cyrus after his adventure in Stros M'kai", "author": "Unknown", "title": "The Restless", "text": "Have you heard the tale about the pirates who challenged an Empire?\n\nI'm sure you have. For neither gallows' rope nor history's pen can erase the Restless League. So long as crews hoist sail and fare the seas they'll sing shanties of ol' Cyrus, hero of Stros M'Kai.\n\nBut what became of him when the fighting was done? If it were only a tale, the book would close, but life has a habit of adding pages where they shouldn't be.\n\nSome say he sailed west, to lands uncharted. But others contend he took command of the legendary ship, Dead Man's Dread, and sailed north, drawn by the stories of Tobias. There he hunted for treasures new and old, all across the Sea of Ghosts. Over time he amassed a great fortune, and lived out the rest of his days on calm waters.\n\nWhere this fortune is now, is a mystery long forgotten. You'll hear talk of a Blackbone Isle, but you won't find it on any map. The last man who claimed to know its location was a pirate by the name of Kevon. Yet as a wanted man of little clout, he died in Castle Dour Dungeon, taking the fate of the treasure with him.\n\nA strange end to a great tale, but who knows if the writing's done. For a man's hunt for gold is as restless as his desire to be free."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rise-and-fall-blades": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rise-and-fall-blades", "description": "A history of the Blades.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Rise and Fall of the Blades ", "text": "There are many that still remember the Blades. There are fewer that can pass down their stories, their origins and their downfall. My father could. In his proudest moments he said to me, \"You keep secrets like the Blades.\"\nThe Blades were good at keeping secrets. They didn't write down much. They passed information carefully between their spies in every province, to their elite members that protected the Emperors. Even amongst their members, they kept much secret.\nMost associate the Blades with their ceremonial Akaviri armor and curved longswords. One can trace the Blades back to the fiercest warriors of Akavir, the Dragonguard. It was there, just as they would do in Tamriel, that they protected rulers and their kingdom. But recent discoveries show it to be much more than that.\nMany classic texts tell us of adventures to Akavir, known as the dragon lands of the east. Many from Tamriel have attempted to conquer it, most famously Emperor Uriel V and his Tenth Legion in 3E288 as documented in the Imperial dispatch \"Disaster at Ionith.\" Dragons have long been legend in Akavir, and many believe that their brief appearance in Tamriel's history are those that escaped Akaviri, for it was there they were hunted and killed off by the Dragonguard. The Dragonguard would follow those that fled to Tamriel in the late 1st Era.\nInvading from the north, the Dragonguard met not only dragons, but the men of Skyrim, who don't meet invasions with pitchers of mead. The Dragonguard cut a path through Skyrim, and it was not until they were stopped by Reman Cyrodiil during the battle at Pale Pass that the invasion came to an end. It was Reman who united the human lands of Cyrodiil and defeated the Akaviri invaders.\nReman is one of the first documented, and widely accepted, of the mythic Dragonborn; those anointed by Akatosh and Alessia themselves. \"Born with the soul of a dragon\" is what his followers would say. Reports differ widely on the nature of the battle at Pale Pass. But the end result is the same, that the remaining Dragonguard, upon hearing the voice of Reman Cyrodiil, knelt and swore their lives to him, their conqueror and savior. Fragments of from late 1st era texts refer to the warriors dropping to their knees saying \"we were not hunting\" (or \"did not intend\", author - rough translation), continuing \"we have been searching, for you.\"\nThey protected Reman with their lives, as well as his descendants, as the Reman Dynasty ushered in Tamriel's 2nd era. It was through these years that their reach extended, and their order grew to become the Blades. Their conquest of the dragons complete, they only sought to protect the Dragonborn, and through him, the Empire.\nThey reached their height late during the 3rd era under the rule of the Septim emprors. Despite their numbers, they kept their secrecy. The most visible and well documented were the members who personally guarded the Emperor, still wearing the original Akaviri armor. But that was the just the tip of the spear, for the Blades were a larger organization, stretching to every corner of Tamriel. These agents were of every race. They were merchants, thieves, craftsman, mages, and warriors, all acting as spies, protecting the Empire as needed, and operating in secret. They often acted alone, but some fragments speak of them meeting in secret fortresses across the continent. The most famous being Cyrodiil's Cloud Ruler Temple, where they hung the swords of those slain protecting the Dragonborn. Other maps speak of Wind Scour Temple under the great expanse of Hammerfell's Alik'r desert, Sky Haven Temple in the mountains of Skyrim, and Storm Talon Temple east of Wayrest.\nThey were known to have a \"Grandmaster\", who often lived amongst the people, unknown to others. The nature of their communications, meeting places, and missions were known to only a few elite members. The only two to know all were the Grandmaster himself and the Chronicler, whose only job was to make sure the group's mission was never known, but never lost.\nWith the death of Uriel Septim VII and his son, Martin, the 3rd era came to a close with the Blades fortifying themselves deep within Cyrodiil's Cloud Ruler Temple, as they waited for a Dragonborn to return when they would be called upon again.\nThe Empire of the 4th era no longer saw the Blades openly protecting it, or the Emperors. That role is now filled by the Penitus Oculatus, a purely Imperial organization. But the Blades continued their secret work, to watch for the Dragonborn and guard against future enemies. The Blades were among the first to see the signs that the Thalmor of the Aldmeri Dominion would not remain isolated within their borders forever. They could do what the Penitus Oculatus, servant to Imperial policy, could not, and thus earned the lasting hatred of the Thalmor.\nThe warnings of the Blades were proved right, as is well known to all. The Great War between the Empire and the Thalmor consumed the Empire and nearly destroyed it. Emperor Titus Mede II eventually brokered peace with the Thalmor, but at a price many of us still bear.\nThe reach and destructive nature of the Thalmor is known to many (author's note - in my family firsthand). They are not fools. They knew early on that the Blades were an enemy. So they hunted them throughout the Great War. Some were killed defending their Temples, others as they slept in their hideaways, alone.  Some fought, some ran, some hid. But the Thalmor found them all.\nThere are those that say the Blades still exist around us, in hiding from the Thalmor. Waiting as they have done time and time again, for a Dragonborn to return. For one to protect, for one to guide them."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/secret-ragnvald": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/secret-ragnvald", "description": "A poem about the defeat of King Otar of Ragnvald.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Secret of Ragnvald", "text": "Two hero-hearts\nTwo hidden keys\nOne fallen Priest\nWho lies beneath\nHail Sarek, Hail Torsten\nRaise them in your songs\nWho tricked mad-king Otar\nand rescued Ragnvald for all\nOtar! once our chieftain\nGlorious in battle\nFair in judgment\nThose days ended in pain\nDark voices whispered\ninto Otar's mind\nnobility shouted down\nOnce good now craven Priest\nFair folk of Ragnvald\nGood Nords and True\nBroken by his will\nour city eaten alive\nSend Sarek!\nSend Torsten!\nSure spirits\nswords that don't fail\nOtar was bent back\nbut never destroyed\nBound instead, contained\nTwo Heroes, Two Keys\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sultry-argonian-bard-v1": {"game": ["Skyrim", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sultry-argonian-bard-v1", "description": "A raunchy play of innuendo.", "author": "Ellya Erdain", "title": "The Sultry Argonian Bard, v1", "text": "The Sultry Argonian Bard\n\tVolume 1\nBy:\n\tEllya Erdain\nAct VI, Scene II, continued\nCroon-Tail\n\tMy lady, I could never perform your request!\nEllya Erdain\n\tOh? Is it too fast for you?\nCroon-Tail\n\tI fear that it might damage my instrument.\nEllya Erdain\n\tAh. But you seem to handle your instrument so well, my darling.\nCroon-Tail\n\tYou flatter me, my lady.\nEllya Erdain\n\tYes, well it is such a large and magnificent piece. May I hold it?\nCroon-Tail\n\tGoodness no! The innkeeper would never approve of such a public display.\nEllya Erdain\n\tThen may I suggest a private performance? Perhaps, away from the noise of the inn where we both may enjoy your tremendous talent.\nCroon-Tail\n\tSurely you don't mean for me to accompany you to your room?\nEllya Erdain\n\tIndeed I do, my sweet. Indeed I do.\nEND OF ACT VI, SCENE II"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sword-clan-ice-blade": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sword-clan-ice-blade", "description": "A note detailing how the sword can be used to show heritage", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Sword of Clan Ice-Blade", "text": "To my descendants,\n\nThe ancestral sword of Clan Ice-Blade has an enchantment that dulls the blade for anyone save those descended from our bloodline.\n\nIt serves as definitive proof of one's ancestry above all other claims.\n\nSygrold Ice-Blade"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tale-drozira": {"game": ["Skyrim", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tale-drozira", "description": "A Khajiiti account of the battle of Red Moutain. Interesting parallels with the Songs of King Wulfharth.", "author": "Dro'Zira; Sonia Vette, ed.", "title": "The Tale of Dro'Zira", "text": "The Tale of Dro'Zira\n\tTranscription and Commentary\nby\n\tSonia Vette\nThe following is a tale overheard, as told by a Khajiit father to his cub, while making camp with one of their caravans. I have attempted to transcribe it as he told it, for the Khajiit do not often speak of their history to outsiders. In truth I do not believe he would have spoken at all, but for the vast helping of Moonsugar he had consumed that night.\nCome and warm your fur by the fire, Ma'rashirr, and I will tell you of how our Dro'Zira came to be the greatest of all Kahjiit! (ed: Dro'Zira I took in this case to be an honored ancestor)\nThe ancient Khajiit heard the great roar of Alkosh the Great Cat King of Time (ed: known as Akatosh in the empire, and Alduin in Skyrim) and raced to his Voice. In three days' time they crossed the whole of Tamriel, resting not even for the moonsugar, for such was the speed of Khajiiti then.\nThey joined with the pride of Alkosh and were his strongest warriors. Lorkhaj, (ed: Shor in the Nordic) however, chose to give his roar to the Ra'Wulfharth to spite the Khajiiti warriors, for he was jealous of their devotion to Alkosh.\nSeeing the ferocity of the Khajiiti warriors, Ra'Wulfharth could not bring himself to put them to death. Using the roar that Lorkhaj had given him, he spoke to Masser and Secunda, to move to their fullness in the sky. The Khajiiti warriors became Senche, but Lorkhaj stripped from them all reason.\nWhen Ra'Wulfharth returned to sink his fangs into the Red Mountain, he called upon his people to aid him. Dro'Zira was the only among the \"Rhojiit\" who still remembered, and so was the only one who answered the summons.\nBut these Nord bards are (expletive removed) and do not sing of how the great Ash King rode Dro'Zira up the Red Mountain itself to strike at the heart of the Dunmer. Never is it mentioned how Dro'Zira pounced atop Dumalacath, the Dwarf-Orc, when he had his blade to the throat of the Ash King so that he could not speak.\nNor do they sing of how Lorkhaj returned Dro'Zira from the lands of Sheggorath for his bravery and for saving the Ash King! So when you find a bard who speaks ill of the Khajiit, you be sure to leave him an iron claw in the back to remind him who saved Skyrim.\nAs for the rest of the \"Rhojiit\" They grew small and lost their cunning altogether, which is why you should not hesitate to strike them down when they approach the wagons. So it was told by my father, and so I tell it now to you.\nNow, be a good cub and go fetch me some more moonsugar for these sweet cakes.\nMuch of the tale seemed to me, little more than a boast, but certain facts do seem to line up with what we believe is the truth behind the legends. It does raise questions as to why we do not know more about history of the Khajiit and what parts they have played that might not have been recorded by our written histories."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/talos-mistake": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/talos-mistake", "description": "An apologist piece for the banning of Talos worship.", "author": "Leonora Venatus", "title": "The Talos Mistake", "text": "The Talos Mistake\n\nby\nLeonora Venatus\nImperial Liaison to the Aldmeri Dominion\n\nAs citizens of the Empire, all are of course familiar with the deeds of Emperor Tiber Septim. But it is the Emperor's ascent to godhood, as Talos, that is the subject of this work.\nUntil Tiber Septim's death, there had been but Eight Divines: Akatosh, Dibella, Arkay, Zenithar, Stendarr, Mara, Kynareth, and Julianos. These gods were, and are, worshipped throughout the Empire. And while some may have different names in the varying provinces (for example, Akatosh is known as \"Auri-El\" to the Aldmer; and Arkay is sometimes known as \"Ar'Kay\"), all are recognized and revered by all races and cultures of Tamriel.\nBut when Tiber Septim passed to Aetherius, there came to be a Ninth Divine - Talos, also called Ysmir, the \"Dragon of the North.\" The man who was so loved in life became worshipped in death. Indeed, it can be argued that Talos, the Ninth Divine, became even more important than the Eight that had preceded him, at least to humans. For he was a god who was once just a man, and through great deeds actually managed to ascend to godhood. And if one human could achieve such a feat - couldn't it be done again? Couldn't all humans aspire to achieve divinity?\nSo we thought, we humans. And so we continued to worship Talos, and revere him as the ultimate hero-god. But that was then. This is now. And now, we know the truth:\nWe were wrong.\nAs citizens of the Empire, we all experienced the horrors of the Great War. And it was not until the signing of the White-Gold Concordat, the treaty between the Empire and the Aldmeri Dominion, that we once again knew peace. One of the most important stipulations of that treaty, as every Imperial citizen is well aware, is that Talos can no longer be worshipped as a god. This edict shook the very foundations of the Empire. There were those who rebelled against the law. Indeed, some still do.\nBut the citizens of the Empire must know this: the Emperor did not agree to outlaw the worship of Talos because it was demanded by the Thalmor, the ruling body of the Aldmeri Dominion.\nThe Emperor agreed to the outlaw of the worship of Talos because it was the right thing to do.\nToday, the Emperor, and indeed the Empire itself, recognizes that allowing the worship of Talos was a mistake. For by doing so, by allowing the worship of Talos as a Divine, the Empire actually did its people a great disservice: for this only succeeded in weakening the memory of the man Tiber Septim and his many extraordinary (though mortal) deeds; and pushing people away from the Eight Divines, the true gods, who do deserve our love and reverence.\nAnd so, the Empire admits it was wrong. The Talos Mistake will not be repeated. May we find centuries of peace and prosperity with our new Thalmor friends, and continue to share a spirituality that binds together all the cultures and races of Tamriel."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/third-era-timeline": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/third-era-timeline", "description": "A brief timeline of the third era.", "author": "Jaspus Ignateous", "title": "The Third Era Timeline", "text": "Third Era\nAn Abbreviated Timeline\nby\nJaspus Ignateous\n\nIt has been said that \"citizens of the Empire who make the same mistakes as their forebears deserve to suffer the same fate.\" And while this may be true, it's hard to deny that the Empire's history is so long, and our forebears have made so many mistakes, it's sometimes hard to keep track.\nThis work is meant to serve as a concise compilation of the Empire's most recent events, in this, our current age - what we refer to as the Third Era. It is a period of time that has as yet comprised less than five hundred years. But it should at least serve as a starting point for those who wish to study our Empire's vast and varied history. And maybe, just maybe, prevent the repeat of a previous disaster.\nIt is also worth noting that when viewed in such a succinct structure, one truly gets a sense of just how often our great Empire has changed leadership. Indeed, it can be argued that much of the Empire's history in these past five centuries is the changing rule of that very Empire itself.\n\nFirst Century\n- 3E 0 - Beginning of Third Era, when all province in Tamriel are unified\n- 3E 38 - Death of Emperor Tiber Septim, and crowning of Emperor Pelagius\n- 3E 41 - Assassination of Emperor Pelagius, and crowning of Empress Kintyra\n- 3E 48 - Death of Empress Kintyra , and crowning of Emperor Uriel I\n- 3E 64 - Death of Emperor Uriel I, and crowning of Emperor Uriel II\n- 3E 82 - Death of Emperor Uriel II, and crowning of Emperor Pelagius II\n- 3E 99 - Death of Emperor Pelagius II Dies, and crowning of Emperor Antiochus\nSecond Century\n- 3E 110 - War of the Isle\n- 3E 111 - Knights of the Nine founded by Sir Amiel Lannus\n- 3E 114 - Reported death of Empress Kintyra II\n- 3E 119 - Birth of Pelagius III\n- 3E 121 - Uriel III Proclaimed Emperor\n- 3E 121 - War of the Red Diamond\n- 3E 123, 23 Frostfall - Actual death of Empress Kintyra II, in captivity, in secret\n- 3E 127 - Death of Emperor Uriel III, and crowing of Emperor Cephorus I\n- 3E 137 - Death of Potema, the Queen of Solitude\n- 3E 140 - Death of Emperor Cephorus I, and crowning of Emperor Magnus\n- 3E 145 - Death of Emperor Magnus, and crowning of Emperor Pelagius III\n- 3E 153 - Death of Emperor Pelagius III\n- 3E 153 -  Katariah takes throne from husband Pelagius, becoming Empress\nThird Century\n- 3E 200 - Death of Empress Katariah, and crowning of Emperor Cassynder\n- 3E 202 - Death of Emperor Cassynder, and crowning of Emperor Uriel IV\n- 3E 247 - Death of Emperor Uriel IV, and crowning of Emperor Cephorus II\n- 3E 249 - Invasion of the Empire by the lich, Camoran Usurper\n- 3E 253 - Camoran Usurper controls the Dwynnen Region with \"Nightmare Host\"\n- 3E 267 - Defeat of Camoran Usurper Defeated\n- 3E 268 - Crowing of Emperor Uriel V\n- 3E 271-3E 284 -  Various Conquests of Emperor Uriel Septim IV\n- 3E 288 - Invasion of Akavir by the forces of Emperor Uriel Septim IV\n- 3E 290 - Death of Emperor Uriel V, and crowning of Emperor Uriel VI\nFourth Century\n- 3E 307 - Uriel VI gain full power as Emperor\n- 3E 320 - Death of Uriel VI, and crowning of Empress Morihatha\n- 3E 331 - Publication of the second edition of \"A Pocket Guide to The Empire\"\n- 3E 339 - Assassination of Empress Morihatha, and crowning of Emperor Pelagius IV\n- 3E 389 - Jagar Tharn betrays Emperor Uriel Septim VII\n- 3E 396 - Regional Wars Throughout Tamriel\n- 3E 396 - The Arnesian War\n- 3E 399 - Defeat of Jagar Tharn\n- 3E 399 - The founding of Orsinium\nFifth Century\n- 3E 403 - Assassination of Lysandus, the King of Daggerfall\n- 3E 414 - Vvardenfell Territory opened for settlement\n- 3E 417 -  The \"Warp in the West\" occurs\n- 3E 421 - Greywyn founds the Crimson Scars.\n- 3E 427 - Beginning of the Blight Curse in Vvardenfell, and arrival of the Nerevar\n- 3E 427 - The Bloodmoon Prophecy comes to pass, on the isle of Solstheim\n- 3E 432 - Publication of the third edition of \"A Pocket Guide to The Empire\"\n- 3E 433 - Assassination of Emperor Uriel Septim VII\n- 3E 433 - The \"Oblivion Crisis\"\n- 3E 433 - The Knights of the Nine are reformed"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/totems-hircine": {"game": ["Skyrim", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/totems-hircine", "description": "Describes artifacts granted to men by Hircine to focus Lycanthropy.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Totems of Hircine", "text": "Among those of us to whom Lord Hircine bestowed his most precious gift of Lycanthropy, there are legends that he also set into the world specific artifacts of his power. They date to a period when men could neither write, nor speak, nor barely think, but the powers of blood of the beast were yet flowing strong among the selected.\nThe first: a carved skull, of the wolf itself. Used by those ancient shamans in the blood ceremonies that created our lineage, it is said to grant a great presence to those who prostrate themselves before it, such that those who witness their forms cower in a terror unknown except to those who have glimpsed the face of Hircine himself.\nThe second: a thigh bone, carved as the skull, but from some animal unknown. Used as some form of medicinal wand in the more ancient brotherhood, it was said to grant a kind of heightened awareness, both in sight and smell, such that the prey could never flee too far from our senses.\nThe third: a simple drum, its mundane appearance meaning it is most likely lost to the mists of long ago time. As our fathers would beat time to summon their brethren from the fields, so too would our forebears in the blood call their allies to them with its pounding.\nThrough these totems, we channel and focus our energies of the beast. While werewolves give up the powers of magic known to men, we can tap into a more direct natural energy at times, and through these totems, discover the abilities that first tamed the world before wrought civilization sullied it.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ulen-matter": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ulen-matter", "description": "A vengeful Hlaalu's plot for assassinating Councilor Morvayn.", "author": "Vendil Ulen", "title": "The Ulen Matter", "text": "Dear Councilor Saldin,\nIn a manner of days I believe we'll be ready. Our forces hidden within Ashfallow Citadel have been training night and day, ready to strike when we give the signal. With Captain Veleth distracted by the ash spawn attacks, the timing seems perfect. I've waited nearly a decade to exact my revenge upon Lleril Morvayn for the death of my ancestor and I long for the moment my blade will be drawn across his throat. The next letter you'll recieve from me will include his head in a sack. Display it proudly in the halls of House Hlaalu, brother.\nVendil Ulen"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/warmth-mara": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/warmth-mara", "description": "A short sermon.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Warmth of Mara", "text": "Rejoice, Reader...\nFor Mara's Light Shines Upon YOU!\nMara's Benevolence is everlasting and Her Warmth widespread throughout the world. Shut your eyes, lift your head to the heavens and bask in the glow that shapes our destiny!\nLady Mara will embrace any regardless of their past. Cast away your misdeeds and freshen your spirit! Give unto Her all the compassion that you would give unto your birthmother and learn that She will never leave you, never cast you aside and never forsake you!\nDonations are being accepted at the Temple of Mara in Riften"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/windhelm-letters": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/windhelm-letters", "description": "Letters from a woman to her lover during a famine.", "author": "Reylia, Stessl, Shapl", "title": "The Windhelm Letters", "text": "The following transcribed letters were recovered from a strongbox found after a fire consumed a house in Solitude in the early part of the 3rd Era. Nobody by the addressed name lived at the home, and it is unknown how long the family had owned the strongbox. The letters are believed to have been written during the reign of Jarl Elgryr the Unminded, who ruled Windhelm in the Second Era and about whom few other records are extant.\nMy dearest Thessalonius,\nI hope this letter reaches you, and finds you well. It is getting more difficult to find paper within the city, but I still save the scraps sent by the city's tax agents. I hope you don't mind a household reckoning on the reverse of this.\nWindhelm remains as cold as ever, but nothing compared to the heart of her king. Smoke and revelry rise from the palace daily, while we have little wood or coal to keep the chill off. I fear for the little ones, but they're so brave, having never known any other kind of life. We all speak of you daily, and hope that we may come to see you soon.\nYours,\nReylia\n\nDear Thessalonius,\nYour last message arrived safely, but the promised gold mentioned within did not. When I mentioned this to the courier, she shrugged and turned to the door with no other word. While hearing from you brings joy to us all, I would caution you to not trust that particular woman again.\nThe minds of the city grow numb with cold and silence. We starve, and the unminded one makes no appearance, no speech, nothing to succor his people. His wizard has been seen walking the streets of the city at odd hours, visiting homes. I saw him paint some horrid symbol on one door -- it dripped like blood before vanishing like sand in the wind. The next dawn, nobody who lived there still drew breath. I am a friend to one of the scullery maids who was sent to clean out the house. She described the most horrible things to me and the children, but I will spare you the details.\nThe worst of it is, that was a house that supported the king. If that's what happens to his friends, what will be the fate of the rest of us?\nBut don't let this shift your mind from its important tasks. We all know you work to free us, and pray for your success and swift return.\nLove,\nReylia\n\nThis next letter was scribbled onto a piece of cloth with what appears to be charcoal.\nThess.,\nI hope you didn't actually ... [illegible] ... efforts are important, but our sufferings must remain ... [illegible] ... retaliation can be swift and terrible. If you no longer care for me, at least think of your ... [illegible] .... Love always, R\n\nDear Thessalonius,\nWeeks go by and we have no word from Solitude. I tell the children that you're simply very busy, but it's getting harder to make excuses for you. If you can no longer send money (and I understand, smuggling anything of value into the city has become a fool's errand), at least send word that you still live and work for the freedom of Windhelm.\nAs regards your issue that I mentioned previously, worry not. With food shortages being what they are, I have removed it from my concerns.\nAlways yours,\nReylia\n\nMy dearest Thessalonius,\nIt was good to hear from you at last. Please forgive the rantings of a starving mind. We have at last depleted the basement stores of food, even with the strictest rationing. I see the little ones' faces growing thin and my heart weeps for them. They are, in some ways, brave. I think they're looking after me moreso than I them.\nPlease come home. I strongly desire to look upon your face.\n-- R\n\nPapa,\nMa said to write you, so we love and miss you. Ma is tired a lot, but has lots of visitors, so we are being good and helpping.\nLove,\nStessl and Shapl\n\nThessalonius,\nI don't have much time. The city has finally broken. The gates of the palace will not keep us out. The storming begins soon. I have gathered those who still have a spirit to live, and we are taking our own fortunes to hand. I hope to see you on the other side of this. Pray for us as we once prayed for you.\nYour Reylia"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wispmother": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wispmother", "description": "Facts and theories about Wispmothers.", "author": "Mathias Etienne", "title": "The Wispmother", "text": "The Wispmother:\nTwo Theories\nby\nMathias Etienne\n\nAmong the folk tales from the northern reaches of Skyrim, few subjects are as popular as the Wispmother: ghostly women who lure unsuspecting travelers to their doom, steal children, and takes vengeance on those who wronged them in life.\nSimilar tales exist throughout Tamriel: The Melusanae of Stros Mkai, who lure ships to wreck on jagged shoals, then consume the souls of those aboard. The serpentine Chalass of Black Marsh. The Amronal of Valenwood.\nBut unlike these mythic creatures, most scholars concede that Wispmothers actually exist. Though rare, credible reports of their sightings are simply too frequent to be ignored. Herein, a synopsis of what can be gleaned from provincial legends, and the dominant theories on what they may actually be.\nWispmothers\nMost tales agree on only a few basic facts about Wispmothers. They are always female. They take the form of human (some say Elven) spirits, wreathed in mist and decaying rags. They have an affinity for frost magic, rarely appearing in more temperate climes.\nBut beyond that, the tales differ wildly. Some say they are ghosts, waiting to be laid to rest. Others, that they are all that remains of the Snow Elves who once ruled Skyrim. Some say they are native to Hjaalmarch (or the north more generally), but other tales mention them in forgotten places, on mountaintops as far away as the Jeralls.\nMost reputable scholars dismiss these stories, preferring instead to focus on the few documented sightings from recent years. From these, two dominant theories have emerged:\nBased on his extensive research into necromancy and Cyrodiil's Ayleid culture, Master Sadren Sarethi posits that Wispmothers are a necrologic state, a type of lich-dom developed by a now-forgotten First Era culture. Under his theory, these are no mere ghosts - they are a cult of powerful sorceresses who achieved eternal life through undeath.\nAlternately, Lydette Viliane of the Synod contends that Wispmothers are not undead at all, but rather elemental manifestations arising out of Nirn itself. By noting several similarities to Spriggans and Ice Wraiths, she contends that the Wispmothers are essentially elemental personifications of snow or mist, innately wielding the power of their element, instead of manipulating it through conventional sorcery.\nWisps\nIn most accounts, the victim is initially drawn to the Wispmother by glowing, ghostly lights. Although initially passive, these creatures later attack in tandem with her, distracting the victim and draining their energy.\nPopular legend holds that these are the spirits of the Wispmother's previous victims. These spirits strengthen her, so anyone hoping to destroy her must first release the souls of those she has killed.\nTo scholars, this description immediately recalls the Will-o-the-Wisp, a rare and dangerous swamp denizen of southern Tamriel. Oddly, Cyrodillic legends invariably refer to Wisps as lone predators, while these appear to exist in some sort of symbiotic relationship with others of their kind.\nViliane argues that these Wisps are a sub-species of true Wisps, scavengers that lure prey to the Wispmother and share in the psychoetherial energy released by her kills. As co-dependent scavengers, they most likely lack the formidable defenses of their predatory cousins, rendering them far more vulnerable.\nAlternately, Sarethi posits that these \"Wisps\" are merely emanations or conjurations of the Wispmother, and not free-living creatures. This is supported by one incident in which an adventurer reportedly killed a Wispmother directly, only to observe the remaining Wisps immediately perish as well, though the source is considered highly unreliable.\nIn summary, scholarly opinion about Wispmothers and Wisps is sharply divided, and is likely to remain so for some time. But all sources agree on one crucial point: these are highly dangerous foes, and should be avoided at all costs.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/woodcutters-wife": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/woodcutters-wife", "description": "A folk tale of a woodcutter's wife cursed for her deeds.", "author": "Mogen Son of Molag", "title": "The Woodcutter's Wife", "text": "The Woodcutter's Wife\nVolume 1\n\nAs Told By\nMogen Son of Molag\n\nLegend tells of a woodcutter who built a shack deep within the pine forest. There, he hoped to live in peace with his family.\nThe woodcutter's family lived well for a time, but without warning, the weather turned bitterly cold and spoiled the harvest. Before long, with their meager supply of food all but gone, the family was starving.\nLate one snowy night, a traveler knocked on the cabin door seeking shelter from the biting cold. Always generous of heart, the woodcutter welcomed the stranger into his home, apologizing that he had no food to offer.\nWith a smile, the traveler cast off his cloak to reveal the garments of a mage. As the woodcutter and his family looked on, the mysterious visitor reached into his satchel and withdrew a scroll tied with a silver ribbon. No sooner had the wizard unfurled the scroll and read the words aloud, when a great feast appeared from out of thin air. That night, nobody in the woodcutter's cabin went hungry.\nDay by day, the snow piled up. Every night, the mage produced another scroll from his bag and read the words, each time summoning a new feast. On the fifth night, the woodcutter's wife awoke her husband to confess her mistrust of their magical guest. Surely, she argued, there was some price to pay for the magical feasts that everyone enjoyed night after night.\nThe woodcutter would have none of it. After nearly dying from the lack of food, his family was eating well. The divines had sent them a gift, he explained, and it was foolish to question their wisdom.\nBut the woodcutter's wife would not be persuaded. Every night, she grew more fearful and more desperate. She was certain that the family had entered into a devil's bargain, and the time would soon come when the mage would ask for something unspeakable in return for his gifts.\nWhile everyone in the cabin slept, the woodcutter's wife snuck out of bed and took her husband's axe in hand. She crept into the traveler's room and with one swing, lopped off his head.\nSuddenly, the wizard's disembodied head awoke. His eyes opened wide and when he beheld his maimed body, he let forth a terrible cry.\nAwakened by the horrified scream, the woodcutter and his children rushed into the room and gasped at the terrible sight of the decapitated mage.\nWith his last gasp of breath, the traveler laid a fearful curse on the woodcutter's wife. After her mortal death, she was damned to rise once again and walk the woods alone only to burn at the rising of the sun.\nTo this day, those who walk the pine forest late at night tell tales of a weeping woman glimpsed between the trees. She carries a bloody axe, the stories say, and is terrifying to behold."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/yellow-book-riddles-0": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/yellow-book-riddles-0", "description": "A riddle book", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Yellow Book of Riddles", "text": "For earnest pleasure, and the strengthening of the mind, the author here collects all that he has learned of the art of riddling, by dint of diligent study, and through years of discourse with others of similar inclination.\nThe posing and puzzling of riddles is a convention of polite aristocratic Western society. Nobles and social aspirants collect books of riddles and study them, hoping thereby to increase the chances of their appearing sly and witty in conversation.\nA metal neither black nor red\nAs heavy as man's golden greed\nWhat you do to stay ahead\nWith friend or arrow or steed\ndaeL :rewsnA ehT\nA man says, \"If you lie to me I will slay you with my sword. If you tell me the truth, I will slay you with a spell.\" What must you say to stay alive?\n.drows a htiw em yals lliw uoY :rewsnA ehT\nA Bosmer, was slain. The Altmer claims the Dunmer is guilty. The Dunmer says the Khajiit did it. The Orc swears he didn't kill the Bosmer. The Khajiit says the Dunmer is lying. If only one of these speaks the truth, who killed the Bosmer?\ncrO ehT :rewsnA ehT"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/there-be-dragons": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/there-be-dragons", "description": "An exploration of the nature and history of dragons.", "author": "Torhal Bjorik", "title": "There be Dragons", "text": "The last known sighting of a dragon in Tamriel was in the time of Tiber Septim. He made a pact with the few remaining dragons, swearing to protect them if they would serve him. Despite his promise, dragons were still hunted and slain. It's not clear if the last ones fled Tamriel or if they were exterminated.\nThere is no credible story of how dragons came to be. According to dremora that the College of Whispers have \"questioned,\" they just were, and are. Eternal, immortal, unchanging, and unyielding. They are not born or hatched. They do not mate or breed. There are no known examples of dragon eggs or dragonlings. The Iliac Bay area has stories of such things, but so far all have proven false. The eggs turned out to be eggs of other reptiles. The small dragons were merely oversized lizards and no relation to true dragons.\nAlthough they are not born, dragons can die. During the Dragon War of the Merethic Era, their numbers were decimated. The Akaviri invaders of the late First Era are said to have hunted and killed scores of them, before and after their defeat by Emperor Reman. Some sources say the Akaviri brought over dragon-killing spells. Others claim they built cunning traps. One tale even speaks of a rare poison.\nIt is well accepted that a dragon's most fearsome weapon is its fiery breath. Because they could fly overhead and rain down flaming death, archers and wizards were necessary when hunting them. It is less well known that some dragons could breathe a freezing spray of frost. The reports indicate that dragon might do one or the other, but not both.\nMost people think of dragons as mere beasts. However, logically they must have had language in order for Tiber Septim to have negotiated with them. Indeed, the historical record is quite clear that dragons were highly intelligent. They had their own language, but could also speak the languages of men and elves.\nThe records of Reman's hunts contain reports of dragons that breathe or spit fire. Recently some were unearthed that described dragons blowing freezing blasts of cold. The more fanciful tales have them summoning storms and even stopping time. These should be discounted as myths and faery tales. Even without this most fearsome weapon, their nearly impenetrable hide and granite-like teeth and claws made them terrifying opponents.\nThere is some confusion over when the last dragon was killed. It seems the last few vanished all at once. Some tales speak of a dragon king who devoured all of them rather than let mankind kill them. One of the more far-fetched stories has Tiber Septim absorbing their essences when he ascended to godhood. Although the exact cause is unknown, they are all gone. No dragon has been seen for centuries. There are a few known examples of dragon bones fused with the stone and rocks of cliffs and caves. Just enough proof to make the stories undeniable."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thiefs-journal": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thiefs-journal", "description": "Details how a thief tamed a fox", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Thief's Journal", "text": "4th of First Seed\nI guess being Bosmer really does give me a way with animals! This little fox wandered up to me today, bold as brass, and started begging for treats. I didn't have anything on me at the time but a sweet roll, but it seemed to like that well enough. I wonder if this gift with animals works on horses - it would make stealing them dead easy.\n\n15th of First Seed\nThe furry nuisance won't leave me alone! It's been following me everywhere, even down into the sewers. At least it's quiet enough that it won't alert the guards...\n\n1st of Rain's Hand\nThe fox has a real nose for sniffing out valuables. Just this morning she dug a silver locket out of the mud - I never would have seen it if she hadn't started pawing at the ground. She must be attracted to shiny things. Can't say I blame her, really.\n\n9th of Rain's Hand\nFinding Sweet Roll has turned out to be the best stroke of luck I've had in a while. She's got better eyes and instincts than any thief I've ever met, including Vex. I can't remember the last time my coin purse was this heavy - I'm starting to jingle like a battalion of Imperials when I walk.\n\n25th of Rain's Hand\nI think I'll try out this animal-taming thing on the wolves outside of town. Some of the other thieves have been eyeing me recently; they would think twice about jumping me if I had a wolf at my heels."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thiefs-last-words": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thiefs-last-words", "description": "Concerns the Eyes of the Snow Elves.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Thief's Last Words", "text": "Nobody thought they were real, but I've seen them.\nThe Eyes of the Snow Elves!\nThe Dwarves thought they took them from the Falmer, but they themselves were fooled. A statue, built in secret by the slaves, the eyes burn into you, and I see them even now. S'raffa escaped through the collapsing tunnel, but he'll never escape what we've seen. Men will never believe him, and he'll be driven mad by the knowledge that he'll never see them again. But I may yet see them again before I die.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thiefs-note": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thiefs-note", "description": "A thief's search to become the next Grey Fox", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Thief's Note", "text": "The Fox told me he wore the cowl to forget himself, and start a new life.\n\nYet I'm the one who can't remember. Every time we meet, he's a stranger to me. Or was it a she?\n\nIt doesn't matter. I spoke his words to a beggar, told her \"Shadow hide you.\" She slipped me a note that confirms my suspicions. The Gray Fox is dead. And now that I've seen his headstone, I know for a fact his time is over, and the cowl will be passed on.\n\nI'm gonna be the next one to wear it. And when I do, I'll become so rich I won't need any memories. I'll just buy new ones."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/things-do": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/things-do", "description": "A fisherman's to-do list.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Things to Do", "text": "Things to do:\n1. Repair holes in nets. Sending to Markarth too expensive, look for local solution. Valindor perhaps?\n2. Repair wood damage on fish pens. No skill required for this, should simply have Wujeeta take care of it.\n3. Adjust fishing charts for Lake Honrich. Need to keep ship clear of Goldenglow Estate. They took potshots at our ship last time we moored within a stone's throw of their location, no idea why and answers to Aringoth have gone unanswered.\n4. Tell Nivenor to stop spending so much of our damn money!\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thirsk-revised-history": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thirsk-revised-history", "description": "History and customs of Thirsk, a mead hall in Solstheim", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Thirsk, A Revised History", "text": "On the bank of Lake Fjalding stands Thirsk, a grand mead hall that serves as the home and center of operations for a most valiant clan of Nord warriors.\nLong ago, a small group of Skaal decided to leave the main village, and free themselves of their brethren's strict adherence to nature worship. They sought to live life as their ancestors had in Skyrim -- free to kill what they wanted when they wanted, free to worship in any manner they chose.\nThe group braved the harsh weather and traveled south toward Lake Fjalding, where they found the perfect location for a new settlement. There they decided to construct a grand mead hall that would serve as their new home and hunting lodge. After several months of building, the companions had completed the task, and named the mead hall Thirsk.\nThe settlers looked upon all they had accomplished, and were truly proud of their accomplishment. But their happiness was short lived, and the settlers soon learned that not everyone celebrated the construction of Thirsk. As the mead hall was being erected, so too was the noise and commotion of construction disturbing an ancient creature that lay dormant under the ice. It was a tragic twist of irony, therefore, that as the last beam of the great hall was nailed in place, the slumbering beast did finally awaken. His ancient name was the Udyrfrykte, though the settlers knew him only as death. The Udyrfrykte came to the newly completed mead hall and wreaked vengeance upon those who had shattered the peace of his long, cold sleep. He killed without warning, without mercy, reducing the Thirsk Nords to half their number. It was the valiant sorcerer Eldrid Ice-Light who finally drove the beast back to his lair beneath the frozen lake, and used his magicka to seal the entrance with a great wall of ice. The horror was over, but the price was great. It took the settlers two months to fix the damage done by the Udyrfrykte, and with so many strong hands now gone, it was slow and tedious work.\nFinally, Thirsk stood tall and proud once more. But even though the settlers had worked together to construct the mead hall and drive away the threat of the Udyrfrykte, tensions quickly grew over who would serve as their leader. Most of the men considered Hrothmund the Red their de facto chieftain, as he was the strongest and most capable of the lot. But one warrior, Drengr Bronze-Helm, disagreed. He thought himself most capable to rule over Thirsk, and loudly voiced his opposition to Hrothmund. Knowing that conflict and discord would only serve to destroy the new life they had worked so hard to create, Hrothmund the Red exercised his only true option - he swung his great axe and beheaded Drengr Bronze-Helm where he stood. The Nords appreciated more than anything a warrior's prowess in battle, and Drengr's slaying proved to them that Hrothmund was indeed most worthy to be Thirsk's chieftain. So that the other Nords would never forget he had proven his right to lead, Hrothmund placed Drengr's head on a pedestal in the center of Thirsk's main hall, for all to see.\nAnd so began Thirsk's most time-honored tradition. Any warrior, regardless of race or sex, could claim leadership of the mead hall by displaying the most impressive battle trophy on the great hall's pedestal. So long as the spirit of Hrothmund the Red consented, that warrior would be named chieftain.\nHrothmund's Bane\nFor twenty-one years Hrothmund the Red ruled over Thirsk and its residents as chieftain. With his soft voice and great axe, Hrothmund brought peace and prosperity to Thirsk. But peace proved to be Hrothmund's undoing, for the mighty Nord grew restless in the warmth and safety of the mead hall. He longed for battle and adventure, to feel the frost in his veins once more, and could ignore the call of valor no longer. When word spread of a giant, bloodthirsty white wolf terrorizing travelers in the Moesring Mountains, Hrothmund took up his great axe and set out to defeat the beast alone. The men of the mountains named him Ondjage, the Fell Wolf. The beast measured as large as an ox, with fur as white as new-fallen snow, and it was said no man or woman alive could bring Ondjage down. The words of the mountain folk proved true, for while Hrothmund did hew one leg from the Fell Wolf, Ondjage devoured the mighty Nord whole, leaving only his great axe as a grim reminder of man's failure against beast. Filled with sorrow and rage, the residents of Thirsk marched to the mountains in search of the wolf, called by them Hrothmund's Bane. Only together did they manage to slay Ondjage, and as family they feasted on his roasted flesh.\nThe following is a list of Thirsk's chieftains, since Hrothmund first ruled:\nHrothmund the Red. Nord male. Slew Drengr Bronze-Helm and presented his head as a battle trophy. Ruled over Thirsk for twenty-one years. Slain and devoured by Ondjage, the Fell Wolf.\nIsgeror White-Wave. Nord female. Slew the necromancer Hildir Worm-Heart and presented his heart as a battle trophy. Ruled over Thirsk for four years.\nEinarr. Nord male. Slew the frost giant Guolog and presented his foot as a battle trophy. Ruled over Thirsk for six years.\nGisl Round-Gut. Nord male. Slew Einarr and presented his sword as a battle trophy. Ruled over Thirsk for two months.\nEinarr the Younger. Nord male. Slew Gisl Round-Gut and presented his stomach as a battle trophy. Ruled over Thirsk for seven years.\nGrjotgaror. Nord male. Slew the white witch Katla and presented her staff as a battle trophy. Ruled over Thirsk for two years.\nAmelie Bontecou. Breton female. Slew Grjotgaror and presented his head as a battle trophy. Ruled over Thirsk for three years.\nThorormr Storm-Killer. Nord male. Slew the brothers Ani and Ali and presented their enchanted hammers as battle trophies. Ruled over Thirsk for sixteen years.\nAegilief. Nord Female. Slew Oddny the Unfaithful and presented her hand as a battle trophy. Ruled over Thirsk for eight years.\nCaccino Aurelia. Imperial male. Slew the Imperial hero Claudius Anzione and presented his sword as a battle trophy. Ruled over Thirsk for three weeks. Fraud.\nEldjar Bear-Skinner. Nord male. Slew the Imperial fraud Caccino Aurelia and presented his tongue as a battle trophy. Ruled over Thirsk for five years.\nFalki the Fat. Nord male. Slew a pack of six rabid wolves and presented their claws as battle trophies. Ruled over Thirsk for three months. Succumbed to madness and death as a result of rabies.\nSvana the Knife. Nord female. Slew Gretta Wolf-Child and presented her sword as a battle trophy. Ruled over Thirsk for four years.\nBeinir White-Beard. Nord male. Slew three Orc raiders and presented their eyes as battle trophies. Ruled over Thirsk for twenty-two years.\nSkjoldr Wolf-Runner. Nord male. Slew the wizard Griss the Yellow and presented his head as a battle trophy. Ruled over Thirsk for three years. Slain in the mead hall.\nThere is, here, a period of unrecorded histories. At some point, the Udyrfrykte was dealt with once and for all, but the leader of Thirsk in this time is unrecorded. There were, apparently, several other chieftains who came and went before the resumption of record. The Thirsk devotion to oral tradition means these names may forever be lost to history.\nGirgun the Colossus. Nord male. Slew Thjold the Ill-Minded and presented his brains as a battle trophy. Ruled over Thirsk for six years.\nVibeke the Stone. Nord female. Slew seven Imperial pirates and presented their helmets as battle trophies. Ruled over Thirsk for three years.\nHjarknir Green-Hand. Nord male. Slew an entire grove of Spriggans and presented their taproot hearts as battle trophies. Ruled Thirsk for twenty-seven years.\nBujold the Intrepid. Nord female. Slew the great beast of Ilfark and presented its stomach as a battle trophy. Rules Thirsk as of this writing.\nExpansion:\nThe Thirsk mead hall is nearly the same today as it was at its founding, a testament to the quality of its construction. But while Thirsk itself did not grow, its inhabitants did, and before long the grand mead hall could not house all who wished to dwell within. So, over the years, many Nords have left Thirsk to establish their own private dwellings out in the wilderness of Solstheim, relying on the island's many caves and natural shelters. But those who left are always welcome back at Thirsk, and many return frequently to enjoy the mead hall's hospitalities. It is also important to note that although much time has passed since the group first left the Skaal village, the Skaal and Thirsk Nords have always remained civil to one another, and even trade resources on occasion.\nRelationship with Raven Rock:\nThe Thirsk Nords hold the same relations with Raven Rock that they once held with the Empire when its presence was more known on Solstheim: a deliberate disinterest and lack of complication. Both sides remain happy if they can plausibly believe the other doesn't exist. Which is not to say there is any cause for enmity; rather, there is simply no cause for fellowship among these two very differing cultures.\nLaw and Order Within Thirsk:\nWithin the Mead Hall, the Chieftain serves as judge, jury and executioner if necessary. The reality is that Thirsk has always been a fairly peaceful place, with camaraderie and goodwill the norm. Solstheim can be a harsh home, and the Nords of Thirsk have long realized that fighting each other isn't nearly as productive as battling the island's bears, wolves, draugr, Rieklings, and whatever other fell creatures may roam the land. Still, there is the occasional disagreement - which more often than naught ends in bloodshed - and every few years someone gets it into his head to challenge the chieftain to a blood duel to try to gain possession of Thirsk. Generally speaking, the Nords of Thirsk are one big, happy barbarian-like family. And, like any family, they have their squabbles.\nThe Ashtimes:\nSince the eruption of the Red Mountain, the southern portion of Solstheim has been lost to waste and Dark Elf occupation. Thirsk sits just above the desolated area, though, and happily escaped the destruction that fell over much of the land. In the years since, Thirsk has taken its role as \"haven\" all the more seriously. They focus on hospitality, and on welcoming outsiders whether they seek respite from the southern ashlands or the northern chill."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thonars-journal": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thonars-journal", "description": "Describes the arragement between Thonar and Madanach.", "author": "Thonar Silverblood", "title": "Thonar's Journal", "text": "Madanach is becoming unruly. You'd think that 20 years in prison would calm a beast like him down a bit. Maybe I should have let the Jarl execute him after the uprising after all.\nStill, he's been invaluable in getting rid of several \"problems\" over the years. Maybe I'm overreacting. No one knows about our little arrangement. Not even the Forsworn. I wonder how they would react knowing their \"King in Rags\" was one of my most important assets?\nThis little shadow rebellion of his better not start to include me, though. If I find out he's even thinking about double-crossing me, I'll make sure he dies inside Cidhna Mine, like the animal he is."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/three-thieves": {"game": ["Skyrim", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/three-thieves", "description": "A tale of thievery and betrayal.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Three Thieves", "text": "\"The problem with thieves today,\" said Lledos, \"Is the lack of technique. I know there's no honor among thieves, and there never was, but there used to be some pride, some skill, some basic creativity. It really makes those of us with a sense of history despair.\"\nImalyn sneered, slamming down his flagon of greef violently on the rough-hewn table. \"B'vek, what do you want us to say? You asks us 'What do you do when you see a guard?' and I says, 'Stab the fetcher in the back.' What d'you prefer? We challenge 'em to a game of chits?\"\n\"So much ambition, so little education,\" said Lledos with a sigh. \"My dear friends, we aren't mugging some Nord tourist fresh off the ferry. The Cobblers Guildhall may not sound intimidating but tonight, when the dues collection is housed there before being sent to the bank, the security's going to be tighter than a kwama's ass. You can't just stab at every back you encounter and expect to make it into the vaults.\"\n\"Why don't you explain specifically what you'd like us to do?\" asked Galsiah calmly, trying to keep the tone of the group down. Most locals at the Plot and Plaster cornerclub in Tel Aruhn knew enough not to listen in, but she knew better than to take any chances.\n\"The common thief,\" said Lledos, pouring himself more greef, warming to his subject. \"Sticks his dagger in his opponent's back. This may slay the target, but more often gives him time to scream and drenches the attacker with blood. Not good. Now a good throat-slashing, properly executed, can both slay and silence a guard and leave the thief relatively bloodfree. And after all, after the robbery, we don't want people seeing a bunch of blood-soaked butchers running through the streets. Even in Tel Aruhn, that's likely to warrant suspicion.\"\n\"If you can catch your victim lying down asleep or resting, you are in an excellent position. You place one hand over the mouth with your thumb under the chin, then you use your other hand to slit the throat, and quickly turn the head to one side so the body bleeds out away from you. There is a risk here of becoming blood stained if you don't move the head quickly enough. If you're unsure, strangle the victim first to avoid the blood that tends to spurt out in three foot jets when someone is stabbed while alive.\"\n\"A very good friend of mine, a thief in Gnisis whose name I won't mention, swears by the strangle-and-slash technique. Simply put, you grab your victim's throat from behind and while throttling him, you batter his face against the opposite wall. When the victim is thus rendered unconscious, you slash his throat while still holding him from behind, and the risk of staining one's clothes with blood is practically nonexistant.\"\n\"The classic technique, which requires less grappling than my friend's variation, is to place one hand over the victim's mouth, and then saw through the throat in three or four stroke rather like playing a violin. It requires little effort, and while there's quite a bit of blood, it all jets forward away from you.\"\n\"There's no reason when one knows one is going to be slitting some throats not to take some precautions and bring some extra equipment. The best neck-hackers I know generally carry a bit of wadded cloth on the aft-side of their knives to keep blood from getting on their cuffs. It's impractical for this sort of assignment, but when you're only anticipating one or two victims, nothing beats throwing a sack over the targets head, drawing the string tight, and then supplying the killing blow or blows.\"\nImalyn laughed loudly, \"Can I see a demonstration sometime?\"\n\"Very soon,\" said Lledos. \"If Galsiah has done her job.\"\nGalsiah brought out the map of the guildhouse, freshly stolen, and they began to detail out the strategy.\nThe last several hours had been a whirlwind to all. In less than a day, the three had met, formulated a plan, bought or stolen the necessary ingredients, and were about to execute it. Not one of the three were sure whether confidence or stupidity were driving the other two, but the fates were aligned. The guildhouse was going to be robbed.\nWhen the sun set, Lledos, Galsiah, and Imalyn approached the Cobblers Guildhouse on the east end of town. Galsiah used her cachous of stoneflower to mask their scent from the guard wolves as the three passed over the parapets. She also acted as lead scout, and Lledos was impressed. For someone of relative inexperience, she knew her way through shadows.\nLledos's expertise was demonstrated a dozen times, and the guards were of such a diverse variety, he was able to demonstrate all the means of silent assassination he had developed over the years.\nImalyn opened the vault in his unique and systematic method. As the tumblers fell beneath his fingers, he softly sang an old dirty tavern song about the Ninety-Nine Loves of Boethiah. He said it helped him focus and organize difficult combinations. Within seconds, the vault was open and the gold was in hand.\nThey left the guildhouse an hour after they entered. No alarm had been raised, the gold was gone, and corpses lay pooling blood on the stone floors within.\n\"Well done, my friends, well done. You learned well.\" Lledos said as he poured the gold pieces into the specially designed compartments in his tunic's sleeves, where they held fast with no jingling or unusual bulges. \"We'll meet back at the Plot and Plaster tomorrow morning and split up the bounty.\"\nThe group parted ways. The only person who knew the most covert route through the city's sewer system, Lledos, slipped in through a duct and vanished below. Galsiah threw on her shawl, muddied her face to resemble an old f'lah fortune-teller, and headed north. Imalyn headed east into the park, trusting his unnatural senses to keep him away from the citywatch.\nNow I teach them the greatest lesson of all, thought Lledos as he sloshed through the labyrinthine tunnels of sludge. His guar was waiting where he left it at the city gates, making a laconic lunch of the chokeweed shrub to which it had been leashed.\nOn the road to Vivec, he thought of Galsiah and Imalyn. Perhaps they had been caught and brought in for questioning already. It was a pity he couldn't see them undergoing interrogation. Who would break under pressure first? Imalyn was certainly the tougher of the two, but Galsiah doubtless had hidden reserves. It was merely intellectual curiousity: they thought his name was Lledos and he was meeting them at the Plot and Plaster. The authorities wouldn't therefore be looking for a Dunmer named Sathis celebrating his wealth miles and miles away in Vivec.\nAs he prodded his mount forward and the sun began rising, Sathis pictured Galsiah and Imalyn not undergoing interrogation, but sleeping the good deep sleep of the wicked, dreaming of how they would spend their share of the gold. Both would wake up early and rush to the Plot and Plaster. He could see them now, Imalyn laughing and carrying on, Galsiah hushing him to avoid bringing undue attention. They would take a couple flagons of greef, perhaps order a meal -- a big one -- and wait. Hours would pass, and so would their moods. The chain of reactions that every betrayed person exhibits: nervousness, doubt, bewilderment, anger.\nThe sun was fully risen when Sathis reached the stables of his house on the outskirts of Vivec. He reigned in his guar and filled its feed. The rest of the stalls were empty. It wouldn't be until that afternoon when his servants returned from the feast of St Rilms in Gnisis. They were good people, and he treated them well, but from past experience he knew that servants talked. If they began to connect his absences with thefts in other towns, it was only a matter of time before they would go to the authorities or blackmail him. After all, they were human. It was best in the long run to give them a week off with pay whenever he was out of town on business.\nHe slipped the gold into the vault in his study, and went upstairs. The schedule had been tight, but Sathis had given himself a few hours to rest before his household returned. His own bed was wonderfully soft and warm compared to the dreadful mattress he had to use at the canton in Tel Aruhn.\nSathis woke up some time later from a nightmare. For a second after he opened his eyes, he thought he could still hear Imalyn's voice nearby, singing The Ninety-Nine Loves of Boethiah. He lay still in his bed, waiting, but there was no sound except the usual creaks and groans of his old house. Afternoon sunlight came through his bedroom window in ribbons, catching dust. He closed his eyes.\nThe song returned, and Sathis heard the vault door in his study swing open. The smell of stoneflower filled his nose and he opened his eyes. Only a little of the afternoon sunlight could pierce the inside of the burlap sack.\nA strong, feminine hand clamped over the mouth and a thumb jabbed under his chin. Just as his throat opened and his head was shoved to the side, he heard Galsiah in her typical calm voice, \"Thank you for the lesson, Sathis.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/timely-offer": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/timely-offer", "description": "Smuggling glass arrows.", "author": "Tuldinwae", "title": "Timely Offer", "text": "Delvin,\nI have a full score of glass arrows coming in.  If you want a piece, I'll sell them to you for my cost. I need to keep the merchandise moving or else that bitch might catch on to our operation. If you want them, they'll be stashed under the docks in the usual place. I'll check back with you in a week.\nTuldinwae\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/concerned-citizen": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/concerned-citizen", "description": "A missive from the Society of Mercantile Freedom in Riften.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "To A Concerned Citizen", "text": "Concerned Citizen,\nYou've received this letter because you're a businessman in Riften who's sick and tired of being pushed around by the Black-Briar Family and their cronies. You're sick of the Thieves Guild taking your last coin from your already meager earnings. And you're sick of the corruption that runs through Mistveil Keep like a disease. We at the Society of Mercantile Freedom in Riften are behind you and wish to unify to fight our common enemies! Join us, and together we'll stand up and smash the injustice that's ruined this once-fine city. If you're interested in becoming a part of our organization, simply mark your business with a white x and you'll be contacted by a representative.\nThe Society of Mercantile Freedom in Riften\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/be-read-immediately": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/be-read-immediately", "description": "Indaryn is once again displeased with his workers.", "author": "Indaryn", "title": "To be Read Immediately!", "text": "Notice to all employees:\nIt's come to my attention that the last batch of Black-Briar Private Reserve was simply our standard Black-Briar Mead placed in the incorrect bottles. We sold six cases of the Private Reserve recently and they were all returned. To make amends, we've replaced the cases with the correct supply at our cost. Due to this blunder, the cost of those cases will be removed from this month's wages.\nIndaryn\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/milore-nilara": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/milore-nilara", "description": "A letter to her sister about the situation in Mournhould.", "author": "Nilara Ienth", "title": "To Milore from Nilara", "text": "Milore,\nI hope the day finds you well. Well, Athras and I have finally mustered the courage to return to Mournhold and pick up the pieces. We haven't been back to the manor in almost fifty years, but things haven't changed much. The city feels a bit empty... Barenziah's palace is still completely unoccupied and most of the Redoran Guard have been reassigned to other parts of Morrowind. They've continued to make improvements to Mournhold Temple, removing the last vestiges of Almalexia's mark and adding a new sanctuary. Plaza Brindisi Dorom has changed as well. House Indoril has erected a large building there to house all of the new pilgrims and priests that seem to have flocked here to pay their respects at the temple.\nAthras has returned to work as a jewelcrafter and he's gaining quite a following. He's bringing in a good bit of coin, a little of which I've sent to you as usual. Things are going well, and at this rate, we'll have the manor restored to its former glory by winter. I know you're tired of hearing about it, but I implore you to reconsider my offer. We have plenty of room here, and both of you are always welcome to join us. I know it's tough out there, but suffering in that horrible place just to prove a point isn't necessary anymore. Just a little sisterly advice.\nNilara"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/raise-living": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/raise-living", "description": "Tale of the Staff of Hasedoki", "author": "Shagrub Gilgar", "title": "To Raise the Living", "text": "\"Why live in a tomb?\"\n\nThe child latched onto the Orc's cloak with a gentle tug, doing all he could to charm a response.\n\n\"Just as the Emperor has the Blades at his side, so must we have the dead.\"\n\n\"And the staff? What is that for? Is it powerful?\"\n\n\"It's powerful,\" the Orc replied, \"In fact, it once belonged to the wizard Hasedoki, a great mage who is said to have no equal.\"\n\n\"If he had no equal, then what killed him?\"\n\nThe Orc glanced briefly at the staff's head, as if waiting for Hasedoki himself to speak. Yet its countenance remained stuck in that playful stare, halfway between laughter and mockery. She would have to respond in his place.\n\nUfkul Gilgar had spent the last ten years contemplating the same question before settling on her answer. Throughout much of that time, her life had mirrored Hasedoki's, traveling the world in search of one who could challenge her. It was custom that bequeathed her the staff, and destiny that made her wield it. But even with fate beside her, the staff provided little comfort, knowing the ending it designed.\n\n\"There's only one thing that could kill a wizard as powerful as Hasedoki,\" she replied.\n\n\"Is it a cliff racer? A magic sword? The undead?\"\n\n\"Time.\"\n\nShe spoke from experience. Time grew the day with emptiness and yet made all things seem fleeting. So long as it passed, contentment would morph into boredom, and love would fade into loneliness.\n\nAs a necromancer, she had the tools to defy death. She had no similar solution for life.\n\nPerhaps the mortals had already divined an answer. For them it was not magic, but children who allowed them to delay time's inexorable march. Now that she was a mother, the loneliness no longer consumed her, even though that too was temporary. And just as the staff was passed on to her by her father, when the time came, she would do the same for her son. It may have been why Hasedoki bound his soul to the staff, so that his spirit would be one with whoever wielded it.\n\nUkful placed the staff in the child's hands and watched as he scuttled through the tomb, swinging it around like a blunt instrument. It's possible the boy would be free of the same curse, the boredom that plagued his ancestors and Hasedoki before them. Morrowind was home to a great many wizards. Somewhere in that group was a worthy challenger.\n\nAnd if not, there would still be time for the next child."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/brotherhood": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/brotherhood", "description": "An angry note to the Dark Brotherhood for a job that remains undone.", "author": "Maven Black-Briar", "title": "To the Brotherhood", "text": "Astrid,\nI thought your people were supposed to be reliable. I've performed the Black Sacrament, I've paid the proper penance and I've waited patiently for results. If you can't handle a simple assassination, I'll find someone who can. I want this contract handled, and I want it handled immediately!\nMaven Black-Briar"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/owner": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/owner", "description": "Thankyou note from a trap-maker to the man who contracted him.", "author": "Kilthinius Dandoril", "title": "To the Owner", "text": "To the owner of Riftweald Manor,\nI'm not accustomed to working under these conditions of secrecy, but your generous compensation for the inconvenience was more than adequate to complete the project. Both the balcony ramp and the floor mechanism were interesting projects, and I hope you'll find them functioning to your surprisingly specific specifications. If you should have any further need for my talents, please call on me again.\nKilthinius Dandoril"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/player": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/player", "description": "A goodbye and advice from a bandit", "author": "Tyra Blood-Fire", "title": "To [Player]", "text": "If you give the begger bread:\n\n\n\t\tFirst off, I'm sorry about the tests. My hope was that it'd give me a window into your mind, and bring comfort to mine.\u00a0\n\n\t\t\u00a0\n\n\t\tYou gave the beggar bread, a choice I agree with. Gold can be wasted. Wine can be a poison. But a meal can never be squandered. Perhaps if I had been given a similar gift, my life would have been different.\n\n\t\t\u00a0\n\n\t\tAs such, I deem you a worthy judge. Hopefully you will be a swift executioner. Either way, I thank you.\n\n\t\t\u00a0\n\n\t\tLastly, to the ones I knew in life, don't mourn my death. As one of you once told me, when all you do is look to the past, it's time to close the book on one's future. I do so on my own terms. Goodbye.\nIf you give the begger bread:\nFirst off, I'm sorry about the tests. My hope was that it'd give me a window into your mind, and bring comfort to mine.\n\nYou gave the beggar bread, a choice I agree with. Gold can be wasted. Wine can be a poison. But a meal can never be squandered. Perhaps if I had been given a similar gift, my life would have been different.\n\nAs such, I deem you a worthy judge. Hopefully you will be a swift executioner. Either way, I thank you.\n\nLastly, to the ones I knew in life, don't mourn my death. As one of you once told me, when all you do is look to the past, it's time to close the book on one's future. I do so on my own terms. Goodbye.\n\nFirst off, I'm sorry about the tests. My hope was that it'd give me a window into your mind, and bring comfort to mine.\u00a0\u00a0\n\n\t\t\u00a0\n\n\t\tYou gave the beggar a single septim. I like the amount. You did what you could without placing a burden on yourself. And yet, on its own a single piece does nothing for him. It's only when the entire town does their part, each one placing a septim, that the beggar has enough to eat.\u00a0\n\n\t\t\u00a0\n\n\t\tSo my advice to you is to remember the value of company. Whether you're a bandit or a hero, no one can do it alone. You have to work together, one gold piece at a time, to do what needs to be done.\u00a0\n\n\t\t\u00a0\n\n\t\tLastly, to the ones I knew in life, don't mourn my death. As one of you once told me, when all you do is look to the past, it's time to close the book on one's future. I do so on my own terms. Goodbye.\nFirst off, I'm sorry about the tests. My hope was that it'd give me a window into your mind, and bring comfort to mine.\n\nYou gave the beggar a single septim. I like the amount. You did what you could without placing a burden on yourself. And yet, on its own a single piece does nothing for him. It's only when the entire town does their part, each one placing a septim, that the beggar has enough to eat.\n\nSo my advice to you is to remember the value of company. Whether you're a bandit or a hero, no one can do it alone. You have to work together, one gold piece at a time, to do what needs to be done.\n\nLastly, to the ones I knew in life, don't mourn my death. As one of you once told me, when all you do is look to the past, it's time to close the book on one's future. I do so on my own terms. Goodbye.\nIf you give the begger 100 gold:\n\nFirst off, I'm sorry about the tests. My hope was that it'd give me a window into your mind, and bring comfort to mine.\u00a0\n\n\t\t\u00a0\n\n\t\tYou gave the beggar a full purse of gold. You're someone who goes above and beyond, putting the lives of others above your own. But not even a thousand septims can save the life of every man, woman, and child.\u00a0\n\n\t\t\u00a0\n\n\t\tSo my advice to you is to not fall victim to your kindness. There are people like me who will take advantage of it. And there are times when you'll have to make a hard decision for the greater gain. Save who you can, but do what you must.\n\n\t\t\u00a0\n\n\t\tLastly, to the ones I knew in life, don't mourn my death. As one of you once told me, when all you do is look to the past, it's time to close the book on one's future. I do so on my own terms. Goodbye.\nFirst off, I'm sorry about the tests. My hope was that it'd give me a window into your mind, and bring comfort to mine.\n\nYou gave the beggar a full purse of gold. You're someone who goes above and beyond, putting the lives of others above your own. But not even a thousand septims can save the life of every man, woman, and child.\n\nSo my advice to you is to not fall victim to your kindness. There are people like me who will take advantage of it. And there are times when you'll have to make a hard decision for the greater gain. Save who you can, but do what you must.\n\nLastly, to the ones I knew in life, don't mourn my death. As one of you once told me, when all you do is look to the past, it's time to close the book on one's future. I do so on my own terms. Goodbye.\n\nFirst off, I'm sorry about the tests. My hope was that it'd give me a window into your mind, and bring comfort to mine.\u00a0\n\n\t\t\u00a0\n\n\t\tYou chose to pray for the beggar, putting your faith in the Divines. After all, maybe it isn't food or water people need, but hope in something greater than themselves. But the world is not a place where hope alone will save you.\n\n\t\t\u00a0\n\n\t\tMy advice to you is to seize your destiny. Don't wait for an idle god. Then you'll be a worthy judge and executioner for your enemies, just as you were for me.\n\n\t\t\u00a0\n\n\t\tLastly, to the ones I knew in life, don't mourn my death. As one of you once told me, when all you do is look to the past, it's time to close the book on one's future. I do so on my own terms. Goodbye.\nFirst off, I'm sorry about the tests. My hope was that it'd give me a window into your mind, and bring comfort to mine.\n\nYou chose to pray for the beggar, putting your faith in the Divines. After all, maybe it isn't food or water people need, but hope in something greater than themselves. But the world is not a place where hope alone will save you.\n\nMy advice to you is to seize your destiny. Don't wait for an idle god. Then you'll be a worthy judge and executioner for your enemies, just as you were for me.\n\nLastly, to the ones I knew in life, don't mourn my death. As one of you once told me, when all you do is look to the past, it's time to close the book on one's future. I do so on my own terms. Goodbye.\n\nFirst of all, I'm sorry about the tests. I wanted to see how you'd treat the beggar. My hope was that it'd give me a window into your mind, and bring comfort to mine.\n\nYou gave the beggar wine. It'll help him forget his troubles; give him a reprieve. But such gifts can quickly sour. Come morning, the beggar may regret your choice, or worse yet, he might repeat it.\n\nSo my advice to you is to view every action in its entirety. Only then can you make your choices with clear eyes.\n\nLastly, to the ones I knew in life, don't mourn my death. As one of you once told me, when all you do is look to the past, it's time to close the book on one's future. I do so on my own terms. Goodbye."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/torkilds-letter-wulf": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/torkilds-letter-wulf", "description": "In search of the All-Maker, one man finds Miirak.", "author": "Torkild", "title": "Torkild's Letter to Wulf", "text": "Dear Wulf,\nI'm writing to you now as I already feel my mind going. I fear that soon I will not be able to write at all. I came to the wilderness to better know the All-Maker. But in the wilds I found a force greater than any we've known.\nIt is seductive, this power I've been granted. I know you would not approve, so I don't dare show my face to you. But know that I realized the greatest potential of my strength before the last.\nI hope to one day meet you before the All-Maker, brother.\n- Torkild"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/torn-note": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/torn-note", "description": "Note by a man captured by vampires.", "author": "Firir", "title": "Torn Note", "text": "They fell upon us at dusk. Dozens of them. The caravan guards were dead in moments. They took everyone else back to the pens. Blinded those who tried to resist.\nOne by one, they've taken the others away- feeding us to those monstrosities, or worse. I don't have much time left. Eydis, my love, if you ever get this- forgive me.\nFirir"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/torn-note-0": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/torn-note-0", "description": "A treasure hunter finds no treasure.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Torn Note", "text": "\"The single richest treasure trove in all of Solstheim\" they said. Bah. Looks like this place was cleaned out centuries ago. The Stalhrim might be worth something, but my pickaxe ain't even good enough to chip it.\nStill, I can't shake the feeling that there's something I'm missing. There's an odd draft in this room - secret passage, maybe?\nI've locked myself in until those bandits are good and gone. I suppose I'll keep looking. Not much else I can do."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/torn-smugglers-note": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/torn-smugglers-note", "description": "A Smuggler's last words", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Torn Smuggler's note", "text": "I can't resist him...\n\nThose eyes...those terrible eyes!\n\nSo full of anger, fear, and remorse...\n\nThe only escape is death."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tovas-farewell": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tovas-farewell", "description": "A suicide note.", "author": "Tova Shatter-Shield", "title": "Tova's Farewell", "text": "First Friga, now Nilsine? How can I bare the loss of a second daughter, when I'm barely over the death of a first?\nI simply cannot find any reason to continue living. My two little girls are gone. The lights of my life have been extinguished. My only hope now is to be reunited with them in the halls of Sovngarde - if the eternals can suffer the company of one who has taken her own life. If not, then wherever my soul may end up - in Oblivion, or elsewhere - has to be better than this terrible existence.\nFarewell. Remember me fondly, and often.\nTova Shatter-Shield"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/training-chests": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/training-chests", "description": "Rules for using the thieves' guild training chests.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Training Chests", "text": "These chests are for practice use only. Please refrain from using them for storage. The locks on these chests have been specially constructed to reset themselves after a short amount of time. If you have any issues, please speak to Niruin.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/treasure-hunters-journal": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/treasure-hunters-journal", "description": "A treasure hunter's journey", "author": "Cresitus", "title": "Treasure Hunter's Journal", "text": "Journal of Cresitus\nTreasure Hunter\n\t4E 179\n12th of Sun's Dusk\nI've never been much for writing in journals, but it couldn't hurt to start. How else will my exploits be remembered? I've yet to reach \"personal bard\" levels of fortune.\nBy way of introduction, my name is Cresitus. I've traveled north from Cyrodiil to seek my fortune in Skyrim by delving forgotten depths and wooing women. While I haven't had much luck with the latter, I've heard tales of an ancient arena whose whereabouts have, up until now, remained a mystery. While the original name is lost to time, Champion's Rest is what it's known as today.\nI can see it now: halls upon halls, glittering with gold and jewels!\nMaps in the Imperial Library place Champion's Rest east of the village of Shor's Stone. I will set out for the eastern mountains at dawn.\n13th of Sun's Dusk\nShort entry today. Day's hike, little to show for it. Why does Skyrim have so much snow? Maybe the treasure hunter's life isn't all it's cut out to be. But if it were easy, everyone would do it, right? I'll press further into the mountain pass tomorrow.\n16th of Sun's Dusk\nBy some small miracle, I'm alive.\nDeep in the mountains, snow gave way underfoot. Next thing I knew, I'm plummeting into a cavern at a devilish height. What a foolish place Skyrim is.\nBoth legs are surely broken, and my agony is only second to my despair. I'm going to die in here.\nIt's been three days since the fall. Food ran out yesterday. Water will be the next to go, unless some rain happens to fall through the cursed hole above.\n---\nI've been slipping in and out of dreams. I dreamt that I was floating in a sea of black. Before me floated a sword unlike anything I had ever seen. A real treasure, just like in the stories. It... called to me. Knew my name. I reached out my hand, then...\nI'm awake now. It turns out, the sword was real; I have it right here next to where I write this entry.\nMy legs are beginning to feel better. That can't be right.\n---\nWhen I sleep, I hear the sword. It whispers to me. Not with words, but with intent. It has a hunger, I can feel it. Of course, it seems silly that a weapon wouldn't hunger for lives, when you think about it. Is that not their purpose, to free the soul from the living?\nMaybe none of this is real.\n---\nI can walk again. I've set up a small camp here. I think it's the sword, it's helping me. It thirsts for souls, and it needs ME to find them.\nAll I could think about was getting out of this place, but now, amongst the restless souls of so many fallen warriors... Yes. Yes, I think I'll stay.\n---\nIt whispered to me its name. It is... we are... Umbra."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/treasure-hunters-note": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/treasure-hunters-note", "description": "A randomized note about a randomized treasure.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Treasure Hunter's Note", "text": "I'm close to finding the [item name]. I've tracked it down to [dungeon name]. It's apparently guarded by a [boss creature's name].\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/trials-saint-alessia": {"game": ["Skyrim", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/trials-saint-alessia", "description": "This verse talks about the alleged covenant between Akatosh and Alessia.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Trials of Saint Alessia", "text": "[fragment from the Trials of St. Alessia]\nAkatosh made a covenant with Alessia in those days so long ago. He gathered the tangled skeins of Oblivion, and knit them fast with the bloody sinews of his Heart, and gave them to Alessia, saying, 'This shall be my token to you, that so long as your blood and oath hold true, yet so shall my blood and oath be true to you. This token shall be the Amulet of Kings, and the Covenant shall be made between us, for I am the King of Spirits, and you are the Queen of Mortals. As you shall stand witness for all Mortal Flesh, so shall I stand witness for all Immortal Spirits.'\nAnd Akatosh drew from his breast a burning handful of his Heart's blood, and he gave it into Alessia's hand, saying, 'This shall also be a token to you of our joined blood and pledged faith. So long as you and your descendants shall wear the Amulet of Kings, then shall this dragonfire burn -- an eternal flame -- as a sign to all men and gods of our faithfulness. So long as the dragonfires shall burn, to you, and to all generations, I swear that my Heart's blood shall hold fast the Gates of Oblivion.\nSo long as the Blood of the Dragon runs strong in her rulers, the glory of the Empire shall extend in unbroken years. But should the dragonfires fail, and should no heir of our joined blood wear the Amulet of Kings, then shall the Empire descend into darkness, and the Demon Lords of Misrule shall govern the land.'\n-- from the liturgy of the Re-Kindling of the Dragonfires"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/troll-slaying": {"game": ["Skyrim", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/troll-slaying", "description": "An informal guide to dealing with trolls.", "author": "Finn", "title": "Troll Slaying", "text": "Troll Slaying\nby\n\tFinn\n\nHello, fellow traveler, and welcome to this guide!\nWithin these pages, I will explain everything you need to know about fighting trolls, including how to negate their amazing healing powers and how best to take advantage of their natural love of cold. I'll even share with you my tried-and-true secret for killing trolls.\nIntrigued? I hope so! Troll fat is a valuable commodity and there's fortune and glory to be made for the ambitious troll hunter.\nOnward, then!\nChapter I:\n\tI Just Saw A Troll!\nIf you think you've seen a troll, remain calm and slowly back away. The wise hunter knows that preparation is the key to success, and you certainly don't want to hunt any trolls unprepared!\n\nAh, but is it really a troll that you've spotted?\nThe first step in your hunt is the proper identification of your quarry. Trolls are roughly man-shaped, with lengthy, muscular arms that end in claw-tipped fingers.\n\tThe creature's large mouth is filled with jagged teeth, all the better to crunch the bones of foolish hunters who didn't purchase my book.\nWithout a doubt, the troll's most distinctive and unusual feature is the third eye nestled in the center of its forehead.\nA troll's hide is covered in thick, shaggy fur. The coloration of this fur varies by region. Cave troll fur is brownish in color, while a frost or snow troll will have a white coat.\nChapter II:\n\tStop Healing Yourself\nSo, you've properly identified a troll and now you're stalking the beast, ready to strike. You're in for a challenging battle, but a profitable one, assuming you survive.\n\nThe first thing you'll notice is that trolls are incredibly fast and strong for their size. A troll likes to pummel its prey into submission with powerful arm strikes and claw attacks. For this reason, I strongly recommend a shield.\nIf you're brave enough -- or foolish enough -- to fight a troll without using a shield, then you'd better be an expert at parrying with whatever weapon you've got.\nTrolls also have the ability to rapidly heal from their wounds. As such, you do not want to get into a prolonged fight with one. Speed and aggression are the key to beating a troll, because there is no creature in Tamriel that can outlast one.\nOf course, speed and aggression will only take you so far against an angry troll. This is where my secret weapon comes in.\n\nChapter III:\n\tFinn's Secret Weapon\nFire, my friend. Say the word and commit it to memory, for fire is the troll-hunter's ultimate weapon.\n\nI can not overstate the importance of fire in battling a troll. Even trolls that don't dwell in cold climates are vulnerable to fire. If you're unable to use fire magic, carry a weapon enchanted with arcane flames.\nWhy is the troll vulnerable to fire? Rumor holds that the troll's regenerative abilities are less effective at healing burns. I don't really know the answer, but I can promise you this - fire works against trolls. This has been proven time and again.\nChapter IV:\n\tTrimming The Fat\nThe troll might be dead, but your job isn't finished just yet.\n\nLet the flames die down and then examine the troll's corpse. If you're lucky, you'll find some fat deposits that will fetch a good price in an apothecary's shop. In fact, if you've got a knack for alchemy yourself, you can boil the fat down for use in all manner of potions and tonics.\nIf you can find it, be sure to check the troll's den as well. Perhaps you'll find the remains of some foolish adventurer who was too cheap-minded to purchase this book.\nNo doubt you can put his coin to wiser use.\nNow you know everything that you need to make a living as a wealthy and reputable troll hunter. Go on, then! Get out there and find yourself some trolls!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/twin-secrets": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/twin-secrets", "description": "Describes the nature and limits of enchanting.", "author": "Brarilu Theran", "title": "Twin Secrets", "text": "These secrets I lay down, knowing full well that none may ever take advantage of them. I am upon my death bed, and am loathe to see knowledge of any sort lost to the mists of time. Take these as the foolish reminiscences of an old man, or the insights of a master enchanter. I care not which.\nIt is well known that enchanting is limited where it once was not. The best enchanters of this age can imbue almost any spells into the metal and leather of armor and weapons. However, once enchanted, such an item will not enchant again. It is called the Law of Firsts. The first enchantment is the only one that takes.\nIn my life, I've traveled widely. I've seen Summerset Isle, communed with Psijiics, walked the shores of Akavir. I had hoped to see lost Atmora before I passed, that is not to be. I have even done the unthinkable. I have spoken to a dragon.\nDragons are said to be gone from the world. Yet I found one. Sheltered in the smoking ruins of Vvardenfell, I came upon it. My magic proved to be sufficient to defeat the beast. If that gives you cause to wonder, I will not deny that I was once a pyromancer of great skill.\nExhausted and near the end of my spells, I parlayed with the wyrm, offering it life if it would share it's secrets. Haughty to the end, it agreed to one secret for one life. I asked for it's name, but it told me it would rather die than surrender that. Instead if offered me something else. And that it how I learned how to defy the Law of Firsts.\nThe law itself is inviolate. However, the skillful enchanter can weave two enchantments simultaneously into an item. For men and elves, the limit is two. The dragon said that men and elves have two arms, two legs, two eyes and two ears. I asked why that mattered, and the beast just laughed.\nThe enchanter must weave one enchantment with the left hand while weaving the other with the right. The eyes must focus on one and only one enchantment, while the ears only pay attention to the other. When I asked about my legs, the beast laughed again.\nI spent two years mastering the technique. Just last month I made a sword with both fire and fear enchantments. Now I am too weak to make another. I go to my death victorious, for I have done what no other enchanter in modern times has done."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ulyns-journal": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ulyns-journal", "description": "An explorer in Fahlbtharz attempts to solve a tricky puzzle.", "author": "Ulyn", "title": "Ulyn's Journal", "text": "Eydis stayed back on the gears to hold off those metal monsters, but she hasn't shown up so I'm going to press on and hope for the best. Unfortunately, my progress has been blocked by a gate that I can't pry open. Following the pipes, it appears that the gate is controlled by the large boiler in the center of the room. I'm going to try shooting the resonators with an arrow to see if that opens the gate.\n\nMy first attempt didn't work very well. Each of the resonators appeared to route steam when I shot them and things on the boiler started to glow blue, which seemed like a good sign. Unfortunately, once I shot a few of the resonators, the lights started turning orange, all the steam vented from the boiler, and several dwarven constructs came out and attacked me. Still, the Visage of Mzund must be here so I'm going to try again.\nI'm sure there has to be a trick to it. Perhaps if I can fill the central boiler with just the right amount of pressure. I seem to recall\n\nthat three parts lit up when I hit the resonator on the left. I'm going to try from the right this time and keep track as I go.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/umanas-journal": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/umanas-journal", "description": "A downturn of events for the doomed Alftand expedition.", "author": "Umana", "title": "Umana's Journal", "text": "It's been about a week since Valie went missing and now Endrast is gone too. We found blood leading over to the barred off doorway, but Sulla seems to think that they found a way through and that they are trying to cut him out of the discovery.\nHe keeps saying that we need to press on. We've manage to break through into another section of the ruins, an \"Animonculory\", where the dwarves would produce their automatons.\nWe learned the hard way that the metal creatures are still alive in there and it hasn't improved Yag's mood at all. She holds that the Khajiit brothers aren't involved with the disappearances and has been keeping a hard eye on Sulla.\nThe rations have all but run out and we are going to have to decide soon whether to brave the storm or try to push further into the ruins. I don't know if the echoes of screams I've heard in my sleep are those of our missing comrades, or my own nightmares."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/uncommon-taste": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/uncommon-taste", "description": "A book of Breton recipes by the famous cheff.", "author": "The Gourmet", "title": "Uncommon Taste", "text": "Congratulations!\nBy opening this volume you have taken the first step on a truly epic journey, a voyage through the vast landscape of Breton food and its myriad joys and wonders. You will explore scents, flavors and textures so exquisite, they will seem impossible. But they are more than possible!\nIndeed, by following the carefully selected recipes presented in this cookbook, you will prepare extraordinary dishes with such ordinary ease, those around you will suspect sorcery. But the only magic is that which exists in your own heart, the passion you possess for creating delicious, amazing food that can be prepared easily, and enjoyed endlessly.\nStart here, and some day, you too can be a Gourmet!\n'Sunlight Souffle'\nIngredients\n- 2 1/2 Ounces Cow's Cheese\n- 1 Ounce Butter\n- 1 Ounce Flour\n- 9 Ounces Milk\n- A Dash of Salt\n- A Dash of Pepper\n- A Cupful of Ground Nutmeg\nRecipe\n- Stoke the flames of your oven, and achieve a moderate heat.\n- Grate the cheese into thin shavings by running a finely honed elven dagger over the block.\n- Separate the egg whites from the yolks, and beat the whites vigorously until they thicken.\n- Begin preparation of the signature Sunshine Sauce - melt the butter, and add in the flour while stirring continuously until well blended. Move the mixture to a smaller flame and begin gently stirring in the milk. It is crucial that you do not stop stirring! Continue to do so for ten minutes, until the mixture thickens. Then, and only then, will the Sunshine Sauce be considered ready.\n- Add the salt, pepper and nutmeg, and remove from the flame.\n- Add in the grated cheese, and then the egg yolks. Stir well until fully blended. Then, gently add in the egg whites with a spoon made of carved hickory wood.\n- Gently pour the mix into four stonework souffle' dishes, filling each nearly (but not quite!) to the top.\n- Put the dishes in your moderately hot oven and shut that door! Keep sealed for 25 minutes, or your scrumptious suns will rise, only to fall down flat into the oven's abyss.\n- Remove after 25 minutes, and serve immediately.\nBehold, the brilliance of the sun, and the exquisite flavor of the Sunshine Souffle'!\nPotage le Magnifique\nIngredients\n- 4 Cups Chicken Broth\n- 4 Cups Beef Broth\n- 2 1/2 Ounces Butter\n- 1 Wooden Flagon of Flour\n- 1 Cup Diced Carrots\n- 1/2 Cup Diced Onions\nRecipe\n- Stoke the flames of your open-pit fire, and achieve a low heat.\n- Combine all ingredients into a large soup pot.\n- Stir vigorously!\n- Once hot, pour into earthen soup bowls immediately!\nBehold, the Gourmet's signature dish - the Potage le Magnifique!\nBut wait. I know what you're wondering. \"That's it? Is that all there is to it? What's the secret of the Gourmet?\"\nDo you really expect me to give away the secret to my most popular dish? Well guess what? I will! For that secret, my friends, is YOU! That's right, the Potage le Magnifique is delicious, and extraordinary. Using just the simple ingredients listed, you will create a potage that is both hearty and delicious. But in order to make the Potage le Magnifique truly magnificent, it takes the imagination of a truly inspired chef. Do you have that gift?\nI have served bowls of the Potage le Magnifique that have caused grown men to weep with with joy. Can you guess what I added? Can you create... magic?"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/uncommon-taste-signed": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/uncommon-taste-signed", "description": "Personalized copy given to Anton by the author.", "author": "The Gourmet", "title": "Uncommon Taste - Signed", "text": "To my old and dear friend Anton,\nI will never forget the kindness you and the entire Virane family paid to me, when I visited High Rock those many years ago. We were both young, impetuous, and foolish, and those were dangerous times for us all. But we knew even then, as we surely know now, that our battlefield is the kitchen. Our sword, the spoon. Our enemy, hunger.\nAnd now, thanks to your guidance and friendship, I can share our love of Breton cuisine with all of Tamriel. For this cookbook is not just a collection of recipes, but the sum total of my life's work, and a testament to the power of passion.\nYour friend in food,\nThe Gourmet\n\nCongratulations!\nBy opening this volume you have taken the first step on a truly epic journey, a voyage through the vast landscape of Breton food and its myriad joys and wonders. You will explore scents, flavors and textures so exquisite, they will seem impossible. But they are more than possible!\nIndeed, by following the carefully selected recipes presented in this cookbook, you will prepare extraordinary dishes with such ordinary ease, those around you will suspect sorcery. But the only magic is that which exists in your own heart, the passion you possess for creating delicious, amazing food that can be prepared easily, and enjoyed endlessly.\nStart here, and some day, you too can be a Gourmet!\nSunlight Souffle'\nIngredients\n- 2 1/2 Ounces Cow's Cheese\n- 1 Ounce Butter\n- 1 Ounce Flour\n- 9 Ounces Milk\n- A Dash of Salt\n- A Dash of Pepper\n- A Cupful of Ground Nutmeg\nRecipe\n- Stoke the flames of your oven, and achieve a moderate heat.\n- Grate the cheese into thin shavings by running a finely honed elven dagger over the block.\n- Separate the egg whites from the yolks, and beat the whites vigorously until they thicken.\n- Begin preparation of the signature Sunshine Sauce - melt the butter, and add in the flour while stirring continuously until well blended. Move the mixture to a smaller flame and begin gently stirring in the milk. It is crucial that you do not stop stirring! Continue to do so for ten minutes, until the mixture thickens. Then, and only then, will the Sunshine Sauce be considered ready.\n- Add the salt, pepper and nutmeg, and remove from the flame.\n- Add in the grated cheese, and then the egg yolks. Stir well until fully blended. Then, gently add in the egg whites with a spoon made of carved hickory wood.\n- Gently pour the mix into four stonework souffle' dishes, filling each nearly (but not quite!) to the top.\n- Put the dishes in your moderately hot oven and shut that door! Keep sealed for 25 minutes, or your scrumptious suns will rise, only to fall down flat into the oven's abyss.\n- Remove after 25 minutes, and serve immediately.\nBehold, the brilliance of the sun, and the exquisite flavor of the Sunshine Souffle'!\n\nPotage le Magnifique\nIngredients\n- 4 Cups Chicken Broth\n- 4 Cups Beef Broth\n- 2 1/2 Ounces Butter\n- 1 Wooden Flagon of Flour\n- 1 Cup Diced Carrots\n- 1/2 Cup Diced Onions\nRecipe\n- Stoke the flames of your open-pit fire, and achieve a low heat.\n- Combine all ingredients into a large soup pot.\n- Stir vigorously!\n- Once hot, pour into earthen soup bowls immediately!\nBehold, the Gourmet's signature dish - the Potage le Magnifique!\nBut wait. I know what you're wondering. \"That's it? Is that all there is to it? What's the secret of the Gourmet?\"\nDo you really expect me to give away the secret to my most popular dish? Well guess what? I will! For that secret, my friends, is YOU! That's right, the Potage le Magnifique is delicious, and extraordinary. Using just the simple ingredients listed, you will create a potage that is both hearty and delicious. But in order to make the Potage le Magnifique truly magnificent, it takes the imagination of a truly inspired chef. Do you have that gift?\nI have served bowls of the Potage le Magnifique that have caused grown men to weep with with joy. Can you guess what I added? Can you create... magic?"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/unsent-afflicted-letter": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/unsent-afflicted-letter", "description": "A wife's letter to her husband, describing how she and her village came to serve Peryite.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Unsent Afflicted Letter", "text": "Beloved Duphraime - I know you thought me a fool not to leave Cul Aloue with you and the others, but I couldn't abandon our children to the wasting sickness. Whatever horrible fates you may have guessed for us, however, are probably far from the truth of what has happened.\nI send this letter in hopes that it will sooth a worried mind.\nMaybe a week after you left with the rest of the healthy folk, I was patrolling the low wall by foot. Even our poor Kelter had taken the illness and was unfit to ride. I was praying that no bandits would be foolish enough to risk infection for our trifling goods. Then, outlined against the pyre-light of the day's lost, I saw a long figure marching towards the village.\nThe stranger was a Sumerset elf who introduced himself as Orchendor, and with him came a change in destiny for the folk of Cul Aloue.\nOrchendor walked among our people without fear of the wasting sickness that had taken root in the marrow of every remaining villager, myself included by now. For days he ate and spoke with us, learning each name. He calmed the folk in a way my lying prayers could not. Spirits became cheerful that days before awaited bleakly in the death's parlor.\nOrchendor assembled us then, crowding the villagers into Cullete's barn, she being the most badly stricken at that time, and unable to move without being carried by Orchendor himself.\nThe good elf then gave us tidings that none could have guessed. He claimed that the sickness was not a curse on our village, as we were sure it had been. Rather, Orchendor insisted, it was a boon, a beacon which drew him to us. He told us that he served the Daedric Prince Peryite.\nI know what you're thinking - we burned Dina and Lucas not three years before, after all. Cul Aloue would never suffer the heresies of a Daedra Worshipper in our midst. Yet, we did. Not only that, but we raptly heard what he had to say. Maybe you think we were too sick, too weak, but we weren't.\nOrchendor apologized for our dead, saying he came with all haste to Cul Aloue. None had perished since his arrival, though several seemed on the brink in the hours before. He wanted to take us to a new home, a place where we could live out our days in worship of Peryite as his chosen. As his Afflicted.\nNobody refused. Some were carried in carts and litters, but all made the trek with Orchendor across the border into Skyrim, leaving Cul Aloue an empty, haunted place.\nWe have since lived in refuge, the ruins of an ancient Dwarven city. Other Afflicted live with us, many with similar tales to that of Cul Aloue, bound together by our divine infection. Though you could say we are all sick, the effects of the sickness no longer diminish us, but give us strength. We heal ourselves with liquors and tinctures that other men would call poison.\nOrchendor keeps us safe here, by the blessing of our Prince Peryite. I am now an Apostle of the Afflicted, tasked to disseminate the teachings of Peryite to our Afflicted.\nAnd so, sweet Duphraime, the spirit of Cul Aloue lives on. I will never blame you for abandoning us that day, now long past. In truth, I am saddened that you were not likewise chosen by Peryite to awake with these oozing lungs. Peryite preserve you, dear husband, and know your children are well."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/until-next-time": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/until-next-time", "description": "A note to Haelga from her lover, reminiscing about their nigh together.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Until Next Time", "text": "Last night was the most wonderful night of my life. The things you showed me... the things we did... I could never have dreamt that it was possible. Who even knew that someone could manipulate their body in that manner while wearing Daedric armor boots? You are a true master of the Dibellan Arts, my love... a credit to your religion. Perhaps we'll meet again soon but next time, allow me to bring the trout.\nYour Secret Lover"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/urags-note": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/urags-note", "description": "About a book.", "author": "Urag", "title": "Urag's Note", "text": "Book - [book name]\nLocation - [book location]\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/valds-debt": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/valds-debt", "description": "Record of a loan.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Vald's Debt", "text": "This document absolves Vald of Riften (borrower) from all debts and accounts owed to Maven Black-Briar of Riften (lender). This document should be held in a secured location until such time as the lender considers the debt satisfied. In the event of the borrower's death, the debt will be collected from any remaining assets or property owned as determined by the acting Steward of Riften.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/valericas-journal": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/valericas-journal", "description": "Plans to escape to the Soulcrain.", "author": "Valerica", "title": "Valerica's Journal", "text": "27th Last Seed\nHarkon's shortsightedness is becoming a serious problem. I've warned him time and time again that his foolish prophecy would cast far too much light on our people and yet he refuses to so much as listen to a word I say. I've become less a wife and more of an annoyance in his eyes. Devoting attention to my work is the only solace I can find while enduring his ridiculous crusade.\n28th Last Seed\nI've had a breakthrough today. I was able to attune the portal vessel to the Soul Cairn properly by using a small sample of ingredients. Although the portal opened only for a few seconds, I'm confident that with the proper formula, it can be sustained indefinitely. I feel like I'm missing a key ingredient, something of sufficient potency that can resist the forces trying to prevent my intrusion. Communing with the Ideal Masters has proved worthless. They speak in riddles and offer no assistance whether I ensure them a steady supply of souls or not. If I'm to escape Harkon's clutches, I need to keep the portal open long enough to carry me away from here... forever if need be.\n3rd Hearthfire\nI've done it! After wasting thousands of gold coins on components, I've discovered how to sustain the portal. I'm listing the components below without the proper amounts for my own protection. As a secondary precaution, I am combining my own blood into the formula which should prevent anyone from being able to duplicate it and following me into the Soul Cairn.\nThe formula consists of:\nFinely ground bone meal\nPurified void salt\nSoul gem shards\nUsing the proper measurements, place the above in the silver-lined portal vessel and add blood as a reactive agent.\nI will make my way into the Soul Cairn tomorrow after I gather my things and prepare for a potentially lengthy exile. More importantly, I must enact my plans with Serana, and get her to Dimhollow Crypt as soon as possible."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/valmirs-orders": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/valmirs-orders", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Valmir's Orders", "text": "You will proceed to the ruins of Forelhost to retrieve the Mask from the Dragon Cult there.\nIf you are discovered, impersonate an officer. It is unlikely that anyone from Skyrim will be clever enough to see through the disguise.\nOnce you have obtained the Mask, bring it to Labyrinthian.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/vampire-naturalists-journal": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/vampire-naturalists-journal", "description": "How a vampire tamed a frostbite spider", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Vampire Naturalist's Journal", "text": "While my siblings may be obsessed with the taste that fear imbues in the blood of mortals, I find that pain lends a much more potent sweetness. And nothing is quite so capable of causing pain as the venom of a frostbite spider.\n\nBut alas, the usual method of harvesting frostbite venom involves killing the spider - a costly and dangerous venture. Far too little venom can be obtained through violent methods for the experiments I wish to conduct.\n\nTo that end, I have captured a frostbite spider from deeper in the cave so that I may regularly collect its venom, which seems to be unusually potent. I discovered that it appears to have some measure of intelligence, and I have been attempting to teach it to obey certain orders. Oh how delicious it would be to have a tamed spider entangle my prey on command!\n\nI think I will name it Arachnia."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/vampires-note": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/vampires-note", "description": "Orders the ambush of a Moth Priest.", "author": "Malkus", "title": "Vampire's Note", "text": "I have new orders for you.\nPrepare an ambush just south of the Dragon Bridge. Take the Moth Priest to Forebears' Holdout for safekeeping until I can break his will.\n- Malkus\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/velynes-letter": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/velynes-letter", "description": "Letter detailing the failsafe system on Sunder & Wraithguard", "author": "Velyne", "title": "Velyne's Letter", "text": "Inedos,\n\nThe reports are right. Wraithguard and Sunder are singing, sending a signal out to anyone that might be listening. I don't know how, but I think I know why. The Tools were only meant to be used on Numidium, it makes sense that they would never be allowed to leave Morrowind.\n\nTo ensure this, Kagrenac must have put in a failsafe system. If the Tools were ever stolen, drones would be activated across Tamriel to recover them. The drones would then store the items in a vault until a Tonal Architect could fetch them.\n\nUnfortunately, as I suspected, that information was enough for some of the captains to betray us and change course. They no longer care about the artifacts or the job. They consider the cargo to be a death trap, and are taking measures to unload it.\n\nYour caravan might think they were carrying the Tools, but Sadras and Hlaalu swapped them before we ever got to Whiterun, and intentionally gave them up to the retrieval drones. Fortunately, I managed to track the drones back to a vault near Winterhold; what the locals call the Sightless Pit. I've also discovered the vault can be opened with an attunement crystal, which I've sent along with this letter. As I am no warrior, I dare not venture inside without you.\n\nHopefully this message reaches your party in time, for I know we are of like mind. As a scholar, I want to see the artifacts delivered to my master, and you have always been someone who does not shirk his duty. I have faith that you and your crew can return north and repair this mistake.\n\nVelyne"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/venarus-vulpins-journal": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/venarus-vulpins-journal", "description": "A vampire searches for the fabled Bloodspring.", "author": "Venarus Vulpin", "title": "Venarus Vulpin's Journal", "text": "~ 28th of Sun's Dusk, 4E 200\nI've found an interesting book of short stories on the pawnshop's shelves today. I don't think the owner will mind if I take it. I really should spend more time around the docks, these Altmer are too thin blooded for my taste.\nAnyway, one of the tales in the book is an account of the \"Bloodspring of Lengeir's Feast,\" a fabled source of power for vampires. It is a story I've read several renditions of before but this version suggests that it may be located in Skyrim, in a ruin buried by quaking of the earth during the 2nd Era.\nConsidering that my business here with Inquisitor Amolmaire is, shall we say, at an end, it might be a good time to leave Summerset for a worthwhile diversion for the next twenty to thirty years. Perhaps I shall investigate this fabled Bloodspring.\n~ 2nd of Morning Star, 4E 201\nI was able to obtain passage from Alinor to Solitude by way of ship. No mean feat with this Nord insurrection going on, I assure you. I ran across one of my own in the local tavern and feared at first that it might cause problems for me, but it turns out that she is well-positioned here in the city and has been happy to help if I keep a civil manner. We spoke much on my research into the Bloodspring and while she made sure to point out she thinks it a \"soft headed pursuit\" she did say that what she's heard would point to The Rift.\n~ 5th of First Seed, 4E 201\nAfter months of searching I finally may have found a lead. While looking for a bit of dinner in the Vilemyr Inn, I overheard an old hermit by the name of Jokull, talking about strange red water he found bubbling out of the ground.\nOnce I dispose of this soldier, I'll follow to see if I can find the location.\n~ 13th of First Seed, 4E 201\nI can't believe I didn't realize sooner.\nJokull has been taking buckets of rock and dirt out of his house all week. When I realized that he's digging a basement I snuck in to check if he had uncovered the Bloodspring. He's hit a cave system that must be where Bloodspring has sunken into over the years. It was hard to see in the dim light, even with my eyes, but I would swear the water I saw pooled on the ground was red.\nUnfortunately he woke up while I was exploring the basement and he dropped his torch on a pelt as I killed him. More setbacks.\n~ 4th of Rain's Hand, 4E 201\nThe runnels I initially found had passed through too much rock and dirt but I've \"befriended\" some of the locals and we've managed to find the source of the Bloodspring. We've kept a low profile so as not to draw too much attention and thus far I've managed to keep them to only attacking hunters and other dregs, but we'll need to set up a ready food source that won't draw too much attention if we are to remain here.\nThe Bloodspring is not everything that I'd hoped it would be. Though it is blood and gives great strength it provides no sustenance. And the power it grants lasts only for a short while and carries a weakening of the body and mind with it. I've had to lock the door to the chamber to keep the others from becoming completely dependent upon it. When I've tested it on mortals, it is worse for them, for it carries only disease and addiction with no benefits at all.\nAddiction.\nI may have just found a solution for our food problem."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/venarus-vulpins-research": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/venarus-vulpins-research", "description": "Vulpin has found his Bloodspring, but now needs a chalice, too.", "author": "Venarus Vulpin", "title": "Venarus Vulpin's Research", "text": "~ 19th of Second Seed, 4E 201\nThanks to the more sordid past of some of my underlings, we found a way to add the waters of the Bloodspring into the process for turning moonsugar to skooma. It is far more potent and highly addictive. We've turned the basement into a Den and sent out some of the locals with \"samples\" to lure people back, turning the disappointment of the spring into a ready supply of blood.\nWe're calling it Redwater Skooma, in case any of the patrons happen to notice \"water\" in any of the corners.\nI've found many ruined books in the chambers connected to the spring and will continue to study them for a way to drink the waters without the side effects. Mortals appear to become infected with all manner of disease, while Vampires gain power but only for a short while.\n~ 9th of Mid Year, 4E 201\nMany of the books I've found are but tattered shreds, ruined by the ages and moisture, but I've pieced together the origin of the Spring, if little else.\nIt used to be a spring sacred to Arkay in the 1st Era, headed by the priest, Lengeir. I'm glossing over much that isn't of interest to my search, but it would seem that the woman he was in love with was bitten and turned into a vampire and subsequently turned him as well. They went on a rampage through the Spring and killed the other priests as they cowered in the pool, praying for Arkay's protection.\n\"...and as we tore the spine... ...last priestess... ...took the viscera into the Bloodstone Chalice... ...waters ran red forever more...\"\nPerhaps this \"Bloodstone Chalice\" is the answer.\n~ 18th of Sun's Height, 4E 201\nWeeks of research and still nothing to show for it. It would seem that the Bloodstone Chalice is most likely the key to harnessing the power of the Spring, but it is also clear that at some point it was removed from the ruins.\nI've found an illustration of it which I have endeavored to sketch here, but nothing else regarding where it may have ended up.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/verricks-note": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/verricks-note", "description": "Plan to swap one sword for another", "author": "Verrick", "title": "Verrick's Note", "text": "I met Sychelle Gatharian on a Morndas, outside the docks in the rain. Should've taken it as a sign.\n\nWe'd done business before, she and I. Smuggling black soul gems, corpses, the kind of dark and dishonest things that would make grown men sleep in pairs. But this was different. This was big.\n\nThis sword she gave me was like nothing I'd ever seen. Teeth like slaughterfish and a blood red gem in the center. I said that it must've been one of a kind. That's when she smiled and told me there was another.\n\nMy job was to swap them.\n\nWe sealed the venture with a coin, of which more was promised later. The mage told me I'd be contacted in a week. A group of her associates would pay us to use the hideout to kill some captain, after which, I'd make the switch.\n\nShe told me to keep this a secret from the mages, which made me pause, but the details didn't matter much to me. All I wanted to know was the number on the ledger. It was enough. Months later and the deal has turned rotten. The mages underestimated their own magic, and we our greed. Now we're all paying the price for our stupidity.\n\nSome tried to fight their way our, but the bastard won't die. I'm beginning to think he can't. On top of that, every man that he's felled has risen to fight beside him, making him that much harder to kill.\n\nI guess I have no one to blame but myself. I should've trusted my gut from the start. Mage jobs always have a bad stink on them, but this one smelled especially foul. But I wanted that gold so bad I convinced myself and the men it was moon sugar.\n\nThe funny thing is, I don't even have Bloodthirst anymore. I lost it at the pits at Faldar's Tooth, thinking I could just kill the mages and Gatharian once I got my hands on the other one. But when the spell went bad, the guild sealed the captain in these chambers, and us along with him. Now all I have left is a festering wound, an empty stomach, and the mage's coin to show for it.\n\nChances are, this coin is probably the only thing that will make it our of here. But oh, could it tell you a story.\n\nBecause this coin has bought a lot of lives.\n\nIt's sold a lot of dreams, and spilled a lot of blood.\n\nI know now the coin is cursed. Yet for some reason, I can't let it go."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/vigilants-report": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/vigilants-report", "description": "A Vigilant's findings of the return of Umbra", "author": "Cassipia Sagnus", "title": "Vigilant's Report", "text": "I, Cassipia Sagnus, Vigilant of Stendarr, do hereby issue this report on my investigation into the reports of a \"dark presence\" within Champion's Rest.\nChampion's Rest is the site of an ancient battle arena where Nords would test their mettle in gladiatorial combat. Long believed to be lost to time, it was recently uncovered by mining prospectors near Shor's Stone after discovering a new deposit of silver.\nUpon discovery, the miners say they witnessed a \"ghost, clad head to toe in armor\". While this alone was cause for concern, what they said next was even more foreboding: the spirit wielded a massive blade which seemed to \"whisper\" to them in their minds. This hints at the workings of a powerful Daedric artifact.\nThe only relic that matches this description is Umbra, once believed to be lost or, by some accounts, destroyed. Umbra is a sentient weapon who corrupts its bearer and compels them to kill so that the blade may feast on the souls of those it slays. It appears to have resurfaced here, though why I cannot say.\nIf the apparition that haunts this site truly is the resurgence of Umbra, then it has grown very powerful, and Shor's Stone is in grave danger."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/volks-journal": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/volks-journal", "description": "Diary of a guard at Ruunvald, just as things are getting weird...", "author": "Volk", "title": "Volk's Journal", "text": "Day 14\nI knew I should have volunteered for the excavation earlier.  For months, Moric had been going on to the Vigilants about detecting mystical energies deep in the east mountains.  Said he'd found some old tomes about the ruins of \"Ruunvald,\" or something the like, a Nordic chamber thousands of years old.  I remember thinking \"Yeah, if it's so old, how come no one's found it yet?  There's plenty of adventurers wandering around these parts.\"\nSeemed like most of the other Vigilants agreed, we had more important things to do.  But Moric took a team and went digging, and when he started turning up a long buried temple, well, didn't I feel like a troll in a dung heap.\nSoon enough, he was sending back letters to the Hall, begging for as many men as we could send.  I didn't volunteer at first, still seemed like a myth to me.  But when word came back that they'd hit the main chamber, I packed up and headed this way to help.  Always did want to be a part of history, and better late than never, they say.\nWell, \"they\" didn't mention that the late comers would be stuck with guard duty.  I just sit up here all day, watching for bandits and wolves, neither of which I've seen.  Mostly I just see diggers coming up for supplies.  Gotta say, I been seeing them a lot less regular, now that I think about it...\nDay 19\nAll right, it's been 3 days since anyone's come up.  The last one to emerge was Apa, and he just walked around a bit with a weird vacant look in his eyes.  Told Florentius and me to come down as soon as we had the chance, then trudged back in.\nSomething ain't right, and I aims to find out what...\n\n- Volk\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/walking-world-vol-xi": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/walking-world-vol-xi", "description": "A guide to Solitude.", "author": "Spatior Munius", "title": "Walking the World, vol. XI", "text": "Walking the World\nVolume XI: Solitude\nby\nSpatior Munius\nWelcome, friend. In our latest volume, we cover Solitude. Spatior could not be more pleased to be at the very seat of Imperial power in Skyrim. In the course of our tour, you'll see that Solitude's riches extend from her people to the history and architecture that make up the city itself.\nAs ever, we begin our journey outside the city walls, this time at the bottom of the hill that ascends all the way to Solitude's massive gates.\nSolitude's Surroundings\nBefore scaling the hill to the city, you should be sure to take in the sights. Wander the track that leads down to the docks, and you can stop to enjoy one of the best views of the Great Arch.\nOriginally serving as both a landmark and windbreak for Solitude's port, the easily-defended Great Arch also provided an ideal building site for the ancient Nords.\nThe city gradually grew to extend across the entire length of the arch. This growth culminated in the building of the Blue Palace, home of the High Kings and Queens of Skyrim. We will visit the palace later.\n\nThe Gates of Solitude\nEntrance to Solitude is guarded by two gates and three towers. The first of these towers, situated at the crossroads, is Sky Tower. It's mostly a lookout, although in times of war, barricades are erected across the nearby road to act as a first line of defense.\nThe second tower and first, smaller gate are collectively known as the Squall Gate. Here, attacking armies meet their first real resistance. Last and certainly most impressive is the Storm Gate.\nWhile Castle Dour, found just within the city's main gate, has always been a massive walled structure, Solitude's outer walls and gates were not added until shortly after the coronation of High King Erling.\nLooking up and to the left of the main gate, you can see a small hint of Erling's preference for a more rounded style of architecture that we will see later in the Castle Dour extension, as well as the interior arch and the windmill.\nNow we pass through the gates and enter the main shopping district of Solitude.\n\nThe Well District\nStepping inside Solitude's gates, you get your first view of the city itself. Rising tall and proud before you, banners waving from its crown, is the Emperor's Tower. Home to the Kings of Haafingar before the consolidation of Skyrim and the creation of the Blue Palace, the Emperor's Tower is now used exclusively as guest quarters for Emperors who come to visit the city.\nTo your left and right are Solitude's inn and shops. Here can be found some of the finest imported goods in Skyrim. After all, Solitude is a wealthy city with ready access to the major shipping lanes of Tamriel.\nContinuing ahead, you'll come to the ramp that takes you up to Castle Dour. From here, you can truly feel the weight of this stone bastion's looming presence. The left-most tower, topped by the pointed roof of Erling's extension, was once the castle barracks and jail. Today, the tower is the center of military power here in Solitude.\nLooking right past the looming Emperor's tower, you can glimpse Solitude's natural bridge arcing gracefully over to the windmill. Built during High King Erling's day, the bridge was said to be used used to discretely allow Captain Jytte, the famous privateer, to enter Castle Dour. Some historians claim that she and the High King were simply attempting to keep their business dealings quiet. Others believe the Jytte and Erling were involved on a more personal level.\nAt the end of the bridge is the windmill. The tower and the windmill serve as one of Solitude's most recognizable man-made landmarks. The Windmill's power was once used to open the gates to what is now the East Empire Company Warehouse, but today that task falls to the strong backs of the dock workers.\nIn the shadow of the windmill you'll find the outdoor market and the well. Here, you can buy a number of local delicacies including the famous spiced wine made exclusively in Solitude.\nFrom here we'll travel up the ramp and into Castle Dour Courtyard.\n\nCastle Dour\nAs you enter the courtyard of Castle Dour, you are confronted with the banner of Solitude hanging over the door to what is now Castle Dour proper.\nAt the far end of the courtyard stands the impressive Temple of the Divines. The founders of Solitude were deeply devout and Solitude is the only place in Skyrim where all of the divines are worshiped in a single temple. All three of the buildings here are well worth taking a look inside, but only the Temple and Castle Dour's military wing are open.\nIf you do venture inside the temple, take special note of the alcoves at the front. You can see the empty alcove that once held the shrine of Talos before Talos worship was outlawed.\nFrom the courtyard, travel out the exit between Castle Dour and the Temple and you'll get your first sight of the Blue Palace. Along the way, be sure to stop outside the Bards College, a large building on your left marked by the Flame of Callisos burning beside the steps.\nNamed for a famous bard, it is said that as long as the flame burns, the college will stand.\nThe Bards College\nLooking up from the Bards College steps, you can see that the college stands taller than the Blue Palace itself. The bards who train here can be heard throughout Skyrim, singing songs that capture the history of the ages. If you get a chance you should be sure to catch the Burning of King Olaf, an ancient festival where \"King Olaf\" is burned in effigy.\nContinue up the road from the college and you'll reach the courtyard of the Blue Palace, our final destination.\n\nThe Blue Palace\nThe Blue Palace is home to the Jarls of Solitude, who for centuries have also served as the High Kings and High Queens of Skyrim. The northeast wing, on your left as you enter, holds the living quarters of the Jarl and her court on the top level and various servants below.\nThe southwest wing, known as the Pelagius Wing, has fallen into a state of disrepair. Named for the famous High King, Pelagius the Mad, the wing is rumored to be haunted by the king's ghost. The wing has been locked and left alone since shortly after Pelagius's death.\nYou should be sure to venture inside the Blue Palace. The grand atrium and court chambers are a sight not to be missed.\n\nOther Points of Interest\nSpatior has shown you Solitude in all its grandeur, but there are a few places more to see. The walls of the city are easily accessible and well worth climbing for the remarkable view. The Solitude Docks are also worth a visit, as they are the largest in Skyrim.\nThat's all for Walking the World Volume XI. Spatior does not know his next destination yet, but you can be sure that where he does go he will leave you a record of the best things to see.\nSpatior Munius, World Traveler"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/warning": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/warning", "description": "A bandit leader's warning to his men.", "author": "Rigel Strong-Arm", "title": "Warning", "text": "You've all been warned about trying to break into my treasure room, but Roars didn't think I was serious.\nNow he's dead.\nYou've all had your cut of the take already, and if I catch any of you dung lickers trying to break in again, I won't let the traps kill you. I'll do it myself!\n-- Rigel Strong-Arm"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/warriors-challenge": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/warriors-challenge", "description": "A challenge issued to the player", "author": "Eydvina", "title": "Warrior's Challenge", "text": "Long ago, my ancestors built a great hall on the mountainside, north of Bilegulch Mine. They called it Hendraheim, a warrior's home that rivaled Sovngarde itself.\n\n\t\t\u00a0\n\n\t\tAs the last of my clan, I wish to bequeath this home to a true warrior, and a fellow Nord. I've heard you're a worthy fighter, but I would like you to prove it with your blade.\n\n\t\t\u00a0\n\n\t\tEydvina Shield-Hearth\nLong ago, my ancestors built a great hall on the mountainside, north of Bilegulch Mine. They called it Hendraheim, a warrior's home that rivaled Sovngarde itself.\n\nAs the last of my clan, I wish to bequeath this home to a true warrior, and a fellow Nord. I've heard you're a worthy fighter, but I would like you to prove it with your blade.\n\nEydvina Shield-Hearth\n\nLong ago, my ancestors built a great hall on the mountainside, north of Bilegulch Mine. They called it Hendraheim, a warrior's home that rivaled Sovngarde itself.\n\n\t\t\u00a0\n\n\t\tAs the last of my clan, I wish to bequeath this home to a true warrior. You are not a Nord, yet I've heard your prowess in battle rivals that of our most legendary fighters. I ask you to prove it with your blade.\n\n\t\t\u00a0\n\n\t\tEydvina Shield-Hearth\nLong ago, my ancestors built a great hall on the mountainside, north of Bilegulch Mine. They called it Hendraheim, a warrior's home that rivaled Sovngarde itself.\n\nAs the last of my clan, I wish to bequeath this home to a true warrior. You are not a Nord, yet I've heard your prowess in battle rivals that of our most legendary fighters. I ask you to prove it with your blade.\n\nEydvina Shield-Hearth\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/watcher-stones": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/watcher-stones", "description": "A man's attempts unsuccessful to draw blessings from the star-sign stones of Skyrim.", "author": "Gelyph Sig", "title": "Watcher of Stones", "text": "Watcher of Stones\n\nby\nGelyph Sig\nThane of Bjorin\n\nLong have I waited at the Guardians. I must know: are the stories true? Surely you've heard them. Tales of the stones granting powers to Heroes of old, those special few being able to choose any stone to rewrite his fate. Of course you've heard them, that's why you touch the stones as you pass by. You've heard they bring luck, or a sign from the gods. But you think little of the action. It has no true meaning for you. I see it in your eyes as you pass. You do not believe. But I have always believed. Always felt that I was one of the few whose fate was not sealed at birth by the stars overhead. One of the few who could use these stones, draw on the power of the gods to change my life, change my future. I have always felt it.\nI have done much in my years. Fought battles, defended villages, quested and adventured throughout Skyrim. I have bested the Companions of Whiterun in combat, and performed deeds worthy of everlasting praise in song from the Bards College. No task was too small or great if it could bring me honor, glory, proof that I was worthy of the stones' power. \nAnd yet, nothing.\nI have found many of these accursed stones in my travels, and none have responded to my touch. With each new feat I would return to the Guardians, wondering if the gods finally deemed me worthy. But now those days are gone. I am an old man, with no fight left in me. And so here I sit, watching the faces of those who pass by on their daily errands, their mundane travels from one city or town to another. Most of you do not even give the stones a passing glance. You have never heard their call, you will never feel drawn to them. Some days, I envy you that.\nLong will I wait at the Guardians, for I must know. Are the stories true?"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/watchtower-guards-note": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/watchtower-guards-note", "description": "Note to a Stormcloak soldier about reinforcements.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Watchtower Guard's Note", "text": "Akar,\nWe've word of a band of Legion soldiers advancing on your position. Reinforcements are on the way. Talos guard you.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/weylins-note": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/weylins-note", "description": "Instructions to perform an assassination.", "author": "Nepo the Nose", "title": "Weylin's Note", "text": "Weylin,\nYou've been chosen to strike fear in the heart of the Nords. Go to the market tomorrow. You will know what to do.\n-N"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wild-horse-notes": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wild-horse-notes", "description": "A list of locations where you can find wild horses", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Wild Horse Notes", "text": "Spotted Grey - Near Markarth, north of Salvius Farm.\n\nDapple Brown - Near Solitude, across the river from Katla's Farm, near a Dragon Mound.\n\nChestnut - East of Helgen, not far from the roadside.\n\nRed - West of Whiterun, in the open planes.\n\nSpotted White - Lower Eastmarch, in the cliffs north of Shore's Stone [sic].\n\nPale Mare - East of Windhelm, north of Hollyfrost Farm, in the forest nearing the shoreline.\n\nBlack - West of Falkreath, past the nearby ruins.\n\nIf I had the coin, I'd hire a wizard to use Detect Life and help me find these horses."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wind-and-sand": {"game": ["Skyrim", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wind-and-sand", "description": "A short guide to the desert and its magicks.", "author": "Afa-Saryat", "title": "Wind and Sand", "text": "Let the wind blow. Let the sand scour. Let the magic of air and sand be free to roam the Alik'r. From the mystic membranes that stand between the two, absorb and convey unto me and all who may understand the deep essential powers of the desert.\nDeserts are often considered to be useless wastelands, avoided by the casual traveler and shunned by the softer species as unfit for civilization. But to those who bother to investigate, to dwell, to live, to linger in these spaces, a driving hardiness develops that serves them well in all environs should they ever choose to live. A thoughtfulness born of care -- for who knows best how to best invest their resources than one who has had to walk half a morning and labor for an hour to extract a few drops of water from an unyielding plant?\nThis same sort of requisite thrift applies to all other creatures who wring their living in such a land. The insight that may at first be missed, though, is that the magic of this land is similarly affected. Forgoing the showy lights and sounds of the forest dwelling mages in Summerset, the flamboyant gesticulations of the Bretons, or even the bellowing of the Nords, there is a certain economy to the casting of a true Alik'r wizard. This is not meant as a slight against other magical styles, only noting that a such energies might be better focused into reflection and purpose.\nOn Sand\nWhen both foreigners and natives imagine the desert, often their first image is one of orange-hued sand blowing beneath a dark blue sky. Indeed, this is not wholly incorrect, as the shifting sands are one of the key components not only of the desert, but of its natural magics.\nConsider: sand is nothing but the weathering of rocks, older by far than any of the living inhabitants who claim a land as \"theirs.\" As each rock breaks further, more of its inner space is revealed, until it is practically naught but exposed surface in its aggregate self. This collective then scatters, intermingles, scatters, and repeats, in infinite combinations so long as Nirn continues to exist. If we believe, as I do, that the rocks themselves contain remnants of Magnus's gift, than this exposure and combinatorial explosion results in a breadth and diversity of magic energy as is unknown elsewhere in Tamriel.\nOn Air\nMuch as the sand learns from every grain around it, so too does the air which conveys it from one combination to the other absorb the sense knowledge of its carried grains. In fact, it is plausible that the air itself is guiding the combinations to novelty and expression. Indeed, consider that in the Nordic tradition, Kyne is the widow of Shor (an aspect of Lorkhan), then her ministrations (via wind) to his physical legacy within Mundus could be seen as a form of celestial mourning, from which we mortals can benefit.\nIt would seem, indeed, that the next level of magical awakening may well be driven by scrying appropriate wind channels to carve novel paths through the vast desert such as to further diversify the land's memory. Reading the knowledge of the sands, though, is an immense task in itself, though, more fit to an army of clerical workers than a wizard of any standing."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/windstad-manor-charter": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/windstad-manor-charter", "description": "Deed to Windstad Manor, in Hjaalmarch", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Windstad Manor Charter", "text": "[Jarl name], Jarl of [Capital city], to [Player name], [his/her] faithful friend; grant of the steading of Windstad Manor, near the Mouths of the Karth, north of Morthal.\nWitnessed by [Steward name], Steward to Jarl [Jarl name], [day] [month], [year]"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/words-clan-mother-ahnissi-her-favored-daughter": {"game": ["Skyrim", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/words-clan-mother-ahnissi-her-favored-daughter", "description": "A Khajiit creation myth.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Words of Clan Mother Ahnissi to her Favored Daughter", "text": "Ahnissi tells you. You are no longer a mewing kitten and you have learned to keep secrets from Ahnissi, and so Ahnissi tells you.\nIn the beginning there were two littermates, Ahnurr and Fadomai. After many phases, Fadomai said to Ahnurr, \"Let us wed and make children to share our happiness.\"\nAnd they gave birth to Alkosh, the First Cat. And Ahnurr said, \"Alkosh, we give you Time, for what is as fast or as slow as a cat?\"\nAnd they gave birth to Khenarthi, the Winds. \"Khenarthi, to you we give the sky, for what can fly higher than the wind?\"\nAnd they gave birth to Magrus, the Cat's Eye. \"Magrus, to you we give the sun, for what is brighter than the eye of a cat?\"\nAnd they gave birth to Mara, the Mother Cat. \"Mara, you are love, for what is more loving than a mother?\"\nAnd they gave birth to S'rendarr, the Runt. \"S'rendarr, we give you mercy, for how does a runt survive, except by mercy?\"\nAnd many phases passed and Ahnurr and Fadomai were happy.\nAnd Ahnurr said, \"We should have more children to share our happiness.\" And Fadomai agreed. And she gave birth to Hermorah. And she gave birth to Hircine. And she gave birth to Merrunz and Mafala and Sangiin and Sheggorath and many others.\nAnd Fadomai said:\n\"Hermorah, you are the Tides, for who can say whether the moons predict the tides or the tides predict the moons?\"\n\"Hircine, you are the Hungry Cat, for what hunts better than a cat with an empty belly?\"\n\"Merrunz, you are the Ja'Khajiit, for what is more destructive than an kitten?\"\n\"Mafala, you are the Clan Mother, for what is more secretive than the ways of the Clan Mothers?\"\n\"Sangiin, you are the Blood Cat, for who can control the urges of blood?\"\n\"Sheggorath, you are the Skooma Cat, for what is crazier than a cat on skooma?\"\nAnd Ahnurr said, \"Two litters is enough, for too many children will steal our happiness.\"\nBut Khenarthi went to Fadomai and said, \"Fadomai-mother, Khenarthi grows lonely so high above the world where not even my brother Alkosh can fly.\" Fadomai took pity on her and tricked Ahnurr to make her pregnant again.\nAnd Fadomai gave birth to the Moons and their Motions. And she gave birth to Nirni, the majestic sands and lush forests. And she gave birth to Azurah, the dusk and the dawn.\nAnd from the beginning, Nirni and Azurah fought for their mother's favor.\nAhnurr caught Fadomai while she was still birthing, and he was angry. Ahnurr struck Fadomai and she fled to birth the last of her litter far away in the Great Darkness. Fadomai's children heard what had happened, and they all came to be with her and protect her from Ahnurr's anger.\nAnd Fadomai gave birth to Lorkhaj, the last of her litter, in the Great Darkness. And the Heart of Lorkhaj was filled with the Great Darkness. And when he was born, the Great Darkness knew its name and it was Namiira.\nAnd Fadomai knew her time was near. Fadomai said:\n\"Ja-Kha'jay, to you Fadomai gives the Lattice, for what is steadier than the phases of the moons? Your eternal motions will protect us from Ahnurr's anger.\" And the moons left to take their place in the heavens. And Ahnurr growled and shook the Great Darkness, but he could not cross the Lattice.\nAnd Fadomai said:\n\"Nirni, to you Fadomai leaves her greatest gift. You will give birth to many people as Fadomai gave birth today.\" When Nirni saw that Azurah had nothing, Nirni left smiling.\nAnd all Fadomai's children left except Azurah. And Fadomai said, \"To you, my favored daughter, Fadomai leaves her greatest gift. To you Fadomai leaves her secrets.\" And Fadomai told her favored daughter three things.\nAnd Fadomai said, \"When Nirni is filled with her children, take one of them and change them. Make the fastest, cleverest, most beautiful people, and call them Khajiit.\"\nAnd Fadomai said, \"The Khajiit must be the best climbers, for if Masser and Secunda fail, they must climb Khenarthi's breath to set the moons back in their courses.\"\nAnd Fadomai said, \"The Khajiit must be the best deceivers, for they must always hide their nature from the children of Ahnurr.\"\nAnd Fadomai said, \"The Khajiit must be the best survivors, for Nirni will be jealous, and she will make the sands harsh and the forests unforgiving, and the Khajiit will always be hungry and at war with Nirni.\"\nAnd with these words, Fadomai died.\nAfter many phases, Nirni came to Lorkhaj and said, \"Lorkhaj, Fadomai told me to give birth to many children, but there is no place for them.\"\nAnd Lorkhaj said, \"Lorkhaj makes a place for children and Lorkhaj puts you there so you can give birth.\" But the Heart of Lorkhaj was filled with the Great Darkness, and Lorkhaj tricked his siblings so that they were forced into this new place with Nirni. And many of Fadomai's children escaped and became the stars. And many of Fadomai's children died to make Nirni's path stable. And the survivors stayed and punished Lorkhaj.\n\t\u00a0\n\tThe children of Fadomai tore out the Heart of Lorkhaj and hid it deep within Nirni. And they said, \"We curse you, noisy Lorkhaj, to walk Nirni for many phases.\"\nBut Nirni soon forgave Lorkhaj for Nirni could make children. And she filled herself with children, but cried because her favorite children, the forest people, did not know their shape.\nAnd Azurah came to her and said, \"Poor Nirni, stop your tears. Azurah makes for you a gift of a new people.\" Nirni stopped weeping, and Azurah spoke the First Secret to the Moons and they parted and let Azurah pass. And Azurah took some forest people who were torn between man and beast, and she placed them in the best deserts and forests on Nirni. And Azurah in her wisdom made them of many shapes, one for every purpose. And Azurah named them Khajiit and told them her Second Secret and taught them the value of secrets. And Azurah bound the new Khajiit to the Lunar Lattice, as is proper for Nirni's secret defenders. Then Azurah spoke the Third Secret, and the Moons shone down on the marshes and their light became sugar.\nBut Y'ffer heard the First Secret and snuck in behind Azurah. And Y'ffer could not appreciate secrets, and he told Nirni of Azurah's trick. So Nirni made the deserts hot and the sands biting. And Nirni made the forests wet and filled with poisons. And Nirni thanked Y'ffer and let him change the forest people also. And Y'ffer did not have Azurah's subtle wisdom, so Y'ffer made the forest people Elves always and never beasts.\u00a0 And Y'ffer named them Bosmer. And from that moment they were no longer in the same litter as the Khajiit.\nAnd because Y'ffer had no appreciation for secrets, he shouted the First Secret across all the heavens with his last breath so that all of Fadomai's children could cross the Lattice. But Azurah, in her wisdom, closed the ears of angry Ahnurr and noisy Lorkhaj so they alone did not hear the word."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/writ-dawn": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/writ-dawn", "description": "The player is sentenced to death for being a vampire.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Writ of Dawn", "text": "By order of the Dawnguard, the [player race] [player name] is hereby condemned to death for the crime of Vampirism. By our authority, and with the Jarl's implicit consent, the bearer of this writ is hereby commissioned to exact justice upon the condemned wheresoever [he/she] may run.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/writ-execution": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/writ-execution", "description": "A Morag Tong writ for the player character.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Writ of Execution", "text": "Honorable Writ of Execution: [Player's Name]\nThe afore-mentioned personage has been marked for execution as a member of an unlawful guild of assassins in accordance with the lawful tradition and practice of the Morag Tong Guild. The Bearer of this non-disputable document has official sanctioned license to kill the afore-mentioned personage."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/writ-sealing": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/writ-sealing", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Writ of Sealing", "text": "\nBe bound here, Mikrul, murderer, betrayer\nCondemned by your crimes against realm and lord.\nMay your name and your deeds be forgotten forever\nAnd the charm which you bear be sealed by our ward."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wyndelius-journal": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wyndelius-journal", "description": "A journal of an adventurer who is searching Shroud Hearth Barrow, while trying to keep other adventurers away.", "author": "Wyndelius Gatharian", "title": "Wyndelius' Journal", "text": "\n4E 200, 18 Morning Star\nI've set up camp inside the barrow. This has to be the place. According to all of my research, the burial chamber should be located here. All I need is some time undisturbed to find the claw. It must be hidden here somewhere.\n4E 200, 25 Morning Star\nHad a close call today with that fool Wilhelm. He came close to entering the barrow, but I was able to scare him off by rattling some pottery shards in a bag. These people are far too superstitious for their own good. Gives me an idea.\n4E 200, 28 Morning Star\nAfter a few failures, I've come up with a mixture that should do the trick. The glow is perfect - I should look exactly like one of the supposed spirits the people of Ivarstead believe is haunting this barrow. Going to test it out tomorrow.\n4E 200, 29 Morning Star\nSuccess! It worked better than I could have imagined. All I had to do was wander about the entrance to the barrow at night and wave my arms about. I had to stop myself from laughing aloud as they ran away. This should keep them at bay while I continue searching for the claw.\n4E 200, 11 Hearthfire\nAlmost half a year has passed and no sign of the claw or any clues as to its whereabouts. This is becoming maddening. It has to be here! Can't risk hiring any assistance, so I'll have to continue alone.\n4E 200, 20 Sun's Dusk\nIt isn't here. It can't be here. This isn't right. It must be the people of Ivarstead... they must be on to my ruse, and they're toying with me. They want to find the burial chamber on their own and keep the riches for themselves!\n4E 200, 18 Evening Star\nWhy? Why are they tormenting me? Why not just destroy me? I'm... who am I? My head is becoming clouded, I can't remember anything. I have to read my journal to remember my purpose. Am I a part of this tomb? Am I meant to guard it? What's becoming of me?\n1E 1050\n...They shall not take my treasure. They shall all pay dearly for their crimes. Any who set foot within these walls will taste my wrath, my power. I am the guardian of Shroud Hearth Barrow! All who oppose me will fall..."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/yngol-and-sea-ghosts": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/yngol-and-sea-ghosts", "description": "An account of the death of Yngol. Somewhat different than the version in the Songs of Return.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Yngol and the Sea-Ghosts", "text": "Masser and Secunda passed over Ysgramor's people as their fellowship landed in long-boats upon the rocky shores of Hsaarik Head on their journey from Atmora to Mereth. Boats littered the coast, but Ysgramor did not count his kin, Yngol's among them.\nYsgramor commanded the sea-ghosts to surrender his kin, and a great gale darkened the sky. The seas thrashed and churned, and a wrathful storm appeared. Ysgramor took up the oars and rowed into the storm alone.\nUpon the Sea, Ysgramor wrestled the sea-ghosts, and the storm carried him along the jagged coast. Two fortnights passed without relief, until finally the storm broke. Come the next dawn, Yngol's long-boat was found in the icy surf, but the vengeful sea-ghosts had already taken Yngol and his clansmen.\nIn his terrible grief, Ysgramor slew a dozen dozen beasts and burned them in honor of his fallen kinsman. A barrow-hill was dug in the Atmoran tradition, and Yngol was laid to rest with rites and honors among his clansmen far below the rocky face of Hsaarik Head, the first Children of the Sky to perish in Tamriel."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/yrsarald-thrice-pierceds-note": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/yrsarald-thrice-pierceds-note", "description": "Note about a challenge to the Imperials from the Stormcloaks", "author": "Yrsarald Thrice-Pierced", "title": "Yrsarald Thrice-Pierced's Note", "text": "We have challenged the Imperial dogs to a duel of champions. Of course, their champion will be in name only. Anyone who licks the boots of the Empire can hardly lay claim to such a title.\n\nThat is why we must find someone worthy of putting these fools in their place. I have made it known that anyone who wishes to be our champion must prove their worth by bringing me five snow bear pelts.\n\nIf they can kill five of those monsters, five Imperials will be like putting a knife through warm butter."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ysoldas-message": {"game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ysoldas-message", "description": "Ysolda message to Ulag concerning the Khajiit caravans", "author": "Ysolda", "title": "Ysolda's Message", "text": "\nDon't try to stiff me on this deal, Ulag.\nI can talk the Khajiit caravans into a better price than you'd be able to, and the guards are still looking for you after that little skooma incident. Just bring the sap to my stall in Whiterun like we discussed.\n-Ysolda"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/death-morphotypical-entities": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/death-morphotypical-entities", "description": "A study on Daedric death", "author": "Doctor Rhythandius", "title": "\"Death\" of Morphotypical Entities", "text": "In my seminal work, \u201cChaotic Creatia,\u201d I described the means by which those creatures known to us as Daedra manifest themselves upon the mortal plane. It is this mechanism that makes it impossible to ever truly kill a Daedra, because they simply return to the planes of Oblivion and then project themselves back to the Mundus once again. The implication is that there are (and always will be) bonds between these planes and our own.\nThis begs the question, however, if you kill a Daedra within its respective plane of Oblivion, is it then truly annihilated? What about if the Daedra is slain while within one of the Aedric planes of existence? I am fortunate enough to have had the privilege of engaging several Daedra on this subject and I can assure you that they are not forthcoming on this topic.\nWhat I have been able to glean, mostly by way of observing their reactions to my suggestions, is that Daedra do not often, nor do they appear to care to, travel to the planes of existence dominated by Aedric influences. Realms such as the many varieties of Aetherius (Sovngarde being a prime example) do not appear suitable for the travel of Daedric creatures.\nI would hypothesize based on this information, and from information gathered from other sources, that the Aedric planes do not share the same energetic tie to the Daedric planes that they share to one another and to the Mundus. Thus, it might be possible that a Daedric vestige slain in an Aedric plane cannot return to its home plane, and thus is left dead or simply trapped for all eternity. The irony doesn\u2019t escape me that if this proves true, then a Daedra can only truly die after it enters heaven.\n(Ah, how I amuse myself. All pure speculation, of course \u2014 but the time does pass slowly here, when it\u2019s passing at all. One must stay busy!)"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ine-commands-eight-divines": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ine-commands-eight-divines", "description": "Disappointment in the gods", "author": "Marisse", "title": "...ine Commands of the Eight Divines", "text": "<Most of the pages of this book are missing. The title page begins with these words:>\nfrom the personal library of Hubert and Marisse\nmay the Eight watch over them and their child, Alain\nmay the Divines protect us all\n<The second page has a note scrawled in red ink>\nThe Divines are a lie. There's no one watching over us. Our baby is dead, the food is gone, and the bears are at my door. I saw Hubert killed right before my eyes. I'd rather die peacefully than be torn apart.\nThere's naught left to drink but poison. May my soul be released from its suffering.\nGoodbye.\n\u2014 Marisse"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/101-uses-troll-fat": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/101-uses-troll-fat", "description": "An angry merchant's letter listing the many virtues of troll fat", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "101 Uses for Troll Fat", "text": "Ugh. Another day in Orsinium. Honestly, Clavel, if we don't return to Auridon soon, I may lose my mind.\nWhat shameless merchants operate out of this city! You'll never believe what one of these Orc vendors tried to sell me. I was minding my own business, examining an assortment of roots and snowberries\u2014they were all shriveled and rancid, by the way\u2014when this toothless merchant shoved a bowl of fat in my face.\u00a0 A huge bowl of fat. Can you imagine? He claimed it was the fat from some legendary troll or some such nonsense. I asked him why anyone would buy such a thing and his rheumy eyes just lit up. Would you like to know more about troll fat? I'm something of an expert now.\nDid you know that troll fat is the densest fat in Tamriel? Denser even than horker fat? I bet you didn't. Apparently, it makes an excellent lubricant that's especially ideal for cold-weather use. And we know all about cold weather here in Wrothgar, don't we?\nArmor looking a bit dull? Why not rub some of this repulsive fat on it? I hear that no polish in all of Tamriel does a better job than troll fat! It can be used in poultices and various potions. It can be rubbed on window sills to keep out vermin. It can be dried and eaten as a kind of disgusting jerky. It can be boiled to make a particularly strong glue. It can even cure vampirism! Who knew?\nWhen he started talking about the many uses for troll fat in the bedroom, I had to take my leave.\nHe also mentioned that it could be used to talk to Malacath. That was at least a little interesting. Apparently, if you rub troll fat on an idol of Malacath, it allows you to talk to the Prince himself. I may have to try this. I'd love to ask him why his little green children peddle such atrocious wares!\nI'm giving this place another week. If I'm offered one more wedge of echatere cheese or a stewed mammoth stomach, I'm on the next ship back to Vulkhel Guard\u2014with or without you!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/betrayal-our-heritage": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/betrayal-our-heritage", "description": "A denouncement of a Crown-Forebear marriage", "author": "Nworc at-Traeh", "title": "A Betrayal of Our Heritage", "text": "What says Yousebh the Stringent, Red Dervish of Rihad? \"A daughter of the House of Akos Kasaz shall not marry an infidel of another house.\" Long have we followed the words of Yousebh. And yet now, what do we see, right here in Bergama? A daughter of a respected Crown family\u2014that is to say, one who honors the traditions we brought from lost and lamented Akos Kasaz, Yath, and Kanesh\u2014being married off to a ne'er-do-well son from a Forebear household. Is this to be countenanced? Is she to be allowed to bear children of tainted blood? Will they be taught to turn their backs on Ruptga, Tu'whacca, and Satakal, and mouth false prayers to \"Arkay\" and \"Akatosh\"?\nI say, we must raise our voices and cry \"No!\" Our ancestors came into the deep desert to found Bergama so that we could preserve our heritage from pollution by Tamrielic practices. The sanctity of Yokudan culture is our sacred trust! For two thousand years we have preserved it in the purifying aridity of the Alik'r. Have we maintained our traditions for so many generations, only to see them diluted and disrespected before our very eyes?\nIt is said that the Magistrate is willing to license this ill-advised marriage, despite all precedent. What, we must ask, has induced her to make such a decision? Should a Magistrate with such poor judgment remain a Magistrate?\nGather, O my neighbors. For we have weighty decisions to make."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/boon-tribe": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/boon-tribe", "description": "A bosmer tracker hopes for success in the Great Hunt", "author": "Lorhiel", "title": "A Boon for the Tribe", "text": "By Lorhiel, Wood Elf Huntress\nI just can't believe Father let me join him! When he was choosing warriors to accompany him to the Great Hunt, well, I barely got my hopes up. Y'ffre knows I've never had much skill with the bow or spear.\nBut he told me, \"Lorhiel, we've got to track whatever it is we're hunting before we kill it, and you're the best tracker in our tribe. Of course I would ask you to come.\"\nMe? The best tracker? Why, I always knew I was good, but the best! Even so, I know it'll take all my skill to help my father win the Great Hunt.\nI just hope we can succeed. Everyday, our tribe grows more and more hungry. I can barely stand to look anyone in the eye whenever we come back from an unsuccessful hunt. Sometimes I worry if perhaps we have lost Lord Hircine's favor.\nWell, if anything can put us back in our Lord's good graces, it's winning his Great Hunt. I just have to do my best to help my father succeed. I must, for the future of my tribe."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bound-dremora": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bound-dremora", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "A Bound Dremora", "text": "Once bound, a Dremora's uses are nearly limitless \u2014 with or without its cooperation.\nThe sacrifices stand upon each altar as sentries against the Dremora's power. Take care not to disturb the blood, or the bonds will weaken precipitously."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/brief-history-ald-sotha": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/brief-history-ald-sotha", "description": "Insights on the relationship between Sotha Sil and Vivec, plus a bit about House Sotha and its downfall", "author": "Varlinsi Arandu", "title": "A Brief History of Ald Sotha", "text": "By Varlinsi Arandu, Apostle of Sotha Sil\nTo follow Sotha Sil is to listen to the winding of the gears, to think of the unlimited possibilities of what can be, not simply what is, or what was. I know this, but so too do I know what truths our past may hold. My devotion to the Father of Mysteries has been unyielding, spring-loaded I've even been told, but for so long incomplete. I began to ask questions, and was surprised so few knew. Where did our Lord come from? I received a name, but not an answer.\nAld Sotha.\nI was quick to find my own answers, not within the cautious words of others but in the honest pages of books. My first discovery is that all information I would find was of the Ald Sotha that was, for the town was destroyed long ago. It was the homestead of the minor House Sotha, and how strange to write the word minor with any regard to my Lord's name! But from all my research I can only conclude such, as they are known for no great deeds or any particular skill. An unremarkable town belonging to an unremarkable family, yet somehow the birthplace of the very Father of Mysteries.\nAld Sotha was destroyed sometime within the First Era by the Daedric Prince Mehrunes Dagon. There's very little speculation as to why the Prince of Destruction wished to eradicate this town, and I don't believe there needs to be. Why try to piece together the reasoning behind a being of chaos? The result is still the same, and that is the death of everyone living within Ald Sotha. Everyone, that is, but Lord Seht, rescued by Lord Vivec before either of them had obtained true godhood.\nVivec's rescue is worth further insight, however. How did Lord Seht survive through the attack? There is no mention of a battle, and from what I have analyzed I can only assume that it was after Dagon's destruction that our Lord Seht was rescued. I can only speculate in that end. If the Tribunal wished for others to know, they would have shared the tale. And you certainly won't see me tugging at one of their sleeves, asking such trivial questions!\nAnd, once again, the end result is the same. Lord Seht was rescued, raised by Lord Vivec, and eventually ascended to his rightful place as our Clockwork God. Whatever manner he was saved by Dagon's wrath, it was the fate of the divine gears which move us for him to live, and guide us to reclaim our lost heritage, Tamriel Final."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/brothers-gifts": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/brothers-gifts", "description": "Buyer beware of baby echatere", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "A Brother's Gifts", "text": "Brother,\nI hope this letter finds you well, for I know that we did not part on the best of terms. When you got the invitation to Orsinium, I was adamant that you were on a fool's errand and insisted that you stay and help run father's business with me. When your first gift arrived, I nearly wrote you to tell you how wrong I was. The generous sack of gold saved the shop and kept your brother-in-law and nieces fed for weeks.\nWhen your second gift arrived, I was intrigued. A curiosity, for sure! Those mudcrab-like legs. That adorable nose and furry back. I sold the cute little thing to a wealthy Breton, a traveler from Wayrest, who insisted that he must have it. He paid me a small fortune. Again, I nearly wrote you to tell you that I had been wrong all this time, but I put it off.\nA few weeks later, I'm glad that I did.\nI smelled them before I saw them. The Wayrest Breton, with this monstrous crested beast in tow, shouted at me from across the counter at our stall. He demanded that I return his gold, with an added gratuity, because this creature ate his fine silk shirts. Apparently this monster, now the size of a large tusked bull, liked to butt up against the supports of the Breton's house and nearly knocked it down.\nLucky for me, the magistrate decided the dispute in my favor: \"Let the buyer beware.\"\nWhatever this beast is, you are a fool for sending one to me. Please do not send another.\nLove and kisses,\n\tYour Sister\nP.S. Feel free to send more gold though."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/brothers-plea": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/brothers-plea", "description": "", "author": "Hjarkborn", "title": "A Brother's Plea", "text": "Dearest Sister,\nI must admit, your last letter has me troubled. Dovah Thurvokun leaving has left us all worried, and I understand your apprehension. But please, do not let your faith in Sonaak Zaan waver. She has protected us, guided us, brought us to this beautiful temple to worship. To honor her is our life's purpose.\nYou say that she has been acting strange, and I would expect nothing less. Her connection with Dovah Thurvokun is strong, stronger than any bond we can imagine. Sonaak Zaan must feel a heavy loss without his guidance, as do we all. I suspect this is the cause for her long hours of seclusion, nothing more. To even question if her power weakens ....\nI beg you to keep these concerns to yourself. You were right to address them to me by letter, for I fear the repercussions should you have been overheard. Besides, everything will turn back to normal soon enough. Dovah Thurvokun will make his glorious return, and all shall be well. In the meantime, have faith.\nYours Always,\n\tHjarkborn"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/call-common-hair": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/call-common-hair", "description": "An ancient pamphlet decrying Prince Hubalajad's fancy hairdressing", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "A Call for Common Hair", "text": "The nobles of our fair city have gone mad for ornate and over-styled hair. Have they nothing better to do than to ape the witless Prince Hubalajad, who is enamored of elaborate hairstyles?\nThe Highness of the High Hair has appeared in public with numerous elaborate (and to the common man, utterly ridiculous) hairstyles. Whether they are wigs, or his own natural hair tortured into ludicrous designs, matters not. We have people starving in the alleys, or homeless due to the sinking of some sections of our city, while Prince of the Curious Coifs pays his hairdresser a sum of 100 gold pieces for each work of \"art.\"\nHis most recent follicular follies include:\nA representation of the White-Gold Tower, adorned with diamonds to represent lighted windows. It is said that he could not pass through the doorway of Lady Michefaba's main ballroom without ducking during a recent ball.\nAt a recent outing to the docks, to welcome some luminary from Sentinel, our Prince wore his hair styled to represent a Yokudan warship at full sail. The stunningly ridiculous effect was only enhanced with tern excrement, when one of the birds flew over his head, narrowly missing the mainsail.\nFor a recent outing, it was seen that Prince Hew's Hair was artfully arranged as a haj mota about to charge. Rumor has it that the scales of the \"hair-beast\" were individual rubies of uniform size. The beast's eyes were emeralds. One young maiden was so alarmed by the horror on His Hairness' head that she fainted. Her parents quickly blamed the heat, not the Hair-Mota, so as not to displease Prince Hew. However the young woman was overheard later saying that the emerald eyes kept staring at her until she was quite undone.\nPeople of Abah's Landing, I implore you! Rise up against the Prince's Hair!\n(NOTE: This is a reprinting of an actual handbill produced by one of the Abah's Landing's original residents. It seems \"Prince Hew\" is not just a nickname we use for the luckless prince - he was truly called this by his contemporaries.)"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/call-action": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/call-action", "description": "Bounty on Goblins", "author": "Scribe Nicolard", "title": "A Call to Action!", "text": "Goblins infest the caves to our north. They slip into town in the night and steal food, livestock, even people.\nTurn your blades on the foul Goblins and you will be rewarded!\nHeadman Bhosek will soon offer a bounty for slain Goblins. This is your chance for riches!\nAddendum: Please do not ask Headman Bhosek about the bounty. When it is ready, we will spread word.\n\u2014 Scribe Nicolard\nGraffiti is scrawled below the notice\nKilled Goblins for years, but never been paid. Demand a reward, lose your fingers!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/call-worthy": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/call-worthy", "description": "An invitation for s dangerous task", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "A Call to the Worthy", "text": "Urgent matter. Very dangerous. Pays well. You will risk your life performing this job. Only the most skilled adventurers need apply.\nCome to the inn in Kvatch and look for an Imperial named Reman Mevavius to obtain more details."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/case-open-borders": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/case-open-borders", "description": "A kinlord explains how he came to support Ayrenn's decree to open Summerset, and urged others to do the same", "author": "Kinlord Andurion", "title": "A Case for Open Borders", "text": "My fellow citizens, I was as worried as you were when I read Queen Ayrenn's proclamation. Opening up our borders was not a decision to take lightly. I too feared the dire implications such an act would have on our beloved homeland. Would our cities be infested with fleas? Would our children be stolen from their beds at night? Fellow citizens, I assure you, I had just as many concerns about the safety of our proud Summerset as you.\nAs a Kinlord, I had the great privilege of voicing these concerns to the very court of Summerset, and often found myself in the middle of the hotly debated topic. It was unprecedented, madness of the wildest kind! I was determined to put a stop to the desecration of our beloved homeland. I too felt as though we were betraying our ancestor's wishes. Yes, my fellow citizens, I did adamantly oppose the very idea of opening our borders to these outsiders, cats and cannibals that I knew to be unworthy.\nThen something changed. I changed. Please, allow me to tell you why I now wholeheartedly support the queen's decree. Allow me to plead the rights of those who are now our allies and neighbors.\nThis change started with the stories I heard of the war effort, of that I am certain. A narrow victory, only assured by the archery support provided by the Wood Elves. Khajiit agents who learned decisive secrets through clever subterfuge. Even looking at simply the numbers of our forces, no matter our military expertise and strength, I knew it was impossible to fight this war alone. Still, I was adamant. Our tentative associates need only serve us on the front line. What need had we for them here in Summerset?\nI was set in my ways, and I felt that nothing could sway me. It was only when the unimaginable happened that I saw the truth.\nAndimeril, my shining star and only son, fell upon the battlefield. How often I think back to the night he left. If only perhaps I had been less stubborn. If only I hadn't bitten my tongue out of spite. If only I could have found the right words to convince him to stay. He was young and foolhardy, and far braver than I have ever been. The very thought that I'll never see his face again still tightens my chest so painfully I can barely breath.\nI did not learn of my son's death through courier or friend. No, I found out when a young Wood Elf stood before me, boots caked in mud and eyes filled with tears. In her hands was a plain, metal box, and I knew before she even spoke that my son's ashes were inside it. Her name was Grenith.\n\"He never asked me to do this,\" she said as her tears began to fall. \"In fact, he always said he was never coming back. But I just couldn't bear the thought, you know? He deserved to come home.\"\nBefore that day I had never even spoken to a member of another race, never looked into the eyes of those who I had always believed were so much lower than myself. It was then that I could no longer deny what was happening. That day my eyes were finally opened to the truth, not through debate or decree, but simply from that shared sorrow I felt with Grenith. So painful it had to be real.\nThe allies who we think so little of are dying with our sons and daughters, every day. They share meals, exchange stories, try to find laughter and comfort when they can. They fight side-by-side, entrusting each other with their lives. This is the reality of their daily battle, far from our tranquil shores.\nGrenith told me about the last weeks of Andimeril's life. Perhaps it was only to comfort a grieving old mer, but she had nothing but admiration for my son. Her words of his bravery and kindness gave me a solemn comfort. My son died standing up for the ideals he believed in. To me, a letter from our queen herself would not have honored Andimeril more than the kind words of his fellow soldier.\nHow selfish the thought is even now, but this comfort would not have been possible without our open borders. The honor that Grenith showed to my family would never have happened. She would have been treated just as I always believed her kind should be treated, as inferior, as unworthy. Without her, Andimeril would never have found his way back home, but rather remained as an unknown corpse on some distant battlefield. I would never have gotten the honor of putting my son to rest.\nMy fellow citizens, these other races deserve nothing but our respect. If my personal story in no way moves you, please, I implore you to speak to them. Buy them a drink at your local tavern, invite them into your home for a meal. As a culture of scholars, we must open our minds and learn. Do so and I assure you, you'll find cultures that are vastly different, often shockingly so, but just as rich as our own.\nDon't close your minds as we once sealed our borders. Our future depends on the ability to move forward. Take that first step with me, my fellow citizens. Soon you'll find yourself walking toward tomorrow."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/cats-serenade": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/cats-serenade", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "A Cat's Serenade", "text": "(A Khajiiti Love Song)\nCHORUS\nThis one weaves a song\nHe'll sing it to you all day long\nWill you love him? Will you love him?\nHe'll steal a thousand jewels\nHe'll even play the fool\nSay you love him. Say you love him.\nWell, your mother will never give her blessing, true\nBut let's be honest dear\nThat's what you want to hear\nNo, this one will never buy you Mara's ring\nBut under the starlight\nYou can grasp him tight\nCHORUS\nThis one weaves a song\nHe'll sing it to you all day long\nWill you love him? Will you love him?\nSo many sweetmeats this one could woo\nBut it's you that he needs\nOh, he begs and pleads\nIn the moonlight he will worship you\nBut come the morning sun\nHe will most definitely run!\nCHORUS\nThis one weaves a song\nHe'll sing it to you all day long\nWill you love him? Will you love him?"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/childs-play": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/childs-play", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "A Child's Play", "text": "Excerpt from an unofficial biography of the Green Lady, Gwaering.\nWhere she stepped, a circle of flowers grew, filling the outline of her footsteps. Sometimes, she walked backwards to watch the green tendrils unfurl, their tips blossoming into pale blue, yellow, or red.\n\"Stop that,\" Nautte said crossly. \"Don't waste your energy on such trifles.\"\nGwaering paused in mid-stride, her head tilted to one side.\n\"It costs me nothing to think of flowers,\" she replied. And she stepped carefully again, defiantly creating one more circle.\n\"Your aunt foretold a great future for you,\" said her mother severely. \"But all I foresee is a good whipping!\"\nWith a laugh, Gwaering danced toward her mother and kissed her repentantly. Then she caught sight of Ulthorn peering through the window, and forgot all else.\n\"May I play with Ulthorn?\"\n\"Go, child.\"\nGwaering was gone almost before the words left her mother's lips. With a sigh, Nautte added softly, \"Play while you still can.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/childs-tamriel-bestiary": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/childs-tamriel-bestiary", "description": "A children's rhyme of the alphabet", "author": "Shane gro-Orath", "title": "A Child's Tamriel Bestiary", "text": "By Shane gro-Orath (Clever, no? Ha, ha!)\nA is for Alit, a two-legged lizard\nWith enough underbite to swallow a wizard\nB is for Banekin, a mean Daedric minion\nWhose masters are found on the planes of Oblivion\nC is for Chaurus, big bug of the snow lands\nDon't try to pet, or he'll snip off your hands!\nD is for Duneripper, of desert so deep\nIt'll chomp off your legs from below as you sleep\nE is for Eagle, so loved by the Elves\nThey plaster its image all over themselves\nF is for Faded Wraith, haunting the tomb\nLurking in dark to deliver your doom\nG is for Giant, of Skyrim I've heard\nHe keeps Woolly Mammoths, and tends to his herd\nH is for Hoarvor, huge tick of the wood\nThat's eager to catch you and drain all your blood!\nI is for Imp, an obnoxious pest\nWho'll fry you with spells for the sake of a jest\nJ is for Jackal, who haunts Bangkorai\nWith mouth at the right height to nip out your eye\nK is for Kwama, in Morrowind found\nThey live in bug tunnels far beneath the ground\nL is for Lamia, snake-hag of the wild\nWho hopes she might corner a lost little child\nM is for Mudcrab, annoyance ubiquitous\nNasty, unpleasant, ugly, iniquitous\nN is for Nix-Hounds, pack-hunting bugs\nAlchemists render their flesh to make drugs\nO is for Ogre, whose wits are quite dim\nBut if one should catch you, your prospects are grim\nP is for Pigs, relatives of the Boars\nThat Wood Elves will ride instead of a horse\nR is for Raven, dark Nocturnal's totem\nI hear hers can talk, and then you can quote 'em!\nS is for Spriggan, root, bark, and bough\nIt hides in that thicket \u2014 it's watching you now!\nT is for Thunderbug, vast shocking beetle\nIts pincers will get you, or its serrated feet'll\nU is for Undead, necromancy's slaves\nApocalypse comes when they rise from their graves\nV is for Vampire, ready to drill ya\n'Cause she's got a case of Porphyric Hem'philia\nW is for Wisp, evil glow-ball that beckons\nDon't follow, or you'll be seen no more, I reckons\nX is for Xivilai, Daedric assassin\nWho'll pop off your head on a whim as he's passin'\nY is for Yokudan Warhorse, the Forebear\nKnight's mount that he rides when he goes off to warfare\nZ is for Zombies \u2014 you knew they'd be last\nRun, don't be walking: some are quite fast!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/childs-tamriel-bestiary-french": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/childs-tamriel-bestiary-french", "description": "The French translation of this rhyme book, featuring some new animals.", "author": "Shane gro-Orath", "title": "A Child's Tamriel Bestiary [French]", "text": "Par Shane gro-Orath (elle est bonne, hein ?)\nA comme alit, un l\u00e9zard bip\u00e8de\n\tIl mord tr\u00e8s fort, il a surpris les N\u00e8des\nB comme biche, belle et craintive\n\tElle court dans le bois, discr\u00e8te et vive\nC comme chaurus, gros insecte des terres enneig\u00e9es\n\tNe tente pas de le caresser, ta main il mangerait !\nD comme diablotin, une peste nuisible\n\tQui te lancera des sorts, car tu es comestible\nE comme \u00e9ventreur, des d\u00e9serts profonds\n\tIls se recouvrent de sable blond\nF comme foudropt\u00e8re, aux pinces \u00e9lectriques\n\t\u00c9chappe-toi, prends tes claques et tes clics\nG comme g\u00e9ant, de Bordeciel vient sa rumeur\n\tIl garde des mammouths, et a sale humeur\nH comme hoarvor, une grosse tique des bois\n\tSi elle t'attrape, tout ton sang elle boit !\nI comme insecte, on en trouve partout\n\tCertains sont gros, te feront des trous\nJ comme jills, \u00eatres mythiques\n\tElles r\u00e9parent le monde quand le dragon se brise\nK comme kwama, en Morrowind il vit\n\tDans des tunnel sous le sol il git\nL comme lamie, sorci\u00e8re serpent sauvage\n\telle cherche \u00e0 manger les enfants en bas \u00e2ge\nM comme mort-vivant, de la n\u00e9cromancie\n\tl'enfant, de la tombe il sort \u00e0 minuit\nN comme nix, les chiens chitineux\n\tle alchimistes font des drogues avec eux\nO comme ogre, qui est plut\u00f4t b\u00eate\n\tS'il t'attrape il te fera ta f\u00eate\nP comme portemort, un m\u00e9chant daedra\n\tDont les ma\u00eetres se trouvent en Oblivion\nR comme ragnard, rongeur fut\u00e9\n\tS'il te mord, tu seras infect\u00e9\nS comme spriggan, racine, \u00e9corce et li\u00e8ge\n\tIl se cache dans les bois, il volera ton si\u00e8ge !\nT comme troll, il a trois yeux\n\tDes griffes comme des crocs, des crocs comme des pieux\nU comme ursid\u00e9s, la famille des ours\n\tCache-toi de leurs griffes quand ils font leurs courses.\nV comme vampire, pr\u00eat \u00e0 te mordre\n\td'h\u00e9mophilie porphyrique tu vas te tordre\nW comme wamasu, b\u00eate des temps jadis\n\tDans le marais, gare \u00e0 leur hubris\nX comme xivilai, assassin daedrique\n\tSon \u00e9p\u00e9e te tranche, sa dague te pique\nY comme yokudan, race de destriers\n\tmonture de guerre du noble chevalier\nZ comme zombie\u2026 ils viiennent en dernier\n\tCours, si tu marches, tu seras d\u00e9vor\u00e9"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/childs-tamriel-bestiary-german": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/childs-tamriel-bestiary-german", "description": "The German translation of this rhyme book, featuring some new animals.", "author": "Shane gro-Orath", "title": "A Child's Tamriel Bestiary [German]", "text": "Von Shane gro-Orath (Schlau, nicht? Haha!)\nA steht f\u00fcr Alit, Echse auf zwei Beinen,\n\tSo ein Unterbiss muss weh tun, m\u00f6chte man meinen.\nB steht f\u00fcr B\u00e4r, ein zottliger Gesell,\n\tBergab ist er langsam, bergauf aber schnell.\nC steht f\u00fcr Chaurus, Schneek\u00e4fer gro\u00df,\n\tBitte nicht streicheln, sonst seid die Hand Ihr los!\nD steht f\u00fcr D\u00fcnenbrecher, im W\u00fcstengrab,\n\tNagt im Schlaf deine Beine dir ab.\nE steht f\u00fcr Eisgeist, der wei\u00df, was Bescheid hei\u00dft,\n\tDen Zeitgeist beizeiten ganz dreist mal beiseit' rei\u00dft.\nF steht f\u00fcr Fledermaus, flinker Gesell,\n\tMacht keinen Unterschied zwischen dunkel und hell.\nG steht f\u00fcr Goblin, die gibt's \u00fcberall,\n\tZ\u00fcnd ihren Pups an, dann gibt's einen Knall.\nH steht f\u00fcr Horker, hoch droben im Eis,\n\tM\u00f6gen's gern k\u00fchl und nur ungern sehr hei\u00df.\nI steht f\u00fcr Irrlicht, mal hier, mal weg,\n\tLass dich nicht locken, sonst stirbst du im Dreck.\nJ steht f\u00fcr Jaguar, im Urwald versteckt,\n\tWurde bisher noch niemals entdeckt.\nK steht f\u00fcr Kwama, leben in Morrowind,\n\tGraben sich durch die Erde. Wei\u00df jedes Kind.\nL steht f\u00fcr Lamie, die Schlangenvettel,\n\tHat Kinder auf dem Speisezettel.\nM steht f\u00fcr Mammut, kuschlig und schwer,\n\tStapft in Herden hinter Riesen her.\nN steht f\u00fcr Nixhund, jagt im K\u00e4ferrudel,\n\tIhr Fleisch schmeckt gut zu frischem Strudel.\nO steht f\u00fcr Oger, dumm wie ne Laus,\n\tDoch lass dich nicht fangen, sonst hei\u00dft es Garaus.\nP steht f\u00fcr Pferd, stattlich und schlau,\n\tDoch der Waldelf an sich bevorzugt die Sau.\nR steht f\u00fcr Rabe, Nocturnals Gef\u00e4hrte,\n\tErz\u00e4hlt gern Geschichten, pointenbewehrte!\nS steht f\u00fcr Schlange, sie schl\u00e4ngelt geschwind\n\tVersteckt im Geb\u00fcsch besp\u00e4ht sie das Kind.\nT steht f\u00fcr Troll, Re-ge-ne-ra-tion,\n\tKompliziertes Wort. Finde ich schon.\nU steht f\u00fcr Untoter, Sklaven, die schweigen,\n\tDas Ende naht, wenn aus dem Grab sie steigen.\nV steht f\u00fcr Vampir, mit spitzem Zahn\n\tZapft er dir die Gurgel an.\nW steht f\u00fcr Werwolf, Hircines Gesandte,\n\tHuch! Ein Wolf! Grad war's noch die Tante!\nX steht f\u00fcr Xivilai, daedrischer Meuchler,\n\tHalb immun gegen Zauber, der alte Heuchler.\nY steht f\u00fcr des Yokudaners Ross, gebaut wie ein Schiff\n\tBeliebt bei Rittern als Schlachtross mit Pfiff.\nZ steht f\u00fcr Zombie \u2013 war klar, dass die kommen\n\tLauf so schnell du kannst, sonst wirst du mitgenommen!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/citizens-petition": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/citizens-petition", "description": "A letter addressed to the Blackcaster Mages Guild regarding a missing person", "author": "Adan Kordrel", "title": "A Citizen's Petition", "text": "Lady Yamanu-ko,\nIt has been a week since my husband disappeared on the road near Haddock's Market and nothing has been done. It is bad enough that you permit a black market to operate so close to the trade road, but your complete lack of concern for the citizens of your city is appalling.\nNeed I remind you of the Blackcaster Accord? The Mages of Elinhir exist at the sufferance of the people, in order to protect them. Where was your protection when my husband went missing?\nI especially do not appreciate the insinuation in your last letter (written by one of your students, I assume) that my husband fell afoul of the local wildlife. He is a skilled tracker and hunter. The only beasts he's fallen prey to are those murderers and bandits outside our gates.\nA concerned citizen,\n\tAdan Kordrel"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/clothiers-primer": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/clothiers-primer", "description": "A beginner's guidebook to crafting reliable footwear", "author": "The Shattered Masque", "title": "A Clothier's Primer", "text": "Future challengers! The Shattered Masque has fought far too many opponents who fail to realize the importance of proper footwear.\nThis basic primer will to teach you how to make a simple pair of homespun shoes. If we're to face each other in the Blessed Crucible, I want you to fall because of my unmatched skill\u2014not your pathetic boot stitching.\nStep 1: Acquire Jute\nRaw jute is cheap, plentiful, and easy to weave. Look for the distinctive yellow flowers in the wild. I suppose you could pay someone to pick them for you, and it's that kind of laziness I look forward to punishing in the arena.\nStep 2: Refine Cloth\nYou can work with raw jute at any clothing station. Professional clothiers call this process \"refinement,\" which can be done with any raw material. For now, you'll need ten raw jute plants to make the refined jute you'll need for shoes.\nUnless working a loom is beneath you. Weakling.\nStep 3: Style!\nClothiers from all across Tamriel have their own cultural style. You need style to make an impression in the dueling ring, so find the style material that's easiest for you to work. If you're an Imperial, start with material for the Imperial style. Purchase it from clothiers or take them from your whimpering, defeated enemies.\nStep 4: Craft Your Shoes\nBring your style material and five bolts of jute to a clothing station. (Remember\u2014refined jute, not raw jute plants.) Now, get to work and craft yourself a pair of homespun shoes. You can use more bolts for better quality shoes, but you should start with five bolts.\nEasy work! As easy as it will be for me to crush your pathetic and deluded hopes of winning the Brimstone Crown.\nMaking Clothes the Shattered Masque Way\nAny arena fighter worth their salt doesn't stop with a simple pair of shoes. Try making a pair of rawhide boots for added protection, or a colorful sash to make you stand out in the ring. If you get the hang of this clothier business, you'll even have a trade to fall back upon after I thoroughly humiliate you in front of everyone you've ever loved.\nImproving Your Shoes\nThe art of improving the shoes you make\u2014or any other bit of clothing, really\u2014requires you to work with tannins at a clothing station. If you aren't careful, you'll ruin the clothing and the tannins in the process. Use as many tannins as you think you'll need.\nFind them on your own. I won't make everything easy for you.\nDeconstruction\nMaybe you're the kind of person who cuts corners. If you don't have time to collect raw materials, you can always deconstruct clothing you no longer need. This will destroy the clothing, but maybe you'll salvage enough to make a hat I can knock off your head.\nResearching Traits\nBy now you're thinking. \"I'll need an edge if I'm going dare to fight the Shattered Masque.\" You could always research unique traits of items made by better clothiers than you by taking their clothing apart and studying their techniques. Anything to boost your confidence long enough for me to stomp it into dust."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/complaint-thalmor": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/complaint-thalmor", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "A Complaint to the Thalmor", "text": "This is the third time this week that my senche-tigers have run off, only to be found butchered near that lamia-infested cave!\nIf something is not done about this, I will travel to Marbruk and bring my complaint before the queen herself! Then we will see how long the Thalmor is allowed to throw its weight around Woodhearth!\nThe Dominion belongs to the Khajiit as well, not just the Elves. I demand that action be taken at once to investigate the Underroot cavern, and that reparations be made for my lost cats!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/cure-lycanthropy": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/cure-lycanthropy", "description": "The search for a cure takes a desperate turn", "author": "Archivist Ernarde of the Silver Dawn", "title": "A Cure for Lycanthropy", "text": "The cure is finally within my grasp. An end to lycanthropy, once and for all. For over a decade I have devoted myself to this very research, and now that I've finally found my answer, I am told no?\nI realize Commander Edette's concerns are not unfounded, and I cannot deny the risks of such a venture. To even find a werewolf transformed by Hircine would be a tremendous task. And then to capture the creature? There's absolutely no guarantee that the Silver Dawn would be capable of such a feat.\nEven still, should we not even try? When I think of all of the good that can be accomplished, should my research bear fruit! Is this not our very purpose as an order? To completely eradicate the lycanthrope threat?\nI must convince Commander Edette to agree to this research. I must.\n***\nIt seems the Divines have smiled upon me. Though it's only been a few short months since I've made inquiries, I've just received word of a werewolf named Vykosa hiding somewhere within Malabal Tor.\nRumor has it that she is a first turned, changed into a beast by Hircine himself. My records seem to only collaborate on this, as I've found records which mention her name that date centuries back. This may be just the opportunity I've been looking for.\nUnfortunately, Commander Edette still stands in my way. Her word is law within this keep, and every mention of my research only seems to fill her with a stronger resolve to deny me.\nBut I can't give up hope, not now. Not when so much is at stake. I simply must persuade the commander, no matter the cost. And I believe I have just the thing to bring her to my side.\n***\nCommander Edette has finally agreed to the capture of Vykosa. Unsurprising, given that her own husband has now been cursed with lycanthropy; a transformation courtesy of one of the many blood samples at my disposal.\nPut forth the idea of curing masses, and the commander balked at the dangers. But when it's her loved one in need of such a cure? She crumbled right before my eyes. Pathetic.\nNow I must simply set a trap for Vykosa. No easy task, of course, but one that I'm confident a man of my intellect can pull off. Victory is almost at hand. One way or another, I will create this cure. By the Eight, I must. After all, I do this not for my own satisfaction. I do this for the good of humankind."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/cyrodilic-merchants-lament": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/cyrodilic-merchants-lament", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "A Cyrodilic Merchant's Lament", "text": "Curse the Pact and its stupid rules! And curse that stiff-necked Dark Elf protector at the temple. You'd think we were offering to urinate on their precious Elder Scroll, the way Vodryn shrieked at us to get out.\nIs offering quality goods at a fair price now a crime in Cyrodiil? True, there is some markup from the prices in the big city markets, but considering the travel time, dangers of the road, costs of guards, and lost time with our families\u2014these goods are a bargain.\nIf the Pact doesn't want them, the Covenant will surely buy them and be grateful. No doubt they'd also appreciate information on the disposition of Pact troops en route to Covenant-held territory. That might bring in more gold than our goods ever would. Must not get caught though.\nOh, for the days of the Empire. Curse these invaders!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dance-moonlight": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dance-moonlight", "description": "A Khajiiti myth about stealing moonlight", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "A Dance in Moonlight", "text": "Anahbi looked up into the night. Moonlight filled her eyes, and she knew what she must do.\nMany months she trained, jumping over hill, then dale, then mountaintop. When she could jump no higher, she nearly flew. Tumbling out into Oblivion, all seemed lost\u2014but the twins saw and caught her in their embrace.\nAnahbi picked the light from Jone and leapt once more for Nirn. Seeing what she had taken, the moons followed suit\u2014dancing a spiral across the sky.\nWhen it seemed they might catch her, they collided and moved no more. Seeing the twins entangled so, Anahbi plucked the light from Jode, as well.\nAs she made to leave, they caught her in their embrace. Anahbi begged them to return her to Quin'rawl\u2014for that was the land of her birth. Under the condition that she never again try to steal their light, they returned her to her homeland.\nSince that time, Anahbi's brow has borne fine speckles of stardust\u2014a reminder of her vow never to return to the stars."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/daughters-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/daughters-journal", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "A Daughter's Journal", "text": "I saw Ennis this morning. He had the most peculiar look on his face. When I asked what made him smile, he said the mayor chose him for a special task. I've never seen him help anyone unless coin was involved, but he just kept babbling about how he'd volunteered because the mayor is such a great man.\nThe guards were nowhere to be found until after sundown. It looks like they caught the group of beggars who have camped out on the road east of town. They brought the beggars to the cathedral\u2014but why? I went to see, but the guards wouldn't let me in. They said the mayor has ordered no one in or out.\nSouthpoint has been so quiet. I see very few people on the streets, even the guards. It feels like the calm before a great storm. Maybe they're all visiting the carnival south of Elden Root. If I finish my chores early, I might stop by.\nThe carnival is wonderful! They're still setting things up, but I didn't care. The bug trainer let me pet the shalks. It was strange, I didn't see anyone from Southpoint there, or on the roads. I thought Father would be so angry with me for returning so late, but he wasn't home. Mother said he was summoned by the mayor. She seems so worried.\nThe guards dragged Mother away! Father tells me nothing is wrong, the mayor just wanted to speak with her. I don't understand what's happening.\nMother has been missing for days, and Father doesn't care about anything except pleasing the mayor. Then he frowns, and looks right through me. I've never seen him like this. If Mother isn't back by the morning, I'm going to Elden Root for help.\nThere are guards posted all around town. They aren't letting anyone leave. I'll have to wait for nightfall and try to slip out.\nI hear screams from the cathedral. I hope Mother is all right."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/death-desired": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/death-desired", "description": "", "author": "Sorexius Cinna", "title": "A Death Desired", "text": "At last I am here, treading the sacred ground of the Golden Hill. Long have I dreamt of a journey to Sancre Tor; my heart's desire is granted at last.\nTo see the place of Reman Cyrodiil's birth and final rest, to set my feet where he might once have stepped\u2014I will not sully my feelings by attempting to describe them. Glory surrounds me.\nMy brothers warned that this would be the death of me. Little did they understand my goal. I reached this prominence without attracting the attention of this holy site's guardians. But now I will invite their notice. A sense of peace emanates from the gravesite below. I long for that peace, have sought it my entire life.\nFarewell, Tamriel! I now lay down these ancient bones and join my god in his blessed rest.\n\u2014 Acolyte Sorexius Cinna"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/diet-eyes": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/diet-eyes", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "A Diet of Eyes", "text": "While Hagravens have long been associated with certain Reachman tribes, the relationship between the Reachmen and these monsters is still unclear.\nWith the face of an old crone and a misshapen body that combines human and raven, Hagravens are horrific sights. (Though they are far worse to smell.)\nIt is the remnants of their meals that induce the greatest horror, however. For Hagravens consume people, preferably while still alive. They are said to be especially fond of eyeballs. A sated Hagraven will sometimes merely suck out a victim's eyes, then cast out the unfortunate to wander sightless through the wilds."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/discarded-letter": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/discarded-letter", "description": "A personal letter promising romance and riches", "author": "\"D\"", "title": "A Discarded Letter", "text": "My precious,\nI hope this letter finds you well. Think not of the expense, my dear\u2014I care only that you received it in safety. It will be a few more weeks before I am able to break away to visit you again. I know you fear for me. I've a retinue of guards at my disposal, and our excavations are almost complete.\nYou can't imagine the riches we've uncovered so far. Soon, you will live as a queen, and I your king. Of what? It does not matter. As long as you are by my side, I would rule over a kingdom of dung.\nYour ever faithful,\n\t\u2014 D"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/discarded-missive": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/discarded-missive", "description": "Congregation instructions for a secret society", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "A Discarded Missive", "text": "M'lady,\nAs you requested we've been looking for a new place for the faithful to congregate. We believe we have found a place, west of Firsthold along the coast.\nWe've consecrated it in the master's name, and await your benediction to make the crude place our own.\n\tIn his name."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/distracted-enemy": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/distracted-enemy", "description": "Brief missive on a chaotic creature", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "A Distracted Enemy", "text": "The Zix is too chaotic and unpredictable a creature to join the master's ranks, and it is too powerful to leave unchecked. However, it may still prove useful.\nIt is bound to these ruins with Ayleid magic, with a single Welkynd Stone as the focus for the binding spell. I've shown a priest of one of the local Goblin tribes how to fashion totems using fragments of this Stone. There's enough power in the fragment to put on a light show, which is enough for the simple creature to worship.\nIn actuality, the totems will maintain but weaken the binding spell. Zix will be unable to threaten us, but will have just enough power to distract the Bretons. And a distracted enemy is a weakened enemy."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dragonhorn-oh-dragonhorn": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dragonhorn-oh-dragonhorn", "description": "Verse about the Akaviri dragon hunters", "author": "Adept Izjadi", "title": "A Dragonhorn! Oh, Dragonhorn!", "text": "Trranslated by Adept Izjadi, Star Haven Record Keeper\nThe Akavir came one day\nTo our Starry Haven\nWarriors proud were they\nAnd not a one unshaven!\nThey said that Dragons were about\nAnd that we should be wary\n\"We cannot stay, we cannot fight,\nWe'll give you what we carry.\"\nA Dragonhorn! Oh, Dragonhorn!\nWith just one many call\nAny Dragon high above\nWill have a mighty fall.\nA Dragonhorn! Oh, Dragonhorn!\nYou'll stay in tower high\nAnd if the Dragons do attack\nThey'll hear your mighty cry!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/final-appeal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/final-appeal", "description": "Plea for help against a Daedric prince", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "A Final Appeal", "text": "Chieftain Suhlak,\nStillrise Village cannot afford to wait for your decision on this matter. I understand your reluctance in dealing wih a Daedric Prince, but please consider the alternative before it's too late.\nThrough the years, the decisive leadership of our chieftains spared Stillrise Village the disasters, wars, and plagues endured by the rest of Shadowfen. This wisdom kept us sheltered, safe, and healthy.\nBut now, we've buried or burned too many of our friends, our neighbors, and our families. Must we dig more graves or build more pyres? Must we lie to our children and tell them they'll recover?\nFor years you've trusted my counsel to help Stillrise Village. Here is my final counsel. Let us enter the shrine and see what may be seen. If not, you will soon lose my support.\nNot willingly, old friend. The joint-aches began last night. If Shaman Chirah is right, neither of us will last the week.\nYou must act, Chieftain Suhlak. If not, you'll lead nothing but dust and ash.\nWar Chief Helushk\n15th of Sun's Dawn, 2E 561"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fitting-tribute": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fitting-tribute", "description": "A sinister and inhumane plot", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "A Fitting Tribute", "text": "Fitting we set up camp in a Daedric ruin dedicated to Vaermina, Prince of Dreams and Nightmares. The place was once a Dark Elf slave camp, used to buy and sell Argonians.\nSome of my fellows disagree on the ethics of enslavement, but these beasts are hardly better than the wildlife of the region. Their skins will serve us well as we throw the Pact into disarray."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/folk-tale": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/folk-tale", "description": "A local folk tale from Valenwood", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "A Folk Tale", "text": "Lanalda danced through Valenwood, willing the leaves to change colors. Nothing happened, as she had no power over them.\nShe stomped her foot like an angry child, and saw the earth dimple beneath her. Enchanted, Lanalda stomped again and again, each time deepening the vale. When rain fell, she danced wildly within the dip she'd created.\nSlowly, it filled with water. Lanalda danced gleefully, though the waters covered her. They say her unseen dance creates the ripples on the lake."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/forebear-warriors-song": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/forebear-warriors-song", "description": "A battle balad", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "A Forebear Warrior's Song", "text": "Akatosh, my strength comes from your hands,\n\tMy enemies fall before my sword.\n\tCan you hear their cries?\n\tDeath, they cry.\n\tDeath, I sing.\n\tBut death is theirs, not mine.\n\tWipe the blade of their color.\n\tWipe the shield of their color.\n\tVictory is ours!\n\tStendarr, grant my weapon fall only thus:\n\tFor justice, for the right ways.\n\tCan you hear my plea?\n\tJustice, they pray.\n\tJustice, I sing.\n\tJustice is mine, and also theirs.\n\tWipe the blade of their color.\n\tWipe the shield of their color.\n\tVictory is ours!\n\tFor the way of the righteous is mercy,\n\tAnd compassion for the weak.\n\tCan I wield your sword and shield?\n\tMercy, they beg.\n\tMercy, I give.\n\tSwift death to the unjust!\n\tSlow death to the merciless!\n\tWipe the blade of their color.\n\tWipe the shield of their color.\n\tVictory is ours!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fortune-behind-those-walls": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fortune-behind-those-walls", "description": "Something surely was behind those walls", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "A Fortune Behind Those Walls", "text": "This pillar isn't just a cenotaph for Frandar Hunding. It's where his ancestors hid his treasures! Hunding was the greatest hero of Bhosek's people. Why he never tried to crack open the monument is beyond me.\nI don't know much about stonework. I can't exactly ask around, can I? If Bhosek catches wind of what I'm doing, he'll take it all for himself.\nBut how hard can it be? Hit the stone with a pick until it crumbles, then plunder everything inside. I'm sure to find a fortune behind those walls!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fourth-scrap-parchment": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fourth-scrap-parchment", "description": "A brief and intriguing rumination", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "A Fourth Scrap of Parchment", "text": "So here I wait. I long to see if you'll, at last, return to me."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/free-argonians-manifesto": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/free-argonians-manifesto", "description": "A personal outcry against slavery", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "A Free Argonian's Manifesto", "text": "It is the right and duty of all sentient beings to be masters of their own fate, to live or die according to their own wishes. Slavery is a foul practice that takes this choice from those bound under its terrible yoke, transferring their decision-making capacity to the owner.\nThis is neither fair nor right, and should be resisted as violently as possible, everywhere and at all times. Anyone who stands idly by and lets another be enslaved is no better than the one who cracks the whip.\nFor generations, the Dark Elves enslaved my people, some suffering from hatching to grave under Elven control. During this time, the Nords did nothing to help us. The so-called Pact has not redressed these past offenses. Instead, we've been told to be happy we are no longer slaves.\nWe've been told recompense is out of the question. But even a guar will bite if kicked long enough.\nIf the Pact will not help us get what we deserve for our generations of suffering, others will help us. The Varakun seek power for their master, but also grant power to those who serve them. Through their auspices, I will avenge those who died as slaves. I will raise their tormentors as my undead vassals, and they will serve me forever in death."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gift-sanctuary": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gift-sanctuary", "description": "A boy and his animal friend build a magical palace", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "A Gift of Sanctuary", "text": "A little boy, scion of a wealthy house, once went to the lake shore with his parents on holiday. While the elders sipped wine in a cabin with their snooty fellows, the boy was left to play in the sand and mud. He was terribly sad at being so scorned, and went searching for a friend.\nThe boy did not have to search long. He found a wonderfully chatty duck in the reeds who told him stories of places the boy could only dream of. Though he was quickly enchanted by the tales, the boy became melancholy that he would never see such a place with his own eyes. The duck laughed and told him that this was not so! They would build one together!\nThe boy and the duck waded out to a small island on the lake and together they built a tiny house of sticks and sand. This sufficed for an hour, until the duck suggested that a house was not a fitting place for the boy. He deserved a palace! The mortar of mud would not be enough, but one of the adults might help.\nThe boy went back to the cabin and found a noble who had stepped outside to relieve himself, so inebriated he was. He was easily coaxed into following the boy back to the island, where the duck leapt and tore out his throat to use blood and flesh for the mortar and bones for the beams. The boy was delighted, but the palace had to be bigger!\nBack he went, again and again, to collect the drunken folk to show them the magnificent palace. Again and again the duck added their bits to the wondrous palace, whose spires and arches dried to become alabaster and gold.\nWhen the boy's parents came to collect him, he took them to see his magnificent palace out on the lake. They screamed and screamed and ran, leaving the boy alone with the duck. He was not sad! Together they made merry on the island until the mists closed in around it and spirited it away to a land of cheer and mirth for all time."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gold-coast-childrens-bestiary": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gold-coast-childrens-bestiary", "description": "A playful (and terrifying) list if Gold Coast creatures", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "A Gold Coast Children's Bestiary", "text": "Goblin\nGoblins from beyond the heath,\nWear necklaces of children's teeth!\nTheir arrows with the poison laced,\nFrom nixad guts - ground into paste.\nMinotaur\nThe minotaur are warriors born.\nThey hang dead children from their horns!\nDon't think them cows; they never \"moo.\"\nThe meat they most prefer is you!\nNixad\nThe nixad flit about like flies.\nTheir favorite meal is children's eyes!\nThese sugar fiends are cruel and vain.\nThey take delight in children's pain.\nRiver Troll\nEvery child with half a mind,\nKnows river trolls are most unkind.\nThose who don't will soon endure,\nTheir childish minds in troll manure!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/grand-transformation": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/grand-transformation", "description": "Explains an Argonian ceremony for changing one's gender", "author": "Tree-Minder Hleelieek", "title": "A Grand Transformation", "text": "We cannot fear change, cannot turn our heads from it. This we know, and always must know deep within our heart-roots. Sometimes, the change comes from outside forces; the passing of a season, or the death of a loved one. Other times, this change comes from within ourselves. A need to shake away an old identity, and embrace a new one.\nThere are many ways to change oneself, of course. Some travel to far off land, taking in a new culture and lifestyle. Others choose to practice a new craft, woodworkers turned warriors, tailors turned egg-tenders. But others feel they need an even deeper change in their life, and so require the aid of the Hist. They are those who have chosen to change their gender.\nSomething deep within these individuals calls for them to undergo this change. I do not know if it is the Hist's will, or simply their own. But always I listen with open mind and open palms, ready to help them in this time of transformation. Together we commune with the Hist, and prepare to receive its aid.\nThe ceremony always leaves me breathless. Though the Hist watches over the tribe and guides us along our needed paths, rarely does it take direct action. But during this time, Hist and spirit combine, a loving embrace followed by a great change.\nAfterwords, I reintroduce the newly transformed soul to the tribe. They are greeted by all, and a great celebration will follow; for someone beloved has left us, and someone beloved has arrived."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/grifters-apology": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/grifters-apology", "description": "How to avoid being swindled at the market place", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "A Grifter's Apology", "text": "Ever put down a tidy sum on a sword only to have the blade fly off as soon as you got it home and gave it a swing? Bet you were mad! You probably stormed back to the market to find the silver-tongued bastard who convinced you it was magical, only to find his stall vacant.\nI know this because you bought that weapon from someone just like me.\nThat's right, I used to pass off the shoddiest merchandise I could get my hands on to folk like you. I'd buy apprentices' failures, find rusted heirlooms at the pawnbroker, and make a profit off people who didn't have much more than big dreams about becoming a hero. Those days are behind me. I've done wrong and want to make amends, so I'm going to arm you with a little knowledge.\nThe best advice is to buy your weapon from a trusted smith. It may not look like much, but you don't need fancy. I passed off cartloads of giant two-handers on youths with starry eyes, but you'll want to start out with something reasonable\u2014a simple, solid one-hander. A warrior's only as good as his weapon, and you won't learn anything with one that's going to fall apart.\nIf you insist on visiting market stalls, your first goal is to get a weapon in-hand. Never purchase anything without giving a nearby post a few good hacks with it first. If the merchant won't let you handle it and keeps coming up with excuses, he's up to something.\nI got good at distracting customers with fancy moves or a sappy yarn. You'd be surprised how easy it is to con someone into a purchase with a tale about how the noble knight's poor widow is just having such a hard time getting by these days, and how, being such a kind-hearted trader, I'm going to take all the profits from his old sword to her anyway\u2014doing an honest deed for a sweet old lady who can't travel to the market on her own.\nDon't let this happen to you. Ignore the chatter, get hold of the weapon, and check it for signs of painted-over rust. Examine the hilt or haft with care; look for traces of adhesives where metal contacts other materials. Avoid flashy weapons studded with gems, since you probably can't tell real jewels from glass fakes. The best cons know just a little bit of illusion magic, too, so be skeptical about supposed magical properties, and make sure you examine the item for more than a few minutes.\nYou should know enough now about what to look for in a good one-hander, and I hope you won't fall for any of these tricks. I'm sorry to anyone I pulled them on in the past, and I wish you the best of luck out in the market and in your training."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/guide-dwemer-mega-structures": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/guide-dwemer-mega-structures", "description": "", "author": "Vorinara Kleeve", "title": "A Guide to Dwemer Mega-Structures", "text": "By Vorinara Kleeve, Dwemer Scholar\nWhile we know a great deal about the various forms of Dwemer animunculi, many of the larger Dwemer marvels remain a mystery. Legends of Dwemer orreries and fabrication chambers abound, but direct, first-hand scholarship remains scant. I have spent my life in search of these Dwarven mega-structures. While I've met with considerable success, there is one mechanism in particular that I am keen to find: the Dwemer Tonal Resonator.\nAt the height of their power, the Dwemer exhibited near total mastery of tonal forces. Even now, countless centuries later, they remain peerless in this respect. Sound, not magic, facilitated their rise to power. I am continually astounded by tonal forces' wide range of uses. The Dwemer used sound in mining, medicine, architecture - even psychology. It's the latter use that I find most intriguing. According to ancient Chimeri scholarship, the Dwemer could employ tonal forces to bend weaker minds to their will - a form of complex aural hypnosis. Luckily, the Dwarves never managed to mobilize this technology on the battlefield against our august ancestors. The scale and complexity of the devices likely made transportation nearly impossible. But they still managed to employ it on a limited scale using massive devices called Tonal Resonators.\nIf the legends are true, these resonators were incredibly complex architectural wonders. They stood taller than the most imposing giants, and filled cavernous chambers with pipes, dials, and pistons. When enabled, the resonators released a series of powerful tones that could alter the brainwaves of lesser mer and men - inducing deep calm and profound pleasure, or even paranoia and terror. The uses for such a device are virtually limitless. Alas, I fear that I will never see one with my own eyes. If such a power could be replicated and perfected, the children of the Tribunal could very well reign supreme in Tamriel and continents beyond."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/guide-fishing-tamriel": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/guide-fishing-tamriel", "description": "A description of Tamrielic fish and how to hook them", "author": "\"The Old Slaughterfish\"", "title": "A Guide to Fishing Tamriel", "text": "Ah, fishing, my son. After a hard week of farming, or a long night of being nagged by your wife, there is nothing better than going out for a bit of a fish.\nNow just being alone in the wild, listening to the wind in the trees or the waves on the shore, is good enough for most men. Catching anything of worth is typically the furthest from their minds. And of course that means their neighbors and wives think all they did was sleep in the forest.\nBut true anglers always look to fill up their catch baskets with the largest fish, which can be used for the tastiest dishes. And to do that, you have to know what you are attempting to catch, where they are found and what baits are best to use. Here is a list of common fish found throughout Tamriel:\nSlaughterfish and Trodh:\n\tThese fish are found in the foulest waters possible: sewers, fetid swamps, and in pools near decomposing corpses. A favorite of city dwellers who don't want to leave the safety of their walls, these fish are drawn to crawlers and fish roe.\nSalmon and River Betty:\n\tFresh flowing rivers and streams are the home of these tasty fish. They bite best on baits of insects and small shad.\nSpadetail and Silverside Perch:\n\tStill lakes with deep holes or overgrowth that let these fish stay out of the sun are the preferred locale for these fish. Guts from small frogs, guar and chickens as well as tiny ocean minnows are the best bait for these.\nDhufish and Longfin:\n\tWhen you are the by the sea, you should try your hand at catching these beauties. Using common garden worms and small chub will entice the largest of these fish.\nI hope that this helps you when you next decide to go out and fish, my son. At least this way you will come home with a full catch and no one will accuse you of wasting your day."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/guide-gathering-frogs": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/guide-gathering-frogs", "description": "How, and where, to catch certain frog species", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "A Guide to Gathering Frogs", "text": "Friend-Beeko!\nYou need to gather the following frogs so I can complete construction of a vossa-satl to present to Captain Jimila.\nWe need moss-foot croakers, ruby hoppers, indigo tree frogs, and sun-blessed toads. Those are the ones that produce the widest range of sounds.\nFirst, find a few of the green moss-foot croakers in the bushes that grow in the marsh east of Lilmoth. They are quite docile and easy to catch.\nSecond, look for the ruby hoppers. These rare, red frogs, like to sun themselves on stones near water around Lilmoth. You have to sneak up on them, though, or they get frightened and hop away. If that happens, the scared hoppers often hide by the big tree at the center of town.\nCatching indigo tree frogs is a little more complicated. After you locate the trees where they nest, you need to gather some fleshflies. The blue frogs love them! Release the fleshflies beneath the tree. When the frogs hop down to feast, just grab them.\nFinally, sun-blessed toads will prove to be the most difficult of the frogs to catch. To lure them out of their mud pit, you need to trick them into thinking it's time to mate. To do that, you first need to gather the ingredients to make a scent that will attract the frogs and draw them out of hiding.\nTo make the scent, you need to gather the following plants: stench sedge, salt rush, and joymallow. Then combine them to create toad musk. Once you have the musk, locate a toad mud pit. Then pour the toad musk onto yourself and use the croak-wheel. Between the scent of the musk and the croaks emerging from the wheel, you are sure to attract sun-blessed toads that you can catch.\nGood luck!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/guide-liturgical-vestments": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/guide-liturgical-vestments", "description": "How to put on and wear Ordinator armor", "author": "High Ordinator Vermethys", "title": "A Guide to Liturgical Vestments", "text": "An Ordinator's every action must reflect the divinity of the Tribunal. Every thought, word, and gesture, no matter how trivial, must glorify the Three. Our appearance, too, must bring honor to ALMSIVI. Herein you shall find a guide to liturgical vestment.\nAt the beginning of the vesting, an Ordinator must wash herself thoroughly, using mineral water from one of Red Mountain's sacred hot springs and a volcanic pumice. This act has profound spiritual significance. In washing the body, the Ordinator also washes the soul - removing residual sin and any nagging doubts that might interfere with the merciless application of Tribunal law.\nOnce the washing is complete, the proper vesting can begin.\nThe Ordinator begins with the rathith - triangular linen small clothes, dyed a deep blue and fastened with brass pins. The rathith is further secured by the arnith, the golden \"underbelt\" which is also secured using brass pins. Daughters of ALMSIVI are also permitted to wear the alrathith, a second garment tailored to support the breasts.\nWith the rathith and alrathith secured, the Ordinator is free to move on to the llananor, or \"second garment.\" This long shirt must be washed in sacred mineral water before the sun rises, and pressed thrice over a hot stone. When donning the llananor, the Ordinator must also recite the Litany of Three Virtues. If the Ordinator completes the litany before the shirt is fully donned, they are obliged to repeat the litany twice more before moving on to the next step of the vesting.\nThe Ordinator's pants, or felassani, must also be washed and thrice pressed before wearing. Ordinators should put on these trousers starting with the left foot and must fasten them using a blue, rope-like belt called a nosa. The slippers must likewise be worn starting with the left foot, and laced with gold ribbon.\nFinally, the Ordinator must drape a crimson wool stole, or duleso, about the neck and shoulders thrice, and fasten it with a triangular golden reliquary clasp - a neleviso. This ends the first vesting, or llanathro'lani, and prepares the Ordinator for armor-suiting.\nBefore the holy armor can be donned, the Ordinator must recite the Forty-Six Canticles of Supplication, and appeal to St. Nerevar the Captain, patron of warriors and defender of Dunmeri society, for protection. After receiving Nerevar's blessing, the Ordinator begins armor inspection.\nThe Armor of Triune Faith must be free of any nicks, dents, stains, corrosion, or other aesthetic imperfections. Even minor blemishes are affronts to ALMSIVI's divine persons. Ordinators found wearing imperfect armor shall be subject to severe sanction.\nThe polish should be thorough and uniform, but not garish. The chitinous undervest must be rubbed with an oiled cloth and flexed to prevent aging and distress. Furthermore, the Ordinator should oil all joints, and treat all leather with a firm brushing and a liberal application of kwama-wax armor dressing. At this point, the Ordinator should signal an initiate to prepare for armor fitting.\nThe initiate begins with the sabatons and greaves (starting with the left) while reciting a prayer to St. Rilms, patron of pilgrims. Once this devotional is complete, the initiate proceeds to the cuisses, reciting another prayer to St. Meris, patron of laborers. At this point, the Ordinator must anoint the breastplate with sacred mineral oil and recite another prayer of supplication to blessed St. Nerevar before handing it over to the initiate. After fastening the cuirass, the initiate moves on to the rerebraces and couters, reciting another devotional to St. Aralor the Penitent. After securing and lacing the pauldrons, the inititate should glove the Ordinator, starting with the left gauntlet, all the while reciting a prayer to St. Delyn the Wise. Finally, the initiate must drape the blue prayer stole, or retheles, over the warrior's shoulders, reciting a final prayer to St. Felms the Bold. This accomplished, the assistant is permitted to retreat to the chapel for post-vesting prayer.\nFinal armor preparations are left to the Ordinator herself. Using the left hand, the Ordinator must tuck a sprig of bittergreen beneath her right pauldron. Using the right hand, the Ordinator must trace the sign of the Tribunal on her chest - gnashing her teeth and hissing thrice, at each point of the triune to summon up the wrath of the Tribunal. The tinder of faith thus kindled, the Ordinator anoints the Golden Mask of Devotion with mineral oil, presses her forehead to the helm to likewise anoint herself, then dons the helm. Ordinators may now arm themselves with any weapon, so long as it is thoroughly cleaned, and thrice blessed before use.\nAt this point, any action of the Ordinator is protected by divine mandate. So long as she wears the mask, the Ordinator is considered a faultless hand of the Three, and is authorized to commit any martial action deemed necessary to protect the True Faith. Hands of Almalexia and other specialized members of the order may have additional vestments to wear, but any servant of the Three thus vested is considered a full Ordinator.\nKeep to this guide, stay earnest in your prayers, and you will bring naught but glory to ALMSIVI.\nVictory for the Three."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/heros-weapon": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/heros-weapon", "description": "A rather biased, glowing description of Greatsword usage", "author": "Lizabet Delrusc", "title": "A Hero's Weapon", "text": "What do you think of when you hear the phrase \"A hero's weapon\"? My guess is you don't think of a dagger or call to mind an image of a soldier huddling behind his shield. No, you think of a fine greatsword, gleaming in the sun, slicing through enemies just as easily as it cuts the air and singing against armored foes sent staggering by the force of its strikes. That is a hero's weapon.\nI have spent long hours observing the soldiers training in the courtyard below my chambers. It is quite clear to me that the strongest, bravest, smartest, and most handsome of the warriors always choose the greatsword (trust me). It balances brute force with skillful maneuvers, and it is neither as clumsy as a hammer or axe nor as easily broken as a smaller sword or bow. The wielder must have immense strength, but he must also have great agility and insight, knowing when to dodge and how to parry blows.\nOf course there are legendary figures who used other weapons, but you'll certainly agree that none inspire the same kind of wonder and awe. When you see someone striding into town covered in heavy armor with a greatsword in tow, you know you're looking at the very face of daring. A greatsword wielder doesn't fear injury; he charges into battle knowing that foes will flee or suffer grave consequences. You might feel a bit faint as they walk by, overwhelmed by such a valiant sight!\nOne who wields such a sword shows they embody the hero's approach: to master all aspects of combat. I watch them train their endurance and strength by lifting and running, see them practice moving and dodging. Greatsword wielders train harder than all the other soldiers and are much stronger\u2014that is quite clear.\nNot everyone is cut out for heroism, and not every soldier or adventurer will have legends crafted from their deeds. If you aspire to more than just your duty or daily work, and feel the call of battle, then I advise you to set your sights high; aspire to master the greatsword!\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/history-blackrose-prison": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/history-blackrose-prison", "description": "A history of this famous prison, and a bit about the crime syndicate that currently occupies it", "author": "Tyrrya Len", "title": "A History of Blackrose Prison", "text": "By Tyrrya Len, The Wayrest Wanderer\nBlackrose Prison, named after the infamous city of Blackrose, is said to have been built in a single day. Whether such an account is mere exaggeration or a spectacular truth, no one is certain. What is certain, however, is that Potentate Versidue-Shaie ordered the prison's construction, and Pelladil Direnni dutifully\u2014or boastfully\u2014fulfilled the order by summoning an army of stone atronachs to perform the labor.\nThough often thought to be built adjacent to the city, the prison's location is actually a day's march south, within the dangers of the swamp but accessible from the coast. This isolated location was specifically chosen to deter prisoners from escaping its confines. Few non-natives have been known to successfully traverse the dangers of Murkmire, especially those as ill-equipped as escaped prisoners would be.\nImperial prisoners were sent to Blackrose Prison only for the most heinous or politically charged crimes. This was where men and mer alike were sent when the reigning power wished to never see them again. As such, the accountability of the prison staff was near non-existent. The brutality and cruelty that these prisoners faced was, by all accounts, particularly horrid.\nGiven its convenient location, all Murkmire natives who conflicted with Imperial power would wind up within Blackrose Prison as well. Nagas in particular were apt to find their way here, given their rebellious nature against Imperial oppression. Even among their fellow prisoners, Nagas were treated with particular disdain, most likely provoked by their aggressive culture and drastic appearance. It is theorized that an increase in the Naga prisoner population, as well as a decline in Imperial power in the region, led to the mass riots that eventually forced Blackrose Prison to be abandoned.\nIn the years following its abandonment, the prison was taken over by the very prisoners who were rumored to liberate it. Reclaiming that which once imprisoned them, they swore to eradicate any Imperials who dared to threaten their homeland. They called themselves the Blackguards, and swore loyalty to none but themselves.\nThis claim was not well received by the surrounding tribes, who believed that such values went against the very cornerstones of their culture. One Argonian I spoke to had this to say on the matter: \"The Blackguards, they have stone hearts and sour bellies, hiding from change within their stone nest. Always they look back, never forward. It is because of this that the tribes would not support them. And now they are little more than bandits.\"\nIndeed, no matter how heroic their original ideals might have been, the Blackguards are now known as the largest crime organization within Murkmire. Within the last decade, they have even begun to allow non-Argonian members in their ranks; including, yes, the very Imperials that they once so adamantly fought against.\nUnfortunately, I will not be able to write of the current condition of Blackrose Prison, due to the dangers the Blackguards present. An unfortunate circumstance, due to the rich history such a visit would offer."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/history-lilmoth": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/history-lilmoth", "description": "History and current state of Black Marsh's southernmost port", "author": "Tyrrya Len", "title": "A History of Lilmoth", "text": "By Tyrrya Len, The Wayrest Wanderer\nLilmoth: the Festering Jewel of Black Marsh. Murkmire's southernmost port and entryway to the wild swamps that lie beyond. Merchants and travelers alike walk its muddy streets, the rampant humidity causing sweat to pearl against their skin. In all of Black Marsh, you will find no town quite so cultivated.\nIn fact, you are unlikely to come across a town at all, as decades have passed since the time of Imperial occupation. One sees only shadows of the Empire's influence now, such as when visiting Old Imperial Lilmoth. There you will find a gallery of half-sunken villas, covered in moss and decay. The swamp has indeed reclaimed this place, just as the Argonians reclaimed Black Marsh.\nScaly hands, however, did not lay out the foundation of Lilmoth. You can immediately see this in its distinctive name, which refers to the vulpine race that founded the town. Unfortunately, you will find no Lilmothiit in Lilmoth now, as the Knahaten Flu killed off all such inhabitants. Merchants from all over Tamriel, as well as Argonian travelers from nearby tribes, now occupy the town.\nGiven the lack of a proper power structure, a council of highly influential merchants tends to most of the town's affairs. They see to the port tariffs and hire guards to patrol Lilmoth's streets. They also dispense justice to all non-natives, using an informal court system. It is well known, however, that a well-placed bribe is likely to settle matters far quicker than a well-spoken defense.\nMurkmire natives have a less structured system of justice. While tree-minders and war chiefs tend to settle most conflicts within the surrounding tribes, Lilmoth has no such legal system in place. In my year in Lilmoth, I have noticed that many Argonians defer to an elderly Argonian by the name of Sulahkeesh. What her role in their society is, I am uncertain, though it appears that the native population sees her as a well-respected arbitrator.\nThough still a bit rough around the edges, Lilmoth has come far from its origins as a den of war, piracy, and political struggle. You will find it now to be a lovely destination for all who wish to sample Murkmire's exotic mystery without risking the dangers of its expansive swamps. It's a must-see location for any who are fascinated with the eccentricities of Argonian culture, such as myself."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/history-mor-khazgur": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/history-mor-khazgur", "description": "History of this Orcish mine and stronghold", "author": "Carena Esmery", "title": "A History of Mor Khazgur", "text": "By Carena Esmery, Chronicler\nThe Orcs of Mor Khazgur are a particularly prickly bunch, even for Orcs. It wasn't easy to compile this information. I wouldn't have been able to do so at all were it not for a few patient miners who dealt with my constant questions with only slight annoyance and threat to my physical being.\nAfter leaving Wrothgar, the founding Orcs of the Mor Khazgur clan found a prosperous, rich mine and decided to settle there. In the early days, the mine was self-sustaining. The place overflowed with resources and the Orcs settled into a rhythm. They built their settlement around the mine and flourished.\nThe current mine Overseer, Overseer Thulsgreg, comes from a long line of leadership. His grandfather and father were the chiefs of the clan before him. They led the clan during a sort of golden age of the mine, when the mines themselves flourished. The clan saw a good deal of success and comfortable living even separated from Orsinium.\nIt was always assumed that Thulsgreg would inherit the mine from his father. Which is strange, considering he married beforehand. This clan isn't strictly traditional, but even still, that came as quite a shock to me.\nUnfortunately for him, as his father began to prepare to pass down the title, the Mor Khazgur mines dried up. Not completely, mind you, but the decline was quick and noticeable. The once prospering clan was suddenly confronted with the very real possibility of dying out. The mine would dry up, and they would have nothing left.\nThankfully, a new chief stepped up. A strong, young Orc named Urzikh challenged Thulsgreg for the title. She won, and immediately instated new mining practices to bring the clan back to its former glory."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hypothetical-treachery-part-1": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hypothetical-treachery-part-1", "description": "An amusing play about a bunch of backstabbing adventurers", "author": "Anthil Morvir", "title": "A Hypothetical Treachery, part 1", "text": "A Hypothetical Treachery\n\tA One Act Play, part 1\n\tby\n\tAnthil Morvir\nA One Act Play, part 1\nby\n\tAnthil Morvir\n\nScene: Eldenwood\nAs the curtain rises, we see the misty labyrinthian landscape of the legendary Eldengrove of Valenwood. All around we hear wolves howling. A bloodied reptilian figure, SCHIAVAS, breaks through the branches of one of the trees and surveys the area.\nSCHIAVAS: It's clear.\nINZOLIAH, a beautiful Dark Elf mage, climbs down from the tree, helped by the barbarian. There is the sound of footsteps nearby. Schiavas readies his sword and Inzoliah prepares to cast a spell. Nothing comes out.\nINZOLIAH: You're bleeding. You should have Dolcettus heal that for you.\nSCHIAVAS: He's still drained from all the spells he had to cast down in the caves. I'm fine. If we get out of this and no one needs it more, I'll take the last potion of healing. Where's Malvasian?\nMALVASIAN, a High Elf battlemage, and DOLCETTUS, a Cyrodiil healer, emerge from the tree, carrying a heavy chest between the two of them. They awkwardly try to get down from the tree, carrying their loot.\nMALVASIAN: Here I am, though why I'm carrying the heavy load is beyond me. I always thought that the advantage of dungeon delving with a great barbarian was that he carried all the loot.\nSCHIAVAS: If I carried that, my hands would be too full to fight. And tell me if I'm wrong, but not one of the three of you has enough magicka reserved to make it out of here alive. Not after you electrified and blasted all those homunculuses down below ground.\nDOLCETTUS: Homunculi.\nSCHIAVAS: Don't worry, I'm not going to do what you think I'm going to do.\nINZOLIAH (innocently): What's that?\nSCHIAVAS: Kill you all and take the Ebony Mail for myself. Admit it -- you thought I had that in mind.\nDOLCETTUS: What a perfectly horrible thought. I never thought anyone, no matter how vile and degenerate --\nINZOLIAH: Why not?\nMALVASIAN: He needs porters, like he said. He can't carry the chest and fight off the inhabitants of Eldengrove both.\n\nDOLCETTUS: By Stendarr, of all the mean, conniving, typically Argonian --\nINZOLIAH: And why do you need me alive?\nSCHIAVAS: I don't necessarily. Except that you're prettier than the other two, for a smoothskin that is. And if something comes after us, it might go for you first.\nThere is a noise in some bushes nearby.\nSCHIAVAS: Go check that out.\nINZOLIAH: It's probably a wolf. These woods are filled with them. You check it out.\nSCHIAVAS: You have a choice, Inzoliah. Go and you might live. Stay here, and you definitely won't.\nInzoliah considers and then goes to the bushes.\nSCHIAVAS (to Malvasian and Dolcettus): The king of Silvenar will pay good money for the Mail, and we can divide it more nicely between three than four.\nINZOLIAH: You're so right.\nInzoliah suddenly levitates up to the top of the stage. A semi-transparent Ghost appears from the bush and rushes at the next person, who happens to be Schiavas. As the barbarian screams and thrashes at it with his sword, it levels blasts of whirling gas at him. He crumbles to the ground. It turns next to Dolcettus, the healer, and as the Ghost focuses its feasting chill on the hapless Dolcettus, Malvasian casts a ball of flame at it that causes it to vaporize into the misty air.\nInzoliah floats back down to the ground as Malvasian examines the bodies of Dolcettus and Schiavas, who are both white-faced from the draining power of the ghost.\nMALVASIAN: You had some magicka reserved after all.\nINZOLIAH: So did you. Are they dead?\nMalvasian takes the potion of healing from Dolcettus's pack.\nMALVASIAN: Yes. Fortunately, the potion of healing wasn't broken when he fell. Well, I guess this leaves just the two of us to collect the reward.\nINZOLIAH: We can't get out of this place without each other. Like it or not.\nThe two battlemages pick up the chest and begin plodding carefully through the undergrowth, pausing from time to time at the sound of footsteps or other eerie noises.\nMALVASIAN: Let me make sure I understand. You have a little bit of magicka left, so you elected to use it to make Schiavas the ghost's target, forcing me to use most of my limited reserve to destroy the creature so I wouldn't be more powerful than you. That's first-rate thinking.\nINZOLIAH: Thank you. It's only logical. Do you have enough power to cast any other spells?\nMALVASIAN: Naturally. An experienced battlemage always knows a few minor but highly effective spells for just such a trial. I take it you, too, have a few tricks up your sleeve?\nINZOLIAH: Of course, like you said.\nThey pause for a moment before continuing as a fearful wail pierces the air. When it dies away, they slowly trudge on."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hypothetical-treachery-part-2": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hypothetical-treachery-part-2", "description": "The exciting conclusion of this evening's production", "author": "Anthil Morvir", "title": "A Hypothetical Treachery, part 2", "text": "\nA Hypothetical Treachery\n\tA One Act Play, part 2\n\tby\n\tAnthil Morvir\nA One Act Play, part 2\nby\n\tAnthil Morvir\n\nScene: Eldenwood\nMalvasian and Inzoliah pause for a moment before continuing as a fearful wail pierces the air. When it dies away, they slowly trudge on.\nINZOLIAH: Just as an intellectual exercise, I wonder what spell you would cast at me if we made it out of here without any more combat.\nMALVASIAN: I hope you're not implying that I would dream of killing you so I would keep the treasure all to myself.\nINZOLIAH: Of course not, nor would I do that to you. It is merely an intellectual exercise.\nMALVASIAN: Well, in that case, purely as an intellectual exercise, I would probably cast a leech spell on you, to take away your life force and heal myself. After all, there are brigands on the road between here and Silvenar, and a wounded battlemage with a valuable artifact would make a tempting target. I'd hate to survive Eldengrove merely to die in the open.\nINZOLIAH: That's a well-reasoned response. As for myself, again, not saying I would ever do this, but I think a simple, sudden electrical bolt would serve my purposes admirably. I agree about the danger of brigands, but don't forget, we also have a potion of healing. I could easily slay you and heal myself to full capacity.\nMALVASIAN: Very true. It would end up a question then of whose spell was more effective at that instant. If our spells counteracted one another and I leeched your life energy only to be crippled by your lightning bolt, then we could both be killed. Or so near death that a mere potion of healing would scarcely help either one of us, let alone both. How ironic it would be if two scheming battlemages, not saying we are scheming but for the purpose of this intellectual exercise, were left on the brink of death, completely drained of magicka, with one healing potion to choose from. Who would get it then?\nINZOLIAH: Logically, whoever drank it first, which in this case would be you since you're holding it. Now, what if one of us were injured, but not killed?\nMALVASIAN: Logic would dictate that a scheming battlemage would take the potion, leaving the injured party to the mercy of the elements, I suppose.\nINZOLIAH: That does seem most sensible. But suppose that the battlemages, while certainly scheming types, had a certain respect for one another. Perhaps in that case, the victorious one might, for instance, put the potion up a tree near his or her gravely wounded victim. Then when the wounded party had enough magicka replenished, he or she would be able to levitate to the tree branches and recover the potion. By that time, the victorious battlemage would have already collected the reward.\nThey pause for a moment at the sound of something in the bushes nearby. Carefully, they climb across the branches of a tree to bypass it.\nMALVASIAN: I understand what you're saying, but it seems out of character for our hypothetic scheming battlemage to allow his or her victim to live.\nINZOLIAH: Perhaps. But it's been my observation that most scheming battlemages enjoy the feeling of having bested someone in combat, and having that person alive to live with the humiliation.\nMALVASIAN: These hypothetical scheming battlemages sound ... (excitedly) Daylight! Do you see it?\nThe two scurry across the branch dropping behind a bush, so we can no longer see them. We can, however, see the shimmering halo of sunlight.\nMALVASIAN (behind the tall bush): We made it.\nINZOLIAH (likewise, behind the tall bush): Indeed.\nThere is a sudden explosion of electrical energy and a wild howling aura of red light, and then silence. After a few moment's pause, we hear someone climbing up the tree. It is Malvasian, putting the potion high up in the bough. He chuckles as he climbs back down and the curtain drops.\nEpilogue.\nThe curtain rises on a road to Silvenar. A gang of bandits have surrounded Malvasian, who is propped up on his staff, barely able to stand. They pull his chest away from him with ease.\nBANDIT #1: What have we got here? Don't you know it ain't safe to be out on the road, all sick like you are? Why don't we help you with your load?\nMALVASIAN (weakly): Please ... Let me be ...\nBANDIT #2: Go on, spellcaster, fight us for it!\nMALVASIAN: I can't ... too weak ...\nSuddenly, Inzoliah flies in, casting lightning bolts from her fingers at the bandits, who quickly scramble away. She lands on the ground and picks up the chest. Malvasian collapses, dying.\nMALVASIAN: Hypothetically, what if ... a battlemage cast a spell on another which didn't harm him at once, but ... drained his life force and his magicka, bit by bit, so he wouldn't know at the time, but ... feel confident enough to leave the potion of healing behind?\nINZOLIAH: A most treacherous battlemage she'd be.\nMALVASIAN: And ... hypothetically ... would she be likely to help her fallen foe ... so that she could enjoy the humiliation of him continuing ... to live?\nINZOLIAH: From my experience, hypothetically, no. She doesn't sound like a fool.\nAs Inzoliah lugs the chest off toward Silvenar, and Malvasian expires on the stage, we drop the curtain."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-home-1": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-home-1", "description": "", "author": "Swallows-Cats-Whole", "title": "A Letter Home", "text": "I know this will never reach you. I'm writing this note in a cage. I've been held captive for months. I think they're planning on attacking Shadowfen. I miss you and sister.\nLove,\n\tSwallows-Cats-Whole"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-maraya": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-maraya", "description": "A duke's wife writers to her sister", "author": "Almandine", "title": "A Letter to Maraya", "text": "Beloved Maraya,\nTrust Ayan as our personal courier. Please burn this after you read it, and send him back with a response.\nI am lonesome away from our family. Do you feel the same?\nThe duke loves me, and I him. If he thinks I am forlorn, the sun may set on his happiness. That cannot happen! Perhaps the child will bring me joy. It is too early to say anything, so I whisper it only to you.\nWrite to me often. I am comforted to know you are near.\nFrom my heart,\n\tAlmandine"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-mayor": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-mayor", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "A Letter to the Mayor", "text": "\u2014out of Velyn Harbor immediately! Our friends in Greenshade are not happy with you, and they've learned about your \"special funds.\"\nI believe they've contacted the Dark ...\n... don't know what your plans are, but I intend to be as far away from Velyn Harbor as I can possibly get before they connect our business to the ...\nIf you can, get word to me at Silvenar. Perhaps the Hound can protect us. I hear his influence with the Green Lady has increased dramatically."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/life-barbaric-and-brutal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/life-barbaric-and-brutal", "description": "A firsthand account of life among the Reachmen", "author": "Arthenice Belloq", "title": "A Life Barbaric and Brutal", "text": "Chapter One: Abducted by the Reachmen\nI was born in Murcien's Hamlet, just north across the Bjoulsae from Evermore. My mother was a weaver, and my father was a boat-builder who made small fishing smacks and coracles for the river trade. I remember my youth as a happy one, playing around the docks where Father worked, or hunting through the near woods for entoloma caps and hickory nuts.\nIt was while doing the latter one day that I strayed a bit farther from the hamlet than usual, pushed my way through a briar thicket \u2026 and suddenly found myself staring at a pair of human skulls. Startled, I shrieked and dropped my basket of nuts. By the time I realized that what I'd seen was a skull on a staff next to a woman's face painted like a skull, I'd been knocked down, bound, and thrown over her shoulder.\nI was being borne away to the north, away from my home and into the mountains. I began to kick and scream, at which the woman threw me down, bound me tighter, and gagged me into the bargain. Then she resumed carrying me off into the wild. Eventually I passed out from sheer exhaustion.\nWhen I awoke it was dark, but I could see forms in the dance of firelight, silhouettes sporting horns, bones, spikes, feathers. Reachmen. I closed my eyes and tried to wake up, but it was no nightmare: when I opened my eyes they were still there.\nMy gag was gone, so I cried out for water. The skull-faced woman, whom I later learned was named Voanche, brought me a cup. She checked my bonds, and where I winced in pain, she actually loosened them a little. This surprised me, as I'd always heard that the Reach Clans were barbarians, wicked Daedra-worshipers who reveled in cruelty. Maybe, once they realized how distressed I was, they would set me free and send me home.\nIt was a false hope: I was to be the captive of the Crow-Wife Clan for the next eight years. The Reachmen were far more complex than I had been led to believe in my Breton home, but in one thing we were right: barbarism and cruelty are everyday facts of life in the Reach. Voanche was a horse-breeder who had abducted me because she needed a slave to tend to her livestock, since her former thrall had died of a kick to the head. She had given me water and loosened my bonds solely out of concern for the condition of her new possession.\nVoanche's clan was ruled by a hagraven named Kloavdra, a claw-fingered crone who was a witch-shaman of considerable power. She was a priestess of Namira the Spirit Daedra, the lady of ancient darkness who commands repulsive vermin such as spiders, insects, slugs, and serpents. Because Namira is the mistress of small pests, the Reachmen call her \"the Children's God\" (they are not without humor, though their jests are always malicious). At every two-moons'-dark Kloavdra would draw lots at random from the children of the clan, both Reach and slave, to select a sacrifice to the Goddess of the Dark. The chosen child would end up on the Ever-Oozing Altar where Kloavdra would cut out its heart as an offering to Namira. Every time I was sure it would be me, but the name-feather drawn was always of another.\nKloavdra's hag-husband was a crude and vicious man named Cointthac. He was a gravesinger, a witchman shaman who could command the dead\u2014in our land we'd call him a necromancer. He was always looking sidewise at Voanche and licking his lips, as at a savory roast fowl. Though he had power in the clan and was feared by all, Voanche treated him with disdain, which would sometimes provoke him into sending hoot-haunts into her tent at night, or hexing the horses' oats with writheworm. Voanche never turned a hair, just threatened to complain about Cointthac to his hag-wife Kloavdra, which always sent him packing.\nLife was hard in the Reach. Crow-Wife was a hunting clan, so our life was following the herds across the wastes. It was a rugged and perilous existence, where life could be snuffed out in a heartbeat by the antlers of an elk buck or the fangs of a sabre cat. But what I feared most were the semi-annual crossings of the Karth River in the wake of the tundra herds. It was my job to help Voanche and her useless daughter swim the horses across the ice-cold, swirling current, and every time I was certain would be my last. How I wished I had learned to swim in the Bjoulsae, like my two brothers, whenever the Karth had me in its grip!\nOccasionally during a crossing one of the horses would panic and break free of us, which usually meant drowning and death for it. Then Voanche and I would search far downstream until we found where its body had washed up, so we could skin and unmake the dead horse for its valuable fat, flesh, and bones. Nothing was wasted among the Reachmen.\nIt was during my sixth summer as a slave of the Crow-Wives\u2014I had crossed the hated Karth eleven times!\u2014that I began to attract the unwanted attentions of Aiocnuall, the loutish son of Kloavdra and Cointthach. He expressed his attraction by pushing me into mud puddles or putting dead voles in my stew. He was a year younger than me, but soon I knew he would want me to the object of more than just practical jokes. As the son of the hagraven he could do pretty much whatever he wanted with impunity, and Voanche couldn't protect me by complaining to Kloavdra\u2014the old virago would just cackle and wave her away.\nSo at night, when I should have been sleeping in my pile of furs, I started making a spear."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/life-strife-and-struggle": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/life-strife-and-struggle", "description": "Outlines for the Last Ayleid King's memoirs", "author": "King Laloriaran Dynar", "title": "A Life of Strife and Struggle", "text": "Notes for the personal memoirs of King Laloriaran Dynar, \"Last King of the Ayleids\"\nStructure: ten chapters as traditional, one for each of the Ten Ancestors\nChapter One: Struggles of the Late Ayleid Period (263-331)\n\t\u2014 My father humiliated by the Empress\n\t\u2014 Nenalata as a vassal-state to the Empire of Cyrodiil\n\t\u2014 Wrenching transition to a slave-less economy\n\t\u2014 Forced adoption of Alessia's Eight Divines\n\t\u2014 I don the Crown of Nenalata\n\t\u2014 Rising sense of futility and doom\nChapter Two: Alessian Order, Ayleid Disorder (332-371)\n\t\u2014 Coup d'Etat in the Imperial City\n\t\u2014 I swear fealty to the Emperor\n\t\u2014 Theocracy in Cyrodiil\n\t\u2014 The Ayleid Pogrom\n\t\u2014 The vassal-states dwindle\n\t\u2014 Nenalata stands alone\nChapter Three: Tears for Lost Nenalata (372-374)\n\t\u2014 Ultimatum from the Emperor\n\t\u2014 Debate with the Intransigents\n\t\u2014 Last hours in Nenalata\n\t\u2014 The turbulent trek from Cyrodiil\n\t\u2014 News of the massacre of the Intransigents\n\t\u2014 Nibbled to death by Goblins\nChapter Four: Refugees on the Bjoulsae (375-452)\n\t\u2014 Welcomed by the Direnni\n\t\u2014 Displacing the Orcs, founding a city\n\t\u2014 Bisnensel-by-the-Lake\n\t\u2014 Detente with the Bretons, armistice with the Orcs\n\t\u2014 Disturbing news from Cyrodiil\nChapter Five: Menace of the Primeval Seekers (453-460)\n\t\u2014 The pernicious cult of Hermaeus Mora\n\t\u2014 Strange rites, persistent visions\n\t\u2014 High Priest Uluscant asserts his authority\n\t\u2014 Murder in the night\n\t\u2014 Flight of the royal family\nChapter Six: Sanctuary Among the Direnni (461-477)\n\t\u2014 Balfiera Island\n\t\u2014 Ryain, Aiden, and Raven\n\t\u2014 At War with Skyrim\n\t\u2014 Tactician and Strategist: I find my true calling\n\t\u2014 Hoag Merkiller defeated\nChapter Seven: Approach of the Alessian Horde (478-479)\n\t\u2014 Rumbles from the Heartland\n\t\u2014 We find Breton converts to Alessianism\n\t\u2014 Scourging of the missionaries\n\t\u2014 The Alessian Horde marches west\n\t\u2014 The fall of Craglorn\nChapter Eight: The Mustering of High Rock (480-481)\n\t\u2014 Envoy to the Vassal Kings\n\t\u2014 Aiden reluctantly signs the Rights Charter\n\t\u2014 Making legionaries out of farmhands\n\t\u2014 The Horde swarms into High Rock\n\t\u2014 Atrocities of the Alessians\nChapter Nine: The Battle of Glenumbria Moors (482)\n\t\u2014 Opening skirmishes\n\t\u2014 We present the lure\n\t\u2014 Faolchu takes the bait\n\t\u2014 Charge of the hidden knights\n\t\u2014 Conjured creatures of Corvus and Calani\n\t\u2014 Rout of the Alessians\nChapter Ten: Return to Nenalata (482-484)\n\t\u2014 Pursuit of the Alessian Horde\n\t\u2014 Extermination in Craglorn\n\t\u2014 The Maruhkati Martyrs\n\t\u2014 Return to the Heartland\n\t\u2014 Lured to Nenalata\n\t\u2014 Molag Bal's Insidious Trap\n\t\u2014 Prisoner in Coldharbour\nPlenty of time in here. Just hope they don't take away my writing materials. Could even Dremora be that cruel?"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/light-moor": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/light-moor", "description": "A cautionary tale about the mists of Glenumbral", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "A Light on the Moor", "text": "Walking one night along the rain-sodden roads that mark passage through the Glenumbral moors, a pilgrim spied a lantern in the mist.\n\"My word,\" he said, as he stopped to stare, pushing up his funny white hat to get a better view, \"Some poor traveler has lost his way!\"\n\"Ho, there!\" he cried, \"The road is here!\"\nHearing no response, but not being one to leave a fellow mer to the mercy of the marsh, the pilgrim strayed from his own path and waded into the putrid waters between him and the light. Boots sloshing through the blackened muck, he could hardly make the gleam out through the mist ahead of him.\nUndeterred, he pressed forward, with hardly a thought for his own mortality. \"Surely they can hear me now,\" he thought, then cried out once more.\n\"Ho, good friend! The road lies this way!\"\nAgain hearing no response, he took a moment to look around. Mist was all he found there, in the dark. He could see neither his horse nor his barrow, where he had staked it. Shivering there in his own lamplight, hopelessly lost, he wondered whether he would ever return to the road.\nDeciding two lost souls would fare better than one, and up to his chest in peat and putrid water, he pressed on toward the light.\nOne by one, he lost his boots to the marsh, buried deep in the sucking pits that marked his passage. Bootless, he continued until he could go no further.\nIt was then, coming around a copse of trees, that he came upon a small glass lantern hanging from a tree branch. Searching for any sign of its owner, he spied a wide-brimmed bonnet where it lay abandoned on the ground. As he stood there wondering, the bright yellow flame of the tiny lantern flickered, then guttered out.\n\tHe looked to his own lantern, bobbing happily in the water above his shoulders, and took another step only to find he couldn't. Indeed, he could barely shift his waist, so thick was the muck he'd mired in.\nLooking skyward, he reached for the grasping, wooden fingers of the trees above, only to find them beyond his grasp.\nSo he stood there, in the dark, until the murky waters swallowed his throat, his mouth, and his funny white cap. His final breath bubbled up through the muck, and that was the last of the pilgrim.\nWalking one night along the rain-sodden roads that mark passage through the Glenumbral moors, a merchant spied a lantern in the mist.\n\"My, my,\" he said, as he stopped to stare, pushing up his broad visor to get a better view, \"Some poor fellow's lost his way!\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/looters-paradise": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/looters-paradise", "description": "A lucrative opportunity for a looter", "author": "Silver-Haired Shadow", "title": "A Looter's Paradise", "text": "You don't need to know my real name\u2014not sure I remember it anymore, anyhow. My auntie left me a shack on a hill south of the border. Never thought about it much, until I lifted Hrol's Golden Girdle from the Temple of the One. Suddenly life got real complicated, and I decided it was time to go claim my inheritance.\nAuntie\u2014let's call her Auntie Alias, no point in telling you too much\u2014was an Imperial Border Scout, part of the cohort stationed at Fort Sphinxmoth, in the hills between Elsweyr and northern Valenwood. In the late days of the Second Empire the job of the Border Scouts was to keep the quarrelsome locals in line so as not to interfere with trade. \"Free trade, by Aless,\" auntie would say, opening another bottle of Surilie Farms and winking. \"Lifeblood of the Empire!\"\nNow the Scouts couldn't stop every little cross-border vendetta, but they did prevent the Cats and the Runty Elves from engaging in wholesale slaughter, and kept the bandits off the road from Dune to Arenthia. Auntie liked the climate, so when she retired she bought this little plot, came down and put up her hut. It's bigger than it looks, by the way\u2014goes way back into the hill, and you can bet auntie dug out a back door, just in case.\n\tBy the time I got here, one dark night in Sun's Dusk, with the wound in my thigh leaking blood again after that wild ride on the stolen horse, the Border Scouts were long gone, and the Dawnmead Marches had returned to their natural state: just one law shy of anarchy. And that one law was the Law of Revenge.\nIt was the Vinedusk Wood Elf tribe versus the Dakarn Khajiiti clan, and it was a near-continual war of cross-border raids and midnight murders. They took turns occupying the ruins of Fort Sphinxmoth, sending out bands to waylay merchant caravans, raid villages and towns, and pay off old scores. Neither side noticed me hiding in the old shack during daylight, and slipping from shadow to shadow around the Marches after dark. The place was a killing ground\u2014I could hardly go five hundred paces without encountering a dead warrior, a half-empty cart, or a slain merchant.\nIt was a looter's paradise.\nAh, those were the good times. Too good to last, I suppose\u2014eventually the Vinedusk bandits overreached and staged a raid on Arenthia itself, right about the time the Dakarn Cats tried to take over organized crime in Dune and the Thizzrini Arena. The respectable citizens on both sides of the border formed militias or hired mercenaries, swept the hills clean, and that was the end of brigandry in the Marches. The Vinedusk tribe actually reformed as a Bosmeri irregular unit, the \"Vinedusk Rangers\" (Ha!), while the surviving Dakarns became the nucleus of the Duneguard Outwalkers. The border settled back down, and the Lifeblood of the Empire resumed its flow.\nFortunately, I was there to recognize opportunity when I saw it coming down the road from Dune, laden with trade goods. By the next Fredas I was in Bravil, looking up a few of my old contacts. Half a season later it was me and the newly-dubbed Murkwater Gang who were occupying good old Fort Sphinxmoth, digging out the barracks, sharpening our blades, and repairing the old traps.\nThe good times are back."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/merchants-guide-valenwood": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/merchants-guide-valenwood", "description": "Advice for merchants operating in Valenwood", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "A Merchant's Guide to Valenwood", "text": "(An Excerpt)\nAny legitimate merchant who's traded in eastern Greenshade knows to avoid the old Merchant Tunnels.\n\tIn old times, when we first asked the Green to create a passage, the tunnels were an important byway, a defense against the wilder things that live in the forest.\nNow, it's a haven for all that's illicit, illegal, and disgusting. Backhanded traders moving unreliable product at outrageous costs. Black market trade. Skooma. It's all there. A sure way to call one's legitimacy as a merchant into question is to pass through those tunnels.\nFor this reason, though the way is treacherous, it is advised to avoid the tunnels and take the low route over the bridge, beyond the bone pits.\nOther good advice for Valenwood merchants is to travel well-armed, and to keep a watch at night. The Wood Elves of the area are known for their thieving, and some can be extremely unfriendly to strangers.\nIn general, it's a good idea to stick close to Woodhearth and other major settlements, rather than trying to deal with the backwoods Green Pact Bosmer personally. Let Wood Elves deal with Wood Elves."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/merchants-orders-his-guards": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/merchants-orders-his-guards", "description": "A threatening letter warning never to mention what happened at Zalgaz's Den", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "A Merchant's Orders to His Guards", "text": "To My \"Loyal\" Guards,\nI have been subjected of late to a large number of complaints and jeers at my expense. I want to make absolutely clear that anyone who mentions what happened at Zalgaz's Den again, whether in my presence or whether reported to me second-hand, will face a severe penalty.\nWages will be docked! Extra duties will be assigned! And if you quit my service and spread these slanders in someone else's employ, I will have you taken before a priest of Arkay and accused of spreading malicious rumors of Daedric origin!\nIn short, I never want to hear mention of Thalia's Retreat again!\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/midnight-ambush": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/midnight-ambush", "description": "A brief summary of an ambush", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "A Midnight Ambush", "text": "The infamous Khajiiti warrior Moon-Scythe and a small entourage made their way toward Willowgrove under cover of night. In a stunning display of night-time manuevering, they were ambushed by Bosmeri defenders and slaughtered.\nRelics Sought:\n\t\u2014 Moon-Scythe's remains\n\t\u2014 Moon-Scythe's silver claw"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/moment-your-time": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/moment-your-time", "description": "A trip to a dark place goes about as well as you'd assume", "author": "Stibbons, Manservant", "title": "A Moment of Your Time?", "text": "Our trip to Coldharbour has gone somewhat awry. I do hope this doesn't prove too inconvenient for dear Lady Laurent. She expects things to go smoothly (and quite rightly so).\nMy plight is that I find myself separated from the others and in the clutches of extremely beautiful Daedra.\n\tThe Daedra have been polite so far, if not a little lascivious. Still, as fair as they are, I cannot be sure I can fully trust them.\nThey hold me within a tower. I will continue to write these notes and drop them from my window until I am rescued. If you are reading this, could I prevail upon you to offer some assistance?\n\u2014Stibbons, Manservant"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mothers-nursery-rhyme": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mothers-nursery-rhyme", "description": "A sad rhyme likely common among Argonians", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "A Mother's Nursery Rhyme", "text": "Do you have five children, Mother?\n\tI've heard that you do.\n\tFive children? No, tonight I have four!\nFour children, sweet and pure.\nFour and no more!\nDo you have four children, Mother?\n\tI've heard that you do.\n\tFour children? No, tonight I have three!\n\tThree children abed late today.\n\tThree and no more!\nDo you have three children, Mother?\n\tI've heard that you do.\n\tThree children? No, tonight I have two!\n\tTwo children, quiet and shy.\n\tTwo and no more!\nDo you have two children, Mother?\n\tI've heard that you do.\n\tTwo children? No, tonight I have one!\n\tOne child, singing a song.\n\tOne and no more!\nDo you have one child, Mother?\n\tI've heard that you do.\n\tOne child? Please, I have none!\n\tThey're with their father now\n\tAnd live here no more."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nagging-question": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nagging-question", "description": "Just where are those guys and gals?", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "A Nagging Question", "text": "Everyone is so excited about these ruins. \"Surely this is the lost city of Root Sunder. Look at the masonry! Look at the layout!\" But when Root Sunder disappeared, it contained the Ayleids who were constructing it. Nobody is asking the obvious question:\nWhere are all the Elves?"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nereid-stole-my-husband": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nereid-stole-my-husband", "description": "A song about the temptation of Nereids", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "A Nereid Stole My Husband", "text": "A nereid stole my husband\n\tMy husband a nereid stole\n\tBeware the maids of the seastrand\n\tLest you be the next we console.\n\tWe strolled blithely along the shore\n\tGathering shells and turning stones\n\tWhen came the voice I now deplore\n\tA voice, a song, such soaring tones!\n\tAt once, my husband quickly sped\n\t\"Wait!\" I cried, \"'Tis a nereid!\"\n\tBut faster still he pressed ahead\n\tHer sweet call could not be gainsaid.\n\tToo late, alas, alas, too late\n\tI found him swaying, deep in thrall\n\tMy worst fear sent to me by fate\n\tHe followed the nereid's call.\n\tAnd she, beautiful, cruel, and vain\n\tSwam to her sisters, calling this back,\n\t\"Your husband was no prize to gain;\n\tHe's yours once more, Lady Crookback!\"\n\tA nereid stole my husband\n\tReturning him without delay\n\tPoor me, near free from his demands\n\tStuck instead with him since that day!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/new-recipe": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/new-recipe", "description": "A new use for a very old and unlikely ingredient", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "A New Recipe?", "text": "I've been trying to find a way to prepare troll meat so it's both flavorful and appetizing. The rest of the logging camp would banish me if they knew what culinary experiments I was conducting, but I'm hoping that the fatty flesh and its amazing healing properties might make a healthy and sustainable food source for the foresters.\nWould a small piece of troll meat continue to grow, so the pantry would constantly restock itself? I think so, but I need a piece of troll meat to test this theory. Also, there's the fire issue. Troll meat really doesn't react well to fire, and I can't see the foresters eating raw troll flesh.\nI'm sure I can work this out. I just need more time."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nixad-made-me-do-it": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nixad-made-me-do-it", "description": "A girl blames a nixiad for being mean to her sister", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "A Nixad Made Me Do It", "text": "Mother,\nI did push Selia into the sea. But it wasn't to ruin her dress!\nYou see, I spotted a nixad on the way to the beach. Selia kept telling me it was wrong to sneak away. She was quite loud about it, which is how she drew its attention.\nYou know how nixad are. They pluck out the eyes of pompous children, then roll them around in moon-sugar! I had to do something so the nixad wouldn't turn Selia's eyes into snacks.\nAt first I thought to tug at her hair. I saw the nixad giggle, but Selia ran and shouted how I would be in such trouble.\nThat annoyed the nixad, so I chased Selia. I caught her at the little rise by the sea and pinched her arms. I thought we were safe, but then she said, \"I will tell Mother what you did, and you will be in such trouble!\"\nI could hear the nixad's wings. If you can hear them, it means they're angry. What else could I do?\nSo I pushed. She fell into the sea, soaked through and spluttering. The nixad laughed so hard it fell out of the air.\nSelia bawled all the way home. I made her walk - I refused to carry her one step. That was enough to satisfy the nixad.\nMother, I admit I was cruel to Selia, but it was the only thing I could do to protect her. Isn't that what you taught me? To stand up for my little sister?\n-Your loving daughter"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-3": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-3", "description": "A note between grave robbers", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "A Note", "text": "We should keep our eyes open the grave belonging to Desyree Marcelle. She was a local folk hero or something and I'm sure anything of hers: sword, shield, or armor, would fetch a nice price.\nOh, and in case anyone forgot to warn you, watch out for undead! Rumor has it that there might be animated skeletons."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/one-time-offer": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/one-time-offer", "description": "A threat from the Camonna Tong", "author": "Avus", "title": "A One-Time Offer", "text": "You'll only be given one opportunity to include us in your current efforts. We know your profits. Deny us, and your traitorous followers will be killed. Any slave found will be captured and forced to serve us.\nYou have three days to confirm your loyalties.\nAvus of the Camonna Tong"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/perfect-score": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/perfect-score", "description": "A lucrative deal in a haunted locale. What could go wrong?", "author": "Hundred-Scales", "title": "A Perfect Score", "text": "Syslas,\nI think I found our score. It's perfect for us. Abandoned, rumored to be haunted and not a soul in sight. It's called Arx Corinium. Must've been some kind of Imperial fort. It's been abandoned for years, abandoned hastily. There should be plenty of loot for the taking. But I'll need your strength, my friend. There are bound to be natural dangers.\nWe'll speak soon.\n\t\u2014 Hundred-Scales"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/petition-mighty-nix-ox": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/petition-mighty-nix-ox", "description": "Farming is hard work for these gentle creatures, and they deserve a happy end", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "A Petition for the Mighty Nix-Ox", "text": "Yes, we are thankful for the mighty nix-oxen of our land. These gentle giants, a distant cousin to nix-hounds, were our salvation when we were forced to go without slaves, and have been the backbone of the farming community ever since. But have you stopped to think about what we are doing to these magnificent creatures?\nUnlike a slave, whose daily labors would only create callous and muscle, the nix-ox is forced to plow the land by dragging their pedipalps through the soil. This creates furrows for our saltrice, marshmerrow, and other needed crops. Many of our livelihoods depend on the quick growth and trade of these items. But what is the true cost of these goods?\nThe nix-ox is not a beast of steel as the Dwarves once created, but a living, breathing animal. Over years of dedicated service, the nix-ox pedipalps begin to erode. Not only do they lose this important form of protection, they are then deemed useless by our \"good neighbor\" the farmer. They're left to starve in the ash wastes, or butchered for their carapaces. What a fine way to thank the being who put so many years of dedication into the very soil of Vvardenfell!\n\"But what can we do?\" you may be asking. \"Is there a better way?\" Fellow Housefolk, of course there is. There's always a better way.\nI believe that the law should require all farmers to retire nix-oxen after a certain amount of years of service.They then should be allowed a peaceful retirement, still given food and care by those who they have peacefully collaborated with throughout the years. They deserve all of the tasty mushrooms they can get their mandibles on, and peace and comfort in their twilight years.\nTo make this vision possible I propose a public mandate, a petition to protect our gentle giant friends. All you need to do is show your support. Will you join me, House Dunmer?"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/plea-help": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/plea-help", "description": "A letter from a friend long thought dead", "author": "Darien Gautier", "title": "A Plea for Help", "text": "I'm trying to reach you. Yes, you. This is harder than you can imagine, writing words to paper that doesn't exist.\nWhite light. There's white light all around me.\nAm I alive? Am I dreaming? Are these the Colored Rooms?\nHelp me. I want to come home. Please.\nDarien"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/plea-elder-scrolls-covenant-version": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/plea-elder-scrolls-covenant-version", "description": "The Covenant has the Elder Scroll!", "author": "Moth Priest Crassius Viria", "title": "A Plea for the Elder Scrolls (Covenant version)", "text": "Honored Protector Yseline:\nMy emissary, if she survived, has delivered our plea to you and to Grand Warlord Dortene. We beg you to repent of your actions and return what has been stolen.\nAs you know, Covenant troops invaded our temple and removed two of the Elder Scrolls that we are sworn to guard and study. Several members of our order died resisting this atrocity.\nYou have erected the temples of Alma Ruma and Ni-Mohk to shelter these scrolls. We honor your efforts to provide fitting housing for these holy relics, but it is not enough. The Elder Scrolls are not weapons to be hoarded for the benefit of the few, but instead words from beyond the gods, written down for us if only we are wise enough to interpret them. They must be studied and only by the Priests of the Ancestor Moths!\nThe Elder Scrolls must be returned to us. Please give them into the keeping of Moth Priest Belenius. I also ask that you provide him with a strong escort, as the journey east to our temple is long and hazardous.\nMay the wisdom of the ancients guide you,\n\tMoth Priest Crassius Viria"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/plea-elder-scrolls-dominion-version": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/plea-elder-scrolls-dominion-version", "description": "The Aldmeri Dominion has the scroll!", "author": "Moth Priest Crassius Viria", "title": "A Plea for the Elder Scrolls (Dominion version)", "text": "Honored Protector Arfire:\nMy emissary, if she survived, has delivered our plea to you and to Grand Warlord Sorcalin. We beg you to repent of your actions and return what has been stolen.\nAs you know, Dominion troops invaded our temple and removed two of the Elder Scrolls that we are sworn to guard and study. Several members of our order died resisting this atrocity.\nYou have erected the temples of Altadoon and Mnem to shelter these scrolls. We honor your efforts to provide fitting housing for these holy relics, but it is not enough. The Elder Scrolls are not weapons to be hoarded for the benefit of the few, but instead words from beyond the gods, written down for us if only we are wise enough to interpret them. They must be studied and only by the Priests of the Ancestor Moths!\nThe Elder Scrolls must be returned to us. Please give them into the keeping of Moth Priestess Theodosia. I also ask that you provide her with a strong escort, as the journey north across Cyrodiil to our temple is long and hazardous.\nMay the wisdom of the ancients guide you,\n\tMoth Priest Crassius Viria"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/plea-elder-scrolls-pact-version": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/plea-elder-scrolls-pact-version", "description": "The Ebonheart Pact has the scroll!", "author": "Moth Priest Crassius Viria", "title": "A Plea for the Elder Scrolls (Pact version)", "text": "Honored Protector Galiel:\nMy emissary, if she survived, has delivered our plea to you and to Grand Warlord Zimmeron. We beg you to repent of your actions and return what has been stolen.\nAs you know, Pact troops invaded our temple and removed two of the Elder Scrolls that we are sworn to guard and study. Several members of our order died resisting this atrocity.\nYou have erected the temples of Chim and Ghartok to shelter these scrolls. We honor your efforts to provide fitting housing for these holy relics, but it is not enough. The Elder Scrolls are not weapons to be hoarded for the benefit of the few, but instead words from beyond the gods, written down for us if only we are wise enough to interpret them. They must be studied and only by the Priests of the Ancestor Moths!\nThe Elder Scrolls must be returned to us. Please give them into the keeping of Moth Priest Pavonius. I also ask that you provide him with a strong escort, as the journey to our temple is hazardous.\nMay the wisdom of the ancients guide you,\n\tMoth Priest Crassius Viria"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/plea-vengeance": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/plea-vengeance", "description": "Camlorn meets a dark fate", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "A Plea for Vengeance", "text": "I write this to record the fall of Camlorn and ask for our city to be avenged.\nI need to write this quickly, as I can hear the foul creatures howling outside my door. I don't know how long the barricade will hold and I want to finish this and hide it before they find me.\nSo, how did this all begin? As with most falls, we were betrayed. It was Jonathan Telwin, my one-time friend and companion, who had sworn himself to the service of Angof and the undead monster called Faolchu.\nJonathan confided in me. He asked me to join his cause. I dismissed him, thinking this was just another of his many pranks. I was wrong.\nFaolchu made Jonathan a shifter, and the first wolf to breach our gates strolled in as though he belonged here. And we let him in, because he did. Once inside, Jonathan spread Faolchu's curse (he called it a gift) throughout the city. The cursed would meet at night, while the city slept, and we mistook the howls in the dark for wild dogs.\nAs the numbers of the cursed grew, they opened the gates and let Faolchu and the rest of his mad pack into the city. That was a few hours ago, just after night fell. They ripped apart anyone who tried to oppose them. The blood\u2014there was so much blood! Those they didn't kill they \u2026 changed. I watched as my friends and neighbors transformed into wolves. Their screams were a mix of agony and ecstasy, and some dark part of me longed to join them. But I put such thoughts aside and got my family to safety.\nWe never would have made it if not for the Camlorn Guard. Captain Darien and a small number of guards attacked the werewolves and defended us as we made our escape. I must say, Captain Darien was magnificent. He seemed immune to each attack, dodging and blocking and laughing as though he was thoroughly enjoying himself. He cleared a path to a house and shouted for a group of civilians to get inside and barricade the doors and windows. We were one of those groups.\nI don't know what happened to the Captain and his guards, but I thank them for helping us. I can smell fires now. I think the wolves intend to burn us out.\nLet me end this letter by saying that Jonathan Telwin is a coward. He took the easy way out and convinced a certain number of people to join him. I can't forgive the massacre that he took part in. If you're reading this, please, avenge Camlorn. Put an end to Faolchu and his foul creatures. Don't let this injustice go unanswered."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/plea-parting": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/plea-parting", "description": "A brief plea", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "A Plea in Parting", "text": "Forgive me."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/pocket-guide-mournhold": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/pocket-guide-mournhold", "description": "A brief overview of Mournhold's attractions", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "A Pocket Guide to Mournhold", "text": "Welcome, traveler! Welcome to Mournhold, the City of Light and Magic! This pocket guide was prepared with great care for you in the year 2E 481, and as such you can rest assured that it is current and up to date enough to provide for your every need.\nAs the capital of Morrowind, Mournhold is the greatest city in Tamriel. Travelers bring prayers and commerce to our streets, and we are ecstatic to receive you.\nPlease understand that with so many pilgrims gathering every day, you may occasionally encounter outlanders who seem lost, overwhelmed, or even frustrated by the bustle and the layout of the city.\nTo accommodate all visitors, the city registrars have compiled a few useful instructions on places and activities you may enjoy, as well as mandates from the Tribunal you must adhere to. Observe, learn, and enjoy your stay!\nReverence: Dunmer from the farthest reaches of Morrowind and beyond arrive each day to pray and show reverence for the Living Gods of the Tribunal. If you are one of our Dunmeri brothers or sisters, you already know the proper ways to show obeisance to the Three Tribunes: Almalexia, Vivec, and Sotha Sil. Sacred shrines throughout the city, including the Tribunal Temple, are ready to receive your donations.\nIf you are a non-Dunmer visiting our city, no doubt by observing our citizens you will pick up the proper modes of obeisance. The safest course of action remains the simplest. Do as the Dunmer do. Say what the Dunmer say. And be mindful of where you walk.\nRemember, do not panic when you see heretics submitting to the justice of the Tribunal. The registrar would like to assure you that we are well-practiced in dealing with heretics. Your safety remains one of our greatest concerns.\nThe Great Bazaar: Mournhold stands as the mercantile heart of Morrowind. We welcome your business! If this is your first visit to our great city, feel free to ask the city watch for the most direct and safest route to one of our merchant districts.\nThe Great Bazaar, the largest and most heavily patrolled of our markets, should serve as a destination spot during your stay. Make sure to see a seasonal event at one of our outdoor theaters, catch a wandering passion play in a town square, or listen to a public choir in one of our well-groomed parks. And know that every purchase you make grants you a little piece of Mournhold to take with you when you depart.\nPlease, however, be sure to make purchases only from registered and licensed merchants. That is the only way to ensure that proper fees and excises are collected.\nPlaza Brindisi Dorom: Troubled souls can find peace wandering through the statuary and gardens of Brindisi Dorom. Just as trees and flowers reach toward the sky to seek the nourishment of the sun, the citizens of Mournhold raise their arms in prayer to the wisdom of the Tribunal. May you find solace here!\nThe Tribunal Palace: Many travelers cannot wait to visit the Tribunal Palace, where the Living Gods of Morrowind reside. Please understand that while we welcome your zealous enthusiasm, the Ordinators may take issue with displays of excessive zeal. As always, everything in moderation. If your enthusiasm gets the better of you, Tribunal shrines located throughout the city are available to collect donations to atone for your transgressions.\nWhatever you seek, you can find it in Mournhold. Our priests, registrars, and city guards will make sure of that. Enjoy your stay!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/prayer-my-family": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/prayer-my-family", "description": "A sincere prayer", "author": "Ruthri Othrenim", "title": "A Prayer for My Family", "text": "To the Almightly Almsivi,\nWatch over my family. I pray that those who are healthy remain safe, while those who are ill soon gain entrance to the quarantine. I received a token and am blessed. Soon I will get the cure. May the Three speed the elixir so that it works swiftly. Then my family may be united once more.\nEver faithful,\n\tRuthri Othrenim"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/prayer-serpent": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/prayer-serpent", "description": "Invocation of Satakal", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "A Prayer to the Serpent", "text": "Celestial Serpent, hear my prayer!\nOh, Serpent, who descends from the sky, listen to my unworthy voice and raise me up.\nOh, Serpent, who sheds the Worldskin to return us to a simpler, better time, hear my humble words and make a place for me in your nest.\nOh, Serpent, who undulates with power and glory, accept my offering and grant me your venomous blessing.\nCelestial Serpent, hear my prayer!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/prisoners-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/prisoners-journal", "description": "A Prisoner in Oblivion slowly loses sanity", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "A Prisoner's Journal", "text": "I don't remember who I am or where I came from. I don't know what I did to deserve this terrible existence, but it most have been abominable. Why else would I be a prisoner in the Tower of Lies?\nToday I broke rocks. Lots and lots of rocks. Hundreds of rocks. They needed to be chipped and chopped and smashed. It was sweaty, back-breaking work. But I did it. I did it until my arms ached and my hands bled. And then I did it some more.\nToday an ogrim tortured me. It took me into one of the huts, locked me in stocks, and then whipped me with a lash. The pain \u2026 it went on and on and on. I let my mind drift, trying to remember better times and better places. I know I thought about something, but the memory doesn't stick. It's like trying to grasp mist before it dissipates in the sun. Or something like that. What was I talking about?\nToday I listened to Ifriz the Unraveler. He does love to talk. He goes on and on about how wonderful life is in the Tower of Lies. I could listen to his voice all day. It comforts me. It frightens me. It makes me want to cry. Why won't he stop shouting at me? Why?\nWhat day is it now?\nBugs. There are bugs crawling on me. All over my body. Into my eyes. Into my mouth. I try to brush them away, but they keep coming back. Persistent. Insistent. Twelve.\nToday is yellow.\nI thanked my ogrim tormentor today. To show me how much he cared, he beat me for an hour more.\nMy skull itches.\nWhy are the rocks screaming? Every time I hit them with my hammer, they cry out in pain.\nI think I used to be in some sort of guild. I think that's why I'm here. We must have done something yellow."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/promise-made": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/promise-made", "description": "A letter between Vaermina cultists", "author": "Gasparien", "title": "A Promise Made", "text": "Molacar,\nI agree to your terms and your promise. The gold should go to my parents, in Pell's Gate. I'm not doing this for gold, as you know. If my death might bring Vaermina to save us, I go willingly. But the gold will ease my parents' path through these dangerous times.\n\tI long to be in Her presence.\n\u2014 Gasparien"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/prophesy": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/prophesy", "description": "A brief and cryptic prophecy", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "A Prophesy", "text": "The seal shall remain until the keeper wills it gone."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ragged-inscription": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ragged-inscription", "description": "", "author": "Cirithor", "title": "A Ragged Inscription", "text": "I know we haven't heard from the Hound, but we were sent here to do his bidding. We must obey the Hound or face his wrath. Bring the woman to the cave for safekeeping until we hear back from the Hound.\nI will watch over her.\n\u2014 Cirithor"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/recipe-surpassing-danger": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/recipe-surpassing-danger", "description": "An unusual recipe requiring rare ingredients", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "A Recipe of Surpassing Danger", "text": "Collecting the ingredients necessary to create this unusual dish requires untold bravery and the fortitude to overcome surpassing dangers, but I assure you that the finished result is delicious and worth every death-defying moment you spend in search of these rare delicacies.\nBoil the eggs and legs in a pot or a kettle. If neither is available, use a basin. Then add \u2026.\n[Blood mars the rest of the recipe, making it illegible.]\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rejection-open-borders": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rejection-open-borders", "description": "A kinlady explains how Altmeri racial superiority calls for isolation", "author": "Kinlady Avinisse of Shimmerene", "title": "A Rejection of Open Borders", "text": "The Unforeseen Queen continues to impose her radical ideas upon her loyal subjects, inflicting all manner of change and sorrow upon this pristine and uncompromising land. Her attempts to elevate the other races and put them on equal footing with the Altmer is simply unnatural. Everyone knows the value of High Elven supremacy, so why try to weaken it with these impure and totally unwarranted decrees? Let it be known that the people of Shimmerene and their Kinlady shall endeavor to do everything in our power to oppose this unreasonable and ultimately dangerous decree.\nWhy do I reject an end to the pristine nature of Summerset? Why, because of logic, of course! It is a well-documented fact that the Altmer are superior in every way to the lesser races that share our world. After all, who else can trace their lineage directly to the Aedra? We proudly proclaim our divine heritage. Unlike the other races, we are not the creations of the gods; we are their descendants. Our genetic lineage can be traced to the original Aldmer race, through the Ehlnofey to the divine et'Ada themselves. For this reason and this reason alone, we should be permitted to preserve our pure bloodlines and maintain the sanctity of our perfect island home.\nShould the Adventurous Queen desire more proof, we need only look to our stature, our golden hue, and our natural inclination toward magic. The other races cannot compete with us in intellectual pursuits. They just aren't equipped for such a battle. Ours is the first true culture of Tamriel and we remained the most civilized of all the races. This fact cannot be refuted. We provided the basis for religion, language, and even architecture, and our influence can be seen across the continent. For all that we have provided, we should be allowed to keep a small piece of the world as solely our own.\nBeyond these self-evident truths, we must consider the poor lesser races as well. How cruel it will be to subject them to the rigors and requirements of our exacting culture and societal mores. They simply aren't equipped to handle the precision our customs and traditions demand. Should we embarrass them for these failings? Or worse yet, should we amplify their deficiencies by setting a lesser standard for them to adhere to? They would call us cruel, and rightly so. Let us keep the metaphorical gates closed, and then neither side will suffer any sorrow or discomfort. Allowing the lesser races to migrate to Summerset doesn't do them any favors. Quite the opposite, it will ultimately hurt them in the end.\nKeep Summerset pure. Keep Summerset pristine. Keep Summerset for the Altmer. Anything else makes no sense whatsoever."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/reminder-judge": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/reminder-judge", "description": "Procedure for Daedric court", "author": "Judge Xiven", "title": "A Reminder from the Judge", "text": "Remember,\nI want my court to be exciting and titillating. I also want our cases to reach their conclusions swiftly. For this reason, please remind all Daedric bailiffs that mortals are weaker and more fragile than Daedra. Our new captives will not easily recover from most injuries, and I want them healthy enough to receive their sentences.\nDo not damage them. This includes, but is not limited to, severed limbs, flaying, disembowelment, decapitation, and summary execution\u2014at least until judgment has been rendered.\nPlease, restrain yourselves in the face of these mortal mages, and do not destroy them. I want to play with these toys for as long as possible.\nNow, let's go serve up some justice! For the glory of Molag Bal!\n\t\u2014 Judge Xiven"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/request-relief": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/request-relief", "description": "A lamentation on the state of Enchanting", "author": "Defessus Magister", "title": "A Request for Relief", "text": "My dear Exchequer,\nI once again implore you to revisit the levy that has been placed upon myself for this year. I admit that I am a licensed enchanter residing inside the Imperial City. But circumstances have changed, and the business that was once profitable, is now just a drain on my income.\nA few years ago, enchanters would take the physical object to be enchanted and, using various ingredients and tools, imbue the object with the necessary mystical powers. Because of this, enchanters only competed with other enchanters who resided in the same city, since most people did not want to carry a sword hundreds of leagues to another enchanter just to save a few gold drakes. Prices for the city could be set at a friendly meeting of three or four enchanters, and a fine profit could be made. As the right of the crown, a hefty levy for allowing us to operate in the city could be assessed.\nBut now this has all changed. Enchanters now just make a glyph with the desired effect trapped within it. A glyph is just a simple gem that anyone can attach to the pommel of a sword or on a piece of armor. Once attached the magic in the glyph then flows into the item.\nSeems simple, doesn't it? Well, this has caused a collapse of the market. Instead of the price for an enchantment being set on a city-by-city basis, all of the enchanters of Tamriel have to compete with each other. A hedge enchanter in Daggerfall can make ten fire glyphs and sell them to a traveling merchant, who brings them to the Imperial City and sells them in the marketplace, at a price much below the price set by the Cyrodilic enchanters.\nAll this competition means that I now make just a few gold over the cost my materials. And this profit does not cover the levy your office places on me.\nUnless your office stops the importation of foreign manufactured glyphs, you must reduce the levy to allow me to stay in business. I will be forced to sell my home of twenty years and take up another profession, perhaps tutoring some merchant's son.\nEagerly waiting your response,\n\tDefessus Magister"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/request-your-support": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/request-your-support", "description": "A plot against ALMSIVI", "author": "Magistrix Vox", "title": "A Request for Your Support", "text": "To the Honorable Tidyn Arthalen,\nI want to first thank you for your service on the council that sat in judgment of my son. I will never forget your continued support of Meram and your insistence that death was too harsh a punishment for the crimes leveled against him.\nA great moment is coming, Sera Arthalen. The Tribunal has abused its authority. Almalexia has set herself up as our dictator. This is surely obvious to anyone with a clear heart and sharp mind. Her crimes cannot be allowed to continue. When the moment comes, I hope I can continue to rely on your support. Your support, and that of your preisthood and township, Selfora.\nYours in mourning,\n\tMagistrix Vox"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/royal-embarrassment": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/royal-embarrassment", "description": "A pro-Imperial pamphlet bashing the Covenant leadership", "author": "Aemilianus Falto", "title": "A Royal Embarrassment", "text": "By Aemilianus Falto, \"A Concerned Citizen\"\nCan we be frank, just one citizen to another? It's dismayingly obvious that what we have left for a royal family here in Bangkorai is just not going to suffice. Nothing against the late King Eamond, who was a reasonably strong voice from the throne\u2014though it was a shame the way he planned to allow Moneybags Emeric to get away with giving nominal rulership over the Fallen Wastes to Fahara'jad (who's never even been there, so far as I know).\nHowever, now that Eamond's gone, we're in deeper trouble. Princess Elara acts more like a flighty Wood Elf than an honest Breton maid, and Prince Adrien\u2014well, you've heard about his gambling debts, haven't you? And that he's a little too fond of the old spiced wine? All true, from what I've heard. In fact, that story about his half-Orc bastard might even be true too, so far as I know.\nAnd as for Queen Arzhela, to be charitable, let's just say she isn't playing bowls with a full set of pins. Sewing with her thimble on the wrong finger. Fishing for mudcrabs without a net. You know, waltzing barefoot on oyster-shards with a duck egg, a nose-flute, and a nine-pound hammer. Got me?\nSo where does that leave us? Dangerously bereft of strong leadership, that's where. And I'm not about to accept another bird-brained, gift-wrapped import from Wayrest, I can tell you.\nWhere, then, can we turn? Personally, I've got my eye looking east, toward Cyrodiil. The Empire's a proven source of strong leaders when we Bretons are in the soup, going all the way back to Empress Hestra. And they worship the proper Eight Divines, too\u2014none of your weird Tall Papas or Malacaths for me, thank you very much.\nThe Empire. Think about it. I'm pretty sure you'll agree."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rumor-serpents": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rumor-serpents", "description": "A Report for the Dragonstar Caravan Company Proctor", "author": "Scout Zagula", "title": "A Rumor of Serpents ", "text": "The rumors appear to be correct\u2014at least this time. The old cave complex in the western section of Upper Craglorn known as the Serpent's Nest seems to have attracted its namesake to its sheltered depths. I watched as members of the Scaled Court entered and exited the cave freely, acting like they owned the place or something.\nI'm not sure what they're up to in there, but I recommend that we keep our distance. Nothing good can come of inadvertently getting the Dragonstar Caravan Company involved in Scaled Court business."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sacrament-remains": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sacrament-remains", "description": "A Dark Brotherhood assassin travels throughout Elsweyr looking for her target", "author": "Nazala", "title": "A Sacrament Remains", "text": "Returning to this land has been more difficult than this one imagined. When the Night Mother called Nazala to her service, she had left this place full of disease, death, and fetid waste. Now she returns to complete a contract as old as her absence here. It is possible the target is already dead, but the Sacrament must have an end, and so Nazala must find him.\nThis one begins her search at the Ashen Scar, one of the many mass burial grounds in Elsweyr. When the flu hit, this one saw them being filled. What many call the Ashen Scar is the first of those. It is strong in spiritual power, even one so base as Nazala can feel it. Her target came here looking for something, but doubtful it was what he found. Undead lurk behind every crumbling ruin, dangerous even for one who walks in shadow as this one does.\nThis one found no evidence that her target was among those buried here, so she must look further.\nHer trail leads south, to a place of stone spires and rickety wooden bridges locals call the Stitches. It was always a place for the less fortunate, the undeserving, and the lawless to find refuge. Nazala first dragged her claws through blood in this place. She remembers a little cub who said he would change things. He would bring hope to this place. Nazala hears that he did for a time, but now he is gone, like the dream he once carried.\nThis one's target was not here, but she has found those who remember him. He traveled south, alone, with a caravan of nomads trying to escape the flu. Nazala follows.\nCicatrice was once home to a small town along the road from Orcrest to western Elsweyr. Nomads would stop for food and to tell stories. It was a place of rest and warmth and laughter, but the Knahaten Flu destroyed all that. This one has heard rumors that the inhabitants of this place followed an Argonian into an oasis, hoping for help. Nazala found only a cave full of poison and evidence that her quarry left on his own again.\nThis time he was sick and heading north, to where the scars weep. She knows where that is, but is afraid of what she will find there.\nWhen this one's fur was darker and her claws sharper, she heard tales of the Weeping Scar. There were Khajiit who went down into the dark to feed an addiction of pleasure and blood. Most came back, only to descend once more into the dark. Some, however, stayed.\nNazala's target stayed. She followed him into the dark, where her childish fears manifested into those with fangs and a thirst for blood. They did not attack, though things seemed strained, different. There is a feud going on that this one has no interest in joining. She seeks only her target and these phantoms of her youth provided.\nInfected with the flu, he came to the vampires of the Scar and hoped for everlasting life. He wished to destroy one infection with another, and traded the darkness of death for another type of darkness. It did not work, and Nazala's target passed into the Moon's light.\nThis Khajiit once terrorized a mate and her cub. The skooma and poverty drove him to anger and that anger drove his mate to commit the Sacrament. That cub came here to fulfill her mother's wish, but discovered that her father found his own darkness.\nShe says goodbye now, the Sacrament satisfied and a daughter left without a need to remain. The Night Mother still softly calls and Nazala answers."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sad-day-ra-gada": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sad-day-ra-gada", "description": "Lamentations of a betrayed Forebear", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "A Sad Day for the Ra Gada", "text": "Our guide brought us to this place and gave us a map. All Velyn Harbor's wealth is stored within, she said.\nShe and her comrades lied to us, which should come as no surprise. They are pirates, after all.\nI am now convinced there are no riches in this cave despite what this supposed treasure map says, but the others insist on continuing the search.\nThis distraction keeps us from throwing our entire might at Velyn Harbor. Greed has taken the place of glory among these men.\nIt is a sad day for the Ra Gada."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sailors-guide-sea-elves": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sailors-guide-sea-elves", "description": "", "author": "Virillda of the Silver-Sails", "title": "A Sailor's Guide to Sea Elves", "text": "Whether you are a recruit for the Royal Navy, or merely taking a voyage into open waters, you will want to know something of the Maormer before you have the misfortune of spotting their ships on the horizon. This guide will help prepare you for the day that you inevitably do. Take heed of that as my first lesson: if you spend any amount of time on sea or shore, you will cross paths with Sea Elves.\nAs their name suggests, the Sea Elves are at home on the water. They are so able at plying the waves that a Maormer ship can remain at sea indefinitely, so long as it is sea-worthy. The Maormer take full advantage of that fact when raiding our trade vessels, or ambushing our fleets. Never pursue a retreating Sea Elf vessel, even if you think they are hobbled. They will bait you into thinking you can catch them, but make no mistake: Sea Elf cutters are faster than any ship in our fleet. Soon you will find yourself lured out into the open ocean, unable to safely retreat, while they circle you like sharks. Your food stores will dwindle, and once you are finally too weak to put up a fight, the Maormer will swoop in to slaughter you. It is a cowardly, but effective tactic.\nSecondly, never flee a Sea Elf vessel unless you can see land. Even then, do so with great care. It is not a matter of if the Maormer will overtake you, it is when. The best course of action when confronted by Maormer ships is to stand and fight. At least then you have some hope of coming out ahead. Sea Elf fleets are most often composed of small, agile vessels well-suited to quick hit-and-run engagements. Bloody their noses quickly and you may drive them off before they are committed to their attack.\nWhen fighting the Maormer, their ballistae are the least of your troubles. They can turn the seas themselves against you. Any ship larger than a sloop is sure to have at least one of their Sea Mages beneath its sails, conjuring wind and storm to toss you about like a toy boat. Every effort should be made to neutralize Maormer Sea Mages as quickly as possible. If the waves have not yet done you in, the Sea Elves will sic their beasts on you. Maormer breed and train a variety of marine predators to bolster their ranks. From winged reef vipers that can leap high out of the water and onto your deck, to sea serpents large enough to capsize a warship. In either case, keep moving at a steady clip and the creatures will have difficulty reaching you before they tire.\nAs for the Maormer themselves, do not let their deceptive tactics fool you. Sea Elves are vicious combatants who want nothing more than to spill Altmer blood. If they manage to board your vessel, you will have a hard fight on your hands. Maormer are exceptionally steady on their feet in even the roughest waters, and nimbler than an acrobat at traversing a ship's rigging. As you might imagine, well-trained and armored marines are the best defense against boarding, but if you find yourself in the melee you will need to assume a formation that will protect your flanks. Sea Elf raiders prefer enveloping tactics that quickly overwhelm a scattered enemy.\nThere is only so much to be learned from a guide alone, but I hope that this knowledge has better prepared you for the day when your life depends on it. Phynaster guide your sails."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/scrap-parchment": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/scrap-parchment", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "A Scrap of Parchment", "text": "For many years I've lain beneath these stony walls, this weathered heath."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/second-scrap-parchment": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/second-scrap-parchment", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "A Second Scrap of Parchment", "text": "Ten long years you were astray, with sword in hand so far away."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/shallow-pool": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/shallow-pool", "description": "Just like a pair of boots, it's harder than it seems", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "A Shallow Pool", "text": "A shallow pool is all I ask\n\tWater for roots\n\tMist and shadow\n\tLeaves lifting toward the sky\n\tGentle rain is all I need\n\tCloak of night\n\tWarmth and rain\n\tMurmurs in the darkness\n\tA shallow pool is all I want\n\tMemories held\n\tOld stories told\n\tSurrounded by children\n\tWho call me their Hist"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/simple-prayer": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/simple-prayer", "description": "unfinished prayer", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "A Simple Prayer", "text": "Blessed Ruptga,\n\tLet not the lion attack, nor the scorp \u2026."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sisters-regret": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sisters-regret", "description": "", "author": "Ruelde", "title": "A Sister's Regret", "text": "Brother,\nI don't know if you'll read this, but I'm left little choice. I don't blame you for your anger. I've said things, done things that I regret. All I wanted was to keep you safe, but I fear that you'll never trust me again. I'm not even sure if you should.\nYes, I regret it. You tried to help me see reason, and I ignored you at every turn. I kept that letter, you know. You told me to just have faith. By Sovngarde, how I wanted to throw it in the fire. But perhaps, even then, I saw the truth of those words. I don't think I can bare to bring it with me.\nHow vividly I remember that day. Scalecaller's corpse, lying on the snowy peak, her blood slowly turning the snow red. How, mead in my blood, I was the one to try to claim her mask. My cold fingers, clenching her metal tightly. Desperate for power, for dominance.\nBut it refused me. It wouldn't let her go. And it was at that moment I knew, a heavy feeling in the bottom of my gut. I should have never started this. You tried to tell me and I just didn't listen.\nBrother, please, I beg you to leave with us. The temple's magical defenses are beginning to fail, and we hold too many valuables to be ignored. I can't bear the thought of you, here alone, slain by some filthy bandit. Please, please, just come with us. We'll find a new home, a new purpose. I swear to you, we'll find a new life.\nYour loving sister,\nRuelde"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sisters-retort": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sisters-retort", "description": "", "author": "Ruelde", "title": "A Sister's Retort", "text": "Brother,\nI've never taken you for a fool, and yet here I am. Writing what should already be known. You disregard all signs and dig further into your delusions, while I look upon the truth without hesitation.\nOpen your eyes, brother! We can no longer ignore this. Scalecaller has ruined our order and brought us nothing but misery. It is because of her incompetence that Dovah Thurvokun abandoned us. Can't you see such an obvious truth? It is her weakness that has brought us ruin. And, like a petulant cub, she refuses to let us go. I will not stand for such disgrace.\nWithout a Dragon, our order is broken. I chose to follow Dovah Thurvokun, and him alone. I hold no loyalty to his leavings. Scalecaller is a shade of her former self, unfit to rule and unable to admit it. I will not be led by someone so obviously weak.\nI suggest you take a deep, hard look into your own devotion. Change is upon us. Refuse to move forward, and you will be left in the misery of the past. Choose wisely, Hjarkborn. Before there is no longer a choice to make.\nYours truthfully,\n\tRuelde"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sky-dusk": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sky-dusk", "description": "A worshiper of Nocturnal visits her realm", "author": "Romien Garvette", "title": "A Sky of Dusk", "text": "By Romien Garvette of the Whispering Shadows\nThey said it was beautiful. Like a children's storybook steeped in nightmare. This realm of Oblivion, bathed in a purple sky. Stars splattered like flecks of paint. Falling, streaking across my eyes. A dark forest encroaches, filled with Her creatures. Wolves of shadows. Spirits haunting. Her Shrikes which sing, sing just for me. A melody which I cannot hum.\nBlue lights fill Her land. Mesmerizing. Blue flowers that glow in the darkness with a kind light. Deceptive light. Yellow fires burn, burning against the blues and purples. Crypts lie, submerged in murky waters. Cold, cold, as cold as my hands.\nHer land is decay, bloated and purple. The trees cast long, dark shadows. The path is winding, branching. There's a castle in the distance, broken apart. This world is broken apart. Crumbling, crumbling. The stone is crumbling, like my mind is crumbling. Tumbling, tumbling, into decay. Into Her shadow.\nI walk within this shadow world into a counterfeit one. The realm of a Prince to the creation of a god. From soaking green to burning sand. The sun is blinding, weakening. I am a shadow, banished with the light. I crave it, but it hurts. I cannot have it. I cling to darkness as the darkness clings to me.\nI sleep but find no rest, no night to come, no morning after. Just dusk, endless and gloomy. No rest for us wicked souls. Nightmares swarm, swarm like her crows. Endless eyes watching me. Singing which lures me in. The darkness seeps beneath my fingernails, under my eyelids, between my guts. Like tar, I'll fall apart if I rip it out.\nMy Mistress lulls me into this slumber, into this nightmare. I cannot awaken for I have become the nightmare. I am one of Her shadow creatures. I am the wolf that howls, the spider that crawls. The spirits which haunt this plane.\nI will feel nothing as I strike. I have nothing left to feel, save Her."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/smugglers-plan": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/smugglers-plan", "description": "Something about this plan does not smell right", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "A Smuggler's Plan", "text": "\u2026 and south at Widow's Rock. Look for the stone pipe with the steel bars. The aquifer wasn't built by the High Elves, but is a leftover from the ancient Colovian city that once dominated the coastline.\nWhen you get to the opening, take a whiff \u2026 the aquifer is still in use, even though most of the High Elves don't know where their refuse is going. I'd bet moon sugar to sea salt no one's been down there in ages. If you can find out where the sewer opens up inside Haven, you've got a surefire way inside.\nExplore the area thoroughly. I don't expect you'll see any guards down there, but who knows what's moved in during the years of abandonment? There're hoarvors in the swamps to the north of the city. Wouldn't be surprised if some made a nest down here. Still, those candles I gave you should see them off. Trader I got them from assured me they hate their smell. You'll be safe enough.\nSend word on what you find. Haven's the gateway to Grahtwood and the key link in the Lane. Haven, the Roost, and Elsweyr\u2014the sugar needs to spread!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/soldiers-letter": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/soldiers-letter", "description": "One Covenant soldier's view of what the war is really about", "author": "Duqaq af-Wazif", "title": "A Soldier's Letter", "text": "Gilles,\nThe other day, I was drinking in a pub in Sentinel, and a Breton sitting next to me started talking about politics. I know how much you miss drinking out on the front lines, and believe me, the first few rounds are on me when you get back, but you can't possibly miss listening to some drunken idiot argue about politics.\nSo this Breton, he starts getting really loud, and he rants about all the reasons we're at war with the Aldmeri Dominion. He talks about economic factors, he talks about resources, he talks about crafting, the guy goes on for what seems like forever, and that's when he stops to take a drink. Which was long enough for me to say two words: \"You're wrong.\"\nBecause this guy doesn't know a bloody thing about what it's like fighting the Dominion. Out on the battlefield, they don't care about economics or resources or religion. You're out there for one reason: to kill them before they kill you.\nEveryone else here knows the truth. For all their lofty Elven pretense, the Aldmeri Dominion only really cares about one thing: conquest. Though they do have standards\u2014they only want to conquer the non-Elves. Like us.\nSo I told that drunken fool the same thing you told us. Without soldiers like us standing between them and the Imperial throne, the Elves will push and push and push until they hold everything from the shores of High Rock to the heart of Cyrodiil.\nAny Altmer who looks at a Breton, he's going to see a human. Any Altmer who looks at a Redguard like me \u2026 well, there's no way around it, he pretty much knows I'm a Redguard. And there's no mistaking an Orc. Ain't none of us Elves.\nLife is getting a little more relaxed in the city now, since everyone has pretty much accepted we're at war, and there's still the occasional High Elf in the streets who can go about his business without a fight. It's still sane enough that they can walk around in public. Inside the city walls, I've seen a handful of High Elves walking into the Mages Guild, selling their wares, and even ordering those fruity wines they like so much, and as long as the city watch is keeping the peace, we'll be peaceful.\nBut when we're in the field, we don't hesitate. Everyone \u2014 except that one loudmouthed Breton I put in his place\u2014everyone knows we're holding the line against the Altmer. And when we come back to town in one piece, we're going to be heroes, and we'll be shouting and drinking in that tavern.\nSo make sure you come back in one piece.\n\tStay safe,\n\tDuqaq af-Wazif"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/star-walks-craglorn": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/star-walks-craglorn", "description": "A Tale of Romance and Adventure", "author": "Adandora the Tale-weaver", "title": "A Star Walks In Craglorn ", "text": "He fell from the sky, a star descended from Aetherius to walk among the commonfolk. Some called him Celestial. Others, the Warrior. But me? I called him \"my love.\"\nI met my love on a desolate road, not far from the town of Dragonstar. I was moving quickly through the darkness, trying to avoid the notice of the Iron Orcs and Scaled Court soldiers who seemed to be around every turn and bend. It was around just such a bend in the landscape that I literally ran into the tall, powerfully built man in the ancient armor.\nHe caught me before I fell, steadying me with a strong hand that literally sparkled like the stars in the sky. \"Where do you run to in such a hurry, fair maiden,\" he said. His voice was deep and resonate, sending shivers throughout my body.\n* * *\nDamn it! This is terrible! Perhaps I should stick to writing true accounts of the happenings in this wartorn region. I never was very good at pure fiction. Oh, wait! I have another idea. I wonder if the Warrior is fond of peacock confit and aurum potabile?\nMaybe I will keep writing and see how this turns out after all."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/star-gazers-ramblings": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/star-gazers-ramblings", "description": "Musings on an ancient warrior", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "A Star-Gazer's Ramblings", "text": "The tomb of the ancient warrior! At last! At last! The true gods are not silent. The true gods sing to us, if only we have ears to hear it.\nI had thought my study to be purely academic. Supercilious fool. The belief that knowledge follows knowledge in a dour procession like a corpse held aloft\u2014it was killing me. I said, \"Death is inevitable, and living is indistinguishable from dying.\" How wrong I was.\nHow is it I have looked at the stars so many times and seen only light? Oh ecstasy, it is too much for me to bear!\nWe do not master the truth. The truth masters us. In the end, in my final hour, I have learned to serve.\nThe end of knowledge is not knowing, but worship. Oh great Warrior, I lay my body at your feet.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/study-fabricants": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/study-fabricants", "description": "An examination of different sorts of Fabricant", "author": "Endilaril", "title": "A Study of Fabricants", "text": "By Endilaril, Naturalist\nThe possibly-futile quest to find my place as a naturalist stranded in a world of the unnatural has led me to a dangerous field of study. And trust me when I tell you of its danger, for my past observations have taken me to quite hazardous locales. I've studied the fearsome senche-tigers lurking with the green depths of Grahtwood. I've followed tracks of the deadly behemoth through the poison swamps of Murkmire. I've researched the horrid frost trolls prowling the icy mists of Eastmarch's mountains. So believe me when I tell you that the fabricants of Clockwork City are some of the most dangerous creatures I have ever attempted to observe.\nA fabricant is unique to the biome of Clockwork City, and I thank Auri-El every day that they are not able to spread their evil throughout Tamriel. These unwholesome creatures of beast and machine stalk the plains and ravines of this counterfeit world's wasteland. They come in many gruesome variants, and all present dangers to the unwary traveler. And make no mistake, they will kill any intruder on sight.\nThe verminous fabricant is unlike any creature I have seen before. It may be smaller than many monstrous beings in Tamriel, but it's also quick. This fast and agile creature attacks with metal claws resembling small scythes, and a pointed horn protrudes from its snout. Its lithe form means that it is able to follow you into smaller spaces, and trust me when I say that these creatures are relentless in their hunt.\nThe nix-hound fabricant is far more familiar, though I still shudder when I feel its lifeless, glassy eyes upon me. It's covered in brass, its back leg replaced entirely with metal limbs. Its gouging snout now has the edge of a blade. Given time, this creature will build up energy to produce a scalding beam. I've seen flesh melt and mer die after being struck by it.\nThe beetle fabricant was obviously modeled after the thunderbug, though why Sotha Sil thought that this already dangerous creature needed metallic updates I'll never know. Each of its scuttling legs has been replaced by metal limbs, and its lightning attacks seem to have a greater force than I have ever seen in nature. Like its other counterparts, this creature is aggressive, and will attack on sight. All caution should be taken if you see this monster in the wild.\nViewing these amalgamations of natural and unnatural, one has to ask why these creatures were created. And created they were, by the Clockwork God himself. Why would Sotha Sil willingly choose to bring about such monsters into the existence of Nirn? My research has led me to believe that few are courageous enough to ask him.\nPerhaps they are simply an experiment gone wrong, or guards to protect his precious experiments. Whatever their reason for existence, fabricants remain a very real threat within the walls of this world-prison. I will continue to study their existence to best know how to avoid, escape, and perhaps even put an end to their miserable existence. I very much doubt the absentee Father of Mysteries will even notice my attempts to undo the madness he has wrought in his own city."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/subtler-brew": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/subtler-brew", "description": "Trying hard for the perfect liquor", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "A Subtler Brew", "text": "Entry 380\n\tI'm unhappy with the latest batch. If we can't mellow the pungency for weaker stomachs, Redfur will supply yet another wedding. Three times in a row is enough!\nEntry 381\n\tHoarvor dug up some of our nine-day casks. How many times have I said we need better pottery than Velyn Harbor Wayshrine can provide?\nEntry 382\n\tSuccess! The hoarvor thorax sped up the fermentation. We'll need to boil it out before it curdles, but I think we're on schedule."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/summon-heroes": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/summon-heroes", "description": "Join the Companions!", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "A Summons of Heroes!", "text": "Do you have what it takes to join the most honored fighting company in Skyrim history?\n\u2014 The Companions are looking for a few good Nord warriors. We want only the bravest and the strongest!\n\t\u2014 If you think you have what it takes, report to Fallowstone Hall and ask for Vigrod Wraithbane.\n\t\u2014 The application process is dangerous! New recruits have been maimed and even killed. You've been warned!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tale-forever-told": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tale-forever-told", "description": "A tale of the legendary marriage of the Silvenar and Green Lady", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "A Tale Forever Told", "text": "The Silvenar walked with eyes open across Valenwood. His heart, torn from its primal aspects, was an empty pit.\nFrom the wild came a Bosmer unlike any other. Her eyes were of fire, hair of wind and rain, and all who gazed upon her quaked in fear. All except the Silvenar.\nThough she bared her fangs, he did not shy away. Though she sought to lose him in the underbrush, the vines parted for him to follow. She growled, filled with confused desires, wishing both to stay, and to leave.\nIn a bright clearing, she faced the Silvenar, and ripped at him with claws and teeth. Though he fended off her blows, still his blood soaked into the grass and the flowers wept. Her rage spent, the Green Lady finally stepped back and addressed the Silvenar.\n\"Why do you follow me? You are not one of us!\" She spat upon the ground, her fists still clenched, stained with his blood.\n\"But I am of you,\" the Silvenar said quietly. \"Come, let me open your eyes to the green singing.\"\nCurious, the Green Lady came to the Silvenar. Long did they stare unspeaking, until they warmed to union. The forest shuddered as spirit and body became one.\nWith his touch, she saw the dance of frond and leaf, and learned the ways and wiles of Valenwood. His emptiness filled with her passion, and his nameless longing waned.\nTheir union both tamed the wild and invigorated the greenery."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tale-baar-dau": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tale-baar-dau", "description": "How, and why, Vivec stopped the moonlet", "author": "Amili Drals", "title": "A Tale of Baar Dau", "text": "By Amili Drals, Pedagogue\nHearken, young ones, and I'll tell you a tale! A long, long time ago, Sheogorath grew bored, which is a very dangerous thing to happen to a Daedric Prince of Madness. As is true of all the House of Troubles, he held no love in his heart, and so he did something very cruel. He took a mighty rock from the void that surrounds us, and flung it far, far, far toward Nirn. Now Sheogorath didn't much care where this large rock would hit or what chaos it would cause. He simply wanted to see what it would do.\nWho was to stop this evil plan? Was it the Divines, in all their good and wisdom? No, for they can do no more than offer false hope and hollow faith. Perhaps the Daedric Princes, with their power and enchantments? But no, neither mer nor man could offer enough to get these pitiful Princes to face such a daunting challenge. And so it flew and flew and flew, and straight down it came to the most beautiful island in all of Nirn. It fell toward Vvardenfell.\nMany wept and wailed as it approached. The Ashlanders prayed to Azura, who did nothing. Men and mer prayed to the Divines, who did nothing. But the Dark Elves, we prayed to the Three, to our ever glorious Living Gods. And Vivec heard our prayers.\nHe raised his hand, calm and serene, glowing in his holy light. And the fall of the celestial rock became slower and slower and slower still. And all who wept and wailed stopped, for Baar Dau had finally come to its resting place. Safely there it hung in the air, above the spot where Vivec City would one day be built.\nNow you may ask, what wisdom was there in this? Why did not the great Vivec simply set this celestial rock softly down upon Nirn's verdant earth? But listen well, for there is a reason, as with all things the Three do. Every day our faith is tested by Baar Dau, and every day we show our love for Vivec and the Tribunal by keeping it aloft. Because it is our love, our devotion, our faith in the Tribunal that keeps it hovering above. It is proof of not only Vivec's might, but of the love of his followers.\nAnd so it forever hangs, a reminder to all. Together, now\u2014Praise Vivec! Praise the Three!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tally-villagers": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tally-villagers", "description": "Sinister plot for the people of Narsis", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "A Tally of Villagers", "text": "We must maintain a count of the population of Narsis. With so many already fled to Mournhold, the number we have to work with has dwindled significantly.\nIf we abduct too many of the villagers, the Llodos plague won't have enough victims to take hold of, nullifying the entire purpose of this experiment. Luckily, the nobles who believe everything will be just fine refuse to leave their houses and remain ripe to contract the plague.\nAs it stands, there should be enough people remaining to spread the plague efficiently once the pieces fall into place. Even so, we must continue to maintain our list. One miscount could affect the potency and reduce how far we can spread the disease."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/third-scrap-parchment": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/third-scrap-parchment", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "A Third Scrap of Parchment", "text": "Those nine long years we spent in joy seemed to you a mere child's toy."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/threnody-lost-love": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/threnody-lost-love", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "A Threnody to Lost Love", "text": "Deep within my mind\nThe storms, they gather inside me\nDeep within my mind\nThe tides rise far too high\nHiding in my mind\nThe sorrow whispers freely\nFear is so unkind\nShouting through my tears\nPlease don't find me\nI can't be free\nPlease come find me\nYour death haunts me\nYour death haunts me\nDeep within my soul\nThe fires burn inside of me\nDeep within my soul\nPain rips through all I am\nLurking in my soul\nLoneliness beseeches me\nI'm no longer whole\nScreaming through my tears\nPlease don't find me\nI can't be free\\nPlease come find me\nYour death haunts me\nYour death haunts me\nYour death haunts me"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/time-troubles": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/time-troubles", "description": "A scrap of a journal from a would-be treethane about loyalty.", "author": "Gwilgoth Branchbreaker", "title": "A Time of Troubles", "text": "Part Three: A Treethane's Dilemma\nLoyalty, prized by friends and demanded of subordinates, must still be tempered with flexibility. Otherwise, loyalty is a trap, and a dangerous one.\nTake, for example, the story of the former Treethane of Silvenar, Thalrinel. I served her loyally for her entire, if short, stint as custodian of the city, just as she served our lordships, and even the Aldmeri Dominion loyally during her term.\nBut when the Hound, Lord Ulthorn, arrived, he declared a new order, and his men enforced loyalty to the Bosmer first. Naturally, I saw the immediate wisdom of the Hound's position.\nUnfortunately, Thalrinel did not. She resisted his welcome ascendance as the Green Lady's consort, and her misplaced loyalty was rewarded with nothing but pain. She fancied herself a representative of the Silvenar, an archaic symbol of outdated oaths, not a representative of Silvenar, a city full of mer who needed her loyalty.\nFortunately, I saw the wisdom in Lord Ulthorn's reasoning. And the Hound saw the benefits of my flexibility. He promised my ascendance to treethane if I would back him and help complete the inevitable union between the Green Lady and himself.\nWhat could I do? The fate of the city was in the balance. When she arrived, I welcomed her and gave her the drink and food set aside for her by Lord Ulthorn. I'm certain he knew what was best.\nAll was going well until the Silvenar arrived. The Houndsmen were prepared, and I'm certain this business of \"heroes\" and \"villains\" will be resolved in our favor. My loyalty cannot be questioned. I'm certain Lord Ulthorn will remember me in the end.\nIf only I could\u2014"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/token-my-affection": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/token-my-affection", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "A Token of My Affection", "text": "Gwaering saw it first. A panther, with eyes bright as the moons shining overhead. We'd set the decoy earlier in the day, and with an arrow loosed it past the beast.\nSomehow it guessed our treachery! That old monster turned and glared at the blind we'd thought hidden so well in the underbrush. It snarled, and like a black wind did rush us with all its speed.\nGwaering let fly an arrow. Swift as lightning did it plunge into the beast's eye, yet still it charged on! When it reached my spear, its bulk lifted me from the ground. Were my grip not sure, I'd have sprawled into the trees above, so powerful were its death throes.\nGwaering extinguished its burning eyes with her blade. I kept the skull. From it shall I fashion a token of my affection.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tough-audience": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tough-audience", "description": "A plan to trade with Trolls. Surely it will go well.", "author": "Sempronia", "title": "A Tough Audience", "text": "Foloril,\nI envy you this task, the ultimate challenge of a merchant's abilities. I wouldn't give this opportunity to anyone but the most charming and persuasive salesman I've ever seen.\nThink of the possibilities! No one knows what trolls want, what they might buy, or how poorly they will bargain. And you're going to find out! They're not very bright and they usually have lots of stolen gold, so the profits should be enormous! You'll be renowned for opening a brand-new market for our goods, making us the envy of merchants across Cyrodiil.\nDon't deal with anyone but their leader. That'll be the biggest troll around. They don't speak, but gestures, grunts, and displays of goods will get your selling points across.\nBest of luck, Foloril\u2014we're all counting on you! Don't forget to smile!\nSincerely,\n\tSempronia\n\tPresident\n\tCyrodiil Import and Export Company"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/treatise-knot": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/treatise-knot", "description": "A brief guide on the reliable knot", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "A Treatise on the Knot", "text": "A good whipping bind will hold for a spell, but when you need grip, turn to your stoppers and hitches. Any sailor worth his salt knows better than to use a thumb-knot on any strand of rigging!\nFor the stoppers, their use is best left to punishment-types. A good lash will take more than its share with a few of the buggers worked into it! Let no sailor question the words of a fellow with a nine-tails at his side.\nBut the true gem of knots is the faithful hitch. It grabs and holds, but gives easily to a trained hand. Neither wind nor rain will cause it to falter. Learn it well, young sailor, for it will be your only steadfast companion on the treacherous sea."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/warning-and-offer": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/warning-and-offer", "description": "This cave is occupied!", "author": "Aralyon the Scholar", "title": "A Warning and an Offer", "text": "Greetings, Traveler,\nI post this warning in the hope that you will heed it. This ruin is overrun with a number of dangerous Daedra and their followers. Do not venture forth unless you are adequately armed and prepared.\nIf, however, you do choose to venture into this cave, keep your eyes open for anything of value. I will reward you for recovering any artifacts that I could not. Find me at the Daedric ruins near Narsis.\n\u2014 Aralyon the Scholar"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/warning-zimmeron": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/warning-zimmeron", "description": "Zimmeron doesn't need or want your opinion", "author": "Zimmeron", "title": "A Warning from Zimmeron", "text": "General Jeggord,\nWhile I applaud the success you've had on the battlefield, you must play the role I have assigned to you. Continue to drive our troops to band together and hit the enemy where scouts have found them to be vulnerable.\nScouting assignments are Dar-Liurz's responsibility, as are the efforts to prevent the enemy from detecting our weak spots. I am satisfied with Dar's performance in these duties. Your thoughts on this matter are unwanted. When I want your opinion, I'll ask.\n- Zimmeron"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/covenant-warning-aldmeri-dominion": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/covenant-warning-aldmeri-dominion", "description": "A stern warning", "author": "Erystera Ligen", "title": "A Warning to the Aldmeri Dominion", "text": "The overlords of the Aldmeri Dominion are hereby put on notice: renounce your ambitions of aggression and return to your islands and jungles, or the wrath of the Daggerfall Covenant shall fall upon you like a hammer of the Divines.\nWe are well aware that the Aldmeri plan nothing less than a return to the Elven domination of the other races, particularly Men and Orcs. They wish to overturn the legacies of the First and Second Empires and wipe them from history. This we shall not allow. Never again will free Men and Orcs submit to the tyranny of Elven oppression!\nThe arrogant High Elves of Summerset are clearly the driving force behind the Dominion. We of the Covenant have shown, through our acceptance of the Direnni, that we can live with the Elves in peace, but Queen Ayrenn insists on war. Her invasion of the continent of Tamriel is nothing but naked aggression. The Dominion has no territorial rights in Cyrodiil. If the Altmer do not return to Summerset, their invading armies will be destroyed.\nThe Wood Elves and the Khajiit have traded with our Iliac Bay kingdoms for ages, but they've made a mistake in allying themselves with the perfidious Altmer of Summerset. Though we of the Covenant wish them no ill will, if they maintain their alliance with the Dominion, they will suffer the same fate at our hands as the High Elves. They must reconsider, or they must face our wrath."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/way-out": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/way-out", "description": "Jailbreak Hints", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "A Way Out", "text": "To all who happen upon this:\nIf everything goes according to plan, I am now a former occupant of this cell. It took me months to gather the spell components to create a way out, but my work is complete. For those newly-arrived, the Daedra commence nightly openings of the cages\u2014to taunt us. When it happens tonight, I will unleash my spell and crush the eastern wall.\nI was a former guard, and I can say with certainty that the caverns beyond are the most direct route out.\nFreedom awaits. Remember the eastern wall."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wealth-raw-material": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wealth-raw-material", "description": "The motherlode for the aspiring necromancer", "author": "Grivier Bloodcaller", "title": "A Wealth of Raw Material ", "text": "There are a remarkable number of dead buried on this small island.\nI shall begin raising them at once.\nAngof should be well pleased!\n\t\u2014Grivier Bloodcaller"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/werewolf-hunters-advice": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/werewolf-hunters-advice", "description": "Cautionary advice on hunting werewolves", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "A Werewolf Hunter's Advice", "text": "Son, If you want to go to Hircine's Haunt, I can't stop you. But take my advice\u2014werewolves never hunt alone. If you confront a lone werewolf, do not make the mistake of engaging it by yourself. The individual is never far from the pack, and the pack is always hungry.\nWerewolves, for all their bloodlust and brute strength, are crafty creatures. Their howl can not only summon other werewolves, but also calls forth regular wolves. In some rare cases, the howl can even call bears into the fray. It is incredibly easy to be outnumbered by a lone werewolf.\nThe best advice this seasoned werewolf hunter can give you is this. Cut the beast's throat before it can howl and call others to its side.\nYours in love,\nMother\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/werewolfs-confession": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/werewolfs-confession", "description": "A chilling confession of a moon stalker", "author": "Captain Philmont of the Oldgate Lancers, Daggerfall Covenant Army", "title": "A Werewolf's Confession", "text": "The prisoner called for me today, and I had the dubious privilege of listening to his confession. Separated from him by narrow iron bars that I knew would be insufficient to protect me, I took down his words with a trembling hand.\nWhat follows is my best rendering, although he was so soft-spoken that at times I had to guess at the precise words. Nevertheless, I am confident that what follows accurately represents the substance of our conversation:\n\t\"I accepted this curse at a young age. I was impressionable. My packleader was a family friend and elder in our village. I wanted to be strong, and I relished the strength the curse gave me. I would not have called it a curse, then.\n\"But with youth comes recklessness, and I was not good at disguising what I was. Eventually they discovered my true nature, and I was driven from the village.\n\"My packleader failed me. He did not protect me. He cared too much about his own status to risk it for my sake. I was alone.\n\"Everywhere I went I heard the shouts of crowds, saw the bright torches of the angry mob. I never lingered long in one place before my secret was discovered.\n\"I came to hate them. The superstitious villagers. I came to resent what I couldn't have. I blamed them for my own recklessness. It was not the curse that plagued me, but the narrow-mindedness of these provincial men and women.\n\"I was afraid to hunt, so I was always hungry, and the hunger turned me feral. It was in this state that I came across them. A family of innocent farmers, just like the innocent farmers that had hounded me from village after village. My vision turned red and I flew into a fury.\n\"At last my hunger was satisfied.\n\"But when the rage subsided and I looked on what I'd done, my stomach turned. This was what all those villagers were afraid of, when they tormented me with their torches and sickles.\n\"That's when I acknowledged my curse for what it was. I have hunted many years since, afraid to turn myself in, but disgusted with my base impulses.\n\"You don't realize what a great favor you have done, capturing me.\"\nAnd then having told his story, the creature, looking very much like a man, begged me to put him out of his misery."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/window-escape": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/window-escape", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "A Window for Escape", "text": "Speak to Miduna after evening prayer.\nTell her the cart comes in two days.\nBe ready."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/word-wise": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/word-wise", "description": "", "author": "H", "title": "A Word to the Wise", "text": "R,\n\tYour shipments have dropped off. Stockpiles are acceptable for now, but we anticipate a greater need by the next moons. If shipments don't resume by then, there'll be consequences.\nYour competition lost one of its flock to the storm. If you recover it, you might expect a sizeable kickback. We may even ignore your recent lapse.\n\t\u2014 H"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/world-corpses": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/world-corpses", "description": "The Worm King's advice on finding corpses", "author": "Mannimarco", "title": "A World of Corpses", "text": "I ask you, who suffers more than I? Who among you must withstand the infantile laments of would-be necromancers both night and day? How many souls must I wrench from impotent failures before my followers commit my truth to memory?\nQuestions! Timid apologies! Simpering denials! Are these miserable wretches truly the inheritors of the Dark Practice? Are these the necromancers that shall carry our glorious discipline into the eras to come? Perish the thought!\nWhile I find all the aspiring necromancers' queries maddening, there is one that routinely drives me to homicide. \"Honored Worm-King, where shall we find our corpses?\" My response? \"Other necromancers will find your corpse here!\" Then, I harvest their soul in the most painful fashion imaginable.\nNow, this routine did provide some small measure of personal catharsis; and I do all of Tamriel a service by winnowing the herd of deficient mages. But now, hundreds of years on, I find the entire ritual tiresome and predictable. So, I have resolved to commit this simple lesson to paper. Ignore it at your peril, worms.\nWhere shall you find your corpses? Everywhere! All the world is a tomb. Every city, every field, and every forest in Tamriel has borne witness to countless slaughters and atrocities\u2014some known and some forgotten. Wherever your foot finds purchase, rest assured, a corpse rests somewhere beneath. You need only summon up the will to call them to service. Old bones may offer some modest resistance. Time and decay make them sluggish and recalcitrant. But if you cannot bend an ancient corpse to your will, you have no business calling yourself a necromancer.\nSo long as the living remain, so too shall the dead. Finding them is a child's pursuit. Using them, though? That is the true measure of a necromancer's power."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/aberrant-welkynd-stones": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/aberrant-welkynd-stones", "description": "Frustration with Welkynd Stones", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Aberrant Welkynd Stones", "text": "These aberrant Welkynd Stones resist magic, cutting tools, and blunt force. There seems to be no practical way to harvest these things. What damage I've managed to do seems to heal itself instantly. What exactly did the builders of this city create?"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/abnur-tharns-letter-player": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/abnur-tharns-letter-player", "description": "A letter, sent in real life, to promote the release of Elder Scrolls Online: Season of the Dragon", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Abnur Tharn's Letter to the Player", "text": "Adventurer,\nI have followed your progress with interest and deemed you worthy of rendering assistance. Knowledge has come into my possession that will help us end this misguided Three Banners War and restore peace to Tamriel. You shall accompany me. Be ready to answer my summons. And answer it quickly... I hate being kept waiting.\nHigh Chancellor\nAbnur Tharn"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/about-mercy": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/about-mercy", "description": "A letter condemning mercy", "author": "Gruznak", "title": "About Mercy", "text": "To all you,\nMercy is a weakness. Remember: we are here for skulls. It brings no honor to Malacath to take the weak as slaves or as pets.\nIf it isn't the way of Malacath, it's not the way of the Oathbound.\n\u2014 Gruznak"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/about-doll": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/about-doll", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "About That Doll", "text": "Valdrrold,\nAbout the doll. Toss the thing out of Dragonhome. Kick it off the face of a cliff, for all I care. That miserable woman will spend eternity stuffed with hay for daring to challenge us. I really don't care what you do with it, just get it out of my sight.\nWe need to be more careful about our supply routes, and remember that there are eyes and ears everywhere. We cannot risk leading anyone else back to Dragonhome. Hiding among the shadows until we are strong enough to be a true threat is the only way to ensure our success."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/about-boss": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/about-boss", "description": "The Boss just has to go", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "About the Boss", "text": "Our boss is an idiot! The Knights of the Flame are sure to find us.\nHe's damn useful in a fight, but I'm tired of his plans. They stink.\nIf things don't change, some of us are planning to leave. You should leave with us. As long as that moron is in charge, we're all going to end up in a jail or dead.\nAnd be careful who you trust. If the Boss finds out what we've got planned, he'll probably kill one of us as an example to the others. Maybe me. Maybe you.\nOf course, if we don't do something about the Boss, the Knights of the Flame will kill us all.\nWe've got to do something about him."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/academy-supplies": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/academy-supplies", "description": "List of supplies for students of the Shad Astula", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Academy Supplies", "text": "Greetings, Academy candidate!\nCongratulations again on your acceptance to the Shad Astula Academy of Magic. A list of items relevant to your studies follows. Please bring these materials with you when you arrive. Everything on the list can be purchased in Mournhold's merchant district. Please inscribe your name in each item for easy identification.\nClothing:\n\tThree sets of gray Academy robes\n\tProtective leather gloves\n\tSummer cloak\n\tWinter cloak\nBooks:\n\tThe Apprentice's Assistant by Aramril\n\tUnderstanding Fire by Docksin\n\tAltering Altercation by Duncan the Red\n\tThe Elements of Magicka by Albanon Renil\nEquipment:\n\t1 cauldron\n\t1 set of glass phials\n\t1 brass focus\n\t1 training implement, either a wand, a staff, or a rod"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/academy-rejection-letter": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/academy-rejection-letter", "description": "A scathing rejecting letter", "author": "Felicitas Mallicius", "title": "Academy's Rejection Letter", "text": "Scholar Oppius,\nOnce again you repeat your assertions that Goblins have domesticated creatures of several species, including spiders and kwama. And once again I must inform you that the academy's journal will publish no papers making such outlandish claims without conclusive proof.\nYou offer no proof for the excellent reason that none exists. Goblins are not intelligent enough to be domesticated themselves, let alone to domesticate other species. Your premise is ridiculous, your reasoning is flimsy, and your conclusions are insupportable.\nThe more unlikely one's thesis, the stronger one's proof must be to overcome disbelief. Offering no proof for an assertion as controversial as yours invites ridicule. And I am delighted to provide it.\nDo not waste my time with any further submissions except in the improbable event that you obtain conclusive proof of your claims. Even then, a witness credible to the academy must swear to the veracity of your paper and must be willing to co-author it.\nI do not expect to hear from you again. I wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors as a charlatan.\nFelicitas Mallicius\n\tEditor-in-Chief\n\tSpecies and Speculation Journal"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/according-plan": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/according-plan", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "According to Plan", "text": "(This is a report from a Lodge underling about an operation in another alliance being successful.)\n(This shows the Lodge's reach across Tamriel.)"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/achieving-harmony-death": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/achieving-harmony-death", "description": "", "author": "Ymirra", "title": "Achieving Harmony with Death", "text": "By Ymirra, Master of Bone and Scythe\nOver the course of my years teaching bone and scythe, students have asked questions that reflect where they are on their personal journeys toward achieving harmony with death. A common one for those not yet on the path: What type of bones should we use to attain harmony with death? Another: If I meditate two hours each day, will I achieve harmonic transcendence faster?\nQuestions like these underline how focused on life these students remain. Wondering what types of bones we use places the attention on checklists, questions of right and wrong ways to do things, and labels applied to living things, which takes it away from that moment when your life, as you know it, ends. Putting a time limit on meditation reminds you of the construct of time, which ticks away with each breath you take while living. In death, time is meaningless. Acknowledgement of time's passage can limit your ability to achieve harmony with death as a result. To help both students and masters, I provide my own thoughts below for knowing where students are on their paths. Your experiences may, of course, vary.\nFirst, a student needs to grapple with the concept of \"harmony with death.\" I assign any who have not yet done this meditations to practice. When they question their attachment to the living world and start struggling with the discomfort of life's uncertainty, they have opened their minds enough to start walking the path. And only when they are comfortable with the idea of their own deaths are they ready to take that first step.\nStudents fail when they cannot find that path.\nSecond, a student needs to understand that everyone's path toward harmonic transcendence is different. Those who have found the path still seek certainty of a sort: What is the next step? What does this journey look like? What should I avoid? What should I make sure I do?\nAll these questions are natural, but they also point toward an attachment with \"right\" and \"wrong.\" Again, the path to harmonic transcendence varies from individual to individual. When these students feel comfortable not knowing for sure where their next step will land, they are on their correct paths. More specific indicators than that are useless because, again, their paths are their own. Also, the feeling of comfort with uncertainty differs for each individual.\nStudents fail when they cannot follow their own path.\nThird, you need to understand that harmonic transcendence, once achieved, is never retained indefinitely. You make the choice repeatedly to remain within that space of harmonic transcendence\u2014to retain your harmony with death.\nEven masters fail in this. That does not mean that they have failed to be masters. Indeed, acceptance of this failure, after they have already traveled their path long enough to achieve harmony, is a hallmark of a master."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/acolytes-chipped-scroll-plate": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/acolytes-chipped-scroll-plate", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Acolyte's Chipped Scroll Plate", "text": "Entry 1\nWhile patrolling the Radius with Adjunct Daro, we happened upon a strange sight - someone managed to open a portal into the Clockwork City! Since I had my perception tabulator and Daro at my side, I decided to step closer and investigate.\nEntry 2\nI decided to take notes, as the perception tabulator can sometimes be temperamental. Without thinking about it, I found myself directly in front of the portal. It has an unusual attraction.\nEntry 3\nI stepped through the portal, though I can't actually remember doing so. The place is eerily beautiful, like a land of perpetual twilight. That s'wit Daro didn't come with me! No matter. I think I'll look around."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/acolytes-lost-scroll-plate": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/acolytes-lost-scroll-plate", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Acolyte's Lost Scroll Plate", "text": "Entry 7\nSeveral things have now tried to gnaw my legs off. I was wrong. This is a horrible place. Strange and terrible. I must have slipped a gear, thinking I could handle this on my own.\nEntry 8\nAfter I brought down what seemed like the hundredth dire wolf, I ate its leg. Without scrib jelly even. It was either that or starve. If I get out of this place, Adjunct Daro is going to get a piece of my mind!\nEntry 9\nI'm starting to get the impression this is another plane of existence. Some dark corner of Oblivion maybe. There certainly are plenty of shadows here."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/acolytes-scorched-scroll-plate": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/acolytes-scorched-scroll-plate", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Acolyte's Scorched Scroll Plate", "text": "Entry 13\nThere's some kind of weird field across the bridge. I think the perception tabulator has been working correctly, but I don't want to take any chances. I'll continue to make notes in my sequence journal for as long as I can. Now if I could only keep the plates from falling out every time one of those shadow creatures attacks me!\nEntry 14\nUnusual scarecrows guard the field. When I used the perception tabulator to examine one of them, it actually spoke to me! Scared me nearly to death that I ran back across the bridge and--\nThat noise! Is something else out there?"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/acts-honoring": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/acts-honoring", "description": "Poem honoring sithis", "author": "Nisswo Xeewulm", "title": "Acts of Honoring", "text": "Through fields you till\nThrough broken earth\nThrough crops that you will grow\nHonor that which is change\nHear nothing words\nHear many tongues\nHear one truth within it all\nHonor that which is void\nWith bloodied fang\nWith crushing blow\nWith your last stuttering breath\nHonor that which is death"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/adainazs-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/adainazs-journal", "description": "A khajiit struggles to deactivate a dangerous device", "author": "Adainaz", "title": "Adainaz's Journal", "text": "Rocks fell, no way out. Henrien doesn't look well. Red-faced and irritable. Threatened to gut this Khajiit. Won't share this one's last rations with him.\nCould this be the fabled Great Engine of the Dwemer? It would explain Henrien's condition. Had to tie him down. Won't last long here. Can feel this one's mind slipping. Slipping like Henrien's.\nShould destroy infernal machine.\nFour power sources. Small chance to use them to overload engine with its own magicka. But need missing control rod.\nCouldn't even scratch it with blade. Impervious to any spells this one can cast."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/adebers-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/adebers-journal", "description": "An auger observes crows and recieves a portent", "author": "Adeber's Journal", "title": "Adeber's Journal", "text": "16, Sun's Dusk\nGiven my lack of success scrying with the Ebony sphere, I've moved on to augury. I started with starlings, but they never stayed for long. Too unpredictable - too dependent on the shared movement of the flock. I had some measured success with vultures, but the repetition gives me vertigo. Round and round and round they go. Telling the same story again and again.\nI was surprised to find that I've had the most success with crows. They're perceptive, adaptable, and seem just as interested in the process as I am. I released a few yesterday, and breathed deep from my Nirn-powder box. Before long, the birds started weaving patterns - some Daedric letters I think. Soon afterward, most of the birds gathered into a hoop of sorts, while the largest soared through it - spinning like a half-fletched arrow. A corkscrew? Or perhaps a key? I counted sixteen passes before they finally settled back into their coops.\nI can't help but think it relates to a door. Or perhaps a portal? Doors, always doors! And sixteen passes? Sixteen Princes. It can't be a coincidence. But where is this door? Do they speak of the artifact's position or the artifact itself? More questions. Always more questions. I should confer with Neelo. I think he's done something similar with fish. If we don't make more progress soon, I think we'll have to inform the Arch-Mage. We've spent too much time already. Mara knows what terrors this Daedric artifact could unleash."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/admission-denied": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/admission-denied", "description": "Money can't but your magehood", "author": "Evoker-Adept Carusian", "title": "Admission Denied", "text": "Dear Citizen Agapitus,\nYour petition for admission into the Mages Guild is yet again denied. This is not an institution into which one can buy their way, contrary to your intimations. You lack the most basic of magical aptitude, in defiance of our minimal requirements and even logic.\nWe request that you cease correspondence and attempts to badger our representatives when they come through your township. The Mages Guild is a society for the gifted and the scholarly, not the wealthy and inept.\nSincerely,\n\tEvoker-Adept Carusian"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/adventurers-almanac-1st-edition": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/adventurers-almanac-1st-edition", "description": "The basics of Elder Scrolls Online's gameplay, told from an in-universe perspective", "author": "Skordo the Knife", "title": "Adventurer's Almanac, 1st Edition", "text": "If you're like me\u2014or you want to be like me, which is understandable\u2014you've got talents people want. More importantly, talents people will pay for. Demand for people like us is high these days, so I took the trouble of writing down my best leads. Why? I couldn't take all these jobs if I wanted to, and selling these books is a nice little score on the side. If you stole this book, go and pay for it. Unless it's in a lending library, then steal it and we'll call it square. Moochers.\nCrafting Writs\nThey don't call me \"the Knife\" on account of my forge work, but when I'm in town between jobs it pays to check the notice boards. Grab a writ, hammer on some things, get paid, and find the tavern. Easy money.\nGuilds\nEasiest route to steady work? Join a guild. It's what they're there for. That might seem obvious and stupid to put in my book. Almanacs cover everything, stupid.\nIf you like solving problems with violence, legally, the Fighters Guild has you covered, plus they've got guild halls all over Tamriel.\nI don't endorse the illegal sort of killing, but I hear the Dark Brotherhood accepts all kinds of murder contracts for hire.\nMaybe blood isn't your thing, but riches definitely are. I could say, hypothetically, there might be a sort of Thieves Guild that organizes that sort of sneaky business. Again, almanac, just being thorough here.\nThe Mages Guild may seem exclusive, but they got needs too, so pay them a visit even if sorcery isn't your thing. They've got locations in most cities.\nNow if you're looking for a big score and maybe don't got a lot of sense, go get in the good graces of the Undaunted. They've got enclaves in the major capitols and treasure piled higher than Red Mountain that they're just itching to give away\u2014provided you're crazy enough to do what they ask to earn it.\nWar\nThe Three Armies never stop fighting. Throw your lot in with an alliance, get to Cyrodiil and the Imperial City, and reap the spoils. Plenty to go around. For the victors.\nAnd don't forget folks in those war torn regions need more help than anybody. Whether you want to charge them is your business, but there are always towns out there in need of some help.\nRegions of Interest\nSome places just have more need for people like us than others. I don't just visit Wrothgar because it reminds me of home. Orsinium's got a big demand for tough types to go out and pacify the wilderness, and while I can't say it's conventionally profitable, Craglorn is such a crazy place that half the time the stars are falling and the other it's raining treasure.\nDon't forget to check the boards on the way out of town too, at least on the Gold Coast and in Hew's Bane. Bounties and all sorts of other odd jobs find their way onto the boards from folks who aren't picky about who solves their problems.\nThe Last Word\nThere you go. All the ways I know how to keep busy in this business. I'm not saying you've got to do all this stuff every day, but you could if you wanted to. And don't value sleep. Don't go thinking you can buy this copy and be done with it. Times change and when they do, Skordo the Knife's going to write it down. Save up.\nTips welcome."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/adventurers-almanac-2nd-edition": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/adventurers-almanac-2nd-edition", "description": "", "author": "Skordo the Knife", "title": "Adventurer's Almanac, 2nd Edition", "text": "Welcome back, scabs! Bet you thought I'd never have enough material to write a second one of these. You'd be wrong, of course, because here we go again. Far be it from me to overlook a chance to educate the next generation of meat puppets lining up to make a few drakes.\nVvardenfell\nThis dusty heap of rocks and mushrooms features some prime pickings for the discerning mercenary. If you can get over how ornery the Dark Elves can get about their gods and their dead relatives, you can score some choice jobs from their fixers in the Hall of Justice in Vivec City. And tell Traylan he still owes me gold for the last card game he cheated his arse off to win.\nClockwork City\nLook, I'm not saying this place exists. But I know a guy who says it does and, if you can get inside, there's plenty of work to be done that the creepy locals ain't got time to deal with. Or consider beneath their interest. You know, I don't care. People look down on us Orcs all the time, but are happy to open their pouches when they need something's head smashed in. Losers.\nPit Fights\nNow we're talking! You hear about those new fighting leagues they opened up recently? Love. It. Action, bloodshed, beat downs, and winners take all. Just don't, you know, lose. You'll get pitted against the best, the worst, and the worst of the worst. You ever see a guy run around in a fighting arena trying to figure out which end of his sword goes in the other jerk? It's a wonder these mooks can get into their armor.\nI always put my gold on the Pit Daemons, by the by. Easy money, long as there ain't an Argonian on their team. What're you gonna do, breathe underwater? Ha!\nAnd We're Done\nThat's all you get from me this time, tusk bait. Maybe next time Uncle Skordo will serenade you with his awesome knowledge and experience once he finds out where the next bunch of jobs happen to be. Just don't horn in on my work if I'm on the same contract, you hear?\nStay frosty. Oh yeah, and tusk off, you losers!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/adventurers-almanac-3rd-edition": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/adventurers-almanac-3rd-edition", "description": "DLC advertisement in the form of work leads for adventurers", "author": "Skordo the Knife", "title": "Adventurer's Almanac, 3rd Edition", "text": "Another day, another drake. That's the way I look at it and you should too if you've got any sense. So listen up, papa Skordo's got more wisdom to sell along with his sword. Here are my latest leads for the discerning mercenary.\nSummerset\nThe High-and-Mighty Elves of Summerset have finally deigned to let us mere mortals set foot on their unspoiled soil, but don't believe all the sugarcoated twaddle\u2013the place has a heap of troubles. The Justiciars in Alinor are practically begging for competent mercenaries to come show'em how it's done.\nMurkmire\nYou ever heard of Cyrodilic Collections? Me neither. Not until they started throwing gold around like King Jorunn in a bawd house. I don't know where they're getting their financing, but they pay their dues on time. When you get to Lilmoth, tell them Skordo sent you. I want my cut.\nIf running errands for a bunch of mudpanners doesn't excite you, the Dead-Water Tribe is organizing Death Hunts for some of the nastiest things in Murkmire. It'll get your blood pumping. Out of your neck if you're not careful.\nMaybe the idea of wading through a bog getting eaten alive by bugs doesn't appeal. Can't imagine why. You can still get your dainty hands on some of that easy Cyrodilic Collections gold. You can find an Argonian organizing supplies for their expeditions. Goes by Jee Lar. He'll talk your ear off if you let him, but he's always got something that needs doing.\nDragons\nFinally, there're tusking Dragons raging across Elsweyr. If you're just getting this news from me, get out from under the rock you call home and get to work! The Northern Elsweyr Defense Force is recruiting any help they can get for their war effort against the scaly bastards. They've got people stationed in Grahtwood, north of Cormount.\nNow I ain't heard much more than rumors about Dragon hunting, but you can bet there's someone out there itching to bag a Dragon and willing to offer a reward. Personally, you couldn't pay me enough to tangle with one of those flying murder-lizards\u2013though you're welcome to try.\nThere you have it. Plenty of work for an enterprising adventurer-for-hire. Remember papa Skordo when you strike it rich. And if you strike it dead, go haunt the sorry sack who taught you to fight."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/adventurers-wanted": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/adventurers-wanted", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Adventurers Wanted!", "text": "Due to the volume of requests for aid from our loyal citizens, a system of brokering jobs between those in need and those willing to help has been established. See Unel Darano in the Hall of Justice for more information."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/aeras-household-notes": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/aeras-household-notes", "description": "A list of things Aera needs to do and get", "author": "Aera", "title": "Aera's Household Notes", "text": "- Mend Denskar's socks\n\t- Teach Trynhild to Sew (ha!)\n\t- Ask Darj for Bow Training, Again (those shoulders!)\n\t- Mend Mathor's Shirt (Repayment to Tillrani)\n\t- Get Littrek to help Eiman with Chores\n\t- Get Eiman to make some Broiled Salmon in Trade\n\t- Ask Rana and Seyne over to Dinner (ask Trynhild again about those two)\n\t- Clean elk meat\n\t- Smoke pig loin\n\t- Return Rolunda her pages\n\t- Talk to Tillrani about Rana, again"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/aeras-letter-denskar": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/aeras-letter-denskar", "description": "Aera regrets the past and has hopes for the future", "author": "Aera", "title": "Aera's Letter to Denskar", "text": "Denskar,\nI'm gone. I'm not coming back. You're going to hear rumors about me. I'm ashamed to say they're true.\n\tAfter Tryn died, I lost my way. I will have no more to do with the Worm Cult, but that doesn't make up for the things I did.\nPlease take care of Littrek. I know he won't understand. I pray that you will someday. I won't ever stop loving you, Den, but you should move on. I've done too much wrong to ever come back.\nAll my love,\n\t\u2014 Aera"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/aeras-letter-tryn": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/aeras-letter-tryn", "description": "Aera hopes Tryn can forgive her", "author": "Aera", "title": "Aera's Letter to Tryn", "text": "Tryn,\nSoon, you're going to hear very bad things about me. I wish I could tell you they weren't true. But they are. All I can say is that I know I did wrong.\nI know you're disappointed. I can't ever make this up to you, but please, remember I love you. And I'm sorry.\n\t\u2014 Mother"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/aetherial-fragments": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/aetherial-fragments", "description": "An overview of Skyshards and other meteoric glass", "author": "Lady Cinnabar of Taneth", "title": "Aetherial Fragments", "text": "Many novice students find the study of the planes difficult to approach. Unlike my contemporary, Phrastus of Elinhir, who alienates readers with his self-serving agenda, I find that starting with an unbiased, concrete example works best as an introduction. Studying Aetherial fragments naturally leads to the broader topic of the planes.\nSurely you have seen a shooting star. This occurs when a piece of Aetherius, spirit-plane and source of magic, becomes dislodged and falls to Nirn. Two types of materials, meteoric iron and glass, may be found after such an event. The magical potential of both is extraordinary. In this text, I focus on the rarer meteoric glass, including its uses through history and its various manifestations.\nThe Ayleids, the Elves that ruled Cyrodiil until the early First Era, made extensive use of these sky-stones. With their advanced understanding of the magical arts, they created blue Welkynd and Varla Stones to harness the power of starlight from Aetherius and store magicka, power enchanted items, or provide unending light. Some even held Destruction spells as a type of automated defense.\nThe secrets of producing these stellar vessels have been lost. The Ayleids were able to create them in considerable numbers by replicating and enchanting meteoric glass. Attempts to synthesize new Welkynd or Varla Stones, or even to reproduce uncharged meteoric glass, have failed. Frequently, the original stones crumble to useless dust upon experimentation, further frustrating research and necessitating dangerous expeditions into Ayleid ruins.\nThe modern Malondo and Culanda stones, golden in color, are similar to blue Ayleid fragments. A product or discovery of the High Elves, they are most frequently found in the Summerset Isles. Malondo Stones, which can be recharged, can be tapped by spellcasters as a source of magicka replenishment or to restore a charge or charges to enchanted items. Culanda Stones provide a bright golden light. They can trigger magical effects or store magicka, but are always destroyed upon use or depletion.\nYou may read claims by Phrastus, who is blindly enamored of Elven culture, that the Altmer have unlocked and improved upon the secrets of the Ayleids. He even suggests that they are cultivating Malondo and Culanda Stones as a farmer might grow wheat. The more reasonable theory is that, through tinkering with existing Ayleid stones and raw meteoric glass, a more reliable method of recharging has been discovered.\nSky Prisms, another type of Aetherial fragment, can be seen splitting into shards as they fall to Nirn during specific lunar alignments. When three shards meet, they re-form into a silvery prism by some unknown process and confer the power unlocked by the merger to a nearby being. Like other sky-stones, they are relatively rare, and it is difficult to obtain specimens for investigation. Though they originate in the heavens they are often found underground, brought there by denizens of the depths who find their light-emitting properties useful.\nWith enough study and experimentation, it is my hope that the keys to producing these useful items will be uncovered, and a more full understanding of the planes and their power will be achieved."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/against-false-gods": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/against-false-gods", "description": "The Maulborn plan a spiritual mutiny", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Against False Gods", "text": "Fear not the False Gods, for their very presence is a lie.\n\tAbducted power ripped from artifacts undeserving.\n\tWorship received from mindless cattle doing what they're told.\n\tYou bow to them not out of reverence. Not out of respect.\n\tYou bow to them out of fear. Out of unknown truths left untold.\n\tBut why? Because it is right? Because it is what is expected of you?\n\tThe people of this land bathe in the filth of corruption and deceit. A filth of their own making.\n\tWe will give them the cure, all the blind and tainted.\n\tWe will show them that their gods are not as powerful as they believe.\n\tThe Maulborn will rise to purify this land in the true image of the Princes.\n\tTo cleanse this soil of all falsehoods.\n\tMay the Three feel our wrath. May the Three be cleansed of their lies.\n\tFor the Maulborn shall bring forth a reckoning."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/against-snakes": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/against-snakes", "description": "A very opinionated take on the Second Akaviri invasion", "author": "Denskar", "title": "Against the Snakes", "text": "Been thinking about our fight against the Akaviri. I've got opinions. Think I'll write them down.\nThe whole damned war could have been avoided if those idiots in Windhelm had the sense to throw the Snakes back into the sea. Shor take them!\nStill wish Jorunn had moved to reinforce Windhelm. Lost some good men that day.\nJorunn fortified Riften, but the Snakes rolled right past. Why go straight to the Ashlands?\nThe fighting south of Riften, north of Fort Virak, isn't given enough respect. Those men were pinned and outmanned, and still they held.\nWulfharth was the only reason the men kept fighting that day. Jorunn was just a pup. He couldn't rally a mead hall.\nThe Snakes push into Stonefalls after the fall of Fort Virak. Why? What were they after?\nHeard rumors some of the Dark Elves turned their blades on the Shellbacks at first. Couldn't stand the thought of being rescued by Argonians. Damned fools.\nShor take the whole Snake island. Let them send another tiger demon! We'll take them again!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/agganors-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/agganors-journal", "description": "An orc betrays his people for power within the Scaled Court", "author": "Shaman Agganor", "title": "Agganor's Journal", "text": "From the Journal of Shaman Agganor\nThe elders say we must always be ready. We must grab every opportunity as it presents itself. And that is exactly what I did today!\n* * *\n\tI have long struggled under the outmoded ways of Shaman Lashburr Tooth-Breaker. I sometimes think he was old even when the first stones were set into the world. He never listens to my suggestions, never wants to try anything new or different.\nBut the stones smile on those who are worthy! When the Scaled Court entered our valley and demanded an audience with our goltragga, the chief Braadoth, Shaman Lashburr was outraged. He called for the deaths of the outsiders. But I knew that a fight with the Scaled Court was a fight we could not win.\nSo I listened to the wind as it whispered through the valley rocks and knew what had to be done. I accused Lashburr of plotting to kill the chief, all in an effort to break the prophesied alliance before its bonds could forge. Chief Braadoth demanded to know what I was talking about, so I spun my lies and created an elaborate tale that stroked the goltragga's ego and sounded just perfect enough to be true.\nAnd because of my words, Braadoth welcomed the Scaled Court into our valley, even as he ordered the death of sun and feathers for old Lashburr Tooth-Breaker.\n* * *\n\tAs I prepared Lashburr for his punishment, Braadoth and Regent Cassipia, leader of the Scaled Court, discussed terms for an alliance and partnership. She seems extremely interested in our techniques for using body inks, as well as our skill at crafting armor. When Braadoth faltered, she did something that even I had not anticipated. She offered Braadoth a place of honor within the Scaled Court itself.\nNow our chief is also the Ophidian Exarch of Undulating Destruction, a fitting title for one as bold and powerful as Braadoth Rockborn. Perhaps there is a title of equal merit for Agganor\u2014if I continue to listen to the stones and watch for further opportunities for advancement.\n* * *\n\tLashburr was beaten and cut, bloodied once for each of the ten iron oaths of our people. Then he was left, bound to the rock and baking in the sun as the crows began to gather. As much as I would enjoy watching the old shaman finally meet his end, I must make sure to advise the chief and stand at his side as the negotiations with the Scaled Court continue. I will leave two guards to witness the old one's passing.\n* * *\n\tI returned later to find Lashburr gone and the guards dead. So, the old shaman has a few tricks left in him. I should have expected as much. Still, what can one old, half-dead Iron Orc do once he has been beaten and banished? Nothing! And I have more important things to do now that the alliance with the Scaled Court has been agreed upon and sealed. When next I pick up this tale, I hope to announce my new title as a regent in the Court, as well.\nI wonder what name the Serpent will bestow upon me for the service I have provided this day?"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/agganor%E2%80%99s-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/agganor%E2%80%99s-journal", "description": "A young shaman takes advantage of the Scaled Court to rise in rank", "author": "Shaman Agganor", "title": "Agganor\u2019s Journal", "text": "From the Journal of Shaman Agganor\nThe elders say we must always be ready. We must grab every opportunity as it presents itself. And that is exactly what I did today!\n* * *\nI have long struggled under the outmoded ways of Shaman Lashburr Tooth-Breaker. I sometimes think he was old even when the first stones were set into the world. He never listens to my suggestions, never wants to try anything new or different.\nBut the stones smile on those who are worthy! When the Scaled Court entered our valley and demanded an audience with our goltragga, the chief Braadoth, Shaman Lashburr was outraged. He called for the deaths of the outsiders. But I knew that a fight with the Scaled Court was a fight we could not win.\nSo I listened to the wind as it whispered through the valley rocks and knew what had to be done. I accused Lashburr of plotting to kill the chief, all in an effort to break the prophesied alliance before its bonds could forge. Chief Braadoth demanded to know what I was talking about, so I spun my lies and created an elaborate tale that stroked the goltragga's ego and sounded just perfect enough to be true.\nAnd because of my words, Braadoth welcomed the Scaled Court into our valley, even as he ordered the death of sun and feathers for old Lashburr Tooth-Breaker.\n* * *\nAs I prepared Lashburr for his punishment, Braadoth and Regent Cassipia, leader of the Scaled Court, discussed terms for an alliance and partnership. She seems extremely interested in our techniques for using body inks, as well as our skill at crafting armor. When Braadoth faltered, she did something that even I had not anticipated. She offered Braadoth a place of honor within the Scaled Court itself.\nNow our chief is also the Ophidian Exarch of Undulating Destruction, a fitting title for one as bold and powerful as Braadoth Rockborn. Perhaps there is a title of equal merit for Agganor - if I continue to listen to the stones and watch for further opportunities for advancement.\n* * *\nLashburr was beaten and cut, bloodied once for each of the ten iron oaths of our people. Then he was left, bound to the rock and baking in the sun as the crows began to gather. As much as I would enjoy watching the old shaman finally meet his end, I must make sure to advise the chief and stand at his side as the negotiations with the Scaled Court continue. I will leave two guards to witness the old one's passing.\n* * *\nI returned later to find Lashburr gone and the guards dead. So, the old shaman has a few tricks left in him. I should have expected as much. Still, what can one old, half-dead Iron Orc do once he has been beaten and banished? Nothing! And I have more important things to do now that the alliance with the Scaled Court has been agreed upon and sealed. When next I pick up this tale, I hope to announce my new title as a regent in the Court, as well.\\n\\nI wonder what name the Serpent will bestow upon me for the service I have provided this day?"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/agolas-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/agolas-journal", "description": "Clues to a worthless hidden treasure", "author": "Agolas", "title": "Agolas' Journal", "text": "Entry 297\nCaught a new fish. Zabani has no idea how Orsinium works. Use her to crack the King's Cornerclub?\nEntry 298\nPut her near the safe, got what's inside, then threw the clueless Zabani-fish to the Guard. She gets the blame, I get the goods!\nEntry 299\nAll that work for an ugly mug?\nEntry 300\nNo fence will touch this! Need to set up a meet with Astilme at the Greedy Gut. She'll buy anything. Stashing this north of Aqueduct Rock until things settle.\nX = aqueduct legs, narrow tree, gray serpent"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/agra-crun": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/agra-crun", "description": "How shield-wife Bagrar earned her moniker", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Agra Crun", "text": "When the shield-wife Bagrar first fought in battle, she wielded a two-handed mattock too large for her small frame. Shamed in battle, Bagrar took up the sword and shield. She blushed at being forced to wield smaller weapons, and other warriors, seeing her embarrassment, mocked her.\nWith a lighter weapon in hand, Bagrar became a fury on the battlefield. Her sword struck several times before her opponents could counter once, and her shield became impenetrable. She earned the title of Troll-Slayer.\nBagrar thanked Malacath for her prowess and dedicated herself, becoming the defender of the faith during the Balagog blood purge, and her shield became known as the Agra Crun\u2014the blood shield."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/aicaanos-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/aicaanos-journal", "description": "Hackdirt's \"final\" days", "author": "Aicaano", "title": "Aicaano's Journal", "text": "I take quill to paper to record what I fear are the final days of Hackdirt. Though many would despise this place as a backwater of no value, I have found peace here. Few of the more \"civilized\" places I have lived have made me feel as welcome. Though few of my race have ever come here, I encountered no prejudice, no resentment.\nFor two years I lived here, enjoying friendship and trust as never before. This has been a golden time in my long life, one I will deeply regret if it comes to an end.\nSeveral weeks ago, a human of rough looks and worse manners strolled into the village. He marched about as if he owned the place, opening every unlocked door, peering into every stable. Ovidius, usually the most pompous of swollen fools, for once acted as the prefect he claims to be. He confronted this stranger, demanding to know his business here.\nThe intruder stared at him rudely and didn't deign to answer. He strode from the village and vanished beyond the hills to the east. Etiache wanted to follow him, but Ovidius forbade it, worried that only trouble would result.\n\tIf only we had listened to Etiache. We should have caught and killed that stranger. Perhaps what befell us would have been avoided. Auri-El knows; I do not.\nA few days later, another stranger came to Hackdirt, wearing well-used swords loose in their scabbards. His steed was wild-eyed, a warhorse bred for combat, held in check only by the rider's stern hand. Up to Ovidius this warrior rode.\nHe named himself Vanier and proclaimed himself the new overlord of Hackdirt. He said his gang, the Black Daggers, waited just over the hill. He gave us one day to agree to his terms or all would be slaughtered. All inhabitants were now his servants and our dwellings, livestock, and all possessions were now his. Those who cooperated would find him a just overlord, he claimed.\nOvidius stared, mouth agape. Before he could gather his wits, matters were taken from his hands. Nerva charged Vanier, screaming that he would never live as a slave. The bandit's sword sheared off the tines of Nerva's pitchfork and the horse's hooves lashed out and crushed his head. We stood there stunned as Vanier rode off.\nWe buried Nerva behind his house that evening. Then we gathered around the well and discussed our fate. Some, like Yggoz and Etiache, urged that we stay and fight. As if farmers and merchants had a chance against such as Vanier. Saner heads prevailed and we voted to abandon Hackdirt. Even Yggoz agreed in the end.\nOnly Ovidius opposed the will of the rest, saying he would never leave Hackdirt. No argument could prevail against him. In the end, he ascended the tower with all the food and water we could spare. We sealed the door shut behind him.\nIt was Iirenir, quiet, shy Iirenir, who suggested we chain shut our doors and destroy all we could not carry. This was done with a sense of grim satisfaction.\nDawn will break soon. The others have gone, moving slowly to the south. I must leave too. I linger only to finish this. Perhaps someday we will reclaim Hackdirt and this journal will survive as a record of our darkest times."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/albus-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/albus-journal", "description": "A frustrating place for a prison", "author": "Albus, White Rose Prison Guard", "title": "Albus' Journal", "text": "Why did we build a prison in this cesspool?\nEvery morning I wake to bug bites, and the nauseating stench of swamp gas. Every night I have to check my bunk for snakes and constantly wake with the screeching of those damned birds.\nSurely there must be better places to mine ore! This place is just as punishing for the guards as it is for the prisoners."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/alchemist-nilynes-notes": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/alchemist-nilynes-notes", "description": "Record Of Llodos Plague", "author": "Nilyne", "title": "Alchemist Nilyne's Notes", "text": "The Llodos plague is a damn complex concoction. I'm not sure I have the skill and experience to totally counteract its properties, but I have an idea for how to suppress and slow the pace of the disease. It will require a number of rare and exotic ingredients to pull this off, though.\nAn alchemical concoction such as I'm imagining doesn't like to be subjected to high heat. It's too volatile. It needs to be allowed to seep and brew. Therefore, an adjustment of one-quarter flame should suffice to get the mortar to the proper temperature.\nFirst, I'll need a good amount of Kyne's Heart. These healing herbs are prized for their powerful medicinal properties, which makes them hard to come by and extremely expensive. I'm certain the innkeeper at the Brooding Elf keeps an emergency supply to sell for profit when business gets slow.\nThen, I need something to bind it all together and hide the foul taste of the bitter herbs. Something like sour milk tea. Grell Flan was known to imbibe the stuff from time to time. I must admit that I have a fondess for the beverage myself. Usually with a splash of greef to give it a bit of a kick, if you must know.\nFinally, I'll need something that adds a touch of magic. Dragon scale mushrooms would fit the bill nicely. If I recall correctly, Old Sorel Tedas had a taste for exotic mushrooms. There might still be some hidden in his house\u2014unless those Argonian ruffians ransacked his place after he entered the quarantine."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/alchemy-my-apprentice": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/alchemy-my-apprentice", "description": "A master alchemist instructs an apprentice on the basics of potion-making", "author": "You Know Who", "title": "Alchemy For My Apprentice", "text": "My dear apprentice, you have destroyed far too many of my alchemical stocks to go unpunished. My own master would never abide such abject incompetence! \"Can't take instruction,\" she'd say. \"Nose in a book,\" she'd say. Luckily for your prospects, it is far less costly to write this simple manual than replace yet another cask of rare solvent.\n\n\n\n\t\t\tIf you lose this manual, as I know you will, don't despair. I have invested your annual stipend toward printing multiple copies of this book and distributing them far and wide. In time, every alchemy station in Tamriel shall have one.\n\n\nStep One: Acquire Solvents\n\n\n\t\t\tYou already know that every potion requires a solvent to serve as the potion's base. If you ever paid attention to my lessons, you'd know the best solvent is clean water from a natural source. The purity of the water determines the quality of the potion, so the best sources are natural springs.\n\n\n\n\t\t\tI must once again emphasize the need for fresh sources of water. Remember that incident with the healing draught? You cannot simply dip a flask into a stagnant pond, an ocean cove, or downstream from a tannery. I suppose you could find bottles of clean water about town, but it is best to do the work yourself.\n\n\n\n\t\t\tIncidentally, your \"rain barrel solvent\" will never work. You are to cease your experiments immediately.\n\n\nStep Two: Acquire Reagents\n\n\n\t\t\tAlchemy is a study of combinations. Where solvents are a potion's base, reagents are the active ingredients. Each reagent bears four unique traits. I'm disinclined to explain the principles of quadratic amalgamation to you\u2014again\u2014but do try to remember the basics: match like with like.\n\n\n\n\t\t\tHenceforth, you are to find all reagents in the wilds\u2014not in my laboratory! Remember to look for plants and mushrooms. Plants and mushrooms, only! Under no circumstances should you deviate from this. \"Squirrel powder\" was an abomination against the Eight.\n\n\n\n\t\t\tFurthermore, I must remind you to thoroughly clean both mortar and pestle after their use.\n\n\nStep Three: Craft Potions\n\n\n\t\t\tBring a solvent and two reagents to any alchemy station. Different reagents are required, a fact I must stress once again. Combining bugloss with bugloss gets you nothing but foul-tasting water.\n\n\n\n\t\t\tWhen you have what you need, put them together and craft your potion. Reagents with positive trait combinations will produce helpful potions, while those with negative trait combinations can cause harm to whoever is foolish enough to imbibe them. If none of your reagents' traits match, you lose both solvent and reagents.\n\n\n\n\t\t\tExperiment with different reagents to see what you can produce. I leave it to you to determine their traits, but will remind you that ingesting a reagent can teach you its most basic trait. Just one\u2014don't gorge yourself!\n\n\n\n\t\t\tWhile I recall of it, did you expect I wouldn't know you'd finished off the nirnroot? I could hear your teeth singing, and there's no way to hide a glowing chamberpot.\n\n\nAdvanced Alchemical Principles\n\n\n\t\t\tOnly when you master the basics of alchemy should you think to complicate the process. Through careful study you can learn to suppress negative traits when crafting potions, craft multiple potions from the simple set of reagents, or even combine additional reagents to produce more powerful potions!\n\n\n\n\t\t\tBut for now, \"not poisoning yourself\" is the goal I'd most like you to achieve.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/alchemy-practicum": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/alchemy-practicum", "description": "A frustratingly inept alchemy student frustrates the instructer", "author": "Defessus Lector", "title": "Alchemy Practicum", "text": "Bardus,\nThe traditional approach for a novice alchemist to learn how to concoct potions is to experiment. This means systematically trying a mix of carefully selected reagents in a solvent, and observing the results. Then you change one of the reagents and see if you get different results.\nYou, on the other hand, seem to think throwing random handfuls of reagents into a cauldron of boiling water will result in some mystical potion.\nI was willing to let you flail away like this, since I believe you learn by mistakes, even if the road is long\u2014and in your case, all uphill, rocky, and blocked by deadfalls. But your father's seneschal has informed me that you have gone through 725 gold pieces' worth of reagents to no result.\nSo, I am going to assign you a Practicum that should both teach you something and save your father money.\n\tIn addition to the standard fungus and flower powders, you will use some rodent parts from your latest victory against the rats in the pantry, just to keep expenses low. Please try, this time, to use reagents that have at least some matching traits.\nAlchemy Practicum\n\tI added 1: and 2: to 3: , and got the following result:\n\tI added A: and B: to C: , and got the following result:\n\tI added X: and Y: to Z: , and got the following result:"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/alchemy-report": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/alchemy-report", "description": "Potions used for a dishonest purpose", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Alchemy Report", "text": "Here are the empty bottles that contained Dhalen's potion. I'd recommend getting them out of town now that the elixir has been circulated. The quality of alchemical loot you can find in a Daedric ruin is just amazing! Illusion magic and poison, both in the same trove!\nWe've been telling everyone that it's an ancient Argonian custom, using an ancient Argonian wine. Even the Argonians, who I admit were initally suspicious, eventually took part. Everyone wants a reason to drink, right? By the Eight, one of the Nords drank eight bottles of it before stumbling off toward the river. Probably drowned himself.\nThe elixirs are working. People will be confused if they start seeing double, though. We need to get rid of any evidence. You know what I mean.\nI'm dealing with things at the barracks. It's amazing where you can go when you look like the Commander. Then I'll meet \"Marla\" to discuss any final details. Dhalen's done his part. Now it's our turn.\nFor Fildgor!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/alchemy-workshop-instructions": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/alchemy-workshop-instructions", "description": "A plot by the Maulborn to accelerate the plauge", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Alchemy Workshop Instructions", "text": "Bring the afflicted to the workshop one by one.\nAdminister the accelerant. Tell them it's the cure.\nBe quick. We need as many afflicted contaminated with accelerant as possible by the time the ritual commences.\nWhen the ritual's magic interacts with the accelerant-infused afflicted, the plague will run its course in minutes instead of weeks. The magic will reverberate so that the circle of power expands quickly, echoing until it infects all of Deshaan as the circle enlarges. The Mistress shall have the army of plague husks she requires.\nThe Maulborn are her loyal catalysts. We cannot fail."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/alchemy-discovering-traits": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/alchemy-discovering-traits", "description": "Bardus is up to his old habits", "author": "Defessus Lector", "title": "Alchemy: Discovering Traits", "text": "Bardus,\nThe method by which an alchemist learns the traits of various reagents is by tasting them. The key word here is \"taste\"\u2014there is no need to consume more than a single portion of a reagent, even if you find it appealing. And, based on what the seneschal tells me about your visit to your father's wine cellar, you've already determined that common liquors do not possess alchemical traits, even if consumed in quantity.\nTasting a reagent will reveal that ingredient's most obvious alchemical trait\u2014but most have secondary and tertiary magical properties as well. Combining reagents and observing the results will reveal these hidden traits, some of which can be quite astonishing. As you experiment, your skill at alchemy will increase, and it will become easier to recognize these traits and combine them effectively.\nYou will also begin to notice that certain classes of reagents feature common or even matching traits. For example, the traits of flowers tend to be beneficial, while those of fungus are often detrimental\u2014as you discovered last Morndas when, trying to finish all your homework at the last minute, you consumed nine different kinds of fungus within a few minutes. The resulting projectile regurgitation was most impressive."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/aldimions-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/aldimions-journal", "description": "A deranged person's journal", "author": "Aldimion", "title": "Aldimion's Journal", "text": "A strange request, indeed!\nI was on my evening stroll, having a bite to eat in a back alley, when I noticed that the Imperial neck I feasted upon bore a golden medallion. I recognized the trinket at once as the sigil of the Cult of the Black Worm. While I considered this, I heard the dull thwack of a blunt object hitting flesh and bone, and my world went black.\nI awoke in a cave, bound to a chair, my head throbbing with bittersweet pain. A number of hooded cultists surrounded me, each with the unmistakable gleam of murder in his eyes. I quite liked them.\nOne of the cultists seemed different than the others, and I recognized him as their leader almost immediately. He had a cold, yet calm demeanor and seemed completely unafraid of me.\nHe introduced himself as Abnur Tharn. He was somewhat displeased that I had made my evening meal on one of his most loyal guards. Normally, he explained, I would have been discorporated for such an infraction, but he said he liked my style and my \u2026 violent proclivities. He said he saw a lot of promise in me, and would like to propose a mutually beneficial arrangement.\nIf I agreed to join the Worm Cult, I could replace this agent. I would reside in a conveniently placed underground lair within the city limits, which would assure me a continued stream of meals, along with a virtually unlimited supply of black soul gems.\nThe agreement did sound promising, but just to play Daedra's advocate, I asked what my alternative might be. In answer, Tharn opened a portal to Coldharbour right at my feet. My chair began to teeter, and the screams of the damned filled my ears. Lovely to listen to, but not something I wished to experience firsthand.\nNeedless to say, I chose servitude. Now, I while away my days guarding this wretched cavern while prowling the city streets after dusk. It's not a bad existence. In fact, I've even begun to take up the study of necromancy. At some point, perhaps Tharn will consent to teaching me the finer points himself. Time will tell. And I have all the time in the world, don't I?"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/aldmeri-court-transcript": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/aldmeri-court-transcript", "description": "A Thalmor document outlining the crimes and punishment of a vampire", "author": "Seventh Court of Aldmeri Justice", "title": "Aldmeri Court Transcript ", "text": "Let it be known:\nIt is the judgment of this tribunal that the criminal known as Thaliel is guilty of all charges levied against her by representatives of the Thalmor state.\nShe has been convicted on all counts. Her transgressions include:\nFinally, we have received a signed affidavit detailing Thaliel's treatment of those she murdered inflicted upon them after death. The court finds these behaviors consistent with the curse of vampirism. In penance for her heinous crimes, Thaliel will be imprisoned in the buried ruins of Molavar. There she will face a grim eternity of scorched stone, choking fumes, and torturous heat. Let her fate serve as a warning to all would-be necromancers and parasites. Auri-El does not suffer such crimes, nor do the Thalmor. Punishment, in all cases, will be prompt and severe.\nSeventh Court of Aldmeri Justice\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/aldmeri-scouting-efforts": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/aldmeri-scouting-efforts", "description": "", "author": "Grand Warlord Sorcalin", "title": "Aldmeri Scouting Efforts", "text": "General Thoron,\nScouting efforts must be stepped up. Your scouts are the eyes and ears of the Dominion army. Our attacks will fail without detailed knowledge of our foes' strength.\nAll reports should be given to Vilya as soon as they arrive.\n- Grand Warlord Sorcalin"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/aleris-shroud": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/aleris-shroud", "description": "A description of a champion", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Aleris the Shroud", "text": "Aleris, the first Champion of the Blessed Crucible, held that title for four decades. She was renowned for her skill with illusion magic and her deft swordplay. Few were able to match her skill in the arena or her favor with the crowd.\nUsurped: None\nDefeated By: Crow Bringer"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/aleswell-eviction-notice": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/aleswell-eviction-notice", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Aleswell Eviction Notice", "text": "All residents are hereby ordered to abandon these homes immediately, by order of Grand Warlord Dortene.\nAnyone found in these buildings by nightfall will be killed.\n\u2014 General Khamagash\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/all-about-echaterre": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/all-about-echaterre", "description": "Raising Echaterre without your children hating you.", "author": "Glimburr gro-Shatul", "title": "All About Echatere", "text": "When it is time to eat, what fills your belly? Echatere. When it is bitter cold, what clothes your body? Echatere. Never forget that echatere is food, echatere is clothes. This is the first rule of the range.\nIf an Elf comes to your village and says the echaterre is \"cute\" or \"noble\" punch him in the face. Echaterre is not cute or noble, but ugly, mean, and pointy. If you fall in love with echaterre, echaterre kill you. This is the second rule of the range.\nYou cannot herd echatere without whistling. But whistling makes echaterre angry. Still you must do it or you will not eat. We must all do things that could get us killed in order to not die. This is the third rule of the range.\nWhen you slaughter echatere cut open its throat and catch the blood in a basin. Otherwise, it will rot from the inside. This is not a rule. This is just common sense. You do not want to eat rotten meat.\nIf you give a baby echatere a name, then your children will fall in love with it and they will cry when you kill it. So even though it is hard to tell all echatere apart and you want to give them names so that you can tell which is which, name them things like \"Dumb-Hamster-Crab\" and \"Possibly-Poisonous\" and \"Very-Stabby\" but do not give them Orc names or else your children will become soft and hate you for the rest of your life.\nThese are all the rules of the range. Follow them and your herd will prosper and your bellies will be full and your children will not hate you."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/all-about-giants": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/all-about-giants", "description": "Observations on Giants", "author": "Bonorion the Wanderer", "title": "All About Giants", "text": "Observations on the Giantish Peoples of Skyrim from the journals of Bonorion the Wanderer, 2E 569\nHaving explored the snowy reaches of Eastmarch and the Rift, I have had opportunities to observe the strange and rather large people the Skyrim natives call \"giants.\" The natives of Skyrim are rather large themselves, but the giants that roam the wilderness are twice the size (or more!) of your average thick-necked, broad-shouldered Nord. Here are some observations, recorded for future travelers to this chilly clime:\nGiants are tall.\nGiants seem peaceful enough. Until you threaten them. Then they swing huge clubs and launch even a burly Nord over field and stream. The trip probably kills the Nord. That would be my guess, as I've never been able to interview a survivor of a giant's swing.\nThings that seem to threaten giants include, but are not limited to:\nGoing near them.\nThreatening their mammoths.\nShooting arrows at them.\nNo one that I have spoken to has ever seen a female giant or a young giant. Are giant children taller than Bosmer? Are female giants painfully shy? This calls for additional observation.\nGiants paint rocks and trees near their encampments. This primitive art probably entices the rare female giantess who might wander by. Or the decorations mark territory. Or the giants simply like to paint. This calls for further study.\nHow does a giant milk a mammoth? VERY carefully. (Note: Nords found this joke to be very amusing. Especially after several mugs of mead.)\nNo Nord I spoke to has ever tasted mammoth cheese. They seem to have no interest in doing so.\nI shall have to find a way to befriend one of these large creatures. That's the only way I can think of to get a sample of that wonderful smelling cheese.\nNote from Jeggord the Learned, 2E 571\nThe Wood Elf Bonorion was found at the base of large hill near the area known as Cradlecrush. Given the condition of his body, that is, every bone broken, it appears that he ignored his own advice. Even the dimmest Nord children know better than to approach a giant. As the nearest giant camp was nearly a league from where his body was found, I would say that Wood Elves can travel great distances when launched by a giant's club.\nI have preserved his journal as a cautionary tale for future explorers of Eastmarch, the Rift, and other regions where giants make their homes. Heed its advice, even if its author did not: don't try to befriend a giant."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/all-alone": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/all-alone", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "All Alone", "text": "Alain dead.\n\tAll alone.\n\tFood all gone."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/all-fear-agrakh": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/all-fear-agrakh", "description": "Proclamation from the Wood Orcs to the Bosmer", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "All Fear Agrakh", "text": "Heed well these words! All fear Agrakh, son of Mauloch and child of the Blade! May his rule be carved into the hearts of his clan, and his might spoken of only in whispers by his enemies.\nThough the tree-dwellers strike at us from their cowardly perches, they fall as leaves to his mighty tread! Let the horns sing of his conquests as all who follow him bask in the glory of Mauloch!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/all-better": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/all-better", "description": "", "author": "Meline", "title": "All For the Better", "text": "(This is an unsent letter from Meline to another Lodge Member talking about how the modern state of the Lodge is so much better than the old days. It focuses on the material elements and comes across as greedy.)\n(This shows there was an \"old version\" of the Lodge, prior to some event.)"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/all-our-hopes-dashed": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/all-our-hopes-dashed", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "All Our Hopes Dashed", "text": "All our hopes dashed. Everything's gone. She warned me, but I wouldn't listen. My egotism prevented it.\nI was a fool and have paid dearly for it. No more walks with Itinia, no more playing with our daughters.\nI will not let them see me like this. Better to die here than slink home with nothing, a failure in the eyes of all."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/almalexia-and-mudcrab": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/almalexia-and-mudcrab", "description": "A fable about accepting help", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Almalexia and the Mudcrab", "text": "A traditional Dunmer tale\nThere was once a mudcrab who suffered much. He had a limp and a hacking cough. His shell was misshapen, causing him pain. He was weary at all times, and told everyone he was surely dying. He roamed the valley one day, complaining to any who would listen.\nThe shalk created a brace from part of his shell and offered it to the mudcrab. \"Here, mudcrab, try bracing your leg,\" he advised.\n\"No, no, no,\" said the mudcrab, \"I have tried that and it does not work.\"\n\"Mudcrab,\" said the alit, \"let me bite on your shell and crack it just a bit to relieve the pressure.\"\nThe mudcrab said, \"You are trying to trick me, alit! You just want an easy snack!\"\nAlmalexia, who was roaming the land that day, heard these conversations and entered the valley, where she appeared as a humble guar.\n\"Mudcrab,\" she said, \"take this draught I have made for your cough.\"\n\"Guar, you are not a healer. It is better to suffer than risk a poor remedy,\" replied the mudcrab.\nAnd Almalexia revealed herself to the creatures, who gasped in surprise. \"Mudcrab,\" she said, \"all of these creatures have offered you help, but you refuse. You are in love with complaining, and you will never be healed.\"\nAnd so Almalexia teaches us that you cannot aid the unwilling."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/alone": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/alone", "description": "An outcast girl finds company", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Alone", "text": "Long ago, a girl was born in Elsweyr to two loving parents. Sadly, this girl was born wrong, without a tail and but nubs for ears. The pupils of her eyes were split like a goat's and her teeth were flat like those of a horse. She was spurned and outcast and laughed at by the other Khajiiti children. So terrible!\nEven her own parents grew to be ashamed of her, for she was clumsy as well. The girl's balance was awful for her lack of tail and she could not hear as keenly as her kin for her tiny ears. She could not hunt, nor could she steal, nor could she weave magic. The girl felt so, so alone, even in the company of her own kind.\nSo she ran, far, far away across Tamriel, hiding amongst merchant caravans and eating the most revolting garbage and refuse just to survive. When found, she was tossed out into the mud or beaten with sticks. They called her a monster! How awful!\nThere was one bright ray in her life, however. One day she encountered a magnificent traveling circus, comprised of people much like herself. They did not spurn her for her appearance, for they were as freakish as she! They taught her to play the dulcimer and crush bones with her flat teeth for the amusment of others.\nOf course, the girl still felt alone all the time, but she was happy because she realized that she didn't have to be alone by herself."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/altars-bone": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/altars-bone", "description": "Fragmentary instructions for a dark offering", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Altars of Bone", "text": "Once Ouze's guardians have been \u2026\n\u2026fering to Molag-Bal. The great mammoth bones contain enough dark \u2026\ntwist the altars to our purpose. The same energy that keeps the Oathbreakers imprisoned in Ouze shall allow us to control them. But we must be wary! If the altars are tampered with or, worse yet, if \u2026\nTake care in \u2026 placement of the bones. They should overshadow the altar, but not \u2026\nOnce the altars are placed, continue digging. The operation in the nearby \u2026 should provide you with enough \u2026."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/altered-missive": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/altered-missive", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Altered Missive", "text": "My friend,\nWe have a new employer. Clean out the werewolves, and he'll pay hefty coin for every ear you bring back.\nMake it quick and quiet. Don't want trouble from anyone."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/altmer-heirs-noble-lineage": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/altmer-heirs-noble-lineage", "description": "A decree accompanying several artifacts", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Altmer: Heirs of a Noble Lineage", "text": "As the (self-proclaimed) purest line descended from the ancient Aldmer, the Altmeri people have built an empire of grace, refinement, and strength. In this room are several artifacts showcasing their remarkable artistic accomplishments and their heavy burden of rulership."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/altmeri-overseers-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/altmeri-overseers-journal", "description": "A sneering view on Goblin slaves", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Altmeri Overseer's Journal", "text": "12, Last Seed\n\tThe slaves are more agitated than usual today. Last night's beating of the one called Koth seemed to stir him to an emotion other than fear, but the magus assures me the pacification spells upon the creature will keep him in line.\n15, Last Seed\n\tThere was another spat between the kitchen staff and the slaves today. Koth tried to take scraps from the refuse bin without permission and we were forced to have him flogged again in front of his kin. It is becoming difficult to remind the Goblins of their place.\n17, Last Seed\n\tMelanil, the head of the kitchen staff, was found dead in the wine cellar this morning. From all evidence, he took a spill down the stairs and broke his neck, but I remain dubious.\n18, Last Seed\n\tA fire broke out in the armory just before dawn. While it was contained before it could spread to the rest of the estate grounds, unknown looters made off with some of the weapons. We've petitioned the kinlord for more guards in case we have bandits on our hands.\n19, Last Seed\n\tKoth apparently wishes to speak to me later this afternoon about their living conditions. This should be amusing. I will be heading down to the slave dens with my deputation. A show of force should remind the beasts that they continue to live solely at our discretion. What threats could these Goblins possibly pose?"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/aluvus-final-notes": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/aluvus-final-notes", "description": "Aluvus' plan to alleviate loneliness", "author": "Aluvus", "title": "Aluvus' Final Notes", "text": "I did it! I finally did it.\nIt was his innocence that convinced me. The alchemist's son, always so helpful, always so kind. How could I resist? It wasn't easy, but he's like me now.\nHis tears. I left him there, on his father's doorstep.\nAnd there shall be more. They'll stay with me in the darkness. For years to come."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/aluvus-further-notes": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/aluvus-further-notes", "description": "Spared for a dark purpose?", "author": "Aluvus", "title": "Aluvus' Further Notes", "text": "I think I understand, now. I think I know why I was left alive.\nShe wanted me to become like this. She wanted me to become like her. Perhaps it's loneliness, or perhaps it's something deeper.\nI've grown stronger, feeding on the weak fools that pass my lair. For an instant, when I feed, I sometimes wonder if I should let this one live. Truly live, and become like me.\nPerhaps I will slip into the town nearby, select a likely target, and try it out for myself. Perhaps."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/aluvus-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/aluvus-journal", "description": "", "author": "Aluvus", "title": "Aluvus' Journal", "text": "I finally located the entrance to the Ayleid tomb just to the northeast of Phaer. It appears to be deserted and I look forward to exploring its mysteries. I had planned to mount a full expedition on the morrow, but I met the most enchanting woman last eve at the Salted Wings tavern.\nI hope to see her again tonight. Her skin was so pale it seemed almost to glow, and her lips \u2026 her lips were the most delicious ruby red. Hopefully I'll be able to work up the courage to speak to her this time."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/aluvus-notes": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/aluvus-notes", "description": "Aluvus is spared - but why?", "author": "Aluvus", "title": "Aluvus' Notes", "text": "I can still remember the night it happened to me. It's been months since that night, but I can't forget those fangs at my throat.\nI still don't know why she left me alive. Something frightened her off? Pity saved me?\nNo. Not pity. I know the thirst. The hunger that compels me.\nI don't pity my food in the slightest, and I'm sure she felt no pity for me that night either. It must have been something else. But what?"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/alvadas-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/alvadas-journal", "description": "", "author": "Alvada", "title": "Alvada's Journal", "text": "Today one of our number, Ibrula, went into the wilderness and did not return. Ordinarily, we would not be concerned\u2014the Star-Gazers have lived in Craglorn a long time. We are not unfamiliar with the region's dangers.\nBut Ibrula has always been unusual\u2014lately more so. Some of the others heard her muttering something under her breath. Her latest delusion seems to be that the world is about to be attacked by some hitherto unknown force.\nWe told her that the atronachs summoned by the mages of Elinhir have the worm cult well in hand and the Prince of Schemes has no hold in Craglorn, but she was not consoled by this.\nIn spite of her eccentricities, or perhaps because of them, we are all very worried about Ibrula. We have decided to wait until morning and then send a party to try to find her.\n\u2014\nWe have come across a small house, surrounded by all manner of magical wards. Torn pieces of a book indicate that Ibrula was here at some point, and her scrawl marks a sign at the entrance to the place, warning us away. Did she fall victim to these traps? Or did she create them? And if so, to what end? To keep us out? Or to keep something else in?\nEither way, it's apparent that Ibrula's delusion has grown worse than we'd imagined.\n\u2014\nAfter a few days (I've lost count, and it grows harder to concentrate the longer we're here) of trying to pass through the traps, discord has seized our search party. We are besieged by nightmares in the dark, and an incessant whispering by day.\nA voice in my head torments me with the promise of knowledge immeasurable. I suspect a Daedric presence in this place.\n\u2014\nMy worst suspicions are now confirmed. Daedra have appeared, called to this place by an unknown voice, and cutting off our retreat. The twins Maelon and Melancthon are now dead, tricked into murdering each other by whatever madness rules this place.\nAs for me, I am hopelessly lost. I believe I will die before I find Ibrula or escape this place.\nWould that we had heeded Ibrula's warning and stayed far away.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/amberics-notes": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/amberics-notes", "description": "Amberic is turned into a Goblin", "author": "Amberic", "title": "Amberic's Note", "text": "My mind slips away, but I want to be remembered. If you find this, don't forget my story!\nMy friend Theomund and I were hired by the famous treasure hunter, Lady Clarisse Laurent, to find something called the Emerald Chalice. She said Nords lived here in Breagha-Fin, but all we saw were Goblins. We told her so and asked for more help, but she said we were being ridiculous and ordered us back into the caves.\nTheomund created a distraction so I could get the cup. I hope he escaped, but there were so many Goblins.\n\tI made it past the barrier, but the head Nord caught me. He made me drink from the Emerald Chalice and it changed me into a Goblin! Thinking's gotten so hard.\nMy name is Amberic. I am not a Goblin!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/amethyst-mining-alikr": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/amethyst-mining-alikr", "description": "Where and how to find amethysts in Hammerfell", "author": "Ezdwelen al-Rihad", "title": "Amethyst Mining in the Alik'r", "text": "Amethysts! Since my youth, their purple translucence has entranced me. I have made a career of searching for them all across Hammerfell, and count many notable, even legendary finds to my credit. But nowhere have I found amethysts so abundant as in the central Alik'r Desert.\nAmethysts are found in geodes, those heavy, dull stony orbs that conceal so much crystalline glory, and these geodes are always found in proximity with the lava rock that melted and flowed when the world was young. It has been long and long since the mounts of Hammerfell flowed with lava, and many of the old, old tubes have been covered over by layers of later rock, or weathered away and scattered as sand and gravel.\nBut in the Hollow Wastes, that sunken, salty pit in the center of the Alik'r, the layers over the ancient lava have been scoured away by the relentless winds, and the flowstone is exposed as nowhere else in Hammerfell. Here, at Dak'fron, at Kulati, and at Zareth M'Kai, can be found the finest amethysts in western Tamriel. And many years I spent there, with pick, shovel, and dowsing rod, until they said I could find geode clusters deep in the ground by sense of smell alone.\nNowadays, alas, I am too old to quarter the desert, searching for my beloved amethyst nodules. But if you are even in Rihad, stop in Ezdwelen's Gem Shop and buy an intaglio-engraved amethyst necklace for your best beloved. With such as I sell, even a heart of stone will melt and flow."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/aminyas-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/aminyas-journal", "description": "A negative view of King Jolie", "author": "Aminya", "title": "Aminyas' Journal", "text": "Written with the inherent Breton taste for duplicity and over-florid conceit toward exceptionalism, the letters regarding the plight of Wayrest at the hands of marauding Orcs reached out to bind the races of Men against the lesser Mer.\nThe perpetual nature and inclination toward war for the followers of the dung of Trinimac serves as bonding agent toward Hammerfell and High Rock only so long as it is able to bring the foolishly honorable remnants of the Ra Gada to place their back toward the Bretons, at which point King Joile bares his deceitful dagger.\nIt is claimed by certain historians and political commentators of the time, notably Morgaulle Dechery of Evermore, that by virtue of an outside order of so-called \"Sword Saints,\" the conflict did not culminate in the downfall of both Orsinium and Hammerfell at the hands of King Joile.\nHowever, I posit that King Joile lacked the strength to carry through with his initiative, even if he had been able to capture the whole of the Bangkorai Pass, for the man lacked the strength to even safeguard his own person from one well-armed woman, Makela Leki.\nIt becomes apparent that King Joile waited until the time was right to attack the scions of Hammerfell, not because he was clever, but because he could not have possibly initiated his plans before then. In the typical short-sightedness of man \u2026."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/invitation-discovery": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/invitation-discovery", "description": "The lucky slaves hav been volunteered to test new magical experiments", "author": "Birer Salen", "title": "An \"Invitation\" to Discovery", "text": "Greetings, slaves!\nUnlike my short-sighted Telvanni compatriots, I understand the true value of compulsory labor. Don't worry. I won't have you scraping eggs off a cavern floor like everyday drudges. Leave that to other, less talented drudges! No, my beshackled friends\u2014by displaying basic reasoning skills and only a mild interest in talking trees, you've earned the right to aid the Telvanni in the glorious future of magical practice! Think of yourselves as explorers, dancing down the bleeding edge of arcane discovery! I'd be remiss if I didn't tell you that these exercises will be incredibly dangerous, but take solace in the fact that, as slaves, your objections wouldn't matter anyway. The burden of choice has been removed. Bully for you!\nOur first experiment involves the application of highly corrosive spores to the skin. Don't worry. We won't just slather them on your scales like common hedge mages. We've managed to combine them with a potent stabilizing agent that could grant the user vastly enhanced stamina and improved resistance to heat! There is a chance (albeit a remote one) that even minor exertion could cause your lungs to spontaneously erupt in flame, but I'm counting on your bizarre lizard physiology to withstand the effects. (I am assuming you have lungs. I must remember to do a thorough search of the Argonian chest cavity at the next opportunity.) Volunteers will be richly compensated with reduced lashings and an extra portion of whatever gray slime your overseers make you eat.\nHere's to the future that some of you might be lucky enough to see!\nMost Sincerely,\nBirer Salen, Oathman of the Telvanni"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/affair-death": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/affair-death", "description": "A Necromancer from the slaver's House recounts the early days", "author": "Mirise Dres", "title": "An Affair With Death", "text": "The dead have so much to say if we have but the will, and the skill, to listen. My studies have already added much to my knowledge of necromancy and death magic. Why my fascination with the dead? I believe it goes back to my early childhood, when I would watch the sick and dying slaves in their pens, marveling at their pain and suffering.\nThere was one slave in particular, a Khajiit who went by the name of Abilar. Abilar was ancient when I was young. He was kind to the children of House Dres, serving as a teacher and guardian for the youngest among us. I was one of his students. He always had stories to tell and sweets to hand out. I found him to be \u2026 interesting. For a slave.\nOne day, Abilar did not show up to teach and watch over us. Instead, an Argonian whose name I don't recall came in his stead. When I asked about the Khajiit, the Argonian said that Abilar was ill and would not be returning. This intrigued me, as illness always did, and as soon as the opportunity arose I went in search of the ancient Khajiit.\nI found Abilar in the slave pens, lying on one of the hard platforms that served as beds for the household thralls. His eyes were closed, but he tossed and turned as though terrible dreams plagued him. I found a stool and sat beside Abilar, determined to watch and record every moment of his slide into death. My mother passed by and decided I was keeping a favored servant company until his end. I made no attempt to otherwise explain my actions.\nIt took Abilar three days to expire. He went in and out of consciousness along the way. Sometimes he was completely coherent and seemed genuinely touched that I was by his side. Other times he was delirious, speaking of places and people I knew nothing of. These periods of nonsense, I determined, were really glimpses of the border between life and death. Abilar's mind was bemused by the increasingly frequent trips his soul was making back and forth across the border.\nWhen the end finally approached, I moved closer and stared directly into Abilar's eyes. I saw the fear within them, and the acceptance. I saw the dawning understanding as his mind finally began to comprehend the mysteries and strangeness of the borderland. I asked him to tell me what he saw, what he knew, what he was experiencing. He started to form the words, started to reveal his secret to me. And then I watched as the light in his eyes dimmed and the breath rattled out of him. He died without so much as uttering a final word.\nThat was the day. That was when my affair with death and its mysteries began. I have devoted my life to discovering the secrets of death and dying. I have learned to harness the power of necromancy. But still a few vital secrets elude me. I shall never stop searching, even if it means a million slaves must die. After all, what's more important than knowledge? Abilar taught me that, and I shall always honor his lesson."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/almanac-betony": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/almanac-betony", "description": "Celebrating the island's cliffs", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "An Almanac of Betony", "text": "Chapter 3 \u2014 The Cliffs of Betony\nOf all the riches of this island called Betony, surely there are none more recognized or celebrated than its lofty cliffs. Those stony sentinels have awed many a visitor and made many an enemy think better of assailing those fortified shores.\n\tIt is no wonder that early legends surrounding the island characterized it as home to a mighty rock monster that flung its craggy spines into the sea to the grave misfortune of sailors who steered too close to shore.\nThough their true nature is less mythical, the cliffs of Betony are no less impressive for it.\nNestled impenetrably among them is the jewel and protection of the kings of Betony, Skyspire Keep. Constructed during the reign of the great Reman, second of the name, Skyspire Keep has held fast against countless attacks, carved from the rock of those same cliffs, ancient and invincible."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/amazing-opportunity": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/amazing-opportunity", "description": "A thief wants to rob the Iron Orcs near Craglorn.", "author": "Dobinskal One-Finger", "title": "An Amazing Opportunity", "text": "Skeetees,\nI just heard about an amazing opportunity. We might need to gather a few friends, but I think we can handle it. Have you heard about a place called Ilthag's Undertower?\nI can hear the sigh in your voice from way over here. But trust me. The Iron Orcs have poured a lot of resources into this hole in the ground, so there has to be something worth acquiring down there. It's under the ruined tower just beyond the northeast passage into Upper Craglorn.\nSo, want to see what old Ilthag is hiding in those ruins?\nDobinskal One-Finger"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ancient-love-letter": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ancient-love-letter", "description": "", "author": "Rogano", "title": "An Ancient Love Letter", "text": "My Dearest Aconia,\n\tMy heart is chill as the winter's blight\n\tAs I stand here in blackest night\n\tYou I know can be the only one\n\tTo bring me back into the sun.\n\tThe waves they crash upon the beach\n\tBut it is to you that I beseech\n\tCall me back to your warm embrace\n\tAnd across time and distance I shall race\n\tThe last embers flicker in the flame of war\n\tLet all be as it was once before\n\tNe'er again shall I sail away\n\tMy heart with you will always stay.\n\tYour beloved,\n\tRogano\n\tCenturion, 33rd Cohort, 2nd Legion"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ancient-scroll": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ancient-scroll", "description": "An ominous record", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "An Ancient Scroll", "text": "Three years to track down the betrayer.\n\tTwo years to bring him down.\n\tFour years to build his prison.\n\tEternity to guard his cell."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/apology-missing-jewelry": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/apology-missing-jewelry", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "An Apology for Missing Jewelry", "text": "We regret to inform you that, due to recent developments regarding the opening of Summerset's borders to trade, and the High Elves' incessant appetite for materials required for the crafting of jewelry, we are unable to fulfill the order for this <<1>> as requested.\nAs a consolation, we have included monetary remuneration, as well as a collection of alchemic reagents, harvested by Oorga gra-Shazgul's disadvantaged wards.\nWe assure you that this will not happen again, and again request your understanding in this time of trying trade fluctuations."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/archers-archive": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/archers-archive", "description": "One marksman's journey to become even better", "author": "Sabarid The Seeker", "title": "An Archer's Archive", "text": "To truly master anything, you must leave everything you know behind. When I set out to travel Tamriel in search of new techniques, some already called me a master of the bow. I knew this wasn't true. I'd heard tales from distant lands about hunters who could sit motionless for days stalking elusive prey, of bowmen who could fire two and three arrows at a time and still hit their marks, and other, similar stories everyone assured me were just legends and hearsay. Every legend starts somewhere.\nThe Wood Elves are renowned archers, so I traveled first to Valenwood. The journey into the heart of the forest itself was long and fraught with perils I had never known. I spent months searching for a teacher, challenging every Elf with a bow I could find. Finally, I met a Jaqspur, an unerringly accurate long-distance archer. He never spoke a word, but accepted my challenge and split my own arrows mid-flight. He tolerated my company, and we hunted beasts deep in the heart of the woods, stalking creatures that I had never seen nor heard of. I learned how to quiet my mind and slow my breathing, and how to lie in wait unmoving, waiting for the perfect shot, no matter how long it took.\nAfter we parted ways (the Jaqspur was simply gone one morning), I tried in vain to gain passage on ships headed for the Summerset Isles, desperate to discover if High Elves could truly create physical arrows out of nothing but concentrated magicka. I'd heard tales of their potent alchemy, rumors of a potion that can sharpen a man's vision to be like that of an eagle. No ship would have me, though, and I couldn't bribe, beg, or connive my way in.\nUndaunted, I continued to the east and into Elsweyr, longing to obtain an authentic Khajiiti shortbow. There are many roaming bands of Khajiit in the northern grasslands, and I've been told since that I was fortunate indeed to encounter a group that found me entertaining instead of just an easy mark. Perhaps I was still a bit green, but it was worth the risk to learn their method of rapid shooting from horseback, and how they craft their barbed arrowheads to puncture even tough leather.\nNow, I will set out for Black Marsh, that dread swamp. My Khajiiti companions find my intent to venture there a source of great hilarity, but I won't be turned away. Who knows what the Argonians have learned to do with a bow deep in the bogs? What unique approach might they have? I leave this record with the Khajiit to donate to any bookseller in hopes that someone might draw inspiration or knowledge from my efforts.\nMy journey is not yet over, though I have been away from home for many years. I have learned much since setting out, but most importantly, I have learned that there is far more that I do not know than I ever could have believed."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/artisans-oasis": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/artisans-oasis", "description": "An artistic lesson from Leki", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "An Artisan's Oasis", "text": "Travel you through the desert, searching for an oasis?\nThough Leki's Blade is before us, end your sojourn amidst these ruins to learn from the peace of the swirling sands.\nMove, cover and uncover only when needed. Flow with the wind. Relax. And create beauty wherever you go."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/easy-assignment": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/easy-assignment", "description": "An assignment to acquire a Goblin's trinket", "author": "Surii", "title": "An Easy Assignment", "text": "Holmar,\nI have received your request to be reassigned outside the mine for the remainder of your indentured servitude. I was tempted to reject your request out-of-hand, as I have your last three requests. It is not my fault your wife misses you or that the mine \"takes your breath away\" when you work. I did not accrue the debt you owe, and it is not my responsibility to give you a cushy way to work it off.\nHowever, I find myself in need of a small favor. One of the Goblins, a \"chief\" of theirs, has taken to rabble-rousing among the workers. I want to show him who runs the mining effort, and I'd like you to do something for me. The chief is seldom seen without a feather-colored trinket, a \"totem\" of little value, but something I'm sure he prizes, in his own primitive way.\nSteal it from him and bring it back to me, and I'll forgive your debt. I'm sure the Goblins will see how petty their \"chief\" is once he misses his trinket, and all will be well again in the mine.\n\t\u2014 Surii"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/egg-citing-discovery": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/egg-citing-discovery", "description": "An over-eager gatherer collects the wrong eggs", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "An Egg-citing Discovery!", "text": "Huge, delicious eggs!\n\tI wonder what kind of bird laid such beauties?\n\tNo matter. They're mine now.\n\tWait.\n\tWhy is the sea churnin\u2014"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/elegantly-penned-letter": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/elegantly-penned-letter", "description": "A painfully honest parting of ways", "author": "Ramina", "title": "An Elegantly Penned Letter", "text": "Dearest Jibril,\nI'm leaving the island. Please don't try to follow me. I will always think fondly of our time together, but we travel different paths.\nKing Fahara'jad has called for loyal sons and daughters of Alik'r. The Daggerfall Covenant offers a chance to spread beyond the desert, to truly influence world affairs. If he will have me, I will sail with his navy. That is the life I have always dreamed.\nYou see now why I write you. If you truly care for me, retire from this life. Find an honest occupation. Think of me fondly, but do not pine for what we had.\nI will always care for you, Jibril. But if our navy comes upon your ship preying on Covenant vessels, if my captain asks me to put her crew to the sword, I will not hesitate. I will put a sword through you. Honor demands no less.\nMay you come safely to your journey's end.\n\u2014 Ramina"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/end-isolation": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/end-isolation", "description": "An official decree opening the borders of Alinor to foreigners", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "An End to Isolation", "text": "By Royal Decree of the Ceremoniarchy of Queen Ayrenn Arana Aldmeri, Monarch of the Throne of Alinor and Eagle Primarch of the Aldmeri Dominion, the Summerset Isle's long period of isolation is declared at an end. No longer will the brave and selfless Altmer hide from the world like spoiled or frightened children. No longer will we cut ourselves off from our allies and friends. Instead, we shall welcome them as brothers and sisters as we throw open the metaphorical gates of our ancestral home and make Summerset accessible to everyone who arrives with friendship in their hearts and an unquestioned desire to engage in dialogue, commerce, and diplomacy.\nTo accommodate this mandate, we must all put aside our preconceived notions and innate prejudices. We must open our hearts and share our bountiful land with the world. I need the proud Altmer of Summerset to forgive ancient grievances and forget old animosities. We must embrace the differences in stature and culture, thereby allowing friendship to blossom in our breasts. This is not only my steadfast dream, but my royal command.\nKinlords and Kinladies, Canonreeves, agents of the Divine Prosecution, citizens of Summerset, make no mistake. The will of your queen and the meaning of this mandate are perfectly clear: The island of Summerset is no longer off limits or forbidden to the lesser races. Everyone who meets the standards of honor, integrity, and enterprise are welcome, travelers, traders, and immigrants alike. In friendship we formed the Aldmeri Dominion, and in friendship we shall make Summerset an even more perfect paradise. This is not only my fondest wish, but my royal command."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/excerpt-deities-orsimier": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/excerpt-deities-orsimier", "description": "An Incomplete text on the position of Trinimac and Malacath in Orcish belief", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "An Excerpt from Deities of the Orsimier", "text": "The debate rages on though - who is the proper deity of our people? In ancient days, the people would claim Trinimac - the warrior god. Our people are battle-hardened and strong, so it would only make sense, would it not? Trinimac is also considered an Aedra and not a mere prince. Surely one such as the great Trinimac would be the one our people look up to?\nBut debate between the clans has raged on for many years. The popular belief now is that Malacath, a mere Daedric Prince, is truly the father of our people. This side would not be wrong either, in my opinion. Malacath too represents many of the same traits that Trinimac does. Strength, trials of self-worth.\nSo I bring the idea to you - what if these two entities are one in the same? There have been some claims that this is the case, and if you look deep enough, we find evidence that this might actually be the case. See my references notes in the next chapter, and how these two entities line up side by side-.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/excerpt-mammoth-meat-so-very-delicious": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/excerpt-mammoth-meat-so-very-delicious", "description": "A brief pamphlet exulting the virtues of mammoth meat", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "An Excerpt from Mammoth Meat - So Very Delicious", "text": "And some people wonder if taking down a beast the size of a mammoth would be worth it?\nLet me tell you, my friends, the deliciousness and elegant taste of Mammoth meat is worth putting your life on the line.\nThe meat is great in multiple ways. Camp fire, stone ovens, or my favorite method -- jerky. Nothing can sustain a long adventure and make your fellow companions jealous like taking out and munching on some delicious, spicy, Mammoth jerky."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/excerpt-book-seasons": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/excerpt-book-seasons", "description": "A poem about spring", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "An Excerpt from the Book of Seasons", "text": "Of all of my reasons,\nSpring is my first and favorite of seasons.\nTo see the blue water shine in the sun,\nor the green trees inviting a climb - oh, what fun!\nThe air is cool and I am without thought,\nAs I sleep on the rocks which aren't yet too hot.\nAnd I wake to see endless fields of green grass,\nNot faded pastures or a leaf-covered mass.\nThis is why Spring is my first and favorite of seasons.\nSummer, Fall, and Winter? All have lesser reasons."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/exiles-notes": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/exiles-notes", "description": "Trapped Redguard questions if they will ever escape.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "An Exile's Notes", "text": "The memory-stone. That's what they say Ulbazar stole. It is a secret known only to Ulbazar and the heavens. The rest of us? We all have a story. We are, in fact, from all over.\nBaram is the oldest. He was a merchant in his home, a place he cannot bear to name, when he was driven out by slander.\nNaya is a Forebear doctor who was driven from her home when the Crown child in her care died of a disease for which there is no cure.\nSalamas is a mediocre poet who tells marvelous jokes. We are all in a better mood because of him. But he made the wrong joke at the wrong time, and so he too joined us on the road to Evermore.\nThere are so many of us and we pass the time telling tales of where we came from and how it was that we went to Evermore. We have become a kind of family.\nAll except Ulbazar. He is a hard man, an angry man. He believes we will not leave this place alive. But no matter how little he says, still there are rumors. That he was a great warrior who should have been welcomed as a hero, but instead he was exiled. That in revenge he stole his lord's most precious possession, a thing called the memory-stone.\nThese are just rumors though. Fantasies conjured by minds that have gone too long without daylight or the feel of the morning breeze on our skin.\nIn Evermore they know us only as \"the exiles.\" We have been told to wait here until our status is resolved, but they have sealed the doors on us like we are prisoners. I wonder if Ulbazar is right\u2014that we'll never leave this place."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/invitation-whispered-ball": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/invitation-whispered-ball", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "An Invitation to the Whispered Ball", "text": "You are cordially invited to the Whispered Ball. The date is already known by you. It will be held at the site of your induction.\nBring no guests. Allow none to question your absence. Come prepared to sift the worthy petitioners from the chaff.\nFormal dress is expected. Don't forget to bring your true face."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/invitation-wealth": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/invitation-wealth", "description": "A proposition for money making in Black Marsh", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "An Invitation to Wealth", "text": "Many have spoken of the Ebonheart Pact as a force for peace between our peoples. A force for war against the Aldmeri Dominion, the Daggerfall Covenant, and other such upstart powers.\nToday, I ask you to think of the Ebonheart Pact as a force for wealth!\nUntil now, Black Marsh has remained largely closed to trade, other than that in Argonian slaves. The inhabitants have never been willing to deal with their enemies. However, Shadowfen is slightly more developed than the rest of the Marsh, and it is Shadowfen that is the gateway to riches!\nFor only a small commission, I can take your goods to Shadowfen and sell them to the Argonians. They are a people with relatively few fine goods, yet they are no duller or less covetous than your Dunmeri customers.\nThe Argonians will be lining up for our silks and steels. The potential demand is almost impossible to calculate.\nGive me your goods today, and I will bring you gold tomorrow!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/irate-employer": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/irate-employer", "description": "Maximinus doesn't need excuses", "author": "Maximinus", "title": "An Irate Employer", "text": "Foreman Albanus,\nYou are paid to ensure that trees are felled and lumber shipped to the city. You are not a nursemaid. I do not want to hear any more tales of cursed ground, bleeding trees, or scared workers.\nDo your job or I will find someone who can.\nMaximinus"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ode-red-bird": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ode-red-bird", "description": "A song about freedom", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "An Ode to the Red Bird", "text": "Let us fly together, dear red bird,\n\tset aside the idle talk of stern elders,\n\tas you set aside the ground below!\n\tGrains of sand trickle through the glass:\n\tbut when together we fly,\n\tnight is one long everlasting journey.\n\tAlight upon my shoulder, my neck, my cheek,\n\tlet your sweet beak leave a hundred,\n\tnay a thousand kisses upon me.\n\tLet us confuse them,\n\tso that no enemy may cast an evil eye,\n\twhen it comes to be known the many kisses."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/offering": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/offering", "description": "Lore as comfort in the afterlife", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "An Offering", "text": "I offer these books in memory of my brother.\n\tMay Sotha Sil's lore guide him in the lands beyond."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/orcs-guide-tamriel": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/orcs-guide-tamriel", "description": "Tamriel's legal system and metallurgical advancement, as viewed by an Orc", "author": "Luruk gro-Bozgor", "title": "An Orc's Guide to Tamriel", "text": "When passing through the holds and camps of men and mer, it is important to remember their sense of justice is not as immediate as the Code of Mauloch demands. A thief in Daggerfall, for example, might expect to be imprisoned for a number of days. By comparison, a murderer might sit for years in a dank cell awaiting some petty lord to decide his guilt.\nBe therefore careful in exacting your wrath upon those who wrong you. Though swift justice is to be lauded among civilized people, it is often misinterpreted as brawling\u2014or worse, grievous assault\u2014where local custom is used to a less efficient response.\nSimilarly, the rules of such far off lands do not appreciate\u2014or even allow\u2014challenges from below. Where single combat is a commonly accepted remedy for poor leadership among our own people, less civilized societies have yet to discover its practical efficiency, and will frequently allow others to demonstrate their strength for them.\nTake care, then, in voicing your opinion among such folk, for it may be swiftly and violently struck down. Instead, find others who share your beliefs and let your numbers carry you to victory.\nFinally, the arts of fine craftsmanship are often stunted in far-off lands. Though the Elven peoples of Summerset and Vvardenfell have some grasp of refined forging, the men of Cyrodiil and the far north do not. In some of the more benighted areas, they even view unalloyed iron as an acceptable metal for working arms and armor.\nBe not afraid to best their backward practices. Your efforts will bring respect and admiration upon our people, and your name will spread far and wide."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/unexpected-defense": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/unexpected-defense", "description": "Nobody expects this type of defense", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "An unexpected defense", "text": "The thief waited in the darkest corner of the common room, watching. Few paid heed to him; a petty noble made eye contact with him for a moment, but he was not the man the thief was seeking. After a time, a man dressed as an unobtrusive merchant approached the thief and slipped him a rolled sheet of parchment. With easy grace he slipped the parchment up his shirtsleeve, and with a slight nod to the man he left the tavern.\nBy the light of Secunda he unrolled the scroll and looked it over. On the yellowing page was sketched the floor plan of a sturdy tower, showing all of the entrances and exits as well as marking the location of his target, a small chest hidden on the highest level of the tower. As he strolled out of town a lady of the evening called to him, but he had other treasures on his mind.\nThe tower stood tall and dark, looming grimly above the surrounding trees. It did not take the thief long to scale the outside of the tower, to one of the upper windows that he intended to use as his means of entrance. He slipped easily through the window and crouched there for a moment in the darkness, listening. Then suddenly the entire room was alight with fire\u2014bolts of flame streaming directly at him. \"Sheogorath's teeth!\" he cursed as he dodged to the side, narrowly avoiding the bolts of fire. He hadn't been expecting a mage."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/unusual-alliance": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/unusual-alliance", "description": "A decree advising unity among the Dominion members", "author": "Aicantar of Shimmerene, Sapiarch of Indoctrination", "title": "An Unusual Alliance", "text": "Three allies whose people rarely agree on anything. Three races as diverse as any within the world. Three states at war for their very lives, but unable to reconcile their differences in moments of piece. More than allies, but less than friends.\nAnd that must change.\nOur Dominion is beset on many sides. The Ebonheart Pact and the Daggerfall Covenant attack us from the outside, but we have other enemies more deadly and more dangerous to our alliance than those external foes.\nIf our wartime bonds are to remain strong, we must forge relationships and alliances in peace. Our Bosmeri hunters must provide food for our civilians as well as our soldiers. Our Khajiiti traders must provide goods as well as weapons. And our Altmeri wizards must spend their magicka wisely to win the peace as well as the war.\nOur first step is to join together in celebration as one of our alliance members, the Bosmer, renews their divine pact with a joining between their two spiritual leaders, the Silvenar and the Green Lady. Let all members of the Aldmeri Dominion recognize this wedding and participate in the revels that follow.\nOur best wishes to the Silvenar, the Green Lady, and the Bosmeri people. May this new generation know a strength in peace as well as war."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/unusual-hare": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/unusual-hare", "description": "A werewolf writes about tracking a legendary indrik", "author": "Maveld Bearfang", "title": "An Unusual Hare", "text": "I don't know much about Hircine's chosen Hare, but what I do know, I know with certainty. It's smart, fast, and near impossible to track. This Great Hunt may be more difficult than any of us bargained for.\nNow, I have to admit, I don't have much experience hunting indriks. Or any experience at all, really. Summerset is the only place to find indriks, and though the High Elves may have opened their borders you won't see my hairy hide traveling there anytime soon. I somehow get the feeling that the Altmer don't take kindly to those blessed with lycanthropy.\nBut this creature, it just isn't right. The tracks we're following lead to dead ends and cliff sides. We'll catch scent of the creature, only to lose it a few moments later. And sometimes, well, I get the feeling that it's watching us. I would say it's just nerves, but I've been hunting far too long to ignore my gut.\nThe indrik's tracks show more than hoof prints. Burned vegetation, water turned to ice; this creature must possess some kind of elemental powers. We'll have to contend with more than fang and claws, once we do track this beast down. Of course, I would expect no less of a challenge from the Huntsman Prince.\nWe're getting close now, though. Perhaps the creature is growing tired. Though, at this point I have to wonder. Which of us is being hunted?"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ancestors-and-dunmer-abridged": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ancestors-and-dunmer-abridged", "description": "Dunmer funerary rights and ancestor worship.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Ancestors and the Dunmer (Abridged)", "text": "Ghosts Walk Among Them\nThe departed spirits of the Dunmeri, and perhaps those of all races, persist after death. The knowledge and power of departed ancestors benefit the bloodlines of Dunmeri Houses. The bond that forms between living family members and their immortal ancestors is partly blood, partly ritual, partly volitional. Anyone brought into a house through marriage is bound through ritual and oath into the clan, gaining communication and benefits from the clan's ancestors; however, his access to the ancestors is less than that of his offspring, and he still retains some access to the ancestors of his own bloodline.\n\nThe Family Shrine\nEach residence has a family shrine. In poorer homes, it may be no more than a hearth or alcove where family relics are displayed and venerated. In wealthy homes, a room is set aside for the use of the ancestors. This shrine is called the Waiting Door, and represents the door to Oblivion.\nHere the family members pay their respects to their ancestors through sacrifice and prayer, through oaths sworn upon duties, and through reports on the affairs of the family. In return, the family may receive information, training, and blessings from the family's ancestors. The ancestors are thus the protectors of the home, and especially the precincts of the Waiting Door.\nThe Mortal Chill\nSpirits do not like to visit the mortal world, and they do so only out of duty and obligation. Spirits tell us that the otherworld is more pleasant, or at least more comfortable for spirits than our real world, which is cold, bitter, and full of pain and loss.\nMad Spirits\nSpirits that are forced to remain in our world against their will may become mad spirits, or ghosts. Some spirits are bound to this world because of some terrible circumstances of their death, or because of some powerful emotional bond to a person, place, or thing. These are called hauntings.\nSome spirits are captured and bound to enchanted items by wizards. If the binding is involuntary, the spirit usually goes mad. A willing spirit may or may not retain its sanity, depending on the strength of the spirit and the wisdom of the enchanter.\nSome spirits are bound against their wills to protect family shrines. This unpleasant fate is reserved for those who have not served the family faithfully in life. Dutiful and honorable ancestral spirits often aid in the capture and binding of wayward spirits.\nThese spirits usually go mad, and make terrifying guardians. They are ritually prevented from harming mortals of their clans, but that does not necessary discourage them from mischievous or peevish behavior. They are exceedingly dangerous for intruders. At the same time, if an intruder can penetrate the spirit's madness and play upon the spirit's resentment of his own clan, the angry spirits may be manipulated.\nOblivion\nThe existence of Oblivion is acknowledged by all Tamriel cultures, but there is little agreement on the nature of that otherworld, other than it is the place where the Daedra live, and that communication and travel are possible between this world and Oblivion through magic and ritual.\nThe Dunmer do not emphasize the distinction between this world and Oblivion as do the human cultures of Tamriel. They regard our world and the otherworld as a whole with many paths from one end to the other rather than two separate worlds of different natures with distinct borders. This philosophical viewpoint may account for the greater affinity of Elves for magic and its practices.\nForeign Views of Dunmeri Ancestor Worship and Spirit Magic\nThe Altmeri and Bosmeri cultures also venerate their ancestors, but only by respecting the orderly and blissful passage of these spirits from this world to the next. That is, Wood Elves and High Elves believe it is cruel and unnatural to encourage the spirits of the dead to linger in our world. Even more grotesque and repugnant is the display of the bodily remains of ancestors in ghost fences and ash pits. The presentation of fingerbones in a family shrine, for example, is sacrilegious to the Bosmer (who eat their dead) and barbaric to the Altmer (who inter the ashes of their dead).\nThe human cultures of Tamriel are ignorant and fearful of Dark Elves and their culture, considering them to be inhuman and evil, like Orcs and Argonians, but more sophisticated. The human populations of Tamriel associate Dunmeri ancestor worship and spirit magic with necromancy; in fact, this association of the Dark Elves with necromancy is at least partly responsible for the dark reputation of Dunmer throughout Tamriel. This is generally an ignorant misconception, for necromancy outside the acceptable clan rituals is a most abhorrent abomination in the eyes of the Dunmer.\nThe Dark Elves would never think of practicing sorcerous necromancy upon any Dark Elf or upon the remains of any Elf. However, Dark Elves consider the human and Orcish races to be little more than animals. There is no injunction against necromancy upon such remains, or on the remains of any animal, bird, or insect."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ancestral-tombs-thirty-revered-families": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ancestral-tombs-thirty-revered-families", "description": "Lists 30 tombs wich hold clues to the location of the Library of Andule", "author": "Librarian Bradyn", "title": "Ancestral Tombs of the Thirty Revered Families", "text": "- Andas Ancestral Tomb\n\t- Aran Ancestral Tomb\n\t- Arano Ancestral Tomb\n\t- Arenim Ancestral Tomb\n\t- Favel Ancestral Tomb\n\t- Ginith Ancestral Tomb\n\t- Heran Ancestral Tomb\n\t- Hlervu Ancestral Tomb\n\t- Ieneth Ancestral Tomb\n\t- Lleran Ancestral Tomb\n\t- Maren Ancestral Tomb\n\t- Nerano Ancestral Tomb\n\t- Norvayn Ancestral Tomb\n\t- Othrelas Ancestral Tomb X\n\t- Raviro Ancestral Tomb\n\t- Redas Ancestral Tomb\n\t- Releth Ancestral Tomb\n\t- Rethandus Ancestral Tomb\n\t- Sadryon Ancestral Tomb\n\t- Salothran Ancestral Tomb\n\t- Sarano Ancestral Tomb\n\t- Seran Ancestral Tomb\n\t- Serano Ancestral Tomb\n\t- Telvayn Ancestral Tomb\n\t- Tharys Ancestral Tomb\n\t- Thelas Ancestral Tomb\n\t- Uveran Ancestral Tomb\n\t- Velas Ancestral Tomb\n\t- Verelnim Ancestral Tomb\n\t- Venim Ancestral Tomb\nWhen all of the rubbings are collected from the tombs, the location of the lost Library of Andule shall be revealed. Return to the Library of Vivec and the final stage of the discovery can begin.\n\u2014Librarian Bradyn"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ancestral-tombs-vvardenfell": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ancestral-tombs-vvardenfell", "description": "The how's and why's of Dunmeri family tombs", "author": "Bradyn", "title": "Ancestral Tombs of Vvardenfell", "text": "by Bradyn, Master Librarian of Vivec City\nAncestral tombs occupy a prominent place in the culture and society of the Great Houses of the Dark Elves. The old, established families, specifically those with the most wealth and influence, constructed tombs in which to inter and honor their dead. These tombs, scattered throughout Vvardenfell, provide a place of sanctuary for the physical remains of the departed, as well as a place of contemplation, reverence, and meditation for the descendants of their interred ancestors.\nInside the tombs, burial urns hold the cremated remains of the dead, while ritual altars and items of significance to the departed decorate the interior spaces, including beloved tomes, sacred scrolls, and mementos of well-lived lives, such as jewelry, armor, weapons, household goods, and even gold. Tombs range from large, spacious vaults with multiple chambers to small vaults with a single burial chamber.\nSome ancestral tombs are sealed for any number of reasons, but the usual justification boils down to one of two situations: Either the tomb in question has reached its capacity, or the family has decided to seal the tomb to protect the contents. In the case of the latter, the seal will be broken and the tomb opened the next time a member of the family dies. Then it gets resealed after the interment is complete.\nThe ancestral tombs that remain open often see activity on a regular basis. Many families regularly visit to pay respects to their ancestors, to meditate, or to perform important rites connected to the aspects of ancestor worship that remain integral to Dark Elf culture. If the families responsible for these tombs must occasionally petition the Tribunal or hire mercenaries to clear out a vampire nest or stray Daedric creature, such is the cost of maintaining an ancestral tomb."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/anchor-maintenance-notes": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/anchor-maintenance-notes", "description": "A loyal servant warns their overseer.", "author": "Gelagoth", "title": "Anchor Maintenance Notes", "text": "Most revered Overseer Sadrys,\nAll anchors are secure and functioning at peak capacity, my lord. I personally inspected the Unholy Seals at all locations. They remain unmolested.\nMy lord, I must reiterate my concern about usurpers gaining Molag Bal's blessing from one of our pinions. There is a potential\u2014however slim\u2014that that power could be used to dislodge one of our anchors. I strenuously advise that the defenses at all seals and portals be doubled.\nI remain your humble servant,\nChief Enginer Gelagoth"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/anchor-status-report": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/anchor-status-report", "description": "A report on the condition of the planemeld anchors.", "author": "Gelagoth", "title": "Anchor Status Report", "text": "Arboretum:\nThe Anchor has been emitting a low creak. Possible causes include weaking of primary chain rivet. Recommend aggressive sacrifice regimen at the site to reinforce mundus viability.\nNobles District:\nAnchor connecting strong and holding. Reports of portal flicker remain. Inspection of Coldharbour egress strongly advised.\nMarket District:\nMortal tampering continues. Received multiple reports of men and mer weilding the power of Molag Bal's blessing. Humbly suggest additional Daedra be deployed to protect the Unholy Seal.\n-Chief Enginer Gelagoth"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/anchorites-log": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/anchorites-log", "description": "Thoughts of a Worm Anchorite on Abnur Tharn", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Anchorite's Log", "text": "With the arrival of the Chancellor, a crusty Nibenese politician named Abnur Tharn, the atmosphere at the Castle of the King of Worms has taken a decidedly more amusing turn. He barks his pathetic orders and expects us to pander to his every whim. When we ignore him he storms about like an infant, shouting \"Do you know who I am?\" and \"Mannimarco will hear of this!\" The King of Worms thinks him a ineffectual buffoon. I have heard him say as much, myself.\nBut Tharn is no idiot. I feel certain he suspects that he has outlived his usefulness. With his daughter on the Ruby Throne and Lord Mannimarco filling her head with delusions of grandeur, Tharn's power isn't worth the breath it takes to declare it. The Empress Regent is easily manipulated with trinkets, silks, and rare delicacies. She has little fondness for her father and, to my knowledge, hasn't even expressed curiousity regarding his absence. And despite his years of political experience in the Imperial Court, the old man isn't half the manipulator that Mannimarco has proven to be.\nTharn's greatest miscalculation is that he believes he still has value here. In the grand scheme of things, we are all expendable, he most of all. All of the power in Cyrodiil means nothing to the Lord of Brutality and Domination.\nBut Tharn's impotent tantrums remain a source of great mirth. I imagine I will tire of them eventually. On that day, I will pour a glass of fine wine and take enjoyment watching him thrash about, as his soul is torn from his body, like so many thousands before him."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ancient-gravestone": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ancient-gravestone", "description": "Epitaph for a hated person", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Ancient Gravestone", "text": "Here Lies the Head of the Betrayer\nWhose Name Has Been Stricken from History\nMay the Pieces of His Dismembered Body Remain Hidden\nUntil Jone and Jode Fall from the Sky"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ancient-nord-tablet": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ancient-nord-tablet", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Ancient Nord Tablet", "text": "Honor to\nArthosiis We bow to the will\n//||\n/// |\\\\\\ \\\nto serve all the days and after.\nIn death, abide"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ancient-scrolls-dwemer-iv": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ancient-scrolls-dwemer-iv", "description": "", "author": "Marobar Sul", "title": "Ancient Scrolls of the Dwemer IV", "text": "A Nord, a Chimer, and a Dwemer walked into a cornerclub.\n\"What'll it be, muthseras?\" the barkeep asked.\n\"Give me a mug of mead,\" said the Nord.\n\"I'll have a snifter of shein\u2014the good stuff, mind you,\" said the Chimer.\n\"Kindly serve me an infusion of chal, a marble, and a leather-sewing needle,\" said the Dwemer.\n\"Haw, haw,\" guffawed the Nord. \"Shor's bones! The little milk-drinker's going to play pick-up-sticks, but he can handle only one stick!\"\n\"At least I don't swear by a god who is not only imaginary, but dead,\" said the Dwemer, as the barkeep placed his items on the counter.\n\"Hey! What?\" the Nord blustered. \"Why, I ought to\u2026!\"\n\"He's got you there, by Azura's Star,\" said the Chimer, sipping at his shein. \"A point for you, Dwarf.\"\n\"On the other hand, at least the Nord doesn't think it's clever to worship demons from other planes,\" said the Dwemer, swirling his chal.\n\"Boethiah and Mephala! You go too far!\" cried the Chimer, drawing a triangular dagger.\n\"Yeah! Let's gut the runt!\" growled the Nord, pulling a hand-axe.\nThe Dwemer knocked the marble off the counter. It landed on the floor just where the Chimer was putting down his foot for his thrust. He slipped, lurched left, and buried his dagger to the hilt in the surprised Nord's chest. Meanwhile the Dwemer gave the big needle a precise flick of the finger; it spun down and lodged in a crack between the floor-planks, point up. As the Chimer back-pedaled from the dying Nord, he lost his balance and fell headfirst to the floor, where the needle pierced one of his golden eyes all the way into his brain. It took several minutes of flailing, but eventually the Chimer was as dead as the Nord.\nThe Dwemer pulled a coin-purse from the Chimer's belt and gave it to the barkeep, swallowed the Nord's mead in one prolonged chug, picked up the snifter of shein and took a sip, then nodded to the barkeep and left the cornerclub, snifter in hand. \"Off to the market,\" they heard him say. \"I must get a bone-tweezer, a guar egg, and a boot-jack.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ancient-scrolls-dwemer-viii": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ancient-scrolls-dwemer-viii", "description": "", "author": "Marobar Sul", "title": "Ancient Scrolls of the Dwemer VIII", "text": "Mzulchond the Tonal Architect had spent twenty years attuning the great animus geode he'd found in Inner Duathand, trying to synchronize it with the precession of the dual equinoxes in order to captivate the Nirnpith Essence. The geode's vibratory affinities continued to elude him, however, so one day he threw down his attenuators, left his workshop and went to the kitchens for an infusion of chal.\nAs he approached the kitchen portal he heard sibilant music that cut off abruptly as he stepped over the threshold. His house-assistant, a Snow Elf maiden named Lilyarel, withdrew her hands from behind the steam-grill and looked up guiltily.\n\"I heard music, Lilyarel,\" Mzulchond said. \"What did you just put behind the calorefactor?\"\n\"It's nothing, Sir Dwarf,\" the maiden replied. \"Just something I cobbled together to pass the time.\"\n\"What? Have you been in my device-closet again? Show me what you have there.\"\nReluctantly, the Snow Elf reached behind the steam-grill and drew out a fist-sized object of golden metal, crystal knobs glinting on its flange-hood. Mzulchond held out his hand, open, and Lilyarel carefully placed the object in it. \"Don't drop it,\" she said. \"It'll get de-tuned.\"\n\"Well, well,\" the engineer said. \"So you've built yourself a crude tonal variation-lens. Is this what was playing the music I heard?\"\n\"Yes, Sir Dwarf,\" the maiden said, gazing at the floor. \"I hope I didn't do anything wrong.\"\n\"What, with this device? There's nothing dangerous in a melodic repeater bauble, so long as it doesn't leak bthun-waves from its volumizer. Can't have that\u2014might interfere with the static condensers.\"\n\"Oh, don't worry, I used arkoid shielding\u2014not very much!\" she said anxiously. \"But it's not a melodic repeater, Sir, it harmonizes with my mental melodies.\"\n\"Nonsense,\" Mzulchond scoffed. \"No one knows how to synchronize a variation-lens with mental concept-cycles. It's never been done.\"\n\"I wouldn't know anything about that, Sir Dwarf,\" Lilyarel said, wringing her hands nervously. \"I just flipped the duum-emitter so it canceled the demi-ektar-waves, and it worked just fine. Can I have it back now?\"\n\"Hold on a dzum,\" the engineer said, raising a hand while he looked more closely at the gleaming device. \"Flipping the duum-emitter cancels the demi-ektars? Yes \u2026 yes, I can see how that might work. This may be just the thing I need to attune my animus geode to the Nirnpith Essence!\"\nAs Mzulchond turned in excitement to take the variation-lens back to his workshop, the Elf maiden picked up a flipper-strut with both hands and struck him across the back of the head. The tonal architect fell dead to the ground, as Lilyarel picked up her shiny device. \"Never liked him,\" she hissed to herself. \"Always smelled like Dwemer oil.\"\nThen she opened the brazen louvers of a vent-tube, crawled in, and began lowering herself down through the inwards of the Dwarven city. \"Guess I'm going down to join the Undermer, and not coming back.\" And with that, she turned on her variation-lens, which immediately began harmonizing with her mental melodies."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ancient-tome": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ancient-tome", "description": "Overview on an instructional tome concerning Dark Anchors", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Ancient Tome", "text": "<This ancient tome details a method of creating Daedric anchors that draw Daedra to a given area. It also mentions a method of keying anchors to a runestone.>\n<Runestones keyed in this manner can be used to detect and destroy the anchors.>"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/anequina-and-pellitine-introduction": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/anequina-and-pellitine-introduction", "description": "Overview of the formation of the two Khajiiti kingdoms, and the tribes that preceeded them", "author": "Sulema", "title": "Anequina and Pellitine: An Introduction", "text": "By Sulema, Initiate Scholar of the Pa'alatiin\nWith respect to my mentors, who taught me to question everything. May we forever approach lore with raised fur and unsheathed claws.\nMuch of what scholars take to be true about Elsweyr is filtered through the bias and perceptions of those of Cyrodiil and other non-Khajiit loremasters and scholars. In fact, the geopolitical entities (which were originally Khajiiti clan names) of Ne Quin-al and Pa'alatiin are more commonly known as Anequina and Pellitine, respectively, due to the prevalence of Cyrodilic-based studies, the demotion of importance of native lore by non-Khajiit scholars, and the loss of native-based information. For a people who started out as nomadic clans with static locations only for trade and other social activities, attaching tribal names to locations as if these regions always existed is problematic because it implies ownership over certain terrain when, in fact, the clans originally moved as they needed to across the province now called Elsweyr. Some would note that the names Ne Quin-al and Pa'alatiin are Ta'agra, and while that is an acceptable observation, this one feels it is more accurate to use these names for the people and the Cyrodilic names of Anequina and Pellitine for their respective regions.\nInitially, a single Khajiiti Moon-Emperor ruled the region, and he later gave rise to the famous and esteemed Darloc Brae in 1E 461. During these days, sixteen Khajiiti clans roamed the province, and each performed a function. For example, the Ne Quin-al consisted of warriors and trained their members in martial disciplines and battle tactics. Some say that even then these clans belonged to regions or realms, but that is an oversimplification. Khajiit went where they were needed and wanted (or where they wanted to be), more or less. For reference, please examine the lullaby \"Hasa Zha'ja\" or \"The Name Dance,\" wherein the first known story of how the clans earned their names exists.\nAs the clans mastered their areas of expertise and as outside pressures started pushing them into roles and more limited geographical areas, the concept of tribal regions coalesced somewhat even within the Khajiiti way of thinking. Thus it becomes more accurate to call both the people and the area Ne Quin-al, but only \"more accurate\"\u00a0\u2013\u00a0not completely accurate. The poem \"Zhan Zhab\" (\"Wind Game\"), written by a clanless Khajiit in 1E 2243, shows the transition from clan name to place name as it unfolds, but questions the need for this even as the language shifts within the poem.\nThen came the Thrassian Plague in 1E 2260. Due to the sheer number of deaths, tribal function changed lest the Khajiit die out completely due to starvation and other hardships. Sixteen clans became two and separated in ideology as well as into geographical areas. Those of the Ne Quin'al continued to roam and follow tribal customs, and they did so primarily in the arid northern region. Those of the Pa'alatiin stayed in greener, southern region and took on customs from other lands, especially Breton and Cyrodiil, forming political and social structures that closer emulated those peoples.\nAll of the above provides context for the differences between the Khajiit of Anequina and Pellitine. As those of Anequina continued to follow their tribal traditions in the harsher climes of the north, they looked to the south and saw only laziness, corruption, and weakness. By following the ways of others and abandoning their traditions, the southern Khajiit proved to the north just how weak-minded and feeble-bodied they had become. As for the Pellitine Khajiit, they looked to the north and saw only parched landscapes filled with militaristic barbarians. Rule through might alone was frowned upon by these southerners, and though permanent structures existed in Anequina, the fact that many still followed the paths of homeless nomads only underscored to Pellitine just how unenlightened the northern Khajiit were.\nTime passed, and the division between the northern and southern Khajiit grew. It took an act of marriage to start healing this rift. In 2E 309, rulers Keirgo of Anequina and Eshita of Pellitine married, creating the current province of Elsweyr. Though both peoples felt betrayed at this alliance, railing at the fact that they were now tied to the fortunes of those who seemingly did not share their values, the breach began to mend somewhat at first. Then, the first blows to the province struck: the assassination of Potentate Versidue-Shaie in Senchal in 2E 324, then the sacking of Ne Quin-al and the resulting slaughter of most of the royal dynasty in 2E 326 by Khajiiti rebels. Both these events weakened the fabric of Elsweyr's political structure, creating an opening for further instability to come. See, for further reference, the transcribed oral history of the period entitled \"Zha'javan Ka'achin\" or \"The Dance of Dual Lands.\"\nPerhaps the inherent nature of the Khajiit prevented an immediate collapse of the government. Both those in Anequina and those in Pellitine tend toward independent thinking and adaptability, which makes it harder to completely prevail over them for any amount of time.\nBut, illness comes to us all, and when the Knahaten Flu struck 2E 565, it further damaged the shaky structure that was the Elsweyr government, creating an opening for the takeover of the city-state of Rimmen and the events that followed."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/anequina-animal-identification-and-tasting": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/anequina-animal-identification-and-tasting", "description": "All that's good to eat in Elsweyr, and how to hunt it", "author": "Hrodkir Mincemeat", "title": "Anequina Animal Identification and Tasting", "text": "You like meat, yes? You want to live in warm climate too, like Hrodkir, so you come to Elsweyr? Good choice. There is no snow here. This one was trapper in Winterhold long ago, but he has lived in Anequina many years now, learning the language and teaching savannah cats how to catch prey without pouncing. Hrodkir cannot draw, so he will just tell you what to catch. He wishes you luck.\nJerboa\nThere are many mice in Elsweyr. Hrodkir thinks this is why there are also many cats. Mice and rats aren't usually good eating, Except maybe skeevers, but in Anequina there are bunny-mice called Jerboa that make good meatballs. Truthfully, Hrodkir does not know if they are more bunny or mouse. Have long ears and legs, but also long tails. This one thinks you will know them when you see them. You will see lots of them. They breed quickly. Take two or three daily for meals and they won't even notice. String noose laid over mouth of their den is sure to catch one by nightfall. Hrodkir thinks they taste a little sweet. Must be the moon-sugar they get into.\nFennec Foxes\nThere are also many large-eared foxes that Hrodkir thinks look like cats, but they are not cats, so you can eat them without getting in trouble. This one thought huge ears were silly, but they work. These foxes are very hard to hunt, but Hrodkir has great method for catching. Gather some scorpions for foxes to eat. They like scorpions. Cut off stingers. Mince garlic and onions. Rub paste on scorpions, good and thick. Paste is poison to foxes. Kills and seasons them at the same time! Foxes remind Hrodkir of wolf, but more tender and less gamey.\nFellrunner\nBig birds. Not horse big. Goat to deer big. They have long legs and necks, but tiny wings. These birds don't fly or swim. They run. Fast. But very stupid. Hrodkir herds them into trip wires with loud shouting. At full speed they fall and break things. Fragile bones. Fellrunners make good, lean jerky, but are tricky to cook without getting dry. Keep bacon grease for basting.\nTerror Birds\nBigger birds. Kind of vulture-lizard. They don't fly, but run, leap, and claw. Very strong. Hrodkir has seen one trample a lion. Very smart, too. Hard to trap and dangerous to hunt. This one found one dead and tried meat. Tough, stringy, greasy, and tastes like used boots. Best avoided. Not worth trouble.\nThorn Gecko\nLike other geckos but has thorns. Good name, yes? They hunt bugs during day and move quick, but at night they look for warmth and are sluggish. Look for dark stone. You find some resting. Grab them with little trouble. Watch thorns, though. Also taste like other geckos. If you like gecko meat, you will like thorn gecko meat.\nDaggerback\nBristly boar found lots of places. Tusks and quills all around head. Dig a hole. Place blanket over it. Weigh down with rocks. Scatter sand and mushrooms on top of blanket. If hole deep enough, you eat well for weeks. Strong taste. Best in stew.\nDesert Alit\nMouth with legs. Hrodkir has seen them all over Tamriel. This one thinks desert ones are meanest. Big mouth to feed and not much to eat. Nets traps work best. Once entangled, they can't escape. Skin is tough, but meat is good, if chewy.\nSep Adder\nHrodkir had not seen these before coming to Elsweyr. He was told they are also found in Hammerfell. Large desert snakes, usually brown scaled, with wings on their backs. They don't fly much. Mostly use wings to scare predators and shade head. They can pounce from great distance, though. Normally wouldn't try to net snake, but wings are easily trapped. Easy to skin and cook. Like scaly, scary hens.\nLions\nNot all cats in Elsweyr are Khajiit, but more cats are Khajiit than you might expect. This one can't usually tell unless the cat is clothed. Hrodkir suggests not eating cats while in Elsweyr. Khajiit think it in poor taste. Meat is actually tasty, though."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/aneshis-note": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/aneshis-note", "description": "Instructions for finding a key.", "author": "Aneshi", "title": "Aneshi's Note", "text": "Follow the road to the west for a short time, then turn left where the road forks.\nVeer slightly north off the road at the tilted pillar.\nAmong the scattered ruins, look for the ancient stairs.\nThen a fallen spire points the way.\nTwin spiny pinks, Zaima' s favorite flower, grow near a wall.\nDig beneath the second window on the far side, where the dirt is piled in a mound.\nThe master key should be there."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/angalayond": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/angalayond", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Angalayond", "text": "Deep silence, the iron gray time,\n\tSeeping into bones and roots.\n\tSnow and ice cover the land,\n\tAs the world dies before being reborn."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/angientes-book-prospects": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/angientes-book-prospects", "description": "What can a gentleman do when all the women hate him?", "author": "Angiente", "title": "Angiente's Book of Prospects", "text": "Vlastarus Prospects:\n\tAtugol: Hates me, punched me last time I talked to her.\n\tBrittia: Too bossy. And she hates me.\n\tEmmita: Ignores me. Must have talked to someone about me.\n\tEngitaale: Hates me.\n\tErnirus: Likes me but not my type.\n\tGrabash: Hates me, I think because I made a crude joke about her name.\n\tJurana: Doesn't hate me, but her tail creeps me out.\n\tPaints: Too artistic. Suspect she hates me.\n\tTaranneh: Too jumpy. I get nervous just being near her.\n\tThiirril: New in town. Doesn't hate me yet."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/angry-angry": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/angry-angry", "description": "Being trapped drives one mad", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Angry Angry", "text": "How long have I been trapped here?\n\tI can feel my mind slipping more each day.\n\tI'm so angry all the time\u2026 I can't\u2026."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/angry-love-letter": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/angry-love-letter", "description": "A love triangle between warriors", "author": "Uggald", "title": "Angry Love Letter", "text": "Leofa,\nJust thought you should know that \"your\" Companion doesn't love you. He loves adventure and danger and killing things and getting his name scrawled on their damn walls. But he doesn't love YOU. Not the way I love you and have always loved you and will always love you.\nWhen you finally come to your senses, you know where to find me.\nLove,\n\tUggald"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/aniastes-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/aniastes-journal", "description": "The Necromancers are hunting mammoths, and it's up to her to discover why", "author": "Aniaste", "title": "Aniaste's Journal", "text": "I meant to keep a record of observations and experiments on the flora and fauna within Treehenge, but something's taken precedence over research.\nThe Worm Cult's hunting mammoths. Why, I've yet to determine. But I don't trust necromancers to have altruistic intentions.\nVanendil's asked me to gather as many pieces of ivory as I can carry. He's created an altar on the far side of Treehenge to free the mammoth spirits. I've mostly escaped the notice of the necromancers, but I fear it's just a matter of time before they find the both of us."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/aniturs-diary": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/aniturs-diary", "description": "The daily happenings of a store owner in Haven", "author": "Anirtur", "title": "Anirtur's Diary", "text": "It's been nearly two months since we arrived in the Port of Haven and I'm still not certain we belong here. The Wood Elves initially welcomed us\u2014or, at least, our trade goods\u2014but fewer and fewer of them come into the city every week. Our import trade has declined such that Linduure is talking about heading inland, perhaps to Brackenleaf or even Elden Root to drum up business. I don't like the idea of her going into the wilds alone, but she assures me the roads are safe and other traders and merchants have done the same.\n*****\nA ship arrived yesterday, restocking for the voyage to Khenarthi's Roost. There're rumors of a larger Dominion fleet headed to the Khajiiti island later on this month. I hope so. That one, small scout vessel bought up most of our supplies in one go! Linduure wants to restock the shop and see what happens. Maybe she'll stop talking about traveling alone into the interior.\n\t*****\n\tThe first few ships from the fleet arrived just this morning, and Haven is bustling with activity! General Endare's troops have been pressed into service to help the city guard maintain order. I've heard rumors of smugglers trying to find their way past the customs agents around the fort, but unless they want to brave the swamp or somehow find their way under or around the walls, they're out of luck! Our resupply came in not a moment too soon!\n*****\nThe excitement of Fleet Day has ebbed and Haven feels particularly empty again. Almost none of the Wood Elves who first came to see the \"great stone city\" have returned, and those few who remain aren't interested in our wares. Linduure and I have been arguing again about her proposed trip inland. I say we should stock up and wait for another Fleet Day\u2014the ships have to return from Khenarthi's Roost sometime\u2014but she says we can't count on that. Once the treaty is signed, she says, there won't be armadas sailing to and fro \u2026 just small traders. I'm not so certain.\n*****\nAnother windfall today! General Endare is taking her Jade Dragoons inland. The innkeeper says she's been asking around about some of the ancient Ayleid sites in Grahtwood. I don't know why she's going herself, but her troops have been stockpiling rations all morning. We're nearly sold out again!\n*****\nNow that the soldiers are gone, the Port feels even more empty\u2014and a bit bare. We've seen sails off the coast, but just ships passing by. I can tell Linduure is itching to do something, but we've made so much profit in the last month that I can't believe she thinks the trip is worth the risk.\n*****\nTurns out my wife is more headstrong than I thought. She insists on investing our newfound wealth. She's purchased a pair of wagons, some guar, and she's even hired a Wood Elf jaqspur and some mercenaries as guards. It's off to Brackenleaf and Elden Root for her. I guess I shouldn't be nervous. General Endare marched her dragoons up the same road less than a week ago. Any bandits out there should be thoroughly cowed.\n*****\nLinduure's been gone two days now and things in Haven haven't picked up. I'm hoping we see some incoming sails soon\u2014not just for the trade, but for the activity. The city gets hot in the summer, and most everyone, guards and merchants alike, gets lazy without any visitors. I found myself napping out by the well today for over an hour.\n*****\nAt last! Some commotion over at the fort. I think a ship came in early this morning. I'm going to load up the hand-cart with a few samples and head down to the pier. Perhaps the newcomers have money to spend!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/anjulds-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/anjulds-journal", "description": "Documents the founding of a new clothing store in Solitude", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Anjuld's Journal", "text": "I'm excited! I finally made my dream come true and Radiant Raiment is now open. I worked for years at the family meadery while learning all about tailoring and fashion before I could set up shop. And I waited for years for the perfect spot to open in my home town of Solitude. Then months of readying the place and setting up my stock. Now I'm open for business.\nI hope I can make this an ongoing concern. A family business, even. I hope father isn't disappointed that I chose the path of fashion over taking on mother's meadery. I can't live their life, after all. I need to live mine.\n* * *\nThe first few weeks at the store have been a blur. People were interested in my clothing designs, and some even bought a few items! In fact, the high king's daughter ended up purchasing an outfit. She said something about how she'd be back, too, and to talk about some specific designs.\nI heard from father about the meadery. They're doing well without me, which pleases me. Having a few nieces and nephews take over in my stead? Brilliance! Thank you, aunts and uncles.\n* * *\nOne of my nieces, Darie, came by for the first-year anniversary of the tailor shop. She's always been the odd one of the bunch\u2014more like me, perhaps. She asked if I'd ever thought about also selling jewelry. To be honest, I'm not as interested in that, but accessories do make the outfit! Maybe, when she's older and I have more funds to put into the store, she can join me and set up a jewelry business here?\nIt's something to think about when the time comes to expand.\n* * *\nPulled out this journal I'd started a few year's ago and realized that I'm terrible at keeping journals.\nSomething shifted in the last few months. I feel like someone's watching me whenever I leave my store. It's enough of a gut feeling that I don't think I'll ask Darie and her husband to come here after all. I have the funds for her to start up a jewelry business, but I don't feel like it's safe here in Solitude any more. Maybe I'll give it a few more months. In the meantime, Theonette and I are talking about whether it's time for her to return to the meadery. She's been a great help here, but they might need another sword."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/anonymous-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/anonymous-journal", "description": "Spreading a plague through the Deshaan", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Anonymous Journal", "text": "\u2014Day 26\n\tThe plague is slowly spreading from Quarantine Serk, covering Deshaan like a black rain. Vox will be pleased. Many have left Narsis for Mournhold. They think they'll be safe there, but they can't escape the coming reckoning.\n\u2014Day 32\n\tThe substance isn't strong enough when added to water. The solution becomes diluted, and most of the effective properties fade. So putting it in wells won't work. Until we can formulate a stronger version, we need to look for other ways to spread the plague.\n\u2014Day 42\n\tWe figured out how to spread the plague. By injecting the substance into a corpse's blood and letting it fester, the plague's potency increases tenfold! It must be the dead blood. We need more bodies. Luckily, Narsis can provide an abundant supply."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/anonymous-torn-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/anonymous-torn-journal", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Anonymous Torn Journal", "text": "strange piece of the floor, here, one that I can't seem to puzzle out. I cannot but think there's something more to this shrine than this simple chamber. I wish I had the gold to hire someone from the Mages Guild, but that ship has sailed. (Thanks, Arving.)\nMaking camp for now. These cats love their moons. Maybe something will show up overnight.\nDAY 18\nNothing overnight, but I found a scorpion in my boot when I woke up. Never pass up a free meal (Julo was right\u2013the poison's rendered out if you stick it in a cook fire for a moment).\nWas scouting the cliffs near the ruin when I found it. Wind was coming through a crack in the cliff face.\nManaged to widen it enough to get through. It was a long climb down.\nLooks like patience paid off. I'm in.\nDAY 19\nStrange place. Temple? Not sure.\nFloor's stained \u2013 old blood. I'm sure of it. Thought I found some old death-cult site. But starting to look like signs of trouble. Good news is, seems like it was a long, long time ago.\nGetting stranger. Found bones, unsurprisingly. But there are other bodies, too. The flesh was like wood. Skin like lacquer. Sitting and standing in meditation poses. Must be some funeral rite. Spooky though.\nDAY 20\nBarely any sleep, last night. Everything echoes in here. All sorts of scuffling in the night. Rats, probably.\nThe light plays tricks in here. I swear one of those strange bodies just moved."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/another-grim-jest": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/another-grim-jest", "description": "Torture is a joke", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Another Grim Jest", "text": "What do you get when you catch a Wood Elf thief?\nThe pleasure of pressing a searing hot poker through his eye and into his brain!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/another-scrawled-note": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/another-scrawled-note", "description": "A man trapped inside a crate by Daedra", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Another Scrawled Note", "text": "Whoever finds this note: the Daedra did this! I hid inside an empty crate, but I think they set the house on fire.\nTall Papa, help me! I'm going to climb out of this crate and start running."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ansei-shrine": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ansei-shrine", "description": "Dedication of a monument to the Ansei", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Ansei Shrine", "text": "This grand monument, sculpted by the most talented artist, Jamshald Lainlyn, was erected here in the one hundred and second year of the Second Era to honor the esteemed Ansei, and to commemorate the birthplace of Ansei Maja, may she ever watch over the Alik'r desert and protect us all from the threat of the vile arts."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/antecedents-dwemer-law": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/antecedents-dwemer-law", "description": "A book on Dwemeri law and how it diverged from Aldmeri law", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Antecedents of Dwemer Law", "text": "(This book is a historical account of the development of Dwemer law and custom from its roots in High Elven culture.)\nIn short, so far as I am able to trace the order of development in the customs of the Bosmeri tribes, I believe it to have been in all ways comparable to the growth of Altmeri law. The earlier liability for slaves and animals was mainly confined to surrender. As in the Sumerset Isles, this later became compensation.\nWhat does this matter for a study of our laws today? So far as concerns the influence of the Altmeri law upon our own, especially the Altmeri law of master and servant, the evidence of this is to be found in every judgment which has been recorded for the last five hundred years. It has been stated already that we still repeat the reasoning of the Altmeri magistrates, empty as it is, to the present day. I will quickly show how Altmeri custom can be followed into the courts of the Dwemer.\nIn the laws of Karndar Watch (P.D. 1180) it is said, \"If one who is owned by another slays one who owns himself, the first owner must pay the associates of the slain three fine instruments and the body of the one who his owned.\" There are many other similar citations. The same principle is extended even to the case of a centurion by which a man is killed. \"If at the common workbench, one is slain by an Animunculi, the associates of the slain may disassemble the Animunculi and take its parts within thirty days.\"\nConsider what Dhark has mentioned concerning the rude beasts of the Tenmar forests. \"If a marsh cat was killed by an Argonian, his family were in disgrace till they retaliated by killing the Argonian or another like it. Furthermore, if a marsh cat was killed by a fall from a tree, his relatives would take their revenge by toppling the tree, shattering its branches, and casting them to every part of the forest.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/anthology-abodes-available-acquisition": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/anthology-abodes-available-acquisition", "description": "The various houses you can buy in Elder Scrolls Online", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Anthology of Abodes Available for Acquisition", "text": "(note to ed., This is my final draft! If another house comes on market, you will have to request a new edition!)\nI have detailed the general location and property worth of most of the saleable homes and rooms in Tamriel. To seek out property without such a guide is a firm misstep. But fear not, for I have done the heavy lifting for you!\nFor the thrifty, one can seek out a modest inn room. These three were recently seen for sale, and as their owners are frequently poor, may be for sale again.\nMara's Kiss Public House in Vulkhel Guard, Auridon\n\tThe Rosy Lion in Daggerfall, Glenumbra\n\tThe Ebony Flask Inn Room in Ebonheart, Stonefalls\nIf one has more than a few coins to rub together, these apartments are more than suitable for the vagrant turned respectable citizen.\nBarbed Hook Private Room in Skywatch, Auridon\n\tSisters of the Sands Apartment in Sentinel, Alik'r Desert\n\tFlaming Nix Deluxe Garret in Mournhold, Deshaan\nThe following properties are for serious buyers only. Letters of credit will not be accepted for their sale, no matter whose cousin you know.\nBlack Vine Villa\n\tHumblemud\n\tSnugpod\n\tCaptain Margaux's Place\n\tKragenhome\n\tCyrodilic Jungle House\n\tMoonmirth House\n\tAutumn's-Gate\n\tHammerdeck End\n\tTwin Arches\nIf you've gathered more than a table and chair, you may wish to examine these properties.\nCliffshade\n\tThe Ample Domicile\n\tBouldertree Refuge\n\tRavenhurst\n\tVelothi Reverie\n\tDomus Phrasticus\n\tSleek Creek House\n\tGrymharth's Woe\n\tMournoth Keep\n\tHouse of the Silent Magnifico\nNobility and the like would find these properties the most acceptable, as they usually provide quarters for servants or livestock.\nMathiisen Manor\n\tStay-Moist Mansion\n\tThe Gorinir Estate\n\tGardner House\n\tQuondam Indorilia\n\tStrident Springs Demesne\n\tDawnshadow\n\tOld Mistveil Manor\n\tForsaken Stronghold\n\tHunding's Palatial Hall\nI have only seen these properties from the outer gates, as most of their owners are of a private disposition. A purchaser would find themselves within a new echelon of society in a fortnight.\nSerenity Falls Estate\n\tDaggerfall Overlook\n\tEbonheart Chateau"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/anthology-available-abodes": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/anthology-available-abodes", "description": "An updated list of houses for sale throughout Tamriel", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Anthology of Available Abodes", "text": "I have detailed herein the general location and value of most of the homes and rooms for sale in Tamriel. To seek out property without such a guide is a firm misstep. But fear not, for I have done the heavy lifting for you!\nFor the thrifty, one can purchase a modest inn room. These five were recently put on the market, and may serve as a quality starter home:\nMara's Kiss Public House in Vulkhel Guard, Auridon\nThe Rosy Lion in Daggerfall, Glenumbra\n\tThe Ebony Flask Inn Room in Ebonheart, Stonefalls\n\tThe Saint Delyn Penthouse in Vivec, Vvardenfell\n\tGolden Gryphon Garret in Alinor, Summerset\nIf one has more than a few coins to rub together, there are larger apartments available for the vagrant hoping to become a respectable citizen. These include:\nBarbed Hook Private Room in Skywatch, Auridon\n\tSisters of the Sands Apartment in Sentinel, Alik'r Desert\n\tFlaming Nix Deluxe Garret in Mournhold, Deshaan\nThe following properties are for serious buyers only. Letters of credit will not be accepted for their sale, no matter whose cousin you know:\nBlack Vine Villa, Malabal Tor\n\tHumblemud, Bal Foyen\n\tSnugpod, Grahtwood\n\tCaptain Margaux's Place, Glenumbra\n\tKragenhome, Stonefalls\n\tCyrodilic Jungle House, Malabal Tor\n\tMoonmirth House, Khenarthi's Roost\n\tAutumn's-Gate, The Rift\n\tHammerdeath Bungalow, Stormhaven\n\tTwin Arches, Bangkorai\nFor those with loftier aspirations and more possessions, you may wish to examine these properties:\nCliffshade, Greenshade\n\tThe Ample Domicile, Shadowfen\n\tBouldertree Refuge, Greenshade\n\tRavenhurst, Rivenspire\n\tVelothi Reverie, Deshaan\n\tDomus Phrasticus, Craglorn\n\tSleek Creek House, Reaper's March\n\tGrymharth's Woe, Eastmarch\n\tMournoth Keep, Bangkorai\n\tHouse of the Silent Magnifico, Alik'r Desert\n\tAld Velothi Harbor House, Vvardenfell\nNobility and the like will find the following properties the most acceptable, as they usually provide quarters for servants or livestock:\nMathiisen Manor, Auridon\n\tStay-Moist Mansion, Shadowfen\n\tThe Gorinir Estate, Grahtwood\n\tGardner House, Stormhaven\n\tQuondam Indorilia, Deshaan\n\tStrident Springs Demesne, Reaper's March\n\tDawnshadow, Reaper's March\n\tOld Mistveil Manor, The Rift\n\tForsaken Stronghold, Bangkorai\n\tHunding's Palatial Hall, Stros M'Kai\n\tAmaya Lake Lodge, Vvardenfell\n\tColdharbour Surreal Estate\n\tAlinor Crest Townhouse, Summerset\nI have only seen these properties from the outer gates, as most of their owners are of a private disposition. A purchaser would find themselves within a new echelon of society in a fortnight:\nSerenity Falls Estate, Reaper's March\n\tDaggerfall Overlook, Glenumbra\n\tEbonheart Chateau, Stonefalls\n\tHakkvild's High Hall, the Jerall Mountains, east of Craglorn"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/anvil-lighthouse-report": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/anvil-lighthouse-report", "description": "Conspiracy against a lighthouse keeper with a conscience", "author": "X.", "title": "Anvil Lighthouse Report", "text": "M-\nI have concerns about the new lighthouse keeper. With the distribution of a reasonable amount of gold, her husband was willing to look the other way.\nBut ever since his death, his wife has proven unwilling to come to terms. Every approach has been rebuffed, and she bars the doors to all but the people she knows. If we can't work with her, she needs to be replaced.\nThe Sermonizers keep yammering about the Dark Brotherhood. If they're truly around, we should see if they're taking contracts. Why waste a boarding action on a merchant flotilla when fog and the shallows can do the work for you?\n-X"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/anvil-taxes": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/anvil-taxes", "description": "New governor, new tax code", "author": "Dockmaster Qamar", "title": "Anvil Taxes", "text": "All Anvil Tax Collectors - READ NOW! -\nI recently learned that some of you slow-wits are still charging the docking fees set by Count Ephrem, one-tenth of all gold exchanged for sales or purchases. In case you laggards forgot the recent sacking of Anvil, Count Ephrem isn't in charge of the docks any longer. Governor Fortunata runs these docks now, and you'll charge all vessels that make port and exchange cargo on my docks by her new fee - one-fifth.\nFor those of you simpletons who don't know what a fifth is, count your fingers and your thumb. Your thumb is a fifth, the amount you take, and your fingers are the rest. So when you see a stack of gold, take your thumb's worth or more, but never less. Anyone complains, you crack their heads open.\nIf there are too many for you to crack alone, you come tell me. We'll go to the ship in force and crack their heads together. No matter what, no ship leaves until its captain pays. If a ship does leave port without paying their taxes, the sentries assigned to keep her in port will pay her docking fees in thumbs and fingers.\nAlso, starting tomorrow, anyone I find collecting the old tax rate is spending a night in the sea cages.\nDockmaster Qamar"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/anyone-please": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/anyone-please", "description": "A sad end", "author": "E.K.", "title": "Anyone, Please", "text": "If anyone finds this note, please tell my da that he was right, and I'm sorry. I never should have gone to work in a mine!\n\tI'm sorry, da!\n\t\u2014 E.K."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/apocrypha-apocrypha": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/apocrypha-apocrypha", "description": "Praise of Hermaeus Mora", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Apocrypha, Apocrypha", "text": "The infinite archives of Hermaeus Mora are the ultimate treasure. Its innumerable shelves and countless books carry the weight of all knowledge. Therein, the diligent reader can find all that was, all that is, and all that will be.\nFollowers of the Divines, content in their dark cloisters of ignorance, preach hatred of the Golden Eye. Daedra, they call him: unclean, monstrous, wicked.\nWe have seen the truth. Knowledge is only as wicked as the one who wields it. Forsaking learning in fear of its misuse is the ultimate sin. It is an unforgivable folly. As a result, mortals have suffered countless centuries of loss.\nIn Apocrypha, the Golden Eye weeps cold tears at this plague of ignorance. Those who walk his halls are truly blessed. Even as their flesh falls away, they are permitted to browse the infinite tomes and scrolls, privy to all mysteries that have ever and will ever exist. It is the most blessed of fates.\nWe give you praise, Hermaeus Mora. We seek enlightenment, illumination, and a place at your side."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/apologies-uncle-neldatir": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/apologies-uncle-neldatir", "description": "Sorry for digging up your corpse, uncle", "author": "Thoring", "title": "Apologies to Uncle Neldatir", "text": "Dear Uncle Neldatir,\nI feel strange writing this letter to you, but I had to do something. We finally found your grave, after months of searching. I dug you up while Mother hissed at me to hurry. When I finally opened up your coffin, Mother jumped in and tore the necklace from your neck. She yelled at you and cursed your name for an hour. Sorry about the spittle; I wiped it off as best I could later.\nNot sure who buried you the first time, but they did a good job. Mother wouldn't let me re-bury you. She said you didn't deserve it. I tossed a couple shovels of dirt onto you before she yelled at me to stop. She didn't see me leave this note.\nDon't haunt me from the afterlife, please. Haunt Mother instead.\nRest in peace, Uncle Neldatir.\nYour loving nephew,\n\tThoring"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/apothecarys-ledger": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/apothecarys-ledger", "description": "A ledger curiously containing many daedric purchases", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Apothecary's Ledger", "text": "Mandrake roots, 2\n\t\u2014 paid in full\n\tDaedra heart, 1\n\t\u2014 new customer, paid in full\n\tDaedra blood, 10 drams\n\t\u2014 new customer, ordered but paid in full, name refused\n\tSulfur, 5 cakes\n\t\u2014 new customer, ordered but paid in full, name refused\n\tDaril\n\t\u2014 no order, customer suspicious\u2014report to guards?\n\tSaltrice pollen, 15 grains\n\t\u2014 paid in full\n\tFire salts, 8 grains\n\t\u2014 ordered for Jurairia, pay on delivery\n\tDaedra blood, 10 drams\n\t\u2014 new customer, ordered but paid in full, name refused\n\tChicken feathers, 5\n\t\u2014 paid in full\n\tDaedra blood, 10 drams\n\t\u2014 new customer, ordered but paid in full, name refused"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/application-flame": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/application-flame", "description": "Records the reaction to fire torture to various candidates for the Vosh Rakh", "author": "Graguz", "title": "Application of Flame", "text": "These are the continuing notes of Graguz, master of the element of fire.\nFire purges the incorrect thinking from the uninitiated.\nUsing specific stones for the unconvinced to stand upon is an important part of the process. Some stones heat up too quickly. This make the pain too intense too early in the process, causing a state where the uninitiated becomes too panicked to listen to reason and accept the ways of the Vosh Rakh. Rounder, larger stones heat up more slowly, allowing the uninitiated to better come to an understanding of their situation, which opens their minds to clearer thinking and correct choices.\nCandidates 124 and 125 from the latest recruitment drive show promise. Both are resistant, as expected. I'll try a simple barrier technique first, with no personal application of flame. Azhnura insists a higher wall of fire should be applied, but I feel strongly that managing the potential panic level is more conducive to a successful conversion. 125 seems likely to beg for release and will convert first\u2014she's a good candidate for our warrior caste.\nCandidates 121, 122, and 123: Two did not survive the conversion process. 123 is with the healers, being treated for minor burns. He will be a suitable candidate for the Gauntlet, once the healers are finished with him.\nCandidates 119, 120: Panicked. 119 survived but is weak-minded. Useful as a loyal servant, but won't attain a higher rank in the organization. Turned over to others for training and initiation.\nCandidate 118: Fear of fire worked quickly after seeing what happened to the prior four candidates. Need to explore the usefulness of this method. Many people have a fear of fire, for reasons I will never understand. Probably some kind of innate cowardice.\nCandidates 114, 115, 116, 117: All resisted until the \"personal\" application phase. Each successfully converted, now undergoing healing.\nCandidate 113: Fainted, landed in the fire, and died before anyone noticed. Obviously, Trinimac wanted nothing to do with this one."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/application-flame-uninitiated": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/application-flame-uninitiated", "description": "List of candidates for the Vosh Rakh and their reaction to the purging flame", "author": "Graguz", "title": "Application of Flame for the Uninitiated", "text": "Graguz, Master of the Fire Elements\nFlame purges the incorrect thinking from the uninitiated.\nUsing certain stones for the unconvinced to stand on is important. Some stones heat up too quickly, and the pain is too intense too soon, causing a state where the uninitiated become too panicked to hear reason and accept the ways of the Vosh Rakh. Rounder, larger stones heat up slowly, allowing the uninitiated to better understand their situation and opens the mind to clearer thinking and approved choices.\nCandidates 124 and 125 from latest round-up. Resistant, as expected. Try simple barrier technique first, no personal application of flame. Proselytizer A. insists a higher wall of flame should be tried, but I feel strongly that managing the potential panic level is more conducive to a successful conversion. 125 seems likely to beg for release and proper instruction first - good soldier candidate.\nCandidates 121, 123 and 123: 2 did not survive, 123 is being fed and minor burns are being attended to. They will be a suitable candidate for the trials, assigned handlers will make sure they attend lectures and training.\nCandidate 119, 120: Panicked. 120 survived but is weak-minded. Useful as a loyal servant, turned over to others.\nCandidate 118 - fear of fire worked quickly after seeing the prior four candidates being handled. Need to explore the usefulness of this method - many people have a fear of fire, for reasons I will never understand. Probably weak minded.\nCandidates 114- 117 - all resisted until the \"personal\" application phase. All successful conversions, post healing.\n113 \u2014 fainted, landed in fire and died before anyone noticed."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/appointments-thane": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/appointments-thane", "description": "Being a Thane is time consuming", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Appointments for the Thane", "text": "Thane Mera, here are your appointments for the day. I've kept them as nonspecific as possible, as you asked, and have left you as much time as could be afforded for you to go on your walks around the city. It isn't as much as you'd like for your patrols, but there are simply too many things that require your attention. And I wasn't able to make time for any Konunleikar activities. My apologies.\n\t7:00\n\t\u2014Breakfast, morning \"patrol\" walk\n\t\u2014Return by 8:30\n\t9:00\n\t\u2014Guard reports\n\t9:30\n\t\u2014Petitioners in Windhelm\n\tNoon\n\t\u2014Lunch, midday \"patrol\" walk\n\t\u2014Return by 1:15\n\t1:30\n\t\u2014Guard report updates\n\t\u2014Guard inspections and \"Combat training\"\n\t4:00 (latest, prefer much earlier if possible)\n\t\u2014Petitioners in Windhelm\n\t7:00 (earlier if petitioners are finished)\n\t\u2014Supper and drinks with visiting thanes\n\t8:00\n\t\u2014Evening exercise, \"Patrol\"\n\t9:00\n\t\u2014Evening bath and guard reports\n\t10:30\n\t\u2014Nightcap with King Jorunn\n\t11:30\n\t\u2014Sleep (and you really need your rest)"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/arakaul-unbroken": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/arakaul-unbroken", "description": "A short rhyme", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Arakaul the Unbroken", "text": "Killed his chief but left his clan,\nHumbled not by Mer or Man,\nUnfettered Orc forever.\nWith oaken shield did he defend,\nGuarding Baloth til the end,\nLoyal friend forever.\nFought not for nation, coin, or king,\nHis brotherhood was everything,\nSavage Son forever."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/aranias-diary": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/aranias-diary", "description": "A rather enthusiastic Thalmor member's journal", "author": "Aranias", "title": "Aranias' Diary", "text": "I finally arrived at the College. The Headmaster is very open to our ideas. The Khajiit and Bosmer must be kept in line. They'll need to be pliable if the Thalmor are going to use them.\nThis is it. The place the Heritance has been looking for. I'll write Her Majesty at once and let her know.\n- - - -\nKinlady Estre informed me that she's sending a mer named Tanion to oversee the College here.\n\tMy next mission is to find a good location to store our supplies. I've heard rumors of a hidden cove that may be of use to us. Ayleid ruins once called Quendeluun.\n- - - -\nMy things are packed and I leave for Quendeluun at dusk. If I'm successful there, my mother believes they may send me all the way to Greenshade to scout expanding prospects. I've never been off the Summerset Isles before. It should be very \u2026 interesting."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/arboreal-architecture": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/arboreal-architecture", "description": "Bosmeri building techniques", "author": "Cirantille", "title": "Arboreal Architecture", "text": "An entire province of timber, but no tree must be harmed: one would suspect the Treaty of Frond and Leaf would incapacitate a Wood Elf architect to the point of ruin, but working within these nonsensical rules has strengthened the quality of workmanship of the Bosmer and their settlements. Although hide stretched and tied over frames of bone may appear temporary, they are usually cocooned within sacred tree hollows and range dramatically in size. Wander the rivers and coast, where traders can provide quality imported lumber without breaking the Green Pact, and you will find more traditional wooden abodes.\nJourney deeper into the forests if you dare, and you may stumble across the city of Elden Root or Silvenar. Both have dwellings on the forest floor (typically built by other races, usually the Altmer), but many homes are both concealed and cradled within the canopy of graht-oak trees. Citified tree-folk favor a life among the branches and have woven them together to form limbed pathways, without contravening the law of the land. Trails of thick, living vines anchor dozens of platforms that carry goods and people among the graht-oak. These platforms are hoisted by strong, often foreign laborers.\nBone, resin, and sinew are employed in Bosmeri bridge design. A secondary market in such scraps allows the tree-dweller to tip their animal waste from above to the ground below, where it is scavenged and reworked into a variety of items\u2014certainly better than the refuse-strewn thoroughfares of Skyrim. As the moons rise, additional light is provided by luminous lichen, molds, and fungal growths living at the perpetually shadowed base of the oaks. Higher up, nocturnal flowers feed from the graht-oak, attracting torchbugs, whose hives light the branch platforms without the aid of fire. Adaptation to overcome self-imposed and crippling shortcomings has allowed the Wood Elf to survive, even thrive, despite their rigorous restrictions."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/arch-mages-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/arch-mages-journal", "description": "Three promising students appear in a vision", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Arch-Mage's Journal", "text": "This year, as we get closer to the start of classes here at Shad Astula, I look forward to finding excellent leadership candidates among this year's crop of students. Those who will grow into great leaders, remarkable scholars, and mighty warriors for the Houses of Morrowind. And, starting this season, for the entire Ebonheart Pact, as well. Often, my visions don't manifest until a student has spent some time within the Academy. Most years, no one emerges who quite matches my hopes and dreams.\nWhich is why I was encouraged, confused, and a bit frightened when I started receiving visions of three students who haven't even arrived at the Academy yet. At first, I worried that my visions were faulty. But this is not the case. These visions are as clear as any I've ever experienced, albeit with dark undertones I do not yet understand.\nMy first vision concerned Tedras Relvi. A noble son of House Indoril, his entire life has involved magic. His father is a battlemage, his mother a healer. Pompous and a bit of a whiny brat, Tedras is lazy and hard-headed. He's also a master of word and wit. In fact, I think he might make a better bard than a wizard. Still, I must heed my visions. From what I've seen, his future self grows into a master negotiator.\nHadmar the Thin-Boned was the subject of my second vision. It's rare for me to see a Nord in a vision, and rarer still that a Nord develops significant magical talent. With a pure heart and a warrior's spirit, Hadmar possesses a good soul. He's also dumb as a guar. Will he embrace his magical studies? Regardless, I see him standing tall upon the field of battle. Does he have the makings of a battlemage, perhaps?\nThe final vision concerned Lena Dalvel, and it was the most confusing of the three. Her lineage contains almost no magical heritage. In fact, I'm not sure how she got an invitation to our school\u2014perhaps a House noble recognized her talent? Her vision is the most promising\u2014and the most frightening. Lena stands on a balance that could easily tip toward the darkness or the light, two possible paths for her to walk. One path shows her as a great leader of the people, serving in a coming time of troubles. The other path shows her involvement in the destruction of the world. This particular vision disturbs me greatly, and it must not be allowed to come to pass. She must finish her trials under my guidance. It's imperative that her proper destiny be fulfilled."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/archcanons-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/archcanons-journal", "description": "Documents the several unfortunate events during the building of Vivec City", "author": "Archcanon Tarvus", "title": "Archcanon's Journal", "text": "By Tarvus, Archcanon to the Lord Vivec\nTwenty-sixth Day of Construction\n\tWith Lord Vivec's Blessing Stones in place, the building of this great city proceeds rapidly. Lord Vivec's Palace and the First Canton near completion, and foundations for the other Cantons have already been laid.\nThirty-fifth Day of Construction\n\tUnexpected delays on the fourth Canton. Despite Lord Vivec's Blessings, accidents continue to pile up. I have had stern words with the Overseer, but she seems honestly mystified. Will send some Armigers to investigate.\nFortieth Day of Construction\n\tThe Armigers can uncover no reason for the continuing delays. One reports seeing a large dog up on one of the supports just before the collapse that injured four workers. Others dismiss that as impossible - how would a dog climb the rails? - but I have my suspicions. Still, no reason to bother Lord Vivec.\nForty-second Day of Construction\n\tThe delays become more serious. I can tell even Lord Vivec, as patient a god as one could hope for, grows concerned. I think it's time I investigate on my own.\nForty-third Day of Construction\n\tStanding on the construction Canton, I felt the Blessings of Lord Vivec wash over me. I marvel at the feeling of his love and protection. It is no wonder the workers strive so hard at their jobs.\nBut then, almost like a cloud passing between Tamriel and the sun, it was gone. I could tell the workers and the guards felt it, too, though they certainly took it more as a sense of unease. Just as I was about to say something, I heard a crash. I looked over, and one of the lift-ropes had broken, causing two tons of stone to fall and shatter. It is a wonder no one was killed.\nAs I ran to help the injured, I swear by Vivec's mighty presence I saw a large dog scamper away. I think my suspicions are confirmed. But whether to go after the dog or report to Vivec immediately - that is the choice I must make. Perhaps after a good night's sleep I will have a clearer idea of how to proceed."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/archery-competition-0": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/archery-competition-0", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Archery Competition", "text": "PLEASE NOTE:\nThe Archery Competition Has Been Canceled\nDue\nTo Lack of Interest.\nPlease address all concerns to Jarl Morryn"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ardent-flame-draconic-or-endemic": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ardent-flame-draconic-or-endemic", "description": "A brief encounter with a Dragon Knight", "author": "Gabrielle Benele, Wizard", "title": "Ardent Flame: Draconic or Endemic? ", "text": "Last night I was sitting in the Anchor's Point taproom, nursing a mug of rum posset while poring over Ralliballah's Eleven Ritual Forms, when suddenly my quiet corner was invaded by a tall, armored figure. I asked if he would stand somewhere else, as he was blocking the light, but he replied something to the effect that a handsome woman shouldn't be wasting a moons-lit evening on reading, set a frothy tankard on the table and sat down next to me.\nBefore I could protest he launched into the story of his life, the subject of which\u2014himself\u2014he seemed very enthusiastic about. He was a product of the north-coast port town of Farrun, where he'd grown up with the conviction he was destined for bigger things. When he was old enough he'd left and made his way to central High Rock, where he'd fallen in with an old half-Akaviri arms-trainer who had taught him the ways of the so-called \"dragonknights.\" It was then that he finally found his true calling perfecting the form of magical combat that the dragonknights refer to as \"ardent flame.\"\nBlowhard or no, once he brought up the arcane arts he piqued my interest. I asked him to tell me more about this discipline of martial magic, as I was unfamiliar with it, and he was only too happy to oblige. With ardent flame, he explained, the dragonknight could set his enemies afire, draw them to him with a flaming lasso, wreath himself in a cloak of flame, even breathe fire just like the legendary dragons of yore. And this was, he asserted, because a dragonknight used actual dragon magic handed down from those mighty warriors who fought and won a war with the dragons back before the First Era.\nIt was this last claim where he lost me. Did he really expect me, a Mages Guild sorcerer of the first rank, to believe that an unlearned lout like him was casting spells using on long-lost dragon magic? I held up a hand, rather peremptorily, and to my surprise (and perhaps his own) he actually stopped talking. I told him I'd heard quite enough about his dragon magic, thank you very much, and that as far as I was concerned it was no more than a variant of our standard repertoire of flame spells, what the Shad Astula curriculum categorizes as \"Destruction Magic.\" I desired him to withdraw and allow me to return to my reading.\nHe sputtered for a moment, but then gave a condescending smile and said there was no need for the \"little lady\" to be afraid, as a dragon could be gentle as well as fierce. Perhaps I didn't understand just how ardent his flame could be.\nI warned him to be on his way, but he scoffed and persisted. It was when he offered to show me his \"lava whip\" that I finally lost all patience. It's a shame, because the proprietor of the Anchor's Point told me I would no longer be welcome there, and I liked that place.\nI suppose I could have shown more forbearance, but everyone has a limit\u2014and besides, what's the big deal? Scalp and beard hair always grows back eventually, even when it's been scorched off."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/arena-fight-card": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/arena-fight-card", "description": "Fighting schedule for the Kvatch arena", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Arena Fight Card", "text": "All questions should be directed to a seat manager in a red sash. Do not approach Arena Master ap Dugal! The arena master is very busy, and we will eject you for interfering in arena business.\nAll bets must be placed with our masters of chance before a fight begins. Once the fight has started, no more bets can be placed. Remember, winners are encouraged to tithe generously to the Cathedral of Akatosh.\nWe have a number of exciting events lined up, as listed below. A short intermission will follow each fight, where bets may be placed or collected. Remember, if you leave the arena without collecting your winnings, they become arena property, even if you are ejected. Don't break the rules!\nKvatch Arena Schedule:\nDevotion to Akatosh, led by Grand Sermonizer Fithia.\nCeno the Butcher faces the Bloodied Boar in an unconditional battle to the death! Any tactic or weapon is allowed, no matter how underhanded or brutal! May the craftiest and deadliest warrior win!\nA barbarous Cave Troll faces a battle-scarred Mammoth! May the most powerful beast win!\nBenedicta Falto, the Ghost of Giant's Run, faces Scarred Janona in a duel of daggers! These deadly vixens will be allowed nothing but their smallclothes and blades, so expect a blood-soaked battle!\nThe ruthless and beautiful Vine Sisters, Beladis and Gendaer, face two new challengers from the ash-cloaked lands of Vvardenfell - the Silent Ashwalkers! What foul magic will these heathens wield? Can the crafty Wood Elf sisters of Valenwood defeat the Daedra-worshiping savages of the Ashlands?\nIn the Circle of Penance, ten heathens and heretics, all sentenced to death for crimes against the Divines, will be given one last chance for a reprieve at the hands of Knight Commander Panthius. Will any of these heathens renounce their evil and embrace the light of Akatosh? Let the blade of Panthius decide!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/argonian-bloodwine": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/argonian-bloodwine", "description": "A very brief description of the main ingredient of Argonian Bloodwine", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Argonian Bloodwine", "text": "Brewed with the finest Bergamot Seeds"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/argonian-journal-pages": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/argonian-journal-pages", "description": "Brief, tattered notes mentioning valuable artifacts", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Argonian Journal Pages", "text": "\u2026 searched the northern \u2026 of the swamp to no avail, but I have not \u2026 up hope. Though many native-born Argonians were loath to speak to me on the subject, Barvyn's \u2026 of veiled threats and well-timed bribes revealed that a number of the xanmeers in Shadowfen \u2026 built above labyrinthine caves.\nWhile we have yet to narrow down \u2026 my belief that the artifacts we seek \u2026 buried inside these ruins. Barvyn \u2026 but I am hesitant. If the ancient \u2026 could be in great danger \u2026."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/argonian-refugees-diary": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/argonian-refugees-diary", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Argonian Refugee's Diary", "text": "We left Black Marsh in the midst of night so the Pact soldiers wouldn't know which direction we are headed. No one is forcing us to stay but we don't know how they would react if we told them that we are leaving. We don't wish to swear allegiance to any of the warring factions. We just want to live our lives in peace, and as far away from the Dunmeri slavers as possible.\n*****\nI haven't had a chance to write, we've been constantly on the move for so long now. It feels like months but I know its only been a few weeks. We attempted to establish a town on the edge of Cyrodiil but we were chased out by a group of Imperial Scouts\u2014apparently some large battle was about to take place. My feet are sore but we must keep walking if we wish to find a new home.\n*****\nWe've made our way to Valenwood, to an area called Grahtwood. The Wood Elvesseem friendly here. We heard there was trouble in the north, but we've seen none of it.\n*****\nI can't believe this is happening! We've been given a piece of land by the Wood Elves. In return, we will give some of the fish we catch to them. Finally, a home where we can live in peace.\n*****\nForest-Child has taken an interest in me lately and I must say, it's most welcome. I didn't have time to think about love, romance or the future while we were traveling but now that we have a new home I want more than my bed mat and roof over my head, I want someone to share it with.\n*****\nI heard rumors of a great battle to the north. The Wood Elves were fighting each other, but now they aren't. The High Elves sailed here in great ships and stopped the fighting. Now they are meeting in Elden Root. None of this has changed life in the Gray Mire.\n*****\nSoldiers from this new \"Dominion\" arrived recently. We thought they were just passing through, but it looks like they are setting up camp outside our town. We can't get anything out of them. Whenever anyone asks what they are doing they reply it's none of our business. But they're leaving us alone, so we continue to fish.\n*****\nThe soldiers put up gates and tall walls around our town this morning. It's starting to feel like Black Marsh all over again. We refused to join the Ebonheart Pact because we would have had to live side-by-side with the Dunmeri slavers that took away so many years of our lives. And now, when we thought we finally found a new home among the Wood Elves, the high and mighty Mer deem us unworthy. I thought that Slim-Jah was overreacting. She said the Dominion's arrival would mean our destruction. I'm starting to believe she is right."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/argonians-among-us": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/argonians-among-us", "description": "A somewhat bigoted pamphlet which nonetheless slants in favor of Argonians", "author": "Sil Rothril", "title": "Argonians Among Us", "text": "Argonians are scaled and of limited intelligence, and they are part of our everyday lives. In Morrowind and its surrounding regions, they're seen in every city and every town. They bring us our meals, they dress our children \u2026 but who are they, really?\nArgonians originate from the region known as the Black Marsh. A water-soaked and depressing land, it reeks of swamp gas and teems with insects. In their native land, the Argonians squat in fetid pools and worship primitive tribal gods. Their folk magics and simple tribal armies have never proven an adequate defense against men or mer of stout heart.\nThe swamp was first pacified by the Cyrodilic army in 1E 2811. Those cruel and capricious men only entered the region to end the rule of a human bandit king. After the gauntleted hand of civilization came to the Argonians, their home served primarily as a prison state. The unthinking brutes of Cyrodiil callously released their most violent and unhinged criminals into the marsh.\nAlmost six hundred years ago, Dark Elves entered the lives of this scaly servant race. As the Second Era dawned, we began working with the Argonians in earnest. Whole tribes were evacuated to the safety and dry climates of Vvardenfell, Stonefalls, and Deshaan. We offered them appropriate foodstuffs and taught them the ways of civilized culture. We fashioned garments to hide their more shameful features and sent them into the world, so they could learn and serve in new environs. In return for the Dark Elves' generosity, we've asked so little of the Argonians in return! And yet, not all denizens of that fetid place feel true appreciation.\nIndeed, our time of close collaboration came to an end just a few years ago. A horrific disease known as the Knahaten Flu, brewed in the steamy depths of the marsh, spread across the region. Rumored to be the product of an Argonian tribal shaman, the plague struck all without reptilian ancestry, slaying uncounted numbers. Most tragically, other races began to fear the Argonians as spreaders of the plague. Our efforts to send Argonians on journeys of discovery were rebuffed at every turn.\nToday, of course, Argonians stand side-by-side with us in the Ebonheart Pact. Once they were merely our servants, but now, we have elevated this simple reptilian stock. They are strong, proud contributors to our military alliance and cared-for members of our households.\nThe Argonians among us enrich our lives."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/argonians-black-marsh": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/argonians-black-marsh", "description": "A highly racist summary about Argonians", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Argonians of Black Marsh", "text": "Although nearly as ancient as the Mer, the Argonians of Black Marsh are still a primitive people. Shamanistic thinking and tree worship indicates a sub-mer capacity for critical thinking. The crude craftsmanship in these artifacts further points to a limited appreciation for aesthetics, calling into question their possibility of possessing a soul."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/arkay-enemy-0": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/arkay-enemy-0", "description": "A tract from Mannimarco denouncing Arkay's laws and priesthood", "author": "King of Worms(Apparently)", "title": "Arkay the Enemy", "text": "Hear me, children. Once I was a lowly man such as yourselves. By my will I entered the ranks of the gods. By your unquestioning devotion, you can share my glory.\nMost Necromancers are fools and weaklings. Fodder for the witchhunters. But you, my servants, you are among the chosen. In the days to come, few will dare to stand against your might. But one obstacle remains, and his name is Arkay.\nOnce he was also just a man. The similarities between his mortal life and my own astonish even me. It is only proper that we should be enemies.\nArkay's Blessing prevents the souls of Men, Beastmen, and Elves from being used without consent. Arkay's Law prevents those buried with the proper rituals from being raised to serve my children's will. As you know, my children, Arkay's Blessing is flexible to those with daring, but Arkay's Law is unwavering.\nTo the Scholars: Humiliate the priests of Arkay. Reveal their primitive burial customs to be mere superstition. Befriend kings with honeyed words and bind them to your will. Look to my children in Cyrodiil for guidance.\nTo the Priests: Use your servants sparingly, let none be seen by the living. Let the memories of the undead waste away from the people. Send missionaries to the unbound dead, to the Vampires and the Liches. Let all the nations of dead carry my banner and my banner alone.\nTo the Hidden: Wait, as always, in the darkness.\nFor soon we shall strike. The Temples of Arkay will be torn stone from stone. The blood of his priests will sate our thirst; their bones will rise as our servants. The name Arkay will be struck from the records. Only I shall hold sway over life and death. Only one name shall be whispered in fear. The name of your lord and master.\n\u2014 KW"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/arkngthamz-phng": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/arkngthamz-phng", "description": "A history of the Dwemer city now known as Fang Lair", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Arkngthamz-Phng", "text": "Perhaps one of the most storied, yet least understood legacies of the Dwemer is the lost city of Arkngthamz-Phng. The element most engrained into its mythos, the almost singular thing it's known for, is its demise. Very little is remembered about what it was or how it came to be. Even its name has been obscured by the colorful moniker \"Fang Lair,\" a truncated adulteration of the original \"Phng\" paired with a suitably sinister descriptor for the home of its most infamous resident. You've undoubtedly heard some derivation of a legend retold over thousands of years, so it should suffice to say that the story of a Dragon taking roost in this formerly Dwarven city has sadly overshadowed the fascinating history that came before.\nThankfully, through my research, some aspects of this buried history can now be brought to light. My findings suggest that in the decades following the establishment of peace between the Chimer and Dwemer, Dwarves of Clan Kragen began to seek new holdings beyond Resdayn. Following the path laid out by the exiled Clan Rourken during their exodus, the Dwarves of Kragen reached what we now consider Skyrim and first established their presence in the region with the founding of Arkngthamz.\nIt's unclear precisely what appealed so much to the Kragen explorers that it was worth settling among the hostile Nords, but in spite of regular attacks by the warlike Men, their city flourished. So much so that it encouraged other clans to expand their own holdings to the west. This loose alliance of clans effectively established a pocket empire of four city-states that were considered unassailable. Not that the Nords stopped trying.\nPerhaps it was this success, or the presence of so many nearby clans, that drove Clan Kragen to press on with their expansion west through the treacherous Dragon's Teeth Mountains, but I believe they sought to bridge their new empire with the their estranged cousins in Volenfell. Whatever the case, they broke stone for a sister city on the border of modern Hammerfell: Arkngthamz-Phng.\nDespite the inhospitable terrain, there is some evidence to suggest that the Dwarves aggressively carved out this burgeoning settlement, which soon supplanted its predecessor as the seat of Clan Kragen's power. Though greatly devastated, the expansive vaults of Arkngthamz-Phng's main hall are still majestic in their scale. It's easy to see how such a vast, secluded space, rich with resources and life, would be an attractive home for a Dragon seeking more well-appointed accommodations than those chiseled out by Nords in the service of the Dragon Priesthood.\nSadly, my first expedition met unexpected resistance, forcing me to abandon the site before more significant revelations could be unearthed; however, I have no doubts that the interest garnered by this publication will see a second, more ambitious expedition come to fruition."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/armament-inventory": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/armament-inventory", "description": "The Veiled Heritance are about to strike", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Armament Inventory", "text": "Approved by Condalin and Canonreeve Malanie. Not for distribution outside the Veil.\n\t20 heavy axes\n\t35 halberds\n\t100 daggers\n\t45 heavy bows\n\t300 quivers of arrows\n\t30 helmets\n\tWith Ayrenn abroad on the island, our time is now. We must move soon if we are to take advantage. All glory to the Veiled Queen!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/armlet-torug": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/armlet-torug", "description": "Overview of the titular artifact, courtesy of the House of Orsimer Glories", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Armlet of Torug", "text": "\"King Torug\", founder of the original city of Orsinium, possessed a powerful relic known as the Armlet of Torug. According to legend, the armlet is a magical bracelet encrusted with gems. With its power, Torug was able to tame the savage wilderness of Wrothgar and establish the first city of Orsinium.\nAncient text fragments describe the armlet, Torug's shrine, and something called \"Sorrow's Kiss.\" Armed only with these hints\", the famed explorer Lady Clarisse Laurent agreed to lead an expedition to the summit to find and retrieve the relic on behalf of the House of Orsimer Glories.\nAs with all items of historic significance, please remember not to touch anything in the museum."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/armor-myth-and-legend": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/armor-myth-and-legend", "description": "A brief list of legendary armors", "author": "Aurelienne Dulroi", "title": "Armor of Myth and Legend", "text": "In studying history, one often encounters tales of exceptional arms and armors possessed of incredible powers. It can be difficult to separate mythical exaggeration from actual, recoverable relics, but it is my duty as a historian and scholar to preserve any details of such items, even those that may prove untrue. I have recorded here what I have read regarding a few powerful legendary armors. As far as I am aware, none of these have been located, but how exciting it is to consider that they may yet exist!\nLapidary's Slab\nCommissioned by an unknown Dark Elven general, this ebony chestplate was engraved with the names of the Dunmer saints and their teachings. According to the tales, the artisan tried to explain to the general that etching the names and stories into the plate would weaken its integrity, but to no avail. The general demanded completion of the piece. Three costly cuirasses shattered or cracked as the crafter attempted the feat, attempting to configure the names and parables in an arrangement that would hold. He consulted with priests and enchanters, and by his fourth attempt, the plate was complete. It is said that nothing short of a Daedric Prince itself could damage the finished product.\nSkinmail\nReferences to this incredible work are few. I have seen a few texts mentioning a vial of liquid that, if applied to the skin, can harden it and produce plate-like coverings whenever the wearer wills. It is said to be the crowning achievement of a powerful High Elven alchemist who stopped at nothing, including horrific experimentation on live subjects, to reach the result. Only a very few vials are thought to exist, as the process for creation was not only costly, but lengthy, requiring decades of attention and enchantment to produce.\nWidowill\nIn a small, impoverished Imperial village lived a soldier's widow. She and the other villagers led quiet lives until necromancers began operating nearby, robbing graves and stealing people away in the night. There were no fighters or mercenaries among them, and they were so poor that sending for help seemed impossible, so she donned her husband's old armor, though it did not fit well, and hefted his sword, determined to drive the necromancers away. Stendarr took notice of this selfless, if foolish, act, and imbued the armor with holy protections so powerful that the necromancers who attacked her were reduced to dust."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/armorer-practicum": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/armorer-practicum", "description": "A chiding note to and homework for an inept apprentice craftsman", "author": "Defessus Lector", "title": "Armorer Practicum", "text": "Bardus,\nThe blades you made had no edge, and the shaft of the hammer was rotten, but you did manage to enchant the weapons that I asked for\u2014and only three days late. I assume your time was taken up with discovering how deep that cask of Heather Ale was.\nI hope you remember what additives you used since in some cases the same additives are used when crafting armor. It's the interactions between the three additives and the ingredients that grant the effect. Just using one or two additives, while improving the overall quality, does not give an effect.\nSomething to remember: a triangle is the strongest structure found in nature. And so it is in crafting. Three additives make for a better result than one or two.\nBelow is a new Practicum for you to complete by month's end:\nArmorer Practicum\nTo make an Iron Cuirass of Health you add Corroded Brimstone, Dirty Bone Oil, and what other additive to the heated metal?\nTo make a Homespun Robe of Magicka you combine Dirty Petals, Dirty Pods, and what other additive to the sizing?\nTo make a Halfhide Jack of Stamina treat the rawhide with Corroded Quicksilver and what other two additives?\nNow, how about you start sooner this time, and aim for only two days late?"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/aronels-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/aronels-journal", "description": "A Dunmer researcher's condascending journal. Mentions Sinmur", "author": "Aronel", "title": "Aronel's Journal", "text": "DAY 5:\n\tThe Rift. Long have I dreaded it. I never knew there was so much desolation in all of Tamriel. And do Nords ever bathe? I can never seem to keep upwind of them. Oh, to be back in my library in Mournhold, open tomes strewn about me, a warm mug of mulled wine in one hand, my research assistant's breast in the other!\nDAY 6:\n\tIf Netapatuu spouts one more uplifting, cheerful example of what passes for wisdom among the lizards, I am going to shove his tail so far up his behind he'll have a second tongue. The idiot actually seems to enjoy plodding through this wasteland.\nDAY 8:\n\tAt last, civilization! Or as close as the Rift gets to it anyway. The glorious dungheap known as Riften came into view about midday. The mead-befuddled natives stared at us in their endearing, cross-eyed way, squinting through the alcohol fumes, probably wondering if we were edible. Deciding not, they staggered off, doubtless to vomit on each other in some sort of Nord festivity. Netapatuu secured for us the least flea-ridden beds in the least decrepit hostel in town and I finally had a decent night's sleep.\nDAY 10:\n\tWasting no more time in Riften, we headed for the far gate as fast as our mounts would take us. Not far up the road, we were assured, lay our destination, the tomb at Pinepeak Caverns. Long have I cursed the Pact officials who forced this journey on me, citing the need for Dunmer to show the lesser races our dedication to the common good.\nDAY 12:\n\tOur guide says Pinepeak is the mountain looming ahead of us. If it's not just the mead talking, then I need to re-read my notes. The ancient Companion spirit entombed within the cavern is said to still be around, in non-corporeal form. A shard containing a sliver of her essence should be embedded in the wall just inside the cave. With that, she can possess a body and I can drag out of her any light she might shed on some creature named \"Sinmore.\" Who knows, perhaps long-dead Nords are wiser than living ones? They certainly can't smell worse.\nDAY 13:\n\tLeaving camp to enter the cavern! Tomes, journal, and writing implements are all prepared. Netapatuu keeps muttering about ill omens, a cold breeze blowing up his skirt, or some such nonsense. I sent him to the back of the group and ordered him to shut up. Tonight's entry will write itself!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/arrais-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/arrais-journal", "description": "Journal of a newly engaged scholar", "author": "Arrai", "title": "Arrai's Journal", "text": "2 Sun's Dawn\u2014\n\tWhat a glorious day! I am closer than ever to completing my studies. It's taken years of hard work, but today my instructor said I passed my examinations at the top of my class.\nMy friends and I will celebrate long into the night!\n4 Sun's Dawn\u2014\n\tThiingil and I will set out today to visit her family before our wedding. They don't approve of me. Scholars aren't valued the way hunters are. I hope they change their mind.\nWe're taking a short-cut across the ruins. Should be back within a month. Two at the most."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/arrest-writ": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/arrest-writ", "description": "Grants agents of House Dres the right to recapture escaped slaves", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Arrest Writ", "text": "The bearer of this writ serves as an authorized agent commissioned by the Hortator of House Dres to re-acquire live property that belongs to House Dres. In addition, said agent is fully authorized to distribute appropriate compensation to any guard command willing to allow said agent to go about the business of the re-acquisition of missing property without hindrance.\nEnter names below, as property is located and identified:\n1. Tashmin\n2. _________________________\n3. ________________________"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/arrius-scouting-order": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/arrius-scouting-order", "description": "A Dominion scouting report", "author": "Sorcalin", "title": "Arrius Scouting Order", "text": "Gen. Thoron,\nRemove Arrius Keep from your scouting orders. General Atahba's troops have captured it for the Dominion. Direct your scouts toward other targets.\n- Sorcalin"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/art-smashing-vol-1": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/art-smashing-vol-1", "description": "A master smasher instructs aspiring smashers about the best techniques", "author": "Urbek", "title": "ART OF SMASHING VOL. 1", "text": "FOREWORD:\nURBEK HOPE THIS BOOK BRING READER JOY AND CONFIDENCE TO PURSUE DREAMS OF SMASHING FOR FUN AND PROFIT. WHEN URBEK FIRST START SMASHING HE WAS JUST TINY, FLIMSY CHILD CHIPPING ROCK FOR TUMNOSH CLAN. URBEK HAD SETBACKS LEARNING TO SMASH MANY THINGS, ESPECIALLY PAPER. NOW URBEK SUCCESSFUL ENTREPRENEUR WITH GROWING WORDSMASHING BUSINESS. NEVER LET TOUGHNESS OF SMASHING SMASH YOU DOWN. WHEN SMASHING GET TOUGH, SMASH TOUGHER.\nDEDICATION:\nTO URBEK FIRST PATRON FOR SUPPORTING URBEK THROUGH EARLY JOURNEY OF SMASHING, TO FARROKH FOR BEING GOOD FRIEND TO URBEK, AND TO LITTLE CHIEF LAUMONT FOR LETTING URBEK SLEEP ON FLOOR.\nCHAPTER 1: FINDING RIGHT THINGS TO SMASH\nNOW THAT YOU CHOOSE TO PURSUE ART OF SMASHING, URBEK EXPECT YOU UNSURE OF WHERE TO START. NOT EVERYTHING SUITABLE FOR SMASHING. WOOD FUN TO SMASH, BUT ONLY SPLINTERS AND BREAKS. SOME METAL GREAT FOR SMASHING, BUT SOME ONLY MAKE BRITTLE, WEAK THINGS UNLESS YOU KNOW RIGHT WAY TO SMASH THEM. WHEN WORLD FULL OF SO MANY THINGS TO SMASH, HOW YOU KNOW WHAT BEST FOR BEGINNER? ANSWER SIMPLE: SMASH ROCKS.\nSOME READER MIGHT THINK SMASHING ROCKS POINTLESS. THAT READER STUPID. URBEK JUST TELL YOU URBEK GET HIS START SMASHING ROCKS. SMASHING ROCKS BUILDS IMPORTANT SMASHING MUSCLES AND LET YOU GATHER ORE TO SMASH WHEN YOU READY TO TAKE ON GREATER SMASHING CHALLENGE. URBEK RECOMMEND STARTING WITH SMALL ROCKS AND WORK UP TO BIGGER ROCKS OR STONE WALLS SO YOU NOT GET HURT, UNLESS YOU ORC.\nWHEN YOU CAN SMASH ALL DAY WITHOUT REST, YOU READY TO TAKE ON USEFUL SMASHING LIKE MAKING HAMMERS. URBEK THINK YOU MAY BE TEMPTED TO KEEP SMASHING STONE, MAYBE MAKE STATUE. URBEK NOT WANT TO DISCOURAGE READER FROM PURSUING PASSION, BUT MAKING PRETTY THING FROM STONE TAKE MASTERY OF GENTLE-SMASHING. URBEK SHARE THAT ADVANCED SMASHING TECHNIQUE IN LATER VOLUME. IN NEXT CHAPTER WE COVER WAYS TO SMASH ORE. URBEK RECOMMEND READER HAVE ACCESS TO FORGE FOR NEXT LESSON."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/artaeum-lost": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/artaeum-lost", "description": "Galerion's autobiographical account of his early days as a Psijic and Mannimarco's descent into darkness", "author": "Vanus Galerion", "title": "Artaeum Lost", "text": "I seldom speak of my time on the Psijic Isle of Artaeum. My age and temperament make such recollections irksome and discouraging\u2014bad for the digestion, as the clinicians say. Nonetheless, I owe it to my students to give them some sense of where our Guild came from.\nThose who know me well know that I was not born on Artaeum. No, I grew up in squalor\u2014laboring under a bilious kinlord on the Isle of Summerset. It did not last. Circumstances forced me to leave that life behind, and the Psijics discovered my talents shortly thereafter. They told me that my old life was over. No more hiding tomes under floorboards for fear of being discovered. No more hay-raking and knee-bruising scullery work. I would live a sage's life\u2014free to study as I please, so long as those studies advanced the cause of equity, peace, and wisdom. I felt such a great swell of joy in that moment. Of course, no joy lasts forever.\nI told my guide, the mystic Heliand, I was eager to set sail as I had never been on a seafaring vessel before. She laughed and threw down a glowing rune, catapulting us through the Aurbis at speeds I'd never imagined possible. Just seconds later, we found ourselves standing on a windswept hill overlooking the idyllic fields and pastures of Artaeum.\nEach day brought new discoveries. Misty hollows, filled with gregarious nixads. Hidden lagoons with singing waters, clear as fresh-blown glass. Flowers that whispered secrets when the wind blew, and stones with names too long for mortal tongues to speak. I read vigorously, wandered constantly, and quickly earned my gray cloak.\nIt was around this time that I first met Mannimarco\u2014who would one day be called the Worm King. In those days he was a brilliant novice with a promising future, much like me. Our vast talents and contradictory natures made us natural rivals. But then, the Old Ways of the Psijics banned such competition. My mentor, the powerful Ritemaster Iachesis, told me, \"Rivalry sows the seeds of war.\" Alas, he learned that blind amity can have the same result.\nAs I progressed in my studies I began to notice cracks in the Psijic code, chief among them being the order's all-consuming passivity. Like a bemused turtle, it lumbered along quietly\u2014only occasionally poking its head above the grass to check for danger. Iachesis began to look inward, and our detachment from the affairs of Tamriel seemed to grow with each passing year. I still don't know why the Ritemaster began this march toward isolation, but our emissaries and advisors started returning one by one. The mist around the island grew thicker, and the petitions of kings came less frequently. We suffered from an overabundance of caution when it came to matters beyond the shores of Artaeum. This caution came at a high price.\nOne brisk Frostfall evening, I found myself wandering amidst the ancient stones of the Ceporah Tower. In that place, time itself feels sealed in amber. Stiff wind whistles through the timeworn masonry, and the dull hum of the Dreaming Cave can be felt through the soles of your boots. It is a place of power, where law and reason give way to the sublime mysteries of creation. It was there, hidden within its torch-lit halls, that I found Mannimarco channeling the powers of darkness. He had taken up the profane practice of necromancy in secret and urged me to join him. I refused and prepared to sunder his rituals with spells of banishing. Just as I began to weave my spell, the tower lurched around us\u2014the drone of the Dreaming Cave grew urgent and bitter. Feeling the Island's anger all around us, we resolved to settle our dispute with the Ritemaster the next morning.\nStanding before Iachesis, Mannimarco made an impassioned plea to permit the study of necromancy. When Iachesis refused, Mannimarco grew belligerent and vile. He spat curses and ancient blasphemies like a Daedric beast. I stood by, all the while convinced that the Ritemaster would lock Mannimarco away. But Iachesis did not lock him away. He scolded him, stripped him of his gray robes, and banished him from the island.\n\"You would unleash this broken Mer upon the people of Tamriel?\" I shouted.\nIachesis said nothing. He merely lifted his hand and showered Mannimarco in radiant purple light. Then, just like that, my rival was gone. I stood there, aghast. The Mer I most admired had thrown open the gates of a wolf's cage and set the beast loose on a world of gentle sheep. Now, in the wake of the Planemeld, we see the grim result of Iachesis's mercy.\nI left Artaeum shortly thereafter. I remember looking over my shoulder and seeing its great cliffs and rolling pastures recede into the fog. I learned later that the island vanished just hours after I departed. It's difficult to see that as coincidence. Perhaps Iachesis recognized his folly and went into seclusion. Perhaps the Psijics knew what Mannimarco would unleash and chose safety over struggle. Whatever the case, the isle of the Psijics passed into memory and the once-proud order sank into obscurity.\nWhen they return, if they return, I hope they remember their oath to guide Tamriel toward peace and prosperity. In the meantime, we mages of the Guild must take up their mantle. Protect the helpless, seek out new spells and new discoveries, and above all, be brave. In the face of arcane peril, the Mages Guild must lead the way."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/articles-sakkr-al-behr": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/articles-sakkr-al-behr", "description": "Rules for the pirate organization", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Articles of the Sakkr-al-Behr", "text": "Article 1. All treasure taken from a captured vessel, town, or enemy hold shall be immediately divided into two parts. The first part is entered into the ship's purse for repairs, resupply, and operating costs. The second shall be divided amongst the crew as defined in Article 2. On recommendation of the First Mate and Bosun, the Captain may choose to reserve more than this in dire need.\nArticle 2. Shares are assigned as follows: Inactive Crew (wounded, sick, or otherwise): 1/2 share. Active Crew: 1 share. Raid Leaders: 2 shares. Raid Commanders: 4 shares. Bosun: 4 shares. First Mate: 6 shares. Captain: 8 shares.\nArticle 3. Bonus Shares. Healers, sorcerers, and other specialists are awarded a bonus share in addition to all rank shares. Those wounded in the line of duty are also awarded one bonus share. The Captain may award up to 2 bonus shares to a crewman for heroic or valiant service.\nArticle 4. Any crewman found withholding shares or refusing action shall be marooned on a sandbar or like island with 3 days rations. Any crewman who assaults or injures another in order to avoid discovery of such offense will be marooned without rations, and without benefit of island but with attached chains and weights."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/artisans-notes": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/artisans-notes", "description": "An artist complains about his employers", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Artisan's Notes", "text": "Nearly done with this job. I'll be glad to be quit of this place, though the work was interesting and the pay was good. Still, the leader, priest, whatever they call him makes me nervous. Has a strange look about him. And with any client, I had to tread carefully with their demands against what can actually be accomplished in stone.\nAt the eleventh hour, they demanded these four smaller versions of the story panels. At least I was able to convince them to just use one interesting aspect of each story frieze. They are making some sort of clever lock. Dwarven nonsense, if you ask me, with weights and buttons or whatever it is they are creating.\nOne of the workers they assigned me, a young woman, shows a decided talent for stone-carving. I would take her on as an apprentice, but this group of nords seems very close-knit. I am not sure how that would be received."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/arx-corinium-first-seed-report": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/arx-corinium-first-seed-report", "description": "A summary of the failure to establish an operational Imperial fort in Black Marsh", "author": "Centurion Pontius", "title": "Arx Corinium - First Seed Report", "text": "Building a fort in a swamp is no trivial task, but my men and I have accomplished it with Arx Corinium. It was a battle the entire duration\u2014with insect-borne disease, with the wildlife of the marshlands, but the Empire wanted a foothold in this region and we provided one.\nUnfortunately, as of this writing, we've packed our arms and armor on orders from Colonel Marianus, and prepare to leave our work behind. The Colonel cites the continued loss of a half-dozen soldiers every month in maintaining Arx Corinium as \"detrimental to the war effort.\" I agree, and would note that I predicted this outcome when we arrived over a year and a half ago. I said as much to the Colonel, who ordered that the project proceed. This isn't a statement of complaint, but of fact.\nConstruction suffered numerous complications: the bog impeded our progress at every turn, and it became clear the initial foundation we built would sink after the first month. When we moved our location farther to the north, we met a fierce wamasu that cost me ten men to chase off the premises. After repeated encounters, our war wizard, Belisaro, named it Ganakton the Tempest, after the bolts of lightning that the beast emits from every orifice (\"Ganakton\" was the moniker of a hated aunt, rumored to possess Orcish blood).\nThe dense humidity was another foe, turning our plate armor to steek barrels full of sweat during the early months of construction. It goes against regulation, but I allowed my soldiers the luxury of cloth armor during the summer. It was that or death from heatstroke. We would have been at a disadvantage had we come under attack, but any enemy marching towards Arx Corinium would be half-dead by the time they reached us. In any event, it never happened.\nBattle found us just the same: every beast in this swamp, large or small, is a walking death trap, and some days, we fought sword to stinger with insects the size of a grown man's head. Other days, our mages contended with the likes of Ganakton the Tempest, who continued to terrorize the fort. He razed the eastern wall a dozen times, and I regret that I will never be allowed the luxury of mounting his skull on my mantle. But if it means we finally get to leave, I'll gladly allow Ganakton his life.\nAs I look back on this last year and a half, at the resources and manpower it took to construct Arx Corinium, I can't say it's been worth it. Again, this isn't a statement of grievance. I bear my superiors no ill will for my orders. However, I would note that I made several warnings in advance of this project, and have compiled copies of my letters to my immediate superior, Colonel Marianus, detailing the reasons why I believed the construction of Arx Corinium could prove a disastrous venture for the Empire.\nI want to clarify that this is not a declaration of failure on anyone's part, either for myself, my men, or Colonel Marianus. I am fully aware that that decision falls to Tribune Hilario, whom I encourage to read the letters I mention above. I've already sent word and made them available for any officer to peruse at the Imperial City military archives."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ascendancy-pathway-lichdom": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ascendancy-pathway-lichdom", "description": "Instructions on becoming a Lich", "author": "Gullveig the Ascendant", "title": "Ascendancy: Pathway to Lichdom", "text": "At last, I have discovered the secrets to casting off the shackles of mortality! I record them here for those who dare to follow in my footsteps. Pledge yourselves to me, swear ever-lasting allegiance, and you too can ascend to this lofty plane!\nThe first element is the will to force your body into death and beyond. Without this ultimate power of mind over body, the transformation cannot begin. Few have the courage for even this initial step; many falter and are lost when pain and horror overcome what little willpower they had.\nGiven the strongest of wills, great necromantic knowledge is next required. Willpower provides the force but knowledge focuses the will and directs the glorious transformation. Only the most intelligent and daring of necromancers delves deeply enough into forbidden knowledge, gathering the spellcraft needed to achieve blessed lichdom. I am one of those.\nA plentiful source of souls is needed as well. These must be wrenched from their owners, as painfully as possible. The higher the degree of torment among your sacrifices, the purer the ascent to lichhood, the greater the power gathered in undeath. You ascend on a glorious stairway of screams and horror!\nLastly, a mighty magical relic is needed. An evil-aligned relic will suffice, but a good-aligned artifact that can be perverted to this purpose is ideal. This relic is the casting focus for Urelu's Loathsome Coercion, the spell employed to wrench the required souls from their erstwhile owners. The more powerful the relic, the more painful the soul-rending.\nWill, knowledge, souls, and power\u2014these are the required elements of this most exalted of transformations. Attempt it if you dare!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ashlander-tribes-and-customs": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ashlander-tribes-and-customs", "description": "Facts and opinions about the Ashlanders of Vvardenfell", "author": "Ulran Releth", "title": "Ashlander Tribes and Customs", "text": "By Ulran Releth of House Redoran\nThe Dunmeri nomads known as the Ashlanders wander Morrowind's wildness, going where they will and doing what they please. Free of the strictures that both provide structure and a high degree of rigidity for the Great Houses, they organize in loose tribes and harken back to an earlier time in Dark Elf history. They subsist as herder-hunters and find simple pleasures in a more natural lifestyle.\nAshlanders revere their ancestors and worship Daedra, refusing to acknowledge the divinity of the Living Gods of the Tribunal. They occasionally trade with other tribes and even with the Great Houses, exchanging guar hides and shalk resin for news of the wider world and goods they can't easily acquire in the wild. Within their nomadic society, the Ashlanders are courteous, proper, and polite. When dealing with outsiders, though, they can become easily offended. Tribal leaders, called ashkhans, serve as the \"warrior-protector\" of the community they lead. Second in command is the gulakhan, who serves as the voice of the tribe in matters of trade and negotiations. Outsiders will do well to approach the gulakhan first, before attempting to seek an audience with the ashkhan. Each tribe also has a wise-woman, a farseer who keeps the songs, lore, and prophecy of the tribe. She is the spiritual leader of the tribe. The rest of the tribe stands as equals, sharing responsibilities as the hunt, herd, forage, and otherwise support each other.\nThe nomads are organized into four primary tribes.\nThe Ahemmusa tribe resides in the southern coastal regions and swamplands of Vvardenfell. In years past, they traveled from coast to coast fishing and hunting, but more recently have largely been pushed out into the Bitter Coast region as Telvanni and Redoran settlements spring up around their former grounds. The Ahemmusa are among the most peaceful of Ashlander tribes and the weakest in terms of amassing any sort of warband. They wear light clothing, often adorned with small shells, scales and even netting. Their weapons are more like tools, simple knives and spears they can use to work as well as defend themselves if need be. They prefer to keep to themselves and be left alone, living out their lives hunting, herding, and especially fishing. They have a small, semi-permanent settlement currently along the Bitter Coast where they live off the fish and other local wildlife in the swamplands.\nThe Erabenimsun tribe resides in the Molag Amur region of Vvardenfell, and are as dour and dangerous as the volcanic ashlands they hail from. The Erabenimsun are quite war-loving. They are seen as greedy and cruel by their fellow Ashlanders and are believed to not have respect for many Ashlander customs. They care little about prophecy, history, and lore, so the Wise Woman has little power in this tribe. Erabenimsun are also typically the most heavily armed and armored. They are warriors first and foremost, valuing strength above all else.\nThe Urshilaku tribe is the most highly respected tribe and the second most populous. They reside in the West Gash region and the northern Ashlands, which, like the Grazelands, is considered prime hunting and foraging land. But more than its many hunters, warriors, and herders, Urshilaku is famed for its lore-keepers. It is the only tribe that currently has multiple Farseers, and the Wise-Woman of Urshilaku is widely renowned. Urshilaku has been key in ushering in a temporary age of peace among the Ashlander tribes, for all are listening when the oracles speak of an age of coming strife that the tribes must prepare for. In particular, it is the Urshilaku tribe that keeps faith that Nerevar Incarnate will return soon to unite the people. Urshilaku are some of the only Ashlanders to occasionally use magic. More common than actual spell-weaving is enchanting and alchemy, at which they are highly skilled. They are also the tribe most interested in ancient relics, scrolls, and other items one might find in the ruins dotting Vvardenfell. Bringing them such things is one way to gain favor with this tribe.\nThe most populous tribe, the proud and confident Zainab resides in the fertile Grazelands region of northeast Vvardenfell. Like the Ahemmusa, they are surprisingly peaceable and friendly even to outlanders, although they are somewhat greedy and arrogant as well. Zainab is, in a way, the oddest of the tribes in that they follow the old ways, but they are extremely interested in the change that has overtaken Vvardenfell. They freely trade with the Great Houses, and some have even sought to forge more firm business deals with houses like Hlaalu. All in all, one gets the impression that Zainab is the most willing to adapt, even if they will not entirely leave their Ashlander lifestyle behind. Zainab possesses the most diverse collection of goods, including their arms and armor. They typically trade for goods instead of crafting them, and they are well known for harvesting, foraging, and mining in the rich Grazelands, which has led to their unrivaled prosperity."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ashlander-wise-women": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ashlander-wise-women", "description": "Good advice for diplomacy with Ashlanders", "author": "Jiuba Rothalen", "title": "Ashlander Wise Women", "text": "An outsider looks around an Ashlander camp, sees the interactions, and speaks to some of the clan members. This outsider likely assumes that the Ashkhan leads the tribe, since the Ashkhan is usually the strongest warrior. This assumption leads the outsider to grief, should they ignore the more subtle strength and power within the tribe when trying to negotiate or request assistance. The Wise Woman serves as the spiritual leader of the tribe, and even the Ashkhan seeks her counsel and obeys her visions.\nA Wise Woman employs a type of magic foreign to those trained in the use of the different schools of magicka. Her magic appears to be grounded in the natural world. Evidence exists that some Wise Women receive prophetic visions. Certain scholars studying the Ashlander clans say that this dream-interpretation simply makes use of intuition and a thorough understanding of the internal relationships and politics within a given clan to claim some sort of prophetic vision. They label Wise Women as lore-keepers, with a useful, if largely informal, knowledge of herbal alchemy. This attitude is dismissive and speaks to the lack of scholarly study on the part of the observer.\nI have spent some time among the Ashlander clans and have personally witnessed a Wise Woman who was able to heal a gravely injured hunter. The recovery from a grievous injury within the span of a day was nothing short of miraculous. This hunter, who was gored badly by some creature, was at death's door when brought to the Wise Woman. The loss of blood alone did not bode well for survival. I did not witness whatever rituals the Wise Woman may have performed in his healing. I was, however, able to speak with the hunter, and within a day, she was up and walking.\nThe clan Wise Woman should never be ignored and her advice never dismissed. Not if you want to successfully deal with an Ashlander tribe."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/aspects-lord-hircine": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/aspects-lord-hircine", "description": "A list of Hircine's five Aspects among the Reachmen", "author": "Juno Procillus, Academy of Chorrol", "title": "Aspects of Lord Hircine", "text": "The following is the transcribed statement of a shaman of Druadach who named himself Uraccanach the Witchman:\n\"Like the fingers of your hand, like the clutch of the hagraven, like the arrows to kill a bear, Five are the Aspects of Lord Hircine. You may meet any of the Five. All are true and right and death-in-the-woods. All are worthy of reverence.\n\"You may meet the Hunter, who is invoked as Alrabeg. He bears the Spear of Bitter Mercy. He comes here from the Hunting Grounds to hunt new prey, or he brings prey native to the Hunting Grounds, like the Unicorn, to hunt in new forests. If he brings not prey, then woe betide you who meet him, for he may dub you the Hare. Then you must flee as best you can, though you will not escape.\n\"You may meet the Manbeast, who is invoked as Storihbeg. He wears the Wolf Skull Totem and his growl is like a landslide in the Karth Gorge. He comes here to hunt with his children the Skinshifters, or to adopt new children and turn them pelt-side-out. His howl will freeze your inwards like a pond in Evening Star at midnight\u2014you will see your death approach, but be unable to flee.\n\"You man meet the Great Stag, who is invoked as Uricanbeg, and whose hooves drum the Blood Summons. He comes to mate with the hinds, and may transform a comely woman for that purpose, or to cull the herd of the weak. Those who hear his drumbeat are doomed to run with the herd, and may follow him back to the Hunting Grounds where they will be chased and unmade.\"\n\"You may meet the Quick Fox, who is invoked as Gulibeg, and who wields the Wand of Bone. He comes here to confound mortal hunters, to run them in circles until they are so plexed and wildered that they follow him over a cliff or into a trackless mire. He may fill you with such fury you can do naught but pursue him, or he may note you as clever and teach you his tricks.\n\"You may meet the Mighty Bear, who is invoked as Hrokkibeg. He embodies the Totem of Claw and Fang, and comes here seeking solitude, peace from labors, and renewal of the Burning Spirit Within. Beware, for if you rouse him and disturb his serenity you will be torn asunder. But if you approach him with deference and an offering of honey-sweet mead, he may grant you the power of the Bear-Heart in your next fight.\n\"These are the Five\u2014there are no more, and any who say so are witless and foolish. So states Uraccanach, and whenever have I been proven false? I have said it, and it is so. Pass the juniper-draught.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/assassins-letter": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/assassins-letter", "description": "Describes a mining operation that serves as the cover for vampires in Blackreach", "author": "Sister Tharda", "title": "Assassin's Letter", "text": "Pentarch Khorb,\nThe mining consortium is in place and ready for your use. None of these stupid miners have any idea what they have unwittingly signed on for, nor do they truly know the extent of the majestic terrain spread before them.\nThey will do the work and guard their secrets closely, ensuring our own secrets remain undiscovered in the darkness below. We shall continue to replenish the workers periodically, so feel free to dine or send them to your alchemist as you see fit.\nAnd when the time comes to perform the ritual, they will be in place to provide the energy we need.\nSister Tharda"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/assassins-orders": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/assassins-orders", "description": "Orders concerning a political plot", "author": "M", "title": "Assassin's Orders", "text": "Our work is almost complete. Remain watchful. With any luck, the adventurer I conscripted will clean out the remaining stone abominations so we can begin again\u2014this time, without Benar mucking things up. Tie off all loose ends and make sure it looks like they killed each other. It needs to be convincing enough for the Council.\nWhen your work is done, meet me at my residence in Balmora. I'll have further instructions for you, and your first payment, as promised. This will to be a lucrative endeavor, my dear. Don't fail me.\nM"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/assistance-needed-factotum-experiment": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/assistance-needed-factotum-experiment", "description": "A call for help with experiments", "author": "Associate Zanon", "title": "Assistance Needed for Factotum Experiment!", "text": "Associate Zanon of the Clockwork Apostles most urgently requests the services of an able bodied assistant. Any willing participants will be tasked to locate a missing component for an experiment involving factotum construction. Applicants should report to Associate Zanon's workshop in the Reactor District. Compensation will be rewarded upon completion of this task."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/astias-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/astias-journal", "description": "Brief thoughts on Legion Zero", "author": "Astia", "title": "Astia's Journal", "text": "I've studied countless servants of Molag Bal, but the circumstances surrounding Legion Zero are truly unique. Most of my instruments were lost during the initial attack, so I'm left to fumble around with scavenged mortars and alembics. I'd like to think that shoddy materials have influenced my findings, because they are remarkably grim.\nSo far I've found no signs of mind-control in my Legion Zero autopsies. I was certain that there was some kind of Daedric corruption influencing their actions\u2014but so far as I can tell, these legionaries were in full control of their faculties. I am forced to conclude that this was a genuine insurrection\u2014painstakingly planned and flawlessly executed. The blue luminescence in their eyes and extremities is related to their increased strength and speed, but it does not appear to have any cognitive effect.\nI have no idea how I'm going to break this to the General. Pollius is a master tactician and an inspiring leader, but his dedication to the soldiers has always trumped his dedication to the Empire. He cares for them like a father cares for his children. The truth of their betrayal will kill him. Akatosh help me."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ateian-fife": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ateian-fife", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Ateian Fife", "text": "One of the last flutes crafted by the legendary Imperial flutesmith, Parteron Ateia. Parteron's flutes were rare and coveted. This is the last one he finished working on before he died, which he specifically donated to the Bards College to be enjoyed and preserved for the centuries to come.\nThough some of his fifes are still used around Tamriel, most are kept hidden away by collectors or the supremely talented flautists within the Ateia family."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/atrocious-love-letter": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/atrocious-love-letter", "description": "A truly bad love letter filled with questionable banking puns", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Atrocious Love Letter", "text": "To My Lovely Flowering Perennial,\nI must bank on the idea that this letter finds you well. You have done more than accrue my interest. I find that I must often check to make sure that I am standing upright, as I cannot balance myself, thinking often of the ways you have embezzled my heart. To your credit, you bankrupted my thoughts, allowing me to account for nothing beyond the sweet vault of your embrace.\nI have appraised the situation and I feel like I must make this statement at once: We have done more than bond. I know I am forever in your debt. Lend your heart to me and I shall make payment to your kindness in turn. Do not be shy on my account, allow me to deposit my sincerity into this letter.\nI shall transfer my love from this letter to your heart,\nYour Little Lender Bee"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/attention-moon-walkers": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/attention-moon-walkers", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Attention Moon Walkers", "text": "To those that walk on pads and keep their claws hidden:\nKeep your eyes open and wait for your moment. There is a plan in motion to take the man on the high seat from his cats. Watch out for the daughter of the blood. She has been seen lurking around.\nMay your claws remain sharp and your fangs ready to tear!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/auditorial-notes-declension-81u5": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/auditorial-notes-declension-81u5", "description": "Notes on transferring consciousness into another body", "author": "Harmonic Auditor", "title": "Auditorial Notes, Declension 81u5", "text": "\u2026the components of the soul must remain entwined throughout. Risk: extremely high. Failure guaranteed if anything is lost during transference. An unsuccessful attempt would leave the base creature severely weakened\u2014essentially unwhole\u2014should they survive the process at all.\nMuch easier to replicate the marriage of organic components with the construct through my analysis of Vvardenfell methodology. Note, this technique produces no benefits over the standard methods and is in many ways inferior. Likely the reason for its rarity and abandonment.\nRkindaleft still houses sufficient means. It was the Dwemer's intention, after all. And, my research into the creation of a suitable host is complete. I must devote the following years to the essence of consciousness, its relation to the soul, and (by extension) to memory. I know this is the key. I know I am close.\nI must remember, no rules are absolute. Any barriers are those I have not yet pierced.\nIt will take time. It will take lifetimes. But of those, I have a stockpile."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/aunt-anelas-cookbook": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/aunt-anelas-cookbook", "description": "Fine Bosmer cuisine", "author": "Aunt Anela", "title": "Aunt Anela's Cookbook", "text": "Jagga:\nSet several shallow pans of boiled pig's milk cream where the cat can't step on them and leave alone for a day, then stir several times per day thereafter.\nStrain the whey into a separate vessel, keeping the curds in their pans. Break the curds apart with a spoon, then allow the curds to dry into shards.\nStir daily to keep them from spoiling. Once dry, use these shards to thicken skimmed pig's milk, or to add more cream to plain pig's milk.\nBottle and let ferment for 3 weeks.\nNote that you can drink the whey immediately, or use it in other recipes.\nBlood Froth:\nPour fresh blood into shallow pans and place in the cold cave till nearly congealed. Meanwhile, whip together a couple of chicken egg yolks and melted tallow.\nUsing a sharp knife, slice the blood into chunks, then dice. This is why you let it congeal first\u2014it's impossible to dice fresh blood!\nWhip the blood slivers with the yolks and tallow, adding more tallow if needed to thin into a beverage. Add salt to taste.\nSet aside for a month to allow it to ferment.\nFermented Honey Liquor:\nCombine two hives' of strained honey with twice the amount of water, and a handful of hops. Cover and let ferment for a season before tasting. Ladle into bottles, seal them with beeswax, and put away.\nThe longer you let the bottles sit, the better the liquor will be."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/aura-righteous": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/aura-righteous", "description": "The special abilities of Stendarr's light", "author": "Ptolus the Bright, Resolute of Stendarr", "title": "Aura of the Righteous", "text": "Insomuch as all fell things abhor the light, so has Stendarr gifted all those who invoke His Name with the ability to clothe themselves in a righteous aura of blessed light. Over time, even as evil's many Abominations found new ways to afflict Tamriel's mortals with destruction and death, the Priests and Resolutes of Stendarr have adapted Stendarr's glowing gift to many purposes, whether to smite, to defend, or to heal.\nFor offensive means, Stendarr's gift most often manifests as a piercing beam of light, resembling a spear of purifying sunlight and oft referred to in those terms.\nAs a form of armor, Stendarr's gift may take the form of a diffuse aura that surrounds the righteous, mitigating the attacks of the abominable, or it may focus into an almost-palpable shield to ward off a specific threat.\nWorshipers who eschew all forms of violence, such as the Harmonious Masters of Lillandril, have turned Stendarr's glowing gift into a tool for healing, and then freely spread their knowledge of cleansing and healing rituals, even to Stendarr's more militant adherents. For even in the hands of a warrior, how can the curing of ills be an ill thing?"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/aurbic-enigma-4-elden-tree": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/aurbic-enigma-4-elden-tree", "description": "A description of the Towers, specifically White-Gold and Green-Sap, and mortal actions concerning them.", "author": "Beredalmo the Signifier", "title": "Aurbic Enigma 4: The Elden Tree", "text": "Here is a truth read from the bark.\nThe spike of Ada-Mantia, and its Zero Stone, dictated the structure of reality in its Aurbic vicinity, defining for the Earth Bones their story or nature within the unfolding of the Dragon\u2019s (timebound) Tale. The Aldmeri or Merethic Elves were singular of purpose only so long as it took them to realize that other Towers, with their own Stones, could tell different stories, each following rules inscribed by Variorum Architects. And so the Mer self-refracted, each to their own creation, the Chimer following Red-Heart, the Bosmer burgeoning Green-Sap, the Altmer erecting Crystal-Like-Law, et alia.\nBut of all the Prismatic Mer, none were more presumptuous than the Ayleids of the Heartland. They built their tower in open emulation of Ada-Mantia, using as Founding-Stone the great red diamond they had uncovered: Chim-el-Adabal, said to be crystallized blood from the Heart of Lorkhan itself. (For the Heart on its arrow passed over the Heartlands, birthing one of that postnymic\u2019s quaternary meanings.)\nThus did White-Gold become Tower One. As all know.\nAs foretold by the moth-eyed, Ayleid hubris was to bear bitter fruit. With their vision on high to behold the overworlds, they failed to note the seething Nedelings at their feet, until the thralls rose up and took their Tower away from them. Chim-el-Adabal they took as well, but not before the arch-mage Anumaril fangled an eightfold Staff of Towers, each segment a semblance of a tower in its Dance. And then seven of these segments were borne by White-Gold Knights to distant Fold-Places, where they were hidden.\n(This was all unknown to Pelin-al-Essia, be certain, or there might have been a different Eight Divines!)\nThus White-Gold. On to Green-Sap.\nThe Boiche Elves were of the Earth Bones who most hearkened to Jephre and his greensongs. They did not build a Tower, they grew it, a great graht-oak whose roots sprang from a Perchance Acorn. And this was their Stone. And because the Acorn might perchance have been elsewhere, thus was Green-Sap manifold and several. And each could walk.\nTherefore each Green-Sap was also every Green-Sap. Within each were told all the stories of the Green, with every ending true, so doors therein were not always Doors Certain. But to this the Boiche-become-Bosmer became inured, and indeed grew to relish these Doors Equivocal, for such was their nature in the schism of the prism. In this way the Bosmer learned which songs made the trees dance, and which dances they might do.\nNow return we must to the eighth segment\u2014or rather Segment One, for Anumaril had fangled it in similitude to Tower One, which itself reflected Tower Zero. When the Ayleids fled the Heartlands they went to all eight corners of the compass, and this was a chosen thing, though many corners spelled doom. But more Ayleids fled to Valenwood than to all other directions combined, and this, too, was chosen. Among these clans went Anumaril wearing Segment One as a femur\u2014for how but by walking can a spoke advance its hub?\nGreen-Sap\u2019s Elves welcomed the Ayleids so long as the Heartlanders agreed not to dissonate the greensong. All agreed to this save Anumaril, who coughed into his hand unnoticed. He asked the Great Camoran to show him Green-Sap, and was brought to one that by happenstance stood then in Elden Root. Once within the great graht he passed through a Door Equivocal and found his desire, the Perchance Acorn. It was one of many, but for Anumaril one was enough.\nNext the fanglement: Anumaril brought forth Segment One among the roots and showed it to the golden nut, and this told an ending, so that the stone became a Definite Acorn. That Elden Tree would not walk again, but Anumaril yet had further intentions for it. Using his dentition as tonal instruments, he dismantled his bones and built of them a Mundus-machine that mirrored Nirn and its planets. And when he had used all his substance in fangling this orrery, he placed the segment-sceptre within, hiding it between the Moons.\nThen he waited\u2014but what he waited for did not eventuate, and perchance he\u2019s waiting yet. For\nAnumaril had hoped to convert Green-Sap into White-Gold, and thereby make the Heartlanders' realm anew. However, Anumaril did not know, and was not able to know, why his plan went awry. You see, Ayleid magic is about Will, and Shall, and Must\u2014but under Green-Sap, all is Perchance.\nThe Ayleid fangler\u2019s plan could not succeed\u2014and yet neither could it fail. For this is a story that has not yet found its ending."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/authenticity-giovessen-skull": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/authenticity-giovessen-skull", "description": "Confirms that the artifact is the skull of Tavia, of 2920 fame", "author": "Mercator Mannix", "title": "Authenticity of the Giovessen Skull", "text": "Honorable Thane Fulstrom,\nThough the events of 2920 are largely fictional in nature, the seed of truth has borne fruit in the form of the Giovessen Skull. It is indeed the gold-dipped and gem-encrusted cranium of Tavia, famously imprisoned in Castle Giovesse at the behest of Emperor Reman III. Whispers that the Giovessen Skull is a false relic appear to have been spread by a previous owner in Hammerfell, no doubt to discourage the attempted theft of such a valuable piece of history.\nI hereby certify the Giovessen Skull as authentic. All rumors claiming the source skull was from a condemned Breton prisoner are just that - rumor.\nMercator Manni, Imperial Historian"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/avenge-us": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/avenge-us", "description": "", "author": "Miri Hedoran", "title": "Avenge Us!", "text": "I know I'm going to die. They've already killed Father and Mother and everyone else. They'll find me soon. They're everywhere and I can't hide here forever. They'll see me or hear me or I'll fall asleep and roll off the ledge. I hope that's the way I go.\nPrefect Antias warned us. She said the Gray Vipers were coming, that scouts had been seen. She said they'd come for Mother's art collection. Father laughed, said he and the guards could protect us. We should have left, gone to Cropsford, let them have the art. They're just objects, not worth dying for. But they all did. And soon I will too.\nAvenge us, please!\n\t\u2014 Miri Hedoran"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/await-my-emissary": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/await-my-emissary", "description": "Don't irritate the emissary!", "author": "Tharn", "title": "Await My Emissary", "text": "Gavo,\nMy representative should be with you shortly. The meeting must be in private so as to not alert others of our true plan. Please ensure that you have time set aside to meet.\nDo not keep him waiting. I cannot ensure your safety should he be \u2026 irritated.\n\u2014 Tharn"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ayleid-cities-valenwood": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ayleid-cities-valenwood", "description": "A quick survey of Ayleid immigration after the Alessian Rebellion, and their subsequent fall to the Maormer", "author": "Homfrey", "title": "Ayleid Cities of Valenwood", "text": "An Excerpt\nWritten by the Esteemed Historian Homfrey at the University of Gwylim, 2E 455\nBeing a Survey of the Triumphant Settlement of the Heartland High Elves in the Southern Regions\n\u2026At this point, we should mention the remarkable cities of Ceyatatar, and the Ayleid settlement beneath what is now modern Bravil. These cities, along with the Valenwood cities of Haven, Woodhearth, and Silvenar, all flourished as a result of increased trade after the establishment of the great White-Gold Tower in what is now the heart of Cyrodiil.\nOf note in particular is the university and libraries at nearby Elden Root. The Ayleids there built their city in and around what is called the Elden Tree or the First Tree, believed by many to be the tree that seeded all of Valenwood.\nBoth Haven and Woodhearth were destroyed utterly by the sieging Maormer, who cared little for the advanced and enlightened ways of the Valenwood Aldmer. Marching inland, they plundered not only the Elden Root enclave, but also the Great Tree itself. What villainous tribe would injure and pillage such magnificence?\nIt is possible that the Maormer had broken the Aldmer traditions of racial purity and intermingled with indigenous, bestial tribes of Pyandonea. This would explain their savagery and lack of regard for the greatness of mainland Elven culture."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ayleid-library": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ayleid-library", "description": "Horror in an ancient tomb", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Ayleid Library?", "text": "\u2026 began exploring this Ayleid ruin \u2026 massive bookcases line the walls in some areas. Unfortunately, the tomes crumble when we've attempted to remove them \u2026 saddens me to think of the knowledge lost to time.\n\u2026 told Nael not to touch it, and now \u2026 strange sounds from the tombs \u2026 sounds like something is clawing nearby \u2026 see what we can collect before we leave \u2026 time \u2026 the dead have risen, and I can't find the exit."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ayleid-ruin-exploration-orders": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ayleid-ruin-exploration-orders", "description": "", "author": "General Khamagash", "title": "Ayleid Ruin Exploration Orders", "text": "Captain Kline,\nI order you to take your squad to Fort Glademist immediately. Once there, you are to search all Ayleid ruins within a day's march. The ruins at Lindai, Piukanda, and Ninendava must be explored thoroughly and cleared of any enemy troops. Also search any other hiding places you discover around the fort.\nI expect daily reports.\n\t\u2014 General Khamagash"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ayleid-survivals-valenwood": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ayleid-survivals-valenwood", "description": "The slow decline of the Ayleids in Valenwood", "author": "Cuinur of Cloudrest, 4th Tier Scholar of Tamrielic Minutiae", "title": "Ayleid Survivals in Valenwood", "text": "This report was commissioned by the Thalmor Committee of Alliance Relations to investigate whether there might be an indoctrinal advantage to emphasizing the Ayleid lineage woven into the bloodlines of our cousins the Wood Elves. My extensive travels in Valenwood have enabled me to determine the historical facts behind the matter; whether these facts can support a useful campaign promoting alliance fellowship is up to the Committee and the Sapiarch of Indoctrination.\nAs Pluribel of Dusk has noted in her magisterial \"Collapse of the Ayleids,\" blame for the White-Gold Catastrophe of 1E 243 can be attributed to a half-dozen disastrous factors, of which the bloody insurrection by indentured human laborers may not be the most important. Pluribel emphasizes, quite rightly in my belief, the Narfinsel Schism of the late Merethic Era, which pitted the more conservative Aedra-worshiping Ayleid clans against those decadent yet undeniably vigorous clans that had adopted Daedra-worship. This conflict reached its climax in 1E 198 at the Scouring of Wendelbek, when King Glinferen of Atatar led a combined force of Daedraphile warriors against the traditionalist Barsaebics of Ayleidoon. The Barsaebics were driven out of the Heartland into northwest Argonia, and thereafter organized opposition to Daedra-worship in Cyrodiil was effectively over.\nIn any event, by most measures Ayleid civilization had been in decline for several generations by the time the White-Gold Tower fell to the savagery of the Nedes. Standing amid the ruins of a great Elven culture, the victors concocted a justification for the blood on their hands by painting the defeated clans as vicious Daedraphiles who reveled in torture and cruelty. An exception was made for those clans, mainly Aedric adherents, who had thrown in their lot with the hordes of the Slave-Queen. Of course, this only delayed their extermination, for the barbarous Nedes inevitably came after their former allies once the other Elves of Cyrodiil had been hunted to extinction.\nThus began the Ayleid Diaspora, in which the Heartland Elves sought to find new homes elsewhere in Tamriel\u2014to decidedly mixed success. Those who fled north into the lands once held by the Falmer were slaughtered by Nords led by the infamous Vrage the Butcher. The Barsaebics, by that time well established in Argonia, refused admittance to their former persecutors the Atatarics, and most of that clan died on an ill-fated expedition into the lands of the Cat-Men. Several clans set out on the long march through Hammerfell to the Iliac Bay, and some actually made it, where they joined with (and were absorbed by) the long-established Direnni of Balfiera.\nMost successful\u2014and they were more than a few\u2014were the clans that fled southwest beneath the canopy of Valenwood. The clans of Anutwyll, Vilverin, Talwinque, Bawn, and Varondo all escaped largely intact to carve out a new life under the trees. These clans all worshiped Daedric Princes, but they seem to have done so with less fervor after their enforced migration to Valenwood\u2014possibly due to the fact that the Princes, when called upon, had offered little or no help to the forsaken clans. Fortunately their new hosts, the Bosmer, were remarkably generous in welcoming the Ayleids into their realm, so long as the Heartland Elves agreed to adopt aspects of the Green Pact and refrain from harming the forest. Having little choice, the Ayleids agreed, and this probably contributed to the dilution of their culture.\nFor diluted it was, absorbed over time, and eventually forgotten. I have walked the great Ayleid ruins of Valenwood\u2014Hectahame, Rulanyil's Fall, Belarata, Laeloria, and a dozen more\u2014and none of them, not one, was still occupied only two thousand years after the Diaspora. For some reason, once the Ayleids were under the great graht-oaks they, and their distinctive culture, simply melted away.\nIn explaining the extinction of the Valenwood Ayleids, my predecessor Gelgarad the Velaspid was very attached to his \"Theorem of Disheritage,\" which held that for some reason the Forest Ayleids became unable to breed with each other and could only generate offspring by mating with the local Bosmer. This would certainly account for the Ayleids' gradual disappearance, but unfortunately Gelgarad's theorem is supported only by old stories and legends, and absent facts it cannot be proven.\nIt is worth mentioning here the competing theory of Doctor Thetis of the Shimmerene Academy. Her explanation blames Ayleid decline on over-consumption of the unusually potent beverages of the Bosmer. Doctor Thetis believes the Ayleids, vulnerable in their grief over their losses, fell prey to the Wood Elves' paralyzing brews and simply gave up trying. In this they may have been encouraged by the Bosmer themselves, who often seem insulted by others' displays of industrious effort.\nAnd what did our forest-dwelling cousins learn from the Ayleids? Precious little, apparently, other than some advanced techniques of stonework and masonry. Heartland Elven culture seems to have made little lasting impression on the culture of the Wood Elves. Their attitude seems to me summed up by the statement of Fonlor, the Yorethane of Elden Root, whose response when I asked him about the Ayleids was as follows: \"The Ayleids? Oh, yes. Nice fellows. Took themselves too seriously, though, and what did it get them?\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ayrenn-unforeseen-queen": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ayrenn-unforeseen-queen", "description": "The story of Ayrenn's birth and mysterious ascension to the throne", "author": "Headmaster Tanion of the College of Aldmeri Propriety", "title": "Ayrenn \u2013 The Unforeseen Queen", "text": "Some of our Bosmeri and Khajiiti students have come under the misapprehension that not all of the Altmer of Summerset are united behind our glorious Queen Ayrenn. Nothing could be further from the truth! We High Elves have a penchant for urbane witticisms and sophisticated wordplay that can sometimes be misinterpreted by individuals newly-exposed to our ancient and refined culture. So I've assembled this brief introduction to our beloved Queen of Alinor, intending to tell her story in a simple, direct fashion that can be understood even by our new allies in the Aldmeri Dominion.\nThe Altmer, of course, are descended in an unbroken line from the Divines who created Nirn, and none more so than the royal family of Alinor. Ayrenn's father, King Hidellith of august memory, ruled the Summerset Isles long and well, and exemplified the best traditions of Elven Ceremoniarchy, basing his every decision on the precedents laid down in the Scrolls of Praxis.\nIn due time, as ordained by the Scrolls, King Hidellith and his wife Kinlady Tuinden conceived a child, who was named Ayrenn as the Praxis dictated. Princess Ayrenn was born on the 5th of Second Seed in the year 555 of the Second Era \u2014 a very auspicious date, though I will spare you the reasons why, as you lack the context to comprehend its full significance. However, you can believe me when I tell you all Summerset, Auridon, and Artaeum celebrated her birth for fifty-five days.\nIt was foretold that Princess Ayrenn would reflect the restless and turbulent times in which she was born, and so it came to pass. Nimble and quick-witted, she was quick to master the lessons of her tutors, and from an early age often adopted unorthodox approaches to schoolwork. In fact, she sometimes became so engrossed in her independent studies that her whereabouts were unknown for days at a time. She would often return from these field trips with unusual knowledge and mastery of remarkable skills.\nOne day in Evening Star of the year 563 the entire royal family of Alinor gathered at the Crystal Tower to celebrate Ayrenn's matriculation to the Sapiarchs' Labyrinth, where she was to study Altmeri Regal Praxis and Ceremoniarchy for the requisite 3,555 days. But somewhere between the Palace and Tower the princess had disappeared, and despite a 17th Degree Inquiry decreed by the Justiciars, she was nowhere to be found. The Sapiarchs, however, reported that the night of her disappearance was filled with signs and portents, the constellation of the Lady seeming to ride the constellation of the Steed, while the Great Orrery spun backward, and a young eaglet was found atop the statue of Topal the Explorer.\nIn due course Prince Naemon, Ayrenn's eldest brother, was named heir to the throne of Alinor, and in 565 he matriculated into the Labyrinth. Naemon, like his father, was a natural ceremoniarch, who seemed to have a genuine relish for the rites and duties ordained for the heir by tradition. Indeed, when King Hidellith ascended to Aetherius in the year 580, Prince Naemon immediately began preparing to speak the eighty-eight day Coronation Liturgy that would elevate him to the throne in his father's place.\nThen, in a day of divine glory, the unforeseen occurred! Word came from Port Velyn in Valenwood that Princess Ayrenn was on her way to Auridon by swan ship! In wonder and haste, the Court of Alinor took itself to Firsthold to greet her, arriving just in time to welcome her unexpected return. Princess Ayrenn announced that she was prepared, as the eldest heir, to assume the Throne of Alinor, and the High Justiciar affirmed that this was, indeed, her right. She was crowned Queen Ayrenn on the 7th of Frost Fall in the year 580.\nNow, some of you may have heard wild tales about Princess Ayrenn's adventures during her time away from Summerset \u2014 that she sailed as first mate with a pirate captain from Anvil, disguised herself as a Dunmer in order to read the Indigo Scrolls in the vaults of Necrom, bested the Dervishes of Rihad at their own sword-dance, and even outdrank Queen Mabjaarn Flame-Hair of Windhelm in a mead-slamming contest. All myths and tales, I assure you, preposterous and absurd. Our queen was merely preparing for Praxis and Ceremoniarchy in her own fashion of independent study.\nSince assuming the throne she has brought some innovations to the rule of our wondrous land \u2014 but this is as foretold at the time of her auspicious birth, and the Sapiarchs, one and all, have endorsed her innovations. So you see, students, Ayrenn is undisputed Queen of the Isles, and all is right and proper \u2014 as it should be."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/azaras-note": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/azaras-note", "description": "Azara learned too late to avoid Mist Morrow Vale", "author": "Azara", "title": "Azara's Note", "text": "If you ever read this, Marodeen, do not follow me to Mist Morrow Vale. I should have listened to you and stayed in Vlastarus.\n\tRemember me,\n\tAzara"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/azarrids-race": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/azarrids-race", "description": "One Khajiit shows nimbleness is best -or is it?", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Azarrid's Race", "text": "\"There, at the end of the hall! Is that a sapphire?\" asked Lodissar, eyes shining. \"I've never seen one so big. How much you think we can sell it for?\"\n\"Sell it? Ha! First, that's not a sapphire, and second, we're not selling it,\" Pamolwe remarked. \"It belongs with me, in my experiments. You can't even imagine what I can do with that thing and a little time!\"\n\tThe Nord growled. \"What? There's no way I'm letting you keep that to tinker with. Look at it! It's as big as my head! We'll live like kings!\"\n\"It is worth more in the revelations I'll witness than you can imagine, mead-for-brains!\"\nAzarrid observed the dispute, leaning against the cool stone of the ancient wall as his companions' argument intensified. His gaze flicked down the hallway and his face lit up with a hungry grin as he noticed something interesting. Buffing his claws on his leather armor, he waited for the right moment. \"Khajiit thinks,\" he said during a seething pause, \"that whoever is best to decide is the best adventurer, and that is the one who picks it up first.\" He took off and sprinted past the Nord and Altmer.\nDumbfounded, his companions blinked in surprise for only a moment and then charged forward to catch up, each eager to claim the prize. In their fervor, neither noticed how Azarrid gradually slowed his pace. Magic flew as Pamolwe cast spells to increase her speed, and Lodissar bellowed and surged forward through the dim hall towards the glow of the gem, axe held high.\nAs they overtook Azarrid, they taunted him, but his grin didn't falter as the hallway revealed its true nature to the two frontrunners. Suddenly, concealed blades swung from the walls, slicing in deadly arcs across the hall. A blade sped towards Lodissar and crashed against his armor, pushing him aside. Unharmed, he laughed as Azarrid, keeping pace, nimbly dodged the deadly trap. Pamolwe was not so fortunate or skilled. Her wards shattered under the blows. Frantic, she tried to stop short of a blade in front of her, but her foot became entangled in her robe. She fell headfirst into its path.\nAzarrid did not stop to look back, but jogged behind Lodissar, who continued his shouting. The enormous gem was close now, almost within reach. Assured of his victory, he turned to loose a final insult when the stones beneath his feet crumbled. He tumbled downward, clanging and flailing in his steel armor as it pulled him into a deep pool. Muffled screams sounded from the water as whatever lurked inside stirred.\nIn a quick leap, the triumphant Khajiit stood before the gem, illuminated by its light. Snatching it up, he turned to look back down the trapped hallway. \"Seems Azarrid is the best adventurer today, dear friends,\" he intoned, unaware of the bladed device unfolding from the pedestal behind him."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/azin-jos-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/azin-jos-journal", "description": "A priest of Alkosh meets a dragon", "author": "Azin-jo", "title": "Azin-jo's Journal", "text": "This one feel his days grow longer as his time grows shorter. He prays that Alkosh will grant him the strength to continue his duties. He is but one old Khajiit who does not shoulder the burden of his temple's greatness with the vigor it deserves.\n* * *\nAzin-jo's thoughts turn to friends and family long gone. He has not seen those who drifted from the faith in a long time, and he has buried all who stayed. He is afraid when his time comes, there will be no one to do the same for him.\n* * *\nHow is it Khajiit can forget their greatest god, when Azin-jo is never without Alkosh's presence in his heart of hearts? He knows he should not disdain Riddle'thar, but a Mane should lead us to honor the Divines, not supplant them! Even Rajhin knows how to share!\n* * *\nThis one does not know how to put this to words, but he knows he must record this miracle for posterity. Azin-jo was visited by Alkosh this day. Not as a dream or vision, but real as the stone beneath his feet! As this one prayed in the chancel, he was bathed in shadow. It had been a clear day and he had not prayed so long that the sun had set on him. This one was not prepared for what he saw when he raised his head.\nDescending from the sky was a great Dragon, golden as the sun and radiant in its rays! The Dragon King of Cats has finally returned to the mountain in the hour of our need. Azin-jo threw himself to the ground and gave thanks to Alkosh for answering the prayers of his undeserving servant. This is what Great Alkosh said unto him in his voice of thunder:\n\"Go to your kind and tell them of my return. Bring them to this temple and rebuild it. Those with the faith to serve me will have a place in the future to come.\"\nTomorrow Azin-jo will descend the mountain and spread the glorious news!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/azums-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/azums-journal", "description": "Azum is plotting to take over...", "author": "Azum", "title": "Azum's Journal", "text": "Hadran only brought me on because he wanted to expand his \"side businesses.\" My time in Orcrest gave me all the background I needed to run his games for him. Now, my \"sideshows\" are making more money than his damned slave-trade!\nIt's not that I care about the meat. I don't. If you're dumb enough to get caught by Hadran, you're dumb enough to be sold.\nBut that Elf harpy is reaching her talons further into Elsweyr every day. A little bird just told me she's sent her damned Eyes into Dawnmead, sniffing around after Hadran, Ren-dro, Rakhad, and some of the other movers. She actually thinks she rules out here, the cow.\nFine, let her rule. And let Hadran rot. If I could get rid of him, I'd happily shut down the slave blocks. Like she would care about a few rigged games when Ren-dro is running military secrets out of Pa'alat.\nHah!\nJust need to find the right dupe to put a blade in that old cat's back. Then the whole operation will be mine."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/azurahs-crossing": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/azurahs-crossing", "description": "A heretical myth of Azura and the afterlife", "author": "Amun-dro", "title": "Azurah's Crossing", "text": "by Amun-dro, the Silent Priest\nHis feet touched sand and he knew he had died. He could not remember how it happened, but found he did not care either. It had been a life well-lived, whether he believed so or not, and all had been exactly as it was meant to be.\nHe could not remember his name. He was still Khajiit, that much he knew. He felt his claws, and his whiskers, and his fur. He smelled salt and sugar.\nHe opened his eyes when he remembered having them, looking out at an endless sea. There were old things there, above and below. He saw he was not alone. Other spirits slowly drifted away from the shore. He thought better of calling out to them. The sand was warm between his toes and the sky was painted dusk.\nHe turned to look upon the island. There was a house there, one of glass and moonlight and truth. The smell of sugar was stronger in that direction, so he walked that way.\nThe sand shifted under his feet, never quite giving him sure-footing. When he tried to step up to what seemed to be stone, it crumbled beneath his foot. Still he walked, and stumbled, and climbed. He reached a stair and stepped on to it, but it was made of transparent glass. Even though it was sturdier than the sand, he found it difficult to trust each step. Still he walked, and stumbled, and climbed. He reached the door to the house of light, but he could not open it. He looked up to the sky and the Lattice. He tried to remember the Motions, the secrets a Mother had taught him, but it was hard, and the Lattice kept shaking. Still he walked, and stumbled, and climbed.\nThe gates to the house opened and he walked inside. He knew She was there. He knew he would be struck blind if he looked upon Her, but he could not help it. He looked upon Azurah, She Who Sits at the Precipice, and he saw Her. He was not blinded. She was lithe and tall, reclining on a cloudy bed of stars. She wore nothing, yet he could only see one of her faces. There her eyes shined like the Moons.\n\"My child,\" Azurah said, and he remembered his name. \"You've come home.\"\n\"I have been here before,\" said the Khajiit.\n\"You have walked many paths,\" Azurah replied with a purr. A path of roses formed before his feet, leading up to her. \"All for me.\"\nHe stepped onto the path of roses. Thorns cut his feet. The closer he got to Azurah, the farther away she appeared to be. She rose higher and higher until he was climbing a wall of roses and his fur was matted with blood. Each time he reached the top of the wall and pulled himself over, he was standing at the start of the path again. Still he walked, and stumbled, and climbed.\nHe was in Her cupped hands then. Her face was the sky and Her eyes the Bright Moons. He lived there in sugary bliss for many lifetimes before his feet touched sand again.\nNow he was on the other side of the island. It was dark and cold. It was so dark that he could only see the water when it moved. If there were any spirits there, they were one with the darkness. His tail twitched.\nHe turned and saw Azurah once again, smaller now to stand alongside him. She carried a Moon-Staff and wore a silken dress of purple and gold. She appeared not unlike a mortal. Beautiful and weary. She looked with him out into the darkness.\nThe Khajiit saw the sadness in Azurah's eyes. She had given him so much, he knew, and he had given so little in return. \"I am ready to walk again,\" he said at last. \"What would you have me do?\"\n\"I must send you into the dark, little one.\" There were tears in Her eyes, but She did not let them fall. \"You must make a path for me.\"\nHe looked back over the dark water, noticing just how much it moved. \"I will do anything you ask, Mother.\"\nAzurah smiled at that, and his heart was glad. She plucked the Moon from atop her staff and stepped toward him.\n\"I give to you my Moon,\" Azurah said, and She put Her lips to his forehead and kissed him. And as he took the Moon, it became a weapon.\nThe Khajiit held the blade before him. It shined with Moonlight and he no longer feared the dark.\nAnd Azurah told him: \"Bring my children back.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/baan-dar-and-his-boast": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/baan-dar-and-his-boast", "description": "Invitation to a grand party", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Baan Dar and His Boast", "text": "Do you love to laugh? Have a talent for trickery? A passion for pranks?\nThen come to Baan Dar's Boast! Returning to the ruins at Thormar for the 25th consecutive year! Three Banners War got you down? Come and enjoy the flowing brews of the Bosmer, the cunning quips of the Khajiit, and celebrate the will to survive here on the edge of Elsweyr!\nThis year you can join with the funny faithful of the Pariah's Hand, the Khajiiti group in this year's boast. By the Exile, do they know how to have a good time! Or, sign up with the other side and the woolly Wood Elves of the Subtle Knife! Definitely not a group of assassins during the off season!\nWhether you come to prank or just drink your days away: Baan Dar's Boast! Survival of the smartest on the savannahs of Reaper's March.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/baandari-mutton-stew": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/baandari-mutton-stew", "description": "Instructions for making mutton stew", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Baandari Mutton Stew", "text": "Serves 8\n\t2 pounds cubed mutton\n\t1 cup of stock\n\t1 large onion, chopped\n\t4 small tomatoes, smashed\n\t2 pounds potatoes, peeled and quartered\n\tPlace ingredients in large iron pot and swing over fire. Add a wad of butter and stir. When meat is browned, add a jug of warm stock. Push pot to edge of fire to cook. Add salt or pepper if needed.\n\tThrow out when rotten.\n\tEat cake instead."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/baandari-peddler-note": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/baandari-peddler-note", "description": "Travelling caravans musn't pick up stragglers", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Baandari Peddler Note", "text": "This one was, apparently, not clear enough in her directive against picking up travelers in passing, even if they offer gold! More travelers mean more attention, which is not a thing we seek. Some of the goods we transport are not held in the same high esteem as they are in our homeland. So much so that some of these good are considered to be illegal to possess. So this one doesn't care if your new friends \"seem nice.\" If we are forced to answer the questions of the authorities, we will have plenty of time to grow to dislike one another while we spend time in the same cell.\nKhajiit are expected to express their regrets to their newfound friends and see they do not tag along when next we depart. Otherwise, this one will be forced to bare her claws upon your purses and reduce your cut of the profits accordingly.\nThis one assumes you understand now, yes?"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/back-home-orsinium": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/back-home-orsinium", "description": "One Orc's relief at being among his people again", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Back Home in Orsinium", "text": "2E 582\nI've finished delivering that shipment of ingots to Orsinium. The stories are true. No matter how many times this city gets razed or sacked or burned to the ground, our brothers and sisters rebuild it better and tougher than ever before.\nIt's been thirty-nine years since King Emeric gave us Wrothgar and Orsinium back. I've learned that an army of Orc crafters can do a stupid amount of work in thirty-nine years. And it's none of that ornamental Breton crap, either. It's good solid stonework built to hold up the next time the Bretons and Redguards decide they'd rather just kill us all and try to raze our home to the ground.\nEvery time I'm back home, everything I do just feels right. If you haven't been, then I'll say it like this: it's not Daggerfall.\nEveryone knows where everyone stands in Orsinium. The Bretons in Daggerfall always think I'm on my way to a battlefield. If I hear \"Are you a soldier?\" one more damn time, I'm gonna show them the heavy end of my hammer. If we act like beasts, it's because half the humans in that town talk to us like we're big dumb beasts.\n\tThe other half get really quiet when I'm around. I don't honestly think they fear me. They couldn't possibly think I'm there to kill them and eat their children. They should know I'm there to do business. I'm a blacksmith and stonemason and I'm there to make some coin. Despite that, no one there is really honest about how they feel about Orcs.\nAs soon as I'm back in the heart of Wrothgar, walking between those solid stone walls, everything changes. It's honest there. Not like Daggerfall. There's no fawning or bowing or scraping or Breton poetry: when you talk to someone, they say what they mean. When you look at someone, and he's got a problem with you, you know it. And if I've got a problem with someone, I can punch him in the face without knowing someone's going to call the city guard on me. We settle it. You know what I mean.\nDo you remember the last time you were in a little Orc stronghold? Do you remember the last time you talked to some chieftain with his fat ass on a throne and all his wives scurrying around him? A chief's first wife\u2014every time, I swear, no matter where I go\u2014she sizes me up from her first look. She's got to figure out which Orc traveler or merchant or crafter is going to be the one to bring down her husband and tear down everything she knows. She's a big slaughterfish in a little muddy pond, circling you over and over again.\nYou don't get that in Orsinium. Ever. There's a whole school of slaughterfish baring their teeth at each other, so really, you don't have to worry about some scheming chieftain's wife. Everyone who hates you shows it. You know it.\nAnd the food. Damn! The food! No one in Daggerfall knows how to butcher an animal properly. Maybe their cooks just hate doing it. The farther you travel from Orsinium, the worse it gets: humans overcook their food, so it lacks that savory flavor you get from juice and blood. And nothing crunches properly. You know how it goes.\nDon't get me wrong. I make a lot of money in Daggerfall, but Orsinium is a real city. It's as honest as a stone wall, it's as brutal as a hailstorm, and no matter what they burn or bash or smash, it will never ever really die.\n\tOrsinium is home. It's always good to be back."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/back-land": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/back-land", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Back to the Land!", "text": "Day 1:\nFor the next month, I live outside of Elden Root. So what if I don't follow the Green Pact? Every Bosmer can learn to live off the land!\nNight is scary in the woods. Everything grew quiet all at once, like the entire forest is watching me. But no need to fear! In a month, I'm sure I'll look back upon this entry and laugh."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/badly-damaged-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/badly-damaged-journal", "description": "A fragmented description of a legendary Wamasus", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Badly Damaged Journal", "text": "... dating back hundreds of years. References can even be found in the accounts of early ... so great they thought immediately of dragons. Not hard to imagine, given their prevalence in ... find it hard to swallow.\nLocals expend a great deal of effort arranging seasonal offerings, they \u2026 nuts, meats, and produce together on a raft and set it adrift. Villages go hungry in fear of ... only way to stop seasonal flooding!\nNonsense. Such a creature might be able ... population of local wildlife, but not on that scale. Guar breeding patterns are known to be highly sensitive to ... of woody stalks, and prey animals would \u2026 but over time they would return.\nWere that not enough, account disparity suggests ... attributed to any one beast. To demonstrate this I have ... an expedition. If this \"Haynekhtnamet\" does exist, we will find it and put an end ... of resources once and for all.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bahzahars-summons": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bahzahars-summons", "description": "", "author": "Bahzahar", "title": "Bahzahar's Summons", "text": "I am intrigued by this deal you propose. There is room for more than one skooma supplier in the Black Kiergo after all, no need for us to be hostile. Meet me at my office in the Moonlit Caves and we will discuss the details. The door is behind the waterfall in the caves southern tunnel.\nHand this note to my guards outside to ensure safe passage. I am sure this can all be resolved amicably.\n-Bahzahar"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/balgvirs-siege-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/balgvirs-siege-journal", "description": "A group is besieged by vampires and sea giants", "author": "Balgvir", "title": "Balgvir's Siege Journal", "text": "Another night with no bites on my neck. We can call that a victory, I guess. My Uncle Hofnar used to spin yarns about sleeping with one eye open in his seafaring days\u2014to keep a lookout for squalls. I've been trying to outdo him by sleeping with both eyes open. Hasn't worked.\nBallista's dry. Unless we start firing pots and pans out of it, I think it's just expensive firewood now. Wasn't all that useful anyway. I glanced over the wall yesterday and saw one of those damned Giants swinging one of the bolts like a club. Just what they need. More clubs.\nI don't know how much more of this we can take. I hear those damned vampires scratching at the walls all night. Whispering to us\u2014trying to coax us out with their black magic. I'm deaf in one ear, so it only bothers me half as much as the others. But I had to drag Rudhild off the parapet before she jumped headfirst into a pack of those bloodsuckers. Ogvar tied her up and splashed water on her face. She's still wailing and babbling though. Everyone says it's the black magic talking, but I'm not so sure. I feel like we're all just a few nights away from screaming along with her."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/baliths-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/baliths-journal", "description": "Mysterious lights and a storm over the ocean", "author": "Balith", "title": "Balith's Journal", "text": "Entry 42\nLights again. I didn't think much of it last night, just the glimmer of stars on a calm sea and the bleariness of my eyes at the late hour. They're back again tonight and closer, I think. Well beyond my ability to glimpse at any rate. Just the odd flicker or flash.\nEntry 43\nStorms rolling in. Sky over the sea's turning steely. Must have been what I'd seen the last few nights. Thunder and lightning. I should know better.\nEntry 44\nI've never seen a storm just sort of creep. It's just sort of lingering out at sea, like it's hardly moved. Waiting. I don't like it. I'm going to board up the windows and check the levy tomorrow.\nEntry 45\nThere's a ship! I can just make out the shape in the haze. There's a glow like lamps, but the light's cool. How long has it been caught in that storm, I wonder? Hope they're alright. Not much I can do from here. I'll keep an eye out. The least I can do is run to the port for help if they're sunk in the storm.\nEntry 46\nTava's red feathers! The ship is the storm! A merchant galley was passing near the coast tonight as I was hauling in my nets, and it was like a rod to the lightning. That creeping storm whipped up like a hurricane and lunged at the fat little trader vessel like it was alive. The ship I thought the storm had swallowed was at its head, dragging the clouds like a net around the slower ship. It spat lightning at galley's sails and buffeted it on wind and waves.\nI didn't dare move, watching helpless as the storm-ship overtook the galley. I could barely hear shouts and screams over the thunder. My desire to flee finally shook me free of my horror and I thanked my blessings that I'd gone overlooked.\nEntry 47\nThey're coming. Find Alina. Tell her I love her. Pray for me."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ballad-dorzogg-gutter-king": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ballad-dorzogg-gutter-king", "description": "Song about a kingly Arena combatant", "author": "Shei-Beekus the Would-Be Bard", "title": "Ballad of Dorzogg the Gutter-King", "text": "He never owned a castle,\n\tYet he always wore a crown,\n\tAnd he loved the skeevers and the cut-purses all the same,\n\tHe never lorded over but he always lorded true,\n\tWith a dozen trusty knights by his side,\n\tThey entered the Arena and won against all odds,\n\tAnd the legend of Dorzogg the Gutter-King spread far and wide"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ballad-dranoth-hleranr": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ballad-dranoth-hleranr", "description": "How the Skar fel", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Ballad of Dranoth Hleran", "text": "With fearsome claws, Skar did attack\n\tProtected by his stone hard shell\n\tThat none could even dent or crack\n\tBy the beast's might our armies fell\nBut one brave hero held no fear\n\tDranoth Hleran, warrior brave\n\tWith Calderas, his mighty spear\n\tBut one resounding cry he gave\nHe raised his spear to the beast\n\tHe ran, evading every blow\n\tHis heart was set, his speed increased\n\tAs he charged the mighty foe\nWith a final thrust, a final clash\n\tAt last the mighty Skar was slain\n\tWith honor gifted to his House\n\tMay Hleran's glory never wane"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/balorghs-plan": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/balorghs-plan", "description": "A spy reveals a plot against the leader of this werewolf pack", "author": "Ronela", "title": "Balorgh's Plan", "text": "My Lady Vykosa,\nI now know without a shadow of a doubt that Balorgh schemes to usurp you! He's entered us into a Great Hunt, and plans to win Hircine's boon in order to gain the power to overthrow you. Though he has not said this outright, instead making petty excuses as to how the boon will be used to benefit our pack, I know his words to be nothing but lies.\nI cannot stop him alone, and I dare not risk my position by outing myself as your spy. As such, I will keep Balorgh under observation and wait for a time to strike. I am unable to defeat him in combat, I know this, but I swear to you that I will do everything in my power to stop him.\nYours faithfully,\nRonela"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/baloth-bloodtusk": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/baloth-bloodtusk", "description": "A short rhyme", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Baloth Bloodtusk", "text": "Standing in defiance\ndeath would not find his friends\nbut would break against his mighty shield\never at their backs."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bandit-thugs-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bandit-thugs-journal", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Bandit Thug's Journal", "text": "Those Orcs were two of a kind. Get this, each hired me to kill the other! So I took their gold, poisoned them both, and set their lodge on fire to make it look accidental.\nNever killed an Orc chief's wife before. Today I killed two!\n\u2014\nSaw <<1>> in <<2>> today\u2014she's the Barkbite chief's third wife. I dropped hints she's in charge because of me, but nothing stuck. She doesn't have a foul bone in her body! Felt wrong to push her, so I wished her a good day. Must be getting soft."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bandits-letter": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bandits-letter", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Bandit's Letter", "text": "That stupid Khajiit's initial crop was decent enough. Because of it we were able plant a larger crop in the creek bed after finally getting the area free of those insipid nix-hounds\u2014only to be utterly overwhelmed by fetcherflies a few days later.\nIt seems that reducing the nix-hound population has somehow increased the fetcherfly population. Either that or a fabled fetcherfly hive golem was able to form in here somewhere. If I would have known this previously, I would never have agreed to that Dark Elf woman's bribe.\nWhen Rathal and the other two useless morons get back from exploring the western cavern for more of that stupid Khajiit's research, I may put together a fetcherfly hunting party. Try to rid these caves of these blasted pests and their constant annoyances."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bangkorai-shield-high-rock": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bangkorai-shield-high-rock", "description": "King Eamond's Final Address to His Troops", "author": "King Eeamond", "title": "Bangkorai, Shield of High Rock", "text": "\"Knights of Saint Pelin; Evermore Guard; freeborn militia of Mournoth and Ephesus: soldiers of Bangkorai! Ever have we been the shield of High Rock, the first line of defense for the Breton Kingdoms against invaders from the east. Time and again the Bretons of Evermore and her surrounding regions have taken up arms to garrison Bangkorai Pass and turn away those who would pillage and plunder our homeland. In the year 874 of the First Era, when Warlord Thulgeg's army of Orcs and Goblins was driven from Hammerfell by the Redguards, we denied them passage through the Pass and forced them to flee northeast, trudging all the way through the Dragontail Mountains before they finally reached Orsinium. Not a single Goblin made its way through our pickets into our homeland.\n\"Then, in 1029, when the legions of Empress Hestra deposed King Styriche, the Vampire of Verkarth, he fled west at the head of his dreaded Gray Host, burning and killing as they came. But when his army of bat-men and wolves reached the Bangkorai Garrison, they broke like a wave on a rock. Hestra's legions caught and killed the survivors, and the Empress was so impressed that she honored High Rock with admission into the First Empire.\n\"When, after almost a thousand years under the Ruby Throne, the excesses of the Alessian Order forced High Rock to secede from the First Empire, the Monks of Cyrodiil decided not to let us go peaceably. In 2305, under Abbot-General Priscus Mactator, the Legions of Piety and Grace were sent to bring the Bretons back into the fold. Mactator's fanatics filled the Fallen Wastes from end to end, but they could not pass the Bangkorai Garrison, and after a five-month siege, with the pious turning on the graceful, the Abbot-General was forced to admit defeat and plod back to Cyrodiil in disgrace.\n\"Only once has the Garrison failed to protect High Rock: when Durcorach's Reachmen Horde poured down the south shore of the Bjoulsae, filtering through the Northwest Spine that had always protected us before. Then, Evermore was sacked, and the Garrison was taken from behind. But even then, we bought High Rock enough time that the Breton Kingdoms were able to muster their troops and eventually repulse Durcorach at Daggerfall.\n\"Today, invaders from the east threaten us once again, in the form of an Imperial Legion from Cyrodiil. But these are not the legendary warriors of an Empress Hestra, or the disciplined soldiers of an Emperor Reman: these are the degraded mercenaries of the Tharn usurpers. Indeed, this legion is even led by a cousin of that decadent and faithless family!\n\"And who is this Magus-General Septima Tharn? What battles has she won, beyond bullying freeholders for their back taxes? What barrel-scrapings are these so-called 'legionaries' she brings to pollute our homeland with their heretical, Daedra-worshiping ways?\n\"I say they are scum, a desecration of the once-noble name 'Imperial Legion.' I say they are a rabble. And I say that, with us manning the walls, they shall not pass the Bangkorai Garrison!\n\"What say you, Knights of Saint Pelin; Evermore Guard; freeborn militia of Mournoth and Ephesus\u2014soldiers of Bangkorai! Will we betray the blood of our ancestors and allow enemies through the Pass? Never, I say! Not today, not tomorrow, not ever!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bards-college-salskap-tonight": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bards-college-salskap-tonight", "description": "Advertisement for a Skald's College performance of \"An Adventurer's Triumph.\"", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Bards College Salskap Tonight!", "text": "BARDS of Tamriel! PEOPLE of Solitude!\nThe Bards College's most revered musical instruments have been restored to their rightful place! Tonight we take them off their pedestals to hold a grand salskap in honor of their return.\nOur traditional bard party includes the premiere performance of \"An Adventurer's Triumph.\"\nJoin us for a night of song and feasting that Solitude will never forget!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/barely-legible-note": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/barely-legible-note", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Barely Legible Note", "text": "I hear nothing but the screams of anguish. Blackened by the torment of their betrayal; their unending shrieks pierce my sanity!\nI can bear it no longer. Arkay forgive me."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/barelzar-and-daedra": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/barelzar-and-daedra", "description": "", "author": "Lorfuin", "title": "Barelzar and the Daedra", "text": "Amado\nWhere are you? I figured out the damned puzzle to unlock the door on my own, without your so-called \"puzzle sense\". I guess you are loitering in a tavern in Molag Mal, flirting with Dark Elf women. Again. Or passed out in the corner of the tavern, clutching your tail for comfort.\nThis gate to the statue chamber seems to have no way to open it from this side. I am going to scout around, there's got to be another way in, or a key somewhere. I think I can see a door in the back of the room. \\n\\nIf you are reading this, come and find me. If you don't, your share just went to nothing.\nLorfuin"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/barilzars-hirelings": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/barilzars-hirelings", "description": "A list of the mage's assistants and various components of his studies", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Barilzar's Hirelings", "text": "Leona Blasio: Imperial, well-educated, kind of a snob, but she knows her way around a Dwemer ruin!\nSnorfin: Burly, obnoxious Nord with a surprising knack for locating rare and unusual items. You really can't judge a bell by its chimes!\nVolrina Quarra: Dunmer, studied with both Narsis Dren and myself for a time before becoming a free agent. Now she works alongside her brother. Someday she might challenge my superior intellect, but not quite yet.\nDwemer Components: I need the following Dwarven components to build a tonal inverter.\nSonance Generator: A sound-producing engine of Dwarven design.\nInversion Conduit: A negatively charged plate to transpose the flow of energy.\nManual Clockwork Shaft: A complex Dwarven crank for making gears rotate and pistons operate."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/barilzars-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/barilzars-journal", "description": "Comments on research and life in the Clockwork City, from a famous mage", "author": "Barilzar", "title": "Barilzar's Journal", "text": "A Record of My Studies in the Clockwork City\n\tBy Barilzar, Apprentice to Sotha Sil\nToday marks the twenty-sixth click of the gear, on the fourteenth rotation of the cyclical time-keeper, since I was selected by Sotha Sil as a Clockwork Apostle and apprentice mage and entered the Clockwork City. The place continues to fill me with awe and wonder, perhaps to an even greater degree than when I first set foot inside the tiny, domed complex. At first, I couldn't shake the crushing fear that accompanied my initial entry into the city. I was terrified of the shrinking process and the thought of being turned into a miniscule version of myself gave me nightmares for days before the transition was set to take place. And when it occurred, I'm slightly embarrassed to admit, the sensation of shrinking didn't exactly agree with me. I suppose I shouldn't have had such a big breakfast right before, but the scrib jelly on wickwheat toast smelled so good!\n* * *\nSo many things to get used to, working in the Clockwork City! First off, everything is made of metal, though sometimes the forms and shapes can deceive the eye into thinking an object is composed of an entirely different substance. Second, we utilize sequence plaques instead of paper for inscribing notes and maintaining records. Very much in keeping with the aesthetics of the place. Third, the jargon developing within this small, closed community would be almost impossible to understand if I hadn't been here when it started to take root. Allusions and metaphors concerning clockwork mechanics fill our conversations and punctuate our statements. It even slips into our humor, such as it is. Sometimes it even feels like we're trying to upstage one another with who can construct the most perfect turn-of-gear phrase, but who could ever imagine that Clockwork Apostles would compete with one another? Well, except for that Albacron. He's a netch's arse.\n* * *\nLord Seht requested my assistance in an unusual series of experiments today. He calls them his Nine Analyses of the Exalted Enigmas. I'm still trying to align my gears with his godly contemplations, but the experiments seem designed to test the limits of Sotha Sil's divine power. He outlined the entire series as he imagines them, but we only conducted the first of the experiments today. It was fascinating, even if I couldn't comprehend more than half of what I witnessed. Perhaps additional understanding will dawn as we conduct the remaining eight experiments. And I hope something explodes. I love explosions!\n* * *\nLord Seht develops the most interesting and practical tools. When he required a tool to drain away minute bits of his own divine energy to store and study, he crafted one to his exact specifications. When he desired an instrument to measure the precise distance between different \"locations\" in Oblivion, he crafted that, too. What about a device for recording and analyzing our surroundings? He calls that his \"perception tabulator.\" I hope to one day be able to invent and craft devices that are half as useful as the contraptions he throws together when he's bored or even working on something else. He's the ultimate multitasker!\n* * *\nThe longer I spend in the Clockwork City, the more I come to appreciate it as a wonder and a miracle! From its brass tunnels to its glass domes, its metal plating to its giant gears, I can barely begin to understand all of its potential - and I'm one of the apostles helping to expand and fine tune the construction! Other than the tasteless paste the city provides as the only source of nutrition, the place is nearly perfect. It makes me sad to realize that I'd need a hundred lifetimes to study and understand even a third of what was required to design and construct this marvelous invention. I wonder, could I extend my life in order to continue the work I've dedicated myself to? Something to research at some future date.\n* * *\nNovice Kellu attempted to add a sense of humor to the factotum personality sequencing. It went as well as can be expected. Of the three factotums she attempted to enhance with her whimsical algorithms, one exploded, one ran into the Radius and hasn't been seen since, and the third stands in the corner and mutters to itself. The words are low and hard to understand, but I'm sure I heard the poor mechanical repeating \"knock, knock\" over and over again.\nMaybe it's time to take my leave and find my own place in the larger world."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/barjots-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/barjots-journal", "description": "An Ayleid wants Barjot's soul", "author": "Barjot", "title": "Barjot's Journal", "text": "22 Sun's Height\n\tGoing to be a good dig. I have a feeling. Sailed in without a hitch\u2014Ferrand knows his business. We'll be rich and gone before the Orcs even know we're here.\nIf they were smart they'd be digging in these ruins themselves. But I've never known Orcs to be particularly smart.\n28 Sun's Height\n\tOne week with no loot. Atirr insists there's a room we haven't found, but I'm sick of listening to that Cat. It was a mistake to sign up for this dig. If the Orcs don't kill us, a cave-in will.\n29 Sun's Height\n\tI can't believe it. The Cat found something! We discovered an old door hidden behind a bookcase. It hasn't been opened in Akatosh knows how long.\nMight finally see a good score. Even one decent relic would be enough to make this trip worthwhile. We'll open it tomorrow, when Delphine gets back.\n2 First Seed\n\tWhy did we do it? Why did we open that door? Did Attir know what would happen? I just can't get his screams out of my head.\nNo relic is worth this. I'm leaving, no matter what Delphine says. Even if there is a curse, I didn't touch it. What would some long-dead Ayleid want with my soul, anyway?"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/barkbite-stronghold-shamans-list": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/barkbite-stronghold-shamans-list", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Barkbite Stronghold Shaman's List", "text": "Needed Samples:\n\t\u2014 Water from the well\n\t\u2014 Food from the local cookfires\n\t\u2014 Clothing from the storage chest"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/baron-soricks-orders": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/baron-soricks-orders", "description": "", "author": "Baron Sorick", "title": "Baron Sorick's Orders", "text": "Orders for Tonight:\nThomic will be bringing in some eggs from the dreugh nests. Have the men take a few each and spread them around Dreughside. And quietly, mind!\nIf anyone sees you, throw them to the dreugh. And burn this letter after reading it\u2014don't get any ideas about holding on to it to blackmail me later.\nI'll be upstairs in Arbogasque's house. The swine owes me rent.\n\u2014 Baron Sorick"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/barrow-trench-scouts-report": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/barrow-trench-scouts-report", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Barrow Trench Scout's Report", "text": "Received instructions from R to set eyes on the sea. Have sent three pairs of scouts along the coast. Daily patrols ordered, with eyes watching both night and day.\nHave recorded reports below.\nDay 1:\n\tUneventful. Camps set up in each of the three stretches of coast divided between the scout teams. Considered advisable to restrict camp fires to caves at night, so as not to draw suspicion.\nDay 2:\n\tScout team one reports unusual activity to the south, near Woodhearth. Further investigation reveals a foundered merchant vessel, nothing more.\n\tOther scout teams report nothing.\nDay 3:\n\tNothing.\nDay 4:\n\tActivity near the northern coast. Possible Maormer incursion? Unconfirmed.\nDay 5:\n\tScout team three near Malabal Tor reports Redguard activity near the Barrow Trench cave by the coast. Suspicious movement of supplies, as well as dead wildlife observed. Advised scout team to continue observation of cave. Unknown whether these are Daggerfall Covenant agents or independent actors.\nDay 6:\n\tScout team three failed to report today. Unsure if related to previously observed Redguard activity. Will send larger group to investigate and confront, if necessary."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/barrowtons-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/barrowtons-journal", "description": "Barrowton investigates an ancient giant camp", "author": "Barrowton", "title": "Barrowton's Journal", "text": "Every exploration I undertake is simply more fascinating that the one before. Take this series of caves, for example. The place is called Breagha-Fin, and the legends surrounding the place are simply\u2014well\u2014fascinating!\nMost of the legends describe the cavern as home to a race of giants that migrated here from the harsh and unforgiving Skyrim wilderness. Of course, no giants are found in the region today, so I'm not sure how much to believe these stories. The place is certainly full of giant accouterments, though.\nThe bones of massive mammoths, including skulls topped with great horns, adorn the walls of the cavern. Since such creatures have never been known to roam the Rivenspire wilderness, the presence of their bones lends some credence to the tales of sojourners from the frigid wastes of Skyrim, though.\n\t***\n\tAs I write these words, I am listening to sounds coming from the entrance to the caves. Could it be bandits? A wild animal, perhaps? I sincerely hope it's just some traveler, looking for shelter from the wind and rain. Either way, I had better go see what's going on.\n\t***\n\tNords! There are Nords in Rivenspire and they're moving into Breagha-Fin! Should I talk to them? Try to reason with them and convince them to let me leave? Or should I try to find a place to hide and hope they move on? Perhaps that sealed chamber I found on the second level will offer some level of protection. Yes, that's where I shall hide, and hope for the best."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bashshi-ra-inquiry-partial": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bashshi-ra-inquiry-partial", "description": "An incomplete version of this criminal's dossier", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Bashshi-ra Inquiry (partial)", "text": "Subject: Bashshi-ra\nReport: Subject spends most of his time in the Five Claws Pub, but has been known to make unexplained trips to Seaside Sanctuary.\nIs in continual contact with known criminals.\nUnder investigation for skooma trading, theft, extortion (including his connection to two separate instances in which a shop-owner was found severely beaten), devaluing the currency (Woodhearth's blacksmith may be a co-conspirator in this), and public indecency.\nNotes:\n\tBelieve I have found the source of Bashshi-ra's \u2026"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/basic-provisioning-guide": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/basic-provisioning-guide", "description": "As one would imagine, this is a basic guide on provisioning", "author": "Cloelius Maluginens, Supply Sergeant, Seventh Legion", "title": "Basic Provisioning Guide", "text": "In my twenty years as supply captain for the Seventh Imperial, I learned one absolute truth: provisioning is the same whether feeding yourself or an entire army. Per Magus-General Septima Tharn's request, I will share what I know to aid the provisioners of less accomplished legions.\nStep 1: Acquire Ingredients\nWhen you are in the field, your backpack is the only pantry upon which your soldiers can rely. Requisition anything you can find\u2014every barrel, chest, or sack of grain should make its contribution to your cause.\nAs an Imperial soldier you have the right to requisition as much as you want, but use discretion. A citizen with an empty larder will have long memories of Imperial imposition. A single handful, scoop, or item from each barrel, chest, or sack is my simple rule.\nStep 2: Acquire Recipes\nNever forget that you are a provisioner, not a chef. You aren't cooking personal meals for the Duchess of Cheydinhal. It doesn't matter how the food tastes as long as it feeds your cohort. You want recipes that are fast, simple, and best made in bulk.\nTake roasted chicken breast, a meal that requires poultry. It doesn't matter that you know the ingredients required\u2014without a proper recipe, they're just raw meat. Locals always have their own ways to prepare local ingredients, so stay vigilant for recipes while requisitioning supplies.\nStep 3: Cook, Cook, Cook\nOnce you've learned a recipe, bring those ingredients to a cooking fire. Then cook them. Don't burn the food.\nRemember to serve your cohort what it needs most. Scouts and skirmishers need plenty of vegetables. Mages in your cohort are best fed fruits. Infantry can always use hearty meat dishes. Never forget that a hot meal can make the difference between life and death.\nAddendum: Brewing On The Go\nI hear enough questions about brewing to warrant its own section. I recommend you never keep more than a flask of fine brew with you. Your cohort will know it's a prize for those who truly distinguish themselves.\nYet sometimes the cohort needs liquid courage, such as before a battle or a parade review. This is when I brew horrible swill from local recipes, both to shock the soldiers into a state of confident readiness and to keep them from growing fond of the stuff.\nStep 1 and Step 2 are identical to the similar steps for cooking. As for the third?\nStep 3: Brew, Brew, Brew\nOnce you've learned a recipe, bring those ingredients to a cooking fire. Then brew them. Don't spoil the drink.\nI often present excess brew to the locals who \"donated\" the ingredients in the first place. This is not Imperial requisition policy, but it helps my cohort stay in their future good graces should we suffer a retreat due to the actions of less stalwart legions."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/battered-note": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/battered-note", "description": "A note from a person who was enduring something horrific", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Battered Note", "text": "The note was wrong. There is no way out. Just more hoarvers.\nMithindil and I slew the first. But then came the flesh beast and with it, another pair. One spit from each.\nOne spit, then two. Mithindil dissolved in a single moment. One spit, then two.\nWhy won't they kill me?"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/battle-falinesti": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/battle-falinesti", "description": "Summary of a great battle and its relics", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Battle of Falinesti", "text": "Beaten at the battle of Sphinxmoth, the Khajiiti commander Eagle Eye ordered his troops into an orderly retreat. Unknown to Eagle Eye, the Bosmer were seeking bloody revenge. As the Khajiiti troops rested somewhere just outside the Vale of Falinesti, the Bosmer set upon them from every side. The battle was short and vicious. Before long, Khajiiti blood filled the vale. The survivors were all butchered and it is said that some were even roasted alive.\nRelics Sought:\n\t\u2014 Eagle Eye's remains\n\t\u2014 Eagle Eye's sword\n\t\u2014 Eagle-Eye's sigil"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/battle-black-beast": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/battle-black-beast", "description": "Instructions in the form of poetry", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Battle of the Black Beast", "text": "Only by divine mask's power\n\tAnd its sacred light\n\tWill you learn of the Black Beast\n\tAnd of our perilous fight\nUse the mask to see our stories\n\tBy the sacred fire's glow\n\tA pathway forward shall be opened\n\tTo the icy prison below"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/battle-thormar": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/battle-thormar", "description": "Account of a great battle and its artifacts", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Battle of Thormar", "text": "The Bosmeri and Khajiiti warparties clashed in the fields near Thormar. The battle lasted an entire day but in the end the Bosmer were victorious, leaving Khajiiti corpses scattered about the field. The Khajiiti leader, a powerful mage named Yenamu Frost-Fist, was the last to fall. She and the last of the the Khajiit held for hours, as she ripped walls of ice from the ground to thwart attack after attack. One by one, the last of the defenders fell until Yenamu stood alone. Finally a single arrow, shot by an unknown Bosmer, struck her through the eye and the battle was won.\nRelics Sought:\n\t- Skull of Yenamu and the arrow that slew her.\n\t- Yenamu's staff.\n\t- The skulls of Yenamu's honor guard."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/battlehorn-select": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/battlehorn-select", "description": "Brief description of a fine wine", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Battlehorn Select ", "text": "The Finest Imperial Wine"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/battleplans": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/battleplans", "description": "Brief battle tactics description for a group of nationalistic Argonians", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Battleplans", "text": "Soon we will strike from the many caves beneath Shadowfen. We will descend on the infidels and strike them down. The Hist will lead us to victory."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bazorgbegs-expeditionary-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bazorgbegs-expeditionary-journal", "description": "Detailing an archeological mission into the frozen Dwemeri ruin of Rkindaleft", "author": "Bazorgbeg", "title": "Bazorgbeg's Expeditionary Journal", "text": "Day 1\n\tOur first hours in Rkindaleft proved largely fruitless. We were ambushed by some pale Orcs. They seemed completely mad. Lost a few of the sellswords we hired. Jeirmun and <<1>> are convinced the place is cursed.\nFools. If the place wasn't dangerous, there'd be nothing of value inside! I'm glad <<2>> is in charge. He wants to press on, so we press on.\nDay 2\n\tA strange day, but a productive one. Still no explanation for what drove the pale Orcs mad. We saw more of them, but they skittered away from us, hiding in the glacial portions. Good riddance.\nAmazing how Dwarven constructs seem to last forever. Several have frozen solid, but a few are still humming along. We expected them to attack, but they ignored us. It's as if we weren't even here. Occasionally I feel like they are looking at me, but when I turn they move along.\n<<2>> forbade us from studying the constructs. \"Don't give them a reason,\" he said. It salts my eyes that he's right.\nDay 3\n\tWe know why the ruin is melting. Someone was here after the Dwemer, likely for a very long time. It's hard to make out their intentions, but the research materials scattered around the place suggest an extensive team of mages who required vast amounts of thermoharmonic power for their purposes. We've collected everything we could for later study.\n<<2>> is losing it. One minute he's arguing with <<1>> about pressing on, the next he's jumping at the smallest sound. He keeps saying the ruin is alive. That the walls are watching us. He needs to get some sleep.\nDay 4\n\tSeparated from <<2>> and the others after the pale Orcs attacked. Leaves me in charge of two mercenaries. I don't even know their names, but they answer to \"you.\" Good enough for me.\nI told them about the thermoharmonic valve we saw on the way here and ordered them to close it. The pressure seals the door, just like <<2>> said. Release the valve, the door opens. I'll wait by the door until they release the valve. Once inside I'll see if I can find out why all this pressure is directed into one room.\nDay 5\n\tIt wasn't enough. The door lost pressure, but it still wouldn't budge. An hour later the pressure restored itself. The mercenaries never returned. Did they run? Were they killed?\nThe constructs are watching me now. Coming closer. Perhaps if I'm very still they won't\u2014"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bazorgbegs-notes": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bazorgbegs-notes", "description": "Treasure hunter's journal found in Rkindaleft", "author": "Bazorgbeg", "title": "Bazorgbeg's Notes", "text": "Day 1\nOur first hours in Rkindaleft proved largely fruitless. We were ambushed by some pale Orcs that seemed completely mad. Lost a few of the sellswords we hired. Jeirmun and Glurbasha are convinced the place is cursed. Fools. If the place wasn't dangerous there'd be nothing left of worth inside. I want to press on.\n\nDay 2\nA strange day, but a productive one. Still no explanation as to what drove the Orcs here mad, but we saw more of them. They skittered away from us this time, hiding away in some holes. Fine by me.\nAmazing how Dwarven constructs seem to run forever. Several have frozen solid, but a few are still humming along. We expected an attack, but they ignored us as if we weren't even here. Occasionally I feel like they are looking at me, but when I turn they move along. I just need to eat something.\n\nDay 3\nNow we know why the ruin is slowly melting. Someone has been here, likely for a very long time. It's hard to make out what he's doing exactly, but he left research materials scattered around the place. We've collected everything we could. It sounds like he has been working towards something big involving pieces of a Dwarven Centurion, and his previous tests failed due to a lack of power. I wonder who he is. Nothing mentions his name.\nDorand is losing it already. He should just go back to the camp with Glurbasha. He keeps saying the ruin is alive. That the walls are watching him. Haunted by waking dreams, I think.\n\nDay 4\nI've instructed the others to deal with attempting to shut down the power or divert it elsewhere. I was hoping to find some way to open the door to the workshop without doing so, but now I think I've confirmed they are connected somehow.\nI'll wait here by the door until they complete the task. I have to be the first inside.\n\nDay 5\nI'm still fascinated by the idea that this man has been living here conducting experiments for possibly years. If his research notes are true his workshop could contain evidence that would be worth a fortune. I can't decide if he's a genius or a madman. Maybe both.\nI wonder if he succeeded in transferring a mortal soul into a construct. What would it even be like? Just what will I find in there?"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/beast-acquisitions-log": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/beast-acquisitions-log", "description": "Records of captured animals, and how much they're worth", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Beast Acquisitions Log", "text": "New Aquisitions:\nJackal, Male:\n\tLean muscle, but well-groomed pelt. Probably keep the meat for stew. Hide and skull should sell for twenty gold, or so.\nSenche Panther, Male:\n\tSteady beast. Well-fed. Pelt only scarred at the left hind-ankle. From a snare, maybe? No major decrease in pelt value. Probably sell the whole beast to that High Elf back in Rimmen. Those long-legged dandies never know how to do anything useful with an animal like this. Pathetic. Probably two-hundred gold take. Not bad.\nSenche Lion, Female:\n\tStout frame and wiry meat, but no shortage of fat. Probably use it to render some tallow for woodworkers. Could use some new bows and the like. Skin itself will sell well. Hundred gold, maybe. Would make a fine rug. Keep it, maybe?\nSenche Lion, Male (White!):\n\tSet for a year or more on this one. Have an Orc buyer with gold in hand, ready to take the whole animal back to Orsinium. Few scars to speak of. Scale is just massive. two-thousand gold, easy. Make sure this one stays well-fed, but don't spare the gag-chain if needed."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/beginning-bladecraft-7-precepts": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/beginning-bladecraft-7-precepts", "description": "Basic rules of swordsmanship", "author": "Master Ghelwezh", "title": "Beginning Bladecraft: 7 Precepts", "text": "\u2014 Do not strangle the grip\u2014hold it firmly but lightly in your palm.\n\t\u2014 The blade curves: the edge is rigid, but the flat is flexible. Learn to feel your sword's range of motion.\n\t\u2014 Your sword is not the weapon, it is only the point of the weapon. Your entire body is the weapon, and it must move as one.\n\t\u2014 You expose yourself only when you attack\u2014but if you do not attack, you cannot hit.\n\t\u2014 The strongest slash is with the forte of the blade.\n\t\u2014 Move always, defending with stop thrusts, parries, backsteps, and sidesteps. To stand still is to die.\n\t\u2014 Know your lunge range\u2014and your opponent's. Learn to sense it without looking down."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/behold-khunzar-ris-ambition": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/behold-khunzar-ris-ambition", "description": "How the great Khajiiti hero put aside his vanity for a bit", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Behold Khunzar-ri's Ambition", "text": "Khunzar-ri was not a humble Khajiit. Even as a young cat on the prowl, he dreamed of grand adventures, honor, fame, and a place in history. And with his own claws and a positive disposition, he achieved all that and more. But he did so in a way that endeared him to others. It was something in his smile.\nTake, for example, the time he hired a scribe to follow him around and record his exploits. The scribe, an unimposing Alfiq whose name has been forgotten, dutifully wrote down pages and pages of anecdotes from the daily life of Khunzar-ri. She constantly remained by his side, despite circumstances, danger, or propriety, in order to carry out her assigned duties. Anequina became so annoyed by the Alfiq's presence, that she refused to associate with Khunzar-ri until the scribe departed. Khunzar-ri shrugged and wished Anequina well during their sabbatical. \"Too much of Zar makes the heart beat too fast,\"\" said Khunzar-ri with a sigh as she walked away.\nA few days later, as dusk spread across the land, Khunzar-ri and his Alfiq scribe came upon a young Khajiit warrior. He appeared upset and unsure what to do, holding his spear and staring across the stream at a trio of ravening river trolls. \"You seem troubled, friend warrior,\" said Khunzar-ri, his scribe writing furiously to record every word. The young warrior turned. \"Those trolls attacked this one's village,\" he said, \"killing some, maiming others, and stealing the great wamasu that was roasting over the village cooking pit for our Festival of the Two Moons. This one came to retrieve the carcass, but fear of the three trolls stays his hand. This one will be marked a coward and never gain honor and prestige in his own home.\"\nKhunzar-ri considered the young warrior, the spear, and the three river trolls across the way. He held out his hand and motioned for the young warrior to give him the spear. Once he had tested the weight and straightness of the weapon, Khunzar-ri called to the trolls. \"River trolls of a most ugly and disgusting countenance,\" he yelled, \"this one has a gift for you!\" Curious, the three river trolls lined up to see who had dared call out to them. They looked like a single body with three heads, one peaking out from behind another. \"Perfect!\" said Khunzar-ri, and he threw the spear with all his might. It pierced all three trolls and pinned them to a nearby tree, where their blood flowed down to feed its roots.\n\"Go,\" Khunzar-ri said to the young warrior, \"retrieve the festival meal and return to your village as a hero.\"\n\"But Khunzar-ri,\" the Alfiq scribe asked, \"that was your kill! And a great kill it was, too! What of your ambition?\"\nKhunzar-ri shrugged. \"Zar's ambition is as strong as ever, but the young warrior needs this honor more. Besides, there will be an even more spectacular adventure tomorrow, Zar just knows it!\"\nThese are the words, and the words are true."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/behold-khunzar-ris-betrayal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/behold-khunzar-ris-betrayal", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Behold Khunzar-ri's Betrayal", "text": "Brave Khunzar-ri, who sprung from the womb with Azurah's secrets upon his lips and Alkosh's great strength branded upon his claws, prowled the world alone for many years. But his laughing spirit yearned for fellowship. As is often the case with great heroes, Khunzar-ri had many friends, but few true companions. To those lucky few he did call \"Kra'Jun battle-friend,\" he showed nothing but kindness and fiercest loyalty.\nAlas! The price of loyalty is, too often, betrayal! In the ancient Halls of Colossus, the foul Betrayer broke the bonds of Kra'Jun and struck Khunzar-ri a mortal blow. In so doing, he struck his own name from history, his own head from his body, and his own honor from his soul.\nWe remember the sleek Khunzar-ri, we remember the betrayal, but we do not remember the Betrayer. May his thirst for fame and power be quenched only by the choking dust of obscurity!\nThese are the words, and the words are true."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/behold-khunzar-ris-guile": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/behold-khunzar-ris-guile", "description": "How the hero tricked an impoverished monastery into accepting all his wealth", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Behold Khunzar-ri's Guile", "text": "Many and many were Khunzar-ri's triumphs. In time, his victories grew like sugar-blossoms in vast fields beyond counting. Mountains of fragrant garlands, heady wines, and great sacks of gold filled every room of his grand treasure palace. Indeed, all the riches of the sixteen kingdoms stretched out before him\u2014begging to be claimed! But wealth, like fruit, grows sour with age. At length, he resolved to give it away.\nAnd so, with a joyful heart, the Laughing Lion set out in search of a worthy recipient. In a fortnight, he found himself at the creaking gate of an ancient adeptorium. So drafty and bleak was the structure that even the rats refused to dwell within it. Only a pawful of wretched adepts made their home there. With sullen eyes and threadbare vestments, the sad Khajiit did naught but attend to their chores\u2014shuffling from cloister to chapel with the pathetic gait of wounded birds.\nBrave Khunzar-ri felt his chest swell with purpose. Surely, these were the rightful inheritors of his vast fortune. But when he offered the riches to the order's abbot, Savda-jo, the elderly cleric shook his head. \"We need only thin soup and prayer to sustain us, Pahmar-kin.\" And with that he prepared to return to his chambers. Khunzar-ri gazed over the old cleric's shoulder and saw the pleading faces of his adepts\u2014faces desperate for even the modest joys of a bowl of sweetrice.\nThinking quickly, the Laughing Lion roared, \"Wait, abbot! Khunzar-ri will make you a wager. If this one can pluck the Moons from the sky and bury them at your feet, you must accept any gift he offers. If Khunzar-ri fails, he will forsake his call to adventure and join you here in this adeptorium forever. What say you?\"\nSavda-jo, filled with eagerness to see the proud warrior humbled, quickly nodded his assent.\nBrave Khunzar-ri smiled broadly, knowing that his victory was assured. With a joyful spirit, the hero bounded over the sour abbot's head and landed heavily upon the adeptorium's roof. The structure's ancient spire creaked and sighed as the massive Pahmar-raht clawed his way to its summit. And there, to the abbot's great dismay, Khunzar-ri plucked an iron effigy of Jone and Jode from the wood with one great yank. When the Laughing Lion returned, he quickly scooped a pawful of clay from the ground and dropped the statue in the hole with a flourish. Savda-jo, thus humbled, rent his garments and wandered into the wilderness, never to be seen again.\nWith a fortnight's effort, Khunzar-ri transported his great wealth to the adeptorium. In honor of the scheme that liberated them, the new abbot renamed the shrine Moongrave and assured the Laughing Lion that he would always have a place among the grateful adepts.\nBehold the wonders of a hero's guile!\nThese are the words, and the words are true."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/behold-lunar-champion": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/behold-lunar-champion", "description": "Short instructions for approaching the tablets of Khunzar-ri", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Behold the Lunar Champion", "text": "Welcome, honored guest, to the Hall of the Lunar Champion.\nBehold the life of the Laughing Lion, Khunzar-ri! Visions of his humble origins, his grand adventures, and his tragic end at the hands of The Betrayer all lie before you.\nThree tablets rest upon altars in this sacred chamber. Approach each with a pious, laughing heart. By the light of Jone, the text shall become manifest, allowing you to walk the path of our greatest hero."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/beldorrs-note": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/beldorrs-note", "description": "Note from an unfortunate person hunted by Flesh constructs", "author": "Beldorr", "title": "Beldorr's Note", "text": "Running, always running.\nI've finally made it past the Flesh Sculptor and his Flesh Abomination, thanks to Atropos and Aszamon. I will never forget their sacrifice. I wear Aszamon's armor in his memory, dyed to a putrid flesh teal by the undead bile that slew him, and write in his honor, in the case that I join the fallen before today is done.\nThe way out is straight ahead. Or it should be, according to the myth. Long have I heard it whispered that the final cell block\u2014and the way out\u2014lies beyond this gate.\nDivines walk with me.\n-Beldorr"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bending-flame": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bending-flame", "description": "A powerful artifact is activated by fire", "author": "Kinlord Astanamo the Penitent", "title": "Bending to the Flame", "text": "Aldarch,\nYou need just stand beside a source of fire to make use of this powerful object. Merely aim at the object to be cleansed, and the wand will cause flame to dance and flow through the air.\nPlease accept it as a gift, a veneration of the Destruction art and a gift from the Divines. Use it with care, for it is a powerful gift.\nIn the name of Auri-El himself, may his fiery breath keep us warm through these trying times.\n\u2014 Kinlord Astanamo the Penitent"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/benevolent-necromancy-it-exists": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/benevolent-necromancy-it-exists", "description": "In defense of necromancy as a legitimate school of magic", "author": "Yisareh of the Undaunted", "title": "Benevolent Necromancy, it Exists", "text": "When you hear the word necromancy, what's the first thing that comes to mind? Animated corpses and angry ghosts? That is necromancy, it's true, but it represents only a fraction of what this school of magic encompasses. The fact is that most of what you know about necromancy consists of untruths and superstition. Many of you reading this already dabble with necromancy every day. Soul gems, part and parcel to the widely practiced art of enchanting, are created through necromancy. If you've ever been severely injured, or deathly ill, and had a healer bring you back from the brink of death, you've benefited from necromancy. It's no more good or evil than any destruction spell. It all comes down to how you use the magic.\nWhile a malicious necromancer might pull an unwilling spirit back to our world by force, I simply open a pathway and offer an invitation. I have done so quite often to briefly reunite loved ones, solve mysteries, and bring closure to restless spirits. Prayer and ceremony provide some comfort to the living and the dead, but necromancy serves to empower both, for good or ill. Rather than shunning this practice, the Mages Guild should regulate it. Forcing necromancy into the shadows only serves to drive away benevolent practitioners and conceal those who study it with bad intentions.\nWith as much war and death as there is in this world, the knowledge to help those cling to life or be released from it has never been more needed."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/betnikh-limerihk": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/betnikh-limerihk", "description": "A poem about a frozen orc", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Betnikh Limerikh", "text": "There once was an Orc from Betnikh\n\tOf warmth he said he was sick\n\tBut the gales of the Rift\n\tTossed his arse in a drift\n\tNow his buns he can't unstick!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/betrayal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/betrayal", "description": "A man betrayed by the woman he loves", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Betrayal", "text": "This place I built on solid rock,\n\tIt breaks, crumbles away,\n\tDestroyed and shaken to the core,\n\tBetrayed by Alanwe\n\tMy blindness was my love for her,\n\tThough any fool could weigh,\n\tHer will was weak, her lust unbound,\n\tThat strumpet, Alanwe\n\tMy heart betrayed, I took her soul,\n\tCracked it with vicious fray,\n\tEternal now will be her pain,\n\t'Tis the fate of Alanwe"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/beware-glenumbra-banks": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/beware-glenumbra-banks", "description": "A salty old sea dog's tale of an ocean monster", "author": "Garric the Pilot", "title": "Beware the Glenumbra Banks", "text": "What's that? You want to know about the Glenumbra Banks? I thought everyone knew about those shifting sand bars off the northwest coast of High Rock, the narrow islets that make seafaring there so dangerous close to shore. I myself have made a living for almost thirty years as a Daggerfall pilot, guiding merchant ships through the Banks in and out of the city's North Docks. And I'm well paid for the job, but the merchants don't complain \u2014 they see the rotting spars and twisted planks of the shipwrecks we pass as we wend our way through the channels.\nThose channels are treacherous and ever-changing. When we go out in early Sun's Dawn to meet the first ship coming in to port after the winter storms, there are always numerous visible changes to the waterways\u2014as well as invisible changes to their depths, which we must take care to map out by frequent use of the plumb-line.\nBut the fact is we must be ever on the lookout for changes in the Banks even in Mid Year and Sun's Height. Now, how is it that the sands shift the way they do, sometimes changing overnight even when there has been no storm? The Herne Current runs far offshore, and in summer the breeze the mariners call the Yokudan Zephyr blows steadily but gently from the west.\nAnd yet, the sands shift, and the Banks change.\nWell, stranger, I'll tell you the secret, so long as you're buying the drinks tonight in the Rosy Lion. It's Ithguleoir. Yes, you heard me right\u2014the immortal leviathan of the Eltheric Ocean is no mere fable. Ithguleoir lives, and haunts the far depths of the sea \u2026 and sometimes the near shallows of the shore. He fills old channels in the Banks and dredges new ones. And when a ship runs aground on the sands, he rises from the waters and dines on its sailors, one by one.\nI suppose you're entitled to look skeptical about that\u2014so long as you buy another round, that is. But listen, I'm not just spinning an old salt's yarn. I've seen the thing. On nights when the moons are full and the sea is calm, you can sometimes glimpse the leviathan's oily back heaving above the surface as the old monstrosity digs his devious traps. Occasionally there's a geyser of sea-mist, like when a whale blows, but then the breeze wafts ashore a demonic stench that smells like it's blown from Oblivion.\nSo there: now you know. But let's just keep this between you, me, and the tavernkeeper's cat, shall we? The south harbor's too shallow for the big merchantmen, and Daggerfall depends on her sea-trade continuing to find its way in to the North Docks. As do I. And sailors are such a superstitious lot\u2014no point in scaring them away. Eh?"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/beware-shadowscales": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/beware-shadowscales", "description": "Warning about an elite group of cutthroats", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Beware the Shadowscales", "text": "Be on ever vigilant guard, Soldier! See the lizard who stands on his hindquarters, laboring in the tavern, the field, or the fen of his homeland? Spot the meek and lowly Argonian with a simpering guise and a lilting tone of appeasement? He may not be as he seems, friend! After recent incursions close to Black Marsh, and the death of Captain Turpilinus Baibius under circumstances most vexing, we have reason to believe Shadowscales are active in this region. But what of this clandestine group and its dark purpose?\nShadowscales are reptilian kith born under the sign of the Shadow. Plucked at birth and offered to the detestable Dark Brotherhood, these hatchlings are a boon to their cause and are expertly trained in the arts of furtiveness and subtle bloodshed. When fully formed, they are embraced by these Sithis cultists and accept warrants for assassinations, just as their higher race kin have infamously done. Now that Shadowscales are incorporated into Argonian society, their targets benefit only the lizard-folk. How such targets are determined is still unclear.\nIt is believed the Shadowscales follow the identical five tenets of the hated Brotherhood (your Lore Master has the necessary texts to further your education on these matters). Through capture and torture of suspected members, we know that an order is never disobeyed or refused if given by a superior. A fellow Shadowscale is never a target of these cutthroats, and Shadowscales deserting the Brotherhood are hunted and slain. As our dealings with the Morag Tong have taught us, an assassin's guild functioning as an adjunct to an official government is a powerful threat: now the Argonians have organized such a force, which must be watched, infiltrated, and utterly confounded until broken."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/beware": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/beware", "description": "A rhyming warning for looters of Dwemeri ruins", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Beware!", "text": "Climb the hill,\n\tUnlatch the door.\n\tTherein you shall find\n\tRare goods galore!\n\tWhirring and hissing\n\tAnd squeaking abound.\n\tCould those be rats,\n\tOr gears you have found?\n\tUse items with care\n\tIn this noisy place,\n\tLest Dwemer awaken\n\tAnd give you good chase!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/beware-undercity-ruffians": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/beware-undercity-ruffians", "description": "A warning of ruffians in Wayrest's underbelly", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "BEWARE: Undercity Ruffians", "text": "The Wayrest Guard hereby issues the following alert to all citizens:\nCity patrols have noticed several heavily-armed persons of suspicious behavior attempting to traverse the sewer system in the undercity. The Guard suspects these individuals of ill-doing and strongly encourages citizens to report any dubious behavior in and around the sewers to the Wayrest Guard."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bhoseks-punishments": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bhoseks-punishments", "description": "Bhosek administers severe punishments", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Bhosek's Punishments", "text": "Steal from Bhosek: Beheading\n\tTouch Bhosek's Girls: Gelding\n\tInsult Bhosek: 20 Lashes\n\tDon't Pay Taxes: Tide Cage\n\tKill a Fist: The Grave\n\tSteal from a Fist: Hands cut off\n\tRat to the Navy: Tongue cut out\n\tRat to Helane: Keelhauling"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/big-damn-bugs": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/big-damn-bugs", "description": "An exterminator is required", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Big Damn Bugs", "text": "The carpenter came today and took a look at the bad beams. I know the Colovians were terrible people, all the bard tales tell us so. Apparently they were terrible architects, too. The problem wasn't just old wood, but giant termites!\nI hate living this close to the eaves of Valenwood. All sorts of creepy things skitter their way into the house in the dark of night. Lo and behold, the very walls contain colonies of these creatures! Damn the bugs, and damn the Colovians!\nI wish he hadn't told me. Now I swear I can hear them chewing."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/birds-wrothgar": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/birds-wrothgar", "description": "An Altmer watches for birds in Wrothgar", "author": "Haenelisse, Vice-Chairman of the Bird-Watchers Society of Alinor", "title": "Birds of Wrothgar", "text": "A field journal written by Haenelisse, Vice-Chairman of the Bird-Watchers Society of Alinor\n3rd Frostfall,\nI have only been in Wrothgar for a few weeks now, but I fear my hopes of discovering vast numbers of rare and unique birds may be in vain. So far, I have seen only a handful of crows and ravens. They do appear to be slightly larger than their cousins in other parts of Tamriel, but other than that, there appear to be few differentiating features.\n15th Rain's Hand,\nFor more than six months now, I have traipsed back and forth across the icy wastes of Wrothgar, and I have found nothing worth recording. I have decided that I will begin making preparations to return home.\n19th Rain's Hand,\nHow dark it is just before the dawn! Just when I had given up all hope, I found what may be the greatest discovery in the history of our society.\nYesterday, I was traversing a particularly remote area of the Wrothgarian mountains when I heard the distant chirping of a blue bunting. I thought I must be imagining things, but I decided I had no choice but to investigate.\nAs I followed the bunting's call, I began to hear other varieties of bird calls, and soon I traced the sounds to what appears to be a cave. Just looking into the mouth of the cave, I can already see blue buntings, canaries, cardinals, and even a green jay. Never before have I seen so many different birds living in the same habitat.\nTomorrow, I will venture deeper into the cave. Who knows what I might find? I think this might be the most excited I've been in my entire life."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bisnensel-our-ancient-roots": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bisnensel-our-ancient-roots", "description": "History of the Ayleid city of Bisnensel, and the Hermaeus Mora worship within", "author": "Scholasticus Incognitus", "title": "Bisnensel: Our Ancient Roots", "text": "Hyrma MORA pado ADA oia NAGAIA aba AGEA cava APOCRA dena GORIA gandra ARCAN\nAs everyone in our society knows, the roots of our order are ancient and deep\u2014for are we not the Primeval Seekers? Having spent a season researching ancient manuscripts on Balfiera Island and in the Daggerfall Mages Guild, I can finally provide some details about our hallowed halls of meeting\u2014put some meat on the bones, as it were.\nI can now reveal that the original name of our private Ayleid sanctum beneath Halcyon Lake was \"Bisnensel,\" which meant \"New Water Halls\" in the tongue of the Wild Elves. It was built by a clan of Ayleids who fled the anti-Elven pogroms in Cyrodiil during the early First Era, after the slave uprising of the so-called \"saint\" Alessia. The clan that built Bisnensel came from the Heartland city of Nenalata, which like most Ayleid habitations was built partly above and partly beneath the surface of the land. This plan was copied in miniature when the refugee Elves built Bisnensel, though now only the subterranean halls survive intact.\nThe ruler of this Elven clan was named Laloriaran Dynar, though he is far better known by the soubriquet \"Last King of the Ayleids.\" He was a notable tactician and general, and you have almost certainly heard of him in connection with the great High Rock victory of the Battle of Glenumbria Moors, in which the invading Alessian horde was broken and turned back to Cyrodiil.\nPossibly the most fascinating fact turned up in my researches, at least for us of the Primeval Seekers, is that the use of this site for the worship of Hermaeus Mora actually began many thousands of years ago when it was still occupied by the Ayleids! The leader of this effort was a Wild Elf scholar known as High Priest Uluscant, who established a congregation in Bisnensel that attracted many of the learned and most influential people in the community. As their numbers became more numerous, on their behalf Uluscant quite reasonably requested more of a say in municipal affairs, a request that was unfairly denied by \"King\" Dynar. The ruler had no interest in sharing power with a non-military order of scholars, whom he foolishly thought he could insult with impunity.\nWell, this Dynar soon learned that the servants of Hermaeus Mora are not so easily shunted aside! Within a few months of his arrogant rebuff, this \"Last King of the Ayleids\" was deposed. He and his family fled to Balfiera, where he begged refuge of the Direnni, whom he served for the rest of his days as a sort of trained war-dog.\nAs history teaches us, the Primeval Seekers always win out in time. It's as the ancient analects say: if knowledge is power, then forbidden knowledge is ultimate power! \"For the desire to know is beyond reckoning, and in recompense, whatever price is named shall be met.\"\nAE HERMA MORA ALTADOON PADHOME LKHAN AE AI"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bitter-travels-and-nixad": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bitter-travels-and-nixad", "description": "How to protect your goods against Nixiads", "author": "Zabia-ko", "title": "Bitter Travels and the Nixad", "text": "Zabia-ko would like to warn you that the following story may be sad, but it has a happy ending. This one would not want you to stop reading out of despair. There are many trials, but all are overcome. And don't forget, there are nixad in this story.\nAbah's Landing is like most cities. The poor and witless cannot survive long. Luckily, this one is not witless. Many days I scouted the city, searching for means to rebuild my fortunes. An inattentive, overconfident merchant would serve nicely. Before I began the hunt, a handsome and well-dressed Khajiit approached.\n\"Whispers of your plan reached these ears,\" he said, \"Certainly, if this one has heard, so have others. Others that may sell such whispers to rich, fat merchants. Be smart. Work for me instead. We are very successful, and it would be the kind of work that avoids the ire of the guards.\"\nAnd that's how this one came to work for the Spotless Goods Shipping Concern.\nThrough hard work, soon this one could afford a cart, a guar (named Little Bazrag, for his stubbornness), passage to the Gold Coast, and some crates of exotics to trade. Zabia-ko's promise to her father would be met! She would return to her childhood village, pockets fat with gold, sacks of coffee, and bags of Mistral Moon Sugar, prized for its fruity aftertaste.\n\"But Zabia-ko,\" you ask, \"where is the tragedy? Where are the nixad you promised?\" Rest assured. They are not forgotten.\nThe tragedy begins on the road from Anvil to Kvatch. Workers at a dig site invited me to rest for the night at the edge of their camp after I sold them a sleeve of horker summer sausage.\nSleep could not have held me long when I heard the ground shake, followed by screams shouting.\nThe workers scattered, running every direction like field mice during a game of This One Caught Many. Little Bazrag refused to wake, so I hid.\nThat's when I saw them. One nixad had a pouch of gold hanging from the sharp claw at the end of its arm. It did not seem that it should fly under such weight, but its wings flapped furiously, successfully fleeing with its prize. The other raised its arms over its head, ready to strike at a bag of the Mistral Sugar. Before I could stop it, it dove in headfirst, legs sticking out of the bag as I imagine it consumed in ecstasy.\nThis one grabbed the thief by the legs and pulled it from the sack. It thumped my head and giggled wickedly, buzzing off leaving a trail of sugar in its wake. During the struggle, I failed to notice the others that were already consuming all the bags from the inside. They never touched the coffee.\nBy morning, all that remained were three dead nixad, overstuffed with moon sugar, empty sacks, and the coffee. Even Little Bazrag wandered off. And there is the tragedy. Again I lost my goods, but this time it was the prized Mistral Moon Sugars. Such a loss, wasted on filthy evil creatures!\nBut, Zabia-ko promised a happy ending, and this one does not make such promises lightly. Many things were learned that night, but two were the most important.\nFirst: if you're going to lose your sugar to nixad, roast them afterwards. The meat is sweetened by the sugar and leaves the body tingling with pleasure.\nSecond: When travelling in nixad country, surround your sweet things with coffee. They hate coffee."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bjoulsae-boys-charter": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bjoulsae-boys-charter", "description": "Robbing  the rich and giving to the poor", "author": "Curnard \"The Generous\" Thelin", "title": "Bjoulsae Boys Charter", "text": "The Bjoulsae Boys are selflessly dedicated to helping the hard-working impoverished people of the Evermore region. For too long have the king and his nobles lived in luxury while countless others have worked night and day just to survive. Our goal, quite simply, is to spread the wealth. We will rob and steal from the crown and any members of Evemore's upper classes. The spoils of our labor will be quietly left in sewers, on doorsteps, and at the sides of sleeping beggars. We shall achieve equality in Evermore!\n\t\u2014 Curnard \"The Generous\" Thelin"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/black-dagger-recall-orders": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/black-dagger-recall-orders", "description": "", "author": "Hegris", "title": "Black Dagger Recall Orders", "text": "Duilius,\n\tReport to me at once. Do not wait for your replacement. Tell your troops to stay in camp until she arrives. They are to make no moves and attract no attention until I send new orders.\nGet on your horse and get here at once. I'll give you one day to report. Then I put out a bounty on you.\n\t\u2014 Hegris"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/black-horse-courier-handbill": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/black-horse-courier-handbill", "description": "A flyer advertising a contest for Black Horse Courier applicants", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Black Horse Courier Handbill", "text": "Greetings great and glorious participant! The piece of paper you hold in your hand this moment represents an incredible opportunity! Among all the riders of Tamriel, none are equal to the famed Black Horse Couriers, whose daring riders have coursed into battle, bearing the orders of generals and kings far and wide. None are faster, none are tougher!\nAnd now you, dear participant, are invited to test your skill at riding for a chance to join our glorious number and to win a legendary Midnight Destrier, the envy of all horsemen!\nThe rules for the challenge are as follows:\nClever Talaya has set out enchanted course markers, using a glyph of her own making. You must follow the course markers, passing close by each one, in the order they have been set out. If you miss a marker, you must ride back to it, or risk failing the challenge! No cheating!\nTake care, as you ride, however. Enemies and wild beasts will try to knock you off your mount. You will need a mount with great endurance to master the most challenging courses.\nTo help you, Talaya has given some course markers a special enchantment. If you see two course markers side by side, choose wisely!\nGood luck rider!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/black-kiergo-primed-peryite": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/black-kiergo-primed-peryite", "description": "An Orsimer worshipper of Peryite comes to live in Senchal's famous slum", "author": "Yamighu", "title": "Black Kiergo: Primed for Peryite?", "text": "Yeah, so, this is my journal. I'm Yamighu of Peryite's Chosen. Hopefully this book doesn't become privy paper like my last journal did. I'll dust these pages with some itching powder just in case. I can stand the itch. Most others can't\u2014especially in their tender regions.\nTraveling to find a new location for my group's worship of Peryite has been hard for an Orc like me. I gave up my home for Peryite, but that's a long story that requires more ungorth than Elsweyr has. Still looking for a new home. Heard about this place called Black Kiergo and decided I should visit one day. That day is now.\nBlack Kiergo is a vast, underground slum that stretches beneath the streets of Senchal. Supposedly, secrets paths lead into Black Kiergo, so I'll need to find one of these paths. In addition to the poor and destitute, all sorts of vile and corrupt business takes place in the depths of Black Kiergo, which speaks to the glory of Peryite almost perfectly! I can't wait to see the place for myself.\nDay One\nSenchal looks run down. Fire-scarred as well as flu-scarred, I hear. So many refugees. Bet they need work. Got to prove themselves worthy to eat. Perhaps this is a sign. I have plenty of work to hand out, thanks to Peryite. Not enough food here. And the Dragons, well, they just add to the whole ambiance. I like it.\nFound out Black Kiergo got flamed first during both the Thrassian Plague and the Knahaten Flu. Weak-minded fools. Putting flame to such things only gets you dead of breathing smoke. Promising for my purposes, I suppose.\nDay Two\nHeard some tales about this Rajhin thief fellow growing up in Black Kiergo. Also learned more about how people fear Black Kiergo if they don't live in it. It's the slums of this town. This place gets better and better. Time to head into this welcome darkness.\nTaking a moment to write what I've seen since this morning. And smelled. For a place that serves as the home of outlaws and scoundrels, Black Kiergo sure is spacious. I bet we could take over a corner and no one would even notice. Folk down here are a suspicious lot, but I like that about them. Trusting folk make my tusks itch. The smells, though. Just what you'd expect of a slum. I note them only because it reminds me of my time hiding out in Riften. Good times.\nCat-land history mentions a fellow named Keirgo who married someone and founded the nation. Got to make sure I spell that name right. Even though it sounds the same, it isn't spelled the same as the underground slums. This place and that fellow have no real connection. I found this out when I asked one of the locals about it and he put a knife to my throat. Nice to see they have pride in their heritage, but I did need to give the guy a bloody nose and a broken knife for my troubles. Praise Peryite!\nThese people need better blades, though. It shouldn't have broken so easily.\nDay Three\nGot a bit celebratory down in the arena area of Black Kiergo. Lots of strong drinks. Some of it was Elven backwash, but who cares after your twentieth or so flagon? And, yeah, the slums have an arena. More of a fighting pit, actually. A place for nobles to spend gold and bet on how much blood the poor people can spill. Kind of exciting, though. Heard some whispers about a cult that worships Dragons. Competition? I'll need to keep my ears open. Peryite's more than a Dragon, of course, but I wasn't expecting to have to compete for followers. Tusk it all, anyway!\nDay Four\nFound a nice place to set up shop. Need to send Reetza off to collect the rest of the group and bring them back here. She's been busy in Senchal proper, talking to the crowds and spreading the word of Peryite. We're striving for a mix of fun and work. Balance, you know. Peryite's not all pestilence and poverty, after all. Any illness he sends your way? Live through it and prove yourself strong, that's what I say! Too bad about some of those I sent to their graves for disagreeing with me. Seeing as how I'm still here and they aren't, I think my Prince agrees with me.\\n\\nI'm thinking of entering the arena while I'm waiting for the rest of the group to arrive. Haven't had a good fight in a long time, and maybe I can earn some gold along the way. Peryite knows we could use the funds! Wish me luck in Black Kiergo!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/black-marsh-awaits": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/black-marsh-awaits", "description": "Advertisement for the Cyrodiilic Collections", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Black Marsh Awaits!", "text": "Cyrodilic Collections seeks brave and enterprising adventurers to join our expeditions in the swamps of Murkmire! Excitement, discovery, and fortune await in the mysterious depths of the Argonian homeland!\nInterested parties should contact Famia Mercius in the city of Lilmoth!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/black-snails-shipping-notice": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/black-snails-shipping-notice", "description": "", "author": "Captain Nisimal", "title": "Black Snails Shipping Notice", "text": "Attention Black Snails:\nShipments and correspondence arrive on the tide. All outgoing freight, crew, and mail must be present and counted on Selvil Island one hour prior to tide's ebb. No exceptions. Direct any questions or complaints to your direct superior.\nCaptain Nisimal"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/black-soul-gem-manifest": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/black-soul-gem-manifest", "description": "A letter between Worm Cultists", "author": "Denogorath", "title": "Black Soul Gem Manifest", "text": "Nyresine,\nDo not weary me with excuses. Your shipments to the Warehouse of Souls will be on time, filled with whatever souls are available, or it shall be you and yours that make up the difference. The portals to the Warehouse are easy to open if you have not forgotten the most basic of gate sorceries.\nKeep the pressure on the slaves and use as many as you require, but make sure to replenish those you use up. Lord Mannimarco will not take kindly to finding a deficit in his soul-shriven.\nSpeaking of which, be alert for particularly potent ones. The gem the Lord croons over like a precious doll seems important to him, and I can only speculate what manner of mighty soul is trapped within it. He has left it with me temporarily, to safeguard it during his meeting with the God of Schemes. We can only assume that bringing Mannimarco more such potent souls would earn us rewards.\nOne other thing; do not think I am unaware of your attempts to undermine my status with Grand Necromancer Nustaril. I advise to you cease such activities. You are not as clever as you think, and will never replace me as Dread Archivist.\nBut if you are truly eager to serve in the Warehouse of Souls, I can arrange your conversion into a flesh atronach. The archive privies need a servant to muck them out.\nRemember your place.\n\u2014 Denogorath, Dread Archivist"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/black-vine-ruins": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/black-vine-ruins", "description": "", "author": "Zidal", "title": "Black Vine Ruins", "text": "The ones I sent to explore further on haven't returned. I'll lead a small group to find them.\n\tIf I don't return by tomorrow morning, leave at once. There's no need for all of us to be ripped apart by these stranglers.\n\t\u2014 Zidal"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/blackcaster-notice": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/blackcaster-notice", "description": "A notice warning citizens to stay clear of the Molavar ruins", "author": "The Blackcaster Mages", "title": "Blackcaster Notice ", "text": "Notice\nCitizens of Elinhir are advised to stay clear of the ruins known as Molavar.\nVolcanic activity has been detected in the region since the defection of the atronachs, and we cannot guarantee the safety of any who venture there.\nApproach the area at your own risk.\n\u2014The Blackcaster Mages\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/blackguard-note": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/blackguard-note", "description": "", "author": "MD", "title": "Blackguard Note", "text": "Grethaa needs a lesson.\nUrzashi needs a reminder.\nEshundir needs a grave!\nReturn to the Chid-Moska Ruins when the deeds are done. We're close to finding the items I'm looking for and I need the Blackguards here when that moment finally arrives.\nMD"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/blackreach-fictions-and-facts": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/blackreach-fictions-and-facts", "description": "An overly sceptical examination of the place Blackreach holds in Skyrim's imagination", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Blackreach: Fictions and Facts", "text": "The name is whispered in certain corners of Skyrim. It is spoken of in roadside taverns and trapper camps. Sometimes the word is pronounced with awed reverence. Others spit it out like a terrible curse. Blackreach.\nIndeed, Blackreach features prominently in many folktales and superstitions in Tamriel's forlorn north. Many tricksters enrich themselves by selling precious ores and gemstones said to come from the legendary place, while parents frighten children and urge them to behave with threats that the monsters will drag them to Blackreach if they aren't good.\nSo, what is Blackreach, you ask? A legend, a ghost, a fable? Blackreach is all these things and more. According to the Nords, it's the great expanse that stretches below the ice and snow. An underground land that once belonged to the Dwarves and now sits empty\u2014or worse, has been filled by all manner of myth and monster.\nThese stories, as with all tales that originate with the common folk, must be viewed with a skeptic's gaze. The lesser-minded often turn to tales of the fabulous and terrifying to justify and rationalize the greater mysteries or tragedies of life. A loved one suddenly falls ill and dies? Poisoned, doubtless, by a miasma seeping up from Blackreach. An enemy enjoys a sudden windfall? He's made a dark bargain with Blackreach's spirits.\nOf course, it would be close-minded to simply write off all tales of Blackreach as baseless and without merit. Skyrim's territories teem with subterranean caverns\u2014one need only speak to any of the dozens of adventurers who make their livings delving into such depths. It would take little effort for a peasant to believe these caverns extend deeper, far beyond the ken of any adventurer, into a morass of passages and tunnels lost to time and light. For that is the true reality of Blackreach: a few odd caves and the wild imaginings of some half-drunk farmer.\nDo not think me too disdainful, reader, for I do respect this hypothetical lout. From his mind has sprung forth an idea so compelling that it remains a topic of conversation in tavern halls, campfires, and back-alley hovels to this day. I applaud their imagination!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/blacksmithing-basics": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/blacksmithing-basics", "description": "A beginner's guide to blacksmithing", "author": "Zeg gra-Dush", "title": "Blacksmithing Basics", "text": "Orc forge-wives say they're the only ones who know how to smith. I say mudcrabs to that! I'll show you how to find ore, extract ingots from the ore, explain crafting styles, and then teach you how to craft a weapon. Soon enough, you'll call yourself a blacksmith.\n\n\nStep 1: Get Some Iron Ore\n\n\n\t\t\tIron ore is the simplest to work, and easy to replace if you make a mistake. Look for rusty, dull rock near big rock outcroppings. Then you mine it. If you don't mine it yourself, buy it from people who mine it, or ask a friend to loan you some. When you have ten chunks of iron ore, you're ready for the next step.\n\n\nStep 2: Refine Ingots\n\n\n\t\t\tFind a blacksmithing station. Then make iron ingots from your ten chunks of iron ore. This is called \"refinement.\" If you want to know why, ask a forge-wife.\n\n\nStep 3: Choose A Style\n\n\n\t\t\tEvery race has a style of blacksmithing, and each favors a traditional material. I call this a \"style material\" because it's easy to remember. The Orc style works best for me, but I'm an Orc. If you're an Imperial, start with material for the Imperial style. Blacksmiths sell them, if you can't find them anywhere else.\n\n\nStep 4: Make An Iron Dagger\n\n\n\t\t\tIron daggers are easy to make. You need one style material, two iron ingots, and a steady hand with a hammer. When you have these things, find a blacksmithing station and craft an iron dagger. For better quality blades, use more ingots to make it. But for now, use two iron ingots.\n\n\nStep 5: Admire Your Iron Dagger\n\n\n\t\t\tTake a moment to admire your work. It's not \"just an iron dagger.\" You pulled metal from the ground and forged into a tool that can end lives. Respect what you've made.\n\n\n\n\t\t\tForge-wives won't be impressed with your iron dagger, but what do they know? You're a blacksmith if you do the work, not if you marry into it. Remember: iron daggers today, ebony greatswords tomorrow.\n\n\nAppendix: Advanced Smithing\n\n\n\t\t\tIf you really want to show up the forge-wives, you need to know more than just iron daggers.\n\n\nImproving Weapons and Armor\n\n\n\t\t\tUse a \"temper\" to improve weapons and armor you've smithed. I call them that because I can never find one when I need it. This always makes me lose my temper.\n\n\n\n\t\t\tWhen you find one, bring it to a blacksmithing station with the item you want to improve. The more tempers you have, the greater the chance to improve the quality. But this is not a guarantee. If you do it wrong, you'll lose the tempers and the item.\n\n\nDeconstruction\n\n\n\t\t\tIf you're short on materials, you can deconstruct them from weapons or armor. You'll destroy the item when you break it down, and you'll only salvage part of what went into making it, but it's a quick way to get ingots.\n\n\nResearching Traits\n\n\n\t\t\tOne way to annoy a forge-wife is to buy her finest items, take them apart, and research the best traits of her weapons and armor. Then you can make copies of her best work and sell them for less. Do it all on her own blacksmithing station if you really want to make her angry.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/blasius-unfinished-manuscript": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/blasius-unfinished-manuscript", "description": "A quick book about the brutality of the Yokudan's conquest of Hammerfell", "author": "Blasius", "title": "Blasius' Unfinished Manuscript", "text": "While conquering the lands called the Deathlands (which later came to be known as Hammerfell), the Yokudans made no secret of their own self-proclaimed greatness. We should be cautious not to mistake such self-mythologizing for actual history, however.\nWhatever their claims to greatness, it is apparent from the record that the Yokudans were brutal and thorough in their suppression of local peoples, leaving little more than blood and bones as a testament to the civilizations that preceded them.\nIt is no wonder then that the Redguard \"civilization\" still bears the marks of that brutality to this day.\nNo greater symbol of the Ra Gada's brutality was the self-proclaimed Emperor Tarish-Zi. His followers proclaimed him as deathless. Indeed, he seemed to be born out of Oblivion, so bloody-minded was he.\nIt's said that his crypt is still located in Craglorn, venerated by his barbaric descendents."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/blasiuss-unfinished-manuscript": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/blasiuss-unfinished-manuscript", "description": "Partial manuscript detailing an ancient Yokudan emperor", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Blasius's Unfinished Manuscript ", "text": "While conquering the lands called the Deathlands (which later came to be known as Hammerfell), the Yokudans made no secret of their own self-proclaimed greatness. We should be cautious not to mistake such self-mythologizing for actual history, however.\nWhatever their claims to greatness, it is apparent from the record that the Yokudans were brutal and thorough in their suppression of local peoples, leaving little more than blood and bones as a testament to the civilizations that preceded them.\nIt is no wonder then that the Redguard \"civilization\" still bears the marks of that brutality to this day.\nNo greater symbol of the Ra Gada's brutality was the self-proclaimed Emperor Tarish-Zi. His followers proclaimed him as deathless. Indeed, he seemed to be born out of Oblivion, so bloody-minded was he.\nIt's said that his crypt is still located in Craglorn, venerated by his barbaric descendents."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bleakrock-fishermans-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bleakrock-fishermans-journal", "description": "Something wicked lurks in those waters", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Bleakrock Fisherman's Journal", "text": "Otroggar says he saw a new kind of fish off the north coast. I asked if he saw it while he was drunk. He insisted that this time, he was sober.\nSomething other than cod, haddock, and herring would be interesting. Maybe I could even sell it in Solitude! That would be worth the trip.\nOtroggar said it had a hunchback, a half-dozen fins on its belly, and a long snout with a bulbous tip. He also said it had a lot of teeth and moved fast. There was only one by the shore, but he thought he saw others farther out in deeper water.\nIf Otroggar wasn't as drunk as a moon-struck Khajiit, I'd say it sounds like a meat-eater. I'll bring some bait. I've caught a shark or two. I'm sure these things won't be any harder."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/blessed-almalexias-fables-afternoon": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/blessed-almalexias-fables-afternoon", "description": "", "author": "Almalexia", "title": "Blessed Almalexia's Fables for Afternoon", "text": "The Crow and the Netch\nOne day a curious crow decided to fly farther than he ever flew before. He flew and flew and finally came upon a creature that he found very strange.\n\"Friend!\" he called as he flew by the creature. \"Friend, what is it that you are? I have never seen a flying beast such as you!\"\n\"They call me a netch,\" the good netch replied.\n\"A netch! A netch! That's quite the catch!\" the crow cackled. \"Tell me, netch, how is it that you fly?\"\n\"I've flown these shores since I was born,\" the netch replied. \"I do not know how.\"\n\"Don't know, don't' know, oh what a show!\" the crow called out. \"Where are your glossy feathers that help you glide?\"\n\"I have no need of feathers to glide,\" the netch explained, \"but I have a strong, thick hide to protect me.\"\n\"A hide! A hide! Oh, what a find,\" the crow mocked. \"Tell me netch, where are your eyes?\"\n\"I need no eyes to sail the skies, as you can plainly see,\" the netch once more replied.\n\"No eyes, no eyes, to sail the skies!\" the prideful crow continued. \"But it makes you far uglier than I!\" And he began to laugh at the netch's misfortune.\nThe crow's laughter grew louder and louder, eventually attracting a nearby cliff-racer. The beast swooped down upon the crow, swallowing him whole, and he could mock the netch no more.\nThe netch simply sighed and said, \"Mocking others is for naught, for none can change their own weakness.\"\n* * *\nThe Gifted Guar\nOne day a farmer decided to give his daughter a gift. She had started a family of her own, and he wished good fortune for her. He chose his finest guar and brought it to his daughter's new home.\nHis daughter was delighted at this gift, but her husband only glared.\n\"You didn't even let us choose?\" the husband asked angrily. \"What if this guar is sick, or old, or weak? I must at least inspect it before it's left in our care!\"\nThe daughter tried to calm her husband, but the farmer simply nodded and said, \"You may examine this guar as you see fit.\"\nThe husband inspected every inch of the guar, even forcing the beast to open its mighty jaws to look at the state of its teeth.\n\"Well, it will have to do,\" the husband conceded, though he knew it was a fine guar indeed.\nThe farmer stroked his chin. \"You know, I think you're right. You should be able to pick whichever guar you wish. I know there's plenty for sale in the local market.\"\nThe husband simply gaped as his father-in-law walked back home, guar in hand.\nHis wife slapped her husband's arm and told him, \"You fool! Never look a gift guar in the mouth!\"\n* * *\nThe Child of the Councilor\nOne summer's day, a councilor was walking along the market in her splendid regalia, attended by her many servants. She was so splendid that a small mer in the crowd told his mother, \"I wish my mother was a councilor, instead of you!\"\nThe little mer never expected the councilor to hear him, nor did he expect her to turn toward him in the crowd.\n\"I have heard your wish, little one, and I accept,\" she told the open-mouthed little mer. \"You will be my child, and you will have all that you wish.\"\nThe little mer was immediately taken to the councilor's manor and placed in a room with toys and sweets. He laughed and clapped his hands, playing and eating all he wished. But soon he grew bored and went to speak to a servant.\n\"It's no fun playing by myself,\" he told the servant. \"Can I have someone to play with?\"\n\"The child of the councilor has no equal,\" the servant told him. \"There is none worthy to play with you.\"\nThe little mer had little time to think on this when a scholar came to his room. The scholar looked upon the little mer with scorn and said, \"Your lessons should have begun hours ago! The child of the councilor must know many great things.\"\nThe little mer was made to listen to the scholar's lectures for hours and hours, and soon his head ached with all that he was to know.\nEventually it was time for dinner, but the little mer's troubles were not over.\n\"In those clothes? In that state?\" cried his servant, horrified. \"You must be washed and clothed if you are to be presented as the child of the councilor!\" And so the little mer was scrubbed roughly and forced into very uncomfortable clothes.\nBy this point the little mer was almost in tears. He missed his home, and his clothes, and his friends. But most of all he missed his mother, who he had never gone a day without.\nWhen the little mer was finally sent to the dining hall, he was met with a surprise. Seated at the dining table was his family, all laughing and smiling. He ran to his mother arms and cried, \"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I want you to be my mother after all!\"\nThe councilor, who was seated at the head of the table, smiled and told the little mer, \"You have learned a very important lesson, my child. We often forget to be thankful for what we have, when thinking only of what we want.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/blessed-almalexias-fables-evening": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/blessed-almalexias-fables-evening", "description": "", "author": "Almalexia", "title": "Blessed Almalexia's Fables for Evening", "text": "Sotha Sil and the Stars\nYoung Sotha Sil lay upon a patch of moss and gazed up at the stars. Driven by his great love of maths, his mind turned to counting. \"I shall count every star and give each a name!\" he resolved. For hours he counted and named until, at length, his eyes tired and he drifted off to sleep.\nWhen morning came, Sotha Sil woke with a start and looked up at the sky. Alas, all the stars had vanished. He buried his face in his hands and began to weep, for he had learned a harsh lesson. You see, child, time cages all tasks.\n* * *\nThe Strongest Nix-Ox\nA great nix-ox trumpeted to its herd, \"None of you love the master more than I! Do you see what great burdens I bear?\"\n\"But you are twice our size!\" the lesser nix-oxen grumbled. \"Better for us to carry four bales of saltrice than struggle with six and risk great injury.\"\n\"Bah!\" the mighty nix-ox snorted. \"It's hard work you fear, not injury.\" The great beast took up its yoke and trudged out into the field.\nThe lesser nix-oxen gathered by a fence and watched their mighty brother take up two bales of saltrice, then four bales, then six, eight, ten! Until at last, the great nix-ox was laden with twelve full bales. \"Do you see?\" it said, straining for breath. \"None of you love the master more than I!\"\nJust then, the nix-ox's shell began to crack under the weight. It let out a painful bellow and collapsed under the bales - crushed to death.\nThe lesser nix-oxen sighed and shook their heads. \"Poor fool. He learned too late that there is no mortal strength without limits.\"\n* * *\nThe Tale of the Frozen Guar\nA lonely guar struggled through the Ashlands on a cold, moonless night. The wind was frosty and bitter and chilled the animal to the bone. \"Alas!\" it cried, \"I will die here, alone in the cold.\"\nJust then, the guar caught sight of a faint orange glow in the distance. \"A campfire?\" it barked hopefully, \"It must be! It must be!\"\nThe guar raced toward the light, its feet growing warmer with every step. Soon, the cold gave way to a sweltering heat. The air grew thick and acrid, searing the guar's nostrils and lungs. But still, it hurried on, barking, \"It must be a campfire! It must be! It must be!\"\nFinally, the guar reached the orange glow. Alas, it was not a campfire, but a great flow of lava. The guar, so seduced by the warmth, gave this truth no heed. It sprinted to the lava's edge and tripped on a loose stone. With one last joyful bark, the beast landed headfirst in the fiery liquid and died.\nSo you see, child, a fool's thirst for safety carries its own risks.\n* * *\nThe Most Beautiful Netch\nA netch mother once said to her calf, \"You, my darling, are the most beautiful netchling in all these isles. No bull is worthy of you!\"\nFor years the netch's vanity grew. Many worthy bulls approached her with loving intent, but she rebuffed them all, saying, \"Do you not know that I am the most beautiful netch in all these isles? None of you are worthy of me!\"\nAt length, the netch grew old and weary. \"Alas, I shall die alone!\" she cried.\nA young netch couple passed her by and sighed at her wretched condition. \"We must be cautious with our calves,\" the betty said. \"Smothering a child with praise does nothing but harm.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/blessed-almalexias-fables-morning": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/blessed-almalexias-fables-morning", "description": "", "author": "Almalexia", "title": "Blessed Almalexia's Fables for Morning", "text": "The Tallest Shroom Beetle\nA shroom beetle, lamenting its small stature, crawled to the top of a great mushroom. It gazed out over the Ashlands and cried, \"Ha! There is no shroom beetle taller than I! There is nothing I cannot see!\"\nJust then, a cliff racer swooped down and plucked the beetle from its perch. The beast grinned a wide toothy grin and said, \"Had you stayed on the ground, I never would have seen you. Is it not better to be short than dead?\"\nAlas, the beetle learned too late that forsaking one's nature brings nothing but ruin.\n* * *\nThe Tale of Two Herders\nTwo guar herders met in the market square, preparing to sell their stock. The shorter of the two laughed at the other and jeered, \"You bring only one guar to market? Look upon my herd! I have brought ten and twenty and stand to make a fortune!\"\nThe tall herder merely shook his head. \"You may have ten and twenty guars, but they are scrawny and frail. Better to have one steady beast than a hundred sickly ones.\"\nThe short herder released an oafish chuckle and prepared to usher his beasts into the pens. Just then, a great ash storm arrived and pummeled the market with howling winds and choking fumes.\nEventually, the storm relented. The tall herder and his great, strong guar were unharmed, but the short herder's guars were thrown this way and that, and not one of them had survived.\n\"Do you see now, my friend?\" the tall herdsman said. \"Numbers are no substitute for quality.\"\n* * *\nThe Friendly Alit\nA jovial alit pranced across the Ashlands, ever watchful for a beast it could call \"friend.\" Presently it came upon a nix-hound who was preening itself in an ashpit. The alit smiled a great smile and cried out, \"Greetings, friend!\" The nix-hound, seeing the alit's huge teeth, panicked and dashed under a rock. The alit sighed and pranced on.\nIn due course it came upon a vvardvark rooting through a beetle-nest. \"Hello!\" the alit shouted, smiling widely and revealing its huge, sharp teeth. The vvardvark squealed in terror and scampered off into the bushes. The alit released another mournful sigh, and trundled on toward the shore.\nFinally, it spotted an ash-hopper rolling in the sand. The alit summoned up its widest, most cheerful smile and said, \"Hail, ash-hopper!\" The ash-hopper leapt back in horror and sprung away as fast as it could.\nThe alit was heartbroken. \"I will never have a friend as long as I have these terrible teeth!\" it hissed. The beast resolved to be done with them altogether. It took a huge rock in its mouth and bit down hard\u00e2\u20ac\u201dknocking out all its teeth like a box of loose nails. \"Finally,\" it sighed \"other beasts will no longer be afraid!\"\nJust then a great Kagouti arrived, stomping its feet and preparing to pounce. The alit growled and opened its wide jaws to frighten the predator away, but the kagouti just laughed. \"You fool! You've no teeth left in your head!\" The alit realized its folly too late. The kagouti lunged and swallowed the cheerful beast in one huge gulp.\nSo you see, child - that which we hate in ourselves is often our greatest gift.\n* * *\nVivec and the Cripple\nLord Vivec, while walking down a road, came upon a cripple with a gnarled and withered hand. \"Young bravo!\" the cripple cried, \"Will you not help an oathman in need?\"\nVivec stood before the cripple and furrowed his brow. \"What is wrong with you, old mer?\" he queried.\nThe cripple lifted his hand and replied, \"Do you not see my withered hand? It is twisted as old roots and pains me greatly when the storms roll in. Women shun me because of its ugliness, and children run at the sight of it. Please, have pity!\"\nVivec stood quiet for a moment, then drew his bright sword and severed the mer's hand in one clean stroke. The cripple howled in pain as the warrior-poet dressed the wound.\n\"Do not bawl so, old mer,\" said Vivec. \"Do you not see that I have done you the greatest kindness? Better to be done with an evil than to carry it on for pity's sake.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/blessed-blessed-satakalaam": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/blessed-blessed-satakalaam", "description": "Prayers of the old Yokudan gods", "author": "The Unveiled Azadiyeh, Songbird of Satakalaam", "title": "Blessed, Blessed Satakalaam", "text": "Blessed of Onsi, Satakalaam: where warriors are bravest in all Alik'r.\n\tBlessed of Tava, Satakalaam: where goshawk nests atop High Temple tower.\n\tBlessed of Morwha, Satakalaam: where bees carry pollen to pomegranate and fig.\n\tBlessed of Zeht, Satakalaam: where water from deep rock fills fountain and jug.\n\tBlessed of Tu'whacca, Satakalaam: where Motalion guards ancestors from eras before.\n\tBlessed of Ruptga, Satakalaam: where stars shine to guide us upon Walkabout.\n\tBlessed of Satakal, Satakalaam: where we shall keep true faith till called to World's End."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bliss": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bliss", "description": "A chilling tale of phantom archers", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Bliss", "text": "I was there, on the caravan where it started. I still can't bring myself to travel; the fear paralyzes me every time I think about leaving.\nAlmost a year ago, I was headed into Elsweyr for the Mages Guild to do research on plants native to Dune. They sent me along with a large caravan, one that was well-guarded. Despite being an infrequent traveler, I felt safe among the guards and heavy wagons.\nThat illusion shattered only four days into our journey. In the morning, as we prepared for our departure, I heard that one of the late-night watch had gone missing. At first, my traveling companions shrugged it off, assuming he'd just abandoned his post (which is apparently common), but we discovered his pack as we continued loading up. We set out anyway, the question of what had happened hanging over us.\nBy mid-day, one of the Khajiiti guards spotted something ahead of us on the trail. He scouted forward to investigate, and if a Khajiit can look pale, he did upon returning. He went straight to the caravan master, saying nothing. After some prying, I learned that the Khajiit found the guard's body, propped up in our path. Rumor had it that there was one arrow through his throat, marked with the word \"Bliss.\"\nHe was only the first. Every night, another guard went missing. Every day, his body was discovered on the trail ahead of us, an arrow marked with the word \"Bliss\" through the throat. The caravan was in turmoil. Some begged to turn back, but we were more than halfway to Dune by then, and the caravan master wouldn't hear of it. No one slept, guards were put on double duty, campfires were built all along the perimeter\u2014but without fail, someone still disappeared every night. We took to constant travel, sleeping in shifts on the backs of the lurching wagons.\nI woke from a fitful sleep two days out from Dune to discover my wagon had stopped moving. Bleary, I slowly sat up and peered over the wagon's side. All around me lay bodies. Every single remaining member of the caravan lay dead, with an arrow marked \"Bliss\" through the throat. I scrambled from one to another, trying to find any sign of life, but soon gave up and collapsed. Who or what could do this? Why? Why inscribe that word onto the arrows?\nThe two days from then to Dune are a blur. I was certain they'd find me, that they or he or it had just missed me. It feels now like I was supposed to escape, supposed to tell the tale. No one believed me\u2014when I rode out with the town guard to the site of the massacre, nothing was there. Not a trace. I wondered if I had gone mad, but only a week later more reports started coming in of phantom archers playing the cruel game with caravan after caravan, always using arrows marked \"Bliss.\"\nI haven't had the will to leave Dune and return to the Mages Guild, though they've sent couriers to find me. Even though no reports have come for months, I cannot fight the fear and leave.\nWhoever did this is still out there. I'm sure of it."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/blood-feathers-battle-slogans": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/blood-feathers-battle-slogans", "description": "Different battle cries to try out", "author": "Uta-Ra", "title": "Blood-Feathers Battle Slogans", "text": "Blood-Feathers, fly!\nBlood-Feathers, soar!\nBlood-Feathers, time to get bloody!\nBlood-Feathers, flock together!\nBlood-Feathers,tickle them with pain!\n* * *\nI think we'll try out all of these in the Arena tomorrow, but I'm feeling good about the first slogan I came up with. Direct, simple, and kind of catchy, if I do say so myself. Not bad for a wingless lizard, right Nahassar?\n-Uta-Ra"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/blood-inked-contract": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/blood-inked-contract", "description": "A contract between the hags and the Gravesinger", "author": "Angof the Gravesinger", "title": "Blood-Sealed Contract", "text": "Before the sight of Molag Bal, we seal this bargain between the Bloodthorn and the Hag Fen coven with fresh blood.\nIn exchange for any undamaged women we capture in the conquest of Glenumbra, Mother Murk and her coven will oppose the Beldama Wyrd and keep them occupied. My servants shall deliver the women to the ruined tower in the bog, where they will be transformed and brought into the coven.\nShould either party break this bargain, their lives shall be forfeit.\n\u2014\u00a0Angof the Gravesinger\n\n\nOld Version\nIn the sight of Molag Bal, we make this bargain with the coven of the bog and its matron, Mother Murk.\nIn exchange for women taken in the conquest of Glenumbra, the coven will work against the troublesome Beldama Wyrd.\nServants of my cult will deliver the women to the ruined tower in the marsh, so the hags can transform them and bring them into the coven.\nShould either party break this bargain, whether cult or coven, their lives shall be forfeit.\n\u2014 Angof the Gravesinger"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/blood-soaked-letter": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/blood-soaked-letter", "description": "", "author": "Elasarha", "title": "Blood-Soaked Letter", "text": "Dearest Mabkir,\nBright Moons, my love! J'zuruk gathered the troupe last night and pled our case. Nuzulaza and Hanilar yowled like ja'khajiit, but in the end, our friends decided your freedom was more important than a new wagon. It will take some time to gather the coin, but this one knows she will see you soon. Seek out the ropefish, Khartag. He captains the vessel that will bring you home to me.\nI love you,\n\tYour Elasarha"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/blood-spattered-love-note": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/blood-spattered-love-note", "description": "", "author": "M.", "title": "Blood-Spattered Love Note", "text": "Dearest T,\nI can't wait any longer for your presence. At night, I dream of you\u2014the small of your back, the little dimple on your chin, the way I seem to glow when you look at me.\nTomorrow, I am going to the Underroot. The lamias there are friendly and they won't begrudge two lovers their secret spot by the moonlight.\nCome quietly, though, and wait until nightfall. I think J might suspect us. Oh, I don't feel any guilt about it. The way he carries on about those cats of his, he doesn't need a wife. But be careful just in case. He may not understand love, but he certainly understands ownership.\nI will be waiting.\nYour ever faithful,\n\tM."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bloodfiends-rivenspire": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bloodfiends-rivenspire", "description": "Description of the Bloodfiend menace", "author": "Nalana, Advisor to House Tamrith", "title": "Bloodfiends of Rivenspire", "text": "I have been tasked with learning everything that I can about the bloodfiends that have been appearing throughout Rivenspire of late. These creatures appear to be exactly the same as other bloodfiends we have examined in the past. But for all their similarities, they have one telling and significant difference\u2014they appear at the beginning of the vampiric cycle instead of at the end.\nInstead of appearing at the end of an otherwise long and grueling vampiric gestation period, this process changes ordinary citizens into feral monsters in a frighteningly short amount of time. It's almost like a fevered blood affliction that burns through individuals at an alarming rate. While not everyone who comes in contact with the catalyst becomes afflicted, those who do either turn into a vampire (rarely) or quickly spiral into the frenzied madness that characterizes all bloodfiends (the most likely outcome).\nMy investigations suggest that these bloodfiends have a connection to the Argonian Reezal-Jul and Lady Lleraya Montclair. The court magician of House Montclair and the daughter of Baron Wylon Montclair have been leading Montclair troops across Rivenspire\u2014troops that include vampires. There have been rumors of a blood-curse, some sort of foul magic that allows Reezal-Jul and Lleraya to turn ordinary citizens into bloodfiends with nothing but a glance, a wave of a hand, and a few muttered words. Eyewitness reports have been confused, at best, and these claims have yet to be fully verified.\nAs with other bloodfiends dealt with in the past, the Rivenspire bloodfiends are vampires that have gone insane. Their minds have degraded beyond recovery, and they attack anything that moves with no regard for their own wellbeing. They are feral, violent creatures driven by their carnal lust for bones and blood. This strain of the blood-curse runs its course at an alarmingly rapid pace. I have documented instances of citizens being afflicted and turning feral in mere moments. How Reezal-Jul and Lleraya came by this terrible power is unknown. What is known is that they seem to be Oblivion-bent on helping Baron Montclair conquer the entirety of Rivenspire.\nThis unusual blood-curse notwithstanding, the bloodfiends operate as all others of their ilk. These wild, ferocious savages can and often do pass their affliction on to their victims. Anyone wounded or killed by a Rivenspire bloodfiend has a significant chance of becoming a bloodfiend, and in a remarkably short period of time.\nUntil I can gather more information, I can only recommend one course of action concerning the bloodfiends of Rivenspire\u2014they must be destroyed."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bloodthorn-orders": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bloodthorn-orders", "description": "Orders to acquire rare gems", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Bloodthorn Orders", "text": "Long ago, a strange gem was discovered in the Mines of Khuras. The gem was magnificent and flawless. For all its beauty, however, no one ever understood the power it contained. Nor did they realize that the mines were teeming with the stones.\nWe discovered that these gems could be used to power our corruption totems. We need more gems to support our efforts against the Wyrd Tree. Claim the mine and impress some people into service to collect more of these gems."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bloodthorn-orders-ebon-crypt": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bloodthorn-orders-ebon-crypt", "description": "Orders to study a dark creature", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Bloodthorn Orders: Ebon Crypt", "text": "Thanks to successful efforts in Cath Bedraud, our army continues to grow by leaps and bounds. The ancient cemetery has provided a significant portion of our undead troops, but we need more.\nRumors have come to our attention concerning a nearby tomb known only as the Ebon Crypt. Legends say that the crypt contains a dark creature of immeasurable power. This creature and its secrets must be ours! Find this crypt and report on your findings as soon as possible."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bloody-note-1": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bloody-note-1", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Bloody Note", "text": "Don't let anyone else see this note. Not even our comrades can be trusted.\nWe've got to give this one up. Coin isn't worth our lives. You haven't seen it yet. What I've seen. But they're talking about sending us back in to try to deal with the mess, and believe me, they won't be paying enough for that.\nProblem is, Rethan has some real loyalists in our ranks. They'll kill us if we try to run too early. Got a plan though. Lema is making the squads and planning the route. We'll get ourselves split from the rest and then make a break for it. If this is as bad as I hear it is, they'll probably just assume we died and never come looking for us. We can always find work somewhere else."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/blue": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/blue", "description": "Author ruminates on his lineage and the sea", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Blue", "text": "The sea is beautiful. I come here to get away from the depths of the woods, to smell the salty air, and to be free.\n\tPerhaps it's true that my father is Maormer. Perhaps."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/blue-road-scout-notes": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/blue-road-scout-notes", "description": "Various scouts leave their thoughts in this journal", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Blue Road Scout Notes", "text": "Found the perfect spot to spy on Blue Road Keep. Will leave this journal for others who're sent here to add notes. I trust my trail markings will lead more Covenant scouts here.\n\t*****\n\tWould like to burn down that lumbermill. No telling how many soldiers will be killed by the siege engines they're building.\n\tKeep hearing sounds from the ruins. Not sure who or what is in there, but I'm sure not going to check.\n\t*****\n\tLarge body of troops left the keep today, several hundred at least. They headed south, toward Dominion territory. Good riddance; I hope they wipe each other out.\n\tArse is sore from sitting on this rock for days.\n\t*****\n\tSmall squad of our troops hit the lumbermill today. Burned all the stockpiled wood and then ran before reinforcements arrived from the keep. Warmed my heart to see it.\n\t*****\n\tBeen here a week. Time to head back. Need to post my report and talk to General Khamagash. Then I need to sleep for a week.\n\t*****\n\tHulbesh here. Not sure who left this journal, but he talked too much. His markings were bad too; lucky I found this spot.\n\tNo troop movements to report. Been here three days, haven't seen a thing. Time to leave.\n\t*******\n\tThis journal soothes, a cure for the scout's loneliness. I feel myself conversing with those who came before me and those who will come after me.\nI am blessed! A major battle ensued on my first day here. A large Dominion force attacked Blue Road Keep. They were repulsed after several hours, but the Pact defenders suffered great losses and the keep walls were heavily damaged.\nI must hurry to the Grand Warlord. If she orders an immediate attack, we may overwhelm the keep before the Pact can recover. There is no time to lose."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/boethiah-and-her-avatars": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/boethiah-and-her-avatars", "description": "Description of various aspects of a Daedric Prince", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Boethiah and Her Avatars", "text": "Boethiah, the Daedric Prince of deceit and conspiracy, utilizes avatars to impose her will upon the world. These avatars, always tricky and often unpredictable, can appear as males or females, Dark Elves or some other race. They usually insert themselves into important or momentous events, working behind the scenes to drive such events to a conclusion that serves the will of their secretive master.\nAvatars of Boethiah often issue challenges and trials intended to test the mettle of worthy heroes and common folk alike. Their motivation is never clearly stated and usually obfuscated, but are always assumed to be a part, either small or large, of the greater machinations of their master.\nWhen these challenges and trials come to an end, usually when the task assigned by the masked avatar is accomplished, it is common for the avatar to disappear without a trace. This often leads to mysterious stories, strange legends, or, at the very least, a level of confusion among those who participated in the challenge."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/boethiahs-call-champions": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/boethiahs-call-champions", "description": "A list of Boethiah's champions", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Boethiah's Call of Champions", "text": "Let it be known. These individuals have distinguished themselves in my games and have earned the title of Champion of Boethia!\nFaithful Adrasa\nBiiri the Beautiful\nFoloril of the Fine Form\nHolgstad the Horrible\nMoridanus Dres\nHiath the Battlemaster\n<<Placeholder Name>>"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/boethiahs-proving-0": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/boethiahs-proving-0", "description": "An accounting of the Boethiah cult", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Boethiah's Proving", "text": "~The following account is true. May it serve as a warning to those with ears to hear and hearts to know.~\n~~~\nOn a certain day, at a certain time, the faithful gathered to perform certain rituals, hoping to gain a glimpse of their master. The day was correct, the summoning true.\nSlashing a smoking tear through the Veil, She, her-very-self, appeared before them, terrible and resplendent. She came arrayed in ebony darker than a moonless night, wielding a blade burning hotter than the surface of the sun. And though she wore the guise of a Dunmer warrior-queen, she towered above them like a statue carved from the Red Mountain itself.\n\"Why have you disturbed me?\"\nSurprised, the first among them prayed:\n\"O Boethiah, Prince of Plots, Deceiver of Nations, Queen of Shadows, Goddess of Destruction, we come to worship thee!\"\nShe looked down upon her followers, gathered to bear witness. Frowning she asked the first:\n\"Tell me, you who profess to know me, how shall I know you?\"\nAfeared he exclaimed:\n\"Each night I pray to thee, each night I call out thy wondrous names. Surely thou must recognize the sound of my voice? Thy most devoted of believers?\"\nShe frowned and let out a long sigh, and then of a sudden he was gone, the air from her lungs dispersing him.\nTurning to the second she asked:\n\"And you? How shall I measure the worth of your existence?\"\nStunned by the power of her voice, he bowed before her darkening visage.\nShe clapped her hands, and he too was gone.\nTo the third:\n\"And you, tell me, how shall I know you apart from such as were they, of whom there is no trace?\"\nShaken and speechless from the nullifications of his brethren, he whispered:\n\"Have mercy upon us!\"\nShe blinked twice. Once, he was in agony. Twice, he was destroyed.\nShe cast a withering glance across those remaining and said:\n\"I do not grant mercy.\"\nAnd so it was with the others. She putting them to proof, they offering none.\nFinally she came to me, eyes aglow with anger, tongue wet with hate, and said:\n\"Of all my believers, but two remain. Tell me, second-to-last, with what shall you prove your existence?\"\nWithout hesitation I drew forth my blade and buried it in the chest of the other who stood beside me, and without fear replied:\n\"Ask him whose blood now sprouts from my blade if I exist.\"\n\nShe smiled. And the gates of Oblivion opened between her teeth. Then she said:\n\n\"Tell me, now-last of my followers, wherefore do you remain where the others do not?\"\n\nI retrieved my blade, and offered it up saying:\n\"I am alive because that one is dead. I exist because I have the will to do so. And I shall remain as long as there are signs of my handwork, such as the blood dripping from this blade.\"\nAccepting my gift, she nodded and said:\n\"Indeed.\"\n~~~\n\n~If in the reading, your blood boils in your veins, and your mind blazons with fire, then Boethiah calls you. It is then most wise to heed her call..~\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bolgas-guide-island-beasts": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bolgas-guide-island-beasts", "description": "Bolga lists all of the beasts of the island", "author": "Bolga gra-Bur, Huntswoman of Mistral", "title": "Bolga's Guide to Island Beasts", "text": "Beasts from all over Tamriel come here on trade ships. Those that find killing easy call this island home. From weak to strong, Bolga tells you where to find them. How to best them. Whether they are good for eating.\n\t\u2014\n\tSkeevers\n\tBig rats from up north. Pack roamers. Meat is good for stew. Very stringy.\n\tLive in burrows under sand. Camping on beach? Bad idea. Water comes up and skeevers with it. Better to camp on rocks. Solid ground.\nJump like tiny tigers. Sometimes spin about. You think they are running? Do not be fooled! You wonder why Bolga has only one hand? This is why. Stand firm. Ready a shield if you have one to keep both your hands.\n\t\u2014\n\tAlits\n\tMouths on legs. Eat anything they wrap their teeth around. Go anywhere their legs carry them.\n\tMeat is tough, gamey. Sometimes poison.\nSolitary. Tend toward easy prey, like sheep. Enough in one place? They raid thunderbug nests.\n\tAlit attack with bites, but feet are more deadly. If one crouches, get your guard up! They are high jumpers.\n\t\u2014\n\tThunderbugs\n\tKeep to themselves. Nest in soft dirt near trees and under ridges. Lay eggs and guard them from anything that gets near. Eggs are sweet and tingly going down.\nGet their name from the shock you get when they bite you. They can also shock from a distance. If one tries it, punch it in the head until it stops!\nSome bugs bigger than others. Spit tiny shock balls and call thunder from the sky. Bolga suggests avoiding these. You cannot fight the weather.\n\t\u2014\n\tGiant Snake\n\tHard to find. Occasionally eat small boats. Find one swimming? Make for land. If it catches you, it will drag you under.\nBolga has only fought one on land. When it was close to death, it coiled up. Its wounds started to close. When Bolga saw this, she ran and did not look back. Suggest you do the same."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bonegrinders-skull": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bonegrinders-skull", "description": "A brief legend about the return of Bonegrinder, King Turog's loyal snow bear", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Bonegrinder's Skull", "text": "When King Torug was alive, he allied with the mightiest of the snow bears of Wrothgar. The beast earned the name \"Bonegrinder\" by serving as the king's mount in hundreds of battles.\nAfter many years, however, Bonegrinder grew weary. Torug found him a lair in the far north. There, the snow bear slept, ate, and mated, passing on his bloodline to many powerful cubs. Eventually, Bonegrinder succumbed to old age. King Torug turned part of the lair into a tomb for his faithful friend and sealed it away.\nOne day, it is said, Bonegrinder will rise again. The sign of his reawakening will be the claiming of his skull. Only a hero of Wrothgar can perform this deed\u2014or so the legends say."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bones-forest": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bones-forest", "description": "Brief instructions for invoking Y'ffre", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Bones of the Forest", "text": "Penitent, be one with the moment. Feel the solidity of the ground under your feet, and taste the wind. By his will is our world manifest, and the rocks, and the trees, and the birds in the sky. Y'ffre is with you at every turn, in every moment.\n\tTo complete your venerations here, intone: \"In the Storyteller's name, I stand upon the bones of the world. I drink in the promise and power of nature's law, and breathe out my thanks.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bonesnap-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bonesnap-journal", "description": "A researcher tries to approach goblins", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Bonesnap Journal", "text": "I've now been among the creatures of Bonesnap for thirty-six days. The Goblins are predictably skittish, but otherwise unconcerned with my presence. The Ogres they share the space with are another matter entirely. Luckily it's not been too difficult to stay out of their way. The symbiotic relationship between the Ogres and the Bonesnap tribe is fascinating. I've not encountered anything like it in my research before.\nTomorrow I will attempt to approach one of the Bonesnap tribe directly. I'm on the cusp of an inter-species breakthrough! I can feel it."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/book-bloodfiends": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/book-bloodfiends", "description": "Concerns dealing with bloodfiends", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Book of Bloodfiends", "text": "Chapter 2\nFlame\nThe most important information when dealing with a bloodfiend infestation is knowledge of their weaknesses. Not all of us are battle-hardened warriors or mages with devastating magic, so to survive we must use our wits!\n\tWe tested several different delivery methods of fire. We found that mundane and magical fire by itself is not sufficient, but covering a bloodfiend in oil and lighting it is extremely effective. We recommend retreating to the nearest castle for this purpose, as they have oil in quantity and murder-holes to pour it from.\nSilver\nThe most important information when dealing with a bloodfiend infestation is knowledge of their weaknesses. Not all of us are battle-hardened warriors or mages with devastating magic, so to survive we must use our wits!\n\tWe tested the popular folklore about silver harming undead with its touch, and we are happy to report the wise women are right for a change! Hitting a bloodfiend with a silver weapon will stun it for a few seconds, which gives you precious time to escape. Stick with silver-plated weapons with a good edge\u2014someone wielding a solid silver blade has more gold than sense.\nChapter 3\nFlame\nIf one of your friends or family dies, you don't want them coming back as a bloodfiend! We found that burning the corpse is an effective deterrent to spreading the plague.\n\tHowever, you have to burn the corpse black for the intended effect, so please do not try this on living people! However, a fire shield spell proved insufficient to ward the plague, as one of our valiant researchers discovered.\nWater\nIf one of your friends or family dies, you don't want them coming back as a bloodfiend! We found that pouring blessed water over all exposed areas of the corpse effectively prevented the spread of the plague.\n\tSadly, this method is less effective with the living, as the blessed water will simply run off your skin as you move around. I suppose this means it would be worth trying on an immobile person, but we were not able to test this theory.\nChapter 4\nOur research debunked many folk myths about vampirism, at least where bloodfiends are concerned. Our findings include:\n\t1. Blessed water does not harm bloodfiends. It just makes them angrier!\n\t2. A folk myth recommends throwing rotten eggs at the undead, burning them with the sulfur inside. We found that not only are the eggs disgusting to carry about, they are also completely ineffective.\n\t3. Beating or cutting a body with silver had no effect on the spread of the plague. Neither does self-flagellation, so stop it!\n\t4. The folk tale of garlic warding against vampirism is patently false.\nAppendix A\nOne of the most popular requests from readers of our first edition was how to tell bloodfiends from proper vampires. We are happy to report that an actual vampire (who will remain anonymous) helped us clear up the distinction! Here are some signs that you're dealing with a vampire instead of a bloodfiend:\n\t1. A vampire will usually attempt some form of conversation before he or she attacks you. A bloodfiend will simply go straight for your throat.\n\t2. Vampires may look under the weather, but they usually keep their condition hidden. A bloodfiend is obviously stricken, with patchy hair, extremely pale skin, wrinkled features, and bloodshot eyes.\n\t3. Vampires will not feed on corpses. They liken it to us eating trash. Bloodfiends make no such distinction."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/book-bosmer-lore": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/book-bosmer-lore", "description": "Description of the book. Contains no actual text.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Book of Bosmer Lore", "text": "<Contains various tales of the Bosmer heritage.>"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/book-excellent-teachings": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/book-excellent-teachings", "description": "Instructions to open the gate in a mysterious lake", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Book of Excellent Teachings", "text": "To open the gate in our mysterious lake,\n\tOne must follow the book of teachings.\n\tFor only when shapes are set and directions followed,\n\tWill the portal open\u2014but try not to get swallowed.\nLet the Sun's spiky rays warm the Northern shore,\n\tAs Masser's Full Moon rises in the Western expanse,\n\tAnd Aetherius' Star sparkles above the Eastern moor,\n\tWhile the Crescent Moon of Secundus fills the Southern glance."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/book-gratuitous-sonnets": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/book-gratuitous-sonnets", "description": "Not one sonnet in sight", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Book of Gratuitous Sonnets", "text": "This line of simple text will have to do.\n\tPentameter and rhyme will have to wait."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/book-thoughts": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/book-thoughts", "description": "One perhaps insane author's scribblings", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Book of Thoughts", "text": "\u2014 Keeper has me keep a book of thoughts. It is hard to write words with a stick! I will send this to my matron when I finish. She will be happy!\n\u2014 Today I write about duties here. Catch the biter bugs and crunch them. My spine is sore from this all day work! One egg moved when I came near. Can the small ones hear us?\n\u2014 I picked my egg-friend today. I can feel the small one say hello when I tap on it. Keeper says I am silly to think this. Ha! When the little one comes out, he will be surprised!\n\u2014 I saw a stranger today. It was a pale Elf, but not one of the ash. It hissed at me like wamasu. I ran and hid in a bush. After, I felt bad. What if the pale Elf stole something?\n\u2014 My egg-friend is missing from its nest. The pale Elf came back and stole, I know it! I will get back my egg-friend. The pale Elf will get many smacks!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bordaunt-virelandes-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bordaunt-virelandes-journal", "description": "An attempt to earn a reputation ends badly", "author": "Bordaunt Virelande", "title": "Bordaunt Virelande's Journal", "text": "Day 1\n\tI've decided to strike out on my own. No one makes a name spending their whole life in a small town. I plan to document the noteworthy incidents of my travels so I have them for the book I'm going to write when I retire from adventuring.\nDay 7\n\tI had to defend myself from a bandit attack on the road today. I guess they didn't expect me to be more proficient with a blade than they were, but fortunately my training paid off. I dispatched one, and the other two fled, wounded. I did not relish the act, and while I realize that it was either him or me, I hope I do not have cause to do so again in the future. Now it's time to get past this unpleasant incident and focus on building my legend!\nDay 15\n\tI helped rescue a family's cow from a burning barn today! I got a little singed, but they gave me a jug of fresh milk, a block of cheese, and told me to stop by whenever I passed through this area. My renown is growing, and I look forward to more adventures in the days to come.\nDay 22\n\tI've already encountered some strange things in my travels but without question the most disturbing so far was watching that man take his own life just outside the town of Goldfolly. He was sobbing and incoherent, and there was nothing I could do as he brought the knife across his wrists. At first I was reluctant to go through his belongings, but my rumbling stomach overrode my misgivings. It looked like he was just setting off on a trip, as his provisions were fully packed and unused. I briefly considered bringing the body back to town, but they would just as likely condemn me for dragging a corpse into their midst as thank me for returning him. I couldn't just leave him to rot though, so I left a letter under the door of the Inn and watched from a nearby hill as he was buried the next day.\nOn a related note, I believe I've acquired my first magical item from this unfortunate fellow. I'm not sure what this amulet is supposed to do exactly, but the way it glows tells me that it must hold some type of power. I believe it will help me in my future endeavors. Soon enough, I'll be in full enchanted armor with a blazing sword!\nDay 24\n\tHaving trouble sleeping. I believe this wooded area must be haunted as I keep hearing voices. I'm sure my spirits will improve when I emerge from this shrouded forest.\nDay 26\n\tI haven't slept in days. The voices have gotten louder and more persistent every day, even after I left the woods. I am haunted by the death I caused and the death I did not prevent. I have tried to bury the amulet in the forest, but I cannot bring myself to leave it.\nDay 30\n\tI am a monster and I don't deserve to live."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/borzughs-letter": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/borzughs-letter", "description": "One Orc is most dissatisfied with the current alliance", "author": "Borzugh gro-Morkul", "title": "Borzugh's Letter", "text": "Greetings Historian Maaga! Your letter will encourage the bandits of Torog's Spite to continue in our endeavors. As you know from studying history, the Bretons and Redguards have betrayed us more callously and more often than any of the other races of Tamriel. Thus, we of Clan Morkul have always been opposed to the decision to join the Daggerfall Covenant.\nI specifically vowed to target the Chauvry estate because they still were held in great esteem from the Bretons' other noble houses. Killing them was satisfying, and I am proud to claim credit for the raid for Clan Morkul. I hope this will contribute to the Orcs' withdrawal from this absurd alliance.\n\t\u2014 Borzugh gro-Morkul"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/borzuls-suicide-note": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/borzuls-suicide-note", "description": "", "author": "Borzul gro-Ghol", "title": "Borzul's Suicide Note", "text": "AAARRRRRGGGGHHHH! She cannot treat me this way. Borzul gro-Ghol stands for no insults! My shame must be wiped out.\nPorath wishes me gone? Then I shall go! She spurns my advances? She will regret it! She will see what comes of shaming a member of the Gholin Clan. She will never forget my answer; she will never forget my name!\nCourage is called for, I must not falter. I will not falter. To Mauloch I make this sacrifice of myself!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bothamuls-orders": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bothamuls-orders", "description": "Smugglers arrange a meeting", "author": "Bothamul", "title": "Bothamul's Orders", "text": "Atarga,\nWe shifted camp to the island just west of Vassamsi Grotto. Meet us there once you collect our fee. Rumor has it that this mine's worst than all the rest, so let's not linger here long, eh?\nIf you see those two half-wits in Sadrith Mora, give them a kick in the arse. We're running a smuggling outfit, not a gang of lazy drunks.\n-Bothamul"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bounty-contract-wadracki": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bounty-contract-wadracki", "description": "Bounty on a Dremora", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Bounty Contract: Wadracki", "text": "The parties in question (hereafter \"employers\") agree that with the confirmed kill of Wadracki, the Dremora, Orchenir will be paid four times the standard pay for braving the hazards of the Imperial City sewers.\nThe employers also accept and understand that if Wadracki is spotted at some point in the future, that this is the nature of the Daedra to reform after some time spent dead. The employers will not seek damages from Orchenir in the case that Wadracki returns."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bounty-order-sorcalin": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bounty-order-sorcalin", "description": "", "author": "Sorcalin", "title": "Bounty Order from Sorcalin", "text": "Gen. Thoron,\n\tI have received reports of far too many enemy soldiers infiltrating our territory. Post a bounty on foes killed to encourage our warriors to hunt for these spies.\n\tSend kill reports back with Vilya.\n\t- Sorcalin"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bounty-dragons": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bounty-dragons", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Bounty: Dragons!", "text": "Take heed, would-be Dragonslayers!\nA rage of Dragons burns its way across the Khajiiti homeland of Elsweyr! The Mane beseeches all who would lend aid in this dark time to pledge their swords to the destruction of the fell beasts!\nSlay a Dragon, and bring a token of proof to <<1>> in Rimmen or <<2>> in Senchal for your reward!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bowmans-note": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bowmans-note", "description": "An irritated note from a foreman", "author": "Bowman", "title": "Bowman's Note", "text": "Albert, for the last time stop asking why we are digging in the southern tunnels. If our enlightened masters wished us to know, they would have told us.\nHere is what you do:\n1. Raise skeletons.\n2. Give skeletons shovels.\n3. Tell skeletons to dig up crystals.\n4. Don't ask questions.\nIt's not hard! If I have to warn you again, you can be assured you will join the number of those digging!\nIrritably,\nBowman"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bowyer-and-fletcher": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bowyer-and-fletcher", "description": "Lessons on bow making from an expert", "author": "Hoary Durotzel, the Wood Butcher of Ska'vyn", "title": "Bowyer and Fletcher", "text": "Now listen here, younglings, and I'll tell ye a thing or three about making bows and arrows, because you're going to need them if the Goblins come back. So pay attention, and put away those blasted cup-and-ball toys.\nNow a bow what's made of one piece of springy wood is called a \"self\" bow, because it's only itself, d'ye see? Them Bretons with their longbows prefers it that way, and say a bow ain't no bow unless it's as tall as its archer before stringing. They like to use bow staves of yew, elm, or ash, 'cause those are woods that are dense and strong, yet flexible if tillered right.\nElven bows are usually shorter and more complicated. They're called \"composite\" bows because they're composed of several different pieces\u2014are you listening, you jackanapes?\u2014and even different materials. The central stave is usually wood, curved as in a self bow, but then pieces curved in the opposite direction are attached to the ends for added power. These \"recurved\" end-pieces are often made of horn or carapace.\nThem Wood Elves down in Valenwood, now, they've got a problem, because they love their bows more even than me and you, but they can't cut no wood for staves 'cause of their loony Green Pact. So they make composite bows built entirely from horn, bug-shell, antlers, and even bone\u2014though how they get that bone to flex is way beyond me. Treat it somehow, they do, boiling it in vinegars or suchlike, or so I hear tell.\nNext is arrows. We'll start with the feathers what go on the back end to make them fly straight. Here, look how this arrow is fletched\u2014are the vanes in a straight line parallel to the shaft? No, they ain't. Come back tomorrow, and I'll tell you why."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/brave-little-scrib": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/brave-little-scrib", "description": "A tale of a little Scrib wanting to play by the waterfall", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Brave Little Scrib", "text": "Brave Little Scrib lived with the Kwama Queen, the workers, and the warriors. They were a free colony of kwama, not bound to a Dark Elf mine or any other form of servitude. But Brave Little Scrib was bored. She didn't like being told what to do by the older kwama.\n\"What makes you smarter than me?\" Brave Little Scrib asked Kwama Worker.\n\"I'm older than you, Scrib,\" Kwama Worker said impatiently, \"And I'm always very busy, so I know what's best. You need to stay away from the waterfall. Trust me, you're better off keeping busy than playing in the stream.\"\n\tBrave Little Scrib didn't like that answer, so she went to speak with Kwama Warrior. \"Why can't I play in the waterfall?\" she asked.\nKwama Warrior, serious as always, never looked at Scrib as he spoke. Instead, he constantly scanned the cave for any potential threats that needed to be fought. Warrior liked to fight, and he was always looking for a battle. \"The waterfall? You can't fight the waterfall, Little Scrib. Water is cold and fast and it makes you drown. You should go back to the egg chamber and play with the other scribs where the other warriors and I can watch over you.\"\nBrave Little Scrib didn't like that answer, either. \"Well,\" thought Brave Little Scrib, \"if no one can give me a really good reason why I can't play in the waterfall, then I'm going to go play in the waterfall.\"\nAs Brave Little Scrib approached the underground stream that flowed from the falling water, she spotted a tiny torchbug up ahead. \"Hello, tiny Torchbug,\" Scrib called out.\n\"Oh, hello, Little Scrib,\" Torchbug sang. His voice was hot and sultry, and it crackled like a burning fire. \"What brings you to this part of the cave?\"\n\"I've come to play in the waterfall,\" Brave Little Scrib said cheerfully. \"Will you fly away so I can pass?\"\n\t\"Oh, yes,\" sang Torchbug. \"I'll happily fly out of your way. I haven't seen anyone drown in the waterfall in quite some time, and I find the sight very entertaining. Please, hurry. I need a good laugh.\"\n\tBrave Little Scrib didn't like what Torchbug was saying. \"You want to see me drown?\"\n\"Well, I guess I don't really care one way or another,\" sang Torchbug, \"but I do enjoy a good drowning. Do you know how to swim, Little Scrib?\"\nBrave Little Scrib thought about Torchbug's song. \"I know how to swim,\" she lied. \"But I don't think I feel like playing in the waterfall today. Maybe tomorrow. See you later, Torchbug.\"\n\t\"If you insist, Little Scrib,\" Torchbug sang. \"Have a good day.\"\nAnd Brave Little Scrib wandered back to the egg chamber, looking for another adventure."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/brave-little-scrib-song": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/brave-little-scrib-song", "description": "A dunmeri children's song", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Brave Little Scrib Song", "text": "(A Dark Elf Children's Song)\nThere's a kwama we all know,\n\tWho's as bold as any Dunmer,\n\tYou can see by Torchbug's glow,\n\tLittle Scrib, she's such a wonder.\nPlay, play! Life's an adventure!\n\tRun, run! As fast as you dare!\n\tSing, sing! Imagine the pleasure!\n\tEverything's fun - when you don't have a care!\nMean Old Torchbug, full of tricks,\n\tHis voice crackling like fire,\n\tAdvice he shares conflicts,\n\tSends Little Scrib into trouble dire.\nPlay, play! Life's an adventure!\n\tRun, run! As fast as you dare!\n\tSing, sing! Imagine the pleasure!\n\tEverything's fun - when you don't have a care!\nBrave Little Scrib with the heart so pure,\n\tAlways in search of adventure,\n\tShe says \"Maybe tomorrow.\"\n\tHe says \"If you insist,\n\tBut that treasure, you'll miss.\"\nPlay, play! Life's an adventure!\n\tRun, run! As fast as you dare!\n\tSing, sing! Imagine the pleasure!\n\tEverything's fun - when you don't have a care!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/brave-sir-cadwell": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/brave-sir-cadwell", "description": "A cheery rhyme about the eponymous Sir Cadwell", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Brave Sir Cadwell", "text": "Bravely bold Sir Cadwell\n\tRode forth upon trusty Honor.\n\tHe feared nothing in Coldharbour,\n\tOh brave Sir Cadwell.\n\tHe loved the land all blue and gray,\n\tRighting wrongs and saving days.\n\tBrave, brave, brave Sir Cadwell."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/breaking-cycle-tyranny": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/breaking-cycle-tyranny", "description": "A pamphlet against the Daggerfall Covenant", "author": "Alla Llaleth", "title": "Breaking the Cycle of Tyranny", "text": "The brash young kingdoms of the Covenant want to reestablish the Empire of Men. They are too callow and immature to realize that the Empire was a failed experiment whose time has passed. Now is a time of crisis for all of Nirn, and Tamriel cannot afford to have these unlearned barbarians destabilizing Cyrodiil and jeopardizing our efforts to stave off world-destroying doom.\nThe Ebonheart Pact will not allow the Daggerfall Covenant to establish another bloody-handed dynasty of Imperial tyrants. Time and again throughout history, armies of men have marched in from the rim of Tamriel to conquer its center, enjoying a brief moment of power before sliding into inevitable discord and decay. It's time to break this destructive cycle once and for all. We need to defeat the armies of the Covenant, depose their kings, and bring their chastened successors into a new Tamriel Pact, where wiser heads shall prevail."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/breton-bedtime-stories-loose-page": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/breton-bedtime-stories-loose-page", "description": "Love note scribbled in a children's book", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Breton Bedtime Stories (Loose Page)", "text": "First, the bear clawed at the tree. Then, he roared at it. He bit its bark and chewed. Yet the princess stayed safe, laughing all the while.\nFinally, the bear sat back on its haunches and spoke. \"Why do you fear, little girl?\"\nThe princess shouted down, \"Because you'll eat me, silly bear!\"\nThe bear just shook its grizzled head. \"I do not eat children. Come down, and we will play a game.\"\nBut the princess was too clever for the crafty bear. She knew it was a trick. \"Come up here, if you're so eager for a game!\"\nThe bear grunted. It began to climb.\n<A handwritten note is scrawled in the margin of the page.>\nBring your mother to the ruins. Open the door as we discussed. Hurry, Visanne. It is the only place we can be safe. I love you.\n\t\u2014 R"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bridge-guards-complaint": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bridge-guards-complaint", "description": "Boredom is a tough challenge", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Bridge Guard's Complaint", "text": "Commander Derre must be losing his mind. We're on the outskirts of a secret fortress in the middle of the mountains, and he has us guarding a bridge inside the perimeter? Does he think someone is going to attack us from our own line?\nThe worst enemy we have out here is boredom. Sometimes I wish we would get attacked. At least it would give us something to do."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/brief-letter-aldarch": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/brief-letter-aldarch", "description": "Letter about a magical chalice", "author": "Kinlord Astanamo the Penitent", "title": "Brief Letter to an Aldarch ", "text": "Aldarch,\nWater is yours to command with this eldritch chalice. It is especially useful when used to honor Anu, who shaped the cosmos in the Dawn Era, and Y'ffre, the Earth Bones.\nScarcely should we credit those who claim we were better off in the time of trading body for root, or root for limb. I, for one, am grateful to wake each day as the same, in both thought and form, as the day preceding.\nI digress, as you doubtless recall our history, and this letter\u2014as brief as it may be\u2014is written only to describe the ways of the chalice within the shrine.\nDip the chalice within the shrine's waters. Pour the water on the unclean to wash away the filth. Visions shall you see, as though impurities are washed from your eyes.\nWater from the chalice calms chaos. Drink from it when you feel the stirring deep within you that comes only from consuming improperly prepared food.\nBe sure to visit both sides of the shrine.\nPlease accept the chalice with my appreciation. In the name of Mara, may the blood of life continue to pump within your breast.\n\u2014 Kinlord Astanamo the Penitent"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bright-throat-riddle-fragment": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bright-throat-riddle-fragment", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Bright-Throat Riddle Fragment", "text": "\"Smoke of stars to see what once was seen, sunless sap to hear what once was heard.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/brokel-exhumed": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/brokel-exhumed", "description": "Gravestone", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Brokel (Exhumed)", "text": "Here Lies BROKEL\nBeloved SON\nHERDER\nDied in his SLEEP\nOLD as Skyrim"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/broken-helm-notes": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/broken-helm-notes", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Broken Helm Notes", "text": "Skeggy's got us holed up in this frozen rock. Says we need to lay low, and this cave's been used by bandits for generations. Won't the guards know about it then?\nPlace reeks something awful as well, though Skeggy's claiming it didn't smell like this before. Dirty rotten liar. He's whining about me writing again. Tough luck, I need this to think.\nDoesn't matter though. I hid the best diamond from our loot in my false tooth. I'll sneak out tonight, and after one quick trip to Seryna in Riften I'll be out of this business for good.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/broken-tusk-ritual-notes": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/broken-tusk-ritual-notes", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Broken Tusk Ritual Notes", "text": "Light the candle, douse the flame.\n\tSay the words, hold onto pain.\n\tDo not fear!\n\tSoon, he'll be here.\n\tHe will be here."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/brondolds-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/brondolds-journal", "description": "Notes on potential Icereach Coven Activity in Solitude", "author": "Brondold", "title": "Brondold's Journal", "text": "\nLyris,\nIf you're reading this, I never made it to our meeting at the Blue Palace. I'm likely either dead or in the dungeon, but I was able to send word your way. I don't have solid proof that this Icereach Coven you're hunting is in Haafingar hold, but something's rotten in the capital city of Solitude. I know I'm on the right trail. Unfortunately, it seems they know it, too. I wish I had more information for you. I'm sorry.\nBring what I found to Queen Gerhyld. She's more levelheaded than the high king. Without her influence, I doubt you'll even be allowed to see High King Svargrim.\nBrondold\n* * *\nThis assignment is going to be more challenging than I anticipated. Locals are suspicious of strangers. Guards always seem to be watching. Even in a city the size of Solitude\u2014even among Nords\u2014I stick out like a sore thumb.\n\u2014\nMade one contact at the royal stables. Young woman named Kovynn. Starry-eyed. Naive. Told her to keep watch for unusual travelers. No one else is talking. I'm going to settle into a routine. Get people used to seeing me around.\n\u2014\nEverything passes through the Lonely Troll at some point. It's the best place in the city to talk to the locals and learn about what's going on. There's an Orc that frequents the establishment. Goes by the name of Maugh. He seems willing to talk, as long as you keep his mug filled. If anyone knows something about the Icereach Coven, I'm sure to find them in the Lonely Troll.\n\u2014\nAny trust I built up with the locals evaporated at the mere mention of witches. Won't say a word about them, unless you count prayers to the gods. I guess they take dark magic more seriously this close to the Reach, but they'd rather shut their ears to it than court misfortune.\n\u2014\nKorvynn came through for me. Said some rugged types arrived on mountain mares, trying a little too hard not to be noticed. They put up postings all around town. Recruiting for something. Sharp girl.\n* * *\n\nLaborers and Craft Workers Needed!\nBrave folk sought for distant and dangerous work in uncharted territory beyond the Druadach Mountains. Travel mandatory. Food and lodging provided. A yearlong commitment required, with rewards to match the risks!\nInquire at the Lonely Troll Inn in Solitude\n\nSeen these postings across the hold. Nobody seems to know what all this labor's for or where it's needed.\n* * *\nI noticed Redguard ships making regular stops at the docks here. Considering my chilly reception, I find that curious.\n\u2014\nCost me a good bit of gold, but the local snitch, Greyga, who I found gambling in an alley, provided a solid lead. Redguard mariners are bringing shipments up from Sentinel. Manifests say housewares. Crews looks more like mercenaries than traders. She saw one discreetly marking some of the crates. Think I'll poke around.\n\u2014\nTried to grab what was inside, but I got caught and it slipped from my hand before I could wrest it from the crate. I managed to lose the thugs who were after me. I'm just hoping they never got a good look at me.\n\u2014\nSupposed to meet with Lyris Titanborn before her audience with Queen Gerhyld at the Blue Palace. Tell her what I've found so she can convince High King Svargrim that there's a threat to his domain. All I've got is suspicions. Nothing solid. I've heard the high queen rules with a lighter touch. She might be the sympathetic ear that gets us in the door."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/brondolds-papers": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/brondolds-papers", "description": "", "author": "Brondold", "title": "Brondold's Papers", "text": "<A scrap of paper with hurried writing scrawled in a shaky hand sits on top of the pile.>\nBrondold,\nThe guards came asking about you. They were rattling their scabbards at anyone they could find. I'm scared. I hid your horse in the woods. I'll wait in the barn by the stables outside the city, but only for one more day.\n<An official looking form with an annotation.>\nDeclaration of Customs\n\tPort of Departure: Sentinel\n\tPort of Arrival: Solitude\n\tCargo Offloaded:\n\t-Three barrels oasis water\n\t-Four crates Ska'vyn housewares\n\t-Five crates Thorstad pottery\n\t-One crate Sentinel canteens\n\u2014Saw a crew member surreptitiously marking several crates on the docks. Hidden compartments? Couldn't get a look inside.\n<A small, tightly folded note tucked in between the sheets.>\nLeft a surprise for you. Follow the directions.\nWhere stones stand south of the lonely docks.\n\tIn the shadow of their shelter.\n\tWhere the living trees keep watch."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bruma-pleads-aid": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bruma-pleads-aid", "description": "Bruma is in trouble", "author": "Grigerda", "title": "Bruma Pleads for Aid", "text": "Grand Warlord Zimmeron,\nI send this plea with merchants who passed through our village. I pray that it reaches you.\nBruma, as you know, lies south of Fort Dragonclaw. While the fort is contested ground, invading alliance troops have ignored Bruma. Ordinarily, I would be grateful for this. But not now.\nDremora have killed or captured most of the folk here. A Dark Anchor brings more horrors into Bruma daily. Without help, I believe we will soon be overrun.\nI have appealed to Grand Warlord Dortene of the Daggerfall Covenant as well. Whichever alliance sends troops to our aid first will have our everlasting gratitude and a vital supply base.\nGrigerda\n\tInterim Prefect, Bruma"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/buoyant-armigers-swords-vivec": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/buoyant-armigers-swords-vivec", "description": "An introduction to Vivec's personal knight-bodyguards", "author": "Archcanon Tarvus", "title": "Buoyant Armigers: Swords of Vivec", "text": "By Tarvus, Archcanon of Vivec\nFew embody Lord Vivec's spirit of adventure and exploration as proudly as the Buoyant Armigers. This military order of the Tribunal Temple serves Lord Vivec with dedication and heroic zeal. Oath-bound to emulate the Master of Morrowind's command of the varied arts of personal combat, chivalric courtesy, and subtle verse, these warrior-poets stand as the champions of the Temple and Vivec's personal knights-errant. They take on specific missions when available and wander the land in search of adventure when nothing else requires their intervention. The Buoyant Armigers perform their deeds and noble exploits in the name of Lord Vivec, even while they engage in a friendly rivalry with the more solemn Ordinators.\nMost members of this knightly order come from the ranks of House Redoran. The noble ideals and sense of adventure match closely with the virtues of the House, so it's not surprising that Redorans are drawn to Vivec's service. Take, for example, Elynea Omayn, the proud daughter of a House Redoran councilor. She could have found a place as a high-ranking officer in the Redoran military or as Redoran representative to another Ebonheart Pact nation. Instead, her daring and love of complex verse led her to join the Buoyant Armigers. A favorite of Lord Vivec and an inspiration to her fellow knights-errant, Omayn visits Vivec Palace often but rarely remains for longer than a day or two at a time. Then it's off on another mission or in search of her own adventure so that she can add more verses to her ever-expanding ballad of amazing exploits.\n\"Knight Omayn, fair and pure, came upon some nix-ox spoor,\nOf quantity immense and odor intense,\nSuch offal could only have come from something extremely hostile.\"\nThe ballad goes on to describe how Elynea Omayn encounters her rival and sometimes lover, Ordinator Nisath, also on the trail of the monstrous nix-ox. The two exchange friendly jabs and engage in bawdy innuendos as they make their way into a desolate canyon after tracking the enraged creature's path of destruction.\n\"Ordinator Nisath, with a mighty sword and a weapon to match,\nWas eager to add such a terrible beast to his ever-growing catch.\nBut Knight Omayn spoke faster, assaulting the creature with a barrage of banter,\nConfusing, inspiring, her wit and words ended the threat and averted disaster.\"\nVivec encourages his knights-errant to hunt down and eliminate necromancers, blighted creatures, and the assorted champions of dark forces throughout the land. He expects them to remain true to Vivec's ideals while quoting from the warrior-poet's writings or crafting their own verse as they seek out adventure. Novice members of the order don the traditional chitin armor of the Dunmer. In contrast, more renowned knights adorn themselves with more expensive Daedric or even glass armor.\nWhereas the Ordinators stand somber and alert, Vivec's Buoyant Armigers leap and bound enthusiastically as they search for adventure. Gushing with ostentatious bravado and dashing flamboyance, the typical member of the order is valiant, fearless, well-read, and a master of verse and rhythm. They revere Lord Vivec who, in turn, blesses them with preternatural courage and a flare for dramatic performance. When our Lord Vivec requires agents to complete an important task or deal with an impending threat, he never hesitates to call upon his loyal and faithful Buoyant Armigers."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/burned-fires-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/burned-fires-journal", "description": "A fragment of a tortured person's journal", "author": "Burned-By-Fire", "title": "Burned-By-Fire's Journal", "text": "I've been a prisoner here for what seems like years. They torture me endlessly\u2026"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/burning-vestige-vol-i": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/burning-vestige-vol-i", "description": "The Lord of Razors is summoned in Eastmarch", "author": "Warlock Endil", "title": "Burning Vestige, Vol. I", "text": "This collection contains privileged information regarding the Daedric Prince Mehrunes Dagon. In case you've been living in an Ayleid ruin since the dawn of recorded history, involvement with Dagon and his ilk is frowned upon quite fiercely by most populations of Tamriel. Having this book or its companion volume in your possession could earn you suspicion from your neighbors as well as agents of the law. In many districts worship of the Master of Razors is illegal, and communion rituals involving the Daedric Prince are punishable by death.\nAmongst even the Daedric Princes, none are more openly concerned with the suffering of mortals. Whenever Dagon appears he leaves destruction in his wake, and contact with the Master of Razors often results in death for the conjurer\u2014along with everyone in the vicinity. Sudden floods, thunderstorms, and other natural disasters all over Tamriel have been tied to communions with Mehrunes Dagon, and the most detailed account I've read about occurred in Eastmarch.\nHranvard Frostfinger, a witch of Eastmarch, is said to have sacrificed thirteen innocents to Dagon in a single night, prompting the Daedric Prince to briefly open a portal from the Deadlands to Skyrim. The only witnesses were members of the Direfrost family, a clan of witch-hunters, who managed to find and slay Hranvard. Immediately following, they came under a mysterious and brutal attack themselves. Their leader, Yllothon, was the only survivor, who later wrote in his memoirs:\n\"We followed the stench of burning flesh for a half-mile, and we caught up to (Hranvard) at nightfall, by the Sea of Ghosts. She lay cackling among her thirteen victims, whose bodies had been stacked in a mass grave, encircled by spidery writing. Slaying her was an easy task\u2014all it took was a single silver bolt. But when the deed was done, the air suddenly began to boil and crack. Fearing some residual spell, I had my men retreat up the nearest pass, where we watched the snow below catch fire, and the sky split apart with flame. We turned to flee, but it was too late. Fire poured from the wound in the air and engulfed my thirty men. I tried to help them but the flames wouldn't die, and wouldn't burn my flesh. A voice bellowed from the burning maw above, 'You will suffer better among the living.'\"\nMany, including members of the Mages Guild, are skeptical of Yllothon's story, respected as he was amongst the Direfrost hunters. They found no sign of Mehrunes Dagon at the Sea of Ghosts\u2014save the blasted, mirrored sand. Obviously, the Direfrosts disagree: there was still the matter of thirty missing hunters. The Direfrosts have since intensified their war against the covens of Eastmarch.\nThe Mages Guild, however, has struck the event from their records of note, citing the blasted sand at the Sea of Ghosts as a meteorological phenomenon. But I believed Yllothon was correct; I was there, as a senior advisor on the party that surveyed that beach.\nVolume II of this collection contains a detailed account of everything I found at the Sea of Ghosts, including half of the \"spidery circle\" that Yllothon describes. Any aspiring conjurer who wants a chance at contacting Mehrunes Dagon should follow me there."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/burnt-note": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/burnt-note", "description": "A plot to discredit the Queen", "author": "N", "title": "Burnt Note", "text": "Valano,\nThe time has come to take action. Queen Ayrenn has dispatched a squad of First Auridon Marines to Silsailen to prepare for her arrival.\nEven now, my agents lay in wait. They have been instructed to ambush the Marines and outfit themselves with their uniforms and weapons. Disguised thus, they will burn Silsailen to the ground. When word of the atrocity spreads, the blame will be laid upon Ayrenn herself. As we agreed, you will be named Canonreeve of Skywatch in return for your loyalty and assistance.\nLong live the Veiled Queen,\n\t\u2014 N\nP.S. Do not forget to burn this letter!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/burnt-papers": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/burnt-papers", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Burnt Papers", "text": "<Journal pages obviously set aflame. Only snippits of writing remain.>\n... is not easy to come by, even in Blackreach ...\nEdjar was lying. Cave-ins don't cause those sort of injuries ... trust was hard to earn, but he's sharing the truth about what happened to him and ...\nEdjar's blood was saturated with neth ... is the likely cause of his resistance, but ... I need to see for myself ... Edjar knows a way inside\n... Edjar won't cooperate ... insists on rescuing his pack members ... near the old Dwarven tower in Lightless ...\nI promised to free ... meet Edjar outside Dusktown ... camp east of the bridge ..."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/burnt-mostly-illegible-scrap": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/burnt-mostly-illegible-scrap", "description": "A plea from a forsaken retainer", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Burnt, Mostly Illegible Scrap", "text": "\u2026 understand why the mistress would abandon us. These brutish creatures assault us every day. The venom of their beasts. Their shrill cries.\n\tMercy, mistress! Hear our pleas!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/burrs-writing-practice": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/burrs-writing-practice", "description": "", "author": "Burr", "title": "Burr's Writing Practice", "text": "R A T\nE A T\nR A W\nH O T\nC O O K\nC O L D\nS N O W\nS T A B"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gentle-winds": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gentle-winds", "description": "Cryptic stanzas about the Chosen Warrior's path", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "By Gentle Winds", "text": "The Chosen Warrior accepts that in the pits of despair,\n\tthere is always a gentle wind to guide them.\nBut even with guidance, they must walk toward their destiny by their own will.\n\tThis is the fate of heroes.\nThe Chosen Warrior follows the path laid before them,\n\ttheir heart strengthened by their certainty.\nThey become the light that guides all others along the chosen path.\nKnow this or you will not don the mask."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/order-chief-inspector-rhanbiq": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/order-chief-inspector-rhanbiq", "description": "Instructions to bring to justice a Dark Elf thief", "author": "Chief Inspector Rhanbiq", "title": "By Order of Chief Inspector Rhanbiq", "text": "The Iron Wheel is hereby authorized to bring in a Dark Elf woman, going by the name of Velsa, surname unknown, for questioning related to the stolen dowry of Lady Magnifica Falorah. Suspect is believed to have strong ties to the organization of loosely affiliated rogues and criminals that goes by \"Thieves Guild\"\nNote: Proceed with all caution, suspect is an expert in sabotage and chemical techniques designed to immobilize and cause pain. Assume hostility."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/order-faolchu": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/order-faolchu", "description": "", "author": "Faolchu", "title": "By Order of Faolchu", "text": "Salazar,\n\tBy fang and claw, guard the road to Camlorn so I may complete my work.\n\tFaolchu"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/order-guildmaster-vanus-galerion": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/order-guildmaster-vanus-galerion", "description": "Rules and guidelines for the Mages Guild", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "By Order of Guildmaster Vanus Galerion", "text": "By order of the Guildmaster, be very welcome to the isle of Eyevea! All members of the guild in good standing are to view this isle as a refuge. A sanctuary for magical study and a neutral ground on Tamriel.\nAll members, be you warned:\n- Alliance in-fighting will not be tolerated! The Three Banner's War is in Cyrodiil. Here, all Mages are at peace and in harmony.\n\t- Accept your fellows, no matter their appearance. All the thinking races of Tamriel practice the spellcasting arts. Intolerance towards a fellow guildmember is to be reported to the Guildmaster, and will be dealt with severely!\n\t- Pay the tithe. Members in good standing are welcome to make use of the isle's sytem of portals for trade and transportation. Any member with a standing business must, however, pay a percentage fee to the guild in tithe.\nThe return of Eyevea marks a new era for the Guild!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/order-silver-dawn": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/order-silver-dawn", "description": "The Silver Dawn prepare to storm Moon Hunter Keep", "author": "Captain Abitius", "title": "By Order of the Silver Dawn", "text": "Comrades,\nFor too long we have left Moon Hunter Keep grasped within the clutches of Vykosa and her pack. For too long we've allowed them to sow their malicious intent across Tamriel. For too long we've simply watched as they've grown, as they've fortified their strength. To plot their schemes of carnage and mayhem.\nBut the Silver Dawn will stand back no longer. It's time to strike this pack of mangy dogs down, once and for all.\nWe have reason to believe the Moon Hunter Pack, as they now call themselves, have begun to bolster their ranks. This has not only involved gathering werewolves to them, but also kidnapping innocents from nearby areas and cursing them to become beasts as well. This desperation to increase their pack numbers could only mean ill will towards Tamriel.\nWe cannot allow this to continue. The Moon Hunter Pack must be eradicated, no matter the cost.\nYou'll take all orders from Commander Varian. His previous knowledge of the keep's layout should help with your infiltration. Heed his commands as if they were my own.\nAnd may the Eight watch over you all.\n-Captain Abitius"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/order-tribunal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/order-tribunal", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "By Order of the Tribunal", "text": "Berezan's Mine is closed to the public until further notice.\n\tTrespassers will suffer the full wrath of the Three."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/masters-mace": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/masters-mace", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "By the Master's Mace", "text": "We march! By the Master's Mace we march on the hated city of Delodiil. Under the command of the mighty King Anumaril, our assault cannot fail.\nBy the power of the Master, we will capture the light-worshiping thralls of that pitiful city. We will return them to the dark chamber at the heart of Abagarlas\u2014a temple far superior to the pathetic Meridian altar of the Delodiil heretics.\nWe will liberate their worthless souls, feeding them to the Mortuum Vivicus. We shall grant them, at long last, a purpose in this world.\nSo the Master, the Lord of Lies commands. So shall it be!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/cadaver-preparation-findings": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/cadaver-preparation-findings", "description": "Research on the best ways to prepare a corpse for reanimation", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Cadaver Preparation Findings", "text": "While not applicable to his immediate plans, the master has discovered that thoughtful removal of certain anatomy prior to reanimation cultivates a stronger, more versatile specimen.\nMost internal organs no longer serve any function and only encumber the cadaver, and while the skin can offer some protection, it often becomes host to rot that spreads to more useful tissues.\nLigaments and muscle, on the other hand, greatly increase durability, stability, and mobility provided that they remain undamaged.\nThis may explain why the draugr guardians of the Dragon Priests were mummified before reanimation."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/cadwells-journal-deep-thoughts-part-412": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/cadwells-journal-deep-thoughts-part-412", "description": "", "author": "Sir Cadwell", "title": "Cadwell's Journal: Deep Thoughts, Part 412", "text": "Another bit of someplace else falls into Coldharbour and what do the Dremora do?\n\tWhat they always do! It's a shame, really. Crush, kill, and destroy. So tedious!\nOh, that reminds me. I need to go to the Everfull Flagon and visit with those drunken Nords.\n\tTedious, yes, but they know some wonderful drinking songs.\nAnd Honor loves the sweet dough that Bernt provides for his guests."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/cadwells-personal-anthem": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/cadwells-personal-anthem", "description": "A quixotic song by the knight himself", "author": "Sir Cadwell", "title": "Cadwell's Personal Anthem", "text": "I'm a soul shriven, but that's all right,\n\tI fight Daedra all day and rescue damsels at night.\n\tWith trusty Honor and a mighty helm,\n\tI keep Coldharbour safe and protect the realm.\n\tI had another line, but now I forgot,\n\tI'll write more later\u2014or maybe not."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/caecilius-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/caecilius-journal", "description": "Bad portents and cryptic poetry about the fall of the stars in Craglorn", "author": "Caecilius", "title": "Caecilius' Journal", "text": "Sundas\nStrange movements in the sky. I thought I saw the Guardians appear for a moment. The Warrior, the Mage, the Thief. And then they flickered and vanished. I have a sickening feeling deep in my stomach, as if this is an omen of things to come.\nConsulted the tomes of the Star-Scryer. Nothing but vague prophecies of the stars falling from the sky, portending doom. Nothing speaking to this specific sign.\nWe are afloat on a foreign sea, without a chart or astrolabe to guide us to safer shores. Our own Guardians have disappeared, abandoned us.\nWoe to us, children of a bitter age.\n\tWhen our children fall, who will catch them?\n\tFor they are all orphans,\n\tTheir mothers died in childbirth,\n\tTheir fathers died in war.\n\tLike the beggar on the street,\n\tThey beg for food and receive scorpions.\nTirdas\nWe are truly damned. Armies of sand giants have appeared in the foothills, attacking the precious Mundus Stones.\nPersons calling themselves the Celestials have attacked in every place in Craglorn. It's a miracle Dragonstar still stands. We have not heard anything from the city of Elinhir in too long.\nDo not hope for a better future.\n\tTime is devouring itself.\n\tOh you women in labor,\n\tOh you who are about to give birth.\n\tDash your children on the rocks,\n\tand poison your young ones.\n\tWho will stand when the stars fall?"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/caeciliuss-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/caeciliuss-journal", "description": "A foreboding journal surrounding strange astronomical phenomena", "author": "Caecilus Bursio", "title": "Caecilius's Journal ", "text": "Strange movements in the sky. I thought I saw the Guardians appear for a moment. The Warrior, the Mage, the Thief. And then they flickered and vanished. I have a sickening feeling deep in my stomach, as if this is an omen of things to come.\nConsulted the tomes of the Star-Scryer. Nothing but vague prophecies of the stars falling from the sky, portending doom. Nothing speaking to this specific sign.\nWe are afloat on a foreign sea, without a chart or astrolabe to guide us to safer shores. Our own Guardians have disappeared, abandoned us.\nWoe to us, children of a bitter age.\nWhen our children fall, who will catch them?\nFor they are all orphans,\nTheir mothers died in childbirth,\nTheir fathers died in war.\nLike the beggar on the street,\nThey beg for food and receive scorpions."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/call-census": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/call-census", "description": "An eerie call for census", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Call for Census", "text": "By Order of the Mayor:\nAll Southpoint Citizens are required to participate in an urgent Town Census. Those who do not will have their Citizenship Revoked and All Property Ownership Nullified!\nAll Heads of Households must report to the Cathedral to be counted. Those with Children must Bring their First Born."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/call-adventure": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/call-adventure", "description": "A call is put out for brave adventurers", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Call to Adventure!", "text": "And riches beyond your wildest dreams!\nBold Heroes Wanted\u2014Wealth Awaits!\nJourney to Drakelowe Keep quickly, for our expedition leaves soon. We travel to the ruins of Nornal, to battle the evil creatures that defile the grounds. Vast treasure is said to lie beyond the ancient doors, awaiting the brave!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/call-faithful": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/call-faithful", "description": "Locations of ancient ruins for the faithful adventurer", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Call to the Faithful", "text": "Those who revere the light of the Moons! Take heart and hear the words of the lunar clergy. Our research has confirmed the sites of several ruins dating back to the days of the oldest Manes.\n\u2014 Ja'zennji Siir, or \"Jode's Light\" in Reaper's March: north of the modern town of S'ren-ja\n\t\u2014 Zennrili Keep, near the center of the bend in Topal Bay\n\t\u2014 Shaasanath Point, at the mouth of the Xylo River\nIt is our hope they may once again sing with moonlight. For those with a stout heart and a strong arm, know of these ruin sites and make of them what you can. Perhaps one day the faithful shall shout your name in the halls of the lunar faith!\nBright Moons hang above us all!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/call-faithful-pamphlet": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/call-faithful-pamphlet", "description": "A pamphlet urging faith in the Divines", "author": "Prudentia Blaesus", "title": "Call to the Faithful (pamphlet)", "text": "Tamriel cringes in pain beneath the heels of armies that bruise her face. Arrows rend Kynareth's holy gales, and all the Divines sadly shake their heads as their Commands are stifled by the drums of war. Oh faithful, the heretics surrounding us on all sides seek to propagate their blasphemies and lies, to trample on the legacy of Reman and spit upon the Divines themselves, endeavoring to bury them forever or obscure them behind a veil of lies.\nWe true servants of the Divines know these profane foes, these misguided alliances, cannot and shall not prevail. Akatosh, invincible and eternal, will not forsake us if only we show our devotion, if only we stand up when so many have been beaten down before us, if only we cry out against the flood of pretenders and their cruel masters. We are called now, brothers and sisters, to silence the dissenters and Daedric thralls that surround us. We are roused by Akatosh's mighty roar and must not stand by as the Golden Hill shakes in resonating rage.\nThough we wear only simple robes, Stendarr defends us. He envelops us in light, in unbreakable Aedric glory. He turns aside the blades of the heretics and proclaims our eternal victory. Though we wield only our words, Julianos sharpens them to a razor edge. He forges our very minds into weapons, fills us with holy words to awaken the faithful. Though we may feel weak and afraid, Akatosh's might voice commands us forward, and we know that we will be conquering heroes, that we will set the Empire right by his command.\nTo restore our beloved Empire, we must not falter or be shaken; we must not cower before the armies that ravage our home. Now is the time to honor our pact, consecrated by His mighty blood. We are not abandoned; no, we have been granted a sacred moment in which to prove our unwavering devotion, to stand against the tides of evil that erode our shores. Take up your implements of war. The Divines are your shield, your shining armor, your immaculate blade. They will carry us forth to drive the enemy out and restore rightful peace and order to Tamriel.\nDo not hesitate, for you must surely hear this call, echoing loud and true within your spirit. Clothe yourself in faith and do as the Divines command."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/calling-all-antiquarians": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/calling-all-antiquarians", "description": "Advertisement for a new guild of archaeologists", "author": "Reginus Buca", "title": "Calling All Antiquarians!", "text": "Do you have a passion for antiquities? Do ancient relics set your heart aflutter? Does your fascination with culture and history keep you up at night? Do you enjoy getting your hands dirty?\nThe Antiquarian Circle seeks capable scholars, ancientists, historical naturalists, and explorers for an exciting new opportunity.\nSee the world! Recover forgotten relics! Solve ancient mysteries! Dig things out of the dirt!\nInterested parties should report to Verita Numida at the Gwylim North Annex in Solitude. Make your mark on history. Join the Antiquarian Circle!\nReginus Buca\n(Addendum: Only those with high intellect and an innate talent for the mystic arts need apply. V.N.)"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/calling-all-daedric-entities": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/calling-all-daedric-entities", "description": "A flyer for a carnage-filled Daedric game", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Calling All Daedric Entities", "text": "Come experience a Jubilee of Carnage and Amusement!\nThe Imperial City Arena is OPEN with new oversight! Come day, come night, come anytime you feel the need to watch mortals bleed profusely, squirm in agony, and die in innovative and humiliating ways.\n\tWe promise to provide endless entertainment, while we're stuck on the Mundus and even after we've pulled the city into Coldharbour.\n\tIn our Brutal Lord's name,\n\tThe Game Master\n*(Worm Cultists and Legion Zero soldiers will be admitted to the arena, but management assumes no responsibility for the death and/or dismemberment of mortals.)"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/callisos-lodestone": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/callisos-lodestone", "description": "A famous bard's Sheogorath-cursed instrument", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Callisos' Lodestone", "text": "Revered as the tool of choice for Master Bard and Nirn-renowned musician Callisos, this lyre toured Tamriel with him for decades.\nCallisos would often tell the tale of how he tricked the Mad God himself into giving him this instrument. Encountering Sheogorath, Callisos, already a skilled bard, played the most arousing love song Sheogorath had ever heard. Callisos convinced the Prince of Madness that his plain lyre had been imbued by Dibella with her raw passion.\nSheogorath wanted it, and in exchange gave Callisos an instrument he called Lodestone, a lyre that he tied to Callisos' soul, claiming it would bring him glory and fame\u2014which it did.\nAfter some time, Callisos' great deeds and talent became legendary among the Bards College alumni. However, one morning Lodestone was found in a practice room at the college and Callisos was never seen or heard from again. It has long been surmised that Callisos constantly toured Tamriel to escape Sheogorath's wrath, but he was finally caught."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/calos-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/calos-journal", "description": "", "author": "Calo", "title": "Calo's Journal", "text": "We found a cave today. Looks to be an old, buried ruin. The place is very quiet. No evidence of creatures or beasts that we can see.\nThe ankle I injured when we tried to loot Mzulft still hurts. While I rest here, Jase is going around the long way to see if he can open the gate from the other side. Wish he would hurry. I really hate how quiet this cave is.\nMaybe this time we'll find some treasure we can sell. I'd love to settle down somewhere. Maybe Riften. I'm tired of exploring holes in the ground and fighting monsters. Too much wear and tear on my aching bones."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/caluurions-notes": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/caluurions-notes", "description": "A scholar fails to soultrap a dragon, and must make due with studying its remains", "author": "Caluurion", "title": "Caluurion's Notes", "text": "So much planning, so much preparation. Decades of effort gone in an instant. Vanished in a fruitless experiment, never to be repeated. Under any other circumstances, I'd be furious, but driven to discern the root of the failure.\nI perfected this Soul Trap over countless iterations, each with its own challenges to overcome. This time, I only feel numb. Sitting alone in this literal pit of despair among the broken bodies of my companions, and the last vestiges of a bygone era.\nThe Dragon is gone and its precious soul along with it. The last of its kind, or near enough to make no difference. To the victor goes the spoils? Not this day. I've won nothing but a mountain of decaying meat and scales.\n\u2014\nI mustn't squander this opportunity. Even without its soul, this corpse contains a wealth of potential. Dissection and preservation will take precedence. There won't be much sleep to be had in the coming days.\n\u2014\nThe creature's undamaged organs have been transferred to receptacles more suitable for preservation. Foodstuffs and simple reagents can be replaced. My search of the Dragon's den revealed a hoard of Dwemer wealth, much contained in air-tight mechanical lockboxes.\nEmptying them out, I discovered a significant quantity of an unknown material: raw chunks of vibrant blue crystal that give off their own light. They'll receive closer examination once I've sealed the remaining perishable Dragon parts in the emptied containers. I take a certain gratification in the irony that these treasure chests will soon mostly contain the Dragon itself.\n\u2014\nThe crystals are useless. To call them inert is an understatement. They are the essence of stasis. Unchanging and unalterable. I can safely put their study aside indefinitely.\n\u2014\nMy remaining rations spoiled more quickly than anticipated. I don't know if it was the dank of the ruins, or the prevalence of fungus that lead to this outcome, but I'll be dining on Dragon meat until I find an alternative source of food.\nRoast Dragon is an adequate repast, though the meat is dense and thick with ligaments. If I had to describe the taste, I would say it was ... fowl.\n\u2014\nThe claims that Dragon remains retain innate magical properties are not exaggerated, though I would categorize them as more catalytic than anything. Potential applications are broad, though I will refrain from alchemical studies, given the impossibility of acquiring replacement materials.\n\u2014\nThis creature does not give up its secrets easily. I could spend centuries unravelling them, but that's time I don't have. I have little left to eat and I fear I've lingered too long already.\nWithout the strength to descend the mountains, it's time I come to terms with my situation. I will die here, but I intend to do so on my terms. The question is, will those immutable crystals comply?"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/camandars-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/camandars-journal", "description": "Camandar is having trouble with crystals", "author": "Camandar", "title": "Camandar's Journal", "text": "I can't get this sea-cursed crystal out of the base! Those dirty High Elves must have set up this arrangement of crystals for a reason.\nThe amount of energy the central crystal absorbed must be substantial. If I could unlock that power I could harness it.\nAnd then they'll see I'm not the fool they think I am! I'm not! I'm not a fool!\nI can hear everyone whispering about my failure. Drinking is on the rise. If I don't get this crystal out of here soon\u2026.\nThey'll slit my throat in the night and head out to plunder the countryside."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/cantillons-correspondence": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/cantillons-correspondence", "description": "An early correspondence from a noted healer", "author": "Margaux Cantillon", "title": "Cantillon's Correspondence ", "text": "(Ed. note: This letter is one of Margaux Cantillon's earliest recovered correspondences. Her impact on the restoration arts and her unmatched compassion will long be remembered, and this letter grants us insight into the strength of character she displayed even as a young healer.)\nJourneyman Bachand,\nI received your gift yesterday, and I am taken aback. It's clear that you spared no expense; I have never laid eyes on such an ornate staff. The silver and golden symbols of Mara inlaid with pearl are beautiful, and the sculpting of my likeness into the metal at its top is \u2026 flattering.\nPlease believe that it is only with the greatest regret that I cannot accept it. I appreciate the spirit of the gift, but I simply cannot use it to tend to my wards. We travel in different magical circles these days. I know such a magnificent staff could be borne proudly in yours, but I have dedicated myself to tending the unfortunate, and to use such a costly implement in my work would be unseemly.\nYou asked about my studies. My instructor says my empathy is strong, and that the outrage I feel at the suffering of others gives my restorative spells potency. I am humbled to have a gift for this noble calling. I only wish healing received more focus during apprenticeship; the emphasis on destruction seems so misplaced to me now.\nPerhaps we will meet again at the next Guild Symposium in Wayrest.\nYours in Mara's Grace,\n\tMargaux Cantillon"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/canuldils-note": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/canuldils-note", "description": "", "author": "Canuldil", "title": "Canuldil's Note", "text": "Stuck in Favonius house, northern Elven Gardens. Plautisanus is dead. Monsters everywhere. Can't make it home. Hope this bottle makes it through sewers. Please help!\n- Canuldil"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/canuldils-plea": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/canuldils-plea", "description": "", "author": "Canuldil", "title": "Canuldil's Plea", "text": "To whomever finds this:\nPlease find my wife, Ainenya. I left her hidden in our house in the southwestern section of the Elven Gardens. Tell her my final thoughts were of her.\n- Canuldil"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/captain-alphaurys-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/captain-alphaurys-journal", "description": "An assault on Coldharbour fumbles at the starting gate", "author": "Captain Alphaury", "title": "Captain Alphaury's Journal", "text": "Something definitely went wrong with the portal spell. Instead of arriving in Coldharbour as an invading force to be reckoned with, we wound up scattered to the four winds. I am now a captain without a command. The others that appeared with me\u2014we've been fighting or running since we got here. We finally found a relatively safe spot on the edge of a dark forest and decided to set up camp. This is the first time since we arrived that I've felt safe enough to just sit down and record my thoughts.\nTime seems to flow differently in this realm. Sometimes it feel like we've only been here for a few hours and other times I could swear we've been here for days. This mission has turned into a colossal failure. Instead of stepping through the portal together, we were thrown in all directions, strewn about like so many dry leaves in a bitter wind. Luck was with me, though. I landed in the company of Kamu the Khajiit. If only the rest of my luck had turned out as well.\nWe found ourselves in a strange ruin east of this camp. There were cold flame atronachs everywhere, intent on roasting us to a very fine blue crisp. We dispatched a couple of the creatures before we were forced to turn tail and run. For some reason, however, as we got close to the forest, the atronachs stopped chasing us. They suddenly seemed to lose interest in us and returned to the ruin.\nWell, I guess I should stop writing now and help finish setting up our camp. I'll write more after we get some sleep, provided nothing terrible happens to us in the interim.\n***\n\tWe were awakened after a few hours (minutes? days?) of sleep by voices. There seem to be people in the shadows of the woods, talking, whispering. We can hear them, but the voices aren't distinct enough to make out any actual words. Or maybe it's just a language that none of us have ever heard before. I'm not sure. Every so often, though, we clearly hear something that sounds like a cry for help.\nEvery time we hear that desperate cry, we think of our missing allies. It could be some of them, lost out in those dark woods. They might be hurt, or in danger, or\u2014well, anything could be happening in there! Kamu and I have decided to head into the forest and find the source of those pitiful cries.\nI'm going to leave my journal here, in case any other members of our expedition come across this camp. We'll try to leave a trail so that you can follow our path. We're going to head west and then southwest, so follow after us if you can.\nHere's something else you need to know. Kamu discovered that if you touch one of the wisps that float among the trees, you glow and get a temporary source of light\u2014perfect for finding your way through these shadowy woods. I suggest you make liberal use of the wisps if you're going to try to meet up with us.\nWell, it's time to go. I hope to see you soon. And may the Eight watch over us all."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/captain-black-swords-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/captain-black-swords-journal", "description": "A pirate captain captures a wamasu to gain Fortunata's favor. Things inevitably go wrong.", "author": "Captain Black Sword", "title": "Captain Black Sword's Journal", "text": "Damn the Pirate Queen for tempting me with a fortune in gold! It's all her fault my ship wrecked on this Oblivion-cursed shore! But I'm getting ahead of myself. I ought to record what happened from the beginning.\nIt started when I received word that Governor Fortunata of Anvil was in the market for wamasu\u2014the more ornery the better! She was supplying various clients throughout the Gold Coast, including her own Red Sails Pirates and the Gold Coast Trading Company. As luck would have it, I had recently heard about a hunter who had captured a wamasu matron and was looking to unload it for a relative pittance. The path to my disastrous destination started when I took possession of that malignant creature.\nMy crew hauled the crate, wamasu and all, into the hold. I could tell even then that the creature was cruel and calculating. It stared right into my eyes with its cold, angry orbs. I knew right then that it would be nothing but trouble as we sailed toward Anvil, but I ignored my better senses for the promise of a chest full of tainted gold. Curse my avaricious eyes!\nWe were off the coast of Glenumbra when a whale of a storm blew in. As my ship and crew were tossed about like so many dice in a cup, the wamasu decided she no longer cared for our generous hospitality. The damned creature shattered her crate like so much drift wood. Then she crashed through the hold and woe be to any of my sailors who happened to be in the way. But it didn't stop there! The hateful beast ate my ship! Beams splintered and planks snapped in the wake of her unbridled fury. I meant to go down with my doomed vessel, but fate had another idea in mind.\nI awoke floating just off shore on a chunk of debris. The wreckage of my ship was all around me, but I didn't see another living soul. No one, that is, except for the damned wamasu. It made its way to shore and immediately set about making a nest and laying eggs. Well, I'm never going to see Fortunata's gold and the wamasu is never going to see the Gold Coast. But I'll be damned if I let it raise its young on this forlorn beach! I'll kill the creature for what it did\u2014or die trying!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/captain-blackhearts-log": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/captain-blackhearts-log", "description": "A Captain is enthralled by forces beyond his willpower", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Captain Blackheart's Log", "text": "Moments of freedom are fleeting.\nCome in fits and starts, before he reenters my mind.\nYOUR MIND WILL NEVER BE YOUR OWN AGAIN\nCan't shed the spell with force of will. Doesn't weaken with time.\nAMUSING THAT YOU THINK IT WOULD\nTortures me with a taste of the freedom I once had. Allows me a few moments every day.\nNO ONE WILL EVER READ THESE WORDS\nThe rest of the crew aren't as lucky. Wavecutter, Iron-Heel, Martha. Even slippery-as-a-swamp-eel Shifty Tom seems completely enthralled. And Shifty Tom has never fallen for a magical trap. Seems his Breton blood has failed him, this time.\nCan only wish for an end, though none is in sight. He's killed hundreds with my hands. I remember every scream.\nYOU WILL DO AS YOU ARE TOLD"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/captain-evanis-log": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/captain-evanis-log", "description": "A smuggling captain finds themselves in trouble after a change of leadership", "author": "Captain Evani", "title": "Captain Evani's Log", "text": "Entry 184\n\tThe Abah's Landing Thieves Guild was smashed by mercenaries from Taneth. Did the merchant lords finally push back? Could be an opportunity to work with our Anvil connection.\nEntry 188\n\tSmall shipment delivered to contacts in Abah's Landing. The next time we ship in bulk.\nEntry 191\n\tA new Commodore means we need money, fast. Only way to pay the tribute. We'll load our compartments to the gills next time we're in Anvil.\nEntry 193\n\tBetrayed! Who is this \"Cosh,\" and how could he know we're smuggling skooma? If I don't meet him at No Shira Citadel, he'll have the Iron Wheel raid my ship!\nIf I take us to deep waters, the Commodore will think we abandoned the tribute. But our contacts are spooked, and refuse to take the shipment off our hands.\nThis Cosh has me by the short whiskers. I'll have to meet with him at that blasted old fort. What else am I to do?"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/captain-fanimanwes-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/captain-fanimanwes-journal", "description": "The Captain and his men are stranded among undead", "author": "Captain Fanimanwe", "title": "Captain Fanimanwe's Journal", "text": "Day 7\n\tTwo weeks ago, while on patrol near Rawl'kha, my scouts encountered several terrified Khajiiti. The cats explained that they were the few survivors of a terrible massacre at Thibaut's Cairn, where they were employed as groundskeepers. While the fantastic tales of cats do not normally interest me, I felt I was duty bound to at least investigate the claims, in the name of the Queen. How bitterly do I regret that decision now.\nDay 18\n\tThe dead are unstoppable. No matter how many of them we destroy, more of the ancient dead rise up to face us. My men fought like eagles, but exhaustion and overwhelming numbers are taking their toll. Nearly half of the brave soldiers I led into this crypt have joined the dead.\nDay 21\n\tWhere are they coming from? Who controls these abominations? If I could find the source and destroy it, perhaps my men and I could escape this place! I fear that all of us will soon lend our bones to the foul force that animates the dead here.\nDay 22\n\tI'm all alone now. The last of my men have fallen in a desperate attempt to make it back to the entrance of the crypt. I ordered them to stand fast, but they revolted at the thought of perishing here in the small camp we've set up. I can't say that I blame them. Perhaps I should have gone with them, to fight, to die \u2026 to try one last time to see the light of day."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/captain-izads-letter": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/captain-izads-letter", "description": "Mysterious instructions from the captain", "author": "Captain Izad", "title": "Captain Izad's Letter", "text": "Stand atop Saintsport's star\n\tAnd spy the eternal sentinel\n\tSkirt its gate to reach the shrine\n\tNorthwest stands the warrior\n\tWalk forty-five paces south\n\tLeftward palms frame the sight\n\tOf the island of iron faces\n\tFollow the rocky finger\n\tThrough the broken ship\n\tFind the stone ship at anchor\n\tRiches lie under leaves in its port"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/captain-izards-orders": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/captain-izards-orders", "description": "A great treasure awaits. Possibly.", "author": "Captain Izard", "title": "Captain Izard's Orders", "text": "Rangers,\nI trust you refrained from opening these orders until after passing Fort Ash. Your mission is to travel to far southeastern Cyrodiil, deep into enemy territory. There, somewhere south of Drakelowe Keep, is a natural cavern know to the locals as Newt Cave.\nA previous scout team sent back a report before entering the cave, telling of rumors that great treasure waited within. This team has not been heard from again. You are to discover what happened to them and recover any treasure inside the cave.\nRemember, you volunteered for this.\n\t\u2014 Captain Izard"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/captain-lagras-ledger": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/captain-lagras-ledger", "description": "Ledger of an infamous bandit", "author": "Thibel Fairclerk (prepared by)", "title": "Captain Lagra's Ledger", "text": "These are the accounts of pirate lord and smuggler boss, Captain Lagra, whose empire stretches from the streets of Northpoint to the waters of the Eldtheric Ocean.\nFive seaworthy vessels, including flagship, Lagra's Pearl.\nTwo discreet warehouses.\nOne seedy tavern with office space.\nTwo hundred casks of bog-iron ale.\nFifty bottles of old kindlepitch whiskey.\nOne hundred and fifty thousand gold."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/captain-parondos-log-entry": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/captain-parondos-log-entry", "description": "The Captain's correspondence after a victory", "author": "Captain Parondo", "title": "Captain Parondo's Log Entry", "text": "Herculoa, next time we're in a tavern we must speak of the Dominion's cowardice. Taking Greenwater was even easier than we'd planned. Our agent performed admirably. They never had the chance to activate the beam.\nNow, they never will.\n\u2014 Captain Parondo"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/captain-saulinias-instructions": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/captain-saulinias-instructions", "description": "The captain takes over a garrison from a \"treasonous\" commander", "author": "Captain Saulinia", "title": "Captain Saulinia's Instructions", "text": "By Order of Queen Euraxia\nThe garrison previously commanded by Prefect Calo is now under my control. Due to his refusal to follow the orders handed down to me directly from Queen Euraxia, Prefect Calo has been found guilty of treason and imprisoned for his insubordination. Effective immediately, all Cygnus Irregulars are to support the efforts of the Euraxian troops under my command.\nDue to this development, the doors to the manor's main house will be temporarily sealed to serve as a prison and command center for my senior officers. Once Prefect Calo is transported for sentencing, this restriction will be lifted. If you need access to the manor house during this period, see Lieutenant Talia. For now, she is the only officer who can provide entry to the cellars. From there, you can reach the main levels of the house.\nThose soldiers selected to join the assassination squad will receive orders shortly pertaining to our mission to find and terminate the last Dragonguard.\nCaptain Saulinia"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/captain-svadstars-announcement": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/captain-svadstars-announcement", "description": "A slaver captain suspects betrayal or mutiny", "author": "Captain Svadstar", "title": "Captain Svadstar's Announcement", "text": "If you can read this, make sure the rest of the crew hears this and understands.\nThere's a Morag Tong writ with my name on it. I suspect our confederate in Seyda Neen's feet have grown cold. Well, we'll deal with Governor Omellian and his treachery soon enough. And if I'm wrong about the governor, if instead one of you hopes to advance your station by having me assassinated, then come and face me. The crew deserves an honorable leader, not backstabbing scum.\nCaptain Svadstar"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/captains-letter": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/captains-letter", "description": "Letter to Queen Euraxia, asking for troop support for a cadre of assassins", "author": "Captain Saulinia", "title": "Captain's Letter", "text": "Your Royal Majesty,\nMy trained squad of elite assassins is ready to perform whatever services you require. However, since my assassins are few in number, it would be prudent to provide us with support in the form of auxiliary troops.\nIf I may be so bold, I suggest granting me the authority to commandeer soldiers from the Cygnus Irregulars. I need to stop at Sandswirl Manor, anyway, to collect Prefect Calo's report on the last Dragonguard.\nBesides, any chance to stick a knife in that haughty Imperial always appeals to me. He considers my mercenaries to be inferior to his troops, and I hate him for that.\nCaptain Saulinia,"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/captains-orders": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/captains-orders", "description": "Private orders from the countess", "author": "Eselde", "title": "Captain's Orders", "text": "Dearest Janeve,\nI was planning on making this an official missive, orders from the leader of House Tamrith to its most illustrious and brave field captain. But I'm still new to this role as head of the house and you're still my sister, so let's keep this exchange light and informal.\nYour primary goal remains locating the rogue Argonian, Reezal-Jul. If a viable opportunity to eliminate this menace presents itself, you have my permission to engage. But don't take any unnecessary risks with either your own safety or the safety of your troops. The valiant men and women under your command should not be squandered needlessly.\nAnd, as always, please help the people of Rivenspire if you come across any of them in jeopardy or dire straits. The unrest stirred up by Montclair throughout Rivenspire affects everyone. Farms have been damaged, cemeteries and places of worship desecrated, families scattered, and people injured or killed. Help those who need it as you find them, organize them, and set up temporary camps as required. Have one of your lieutenants keep records of names, towns, and incidents of disaster so that we may offer aid as each situation warrants.\nAnd please remember to send me a report every few days. I know you hate writing down your thoughts, but you are my eyes and ears out there. Besides, if I don't hear from you on a regular basis, I will worry so. Please don't put your new countess in that position.\nYour loving sister,\n\tEselde\n\t(Countess Eselde, Leader of House Tamrith)"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/captives-crumpled-note": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/captives-crumpled-note", "description": "A message to a missing husband", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Captive's Crumpled Note", "text": "Has anyone seen my husband? His name is Ebrand. Short and slight, with kind eyes. They split us apart. I've seen no sign of him since. Let him know I'm okay."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/captives-discreet-warning": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/captives-discreet-warning", "description": "Don't try anything foolish", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Captive's Discreet Warning", "text": "That fool Filand ran for it. Keep your eyes down. They'll be wanting to make an example now!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/capturing-ammabanis-pride": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/capturing-ammabanis-pride", "description": "One must suffer for one's art", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Capturing Ammabani's Pride", "text": "I have come to capture the beautiful sabre cats of Ammabani's pride\u2014not with nets and cages, but with brush and paint and canvas.\nMy art demands I take risks\u2014\nAmmabani has noticed me. She's coming this way.\nStupid art!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/cardias-letter-father": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/cardias-letter-father", "description": "Cardia runs off with a bandit", "author": "Cardia", "title": "Cardia's Letter to Father", "text": "Dearest Father,\nI hope you can understand\u2014Darius is just so handsome and kind! He's not like the other Sphinxmoth Bandits. He just wants to save up enough to buy a farm for the two of us. Please understand why I had to go with him.\nAnd please, I beg you, father\u2014don't try to follow us. These are dangerous people and I don't want you to get hurt.\nYour Loving Daughter,\n\tCardia\nP.S. I'm sorry about taking mother's ring, but Darius didn't have enough money to buy an engagement ring."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/care-and-feeding-swamp-jellies": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/care-and-feeding-swamp-jellies", "description": "How to care for your jelly, or how to butcher it.", "author": "Aglindor the Black-Thumb", "title": "Care and Feeding of Swamp Jellies", "text": "Hi ho! If you've recently come into the possession of a swamp jelly, or are considering owning them, then you've come to the right place! These little tooters are some of the best companions a swamp traveler could ask for and they're easy to herd if you're looking to keep livestock.\nChances are you know a bit about swamp jellies already, but how about I go over the basics to round out the gaps, yeah?\nHabitat:\nSwamp jellies are a form of wildlife native to Black Marsh. They favor wetlands close to the coasts\u2014quite possibly they're distant relatives of the jellies found out in the ocean\u2014but swamp jellies thrive in any wet environment. Even a sweaty boot, if you're in a pinch.\nAnatomy:\nLike any other jelly, they have no bones or solid bits, just an elastic, gelatinous body and limbs. Beyond that, their size, shape, and color vary wildly between breeds. The most common type of jelly found in Murkmire has a frilled, bulbous body from which four tentacles hang. Those tentacles help the jelly navigate crowded spaces and capture prey, but most of the jelly's movement is controlled by tiny orifices that suck in and expel swamp gas from several bladders. I'm not really certain how the swamp jellies became airborne, but my theory is that sea jellies got washed inland by storms and survived in the swamp pools. Eventually their bladders accumulated enough swamp gas to lift them clear out of the water!\nBehavior:\nSwamp jellies are incredibly docile by nature, spending most of their time gently floating on the breeze and catching unsuspecting bugs to eat. Swamp jellies tend to lead solitary lives, really only coming together in any number to spawn, but they are social animals. These little tooters make complex calls to each other using their gas bladders. You'll find them no less talkative to you if you take one into your care and if you learn a few of these calls you can even teach swamp jellies simple obedience! It's a useful skill whether you're an enthusiast or a herder.\nDiet:\nAirborne swamp jellies subsist entirely on bugs, mostly of the flying variety, but any teeny critter that brushes against their sticky tentacles is fair game. I've seen a single swamp jelly eat as many as a thousand bugs in a day. That alone is reason enough to make one your travel companion in a place like Black Marsh. I recommend taking your herd out to graze in different locations at least three times a week. Jellies kept to one location for too long will wipe out the local insect population in a few days! If you happen to be short on bugs, a hearty spoonful of scrib jelly makes a suitable substitute.\nCare:\nSwamp jellies need humidity to survive. If your clothes aren't sticking to you, it's probably too dry for a jelly to stay for more than a couple of hours without help. Swamp jellies don't need to drink, but they can suck up water from a bowl or wide-mouthed vessel if they can't get the moisture they need from the air. Brackish water is best, but fresh or salt water is safe.\nProvide a steady supply of bugs throughout the day when you can, rather than feeding only at certain times. Hungry swamp jellies tend to binge, weighing them down and making them sluggish.\nTry not to worry if your swamp jelly suffers injury. They will heal cuts and even regrow limbs given time. You should only be concerned if your jelly is struggling to keep afloat. You may need to feed the poor little tooter by hand until its bladders can hold gas again.\nEven if you take my advice to heart, sooner or later, we've all got to say goodbye to our little tooters. Wild swamp jellies tend to live between two and three years, but domesticated swamp jellies can live as long as five years with good care.\nMeal Preparation:\nWhether you're keeping a swamp jelly as a pet or rearing them for slaughter, careful butchery is key to making sure their little gelatinous bodies don't go to waste. You'll want to grease your hands with cooking oil before handling swamp jellies, otherwise they'll stick to your fingers and you might end up pulling them apart trying to free yourself. Most of the time you'll want to remove any tentacles from the body and put them aside for later use. Just lay them out straight across your cutting board and slice across. Once you've removed the limbs, you're ready to spit the body straight down the middle. I recommend using a cleaver and some firm pressure, but anything sharp will do. Oily jellies, hands, and knives are a recipe for finger sandwiches if you aren't careful!\nAfter you wash out the body cavities, your jelly is ready for roasting over open fire or in an oven. Over red coals you'll get a firmer jelly with a bit of crisp on the outside. I usually cook the tentacles in the body and slurp them down with eel broth, but you can roast them on skewers in about ten minutes for a salty treat. Swamp jelly makes a good substitute for brain or scrib jelly in your recipes, if you're watching your weight.\nCatching Jellies:\nIf you're looking to tame your own wild jellies, get yourself a fine net\u2014bug nets work best. Scoop the jellies gently into your net and you're done. Most swamp jellies are so harmless they won't even protest. There are a few breeds in the deepmire that are so poisonous they'll kill you if you even brush their tentacles, but no need to worry about them.\nThat's really all there is to know about catching and caring for your swamp jellies, anything else is just jam on the jelly-cakes!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/care-kwama": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/care-kwama", "description": "Kwama care guide from an Altmeri perspective", "author": "Cirantille", "title": "Care of Kwama", "text": "While the insectoid creatures known as \"kwama\" originated in Morrowind, do not be surprised to find them elsewhere in Tamriel. The creatures have been transported, intentionally or otherwise, to many different parts of the world.\nThe barbarous Dunmer, for example, keep the creatures in \"egg mines\" because they find them a delicacy. \"Good eating!\" as one toothless old sot told me. I cannot imagine what passes for good food among the Dark Elves that they would eat insect eggs.\nBut the Dunmer may be on to something, in their own backward way. Kwama are, indeed, excellent miners. They prefer to live underground, creating elaborate tunnel systems as they build their warrens. The creatures consume organic material from the earth and appear to actually excrete minerals they cannot digest, such as gemstones, gold, and iron.\nAs an experiment, the Aldmeri Dominion is transporting kwama eggs to various outer territories. There, small kwama mines can be established. The kwama can dig to their hearts' content\u2014if they have hearts\u2014and our kwama keepers can pull the minerals from their refuse. Much more efficient than using Argonian captives. The bugs, at least, feed themselves.\nThere are several different kwama types within the species, and each must be dealt with in a different way.\nKwama scribs are the kwama young and are easily managed. They're voracious but strongly influenced by food. Scribs hatch from long eggs and grow from the size of a large man's foot to the length of a large dog. The scrib may evolve into one of the other types, or it may die.\nKwama foragers explore the outer mine areas and are known to search the surface of the world for new territory. Kwama keepers have learned to \"steer\" foragers toward potential mine sites and away from Dominion settlements, for kwama undermining can cause sinkholes. It is important for a kwama keeper to know when a forager can't be managed, as the forager must be dispatched before it can return to the mines.\nWorkers are the most useful of the kwama and will tirelessly dig away, expanding their warrens and searching for food. It is possible for a kwama keeper to use a goad to push workers toward or away from specific sites, but risky. Workers will fight back, and an uprising in a kwama mine is a violent and dangerous event.\nA few scribs grow up to become warriors. While some uneducated souls think that killing the warriors keeps the rest in line, this expert disagrees. Killing the warriors causes more scribs to evolve into the mine's protectors and soon you have nothing but the violent creatures to deal with! What's more, the warriors can command lesser kwama, which means an uprising is almost certain. If a warrior must be killed, do it quickly, and away from the rest of the nest!\nFinally, the kwama queen. She is a huge, bloated creature, nearly immobile and very rare. Not all hives have queens. Many are just offshoots of greater hives. But all eggs are born of a kwama queen. If one encounters a queen, move away quickly! They are not pleasant creatures and cannot be influenced. Every kwama in a hive will throw itself at a perceived \"invader\" to protect the majestic corpulence of their queen."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/carinas-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/carinas-journal", "description": "A scholar muses on the utilities of Dwarven constructs", "author": "Carina", "title": "Carina's Journal", "text": "The great artificer's scribblings and riddles are maddening. Still, I am beginning to see why my superiors desire control of these constructs. They lack the common failings of men: fear, hunger, and thirst. They are nearly perfect soldiers.\nThey are flawed, of course. They cannot think, make decisions, or act on instinct. Following orders is well and good, but soldiers without reason are only useful to a point.\nIt causes me to wonder: what if the Dwarves were onto something here? The constructs we've encountered are far tougher than I expected. The texts at the Imperial Library did not do them justice.\nRazak must have been a genius in the realms of artifice. Was he working on something even greater in the depths of the sealed vault? I must know!\nThe Empire must have this power. No matter the price."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/cartorrels-last-words": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/cartorrels-last-words", "description": "A sailor's last letter to their darling, and a warning about Maormer", "author": "Cartorrel", "title": "Cartorrel's Last Words", "text": "Darling,\nI won't be coming home this time. As gentle as the seas can be here, we always knew that any voyage could be my last. It won't be the fickle currents that claim me in the end, but the poison coursing through my veins. I love you and I'm sorry.\nThe Sea Elves have invaded Wasten Coraldale. A small force now, but I can tell that they're preparing for more of their kind. It won't be long before this island becomes a staging ground in a greater campaign.\nI'll never see the mainland again, but if the tides smile upon me, this message will reach it soon.\nTo whoever finds this. Tell the Royal Navy that the Sea Elves are here. Stop them before more lives are lost. And if you would be so kind, bring this to Wendlain in Alinor.\nWith love and hope,\nCartorrel"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/cases-divine-prosecution": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/cases-divine-prosecution", "description": "Examples of the sort of cases investigated by the Divine Prosecution, and the punishments for each", "author": "High Magistrate Rinwaray", "title": "Cases of the Divine Prosecution", "text": "By High Magistrate Rinwaray, Bureaureeve of the Divine Prosecution\nThe Divine Prosecution stands as the highest authority of law and order on Summerset Isle, second only to the Queen and her Royal Court. And while we acquiesce to the will of the Kinlords and Kinladies, we have both the duty and power to investigate possible malfeasance even among the nobles should the need arise.\nTake, for example, the Case of the Disloyal Canonreeve. This was a number of years ago, before Queen Ayrenn took the throne. The Canonreeve of Cloudrest at the time was a well-respected Altmer of noble birth from a family with an unparalleled lineage. Which, of course, just goes to demonstrate that blood alone doesn't make the Altmer. Rumors began to reach one of our judiciars, and she began to look into the Canonreeve and his business practices. After a thorough investigation, it was determined that the Canonreeve was keeping choice antiquities from a nearby historical research project taking place in one of the many ruins within the Eton Nir mountain. He altered manifests and records so that he could sell the antiquities to foreign collectors, leaving no trace that any items had gone missing. The judiciar gathered the evidence and eventually the Canonreeve learned that not even rank and noble blood were above the law of the land.\nThe Divine Prosecution also deals in matters of religious and cultural law. It is our job to police the social ordinances of Altmer society. The Case of the Imperfect Perfection provides an example for us to review. This incident concerned a jewelry crafter who had a run of bad luck that resulted in multiple necklaces, rings, and amulets that had noticeable flaws in their construction. It fell to Chief Justiciar Naldulmo to investigate the accusations of consistent failure to craft perfect jewelry on the part of the artisan. When the Chief Justiciar ascertained that the crafter was indeed guilty of falling far from her past level of perfection, he carried out the warranted punishment and ordered the crafter to smash her alaxon sphere while he watched. The crafter would have to work to regain a state of perfection and petition to receive a new sphere.\nThese are just some of the cases handled by the Divine Prosecution."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/cassipias-change-heart": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/cassipias-change-heart", "description": "A loyal servant questions their Master's actions.", "author": "Little Leaf", "title": "Cassipia's Change of Heart", "text": "By Little Leaf, Seneschal to the Regent of Serpentine Stratagems\nCassipia, she who wields the title of Regent of Serpentine Stratagems of the Scaled Court, sees twelve steps ahead at all times. She carries contingencies and alternate plans with her the way a warrior carries multiple weapons, ready to pull out the right tool for whatever situation presents itself. But her recent actions have left me confused. I don't know what to think! Maybe if I write down what I know, my path will become clearer to me.\nWhile I am loathe to commit the entirety of Cassipia's actions to paper, as I don't want to inaccurately portray her complex thoughts, what I've seen and heard must be recorded. I don't want her enemies to twist the truth and paint her as some sort of Serpent-hating villain. The world needs to see Cassipia's brilliance for what it really is, as bright and piercing as a million stars, as opposed to the poor light in which she could possibly be bathed.\nIt was Cassipia who first noticed the connection between the primordial element our alchemists call nirncrux and the celestial energy of Aetherius. The idea to use the element to enhance the work of the Iron Orcs came to Cassipia almost immediately. And the stroke of genius to use it to create a new creature\u2014that came to her in a moment of pure inspiration worthy of the Serpent himself.\nBut then, when she saw how her work was being used at the Serpent's behest, my friend and mistress became increasingly enraged. She loved the creation of the mantikora, for example, but she hated that it was being turned into nothing but an engine of destruction. She appreciated the skill the Iron Orcs demonstrated with their metallurgy and alchemy, but she detested that such wonderful gear was being wasted on common trolls and welwas.\nSuffice it to say, Cassipia has turned against the Serpent, and I don't know how to reconcile that fact. She says she will lead the Scaled Court to a greatness the likes of which this world has never seen, but how can she accomplish this without the Serpent's blessing? I want to believe her, to trust in the woman I love and know. But can I also turn away from the Serpent's coiled embrace?\nCassipia is the Regent of Serpentine Stratagems, and I am barely worthy to stand in her undulating shadow. I know something of what she plans. How she hopes to use the stable nirncrux to elevate her power. But everything feels wrong now. And what she wants to do sounds so dangerous to me. I fear for her safety.\nOh, what should I do?"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/castigation-ritual": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/castigation-ritual", "description": "I will not misspell the words of Sotha Sil.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Castigation Ritual", "text": "I will not misspell the words of Sotha Sil. I will not misspell the words of Sotha Sil. I will not misspell the words of Sotha Sil. I will not misspell the words of Sotha Sil. I will not misspell the words of Sotha Sil. I will not misspell the words of Sotha Sil. I will not misspell the words of Sotha Sil. 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I will not misspell the words of Sotha Sil. I will not misspell the words of Sotha Sil. I will not misspell the words of Sotha Sil. I will not misspell the words of Sotha Sil. I will not misspell the words of Sotha Sil. I will not misspell the words of Sotha Sil. I will not misspell the words of Sotha Sil. I will not misspell the words of Sotha Sil. I will not misspell the words of Sotha Sil. I will not misspell the words of Sotha Sil. I will not misspell the words of Sotha Sil. I will not misspell the words of Sotha Sil. I will not misspell the words of Sotha Sil. I will not misspell the words of Sotha Sil. I will not misspell the words of Sotha Sil. I will not misspell the words of Sotha Sil. I will not misspell the words of Sotha Sil. I will not misspell the words of Sotha Sil. I will not misspell the words of Sotha Sil. I will not misspell the words of Sotha Sil. I will not misspell the words of Sotha Sil. I will not misspell the words of Sotha Sil. I will not misspell the words of Sotha Sil. I will not misspell the words of Sotha Sil. I will not misspell the words of Sotha Sil. I will not misspell the words of Sotha Sil. I will not misspell the words of Sotha Sil. I will not misspell the words of Sotha Sil. I will not misspell the words of Sotha Sil. I will not misspell the words of Sotha Sil."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/castles-and-coffers-volume-iii-hel-ra-citadel": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/castles-and-coffers-volume-iii-hel-ra-citadel", "description": "An accounting of the ancient, mysterious fortress", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Castles and Coffers Volume III: Hel Ra Citadel ", "text": "Imperial historians, most notably Dubicius of the Colovian Highlands, speculate that Hel Ra Citadel was constructed sometime during the second Yokudan \"Warrior Wave\" as it swept into the Alik'r desert of western Tamriel. Most believe, as is obvious from its title, that it was built to protect the nearby Yokudan city, the name of which has been lost to sand and time. But the Yokudans did not name the Citadel; modern Tamriel did. The structure could have long predated the city it protects. It could have been a foothold for one or both invasions, it could have been one of many forts now lost, or even a fortressed training ground. In myth, sword saint training for maintaining \"sword magic\" was notoriously rigorous, and even an invasion force would require a space for that. Some say that where the Citadel now stands was first a Nedic fort, that the Yokudans conquered it, built on top of it.\nAccording to the Imperials, all anybody knows for certain is that the Citadel has been sealed since the Yokudan retreat. No one has ever been inside. There are claims and stories, of course, all false. Imperial records state the Empire has failed to enter, and expeditions by the Redguard themselves have failed to bypass the Citadel's front door. Be it through spellcraft, or a trick of its construction, no army or siege engine has ever been able to defeat those walls. What treasures, what ancient secrets could await inside? Will the Citadel's gates ever open?\nSaid Imperial Magistrate Albus:\n\tNever."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/cat-food": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/cat-food", "description": "The Nord cultural ambassador falls in love with Khajiiti cuisine", "author": "Rigurt the Brash", "title": "Cat Food", "text": "Dear Thane Vigli Storm-Breast,\nHonored leader of the Nord Cultural Exchange, it is I, Rigurt the Brash, writing to you in Windhelm as you requested. I have arrived in the hot and sandy land of Northern Elsweyr, home of the Khajiit cat people. It is very hot. And sandy. And you wouldn't believe how many Khajiit live here! It is more than Rigurt can count on both hands and even his feet!\nRigurt wants you to know that he is hip-deep in making friendly overtures to the nice cat people. Soon we will have a signed peace treaty and a fully operational cultural exchange. Has Rigurt ever failed you before. Well, except for that one time. And that other one. But I digest. And speaking of digesting, let me tell you about all the amazing food Rigurt has consumed here in the land of Anequina! (That's what the cat people call Northern Elsweyr.)\nFirst, let me tell you about the cat food. Much of it is sweet, but it is also quite delicious. Goes well with mead, too. Three particular dishes stood out for Rigurt. I even acquired the recipes, so I can cook them for you when I return to Windhelm. We will have a feast fit for the Skald King! Do you think he would like to join us?\nI came upon a stall in a back alley in Rimmen where a twitchy little doggy-cat (don't ask me, the different types of Khajiit confuse Rigurt, too) was stirring a large pot from which wafted a most-pleasing aroma. It reminded me of the Thane Jeggi's Drinking Hole\u2013a combination of the pungent smell of fish and the sweet smell of spilled mead. Turns out, the doggy-cat was cooking what he referred to as sweet-glazed fish bits. I didn't know that fishes had bits, but when tossed with moon-sugar and stir-fried to a crispy crunch, they make for a nice afternoon snack. Rigurt ate four servings!\nIn the town of Riverhold, Rigurt entered the Inn of Banished Regrets as I have many, many regrets that need banishing. Immediately, Rigurt noticed that all the cat people were not only drinking\u2013they were eating crunchy little nuggets by the handful! Rigurt's mouth gushes with saliva just writing down these words! Who knew you could turn smelly, scaly lizards into delicious crunchy lizard kibble? It cost me a week's worth of mead, but I was able to convince the inn's cook to give me a copy of the recipe. It seems that the cat people can't stop eating the stuff, and Rigurt feels the same way. I just wish I hadn't read the recipe. Turns out, they use the inside of the lizard to make kibble, not the outside!\nOne dish that tasted amazing was the meat-cake pie I had at a cart in the Stitches. My taste buds did loops as they savory-sweet succulent slid down from my mouth to my tummy. Was it the main meal or dessert? It seemed to Rigurt to be both at the same time! It was confusing but very tasty. The chef refused to enlighten Rigurt as to what kind of actual meat was used as the filling. All she would say was, \"a little of this and a little of that.\" I will have to experiment when I get back to my own kitchen. Do not worry, I will make enough to share!\nNow, by this point in my trip, Rigurt has just about had his fill of sweet, sweet Khajiiti cooking. I was desperate to find a spicy rabbit meatball or a haunch of stewed mutton, but such Nord delicacies don't seem to exist in Northern Elsweyr. But I did find a bottle of Dark Moons spiced whiskey. While mead is the nectar of the gods, this spiced whiskey that the cat people distill burns so good on the way down. Rigurt got the impression that it was the beverage of choice for when even the Khajiiti sweet-tooth needs a break from all the syrupy goodness they consume on a regular basis. I acquired three casks of the stuff and plan to put it on the next boat to Skyrim as a gift for the Skald King. I know how much Jorunn appreciates a strong drink when he listens to my latest cultural report.\nRigurt the Brash, Ambassador-at-Large for the Nord Cultural Exchange"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/catacombs-cath-bedraud": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/catacombs-cath-bedraud", "description": "A description of the final resting place of heroes and villains", "author": "Victor Croquel", "title": "Catacombs of Cath Bedraud", "text": "The cemetery of Cath Bedraud is the final resting place for some of our greatest heroes, those who fought the many battles to keep High Rock safe and who bled into the rivers and the soil. They gave up everything they had to protect this very land.\nThe term \"hero\" depends on one's point of view. One man's hero, after all, can be another's villain, and another's king might be your tyrant. But everyone buried in Cath Bedraud fought and died for this land. Each of them, in their own way, has allowed us to live as we live today.\nAnd beneath the graves of these heroes lies the catacombs. The place where I believe the kings and queens and royalty of the past have been entombed. My studies of the surrounding countryside indicate that the catacombs exist. However, I haven't been able to find an entrance into these hidden tombs. Allow me to speculate on subjects where the existing records are incomplete at best.\nBefore our time, the greatest battles of the Alessians and Direnni took place in this very land. Thousands lost their lives in the great battles that occurred here. After those conflicts, we saw the last Ayleid King pass away and the bloodline of the Direnni thin out.\nYet these Direnni had the most powerful magic at their command. Some say it was a type of magic that hasn't been seen before or since the Direnni. Magic that allowed them to bring down the tyranny of the Alessians and stop their army.\nI can only conclude that those who rest below Cath Bedraud are the heroes who fell in battle those long years ago. That the Direnni buried their own and then sealed the crypts so that their resting places would never be disturbed.\nI will continue to search for new evidence that supports this theory. And I will continue to explore Cath Bedraud in the hope of finding an entrance into these catacombs.\nI can only hope I don't disturb the Direnni magic that protects these tombs."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/catalog-tomes-and-manuscripts": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/catalog-tomes-and-manuscripts", "description": "Cataloguing an Orcish library", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Catalog of Tomes and Manuscripts", "text": "The catalog categories begin on the east wall and continue south to west.\n1. Orcish Delights: Culinary expressions of the Orsimer people.\n2. Fiction: Tall tales by or about the people of Wrothgar.\n3. Religion. Discourses on Orcish thoughts on worship and deities.\n4. Elves: Essays on the puny Elves of Tamriel.\n5. Building Orsinium: Documents concerning the reconstruction project.\n6. Bretons. Histories of the Breton people.\n7. Tamriel: Maps and descriptions of the world.\n8. Clans of Wrothgar: History and symbols of the Orc clans.\n9. Creatures: Animals and monsters of Wrothgar.\n10. Crafting: Dissertations on smithing, tailoring, and other common crafts.\n11. Restricted: Dealing with topics of a bawdy or carnal nature.\n12. Games: Detailing the many popular Orc pastimes, including Vosh Ball and Cut-It-Til-It-Screams.\n13. Who Knows? Books that don't easily fall into a recognized category."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/catalogue-afflictions-city": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/catalogue-afflictions-city", "description": "Mental illnesses within the Clockwork City", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Catalogue of Afflictions in the City", "text": "To the alienist, the ability - or inability - of a living mind to cope with stimuli and deprivation is of the utmost interest. How is it that some minds endure when others fail? What manifests in the aftermath of those outcomes? How can those manifestations be identified and altered? The workings of our own minds are as much a mystery as the workings of the material world, and it is no less dangerous to neglect their care than it is to mistreat the corporeal self.\nWhile Clockwork City is a facsimile of Nirn in many ways, it is not a duplication. Many of the rules that govern the world simply do not apply to this realm, and things often taken for granted in the terrestrial world are found to be of vital importance to an individual's sanity when they are suddenly found scarce. Here I will outline a number of the most common afflictions to develop in previously well-adjusted individuals now inhabiting the Clockwork City.\nCyclical Inert Ingestion - Compulsive craving and ingestion of non-nutritious and sometimes harmful materials. It is not unusual for inhabitants and visitors in Clockwork City to experience a palate fatigue for the nutrient paste produced within the Brass Fortress, despite its inoffensive taste and complete nutritional profile. This often causes these individuals to experiment with consuming unusual substances for relief from that fatigue or because of a fallacious belief about the benefits of ingesting the substance that they have developed a taste for. In many cases this condition may safely go untreated, though some individuals' compulsions pose a significant danger to their health and those patients should be remanded to the Asylum Sanctorium for a more controlled therapeutic environment.\nMagnusomnic Melancholy - Connections between mortal beings and the stellar bodies are well established, though fraught with superstition and apocrypha. Our relationship with the sun is of particular relevance to the psyche. From simple moodiness and doldrums in the long nights of winter to the violent, frenzied aversion of victims of vampirism, exposure to the sun has a noticeable effect on the mental health of many races, so its complete absence from Clockwork City is trying on most individuals. Lethargy, irregular sleep patterns, dark thoughts or impulses, and a general malaise are all signs that your patient could be suffering from solar deprivation. See volumes on treatment regarding variations of light conjuration and simulated sunlight.\nEncapsulation Syndrome - A particularly insidious affliction similar to the acute fear of being trapped commonly observed in the terrestrial world. Individuals used to living their lives under the open sky are sometimes disconcerted by the easily demarcated boundaries of Sotha Sil's heavens. They begin to feel an inescapable sense of confinement that creates ever-present feelings of anxiety and agitation. These mounting pressures will push them to breaking point if left unresolved and should be considered a priority for treatment.\nMinisculation Terrors - The terrors can be defined as bouts of irrational panic and paranoia that the victims are shrinking. It is unclear whether these episodes are a side effect of transitioning into this realm, or a pathological reaction to the experience of being miniaturized. Patients tend to describe peculiarities in their perception, ranging from a vague sense of things just being a little off, to vertigo, to delusional claims of evidence. For example, one such patient cited that they were now unable to reach an object they had placed on a high shelf the day before. Often these claims are a result of misremembered details, such as forgetting that they were wearing thick heeled shoes, though there is at least one recorded case of legitimate uncontrolled shrinking, so be diligent in investigating these claims.\nObsessive Focus and Fixation - Particularly common among apostles. Sometimes our colleagues must be saved from themselves. Clockwork City was designed with freedom from distraction in mind. It is a place of contemplation and learning, and sometimes the example Lord Sotha Sil sets is adhered to too closely by his followers. We are not gods. We cannot withdraw into our studies indefinitely and tirelessly without consequence. It may be necessary to intervene in the studies of an apostle who has developed an unhealthy obsession with their research. Fixated patients have been known to neglect sleep, forget to eat, shun all contact with others, and in some cases literally work themselves to death. As such, we are granted the authority to remand such cases to Asylum Sanctorium at our discretion.\nCorporeal Odium - Self-loathing, specifically of one's physical form. Outside of Clockwork City it was primarily observed in kingdoms where one's physical features or biological heritage play a significant role in an individual's societal worth. It is also a fairly common trait among possessing spirits. This condition is on the rise among Clockwork Apostles who believe their enhancements represent an ideal that their native flesh fails to live up to. Reckless augmentation, self-mutilation, and emotional volatility are all warning signs that an apostle's desire for alteration has become an unhealthy obsession and the patient should likely be remanded to the Asylum Sanctorium for psycho-spiritual realignment."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/catalyst-notes": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/catalyst-notes", "description": "A Mage and associate are in a desperate situation", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Catalyst Notes", "text": "I despair of ever finding a solution to the catalyst problem. Even Zur's usual unfounded optimism cannot seem to lift my spirits. I have gone over all possible candidates for a catalyst to ignite the process to forge the antipodal rods. The only substance that we might have access to is the corrupted blood of a feral creature.\nWe examined a dead creature and Zur tried to transform its blood, but his alchemical process was flawed. Our Daedric captors, however, apparently had more success in this area. Samples of corrupted blood are stored in the experiment chamber, where they are guarded by a monster the Daedra created using that very same blood.\nNow you comprehend my despair. If I had enough strength to access my full power, I could easily subdue this monster and we could take as many vials of corrupted blood as we could carry. As it is, we barely have the energy to cast simple illusions, and even these fail more often than not. There is no way we could survive an encounter with the chamber's guardian.\nZur firmly holds to the hope that someone will find us. But I suspect that our Mages Guild companions are busy dealing with their own problems. I fear this mission has already ended in failure and that we are doomed to succumb to this soul-meld. But I shall not dash Zur's hope. As disorganized as he can be, I find some small comfort in his blind faith."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/cathedral-hierarchy": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/cathedral-hierarchy", "description": "An explanation of the roles within the priesthood of Akatosh in Kvatch", "author": "Chanter Amia", "title": "Cathedral Hierarchy", "text": "A Primer for Novitiates by Chanter Amia\nNovitiates, allow me to once again welcome to your new role in the service of Akatosh, the Dragon God of Time. You begin upon a journey of great importance and spiritual reward, but you are not the first to tread this path, nor will you be the last. Many share this journey and will tackle the same challenges that stand before you. While your path may not lead to the same destination as your fellow novitiates, it does travel in the same general direction.\nAs you begin to perform the duties of the Cathedral of Akatosh, you must ask yourself how you wish to revere the Dragon God of Time. Will you spread the word of the Dragon God through prayer and guidance, leading worshipers through their devotions and hearing their pleas? Or will you take to the pulpit and the street with holy texts in hand, speaking the truths of the Divines to those who require a rekindling of the fires of faith? After you complete your initiations, you will be asked to make that choice. To take up the mantle of Chanter or Sermonizer. Reflect on your decision carefully, for the demands of each branch in the path are very different.\nRemember that the Primate oversees all aspects of Akatosh worship in the Cathedral, supported equally by the Grand Chanter and the Grand Sermonizer. For this reason, Chanters and Sermonizers stand shoulder-to-shoulder, bringing the light of Akatosh to the masses in equal but different ways.\nAs a Chanter, you will follow the lead of the Grand Chanter, offering compassion and guidance to those who come to our Cathedral in need. You will learn to mend their bodies, minds, and spirits with prayer and wisdom, as well as become a teacher yourself, leading worshipers through their offerings and rituals so that they can grow closer to Akatosh.\nAs a Sermonizer, you will muster behind the Grand Sermonizer, armoring your conviction against the great enemies of heresy and infidelity to guide the lost and faithless back to the protective wings of the Dragon God. You will learn to wield words that will strike at the heart, purging the impurities of dark influence and self-indulgence. The wicked must be chastised and condemned before they may be redeemed, and it is you who will drive out their darkness.\nDo not mistake this division of duties for a lack of unity in purpose. We are guided by the Primate, who has the wisdom to see that both paths are equally important to the reverence of Akatosh. The Primate is the guiding light of our Cathedral, improving the lives of all who look upon its shining brilliance. The Primate, like Akatosh, will never lead you astray.\nAnd if a different task calls to you, one of military service and the need to safeguard the faithful, consider pledging yourself to the Order of the Hour. Keeping the Cathedral and the faithful of Akatosh safe from the dangers of the world is a noble calling, should the more spiritual nature of life in the Cathedral seem like too mundane a method to show your devotion to the Dragon God of Time.\nThese paths stand before you, novitiate. May Akatosh guide you to your ultimate destination."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/caught-him": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/caught-him", "description": "A troublemaker is apprehended", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Caught Him!", "text": "We caught some Forebear bastard sneaking around today. He's probably the one that's been causing my overseers to vanish. He managed to kill one of my men and injure two others, but he's ours now.\nHe'll wish for death by the time I'm done with him. He's yet to say why he's here, but he'll talk soon enough."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/celans-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/celans-journal", "description": "A vengeful bosmer regrets his choices", "author": "Celan", "title": "Celan's Journal", "text": "To Oblivion with this place! When we left Grahtwood, Father said we would find fortune and blessings here in Summerset. Ha! All we've found is stuck-up long-legs, shoving us around and treating us like dogs.\nWe work in the vineyard for practically nothing\u2014a scant handful of gold each. It's hardly enough to live on. We hunt, just as we did before, but these deer are skittish and lean. There's a hex on the beasts here. They give us a mouthful of meat and bones too flimsy to make anything useful.\nThe only thing that makes it bearable is Farril. By Yffre, she's the most beautiful creature I've ever seen. She has wide eyes, like butter chestnuts, a swan's neck, and ears sharp as wolf's teeth. Let me put it down here in ink\u2014I will marry that girl. If I can earn her fancy, all this will be worth it.\n* * *\nDamn that beast, Halimorion! Farril came to me in tears last night. She said that lecherous bastard grabbed her arse and damn-near tried to force his forked tongue down her throat! Mark me: I'll have that mongrel's head in my stew-pot by year's end.\n* * *\nI can't believe it. Z'en must have heard my prayers. While I was out hunting, I came upon the Ghost of the Green! The real Ghost of the Green, not that imposter the High Elves caught years ago. He gave me a set of leathers, a mask, a bow and quiver, then told me to kill as he would. I can scarcely believe it, but it's true. I am the Ghost of the Green! And I will have my vengeance!\n* * *\nI thought it would be satisfying to kill Halimorion. I thought it would heal Farril's wounds, and set things right. But now\u2014gods, I have such doubts. I looked down at him, writhing there in the dirt, and felt such a weight on my chest. I could hardly breathe. I never should have done this. What would my mother think if she found out? I need to think\u2014to ask for forgiveness. Perhaps I can find it in the Red Temple. I'm going there now."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/centurions-signet": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/centurions-signet", "description": "An Orcish Centurion's pledge to prove his worth", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Centurion's Signet", "text": "\"There are times when all the world turns against the Orsimer. We will fight, we will die, but we will not abandon our honor. We will show the world that we are better than they say. And if we fall, we fall clutching at the throats of our enemies.\"\nThese words were spoken by the first Orsimer to earn glory in the service of the Emperor, as recognized by being awarded the rank of Centurion in the Imperial Legion.\nThe Orc Centurion's name has been lost to the ages, but his signet was seen in the vicinity of the Two Rivers, within a mountainous retreat gifted to him, as recent as a decade ago."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ceryolminwes-translation": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ceryolminwes-translation", "description": "Translated notes from Ayleidoon and translator's thoughts", "author": "Ceryolminwe", "title": "Ceryolminwe's Translation", "text": "I originally believed these Ayleid fragments to be part of a longer record of the deeds of an ancient hero. The more I translate, the less sure I am. Note the use of the word I translated as \"(skill)\" in the second excerpt. The word could also be used to reference a physical edge, like that of a sword. That, combined with the talk about cutting and severing, and the whole mention of the bond-brother, has led me to think that this might be referring to an actual weapon.\nMuch of the context is missing, and the unusual style and structure has made translation even more challenging than usual. I must be overlooking something, but most of the text in this chamber is severely damaged, and I fear I may never attain a complete understanding.\n\"\u2026 eight-times-gifted and heavy with the weight of justice. The first blood you found flowed from the Jumping Wolf. You severed his hand, and then his other, issuing him rewards for murder and making him to crawl along the ground as a common slave. Until then you had not been born, but in this you knew your purpose.\"\n\"It was your (skill) and it alone that secured victory against the Snowthroated Throng. You were aloft over them with your two mighty hands in prayer, and they cowered and begged as you fed them to darkness bone by bone. Your bond-brother (exalted) you and you pulled the stars down at his command to burn their tents, and together you laughed as you drove them before you.\"\n\"Oh! Glory and (unknown)! Your story of violence rings through three worlds, cuts the glittering path between. You are name-stealer, destroying the legend of what stood before you. You are forged from starlight and honed with Man's bone. You are only for the worthy.\"\nI'm running out of coin to pay my guards, so I'll need to move on soon. I never managed to discover how to open the door to the innermost chamber; I shall have to return. I'm taking rubbings of all the fragments I can find. There's no way they can deny me further funding with this discovery\u2014what if some untouched artifact waits inside?"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ceyran-warlord-rulanyils-fall": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ceyran-warlord-rulanyils-fall", "description": "Brief biography of the Ayleid warlord", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Ceyran, Warlord of Rulanyil's Fall", "text": "Ceyran was a minor Ayleid warlord of the middle First Era, most famous for building and losing three separate dominions during his long life. It is not clear whether he was a refugee from the Ayleid purges in Cyrodiil, or was born after his clan fled to Valenwood. Rumored to be a devotee of Molag Bal, Ceyran was eventually killed by an unknown assassin in 1E 1102."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/challenge-arena": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/challenge-arena", "description": "A flyer promoting the Dragonstar Arena", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Challenge the Arena ", "text": "Is your group ready for the ultimate challenge?\nCome to the Dragonstar Arena and battle for a place in history!\nSeek out the Battlemaster to join the greatest fight of all time, on this or any other plane of existence.\nOpponents are standing by. Make sure your affairs are in order before arriving."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/champions-drabul": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/champions-drabul", "description": "List of Orcish champions", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Champions of Dra'bul", "text": "Brigeera gra-Tor, killer of a hundred mammoths. Able to break skulls with just her thumbs.\nGrish the Scaled, whose breeches were made from the skins of Argonians he slew.\nDuzhal of the Wastes, traveling champion of the woods. Best-known for defeating the previous champion by biting through his neck while it was still encased in armor.\nRitrag gro-Forment, eater of spiders and poisonous snakes. Said to spew venom into his challengers' eyes.\nMakgruk gro-Basgurum, also known as the Healer. Reduced his opponents' suffering by removing their heads.\nThe Maiden Lashki. Intimidated her enemies by wearing a dress made from her victims' scalps."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/chaotic-creatia-azure-plasm": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/chaotic-creatia-azure-plasm", "description": "Research into Daedric formation and speculation on the Vestige", "author": "Doctor Rhythandius", "title": "Chaotic Creatia: The Azure Plasm", "text": "As a Doctor of Transliminal Mythomysticism, I have long been interested in the soul/body problem, the reformation of the Daedric body post-banishment, and the formation of the body around the essence commonly known as the \"vestige.\" Since our enforced relocation to Coldharbour, courtesy of Our Luminous Lady, I have had considerable opportunity to observe these processes first-hand, and am now in a position to confirm many hypotheses that, upon Mundus, were fated to remain mere conjecture.\nIt has long been understood that a Daedra, who lacks the Anuic animus known as the \u201csoul,\u201d is not killed when its body is destroyed. A Daedra slain upon Mundus is merely \u201cbanished\u201d back to its plane of origin, where its morphotype, or \u201cvestige,\u201d gradually forms a new body, so that eventually the Daedra lives again. (This happens as well when a Daedra is slain in its native Oblivion.)\nFurthermore, we have long known from the Daedra themselves that their bodies are formed from the very stuff of chaos, the \"creatia\" of Oblivion, a shapeless but energetic material that accretes around a vestige until it conforms to the morphotype's inherent pattern.\nBack on Mundus I had naively envisioned this creatia as some sort of misty, amorphous material swirling in a void somewhere. After our arrival in Coldharbour, it was some time before I realized that its ubiquitous pools of blue slime, the substance we've come to call \u201cAzure Plasm,\u201c was in fact the form that creatia takes upon this plane. By extension, I reasoned that chaotic creatia takes a different but planar-appropriate form in every realm of Oblivion \u2014 and this theory was later confirmed for me by the rogue Xivilai known as the Sojourner, who has had direct experience of numerous planes of existence.\nIn fact, it was the Sojourner who first introduced me to one of those secret grottoes where one can observe the process of plasm-accretion in action. (To find such grottoes, where Daedra are \u201cborn,\u201d it is necessary only to observe the slow flow of the Azure Plasm and follow it to its destination\u2014for plasm-accretion causes a slow drain on adjacent pools.) It was fascinating to watch a vestige gradually absorbing Azure Plasm and converting it from the general to specific, so that over time it slowly took on the size and shape of a hulking, reptilian daedroth.\nThen there are the poor slaves known as the Soul Shriven. Each is a mortal kidnaped from Mundus at the moment of death, his or her soul stolen by Molag Bal for some unthinkable purpose, and given in exchange the vestige that enables him or her to form a counterfeit body here in Coldharbour. But they are not native to Oblivion, so a Soul Shriven\u2019s body is a sad imitation of the body worn in life, suffering rapid wear and decay until it dies\u2014a death that is no liberation, for its vestige only forms a body once again, over and over, ad infinitum\u2026\nSuch are the facts. What follows is speculation, born of conversations with the Sojourner during his infrequent and unpredictable visits. His theory is that the Soul Shriven\u2019s bodies are flawed because they have lost the focusing principle of their Anuic souls, so their vestiges are imperfect patterns. I concurred that this was likely, and then proposed the theoretical possibility of a Soul Shriven who, despite having lost his or her soul, possessed some other intrinsic Anuic aspect. This shall-we-say \u201cparagon\u201d Soul Shriven would form an unflawed body in Coldharbour that was a perfect duplicate of the body worn in Mundus. In fact, if this paragon bore a sufficiently high Anuic valence, upon contact with Padomaic creatia its body would form almost instantaneously.\nThe Sojourner scoffed at my theory, but seemed taken with the idea nonetheless. He went on to speculate that if such a thing were possible, it would probably occur in a situation where the Mundus was in existential jeopardy. In that case the Heart of Nirn would spontaneously generate such \"paragon\" individuals as a way of defending itself from destruction, in a manner analogous to the way the mortal body fights off infection.\nAh, Sojourner\u2014how I miss your stimulating conversation. Such flights of fantasy! And yet, given the wonders I've seen in my prolonged existence upon this plane, is anything really impossible?"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/chapter-xii-graverobber-imperial-city": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/chapter-xii-graverobber-imperial-city", "description": "A grisly tale of a murderer who apparently escaped death himself", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Chapter XII: The Graverobber of Imperial City", "text": "Lastly, we come to Secundinus. This is patently not his real name; he was called this because he offered no name and was the second man accused of the crimes in question.\nSecundinus was accused of nightly murders over the course of several months. His victims, days later, were often dug up and never seen again. No one knows what he did with the corpses. He was caught by Imperial City guards, in the act of digging up a recent victim. He was chased down and killed. On his body were several objects of an unknown magical or ritualistic nature.\nLegends swirled that Secundinus was not truly dead. Within days of his alleged death, several of the guards who killed him went missing. One was found dead, apparently strangled. Several eyewitnesses that night reported a cloaked figure dragging a body down into the sewers. Searches turned up nothing."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/charge-welkynar": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/charge-welkynar", "description": "A song about the legendary knights and their defense of Summerset", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Charge of the Welkynar", "text": "When Summerset, o Summerset, our fair and pretty land,\n\tIs threatened from beyond the clear and shining sea,\n\tThe Welkynar, our Gryphon Knights, take wing and make a stand,\n\tWith courage, strength, and bravery, they keep the Altmer free!\nCharge, o Gryphon Knights,\n\tFly on and fight our foes!\n\tCharge, o Welkynar,\n\tTake wing with swords and bows!\nFrom Alinor to Shimmerene and every point between,\n\tThe Welkynar ride the winds and defend our gleaming isle,\n\thether commoner, noble, merchant, or queen,\n\tThe Gryphon Knights protect us all, always with a smile!\nCharge, o Gryphon Knights,\n\tFly on and fight our foes!\n\tCharge, o Welkynar,\n\tTake wing with swords and bows!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/charred-notes": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/charred-notes", "description": "Knowledge gained put to good use", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Charred Notes", "text": "That stupid witch has given me everything. So eager for companionship, desperate for a friend other than the pestering birds of this miserable corner of Oblivion. She taught me all the magic I wanted to learn.\nThe Magister of the Blackfeather Court taught me binding spells, Daedric magic\u2014all of it! All at her command!\nHer price was so ludicrous. I've never been so pleased as I was when I locked her in that blasted tower! No bargain is going to drag me back to her side.\nI'm taking everything with me. I'll burn this house to the ground and leave the witch in her tower to rot."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/chastisement-zimmeron": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/chastisement-zimmeron", "description": "", "author": "Zimmeron", "title": "Chastisement from Zimmeron", "text": "General Dar-Liurz,\nI placed you in charge of our bounty program to encourage our warriors to seek out and kill more of our enemies. You have had limited success thus far, as Jeggord has pointed out on several occasions. More needs to be done.\nYou are authorized to increase the bounty offered. Get our soldiers out there, hunting down every Dominion and Covenant foe they can find. This constant spying on our strongholds and resources must cease. If you can't do it, Jeggord can.\n- Zimmeron"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/chaurus-chant": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/chaurus-chant", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Chaurus Chant", "text": "Click, click, clack\nA chaurus is about to attack\nClack, clack, click\nI hope it kills me real quick\nClick, click, clack\nIt charges out of the black\nClack, clack, click\nI wish I had a bigger stick\nClick, click, clack\nAnd now I'm the bug's next snack"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/cheeses-tamriel": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/cheeses-tamriel", "description": "Overview of the cheeses found in different provinces", "author": "Master Chef Gilbard Larocque", "title": "Cheeses of Tamriel", "text": "If you are like me, the very word \"cheese\" stirs you. Maybe you recall meals shared with family and friends, favorite dishes in the cold of winter, or a simple snack in the shade of a tree while traveling. I am here to tell you how much more there is to cheese than you ever realized. Join me on a journey across Tamriel and discover a breadth of culinary experience you've never imagined!\nLet's start simple. Eidar cheese, popular in Skyrim, is eaten by the Nords alongside hearty spit-roasted meats. They do not share the refined approach to cuisine that we Bretons take, but I have discovered that Eidar's rich, earthy flavor and creamy texture are quite conducive to sauces. Try it with poultry dishes or paired with a young Collequiva!\nFor a more exotic taste from Skyrim, you must seek out cheese made from the milk of mammoths. Only the truly brave can obtain it from the giants who craft it (Yes, giants! Who did you think could milk a mammoth?), but its restorative potential and robust flavor make it well-worth a bit of risk. I've heard it called an acquired taste, but you'll be amazed at how it completes a hearty stew.\nAs a student of Breton culinary tradition, I cannot rightly count it among true cheeses, but Scuttle bears mention for the adventurous. This delicious treat is crafted from\u2014don't balk!\u2014the flesh of beetles native to Morrowind. Do not let its composition or greasy texture turn you away, for its peppery, complex richness is loved by the Dark Elves for good reason.\nFor an energizing snack, you must try Elsweyr Fondue. There are countless variants of this dish, but the basics are always the same: a good cheese, strong stock, and, of course, Moon Sugar. Keep your pot on a low flame and be careful not to overdo the ale. The best part is experimenting to find your favorite combination of ingredients and dipping foods. My advice: try adding a different herb every time!\nOn the subject of melting, the Redguards craft a cheese with an unusual quirk. They keep the secrets of its culturing process close to heart, but love to surprise foreign guests by serving it. It is known as Shrieking Cheese. When it is melted to a certain point, it actually lets loose a jarring scream! In a common dish, small blocks of the cheese are added atop spicy meat as it cooks in an open pot. When it shrieks, it's ready!\nAnother rare treat, should you ever be fortunate enough to find it, is the legendarily aromatic Olroy cheese. To give you just the slightest idea of how wonderful this cheese is: I do not exaggerate when I say a scent of it alone was worth the many false leads and months of traipsing across southern Cyrodiil in search of it.\nLook at all these cheeses, in wheels, wedges, and slices! So many, and it's only the beginning; there are even more cheeses out there just waiting for you. Even if you can't make long journeys in search of these delicious creations, I hope that reading about them encourages you to try as many cheeses as you can find."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/chest-condemnation": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/chest-condemnation", "description": "Auction of a moaning chestplate", "author": "Portia and Glenadir", "title": "Chest of Condemnation", "text": "Quote from Auctioneer Portia\n\tTranscribed by Relicmaster Glenadir\nNow, before we start the bidding on this lovely chest, a word of warning. This is not a purchase for the faint of heart! There's all types of tales on the origins of such a piece, but little is known. What we are sure of? This is a heavily cursed item!\nListen close, ladies and gents, listen close. You hear that? A soft moaning, muffled. That's no parlor trick! I haven't stuffed an assistant in there, if that's what you think. No, the Chest of Condemnation always cries out, though no one knows why. What lies inside? Another mystery, I'm afraid. Though perhaps you'll be the deft hand to break its seal. Wouldn't recommend it though, if I were you.\nBut that's not it's true curse, oh no. A bit of groaning and moaning, well, what's the harm in that? But after awhile, well, it tends to drive folks a bit nutty. They say all the previous owners of this chest turned plum mad after awhile. We here tend to keep it under lock and key, far away from any ears. You'll most likely want to do the same.\nNow, let's start the bidding at, shall we say, 50,000 gold pieces?"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/chestplate-desiccation": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/chestplate-desiccation", "description": "Description of a torture device for Argonians", "author": "Wuja-Nakal and Glenadir", "title": "Chestplate of Desiccation", "text": "Interview of Wuja-Nakal, Former Slave\n\tTranscribed by Relicmaster Glenadir\nYes, our Telvanni jailers would often use this as a punishment. For one of my kind, there are few greater displeasures than the feeling of dryness. We are used to heat of course, but the humid heat of the Black Marsh swamps. Not this.\nThey had more mundane means to dry out a Saxhleel. They would lock us in cages, allow the summer's sun to do their work. But during the rainy days, or as the fog rolled across the islands, they would force us to wear this. Bind our hands so we couldn't remove it. Wait for the chestplate to take effect.\nThe feeling was slow, but after the first time. The dread was choking, knowing what was to come. It would begin as a slight discomfort, almost just an itch. The tips of your scales would feel it first, but slowly it would sink down to your center. Your tongue would feel shriveled in your mouth. You would close your eyes, but nothing could soothe them. Your hide would slowly tighten, inch by inch.\nThey always made sure you didn't die, no matter how much you craved it."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/chewed-note": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/chewed-note", "description": "Wamasu breeding guidelines", "author": "Captain Pernay", "title": "Chewed Note", "text": "Don't bring Waarosh down here to fertilize the eggs while there are juveniles running about!\nHow many times do I have to explain this to you? He will attack them and they might hurt him! He's the only mature male that we have in this area, and without him all of those eggs are useless.\nMess up again, and it'll be you that we feed to him. I don't care what we promised those knightly bastards.\nCaptain Pernay"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/chid-moska": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/chid-moska", "description": "A note about a ruin", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Chid Moska", "text": "Barvyn and I sold our last haul and made a good profit. We've been following up on different leads throughout the area.\nThis one sounds promising, but we may not get there for at least another month, if not more.\nCan't wait to explore it. These ruins look very interesting."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/children-root": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/children-root", "description": "An Argonian myth about the start of all things", "author": "Solis Aduro", "title": "Children of the Root", "text": "\"[Note: Collected by researcher Solis Aduro from an oral tradition of the Adzi-Kostleel tribe and not otherwise attested.]\nThere was first only Atak, the Great Root. It knew of nothing but itself, so it decided to be everything. It grew and grew, trying to fill the nothing with itself. As it grew it formed new roots, and those roots took names, and they wanted space of their own to grow.\nThen Atak learned that there were things other than itself. They were just like Atak, but went a different way from it. They saw and made strange new things that did not last except in how it changed them.\nAtak continued to grow until something came back from the nothing. It was like a root but had scales and eyes and a mouth. It told Atak that it was called Kota, and it had been growing, too. Now that it had a mouth, it was hungry.\nAtak named Kota for what it was: serpent! It put roots through the serpent's eyes. But Kota was old and strong like the root, and had grown fangs while it was away. It bit Atak. They coiled around each other. From their struggle, new things came to be. Atak learned things Kota had learned, including hunger, and so it bit Kota back. They ate and roiled for so long they became one and forgot their conflict.\nThey shed their skin and severed their roots and called themselves Atakota, who said \"Maybe.\"\nWhen Atakota said this, the skin it had shed knew itself. It ate the severed roots and even though it was dead, it followed Atakota like a shadow.\nAtakota continued to roil, and each of its scales was a world that it devoured. But now Atakota was not in conflict, and things had time to begin and end. The shadow wished it could eat these things, but its belly was full of roots that were growing.\nWhen the shadow could bear it no longer, it swam closer to Atakota and spat out the roots. Now that its belly was empty, the shadow almost ate them again and everything else it saw. But it had come to see the roots as its own after carrying them, so instead it told them secrets and went to sleep.\nThe roots found others and told them how they had survived in the belly of the shadow and how they were still able to grow there. When they shared this knowledge with the others it changed them, and they took on new forms with new names.\nSome of these spirits wanted to keep the names and forms they had chosen, but they had learned them through the shadow, and it was now in all of them, making them temporary. They learned of hunger and conflict, and they learned to fear change and called it Death.\nThese spirits were angry and afraid, but the roots showed the spirits ways between places from when Atak had made paths out of nothing. They could use these riverways to hide from Death.\nThe spirits were content and set about to make things that looked like them and shared in their aspects and loved them. They kept growing until they were as big as Atakota, and they forgot it came before them, and that it had a shadow that was sleeping.\nIn time, the worlds were too big and there was no more room. Again the spirits went to the roots to ask for more. But the roots had gone to sleep content with what they had made, because it changed so often that it did not need to grow.\nThe spirits grew so desperate and hungry that they tore at Atakota's skin and drank of its blood. They ate until they broke Atakota, so that Atak remembered growing, and Kota remembered being nothing. There was conflict again, and from the spirits Atak and Kota learned about Death, so there was violence, blood, and sap.\nIn the chaos the spirits were lost and afraid, so they ate others and themselves. They drank of blood and sap, and they grew scales and fangs and wings. And these spirits forgot why they had made anything other than to eat it.\nThere were other spirits that still clung to what they were and what they had made. A forest spirit came and saw that the roots loved their children like she loved hers, so she taught them to walk and talk. They told her secrets with new words, and she sang the song back to them. The roots woke up when they heard this, and joined with the forest.\nThe roots saw that Kota's blood had made oceans, and Atak's sap had made stones, and each of these spirits had never known the shadow. The roots knew what this would mean, and asked the shadow to protect its children.\nThe shadow woke. It looked upon Kota and Atak and saw how different the nothing had become and how it was becoming the same as before. It remembered it was the skin of Atakota, and it was bigger than Kota or Atak alone, so it decided it would eat them both.\nAnd it did. The shadow ate the snake and the root, and the sap and stone, and the oceans of blood, and all of the spirits. It had eaten everything before it remembered the roots that were its children, so it looked unto itself to find them. When the shadow saw this, it remembered that it was a skin of something that came before, and it had eaten what came after, and this would be an end that always was.\nAnd so the shadow shed its skin, even though that was all it was, and it fell like a shroud over the roots, promising to keep them safe within its secrets."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/children-wind": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/children-wind", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Children of the Wind", "text": "Rising from your lively breeze\n\tA flock of winsome sycamore seeds\n\tRound and round they waltz and whirl\n\tOn one wing they dance and twirl\nDrifting far from home they sail\n\tCarried by your lofty gale\n\tAnd where they finally come to rest\n\tAnother tree begins to nest\nSoon you call a storm to turn the van\nAnd tuck them in with gentle rain\n\tThen once their shower's done\n\tBlow them away and free the sun\nOnce nurtured by your clouds in time\n\tThese saplings stretch their limbs and climb\n\tReaching farther through many springs\n\tUntil they've fully spread their wings\nAnd on your gale their seeds will soar\n\tOn the journey of White Sycamore"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/chim-el-adabal-ballad": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/chim-el-adabal-ballad", "description": "A song about the Amulet of Kings", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Chim-El Adabal: A Ballad", "text": "When Akatosh slew Lorkhan,\n\tHe ripped his heart right out,\n\tHurled it across Tamriel,\n\tAnd the heart was heard to shout:\n\tRed Diamond! Red Diamond!\n\tThe heart and soul of Men.\n\tRed Diamond! Red Diamond!\n\tProtect us till the end.\n\tThe laughing heart sprayed blood afar,\n\tA gout on Cyrod fell,\n\tAnd like a dart shot to its mark\n\tDown in an Ayleid Well.\n\tRed Diamond! Red Diamond!\n\tThe heart and soul of Men.\n\tRed Diamond! Red Diamond!\n\tProtect us till the end.\n\tMagicka fused the Lorkhan blood\n\tTo crystal red and strong\n\tThen Wild Elves cut and polished it down\n\tTo Chim-el Adabal.\n\tRed Diamond! Red Diamond!\n\tThe heart and soul of Men.\n\tRed Diamond! Red Diamond!\n\tProtect us till the end.\n\tWhen Elves lost Nirn to Man,\n\tAkatosh gave the stone\n\tTo Saint Alesh in token of\n\tHer right to sit the throne.\n\tRed Diamond! Red Diamond!\n\tThe heart and soul of Men.\n\tRed Diamond! Red Diamond!\n\tProtect us till the end."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/chime-endless": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/chime-endless", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Chime of the Endless", "text": "This small chime protected Ujirra, adept of the Ziz Kurah, from the merciless attack of a dro-m'Athra that killed all others at her adeptorium. By her rhythmic tapping of the chime, Ujirra composed a hymn to Jone and Jode that kept her safe through that horrible night. The hymn was unfortunately lost, but the chime survived.\nThe college restricts the use of this chime out of respect to our Khajiit compatriots."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/chirrharis-notes": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/chirrharis-notes", "description": "Notes on the edibility of mushrooms grown in the Clockwork City", "author": "Chirrhari", "title": "Chirrhari's Notes", "text": "Warning: Reactions with Clockwork City soil may radically change a mushroom strain's expected properties. Only imbibe fungi after extensive testing using fabricant subjects. As the saying goes, you can eat all mushrooms, but some only once.\nStrain A-01-K: Large, flat caps, red. One stalk in cluster always white. Subject exhibited difficulty keeping balance after eating sample. Three gear clicks later, subject charged in unpredictable directions, often losing its balance while doing so. This resulted in a short delay in experimentation as factotums repaired damage to nearby equipment.\nStrain B-01-T: Medium-sized, puffy caps, white with blood-red spots. Subject ate sample rapidly, then proceeded to the next. Factotums had to react quickly to prevent subject from eating the entire batch.\nStrain C-02-K: Large white pods with black spots, grows in two- and three-pod clusters. Tested a two-pod cluster. Subject grew sick and died shortly after ingestion. Spore pods then grew on subject and burst when handled. Evacuated lab until factotums eradicated all spores. Note: Work out containment procedures before testing three-pod cluster.\nStrain D-01-K: Large, round slimy caps, mottled yellow and white. Subject started uncontrollably shivering after eating sample. Attempts by factotums to provide warmth failed. As subject was no longer of experimental use, it was disposed of.\nStrain E-02-K: Large to huge, drooping caps, gray. Subject's first attempt to consume a fully mature specimen resulted in the loss of several teeth and a minor stress fracture to the lower mandibular enhancement. Factotums coaxed subject to make a second attempt with an immature, smaller specimen. Subject extracted and ate the warts on the stalk with no ill effect. Note: Attempt to create weapons and armor out of mature stalks.\nStrain F-03-T: Medium-sized, wavy caps set in tiers, orange with white rim. Subject immediately evacuated contents of stomach onto the floor. Sent a sample to Idrono for analysis. Note: Reformulate factotums to ignore stains on floor. They become too obsessed maintaining sanitary conditions.\nStrain G-02-K: Large, bowl-shaped caps, mottled tan and orange with white-purple stalk. Subject devoured the sample and did not exhibit signs of hunger for two days after ingestion. Note: Conduct further experiments on the nutritional effects of this strain to determine cost effectiveness, as it is particularly labor-intensive to cultivate."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/chiselshriek-foremans-log": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/chiselshriek-foremans-log", "description": "A miner's logbook regarding missing workers", "author": "Yorric", "title": "Chiselshriek Foreman's Log", "text": "9th First Seed\nYield: 62 stone. One of the lads found something in the mine. Looks like a polished charm in the form of a woman. Broken though. One of the arms and the head look like they're missing. Kolat thinks he's going to sell it for a fortune. I told him that no one is going to buy a broken figurine from some mud-caked shaft-rat. But he left anyway. Need to remind the purse to cut Kolat's wages.\n13th First Seed\nYield: 46 stone. Things have slowed farther down the shaft. Not exactly sure what the problem is. I sent a couple of workers down to check the supports. They've been down there a long time. I'd worry about a cave-in, but the only sound I've heard is wind and hisses. I hope they haven't found another gas pocket. Still have workers down with fire-lung.\n22nd First Seed\nYield: 24 stone. Another three workers missing. I'm scared to send more lads down there, but we've got to find out what's happening. Going to mount a small expedition tomorrow. Me, Sorka, and Hasid. Let the record show that Heilsjor is acting foreman until I return.\n1st Rain's Hand\nYield: 14 stone. This is Heilsjor taking over for Yorric. It's been slow going without the foreman and Sorka. Hasid's not worth much since he got back. Still mumbling about a \"blue lady\" or some such. Given the lack of manpower and the drop in morale, I've decided to close the mine for now. I'm leaving the log behind for any future occupants. Be careful. There's something down there. I'm not sure what, but it's dangerous. Mine at your own risk."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/chodalas-writings": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/chodalas-writings", "description": "The would-be Nerevarine reveals the source of his power", "author": "Chodala", "title": "Chodala's Writings", "text": "I acquired something remarkable during my sojourn in the wilderness. Thanks to my benefactor, I learned that a group of Nycotic cultists were conducting a ritual to channel unfathomable power into a simple staff. It was easy enough to convince the Red Exiles to retrieve the staff for me. Now Sunna'rah is mine, just as my benefactor foretold!\nWith the power of Sunna'rah coursing through me, there is nothing beyond my reach! I must step forward and fulfill my destiny\u2014I am the Nerevarine, the savior of our tribes! I always suspected as much, but the power of Sunna'rah solidifies my claim. It makes me fearless, invincible. Let the Houses tremble, let the Tribunal quake in fear, for Chodala the Nerevarine will bring them down and save our cherished traditions.\nThe time has come to cast down the false gods and restore our lost traditions. The time has come to cleanse the land with a holy war! Then and only then, Morrowind shall be great again."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/chores": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/chores", "description": "Tasks for a stable girl", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Chores", "text": "Jenya,\nHere's what I want you to do while I'm away. I expect every chore done when I return, or no pudding for you. Get your lazy butt in gear!\n1. Sweep the stables.\n\t2. Order horseshoes. (Specify Mathiisen steel this time.)\n\t3. Oil saddles.\n\t4. Take inventory.\n\t5. Brush stabled mares.\n\t6. Wash down stalls."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/churasus-alchemy-journal-0": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/churasus-alchemy-journal-0", "description": "Instructions on brewing the Fury Concoction", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Churasu's Alchemy Journal", "text": "Fury Concoction: This mixture makes the wasps very angry for a few hours.\nAngry wasps will sting anything that doesn't smell like them.\n* * *\nTo Make the Fury Concoction: Grind one wasp gizzard into three lumps of troll fat and two pinches of wisplight powder. This makes a single dose.\nImportant! For each additional dose made, add one extra pinch of powder to keep the solution stable."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/cinnars-notes": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/cinnars-notes", "description": "A detective investigates a thief with a very distinctive M.O.", "author": "Cinnar", "title": "Cinnar's Notes", "text": "1) Only targets Altmer\n\t\u2014 Racial motives? Grudge? Fraud?\n2) Only steals objects of personal value\n\t\u2014 Ransom? Revenge?\n3) Leaves messages for victims\n\t\u2014 Victims refuse to discuss them! Why?\nRemaining citizens to question:\n\tMendreval\n\tRilding\n\tKuralit\n\tTalqua\n\tZuzik"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/cipius-orders": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/cipius-orders", "description": "Military orders for the conquest of Evermor", "author": "Magus-General Septima Tharn", "title": "Cipius' Orders", "text": "Captain Cipius,\nIt is imperative that the capture of Evermore be conducted with great care. The duke and his guards will help you unload your weapons and armor in sealed crates and place them at a strategic point in the city. Your men should then spread out within the city wearing plain clothes and recruit as many citizens as possible. At the predetermined time, your men and their recruits should meet at the weapons cache, arm themselves, and then take control of the city. Those who surrender should be spared. We can always use more slaves.\nDo not fail.\n\u2014 Magus-General Septima Tharn"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/circus-cheerful-slaughter": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/circus-cheerful-slaughter", "description": "Happiness is loneliness", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Circus of Cheerful Slaughter", "text": "Happiness is loneliness\n\tHappiness is loneliness\n\tHappiness is loneliness\n\tHappiness is loneliness\n\tHappiness is loneliness\n\tHappiness is loneliness\n\tHappiness is lonelines s\n\tHappiness is loneliness\n\tHappiness is loneliness\n\tH\u00a0 appiness is loneliness\n\tHappiness is l\u00a0 oneliness\n\tHa ppiness is loneline ss\n\tLoneliness is happiness\n\tHappiness is loneliness\n\tHappiness is loneliness\n\tHappiness is loneliness\n\tHappiness is loneliness\n\tHappiness is loneliness\n\tHappiness is loneliness\n\tHappiness is lonelines s\n\tHappiness is loneliness\n\tHappiness is loneliness\n\tH\u00a0 appiness is loneliness\n\tHappiness is l\u00a0 oneliness\n\tHa ppiness is loneline ss\n\tLoneliness is happiness\n\tHappiness is loneliness\n\tHappiness is loneliness\n\tHappiness is loneliness\n\tHappiness is loneliness\n\tHappiness is loneliness\n\tHappiness is loneliness\n\tHappiness is lonelines s\n\tHappiness is loneliness\n\tHappiness is loneliness\n\tH\u00a0 appiness is loneliness\n\tHappiness is l\u00a0 oneliness\n\tHa ppiness is loneline ss\n\tLoneliness is happiness\n\tHappiness is loneliness\n\tHappiness is loneliness\n\tHappiness is loneliness\n\tHappiness is loneliness\n\tHappiness is loneliness\n\tHappiness is loneliness\n\tHappiness is lonelines s\n\tHappiness is loneliness\n\tHappiness is loneliness\n\tH\u00a0 appiness is loneliness\n\tHappiness is l\u00a0 oneliness\n\tHa ppiness is loneline ss\n\tLoneliness is happiness\n\tHappiness is loneliness\n\tHappiness is loneliness\n\tHappiness is loneliness\n\tHappiness is loneliness\n\tHappiness is loneliness\n\tHappiness is loneliness\n\tHappiness is lonelines s\n\tHappiness is loneliness\n\tHappiness is loneliness\n\tH\u00a0 appiness is loneliness\n\tHappiness is l\u00a0 oneliness\n\tHa ppiness is loneline ss\n\tLoneliness is happiness\n\tHappiness is loneliness\n\tHappiness is loneliness\n\tHappiness is loneliness\n\tHappiness is loneliness\n\tHappiness is loneliness\n\tHappiness is loneliness\n\tHappiness is lonelines s\n\tHappiness is loneliness\n\tHappiness is loneliness\n\tH\u00a0 appiness is loneliness\n\tHappiness is l\u00a0 oneliness\n\tHa ppiness is loneline ss\n\tLoneliness is happiness\n\tHappiness is loneliness\n\tHappiness is loneliness\n\tHappiness is loneliness\n\tHappiness is loneliness\n\tHappiness is loneliness\n\tHappiness is loneliness\n\tHappiness is lonelines s\n\tHappiness is loneliness\n\tHappiness is loneliness\n\tH\u00a0 appiness is loneliness\n\tHappiness is l\u00a0 oneliness\n\tHa ppiness is loneline ss\n\tLoneliness is happiness\n\tHappiness is loneliness\n\tHappiness is loneliness\n\tHappiness is loneliness\n\tHappiness is loneliness\n\tHappiness is loneliness\n\tHappiness is loneliness\n\tHappiness is lonelines s\n\tHappiness is loneliness\n\tHappiness is loneliness\n\tH\u00a0 appiness is loneliness\n\tHappiness is l\u00a0 oneliness\n\tHa ppiness is loneline ss\n\tLoneliness is happiness\n\tHappiness is loneliness\n\tHappiness is loneliness\n\tHappiness is loneliness\n\tHappiness is loneliness\n\tHappiness is loneliness\n\tHappiness is loneliness\n\tHappiness is lonelines s\n\tHappiness is loneliness\n\tHappiness is loneliness\n\tH\u00a0 appiness is loneliness\n\tHappiness is l\u00a0 oneliness\n\tHa ppiness is loneline ss\n\tLoneliness is happiness"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/clan-white-bear": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/clan-white-bear", "description": "A clan's guiding principles", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Clan of the White Bear", "text": "The 10 Truths of the White Bear:\n1. Dominating others is strength. Dominating yourself is true power.\n\t2. Train to use more than one weapon, and then use the unexpected weapon.\n\t3. Training must be like bloodless battle so that battle is just like bloody training.\n\t4. Pain is temporary. Failure is forever.\n\t5. In the midst of chaos, seek opportunity.\n\t6. Know your own weaknesses better than your enemy does.\n\t7. True courage is the mastery of fear, not the absence of it.\n\t8. Plans are useless. Planning is essential.\n\t9. Felling a tree takes many strikes. In battle, it is the same.\n\t10. Love honor more than you fear death."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/clans-eastmarch-direfrost": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/clans-eastmarch-direfrost", "description": "A brief history of the influential Nordic clan", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Clans of Eastmarch: The Direfrost", "text": "The lineage of the Direfrosts goes back to a time before recorded history. The most accurate recorded accounts reveal a lineage stretching into the past for at least thirteen generations to the earliest known patron, Hroldin Direfrost, who settled in northern Eastmarch and became lord of the surrounding villages.\nThe Direfrosts have a reputation as kind and gentle rulers, except in cases involving practitioners of witchcraft. In such cases, Direfrost intolerance is notorious. Over the centuries they have participated in the execution of hundreds of citizens found guilty of witchcraft.\nCastle Direfrost is located within Eastmarch bordering on the mountains. The cold northern winds are said to be held at bay by the hearthfire that ever burns in the meadhall of Direfrost.\nThere have been no known insurrections against their rule."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/clans-reach-guide": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/clans-reach-guide", "description": "An overview of three tribes in the Reach", "author": "Ehcelmo", "title": "Clans of the Reach: A Guide", "text": "If one has the opportunity\u2014or misfortune\u2014to deal with the wild clansmen of the Reach, you should know who you're dealing with. There are a number of clans who trade calmly and peaceably with the cities of the North. Then, there are those who view travelers as threats. Or as targets.\nIn my studies, I've identified three clans in particular that should be avoided at all costs.\nBoneshaper Clan:\n\tThe Boneshapers have developed an unusual number of rituals involving thorny vines and plants. The clan's name stems from their tradition of lacing or growing these vines through the skeletons of their ritual sacrifices. This plant does not appear to be native to the Reach, but they cultivate it well.\nWhen going on a raid or into battle they use these vines to create effigies, shaping the plants into rough mockeries of life. Some of these rituals also make use of the dead, though necromancy appears to be forbidden in the clan. It's unclear how these bodies are used, but travelers who see their crude clan symbol should stay well clear.\nRageclaw Clan:\n\tThe Rageclaws have domesticated a breed of stout, battle-ready ursines. These bears are trained from an early age, bound to a specific clansman or clan family. A matriarchal society, this clan imitates their animal companions in many ways. The protection of young clan members is paramount, and I've seen whole Rageclaw families go into battle over the slightest threat to their children.\nA particular habit of the clan causes them friction with other Reach clans: Rageclaws are known to overtake and absorb other smaller clans, converting them to the way of the claw. Women new to the clan find they have tremendous control and freedom, and often enjoy the transition. Male warriors are pitted against grown bears in one-on-one combat, earning a place in the clan by forcing an ursine to submit. It usually goes poorly for clansmen unfamiliar with these massive beasts.\nStonetalon Clan:\n\tFinally the Stonetalon clan, while not as outwardly aggressive as the other two clans above, exhibit a number of particular and combative behaviors. As with the Rageclaws, Stonetalon clans are matriarchies. However, women of the tribe seem to be rare. When they're seen, their women seem to be covered in heavy cloaks made of bird feathers, as if they've all taken ill. I believe they're struggling through a series of trials for an unknown purpose.\nIn any case, every cloaked female I've encountered has been a powerful spellcaster. Stonetalon clans, as a result, may be the most dangerous groups to meet far afield."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/claudies-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/claudies-journal", "description": "A servant girl hopes for forbidden love", "author": "Claudie", "title": "Claudie's Journal", "text": "I can't help but feel that My Lord Maurice is interested in me for more than my duties as a servant. He glanced at me several times these past weeks as I brought dinner to the table or poured the wine. He just smiles and looks into my eyes. Like I'm an equal. Not as if I were a young woman merely there to refill his flagon or clear away the dirty dishes, but as someone he might actually be interested in. I don't know what to think of it. I'm probably just imagining it, dreaming about what life would be like if I didn't have to serve and clean every day. It's a dream, but I can hope that it comes true. Can't I?\nI wasn't imagining things! Tonight in the hallway, Lord Maurice pulled me aside. He asked if I was married. If I had a family. Speechless would be a good word for my reaction. He's so\u2014what's the word I'm looking for?\nKind? Different? His father and mother beat me repeatedly for simple transgressions. But their son isn't like that. He's so nice. I'm still having a difficult time believing it. He wants to see me again. Alone. I'm not sure what to think about all this.\nLord Maurice came to me again. He said he wanted to tell me something. He took my hand and led me off into the night. Hand in hand, we snuck through the gardens and sat on a bench beneath the moons. The way he looked at me sent shivers down my spine.\nOur love is forbidden. A rich noble like him and me, a simple servant. Still, we care for each other deeply. He plans to tell his parents of our love soon. I hope that goes well."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/claudies-last-entry": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/claudies-last-entry", "description": "A tragic last entry from the serving girl", "author": "Claudie", "title": "Claudie's Last Entry", "text": "I never told Maurice. I was waiting to surprise him, after the family accepted our love and blessed our union. But that never happened. And Maurice never found out about our baby.\nNow he'll never know. I can't believe what a coward he turned out to be. He couldn't stand up to his mother, not even to save the life of the woman he loved. Instead, he didn't say a word and left me in this tower to rot. I never should have trusted a Baelborne.\nI thought about calling the guards and telling them the truth. But I don't want my child to grow up to be a Baelborne. I won't allow that.\nI'm dying. I pray to any who hear my plea. I don't expect an answer, but I want our deaths to be avenged. Somehow, someway, I'll make the Baelbornes pay."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/claudinas-notes": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/claudinas-notes", "description": "Observations on strange happenings in the Blackreach mines", "author": "Claudina Ildene", "title": "Claudina's Notes", "text": "Locals have reported strange and potentially spiritual activities at the following locations:\n- The caves north of town are rumored to be haunted. Strange noises emit from the caves and several residents have felt what they describe as a chill wind blowing in the area.\n- A miner eating their midday meal along the water's edge was interrupted with a fright. Within the gurgling of the stream a disembodied voice called out. They described the voice as saying either, \"You are doomed\" or perhaps \"I want some, too.\" Fearful of sharing their lunch, they departed.\n- The miner Grumog insists a ghostly force pushed him from the bridge into the water below as he was walking home after a few evening pints. Given Grumog's known habits, locals seem to believe the only thing strange about this is that it doesn't happen more. Will follow up, regardless.\n- Floating lights have been witnessed along the ridge. Possible displaced light from nearby glowing fungi? Or spirits? We will find out."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/clearing-crypts": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/clearing-crypts", "description": "", "author": "First Mate Thagrikh", "title": "Clearing the Crypts ", "text": "As you know, we've lost several privateers in the process of clearing the crypts. The tunnels are filled with undead, as expected, but it's more than that. One of the sailors ran out of there ranting about a curse and a ghost and... mudcrabs.\nAs if all that isn't bad enough, there are even more mudcrabs. I swear, Whitemane, we need to relocate our base of operations to Wrothgar. At least the mudcrabs taste better--these taste like rot.\n-First Mate Thagrikh"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/clockwork-apostle-poetry-collective": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/clockwork-apostle-poetry-collective", "description": "A set of poems meant to encourage creative expression", "author": "Lector Trivura, ed.", "title": "Clockwork Apostle Poetry Collective", "text": "Forward by Lector Trivura\nAs an ongoing experiment to strengthen the academic integrity of our younger apostles, an initiative of the abstract concept of \"creative thought\" was undergone. As all calculable results continued to prove inconclusive, the project was deemed unsuccessful after a six-week trial. Here is a selection of the poetry that resulted from this initiative, collected for future analysis.\n* * *\nAn Ode to a Factotum\nThe brass body of your gleaming unit\nThe functions with which you operate\nAll set in a perfect regulation\nWhich you all always gladly state\nYou clean our streets and sell our wares\nManage our registries and dead\nYou cook our meals and run our banks\nAll these functions in your head!\nBut from where are you created\nBy our all-knowing Lord Seht?\nWhy can we not enter those chambers?\nDid he lock them and forget?\nBut we Apostles know the truth\nFor silence gives birth to the intrepid mind\\nMysteries are created to be solved\\nSo I will unlock the riddles of your kind!\n* * *\nThe Wrong Numbers\nI know that in a fortnight\nThe market's prices will rise\nAnd I know where to go\nTo find the most sturdy supplies\nMy head is filled with numbers\nBut they're all simply wrong\nThey're prices and people and sales\nI know they don't belong\nI should think of the numbers\nThat tell of order and sequence\nBut they refuse to stay for long\nAnd they only make me tense!\nI want to be an apostle\nWho can make my family proud\nBut all these wrong numbers\nThey're all that I'm allowed\n* * *\nA Soaking Bed\nMusty sheets on a soaking bed\nThey smell of mold and oil\nMy sister keeps coughing at night\nI can't help her, I'm useless\nI've always just been useless\nMagic gathers in my hands one day\nWarm and bright and filled with hope\nAnd each day I study the machines\nTheir cogs and gears and parts\nI learn their secrets eagerly\nI'm finally noticed, I'm finally free\nI enter into the world above\nI study and listen and do as I'm told\nA new name for my new life\nI will walk this path before me\nWhispers follow me but I do not listen\nI'm now a stranger in my childhood home\nI know it's selfish not to return\nBut the memories linger of that soaking bed\nOf that endless cough I cannot ease\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/closed-until-further-notice": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/closed-until-further-notice", "description": "A notice regarding the temporary closure of Ogondar's Winery", "author": "Ogondar", "title": "Closed Until Further Notice ", "text": "I regret to inform you that Ogondar's Winery is closed until I can find a new clerk to replace that good-for-nothing nephew of mine. The lazy horker!\nPlease don't take advantage of the momentary absence of a trustworthy employee to rob my winery blind.\nIn the meantime, if you need something, feel free to find me at the Crossroad Tavern in Belkarth. And if you need a job, I'm sure we can work something out.\n\u2014Ogondar, Proprietor\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/closing-performance-notes": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/closing-performance-notes", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Closing Performance Notes ", "text": "\"Only when the mehra was burned in a sujamma molag \u2026 the mer was put to the dagon. The mora was safe to travel again!\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/closing-octal-cage": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/closing-octal-cage", "description": "Searching for an Ayleid tonal device to stop the Planemeld", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Closing The Octal Cage", "text": "or, A Defense Against the Planemeld\nUnnatural anchors blight the skies of Tamriel. Those learned in such matters know they herald the Planemeld, a Daedric plot of unfathomable darkness.\nBut in times when all hope seems lost, the Eight Divines provide. We can salvage our future by looking to the past. The Chancel of Divine Entreaty is our first bulwark against Molag Bal's devious plot!\nThe peculiar construction of this Ayleid ruin should be immediately apparent to a scholar of the Eight Divines. The symmetrical nature of its construction, the altar plate below the eight-tined arch, and the harmonic blending of tonal triptychs reveal the divine hand in its formation. Should one blow a large enough horn within the chancel's walls, its clarion call would be heard as far as Elden Root!\nAfter extensive research, I believe this to be one piece of the long-rumored Octal Cage. There should be seven ruins identical to this scattered throughout Tamriel. Where, I do not know, but I shall locate them all. Then I will find the eight Hallowed Clarions mentioned in the apocryphal accounts of the Ayleid loss of Sancre Tor to Alessia.\nA daunting task, but the Octal Cage was thought capable of sealing the Daedric Princes away from Nirn for good. Sounding a Hallowed Clarion in all eight ruins, all at the same time, may be enough to bring the Octal Cage to life.\nI depart in the morning. If my task proves fruitless, so be it. We must all oppose the Harvester of Souls as best we can. Until then, any who calls the God of Schemes their enemy may avail themselves of my laboratory."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/clothier-light-armor-basics": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/clothier-light-armor-basics", "description": "Description of High Rock light armor manufacturing", "author": "Lady Eloisse, Fifth Countess Manteau", "title": "Clothier: Light Armor Basics", "text": "Here in Wind Keep we are renowned for producing High Rock's finest light armor: so elegant, so tasteful, and yet so sturdy and staunch. Let me tell you just a little bit about how we do it.\n(By \"we,\" of course, I mean the town's families of clothiers: the Raiments, the Garments, and the Habiliments. They do all the actual menial work, though under my noble and capable oversight, naturally.)\nLight armor is made entirely of cloth, except for certain structural reinforcements crafted from bone, horn, or cartilage. Though the outer layer of a jerkin or breeches may be of ornamental silk or damask, be aware that underneath is a layer or layers of tough and durable fabric such as cambric or burlap. These layers are often quilted or padded in order to aid in absorbing the force of a blow."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/cloudrest-secret-entrance": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/cloudrest-secret-entrance", "description": "", "author": "D", "title": "Cloudrest Secret Entrance", "text": "Idiot,\nNow, this is a heist. We have to be a tad sneakier than your average citizen. So when you enter Cloudrest, do so through the old passageway. I'll make sure it's unlocked for you, don't worry.\n-D\nP.S. - Don't leave this note on the ground for just anyone to find. Remember what happened in Alinor?"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/code-baandari-pedlars": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/code-baandari-pedlars", "description": "The bylaws of the (in)famous pedlars", "author": "Semsirr-dar of the Road", "title": "Code of the Baandari Pedlars", "text": "Do not listen when Town-Biders call you thief, or charlatan, or dishonorable. Such people are ignorant and insular, and know naught of anything beyond the borders of their township. Dishonorable, sooth! One is not dishonorable if one has a code of behavior that one lives by. And this is so for the Baandari.\nAbide thus by our code, Baandari, or you will be cast out and no longer dwell among us. Those who break the code and become Cast-Cats may be pitied, but they shall not be readmitted among us. For how will the world trust us if we cannot trust ourselves?\nThe Baandari Code by which we live consists of both written bylaws and unwritten bylaws. The unwritten bylaws may not be written, for how if written could they be unwritten bylaws? But the written bylaws are as follows:\nThe Bylaw of Salvage: Sometimes objects are loose and uncontained, being neither in pocket, in drawer, or in hand. Such objects are abandoned and may be lawfully salvaged, for clearly no one cares enough about them to see them properly contained. It is meet and commendable for a Baandari to salvage an object thus abandoned, for a Baandari is thrifty and deplores waste.\nThe Bylaw of Prophesy: Frequently Town-Biders offer Baandari payment in return for advice and prophesy regarding events yet to come. In this transaction a client must be told that which would be most pleasing to hear, for it is a serious breach of etiquette to offend a client with words that are unkind or unwanted. To prevent such a breach, it is meet and commendable for a Baandari to spend time with sharp ears in the local inn or tavern so as to ascertain what advice might best please potential local clients.\nThe Bylaw of Guarantees: A true Baandari sells only the finest goods and wares, for the Town-Biders wish to purchase only the finest goods and wares. There is no pride like that of a person who has just spent a deal of money upon a fine, new purchase, and a Baandari wants above all things for a client to be proud of having driven a hard bargain and acquired an item of the highest quality. Therefore it is meet and commendable to provide a client with the highest guarantees of an object's provenance, rarity, and desirability.\nThus the written bylaws of the Baandari Code. These bylaws are in all cases ironclad and incontrovertible\u2014except, of course, when overruled by the unwritten bylaws. Var var var."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/coded-message-coin": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/coded-message-coin", "description": "A mysterious message inscribed on a coin", "author": "W.R.", "title": "Coded Message on Coin", "text": "5th Last Seed\n\tJ.Hjqi,\n\tRjxxflj wjhjnaji. Stwymutnsy uwjufwji.\n\tW.R."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/coded-rutter": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/coded-rutter", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Coded Rutter", "text": "PAKCUTEMAP\n\tAMDNGOAEPT\n\tAOTENCOTGH\n\tUTENCOVTAP\n\tWIETWNCPTN\n\tQUEITOANCI\n\tVIEHDLKSAG\n\tVOEAITEQPE\n\tCNAJDUTEOG\n\tCORISAHRPC\n\tZXNXJEOTAK\n\tANDOTJXPZN"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/cogitation-log-1322331455212478": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/cogitation-log-1322331455212478", "description": "Progress update on the Clockwork City", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Cogitation Log 1322331455212478", "text": "Hail Creator,\nAnimonculi reprocessing continues without deviation from your Glorious Design.\nReprocessing of the Inert continues at a one-to-one ratio.\nConversion of salvage to raw material remains a ninety percent efficiency. Refactoring will continue according to your mandate.\nRefabrication of Dwemeri designs remains suspended, by your will.\nIteration continues according to your mandate.\nAll changes successfully compiled and integrated.\nAwaiting your command."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/cohort-briefing-arenthia": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/cohort-briefing-arenthia", "description": "A briefing for troops in unfamiliar territory", "author": "Centurion Iunius Ocella", "title": "Cohort Briefing: Arenthia", "text": "This unit will begin occupation of Arenthia within a fortnight. To ensure our success in the operation, every soldier needs some knowledge of the city and its civilians. Go in unprepared, and you'll end up robbed blind or stuck full of Wood Elf arrows without knowing how or why. Having spent some years guarding caravans in transit from Arenthia to Skingrad, I can provide the information you need to avoid personal harm and unnecessary provocation of the citizenry.\nDon't be lulled into complacency by the familiar buildings; this city is nothing like home. Though some Colovian traders from north of the River Strid have settled here, they're outnumbered by the Wood Elves from the south and the Khajiit who roam in from the eastern savannas. In the past, the city's allegiance has changed as often as the wind, but the flimsy Khajiiti hovels and the Elves' temporary tree-shaping don't endure like the good Colovian stone from which most of the lasting structures are built.\nYou'll encounter plenty of Wood Elves and Khajiit, so a general awareness of their customs and practices will prove useful. Wood Elves become unreasonably aggressive if they believe a plant or tree is in danger. If any trees need to be cleared, obtain permission from your superior and assemble an armed squad. Also, be aware that Wood Elves are fond of indulging in drink, and their normally irreverent tongues become even worse when soaked. A word of advice: do not engage in drinking contests with these Elves, no matter how they taunt you.\nKhajiit make up a sizable portion of the population, though few hold permanent residence here (or anywhere). These moon-worshipers drift in and out in bands, bringing their sugary liquors and garish fabrics to market. Exercise caution if you are approached by one of the pleasure-partners that often travel with these caravans. They are invariably thieves, and by the time you realize you've been picked clean, they'll be halfway back to Dune.\nOn a related note, we've caught wind that a ring of skooma smugglers may be operating out of the city's shamefully disused Temple of the Divines. This is an affront to the Divines and will be investigated once our hold is established. We will clear out the scum if the rumors prove true, but there is to be absolutely no looting of the Temple. In time, we will restore it to its rightful glory.\nYour job is to make certain that our grip on Arenthia is ironclad. Enforce martial law and keep the peace as much as possible, but be swift to quell any potential disturbance. Remember, no culture can claim \"traditional\" ownership of this city; it belongs to the banner with the most troops on the ground, and that's going to be ours."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/coils-father": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/coils-father", "description": "Invocation of Anu", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Coils of the Father", "text": "Penitent, give thanks and praise to the soul of Anu the Everything, father to us all. The scales and fangs and flame of the creator envelop all of the people. Always.\nTo complete your venerations here, intone: \"By the Fixed Center and his hand in our lives, we are all made safe. Auri-El, grant me the stability of the Divine. Be always at my side.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/coldwinds-skull": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/coldwinds-skull", "description": "Information on the skull of King Turog's legendary snow bear", "author": "Umutha", "title": "Coldwind's Skull", "text": "When King Torug was alive, he allied with the mightiest of the snow bears of Wrothgar. The beast earned the name \"Coldwind\" by being fast and icily brave while serving as the king's mount in hundreds of battles.\nAfter many years, however, Coldwind grew weary. Torug found her a den in the far north. There, the snow bear slept, ate, and mated, passing on her bloodline to many powerful cubs. Eventually, Coldwind succumbed to old age. King Torug turned part of the den into a tomb for his faithful friend and sealed it away.\nOne day, it is said, Coldwind will rise again. The sign of her reawakening will be the claiming of her skull. Only a hero of Wrothgar can perform this deed - or so the legend say."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/collected-works-wee-zeeus": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/collected-works-wee-zeeus", "description": "Introduction to the collected works of an author from the late First Era", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Collected Works of Wee-Zeeus", "text": "Here are the collected works of Wee-Zeeus, celebrated satirist, most active during the reign of Emperor Reman I. After her execution in 1E 2750, most circulating copies of Wee-Zeeus' texts were destroyed. The collection here is one of only three complete collections known to exist.\n\u2014 Property of the Merethic Society"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/colovian-deserters-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/colovian-deserters-journal", "description": "Journal of a deserter", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Colovian Deserter's Journal", "text": "We're all now enemies of Colovia, and the beasts that inhabit this land aren't likely to be much more welcoming. Not that it would matter. I would rather be hung at home for deserting than cavort with talking housepets and cannibal tribes.\nThe General sent us to die. She won't be able to hold what she's taken in Reaper's March, and most line soldiers are fully aware that this occupation will end in their deaths. We simply left.\nWe've found some secluded ruins, ones that don't appear to hold much of value and aren't the carved mausoleums of the talking cats. We can lie low here until things quiet down, then pillage as we need from the beasts."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/come-cure": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/come-cure", "description": "The Maulborn promise a cure", "author": "Nostrum Breva", "title": "Come for the Cure!", "text": "Come one, come all! Come to the quarantine in the town of Serkamora\u2014the Serk\u2014and receive a curative that will protect you from the Llodos plague.\nNoble or commoner, rich or poor, the curative is provided at no cost to you. Don't risk yourself or your loved ones. The Maulborn are ready to help you. So, whether you are afflicted with the plague or healthy and showing no signs of the disease, the Maulborn curative will make sure you are protected from this dreaded plague.\nThe Great Houses can't stop this plague. The Tribunal has no answers. But the Maulborn have a solution.\nOn this, you have my word.\n\u2014Nostrum Breva"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/come-vvardenfell": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/come-vvardenfell", "description": "A cousin's impressive description of southern Vvardenfell's charms", "author": "Arturian", "title": "Come to Vvardenfell!", "text": "Cousin,\nI know you've got a place above that store in Stormwind, but you really have to join me in Vvardenfell. I've been here less than a year and I've already got my own place just outside Balmora. I'm making enough gold that I take voyages down to Vivec City every month or so.\nYou wouldn't believe the architecture here. They built \"the City of the Warrior-Poet\" right out on the water. All these multi-layered cantons\u2014I have a hard time finding my way around!\nAnd Balmora has a canal running right through the center of the town. I though they'd call it the \"town of waters,\" but it really should be \"the town of beautiful barmaids.\" There's a Dark Elf woman working at one of the inns who really likes me, I can tell.\nAnyway, when you get here, find me in Balmora. It's north of Seyda Neen. If you land in Vivec City, spend the extra gold for a barge trip. The wildlife along the road can be a bit dangerous.\nArturian"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/commendation-letter": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/commendation-letter", "description": "One Captain receives a glowing recommendation", "author": "General Vayne Redoran", "title": "Commendation Letter", "text": "Captain Duren,\nIn recognition of your dedicated service with the standing army of the Ebonheart Pact, it is with great pride that I pass along this letter of commendation to your outpost. Your history of diligent and respectful command is exemplary. Reports from the Nord and Argonian members of your unit make it clear you take the mission of the Pact to heart, as well as defending its precepts with your keen mind.\nKeep this up, soldier, and you'll be Centurion Duren before this war is over.\nFor the Pact, and Glory!\n\u2014 General Vayne Redoran, Vivec City Garrison"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/common-arms-valenwood": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/common-arms-valenwood", "description": "Weapon styles of the Wood Elves.", "author": "Mistral Aurelian Teriscor", "title": "Common Arms of Valenwood", "text": "Metal weapons have never been widespread in Valenwood. The Wood Elves' Green Pact proscribes the use of wood to kindle forge-fires, though in some areas the burning of peat or coal can get kilns up to metal-forging temperatures. Other Bosmer make do with bone clubs, or use axes and spears with blades of stone or obsidian.\nIn the coastal towns such as Haven and Port Velyn, Bosmeri swordsmanship has benefited from the tutelage of Altmer advisors and a reliable supply of imported metal weapons. Strangely, the High Elves are not similarly appreciative of the Bosmeri composite horn bows, which are arguably the finest in Tamriel.\nWhile some have described the Dominion as an alliance of mutual convenience, I would characterize it as one of mutual exasperation. Swordsmanship is a case in point. Few Wood Elves have the mental discipline for traditional Altmeri martial schooling. They are easily distracted, and have no patience for the philosophical aspects of the training. Altmeri masters, who describe their system of swordsmanship as \"Proper Conflict,\" refused to adapt their techniques to the smaller stature and shorter reach of their pupils.\nSo the Bosmer returned to their traditional method of warfare: archery. By the age of fourteen, a Wood Elf youth is proficient enough with the bow to accompany hunting parties. Long-distance archers are called Jaqspurs. The style of draw used by Jaqspurs has been described as \"snatching and releasing in one continuous motion.\" This allows a Jaqspur to maintain a very high rate of shooting, though years of training are required to be accurate at such speed.\nThe Bosmer are perfectly willing to purchase and use wooden bows and arrows crafted by other races, but the Green Pact prevents them from making any of their own. Traditional Bosmer bows are crafted from horn and sinew. Strings are also made of sinew; Khajiiti gut is said to work best, and is thus prized among Valenwood archers.\nBosmeri arrows are carved from bone, and fletched with the feathers of various bird species. The Wood Elves believe the source of bone used influences the characteristics of the arrow. Mammoth bone arrows are thought to strike with enough force to knock down a target. Bird bone arrows fly faster and more accurately. Senche-tiger bone arrows deal extra damage. Trials by Imperial observers have been unable to replicate these alleged effects. Upon hearing this, the Bosmer merely cluck their tongues and smile."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/concerned-letter": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/concerned-letter", "description": "A Khajiit merchant is unhappy with a human competitor", "author": "Maibii", "title": "Concerned Letter", "text": "Red-Hands,\nMany greetings, walker. This one writes you concerning Regulinus Bucco. You will remember him, I think. He is the hunching Imperial who talks too much and smells like stewed seepa beans. Maibii has heard that this Imperial has been re-selling product in the Market District. Some of the shaveskins there will not buy from Maibii\u2014they prefer to do business with other shaveskins. The family had planned to hire an Imperial to conduct business there, but this bumbling dungheap Bucco has already claimed much of the market. The stories I have heard are too stupid to repeat.\n\t\u2014\n\tMaibii reconsiders; she will repeat the stories because you need to know how stupid Bucco is. Apparently, he has been telling people that his skooma is \"special.\" \"Shipped in from the furthest reaches of Elsweyr,\" he says\u2014as if he could even point Elsweyr out on a map. The Imperials believe him because they are just as stupid as he is. Bucco is sprinkling lettuce greens into the vials to make it appear more \"natural.\" You know these Imperials\u2014obsessed with healthy living and products from distant provinces. I must give him this, at least; Bucco knows his customers.\nNeedless to say, this does not please Maibii. We cannot let stinking addicts like Bucco be the face of our product. This one urges you to talk to Bucco as soon as possible. Maibii would feel better if this talk involved a set of stone-knuckles and some hot coals, but feel free to improvise.\nMuch Luck and Good Light Moons,\n\tMaibii"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/concerning-balorgh": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/concerning-balorgh", "description": "A spy reports back from Hircine's Hunting Grounds", "author": "Ronela", "title": "Concerning Balorgh", "text": "My Lady Vykosa,\nI am proud to report that our group has successfully infiltrated the Hunting Grounds, the details of which I will speak of upon my return. When I shall return, however, is unknown. Upon Balorgh's insistence, our group has remained within Hircine's realm for over a week now.\nThe Orc insists that we need to keep scouting in an effort to find Hircine's weakness, but I distrust such motives. Whenever I remind him of your orders, he simply snaps at me. His excuses grow weaker, and I fear he may be searching for something else. Perhaps something that may even cause harm to you.\nI will continue my observations, as well as my reports.\nYours faithfully,\nRonela"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/concerning-garick": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/concerning-garick", "description": "A sad missive", "author": "Sergeant Samis of the Lion Guard", "title": "Concerning Garick", "text": "Dear Lord and Lady Gorack,\nIt is with great regret that I inform you of your son's death. Rest assured that he died valiantly and bravely, facing down the enemy in single-handed combat. He did not suffer.\nFor the Covenant,\nSergeant Samis of the Lion Guar"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/concerning-saints-safety-and-security": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/concerning-saints-safety-and-security", "description": "Worries about the wellbeing and power if the saints that Sotha Sil has turned into clockwork contraptions", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Concerning the Saints' Safety and Security", "text": "Proctor Luciana,\nI am surprised by the lack of action to result from my last request. It is unlike you to leave correspondence unanswered. I thought perhaps something occurred in transit, but the factotum confirmed that my letter was received by your office. We've discussed your desires for control and inability to trust. If you are shouldering more concerns than you can maintain you must allow yourself to delegate. My concern is not simply for your health, but also for the safety of Clockwork City.\nI'm afraid that the situation has not improved within the Asylum Sanctorium. My wards are becoming more agitated and unpredictable. I fear that they have become locked irrevocably into the gravity of madness and their descent grows swifter by the day. The few orderlies I have will not be able to keep the Saints contained should it become their desire to escape. They are astonishingly powerful beings, Luciana. I believe the day where we are forced to reckon with them is inevitable, and close at hand. We must be prepared.\nMay your path wind the Grand Gear,\nAlienist Llandras"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/concerns-petitions-complaints": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/concerns-petitions-complaints", "description": "A list of goings on", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Concerns, Petitions, Complaints", "text": "Kethra Hernet has requested permission to build two chicken coops on her property. Claims fresh eggs will improve her cooking and thus Efan Hernet's digestion and general demeanor. Approval Pending. Discussion with neighbors ongoing.\nScholar Jonne requests assistance with restoration of some of the older crypts in the cemetery. His concerns about the condition of the graves has been noted.\nHouse Dorell representative at inn, sent request to meet to discuss improvements in silver production from mining projects. Meeting to be scheduled. Must ask Michel to attend, as he is most knowledgeable about mines and mining.\nYoung Rindas Suriell was brought up on charges of vandalism. Specifically, using some sort of plant-based dye to paint Daedric symbols on Harth Vennet's prized pigs. Suriell's reason: \"I thought it would be funny.\"\nNeither I nor Harth Vennet found this response to be the least bit amusing. Leynette Suriell petitioned the town to have young Rindas provide a set number of hours of service in lieu of having to pay damages. Proposal to be discussed with Harth Vennet.\nRindas Suriell to provide eighty hours of community service, aiding Scholar Jonne in the restoration of the graves and crypts within Crestshade cemetery. Harth Vennet's comment about not wanting \"that young ruffian anywhere near my livestock\" was duly noted when determining this punishment.\nTobas Entick, Innkeeper, has requested some assistance in cleaning up a small rockslide that did some minor damaged to the rear of the inn. He and several others have noted a recent increase in small tremors emanating from the mountains.\nHealer Meriel reported that Jonah Marose is currently under her care. Meriel believes this may be a case of some sort of night terrors, but is unsure what may have brought them on. Perhaps a fever of some sort? In any case, Jonah appears fine at the moment. The young man has always been a bit simple, but in no way a troublemaker. I will check with the healer again in a few days."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/confessions-bold-alchemist": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/confessions-bold-alchemist", "description": "A passionate defense of alchemy", "author": "Alchemist Aleeto", "title": "Confessions of a Bold Alchemist", "text": "I confess it. I'm an alchemist. I love to mix things together to see what happens. The mystery and magic of the alchemical process fascinates me. On the one hand, it's acutely precise, with weights and measures that must be painstakingly adhered to. On the other hand, it's wildly impromptu, with plenty of room for spontaneity and impulsiveness. Indeed, some of the biggest alchemical breakthroughs must be attributed to aggressive leaps of faith and logic.\nAnd I confess: I love adventure. I like to explore caves and dark swamps in search of alchemical reagents, and I enjoy experimenting with mixtures and concoctions until something explodes. In fact, the more risky or unexpected the undertaking, the more I enjoy the experience. I find such exploits \u2026 exhilarating!\nDoes this juxtaposition make me special? Brave? Just plain strange? I'm certainly not a frail, scholarly professor, hidden away in my secret laboratory and toiling away at my experiments. But you be the judge. Let me tell you about one of my recent adventures. It happened exactly as I shall describe. More or less.\nI was deep in the wilds of Eastmarch, looking for Old Sord's Cave, when a customer entered my alchemy shop.\nBlast it! An actual customer! And look what I did. I'll have to finish this later \u2026."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/confessions-skooma-eater": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/confessions-skooma-eater", "description": "The personal memoirs of a Skooma addict", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Confessions of a Skooma Eater", "text": "Nothing is more revolting to a person than the sorry spectacle of another person enslaved by that derivative of moon-sugar known as \"skooma.\" And nothing is less appetizing than listening to the pathetic tales of humiliation and degradation associated with a victim of this addictive drug.\nWhy, then, do I force myself upon you with this extended and detailed account of my sins and sorrows?\nBecause I hope that by telling my tale, the hope of redemption from this sorry state shall be more widely known. And because I hope that others who have also fallen into the sorry state of skooma addiction may therefore hear of my story, of how I fell into despair, and how I once again found myself and freed myself from my own self-imposed chains.\nBecause it is widely known to all Khajiit, who may be expected to know, that there is no cure for addiction to skooma, that once a slave to skooma, always a slave to skooma. Because this is widely known, it is taken to be true. But it is not true, and I am living proof.\nThere is no miracle cure. There is no potion to be taken. There is no magical incantation which frees you from the thrill of skooma running through your blood.\nBut it is through the understanding of that thrill, and the acceptance of the lust within oneself for that thrill, and the casting aside of the shame that the thrillseeker feels when he cannot set aside what becomes in the end his only comfort and pleasure, it is through this knowledge and understanding that the victim comes to the place where choices may be made, where despair and hope may be separated.\nIn short, only knowledge and acceptance can deliver into the slave's hands the key that opens his shackles and sets him free."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/confessions-vampire-devotee": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/confessions-vampire-devotee", "description": "Desperate for immortality, the author tracks a vampire", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Confessions of a Vampire Devotee", "text": "I first heard about the vampire lord Zalar-do while exploring the markets of Elden Root. The stories both fascinated and frightened me. Here was a Khajiit who had gained power and notoriety, whose very name was whispered with fear and a healthy dose of respect. I admit it. I had been pondering the risks and benefits of life as a vampire ever since I was a child. Now, with each tale I heard, every rumor I digested, I realized the goal that was set before me.\nI had to find Zalar-do and convince her to turn me into a vampire.\nWhy do I want to be a vampire? That's a good question. I've certainly asked myself that very same thing on more than one occasion since this obsession grabbed hold of me. I suppose it has something to do with the allure of power and the correlation between vampirism and sex that some scholars go on and on about (yes, I've read every book and letter I could find pertaining to the subject). But if I can be totally honest - and since this is my private journal, I suppose I have to be - the real appeal has to do with the longevity of the species. I've read that ancients can survive hundreds, even thousands of years. As a child who saw both of his parents die much too young, this \"immortality\" has become a very attractive option to me.\nI'm not extremely keen on the idea of drinking blood, however, but I suppose every advantage comes with its own set of disadvantages. Such is the way of the world. I might be squeamish at first, though I expect with time and practice I could even grow to enjoy a daily feast of the crimson liquid. I wonder if it needs to come from an intelligent creature? Or if it has to be fresh? I guess that's what the protruding fangs are for.\nBefore I could locate Zalar-do's lair or otherwise introduce myself to the vampire lord, the hunter Mel Andrys appeared in town. He asked about disappearances and mysterious deaths, and he even mentioned Zalar-do by name while I eavesdropped on his conversation with one of the town guards. He was going to ruin my chance to meet and offer myself as an apprentice to the vampire lord. I followed the hunter around, watching how he searched for traces of Zalar-do's passing and tracked her to her lair. It was empty, of course. She was much too smart to be caught by the likes of Mel Andrys.\nI spent the next few months staying as close to the vampire hunter as I could without revealing my presence. I figured that he'd have a better chance of locating Zalar-do than I would, and once we got close to the vampire lord I was sure I'd be able to figure out how to help her avoid Mel Andrys and convince her to reward me with the power of the vampire. It was this dream that kept me moving, following the hunter from Grahtwood to Greenshade to Malabal Tor, until we eventually made our way to the Gold Coast.\nHere, luck was with me. The vampire hunter was indisposed after we docked in Anvil. The rough storm our ship traveled through seems to have made the poor man ill. That gave me time to search for Zalar-do and get a few steps ahead of Mel Andrys. I believe that she has established her lair in Hrota Cave.- the perfect location from which to stalk prey in Anvil when the hunger comes upon her. I've made my way to the cave and plan to present myself to the vampire lord forthwith. I can't wait to become one of her apprentices!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/conquer-cyrodiil-pact": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/conquer-cyrodiil-pact", "description": "Jorunn wants results in Cyrodiil", "author": "High King Jorunn", "title": "Conquer Cyrodiil for the Pact!", "text": "Grand Warlord,\nYour progress in the Alliance War has been impressive. As you requested, I am sending more troops, trusting that they will lead to further victories. I await word that the Dominion and Covenant armies have been driven from Cyrodiil.\nContinue to send reports and I will see to it that you get the resources you need to win this war.\n- High King Jorunn"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/constable-maldreds-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/constable-maldreds-journal", "description": "An officer of the law embraces vampirism", "author": "Constable Maldred", "title": "Constable Maldred's Journal", "text": "I don't remember how long I believed in the principles of \"to serve and protect.\" Recent events have opened my eyes and changed so many things, however. I have a new cause to champion and new allies to support.\nIf I regret one thing in all this, it's that I will now be forced to oppose my dear friend, Adusa-daro. We have known each other for so very long. I find it almost impossible to imagine that she will now oppose me. I have a vague hope of introducing her to the beautiful Lleraya, of converting her to our way of thinking. But I fear that my efforts will fail. She has well and truly fallen under Verandis' spell and I don't believe that anything I say will change that. I fear that, in the end, the proud and powerful Adusa-daro must die.\nShould I record the events that led to my epiphany? No, time is short and I have too much to do right now. Later, surely, there will be time enough to fill these pages with the wisdom I have acquired. Suffice it to say that Lleraya is not a monster. I am quite fascinated by the woman and eagerly wait to spend more time in her enchanting company. For now, let me just write that her words and deeds moved me. That her vision has become my vision. That her goals have become my goals.\nAnd it all starts here, in the quiet hamlet of Moira's Hope. The townsfolk are either well on their way to becoming bloodfiends loyal to our cause or they are dead and dying. Soon, we can spread the gift of Lleraya's blessing to all of Rivenspire\u2014and then the chaos will be glorious!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/contract-0": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/contract-0", "description": "A contract for the Dark Brotherhood to preform an assassination", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Contract", "text": "Sweet Mother, sweet Mother, send your child unto me, for the sins of the unworthy must be baptized in blood and fear.\nLet them not be alerted, and let it be fast."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/contract-scroll": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/contract-scroll", "description": "A warning of Nords and their flaming sword blades", "author": "General Serien", "title": "Contract Scroll", "text": "Memorandum of Our Contract:\nThe Frostedge Pillagers are hereby engaged to find relics of power in Hozzin's Folly and bring them to General Serien, payment to be dependent upon the nature of what is found. Down payment in gold has been offered and accepted.\nBe sure to warn your scouts: the cultists used an old Nord tomb as their worship space. Those hairy bastards love to set traps in their burial mounds.\nExpect some flame traps. Or sword blades. Or flaming sword blades.\nCause as much trouble as you like, the more the better. Kill anyone you meet.\n\t\u2014General Serien"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/contract-house-diel": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/contract-house-diel", "description": "A plot to expand Daggerfall's influence", "author": "Lord Alain Diel of Daggerfall", "title": "Contract with House Diel", "text": "To Fisherman Halvire Miltrin and Company,\nAs per our conversations, here is the signed contract completing our deal. You should have also received the bottles of \"elixir\" that will cause the effects we desire. Be careful, as I had to deal with various nefarious organizations within Daggerfall to procure the amounts needed.\nApply the contents of a full bottle to your daily haul of fish, then leave the treated fish for the harpies to feast upon. We should begin to see the effects within a matter of days.\nAs the harpies consume the tainted fish, they will become extremely aggressive. As the harpy threat rises, the nasty birds will have to be dealt with. Once they're eliminated, we can expand Daggerfall down the coast and increase our investment a hundredfold.\nSecrecy is imperative. In the meantime, I will hire another group to procure harpies and their eggs. We might as well make a profit from the creatures while we're at it. No one needs to know how this started. It should appear that we're just doing our civic duty and helping the great city of Daggerfall in its time of need.\n\u2014 Lord Alain Diel of Daggerfall"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/contractors-note": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/contractors-note", "description": "Instructions for using a secret passage", "author": "Belrande", "title": "Contractor's Note", "text": "Watch Commander Pelletus,\nThe new installation Lord Jarol commissioned has been completed. Access to the lower levels of the estate has been concealed and secured by a lock of my own design. The method of passage detailed below should be shared only with those you trust.\nThree false wine casks have been constructed to look identical to the rest. One conceals the passage, the other two open it.\nTo unlock the mechanism, first identify the casks with lanterns hanging closest to them. Each cask requires two knocks upon its face. Two casks, two knocks each. Surely even the most simple minded of your guards can remember that.\nIf these steps are followed correctly, you will hear the click of the mechanism in the aforementioned third false cask, the one in the western wall that conceals the old passage. It will remain unlocked for a period of time before automatically resetting. If you do not hear the click, I can assure you the fault is not with my mechanism and entirely with your method.\nSigned,\nBelrande, Artificer and Locksmith Extraordinaire\nP.S. Burn this letter after you have memorized my instructions. Don't post it up in the pantry like my last client. That defeats the whole purpose."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/contracts-and-bounties": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/contracts-and-bounties", "description": "List of dangerous creatures with bounties on their heads", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Contracts and Bounties", "text": "Fangsnout \u2014 Werewolf. Murdered three women near Mixwater Ford. Check.\nBarktooth \u2014 Rabid bear. Killed a skald as he traveled between Windhelm and Eldergleam Sanctuary. Check.\nSkinripper \u2014 Trollfather. Head of a line of man-eaters near Cragwallow. Check.\nDeathclaw \u2014 Giant Bat. Downed three herds of sheep near Kynesgrove."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/conversion-status": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/conversion-status", "description": "List of \"recruits\" captured by the Vosh Rakh", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Conversion Status", "text": "My latest batch of recruits has a lot of potential. A few won't be good for more than basic tasks, but several could become meaningful addition to our warrior caste. Once their conversion is complete and we've confirmed their loyalty.\nEach recruit's name and status follows.\nBurbesh gra-Mhorank. Died from complications after recruitment.\nUshbar. Claimed to be a believer on his way to voluntarily join us. Sent to Chambers of Loyalty for testing.\nThorkh. Cook. Awaiting conversion process. Simple-minded? Pretending? Pain will determine the truth.\nUnsulag. Appears to be a healer. We need healers, but she requires conversion, Give to Ushenat for time in the Icebox to help persuade her to our cause.\nGarhar. Mage. Used spells to kill one of my recruiters. Another candidate for Ushenat's Icebox.\nShaldagan. Some sort of artisan, but very feisty. Resists all of our attempts. Given to Graguz for reconditioning at the Forge.\nRazasha. Another artisan. Managed to slip away. I think a harpy got her.\nMorushna. Possesses impressive weapon skills but has a stubborn streak. Needs conversion. Another candidate for Graguz?\nBatasha. Stubborn old woman. Uses a walking stick. Moves with deliberate slowness. Perhaps she'll make a useful servant? Awaiting conversion.\nDrudun. Some sort of crafter. Appears cowardly. Fell off the recruitment wagon and lost in the nearby hills. Presumably eaten by a herd of echateres."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/cooking-mastery-easy-way": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/cooking-mastery-easy-way", "description": "One simple trick to becoming an expert chef", "author": "The Malachite Chef", "title": "Cooking Mastery, The Easy Way", "text": "Cuisinier By Appointment to His Lordship, Chancellor Abnur Tharn\nWhat is the secret to easy cooking mastery? It can be summed up in one word: Recipes! When you have a recipe for a dish\u2014especially if it comes from the Malachite Chef!\u2014it takes all the guesswork out of preparing a meal. So beg, borrow, or steal (I jest, I jest) some recipes, acquire the necessary ingredients, and combine as directed over a hot cook-fire. You'll be a master provisioner in no time!\nBecause I'll let you in on a little professional secret: nineteen out of twenty times, even top-ranked chefs do exactly the same thing! Oh, we may add a special spice here or there to personalize a recipe, but we know better than to ignore them entirely. A proven recipe represents the collective experience of generations of cooks. Whether you're making something as simple as a Cyrodilic sweet roll or as complicated as a screaming-cheese fondue, in the kitchen a recipe is your best friend!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/corgrad-statue-inscription": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/corgrad-statue-inscription", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Corgrad Statue Inscription", "text": "\u2014\u2014arion, our gre\u2014\u2014 ancestor a\u2014 found\u2014\u2014.\n\tWho\u2014 \u2014sdom preserves Co\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014 \u2014\u2014ture."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/corpse-garden-mission": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/corpse-garden-mission", "description": "Corpses grow like weeds in this place", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Corpse Garden Mission", "text": "We discovered how this wretched hole in the ground got its damned name. Not only is the Corpse Garden a place where the dead have been buried, but like the garden of any palace or country manor, the Corpse Garden grows undead creatures that spread like weeds. The place is crawling with animated skeletons of all kinds.\nSome employ blades and charge in to attack with cutting blows. Others use bows with as much accuracy as the best archers in House Redoran. A few deal in magic, and these might be the deadliest of the lot.\nAnd then there is the leader of this necropolis. It seems that the legendary General Celdien has returned from the dead to lead this army of skeletal soldiers. Why they have returned is anyone's guess, but they form a devastating force. Already, we've lost more than half our contingent. I'm beginning to think that the cost of this expedition has gotten too high. Maybe it's time for a strategic retreat. All I need to do is get past that sword-armed skeleton without falling to its deadly attacks.\nYes, that's all I need to do.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/correct-ways-slaying-ra-netu": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/correct-ways-slaying-ra-netu", "description": "The proper and holy way to dispose of these undead", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Correct Ways of Slaying Ra-Netu", "text": "Though a Ra-Netu is an abomination in the sight of Tu'whacca, and an offense to the godly of all peoples, it is not therefore to be treated with disrespect. For a human body is a sacred chalice, whether it be filled with the divine liquor of a mortal soul, or the profane offal of an unholy essence.\nTo that end the Ash'abah are charged with banishing the unholy essence while doing all that is needful to preserve the sacred chalice. And so we smite the Ra-Netu with the Seventeen Strikes, while uttering the Plea for Forgiveness.\nCorrect Ways of Slaying Ra-Netu\nStrike Twelve: The Comely Beheading\n\u2014 To feint with a high cut toward the approaching Ra-Netu\n\t\u2014 To step past the Ra-Netu on the opposite side while turning the blade\n\t\u2014 To utter the Plea for Forgiveness\n\t\u2014 To bring the forte of the blade down upon the Ra-Netu between the third and fourth bones of the neck, shearing through from behind\n\t\u2014 To utter the Humble Apology\n\t\u2014 To collect the severed head, lest it be misplaced in the affray, and set it near the body for later interment"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/corruption-blood": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/corruption-blood", "description": "A racist screed against all elves that aren't Altmer", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Corruption of the Blood", "text": "By A True Son of Aldmeris\nFor millennia we Altmer have safeguarded a divine legacy. We are all that remains of Old Ehlnofey. We were entrusted by the et'Ada to preserve what they sacrificed so much to create. Those who have remained true to our traditions have kept their heritage pure and our civilization unspoiled. Those who have strayed from the path the Aldmer laid out for us, on the other hand, have been debased. They have become degenerates, unrecognizable from the Divines that created them.\nThose who would call themselves Mer beyond these sacred Isles are nothing but the twisted remains of the Aldmer. When you look into the ruddy eyes of a Dark Elf, do you see anything of yourself there? Of course not. All you see are the ashes of something greater, utterly destroyed by the False Prophet Veloth and shaped into repugnant shadows by the Daedra he served. When you see the hideous, malformed Orcs, do you see a creation of the Aedra? No! What you see is only the feculence of Boethiah. Leavings so loathsome that they had to sculpt their own dung-god from filth to give their existence any meaning.\nBut it is not just these pitiable wretches we must learn from, for it is not only those who are foolish enough to be seduced by the Daedra who threaten to warp our way of life. Look upon the Wood Elf and see how even the misguided worship of the Divines can pervert our lineage. There is a difference between appreciating the forest and becoming a beast. Now these wayward cousins are barely more than savage barbarians who devour their own kin. I am grateful none of the First Folk remain to see how corrupted their perfection has become.\nThe lesson is clear. To stray, even slightly, from the ways of our ancestors will have dire consequences. Knowing that, can you acquiesce to throwing open the gates and welcoming corruption into these holy lands with a smile? The Unforeseen Queen is the harbinger of our destruction. We must resist her heresy!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/council-meeting-summons": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/council-meeting-summons", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Council Meeting Summons", "text": "Members of the Redoran Council,\nThe next meeting shall take place at the Redoran Consulate just outside of Balmora. Agenda items include current events in your territory, financial updates, house relations, presentation of pending issues, and propositions for adding items to future agendas.\nPlease bring all pertinent logs and records for presentation and review.\nHigh Councilor Meriath"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/counts-correspondence": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/counts-correspondence", "description": "The Count decides to use the Dark Brotherhood to ensure Kvatch's safety", "author": "Count Carolus", "title": "Count's Correspondence", "text": "Dearest Uncle,\nI'm not sure why I continue to write to you. I know you're gone. That you can't read my words and respond in kind. I certainly never send the letters. In fact, the box I keep them in is nearly full. Whatever the reason, writing my thoughts as though I'm talking to you calms me and helps me think through the problems of the day. And, oh, dear Uncle, do we have problems!\nI've told you at length about the vile and hateful Fortunata ap Dugal. Damn the woman, but she's a pox upon the Gold Coast! It's all I can do to keep her greedy claws from snatching Kvatch and devouring it whole. She's already ruined Anvil. I refuse to allow her to do the same thing here. And, I suppose, that's the reason for our latest correspondence. I just wish that I could benefit one more time from your wisdom and experience.\nI have decided to appeal to the lesser of two evils in order to save our beloved city. I never expected to consider the Dark Brotherhood to be a lesser evil, but that's the times we're living in. I've gathered all of the components necessary to conduct the foul ritual. I'm not looking forward to performing this gruesome ceremony, but I know of no other way to employ the services of these assassins. Uncle, do not be disappointed in me. I can truly claim that Fortunata has left me no alternative.\nWith any luck, the next time I write to you, it will be to tell you that Kvatch is safe again. I miss you, Uncle, every day.\nCarolus"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/couplets-admiration-dead": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/couplets-admiration-dead", "description": "A poem by a necrophiliac", "author": "Ferordomas", "title": "Couplets in Admiration of the Dead", "text": "By Ferordomas\nThere is no living beauty compares\n\tWith corpses and their glassy stares\nI feel a thrill when I gaze upon\n\tThe bodies of the dead and gone\nCadavers cannot refuse your request\n\tCold and silent, they suit me best\nMy heart begins to jump and dance\n\tAt the very thought of nec-romance"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/covenant-intelligence-report-2-502": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/covenant-intelligence-report-2-502", "description": "A Covenant agent researches the Scaled Court.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Covenant Intelligence Report 2, 502", "text": "I write this from deep inside contested territory. My mission remains as it has been since I crossed the border into Craglorn\u2014investigate the activities of the newly emerged cult called the Scaled Court and examine the cult's ties, if any, to the unaligned Iron Orc tribe. In my clandestine activities, I discovered an interesting location.\nNestled within the rocky hills that delineate the beginning of the region known as Upper Craglorn, I happened across a secret Iron Orc encampment within the ancient Nordic ruins scattered across the area. These particular underground chambers, built beneath the hilltop ruins of a crumbling tower, have been turned into a kind of training ground for the Iron Orcs. But it's what the Orcs are training that make this site particularly interesting. Trolls.\nThe Iron Orcs are training trolls to fight as a unit. What they plan to do with an army of trolls is anyone's guess, but it can't be beneficial to the Covenant.\nI found a large grate that looks down into this makeshift arena. I'm going to sneak closer to get a better look at what they are doing down there."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/cover-every-approach": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/cover-every-approach", "description": "A list of dignitaries to watch out for", "author": "The Hound", "title": "Cover Every Approach", "text": "Head to River Edge, near Silvenar. Avoid travelers as best you can. Watch the bridge. If you see any of the following dignitaries, send immediate word:\n\u2014The Green Lady\n\t\u2014Indaenir\n\t\u2014King Camoran Aeradan, traitor to his people\n\u2014Queen Ayrenn\n\t\u2014Prince Naemon\n\t\u2014Battlereeve Urcelmo\nThe following individuals are be killed on sight:\n\u2014Azareth, Vinedusk ranger\n\t\u2014Khajiit who goes by Daz, Dazum, Ruz, or similar name. Distinctive look, as previously discussed.\nWe must cover every approach.\nThe Hound"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/covert-note": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/covert-note", "description": "Coded instructions for a meeting", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Covert Note", "text": "We know where the missing villagers are, but we need your help. Due to the lockdown, no one can leave Narsis. Except you, that is. Yes, we know all about the special dispensation the councilor gave you.\nWe'd like to speak to you, but please understand that we need to keep our presence hidden. We couldn't just leave directions lying around for the House Guard to find. Instead, we give you this:\n\"Don't look to the sky. Follow the Star. She provides the key. She will guide your way.\"\nFollow these directions and we will speak soon"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/cracking-elden-tree-vault": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/cracking-elden-tree-vault", "description": "A somewhat complex and humorous plan for a vault robbery", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Cracking the Elden Tree Vault", "text": "Problem 1: Troll guarding vault.\n\tSolution: Fire hurts trolls. Burn troll with fire. Troll dies.\n\tNote: Burnt troll leads to troll fat. Bring bowls to catch melted troll. Resell to Mages Guild.\nProblem 2: Guards guarding vault.\n\tSolution: Fire distracts guards. Mages Guild makes kindlepitch. Set fires in Mages Guild. Guards leave to put out fire.\n\tNote: Burnt Mages Guild may prevent selling of troll fat. Find alternate buyer?\nProblem 3: Vault has exceptional magical protection.\n\tSolution: Find mage who devised security for vault. Threaten to burn mage OR burn mage, just a little. Slightly cooked mage reveals secrets.\n\tNote: Troll fat poultice soothes burns. Offer to sell troll fat to slightly cooked mage?"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-research-and-learning": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-research-and-learning", "description": "Defessus continues his never-ending chiding of Bardus", "author": "Defessus Lector", "title": "Crafting: Research and Learning", "text": "By Defessus Lector\nBardus,\nYou are, no doubt, celebrating my sudden turn to ill health. I don't believe that you purposefully poisoned me with that sweet roll you made, only because I don't believe you have the skill to make anything on purpose.\nNevertheless this brush with death has brought one element of your education to the fore. An element that I have previously avoided broaching because, to be frank, my lack of success in teaching you has provided me a well paying job, courtesy of your parents.\nI speak of how to improve yourself in your chosen skill.\nIn the end it is the responsibility of all crafters to train themselves. Most craftmasters just allow their apprentices to use their tools in exchange for work. They do not share their secrets.\nSo what to do once I am gone? Well, the traditional way is to make something and then test it until it falls apart. Then you see where the item failed and the next time you make it you avoid that mistake.\n\tOf course, making the same thing over and over, only to destroy it, really doesn't improve your skill very much. It also fills the store room with broken iron daggers.\nThe key is to gain examples of others' works, and see how they made them. See their points of failure and compare them to how you make the same item. And then make them better.\nThat is how you learn, both in crafting and in life. Study and research your failures and the failures of others. Take those lessons to heart and apply them the next time you craft something or solve a problem.\nAnd of course this approach fits in well with your own destructive personality. I am sure you will do well."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/creating-flame-powers-aetherius": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/creating-flame-powers-aetherius", "description": "A badly burned book about the joys of burning thins", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Creating Flame from the Powers of Aetherius", "text": "Destruction Magic at its Best\nStudents of spellcrafting refer to the base elemental magics of shock, frost, and fire as \"destruction\" spells. They are excellent for personal defense and wonderful at breaking things. However, one of these pillars reaches far above the others\u2014fire.\nFire consumes, turning order into chaos. A body exposed to fire becomes a pile of ash. Shock merely enervates the body of the victim, and frost saps it of the heat and life. Fire destroys.\nIn this volume, I shall teach you, the advanced student, how to get the most out of fire spells. How to engulf the mightiest of castles. How to reach into the depths of Aetherius and draw upon the power of a thousand suns.\n<The remainder of the volume is burned beyond readability.>"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crimes-daggerfall-covenant": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crimes-daggerfall-covenant", "description": "Propoganda against the Covenant", "author": "Aicantar of Shimmerene, Sapiarch of Indoctrination", "title": "Crimes of the Daggerfall Covenant", "text": "A Summary\nThe kingdoms of the Daggerfall Covenant are inhabited by mongrel upstarts who have cruelly suppressed our Direnni cousins: the High Elves who are the rightful rulers of northwest Tamriel. They were largely complicit in the rise of the dangerous and genocidal fanatics known as the Alessian Order. They allow their pirates to prey on Aldmeri shipping. The Bretons are also so indiscriminate that they have accepted the bestial Orsimer as allies. (Orsimer! Can you imagine?) Though capable of mustering substantial brute force, there is no evidence that these degraded hybrids have the wisdom or learning to deal with the mystical disaster now threatening the Mundus. They must be disciplined and subdued as rapidly as possible, so the Dominion can get on with the business of saving the world \u2026 and protecting it in the future."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crow-and-raven-three-short-fables": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crow-and-raven-three-short-fables", "description": "A parabel about shiny pins", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Crow and Raven: Three Short Fables", "text": "Crow and Raven were watching Cormorant dive for fish. \"I wish I could dive,\" said Crow. \"I like to eat fish.\" \"What?\" said Raven. \"Are you saying Cormorant can do something that you cannot? That's absurd. You're twice the bird Cormorant is.\" \"You're right!\" said Crow, and he dove deep into the water. Half a minute later he thrashed his way back to the surface. Raven stood nearby. \"Raven!\" gasped Crow. \"Why did you say that? I nearly drowned!\" Raven shrugged and said, \"I like to eat birds.\"\nCrow and Raven were watching Mourning Dove take a bath in a shallow pool. \"I believe I shall take a bath as well,\" said Crow. He flew down, splashed about in the pool, and then flew back up next to Raven. \"That's better!\" said Crow. \"Why is that?\" said Raven. \"Your feathers, and your beak, and your eyes are just as black as before.\" \"True,\" said Crow, \"but when I flew down to the pool it startled Mourning Dove, and she flew to her nest. Now I know where it is.\" \"Eggs for lunch!\" said Raven.\nCrow and Raven sat in the tree above the roadside inn, above a drover snoring in a drunken stupor. Crow cocked his head and said, \"That sleeping person has a shiny pin on his shirt.\" \"It's an award,\" said Raven. \"He got it for drinking ale. If you drink the rest of the ale in his mug, you'll get a shiny pin, too.\" \"Shiny pin!\" said Crow. He flew down to the table, drank the rest of the ale, and then fell over and couldn't get up. Raven flew down and plucked the pin from the drover's shirt. \"Shiny pin!\" she said, and flew off."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crow-bringer": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crow-bringer", "description": "Description of a champion with strange powers", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Crow Bringer", "text": "Crow Bringer was said to possess the powers of the Hagravens, allowing him to transform into a murder of crows and attack his foes from a hundred directions at once. It was perhaps inevitable that his reign as Champion would be cut short by one who utilized the powers of light. When Crow Bringer used his transformation powers against Hagrof the Righteous, a blinding light incinerated the crow forms, leaving nothing in their place but the Brimstone Crown itself.\nUsurped: Aleris the Shroud\nDefeated By: Hagrof the Righteous"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crows-spell-binding": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crows-spell-binding", "description": "A spell invoking dark powers to bind a victim", "author": "Crow", "title": "Crow's Spell of Binding", "text": "By the snare of Hircine\n\tAnd the trail of Namira's slime\n\tI bind this place\n\tThree times seven times\n\tBy Malacath's curse\n\tAnd the skull of Vaermina\n\tI bind (name of victim)\n\tTo this summoning arena\n\tBy the razor of Dagon\n\tAnd the chains of Molag Bal\n\tWhen the time is at hand\n\tYou will answer my call"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crows-wood-travelers-log": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crows-wood-travelers-log", "description": "A weary traveler seeks refuge in a cave", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Crow's Wood Traveler's Log", "text": "I've been wandering for what feels like days. My rations have long since run out, and the flesh of the creatures here somehow refuses to fill my belly. The weather grows cold, and the crows keep me up at night with their inane rambling and squawking.\nI've found shelter in this cave, writing by the light of the single candle I have left. With the luck I've been having, this is probably the lair of a bea\u2014"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crumbling-breton-scroll": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crumbling-breton-scroll", "description": "An ancient weapon uncovered", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Crumbling Breton Scroll", "text": "\u2026 so the Ayleids saw the error of their ways. They buried the weapon deep within the ancient tomb on what is now Betony \u2026.\n<A recent, handwritten note is scrawled below.>\nHow can I let Renwic do this? Arkay forbids it!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crumpled-arena-flyer": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crumpled-arena-flyer", "description": "Invitation to a Daedric \"jubilee of carnage and savagery\" in the Imperial City Arena", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Crumpled Arena Flyer", "text": "Come one, come all! Witness a jubilee of carnage and savagery!\nThe Imperial City Arena is open for business! Come day, come night, come anytime you feel the need to watch mortals bleed profusely, squirm in agony, then die in innovative and humiliating ways!\nThe festivities will continue unabated until the Planemeld is complete, or we run out of mortals.\nDon't wait! Howls of fury and screams of pain await!\nIn our Brutal Lord's name,\n\tDredaza the Ringmaster"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crumpled-note": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crumpled-note", "description": "A crumpled note about following the star", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Crumpled Note", "text": "We know where the missing villagers are, but we need your help. Due to the lockdown, no one can leave Narsis. No one, that is, except you.\nDon't look to the sky. Follow the Star. She provides the key. She will guide your way."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crumpled-note-desk": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crumpled-note-desk", "description": "Verrik tires of these recruitment efforts", "author": "Verrik", "title": "Crumpled Note in the Desk", "text": "Captain Balrook gro-Mak,\nYour continued efforts to recruit from the Bloodthorn tire me. I know the stock you military men put in honor, and loyalty, and \"your word.\" So let me give you my word: you approach my men again, and I will feed your heart to you before you die.\nBest of luck,\n\t\u2014 Verrik"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crumpled-nursery-rhyme": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crumpled-nursery-rhyme", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Crumpled Nursery Rhyme", "text": "A Thirst for Virtue, composed by a Friend\nSweet S'rendarr's Cradle,\n\tNo soup in the ladel,\n\tNo water for piping hot tea,\nThe puddles are shrinking,\n\tThe spirits are sinking,\n\tWhere went the spirits' mercy?\nNo tears were they crying,\n\tfor those who lay dying,\n\tWhen water flowed free as the breeze,\nOnly one deserves quarter,\n\tAnd that we'll reward her,\n\tThe sweet cat who survived the disease."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crush-slash-bash-and-stab": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crush-slash-bash-and-stab", "description": "A guide to picking your weapon(s)", "author": "Weapon-master Grutsug", "title": "Crush, Slash, Bash, and Stab", "text": "\"Grutsug,\" people ask me, \"What weapon should I use? There are just so many choices!\" Why, yes, my less-battle-savvy little friends, there are! But not to worry; you don't need to choose just one. In fact, if you're anything like me, you'll have much more fun with two!\nEven narrowing it down to two can be tough, but you should try out everything to see what calls to you. You have to be comfortable with your weapons, and they have to fit your own style. I've known soldiers and mercenaries who go their whole lives just using, say, a sword, and never trying anything else. Well, when I get them to lift a hammer for the first time, it's like a whole new world. And even better, they don't have to abandon that sword they know so well, just the shield. That's as it should be; shields are really a sign of fear and weakness, so don't even start using one.\nWeapons have their pros and cons, so you should know a little about each of them. Axes are great for folks with exceptional arm strength, but you need to be careful about getting the pointed parts stuck on or in your foes. Hammers are another good choice for the strong, and they're useful against heavy armor, crushing into the body beneath. They tend to be heavy, though, and may slow you down. Swords are a typical choice for beginners, but it takes work to maintain them in good shape and they take a bit of finesse to wield. I haven't used daggers much, but get in close enough using something else and they can help you seal the deal.\nFor me, it's axe and hammer all the way. With my axe, Grimdeath, in my right hand, I can deliver powerful, targeted strikes on anyone without heavy armor. When faced with a more protected foe, here comes my hammer, Skullcrash, using my signature jaw-wallop to knock 'em out cold and send their helms flying. Then it's right back to the axe!\nBy the way, you definitely need to name your weapons once you've picked them out. You can shout the names to scare your foes, and it'll help you develop a good, healthy relationship based on mayhem and the thrill of battle!\nNow, you're going to have to put in a good deal of training time to come anywhere near my expertise, but don't worry; every fight is just a new chance to learn. So get out there, grab a weapon, and then grab another. A whole world is waiting for you to crush, slash, bash, and stab the treasure and glory out of it!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/cub-tales": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/cub-tales", "description": "Beginnings of an age old tale", "author": "Ezzag", "title": "Cub Tales", "text": "For my brother Enak-do on his tenth birthday.\nYour brother, Ezzag.\nOnce, in the long-ago time, the people were content to live in the forests and hunt on the plains. They fed and ate and mated, and it was good \u2026 but it was also simple. The people saw the two-legs, sometimes, and knew they could do so much more if they could reach the skies.\nThen, one day, a wise old monk came to the people and said her name was Azurah. She had been watching the people, she said, and had decided to give them a gift. A special kind of candy, she said \u2026."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/culmination-and-success": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/culmination-and-success", "description": "", "author": "P", "title": "Culmination and Success", "text": "My dearest fellow followers of the Heritance,\nIt is with overflowing joy that I announce to you the culmination and success of all our efforts. Two recent and very fortuitous discoveries have paved the way for our great victory.\nThanks to the work of our necromancers deep within Naril Nagaia, we have raised up a powerful leader to bring about the end of the Dominion!\n\t\u2014 P"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/cult-screed": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/cult-screed", "description": "Instructions for Molag Bal cultists", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Cult Screed", "text": "Thus spake the Master, and so do I pass on his word:\n\u2014 Be cautious always. Extend the hand of the Master only in the shadows.\n\t\u2014 The abandoned mine is the perfect lair. (Well done, Athando.) Sacrifices to the Master should begin at once. Perhaps make use of these lava pools?\n\t\u2014 The Master has been promised a mighty gift for working on Molag Bal's behalf. He has said we shall be given the gift as well. Prepare. Prepare for this day!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/curanos-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/curanos-journal", "description": "Record of the war between the Ayleid citadels of Delodiil and Abagarlas", "author": "Curano", "title": "Curano's Journal", "text": "Molag Bal's ravenous hordes claw at the gates to Delodiil. The wave of undeath comes from the city of Abagarlas, as always. And Meridia has shown us a dire warning. Their king has begun plans for a magical rite. A ritual with a focus of power that will drain all the life from our home. Without some kind of dramatic act, Delodiil will be lost. King Cenedelin himself has asked me to form a plan. We have the power, the magicka, the skill. We must be able to stop these inhuman monsters.\n- - - - - - - -\nThe plan has begun. We've forged a weapon. It took \u2026 much sacrifice. But the weapon will stop the ritual, end this Mortuum Vivicus we've learned about. Our group has been tasked with entering the hated city of Abagarlas and ending the threat. Meanwhile King Cenedelin will ride against the dark city's walls. With his full host and the might of Meridia behind him, we can win the day.\n- - - - - - - -\nIt is done. King Anumaril's entire family is put to the sword, and Abagarlas itself destroyed by the righteous lightning of Meridia. The ritual is stopped but \u2026 we cannot go home.\nThe weapon was ruined in the attempt. We've salvaged the Prismatic Core at its heart, and carry with us the plans to construct the weapon anew. We are hunted by beasts of Molag Bal. We must get the crystal to safety, but we dare not lead these creatures home.\n- - - - - - - -\nAlmost a week, all the while hunted by death. We dare not return to Delodiil now. The beasts would destroy our home and take the crystal. Instead, we've determined we must try to hide the core and the tome of instructions. A Dwarven ruin called Mzeneldt is close by. It should suffice as a final resting place for these precious relics.\nI just pray Valasha is ready for what must be done."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/curative-batch-fifteen": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/curative-batch-fifteen", "description": "This batch creates mindless husks", "author": "Nostrum Breva", "title": "Curative Batch Fifteen", "text": "This batch of the curative was so close to perfect. Unfortunately, it was a tad too effective. The afflicted turned into violent husks far more quickly than we had hoped for at this point in the process. Perhaps this particular mixture will be useful later, when we need a quick influx of undead soldiers, but for now this batch won't suffice.\nAn interesting side effect of this version of the curative concerns the level of aggressiveness demonstrated by the newly created husks. They turn immediately violent and consider everything that moves to be an enemy. Or food.\nThese husks also demonstrated a total disregard for the husk scent we apply when working in close proximity to them. They attacked our workers as soon as they saw them, indicating that the scent no longer masks us from husks created with this version of the curative.\nLet's increase the cooking time by one hour and decrease the amount of wolf bile by twenty-five percent.\n\u2014Nostrum Breva"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/curative-batch-nineteen": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/curative-batch-nineteen", "description": "Finally, this batch is just right!", "author": "Nostrum Breva", "title": "Curative Batch Nineteen", "text": "Ah, finally. Perfection! The latest batch of curative starts the affliction, progresses the plague at a reasonable rate of speed, and then turns the afflicted into plague husks seventy percent of the time. Now we have a superior version of the plague and an effective way to dispense it.\nOf course, handing out curatives can be a slow process, especially in the larger towns and cities. Before we begin operations in Mournhold, we'll need a faster way to disperse the plague. But that's not my task at this moment. Besides, I'm sure that Alchemist Merdyndril is tackling this problem even as I write these notes.\n\tI should also record that I've perfected the husk scent. We can once again walk among the husks without fear of being attacked. I might even have an idea about a soap to remove the scent after we're finished.\nWe'll begin making larger batches of the curative immediately. In no time at all, we should be able to give everyone at the Serk and in the immediate vicinity a dosage of the curative. Don't worry, my mistress.\nEverything will happen, just as you have foreseen.\n\u2014Nostrum Breva"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/curative-batch-six": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/curative-batch-six", "description": "This tonic is useless", "author": "Nostrum Breva", "title": "Curative Batch Six", "text": "Useless! Absolutely useless! The curative isn't going to meet our mistress' demanding standards if it simply kills the person who ingests it! If we were trying to create a new poison, then we'd be wildly successful. But that isn't the task at hand.\nReduce the amount of dried corpse blood and try again. And watch the temperature in those cauldrons. One of them was dangerously close to boiling over\u2014and I for one have no desire to be drenched in a spray of boiling curative.\n\u2014Nostrum Breva"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/curators-list-sought-after-relics": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/curators-list-sought-after-relics", "description": "A list of relics wanted by Orsinium's Museum of Orcish History", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Curator's List of Sought-After Relics", "text": "The First Charter: Lost somewhere in the western mountains.\nDwarf Light: Legend has it the light was most recently used to explore Graystone Quarry.\nUzdabikh's Helm: Disappeared during the ancient battle of Fharun Pass.\nTrinimac House Idol: A tiny, ancient statue used for personal worship, last seen near Paragon's Remembrance.\nGuthrag's Mask: Last possessed by the Chief's Eye of Fharun Stronghold.\nFrostbreak Chalice: Tossed from the ruined fortress by Urfon Ice-Heart himself.\nAgra Crun: The blood shield of Malacath's faithful, lost in the wilds of Wrothgar.\nNuzava's Anvil: Owned by the fabled smith who defined the Morkul style, it disappeared on the Icy Shore as Nuzava traveled home.\nThugbo's Map of Clans: Recovered from a destroyed historical text but lost on the road to Orsinium.\nHeart of Zanadunoz: A titan's phylactery, lost near Honor's Rest.\nTorc of Baloth Bloodtusk: A heavy necklace worn by the Wild Boar, it disappeared from history near what is now known as Honor's Rest.\nHorn of Beasts: Broken, its remains probably lie in or near the ruins of Old Orsinium.\nCenturion's Signet: Known to have been present in the Orc centurion's home by the Two Rivers in recent times.\nThukhozod's Bracers: Prized by the necromancer and thought to be hidden in his sanctum.\nLiquid Silver: A rare metal once mined from the depths of Argent Mine.\nBlack Quill: Fabled bardic writing instrument, connected by legend to Coldperch Cavern.\nEye of Zthenganaz: A cursed Dwarven device, lost near the ruins of Rkindaleft.\nHammer of Glass: Carved from a single crystal and lost in the ruins of Old Orsinium.\nScepter of the King-Chief: An Orc relic currently possessed by a lowly but powerful riekr.\nMad Urkazbur's Ice-Effigy: History in the making from an ogre elder."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/curious-manifest": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/curious-manifest", "description": "List of arcane ingredients", "author": "Jhaziran", "title": "Curious Manifest", "text": "Please handle with care. Contents of this package are fragile and potentially volatile.\n- One Breton Skull\n\t- Six Troll Ears, Dried\n\t- Five Budles of Bone Meal\n\t- Twelve Bleeding Crown Caps, Dried\n\t- Five Cups of Fire Salts\n\t- Twelve Black Anther, Dried\n\t- One Daedra Heart\n\t- One Calcinator\n\t- Two Alembics\n\t- One Black Marble Mortar and Pestle\nThis one would very much like to receive a receipt of sale someday. I deliver the goods to the apparition as instructed, but I do not know if they reach their destination! Perhaps I would be better off doing business with others.\n-Jhaziran"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/curnards-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/curnards-journal", "description": "Curnard is reformed...or is he?", "author": "Curnard", "title": "Curnard's Journal", "text": "5th, Sun's Dawn\n\tFor too many years I have borne the guilt of my selfish ways. I've never felt so proud and so free as today, the day we dedicate ourselves to serving others.\n24th, Sun's Dawn\n\tI look at the wagons laden with goods and gold headed for Hallin's Stand and I feel proud. I can't help but notice how much more we've been able to accumulate each week. I believe the Divines are blessing us for our selfless ways.\n4th, First Seed\n\tI'm throwing another feast tonight for the boys. After all our hard work, we deserve it. I think I'll wear the new tunic I got, the one with the gold laces. I need to maintain my authoritative status.\nI just realized, that little house on river I always wanted in Wind Keep\u2014if I just hold back a few more gold drakes this month, I think I can actually buy it!\n17th, First Seed\n\tIt seems that many of the people who accepted our aid in Hallin's Stand didn't even need it. They weren't impoverished, just greedy. Some of them took the clothes and food we sent and sold them at the marketplace!\nThis month, I'm not going to bother sending so much. Just means I can retire to that little house in Wind Keep that much sooner!\n28th, First Seed\n\tI've just realized we're missing a great opportunity when we rob these noblemen. If we take a few of them and ransom them back to their families, next month we can double our take! And it'll serve them right, the parasites."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/cyrodilic-collections-needs-you": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/cyrodilic-collections-needs-you", "description": "Advertisement and instructions for joining the Cyrodiilic Collections", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Cyrodilic Collections Needs You!", "text": "Cyrodilic Collections, the foremost society dedicated to the retrieval, restoration, preservation, and return of Argonian antiquities to their rightful owners in Murkmire, seeks the best and brightest to join its ranks. If you care about history and seek to correct the mistakes of the past, then Cyrodilic Collections wants you. Please look for Concordia Mercius in Vulkhel Guard, Davon's Watch, or Daggerfall. Help us beat the competition and preserve Argonian culture."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/daedra-dossier-cold-flame-atronach": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/daedra-dossier-cold-flame-atronach", "description": "A recounting of the origin of these unique Atronachs", "author": "Denogorath the Dread Archivist", "title": "Daedra Dossier: Cold-Flame Atronach", "text": "Ordinary flame atronachs have been forbidden in our realm since that cretin Markynaz Zexxil conjured one in the palace and its heat damaged Dilogene's \"Ice Fangs No. 4,\" one of the Master's favorite sculptures. Their banishment, however, left a certain hard-to-define gap in our realm's carefully-balanced esthetic of beautiful pain\u2014an absent voice, if you will, from our chorus of terror and despair.\nI admit it: I missed the way their lissome forms curveted and twirled at the edge of vision, their expressions blank of all emotion but for the avid hunger of the arsonist. I thus made it my purpose, when the duties of my office could spare me, to find a substitute for the exiled flame atronachs, some other conjurable entity that would replace the charismatic peril of their presence.\nAvailing myself of the spare transliminal scanner stored in the Tower of Lies, I set myself the task of reviewing by survey all the Oblivion planes within range of its infralux pseudocortex. I scanned over 37,000 different planes, chaos realms, and pocket realities before I found what I was looking for in DOP 9497.15, known to its curious inhabitants as \"The Fourth Sinus of Takubar.\" I immediately recognized the plane as a sort of decalescent inversion of DOP 6, \"Infernace,\" well known to conjurers of all races as the home plane of the common flame atronach. In place of the extreme heat of Infernace, where molten rock flows like water, in Takubar (as we may call it for the sake of brevity) the bedrock is subjected to a cosmic degree of cold, causing its material bonds to slide apart and the stone to flow like cold lava.\nIt was there in Takubar that I finally saw, in the insect-eyed lenses of the transliminal scanner, images of gyrating atronachs that burned with cold blue flames. I had found what I sought.\nAfter that, modifying Koron's Peremptory Summons to address Takubar rather than Infernace was a matter of mere routine. Within seven shifts I had succeeded in summoning what we may term a \"cold-flame atronach\" to Coldharbour. As anticipated, rather than giving off unpleasant waves of heat, this was an elemental of cold fire, and there was a steep drop in ambient temperature in its presence.\n\tThis, of course, was all to the good.\nIn behavior my cold-flame atronach behaved in all ways like an ordinary flame atronach\u2014and was just as irritable, casting blue fireballs at any who threatened it, and conjuring pillars of cold flame at need. This perfectly fills the niche of hovering sentry formerly filled in Coldharbour by their igneous cousins, and that is the main function they now fulfill in our Master's realm."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/daedra-dossier-titans": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/daedra-dossier-titans", "description": "An accounting of the origin of Daedric Titans", "author": "Denogorath the Dread Archivist", "title": "Daedra Dossier: The Titans ", "text": "I have compiled this account at the request of Kkrohziz the Greater Titan, who was peeved to find that the Library of Dusk contained nothing at all related to the origins of our most imposing Coldharbour residents.\nTherefore let the tale be told\u2014and it is fitting that this be done, for in our Lord and Master's upcoming Planemeld campaign, the Titans will be released for the first time upon the hated mortals of Tamriel. And fear and doom shall follow in their footsteps.\nThere are, or have been, or will be a race of beings upon Nirn called Dragons, creatures of almost Daedra-like majesty. They naturally sought domination over the mortals of Nirn, and achieved a measure of success therein.\nBut upon a time that was and will be the ever-pernicious mortals of Tamriel betrayed these their natural masters, and those who were not slain were driven into hidden refuge. Then one such Dragon, a greater Dov named Boziikkodstrun, exerted his nigh-divine will in an attempt to fly beyond the borders of the Mundus. And though he did not succeed, his effort was valorous and remarkable, and impinged upon the attention of Molag Bal himself.\nOur Lord and Master noted this feat of will-force, considered that the race of Dov had achieved dominion over much of Nirn, and thus spake unto this Boziikkodstrun, offering him a place of honor and privilege in his domain of Coldharbour. And the Dragon, his resources all but spent by his efforts, did accept and agree.\nSo Molag Bal opened a window between worlds to allow the Dragon to pass into our Lord's realm, where Boziikkodstrun was granted the privilege of being bound in chains of cold ebon iron, and set in a place of honor in the nethermost depths of the Tower of Lies. For our Lord and Master desired to know the secrets of the Dragons' dominance over the mortals of Nirn. Long was the Dragon tortured and interrogated. But the dragon was haughty, and indignant at his ill treatment, and no matter what torments were brought to bear, the intransigent Boziikkodstrun refused to utter so much as a single syllable in his abrasive language to reveal the secrets of the Dov.\nVexed by this obstinate defiance\u2014and rightly so\u2014our Lord and Master at length waxed wroth and avenged himself upon Boziikkodstrun by slow consumption of the flesh from his bones, yea, every gobbet. Then Molag Bal regarded the skeleton of the Dov and laughed. \"If I cannot have the secrets of the Dragons,\" he thundered, \"then I shall make Dragons of my own\u2014Dragons even mightier than those of Nirn!\"\nHe ordered the skeleton taken to the Vile Laboratory, where it was infused with the blood-of-darkness that reawakened it as a Vestige. During this process Molag Bal ordered that the skeleton be somewhat adjusted and improved to a plan of his own devising, forming a bone-frame even mightier than that of its forebears. Then it was plunged into the deepest pool in the Azure Chasm, there to absorb the blue liquescence that would give our Lord's new servant its body, brain, and brawn.\nWithin a nanaeon a mighty creature drew itself from the chasm plasm and shook itself free of the primordial slime. In response to the summons of our mutual Lord and Master, it ascended to the plateau and bounded nimbly up the Endless Stair. The first of the Daedric Titans was among us.\nFrom its very first performance in the grueling Test of Fealty it was clear that this new morphotype would be a valuable addition to our Lord and Master's forces of dominion. Its strength was unparalleled, its savagery remarkable even among the war-slaves of Molag Bal, and its native intelligence was impressive (though perhaps not on the level of its forebears).\nMost fearsome of all is the Titan's ability to speak a spell of flaming essence-drain that can debilitate an opponent with a single word. Theoretically, if the utterance were interrupted before completion, the spell would recoil upon its caster, but that eventuality is remote."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/daedra-worship-ayleids": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/daedra-worship-ayleids", "description": "An overall negative view of Daedra Worship among the Ayleids", "author": "Phrastus of Elinhir", "title": "Daedra Worship: The Ayleids", "text": "The reasons why the Daedra are reviled and their worship forbidden among all the civilized races of Tamriel are well understood, and as this series of papers will show, are grounded in historical events. The opinions of the so-called academic who styles herself \"Lady Cinnabar\" notwithstanding, the evidence supporting my assertions is incontrovertible and generally accepted by all accredited scholars of antiquity.\nThe Aldmeri, who'd been first to begin organized worship of the Aedra, were also the first to venerate the Daedra Lords. This probably began on a small scale among the Ayleids, those Elves who left the Summerset Isles to create splinter cultures in central and southwest Tamriel\u2014in some cases specifically to evade the strictures of Aldmeri regulation, which forbade (among many other things) the worship of Daedra.\nAs Ayleid culture flourished, drawing ever further from Alinor, in the last millennium of the Merethic Era Daedric worship took hold and spread among the Heartland High Elves. The Aedra were still widely revered, with probably a majority of the Ayleids continuing to pay them homage, but cults devoted to the various Daedric Princes sprang up across Cyrodiil, tolerated and then celebrated. Unlike the Chimer, the Ayleids made no distinction between \"good and bad\" Daedra\u2014indeed, even some of the more heinous Princes received mass veneration, especially when their worship was adopted and endorsed by Ayleid kings and aristocrats.\nWidespread Daedra worship among the Heartland Elves was particularly ill news for the tribes of Nedic humans who were then arriving in Tamriel. The Ayleids enslaved the immigrant tribes of Men, at first occasionally but then systematically, and the Nedic people found themselves subject to masters who, in many cases, worshiped the Princes\u2014including those who encouraged slavery, domination, and cruelty. Under the Ayleids, the human thralls found themselves the subjects of such Daedra-inspired \"arts\" as flesh-sculpture and gut-gardening. In fact, the revulsion for Daedra-worship that pervades most human cultures in Tamriel probably originated in this period.\nThe Alessian slave-revolt of the early First Era was largely fueled by desperate rage against the Ayleids' Daedra-inspired cruelty. The Ayleid kings who aligned themselves with the rebellion were largely Aedra-worshipers, which in part explains why, once the Ayleids were overthrown, Queen Alessia incorporated the leading Elven Aedra into the First Empire's worship of the Eight Divines. Her new Empire of Cyrodiil outlawed the worship of the Daedric Princes, and Daedra-worshiping Ayleids were exterminated wherever they were found.\nThus, by the middle of the First Era, large-scale Daedra-worship was extinct in central Tamriel, surviving only among the Chimer in the northeast of the continent, and among the Orcs (ever a pariah people) who worshiped Malacath (or Mauloch) as their god-ancestor. Elsewhere, among Men, Mer, and Beast-Peoples, Daedra-worship survived only at the level of cults which were more-or-less forbidden. Lady Cinnabar's assertions to the contrary are so much horsewash."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/daedra-worship-chimer": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/daedra-worship-chimer", "description": "A very bias account of the world's creation and the start of Daedra worship", "author": "Phrastus of Elinhir", "title": "Daedra Worship: The Chimer", "text": "The history of Daedra worship by the Elves once known as the Chimer provides a valuable object lesson in the dangers of traffic with the so-called Lords of Oblivion. It's a tale of peril that modern-day apologists for Daedric worship, such as Lady Cinnabar, would do well to heed.\nLet's begin with a few facts that not even the Shrew of Taneth could deny. The Aedra (the Gods, the Divines) created Nirn out of the chaos of Oblivion. They assumed physical form within the mortal plane\u2014the Mundus\u2014and according to Elven myth were the direct ancestors of the Aldmeri. The Aedra were the natural objects of holy reverence for the Elves of the Dawn Era, and the first organized religions venerated these Divines.\nHowever, after Nirn was born the Aedra withdrew from their creation, becoming distant, aloof, and disinterested in the affairs of mortals. But beyond the Mundus, in the infinite variation of Oblivion, there were other godlike entities of great power known as the Daedra (literally the \"not-Aedra\"), who began to take a malign interest in the realm the Aedra had created. Some of the more powerful of these entities, the so-called Daedric Princes, who ruled entire Oblivion planes of their own, were nonetheless jealous of the mortals of Nirn\u2014for they had inherited the Aedric capacity of creation. This ability was beyond the Daedra who, though masters of change and metamorphosis, create nothing new that has not been before.\nHowever, one quality the Daedric Princes shared with the young mortals of Nirn was a lust for power in all its forms. This corrupting desire is the foundation of all mortal worship of the Daedra: the Princes offer power in return for service and worship. Most often this power comes in the form of knowledge, the most seductive and least perilous-seeming of the Daedric temptations.\nTo show how seductive this temptation can be, reflect upon the early Aldmer of Summerset. Though in their arrogance they considered themselves the lineal descendants of the Aedra, nonetheless the first large-scale religious sect espousing Daedra-worship was born in the heart of Summerset itself. There, in the rainbow shadow of the Crystal Tower, the so-called Prophet Veloth communed with the Daedric Prince Boethiah and agreed to accept her gifts. He inscribed the Velothi Prophecies, which expounded the doctrine of worship of the \"Good Daedra\" (Boethiah, Azura, and Mephala), along with ways to propitiate and negotiate with the \"Bad Daedra\" (Molag Bal, Malacath, Sheogorath, and Mehrunes Dagon).\nTo the more foolish of the Summerset Aldmeri, the arts and skills the Good Daedra offered to teach them seemed more useful than the maxims and platitudes of the priests of the Aedra, and a number of Elven clans accepted Veloth as their prophet and guide. When the Sapiarchs of Alinor rightfully prohibited this schism, Veloth led the clans loyal to him out of the Isles and across the seas to the far side of Tamriel, where they colonized the domain now known as Morrowind. The followers of Saint Veloth, who became known as the Chimer, were willing to trade the paradise of golden Summerset for the purgatory of ashen Morrowind, all in return for the illusory \"gifts\" of the Daedra. The Chimer built mighty temples to Boethiah, Azura, and Mephala, and established the traditions of worship in Morrowind that were later co-opted by the Tribunal.\nAs even the beginning student of history knows, this large-scale dabbling with Daedra led inevitably to warfare and catastrophe. Chimer civilization fell at the Battle of Red Mountain, and the curse of Azura, their erstwhile mistress, transformed the brilliant Chimer into the sullen and haunted Dunmer. After that time Morrowind, under the Tribunal, turned its back on worship of the Daedra \u2014 but by then the damage had been done.\nToday, the Daedra are feared and abhorred across the length and breadth of Tamriel \u2014 and rightly so. Yet, despite the clear lessons of history, some misguided souls still insist that traffic with Daedra Lords can be tolerated, even accepted. To those such as you, Lady Cinnabar, I say: beware. What pact with the Daedra ever ended well?"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/daedric-text": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/daedric-text", "description": "Description of an illegible Daedric text", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Daedric Text", "text": "<The writing swirls before your eyes. You cannot read this.>"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/daedric-tome-portals": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/daedric-tome-portals", "description": "Description of how portals and sigil stones work", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Daedric Tome of Portals", "text": "A gate to Oblivion may be locked or sealed to everyone except Daedra and the portal's creator. If a gate is created and a sigil stone placed on one side the gate will remain open. But if some part of the sigil stone were to be broken off, and cross over the gate, the portal will become a one way path to all but the one who controls the sigil shard.\nThe shard must be attuned using basic elements, only then can one pass into the gate. Once per basin, in this exact order: Burn, then bury, then drown."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/daggerfall-covenant-true-heirs": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/daggerfall-covenant-true-heirs", "description": "A pamphlet exalting the Covenant and denouncing its rivals", "author": "Erystera Ligen", "title": "Daggerfall Covenant - The True Heirs", "text": "Rejoice, peoples of northwest Tamriel! Though the rest of Nirn is afflicted by war, madness, and Daedric horror, the glory and honor of the Reman Empire lives on in the Daggerfall Covenant. We remain true to the primacy of trade, the principles of freedom, and worship of the Divines.\nIn the face of a world of enemies, the trade powers of the Iliac Bay have formed a powerful alliance. High Rock, Hammerfell, and Orsinium stand as one, united under the rule of the High King in Wayrest. Orc and Breton craftsmanship make the alliance an economic powerhouse, and the military strength of the Orcs and Redguards make us a force to be reckoned with. Our kings join our people in longing for the return of a Tamrielic Empire, along with the economic prosperity that goes with it. There is only one way to make sure the right Emperor rules once more from the Imperial City: we must attend to it ourselves.\nThe current so-called \"Empire of Cyrodiil\" is a sham, a twisted mockery of Reman's glorious Second Empire. The charlatans who sit on the Ruby Throne openly mock the Divines and court the Lords of Oblivion, the Enemies of Man. Even the once-promising Emperor Varen fell victim to Daedric corruption, his reforms swept away by the puppet-masters of the Daedric Cabal.\nThe Daggerfall Covenant is the only true heir to the principles of the Second Empire. In the name of the Divines, we must conquer Cyrodiil and restore the glory of Reman's legacy. The cancerous Daedra worship that has corrupted Cyrodiil and threatens all Nirn shall be cleansed from Tamriel. We shall found the Tamriel Covenant, that all kingdoms may have a seat at the Grand Council under a new Imperial Dynasty.\nForward, soldiers of the Covenant! Freedom for all peoples in the name of the Divines! For a new Empire and a new era of law and justice!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/daggerfall-covenant-missive": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/daggerfall-covenant-missive", "description": "A missive warning against Air Atronach rumors", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Daggerfall Covenant Missive ", "text": "Recent disturbances along the trade route south of Dragonstar are under investigation by Daggerfall Covenant High Command.\nOrders are to investigate a network of caves near the road, which the locals call Hidden Dunes or Buried Sands, and report back on any bandits found there.\nNote that High Command considers recent rumors of giant warriors of sand and stone to be unsubstantiated. Such rumors should not be spread and should be treated with utmost skepticism."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/daggerfall-market-shopping-list": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/daggerfall-market-shopping-list", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Daggerfall Market Shopping List", "text": "Grocer\u2014three blood oranges\n\tTailor\u2014crescent-emblem cloak\n\tFlorist\u2014black roses with thorns"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/damars-ledger": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/damars-ledger", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Damar's Ledger", "text": "Sold:\n\tGoat, 10 gold\n\tWinter grain, 30 gold\n\tLeather scraps, 2 gold\n\tTrades:\n\tRed wine for Yanurah plus 10 gold\n\tBought:\n\tGoat, 2 gold\n\tRed wine in cask, 50 gold"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/damp-page": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/damp-page", "description": "A depressing poem", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Damp Page", "text": "When winter comes\n\tthe old men sigh\n\tthey know their day\n\thas come to die.\n\tWe all must drink\n\tpush to the brink\n\tour hopes then sink\n\tgone in a blink."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dancing-among-flowers-fine": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dancing-among-flowers-fine", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Dancing Among the Flowers Fine", "text": "(A Khajiit Dancing Song)\n[Phrasing Style One: Slightly Staccato]\nDancing among the flowers fine\nSinging a song that calls to him\nMoonlight serenade at my whim\nDancing among the flowers fine\nSleeping within the dreaming deep\nChasing the butterflies he sends\nHoping that summer never ends\nSleeping within the dreaming deep\n[Phrasing Style Two: Each Line Legato]\nVistas unfold before me now\nSharing their secrets joyfully\nThey're bright in hue yet darkly dire\nThey warm me with softly glowing fire...\n[Phrasing Style One]\nMoving within the worlds between\nFollowing all the gemstone birds\nYearning to hear his whispered words\nMoving within the worlds between"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/darenwes-log": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/darenwes-log", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Darenwe's Log", "text": "(This log details shipments of Lodge equipment/gear and notations of members receiving passage.)"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dark-contract": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dark-contract", "description": "Letter from a Worm Anchorite", "author": "Thallik Wormfather", "title": "Dark Contract", "text": "Your wait is over, mother. Your family will be made whole again. Every act you've taken, every life you've stolen, has been leading up to this. Take Nimalten in the name of the Worm. And your sweet family will once again walk the waking lands.\n\u2014 Thallik Wormfather"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dark-elf-dispatch": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dark-elf-dispatch", "description": "Lob wants his men to take down a Dunmer witch", "author": "Lob the Cleaver", "title": "Dark Elf Dispatch", "text": "Keep an eye out for that Dark Elf woman everyone keeps talking about. We need to figure out who she is and why she's aiding the giants. We also need to ascertain the truth about the powers some of the scouts have claimed to see her utilize.\nDagroot claims he shot an arrow into her heart, but to no effect.\nI know, Dagroot's got the brains of a horker. But still. Watch and learn what you can about her. If the opportunity presents itself, attack. Her presence makes me nervous, and you know what I do to the troops when I'm nervous. Let's solve this, now!\n\u2014 Lob the Cleaver"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dark-elves-dark-hearts": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dark-elves-dark-hearts", "description": "An argument for the evil of Dunmer, as illustrated by nix ox taming techniques", "author": "Bakozog gro-Shakh", "title": "Dark Elves, Dark Hearts", "text": "From the Journal of Wandering Laborer, Bakozog gro-Shakh:\nOrcs catch it in the tusks, no question. Doesn't matter where I go. I could be hauling rope in Wayrest or laying bricks in Bergama. Wherever I travel, I hear it. \"Savage.\" \"Brute.\" \"Beast.\" It used to really tear me up. I'd look at my reflection in a bowl of water or a shop window and think \"you know, maybe they're right.\" But not anymore. Not since I moved to Vvardenfell.\nYou want to get a good look at what \"savage\" really means? Come spend some time with the Dark Elves. Sure, they clean up well. Everything here is clean and polished and pressed. But if you pull back the curtain even a little, you'll see evil. And I don't mean a clumsy, childish evil. I'm talking about real evil - lusty, red-eyed, and smiling like a Daedra. Enslavement, murder, deception, cruelty - name a sin and you'll find it venerated. Name a Daedra and you'll find it worshiped. This island is corrupt, straight down to the marrow. Don't believe me? All right, let's talk about bugs.\nVvardenfell is crawling with insects - some as small as a babe's toenail, and some as big as mammoths. That alone wouldn't be cause for concern. I mean, the echatere back home give some folks the creeps. Most of these critters are hard to look at. But the real horror doesn't come from the bugs themselves. It comes from what the Dark Elves do to them.\nTake the nix-ox. Never seen one? Picture a flea the size of a horse, propped up on six hairy stilts. Got it? That's a nix-ox.\nFar as I can tell, they're gentle creatures. They don't bleat or grunt like other pack animals. They just wander about, grazing on hardened mushrooms - cracking them open with their great big mandibles and lapping up the fungus inside the husk. Gentle giants, they are. Too gentle, I think.\nEarly in the morning, while the beasts are still dozing, six or seven Dark Elves will descend upon the herd like a pack of greedy welwas. It doesn't take long for them to goad a dozen or so nixes into wheeled ox-pens. The leader of the crew will take a quick survey of the catch and mark their chitin with black chalk. Prices, you see? Of course, some don't get marked. Some are too frail or two small to be of use. Rather than letting the creatures go, one of the wranglers will jab them with a spear. Right beneath the chin, see? Then they kick them out of the pens and leave them to rot. The sad thing is that these are the lucky ones.\nNix-oxen that make it to market are divided into two groups: Nix-Tovo, and Nix-Rima. Tovo oxen tend to be older and larger. You can snatch up two or three for the price of a single Rima. For the longest time, I couldn't figure out why. I finally asked one of the wranglers to explain why larger, stronger nix-oxen are so much cheaper.\n\"Hide's too thick,\" he said. \"Can't pry it.\"\nYou see, an older nix's chitin is thick as oak bark. It cracks under pressure. Younger nixes' hides, however, are more pliable. With a bit of pressure, you can separate the plates to see the organs underneath. This access is what makes Rima oxen so valuable.\nWealthier farmers hire specialists called drenlyns to \"train\" their nix-oxen. It's a softer way of saying \"break.\" The drenlyn bores into the poor beast's back with an obsidian drill, and pries open the flesh to expose a bundle of nerves resting in a cavity they call the \"drive chamber.\" They set a few hook-like prods into the viscera, and then reset the plates. It takes the better part of an hour, but by the end, the ox is docile as a lamb. It just stands there. No restless pacing, no nervous twitching of the mandibles. Not alive, not dead ... just a husk.\nI won't lie, it's hard to watch. But you know what the scariest part is? The scariest part is how bored everyone looks. I looked into one of those drenlyn's eyes as he pried a nix-ox's back apart, and you know what I saw? The same face my daughter makes when she milks an echatere. A weary, disinterested, nothing-face. Totally oblivious. Immune to shame.\nI'll admit, I'm no green-child. I'll polish off a rack of spare ribs and wash it down with pig-gin without batting an eye. But digging around inside a beast's brains? Turning it into a zombie? It takes a black heart to do something like that. And you know what? Dark Elves do it all the time."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dark-magic-three-pretexts": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dark-magic-three-pretexts", "description": "A defense of Dark Magic by a scholar and practicioner", "author": "the Aureate Serpent", "title": "Dark Magic: Three Pretexts", "text": "It is unfortunate that the arcane discipline known as \"Dark Magic\" has acquired such a pejorative name in the common parlance, as it tends to relegate the practitioners into that class of sorcerer slanderously known as \"evil wizards.\" To counteract such dangerous libels, it is handy to keep in mind the following three pretexts:\nPRETEXT THE FIRST: Insofar as it negates, drains, and preys upon the magicka and power of other mages, knowledge of Dark Magic is a necessary safeguard that enables the reining in of rogue sorcerers.\nPRETEXT THE SECOND: Insomuch as it replicates some of the deleterious effects of spells cast by inimical Daedra, knowledge of Dark Magic is a useful tool for learning how to counter said effects.\nPRETEXT THE THIRD: Whereas its application is regarded by the ignorant as frightful and loathsome, use of Dark Magic to inflict condign punishment upon transgressors is a deterrent to crime and therefore a social good.\nThat should silence the critics."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dark-ministrations": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dark-ministrations", "description": "A Vaermina cult in a dark place ponders its place in the scheme of things", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Dark Ministrations", "text": "This old tomb is the perfect place to practice our craft. No one will venture down here past the mine.\nThe offerings are complete. The Lady of Nightmares has opened the way. We've been given our own small pocket of this sacred realm. Construction begins tonight to create a suitable temple in Her honor \u2026.\nOnce the temple is complete, we expect the realm will expand soon. The Unspeakable Sigil's consecration went just as we had hoped. My son will live forever at Her side.\nScamps, the smallest of Her children, are appearing in the temple and deep in the mine. This can only be a sign of Her love and favor!\nHowever, I had expected our pocket of Oblivion to be twice the size it is now. Is the Lady displeased with us? Some of us have hatched a plan to sacrifice more of the faithful. Surely that will capture Her attention and earn our just reward!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dark-ritual": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dark-ritual", "description": "Recent scribblings over an ancient scroll", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Dark Ritual", "text": "<This ancient scroll is covered with indecipherable symbols. A more recent note has been added to the page.>\nOf course! It's so simple! Soon the dead that walk shall be mine to control! Perhaps after I conquer Eastmarch, I'll return to overthrow our own bumbler of a High King."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dark-ruins": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dark-ruins", "description": "One explorer becomes obsessed with Daedric ruins and secrets", "author": "Cyrillo the Deranged", "title": "Dark Ruins", "text": "They call me mad and have branded me insane. I accept the title they have given me, and wear it proudly as a badge of honor. For the name I now carry shows that I was willing to enter the dark places, over and over again. To brave the ruins of madness and chaos to bring knowledge to the world. The Three protect me from the things I have discovered, and keep my mind clear long enough to share this knowledge with the world!\nI found my first Daedric ruin when I was a very young man. It was a hidden shrine from the past, dedicated to the Anticipations of the Tribunal. I was rounding up a number of kwama scribs that had wandered away from the herd. I followed the scribs into a hidden canyon, when I heard the pathetic cry of a lost scrib emerging from a crack in the canyon wall. I squeezed through the narrow gap to find that it opened into a large depression in the rock. But no simple cave had I wandered into. No, this space was full of carved stone that at once filled me with both wonder and deep fear. For the oppressive blocks of set stone were decorated with patterns of webbing and spider motifs, and the statue at the center of the space depicted none other than the Anticipation of Vivec, the Webspinner Mephala.\nWords carved into the base of the statue burned into my memory, never to be forgotten: \"Lust is love. Lies are truth. Death is life.\" They frightened me, but also excited me. The experience set me on a path that led to madness and knowledge, though where one ends and the other begins, I cannot tell.\n\tI returned to my family's kwama mine, escorting the scribs back to the herd. Then I packed a bag, said goodbye to my mother, and started my search for the hidden shrines and dark places where the Daedric ruins wait to be discovered.\nNot every ruined shrine waits beneath the ground. Some hide in open places that are far from inhabited lands. These might be overgrown with vegetation or lost within the folds of rolling hills and craggy canyons. I have even visited a shrine that was hidden beneath the sea.\nThose shrines located in underground caves and complexes tend to appear more ominous and oppressive than those happened upon in the great outdoors, but that could just be the influence of the ever-present darkness and awareness of the crushing walls of stone. Some of these ancient shrines stand alone in the darkness, but others serve as the focal points of great complexes, many of which are guarded by elaborate traps or vicious monsters\u2014or both.\nI have visited more than a dozen of these Daedric ruins, and a few were not as abandoned and unused as the Temple would have you believe. There are still those among us who honor and even worship the Daedric Princes, and I discovered more than a few fresh offerings and sacrifices in these dark places. But the true secret, the knowledge that has earned me my new name? For that, I must ask you to keep an open mind and a firm resolve, because what I am about to reveal may sound unbelievable. It may even sound like the beginning of a campfire story, one intended to frighten before bedtime. But I assure you, this is no story.\nWhat did I find at that first shrine to the Webspinner that I wandered into by luck and accident? What drove me from my parents' home in search of other Daedric ruins? It was the voice. Beautiful and seductive. It whispered to me, told me secrets that I never should have heard. The whispers emanated from the ancient, cracked statue. They echoed from the cavern walls. They reverberated through my mind, building in volume and intensity until they drowned out my own thoughts and memories. They frightened me, these whispers. But they also excited me, and I had to hear more. But the Webspinner was done with me. She imparted her words of wisdom and dark secrets and fell silent. The place was once more abandoned, desolate.\nIf I wanted to hear more\u2014and I so very much wanted to hear more\u2014I would have to find another shrine. And so my life's work was set before me. I had to find other secret places, other hidden ruins. I had to hear what the other Daedra had to say. Not because I worship them. Not because I had fallen under some dark spell. No, I needed to learn more so that I could share it with the world. It was imperative! It was my duty! But, as I write these words, I find that I can't reveal what the whispers told me. My hand won't put the whispers to paper. It refuses no matter how hard I try!\nIt seems I have failed in my mission. All I can do is tell you that there are secrets to learn. But it appears that if you want to learn them, you'll have to make the trip yourself. Visit the dark ruins, listen to the whispers. Perhaps you'll fare better than I, and the whispers won't drive you mad."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/darkest-darkness-0": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/darkest-darkness-0", "description": "A description and brief history of Daedra and their veneration and summoning", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Darkest Darkness", "text": "In Morrowind, both worshipers and sorcerers summon lesser Daedra and bound Daedra as servants and instruments.\nMost Daedric servants can be summoned by sorcerers for very brief periods within the most fragile and tenuous frameworks of command and binding. This fortunately limits their capacity for mischief, although in a few minutes, most of these servants can do terrible harm to their summoners, as well as their enemies.\nWorshipers may bind other Daedric servants to this plane through rituals and pacts. Such arrangements result in the Daedric servant remaining on this plane indefinitely, or at least until their bodily manifestations on this plane are destroyed, precipitating the return of their supernatural essences to Oblivion. Whenever Daedra are encountered at Daedric ruins or in tombs, they are almost invariably long-term visitors to our plane.\nLikewise, lesser entities bound by their Daedra Lords into weapons and armor may be summoned for brief periods, or they may persist indefinitely, so long as they are not destroyed and banished. The class of bound weapons and bound armors summoned by Temple followers and conjurers are examples of short-term bindings. Daedric artifacts like Mehrunes' Razor and the Masque of Clavicus Vile are examples of long-term bindings.\nThe Tribunal Temple of Morrowind has incorporated the veneration of Daedra as lesser spirits subservient to the immortal Almsivi, the Triune godhead of Almalexia, Sotha Sil, and Vivec. These subordinate Daedra are divided into the Good Daedra and the Bad Daedra. The Good Daedra have willingly submitted to the authority of Almsivi. The Bad Daedra are rebels who defy Almsivi, treacherous kin who are more often adversaries than allies.\nThe Good Daedra are Boethiah, Azura, and Mephala. The hunger is a powerful and violent lesser Daedra associated with Boethiah, Father of Plots\u2014a sinuous, long-limbed, long-tailed creature with a beast-skulled head, noted for its paralyzing touch and its ability to disintegrate weapons and armor. The winged twilight is a messenger of Azura, Goddess of Dusk and Dawn. Winged twilights resemble the feral harpies of the West, though the feminine aspects of the winged twilights are more ravishing, and their long, sharp, hooked tails are immeasurably more deadly. Spider Daedra are the servants of Mephala, taking the form of spider-humanoid centaurs, with a naked upper head, torso, and arms of human proportions, mounted on the eight legs and armored carapace of a giant spider. Unfortunately, these Daedra are so fierce and irrational that they cannot be trusted to heed the commands of the Spinner. As a consequence, few sorcerers are willing to either summon or bind such creatures in Morrowind.\nThe Bad Daedra are Mehrunes Dagon, Malacath, Sheogorath, and Molag Bal. Three lesser Daedra are associated with Mehrunes Dagon: the agile and pesky scamp, the ferocious and beast-like clannfear, and the noble and deadly Dremora. The crocodile-headed humanoid Daedra called the daedroth is a servant of Molag Bal, while the giant but dim-witted ogrim is a servant of Malacath. Sheogorath's lesser Daedra, the golden saint, a half-clothed human female in appearance, is highly resistant to magic and a dangerous spellcaster.\nAnother type of lesser Daedra often encountered in Morrowind is the atronach, or Elemental Daedra. Atronachs have no binding kinship or alignments with the Daedra Lords, serving one realm or another at whim, shifting sides according to seduction, compulsion, or opportunity."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/darkest-divinities": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/darkest-divinities", "description": "A song about the Daedra and their spheres", "author": "Skald Skullsplitter", "title": "Darkest Divinities", "text": "Though man and mer knew sin\n\tsince time began,\n\tThe Daedric Princes\n\twatch each mer and man\n\tAzura lights the day\n\tfrom dawn to dusk\n\tHermaeus Mora\n\tcalls up memories\n\tHircine's Wild Hunt\n\ttracks blood and scent and musk\n\tBoethiah\n\tpursues conspiracies\n\tFoul Malacath\n\tremembers every curse\n\tMehrunes Dagon\n\tknows destruction's wrath\n\tMad Sheogorath\n\thums a nonsense verse\n\tStern Jyggalag\n\tsets order on its path\n\tDark Molag Bal\n\ttakes blood and souls as wealth\n\tVaermina lives\n\tin worlds that dreamers see\n\tThough none can match\n\tunseen Norturnal's stealth\n\tOr hedonistic\n\tSanguine's revelry\n\tFor every troubled soul\n\tthat must aspire,\n\tA Daedric Prince\n\tcan grant each dark desire"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dawn-exalted-viper": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dawn-exalted-viper", "description": "There is a new leader among the Scaled Court.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Dawn of the Exalted Viper", "text": "Regent Cassipia is no more! Now I am the Exalted Viper, elevated to the ranks of the Celestials and imbued with the power to change the world! Or, at least, I soon shall be.\nThanks to the secrets I have unveiled within these ancient Nedic ruins, I have replicated the process by which the Nedes were able to imbue mortal creatures with celestial energy. Using techniques perfected by the alchemists of the Scaled Court and the runescribers of the Iron Orcs that were tested upon the mantikoras and the trolls, I have developed the means to transform my mortal frame into a conduit for Aetherial power.\nOf course, none of this would have been possible if not for the discovery\u2014or re-discovery\u2014of the primal element called red brittle by the locals and nirncrux by my alchemists. The crimson substance can be extremely dangerous in its natural state. But thanks to the refinement processes we were able to reproduce from the ancient texts, the stable version of the element provided the key to making the transformation possible.\nNow we stand upon the shores of a new world. Once the process is complete and I emerge from the spawning pool as the Exalted Viper, I shall be an equal to the Celestial Serpent. I shall be like a god! But not a fickle or absent deity. Oh, no. The Exalted Viper shall be present and active, destroying the imperfections of the old world while creating a perfect new realm that I shall rule over.\nAnd my love, the bright and innocent Little Leaf, shall be at my side. Perhaps I'll even elevate her. After I have secured my own place, of course."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dawnbreak-decree": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dawnbreak-decree", "description": "Decree instructing citizens on proper etiquette before the Queen", "author": "Tenyemanwe", "title": "Dawnbreak Decree", "text": "Citizens of Dawnbreak\nWith the upcoming visit of Queen Ayrenn herself, please be sure that you are current in the upkeep of your homes and yards.\nWe will be having a town meeting to go over proper etiquette and dress for the event. I expect perfect attendance and will be taking note of any who are absent.\nSigned,\n\tTenyemanwe\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/daynilas-corpse-kebob": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/daynilas-corpse-kebob", "description": "A cannibal's recipe", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Daynila's Corpse-Kebob", "text": "A favorite of mine. Works for all Mer and Men, although Argonians can be tough and somewhat gamey. In general, avoid the tail.\nCut the most convenient and tender parts of the corpse\u2014including eyeballs and internal organs\u2014into gobbets. Skewer these on brochettes, interspersed with chunks of dried fish or snake, then cook over an open fire to desired doneness. Best served with red wine!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dead-mans-drop": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dead-mans-drop", "description": "Just what waits within?", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Dead Man's Drop", "text": "A map, a plan\n\tA way to get in.\n\tWill I find treasure?\n\tOr just a skull's grin?"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dead-sword-disciples-note": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dead-sword-disciples-note", "description": "A blademaster's school is infiltrated by a dark student", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Dead Sword-Disciple's Note", "text": "I don't understand. He came to us as a student. He made it to the last trial, and then he killed the master while the rest of us looked on, powerless to do anything.\nHow does he have such control over us? It is some sort of trickery. Some sort of poison, perhaps, spread throughout the school in secret, turning disciple against disciple.\nWith his dying words, the master told us to get word to Kasura at the Abbey of Blades. I have tried to escape, but the others have blocked my way. They will kill me before I ever make it beyond the walls.\nIf anyone finds this, please, turn back. Leave this place and warn the others. Get word to Kasura, if you can, that the school of blades at Rahni'Za has fallen.\nAs for me, death is preferable to what awaits me if I remain \u2026."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dead-water-riddle-fragment": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dead-water-riddle-fragment", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Dead-Water Riddle Fragment", "text": "\"In a garden in a maw of stone.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dealing-quitters": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dealing-quitters", "description": "Quitters are bad for morale. One bandit boss has a plan to cut down on turnover rate.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Dealing with Quitters", "text": "No organization can grow and evolve without some level of attrition. In our line of work, however, such activity requires special attention. People can't be allowed to just join the Bitterhand Bandits and then decide to quit a little while later. Not only could this endanger our secrets, but think of what it might do to our reputation. If the general public hears that people are quitting, they'll think we've lost our edge. Next thing you know, people will be trying to be heroes and that will make robbing them that much harder. Next time someone comes to you wanting to quit, let's use that opportunity to make an example of them. Just make sure to detain them until I arrive and then we'll put on a show for everyone. It'll be educational and fun at the same time."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dealing-werewolves": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dealing-werewolves", "description": "One less than heroic strategy for dealing with Lycanthropes", "author": "Venustinius Perquitienus", "title": "Dealing with Werewolves", "text": "Whether you're stationed at a garrison at Camlorn or suffering Nord inhospitality in Skyrim, an Imperial subject must know the signs of the terrible affliction of Lycanthropy. With attacks by creatures infected with Sanies Lupinus on the rise, it is your duty to learn the following and behave accordingly.\nIs there an overabundance of canis root in casks and market stalls? Have you witnessed the locals rubbing this root on neighboring trees and fences? Have you followed strange animal tracks, only to find them disappear? Do the village temples house beggars with vivid nightmares or with deep claw wounds to their faces or bodies? Does the wolf howl when there are none to be found? Then werewolves (or worse still, werebears) may be active in your jurisdiction.\nWerewolves are sturdy hybrids with powerful jaws and claws on both hands and feet. They stand three hands taller than an Orc and exhibit severe bloodlust. If you encounter one, attempt to flee at all costs unless you feel supremely confident in your arms and armor. If possible, thrust the indigenous population into the path of the lycanthrope, so it sates its appetite on them while you retreat to cover or your mount.\nIf you must fight a werewolf, arm yourself with any silver weapon, as these have proven extremely effective. However, prepare for severe gash wounds and the possibility of becoming infected. Should this occur, report to your superior for final rites to Arkay and immediate execution."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dear-escort": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dear-escort", "description": "", "author": "Andewen", "title": "Dear Escort", "text": "Dear [Player Name]\nIf you're reading this, you've finally caught up to me. As I was translating the stone before you, a door opened ahead. I waited for you, but I can't risk the door closing. Just read the inscription on the stone, and you should be able to follow. I think you'll find it easy enough to translate.\nMay the Stars guide you, Andewen\nP.S. Don't worry, these bones aren't mine."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dear-johun-letter": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dear-johun-letter", "description": "Idesa leaves her man for someone exotic", "author": "Idesa", "title": "Dear Johun Letter", "text": "Dear Johun,\nAre you keeping warm? I hope so. I started to write about how much I miss you, but now I have something else to tell you. I met someone. I'm sorry to break it to you this way, but I couldn't wait to tell you.\nHe's a Dark Elf, an envoy with the Ebonheart Pact. He came into the forge and we started talking. One thing led to another, and \u2026 well, you know.\nHe's exotic and exciting. And he's very good to me.\nWell, I need to go now. Bye!\n\u2014 Idesa"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/death-no-laughing-matter": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/death-no-laughing-matter", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Death is No Laughing Matter", "text": "To whoever bound a skeever's soul to a senche-tiger cadaver and let it burrow into the mammoth corpse for a lark. I'm going to make it gnaw you to pieces when I find you."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/death-hunts-await": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/death-hunts-await", "description": "A naga call to war", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Death-Hunts Await", "text": "Ojel. This season is ripe with Xul-Motas, Death-Hunts, that will wither on the vine before our warriors can best them all. We of the Naga-Kur call upon the brave among you to join us.\nIf you do not fear death, Bolu awaits you in Lilmoth."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/deathbringer-orders": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/deathbringer-orders", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Deathbringer Orders", "text": "Protect the Anguish Gem. That is your primary responsibility. No: that is your only responsibility. When the last soul has been consumed, send word to the Reaver's Citadel and we will send someone to collect the gem."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/deckhands-log": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/deckhands-log", "description": "One deckhand tries hard to impress his notorious captain", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Deckhand's Log", "text": "Day 48:\n\tToday has to be the day. I've been deckhand for the Rusty Dagger for nearly two months and been tagging along behind the Black Oath for the better part of that. Captain Blackheart must've taken notice of me by now. I almost singlehandedly stormed the deck of that Stros M'kai merchant and slit the throat of the captain myself.\nDay 56:\n\tI saw him up close and by Oblivion he's scary. The stories of Captain Blackheart's hollow stare are not exaggerated. I thought I was ready, but I'm not sure anymore. His crew don't act like the rest of us. They return to the Haven after every voyage and we never see them until the next trip. They must have something special in there.\nI am still going to try to get in there and join Blackheart's crew officially.\nDay 71:\n\tI know I impressed him now. Iron Heel came to me last night and told me that the Captain's going to want to see me tomorrow. This is it, my big chance."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/decoded-coin-message": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/decoded-coin-message", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Decoded Coin Message", "text": "5th Last Seed\n\tE.Celd,\n\tMessage received. Northpoint prepared.\n\tR.M."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/deep-thoughts-chief-gloorot": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/deep-thoughts-chief-gloorot", "description": "Truly, the greatest sage of our age.", "author": "Chief Gloorot", "title": "Deep Thoughts of Chief Gloorot", "text": "Why does the sky look like my echatere's fur after she's rolled in the mud?\nTrinimac or Malacath? Why choose? I say we just ignore them both and let bygones be bygones.\nIf I were a tree,\u00a0 I think that would be the perfect existence. Except for the birds. I hate birds.\nTusk off or tusk you? Why choose?\nIf I had a think-wife, she could think my deep thoughts while I do other things.\nWhere does the wind come from? And where does it go? These are the things that keep me up at night.\nShould Orcs bow down to a king? Come to think of it, if he was a real Orc king, he'd never ask us to bow down anyway. Orcs don't do that sort of thing.\nIt's always best to spin turnips before eating. They taste better when they're dizzy.\nWinterborn: Threat or annoyance?\nArgonians: People or luggage and outer garments that deliver themselves?\nI think the radish is the perfect food, spicy and crunchy. Damn. Now I'm hungry."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/defaced-mages-guild-reward-notice": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/defaced-mages-guild-reward-notice", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Defaced Mages Guild Reward Notice ", "text": "Posted:\nSignificant Reward for Dwarven parts recovered from ruins of Mthanz, for study by the Melanion of the Mages Guild.\n[This poster has been defaced with a lewd drawing of a High Elf, labeled \"Melanion.\" Beneath the drawing is scribbled:]\nLiars and cheats! I delivered six Dwarven gears and all I got was a lousy book. It was one I'd already read, too."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/defaced-nedic-prayer-book": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/defaced-nedic-prayer-book", "description": "A collection of Nedic prayers surrounding the Guardian constellations", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Defaced Nedic Prayer Book ", "text": "To the heavens above, we raise our eyes, our hands, and our hearts.\nDo not turn your light away from us, not in our hour of need,\nInstead, send forth the brightness of Aetherium and illuminate the darkness of the night.\nYou who bring order to the seasons,\nEver-shining Guide to the weary traveler.\nHave mercy on us.\nProtect us from the invader who ravages, the famine that wastes, the fire that burns,\nAnd lead your faithful ones toward your promised glory.\n____\nThese Souls we offer, the light of frail bodies\nTo the ever-burning light of the heavens.\nGuide these Souls through the long night\nAnd let them not stumble in their ascent\nUp the Golden Stair.\nTake these Souls, freely given,\nAs an offering of holiness,\nAnd a pledge of faithfulness from your people.\nDo not forget us in our hour of need,\nBut be for us Guardians,\nAs long as faithfulness endures.\n____\nGreatest Guardian, Shining Warrior\nGird your armies with strength,\nAnd let their spears fly true.\nFor the strength of your arms is great,\nAnd the enemy trembles at the sight of your mighty shoulders.\nDo not let us succumb to fear,\nBut only set your aegis before us and we shall stand unconquered.\n____\n[The remaining pages have been torn out. In the back of the book, someone has scrawled the following:]\nOh, bastard stars,\nBorn in a brothel.\nYour mother was a lewd woman.\nYour father had a disease.\nMen worshipped you and lost the appetite for love.\nWomen cried out to you and grew beards.\nYou led your children into pits,\nAnd let them wander into snares.\nThe Elves slaughtered them and took their women for concubines.\nThe Mer mocked them and took their men for slaves.\nTheir blood is on your hands,\nIt runs in rivers from your lips.\nOh silent stars, oh merciless stars,\nBehold your reckoning is at hand;\nAt hand is the judgment for your transgressions.\nThe Mother of the Water has risen in the desert\nAnd the Deathlands have brought forth flowers.\nLet the people turn away from false lights;\nLet them embrace true mercy.\nFor I have slept a thousand nights and never dreamed,\nBut by day I have heard the glorious singing\nOf Shada and her Daughters, hope to all the Nedes.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/defiant-graffiti": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/defiant-graffiti", "description": "Anonymous inspirational message", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Defiant Graffiti", "text": "Don't let them break you. That's what they want. Stay strong. Bide your time. Keep lifting your picks until the day you bury it in their skulls."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dels-claim": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dels-claim", "description": "The Veiled Queen's forces receive direct orders", "author": "The Veiled Queen", "title": "Del's Claim", "text": "My loyal subjects,\nI hearby order the Veiled Heritance to enter the mines of Del's Claim. Kill any mer that you find inside the mine, and then strike out at the queen's forces from your new place of safety.\nOur time draws near.\nThe Veiled Queen"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dels-claim-report": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dels-claim-report", "description": "", "author": "Lennoon", "title": "Del's Claim Report", "text": "Captain,\nUnless you have any further objections, we're going to claim that mine. The queen has commanded it, and we have the forces needed to deal with any problems. It's far enough from the road out of Vulkhel Guard that we don't anticipate any problems.\nFeel free to drop in any time, but we should require no further assistance in this matter.\nYrs,\n\t\u2014 Lennoon"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/deleyns-mill-order-form": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/deleyns-mill-order-form", "description": "Order form describing exactly what Lord Diel wants", "author": "Morric Miller", "title": "Deleyn's Mill Order Form", "text": "Order for Purchaser: Lord Alain Diel\nStrong, sturdy lumber to be used in the construction of shipping crates. Crates need to be large enough and strong enough to protect fragile harpy eggs and to contain live harpies. Needs enough lumber to construct a dozen such crates. To start!\nLord Alain Diel has requested a large order and indicates that he will be placing reorders in a timely manner. Remember that any details pertinent to this order are for fulfillment purposes only. Do not spread any rumors concerning what His Lordship may or may not be hunting in the wilderness outside Daggerfall.\nThis order is to be handled with the utmost care and urgency. Let's make sure he receives the highest grade wood that I'm charging him for.\nIf you have any questions, please see me at the mill.\n\u2014 Morric Miller"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/delivery-schedule-and-manifests": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/delivery-schedule-and-manifests", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Delivery Schedule and Manifests", "text": "10th, Sun's Dawn\n\tEvermore: 7 crates of food, 5 crates of clothes, household goods, jewelry (10 pcs.)\n\tHallin's Stand: 4 crates of food, livestock (4 pigs, 2 goats, 10 chickens), 200 gold drakes\n\tCurnard's stash: 1 crate of food, 1 crate clothing and other goods, 10 drakes\n\t28th, Sun's Dawn\n\tEvermore: 4 crates of food, livestock (2 pigs, 2 goats, 5 chickens), 100 gold drakes\n\tHallin's Stand: 5 crates of food, 2 crates of clothes, household goods, jewelry (6 pcs.)\n\tCurnard's stash: 3 crates of food, 3 crates clothing and other goods, 1 pig, 4 chickens, 60 drakes, jewelry (3 pcs.)\n\t9th, First Seed\n\tEvermore: 2 crates of food, 1 pig, 3 chickens, 10 gold drakes\n\tHallin's Stand: 1 crate of food, 1 crate of clothes, household goods, jewelry (2 pcs.)\n\tCurnard's stash: 7 crates of food, 5 crates clothing and other goods, 3 pigs, 4 goats, 14 chickens, 150 drakes, jewelry (9 pcs.)\n\t27th, First Seed\n\tEvermore: Return hostages and claim 300 drakes.\n\tHallin's Stand: Return hostages and claim 500 drakes.\n\tCurnard's stash: 11 crates of food, 8 crates clothing and other goods, 11 pigs, 14 goats, 25 chickens, 1500 drakes, jewelry (19 pcs.)"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/delver-notes": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/delver-notes", "description": "A puzzle in an old ruin is deciphered", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Delver Notes", "text": "We've reached an impasse. A room of doors. Every door we've tried seems to return back to the entrance. There must some clues in these ancient runes.\n\t- - -\n\tTwo weeks and still blocked by the doors. Kireth thinks we're a day away, but she's been saying that for a week.\n\t- - -\n\tA Companion patrol showed up late last night, talking about the Worm Cult. We haven't seen a robe yet, but \u2026 we'll post guards. Keep watch. At least the big one is keeping Kireth motivated.\n\t- - -\n\tWe've done it. My damned sister is a genius. She translated the runes:\n\"Deep sea swimmer. Surfaces on the clear day. Far overhead, eyes watch. Watch on the wing. Far below, scales rasp. The venom pulses. All are as one in the sight of our lord Alduin.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/delves-deeplys-note": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/delves-deeplys-note", "description": "Please don't mix up the supplies!", "author": "Delves-Deeply", "title": "Delves-Deeply's Note", "text": "Captain Rela:\nA reminder.\nKeep the crystals away from the arcane cargo. The cargo contains alchemical supplies that behave badly when the two are in proximity.\nI won't be responsible for the death of your mer should they mishandle them.\nStay moist!\n\tDelves-Deeply"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/demon-east": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/demon-east", "description": "The story of how a Khajiiti hero defeated a dragon menacing Elsweyr", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Demon from the East", "text": "Kingdoms stretch across the sands\n\tPeace warms our joyful lands,\n\tA heart that shines through the dark\n\tWrapped in the threads of time.\nA demon rises from the East\n\tFollowed by a crimson beast,\n\tOh the earth is torn and scorched\n\tOur people know but fear now.\nA warrior raises sword to the sun\n\tCalling warriors to follow,\n\tAlkosh guides threads yet unspun\n\tHis champion goes forth.\nSoldiers come from foreign shores\n\tTo join us in our dreadful war,\n\tTaking stride by the warrior's side\n\tAnd prepare for battle.\nCrimson beast nobly bestows\n\tA horn to defeat his vile foe,\n\tIts call forces fiends to fall\n\tVictory seems so close now.\nThe warrior makes one last stand\n\tAgainst the dreaded demon,\n\tIce and blood staining peaceful sands\nNighttime fills the sky.\nChains and spells bind the demon tight\n\tLocking it away in darkness,\n\tSoldiers celebrate in new dawn's light\n\tAnd peace reigns once more."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/den-thieves-part-two": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/den-thieves-part-two", "description": "A tale of the Red Asp", "author": "the Porphyry Caryatid", "title": "Den of Thieves, Part Two", "text": "The gentleman in the blue velvet tunic slowly pushed open the low door of unpainted wood and peered into the smoky dimness beyond. \"What do you want here?\" demanded a voice from near at hand.\n\"Er \u2026 I've come by the Thieves' Highway,\" the gentleman said, almost questioningly.\n\"What of it?\"\n\"I \u2026 I was told to say that, and also 'Tonight flies the Father of Owls.'\" The gentleman's fine lips curved in a tentative smile. \"That's all right, isn't it?\"\nThe nearby voice gave a noncommittal grunt, then said, \"Your business?\"\n\"I wish to speak to \u2026 to the Red Asp.\"\n\"Sure. He's in the back, behind the brew vats.\" A shadow in the smoke made a vague gesture, swirling the thick vapors. The gentleman coughed, and began to make his way across the dim room.\nThe chamber was a common room of sorts, with a dozen or so tables and three-score mismatched chairs, some of which were occupied with drinkers although somewhere far above the noonday sun shone down on the desert city of Hallin's Stand. The ceiling was low and the gentleman was tall, so he had to weave his way between the low-hanging oil lamps that contributed most of the air's burden of smoke. \"Beetle oil,\" he said to himself, sniffing, \"and the cheapest possible grade.\"\nBeyond the brew vats the air was a bit less dense, but it was also even darker than in the common room. A single lamp burned upon a table against the far wall, its flame reflecting from a carafe, a flagon, and the embroidered edging on the vest of someone sitting on a chair, leaning back against the wall.\nThe gentleman approached the table, stopped at a respectful distance and asked, \"You are \u2026 the Red Asp?\"\nThe front legs of the chair came down with a thump. \"That's what they call me,\" said a low voice from above the vest. \"Traditional title for the doyen of the Hallin's Stand Thieves Guild. And you?\"\n\"My name \u2026 isn't important,\" the gentleman said. \"But my business\u2014is.\"\n\"How important?\"\nThe gentleman drew a sack from his waistband and dropped it on the table. It clanked. The Red Asp opened it with a finger and stirred the contents for moment. \"This would qualify as payment for important business. A down payment, anyway,\" he said. \"What's the target?\"\n\"The Governor of Hallin's Stand.\"\n\"You're in the wrong place, friend,\" said the Red Asp, with just a tinge of regret. \"We don't do assassinations. You want the Dark Brotherhood. Or maybe the Morag Tong\u2014they specialize in regicides.\"\n\"Oh, I don't want you to take the governor's life,\" said the gentleman. \"I want you to steal his honor.\"\n\"His honor?\" the Red Asp said. \"How do you mean?\"\n\"I want you to steal the governor's signet ring, the one the king put on his finger when he received his appointment. It's the symbol of his right to rule. And I want you to take it,\" the gentleman said, \"during the Ceremonial Dance at the Governor's Ball.\"\nThere was a long pause, and then, \"Deal,\" said the Red Asp. \"Of course, I'll have to handle the matter personally. None of my cutpurses or burglars are up to this sort of job.\" He lifted the carafe and poured fragrant pomegranate wine into the flagon. \"Will you drink on it?\"\n\"Both of us,\" the gentleman said, \"from the same vessel?\"\n\"It's how we do things here.\"\n\"In that case,\" said the gentleman in the blue velvet tunic, \"I'd be delighted.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/deregors-lost-goods": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/deregors-lost-goods", "description": "A list of things lost in a wreck", "author": "Deregor", "title": "Deregor's Lost Goods", "text": "\u2014 Knives, Bosmer bone (2)\n\t\u2014 Dice (3)\n\t\u2014 Cards (pack)\n\t\u2014 Book: Great Harbingers of the Companions.\n\t\u2014 Book: Antecedents of Dwemer Law\n\t\u2014 Book: Words of the Wind\n\t\u2014 Quill and Ink (black)\nCaptain Lerisa,\nThere were other possessions lost in the wreck, but these are missed the most. Getting back some of what we lost will do wonders for crew morale.\n\u2014 Deregor"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/desperate-time": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/desperate-time", "description": "A scorned husband plots revenge", "author": "Lorn", "title": "Desperate Time", "text": "Captain,\nYou have to help me. My wife has fallen in with this Argonian \u2026 filth. She and I came to Darkwater to escape the fighting, the conflicts, and the damned Ebonheart Pact.\nBut still, Jorunn's cowardice spreads everywhere. Argonians in my new home! I won't let it stand. Friendship with this Hssith \u2026 Nvarr isn't the woman I married.\nI need men. Send me men and let me take the town. I don't care where they come from. I'll even take some of those filth following Fildgor around.\n\nSend me the men. I'll do the rest.\n\u2014 Lorn\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/destroyers-rest": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/destroyers-rest", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Destroyer's Rest", "text": "Herein lie beneath the soil,\n\tDestroyer's bones, no more to toil,\n\tBeneath the starry skies above,\n\tOr rend from us our hearthfelt love.\n\tFor many years the bones brought fear,\n\tTo little Elves, both far and near,\n\tBut when Destroyer took its rest,\n\tA seed we laid within its breast.\n\tIn time, we hope its roots grow deep,\n\tAnd 'neath the soil will come to keep,\n\tDestroyer's body here interred,\n\tFor many years, 'til spoken word,\n\tForgets his name and brings us peace,\n\tAs only time shall slay this beast."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/destruction-or-distraction": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/destruction-or-distraction", "description": "A pamphlet lambasting armchair mages", "author": "Humius Acidinus", "title": "Destruction or Distraction", "text": "It is popular, especially among young upstarts who wish to establish themselves as intellectual contenders, to dismiss the study of harnessing the destructive potential of magicka as crude or simplistic. Those who embrace this argument prefer to spend time researching obscure theoretical topics instead of the more practical applications of magic.\nIn truth, these pedants accomplish little beyond writing tomes of their own to refute the postulations of their contemporaries, wasting their time arguing hypotheticals with no basis in practical magical study. They are so distracted trying to outwit one another in their imaginary field that they never produce substantial advancements. It is my conviction that this self-indulgent behavior obstructs progress (concrete gains such as spell discovery) in arcane studies.\nI do not deny that magic is deep and complex, and our understanding is far from complete. However, I question the value of arguments over theories with very little basis in observable phenomena before we fully grasp less complicated subjects. In my years of practice, I have found that studying manifestations of magicka that seem the simplest often provides the clearest look at the nature of magic. Without a complete understanding of what seems to be basic, how could anyone advance magic and bring benefit to practitioners and Tamriel at large? I implore you, reader, to take care that you do not fall into the category of the fruitless intellectual."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/devastation-scream": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/devastation-scream", "description": "A Dragonguard plaque found in Dov-Vahl shrine in Anequina", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Devastation is the Scream", "text": "MIK WANO FEL TET PRINUC\nNO TALON, NO TAIL, NO FANG\nDEVASTATION IS THE SCREAM\nTO SUNDER STONE AND ARMIES\nKEEP SILENCE WITH OUR FOE\nLET THE SHOUT DIE IN THE THROAT\nMIK WANO FEL TET PRINUC"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/development-hollow": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/development-hollow", "description": "Documents attempts to create living arginians from dead eggs", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Development of the Hollow", "text": "Our Hist recognizes the waste, the selfishness of the other tribes. They enjoy a plentiful existence in their sun-kissed lands. Their Hist want for nothing and neither do they. Even their eggs are in such excess supply that their Hist has no use for them. Whole nests cast aside. Forgotten. They've never known the pain of having entire clutches swallowed by the leviathans of the deep mire. They forget that withered roots swell with life given the right care. I will find a purpose for these hollow shells and our Hist will again wind its roots around a bountiful clutch.\n\u2014\nFailures. Many failures. It was to be expected. Breathing true life into these hollow eggs will not be so simple as coaxing discarded flesh to remember the act of living.\n\u2014\nThe Black-Tongue elixirs goad the eggs' growth, but it is a wild, uncontrolled thing. Tumorous lumps of primordial flesh are a far cry from what I seek, but they are life. What it needs is a guide. I know what must be done.\n\u2014\nI see the beginnings of what could have been Saxhleel. At first a tooth, or a scale, or a spine among the formless masses that hatch from the eggs. The sap knows what to do, but elements are still missing. In time I will know the answer to this puzzle.\n\u2014\nI have created life. Short-lived, but life all the same. The Saxhleel that hatched are malformed and few survived beyond a matter of hours, but I am on the correct path.\n\u2014\nAs I hatch more and more of these eggs, I now understand just how far I am from what I seek. Every peak I overcome reveals a mountain taller than the last. Advancing the growth of the hatchlings has given them the constitution to endure, but even as I eliminate many of their physical deformities, it becomes clear that they are hollow. Saxhleel only in form. I must remind myself that each one brings me one step closer to the goal.\n\u2014\nWe have had to cage the Hollow that survive their hatching. Some possess an instinct, if not an intellect. They seem drawn to something we can't see and respond with hostility to any interference. Even the lame ones require far too much diligence to adequately watch. I suspect I've lost more than one already, but I can hardly keep track of so many failures.\n\u2014\nI will count today a triumph, if not a victory. Combining Veeskhleel rituals with my alchemy has produced a healthy Saxhleel. It is docile compared to the Hollow, but there is little recognition in its eyes. I can sense its soul, but I cannot tell if the possession was flawed or the body remains unfit for inhabitation.\n\u2014\nI have a stable formula, but I've made no progress adapting my rituals and my previous success has not developed any improved awareness. I have sunken too deep in the mire along this path. It's time to step back and explore other paths.\n\u2014\nI lost quite a few eggs testing the limits of my elixirs, but more are coming and the cost was worth it. Two have produced Saxhleel, the likes of which I've never seen. Unlike the other Hollow, they are far from pale. Their markings are brilliantly colored, and their skin exudes elements of my mixtures that are quite fatal, even to us. I've had them sequestered for safe study.\n\u2014\nI have high hopes for this new formula. The egg's growth is beyond all expectations. I can only hope that the soul binding rituals bore similar results."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/devotee-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/devotee-journal", "description": "A pilgrim to Mount Kand makes a pit stop in Molag Mar", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Devotee Journal", "text": "Today I begin my pilgrimage to Molag Mar! I'm eager to see this new temple for myself. I hear they built it on the water. Perhaps it floats! Once one has glimpsed Baar Dau, the idea hardly seems farfetched.\n\u2014\nThe Buoyant Armigers are a sight to see. Their numbers patrol many of the paths of pilgrimage and they always seem to have something of a spring in their step. Their songs and swords are a comfort for any otherwise inhospitable road.\n\u2014\nIt doesn't float, but that doesn't make Molag Mar any less marvelous! This will be a wonderful place to recuperate and prepare for the journey to Mount Kand. But first, I must offer my devotions to the Three at the temple.\n\u2014\nI've seen fewer of the Buoyant Armigers around in the last day or so. Gone off to mind the roads, I suppose. When I asked their senior here when I might find an escort on my journey, she frowned. Some incident at the glass mine has them busy. She claims no one can be spared.\n\u2014\nI've waited long enough. The Armigers may be busy, but I'm sure their presence here has made the wilderness a little tamer. Tomorrow morning I'll continue my journey!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/diary-romance": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/diary-romance", "description": "One woman's misguided effort to please her man", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Diary of a Romance", "text": "4 Rain's Hand:\n\tI heard a voice last night, a voice that softly strummed the very strings of my soul. He loves pumpkin pie. He was kind enough to visit my cottage. Such a rare talent!\n17 Rain's Hand:\n\tOne day he said he loved me, that he wanted to stay with me in my cottage forever. The next day he told me he had to get back to his life on the road, that he couldn't bear it unless he played in front of new faces each night.\n19 Rain's Hand:\n\tAn idea strikes me. I will get him those faces, and he will play for me forever.\n20 Rain's Hand:\n\tThe flesh was starting to decay in a most unpleasant way, so I removed it. Hopefully the incense will cover any lingering stench. The show must go on."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/diary-climent-noellaume": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/diary-climent-noellaume", "description": "Musings of am ambitious young sailor", "author": "Climent Noellaume", "title": "Diary of Climent Noellaume", "text": "It seems I only just signed on with the Albatross, but it's been more than two years since I saw the great Elden Tree or walked along a forest path in Brackenleaf. To think I might return home with a share of treasure and a King's pardon\u2014my gran won't be able to swallow, her tongue'll swell so big!\nAnd da. He'll see all this \"seagoing nonsense\" wasn't a waste! I remember the first day he took me to Haven. I think he meant to scare me with the size of the ships and the crashing of the waves, but all I could hear were the calls of the gulls and the chatter of sailors. So much different than the crows and ravens of Valenwood! I took every chance to go to the beaches after that.\nBut mam always believed in me. Even when I told them I was leaving Southpoint. She cried, of course, because that's what mams do when their sons leave. But she had no harsh words for me.\nI hope my share of the treasure has a few gemstones or pearls I can bring back to her. I don't think she's ever seen a pearl."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/diary-day-13": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/diary-day-13", "description": "A grim diary fragment", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Diary, Day 13", "text": "This torment is endless. Every day I perform the same tasks of depositing the soulless husks into the depths of Oblivion. I fear I am losing myself as time passes. I dearly hope I won't become one of the shriven.\nI hunger, and I can't be sated."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/diary-day-36": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/diary-day-36", "description": "Desperation and hunger set in", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Diary, Day 36", "text": "They keep coming. More and more of the soulless ones are drained. I feel the pangs of hunger upon me. Perhaps these husks are my answer."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/diary-day-61": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/diary-day-61", "description": "Madness and guilt set in", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Diary, Day 61", "text": "I see the eyes looking at me. They are dead, soulless, but I still crave them.\nHelp me."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/diary-day-unknown": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/diary-day-unknown", "description": "Complete madness and ravenous hunger overtake the author", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Diary, Day Unknown", "text": "I've lost track of the days. There are so many soulless here. Like a feast. A feast for me."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dibellas-mysteries-and-revelations": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dibellas-mysteries-and-revelations", "description": "Lessons from the Sybil of Wayrest", "author": "Augustine Viliane", "title": "Dibella's Mysteries and Revelations", "text": "By Lady Augustine Viliane, Sibyl of the House of Dibella\nThe skies over Wayrest are stormy and changeable, more often gray than blue, but some mornings in Second Seed the sun rises into heavens blue and clear, and a mild, warm breeze blows in from the Iliac Bay. It was on just such a morning, under trees fragrant with blossoms, that I was welcoming several new novices to their vocation in the House of Dibella.\nThey were full of questions, as the young always are. \"Holy Sibyl,\" asked a young oyster-catcher from Aldcroft, \"is love truly the answer to every question?\"\n\"It is - if the question addresses the heart,\" said I. \"Rarely if it addresses the mind.\"\n\"Holy Sibyl?\" asked the shy engraver from Alcaire. \"Is it true we must dance for the worshipers while - unclad?\"\nI smiled. \"That is as your spirit shall will - and as the weather shall allow!\"\n\"I have one, Holy Sibyl,\" said the clever child of a Wayrest banker. \"If the Aedra sacrificed themselves, each to add something to the making of the world, what did Our Lady contribute to the world?\"\nIn reply, I scooped a double handful of fallen blossoms from the sward and rained them over his astonished brow.\n\"I am troubled, Holy Sibyl,\" said the hostler from Northpoint, \"for I know not who is my father.\"\n\"That is naught to the Goddess of Beauty,\" I gently replied, \"for she says, 'No matter the seed, if the shoot is nurtured with love, will not the flower be beautiful?'\"\n\"What if a congregant seeks me as ardor-partner,\"\" said the knight's scion of Evermore, \"but I find her without favor?\"\n\"Love whomever you may,\" I sang, \"but love coerced is not love at all.\"\n\"Holy Sibyl, is it true what they s-say,\"\" stammered the owlkeeper's heir, \"that you lost your s-sight from the Great Flu?\"\n\"It is,\" I smiled, \"but what of that? For can I not dance?\"\n\"Holy Sibyl!\" \"Holy Sibyl!\"\n\"Peace, young novices!\" I cried. \"For it is Fredas, the bell tolls sundown, and the congregants await us in the chapel. Come, now! Come! Bring wine, bring tambours, bring light feet and warm hearts! Our Lady calls us to worship.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dictate-renewal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dictate-renewal", "description": "The lady of Greymoor Keep mandates that the castle be repaired", "author": "Lady Essenia", "title": "Dictate of Renewal", "text": "Masons, engineers, and crypt wardens take heed:\nOur successes come quickly now. With the Ashen Lord's aid and foresight, a new era of dark abundance awaits us, just beyond the storm. Alas, greater success brings greater scrutiny. Long years of shadowy seclusion have allowed us to grow lax in our defenses. Many walls need mending. Our once great gates creak and moan under the weight of neglect. This will not do.\nI hereby declare a term of renewal that shall not end until the walls of Greymoor Keep are once more unassailable.\nThe eastern gate requires few major repairs. The main gate's renovations began shortly after the Ashen Lord's arrival. I fear that the western portions of the walls require the most attention. Numerous stone alcoves remain passable. These corridors proved invaluable during the Blind-Blight siege, but that threat has passed. So too must these passageways.\nNo structure in Tamriel matches the sublime grandeur or the timeless horror of Greymoor Keep. Like our will, the walls of this place must never falter.\nFor King and Kin,\n\tLady Essenia"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/digging-orders": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/digging-orders", "description": "", "author": "Camandar the Amazing", "title": "Digging Orders", "text": "All right, listen up, you dogs! I want this place stripped bare. Take anything that looks valuable or powerful.\n\tWe managed to sneak past those idiot High Elves. Now's our chance.\nIf the rumors are true, there's something in this hole that will let us blast that smug look off their stupid faces. Just you watch.\nNow, dig!\n\t\u2014 Camandar the Amazing"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/diplomacy-during-handfasting": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/diplomacy-during-handfasting", "description": "Interesting information on the Bosmer ritual called the Handfasting", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Diplomacy during the Handfasting", "text": "The wedding of Indaenir and Gwaering, the new Silvenar and Green Lady, is an important occasion for the Bosmer, and as such is important to the Aldmeri Dominion.\nWith the unrest currently rampant throughout Malabal Tor, it is important the Queen's representatives understand how to interact with the Bosmer.\nThe following information is based upon \"Bosmer Traditions and Manners,\" by the highly respected Altmer author Cirantille.\nAccording to their legends, the Bosmer were once wild and savage (not at all like they are now) and able to change shape at will. Wishing to become more civilized, they made a bargain with Y'ffre, giving up shapeshifting in exchange for (what they think is) a more civilized demeanor.\nThis Green Pact affected every aspect of their lives. They became very ritualistic and, while these rituals may seem odd to \u2026 differently civilized \u2026 peoples, they do keep the Wood Elves from becoming fully savage again.\n\tOne of their most important rituals is the Handfasting. It happens once a generation and is responsible for both anointing and marrying two of their three most important leaders (the third being the Camoran King or Queen of the Wood Elves).\nNo one but the Bosmer know how these two leaders are chosen, but they are, and the Handfast is the ritual that binds the Green Lady and the Silvenar together.\nThe Silvenar is the spiritual leader of the Bosmer, and a truly civilizing force on the entire race. Some say he is the embodiment of the Green Pact, others that he's simply a powerful mystic.\nWhen a Bosmer becomes the Silvenar, he or she gains a great understanding of the land they inhabit as well as its people.\nThe Green Lady, on the other hand, is a pure force of nature. She is the physicality of the Bosmer: a hunter, warrior, and nearly-unstoppable fist of her people.\nDo not confuse her passion for savagery, however! The Green Lady inherits the tactical poise of all those who've gone before her. The only thing that can turn her into a true beast is the death of her Silvenar \u2026 an occurrence some of us had the misfortune to witness on Khenarthi Island. It is a wonder anyone survived.\nTake the Handfast as seriously as the Bosmer do and you should be fine. Eat what is offered (don't ask what it is), but drink sparingly\u2014their ritual drink \"rotmeth\" will sicken the most powerful non-Bosmer stomach if consumed with abandon.\nAvoid conflict when you can, but participating in a few non-lethal brawls during the celebration may not be avoidable. Indeed, it may be expected."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dire-legends-doomcrag": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dire-legends-doomcrag", "description": "A small collection of folk tales concerning the Doomcrag", "author": "Nalana, Advisor to House Tamrith", "title": "Dire Legends of the Doomcrag", "text": "In the distant past, the dark and foreboding pinnacle of stone known as the Doomcrag was a place of learning and worship for the Ayleid people. But in recent memory, the place has been known as a haunted peak beyond a treacherous pass of fog and shadow.\nDue to the current interest in the often ignored location, Countess Tamrith has asked me to chronicle a few of the legends concerning this forbidden place.\n* * *\n\tOne dark tale concerns the hero of House Dorell, Brianna the Bold, who traveled to the Shrouded Pass to chase down the bandit lord, Red Rob. Brianna and her troop of knights chased Red Rob all along the northern shore, intent on capturing him and bringing him to justice for his many crimes\u2014including his most recent exploit, the pillaging of a Dorell cargo ship. Unfortunately for Red Rob, the House Baron of the period's daughter was traveling on the ship when Red Rob and his cohorts attacked it. For injuries and insults, she demanded the head of the brigand and dispatched Brianna the Bold to hunt him down.\nBy the time Brianna reached the entrance to the Shrouded Pass, all of her knights had been killed or wounded. She was on her own. Luckily for her, Red Rob had not fared any better. He was alone when he plunged into the dense fog to avoid her. Not to be deterred, Brianna was true to her name and boldly charged in after him. It was the last time either Brianna or Red Rob were ever seen again.\nBut locals claim that on clear, cold nights, when a thin, red mist decorates the jutting shard of rock, you can hear the clash of steel on steel as Brianna and Red Rob continue their epic struggle into eternity.\n* * *\n\tAnother popular, if somewhat disturbing, legend concerning the Doomcrag tells the tale of the spurned Ayleid lover who pines away at the very apex of the mountain. Rejected by a handsome butler in the service of a noble house, the spurned lover climbed to the top of the Doomcrag and refused to come down. Her friends and family tried everything to cheer her up and make her leave the tower. Distraught and sick at heart, she ignored every plea and word of comfort. And when her pain became unbearable, she leaped from the Doomcrag and crashed into the sea far below.\nThat, however, was not the end of her sad story, People believe that to this very day, handsome travelers who wander too close to the Doomcrag risk attracting the attention of the spurned Ayleid. They say that her restless spirit swoops down and\u2014pardon the wordplay\u2014spirits away the hapless traveler, carrying him to the top of the mountain to keep him as a pet and plaything. Ultimately, however, even the most-patient captive does something to reject and spurn the Ayleid spirit. On lonely nights, or so the story goes, you can hear the intermingled screams as the Ayleid spirit once again hurls herself into the sea, carrying her latest lover with her to a watery grave.\n* * *\n\tBut perhaps the most common tale told about the Doomcrag describes the Death That Walks. This particular legend is more a cautionary tale than a scary story with a beginning, a middle, and an end. It says that any who attempt to climb the Shrouded Pass inevitably climb to their deaths. With every step, a year of life is lost. Depending on your age and relative level of health, death might overtake you after only a few steps up into the dense fog. Or, if you're particularly lucky, you might ascend all the way to the very top\u2014into the rumored relic chamber\u2014before the Death That Walks catches up with you.\nWhichever the case, every step brings with it a measure of pain and weakness as you march to your inevitable demise. This legend, more than any other, has kept the Doomcrag shrouded in mystery, for few have been brave enough to test the veracity of this story.\nReveiwing my notes, I can see why Countess Tamrith was frightened of the Doomcrag when she was a young girl. If truth be told, even at my advanced age, these legends frighten me."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/directions-meeting": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/directions-meeting", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Directions to Meeting", "text": "Star guides your path true.\nToday's meeting will be held in my house, in the western part of town. The key attached to this letter will grant you access to the locked door.\nIf any guards stop you, destroy this note. If you do not arrive in time for the meeting, we will assume the guards have taken you into custody. Or you have been taken, like so many of our friends and family.\nSee you at the meeting!\n~Madras Tedas"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/directions-hidden-book": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/directions-hidden-book", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Directions to the hidden book", "text": "Someone clean up that mudcrab! It's starting to stink up the place. Check with the Shaman first though, he may have use of it; however, last time he saw a mudcrab he freaked out and squeeled like a little girl.\nWhy does the captain keep him around? Such a suspicous man."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/directive-centurion-bodenius": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/directive-centurion-bodenius", "description": "", "author": "Magus-General Septima Tharn", "title": "Directive To Centurion Bodenius", "text": "Centurion Bodenius,\nI read your reports on the difficulties you've encountered discerning the secrets of the tombs in the anterior area of the temple, and I am well aware of the number of soldiers who have been killed in the process.\nNonetheless, you will not abandon the effort under any circumstance. Somewhere within those tombs is a mechanism by which we can unseal the doors to the Chamber of Passage. Until such time as these doors are unsealed, you will work day and night in the attempt to find and activate this mechanism.\nIf you value your own life, I suggest you file no further reports recommending otherwise.\n\u2014 Magus-General Septima Tharn"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/discarded-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/discarded-journal", "description": "A broke husband takes a job in a mine", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Discarded Journal", "text": "Loredas\nFinally found some work. Molli should be happy to hear it. Haven't worked up the courage to go home and tell her yet. Figured I'd get some drink in my belly first. She'll be glad no matter what, won't she? Even if it's the Vassir-Didanat mine.\nSundas\nConsidered stopping this journal, but my mum always said it was good therapy. Had a bad fight with Molli last night. She didn't want me to take the job. Thing is, she doesn't know how bad off we are. Haven't been able to tell her I've been borrowing from the lenders for two months. I need to take this work, and so I have. I'll work the full week, even taking meals and lodging in the mine. I'll have two days off at the end of the week to visit Molli and take her the week's wage.\nMorndas\nNot a bad first day. Wasn't at all what I was expecting. Didn't really have to do real mining, though it was hard labor. Boss man apparently found some kind of ruins down one of the shafts. Mining work is on hold and we've all been assigned working a way through the ruins. I'd be lying if I said it wasn't kind of exciting. I wish Molli could see me. A real treasure hunter.\nTirdas\nA lot of excitement going around today. I guess they found something in the ruins. I haven't seen anything and they aren't telling us much. They've pulled most of us back out into the mine and have us breaking rocks. Wish I knew what was going on.\nMiddas\nGreat news. Me and some of the other workers are getting some sort of promotion. No more breaking rocks. They said something about an experiment, and they need good men like me to help. Best of all? They said I can't tell anyone about it. Can't even write Molli to tell her. It's that secret. So it must be good. This is the best job ever."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/discarded-orders": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/discarded-orders", "description": "The Euraxian legions must investigate Rimmen's western borders", "author": "Lieutenant Lepida", "title": "Discarded Orders", "text": "Squad Commander Panthius,\nBoth Her Majesty Queen Euraxia and her court necromancer, Zumog Phoom, have detected a series of unknown surges of magical energy uncomfortably close to Rimmen's western borders. You are to immediately divert your squad and investigate the locations indicated on the accompanying map.\nYour orders are to investigate each area, note any unusual creatures or occurrences, and capture any bystanders for interrogation. To be clear: Her Majesty wants them alive.\nFailure is not an option.\nLieutenant Lepida,\n\t1st Euraxian Legion"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/disciplinary-action": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/disciplinary-action", "description": "", "author": "Conservator Vinelore", "title": "Disciplinary Action", "text": "Quoril,\nYour burdensome assistant keeper has repeatedly hounded my rangers for opportunities to assist with their duties and applied for yet another transfer to ranger detail. I suggest you keep Elise too busy with her current duties to find opportunities to pester her betters. How you handle your staff is your own affair, but when it begins to affect our work, I take issue. And kindly inform Elise that rangers excel at silence, so she can begin her training there.\nConservator Vinelore"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/discomforts-war": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/discomforts-war", "description": "A handy guide for avoiding irritating and painful afflictions during war", "author": "Robier Douare, Alchemist", "title": "Discomforts of War", "text": "Rashes, foul stench, contagion, fungus. None of these are pleasant, but they are all controllable if a warrior takes the proper steps. As an accomplished alchemist with ten years of experience on the battlefield, I've seen the worst of war camps, and I have developed several methods that lessen the occurrence of common threats to health. If you follow my advice, you will be able to avoid the problems that many soldiering types simply accept as the part of the cost of battle.\nFirst and foremost, it is critical to bathe. Yes, bathe. Truly, there may not be many opportunities to do so, but as soon as it is possible after a day's march or a battle, bathing and applying a salve of shalk resin and crushed bergamot seeds have been proven to repel parasites such as toe-borers, grassfleas, and fleshbloats. Anyone who has seen battle knows that soldiers' camps are breeding grounds for such vile creatures, and prevention is surely the best remedy.\nAnother important factor to consider is your environment. In order to avoid several types of discomfort, you must be prepared to do combat with the landscape as well as your enemy. For travel in desert regions, apply a powder of dragon's tongue to prevent chafing. In swamps, use waxes and thoroughly waterproof your boots to prevent fungal assailants. Remember that insects often carry disease, and keep repellant salves and potions to treat common sicknesses handy\u2014don't rely on your superiors to provide them!\nThough my advice will help any soldier or adventurer, I'd like to devote a few words to leather armor in particular. Some individuals have negative reactions to leathers, and many never even know their armor may be suspect! I see this particularly with netch armor and leathers crafted from bears or sabre cats native to Skyrim (especially if any fur is present). If you are issued armor and do not have a choice in what to wear, always carry with you a tincture of elf cup cap to apply to irritated areas.\nWith just a few simple, inexpensive preparations, you can avoid these lesser horrors of war and focus your energy on combat and marching without distraction. Take care of yourself on the battlefield. If you don't, you're guaranteed a miserable experience that will compound the fatigue of war. Be aware and always be prepared!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dismissal-letter": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dismissal-letter", "description": "", "author": "Telenger", "title": "Dismissal Letter", "text": "Merormo, you are no longer welcome at the college. Your continued ill-advised experiments\u2014after repeated warnings\u2014have forced my hand.\nPlease pack your things and vacate the premises at once.\n\u2014 Telenger"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/distribution-notes": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/distribution-notes", "description": "One distributor tries to expand business", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Distribution Notes", "text": "\u2014 Need to get more product moving toward Dune. High demand needs high supply.\n\u2014 Hadran's last shipment went out faster than expected. He's due for a resupply.\n\u2014 Opened negotiations with Ren-dro out of Pa'alat to discuss distribution overseas. He's sure assets in the Pact and Covenant would be open to extending the network.\n\u2014 Hosted former Heritance soldiers, talked distribution in Auridon. Still have deep roots in communities, can offer low-level buy-in."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/divayth-fyrs-notes": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/divayth-fyrs-notes", "description": "The famous mage arises in the Clockwork City", "author": "Divayth Fyr", "title": "Divayth Fyr's Notes", "text": "I consider the first steps into a new world the most momentous. They are filled with anticipation, trepidation, awe, and wonder\u2014even to a soul as old as mine. Imagine my disappointment, then, at my unprecedented journey into the domain of a god-genius beginning with the clatter of shifting garbage under my feet. Behold, divine refuse!\nWounded vanity aside, I am here and I will make the most of this opportunity.\n\u2014\nI suspect I was only able to stabilize the rift where it opened in Mundus as no one else from my expedition has erupted from the scrap heaps to greet me. That honor appears to be reserved for the mangled and discarded works of Sotha Sil. I have been forced to reduce a number of aggressive fabricants to slag since my arrival. Whether that is in response to the commands of the ever-present overseer, malfunction, or instinct I have yet to determine.\n\u2014\nThere is some hope that my associates were not deposited in the farthest reaches of Oblivion. The constant prattle of the machine operator of this place implies that it is contending with intruders aside from myself. For my part, I will continue to study the mechanisms within my reach while I remain beneath its notice."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/divine-prosecution-notification": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/divine-prosecution-notification", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Divine Prosecution Notification", "text": "By order of Proxy Queen Alwinarwe and the Divine Prosecution, the following mandate regarding all visitors to the Isle of Summerset is in immediate effect:\nWhereas, a visitor possesses sufficient combat skills and,\nWhereas a visitor possesses a sound moral compunction,\nAll newcomers that meet these criteria are ordered to present themselves to the Divine Prosecution for deputization for the purpose of accepting contract law enforcement assignments.\nReport to Chief Justiciar Carawen immediately, if not sooner."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/diviners-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/diviners-journal", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Diviner's Journal", "text": "I am blessed. To find my calling at the time when it is needed most is sublime. That I might join this cause at the precise moment it stands to achieve its greatest victory isn't simply fateful, it's destiny. The woman I divined in my dreams has come to us, and the purity of her heritage is beyond even our most hopeful expectations. There was more than approval in the Wakener's eyes when I presented her, there was reverence.\nShe has gone with him to the heart of the excavation. There he will unlock her potential. Will I see that in my dreams? Or something even greater?"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/divines-and-nords": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/divines-and-nords", "description": "A text on how ancient Nordic totemic religion transformed into modern worship of the Eight Divines", "author": "High Priest Ingurt", "title": "Divines and the Nords", "text": "Nord religion has taken a number of interesting turns over the centuries. Our earliest beliefs were thought to have originated in Atmora and revolved around the worship of animal totems. These animals\u2014Dragon, Hawk, She-Wolf, Snake, Moth, Owl, Whale, Bear, and Fox\u2014seem to correspond to the Eight Divines plus Lorkhan. Later, the Dragon rose to prominence and gave rise to the Dragon Cult. It was either during or soon after the move to Tamriel that the Dragon Cult became more malevolent and forced its will throughout the land. It took the Dragon War to overthrow the Dragons and their priests, but that's a tale for another time.\nEventually, the animal-totem gods transformed into the eight gods we worship today. We call them by their true names: Alduin, Kyne, Mara, Dibella, Stuhn, Jhunal, Orkey, and Shor. We understand that our gods are as cyclical as the world itself, so we also remember the Dead Gods (Shor and Tsun) who fought and died to bring about the current world, the Hearth Gods (Kyne, Mara, Dibella, Stuhn, and Jhunal) who watch over the present cycle, and the Twilight God (Alduin) who ushers in the next cycle. Add to these our so-called Testing Gods, who we do not worship but instead guard against to protect the hearth. These include Orkey, Mauloch, and Herma-Mora.\nWhen the Imperials arrived, they brought with them their southern religion and worked to unify the worship of the Eight Divines. That's how we got this wonderful Temple of the Divines that graces our fair city of Solitude. We agree with the general notion that there are eight gods, more or less, but we view them quite differently and call them by different names. Our temple has adjusted to the needs and desires of the current rulers time and again, yet we have grown used to some of the more prominent Imperial notions and practices even though we no longer find ourselves beholden to the Ruby Throne.\nProbably our biggest difference relates to the head of the pantheon. We Nords consider Kyne as the leader of the gods and find the Imperial fascination with Alduin (who they call Akatosh) to be both perplexing and mildly disturbing. We work diligently to keep Alduin asleep, while our southern neighbors try time and time again to get his attention! Which is why I begin every service in the temple with a prayer to praise Alduin (oh great god of time!), followed by a prayer to keep him at bay (may your slumber stretch on for a thousand generations!)."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dockmasters-lament": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dockmasters-lament", "description": "Difficulty dealing with Maormer captains", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Dockmaster's Lament", "text": "It was a beautiful day until I received yet another visit from an indignant Maormer captain. Apparently, padding the docking fee half of what I used to is grounds for deep offense.\nFor a moment I thought she might become violent! I handed over my last bottle of Old Colovian Plum Brandy to smooth things over.\nThese Maormer seem to be more and more demanding lately. What good is that treaty, anyway? It wasn't always this difficult to take an honest cut!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dominion-agents-report": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dominion-agents-report", "description": "An Agent plants on tying up loose ends", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Dominion Agent's Report", "text": "Disguised as the vicecanon's deputy, I've successfully tricked a member of the Pact into taking the sacred relics from Bogmother's reliquaries. They'll have to send forces to stop the dreugh from attacking nearby towns, weakening their defenses elsewhere.\nI've gotten rid of everyone but the fool I duped into taking the relics, but I have plans. It will be very useful to have another body once I tire of being Saervild.\nThis place smells like a rotting kagouti. When will they send me elsewhere?"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dominion-condolences": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dominion-condolences", "description": "News that nobody ever wants to hear", "author": "Captain Eldiniran", "title": "Dominion Condolences", "text": "Citizen Nilbedel,\nI write to you with sincere regret to inform you, on the behalf of the Office of the Battlereeve, that your husband, Ferlion, has passed away. Your husband died bravely, investigating the disappearances of several persons to the east of Elden Root, near Desiccated Cave.\nI want you to know that Ferlion saved every one of those people that day, but was wounded in doing so. He refused to succumb to his injuries until they were safe. Your husband was a paragon of what it means to be a soldier of the Dominion. I hope the fact that he died well can give you some measure of solace in this difficult time.\nRegards,\n\tCaptain Eldiniran"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dominion-intelligence-topsheet": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dominion-intelligence-topsheet", "description": "A khajiiti review of a Domionion intelligence aggregate", "author": "J'darzi", "title": "Dominion Intelligence Topsheet", "text": "Krin,\nI've skimmed through the lastest batch of reports and letters. Here's a topsheet with just titles and some notes. We can go over these things in detail next week.\n\tKeep your claws sharp,\n- J'darzi\n- Mathiisen Steel: Properties and Applications. (A resources report. We need to get our hands on some of this stuff.)\n\t- The Dangers of the Banished Cells\n\t- Falinesti Sites: Dangers and Opportunities\n\t- Falinesti City: Keeping the Secret (This one is cyphered. Can't make claws or tails of it.)\n\t- Elden Root: Care and Feeding of the Great Tree\n\t- Gil-Var-Delle: Implications of the Pact\n\t- Velyn Harbor: Security Issues\n\t- The Baandari: Tempering the Blade (They know about some of our people, but not all of them. Interesting reading.)\n\t- Elsweyr: An Unexploited Resource"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dominion-military-recruitment": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dominion-military-recruitment", "description": "", "author": "Grand Warlord Sorcalin", "title": "Dominion Military Recruitment", "text": "General Marenil,\nOn behalf of the Dominion, I applaud your efforts in supplying troops for the war. You have confirmed my confidence in you. Praise for your performance has been passed along to Queen Ayrenn and the Thalmor.\n\tMore is asked of you, however. The war against the Pact and Covenant stretches our resources to the limit. More warriors are needed.\nAll who come through the Western Elsweyr gate should be urged to equip themselves and hasten to the battlefields of Cyrodiil.\nContinue to send reports via Zaharai.\n\u2014 Grand Warlord Sorcalin"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dominion-orders": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dominion-orders", "description": "Missive from the Dominion to find new bases of operations", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Dominion Orders", "text": "Our efforts to expand across the Daggerfall Covenant must continue. Newly discovered Ayleid ruins along the coast make it imperative that we capture key areas of land. Take a team of warriors, take control of the site, and send word back on what you find. There might be something useful hidden within the ruins. At the very least, we will gain a new base of operations.\nOur best armsmaster, trained in the art of the thundermaul, will accompany you to provide additional muscle."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dominion-orders-enduum": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dominion-orders-enduum", "description": "Aldmeri orders to capture a specific site of importance", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Dominion Orders: Enduum", "text": "You must secure the Ayleid ruins of Enduum immediately.\nNot only will control of this area provide us with a major strategic advantage against the Daggerfall Covenant, but the treasures we plunder from the ruins will add to our resources. And perhaps we can find a powerful relic or magical artifact as well."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dominion-soldiers-journal-zuuk": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dominion-soldiers-journal-zuuk", "description": "A Kothringi with a famous name is an extraordinary healer", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Dominion Soldier's Journal: Zuuk", "text": "We met no resistance upon arrival. The village was vacant except for a single Kothringi.\nWe've tried numerous methods to learn of the Sedormis keystone, but he is strangely resistant to most forms of torture. It's as if he can't feel pain. His wounds heal at an extraordinary rate.\nThe mages are too busy digging through the swamp to give me their opinion. I wish they'd hurry. The Thalmor will have my neck if I don't come up with something soon!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dominion-troops-general-order-719a": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dominion-troops-general-order-719a", "description": "A very important order for Dominion troops concerning the Hist", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Dominion Troops General Order 719a", "text": "When assaulting an Argonian village or settlement, be careful of the large, usually centrally-located tree within the hamlet's boundaries. The Argonians call it a Hist tree and their cold-blooded race can be driven into a berserk fury if it is attacked. The tree has something to do with their mating rituals and life-cycle, so that is understandable.\nBut avoiding their fury is the least of your worries. Damaging or destroying a Hist tree without a command-level order is expressly forbidden. In most mud-ridden, bug-infested, scale-skin settlements, the Hist tree is the only valuable resource worth taking \u2026 and it is very valuable.\nEach raiding party must include a contingent of sappers. Not wall-penetration specialists, but tree-sappers. Their weapons include tubes, pipes, drills, and portable distilleries. It is their job to recover as much \"Hist sap\" from these trees as possible. And, since the sap decays quickly, it is imperative each sapper crew be protected while the distillation process completes.\nFailure to recover Hist sap from each Argonian village means overall failure of the expedition, so be wary. The Dominion does not tolerate failure."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dont-mess": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dont-mess", "description": "One shipper must be reminded to do things right", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Don't Mess This Up", "text": "Our friends from the Gold Coast will be arriving with their shipment at midnight.\nSome of the goods will be fragile. Part of the shipment will be alive. You already know that if anything breaks, gets hurt, or dies, you're paying us back out of your share. Apparently, we have to tell you again.\nIn the future, we would also like these shipments scheduled at a time other than midnight. That's not exactly discreet. In fact, it's rather predictable. Guards catch people who are predictable.\nI also sincerely hope you're actually reading our letters and then burning them. You're getting careless. We don't want to leave any evidence behind. You stand to make a lot of coin, as long as you don't mess this up.\n\tDon't mess this up."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/donolon-bakes": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/donolon-bakes", "description": "Instructions for baking the Jubilee Cake", "author": "Chef Donolon", "title": "Donolon Bakes", "text": "Whether you need a perfect pastry for a simple celebration or a colossal cake to acknowledge an awesome anniversary, you won't find a better collection of recipes than those scribed by yours truly, Chef Donolon, the acclaimed Wizard of Whisking and veteran of baking challenges from Highrock to Morrowind. Every recipe has been handcrafted and personally tested in the most rigorous culinary conditions.\nFor a truly epic cake, perfect for the most precious occasion, try Donolon's Jubilee Cake. Its many layers and towering presentation will awe your audience, while its moist texture creates a festival on your taste buds. Of course, no one can duplicate my recipe exactly, so if you want the ultimate experience, get me to bake one for you. The current waiting list is three years and seven months, so plan accordingly for your special occasion.\nOr, be lucky enough to acquire one of my Jubilee Cake Vouchers - that will leap you to the head of the line!\nDonolon's Jubilee Cake\nIngredients:\n-Bananas, sliced, not mashed\n-Flour, sifted\n-Honey, from northern climes works best\n-Charmed Mixing Bowl, proprietary\nDirections:\nAdd ingredients to a Charmed Mixing Bowl. Whisk vigorously. Wait for ingredients to magically congeal into a cake with multiple tiers. Slice and enjoy with friends.\n(If you don't happen to own a Charmed Mixing Bowl, and I'm absolutely certain you don't, you'll either have to bake the ingredients the old-fashioned way or find me so that I can prepare it for you. But see my earlier note regarding the waiting list for my much-in-demand services.)"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/doomed-explorers-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/doomed-explorers-journal", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Doomed Explorer's Journal", "text": "For seven days, I have wandered the halls of this ruin. By the end of the second, I found myself hopelessly lost. By the end of the fifth, I ran out of food. Now, as the sun sets on a full week of quiet misery, I cannot coax even a single drop of water from my canteen. It seems I will die in this place, surrounded by ghosts and prodigious stone gates.\nThese magic doors, how they mock me! Each whispers promises of escape, but in crossing their threshold, I find no sunlight\u2014only a bright void, then older, still-darker vaults. This Ayleid masonry is so stark. So solemn. While I shall die in the open, I nonetheless feel like I'm already entombed. Buried in a massive stone coffin.\nI do not die alone. The veil is thin here. So thin! I heard only whispers at first\u2014Argonian whimpers, and Ayleid voices adrift on the wind. But by the third day, I saw them with my waking eyes: Ayleid ghosts, in all their garish splendor. They did not see me or react to my presence. They only went about their business, reenacting the events of their ancient lives. Some of these vignettes surprise me with their sheer banality. Others, however, feel rich with forgotten truth and arcane menace. Something terrible happened here\u2014to the Argonians at first, then the Ayleids later. Something in (or perhaps beneath) this ruin insists that I watch these events play out; insists that I apprehend the gravity of their consequences. Some force demands that I understand. This is why I die, I think. I fail to understand, and so I must remain.\nIf anyone finds this journal, pay careful heed to these ghosts. They tell the tale of some great Argonian prize. I only wish I had the insight to learn the deeper truths hidden within their words.\nEnough writing for now, I suppose. I see yet another gate nearby. Perhaps this one will lead me home. I just need to gather my strength. A few moments rest is all I need."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dorands-final-notes": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dorands-final-notes", "description": "An explorer's final notes on pressure valves", "author": "Dorand", "title": "Dorand's Final Notes", "text": "Something controls those strange creatures, surely as it commands the Dwemer constructs. But how, and to what end?\nIt must have something to do with the pressure valves. Bazorgbeg found three, scattered throughout the ruins. All that heat, all that power, flowing to a locked central chamber. For what purpose? Certainly nothing good.\nThe pressure valves are key. We must close them immediately! With their pressure released and power diverted, the door to the central chamber should open. I only hope we aren't too\u2014"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/doshias-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/doshias-journal", "description": "Doshia's highly legible journal", "author": "Doshia", "title": "Doshia's Journal", "text": "Merson ele champb. Warter gon bley doy ronnero esterr.\nSale jene son fersha flo luch era myencha. zie car rho cram edersh pos branto bersond alva ague myer anav sutiell sonz rhodge.\nChenoza\n\tders\n\ttod\n\tostero\nNgu nozarna hamben \u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026 king klawson. Willso lawforn fullson pen flyncis elli adozar mon blawre jen nerodri graynch farks pagne jamson powel burnavi spayl."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dossier-newcomer": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dossier-newcomer", "description": "Background on the player in Murkmire", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Dossier: The Newcomer", "text": "This newcomer's made quite a splash. No deep connections in the region that we're aware of, but they've linked up with Famia. Blackguards will want to keep a close eye on this one.\nThe Newcomer: traveling adventurer\u2014recent addition to Cyrodilic Collections' employment rolls. The warrior displays a high degree of competence in both fighting and dungeoneering. Initial reports indicate they rescued or otherwise ferried Famia's crew through the Ixtaxh Xanmeer soon after arriving in Murkmire.\nWe're not sure how much this one knows yet, but it stands to reason that Famia would share at least a few of her secrets with them.\nRecommended abduction method: attack in force. This will take a very concerted effort\u2014no less than twenty fighters recommended. Even that might not be enough. Engage at your own risk."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dossier-varo-hosidias": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dossier-varo-hosidias", "description": "Plans for capturing an aging legionnaire", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Dossier: Varo Hosidias", "text": "Report concerning the Imperial, Varo Hosidias, included below. He moves around an awful lot for an older fellow. Those Blackguards better pay up soon.\nVaro Hosidias: known associate of Famia Mercius and sometimes-employee of her historical charity enterprise, Cyrodilic Collections. Often seen in the company of the Khajiit, Zadaza. Local inquiries indicate he served with distinction in the Imperial Legion before immigrating to Black Marsh. Circumstances murky. Some say it was to escape a court martial or similar legionary discipline. Others say it's simple retirement. Probably inconsequential to the client's requirements.\nSpends his mornings training, either at Cyrodilic Collections headquarters or Lilmoth docks. Shows ample skill with both sword and shield\u2014would recommend waiting to engage him until he is unarmed. Spends most afternoons in or near the Lusty Argonian Footman. Drinks, but rarely to excess.\nFrequently journeys outside the city walls\u2014always in the company of several other explorers. Probably a habit from Legion days\u2014always travel, and fight, in force.\nRecommended abduction method: lace his drinks with something. Taking Famia Mercius first might drive him to less cautious behaviors. Open conflict in town should be avoided. He has too many friends here."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dossier-zadaza": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dossier-zadaza", "description": "Observations about a stealthy khajiit adventurer", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Dossier: Zadaza", "text": "Report concerning the Khajiit, Zadaza, included below. Blackguards owe us double for this one. Zadaza's slippery as a freshwater eel.\nZadaza: Khajiit mercenary and treasure-hunter. Often finds employment with Famia Mercius and her confederates, Varo Hosidias, Eshraf, Jee-Lar, etc. Details on her life outside Black Marsh remain sparse. Locals offer several conflicting theories including membership in the Thieves Guild or prior service in the Dominion military. In either case, Zadaza proves very difficult to pin in one place. She adheres to no predictable routines\u2014eating, sleeping, and working in different places from day to day.\nShe often shares meals with Famia and Varo, but only to discuss expeditions and pay rates. By all accounts, she has no close friends in Black Marsh\u2014only business partners. Very few pressure points to speak of.\nWe did not observe Zadaza participating in any fights, so her martial ability remains an open question. Nonethless, she displays a high degree of proficiency in stealth, lock-picking, and other related skills.\nRecommended abduction method: allow Zadaza and company to enter a xanmeer and mount an assault when the group emerges. Zadaza is routinely the first to exit\u2014often waiting several minutes for other members of her party to catch-up. We strongly recommend careful planning. Zadaza will not make it easy."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dozzen-talharpa": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dozzen-talharpa", "description": "The sad history of this musical instrument", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Dozzen Talharpa", "text": "A crude version of a lyre, its provenance tells of twin Breton brothers, Dozzen and Jibhan. Ever competitive, they were still very close. Their legacy was of a musical competition in their town's square using talharpas. They drew such a crowd with their raucous, high-tempo interplay, that people started dancing and cheering. Locals remember it as the greatest concert they ever heard. Afterward, Jibhan challenged Dozzen to a race home. When a hillside trail narrowed, Jibhan got the better of Dozzen. Nearly home, Jibhan had victory in his sight, but looked back before the finish to see Dozzen was not behind him.\nDozzen had fallen down the hill, dashed against boulders. He was bleeding profusely. Pallid and breathing shallow, Dozzen said all he could remember was their triumphant musical competition.The townsfolk had declared no winner, but were inspired by the interwoven song.\nKnowing his end was near, he bade Jibhan vow to use his sinew to craft a new talharpa and use it to inspire the people to dance. Jibhan did so, crafting this very instrument with his brother's sinew, but could not bring himself to play it with joy, so he donated it to the Bards College."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dradeivas-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dradeivas-journal", "description": "Notes on a massive voriplasm and a missing Imperial legion", "author": "Dradeiva", "title": "Dradeiva's Journal", "text": "I have listened to all the stories, talked to all the tale-tellers and elders. After many seasons of searching and investigation, I have come to the conclusion that the ancestor of my egg family led the Imperial Ninth Legion to the Tsofeer Caverns. That's where they all disappeared into history and became the Lost Legion.\n* * *\nMany of the stories involving the Tsofeer Caverns mention a massive and powerful voriplasm known as the Wuju-Ka. From what I could ascertain, this huge pool of malevolent slime behaves unlike other voriplasms. It creates extensions of itself, mobile puddles of ooze that remain connected to it in some manner, serving as its eyes, ears, and appendages\u2014its connection to the world outside its spawning pool. The elders I spoke to talked about the Wuju-Ka in reverent terms, but they were also clearly afraid of the creature. They said that in ancient seasons, elders from nearby tribes would go to the Tsofeer Caverns and perform a binding ritual to trap the massive voriplasm and its extensions inside the caves.\nThe binding ritual hasn't been performed in many, many seasons. Not since a rock slide sealed the entrance to the Tsofeer Caverns. I wonder if that was when the Ninth Legion was lost? Were they somehow trapped inside the caves?\n* * *\nHere's what I learned about voriplasms. These slime creatures slither through the swamp, consuming whatever gets in their way. To spawn, they either split apart and form new voriplasms, or they turn consumed flesh into voriplasmic corpses. Voriplasmic corpses appear as skeletal bodies, the flesh melted from their bones and replaced with voriplasmic slime. These disgusting, shambling creatures have some connection to the voriplasm that spawned them, but not to the degree associated with the Wuju-Ka.\n* * *\nOne elder was willing to teach me the binding ritual for the Wuju-Ka. At least, she taught me what the elders before her told her. I hope the Wuju-Ka no longer exists, but if it still occupies the Tsofeer Caverns, then I must perform the binding ritual before I leave the caves. I just hope I can also find proof of the Lost Legion and some evidence to exonerate my ancestor and clear the mark of traitor that has sullied my egg-family's name."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dragos-orders": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dragos-orders", "description": "Drago must hold out against the Orcs", "author": "King Renwic", "title": "Drago's Orders", "text": "I ask more of you today than I have in the past. You must hold the Orcs. Give me time to complete the spell we discussed.\nHold fast, Drago. Even if you fall, we will find victory.\n\u2014 King Renwic"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dragon-priest%E2%80%94arise": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dragon-priest%E2%80%94arise", "description": "Invocation of Akiirdal", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Dragon Priest\u2014Arise!", "text": "Dragon Priest\u2014Arise! Come forth, mighty dragon priest! Appear to your servant and honor me with your holy presence!\nArise, Akiirdal! Share your secrets with this humble pilgrim. Grant me the knowledge of your ancient time.\nArise, arise, arise! Bones knit and flesh form. Throw off the sleep of death and emerge into the here and now!\nI command you! I control you! Hear my words and obey me! Arise!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dragon-skull-parchment": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dragon-skull-parchment", "description": "An old parchment in the Dragon Language", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Dragon Skull Parchment", "text": "Ahrk fin Kel lost prodah, do ved viing ko fin krah, tol fod zeymah win kein meyz fundein.\nAlduin, feyn do jun, kruziik vokun staadnau, voth aan bahlok wah diivon fin lein."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dragons-southern-elsweyr": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dragons-southern-elsweyr", "description": "A scholar's observations on three dragons in southern Elsweyr", "author": "Xandria Prevette", "title": "Dragons of Southern Elsweyr", "text": "By Xandria Prevette, Scholar-at-Large\nMuch attention has been paid to the depredations of Dragons in Northern Elsweyr (also called Anequina), but Southern Elsweyr also faces a plague of these vile creatures. This is a record of my experiences with these beasts\u2014from afar, of course. I'm no Dragon hunter!\nWhile traveling near Senchal, I met my first witness to a Dragon. They described a great red beast as it swooped across the sky. Before the Dragon could attack, the witness fled. I do not judge those who choose the wiser course of action, but I am not one to run away. Instead, I seek to categorize and record.\nI ventured to where the witness last saw this red Dragon. Luckily, it lingered in the area, so I was able to approach and observe it for a time. I noticed a strangeness in the horn formation\u2014was it missing part of a horn? After a while, the Dragon flew off. It never harmed a thing. I know not its purpose in that area, but was intrigued that it caused neither chaos nor damage. Very much unlike what has been reported in the north. Is it possible this Dragon was benign? Alas, I have an absence of evidence to quantify such a claim.\nShortly thereafter, a different red Dragon appeared in a burned-out area near Senchal, clearly intent on hunting. A group of Dragon hunters also came through, and a great battle ensued. I watched, hoping to learn the Dragon's name as it shouted and roared. After it fell to the hunters but before it died, I approached the Dragon and asked, \"Please share your name so that I may record it.\"\n\"You are not worthy of my name, mortal,\" It said. Then it expired. A shame. Perhaps the next Dragon will prove to be more cooperative. For posterity, you understand. I placed both of these red Dragons under \"Unnamed Dragons,\" as Brother Mathnan did in his Atlas of Dragons, 2E 373.\nNext, I heard that a black Dragon was spotted near a quarry to the south. I headed there quickly on my faithful steed, hoping to see this one in action. Luck was with me yet again. The Dragon perched on a rock overlooking the quarry, speaking to figures I could not quite see.\n\"I am Laatvulon, your master, and you will do as I say,\" it roared.\nHow fortunate I was to hear the Dragon speak its own name! I wrote it down and departed as quickly as I could, realizing I was just a little too close to a Dragon and its minions for my own comfort, scholarly pursuits be damned.\nI returned to Senchal, where I overheard some refugees talking about a new Dragonguard. Could such an ancient order actually return to help us against the Dragons? I should seek them out. For my research, you understand.\nI wonder who I know who might help with the introductions?"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dragons-report-queen": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dragons-report-queen", "description": "Report concerning the use of dragons to fight Khajiiti rebels", "author": "Centurion Jagus", "title": "Dragons: A Report for the Queen", "text": "To Her Exalted Majesty, Queen Euraxia,\nThis report summarizes my conclusions concerning the Dragons that have made their presence known throughout Northern Elsweyr.\nThe Dragon that calls itself Mulaamnir defers to an even more powerful creature known as Kaalgrontiid. He has provided Dragons to support our efforts against the Khajiiti rebels. These massive beasts have been instrumental in many of our victories, just as you predicted. If only we could convince Mulaamnir to lend us more than a single creature at a time, we could retake control of the entire region!\nUnfortunately, the Dragons seem incapable or unwilling to discern a difference between our troops and the enemy. They take no care to avoid friendly casualties and seem to revel in destruction, no matter the target. I fear our control of these creatures is haphazard at best.\nMy recommendation follows. Order Mulaamnir to instruct the Dragons to obey the chain of command. Weapons work best when we can maintain complete control over their actions.\nAlso, we must perform a service for the Dragons to seal our alliance. I suggest we send an assassination squad to eliminate the last Dragonguard believed to be hiding in the Elsweyr wilderness.\nCenturion Jagus,\n\tRoyal Strategist to the Queen"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dragonstar-arena-guest-book": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dragonstar-arena-guest-book", "description": "A guest book for the Arena in Dragonstar", "author": "Battlemaster Hiath", "title": "Dragonstar Arena Guest Book", "text": "Welcome to the greatest competition in all the planes of existence! Welcome to the Dragonstar Arena!\nI am your host and battlemaster, the great and powerful Hiath. I know we're going to get along just fine, and I look forward to seeing you in action. Put on a good show and give it your best shot, and even if you die horribly, you will be remembered for at least being brave enough to step foot onto the Arena floor.\nNow, please, sign in so that your name will be recorded in the Arena archieves. I never forget a face, but I'm terrible at remembering names.\n\u2014Arena Guests\u2014\nKillsia\n    Carmion\nEiola Windstrider\n    Ramsi Windstrider\nDarien Gautier\n    Skordo the Knife\nHorak\n    Junlock\n    Gunran\nShalim\n    Chanisa\nWorster Frozen-Fist\nBelinka\n    Narika\n    Sweeps-Dust\n    Meesk-Lano\nChampion Marcauld and the Fighters Guild\nKazbur the Wanderer (oh, I probably wasn't supposed to sign this)\nSerio\n    Balrok\n    Jippity"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dragonstar-caravan-company-note": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dragonstar-caravan-company-note", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Dragonstar Caravan Company Note", "text": "Damn caravan drivers. Always want to look good to their bosses, so they skirt the main roads to avoid the costs of tolls and customs. And what happens? We have to free their carts and wagons when they get stuck in the mud. We're supposed to guard their sorry arses, not pull them out of a ditch every time they decide to bypass a toll booth! And if you try to tell me that's the life of a typical caravan guard, I'll run you through with my sword!\nMaybe I'll take a peek at the ledgers during the next night shift and see just how much this is all worth to the company. I'll be renegotiating my contract, for sure, if they intend to keep breaking the law on my watch.\nI know you've got my back if it comes to that, but how about you take the temperature of some of the other guards. I'd like to have a strong position to haggle from if it comes to that with those Dragonstar merchant lords."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dranoss-diary": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dranoss-diary", "description": "A Morag Tong assassin decides to worship Mephala directly and joins the Silken Ring", "author": "Dranos Velador", "title": "Dranos's Diary", "text": "The face I wear for my former allies is one of outrage. How dare we stand by and allow the Silken Ring to encroach on our territory. How dare we show weakness as they steal our contracts and kill our agents. My words stoke the fire as my knives provide the fuel and they are none the wiser. Indolent, arrogant, fools.\n\u2014\nThe Lady of Lace was pleased with my deception. The Morag Tong is chasing shadows, while the real threat mounts far from their notice. For my efforts, I have been invited to join the Silken Ring. Through them I will no longer merely pay lip service to Mephala, but do her bidding by my own hands. How can the promise of gold compare to reaping the blessings of the Daedra?\n\u2014\nThe Lady has asked one last thing of me before I may receive the blessings of the Spinner. An offering of devotion. A sacrifice befitting Mephala. Some other fool might be tempted to rush out and work their knife in her name. Not I. This requires care. My introduction must be perfect.\n\u2014\nI have never desired ties. Why chain my heart to the weapons my enemies would wield against me? There have been moments though, where I have been handed those shackles and invited to clasp the lock closed. Nyri, was one such temptation. Perhaps it is now my turn to offer the bonds.\n\u2014\nNyri was unprepared for my advances, for good reason. I'd made my intentions clear before. I did not give her time to question my change of heart, as hers still harbored affection for me. Nyli's reason melted at my touch, and she has fallen into Mephala's web willingly.\n\u2014\nI have whispered lies into Nyli's ear for many nights now. Seeded doubt in her mind about the Morag Tong. Convinced her that we should act without their sanction. I will lead her to the Silken Ring tonight. It will be perfect.\n\u2014\nThe look on Nyri's face as the dagger pierced her heart was exquisite. It was as if all the emotions she'd secreted away inside burst forth in one last agonizing torrent, before she died. The Lady of Lace was so moved by my sacrifice that I've caught her eye. As it should be.\n\u2014\nI go now, into the Cradle of Shadows, to taste Mephala's true power. The reward for my devotion will be sublime.\n\u2014\nThis was that right move. I'm more sure of it than ever. Any doubts I had disappeared when I met the Lady of Lace. The power she offers is more than anything the fools back in Morrowind can imagine. One of many benefits gained from casting off the shackles of mortal whims to embrace a higher purpose. This is what the Morag Tong must have been before it became strangled by bureaucracy and beholden to false gods."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/draugr-and-dragon-cult": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/draugr-and-dragon-cult", "description": "A modern dragon cultist discusses the draugr entombed in ancient ruins", "author": "Skormvnir Kyrrund", "title": "Draugr and the Dragon Cult", "text": "by Dragon Cult Chronicler, Skormvnir Kyrrund\nThere is little scripture detailing the ancient followers of the Dragon Cult and their relationship to their priests. Many have attempted to comprehend the full depth of this connection, only to woefully underestimate the true sacrifice.\nThe draugr that roam the halls of long forgotten Dragon Cult tombs are so much more than mere shambling, mindless creatures. They are our fiercest protectors. They, who have given all to the Dragon Cult, who spend eternity in service to the Dragon priests. Their worship is endless. It continues even now, long after the fall of our ancestors. This should be heartening. It is a sign that though Skyrim may think of the Dragon Cult only as a distant memory, we will never truly be snuffed out.\nThe Dragons promised our priests eternal life. These draugr are the loyal followers who worship, and sustain the priests, even in death. They wake every night to perform a ritual that transfers their energy to the revered priest, and then slumber once more. Eternal protectors. Worship which is most pure, undeterred by time or circumstance.\nWe should cherish these draugr. They are our most honored brethren."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dread-their-return-and-prepare": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dread-their-return-and-prepare", "description": "A Dragonguard plaque found in Dov-Vahl shrine in Anequina", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Dread Their Return and Prepare", "text": "KA VRESH HOKAI DELU SUUNG\nGONE ARE DRAGONS FROM THE DAWN\nDREAD THEIR RETURN AND PREPARE\nTRAIN BODY FOR AGONY\nHONE MIND FOR CLARITY\nRAISE SOUL FOR VICTORY\nKA VRESH HOKAI DELU SUUNG"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dream-thousand-dreamers": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dream-thousand-dreamers", "description": "a chant for Vaermina", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Dream of a Thousand Dreamers", "text": "Vaermina!\n\tDream of a thousand dreamers!\n\tRevelations of endless elation!\n\tBeacon for lost souls.\n\tBliss for strong souls.\n\tMadness for weak souls.\n\tVaermina!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dreamers-our-time-has-come": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dreamers-our-time-has-come", "description": "Ambitions of Vaermina Cultists", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Dreamers Our Time Has Come", "text": "Dreamers! Our time has come!\nYou have traveled far to walk with us, brother. You have walked far, sister, wandering across a broken world of lies and suffering.\nYou have journeyed long to chant with us. We shall extol the beatific wonders of Vaermina! May her dream be unending!\nStormhaven lies before us, and we must share her dream. Those who can see, those who will awaken will join us. We call to the humble and the mighty. Those who are weak, those who are blind, she will cast down into madness.\nGo forth!\nTo the tumultuous strife of Wind Keep, go forth!\nTo the tears of the suffering in Weeping Giant, go forth!\nSpread the word! Herald the dream!\nWe will gather our armies of dreamers.Then we will all return to the city of lies: the city of Wayrest. The heresy of the Eight will be torn down. The dreamers will ascend! Wayrest will become our City of Dreams!\nOur new age has begun. We will join her in eternity.\nAll praise the name of Vaermina!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dreamsnake-manifest": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dreamsnake-manifest", "description": "List of cargo from a fun voyage", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Dreamsnake Manifest", "text": "Took on forty-four pounds of skooma for delivery to Abah's Landing.\nArrived in Abah's Landing with thirty-seven pounds of skooma and two dead crewmembers."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dreamwalkers": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dreamwalkers", "description": "Description of Dreamwalkers", "author": "Raynard, Academic of Mournhold", "title": "Dreamwalkers", "text": "Observations by Raynard, Academic of Mournhold\nThey call them Dreamwalkers. Beings that can, with a simple spell, step into the dreams of another. Your darkest desires, your most bizarre fantasies, your true self, all revealed to these Dreamwalkers like an open book. Your most prized memories ransacked and picked through like the leavings of last night's feast.\nThose who Dreamwalk are said to have sworn themselves to the Daedric Prince Vaermina. To have sold their souls for the ability to enter her plane, the Dreamstride. The veracity of this claim, I cannot say, but the similarities between what Dreamwalkers do and what the Priests of Vaermina accomplish is quite uncanny.\nThe only difference I could ascertain was how each entered the dream state. Vaermina's priests require nothing more than the drop of an alchemical concoction, a draft prepared by the most brilliant alchemists. The Dreamwalkers, however, require no such potion. They conjure a magic that appears to be innate, not taught or passed down by some hereditary process. Were they blessed by the Daedric Prince? Did their parents perform some sacred ritual to acquire this power upon birth? None I have spoken to truly know. Or will say, one way or another.\nBut what of the Dreamwalkers themselves? What do they use this power to achieve? Think of the havoc one could cause by entering the dreams of another. That's a frightening thought, indeed.\nYet, the Dreamwalkers I met were kind and gentle. They use their powers to help others. They eliminate painful memories. Cure mental illnesses that not even the best healers can mend. They accomplish incredible things by simply touching a person's dreams. I know, for I saw a Dreamwalker in action.\nMy wife and children contracted the Knahaten Flu. It was a terrible way to die, slow and painful. When they died, my reason to live died with them. But the Dreamwalker I met, he took pity on me. He gave me an opportunity to remember my family while forgetting the pain of losing them. To become numb to the loss and remember them as they were before the illness. To remember the happiness and the love.\nThe Dreamwalker entered my dreams. When I woke, a calmness had filled me. Everything was all right. I could go on with my life. I wanted to thank him, but he was gone. I never saw him again.\nWhoever the Dreamwalkers are, whatever master they ultimately serve, I will forever be in their debt. But this fact doesn't eliminate the fear that lingers at the back of my mind. Was it right to take away the pain? Aren't memories the thing that makes us unique? Have I become someone else because my memories have been changed? It seems I have replaced pain with fear, and I'm not sure which I prefer."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/drillks-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/drillks-journal", "description": "One Kothringi survivor is angry at the Dominion troops", "author": "Drillk", "title": "Drillk's Journal", "text": "\u2014 15th of Morning Star, 2E 561\nA week ago Zuuk flourished. Today, only I remain.\nI watched helplessly as family and friends wither away from this terrible plague. Am I immune? Is it only a matter of time before I succumb? I'm giving up this journal.\n\u2014 Date uncertain. How many years? Dismayed and angry.\nDominion troops moved into the nearby ruins and have disturbed the ashes of my people! I must confront them. I'll demand they respect the dead. Whatever they seek, they won't find it in the remains of Zuuk. May the plague strike them down for their trespass!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/drivas-journal-partial": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/drivas-journal-partial", "description": "Drivas attempts to explore an old Rourken ruin", "author": "Drivas", "title": "Drivas' Journal (Partial)", "text": "Adubaer's claims proved to be true. We found the island. The Rourken really did come this far. Still, I'll watch him closely. Never trust a Khajiit.\n\t\u2026.\n\t\u2026 clever bastards, Dwarves \u2026 the rightmost bridge secured with traps, the left with hidden constructs \u2026 only way past is to sneak \u2026\n\t\u2026.\n\t\u2026 Pollonaro and his tomes \u2026 just what are we looking for? The Elf tells us nothing.\n\t\u2026.\n\tOpened the chest \u2026 sealed shut \u2026 trapped \u2026 skittering in the pipes \u2026"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/droloras-trap-summary": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/droloras-trap-summary", "description": "Extensive preparations for an ambush", "author": "Sister Drolora", "title": "Drolora's Trap Summary", "text": "Huntmaster Cretia,\nHere is the trap placement summary you requested. Again, I am not confident that these traps alone will be sufficient. Please consider purchasing additional snares, man traps, and pine tar when next you visit Orsinium.\nSummary:\nOn entry, mine doors are shut and sealed with reinforced cross-beam.\nAn array of twelve man-traps have been placed and concealed six paces from the door.\nPitch has been smeared on all surfaces to prevent swift movement.\nSix razor wires and three net drops have been installed at twelve paces.\nI'm installing a last-resort kindle-pitch drop-line. It may not be ready by the time you requested, though.\nI would urge you to delay the ambush a few more days to allow time for additional preparations. We'll only get one shot at this\u2014let's not miss the target.\nSister Drolora"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/drop-instructions": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/drop-instructions", "description": "A note concerning possible illegal activity", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Drop Instructions", "text": "It's about time you made another \"supply drop\" at our camp just outside Wayrest. Bring everything you've acquired since our last meeting to the entrance and make sure you bring this note! It contains the coded password you need to open the door."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/drublog-shamans-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/drublog-shamans-journal", "description": "A sacred site is infested with Wood Elves of all things", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Drublog Shaman's Journal", "text": "The elder drew us a map of the old shrine to Mauloch. She did not want to die without revealing this secret, sacred place from her childhood.\nWe found the holy area surrounded by hostile Wood Elves. Both sides took heavy losses. We struck a truce, for now.\nWe granted them the larger cave, as their ancestors were here first, but I've no faith in their empty promises of peace. These zealots have no respect for our customs and the Code of Mauloch. If they break our pact, they'll pay the blood price."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/drunken-aphorisms": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/drunken-aphorisms", "description": "Smart words to live by", "author": "Midar Nelvilo", "title": "Drunken Aphorisms", "text": "Give a baby alit a chunk of meat, and he'll be fed for an hour. Teach a baby alit to find its own meat and you'll be dead in a week.\nDark Elves are like volcanos - gray, ornery, and filled with red goo.\nNever tell a nix-hound that it's ugly. It doesn't speak Cyrodilic, and it won't understand what you're saying. You're just wasting your time.\nThe only road worth traveling is the road that's not made of lava.\nWhen you set the table, always leave out one glass for a friend. If they don't show, you can drink two drinks at once.\nIt's good to be rich, but it's even better to be really, really rich.\nIf you want to murder someone, use a Dunmeri knife. If you want to spread butter, also use a Dunmeri knife. Dark Elves make great knives.\nNo mushroom is ever so tall as the mushroom that grows the tallest.\nIf I was a guar and someone tried to ride me, I'd buck them off! Then I'd try to find a witch who could turn me back into a person.\nLife is like a cliff racer - it flies right by and it stinks.\nIf someone asks you why you drink so much, just tell them you lost your wife recently. If they ask how, tell them she fell into one of the wine bottles and you're trying to find her.\nThe mer who chases two guars at once will get really, really tired and probably shouldn't be a guar farmer.\nWhen life offers you sour figs, just eat them right away. That'll show life.\nYou can teach a guar to dance, but it'll still look really stupid.\nA wise mer never turns his back on a Telvanni wizard -  unless there's a Telvanni wizard behind him. Then things get weird.\nNever talk about how stupid the Tribunal is. Wait, are you writing this down?\nKhajiit make the best wives. They drink a lot, sleep a lot, and don't live very long.\nNever test the temper of a one-eyed Orc. It's the only test he'll always pass.\nIf you ask the Tribunal for rain, you'll get a flood. That's why constipated Dark Elves never pray.\nIf Almalexia tells you to jump, you jump. If Sotha Sil tells you to jump, you don't jump, because Sotha Sil never tells anyone to do anything. If Vivec tells you to jump, you take a moment to think, because he probably wants you to paint a three-legged horse or something.\nSome days you're the bull and some days you're the betty. But either way, you're still a giant tentacle monster.\nI love mudcrabs. They taste great and they never tell you what they think.\nDrinking alone is like drinking with friends, just with less people."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/drusillas-notes": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/drusillas-notes", "description": "Grim notes from a torturer", "author": "Drusilla", "title": "Drusilla's Notes", "text": "Patriarch: Offered curses, threats. No useful information. Died during interrogation.\nOlder Male: Claimed Chief Tazgol has intense fear of scorpions. Likely fabrication intended to reduce pain. Died during interrogation.\nOlder Daughter: Broke quickly. Showed promise. Sadly, knew nothing. Died after interrogation.\nOlder Son: Killed self before interrogation could commence. Sloppy. Must remember to acquire new manacles.\nYoungest Son: Revealed hidden entrance beneath great hall. Possible link to library. Will keep alive until story is verified.\nMorning Addendum: Verified son's story."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dry-page": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dry-page", "description": "Another depressing poem", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Dry Page", "text": "When the snow returns\n\tand the rivers freeze,\n\tSun hides like a child\n\tbetween its mother's knees.\n\tThe wise Nord knows\n\tthat the end comes soon,\n\tHe grows impatient\n\tawaiting his doom."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dulkhis-diary": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dulkhis-diary", "description": "A journal of young love", "author": "Dulkhi", "title": "Dulkhi's Diary", "text": "Federic leaves for Wayrest tomorrow. Arlie's overcome. You can see plainly on her face how much she does not want him to go. I wonder, if it were me leaving, would she look the same?\n- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -\nWhile scouring the hallway floor, I heard sobbing from Arlie's room. It isn't right she should be so sad. Maybe there's something I can do.\n- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -\nBrought Arlie flowers. She's still sad, but it was good to see her smile.\n- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -\nWent hunting with Baron Edrald. Everything was fine until we found that fox. We pursued, but became separated in the mountains. While trying to find my way through, I came upon a bear. It startled my horse, throwing me into the rocks nearby. Then it reared up to strike. If the Baron hadn't come upon me then, I'd be done for.\n- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -\nI've decided to tell Arlie how I feel. Life is too short for waiting.\n- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -\nI think I've made things worse. Arlie ran off crying. Of course she did. How could I ever compare to Federic!\n- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -\nArlie came to see me while I was unloading casks of wine from Fell's Run. She asked me to come see her in the old windmill. We talked for hours. About Federic. About us. She says we should spend more time together, that she isn't as lonely with me to talk to! But that isn't all. While we were talking, the Baroness came into the mill and hid something up on the second floor. I don't think she saw us, but we should be more careful from now on.\n- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -\nThe Baron came to me today and asked what my intentions were toward Arlie. She told her mother about me, and is quite distraught. I told him how I feel and that I would never do anything to hurt her. I even offered to leave! He told me that wouldn't be necessary. I think he understands.\n- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -\nReceived a shipment from Shornhelm. Unusual stuff. Lots of powders, dried plants, and some kind of shimmery gemstones. The Baroness had me take them down to the basement for storage.\nFunny. The smell reminds me of Arlie's grandmother."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dulzas-log": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dulzas-log", "description": "A mercenary accidentally fonds his way into Sotha Sil's realm", "author": "Dulza gro-Morkul", "title": "Dulza's Log", "text": "By Dulza gro-Morkul, Merchant of Fells Runs\nI have many regrets, but none quite so strong as my decision to take our clan's ancestral sword on my journey. Knowing that it will never again be wielded by a gro-Morkul's hand fills me with more sorrow than my own inevitable death. Well, there's nothing to do now but survive, for escaping this cursed world of metal seems impossible.\nWhat a tusking fool I was. Traveling to Craglorn seemed so easy compared to some of my past jobs. Sure, I knew it was a land of strange and powerful magic, but when did that ever scare me off? So long as the gold was good and the deal legit.\nThe storm that swept me into this strange wasteland was unlike any I've seen before. The lightning flashed strange colors, the rain poured hot against my skin. I heard chanting all around me, the language chilling and strange. Those words will haunt me till my dying day."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dusts-shadow": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dusts-shadow", "description": "A Shadowscale uncovers a traitor", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Dust's Shadow", "text": "All she saw was the glint of moonlight in a straight, sharp line flashing into the man beside her. He groaned and slipped to his knees, falling sideways onto the ground.\n\"By the Eight,\" Lormingga whispered in horror. A scaled hand clamped across her mouth, preventing her from saying anything more.\n\"It's over,\" a voice rasped softly. A soft cloud of ash filled the air and she coughed, wondering why the assassin hadn't killed her, too.\nWhen the dust settled, Lormingga realized she was alone. Only the smear of blood on the floor beside her indicated where her companion had fallen. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness. Lormingga looked around carefully. Alone. She lifted her unbound hands to her face and prayed.\n\"Kyne, my goddess and guide, I thank you for saving me from the lizard-folk,\" she said softly. \"We must return them to their masters.\"\n\"And for that, you must pay.\"\nLormingga felt the blade slipping through her flesh before she saw the Argonian rise beside her. Her mouth moved soundlessly and her hands clutched at where the weapon had pierced her throat.\n\"I had no proof you were involved, woman,\" the Argonian said, wiping her blade on Lormingga's shirt before sheathing it. \"Thanks for admitting your guilt before I left. This journey would've been inconvenient for another Shadowscale to take so soon.\"\nAs Lormingga sank to the floor, the Shadowscale assassin added, \"We are all part of the Pact now \u2026 except for traitors like you.\"\nAnd then the assassin, like Lormingga's life, was gone."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dusty-page": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dusty-page", "description": "Lovers must part", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Dusty Page", "text": "Fjokki lifted his singing blade, Lovemaker, above the Dunmer's head. Her silver hair shone in the moonlight as if made from the same steel as the sword. A single tear rolled down her ebon cheek.\n\"Don't cry. You knew I couldn't stay,\" whispered Fjokki. And then he was gone."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/duttards-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/duttards-journal", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Duttard's Journal", "text": "<Large portions of this journal have been gnawed upon by rodents, but the last few entries appear to be intact.>\nLaugh at me, will they? \"Just fanciful tales for the sake of embellishment.\" My eye! Only fools and pedants left at the Bards College! Next they'll say the Dwarves never existed at all!\n\u2014\nBlackreach is real. It must be. You don't hear tell of great Dwarven caravans clamoring along on their clanking machines. How else did the Dwarves move between their underkingdoms sight unseen? A trundling Dwarven caravan would make for a good story though.\n\u2014\nHah! I knew there was something to that old tale! I found a Dwarven thing. A moving platform that rises and lowers itself! Once I cleared the skeever nests out of the machinery it worked, good as the day it was made! Now to see where it leads!\n\u2014\nNever have I been so deep in the earth. I lost track of how long I rode that platform down, but by the time I reached the ruin underneath there wasn't a ray of sunlight trickling down into the shaft. These Dwarven ruins are a true wonder to behold. I'd love to see more of them, but the entry is sealed up tight. There must be some trick to it.\n\u2014\nI give up. I'm nearly out of food and I can barely think straight. Once I get back to Solitude, I'll get some rest and bring enough supplies to study these ruins at my leisure.\\n\\n\u2014\\n\\nI took a few of the Dwarven parts from the platform. That should keep anyone from finding their way inside before I get back.\n\u2014\nHad to turn back. The weather turned and trying to walk through that storm would be suicide. These ruins are the closest thing to shelter I've got out here. Once this blows over I'll be one step closer to showing those dimwits at the Bards College that our history is more than just tall tales for meadhalls!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dwarf-light": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dwarf-light", "description": "Tales of the Orsimer and a legendary Dwemer lantern", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Dwarf Light", "text": "Dwarven ruins appear in the most unexpected places in Wrothgar. As a race of smiths and crafters, the Orsimer have always been fascinated by Dwemer devices.\nOne such relic that has become intricately tied to Orsimer history is the wondrous Dwarf Light. According to folklore, Urbok Ruinwalker discovered the lantern that required no flame in an undisclosed Dwemer ruin. But apparently bad luck followed whoever possessed the lantern, for Urbok fell into a pit and broke his neck while using the Dwarf Light to take an evening stroll.\nAnother tale tells the story of the siblings, Botku and Shabihk, who planned to utilize the infamous Dwarf Light to explore the depths of Graystone Quarry. Neither the siblings nor the lantern were ever heard from again."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dwarven-ruin-explorers-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dwarven-ruin-explorers-journal", "description": "A band of Argonians met a bad end in this ruin", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Dwarven Ruin Explorer's Journal", "text": "\u2026 with some success. Beem-Tei discovered the hidden entrance to the Dwemer underworks; may her spirit find repose in the waters of Black Marsh. The automatons guard their masters' secrets well.\nThe spider and sphere guardians swarmed over us, killing Beem-Tei and Reekatul before we fought them off. The outer chamber was ours, for a time. The central heating plant and other machinery were fascinating but Ukka-Malz insisted we press farther in, searching for relics we could remove.\nThe inner chamber was our undoing. Spheres and spiders were the least of our worries. Our intrusion awakened a Dwemer Centurion. Ukka-Malz and the others died under its relentless assault. Only I lived to reach the exit.\nBut I cannot get out. The doors are locked by an unseen mechanism. Our food and water are back in the outer chamber. I'll venture there only if desperate. Perhaps other researchers will open the doors before I reach that point."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dwarven-writings": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dwarven-writings", "description": "A translated verse", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Dwarven Writings", "text": "<The writings are indecipherable Dwemeris, save for a set of translated phrases scrawled by a different hand.>\nRAISE THE SKYSTONE\n\tFORGED IN BLACKFIRE\n\tSOUND THE CHANGE\n\tBROKEN IN INFINITY\n\tENACT THE REUNION"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dwemer-dreams": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dwemer-dreams", "description": "Do treasure hunters in Dwemer ruins dream of Dwemer? You bet.", "author": "Narsis Dren", "title": "Dwemer Dreams", "text": "By Narsis Dren, Treasure Hunter\nI discovered this section of ruins after careful study of the surrounding countryside. To my trained and experienced eyes, it was obvious that this complex would be right where I found it. I dubbed the place \"Lower Bthanual,\" due to its proximity and relative elevation compared to the nearby Bthanual ruins. As with all Dwemer installations, the true purpose of the place eludes me. But that doesn't mean I can't dream and make a few wild guesses.\nAnd, as always, my wild guesses will be closer to the truth than any theories proposed by the so-called scholars who sit in their towers in Mournhold and the Mages Guildhalls.\nAs I studied the maps I had drawn of the complex, an idea began to form at the back of my mind. I decided to sleep on it, and I found a safe location that the spiders and spheres seemed to actively avoid. I fell asleep to the gentle whirring of gears and the hiss of steam, and in my sleep, I dreamed.\n\tI dreamed I was standing in the smaller, southern chamber, surrounded by living, breathing Dwemer. They were so engaged in their work that they didn't notice me as I passed among them. I watched as they fed strange components of metal and other, less easily identifiable substances into the maws of their churning machinery. They didn't speak or pause to rest, and they seemed to me to be almost as mechanical as the gadgets they produced.\nIn my dream, I left the Dwemer workers to their incomprehensible tasks and exited by the eastern corridor. I followed the passage as it curved to the north, ignoring the spheres that rolled past me. In the larger chamber, I came upon a bizarre scene. Dozens of Dwemer were crowded around the central platform, intent upon whatever was taking place upon that raised stage. I could see one of the centurions upon the platform, as it stood much taller than the Dwemer crowded around it. But I couldn't make out what was happening that had the Dwemer so fascinated. I started to push my way through the crowd in order to get a better view, when something grabbed my arm.\nI thought it must have been one of the Dwemer, who had until this moment completely ignored my presence, but the hand that grabbed me was cold and metallic. When it squeezed, I cried out in pain and opened my eyes. The dream rolled away like a parting mist, and I found myself in the grip of a Dwemer Spider!\nWell, since you're reading this account, you must have realized by now that I escaped that deadly danger, just as I always do. With style and wit and panache. You would have been amazed!\nBut let me tell you what I found when I opened the chest I stumbled across in the darkest shadows of the far corner of the chamber. The chest appeared a more recent addition to the ruins, not Dwemer in style or function at all. Made me think that maybe I hadn't been the first explorer to discover this site after all. Trust me when I tell you, however, that the contents of the out-of-place chest were almost as remarkable as yours truly, Narsis Dren \u2014 Treasure Hunter!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dwemer-dungeons-what-i-know": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dwemer-dungeons-what-i-know", "description": "A treasure hunter's overview of Dwemer ruins", "author": "Kireth Vanos", "title": "Dwemer Dungeons: What I Know", "text": "By Kireth Vanos, Dungeon-Delver Extraordinaire\nWe know almost nothing about them, except that they left behind the most interesting and exciting ruins. You know who I'm talking about. That's right! The Dwarves\u2014or the Dwemer, for the scholars among you who might be reading this. (My brother Raynor insists I call them Dwemer, but I like the name Dwarves better. It rolls off the tongue, in my opinion.)\n\tNow, dungeon-delving is serious work (no matter how much fun it might be), and can be pretty dangerous besides. Just finding a Dwarven ruin is no small accomplishment, but getting into one and back out again in one piece can be next to impossible. But before I get to that, let's talk about the ruins themselves.\nDwarves created a vast network of underground complexes and cities. Why they preferred to build beneath rock and soil, I couldn't say, but that's where they built them. So that's where you'll have to go if you want to visit a Dwarven ruin. Once you do find one, you'll know it. Dwarven architecture has a distinctive look and feel, from the surface entryways to the subterranean structures. They utilized natural openings in the rock wherever possible, tending to decorate and carve existing rock and natural pillars. They only built new structures when it was absolutely necessary, usually to support other structures or to install fortifications.\n\tIn addition to carving and shaping the natural rock, Dwarves used stone as their primary building material. Some metal appears within their ruins, primarily brass, used as accents and in mechanical construction. And here's the really exciting part: Dwarves loved their gadgets, and their ruins are full of them! I don't mean just traps, though some of the most devious were designed and built by the long-gone Dwarves. I mean heating and cooling systems made up of steam pistons and great gears, glowing lights that shine from the walls, giant wheels that turn as water cascades over them, multifaceted gems that fire beams of light, and many other wonders too numerous to mention.\nIt's eerie to walk through a Dwarven ruin. It's supposed to be empty, deserted, but the lights continue to glow and the pipes continue to steam. It's like the place is waiting for someone to return, as though the Dwarves just stepped out for a moment and haven't been gone for hundreds of years.\nThen there are the inhabitants of the ruins, for a Dwarven complex isn't as devoid of life as you might think. In fact, some of the ruins virtually teem with the stuff. But it isn't life as you or I know it. It's mechanical life. Constructs. They wander the chambers and corridors of these dungeons, performing tasks assigned to them in ages past. But make no mistake, if a construct spots you, it will attack you. With whirring blades and piston-powered swords, the Dwarven constructs pose a significant threat to any would-be dungeon-delver. Worse, the constructs know how to repair each other, so the ruins seem to contain an endless supply of the mechanical creatures.\nSo, to successfully enter and exit a Dwarven ruin, you need to spot and disarm (or otherwise bypass) devious traps, avoid or defeat an army of increasingly more powerful wandering constructs, and figure out how to open strange locks that might or might not require something that looks like a key. It can be a bit maddening, but personally I find the challenge to be remarkably fun.\nOf course, everything I've written thus far has been theory and conjecture. My brother and I have yet to enter a Dwarven ruin, and all of our practice has been within the mundane dungeons that dot the land. But I've read all the books! We've finally acquired the funding we need to tackle the Dwarven ruin known as Bthanual, and I plan to write about that adventure in the very near future.\nIn the meantime, let's all be careful out there. Remember that a dungeon isn't all fun and games. Survival is serious business, and we're in this line of work to not only thrive\u2014but to survive!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dwemer-maintenance-records": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dwemer-maintenance-records", "description": "The Dwemer kept meticulous records indeed", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Dwemer Maintenance Records", "text": "The Dwemer appear to have kept detailed records on all their machinery. They seemed very interested in even the most minor changes.\nWas this just them keeping maintenance records or could they have been looking for ways to improve their own machinery?\nMany of the more detailed notes are difficult to translate, but we know enough to see that a single pip was referenced twenty-three times in one day."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/eagle-hunter-against-dominion": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/eagle-hunter-against-dominion", "description": "A Covenant pamphlet against the Aldmeri Dominion", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Eagle Hunter: Against the Dominion", "text": "The Dominion is ruled by the Altmer and their vassal slaves. Pay heed to their weakness and cowardice: they employ a combination of subterfuge, magic, and dirty tricks that can trip up a stout-hearted, honorable soldier such as yourself.\nThe cowardly Wood Elves are best noted for their unwillingness to engage in a face-to-face attack; a Bosmer will strike at you from every side except the front. You won't cross swords with a Bosmer, but you might catch an arrow in the throat. Be wary in forests and jungles, and watch your back.\nKhajiit may look cuddly, but they are no laughing matter in a fight. Don't expect duels to end if you can disarm them. They possess razor-sharp claws that can puncture light and leather armors. And it's said that their tails can be used as crude third hands, wielding daggers and throwing knives with deadly accuracy.\nThen there are the High Elves themselves. Although the haughty Altmer are often undone by their own arrogance, in a fight their considerable reach can pose a problem. Close the gap between you and your target. Make their height a liability. Strike low and bring them to the ground.\nWith a little study, a stout-hearted Covenant soldier such as yourself will be able to easily cleave through dozens of pathetic Dominion conscripts!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ealcils-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ealcils-journal", "description": "The discovery of a weather-controlling artifact", "author": "Ealcil", "title": "Ealcil's Journal", "text": "Rurelion wants the discovery of the Mourning Stone for himself, but I'll be a thrice-shorn troll if I'll let him steal my glory yet again. While he ventures into the ruins, it'll be a simple matter to remove this magnificent artifact and return it to Eagle's Strand.\nIts potential is simply astounding. Think of what endless fresh water could do for an army. One could control the weather itself!\n\u2014 Ealcil"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ebon-crypt": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ebon-crypt", "description": "Ambrel has a plan regarding this contested place and its treasures", "author": "Ambrel", "title": "Ebon Crypt", "text": "My dear Vania,\nThe situation has turned grave out here. I can't go into details right now, but know that I am doing everything I can to keep myself safe. I have not been injured, though I have seen some action.\nThe Moors and King's Guard are rife with old ruins, tombs, and other ancient places. On my next rest period, I will see if I can find any valuables in one of the nearby ruins. My friend Marroy was telling tales of Cath Bedraud and some old crypt he claims is somewhere nearby. It's called Ebon Crypt or some suitably gloomy name like that.\nI plan to return to you with a nice bauble we can sell to create a little nest egg for ourselves. The dead can't do anything with the gold that's buried with them, but we could surely use it.\n\tI'll write again when I can.\n\u2014 Ambrel"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ebony-blade-history": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ebony-blade-history", "description": "History of the Daedric artifact", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Ebony Blade History", "text": "To anyone reading this: BEWARE THIS BLADE\nIt has corrupted and perverted the desires of great men and women. Yet its power is without equal: to kill while your victim smiles at you. Only a Daedra most foul could have concocted such a malevolent and twisted weapon. It appears that all who wield it end up with the crazed eyes of those wild men who roam the hills chattering with rabbits.\nIt is not to be trifled with. Not even the hottest fires of the Skyforge could melt it; indeed, the coals themselves seemed to cool when it was placed within. We cannot destroy it, and we would not have it fall into the hands of our enemies. So we keep it hidden, never to be used.\nWoe be to any who choose to take it."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ecology-death-hound": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ecology-death-hound", "description": "A bit of information about the vampire's best friend", "author": "Odgrete Bjersen", "title": "Ecology of the Death Hound", "text": "Count yourself lucky if you have not encountered a death hound in the wild. Few who do survive the experience. These large, muscular dogs with glowing red eyes are undead and often reside alongside vampires, serving as guardians of their lairs. Should you find yourself face to face with one of these creatures, you likely have other, more pressing matters to deal with.\nWhile many death hounds remain indoors, serving as guard-dogs for their vampiric masters, there are those who roam the wilderness, as well. They play an important role in the ecology of the areas they inhabit, often to the detriment of the habitat itself. They are voracious, undead predators that attack everything alive in sight. It's still unclear whether they hunt prey for sustenance or merely to satisfy some unholy blood lust. They do eviscerate and consume their prey, but the wide variety of quarry suggests it is less about survival and more about temperament.\nOne of the most unique traits of the death hound is its wintry bite. It is often said that the death hound has a bite \"as cold as the grave.\" Almost like a poison, a bite from a death hound can freeze the very flesh of its prey and render it immobile. Whether this magic is somehow tied to the vampires, or just an innate quality of this monstrous creature, no one is certain.\nLocal flora and fauna tend to suffer in areas where death hounds abound. The beasts are so indiscriminate when hunting, they can raze an area and leave nothing left alive if they stay too long. Fortunately, vampire covens that operate in the wilderness are often transient in nature. They too, must relocate when their prey becomes scarce."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/edwegs-resignation-note": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/edwegs-resignation-note", "description": "This Brother of Arkay is skeptical of a plan, and chooses to back out", "author": "Edweg", "title": "Edweg's Resignation Note", "text": "What's a fingerbone going to do against hordes of undead? We have no chance; only fools hold out hope.\n\tI'm heading for the nearest port and taking the first ship out. Don't try to follow me. I will not die in Arkay's cause.\n\u2014Edweg"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/effects-elder-scrolls-0": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/effects-elder-scrolls-0", "description": "Describes the various grades of blindness and understanding granted by the Elder Scrolls to their readers.", "author": "Justinius Poluhnius", "title": "Effects of the Elder Scrolls", "text": "It is widely known among scholars that the Elder Scrolls entail a certain hazard in their very reading. The mechanism of the effects has, at present, been largely unknown\u2014theories of hidden knowledge and divine retribution were the subject of idle speculation with little investigation.\nI, Justinius Poluhnius, have undertaken to thoroughly document the ailments inflicted by the Elder Scrolls on their readers, though a unified theory of how they manifest continues to elude me and remains a subject for future study.\nI have grouped the effects into four, finding that the avenue of experience depends largely upon the mind of the reader. If this is unclear, I hope that a proper dichotomy will lay it plain.\nGroup the First: The Naifs\nFor one who has received no training in the history or nature of the Elder Scrolls, the scroll itself is, effectively, inert. No prophecy can be scryed nor knowledge obtained. While the scroll will not impart learning to the uninformed, neither will it afflict them in any adverse fashion. Visually, the scroll will appear to be awash in odd lettering and symbols. Those who know their astronomy often claim to recognize constellations in the patterns and connections, but such conjecture is impossible to further investigate since the very nature of this study necessitates unlearned subjects.\nGroup the Second: The Unguarded Intellects\nIt is this second group that realizes the greatest danger from attempting to read the scrolls. These are subjects who have an understanding of the nature of the Elder Scrolls and possess sufficient knowledge to actually read what is inscribed there. They have not, however, developed adequate discipline to stave off the mind-shattering effect of having a glimpse of infinity. These unfortunate souls are struck immediately, irrevocably, and completely blind. Such is the price for overreaching one's faculties. It bears mentioning, though, that with the blindness also comes a fragment of that hidden knowledge\u2014whether the future, the past, or the deep natures of being is dependent on the individual and their place in the greater spheres. But the knowledge does come.\nGroup the Third: Mediated Understanding\nAlone in Tamriel, it would appear that only the Cult of the Ancestor Moth has discovered the discipline to properly guard one's mind when reading the scrolls. Their novitiates must undergo the most rigorous mental cultivation, and they often spend a decade or more at the monastery before being allowed to read their first Elder Scroll. The monks say this is for the initiates' own protection, as they must have witnessed many Unguarded Intellects among their more eager ranks. With appropriate fortitude, these readers also receive blindness, though at a far lesser magnitude than the Unguarded. Their vision fogs slightly, but they retain shape, color, and enough acuity to continue to read mundane texts. The knowledge they gain from the scroll is also tempered somewhat\u2014it requires stages of meditation and reflection to fully appreciate and express what one saw.\nGroup the Fourth: Illuminated Understanding\nBetween the previous group and this one exists a continuum that has, at present, only been traversed by the monks of the Ancestor Moth. With continued readings the monks become gradually more and more blind, but receive greater and more detailed knowledge. As they spend their waking hours pondering the revelations, they also receive a further degree of mental fortitude. There is, for every monk, a day of Penultimate Reading, when the only knowledge the Elder Scroll imparts is that the monk's next reading shall be his last.\nFor each monk the Penultimate Reading comes at a different and unknowable time\u2014preliminary work has been done to predict the occurrence by charting the severity of an individual monk's blindness, but all who reach these later stages report that the increasing blindness seems to taper with increased readings. Some pose the notion that some other, unseen, sense is, in fact, continuing to diminish at this upper range, but I shall leave such postulations to philosophers.\nTo prepare for his Ultimate Reading, a monk typically withdraws to seclusion in order to reflect upon a lifetime of revelations and appoint his mind for reception of his last. Upon this final reading, he is forever blinded as surely as those Unguarded ones who raced to knowledge. The Illuminated one, though, has retained his understanding over a lifetime and typically possesses a more integral notion of what has been revealed to him.\nIt is hoped that this catalog will prove useful to those who wish to further our mortal understanding of the Elder Scrolls. The Moth priests remain aloof about these matters, taking the gradual debilitation that comes with reading as a point of pride. May this serve as a useful starting point for those hoping to take up such study.\nDictated to Anstius Metchim, 4th of Last Seed in the 126th year of the Second Era"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/egg-mines-and-you": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/egg-mines-and-you", "description": "An expert wrangler introduces us to kwama and their social structure", "author": "Kylia Thando", "title": "Egg Mines and You!", "text": "By Kylia Thando, Expert Kwama Wrangler\nWelcome to the wonderful world of kwama! These adorable creatures come in a variety of sizes, roles, and dispositions, each more beautiful than the last. Our goal, of course, is the welfare of each and every kwama in Vvardenfell, but many see these majestic creatures only as sources of profit. Remember though, a happy mine is a productive mine! It's in the best interest of all that we treat kwama with respect and dignity.\nKwama are best known for their relation to egg-mining, and of course there can be no eggs without a queen. Kwama queens are beautiful beings, far larger than any other kwama. Good thing for us, for she's the one who produces all of the yummy eggs which end up on our dinner plates! A queen in distress is not only a sad sight to see, it also can cause egg productivity to plummet. Make sure your queen is well fed, and at the end of the day you'll end up with a full belly, too!\nYou're not the only one taking care of the queen, of course. She has kwama foragers, warriors, and workers at her disposal. Each of these kwama have important roles to play in the colony, and each makes sure their queen is well fed or well protected. If you want a happy queen, you need a happy colony. The reverse is also quite true! A distressed queen always leads to an upset colony, and that hurts productivity.\nKwama foragers serve as the scouts of the colony, always looking for new homes and suitable prey. If met in the wild, it's best to resist the urge to pet these lovely creatures, as they can be quite aggressive. I'm sure you would be a bit peeved as well if some stranger came up to pat you on the head! Keep your distance and these little fellows shouldn't harm you.\nA kwama built to inflict harm, however, is the mighty warrior. Though not as large as their lovely queen, these soldiers are often taller than your common Dark Elf. Don't be too awestruck if you meet one! A hasty exit is usually your best chance to escape the mine unscathed. Workers often emit special scents to protect them from a kwama warrior's wrath. Make sure that you speak to a knowledgeable alchemist if you wish to obtain the proper scents.\nAnd last, but most certainly not least, is the ever busy kwama worker! My word, but there would be no colony at all without these bustling bugs! The kwama worker digs the tunnels, tends to the queen, and watches over the precious eggs until they're ready to harvest. They're often nonaggressive, but best not to disturb these little ones while they're about their work. You never know if a kwama warrior lurks around the corner.\nThese basics provide the start in understanding our hard-shelled little friends! Further chapters in this volume will explore breeding methods, nutrition guides, mining practices, and much more! Join me in the journey, and together we can protect kwama of all kinds."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/egg-tenders-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/egg-tenders-journal", "description": "Contains details on how eggs are cared for in black marsh, as well as tribal politics", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Egg-Tender's Journal", "text": "This year will be different. I've started chewing dragonthorn like we used to in the old times. If I keep that up along with my tinctures for the months to come. I should be ready for the bonding. It'll be me this year. I know it.\n\u2014\nI'm so embarrassed. The dragonthorn is pungent. It's made my breath sour and the others have begun to notice. Even Mimme seems reluctant to talk to me. I complained of having bad salamander, but I'm going to have to be more discreet in chewing my herbs.\n\u2014\nI feel like it's working. I think my scales and claws are looking shinier. That's a good sign, I think. My teeth are staining yellow though. I've started drinking brewed scaldroot to clean my mouth. It tastes like death, but I think it'll help my teeth.\n\u2014\nKeenum accidentally took a sip of my scaldroot tea and nearly passed out. I had to work his watch at the uxith, so I couldn't get out to the dragonthorn patch until after dark. I was approached in the dark by a woman whose scales were so pale, especially under the moonlight. I almost screamed from fright, but she spoke warmly to me. She asked why I was picking dragonthorn in the dark of night and, I don't know why, but I told her the truth. I don't know why I would admit such a thing to a stranger. Maybe it's because she's a stranger. There's no one in the village I can speak to about it without a look of impotent pity. I spoke to the stranger long into the night. We agreed to meet again.\n\u2014\nI've gotten so little sleep lately, but I can't help it. Ree-Nakal tells me she can only visit me in the night and I spend all day thinking about seeing her again. She understands my pain and it's such a relief to have someone who can listen. I don't feel the shame I do when the subject comes up at home. Ree-Nakal is one of the Veeskhleel, the Ghost People. I never expected her to be so nice. The Bright-Throats don't deal with them. Not many tribes do. They are treated like pariahs because they take eggs, but it can't be helped. They can't bear clutches themselves, so their Hist sends them to find others. It's so sad.\n\u2014\nI talked to Ree-Nakal about the bonding. I suggested that maybe the Bright-Throats could make an arrangement with the Ghost People for bonding rights, so they wouldn't have to steal eggs anymore. She thanked me, but it was just out of politeness. I could see it in her eyes that she held little hope of our tribes becoming allies. She said our bond was a unique one and it will have to be enough. I didn't press the matter. I didn't want to become for her what my tribe has become for me. I won't pity her.\n\u2014\nIt's a sad day. It's always a sad day when we learn which eggs will return to the Hist. Why does the Hist choose some eggs over others? I understand the eggs that are clearly unwell, but we can't always predict which will go on to hatch and which will sink in to the roots. I've always accepted that there's nothing we can do for them, but Ree-Nakal tells me that's not true. They can still be hatched. She offered to help me save them, if I can get the eggs to her. My tribe wouldn't even miss them. They've already given up on those children, but I won't. I'll care for them. They'll be our children.\n\u2014\nI was supposed to work with Keenam again tonight, but I spiked his drink with scaldroot extract. I should be able to slip away with a few eggs throughout the night. It's terrifying to think about, but those eggs need me. I won't give up because I'm scared.\n\u2014\nI did it. My skin was dry as dead bark when the morning watch came to relieve me. I told them that a few of the eggs returned to the Hist in the night and they just nodded and accepted it. I got a lump in my throat at how little the news bothered them.\n\u2014\nIt took me hours to fall asleep. I thought that the Tree-Minder would come and accuse me, but as I woke for my next watch, everything was perfectly normal. Does the Hist know what I've done?\n\u2014\nI've given Ree-Nakal nearly all the unfit eggs from our last clutch. There were so many when I think about it. Such a waste, but not now. She told me that the eggs I'd already brought to her are safely in nests under the watch of her tribe's folk and doing well. She doesn't think it wise for me to leave and see them just yet. Better to wait until after I've saved the last of the eggs. That shouldn't be much longer I think. I can barely keep my quill steady when I think about it.\n\u2014\nMy children are doing well, or so I'm told. I haven't been able to see my eggs yet. I'm reminded of their absence every day as I tend to the eggs in my village. I want to tend to my clutch. I'm their mother. Is this how the others feel when we are raising their eggs?\n\u2014\nRee-Nakal tells me the clutch is nearly hatched! I told her I want to be there for it, but she says it's not the time. The bonding ritual is coming again soon, and I would be missed. I don't care though. The tribe can do without me, but not those eggs. They need me!\n\u2014\nI haven't seen Ree-Nakal since we fought. I'm afraid she won't come back. If she doesn't, I don't know what I'll do. I don't know where to find her. I don't know where my children are! All I wanted was to see them!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/egg-tenders-unfinished-letter": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/egg-tenders-unfinished-letter", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Egg-Tender's Unfinished Letter", "text": "Tseedesi,\nI should have taken you up on your offer, egg-sister. Even that little smudge of a trading post would be a welcome escape from all the fuss at home. Things are more frantic than usual this year and it seems as though all eyes are upon the egg-tenders. I've barely had a minute's peace to think, let alone put quill to paper. Perhaps things will settle down when you return with supplies for the ceremony. I hope you return soon. You know what wonders a sympathetic ear does for my mood. It's not like I can confide in the other egg-tenders.\nMimme is such a gossip she might as well be the tribe herald, and you know how Haxara gets around this time of year. Meena hasn't spoken to me since that night with the golden toad. She has to forgive me eventually.\nThere's some sort of commotion going on out by the tree-minder's. Let's hope it's not more trouble for me."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/eimans-fishy-secrets": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/eimans-fishy-secrets", "description": "Eiman's personal tips for preparing fine aquatic dishes", "author": "Eiman", "title": "Eiman's Fishy Secrets", "text": "Smoked Longfin\nAt least 3 Longfin, chopped up with pin bones removed\n\tPot\n\tSmoker\n\tRock\nPut the saltwater in the pot, then drop in the longfin chunks. Rope the pot closed. Weight the pot with the rock, and drop it in a lake overnight. Pull up the chunks and set them in your smoker. Use hardwood. Smoke until dark.\nSlaughterfish, Splayed\n1 Slaughterfish, gutted and scaled\n\t3 spoons oil\n\t1 bunch greens, chopped\n\t1 bunch garlic, smashed\n\t1 large bunch snowberries\n\t1 large onion, chopped\n\t4 spoons salt\n\tRock\nClean a nice wide rock. Rub oil on the rock, and inside and outside of fish. Salt the inside and outside of the fish. Stuff the fish with the rest of the ingredients. Put the fish on the rock. Keep the rock near the fire until done."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/eislefs-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/eislefs-journal", "description": "Eislef's journal about life in Riften", "author": "Eislef", "title": "Eislef's Journal", "text": "\u2014 Skeever got in the house today. Frirhild nearly jumped out of her dress. Spilled half my mead on the floor from laughing so hard.\n\u2014 Got a new farmhand. Good lad. The other street rats in Riften dubbed him Hramdin Eversmiling. Maybe a match for Raerana, when she's a little older?\n\u2014 Had to deal with Bar-Neeus in Riften today. Damned lizard cheats me every time. Barely made enough for a couple of drinks before heading home. Frirhild had her say about that, as usual.\n\u2014 Damned Elf hanging around the farm again today. If he asks for Rae's hand again, it'll go hard on him. He's not good enough for her.\n\u2014 Raerana just won't learn. Had to teach her to watch her mouth this morning. Frirhild almost said something but stopped. Good. I know what's best for my girls. Today's going to be a good day."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/eldbjorgs-needed-ingredients": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/eldbjorgs-needed-ingredients", "description": "Eldbjorg sure needs a lot of diverse and unusual things", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Eldbjorg's Needed Ingredients", "text": "14 Dremora Toes (preferably \"pinky\" toes)\n\t12 Cured Kwama Skins\n\t3 Life-size Orchicalc Skeever Statuettes\n\t2 bowls of Molding Merringar Chowder\n\t7 Werewolf Nosehairs (can substitute another lycanthrope!)\n\t12 horn-fulls of green-dyed cotton\n\t25 Seadrake feathers\n\t1 Fossilized Dwarven Fingernail\n\t3 drams of a Bosmer Maiden's Blood\n\t2 barrels of Vampire Dust\n\t3 locks of curly Wyress hair (blonde or brunette, not black)\n\t3 Unfinished Grimoires\n\t1 Filled Lich Phylactery\n\t28 Khajiit Tails\n\t4 Moistened Hagraven Lips (upper and lower)\n\t3 Iron Ingots"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/elders-account": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/elders-account", "description": "An Argonian elder explains the calendar", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Elder's Account", "text": "I think that I will die soon. The beast, Xal-Nur, eyes me constantly, and our numbers dwindle. It is difficult to see these Xit-Xaht as brothers and sisters. I spend all my waking hours looking for reasons to forgive them, or at least pity them. It is difficult. But despite their madness, they are still children of the root\u2014my shell-kin. They have wandered from Sithis, but in their hearts they remain Saxhleel.\nFor example, I saw one of their masons puzzling over a tiny wooden tsleeoleek. Dry-skins would call this the \"Argonian calendar,\" but that is because they are very foolish. The tsleeoleek counts the months and the weeks, but always it returns to where it started. It teaches us that change is eternal\u2014that past and future are illusions. It warns us against the reckless vanity of \"progress.\" The Xit-Xaht do not know this, I think. Perhaps one of them will find this and realize their mistakes.\nThe tseeoleek means many things to many different tribes. For the Suzahleel, each of the twelve faces has a unique voice and lesson. They guide the tribe to truth, and remind us of our seasonal responsibilities.\nThe first is Bahat, the sun. The sun teaches us about origins\nNext is Xeech, the nut. Xeech ushers in the Hiding Time. We plant our swamp bulbs and mosses and teach the hatchlings about their father Sithis. It is a time of hope, but also melancholy. This is one of the Three Mournings\u2014for once a thing is planted, it is hidden and gone. What emerges is not the thing you planted. The nut is gone forever. This is an important lesson.\nNow comes the Sisei\u2014the sprout. Sesei stands for newness, possibility, and youth. The Hist has shed its sleeping life in the nut and begins its waking life in earnest.\nNext is Hist-Deek, the Sapling. This is the deep sign. Hist-Deek calls us to challenge authority, and contemplate our unique role in the tribe. Each Saxhleel is forced to speak his or her own name before every meal, and sap-licking is forbidden. Some call this the Lukiul month, or the Leaping Season. I struggle with Hist-Deek, but it is a powerful time."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/elders-bramblebreach": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/elders-bramblebreach", "description": "A song about ones ancestors", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Elders of Bramblebreach", "text": "The spinners tell of spirits\n\tto whom this land belongs\n\tand who belong to this land\n\tif they belong to anything.\n\tThey are our ancestors\n\tand our governors\n\tour conscience when conscience fails;\n\twisdom for foolish Elves.\n\tWe may pretend to live apart from them\n\tbut it is only a child's tale, made of childish dreams."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/elenaires-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/elenaires-journal", "description": "A researcher's journal documenting her survey of Hel Ra Citadel", "author": "Elenaire", "title": "Elenaire's Journal ", "text": "Today is the day I set off\u2014fitting for a Scour Day, I suppose. New Life, new roads, and all! I wonder if the Yokudans had an equivalent celebration, for it is the Yokudans I pay a visit:\nI quest for the Hel Ra Citadel, a fabled fortress built by those vicious and mysterious ancestors of the Redguard. As the Ayleid ruins serve to my people as a window to my ancestors, so, too, do I expect the Citadel to teach me about Redguard culture.\nThey say no one has entered the Citadel in many lifetimes, though rumors of the cultural treasures waiting inside have reached my ears. I flush to think of them.\nAnd so I arrive! The roads of Tamriel are as treacherous as ever\u2014the wildlife especially. The Welwas of Craglorn are akin to my Bosmer cousins: fetid, petulant, and possessing of lethal denture. But at last I spy the stone spires of Yokudan architecture. The Citadel must be just up ahead.\nI can barely keep the quill straight as I pen this, but, for the first time in what must be a millennia, the antechamber that precedes the Citadel has opened! I'll see to it that someone alerts the Mages Guild, the Merethic Society, the Stargazers\u2014all of Tamriel! Once I survey it, of course.\nOne of the many legends that surround Hel Ra Citadel claims the Yokudans used it as a training ground for their Ansei (literally \"sword saints\")\u2014blade masters capable of dazzling feats. In myth, the Ansei required much meditation and training to form their Shehai, supernatural blades constructed out of sheer force of will.\nI think the antechamber preceding the road to the Citadel gives credence to the story, as do the ancient weapons left on the dais here (and not a single one marred by rust\u2014perhaps a magical property of the chamber?) According to legend, Ansei wishing to earn the elite title of First Rank were required to give up their most treasured weapons and war materiel before undertaking the grueling initiation ritual. If they succeeded, they would no longer need conventional weapons.\nMy friends say I have spent too much time researching the Yokudans and that I should find a husband. I think they are envious of my magnificent brain.\nTerms:\n\tYokeda- Leader? Lord of war?\n\tHel Shira- Blade Noble?\n\tYarban- A measurement of time? Unsure. Archaeologist, not a bean counter.\n\tAnka-Ra- Former warrior? Old warrior?\n\tKotu- Weapon? Edge?\nFascinating as the antechamber has proven to be, it's time I gleaned the Citadel itself. What could await me there? Mirimdin's Ninth Blade? The Shehai of a First-Rank Ansei? I carry no sword, but I shall leave my journal here, as the Ansei left their swords. Perhaps, like them, I'll find the means to form my own Shehai.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/elf-prisoners-note": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/elf-prisoners-note", "description": "Short note from an Elven prisoner held by Argonians", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Elf Prisoner's Note", "text": "I don't think they are even listening. They. The lizard-men, staring, unblinking. It's enough to drive a mer mad.\nThey think I'll confess. I know their game. They'll probably find this note, burn it in front of me. In case they don't, I'll draw a map for the next poor sod. I'll\u2014"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/elphirions-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/elphirions-journal", "description": "Elphirion details a plan to request aid from the Nereids", "author": "Elphirion", "title": "Elphirion's Journal", "text": "I've heard reports that General Malgoth intends to attack Vullain. If Vullain falls, our neighboring villages will soon fall as well. We're a simple people. Our archery and swordfighting skills are those of hunters, not warriors.\nAfter many talks, I've decided to ask the Nereids for help. I pray they will listen. I know death is inevitable, but perhaps there is a way we may not die in vain. General Malgoth will keep the Meat Mandate. If we can beg a poison from the Nereids, we may win this battle, though we would not live to see our victory.\nThose who are still young or too filled with fear may travel to Driladan for safety. The rest of us will stay here, and do what we can. And know our deaths will mean the Blackroot's defeat."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/elsweyr-needs-you": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/elsweyr-needs-you", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Elsweyr Needs You!", "text": "Warriors of the khaj, take heed!\nNorthern Elsweyr and lands beyond face an unprecedented threat. Dragons, criminals, and cave-dwelling beasts emerge from every corner of our beloved Anequina. As such, the citizen councils and local constabulary have gathered in Rimmen to offer rewards for actions taken in defense of the homeland!\nThose with the time and the talent should make haste to Rimmen. <<1>> stands ready to answer any and all queries!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/elven-eyes-elven-spies": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/elven-eyes-elven-spies", "description": "Anti-Thalmor pamphlet warning of the Eyes of the Queen", "author": "Zwinthodurr Roun-dar", "title": "Elven Eyes, Elven Spies", "text": "Spies walk among us. Across Elsweyr, in every street, in every village, around every campfire\u2014we are watched.\n\"But of course!\" you say. \"Our tribal elders and clan mothers watch over us always, in the name of Alkosh, Mara, and Azurah!\"\nAnd that is true. So they do.\nBut there are Others.\nOthers who watch our every move, who suspect us of \"disloyalty,\" who can report us as unfaithful and treasonous.\nReport us? To who? To the officers of the Mane?\nOh, no. Not to Cat-Folk at all.\nThese watchers report only to the Elves.\nAdmit it: you have heard their name. But only in whispers. And you dare not repeat it.\nThey are \u2026 the Eyes of the Queen.\nThe Eyes, who are beholden to no one but the tall and terrible Queen Ayrenn.\nHer Eyes see everything, they say. But how, since Elves cannot go everywhere? Because, Khajiit, Elven gold can\u2014and does.\nHush. You know it to be true.\nAnd because you are watched, your tail-dance droops ever-so-slightly, your ears stand a little less proud, and you look over your shoulder a little too often.\nBecause who can say who has been bought, and who has not? Who might be sending reports about you\u2014and what might they be saying?\nWhere did that neighbor of yours go last Middas? Was it to receive new orders from the Eyes? Or was she taken away, perhaps to Alinor itself, and the dungeons beneath the Crystal Tower?\nBeware, Khajiit. Keep your whiskers alert.\nThis one is watched. And this one may not be permitted to warn you again."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/emperor-kastavs-epitaph": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/emperor-kastavs-epitaph", "description": "Tomb inscription for the deposed Emperor", "author": "Honor Guard Captain Sadineras-Kor", "title": "Emperor Kastav's Epitaph", "text": "Here lie the mortal remains of the Emperor Kastav, deposed yet sacrosanct, deceased annum 2812. His interment complete, I return to my quarters to take my own life.\n\u2014Honor Guard Captain Sadineras-Kor"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/enak-dos-ledger": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/enak-dos-ledger", "description": "", "author": "Enak-do", "title": "Enak-do's Ledger", "text": "Shuzura . . . . . . . Owed, 20 coin\n\t(Bet from Thizzrini trip.)\n\tEzzag . . . . . . . Owed, 27 coin\n\t(Thizzrini trip)\n\tMilk Eyes. . . . . . . Owe, 30 coin\n\t(Cards)\n\tSanat-do . . . . . . . Owed, 40 coin\n\t(Hadran's, Spikeball race bet)\n\tHizir-dar . . . . . . . Owe, 34 coin\n\t(Investments)\n\tZabashti . . . . . . . Owe, 40 coin\n\t(Investments)\n\tKubani . . . . . . . Owe, 23 coin\n\t(Investments)\n\tRahazi . . . . . . . Owe, 11 coin\n\t(Investments)\n\tRakhad . . . . . . . Owe, 250 coin\n\t(Investments)\n\u2014 Mathal, make sure you bring any coin you get from your next trip directly to Rakhad. He's quickly running out of patience."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/enchanter-practicum": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/enchanter-practicum", "description": "Yet another chiding diatrabe against Bardus", "author": "Defessus Lector", "title": "Enchanter Practicum", "text": "Bardus,\nI think have finally discovered the issue. Your lack of advancement has nothing to do with your mind being too addled to string together two coherent thoughts, nor is it that you just stubbornly refuse to better yourself in anything other than the torture of small animals. It is because you have no more long-term memory than a gnat.\nI think I know how to solve this issue. If you take any advice from me, hearken to this. Write down every thought, discovery and notion as quick as they come to you. I am not telling you to write tomes. I mean just scribble a simple one sentence note about your discovery, and then keep those notes with you at all times.\nLet us try this on the enchantment practicum. I want three different glyphs each in a specific setting. When you discover the missing additive, write it down. I expect the notes and examples of your work by day's end.\nEnchanter Practicum\nTo make a Stamina Glyph, you start with a Defensive Glyph in a wooden setting. Add Flawed Hrotanda, Dirty Turpen, and what other additive?\nTo make a Magicka Glyph, start with a Defensive Glyph in a wooden setting. Add Flawed Moranda, Dirty Mastic, and what other additive?\nTo make a Lightning Glyph, start with an Offensive Glyph in a metal setting. Add Corroded Dwarven Scrap and what two other additives?"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/enchanting-made-easy": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/enchanting-made-easy", "description": "A beginner's guidebook to enchanting with runestones", "author": "Fishes-For-Runes", "title": "Enchanting Made Easy ", "text": "Anyone can become an enchanter\u2014it doesn't matter who you are, or who you were. I spent twenty years pulling fish from the waters of Black Marsh before stumbling into the world of enchanting. If a former Argonian fisher-slave can figure it out, so can you!\n\n\nStep One: Find Runes\n\n\n\t\t\tYears ago I noticed glowing runes when I fished in Black Marsh. At first I thought they were wisps! You're most likely to find them in dangerous places, so be careful. Look for the angular stones where the runes sit.\n\n\n\n\t\t\t\u2014Red Aspect runes remind me of fish: the minnows are plentiful but don't have much flesh on their bones, while the old grandfathers are the rarest but the richest catch.\n\t\t\t\u2014Blue Potency runes make me think of a fish's flavor. The good ones can improve your day, while the bad ones are best fed to your enemies.\n\t\t\t\u2014Green Essence runes are like the type of fish. Frost fish, armor fish, poison fish ... you get the idea.\n\n\n\n\t\t\tSome people ask me why there are runes scattered throughout Tamriel, but that's a question for the Mages Guild. I've never asked where fish come from, just where I can find more of them.\n\n\n\n\t\t\t(I should mention\u2014I can't actually see colors. If you're like me, you want to look for the brightness of the rune. Aspect runes are quite dim, potency runes are bright, and essence runes glow very bright.)\n\n\nStep Two: Create Enchantment\n\n\n\t\t\tOnce you have one rune each of aspect (fish age), potency (fish flavor), and essence (fish type), bring them to an enchanting station. Now, put the runes together and craft your first enchantment!\n\n\n\n\t\t\tThe best way you learn to fish is by fishing, and the same applies to enchanting. The act of creating an enchantment will reveal the meaning and function of unknown runes. Some will say \"You must comprehend how the rune resonates with your soul to truly understand it,\" but that's Mages Guild talk.\n\n\nStep Three: Enchanting Items\n\n\n\t\t\tYou have your first enchantment. Now you're ready to enchant your first item! Find the item you want to enchant and apply the enchantment. Easy, no? But of course, it's never that easy.\n\n\n\n\t\t\tEnchantments are very particular. Some are best for weapons, others for armor, and still more bind only to jewelry. Some may require higher quality items than what you have on hand. Oh, and no item that is already enchanted can take a new enchantment. \"Serve the right fish for the right occasion,\" as my egg-sister says.\n\n\nAppendix: Extracting Runes From Enchantments\n\n\n\t\t\tIf you have an enchantment you can't use, don't despair! Sell, trade, or gift them to friends who can use them.\n\n\n\n\t\t\tOf course, you can also extract runes from enchantments at any enchanting station. I call this \"gutting the fish.\" This destroys the enchantment in the process, but you'll get one of the runes back that you could use in another enchantment.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/end-my-patience": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/end-my-patience", "description": "Ren-dro is upset at competition in the area", "author": "Ren-dro", "title": "End of my Patience", "text": "I've been pleasant enough with those thugs, haven't I? They sent along that gold, the skooma, made themselves out to be good neightbors? Lies! All lies, meant to lull us into complacency.\nStart letting the word out: Krin Ren-dro is paying top dollar for the head Colovian Raider holed up in Fardir's Folly. It's an old Ayleid ruin all the way north, along the border with Cyrodiil.\nI don't know what his name is, but all of them are deserters from that Colovian force in the Northern Woods. Let the men know, tell Hadran, spread the word in Rawl'kha. Nobody muscles in on my territory and lives to tell the tale!\n\u2014 Ren-dro"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/end-journey": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/end-journey", "description": "Veloth and his people arrive in the Promised Land", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "End of the Journey", "text": "It was during the time of Great Despair when Saint Veloth and his people reached the land of Resdayn. For untold weeks they had climbed a mighty range of mountains under Veloth's leadership. Many among the Chimer considered this path to be folly, but they were driven by Veloth's unyielding certainty and commitment.\nThey came upon a great pass, a deep scar in the mountain covered in ice and snow. Veloth drove them onward, chasing a vision that had come to him in a dream. He claimed to see a great hawk in the sky. He vowed that the hawk would lead the Chimer to a new home. They drudged through the pass, but after a time the Chimer could go no farther. A great wall of ice blocked their way.\nThen a powerful voice boomed from the mountains. \"Who are you and why have you come to this place?\"\n\t\"We are a people without a home,\" replied Veloth to the mountain.\nA young woman stepped out of the wall of ice.\n\"And who are you?\" asked Veloth.\n\"I am Chimer-Friend. I have come to lead you home, if you are willing to accept my challenge. I demand a sacrifice of you, Veloth. Swear an oath that will make you a better Mer.\"\nVeloth hoisted his mighty hammer and proclaimed, \"Never again shall I wield this tool or any other to slay a foe. I have given my heart to my people, but now I shall give them more. I shall dedicate my life and my soul to them.\"\nThe woman turned and waved at the wall of ice. It melted away in moments. Beyond lay an alien land of fungus and ash. She began to walk forward and the Chimer followed.\nVeloth spoke to his people. \"We are home,\" he declared. \"This is the anvil upon which we shall forge a new people. One journey ends here, but another journey begins.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/endarres-log": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/endarres-log", "description": "Endarre reaches the end of life, but prays for a lover", "author": "Endarre", "title": "Endarre's Log", "text": "It's just the two of us now. We've been down here in the dark for so long \u2026 I don't know what day it is. Ostarand is quiet, even as the sounds get closer. He misses Valasha a great deal, I can see it on his face.\n\tWe're trapped, as far as we can tell. The doors forward refuse to open, no matter how we tug on them.\n- - - - - - - -\n\tI think we may have it. It's taken us days to figure out, but \u2026 the guardian constructs in this room contain strange red crystals that glow from within. They look like they'll fit into the sockets near the doors.\n\tWith a little more time, I believe we can find a way through.\n- - - - - - - -\n\tThe constructs. They've broken through. I think this will be the end. Goodbye, Lannessa. Wherever you are. I loved you. Know, with my last words, I loved you."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/enduring-nord-society": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/enduring-nord-society", "description": "A rather biased view of Nord society by a Dunmer ally", "author": "Nevil Hleran", "title": "Enduring Nord Society", "text": "If, like the unfortunate author of this text, you have the displeasure of being required by your House to interact with our Nord \"allies\" and \"trade partners\" on a regular basis, you'll quickly discover that Nord social interactions are far removed from our complex and dignified Dunmeri culture. My frequent exposure to their habits and behaviors has made me something of an authority on avoiding physical harm when in the company of Nords, and I hope it may assist you, the reader, in the same.\nWith Nords, insults are not always insults\u2014unless they are. When conversing among themselves, references that might otherwise seem offensive (like \"you old horker's arse\") might, in fact, be familiar terms of endearment. One should avoid chiming in with similar epithets unless quite familiar with the Nords in question. Keep in mind, even then, that insulting a Nord's strength, bravery, or honor in any way almost inevitably leads to violence as the offended party attempts to prove otherwise.\nNever turn down a drink. You must become an expert at discreetly emptying your sixth or seventh cup of mead underneath the table (don't worry, there will be plenty of spillage already present; no one will notice). Refusing a drink is seen as an admittance of weakness and is a sure way to alienate yourself from those you have been forced to work alongside.\nMy last bit of advice is to attempt to speak in the simplest terms possible. Nords, while they do love absurd stories, do not appreciate the finer arts of conversation, and become suspicious of those who speak in elaborate language. A suspicious Nord is a dangerous Nord, likely to go off and begin yelling and throwing accusations that you're deliberately being confusing and must be lying. Keep it simple and you'll avoid bruises.\nGood luck, reader. You will need it as you attempt to cooperate with these brutish Men."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/engine-expression": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/engine-expression", "description": "An introduction to the gear-based phrases of Sotha Sil's disciples", "author": "Proctor Albacron", "title": "Engine of Expression", "text": "By Proctor Albacron, Second Innovator of the Sacred Flywheel\nThe Great Gear, a concept first put forth by Lord Sotha Sil and later expanded upon by his Clockwork Apostles, illustrates the idea that all of existence can be expressed as the workings of a finely tuned machine. The Great Gear represents nature's primal engine, the source of life and power that makes Nirn thrive. It isn't a literal engine. The Father of Mysteries used the metaphorical idea of a primal engine to expound upon his teachings and philosophy. The apostles that learned from Lord Seht followed his example and built upon the metaphor to create a rich and expressive manner of speaking that sets them apart from other followers of the Tribunal.\nBy employing a variety of metaphors that utilize the workings of gears and pistons to express emotions, thoughts, and intentions, the apostles have developed a distinct dialect that draws upon their vocation and beliefs. Here are some of their more cherished idioms, along with the meaning for those not fluent in the movements of the Great Gear.\n\"By the Great Gear!\"\" An exclamation of wonder or surprise, although it can also be used to proclaim shock or even horror in the appropriate circumstance.\n\"Never in a million clicks of the Great Gear.\" An idiom for emphasizing the impossibility of a given event or describing something that is unlikely to happen.\n\"The gears just have to align in my favor.\" An expression of hopeful intent, favorable conditions, or the desire for everything to come together in a positive way.\n\"When the gear slips.\"\" A phrase used to express that something isn't quite right or a situation has become off kilter.\n\"Clogging up the gears.\" An expression that means something was spoiled, usually through blundering or stupidity.\n\"Before three gears click into place.\" A phrase used to hurry things along or to indicate that very little time has or will have passed.\n\"Caught in the gears.\" A statement of concern, usually related to a difficult situation, a troublesome predicament, or a problem that doesn't have an easy solution.\n\"May your gears spin freely.\" A friendly farewell, wishing the recipient good wishes and continued success.\n\"May your pistons never clog.\" A phrase used to wish another person well as you send them on their way.\n\"May the Great Gear always spin in your direction.\" A way to wish good fortune upon a Clockwork Apostle or a close friend or associate not related to the order.\n\"Tighten the cogs.\" To shore up, reinforce, or make better.\n\"The clockwork is only as strong as its weakest cog.\" A phrase with a literal meaning, though the \"weakest cog\" also figuratively refers to a person or other flawed feature and not an actual cog.\n\"The Great Gear never pauses in its rotation.\" A phrase that assures us that time passes and the world moves on, whether we want it to or not.\n\"Spare a few more clicks of the Great Gear.\" A request to give someone or something your attention for a time.\n\"The Great Gear turns, so be quick, be quick.\" Time passes, so don't dawdle.\n\"Sometimes the Great Gear turns from frustration to opportunity.\" Any of several similar sayings that indicate that situations can change from favorable to unfavorable, or vice versa, usually by the whims of fate.\nAnd that is the sequence of the words."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/engraved-pedestal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/engraved-pedestal", "description": "Notable deeds of the Veloth family", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Engraved Pedestal", "text": "The harp, as silent as brave hearts\nStands guard over four valiant souls\nHonor their memories with offerings true\nLlirala Veloth\u2014Her kindness and grace reflected good upon her family name\nOndre Veloth\u2014Master Archer of Molag Amur\nValyne Veloth\u2014Toasted her enemies, to their death and hers\nElms Veloth\u2014Nourished all but himself during the Hunger Year"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/enigma-runestones": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/enigma-runestones", "description": "A history of Runestones as used for enchantment", "author": "Telenger the Artificer", "title": "Enigma of the Runestones", "text": "The origin of the mystic runestones found scattered across Tamriel is obscure and uncertain. Even their nature and material composition is a matter of hot debate among the sages of the Crystal Tower. The Venerable Ancirinque, Sapiarch of Mythohistory, holds that certain difficult passages in Torinaan's Journal indicate that runestones were already here when the Foresailor arrived from Old Aldmeris. However, Nolin the Many-Hued, Sapiarch of Enchantment, contends that they date from the early Merethic Era, and are the unintended consequence of an Ayleid wizard's experiment gone awry.\nWhatever the truth of their origin, after generations of study by the finest magical minds in the Summerset Isles, their various properties have nearly all been identified, and their uses in the enchantment of arms, armor, and ornaments are well understood. For general classification they fall into three categories, which we latter-day mages have dubbed Potency, Aspect, and Essence.\nFor enchantment purposes these three types of runestones can be understood as mystically complementary, for only by combining one of each category can the enchanter create a \"glyph,\" our term for the magical substance we use to endow an item with sorcerous power.\nHowever, though we know how to use runestones to create magical items, the enigma remains: what are they? We have named their three standard categories Potency, Aspect, and Essence\u2014but what does that mean? Even the great Phariiz the Antic, who gave them these names, even he, when asked what they meant, merely shrugged and replied, \"Those are the names that feel right to me.\"\nEven the fact that there are three kinds of runestones generates debate, as it seems to contradict the Anu-Padu Theorem, which posits that duality is the foundation of the Aurbis. Camilonwe of Lillandril asserted that it was impossible that there were only three types of runestones, and spent the last two hundred years of his life searching for a fourth, convinced that proper classification called for such entities to appear in dual pairs. He never found this \"quartonic runestone,\" which he dubbed Celerity, but he insisted until the end that his theory was sound.\nWas Camilonwe right? Do Celerity runestones exist, but in some state of reality that makes them imperceptible to normal mortals? That is a question that is, so far, unanswerable."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/enthoras-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/enthoras-journal", "description": "Notes on shipping throughout Valenwood", "author": "Enthoras", "title": "Enthoras' Journal", "text": "\u2014Shipping any non-standard goods through Haven was a nightmare prior to the attacks, it's even more of a mess now.\n\u2014Attempts to secure a friendly contact in Redfur thus far unsuccessful, will need to increase the \"donation\" being offered to rectify this to prevent additional loss of shipments.\n\u2014Need to prepare another shipment of wood for Karthdar (Note to self: Verify there are NO saw marks this time, they will stop trading completely if they think the wood wasn't naturally discovered on the ground).\n\u2014Purchase another order of tin from Barkbite Stronghold when it's available. They think it's useless as they can't make weapons from it but I have a contact who uses it to make high quality bronze and pays top coin.\n\u2014Given the turmoil in Elden Root, I should prepare for both possibilities of celebrations as well as days of mourning. I shall purchase 100 lengths of black cloth and several dozen colorful banners.\n\u2014Look into delicacies for Altmer. Between the royalty at Elden Root and the visiting Carnival, they will want a taste of home and will pay handsomely for it.\n\u2014Do not forget to pay off the bandits again. Having them leave my shipments alone while attacking everyone else's increases profit margins over 50%.\n\u2014Rumor: There are still mining supplies left in Goldfolly, unused and only marginally weathered. Look into contracting some cheap adventurers to go in there and get what they can. Do NOT mention the vampires."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/entillas-folly": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/entillas-folly", "description": "Bahkig seeks play mates", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Entila's Folly", "text": "This one was able to acquire all the necessary ingredients at the Mages Guild.\nNow Bakhig must find the old mine, Entila's Folly. They claim the mine is filled with pretty, dancing spinners and Bakhig must go find them and play with them. According to the map, Entila's Folly is just to the southwest of Skywatch. It shouldn't be too hard to find."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/entry-19": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/entry-19", "description": "A Khajiit's journal entry about a horrible plague", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Entry 19", "text": "This illness has killed half of the village, and fear of its spread has caused the Confederacy to wall us off from the rest of Elsweyr. It does not matter. We are neither the origin or its only vector.\nThe symptoms start innocuously enough; fatigue and a diminished appetite accompany leaking tears and a rash beneath the fur. Within a day or two from the detection of these symptoms, the victim will be bleeding from the eyes, ears, and gums. The cough is the worst of it, leading to ruptured lungs and internal bleeding.\nTreatment is largely ineffective. By the time curatives were administered the afflicted were so far along in the disease's progression that their bodies would not absorb it quickly enough. Only by catching it early could one be saved from death's hungry talons, and even then not for long.\nIt is not the disease itself that is the worst part. It is the fear \u2014 a fear that causes the villagers to tear at one another as they search for someone to blame for this slow, segregated death.\nThe irony? One of the soldiers hemming us in had the rash. This illness will spread, and there is nothing I can do about it."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/enzamirs-note": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/enzamirs-note", "description": "", "author": "Enzamir", "title": "Enzamir's Note", "text": "Doubted me, did you? Well, this note is all the proof you need that I beat you both to the top. Next time you see me, prepare to pay up!\nI was surprised to find this sword up here, though. I believe it belongs to Blademaster Sai Sahan, though I'm not sure why he would leave it up here. I wouldn't bother trying to pull it out, though. If I can't do it, there's no way either of you can.\nOnce you two sluggards make it up here, see me for the next challenge. And don't think I'll go easy on you!\nEnzamir"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/eorims-tale": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/eorims-tale", "description": "A member of the Stonefist Brigade recounts their exploits and foundation", "author": "Eorim", "title": "Eorim's Tale", "text": "Of all the members of the Stormfist Brigade, my brothers and I were always the closest to Fildgor Strong-Prince, now Fildgor Orcthane. It was my older brother, Gadof, who first met the prince. Gadof had been set upon by bandits on the road to Whiterun Hold, and he was outnumbered seven to one. A Stormfist through and through, Gadof made a good showing, but his hammer couldn't be everywhere at once. He had taken down two of the bandits, but he had been wounded in the process and his blood was flowing freely.\nThat's when Fildgor Strong-Prince appeared. He leaped into the middle of the remaining bandits, scattering them with a series of powerful blows. He fought his way to Gadof's side and set his broad back against my brother's. They defeated the bandits, and Fildgor carried my brother home. Our younger brother, Braxek, rushed to help. When they learned who Fildgor was, they both pledged their lives and their honor to the strong and charismatic prince.\nI was only a girl at the time, but from the moment I saw him, I knew that I was in love with the stranger from the east. Fildgor stayed at our house, helping out while Gadof recovered from his wounds. They talked often, and that's where the idea for the Stormfist Brigade was first born. Fildgor imagined a group of boon companions, traveling the land and righting wrongs. He was so idealistic! And he talked about Queen Mabjaarn with such love and admiration.\nWhen the group of twelve finally came together, drawn from the strongest and bravest of the Stormfist clan, a great feast was thrown to send them off in style. The party lasted for three days, and on the morning of the forth day, the Stormfist Brigade rode out. Determined to be a part of that special group, I took up my hammer and followed them. When they were in the thick of their first battle, pitted against a Goblin raiding party, I jumped in to help. Just as Fildgor Strong-Prince had done when my brother needed him.\nIt was a wonderful battle and a grand victory! The first of many for the Brigade. But my brothers were furious with me. They said I was too young to be on the road with them. Fildgor, however, simply smiled. \"She fought well,\" he said. \"And she loves me. What other requirement is there for membership in our band? Besides, thirteen is a much better number than twelve.\"\nI stayed at Fildgor's side through the battles of the Akaviri war. I was there to comfort him when he lost the throne to his skeever of a brother, Jorunn. And I followed him into exile, where I watched him build an army out of thin air and rally the Orcs of the far reaches. Now we're back, and this time I'll be there to watch my beloved Fildgor finally claim the throne that is rightfully his. Even if it does mean hiding in caves until the time is right to make our move.\nAnd as far as caves go, this one isn't half bad."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/epitaph-bjarfrud-skjoralmor": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/epitaph-bjarfrud-skjoralmor", "description": "A short, poetic history of the founding of Falkreath, as writ on tombstone", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Epitaph of Bjarfrud Skjoralmor", "text": "Here lies the stone upon which this city was found,\nTook the shape of a man whose deeds saw him crowned.\nThrice he drove the beastly host from their heathen wood,\nSo he hewed it down and planted this town,\nOn the very spot that he stood."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/epode-ansei-wards": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/epode-ansei-wards", "description": "Praise to the Ansei wards against the undead", "author": "Weltan of Sentinel", "title": "Epode of the Ansei Wards", "text": "When Ra Gada came from Old Yokuda\n\tIn Hammerfell were found\n\tMen of aspect tusked and fearsome, that we\n\tHunted to the ground\n\tOthers there were also, Elven, secret\n\tRaising sacred dead\n\tNecromancers lurked in desert towers\n\tTo Hammerfell they'd fled\n\tDesert hid them no more from the righteous\n\tSince the Redguards hie\n\tBack they fought with evil magics, heinous\n\tDead once more to die\n\tStricken were Ra Gada in their god-faith\n\tBanned from striking kin\n\tDead, awakened by the wicked wizards\n\tSmote us from within\n\tAnseis three then furnished all an answer\n\t'Gainst the risen dead\n\tMaja, Radan, and Halelah spake of\n\tWards to curb the dread\n\tMighty swords they forged from their own shehai\n\tThe people to defend\n\tGuarding Redguards' consecrated bodies\n\tFrom unholy end\n\tTo Tu'whacca sacrificed the Anseis\n\tEssence of their minds\n\tGave their animus to seal the treaty\n\tThat protects and binds"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/erokii-relics": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/erokii-relics", "description": "Orders to search an Ayleid ruin", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Erokii Relics", "text": "Erokii was one of the leading Ayleid cities in northwest Tamriel. It may contain Merethic Era relics of untold power. Search it thoroughly, and bring what you find to Headquarters."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ertivals-recounting": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ertivals-recounting", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Ertival's Recounting", "text": "What nightmares!\nI cannot close my eyes but see terror in the darkness of dreams. Lurid grotesqueries stalk beyond the ring of my mind's candlelight, striking when I cannot keep among the waking any longer.\nI have tried all methods for calming my thoughts. Meditation. Hypnosis. Honeyberry Tea. But the moment I slip into sleep I am once more assailed by the terrors that await me there.\nIn a moment of desperation, I turn to my quill. In writing what I see in dream, I hope that I may expel the darkness I see at night.\nIn dream I sit on the gentle shore of Artaeum, where waves from the endless aether lap at sand. The sun sits low and red in the sky, almost mocking me with tranquility.\nThen, from the sea erupts a creature\u2014gigantic, corrupted with the parasites and spawn of the ocean's recesses\u2014that makes its way to shore, leaving a foam of crimson in its wake. All the water around it turns black, all the fish die, all the wind and roar is quieted. Its five heads rake and bite one another, crying with their dissonant voices. And despite the perverse knotting and writhing of its heads the creature still plods forward, sowing destruction as it does. One of the heads is little more than rotting flesh and bone, and even as it roars I see the bottom-feeders of the ocean depths feasting on its putrid flesh. With its every roar the dead tremble and dance, puppets on strings before its unholy power.\nA second head bore pustules and pox-scars, bulbous blisters of fluid that glowed in crimson and cyan\u2014these would burst, oozing their contents into one another, and these horrible concoctions would hiss and sputter, burn and smoke. The others would lap this fouled fluid with glee and dismay.\nA third head was black as a night without stars, as onyx in a windowless room. And darker still were its eyes, pulling the shadows made long by the sun into a shroud of pure darkness.\nThe fourth head was obscured to me. I could not discern its features.\nBut the last, the fifth head\u2014so terrible it was to behold, for it was several times the size of the others. By its screeching only would the others tremble and quell their fighting. This massive head was little more than a ring of teeth, seated upon which was a terrible brain\u2014a loathsome mottled thing, its wrinkles and folds undulating in a sinister and nauseating series of pulses. Strands of ichor and bile seeped from its fleshy recesses as barnacles and polyps, affixed to its surface, seemed to gasp for want of air.\nThen the creature's heads turned their attentions to me. I was frozen, am frozen, will always be frozen by the eyes raking over me, and worse still is the song they sang in unison, a ruinous cacophony:\nKetor-A, En-Garsa! Bekor-gen, Zema-ja! Ulvorkus waits, Ulvorkus wakes, Ketor-A, En-Garsa! Bekor-gen, Zema-ja!\nAnd at the apex of this terrible verse, as the sun gave way to terrible night, I would see the outline on a distant horizon\u2014a mountain forming from the sea. And falling into the water from this peak were more creatures\u2014too many to count, too horrible to name.\nThey are coming.\nThey are coming for us.\nAnd when the sun goes down completely, I wake up screaming."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/eshrafs-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/eshrafs-journal", "description": "", "author": "Eshraf", "title": "Eshraf's Journal", "text": "\n\u2014certain someone is watching me. I'd bet a bucket of gold that it's one of those damned Naga. They nearly got me at the Tsona-Geeva ruins, but I grew up in the alleys of Sentinel. These lizards can't catch me!\nI just wish I hadn't left my damned backpack behind! Famia's going to give me those sad puppy-dog-eyes when I tell her I lost the vakka stone. Not looking forward to that. Luckily, it seems like Dinia left her bag here. That's something, at least.\nAnyway, that's enough excitement for one day. I'll spend the night here in the hut and head back to Lilmoth in the morning. Some days I really hate this place!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/essanyons-records": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/essanyons-records", "description": "A zealous cult to Auri-El commits some questionable acts", "author": "Essanyon", "title": "Essanyon's Records", "text": "2nd of Rain's Hand\n\tThe Eight have spoken to me! Me, of all the Mer in the Summerset Isles. They chose me. My mother always said I was destined for greatness. A crow appeared to me in a dream. Asked me to spread the word that the end is coming. The end is coming and we must prepare if we wish to bask in the light of Auri-El.\n\t- - -\n\t8th of Rain's Hand\n\tI've begun my mission. Already a small group of followers have gathered around me. Including my own brother, Quaronaldil! We must spread the word before our time runs out. I've sent Quaronaldil to start in Alinor, another in Cloudrest. I'll make the journey to Auridon. Focus on the people of Skywatch. I need to start making the necessary arrangements.\n\t- - -\n\t20th of Rain's Hand\n\tI've finally arrived in Skywatch and begun spreading the word. Many appear doubtful, but a few have seen the truth. We're working hard to save the souls of our brethren. I've been praying to the Divines to send me another sign. Something I can use to add fire to the words I preach and show the truth behind them.\n\t- - -\n\t15th of Second Seed\n\tIt's finally happened. The crow appeared again. The Divines have given me the date when it will happen. It will be the 10th of Sun's Height. I have a mere two months to get the people of Tamriel to see the light. I must get the word to the others throughout the Isles before time runs out.\n\t- - -\n\t30th of Second Seed\n\tAnother dream! This time the crow bore a message. The Divines have declared that if I can sacrifice an Altmer of Noble blood, it will prevent the end from arriving. I have one such Altmer within my flock. If I cannot persuade him to be a willing sacrifice, we may need to take more desperate measures. Either way, it must be done to secure the lives of all living things.\n\t- - -\n\t5th of Mid Year\n\tI've summoned all of our followers for the ceremony. It will take place in the town of Ezduiin. Many of the faithful tend the fires there. The noble will die. And so many will live.\n\t- - -\n\t10th of Mid Year\n\tSomeone has warned the nobleman. He sent along his apologies. He will not attend. I must take more direct action. I've sent my most loyal of followers to Skywatch. Their blades will save us all.\n\t- - -\n\t14th of Mid Year\n\tThe ceremony was a success! My flock has fulfilled its purpose. But I fear I now know who has betrayed me. My own brother, Quaronaldil, has not been seen with the flock for many days. I fear the worst.\n\t- - -\n\t19th of Mid Year\n\tThe Skywatch Guard assaults Ezduiin! Quaronaldil, no doubt, is responsible. They have us trapped in the Undercroft of Ezduiin. I refuse to allow my followers to die at the hands of infidel guards.\n\t- - -\n\t21st of Mid Year\n\tThe Crow came to me again in a dream. It told me to use the Mallari-Mora. I must secure the innocence of the faithful. The blades of the non-believers will not drink of my flock. Although our mortal lives here will be at an end, the crow has promised our souls will be delivered to Auri-El himself."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/establish-watchposts": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/establish-watchposts", "description": "Military orders to establish watch posts in Cyrodiil", "author": "Captain Priscus", "title": "Establish Watchposts", "text": "Your orders, sergeant, are to take five soldiers and establish watchposts on high ground. Your area of responsibility is the region between Drakelowe Keep and the village of Cropsford. Go no farther north than the ruins at Nornal.\nTrack all invaders within this area, regardless of which alliance the troops belong to. Estimates of group size and direction of movement are vital.\nSend me daily reports. I expect we'll be at the bridge for some time to come.\n\t\u2014 Captain Priscus"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/etching-ancient-sword": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/etching-ancient-sword", "description": "A cryptic old note etched on a sword", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Etching on Ancient Sword", "text": "Nine years in bliss, our fates were tied. Our lovers' kiss? Not one denied.\n\tIf we had dreamed, our hearts awoke when on the tenth a battle broke.\n\tI went to war, against our fears. Far out of sight for many years.\n\tI've returned, my love, so we might break our bonds and be set free!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/eulogy-emperor-varen": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/eulogy-emperor-varen", "description": "An overwrought goodbye", "author": "Lord Abnur Tharn, Chancellor of the Elder Council", "title": "Eulogy for Emperor Varen", "text": "Emperor Varen! How briefly you blazed across our sky, like a skymetal shard shining out to light our way through the darkness!\nNoble Varen! Devout Varen! Varen Aquilarios! Son of a Colovian duke, paragon of physical prowess, wily fox of strategic cunning, you sought to restore our Empire to the glory of the Days of the Remans. You showed us the way. If only we, your subjects, had been worthy of the challenge you presented us!\nWhen Leovic sat upon the Ruby Throne, you urged your fellow Colovians to be loyal to their Emperor, despite his eccentricities. It was only when Leovic, misled by wicked councilors, declared worship of the Daedric Princes legal and protected in the Empire, that you cried, \"Enough!\" and took up your righteous sword.\nAnd the Colovians rose behind you! After an initial defeat at the hands of the Emperor's troops at Fort Ash, you took command of the Legion of Chorrol and sent Leovic reeling back into the Heartland. Word spread that Cyrodiil had a savior, and that Reman's true heir had come at last. The Colovian Estates rose as one under your dragon banner, and eastward you marched.\nThe war that followed was bitter and terrible, replete with stunning victories, desperate gambits, and reversals on both sides. The might of the Imperial Legions, bolstered by Reachman auxiliaries and Daedric magic, were almost impossible to overcome. But you, Varen, had the might of right on your side! Finally you fought your way to the Imperial Palace and cut down Leovic in the Imperial Throne Room.\nBut alas, our Emperor Varen, you wore the Amulet of Kings for all too short a time. It is said that your ambition for restoring your people to greatness led you to plumb secrets of the Divines best left untouched. Why did you leave us, O Varen, on that night of storms and trembling terrain, and where did you go? Surely you are dead, for you would not leave your people so bereft if yet you lived.\nWe remember you, Emperor Varen, and somehow strive to go on, trying to live up to your shining example. But we know we shall never see your like again."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/euraxias-personal-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/euraxias-personal-journal", "description": "The Quebec's reflections on Khajiiti legend", "author": "Euraxia Tharn", "title": "Euraxia's Personal Journal", "text": "Khajiiti myths and legends continue to intrigue me. After all, it was the stories of Khunzar-ri, as told by the moon-singers, that led me to the Wrathstone and allowed me to trick my blundering half-brother into releasing the Dragons from the Halls of Colossus.\nI wonder what else might be waiting for me in the remaining tales of Khunzar-ri? Certainly, the significance of the Betrayer, whose disgusting head follows my chief necromancer around like a sad, little puppy. He came to us from those legends. And the need for the Moon Gate, though I must admit (at least here in my private notes) that a complete understanding of the metaphysics behind it all still eludes me.\nMeanwhile, I understand that our investigation into the rumors of a last surviving member of the Dragonguard here in Elsweyr have finally come to fruition. We can eliminate this potential threat and show Kaalgrontiid the true value of our partnership. I look forward to studying Prefect Calo's report in greater depth.\nIf the infernal man ever agrees to send it to me."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/euraxian-necromancers": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/euraxian-necromancers", "description": "", "author": "Khamira", "title": "Euraxian Necromancers", "text": "To: Lord Gharesh-ri, Speaker of the Mane\n\tFrom: Khamira, Agent of the Speaker\nWe know that the Usurper Queen employs necromancers and dark sorcery, and has done so from the beginning of her reign. In recent months, however, the number of necromancers supporting her forces have increased dramatically. It all comes back to one source\u2013the dark mage and Euraxia's chief necromancer, Zumog Phoom.\nZumog Phoom, the self-proclaimed \"lord of the dark arts,\" reportedly hails from the northernmost climes of Wrothgar. Maddeningly few facts concerning this Orc necromancer can be gleaned from his early life, though suppositions are plentiful. We know that the wilds of Wrothgar are unforgiving, and life among the Orc strongholds is often harsh, bleak, and brutal. Still, we know that those Orcs who not only survive but flourish resemble a well-made sword that has been forged, beaten, and sharpened to a razor's edge.\nThe first real evidence of his existence prior to Anequina appears in intelligence reports investigating the activities of the Worm Cult during the Planemeld crisis. While details remain slim, Zumog Phoom's name appears as a ranking member of the cult and hints at a close connection to Mannimarco, leader of the Order of the Black Worm. However, we know that he was active here in Rimmen shortly after the Frostfall Coup, so he probably did not have a direct hand in the cult's activities during the Planemeld.\nEuraxia either specifically recruited Zumog Phoom or was approached by the Orc after she claimed the throne of Rimmen. He had a small group of followers at first, lesser necromancers that formed the basis of his personal dark cult. The Northern Elsweyr Defense Force occasionally faced a lone zombie or a small group of skeletons, but for the most part, the necromancers have served little more than a supporting role in Euraxia's army. I fear that may be about to change.\nSince the end of the Planemeld and the apparent disbanding of the Worm Cult, a great number of necromancers have flocked to the Usurper Queen's banner to learn from the cruel yet charismatic Zumog Phoom. The few sorcerers that we have captured demonstrate an almost manic reverence for their Orc leader, regaling us with tales of his dark powers and threats of what he and Euraxia will do once Elsweyr is totally under their control. They revealed few actionable details while still providing hints about what Zumog Phoom is doing in his hidden lairs and \"undead forges\"\u2013their term, not mine.\nIf the rumors are to be believed, Zumog Phoom and his acolytes have established manufactories away from prying eyes where they can perform rituals, conduct experiments, and raise an army of undead soldiers to bolster Euraxia's mercenary forces. We have yet to see the products of these vile places, but we have discovered evidence of grave robbing throughout the region, especially around Ashen Scar and other mass graves from the worst period of the Knahaten flu outbreak.\nSpeaker, we must find a means for dealing with Zumog Phoom and his followers before they provide Euraxia with an unlimited supply of soldiers. The Defense Force cannot repel an army that does not tire and can be ceaselessly replenished. Our best chance is to locate the undead forges and destroy them before they can be turned up to full capacity.\nAnd if we can kill Zumog Phoom, so much the better."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/evacuation-order": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/evacuation-order", "description": "The prison must be evacuated immediately according to this missive", "author": "Porcius Sisenna, Administrator", "title": "Evacuation Order", "text": "All guards are to pack and assemble in the courtyard at dawn for evacuation of White Rose Prison. We will be returning home to serve as additional security for the capital.\nNo need to worry about the prisoners, they won't be going anywhere, what with the keystone binding them to this place. Have your equipment and belongings packed and be ready to travel at dawn. Tomorrow we march for Cyrodiil.\nPorcius Sisenna, Administrator"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/evaluation-saint-felms": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/evaluation-saint-felms", "description": "Concerns the uneasy state of the St. Felms construct", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Evaluation of Saint Felms", "text": "Saint Felms is in near constant motion, a sign that his continuing restlessness is at an all-time high. He resembles a trapped kagouti pacing its cage, but with no bars to restrain him I can only wonder how long his violent desires can be held in check. Truth told, I am not sure the order could construct a cage capable of confining the Saints' power.\nMy attempts to persuade Felms to relinquish his war axes have been fruitless. The mere suggestion that a warrior should surrender anything as much a part of himself as his weapons was enough to elicit a fiery contempt from him, though that may be regarded as an improvement.\nHis reaction of disdain was measured and reasoned, compared to other outbursts of frustration and anger. While his moods are fleeting, there are signs that Felms is still capable of rationality. Not entirely comforting, given his almost singular focus on martial affairs and conquest."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/evaluation-saint-llothis": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/evaluation-saint-llothis", "description": "A description of St. Llothis' depressive state", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Evaluation of Saint Llothis", "text": "Saint Llothis's withdrawal from reality, so much as that word has meaning here, continues unabated down a path of despondent reclusion. In many cases he fails to acknowledge or recognize attempts to communicate. I believe that this behavior is not so much a form of catatonia as the manifestation of a crippling depression, a diagnosis supported by undirected utterances made by Llothis during brief periods of activity.\nThese episodes have become more frequent and increasingly distraught. It appears that he is lamenting the loss of a deep, spiritual connection. It is impossible for me to say whether this traumatic separation involved the literal severing of any divine bond with the Three, or is simply how Llothis processes the drifting away of his personal relationship with the Tribunal. I will be closely monitoring this growing agitation. I fear the risk of self-harm, or other destructive impulses, is growing more significant."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/evaluation-saint-olms": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/evaluation-saint-olms", "description": "St. Olms is unable to adapt to his role as a clockwork being", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Evaluation of Saint Olms", "text": "Saint Olms continues to chafe under his confinement. Despite my best attempts to deter him, Olms has begun to seek comfort in the sky, but we both know his flights outside the atrium are only the illusion of freedom. The bonds that are dragging his mind into the pit of insanity are not the walls of the Asylum Sanctorium. That artificial body is both his cell and the weight chained to his ankles.\nFor whatever reason, he cannot adapt to the new life Lord Seht has granted him. None of the Saints can, but Olms in particular feels a particular torment in his existence. He truly believes that he's being tested or punished, and this persecution complex grows more intense with every moment he's forced to endure his suffering. He's even begun to mistrust me now. To him, I have now become the face of his oppressor, the surrogate of Sotha Sil here to continue administering his judgement. It is an unenviable position to be in for so many reasons."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/exarchs-orders": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/exarchs-orders", "description": "Production of Nirncrux", "author": "Exarch Braadoth", "title": "Exarch's Orders", "text": "Extract the red brittle from the surrounding rock, making sure not to break the larger pieces.\nHeat the red brittle until the element glows like a burning ember.\nWhile the red brittle still glows hot, grind it beneath the millstone wheels or pound it beneath the steam hammers until it becomes a fine, crimson powder..\nCollect the red brittle powder (the Scaled Court calls it nirncrux) into carts and distribute it evenly to Armorer Uthik, Runescriber Kulth, and Regent Boward of the Scaled Court.\nBlood for our enemies, steel for our tribe!\n\u2014Exarch Braadoth"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/excavation-orders": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/excavation-orders", "description": "More like a motivational message than a set of orders", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Excavation Orders", "text": "Take great pains in your excavations. Let no reckless hand mar the works trapped beneath the ash and earth. We have waited so long to be here. Do not squander our great achievement in your zeal.\nWhen you heft the relics of this place, do you not feel the weight of their significance in every fiber of your being? Do you feel their gravity pulling you deeper into the earth so that you might hold them? Their place in the world is not beneath our feet, but in the hands of their rightful heirs.\nDig with purpose. Dig with care."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/excerpt-al-danobia-heist-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/excerpt-al-danobia-heist-journal", "description": "Yokudan history may play a part in solving this vault's riddle", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Excerpt from al-Danobia Heist Journal", "text": "We must bypass Tu'wacca's Pillars to open HoonDing's Passage. After this, walking Malooc's Path will gain us the sacred ashes in Tall Papa's Ewer. These will reveal Shinji's Truth, and from there we arrive at the treasure vaults.\nBypassing Tu'wacca's Pillars is the first matter. Why else would there be a lock with the adornments of Yokudan generals plastered into the walls? If my knowledge is correct, and thus far it has been, then the lock makes reference to the stories based on the siblings Narimaya and Tunaska. I'll need to seek out the texts and see if anything will help me.\n\u2014\nI've found an excerpt from an old text that may relate to the vaults. I'm jotting this down for future reference:\n\"And so each of the siblings stood upon the battlefield, facing each other in the calm of the night as the bodies of their armies lay at their feet. The flames flickered and burned all around them casting a soft golden hue on the battlefield. Tunaska stood to the north, surrounded by his generals, Akishu and Buhliz. To the south, Narimaya faced back, her two trusted advisors surrounding her; Nishka and Puntru. They both knew, this would be their final battle. This would be the fight that would open the gates of life or death for both of them.\"\nClearly this means that each of the generals stood in the center of their advisors. A possible clue for the vault? Now I just need to get into that room and see if I can decipher the order of the generals. And the mention of flames? Directions? All of this may be vital.\nI should keep my eyes open for anything that would indicate an order when paired with this phrase of text. Something in the room must hint at this. An order or a number? Something. I feel good about this. That treasure will be ours soon!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/excerpt-coshs-papers": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/excerpt-coshs-papers", "description": "Confirms the lease of Hubalajd Palace to Cosh", "author": "Cosh", "title": "Excerpt from Cosh's Papers", "text": "The money and documents were delivered to Lady Ylanie Montaine as expected. Hubalajad Palace is now leased solely to my holdings. It shall serve as a good base of operations for what is to come.\n\u2014Cosh"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/excerpt-hidden-tunnels-orsinium": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/excerpt-hidden-tunnels-orsinium", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Excerpt from The Hidden Tunnels of Orsinium", "text": "After being attacked so many times, finally the Orcs determined that if they were to be sieged ever again, they would use a series of tunnels underneath the city to escape.\nThough the tunnels had been built hundreds of years ago, an active one still runs beneath the Keep for use by the current clan leaders of the city.\nThere has been mention that entrance also once ran beneath the city's temple, though if a way exists it has long been locked and sealed as far as we can tell.\nThere are mentions of how to open the lock in a book entitled \"The Heart of the City\", but some view this book as a work of fiction. In this book, it mentions that the doors are locked in riddle, and only by solving the code can one access the lower city.\nPerhaps one day, the gates of Orsinium will open and I'll be able to test the proposed methods mentioned in this book."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/excerpts-fabricated-flora-study": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/excerpts-fabricated-flora-study", "description": "A short examination of the Clockwork City's only organic flora", "author": "Acolyte Kelviv", "title": "Excerpts From Fabricated Flora: A Study", "text": "Almost without exception the native flora of Clockwork City are fully synthetic imitations of their terrestrial analogues, but there is one growth within the Halls of Regulation that remains a mystery. The \"Ironstalk Mushroom,\" as they have come to be known, often sprout in the dark, dank tunnels of the Halls. My dissections of several specimens lead me to believe that these organisms are fully organic, but their anatomy and suitability to their unlikely environment implies that they were designed with a purpose.\n\nThese fungi hungrily absorb minerals, alchemical remnants, and even corrosive materials with seemingly no ill effects on their physiology. Some have speculated that this is simply happenstance, that some Tamrielic spores were introduced to the halls by exodromal, took root, and thrived. That sort of dismissive justification is simply lazy, in my opinion.\u00a0To off-handedly assume that Sotha Sil would not introduce a wholly organic creation to his grand design, if it served his purposes, is a discredit to his genius.\n\nI theorize that the Ironstalk Mushroom sprung from a need to purify pollutants from the Halls of Regulation that proved detrimental, or at least impractical for a machine to address. We occupy a world created with meticulous precision and care. It may be acceptable to dismiss the unknown as whim, or fate, or chance on Nirn, but in the Clockwork City there is only the Grand Schema. Here, there is always a greater explanation to the workings of the world."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/excuses-dont-buy-mansions": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/excuses-dont-buy-mansions", "description": "An angry note with a self-explanatory title", "author": "C", "title": "Excuses Don't Buy Mansions", "text": "B\u2014\nYou know I respect you. You know the headman respects you. So you must imagine how much we feel disrespected by your absolute lack of product out of Haven.\nPirates, a Daedric Prince \u2026 none of this matters. Excuses don't buy mansions. Our product does.\nNone of that \"you only get one warning, or else\" drivel. We respect you too much for anything but the cold, hard truth:\nFind a way to deliver what you promised, or you're dead.\nRespectfully,\n\t\u2014C"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/exegesis-merid-nunda": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/exegesis-merid-nunda", "description": "A text on the origin of Meridia and the Magna-Ge", "author": "Phrastus of Elinhir", "title": "Exegesis of Merid-Nunda", "text": "Truly, the Tract of Merid-Nunda is one of the strangest and least understood works of mythohistory that has come down to us from the early First Era. It exists only in partial manuscript form, a single copy of which resides in the library of the Arcane University at the Imperial City. (Or at least it did, though since the Mages Guild was blamed for the disappearance of the Emperor Varen and driven out of Cyrodiil, I don't know what has become of their once-admirable library.)\nFortunately, I was granted an opportunity to study the noted Tract in detail while the Guild was still in possession of it, and made a personal copy for myself so I could continue to unravel its mysteries once I'd returned to Elinhir.\nThe problem of understanding the Tract of Merid-Nunda is twofold: First, the extant document is clearly part of a larger work, drawn from seemingly somewhere in the middle, and without the preceding and following portions of the work we have little context for the part that remains. Second, the Tract is written in a peculiar argot that employs Ayleid phrases in a late Nedic syntax, including many words of unknown origin that don't appear in any other source.\nHowever, working outward from fragments previously translated by Wenegrus Monhana and Herminia Cinna, I believe I can shed some new light on certain key passages in this mysterious manuscript. Our format shall be to provide the translation of each passage, followed by my interpretation of its meaning.\n\"\u2026 were known as the Nine Coruscations, who followed the parabolas that led away from Magnus. Merid-Nunda was of these Sisters, as was Mnemo-Li, as was Xero-Lyg, as was \u2026.\"\nThis appears to identify the \"Daedric Prince\" Meridia with the so-called Star-Orphans, those Anuic ur-entities that separated from Magnus when that Divine withdrew from the creation of the Aurbis. The best-known of these Star-Orphans is probably Mnemoli the Blue Star, who is associated with un-time events, and was said to be visible even in the daytime sky at the time of the Dragon Break.\n\"\u2026 thus we call upon Cenedelin to bind the earth, as we speak to Merid-Nunda regarding the light, for she is the scintilla that fears not darkness, and swims the waves of pull and spin \u2026.\"\nFor the Ayleids, of course, Light was one of the four elements of creation, and this passage seems to confirm that Meridia was the personification of Light to the Wild Elves. Though I am certain of this passage's translation, I confess the meaning of the final phrases eludes me.\nThe next passage was quite difficult, but its translation adds an entirely new episode to our accounts of the Dawn Era:\n\"The Lords of the Chaos-Realms chided Merid-Nunda for her trespass and bade her return to Aurbis, claiming all existing spheres as their own. But Merid-Nunda formed of her substance a great drag-lens, and the light of Magnus was bent thereby. The rays [carved? focused?] a new sphere from the chaos, which Merid-Nunda, [laughing? sparkling?], did claim for her own.\"\nThis appears to recount the origin of the Colored Rooms, as Meridia's Oblivion realm is known, seemingly formed directly out of the stuff of chaos by an act of divine will.\n\tAnd finally:\n\"\u2026 thus does Merid-Nunda [ride? slide?] across the rainbow road from end to end, at one end stretching the dragon, at the other end compressing him \u2026.\"\nA curious passage indeed. The \"dragon,\" of course, traditionally refers to the Divine we know as Akatosh, the God of Time. This seems to suggest that by traveling the \"rainbow road\" (a reference to the prismatic refraction of light?), Meridia can in some sense alter the rate at which time flows forward.\nAltering the \"speed\" of time? Is this merely an absurd conceit of the late Ayleid sorcerer-priests, or a genuine insight into the nature of one of the least-understood Daedric Princes?\nWho can say?"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/exiled-exile-volume-7": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/exiled-exile-volume-7", "description": "Encounters with Daedric runes from Could Harbour", "author": "Yasra al-Ash'abah", "title": "Exiled from Exile, Volume 7", "text": "Stones of Sand and Swamp\nThe Lich Lord of Gideon defeated, I made my way north, passing through Stormhold to say one last goodbye to the Hist and their people before leaving their bleak swamp. The very first night in southern Morrowind, I made camp in a great fungal forest.\nWith fresh nix-meat on my fire, I noticed something in the rocks and stones near my camp. Several large boulders stood distant, propped up by unknown hands what had to be many decades, if not centuries, before. The largest and nearest was the reason I write this.\nAs a child, Father took me to the Stables of Lord Aswala to pay our tribe's taxes and endure the stares of the Proscribed. On the way there, we were caught in a great sandstorm and found shelter in a cave.\n\"Daughter,\" Father spake. \"Seek water in the cave, as I taught you.\"\nWith a \"Yes, Father,\" I entered the cave. There was no water, but I did find something grand in a large open cavern deep under the stables.\nIn the center were great stones with strange, alien words carved on them. I felt like I could hear them calling to me. I reached out and touched the stone. It was then that a hand covered my mouth, muffling my scream and cutting off my breath until I passed out.\nI woke up hours later to my Father's face, his eyes drained of their usual joy.\n\"Daughter, we must leave this place. More will come.\" Father never told me what befell my attackers. From the stains on his clothes, I would guess that it was a grim fate.\n\"But Father, what of these stones? These symbols?\"\n\"This is a place of blasphemy, beset by demon-worshipers. See here. This word is in the dark speech of the Daedra. It says 'Coldharbour.'\"\nSo imagine my surprise, O reader, when I looked upon the Morrowind stone in the light of the campfire, my belly full of nix-meat, and saw words written in the same dark speech. The same words I had looked upon as a child, and on the same sort of stones.\n\"Coldharbour calls. Nirn obeys.\"\n\"Coldharbour calls. Nirn obeys.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/exodus-summerset": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/exodus-summerset", "description": "A romantesized version of Veloth's story", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Exodus from Summerset", "text": "Those who dare can achieve greatness.\nVeloth the Prophet was scorned by those who were blind to the corruption and spiritual bankruptcy at the heart of their society. Veloth was cast out, cast off, by those with no interest in truth and even less interest in the betterment of all, who sought only to preserve their pride and place by keeping others in poverty, ignorance, and slavery. Veloth was highborn, but he dared to cast off the decadent chains of Aldmeri society.\nVeloth the Mystic called out to those whose souls were weary, whose lives were ground out with no hope of improvement in a society founded on ambition, greed, and decadence. To those who hoped for a society that preserved traditions, praised honesty, and rewarded the just, Veloth's voice was as a golden note among a cacophony.\nVeloth the Pilgrim led his followers across the seas and away from the lands they had known with the promise of a new land and a better future."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/experimental-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/experimental-journal", "description": "Using ice-zombies as workmen", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Experiment Journal", "text": "At first the deaths of my Bosmer slaves were problematic. Acquiring more would be difficult, and Cyrodiil is unlikely to send me more men. My lack of skill with necromancy has ever been a thorn in my side, making an undead workforce improbable.\nThat is, until I found the Book of the Frozen Legion. Within its pages was a brilliant solution: a layer of conjured frost encased around a human corpse. With a loyal spirit bound to this ice, commanding the spirit in turn commands the body through the ice.\nThere are limitations. The beings that result from this technique are as intelligent as a necromancer's skeleton\u2014which is to say not at all. They are incapable of all but the most basic tasks. Without constant attention and direction, they are just as likely to wander out into the sun, where the ice will melt, as they are to finish whatever work you've left them."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/exploring-xal-ithix-ruins": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/exploring-xal-ithix-ruins", "description": "Looking for ancient Argonian artifacts", "author": "Looks-Under-Rocks", "title": "Exploring the Xal Ithix Ruins", "text": "A bitter harvest here indeed. Xal Ithix is a land of scavengers. To think, my people subsist like dung beetles or tick birds, picking through the refuse of other cultures to survive.\nAnd amid the glories of these ancient ruins, too! I believe the xanmeers in Xal Ithix are among the oldest in Shadowfen. If only I could find some sign of our ancestors' artifacts here, but I'm afraid if something did exist, it would have been plundered long ago.\nBarvyn and I set out northward tomorrow. Perhaps other, unspoilt bounties await.\n\u2014 Looks-Under-Rocks"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/exposing-terrible-evil": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/exposing-terrible-evil", "description": "A family's discoveries about the Dark Brotherhood", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Exposing a Terrible Evil", "text": "I have had it up to here with the rogues and hoodlums that have turned our once great city of Kvatch into a cesspool of crime and depravity. And do you know who the worst of the bad bunch happens to be? It's not the smugglers or the bandits or the pirates. It's that nest of vipers, that cult of secrets pretending to be a legitimate business. Oh, some of you have heard whispers, and some of you know the legends, but only I have learned the whole, gory truth! And now I plan to expose these brutal fanatics to the bright light of day! Dark Brotherhood, prepare to be revealed as the cowardly murderers you really are!\n* * *\nI discovered this unfinished letter among my brother's papers, along with a journal full of evidence, anecdotes, and idle speculation about the supposed religious ascetics who sell their dark talents to the highest bidder. While I can't prove it beyond a shadow of a doubt, there is no uncertainty in my own mind about the fate of my brother. He didn't die from eating a rotten red mushroom stew. No. He was brutally assassinated by those degenerate cultists who follow the whispers of the Night-\n* * *\nOh dear. First my brother-in-law. Now my husband. Who knew the men in their family were so fragile, so prone to dying at an early age? But maybe there's more to what happened to the two brothers than the obvious conclusion. We're supposed to believe that two virile and healthy men in the prime of their lives simply keeled over and died while working at their writing tables? I've studied the letter they both began to write, reviewed the damning journal with its tales of murder-for-hire and dark rituals conducted in the dead of night.\nI've read it all, and there's only one conclusion I can come to. My husband and his brother died of - natural causes. There's no such thing as a cult of paid killers operating on the Gold Coast! And anyone who tells you differently will probably wind up just like my beloved husband and his no-account brother. So, to anyone who might read this, I'm burning the journal and putting all of this murder nonsense behind me.\nJust the same, I probably won't be eating any red mushroom stew for the foreseeable future."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/eye-zthenganaz": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/eye-zthenganaz", "description": "Overview of a Dwemeri artifact meant for spycraft", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Eye of Zthenganaz", "text": "The Eye of Zthenganaz, a large gemstone mounted in a gear-like wheel, was, according to legend, crafted by the Dwarves to spy on the Orc strongholds of the early First Era. Few records or oral traditions survive concerning any conflicts or animosity between the Orsimer and the Dwemer, but the legend of the Eye contains a few hints as to what may have happened to it.\nOne story claims that the Orc shaman, Shlug Curse-Crafter, seized the Eye in a raid and placed a curse upon it. From that point on, if anyone used the device to gaze upon distant Orc strongholds with dishonorable intent, they would instead see grotesque visions that would drive them mad.\nThe Eye disappeared from history when Shlug died, somewhere in the area around the ruins of Rkindaleft."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/eyes-nothing": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/eyes-nothing", "description": "Creepy observations on crows from a follower of Nocturnal", "author": "Romien Garvette", "title": "Eyes of Nothing", "text": "By Romien Garvette of the Whispering Shadows\nThey swarm, they swarm, they gather and collect. Dark feathers, like ink upon the purple sky. Dark feathers swirling, swirling, forming a creature. A monster. Lifeless eyes.\nDid She make it? Did one of us? Was it just born from the chaos, from the darkness of our hearts? Swirling, it gathers, it pecks and pecks.\nIt's different from the other crows here. Our Mistress' mischievous pets, who pretend royalty. Pretend loyalty. They steal and keep and hoard. Joy in their black eyes that shine as they mock us. For obeying endlessly. Following Her into the darkness, with nothing shining as a reward. Only the blackness behind our eyes.\nBut the monster has lifeless eyes. They're hollow, not black, just nothing. Nothing, nothing, they stare through you. Between you. They peck and peck. Nothing shining will move them. Nothing to sate their unending appetite. Swarming, gathering, collecting, a mass of darkness.\nThey're angry, always angry. Hungry. No laughter, no mocking, just hunger. They'll peck, peck, with bony beaks that snatch. Gouging murders, arcing darkness. Talons to cut, shred, tear. Tearing, tearing.\nThey summon more. Crows cawing, gathering, and then they laugh no more. Tease no more. Speak no more. Her pets are nothing now, pecking, pecking hunger which stalks. Which tears. Which feasts.\nI dream of them as I sleep beneath the stars of Her Oblivion. They simply stare. Staring, staring, nothing eyes filled with rage. Filled with hunger. My flesh will not satisfy them, but they crave it, I see it. I cannot offer anything but myself, and I don't want. Not that. I have been consumed by Her. They cannot have me.\nThey peck and peck, but I am a shadow. My flesh is darkness. I am already devoured by Her."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/eyes-queen-only": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/eyes-queen-only", "description": "Unsolved murders in Stormhold lead to a loss of faith in the local government", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Eyes of the Queen Only", "text": "Eyes in Stormhold report killings in the holdfast.\nFailure by local government to resolve these murders has led to a lack of confidence in <<1>> and the gerents beneath him. This is a weakness we would be well served to exploit."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/eyewitness-wall": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/eyewitness-wall", "description": "First hand a count of the building of Varen's Wall", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Eyewitness to the Wall", "text": "Soldiers came to the farm last night. They were in the Duke's livery. My heart pounded as I tried to remember whether I'd paid the proper tax this season, but that wasn't why they were here. They asked us to tear down our fence. I asked if they were redrawing the boundaries of my land, but they said they needed the stone. All we could gather, for the army. We're going to war with the heathen Longhouse Emperor!\n* * *\nTook my family the better part of the day to stack our cart as high as we dared. I should be able to reach Duke Varen's encampment before dusk, I think.\n* * *\nMore tents than I thought. Carts, too. Some of the faces I know, others must have come from the farthest reaches of the county. Duke Varen's call to arms didn't fall on deaf ears. Has word also reached the Emperor, I wonder?\n* * *\nThis army is determined to keep the Legion out of Colovia and here's where they intend to make their stand, tirelessly toiling at fortifications. They ran through my cart of stone in nary an hour. They've asked us to collect any loose rock we can find. Back home to demolish more of my poor fence, I suppose.\n* * *\nMy wife and some of our neighbors helped with the tear down. Even volunteered their carts to the cause. I'm sorry to see it go, but I'd rather see my stone put to work keeping those filthy Reachmen out of our land than keeping my herds from wandering into the turnips.\n* * *\nIt's not pretty to look at, but the wall grows into a daunting obstacle with each passing day. More than a head tall now and no end in sight. I don't know what the Duke's planning, but I trust he knows what he's doing. Too dark to head back now, so I'll spend the night in my cart.\n* * *\nThe soldiers invited us into their camp, Mara thank them. I'm getting too old to go a night without a bed, or at least a pile of hay. They look exhausted from heaving bricks all day and all night. The Duke has them working in shifts. He must think the bloodshed will reach us soon to rush the work so. I don't want to be here when that time comes.\n* * *\nOff again to find more loose rocks. Short of tearing down some homes and ripping up the cobble, we've claimed all we can from the obvious sources. Some of us are going to pick at a few of those old ruins.\n* * *\nDon't care for these old Elf places. Not one bit. Just tossing what rock we can in the carts and getting on our way before something takes offense.\n* * *\nThe last load delivered, and none too soon. I think the cart's liable to collapse any moment now. Soon my work here will be done. Duke Varen's work's only beginning, though. Eight bless them in sending those Daedra-buggering, lice-ridden, canker-nibbling Reachmen back to their rotten carcass huts in the north!\n* * *\nLegion! The Legion's been spotted on the march. Got to find my cart and get out of here. The wall sure looks sturdy, though."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/factor-luluelles-report": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/factor-luluelles-report", "description": "One frustrated shipment manager's ledger", "author": "Lacherie", "title": "Factor Luluelle's Report", "text": "Arrived from Sentinel on the \"Whispering Oyster\":\n\u2014 Three Barrels Pomegranate Wine\n\t\u2014 Four Crates Mountain Jerky; one crate damaged, spoilage significant\n\t\u2014 Two Crates \u2014\nOh, what's the point? This is the only shipment we've had in ten days, and its value wouldn't add up to a score of gold drakes, even if we had a caravel to trans-ship it someplace where we could sell it. Everything that floats has been \"requisitioned\" for the war, and we couldn't get naval stores even if we had a ship\u2014you can't find rope, pitch, timber, or sailcloth for any amount of money. It's all \"Arms for the Covenant!\" now. Let's face it: if this war doesn't end soon, we're shipwrecked.\nMaybe I'd be happier if my son Durant was still around, but he ran off and joined the First Menevian Scouts, and the house is empty without him. Daedra take it\u2014I'm opening one of these barrels to test the contents. If you want to join me, I'll be in the second empty warehouse on the left.\n\u2014 Lacherie"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/factotum-classification-log-233": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/factotum-classification-log-233", "description": "Types and personalities of the mechanical citizens of the Clockwork City", "author": "Proctor Neimos", "title": "Factotum Classification - Log 233", "text": "By Proctor Neimos, Apostle of Sotha Sil\nGiven the unprecedented reveal of the seventh advancement of the factotum model, my attempt to give individualized names to each unit has been deemed \"unnecessary and unreliable\" by the Congress of Calibration. I have now been tasked to only identify groups of units that perform similar functions. I have to admit, this only further shows a sad misunderstanding of the unique personality each unit so clearly expresses. Still, I must abide by the ruling of the council. And so here I shall list the name and brief description of each factotum subgroup for future reference.\nClockwork Registrar: This singular unit is able to access all residential records within Clockwork City. It also maintains all documentation within the Brass Fortress archives, the extent of which none but Lord Seht knows. I find this unit to be direct and to the point, making it very efficient to work with.\nClockwork Clinician: Though few in number, these clinicians have been purposed for a variety of post-mortem tasks. Their most prominent ability allows them their cognitive archival process and data retention of the recently deceased. This has been used for a variety of occasions, most notably with questioning Proctor Nevyn on several incomplete thermodynamic equations. I find this unit to be a more comforting presence, but often impatient when delayed.\nClockwork Facilitator: A newer, singular unit introduced to the Brass Fortress, it has nonetheless proved to be a liaison to Lord Seht's own experiments. Currently its only function is to recruit combatants to battle a creation known as the Imperfect, said to be one of Clockwork's most dangerous creations. From what I can gather, this unit will continue to create tasks based on the \"greater good\" of Clockwork City. I find this unit to be more boisterous than its counterparts.\nCommerce Delegate: These units have multiple functions to aid residents with purchases. Though the Clockwork Apostles do not regulate commerce, my suggestion to lease these units to local guilds has been met with approval and is currently undergoing negotiations. I find these units to be friendly and lighthearted compared to many other factotums.\nCurrency Steward: Continuing with the need for help with the residential currency system, these units have access to all banking records and regulations. They have helped decrease the \"errors\" often found in their less reliable, and often merely greedy, organic counterparts. I find these units to be serious, grim, and very reliable.\nCuisine Administrator: Though any resident can work a nutrient dispenser, these units have several functions related to cooking. The consensus of their successful meals has been noted to perhaps be biased by the local population, given the bland daily diet of most Brass Fortress residents. Nonetheless, all meals generated have been deemed perfectly safe for consumption by the Clockwork Apostles. I find these units to be almost coddling in their affections.\nI will continue these rudimentary and functional classifications for factotums within the Brass Fortress. Further preparation is needed before I can begin my research on the more combat focused units, as our means to place them in standby has been unsuccessful for several generations. May the gears align in my favor."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/factotum-model-registry": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/factotum-model-registry", "description": "Lists previous factotum models and improvements in the current generation", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Factotum Model Registry", "text": "Factotum series 1 - discontinued\nFactotum series 2 - discontinued\nFactotum series 3 - discontinued\nFactotum series 4 - discontinued\nFactotum series 5 - discontinued\nFactotum series 6 - discontinued\nFactotum series 7 - current generation. 946 partitions active. 6400 partitions stored.\nImprovement Notes:\n1. Increased ambulatory speed and coordination. Stair navigation greatly improved.\n2. Further reduced occurrence of memory-regression episodes.\n3. Installed anterior storage compartments.\n4. Field of view increased by 20%\n5. Enhanced facial recognition and expression comprehension aptitude.\n6. Increased vocabulary by 670 words.\n7. Further amplified threat recognition and reaction speed."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/faculty-application": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/faculty-application", "description": "A knowledgeable tutor/scholar applies for a job", "author": "Colassewen of Firsthold", "title": "Faculty Application", "text": "To Whom it May Concern:\nI heard through a friend that you may be hiring at the College of Aldmeri Propriety. I believe my vast knowledge and experience in the culture and etiquette make me extremely qualified for the job. I've spent the last five years as a tutor among nobility.\nExperience:\n\t\u2014 Tutored for the Rilis family for five years.\n\t\u2014 Well practiced in social skills.\n\t\u2014 Extensive classes in etiquette.\n\t\u2014 Wide knowledge of Aldmeri history and Altmer views.\nPlease consider my applicaton for the position. I look forward to hearing from you.\n\tSincerely,\nColassewen of Firsthold"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/faded-and-dusty-scroll": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/faded-and-dusty-scroll", "description": "A description and warning about a warded Ayleid chest", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Faded and Dusty Scroll", "text": "I carefully examined the ancient wards on this Ayleid chest after it was delivered to me. The spells of warding that have kept it sealed appear to be eroding. Likely, they will fade completely over time.\nGiven the Ayleid propensity for devious traps, I deem it unwise to tamper with the chest any further. Perhaps a later scholar, armed with a deeper understanding of Ayleid culture and history, will be better prepared to deal with whatever is sealed within\u2014after the wards collapse."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/faded-note-0": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/faded-note-0", "description": "The assistant to a once good man laments the way his life turned out", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Faded Note", "text": "I am\u2014was\u2014Sanessalmo's adjutant. May my loyalty be rewarded in another life.\nI worked for decades with the master. When he was\u2014I thought\u2014unjustly removed from the Queen's Court, I stood with him. No one could judge him for what happened to his wife, I thought. The public eye can be cruel. But the man I work for now bears little resemblance to that man. He has broken.\nI have performed tasks in these strange landscapes of the mind that would make most moral men shiver. I have supported rituals so heinous that the line between death and life is blurred. I mourn for the Sanessalmo I knew: witty conversationalist, loyal employer, loving husband.\nThe monster he has become. Is unrecognizable. I write these words staring at a wall of ice. Certain to be the last thing I see.\nShould someone find ths letter, I hope they do better by Sanessalmo than I."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fair-argonian-maiden": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fair-argonian-maiden", "description": "A humorous bit of poetry about frisky children of the Hist", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Fair Argonian Maiden", "text": "Come, my lad, let us speak\n\tCome, fair maid, let us talk\n\tScale to scale\n\tTip to tail\n\tFair maiden\n\tHist-maiden\n\tAnd sap-drenched lad"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/faith-dust-and-stone": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/faith-dust-and-stone", "description": "A Dragonguard plaque found in Dov-Vahl shrine in Anequina", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Faith in Dust and Stone", "text": "JENNAI DAV TSONG RU KAV\nCREATURES OF EARTH\nFAITH IN DUST AND STONE\nFIGHT TO LIVE AS INSECTS\nTO HIDE AND STRIKE FROM SHADOW\nFEAR DAY AND OPEN SKY\nJENNAI DAV TSONG RU KAV"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/faith-shadow-red-mountain": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/faith-shadow-red-mountain", "description": "A sermon to calm troubled hearts", "author": "Canon Llevule", "title": "Faith in the Shadow of Red Mountain", "text": "A Sermon by Canon Llevule\nAs we gather for worship here at the Temple, I look out upon you, my fellow faithful, and I see you are troubled, I see you are anxious, I see you shift in your seats and glance over your shoulders even as I speak to you. And I know why you are troubled and anxious, for who could not be troubled when Red Mountain grumbles and seethes? Who could not be anxious when Baar Dau trembles in the sky, when unknown Daedra appear in unexpected locales, when it is even said that the Nerevarine has risen among the Ashlanders?\nBut I say to you, fellow Dunmer, have not all these things and worse happened before? Did our people not survive them and become stronger every time? What says our Lord Vivec about such struggles? \"Six are the guardians of Veloth,\" says Vivec, \"three before and they are born again, and they will test you until you have the proper tendencies of a hero.\"\nAnd so, once more, we are tested. And so, once more, we shall endure and prove worthy. For the Three are with us, and we are strong through our faith in the Three. Our Living Gods call upon us all to honor them with our efforts.\nWe call upon House Redoran to buttress our structures, physical and moral, building the new and rebuilding the old, and to keep us on the path of righteousness.\nWe call upon House Hlaalu to plant, harvest, and preserve, to keep the river of trade flowing, to ensure prosperity even through fall of ash and breath of fume.\nWe call upon House Telvanni to be wise and forbearing, sharing insights and enchantments, for though they are not of the Pact, they are still of our people.\nAnd we call on you, followers of the Tribunal, to remember the example of Saint Nerevar, whose courage is a watchword and whose endurance is a legend. For though we are anxious and troubled, we are proud and we are fierce, for we are the Dunmer, and for us, trouble is a gift from the gods. For by trouble are we tested, and by passing the test we know our true worth.\nPraise Vivec! All glory to the Three Most High! We walk with them, in wisdom and in strength, ever and anon."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/faithful-one": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/faithful-one", "description": "A note by someone who appreciates the faithfulness of a grave tended", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Faithful One", "text": "You tend these graves, nearly hidden by trees, sand, and rocks. The candles remain lit, and always there are signs you've been by. I've yet to meet you, though I pass this way often.\nI see only the dog, and I leave it food and water, but it shows no signs of ill-use. Surely you care for it as you honor the dead over which it keeps watch.\nMay the gods bless your tender care of the departed."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fakimals-letter": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fakimals-letter", "description": "The Bailiff's resignation letter", "author": "Bailiff Fakimal", "title": "Fakimal's Letter", "text": "This has gone too far. When I first agreed to this enterprise, I had misgivings, but I put my concerns aside. Sacrificing a few lives to save many others is sometimes necessary. But how many must we kill before the Withered Hand is satisfied?\nI will do this no longer. If this is truly my duty as a bailiff of Bergama, then I most firmly resign from my post.\n\u2014 Bailiff Fakimal"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/falling": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/falling", "description": "An eerie note about a mystery", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Falling", "text": "I came seeking answers, but only found more questions.\n\tWho are they? Why did they come here? What happened?\n\tNo answers. The silences are eerie, but the noises beget nightmares.\n\tFarewell."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/falsehoods-and-fallacies-eight": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/falsehoods-and-fallacies-eight", "description": "A diatrabe against the Divines", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Falsehoods and Fallacies of the Eight", "text": "It is only the most pitiful of circumstances that drive men and mer to seek counsel from the beings that dwell beyond Nirn. Within the deepest shadows, the brightest flames, the death-rattles of old men and the wailing screams of suffering babes does the faintest echo of the Daedric lords exist.\nAnd they call to us, whether they realize it or not.\nThe adherents of the Tamrielic faiths \u2014 and make no mistake, they are all alike, no matter what differing names their followers may give them \u2014 would persecute and even execute those who bend an ear to the whispers.\nTruly, in my years, I did not seek to consort with the Daedric powers; merely to understand them. And why should such understanding be forbidden? It is as the soldier who learns the secrets of metalcraft to better his knowledge of blades. Did the earliest tribes of men forbid discovery of the means to make fire?\nAnd yet, to the false faiths of Tamriel, knowledge is to be feared. Power is to be punished. In their misguided terror, the priests will drive away the curious, right into the waiting arms of the Daedric lords. In their actions, they make their dark predictions true.\nWith these words, I curse you, Divines of Tamriel.\nI spit upon the name of ever-arrogant Akatosh, who lords his mastery of time over the heads of mortals and demands only adherence to the tenets of the Eight.\nI spit upon the legacy of haughty Arkay, who binds us to brief and painful existences of insignificance.\nI spit upon Mother Mara and her conditional interpretations of love, and her laughable reverence for family even when said family is rotten to its core.\nI spit upon Zenithar and his rewarding not of the hard-working, but of the cruel and those born into privilege.\nI spit upon Kynareth and her ill-wind, whose thrice-cursed spawn hound us between the cities and devour our children.\nI spit upon Julianos and his false truth, his justice that serves only those who least deserve to receieve it.\nI spit upon Dibella, goddess of whores and lepers, whose followers mock the scarred and the misshapen as though they were animals.\nI spit upon Stendarr, whose mercy comes only with a price, and whose kindness is reserved only for his chosen few.\nSpurn these false gods, who demand obedience and punish free will. Deny them the bounties of your devotion and cast them down for the frauds they are; mighty they may be, but tyrants and liars to the last."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/faltonias-promise": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/faltonias-promise", "description": "History of a town founded on a false promise", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Faltonia's Promise", "text": "The tale of Faltonia's Promise, or Goldfolly as it's commonly known, is a tale of divination, greed, and foolishness. If you go to Grahtwood you can still see what remains of the village, a run-down testament to the hubris of one woman, Faltonia Salvius.\nLike many Imperials, Faltonia Salvius saw an opportunity to extract great wealth from Grahtwood. Specifically, she sought rich veins of gold from the nearby hills. She trusted diviners and alchemists of the lowest order, false advisers who were happy enough to tell her what she wanted to hear as long as their own purses grew fat.\nThe more she paid them, the more willing she was to believe their lies. When one lone voice, the alchemist Flavius Antonius, argued that the samples of soil from the area were insufficient to predict large deposits of gold, she had him arrested and beaten. From that point, he was unable to walk and was forced to beg for his supper for the rest of his miserable days.\nFaltonia traveled to Grahtwood in springtime with a band of Imperial guards numbering four-and-twenty, and proceeded to conscript local Wood Orcs as labor in the fulfillment of her grand vision. By midsummer, a village had been constructed on her chosen site, called Faltonia's Promise, and the Orcs were set to work in the mine.\nHow the gold flowed! How quickly eager prospectors flooded Faltonia's Promise, dreaming of riches! How forcefully their dreams were dashed, when within the year the mine was played out. \"Faltonia's Promise\" became the punchline to a bitter joke told in taverns by out-of-work miners.\nHumbled but undaunted, Faltonia fought to save the settlement. Seeking to turn the mining operation into a quarry, she haggled and negotiated with nearby Haven to supply stone for the reconstruction of their crumbling buildings. But just as the deal was about to be completed, a smooth-talking Altmer canonreeve convinced the governer to supply Haven with stone from Summerset, emphasizing the superior style and durability of island stone.\nBroken, and having spent the last of her fortune in a failed attempt to bribe the officials in Haven and secure the stone deal, Faltonia left the village that had been named for her. Many who had settled there in pursuit of riches soon followed, dispersing to other settlements in Grahtwood, or leaving entirely. So it was that Faltonia's Promise came to be referred to, far and wide, as Goldfolly.\nThe Orcs who remained eked out a living as hunters and grew into a stubborn stock, the sort who saw it a badge of honor that they persisted in a place that had driven so many away. On their lips, the name Faltonia's Promise once again took on positive connotations, of persistence, strength, and an indomitable spirit, thought the village would never reach the heights of Faltonia's foolish dreams."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fan-false-face": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fan-false-face", "description": "Instructions for using a magical fan that allows one to change their identity", "author": "Speaker Gilzaron", "title": "Fan of False-Face", "text": "Letter by Speaker Gilzaron\u00a0\nTranscribed by Relicmaster Glenadir\nI trust you with this job Rizikeh, so don't let this warning dissuade you. It has been many years since I've allowed a member to use this item, powerful an asset as it is. But your mark is no easy target. Mangifico Nadbushar knows that his life has been called for, and his fear runs deep.\nYou have your required items, and Nadbushar's advisor should be easy enough to capture. You'll want to keep her alive, as the fan's magic will only work on a living victim. Make sure it is only when you two are alone that the fan is unfurled. Place it between your faces, staring deep within its folds. By the time you next blink, you shall possess Advisor Imrasah's face.\nThis is where time is most crucial. The effects of the fan will be slow, but constant. You'll immediately feel a discomfort that your training should allow you to overcome. Slowly though, as the night continues, your true self shall fade away. You will begin to think as Imrasah does, begin to believe you are her. Before morning's light the transformation will be complete. You cannot let that happen.\nPoison the drink, hand it to Nadbushar, and leave the banquet. Return to Imrasah and use the fan once more. Only this will allow you to keep yourself. Otherwise, you shall be lost forever within the body of a royal's advisor. A fate worse than death, in my humble opinion"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fanatics-orders": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fanatics-orders", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Fanatic's Orders", "text": "Keep watch in front of the temple. We need time to accomplish everything she asked of us, so make sure you pay attention to anything unusual.\nIf anything suspicious happens, give us the signal. It'll find its way to us.\nMost of the fool soldiers don't even know about the entrance above the Mages Guild. We'll leave that open in case any of the team needs to get in or out.\nBy the time the king's soldiers figure out what's going on, we'll be done with our task and gone. Anyway, stay alert and remain vigilant!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fang-sea-vipers": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fang-sea-vipers", "description": "Modern relations with the Maormer", "author": "Telenger the Artificer", "title": "Fang of the Sea Vipers", "text": "At the request of Her Majesty's advisor Nuulehtel I have compiled this brief accounting of the Maormer of Pyandonea, known commonly as Sea Elves. Read, now, and let the light of knowledge free you of your fear.\nTheir ancient history is well known across the Dominion, and not worth recounting in detail here. Suffice to say that the arch-mage known as \"King\" Orgnum has long led the outcasts of the shrouded isle. He uses foul spells, rituals and sacrifices to continually renew his youth and vigor.\nOther rumors you have heard are true, as well. The rituals of Orgnum allow the Maormer to control sea serpents. Some have mastered the art of riding the beasts among the waves, while larger and less docile beasts swim in support of their largest fleets.\nThe fleet that now threatens Auridon, we have learned, calls itself the Sea Viper. Recent events in the Three Banners War have driven the Vipers into the seas around Auridon and the mainland. The opportunistic Maormer now seek their own victories in the war between the alliances.\nThe First Auridon Marines, the Dominion Navy, and others now stand ready to halt the advance of the Maormer. If you see signs of the Vipers, report them at once to your Canonreeve or the nearest Dominion officer.\nEagles, know that the viper will not take our nest. Be wary, but have courage."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fantos-epilions-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fantos-epilions-journal", "description": "Attempts to finds a use for dreugh puke", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Fantos Epilion's Journal", "text": "Entry 42\nI thought the Anvil Mages Guild would require no effort to join. The town is run by pirates! Even so, the magister insists I show a \"rigorous mind,\" whatever that means.\nEntry 43\nI thought the magister was being literal, so I delivered a fresh minotaur brain to the guild hall. I'm no fool; I thought to wrap it in three layers of waxed paper. I don't see why it caused such a fuss.\nEntry 44\nFinally, a breakthrough! The magister has no practical knowledge of the dreugh, which means I have the least to prove on the topic. A simple report on claw variation should suffice.\nEntry 45\nThe magister realized I have no practical knowledge of the dreugh, either. I now have a book about dreugh mating practices and a directive: \"Find an alchemical use for grom.\" What in Oblivion is grom?\nEntry 46\nI read the book. Grom is shell of a dreugh which it has eaten and then regurgitated after mating. \"Fibrous balls,\" according to the book. \"Foul-smelling.\" There are no known uses for grom, alchemical or otherwise.\nI'm beginning to think the magister doesn't much like me.\nEntry 47\nI've made camp at a dreugh mating ground on the coast north of Anvil. The creatures are docile unless provoked, which allows me to observe them and collect as much grom as I need.\nJoyous day.\nEntry 48\nI thought I knew tedium. Now, my life consists of waiting for dreugh to mate.\nEntry 49\nI've spotted my first ball of grom!\nThis is what passes for excitement, now.\nEntry 50\nThe old book wasn't lying. There is no alchemical use for grom, unless it's \"ruin a variety of expensive alchemical ingredients,\" or \"permanently stain mortar and pestle.\"\nBut I won't let the magister show me up.\nEntry 51\nI can confirm grom is inedible. Boiling just makes the smell worse.\nEntry 52\nBoiling was the key! As it cooled, the fibrous pulp hardened into the same shell. I realized that, in this state, I could form and shape the pulp. I was able to fashion a simple potion flask that took a stopper well.\nPotion flasks that won't smash if you drop them? There's your alchemical application, magister.\nOf course, I've run out of grom. In order to reproduce my results, I need more dreugh to reproduce.\nEntry 53\nMore tedium. Why can't the dreugh mate faster?\nEntry 54\nI can make the dreugh mate faster! While dumping an alchemical concoction into the sea, a nearby dreugh seemed to perk up and rub its claws together. It immediately sought out another dreugh and paced about, circling it. More activity than I've yet seen from these creatures.\nI'll cook up another batch and sprinkle it along the beach tonight.\nEntry 55\nThe dreugh seem agitated. Now they all pace, but the mating still isn't happening any faster.\nTonight I'll increase the batch's potency by a factor of eight. If that doesn't get them over their lethargy, I don't know what will!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/farandares-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/farandares-journal", "description": "Farandare dreams of Falinesti and of a long ago lover", "author": "Farandare", "title": "Farandare's Journal", "text": "Finally, the answer! In my dream, I saw the one whose strength will help me complete my quest to bring Falinesti back! Soon, very soon. Perhaps it will be Sundas again.\nSundas. Does the year matter? The month? We first met on a Sundas. And on a Sundas many years later, he disappeared.\nI took the pilgrimage to the other Falinesti Sites with the faithful. But I remembered we met on a Sundas at the Summer Site, and realized when the Walking City returns, it will be to the valley.\nAnd of course, I'm right. The cracks between the Summer Site and Oblivion demonstrate how close the city is. Some nights, I can see its lights shimmering through the portals that flare into existence now and then.\nWe'll be together soon, and the many, many years apart will mean nothing. It will be as it was that Sundas, when I first put my hand into his.Zone"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/farangels-delve-further-orders": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/farangels-delve-further-orders", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Farangel's Delve: Further Orders", "text": "You're costing us too much coin.\nH. is getting tired of the expense of keeping all this cargo in a warehouse. Because you've also been somewhat less than discreet, we don't want you to stay in that hidden cave for much longer. To be honest, we don't think you're doing enough to keep that cave hidden.\nClear out the cargo. Sell it. Quickly. We know how much its worth, so you can make up for your lackluster results by raising that money. We'll be keeping track of the profits. That way, we can both make a profit and get you out of there quicker.\nH. is spending too much money on two things: the arena and you. If you can't do this properly, we could easily arrange for your men to end up in the arena.\nWe'll be waiting to hear about the incredible profits you've amassed."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/farewell-missive": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/farewell-missive", "description": "A final apology to a friend", "author": "Hadmal Lastblood", "title": "Farewell Missive", "text": "[Player's name],\nIf this message reaches you, I must assume you did what I could not and stopped my wife. I apologize for not accompanying you to the ruins. My family's blood already stains my hands, and I couldn't bear to go through that ordeal all over again.\nTo think that everything I had to do ten years ago could have come undone, that it could have all been for nothing, I couldn't stand the thought! At the same time, I couldn't end their lives. Not again. I had to let that fall to you. And for that, I'm sorry.\nYou won't see me again. My time is done. I had hoped to die a glorious death, in battle beside the Skald King. Instead, I die a coward's death. May Kyne forgive me.\nI've left a small reward for you. It's in my chest, behind this tent. My journal is also there. It contains the entire story of what I was forced to do.\nKyne watch over you, my friend. Kyne watch over us all.\n\t\u2014 Hadmal"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/farewell-note-lauriel": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/farewell-note-lauriel", "description": "A sister's goodbye note", "author": "Selenwe", "title": "Farewell Note to Lauriel", "text": "Dearest Lauriel,\nI had hoped to see you before I set out, but it seems you've gone to ground\u2014hiding out in the old wine cellar, no doubt. I know exactly where too\u2014behind the old cask of Alinorian in the southeast corner right? You were always rubbish at hiding! I'd come find you, but my ship leaves with the tide.\nI know you're scared of being alone, and angry at me for leaving, but I just can't turn my back on the opportunity to study with the elders on Balfiera. A chance to see the great Direnni tower! I hope, in time, you'll understand.\nYou're stronger than you know, little sister. You don't need me to protect you anymore. Just keep reading, and keep writing those beautiful songs. I'll be back before you know it.\nYour loving sister,\nSelenwe"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fasarans-diary": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fasarans-diary", "description": "Musings on the formation of the Dominion", "author": "Fasaran", "title": "Fasaran's Diary", "text": "Dear Fara,\nI watched the sunset, thinking of you again. I've heard rumors of war in Cyrodiil. Some are calling it \"The Great War.\" Alliances are forming and rising up. Mirkalinde told me our dark cousins have united with the Argonians, their own slaves, and the Nords. It must be quite the battle to forge such an uneasy alliance. It's hard to believe as I gaze out upon the beauty of Auridon that such devastation happening in Tamriel. I hope our people stay out of the conflict.\n\t- - - - - - -\n\tDear Fara,\nTime passes by so slowly without you here. Things seem to be changing swiftly. Queen Ayrenn has returned to Auridon. No one is certain where she's been, but she's been speaking of this alliance called the Aldmeri Dominion. Would you believe we're now allies with our woodsy cousins and the Khajiit?\nNot all the people here seem happy about it. Sinyon speaks of a group called the Veiled Heritance. It's a shame most of us are so against allying with the outside races.\n\t- - - - - - -\n\tDear Fara,\nI miss you so much. Tenmenye is bustling about the town. Queen Ayrenn is going to stop by Dawnbreak on her way to Firsthold. Ten was telling me how much she misses you and your guidance. She's overwhelmed with preparations, but we're all very excited to see her in our small town."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fascinating-relics": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fascinating-relics", "description": "An eccentric sorcerer's note to his assistant", "author": "Telenger the Artificer", "title": "Fascinating Relics", "text": "Assistant,\nDon't worry, I'm not dead. These petulant fellows are no danger to me. I thought it prudent to leave you this note to let you know: I've traveled deeper into your tunnels. Some of the relics here \u2026 fascinating!\nBy now you have likely sensed the residual magicka matrix left behind from my teleportation. Intentional, I assure you. Simply employ a claudication using the third rule of resonant harmonics to follow in my wake. I gave a lengthy lecture on the subject last week. I'm sure you recall what I said, yes?\n\u2014 Telenger the Artificer\nPS: Do not mind the chickens. Some of the cultists became very quarrelsome indeed."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fear-foe-heed-teacher": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fear-foe-heed-teacher", "description": "A Dragonguard plaque found in Dov-Vahl shrine in Anequina", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Fear the Foe, Heed the Teacher", "text": "UDU EWAT PIKRA NATSEI VRIN\nCLAWS OF ADAMANT, VOICE OF END\nFEAR THE FOE, HEED THE TEACHER\nMOVE AS WIND, BEND AS RIVER\nBEFORE VICTORY THERE IS SURVIVAL\nHATE INJURY, SHUN DEATH\nUDU EWAT PIKRA NATSEI VRIN"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/felgols-note": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/felgols-note", "description": "A dying adventurer hates statues", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Felgol's Note", "text": "Humor the dying words of a daring Undaunted:\nKnock those statues down.\nPlease\u2014it would annoy them so damned much."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/felhorn": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/felhorn", "description": "A Malacath devotee becomes champion", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Felhorn", "text": "Felhorn claimed the Brimstone Crown in the bloody revolt known as the Gladiator Uprising. He led an army into the Arena and demanded to fight the current Champion, Ferian Darkstorm. Ferian reluctantly agreed, and after a monumental fight, the former Champion was cleaved in two by Felhorn's enchanted sword. Humbled by his near defeat, Felhorn disbanded his army and took his seat as Champion of the Blessed Crucible. It was he who erected great monuments to Malacath within the arena.\nUsurped: Ferian Darkstorm\nDefeated By: Sanarel the Great"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fells-brigade-orders": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fells-brigade-orders", "description": "The commander requests more Orc prisoners", "author": "Commander Leonce", "title": "Fell's Brigade Orders", "text": "Sergeant Gausbert,\nWe need more prisoners to send to Northpoint. Our mutual benefactor has been very appreciative of the Orcs we've already sent her way, but she has sent an order for more captives as soon as possible. Step up your efforts and round up as many Orcs as you can.\nAfterward, meet me at the inn to discuss logistics and transportation plans.\nI left an extra key in my house next to the river.\n\u2014 Commander Leonce"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fellrunner-failure": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fellrunner-failure", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Fellrunner Failure?", "text": "I recently attempted to imbue a fellrunner with wisp essence and observed a rather curious reaction. Within a few seconds of the applied reagent, the creature simply dropped dead. Nothing out of the ordinary you might think, but upon closer observation the bird's carcass was gently steaming and the air was filled with a surprisingly mouthwatering aroma. Dissection revealed that the bird had been cooked from within, to perfection I might add. Conservator Vinelore seemed unimpressed by these results, but I want to attempt to recreate them in more easily available fauna."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ferharas-warclaws": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ferharas-warclaws", "description": "Letter promoting a mercenary company", "author": "Captain Brivan", "title": "Ferhara's Warclaws", "text": "High Councilor Meriath,\nI want to once again appeal to you and the Redoran Council concerning the status and disposition of the mercenary band known as Ferhara's Warclaws. I urge you to grant me the funds and authority to employ these professional warriors to permanently bolster our forces in and around Balmora. I know that you and Councilor Eris believe that Redoran soldiers are capable of protecting House interests and I agree. But with the continuing need for soldiers in the Ebonheart Pact, I find my resources dangerously limited when it comes to dealing with Daedric cultists, Ashlanders, and other threats to Redoran prosperity.\nAllow me to remind you of Ferhara and her impressive qualifications.\nFerhara, a Khajiit warrior who earned prestige and a reputation as a military strategist fighting on the side of the Dominion in the Three Banners War. After serving with honor for two tours of duty, she gathered a band of trusted comrades-in-arms and decided to sell her skills to the highest bidder. Her mercenary band grew and made a name for itself as it worked for merchant lords and nobles from Elswyr to Morrowind. They originally came to Vvardenfell at the behest of House Hlaalu before we were able to secure their services for House Redoran.\nNow Ferhara's Warclaws\u2014an elite band of Khajiit warriors loyal to Ferhara and whoever holds their contract\u2014work for me to promote Redoran interests. Their work in regards to the Ashlanders, for example, demonstrates the importance of keeping these mercenaries loyal to our House. I hope you will agree. I look forward to discussing this in more detail at the next meeting of the council so that we can move forward with a new and more expansive contract.\nCaptain Brivan"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ferian-darkstorm": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ferian-darkstorm", "description": "Description of a rather weak champion", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Ferian Darkstorm", "text": "Ferian Darkstorm, also known as Ferian the Passive, reigned as Champion for a very short time. It is said that he grew soft and complacent once he was crowned Champion, and was known to fight only when severely criticized. His lack of willingness to defend his crown led to the first Gladiator Uprising, when prominent gladiator named Felhorn led his clan into the Arena to force Ferian's hand. Ferian eventually acceded to the pressure, lest he and all his guards be destroyed by the angry gladiators, but in the end, Ferian still fell under Felhorn's blade.\nUsurped: Whitebear\nDefeated By: Felhorn"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/feyne-vildans-diary": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/feyne-vildans-diary", "description": "A long-suffering wife's diary", "author": "Feyne Vildan", "title": "Feyne Vildan's Diary", "text": "28th Sun's Dawn\nJa-Reet said he's leaving. Not leaving me, not exactly. Going to Black Marsh. He's never been there in his life. But, apparently, someone named Fal-Xoc there can help him.\nAnd he told me, haltingly, how he thinks he's broken. I told him I love him the way he is. That it doesn't matter.\n\tHe looked at me, and asked if it had ever hurt me. I had to nod.\n\"Then, yes,\" he said, \"it does matter.\"\nI cried. So did he. We went to bed without saying anything more.\n19th Rain's Hand\nWe arrived in Percolating Mire today. There was a house ready for us. For Ja-Reet, really \u2026 there wasn't a bed for me. I was angry at Ja-Reet for leaving what we had together. It's taken us years to take my father's slave plantation and turn it into an ethical business. Years to get the community to accept a Dunmer-Argonian marriage.\nHere, it's back to square one. A lizard-woman called me his \"friend.\" Wouldn't use the word wife. I called her a name. I don't think she spoke the language, but she got the point.\nLater:\nThe Dominion's landed in Shadowfen. I worry about the people here. Dunmeri villagers trained for invasion. Here \u2026 they're brave, but unarmed. We're in danger.\nI asked Ja-Reet to leave, but he says he's making progress. I told him I think he's fine. He snapped at me that I don't get to decide whether he's fine or not."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/field-guide-river-trolls": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/field-guide-river-trolls", "description": "Summary of what little we know about trolls, with an emphasis on the River Trolls of Cyrodiil", "author": "Phrastus of Elinhir", "title": "Field Guide to River Trolls", "text": "The origin of the race of trolls is somewhat obscure - which is another way of saying we know absolutely nothing about where they come from, how they got here, or why they exist at all.\nThe troll has certainly haunted Tamrielic folklore from time immemorial, known to nearly every culture and appearing in tales of all sorts, from children's fables to the histories of the ancients. Indeed, they are mentioned in Khosey's venerable \"Tamrilean Tractates,\" which speak of \"ye Trohl of Rapace, thrice-orbed Enormity [that] Eateth ye Fleshe of [both] Commons and Kyngs.\"\nAfter our long history on Tamriel with them, we men and mer should really know quite a bit about trolls, should we not? Perhaps so - but we don't. The few facts at our disposal are as follows:\n- Trolls are fierce and formidable carnivores, devouring anything they can catch down to fingernails and marrow.\n- A troll injured by any means but fire heals with preternatural speed, a regeneration almost certainly magical in nature.\n- Troll fat is a reagent prized by alchemists, though its virtues seem to vary depending on different recipes and rendering techniques.\n- Despite their physical prowess, trolls are reclusive creatures, and their lairs are usually found well off the beaten track.\nWe can say little else with certainty, save that trolls live in a range of habitats and seem to exist in variations appropriate to their environment of origin. The most common, and therefore best-known types of trolls, include the Forest Trolls of central Tamriel, and the Frost Trolls of the far north.\nBut history and legend tell us of other types of trolls, more obscure perhaps, but no less fascinating. Some, like the Lava Trolls of Vvardenfell, are almost certainly extinct (if, indeed, they ever existed outside the fevered imaginations of Dark Elf corner club raconteurs). But today we shall speak of a rare breed of \"Trohl of Rapace\" that you can definitely still encounter - and not in far-off regions like Middle Argonia or Topal Island. They live in Cyrodiil itself - if one knows where to look for them.\nI'm speaking of the elusive River Troll. You won't find it listed on the Imperial Register of Beasts and Lower Beings, but it's real nonetheless, as I can readily attest. I myself have personally seen, in the marketplace of Sutch, the carcass of a River Troll that was brought in by an intrepid hunter who traps the tributaries of the Brena. She told me they lair out of sight in riverside caves or burrows, subsisting on mudcrabs, large fish, and crocodiles - as well as upon unwary people, when they can get them. This might be why they're so rarely reported, as few survive such an encounter.\nThe appearance of the corpse, fire-scarred though it was, bore out the brave hunter's account. Unlike the familiar forest variety, this River Troll's hide was clad in shiny water-shedding scales, silver-blue in color and as durable as they were flexible. The long scaly hands had webbing between the clawed fingers, and the fangs were the sharp, spiky teeth of fish-eaters. The hunter said they can hold their breath for long periods, lurking unseen in the shallows until they erupt from ambush to overwhelm their prey.\nSince that encounter I've questioned others who range the wild places of Cyrodiil and learned that the experience of the hunter of Sutch was not unique. River Trolls, though rarely seen, can be found lurking in the watersheds of the Brena, Strid, and central Niben river systems, and doubtless account for a fair percentage of the livestock - and people - who go missing in these regions. Knowing what I do now has certainly persuaded me to confine my nature walks to paths on the drier uplands, lest I end my scholarly career as fodder for trollkins in some muddy riverside burrow!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/field-guide-spriggans": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/field-guide-spriggans", "description": "A short but detailed description of the Spriggans of Tamriel", "author": "Phrastus of Elinhir", "title": "Field Guide to Spriggans", "text": "We come now to consideration of the spriggan, the elusive, feminine nature spirit of the deep woods. Of course, we all know the name from the taunting children's joke that goes:\n\"Guess what?\"\n\"What?\"\n\"Spriggan butt!\"\n\u2026But beyond this juvenile jest, what can scholarship tell us about these half-flora/half-fauna creatures? Unfortunately, though I have consulted all the standard sources, the academics of Tamriel have little to say about the spriggans' whys and wherefores.\nFrom both legend and from authenticated stories of personal encounters, we know that spriggans are somehow mystically tied to certain copses or thickets, verdant groves which they fiercely defend against trespassers. Spriggan sap is said to be venomous, and they are known to be able to magically heal themselves when wounded, making them dangerous opponents.\nIn addition, spriggans have some sort innate connection to the animals and plants that inhabit their sacred groves, and there are many verified accounts of animals fighting at their sides against intruders. These allies include not just animals that are naturally aggressive, such as bears or swarms of hornets, but even usually timid creatures like deer and elk.\nWhether these animal allies defend spriggans out of love or friendship, or whether they are magically summoned by an innate spell ability on the part of the spriggan, is an open question, and a matter of some debate among those who study mystizoology. There is no doubt, however, that spriggans are creatures of a magical nature, as is clearly evidenced by the powerful qualities of the so-called \"taproots\" that are harvested from their bodies when slain. These taproots are prized by alchemists for their undeniable arcane properties, which enable the concoction of complex potions from powerful reagents that are otherwise immiscible.\nAs to their origins, that is a mystery that so far none have solved. We find accounts of \"Spryggain Groaves\" dating all the way back to the beginning of the First Era, as well as mention of \"tree-daughters\" in the ancient myths of Y'ffre and the Earth Bones. Their common name seems to derive from \"sprig,\" the Nedic term for a fresh green twig or offshoot, but beyond that everything about their origins is obscure.\nFrom a purely physical standpoint spriggans certainly come in several forms, with reports of a variety of barks and foliage. This may represent different strains or sub-species, or it may simply be a reflection of the spriggan's mystical connection with its local flora. Spriggans seem to resemble the plants of the groves wherein they live, even reflecting the seasonal nature of those who reside in the deciduous forests of northern Tamriel. In the opinion of this scholar, the so-called spring, summer, autumn, and winter spriggans are all the same creatures merely undergoing seasonal metamorphosis.\nSome have gone so far as to assert that spriggans have a hierarchy, with lesser members of the species owing allegiance to the greater, who are sometimes termed \"spriggan matron\" or even \"spriggan earth mother.\" Here is where we must draw the line between scholarship and storytelling: though a spriggan's form outwardly resembles that of a human female, there is no evidence whatsoever that they can engage in intelligent behavior, or that they can organize into hierarchical groups. The creatures of the natural world, even those that are quasi-magical, behave entirely according to instinct, and to endow them with human emotion or thought is mere sentimentalism. If you're partial to that sort of fanciful twaddle, I refer you to the works of Lady Cinnabar of Taneth, who produces it in great reams."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fight-prey": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fight-prey", "description": "A Dragonguard plaque found in Dov-Vahl shrine in Anequina", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Fight As Prey", "text": "RET ASHTU ZIN FONG DAN LO\nFORGET HONOR, AS DRAGONS DO\nINSTEAD FIGHT AS PREY\nRUN AND HIDE, STRIKE FROM AMBUSH\nWOUND WITH A THOUSAND CUTS\nDECEIT TRIUMPHS OVER PRIDE\nRET ASHTU ZIN FONG DAN LO"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/final-letter-sergeant-berarah": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/final-letter-sergeant-berarah", "description": "A dying soldier provides a clue", "author": "Sergeant Berarah", "title": "Final Letter of Sergeant Berarah", "text": "The Dragon refuses to confront us directly, but its roars send hordes of kwama to attack. We were overwhelmed by the sheer number of the creatures. Of the four of us who came to retrieve the Horn of Ja'darri, only I remain.\nA drawbridge blocks my path forward. I know that the pulleys must somehow be connected to the bridge, but it's hard to concentrate after losing so much blood. I can hear the kwama scratching along the walls, and the Dragon flies nearby. It taunts me, assured of its own victory. It keeps repeating a phrase, over and over.\n\"Khenarthi flies overhead, Alkosh stands in glory. The Mane bows before their greatness.\"\nIt relates to the pulleys, I know. But by the Divines, I don't know how. As my blood pools and my eyesight fades, I realize that all we did accomplished nothing. And I can't even face the beast who mocks me.\nAll I can say is a prayer for my fallen companions. And for me.\nSergeant Berarah"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/final-statement-leobert-charien": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/final-statement-leobert-charien", "description": "One wronged man follows his nemesis into a dark and evil place", "author": "Leobert Charien", "title": "Final Statement of Leobert Charien", "text": "I leave this as a warning and a challenge. Perhaps it will fall into the hands of a hero who can succeed where I will certainly fail.\nI have trailed the abomination Gaston Ashham to the ruins of Lipsand Tarn. Here he has awakened the evil that slumbers within every Ayleid ruin. It now feeds the unquenchable appetite for terror that he never satisfied in Wayrest. I do not know where his sister has gone. Others must deal with her.\nI am going in after him. I hear horrors have sprung up within the ruins. I am ready to face them. For the memory of my mother, my father, and my sister Sonele, I am ready to die.\n\u2014 Leobert Charien"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/final-thoughts": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/final-thoughts", "description": "A person apologizes for joining the Scaled Court.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Final Thoughts", "text": "Forgive me, Ysolda. You told me not to join the Scaled Court, but we needed the gold. You saw them for what they were, but I was fooled by their lofty words and promises. I thought I was lucky. How could I be so wrong?\nThey knew what this place was. They knew when they sent us in here. Now I see that we were chosen not because we were trusted, as they said, but because we were expendable.\nEveryone else is dead. Or worse. Mikhail and I tried to flee, but that thing sees everything in this place. Those burning eyes find you wherever you go.\nI saw it take Mikhail. Saw it shrivel him until he was nothing but bone. And then those bones walked away. He never even looked back.\nI don't know why I'm still alive. Maybe it's watching, savoring my fear. I broke my leg and can't climb back up the ladder. I'll die here.\nMaybe I'll die in peace. Maybe I'll die naturally. If that's what happens, then maybe I am the lucky one."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/final-words": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/final-words", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Final Words ", "text": "Crawled out of cave. Can go no farther. Egg-brother Bosekus was right. Should have moved with him to Cropsford."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/findings-elemental-volatility-imps": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/findings-elemental-volatility-imps", "description": "Results of a failed experiment", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Findings on the Elemental Volatility of Imps", "text": "Our experiments to enhance the abilities of imps have, universally, resulted in disastrous side effects, though this latest round of testing is perhaps the most spectacular example. When applying a serum concocted from the essence of an imp with affinity to frost to an imp with an affinity for fire the end result is not a creature with mastery over both, but a puddle. The unfortunate thing melted before our eyes, shrieking at ear splitting volumes until its throat collapsed. Or perhaps its lungs. Either way we wont be repeating that particular experiment again."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fires-grip": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fires-grip", "description": "Doratella has found a good spot for a workshop", "author": "Doratella", "title": "Fire's Grip", "text": "The Ayleid ruins known as Par Molag\u2014fist (or grip) of fire in the ancient tongue\u2014make an excellent location for a secret crafting workshop.\n\t\u2014Doratella"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/firebrand-watch": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/firebrand-watch", "description": "The Lion Guard has lazily abandoned another fort", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Firebrand Watch", "text": "The Lion Guard's laziness astounds me. They abandon forts left and right through High Rock, without any regard for strategy or defense. The most-recent location the Lion Guards ran from is Firebrand Watch. Rumor has it the Red Rooks made a fortune when they plundered the abandoned fortifications there. Hurry to Firebrand Watch and gather whatever hasn't been carted off. The Lion Guard's loss must be our gain."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/firras-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/firras-journal", "description": "Firra speaks about a powerful artifact in possession of the Thalmor", "author": "Firra", "title": "Firras' Journal", "text": "Given the ongoing combat, I leave this in the hopes of explaining my actions if I do not live to see the end of the struggle. I am Firras, a stormwarden. I betrayed my order as I love my people more than those who rule us.\n\tLong ago, the stormwardens were Ayleid, but now their bastion of power is under our control. Instead of using this to our advantage and bringing wealth and power to our people, we use it in the service of the Thalmor.\nThis means, in truth, we are servants of the Altmer!\nWe could use the Sphere against the Dominion, securing our coasts and forests against their ships. Or at least exact tolls to improve the lives of our people. But our leader Cirnean says this cannot be. We must live up to the standards of people long dead, and use the Sphere for the good of all mer. And I guess the good of the Khajiit too, though that was not specified.\nSo as my brothers will not help themselves, I turn to the invaders to force their hand. Either the Sea Vipers will kill the stormwardens and I'll take control, or they'll show the stormwardens we cannot rely on the Altmer to protect us.\nOthers may see me as a traitor, but I commit my sins for the greater good of the Bosmeri people!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/first-gravestone": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/first-gravestone", "description": "Gravestone of a young warrior", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "First Gravestone", "text": "Whatever one thought of Joelle \u2026 , let it be known that this warrior's sword-arm now rests near the hands that once healed her wounds.\n\t2701\u20142738"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/first-signs-flu": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/first-signs-flu", "description": "The Knahaten flu comes to Orcrest", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "First Signs of the Flu", "text": "No one knows who brought the flu to Orcrest.\nSome blame the Argonians. Others say it's the work of Peryite himself. Whatever its cause, the sickness is spreading quickly, and the dead are starting to pile up. Some of the unaffected residents are fleeing, but they say things are even worse beyond the city's walls.\nI, for one, am not going anywhere. Orcrest is my home."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/firuins-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/firuins-journal", "description": "", "author": "Firuin", "title": "Firuin's Journal", "text": "Galithor has let me down for the last time. I told him to meet me on Balding Hill so we could leave this backwater and build a new life. He never came.\nI tried to explain, but he doesn't understand how much we could learn out there! That there is so much more than the lives of those who went before! New methods to be discovered! Secrets!\nInstead, he clings to the past. He makes his brew the way his mother did, and her father before her. Never changing, never experimenting. It's sickening!\nI even summoned an atronach to demonstrate what is possible, but he left it in some musty cavern with some jerked mammoth and Y'ffre knows what other refuse he's dredged out of the forest.\nHe'll learn his lesson soon enough, though. Without regular bindings, even the lowliest atronach is prone to rebellion."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/firuths-writ": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/firuths-writ", "description": "", "author": "Master Firuth", "title": "Firuth's Writ", "text": "This is to formally request that the Argonian Hireling, Sun-in-Shadow, be given the rank of Retainer, of Great House Telvanni.\nShe has aided me in several matters, behaved with great discretion and continues to support the activities and goals of the house.\nFiruth, Master Mage\n\tGreat House Telvanni"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/writ-endorsement": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/writ-endorsement", "description": "Endorsing Sun-in-Shadows promotion to Retainer of House Telvanni", "author": "Master Firuth", "title": "Firuth's writ of Endorsement", "text": "Esteemed Councilors,\nI, Master Firuth, steward of Hanud and lands beyond, do hereby support and affirm Sun-in-Shadow's promotion to the rank of retainer in the Great House Telvanni.\nThe Argonian's grasp of our playful internecine rivalries shows a degree of perspicacity I thought impossible in members of her race. For this reason alone, she deserves recognition and respect. She will serve the House well in her new role as retainer.\nHonor and Regards,\nFiruth\n\tMaster of the Great House Telvanni\n\tSteward of Hanud"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fishermans-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fishermans-journal", "description": "A fisherman describes his encounter with \"witch lights\"", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Fisherman's Journal", "text": "Day 57: I'm so glad I asked the spinner to build me this hut. I can dangle my feet off the edge and fish as much as I want. My cousin will be so jealous.\nDay 58: The fish here are thriving! I have more than enough to eat. Not only because of the number of fish in the pond, but the witch lights dancing above the water. The strange creatures attract the fish in the evening. Now I can fish all day and night!\nDay 59: I spoke too soon. More witch lights showed up and now the fish seem scared of them. The witch lights only seem to come around at night, so daytime fishing is still fine.\nDay 60: Now the witch lights are around in the daytime as well. I had to switch to the shallows of the pond. The fishing is much worse! I will either have to do something about the witch lights or get used to tiny dinners.\nDay 61: The fish aren't biting. It is bad enough that I have to go to bed hungry. Know there are plenty of tasty fish right below me is too much to bear!\nDay 62: I shot one of the witch lights. An arrow was all it took, then the rest of them scattered. I can once more look forward to more delicious fish dinners!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fishing-camp-checklist": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fishing-camp-checklist", "description": "The important chores of a fishing camp", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Fishing Camp Checklist", "text": "\u2014 Stack fishing poles\n\t\u2014 Clean knives and hooks\n\t\u2014 Untangle fishing lines, nets\n\t\u2014 Cut bait\n\t\u2014 Open a bottle of mead\n\t\u2014 Open another bottle of mead\n\t\u2014 Order more mead from Voljar's\n\t\u2014 Fish"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fistalles-note": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fistalles-note", "description": "An allegory about a cat and two rats", "author": "Fistalle", "title": "Fistalle's Note", "text": "One day, a great big kitty with a tawny hide was playing with a little bag. The cat poked his head into the bag. He was a very nosy, hungry cat. He was hoping to find food in the bag.\nInstead he found two rats hiding inside! One of them bore a blade, and its head was covered in silk. The other wore a veil, and hissed in annoyance.\nThe cat realized that the only way he could get these rats out of this bag was to let in more light. Under the light, the rats would be forced to fight or flee."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fists-thalmor": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fists-thalmor", "description": "Orders to protect the harbor during an important ceremony", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Fists of Thalmor", "text": "Captain:\nRE: Defense of Velyn Harbor\nYour requests for reassignment to Silvenar for the handfasting ceremony is currently under review, but I cannot emphasize enough the importance of your current assignment, the defense of Velyn Harbor.\nThe harbor remains the primary port of Malabal Tor and, with the wedding between the Green Lady and the Silvenar imminent, it is imperative that the harbor be kept clear and safe.\nThe Fists have stationed three full squads in Velyn Harbor, which should be more than enough to fend off any attack small enough to get through the Dominion's blockade.\nDo not fail at your assigned duties, Captain, for your ability to choose future assignments is at stake."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/five-claws-battle-cries": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/five-claws-battle-cries", "description": "A collection of slogans for one Arena team", "author": "Khasabi", "title": "Five Claws Battle Cries ", "text": "We are fragrant! We are sleek!\n    We are Five Claws and we can't be beat!\nFur and fury!\nBe the claw!\nWe sniff in your general direction!\n* * *\nThese are fragrant! I can't wait to hear us shout them in the next Arena match. But we need to practice. Especially that lazy Sugar-Dance. He can't remember his name if I don't carve it into his fur.\n\u2014Khasabi"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/five-fold-felicitations": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/five-fold-felicitations", "description": "A match-making aunt introduces several potential suitors to her niece", "author": "Ambarre", "title": "Five-Fold Felicitations!", "text": "Dearest Niece,\nWhat a profound delight to hear from you! And five-fold felicitations on your glorious Aednavorith attestation! Your mother could barely contain her excitement on her last visit. How wonderful that your results surpassed even her wildest imaginings. As for me, I never had any doubt. We come from a prestigious line, and despite your father's ancestral deficiencies, I knew you would take on the finest aspects of our noble kin. I hear that your skin color and ear-shape reports were particularly favorable. What a relief! As we all know, ear-related flaws run deep in your father's line. How fortunate that you danced around that snare!\nNow, to business! In reference to your question, yes, our estate sponsors several fine young Mer of impeccable breeding. I will describe them here in detail, and attach their various attestations for you to peruse. I'm confident you'll find a worthy mate among them.\nThe first is Talanor\u2014a truly handsome Mer with ties to the prestigious Enruneldinion line. He enjoys the benefits of exceptional height, and the amber eyes characteristic of his father's descent. He suffers only minor flaws in skin color and jaw width, but these are easily overlooked, and likely recessive in nature. He knows his letters very well and excels in all schools of arcane practice. You won't find a more skillful mage at this age. A fine and dignified match, I assure you.\nNext is Hiruyon, son of Helebrim. You no doubt recognize the name. Helebrim is one of Summerset's foremost composers\u2014the kind of musical genius that arrives only once in a generation. Hiruyon, to his great credit, possesses many of his father's finer qualities. His singing voice is the envy of Mara herself, and he plays no less than twelve instruments. Alas, his physical qualities fall short of stellar. His facial symmetry leaves something to be desired, due in large part to his smallish eyes. He also suffers from a slight enlargement at the bridge of the nose\u2014a trait indicative of cross-breeding with Men. I leave it to you to decide if such physical deficiencies overwhelm his ample talents and charming disposition. At the very least, his paternal accolades will serve you well at court.\nWe come at last to my favorite of the bunch: Pelanrel. Call me shallow if you wish! This fiery youth rivals Trinimac himself in terms of appearance and temperament. His countenance bears an uncanny resemblance to our Aldmeri forebears. Truly, he could have walked off a kinlord's tapestry. Wide almond eyes, ears as sharp as daggers, and the narrow, hawk-like aspect of our ancient kin. Marvelous! He displays great strength and speed on the sparring ground and the gaming field, and took to smithing like a lark to the wind. His only shortcomings lie in his magical and scholarly aptitude. But I have confidence that our shared ancestry would easily overcome such a weakness.\nWrite me back without delay, dearest niece! I'm anxious to find out which of these fine stallions you find most intriguing. If we move quickly, we may have a new child to spoil within the year!\nYour Loving Aunt,\n\tAmbarre"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fjars-interrogation-transcript": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fjars-interrogation-transcript", "description": "An interrogation begins, cordially enough", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Fjar's Interrogation Transcript", "text": "Agent: How are you? Are you being treated well?\n\tFjar: So far. I know you guys aren't all the monsters you're made out to be.\n\tAgent: That's good to hear. You're married to a Breton, aren't you? Helewise?\n\tFjar: Yes, sir. Happily married eight years.\n\tAgent: Good. Good. It's like I keep telling my men, family is more important than anything else, even the king.\n\tFjar: I couldn't agree more."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fleeing-senchal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fleeing-senchal", "description": "A healer's reflection after the burning of Senchal", "author": "Riifa", "title": "Fleeing Senchal", "text": "I fled Senchal today. I couldn't stand to remain behind after what had happened. The flu was bad enough, but to see all that fire? And breathing\u2014so difficult.\nEvery time I think about it, I just want to vomit. And when I sneeze, which is often thanks to the smoky air, I darken my fur if I cover my nose.\nWe're all dark inside now because of what we've done. Even those of us who tried to stop it. We failed. The darkness is more than just the air we breathe. Our very spirits have dimmed. Maybe even diminished.\nAnd now we have to live with ourselves and this devastation that we added to the world. The flu? A terrible thing. But to add to that as we did? We did that. That was us. What hubris! And so much fear. So much bad behavior. It stains us.\nBut, start where we are. That's what my grandmother would say. Start where we are.\nDespite the darkness inside us that we gave a fiery form, we must keep moving forward.\nAnd so I leave Senchal. I leave the miasma of death and destruction behind me. And I will find and heal anyone I encounter outside its walls. I cannot stay around Senchal, no. It sickens me to do so. But I can work my healing on those outside it. Perhaps the flu will find me. Perhaps it won't. That is beyond my control.\nZiss. Enough of this.\n* * *\nI must write this down before I forget. It has been weeks since the fires. I cannot return to Senchal and be part of that, but I have found a roving community outside the walls. We protect each other. We forage for food. We take in more as we can. And I heal them all with what supplies we can find. The land is not as generous as we would like, but now and again, we find a treasure trove of herbs I can use.\nBut I write now because of this: None have died from the flu for several days now. Some have recovered. Some have not. But none have sickened in the past several days. Perhaps we should head north and see if the so-called barbarians of Anequina will be kinder than the \"civilized people\" of Senchal were. Or maybe we will discover more fear-driven and hubris-driven behavior. That is beyond our control.\nWe will start where we are. Move forward. Make each step count.\n* * *\nZiss! It has been ... decades? I forgot I wrote down my pain in this little journal and tucked it into one of our hidden safeholds. Those were dark days. We were staving off more than the flu back then. We fought off fear and starvation. Lived off the land without destroying it and ourselves. But one thing everyone in that group had in common: We knew we needed to be better. Do better. Have more empathy. Be kind. And learn patience. With others, and most of all with ourselves.\nYes, devastation surrounded us for quite a while as we traveled. We saw many behaving badly. We tried to offset that as much as we could, and to some extent, we succeeded. Not as much as we'd like, but the path was the effort, not the result.\nI shall leave this little book behind with the hopes that any who pick it up will remember these words: Start where you are. Each moment, and especially when facing the worst things you can imagine, that's all you can do. Start where you are.\nRiifa, Itinerant Healer"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/flegs-note": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/flegs-note", "description": "A pirate warns his captain about some faulty reassure maps", "author": "Fleg", "title": "Fleg's Note", "text": "Captain,\nNot to be speaking out of turn, but are you certain these maps are genuine? I'm looking at one right now that might have been current when Hew still called this place home. I know where it says I am, and I don't recognize a single landmark.\nGorigan heard some of the teams aren't even coming back. Maybe they're lost with these shoddy maps, maybe they found enough loot to think it was worth running, maybe they're dead. I don't want to die on some fool's errand, beginning your pardon, so I'm begging you, captain: let's get back to some honest piracy.\nI've heard it from more than one Drowned Dog. \"We'll keep digging for now, but if we don't hear from you soon we're throwing in with a new outfit.\"\n-Fleg"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/flesh-cut-bone": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/flesh-cut-bone", "description": "A grisly pirate song", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Flesh to Cut from Bone", "text": "(A Pirate Song)\n\tIf you see it glitters bright\n\tThen take it for your own,\n\tPile the corpses to a height\n\tTo make a pirate throne!\n\tFor what's made weak is ours to break\n\tAnd what's ill-guarded ours to take\n\tJust flesh to cut from bone,\n\tMore flesh to cut from bone.\n\tIf they try to lock the gates\n\tWe'll burn the whole damned town\n\tThey'll bring their guards and magistrates\n\tAnd then we'll cut them down.\n\tFor what's made weak is ours to break\n\tAnd what's ill-guarded ours to take\n\tJust flesh to cut from bone,\n\tMore flesh to cut from bone.\n\tThey'll bring their soldiers by the score\n\tTo drive us from their lands\n\tBut we will have a hundred more\n\tIn our brave pirate band!\n\tFor what's made weak is ours to break\n\tAnd what's ill-guarded ours to take\n\tJust flesh to cut from bone,\n\tMore flesh to cut from bone.\n\tAnd if they cry for mercy, then\n\tWe'll answer them with steel\n\tFor pity's made for other men\n\tWe'll grind beneath our heel.\n\tFor what's made weak is ours to break\n\tAnd what's ill-guarded ours to take\n\tJust flesh to cut from bone,\n\tMore flesh to cut from bone."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/flu-victims-note": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/flu-victims-note", "description": "Describes the symptoms of the Knahaten flu", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Flu Victim's Note", "text": "My rash is spreading. My cough is getting worse. My nose won't stop bleeding. It's only a matter of time before it flows from my eyes and mouth. My brother only lasted three days after he reached this point. He was always stronger than me."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/flyleaf-catacombs": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/flyleaf-catacombs", "description": "The author of this note finds himself regretting a few recent life decisions", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Flyleaf Catacombs", "text": "I don't know how I ended up in this dreadful place. I heard that working for the Bitterhand was very profitable, but so far the only thing I've gotten is a daily bowl of slop. In exchange, I've found myself robbing and killing innocent people. I think I made one of those mistakes that mother talked about \u2026 the kind that lead you down a dark path to an early death."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/follow-performance-notes": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/follow-performance-notes", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Follow-Up Performance Notes", "text": "In response, the morag of Koal Canton released their kwama... bled all across the anmor and poured their shein upon the ground."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/folly-fixation": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/folly-fixation", "description": "A pamphlet extoling the Battlemage tradition", "author": "Estiraamo", "title": "Folly in Fixation", "text": "There are those who will tell you that in order to become powerful, you must focus your energies, that you must pursue one discipline to the exclusion of all others if you wish to be remembered for great deeds. Utterly ridiculous. Why be the master of one thing alone when you have the capacity to become so much more?\n\tI see this way of thinking emphasized especially among fellow practitioners of magic. So often, students are discouraged from exploring the virtues of physical modes of combat or other studies in favor of complete and total dedication to magic\u2014even to areas of the art in which they have no interest or talent.\nIt seems such a waste to raise a generation of mages who focus less and less on practical applications and more on obscure theories and experiments. If you find yourself similarly disenfranchised, then allow me to open your eyes to new possibilities. Step boldly forth and do not hesitate to open new avenues of study.\nTamriel has a fine tradition of battlemages\u2014arcanists who apply their considerable intelligence and magical skill to the mastery of spells that are devastating in combat while being unafraid to pick up a sword and strap on heavy armor, fighting in the front lines to turn the tides of battle. Some of the most powerful heroes throughout history have combined magic and physical prowess, and I wish to see more walk this path.\nDo you want to seek glory on the battlefield and strike terror into your foes? Then master both the physical and the arcane. What could be more frightening than a blast of fire shooting forth from an armored gauntlet? Lightning striking nearby foes as your armor absorbs blows from all around? True power means eliminating all weaknesses, and that can only be achieved through knowledge and experience in multiple areas.\nIf you come from a magical background, chances are you've never been taught to properly wield a weapon or wear armor that offers any real protection. Find someone to train you, even if you must face scoffing and taunts in the beginning. Even the weakest (in the physical sense) sorcerer can develop the strength needed to don heavy armor pieces.\nIt is also possible to practice magic at the same time as combat. By doing so, you will attain incredible levels of concentration, improve your stamina, and learn to weave spell and sword together. This allows you to adapt to any challenge. Too many who study magic neglect their bodies, becoming vulnerable when magicka runs low.\nBecome more than a one-dimensional stereotype, and you will discover that, by diversifying, you build a set of skills that can adapt to any situation. Being the most powerful does not mean simply being very good at one thing. You have the potential for so much more. Expand your repertoire, and when you step onto the field of battle, wherever it is and no matter who your foe is, you will be prepared for anything."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/folly-man": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/folly-man", "description": "The creation myth in a song, with plenty of anti-man and anti-Lorkhan sentiment", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Folly of Man", "text": "Listen 'round, I've a warning to sound,\nAbout an overgrown weed.\nAnd, I don't mean to forebode, but this little ode,\nIs a lesson you must heed.\nNow, our story unfolds, upon a pitiful mold,\nMade to thrive on rot.\nThis unsightly staph, was a trickster's last laugh,\nLong after his battle was fought.\nWe called it the Sundering, in case you were wondering,\nWhen the heavens dropped out of the sky.\nThey hit with a thud, and gave birth to the mud,\nMaking up this mortal sty.\nIt was a hell of a mess, but I digress,\nMy story's about the swine.\nWhat took root in this land, were seeds called Man,\nThat sprung up like fungus from grime.\nTheir lives may be short, and lacking import,\nBut keep an eye to their blundering.\nIt's tempting to jest, about this simple pest,\nUntil you've seen their plundering.\nFor when Men bound, to the Doom Drum's sound, You'll learn what the Corpse-God wrought.\nEven Trinimac didn't know, with his final blow,\nJust how badly he'd been caught."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/folly-northmen": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/folly-northmen", "description": "A pamphlet advising Bretons to war their Nord cousins against their allies", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Folly of the Northmen", "text": "Men of High Rock and Hammerfell: would you marry a red-eyed devil of the Ashlands or a scaly lizard out of Black Marsh? Of course not! Then how are we to account for our brothers the Nords lying down with the Dark Elves and Argonians?\nOnly foul magic from Morrowind can explain it. By forming the Ebonheart Pact, the Tribunal of the Dunmer is taking advantage of the chaos in Cyrodiil to attempt an extension of their rule to the rest of Tamriel. These so-called \"Living Gods\" of the Tribunal are no more than imitation Daedric Princes who have derived their power from dangerous and forbidden sources. The Pact cannot be allowed to conquer Cyrodiil and the Imperial City: at a time when all Nirn is threatened by Daedric corruption, trading one cabal of Daedra-worshipers for another is just a different road to destruction.\nTamriel's history tells us that the Dark Elves are uncanny and not to be trusted. Their allies the Argonians are alien and unknowable, and we dare not submit to their inhumanoid vagaries. As for our brothers the Nords, perhaps it was their long and bloody civil war that drove their Eastern Kingdom to join such an unnatural alliance. The Northmen are unwise, but they can still depend on the Daggerfall Covenant. It's our duty as the heirs to the Empires of Men to break apart the Ebonheart Pact and free the Eastern Nords from their Dark Elven masters."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/food-item-list-travel": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/food-item-list-travel", "description": "Dietary requirements for Thane Svyne", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Food Item List for Travel", "text": "Thane Svyne likes to eat! Let's make sure we have everything to keep him happy.\n6 loaves of bread\n25 sweetrolls\n10 onions\n3 barrels of dried horker\n3 sacks of saltrice\n18 wheels of cheese\n7 bushels of carrots\n5 sacks of flour\nAs much fish as we can carry (not an exaggeration)"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fool": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fool", "description": "", "author": "T.", "title": "Fool!", "text": "No one steals from me and lives to enjoy the spoils.\n\tConsider your debt paid.\n\tT."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/captain-telomure": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/captain-telomure", "description": "", "author": "Lewell", "title": "For Captain Telomure", "text": "Telomure,\nIf you're reading this, you were crazy enough to follow us.\nDon't.\nJusticiar Avanaire isn't working alone. These mages were waiting for her. Even with the entire squad, I'm not sure we can survive. But, for crown and country, we must try.\nWe need you alive to make a report. Don't let her get away with this, Captain. Don't give her that satisfaction. Let that traitor's name live in infamy. It's what she deserves.\nLewell"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/donel-father-0": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/donel-father-0", "description": "A scholarly father gives his blessing to his warrior son", "author": "Frodibert Fontbonne", "title": "For Donel from Father", "text": "Thank you, my son, for humoring your father one last time.\nI know you have always preferred swords to books, and though you may think that's been a disappointment to me, the opposite is true. I've been impressed with your independence, and I'm proud of the man you've grown to be.\nMy father was a soldier. He often complained that I was too \"bookish.\" When you were born, I vowed not to treat you that way.\nThough I could not bear to watch you march off to war while I was living, you now have my blessing. I sold my books, and I've left you what I hope will be a generous inheritance. Take it and buy yourself a strong sword and a sturdy suit of armor.\nFollow your heart, my son, and find your happy destiny.\nWith love,\nYour father, Frodibert Fontbonne"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/glory": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/glory", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "For Glory!", "text": "Calling all adventurers, sellswords and spellslingers, heroes and ne'er-do-wells!\nDo you long for a greater challenge? Try your might at the Battlegrounds, where games of glory and gore await you! We seek the greatest champions of the land for our contests of strategy and skill.\nSpeak to Battlemaster Rivyn for more information."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-finder": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-finder", "description": "A starving tribe loses knowledge civilization to the winter", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "For Letter Finder", "text": "For letter finder,\nSon of Khoreg, son of Malgog, son of Agarabug, scribe of great clan of metal land. Write about this time when we are very long in place and sun is pale in sky and warm dies. No food grows but meat sometimes and mushroom in cave.\nPriest make offering to great warm and bang on pipe to stop clockwork demon attack. Is hard now to teach to write and read. Food is want. Not book. Warm is want. Burn book for warm.\nIs writing last word of clan of metal land. We probably eat each other before warm again. Priest make offering. Chief look for place make warm. Old map show way. Chief not read.\nIs not eat clanflesh. Is die. Is last to know read and write. Is eat by others. Others live."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mathal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mathal", "description": "", "author": "Enak-do", "title": "For Mathal", "text": "Nephew,\nIf you're reading this, then your uncle is dead. I thought the score we needed to get out from beneath Rakhad was in Dune. I was wrong. I thought the moon-sugar and skooma was an investment. I was wrong.\nMathal, he will not stop with me. I've left the house to you and your sister. Get her out of there. Convince her the place is haunted or something. Just get her out of there and sell it. Shuzura has more coin than she knows what to do with, offer her the place at a discount.\nJust get Rakhad paid off, and do not tell Kalari. You do this right and your sister will be safe, and never know. Screw this up, and \u2026.\nMoons keep you, Mathal\n\t\u2014 Enak-do"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/my-beloved-kud-nakal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/my-beloved-kud-nakal", "description": "Argonian love poem", "author": "Chal-Maht", "title": "For My Beloved Kud-Nakal", "text": "You muck within the waters\nAs I watch from high above\nLilmoth breathes beneath me\nBut my eyes track only you\nThe southwest sky beckons\nAs does your slowly waving tail\nYou part the water with your hands\nMy hands carve a totem for you\nAll is changing\nAnd my only constant is\nThe wish to lay your eggs\n-Chal-Maht"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/my-love": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/my-love", "description": "", "author": "Freiwen", "title": "For My Love", "text": "Maxten,\nI fear that there will always be a part of me that loves you. Perhaps that makes me a fool. And perhaps someone stronger or smarter than me would have left you sooner. Someone else might have seen you for what you really were before falling in love with you. But here I am instead. It has taken me too long to reach this point. I have suffered too much at your hands.\nWhat you've done to me, whether intended or not, is unforgivable. Worse yet, it does not seem to have made you come to your senses. I know these words will likely fall on deaf ears, but I will write them anyway. Your work has nothing to do with mercy or saving lives. You tamper with forces you can never understand, and they are corrupting you. That you could conduct such foul and profane rituals on unwilling subjects, on living people, is repulsive.\nPerhaps you've always known this. Have you been waiting for this? Do you willingly accept the monstrous thing you've become? I suppose it doesn't matter. If you're reading this, then I am already gone. Do not follow me, do not come looking for me.\nMake no mistake, Maxten, there is part of me that will always love you. I wish I could cut that part out. If I could set it aflame, I would.\nFreiwen"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/archery-competition": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/archery-competition", "description": "The Stormfist Clan intends to cheat in this contest", "author": "L", "title": "For the Archery Competition", "text": "Set this incense upwind of the competition so that the faint smoke it creates flows toward them.\nThe harshness of the smoke will sting their eyes and make it difficult to aim. Our competitor has special drops to protect her eyes and should be unaffected. In the end, another win for the Stormfist clan.\n\u2014 L"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/doyen-sleek-splendid-paws": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/doyen-sleek-splendid-paws", "description": "A thief looks to get in on a heist", "author": "Lithyyorion", "title": "For the Doyen, Sleek Splendid-Paws", "text": "I don't mean to be a pest, Your Doyenhood, but you did promise to let me know if any opportunities arose for me to get in on a job or two. I heard from one of the Bjoulsae Boys that you were eying the guards around Saint Pelin's Chapel\u2014does that mean you're thinking of going after the famous gold candelabra, or even the relics of the saint himself? Hey, I could help out on that, I really could. I mean, I could work as a lookout on the outside while you're inside grabbing the goods, and warn you if any nosy guards got too close. Good idea, eh?\nKeep me in mind,\nLithyyorion \"the Nimble\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/drinking-contest": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/drinking-contest", "description": "The Stormfists are cheating yet again", "author": "L", "title": "For The Drinking Contest", "text": "Slip this poison into the kegs before your stint in the contest begins. The substance has no taste and its effects manifest fairly quickly. It will make the drinkers appear to have weak constitutions.\nMake sure you consume the antidote before you start drinking and everything should work out fine.\n\t\u2014 L"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/old-akavir": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/old-akavir", "description": "A Dragonguard plaque found in Dov-Vahl shrine in Anequina", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "For the Old of Akavir", "text": "HEWA OKUSH TZANDRI TA\nNO FAITH IN BLADE OR SHIELD\nFOR THE OLD OF AKAVIR\nTHE SONG OF OUR FIRST BRETHREN\nA WEAPON FOR WHEN THE NEED ARISES\nTHE ANEQUINA DRAGONHORN\nHEWA OKUSH TZANDRI TA"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/preliminary-duels": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/preliminary-duels", "description": "The Stormfists don't play fair", "author": "L", "title": "For The Preliminary Duels", "text": "Use this instead of the shoulder knife. The dull shoulder knife they provide is useless against armor. This blade will cut through chain and plate. Use this blade when the fighting gets close, but don't let anyone get a good look at it.\nWinning is important. I need to make it to the final competition.\n\u2014 L"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/trackers-competition": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/trackers-competition", "description": "The Stormfist Clan continues to cheat", "author": "L", "title": "For The Tracker's Competition", "text": "The tracker's competition requires an arrow doused with animal musk that is loosed into the woods. The competitors then attempt to track the arrow by watching the movements of animals attracted to the scent.\n\tUse this bow to loose a noisemaker arrow with a string attached that follows the same path as the first arrow.\nThe noise will spook the animals and make tracking them unreliable, but the string will lead our competitor to the prize.\nThis is a difficult contest to manipulate, so we have our best tracker in the competition just to be safe.\n\t\u2014 L"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/forbidden-research-notes": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/forbidden-research-notes", "description": "Perhaps this research was forbidden for a reason", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Forbidden Research Notes", "text": "My latest experiment is going extremely well. The two surviving subjects are almost mobile and still resemble wolves \u2026 mostly."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/foremans-complaint": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/foremans-complaint", "description": "A mine can't produce this much stone", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Foreman's Complaint", "text": "Ramash, you son of an ugly goat. How are we supposed to produce 150 lots of stone in the next year? That's nearly double our normal capacity.\nWhy do you make promises to that city full of Elves and Trinimac-worshippers? They have forgotten how to be Orcs, demanding that others do their work for them.\nIf they are so desperate for stone, you tell them they need to send workers. The crew is already working double shifts. They may be Orcs, but they're not gods. They'll be dead before year's end at this rate. Worked to death, and it'll be on your head!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/foremans-letter": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/foremans-letter", "description": "A geode mine proves less than profitable for the Mages Guild", "author": "The Boss", "title": "Foreman's Letter", "text": "Miners,\nThe Mages Guild has decided to terminate this operation.\nIt looks like Giara has been wasting our time. We've found three geodes the whole time we were here. Two of them shattered when she tried to use them as soul gems. I think it's because she lacks the skill to make them correctly. And apparently, there's a reason why most soul gems are crystals.\nI hate losing lives for the sake of some mage's whim. This mine isn't profitable enough, so we're out. Pack your things and leave this pit. We're going back to Koeglin to figure out the next job.\nWe need to get out of here before anyone else gets killed.\nDrop everything. Get moving.\n\t\u2014 The Boss"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/forged-heart-mundus": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/forged-heart-mundus", "description": "A pamphlet promoting the powers of the Dragon Knight", "author": "the Dragonsmith of Bruma", "title": "Forged in the Heart of Mundus", "text": "As you are a Child of the Mundus, you shall learn to tap the powers of its very HEART. With your feet upon the earth of the world that gave you birth, you shall feel its support, you may partake of its power, you will SUMMON its essence for weal and for woe.\nWith the strength of STONE, you will find armor against attacks, and aid to assist allies. You will SCORCH your enemies with the heat of molten rock, and choke them with clouds of ash. You will REINFORCE your cohorts and make them as metal, PETRIFY your opponents and make them as masonry.\nThe Power of the Mundus is in YOU. Let it flow through you as LAVA flows from a volcano. Let it fuel your WRATH and buttress your bastions. None can stand before you, for you are a Child of the MUNDUS."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/forged-letter-zali": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/forged-letter-zali", "description": "", "author": "\"Zali\"", "title": "Forged Letter From \"Zali\"", "text": "Sweet Maormer Prince,\n\tMy cheeks grow warm thinking of you, but our love cannot be! I'll wait where you saw me last. Hurry, before I change my mind!\n\t\u2014 Zali"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/forged-second-cohort-orders": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/forged-second-cohort-orders", "description": "A change of plans for the troops", "author": "Captain Helenus", "title": "Forged Second Cohort Orders", "text": "To be distributed among all Seventh Legion soldiers of the Second Cohort, and placed in positions of prominence within the Mess and Commander's tents.\nThis order does hereby supercede and render false any previous commands. All copies of previous orders are to be collected and burned. A spy among us has been posting counterfeit plans which would lead us into an ambush in the Alik'r Desert. All references to Volenfell are fraudulent and must be disregarded. Any reports of suspicious behavior should be directed to the officer of the watch.\nOur genuine orders are as follows: fortifications at the ruins of \"Old Tower\" are to be struck immediately. The Second Cohort of the Seventh Legion is hereby ordered to return to Cyrodiil by way of Craglorn with all due haste.\n\u2014 Captain Helenus"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/forgotten-tome": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/forgotten-tome", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Forgotten Tome", "text": "<This book appears to be blank.>"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/founding-spirit-wardens": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/founding-spirit-wardens", "description": "One Orc Chieftan's pact with Azura", "author": "Janise Muric, Third Warden of the Faithful Circle", "title": "Founding of the Spirit Wardens", "text": "Chapter One: Durak's Early Years\nThough Abbot Durak is our spiritual leader, he has never been comfortable with the title. Old Master Ugbak once said that relates to his upbringing in the ruins of Orsinium. Anyone can see that Durak is small for an Orc, and one could speculate that his brothers' bullying led him to pursue a mystical path, one unusual for Orcs.\nAs Ugbak tells it, Durak's story begins in Orsinium, where his lot was hard and lonely. Durak's life changed when he first heard whispers in the night\u2014whispers from the Daedric Prince Azura. Azura said Durak would accomplish a great task: he would come to Stormhaven and found an order of worshipers in her name. These \"Spirit Wardens\" would prepare for a time of chaos, when Stormhaven's people would suffer from a madness of nightmares.\nDurak knew better than to share these whispers with his brothers. He already faced ridicule for his study of magic and lack of physical prowess. Soon after, he left his home in Orsinium and struck out on the long journey to Stormhaven, carrying nothing more than his staff and the clothes on his back.\nDurak found his way to Stormhaven, but he had no idea how he was to found this order of \"spirit wardens\" or where they would live. Soon he despaired. One night, as he took shelter beneath the Weeping Giant, the whispers came again. The silken voice of Azura spoke of a path hidden in the hills west of Moonlit Maw. At its top, Durak found an ancient abbey, abandoned and overgrown. This, he knew, would be the home of the spirit wardens\u2014and so it became our temple to Azura.\nUnder Durak's leadership, we are prepared for Vaermina's plague of dreams. We were founded to protect Stormhaven from its nightmares, and we will do so to our dying breaths."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/four-coins-yore": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/four-coins-yore", "description": "A bawdy verse", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Four Coins of Yore", "text": "Four coins of yore,\n\tThat's all my sweet thing wore\n\tOne to the aft, and three to the fore\n\tThose blessed coins of yore."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fourth-gravestone": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fourth-gravestone", "description": "A mundane inscription from the late first era", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Fourth Gravestone", "text": "Friends will remember the dearly departed Willam \u2026 , whose worldliness was matched only by his loyalty to his friends.\n2684\u20142737"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fragmentae-abyssum-hermaeus-morus": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fragmentae-abyssum-hermaeus-morus", "description": "A series of dreams featuring Ysgramor and Hermaeus Mora", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Fragmentae Abyssum Hermaeus Morus", "text": "\u2026So Ysgramor collected the laments of the Giant-Wives and brought them to Froa and Grosta, who twisted them into the Woeful Bowstring, so that Ysgramor could re-string his mighty bow Long-Launcher. And thereafter did Long-Launcher sigh when it was borne, and moan when it was shot. And Ysgramor decided to take it hunting.\nAnd he hunted and slew much game in the Atmoran Frostwood, until he paused at a ford to drink his fill. Then across the stream bounded the White Stag of Forelgrim, and Ysgramor shot at it and missed, which in no wise pleased him, and he swore to pursue the White Stag until it fell to him. But the stag was canny and quiet, and passed as a mist over the snow, so that Ysgramor did again and again sight it and lose it. For even the sighing of the Woeful Bowstring made more sound than did the White Stag.\nWhen again he lost the trail and stopped, sore vexed, an Hare did appear and spake, saying, \"The stag hieth down into yon vale.\" \"How knoweth you this?\" demanded Ysgramor of the Hare, which replied, \"I know for I have long ears. Yea, had you ears as long as mine, you too could hear your prey wherever it went.\"\n\t\"Would, then,\" said Ysgramor, \"that my ears were as long as thine.\" At that the Hare's nose did twitch, and Ysgramor felt his ears begin to grow and point. But a Fox did leap from the coppice and fall upon the Hare, slaying it, and Ysgramor, in wonder, felt his ears dwindle to their wonted size.\nAnd the Fox spake, saying, \"Know thou, mortal, that I am Shor, and this was nary Hare, but indeed, Herma Mora, who did nearly trick thee into becoming of Elvenkind. Rely you hereafter, mortal, upon the forthright methods of Man, and eschew the tricks of the Elves, lest ye become one. Now, go\u2014for the White Stag awaiteth thee in the vale.\"\nHyrma MORA pado ADA oia NAGAIA aba AGEA cava APOCRA dena GORIA gandra ARCAN\n\"Hermaeus Mora, elder than Ada, Abyssal Cephaliarch, hearken to the plea of this unworthy, for I come to barter for knowledge denied. That which I seek is named on this parchment, which I consume in your honor, O Demon of Knowledge. For my desire to know is beyond reckoning, and in recompense, whatever price is named shall be met. AE HERMA MORA.\"\nAE HERMA MORA ALTADOON PADHOME LKHAN AE AI\n(My next dream was) of Apocrypha, where I walked the halls of shadow among the (nameless books), among concepts and arguments I inhaled like smoke. In my left hand was a scroll of vellum, in my right hand a plume, (and I wrote) histories as I passed, yet the scroll was unfilled, for as I wrote (words) beneath the (words) above vanished.\nThen I paused at a plinth of lapis, for it contained (an object) heretofore unremarked, an urn with a curious finial. So I (set aside) scroll and plume, grasped the finial and lifted the lid.\n(Within the urn) was a viscous and noisome (fluid), upon which floated, gray and glistening, a mortal's (organ of thought). And I knew, though I know not how, that the (fluid) was not brine, and the brain was not preserved, but alive, alert, and brooding with a dark intellect. I dropped the lid and (looked up from) the urn, and saw, (beyond the plinth), a long and endless corridor, lined left and right with plinths uncountable, and (upon each plinth was) its urn.\n(Which was why, when) I awoke, my tongue was bitten through."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/franaras-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/franaras-journal", "description": "An Orc has overstayed his welcome", "author": "Franara", "title": "Franara's Journal", "text": "The Orc says he'll leave soon, but sticks around for meals.\nMay the gods favor us and send him away before he kills us in our sleep."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/frayed-note": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/frayed-note", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Frayed Note", "text": "Varos and Illius I love you both I love"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fredericks-letter": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fredericks-letter", "description": "A letter regarding a person's desire to join the Blackcaster Mages Guild", "author": "Frederick", "title": "Frederick's Letter", "text": "Father,\nI know you and Selene will not approve, but I must do what I must do. Magic is the one thing that gives me satisfaction. I am not made for laboring at a workbench or in a market stall, and I can't wield a sword.\nPlease don't think I'm callous about what happened to mother. I remember her every day and miss her terribly. But magic can be used for wonderful things. We don't need to let our grief for mother keep us from doing the right thing.\nI know that mother would want me to be happy. By this time next week, I'll be an apprentice Blackcaster. I hope you understand.\nFrederick\nP.S. Tell Selene that I'm grateful for all she's done.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/free-market-people": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/free-market-people", "description": "Information and advertisement for the port of Anvil", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Free Market of the People", "text": "Listen up, sailor! From this day forward, our glorious Governor Fortunata has declared the port of Anvil free and open to ships and sailors of all kinds and creeds! There is no law in Anvil save hers!\nBe you a sailor of Stros M'Kai or Blackheart Haven, Alabaster or Sanctuary, Abah's Landing or Bravil, you will find a second home and business partner on our lucrative docks. No matter your cargo, be it slaves, skooma, or war trophies, you may trade it freely here. Your cargo is your cargo, and who you sell to is your business. So long as you pay the docking fees, you may conduct any business you wish.\nOn the docks of Anvil, we enforce no laws but three.\n1) Conduct your business without unnecessary bloodshed.\n2) Pay your docking fees before you leave.\n3) And show your utmost respect to Governor Fortunata.\nAlso, while you're in port, why not grow your stack of gold in any of our legal gambling establishments? Enjoy some time with the most beautiful and affordable companions from across Tamriel? Watch the finest gladiatorial battles and blood-letting in nearby Kvatch? Whatever your vice, you'll find it here!\nMake no mistake, friend, there is no port friendlier to sailors and privateers than Anvil's port. None!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/free-our-goblin-brothers": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/free-our-goblin-brothers", "description": "A cry for Goblin emancipation from slavery", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Free Our Goblin Brothers!", "text": "I have no echo, so I cannot speak?\nMy limbs are short, so I cannot reach the sky?\nMy wind is bound, won't YOU help me break free?\nIf we do not set our Goblin brethren free, who will? Argonians know the yoke of servitude. Will we place it on others while the memory of slavery still lingers in our minds? When we return to the Hist, what will our ancestors say to us?\nAnd, you, who are not Argonians, are we not all brothers under our soft or scaly skins? If we use slaves, are we not depriving ourselves of honest work? If we force others into service, will not our overlords do the same to us?\nIf you want to know what you can do to save a Goblin, speak to Miharil."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/freedoms-price": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/freedoms-price", "description": "Star-crossed lovers in pre-emancipation Morrowind", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Freedom's Price", "text": "Gold exchanged hands, marking the deal complete. Makes-Many-Waves belonged to a new master.\nSendrasa Llarys watched as her newest acquisition joined the group she'd already purchased. She stared so long at Makes-Many-Waves that she drew the Argonian's eyes to hers. They both looked away quickly, almost instantly. Eye contact between master and slave would be punished by ten lashes.\nThe distance between market and house was no more than seven miles, but it seemed an eternity to Sendrasa. She'd counted the years impatiently until she could set up her own household and bring Makes-Many-Waves home.\n\"Send the rest to the field house,\" Sendrasa said. Her footman assisted her from her horse. \"I want that one,\" she waved a hand towards Makes-Many-Waves, \"brought to my sitting room. She'll be my personal assistant.\"\n\"As you wish, madam.\"\nPulling her gloves off as she strode into her home, Sendrasa laughed. \"Finally, yes! It will be exactly as I wish.\"\nHow long since she'd felt her lover's lips pressed against hers? Shared in desperate, guilty caresses whenever they could steal away together? How she'd suffered once their intimacy became known! As though, Sendrasa thought bitterly, seeing her beloved sold through the Archeins hadn't been punishment enough.\nTime passed with deadly slowness from that moment until Sendrasa finally located Makes-Many-Waves and bought her back. This time, no one could separate them. They belonged together.\nThe door opened, and Makes-Many-Waves stepped forward, eyes downcast becomingly. Sendrasa walked past her, shut and locked the door, then turned.\n\"I've missed you,\" she said softly.\nIn a moment, they locked in a passionate embrace, Sendrasa touching Makes-Many-Waves's scales gently, searchingly.\n\"Did they torture you, darling? I swear they'll pay!\"\nMakes-Many-Waves shook her head, her frilled spine fluttering. \"Seeing you heals me, my love. But the Archeins \u2026.\"\n\"You're safe. Those traitors won't touch you again,\" Sendrasa said.\n\"Listen, my love,\" Makes-Many-Waves said. \"Your parents paid the Archeins very, very well. Their eyes are everywhere. They'll know you bought me, and they'll come for me.\"\n\"I'll free you,\" Sendrasa replied. \"You'll be safe!\"\n\"It's not like that,\" the Argonian whispered. \"The Archeins don't care whether Argonians they sell are free or not. To live together safely, we must leave Morrowind. \"\n\"I see. Now kiss me.\"\nAs darkness approached, Sendrasa and Makes-Many-Waves began their journey, heading northwest toward the border with Skyrim.\n\"Is Riften safe?\" Makes-Many-Waves whispered. They'd traveled several days out of their way to shake off any possible followers.\nBefore Sendrasa could speak, an arrow pierced her throat. She clutched at it with one hand, her eyes widened in surprise. More arrows followed swiftly, killing the Dark Elf long before she slid to the ground.\n\"You're free now,\" said an Argonian archer, stepping from the shadows.\nMakes-Many-Waves stared at him, unable to speak or move.\n\"Did she hurt you?\" he asked, coming closer. \"You can return to Black Marsh now. You're no longer a slave.\"\nCollapsing across Sendrasa's body, Makes-Many-Waves sobbed."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/freiwens-diary": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/freiwens-diary", "description": "", "author": "Freiwen", "title": "Freiwen's Diary", "text": "Mother asked me to go speak with Wilgin today. His sawmill keeps the town alive in a lot of ways, even during the times when it's bitter cold out. She believes I should learn more about how his operation works. This is all part of her belief that I'll take over her duties when I'm older. Honestly, I don't think she even wants that. Not in her heart. It must be coming from father.\nAnyway, Wilgin's nice enough. Maybe he'll let me use that big saw to cut up some logs.\n* * *\nWent to see Havil at his farm. I always try to find some excuse to leave town and explore the woods. Father warns about wolves and trolls or whatever, but they never bother me. Havil lets me play with the animals. And the other farmhands like to make me laugh by telling bawdy stories. It's nice there. Far enough away from Morthal that I feel like I'm my own person. It's the same reason I visit Old Mjolen\u2014she treats me like a friend and not the jarl's daughter.\n* * *\nAn amazing person just rode into town! I watched her from my window as she went into the tavern. She only carried a backpack and strange staff, so I have no idea why she's here. Nobody ever comes to Morthal unless for a job. I guess she got a room because she didn't come out. I absolutely need to know more.\n* * *\nHer name is Maxten. I waited at the tavern all day hoping to see her. Tried to act occupied, like I was writing a poem or something, so Eyga didn't grow suspicious. But I don't think it worked.\nFinally, I saw her come downstairs and immediately invited her to sit with me. Probably I came across as overly eager. I just don't have a lot of experience with this sort of thing. Maxten stared at me for a bit, probably trying to work out why I was acting friendly. Then she sat down and ordered some dinner. Or breakfast I guess\u2014she mentioned sleeping all day.\nShe's fascinating! Traveled all over the world, learning more about her research. She didn't go into detail, so I didn't pry. We got along rather well. And, I have to say, she's rather beautiful.\n* **\nMother caught me sneaking out of the house. Or, I suppose, she caught me sneaking back in. I joined Maxten on one of her trips to find the source of energy she's tracking. At first, I worried when she admitted she studies necromancy\u2014we all know the stories about the dangers of such magic. But she's so careful and rigorous about it. I see now that it can be a legitimate area of knowledge, like anything else. It's cute how focused she becomes when testing some dirt or whatever.\nAs we walked through the darkness, I held her hand. There was a moment where I felt so overwhelmed by emotion that I stopped and kissed her. It was warm. Comforting. I want to feel that way again and again.\nLike I said, mother caught me when I returned. She acted stern about my keeping secrets, but I could tell she was just worried. We ended up talking about Maxten, though I left out the part about necromancy. She surprised me by offering encouragement. Morthal doesn't offer much in the way of variety of life experience. And mother had a much fuller life before she came here. I think she wants the same for me.\n* * *\nFinally, after so much time searching, Maxten tracked down what she's been looking for. She wants me to join her at the old ruins tonight. I'll need to sneak out again, despite Mother's direct wishes. But it's worth it to see my Maxten achieve her goal.\nPeople around town have started to be suspicious of her. It's been months and she hardly speaks to anyone but me. She's just private. They're all good people, just unused to outsiders. Especially mages like Maxten.\nHopefully she will stay even once she's done this ritual. I can't imagine my life without her anymore."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/frelytte-and-pular-love-song": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/frelytte-and-pular-love-song", "description": "A joyful Mordic love song", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Frelytte and Pular: A Love Song", "text": "Sweet Frelytte the Fair\nHair the color of hay,\nLike spun gold and honey\nBright sun at midday.\nShe loved a boy named Pular\nAnd he loved her, too.\nAs fiercely as ice entombs lakes,\nAs surely as spring melts through.\nHer mouth as red as snowberries,\nHis hands calloused and true.\nHe left to hunt an ice wraith, saying\n\"I'll become worthy of you.\"\nAfter four nights of waiting,\nFrelytte rode into the snow.\nThe mountains howled with darkness,\nThe moon sank ever so low.\nBut soon her horse grew tired,\nThe cold did lull her to sleep.\nShe curled up beneath a tree,\nUntil the storm buried her deep.\nPular returned triumphantly,\nHe'd killed the wraith as he foretold.\nHe stopped at the base of a tree,\nWhere he saw a tuft of gold.\nHe brushed away the snow, found her\nPale as cream and cold as death.\nBut Divines smiled on their love,\nAnd when he kissed her she drew breath.\n\"I've slayed the beast,\"\" Pular proudly cried,\nAnd Frelytte wept tears of joy.\nHand in hand, they ran home to marry,\nTheirs was a love that winter could not destroy."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/freshly-penned-note": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/freshly-penned-note", "description": "", "author": "Savarak", "title": "Freshly Penned Note", "text": "Rilos,\nNerandas requests a meeting. Usually I would send Nisimal, but a case of gout has rendered him useless. Given that you are his deputy, the task falls to you. Make haste to the wharf east of town and find out what troubles our friend.\nNerandas insists on total secrecy so you must use a pass phrase. You will approach him and say, \"The cliff-racer takes wing,\" to which he will reply, \"Its stench remains.\"\nI needn't remind you that the situation remains perilous so long as Dratha lives. Do not fail me.\nSavarak"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/frirhilds-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/frirhilds-journal", "description": "", "author": "Frirhild", "title": "Frirhild's Journal", "text": "Eislef suspects but doesn't know.\n\tNo telling what he'd do.\n\tRae found my pipe but didn't know. Told her it was one of Eislef's.\n\tRunning low, might try moon sugar if I run out.\n\tEvery time Eislef sees that Elf he yells at Rae.\n\tNot her fault. Can't help herself.\n\tI can't help her either.\n\tSaw the Dunmer again. Eislef didn't.\n\tHad to warn him, make him go away.\n\tNo good can come of this, not the way Eislef feels."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/copy-archive": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/copy-archive", "description": "A discreet note between Thieves Guild members", "author": "Nicolas", "title": "From A Copy For The Archive", "text": "Zeira,\nI recovered all I could from our old headquarters. The Iron Wheel picked everything clean. I am sorry to report they left none of Edda or Daldur's effects. Take heart, they will be remembered.\nI did find a portion of Nicolas's old journal. I think he'd want you to have it\u2014the old guildmaster sharing his wisdom with the new one, from beyond death? I can almost see the smile on his face.\n\u2014Walks-Softly\n\t2E 582\n\nEntry 220\nThe numbers keep me up at night.\nI've now spent two-thirds of my life in the Thieves Guild. Half my life as guildmaster. A third of it with the merchant lords of Abah's Landing well and truly under our thumb. More than a hundred thieves at my command, and dozens more associates who will never comprehend their part in what I've built. A Thieves Council with Daldur, Edda, Velsa, and Zeira\u2014my four best and brightest.\nA far cry from the mess Bright Ilmund made of this guild. The fool used to shake down the beggars for coin! Took any scraps the merchant lords tossed him like an alley mutt and slathered their feet with kisses. We lost more guild members to his mean streak than to the Abah's Landing Guard, and the simpleton couldn't plan any heist more complicated than shaking down a street merchant.\nIt took time, patience, and luck to turn the guild against Bright Ilmund. I made mistakes that I still regret. His death was unexpected. But in the end, it worked out for the best. That the others named me guildmaster was icing on the sweetroll. Truly not my goal, but back then, who besides me could have managed what I have?\nOf course, the job was one nobody in their right mind would have wanted. Aside from their fear and hatred of Bright Ilmund, the Thieves Guild had little but distrust and rivalry. I could see the factions begin to form, predict the entire guild devolving into street gangs squabbling over meaningless territory.\nI kept them from drawing lines on the ground by taking them to the rooftops. Taught them to see fawning over the merchant lords as the cause of Bright Ilmund's vicious greed and petty revenges. To think, three simple rules undid the mess our former guildmaster made:\nNow look where we are. We brought four Abah's Landing merchant houses down to three as an example of our guild's power. We receive thousands of drakes per week from every merchant lord. It's a tax they throw to the gutter, because if they don't, they'll find themselves dragged down into it. What happened to Gurges and Associates is a lesson they won't soon forget.\nYet time is the ultimate thief. What have I really accomplished, here in this stinking city? I spend three decades of my life so the Thieves Guild can be the fattest skeever in the refuse pile? I've grown resigned to thinking this is the best we can do. That fine paintings on my bedroom walls are the pinnacle of my accomplishments. Why allow the shadow of Hubalajad Palace to cast itself across us? The Thieves Guild should perch upon the spires!\nZeira urges me to expand. Perhaps gain a foothold in the Gold Coast before this new Emperor Varen reaches an accord with the provinces. She's right, but she isn't thinking big enough.\nEach town and city in the Empire has its own group of thieves. They go by different names, but they are distant cousins to what Bright Ilmund once made us. They prowl their own alleys, strong-arm their own beggars, and eagerly take the scraps handed down by their own style of merchant lords. They don't know enough to look at their cities from the rooftops, to see how small their alleys are. Who better than me to show them? What if our distant cousins wore the same simple name like a mask?\nTo get them to listen, we'll need a reputation. Also, an incredibly large amount of gold. Of all the numbers, that's the one that keeps me awake the longest.\nI have the inklings of a plan. It's dangerous, perhaps a bit mad. Without the right people, without the right planning, it will fail. I can already hear Velsa's arguments against it, but as always, I'm certain she'll come around.\nNothing worth taking comes without risk. And if I'm right, if this works, we'll fool all Tamriel into thinking the Thieves Guild is everywhere, in every province.\n\u2014Nicolas\n\t2E 579"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/jofnir-merric": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/jofnir-merric", "description": "A plot by the guildmaster", "author": "Jofnir Iceblade, Guildmaster", "title": "From Jofnir to Merric", "text": "Comrade, I trust your judgement.\nThe find of this \"Earth Forge\" is a boon, and one we should keep in trust. Any dogs who wish to benefit from your cunning will have to spill guild blood to find the place.\nYour request to establish a permanent presence in the mountains is approved. Our master craftsmen will want to try their hand with that infernal construct at the heart of the mountain.\nMake sure their other kit is moved out there as well. Perhaps our carvers and tailors will benefit from the fresh air, eh?\n- Jofnir Iceblade, Guildmaster"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nirn-aether": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nirn-aether", "description": "One researcher was laughed at - but he will show them all!", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "From Nirn to the Aether", "text": "Still recovering from prior incident with the device. Some adjustments need to be made, obviously. More magicka is needed, much more, along with a better method of forcefully channeling it into upward movement.\n\tAnd next time I hope to land in the water.\nNothing great has ever been accomplished without setbacks and pain. And what goal could be greater than this? They laughed when I shouted \"From Nirn to the Aether \u2026 and back!\" from the rooftops, but I will have the last chortle. It is more than a motto to me, it is my life's quest.\nIt can be done and I will do it. Every trial takes me one step closer. Tomorrow's attempt will be the breakthrough, I feel it in my bones. I sense the stars aligning in favor of my quest. My name will be recorded in the scrolls of history!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/old-life-new": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/old-life-new", "description": "A fable about the Old Life festival and the wolf who would eat the sky", "author": "Botjolf Meadwarmer", "title": "From Old Life To New", "text": "\"Da, why is the New Life herald so scary?\"\nWhen my littlest asked this of me during a New Life Festival, I laughed. I had once asked the very same question of my own Da. He said, \"Come the fall, you should ask your Nan.\"\nTo understand the answer, we must look to the Old Life Festival, which we hold as the days grow short and the fields lie fallow. During this time we bring forth dark tales and unsettling songs. The Unknown Passenger tells of a cloaked figure on a ship who none of the other travelers recall boarding. The Lost Fawn in the Woods learns a stalking wolf killed its mother and wears her skin, but in its haste to flee it takes shelter in the wolf's den. The Midnight Lodger rents a room in the dead of night, but vanishes before morning\u2014along with the innkeeper's child.\nWe tell these tales as the nights stretch long. Every race has variations, but there are common themes across Tamriel: danger in the darkness, a threat to the innocent or the young, and a malignant creature that slips its way in amongst the relative safety of hearth and home. But the Wolf That Craved the Sky is the one that still makes me shiver, no matter how high the fire burns.\nAs my Nan told it to all the village's children one long night ago, a great wolf with burning eyes once stalked the land at night. Its endless hunger drove it across the land, where it feasted on the volcanoes of Morrowind, drank the Iliac Bay dry enough to form the Alik'r Desert, and used the great trees of Valenwood to pick its teeth. But the wolf could not be sated, no matter how much it ate or drank. It wanted more, and more, and more.\nOne night the wolf saw the two moons dancing through the sky. Masser, the bigger one, laughed and carried on. Secunda, the smaller one, followed Masser's lead.\n\"Be quiet!\" snarled the wolf. \"Or I'll pull you from the sky. Then I'll crack you open and devour everything inside, like Ayleid cities.\"\n\"You'll never be able to reach us!\" taunted Masser. \"Reach us,\" echoed Secunda.\n\"Oh?\" snarled the wolf. \"I will leap from the highest mountain until I reach the sky. Then I will stand astride two little moons, gnashing and tearing, until there are moons no more.\"\n\"But everyone will notice if one of us is missing!\" cried Masser. \"One of us is missing,\" echoed Secunda.\n\"I will change my skin to match your own,\" snarled the wolf. \"My burning eyes will shine in your place. None will know the difference.\"\n\"The sun will know we aren't what we seem!\" cried Masser. \"We aren't what we seem,\" echoed Secunda.\n\"Then I shall make a meal of the sun,\" snarled the wolf. \"And after, I'll consume all the stars.\"\n\"You can't do this to us!\" cried Masser. \"Do this to us,\" echoed Secunda.\n\"But I can,\" snarled the wolf. \"And when I have gorged myself on the sky, when there is nothing left but darkness, I will stand astride the world and howl!\"\nAs my Nan leaned forward, fingers extended like claws, a figure with a wolf's head burst into the room and howled. All the children shrieked. Then the candles blew out.\nI remember shivering in the darkness, trying not to make a sound. It seemed like forever, but it was likely a dozen heartbeats.\nA soft light emerged from a lantern held aloft by my Nan. She faced the figure with the wolf's head and said, \"Not yet, wolf. The sun's light is too rich a meal. It will consume you instead.\"\n\"Then I shall wait til the sun is weakest,\" snarled the Skinchanger. \"On that day, I shall swallow it whole.\"\n\"You can try,\" said my Nan, her voice firm. \"But the sun may have other ideas.\"\nWith that, the lantern flared. The Skinchanger howled in pain and fled from the room. For a few moments there was silence. Then my Nan spoke.\n\"Never forget the danger in the darkness. It can slip into your midst and drag you into the night. But light at its dimmest is the old life passing behind us. Soon there will be new life, and the sun shall herald its arrival.\"\nA good number of weeks passed. The New Life Festival began. I remember assembling in the square, just before noon. And I remember children screaming as the wolf-man walked boldly toward us. But we stopped when he pulled the wolf's head from his shoulders, revealing a person beneath.\nIt was my own Da!\nHe wasn't a wolf-man at all. In the light of the noonday sun, he was just a person in a costume. The bear claws and snarling, stylized faces worked into his garb seemed almost ridiculous by light of day. He smiled and told us the light of the Sun had filled him with hope, and that he would be our New Life herald for the festival.\nSo years later, when my littlest asked me why the New Life herald was so scary, I laughed.\n\"Come the fall, you should ask your Nan.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/regent-serpentine-stratagems": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/regent-serpentine-stratagems", "description": "Exarch Arnoth receives orders from Regent Cassipia.", "author": "Regent Cassipia", "title": "From Regent of Serpentine Stratagems ", "text": "Exarch Arnoth,\nI look forward to your success within the ruins of Skyreach Hold. I agree that a major source of the nirncrux awaits us in that ancient place. Please make every effort to acquire as much of the red brittle as your trolls can extract.\nAnd know that your resolution and steadfast loyalty to the Scaled Court will be remembered.\n\u2014Regent Cassipia"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/shad-astula-love": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/shad-astula-love", "description": "One young mage is living the dream and serving the Pact", "author": "Geirvarda", "title": "From Shad Astula with Love", "text": "Dear Aunt Eiraki,\nHow I miss you and everyone in Lower Yorgrim! How're things in the village? And Father? He hasn't written, and I'm worried about him.\nOf course, you want to hear about Shad Astula. This place is amazing! I'm meeting so many people from different parts of the world. Every day is exciting and new.\nAnd the things I'm learning! I can't wait to show you the spells I've mastered. Can you believe it? From Lower Yorgrim to an important position in the Pact! Sometimes I think I'm just dreaming.\nOh, write to me soon. I miss you so!\nLove,\n\tGeirvarda"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/regent-fanged-fury": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/regent-fanged-fury", "description": "", "author": "The Regent of Fanged Fury", "title": "From the Regent of Fanged Fury", "text": "Mighty Inazzur,\nPlease continue your efforts in eastern Craglorn. With the help of the Iron Orcs, the Scaled Court will soon have control of the entire region.\nAnd remember, your resolution and steadfast loyalty will be well rewarded.\n\u2014The Regent of Fanged Fury"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/funny-stuff-sil": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/funny-stuff-sil", "description": "Henlor isn't falling for Sil's obvious ploys", "author": "Henlor", "title": "Funny Stuff, Sil", "text": "Sil,\nJust because I borrowed some moon sugar from your stash\u2014which I replaced, mind you\u2014does not give you the right to scare me half to death.\nSliding letters under my door and intimating that you've sent assassins to kill me. \"WE KNOW\" my eye. Very funny.\n\u2014 Henlor"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/furious-letter": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/furious-letter", "description": "A less than calm letter", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Furious Letter", "text": "YOU PIG!!!!\nYou are more of a pig than our pigs! And with my sister!!!! I hope you die a horrible death, screaming for mercy while animals root in your entrails, PIG!\nI am taking the children and going to my sister's. No, not that one, she's all yours. My other sister.\n\tDIE, DIE, DIE!!!!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/further-missive-mages": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/further-missive-mages", "description": "The Mages Guild sends a letter to a geode mine", "author": "The Wayrest Mages Guild", "title": "Further Missive from the Mages", "text": "Fellows,\nThank you very much for all your hard work. We appreciate your willingness to deal with risk and your industrious labor. Unfortunately, you need to focus on greater discrimination when collecting our crystals.\nI hate to tell you this, but the specimens you've been mining do not meet our agreed requirements. We've been comparing them against the samples we supplied, and they're somewhat lacking. These crystals lack the volume to make adequate soul gems. They are insufficient. If your yield does not increase, we may need to reconsider this enterprise.\nGiara is experimenting with the two \"hollow stones\" you acquired, but she needs more to get definitive results. In fact, she needs considerably more than two. We can sell the discarded crystals you found for a marginal amount of profit, but not enough to defray our expenses.\nIn short, we need more geodes. If you can find a sufficient quantity, we may have a chance of salvaging this operation after the considerable expense of hiring you.\nRespectfully,\n\tThe Wayrest Mages Guild"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/further-notes-sload": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/further-notes-sload", "description": "Information on the Sload, their coral tower, and their famous soap", "author": "Telenger the Artificer", "title": "Further Notes on the Sload", "text": "On the Sload and the Maormer: The Sload are hostile to all other mortal races, and though there is some evidence of diplomatic traffic between the Sload and the Maormer, there are also plenty of accounts of conflict between the Slugmen and the Sea Elves. This is no surprise, since both Sea Elves and Sload are at war with the rest of the world. The Maormer's grievance seems to be that they got stuck with Pyandonea, a sad and swampy archipelago of malodorous islets; why the Sload are so belligerent to all others is unknown.\nOn the Coral Tower: Since the Coral Tower fell during the invasion of Thras by the All-Flags Navy, at this point the best we can do is make educated guesses about it. In their own perverse way, the Sload are very capable sorcerers, and from all accounts the Coral Tower acted as both a focus and a projector of mystical power. I am not a scholar of Tower Lore\u2014my interests tend more toward the practical\u2014but this accords (somewhat) with what the mythohistorians claim is the purpose and practice of the so-called Towers of Nirn. Was the Coral Tower a \"real\" tower like Lawful Crystal, here on Summerset, or was it a failed imitation, like the Doomspire? I do not think we have the answers based on what little we know.\nOn Sload Soap: But enough speculation\u2014on to a subject about which, for once, we can be certain: Sload Soap! There are many misconceptions about the origin of Sload Soap, and I am happy to have an opportunity to clear it up. First, let us consider the metamorphic biology of the Sload. They begin life on the Thrassian Atolls as, in the words of Admiral Bendu Olo, \"disgusting little amorphous grubs.\" Ignored by their pendulous parents, these grubs somehow squirm their way to the sea, where they mutate into aquatic quasi-cephalopods known as \"polwygles.\" Due to their corpulence, adult Sload spend a great deal of time in the shallow lagoons of their atolls, wallowing among the polwygles. Those larvae that prove too slow to avoid their parents' pseudopods are caught and harvested, culling out the weak and providing the raw material for Sload Soap.\nCaptured polwygles are tossed into an ever-bubbling cauldron where they gradually deliquesce into a slimy broth. This broth undergoes an alchemical commixture with materials known only to the Sload, after which it is poured into molds and allowed to cool. Once solid, the bars are scooped out and wrapped in the viscera of hagfish for preservation.\nIt is believed that the Sload use this soap as a primary component in their necromantic rituals. I'm no expert on necromancy, but apparently having an emulsified reagent concocted from one's own descendants acts as a profound intensifier in the magic of undeath. Sload Soap is rarely seen away from Thras, and when it is it commands high prices from alchemists, who relish its unique properties for creating potions of agility and, rarest of all, the mutation of personality. Alianora the Red, our Sapiarch of Alchemy, says that Sload Soap has never been thoroughly analyzed outside of Thras, and may contain many more undiscovered alchemical properties. Plus, it's an exceptional cleanser, deep-cleaning yet mild, that leaves your skin feeling youthful and refreshed."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gabrielle-beneles-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gabrielle-beneles-journal", "description": "Benele has found something she believes will turn the tide for the Lion Guard", "author": "Gabrielle Benele", "title": "Gabrielle Benele's Journal", "text": "The talisman is here! I'm certain of it!\nMy research indicates that these hills hide the Midnight Talisman, a relic I believe is the key to defeating Angof. And my further investigations have enabled me to determine the exact hiding place.\nI know that Commander Marone won't like it, but this opportunity is too good to let pass. I need to retrieve the talisman. There's no time to waste.\nI believe that the crypt within the cliff face to the north of our camp serves as the talisman's final resting place. Unfortunately, our camp is under assault. Undead creatures relentlessly attack us from all sides. The Lion Guard soldiers grow weary with each assault they repel. I'll order them to return to the redoubt in the morning. If we make it to the morning.\nThen I'll head for that cave to the north."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/galidors-grocery-list": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/galidors-grocery-list", "description": "", "author": "Galidor", "title": "Galidor's Grocery List", "text": "Item one: lamb shank, fresh\nItem TWO: cinnamon\nItem three: six shallots\nItem four: sprig of parsley (FOR garnish)\nItem five: wheel of cheese"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/galidors-ledger": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/galidors-ledger", "description": "Record of black market goods and payments due", "author": "Galidor", "title": "Galidor's Ledger", "text": "Black Market Purchases:\nAzdru \u2014 Two flasks of unprocessed Moon Sugar: PAID\nCaryecil \u2014 Glazed scamp ears: PAID\nCaryecil \u2014 Dremora teeth: PAID\nEmile Oncent \u2014 One keg of sheep's blood: PAID\nEmile Oncent \u2014 Alchemical syringes (set of five): PAID\nFandercar \u2014 Welkynd Stone (stolen): PAYMENT PENDING"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/galidors-love-poem": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/galidors-love-poem", "description": "A dubious proclamation of affection", "author": "Galidor", "title": "Galidor's Love Poem", "text": "Oh dearest Javana,\nYou know that I wanna,\nSpend THREE lifetimes with you.\nBut my pockets are bare,\nI've got nothing to spare,\nNo MONEY, and holes in my shoes.\nBut one day, you know,\nAway we will go,\nTo oak forests, deep and green.\nWe'll rest in the roots,\nAnd eat grahtberry fruits,\nJust like a king and his queen."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/galidors-scribbled-note": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/galidors-scribbled-note", "description": "", "author": "Galidor", "title": "Galidor's Scribbled Note", "text": "Innkeeper,\nDespite my many protests, rascals continue to congregate outside my door.\nI know criminals when I see them. ONE of these ruffians, a snot-nosed youth with shaggy red hair, seemed particularly set on sowing MISCHIEF. Take care of it, or I might have to take matters into my own hands.\nGalidor"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/galmons-note": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/galmons-note", "description": "Galmon gives some cultists the slip", "author": "Galmon", "title": "Galmon's Note", "text": "Dear Sanguine Cultists,\nI bet you think you outsmarted me. Got me to sign an ironclad contract. A job that never ends. But the joke's on you! I found a loophole! I found a way out!\nI'll see you bastards in Oblivion!\nSincerely,\n\tGalmon"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gamirths-final-message": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gamirths-final-message", "description": "Gamirth cannot wait for his love any longer", "author": "Gamirth", "title": "Gamirth's Final Message", "text": "My Dearest Love,\nWriting these words instead of talking to you in person is the act of a weak man. A coward. What I shall do after I finish this letter is even more cowardly. I am giving up. I'm leaving the Everfull Flagon.\nI fought the pull of the strange enchantment as much as I could, and when I was sober I worked to discover a cure, or at least the source, of our terrible affliction. I wanted to defeat this thing, to see your eyes brighten and your mind clear once and for all.\nMy heart aches for you, watching you struggle, watching you fight the allure of the mead as I read and researched. We may be close to solving this, but I can't go on.\nIs it a weariness of spirit? Is it just a weakness, a character flaw that I can't overcome? I don't know the answer. I only know that I want to run, to try to get free of this place and its insidious spell. I do this knowing that I am leaving you alone. That my soul is lost.\nAlways remember, dear one, that you are forever in my heart. Remember our love and find a way to make your own escape from the tavern. And, please, try to forgive me. If you can.\n\u2014 Gamirth"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gamwyns-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gamwyns-journal", "description": "", "author": "Gamwyn", "title": "Gamwyn's Journal", "text": "I parted ways with Rigvar and Irgnar some time ago. They were headed northwest toward a ruined tower.\nI've heard of an ancient relic in the ruins nearby. There seem to be some Worm Cultists around. Shouldn't give me much trouble. I'll try for it in the morning."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/garicks-message": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/garicks-message", "description": "Garicks decides that death by vines is not appealing", "author": "Garick", "title": "Garick's Message", "text": "I'm still scouting the eastern hills for a place that might be suitable for us, but I need you\u2014all of you\u2014to stay clear of what the locals call Vinedeath Cave. I assure you that its name is quite literal.\nI managed to sneak past most of the living vine creatures that I found (picked up a few trinkets from delvers who weren't so lucky) until I got near the back of the cave.\nA terrible wailing greeted me that chilled my bones and cut my mind. That place is haunted or cursed or worse. Not worth our time. We'll find a place to set up soon enough.\n\u2014 Garick"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/garils-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/garils-journal", "description": "The meat they're eating is people!", "author": "Garil", "title": "Garil's Journal", "text": "Sela, my beloved. Will this missive ever find you? Did you even survive the bandit attack that separated us? How I need your strength now.\nDanus has lost his mind, I'm sure of it. He's banished me from the camp. If the others only knew the unspeakable truth! I should take a torch to their food stores and burn the meat to cinders. Would the shock allow them to see Danus for what he is?\nMy love, my life. The truth. The damnable truth! Even now, my bile rises at the very thought of it. The meat Danus brings to the camp. The meat that keeps our people alive\u2014It's the flesh of the dead!\nOur people are eating Dunmeri flesh!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/garlas-agea-construction-log": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/garlas-agea-construction-log", "description": "Gold Coast Trading Company workers attempt to disarm ancient Ayleid traps", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Garlas Agea Construction Log", "text": "Day 1: Today we arrived at Garlas Agea, at the behest of the Gold Coast Trading Company. The company wants us to disarm some - as they referred to them - ancient mechanical inconveniences. Upon seeing these \"inconveniences\" with my own eyes, I'm a bit more worried than I was before I arrived. The contrivances are giant Akaviri blades that swing the width of one of the main halls. Not quite sure what to do with them, I think we should explore the rest of this death trap and carefully watch for anything that might suddenly leap out and kill us.\nDay 2: So, the giant swinging blades aren't the only obstacles we have to deal with. Lucius, probably my best scout, choked on his own tongue when he ventured into one of the main rooms. Turns out, the floors in that room spew noxious gas. At this rate, I may lose a couple more of my best workers before we get this place cleaned out. I'm going to have to renegotiate our fee if I make it out of these ruins in one piece.\nDay 4: Finally got those damn gas traps shut off, and I managed to do it without losing another worker. I still ordered my workers not to spend too much time in that chamber. I'm sure more gas is seeping in somehow. Regardless, we've made more progress into the ruins.\nDay 7: We found the other end of what we think is the hall with those damn swinging blade traps. Sabrina seems to think she can make it past them if she times it right. I would rather try to block them off with a few wooden planks then send her through those swinging monstrosities. This may at least immobilize them so we can prepare for the reconstruction of the main hall.\nDay 9: Success! We managed to immobilize the swinging blades. We even managed to put some scaffolding up. Seems I may not have as hard of a time with this place as I initially feared.\nDay 10: The blade traps unexpectedly broke free of the blockade, killing one of my workers. We seem to be trapped back here now. Only one of the blockades still holds, but for how long? Sabrina said she was thinking about making a run for it.\nDay 11: Sabrina made a run for it. It didn't go as she planned, but I'm thinking about just going for it as well. The thought of Sabrina bleeding and dying from those brutal wounds is the only thing holding me back. A couple of the mercenaries we hired were able to throw us some food and a few wine skins, but we're going to have to figure out something soon or we're still going to die here. If I can work up the courage, I may run through the blades of death. Tomorrow."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/garnikhs-hunting-log": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/garnikhs-hunting-log", "description": "Outlanders in the woods", "author": "Garnikh", "title": "Garnikh's Hunting Log", "text": "20 Last Seed\n\tMany wolf pelts. Good meat for smoking.\n22 Last Seed\n\tThishnaku and Buzog compete for most pelts. Eleven pelts each. Duel to break tie. Buzog wins.\n23 Last Seed\n\tUratag claims to see outlanders in black robes in the forest.\n26 Last Seed\n\tDefinitely outlanders in forest. Sent report to Chief Tazgol.\n31 Last Seed\n\tOutlanders in black robes are without honor. Refused to duel. Attacked my hunters from the shadows. Have requested warriors from Chief Tazgol.\n2 Hearthfire\n\tOutlanders are raising the dead Bretons. Wolves feed on dead. Pelts ruined. Meat inedible.\n6 Hearthfire\n\tMore outlanders. Will see if these come with honor."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gascones-memorandum": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gascones-memorandum", "description": "A note on departing", "author": "Gascone", "title": "Gascone's Memorandum", "text": "Fellow Apostles,\nA matter of no small import recently came to my attention, and I must attend to it forthwith. I apologize for any disruption my brief absence might cause. Please refer any urgent questions to my aide.\nThere is no need for alarm. Everything is fine. Please carry on in a manner befitting your station.\nYours in faith,\n\t-G"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gastons-instructions": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gastons-instructions", "description": "Gaston needs Welkynd stone fragments", "author": "Gaston", "title": "Gaston's Instructions", "text": "Sir Edgard:\nThe objects your men are to retrieve are shards of a Welkynd Stone. Look for small blue stones, no bigger than a fist, and illuminated from the inside. The Goblins have been using these as centerpieces for their ritual totems. You'll know these totems when you see them: the Welkynd Stone seems to imbue the totems with a red light.\nStill, retrieving the shards should be a simple matter. We're dealing with Goblins, not Dwemer. I'm sure the totems are held together with twine and spit. Just rip the shard out. Even your grunts should be able to handle that.\n\u2014 Gaston"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gate-procedures": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gate-procedures", "description": "Helpful hints for keeping giants out", "author": "Lob the Cleaver", "title": "Gate Procedures", "text": "As the battle against the giants looms and a siege appears imminent, it's important that everyone knows how the fortress gates function.\nEach gate features two locks. Both locks must be disengaged to open the gate. These locks are controlled by levers set atop the towers beside each gate.\nA detail of guards must always be on duty at each gate tower.\nWe can keep the giants out of Cradlecrush, but only if we stay alert and do our jobs!\nThis has been another helpful hint from,\n\t\u2014 Lob the Cleaver"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gathiels-astrology-chart": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gathiels-astrology-chart", "description": "What does the omen of the Lady mean?", "author": "Treethane Rolon", "title": "Gathiel's Astrology Chart", "text": "The Lady is the sign of indomitable will and unflagging health. When she shines, she smiles on the sick and makes them well and rewards those who persevere in hardship.\n(This is Gathiel's sign. It has been ascendent since the night the forest started to turn on us. An omen of her good health, or something else? \u2014 Treethane Rolon.)"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gathiels-diary": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gathiels-diary", "description": "A weighty decision", "author": "Gathiel", "title": "Gathiel's Diary", "text": "This wasting disease eats at me, taking a little more of me each day. It takes all I have not to give in to despair and self-pity. Why me? Why now? I am young, and I have done my best to treat my neighbors with kindness, support my clan, love my husband, and care for the forest.\nIt's worse when I see what this has done to poor Eranas. He does not sleep. He hardly eats. Day and night he is hunched over his workbench, trying new mixtures with the dead plants he's gathered from the forest floor.\n\tI tell him he mustn't let his own health suffer on my account, but I can see how much it pains him to see me this way. Meanwhile, I grow weaker. My hand shakes as I write this.\nThis morning I woke to my husband sitting over me. There were tears in his eyes. He gave me a potion to drink, but once again, there was no change in my illness. It's useless. As long as he insists on keeping the Green Pact, the potions will never be potent enough, even if they are the right ones.\nIt seems my husband has had the same thought. While he was gone today, I searched through his workbench. I found a book on rare horticulture. It fell open to a tear-stained entry on Sanguine Alendil, the sacred blossom, and its association with cures for wasting sickness.\nI know my husband. He would never cut the sacred flower, but I'm not willing to die when there's hope of a cure. The Green Pact can't be a suicide pact, can it? The forest is supposed to care for us. I am too weak to harvest Sanguine Alendil myself, but I will find a way.\n*****\n\tIt is done. I have arranged that my husband will find the plant, already cut, in the forest where he searches for dead flowers each morning. I have no regrets."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gavos-intenerary": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gavos-intenerary", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Gavo's Itinerary", "text": "\u2014 Meet with Lavinia to discuss ritual requirements (top priority).\n\t\u2014 Take inventory at the docks. Begin moving out the goods.\n\t\u2014 Meet with Tharn's representative at the tower.\n\t\u2014 Go over security plans with captains. Increase patrols.\n\t\u2014 Discuss plans to root out the Clanmother."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gavross-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gavross-journal", "description": "Alchemist laments the use of his formula for basic swindling", "author": "Gavros", "title": "Gavros's Journal", "text": "My masters are truly fools if they believe this scheme will make them rich. True, the substance produced by the formula looks and feels much like the rare ebony ore, but it is not ebony and any discerning craftsman will recognize this as soon as they use it to produce goods.\nI've tried to counsel Master Rethan on this subject, suggesting it may be wiser\u2014and equally profitable\u2014to instead focus on selling the alchemical concoction itself. Though the formula was exceedingly difficult to translate and requires extreme precision to brew properly, the reagents I require to produce it are not overly rare. I could easily produce large quantities. Imagine my airborne form used as a weapon! It would fetch a fine price.\nMaster Rethan disagrees. According to him, the buyers don't care if the ebony is false. So long as they can use it to produce goods that pass a cursory inspection they will be happy. Ebony is quite rare and difficult to come by. With us as the source, our buyers should be able to produce passable fakes then close shop before anyone discovers the deception. If a soldier dies on the battlefield because his ebony plate was not true, that's no money out of our buyers' pockets.\nPerhaps Master Rethan is right. I often underestimate the crude avarice that drives so many of my race. As for me, I am content to study and work with such a brilliant formula. Perhaps one day I will find a truer application for it."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gavross-research-notes": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gavross-research-notes", "description": "Subjects exposed to a compound to perform \"transposition\"", "author": "Gavros", "title": "Gavros's Research Notes", "text": "Subject K14\nDied of head trauma some hours after the mercenaries restrained her. Administered the formula, but transposition was not successful. This confirms my hypothesis: blood pressure must remain consistent until the last possible moment. Death prior to infusion results in only partial transposition. This explains some of our previous failures. A powerful sedative could reduce premature death. Must conduct more trials.\nSubject R32\nA perfect transposition. The drip method seems much more effective in terms of yield and purity. Unfortunately, duration of the procedure has dramatically increased. Rate of output may be insufficient for sale. Must be faster.\nSubject S24\nConverting the formula from a liquid to a vapor proved easier than expected. The results are promising. Subject exposed to vapor exhibited signs of transposition immediately. Unfortunately, the procedure drove the subject into a violent frenzy. Recommend sturdier restraints for future test subjects.\nSubject S24 (addendum):\nSubject remains alive, despite complete transposition. Defies all existing scholarship and calculation. Violent and erratic behavior has increased significantly. Recommend we suspend experiments until this side-effect is resolved."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/geel-mas-diary": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/geel-mas-diary", "description": "Shadowscales  plan to eliminate the Silken Ring", "author": "Geel-Ma", "title": "Geel-Ma's Diary", "text": "I did not think it possible, but Tsatva-Lan once again proves why he is the example we Shadowscales must follow. He has uncovered a lead on one of our most elusive enemies. The Silken Ring know all our tricks, making it all but impossible to deal with their growing aggression. Somehow Tsatva-Lan has found their lair. We must act quickly if we are to root them out before they realize we know where to find them.\n\u2014\nI have been called upon to join Tsatva-Lan in our retribution against the Silken Ring. He plans for us to attack in force and purge the nest of our enemies. It is a rare thing to find so many Shadowscales directed to a single purpose. I will consider it a privilege to join in this slaughter for the glory of Sithis.\n\u2014\nThis will not be an easy task. Tsatva-Lan has confided in me that there is evidence that the Silken Ring have more than their skill as assassins to thank for their success. They have tapped into a tangible power that makes them more deadly than they ever were before deserting their comrades in the Dark Brotherhood, or Morag Tong. That is why he has chosen to bring so many others on this errand and why he needs me at his side. We cannot afford to be divided in purpose or place to overcome this threat.\n\u2014\nTonight we descend into the pit that our enemies call home. Tsatva-Lan admits that he knows little about what lies within, but his spines are aligned in confidence and eagerness. I too feel the siren song of our enemy's pulse, it acts as the drum beat of our march and the anticipation of its quickening before falling silent is intoxicating. I would pity the Silken Ring, if I knew how."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/geirmunds-oath": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/geirmunds-oath", "description": "Oath of the famous battlemage", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Geirmund's Oath", "text": "Lord Geirmund, great battlemage,\n\tsaved the Rift in Harald's age.\n\tHe slew the wicked Gauldur three,\n\tand set their father's spirit free.\n\tHis tomb was built upon this lake,\n\tand in his name this oath I take.\n\tShould evil come, should night descend,\n\tI swear the Rift I will defend."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/general-coneles-orders": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/general-coneles-orders", "description": "A plan to take the Pact territories", "author": "General Alexandra Conele", "title": "General Conele's Orders", "text": "The dogs of the Pact do not understand a contract well made. They see no profit in peace. The only thing they understand is force. Overwhelming force.\nIf we're going to take Ebonheart, we need breaches, footholds. I've received word from a scout. She found an abandoned mine near Kragenmoor that might do nicely.\nOccupy it. Hold it. Use it. And do not fail me.\n\u2014 General Alexandra Conele"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/general-gavryns-declaration": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/general-gavryns-declaration", "description": "", "author": "G. Redoran", "title": "General Gavryn's Declaration", "text": "This pier and dock house is a disgrace! No House Redoran holding should be allowed to fall into such a sorry state.\n\tI want a squad of soldiers to clean this place up and make repairs before the start of the winter rains.\n\t\u2014G. Redoran"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/general-malgoths-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/general-malgoths-journal", "description": "Malgoth's forces fall to deception", "author": "General Malgoth", "title": "General Malgoth's Journal", "text": "Day 1\n\tA record of the war to unite the Bosmer of northern Valenwood under the leadership of General Malgoth.\n\tConcluded that war is the best option. The Khajiit do not fear the Bosmer. Inter-tribal war is a small price to pay to provide a strong, united force against our enemies.\nThe war council agrees Vullain will be the first to fall. They forsake Y'ffre for the deceptions of the Nereids and are little more than a weak band of hunters. They will serve the Bosmer best as an example to the other villages.\nDay 2\n\tVictory is ours. An easy triumph. Lost one soldier when he fell from a tree. Three wounded. After fulfilling the Meat Mandate, we will be prepared to take the rest of the villages.\nDay 2 continued\n\tTreachery! The Bosmer of Vullain poisoned their bodies. A foul trick, a mockery of the Meat Mandate!\n\tBegged the Nereids for a cure. They look at us with what I can only assume is disgust. They can't be bothered to kill us. They know our fate, as do we."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/general-redorans-dispatch": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/general-redorans-dispatch", "description": "The General is tired of the rumor mill", "author": "General Gavryn Redoran", "title": "General Redoran's Dispatch", "text": "To All Soldiers,\nEffective immediately I want all of you to stop discussing any unconfirmed rumors of unusual sights and sounds in and around the fortress. This kind of idle chatter hurts the morale of your fellow soldiers and is nothing more than idle speculation and rumor-mongering. Any reports of suspicious activity should be brought immediately to me for review. Please deposit your reports in the circular receptacle beside my desk.\n\u2014 General Gavryn Redoran"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/general-seriens-orders": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/general-seriens-orders", "description": "", "author": "General Serien", "title": "General Serien's Orders", "text": "Your job is support. Ahknara and her team will approach from the east.\n\t\u2014 General Serien"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/generals-order-12008": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/generals-order-12008", "description": "A grim order for execution", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "General's Order 12008", "text": "Disciplinary action against Captain Valec Doronil is necessary for insubordination and deflating the morale of Tal'Deic Fortress with unnecessary adherence to foolish protocol.\n\tThe Captain's punishment: Execution."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/get-back-work": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/get-back-work", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Get Back to Work", "text": "You see this? This is what happens to mutineers.\n\tI've got my eye on you rabble.\n\tKeep your damn mouth shut and do your job or you'll end up like these fools.\n\tGet back to work."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/get-it-done-conele": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/get-it-done-conele", "description": "", "author": "Serien", "title": "Get it Done, Conele", "text": "I don't care how you do it. I don't care if you have to invade that mud-hut pigsty next door and enslave every Argonian there, get it done!\nThat heart is the key, and I will not fail in my mission. And neither will you.\n\t- Serien"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gharakuls-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gharakuls-journal", "description": "A Mephalan cultists's recollection of the fall of Murkuldin.", "author": "Gharakul", "title": "Gharakul's Journal", "text": "I have been alone for so long. Alone, yet never alone, for I know She guides me in silken dreams.\nThe Elf nearly ruined us all. Or perhaps the folly was Skalg's. His hubris grew in recent years. He convinced himself he was the Spider's Champion. \"We need the Old Blood,\" he would say, \"the blood of Ehlnofey!\" He sought it with fervor.\nHe found our undoing. Skalg brought the mage here, alive and unbroken. He was a golden Elf, tall and proud and striking. I could see lust in his amber eyes. Not for me, likely not for any mortal flesh, but for something greater.\nSkalg gave him the drink we'd often used before. He planned to chain the Elf, to keep him alive as long as possible, a vessel of that most valuable blood.\nWe argued. This was not the Song I heard, nor the path I was to walk along Mephala's threads. But Skalg convinced me I could not see the intricacies of Her Web. And so I trusted.\nThe mage did not succumb, and his fury was great. Skalg burned to ash before I cried out. Not even the blood-forged guardians gave the Elf pause as he smote his way to the forge. He struck down Borz and took the hammer in his hands.\nHe produced a small fork from his robes, then tapped it against the hammer. Morkuldin bucked and shuddered. The walls cried out in protest. My clan died around me, blood pouring from their ears and eyes. The Elf's laughter drowned out their screams. But above it all I heard the Song.\nI approached the Elf from behind, no fear in my heart. I felt nothing but the faith as I gripped his silken hair and plunged his golden face into the forge flames.\nSilence. So much silence.\nI still hear Her in silken dreams. Her whispers tell me how to calm the forge, to make it slumber, to keep it hidden. My time here ends, and soon I will join Her atop the Spiral Skein.\nSomeday, another will hear her Song, even if they do not realize what drives them. On that day the forge will breathe again, and feast for the glory of the Silver Spider.\nIt is time. I shall give myself to her children, so they may feast and nest. My husk shall be a vessel for their offspring, a nurturing cocoon. I shall live on, peering out from endless eyes, and so shall I know Her glory."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ghosts-glenumbra": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ghosts-glenumbra", "description": "A summary of the hauntings of Glenumbra", "author": "Jean Duthiel", "title": "Ghosts of Glenumbra", "text": "Glenumbra is notorious for being haunted. It is important to explain what I mean by haunted. Not every undead is a haunt. Only ghosts can cause a haunting. Ghosts are the spirits of people who were once as alive as you or I. When they died, they refused to leave.\n(If at any point you experience the dark effects of necromancy, know that this is not a haunting and should be reported to the proper authorities.)\nEveryone in Glenumbra has a tale to tell about a spook, spectre, or haunt. You need only ask.\nWithout a doubt the most haunted place in Glenumbra are the moors northwest of Aldcroft. As everyone knows, this was the site of the Battle of Glenumbria Moors in the First Era. This great battle saw the near-simultaneous destruction of both the Alessian Order and the Direnni Elves on one field of battle. Such a tragedy suffuses this place with spectral energy. Wandering the moors, many travelers report hearing the sounds of conflict in the distance.\nThe second most haunted place in Glenumbra is directly related to the first. Cath Bedraud and the burial mounds surrounding it began as a mass grave for the fallen soldiers of the battle of Glenumbria Moors. It is advised that you do not stray into the cemetery during times of heavy fog. Ghostly lights and moans have been reported there.\nWhile some consider the woodlands of Daenia to be haunted, this is actually a misconception. Many spirits of nature, including the famed Guardians, inhabit the vale and forest. These are not ghosts, for they were never people. These creatures were born as spirits and should be treated with the respect they deserve.\nHearkening from Glenumbra's past of feudal division, the countryside is dotted with ruins and castles, each of which you could probably find someone to tell you a spooky story about. In particular, the ruins at Baelborne Rock and Dresan Keep have many a local legend surrounding them.\nOf all the haunted sites in Glenumbra, I would give strongest caution against a trip to the village of Westtry. Westtry suffered some form of terrible magical event that has left it infested with the undead. It is not safe, nor would I suggest anyone go ghost hunting there."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ghosts-old-tower": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ghosts-old-tower", "description": "A haunting story of ghosts - from the future!", "author": "The Unveiled Azadiyeh, Songbird of Satakalaam", "title": "Ghosts of the Old Tower", "text": "\u2014 Listen now, O Estimable Vizier, to a tale of a haunted tower.\n\u2014 A haunted tower? Do you speak sooth? Many and more are the tales of ghost-haunted towers, until it seems there must be hardly a tower that has not its spectre. Has the Songbird's well of stories at last gone dry?\n\u2014 Nay, be but patient, one-who-governs-with-wisdom. For the tale of the Old Tower of the Fallen Waste is unlike any you have heard before.\n\u2014 Say on then, O spellbinder. I will withhold judgment until I have heard the tale.\n\u2014 Patience as well as wisdom! Truly you have earned all the accolades that are laid at your feet, Honorable Vizier.\n\u2014 On with the story, Songbird. I get enough honeyed words from the lickspittle dogs at court.\n\u2014 As you command. There was, high atop a pinnacle in a lonely corner of the Fallen Wastes, a tall and ill-favored tower that had stood there long and long. In the days when the Redguards warred against the Tusked Folk, a scout of the Bergama Gallants was commanded to take possession of this tower, thereupon to post himself as observer and sentry. And his name was Abadaman of the Three Scars.\n\u2014 And there at night this Abadaman was visited by the sorrowing ghost of a nubile maiden? Or did the shade of his long-dead father appear to deliver a timely warning? Ah, but wait, I have it: The spirit of a murdered man moaned in the gloaming that he could not rest until his killing was avenged.\n\u2014 Nay, none of these haps did eventuate. Yet a haunting did occur, and strange to say, it took place in the golden light of noon. It happened in this wise: Abadaman of the Three Scars had done his morning devoirs, which consisted of climbing the many steps to the top of the Old Tower, peering to every point of the compass, and making note of what he saw, which was nothing of import. So went he for a walk in the desert, for this Abadaman liked to think, and when he thought he liked to walk. On this day of days his wandering took him down to the arid flats beneath the towered pinnacle, and there his thoughts were interrupted for his eyes beheld a wonder: beneath the bright noonday sun stood a coterie of ghosts, gazing about as if awaiting an imminent event.\n\u2014 Intriguing. This accords with no tale of haunting I have otherwise heard.\n\u2014 Yet I assure Your Munificence, it was so. The ghosts were eight in number, and though they were difficult to perceive clearly in the shimmering heat of daylight, their presence was undeniable. They were young Redguards all, and were clad in the armor of soldiers, like that of Abadaman, yet unlike as well. He took one of these ghosts, who had a commanding presence, to be the officer of the others. When the officer-wraith turned his head and locked eyes with Abadaman, the scout, though stout of heart, cried out in surprise.\n\u2014 Even I might do the same, I do confess it.\n\u2014 Perhaps, though you must give me leave to doubt it. At the scout's cry the ghost spake in a voice of echoes, saying, \"Well met, scout. Though the device upon your breast is unfamiliar, I see you are one of our soldiers. Are you he who will mete out justice to the one who betrayed us?\"\n\u2014 Ah ha! A story of revenge. Did I not say so? These ghosts are all the same.\n\u2014 You are correct, Your Efficacy\u2014and yet you are not. Shall I say on?\n\u2014 Such is my will.\n\u2014 I hear and obey. At these words the brave Abadaman was filed with wonder, and was moved to reply, saying, \"I know naught of what you speak, spirit-from-across-the-great-river. Yet I would hear more.\" \"I am Captain Fayda,\" said the spirit, \"and these are my soldiers, slain by treachery. We seek justice upon the traitor, yet we are confounded, for though dead we are unborn, and though murdered our killer has not harmed us.\"\n\t\u2014 A riddle, by Tava's shining eye! And what said the scout to that?\n\u2014 He said, \"You speak in enigmas, O Captain, which as yet I cannot fathom. Tell me of how you were betrayed, that I might know more.\" The ghostly captain nodded and said, \"That I may do. We were ordered to garrison the Old Tower, though we have not been so ordered. Unbeknownst to us, one of our number was beholden unto our enemies the invading Imperials, though none have invaded. He did secretly admit them through our defenses and we were undone, though no such event has occurred. And the traitor's name was Amil Red-Hand.\"\n\u2014 Ah, I see now. The ghost is mad, and cannot speak words of sense.\n\u2014 Nay, for the words abruptly made sense to Abadaman, and he reeled back as if stricken. \"Alas!\" he cried. \"All is now clear! You are dead though unborn, for your life and death are both yet to come! You speak of a treachery that has not yet occurred, but it will many years from now. You appear before me, O lamentable haunt, because I and only I am in a position to mete out justice to your betrayer. But this I will never do.\"\n\u2014 How can this be? Explain forthwith!\n\u2014 Alas, my Vizier, a tale is like a river and flows only as it will. But this one nears its end. \"That you will never do, though you are an honorable soldier?\" moaned the officer's ghost. \"Wherefore?\" \"Wherefore the name of my infant son is Amil, born with a red mark upon his hand. Therefore away, importunate ghosts, for I shall not help you, and you cannot escape your fate.\" And then Abadaman of the Three Scars turned his feet back up the trail to the Old Tower."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/giant-warning": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/giant-warning", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Giant Warning", "text": "Keep out!\n\tThe Giant is only dangerous if you disturb it. We do not want a repeat of the Fire Festival fiasco."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/giants-discourse": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/giants-discourse", "description": "Research about the relationship between Nords and Giants", "author": "Kord the Curious", "title": "Giants: A Discourse", "text": "Skyrim! It has existed since the creation of the world. And Skyrim has always had giants. That is the truth. I have studied these lumbering creatures and watched them tend their mammoths. They are peaceful, simple beings. Not all have given in to their battlelust. Not all have given in to the need to explore that drives every Nord I have ever known.\nBut nonetheless, we are connected to these giants, for we both share a common ancestor. The Atmorans were huge and smart. Nords descended from these ancient folk became the small (relatively speaking), intelligent people that we are today. Giants, on the other hand, became the huge, stupid creatures that we watch from a distance. Once we honored our cousins with offerings of cows, but this practice has fallen out of favor. Perhaps that is to the detriment of Nord villages everywhere.\nToday, most Nords refuse to acknowledge the obvious connection between us and the giants. We treat the giants as a nuisance, steal their grazing lands, and even hunt their mammoths for sport. This will be our undoing. To disrespect the giants is to disrespect ourselves. If we can't learn to live with our huge cousins, I fear that conflict could become all-out war. And that would be a shame.\nLet me tell you more about the giants. In general, they tend to be solitary creatures. The giants do gather regularly at a ceremonial site. Here, they come together to trade, mate, and communicate with whatever simple methods they have developed.\nThey have a curious relationship with their mammoths. They don't herd these creatures, but they seem to be able to communicate with them. They protect them, and in return, they get milk, cheese, and companionship. On occasion, I have seen a giant eat a mammoth. The meal was conducted with reverence, if such a concept can be applied to a simple giant.\nGiants also demonstrate intricate beliefs regarding death. They have places set aside as sacred burial grounds. When a giant is sick or dying, he or she goes to one of these places to die. If a giant dies elsewhere, other giants make sure the body gets to the burial ground. They don't live near these sacred locations, and they don't guard them. They simply make use of them.\nGiants and Nords continue to vie for some of the same territories. Future conflict is inevitable unless we take steps to find peaceful solutions. Giants fall, and Nords die, but I have never seen a giant eat a Nord."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gifts-death-and-fear": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gifts-death-and-fear", "description": "A Dragonguard plaque found in Dov-Vahl shrine in Anequina", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Gifts of Death and Fear", "text": "ELOC FA OHUSH ZIRIT KESN\nALL DRAGONGUARD REMEMBER\nGIFTS OF DEATH AND FEAR\nOUR FOES ENDLESS AND PROUD\nCANNOT THINK AS WE\nONLY OF GAIN, NEVER LOSS\nELOC FA OHUSH ZIRIT KESN"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gifts-nereids": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gifts-nereids", "description": "Priesthood of these magical beings", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Gifts of the Nereids", "text": "When I was young, my parents brought me to the cave where the priests worshiped the Nereids. They dedicated me to the temple, so that I might one day become a priest, too.\nThere were only three other children in the temple when I was growing up. The others made fun of me until I was ten years old because one of my legs was shorter than the other and I had a limp.\nOne day, we were running through the cave (something that was forbidden, but the priests often looked the other way, letting children be children) and I tripped and fell face down into the water. I hit my head and blacked out. The other children were far ahead of me already, so they didn't see.\nLater, the priests told me that one of the Nereids had lifted me out of the water. I said I didn't remember that happening, but later on, I did recall the feeling of floating and also a kind of terror, like I had seen something I was not supposed to see, something that was too beautiful for mortal eyes.\nThe priests instructed us in our relationship to the Nereids. We were required to memorize the gifts of the Nereids and repeat them back every day:\nThe gifts of the Nereids are three-fold:\nthe beauty of their form,\n\tthe sweetness of their singing,\n\tand protection from harm.\nThe older children got to help the priests with the rituals. Meat was brought to the central altar to feed the Nereids, and once a year, one priest would go deep into the cave to meditate among their singing. When he would emerge, he would give a prophesy.\nWhen he comes of age, each child has a choice to stay and become a priest or to go into exile. After so many years living in the cave, I could not imagine another life, and so I chose the priesthood. But sometimes I long for sunlight and wonder where a different path might have taken me, and what sights I might have seen if I had chosen exile."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gilded-letter": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gilded-letter", "description": "The player foils yet another plot", "author": "Valano", "title": "Gilded Letter", "text": "Norion,\nOur scheme has encountered an unfortunate obstacle. The majority of the people you sent have been slaughtered by a maddeningly altruistic [player's race]. I fear I may be unmasked as an agent of the Veiled Heritance if I don't leave Silsailen immediately. I'll pack a few necessities and meet you in Tanzelwil. Keep your head down.\n\u2014 Valano"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/glademist-scouting-order": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/glademist-scouting-order", "description": "Success at Fort Glademist", "author": "Sorcalin", "title": "Glademist Scouting Order", "text": "Gen. Thoron,\nDon't send any more scouts to Fort Glademist. Our troops have taken it over and the enemy has fled.\n- Sorcalin"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/glenumbras-people": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/glenumbras-people", "description": "A description of the different cultures within Glenumbra", "author": "Aldous Brousseau", "title": "Glenumbra's People", "text": "To the outside observer, the assorted peoples of the region of High Rock known as Glenumbra often seem more similar than different. While it's true that most people in the region take their cues for culture, architecture, food, and dress from a common Breton template, it would be foolhardy to dismiss the cultural differences between the larger populations and the multitude of diverse subcultures present throughout the region.\nDaenia: Dominated by the cultural influence of Daggerfall, Daenia is the home and heartland of Breton's quest obsession. For those unfamiliar with the term, it refers to the practice by which young members of the poor and serf classes can partake in heroic tasks to elevate themselves to the ranks of the nobility. The cultural narratives of Daenia are filled with tales of the lowly taking on a great quest to win the respect and accolades of those above them. It is my suspicion that the famed independent spirit of the Daenian people is an extension of this narrative of upward mobility. Of note, this area is also home to the Wyrd subculture, and several witches' covens dedicated to the worship of nature inhabit the vast forests of Daenia.\nCambray Hills: Camlorn and its surrounding villages are a hodgepodge of different Breton cultures. The nobility of Camlorn fancy themselves an aristocracy of poets and artists. Often taking a pacifistic tact in the dealings between Daggerfall and Wayrest, Camlorn has benefited much as a go-between for trade and an open market for goods from both Iliac Bay and the Eltheric Ocean. The Cambray Hills are well-known as being haunted, and any given member of the populace usually has a unique ghost story or two to share. The largest subculture of note are the swamp-dwelling Bretons of the eastern bogs that stretch from the Hag Fen to Aldcroft.\nKing's Guard: This region is so named for the mountainous ridge that form a natural barrier between Glenumbra, Rivenspire, and Stormhaven. Crosswych is a crossroads for trade moving between these major regions of High Rock, and the place has become a melting pot of dress, food, and culture of the Breton city-states. Not so much a subculture, but a subgroup of note for King's Guard is the Red Rook bandit clan. While the Red Rooks are present throughout Glenumbra, they originated in the mountains and foothills of King's Guard as a loose collection of hunters and highwaymen that preyed upon caravans moving across the pass."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/glenumbras-towns-and-cities": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/glenumbras-towns-and-cities", "description": "A guide to the various settlements of Glenumbra", "author": "Ansur Belote", "title": "Glenumbra's Towns and Cities", "text": "There are a number of cities and towns across the region of High Rock known as Glenumbra that a traveler should be familiar with.\nDaggerfall: Crown jewel of Glenumbra and one of the oldest cities in High Rock, Daggerfall was the capital of the largest kingdom in High Rock prior to the ascendence of Wayrest. Any traveler would do well to buy provisions in Daggerfall, as the services in the bustling city are second to none.\nAldcroft: A small town between the forests of Daenia and the coastal swamplands of the Cambray Hills, Aldcroft has come to prominence in recent years as a key port that services Camlorn from trade routes along the Iliac Bay. Aldcroft is well known for its spicy stews, a treat that I recommend those travelers with weak constitutions to avoid.\nCamlorn: A city that has grown in recent times to rival Daggerfall in size and cultural influence, Camlorn is in the west center of Glenumbra. The citizens of Camlorn see themselves as more urbane and metropolitan then their neighbors to the south. Travelers are advised to try Camlorn's excellent pastries and baked goods, as they are worth the trip. Ignore the haughtiness of the locals, as this is just their way and they usually don't mean any offense.\nWesttry: This town suffered some great catastrophe in the past that has left it devoid of living citizens and haunted by the dead. The wise traveler would do well to avoid it.\nEagle's Brook: Whereas Aldcroft serves as Camlorn's primary connection to Iliac Bay, Eagle's Brook is its corresponding port on the Eltheric Ocean. Many of the artisans and craftsmen that serve the high houses of Camlorn actually live in nearby Eagle's Brook. Travelers are advised to sample the excellent seafood brought in daily by Eagle's Brook's fishing boats.\nCrosswych: Straddling the mountainous border pass marking the end of Glenumbra and the beginning of Stormhaven, Crosswych makes much of its gold from the travelers passing back and forth between the two most populous regions of High Rock. Travelers heading to Wayrest from Daggerfall must pass through Crosswych, which is as good a place as any to rest and resupply."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/glenumbria-alessian-orders": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/glenumbria-alessian-orders", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Glenumbria: Alessian Orders", "text": "To all Alessian Soldiers,\nThe Direnni believe they have the advantage. They are comfortable in their camps and secure in their victory. They have lost focus.\nWord has reached us that the Direnni will launch a major assault in the coming hours. When this happens, we will send our Alessian scouts under the cover of shadows to get in behind them, destroying their camp.\nIf this works, we can catch their assault from behind in a flank and wipe them out once and for all.\nNo one will stand in the way of the Alessians! Kill, and keep killing, in the Name of the One!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/glinting-talons": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/glinting-talons", "description": "One researcher's quest to regain lost swordsmanship knowledge", "author": "Ablahar at-Tunal", "title": "Glinting Talons", "text": "When the mighty Ra Gada first drove back the Orcs, one sect of warriors employed a fighting style so aggressive, so fierce, that the tales tell of enemies standing stunned, falling to flashing blades in a daze before they realized an attack was upon them. These champions revered Tava as well as Diagna, engraving their blades with the wings of a hawk. The bird's keen sight, accuracy, and rending claws inspired their sword-songs, and references to the sun and light are numerous. Sadly, little remains of their tradition, aside from what I have pieced together from crumbling tablets and monuments deep in the desert.\nIt is clear that these warriors, the Glinting Talons, wielded a sword in each hand. They are mentioned often in inscriptions dating to the arrival from Yokuda for their great deeds\u2014driving off warbands of Orcs when sorely outnumbered, capturing strongholds in surprise attacks, and many other heroic tales. Of their style, though, very little is known. This partial inscription I located at the site of the Battle of Six Hands is all that has been recovered regarding their way of the blade:\n\"Face the burdensome sun. Carry its weight face-wise. Submit to the endless edges twinned.\n\tMaster these strikes in the morning; cleave the light and leave the foe in darkness:\n\t\"Two Blades Become Four\n\t\"Lion's Teeth Exposed in Thunder\n\t\"Five Arrows Split the Sky\n\t\"The Screech of Descent upon Helpless Prey\n\t\"Master these strikes in the evening; chase the enemy and burn its flesh.\"\nI can find no other references or descriptions of these strikes, and it saddens me to think that such knowledge of the blade has been lost. I have no greater desire than to restore this lost way of the blade, but the fragments are so few. The mystery compels me to continue my travels in hopes that, perhaps, I will be led by Tava's grace to discover more, and return this shamefully lost knowledge to our people."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/glonnirs-letter": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/glonnirs-letter", "description": "", "author": "Glonnir", "title": "Glonnir's Letter", "text": "Bremril,\nYou won't see this letter, but I had to write something. Elphirion's decided it: a sacrifice to stop Malgoth. Madness or martyrdom? The storytellers will decide.\nI guess in the end there's the desire to confess. I should've spent less time in the forest, hunting, or in my cups. I should've been a better husband or father.\nMaybe this is my way of making it up to you. If you and our daughter can live on in Driladan, safe because of our sacrifice. Small consolation, when every bone in my body wants to curse it all to Oblivion and run to you.\nI love you.\n\t\u2014 Glonnir"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/glories-pirate-queen": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/glories-pirate-queen", "description": "Some very generous descriptions of Captain Fortunata, the provincial governor of Anvil", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Glories of the Pirate Queen", "text": "Many of you scallywags haven't had the pleasure of sailing alongside the glorious Captain Fortunata, so here're some facts to set you straight about her grand and glorious Provincial Governor!\nWhen Captain Fortunata shouts, the wind listens.\nCaptain Fortunata has never had scurvy because scurvy doesn't want to make her mad.\nCaptain Fortunata once sank a boat when she loosed a powerful sneeze, but the sailors on board didn't drown because she ordered them to live.\nHurricanes happen when Captain Fortunata farts into the wind.\nCaptain Fortunata once spit on the city of Evermore. That's where Lake Bjoulsae came from.\nA stupid Dark Elf once told Captain Fortunata she couldn't sing. She punched him so hard he flew into the sky. We're still waiting for him to come down.\nCaptain Fortunata only uses a sword because she's tired of killing people with her little finger.\nCaptain Fortunata doesn't fish. When she wants a fish, it flops up onto her deck and cooks itself.\nSharks don't bite Captain Fortunata because they don't want to break their teeth.\nDaedric Princes beg to make deals with Captain Fortunata.\nAnd that's just the beginning of our beloved Pirate Queen's glories!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/glorious-balamath": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/glorious-balamath", "description": "A poem dedicated to Balamath", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Glorious Balamath ", "text": "Sing, O muse, of glorious Balamath,\nWhose tireless song lilts then booms,\nEbbing like thunder through panes of glass.\nGreat winds wake,\n'Neath gnarled bough and crumbled stone,\nThe sighs of long dead scholar-kings,\nBreathing still through creaking bones.\nHere the columns lurk unburdened,\nWelkynds strain against a potent gloom.\nArches stand like arrows drawn,\nThe scholar's mark, the endless sky,\nIn whose depths the greatest storms\nRoar, snort, bluster,\nLike great gray beasts\nWaiting, yearning to be tamed.\nIn this place we find the power,\nA hidden canyon of ancient stone\nCradles, shelters, and conceals,\nThe forgotten bellows of old Aldmeris.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/glorious-upheavel": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/glorious-upheavel", "description": "A religious tract about Boethiah", "author": "Thendaramur Death-Blossom", "title": "Glorious Upheavel ", "text": "Listen, you who would renounce the Eight and their lies, you who spurn their mindless doctrines, and know:\nBoethiah waits to receive the worthy. He pays no heed to mewling praise and prayers or cries for aid and mercy from his faithful. He delights in the blood of the overthrown, the betrayed and conquered and murdered\u2014those too weak to survive and receive his gifts. Only rebellion and violence, only treachery and aggression and the power you seize can prove you, a mere speck of dust, deserving of notice.\nYour prize waits between his dripping fangs, if you dare to claim it. The tested, who stand drenched by the viscera of the pitiful, glimpse secrets held only by the Prince of Plots, who proved the weakness of gods when Trinimac suffered in his stomach. Every power can be dismantled. Demonstrate your will to the Deceiver. Do what you must to sever the grip of all rulers and place the crown on your own brow. In this way, you carve the path to illumination; you recognize your potential.\nTurn away from an atrophied life of complacency. Take everything from the undeserving, take what you can and know it always belonged to you. Corrupt what lies within your grasp and turn it to your own purpose, then extend your arm further. Reject the Eyeless Aedra, rotting in Aetherius, that prison realm where flaccid souls languish, useless and drained. Deny their commands and revel in combat, speak heresies as black as the Void, and laugh in the face of the Dragon Ghost Akatosh and his crumbling kin.\nBoethiah watches these deeds. She relishes each victory, shivers with euphoria at each moment of resolution, and grants her favor to the strong. If you would be among her champions, if you would destroy everything in your own true path, you will join the endless struggle and bring strife and discord where you tread. Only in this way will you prepare for the greater battle that waits beyond.\nKnow, you on the path of perpetual conflict, you who refuse to bend the knee: Boethiah waits to receive the worthy."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/glyndallagans-confession": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/glyndallagans-confession", "description": "A con-man mage makes a very bad wager", "author": "Glyndallagan", "title": "Glyndallagan's Confession", "text": "My name is Glyndallagan, and this is my confession.\nI should begin at the beginning\u2014as if there were such a thing. I came to the city as a mage of modest means. Nothing but holes in my pockets, and a rattling cart full of knickknacks. I suppose you could consider me a con-man. My game was simple: lure affluent, small-minded people to my cart and make a wager. \"I bet you\u2014\" I said, \"I bet you I can turn whatever you have in your pocket into an apple.\" Of course it wasn't always apples. It could be a thimble, or a button, or an old shoe. Inevitably, they would bite and take up the bet. I would cast a simple translocative spell, whisking their item into my cart, and replacing it with whatever garbage I had managed to gather up the day before. Such a transfer is child's-play when compared to an actual transmutation. Thus, my gain was two-fold: I acquired whatever item they happened to be carrying around, as well as the balance of the wager. This earned me a decent living for a while. Until I ran into the Rattle-Man.\nHe was tall, certainly\u2014and very, very thin. And when he walked, his coin-purse made an unnerving clatter. A rattling of what sounded like bone on bone. I didn't have to flag him down, or lay out my pitch. He simply reached into his pocket and produced a handful of random objects. Teeth, bone chips, glowing shards \u2026. His silence was unsettling, and the items were so random and macabre I could barely keep my composure. But I was greedy then. Greedy, and foolish.\nHe eventually spoke in a low, rasping voice, \"Shall we make a wager?\"\n\"Of course!\" I said. \"Eight drakes for eight trinkets!\"\n\"Make it fifty drakes if you succeed. And if you fail \u2026.\" he replied.\nA fifty drake wager! It took me a moment to process this. I had never even considered the results of a failure. \"Well, if I fail, I suppose I'll owe you fifty drakes.\" This seemed to rub him the wrong way. He put the items in his pocket and turned to leave.\nEven now, I will wake from a dead sleep, gasping over the horror of this moment. Reliving it in my mind, over and over. If I had just let him walk away. If I had been distracted by another mark, or taken my lunch early, all of this might have been avoided. But as I said, I was greedy and foolish. I shouted over his shoulder, \"What would you have instead, sir?\"\nHe turned on his heel and smiled. At least I think it was a smile. I don't remember his face, you see? No one ever remembers his face. He spoke in a whisper, \"I only want a vow that you'll return the items to me when the trick is done.\"\nHe knew my game. No corner-cob hustler would weave a transmutation spell for five drakes. He knew I just took the items into my cart via a translocation cantrip. So why worry? I would simply reach into my cart and hand him the items after the spell was cast. There was a fear in the pit of my stomach, but I took his clammy, pale hand in mine and shook on it. \"You have my vow,\" I said. And with those four words, my fate was sealed.\nI cast the translocation spell as normal. There was a brilliant flash of light, and a puff of colorful smoke. All according to plan. And just as I expected, his handful of terrifying trinkets had been \"transformed\" into a handful of buttons, bent silverware, and scraps of shoe leather.\n\"Excellent.\" he rasped. \"Now, if I could have my items back, we can conclude our wager.\"\nI was elated. Fifty drakes! Fifty drakes for a small-time hustle. I was practically dancing when I opened the cart. But something was wrong. All my items were gone. Everything. I searched everywhere\u2014my pockets, inside the cart, the street beneath. Nothing. \"It appears that you have failed,\" he said.\nAnd thus began my endless service to the Rattle-Man. I will search for his missing items for the rest of my days.\nMy life is a curse. My nights are filled with bad dreams, my days with waking terrors. My bones strain and creak. My hair grows thinner and paler by the day. All for a handful of bone scraps and teeth.\nSo, I make this compact with you, dear reader. Bring me your frightful trinkets\u2014your bone scraps and bloody claws. Bring them to my trophy vaults, and I will grant you riches beyond imagining. Do not trouble yourself with thoughts of where these riches came from. I have had to become very \u2026 resourceful. Scruples are a luxury that the cursed cannot afford. No, only the trinkets matter.\nPerhaps one day I will find all of the Rattle-Man's trinkets. And on that day, I will kill myself and leave this accursed world behind."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/glyphs-and-enchantments": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/glyphs-and-enchantments", "description": "A mentally deranged researcher's notes about glyphs", "author": "Sanessalmo of Glister Vale", "title": "Glyphs and Enchantment", "text": "Glyphs! Glyphs for enchanting! Everyone knows how to make them - you need three runestones, one each of Potency, Aspect, and Essence. Once, as an Experiment, I substituted kidney stones of Poetry, Aspic, and Ennui. It didn't work!\nBut that is a secret. Not to reveal my secrets! No, no. Do not even think about the secrets. Because if that happens ... Experiments! Back to Experiments! I have made many different glyphs, oh, yes. Some of them are very good, like the glyphs for augmenting one's magicka (rings are pretty!) or for making weapons that do flame or frost damage. Some glyphs are not so good, like the \"lard to bard\" glyph that made all the shortening in the kitchen sing loud Nord drinking songs. (That's why I made all the pancakes.)\nSo, then: Experiments! When you try combining different runestones to see what kind of glyphs you can make, be sure to write down the results so you don't forget what you've learned. (Especially for the bad ones, because you don't want to do that again, and good apprentices are hard to come by.) For obvious reasons (obvious! obvious!), I like to tattoo my results onto the skins of living creatures. Daedra are a poor choice for this, because when they return to Oblivion they take your results with them. Mammals are also a problem because they're hairy, so you have to shave some fur before you can start the tattooing, and the brown bears didn't like that one bit, let me tell you. That's why reptiles are best."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/goddess-storm-mother-nords": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/goddess-storm-mother-nords", "description": "Description of the warrior goddess Kyne", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Goddess of Storm, Mother of Nords", "text": "Kyne, one of the Eight Divines of the Nord pantheon, is considered by some to lead those Divines. She is one of the Hearth Gods, watching over the present cycle of the world. Her titles are numerous, revealing much about the character of Kyne.\nKyne is called the Kiss at the End, for most Nords agree that Kyne leads the dead to Sovngarde. She is revered as the Goddess of Storm, called upon to bring rain and snow in dry times. She protects her faithful from the raging gales and blizzards that regularly sweep across the Skyrim expanse. Other names applied to Kyne include Widow of Shor and the Mother of Nords.\nWarriors favor Kyne, as they call upon her for strength in battle and victory in conflict."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gold-coast-missive": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gold-coast-missive", "description": "Gold for Khajiiti tails", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Gold Coast Missive", "text": "My friend,\nWe have a new employer. Clean out the Khajiiti, and he'll pay hefty coin for every tail you bring back.\nMake it quick and quiet. Don't want trouble from the Elves."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gold-coast-notables": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gold-coast-notables", "description": "Dark Brotherhood dossier on important figures in Gold Coast politics", "author": "Mirabelle Motierre", "title": "Gold Coast Notables", "text": "A Report Prepared by Mirabelle Motierre for her Brothers and Sisters\nMatron Astara asked me to collect a few thoughts and salient facts about the movers and shakers of the Gold Coast - specifically, the most important people whom we might have to deal with at some point in the future. Now, that doesn't mean we have to kill these people. We might have to work with them, or request a favor, or - no, we'll probably have to kill them. That's usually what we do.\nProvincial Governor Fortunata ap Dugal: The one-time Pirate Queen started out as a minor functionary in the Gold Coast Trading Company before her skills and ambitions earned her a place among the merchant lords at the top of the organization. But that wasn't enough for Fortunata. She set sail for an extended trade mission. When she returned, she was at the head of an armada of pirate vessels as the wildly popular queen of the Red Sails pirates. She easily seized control of Anvil and proclaimed herself the Provincial Governor of the city. Now Fortunata rules Anvil with an iron fist wrapped in a velvet glove. No one dares challenge her due to her own strong personality and demonstrated fighting skills, and because there are always at least a dozen heavily armed pirates at her beck and call. Not to mention her personal Rat Master, who brings her secrets like a lover brings gifts. Her ambitions exceed the borders of the port city, however, and she has already declared that the entire Gold Coast is under her control. That's not quite true, but it appears that it soon will be.\nCount Carolus Aquilarious: The Wolf of Kvatch is the nephew of Varen Aquilarious. He's served his city and defended it ever since Varen marched off to war. He may be the only truly good person among the movers and shakers of the Gold Coast. He's a man of faith and conviction, honorable and proud of his heritage. I also find him to be extremely dull. He doesn't like Fortunata, though, and has so far been able to keep her pirates out of Kvatch. He has an uneasy alliance with the Cathedral of Akatosh, which dominates not only his city's skyline but serves as its spiritual conscience as well. In fact, he recently granted the Cathedral's protectors, the Order of the Hour, expanded rights and duties to supplement the efforts of the Kvatch Guard. He could prove to be a powerful opponent of the Brotherhood - if he weren't mired in the politics of just keeping his city safe from those who would like to carve it up like a festival goose.\nPrimate Artorius Ponticus: The head of the Akatosh faith and the leader of the Great Cathedral, presents an interesting and complicated man. He practically burns with religious fervor and truly believes that Akatosh guides and supports his efforts. He's also as ambitious in his own way as Fortunata, as demonstrated by his swift rise through the religious hierarchy. For a religious man, he has a surprisingly vast network of spies and informants hidden throughout the Gold Coast. It's exceedingly rare for something to happen that the Primate doesn't know about. He is supported by Grand Chanter Surus and Grand Sermonizer Fithia, as well as the warrior-priests of the Order of the Hour. If Artorius were ever to turn his faithful followers against us, they might be powerful enough to threaten the Brotherhood. Not that I think that scenario is likely.\nOther notables include Lord Quintus Jarol, Commander Marcus Scipio of the Order of the Hour, Lord Harthaw Brent of the Gold Coast Trading Company, and a visitor to our lands who thought to go unnoticed, Razum-dar of the Queen's Eyes. Reports on these potential threats, targets, or allies will be on your desk shortly."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gold-coast-trading-company-note": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gold-coast-trading-company-note", "description": "The Company doesn't want to do dirty business", "author": "Kirkland", "title": "Gold Coast Trading Company Note", "text": "Galverus,\nI know we should always be open to capitalizing on an opportunity when one presents itself, but I have to say that I'm failing to see the upside here. I know that they must have shopping needs and desires just like anyone else, but how much gold could they possibly have to spend on Gold Coast Trading Company goods? These people live in the sewers. Literally, in the sewers.\nAre we hoping they fish the occasional lost crate out of the canals and manage to salvage something? Is there a shortage of manure that requires the most creative alternative sourcing I've ever seen? What am I missing here?\nIf you can't provide a really good explanation for continuing this enterprise, I'm afraid the Company is out.\nKirkland\nP.S. Have the decency to air out your reply before you send it this time. The stench of the sewers can be a tad overwhelming."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gold-teeth": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gold-teeth", "description": "Good pay for crocodile teeth", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Gold for Teeth!", "text": "Cull the Crocodiles in Hag Fen\nHelp make the fens safe for travel. Earn gold for killing the toothy beasts lurking in the shallow waters of Hag Fen. Gold for crocodile teeth!\nDeliver proof of your crocodile-killing prowess to Hoster Marceau, Huntmaster, who will be camped near the Dywnnarth Ruins until Fredas next.\nTeeth extracted from any other creatures are not accepted and proffering them may result in a sound beating.\nNote that the Huntmaster is not responsible for any limbs you may lose as you attempt to fulfill this offer."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/good-travels": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/good-travels", "description": "An introduction to Morrowind", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Good Travels!", "text": "My dearest friend,\nI was thrilled to hear that you were traveling to Vvardenfell. A new adventure suits you, and I know you were getting bored back home.\nI don't know what you expect to find, but let me tell you what I know of the land of the Dark Elves. The main city in the region is Vivec City. I don't know how you feel about gods and such, but one of the Tribunal\u2014the Living Gods of the Dark Elves\u2014lives in the city. Lord Vivec himself apparently lives in a grand palace there.\nYou'll probably come ashore in the village of Seyda Neen, if my travel experience was typical. Nice enough location, though the number of smugglers and slavers you run into can be somewhat off-putting.\nAnd wait until you see the Telvanni towers! They grow them out of giant mushrooms, of all things!\nAnyway, enjoy your time among the Dark Elves. Hopefully, I'll see you again when you return to Tamriel proper!\nGood travels!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/goodbye-note": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/goodbye-note", "description": "A girl runs away to join a necromancy cult", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Goodbye Note", "text": "Mother,\nBy the time you read this, I will be gone, so there is no point in hoping you can dissuade me. I have made my decision. The other night I had a terrible dream. I had lived my whole life working as a stablehand here at Aswala Stables, and as I lay on my deathbed, I realized my mistake. Tamriel is enormous, filled with exciting people and exciting places, all of which, in the dream, I had missed.\nAs you know, mother, my friend Najan disappeared several months ago. I did not wish to worry you, so I did not tell you the truth. Najan joined the cult known as the Withered Hand. At the time, I thought him a madman, but he recently returned in the night and told me of his experience. Though there is much grisly work involved, and I know that grandfather, and even you may condemn me for dishonoring myself, a career of raising the dead seems to be very exciting.\nNajan says he was taken to Satakalaam for training. They taught him the arts of war, the arts of necromancy, and the many other valuable skills. They have given him a wardrobe full of silken robes, and he says that they have even promised to take him to the city of Wayrest someday. Najan has invited me to join the Hand, and I have decided I cannot pass up this opportunity.\nI will always love you mother. I hope you will forgive me. Perhaps once I learn necromancy, I can come back and raise father from the dead!\nSamala"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/goodnight-mundus-0": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/goodnight-mundus-0", "description": "A Tamrielic lulaby", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Goodnight Mundus", "text": "\"A Tamrielic Lullaby\"\nIn the great green tomb\n\tThere was a chaurus\n\tAnd a draugr that had been dead since Sundas\n\tAnd a picture of \u2026\n\tA guar jumping over the Mundus\n\tAnd there were two netches sitting on benches\n\tAnd a frost troll with a sweet roll\n\tAnd an Orcish oaf with a horker loaf\n\tAnd a storm atronach with the Wabbajack\n\tAnd an old Moth priest who was whispering, \"Magicka\"\n\tGoodnight Mundus\n\tGoodnight chaurus\n\tGoodnight guar jumping over the Mundus\n\tGoodnight draugr that had been dead since Sundas\n\tGoodnight frost troll\n\tGoodnight sweet roll\n\tGoodnight Orcish oaf with a horker loaf\n\tGoodnight atronach\n\tGoodnight Wabbajack\n\tAnd goodnight to the Moth priest whispering, \"Magicka\"\n\tGoodnight ogrim, Dremora, clannfear\n\tGoodnight Daedra everywhere"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gordags-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gordags-journal", "description": "An Orc father tries to cure his daughter", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Gordag's Journal", "text": "30th Rain's Hand\nMozgosh killed the Mer\u00a0 who poisoned her, but she's deathly sick. My hearth wife says the poison's from Black Marsh, and its antidote is there.\n1st Second Seed\nUnthinkable! My clan's hold won't help me get the antidote from Black Marsh! Gloorig, that upstart, called my daughter Mozgosh pathetic and weak!\nI struck him; his blood flowed for nearly an hour. Mozgosh is as strong as a mammoth! Only the Code of Mauloch keeps her from surpassing me as chief.\nGloorig may usurp my hold if I leave. No matter. I'll deal with him when we return.\n4th Second Seed\nMy hearth wife knows of two antidotes. She gave me a blessed phial from the old days. Once I find the herbs, it will do the rest.\nSeriweed is a broad-leafed bush covered in hair. When I place its leaves in the phial, it will warm with life and restore Mozgosh entirely. Incredibly rare, according to my hearth wife, but this is a good thing. Common use of this curative would breed weakness in those who rely upon it. I hesitate to sully my daughter's blood with this Elf-swill.\nXthari's leaves are poisonous, but its petals are a powerful curative. The infusion will bubble like Mauloch's blood, and it will exact his price when consumed. Adding its ground petals to the phial will turn the mixture pink, like the froth of a blood-drunk warrior. A healing pain worthy for Mozgosh to surpass!\n12th Second Seed\nWhen we arrived in Hissmir, Mozgosh collapsed with fever. She may not have long.\nI hired guides who tell me I can find both remedies in Atanaz Ruins. The lizards there consort with swamp demons, they say\u2014beasts that breathe lightning and hunger for the flesh of Men and Mer. Only fools seek them out. Ha! I'll show them what it means to be of Mauloch's chosen!\nWe leave when the mists clear.\n14th Second Seed\nI've been captured, caught unaware in the swamp outside Atanaz Ruins. They struck like watery shadows before sinking into the depths. Cowards! They held me under the mud until the blackness came. I awoke in this stink-riddled tomb.\nWhen they come for me, I will beat them as I beat Gloorig! By Mauloch's right hand, none will stand before me! I am Gordag! I am chief!\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/graccus-journal-volume-i": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/graccus-journal-volume-i", "description": "A Hermaeus Mora devotee's journal", "author": "Graccus", "title": "Graccus' Journal, Volume I", "text": "I dreamed of the treasure again last night. I have no doubt about it now: Hermaeus Mora himself is speaking to me, leading me to it. I've spent my family fortune searching for tomes of power across Tamriel, and my coffers are nearly empty. But I must push on. It's nearly within my grasp.\nAnd when I have the knowledge of Apocrypha, I will no longer need to bow to the usurper Tharns. They will bow to me."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/grand-maestro-fortes-research": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/grand-maestro-fortes-research", "description": "Research on an ancient script found in Ebon Stadmont", "author": "Grand Maestro Forte", "title": "Grand Maestro Forte's Research", "text": "An unknown language covers the massive stone discovered in the heart of Ebon Stadmont. I have been able to make some progress in formulating a key to translate the ancient language, but I have so little to work with save the writing on the stone.\n* * *\nThe language is definitely older than anything I've studied in Tamriel or even in the whole of Nirn. I suspect it has some connection to Daedric, but as impossible as it sounds, I think this writing may even predate the language of Oblivion.\n* * *\nI was able to translate one of the stanzas on the stone, but I have no idea what it signifies.\n\"The crows lead the way,\nWhen our paths go astray,\nAnd the towering trees block the way.\"\n* * *\nMy efforts continue to yield results. I found this stanza to be particularly mystifying.\n\"A pair of crows to begin your search,\nThen a lone crow upon a perch,\nBut it's not one or two that open the way,\nThe crows will have their say.\"\n* * *\nThe more I study this mysterious language, the more anxious and concerned I become. It sometimes seems that just trying to unravel its meaning is garnering the attention of forces I can barely begin to understand. I think I'll put this research away for a while and turn my efforts to other projects.\nPerhaps I'll finish writing that comedy about the three Khajiit who lost their silken gloves."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/graverobbers-lament": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/graverobbers-lament", "description": "A graverobber complaints about the grave they're robbing", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Graverobber's Lament", "text": "I don't care if Obor was right. I don't care if there's enough treasure in this sunken barrow to sink the Dominion Fleet! All I care about now is getting out of this dreadful place in one piece!\nWho knew that when the legends referred to a place where the ancient Nords buried the worst of the worst, they weren't exaggerating? And who knew that the worst of the worst refuse to lay down and stay dead like other corpses I've known and robbed?\nIf I get out of this, Obor isn't going to like the conversation we're going to have. And if I don't get out of this, maybe I can get these undead to teach me what they know.\nBecause if I die in here, I really want to haunt Obor for the rest of his miserable existence."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/graverobbers-note": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/graverobbers-note", "description": "", "author": "Marienne Shiarry", "title": "Graverobber's Note", "text": "Gilradil,\nBe a dear and search this crypt if you would. That's a good graverobber! It's rather dark and dreary down there, and I'd rather not get cobwebs in my hair. Besides, I'm paying you well to recover relics, heirlooms, and other such valuables. I'll be at the camp. Bring whatever you find to me.\nOh, and I better not catch you or any of your fellow thugs pocketing any of the treasures you dig up. After I catalog all of our findings, I'll make sure you get your fair share.\nMarienne Shiarry"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gravestone-notes": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gravestone-notes", "description": "A riddle concerning names on gravestones", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Gravestone Notes", "text": "First Names: Willam, Guymund, Olivia, Joelle\n\tLast Names: Moret, Lavergne, Chauvry, Rernis\n\tProfessions: Mage, Priest, Thief, Warrior\n\tThe names on the gravestones in order are:\n\tJoelle \u2026\n\tGuymund Chauvry\n\t\u2026 Moret\n\tWillam \u2026\n\tThe mage's letter is addressed to Lavergne, so Lavergne could not have been the mage.\n\tJoelle's gravestone indicates she was the warrior and the priest is buried closest to her.\n\tMoret's gravestone indicates Moret was not the mage or the warrior."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/graveyard-research-notes": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/graveyard-research-notes", "description": "Notes on an ancient Ayleid site", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Graveyard Research Notes", "text": "At last I near the site. Seldom have I been so impatient in my long career. I spent the night at Castle Alessia, mere hours north of the battleground. My excitement prevented me from sleeping more than a few minutes at a time.\nI set off at daybreak and made good time until we neared the ruins of Variela Tower. My horse smelled the undead that haunt that desolate place and threw me from the saddle. When I regained consciousness, Lightstep was nowhere in sight. I assume my supplies are with her as well, much good they will do her.\nFortunately this journal was inside my cloak. Though it caused a painful bruise when I landed on it, I am still able to take notes for my paper.\nI skirted the Variela ruins, not wishing to be eviscerated by the undead shambling about. The graveyard, site of the ancient battle, is just to the south. So little is known about this battle that my research should be eagerly awaited. I hope to answer many questions today.\nWere the Ayleids part of a strong contingent of Elves based at Variela? Or were they scouts coming from afar? And what in Julianos' name were Orcs doing there? Did they too have a previously unsuspected stronghold nearby, or were they a band of marauders far from home? Unearthing the graves and examining the artifacts they contain should tell me much.\nI have rested here long enough. The shadows lengthen already. I will make a pitiful camp in the graveyard and begin my excavations in the morning. Discovery awaits!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gray-host-communique": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gray-host-communique", "description": "Instructions to prepare for the greatest Harrowstorm of all", "author": "Rada al-Saran", "title": "Gray Host Communique", "text": "Exarch Tzinghalis,\nWe are indebted to your great mind. Since your rebirth, you have brought our dream ever closer to reality. Obstacles that I chipped away at over millennia you cleave away in mere days.\nThe time for subterfuge is coming to an end. Continue the refinement of your techniques and supply the coven witches with the fruits of your labor. They must produce the ritual materials for Ulfra and her kin to deploy. Let the Nords fret over the random harrowstorms while we prepare to unleash the most powerful storm of all.\nSend your refined netherroot brew to the midland camp and to my keep, along with everything else needed for the rituals. I will alert the coastal camp to prepare more medallions and send updated orders to our warlords in the Blackreach camp.\nStay strong, my brother, for the Gray Host will soon live again!\nRada al-Saran"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gray-host-orders": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gray-host-orders", "description": "", "author": "Rada al-Saran", "title": "Gray Host Orders", "text": "My beloved kin,\nI have no words. Tzinghalis is dead.\nHis killers have retreated to the shadows. Doubtless they mean to harry us in our righteous labor. Already there are whispers of them seeking to stop the spread of the harrowed.\nI will not abide any further threats to our goal. My family will be delivered from their torment, and not even Molag Bal himself can stop me. To that end, we must accelerate our efforts. All preparations regarding the attack on Solitude must be completed posthaste.\nTo that end, make sure everything required for the work in the Undergrove is ready. The location is hidden and secure inside the ancient barrow, which fell into the earth for just this purpose, It will make a perfect testing ground for the next stage of the harrowstorms. Exarch Ulfra shall lead those efforts and prepare the way for the final harrowstorm.\nGray Host victorious!\nRada al-Saran, the Ashen Lord"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gray-mire-tribal-leadership": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gray-mire-tribal-leadership", "description": "List of important people in a Bosmeri village", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Gray Mire Tribal Leadership", "text": "<<1>>\u2014\"spinner,\" by the northern barricade\n<<2>>\u2014hunter/fisher, found at fishing camps\n<<3>>\u2014???, usually near guar pens"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/grazdars-notes-hammers-bypass": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/grazdars-notes-hammers-bypass", "description": "A children's rhyme contains clues to a dungeon puzzle", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Grazdar's Notes: Hammer's Bypass", "text": "No one said anything about bringing my notes. I hope Malacath doesn't see this as cheating. Surely they would have said \"no notes\" or something.. Let's see, Thag said there was a simple child's rhyme to remember for the first gate. I hate puzzles.\nFour symbols form the key\nOf the clans that raised a city\nWhose names we honor to this day\nAmong the Orcs of Iliac Bay\nFirst came those who built her walls\nNext is the clan who armed her halls\nThird were they who kept her fueled\nLast whom o'er all others ruled"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/grazzars-threat": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/grazzars-threat", "description": "A letter threating to reveal a person's old exploits", "author": "Grazzar", "title": "Grazzar's Threat ", "text": "Jorgubb,\nYou think it's this simple? You run away and change your name and you think we won't find you?\nI advise you to rethink the situation, old friend. Meet us at Chiselshriek Mine in a fortnight's time, or we will tell your new friends at the Dragonstar Caravan Company all about your old exploits.\nI wonder how they'll react to finding out you're the Butcher of the High Rock Road?\nCordially,\nGrazzar\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/great-cathedral-closed": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/great-cathedral-closed", "description": "The cathedral may be closed, but worship must go on", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Great Cathedral Closed!", "text": "By order of Artorius Ponticus, Primate of Great Akatosh, let it be known that public access to the Grand Cathedral of Akatosh will be denied while work crews conduct maintenance and renovations to the aging stonework and creaking floorboards of our magnificent house of worship.\nThis does not, however, mean that worship discontinues within the holy city of Kvatch. Our diligent Chanters and Sermonizers will walk among you, spreading the word and will of Akatosh and the other Divines.\nJust as the loyal swords of the Order of the Hour defend our hearths and homes, let the words of the Chanters and Sermonizers shore up your spirits and fill you with the truth of the Dragon God of Time."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/great-harbingers-companions-0": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/great-harbingers-companions-0", "description": "A look back at influential men and women at Jorrvaskr", "author": "Swyk the Long-Sighted", "title": "Great Harbingers of the Companions", "text": "This history is recorded by Swyk the Long-Sighted, of the Circle of Jorrvaskr in the Second Era. While I am not gifted with a sharp gift of words, I have learned the stories of the Companions before me, and set to record them that they might not be lost when I am. Hereafter is the list of notable Harbingers of the Companions, those who lead us through the darkness to glories in Sovngarde.\nNotes on the Harbinger: the Companions have never had a true leader since Ysgramor\u2014none have been mighty enough to corral the great hearts that beat within Jorrvaskr. While others like mages and thieves need the blessings of their hierarchy to know how to dress, we Companions are capable of leading our own destinies to glory. The Harbinger advises, resolves disputes, and helps to clarify when questions arise of the nature of honor. In the thousands of years the Companions have held at Jorrvaskr, there have been Harbingers both terrible and brilliant, those known for their arm, those for their hearts, and those for their minds. Here are listed some of the most gloried Harbingers, who inspire song and deed.\nYsgramor: the first Harbinger, the first Man, the bringer of Words, and the one who first bound the Companions to honor in that far off land of long ago. Better people have written of him, so I will not attempt to meet their words.\nJeek of the River: Captain of the Jorrvaskr during the Return, discoverer of the Skyforge, founder of Whiterun, and keeper of the original oath of the Companions, now lost to time. While other crews sought glory in conquest, his was the first to settle and serve as protector for the less war-gifted in the land as they came behind.\nMryfwiil the Withdrawn: Several hundred years after the death of Ysgramor, the Companions as we now know them were soldiers for hire, little better than mercenaries. Our services could be purchased for the fighting of wars, but the commitment to individual honor meant that often Shield-Brothers would be forced to face each other on the field of battle. The bonds of honor which bind the Companions threatened to break, until Mryfwiil, in his wisdom, decreed that we would no longer be party to any war or political conflict of any kind. Because of his steady hand, the Companions today are known as impartial arbiters of honor, in addition to their glories on the field of battle.\nCirroc the Lofty: The first Harbinger to not be of ancestral Atmoran blood. This was around the time that the Nords began to think of themselves as such, and there were great disputes about purity and the legacy of Ysgramor. Cirroc first came to Jorrvaskr as a servant, but the Redguard quickly proved his mettle when treated disrespectfully by one of the less honor-bound warriors of the time. Granted the stature of an honorary Companion after saving the life of Harbinger Tulvar the Unmentioned, he became known as the most capable of Shield-Brothers in the hall, with speed and cunning surpassing any of the old Atmoran stock. His time as Harbinger was short-lived, but it is said that his field knowledge of bladework continues to pass to every new Companion through their training.\nHenantier the Outsider: The first Elven Harbinger. Like Cirroc before him, he was initially subject to ridicule when arriving at Jorrvaskr, for this was the time (near the closing of the First Era) when Elves were not permitted to be full Companions, and few were even allowed to see the inside of the hall. Henantier was humble in the daylight hours, performing any task asked of him. At night, he trained fiercely in the outside yard, allowing himself only minutes of sleep before resuming his servant duties the next day. So he toiled through several Harbingers, never resting, never complaining, and always keeping his mind and body sharp. Given his long life, he came to be trusted by the new Companions as the one who helped them learn the ways of honor.\nWhen one such pupil had aged into an old man and become Harbinger himself, Henantier was the one at his deathbed. With all Companions assembled, he named Henantier as his successor, saying \"even an Elf can be born with the heart of a Nord sometimes.\" There were some number of Companions who laid down their weapons that day, but those who remained knew the truth of honor, and it is their legacy we continue to bear.\nMacke of the Piercing Eyes: A Harbinger known for her great beauty, but any who underestimated her on account of it would never make the mistake again. She was said to have once stared down half an opposing army, then slaughtered the remainder single-handedly. Her disappearance in her eighth year as Harbinger has never been explained, though many slanderous lies claim to make accountings for it.\nKyrnil Long-Nose: After the dark periods of the Second Era, when a string of false and dishonorable Harbingers laid claim to Jorrvaskr, it was Kyrnil Long-Nose who gathered the true hearts of the Companions in the wilds and stormed Jorrvaskr itself, killing the usurpers and returning honor through blood, in the old ways. He began the tradition of trusted advisors called the Circle (after our great lord Ysgramor's council of captains) who would serve as examples to the younger, newer Companions.\nBy ensuring that the notions of honor can have an unbroken string of tradition, he steadied the course of the Companions and restored our destinies to that of Ysgramor's, pressing ever onwards to Sovngarde."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/great-house-mottos-annotated": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/great-house-mottos-annotated", "description": "Sotha Sil's copy, with his added scribblings", "author": "Vilyn Girith (personal notes by Sotha Sil)", "title": "Great House Mottos (Annotated)", "text": "To my son, whose inability to remember even these simple facts embarrasses our family at every opportunity. This is to inform you of the words the great houses of Vvardenfell live and breathe by, and the saints they hold as their patrons, representative of their goals and motives. If you ever again confuse the Hlaalu and Dres merchant nobles with whom we trade, I will disown you three and ten times, and once again to make the deed final and eternal.\n(the fact that a primer of this sort is required at all indicates lapses in Temple indoctrination curricula\u2014must delegate a canon to investigate and propose reforms)\nHouse Redoran: \"A Redoran is a warrior whose duty is first to the Tribunal, second to House Redoran, and third to family and clan.\"\n- Saint Nerevar the Captain is the patron saint of House Redoran.\n(re-check Temple texts about death of Nerevar\u2014can't be too careful on that)\nHouse Indoril: \"Justice knows no sleep: Indoril shall order, the Temple shall judge.\"\n- Saint Olms the Just is the patron saint of House Indoril.\nHouse Hlaalu: \"To trade fairly and freely is to honor the Three.\"\n- Saint Veloth the Pilgrim is the patron saint of House Hlaalu.\nHouse Dres: \"To spread culture and truth to the benighted: this is our commitment and burden.\"\n- Saint Llothis the Pious is the patron saint of House Dres.\n(must point this out to Vivec; it will tickle his sense of irony)\nHouse Telvanni: \"The forceful expression of will gives true honor to the Ancestors.\"\n- Saint Vorys the Immolant is the patron saint of House Telvanni.\nYou will likely not note the lack of an ascribed motto to the sixth house, the shadow house, house Dagoth. This is because that house is extinct, destroyed at the Battle of Red Mountain, after which the remaining Houses built the Temple to the Tribunal. If you ever mention this house in polite company, I will disown you.\nYou will note that twice, now, I have threatened to disown you. This is because my hands are not so black as Mephala's or Lord Vivec's. My heart is too weak to simply remove you from my family.\nKeep this text on you at all times, and let it shame you for every reference you make to it in your dealings with our nobility. Spare our lineage the greater shame of your own foolishness. May I never have cause to call you s'wit in public again.\n(the best of luck to Vilyn on that one)"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/green-lady-my-lady": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/green-lady-my-lady", "description": "Song about the coronation of the Green Lady", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Green Lady, My Lady", "text": "Wake, my lady, your day has come\n\tWe'll dress you in silk\n\tWeave feathers in your hair\n\tAnd tie leather slippers on your feet\n\tCome, my lady, your love awaits\n\tOn this day, we'll encircle\n\tA banquet table now filled\n\tWith tonight's succulent feast\n\tGreen Lady, my lady, come down\n\tYour guests now are gathered\n\tAnd bright, cheerful music plays\n\tHow blessed are Y'ffre's children!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/green-pact-bosmer-observations": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/green-pact-bosmer-observations", "description": "A brief overview of the Green Pact", "author": "Dinycthus Precis", "title": "Green Pact Bosmer: Observations", "text": "The author of this text would like to make plain that there is a profound distinction to be made between the Wood Elves observed by the author deep within Valenwood, and the Wood Elves who reside in other corners of Nirn. The observations here recorded are only meant to describe these wild Bosmer who adhere to what they call \"the old ways\" and are not meant to apply to Wood Elves who have adjusted to life in normal society.\nThe Wood Elves of deep Valenwood, or \"Green Pact Bosmer\" as they call themselves, can be described as fanatical in their devotion to the Green Pact. They eat only meat, including the bodies of their enemies slain in battle, and attack any who would harm the forest in which they live.\nNevertheless, it would be inappropriate to characterize them as \"feral.\" In fact, they are highly intelligent, highly curious, highly rational individuals, with rich cultural traditions vested in the forest and in their spiritual leaders, the storytellers, or \"spinners.\"\nIn fact, while they can be extremely fierce in battle, they do not attack unless provoked and are more than hospitable to strangers in their midst. They take their cues from the natural world, with a mixture of fear and respect, no doubt cultivated by tales of the kind of angry vengeance the Green is said to take on those who violate the Pact.\nIndeed, from an early age, Pact Bosmer are raised to believe in the Ooze, a kind of purgatorial state reserved for Bosmer who violate the Pact, and still more terrifying stories of the Green unleashing all of its wild power against Bosmeri clans who harm it."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/greenshade-explorers-log": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/greenshade-explorers-log", "description": "An anomaly in a secluded cave", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Greenshade Explorer's Log", "text": "10 First Seed\n\tWent down to the cave, near the Vale, the one with the strange tree. Must remember the place. Wonderful saplings grow there, with sweet seeds. So delectable. These seeds will be worth a fair price at market.\n11 First Seed\n\tThe cave is full of Wood Elves! I returned today for more of the seeds, and there was a whole village in there. They asked me what year it was, but I was so terrified, I just stammered dumbly and ran off.\n13 First Seed\n\tI wrote to the Thalmor to tell them about the time-traveling Wood Elves. I have yet to hear a response. The locals just laugh at me. They say time travel is impossible. Maybe it is, but I know what I saw. I'm going to get the local treethane to come out to the cave with me tomorrow.\n14 First Seed\n\tThe village was gone! The treethane laughed and said \"Some Wood Elves have been playing a trick on you, outsider.\" If they were, it was an elaborate trick indeed! I refuse to believe it. I know what I saw.\n15 First Seed\n\tI have decided to wait in the cave until the village comes back. I will prove that I'm not crazy."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/greetings-orcthane": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/greetings-orcthane", "description": "Request for aid for a rebellion", "author": "Fildgor Orcthane", "title": "Greetings from the Orcthane", "text": "Guring,\nI have heard good things about you and your companions. Especially the great white bear, Beralagr.\nI would very much like to meet such a magnificent creature.\nWill you join my campaign to overthrow my brother?\n\u2014Fildgor Orcthane"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gridas-note": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gridas-note", "description": "Grida wants bath salts", "author": "Grida", "title": "Grida's Note", "text": "Hey, Dralof!\n\tIf you're reading this, I guess you got tired of waiting and came to find me. The apothecary was empty when I arrived. I don't know what happened here, but it must have been your kind of party. Well, I not only missed the party, but I couldn't find any bath salts. I did find the apothecary's recipe, though. It requires:\n\t\u2014 Four Mudcrab Claws\n\t\u2014 Two Globs of Troll Fat\n\t\u2014 Daril\n\t(It says Daril is an Argonian ingredient provided by the nearby Argonian camp. Someone named Laughs-at-Danger sells the stuff.)\n\tGrind the ingredients at a mill. Hey, there's one up the hill!\n\tSince everyone else is gone, I'm going to try to whip up a batch of the bath salts myself. How hard could it be? If you really can't wait, come find me and help out, you lazy skeever!\n\t\u2014 Grida"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gridas-note-dralof": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gridas-note-dralof", "description": "The bath salts proved fatal to poor Grida", "author": "Grida", "title": "Grida's Note to Dralof", "text": "Dralof,\nI'm not sure the bath salts are safe. I don't feel so good.\nI gathered the ingredients to make the bath salts and I ground them up at the mill. But I'm starting to wonder about the apothecary and what really happened there. That Argonian, Laughs-at-Danger, didn't seem very trustworthy, either. Still, I know the bath salts will make you happy. I do want to get them to you!\nThe daril got on my hands during the grinding, and now I don't feel so good. My skin itches. I'm going to lay down here and re\u2014"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/grigerdas-letter": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/grigerdas-letter", "description": "Grigerda's presence is requested", "author": "Methas", "title": "Grigerda's Letter", "text": "Grigerda,\nStop sending out your underlings to talk to me. It irritates me and gets them killed (not by me, but by the Dremora that are all over town). You want to talk to me, hobble on out here and come find me.\nThe answer is still \"no\" though. The monsters are out here and that's where I'm staying, until they're gone. You want to work together, then come out here.\n\t\u2014- Methas"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/grim-jest": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/grim-jest", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Grim Jest", "text": "Make sure this one suffers. He'll get the joke eventually."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gripe-gripe-gripe": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gripe-gripe-gripe", "description": "A soldier's complaint about his assignment", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Gripe, Gripe, Gripe", "text": "I loathe the stench of these gargoyles. I'm beginning to wish they had assigned me to the Dwarven project. Razak's Gear? Southeast of Hallin's Stand, I think? Dusty, no doubt, but I bet it smells better.\nI don't know what Major Carina thinks she's going to find. But if it turns out we can control the Dwarven constructs, it'll be worth the effort. Time better spent than sitting here roasting my backside off."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/groundskeepers-letter": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/groundskeepers-letter", "description": "A letter describing how the Imperial City's market became a huge graveyard", "author": "Groundskeeper Gavros", "title": "Groundskeeper's Letter", "text": "Linus,\nAll right, lad. Arentus tells me you burst into the Undertaker's office in a tizzy because you spied a ghost outside the crematorium or some such. You're new to the work, so I'll spare you a tongue-lashing. The truth is you'll see a lot of \"ghosts\" here in the Memorial District. The good news is they aren't spooks. They're just plain old grave-robbers. These damned Khajiit cover themselves in flour then scamper around all night looking for trinkets. It would be funny if it weren't such a pain in the arse cleaning up after them.\n\"What are they looking for\" you ask? Well, you were just a twinkle in your old mum's eye at the time, but this place used to be a market. A damn fine one at that\u2014the best in Cyrodiil. Used to be full of people haggling over spices, and bolts of silk, and fine jewelry. Wish you could have seen it. Anyway, when Varen showed up with his Colovian troops, Leovic's legion made their last stand here. I was still a pup at the time, you see? Spent the better part of a week tucked away in a sewer pipe waiting for it to stop. It was a week solid of sleeping on wet cobblestones and drinking bloody sewer water\u2014hearing nothing but shouting, and clanging steel, and explosions that damn near rattled the teeth out of my head. By the time it was all over, the whole district was gone. And I mean, gone. Wasn't a single thing standing taller than my knee, and I was just nine or ten. Then there were the bodies. Hundreds of them. Thousands maybe. I hope I never have to smell something like that again. Smelled like that dog you dug out from under Elliana's carriage, except you couldn't get away from it. It was everywhere.\nSoon as Varen tossed old Leovic in the gutter, he set his men to work gathering up all the bodies and throwing them in mass graves. By the time he was done, there wasn't room for a market anymore. So he converted the whole district into a graveyard. The Memorial District.\nBut enough with the history lesson\u2014back to the Khajiit. They've got this fool notion that there are still jewels and such scattered throughout the district. I'll tell you right now, if there were still valuables here, I would have found them. And if I found them, I sure as spit wouldn't still be here turning a spade.\nTomorrow, I want you to go to old-man Varus' house. Buy a good, strong bow. Next time you see a \"ghost\" put an arrow in its arse, and see if it sticks. Bet you ten drakes it shrieks like a housecat that got its tail stuck in a door.\n\u2014 Groundskeeper Gavros"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/guard-duty": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/guard-duty", "description": "One soldier's diary about guard duty", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Guard Duty", "text": "Morndas\n\tThey finally put me on guard duty! No more long hours working the bellows at the forge! Like any good soldier, I've scouted the terrain around my post, looking for possible lines of attack. No one's getting through here! Not on my watch! I know some of the other guards don't like this job, but if I work hard, my life here will get better. It's certainly better than working at the forge!\nTirdas\n\tNo signs of hostile activity, but lots of folks want to ask me for directions. I've been learning where everything is, just in case we need to coordinate with the other patrols. People appreciate the help. I'm sure our presence here makes them feel safer.\nMiddas\n\tSaw a weird squirrel today. He came up so close you could practically hit him with a rock. I missed, though. I'm going to practice my rock throwing, because I know it could come in handy. I'm already spending time on the archery range every day, just in case I get transferred to where the action is. Our commanders notice that sort of initiative. In fact, I might start patrolling a little farther from my post.\nTurdas\n\tToday, I was assigned a partner to make sure I don't show too much initiative and wander from my post. He's incredibly jaded. It's demoralizing, especially when he keeps complaining about the pain in his knee. If I keep at this, though, I'm sure I can get a promotion to someplace better. Maybe my partner will put in a good word for me. Just in case, I'm showing up to my shift early and leaving late. I'm here before he gets here and I'm here after he leaves.\nFredas\n\tRumors of battles nearby. Our scouts have seen signs of Stormfist troops. Still, the chances of them marching all the way out here seem slim. The next time I get a chance to drink with the other guards, I'm sure they'll be bragging and boasting about their war stories again. Sounds like casualties are increasing, but the stories sound glorious.\nLoredas\n\tWe've been deployed! The troops on the front line need reinforcements, so they're sending out some of the guards. Finally, a chance to make a name for myself! I know it's a risky job, and some of the soldiers are bitter about this, but I also know that if I work hard, my life will improve. It's better than guard duty!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/guardians-decree": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/guardians-decree", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Guardian's Decree", "text": "The Wakener has taken the pure-blood into his sanctum. Her mind is foggy. It still clings to the waking dream she has inhabited all these years. They should not be disturbed as he finally rouses her from her long slumber. The ancient seal will sequester them until the veil is lifted, or the lullaby announces the arrival of other dreamers in need of awakening."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/guestbook-rulanyils-fall": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/guestbook-rulanyils-fall", "description": "A guestbook for a ruin turned museum", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Guestbook: Rulanyil's Fall", "text": "Welcome to Rulanyil's Fall, home of the Merethic Collection of Antiquities.\nPlease note that all items on display are available for purchase.\nIf you wish to attend one of our anonymous auctions, please sign below, and one of our representatives will be in touch.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/guide-altmeri-culture-dueling": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/guide-altmeri-culture-dueling", "description": "How to have an honorable duel in the Altmeri fashion", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Guide to Altmeri Culture (On Dueling)", "text": "Chapter Forty-Seven: Altmeric Rites of Martial Contest\nDespite our majestic Aedric heritage, we Altmer are not immune to the mundane, worldly tensions that plague the affairs of lesser races. Wisdom and prudence dictate that simple disagreements are best settled through dialogue. Long and thorough consideration, combined with wine and fellowship often yield reconciliation in short order. Alas, some indignities cut so deeply that an honorable martial contest is the only route to rapprochement. In such cases, the aggrieved parties must abide by the following rules.\n1. Both parties must arm themselves with a traditional Altmer dueling foil. long swords, axes, flails and the like are not permitted by the sacred laws of Trinimac. Foils must be washed in mineral water, thoroughly dried, and well-polished.\n2. Prior to the duel, both parties must recite their adversary's full name\u2014taking care to call upon matrilineal, patrilineal, and clan honorifics where appropriate. Duelists who stumble over or mispronounce their adversary's name must stop and recite the name in its totality twice more.\n3. Duelists must ensure that a second is present for the duel. These witnesses are honor-bound to intervene should one of the aggrieved parties commit an honor-infraction such as casting dirt in their opponent's eyes, fleeing the field prior to the duel's conclusion, or using venomous words that might further inflame tensions between parties.\nThe victorious duelist must engage with their defeated opponent in a courteous and humble fashion\u2014availing them of family physicians, bandages, or any other appropriate service to dress their wounds. Defeated duelists are likewise required to admit error, and humbly request forgiveness for their actions. If the parties follow these rules, both emerge from the conflict with honor intact. And this is good, for nothing on Nirn counts more than honor."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/guide-northern-elsweyr": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/guide-northern-elsweyr", "description": "A tourist's guide to Anequina", "author": "Infrasia Mallius", "title": "Guide to Northern Elsweyr", "text": "Of all the far-flung provinces of this great Empire, none may be quite as welcoming as Elsweyr. Don't let their beastly countenance fool you. The Khajiit are, by and large, a friendly and gracious people, eager to host visitors and entice travelers with all manner of goods and services. If you wish to vacation in a land of carefree ease, gentle breezes, and plentiful warmth, look no further!\nShould you travel there from Cyrodiil, you'll enter the venerable province of Anequina\u2013one of the two major regions that make up the province of Elsweyr\u2013and find the pastoral town of Riverhold waiting to welcome you.\nThis bustling border town is a frequent stop for caravanners and travelers passing between Elsweyr and the greater Empire. The spacious town square acts as an open-air market where a wide array of goods are peddled right off the wagon by their enterprising owners, and the offerings vary by the hour as traders depart on their journeys or arrive from them. There's plenty to do other than haggle, of course. The Banished Regrets inn frequently offers a selection of imported libations to ease a parched throat and the quiet atmosphere of the Temple of the Moon's Blessing is sure to give you a moment's peace. There is also a burgeoning House of Histories, which promises to exhibit the long and storied history of the Khajiit upon its completion.\nOnce you're refreshed and ready to resume your travels, a short caravan ride east of Riverhold will lead you to the capital of Anequina: Rimmen.\nOn the road to Rimmen, you'll begin to see that the land of Elsweyr is as diverse as the Khajiit themselves. The closer you draw to the flourishing city, the more apparent it becomes that here the arid savannah has been tamed and the dry grassland has given way to lush greenery and flooded steppes of cane paddies. Within Rimmen's high walls, you will see that the misconception that Khajiit have an aversion to water is greatly exaggerated. Here trees and tropical plants thrive along artificial canals that weave throughout the city, supplied by a great aqueduct that spans the entire kingdom. Older than the city itself, it's a wonder constructed in an era long behind us. Lounging along the waterways is a favorite pass-time for residents and visitors alike. Rimmen's year-round warmth and largely clear skies make it a popular destination for vacationers from all around the Empire. Spend one day here and you'll find that Khajiit hospitality is second to none!\nIf you're feeling adventurous and up for a considerable hike, you can while away your time following the Anequina Aqueduct through the countryside. While you're touring the wonders of Anequina, you simply cannot miss the Scar, quite literally, an expansive canyon carved straight through the middle of the region. The sight of it from above or below is breathtaking in its magnitude and one you won't want to miss. Though you may find the sight of a vast water source that's just out of reach too much to bear in the arid scrub-lands that lie to the west.\nBefore you endeavor to traverse the winding chasm that is the Scar, it would behoove you to stop by the city of Orcrest. While Riverhold is the gateway to Anequina, and Rimmen the capital, Orcrest is the center of commerce. This ancient, walled city rests along the cliffs of the Scar, outstretching its welcoming arms (its great bridges) to bring the disparate regions of Anequina together. Traders from all over the kingdom, and beyond come here to peddle their goods to their counterparts from neighboring Pellitine, Valenwood, and Cyrodiil. Few things cannot be found for sale here. It's said that Khajiit here will part with their tail for the right price, but I'll admit that my fluency with Ta'agra is not the best.\nYou may have tired hustle and bustle of city life, there are plenty of quieter places to take in the scenery. Placid moon-sugar farms dot the meadows of Merryvale, where the cane stalks sway along with the songs of cheery harvesters in the cool breeze. Khajiiti temples to the Divines are both numerous and strikingly beautiful. Sunspire in particular dwarfs any cathedral in Kvatch. Though if you want a truly unique Elsweyr experience, spend some time meditating with the monks of one of their adeptoriums and take in the feats of strength, agility, and skill that these dedicated ascetics are capable of.\nIf my words have brought you this far, I hope you'll take a few steps more and begin your travels to one of the most wondrous provinces in the Empire!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/guide-taming-dire-wolves": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/guide-taming-dire-wolves", "description": "Best ways to make Dire Wolves not eat you", "author": "Shelga gra-Bur", "title": "Guide to Taming Dire Wolves", "text": "By Shelga gra-Bur, Beastmaster of Kvatch\nDo you laugh when you see dire wolves? Do you think they are big, dumb cousins of normal wolves? Then you are stupid. Dire wolves are cunning and deadly. To them, your laughter says, \"I am the next thing to fill your belly.\" Shelga laughed at dire wolves once. Now Shelga has one ear.\nShelga is no longer stupid. Now Shelga is beastmaster of Kvatch, the city with the dire wolf banner. This is why Shelga spends much time taming dire wolves.\nYou may think it impossible to tame dire wolves. This is true. Predators cannot be tamed. Not really. But if Shelga called it a \"Guide to Making Dire Wolves Eat Your Enemies and Not You,\" none would purchase. Or purchase for the wrong reasons.\n---\nFirst thing. A dire wolf looks like a wolf. It moves like a wolf. It smells like a wolf. But it is not. It is a dire wolf.\nSounds easy, but easy to forget.\nA wolf needs a pack. A wolf with no pack is vicious. It is afraid to be alone. With effort you can tame a wolf. Give it food if it is hungry. Make it think it is part of your pack.\nA dire wolf needs no pack. This is because a dire wolf is one whole wolf pack. It is vicious only if it wants to be. It is not afraid to be alone because it is a dire wolf.\nYou cannot tame a dire wolf like a wolf. If it is ever hungry, you are food. It needs no pack but itself. You must show it you are a pack as well. Show how your pack and its pack should travel together for more food. A dire wolf understands this because it eats as much as one whole wolf pack.\n---\nSecond thing. A dire wolf has a long memory. It is like a clan-mother with grudges from forty years ago. Don't give it reason to hate you. Shelga's sister Gralga once slapped a dire wolf for eating off her plate. This is how Gralga lost a thumb and learned manners at the same time. Gralga doesn't visit Kvatch anymore.\nIf a dire wolf comes to hate you, do not back down. Do not cower. Show it you know its hate. Show it you don't fear its hate. This shows respect. Then give it much food to smother the hate.\nShelga thinks this is why Kvatch puts the dire wolf on its flag. Kvatch does not forget. Kvatch respects those who show it respect. And Kvatch will smother its hate if you throw its people many banquets.\nSometimes the dire wolf still hates you. Then you must kill the dire wolf. Do not do so in sight of a dire wolf's mate or it will hate you too. Just like people.\n---\nThird thing. Scratch the belly. Scratch behind the ear, but not in the ear. Scratch where the tail meets the back. Top part of tail only! Scratch below the chin.\nDo not scratch the paws. Dire wolf paws are sensitive, like High Elves. Also they have sharp claws. When a dire wolf thinks you want to take its paws away, it will come to hate you.\n---\nLast thing. A dire wolf is clever but it doesn't understand magic. So use magic. Scrolls are cheaper than a false hand. Don't try to tame a dire wolf like in the stories. Don't be stupid.\nShelga's sister Bolga says this is cheating. That a dire wolf made tame by magic is not a dire wolf. Shelga calls Bolga many names. Bolga does not back down, earning Shelga's respect. Then Bolga sends Shelga boiled thunderbug eggs.\nShelga says if even Bolga can learn, so can you."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/guide-daggerfall-covenant": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/guide-daggerfall-covenant", "description": "A pro Daggerfall Covenant document", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Guide to the Daggerfall Covenant", "text": "The Daggerfall Covenant is a compact between the peoples of northwest Tamriel\u2014Bretons, Redguards, and Orcs\u2014that forms an alliance of mutual defense, with a vision of establishing peace and order across Tamriel. Indeed, the kings of the Covenant take the Remans as their model, claiming to be the spiritual heirs of the Second Empire.\nThe Daggerfall Covenant was born in 2E 542, when the kings of High Rock allied to repulse an invasion by a horde of Reachmen under the command of Durcorach, \"the Black Drake.\" Howling out of the eastern mountains, the Reach barbarians razed Evermore, besieged Wayrest, sacked Camlorn, and marched as far as the gates of Daggerfall before the Bretons finally stopped them. In the wake of Durcorach's defeat, the kings of Daggerfall, Wayrest, Camlorn, Evermore, and Shornhelm swore the so-called \"first\" Daggerfall Covenant, a solemn oath to defend each other's kingdoms and stand as one against all foreign foes.\nHigh Rock prospered as the Bretons rebuilt, especially after 2E 561, when miners near Wayrest made the biggest orichalcum strike in recorded history. Emeric, Earl of the domain of Cumberland, the site of the mines, proposed to use the resulting wealth to enhance Wayrest's fleet and improve trade throughout High Rock. King Gardner of Wayrest granted his approval, but before the fleet was completed, the dreaded Knahaten Flu swept through Wayrest and killed the entire Gardner royal household. Earl Emeric was elevated to the throne and House Cumberland became the second royal dynasty of Wayrest.\nThe new King Emeric of Wayrest had been courting the daughter of King Ranser of Shornhelm, but in 2E 566 he married Princess Maraya of Sentinel. This nearly brought down the first Covenant when Ranser, who felt betrayed, launched a surprise attack on Wayrest. The kings of Camlorn, Evermore, and Daggerfall all sided with Wayrest, and Emeric's superior diplomacy brought the armies of Sentinel into the fray to protect Emeric's queen. Furthermore, Emeric reached out to a great clan of Orcs in Wrothgar and offered them Orsinium in return for aid. Shornhelm was defeated and the Covenant was reborn: not as a mere Breton defensive pact, but as a new, multinational alliance.\nThe conclave that negotiated the alliance lasted for months, with argument and debate at every turn. The final result was the child of King Emeric's vision, made manifest in dozens of compromises and carefully negotiated provisions. Freedom of trade was guaranteed throughout the region, and over the objections of the nobles of Rivenspire and the Crown Redguards of Alik'r, the Orcs were accepted as full members of the alliance. Eventually, all the city-states of northwest Tamriel swore fealty to the Covenant's Royal Council, presided over by High King Emeric. As the architect of the alliance, he claimed supreme leadership.\nSo this is the modern Daggerfall Covenant, an alliance of the Redguards of northern Hammerfell, under King Fahara'jad; the Orcs of the mountainous northeast, under King Kurog of Orsinium; with the Breton King Emeric of High Rock presiding from his palace in Wayrest. At its best, it is a noble alliance of honorable and chivalrous peoples, representing all the best aspects of the First and Second Empires. And from this solid foundation, perhaps a third, even mightier Empire shall arise, providing all the peoples of Tamriel the benefits of mutual respect, vigorous trade, and reverence for the Divines."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/guide-ebonheart-pact": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/guide-ebonheart-pact", "description": "A pamphlet explaining and promoting the Ebonheart Pact", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Guide to the Ebonheart Pact", "text": "The Ebonheart Pact has forged an unlikely alliance between the far-flung nations of Morrowind, Skyrim, and Black Marsh, bringing together the Dark Elves, Nords, and free Argonians for their mutual defense. Thanks to the size of its allied nations and the distances involved, the Pact remains relatively free of inner strife and discord. The Nords and Dark Elves have so much of their own territory to deal with that they have little time to spare for meddling in each other's affairs.\nThe Ebonheart Pact came about in 2E 572 in response to the Second Akaviri Invasion of northern Tamriel. The Nords, Dark Elves, and free Argonians joined forces to save the rest of Tamriel from slaughter and subjugation. Forged in war, the alliance brought a sudden new power to the continent. At first, few believed the Dark Elves would be able to maintain an alliance with their ancient blood enemies and former slaves, but after a troubled decade, the Pact remains strong and intact.\nA Great Moot governs the Pact. This council of equals from each of the member races is not only known for hot tempers and loud voices, but also for mutual respect and an amazing will to hold the Pact together against all odds. Only as equals can the allies hope to mollify the pride of the Nords and the Dark Elves while addressing the injuries suffered by the once-enslaved Argonians.\nServing as an integral, perhaps even critical, part of the alliance, the Dark Elves of Morrowind are aloof, proud, and profoundly strange. They work hard to conceal their disdain for their \"inferior\" allies, but the current crisis requires the strong arms of Nords and wily resourcefulness of Argonians to keep rival alliances at bay. Wizardly craft and a deep well of experience serve the Dark Elves well, providing the Pact with the vital ability to react and adapt\u2014something neither the Aldmeri Dominion nor the Daggerfall Covenant can claim to do as well. The Pact fields superior warriors and sorcerers. And they possess an asset that no other race can match. Three living gods\u2014Almalexia, Vivec, and Sotha Sil\u2014abide among them.\nThe Nords of Eastern Skyrim are fearless and aggressive, industrious and enterprising. They excel at war and prosper in trade, and they are without equal as explorers and trailblazers. Strong, stubborn, and hardy, they customarily solve problems through combat. Nords cheerfully rush into battle with a ferocity that frightens and appalls their enemies. They accept and even revel in their role as shock troops for the Ebonheart Pact. Nords are direct, not subtle: they champion simple solutions in the meetings of the Great Moot, though they are often outvoted by shrewd Argonians and sagacious Dark Elves. On the field of battle, however, they have no equals. Pact generals tend to be Nords, as are most of the soldiers in the field. The Nords don't mind. This means they also get first choice of the spoils of war.\nBy their decisive intervention against the Akaviri, the Argonians of Black Marsh won their freedom from Dark Elf enslavement, and the lessons they learned have made them a valuable member of the Pact. Reserved and alien, their expressionless faces and flat intonations make it difficult for other races to interpret their true motives. Nevertheless, the Argonians possess a cool intelligence. Slow to trust and hard to know, their natural agility makes them as comfortable employing magic as they are using stealth and steel. Years of defending their borders have made them experts in waging war against stronger, more traditionally organized armies. Equally at home on land or in water, they serve as scouts and skirmishers for Pact forces. Other aspects of Argonian culture are nearly incomprehensible to outsiders, including their social hierarchy and collective decision making. Their representatives present strange proposals without explanation, but their allies have learned that there's always a reason for everything they do.\nToday, the young Jorunn the Skald King serves as the acting High King of the Moot, but not all in the alliance support him. As the members of the Pact struggle to maintain and solidify their alliance, they must also deal with internal threats to each of their nations. Unsolved, these threats could destroy them before they ever face the Dominion or Covenant in open battle."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/guide-western-skyrim-haafingar": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/guide-western-skyrim-haafingar", "description": "", "author": "Imperial Surveyor Buntara Gravius", "title": "Guide to Western Skyrim: Haafingar", "text": "The reclusive kingdom of Western Skyrim, reputed to be isolationist and close-minded, nevertheless contains much that intrepid travelers can find to enjoy in its holds and among its people. The details in this guide reflect this sentiment\u00e2\u20ac\u201dthough it should be noted that Western Skyrim is no place for the foolhardy traveler. With terrain as rugged as its people, neither the land nor its inhabitants suffer the ignorant with grace.\nAs with Eastern Skyrim, Western Skyrim consists of several holds, each with its own capital and ruling jarl. All swear fealty to the Jarl of Solitude, who rules over the strongest of these territories and wears the crown of the high king.\nHAAFINGAR, in the northeast portion of the realm, is dominated by mountains and frozen coastlines. The Sea of Ghosts sends an ill wind to the shore, chilling all to the bone.\nSolitude, astride a massive arch of stone, serves as capital of the hold and seat of the jarl and high king. The venerable and defensible Castle Dour watches over the city, which counts its fortifications among the city's first structures. The city features two main districts: the Well District, home to the city's bustling market, and the Avenues District. Scholars of architecture will find many charming homes among the Avenues, while those seeking more worldly entertainment may prefer the Wells. It should also be noted that the Blue Palace abuts the Avenues. This fine example of High Nord architecture serves as home and ruling seat for the jarl, who also carries the title of high king. I should also make note of the Arch\u2014a spectacle of stone that hoists Solitude above the Sea of Ghosts.\nKilkreath Temple, set in the mountains of Haafingar, stands as a monument to the Daedric Prince Meridia. Though worship of the Daedric Princes is, at best, a controversial subject in Tamriel, the architectural splendor and calm environs alone make this temple worth the visit. Those willing to take part in heretical conversation will find the priests of Kilkreath Temple warm and hospitable, and more than willing to provide travelers with foodstuffs and warm beds. Visitors are advised to avoid travel during feasts of High Sun and Low Sun, when the temple's caretakers close its doors to conduct secret rites.\nDragon Bridge, a small encampment and town beside the River Karth, is named for the spectacular bridge that fords the waterway. Astride the river sits the Dragon Bridge, an ancient causeway of rough-hewn stone and, curiously, a pair of Dragon skulls set into its apex. The difference in stonework detail between the bridge's stone and these skulls has led some scholars to posit that these are actually petrified bones of ancient beasts. Others deride these claims as poetic nonsense. Remains or not, the skulls and bridge have inspired the imaginations of travelers for centuries, as they doubtless will for centuries to come.\nGiant camps spring up throughout the Haafingar wilderness. These aren't permanent settlements, but are instead temporary sites set up by the nomadic Giants as they move from place to place. They do have a habit of utilizing the same locations over and over, so if you find evidence of an abandoned Giant camp one day, it might be occupied by the large humanoids the next. While approaching these camps is a foolhardy endeavor, there are many experienced guides available for hire that can provide curious explorers with a chance to observe these creatures from a safe distance.\nAuthor's Note: As with many of Skyrim's holds, Haafingar contains barrows and caves that may appear deserted but often prove to be quite dangerous. Given the author's desire to keep readers safe, she has elected to excise reference to these dangerous locales from this edition."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/guide-western-skyrim-hjaalmarch": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/guide-western-skyrim-hjaalmarch", "description": "", "author": "Imperial Surveyor Buntara Gravius", "title": "Guide to Western Skyrim: Hjaalmarch", "text": "My guide to the reclusive kingdom of Western Skyrim continues, with a look at the region's easternmost hold.\nHJAALMARCH, drawing its name from Western Skyrim's River Hjaal, stands as the largest of the kingdom's holds. The Drajkmyr, an immense saltwater marsh formed by the estuaries of the River Karth and River Hjaal, dominate the region. This largely uninhabited marshland, frequently shrouded in an eerie mist, features a proliferation of the sinisterly reputed Deathbell flower. Though exploring the wetlands can be difficult, earnest travelers can find much to discover and enjoy in the hold.\nMorthal, a lumber town in the southeast of the Drajkmyr, serves as the jarl's seat of power in the hold. The houses are built on pylons by necessity, and connected by docks to provide safe passage over the mire. Structures here are a prime example of Nordic rough-hewn architecture. The people of Morthal can be gracious hosts, if unaccustomed to travelers given the arduous routes to and from the town. Many make their living from the saltmarsh, fishing and trapping creatures for meat and hide. In warmer seasons, timber is sent to Solitude's docks on pole-driven barges. Morthal is considered an essential destination due to its neighboring barrow, one of the few still safe for unarmed travelers to explore.\nThe ice shelves abutting the Sea of Ghosts are a popular spot for explorers and travelers, though they require proper outfitting to traverse safely. The ice has trapped numerous ships and vessels across the ages, and many of these wrecks offer collectors and hobbyists an opportunity to uncover trinkets or souvenirs from a bygone age. As with most of Skyrim's wilderness, hiring a well-informed guide is a practical necessity for those seeking to visit these floes.\nLabyrinthian, an enormous barrow found in the foothills of southeastern Hjaalmarch, stands as a dangerous curiosity. Scholars know this complex to be the ruins of the city of Bromjunaar, a capital of the Dragon Cult in Skyrim's ancient, sordid past. Rumor speaks of an intricate and maddening maze housed within these ruins, though its existence has never been confirmed by a reputable source. Insofar as Labyrinthian is a notable landmark within Hjaalmarch, it is included in this list, though it is frequently a site occupied by foul creatures and black-hearted folk. So, best to avoid it.\nAuthor's Note: As with all of Skyrim's holds, Hjaalmarch contains additional caves and other locations where the safety of travelers is by no means guaranteed. Given the author's desire to keep her readers safe, she has elected to excise reference to these dangerous locales from this edition."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/guide-western-skyrim-karthald": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/guide-western-skyrim-karthald", "description": "", "author": "Imperial Surveyor Buntara Gravius", "title": "Guide to Western Skyrim: Karthald", "text": "My guide to the reclusive kingdom of Western Skyrim continues, with a look at the region's southernmost hold.\nKARTHALD, which did not exist when this guide was first written, lies to the south of Haafingar and to the west of Hjaalmarch. This territory had, until half a decade ago, been nominally in the control of the Reach. However Nords and Reachfolk have hotly contested the area's ownership since time immemorial, and none can definitively claim proprietorship of the area. The hold was established recently, though Nords have lived in the area for centuries. Karthald occupies a land of flinty ridges and sweeping bluffs, as well as pine forest. The pocketed landscape hides many wondrous sites, as well as many potential dangers.\nKarthwatch is the seat of power within the hold. The jarl and its people are stewards of Western Skyrim's southern border, and their charge is to stand fast against the encroaching Reachmen. Though hospitable to travelers, the people of Karthwatch have little to offer in the way of amenities, and they make no excuse for any discomfort that visitors might endure while staying in the settlement. Though technically Karthwatch is a town, its inhabitants very much view it as a fortification.\nMor Khazgur, an Orc mining settlement, sits in the mountains on the western border of the hold. Visitors to the clan grounds are advised to avoid referring to the lands within and around the camp as belonging to Karthald, though it is a legal and logical truth. The Orcs prefer to think of their territory as a sovereign outpost of Wrothgar, subject to the rules and customs of Orc-kind. To that end, visitors to the area are advised to be well aware of Orcish protocol and behavior, at the risk of upsetting their hosts (and having their persons injured). That said, the Orcs of Mor Khazgur are no different from their kin in Orsinium\u2014spirited, enthusiastic, and eager for friendship.\nAuthor's Note: As with all of Skyrim's holds, Karthald features caverns and caves where the safety of travelers is by no means guaranteed. Given the author's desire to keep her readers safe, she has elected to excise reference to these dangerous locales from this edition."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/guide-advancing-craft": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/guide-advancing-craft", "description": "A basic guide to craftsman work in general", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Guide: Advancing in a Craft", "text": "While apprentices of a craft may have the skill to create simple arms and armor, they are rarely satisfied with that modicum of skill. Many desire to become more skilled in their craft, perhaps one day achieving the honor of being called a master craftsman.\nThis book is dedicated to those aspiring crafters, and is itself dedicated to teaching them how to ascend in their own crafts. While each craft may work with different materials, the methods of advancement herein do not differ between crafts.\nLearning New Recipes\nWhile this book does not cover the intricacies of learning a new recipe, it must be noted that no craftsman can advance without learning new recipes. No matter how inspired the craftsman is, if he does not know enough recipes to showcase that inspiration and technique, it does nothing to push the crafter towards advancement.\nEach rank of crafting skill requires that an aspiring crafter master some number of new recipes, extending his or her knowledge of the craft. This number of recipes needed varies from rank to rank, but as long as the aspiring crafter continues to master new recipes, he will eventually know enough to ask a crafting master to test them.\nTested by a Master\nOnce a crafter has learned enough recipes to qualify for their next rank, they must speak to the local crafting master. Only they can officially declare a crafter to be anything more than a novice, and open doors of learning and knowledge for their charges.\nWhen so approached by an eager crafter seeking further knowledge, a master will set a task before the crafter. The traditional test is to craft a ring, or other such item, that shows all the techniques and skills that the crafter has learned in his time at his current rank. The master will then pronounce the item satisfactory, and acknowledge the crafter by his new, greater title."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/guide-gathering-materials": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/guide-gathering-materials", "description": "A researcher's guide to gathering useful crafting reagents", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Guide: Gathering Materials", "text": "Regardless of your choice of craft, you cannot create something from nothing. Smiths, foresters, and runecrafters all must gather materials, in order to create useful and powerful weapons, armor, and potions.\n\tWhile any crafting hall will sell some materials to you, and while these materials are often necessary for the art, they are never the only materials you will need to create something useful. This guide focuses on teaching the novice craftsman how to find those materials that are necessary for crafting, but not often sold.\nOf course, craftsmen can also find these necessary materials without gathering, either by trading with other craftsmen, or by finding sacks of already-refined materials stolen from the great trading houses of Taminar. But these methods can be less dependable than simply going out and getting what you need directly.\nThe first step to obtaining materials in the wild is to identify the features that tend to accompany it in the world. If you see those features in your surroundings, search hard nearby, for there is a good chance (though by no means certain) that a skilled craftsman can find some useful materials about.\nMetals, Salts, and Ruins\nMetals and salts are born from rock, and only then come to the surface as veins of ore. To that end, a smith would do well to search rocky cliffs and outcroppings for exposed ore to mine. Going underground, in caves and the like, is another option - though an often dangerous one.\nAncient Ayleid ruins can also be stripped, to supply materials that are otherwise impossible to find. Not just any block from any ruin will do, though: Only those that have ancient Ayleid metals running through them will do. These are mostly found in Ayleid Focii, the original use of which has been lost to us. Old structures that may have been built on top of, or with, Ayleid stone may also have a focus nearby.\nCrystals, Gems, and Souls\nMuch like metals, crystals and gems will form deep within rock, and then rise to the surface in small quantities. Cliffs, boulders, outcroppings, and caves are thus all good places for a crafter of runes to search for useful materials.\nRunecrafters also harvest the souls of creatures summoned or reanimated by magic, to power their enchantments. Finding such creatures is dangerous work, but the souls a skilled runecrafter can gather from them are often worth the risk.\nPlants and Animals\nMost foresters prefer to gather wood that has fallen naturally, and will never put axe to tree. They will often find suitable samples of wood near secondary growth, such as saplings or thickets.\nSuch compunctions do not hold with harvesting from beasts, however: the skins, organs, and bones of natural creatures are often useful for creating leathers.\nThose foresters that seek mushrooms will often do well to find larger trees that are in some stage of rot: fallen logs, rotted stumps, and even still-standing trees in their final years are all good candidates. Flowers can often be found near living (but less-useful) plants, often in a symbiotic relationship; where one plant blooms, others are sure to follow."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/guide-researching-and-learning": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/guide-researching-and-learning", "description": "A guide on learning to construct valuable objects in the world", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Guide: Researching and Learning", "text": "Before a craftsman can begin creating useful things, they must first learn the details of their planned creation. This is done through a two-part process: first, by researching examples of their craft to become inspired; second, by reading a scroll with detailed instructions on their intended creation.\nResearching\nIn order to become inspired and be able to learn how to construct new things, one must first research examples of their craft.\nOf course, this requires that one first obtain an example. Any durable item that one's craft focuses on would make a suitable example; for example, smiths and swords, foresters and bows, or runecrafters and staves. Less durable items, like potions and salves, will not suffice for this process. The item in question must also not be from one's own hand, for you will learn nothing new from researching your own work.\nOnce a suitable example of one's craft is obtained, the aspiring craftsman need only open their craft journal and begin breaking the item apart. Such an experiment will destroy the object in question, of course, but the inspiration the craftsman gains from the experience can be well worth it. The better-crafted the item was originally, the more a craftsman will learn from its deconstruction.\nIt bears repeating: You learn nothing from researching your own items. Mindlessly making and researching the same thing again and again brings only boredom, not knowledge.\nLearning\nOnce one is inspired enough, the next step is to obtain the notes on creating the object in question. These notes are usually written on scrolls, and many master craftsmen will sell copies of their notes to aspiring apprentices and itinerant craftsmen alike. No craftsman's notes are complete, however, and no master will know how to create everything their craft specializes in.\nIt may behoove the more mobile craftsman to search out other sources for scrolls. Often they are traded among students of a craft, and available for sale that way. Sometimes, a scroll's diagrams or curious left-over scents entice creatures to carry them about as mementos. They may also be in treasure troves, the last remnant of some long-forgotten master's work.\nOnce one has a scroll that details how to construct the object of their choice, the process of learning may begin. Unlike bound books, such scrolls are often written on fragile paper, and will not survive the thorough study necessary to fully understand how to build the item in question. Thankfully, once a true craftsman has learned a recipe, he will remember it for the rest of his days."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/guild-contract-spindleclutch": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/guild-contract-spindleclutch", "description": "A Fighters Guild contract", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Guild Contract: Spindleclutch", "text": "Upon the acceptance of this contract, you will be legally bound to the service of Guardian Sud-Hareem as part of an expedition into the caves designated as Spindleclutch. You are to present yourself to Lieutenant Praxin Douare for inspection no later than two days hence. The Fighters Guild will award standard hazard pay to you upon the successful completion of the expedition."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/guild-mages-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/guild-mages-journal", "description": "One Redguard guild mage is in trouble", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Guild Mage's Journal", "text": "Cyrodiil, Day 3\n\tWe've been gathering for days. I'm getting impatient to leave. Surely the enemy will spot us if we continue to delay here. We must move soon or all will be lost.\nCyrodiil, Day 5\n\tHoonDing smile on us. At last, we are going to attack! Now our enemy shall know fear and pain and sorrow!\nColdharbour, Day 1\n\tEverything's gone wrong. I am lost and writing from a small alcove in the rocky wall. Clannfear patrol the rocks below, and other, worse things roam the dark shadows that stretch in all directions. Tu'whaaca guide me. I must find better shelter!\nColdharbour, Day 4\n\tI spotted a giant wall in the distance. Somehow, the view gives me hope. I will try to make my way there tomorrow. Perhaps safety and shelter awaits me there.\nColdharbour, Day 6\n\tI see brilliant light beyond the wall now. It is still far off. Ruptga protect me, but I do not think I shall make it. The Clannfear have returned. There are Dremora with them. I think they know I am here, for they seem to be actively hunting for me. I do not want to die at their hands!\nColdharbour, Day 9\n\tI have been in this cage for days. The Dremora stuck me in here, without so much as a scrap of food or a drop of water. They haven't said a word. They barely acknowledge my existence. What do they want? Why do they continue to hold me? Wait, one of them approaches now. She's carrying a long, pointed spear. I wonder what she plans to do with \u2014"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/guild-memo-soul-trapping": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/guild-memo-soul-trapping", "description": "Dealing with the rise of soul trapping spells", "author": "Vanus Galerion", "title": "Guild Memo on Soul Trapping", "text": "Mages Guild Memorandum: Confidential, Magisters Only\nFrom Vanus Galerion, Archmagister Emeritus\nIf you pay attention to the popular fads and fashions of spellcasting in your guildhalls, you have doubtless noticed the recent surge of interest in the discipline of \"soul trapping.\" Unlike most of the passing fancies that come and go among the magical fraternity, I consider this particular vogue alarming and dangerous.\nThere are reasons why soul trapping has never been part of the core curriculum of the Mages Guild, taught to only the most experienced and dependable wizards, and then only for certain specific uses. First of all, it is technically a subset of necromancy, and on that basis alone it should be abhorred. (Except, as mentioned, for certain special cases, and then only under controlled conditions.) Second, it is a magical technology that practically invites abuse, especially when employed to trap the souls of sentient mortals. It is the sort of arcane practice that the public fears most, and is likely to result in local bans on the organized teaching of magic, and if that happens all our work in establishing the Guild will have been in vain.\nThe fact that soul trapping is now common knowledge among Tamriel's magery, to the point where so-called \"Mystics\" sell soul gems of various sizes in every market and bazaar, is a problem that can be laid squarely at the feet of the iniquitous Mannimarco and his Order of the Black Worm. It is all part of his program to make necromancy seem commonplace and almost harmless. In some parts of Tamriel, notably Cyrodiil, the vile practice of necromancy has even become accepted as a valid, and legally tolerated, magical discipline. What our old mentor Iachesis would have to say about this pernicious development I hate to think.\nSo what are we to do about it? I have been giving the matter some hard thought, in between rooting out cells of the ever-burgeoning Worm Cult, and I think at this point the only way to gain control over soul-trapping is to co-opt the practice. Therefore I propose the Mages Guild codify and systematize the various soul-trapping magics into a common grimoire of a few reliable spells, and then teach our members that these, and only these, are the legal and authorized methods for trapping souls.\nFurthermore, I propose that for the purposes of soul trapping we categorize all souls into two classes: the legal, or \"White\" souls, those smaller essences that are captured from beasts and animals, and illegal, or \"Black\" souls, which are derived from sentient mortals. And we will teach only those spells that can capture White souls, forbidding our students to use the larger soul gems on sentients.\nIt will take several generations, and the suppression of the Worm Cult, for this dichotomy to become the pan-Tamrielic standard for soul trapping. But if the Mages Guild can't take the long view for the good of Tamriel, who can?"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/guthrags-mask": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/guthrags-mask", "description": "History of an enchanted mask", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Guthrag's Mask", "text": "Perhaps the most famous Orc diplomat was Guthrag Stone-Talker of the late 9th and early 10th centuries of the First Era. His powerful oration delayed the siege of Orsinium for more than a decade, but the inevitable happened when he died on the way to Daggerfall.\nDespite Guthrag's skills at negotiation, the tales of his enchanted mask are more compelling. According to legends, the mask could transform an Orc's visage into something more appealing to an observer. But sometimes even greater powers were attributed to the mask. Ambassadors and spies used Guthrag's Mask over the centuries to promote the Orsimer cause in foreign lands.\nThe last recorded owner of the mask was the mysterious Chief's Eye of Fharun Stronghold. The power of the mask was broken when an arrow pierced the mask and plunged into the master spy's forehead. Even bereft of power, the mask remains an item of historical significance."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hadazs-final-letter": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hadazs-final-letter", "description": "", "author": "Hadaz", "title": "Hadaz's Final Letter", "text": "Merrunz maniacs and Daedra are everywhere. Have to make this quick.\nThe cultists\u2014the Claws of Daegon\u2014found some kind of magic tool. They call it the Deadland Hammer. They take oil and sulfur from the mine and pound it into some kind of summoning stone. But it doesn't call out more daedroths or banekin. It summons iron atronachs! Metal giants with hearts made of coal and lava! If you find this, please tell the Mane. And if you can, put an end to this.\nOh, and tell Mara'dahni, I'm sorry.\nHadaz"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hadmal-lastbloods-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hadmal-lastbloods-journal", "description": "Hadmal had to sacrifice those dear to him for the greater good", "author": "Hadmal Lastblood", "title": "Hadmal Lastblood's Journal", "text": "I was a husband. A father. I wished to live a life of peace and love. I wanted to grow old with my wife, watching my children grow and start families of their own. Then, in the fullness of time, I wanted to pass into Sovngarde, wife at my side, to find whatever reward waited for us. I never expected to end the very things that gave me happiness. To be the hand that murdered my wife and daughters.\nBut sometimes things happen. Evil corrupts even the most pure. The most innocent. My family. My wife, my daughters. They hurt others. Innocent people. They did unthinkable things. The power they wielded when they were together was pure evil. But I ended it. I buried them all. In different places. Made sure they'd never be together again.\nThe firstborn, Jolinne. I laid her to rest in her favorite place to play as a child. I still remember her playing tag with her sisters in that alleyway. She'd hide behind the strange stones and surprise anyone who walked by. They'd be mad at first, but then they'd see her smile and move on, headed for the Sober Nord or Merchant Row. She was such a playful child before the Daedric corruption of Molag Bal pulled her into the cult.\nShe was the first to turn after my wife. The first I found, blood and knife in hand. An evil grin I didn't recognize adorned her beautiful face. I had to do what I did. Kyne help me, I had to.\nThe second-born, Fjorna. I laid her to rest in the shrine dedicated to the things she grew up dreaming about. Dragons. Whenever we visited the springs at Wittestadr, Fjorna would insist that we stop at the nearby ruins to pay our respects to the fabled creatures. She said that she could sense their presence. She'd run off to the same spot every time. A smalI clearing behind a strange, curved slab of stone. She liked that spot. I hope she'll be at peace there.\nIf only her mother hadn't gotten a hold of her. She was the closest to me of my daughters. She could hold her own in a fight. Won more often than not. A good girl.\nBut she too fell into evil of the cult. I had to take matters into hand again. So I did what was necessary, and I wept and wept into the night. Nothing before this had ever been so hard.\nThe third-born, Valdia. My little girl. My darling. For her, the only place that would suit was where I took her each year on her day of birth. To ride the horses at a little place in southern Eastmarch. The stablemaster would always welcome her, and my Valdia would be so happy. She'd sit by the small pond near the house and she'd pick those beautiful red flowers. She loved it there and horses were her favorite animals in the world. Which is why I was shocked when I found her favorite horse dead on that morning, its heart carved out. She was holding it, still pumping blood, in her hand and grinning maniacally.\nI never asked for this. I never wanted this. But I felt responsible. As if it was my fault. As if I had failed them all somehow.\nI did unspeakable things, but for the greater good. I never killed any innocents. But I killed my family. Perhaps this makes me more of a monster than they were, but I did what I thought was right. Sonya spoke of sacrificing the girls. Using them to gain ultimate power from Molag Bal. I couldn't let that happen to my little girls. I just couldn't!\nI hope they can forgive me one day. I hope they welcome me into Sovngarde, back into their arms.\n\tI miss them. More and more. Every day. I think it's time to finally joi"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hagrof-righteous": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hagrof-righteous", "description": "Description of an honorable gladiator", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Hagrof the Righteous", "text": "As Champion, Hagrof was known for his honor, humility, and respect for his fellow gladiators. He was known to honor his vanquished foes with proper burials in accordance with the customs of their people. When he was finally defeated, after staggering to the center of the arena, bleeding from a hundred wounds, it is said that the gladiators of every race stood in silent salute, then carried his body to an ancient pyre and gave him a funeral worthy of a Nord king.\nUsurped: Crow Bringer\nDefeated By: The Thousand Arrows"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hags-harpies-and-hagravens": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hags-harpies-and-hagravens", "description": "An angry rebuttal to a misogynist priest", "author": "The Unveiled Azadiyeh, Songbird of Satakalaam", "title": "Hags, Harpies, and Hagravens", "text": "So listened I to a sermon by the thrice-honorable High Priest Zuladr of the High Temple. And he did inveigh against womanhood and its inherent wickedness, citing the Tale of the Temptress Shakhari, and the bloody crimes of Queen Jezerei. \"Consider hags, harpies, and hagravens,\" quoth he. \"Are these monsters not all, each and every one, women\u2014and therefore wicked?\"\nAnd I thought to myself, \"It seems to me this is a priest who likes not women. Wherefore?\"\nWherefore? And wherein, if women are wicked, does he find the virtues of men, which he infers as a corollary? Was not the Grandee Kwarizm, who basely slew his thirteen wives, a man? Are not the terrible ogres of the hills and the giants of the mountains always male? Consider the legendary minotaur\u2014is he not even excessively male?\nWas not Sep the God-Deceiver a male?\nSo called I then upon the thrice-honorable High Priest Zuladr in his quarters and spake this to him, but he was unabashed, and called me immodest and presumptuous. \"Yes, I presume,\" I said, \"and I shall presume further.\" And I unveiled my features, and disrobed my form, and said, \"Is this the wickedness you fear, O holy priest?\"\nAnd the priest did shake, and perspire, and reach for me with fingers avid and trembling. But I struck them aside with a laugh, and resumed my garments. And I said unto him, \"Consider, O priest, that a true woman gives not her gifts to one who does not respect them.\"\nAnd thus did I deliver a sermon unto the high priest."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/haladans-research-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/haladans-research-journal", "description": "A sepiarch goes to desperate lengths to cure a sick friend", "author": "Haladan", "title": "Haladan's Research Journal", "text": "Entry 1\nAt long last, my dear friend Norasea arrived in Lillandril. Emile and I spirited her away at once. I hastily assembled a lab in the bowels of Saltbreeze Cave\u2014away from prying eyes. I fear that if my fellow Sapiarchs see her condition, they will simply quarantine her until it's too late.\nShe brought a friend with her\u2014a wiry Elf named Gerwerdel. I fear that this woman may be too far gone. She paces constantly\u2014often muttering to herself. Already, dark, rigid splotches appear on her chest and arms. I will try to slow the disease's progress, but my first priority remains Norasea. She was a friend to me when no one else was. Now I finally have the opportunity to return that kindness. I hope we're not too late.\nEntry 2\nEmile and I brewed up a powerful antiseptic for Gerwerdel's stone-growths, but it's a palliative measure at best. Her behavior grows more erratic with each passing day. Despite Norasea's protests, we had to isolate her in one of our restraining chambers.\nNone of our curatives seem to have any effect on Norasea's symptoms. Emile and I work in concert, day and night. Honestly, I don't know what I'd do without Emile. It's only his love and attention that makes the long nights and constant failures bearable.\nEntry 3\nI thought we had it. Emile and I combined Nirnroot condensate with a number of lesser reagents to create a highly-focused stone-shaping elixir. We thought that breaking up the keratous masses accumulating beneath the skin might halt the disease's progression. Instead, we seem to have simply broken the masses into smaller shards, encouraging a more rapid rate of spread. I'm at wits end. We may be too late.\nEntry 4\nEmile has an idea. I hesitate to commit it to paper. Our tests on the keratous growths indicated that they spread through vascular transmission. The disease converts elements of the blood into rigid grains that accumulate in the veins just beneath the skin, then calcify into larger and larger growths. It's the blood. The sickness is in the blood.\nOnce we arrived at that critical insight, Emile suggested he might have a solution: Porphyric Hemophilia-better known as vampirism. I was aghast at the idea. But I trust his models. Vampirism, as we understand it, drastically alters blood composition. Theoretically, this reconfiguration could make it impossible for the keratous growths to form. We wouldn't be able to restore Norasea's eyesight, but we could very well halt the disease in its tracks. I must think on this.\nEntry 5\nAfter long consideration, I've decided to proceed with Emile's plan. I appraised Norasea of the details, and she agreed to go through with it. Now it's just a matter of reproducing the vampiric infection alchemically. The Sapiarchs would never approve of such a gambit, but I promised Norasea we would cure her. Sometimes tradition must make way for frightening innovation.\nEntry 6\nWe successfully completed the procedure. Norasea reacted predictably to the introduction of the vampiric affliction. As far as we can tell, our treatment was a success. We've seen no expansion of keratous growths, and her mental faculties seem totally restored. I told Emile that we must administer the treatment to Gerwerdel too. He seems very concerned about it, but I can't deny such a treatment to someone just because they are dangerous. I will give her the injection tonight. Magnus help me."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/halds-interrogation-transcript": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/halds-interrogation-transcript", "description": "sadistic transcript of an interrogation", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Hald's Interrogation Transcript", "text": "Agent: Hello again, Hald.\nHald: Stay away from me.\nAgent: Careful, Hald, you'll hurt my feelings. Especially after you were my guest for, what was it? Eight weeks?\nHald: I've nothing else for you. I gave you everything then. Just let me go.\nAgent: After how useful you were before? Come now, Hald. You and I both know our arrangement only ends when I say it does."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/half-burned-note-borodin": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/half-burned-note-borodin", "description": "", "author": "A", "title": "Half-Burned Note to Borodin", "text": "Borodin,\nGolun is dead, as you ordered. I feel like I am too. I can't stop seeing the shock and pain in his eyes.\nMaybe I'm not the killer I thought I was. Either way, after we finish the Thane I'm done with the cult and with you.\nIf you come after me, we'll learn if I can kill again.\n\t\u2014 A"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/halinjirrs-notes": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/halinjirrs-notes", "description": "A Khajiit finds the perfect spot to grow Moon Sugar on Vvardenfell", "author": "Halinjirr", "title": "Halinjirr's Notes", "text": "\nFirst Seed, 15\nHalinjirr found a fertile place! It was happenstance. This one just needed a place to rest his weary heels and eat a sugary meal, but as soon as I arrived, I smelled something fresh and loamy. Soil! Real soil\u2014not the sour, fungusy rock I see everywhere else. Halinjirr will do a thorough survey. This might be the place!\nFirst Seed, 17\nMoons be praised! Zainsipilu is perfect! Well, perhaps not \"perfect.\" There are many giant bugs that try to poke Halinjirr's belly with their pointy noses. But, it is like this one's mother always said: there is no sugar without challenge. Halinjirr will travel to Seyda Neen. I am sure to find someone who can help.\nFirst Seed, 20\nAnother boon for Halinjirr! I met a Dark Elf in town who can help me with my nix-hound problem. She is sour and has no experience in agriculture, but this one has a good feeling about her.\nRain's Hand, 2\nThe nixes are tamed and the crop is planted. All that remains is the waiting. This one hates waiting. Hopefully my little darlings will grow quickly. Halinjirr's sugar pouch grows lighter by the day. If all goes as planned though, this one's sugar pouch will fill to bursting!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hammer-glass": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hammer-glass", "description": "A brief note on the founding of the first Orsinium", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Hammer of Glass", "text": "The first Orsinium started not as a city but as an armed camp. Eventually, the camp grew into a village, and the village expanded into a town. In just a few short years, it became a sprawling, indefensible mass of people and buildings that were ripe for attack.\nForge-wife Mortuga, first and greatest of King Torug's many wives, sought out a master mason to build a stone wall around the city and define its borders. He had to be a master crafter, as well as possessed of the skills of a warrior and a negotiator to complete the task in record time. She chose Kuthbarg the Steady to handle the job.\nKuthbarg did as he was tasked, raising strong walls around Old Orsinium that can still be seen to this day. As a reward, he was given the Hammer of Glass\u2014a hammer carved from a single crystal. It is believed that the striking sculpture still resides in the ruins of Old Orsinium."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hammetts-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hammetts-journal", "description": "", "author": "Hammett", "title": "Hammett's Journal", "text": "Last Seed 1\nWe made it to the Valley of the Forefather at the start of Last Seed. This is good. There is more glory to be gained when the Warrior is ascendant.\nLast Seed 4\nWe have managed to light the braziers and defeat Ysmir's champion at the gate. It was a memorable battle. Sklar passed into glory in the fight, just as he delivered the killing blow.\nLast Seed 5\nSomething has gone wrong. My jarl awoke this morning and started killing his thanes. I have shamed myself by fleeing.\nLast Seed 6\nLast night I chanced a look outside, and the sky was empty where the Warrior should have been.\nLast Seed 7\nI see now that I was wrong to flee. I saw him myself. Ysmir the Forefather, returned from the sky, to lead us into battle. I have pledged my sword to him. I no longer have need of this book. My pilgrimage is done."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hands": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hands", "description": "Aetherial orbs are not to be tampered with", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Hands Off", "text": "Let it be known to all Firstmages of the upper floors\u2014the Aetherial orbs are not to be tampered with.\nThe Learned One has devised them as a means to block cosmic essence from tearing this realm to pieces. Remove these orbs and risk death\u2014or worse. Extraplanar stresses are known to wreak havoc on mortal physiology."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/harlock-bastard-exhumed": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/harlock-bastard-exhumed", "description": "A Gravestone", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Harlock the Bastard (Exhumed)", "text": "Beneath this Stone lies\nHARLOCK the Bastard\nA Tired OLD Wastrel\nAnd BROTHER of Jorr\nA LAYABOUT In Life\nWho FROZE in a Blizzard"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/harranis-report": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/harranis-report", "description": "Incidents around Kenarthi's Roost", "author": "Harrani", "title": "Harrani's Report", "text": "Incident 1:\n\tThe apothecary was acting suspicious. Wouldn't look me in the eye. Probably sold ointment for the pox to my cousin again. Did not pursue.\nIncident 2:\nJurairia heard strange noises in the warehouse next to the armorer's shop. Investigated, but found no sign of anything missing. Did not pursue.\nIncident 3:\n\tThat Maormer captain threw a beggar off the Serpent's Kiss. Said she caught him poking around belowdecks. Her ship, her rules. Did not pursue."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/harvests-end": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/harvests-end", "description": "A description of a wily battlemage who battled Dagon", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Harvest's End", "text": "Chimere, Master Sorcerer, Summoner, and Direnni retainer:\nChimere Graegyn was a retainer of the ambitious Direnni clan. The Direnni derived the bulk of their power from their traffickings with Daedra, a very profitable but risky path to success. Chimere was perhaps the cleverest and most ambitious of the Direnni summoners. He dared to scheme against Lord Dagon, and won. When his trick succeeded, Dagon was cast into Oblivion. However, in the instant of his betrayal, Dagon struck out against the mortal who tricked him. Chimere's pact assured that he would live forever in his home town among the happy voices of his friends and countrymen. Twisting the literal words of Chimere's pact, Dagon scooped up tiny Caecilly Island (a small island off the coast of Glenumbra) and hurled in into the void. All Chimere's friends and countrymen were instantly killed, though the sounds of their voices remained to torment Chimere's memory. Chimere was condemned to live forever, to grow progressively old and crippled with arthritis, and to contemplate the tragic consequences of his defiance of fate and fortune in cheating a Daedra Lord.\nArmor of the Saviour's Hide:\nCreated by the Daedra Lord Malacath, this armor has the marvelous property of turning the blow of an oathbreaker. Chimere tricked Dagon into swearing an oath against the Powers which he had no intention of keeping. The Hide of the Savior turned Dagon's titanic fury long enough for Chimere to deliver his own attack\u2014an incantation invoked upon Dagon's \"Protonymic\" (i.e., Incantatory True Name). Unfortunately, like many of Malacath's gifts, the armor is a mixed blessing. It also makes its wearer exceptionally vulnerable to magical attacks, so one should only wear it for particular occasions.\nDagon's Protonymic:\nChimere used Dagon's Protonymic in an incantation to invoke a sorcery that would gradually drain all of Dagon's power into the void. Chimere miscalculated, however, not realizing that Dagon's resistance could slow the draining of his power, even if it could not stop it. As a result, Dagon had the time to curse Chimere with a literal fulfillment of the terms of his bargain with Chimere. Rather than let his power drain into the void, Dagon cast it all into his curse. As a result, Caecilly Island was cast into the void, all its citizens were horribly slain, and Chimere was condemned to live forever among the ruins of his greatest ambition.\nRituals of the Hunt:\nThe Chapel of the Innocent Quarry: Chimere believes that Dagon had Caecilly Island established as the site of the Chapel of the Innocent Quarry to personally mock and torment Chimere. The green crystal structure was created by enchantments, and is the only building on the island erected since it was ripped from Tamriel and loosed in the void.\nThe Spear:\nSupposedly the Spear of Bitter Mercy used in the Great Hunts could not be handled by any mortal or immortal save the ones sanctified to the Hunt and bound by its strictures. However, Chimere has determined that though the Spear's power is great, it is not unlimited, and that certain enchanted items\u2014for instance, the Armor of the Savior's Hide, forged by Malacath\u2014are sufficient to protect a mortal or immortal bearer from its maleficent energies."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/head-brazzefk": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/head-brazzefk", "description": "A brilliant alchemist's legacy", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Head of Brazzefk", "text": "Brazzefk was once a Dwemer alchemist of great renown. Legend holds that his search for immortality culminated in a potion designed to turn him into a living giant of stone, free from the failings of flesh. The potion worked all too well, turning his entire body into a stuatue, immortal but immobile.\nIs this the head of Brazzefk? And is he aware of his surroundings? We can but speculate."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/heading-imperial-city": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/heading-imperial-city", "description": "", "author": "Martinus", "title": "Heading to Imperial City", "text": "Thracius,\nI waited as long as I could. The thought of Porcia and our children in there, all alone, is too much. I have to be there to protect them, should have been there weeks ago.\nThe bridges are impassible. I'm going to swim across the lake to the city. I hope not to attract any slaughterfish. Damn, the water never used to be so cold.\nIf you or any of the others find this note, try to meet me at my house or look for me in the Market District.\nMay Stendarr watch over us all.\n\t\u2014 Martinus"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/healer-heloises-notes": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/healer-heloises-notes", "description": "A healer deals with strange injuries", "author": "Heloise Menoit", "title": "Healer Heloise's Notes", "text": "These are the notes of Heloise Menoit, healer for the Shornhelm Guard. I have set up a temporary healing center in the old tower located on Hinault Farm. Here, I am treating the injuries suffered by Shornhelm Guard soldiers in the aftermath of an unwarranted attack by forces bearing the colors and tabards of House Montclair.\nAldred Berri: Stab wound to the right abdomen, applied a healing poultice and wrapped the wound tightly.\n\tFinia Derone: Took an arrow in her right arm, just above the elbow. Applied a healing poultice and wrapped the wound tightly. She should be ready for duty as needed.\nMarbenn Dugot: Sword slash across the stomach exposed his intestines and he lost much blood. I have done what I can, but I do not believe he will last the night.\nLeobert Favret: A spear puntured his left lung. I have given him a tincture to relieve his pain, but there is little more I can do for him. I expect the end to come quickly.\nRolbert Emain: I have not determined the exact nature of his wound, for it doesn't resemble any weapon I am familiar with. If I didn't know any better, I'd say he was gutted by the claws of a large animal. I have applied healing tinctures to the wound, and remarkably it appears to be closing. I'll need to watch Rolbert closely to see if there are any adverse effects.\nPixot Gane: Another strange wound, this one along the left side of the neck and down the back. It appears to be a combination of bites and scratches, but the soldier claims he doesn't remember how the wounds were inflicted. He burns with fever, and nothing I have provided has yet to alleviate his discomfort.\nVivie Donze: This soldier received a shallow cut across her right side and should be capable of returning to duty immediately. However, she claims that the wound burns and her stomach hurts. Is she faking these symptoms or did I miss something in my examination?\nI must also report that I was apparently hurt as well, though I don't remember how. I discovered a deep scratch along my left arm, as though something with long, sharp nails drew a line down my arm. The cut isn't that serious, which is why I haven't informed Lieutenant Fairfax as yet, but it does burn. And I find myself unusually hungry, although food doesn't appeal to me."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/healing-herbs-northwest-tamriel": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/healing-herbs-northwest-tamriel", "description": "Common herbs for potions and poultrices", "author": "Ulnil Tildarin", "title": "Healing Herbs of Northwest Tamriel", "text": "There are many wonderful herbs growing throughout the northwest region of Tamriel. Here are some of the best for use in healing poultices and medicinal broths.\nHerbal tonics, tinctures, infusions, and decoctions, utilized to relieve fevers, sore throats, stomach ailments, headaches, body aches, and other illnesses can be created using the following herbs:\n\u2014 Moth nettles\n\t\u2014 Clickweed\n\t\u2014 Red coldberry leaves\n\t\u2014 Yellow clover\n\t\u2014 Brandelion\nHerbal poultices and other necessary components for any healer's kit (including remedies for bug bites and sun burn, healing salves, and wound cleansers) can be created using the following herbs:\n\u2014 Stendarr's wort\n\t\u2014 Comfrey\n\t\u2014 Valendula\n\t\u2014 Blue yarrow\n\t\u2014 Gemweed\n\t\u2014 Healer's purse"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hears-winds-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hears-winds-journal", "description": "", "author": "Hears-The-Wind", "title": "Hears-the-Wind's Note", "text": "Meet me in the back of Greenstone Caverns. I assure you, security won't be a problem."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/heart-indrik": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/heart-indrik", "description": "", "author": "Glenadir", "title": "Heart of the Indrik", "text": "Excerpt from the lecture of Professor Cinutalmo\n\tTranscribed by Relicmaster Glenadir\nBeautiful, isn't it? Though it may resemble a ruby, this stone is actually a crystalized indrik heart. Why, anyone can do it. Just bathe the heart in pure water for a hundred moonlit nights.\nImpossible, you say? Not if you move quick enough.\nAs dazzling as it is, most wouldn't think this crystal capable of malice. And, if untouched, that does hold true. However, once touched by one of an unpure heart, a dark shadow shall blossom within the crystal's center. From then on it will curse all who possess it with such heartbreak that, well let's just say that no one lasts very long after that."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/heart-valenwood": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/heart-valenwood", "description": "History of the Ayleid city of Hectahame", "author": "Beredalmo the Signifier", "title": "Heart of Valenwood", "text": "Heart of Valenwood, heart of the living forest, is too easily mistaken for an object, a single item, that can be claimed and manipulated. It is true that in the heart of the forest there is a magnificent tree, through which courses the metaphorical lifeblood of Valenwood. But to say that the tree is the heart is to vastly limit one's understanding of the Heart.\nIn truth, the Heart is more akin to the forest's soul. The magnificent tree is just the physical symbol of that soul, but like a soul in the body, the Heart is not in one place in the body, but suffused through the entire thing.\nStill, it's been apparent to anyone who wished to look that the ancient Ayleid site of Hectahame holds immense power, far outstripping the rest of Valenwood. As a consequence, that particular location is often referred to in older texts as the \"Heart of Valenwood\" and has become the target of numerous plots to harness that power for purposes both good and ill.\nOne of the earliest of these plots occured while the Ayleids first came to Valenwood. A necromancer (his cursed name long lost to history) invaded Valenwood with an undead army, and perverted the life-giving power of the heart to raise up a formidable force of undead Ayleid spirits. The Ayleids fought a long and protracted battle to defeat the army, but in the end they were unable to defeat the army, only contain it.\nUsing welkynd stones, the Ayleids created powerful necromantic wards to seal off Hectahame, and the once great city became a prison for the army that had sought to conquer it. The undead were returned to the ground and trapped there. None who have attempted to break the wards have managed, and it is speculated that only an object that could cancel magic itself could undo the Ayleids' incredible handiwork.\n\tBut it is because of the powerful wards on Hectahame that the Heart of Valenwood is little understood and rarely spoken of. The Wood Elves view Hectahame with a mix of superstition and awe, fearing the ancient past and revering the life-giving power that seems to emanate from within.\nIt is said that the last Wood Elf to enter Hectahame and behold the heart was a Silvenar from over two hundred years ago. But even accounts from that time suggest that he was viewed as mad by his contemporaries."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/heart-zanadunoz": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/heart-zanadunoz", "description": "Brief history of an Orc tyrant and his defeat", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Heart of Zanadunoz", "text": "In the dark days after the fall of the first Orsinium, the vicious titan Zanadunoz the Ravager terrorized southern Wrothgar. Desperate Orcs went so far as to form a cult devoted to the service and worship of Zanadunoz.\nAs the Zanadunoz's followers gathered to perform heretical acts in the titan's name, another group of warriors banded together to slay the titan. Thruz gro-Fharun led the Band of Fifty, who dedicated themselves to making southern Wrothgar secure.\nAfter weeks of endless battle, Thruz's band defeated the cult, but at a great cost. With only twelve warriors remaining, Thruz attacked Zanadunoz in the shadow of Honor's Rest. He defined the notion of the Orc hero by ripping the titan's black and fiery heart from its chest, even as its flames consumed him. The heart transformed into a phylactery, supposedly capable of recalling the titan from Oblivion to once again threaten the Orsimer."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/heart-zandadunoz": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/heart-zandadunoz", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Heart of Zandadunoz", "text": "In the dark days after the fall of the first Orsinium, the vicious titan Zandadunoz the Ravager terrorized southern Wrothgar. Desperate Orcs went so far as to form a cult devoted to the service and worship of Zandadunoz.\nAs Zandadunoz's followers gathered to perform heretical acts in the titan's name, another group of warriors banded together to slay the titan. Thruz gro-Fharun led the Band of Fifty, who dedicated themselves to making southern Wrothgar secure.\nAfter weeks of endless battle, Thruz's band defeated the cult, but at a great cost. With only twelve warriors remaining, Thruz attacked Zandadunoz in the shadow of Honor's Rest. He defined the notion of the Orc hero by ripping the titan's black and fiery heart from its chest, even as its flames consumed him. The heart transformed into a phylactery, supposedly capable of recalling the titan from Oblivion to once again threaten the Orsimer."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/heavy-armor-forge-wifes-advice": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/heavy-armor-forge-wifes-advice", "description": "Advice on smithing from an Orc forge-wife", "author": "Garshag gra-Sharkub", "title": "Heavy Armor: A Forge-Wife's Advice", "text": "I'll wager you don't even have what it takes to make armor. Think you can slave at the anvil all day, sweat stinging your eyes while you pound on iron, steel, or even orichalcum until you can hardly move your arm? Can you spend sweltering weeks lifting, hammering, and shaping until you've forged the perfect set? How afraid are you of serious burns?\nStill here, huh? Good. Maybe you have potential. If you're serious about smithing, you've found the right Orc. I was raised in the forge; the bellows and anvil were my best friends and my hammer's never left my hands. I can tell you how real armor is made.\nMy advice: just get to work! Get some ore, step up to the anvil, and hammer out simple parts. Your first pieces may not be fancy, but you'll learn tricks as you go, like how to take mediocre armor and temper it into something stronger. You should look at other smiths' work as much as you can, too. Study exotic styles and materials and you'll get even better. But nothing beats practice, so get going!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/heed-my-words": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/heed-my-words", "description": "", "author": "Agrakh", "title": "Heed My Words", "text": "Brother,\nYou wish your child to learn the ways of a chieftain, yet you do not act as one. The Hound spoke to me of our needs. What our clan craves.\nTo reclaim our glory, I would fight a thousand Wood Elves. And he asks for one.\n\t\u2014 Agrakh"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hegriss-orders": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hegriss-orders", "description": "A plan to occupy Bruma", "author": "Hegris", "title": "Hegris's Orders", "text": "Claudette,\nBruma is ripe for the taking. When the time comes, it will be ours. The peasants and Dremora will never see us coming. Find a hidden base and wait for my signal.\nDo not attempt to contact Zandur. I'll have both of you skinned and served for dinner if you ruin my plans.\n\u2014 Hegris"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/heirloom-vase": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/heirloom-vase", "description": "A mother's inscription on a vase", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Heirloom Vase", "text": "To my dearest daughter, <<1>>. Keep this heirloom with you, and look upon it anytime you feel lost or alone. Though you insist on leaving <<2>>, I will always be with you.\n\u2014<<3>>"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/heirunas-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/heirunas-journal", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Heiruna's Journal", "text": "Of all the groups I thought I'd run into during my travels, the Dragon Cult never even made the list. It's positively laughable. One would think it was impossible to be so delusional, and yet here they are, plain as day.\nI tracked them to their hideout of sorts. They call it Dragonhome, but it's not much to look at. They're living in the bones of a once powerful faction, sure, but they are bones all the same. If I were mad enough to think about summoning a Dragon, I'd certainly do it somewhere less dismal. Truth be told, I very much doubt they have the wits or strength needed to do such a thing, but that does not make their ideals any less dangerous.\nAt the very least, no one will admonish me for taking these fools out. Taking the law into my own hands has gotten me into trouble in the past, but this is an exception. Massacring a budding Dragon Cult group? Why, I'll practically be a hero."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/help-complete-abahs-local-history": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/help-complete-abahs-local-history", "description": "", "author": "Huzahar Wallavir", "title": "Help Complete Abah's Local History!", "text": "Citizens of Abah's Landing! It has been my privilege to volunteer for, and accept, the role of committee chair of the annual Hew's Bane Remembrance Days, a task I promise to carry out with vigor and enthusiasm! This year's display will honor the life and achievements of our founder (and my ancestor by way of my maternal grandfather), Prince Hubalajad himself!\nIn addition to a display of sundry items of historical interest dating from Prince Hew's reign, it is my hope that our panoply will include, for the first time, a full set of the justly-famous and highly-collectible series of books known as \"Prince Hew's Fiascos.\" To this end, I will be lending the festival my own collection of these beloved tomes, which includes the following titles:\n\"Prince Hew and the Envoy's Exploding Pipe\"\n\"Prince Hew and the Haj Mota Chariot\"\n\"Prince Hew and the Iron Regatta\"\n\"Prince Hew and the Three-Legged Race\"\n\"Prince Hew and the Pet Toku Gava\"\n\"Prince Hew and the Atronach Parade\"\n\"Prince Hew and the Kindlepitch Fountain\"\n\"Prince Hew and the Ogre Ballet\"\nAs the astute observer will immediately note, this collection is missing only one volume, the tragically rare \"Prince Hew and the Spriggan Barbecue.\" If a copy of this scarce tome is to be found in Abah's Landing, it would be an act of civic charity for its owner to lend it to our panoply. (And if that owner were interested in selling said volume, I would offer substantial remuneration for it!)\nAlso, as my best-beloved spouse, Lady Wallavir, has other commitments, our committee is searching for a handsome woman of Redguard descent to act as presenter at the festival and play the role of Petty-Vizier Hafzifeh al-Yath, the putative author of \"Prince Hew's Fiascos.\" Interested parties should apply in person up at the manor.\n-Lord Huzahar Wallavir, Grandee"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/help-wanted-merryvale": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/help-wanted-merryvale", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Help Wanted: Merryvale!", "text": "Sweetwater Farmstead seeks able-bodied workers due to unforeseen circumstances.\nFair pay guaranteed!\nAny interested parties should speak to Rakhzargo in the town of Merryvale."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hendils-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hendils-journal", "description": "Hendil's son's condition is worsening", "author": "Hendil", "title": "Hendil's Journal", "text": "My son's gotten worse. I'm finding it harder to keep him sedated. His illness is \u2026 insatiable. And those things \u2026. I have no idea what to do about the ones he's infected.\nThe aloe is my only chance. I'm the first to uncover its true properties as a powerful topical sedative. If these were more peaceful times, I would have submitted my research to the College. I could have won the esteem of my peers.\nNow I live all these waking hours in fear of those around me. At any moment they might uncover the truth about Tancano. What that could mean \u2026."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/henris-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/henris-journal", "description": "", "author": "Henri", "title": "Henri's Journal", "text": "I don't know what I did to deserve this assignment. I thought war was supposed to be exciting. All we've done since arriving in this frozen wasteland is wander around like commoners touring the arse-end of Skyrim. And that Valcent gives me the shivers. Why does Owen bend over backwards to please him?\nWe found houses around a hill today. A woodcutter and his family live here. I spotted old Nord ruins punching up through the crown of the hill. The woodcutter was friendly and hospitable. He even offered us a place to stay. Valcent seems excited, but he won't tell us why.\nOphelia talked to me today. She is such a ray of sunshine in this nasty business. I would walk through fire for her.\nTurns out those ruins I saw are a barrow, a place where the Nords bury their dead. Valcent definitely appears interested in the place. He's asking the woodcutter all kinds of questions about it. If he's not careful, he's going to make the woodcutter suspicious.\nValcent ordered us to depart, just when I was starting to get comfortable. I think the woodcutter saw something he wasn't supposed to. And now we're going into the barrow to set up a camp. Why in the world does Valcent want us to camp in there?\nOh, well. Follow orders and never ask questions. That's life in the High King's army."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/here-lies-arah": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/here-lies-arah", "description": "Epitaph for Arah", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Here Lies Arah", "text": "Devoted Spirit Warden\n\tNeither father nor husband\n\tBut instead, a loyal servant of Azura\n\tRewarded in eternity."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/here-lies-grethel": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/here-lies-grethel", "description": "Epitaph for Grethel", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Here Lies Grethel", "text": "Vigilant guardian of all Thanes' holds.\n\tFrom her two towers on high,\n\tdid she watch over eastern Skyrim.\n\tShe cleansed the roads of ruffians,\n\tand all bandits feared her name \u2026."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/here-lies-keval": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/here-lies-keval", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "HERE LIES KE'VAL", "text": "A LOVING HUSBAND AND UNCLE\nMAY HE FIND PEACE IN THE NEXT LIFE"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/here-stay": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/here-stay", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Here To Stay", "text": "I could escape this place this instant if I wanted. You know your Lord has given me the means, and I have found the will to survive\u2014to live as one of you.\nWill you ever read this? I think the same pride that blinds you, keeps me alive, will keep you from it. I doubt you have ever deigned to enter this keep, to check on your Sigil Stone charge.\nI came here to show you I could. It doesn't matter who rules this place\u2014as the Ash Titan learned, no Daedric flame, no Razor Pit can stop me.\nBut I will honor the pact. And I guarantee you will enjoy living with me as much as I enjoy living with you."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/heroes-sanctuary": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/heroes-sanctuary", "description": "Tale of three brave Aldmeri heroes", "author": "Emulator of Eldamar", "title": "Heroes of the Sanctuary", "text": "You've no doubt heard the story of the Heroes of the Sanctuary. Of the three Altmer who braved stormy seas, monsters from the deep, and the hostilities of a wild and uncivilized race to found a safe port for Summerset's ships along the coast of Valenwood.\nThe tale is timeless. Eldamar was their leader, true-hearted, who envisioned adventure limitless across the sea and would not be deterred when others told him his vision was foolishness. Hirume slew the the serpent of the underdepths who guarded that craggy coast, diving deep below the sea to cut out its heart. You will have heard of how she held her breath for a full rising and setting of the sun, even until her companions thought her dead, only to emerge in the wake of the great serpent's demise.\nNor will any one ever forget the name of Meluuran, who fashioned a marvelous new sailing vessel specifically for the task, a vessel that cut swiftly across the sea, and did not slow even when the winds died. They say the great craftsman made a deal with the Divines, or some long forgotten god, to bind the winds and see the ship safely to those foreign shores.\nAnd lastly, we tell of how our three heroes reached that hostile shore and found the people there were warlike and feasted on the flesh of their enemies. How their crew clamored to fight the savages and drive them away, a conquered people, but the Heroes of the Sanctuary did not listen to the council of rash and foolish Elves.\nInstead they met with the leaders of the Wood Elves, and studied their customs. They learned of the Green Pact, which forbids damage to the forest, and of the Meat Mandate, which commands these Elves to eat those they defeat in battle, and most importantly of all, they learned of the Rite of Theft.\nIt was customary that the Wood Elves would steal from each other, and on return of the stolen item, demand a boon commensurate to the item's worth.\nIt happened that the Heroes of the Sanctuary had brought a staff of great value with them. So they made a deal with the Wood Elves. If the Wood Elves could steal the staff from them, they would leave and never return. However, if they could steal an item from each of the Wood Elf treethanes, then they would be allowed to found a settlement on the shores of Valenwood.\nThe deal was struck, and the Heroes swiftly and cleverly set about stealing from the treethanes. From one they stole a prized bow. Another they tricked into handing over a valued necklace in exchange for \"all of the most valuable thing in the world that they could hold in their hands.\" The most valuable thing in the world, as any one knows, is air\u2014for without it we could not live.\nAt the end of the appointed time, all of the treethanes' items had been stolen, but the Wood Elves had not managed to steal the staff. And that is how Seaside Sanctuary came to be, thanks to the bravery, cleverness, and vision of Eldamar, Hirume, and Meluuran."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hidden-tears": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hidden-tears", "description": "A brief description of Kyne's tears", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Hidden Tears", "text": "The sacred stone responds to the land where her tears fell.\n\tTears to purify hearts, the earth, the water, the very air around us.\n\tKyne whispers and weeps in the hallowed places."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hidden-hands-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hidden-hands-journal", "description": "Hidden-Hands gets stiffed on a business deal", "author": "Hidden-Hands", "title": "Hidden-Hands' Journal", "text": "After putting me up to the job, that High Elf pilgrim refused to buy the relics! \"Not suitable for my purposes.\"\nWhat do I care about his purposes? I hope the root rot poison burns through his stomach!\nWhat am I supposed to do with these hunks of stone now?"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/high-king-emeric-i-implore-you": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/high-king-emeric-i-implore-you", "description": "An overlooked noble begs for attention", "author": "Adelil", "title": "High King Emeric, I Implore You!", "text": "Your Royal Majesty High King Emeric,\nThough I am certain you receive many correspondences from the nobility, it is my hope you will give this missive the attention it deserves.\nI write to you not only as a downtrodden member of the court, but as an advocate for every man and woman (those of sufficient nobility to be worth noting, at least) who has been slighted and ostracized for no good reason. It is my firm belief that, no matter your family history or how many cats you care for or what special \u2026 dietary restrictions you might have, all nobles have the right by birth to inclusion in the court and related gatherings.\nFor no other reason than sheer prejudice, I have been repeatedly ignored, overlooked, and rejected by those who are my peers. This is a great injustice and it cannot be allowed to continue! My blood is just as good as any other noble's, and I demand to be given the respect I deserve.\nOnly you can truly command the court, and so you are my only chance for redemption. Please, my King, I beg of you to publicly denounce this treatment so that I might regain the standing I deserve.\nYour Loyal Subject,\n\tAdelil"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/highmourn-dizi": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/highmourn-dizi", "description": "Description of an Akaviri flute", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Highmourn Dizi", "text": "A flute of Akavari design, this instrument was played at the funerary procession for the last Akaviri Potentate, Savirien-Chorak.\nIt is said that as the sad and haunting notes of the dizi were played, the Akaviri faithful in attendance broke into tears, hearing the distant voice of their homeland. Even non-Akaviri were moved by the mournful, yearning tones, some even more than the Akaviri themselves."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hildunes-secret-refuge": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hildunes-secret-refuge", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Hildune's Secret Refuge", "text": "Our scouts have located another potential hideout\u2014though Hildune's secret refuge isn't much of a secret anymore.\nHildune was spotted going into his well. Instead of coming out wet, he emerged with mined materials. Our scouts convinced Hildune to go away and never return. A search of the well showed us that Hildune discovered a long-abandoned mine. Now that mine is ours.\nFollow Aelma inside and secure this area. With every site we take, Northpoint grinds ever tighter between a rock and a hard place."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hilkas-interrogation-transcript": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hilkas-interrogation-transcript", "description": "grim transcript of an interrogation", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Hilka's Interrogation Transcript", "text": "Agent: How does it feel to be abandoned by the Pact.\nHilka: The Pact didn't abandon me. Thragof did.\nAgent: You really do hate him, don't you?\nHilka: No more than he deserves.\nAgent: Meaning?\nHilka: Meaning he's an incompetent idiot who couldn't lead a Khajiit to moon-sugar.\nAgent: And the rest of your command?\nHilka: Well, if they were bright we wouldn't be here, would we?"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hinaamos-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hinaamos-journal", "description": "A man learns martial arts to avenge his wife", "author": "Hinaamo", "title": "Hinaamo's Journal", "text": "Entry 271\n\tCiryarel lived a long and blessed life, even for an Altmer, but no more. Captain Rahiba believes she was killed by the Crosstree Bandits. \"A natural end to a life of skooma use,\" as she put it. Nonsense! My wife was no skooma fiend. Such aspersions slight her memory!\nRegardless of the Khajiit's assumptions, the Crosstrees are to blame. The evidence is overwhelming\u2014broken phials scattered about the shore where she was found, the marks cut into her face\u2014all of it points to the smugglers. Trinimac aid me, I will see her avenged!\n\nEntry 272\nWaited by the docks for the better part of a week. Saw one of those fiends make a sale. Tried to follow him, but he saw me. Made a noise, two short whistles, one long. Must remember. Two of his friends jumped me from the rooftops. Beat me bloody. Tossed me off the dock.\nAwoke as the tide washed the blood from my wounds. Still feel the sting. If I am to pursue these vermin\u2014and vermin they are!\u2014I must learn to defend myself.\nHuthak is a sturdy fellow and a fine friend. Years of dealing with surly drunks and ruffians have taught him many things, and he carries himself with a warrior's grace. Tomorrow I will ask him to teach me what he knows.\n\nEntry 273\nHuthak could not stop laughing. He said I was like a kitten mewling for sweetcakes! When I explained myself and asked if he would teach me, his manner changed.\nHe said, \"Go to the temple of Two-Moons Dance. Ask for Dog-Bite-Me. Tell her what you told me.\"\n\tI leave tomorrow. I told Olwanenya I'll be fishing the tidal pools near Windcatcher Plantation. I think she believed me.\n\nEntry 274\nDog-Bite-Me's story is not unlike my own. She lost a brother to the Crosstrees and came to Windcatcher Plantation. She wanted to learn how to fight.\nBut she says the monks are trained to think. Every martial lesson is a puzzle. Until students demonstrate their understanding, they cannot advance. Riddle'Thar gave her guidance and tempered her need for revenge with a desire for justice.\nWhen she did act, it was calculated and precise. The Crosstrees never realized it was anything but an accident.\n\nEntry 275\n\tMy training proceeds well, though I have some difficulty with Riddle'Thar. It seems one must view one's self as a tiny part in a greater schema.\nA novel way to think. Entirely different from the ways of old Aldmeris, though I admit it is far more flexible. Especially in regards to moral qualms. I will meditate upon this.\n\nEntry 276\n\tA calm settles about my thoughts. Sleep comes easily, where before it was elusive. Ciryarel's thread crosses mine in dreams where we watch our daughter spread wings and fly across the framework suspending us all.\nAcross the void, the Crosstrees' thread glimmers like a dagger in the night. How easy it would be to sever their cord! To send them tumbling into the darkness beyond!\nBut imprecision is the greatest enemy. So I wait. I watch. And I learn.\n\nEntry 277\nDog-Bite-Me says the Crosstrees are vulnerable. Direct confrontation is out of the question. Better to sever those threads who stray from the rest, fraying the cord until it snaps.\nThis one is ready."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/history-pellitine-overview": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/history-pellitine-overview", "description": "A history of southern Elsweyr, with a focus on Senchal", "author": "Sulema", "title": "History of Pellitine: An Overview", "text": "By Sulema, Initiate Scholar of the Pa'alatiin\nWith reverence for the experiences of those who came before us. May any sacrifices you made for the greater good be respected by those who follow.\nAs this one noted in her introduction to Anequina and Pellitine, we must work with a lot of unconscious biases of the non-Khajiit when it comes to building any historical work on Elsweyr using non-Khajiit sources. When the base language of a people differs from your native tongue, one misses nuance. This one would say the same for herself were she writing a history of, say, Murkmire, using translations of native Argonian lore. No language can be translated on a one-to-one basis given that words represent symbols of a thing, not the thing itself. And symbols often have tonal and emotional color: People fight for symbols; they die for symbols. They do not fight and die for a mere scrap of colored fabric but for what that fabric symbolizes to them.\nThat noted, this one shall start the history of the area now called Pellitine with the sixteen clans of the Khajiit and their ruler, the Moon-Emperor. During those days, the province now known as Elsweyr was open to all sixteen clans, and many roamed as they needed to perform the function they took on under the Moon-Emperor's auspices. Some functions required stable physical locations, such as ship-building yards and moon-sugar farming, so some clans formed permanent settlements to cater to such activities.\nThe name Pellitine comes from the clan of Moon-Priests named Pa'alatiin, in Ta'agra. The reasons for this name's rise to prominence over the years vary, but until the Thrassian Plague in 1E 2260, Pa'alatiin was simply a clan name, not the name of a geographical region, as the Moon-Priests lived among the people of all clans. The plague hit so hard, however, that clan structures crumbled in the south. Senchal, which had already started shifting in its social systems due to the influence of the Bretons and Imperials who came to its port, led the way in the aftermath of this illness. How? Simply by example and proximity.\nThe clans within the south at that time, seeking succor from the devastation of the plague, assembled on Senchal, the largest town at that time. Moon-Priests of Pa'alatiin also congregated in the town, seeking to provide what aid they could. Mix that with the social strata that had formed among those living in Senchal, and everything changed. Senchal's way of living imprinted itself on the Khajiit coming in from other areas, and when order slowly restored itself, these Khajiit returned to their lives changed.\nThis turning point, where the northern Khajiit adhered even more strongly to their clan ties, while the southern Khajiit started forming a more class-based society, also created a strong division between north and south that we still see today.\nOver time, the southern Khajiit rebuilt ruined structures, re-established trade routes with other peoples, and started thriving again. Senchal became the focal point of the south, both as a busy trading port and as the center of all customs and traditions that the southern Khajiit held dear. Additionally, Imperial ties strengthened to the point where the Potentate Versidue-Shaie took up residence in the Senchal Palace. So it came as an unpleasant surprise to some when Eshita, the ruler of Pellitine in 2E 309, married Keirgo of Anequina. Many in Senchal were aghast at the temerity of their civilized ruler marrying a barbarian of the north. The tribes of Anequina felt similarly betrayed. Yet, it happened, and the rulers worked to join their kingdoms together. But it was the Mane, Rid-Thar-ri'Datta, who quelled the unrest and instituted a power-sharing system between the tribes and the nobility based on the phases of the Moons.\nThen, in 2E 324, an assassin killed the Potentate while he was in residence at the Senchal Palace, scrawling the words \"Morag Tong\" in the Versidue-Shaie's own blood on the wall. Some claim that was an effort to mislead, while others believe firmly that the assassin was a member of the Morag Tong. Whatever the case, Imperial ties with the Khajiit became strained.\nTensions mounted until, in 2E 326, Khajiiti rebels slaughtered most of the royal dynasty. At that point, the two lands drew apart again, both writing statements of blame over the incident (see, for reference, the pamphlet entitled \"Northern Barbarian Betrayal!\" wherein an anonymous author claims the \"bloodthirsty\" Ne Quin-al clan brought about the demise of the royal line).\nDespite this state of matters with their northern neighbors, Pellitine flourished and Senchal grew until another sickness ravaged the land: The Knahaten Flu arrived in 2E 565.\nSo many died initially, especially in the Black Kiergo slums, that some tried to protect themselves by burning parts of Senchal to stave off the flu. As the fire grew, smoke killed many more in unaffected areas of the city. Many fled, only to die of starvation later as food stores ran low in the outer areas of Pellitine. Other unfortunate acts occurred, including the mysterious closure of the Topal Legionary Academy, and Southern Elsweyr stumbled for a time.\nNow, in these troubled days, with an Imperial legion stationed in Senchal to help with restoration and recovery efforts, and a sense of self-preservation overcoming the last of the clan-oriented practices, Southern Elsweyr suffers. Let us hope that the next phase of its story proves less troublesome."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/history-senchal-overview": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/history-senchal-overview", "description": "Outline of the building and rebuilding of this merchant city", "author": "Sulema", "title": "History of Senchal: An Overview", "text": "By Sulema, Initiate Scholar of the Pa'alatiin\nWith love for those who raised this one, who succumbed to the flu. You breathed life into this one's heart before your passing.\nFor those compiling a history of the city-state of Senchal, we must rise to a series of challenges. The very nature of how Senchal came into being lies heavily within the realm of song and oral history passed among clans of Khajiit. Various calamities compound the difficulties facing a scholar researching this city, such as loss of property during various chaotic periods, which of course affected any written lore. That said, this one has found some resources that provide us with a brief overview of the history of Senchal. Given the nature of these resources, however, approach what follows with the same caution you would use when sneaking past a terror bird.\nThe Formation of Senchal\nThe early days of the Khajiit within the province now called Elsweyr saw them separated into sixteen different clans, each of which performed a different function. The location that is now Senchal was originally a favored landing place of the Senchal clan, who were skilled at building ships and sailing them from port to port.\nAs trade increased, the Khajiit built dwellings and businesses, creating permanent structures. Fires demolished these buildings upon occasion in the early days, which led them to the use of stone. At this time, a class system started forming among the merchants, traders, and raiders. From this, the infamous Black Kiergo section of town was born (the rumored stomping grounds of Rajhin), catering to raiders and thieves, while the rest of the town had its own sections based on social status, including the home of the clan leader.\nThe Thrassian Plague\nThe budding city-state of Senchal continued to grow until the Thrassian Plague in 1E 2260. According to a partially burnt journal, author unknown:\n\"... many dead to this Thrassian Plague, with the rest in a panic. This one thinks it best to flee, but they have closed the gates. The smuggler tunnels burn, trapping those within Black Kiergo. They will die fiery deaths, no doubt. This one hates to think of even the worst of them dying that way. This one also worries that those fires will spread to the remaining wooden structures, and then to the stone buildings. Already, this one cannot breathe due to smoke. Wet cloth over the mouth does only so much. Curse those who set those fires. They will kill those of us who don't fall to....\"\nPresumably, the author was referring to the plague at the end. And indeed, the fires spread, burning flammable objects and scorching stone. This one doubts any survived. Scattered evidence indicate that Senchal required extensive rebuilding after these fires.\nRebuilding Senchal\nOver the next several decades, the city grew back, solidifying its social structure even as its physical structures were rebuilt. Black Kiergo remained a haven for thieves, raiders, and others who operated outside the law. The political structure for the entire region of Pellitine changed after the plague, and now the ruler of the city also ruled the region. Clan identity fell completely away and was replaced by one's role within Senchal's society, a change linked to both Breton and Imperial influence. Most of Pellitine's rulers during this period focused on creating a sense of stability, sometimes at the expense of doing what some would consider to be \"fair\" or \"just.\"\nOne ruler stands out due to his ties with the Imperials: King Dro'Zel. In 1E 2920, after hearing a bard tell a tale, he summoned Molag Bal to destroy the town of Gil-Var-Delle. Shortly thereafter, he became one of the new advisors to Emperor Reman Cyrodiil III. Ties to the Imperial throne strengthened until, after Reman III died, Potentate Versidue-Shaie took over the Empire. Additionally, further political change came to Senchal in the form of the marriage of Eshita of Pellitine to Keirgo of Anequina in 2E 309, forming the province of Elsweyr from their separate regions.\nThen, in a well-known story, Potentate Versidue-Shaie reportedly died at the hands of an unnamed assassin in 2E 324 in Senchal Palace, where he was residing at the time.\nRecent Events\nAfter the death of Versidue-Shaie, another blow landed: Khajiiti rebels slaughtered most of Elsweyr's royal dynasty. The citizens of Senchal fell back on their now-entrenched traditions and social structures to remain resilient, and life didn't look too different for the average person in Senchal until 2E 565, when the Knahaten Flu devastated the city.\nAccording to reports, this illness originated in Black Kiergo, and, as happened with the Thrassian Plague, fire was seen as the ultimate solution. Unknowingly, frightened residents repeated the same act that destroyed Senchal so many years before. Many suffered and died from the smoke and flames as well as the actual illness, and the Senchal of today remains a pale shadow of its former glory.\nNow Imperial forces reside within the city, serving as a sort of local militia, while Khajiit work to rebuild yet again. This one looks forward to seeing what comes of this mix of Khajiit and Imperial ingenuity, given the current state of Cyrodiil."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/history-handfast": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/history-handfast", "description": "A poem about a famous and important wedding", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "History of the Handfast", "text": "Tooth and claw\n\tBlood enflamed\n\tChaos rules\n\tA race defamed.\n\tStories lost\n\tIn history foul\n\tGenerations lost\n\tIn a werewolf's howl.\n\tBut a god's compassion\n\tAnd a hero's soul\n\tFought twisting form\n\tUpon ancient soil.\n\tThe cause seemed lost\n\tIn hope so lean\n\tUntil woman enter'd\n\tClad all in Green.\n\tHero and Lady\n\tAnd god alone\n\tFought with muscle\n\tBlood and bone.\n\tThe race so saved\n\tFrom bestial ire\n\tOathbreakers sent\n\tTo sleep in mire\n\tHero and Lady\n\tWill forever last\n\tJoined together\n\tBy great handfast."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/zaan-scalecaller": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/zaan-scalecaller", "description": "The brief life and death of an obscure dragon priestess", "author": "Jorvuld Davaux", "title": "History of Zaan the Scalecaller", "text": "By Jorvuld Davaux, Dragon Priest Historian\nZaan the Scalecaller was a Dragon Priest of short life and little renown. She commanded no great battles, conquered no powerful enemies. At just a glance, one would think her unremarkable, unworthy of further inspection. Certainly that has been the viewpoint of historians up to this point, given the lack of academia written on her. However, the fact that Zaan's story has been so ignored is exactly what makes her such a fascinating subject.\nZaan was uncommonly young when chosen by her Dragon Lord, the mighty Dovah Thurvokun. It is said that her connection to Thurvokun was particularly strong. As we know, there is much speculation on the connection between a Dragon and their chosen priest, whether it be spiritual, magical, or perhaps merely political. Whatever the case, Zaan grew a rapid and robust attachment, which her followers took as a sign of great fortune. For a decade or so, all was well.\nThe turmoil began when Thurvokun left his temple, for reasons unknown to all but perhaps Zaan herself. By all accounts, it was this departure that led to the Dragon Priest's steady decline into a depressive state, though it is uncertain whether this was magically or psychologically induced. This depression brought about frequent seclusion, growing into a steady isolation.\nHer followers slowly grew discontent, and as time went by many became mistrustful. They believed that Thurvokun had abandoned them, and saw this with the despair that we today would see the loss of the Divines. They began to accuse Scalecaller of driving him away with her weakness. When confronted with these accusations, it is said that Scalecaller made no protest. Her followers took this as admittance, and killed her in their anger.\nThis leads us to Zaan's greatest mystery. When accused by her followers, why did she not defend herself?\nMy theory, though mostly speculative, is that the Dragon Priest simply was not able. The loss of her Dragon Lord had brought upon such misery that she had lost her will, or perhaps even her ability, to speak. Again, whether this was brought upon by magical means or mere psychological trauma, I am still unsure.\nI believe through studying this historical occurrence we may gain further insight into the link between Dragon Priests and their Dragon Lords. We must look past the rudimentary political aspects of such a relationship, to see what lies beyond. What precisely was this spiritual connection, so highly revered? With Scalecaller's help, we can begin to answer that question."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hizrabis-report": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hizrabis-report", "description": "", "author": "Hizrabi-Do", "title": "Hizrabi's Report", "text": "Captain,\nAs you asked, I've taken a closer look at the old ruin north of Do'Krin Monastery. The lunar clergy has some kind of \"proper\" name for it, but the local commoners just call it Claw's Strike. Why is it called that, anyway? Didn't your sister say something about an old battle with the Wood Elves?\nAnyway, I took some of the men and made a scouting run. Your sources were correct\u2014there's a sizeable gang of smugglers operating out of the ruin. They're organized, too: they have scouts posted at the door, and Zirri saw some carts stacked with moon-sugar product.\nWe'll need to proceed carefully. Who knows who's backing them?\n\t\u2014 Hizrabi-do"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hjurrings-last-seed-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hjurrings-last-seed-journal", "description": "", "author": "Hjurring", "title": "Hjurring's Last Seed Journal", "text": "10th of Last Seed - No interments. No visitors.\n\t11th of Last Seed - One interment. No visitors.\n\t12th of Last Seed - No interments. No visitors.\n\t13th of Last Seed - One interment. No visitors.\n\t14th of Last Seed - Two interments. No visitors.\n\t15th of Last Seed - Four interments. No visitors.\n\t16th of Last Seed - Eight interments. No visitors. Requested funds to expand crypts.\n\t17th of Last Seed - One interment. No visitors.\n\t18th of Last Seed - No interments. No visitors. Workers expanding crypts discover unmapped ice caves. Entrance boarded up until proper exploration expedition can be arranged. Not holding my breath.\n\t19th of Last Seed - No interments. No visitors.\n\t20th of Last Seed - No interments. One visitor. One incident.\n\t21st of Last Seed - One interment (visitor from yesterday.) No visitors.\n\t22nd of Last Seed - No interments. No visitors.\n\tThis is stupid. Enough. I'm not keeping a journal any more."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hlaalu-construction-syndic": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hlaalu-construction-syndic", "description": "Having Hlaalu construct Balmora and Suran on Redoran's behalf appears to have been a mistake", "author": "Manaran Renim", "title": "Hlaalu Construction Syndic", "text": "High Councilor Meriath,\nI have completed an extensive audit of our ongoing business association with the Hlaalu Construction Syndic. While it is true that they provided us with much needed labor and resources, and it was certainly advantageous from a fiscal point of view due to their surprisingly (and now suspiciously) low bid for the contract, I have uncovered a number of disquieting consequences as a result of this continuing relationship.\nAs far as the construction of the towns of Suran and Balmora, aside from the garish use of Hlaalu architecture when the contract clearly called for the utilization of a more dignified Redoran design, they did complete the work on time and on budget. However, we inadvertently provided them with a foothold beyond Seyda Neen. This, in turn, has enabled them to establish business relations with all sources of raw materials and provisions throughout Vvardenfell, giving House Hlaalu a near-monopoly in these areas. Much of House Redoran now buys all of its local goods through Hlaalu aggregators!\nMoreover, House Hlaalu continues to expand its influence in both towns, much to the chagrin of our regional councilors. It's clear they have their eyes on these strategic locations, and I fear that they know how to conquer us through business while we instead remain vigilant against more militaristic overtures.\nIn conclusion, I fear that in retrospect, we should never have entered into this deal with House Hlaalu. In the long run, we may have saved time and gold only to have lost the territory we so desperately require.\nManaran Renim, First Clerk of House Affairs, Vvardenfell"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hlaalu-letter": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hlaalu-letter", "description": "House insiders scheme to better the slave trade", "author": "Avlela", "title": "Hlaalu Letter", "text": "My dearest Dolvara,\nYour efforts on behalf of House Hlaalu in regards to our interests in Balmora excite me to no end. Best to keep the houses on equal footing, and what better way to accomplish that than by mutual trust and cooperation between two influential insiders? The information you passed along was exceedingly helpful. Take this beautiful collection of jewels as a thank you. Hopefully they'll keep you enthralled until my next visit.\nSpeaking of visits, our mutual associates in House Dres have agreed to finally meet with you face to face. I'm sure the same charms you used to captivate me will have a similar effect on the Dres agent. Once you get to know each other a little better, I have no doubt that you'll be able to improve the slave trade a hundredfold. Why let the Tribunal and a few Pact rules get in the way of profit and our cherished way of life?\nAvlela"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hlaalu-letter-complaint": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hlaalu-letter-complaint", "description": "A plea to tolerate outlanders and their \"repugnant\" cultures", "author": "Tirnur Nalyn", "title": "Hlaalu Letter of Complaint", "text": "Most esteemed Minister Tharyon, House Redoran,\nI write to you on a matter of grave importance. My office has received an ever-increasing number of complaints in recent weeks. Many of our House Guests have experienced poor treatment at the hands of House Redoran bailiffs and constables. As you well know, House Hlaalu is duty-bound to address these grievances on their behalf.\nMy dear minster, while I share your belief in the superiority of the Dunmer people, we must try to keep such opinions to ourselves. House Hlaalu defers to House Redoran on matters of defense; I would urge you to defer to us on matters of commerce and diplomacy.\nOur economy is in peril. The Pact has brought us some measure of security, yes, but the cost has been dear. Dearer than I think your Redoran kinsmen are willing to admit. My trade ministers have gone to great lengths to solidify our holdings outside Morrowind. While the enemy has seized most of our extraterritorial property, we retain sizable assets in Imperial bourses and foreign business concerns. Extracting this wealth is no small task. It takes time, gold, and most importantly, connections. We can ill-afford to alienate what few friends we have outside the Pact.\nJust this morning I received a complaint from one Theodric Ashcroft\u2014a respected Breton investor. Apparently he was accosted by a pair of constables. while inspecting a potential construction site. Some minor religious infraction, I'm told\u2014stepping over a fence to get a better look at the property, or something? According to Ashcroft, the constable forced him to the ground, dragged him to the Temple, and turned him over to the Ordinators, who subjected him to no less than three hours of interrogation and corporal reeducation. Needless to say, he will not be investing in our fair city. Both Ashcroft and his gold fled to the mainland.\nThese people may be inferior, their religions may be repugnant, their manners may be tiresome. But for the love of the Three, swallow your pride and bear it! Idle zealotry cannot put food on the table. We cannot fill our coffers with incense and prayer and expect to wage war effectively. Interprovincial commerce is a necessary evil, whether you like it or not. I urge you in the strongest possible terms\u2014leave outsiders be. I hope this will be my final word on the subject.\nYours most respectfully,\nTirnur Nalyn, House Hlaalu Deputy Trade Viceroy"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hlakis-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hlakis-journal", "description": "", "author": "Hlaki", "title": "Hlaki's Journal", "text": "It is nearly done. Lodorr is sealed in his tomb. One task remains. I must prepare a cursed ward that will cause the dead to rise if the prison is ever breached.\nI've ordered the tunnels sealed behind me. This shall become my tomb, as well."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/holy-sweetroll-liturgy": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/holy-sweetroll-liturgy", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Holy Sweetroll Liturgy", "text": "All hail the Holy Sweetroll!\nFluffy, gooey, warm, and sweet\nAll hail the Holy Sweetroll!\nAll hail this delicious treat!\nAll hail the Holy Sweetroll!\nDrizzled with its blessed glaze\nAll hail the Holy Sweetroll!\nOur mouths too full to call out praise!\nAll hail the Holy Sweetroll!\nNestled in its ebony crate\nAll hail the Holy Sweetroll!\nServed upon its divine plate.\nAll hail the Holy Sweetroll!\nFluffy, gooey, warm, and sweet\nAll hail the Holy Sweetroll!\nAll hail this delicious treat!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/homes-sale": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/homes-sale", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Homes for Sale!", "text": "In this time of war and strife, the opportunity to purchase your own home has never been greater! From commoner to merchant lord, the properties available for lease or ownership are many, throughout the length and breadth of Tamriel.\nOur trusted agents are always happy to meet with you, our future clients, to discuss the magnificent opportunities that await you in home ownership. Stop in at your local lending institution today and seek Canthion for your free consultation!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/honors-rest": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/honors-rest", "description": "Ode to fallen warriors", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Honor's Rest", "text": "Within these halls our warriors find serenity,\n\tUpon these walls their names live through eternity\n\tand shall never be forgotten.\nWhether ash or bone here they shall rest,\n\tBy iron and stone their honor we attest,\n\tthey shall never be forgotten.\nWith them lies a treasure greater than jewels,\n\tThrough their eyes see the gift of the Pools,\n\tit must never be forgotten.\nTo drink deep of these burdened memories,\n\tIs to shed light on darkened histories,\n\tthat must never be forgotten."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/honors-rest-monument-stone": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/honors-rest-monument-stone", "description": "A newer ode to fallen warriors", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Honor's Rest Monument Stone", "text": "In these halls the warriors find serenity,\n\tUpon walls names carved for eternity,\n\tAnd shall never be forgotten.\nAsh and bone\u2014here shall they rest,\n\tBy iron and stone does honor attest,\n\tIt must never be forgotten.\nWithin is treasure greater than jewels,\n\tThrough the gift of the Memorial Pools,\n\tThey shall never be forgotten.\nDrink deep of long lost memories,\n\tShed light on faded histories,\n\tThat must never be forgotten."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/honorable-writs-execution": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/honorable-writs-execution", "description": "A primer on the Morag Tong", "author": "Enar Dren", "title": "Honorable Writs of Execution", "text": "Councilor Eris Redoran,\nAs you requested, I prepared this primer due to recent events involving the ancient guild of assassins known as the Morag Tong. You wanted to know everything available about the guild and its members in order to make informed decisions concerning how to respond to current activities aimed at our Great House. The guild personifies the darker aspects of Dunmer life, celebrating murder in the name of Mephala. Surprisingly, the group was created to curb violence and prevent the always contentious House politics of Morrowind from escalating into full-scale war. Since such a war has yet to erupt, I suppose you could say that the Morag Tong has thus far been a successful experiment.\nThe Morrowind government sanctioned the Morag Tong long ago during the First Era, and to this day they continue to perform tacitly legal assassinations, utilizing a system of contracts known as \"honorable writs of execution.\" Under the established laws, no member of the Morag Tong can perform an execution without a writ detailing the exact target and purpose for the sanctioned murder. Maintaining an air of impartiality in regards to house politics, the Morag Tong carries itself with all the weight of a cherished and ancient institution. Members never act on their own accord and cannot take on missions of their own choosing. Instead, petitions for services are sent to the guild's Grandmaster for examination and consideration. If the petition is accepted, an honorable writ of execution is prepared and awarded to a Morag Tong member. From that point on, the contract's target is dead and just doesn't know it - before long the assassin makes contact and completes the deadly transaction.\nUnlike other killers or even those crazed fanatics that belong to the Dark Brotherhood, the Morag Tong assassins admit to their acts and proudly brandish their honorable writs of execution after each kill. These writs pardon a Tong member of any legal entanglements that may occur in the administration of the associated contract. Indeed, by law, a Tong executioner must step forward and proclaim that a kill was performed legally and to the letter of the contract, thus absolving him- or herself and averting any subsequent ramifications related to the act. The Tong claims to provide no safe harbor for criminals, so any member that does not comply comes under investigation and internal punishment.\nThe origins of the Morag Tong remain shrouded in legend and conjecture. All I have been able to ascertain for sure is that the group emerged during the bloody House conflicts of early Morrowind, establishing the writ system and rising to prominence by the end of the First Era. The guild reached the height of its power about two-hundred-and-fifty years ago, operating openly across Tamriel and attaining a reputation as unparalleled, reasonable, and honorable killers. The group became too sure of itself, too confident of its position. After a number of high-profile assassinations of monarchs and great lords that frightened the Tamriel nobility, the Tong retreated back to its holdings in Morrowind and vanished from the public eye for more than a century. Today, the group maintains a subdued presence in Dark Elf lands, taking select contracts as they work to reestablish their name and reputation with the Great Houses.\nThe organization of the Morag Tong hasn't changed much over the years. A Grandmaster leads the guild, who then grants power to each guild hall's master to accept and assign writs. Note that individual members cannot accept a contract without approval, however, and the guild masters have proven over the years that they take great care when deciding to accept a contract. One possible avenue to explore should the conflict between House Redoran and the Morag Tong escalate is the group's affiliation with Mephala, the Daedric Prince of lies, deception, and murder. While the organization is sanctioned and their heretical ways mostly overlooked by the Tribunal, Ordinators and Buoyant Armigers will deal with these heretics swiftly and brutally if they catch them in the act of committing murder. I leave that for you to decide.\nEnar Dren, House Redoran Master of Records"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/honored-ancestors": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/honored-ancestors", "description": "Important progenitors of the Veloth family", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Honored Ancestors", "text": "Llirala Veloth\nFair of face, kind of heart, and keen of mind\nShe ruled the Veloth family for more than one hundred years\nProsperity and peace she brought through three unions\nThe Tribunal graced her with youth and beauty for all her long life\nHer grace reflected only good upon the family name\nOndre Veloth\nThe Master Archer of Molag Amur\nWith honor and strength and a bow bestowed by Almalexia\nHe held the pass near Lake Nabia for 9 days\nCursed be the Sload who brought him to his end\nValyne Veloth\nWeep not for Valyne Veloth\nShe toasted her enemies after battles waged\nHer hand promised to the man who killed her father\nShe stood as poison ran through her veins\nNo muscle or movement betrayed her\nWatching as they all toasted her in kind\nAnd fell poisoned to the last\nWith a smile she dropped her cup and\nAt last fell herself\nElms Veloth\nFed the family and retainers of the Veloth line\nThroughout the long Year of Great Hunger\nHe toiled to nourish the bodies of kith and kin\nNo meat or wheat passed his lips\nUntil everyone else ate their fill\nWhen the rains came he laid down\nHis sacrifice a nourishment and honor\nAs the crops blossomed and fed our people"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hope-and-recriminations": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hope-and-recriminations", "description": "A smuggling operation in Summerset is in danger of being discovered", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Hope and Recriminations", "text": "You've turned this around and made some profit, so we're going to roll the dice one more time.\n\tH. wanted me to make sure you've got the manifest and the map. Our next destination is in the Aldmeri lands. The bulk of the cargo this time is going to be Breton wine.\nThe Elves have been charging big tariffs on imported wines. Their decision obviously has something to do with decreasing competition for their own vintners. If you can get those crates to port without an inspection, we'll increase our profits by at least thirty percent. This should make up for some of your early mistakes.\nI'm amazed that I have to remind you this, but make sure you don't leave anything incriminating behind. No evidence. No witnesses. If you've hired someone you don't trust to be quiet, dispose of him, too. When people fail, we dispose of them. Hint, hint.\nWe want to use this cave again. H. knows that if you can smuggle in wine into Summerset, you can smuggle in just about anything. If you leave a single manifest or letter, the guards will be watching for your return.\nThat means no more profits from you. One wandering pack of travelers could shut this whole operation down.\n\tOne more mistake could also bring your whole operation down.\nDon't burn me. Not like last time. H. expects nothing less than success."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/horn-beasts": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/horn-beasts", "description": "The story of the mythical horn and its part in the siege of Orsinium", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Horn of Beasts", "text": "The shaman of Wrothgar, Zbulgat the Wild-Walker, placed all his considerable power in the Horn of Beasts. Although the shaman shunned Orsinium for most of his life, calling it \"Torug's folly,\" he nevertheless appeared within the city shortly after the start of the siege.\nThe Wild-Walker and King Golkarr had little love for one another, but the king accepted the Horn of Beasts graciously. \"Never use it more than once per cycle of the moons,\" the shaman warned. Then Zbulgat departed. Golkarr, meanwhile, used the horn to summon the creatures of Wrothgar. Bears, echatere, and hundreds of other wild creatures rallied to defend the city walls.\nFor the early years of the siege, the horn had a significant impact on the course of the war. Unfortunately, Golkarr decided to sound the horn three times during a single moons cycle, and on the third blare the horn cracked. It is said to still rest somewhere in Old Orsinium."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/horrors-strid-basin": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/horrors-strid-basin", "description": "A research pamphlet on the Hoarvor", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Horrors of the Strid Basin", "text": "Hoarvors.\nOne can but speculate on the origin of these disgusting creatures. Their grotesque nature is matched only by the horrors of Oblivion, yet Bosmer insist they have lived in Valenwood since time immemorial.\nSimilar in appearance to their insectile kin, hoarvors are opportunistic beasts that do not hunt so much as come upon their victims.\nSlow and rotund, one might expect these slothful arthropods possess a docile\u2014if morbid\u2014nature. Indeed the common hoarvor is not quick to strike a lone enemy, yet together\u2014or in the presence of abundant food\u2014they may attack with a ferocity that belies their portly appearance.\nWere this not enough, jagga and other barmy substances are known to drive the beasts into a frenzy.\nOne must therefore take great care what one imbibes in the presence of Wood Elves, who derive rare pleasure from the husbandry of these monstrous abominations."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hourglass-perceived-time": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hourglass-perceived-time", "description": "Observations of test subjects with different perceptions of time", "author": "Clockwork Apostle Ralam Falen", "title": "Hourglass of Perceived Time", "text": "Notes of Clockwork Apostle Ralam Falen\n\tExcerpts Transcribed by Relicmaster Glenadir\nLog 32\nSubject 15A shows increasing signs of agitation. I suspect he may have discovered the experiments perimeters, though to what extent I'm unsure. Still unsure how this may impact current testing.\nSubject 15B has begun to lapse sentences together, though this may only be true from an outsider perspective. She most likely is speaking in complete sentences from her own worldview. Her temperament remains the most positive, but given that she has only perceived her capture to be two days I can only think that would be the case.\nSubject 15C has begun to go into a catatonic state. He reacts little to the other test subjects, and has begun long fits of sobbing. I fear he may no longer be viable for testing. By my calculations, he will have perceived his capture as being over five years at this point."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/house-hlaalu-merchant-camp": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/house-hlaalu-merchant-camp", "description": "Instructions for staying at a merchant camp", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "House Hlaalu Merchant Camp", "text": "Visiting traders and merchants, please adhere to the rules of this caravan camp.\n\t\u2014 All merchants and their caravan crews are welcome to use the camp and its facilities.\n\t\u2014 Absolutely no buying, selling, fighting, dumping, or wild parties allowed within the confines of the camp.\n\t\u2014 The nearby ruins are dangerous and off limits to unauthorized visitors. Stay out of the ruins for your own safety.\n\t\u2014 Please leave the camp in the same condition as when you arrived. Clean up after your crew and leave nothing behind."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/house-hlaalu-notice": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/house-hlaalu-notice", "description": "A simple, brief notice", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "House Hlaalu Notice", "text": "House Hlaalu maintains this camp for the express use of traveling traders and merchant caravans.\n\tPlease keep the camp clean! The next traveler will appreciate your kind consideration."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/house-hlaalu-philosophy-trade": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/house-hlaalu-philosophy-trade", "description": "Description of House Hlaalu's philosophy", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "House Hlaalu Philosophy of Trade", "text": "If you want to understand the essential philosophy of House Hlaalu, examine its coat of arms. Behold the scale: it represents balance, trade, and compromise. These essential concepts influence everything the House seeks to accomplish and directs its activities.\nStrive for balance in all things. When the scale tips to one side or the other, someone or something gets short-changed. When someone gets short-changed, unpredictability and strife unbalance the world around us. This idea must be embraced by every member of the House. To achieve freedom from greed, from want, and from strife, all parties in any exchange must find balance.\nTrade is the House's weapon, its tool, and its way. The House thrives when value and profit flows between supply and demand. House Hlaalu seeks to maintain open trade with anyone who would engage in honest business. Not even a lowly Ashlander with gold or goods in hand would be turned away. This policy protects and empowers the House. The greatest defense remains a wall built of gold, and many foes have broken against the profitable walls of House Hlaalu.\nThe most honorable conclusion to any conflict is compromise. When two parties seeking balance come together in any exchange, compromise becomes the natural conclusion. Anything can be achieved if both the left hand and the right hand work together. Not everyone is reasonable, however. Sometimes others must be coaxed into compromise. For that, the House Hlaalu Guard stands ready."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/house-ravenwatch-proclamation": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/house-ravenwatch-proclamation", "description": "House Ravenwatch proclaims their intentions", "author": "Verandis, Count of House Ravenwatch", "title": "House Ravenwatch Proclamation", "text": "To those who seek to understand:\nOne would surmise that such an elusive and ancient noble house would be averse to publishing its goals in such an accessible manner. However, with the advent of strife upon our homes and allies, I thought it best to clarify our standing for the small-minded.\nThe first and foremost goal of House Ravenwatch is the destruction of the ancient evil which lies within Rivenspire. It is known by many names: Abagandra, Loradabal, and in contemporary times, the Lightless Remnant. Countless generations of scholars have sought to understand this artifact. There is no understanding to be had\u2014it is a blight upon Mundus and must be cast out.\nSecondly, House Ravenwatch seeks to foil the plans of those who wish to make use of the power of the Lightless Remnant. Do not be deceived by Baron Montclair's rhetoric and so-called patriotic zeal. He has succumbed to the power of the Remnant and seeks to destroy the beautiful land of Rivenspire. We know this because we were with him when the power possessed him.\nWe prefer the shadows. We prefer to let others lead. But these are desperate times. They call for desperate measures. Know that no matter what Rivenspire must face, you will not face it alone. House Ravenwatch will be by your side. House Ravenwatch stands with Emeric and the good people of Rivenspire.\n\nVerandis, Count of House Ravenwatch"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/house-redoran-advisory": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/house-redoran-advisory", "description": "Outlines the perceived enemies of the House", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "House Redoran Advisory", "text": "House Kin,\nPlease be advised that the following groups and organizations may be operating against the best interests of House Redoran. As such, be vigilant and cautious in your dealings with these groups, and uphold all House rules and strictures accordingly.\nAshlander Tribes\nThe savages continue to gather near Ald'ruhn and the nearby environs. Obviously, the presence of the savages hampers house efforts to expand into the region, and the Ashlanders are worse than fetcher flies in any event. The High Council will debate options and formulate plans at their next meeting. In the meantime, avoid Ashlander contact as much as possible.\nMorag Tong\nWhile House Redoran accepts the will of the Tribunal and allows that the Morag Tong have the authority to operate within Dunmer territory, we also consider them to be murderers and criminals in the eyes of house law. We view this doubly so as other houses have begun to use the Morag Tong against us to undermine Redoran interests and elevate their own standing. As a general practice, House Redoran will not employ the services of the Morag Tong, nor will it allow the Morag Tong to indiscriminately execute our members.\nHouse Hlaalu\nWhile we technically consider House Hlaalu to be a friend and ally, Hlaalu practices that undermine Redoran trade routes and business ventures have grown increasingly frequent in recent weeks. Hlaalu activity in and around Balmora has become particularly alarming, as they appear to want to take control of the city for themselves. Report any overt or suspicious Hlaalu activity to your House Councilor immediately."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/house-redoran-orders": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/house-redoran-orders", "description": "Instructions for dealing with Ashlanders on Redoran lands", "author": "Captain Brivan", "title": "House Redoran Orders", "text": "To the warriors of Scrib Battalion, including the soldiers of House Redoran and the mercenaries of Ferhara's Warclaws:\nScrib Battalion is tasked with reclaiming the Kudanat mine and the surrounding countryside from Ashlander squatters.\nAshlanders mistakenly believe that all land is free. They will resist our efforts to clear them from the specified sites. With this in mind, heed the following orders:\n1. Do not use force against the Ashlanders unless absolutely necessary. A peaceful transaction of territory is preferred over taking the area through violence.\n2. Allow the Ashlanders to leave the vicinity, provided they comply with Redoran law.\n3. If any Ashlanders resist, disarm the agitators and imprison them for the duration of the engagement.\n4. If force must be used, make sure it is applied swiftly and to maximum effect.\nCaptain Brivan"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/house-redoran-proclamation": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/house-redoran-proclamation", "description": "Regarding the closure of a mine and safety of the surrounding area", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "House Redoran Proclamation", "text": "By Order of the House Guard and the Redoran High Council:\nThe Shulk Ore Mine is closed and all operations toward re-opening the mine have been suspended. Workers should stay away until further notice, and visitors are strongly cautioned to avoid the area on pain of fine, or imprisonment, or both. This includes you, Crew Chief Hondulf!\nNote that every effort shall be made to locate the missing mine workers as soon as possible."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/house-redoran-registry": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/house-redoran-registry", "description": "Records of promotions and recent events within House Redoran", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "House Redoran Registry", "text": "\u2014 Commendation: Sergeant Irileth, for actions beyond the call of duty during the recent Daedra intrusion at Kwama Mine B-37.\n\u2014 Important Note: The Nords have sent a representative from their Cultural Exchange to facilitate fellowship and understanding between our people. Please provide Ambassador Rigurt every possible courtesy in this endeavor, no matter how odd his behavior may seem.\n\u2014 The following members of the House Guard have completed officer training: Freya, Dorthasi, Rivame, and Baryon.\n\u2014 Lena Dalvel, recent graduate of the Shad Astula Academy, has been assigned to the Redoran Investigation Commission. She's bright and talented and will make a great addition to our intelligence-gathering organization. We should be wary of her wild tales of exploding shadow clucks, however, just as a precaution.\n\u2014 Exile: For conduct unbecoming of a Redoran officer and noble, by order of the Redoran High Council, Captain Ulran Releth has been stripped of his rank and exiled from House Redoran and Tribunal territory.\n\u2014 Brivan Malrom has been promoted to captain of our western forces in light of the recent dismissal of Ulran Releth.\n\u2014 Ashlander Incidents: Incidents continue to mount concerning Ashlander unrest among the tribes occupying the wilderness beyond Balmora. Captain Brivan has hired the mercenary band known as Ferhara's Warclaws to assist the Redoran military as necessary."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/house-tamrith-recent-history": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/house-tamrith-recent-history", "description": "A history of notable actions and persons of this High Rock clan", "author": "Chancellor Regina Troivois, the Department of Interior Affairs", "title": "House Tamrith: A Recent History", "text": "For the royal eyes of the High King Emeric only! (He so loves it when I start these reports this way.)\nHouse Tamrith of Rivenspire has holdings primarily in the western half of that region, with numerous business interests that include agriculture, mercantiles, and commerce. Indeed, it was their thriving trade with the lands to the south that eventually led to strong ties with Stormhaven and the city of Wayrest.\nIn many ways, the rivalry that marks the interplay of the three most prominent noble houses of Rivenspire (Tamrith, Dorell, and Montclair) dates back to the late period of the First Era, as each house established its reputation and its fortune and helped the region prosper. Of the three, Tamrith has the strongest tradition of piety and religious commitment, and the house has often called upon Arkay as its personal and most favored deity.\nAs the High King is well aware, a good portion of his youth was spent in the company of two of Rivenspire's nobles\u2014Baron Esmark Tamrith and Count Verandis Ravenwatch. And so it was with a heavy heart that the military might of Wayrest and its allies had to be turned against Rivenspire more than a decade ago. At the time, King Ranser of Shornhelm declared war upon Wayrest and forced his nobles to join him in his losing effort. Whatever their true feelings toward Wayrest, the noble houses of Rivenspire obeyed the call of their king and fielded troops against the High King.\nIn short order, House Tamrith withdrew its support of King Ranser and petitioned for peace. House Dorell was quick to follow suit. Only House Ravenwatch, a relatively small concern compared to the other noble houses of Rivenspire, never took up arms. They remained neutral throughout the year-long conflict. House Montclair, meanwhile, supported King Ranser almost to the bitter end. They finally surrendered to the Wayrest alliance just before the battle that pushed Ranser's remaining forces back to the place now known as Traitor's Tor.\nIn the aftermath of the conflict, Baron Tamrith emerged as a powerful force for peace and cooperation. It was his idea to form a ruling triumvirate to govern the region in the High King's name, and the leaders of all three noble houses pledged their loyalty to High King Emeric. The High King approved of the triumvirate, but also promised to select a new king of Shornhelm at the first opportunity. (This one reminds the High King that this promise has yet to be fulfilled.)\nBaron Esmark Tamrith married the daughter of House Elde, Janece, thus combining their fortunes and creating an even stronger political entity. The couple was blessed with two daughters, the pragmatic and thoughtful Eselde, and the strong and somewhat wilder Janeve. Four years ago, Eselde left Rivenspire to broaden her education and religious studies in Stormhaven, where she was a guest of the High King's court for the majority of that time. During the same period, young Janeve (against her father's and sister's wishes) joined the Shornhelm Guard.\nEselde excelled in her studies, taking a particular interest in history, politics, diplomatic studies, and theology. She demonstrated a deep conviction in the teachings of Arkay and the Way of the Light, while also surpassing her contemporaries as a healer and champion of riddle contests. It was clear that she fully intended to prepare herself to eventually take on the mantle of leader of House Tamrith.\nJaneve likewise surpassed expectations. She quickly demonstrated amazing combat prowess, military strategy, and an ability to lead others in battle. She earned a number of rapid promotions, eventually becoming a Captain of the Guard. In addition to her role in the Shornhelm military, she also headed up the personal troops of House Tamrith. (For the record, in times of war or other emergencies, it is not uncommon for house troops to join with the city guard to form a single fighting force to defend the region.) If Janeve has a fault, it is her quick temper and love\u2014some might say need\u2014of constant action.\nIt is with sad tidings that I report of the death of Baron Esmark Tamrith. He passed away just a few short months ago of natural causes. Eselde immediately left Stormhaven to return to Rivenspire and take up the mantle of house leader. Now, as Countess Eselde, she has taken her father's place as part of the ruling triumvirate of Rivenspire. So far, she has been performing admirably in the role, despite the constant disagreements with Baron Dorell. How she will interact with Baron Montclair has yet to be demonstrated, as the Baron has been absent from court these past few months, tending to the needs of his ailing wife.\nBarring unforeseen circumstances, I see a bright future ahead for the newly appointed Countess of House Tamrith.\nFor the High King, Chancellor Regina Troivois, the Department of Interior Affairs"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/house-tharn-nibenay": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/house-tharn-nibenay", "description": "History of the Tharn family and descriptions of its modern members.", "author": "Count Opius Voteporix", "title": "House Tharn of the Nibenay", "text": "Noble Families of Cyrodiil, Volume Seventeen\nBy Count Opius Voteporix\nHouse Tharn of Cheydinhal is one of the most distinguished noble families of northern Nibenay, where they have held extensive estates since early in the First Era. The family may, as they claim, be as old as the First Era itself: as house historians like to point out, there is a \"Tharanus Ye Redde-Hand\" mentioned in the Tamrilean Tractates of 1E 200. In those days before Alessia's Slave Rebellion, this proto-Tharn was apparently a slave overseer employed by the Ayleid Elves of Fanacas, a mining hold in the hills north of modern-day Cheydinhal. Based upon the fact that the Ayleids were known to have kept business records in red ink, the Tharn historians posit that this \"Redde-Hand\" was probably literate and employed in some clerical capacity. To be thorough, I will mention Lady Euphemia Glaber's theory that identified this Tharanus with the notorious \"Tharhan the Mutilant\" of the Gradual Massacre in 1E 227, but this was completely disproved by the text of the \"Scroll of Precursor Saints\" discovered the in the vaults below White-Gold Tower by Chancellor Abnur Tharn in 2E 541.\nHouse tradition holds that the Tharn family was active in St. Alessia's slave uprising, with one Vilius Tharn serving Pelinal Whitestrake as \"Blade-Serrator and Master of the Abbatoir.\" But the next Tharn who can definitely be identified in the historical record is Fervidius Tharn of the Alessian Order, who was Arch-Prelate of the Maruhkati Selective from 1E 1188 until his death (exact date indeterminate). Fervidius is best-remembered today as the author of the \"Sermons Denouncing the Seventeen Leniencies.\"\nNoble Tharn captains led mercenary companies that fought on both sides in the War of Righteousness in the 2300s, and when the dust settled General Turpis \"Volte-Face\" Tharn was in possession of the broad holdings that the family today calls home. Taking the title Earl of Outer Cheydinhal, Turpis married a niece of Admiral Bendu Olo and set about fathering numerous descendants.\nSeveral generations of Tharns served nobly and well during the Reman Empire, including Regulus Tharn, who revived the tradition of Imperial Battlemages, and Excoraeus Tharn, Emperor Kastav's Minister of Punition.\nWhich brings us to the members of the Tharn family of our own, current day. First and foremost, of course, is the head of the house and longtime Chancellor of the Elder Council, Abnur Tharn. Through times of trouble and the change of emperors, the Chancellor has always been there to provide the continuity and consistency our Imperial civilization needs.\nSecond only out of respect for her elder is Her Majesty Clivia Tharn, Empress-Regent of Cyrodiil, and daughter of Abnur Tharn by his seventh wife, Pulasia. Empress Clivia, it need hardly be said, is the widow of two emperors, having been the consort of both Leovic and Varen.\nScarcely less powerful is the Chancellor's younger half-sister, Euraxia Tharn, who has been Queen of Rimmen since the Frostfall Coup in 2E 576. And what would social events in the Imperial City be like without the presence of her son, the droll and charming Javad Tharn?\nTruly, House Tharn has come to epitomize the modern Nibenese nobility. We can only hope that they will continue to be with us through the future, whatever it may bring.\n(Note: Effusive enough? Also, forgot to work in Magus-General Septima. Must get that bonus A. promised.)"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/how-long-echoes-fade": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/how-long-echoes-fade", "description": "A hopeless  journal entry", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "How Long Before the Echoes Fade?", "text": "I've no idea how long we've been here, but already it feels like years.\nThe black-clad soldiers burned our farm and took my entire family. On a black, moonless night, they laid us upon stone altars encrusted with black tallow and caked with the blood of countless victims, and one by one, they put us to the knife. This is what being damned is. We're chattel for the Daedra.\nI can't find it in me to cry for what I've lost, not anymore. Day after day this state of being, this soullessness, drains my will. It becomes harder to remember. Harder to think. I've lost so many memories. My father's face? My mother's voice? It doesn't seem possible, but they're gone. Just gone.\nEven the basest of emotions are fading. I'm past the point of being indignant toward my captors. I'm past the point of feeling sorry for myself. All that's left is a gaping emptiness, and the distant echoes of a life that seems like a stranger's.\nHow long will it be before even the echoes fade?"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/how-long": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/how-long", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "How Long?", "text": "It's been weeks. Months? They say that time flows with demented cadence in the realms of Oblivion. When I get out of here\u2014if I get out of here\u2014the world will have moved on. I pray that, however much time has passed, my husband and the residents of Whisper Grove remain safe.\nIt would be a fitting end for all I've given. I am weary, in bone and soul, and this contest is far from finished.\nWriting helps."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/how-much-longer": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/how-much-longer", "description": "Poverty benefits one observer", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "How Much Longer?", "text": "I've been looking out the window and watching the time go by, waiting to see when this nonsense is going to be over. It all seems a bit much. I've been through my share of occupations, but this is getting ridiculous.\nLuckily, I don't own anything they can actually use. I used to curse Zenithar for my poor luck with money. Now I think I'll take a pilgrimage to one of his shrines and thank him\u2014who's to say this wasn't his plan for me?"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/how-beetle-got-his-cape": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/how-beetle-got-his-cape", "description": "A very brief story about the Beetle's cape", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "How The Beetle Got His Cape", "text": "The beetle killed some awesome guy in Malabal Tor, and the cape was stuck in its teeth.\nThe End."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/how-kwama-lost-his-shoes": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/how-kwama-lost-his-shoes", "description": "A children's nursery rhyme about kwama", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "How the Kwama Lost His Shoes", "text": "In the ash and sand of Stoneyfalls\n\tthe little kwama lost his way\n\tHe hurps and durps, to his mother calls\n\tbut the volcanoes do not sway.\n\tThe Forager passed him\n\tburbling then, with sand and skrit upon his back\n\tHe tripped and lost his front-right shoe\n\tand wished he'd brought some kind of snack.\n\tThe Worker rawped him\n\tchiding then, angry at the loss of time\n\tHe tripped and lost his back-left shoe\n\tand skittered legs-past, up to climb.\n\tThe Warrior snarled him\n\tfighting then, bites and snaps at nasty shalk\n\tHe tripped and lost both-other-shoes\n\tavoiding monsters, things that stalk.\n\tThe Queen found him then\n\tcries and leaks all down his face\n\tShe cracked his chitin for those lost shoes\n\tand ate him squealing for his disgrace."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/how-locks-work": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/how-locks-work", "description": "One memory-swiped prisoner's notes", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "How the Locks Work", "text": "I have to scribble this down before they wipe my memory again.\nI figured out how some of the locks in this room work. At least, I think I have the basics worked out. The door is locked by some kind of mechanism that must receive a charge from the various tubes and pipes that run along the wall.\nBut the tubes and pipes are cold now. If I could find some sort of power source to provide them with energy, I might be able to activate them long enough to open the gate and get out of this nightmare.\nI hear them returning. I'm hiding this up here. Maybe if I'm stuck back in this room I'll stumble upon it again and unlock more of this damned puzzle.\nAt least I can hope, right?"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/how-yokudans-chased-stars": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/how-yokudans-chased-stars", "description": "A fable about the effects of the Warrior constellation", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "How the Yokudans Chased the Stars", "text": "\u2026 and the Yokudan, who was also called the Star Man, studied the stars and charted their movements. He saw that when the Warrior was high in the sky, victory followed. And when the Warrior was gone from the sky, came famine and desolation. He charted this cycle across the seasons, through two risings and settings he recorded the Warrior's astral path.\nAnd the Star Man said to his kinsmen: \"Let us follow the Warrior and find the place where he rests and pledge ourselves to him, so that victory will follow us all our days, and never again will we suffer famine and desolation.\"\nAnd it was agreed. The Star Man led the Yokudans by ship, following the path of the Warrior, across mountains and vast deserts. And victory followed them, and famine and desolation fled before them.\nAnd the Warrior's charges were three. The Lord, the Lady, and the Steed. And they paid homage to these with gifts and incense\u2026.\n*****\nAnd where the Warrior was at his apex, there they ended their journey. There they built a temple and a tomb for all the warriors who had died on the journey. And in death the Warrior honored them and made them his eternal guardians, undying as the stars, and as numerous.\nThe place where they stopped has not been marked on any map. But any who wish to find it must only do as they did, and follow the Warrior."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/how-behave-around-durzogs": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/how-behave-around-durzogs", "description": "Helpful tips for handling Durzogs", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "How to Behave Around Durzogs ", "text": "1. Do not attempt to feed them without the beastmaster present.\n2. Wear protective leather on arms and legs at all times.\n3. Never look a durzog directly in the eye.\n4. Approved songs: The Drunken Dogsbody; Winter in the Keep; Punch the Mage in the Face\n5. Disapproved songs: Lusty Argonian Maid\n6. Should a durzog escape its cage, do not attempt to subdue. Kill it on sight.\n7. Durzogs are not dogs. Do not give them nicknames like \"Spot\" or \"Rover.\"\n8. Famililarity will get you killed.\n9. Don't whistle."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/how-prepare-slaughterfish": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/how-prepare-slaughterfish", "description": "Helpful guide to preparing Slaughterfish for consumption", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "How to Prepare Slaughterfish", "text": "Preparing Alder Plank Slaughterfish At Sea\nIngredients\nbrine\n\t1 pace-long slaughterfish fillet\n\tfreshly ground black pepper to taste\n\t1 cup vinegar\n\tfire salts\nDirections\nSoak the slaughterfish fillet in a brine solution for at least 14 hours. Also, submerge the alder wood plank in water, placing a heavy object on top of it to prevent floating.\nPrepare an outdoor smoker on deck, filling the heating receptacle with fire salts. Ignite the fire salts using flint and steel and bring to high heat.\nRemove the slaughterfish from the brine, rinse thoroughly under cold running fresh water, and pat dry. Remove the wood plank from the water, and lay the fish out on the plank. Season with freshly ground black pepper.\nSmoke the slaughterfish for at least 8 hours, checking after 5 1/2 hours for doneness. The fish is done when it flakes with a fork, but it should also not be too salty. As the fish smokes, the salt content reduces. Adjust the cooking time and salty flavor to your taste.\nWARNING: Under no circumstances should fire salts be combined with kindlepitch to increase temperature. This is extremely dangerous and can result in injury or death. The chef on the P.N. Coelacanth tried this and she burned to the waterline."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/how-pronounce-dwemer-names": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/how-pronounce-dwemer-names", "description": "An informative guide to the Dwemer language", "author": "Amadri Drevin", "title": "How to Pronounce Dwemer Names ", "text": "By Amadri Drevin, student.\nThere are many different thoughts on the pronunciation of Dwemer names. I just sat through a discussion with my master and several other scholars. As always, \"learned\" scholars disagree on one thing or another. They also love the sound of their own voices droning on about Dwemer nomenclature.\nAfter sifting through what names we do know, and sitting through that long-winded scholarly review, I have distilled the knowledge to provide a guide on Dwemer pronunciation for my fellow aspiring scholars:\n- First, inhale deeply\n\t- Second, drink a full glass of mead or Cyrodillic brandy, whichever you prefer.\n\t- Inhale deeply again\n\t- Put four to seven smooth rounded pebbles in your mouth\n\t- Attempt to say your name, or any word, but try to add an \"S\" sound to the end of it every other time\n\t- Emphasize either the third or fourth syllable in an exaggerated manner (unless it is a two-syllable name)\nCongratulations, you have pronounced a Dwemer name"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/how-train-your-guar": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/how-train-your-guar", "description": "A step by step guide to training the guar", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "How to Train Your Guar", "text": "\u2026in Five Easy Steps!\nGuar have much more complex inner lives than many give them credit for. We know they can be trained to carry packs, and we love them for their docile nature, but what do we really know about our relationship with these steadfast beasts? In my years working with guar, I have discovered that they have a much greater capacity for learning than we could ever expect. My studies have yielded what I believe are some of the best methods for guar training, useful whether you are interested in studying them in-depth or just in getting ol' Rollie to stop chewing on your sandals.\n1. Demonstrate\n\tMake sure to clearly show your guar what you intend for him to do for you. Make sure to hunch over and look as much like a guar as possible. Studies have shown that just by watching, guar can learn the basics of a task. Keep his attention by carrying a bit of food that is of interest while you perform the task.\n2. Command\n\tClearly, slowly state the command word you wish to associate with the demonstrated behavior. Say it over and over again as you show your guar the correct way to do the task. Sometimes I find that yelling helps, as it startles the guar into paying closer attention (though it may also make him skittish).\n3. Watch\n\tAfter you have demonstrated what you wish your guar to do while repeating the command word, watch for the guar to make an attempt. Continue saying the command word and continue to the next step every time he makes a move in the correct direction. This can take hours or days, so be prepared to watch for a while.\n4. Reward\n\tGive your guar a reward even for incremental progress, such as nudging a bucket you wish him to carry. Training can be difficult, and rewarding every bit of progress will help your guar stay motivated.\n5. Repeat\n\tIt may take weeks for you to fully teach your guar a new task, so stay patient. Train every day, and by following these steps, you'll have the best-trained guar in the district!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/how-use-tonal-inverter": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/how-use-tonal-inverter", "description": "How to disrupt Sotha Sil's energy stealing device", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "How to Use the Tonal Inverter", "text": "1. The tonal inverter requires two willing, consenting, adults to operate; one harmonic modulator to generate and prepare the sound wave, one resonance intonator to release the prepared sound wave and disrupt Sotha Sil's modified energy-stealing device.\n2. Harmonic modulator operates the tonal inverter, nearby but out of direct combat, while resonance intonator engages device-wielder in battle.\n3. Harmonic modulator works the tonal inverter controls to build a wave of sonic energy.\n4. When the tonal inverter reaches the proper pitch, harmonic modulator indicates the device is ready for discharge. For example, the harmonic modulator could shout: \"Ready!\"\n5. Resonance intonator pauses in combat long enough to discharge the tonal inverter. Note: This can be done from anywhere within a clear line of sight, as the tonal inverter has been configured to recognize and obey the resonance intonator from a remote position.\n6. Tonal inverter releases a charge that temporarily disrupts the energy emitted by Sotha Sil's modified device. The wielder of said device will become vulnerable to attack for a limited amount of time.\nFinal Words: Depending on the amount of energy already absorbed by the wielder of Sotha Sil's device, this procedure may need to be repeated multiple times, as the disruption and subsequent vulnerability is fleeting. Stick with it and everything should turn out fine. May the Great Gear whir and spin freely in your presence!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/how-win-fight": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/how-win-fight", "description": "A rather interesting guide about fighting with heavy weapons", "author": "Caelius Imbrex", "title": "How to Win a Fight", "text": "I don't read books much, and there's a good reason. You get all these scholar types philosophizing about anything, even stuff they don't know squat about! The other day, I saw a book about the \"art\" of the sword. I never saw anything so ridiculous. It was full of \"deep thoughts\" about how fighting is like dancing and a bunch of other horse piss.\nI've seen plenty of fights, and I can tell you that all that high-minded fuss is just going to distract you. Fighting is fighting. It's dirty, it's dangerous, and you do what you have to do to survive. I'll lay it out real simple for you right here, and then you can go smash some skulls in without worrying about dance steps or getting in tune with the soul of the blade or any of that. Here's what you need to know:\nFirst, find the biggest weapon you can. Something you need to grab with two hands. Forget shields and bows and tiny daggers. Those aren't going to scare your enemy, and that's one of the first things you need to do. Get the hugest hammer you can. A greatsword works, too, I guess. If you can't pick it up and swing it, well, you aren't strong enough to fight, and you're going to need to lift heavy things until you can!\nSecond, start breaking things with it. Swing it from the side or from over your head, and smash boxes, scarecrows, target dummies\u2014whatever you can find. Just get a feel for how it swings. This isn't art. It's about having the scariest weapon and being strong enough and crazy enough to send the enemy fleeing when they see you use it to bash someone's helmet in.\nThird, find fights! Join a mercenary band or the military. Do whatever gets you into the action. If you know how to swing your weapon and yell really loud, they'll probably take you, especially if you're big and covered in muscles (you should be). Now you can practice on live targets without getting in trouble. Drink just enough to be angry and then get into the fight. If you're strong enough, your weapon is big enough, and you yell loud enough, you'll win\u2014no reading required."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/how-we-came-coldharbour": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/how-we-came-coldharbour", "description": "History of a clan of Argonians and their Hist in Oblivion", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "How we Came to Coldharbour", "text": "In the ancient past, my people lived in Nirn. Our great civilization rose from the warm swamps of Black Marsh and our beloved Hist tree was connected to the other Hist trees of the world. But a time of change was coming. The Argonian civilization, as we knew it, was coming to an end. Our Hist tree told us so.\nAnd our Hist tree despaired. It did not want to see the great civilization fall. It did not want to see its children reduced to a more primitive, primeval state. Our Hist tree sought a solution that would keep our civilization intact. That, our legends tell us, is when Molag Bal appeared with an offer we couldn't refuse.\nThe Lord of Brutality's offer was simple. He would create a place in his realm of Coldharbour for our Hist tree and its children, a place where we could continue our values and traditions just as we had always done. We would not have to fear the coming changes that would sweep through the rest of the Argonian settlements. And all the Daedric Prince asked for, all he wanted in return, was a little of our Hist tree's sap.\nOur beloved Hist tree decided that it could spare a bit of sap in exchange for the continued health and happiness of its children. It accepted Molag Bal's offer and the city of Haj Uxith\u2014along with its people and its Hist\u2014slid into Oblivion and came to rest upon Coldharbour's dark and dismal shores.\nDid our Hist make the right decision? That's for the leaders of the scholars and the warriors to decide. For me and for most of the common citizens of Haj Uxith? We'd rather have the civilization we know than the unknown fate we were destined to endure before we departed for the isolated islands of Coldharbour."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/how-we-came-fly": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/how-we-came-fly", "description": "A brief Khajiiti myth on the afterlife", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "How We Came to Fly", "text": "Before Fadomai defied Ahnurr and the world was born, Khenarthi flew swift and high, beyond even great Alkosh's reach. Though she was boundless and free, she had no one to share her joy with, so she begged her mother to give her someone to share the skies. Fadomai gave her Jone and Jode in the night, Magrus in the day, and Azurah in the between, but each could only follow the path meant for them, and none could truly share Khenarthi's joy. Seeing this, Azurah spoke to Khenarthi a secret only they would share.\nWhen one of Azurah's faithful children reached the end of their life, Khenarthi would snatch them up from Nirni's jealous claws and spirit them away to the Sands Behind the Stars. Thus, our chosen people were granted a path to Llesw'er, and Khenarthi could finally share her joy."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/howls-night": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/howls-night", "description": "One Nord hears wolves in the night", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Howls in the Night", "text": "I hear the call of the wild. It's loud this night. The majestic wolves that wander the snow-covered hills howl to the cold moon above. Are they singing, I wonder? Calling each other to the hunt? Warning off other creatures to protect the pack? Perhaps it's none of these things, but the sound certainly sends shivers down my spine. It makes my mind race when I should be asleep in a warm, cozy bed.\nWolves are mighty hunters, showing honor and ferocity that would make any Nord proud. They have their world beyond the fires of our villages, and we have ours. Yet at times like these, when sleep eludes me and the haunting howls fill the night, our two worlds merge. As long as that merging remains figurative, I can sit here and listen and dream.\nAnd thank Mara's heart they have no desire to come closer to our homes and hearths \u2026 for this night, at least."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/huberts-diary": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/huberts-diary", "description": "", "author": "Hubert", "title": "Hubert's Diary", "text": "We came to mine\u2026\n\tWe saw bears and were trapped\u2026\n\tThe food is running out\u2026\n\tMarisse didn't make it."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/huberts-notes": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/huberts-notes", "description": "", "author": "Hubert", "title": "Hubert's Notes", "text": "Mashana\u2014do not leave Wind Keep!\nWe came to mine \u2026 bears and were trapped \u2026.\nThe food is running out \u2026.\nMarisse didn't make it."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hunt-me": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hunt-me", "description": "A Bosmer is dissatisfied with the Dominion and seeks a Hunt to end things", "author": "Calahawn", "title": "Hunt With Me", "text": "A partnership between Wood Elf, High Elf, and the Khajiit is preposterous. Can you not see? Queen Ayrenn will take and take, like a well-coifed hoarvor suckling at a heart-wound. The High Elves would like nothing more than to have us under their rule. We're less than cousins, less than Elves, to them.\nIt's time for the Bosmer to hunt again. We'll take Valenwood back. For our people, for Hircine. And we'll have Hircine's blessing as we do it.\n\t\u2014Calahawn"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hurricane-assistance-and-salvage": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hurricane-assistance-and-salvage", "description": "How to deal with the aftermath of the hurricane in Kenarthi's Roost", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Hurricane Assistance and Salvage", "text": "To All Citizens of Khenarthi's Roost,\nThe Dominion's Gold Fleet suffered extreme losses due to the recent hurricane. In this time of need, please do what you are able to aid the survivors.\n1) Hosting Dominion Soldiers\nIf you or anyone you know are capable of hosting guests, consider opening your doors to Dominion soldiers in need of shelter.\n2) Rescue and Recovery\nIf you encounter shipwreck survivors capable of moving on their own, direct them to Temple of the Mourning Springs. If trapped beneath wreckage or suffering from grievous wounds, alert any Dominion officer to assist.3) Salvage Prohibition\nStripping fallen Dominion soldiers of armor or weaponry will be considered a hostile act. Report any such activity to Dominion officers.\nYour cooperation is appreciated in this trying time."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/husks-and-bones": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/husks-and-bones", "description": "An Imperial has a very difficult time in Valenwood", "author": "Sorexius Lentulus (the journal of)", "title": "Husks and Bones", "text": "12th Second Seed\nBoss bought a map off of some Wood Elf, says it's the shortest trail to Elden Root he's seen by a long shot. He thinks we'll make a killing getting these lumber shipments down there, and if we can do it faster than anyone else, all the better. He told me the Wood Elves won't cut down any of their own trees because of some deal they have with them. Deals with trees, ha! Crazy Elves. As long as they have the gold, I'll bring the goods. None of us have ever been down that way, but I bet it'll be a nice change of pace from the old Elsweyr routes I've been running. Tired of all the sun, anyway.\n18th Second Seed\nI hope they have really, really nice beds in Elden Root. And less bugs. I've never seen so many in my life\u2014beetles the size of my hand, snaky things with more legs than I want to think about, and the biting! I can't sleep for the itching, and I swear they settle all over you as soon as you sit still. We haven't passed any kind of village, and I'm starting to doubt this is a trail at all with all the slashing we're having to do to make passage for the wagons. It's all overgrown, like no one's used it forever.\n\t24th Second Seed\nLast night, I dreamed I was in the Roosting Quail back home. My favorite tavern. Best ale I've ever had. Maxintius and I were sitting in the common room, and he told a joke so funny that I spat out ale and couldn't stop laughing. Then I was awake, but the laughter wasn't gone; hooting, high-pitched laughter coming from the trees. The guard on watch, that Argonian whose name I can't pronounce, he didn't see anything. We scouted around, but the laughing stopped, and then we all just sat by the fire feeling uneasy. I grabbed my flask of Flin and raised it to my mouth, only to feel wiggling legs! In my mouth! Everyone else's flasks and skins were full of 'em too. Akatosh's fiery roar!\n2nd Mid Year\nThings are just getting weirder. Today, we were slashing our way forward double-time, because we all want to get this done with and get out, and Maxintius spotted giant beetles up ahead on the trail. Not just big bugs\u2014huge bugs. Bugs the size of wolves. Massive pinchers, shiny shells. They weren't doing much, just crawling around, but we hadn't seen their like so far and approached slowly. When I got within a short stone's throw, I noticed something strange about their legs. They looked like a man's! They were! In a flash, they stood up and rushed towards us, running and flipping and laughing, covered in beetle shells and grabbing things from the camp before disappearing off into the trees. We tried to give chase. The Argonian fired a quick arrow, but it bounced right off that carapace armor. Were those Wood Elves? I heard there were really wild ones, but dressing up as giant bugs? They aren't bandits; they hardly even took much and didn't hurt anyone.\n4th Mid Year\nThat's it. We're turning back. There's no way we're making it to Elden Root, and I'm getting a pretty clear message that they\u2014whoever they are\u2014don't want us to. No amount of gold is worth this; I'd rather haggle with a Khajiit for a week than deal with this place. This time, our water was drugged. That had to be what happened. Who knows how they got to it or what they put in it, but when we woke up in the middle of the night, skeletons were dancing around the campfire. I couldn't move, could only watch in a haze and listen to the strange music, the rattling and hissing and low, warped flutes. Were they wearing bones? It's all fuzzy except one thing: we are getting out of here, profits be damned!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/huvars-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/huvars-journal", "description": "Huvar and his men pay homage to Kyne", "author": "Huvar", "title": "Huvar's Journal", "text": "We finally reached Kynesgrove. I heard stories from my brothers about this place. They told me, \"Huvar, never go into battle without praying to the goddess first! Not unless you want to end up on the losing side.\" So here I am, offering prayers as other warriors have done before me.\nOne note before I turn in for the night. The Keepers of the shrine are acting very strange. My brothers told me they were generous and kind, eager to help visiting pilgrims. But the Keepers are glaring at me, treating me like a sacrilegious Orc. I hope I didn't disrespect them in some way.\nSomething strange is happening here. I heard screams outside, and my companions haven't returned yet. I guess it's time to grab my blade and find out what's going on out there."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hydrik-deep-delves-wit-and-wisdom": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hydrik-deep-delves-wit-and-wisdom", "description": "An old adventurer's guide to western Skyrim's dungeons", "author": "Hydrik Deep-Delve", "title": "Hydrik Deep-Delve's Wit and Wisdom", "text": "Right, you sod. I'm stuck in my room at the guild hall with a broken ankle, and the healer says it'll be a miracle if I'm walking again this side of six weeks. The hall steward says it's good to take the time to put word to parchment, so the younger members can get the benefits of my \"wisdom.\" Drinking seems like a better way to waste the hours, but it's the hall steward who's putting me up for my convalescence.\nSo read well. Any ponce with a dirk can gut a few sabre cats in the foothills of Kilkreath. But the real work, that's in the pits and dark corners of Western Skyrim. I've knocked about them enough to know what's what, so if you want a chance of seeing daylight after delving in these places, keep reading.\nSHADOWGREEN\n\tAny recruit might think a place so close to Solitude won't be that dangerous. Wrong. There's a gods-damned menagerie of beasts in this place, ready to claw out your eyes and eat your liver. And that's just the start\u2014rivers of fire ribbon the place! Saw a healer get the air choked from her lungs just by standing too close to the stuff. And while you're minding the heat, you need to contend with the frozen wind that blows in from the Sea of Ghosts. It can turn your fingers black if you don't wrap them tightly. Try fending off a hungry bear with a handful of frostbitten fingers, I dare you!\nThere's worse rumors lately. Hagravens, the prickly wretches, were spotted setting up roosts in the place. Calling all sorts of nastier things to their side, I reckon. Gods know what they want.\nDRAGONHOME\n\tFirst, let me clear the air. There's not a single damn Dragon in the place. I'm sick of every Svyne, Bor and Oda thinking they're going to slay a Dragon and become a hero of legend. You want to do that, travel to Elsweyr!\nWhat this place does have is draugr\u2014enough to give any chapter of the guild pause. The Dragon Cult really knew how to fit a legion into a few musty halls, I'll give them that. And where you don't find draugr, you'll find cultists barmy enough to think it's smart to worship Dragons. Think they're back in the days of old, they do! It's got the other charms of barrows, too\u2014traps, sepulchers that suddenly burst open, and on top of that, a fall that will kill you if you don't watch your footing. So, mind the heights!\nFROZEN COAST\n\tDrowning is a terrible way to die. There's a lot of ways a berk can die in our line of work, but drowning is just about the worst of them in my book. So, imagine you're standing on a shelf of slick ice, fighting off a Sea Giant, and you take a misstep and plunge into water colder than Naemira's teat. You ain't jumping right out of that. The cold saps the air from your lungs straight away. Whatever strength you had to pull your armored arse out of the deep flutters away. And then you sink.\nThat's the bad part. The worse part is the clan of Sea Giants that decided these rocks might be a good spot to sit for a spell and sow some mayhem. You might think I'm talking about the doddering, fur-clad sods you see in in the wilds. No. Sea Giants are smart. They're also mean, and they'll happily take the time to make your death as painful as possible\u2014just for the fun of it. And they don't make cheese from mammoth milk\u2014at least as far as I can tell.\nCHILLWIND DEPTHS\n\tIt's a cave. Low light, low ceiling. Until recently, there wasn't much in there to be worried about. Some Reachfolk hiding out, maybe. Or a stray necromancer or two. Nothing the guild couldn't handle. But some creatures have set up homes in these tunnels, creatures I haven't seen before. Like goblins, only not.\nPale things with nasty armor, strong enough to pull a full-grown Orc screaming into the black tunnels. I took a job to check it out, and barely got two chambers in before these things attacked me.\nThere's some kind of bugs they use\u2014massive, armored things, with mandibles like steel traps. They'll bite right through chain mail, and I wouldn't be surprised if venom dripped from those jaws.\nLABYRINTHIAN\n\tAny smart berk can make their way into and out of the delves above without too much fear of losing hide nor hair. But only an idiot goes into Labyrinthian without a small army. I don't care if a scholar's only got the coin to pay for one guard, it ain't worth the gold. There's big blokes in the upper levels of the place, and plenty of meaner things in the caverns below. Word of warning: don't go too deep. Plenty go down that don't come back up."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hymn-kyne": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hymn-kyne", "description": "A Nordic song in dedication to Kyne", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Hymn to Kyne", "text": "In darkness, your light shines through,\n\tWarrior Goddess, for you we strike true.\n\tWhen hope is lost and war rages on,\n\tWarrior Goddess, hear our blessed song!\n\tWith a Nord's death, fallen in battle,\n\tWarrior Goddess, guide us through shadow.\n\tGrant us courage to fight and sharpen our swords,\n\tWarrior Goddess, mother of Nords!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/i-count-nights": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/i-count-nights", "description": "A lonesome lover thinks of her beloved", "author": "Hevra", "title": "I Count the Nights", "text": "Dearest Therrun,\nI pray that you live well on your journey and I count the nights until your return. I long for your touch even now. When you are on the open seas and look to the moon, know that it is the same moon that I too look upon.\nMay that bring you comfort in the storms. Until your return, Therrun, I seal this letter with a kiss.\n\tYours Truly,\n\tHevra"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/i-know-its-name": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/i-know-its-name", "description": "One anonymous writer must confront an abomination of bone", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "I Know Its Name", "text": "I know its name!\n\tI have seen signs of a spectral abomination lurking in these caves.\n\tI have survived long enough to know it is not a creature of flesh.\n\tIt is bone, yet it feeds on blood.\n\tI dare not return to the surface before I know the truth.\n\tI dare not speak above a whisper, lest it hear me.\n\tMy footfalls would summon it.\n\tRunning would summon it.\n\tScreaming would summon it.\n\tSleeping would make me a victim.\n\tI am not going back until I know the truth \u2026 or until it feasts on my blood.\n\tIt will not! I will prevail!\n\tI will stay awake.\n\tI must not sleep.\n\tI know its name, and I will destroy it."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/i-must-not-falter": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/i-must-not-falter", "description": "A werewolf looks to reclaim his love by killing everyone else", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "I Must Not Falter", "text": "I've found him. Hircine speaks\u2014to me!\nI must not falter. I must not yield to the injustices I have suffered! Though they all turn against me, I will not give in!\nI return to Wilding Run. There, in the haunted place where I was born, I shall find the power Hircine promised me! With it, I will forge a new way, a new story!\nAs I rise, as I tear through the remains of Silvenar's city and self, Gwaering will come to me, Green Lady or no! She will have no choice! For Hircine is my Huntsman, and I his faithful Hound!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/i-saw-him-again-tonight": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/i-saw-him-again-tonight", "description": "The private thoughts of a conflicted wife", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "I Saw Him Again Tonight", "text": "I saw him again tonight. He was across the stream, but the waters only reflected the moon above us. We walked, with the babbling waters between us, but it was as if we were walking side-by-side.\nWhy does someone I've only seen and never touched excite me so much? Why do I spend all day longing for nightfall, for another tantalizing glimpse of this pale stranger?\nMy husband is a plain man, an honest man. Good for putting bread on the table and keeping me warm and comfortable. He doesn't suspect anything of my nocturnal activities. Still, I hate lying to him.\nI don't know what to do. Who ever thought I'd find myself in this situation?"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/i-suspect-duplicity": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/i-suspect-duplicity", "description": "One scholar suspects foul play", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "I Suspect Duplicity", "text": "Headmaster Herendas,\nThe Fort Magia ruins have been a disappointment. Far from the plethora of ancient lore you claimed were to be found at the site, I have discovered nothing but flesh-hungry undead. My servants were torn apart and my pack animals eaten. I barely escaped with my life.\nI now sit perched upon a lofty eminence, safe for the moment. While the view is excellent, I must protest my treatment at your hands. I suspect duplicity, if not evil intent, on your part. When I return, and fear not that I shall, I intend to abandon my instructor's post and will convince Indora to do the same.\nI believe I see a means to climb down the exterior of this ruined tower. Though it has been my home for the last three days, I will not miss it. I expect to be in Davon's Watch, to deliver this letter and settle my affairs, very soon.\n\u2014 Scholar Thirobar"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/i-was-summoned-mortal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/i-was-summoned-mortal", "description": "A humorous tale of a Dremora summoned by a famous wizard", "author": "Kynval Zzedenkathik", "title": "I was Summoned by a Mortal", "text": "By Kynval Zzedenkathik of Clan Deathbringer\nFor as long as I can remember\u2014and like all Dremora my memory is keen, especially for grievances\u2014I have faithfully served the officers of my clan, and through them, My Lord Molag Bal. And yet not always: for once, to my shame, I was compelled to serve another.\nI was on guard duty at the Endless Stair, an assignment I always enjoy, for I can mock and torment the passing Soul Shriven without being held responsible for them meeting their quotas. Leaping out from behind a claw-pillar while shouting, \"There you are, weakling!\" just never loses its appeal.\nI was lurking behind a Dark Anchor chain link, preparing to terrify an approaching Soul Shriven by suddenly knocking her down and sneering, \"No match at all,\" when I suddenly felt a strange tingling all over, from my horns down to my toes. I grew dizzy as the plane spun around me, nearly fell into a pool of blue plasm, and then suddenly felt myself hurled into an endless black void.\nI wasn't alarmed at first, because who hasn't been hurled into an endless black void? It wasn't until I began to materialize at my destination and got a taste of the air that I had my first misgivings. \"I smell \u2026 weakness,\" I said to myself\u2014and I couldn't have been more right.\nIt was then that I first heard the voice of my Conjurer as he said, \"Ah, this one looks fairly robust,\" and the full horror of my situation broke upon me. For I had been summoned to do the bidding \u2026 of a mortal.\nI turned, aghast, to see who had dared summon me across the infinities to Nirn, and found myself faced with a tall Elf of Summerset. Oh, I recognized the type: I'd abused more than a few Altmeri Soul Shriven in my time, and with gusto, for they evince a haughty arrogance entirely inappropriate in mere mortals. This one gave me a brief, appraising look, and then turned away, saying, \"Follow and fight. There are Worm Cultists that need slaying.\"\nWorm Cultists. Can you imagine the ignominy, fellow kyn? Not only had I been conjured away from my duty by one of the hated Elven mortals, but I must serve him by slaying the minions of Mannimarco, our Dread Lord's lieutenant and viceroy-to-be! I tried to resist, flexing my indomitable will, but the mortal mage's binding spell was too strong\u2014all I could do was say, \"No one escapes!\" and follow him past a pair of torches into a subterranean maze of tunnels.\n\"You serve the great Vanus Galerion, Dremora,\" my Conjurer announced, quite unnecessarily\u2014for what need had I to know the name of my slavemaster? But then I reconsidered, and mentally added his name to that long list each of us keeps: the list labeled, \"Vengeance.\"\nI followed, not deigning to crouch when my Conjurer hunched over to sneak, merely glaring at him and thinking, \"I will feast upon your heart.\" In truth, however, it was as well that I had this Elf Vanus to follow, for the tunnels were many and twisting, and though we Dremora are fearless, relentless, and unparalleled among warriors throughout Oblivion, our sense of direction is rather poor. When doing courier duty, I've been known to lose my way right in the middle of the Moonless Walk and wind up back at the Lightless Oubliette where I started.\nIn time this Vanus began to pause frequently, listening, which only increased my irritation and impatience. Finally he stopped, with a \"Shh!\" to me\u2014which was completely unfair, as I hadn't said a word. But I realized why he'd stopped when I suddenly heard human speech from the tunnel ahead. Hesitating nary an instant, I drew my greatsword and rushed forward, crying \"A challenger is near!\" The Elf cursed and followed, but he had only himself to blame\u2014I was following his orders exactly.\nThe next minute passed in the red fury that all true Dremora feel when they enter battle. But my usual enjoyment of bloody slaughter was tainted by the knowledge that I was killing those my Dread Lord would prefer I didn't, and frankly, that just ruined the whole experience for me. As I lopped off the limbs and heads of the Worm Cultists, I was aware of the energies of the Elf's powerful magics crackling past me, incinerating the more distant enemies, but I was too mortified to enjoy the orgy of destruction. The Elf came striding up as I subdivided the final Worm Anchorite, gloating, \"So much for them. Take that, Mannimarco!\"\n\"There could be no other end,\" I replied sourly, then felt the strange tingling again as the conjuration that had brought me to Nirn began to weaken. As the bonds dissolved I took one menacing step toward the Elf, but then the plane spun around me again, and it was back into the endless black void.\n\tWhen I came to my senses I was lying in a pool of turquoise slime, looking up at the smiling face of my superior, Kynreeve Xalxorkig. \"So, Zzedenkathik,\" he snarled, \"straying from your post when on duty, eh? It's the scathe-rings for you, my lad!\"\n\"But, Kynreeve,\" I cried, leaping to attention, \"I couldn't help it! I was conjured, summoned to Nirn\u2014by a mortal!\"\nXalxorkig smiled even wider. \"And that'll be an extra shift scathing for telling such a hornless lie. Now march, Zzedenkathik,\" he shouted, thumping me with his truncheon. \"Left, right, left, right, left, right \u2026.\"\nI hate it when Xalxorkig smiles. Kynreeve or not, his name's going on my list."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ill-get-you-ulbazar": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ill-get-you-ulbazar", "description": "Starvation approaches", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "I'll Get You Ulbazar", "text": "What is this? Ulbazar thinks he can lock me in this cage like an animal! Why? Because I wanted to feed myself and my family?\nThey have forgotten about us! They aren't sending any more food! We have to take what we can!\nIf he hadn't stolen that memory-stone we wouldn't be in this mess! That's the reason they won't let us out! It's all because of him!\nBut tell me why should we let good flesh just rot away while our families starve? Does that make any sense?"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ibrulas-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ibrulas-journal", "description": "A scholar is seduced by a dark voice", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Ibrula's Journal ", "text": "1 Last Seed\nI pen these words through instinct, writing faster than I can see. I can hardly contain my excitement and hardly describe its cause. This fount of knowledge I've discovered\u2014I could drink and drink and never be sated, yet the water is delicious to me and more precious than gemstones.\n2 Last Seed\nAfter much study, I have translated the ancient runes on the wall. Seeker's Archive indeed! To think, a library so vast existed beneath Craglorn this whole time. I will venture further in tomorrow.\nI have seen a place where the floor breaks. I will go down there, if I dare.\n3 Last Seed\nFurther in I heard his voice. \"Come to me, you who seek.\" I answered. \"I am Ibrula! I am here!\"\n3 Last Seed\nI cannot name what awoke me, but having risen in the night, I looked over what I'd written these last few days. The pages were blank except for a single word.\n\"Seeker\"\nI will go deeper in. I will find this one who speaks to me.\nAs I walked down the tunnels, words scratched themselves onto the blank page.\n\"Closer.\"\nOver and over, this word was written.\n\"Closer.\"\nWith each step, the scratching became louder. Until I reached its room. There, upon a throne of pages, it leered down at me. Beneath it, each book holds a lifetime of answers. And each answer yields another question.\n\"Bring me secrets.\"\nI have made my deal with him. I will seek the hidden meanings of the world and bring them to him, and in exchange, I will learn and know all there is to know."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ibrulas-warning": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ibrulas-warning", "description": "Turn back and live", "author": "Ibrula", "title": "Ibrula's Warning", "text": "TURN BACK AND LIVE"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ice-elves-fact-or-fiction": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ice-elves-fact-or-fiction", "description": "A personal account of a Falmer encounter", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Ice Elves: Fact or Fiction?", "text": "Are there Ice Elves? I have heard of these strange creatures but until recently, I dismissed the stories as myths. But now I am pretty sure I met one.\nMy cousin Knudek and I were hunting deer south of Fort Amol with little luck. Knudek was determined to bag something bigger than a rabbit. After a few bottles of mead and feeling encouraged, he ran off waving his bow, telling me he would return with a fine buck before the sun fully set. I decided to make camp, figuring my cousin would soon tire of hunting as evening fell.\nThe snow started just as I finished off another bottle of mead and crawled into our small tent. Not long after, I heard some strange beast thrashing about in the woods nearby. I called out, thinking it was Knudek. An eerie moan was the only response, making the hairs on my arms stand up.\nI grabbed my bow, determined to face the creature. As I leapt out, a strong gust of wind caused the snow to swirl. I became tangled up in my tent and pitched forward, my hand landing in the small campfire. I screamed in surprise, startling the creature as it paused near the camp.\nThe creature was too small to be a frost troll. It made some odd noises and I yelled at it to go away. I could not see it clearly because of the snow and my eyes streaming from the pain of my burns. The creature made more unintelligible noises.\nIn desperation and in fear for my life, I grabbed a handful of hot embers with my uninjured hand and flung them at the creature's head. The pain caused me to scream even louder than the creature, which began to thrash around, flailing into a snowdrift. I managed to stand as the creature struggled to its feet. It was pale-skinned and hunched. It did not attack me. The pain in my hands had rendered me speechless.\nIn spite of my pain, I decided to make a run for it. I fled toward Fort Amol. Luckily, I ran into a group of soldiers heading back to the fort. They got me to healer, who tended to my hands. Knudek showed up several days later. He said he'd gotten lost, fallen and broken his arm, and was later attacked by a rogue mage who flung fireballs at him repeatedly. He was sorry he missed the Ice Elf. He wants to go looking for it again, after we both heal."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ice-hearts-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ice-hearts-journal", "description": "The leader of the Winterborn in Wrothgarian goats to his diary.", "author": "Urfon Ice-Heart", "title": "Ice-Heart's Journal", "text": "The siege continues, damn Kurog and damn his army of filthy Orcs!\nMy Winterborn were actually making progress before the so-called king of the pig children returned from his travels abroad and began organizing the Orc clans. Suddenly my warlords were being hunted down and killed in droves, my bands of warriors scattered to the four winds. But we're going to weather this siege, mark my words!\nThis old Breton fort is a gods' send. The stupid pig children will never breach its walls-let alone make it past the harpies. I love to watch the harpies swoop down and snatch an unsuspecting Orc. It's almost as much fun as freezing Orcs solid just so I can hear the ice shatter when I smash them into bits. It's a wonder, though, that the Bretons weren't able to pacify this land with construction such as this. They must be even more stupid than the pig children!\nMore supplies arrive every day to bolster our stores. Stupid pig children! Every caravan they try to bring into Wrothgar becomes a general store for my Winterborn - a store where we can take what we want and never worry about making a payment! Of course, the outsiders that Kurog summoned have been somewhat troublesome. In the end, it won't make a difference. We'll kill them as fast as they arrive!\nThe hagravens continue to perfect the process for growing briar hearts and using them to create briar-heart warriors. The tree is an impressive piece of magic, especially considering the hagravens thought of it. But I never turn down a good idea, no matter where it may originate. Thanks to the briar hearts, my warriors will never die. And that's why Urfon Ice-Heart will win this war. That's why the Winterborn will be victorious!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/icereach-coven-note": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/icereach-coven-note", "description": "Letter to the Matron of the Icereach witch clan", "author": "Sister Balra", "title": "Icereach Coven Note", "text": "Matron,\n\nWe continue to modify and improve the ritual as our patron has requested. Soon we will be ready to attempt a larger version in a more populated area.\n\nThese harrowstorms will accomplish the task as directed, but we have noticed an interesting side effect. While the storm draws what we need from living creatures within its influence, it often kills or transforms those it touches. Many of those afflicted by the storm are reduced to a new type of bloodfiend. Something we've come to refer to as \"harrowfiends.\"\n\nI will send complete details of the latest version of the ritual in a separate package.\n\nSister Balra"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/if-i-may-beseech-you": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/if-i-may-beseech-you", "description": "Stibbons must reject the advances of a lady suitor", "author": "Stibbons", "title": "If I may Beseech You", "text": "One of my Daedra captors has started making advances toward me. I assure you, this behavior is entirely unreciprocated! I have tried to be a gentleman about it, but she is quite insistent. A timely rescue appears increasingly desirable.\nI wonder how poor Lady Laurent is holding up? I do hope she is all right! Her clothes must be terribly wrinkled by now.\n\u2014 Stibbons"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/if-you-can-read-open-it": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/if-you-can-read-open-it", "description": "Telenger requires assistance", "author": "Telenger", "title": "If You Can Read This, Open It", "text": "I placed a spell of protection on this note, making it invisible to Daedra. If you're reading this, you're not a Daedra, so I can probably trust you. I hope it is you, Clarisse, or that promising young Raynor. I dread to imagine that you are both still trapped in this terrible place.\nThe magic here is strong. Stronger even than mine. I wouldn't have believed myself so susceptible to simple illusions. Drastic measures must be taken. I discovered a vault in the lower levels. I plan to lock myself within, hopefully remaining clear-headed long enough to work out a plan of escape.\nFind me in the vault. Then we can escape together.\n\t\u2014Telenger"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/iirdels-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/iirdels-journal", "description": "Blacksap sympathizers and their safewords", "author": "Iirdel", "title": "Iirdel's Journal", "text": "Known Blacksap Sympathizers:\n\t\u2014Rathilmith, tall tree. (Nallion's husband)\n\t\u2014Nallion, tall tree. (Rathilmith's wife)\n\t\u2014Norweras, rarely leaves home.\n\t\u2014Glardel, collector of fine furs.\n\t\u2014Iirond, frequents the inn. Enjoys the drink.\n\t\u2014Galriel, edge of town. Keeps to herself.\nAny of the sympathizers should connect you to the remnants. Approach them and speak this week's phrase first:\n\t\u2014\"The Falinesti peeper swims at night.\"\nAfter they respond, check the weather. It should relate to :\n\t\u2014\"Cloudless skies scare the peepers away.\"\n\t\u2014\"Rainy skies bring all the peepers out.\"\n\t\u2014\"Sunny skies keep the peepers in their cave.\"\nThe sympathizers spend a lot of time under the inn, near that old shrine. I've seen them change the color of the flames. The color will tell you the final response you need:\n\t\u2014\"Once yellow, it grew jealous of its neighbors. I hear it stole the red skin.\"\n\t\u2014\"Once green, it broke the Green Pact. Y'ffre's anger turned it red.\"\n\t\u2014\"Once blue, it was forced to eat its own family. Its body is bathed in their blood.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ilessan-tower": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ilessan-tower", "description": "", "author": "T", "title": "Ilessan Tower", "text": "B.\n\tLoot as much from Ilessan Tower as you can. We need resources to take to our new allies. We will have the big house north of Deleyn's Mill\u2014Noellaume Manor\u2014by the time you're done. Flank the Daggerfall guards when you get here.\n\t\u2014 T"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ilthag%E2%80%99s-orders": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ilthag%E2%80%99s-orders", "description": "Orders to troll trainers", "author": "Ilthag Ironblood", "title": "Ilthag's Orders", "text": "Trainers,\nThe trolls must be ready by the rise of the mountain sun. Our agreement with the Scaled Court demands that we succeed, and so we will succeed. Do not test my patience. We have an army to assemble!\nRemember what I taught you. Pass it on to the trolls. Do not falter. Do not spare the whip or the blade. Pain is an excellent teacher, as you all well know.\nWhen next I return to check on you, I expect the trolls to be disciplined and working as a single unit. Otherwise, I will use you for the next troll training exercise.\n-Ilthag Ironblood"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/imperfect-operations-manual": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/imperfect-operations-manual", "description": "Instructions on refilling the Imperfect's battery", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Imperfect Operations Manual", "text": "All factotums possess basic excavation capabilities, but the Imperfect surpasses all others in terms of sheer power. Unfortunately, Imperfect excavations require a huge output of energy. Unlike lesser factotums, this automata requires a fully charged animo core to function.\nOrder of operations for charging animo cores:\n1. Ensure that an inert, empty animo core is firmly locked into the distillate filling station bracket.\n2. Ensure that all flow valves are set to the correct throughput position.\n3. Push the geodic distillate flow-lever into the \"Fill\" position.\n4. Allow core to charge fully, then unlock the filling station bracket and remove the core.\nNote:\nIncorrectly positioned flow valves can disrupt the geodic distillate distribution system. Activate the emergency reset valve if flow position reaches critical instability. All flow valves will return to their original position."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/imperial-city-death-certificate": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/imperial-city-death-certificate", "description": "A rather shady death certificate for an Imperial official", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Imperial City Death Certificate", "text": "Deceased: Magistrate Hilo Gerardias\n\tDate: 30th of Second Seed\nDetails: Magistrate Hilo Gerardias was killed during the Daedric invasion of the Imperial City. His remains were found in the Imperial Sewers and were positively identified by a friend. Due to circumstances, the remains could not be interred but were rather burned, which explains why there is no proof remaining of the Magistrate's demise. This document should provide all the proof necessary, however, and none should feel compelled to conduct any further investigation in the matter. If there were funds missing from the Magistrate's office, then it's not possible that he absconded with them. They were probably stolen by these Legion Zero soldiers.\n<The document is marked with the official stamp of the Imperial City Magistrate's Office.>"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/imperial-city-death-certificate-0": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/imperial-city-death-certificate-0", "description": "A suspicious looking death certificate for an Imperial official", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Imperial City Death Certificate", "text": "Deceased: Magistrate Hilo Gerardias\n\tDate: 30th of Second Seed\nDetails: Magistrate Hilo Gerardias was killed during the Daedric invasion of the Imperial City. His remains were found in the Imperial Sewers and were positively identified by a friend. Due to circumstances, the remains could not be interred but were rather burned, which explains why there is no proof remaining of the Magistrate's demise. This document should provide all the proof necessary, however, and none should feel compelled to conduct any further investigation in the matter. If there were funds missing from the Magistrate's office, then it's not possible that he absconded with them. They were probably stolen by these Legion Zero soldiers.\n<The document is marked with the official stamp of the Imperial City Magistrate's Office.>"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/imperial-incursions-officers-lament": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/imperial-incursions-officers-lament", "description": "An assignment to Black Marsh is punishment for one legionary", "author": "Captain Millona Arius", "title": "Imperial Incursions: Officer's Lament", "text": "Imperial Memorandum #61509.N\nImperial Secretary Jirolin Arius,\nDear brother, why am I being punished? What did I do that was so terrible that they decided to ship me off to this gods' forsaken mud pit? It was because I refused the advances of General Menanius, wasn't it? I knew I should have just shut my eyes and let her have her way! But no, I had standards. Self respect. Now look at me! I'm covered in mud and sweat, and I'll never get this smell out of my hair!\nDid I mention how much I hate it here? We can't even get a good battle going because the damn lizards don't fight like regular people! They cheat! We've never fought an enemy like these sap-sucking Argonians!\nSo, dear brother, what would I have to give you to get you to drop a few hints on behalf of your loving sister? If you could happen to mention to the general that I'd probably be inclined to spend some time with her the next time I'm back in Imperial City, I'd owe you more than you could ever imagine. I'll give you anything if you can get me out of this damn swamp!\nCaptain Millona Arius,\n\tFourth Legion\n\t17th Second Seed, 1E 2812"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/imperial-incursions-why-swamp": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/imperial-incursions-why-swamp", "description": "Reasons for why the Empire should conquer Black Marsh", "author": "General Augurius Bucco", "title": "Imperial Incursions: Why a Swamp?", "text": "Imperial Memorandum #53902.B\nMembers of the Imperial Council,\nFirst, I want to thank you again for offering me this opportunity to serve the Empire. I will do everything in my power to constantly be worthy of your faith in me.\nSecond, it has come to my attention that certain members of the council have expressed curiosity or even concern over my decision to take command of the Fourth Legion of Black Marsh. \"Why conquer a damn swamp when there are more important locations to deal with?\" was one particular quote, reportedly spoken by a ranking member of the council, that reached my ears. Now of course, I will always defer to your limitless wisdom, but let me tell you why I think this \"damn swamp\" is necessary to the future security of the Empire.\nBlack Marsh covers a huge portion of southeast Tamriel. From our exploration of the coastline, the interior swampland is easily as large as Hammerfall or Skyrim, and it contains an untapped reservoir of wealth and resources waiting to be exploited. If the Lizard-Folk won't take advantage of that, then certainly we should.\nAnd what about the Lizard-Folk themselves? Do we really want these primitive savages governing themselves? That would leave our borders ripe for attack if they ever gave rise to a charismatic leader of their own. Why wait for the inevitable? Better to take matters into our own hands and chart our own destiny. After all, that is the Imperial way!\nFinally, Black Marsh represents the final frontier for the Imperial war machine. It is new and unblemished, an unknown region demanding to be explored. I look forward to leading our forces on this necessary and worthwhile endeavor. And I assure you, our victory over the Lizard-Folk will be fast and glorious. I guarantee it!\nGeneral Augurius Bucco,\n\tCommander, Fourth Legion\n\t13th Sun's Dawn, 1E 2811"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/imperial-mutiny": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/imperial-mutiny", "description": "Some Imperial Legion soldiers plan to desert", "author": "Famius", "title": "Imperial Mutiny!", "text": "Sigilius,\nRumor says we're all going to be pulled back into the city. Don't know about you, but I'm not going back there. All the demons of Oblivion walk the streets, from what I've heard. It's a death trap.\nA couple of us plan to desert from our squad, slipping out at night. You should do the same. Be careful who you ask, though\u2014don't want to end swinging from a tree.\nWe're heading into the wilds between Warden and Dragonclaw. Meet us and we'll find a nice little village to take over. Don't wait too long!\n\u2014 Famius"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/imperial-prison-discipline-records": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/imperial-prison-discipline-records", "description": "Punishments dealt out to prisoners.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Imperial Prison Discipline Records", "text": "Sanctioned by Warden Arius\nPrisoner 20240\nInmate refused to be transferred to his new cell, inflicted bodily harm on prison staff.\n20 days solitary confinement.\n\nPrisoner 20241\nInmate threatened prison staff, shouting obscenities and cursing the Empress-Regent.\n10 days solitary confinement.\n\nPrisoner 20242\nInmate caught with sharpened glass hidden under clothing.\n15 days solitary confinement.\n\nSanctioned by Lord-Warden Dusk\nPrisoner 20243\nInmate blinked under watcher's necrotic gaze as it tore his face\u2014when explicity told not to.\nSummary execution.\n\nPrisoner 20244\nInmate wretch attempted to ingest the entirety of his cellmate's heart.\nSummary execution.\n\nPrisoner 20245\nInmate squealed like a Nirn-born animal as staff carved prison documentation into his skin.\nSummary execution.\n\nPrisoner 20246\nInmate complained incessantly about damaged appendage, which prison staff removed before administering punishment.\nSummary execution.\n\nPrisoner 20247\nSummary execution.\n\nPrisoner 20248\nSummary execution.\n\nPrisoner 20249\nSummary execution.\n\nPrisoner 20250\nSummary execution.\n\nPrisoner 20251\nSummary execution.\n\nPrisoner 20252\nInmate complained incessantly about lost face.\nSummary execution pending."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/imperial-recall-orders": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/imperial-recall-orders", "description": "All Imperial troops are recalled to the Imperial City", "author": "Captain Virgilus", "title": "Imperial Recall Orders", "text": "To All Imperial Troops,\nI have been directed to recall all troops under my command to the Imperial City. This order must be obeyed immediately. All posts are to be abandoned; any supplies that cannot be carried must be destroyed.\nFailure to comply with this command immediately will result in charges of desertion, no exceptions allowed.\n\tReport to me at the northwestern bridge en route to the city.\n\u2014 Captain Virgilus"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/imperial-refugees-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/imperial-refugees-journal", "description": "A fleeing Imperial struggles to find sanctuary", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Imperial Refugee's Journal", "text": "Day 1: Starting my life over. What happened in the Imperial City was to someone else, not me. Almost made it over the southern bridge but it tore apart before my eyes. Had to swim across Lake Rumare to the far shore. But I escaped and that's when my life began again. Keep on heading south.\nDay 3: Skirted west of Alessia. Dominion troops all over it, no friends of mine. Spotted some Nords and Argonians snooping around. Avoided them too. Cyrodiil's overrun by foreigners since the Empire fell.\n\tDay 6: Avoided Faregyl too. Heading for the gap between it and Bloodmayne. Dominion armies marching all over. Need to find a place to hide until this war's over. Or until they all kill each other.\nDay 8: Reached a river south of Bloodmayne. Headed west along it. Spotted a cave mouth. Killed a couple beetles outside it. If that's all I have to face, I'll clear out the cave and hide in there for a while.\n****\n\tBad idea. More than beetles. Need to rest, stop the bleeding. Keep moving on, unless they get me first. More later."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/imperial-university-note": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/imperial-university-note", "description": "An angry student doesn't like their accommodations", "author": "Jillivern", "title": "Imperial University Note", "text": "Darvian,\nI don't know how much longer I can sit in this dim hole in the ground with such questionable company. You'd think we weren't speaking the same language with the way they stare back when you're talking, glassy eyed and vacant as an atronach. Not to mention that my own eyes are nearly blind from reading your thesis by candlelight. (It's quite intriguing, by the way, but it's possible my surroundings simply have me craving any stimulus whatsoever. No offense.)\nI don't know what the university hopes we turn up down here, but the only thing I seem to be studying are the effects of subterranean living on a sane mind. Oh, this is how it starts I bet! The slow tragic slide of a proud Mer to the pitiable depths of becoming a Falmer. My friend, if I should succumb to this mental degeneration and become a loping, drooling, savage, please make sure you record my account in the case study.\nJillivern"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/impressions-northwind-mine": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/impressions-northwind-mine", "description": "The mine is not the ideal location for this operation", "author": "Brother Istler", "title": "Impressions of Northwind Mine", "text": "Esteemed Brothers,\nFulfilling the edicts of the Order, Brother Talsnir and I have journeyed to Northwind village. We see no need for an outreach mission to this settlement. While the inhabitants are clearly in need of saving, they express hostility at any attempt at enlightenment.\nMining and the acquisition of worldly goods are these workers' only concerns. Even the overseers think only of accumulating enough gold to abandon this backwater to the less fortunate. Our presence here brings us only curses and blows.\nIn the morning, barring the unforseen, we will leave in search of more fertile fields for our mission. I will post this missive once we reach something resembling civilization.\nBlessings,\n\tBrother Istler"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/improvised-memorial": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/improvised-memorial", "description": "Throm lost his battle to rock", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Improvised Memorial", "text": "Throm Ulfgard died here. His foe was the stone. After two fortnights it bested him. His battle won't be heard in song, but may Sovngarde greet him all the same."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/accord-those-sun-blessed": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/accord-those-sun-blessed", "description": "", "author": "Solis Aduro (translator)", "title": "In Accord With Those Sun-Blessed", "text": "Translated by Solis Aduro\nWe are the People of the Root. It is as true in this world as any other. Though our roots grow deep into shadow and drink from the tide of memory, our branches rise high into the sky to bathe in the light of the sun. We must unite now and feel the sun's warmth on our scales.\nThe false prophet has turned our brethren with forbidden lies. They forsake our purpose.They forsake our destiny.\nI say to you all, go with me up the river. Leave them to sink into the sea. We will climb the stairs of glory and tear open the sun."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/death-promise": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/death-promise", "description": "A Dragonguard plaque found in Dov-Vahl shrine in Anequina", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "In Death is the Promise", "text": "NEHT ZAN UR JENDRAI TSOLI\nAN END COMES TO ALL\nIN DEATH IS THE PROMISE\nBATTLE WEARY SWORD LAID DOWN\nBATTLE SCARRED SHIELD SET ASIDE\nALL SHALL REST IN LASTING PEACE\nNEHT ZAN UR JENDRAI TSOLI"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/defense-prince-hubalajad": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/defense-prince-hubalajad", "description": "A historical analysis of the deeds of this supposedly incompetent monarch", "author": "Lady Cinnabar of Taneth", "title": "In Defense of Prince Hubalajad", "text": "If you know anything about Yokudan history, you're aware of the role Prince Hubalajad played\u2014or did not play\u2014in the early days following the initial Ra Gada colonization. We know \"Prince Hew\" as a comic figure, share tales of his thick-headed approach to impossible problems, and jest about his aggressive opulence. A shrine to Zeht floods as a sign of the god's displeasure? Build a more extravagant one further downstream! An oft-repeated Taneth expression for wasting money is \"laying foundation with Hubalajad's coin.\"\nYet, what is truly known of the Luckless Prince? The only references available are third-hand documents, at best. The many apocryphal tales muddy the issue, drawing us further and further away from the actual man. Therefore, we must look to the land of Hew's Bane itself to draw our own conclusions. What if, for only a moment, we approach what are commonly accepted as his many failures on their own terms?\nWe know Hubalajad must have arrived in the barren land of what was then called \"Khefrem's Boot\" with a sizable amount of soldiers and artisans. Without local quarries, and with no reliable overland route from the north, they needed to import a mass amount of cut stone by sea. The natural protected harbor in what would become Abah's Landing was undoubtedly their first stop. A steady flow of laden barges would prove tempting to pirates, so Hubalajad's first necessity was to construct No Shira Citadel, an imposing fortress overlooking the Abecean.\nIt is true No Shira was soon undermined by seasonal flooding. But in response, Hubalajad appealed to Zeht with a shrine. When subsequent flooding washed out the first shrine, he did order the construction of another, yet more elaborate shrine\u2014but from an examination of the stonework, the new one was upstream of the last. Seen in this light, \"Prince Hew's thick-headedness\" was in fact persistent resolve. Appealing to the Yokudan god of agriculture is not the act of an arrogant or thoughtless man.\nAll the while, Abah's Landing grew from a soldier's camp and shantytown to a sprawling city. Despite the many hardships of this frontier life, Hubalajad constructed a great palace\u2014a symbol that this land was his home, and that he was just as committed as the locals to thriving. Stone went to the great walls of Abah's Landing, showing that its contents deserved as much protection as the Yokudan ships.\nFor a moment I ask you to set aside the multiple tombs, the impressive Princes Gate that opened a northern passage to Ra Gada territory, and the Yokudan statue just south of the Abah's Landing harbor that most erroneously believe was an idealized image of Hubalajad himself. The very act of constructing a citadel and a walled city at the same time, with the same pool of resources, would require a sharp mind for logistical matters. If it was not Hubalajad himself, he knew enough to surround himself with someone who could. This is hardly the style of a witless buffoon.\nThe scale of Hubalajad's setbacks do not, in this author's opinion, justify the tales of endless folly. Was it a whispering campaign from jealous rivals who decried the resources he poured into an inhospitable land? A blemished reputation for not recognizing his half-uncle was a necromancer? Did he invoke the ire of a Yokudan god, or perhaps a Daedric Prince? Though we may never truly know, we should keep one thing in mind about Hubalajad: before his arrival, no Man or Mer left a mark on this land. Today, the only structures surviving two millennia were those constructed by \"Prince Hew.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dreams-we-awaken": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dreams-we-awaken", "description": "A call to Vaermina devotees", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "In Dreams We Awaken", "text": "In dreams, we awaken.\nHer reveries call to us. From across Tamriel, her dreams have shown us a true world, a far better world than the one you know.\nVaermina lights the sky of our world! Vaermina is the stars of our world! Her thousand truths are a thousand lights in the night sky!\nThe wakeful world is full of suffering and starvation. It is a world of lies. We have come from all corners of this broken world to gather as dreamers of a new brighter age.\nShe has called us here to Stormhaven! She has awakened us to a better world! We will leave this world of lies behind us!\nSome cannot comprehend these simple truths. They do not understand her dreams as we do, for they are not true dreamers. She calls to the mighty and the humble, yet those who are found wanting are cast down into madness.\nAwaken, sleeper! Ascend, dreamer! Seek her in dreams, and join us!\nWe await you."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/praise-regent-cassipia": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/praise-regent-cassipia", "description": "Glowing praise for Regent of Upper Craglorn", "author": "Little Leaf", "title": "In Praise of Regent Cassipia", "text": "By\u00a0Little Leaf, Seneschal to the Regent of Serpentine Stratagems\nTo some of my compatriots, the words I'm about to write might be considered in poor taste. To others, they will be nothing short of blasphemy. But I can't hold these thoughts to myself any longer. If I try, I fear my head will explode into a thousand pieces! And that, dear reader, is not something I wish to experience. First, I should tell you who I am and why I'm qualified to write about the virtues of the beautiful Cassipia\u2014she who is called the Regent of Serpentine Stratagems and leader of the Scaled Court's forces in Upper Craglorn. My name is Little Leaf, and I have served my mistress since before we joined the Scaled Court. I met Cassipia in Auridon, where she was a high-ranking member of the Mages Guild. She noticed me admiring her power and grace from afar, and she personally selected me to wait upon her every need. Since then, I have become her confidant and confessor, giving her a sounding board for her most intimate thoughts and musings. No one knows Cassipia better than I do, or believes in her the way I do\u2014with all my heart and soul. How can I say such things when the Serpent is our lord and master? Oh, I believe in and revere the Serpent. I really do! He's the reason we joined the Scaled Court in the first place. But the Serpent doesn't command the Scaled Court from moment to moment. He isn't right beside me day and night. And, if I may be so bold, he isn't anywhere near as fair of face and fine of form as my beloved Cassipia. Who did as the Serpent asked and brought the Iron Orcs into our fold? Cassipia, of course. She follows the Serpent's orders, but always looks for ways to create opportunities and good fortune for herself and her followers. But before you think me just an infatuated fool with her head in the clouds, let me tell you why Cassipia has risen so high within our ranks. Cassipia is ruthless. She's powerful and charismatic. And she knows what's best for the Scaled Court\u2014not like those bumbling fools that brought us the unfortunate setbacks we've suffered in Lower Craglorn! Regent Cassipia was busy in Upper Craglorn while the Serpent's \"select\" were losing their hold on the lower portion of the region. So, all praise Regent Cassipia! Long may she serve the Serpent and lead the Scaled Court!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/pursuit-mhuvnak": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/pursuit-mhuvnak", "description": "A researcher searches for the Wrathstone, and the famous Dwemeri architect whose life is entangled with it", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "In Pursuit of Mhuvnak", "text": "I found a partial account of a long-range Ayleid raid upon Mzulft that mentioned the Wrathstone at least nine times. The conflict revolved around the artifact, which is odd since by the Dwemers' own account it was not within the city and the timing is all off. Why would the Ayleids attack the Dwemer while their empire was in the midst of a slave rebellion?\n* * *\n\tMzulft was plagued by conflict in the years surrounding that account. The city repelled attacks from the Nords, Ayleids, and even neighboring Dwemer clans. Were they all after the Wrathstone?\n* * *\n\tThe great Dwemer architect, Mhuvnak, disappeared from Mzulft around this time. The prevailing theory is that he was a casualty of war, but from what I've found, there's no reason to believe Mzulft suffered any significant losses before the Nords sacked it during the reign of High King Gellir.\n* * *\n\tI have it! Kagrenzel. Mhuvnak departed for Kagrenzel after the Ayleid raid. He'd have no reason to leave the safety of the city for a small holdout in the mountains unless there was something important there. Tomorrow I make for Eastmarch.\n* * *\n\tAnother setback. The pair of Nords I hired as an escort fell, quite literally, into a death trap almost immediately. This place reminds me more of Yokudan tombs than Dwemer remnants. It seems like its entire purpose is to kill those who would search it.\n* * *\nAfter a very cautious search of Kagrenzel, I'm confident that the Wrathstone is not here. My current theory is that Mhuvnak came here to retrieve it. For all its devious designs, this place is best suited for catching thieves, not rebuffing an army. Mhuvnak must not have trusted the defenses to protect the artifact from his rivals.\n* * *\n\tMhuvnak was the most brilliant architect of his time. I don't believe someone as meticulous as he was to just take the Wrathstone and run off without a plan. Mzulft may have more answers.\n* * *\n\tI decided to forgo an escort this time. I don't have much luck with them and I'll need to take my time searching Mzulft for answers. Unsurprisingly, animunculi still roam the halls continuing their duties in an unbroken circuit for all time. I hear things though, echoing from deep in the ruins. Muffled clatter and animal shrieks. Something is keeping the constructs occupied, and that's a benefit to me, for now.\n* * *\n\tI'm running out of paper to contain my notes on Mzulft thus far, and I've only scratched the surface of this city. Most scholars would be content to spend their lives unraveling the secrets of this place, but I have my sights set higher than most. No more distractions. Find what I can about Mhuvnak and where he may have escaped to.\n* * *\n\tThere is an observatory of sorts in Mzulft, dominated by a device that fills the room. I've never seen anything like it. I didn't think Dwemer were known for their appreciation of the world above them, let alone the sky.\n* * *\n\tThere are surviving writings here. Not from the time of Mhuvnak, but long after. The Dwemer reclaimed Mzulft from the Nords and were thriving before their ultimate disappearance. This device, the Oculory, could observe the world with frightening acuity, when it worked. The Dwemer were using it to locate the lost Vault of Mhuvnak, but the \"Frostvault\" is buried in a mountain of ice. I've found no record of an attempt to reclaim it for their kingdom.\n* * *\n\tIf I've interpreted things correctly, I believe I know where the Frostvault may be found; however, I'm running low on funds. Quintus's estate was more debt than assets and if I'm to see this through I can't afford to be wrong.\n* * *\n\tI'm on the right path, I'm sure of it. I found evidence of Dwemer construction in the mountains to the west. It looks like the ice has retreated in the ages between when my records were written and today. I'd love to see what else the melting glacier has revealed, but the resulting crevasse has become an attractive shelter for Goblins. After everything I've been through, I will not be stopped by a band of grubby rat-eaters. I'll take the gamble and put everything on this being the site of the Frostvault."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/reply-concerning-rumors": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/reply-concerning-rumors", "description": "A misguided letter, in hindsight", "author": "Jarl Hjurgol Skjoralmor", "title": "In Reply to Concerning Rumors", "text": "Torik,\nDo not trouble me with tall tales of fearsome beasts snatching up people in the night. These are the claims of skittish children and superstitious farmers. Have the watch commander dispatch an extra patrol to discourage these raiders from the Reach. For generations my line has endured the nipping of those mangy dogs, this day will be no different. We have nothing to fear from their ilk.\n- Jarl Hjurgol Skjoralmor"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/company-wood-orcs": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/company-wood-orcs", "description": "A Bosmer's description of an encounter with a Valenwood Orc.", "author": "Sisarion", "title": "In the Company of Wood Orcs", "text": "From the Personal Journal of Sisarion\nOrcs are strange.\nThey are unsubtle, brutish, and straightforward in just about every way. Certainly there is variation in personality between individuals, but there are some things a Bosmer can always expect from an Orc. None of which our culture can fully comprehend.\nTheir Wood Orc cousins are stranger still, but for different reasons. They ironically share more commonalities with the Bosmer, and are found mostly within Valenwood.\nThough Wood Orcs prize strength and honor and above all else, their interpretation of what those things mean separates them from their northern, Orsinium cousins. For instance, having strength to a Wood Orc means having agility and mobility as much as it does muscular power and endurance. I would like to hear an Orsinium Orc's take on the topic, but I imagine that, if one considers an Orsinium Orc as formed like a member of a heavy infantry regiment, then a Wood Orc is like a light skirmisher in the same army.\nThe Wood Orcs, like the Bosmer, also flourish in forested areas. They've made no Pact with the Green\u2014by my bow, they have utter disregard for and a lack of knowledge of the Green Pact\u2014but I wouldn't be surprised if they stood in Y'ffre's favor in some way, with the ease I've seen them navigate tree-laden regions.\nWhy worry about this? I've had Wood Orcs on the mind lately\u2014it's difficult not to when one has been among them, as I have. I was ordered through their territory by a local Battlereeve to deliver a message\u2014was told it would be easy to avoid detection. But Wood Orcs are a very different breed of Orc, as I've detailed above. When they caught me\u2014no one save a Bosmer ever catches me\u2014they noticed my presence in the trees above, though I suspect they must have been wary of something in their forest for days. I was ready, though, and felled two of the trio who turned on me with the same arrow.\nI was taken aback\u2014I had expected to fell three. But the last one\u2014inexplicably, and in a most un-Orcish fashion\u2014bolted out of the way, like lightning. I leapt, rolled to the ground, just as a curved hand-axe whirled into the trees, through the space where my heart would have been. I came to my feet with dagger ready, and parried a blow from a second handaxe that nearly shook the knife from my hand. The Wood Orc growled and swung again, and in that moment, I couldn't have told him from his Orsinium cousins. He fought with the agility and grace of my people, mixed with the honorbound fury of the northern Orcs. He managed to tear a deep wound in my side, as I tossed a handful of dirt into his eyes. Half-blinded by pain myself, I stumbled to relative safety in the darkness of the woods as he cursed and spat, called me a \"coward who disguised himself with the forest instead of fighting with it.\"\nHircine must have walked with me that day, for I was sure that battle was lost. The Wood Orc fought too fiercely, knew his own forest too well. But he never did manage to find me again. I would welcome a second contest\u2014but in Bosmer territory."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/event-your-demise": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/event-your-demise", "description": "One member of the Veiled Heritance receives consolation of a sorts", "author": "Norion", "title": "In the Event of Your Demise", "text": "If you don't return to Mathiisen, we'll have to assume your mission was compromised.\nWe will, of course, inform the ancestors of your sacrifice and ask them to assist your transition to the realm beyond. You'll retain your membership in the Veiled Heritance even if you do not retain your corporeal form.\nMay Xarxes keep you in his Book.\n\t\u2014 Norion"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/incarnate-aduris-scroll": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/incarnate-aduris-scroll", "description": "Why this warmonger was nor Nerevarine", "author": "Aduri", "title": "Incarnate Aduri's Scroll", "text": "My ascension and fall both stem from my love of senseless war, which proved to be my undoing. I was never fit to become the Nerevarine.\nTo fulfill the prophecy, I followed a path of blood and war. In the end, my path became a road that led to nowhere and I was cast down from my lofty spot. War is not the way."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/incarnate-danaats-scroll": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/incarnate-danaats-scroll", "description": "Why this selfsure Ashkhan was not Nerevarine", "author": "Danaat", "title": "Incarnate Danaat's Scroll", "text": "My sad tale teaches that the one who refuses wise counsel can never be the Nerevarine.\nThe Nerevarine must listen as well as proclaim. I refused to accept wise counsel of the Ashkhans and the Wise Women, which led to the doom of my tribe and the end of my quest to embody the spirit of Nerevar.\nI thought I knew best, but I knew nothing. That is not the way of the Nerevarine."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/incarnate-ransos-scroll": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/incarnate-ransos-scroll", "description": "Why this powerful warrior was not the Nerevarine", "author": "Ranso", "title": "Incarnate Ranso's Scroll", "text": "My story is the tale of the lie of unbridled power.\nI thought myself the reborn Nerevar, for I was the strongest, most powerful warrior in all of Vvardenfell. But power alone couldn't save my people. In the end, it couldn't even save me.\nAs a warrior and as an Ashkhan, I was the most powerful of my age. But for all my strength, I failed my people. I was not the Nerevarine."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/incomplete-letter": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/incomplete-letter", "description": "An unsigned letter about a kwama operation", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Incomplete Letter", "text": "Dearest Dalii,\nWhile work in the mine is hard and barely worth the pay, I have good news! The foreman bribed a shepherd, and we now have kwama on site. There are plenty of eggs, so at least you know I'll be eating right.\nI hope to see you soon,"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/increased-bandit-activity": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/increased-bandit-activity", "description": "", "author": "Karpu-sa", "title": "Increased Bandit Activity", "text": "Headwoman Harrani,\nWhile this one understands the guard is needed to help Mistral recover from the storm, cessation of regular patrols has led to increased bandit activity along the roads.\nOne can hardly step away from one's stall without being accosted by ruffians. If it is not bandits, it is harpies driven inland by heavy winds. If not harpies, scavengers \"mistaking\" our wares for flotsam washed up on the shore!\nKarpu-sa has contracted with a pair of mercenaries to help deal with these dangers, but not all of my kin are able to do so. When can we expect patrols to resume?\nPatiently awaiting your response,\n\u2014Karpu-sa, Merchant\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/increased-dominion-activity": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/increased-dominion-activity", "description": "The Dominion is setting up more camps outside Cormount", "author": "Galriel", "title": "Increased Dominion Activity", "text": "Rathilmith,\nHave you noticed the increase in Dominion activity outside of town? Yesterday there were three camps. Today there are four.\nWe must inform our people as soon as possible. If we learned anything from the massacre, it's that the regal imposter Aeradan will do anything to hold his throne. No one is safe in Cormount anymore.\nBe alert, friend. Keep your dagger close.\n\t\u2014Galriel"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/indals-letter": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/indals-letter", "description": "Indal sends his thoughts and prayers", "author": "Indal", "title": "Indal's Letter", "text": "Dearest Ehtayah,\nI miss you dearly. There are so many people here. They say we'll ride to battle soon. Pray for me that the gods may grant me favor. I want only to see you and our home one more time.\nBright Moons keep you safe,\n\tIndal"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/indirims-journal-assembled": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/indirims-journal-assembled", "description": "A Summerset marine's chronicle of observations about the sea sload invading Summerset", "author": "Indirim", "title": "Indirim's Journal, Assembled", "text": "Definite evidence of Sea Sload incursion on Summerset. We're tracking one of the vile creatures along the coast to the west of Alinor, near the vicinity of Welenkin Cove.\n* * *\nWe ran into a phenomenon that seemed to be not entirely natural in origin. A geyser sprang up, but instead of just spouting water, it also unleashed the terrible sea creatures that have been reported near Shimmerene and other parts of the island, the yaghra. Worse, there were also undead monstrosities among the unleashed horde.\n* * *\nWe need to confirm my findings, but I have come to the conclusion that the yaghra and the undead have been set upon us by some sort of Sea Sload magic.\n* * *\nAt the center of the strange geyser, we discovered one of the sea gems the Sapiarchs have named \"abyssal pearls.\" It radiated a foul magic that not only appeared to anchor the geyser, but seemed to serve as a lure of sorts for the yaghra. Upon destroying the pearl, the terrible event came to an abrupt end.\n* * *\nWe tracked the Sea Sload to its hiding spot in Welenkin Cove. The creature called itself B'Korgen as it addressed its yaghra servants with a combination of its guttural verbal language and by speaking directly into their minds. If we got close enough, the mind magic seeped into our own heads. It was a strange and defiling experience.\n* * *\nB'Korgen appeared to be tending to a bed of growing abyssal pearls. It drew strange sigils in the water around the pearls and even upon their lustrous surfaces, and added alchemical mixtures to the water that made the sea glow with an arcane light. I'm sure this is the source of each pearl's magic.\n* * *\nA cloaked and hooded High Elf paid a clandestine visit to the Sea Sload in Welenkin Cove while we made our observations. The figure spoke softly, but a few words reached us on the seaborne breeze. It seems that B'Korgen is one of a small number of Sea Sload currently active in Summerset's shadows. They call themselves \"the Abyssal Cabal\" and they appear to have partnered with a group of High Elves that calls itself \"the Court of Bedlam.\" The Battlereeve will want to find out more about this subversive group.\n* * *\nFrom what I could glean of the conversation, the geysers are just part of a larger plan to wreck havoc across Summerset and eventually sink the island so the Sea Sload can reclaim it.\n* * *\nI took a chance and slipped closer to try to get a better look at the sigils, the pearls, and the cloaked and hooded figure. B'Korgen is definitely combining magic and alchemy to alter the nature of the abyssal pearls. I wish I had more time to study the creature's techniques. I heard the Sea Sload tell the hooded figure not to worry. \"K'Tora accomplished his role in the mission, and while his death is regrettable, it doesn't change the overall plan.\"\n* * *\nThe hooded figure slipped away and Miriya and the Captain decided not to give chase. Better to return to Alinor with what we've learned and let the Battlereeve decide our next move.\n* * *\nFrom what we've been able to learn, Summerset is not being invaded by an overwhelming force of Sload. Instead, a small cabal of Sea Sload\u2014what started out as four, now reduced to three due to the death of one called K'Tora\u2014has infiltrated the island in order to unleash the destructive abyssal geysers and hordes of yaghra and undead. And they appear to be working in conjunction with a group of High Elves that calls itself \"\"the Court of Bedlam.\"\n* * *\nMarine Saruwy slipped on a wet stone and revealed our presence to the Sea Sload. It ordered its yaghra servants to dispatch us. Time to make a run for it. We need to get this report and everything we learned to the Battlereeve."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/information-request-emeric": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/information-request-emeric", "description": "Emeric wished to remain well informed", "author": "Emeric", "title": "Information Request from Emeric", "text": "Grand Warlord Dortene,\nLet there be no mistake: I state again that you answer to the Kings' Council. The army you command belongs to the Covenant, not to you. More communication is required for our confidence in you to continue.\nThe news we have received seems promising. It is the frequency, or lack thereof, of updates that we find troubling.\nWe understand the difficulties involved in gathering information across Cyrodiil and then delivering that news to Wayrest. And we acknowledge the point that your soldiers are better used on the battlefield than as couriers. Nonetheless, we insist that this effort be made and that it be made on a daily basis.\nAs an aside, the captain of my guard has requested that someone less surly and short-tempered than your aide Grulzul be employed as courier henceforth.\nThe Covenant's hopes of gaining the White-Gold Tower rest with you, Grand Warlord. Do not disappoint us.\n\t\u2014 Emeric,\n\tHigh King"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ingfreds-work-order": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ingfreds-work-order", "description": "", "author": "Ingfred the Tall", "title": "Ingfred's Work Order", "text": "Lizard,\nTime for you to learn prospecting.\nGo to the areas we talked about. If you find anything that seems promising, take some samples and bring them back to me here in Dusktown. Don't forget where each sample came from! A bonus goes to whoever finds a good seam. With luck, you might just buy your way out of this place.\nIngfred the Tall"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/initiates-fourth-note": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/initiates-fourth-note", "description": "The Initiate learns an awful truth", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Initiate's Fourth Note", "text": "werewolves this is a pack of werewolves\n\tone changed i saw it it's a cult\n\tif you're reading this GET OUT\n\tit's too late for me"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/initiates-second-note": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/initiates-second-note", "description": "Journal of a hard working cultist", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Initiate's Second Note", "text": "I've been here two weeks, and things are progressing nicely. I'm a lot stronger than I was, mostly due to the heavy lifting and sparring we do. I hurt a lot, but it's no worse than being beaten up at home.\nThe Pack Leaders never seem to stop preaching. They're always talking about \"being like the wolf\" and how if we focus, we'll \"transcend our weakness.\" They're more like a cult than I thought, but I think I've found a home here.\nThere's one pretty young thing \u2026 Naraa. She seems to like the look of me. We'll have to see what she thinks after the sparring session next week!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/initiates-third-note": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/initiates-third-note", "description": "Journal of a nervous cultist", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Initiate's Third Note", "text": "I haven't left the cave in a month. The beast stalks me in my dreams, and I can hear him in those first few moments when I wake. The Leader was right, the ritual has done its job. Everyone is having the dreams, I can see it in their faces.\nTonight, the change will be on me. I'm frightened \u2026 but also thrilled. Naraa \u2026 I wish you hadn't been so lovely \u2026."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/instructions-lothnarth": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/instructions-lothnarth", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Instructions for Lothnarth", "text": "Lothnarth,\nYou need not interfere with the slaves. The guards I've hired will see that they remain productive and have food and rest when needed.\nI want accurate logs of production each week, so that I can see if my experiment helps the mine keep producing at optimal levels.\nNo one should bother the crystal machine. I've locked it in place, to avoid some clumsy slave or mindless kwama knocking into it and interrupting its process.\nI may visit and turn off the machine, to do some comparison on production with and without the machine. I'll retrieve the switch and pieces that control it from my lab in Mzanchend and handle the process myself.\nI shouldn't need to warn anyone, but STAY OUT of Mzanchend. If you aren't a powerful magister, the chance of getting diced to pieces by automata is very high."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/instructions-placement": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/instructions-placement", "description": "Norion wishes for discreet corruption", "author": "Norion", "title": "Instructions for Placement", "text": "Be careful when placing the corruption stones around Tanzelwil.\nWe've harnessed the energy to disrupt the ancestral spirits \u2026 but do not know how long it will be until the corruption manifests. Odds are good you'll have time to escape before they turn on the living.\nStill, watch yourself.\n\t\u2014 Norion"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/intercepted-star-gazers-document": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/intercepted-star-gazers-document", "description": "Olior reports on his discovery in Upper Craglorn", "author": "Star-Gazer Olior", "title": "Intercepted Star-Gazer's Document", "text": "Hara,\nI discovered another Scaled Court lair in Upper Craglorn. They have commandeered the Loth'Na Caverns, a series of caves to the northeast of the Skyreach ruins. The number of forces present in the caverns are truly impressive! I have no idea where the Serpent is acquiring all these followers. Perhaps we need to start using their recruitment tactics. (Teasing! I tease!)\nI spotted the assassin Visskar entering the Loth'Na Caverns. That tells me that the caves are extremely important to the Scaled Court\u2014and they just got infinitely more dangerous.\nI'll send additional information as I get it.\nStar-Gazer Olior"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/interview-spider-cultist": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/interview-spider-cultist", "description": "Talking to a cultist about their worship of Mephala", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Interview with a Spider Cultist", "text": "The Cult of the Spider is an outlawed form of worship honoring the Daedric Prince Mephala, more properly known as the Anticipation of Vivec.\nNotoriously secretive, the cult's methodologies and practices have been largely a mystery to those outside its embrace \u2026 until now. My research into the cult's existence has permitted me a unique opportunity: a private interview with one of its members.\n\u2014 So tell me, how did you come to be a member of the Spider Cult?\n\tCultist: As it is with all things, the weavings of Her web led me into the Spinner's embrace.\n\u2014 You mean Mephala herself recruited you?\n\tCultist: Is the fly recruited into the Spider's web? No. I could as much avoid this fate as avoid my own mortality.\n\u2014 Interesting. Let's talk about your fellow enthusiasts for a moment. What can you tell me about the other members of your cult?\n\tCultist: I can't share their names, but I could tell you what they do. We have a leader called \"the Widow.\" She gives us our purpose and communes with the Spinner Herself. Sometimes these purposes require a killing. Such responsibilities fall to our Deathweavers, who carry out the act in accordance with the Spinner's will. The rest of us are labeled Scuttlers, as we hurry along more discreet paths to weave our master's webs.\n\u2014 Fascinating. Have you ever killed anyone in the name of your master?\n\tCultist: Not yet.\n\u2014 Is there any truth to the claim that Spider Cults are little more than debauched orgy clubs?\n\tCultist: There is some truth to that, yes.\n\u2014 Oh. Would you care to elaborate?\n\tCultist: Seduction and copulation are powerful tools. Often, induction into the cult requires a member to engage in such activities with the Widow or a designee. Some Webs are more \u2026 zealous about this practice than others.\n\u2014 I see. How exactly would a prospective member apply?\n\tCultist: Is this for your research?\n\u2014 Naturally.\n\tCultist: How unfortunate. I could share that information with you, but only if you are actually going to join us.\n\u2014 Ah. Well \u2026 that's not out of the question. Perhaps this is all part of Mephala's plan, eh? Caught in her web, as it were?\n\tCultist: I believe this interview is over."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lions-den": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lions-den", "description": "Brief history of a High Rock valley named the Lion's Den", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Into the Lion's Den", "text": "The valley known as \"The Lion's Den\" was so named because it historically served as a breeding ground for mountain lions. The Nedic peoples of the late Merethic era hunted this population for its furs, but modern inhabitants of the Rift tend to stay clear of the area, finding it easier and safer to harvest the skins and furs of domesticated livestock.\nThe local populace undoubtedly began to avoid the Lion's Den early in the Second Era, when a small tribe of giants took up residence in the nearby mountains. These giants have been characterized by locals as angry hermits, and have been known to attack trespassers on sight. For this reason the entrance to the valley was walled off, preventing anyone from accidentally wandering into the area."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/introduction-stagecraft": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/introduction-stagecraft", "description": "A guide for the aspiring entertainer", "author": "Kandelwijj the Magnificent", "title": "Introduction to Stagecraft", "text": "In order to be a successful stage performer, there are several things you must never forget.\nThe most important element of performing is \u2026 drama! Every performance must have some engaging or surprising element to it or it shall fall flat regardless of the entertainer's other skills. Find a hook, preferably one tailored to your audience, that captures their imagination, ire, or hearts\u2014preferably all three! Then you have the foundation of an unforgettable performance. Look to famous characters, historical events, a loathsome monster, or anything else you know will command the attention and interest of your patrons.\nNow that you have the heart of your act figured out, it's time to make it truly impressive! Some will tell you that you need to have explosions and trained beasts to be successful, but the truth is that creative use of any and all available resources will likely serve you just as well. Can you throw your voice or speak several languages? Do you know someone with even rudimentary talent in magic? Do you have access to brightly-colored fabric or color-shifting kindlepitch? Any of these things and more can be a key component of your performance and nothing should be overlooked.\nWith the premise and supporting mechanics determined you can now start refining your script! You never want to be at a loss for words on the stage so this part is just as critical as the rest. Start with a rough draft and work from there, keeping in mind the tone and context you've already established to ensure it all comes together. Try your act on friends and family to iron out the rough spots.\nOnce you feel confident with the script, it's all about practice, practice, practice! Your performance should be second nature to you, but remember, you may need to improvise when hecklers or enthusiastic crowd members speak up, so don't be so locked into your speech that you can't make adjustments on the fly.\nOne last tip. Make sure you relax and have fun up there! If you are enjoying yourself, so will your audience.\nThere you have it\u2014you are ready to get on stage and bring joy to your audience!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/inveigling-clockwork-apostles": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/inveigling-clockwork-apostles", "description": "Advice for getting in the Clockwork Apostles' good graces", "author": "A Helpful Citizen", "title": "Inveigling the Clockwork Apostles", "text": "Getting into the Brass Fortress from out in the Radius means getting into the good graces of the Clockwork Apostles. Trust me, if they're not on your side? You're cranked. That being said, they're not the easiest group to understand. The Apostles aren't chasing the glory of their ancestors or the thrill of battle. They don't burden themselves with thoughts of war, or famine, or disease. In fact, they rarely burden themselves at all, getting factotums to do everything but wipe their-- but I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's start at what they do care about.\nSotha Sil is not only the god of the Apostles, but their mentor of sorts. The relationship is rather like needy students with a particularly distant teacher. The Apostles always seem to be seeking his approval on whatever project they're working on, though I doubt they'll ever get it. Their God of Mysteries keeps to himself more often than not.\nAll of the Apostles work towards one goal, something they call Nirn-Ensuing, or Tamriel Final, or Second Nirn, so on and so forth. If you want to bore yourself with the details, give the Sermons of Sotha Sil a read. And then another read. And then a third read so you can actually understand any of it, if you happen to be so inclined. All I know is that they're not so fond of this world, and they're trying to make it better. Somehow.\nNow you would think that making the world better would include what could generally be recognized as acts of generosity, or at least basic human kindness. You would be wrong on that account. You see, the perfect Nirn doesn't really include things like feeding the hungry or sheltering the sick. It does involve making a scrap ton of machines. For some reason.\nSo, to get in good with the Apostles you have to help them conduct their experiments of gods know what. This means demonstrating a knack with magic, machines, or probably both. If you don't have those skills handy I suggest you listen closely for some other opportunity. The Clockwork Apostles are not above asking for favors, especially if it's for a task they think beneath them. Sure, they might not have the easiest or most wholesome requests in mind, but I suggest you take the chance while it's available."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/inventory-confidential": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/inventory-confidential", "description": "A rather ineffective inventory of arms and armor", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Inventory (Confidential)", "text": "For Nelayna's eyes only. Do not leave in plain sight.\n\u2014 One-hundred fifty-seven decommissioned breastplates with greaves and pauldrons (mismatched)\n\t\u2014 Seventy-three single-edged military daggers\n\t\u2014 Eighty-seven broadswords\n\t\u2014 Fifty-eight infantry shields, without straps\n\t\u2014 Six-hundred thirty-eight broadhead arrows\n\t\u2014 Ten military-grade short bows"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crumpled-note-2": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crumpled-note-2", "description": "A crumpled note about seeing stones", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Investigation Note", "text": "My investigation is complete as per the Guild's orders. I am providing here a collection of speaking stones from which you can draw your own conclusions. To say that the Empress Regent has been acting erratically is an understatement.\nI can't risk exposure any longer. The hearsay is General Velarius is dead, under what circumstances I don't know.\nI suspect the Archmage will want to see the content of these devices. I leave the city tonight."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/investigator-vale-and-sober-nord": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/investigator-vale-and-sober-nord", "description": "The flirtatious private eye solves a murder in a tavern", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Investigator Vale and the Sober Nord", "text": "\"It's poison. I'd stake my reputation on it,\" Investigator Vale said.\n\"I swear, he didn't have a thing to drink all night! Didn't see him eat anything either,\" the bartender of the Lonely Troll said while he nervously wrung a towel through his hands, \"But he looked scared. Jumpy.\"\nInvestigator Vale stood over the body of the male Nord that lay on the floor of the once-bustling tavern. Much of the place cleared out when the man dropped dead in the middle of the evening rush, but a few brave patrons continued to drink in corners out of sight of the corpse.\nThe average Nord's commitment to mead was something to be respected, Vale thought.\n\"Strange. What was he doing here if he wasn't eating or drinking?\" Vale mused aloud, \"And how in the world was he poisoned?\"\nThe attractive guard captain folded her arms across her chest and frowned, \"A sober Nord in a tavern. That always spells trouble.\"\nVale smiled, \"My thoughts exactly, Captain Aeja.\"\nWithout so much as a warning, Investigator Vale pushed herself away from the bar and made her way toward the tavern's recesses. Captain Aeja hurried along behind her. She was much taller but found it hard to keep up with the quick, curvaceous private investigator as she navigated the small pockets of people left inside the tavern.\n\"Investigator, where are you going?\"\nVale stopped in front of a table tucked into the back of the tavern. There, a handsome man sat by himself, save for a pet scorpion crawling on his shoulder. As the two women approached, the man grinned widely and gestured with his sloshing tankard.\n\"Hail, ladies! To what do I owe the honor of having two lovely women approach my table?\"\nInvestigator Vale slid into the seat next to him with a vulpine smile, \"I noticed your tankard is full.\"\nThe man's expression did not falter, as Vale expected it to. He was either a very good actor, or her hunch was wrong. But her hunches were never wrong.\n\"Are you interested in helping me with that?\" the man asked with a waggle of his brow.\nVale saw Captain Aeja stiffen beside her, her hand clenching the pommel of her sheathed blade. The young captain was rather alluring when she got all protective, Vale thought. But there would be time for that later.\n\"No, merely curious about the reason for your hesitation,\" she said with a smile.\nThe man adjusted the sleeve of his robe with a subtle movement, \"Sometimes a man prefers to savor his drink. Is that a crime?\"\n\"Not at all,\" Vale said coolly, \"Unless, of course, you're staying sober to watch the fruits of your labor play out in a crowded tavern.\"\n\"That's quite a bold accusation,\" he scoffed, \"You can't walk around accusing anyone who isn't drunk of being a murderer.\"\n\"True. Though I can accuse someone with a deadly azure scorpion of being a murderer.\"\n\"Zaleya would never hurt anyone,\" the man protested.\n\"Not of her own volition, surely,\" Vale said, \"But that particular breed has been domesticated. She'd take orders from her master if instructed.\"\nThe man narrowed his eyes, \"You have no proof!\"\nThe Investigator held out a delicate hand. Her eyes flashed dangerously. \"Then let her sting me.\"\nCaptain Aeja balked, \"What? Investigator, don't!\"\\n\\n\"To kill a man of that size, lovely Zaleya would have had to expend much, if not all, of her venom. It will take time for her to replenish that. Therefore, if I'm correct, I should be completely safe.\"\nThe captain eyed the plucky investigator warily, but finally turned her gaze on the man. \"Well? Let's see it then.\"\nThe man's expression didn't change, but Investigator Vale saw fury spark in his eyes. A muscle in his jaw jumped as he picked up the scorpion and placed it in the investigator's waiting hand. He made a soft clicking noise with his tongue, and the scorpion's tail plunged into Vale's palm.\nAlmost simultaneously, the man jumped up and tried to run. Investigator Vale, who stood calmly cradling the scorpion, stepped deftly to the side to give Captain Aeja room. The tall guard shoved the man back into his seat so hard the chair tipped backward and spilled him onto the floor. Before he could scramble back to his feet, Captain Aeja drew her sword and laid it at the base of his throat.\nInvestigator Vale smiled and stroked the scorpion with a delicate finger, \"My, you are full of spirit, aren't you, Zaleya?\"\n\"Investigator, are you all right?\" the captain asked.\n\"Never better,\" Vale replied.\n\"What kind of woman are you?\" the man choked, \"You were supposed to fall to your knees in pain!\"\n\"I only fall to my knees for very specific occasions, my dear,\" Vale said smugly, and then let the scorpion crawl from her hand and onto the table, \"Speaking of which, Captain Aeja, once we're finished here I'd love to buy you a drink.\"\nThe attractive guard blushed and tried unsuccessfully to conceal a smile, \"As you say, Investigator.\"\n\"Though,\" Investigator Vale said with a wink, \"Perhaps we'll pick a different tavern.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/investigator-vale-vvardenfell": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/investigator-vale-vvardenfell", "description": "The Investigator goes to Vvardenfell.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Investigator Vale in Vvardenfell", "text": "\"I didn't come all the way to Vvardenfell just to see the sights, councilor,\" Investigator Vale said as she examined the bust of Almalexia that sat atop Councilor Vobend's desk. \"Although I must say I find your land and your people to be quite enticing.\"\n\"Then why are you here, Vale?\" Councilor Vobend demanded, his tone indicating that he was out of patience with the woman from High Rock.\n\"Because I asked her to come, Father,\" said Velnea, the councilor's daughter, as she strode into the chamber. \"I care about what happened to Master Adren, even if House Hlaalu would rather pretend that he never existed.\"\nVobend collapsed heavily into his chair, suddenly exhausted by the weight of his responsibilities. \"We've been over this a hundred times, Velnea,\" Vobend sighed. \"Master Adren died. It happens. Not every death hides a conspiracy or a murder.\"\nInvestigator Vale gave Velnea a dazzling smile before turning back to address her father. \"I'll be the judge of that, my dear councilor,\" she said with evident excitement. \"After all, it's what I do.\"\n* * *\n\tVale and Velnea walked side by side beneath the massive mushrooms that towered behind Master Adren's alchemy shop. The old alchemist had been Velnea's beloved mentor since she was a young girl, instructing her in the alchemical arts as well as encouraging other academic pursuits. There was a garden toward the back of the area, displaying a harvest of plants and flowers favored by alchemists. An easel was set up nearby, holding a canvas that showed the alchemist sitting beside his beloved garden. The painting was not quite finished.\n\"Adren always told me I could be anything I wanted to be,\" Velnea mused. \"I didn't have to become a merchant or a trader if my father's life didn't appeal to me. He \u2026 encouraged me to \u2026 dream.\"\n\"Sounds like he was a wonderful person,\" Vale said cheerfully as she marveled at the nix-hound that wandered over to investigate the strange visitor. \"And what is your dream, dear Velnea, if you don't mind me asking?\"\nVelnea blushed, hesitated, and stepped over to the unfinished painting. She said, \"I want to be a painter. I love to draw, and Adren helped me develop my talent. Landscapes, portraits, still lifes \u2026 I've created quite a body of work and he said that each new painting was better than the last. I was in the middle of this one when \u2026. I miss that old alchemist. A lot.\"\nVale bent down to examine the ground beneath one of the tree-like mushrooms. \"And this is where you found the alchemist?\" she asked.\nVelnea shivered and clutched her arms tightly. \"Yes. I came by to visit. When I couldn't find Adren inside his shop, I assumed he had come out here to read or tend to his garden. Instead, I found him lying there, face up and eyes open. I'll never forget the sight of him.\"\nThe investigator stood up and scanned the rest of the backyard. \"You said nothing was missing? Hmm. According to your painting, one of the flowers has disappeared.\"\nVelnea looked at the unfinished painting and saw the vibrant and exotic bloom rising from the patch beside the image of her mentor. Then she examined the garden and let out a squeak of surprise. \"You're right! I can't believe I didn't notice that before! It's gone!\"\n\"And if your depiction is accurate, the missing plant is a rare crimson dragonthorn,\" Vale said. \"A much sought after plant when it comes to alchemy. And this discoloration on the stem of the mushroom. That indicates that the surface of the fungus interacted with a garlic snail and produced a plume of noxious gas. Quite toxic, as I understand it.\"\n\"A garlic snail? In Adren's garden? He was too good a gardener to allow such a pest to take root among his mushrooms,\" Velnea said.\n\"Then murder it is, my dear,\" Vale said. \"Tell me, did Adren have any rivals among the local alchemists?\"\n* * *\n\tInvestigator Vale entered Dirani's flower shop and walked confidently toward the older Dark Elf who was busy working on a floral arrangement that included flora and fungi. Following behind Vale were Velnea and a House Hlaalu soldier. Vale paused to sniff at the arrangement-in-progress before she stepped over to a large pot containing freshly turned soil. Sticking out of the soil was a crimson dragonthorn.\n\"Well, that's an extremely rare flower,\" Vale said, bending to examine the plant more closely. \"And look. It has the same small yellow dots on the petals, just like in your painting, dear Velnea.\"\nDirani looked from Vale to the soldier and back again, clearly nervous and sweating uncomfortably. \"What \u2026 what are you implying?\" she eventually managed to stammer.\n\"I never imply,\" Vale said, placing her hand on a glass case sitting on the counter. The case contained a small colony of garlic snails. Vale tapped the side with one long, slender finger. \"I'll say the words plainly. You murdered Master Adren so that you could acquire his prized crimson dragonthorn.\"\n\"That's \u2026 that's preposterous!\" Dirani protested. Then she turned and ran out through the back of the flower shop. The Hlaalu soldier followed quickly after her.\n\"She's going to get away,\" said Velnea, disappointment evident in her sad voice.\n\"Nonsense, my dear,\" Vale said. \"Your soldier seems more than capable of apprehending an old woman. Now what do you say? I'd love it if you'd paint my portrait. Tell me, how do you feel about nudes?\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/investigator-vale-deadly-toll": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/investigator-vale-deadly-toll", "description": "The Investigator solves a proxy murder", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Investigator Vale: A Deadly Toll", "text": "\"Well, it definitely looks like murder to me,\" Investigator Vale said as she approached the old wooden bridge. \"I've found that decapitation is hard to accomplish as a suicide.\"\nThe bridge spanned a nondescript waterway just outside the town. There was nothing special or unusual about the bridge or the minor river it spanned, but this is where the town's mayor and his entourage had brought the inspector just the same. Nothing unusual, that is, except for the severed head perched neatly atop the handrail that ran along the right side of the bridge.\n\"You barely looked at the poor creature,\" Jakard Herrick, the mayor's trusted confidant and the town's leading merchant said. \"How in the name of Oblivion can you make such a bold assertion?\"\n\"Because I'm that good,\" Vale said, continuing to examine the scene of the crime. \"That is why the mayor hired me, after all.\" She pointed out some of her observations to the mayor and his entourage, including that the lack of blood and a body indicated that the murder didn't occur on the bridge.\n\"Does anyone recognize this unfortunate High Elf?\" Vale asked as she stepped over and bent down to better examine the head. It was clearly an older Elf, a male, with perfectly groomed hair and a serene expression on his face. He'd look absolutely peaceful, Vale thought, if not for the ragged scraps of skin and bone protruding from the hole beneath his neck.\n\"That's Glanonir the gold lender,\" the cute young guard that had accompanied them to the bridge blurted out helpfully. \"I'd know that smug face anywhere.\"\nThe mayor gave her a hard look for talking out of turn, but didn't press the matter. \"So, investigator,\" he said, turning his attention back to Vale, \"can you tell us what happened here?\"\n\"Indubitably,\" Vale said with a smile, taking one more quick look around the area. \"It's as clear as, well, the nose on your face, Mayor Moorcroft. Or perhaps I should say, the nose on his face.\" She indicated Herrick the merchant with a nod of her head.\nHerrick coughed and stammered, \"Just - just what are you implying, Inspector Vale?\"\nVale gave Herrick her most dazzling smile. \"I haven't made any implications. Yet.\" She plucked something from the victim's hair and then bent down and removed something that was stuck in the gore pooled on the handrail under the victim's neck. She looked at both items, sniffed them each in turn, and spun triumphantly toward the mayor.\n\"This,\" Inspector Vale said, holding up the first item, \"is obviously stinkhorn. Our dead gold lender had a number of stems in his hair, which I'm certain led the troll right to him.\"\nShe held up the second item. \"This is a black tea leaf. I found it in the gold lender's drippings. Black tea. That's one of your primary commodities, isn't that right Herrick?\"\nThe merchant, sweat beading on his forehead, swallowed with an audible gulp and began to step away from the bridge. The cute young guard deftly stepped into his path, her hand pointedly resting on the pommel of her sword.\n\"Explain yourself plainly, Inspector Vale,\" the mayor said, clearly dismayed.\nAh, yes,\" Vale sighed. \"I forget that not everyone sees the world as clearly as I do. Jakard Herrick owed a great debt to the gold lender. More than he could hope to repay, as the black tea crop was pitiful this season. He had noticed the troll that was lurking under this bridge and decided to use it to take care of his problem. He convinced Glanonir to meet him at the bridge, where he unceremoniously dumped a sack full of stinkhorn stems over his head and pushed him into the river. The troll emerged, ripped off the gold lender's head, and dragged the rest under the bridge. You'll find what remains of poor Glanonir, as well as a sleeping troll with a full stomach, right beneath our feet.\"\n\"That's - that's nonsensical!\" the merchant exclaimed.\n\"No, that's irrefutable,\" Vale said smugly. \"Black tea leaves, the same as those still stuck to your sleeves, Herrick. From working in your storehouse, I'm certain.\"\n\"Shall I throw this miscreant in the dungeon, Mayor Moorcroft?\" the cute young guard asked as she lavished the investigator with a smile.\n\"Of course you should, my dear,\" Vale said, taking the mayor by the arm. \"And then you should summon some more guards, or you'll never get that troll out from under your bridge. Now, come along, Mayor Moorcroft. We really should discuss my fee -"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/investigator-vale-fowl-play": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/investigator-vale-fowl-play", "description": "Vale finishes both the count and the mysterious deaths of his vassals", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Investigator Vale: Fowl Play", "text": "\"The ducks, Count Tamsin,\" Investigator Vale proclaimed as she rolled away from the burly noble.\nTamsin, confused and disappointed that the lithe and curvaceous private investigator was no longer on top of him, struggled onto his elbows and exclaimed, \"Ducks, my sexy sleuth? This isn't really the time.\"\nVale leaped from the bed, wrapping the silk sheet around her and leaving the count alone and exposed. \"Oh, this is the perfect time! I've finally figured out what's been going on in your estate.\"\n\"The mysterious deaths?\" Tamsin stammered, covering himself ineffectively with a pillow. He wasn't sure whether to get up and join her or stay in the bed. \"I know I hired you to solve my problem\", but I was hoping to bring another situation to a conclusion first, my dear.\"\n\"The craving is no longer upon me, Count Tamsin. I have other fowl to pluck, as it were.\"\n\"What are you talking about, Vale?\" the count, now as angry as he was embarrassed, was having a problem keeping his voice down. \"Speak plainly!\"\n\"Plainly? I never speak anything but! It was an ingenious plan, but as always, Investigator Vale has figured it out.\"\n\"Vale! My patience, like your craving, is wearing thin...\"\nVale smiled and sat by the window, letting the breeze flow through her long, raven hair.\n\"Your game warden, Jelitar Narre. Every one of the deaths I investigated occurred shortly after the victims finished a meal of roast duck - duck provided generously by Narre. He poisoned your vassals.\"\n\"The bastard!\" Count Tamsin exclaimed. \"I'll chop him up and feed him to his own ducks, damn the man!\"\nSuddenly Vale was pressed against the count, nothing but the thin silk sheet between them. \"I love the way you think, count,\" she purred. \"I do believe the craving has returned.\"\n\"\"What about my game warden?\"\n\"Justice can wait, Tamsin,\" Vale whispered, \"but I do believe we were in the middle of something when the solution so rudely interrupted us. I'm quite famished, but I'm in the mood for something a bit more substantial than duck.\"\n\"Oh, Investigator Vale,\" the count said, as he and the sleuth fell back into the bed."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/investigator-vale-shadow-fellows": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/investigator-vale-shadow-fellows", "description": "The Investigator encounters a secret assassin society", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Investigator Vale: Shadow Fellows", "text": "\"This was no run of the mill murder, baroness,\" Investigator Vale said as she rose and stepped back from the body. \"No, this was an assassination. The work of the Shadow Fellowship, or I'm a Morrowind mushroom. I'd stake my reputation on that.\"\n\"The Shadow Fellowship?\" Baroness Esmonda exclaimed, raising a dainty hand to her full, red lips. \"The league of assassins? That's just a myth!\" Despite her protestations, the baroness suddenly went pale and looked around nervously.\n\"Oh, the Shadow Fellowship is quite real,\" Vale said, slipping off her leather gloves and returning them to the pocket of her long coat. \"They've operated in secret for hundreds of years. Whenever someone gets too close to the truth, they employ bribery, blackmail, and murder to keep their activities hidden. I've made a study of the clandestine organization - covertly, of course - but I've never had a case that so clearly points to their involvement.\"\n\"Doesn't that frighten you?\" the baroness asked. \"I would completely understand if you decided to abandon this investigation...\"\n\"My dear baroness, I have never abandoned an investigation in my life and I'm not about to start now,\" Vale said indignantly. \"I just need to determine how best to proceed.\"\n* * *\nThat night, in a richly appointed room above the town's inn, Investigator Vale slept fitfully after talking to dozens of people and following up on a half-dozen leads. Dark dreams troubled her rest, causing Vale to toss and turn in the small bed.\nSuddenly, Vale sat up, letting the sheet fall away from her body as she drew out the dagger she always kept under her pillow. She pointed it squarely at the dark form sitting in the room's only chair. The figure snapped her fingers and the candle beside the bed ignited with a spark. It helped a little, but mostly it just threw more shadows around the room.\n\"You're from the Fellowship, I presume?\" Vale asked.\n\"Let's not apply any labels, shall we?\"\" the woman said. Her face was still obscured by shadows and a mass of long, dark hair, but Vale could see that she was dressed in tight leather and wore at least three blades that the investigator could readily spot.\n\"Have you come to murder me in my sleep?\" Vale asked, her own blade never wavering.\n\"Neither I nor my associates have any desire to see the great Investigator Vale come to harm,\" the leather-clad woman said. \"There's no profit in that. We have one more contract to complete and then we'll fade away like dew in the morning sun.\"\n\"The baroness!\" Vale exclaimed.\nYou are as perceptive as we've heard,\" the woman said. \"But sometimes even perception arrives too late to change the inevitable.\" The woman rose and stepped to the room's single window. \"Enjoy the rest of your evening, investigator,\" she said with a slight bow before slipping into the night.\nInvestigator Vale did not sleep the rest of that long, dark night.\n* * *\nIn the morning, Vale returned to the baroness's manor house to find that the town guard was already at the scene. She approached the captain, an older man she had worked with in the past, and nodded a grim greeting.\n\"The baroness is dead,\" Vale said. It wasn't a question.\nThe captain of the guard nodded. \"Fell down the steps in the night and broke her neck,\" he said. \"Must have been the grief over her husband's murder that made her careless. Such a shame, but there was no way to stop an accident like that.\"\n\"Yes,\" Vale agreed. \"But there will be a reckoning.\"\nAnd with that, Investigator Vale turned and departed the manor house, already thinking of numerous ways to deal with the Shadow Fellowship. Someday, perhaps, she would take on these villains. But not today.\nNot today."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/investigator-vale-curse-mandrake-manor": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/investigator-vale-curse-mandrake-manor", "description": "The investigator solves a locked room mystery", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Investigator Vale: The Curse of Mandrake Manor", "text": "\"You have no ghost\", my dearest friend. The culprit is, in fact, Palwin the blacksmith!\"\nInvestigator Vale's words echoed off the walls as the crowd gathered in the library around Lady Mandrake gasped. Heads turned in all directions, seeking the accused. In the back of the room, the blacksmith stood nervously. A look of utter guilt spread across his face even as he shook his head from side to side.\n\"What are you talking about? There was no way a mere mortal could have caused all this trouble\", he said defensively. \"How could I sneak into a locked room and murder the butler? How could I hide the body when I was in my forge the entire time? You have no evidence, wench!\"\nThe room fell silent as all eyes once again turned to Investigator Vale. The insult didn't seem to faze her in the least. Her eyes sparkled in the flickering candlelight as she drew back her shoulders and tilted her chin up slightly so that her raven hair fell across her back. The fingers of her right hand, curled into a tight fist, seemed to clutch something. She made a deliberate show of rotating her fist and letting her fingers fall open to reveal a shiny bronze key in the shape of a skull.\n\"Oh, you have once again underestimated me, dear Palwin,\" Vale said. \"The evidence is clear as the nose on your face. You were the only one who had access to this skeleton key, the one lost by the lord of Mandrake Manor!\"\nPalwin's eyes widened. He stumbled over his words before collecting himself, Then he said,\"You - you don't know that was mine. How did you even get it? I - wait. You used me!\"\nVale's head rolled back as a joyous laugh erupted from her long, elegant throat. \"Oh, you silly little man! Of course I used you! Those drinks we shared last night? I added a tincture to yours that allowed me to search your rooms after you fell into a deep sleep. It was then a simple matter for me to see exactly what was out of place.\"\nVale, now moving about the room and playing to her audience, continued. \"Scratches on the floor by the bookshelf clearly revealed evidence of a hidden door. Gloves casually tossed in a corner, stained with blood. Boots caked with grass from the forest where the bodies were found. And this key, sitting on your nightstand for anyone to see.\"\n\"What does any of that prove, except that you drugged me?\" Palwin cried.\n\"It proves everything,\" Vale said happily. \"Instead of a ghost, we have a disgruntled blacksmith who wandered the tunnels beneath the manor. Tunnels that could only be accessed with this key. What started as a scheme to frighten and blackmail the lord - shame on you for that! -eventually led to murder.\"\n\"No!\" Palwin screamed. \"I won't be cheated out of what's mine! Not again!\" He drew a dagger from his belt and rushed toward Vale. She stepped to the side at the last possible moment, sending Palwin off balance and head-long into the wall. He fell, his own dagger protruding from his chest.\n\"Murder never pays,\" Vale said. \"Now if you'll excuse me, I have a bottle of aqua vitae waiting for me. And another mystery. There's always another mystery.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/investigator-vale-locked-room-murder": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/investigator-vale-locked-room-murder", "description": "The amorous detective solves the mystery of a banker's death", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Investigator Vale: The Locked Room Murder", "text": "\"Oh, the room was indeed locked when the murder occurred,\" Investigator Vale said, brushing dust from her elegant finery. The scullery maid, equally as dusty and looking quite flushed, hurriedly adjusted her apron as she ran out from behind the alchemist's well-stocked shelves.\n\"What was going on back here, investigator?\" Alchemist Krelana asked suspiciously.\n\"Oh\", your feisty little maid was just helping me with my - research,\" Vale said, \"pay her no mind. What you should be paying attention to is this half-empty bottle of wamasu bile.\"\nAlchemist Krelana shifted nervously, glancing at the burly town guard who was watching their exchange with renewed interest. She swallowed and said,\"What does my old supply room have to do with the death of Grath the Banker? He was locked in his own room when he died.\"\nVale dragged a gloved finger across one of the shelves. \"Yes\", the place is rather dusty. You did insist that this particular storage facility hadn't been used in many months. But notice the bottle of wamasu bile. Most of the dust has been wiped away. And do you know why?\"\n\"Why?\" the burly guard asked.\nVale awarded him with her most dazzling smile. \"Because, good constable,\" the banker was already murdered when he locked himself in. He just didn't realize it!\"\nVale turned to the alchemist with a triumphant grin.\u00a0\"Admit it. You applied generous amounts of the deadly bile to the banker's quill during these past few weeks. You slowly poisoned the poor man!\"\n\"Damn you, Vale!\" the alchemist spat. \"But I won't let you have the satisfaction of watching them cart me off to a dungeon!\" Krelana poured the contents of a vial down her throat before the guard could stop her. Her skin turned the color of ash even before she slumped to the ground.\n\"Your death gives me no satisfaction, Krelana,\" Vale said with regret. Then she perked up. \"But your scullery maid, on the other hand - now where did that little vixen run off to?\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/invitation-morrowind": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/invitation-morrowind", "description": "A personalized request for seasoned adventurers", "author": "Canon Llevule", "title": "Invitation to Morrowind", "text": "Dear [Player Name],\nHonored friend, the most-revered and holy Vivec, Warrior-Poet of the Tribunal, has taken notice of your exploits and requests a meeting. Make your way to Morrowind and the great island of Vvardenfell as soon as you can. Look for me outside the town of Seyda Neen. I'll escort you to Vivec City and introduce you to our immortal god-king.\nCanon Llevule,\n\tPriest of the Tribunal,\n\tAide to Archcanon Tarvus"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/invitation-orsinium": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/invitation-orsinium", "description": "An invitation to Orsinium, on behalf of the king", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Invitation to Orsinium", "text": "[Player Name], Accept this invitation, carried by one of my most-trusted messengers, in friendship and respect. In the name of the mighty King Kurog, I bid you welcome and invite you to test your mettle in the wilds of majestic Wrothgar. The Orsimer care not where your loyalties lie. Come help us rebuild the city of Orsinium and squelch the Winterborn menace. Aid the king in his worthy endeavors and riches and honors will be bestowed upon you. I have sent Ambassador Lazgara to meet you and offer you transportation to Wrothgar. You can find her in one of the following cities: Daggerfall, Davon's Watch, or Vulkhel Guard. Look for her when you arrive. I look forward to meeting you in person, as I've heard such wonderful accounts of your adventures. Present yourself to me when you arrive in Orsinium. Forge-Mother Alga, Orsinium, Wrothgar"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/invitation-hunt": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/invitation-hunt", "description": "Invitation to a hunt... of Orcs and Khajiit", "author": "Selloe", "title": "Invitation to the Hunt", "text": "Esteemed Auberic Dufont,\nIt is with great pleasure that we extend this invitation to you, ceruval Dufont. As you well know, Lady Ghisiliane applies the most rigorous standards in candidate selection. Your admission should be seen as nothing less than a grand endorsement of your high character and worthy deportment.\nWithin a fortnight, you will receive a token of admission to be delivered to our hunt masters on the day of the event. Remember that this hunt will take place in a swampy climate, so please dress appropriately.\nOur seasoned trappers in prey-acquisitions assure us that this event's quarry will provide a suitable challenge for hunters of all skill levels. Bestial Orcs and cunning Khajiit await your well-placed arrow! Please note that all hunts present some measure of danger, but our skilled hunt masters stand ready to assist you should the situation grow dire.\nWe eagerly await your arrival, master hunter! Farewell and good fortune!\nSelloe"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/invitation-kinladys-conference": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/invitation-kinladys-conference", "description": "An invitation to Kinlady Avinisse's mansion to talk about politics", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Invitation to the Kinlady's Conference", "text": "All nobles, reeves, and merchant lords in good standing are cordially invited to attend a conference at Kinlady Avinisse's mansion to discuss the current political climate, the influx of foreigners, and the Queen's decree. The Kinlady assures you that your voice will be heard in this matter.\nRefreshments will be served."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/invocation-hircine": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/invocation-hircine", "description": "Prayer to the Daedric Prince of the Hunt", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Invocation of Hircine", "text": "Mighty Lord Hircine, noble Lord Hircine, we come before you in all obeisance and humility, acknowledging your divine authority over the forest and all the lawful prey therein. We invoke you, O Master of the Chase, in your aspect of Alrabeg the Hunter, to look kindly upon the endeavors of these, your worshipers, as we praise you by engaging in the hallowed tradition of the Hunt.\nEver do we respect the Law of Fair Hunt, never taking a quarry that had no chance of escape.\nEver do we respect the Prey, thanking it for its sacrifice in our worship of you.\nEver do we respect the Huntsman, beseeching your permission even as we loose the arrow.\nBless us as we hunt, O Hircine. Help us to hunt with honor, and bring in prey both lawful and bountiful."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/invoice-comestibles": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/invoice-comestibles", "description": "Delivery invoice for feed products", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Invoice for Comestibles", "text": "Inventory of this weeks delivery of feed product is as follows:\n- 30 donkeys, live\n\t- 14 bales of hay\n\t- 2 bushels apples\n\t- 4 barrels minnows in brine, assorted\n\t- 10 sacks of whole grain\n\t- 5 phials of glimmer berry extract, concentrated\n\t- 1 jar nixad essence\n\t- 1 bottle ectoplasm\nChub loons continue to get chubby. Adjust their feeding schedule and remove any grains from their diet."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/iou-honor-guard-armor": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/iou-honor-guard-armor", "description": "He's got a real good feeling about this next bet.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "IOU Honor Guard Armor", "text": "Hey man, that last game totally broke me, but I'm feeling good about this next one. I won't be able to be there but toally put me in for the pot. I know where they keep the extra honor guard uniform in the training area.\nJust have to make sure no one wears it, Captain totally freaks if there's more Honor Guards on duty than planned."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/irgnars-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/irgnars-journal", "description": "An adventurer goes out on his own", "author": "Irgnar", "title": "Irgnar's Journal", "text": "Parted ways with Rigvar a few days ago.\nI knew I'd have better luck finding adventure without him. And I was right. A peasant just told me about a pack of trolls terrorizing the area. They're led by an especially mean one the locals call Redmaw. If I bring its head back to the camp, there's no way the others can top that!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/iron-wheel-prisoner-transfer-zeira": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/iron-wheel-prisoner-transfer-zeira", "description": "Summarises Zeira's many misdeeds", "author": "Chief Inspector Rhanbiq", "title": "Iron Wheel Prisoner Transfer: Zeira", "text": "Prisoner to be Transferred\nZeira of Abah's Landing\naka Danizeira\naka Guildmaster of the Thieves Guild\nVessel of Transfer\nThe ship Anemone, to depart directly from No Shira Citadel to Taneth, there to be held until trial.\nCustodial Duty\nPrisoner to be released into custody of Taneth Guard Captain or Iron Wheel Bailiff at Taneth harbor.\nCrimes, Summarized\n\u2014larceny\n\u2014grand larceny\n\u2014trespassing\n\u2014conspiracy\n\u2014evading Justice\nAdditional Notes\nMost recently impersonated a guest at the wedding of Magnifica Falorah. Specific details to be delivered upon my return to Taneth.\n\u2014Rhanbiq, CI-IW"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ironstalk-mushroom-preservation-and-sterilization": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ironstalk-mushroom-preservation-and-sterilization", "description": "What to do with mushrooms if one us drunk", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Ironstalk Mushroom Preservation and Sterilization", "text": "In the event this rotgut swill does addle my wits, everything I need to remember to preserve the fungus and my profit margin can be found within these pages. What I wouldn't give for just a sip of flin, but even my substantial sway over commerce in the Brass Fortress can't work miracles. At any rate, I'll take this time to prepare a reminder to never EVER attempt this process while intoxicated.\n-Begin with a simple saltwater brine. Add two parts corrosive fabricant saliva per five parts brine. This will soften the minerals absorbed by the fungus without destroying the mushroom itself.\n-Once the fungus is pliable, cut a small incision into the cap along the top and kneed in a bowl of lubricant. Work the oil into the caps and squeeze firmly until the spores have been evacuated.\n-Transfer to a clean bowl of lubricant and repeat as necessary until the majority of spores have been removed.\n-Return the fungus to the brine. Do not inhale the fumes given off by the mixture of the lubricant and corrosives.\n-Seal in an alloy cauldron and simmer over red coals for two days. This should render any remaining spores inert. This is the most important step! Better that the whole batch go bad than the spores be allowed to take root outside the Halls of Regulation.\n- Remove from heat and leave the sealed cauldron to age at least a week.\nI have found no discernible difference in the properties of mushrooms aged longer than a week, but attaching a vintage to each batch has been highly effective at negotiating a premium on my older stock."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/irrigation-research-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/irrigation-research-journal", "description": "Research notes on irrigation", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Irrigation Research Journal", "text": "ADJUSTMENT: No moisture\n\tRESULTS: All crops died\n\tNOTES: Plants seem to need moisture. Denying it caused withering and rapid crop death.\nADJUSTMENT: Water alternative\n\tRESULTS: Crops initially thrived, eventually died\n\tNOTES: Animal urine employed as water alternative. Animals seemed to resent being held in place until urination occurred. Cats were especially difficult. Badilia vocally resented having to restrain animals and being splashed with urine. Had to pay bonus.\nADJUSTMENT: Add rocks\n\tRESULTS: Crops failed to grow at all\n\tNOTES: Badilia said that rocks around plants help hold in moisture. Planted seeds and placed rocks on top. No crop growth noted at all. Suspect Badilia of ill intent.\nADJUSTMENT: Add rocks, Part II\n\tRESULTS: Crops thrived\n\tNOTES: Badilia explained that rocks are applied after crops have sprouted. Eye rolling and sighing was excessive. Waited until crops broke through the ground, then placed rocks around stems. Success was noted. Badilia called it \"keeping their feet wet\"; confusing, as plants do not have feet.\nADJUSTMENT: Constant moisture\n\tRESULTS: Test not yet complete\n\tNOTES: If some moisture is good for plants, then more must be better. Have flooded fields and am keeping plants constantly wet. Eye rolling detected from Badilia, but trial continues."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/isendore-fish-gutter": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/isendore-fish-gutter", "description": "A Gravestone", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Isendore Fish-Gutter", "text": "ISENDORE Fish-Gutter\nDutiful FISHMONGER\nWIFE of Yoren\nCHOKED on a Fish Bone\nHer YOUTH not yet Faded"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/it-insufferable": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/it-insufferable", "description": "A romance is cut short by ancient tradition", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "It is Insufferable", "text": "She returned. My love returned from Silvenar only to set our lives ablaze.\nA Green Lady! Y'ffre knows she is worthy, but why must it mean our end? We were to hunt together! The world was to be our prey, but now she would put down her bow forever!\nI have spoken with Gwaering, but she will not see reason. What's more, her betrothed is that simpering weakling, Indaenir. It is insufferable!\nSomething must be done. I will go to the city of Silvenar at once! There must be reason in this madness, and if there is not \u2026.\nIf there is not, then I will see it made!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/it-lives": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/it-lives", "description": "A Regent announces his greatest accomplishment.", "author": "Boward, Regent of Wriggling Nightmares", "title": "It Lives!", "text": "Most honored and revered leader, the Regent of Serpentine Stratagems,\nI am proud to report that the experiment worked even better than I anticipated. Thanks to your insightful suggestions, we have successfully spawned a composite creature. It features characteristics of a variety of predators, including scorpions, crocodiles, welwas, and humans. I call it the mantikora.\nAs you suggested, combining the powdery nirncrux dust into the primeval spawning pools provided just the impetus we needed to quickly breed the composite creature. Now we have a single, powerful progenitor that we can use to create an army of mantikoras for the greater glory of the Serpent.\nWe are already in the process of expanding the spawning pools to handle the increased productivity we hope to achieve. In addition, we have established a secondary set of pools where we plan to create more progenitors in the very near future. In the meantime, I look forward to showing you the fruits of our labor and introducing you to the progenitor when you can spare a moment to visit our operation.\nYours in the Serpent's name,\nBoward, Regent of Wriggling Nightmares"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/its-hunt-counts": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/its-hunt-counts", "description": "A killer keeps a record of past kills", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "It's the Hunt that Counts", "text": "Fourth victim in as many years! Should seek more out, easy pickings so far. Not much on them, but that doesn't matter. It's the hunt that counts.\nStash away a souvenir, sell the rest, move on to the next victim.\nMaritus Blasio of Vlastarus, Divyth Dorvayn of Bruma, Enide Geta of Chorrol, Varana Scaeva of Cropsford. List grows longer every year."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ithguleoir": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ithguleoir", "description": "A song about a man-eating beast", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Ithguleoir", "text": "We all remember Annine Praul,\n\tWent out to sea one day;\n\tIthguleior bit off her head,\n\tBeneath the sea of gra-ay, beneath the sea of gray!\n\tAnd what about Therese's son,\n\tA brave and handsome boy;\n\tIthguleoir has et him up,\n\tHis mother's pride and jo-oy, his mother's pride and joy!\n\tOh how we mourn our goodman Thom,\n\tWho swore he'd catch the beast;\n\tIthguleoir et him whole,\n\tAnd then he ate the pri-iest, and then he ate the priest!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ithis-omalors-orders": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ithis-omalors-orders", "description": "A plot to overtake a caravan", "author": "V", "title": "Ithis Omalor's Orders", "text": "Omalor,\nNo doubt you've heard by now that I've been driven from Mournhold. You may be questioning your duties or reexamining your loyalties. I don't begrudge you some skepticism. We must all continue to question those with power over us. However, know that the mission continues and I need you now more than ever.\nThe messenger who brought you this letter also carries a package. The package contains a relic of Dwarven origin. It will allow you to temporarily control the constructs that roam the Mzithumz ruins. The dangerous spheres and spiders will follow your commands for a brief time.\nIn and around Narsis, the plague spreads. We labor in the shadows of the Obsidian Gorge, and it is vital that no one accidently blunders into our workshops. Single travelers do not concern me, but a large group, like a caravan, may try to camp near the caves. A House Hlaalu caravan departs from Mournhold to provide aid to Narsis. They cannot be allowed to reach their destination.\nTake some House Dres warriors, the most amoral and expendable thugs you can find. Make sure they won't hesitate to cut down another Dunmer. Pay them to keep their mouths shut, whatever it takes. Use the raiders and the constructs from Mzithumz to overpower the Hlaalu caravan.When victory is assured, turn the constructs on the Dres warriors and make your escape in the chaos. The cost will be high, but the time it will buy us is crucial. We are close to a breakthrough.\nDo not seek me out when you have completed your task. I will find you.\n\t\u2014 V"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ithisas-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ithisas-journal", "description": "Ithisa is frustrated with the condition of the kwama mine", "author": "Ithisa", "title": "Ithisa's Journal", "text": "Exploration of the Dwarven ruins goes slowly. We were short-handed before the bandit raid. Now we have barely enough hands to keep the kwama in check. Every bit of gold we've made selling random Dwarven trinkets has gone to hiring more guards, not miners. I get that we don't want another bandit raid or construct attack. Fine. But the kwama business is falling apart while everyone plays archeologist.\nThe only bright spot in this whole damn thing has been the spring water in the cavern. Tastes a lot better than the swill we used to drag in from town. Maybe we should just start bottling the stuff. Since we apparently aren't egg miners anymore."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/jdaththarrs-letter": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/jdaththarrs-letter", "description": "An overly empathetic Khajiit's farewell letter", "author": "J'daththarr", "title": "J'daththarr's Letter", "text": "Brother,\nI couldn't stay here any longer. We aren't the only refugees here in Senchal, and you know I've never been good with crowds. I need my space. I feel crushed here amid all the people needing food. Needing clean water. Needing clothes. Needing. So much needing. I know you call me overly sensitive, but it's more an overabundance of empathy. How can I not give the food I found to someone else who needs it more? I've already lost so much weight since this started, and it's only going to get worse because I can't live with this continual guilt of eating when others go without. Do I need this sustenance more than these people who just came into the city? Than the ones who barely survived a Dragon attack? I can't keep food down when these are my constant thoughts. The pressure to help others at my own expense, while the pure overwhelming sense of everyone needing so much is going to kill me. So, I must leave.\nI'm heading north to Rimmen. From there, I don't know where I'll end up. Perhaps Summerset via another port town, though I know the High-Elves will do me no favors. At the same time, being surrounded by their chilly hauteur might be soothing for a bit until the lack of empathy finally grates too much.\nYou know I have a strong sword arm and a way with bows, so I'll make the journey safely. Then I'll write. I promise. As for you, perhaps you're correct to join those fighting against the Dragons. Best of luck with that. Bring them all down if you can. I have no love for those creatures, as they bring nothing but destruction with them.\nWith love,\n\tJ'daththarr"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/jsaads-note": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/jsaads-note", "description": "A Khajiit keeps hearing voices", "author": "J'saad", "title": "J'saad's Note", "text": "My beloved Adhimba,\nI'm sorry. I know you wished these voices I heard were only in my mind. That the images I perceived were my imagination. They are not, though. These visions\u2014these voices that speak to me\u2014they are something more.\nA divine presence speaks to me through this stone. I do not understand why these words seek me out, but the voice\u2014it only grows stronger. With it comes the blinding lights. The strange visions. She's trying to find another knight to carry her light, she says. One who will not betray her. One who must correct a previous mistake.\nI'm unclear of its meaning, but I believe I must undergo her trials. I must succeed where others have failed.\nI will return to you in Black Heights once my journey is complete. I will show you the truth. You will see the light. Everyone will see the light.\nJ'saad"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/jadarri-endless": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/jadarri-endless", "description": "Brief poem about this legendary hero", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Ja'darri the Endless", "text": "Khenarthi's Breath and Lorkhaj's Shadow\nShe walked the paths with pride\nAzurah's Light and Alkosh's Roar\nShe bowed and so was blessed\nRed Beast's Horn and Mask Divine\nHer end was just a beginning"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/jackdaw-fort": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/jackdaw-fort", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Jackdaw Fort", "text": "I can't stress enough how important Jackdaw Cove is to our efforts. We discovered an abandoned fort near the cove. Reportedly, the place contains a store of weapons. We need those armaments. Aernhi has gone ahead to scout out the fort. Gather your soldiers and move out. I want that fort under our control as soon as possible."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/jahar-fusoja": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/jahar-fusoja", "description": "Description of a Khajiiti qanun", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Jahar Fuso'ja", "text": "Early in the Second Era, the Mane of Elsweyr donated this qanun to the Bards College in exchange for allowing Khajiit to attend and teach here. At the time, high-ranking Khajiit officials sought ways to preserve and spread their culture against the encroaching Imperial rule of the Reman Dynasty.\nThis qanun was played at the celebration to announce the end of the Thrassian Plague that devastated Elsweyr. Named Jahar Fuso'ja, or Instrument of Celebration, today it reminds us to glory in life and never forgot the old songs."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/jakolars-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/jakolars-journal", "description": "Jakolar must undo a curse", "author": "Jakolar", "title": "Jakolar's Journal", "text": "- Forced to leave Solitude. Jarl Svargrim believes the method lost, my research pointless. That's fine. I'm not doing this for him.\n\t- Thirty days since. I've traveled south and east, visiting as many barrows as I can. The draugr are no threat to me, though the stronger ones take much of my energy to dominate fully. I need rest, but there is no time.\n\t- Turned away at the gates of Whiterun. Despite my care with the body, even the enchantments to dim the smell, it seems most are not comfortable with an old Nord carrying his wife's corpse into the town square.\n\t- I saw her this time. A ghostly figure that cried out for me to stop. I tried to tell her it has to be this way. I know it must be tormenting her to be so bound, but it is only temporary. Soon she will live on eternally. I will never lose her again.\n\t- Arrived at Ivarstead. I kept the body and my supplies hidden just outside the village. No one here knows anything about the draugr curse that could help me, but no matter. At nightfall, I will move into the barrow and see what I can learn. At the very least, it will give me a place to rebind her.\n\tI'm sorry, my dear. Just a little longer."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/jardirrs-commendation": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/jardirrs-commendation", "description": "A commendation letter for a dedicated officer", "author": "Holgunn One-Eye, Stonefalls Command", "title": "Jardirr's Commendation", "text": "Captain Jardirr,\nIn recognition of your dedicated service to the Ebonheart Pact, it is with pride and pleasure that I award this Letter of Commendation. Reports from the Dark Elf and Argonian members of your unit make it clear you take the mission of the Pact to heart and mind.\nKeep this up and you'll be Centurion before this war is over. For the Pact and Glory!\n\u2014 Holgunn One-Eye, Stonefalls Command"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/jarlsbane": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/jarlsbane", "description": "Description of a Dunmeri instrument that sounds grating to Nordic ears", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Jarlsbane", "text": "A delegation from Lord Vivec of Vvardenfell presented this tablestrings to High King Svartr. Not accustomed to Dunmer tonal structures, the court musicians declared it \"grossly untunable and overly complicated.\" For many years the instrument sat in the Blue Palace as a curiosity until it was recently discovered by Master Bard Endroni Selvilo of House Redoran.\nHigh King Svargrim generously donated this instrument to the college to further the understanding of the Dunmeri arts.\n(\"Still sounds like shrieking eels!\" is scratched into the metal plaque below the inscribed words.)"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/jaunt-jilted": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/jaunt-jilted", "description": "A young mer breaks of a wedding, and pays dearly for it", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Jaunt of the Jilted", "text": "The Jaunt of the Jilted, A Play in One Act\n\tTranscribed by Relicmaster Glenadir\nNarrator: Once lived two mer of good family and good standing. They were matched together from an early age, and once they were grown a wedding was planned.\nNoldinwe: Oh, how I long for our glorious wedding day!\nNarrator: But young Quarnel had his doubts. He wished to marry for love.\nQuarnel: I'm sorry Noldinwe, but I don't love you. I must break our engagement.\nNarrator: Noldinwe would go on to find another suitor, but she never forgot Quarnel's betrayal. Fueled by that hatred, she cursed a pair of shoes. Beautiful and supple, they held a deadly secret.\nNoldinwe: Quarnel, we were once so close. I must insist you come to my wedding. And look, I've bought you these lovely shoes. Just perfect for dancing!\nNarrator: And so Quarnel attended, and upon the reception he began to dance. Quickly the rhythm of the music picked up, and quickly his feet began to move. And they grew warmer, and warmer, until they grew hot. Until they began to scorch the flesh of his feet.\nQuarnel: Noldinwe, what have you done? These shoes\u2014they've\u2014by the Stars!\nNarrator: But Quarnel could not stop dancing, not until he took his very last breath. And all that time Noldinwe simply smiled."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/jeirmuns-work-log": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/jeirmuns-work-log", "description": "Explorers are attacked by pale, undeathly Orcs while exploring the Dwemeri ruin Rkindaleft", "author": "Jeirmun", "title": "Jeirmun's Work Log", "text": "Didn't expect to find anything living down here\u2014but Orcs, or something like Orcs, attacked us on sight. We pulled back to regroup. The mercenaries went ahead to clear a path.\n* * *\nCinosarion is obsessed with these pale Orcs. I just want to sleep, but I can hear him muttering over one of their corpses. Disgusting.\nSeems they are Orcs, after all, but they've been broken and changed. The Elf has a theory. He said the scarring suggests they were carved open and closed up, again and again. Some are missing limbs, or other parts. I don't want to know.\n* * *\nI can't sleep.\n* * *\nGlurbasha and Dorand are arguing again. He wants to push on. She wants to leave. Can't say I really blame her. There's something off about this place.\nDwarven ruins are always foreboding, but this one is different. The parts that open to the sky feel somehow oppressive. Threatening.\n* * *\nI keep catching a voice in the back of my head telling me I'm trapped here. That I'll never leave.\n\tI need a drink.\n* * *\nFound a journal written by whoever cut up those pale Orcs. I can hardly comprehend what he has written. I'd show it to Cinosarion, but then I'd have to talk to Cinosarion.\n* * *\nI lost the journal. The constructs had ignored me, but ever since I picked up the journal I noticed they were watching me, following me. I tossed it down and hid in a cave\u2014they stopped their pursuit.\nI need to find my companions. I need to get out of here.\n* * *\nWe should not have come to Rkindaleft."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/jewels-yokuda": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/jewels-yokuda", "description": "An introduction to Yokudan jewelrycrafting", "author": "Master-Jeweler Donielle Geonette", "title": "Jewels of Yokuda", "text": "The Redguards' reputation as peerless sword-wielders is well earned. But after spending some time in the stifling heat of the Alik'r, I can tell you that they skillfully cut more than just dunerippers and grave robbers. I'm speaking, of course, about precious stones!\nDuring my most recent visit to Sentinel, I had the opportunity to speak with a clever jeweler-historian named Berzhalan. According to him, the hills of Yokuda (the Redguards' long-lost home), were filled with nests of volcanic geodes and jewels. The ancient Yokudans mined up topaz, sapphires, amethysts, and opals\u2014placing great value on any stone with rich color or creamy luster. (Diamonds, shockingly enough, were often discarded due to their lack of hue!)\nIn addition to creating wide necklaces and heavy bangles, the Yokudans used these gems to adorn their most prized possessions: family swords. They studded the pommels, scabbards, crossguards (and even the blades!) with finely-cut jewels. Over time, this practice fell out of favor. The near-constant civil wars of the Yokeda forced the Redguards, more often than not, to choose utility over beauty. Nonetheless, the gem-cutting tradition remained strong. Yokudan jewelers turned their focus from the martial to the glamorous, crafting elaborate opal headdresses, jangling sapphire anklets, and wide amethyst rings. When the time came for the Ra Gada invasions, these craftsmen brought their skills and traditions to Tamriel. I was surprised to learn that the tools and methods of Redguard jewelers have remained largely unchanged ever since.\nSo if you ever make your way to Alik'r, do yourself a favor and buy a jeweled Redguard knife or a Totambu-style ring. True, you'll never have the opportunity to see the rolling hills of Yokuda. But these treasures can take you there in spirit, guaranteed"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/jhunal-rune-god": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/jhunal-rune-god", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Jhunal the Rune God", "text": "It is impossible to discount the wisdom and power of Jhunal. We in Skyrim are often seen by the rest of Tamriel as drunken oafs, or barbarians with little thought in their minds other than an eagerness for battle. Most forget that their favored Julianos was first a Nord god, one that valued wisdom, intelligence, and the pursuit of knowledge above all else.\nWe true Nords have not forgotten Jhunal. There are still those among us that enjoy scholarly pursuits and the broadening of our minds. Perhaps we are but a token few these days, but hope is not lost. Nords must remember that they are called to a higher purpose than the brandishing of swords. We should be pursuing matters that enrich our lives, not risk them. Things such as scholarship, history, reading, and invention.\nIf you turn up your nose while reading this, take comfort in knowing that you are not alone. There are many Nords who feel the same way. Jhunal wavers in favor because of a foolish notion that the pursuit of knowledge is somehow beneath us. That anything that doesn't make us stronger or display our courage for everyone to see is worthless. But I beseech you to abandon those notions. They have been learned, which means they can be unlearned. We need not do away with our strength as warriors in order to bolster our minds. In fact, doing both in conjunction can only improve both aspects of our beings.\nTo be an excellent warrior, you must also have a strong mind and the knowledge to carry you through battle, wouldn't you agree? If the importance of learning is not enough to entice you, let that be your motivation instead. Jhunal is still ours, and Skyrim is still a land of warriors who are enriched by knowledge as well as combat.\nDo not turn up your nose at such pursuits! If we turn a blind eye to Jhunal and his teachings, then we are doomed as a people."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/jodes-blessing": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/jodes-blessing", "description": "A small aphorism", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Jode's Blessing", "text": "Jode's light shines upon those who make an effort to change their lives. It ignores those who are content to be full or resigned to be empty."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/jofnirs-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/jofnirs-journal", "description": "", "author": "Jofnir", "title": "Jofnir's Journal", "text": "I've done all I can. For now, I've salvaged what I could of the situation. Took a few relics as trophies. I should be back out in the light soon enough.\nI can put these lessons to good use the next time I visit Ragnthar. The Dwemer constructs will set watch, keep the place safe. I don't want any visitors. The next time we meet, I'm going to end this. I can't let this go on any longer.\nI'll stop in Windhelm, see if I can't get a few supplies for the next trip. Maybe some mead. It's been far too long since I had a decent brew."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/jofnirs-journal-0": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/jofnirs-journal-0", "description": "", "author": "Jofnir Iceblade", "title": "Jofnir's Journal", "text": "I've done all I can. For now, I've salvaged what I could of the situation. Took a few relics as trophies. I should be back out in the light soon enough.\nI can put these lessons to good use the next time I visit Ragnthar. The Dwemer constructs will set\u00a0  watch, keep the place safe. I don't want any visitors. The next time we meet, I'm going to end this. I can't let this go on any longer.\nI'll stop in Windhelm, see if I can't get a few supplies for the next trip. Maybe some mead. It's been far too long since I had a decent brew.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/join-dragonstar-caravan-company": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/join-dragonstar-caravan-company", "description": "A recruitment pamphlet", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Join Dragonstar Caravan Company!", "text": "Want to be a part of something big and important? Want to earn gold and wear an impressive-looking uniform? Then we have a position for you!\nThe Dragonstar Caravan Company needs tough, competent, capable men and woman to join our evergrowing force of caravan guards. If you can look so menacing that you never have to draw your weapon, we want to talk to you. And if all else fails and weapons must be drawn, we want to know that you can use that weapon and win any battle.\nDesired skills: Strong, ornery, heartless, loyal, capable of following orders, able to think for yourself when on a run, intimidating, and inclined to end an impending threat before it turns into a hostile situation.\nTalk to Proctor Finemo in the town of Dragonstar. We look forward to making you part of the Caravan Company family!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/join-order": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/join-order", "description": "An invitation for pirates to abandon piracy and become monks instead", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Join the Order!", "text": "By decree of Primate Artorius and the holy will of Akatosh, all Red Sails pirates who abandon their criminal ways and pledge their souls to the Dragon God of Time shall receive full and unconditional pardons for all past trespasses, real and imagined.\nThe Order of the Hour welcomes such individuals into its sacred fellowship. New initiations take place regularly in the Enclave of the Hourglass until all available pardons have been distributed.\nHurry! The Order needs you. And your eternal redemption depends on it."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/jomunds-research-notes": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/jomunds-research-notes", "description": "Studying a blue-glowing ore with metallurgical applications", "author": "Jomund", "title": "Jomund's Research Notes", "text": "Initial findings:\nOre exhibits a faint blue glow. The glow fluctuates, sometimes appearing to grow stronger. Possibly due to being in close contact with another metal. More tests will be needed to determine true cause of the fluctuation.\nThelm insists he's seen a similar type of coloring on some Ayleid stonework.\nOre seems to attract the frost trolls that inhabit the western sections of the mine. If this ore proves useful or valuable, we'll need to clear the trolls out of there.\nTests:\nHard to determine the actual properties of this mysterious metal. It appears to have thin veins of silver running through its distinctive bluish tint.\nThe ore resonates with an almost musical tone when tapped with a silver tool. An iron tool produced a more discordant tone.\nAdditional Testing:\nThe ore is highly resistant to chipping. A few chips were finally produced and ground into a powder. Unfortuately, Thelm destroyed several hours' work with a mighty sneeze that scattered the blue, glowing residue.\nAdditional analysis is needed, but I believe that grinding the ore may produce a material that can be used as an alloy in weapon crafting. This will be extremely important if the ore is determined to have some sort of magical property. The alchemist Aleeto will be interested in this. She'll want to see a sample of the ore immediately."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/jones-blessing": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/jones-blessing", "description": "A small aphorism", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Jone's Blessing", "text": "A closed eye admits no light. Only the slitted or open eye can see the path to knowledge."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/josef-intolerant": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/josef-intolerant", "description": "The brief biography of a very rude gladiator", "author": "Ilitha", "title": "Josef the Intolerant", "text": "There are many legendary gladiators who've made their names in the Blessed Crucible. Among them, Felhorn, Sanarel the Great, and Aleris the Shroud are known for their formidable combat prowess and fighting spirit. But others, like Josef the Intolerant, have become famous for other reasons.\nLet me first say that the Blessed Crucible of Skyrim features an amazing array of competitors, with combatants arriving from all over Tamriel to test their mettle. In this time of warring alliances, it's not just anywhere that an Altmer would drag a wounded Orc to safety, or where a Redguard would so readily step into an arrow's path for an Argonian, but the Blessed Crucible is one such place. In the Crucible, one's team is one's nation, and the struggle for the Brimstone Crown the national religion.\nHowever, there was one man, a young gladiator named Josef. He came from the Breton Lion Guard, and was fresh-faced, decent with a blade. None questioned that he was a healthy boy, ready to take the Crucible by storm. But Josef could never understand the social phenomenon of the Crucible, and trusted only other Bretons. He could not fathom the fact that gladiators must place their trust in their teams, not in gladiators of the same race.\nSaid gladiator Oberelle, \"Our match began, and this Breton boy sent his Khajiiti team member sprawling to the ground. Then he looked me in the eye and blinked twice, slowly. 'Is he trying to wink?' whispered my ally, Doumant. We capitalized on their folly and beat the boy and the Khajiit unconscious. One must never refuse such strokes of fortune in the Blessed Crucible.\"\nAs time passed, young Josef grew increasingly frustrated. He scoffed at suggestions to collaborate with gladiators of other races. His demeanor incensed the Crucible audience along with its competitors, and management loved him for it. \"We would print Josef's face on currency if we could. He is a boon to us,\" they said.\nThe gladiators felt differently.\nSaid Dalu the Dunmeri Blade, \"Josef told me he would never collaborate with a kwama farmer. And he hounded me every day for kwama eggs. He was certain that I had some, or could, by some miracle, produce them. I have never even tasted a kwama egg. I was born in Skyrim.\"\nSaid Ethenen, the Rabid Dunmer, \"Josef repeatedly referred to me as Dalu.\"\nSaid Azrukana, the Crimson Cat, \"I told him he could trust me in battle. That he needed to, if he wanted to live for much longer as a gladiator. He rasped his voice and said, 'This one thinks you should have some moon sugar and keep your opinions to yourself.' I did not like that.\"\nSaid Inarfar, the Skyforged Razor, \"When Hrasvard, my comrade of a decade, was slain in combat, I went to the Hall of Champions and I wept. That Breton boy found me and said, 'Did you run out of mead-coin? I know how that feels, but unlike you Nords, I wouldn't cry about it.' The beating that ensued in Hrasvard's honor lasted eight minutes.\"\nNo gladiator had gained as much infamy as Josef in so short a time, but he soon disappeared.\nHis current whereabouts are unknown."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/josselines-letter": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/josselines-letter", "description": "Squabling among necromancers", "author": "Josseline", "title": "Josseline's Letter", "text": "Nordahl swaggered into the camp like he owned it. Flashed that hunk of metal around like he's Molag's gift to Mannimarco. Bah! Wanted to punch him in the mouth, but Scent-of-Graves stopped me.\nRegretting it now, since Nordahl's become more unbearable as the days progress. Wish you were here, sister. We'd show him a thing or two.\n\u2014 Josseline"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/journal-0": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/journal-0", "description": "Journal about voices from a ring", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Journal", "text": "Amarbina is wrong. Her premonitions don't always come true. I saw the ring when they buried Nicoleric in the cathedral graveyard. I don't know where he got it, noticed it on him when he came back to town. He died right afterward. No reason for the ring to go to waste; his loss, my gain. So I snuck back that night, did a little digging, and took the ring. No one saw but a drunk beggar and he won't remember.\nThe ring is beautiful. Some craftsman poured a lot of himself into it. I wanted to give it to Amarbina as a present, but she recoiled as if I'd put an asp into her hands. She yowled that it was cursed, an evil thing that should be brought back to its maker to be destroyed. I laughed at her. If she doesn't want it, it's mine. I'll sell it for a bag of gold. Or maybe I'll keep it. I like the way it looks on my finger.\n***\nOthers are jealous. The last few days, I've heard them whispering about me, calling me names, saying vile things about me. It's the ring; they covet it, want to take it from me. They see it and hate me for it. The ring glows to warn me, to tell me enemies are about. I hear them whispering but never see who's saying those things about me. If I ever spot them, I'll kill.\n***\nHad to leave Shornhelm. Couldn't take the things they were saying about me. Amarbina begged me not to go, begged me to get rid of the ring. But she wants the ring for herself, I can see it in her eyes. Maybe she's behind the whispering, the hate. The ring glowed as we argued, warning me about her. Almost made her confess at knifepoint, but ran instead.\n***\nEven out in the wild, I can still hear the voices. They're inside my head, I can't get rid of them. I've done awful things in my life, it's true. Everything they say is true.\n***\nIt's the ring. The voices are from the ring, the voices of the dead. Amarbina was right. Must get back to Shornhelm. Break the curse somehow. Maybe dig up Nicoleric again, give ring back. Amarbina will know.\n***\nAlmost there. Struggle to move, voices pounding away, can't think. Don't deserve to live. See Amarbina before I die. Then join the voices."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/journal-1": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/journal-1", "description": "Journal about soup and servants", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Journal", "text": "\u2026\n\tMother made me apologize to the servants today. Why? It wasn't my fault that the soup was served too cold. They should have known and heated it back up to a proper temperature!\n\t\u2026\n\tToday I've decided to move into the guest house. I don't need mother to be watching over me constantly.\n\t\u2026\n\tMother is being intolerable again! She will not send the servants over to clean up!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/journal-fallen-officer": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/journal-fallen-officer", "description": "An undercover narcotics enforcer becomes an adict, the vows to get her rank back", "author": "Falura Uveleth", "title": "Journal of a Fallen Officer", "text": "By Falura Uveleth, Former Officer\nIt got the job done.\nThat's what I told myself after a tough call, after a hard assignment. It may not have been by the book, but hey, nothing ever is. Little things at first, things I thought I'd forget by the end of the week. A well-placed bribe here, a promise that my superiors would know nothing about. I kept slipping, and slipping, until I was telling myself that phrase every night. It got the job done.\nAnd who could really question my goals? The House Redoran's Narcotics Oath-Bureau is one of the best forces for good Vvardenfell has to offer. What could be more noble? We were cleaning up Vvardenfell, one arrest at a time. Anyone who went undercover knew the stakes, and they knew that our superiors were more apt to look the other way if the results were to their liking. Maybe that was my first mistake. Thinking no one was looking.\nThe skooma ring I infiltrated was top priority. Skooma is nasty stuff, an opiate that causes hallucinations. Addictive, deadly, cheap, the drug's a powerful combination. Even the growth and sale of moon sugar is illegal on Vvardenfell's shores, for good reason. With such a high stakes case they decided to send their best officer, who at the time happened to be me.\nWhen an officer infiltrates a skooma ring there are the expectations, and then there's the reality. They can't avoid certain habits. Bribes are commonplace, extortion as well. No one talks about torture when you're signing up, but it happens. Deaths come with a bit of paperwork, but hey, who's going to mourn a dealer? All of these you can learn to live with. It's what you eventually can't live without that eats you up.\nIt shouldn't be surprising that few skooma rings accept members who don't use the product, at least occasionally. There's no bigger red flag than turning down an offered pipe, and in my line of work even the smallest of suspicions can lead to a quiet death in some dark alley.\nThe case itself went off without a hitch. I did my usual reconnaissance, gained trust of those up top. Found out who was in charge and where trade was coming in. The case closed within three months, quicker than any other officer could have finished it. But not quick enough.\nI admit, I was hooked. It was an itch I couldn't scratch, a thought I couldn't drown out. I started drinking, thinking that would numb the withdrawal. But drink simply washed away my resolve, and eventually I was searching for dealers for a whole different reason.\nIt was fine for a time. I was able to keep my dosages short, concealed my habit from those around me. It all fell apart when another office brought in my dealer, and she was more than happy to talk. Not surprising, but I suppose addiction doesn't bring the clearest of mindsets.\nI was told I was lucky to be stripped of my rank and not thrown behind bars, but I'm not one to lie down and accept my disgrace. I'm nothing if not resourceful. I've sobered up and smartened up, and now I'm on a new mission. I'll win back my honor if it's the last thing I do, no matter the means."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/journal-stranded-mage": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/journal-stranded-mage", "description": "A mage lost in the Clockwork City misses his loyal companion", "author": "Orinol", "title": "Journal of a Stranded Mage", "text": "By Orinol, Mage of Cormount\nYou know what I miss most? No, it's not food, though eating the bland gruel given out here has become torturous at best. And no, it's not the smell of the Green, though it seems like the stench of metal fills me to the brim. And no, it's not safety, because if Grahtwood has taught me anything, it's to fear danger at every turn.\nYou know what I miss the most? My dog.\nJona's a lovely creature, she is. Shaggy gray coat, bright pink tongue. Her eyes look like two stars, golden and shining. I miss her wagging tail, always there to meet me when I came home. Her love of fetching sticks in the meadows. Y'ffre's name, curse it all, I even miss her barking in the middle of the night. I'm sorry I ever cursed her for it, because I know she was just doing her best to be a good dog.\nPerhaps I'm pathetic for admitting it, but I'll be damned if it's not true. But even though I miss Jona, I still wouldn't wish this life on her. In fact, I'm sure she would have been eaten by now if she did end up here with me. Either that, or killed by one of the monstrous constructs around here.\nAll it took was one foggy night of too much Sun's Dusk Ale. Mother always told me I was too much a fool to have magic, and I'll be damned, she was right. I must have used that portal spell near a hundred times before, and all it took was some slurring of the Ehlnofex, perhaps a switched up syllable or two. And here I am, lonely and bitter, wasting my time writing about my damn dog.\nI just hope she's being taken care of. My cousin Brelenel would check on her when I traveled, but Jona needs a proper home and a kind hand. I can hardly believe I'm more worried about her than myself! Me, well, I can look after my own arse. Who's going to look after hers?"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/journal-telvani-emissary": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/journal-telvani-emissary", "description": "A Telvanni diplomat finds power in Skyrim", "author": "Elvali Trandel", "title": "Journal of a Telvani Emissary", "text": "(From the journal of Elvali Trandel, Mouth of House Telvani, Emissary to Skyrim)\nYet another wasted journey. I thought the lords of Skyrim would understand that the honorable House Telvani will not be dragged into their pitiful squabbles. Who cares about borders and rightful rulers? Certainly, we have no opinion on the matter of crowns or east versus west. There are more important things in this world than who rules which expanse of snow and ice. If only the other \"Great\" Houses shared this understanding, then the Dunmer would be so much better off.\nWhile the diplomatic purpose of this trip may have been a waste, the journey may yet prove useful. I have heard rumors that an ancient faction is once again active and operating in Skyrim. The witches of the Icereach Coven seem involved, but they are rank amateurs compared to the rumors I have chanced upon. I relish the opportunity to study the ways of this ancient faction. There is power in dark magic, after all. If these rumors are true, that power could be mine.\nI may extend my stay a bit and see what I can learn. Perhaps I can use the knowledge to raise my status back in Morrowind. Others in House Telvani have studied such things, but none have been this close to the source of power. I can feel that something lies beneath this land. Something dark. Something...powerful. I will find it and make it mine."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/journal-zen-priest": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/journal-zen-priest", "description": "Personal journal entry of a Z'en devotee", "author": "Spinner Sandaerion", "title": "Journal of a Z'en Priest", "text": "We've located an amazing site, circled by a series of caves. The Spinner says she senses a strong connection to Z'en, as though he called her here for some great purpose.\nWe dedicate this site to Z'en and will begin the stonework for the shrine immediately.\nWith luck, we will find the missing histories. May our toil be rewarded in kind!\n\t\u2014 Spinner Sandaerion"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/journal-arrai": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/journal-arrai", "description": "", "author": "Arrai", "title": "Journal of Arrai", "text": "29 Sun's Height\nI know not what force drags us up from our eternal rest, but the call cannot be denied. I did not study the Daedric Princes much in life, but bound to them now in death, I regret that.\nMaybe if I knew more, I could save us from this terrible duty. Whatever this force or being is, it grows closer. Crawling. Pulling. The very world seems to rebel against it, but to no avail.\n12 Evening Star\nNirn ends soon, this I know. And it ends in a tide of corpses."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/journal-arraj": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/journal-arraj", "description": "Arraj has a terrible portent about the fate of Nirn", "author": "Arraj", "title": "Journal of Arraj", "text": "29 Sun's Height\nI know not what force drags us up from our eternal rest, but the call cannot be denied. I did not study the Daedric Princes much in life, but bound to them now in death, I regret that.\nMaybe if I knew more, I could save us from this terrible duty. Whatever this force or being is, it grows closer. Crawling. Pulling. The very world seems to rebel against it, but to no avail.\n12 Evening Star\nNirn ends soon, this I know. And it ends in a tide of corpses."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/journal-bernamot-great": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/journal-bernamot-great", "description": "Bernamot has an inflated sense of his abilities", "author": "Bernamot", "title": "Journal of Bernamot the Great", "text": "And so begins the adventure of Bernamot the Great! As a soon-to-be-renowned explorer, this tome will officially begin my body of work. Scholarship that I am certain will be studied for centuries to come!\nBegining with this tome, I will uncover the secrets of long-forgotten cities. I will discover the ancient mysteries that have lain undisturbed by mortals for long years. In short, I will go where others fear to tread and find things that others are unworthy to find.\nMy journey begins here, in the ancient city of Abagarlas. Lost to time, I discovered this ruined city after extensive research in my father's library. I alone have the courage to explore this dark city.\nI will begin by descending this dark stairway before me. Although the way is dimly lit, and dust fills the air, I'm confident the ancient Ayleid architecture is sound. Onward, to greatness!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/journal-bravam-lythandas": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/journal-bravam-lythandas", "description": "The Brush of Truepaint makes its debut after a series of experiments", "author": "Bravam Lythandas", "title": "Journal of Bravam Lythandas", "text": "12th First Seed\nThe experiments continue to progress. I have imposed several persistent illusions on the subject's mind, though he must still wear the amulet. It was simple to convince him that his own soul was tied to it and that its removal would mean immediate death.\nI do not have complete control of the illusions yet; when I tried to convince him the shed was made of stone instead of wood, he saw it as made of sweetmeats and I had to prevent him from attempting to eat it. The individual's own predispositions still have some undesired influence.\n17th Second Seed\nFinally! I solved two problems that have been stalling my work with one elegant solution. With the exact combination of domination spells I have created, I now have total control over the hallucinations (along with persistence) without the need for costly enchantments.\nThis is a timely find, as the subject recently indicated that removal of the amulet might be preferable to the current stages of the experiment. I can now begin looking for additional subjects.\n5th Mid Year\nThe three that inhabit my basement are convinced that they live in a palace. They have begun to take on the aspect of nobles, which is their own conceit\u2014I have not attempted to alter their perceptions of themselves. This shared illusion has held for two weeks and shows no sign of breaking down under prolonged scrutiny, as the others had.\nI remain hesitant to subject myself to these illusions yet, though I am fairly confident I'd be able to extract myself. Testing has not revealed any of the distortions I'd hoped to observe in the nature of local reality. Perhaps more subjects are needed.\n10th Sun's Height\nAnother interesting development occurred today. I introduced the notion that a werewolf would rampage through the palace to just one of the subjects, out of range of the others. When I returned him and he awoke, it was not he who first spotted the werewolf at all, but another subject!\nEach seemed to perceive the beast. I shall have to test this further\u2014is the illusion becoming its own reality, or have I accidentally connected them in some way? Could the false world bleed through? How exciting!\n23rd Sun's Height\nI am losing control. It is almost as if some outside force is interfering; I can feel a strange undercurrent in the spells I have woven, resistance in the minds of the subjects. They are becoming unintelligible and difficult to work with.\nOne sits in the corner, rocking back and forth and muttering prayers to Dibella, of all things. Another has injured herself horribly and will need to be removed. Thus far, I had not been concerned for the soundness of their minds. What could be causing this?\n2nd Last Seed\nTo my great surprise, everything in the basement was gone this morning\u2014the simple furnishings, supplies, and, most upsettingly, the subjects. The basement walls, ceiling, and floor are now completely covered with a mural depicting the grand chamber of a palace.\nThe subjects are nowhere to be seen, and strangest of all are the set of paints and single brush found lying in the corner. Some trickery and tampering has clearly taken place. I shall have to investigate further."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/journal-culanwe": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/journal-culanwe", "description": "An Azura servant tries to broker peace between warring factions", "author": "Culanwe", "title": "Journal of Culanwe", "text": "It seems fitting that the servant of the Queen of Dawn and Dusk should try to broker peace between the Nedes and the Ayleids. Her realm is between times, between places, and between realities. If I can help two peoples who have such hatred of each other find peace, I will have accomplished something, at least, in my time in this mortal realm. I sense Azura guiding me, and her strength flows within me, but it is her wisdom I need now.\n23 Sun's Height\n\tDid I say I needed Azura's wisdom? Nay, I need her patience. Only an immortal could put up with these \u2026 people! The Nedes are well-named. Yes, they spent many years shackled and tormented by the Ayleids, but none alive today remember that suffering first-hand! The recompense they demand continues to escalate, even as the pride of the Ayleids swells. I sense they will break off negotiations any day now, and we may go from uneasy peace to outright war.\nAh, Azura\u2014keep me from speaking with them! The power of my voice can change their reality, but that would be a bandage on an infected wound. Nothing but true change can allay the anger between these peoples.\n27 Sun's Height\n\tThe worst has happened. One of the Ayleids is dead, a messenger killed while running errands. The Ayleids suspect the Nedes and they do not deny it. Rather, they take umbrage \u2026 as if the death of one messenger cannot be measured against the long suffering they endured. This will not go well. My voice may be the only answer.\n29 Sun's Height\n\tI stand amazed. I did use my voice, but only \u2026 adjusted reality somewhat, to forestall conflict. The true miracle came from a Nede and an Ayleid. Both outsiders to the negotiation, they joined together to solve the mystery of the murdered messenger \u2026 and found the culprit neither Nede nor Ayleid! A servant of Molag Bal was responsible, his aim to sabotage these negotiations!\nThe two heroes have done what I could not. They've brought Nede and Ayleid together against a common foe. I foresee hostilities between these two peoples ended.\n\n2 Last Seed\n\tWith the wedding of the two heroes, the breach has been closed. But I cannot imagine Molag Bal will let this go unchallenged. I will seek an answer \u2026 a way to shield these peoples in Azura's name. As long as I live, the Harvester of Souls shall not touch what we have created here today. Azura, give me strength. Let my voice change the world as long as I am in it."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/journal-elias": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/journal-elias", "description": "Elias finds himself in a horrible situation", "author": "Elias", "title": "Journal of Elias", "text": "Day 10:\nI have been traveling for days without a clue as to my bearings. The forest is dark and I hear the clattering of creatures in the night. I have taken to not lighting a fire at night and braving the cold. I don't want to attract any attention.\nDay 13:\nI could have sworn I saw fleeting images of Elves through the trees. Perhaps it's my mind playing tricks on me as everytime I turn to follow, the images disappear. Perhaps someone is playing a trick on me.\nDay 15:\nI was bitten by the largest spider I have ever seen. The wound looks to be festering. My travel rate has deteriorated significantly. I fear I may never make it home.\nDay 16:\nI have seen them. In my weakened state, it appears that my pursuers have grown bolder. Perhaps they are following my torch."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/journal-garron": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/journal-garron", "description": "Garron plots to ascend to lichdom", "author": "Garron", "title": "Journal of Garron", "text": "Divines bless the bottomless pockets of the Pellingares. On the take for four years with Master Pellingare's brats. Most of that time I merely brushed dunken disturbances under the rug, or paid off a witness. Only had to bury one body. And through it all the gold kept rolling in. Enough to fund my little studies into necromancy.\nNow the brats are planning something big. Building an army or somesuch beneath the sewers. Paying me a heap of gold to keep the guard off their tail. No way in Oblivion they're going to be able to keep this secret. Captain Lucius' dogs will hunt us all down. But maybe I can use this to my advantage. After all, I need to"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/journal-habbert-unsinett": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/journal-habbert-unsinett", "description": "Journal of a Hermaeus Mora devotee and his quest to preserve knowledge", "author": "Habbet Unsinett", "title": "Journal of Habbert Unsinett", "text": "From the Journals of Habbert Unsinett, Senior Archivist and Researcher\nDresan Keep's archives continue to grow and prosper. I love working with the knowledge of the ages. I know that no mere mortal endeavor could equal something as vast and comprehensive as the Apocrypha of Hermaeus Mora, but I am content here. And, of course, I have not sold my soul in servitude to a Daedric Prince to dwell amid a wealth of information and history. (Though sometimes I do dream of wandering the endless stacks of Apocrypha.)\n***\n\tI have told the younger acolytes repeatedly that they must individually dust each book and then carefully replace it. I caught Gatrin dusting a shelf of books, just swiping a cloth across the spines as casual as can be. He was not wearing gloves, either, and I have reinforced, time and time again, the need to keep the natural oils from our skin away from these precious tomes.\n***\n\tI would like to say that the wars do not trouble me, but that would be a lie. I spoke with Lady Dresan the Elder about the fate of this treasure trove of knowledge preserved within the keep. The books on arcane magic, in particular, should not fall into the wrong hands. We have a plan of preservation that falls mainly upon my shoulders to implement. Most of the staff has fled as the fighting intensifies. Some have gone to join the wars, to return home to families. Others have gone to I know not where. A few of my colleagues remain, however. Dresan Keep is our home and its library of knowledge our life's work. I shall enlist their aid in preparing a safe space for the most important treasures in the library. Sacrifices will be required.\n***\n\tTime has taken on a strange pace, but it is peaceful here now. I have made a vow to protect the keep's treasures. We spent countless years indexing all of the volumes within the collection. At the risk of flattering myself, my series of charts that cross-reference people, places, and relevant tomes in the collection is both useful and a work of art. Someone, someday, will need the information we have collected, and they will know how to put it to good use.\nI worry about mildew, though."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/journal-hostia-asellus": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/journal-hostia-asellus", "description": "A bandit becomes a slaver to feed her family", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Journal of Hostia Asellus", "text": "We're on lean times again. Folk haven't been venturing down the path we've been watching. I told Fandus his idiot gang was holding up the travelers too often. Now they're avoiding us entirely. Greedy fools.\n\u2014\nStill no spoils to speak of. We're catching frogs to stretch our limited supplies, but we'll be down to boiled boot leather soon if nothing changes. I'm skipping meals to keep Julitta fed. This is no place for a sick child.\n\u2014\nFandus assured me that things are going to be all right. We fought about it. He told me the gang is planning a raid. I don't like it. The nearest village belongs to those Root-House People. Nasty folk. Territorial. Fandus says they're going to hit their food stores while most of the warriors are out hunting. I can't argue. We need food.\n\u2014\nJulitta is anxious in the empty camp. She won't stop asking when her father will be back. She's realized now that I'm lying when I tell her \"soon.\"\n\u2014\nThey did it. Fandus and the rest strode into camp cocksure and grinning like fools, but their arms were laden with fresh food and dried goods. I still can't believe they pulled off that raid. We'll eat well tonight and a few weeks more at least.\n\u2014\nIt's been three days now. I've screamed myself mute and cried myself dry. I can't go on like this. I have to keep Julitta alive. She's finally sleeping. I should do the same.\n\u2014\nThose eyes. I keep waking up to those beady yellow eyes. Every time, it's like I'm there again. I only realize it's not real because I don't hear Julitta screaming as they drag her out of bed. Dagging lizards.\n\u2014\nI chanced taking us deeper into the swamp, toward Blackrose, but it paid off. I found another camp of Blackguards. They didn't seem keen on taking on more mouths to feed. A few were sizing me up for the cages, I could tell, but Gruznak agreed to take me on so long as I pull my weight. He told me later it was my eyes that made the decision. Said he could tell I'd have killed the lot of them with my bare hands before I let them cage up my little girl. He was right.\n\u2014\nGruznak has me feeding the stock for now. I have to choke down bile every time I look at one of them. The broken ones don't trouble me at least. It's the fresh ones I hate. At least when you tame a dog you don't have to listen to it try and beg in your language. I hit him until he stopped moving.\n\u2014\nI got an earful about damaging the stock. It was the teeth that were the problem. Buyers don't like unsightly beasts. Gruznak said to remember that next time. He wants me to start breaking in the fresh ones. Said I was a natural.\n\u2014\nIt feels like time has flown by since we got here. Feels almost like we've got a future here. Gruznak's a savvy leader. He takes the lion's share of the bounty, but he sees that we're all living well. Julitta and I a little more than the rest. Think he's got a shine on me.\n\u2014\nAnother year, come and gone. Fast. Wish I could hang onto the good years longer. I haven't wanted for food or a warm bed for a long time, but I still catch myself tucking away what I can. I hate that gnawing fear. The lizards' eyes stare at me in my sleep. I'll cut two out tomorrow. Gruznak be damned.\n\u2014\nJulitta's no little girl anymore. Her innocence is all but gone now, what little the mud-lizards left her. Feels like she was clinging to my skirt just a week ago and now she's fending off the advances of Gruznak's boot-licks with the knife I gave her. She's of the age where she's going to need to pull her weight now, might as well teach her to use it.\n\u2014\nI gave Julitta a timid Bright-Throat to mind. She feared him at first, but I showed her we don't need to be afraid of the beasts anymore.\n\u2014\nJulitta enjoys leading the Bright-Throat around by a leash. I haven't seen her so care free in a long time. I never realized how much fear she was still carrying around. I'll let her enjoy it another few days, then we'll have to have to have a chat about thinking of the mud-lizards as pets.\n\u2014\nGruznak's slaving business is booming. The gang's ranks have tripled just since he opened a channel to the Telvanni of Vvardenfell. He wants me to head up my own crew. Think I like the sound of that."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/journal-justiciar-avanaire": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/journal-justiciar-avanaire", "description": "An officer of the law goes rogue to protect their sister", "author": "Justiciar Avanaire", "title": "Journal of Justiciar Avanaire", "text": "Sarocil tells me that the debt collectors are getting impatient. How funny this whole situation is. I had always dreamed of my little sister returning, but now that she's here in my home I feel only grief. She's brought nothing but trouble, yet I can't turn her away. Not now. Not after she's come to me in her time of need.\nI'm still not sure she's clean. I hate to say that about my own sister, but skooma changes a mer. I could barely recognize her, she was so thin. Her bony fingers, clinging to my skirts. Her broken voice begging me to help her. I want to believe her, I want to help her make a good life but... I can't. Not yet.\nEven so, I have little choice now. She owes money to some dangerous characters. How could I let my baby sister be sold to some Telvanni mage, or killed to make a statement? I can't take that risk.\nThe trouble is that the Divine Prosecution's reputation doesn't allow for underhand dealings. There's not a fool in Summerset who would agree to a bribe. Too suspicious. I hate to admit it, but this buyer Sarocil found is the only way out. What they want with the pearl, well, Auri-el knows. But what choice do we have?\nI made sure to be put on Captain Telomure's squad, just as planned. I'll wait until we're close to Tor-Hame-Khard. That's where the buyer should be waiting for me. I'll take the captain by surprise, grab the pearl, and leave him for dead. If I know Summerset soldiers, they'll follow me into the ruins. And then, well... the buyer has assured me that they'll take care of the soldiers. Permanently.\nI'll report that bandits stole the pearl, and there won't be a mer alive who can contradict me. If all goes well, my position should remain intact. By Oblivion, I may even be promoted for my bravery. And Sarocil will have the gold she needs. She'll be safe.\nI do this for her. She's all the family I have left, broken or not. I'll take care of her. No matter the cost."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/journal-magiul-shiana": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/journal-magiul-shiana", "description": "A faithful cook and servant keeps a record of his interesting life", "author": "Magiul Shiana", "title": "Journal of Magiul Shiana", "text": "17 Hearthfire, 2E 401\nYoung Prince Anton inherits the throne of his father this day. Queen Sylvie will stand by his side as he ascends for his coronation. The roasts and the cakes are prepared to my direction. I am proud of the servants. I cannot tell which dishes I cooked anymore and everything will be ready precisely on time.\nThe young Prince came down last night and requested my longfin stew for tonight's banquet. This old palace chef has never been so honored.\n18 Hearthfire, 2E 401\nI endured the tongue-lashing of Queen Sylvie for my \"scandalous dish\" in front of my staff. Little Gloria asked me why I didn't speak up and tell the Queen that King Anton requested it personally. She is, of course, so young. She cannot possibly understand. One does not speak up against their betters.\nKing Anton came down an hour later and thanked me personally for the meal. He will make a good king.\n11 Rain's Hand, 2E 408\nQueen Sylvie passed away this evening. She expired peacefully in her sleep. I berated the staff, who believed that cooking a meal for the ailing Queen tonight would be a waste of food. Still, I did not make them cook. Food should never be prepared with spite.\nInstead, I went to the ailing Queen and asked what I could make for her. I could see that she knew she would not make it through the night. But she smiled faintly and humored me. She asked for my longfin stew.\n27 Second Seed, 2E 409\nKing Anton has survived the poisoned darts of the assassins. The staff has worked diligently to prepare the most healthful food to help speed his recovery. I caught Gloria slipping potions of fortitude and health into his soup. I gave her the gold I earned for the week. She will make an excellent chef one day. After I am no longer around, of course.\n14 Sun's Height, 2E 409\nKing Anton recovered fully. His first action was to hold a funeral for his Seneschal, the loyal servant who took the brunt of the assassins' cowardly attack.\nGossip in the kitchen revolves around who is to be the next Seneschal. Gloria said it should be me. What nonsense.\n19 Sun's Height, 2E 409\nGloria will have to prove her mettle in the kitchen sooner than I thought. King Anton has asked me to be the next Seneschal. I told him I knew nothing of the position. He replied that that was why he wanted me to take the job.\nI suspect there is much the King is not telling me, but it is not my place to question his wisdom.\n30 Frostfall, 2E 414\nI recently rediscovered this journal. How very quaint it is, and so full of memories. I thought it would be amusing to write in it again. It seems so long since I was just the palace chef.\nGloria, my dear wife, has taken to the task better than I could have hoped. The servants look up to her, and she is proud of them each and every day. I understand the King's wisdom now. How he knew I would rise to this task I might never understand. I bow to his wisdom now as I did then.\n22 Sun's Dawn, 2E 425\nThis old book has endured much. As I lie in this bed, coughing from poison, it brings me a small amount of joy. Gloria lies nearby. If I could will my strength into her I would. I slew the spy who poisoned the King's food myself, before I succumbed, but not before Gloria ate her fill.\nKing Anton is unharmed, but Gloria \u2026.\n7 First Seed, 2E 425\nGloria went to her final sleep in the night. One of the servants brought us dinner, not knowing what was to come. I didn't know Gloria had taught the servants how to prepare my longfin stew.\nIn the morning, the servant came and apologized for the crass meal. I told her it was all right. Longfin stew is a meal fit for a queen.\n29 Rain's Hand, 2E 430\nThe shakes took me today and I fell. I am not so old that my own legs should fail me. Damn the effects of this poison! At least I found this book under the bed.\nKing Anton wants to try some Ayleid magic to heal me. His wisdom, as always, is beyond mine. The new Seneschal serves him well, but still he looks after this old man.\n12 Last Seed, 2E 431\nI think I died today. It is difficult to say. I can walk around and speak, but there is a detached feeling. I can feel the crown I am bound to, sitting in its chest, and the servant who watches me raise the pen and write these words looks at me fearfully.\nI still serve my King, even in this spirit form. I do not tire and I possess a form so much closer to my younger self. I can serve until my King's bones turn to dust. And so I shall.\n11 Hearthfire, 2E 450\nThe King passed away today and will be sealed in a tomb. I am to be his guardian. I could do with the solitude. The servants fear me and to be frank their company doesn't do that much for me, either.\n* * *\nTime has passed in the tomb and my inkwell runs dry. I am bound to the crown, buried with my once-King. His bones crumble, but still I serve. What use am I, serving in this hollow place? Was my King's wisdom so infallible, or did I just blindly believe in it?"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/journal-master-pellingare": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/journal-master-pellingare", "description": "The Master discovers Garron's plans a little too late", "author": "Master Pellingare", "title": "Journal of Master Pellingare", "text": "I should have known better than to trust that damned fool Garron. How he gained enough knowledge to turn himself into a lich I'll never know. I should have refused him. I should have stuck to every teaching and parable that warns against the evils of necromancy. But he promised I would get Varaine and Allene back. What father could refuse life for his children, no matter the cost?\nBut it's all ruined. I refuse to believe these things are the same souls I kissed goodnight every night for twenty years. They are twisted. Evil. They build an army with Garron's aide, to what purpose I can only guess. I would get the guard, bring this unholy affair to an end now. But what if Garron is not lying? What if somewhere in those vile walking corpses are some semblance of my children returned from the dead? I cannot risk losing them again, no matter how corrupted they may be."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/journal-merethrin": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/journal-merethrin", "description": "Journal about the quest for immortality", "author": "Merethrin", "title": "Journal of Merethrin ", "text": "Gwannas came to me last night agitated, his eyes wild with excitement. It took several minutes for me to calm him to the point where I could understand what he was saying, his thoughts were flowing so fast and free that his lips and tongue could not keep the pace.\nWhen at last I could understand him, I couldn't believe it. Immortality. Life eternal. Discovered, so he related to me, entirely by accident, a fluke, scrawled with a hurried staccato script in the pages of a book whose binding had been swapped with that of a tome on the magical properties of the feathers of exotic waterfowl.\nHe had consulted the volume for insight into a simple potion, but the moment he saw its true contents he was mesmerized by it. He studied it long into the night. He claims to know it by heart. \u2026\nGwannas is set on his course, and I find myself caught up in his infectious enthusiasm. Think what we might do with immortality! The knowledge we could acquire and the help it could offer. Why do healing spells help with some ailments and not others? We would have time enough to solve this and so many other puzzles!\nIt's a cruel trick that men are cut down just when they start to truly become wise, that they must spend a lifetime of training just to know what men before them discovered long ago. \u2026\nWe have chosen the location for our ritual. A secluded cave, which the locals call the \"Cave of Sorrows.\" We laughed at it as a bit of provincial superstition, but now, I'm not so sure.\nThe things we have had to do to prepare the ritual \u2026 I can't bear to write them. Horrors that I've only managed to justify to myself because of the good my brother and I will be able to accomplish, once immortality is in our grasp. Sometimes, not even then.\nI look at Gwannas and I wonder if he is even troubled by what we've done. He wears an expression of such perfect calm, always. I envy his confidence.\nAll the crystals are now in place. Tomorrow, we will complete the ritual. I must put my doubts to rest now and get some sleep. Tomorrow, all our deeds will be vindicated."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/journal-nicolas-douare": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/journal-nicolas-douare", "description": "Journal of a budding Necromancer", "author": "Nicolas Douare", "title": "Journal of Nicolas Douare", "text": "By torchlight, the specimen appeared unremarkable. In life, it had been a sturdy youth, and wisps of brown hair were still visible on the crest of its yellowed skull. Its empty eye sockets stared at me, impassively, as I completed the necromantic incantation. At once, the torches in the room flared a bright, but unearthly shade of green. The pounding of my own heart filled my ears.\nThe awful event was very sudden, and wholly unexpected. The skeleton shuddered, and from the black void between its lipless grin, the most appalling succession of cries issued forth, echoing through the stone chamber of the crypt. I think I screamed myself as I stumbled frantically backwards.\nIt stood, impossibly, on fractured leg bones that should not have borne its full weight. By now my back was to the wall, as the reanimated skeleton turned to face me. The waiting was almost unbearable, and I closed my eyes to await my fate. When the anticipated attack did not occur, I opened my eyes. The creature stood at attention, its head bowed slightly, in supplication.\nNow a raspy sound issued forth; a single word, in a barely audible hiss. \"Massss \u2026 terrrrr.\"\nMy first necromantic conjuration was an unqualified success. Soon, the entire crypt will be filled with minions to attend my every command! I think I shall find this place most accommodating."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/journal-orryn-black": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/journal-orryn-black", "description": "Details Orryn's quest to find Fang Lair", "author": "Orryn the Black", "title": "Journal of Orryn the Black", "text": "Regrettably, my attempts at the preservation of creatures of the Daedric host appear to be a dead end. The pull of Oblivion always wins in the end. Much like sculptures in ice, my works in this medium are a fleeting beauty.\n~~\nThere it is, like an estranged partner hovering over the remains of a recent split, familiar boredom comes calling. I envy the long dormancy of draugr at times like this.\n~~\nSensing my malaise, one of my ambitious attendants took it upon herself to seek a distraction for her master. She brought me a dry volume of Dwemer history to while away my time. I briefly considered watching her corpse dry into a leathery husk as a more thrilling alternative, but there was a confident smirk in her expression that convinced me to indulge her.\n~~\nLizabet has served me well. The book she brought me provides a kernel of truth to a fanciful legend. The author claims to have paid a recent visit to the long lost ruin known as Fang Lair. I believe I'd like to see this necropolis.\n~~\nThe bulk of my followers now scour the Dragon's Teeth Mountains for Fang Lair. Even with clues provided by the historian, it will be quite an undertaking. Even so, this renewed purpose has bolstered my patience.\n~~\nDuring these months of search, I've collected many records on Dwemer and Dragons. Their ambitions were not dissimilar. Mastery over existence! I'm not so different, though we've all chosen different avenues to explore. Considering their fates, I have no desire to follow in their footsteps.\n~~\nFinally, Fang Lair is in my grasp. The price paid was quite light. The lives of a few dozen of my followers were claimed by these treacherous mountains, but they are settling into their new roles as well as can be expected.\n~~\nThis place is beautifully desolate. The bones of thousands are strewn throughout the crumbling halls. Some shattered, some blackened, and some fossilized in the stone itself. A record of extinction and terror, but is the centerpiece to this exhibit to be found here among them?\n~~\nNow here's an unexpected turn. Fang Lair was not entirely uninhabited. We had a very special squatter in our midst: an ancient Lich from a time when the Dragon still lived and breathed, and one of the group responsible for ensuring it ceased to do so. He has so much to tell me, once I've made him more compliant.\n~~\nThe Lich conducted obsessive studies of the Dragon's remains during his stay here, so very kind of him to share. Adapting them to my methods will not be difficult. I'm already envisioning a wondrous display, though my conversation with the Lich and his companions has revealed a missing element. This Dragon possessed a priesthood during its lifetime and the High Priestess is nowhere to be found. I must have her."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/journal-priestess-aranwen": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/journal-priestess-aranwen", "description": "Aranwen receives a special mission from the Queen", "author": "Priestess Aranwen", "title": "Journal of Priestess Aranwen", "text": "At the Queen's behest, I have agreed to perform an important part of the ritual honoring the Ancestral Spirits. Since many of the ancestors have grown hostile, I plan to do this in a quiet grove where I often meditate. The area is usually only occupied by a lone spirit named Colonwe. While mischievous and enigmatic, Colonwe knows me and has always tolerated my presence in the past. I feel certain it will be a safe place to perform the ritual ceremony.\nYours in Xarxes,\n\tPriestess Aranwen"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/journal-skorvild-frostwind": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/journal-skorvild-frostwind", "description": "Skorvild has alchemeical plans to assist his High King", "author": "Skorvild Frostwind", "title": "Journal of Skorvild Frostwind", "text": "This damnable war!\nSkyrim needs mighty warriors to defend it against the various invaders who want to ravage our land.\n\tWe can't count on our so-called allies to save us. We must rely on our own strength of arms and our will to win the day.\nI've discovered a way to make my soldiers more powerful. A special recipe, if you will. With it, we shall become a force unlike any to ever walk across the frozen tundra of Skyrim. With it, we shall become the invincible fist of King Jorunn. No one will be able to stand against us!\nBut first, we have some large game to hunt down."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/journal-kings-seneschal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/journal-kings-seneschal", "description": "Journal detailing the discovery of an Ayleid relic", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Journal of the King's Seneschal", "text": "King Ranser wants a second fort built as a twin to the one on the tor overlooking Shornhelm. It is his feeling that two forts can support and aid each other, greatly increasing our hold over the region. After a quick examination of our options, I've decided that we can build this new fort on the foundation of the ancient ruins in the Lorkrata Hills.\nConstruction began today on the new fort. Nestled in the foothills below the mountains, the engineers are building the walls and towers to align with the area's natural stone. We are also expanding into the ancient network of tunnels and chambers beneath the hills, using the original construction as a basis. The work is slow, however, as we persevere not to collapse the entire mountainside atop us.\nAs work on the Hall of Heroes started, we uncovered a curious runestone. Nothing like it has turned up in any of the texts I've consulted, and it doesn't seem to have any innate powers that I can see. I will keep it with me, where it will remain safe and so that I can study it at my leisure. Perhaps it will reveal its purpose to me at the proper time.\nAs I walked with the engineer to examine the newly opened corridors, the runestone began to glow. The intensity of the glow seemed to respond to specific locations within the corridors. I need to investigate this phenomena more closely, but later. When the halls are empty and I can perform my studies away from prying eyes.\nI discovered the source of the runestone's strange behavior\u2014I think. An ancient relic. half-buried in the ancient soil, seems to be of Ayleid origin. When the runestone and the relic are in close proximty, the air itself seems to hum with intense energy. The discovery excites me and frightens me at the same time. I have sent for King Ranser. I'll let him decide what we should do with these ancient items.\nKing Ranser has decided that the best course of action is to hide the relic and the runestone. We've assembled a small trusted team of workers to build a secret room next to the Hall of Heros. We will hide the relic there. I have not yet decided on a place to hide the runestone, however."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/journal-oculary": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/journal-oculary", "description": "Journal about visions concerning a Dwemer device", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Journal of the Oculary", "text": "I have dreams and visions. They haunt me, forcing me to search these Dwarven ruins. I see a device in these dreams: the Oculory. I don't know what it does, but I know that it is no mere construct of metal and oil. Light passes into it, filling it, illuminating the stars deep within.\nThe Oculory requires four parts to complete its repairs. These four parts are cracked and covered in grime and oil. Light wants to pass through the Oculory. I've seen it in my dreams, but the current state of the device won't allow that to happen. The parts that have failed must be replaced.\nThe first part is a shimmering crystal, designed to bend and focus light as it passes through it.\nThe second part is an opaque crystal, designed to deflect light that hits it.\nThe third part shines with stars, but its purpose is otherwise a mystery to me.\nThe fourth part appears to be a mirror made of metal, polished to shine and reflect light.\nFour parts. It only needs four parts, but only the correct parts will do. I see the device, a monolith surrounded by four red crystals. Place the correct parts there, and the repairsmith will do the rest. The dream compels me! I must find the parts and bring them to the device!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/journal-thracius-mento": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/journal-thracius-mento", "description": "Journal of a healer strugging with curing the Knahaten Flu", "author": "Thracius Mento", "title": "Journal of Thracius Mento", "text": "3rd Last Seed\nI finally arrived in Senchal. It is in chaos from the outbreak. I admit a moment of weakness: when I saw the victims today, I felt revulsion. I wanted to run. Mara preserve me! The sores, the bloody coughing, the rasping cries of pain! I nearly fled. But if men of wisdom like me run, how will we ever cure this plague\u2014how will we prevent another? We cannot allow the Knahaten Flu to be the victor. By the Eight, I will help bring about its end!\n8th Last Seed\nThere are others like me in the city, those who have left home to risk their lives finding a cure. I am glad for the company, and with our combined efforts, we have found ways to comfort those dying of the disease. We keep them (and ourselves) wrapped from head to toe to limit exposure to the sores. The rumors of chicken broth easing the cough seem to be true, but none of the remedies I brought with me have cured even one soul. Once the symptoms begin, there is no stopping it.\n12th Last Seed\nWe have tried everything. Every potion, salve, incense\u2014even prayer. Not one has recovered. I am so tired, so distraught that I cannot even eat. My stomach churns. My eyes are bleary. Even breathing seems difficult. I just need a good rest, I know. I still have hope."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/journal-ulrich": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/journal-ulrich", "description": "One man refused to serve Emeric, but won the support of the common man", "author": "Ulrich", "title": "Journal of Ulrich", "text": "I first found the entrance to Silaseli in 565.\nMy brothers in the Lion Guard stripped my rank when I refused to swear to King Emeric. Others who refused the oath became victims of court politics, stripped of their high status and sent to live with the vagabonds. I'm lucky; I found status amongst the farmers outside Evermore.\nOur problems multiplied when the king started his war with Cyrodiil. The farmers trust me to help them. I'm flattered by the attention."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/journal-urodil-sea-born": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/journal-urodil-sea-born", "description": "Urodil encounters the Stormwardens for the first time", "author": "Urodil Sea-Born", "title": "Journal of Urodil Sea-Born", "text": "Where clear skies had been earlier, now storms formed as far as the eye could see. Calm seas became fierce as soon as our ships crossed their waves. Our exuberance flagged as we approached the coast of Malabal Tor.\nMy ship somehow survived long enough to launch longboats before sinking, though only a third of our crew were accounted for on shore. Once on land, we met the Wood Elf known as Firras.\nMuch to my surprise, he told us about the Sphere of Storms, and the \"stormwardens\" using it to turn the ocean against us. I am hesitant to trust a tree-lover, for I hear they eat their enemies. But he may be the key to getting the rest of the fleet to shore. We must remove these stormwardens from their sanctuary and take this sphere for ourselves."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/journal-ventilias-proximus": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/journal-ventilias-proximus", "description": "An aspiring necromancer gets caught up in Hew's Bane politics", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Journal of Ventilias Proximus", "text": "Once more, Zulgukh fails me! One of his loose-lipped idiots must have sold out our arrangement.\nI need more bodies! Better they are worked to the bone, which is why Zulgukh's offer was so tempting.\nBut this \"Cosh\" fellow has blackmailed Zulgukh to come to No Shira Citadel\u2014headquarters of the Iron Wheel! If Zulgukh doesn't play this new merchant lord's game, how long before the Iron Wheel is knocking at my door?\nI won't die in this stinkhole. The Cult of the Black Worm will take me in, I'm certain of it\u2014I just need a few more souls to prove my worth ...."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/journal-page": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/journal-page", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Journal Page", "text": "Day 43 - Found warmth at last. Room with strange button switches. I leaned against one and lights appeared and steam filled the room. So warm!\nDay 44 - I noticed more buttons. I wonder if one will provide food."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/journals-final-pages": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/journals-final-pages", "description": "The sad final thoughts of a remorseful father", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Journal's Final Pages", "text": "I've not been a good father. I know this. Ever since her mother died I've held her at arm's length. I make sure she's safe, that she has food and warmth. But I never speak to her. She does not even know we're related.\n\tI don't know if this way's better.\nI suspect these are my last words. I feel life escaping me. Maybe it's for the best this happened. Maybe I should fade away, forgotten. I'm vain enough to hope I won't.\nIf anyone should find this, please tell my people I fought bravely. I know they can find a new home and make it better than this. And tell Roselle her father loved her."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/journal-day-12": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/journal-day-12", "description": "Frustrated scribblings of a cultist", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Journal, Day 12", "text": "I am beginning to think that this endeavor was folly. We have been studying the object for twelve days and I have seen none of the cult's promises come to fruition. The dark priests have assured me that their rituals will bear fruit if we remain vigilant in our prayers to the dark one. I try to remain faithful, but my doubts increase."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/journal-day-26": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/journal-day-26", "description": "Hardships of cult life", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Journal, Day 26", "text": "I haven't eaten solid food for three days. It is the penance I offer the Dark One for my lack of faith. I should've never revealed my doubts to Reggr. He went right to Vila. I'm surprised Vila didn't kill me outright for my insolence and blasphemy. Others in our group have not been so lucky. They tried to hide the bodies, but I saw them. Every one appears to have died screaming."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/journal-day-32": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/journal-day-32", "description": "Aspirations of arachnomancy", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Journal, Day 32", "text": "An intruder arrived today, a priest from a cult of Stendarr worshipers. I am sure more of his kind will arrive when he doesn't return. We bound him and fed him to the spiders. How he thrashed and screamed as they devoured his living flesh! There was a terrible kind of beauty to it\u2014I couldn't look away. The power to control such beasts is enticing. I have vowed to redouble my faith so that one day, the beasts will obey my commands."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/journal-day-40": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/journal-day-40", "description": "A Mephala devotee's epiphany", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Journal, Day 40", "text": "Oh blessed, glorious day. My faith is absolute. I walk among the chosen, and soon I will be one with the shadows. All of Tamriel will tremble before my power. All praise be to Mephala!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/journey-endings": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/journey-endings", "description": "A Dragonguard plaque found in Dov-Vahl shrine in Anequina", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Journey to Endings", "text": "UV HIAN JONRI ISEK TOR\nSEEK BLESSINGS, GRANT PARDONS\nJOURNEY TO ENDINGS\nNO RETURN FOR WE\nSOLDIER, HUNTER, PILGRIM\nSOUL AND MIND FALTER\nUV HIAN JONRI ISEK TOR"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/jubilee-cake-voucher": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/jubilee-cake-voucher", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Jubilee Cake Voucher", "text": "This voucher provides the bearer with one cake for special occasions from the renowned baker, Chef Donolon.\nTo redeem this voucher and receive your special cake, look for the chef and his bakery barge in the ports of Vulkhel Guard, Davon's Watch, and the Harbor District of Daggerfall. We guarantee it will be delicious!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/julianos-firebelly": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/julianos-firebelly", "description": "A recipe for strong wine", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Julianos Firebelly", "text": "66% Lady's Smock Leaves\n\t33% Sacred Lotus Seed\nPriory of the Nine Winery"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kaarats-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kaarats-journal", "description": "", "author": "Kaarat", "title": "Kaarat's Journal", "text": "They've made no demands or given any hint of what their goals are. I've tried to get a look at their leader, a large Nord, but he always has his face covered."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kal-druuns-notes": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kal-druuns-notes", "description": "Clues for solving a dwemer door puzzle", "author": "Kal Druun", "title": "Kal Druun's Notes", "text": "We are vampires of the Gray Host, so we have no need to open doors. Still, like my master, Exarch Tzinghalis, I have an unending thirst for knowledge. I must figure out this Dwarven door!\nNo lock, no handle, no hinges.\nNo levers, nothing obvious. How did the ancient Dwarves open it?\nThe pillars, covered in gears. What is the significance of the panels on them? Four different images. Stars.\nIt is said that the Dwarves were interested in the sky above. Could the panels represent different sections of the night sky? There must be some way to discern their pattern.\nThe panels. The pattern doesn't repeat exactly, but the panels must be the answer.\nI think I figured it out. When you notice what's missing, the answer becomes clear!\nAnd with knowledge attained, I grow bored. On to the next great mystery!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kal-eetos-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kal-eetos-journal", "description": "An incoherent journal", "author": "Kal-Eeto", "title": "Kal-Eeto's Journal", "text": "\u2026\nI am so cold. And so hungry. It has been many days and the cut that bluish creature\u00a0 gave me is infected. I must keep a clear head. MUST. I can hardly think straight for fever but I need to open this door.\nSkull, dragon, snake, orc? Orc, dragon skull skull kull Orcorc. Dragon snake snake drake orc. pork. beef. potato. Can't keep them straight.Hungry.\nWhat did I write? I passed out for a while. Eased the fever a bit,\nI am so cold, but I only have my mage candles to warm me. Candles! Use them to remember.\nThere. So tired. this place so big. just rest few minu,,, Blackmarsh home. home."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kalodars-letter": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kalodars-letter", "description": "Kalodar regrets his selfishness and how it hurt the ones he loves", "author": "Kalodar", "title": "Kalodar's Letter", "text": "To Hlotild and Helfhild, the winds that sooth me by day and the stars that light my night:\nI know this letter will never reach you in Whiterun. I write to you now only to ease my regret and loneliness as I pass from this world. I am a selfish man.\nBut I loved you both dearly, and that is why I had to leave. You were no longer safe with me in the house, though you never suspected it. You knew of my debt, but not the dire threats my creditors had made. When I knew they were coming for me, I led them as far from you as I could. My prayers are only that my ruse succeeded and you are safe.\nI am a selfish man. I wish you could hear these words, and that you could forgive me.\n\tI will sing of you in the halls of Sovngarde.\n\u2014 Kalodar"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/karis-hit-list": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/karis-hit-list", "description": "A list of unique, but worthless, artifacts throughout Tamriel", "author": "Kari", "title": "Kari's Hit List", "text": "Attention, new bloods! In the past, members of Thieves Guild proved who the best of the bunch was by stealing the rarest, most valuable treasures they could from some of the most powerful people in Tamriel. We REALLY don't need to attract that kind of attention right now. Seriously.\nHowever, the Guildmaster thinks it's important for you lot to hone your skills and distinguish yourselves, so I have cataloged an inventory of one of a kind items no one will send an army to retrieve. Find them. Steal them. Put them up in the Den as proof of the deed.\nThis is for bragging rights, not gold, so don't come to me expecting a king's bounty for any of this stuff.\nAbah's Landing: The great great great- you get the idea -\n grandnephew of some banker back when Prince Hew was alive still has the poor sap's repossessed funeral urn sitting out as a flower pot.\nGreenshade: The Mages Guild is doing restoration work on an old set of weird living books for one of the Treethanes. I guess you're supposed to water them.\nAuridon: Prince Naemon had a commemorative decanter commissioned for his coronation, which never happened. Rumor says it's still on display in Skywatch Manor.\nMalabal Tor: There's an old Wood Elf tale about a bard so good he won a contest with a cursed harp. Supposedly the Mages Guild is keeping it from bursting any eardrums in the wrong hands.\nReaper's March: The Mages Guild is caring for the ancient possessions of some Khajiit warrior of old at their holdings in Rawl'kha. You have the misfortune of finding his spittoon.\nGrahtwood: There's a mannequin that was supposed to stand in for one of the members of the Camoran dynasty when he died in battle. I guess they found him, because it's collecting dust in the embassy.\nAlik'r Desert: A wealthy innkeeper out in the desert has some antique bowl he claims is a family heirloom tracing his line back to some Ra Gada hero. Looks can be deceiving, but I have my doubts.\nStormhaven: The first king of Wayrest might have been a good king, but he was a terrible poet. There's an unpublished book of his work archived in the Mages Guild. We won't make you recite it.\nBangkorai: One of the more organized Yokudan conquerors had to use massive paperweights to wrangle all his inventories. Fair warning, I might keep these.\nGlenumbra: One of the carpets decorating Daggerfall castle is supposedly magical. I don't know why they'd just have something like that just sitting out, but use it to your advantage.\nRivenspire: The Fighters Guild is supposed to have a bunch of letters the princess of Shornhelm wrote to King Emeric before he dumped her for the princess of Sentinel. Sounds juicy.\nEastmarch: The locals out in Eastmarch say that King Jorunn's commissioned some ancient piece of Dwarven technology he smashed into a centerpiece for his next banquet. The thing's undergoing repair at their local Mages Guild.\nStonefalls: One of the inns has an old coat-of-arms from the Ebonheart Pact's formation sitting in its basement. Seems they aren't sentimental about it.\nShadowfen: There was some strange tribe that lived out in Black Marsh alongside the Argonians. Unsurprisingly, they're all dead, but the Argonians still keep some artifacts around. There's some religious shovel their people prayed to, I guess.\nDeshaan: Most of the time Dwarven artifacts are highly prized, but I have a lead on some banner that got taken down and thrown in storage around Mournhold. Probably more to the story.\nThe Rift: Ysgramor is basically worshiped by the Fighters Guild. They'd give their sword arms to drink from the same vessel he did, but there's one of his old wine skins that's been sitting untouched."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/karnhars-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/karnhars-journal", "description": "Exploring creepy sinkholes, trying to do good", "author": "Karnhar", "title": "Karnhar's Journal", "text": "People out here like to pretend that they aren't scared of the curse of this place, but the moment something out of the ordinary happens their true colors start to show. We've lived out here for ages without any trouble aside from waterlogged camps and lean meals. Now that the earth's shifting and people have gone missing, you'd think Daedra were crawling out of the ground to eat us.\nTruth's more likely that someone fell down one of those pits and needs a hand. I don't care if the others are too scared, I'm not going to leave good people starve to death in a dank hole because of silly superstition.\n* * *\nFound tracks that stop near one of those sinkholes, so someone definitely took a trip down one. Voluntarily or otherwise. Didn't get any response to my calls and the torch I tossed down guttered out almost immediately. Think I hear moving water, so it must be flooded. I don't trust trying to climb down myself, even if I had rope, but maybe there's another way down there. Water's got to be going somewhere.\n* * *\nLooks like that old manor slid off its foundation, or something, because there's a wall that's come down and a stream leading right into a natural cavern. Think we'll head down until we find a dry place to camp and keep exploring.\n* * *\nFound a tunnel leading into a massive open cavern. Think I see some columns or something the Elves who used to live here must have carved out of the bedrock. Looks like that rock's been creeping back to claim it. How old is this place?\nNo sign of Henrigg or Mindoril so far, but there's another branch down this tunnel. We'll head that way after a good night's sleep."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/karthi-rorikstead": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/karthi-rorikstead", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Karthi of Rorikstead", "text": "KARTHI of Rorikstead\nHE Kept Vigil\nAs a GUARD of the Realm\nA YOUNG Shield Cut Short\nBy an ARROW in the Gut"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kasuras-notes": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kasuras-notes", "description": "Notes on Dragonguard tombs and their locks", "author": "Kasura", "title": "Kasura's Notes", "text": "Legends of the Dragonguard can be found throughout Tamriel. They reportedly developed Dragon hunting weaponry and techniques, and it was by their blades that Dragons became almost extinct in our lands. Unfortunately, the great Dragonguard order of old has long since been disbanded. If I am to gain their wisdom, it must be from the histories, documents, and artifacts they left behind.\nI believe I have discovered two Dragonguard tombs, fairly close together. It was common for soldiers to be buried with their personal possessions, which I hope will provide the information we seek. Each journal I find, each relic I uncover, provides another tool to aid us against the Dragons invading Elsweyr.\nBoth tombs seem to be protected by a powerful magic which hides the entrances from sight. Luckily, my former student was able to find a journal describing Dragonguard burial practices. It outlines the custom of placing three glyphs near a tomb's entrance, which will activate in the presence of a Dragonguard seal.These three glyphs should provide the key to the entrance to the tomb.\nHowever, both tombs are located in perilous locations. I worry that visiting both will take up far too much time, and my abbey and students await me back in Hammerfell. For this task, I require the aid of another. This helper must locate the northern, southern, and eastern glyph, then use what they find to open the tomb.\nI also came across a most curious phrase. I'm certain it's integral to entering the tomb, though I'm unsure how. It is my hope that once the entrance is revealed, the phrase's meaning will also become clear.\n\"With our Blades, Honor is sealed. With Bravery, the Way is revealed.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/keema-rus-grave-stake": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/keema-rus-grave-stake", "description": "Epitaph", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Keema-Ru's Grave-Stake", "text": "Keema-Ru\nLived Simply\nWorked Diligently\nndured Hardships"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/keeper-tomes": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/keeper-tomes", "description": "A Dremora is summoned to guard an elven archive", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Keeper of Tomes", "text": "In time, we realized we required a guardian\u2014one as ageless as our repository, to ward our histories against Lorkhan's children's all-consuming march.\nWe scoured the planes of Oblivion in search of such a being. Many were found wanting: some the right hands of Daedric Princes, others less-known denizens of its darkest corners. In time, the one for whome we searched found us.\nUkaezai was her name. A mighty Dremora of great skill, capable of preserving the most delicate substances against the vitriol of our most destructive conjurations.\nWe summoned Ukaezai and bound her to this space for so long as its stones would last. She would walk its halls and explore our most well guarded secrets in exchange for her stewardship.\nWe bound her to the foundation and the very ground beneath. So powerful was this binding that she will remain long after the ruins have crumbled to dust. We trust her to keep her task\u2014for what is time, to Daedra?"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/keeper-ormis-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/keeper-ormis-journal", "description": "Ormi loses faith in Kyne", "author": "Keeper Ormi", "title": "Keeper Ormi's Journal", "text": "Sahun and Hjaron visited the shrine today. They asked for Kyne's blessing before sailing off to join King Jorunn's war. My sons have grown into proud, strong, honorable men. This will be Hjaron's first battle, but he will be aboard his brother's war vessel. Kyne will protect them both.\nThe war between our king and his brother comes closer to home each day. Many of the Keepers have started to hear that their children, wives, and husbands are dying in battles. I urge them to remain strong. Kyne will watch over their loved ones in Sovngarde. I know it's hard, but we must not lose faith. We all knew the risks.\n* * *\nMy sons are both gone. I received word that Sahun's vessel sank in a surprise attack. Killed by Orcs, of all things! Why would Kyne allow this to happen? Why take both of my sons? They were all the family I had left. And killed by Orcs? What a disgrace! Why would Kyne allow this? Why would she do this to us?\n* * *\nKyne is a lie. She does nothing. Our prayers fall on deaf ears. We have found another to embrace us, one who feels our pain and knows the hardships of war. I would never have given myself to a Daedric Prince before, but desperate times call for desperate measures.\nShe knows the pain we feel. We are no longer the Keepers. We embrace a new power. We will take Kyne's children as she has taken ours! May the false goddess weep tears of blood!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/keepers-farewell-letter": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/keepers-farewell-letter", "description": "A dying elf warns of something lurking in the acropolis she protects", "author": "Temeye", "title": "Keeper's Farewell Letter", "text": "Dearest Caylan,\nI grow old, my love. So, so old. The pain in my side worsens with each passing day\u2014it won't be long before I join you in Aetherius.\nFunny. I've written you every day since you passed. It always dulled the pain. And now, as I stand on the threshold of death, just a heartbeat away from our reunion, I find myself racked with worry. I've sent countless letters to our family on Balfiera Isle, but haven't received a single reply. I fear that I may be the last Keeper of the acropolis. With me dead, who will kindle the fires below? Who will keep the forsaken one in her tomb? Everyday I feel her growing stronger\u2014scraping at the lid of her sarcophagus, yearning to be free. Someone must come. Someone must maintain the fires. We cannot allow her to go free.\nBut I ramble. Rest well, my love. I will be with you soon.\nYour loving wife,\nTemeye"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/keepers-grove": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/keepers-grove", "description": "Description of the holy ground at Kynesgrove", "author": "Urig the Wanderer", "title": "Keepers of the Grove", "text": "My travels have taken me to many sacred places, but few are as beautiful or as serene as the Shrine of Kynesgrove. The rolling hills, the majestic trees. The lake filled with cool, clear water. The sun seems to paint the area with highlights of brilliant gold.\nThe shrine is breathtaking, sitting upon a rise and dominated by many standing stones carved with holy runes. The place truly seems to have been kissed by Kyne's icy breath.\nThe Keepers of the Grove are part of a holy order dedicated to the Goddess of Storm. They care for the grounds, offer daily sacraments, and maintain two lodges used as houses for the Keepers and hostels for visiting pilgrims.\nI've never met a more dedicated group. They truly seem to be devoted to their god and to their cause, intent on maintaining the shrine and assisting pilgrims in their prayers.\nThe pilgrims come from all across Skyrim to seek Kyne's blessing. Soldiers especially seek out the Warrior Goddess before they go into battle. Kyne's blessing adds power to their weapons and fortifies their armor. It promises to keep them safe and victorious through the rigors of war. To receive this blessing, pilgrims pray for a day and a night in the grove, offering praise and gifts to the goddess while asking for protection and strength in battle.\nThe Keepers offer guidance and counsel to those who need it, a friendly word to those who don't, and food and lodging to all who seek Kyne's wisdom and support. This is truly a blessed place."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kelbarns-do-list": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kelbarns-do-list", "description": "A miner's unfinished poem", "author": "Kelbarn", "title": "Kelbarn's To-Do List", "text": "My Goals for Today\nFind some mining samples and bring them to that damn Ingfred the Tall in Dusktown\nFinish my poem to Inguya\nIn the heart of Blackreach\nYou have stolen mine\nAnd so I\n Skreech?\nYou are my peach?\n I beseech?"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kennel-tenders-letter": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kennel-tenders-letter", "description": "", "author": "Philip", "title": "Kennel Tender's Letter", "text": "Father,\nI have found work in Wrothgar, not terribly interesting but it pays well enough. My employer is a beatmaster they call Eofryd Durzog-Whistler. She's a little eccentric. She has a natural talent for taming beasts, it's obvious, and I think she likes them better than she likes humans. As far as I can tell we're here not so much because of the durzogs, but to protect her from other people.\nIt is wonderful to see her work, though. She has such an amazing rapport with the animals. I could watch her all day.\nAny way I will send you gold as soon as I get paid.\nYour devoted son, Philip"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kennixas-list": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kennixas-list", "description": "A perfectly normal, sane shopping list (for a monster, maybe)", "author": "Kennixa", "title": "Kennixa's List", "text": "Butter!\n\tCheese and sausage, milk and honey and baby's breath.\n\tKnotted sheep's guts all filled up with blood. Lashing rain and birthing screams.\n\tWho are you to say that frog wasn't serious? He seemed damned serious to me! Next time, I won't be so kind.\n\t\u2014 Kennixa"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kerthors-supply-list": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kerthors-supply-list", "description": "", "author": "Kerthor", "title": "Kerthor's Supply List", "text": "I need to remember to pick up a few essentials the next time I get over to Windhelm or Fort Amol.\n4 new axe blades\n\t8 new handles, oak\n\t4 sharpening stones\n\t2 heavy shirts, gray\n\t2 pairs of boots, black\n\t1 cask of mead, Voljar's cheapest\n\t1 barrel of apples, no worms\n\t1 box of sour sweets"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/keystones-loriasel": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/keystones-loriasel", "description": "Research on magical Keystones from Black Marsh", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Keystones of Loriasel", "text": "While one can't use rumors as a basis for facts, they serve as a conduit to the past.\nLong ago, my people were powerful and learned. Xanmeers, the pyramids scattered throughout the marshes, were our creations, though details of their construction have long since passed from memory. We now see around us proud structures we once built, filled with our own Magicka.\nKeystones are found in many of the Barsaebic Ayleid ruins, but only in ruins that touch lands where our ancestors lived. Tales abound of Ayleids gathering power from their captives through torment and fear. They describe a process in which Magicka is infused into stones: artifacts that were Ayleid in nature, but not Ayleid in origin.\nI theorize these keystones hold Argonian Magicka tied to our history and essential for our protection. Nowhere else in Tamriel have any keystones been found; they are connected with Argonian history and indeed, our future.\nThree keystones were taken from the ruins of Loriasel in Shadowfen and dispersed for study. Unfortunately, the first to examine the keystones suffered nervous conditions that ended their lives. It appears only certain individuals, such as the Kothringi, can handle them for any length of time without suffering ill effects.\nAnother aspect of the keystones, unique in my experience, is their cl\u2014"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/khadabis-rules": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/khadabis-rules", "description": "A Khajiit has unfortunate luck with matchmaking", "author": "Khadabi", "title": "Khadabi's Rules", "text": "I hate rules. But now I'm mining against my wishes, so I will write rules down on this piece of paper I found. They say that writing things down helps you learn them. Maybe these rules will help me avoid mines in the future, yes?\n1. Do not engage in matchmaking without the consent of those involved.\n2. Do not assume that someone wants a partner.\n3. Remember that appearances deceive.\n4. Learn to run faster.\n5. One person cannot meet all of a person's needs.\n6. Do not be idealistic.\n7. Learn to run even faster.\n8. Maybe just don't make matches, yes? Ever. Who are you to try to change another's life, Khadabi?"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/khajiits-lost-journal-page": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/khajiits-lost-journal-page", "description": "A Khajiit monk laments the state of the temple", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Khajiit's Lost Journal Page", "text": "\u2014 that hopefully dear sister will eventually understand this one's pilgrimage. A monk must leave home, even into danger, to further his understanding. One day Kala will see things as this one does.\nFor now, there is much travel ahead.\n13 Second Seed\nReaper's March faces strife from many directions. While the Colovian invasion draws the able away from other duties, temples fall into disrepair. Jode's Light is rumored to have been infested by thunderbugs and other destructive creatures, and even a haunting.\nUnacceptable. This one will put things right."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/khajiiti-arms-and-armor": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/khajiiti-arms-and-armor", "description": "A description of common Khajiit fighting equipment", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Khajiiti Arms and Armor", "text": "For a race living in the oppressively hot climate of Elsweyr, it is impractical in most cases for them to wear heavy clothing and armor, and the Cat-Folk's naturally lithe frame and dexterity favors more lightweight protection. The Khajiiti abhor restraint and encumbrance, and their craftsfolk are diligent about providing armor to augment their prowling form. At its lightest, Khajiiti armor is often mistaken for well-appointed (but flamboyant) clothing. Quilted or padded cloth adorns the midriff and vital areas. This is augmented with vivid patterns of color and accented with a loose shawl, ribbons, or trinkets\u2014an outfit that would result in mocking insults if worn by a race less decadent and hedonistic.\nFor battles where the Khajiit expects punishment, they favor cloth and leather greaves, gauntlets, and a light helmet; this allows for supremely agile movement without sacrificing speed (or fashion).\nFor this race of acrobats, even the heaviest Khajiiti armor is loose-fitting but actually has lacquered metal plates laced together with leather, under which is an embroidered tunic, completed with a helmet of fluted silver and durable linen. It is only under the most harrowing of conditions that the Khajiit will don full battle armor.\nAs for weaponry, curved scimitars, sabers and knives, or punch daggers serve as an elongation of their own slashing, clawed hands. Occasionally these claw shapes extend to ritual tridents and the savage points on their longbow arrows or javelins"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/khajiiti-champions": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/khajiiti-champions", "description": "Fragmentary tome about Khajiit", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Khajiiti Champions", "text": "\u2026those born under the 3rd moon may one day become the Mane (in the event of the Mane's death)."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/khajiiti-honorifics": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/khajiiti-honorifics", "description": "Lady Radurra-dra of Torval", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Khajiiti Honorifics", "text": "Southwest Elsweyr Representative to the Thalmor\nHave you met Headmaster Tanion? A most polite and correct mer, who was horrified when I informed him that he'd applied a most improper suffix to my name, instead of the appropriate \"dra.\" (To spare him further embarrassment, we shall not go into details\u2014but ask me sometime after I've had a couple of glasses of tawny port.)\nSo it seemed like a good idea to this one to compile a list of the most common Khajiiti name-titles\u2014at least the proper ones\u2014for the benefit of the College of Aldmeri Propriety, and all our new allies from Summerset and Valenwood.\nFeminine Honorifics\n\"-dra\" is a title of respect awarded to one known for her wisdom and wit, or as a consolation to one who has achieved a venerable age. I prefer to think that, in my case, it is the former condition that applies.\n\"-daro\" is for one who has achieved excellence in the nimble manipulation of loose articles, such as small decorative objects and unattached coinage. It may also be awarded to one who is lithe of tongue.\n\"-do\" is for one who has earned renown as a warrior\u2014usually male, but occasionally (too occasionally, in this one's opinion) a female.\n\"-ko\" is an appellation for respected healers, mages, and scholars, and is also sometimes added to the names of learned ancestors. Perhaps, once this one has passed on, her children will refer to her as \"Radurra-ko\"? \u2026Well, it is a warm thought.\n\"-la\" is an oh-so-fleeting title applied to graceful maidens who are unmarried, or behave as if they were. This one remembers fondly when she was \"Radurra-la\"\u2014just last year, no?\n\"-ma\" is for a young child of either gender, a term of endearment, except when it is shouted or snarled.\nMasculine Honorifics\n\"-dar\" is perhaps the most ancient of all Khajiiti titles, an appellation earned by those who are nimble in fingers and wits, and are both inquisitive and acquisitive. I have heard that it is also sometimes applied to politicians, but such usage would surely be jocular (and never employed by me, sweetness!).\n\"-do\" is an honorific for one who has earned distinction on the field of battle or in personal duels. Beware of those strutting lions who apply the title to themselves, not waiting for others to award it.\n\"-dro\" is a title applied to wise elders, patriarchs, grandfathers, and those who walk too slowly in front of one in the marketplace.\n\"-jo\" is an appellation for respected physicians, scholars, and mages, though it is also frequently adopted by charlatans and mountebanks. I remember a handsome, dark panther in Corinthe who wanted to sell me a string of \"enchanted\" pearls \u2026 but that is a story for another moon.\n\"-ra\" is for an esteemed leader of soldiers, trade, or governance. A cat-ra often has a harem of kitten-las, sometimes ostentatiously so, especially if he is making up for a deficiency in his short-tail.\n\"-ri\" is a title rarely awarded, as it is reserved for great leaders of our people, Speakers, Kings, and Manes\u2014and perhaps for a virile lover whilst wrestling amongst the pillows. Or so I have heard.\nThis one has also heard that among the faddish youth of Alabaster, it is the fashion to place the honorific before the name, rather than after. Radurra-dra likes to be fashionable, but she fears she cannot approve of this practice, as it will tend to make Khajiiti names sound far too alike. That would be boring\u2014and we do not wish to be boring, yes?"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/khajiiti-merchants-invoice": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/khajiiti-merchants-invoice", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Khajiiti Merchant's Invoice", "text": "Invoice 1-286-4\n\t1 flower of Sanguine Alendil, to be deposited by the fallen tree near the river.\n\tPayment: Paid in full.\n\tOrder Status: Filled."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/khajiiti-note": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/khajiiti-note", "description": "", "author": "Abru-ha", "title": "Khajiiti Note", "text": "Let this be a lesson to greedy double-crossers. If you're going to steal a share of the loot, make sure you don't get caught.\n\u2014Arbhu-ra"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/khasaads-treasure-map": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/khasaads-treasure-map", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Khasaad's Treasure Map", "text": "[Khasaad has scribbled all over the map in haphazard notes.]"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/khenarthis-roost-interim-orders": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/khenarthis-roost-interim-orders", "description": "Need to wait before exploring the Temple", "author": "Ealcil", "title": "Khenarthi's Roost: Interim Orders", "text": "Though we've acquired the Mourning Stone, this Temple of the Mourning Springs may bear more fruit. Still, I fear Commander Karinith will never allocate the forces necessary to clear the undead from the courtyard.\nRemain at the camp for the time being. Report any changes directly to me at Eagle's Strand. With luck, the excitement will die down and we can explore the ruin at our leisure.\n\u2014 Ealcil"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/khorshinas-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/khorshinas-journal", "description": "Journal written by someone suffering from nightmares", "author": "Khorshina", "title": "Khorshina's Journal", "text": "Gods, gods. The dream is back again, the one about the burning quartermaster. I ran from Cyrodiil, but Cyrodiil followed me. After that butchery in the ravine near Chorrol, I was over and done. Six days later I was in Belkarth, but that was still too close. That's where the dreams started. Hitched a ride with a westbound Dragonstar caravan. I got to drinking one night with a drover, who told me about a place in Evermore where they needed a good brewer, and a deserter could be safe. Got blind drunk, we did, and the hangover was worth it, because that night I didn't get the dream. And the same trick worked every night since then\u2014until last night. Despite the rum, the dream came back. And it was bad. Gods, what am I going to do? It's bad enough I've become my own best customer.\nMaybe \u2026 skooma. Maybe that will help."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/khunzar-ri-and-dark-moons": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/khunzar-ri-and-dark-moons", "description": "A short aphorism", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Khunzar-ri and the Dark Moons", "text": "Sometimes knowledge can only be found in the dark. The fading moon gives way to the empty sky."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/khunzar-ri-and-lost-alfiq": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/khunzar-ri-and-lost-alfiq", "description": "How the hero's philosophy on travel earned him a companion", "author": "Aneshi (transcriber)", "title": "Khunzar-ri and the Lost Alfiq", "text": "Transcribed by Aneshi, Keeper of Legends for the 16 Kingdoms\nOne day, when the sun was at its highest, Khunzar-ri heard a weak voice just off the road.\n\"Why did I ever leave home?\"\" the voice said.\n\"Why would you stay home?\" Khunzar-ri asked in return, starting toward the voice.\n\"Oh! I'm found!\"\nAnd indeed the little Alfiq was found. Khunzar-ri examined the quivering handful, seeing burrs, bits of twig, and more stuck in her matted fur. \"You have traveled far?\"\n\"Yes. I wanted to see the world before I was sent to the temple.\"\n\"This I can respect, little one. But why do you lament leaving your home?\"\n\"Well, because I'm lost and hungry.\"\n\"Ah, the hunger we can fix right away.\"\" And Khunzar-ri set some scrumptious fish cakes down in front of the young Alfiq. \"As for being lost, consider this. Are you not exactly where you need to be right now?\"\nBetween bites, she said, \"I don't think so. Wouldn't I know where I was if this is where I need to be?\"\n\"Not necessarily, my friend. Lost can be a point of view you adopt when fear or confusion overtakes you. If you instead think about how you wanted to see the world... well, here you are seeing it.\"\n\"Are you saying that I'm lost only because I think I'm lost? But because I'm doing what I wanted to do, I'm not lost?\"\n\"Only if you say so and mean it!\"\n\"Then I'm not lost!\"\nKhunzar-ri chuckled. \"Good, my not-lost friend. Would you care to join me on my travels for a time? I, too, would love to see the world right now.\"\nAnd so the young Alfiq joined Khunzar-ri, and the two enjoyed many adventures together."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/khunzar-ri-and-%E2%80%94-%E2%80%94-moons": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/khunzar-ri-and-%E2%80%94-%E2%80%94-moons", "description": "A very small fragment of a story.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Khunzar-ri and \u2014 \u2014 Moons", "text": "When Khunzar-ri \u2014 \u2014 mirrored full \u2014\n\t\u2014 saw \u2014 the lions glared \u2014 \u2014 other \u2014\n\tAcross \u2014 \u2014 sky"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/khunzar-ri-origin": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/khunzar-ri-origin", "description": "Three myths of the great hero's origin", "author": "Aneshi (transcriber)", "title": "Khunzar-ri: Origin", "text": "By Aneshi, Keeper of Legends for the 16 Kingdoms\nOf all the Khajiiti heroes, none invokes such a sense of adventure and wonder as the mighty Khunzar-ri. Like many of our myths and legends, the stories associated with Khunzar-ri often contradict one another and hide important truths behind allegory and allusion. Such is the case when one considers the tales that describe the origin of this beloved hero. Here are three of the most popular stories that tell of Khunzar-ri's first adventure. Notice how different each one is. Can they all be true? Some Moon-Singers believe so, though at least one revered lore master claims that the truth concerning the origin of Khunzar-ri lies in the intersection of all three.\n* * *\nKhunzar-ri and the Divine Moonbeam\nBefore Shazeer Firstclaw became the fierce and powerful Clan Mother of the Barrukit kingdom, she was a brave and curious child who got into a world of trouble. Take, for example, the time she climbed to the top of Shimmering Rise and suddenly found herself surrounded by a pride of hungry senche-lions. She was able to hold them at bay with a sharp stick and a pile of pebbles, but as night fell, weariness and her own hunger began to take their toll on the little cat. She called to Jone and Jode to aid her, and a Moonbeam illuminated the rise. Standing in the Moonbeam was a young male Khajiit, around the same age as Shazeer. \"Where did you come from,\" Shazeer asked. \"Jone and Jode sculpted me out of Moonlight, clouds, and your own courageous heart. I am Khunzar, and I am here to rescue you!\" And that's what Khunzar did!\n* * *\nKhunzar-ri and the Box at the Shrine\nOne day, a lowly adept arrived at a shrine to Khenarthi to offer prayers and leave alms. The adept found a small box placed prominently at the head of the shrine. He moved to discard the item when a mewling emerged from inside and the box shifted and rocked. There was something alive in there! The adept quickly threw open the lid and saw a tiny Khajiit babe reaching toward him with outstretched paws. As he lifted the babe from the box, it grew from an infant to a child before it cleared the top. He set the child down and it advanced to the size of a young adult. \"Fragrant greetings, lowly  adept,\" the young Khajiit said with confidence and swagger. \"Khenarthi's breath sent me to bring glory to this shrine and all the land around.\" The adept fell to his knees and gasped, \"Who ... who are you?\" The Khajiit grinned, \"Today I am simply Khunzar, but tomorrow I will be the hero, Khunzar-ri!\" So, never discard a box in Elsweyr without first checking inside.\n* * *\nKhunzar-ri and the Tear of Joy\nAlkosh was grim. Guarding time was hard work, and he was in a foul mood. Mara tried to lighten his attitude, but he wanted none of her kind and loving words. Next Khenarthi attempted to breathe joy into the grumpy Alkosh, but he dispatched her with a roar. \"I suppose it is up to me,\" said Sheggorath with an insane laugh. \"Do you know how much moon-sugar it takes to satisfy Hircine's endless hunger?\" Curious, Alkosh responded, \"I do not know the answer, insane one, so please tell me.\" Sheggorath snapped his finger and scowled, \"Drats, I was hoping you could tell me!\" Everyone was silent as a strange look came over Alkosh's face. Then, all at once, he started to laugh. His laughter shook the sky and made the Moons dance. He laughed for thirty days and thirty nights, until finally a single tear of joy rolled down his cheek and fell upon Elsweyr. The tear landed with a splash and from its depths emerged the hero Khunzar-ri, fully grown and ready for adventure."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kidnapping": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kidnapping", "description": "Poster about the kidnapping of Paldeen", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "KIDNAPPING!", "text": "The Esteemed Paldeen, Sentinel's all-knowledgeable scholar of history and lore, has been taken from the streets! Anyone with news of his whereabouts should notify lawful and just parties with all possible haste."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kindly-contrivers-notes": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kindly-contrivers-notes", "description": "Very detailed meeting notes from a group dedicated to Clavicus Vile", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Kindly Contrivers Notes", "text": "Minutes of the Biweekly Conclave of the Kindly Contrivers of Clavicus Vile, Abanas Smeed reporting.\nEight o'clock: Meeting called to order.\nEight o'one: Meeting called to disorder.\nEight o'five: Shouting subsides.\nEight o'six: First point of order brought before the Conclave, devise appropriate response to the village of Sundercliff's plea for new farming implements before First Seed.\nEight Thirty: Discussion interrupted by unruly fidgeting. You know who you are.\nEight Forty: Fooligan excused to address embarrassing rash. Breakthrough reached in Sundercliff dilemma.\nNine o'clock: Sundercliff proposal brought to vote.\nNine o'five: Sundercliff proposal accepted by majority vote.\nNine Fifteen: Jeering of opposing voters subsides.\nNine Seventeen: Second point of order brought before the Conclave, progress report of cursed soul stone research.\nNine Thirty: Opening haranguing concluded.\nNine Thirty-One: Report started.\nNine Thirty-Two: Report concludes, no significant progress made.\nNine Fifty-Five: Disparaging remarks brought to a close.\nTen o'clock: Moment of pouting silence concludes.\nTen o'one: Third point of order brought before the Conclave, lunch.\nTen Thirty: Consensus on food-like items could not be reached.\nen Thirty-One: Break suggested, libations uncorked.\nEleven o'clock: Consensus reached that cask may have been a little off. Bedlim excuses himself to engage in a laughing fit.\nEleven o'five: Horrific instance of mass retching takes place.\nEleven Thirty: Mallein loudly proclaims that she wishes she had never been born.\nEleven Thirty-One: Proclamation passes unanimously.\nEleven Fifty: Attendees scrape together five hundred pieces of gold for an offering.\nEleven Fifty-Nine: Lunch consensus reached.\nNoon: Conclave adjourns to prepare offering."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/king-farangels-beer-ballad": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/king-farangels-beer-ballad", "description": "A traditional drinking song from High Rock", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "King Farangel's Beer Ballad", "text": "Here it was Farangel first\n\tSet foot upon High Rock,\n\tClaimed this land for Gardner house\n\tAnd built Farangel Dock.\n\tSent his ships both far and wide\n\tTo trade in distant lands,\n\tCleared the woods for Wayrest town\n\tAbove Stormhaven sands.\n\tFirst Wayrest king, and father of\n\tThe Breton noble peers.\n\tHigh Rock Bretons, raise this toast:\n\t\"For Farangel, four beers!\"\n\t(Drink)\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/king-farangels-ode-wayrest": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/king-farangels-ode-wayrest", "description": "Unsuccessful attempts at poetry", "author": "King Farangel", "title": "King Farangel's Ode to Wayrest", "text": "This is my first attempt at poetry; history will remember these words.\n\"Swell the impetuous tides that crash upon your darkened shore.\n\"The lights of your towers rival the stars gleaming in the sky,\n\"Their light doubled in the shadowed bay.\"\nNo, that's not it. It's too high-minded. I want this to be something everyone can relate to. Perhaps a song?\n\"If I had a daughter, I tell you what she'd say,\n\"I want a man of Wayrest, to stay with me all day!\n\"And if I had a son, I tell you he'd be right,\n\"To want a girl of Wayrest, to stay with him all night!\"\nUh-oh. This is heading in the wrong direction, fast. What do you think, scribe? Do you have any ideas?\n\"W is for the city Where I want to be.\n\"A is for the Apple of King Farangel's eye.\n\"Y is for whY would you go to Daggerfall, that stinking, reeking slum.\"\nAll right. We're getting nowhere. I think we need to turn this over to the bards.\nWhy are you still writing? Scribe, I know I told you to write everything down but - look, I'm ordering you on pain of death, stop-"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/king-hemakars-grave": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/king-hemakars-grave", "description": "Epitaph for a king of Anequina", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "King Hemakar's Grave", "text": "Hemakar\nBringer of Peace,\nBeloved Father,\nHonored King of Anequina\nNow he prowls\nthe Sands Behind the Stars\nUntil the Next Pounce"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/king-joiles-orders-general-mercedene": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/king-joiles-orders-general-mercedene", "description": "Secret orders of rebellion during times of siege", "author": "King Joile", "title": "King Joile's Orders to General Mercedene", "text": "M\u2014\nBy the time you read this, a contingent of picked soldiers shall arrive beyond the siege lines. Secret them about you as laborers. Use them to strike when the duel begins. You shall be my headsman, so strike swift.\n\tI shall soon need the Dragon in warmer climes\u2014he must live. As for his knights, treat those who learn too much as you would any enemy of Daggerfall.\n\u2014J"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/king-kurogs-promise": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/king-kurogs-promise", "description": "Kurog agrees to the Oathbound's terms", "author": "Kurog gro-Orsinium", "title": "King Kurog's Promise", "text": "Herewith the Agreement between His Majesty King Kurog, Monarch of Orsinium, and the Oathbound Warchief, Gruznak gro-Volkar, and herein the terms:\nInsofar as the deaths of Dark Elves are pleasing unto Mauloch and deemed useful as a matter of policy:\n\tFor each Dark Elf skull obtained by the Oathbound, Gruznak gro-Volkar shall be granted title to Malak's Maw for one year.\nFurthermore, Warchief Gruznak and his Oathbound are hereby absolved of crimes against the Daggerfall Covenant, including (but not limited to) murder, banditry, and the felonious impersonation of traveling entertainers.\n\u2014 Kurog gro-Orsinium"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-from-king-maxevian": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-from-king-maxevian", "description": "An ancient comand to protect Orsinium against resettlement by the Orcs", "author": "King Maxevian", "title": "King Maxevian's Orders", "text": "To the Knights of Watcher's Hold,\nIt is no enviable task which I give you, but it is most assuredly honorable. Our forces have vanquished the Orcs, destroyed their capital, and subjugated their lands. Those who survived have scattered across the region, fleeing back to remote strongholds or journeying to even more distant lands.\nBut rest assured, the day will come when the beasts will return to their homeland and once again try to rebuild their kingdom. Under no circumstance can this be allowed! You must maintain eternal vigil in Wrothgar. Should the Orcs return, strike them down.\nI intend for you to serve at Watcher's Hold no longer than five years. After this time, I will send knights to relieve you and you may return home to Daggerfall. Upon this, you have my word.\nThank for your service to crown and country,\n\tKing Maxevian\n\t10th Hearth Fire 2E 434"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/king-ransers-tirade": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/king-ransers-tirade", "description": "King Ranser is defiant", "author": "King Ranser", "title": "King Ranser's Tirade", "text": "I may have lost Shornhelm, but this war is far from over! The damnable Emeric is overconfident. He will make a mistake, and my brilliance will leap to take advantage of every misstep and stumble along the way.\nRetreating\u2014no, strike that! King Ranser doesn't retreat!\nMy strategic occupation of this tor shall be remembered as the most important military victory in Rivenspire's history. Let them throw all the Orcs they have at me. This tor will stand forever! I shall win this war!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/king-thunder": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/king-thunder", "description": "Description of an Orsimer drum", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "King Thunder", "text": "The Orsimer bellowing drum, King Thunder, is renowned for both its bass tone and the sheer volume it produces. The Orcs prize drums for both celebration and war, creating complex rhythms as the foundation for their warlike rituals.\nThis drum was hidden during the Siege of Orsinium and eventually made its way to Yashnag gro-Yazgu's stronghold in Falkreath. The drum was presented to the college by Jarl Hakkvild to commemorate his victory over Chief Yashnag and his champions."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kings-haven-scouting-record": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kings-haven-scouting-record", "description": "Survey of a potential settlement site", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "King's Haven Scouting Record", "text": "The east-west passage through the hills would make an excellent outpost settlement. It's not only the most direct travel route through the hills to the north, but is also highly defensible due to the lay of the land and its deep network of caverns. Despite the rocky terrain the land is fertile and natural streams feed into the area from a source higher in the hills.\nUnfortunately, the region is occupied by at least one tribe of native inhabitants. They are a primitive agrarian society who cultivate vegetation and hunt wildlife found within the region. They also appear to work the stone for ore, though their ability to work it is rudimentary.\nThese people do not appear to be hostile to outsiders as we've observed members of these tribes exchanging goods, either as offerings or in trade. However, should they become our enemies they would be at a sizable advantage in a siege. Fortunately their single source of fresh water provides an alternative to direct assault."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kings-haven-territory-record": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kings-haven-territory-record", "description": "As the settlement grows, it becomes necessary to kick out the natives", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "King's Haven Territory Record", "text": "Our outpost is thriving within the east-west passage. The native inhabitants seem fascinated with our building techniques, but have otherwise kept to their own settlements.\n* * *\nWe have brokered peaceful passage for travelers through the territories of the native inhabitants, shaving considerable time off trade routes from Corgrad to Shimmerene.\n* * *\nThe King has concerns about leaving such an important strategic location occupied by those who have not sworn fealty to the crown. A fair concern. We have begun negotiation for the acquisition of the remaining territory with the tribes.\n* * *\nThe east-west passage is easily demarcated by natural boundaries, but the expansiveness of the underground networks has not been assessed. This may explain the reluctance of the inhabitants to accept the price we've offered for the land. In light of this, the King has generously offered the crags to the east as acceptable for resettlement. The tribal chiefs have agreed to confer on this new proposal, but the sovereign's patience is not infinite."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kings-haven-trade-record": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kings-haven-trade-record", "description": "What the settlement gives to the local tribes, and what it takes from them", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "King's Haven Trade Record", "text": "We have secured ongoing trade agreements with nearly every tribe in the region. The bounties of the sea have proven most appealing to these landlocked peoples, but textiles and tools are also in steady demand. In exchange we receive the fruits of their hunting and trapping. These tribes are adept at capturing, and even taming, the welwas and gryphons that populate the area.\nEven so, we benefit most from bartering for the unrefined ore being extracted from the caverns that wind throughout these hills. The locals don't hold it in high value and seem to prefer to trade the raw ore for our refined goods."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kingdoms-fall-people-wander": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kingdoms-fall-people-wander", "description": "A Dragonguard plaque found in Dov-Vahl shrine in Anequina", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Kingdoms Fall People Wander", "text": "NOR FA INDVIT KEL USOK\nNO FAITH OUTSIDE BRETHREN\nKINGDOMS FALL PEOPLE WANDER\nOUR VIGIL WITHOUT END\nLONGER THAN WALLS CAN STAND\nSTRONGER THAN THRONES\nNOR FA INDVIT KEL USOK"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kinladys-letter": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kinladys-letter", "description": "Kinlady Avinisse thinks that the Aldarch's plan of locking up foreigners is brilliant", "author": "Kinlady Avinisse", "title": "Kinlady's Letter", "text": "My dear Aldarch Tilcalar,\nI am so glad you suggested transferring to our beloved monastery. I was happy to use my influence to make that happen. Especially after that insightful discussion we had concerning Queen Ayrenn's radical and frankly dangerous decree. I look forward to working with you to make sure Shimmerene, and indeed all of Summerset, remains safe and secure.\nYour plan to sequester newcomers in order to test their suitability for residency in Shimmerene is a stroke of genius. Determining who has the ability and temperament to become productive members of our society and who does not will allow us to spot troublemakers and lackadaisical transients before any damage is done. It isn't a perfect solution, but it will suffice until we can urge the Unforeseen Queen to rescind this order and send all the nebarra\u2014the unwelcome\u2014back to where they came from.\nSend me a list of candidates you deem acceptable for life in Summerset. I'm sure Proxy Queen Alwinarwe will appreciate having documentation concerning who we permitted to stay and who we sent away. I keep saying that Summerset is sacrosanct. Let Auridon deal with the other races. After all, our \"beloved\" Queen spends all her time there anyway, carousing with cats and Wood Elves. I'm sure she'd love more company.\nKinlady Avinisse"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kinlord-rilis-and-mages-guild": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kinlord-rilis-and-mages-guild", "description": "Background on the founding of the Mages Guild", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Kinlord Rilis and the Mages Guild", "text": "As a member in high standing, I feel it necessary to explain and extirpate the notion that Kinlord Rilis the XII is somehow a founder of the Mages Guild. The common folk believe that the kinlord, in the days before his cruelty and sadism became well-known, brokered a deal that reigned in \"dangerous mages\" and somehow put binders in place to keep the commonalty safe. This is simply not the case.\nVanus Galerion, student of Iachesis, did indeed flout prevailing thought when it came to magical experimentation in large cities. He drew together numerous students and artificers to the city of Firsthold. For the first time, he sought to prove the benefit of spellcasters working in close proximity. Not for a mighty ritual, but for study, experimentation, and a sense of camaraderie.\nThis simple premise so terrified the people of Firsthold that they turned to their ruler, Kinlord Rilis the XII. Now known by many less polite titles, Rilis was first and foremost a political animal. He saw in \"Galerion's Folly,\" as it was known at the time, a chance to play the mages and common folk off against each other.\nThe much-speculated-upon \"Charter Conclave\" brought together Rilis, Iachesis, Galerion, and other notables from across the Isles and the Psijic Order. By common agreement, it is true, no records were kept of that meeting. But mark my words here, adept: Rilis allowed the meeting, allowed Galerion to do what he did, to further his own ends.\nIn retrospect, of course, the legacy of Artaeum is the proud heritage of the new Mages Guild. We now boldly gather together under the Guild banner, and will no doubt do so for many centuries to come. Just let it be remembered: Rilis the Twelfth was a dangerous mer. Even at the time of the Conclave, he trafficked with dark powers and made pacts with Daedra.\nThe proud order we all now serve is here despite his best intentions. Not because of them."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kireths-prism-notes": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kireths-prism-notes", "description": "Kireth's scholarly attitude is dampered by spiders", "author": "Kireth", "title": "Kireth's Prism Notes", "text": "The alignment of all of these crystally prism things seems to indicate that some shooty sparkly bits once propelled energy around the chamber. This is just a working theory, mind you, but I think I can repair this thing and make it do something. I just need some more sparkly bits and spinny parts from the metal spiders crawling around the ruin.\nThat would require fighting the icky spiders, however. I hate spiders."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kireths-taarengrav-note": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kireths-taarengrav-note", "description": "Kireth writes about an old Nordic ruin", "author": "Kireth", "title": "Kireth's Taarengrav Note", "text": "Raynor,\nYour insistence on ignoring basic research continues to astonish me, dear brother. Look, you know what a dragon priest is? Right? Centuries ago, the Nords worshiped dragons as living gods. The most devout were elevated by the magic of the Dovah.\nThese shrines were everywhere. Now only a handful remain, most buried. Some may never be seen again. These ruins have a reputation for being draugr-haunted deathtraps, and they mostly are. But Taarengrav represents a unique opportunity to study this people's past.\nHere we've already seen evidence of how they lived as they built idols to their gods. We've found some of their children's stories and toys. Small carved dragons, with writings in the dragon tongue etched in their side.\nLittle blocks with notches, to teach children the names of dragons almost before they knew their parents' names\nSo stop complaining about how nice and warm the steam tunnels in Dwemer ruins are! You drive me mad.\n\t\u2014 Kireth"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kjalnars-research-notes": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kjalnars-research-notes", "description": "Necromancer's plan to raise Tzirzhalir of the Grey Host", "author": "Kjalnar", "title": "Kjalnar's Research Notes", "text": "It all leads to this. All the ransacked tombs, all the overturned sarcophagi, all the killing, and sleepless nights, and empty promises paid for in blood\u2014all of it leads to this.\n\nNone of my compatriots know the true nature of this place. They slaver over the trinkets we're bound to find, and they whisper about our mysterious employer; but to them, this is just another grave. I know better. The Redguards buried these ashes here for a reason. Something evil dwelt here already. Something impossibly powerful. A harbinger of shrieking fates that will usher in an age of torment the likes of which Tamriel has never seen.\n\nThis creature goes by many names\u2014all of them wiped from the histories, and few of them pronounceable by mortal tongues. I found only one: Tzirzhalir, the nightmare behemoth. When I reach the heart of this place, I will call him by name. When we ascend from this cavernous prison, no one will forget that name. Or mine."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/klaandors-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/klaandors-journal", "description": "", "author": "Klaandor Axe-Breaker", "title": "Klaandor's Journal", "text": "The blood-curse burning through my body matters not. Nor do I regret my coming demise. I regret only that I will never see Vyctorelle again. At least, I pray I never see her again.\n- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -\nAs my will weakens, I think back. Of all the sights I've seen, none are lovelier than Vyctorelle. I have been hers since that night in Shornhelm.\n- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -\nI will never return to Rivenspire. Not in this life and I hope not in my next. None should pity me. I have lived my life and known a true love like few ever do. It will forever warm me. I hope that Vyctorelle also finds comfort in that thought.\nThe blood-curse has almost claimed me. The flesh of my companions is a struggle to resist. Perhaps I can resist long enough to meet my beloved one last time, near our well in Shornhelm.\n- - - - - - - - - - - - - -\nIt is time. I will go no closer to Shornhelm. I pray someone slays me soon. To the one who does and reads this journal, I thank you. You saved me from visiting a fate worse than death upon my beloved Vyctorelle.\nI have one last request. Take these words and the amulet I place in these pages to Vyctorelle in Shornhelm. It will break her heart, but she deserves to know.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/knights-dragon": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/knights-dragon", "description": "Creed of the Knights of the Dragon, loyal protectors of Daggerfall's king", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Knights of the Dragon", "text": "If you are intent on joining the Knights of the Dragon, you must understand our purpose and our way. Some confuse us with the Dragonguard. We are not devotees to the Empire of Cyrodiil, nor were we created to slay the dragons of old. We were created to serve His Majesty the Dragon, the King of Daggerfall. We are the sword and the shield of Daggerfall's King. We are his elite soldiers, his honorable sons and daughters, and his most loyal protectors.\nSay your vows only if you are willing to take on this responsibility. This is our oath:\nI vow to serve the Dragon. I lay down my life, my gold, and my sacred honor for my King. His word is my order, my sword is his arm. Our lives are one."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/knights-gleaming-blade": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/knights-gleaming-blade", "description": "Ancient Ayleid order of Meridia", "author": "Lateesh", "title": "Knights of the Gleaming Blade", "text": "Curano, Exarch and Brightblade, First in the Name of the High King and beloved by the Lady Herself. In her name you are hereby ordered to make haste for the city of Abagarlas. The king has authorized your requested soldiery, and you are permitted to leave Delodiil with the following people of faith:\n\u2014 Lanath, the Former Exarch of Dark Abagarlas and Newborn in Her Service\n\t\u2014 Endarre, Primarch and Brightblade in Her Lady's Service\n\t\u2014 Valasha, High Priestess and Sunwalker in Her Lady's Service\n\t\u2014 Ostarand, Paladric Blade and Beholden in Her Lady's Service\nYou are to escort the Blade Ostarand and safeguard the relic he carries. Every effort has been made to ensure your success in this quest, and all weapons and armors in the city stores are at your disposal. The Vivicus must be destroyed at all costs!\nIn faith, eyes turned toward the Sunburst,\n\t\u2014 Lateesh"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/knightsgrave-legend-or-legacy": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/knightsgrave-legend-or-legacy", "description": "A brief history of this important Order of the Hour location", "author": "Chanter Wobolan", "title": "Knightsgrave: Legend or Legacy", "text": "By Chanter Wobolan, Cathedral Historian\nWhat do the ruins of Knightsgrave represent? And why are they important to the Cathedral of Akatosh and the Order of the Hour? Those are questions that the common person never asks, but that every one of the devoted should know the answer.\nMost consider Knightsgrave to be some sort of ruined graveyard, a memory of a time when the Empire was strong and eternal. Few realize that the graveyard came later. The true meaning of the site waits in the depths below. In the beginning, the massive subterranean structure served as the original headquarters of the Order of the Hour.\nIt was Ennon Decan, founder of the Order, who raised the stones of the headquarters. Legends claim the site was always important to those who worship the Dragon God, but I have located no records that indicate why this may be the case. Know that the Order established chambers for training and meditation, places for prayer and contemplation, and even areas where the members of the Order could rest and relax.\nWith the death of Ennon and his original group of companions, great statues were raised in memory of the founders. The Order would continue, operating out of this location for nearly one hundred years. During this period, more chambers were carved out and more improvements were made to the headquarters. As the first phase of the Order came to a close and the organization disbanded, the place was locked up and turned over to the Cathedral of Akatosh for safekeeping. The Cathedral, however, didn't know what to do with the facility. So the Chanters and Sermonizers decided to turn the subterranean structure into a crypt of sorts. All of the honored dead of the Order of the Hour were interred within its depths.\nWhen Cavor Merula reestablished the Order, one of his first tasks was to dedicate the site that had become known as Knightsgrave to the memory of the Order's founding members. Blessings and rituals were performed, giving substance to the Exalted Dead that lingered in the place's shadowy interior. Not wanting to disturb those resting herein, Cavor instead set out to build the Enclave of the Hourglass as the Order's new home on the Gold Coast.\nSo, forget the legends. Ignore the tales of nixad infestations, minotaur protectors, and Exalted Knights of the Order still patrolling the sealed chambers deep below. Knightsgrave is the proud and vibrant legacy of the Order of the Hour. And as followers of Akatosh, it is our legacy, as well."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/knowing-satakal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/knowing-satakal", "description": "Important Redguard maxims", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Knowing Satakal", "text": "Seven Redguard Maxims\n\t\"To deny that the world must end is to deny that it began.\"\n\t\"Satakal is the making and the unmaking, the birth and the death, love and fear.\"\n\t\"For the world is the egg that Satakal laid, and the egg that in time Satakal shall eat.\"\n\t\"To know Satakal, consider a river. As a snake sheds its skin and lives on, so a river sheds its water into the sea, yet is reborn at the source.\"\n\t\"To be the Worldskin is to be everything, and to be everything is to be nothing.\"\n\t\"Fear not the unbelievers, for believer and unbeliever alike shall be eaten by the Serpent God.\"\n\t\"Does not the serpent made of sky above reflect the serpent made of sea below? Yea, it is so.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kotholls-contract": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kotholls-contract", "description": "A House Hlaalu contract", "author": "Dirngar Hlaalu", "title": "Kotholl's Contract", "text": "To the House Hlaalu Recorder,\nThis contract serves as a binding agreement of services between the merchants of the Obsidian Gorge and Kotholl Ironfist, in which Kotholl Ironfist pledges to protect said merchants, travelers, and House Officials for the duration of said contract.\nPledgee promises to patrol the grounds for signs of the unjust, escort travelers through the pass as required, and defend all representatives of House Hlaalu and their possessions, even at the cost of his own life (if absolutely necessary).\nThis contract shall be in effect for a total of thirty days. Upon completion of said contract, pledgee will be rewarded with a lump sum of gold, as agreed to under separate letter of employment. Renewal of this contract is possible, pending a performance review by House Hlaalu and agreement of all concerned parties.\n\u2014 Dirngar Hlaalu"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kothringi-leviathan-horn": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kothringi-leviathan-horn", "description": "Description of this trade instrument of a lost people", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Kothringi Leviathan Horn", "text": "The extinct Kothringi people of Black Marsh have left very few relics behind, but the Bards College cherishes this mournful instrument as a reminder of their culture and the ravages of the Knahaten Flu.\nThis cheerful bugle was fashioned from the horn of a leviathan, a creature of terrible power that roams Black Marsh, and dyed with silver-blue pigments to match the skin color of the lost Kothringi people.\nThe loud, ringing tones are as joyful and uplifting as the Kothringi people in their prime."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kraalas-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kraalas-journal", "description": "Hates: noise. Loves birds.", "author": "Kraala", "title": "Kraala's Journal", "text": "Noise, noise, noise! I'm drowning in it!\nThose filthy Orcs bang iron and saw trees and break stones all day long. On and on and on! And even in my own home, stinking Winterborn wander the halls, coughing and wiping their filthy noses. Unwelcome house guests that stink of old deer hides and rot! They have their uses, but they are few. Too few!\nOnly the birds give me peace. Their songs rise over the din. And when the racket is drowned out, only the whispers remain. While those sweaty wild-men bumble around in the woods like fools, the birds bring me real information. Secrets. If only I had more birds. I'd fill the skies with them. Nothing would be beyond my reach!\nMore birds? Of course! What a splendid idea!\nI'll make more birds!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ku-vastei-needed-change": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ku-vastei-needed-change", "description": "An exploration on the argonian outlook on this force", "author": "Lights-the-Way", "title": "Ku-Vastei: The Needed Change", "text": "By Lights-the-Way, Mystic of the Mages Guild\nIt is hard to describe the culture of my people. Often my tongue stumbles as I try to explain, but it is my hope that ink and quill will give me time enough to gather my thoughts. And perhaps, though such writing, I will finally connect the parts of me that now feel so divided; my homeland of Murkmire and my new life within the Mages Guild.\nThese journals are to become my ku-vastei. And, as I write that, I can think of no better topic to begin with.\nKu-vastei roughly translates to \"the catalyst of needed change,\" though such a direct translation in no way does justice to the original meaning. Another translation could be \"that which creates the needed pathway for change to occur\" or even \"the spark which ignites the flame which must come into being.\"\nPerhaps a more direct analysis should be first presented. Ku-vastei is a noun, a thing or person. Vastei directly translates to change, an important part of my culture. Ku is harder to speak of. It is that which leads to change, though not that which creates change. An important role, as stagnation is a fate worse than death.\nTake a boulder which sits atop a cliff, teetering in place. It must fall eventually. The ku-vastei does not push the boulder off the cliff; rather, it picks the pebble which holds the rock in place. And so it falls, not by a push, but by a pathway cleared.\nKu-vastei is revered, just as change itself is revered, for to look back at what was means to stumble as you move forward. Sometimes, a little push in the right direction is all someone needs to remember such wisdom. Other times, they may need to be shoved."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kuralits-clue": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kuralits-clue", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Kuralit's Clue", "text": "Kuralit saw a Bosmer thief sneaking into the bank. Could it be the Artisan?"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kurlashs-orders": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kurlashs-orders", "description": "", "author": "General Godrun", "title": "Kurlash's Orders", "text": "Sergeant Kurlash,\nDo exactly as I say and tell no one. Take this crate of weapons to the dock northeast of Dro-Dara plantation. Leave it and return immediately. The pickup is not your concern.\n\u2014 General Godrun"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kurogs-betrayal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kurogs-betrayal", "description": "A pamphlet urging Orcs to reject the Covenant", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Kurog's Betrayal", "text": "You've heard grand claims. Orsinium reborn. The Elf-loving Bretons our friends, the traitor Redguards our allies.\nWe are welcome, they claim. We are needed, they claim. All lies.\nKurog the False Chief would tell you the Daggerfall Covenant is our future. Kurog, the sellsword who abandoned his tribe, who shed blood for Elves and gold as his people languished and starved. This toothless runt would have us in chains, fighting for the Bretons and Redguards who slaughtered us.\nHave you forgotten our brothers and sisters at Orsinium? Have you forgotten who launched their crusade to crush \"the Pig Children\"?\nThe same Bretons and Redguards who now pretend friendship sought to wipe us from the face of Tamriel. Now, with our fields salted and our homes burned, the cowards and liars offer to return the land they stole.\nShall we make peace with our enemies? Shall we thank them for returning what they stole from us through foul magic and treachery?\nLook past Kurog's silken words. Look to his cowardly deeds, and to the ancestors who gave their lives to keep us free. This Daggerfall Covenant is a chain around our necks.\nThey wish to make us their dogs. Remind them that we are Orcs! We will never bow before their so-called \"High King\"!\nDown with Kurog the False Chief!\nDown with Emeric the Enslaver!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kurogs-orders": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kurogs-orders", "description": "", "author": "King Kurog", "title": "Kurog's Orders", "text": "The Moot is about to begin and we need to ensure that all ways in are closed off or guarded to their maximum capacity.\nWe'll be barring the gate from inside, so entry from the Keep will not be functional. My loves\u2014 my wives, you will stand guard as to act as a distraction to anyone who tries to stop us. Put a stop to them before they even realize they are looking at a dead end. And if you are to lose your lives, do it knowing you distracted them long enough for us to pull off the plan and finally unite our people.\nThe only other route is through the Temple within the city. We'll be sending troops over to deal with Solgra and that entrance. The plan is already in place to reveal her to be the head of the Vosh Rakh and the guards should be on their way now. She is the true enemy now and all focus will be turned to her until she is dealt with.\nSoon, we will be united under one banner! The Orcs will finally be together as one. Then we can truly live without fear, as it was always meant to be.\nRemember this moment.\n~Kurog"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kvatch-arena-reopens": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kvatch-arena-reopens", "description": "Exciting battles and lucrative betting opportunities await", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Kvatch Arena Reopens!", "text": "Citizens of Kvatch! With the approval of Count Carolus, we are immediately re-opening the Kvatch Arena!\nAll citizens of Kvatch and beyond are invited to witness our many exciting new events, including contests of martial prowess, clashes between fierce beasts, grand melees, and more! In cooperation with the Order of the Hour, we are also adding a new event: the Circle of Penance!\nBelow is a list of the exciting events our legendary arena will now be hosting on a regular basis.\nClashes of Might\nCome one, come all, as the most dangerous gladiators in the land fight one-on-one, two-on-two, or four-on-four. The only things bigger than the weapons wielded in our bloody battles are the purses handed to the winners! In addition to brave Colovians, you'll see foreign fighters including fierce Nords, savage Redguards, brutal Orcs, crafty Wood Elves, and even a silent Sea Elf assassin.\nYou won't want to miss a moment of these thrilling contests. Come cheer on your Colovian heroes, or place your bets on foreign fighters and give them a reason to face our best. We promise a good show!\nClashes of Beasts\nWitness brutal beasts from across Tamriel, gathered by brave handlers, as they fight to prove whose teeth and claws are mightiest! Thrill to the savage ferocity of the Bangkorai lion! Gasp at the stealthy attacks of the Alik'r duneripper! If we manage to raise enough gold from ticket sales, we've even had an enterprising merchant promise to bring us a mythical Mantikora from the savage land of Craglorn!\nThe Grand Melee\nTen warriors enter, and one warrior leaves! Any combatant may enter the grand melee, using any weapon and any fighting style! You never know what to expect, save that every fight will be brutal and its outcome will be impossible to predict. With our new tiered betting system, you can even win gold if your fighter loses, so long as they are among the last to succumb. Don't miss this once in a lifetime event!\nThe Circle of Penance\nHosted by the brave knights of Kvatch's own Order of the Hour, heretics and heathens who have sinned against the Divines are given one last chance to repent! Many heretics will face the brave and implacable gladiators of the Order of the Hour and, should their faith prove true and the Divines smile upon them, they may even survive. Even those who do not may find salvation before they achieve death.\nCome cheer on our brave gladiators of the Order of the Hour as they crush and smite all heretics - those who dabble in dark rituals with Daedric Princes, practice necromancy, and otherwise offend Akatosh."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kwama-breeding-research-notes-flora": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kwama-breeding-research-notes-flora", "description": "Effects of various plants on Kwama reproduction", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Kwama Breeding Research Notes (Flora)", "text": "Ash Yam: No effect. Kwama will eat it if they are peckish.\nBittergreen: No effect. Empty Bittergreen pods are attractive sitting locations for workers and scribs. I've seen warriors attempt to enter the pods when they obviously can't fit. Stupid bugs. Keep these out of the mine.\nBlack Anther: No effect on the kwama, and we have to send operatives near Vivec City to find it, which is risky. Suggested to cease testing.\nBlack Lichen: The kwama hate it. Use it only to keep them out of spaces we don't want them to be near, like our food stores.\nBungler's Bane: No effect and hard to find in reasonable supply.\nChokeweed: No effect.\nComberry: No effect and extremely hard to find in the wild. If we need more it's recommend to steal some from the merchants in Vivec City.\nCorkbulb Root: Not the effect we are looking for, although it seems useful for treating kwama with any form of paralysis. Continued testing is recommended.\nDraggle-tail: None in supply and it's not yet worth sending scouts to the Bitter Coast.\nFire Fern: Kwama love this stuff, while at the same time it appears to make them agitated. More research on this is recommended.\nGold Kanet: No effect.\nGreen Lichen: Can't find it anywhere. Every recommended location has so far turned out to be a dead end.\nHackle-Lo: No effect.\nHeather: No effect.\nKresh Fiber: Kwama hate it, and not in the way we're interested in. They defecate on it as soon as it's discovered. Keep all supply out of Matus-Akin.\nLuminous Russula: Grows naturally around the area and can be found in the mine as well. Kwama consume it often. No obvious effects on behavior.\nMarshmerrow: No effect aside from potential feed.\nMuck: Toxic to Kwama. DO NOT USE!\nNirnroot: Do not use on its own anywhere near the kwama. It appears to make them lethargic, yet they crave it once exposed. We had to put a few warriors down after the primary exposure. We don't want to lose any more, as there are not many of these beasts to begin with.\nRed Lichen: No effect.\nRoobrush: No effect.\nSaltrice: Common kwama feed. We keep a supply of this in the storage area surrounded by a moderate amount of Black Lichen.\nScathecraw: No effect.\nSlough Fern: No effect.\nStoneflower: Only found in the West Gash. Too risky to acquire. I speculate it will have no effect regardless.\nTrama Root: No effect.\nViolet Coprinus: We have found this growing naturally in Matus-Akin. Potential natural kwama feed. No effect.\nWickwheat: Makes kwama even stupider than they already are. More research needed.\nWillow Flower: No effect.\nHypha Facia: Sometimes Found in Matus-Akin, no obvious effect."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kwama-egg-omelet": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kwama-egg-omelet", "description": "Colorful instructions on this old recipe", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Kwama Egg Omelet", "text": "With the Kwama gone all crazy back home in Deepcrag, Mama Aralosi can't get the eggs she needs for her famous omelets. I'm going take this bag and rustle up some eggs. She'll be so pleased, I just know it.\n\tI copied Mama's recipe below, so I know what I have to get:\nStep 1: Find a kwama mine \u2014 Check!\n\tStep 2: Procure a kwama egg \u2014 Check!\n\tStep 3: Get out of the mine alive\n\tStep 4: Crack egg into a large bowl\n\tStep 5: Whisk until the white and yolk combine\n\tStep 6: Add spices to taste\n\tStep 7: Bake and serve"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kwama-egg-quiche": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kwama-egg-quiche", "description": "Recipe for a Morrowind favorite", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Kwama Egg Quiche", "text": "Ingredients:\n- One medium kwama egg or two small kwama eggs\n\t- Ground meal\n\t- Mug of water\n\t- Diced tomato\n\t- Garlic\n\t- Salt (to taste)\nTo Prepare:.\nBreak eggs in a large bowl. Add tomato, garlic, and salt. Whisk briskly.\n\tCombine the meal and water to make a dough.\n\tLayer half of the dough in a deep pot. Pour half the egg mixture over the dough. Place another layer of dough, pour remaining egg mixture into pot and finish with another layer of dough.\n\tCover pot tightly and hang over a small fire, or place the covered pot within a hot oven.\n\tCheck the quiche after one hour. Once a brown crust forms on the top, the casserole is ready to eat."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kwama-miners-note": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kwama-miners-note", "description": "Plans to start a new kwama mine", "author": "Dabruun", "title": "Kwama Miner's Note", "text": "Boss,\nThe survey requested by the League of Kwama Miners is nearly complete at the site. Prospects appear to be real good. The conditions are perfect for seeding a new Kwama hive, provided another queen is born before Frostfall.\nIf we can't get a viable hive going before that time, we may have to abandon the caverns until the thaw to save on costs. Who knows what could move in between the time of our departure and return? It'd be a crying shame to lose this mine, I'll tell you that.\nWe'll continue with our scheduled work until we receive word to the contrary, so keep me posted about any changes that will affect us.\nKwama Miner Dabruun"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kwama-mining-fun-and-profit": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kwama-mining-fun-and-profit", "description": "The ins and outs of Kwama mining", "author": "Dorayn Redas", "title": "Kwama Mining for Fun and Profit", "text": "By Dorayn Redas, House Hlaalu\nDeveloping and maintaining a kwama mine can be a rewarding, and more importantly, a lucrative pursuit, provided one takes the time to learn about kwama and their environmental requirements. Kwama are giant insects that live and work in underground colonies called egg mines. Although eggs provide the primary source of income for any kwama mine, they are by no means the only product produced by the mine. Kwama cuttle, scrib jelly, and scrib jerky all provide additional sources of revenue for a kwama mine.\nTo start a kwama mine:\n\t1a. Find and tame a wild kwama colony (difficult), or\n\t1b. Purchase excess kwama from a crowded mine (expensive)\n\t2. Live near the colony until you smell like kwama\n\t3. Never approach the kwama queen chamber\n\t4. Gather eggs, collect cuttle\n\t5. Count your profit\nDespite the name, a kwama mine consists of living creatures. With judicious yet unobtrusive maintenance, a moderately-sized mine can produce an abundance of valuable kwama eggs. Kwama mines can also produce tasty scrib jerky, acidic scrib jelly, and kwama cuttle, which is highly valued by alchemists.\nThe Kwama Colony: The road to owning a profitable mining concern starts with a healthy kwama queen and a full complement of workers. The queen produces eggs in the deepest recesses of the mine. Kwama workers care for the eggs, moving them to the various tunnels and chambers within the mine, according to space requirements, environmental conditions, and the development state of the eggs. Kwama workers also produce food for the mine, feed and clean the queen, and expand the mine complex as the colony grows. When not tending to their usual duties, workers can be seen digging new chambers and tunnels within the ever-growing labyrinth of the mine. Workers tend to be docile, but can turn violent if threatened or attacked, or if the queen is in danger.\nKwama warriors protect the colony, reacting quickly to any perceived danger. They should be treated warily and with respect, for they are aggressive and highly dangerous. While workers are quadrupeds, warriors are bipedal and very powerful.\nScribs, as the miners call juvenile kwama, roam freely through a kwama colony. A mine usually splits the scrib herds into two camps: those allowed to grow into workers or warriors, and those harvested while still young for jelly and jerky. Scrib jelly has a variety of uses, including as a food source, but it is prized by alchemists as a key ingredient to create potions and cure diseases. Scrib jerky, made by drying thin slices of scrib meat, has minor restorative properties and is considered to be quite delicious by Dark Elf culinary experts.\nStarting a Kwama Mine: Assuming you don't want to pay the exorbitant fees associated with purchasing a queen and kwama from an established mine, you will need to locate and tame a wild colony. This approach isn't without cost, however, as House Hlaalu requires would-be mine owners to purchase a license before hunting for a wild colony in earnest.\nWhen you locate a potential colony, you can't simply walk in and set up shop. The colony's aggressive warriors would make short work of your miners. There is a solution: acclimation. The acclimation process takes time, but injury and loss of life (of both colony members and miners) can be minimized by letting the colony slowly become familiar and comfortable with your presence. Once your miners acquire the smell of the local kwama, the warriors will consider them to be part of the colony.\nEgg Harvesting: The actual \"mining\" of kwama eggs doesn't require a great deal of skill. Miners basically need only patience and common sense to perform their job. Egg harvesting must be done with an eye toward balance. Remove too many eggs and you may agitate the workers and the queen. Remove too few and the queen's egg production may fall. The mine manager must keep a careful eye on production to ensure that the queen does not produce too many or too few eggs. Wide swings in production will affect profits and make planning more difficult, and should be avoided.\nAvoid the queen's chamber at all times. Warriors and workers will view any approach to their queen as a threat and react accordingly. Production can grind to a halt as the colony becomes agitated and miners can't safely enter the mine. You might lose a few miners as the colony rampages, but the most important thing to remember is that the kwama will eventually calm down and once again accept the presence of the miners.\nNote: House Hlaalu egg-mining licenses require mines to provide regular production reports. Failure to comply can result in sanctions, fines, or even closure of the mine. And that's neither fun nor profitable."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kwama-shipment-manifest": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kwama-shipment-manifest", "description": "Self-explanatory", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Kwama Shipment Manifest", "text": "Vileclutch Mine: 5 Dozen - Complete\n\tBroken Stream Mine: 2 Dozen - Complete (3 Dozen Delivered)\n\tBulwark Caves: 8 Dozen - Complete\n\tBlood Spear Caverns: 2 Dozen - Complete\n\tThe Falling Cliffs: 12 Dozen - Complete\n\tDarkshade Caverns: 10 Dozen - INCOMPLETE (Mine Ownership Change)\n\tDirewind Pass: 4 Dozen - Complete\n\tWhispering Hills: 5 Dozen - Complete"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kynes-tears": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kynes-tears", "description": "A poem about Kyne", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Kyne's Tears", "text": "Dark clouds gather in the sky above.\n\tKyne weeps for joy at the beauty of the world.\n\tTears warm the ground and blossoms grow.\n\tThe sacred stone reveals the flowers of her tears."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lab-warning-be-careful": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lab-warning-be-careful", "description": "A warning to a skooma lab", "author": "Rakhad", "title": "Laboratory Warning: Be Careful!", "text": "Pay attention to what you are doing, idiots. The liquids we are cutting the skooma with can be flammable if mixed.\nDON'T BREAK THE BOTTLES. We could lose the whole lab if a fire starts.\n\u2014 Rakhad"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ladies-green": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ladies-green", "description": "The nature of the Bosmeri leader known as the Green Lady", "author": "Cirantille", "title": "Ladies of Green", "text": "The Wood Elves are, by nature, secretive and reclusive, yet I do not believe they intentionally hide their lore from outsiders. Take, for example, their practice of choosing new leaders every generation. No one outside the Wood Elves knows exactly how they choose their \"Green Lady,\" but after only a little time I have discovered much about this position, role, and title.\n\n\n\t\tEvery generation\u2014a somewhat nebulous concept in itself; there appears no set length of time\u2014a young woman is chosen from among all the Wood Elves to give up her own identity and become the Green Lady. The Green Lady represents, as I understand it, the ferocity, the strength, and the pure physicality of the Bosmer.\n\n\n\t\tDoes this mean she is their war-leader or chieftain? Not exactly. Certainly, much of the Green Lady's strength can be turned toward battle, but she is more a manifestation of the physical prowess and even health of her people. I would call her a demigod if I did not think it might offend the true gods as well as the Wood Elves themselves, but it might be an apt description.\nThe Wood Elves are, by nature, secretive and reclusive, yet I do not believe they intentionally hide their lore from outsiders. Take, for example, their practice of choosing new leaders every generation. No one outside the Wood Elves knows exactly how they choose their \"Green Lady,\" but after only a little time I have discovered much about this position, role, and title.\nEvery generation\u2014a somewhat nebulous concept in itself; there appears no set length of time\u2014a young woman is chosen from among all the Wood Elves to give up her own identity and become the Green Lady. The Green Lady represents, as I understand it, the ferocity, the strength, and the pure physicality of the Bosmer.\nDoes this mean she is their war-leader or chieftain? Not exactly. Certainly, much of the Green Lady's strength can be turned toward battle, but she is more a manifestation of the physical prowess and even health of her people. I would call her a demigod if I did not think it might offend the true gods as well as the Wood Elves themselves, but it might be an apt description.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lady-balinas-wedding-invitation": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lady-balinas-wedding-invitation", "description": "", "author": "Muazel", "title": "Lady Balina's Wedding Invitation", "text": "Lady Balina,\nYou and (Guest) are cordially invited to attend the union between Lord Cosh of Abah's Landing and Magnifica Falorah al-Danobia, Jewel of Taneth, at Hubalajad Palace. Appropriate attire is required.\nEntertainment and food will be provided well into the evening until vows are exchanged within the palace.\nEach attendee is expected to bring a gift.\n\u2014Muazel, personal assistant to Lord Cosh"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lady-edwyges-notes": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lady-edwyges-notes", "description": "Notes on an experiment in turning back time. It didn't quite work out.", "author": "Lady Edwyge", "title": "Lady Edwyge's Notes", "text": "First Entry\nThis is so frustrating. I'm not asking to recreate the Dragon Break, just to roll back back time a few years. Is that too much to ask? But this book tells us nothing! It's just incoherent Maruhkati ravings on the nature of Akatosh.\nSecond Entry\nWe've had a breakthrough! We managed to turn back time a few hours \u2026! As soon as we figure out how to extend it, we can go back and change history. And I shall be Queen of Bangkorai, not that puling wench Arzhela!\nFinal Entry\nWe must have done something terribly wrong. We're caught in a time trap\u2014we keep reliving the same few hours over and over again. Any minute now, someone will come in and kill us all to reclaim the book. Then it will happen all over again \u2026."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lady-laurents-qharroa-notes": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lady-laurents-qharroa-notes", "description": "Notes on an archaeological dig", "author": "Lady Laurent", "title": "Lady Laurent's Qharroa Notes", "text": "Stibbons has returned with some much-needed supplies, and a guide to the local desert and beyond. I am loath to leave the future of my research in the hands of hired help, but such are the times!\nMy desert guide professes to know much about Yokudan culture, and yet is ignorant about the post-Schism resurgence of the\"Whimsical Dalliers\"! Honestly, it is hard to find good help these days.\nI've found a curious inscription in one of the old ruins. It suggests a unique combination of certain alchemical reagents: I wrote it all down somewhere. I'm sure Stibbons will know where I put it. Think of it\u2014a forgotten recipe from an ancient race! Archeology can be so gratifying."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lady-laurents-do-list": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lady-laurents-do-list", "description": "The archeologist's personal priorities", "author": "Lady Clarisse Laurent", "title": "Lady Laurent's To-Do List", "text": "- Make Stibbons organize our gear, in alphabetical order\n- Make Stibbons categorize foodstuffs according to nutritional value\n- Eat breakfast\n- Give dirty unmentionables to Stibbons for cleaning\n- Address the remaining members of the expedition\n- Plan tomorrow's next attempt to reach Torug's shrine\n- Eat dinner (I hope Stibbons makes fish stew)\n- Debate historical details with Kharsthun (again)\n- Write my daily report to the museum\n- Review correspondence from Mages Guild and Telenger\n- Reply to letters from Narsis Dren and the Vanos siblings\n- Dictate more of my next memoir so Stibbons can write it all down\n- Brush my hair one hundred times with my favorite combs and brushes\n- If hand gets tired, make Stibbons brush my hair\n- Read another chapter of Investigator Vale before bed\n- Look for the candied nut that Stibbons always leaves on my pillow\n- Write out tomorrow's list of things to do\n- Make sure Stibbons has completed all of his work so I can go to bed"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lady-llarels-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lady-llarels-journal", "description": "A eggmine-owners daughter muses on building a kwama shelter", "author": "Lady Llarel", "title": "Lady Llarel's Journal", "text": "What a fabulously marvelous cave! I can't believe this has been sitting here, empty and unused, all this time. I think it will be just perfect for my needs. With this cave, I can finally establish the shelter I have always dreamed of. I can finally create a place of safety for poor, abused kwama and their scribs.\nMy father was a cruel man, and I saw the abuse and burdens he placed upon the kwama at his mine. It was barbaric, how he squeezed all of those poor creatures into those overcrowded caverns. How he harvested cuttle from their poor bodies. I can still hear the poor creatures scream! Well, I shall stand for such cruelty no more.\nI shall fill this cave with free kwama, creating a haven where they can raise their scribs in peace and safety. It will be a kwama utopia, and it will be my legacy to the world.\nNow, where can I acquire a kwama queen?"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lady-murciens-folly": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lady-murciens-folly", "description": "A short poem about a woman who thought she was a Dwemer.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Lady Murcien's Folly", "text": "Lady Murcien was unsound\n\tShe thought she was a Dwarf\n\tScattered Dwarven ore around\n\tFrom north ridge to the wharf\n\tPut a hissing teapot on\n\tAn axle with a wheel\n\tSaid it was a construct come\n\tFrom Klathzgar, true for real\n\tMade some tools from brass and tin\n\tFor a \"Tonal Architect\"\n\tFired the forge and thrust them in\n\tHer house exploded, wrecked\n\tDonned a suit of brazen plate\n\tWith spiral blade on top\n\tStuck a soul gem in the grate\n\tAnd vanished with a pop!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lakewatch-tower": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lakewatch-tower", "description": "The tale of a man and a moonbeam, and the love they lost", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Lakewatch Tower", "text": "Long ago, Garach dreamt of a moonbeam, silver and pale blue. It took the form of a lady, who came to lie beside him.\nAs the dawn's light entered his room, she became a wolf, and fled.\nMonths later, he dreamt she returned to him, first as a she-wolf carrying pups. She placed them carefully beside him, and took the form of the lady.\n\"They are yours,\" she said tenderly, \"to care for and love.\"\nAfraid, he slew them. She then cursed him to never know love or kindness, only fear and hatred.\nAnd when he awoke, surrounded by the limp bodies of his wolf-children, he wept for what might have been."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lakora-hunt": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lakora-hunt", "description": "A short rhyme", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Lakora of the Hunt", "text": "Keen were her eyes\neven as the doom closed in\nshe drew her companions near\nand lead the way to glory."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lamentations-lost": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lamentations-lost", "description": "A poem from the point-of-view of an unfortunate dead man", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Lamentations of the Lost", "text": "They said explore Nirn.\n\tTo many lands I traveled.\n\tNever feeling like home.\n\tI worked for a merchant,\n\tSweeping dusty shops for coin.\n\tNo respect or wealth.\n\tI joined a brigade.\n\tWe saw the horrors of war,\n\tBlood-dripped battlefields.\n\tTo an arrow I fell.\n\tFor greed I died all alone.\n\tBuried by strangers."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lamias-craglorn": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lamias-craglorn", "description": "A researcher's essay on the mysterious presence of Lamias in Craglorn", "author": "Theoderic Peron", "title": "Lamias of Craglorn ", "text": "Much misinformation exists concerning the lamia population of Craglorn. This is because their very presence in the region constitutes something of a mystery.\nHow is it that creatures normally associated with the coastlands were able to find their way to such a brutal, unforgiving desert?\nI, your intrepid guide, your answerer of the unanswerable, made the journey to Craglorn in search of the truth.\nOn arriving in Belkarth via the great highway that stretches from High Rock to Cyrodiil, I ingratiated myself to the locals and plied them with the exotic wines I'd brought with me from Summerset. Then they regaled me with all manner of stories concerning the lamias.\nBy far the strangest story is this one, related to me by a character of questionable morality in one of the local watering holes.\nA mage by the name of Frederic Croyens crossed Tamriel collecting exotic creatures for his traveling menagerie. In Valenwood, he spent many nights in the company of Wood Elves. These Elves were adherents of the Green Pact (the details of which are beyond comprehension to the civilized mind and irrelevant to this story).\nSuffice it to say, these Wood Elves introduced our mage to a panoply of curious concoctions of still more marvelous effects. After what amounted to anywhere from three days to a fortnight under the influence of these unusual unctions, it came about that the mage had been married to one of the local lamias.\nMy source in Belkarth then went on to explain that the lamias in the caves and lakes of Craglorn are none other than the offspring of Frederic Croyens and his lamia wife, who journyed here with his traveling menagerie.\nI have no doubt that this story is utter hogwash. However, through independent research, I have been able to verify the existence of Frederic Croyens and his traveling menagerie. They did indeed visit Valenwood and Craglorn in the past. It seems more likely, however, that the lamias arrived in Craglorn by other means."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lanaths-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lanaths-journal", "description": "Journal mentioning the Molag Bal aligned Ayleid capital of Abarglas", "author": "Lanath", "title": "Lanath's Journal", "text": "I owe everything to Endarre. He saved me from the dark manipulations of Abagarlas' king. Showed me the light of Meridia. To think I would let him attempt this mission without me at his side. I don't know the details, but I know where we're going. And anything that puts a shiv in Molag Bal's eye will make me rest easier.\n\n\t\t\t- - - - - - - -\n\n\n\n\t\t\tWe barely escaped Abagarlas. The fighting was intense, and I still can't believe what happened. Since making our escape, vampire assassins and ghoulish huntsmen have dogged our every step.\n\n\t\t\t- - - - - - - -\n\n\n\n\t\t\tCurano says we're heading to Mzeneldt. I'm not sure how a Dwarven city figures into the plan, but I'm not here to think.\n\n\t\t\t- - - - - - - -\n\n\n\n\t\t\tOur goal is to safeguard that crystal they took from the weapon, and some book. We've been searching the mountains for weeks now, traveling far into the eastern peaks. Insane mer. I worry Endarre has lost his mind, but then again, there's a lot I don't understand about this trip. At least I'm still alive.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lanistas-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lanistas-journal", "description": "A wagon driver's journal recording his encounter with Iron Orcs", "author": "Lanista", "title": "Lanista's Journal ", "text": "Transporting supplies and a mob of over-eager, would-be gladiators to the arena near Dragonstar might not have been the smartest job I've ever taken on, but the profit for this run promises to be very good. It better be! For all the headaches and delays\u2014not to mention having to constantly fend off the advances of a dozen drunken warriors\u2014this run has been one problem after another.\nTake, for example, the incident that occurred after we left the relative safety of Belkarth behind us. One of my wagon drivers, Gortho, must have joined our \"passengers\" for a few too many celebratory drinks around the campfire last night. He was practically asleep at the reins when he drove the wagon wheels over the gaping holes in the road. Now two wheels are cracked and an axel has broken, forcing us to set up this temporary waystation in the middle of nowhere.\nThe crafting stations are up and operational. Repairs are now underway on the wagon. Gortho feels terrible, but that's probably got more to do with his hangover than with any feelings of guilt over falling down on his job. I'm a bit worried about the strange Orcs that we've heard live in this forsaken wilderness. I'm not sure how defensible this spot actually is. But so far, we haven't seen hide nor hair of the creatures.\nI wish the warriors would stop drinking and help us keep watch while repairs on the wagon continue. I have the uncomfortable feeling that someone or something has been watching us for the past hour. I'm sure it's nothing, but I'd feel better if these so-called warriors were actually in a condition to help us fight\u2014if it comes down to that.\nIron Orcs! They appeared out of nowhere and surrounded us! Gods, look how many of them there are! I'll write more after we drive the marauders off. Provided I survive this battle.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lantern-lies": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lantern-lies", "description": "A nursery rhyme about an evil lantern", "author": "Transcribed by Relicmaster Glenadir", "title": "Lantern of Lies", "text": "Nursery Rhyme, Origins Unknown\n\tTranscribed by Relicmaster Glenadir\nBeware the lantern and its light\n\tIts glowing fire holds a power\n\tThat should you lie within its sight\n\tYour soul this lantern shall devour"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/larelleis": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/larelleis", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Larelleis", "text": "The time of flowing water,\n\tThe pale rose of dawning time.\n\tAwake now, reaching for golden light,\n\tAll is new, all is bright."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/last-old-bones": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/last-old-bones", "description": "A Bosmeri legend about an ancient beast made all of bones, and the origin of the Barrowbough.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Last of the Old Bones", "text": "Many years before your time, and many well before mine, great creatures walked the surface of Nirn. Where they came from, none could say. After a time they faded and vanished, all gone away to the lost corners of the world. All save one.\nA great beast made entirely of bones did burrow a writhing path through the ground, named the Destroyer by those who survived its passage. Though none could say where it went or what drove it, all knew the barren swaths of land in its wake.\nIt is said the Destroyer's coming could be felt as a quailing of the sod a full day before its arrival. When it arrived in a place, the great beast would writhe about, shattering walls and toppling buildings. Cliffs would turn to slurry in the great quakes brought by its pursuit, and many a pod home burst beneath its bones. It did so until it found Men or Mer who could answer its question.\nFor the Destroyer would always question its victims. The oldest accounts of these questions were all variations on, \"Where can I find the old bones?\" The canniest of those asked would point in a direction deemed most expediently away from, and least destructive to, their remaining homes.\nAs the Destroyer searched\u2014evidently in vain\u2014its questions changed. As it neared the end of its rampage it was known to ask, \"May I sleep here? It has been so long since I slept.\"\nThe only one known to answer \"yes\" to this question was the treethane of Falinesti, the Walking City. Knowing Falinesti would soon move on from where it wintered in Southpoint, she convinced the Destroyer to sleep in the boughs of Arborfell, an orchard known for its abundance of bats.\nThere, the Y'ffre priesthood planted a blessed seed in the skull of the great beast as it slept. This seed soon grew into a sapling, the sapling into a great tree, and the great tree into the Barrowbough. The bones have not stirred since.\nIn the ages following the Destroyer's final rest, ancient bones have sometimes been unearthed throughout Valenwood. Though silent, these remains are brought to Arborfell\u2014now the \"Bone Orchard\"\u2014in hopes that they will always remain so.\nThis tradition has spread throughout Valenwood. Bosmer far and wide have taken to burying the bones of their loved ones in the shade of the Barrowbough. Here they believe Y'ffre will grant his blessing, a final sleep for the lost."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/last-warning-cat": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/last-warning-cat", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Last Warning, Cat", "text": "The boss isn't happy. You better get off your furry butt and produce faster or the money stops.\nRemember, we own the debt collectors. They'll pound down your door tomorrow if Hazak gives the word.\n\u2014 CTB\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/last-will-and-testament": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/last-will-and-testament", "description": "A slain Nord's last will and testament", "author": "Betra Fairskin", "title": "Last Will and Testament", "text": "What a fool I was! I tried to reach Windhelm on foot, in the face of a raging storm. It was so cold outside, and I was so tired. But I never should have entered this stupid cave. I should have known better! What am I, a milk-drinker?\nThis frigid grotto, all ice and snow, certainly appeared to be warmer and safer than the wilderness outside. At least it was a place to get out of the bitter wind. But how wrong I was! If you're reading this, maybe you haven't seen them yet. Beware! This grotto is home to a band of trolls!\nThey haven't spotted me yet, but it's only a matter of time. And one of the foul beasts has entered the passage behind me, blocking off any hope I had of making an escape. I'm still going to try, of course. I have my sword and my good, strong arms. But I'm not a warrior. Not really. Oh, every Nord imagines herself to be a mighty warrior, but we're not all forged from the same ore, no matter what the stories say.\nI want to write this down before I make my move. Just in case. Consider this to be my last will and testament. If you find this, that means the trolls got me. I pray I was able to give as good as I got, but I have no illusions that I can defeat one troll, let alone a half a dozen. And the sounds I hear from deeper in the grotto. There must be a terrible troll back there!\nPlease, if you happen to make it to Windhelm in your journeys, look for Eepa Snow-Hair. She's the most beautiful woman in the Sober Nord Inn, and the love of my life. Let her know I tried to make it back in time for her birthday. Let her know I was thinking of her the entire time. And tell her that the little house and everything inside it belongs to her now.\nShor's bones! The trolls are coming! I'll see you in Sovngarde, my love!\n\u2014 Betra Fairskin"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/last-words-devotee": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/last-words-devotee", "description": "The final thoughts of a Hermaeus Mora worshipper", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Last Words of a Devotee", "text": "I won't live to write again. The Dagonites have broken into the inner sanctum. Our escape has been cut off.\nThey will burn the flesh from my bones, but I am at peace. My thoughts go to Hermaeus Mora. They will be recorded in the eternal libraries.\nI go to join the Golden Eye in Apocrypha."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/last-words-gordianus-fortunatus": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/last-words-gordianus-fortunatus", "description": "An ironically named man laments his fate at the hands of the undead", "author": "Gordianus Fortunatus", "title": "Last Words of Gordianus Fortunatus", "text": "To whomever reads this:\nI hope you find yourself in better straits than I. These will be the last words I ever put to paper, unless the gods intervene in my fate. I know not what Beriel was lamenting, but I certainly regret coming to this haunted place.\nThe skeletons moan in their eagerness to be at me, to shred my flesh from my bones. Truth to tell, I've been moaning a lot myself lately. I see no way down from this place, no hope to survive.\nI have only myself to blame for this. I fled the Imperial City to escape Urania's presence. I heard her voice everywhere, saw her face in every crowd, smelled her perfume on every breeze. Unrequited love has driven more men mad than the Elder Scrolls.\nFood is long gone. The water ran out yesterday afternoon. I can delay no longer. The walking dead will have their wish.\nFarewell!\n\u2014 Gordianus Fortunatus"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/laughing-moons-ledger": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/laughing-moons-ledger", "description": "A ledger from a plantation", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Laughing Moons Ledger", "text": "Entry One:\n47 - Temple of the Crescent Moons\n3 - Ranabi\n3 - Karpu-sa\n13 - Mistral Barracks\nEntry Two:\n16 - Juraira\n6 - Snarga\n7 - Ranabi\n8 - Maormer Embassy\n17 - Two-Moons Dance\n18 - Ranabi\n13 - Mistral Barracks\nEntry Three:\n6 - Snarga\n0 - Ranabi (Suspended Pending Inquiry)\n3 - Karpu-sa\n11 - Mistral Barracks\nEntry Four:\n38 - Temple of the Crescent Moons\n2 - Snarga\n15 - Two-Moons Dance\n13 - Mistral Barracks\nEntry Five:\n16 - Juraira\n2 - Snarga\n17 - Two-Moons Dance\n6 - Mistral Barracks\nEntry Six:\n8 - Snarga\n3 - Karpu-sa\n16 - Maormer Embassy\n11 - Mistral Barracks\nEntry Seven:\n1 - Snarga\n57 - Temple of the Crescent Moons\n7 - Two-Moons Dance\n7 - Juraira\n11 - Mistral Barracks\nEntry Eight:\n13 - Two-Moons Dance\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/laurons-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/laurons-journal", "description": "A mage writes about controlling crocodiles", "author": "Lauron", "title": "Lauron's Journal", "text": "Day 7 -\nI've arrived in S'ren-ja, this backwater Khajiiti village, to continue my research. The locals here have a minor crocodile infestation, and should provide the ideal base of operations for my experiments.\nDay 31 -\nProgress is slow, but I have almost achieved total mastery of the beasts. This morning I was able to force a mother crocodile to consume her own young! After she finished, the beast broke free from my control and I was forced to destroy it. I'm so close!\nDay 48 -\nMy control is complete! The crocodiles of S'ren-ja are my puppets, and I am their master. I've experimented with having them slip into town and kill one or two nobodies. I'm sure they won't be missed. Now that I have mastered these beasts, though, I wonder if I could control something larger \u2026.\nDay 50\nI've decided. I shall summon and master a Daedra. I should start with a daedroth, it's only fitting. The uninformed often mistake the beautiful daedroth for a crocodile, don't they? I'm sure I'll have just as much success dominating the will of a daedroth as I did with these other beasts!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/leave-my-family-out": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/leave-my-family-out", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Leave My Family Out Of This", "text": "(This is an unsent letter from Frikkhild Coldheart to another Lodge Member. She vehemently refuses to bring her family into this and complains about the modern state of the Lodge compared to a decade ago.)\n(This shows there was an \"old version\" of the Lodge, prior to some event.)"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/leave-place": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/leave-place", "description": "A warning that the reader should leave their current location", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Leave This Place", "text": "To whoever finds this,\nLeave this place. It is cursed. There are too many of them, now.\nFirst it was just one. He hid in the mine and seduced our children. Now they have joined him.\nThere are only a few of us left, but they are everywhere.\nWe can't leave. We won't survive. But we refuse to surrender.\nBetter to be torn limb from limb than to become one of them."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/leezas-bloodthorn-report": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/leezas-bloodthorn-report", "description": "", "author": "Leeza of the First Planting", "title": "Leeza's Bloodthorn Report", "text": "Esteemed Leader,\n\tOur camp, in the clearing set between where the water spills from Mire Falls, has already achieved exciting results.\u00a0\n\tNot only have we intercepted a dispatch from Aldcroft, but we've also captured a Lion Guard scout!\u00a0\n\tIf we wait long enough, perhaps King Casimir will wander in and surrender!\n\t\u2014Leeza of the First Planting"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/legacy-dragonguard": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/legacy-dragonguard", "description": "A short history of the Dragonguard during and shortly after the Reman dynasty.", "author": "Kiasa-Veda", "title": "Legacy of the Dragonguard", "text": "By Kiasa-Veda, the Chronicler of Blades\nAs all schoolchildren know, northern Tamriel was invaded by a legion of Akaviri raiders in 1E 2700. Mighty warriors with potent powers, these Akaviri cut a swath through Skyrim, defeating all opponents, until they were met at Pale Pass by a Cyrodilic army under the command of General Reman. After a brief battle, the Akaviri surrendered en masse to Reman, saying that in him, they had found what they had come to Tamriel to seek.\nWith the Akaviri added to his own army, Reman marched on, pacifying most of Tamriel, becoming Emperor, and founding the Second Empire. The best and wisest of the Akaviri became the Dragonguard, under the Emperor Reman's personal command.\nFor the next two centuries the Dragonguard protected the Reman Dynasty, defending the Emperors with abilities said to have been learned from the Dragons themselves, which persisted in Akavir far longer than they did in Tamriel.\nBut when Reman III was assassinated in 2920, that was the end of the Reman Dynasty (as well as the First Era). Officially the Dragonguard was disbanded, some said in shame at having failed to protect the Emperor. However, when the Potentate Versidue-Shae assumed the Ruby Throne, the Dragonguard was unofficially reactivated, more as an intelligence network than as an honor guard.\nOther former members of the Dragonguard followed different pursuits. Some joined their former centurion, Dinieras-Ves, when he founded the organization that would come to be known as the Fighters Guild. Others became roving adventurers, selling their services as combat trainers or swords-for-hire.\nOne of these was a former Dragonguard whose name is now lost, and is known only to this chronicler as the Grandmaster. He took it upon himself to ensure that the martial and mystical arts of the old Akaviri would survive into the new and turbulent Second Era. However, he would teach his skills only on condition that those he taught would go on to teach others. This was the origin of those whom we now call \"the Dragon Knights.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/legend-chill-house": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/legend-chill-house", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Legend of Chill House", "text": "Frigid air fills the darkness of Chill House as death's inevitable wind blows through the forlorn structure."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/legend-haman-forgefire": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/legend-haman-forgefire", "description": "A Nord legend of a master smith", "author": "Rogar Cliffside", "title": "Legend of Haman Forgefire", "text": "Retold by Rogar Cliffside, Talespinner\nSurely you've heard the legend of Haman Forgefire? Crafter to kings, manipulator of metals, Forgefire was known as the greatest blacksmith in all the land. Jarls, thanes, and anyone who could afford the exorbitant prices he commanded sought out Forgefire to create a precious dagger, a sturdy shield, a mighty warhammer, or a suit of finely wrought armor. After a time, Forgefire had to limit the number of commissions he accepted for any given period, as he refused to take on so much that the work would suffer.\nOther blacksmiths claimed that Forgefire could speak to the ore and charm the impurities away with a wink and a whisper. Most revered the man and were in awe of his skills. A few, however, were jealous of Forgefire's accomplishments. They tried to poison opinions against him, claiming that his methods involved nothing short of magic, and foul magic at that\u2014Daedric magic. Chief among the outspoken smiths was the armorer, Gerhild Coldheart.\nColdheart was loud and vocal of her distrust of Forgefire and his methods. She wondered aloud, in whatever crowded and boisterous tavern she happened to be drinking in, what vile Daedric Prince the proud and boastful Haman Forgefire had pledged himself to in order to accomplish his miracles with metal. Of course, nothing could be further from the truth. Forgefire was simply brilliant. But that didn't stop Coldheart from spreading her rumors at each and every opportunity. Soon, her hatred of Forgefire was almost all-consuming and it began to affect her work, which had been impressive in its own right until it began to suffer as her jealousy grew.\nForgefire did his best to ignore the increasingly wilder tales, but commissions were becoming harder and harder to come by as Coldheart's rumors circulated. Haman couldn't understand why she insisted on saying such false and terrible things. He soldiered on as best he could, however, taking what work still came his way and praying that something would happen to reverse the downward spiral his fortunes seemed to be caught in. That's when the greatest commission of Haman's career appeared on his doorstep.\nThe mighty hero, Kvenel the Tongue, was in the market for a new weapon. And not just any weapon. It had to be a weapon of excellent quality, something to match his beloved sword, Eduj. For his next adventure, Kvenel wanted a hand axe. And he wanted it crafted by the legendary blacksmith, Haman Forgefire. Delighted at this opportunity and excited by the challenge, Haman began to work on his most spectacular piece ever\u2014the hand axe Okin.\nGerhild Coldheart, meanwhile, was furious. She had petitioned for the commission to craft Kvenel the Tongue's new weapon. And again, despite her best efforts, Haman was chosen instead of her. Enraged, she did the only thing she could think of. Coldheart embraced the very stories she had been telling about Forgefire and prayed to a Daedric Prince for aid and assistance. She prayed to Molag Bal.\nFor five days and five nights, Coldheart remained at her own forge, begging Molag Bal to answer her prayers. On the morning of the sixth day, the Lord of Brutality answered her call. But it was never a simple matter to ask a Daedric Prince for a favor. Molag Bal, especially, requires that a cost must always be paid. For Gerhild Coldheart, that cost had to be paid in blood. \"Kill the smith with a blade crafted by your own hand,\" Molag Bal promised, \"and I shall make you more famous than Forgefire could ever hope to be.\"\nHaman Forgefire completed Okin, and it was spectacular. He delivered it to Kvenel just in time for his next journey. When Haman returned to his smithy, he saw Coldheart standing before his furnace, silhouetted in the glow of the fire. \"Did you enjoy the adoration of the great Nord hero, Haman?\" Coldheart asked. \"I do hope so. For it is the last honor you will receive in this life.\"\nColdheart spun and plunged her sword into Forgefire's heart. The master smith stumbled, falling into the intense fire burning in his own furnace. His body, engulfed in flames, burned for three days and was not consumed. During that time, Coldheart screamed that she could hear Forgefire's cries of pain no matter how far she ran. Kvenel proclaimed that Gerhild Coldheart was the worst villain of the age and brought her before the Thane of Windhelm to be executed for her crime. For that one moment, she had indeed become more famous than Haman Forgefire.\nWhen Coldheart's head was separated from her body, Forgefire\u2014smithy and all\u2014disappeared from Tamriel. To this very day, it is said that Haman Forgefire stalks the shadows of Coldharbour, seeking to finally get revenge against the jealous and traitorous Gerhild Coldheart. And anyone else who happens to get in his way."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/legend-shalug-shark": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/legend-shalug-shark", "description": "The beginnings of a thug's legacy", "author": "Adandora", "title": "Legend of Shalug the Shark", "text": "Commissioned by the Leader of the Shark's Teeth\nAnd written by Adandora, Chronicler at Large\nWho's the biggest, baddest, brashest thug in Abah's Landing? Shalug the Shark, that's who! In her own words, she leads the largest and strongest band of cutthroats in the city, and she isn't shy about tooting her own horn. But who is Shalug? And who are the Shark's Teeth? Let me recount the legend of the Shark for all the world to marvel at.\nShalug is a humble Orc from humble beginnings. She fled the mountains of Wrothgar at the first opportunity, working her way south aboard whatever ship she could find passage on. Soon, Shalug earned the name, \"the Shark,\" as she jumped from one pirate crew to the next in order to find her fame and fortune. But despite her successes and her growing infamy, Shalug decided that a life on the sea wasn't in her best interests. \"Too many waves,\" Shalug told me. \"And too many captains.\"\nLooking to become her own boss, Shalug eventually found herself in Abah's Landing. Always the toughest one around, she soon attracted a growing number of followers to her side. In time, her little gang became a small army, and the Shark's Teeth was born. With a thriving business in protection and stolen goods, Shalug and her gang took control of an out-of-the-way grotto that had long ago been abandoned by the colonists who tried to make a home of the place. It wasn't long before the place became known as Shark's Teeth Grotto, a place feared by pirates and guards alike due to the power of Shalug's gang.\nWriter's Note: Shalug, while everything you've told me has a modicum of truth to it, I can't help but believe that you've exaggerated certain details to make yourself sound more prominent than you really are. The journalist in me cannot, in good conscience, continue to take your gold or put these fabrications to paper. I'm leaving you with what I've done so far. I'm certain you'll be able to find someone with fewer scruples who would be happy to complete it for you."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/legend-thane-icehammer": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/legend-thane-icehammer", "description": "A Nord legend of a mighty warrior who had incurred the wrath of Hircine", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Legend of Thane Icehammer", "text": "Long ago in ages past, Thane Icehammer of Cragwallow walked the land. He was a jovial and boisterous Nord, loved by the people and trusted for his wisdom and good cheer. As with most legends that start like this, the good times didn't last.\nFor Thane Icehammer, the change began when he returned from an extended hunting trip to the Yorgrim River basin. He was no longer cheerful and loud, but had inexplicitly become dour and short-tempered. And as the months went by, his mood only became more foul and his temper more dark.\n\"What has caused such change in my husband?\" Matron Icehammer demanded, and she turned to the Keepers of Kynesgrove for advice and assistance.\nThe Keepers sent a young acolyte to investigate the situation. She spent a day and a night with Thane Icehammer, observing his actions, asking him questions, and trying to ascertain what had happened to make the Thane become so bitter and angry.\nFinally, after many long hours together, the acolyte noticed a dark stain spreading from Thane Icehammer's side and across his tunic. She ripped away his shirt. A festering wound that would not heal was carved into his side, the glowing tip of a spear jutting from it. \"He said his name was Hircine,\" the Thane wailed. \"He said I should never have hunted the were-creatures, but how was I supposed to know what they were?\"\nThen, his anger overcoming him, Thane Icehammer struck out and killed Kyne's acolyte. Devastated by her husband's actions, Matron Icehammer ordered the Cragwallow Watch to subdue the Thane. He fled, however, and they chased him to the ancient burial vault beneath the nearby mountains. The Watch, prepared to enter the vault after him, were called back by the Matron. \"No,\" she said sadly, \"I won't risk more lives to save a monster. Seal the vault.\"\nAnd with that, Thane Icehammer was entombed\u2014wounded by a Daedric Prince, but still alive.\u00a0\n\tThey say Thane Icehammer still stalks the chambers of the vault, fueled by an unending rage and the magic of Hircine's spear."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/legend-ghost-snake": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/legend-ghost-snake", "description": "Observations on the \"Ghost Snake\" of the Deshaan Magribash", "author": "Bonorion the Wanderer", "title": "Legend of the Ghost Snake", "text": "Observations on the Mabrigash\nfrom the journals of Bonorion the Wanderer, 2E 568\nIn Deshaan, I encountered a strange tribe of Dark Elf Ashlanders. They call themselves Mabrigash. Unlike their Vvardenfell brethren, this tribe is not nomadic and appears to have settled in an isolated region of Deshaan, a location they call the Vale of the Ghost Snake. I believe they have concocted the story of the perilous Ghost Snake to discourage outsiders from lingering too long in their village. Although, frankly, their rudeness, which rivals that of any of the more civilized Dark Elves I have ever met, is more than enough to drive outsiders away. However, my curiosity about this isolated tribe steeled me against their attitude. I remained nearby for a time, watching them and recording my observations. Forthwith, here are my findings on the Mabrigash:\nThe Mabrigash do not welcome visitors.\nThe Mabrigash appears to be a matriarchal society, and their females are definitely more dominant than males. They also seem to outnumber the males by a factor of three or four to one. I wouldn't say this society hates males, but they certainly don't trust them or like them very much. At least as far as I can tell.\nThey claim a Ghost Snake gives them advice and watches over the Vale. I believe they use this so-called \"Ghost Snake\" to scare visitors away and to keep the village population in line.\nIt appears they sacrifice their own tribe members to this mythical deity. The tribal elders encourage trials to honor this \"Ghost Snake,\" and many of these end in the death of the participants.\nHere is the legend of the Ghost Snake, as it was told to me by a charming little lady of some six or seven years of age. She approached me with absolutely no fear or hesitation. She asked me why I was being so creepy and watching them all the time. At least, that was the gist of it. My understanding of the Mabrigash dialect is rudimentary, at best. I deflected her question with one of my own. \"What is this Ghost Snake I keep hearing about?\" I asked her.\n\"Follow the Coiled Path and you'll find out,\" she replied with a bat of her cute little eyelashes. \"The Ghost Snake offers advice and protection, as long as we care for the Vale,\" she continued. \"Everybody knows that.\" She went on to tell me that the Ghost Snake was the combined spiritual essence of the tribe's female ancestors, given spectral form by the belief and respect of the living tribe members. Or that it was a creepy dead snake that liked to haunt the Vale and eat innocent Mabrigash children. She spoke very fast, and as I've said before, my mastery of the dialect was far from perfect.\nFrom an economic perspective, the tribe crafts unique snakeskin leather. They use this leather for everything, from clothing to packs to a simple armor. They are, however, unwilling to sell or trade this wonderful material to outsiders\u2014or even to the men of their own tribe. Everyone involved could make a fortune if the Mabrigash could be convinced to open trade with the outside world.\nI met a Mabrigash scout on patrol. She threatened to \"toss me to the ghosts and serpents on the Coiled Path.\" Fortunately, my speed and tree-climbing skills far exceeded hers, so I was able to avoid this savage ceremonial rite. Additional observation leads me to the conclusion that the tribe subsists on a diet primarily consisting of snake meat. This may contribute to their uncontrollably hostile demeanor.\nAfter several days camping nearby and continuing my observations, a rather fearsome Mabrigash warrior visited me. He said he was the Gulakhan. He said the only reason they had not simply tossed me to the serpents within the Vale was that the Farseer labeled me a hapless idiot. I am sure I missed something in the translation of the message. When I asked to meet with the Farseer, this Gulakhan's hand seemed to tighten on the hilt of the rather nasty-looking sword that hung at his side. It was then I decided that my time among the Mabrigash Tribe had come to an end.\n***\nAnnotation from Nuros Raloro, Tribunal Scholar Priest, Mournhold 2E 576\nThis utterly ludicrous \"observation\" was found abandoned near the border to Stonefalls some years ago. The Bosmer chronicler Bonorion does not appear to have the wit of a five-year-old child when it comes to accurately recording unusual events or peoples. He resorts to making things up or taking wild leaps of illogic to come to his so-called \"conclusions.\" This document has been preserved within the Tribunal library and copies have been distributed, as he did at least conduct some conversations with the Mabrigash, and information on this tribe remains scarce."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/legend-yokudan-chargers": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/legend-yokudan-chargers", "description": "Advertisement for Aswala Stables", "author": "Honnorah af-Lahreq", "title": "Legend of the Yokudan Chargers", "text": "The Gallants of Hammerfell are known far and wide as Tamriel's finest sword-wielders, but they are known equally well for their skill as riders of horses. A Redguard Gallant is nearly always depicted with a sword in one hand, and the reins of a loyal steed in the other.\n\n\t\t\u00a0\n\n\t\tAnd no breed of horse is more closely associated with the Knights of the Desert than the Yokudan Charger. Indeed, the Yokudan Charger is the mightiest of breeds, the pride of all who trade in horseflesh in Hammerfell. Faced with the heat and harsh terrain of the Alik'r, lesser horses falter and die, while the Yokudan Charger survives, even thrives. The Charger reacts to a challenge like his rider the Gallant: head up, nostrils flaring, ever prepared to show his or her mettle.\n\n\t\t\u00a0\n\n\t\tHere at Aswala Stables we breed and sell only Yokudan Chargers of certified descent, steeds of proven lineage that count among their forebears the horses Yaghoub the Seafarer brought in his fleet from Akos Kasaz. We are a little bit off the beaten track, but we count ourselves lucky to be situated in the awe-inspiring heart of our magnificent Alik'r Desert, and when you see the steeds we have on offer we think you'll agree it's worth the trek.\u00a0\n\n\t\t\u00a0\n\n\t\tThe Yokudan Charger: a grand tradition, and for us, a sacred trust. Come, accept the hospitality of Aswala Stables, and judge for yourself\nThe Gallants of Hammerfell are known far and wide as Tamriel's finest sword-wielders, but they are known equally well for their skill as riders of horses. A Redguard Gallant is nearly always depicted with a sword in one hand, and the reins of a loyal steed in the other.\n\nAnd no breed of horse is more closely associated with the Knights of the Desert than the Yokudan Charger. Indeed, the Yokudan Charger is the mightiest of breeds, the pride of all who trade in horseflesh in Hammerfell. Faced with the heat and harsh terrain of the Alik'r, lesser horses falter and die, while the Yokudan Charger survives, even thrives. The Charger reacts to a challenge like his rider the Gallant: head up, nostrils flaring, ever prepared to show his or her mettle.\n\nHere at Aswala Stables we breed and sell only Yokudan Chargers of certified descent, steeds of proven lineage that count among their forebears the horses Yaghoub the Seafarer brought in his fleet from Akos Kasaz. We are a little bit off the beaten track, but we count ourselves lucky to be situated in the awe-inspiring heart of our magnificent Alik'r Desert, and when you see the steeds we have on offer we think you'll agree it's worth the trek.\n\nThe Yokudan Charger: a grand tradition, and for us, a sacred trust. Come, accept the hospitality of Aswala Stables, and judge for yourself\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/legends-forest": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/legends-forest", "description": "", "author": "The Sisters Glumm", "title": "Legends of the Forest", "text": "The haunted woods of the forests of Icewind Peaks have long been home to strange stories and stranger creatures. We've collected these stories into this volume, writing down what was previously passed on by word of mouth and around Nord campfires in the dead of night.\nThe Voices in the Woods\nBroggo the Small wasn't a large Nord. He wasn't a fast Nord. He wasn't even a strong Nord. But Broggo made up for his shortcomings by being something that many Nords aren't: Broggo was smart. He took the time to consider everything he ever did, refusing to give in to the passions that drive most others of his kin. And that eventually saved his life.\nOne day, Broggo the Small happened to get separated from his companions. He found himself lost and alone in the Haunted Wood. As he wandered along, becoming increasingly scared and hungry, Broggo stumbled into a clearing among the trees. He decided to rest for a bit, stretching out upon a relatively flat, smooth stone bathed in the afternoon sun. It didn't take long for Broggo to fall fast asleep.\nHe awoke later, opening his eyes to find that night had fallen across the forest. Something had pulled him from sleep: a sound. It was like the whispering of young women. And giggling. He was certain that someone or something had giggled, but he seemed to be alone in the clearing, illuminated by the pale glow of the quarter moon above. Broggo was straining to see into the darkness beyond the clearing when the whispers resumed.\n\"Oh, look at his adorable roots!\" said a voice in the woods.\n\"And his golden leaves!\" said another.\n\"He's mine, sister. I saw him first.\"\n\"You got the last one! This one is for me!\"\nBroggo nearly fainted when the two ghostly forms materialized at the edge of the clearing, near the large gorapple tree. A pair of forest spirits were arguing over him. He didn't know whether to be frightened or flattered, although he did know that mortals and spirits shouldn't mix. He didn't think he could get very far by running through the forest in the dark. He was certain he couldn't fight the spirits, so Broggo had only one option.\n\"Hello,\" Broggo called to the spirits. \"Would you like to play a game?\"\nAt first, the spirits appeared shy and even a little frightened of Broggo. They weren't used to mortals talking to them directly, but they slowly began to engage with the Nord, sometimes while visible and sometimes as disembodied voices in the darkness, Broggo described a wondrous game that used cards and dice and clay chips. It was like no game that either of the spirits had ever heard of, or any Nord, for that matter. Broggo was making things up as he spoke.\nSoon, the forest spirits were huddled close to Broggo, listening intently to every word the small Nord said.\nFinally, they shouted in unison, \"We want to play!\"\n\"Alas,\" Broggo said with great disappointment, \"I don't have any cards or dice or clay chips. I left them in my wagon, back with my traveling companions. And I don't know where the wagon is.\"\n\"No problem!\" said the first spirit.\n\"We can show you where the wagon has gone!\"\nAnd that's just what the spirits did. Of course, they weren't happy when Broggo, reunited with his companions, drove off the spirits. As the wagon rolled out of the Haunted Wood, Broggo pulled out a journal and started writing.\n\"What are you doing?\" asked one of his traveling companions.\n\"I had the best idea for a game this evening. I want to write it down while the memory is fresh.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/legionarys-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/legionarys-journal", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Legionary's Journal", "text": "Captain Siro is arguing with that woman from the Cult again. It's a shame, seeing command shackle the captain with a \"special envoy.\" A spotless record for years, then one little loss and the Tharns come down like a hammer. We're Imperial soldiers. We don't need babysitters."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/leimaer-ravens-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/leimaer-ravens-journal", "description": "", "author": "Leimaer the Raven", "title": "Leimaer the Raven's Journal", "text": "The Konunleikar continues, if such a name could be given to the celebration of a false king. The Stormfist clan participates in this farce so I can deliver my lord's message to the cursed Jorunn \u2026 and so I can see his face as realization sinks in, like a dagger in his heart.\nWhile I would normally find cheating unacceptable, these games have no honor. We must act quickly. I have hidden caches throughout the city. Members of the clan can use the contents against the other competitors.\nThere are four caches, hidden where our clan brothers and sisters can find them. I have recorded their\u00a0locations in the following verse:\nBetween a moon that's cold and a wizard's hoard.\nBehind a cracked henge stone, west and breezy.\nAt the rear of Windhelm's only abstaining Nord.\nWhere mount and mare rest calm and easy."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lekka-corpulent-exhumed": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lekka-corpulent-exhumed", "description": "A Gravestone", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Lekka the Corpulent (Exhumed)", "text": "LEKKA the Corpulent\nOLD as the Hist\nThis MOTHER of Murkmire\nSCHOLAR of Our Ways\nShe Died of HEARTBREAK"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lens-golden-eye": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lens-golden-eye", "description": "Praise to Hermaeus Mora, the Golden Eye", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Lens of the Golden Eye", "text": "Shunned by most of the crude and ignorant Daedric Princes, the Golden Eye cares little for caprice and whimsy.\nWhile the likes of Clavicus Vile and Boethiah scheme and meddle, the Golden Eye watches. When mad Sheogorath, in his eternal dementia, wastes his power on folly, the Golden Eye meticiously documents his mania.\nGive praise to him! Devote your energy, your mind, your soul to Hermaeus Mora! In doing so, your name will be more than a mere footnote in the endless libraries of Apocrypha.\nWhen your flesh is no more, may he grant you admittance into his hall of all knowledge, so that you may thirst for it nevermore."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/leonces-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/leonces-journal", "description": "", "author": "Leonce", "title": "Leonce's Journal", "text": "I can't believe how much gold Northpoint is willing to pay for a few dirty Orcs. Just a few more days, and I can go far away and spend my earnings in peace.\nIn the meantime, I convinced our coward of a mayor to mobilize the Fell's Brigade, giving me all the power I need to manipulate opinions here in Fell's Run and acquire the captives my benefactor to the north is willing to pay so handsomely to receive.\nWe continue to abduct Orcs, and I've even allowed the troops to steal whatever they want from the town. Then we blame the Orcs! It's a perfect scheme, if I do say so myself. I've promised the troops that they can divide up the stolen goods when we're finished inciting trouble. Maybe I'll even keep my promise, when all is said and done. I will take my own cut of the profits, of course.\nUntil then, however, we'll use the basement of this lovely inn to store the stolen goods.\nThe Wood Elf actually looked mad enough to attack me when I commandeered the premises. How amusing she was, screaming and waving her tiny fists in the air! Displaying her deed of ownership as though a piece of fancy parchment was going to keep me from taking over the Run Inn. Perhaps I won't burn the place to the ground when we're finished here. Or perhaps I shall. It will depend upon my mood at the time, I suppose."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lerineauxs-concerns": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lerineauxs-concerns", "description": "", "author": "Kath of the Red Nails", "title": "Lerineaux's Concerns", "text": "Captain,\nMartin continues to press us for details. I continue to tell him nothing. We're very deliberately staying out of the Bloodthorn's path. Whatever they have planned, we can't afford to be tarred by that brush.\nMeanwhile, Lerineaux continues to work at the supply chain. We've identified a quartermaster in Wayrest with a drinking problem, and a Sentinel guard captain deep in gambling debts. We're certain we'll be able to start moving shipments across the borders soon.\nStay in touch,\n\t\u2014 Kath of the Red Nails"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lessuns-lerned-garding-caravans": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lessuns-lerned-garding-caravans", "description": "Five things every aspiring caravan guard must know", "author": "Big Dhorlun", "title": "Lessuns Lerned Garding Caravans", "text": "One. Bring plenty of likids to drink even more than you think coz its hot as fire out ther.\nToo. Where a hat or youll get dizzy agin and fall down like your drunk.\nThree. Dont tease the doonrippers there really fast!!!\nFor. Dont leave your kebabs on the ground even on a clean flat rock coz ants.\nFive. A jackel wont play fetch."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-vittoria": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-vittoria", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Letter for Vittoria", "text": "Vittoria,\nSaulinia's assassins got me in the gut. Found a place to hide, but don't have long.\nCheck the well. Hid a key in the bucket.\nUnlocks cellar door in the stable. That's your way to Calo and the rest of the Irregulars.\nI always loved you."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-prison-guard": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-prison-guard", "description": "The explorer gets lost (and loses his notebook) whole exploring a draugr-infested barrow", "author": "Narsis Dren", "title": "Letter from a Prison Guard", "text": "If you find this notebook, then I have indeed misplaced it. Again. Know that this notebook belongs to the famous treasure hunter and dungeon-delver, Narsis Dren. If you would be so kind, the next time you happen to be in Mournhold, please drop it off with the proprietor of the Flaming Netch cornerclub. He will make sure it gets back to me, no matter where my next adventure happens to take me.\nSo here I am, forced to create my own record of the adventure I am tentatively referring to as \"Narsis Dren and the Exile's Barrow,\" because my scribe and apprentice has decided to wait outside. To be fair, I told her to remain at our camp, but that's rarely stopped her from following me before. Now she decides to listen to me! Ah well. I've recorded my own thoughts before. Back before I became the famous and beloved explorer I am today. It might even be fun!\n* * *\nI've been wandering around in this damn barrow for hours! I've seen all kinds of interesting, old Nord relics, and the place is just filled with crypts and stone coffins, but I haven't seen hide nor hair of the real prize I expect to find in this barrow\u2014a dragon priest mask! From the evidence I've been able to examine, I'm certain that a dragon priest is somehow associated with this misplaced burial pit. After all, why else would the Nords build this place so far from their beloved Skyrim? I need to search a bit more before I call it a day.\n* * *\nWell, that was unexpected. I'm not exactly sure what I touched, but I must have done something. The Nord dead have started to wake up! They're draugr! And do you know how much I hate draugr? Well, I really do hate them\u2014almost as much as my servant Borfree hates spiders! I need to get out of here and figure out a new strategy. And I guess I should warn the nearby village. Just to be polite."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-abnur-tharn": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-abnur-tharn", "description": "The Chancellor summons all able heroes to Elsweyr", "author": "Abnur Tharn", "title": "Letter from Abnur Tharn", "text": "I am Abnur Tharn, battlemage and former advisor to the Emperor, and I am calling for allies to join me in the Khajiiti homeland and assist the Khajiiti Defense Force to stop a rage of Dragons.\nThis terrible danger sweeps through Northern Elsweyr, the province the Khajiit refer to as Anequina. I have decided to offer my services to Lord Gharesh-ri, the Speaker of the Mane, to help their homeland in this time of great need. I cannot deal with this threat by myself.\nIf you have sword or spell and a desire to test yourself against the ultimate enemy, find me in the town of Riverhold, at K'har Zhab Hall.\nAnd, no, this is not a prank. The Dragons have returned.\nAbnur Tharn"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-agenor": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-agenor", "description": "A letter the opposition leader in Skyrim. Mentions Skuldafn", "author": "Agenor", "title": "Letter From Agenor", "text": "My Lord Fildgor,\nThe contingent of Stormfist warriors you assigned to my command perform superbly. We've been disrupting trade and travel throughout the area, just as you ordered. When you give the signal, we'll begin the march toward Windhelm. We'll be in position to surround the city when the time comes to attack.\nI wish I could be with you at Skuldafn, but I understand how important my mission is and why you entrusted me with accomplishing it.\nI can't wait to bend my knee before you and witness the moment when you take your place upon the throne. If you would honor me with the task, I would love to make your cursed brother Jorunn pay for his crimes against you.\nThat milk-drinking bard! How he defeated you in battle is beyond me, Strong-Prince. You should have torn him apart like a rag doll. I know he cheated. I just know it!\nWe cleared the Goblins out of the Bastard's Tomb and have turned the place into a rather comfortable headquarters for the Brigade. But I'm afraid the soft living is starting to make my troops lazy. Don't worry, though. I'll beat that out of them quickly.\nMy troops are itching to do more than maraud across the countryside. We long for a real battle against worthy opponents! Hopefully, the skeevers guarding Windhelm will provide just the challenge we need.\nUntil I am once again by your side, I remain,\n\t\u2014 Agenor Storm-Blade"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-ajim-jaa": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-ajim-jaa", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Letter from Ajim-Jaa", "text": "Mach-Taeed,\nI need you to take a second away from your carvings and really listen. As your egg-brother, it's up to me to look after you and make sure you don't fall into trouble. And I can't think of any bigger trouble to avoid than that Shadowscale who calls herself arbitrator.\nShe may seem docile enough at first, what with her advance age and blindness, but there's still a hard look in those white eyes of hers. Don't forget, Shadowscales are trained since their hatching to do one thing, and that's kill. Without hesitation, without remorse. I can guaranteed that she has killed before, and I can also damn well guarantee she'll kill again.\nJust keep your distance, all right? And if you see her in the street, treat her with respect. Because if she decides you're dead, even your savvy egg-brother won't able to save you.\n-Ajim-Jaa"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-althen": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-althen", "description": "", "author": "Gerard Althen", "title": "Letter from Althen", "text": "Turenn,\nAfter so many years of lying low, I thought they had forgotten about me, but it seems that's not the case. The Ring of Daggers is still after me and they're closing in. One of their agents is asking questions around Moira's Hope and I need to escape.\nIn the short term, I am prepared. I have a hideout within the central crypt of the Sanguine Barrows. I can seal myself within and survive for some time, but I need you to come as soon as possible. I am hoping you can help me relocate and assume a new identity once again.\nP.S.: Watch out for the trolls!\n\t\u2014 Gerard Althen"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-altholmir": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-altholmir", "description": "A letter mentioning the disappearance of Falinesti", "author": "Altholmir", "title": "Letter from Altholmir", "text": "My dearest,\nAnother month come and gone and no sign of Falinesti. I received letters from the Summer site with the same news. I fear we may never see the city in our lifetime. How does this happen? How does an entire city just vanish? Questions we've asked a hundred times and still no answer.\nPerhaps we should abandon our watch once and for all. We had lives, once, lives we could return to. Please write soon and let me know what you think. I miss you and the children. We could reunite in Elden Root and at least \u2026 for a time \u2026 be together.\nWrite soon,\n\tAltholmir"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-baron-materre": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-baron-materre", "description": "Schemes against Emeric and trade with Orsinium", "author": "Baron Marette", "title": "Letter from Baron Materre", "text": "Son,\nMy agents in Windhelm inform me that King Jorunn has dispatched a trading party to Orsinium. They could reach the Orc city before you. Loathe as I am to allow those Pact skeevers to secure the trading rights that High-King Emeric so desperately wants, I would rather deal with Nords than with those green beasts of Wrothgar. Those of us among the true Breton aristocracy have to wonder what Emeric is really up to, what with his Covenant and other plans.\nYour wife is a lovely woman, to be sure, but her politics make her place the interests of savages ahead of true Bretons. You need to help her chose the correct path, son. True Bretons know that Wrothgar should be under Breton rule, not awarded to the Orcs.\nI know you worry, but if you keep your own counsel and listen to your father, everything will work out.\nYour father, Baron Materre"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-bashshi-ra": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-bashshi-ra", "description": "A letter mentioning Senche in Valenwood", "author": "Bashshi-ra", "title": "Letter from Bashshi-ra", "text": "My most delightful friend,\nI understand you have been having some difficulty of late with your senche-tigers. I want to assure you you have my deepest sympathies. Valenwood can be such a wild place, full of thieves and scoundrels and terrible mystical forces beyond our control.\nIn fact, it is because of my deep sympathy for your troubles that I wanted you and you alone to know of a lucrative discovery I have recently made. There's an old cave that the Valenwood Bosmer won't go near. They call it the Harridan's Lair because of some old Wood Elf fable. I can assure you it is just a myth. I have been there many times now and never encountered any sort of \"Harridan.\"\nBut I digress. My point is, there are senche-tigers in this lair. A great many of them. So many that an enterprising individual such as yourself could easily turn a tidy profit capturing them, breeding them, and selling them to yours truly (and other wise businessmen, of course.)\nYou are the only one I've told, but I won't be able to keep this secret exclusive for long!\n\t\u2014 Bashshi-ra"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-berfonas": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-berfonas", "description": "A letter mentioning the Silvenar and Green Lady", "author": "Berfonas", "title": "Letter from Berfonas", "text": "Raen,\nThings are strange here in Silvenar. More Green Hunters walk the streets than usual, and they're belligerent. I've heard the Green Lady arrived in the city, but we've not seen her. The three spinners are likewise closeted and their messages are cryptic and frightening.\nUrge the Silvenar to come quickly! Rely on speed, not soldiers! They say the Green Lady prepares for the handfast, but who can she marry if not the Silvenar?\nI hope to see you soon. Perhaps I worry for nothing, but something seems wrong in Malabal Tor.\n\u2014 Berfonas"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-camarino": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-camarino", "description": "", "author": "Camarino", "title": "Letter from Camarino", "text": "Dearest sister,\nJust like we thought, Father was the one stealing the loaves from the cupboard. Mother yelled and yelled, and we laughed and laughed. We would have laughed harder with you there.\nGet well, little sis. Auri-El watch over you.\n\t\u2014 Camarino"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-chill-hollow": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-chill-hollow", "description": "", "author": "Hjalo", "title": "Letter from Chill Hollow", "text": "Osa,\nI followed the rumors and found the cave. It's a chill hollow within the rock, full of ice and who knows what else. The legends of treasure must be true as well. I can feel it! Soon, I'll have enough gold for us to buy the farm you always talk about. Then we can finally get married and start our life together. I'll return soon.\nYours forever,\n\tHjalo"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-clan-mother-tadali": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-clan-mother-tadali", "description": "", "author": "Clan Mother Tadali", "title": "Letter from Clan Mother Tadali", "text": "Clan Mother Hizuni,\nNo doubt you heard that the Dragons have been unleashed. They seek others of their kind in the deep places of the world and have even released the Demon from the East. We both knew this day would come, and we both know what it means.\nThe Demon from the East must be destroyed by a warrior filled with the spirit of Alkosh, as was always written. It is time to end this ancient battle, as the Pride of Alkosh was always meant to.\nI hope your chosen warrior is prepared. We cannot fail.\nClan Mother Tadali"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-cyrus-v-nasby": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-cyrus-v-nasby", "description": "An interestingly written letter", "author": "Cyrus V. Nasby", "title": "Letter from Cyrus V. Nasby", "text": "Most Honorable Sirs,\nI am writin to you so as to relate that which I came upon, havin traveled then in Bangkorai and heard sech rumors as can hardly be believed by ears and bein that which reason cannot rightly accept nor admit, lest the eye behold it firsthand, as mine have. To wit, that there was sech a village as where beasts did live in the guise of men, and seemin and actin human, did in all ways put on the mask of civilizashun.\nThis village, I can confirm to all persons, and bein sworn to tell the truth will avow, not only exists, but is the sight of the most horrifyin and unnatural practice. There, in the face of charmin and ordinary folk, these beasts do masquerade and do lure one into the mistaken belief that they are of the human persuasion, even to the point of givin and receivin in marriage. Furthermore, they live in houses constructed of wood and stone, of sech workmanship as can only be concluded that they were claimed after the devourin of the previous innocent citizens of that place, as it is well-known and indisputable to any of sound mind that a beast is incapable of constructin a dwellin sech as befits a human.\nI tell thee, I had barely been in that village a minute when one of these beasts did approach me and with a hunger in his voice did invite me to breakfast. I did not linger to learn what sort of victuals these creeturs had caught in the previous night and planned to serve that morn.\nIt is my humble opinion, based on sech observations as these and on the testimonies which can be heard in any place in Bangkorai, that these persons as they seen fit to call themselves pose no less a threat to the people of that fair region than the wolf does to the unsuspectin sheep, and further that by dressin and carryin themselves in every way as human, they not only diminish the sense of danger their victims might rightly have on approachin, but they also make mockery of civilizashun itself, and so pose a threat not only to Bangkorai but to the very foundashun of our Covenant.\nWith utmost consternashun,\nCyrus V. Nasby"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-dannic": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-dannic", "description": "", "author": "Dannic", "title": "Letter from Dannic", "text": "Ancalmo,\nYou won't believe this. That bumbling Jahadar actually found the skull. It's being held in a cave south of Longhaven. I still can't believe Malangwen managed to lose it just after we took it in the first place. I'm making her come along with me to get it back, with Jahadar to lead the way. If we retrieve it soon enough, we can still follow through with our plan. Meet us as soon as you can, but be careful. Lucretia will be tracking us by now. Let her come. We'll deal with her as soon as we get the skull back.\nThis is our chance for the status we deserve.\n\t\u2014 Dannic"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-duke-nathaniel": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-duke-nathaniel", "description": "Emeric's brother writes on a variety of topics..including their shared fondness for Redguard women", "author": "Nathaniel", "title": "Letter from Duke Nathaniel", "text": "To His Royal Majesty Emeric, High King of the Daggerfall Covenant,\n\tMy Dear Brother,\nAs always, there are several items of note, some related to the security of the kingdom and others of a more personal nature. Please read this privately, and I beg you to exercise discretion in discussing its contents with your advisors.\nOf utmost importance are matters related to security here in Alcaire, and unfortunately, though I have strong concerns, I do not have the convenience of a simple or even a consistent element to which I might ascribe Alcaire's troubles of late.\nAt the time of my last communication, there were only a few reports of these Vaermina cultists, the Supernal Dreamers. Our shared hopes of this being a short-lived problem were not realized. It seems the cultists have grown even bolder\u2014raiding outlying farms and even recruiting citizens to join their mad ranks. The Knights of the Flame have orders to arrest cult members on sight, but we await further instruction from you on how to deal with a threat that has now spread to other regions of Stormhaven.\nThe Knights of the Flame continue to prove invaluable allies and staunch defenders of the realm. They have been instrumental in helping me address the cultist problem and in reacting to an attempt made on the duchess' life by an Alik'r assassin. The leader of the Knights of the Flame, one Sir Hughes, suggested that the order assume responsibility for security here at the castle, and I was relieved to agree. It has been a weight lifted off my shoulders.\nLastly, and most personally, I wish to express my most sincere gratitude for the arrangement of my marriage to Princess Lakana. Though I feared our union of political necessity would be formal and awkward, nothing could be further from the truth. Her warmth and kindness have created an intimacy between us that I never dreamt possible.\nWe both owe you our gratitude and our undying loyalty.\n\tYours truly,\n\tNathaniel\nP.S.: The tricks these Redguard women employ in the bedchamber\u2026! Why didn't you warn me, you old dog?"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-faradan": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-faradan", "description": "Bad news to a mother about her son", "author": "Faradan", "title": "Letter from Faradan", "text": "Dearest Narahni,\nMy inquiries into the whereabouts of your son have finally yielded fruit, but I fear you will find that fruit to be bitter instead of sweet. One of my contacts in [Wayrest/Windhelm/Skywatch], a city in [Stormhaven/Eastmarch/Auridon], located him among a collection of vagrants and wastrels congregating in the worst part of town.\nI'm sorry to say that your concerns regarding your son were confirmed. He has been linked with a group of skooma addicts who loiter near the market, begging for spare pieces of gold. My contact informs me that before he could approach your son to pass along your message, he was assaulted by two men who argued with him briefly before dragging him away. The young woman who was with your son, a disheveled Breton, disappeared into the marketplace during the commotion.\nFollowing up with the local guards, my contact was able to discern that the two men were bounty hunters from Vvardenfell who had documentation linking Tashmin to a crime, but inquiries with officials in Vvardenfell have turned up no evidence of either a crime or bounty on your son. My fear: These men work for House Dres and plan to return your son to a life of slavery.\nI'm sorry this letter doesn't bear better news.\nFaradan"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-gabbi": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-gabbi", "description": "Gabbi writes about Lord Fildgor and his minions", "author": "Gabbi", "title": "Letter from Gabbi", "text": "Agnedir,\nHow's life in the tundra with our cousins the Wood-Hewers? How's the quality of the trees? Are there enough of them to keep you busy? And what about your social life? Meet anyone special yet? Are there even any other people around Bonestrewn Crest, or is it just you and our cousins out there in the middle of nowhere?\nThings here in Windhelm have gotten strange since you left. Did you hear about Fildgor? Can you believe the Skald King's despicable brother has returned to Eastmarch? And with an army of renegade Nords and savage Orcs at his side? It's terrible.\nAlvor sends his love. Tell Selgaard and Jakild that we're thinking about them. But not Kerthor. I'm still angry at him about what happened at last season's harvest festival. Him and those disgusting sour sweets!\nWrite soon!\n\t\u2014Gabbi"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-gorvyn": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-gorvyn", "description": "A letter mentioning the Llodos Plague", "author": "Gorvyn", "title": "Letter from Gorvyn", "text": "To My Dearest Cousin,\nThe trip from Deshaan to Stonefalls was difficult and a little hazardous, but I made it safely. The directions that Dethisam provided me with were perfect. I'll make sure to warn the people here about the Llodos plague. And I'll make sure the healers are ready to deal with the illness\u2014at least as well as they're able. You can count on me!\nI hope things are going well at the Serk. Try to stay healthy and I'll see you soon.\nSincerely,\n\tGorvyn"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-gothurg": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-gothurg", "description": "Gothurg's sister has an unhealthy interest in trolls", "author": "Gothurg", "title": "Letter from Gothurg", "text": "Grularz,\nYou have always been a dreamer, my sister, and I've love that about you. As mad as some of your schemes have been, I have always tried to encourage you.\nBut this time is different. Trolls are dangerous creatures! I fear that this dream will be your last if you do not abandon it and come home. Since you have refused me several times now, I assume this letter will also fail to change your mind, so I am just going to have to let go. I will always love you, sister.\n\u2014 Gothurg"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-karpu-sa": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-karpu-sa", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Letter From Karpu-sa", "text": "Honored Clan-Mother,\nThe roads are dangerous of late. Bandits attack without fear of reprisal, and harpies, driven to roost by the storm, strike without warning.\nThese developments have driven this one to hire a pair of mercenaries. Both are hardy walkers, so please triple this one's order this month.\nPlease, do not worry about protecting the shipment. An escort will arrive before the next crescent.\n\tMagrus smile upon your fields by day, Jone and Jode dance over them by night.\n\u2014 <<1>>"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-kireth": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-kireth", "description": "A letter to Vvardenfell from the interpret Dwemer explorer", "author": "Kireth Vanos", "title": "Letter from Kireth", "text": "Dear Cousin Deminah,\nI hope this letter reaches you in good health and good fortune. How are things in Vvardenfell? Maybe Raynor and I will come and visit when we're finished with our business in Hammerfell. If we ever get to Hammerfell, that is. Let me tell you about our latest adventure. And yes, it's all Raynor's fault, as usual.\nWe received word of a new Dwarven ruin discovered near Tava's Blessing and Raynor was eager to get there as quickly as possible. While I secured supplies for the trip, Raynor went to negotiate passage to Sentinel. But you know how he gets. Excited and caught up in a new discovery. That's when he lets things slip. He meant to get us on a boat to Hammerfell, but somehow we ended up on a ship making its way to Anvil. And that's where we are, without a spare gold piece to our name and no prospects for getting to Hammerfell in the near future.\nOh, don't worry. We'll think of something. We always do. And we've never visited Anvil before. There are so many pirates! I think you'd like it here. You always had a bit of pirate in you, from what I recall during our last visit. And how's your husband doing? Still trying to make a living selling that vile concoction he calls wine? Seriously, dear cousin, you could do so much better!\nWell, I have to run. We're going to try to find employment in this wretched city so we can earn enough gold to pay for a trip to Sentinel. Wish us luck! And when we come to visit you, I'll make sure to bring a carafe of shein - I know you don't like your husband's swill any better than I do!\nKireth V."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-lady-lleraya": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-lady-lleraya", "description": "House Montclair is poised to take over", "author": "LLM", "title": "Letter from Lady Lleraya", "text": "Captain Kordella,\nYou must be aware of my father's campaign to reclaim the Crown of Shornhelm. Soon, all of Rivenspire shall bow to House Montclair.\nNow for my offer. Pledge your forces to me and help us topple the houses of Dorell and Tamrith, or on my mother's grave I shall see the Bitterhands destroyed.\nIn other matters, how's that fetching maiden of yours? If I recall, she had an adorable mole just above her luscious lips. Perhaps I could borrow her. As a gesture of good faith.\nI look forward to your timely response.\n\u2014LLM"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-lenwe": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-lenwe", "description": "", "author": "Lenwe", "title": "Letter from Lenwe", "text": "Son, don't worry. I know you were scared when you went down there, but everything will be all right.\n\tYour friend from down the road just got the salve yesterday. Maybe he'll be joining you soon? I know you wouldn't want him to get sick, but I'd feel better with someone watching out for you.\nKeep yourself safe, and dream of the Stars.\nWe'll see you soon.\n\t\u2014 Lenwe"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-lord-oursin-materre": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-lord-oursin-materre", "description": "A father instructs his son to sabotage the Breton-Orc alliance", "author": "Ourin Materre", "title": "Letter from Lord Oursin Materre", "text": "Son,\nRumor has it that Jorunn has\u00a0 dispatched a Pact trading party to Orsinium. With some careful timing, they will arrive first. Loathe as I am to allow those Pact skeevers to get the first trading rights for any of the valuable veins, they are better than those green beasts that fancy themselves human.\nI know you are fond of your wife, and I assure you, no blame will fall on her. But she, and those others in Breton society, should know better than to extend any liberties to the Orcs. They are uncivilized and dull-witted.\u00a0 Battle, blood, and betrayal is all that the future holds with any so-called \"alliance\" with these creatures.\nTrue Bretons know that Wrothgar should be under Breton rule, not given over to the Orcs. The delay will be an embarrassment for Emeric and allow us to put pressure on him to alter his policies.\nI know you worry, but if you keep your own counsel, and listen to the father that has always guided you, you will see that by small steps, larger changes can be made.\n-Your loving Father, Lord Materre the Elder\nPS:\u00a0 I shouldn't have to remind you, but make sure you destroy this note."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-lyris": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-lyris", "description": "Communique from Lyris to her partner in Solitude, about the plan of the Ice Reach Coven", "author": "Lyris Titanborn", "title": "Letter from Lyris", "text": "Partner,\nWe've gathered evidence the Ice Reach Witches are behind these harrowstorms. I'm heading to Solitude to inform Queen Gerhyld. She seems reasonable and she can keep me from starting a war if High King Svargrim continues to refuse to see me.\nMeet me in Solitude and we can talk with her together.\nLyris Titanborn"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-magistrix-vox": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-magistrix-vox", "description": "Letter mentioning the Dres/Maulborn alliance", "author": "Vox", "title": "Letter from Magistrix Vox", "text": "My dear Manivol,\nHouse Dres' support of my Maulborn initiative warms my heart. And your generous contributions of gold and resources assure our success.\nThe Three will be revealed as the false gods they are and Morrowind will be free!\n\t\u2014Vox"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-minique": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-minique", "description": "", "author": "Minique", "title": "Letter from Minique", "text": "We tried to smuggle in some Springwater wine to help bolster your spirits. The guards took it from us, though.\n\tDon't worry: As soon as you're out of there, we'll throw you a great, big party. Drinks on me.\n\u2014 Minique"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-mirudda": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-mirudda", "description": "", "author": "Mirudda", "title": "Letter from Mirudda", "text": "You shouldn't have to be reminded of our agreement, but this one seems to find herself in a position where she has to.\nWe haven't had any fresh travelers through here for weeks. If we don't have travelers to ambush, we don't get any gold or valuables, which in turn means you get nothing.\nYou have four days to send goods our way before Huzal starts to get hungry.\n\t\u2014 Mirudda"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-oleenla": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-oleenla", "description": "", "author": "Oleenla", "title": "Letter from Oleenla", "text": "Egg sister,\nRain strikes stone as I write this. Thunder echoes, yet no lightning arcs the sky. A strange sort of storm, to be sure.\nWe had hoped to make the pass at Mud Tree, but weather and hardship have forced us through Alten Corimont. I had not hoped to write until Hissmir and am glad for the diversion.\nThe storm intensifies. Some chatter about monsters in the dark, but I know better. Here, monsters wait quietly in the shallows. They do not crash through foliage. They do not bellow into the night. When Sithis takes us, we do not hear him coming.\nMy lids droop like sodden boughs and I must rest. Send my regards to Teemata. May your path be fertile and kissed by sun.\nStay moist,\n\tOleenla"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-paheiza": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-paheiza", "description": "", "author": "Paheiza", "title": "Letter from Paheiza", "text": "Nurhei,\nNo matter how many times the mire-gnat bites at the crocodile, he continues on his way. So it is with your threats to myself and my egg-sister. Yes, I have debts to you, but my means of producing gold will not quicken by intimidation alone.\nI need but a little more time. Keema-Ru knows that our farm suffers, and will soon agree to sell it. This is when all debts will be paid to you.\nPaheiza"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-peverel": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-peverel", "description": "Peverel is having trouble with Orcish diplomacy", "author": "Peverel Stemuseph", "title": "Letter from Peverel", "text": "Lady Delatte,\nThese Stonetooth Orcs are intractable! They have no regard for \"Outlanders,\" as they call us. My entreaties for a trading contract have been ignored.\nI know you are loath to give up a possible contract, but nothing is to be gained here! Your informant was correct that no one in Daggerfall has a viable trading contract with these savages. What he left out was that they have no desire for trade.\nGive me leave to return to Daggerfall. The conditions here are dreadful (they don't even have hot tea!) and I have been forced to sleep in my boat for over a week now. I am ready to come home.\nYour servant,\n\t\u2014 Peverel Stemuseph"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-queen-euraxia": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-queen-euraxia", "description": "Instructions for dealing with Abnur Tharn and gaining entrance to the Halls of Colossus", "author": "Queen Euraxia", "title": "Letter from Queen Euraxia", "text": "Captain Calsivius,\nBy now I assume you have reached the ruins of the Halls of Colossus. With the Wrathstone Tablet in my despicable half-brother's possession, we had to rely on other sources to locate the ruins. Luckily, we had the resources of Rimmen Palace at our disposal, which is why you were able to beat Abnur to the hidden location. From this point on, it is imperative that you follow the plan I outlined for you and your team exactly and without any deviation.\nAllow me to reiterate my exact orders. I know how you prefer to improvise when you're in the field. Resist those urges and do as I say.\n* Gain access to the ruins and wait for Abnur to arrive. My half-brother must be allowed to enter the Halls of Colossus with the Wrathstone.\n* Once Abnur carries the Wrathstone over the threshold of the ruins, that should trigger the process that will unlock the vault containing the demon weapon.\n* After that, I do not care what happens to Abnur and any associates he may be traveling with. Just make sure you reach the vault and secure the weapon before my bothersome half-brother gets his hands on it.\nBear in mind, I have only the most superficial understanding of how the tablets work or how long the process to unlock the ancient vault will take. When it does open, there may be a final guardian of some sort that you will have to deal with. Try not to use up all your soldiers or your necromancer before that occurs.\nI am counting on you, Calsivius. Do not disappoint me.\nEuraxia, Queen of Rimmen"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-queen-prolyssa": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-queen-prolyssa", "description": "Letter to the Knights of Watcher's Hold about the Orcs", "author": "Queen Prolyssa", "title": "Letter from Queen Prolyssa", "text": "To the Knights of Watcher's Hold\nT'is not an enviable task to which you have been assigned, but it is most assuredly an honorable one. Once again, our forces have vanquished the Orcs, destroyed their capital, and subjugated their lands. Those who survived have scattered across the region, fleeing back to remote strongholds or journeying to even more distant kingdoms. But rest assured, the day will come when the beasts will return to their homeland and once again try to rebuild their empire. This must not be permitted under any circumstances!\nThis is why we must maintain an eternal vigil in Wrothgar. Should the Orcs return and attempt to rebuild, you must strike them down immediately. It is my intention that each of you should serve at Watcher's Hold for no more than five years. After this time, I will send new Knights to relieve you of your duty there and you may return home to Daggerfall. Upon this, you have my word.\nThank for your service to crown and country,\n\tQueen Prolyssa\n\t10th Hearth Fire 2E 434"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-quintus": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-quintus", "description": "A husband hastens his beloved's research", "author": "Quintus", "title": "Letter from Quintus", "text": "Dearest,\nHave you made any more progress? Are we any closer to discovering the Eye's location? I've sent you some men who owe me favors to assist you. Just direct them as needed.\nYour loving husband,\n\tQuintus\nPS\n\tI do not mean to disrupt your process by hastening you, but I would truly appreciate a swifter pace."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-ragna": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-ragna", "description": "", "author": "Ragna", "title": "Letter from Ragna", "text": "Yrna,\nLife at Tal'Deic Fortress never gets dull! In my previous letter, I told you all about the Dremora that replaced poor General Redoran. Well, now I'm practically running this place!\nOh, the Skald King continues to send me specific agendas to promote and messages to deliver, but Captain Doronil has turned to me to help get the fort back in working order. Maybe things will slow down once a new general is assigned, and then I can come home for a visit. When was the last time I was in Eastmarch? Do you even remember, because I don't!\nI so wanted to get back for the Konunleikar, but that just isn't possible. Will you be participating in any of the games? You used to be fairly decent at archery, if I remember correctly. And flirting with visitors to the city. Is that still an event you can sign up for? (Just kidding, little sister!)\nWell, time to get back to work. I have troops to inspect and all that. Give my best to mother and father.\n\t\u2014 Ragna"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-rakhad": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-rakhad", "description": "", "author": "Rakhad", "title": "Letter from Rakhad", "text": "<<1>>,\nIt has come to our attention that you and your sister have inherited your uncle's old house.\nConsidering your substantial debt to us, it is surprising to us that you are now sitting in the lap of luxury.\n\tPerhaps you should make sure your sister has no interest in keeping that house. Otherwise, I'll have to convince her myself. You and your uncle know how convincing I can be.\n\u2014 Rakhad"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-tamien-sellan": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-tamien-sellan", "description": "Tamien informs his father that his true talents don't lie in magic", "author": "Tamien", "title": "Letter from Tamien Sellan", "text": "Father,\nYou won't understand my reasons for leaving, but you deserve at least to hear them. Maybe you'll reread them eventually and they'll make sense.\nI am not a mage. My talents in magic, by your own contemptuous admission, are weak. My skills lie elsewhere, and I plan to put them to use. I will never be the prodigal mage you hoped for, but you have never heard me sneak in or out of the house, nor do you likely know that I overheard your comments to your wizard friends over dinner. I know you think little of me, and wish I had been born otherwise, but I have not, and I'll spare you the further burden of my company.\nI will send money home, a portion of that I make. Whether you find it proof that I am doing well for myself or simply find it useful to put food on your table matters not to me. Consider it slow repayment for the years you have dealt with the burden of an underachieving son.\nI love you dearly, Father, but I cannot abide your company. Live well.\nYour son,\n\tTamien"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-governor": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-governor", "description": "", "author": "Provincial Governor Fortunata", "title": "Letter from the Governor", "text": "My dear Lord Jarol,\nI look forward to our next meeting. I have always enjoyed our working relationship, and I am ever so grateful that you have agreed to allow us to use the secret chambers beneath your estate for a conversation that needs to remain extremely private.\nOur guests should arrive promptly by the usual means. Please make sure they are comfortable and see to their every need until I make my appearance - fashionably late, of course!\nAnd do try to make sure that Count Carolus and the Primate don't throttle each other senseless before I arrive. We have important business to deal with and I need them both focused on the issues at hand. I don't know how they accomplish anything in Kvatch, the way those two constantly snipe at each other.\nOh, and on your way down, why don't you bring me a bottle of your family's best wine? You do have to pass by that way, after all.\nProvincial Governor Fortunata"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-orsinium-orphanage": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-orsinium-orphanage", "description": "A letter of thanks to a generous donor", "author": "Oorga gra-Shazgul", "title": "Letter from the Orsinium Orphanage ", "text": "Dear Sir,\nI know you prefer to remain anonymous, but I must write to express my thanks. Your tireless work over the last several years to help the Orsinium Orphanage has been beyond generous. The gold and gifts you sent have been put to good use, warming the beds and the hearts of countless Orc children. We have also been able to expand the orphanage itself, making it the finest in all the Daggerfall Covenant.\nOur city's scholars were shocked to see the tomes of Orcish history you tracked down on our behalf. You have restored knowledge to our people that was believed lost for all time. May Mauloch bless you for what you've done.\nOorga gra-Shazgul\nHeadmistress, Orsinium Home for Displaced Children"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-skald-kings-agent": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-skald-kings-agent", "description": "", "author": "B", "title": "Letter from the Skald-King's Agent", "text": "My trusted contact,\nThe information you have provided so far hints at a terrible threat not only to Skyrim, but potentially to all of Tamriel. My liege, Jorunn the Skald-King, wants to stop this threat before it grows in scope and power, but I need more details. I need proof to convince the authorities in Solitude that the threat is real and they need to accept the Skald-King's help. I'm counting on you.\nMeet me near the gates to Solitude, the capital city of Haafingar Hold in Western Skyrim. We'll compare notes and determine our best course of action.\nMay Kyne watch over you.\nB."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-thukhozod": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-thukhozod", "description": "A title passes from father to son", "author": "Thukhozod", "title": "Letter from Thukhozod", "text": "My dearest son,\nI can't tell you how much I've wanted to see you again over these long years. I can only imagine that you've grown to be healthy and strong, I presume Yazoga told you why I had to leave when you were still just a suckling babe. My sanctum is not fit for a child, nor does my work allow me the luxury of being a father. Yazoga has also told you by now that I am the one-and-only Thukhozod\u2014the most feared necromancer in the Wrothgarian mountains. She was instructed to tell you this.\nBut she only knows half the story. The truth is that I am not the one-and-only Thukhozod. I am only the most recent Orc to inherit the title. My given name is Khrogur and I was born to a cobbler in Wayrest. It was my great-uncle who bequeathed me the title of Thukhozod, just as I now bequeath it to you.\nI grow old and I know my time is short. When you become Thukhozod, these Ayleid ruins will respond to you and the creatures here will serve you. Those things alone will give you a life of power greater than you could ever imagine, but it's the name that's the greatest treasure. When people hear the name \"Thukhozod\" they quiver in terror. No one will ever cause you any trouble again.\nAll that's required to inherit your birthright is to mix your blood with mine. I have soaked this very letter with my blood, so you must simply add a drop of your own and the transformation will take place. I hope you enjoy your inheritance as much as I've enjoyed mine.\nYour father"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-tillrani": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-tillrani", "description": "", "author": "Tillrani Snow-Bourne", "title": "Letter from Tillrani", "text": "Rana,\nI'm tired of the excuses. Yesterday's training exercise was shameful. When I was in charge, we never had these problems.\nI think Rolunda would make a better soldier than some of these milk-drinkers!\n\tGet them together. The Pact is depending on us.\n\u2014 Tillrani Snow-Bourne"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-turo": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-turo", "description": "A warning of reprisal for misbehavior", "author": "Turo", "title": "Letter from Turo", "text": "Dearest Daini,\nI made every attempt to turn a blind eye to your mischief here in South Guard. As a final courtesy to your father, I allowed you to remain here, even in your old home, without harassment. But your recent raids on my workers and my property cannot go unpunished.\nI have your friends. Most of them will avoid the noose and live as slaves. Yet another show of kindness on my part. Your brother, however, will swing unless you turn yourself over to me immediately. No delays. No negotiations.\nI regret that it had to come to this. I await your swift surrender. As does your brother.\nSincerely yours,\n\tTuro"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-vila": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-vila", "description": "A Mephala cult meets in the ashlands", "author": "Vila Theran, The Widow", "title": "Letter from Vila", "text": "To Those Who Serve,\nAt last, our time has come. The location of the Spinner's Shrine has been uncovered, and only a handful of mindless brutes stand before us and Her triumph.\nYou are called therefore to join your fellows of the Web to convene beneath the valley northwest of Iliath Temple.\nTravel with caution. Ashlanders assault the temple, and they will not hesitate to attack any outsiders.\n\t\u2014 Vila Theran, The Widow"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-home-0": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-home-0", "description": "Letter from a Dominion soldier to his mother", "author": "Filpinil", "title": "Letter Home", "text": "Dear Mother,\nTomorrow we land at Murkwater. I'm nervous \u2026 sure, I've trained. But this is our first engagement on foreign soil. Well, foreign mud.\nThe soldiers I'm with are a motley band. We Altmer are disciplined and respect the chain of command. But the Renrijra and the Oathbreakers are another story.\nThe Renrijra are Khajiiti privateers. They're very relaxed. No drilling, no inspections \u2026 but if you make one mad, she fights like one fierce bastard. They're good to spend some downtime with, as we did up the coast while we were waiting for the Bosmer. Don't worry, I didn't try any moon sugar.\nEverybody always says the Oathbreakers are Bosmer barbarians. (Except for Captain Pamolwen. Privileges of rank, I guess.) They eat vegetables, carve wood, all of that. You'd think without primitive traditions, they'd be happy, but they're a grim bunch. They and the Khajiit avoid each other.\nI tried their meat alcohol, since we weren't allowed to bring any wine of our own. The \"rotmeth\" was nasty at first, but you get used to it.\nHow will we hold together when we actually land? These Argonians are civilians, but there'll be a lot of them. Shadowfen seems alien and dangerous. Some of the animals, you'd think came from Morrowind. Those who live with such creatures must be pretty tough. Glad we're starting with a soft target.\nGive my love to the cousins.\n\tYour devoted son,\n\tFilpinil"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-resignation": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-resignation", "description": "Angry resignation letter from a Khajiit trooper", "author": "Aishah", "title": "Letter of Resignation", "text": "To the esteemed Captain Juncus,\nAishah is writing today to submit her resignation. This one has served with distinction in the Imperial City guard for more than eight years now. She is grateful for the handful of gold coins she received as compensation each year, and the tremendous promotions that were never offered simply because she is a Khajiit. Had she been treated more fairly, Aishah never would have recognized the opportunities presented during the Coldharbour incursion! Though this one will very much miss the opportunity to kiss her superiors' boots and perform senseless duties, she regrets to say that she now must resign from the guard to pursue new ventures.\nSincerely,\n\tAishah\nP.S. This one hopes the Daedra torture your shaveskin arse for all eternity. You can eat Aishah's smallclothes, you unclawed dungman!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-understanding": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-understanding", "description": "", "author": "Leidela Black-Briar", "title": "Letter of Understanding ", "text": "Ren-dro,\nAs requested, I've included a full listing of the security accommodations that will be in place during your visit to Riften next month.\nNow stop your complaining. I'm serious, this is the last time I submit to one of your ridiculous demands. You milk-drinking cats and your cowardice. Stuff your moons up your arse.\n\u2014 Close-cover bodyguards. Every one is a Nord I trust implicitly. My son will be running the crew.\n\t\u2014 Disguise variety. We'll be able to offer you a different set of robes every day you're in the city. Hope you don't mind pretending to be a Priest of Mara.\n\t\u2014 Your damned food requests. Do you have any idea how much moon-sugar my chef requested to meet your menu requirements?\n\t\u2014 I've reluctantly agreed to host one of your men. This J'darzi has access to our network, and we'll accommodate him as best we can.\nI hope you're satisfied. If you're not, you can whine to me in person next month.\n\t\u2014 Leidela Black-Briar"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-scoundrel": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-scoundrel", "description": "", "author": "Cardia", "title": "Letter to a Scoundrel", "text": "Darius,\nYou have ruined my life. You gambled away my mother's ring and now I find my dearest father murdered by your butchering friends. I cannot bear this any longer. I know that Accalia will never let me leave, so I am getting out the only way I know how.\nMay you rot in your grave, and may it be soon.\n\t\u2014 Cardia"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-abbot-kulan-dro": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-abbot-kulan-dro", "description": "Reassignment to the Temple of the Seven Riddles shouldn't be considered a demotion", "author": "Bishop Valnargo-dro", "title": "Letter to Abbot Kulan-dro", "text": "Esteemed Abbot Kulan-dro,\nValnargo-dro is writing you to confirm that the Torval Curiata has received your petition for reassignment. This one must admit some surprise. The Curiata considered the Temple of Seven Riddles a perfect fit for a cat of your skills and sensibilities. Valnargo knows that the temple's unique history presents certain challenges, but you should not consider this a demotion. No! On the contrary! The Curiata has always believed that the seals should be watched by the strongest leaders in our community. Does service in the Temple of Seven Riddles carry a stigma? Regrettably, yes. But Jone and Jode place their heaviest demands on the strongest backs, yes? Your reputation for strict discipline and rigorous study made you the perfect candidate.\nWe will think on your petition, but as one of your oldest friends Valnargo suggests that you seek the good in your new role as Abbot. The Moons always guide our paws to their greater glory. All things happen for a reason. You will pray on that, yes?\nMoons protect you,\nBishop Valnargo-dro"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-agnor": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-agnor", "description": "A spiteful letter to a failed Orc chief", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Letter to Agnor", "text": "Agnor gro-Mulak,\nBy the time you finish reading this, someone you know will be dead.\nI see you found a place to stay. A warehouse at the docks? Really? You must be in terrible trouble to be hiding in place like that. Then again, trouble has a way of finding you.\nYou may be wondering why your armor is missing. And your weapons. And your clothes. And that filthy pallet you were sleeping on.\nAnd if you have any conscience at all, you might be wondering about your wives back home. Why did you run away, Chief?\nBy the way, your first wife is hilarious. You remember her, don't you? That alchemist with the cruel laugh you like so much? She and I were talking the other day about the way you've been running our tribe, and I gotta say, Chief, her laugh sounds really cruel when she's talking about you.\nRemember that one time you led us on a raid into a cave full of Goblins? Remember that? They were just a wretched band of Goblins, but you fumbled the ambush, and they killed three of our best warriors. I remember the screaming at their funeral. I don't remember you screaming for them, Chief.\nOr how about that time we sent a shipment of swords to Daggerfall to sell to the Redguards? That was an expensive shipment, but someone didn't send enough guards with the caravan. Do you remember who that was? I'm the stealthiest scout you've got, and I could have saved that shipment, but you never sent me.\nYou did some good things, though, I must admit. You taught us about the Code of Malacath. Like the part where a tribe can't get a new chief until the cowardly old one is dead. Or the part where only the chief gets wives, and none of the rest of us get any.\nI'm really tired of that.\nBy the way, Atugol says hello. Remember her? With her cruel laugh and her extensive knowledge of alchemy?\n\tI know you're a bit slow sometimes, but I'm sure you're figuring it out. None of my brothers ever had a chance in that Goblin cave, so I don't see why you should have a chance now. Maybe that's why you ran away, Chief.\n\tBut don't worry. It's not like Atugol would poison you. She wouldn't kill you so close to camp. She'd do it from far, far away.\nBecause when you die, it's not going to be poison. It's going to be a nice clean sword thrust.\n\tAnd that's why I'm standing behind you right now, Agnor."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-akash": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-akash", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Letter to Akash", "text": "My Dearest Akash,\nThe services you and your tribe have provided are invaluable to my cause. Who but the Wood Orcs could unearth so many remains so quickly? Aside from the Altmer, of course, but they are blind and would move to stop me rather than help.\nAnd your construction of the altars matched my designs completely! I could not have dreamed of a better partner in this. Who knew I would find one in a Wood Orc?\nI hope the payment I've tendered pleases your mercenaries, but more importantly, I hope that our relationship still pleases you. To have you at my side through this, the most important act of my life \u2026 has provided a solace that surprises even me.\nWhen this is over, when Tamriel is free of war, we'll begin our new life together\u2014me as the ruler of a new Altmeri empire, and you as our herald, the leader of our Wood Orc footsoldiers."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-alma": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-alma", "description": "", "author": "Dreadlord Naucratius", "title": "Letter to Alma", "text": "Alma,\nStay strong on the Shadowed Path, my heart. Perform your duties for our lord and obey my orders. For now, this is your lot. You must not rise too swiftly in our ranks, or favoritism will be cried out by the others. Volcatia especially is watchful, slit-eyed with suspicion and jealousy.\nCurb your impatience and your tongue. They will be the death of us both otherwise. To keep you from indiscretion, I command you to journey to the ancient ruins of Nagastani. Think of this as an opportunity, not a banishment. Rout or corrupt any who reside there. Use the ancient evil that still permeates that ground, build your strength, and await my signal. Soon Blue Road Keep will be ours, under your heel.\nThe Diabolist rank you crave will be but a stepping stone to the power you can achieve under me. Together, we will crush all of Cyrodiil!\n\t\u2014 Dreadlord Naucratius"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-amirmil": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-amirmil", "description": "A lover's sad farewell letter", "author": "Camaarie", "title": "Letter to Amirmil", "text": "My dearest Amirmil,\nAfter all our adventures, my love, I fear that this is the end. I've already seen what the Butcher has planned for us. I watched as poor Kreg and Lophila were--\nNo, let me start again. I don't want to leave you with images that will haunt you. Instead, let's remember our exciting life together. How we met when we both tried to join the Auridon First Marines. How we got drunk and cursed the officer that turned us away. How we fell in love over a bottle of gossamer tawny port and a platter of jugged venison.\nRemember all the good times, my love. Remember the touch of my hand and the warmth of my body next to yours. And find yourself a new love. Be happy. And survive. That's an order.\\n\\nI think it's my turn now. I hope someone finds this and gets it into your hands. And know I died as I lived\u00e2\u20ac\u201dfighting all the way.\nRemember me, my love.\n\tCamaarie"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-aldarch": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-aldarch", "description": "Letter describing an Aldmeri ceremony", "author": "Kinlord Astanamo the Penitent", "title": "Letter to an Aldarch ", "text": "Aldarch,\nYou may be alone when you approach the shrines, hence I write to put before your eyes such knowledge as I know you do not possess.\nTwo shrines there are, one with a single fire for Trinimac, and the other with two for Xarxes. These sacred flames will not work for any who approach them impure of thought and deed. Let not your thoughts stray this time, for there shall be no one at hand to protect you.\nUse the sacred fire to purify your gift, a veneration of the Destruction art from the Divines. Flames will dance and flow through the air, burning only that which needs to be burnt.\nIf any of the three fires be unlit, you must re-ignite it using the gift's power directly. Embers or other spells shall not work.\nUse it with care, for it is a powerful gift.\nIn the name of Auri-El himself, may his fiery breath keep us warm through these trying times.\n\u2014 Kinlord Astanamo the Penitent"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-ando": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-ando", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Letter to Ando", "text": "Ando,\nGelves just gave me a bloody earful. I don't know where you disappeared to, but you should have been with me to bear the brunt of his tirade.\nHe says to ease up a bit on the townsfolk. We're supposed to leave them alone for a few days, let them get a little less afraid of us. After that, we make one good example every few days or so. He's got some theory that this keeps them more cowed than if we just beat them senseless every time they look at us funny.\nHe also said to keep a cautious eye on anyone coming into town, but not to stop them. The town is still open for business and we want to make sure that we profit from that business. Traders and such coming through town should still be able to buy and sell as they like. We'll probably start taxing them when Gelves decides that we are firmly in control here.\nOh, and Gelves killed the mayor. Just lost his temper, I guess.\nYou owe me an ale or two for covering for you."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-ariana": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-ariana", "description": "Passing on tips about a bounty", "author": "Regol Hodd", "title": "Letter to Ariana", "text": "Ariana,\nI have a wealth of opportunities at the moment, so I'm passing this on to you. Now, you didn't hear it from me, but rumor has it that the Iron Orc known as Ordooth the Corrupter has taken up residence in the complex in the northern reaches of the Valley of Scars called Exarch's Stronghold.\nIf you want to try for it, this bounty is yours. Good luck, my friend!\nRegol Hodd, Bounty Hunter"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-armorer-uthik": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-armorer-uthik", "description": "Production of nirncrux-infused armor must increase", "author": "Braadoth", "title": "Letter to Armorer Uthik", "text": "Armorer Uthik,\nWe need to increase production of the nirncrux-infused armor. Tell me what you need to triple your output and I will make sure you get the resources to accomplish all that I ask of you.\nDo not fail me, Uthik. Your armor is the key to the success of our troll army. Moreover, I imagine a day when every troll, welwa, and Iron Orc under my command is wearing your infused creations. That will be a glorious day indeed.\nBlood for our enemies, steel for our tribe!\n-Braadoth,\n\tOphidian Exarch of Undulating Destruction"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-artisans-craftworks": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-artisans-craftworks", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Letter to Artisans Craftworks", "text": "<<1>>,\nI know you're busy, big brother, but I still haven't received the shipment you promised me! Please send my order as soon as you can or we'll have nothing to sell at the family shop.\nAnyway, I can't wait until I get up to Mournhold. I want to see this wonderful forge you wrote us about. And I can't wait to meet all of the crafters and smiths that work for you!\nAll my love, dear brother!\n\t\u2014Blivisi"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-bakul": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-bakul", "description": "A sister's warning to her brother about dragons", "author": "Dairna", "title": "Letter to Bakul", "text": "Bakul,\nThis one has made a grave mistake. She was lured here by sugar-coated words and shining wonders that lost their luster the moment they were touched. There are Dragons here, Bakul. Real as the sand beneath our feet, but it's not Alkosh these Dragons toil for, this one is certain, though they know how to make every day seem an eternity.\nDairna has never heaved stone or laid bricks, but she has worked her paws raw to restore Sunspire Temple to glory. She did not mind this task at first, but her efforts were found lacking and she was lashed for it. She protested and she was lashed more. She disavowed this temple but she cannot leave.\nThis one has not always been your best litter-mate, Bakul, but she is still your sister. Dairna begs you. Tell the Mane what this one says. Do not come for Dairna. The Dragons and their servants are terrible creatures to behold.\nThis one prays her letter finds its way to you, though she does not know who she can entrust to carry it.\nIn faith,\nDairna"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-balorgh": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-balorgh", "description": "Warewolves plot to infiltrate Hircine's realm", "author": "Vykosa the Ascendant", "title": "Letter to Balorgh", "text": "Balorgh,\nYou will not disappoint Vykosa, yes? After all, this mission is an important one.\nDiscovering a means to infiltrate the Hunting Grounds will not be easy, not while your body still draws breath. But we must be prepared for the days ahead. Once Tamriel is within our grasp, that is when we strike against the Hungry Cat's realm. But first, we must find a means of entry.\nAs soon as you have found a means of infiltration, return to Moon Hunter Keep. It is vital that you do not draw Hircine's suspicion. Once you return, we shall begin preparations for our attack.\nDo not fail this one, Balorgh.\n-Vykosa the Ascendant"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-baloth-bloodtusk": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-baloth-bloodtusk", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Letter to Baloth Bloodtusk", "text": "Mighty Baloth Bloodtusk,\nI received word that your brother has fallen against my forces at Orsinium. It is a regrettable thing, and know that my grief is sincere. If only he had knelt to a worthy king, he would be feasting and drinking beside you. I know you will agree that if anyone is to blame for his loss, it is King Golkarr.\nYou and your sellswords still have not pledged your might to this false king, and in that you are wise. I hope this recent news sways your swords in the right direction\u2014toward the true villain.\nMy offer stands.\n\u2014King Joile of Daggerfall"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-belya": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-belya", "description": "", "author": "Locundus", "title": "Letter to Belya", "text": "Belya,\nYour services are required in Cheydinhal. The rebellion is bearing fruit. You must be our eyes and ears. Take no risks but hasten here.\n\u2014 Iocundus"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-betra": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-betra", "description": "", "author": "Eepa", "title": "Letter to Betra", "text": "Betra,\nI hope the trip to Fort Amol goes well and that your business there concludes quickly and profitably. I miss you so! Please, please, please try to make it home in time for my birthday. That would be a most excellent present!\n\tThe Konunleikar is in full swing and I've never seen the city this busy. I've been putting in extra shifts at the Sober Nord to help with the crowds\u2014and the extra gold never hurts! I have to say, though, that the singing contest wasn't the same without your beautiful voice as one of the participants. I'm sure you would have won if you had been here.\nMake sure you travel swiftly and safely. You know how storms can appear without warning in Skyrim this time of year. Do you still have that map my father made for you? If you are caught in a storm, find shelter in one of those caves he marked on the map. Just be sure to look inside before you get too comfortable. Who knows what else might be using the place to get out of the cold and the wind?\nAnyway, please hurry home, darling! Our little house isn't the same without you and I miss you so much.\nYours forever,\n\tEepa"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-bhoki": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-bhoki", "description": "", "author": "Kishi", "title": "Letter to Bhoki", "text": "Egg-Sire,\nI seek no forgiveness for my foolishness, despite your many warnings. By the time you read this, I have already gone to the Path of the Lily. I either saved the novices from Mewah-Jez's stubbornness or I have not. Either way, I assume I have been taken captive and scheduled for punishment. All because I do not want our tribe to keep killing its young because we utilize the training regiment of an idiot.\nI have gone against your wishes in another matter. You told me to destroy your old training manual, the one you used when you were our ka-deelith. I urge you to go to the place I hid it, retrieve it, and convince the raj-kaal, our war chief, to once again take up a sane and successful training regiment before all of our novices are killed.\nLet this verse remind you of our favorite hiding place:\n\"Stand before the blue flame at the top of the stair,\nThen turn to gaze upon our Hist so fair,\nWalk straight into its beguiling trance,\nAnd find what you seek beneath its protective branch.\"\nKishi"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-bodani": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-bodani", "description": "An Ashlander wisewoman becomes Mabigrash", "author": "Marinisuu", "title": "Letter to Bodani", "text": "Bodani, you are as a sister to me.\nI know you saw this would come to pass. Your sight is your talent, your gift. You knew how it would come to be, but not why it would come to be. I would enlighten you to honor the bonds which we have shared in our time together.\nMany of us are born to The Coiled Path through hardship, but not all.\nThe Ashkhan of your tribe reduced you to nothing. He took everything from you and he left you without another path to tread. Your choice was that of survival.\nYou protected and sheltered your people from him. Strong Harrinat, industrious Risannu, little Sahnivaran, and her brother Draitsuul would not have followed you here if they did not believe that you were still their guide and protector. You choose to lead as a Wisewoman might.\nBut you are now Mabrigash, a Wisewoman no longer in the eyes of our people and our ways.\nThe Ghost Snake will take them all in time, if you do not send them away. Keep Harrinat if he pleases you, as Trehaddu and Unamaeth please me. But send the others from our camp!\nThe rest of us were born to The Coiled Path for other reasons, not all as noble and worthy of understanding as your own. Yet all of us gather here at this sacred vale for one purpose\u2014to extend our lives and bring power onto ourselves.\nLet your final act of leadership be to send your people to safety.\n\t\u2014Marinisuu"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-calahawn": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-calahawn", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Letter to Calahawn", "text": "Calahawn,\nI must firmly decline the invitation to join your magical misadventure.\nAppealing to Hircine to aid you against \"all the Dominion\" is insanity, not to mention gross overreaction. It's always dangerous to nudge the shoulder of a Daedric Prince. Why further doom yourself by relying upon a patchwork band of sorcerous fools?\nI don't know if that lot has the skill to find their way to the nearest Mages Guild chapter, let alone appeal to a Daedric Prince! But I suppose you need them. No sane Elf would aid you. I won't, certainly. I'm as staunch a follower of the Green Pact as you, but where you go I cannot follow.\nYou must think. The Dominion is the only chance to survive this war! You want to hunt our allies as our real enemies prepare to burn Valenwood to ash.\nI refuse to sign my name to this. I want no justiciar finding this on your body and thinking I had anything to do with your madness."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-captain-helane": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-captain-helane", "description": "", "author": "Captain Lerisa", "title": "Letter to Captain Helane", "text": "My Dear Captain,\nIt appears I missed you at home. I did, however, have the pleasure of meeting six or so of your men. Tough as they appeared, I'm afraid they simply couldn't hold their liquor.\nI do hope to make your acquaintance again soon. I really need to thank you for what you've done to my ship and crew.\nPleasant dreams.\n\t\u2014 Captain Lerisa"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-captain-lerisa": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-captain-lerisa", "description": "", "author": "Telonil, Quartermaster", "title": "Letter to Captain Lerisa", "text": "Captain Lerisa, I see little point in this exercise. What good can come of the crew listing lost possessions? Will Deregor suffer without his lucky dice? Will Haerdun languish without his illustrated Lusty Argonian Maid?\nI slave still to scrape together enough gold for a ship, let alone the trivialities the crew lost on the Maiden's Breath. Expecting me to help them replace their lost possessions is ludicrous.\nFor now, I will file this list where I keep Crenard's extravagant sheafs of recipes. I pray that you come to your senses.\nOf course, I have already ordered replacements for the make up, clothing, and wigs used to create your many identities.\nAll this comes for a pittance, and I am certain you will be pleased. Let it never be said that I do not serve you well.\n\u2014 Telonil, Quartermaster"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-captain-oghul": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-captain-oghul", "description": "", "author": "Dulzur", "title": "Letter to Captain Oghul", "text": "Hail, Oghol.\nI just received your letter from the post in Alinor. To answer your question, yeah, the trade's been good since the Elf-Queen's mandate. Better than good. These Tall Elves are a pompous bunch, but gold's gold, and they pay better than most. That said, sailing around Summerset's no roll in the daisies. I know you can't navigate worth a damn, so you'd best pick up a sailing master on your next trip to Sentinel.\nFirst thing you've got to know about sailing near Summerset is that it's bigger than it looks. A lot bigger. For most folk, the island looks downright inviting\u2014white sandy beaches, sweet-smelling blossoms, freshwater springs and the like. But what they don't see is the nest of crags and reefs just beneath the surface of the water\u2014all covered in corals. And I'm not talking about the flimsy echatere-antlers you see in the Topal Bay. I'm talking about massive sea-bones\u2014bleached corals that are hard as Mauloch's chin and sharp as Mehrunes' Razor. Just one of those scarps can split a hull like a flay-knife through pig-skin, so sharp eyes and long wicks, eh? Mind your maps and draft.\nThen there are the pirates. Damned Sea Elves. Can't go a day without spotting their serpent-banners fluttering over a sunken merchantman or whaling ship. We've only had to repel boarders twice, but we thumped them good. I doubt they'll take another swing at an Orcish brig for a while. You're welcome.\nKeep a close eye on your crew too. You know how superstitious sailors can be. You wouldn't believe some of the ghost stories I've heard. Giant sea serpents, ghost ships, slug-men that can mash your brains like blood pudding. On and on. If you give the deck-grunts too long a leash, you're liable to have a mutiny on your hands. So don't be afraid to crack that cat 'o nine if a tusker won't keep his gob shut.\nFair winds and still waters, ay? We'll trade tankards and tales in Shimmerene soon enough.\nVosh,\nDulzur"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-casolinwe": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-casolinwe", "description": "A linguist's interactions with Mannimarco as a Psijic acolyte", "author": "Rullinalion", "title": "Letter to Casolinwe", "text": "Casolinwe,\nI had another unpleasant run-in with your friend, Mannimarco, yesterday. I don't know if I mentioned this before, but the Relicmaster put me in charge of overseeing vault deliveries. It is simple work\u2014just a matter of cataloging potentially explosive reagents, unstable relics, that sort of thing.\nMost of the acolytes have brought a parcel or two. Mannimarco, however, has brought dozens of unmarked crates, barrels of mysterious alchemical solvents, and so on. Given his seniority, I gave him a bit of latitude. But with the sheer volume of materials\u2014I had to say something, you know?\nI very politely asked him what was in his most recent delivery. He did not even look at me. He just said, \"Nothing you'd be interested in.\" I persisted\u2014gently, mind you! When I asked him a second time, he fixed those icy eyes on me and whispered something in the forgotten tongue of the Ublivey mystics. At the time, I thought he said \"If you ask again, you will know regret.\" But after some uncomfortable reflection, I think he might have said, \"If you ask again, you will know murder.\" It is an easy mistake to make\u2014the words are very similar. But I tell you, Cas, I do not think it was a mistake. He knows I am a linguist. I think he knew exactly what he was saying. Even now, my skin crawls at the thought. There is something very wrong with that mer, I know it. Please, be careful.\nOld Ways Guide You,\nRullinalion\nPS\u2014His crates made a hollow, rattling sound as he carried them away. If I had to guess, I would say that they contained either dried wood or bones. I think you can guess which is more likely."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-councilor-dolvara": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-councilor-dolvara", "description": "Additional oversight is required in Balmora after unfortunate events there", "author": "High Councilor Meriath", "title": "Letter to Councilor Dolvara", "text": "Councilor Dolvara,\nThe unfortunate events surrounding the demotion and subsequent banishment of Ulran Releth have left the High Council extremely disappointed. This isn't what we expected from the promising son of an old and respected family. Your report detailing Ulran's trial, while informative, did nothing to alleviate our concerns. In light of what occurred, the High Council requests a favor from you.\nFirst, since you often operate in the Balmora region, we'd like you to monitor Councilor Eris's actions for the relative future. We have every faith in Councilor Eris, but Ulran is his son, after all. Add to that the disturbing news about his daughter and the Morag Tong, and you can see why we have concerns.\nSecond, since the promotion of Brivan Malrom to the rank of captain and commander of Redoran's western forces, we have received troubling reports of the unauthorized escalation of the use of mercenary companies, specifically Ferhara's Warclaws. Contract soldiers are expected to abide by all house laws and regulations, but Ferhara's mercenaries tend to deviate from standard practices on a frequent basis. We especially dislike hearing reports of excessive violence with regards to the treatment of Ashlanders. Harsh treatment, as you know, must always be authorized.\nUse your connection and personal relationship with the Releth family to urge Councilor Eris to get his affairs in order. We'd appreciate it if the disquiet in Balmora settled down before the upcoming council meeting.\nHigh Councilor Meriath"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-cynhamoth": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-cynhamoth", "description": "", "author": "Sir Cadwell", "title": "Letter to Cynhamoth", "text": "Ah, fair Cynhamoth, how you flatter me with tempting gifts!\nYou know I'm watching my waistline, but still you send me buttered scamp knuckles.\n(They were delicious, by the way!)\n\t\u2014Sir Cadwell"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-danier": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-danier", "description": "", "author": "Matilde", "title": "Letter to Danier", "text": "Danier,\nOur shop's outside Wayrest (to avoid city taxes). I hope they won't find us.\nGo to Sentinel, where it's safe.\n\t\u2014Matilde"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-dhalen": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-dhalen", "description": "Jorunn's brother furthers his plots to take over", "author": "Fildgor Orcthane", "title": "Letter to Dhalen", "text": "Dhalen,\nYou shall be greatly rewarded for your efforts at Fort Amol, my servant. It pleases me to hear that the alchemical elixirs you discovered in the Daedric ruins have proven to be so useful. Who would have imagined an elixir that allows you to steal the form of anyone who drinks it? Remarkable!\nAnd the other potion? The poison? Make sure that my dear brother gets a full dose of the deadly liquid. No one deserves such a fate more than my beloved, conniving, cheating, too-smart-for-his-own-good brother Jorunn.\n\tWhen everything has been dealt with, meet me at Skuldafn. We have one last thing to deal with before I can reclaim my kingdom.\n\u2014 Fildgor Orcthane"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-diabolist-volcatia": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-diabolist-volcatia", "description": "Rewards or punishment await an acolyte", "author": "Dreadlord Naucratius", "title": "Letter to Diabolist Volcatia", "text": "Heed my commands, servant of the Shadowed Path!\nHigh have you risen in our ranks. Succeed in the task I lay upon you and you will rise higher still. Fail and you will die in agony.\nThe Lord of Darkness has revealed to me that an ancient relic lies hidden beneath the soil of southern Cyrodiil. The collapse of the Empire enables us to search for it unimpeded. With this relic in hand, I will lead the Shadowed Path in conquest of the Imperial City and all of Cyrodiil!\nYou are to scour the cavern known as Haynote. Pulverize every rock, crack open every seam\u2014every effort must be made to uncover the relic. Do not return without it.\nI give you command of the Circle of the Shadowed Path formerly ruled by Theurgist Thelas. She is no longer in my favor. Repentance is her lot now, to ensure that she survives to face my continued displeasure.\n\tDo not fail me.\n\u2014 Dreadlord Naucratius"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-dorbin": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-dorbin", "description": "", "author": "Leiborn", "title": "Letter to Dorbin", "text": "Dorbin,\nThank you for accepting this most urgent mission. The college will be in your debt if you are successful.\nI hope the advance we gave you is sufficient. Report to me at the Bards College in Solitude to pick up the disguise. And please, be as discreet as possible.\nLeiborn"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-dusandar": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-dusandar", "description": "A painter's letter back to his partner", "author": "Ulymen", "title": "Letter to Dusandar", "text": "My dear Dusandar,\nHow are things back in Vulkhel Guard? Are the nobles lining up to have new portraits painted?\nThis trip has been a fabulous boon to my tender disposition. I feel recharged and ready to face life in the courts of High Elf society again. Almost.\nI've been very productive. I'll have completed at least three landscapes by the time I pack up to return, and I've sketched at least a dozen more that I hope to paint in my - ha! - spare time when I return home.\nThe view from this overlook, by the way, is simply spectacular. I wish you could see it. Well, I guess you will when you see the finished painting. The moons rising over the ruins of Skyreach. Just breathtaking. I hope my humble skills are enough to capture the essence of the scene.\nWhat am I saying? Of course they are!\nOh, and I got you a present. For that collection of rocks you love so much. It's a local stone with a quaint name. They call it \"red brittle.\"\nSee you soon,\n-Ulymen"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-edhelfin": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-edhelfin", "description": "A threatening letter from a sister", "author": "Elandora", "title": "Letter to Edhelfin", "text": "Edhelfin,\nIf I never see your blighted face again, it will be too soon. Sal told me all about the \"extra\" shipments. And don't think I haven't noticed your finger on the scales in our dealings.\nI'm giving you a warning as a courtesy. Sal likes you, and he'd mope for weeks if he saw you drawn and flayed. Next port we dock at, you've got one chance to jump ship. If I catch you, you're dead. If I see you before, during, or after, you're dead. Don't tempt me.\nYour adoring sister,\n\tElandora"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-egranor": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-egranor", "description": "", "author": "Aranias", "title": "Letter to Egranor", "text": "Egranor,\nI know. You said never to contact you. But what happened at Quendeluun \u2026 I didn't sign up to be a traitor. The Heritance in bed with the Ebonheart Pact? It flies in the face of everything I believe. You must report this.\n\tI can only assume that Earran has taken a more extreme turn. I'll write to my mother, have her relay the information to the Queen.\nGreenshade seems so far from Auridon. I miss home. I miss the Summerset Isles.\nI miss you. I'm sorry.\n\t\u2014 Aranias"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-elanwen": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-elanwen", "description": "Yet another ruin infested with all sorts of undead", "author": "Kwendi Tree-Climber", "title": "Letter to Elanwen", "text": "Elanwen,\nI finished investigating the Howling Sepulchers in the eastern part of Upper Craglorn\u2014at least, as much as I could manage. The place is crawling with all kinds of dead things! Well, they're moving around and are pretty angry, so it's not like they're really dead. But they are dead and \u2026 oh, bother, I'm not making any sense, am I?\nDead warriors and shamans and wolves, prowling the Sepulchers and attacking anything that's actually alive that gets too close. Dangerous place! And I didn't see any of the red brittle, but that's mostly because I turned around and started running the moment I entered the place and saw all the angry dead people.\nKwendi Tree-Climber"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-eraven": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-eraven", "description": "A magister's letter to her Mouth.", "author": "Magister Therana", "title": "Letter to Eraven", "text": "Eraven,\nThe council's dithering on the matter of Zaintiraris is unacceptable. Khajiiti mercenaries continue to gather outside the ruin, like locusts. I have it on good authority that House Redoran sent them there. I must admit, I didn't think those thick-headed zealots were capable of such a deception. I'm almost impressed. Almost.\nThey hammer on the shrine day and night\u2013as if picks and hammers have any hope of dispersing the door's puzzle-wards. Simpletons. The secret to Sheogorath's riddles lies in their simplicity. Fortunately, Redoran scholars possess no capacity for abstract thinking. Can you believe they struggle with a riddle as simple as this?\n\"A family of skulls say 'How do you do?\n\tTwo shout \"We're one!\" and three yell 'We're two!'\n\tFive glare at 'three' as six laugh at 'four'\n\tJust burn'em to open the Mad Prince's door.\"\nHonestly, why must the followers of Sheogorath be such children? I suppose that question answers itself.\nMy research nears a critical stage, Eraven. I need St. Felms finger bone or all will be for naught. Redouble your efforts with your fellow Mouths. Zaintiraris must belong to House Telvanni.\nDo not fail me.\nTherana\n\tMagister of the Great House Telvanni\n\tMaster of Tel Branora"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-estre": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-estre", "description": "", "author": "Rilis XIII, Kinlord", "title": "Letter to Estre", "text": "My Dear Estre,\nIt pains me to know of your opposition to Ayrenn. While I can see your view on maintaining the purity of the Summerset Isles, I cannot disregard the importance of what our queen is trying to do.\nAs I have a close relationship with both of you, I am unable to take sides in your argument. Firsthold shall remain neutral, and our priorities lie solely in the protection of Auridon from our enemies.\nWhich are numerous.\nRegrettably,\n\tRilis XIII, Kinlord"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-evis-marys": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-evis-marys", "description": "Letter to an incompetent conspirator", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Letter to Evis Marys", "text": "Evis, you fool! You dropped the crates off at the wrong location! If they're opened, the Narsis Protectors will be on us in an instant. Vox would not approve of this at all. Fix this, or she'll hear about it. I won't take the blame for your incompetence."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-evrien": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-evrien", "description": "", "author": "Ufgra gra-Gum", "title": "Letter to Evrien", "text": "Evrien,\nYou soulless, gold-gouging son of a horker! When I see you next, surround yourself with bodyguards or I'll strangle you and let the Bloody Hands feast on your remains.\nTripling your transport fees is outrageous. Our present need forces me to pay, as you well know. But when order is restored to Cyrodiil, I'll take these ill-gotten gains out of your hide.\nI don't know whether to hope you make it here safely or that the Goblins kill you. Either would give me satisfaction.\n\t\u2014 Ufgra gra-Gum"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-exarch-braadoth": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-exarch-braadoth", "description": "Praise of the Iron Orc nirncrux-infused craftworks", "author": "Elska", "title": "Letter to Exarch Braadoth", "text": "Esteemed Exarch Braadoth,\nI hope this letter finds you as strong and as intimidating to our enemies as they day we met.\nI have studied the process you utilize to imbue your magnificent armor and your spectacular body decorations with nirncrux dust, and I applaud your ingenuity and craftsmanship. I truly am in awe at what you have accomplished.\nFirst, Ilthag Ironblood is a master tactician and a remarkable trainer. How he accomplishes this never ceases to amaze me, and I have tried to replicate his process to no avail. I never imagined that trolls and welwas could be turned into servants and soldiers. Adding their power to our forces makes the Scaled Court undefeatable!\nYour talented armorer has crafted armor that is lighter, stronger, and literally glowing with nirncrux power. A remarkable achievement that we never would have been able to match without her skill and expertise. Not only was it a stroke of brillance to then equip trained trolls and welwas with the infused armor, but as production increases I look forward to equiping all of our forces with the special armor.\nThe artistry demonstrated by your runescriber sends tingles up my spine. His designs are hypnotic, and I could swear they seem to move as I try to study the intricate patterns. By adding nirncrux dust to the ink and brands, the magic he imbues in his subjects increases a hundredfold. Remarkable! Combined, the training, the armor, and the body runes make the trolls nearly unstoppable.\nIf I may, allow me to offer a final ritual that you can employ to make the nearly unstoppable into the virtually invincible. Try it on one of your trolls and let me know if the results are everything I promise.\n-Elska, Regent of Fanged Fury"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-fadeel": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-fadeel", "description": "", "author": "Mirudda", "title": "Letter to Fadeel", "text": "You try my patience, Fadeel. Huzal hungers, but we have seen no \"fresh meat\" for days.\nHave you forgotten the terms of our arrangement? I expect to see at least one foolhardy wanderer per day.\nIf you cannot deliver this \u2026 well, it wouldn't be very difficult for Huzal to track your stench across the sands.\n\t\u2014 Mirudda"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-faral": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-faral", "description": "Plans for weaponizing the local fauna", "author": "Mongannor", "title": "Letter to Faral", "text": "Faral,\nI know you told me to keep a close eye on the bog blights, and believe me, I have! I set up the pahnjee fumers just like you said\u2014plenty of old rotten meat to mask our scent. But Faral, you really need to reconsider my plan. I've been studying them, see? Taking notes on how they move, how they hunt, how they\u2014you know\u2014burst. If we could harness some of that power, the boys back at Blackrose would treat us like bloody heroes!\nFirst thing to consider: we know where to find them and how to wake them up. No real mysteries here, right? You just find a nest of those Argonian grave-stakes that keep the Argonian bodies pinned beneath the water and pull them up! Sometimes the bodies just sort of float to the surface, sure. But every so often, we find an undead goldmine like this. I wish I could figure out what makes the dead wake up out here. Something in the water, right? Got to be. Only the Nagas can drink it, after all. I accidently caught a mouthful of it a few years back and damn-near retched myself to death.\nCatching the blights would be messy, but straightforward, I think. With a couple Blackguards, a bundle of rope, and some patience, we'd have a few in no time. The trick is keeping them from exploding.\nHonestly, that's the one thing I haven't quite figured out. I know that if you leave a corpse out too long, it gasses up like a bellows. But the eruptions are so sudden, and so violent. And I'm pretty sure the bog blights do it on purpose\u2014rushing people, then popping like a pumpkin struck by a hammer.\nThere's a lot left to figure out, sure. But that's why we need to catch a few! At least discuss it with Drakeeh and that lot, all right?\n-Mongannor"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-feina-darak": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-feina-darak", "description": "A mother's note to her daughter about their shared bloodline", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Letter to Feina-Darak", "text": "My Dearest Feina-Darak,\nI know that our family carries many burdens. One day, you will lead Hakoshae and ensure the prosperity of our people. For it is you who carries the blood of the Potentate, a connection which proves both blessing and curse. You must prepare.\nOur family has never allowed word of our lineage to go beyond Hakoshae's walls for good reason. The Morag Tong still haunts the shadows of Tamriel, and they will not take such news lightly. As descendants of the Potentate, we are seen as loose ends to tie up.\nTo ensure our family's safety, we must closely guard this secret. It is the only way.\nForever Yours,\n\tMother"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-finia-marcott": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-finia-marcott", "description": "Letter from a Duchess concerning a scandal", "author": "Duchess Olivie Delrusc", "title": "Letter to Finia Marcott", "text": "Dearest Finia,\nYou've no idea how long I debated sending this letter, but in the end I fear I must do what is best for myself and my esteemed relations. You have been a valuable friend and ally at court for many years, which makes me all the more shocked by the word I've received\u2014from several reputable sources, I might add\u2014about your recent political \u2026 \"activities.\"\nIt is with a heavy heart and great regret that I inform you that I no longer wish to be associated with you in any way. Advocating the ideals you apparently stand for during a time of war and consorting with the company you have been spotted with is nothing short of treason, and I will not be associated with any of it.\nIt is my hope that you may yet see the folly of your ways before it ruins you. Do not write back.\n\u2014Duchess Olivie Delrusc"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-firilia": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-firilia", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Letter to Firilia", "text": "Firilia,\nIt's been \u2026 ages. I've failed. I know it. Even now, I write in this and know your eyes will never see it.\n\tI got the medicine. As promised. The one thing I ever managed to do successfully for this family. And I return only to find that Falinesti is no longer here.\nWould you believe me if you read this? Do you think I'm a failure even now? Did our daughter survive the illness? She wouldn't know me even then. I was never there for either of you. Why is it I'm not allowed to make amends? I want to make it right. I was going to make it right."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-geldrion": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-geldrion", "description": "", "author": "Randolph", "title": "Letter to Geldrion", "text": "Geldrion,\nNext time, don't hide your gold in a stupid barrel. Any old fool could come along and take it. I took your gold to the bank for safekeeping. That's what banks are for, you know. Didn't mother teach you anything?\nI didn't want to lug the shield along, too, but it's not like anyone but you is going to use that old thing. As for your onion, well, stashing that in the bank is just plain silly. And it's starting to smell.\nYour brother,\n\tRandolph"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-grand-warlord-dortene": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-grand-warlord-dortene", "description": "", "author": "Protector Yseline", "title": "Letter to Grand Warlord Dortene", "text": "Grand Warlord,\nI agree with your decision to retain control of the Elder Scrolls. The scrolls are needed for the war effort, as you say. Handing them to the Moth Priest would only result in them falling into the hands of the Dominion or Pact.\nI have had temple guards escort Belenius away from the grounds. He will return, but we'll keep kicking him out.\n\u2014 Protector Yseline"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-grand-warlord-sorcalin": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-grand-warlord-sorcalin", "description": "", "author": "Protector Arfire", "title": "Letter to Grand Warlord Sorcalin", "text": "Grand Warlord,\nThough it makes me uneasy, I concur with your decision to retain control of the Elder Scrolls. Our troops need the boons the scrolls provide. And turning them over to the Moth Priestess would be tantamount to handing them to the Pact or Covenant.\nWhile I revere the scrolls and honor the Moth Priests for their dedication and study, I have done as you wished and had temple guards escort Theodosia away from the grounds. I have no doubt she will return, however.\n\t\u2014 Protector Arfire"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-grand-warlord-zimmeron": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-grand-warlord-zimmeron", "description": "", "author": "Protector Galiel", "title": "Letter to Grand Warlord Zimmeron", "text": "Grand Warlord,\nThe Moth Priests' plea galls me. Don't they know there's a war on? They cannot expect us to hand over the Elder Scrolls we worked so hard to obtain. You were of course correct to refuse the Moth Priest who is plaguing us.\nI sent Pavonius away from the temple and gave the guards orders to refuse him entry henceforth. I await only your approval to order a stronger beating each time he shows up. Sooner or later, this will end his pleading.\n\u2014 Protector Galiel"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-haeralf": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-haeralf", "description": "Love letter from one nord to another", "author": "Gwenora", "title": "Letter to Haeralf", "text": "Dearest Haeralf,\n\nSvardis tells me you leave with the tide. I'm sorry I won't be at the docks to see you off. I just can't bear the thought of watching you sail into that maelstrom. If the Skald-King is so curious about it, he should go have a look at it himself! Sorry. I know he means to keep us safe. I just wish he could do it without throwing you and the others into harm's way.\n\nI thought on what you said under the old birch tree. About us marrying, I mean. I'm sorry for hesitating. It's just my father and his temper. You know how he gets when he reaches for the mead. At any rate, I spent the whole night thinking about it, and Haeralf, my sweet, I will marry you. To Sovngarde with my pa!\n\nKeep to your shield, and hurry home to me. We have so much to plan!\n\nYour snowblossom,\nGwenora"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-haladan": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-haladan", "description": "", "author": "Norasea", "title": "Letter to Haladan", "text": "Dear Haladan,\nHow good it feels to write you again. I apologize for the long gaps in our correspondence. The trade ministry set an aggressive schedule when Queen Ayrenn sent out her decree, leaving me little time for personal matters. I've spent most of the last month at sea.\nNow it comes to it. I must share some ill news with you. I recently found myself stranded on a remote island for a few days\u2014the result of gross negligence on our navigator's part. Everyone who set foot on that cursed island (including me) contracted a horrifying illness. A fatal illness that turns the skin to stone and drives sufferers to lunacy.\nEven now, I feel my joints stiffening and my mind wanders constantly. I wish to see you one last time before this sickness claims my body and mind. Will you see me? I can reach Lillandril by month's end.\nI hope to hear from you soon.\nMost Sincerely,\nNorasea"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-halakaku": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-halakaku", "description": "The disappointed owners of an Elsweyr Kwama mine want to offload it on another unsuspecting sucker", "author": "Maelaya", "title": "Letter to Halakaku", "text": "Halakaku,\nWhen you convinced me to buy this Moons-cursed kwama mine, Maelaya had no idea that it was overrun with the creatures! How are we to collect eggs when those horrible warriors patrol every hall? And this place is like a maze. So big! Why were we not even given a map?\nThis one knew we should have never trusted your braggart of an uncle. He's played us both for fools, getting this mess of a mine off his paws and making a tidy profit as well!\nMaelaya wants you to find another buyer quickly, before the workers start spreading rumors. Try to find someone foolish enough to take this cursed kwama mine off our hands. Until then, we must abandon this foul place and hope the creatures can fend for themselves.\nMaelaya"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-hanza": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-hanza", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Letter to Hanza", "text": "Hanza,\nYour goats won't shut up! I understand why you asked us to deliver them for you.\nWe saw Imperial troops nearby and sheltered in the cleft where we once played as children. We should have let the goats go free.\nIf these beasts continue bleating, though, we shall be discovered. We've killed the loudest, and may need to slay the rest. I hope we have enough arrows.\nOtherwise, we will get the herd\u2014by Satakal! They come\u2014"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-headman-bhosek": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-headman-bhosek", "description": "", "author": "Lady Brunwyn", "title": "Letter to Headman Bhosek", "text": "I demand that you take immediate action against the traitorous \"Captain Helane\" and her band of Sea Drakes!\nThey have held the island's only lighthouse for over a year now. In that time, 18 ships have run upon the rocks.\nI have no doubt that Helane is sabotaging the lighthouse to wreck these ships, leaving her minions to loot the broken holds. While this greatly enriches her, she pays no taxes to you. Is this not a crime?\nTrade is your currency, and shipping your life's blood. What do you think will happen as a result of Helane's piracy? Ships will seek harbor elsewhere. Food will stop coming.\nWill you eat lizards? Mudcrabs? Rats? What will you do when you run out of wool for clothing or leather for shoes? If trade with your fiefdom ceases to be profitable, your new regime will be short indeed.\nI implore you to gather your Bloody Fists and any fools you can buy. Send your army to Saintsport, rout the Sea Drakes, and take Helane's head before she grows even more powerful.\nI am your staunchest ally in Glenumbra and will be so as long as our partnership remains profitable. Silence Helane. Let our partnership not wither.\nIf you leave Helane's greed unchecked, the next head on a pike may be your own.\nYour friend,\n\tLady Brunwyn"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-hearth-mother": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-hearth-mother", "description": "Describes the ill-fated expedition to the top of mount Sorrow", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Letter to Hearth-Mother", "text": "Hearth-Mother, come find me. Bring a warm fire and soup for our bellies, because we're cold and we're hungry and we can't walk any farther.\nWe were so proud, so confident, when we were picked for this expedition. Sorrow! To be the first Orcs in more than a generation to attempt the climb to the legendary summit! But how quickly confidence turns to despair when you realize Sorrow doesn't want you to climb her terrifying heights.\nThe first two teams to attempt the ascent didn't make it very far. As far as we could tell, harpies or ogres got the first set of climbers, and the terrible wind and cold took care of the second. A few of the poor horkers actually walked off a cliff that was hidden in the icy mist!\nBut we weren't frightened or dissuaded from our course. Although, seeing how it turned out, I suppose we should have been. Lady Laurent rallied us and Kharsthun appealed to our sense of honor. With fire in our blood and glory in our dreams, we charged forward to scale the summit once more.\nWe lost Kuhlon in an avalanche. Both of her legs were broken beneath the falling snow and ice. As much as I hated to do it, we left her and continued to make our way up the mountain. Any other course of action would have doomed the expedition. Of course, our own doom was closer than we expected.\nI guess you can say we accomplished something. We actually made it to the door to Torug's shrine. We found an inscription related to it and made a rubbing, just like Kharsthun taught us. We were about to go inside when a group of three ogres appeared around the bend. We knew we couldn't take on three of the beasts with any certainty of victory, so we decided to hide and wait for them to pass. But Urgon, clumsy skeever that he is, dropped his axe. That's when we decided down was a better direction to run than up.\nBrokuhk thought our best option was to make it back to the caves we passed through. Even though there were ogres living in the caves, he said we'd be able to find a corner to hide in. Probably would have worked, too, if we hadn't lost most of our supplies escaping from the shrine. And if we hadn't run out of fuel for our fire.\nAt least we have the rubbing. If Kharsthun makes it this far, he'll know that the shrine isn't that far away."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-herminius-sophus": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-herminius-sophus", "description": "A letter warning against an expedition to Makela Leki's final resting place", "author": "J. Ithaka", "title": "Letter to Herminius Sophus ", "text": "Herminius Sophus,\nDespite the many times which I have written to you to advise you against this tour of the historical sites of Hammerfell, I have received notification that your ship leaves within the month. I strongly encourage you to reconsider this trip and stay with your dear sister Lepida in Reaper's March instead.\nWith that said, if my urging does not sway you, think instead of the scholars who have gone missing at Makela Leki's final resting place in the Sunken Road.\nAminyas for one, a High Elf mage of no small talent. I suspect he was there digging for information which might rekindle old grievances within the Daggerfall Covenant, as he went on his expedition shortly after the Covenant was formed.\nBefore him there was the late Morgaulle Dechery of Evermore who, generations ago, disappeared while writing a piece about King Joile's actions shortly after the incident occurred. The manuscript she was writing was doubtless the sort of political jockeying or apologist tripe which one expects from the period, but her death was still regrettable.\nFor your sister's sake, do not make me have to add your name to this list.\n\u2014 J. Ithaka\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-hosni": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-hosni", "description": "A mother warns her son about a seemingly dark woman", "author": "Sirali", "title": "Letter to Hosni", "text": "Son, I write this to you lest the worst happen before you return to your senses, in which case this may be the only way I can speak to you.\nThe woman Adima is a venomous snake who has poisoned your thoughts and darkened your heart. Indeed, when I see the bloodlust in her eye, I doubt she is a true woman at all.\nYou are strong, my son, and wise in the world's ways, for we have taught you all and held naught back. For you to succumb to the wiles of such a creature sorcery must be involved, for no ordinary human could sway you so from the path of clear thought and action.\nAs you read this, let it be as a window opening in your mind, as a clean wind blowing through your heart.\nAwaken, Hosni, from your dreams of blood. Abjure this Adima, and seek your penitence in whatever task Sister Safia shall set for you. For she will tell you what is right and best to hear, no matter how hard it may be to listen.\nYour Mother, Who Loves You Always,\n\t\u2014 Sirali"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-idirfa": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-idirfa", "description": "Uggissar's family takes refuge in a dangerous place", "author": "Uggissar", "title": "Letter to Idirfa", "text": "Cousin Idirfa,\nSorry for the delay in sending you this letter. I know it might not get delivered for a while, but I wanted to let you know I've had some success. It's been a long journey, but I know it's going to be worth it.\nThe weather turned bad and we were forced to take shelter in Icehammer's Vault. Not as ideal as a nice warm inn, but at least I can look for some treasure while we're here. As long as I'm quick and quiet, I think I can find some gold and maybe a relic or two.\nThe wife is not happy with the situation, of course, but she is patient and understanding. She brought a few books and she's reading to the baby. She prefers religious tomes, but if that's what it takes for her to get through this, that's fine with me.\nI don't feel good about bringing my family here, but you know how those moneylenders are. I actually feel safer with the family beside me than back in Windhelm where they might get harassed.\nWe'll return to Fort Amol as soon as we've got enough to pay off my debts. May the Divines watch over you. May they guide and protect us all.\n\t\u2014 Uggissar"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-imedril": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-imedril", "description": "Plans for some quiet reading", "author": "Hannayel", "title": "Letter to Imedril", "text": "Sapiarch Imedril,\nI think your decision to leave the Academy and go to the ancient ruins was the right call. Something isn't right here, though I can't quite determine what that may be.\nI prefer to disappear into the Academy's books for days on end. I expect to spend a great deal of time hiding in the library's quiet study room. I feel so much safer within its comfortable confines.\nLet me tell you how I plan to organize my research. I'll start by reviewing Telenger's musings about the Sload. The last time we met for dinner, he seemed put off that I could not recall every line of his writings.\nSecond, I'm thinking of re-reading the Imperial Geographical Society's treatise on the Sea Elves. The Academy's library is really quite extensive!\nThird, I've been meaning to read the Mages Guild's description of our esteemed college. I expect to find it full of errors and slights, but maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised.\nFinally, I believe some light reading is in order. Something just for pleasure instead of research. Maybe the fourth volume in the Dark Elf Year 2920 series. I know you look down upon the work, but it's so well-written!\nI may try that technique made popular by the Sapiarch of Foreign Literature. She was an odd one, but I've always been intrigued by the idea of placing books on consecutive podiums and reading them at the same time, shifting from one podium to the next as the subject matter calls to you.\nI'll let you know how the method works.\nHannayel"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-imywn": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-imywn", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Letter to Imwyn", "text": "Imwyn,\nIf you're reading this, then I'm probably dead. Dead, or we're laughing about this together around a fire.\n\tThe Stormfists caught me out in the open. I managed to find this copse. I found a tree to hide beneath. But I don't know if I'll make it out of here.\nListen, you were wrong about Aerana. She should be able to find her own way in Windhelm. If she wants to work a job in the city, let her. Let her find her own way.\nI tried to bring her the Sigil \u2026 but it should be up to her."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-irm": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-irm", "description": "", "author": "Inguya", "title": "Letter to Irm", "text": "Dearest Irm,\nToday Ingfred the Tall had another job, so I'll be down here a little longer. He wanted me to look for ore samples out in some caverns we haven't surveyed. I had to be careful he didn't follow me. I think he was hoping to \"accidentally\" run into me out here, skeever scum that he is. Between him and that lovesick Kelbarn, I get too much attention. Like I haven't noticed either of them ogling me. But nothing could distract me from my lady, right Irm?\nAnyway I found some good samples. I'll deliver them back to Dusktown and, after I take care of a few more things, make for the surface. With luck, we'll be sharing a bed in a week or two!\nYour Inguya.\nPS. Don't cut your hair! I love the soft touch of it."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-isrudde": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-isrudde", "description": "An alchemist wishes to purchase \"red brittle\"", "author": "Elanwen", "title": "Letter to Isrudde", "text": "Isrudde Crows-Watch,\nI have it on good authority that your encampment at the crossroads outside Dragonstar deals with unusual goods. Namely,\u00a0 I understand that you sell used armor and weapons scavenged from fallen Iron Orcs throughout the region.\nIf my information is correct,\u00a0 then I'd like to purchase any items you come across that contain traces of the element commonly referred to as \"red brittle.\" I will pay a fair price in gold for every such item I can obtain.\nPlease contact me at the Dragonstar stables at your earliest convenience and let me know how many such items I can expect.\n-Elanwen,\n\talchemist at large"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-jakarn": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-jakarn", "description": "", "author": "N", "title": "Letter to Jakarn", "text": "All right, sweetmeat. After this favor we're even, yes? For now, anyway.\nTu'heiba travels with her coterie to Darkpool Mine, a sulfur pit far to the west. You should hurry, though. This one does not know how long she plans to stay there.\nSee you around, lover-boy,\nN"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-jakild": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-jakild", "description": "", "author": "Gabbi Forestborne", "title": "Letter to Jakild", "text": "Dearest Cousin Jakild,\nHow's that husband of yours? Still treating you well? And his annoying brother, Kerthor? Still annoying, I'm sure! Are there really enough trees in that part of the tundra for you to make a decent living? And the weather, are the days as gray as the ones in Windhelm?\nI hope you're taking care of my little sister. You know how much Agnedir looks up to you. Of all the cousins, you've always been her favorite. Make sure she also keeps up with her forester training!\nHave you had any luck finding her a decent suitor? There's a logging camp to your east. I know some of the loggers. They're good people. But what about those neighbors you wrote to me about? The ones directly to your west? The rich ones? Any chance someone of rank and wealth will take notice of my little sister? Anyway, may your mead stay cold and flow freely!\n\u2014 Gabbi Forestborne"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-jazish": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-jazish", "description": "Letter of a Khajiit merchant in Firsthold", "author": "Jiyya", "title": "Letter to Jazish", "text": "Jiyya's dearest mate, Jazish,\nThis one writes with heavy heart. The High Elves are a curious sort, and not ones to be taken lightly as an outsider. Their attitude is one of perfection. While their disposition appears serious, their meanings run deep in every word. A seemingly innocent remark may hold the greatest of insults. In a sense, they remind Jiyya of the Khajiit, only most lack clever subtlety. Rather than leave this one thinking, Jiyya always knows sarcasm.\nThis one prays Baan Dar continues to bless her words. It's a wonder Jiyya is still among such people, but Firsthold has proven profitable. Should business continue, this one may be seeing her Jazish very soon.\n\tLove always,\n\tJiyya"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-kathner": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-kathner", "description": "A serious question from friend to friend", "author": "Beast Master Weerna", "title": "Letter to Kathner", "text": "Kathner,\n\tBy the time you get this letter, the boat from the Crucible will be just a few days off the coast of Malabal Tor.\n\tI know we agreed on a thousand gold per ogre, but I'm willing to offer fifteen hundred if you'd come along.\n\tThese brooding gladiators know nothing of true passion, and it has been far too long since my scales quivered under your supple touch.\n\tNo one wants to hear an old Argonian beg, but you're not getting any younger either. Do you really want to spend the rest of your life in a damp cave with those low-lives?\n\t\u2014 Beast Master Weerna"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-kharekh-gra-bagrat": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-kharekh-gra-bagrat", "description": "A scheme to turn the falsely imprisoned into slaves", "author": "H", "title": "Letter to Kharekh gra-Bagrat", "text": "Kharekh,\nI understand your desire for prompt service, but you have to understand these things take time. I can't just arrest every traveler that comes through Suran. Even your new jail isn't big enough for that.\nThe best prospects for conscription are those without family or support, or those with a criminal record on whom I can hang new suspicion. If we arrest someone who can fight the charges, or someone who has a powerful family behind them, our arrangement will come to light very quickly.\nI've just received word that a large caravan of refugees from Cyrodiil will be passing through tomorrow. I have no doubt I'll find some reason to arrest a number of them. Your workers are coming.\nBe patient.\nH"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-king-folbert": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-king-folbert", "description": "The knights of Watcher's Hold beg for relief", "author": "Sir Gregoire Talais", "title": "Letter to King Folbert ", "text": "To his most royal Highness, King Folbert of Daggerfall\nMy king, it is with all respect and humility that I write you once again.\nI have served faithfully as a Knight of the Crown here at Watcher's Hold since I was old enough to lift a sword. Just like the other knights here, my father served here before me and his father before him, going back to the time Queen Prolyssa first assigned us to maintain vigil here. Our forefathers were promised relief at that time, but nearly 150 years later, that relief has still not arrived! Furthermore, it seems the shipments from Daggerfall have stopped coming as well, and we have fallen on hard times.\nHonoring our forefathers' commitment, we knights of Watcher's Hold have remained here out of sense of duty, but morale has never been lower and I fear we must soon resort to common banditry to get much-needed food and supplies. This is the seventh time I've written to you and received no response. I begin to wonder if you have simply forgotten us.\nYour faithful servant,\n\tSir Gregoire Talais\n\t27th Frost Fall, 2E 570"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-to-king-maxevian": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-to-king-maxevian", "description": "Begging the king for relief that hasn't come", "author": "Captain Orrent Retene", "title": "Letter to King Maxevian", "text": "To his most royal Highness, King Maxevian of Shornhelm, My king, it is with all respect and humility that I write you once again. I have served faithfully here at Watcher's Hold since I was old enough to lift a sword. For twenty-four years my compatriots and I maintained our vigil. Our love of king and country remains strong, but morale dwindles, as do our food and supplies. Without relief, I fear we cannot long remain viable. Your majesty, we beg of you. Relieve us of our honorable duty. Your faithful servant, Captain Orrent Retene 27th Frost Fall"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-lady-sulima": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-lady-sulima", "description": "", "author": "Saroldo", "title": "Letter to Lady Sulima", "text": "My darling,\nOur time together has restored a broken spirit and a wounded heart. Your kindness reminds me what it is to love again. I know my travels can cause strain between us, but it is all in our best interest.\nOne day, very soon, I shall complete my travels and my work. At that point, with our future secure, I can finally introduce you to my daughter. I look forward to that day, my love. We will have so much to share.\n- S"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-laenira": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-laenira", "description": "Let's hope Laenira doesn't try to pick the wisps", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Letter to Laenira", "text": "Dear Laenira,\n\tEverything is as you instructed. Beware the wisps! They look like flowers, and I've had several close calls.\n\tSee you soon, love."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-laryaril": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-laryaril", "description": "Conspiracy by members of the Veiled Heritance", "author": "Pelidil", "title": "Letter to Laryaril", "text": "Laryaril,\nI have received word that the queen is indeed alive and well in Marbruk. This was nothing more than a ruse designed by the Queen's Eyes to expose our presence. The pair you attacked were none other than Razum-dar and [Player's name], both of whom are well-known enemies to the Veiled Heritance. Despite their efforts, however, we will soon be prepared to execute our plans.\nPosing as your sister was effective while it lasted, but it's no longer necessary. Come through the sewers and meet me in the old Imperial prison. We have other matters to attend to.\n\u2014 Pelidil"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-laryaril-0": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-laryaril-0", "description": "", "author": "Pelidil", "title": "Letter to Laryaril", "text": "Laryaril,\nI have received word that the queen is indeed alive and well in Marbruk. This was nothing more than a ruse designed by the Queen's Eyes to expose our presence. The pair you attacked were none other than Razum-dar and [Player Name], both of whom are well-known enemies to the Veiled Heritance. Despite their efforts, however, we will soon be prepared to execute our plans.\nPosing as your sister was effective while it lasted, but it's no longer necessary. Come through the sewers and meet me in the Old Imperial Prison. We have other matters to attend to.\n\u2014 Pelidil"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-lauriel": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-lauriel", "description": "A woman away from home begs for word from her younger sister", "author": "Selenwe", "title": "Letter to Lauriel", "text": "Dearest Lauriel,\nI wish you would respond to my letters. I've learned so much here, but I miss my sister. I miss our late-night debates and silly games. Please, just let me know how you're doing. It doesn't have to be more than a few sentences\u2014just something to let me know you're all right.\nMother says you spend whole days in your room, and she rarely hears you sing anymore. It breaks my heart to think that I might have driven you to this wretched state. I should be done with my studies in another year or two. I promise you, when I return home I'll return for good.\nPlease, write me back.\nYour loving sister,\nSelenwe"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-leonce-gavendien": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-leonce-gavendien", "description": "Devious schemes of robbery", "author": "Captain Lagra", "title": "Letter to Leonce Gavendien", "text": "Leonce,\n\tYour scheme to rob Fell's Run is brilliant! And using the old, abandoned fort demonstrates the level of planning that has made you infamous throughout the region.\n\tI will gladly purchase the gems from you. Meet me in Northpoint when you have them.\n\t\u2014Captain Lagra"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-littorn": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-littorn", "description": "A steamy love letter", "author": "General A", "title": "Letter to Littorn", "text": "My sweet Littorn,\nWhy is this so hard? I can't tell you how I long to hold you in my arms and caress your milky-white flesh! I thought having you close by would be a relief, but it's like bellows to the fire in my forge!\nI'm worried that Captain Raelynn suspects us. These damn rules are so stupid, forcing us to keep our love a secret. I don't care. When the city is reclaimed, I'm booking us a room in the inn, and we'll lock ourselves in there for a week to make up for lost time.\nI'll be gentler this time, I promise. Have the bruises healed?\nYour devoted lover,\nGeneral A"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-lozruth": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-lozruth", "description": "", "author": "Goruz", "title": "Letter to Lozruth", "text": "Lozruth,\nGot your missive. Approved to head out. Alone for now. Be there soon.\nDoing my best to keep everyone off your back so you can work. Not easy.\nBest, Goruz"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-mairrna": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-mairrna", "description": "People are disappearing... and birds appearing", "author": "Fascune", "title": "Letter to Mairrna", "text": "Mairrna,\nBlood and Briar! Where is everyone? Grarischan, Enngotain, Manechta \u2026 I was eating with them last week, and now I can't find any of them. Either we've had a lot of deserters in the last few days, or something's wrong.\nThere are less and less people in here and more and more birds. Weird birds too. You don't think the birds are eating people, do you? Let's talk later. I have to go see Chief Uchuiran now. Maybe he'll explain all these things.\nFascune"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-marillan": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-marillan", "description": "Contains a riddle for Dragonguard recruits", "author": "Ilend Balbus", "title": "Letter to Marillan", "text": "Marillan,\nI know you're nervous about leading the initiates tomorrow, but there's nothing to it. Just do your best to encourage them to honor those who came before and to be the best Dragonguard they can be.\nIf you did want to test their wits, however, I came up with a riddle for how to get across the chasm. You can even make it into a competition. Whoever solves it first can have the privilege of shining both our boots. After all, what's the point of moving up the ladder if we can't reap some benefits?\n\"Take the dust of our fallen foe and offer it to the altar. As you walk the path of the Dragonguard, may your steps never falter.\"\nIlend Balbus"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-marina": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-marina", "description": "A somewhat ominous and threatening letter", "author": "Niro", "title": "Letter to Marina", "text": "My Dear Marina,\nA rumor has come to me; I hope you can disprove it. I hear that Octavimus is planning to leave, to run from his obligations. We both know what a mistake that would be. You need to talk him out of it.\nI say this for your health and for his. We both know what will happen if Octavimus leaves. And how could you think of leaving all your friends and the life of the city? I can't believe you would do that.\nDon't force my hand here, Marina. It won't be pleasant for anyone. So be a good wife and see that Octavimus stays put.\n\t\u2014 Niro"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-marshal-hlaren": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-marshal-hlaren", "description": "A letter to the Marshal of Suran.", "author": "Mistress Dren", "title": "Letter to Marshal Hlaren", "text": "Esteemed Marshal,\nThe last group of prisoners you sent me to work my fields have proven less resilient than I'd hoped. They are, without exception, lazy, slow, and dull-witted. Then again, no one ever said Bretons and Bosmer make good slaves. I miss the days when you could buy a dozen strong Argonians for the price of a sturdy wagon.\nAs soon as possible, I'd like a few of those strong Nords you sent over to Kharekh. As she and I have both agreed to your \"work for compensation\" plan, we both deserve an equal share of the resources. I refuse to settle for lower quality workers. Send me only your strongest and brightest.\nI have it on good authority that a group of Nords will be traveling through Suran soon on a trading mission. If you manage to arrest one or two, I'd be happy to take them off your hands. Until then, I remain your friend and confidant.\nMistress Dren"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-master-rethan": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-master-rethan", "description": "A plot and a brew", "author": "Foreman Nox", "title": "Letter to Master Rethan", "text": "Master Rethan,\nYou'll be happy to hear that your scheme is working perfectly! Well, maybe not \"perfectly,\" but well enough. The most recent batch of laborers came in yesterday. They were a sluggish bunch. Wary, too. But the promise of a few more drakes got them moving. They should make a fine batch.\nThat alchemist of yours\u2014Gavros, is it? He's set up shop in the old Daedric ruin. You should see it! Haven't been around that many bottles and burners since my days in the skooma trade! He says he's working on some variation of the formula. You might want to ask him about it, boss. The air in his lab has gotten thick as my auntie's morel porridge.\nForeman Nox"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-mertis": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-mertis", "description": "A plot to steal a plot of land", "author": "J", "title": "Letter to Mertis", "text": "Oathman Mertis Othren,\nIt brought me great joy to hear you accepted my contract. You come highly recommended, despite your arcane handicaps. This task requires discretion and, I fear, some measure of martial prowess. If the stories are true, you possess both in ample measure.\nThe recently elevated Argonian, Sun-in-Shadow, shows ambition well beyond her station. My contacts tell me she plans to purchase land outside Vos for Master Firuth\u2014one of my witless rivals.\nThe task is simple: travel to Vos and keep watch for Sun-in-Shadow's associate. Once this henchman chooses a plot, swoop in, secure the deed, and make haste to a secluded spot. Use the enclosed calling-crystal to signal me. I will travel to your location and exchange the second half of your fee for the deed. While I'd prefer a clean and bloodless acquisition, do not hesitate to use lethal force if necessary.\nI hope my faith in you is not misplaced. Remember, you serve the Great House Telvanni. Bring honor to yourself and your House.\nJ"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-mirudda-0": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-mirudda-0", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Letter to Mirudda", "text": "Fewer and fewer travelers are using the roads thanks to all the recent trouble. There's no one to send up your way.\nPlease, give me some time. I have a plan to start trying to send them from the cities. I need a few days to actually get around people though.\nJust keep that slimy pet of yours far away from me. I'll make sure it has something to eat soon."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-mother-ciannait": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-mother-ciannait", "description": "Icereach witches plan to increase their power", "author": "Bani", "title": "Letter to Mother Ciannait", "text": "Mother Ciannait,\n\nHiti, Maefyn, and the others seem pleased with our progress, but in truth, we have little to celebrate. Very little! While they fritter away their days with the simple business of lightning and flame, I toil here in my laboratory trying to unlock the storm's deepest potential!\n\nI must have more corpses, Mother. The sailors our servants dredge up are far too bloated to be of any use\u2014to say nothing of the wretched mess they leave on my examination tables! I need fresh bodies if I'm to make any headway at all.\n\nI proposed a lottery to Gohlla. We would assemble our strongest children in the courtyard and choose one at random every few days. They would give their lives gladly, Mother\u2014of that I am certain!\n\nOur success depends on our mastery of death. Death often requires sacrifice. Think on it.\n\nYour obedient servant,\nBani"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-mylenne": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-mylenne", "description": "Motivational speech, from one werewolf to another", "author": "Vykosa the Ascendant", "title": "Letter to Mylenne", "text": "Mylenne,\nNever lose faith in what we have worked so hard to achieve. The pack has grown larger than this one could have ever dreamed. Stronger. In the many years Vykosa has lived, never has she been more proud, more sure of her success.\nFor too long we have been hunted, killed. Slaughtered like animals by the very warriors who declare themselves heroes. And for too long we've simply ran.\nNow is the time to strike back.\nOur pack grows more powerful with each passing moon. We've gathered allies. We've strengthened those within our ranks. And the result is an army that will make all of Tamriel tremble.\nNo longer shall we hide within the shadows, fearing those who dare hunt us. We shall rise up! We shall take control! And if any refuse to join us? They shall fall to our claws.\nThe final steps are almost at hand, Mylenne. Continue to have faith, and you shall be well rewarded. This one swears it.\n-Vykosa the Ascendant"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-nabor": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-nabor", "description": "A betrayal of Necromancer siblings", "author": "Voria", "title": "Letter to Nabor", "text": "Dearest Nabor,\n\nI know that you probably hate me. You certainly hate what I've chosen to do to you. I don't begrudge you those feelings, but it's only right that I explain why I'm doing what I'm doing. You must know that I do not torment you needlessly. I hope that brings you some measure of solace.\n\nThe fact is that I need what you have. Life and vigor specifically. I cannot take it from the Pyre Watch without alerting them to our presence. I cannot take it from the bones of the Host, since they have no vigor left to give. That leaves you, Nabor. Reliable, vigorous, sturdy Nabor.\n\nNow, you may experience something akin to hunger\u2014an inexplicable craving that comes from somewhere other than the belly. I will be honest: that hunger will only grow, and you will struggle to bear it. What I take from you must be replenished, you see. You may strip the strength from any living creatures that stray too close. It matters little to me. Just know that I will not stop taking what I require until my work is complete\u2014until my creation walks these halls, perfected.\n\nThis creature\u2014our child\u2014will bring new meaning to the dark practice. No undead creature will compare to its glory. You play an instrumental role in this achievement, Nabor. When the pangs of hunger and pain become unbearable, think on that.\n\nYours,\nVoria"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-narsis": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-narsis", "description": "Letter from a plague victim", "author": "Ida", "title": "Letter to Narsis", "text": "Dearest Seron,\n\tI fear the plague has found me. I shall miss you, my love.\n\t\u2014Ida"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-negaelion": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-negaelion", "description": "Someone needs to get their life together", "author": "Glardel", "title": "Letter to Negaelion", "text": "Cousin,\nYou said you were coming here for the cause. To respect what came before. To stop the piles of dung heaped upon us by interlopers.\nBut the only interloper dung pile I've seen these past few months is your own. You eat my food and drink my rotmeth\u2014all my rotmeth, all day long. At least your wife helps with the sweeping, but it's all after the messes you cause. Pull your weight or start paying rent.\n\u2014Glardel\nPS: I've seen what they wear in Malabal Tor. \"Too lazy to wash your own clothes\" is not \"Malabal Tor style.\" Put a shirt on\u2014you're walking Altmer propaganda."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-norasea": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-norasea", "description": "", "author": "Haladan", "title": "Letter to Norasea", "text": "Dear Norasea,\nMy heart breaks at this dreadful news. You must come to Lillandril at once! The Sapiarchs have ample resources. I promise you, we will cure this affliction, no matter the cost.\nI've met someone. His name is Emile, and he possesses a rare gift when it comes to the arts of healing and restoration. Between the three of us, we will find a way to restore your good health. I swear it.\nPlease, hurry! And if anyone else suffers the same affliction, bring them too.\nYour Dear Friend,\nHaladan"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-ofglog": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-ofglog", "description": "A note about a disappearing Orc", "author": "Shakul", "title": "Letter to Ofglog", "text": "Ofglog gro-Barkbite,\nThe entire stronghold gathered around to see what you learned at that fancy college. We closed our eyes, just like you asked. You said some fancy words, and then \u2026 nothing. When we opened our eyes, you were gone.\nMoramat opened her fool mouth and wondered if you'd turned invisible\u2014and they all looked at me! Everyone knows you've been sniffing around my forge for years, and they know I've turned you away. Then Sharnag blurted out, \"Looks like he finally came to his senses,\" and they all started laughing.\nThis is the last time you make a fool of me. Wherever you went, I hope you never come back. I hate you.\n\t\u2014Shakul"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-orzorga": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-orzorga", "description": "The general would like to put the commander back in charge", "author": "General Proximus", "title": "Letter to Orzorga", "text": "Commander Orzorga,\nPlease reconsider my offer of reinstatement. You are more than capable of commanding the Irregulars. I can think of no finer an officer, and I've been through so many.\nWhat happened on the shores of Lake Rumare is a tragedy, but it is a lesson every officer must learn. Soldiers are a resource like any other, to be expended as one would the ammunition for siege weapons or the feed for horses. They are a matter of logistics-nothing more.\nThink on my words. The White-Gold Tower is within our grasp.\nGeneral Proximus"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-paathi": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-paathi", "description": "A Moon-Bishop is acting suspicious", "author": "Shola'mai", "title": "Letter to Paathi", "text": "Paathi,\nI am worried. Shola'mai does not wish to spread rumors, but Moon Bishop Kulan-dro's behavior grows stranger by the day. He was late to midday meditation again, and muttered through the Tojay chant. This one knows it is forbidden to open his eyes during the mantras, but I could not help but take a peek. Kulan-dro's snout was twisted into a sneer, and his tail swept back and forth like a prayer bell. This alone would not raise Shola'mai's hackles-but his claws were tapping in time. They were clicking against the stone, again and again. It made this one's head swim!\nWe must send word to the Mane. I sense something dark in that rhythm. If the Bishop has bent, all of us are at risk.\nStay out of sight for the next few days, and if you hear the rhythm, flee the temple.\nMoons protect you,\nShola'mai"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-percy-velmont": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-percy-velmont", "description": "The lady Anais Belmont informs her brother of her sudden departure", "author": "Lady Anais Velmont", "title": "Letter to Percy Velmont", "text": "Percy,\nCome now, my dear younger brother! Get your head out of the latest \"Pirate Empress Thusa ap Lagud\" novel long enough to pay attention to my words. I'm going on a trip. Yes, it is quite sudden and unexpected, and no, I didn't have time to tell you in person. A number of business matters require my attention, along with a few social engagements that I really must attend. I left a copy of my itinerary around, in case you care.\nWhile I'm away, don't get any ideas. Father left me in charge of the business and family holdings. Just try not to let anything go horribly wrong before I return.\nSee you in a few weeks, dear brother. If you do well in my absence, perhaps I'll pick up the next \"Pirate Empress\" adventure for you while I'm in Anvil.\nYour sister,\nAnais"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-peryite": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-peryite", "description": "A fanatic's letter to his Daedric patron", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Letter to Peryite", "text": "Thank you, Peryite.\nI know you will never read this, but I need to thank you in writing for listening to my prayers. This letter is written to you, but it is not for you. This letter is for all the non-believers. The doubters. The ones who scoffed when I told them the Old Gods would wash away their evil. I prayed to every Daedric Prince, but you were the one who answered. The one who saw that the only way to fix this city was to kill it from within and burn it to the ground. Even as the flu spreads through my body and the blood flows from my mouth, a smile crosses my face, and a single phrase circles my fevered mind.\nThank you, Peryite."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-purifier-cyrus": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-purifier-cyrus", "description": "The Silver Dawn, once hunters, become the hunted", "author": "Scout Avaline", "title": "Letter to Purifier Cyrus", "text": "Purifier Cyrus,\nThe Order of the Silver Dawn has been compromised! During my excursions to locate the lair of Magnar Child-Eater and his pack of feral werewolves, I uncovered information of a terrible and disconcerting nature. The Magnar Pack has been hunting the order!\nI was able to extract tantalizing details from the last werewolf I captured before I finally ended his pitiful existence. He told me, under much duress, that the Magnar Pack had followed another of our order back to the Argent Mine. Even now, Magnar and his pack of brutal savages gather near the mine and prepare to make an assault on the very heart of the order!\nPrepare the mine. Bolster our defenses. Fortify the passages. The Magnar Pack is coming! I just hope this message arrives in time.\nScout Avaline"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-raelynne": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-raelynne", "description": "Plans to raise armies in old ruins", "author": "Gaston", "title": "Letter to Raelynne", "text": "Raelynne,\nOur master's commands part us for now, but we will be together forever. Raise an army in Underpall, and I will raise mine in Lipsand. We will meet in the Twilight Woods and sweep all of northern Cyrodiil before us.\nAnd who knows how long the master will lead? There are many casualties in war, even among the mighty and seemingly immortal. Perhaps we will soon be our own masters once again, as we were in Wayrest.\nI long to be with you again, sweet sister.\n\t\u2014 Gaston"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-raerana": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-raerana", "description": "A somewhat possessive love letter", "author": "Rilyn", "title": "Letter to Raerana ", "text": "Dearest Raerana,\nI pray this finds you well. I can't stand the thought of you there, with those people. With each passing day, my love for you grows stronger. I can take you away from it all, if you'd only give the word.\nSomeday soon we'll be together forever. Your father will have to let you go. I'll give him no choice, you'll see. I'll take you away, and you won't have to be afraid any longer.\nMeet me tonight. You know the place.\nEver yours,\n\tRilyn"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-rana": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-rana", "description": "A letter informing Rana of her court-martial", "author": "General Vayne Redoran, Vivec Garrison", "title": "Letter to Rana", "text": "Captain Rana,\n\tIn light of your actions, I have no choice but to strip you of your command and rank. Your time at the Pelagiad Garrison is over.\n\tTomorrow you will appear before a court-martial. They will decide your ultimate fate.\n\tMay the Three have mercy on your writhing soul. The court will not.\n\t\u2014 General Vayne Redoran, Vivec Garrison"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-reezal-jul": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-reezal-jul", "description": "A rather incriminating letter", "author": "Baron Montclair", "title": "Letter to Reezal-Jul", "text": "General Reezal-Jul,\nOrlozag will get you more people. I promised you resources and I will not go back on my word, But you had better be right about these creatures you can create. You promised me an army of obedient, strong servants and I expect you to deliver. If not, we can always create more bloodfiends.\nIn the meantime, hold the upper city. When the time is right, bring in reinforcements and push forward. Take the whole city. Use the old Fevered Mews as a staging ground. You can open a portal there and I'll send troops through, out of sight of the Shornhelm Guard. Then we can launch a surprise attack and all of Shornhelm will be mine!\nAnd remember, use the powers we have been given. Your creations are well and fine, but employ our blessed gift to create more vampires and bloodfiends whenever the opportunity arises.\nI am sure that Dorell and Tamrith will dither for days before making a decision, which gives us plenty of time. I look forward to hearing them beg for their worthless lives.\n\u2014 Baron Montclair"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-roshilde": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-roshilde", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Letter to Roshilde", "text": "Roshilde,\nWe need to get moving. As soon as you get this, start making your first trip back to the surface. Pretty soon, we're not going to have enough people to haul everything up. Another sentry took a chunk out of Zabashil last night.\nHe's alive, but he won't be carrying much anymore."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-rulassalmo": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-rulassalmo", "description": "", "author": "Fistalime", "title": "Letter to Rulassalmo", "text": "Dear Rulassalmo,\nIt's only been a few days since I left Vulkhel Guard, but I miss you terribly. I hope business picks up, and I have an excuse to see you again soon.\nI hate that we live so far apart. Distance is so cruel to young relationships. I hope my letter reaches you safely and look forward to reading your loving response.\nYours,\n\tFistalime"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-runescriber-kulth": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-runescriber-kulth", "description": "Rune-inscription has to speed up", "author": "Braadoth", "title": "Letter to Runescriber Kulth", "text": "Runescriber Kulth,\nWhat else must I provide you in order to increase the speed by which our warriors are inscribed with your runes? We need to decorate each of our troll and welwa soldiers as quickly as possible, as well as begin the process to inscribe Iron Orcs with the same nirncrux-infused runes of power.\nDo not fail me, Kulth. Your runes are the key to the success of our troll army. Moreover, I imagine a day when every troll, welwa. and Iron Orc under my command is decorated your infused artistry. That will be a glorious day indeed.\nBlood for our enemies, steel for our tribe!\n-Braadoth,\n\tOphidian Exarch of Undulating Destruction"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-savarak": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-savarak", "description": "A letter about a plot to poison Dratha.", "author": "N", "title": "Letter to Savarak", "text": "Sedura Savarak,\nThe coin-barons of House Hlaalu are pleased with your progress, but there is much left undone. Enclosed is a letter of credit that should keep you well-funded for now.\nOne matter of consternation persists\u2013Dratha's health. So long as that witch draws breath, our plans remain stymied. Your kinsmen in House Telvanni lack the Hlaalu's attention to detail, but even the most foolish mage cannot be tricked forever. We must redouble our efforts.\nDo your part and all accounts will be paid. House Hlaalu shall welcome you, and Tel Mora will be yours to rule.\nN"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-selenwe": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-selenwe", "description": "A mother is concerned about her youngest daughter's behavior", "author": "Ohadil", "title": "Letter to Selenwe", "text": "Dear Selenwe,\nI hope all is well, my dear. In reference to your query, no, I'm afraid Lauriel has not improved. She misses you terribly, but says very little about it. How I long to hear her beautiful voice again! Do you remember the autumn hymn she used to sing each morning? I still hear her hum it from time to time, but it's a mournful rendition to be sure.\nShe's made a new friend\u2014an artificer from Sunhold. I tell you, daughter, something about him puts me ill-at-ease. He rarely speaks and dresses in a manner most unbecoming. Then there's the smell. A musty, acrid scent follows him wherever he goes. The two of them spend hours in the catacombs, sharpening their spellcraft. I asked her why she would train in such a dour place, but she refused to answer.\nA few days ago, I worked up the nerve to forbid Lauriel from seeing this vagabond again, but called off at the last moment. I feel her drifting further away from me with each passing day. If I rob her of this new friend, she may turn her back on us completely.\nYou know her better than anyone. What can I do? I await your reply with great anxiety.\nYour loving mother,\nOhadil"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-selloe": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-selloe", "description": "", "author": "Ghisiliane of Summerset", "title": "Letter to Selloe", "text": "Selloe,\nImagine my surprise when I received a message from Auberic Dufont. He is very anxious to receive his entry token for the next scheduled event. If I recall correctly, and of course I do, you were tasked with making sure it was delivered to him with all appropriate pomp. He is a very wealthy addition to our clientele and deserves the utmost attention.\nIf you cannot handle both a simple task as well as being able to recruit suitable candidates for the next event, do let me know. I am sure there are others who can do either or both tasks ably enough.\nGhisiliane of Summerset"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-sentulus": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-sentulus", "description": "A plot to unravel the Covenant", "author": "Nightcaller Chartrand", "title": "Letter to Sentulus", "text": "Sentulus,\nOver the years, I have recruited dozens to the ranks of the Supernal Dreamers, but none of my recruits have made me nearly so proud as you have. The experiment in Koeglin Village appears to have met with significant success. Your work there has inspired us all and indeed caught the attention of our divine mistress. Vaermina has sent some of her most potent minions to help spread our influence in Stormhaven. Powerful Daedra known as \"Omens\" are working behind the scenes in places of power across this kingdom to mimic your achievement. With their aid, we will ensure that the Daggerfall Covenant is plunged into a nightmare from whence it will not be able to return.\nThe task with which you have now been charged is unchanged, but no less critical. We will need hordes of scamps, clannfear, and Dremora to plague these lands and perpetuate the waking nightmare our mistress has envisioned. Make efforts to recruit local citizens to our cause. If they will not join us, they may be used as vessels or blood sacrifices to aid in the summoning of Daedra.\nIn Vaermina's dark name,\n\tNightcaller Chartrand"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-septimius": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-septimius", "description": "Research on the Hist, the Saxhleel, Black Marsh, and how they all connect", "author": "Junia Severa", "title": "Letter to Septimius", "text": "Brother Septimius,\nSince you took me as your pupil, I have learned many things. The most important lesson, for me, was finally having someone tell me to be reckless. Like you, I have a curious soul. I could not have lived a normal life. You told me to let my curiosity get me killed if I had to. You gave me a list of mysteries to solve and sent me into Black Marsh. You taught me not to fear Argonia. You kept me afloat, and I had not realized it until I received word of your failing health.\nWe have shared many discoveries through our correspondence over the years. I truly believe I will complete the list one day. Assuming, that is, I can ever return to Black Marsh. Yes, Brother Septimius, even though you bade me not to worry, I have set out for Cyrodiil. I will be at your side through this. Until then, I will put personal matters aside and give you something to read while you are abed.\nYou placed the most difficult mystery at the top of the list, no doubt hoping it would scare me off. What is the nature of the Hist?\nI do not have the answer. I do not even have many statements to make about this subject I would consider fact. I only hope you will still enjoy my conjecture.\nThey are merely trees say some skeptical people. Trees grown by the lizard folk of Black Marsh so they can drink of the sap. They all remember Topal's description of a fetid and evil place, and they naturally draw wary conclusions. Legions came back speaking of venomous plants, poisonous bogs, and strange defenders that attack with fury one day and ignore invaders the next. And when even the more \"civilized\" lizard folk cannot seem to provide answers that assuage their fears, well, it is no surprise these so-called learned scholars have come to fear Argonians and their strange trees.\nThose in our circle would add that these trees are sentient, and it may be that they are the ones that grew the lizard folk. I had hoped to prove or disprove this by careful study of the birth cycle of the Saxhleel. Unfortunately, as you know, every answer was another question. I can only say with certainty that every interview I have been able to conduct about this topic resulted in the conclusion that the Saxhleel cannot fathom the idea of one coming before the other. I will not digress into further discussion about the way this fascinating culture views linear events, as you have asked me not to do so every time I write.\nBut I can tell you this, old friend, the Hist are not simply trees, regardless of sentience. It is true that the trees are impressive and demand a certain respect when you stand beneath them, but I have always found the roots most fascinating. If only I could properly describe the things I have seen, Brother Septimius. Beneath the swamp the roots grow deep and spread so wide it is impossible to know which tree they originated from. In a way, I believe, the roots are the marsh. The roots hold it all together, and they determine when it changes.\nI know we have spoken of this before, and you posited that the chaotic nature of the marsh is simply a result of a type of magic similar to what we have seen from the Elves of Valenwood. I cannot refute the claim and I see the logic in it, but I do not believe it to be true.\nI have seen skilled trackers foiled by this land on a whim. I cannot say I have ever seen it move, but I have picked up a good enough sense of navigation in my time to know when I am being led in circles. And that is without going into more questionable theories of relative space. I believe like the Saxhleel change to accommodate their environment, the roots change Black Marsh in a way that it sees most fit.\nI tell you, Brother Septimius, the province of Black Marsh has never once been close to conquered. The borders can barely even be considered Argonia. The maps cannot be correct. The roots grow too deep and too wide for us to know the true Argonia.\nAll of academia has been too focused on the sap. Is it not the Wood Elves I just wrote of who call themselves the Tree-Sap People?\nThe Saxhleel are the People of the Root, and that is where I will find the answer to your most challenging mystery.\nIt will have to wait until I return. I will see you soon and we will get you on the path to healing.\nWith love,\nJunia Severa"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-seyne": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-seyne", "description": "A letter from a proud sibling", "author": "Samel", "title": "Letter to Seyne", "text": "My Stalwart Sister,\nThe Three find you well, I hope. I have much to tell you. We've undertaken a full-scale irrigation project on the south side of town. One of the Argonians has shown us how to improve the ditch water system in place.\n\tWe miss you here, Seyne. One person leaving a small town like ours leaves a big gap to fill!\nSeyne, know we think of you often. I'm so proud to be your brother. I know you're fighting for the safety of the Pact and that you're making Father proud at Vivec's side. Just remember, you always have a home here.\nIf the campaign ends, rest easy knowing you still have a bunk.\n\tFaithfully,\n\tSamel"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-shirnama": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-shirnama", "description": "", "author": "Ra'khajin", "title": "Letter to Shirnama", "text": "Shirnama,\nYou must be more selective in your recruitment. As our presence in Senchal grows, more and more seek to join us to find refuge from the coming storm. We have no need for weak, unskilled rabble. You must now seek warriors.\nThe underground arena in the Black Kiergo should suit our needs nicely. Select only the finest warriors and invite them to our fortress. Do not disappoint me.\nMay the New Moon Soon Rise Above Us All,\nRa'khajin"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-skull-brother-xandier": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-skull-brother-xandier", "description": "A collector of Nedic artifacts speaks of great treasures", "author": "Emutaril", "title": "Letter to Skull-Brother Xandier", "text": "Xandier,\nIt has been far too long since last we met. I do so miss the company of a fellow collector, and I believe I have a remedy for that. More accurately, a rumor for that. You won't believe the things I've heard about what people are finding in Craglorn.\nI know you have an interest in the most ancient of relics, and I shouldn't have to remind you (though I will anyway) that the Nedes themselves were known to inhabit that territory in antiquity. Can you imagine the prestige owning even a Nedic chamber pot, much less an inscription or warding-prism, would garner? I can!\nWe must meet again and try our luck at recovering one of these priceless relics. When is the earliest you can meet me in Dragonstar? Oh, and just ignore all the chatter about how dangerous it is over there. I'm sure it's nothing we can't handle!\nYour Fellow Collector,\n\tEmutaril"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-sonya": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-sonya", "description": "A sad letter from a husband to a wife", "author": "Hadmal", "title": "Letter to Sonya", "text": "Sonya,\nI don't know why I continue to leave you these notes. You and the children have been gone for more than ten years now. Perhaps they make me feel better. Make me believe that what I did wasn't awful. That what I did was necessary.\nYou changed so much. Became a different person. But I'll always remember the woman I loved. The woman who gave me three beautiful daughters. That's the woman I'll always hold in my heart.\n\tBut when you met that man, the stranger from that cult, you changed. You brought our children into it when I was away. You corrupted them!\nI'll never forgive you for that. But I'll never stop loving you, either. I enlisted in King Jorunn's army, stationed at Jorunn's Stand. The King needs us now. Especially with the threat his brother Fildgor and the Orcs pose to the land. I'll travel with him until, well, until I'm struck down in battle or this war ends. I hope to become one of the King's honor guard.\nPerhaps when we meet in Sovngarde, you'll be the woman I first fell in love with again. Not the woman who embraced dark magic. Not the woman I had to kill.\nLove,\n\tHadmal"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-stelvene-lothaire": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-stelvene-lothaire", "description": "", "author": "Rincous", "title": "Letter to Stelvene Lothaire", "text": "Stelvene! Come back, you fool. He yet lives!\nI can take you to him. We have a wagon! Your father has an entire legion looking for you. How much of your fortune have you spent hidden away for this long?\nCome home, and I will tell you everything I know.\nAbandon this madness. Abandon this false god!\n\u2014Rincous"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-strastnoc": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-strastnoc", "description": "", "author": "Linele", "title": "Letter to Strastnoc", "text": "Strastnoc,\n\tYou're probably resting your hairy arse on the throne of Evermore by now. I wish we were having as much luck. I know this deal with the Worms is important, but I'm starting to wonder whether we can really trust them. I'll explain more when you get back.\n\tLinele"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-sybilline-elve": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-sybilline-elve", "description": "A small loan is needed to get a regal family back on their feet", "author": "Meluse Scribonia", "title": "Letter to Sybilline Elve", "text": "Sybilline, my dear friend! Did you misplace my previous letters? No matter, I shall reiterate.\nThe Scribonias were once the most powerful family of the Gold Coast. Our ancestral home was the talk of every quarter in the Imperial City. Many an Emperor visited our estate and rode through our lush and unspoiled lands. Our loyalty to Imperial rule was never questioned. When my mother threw in her lot with Varen Aquilarios, she did so absolutely. The very stone of our own estate helped form Varen's Wall.\nBut as Varen's fortunes fell, so did those of the Scribonias. We find ourselves with little gold to our name. As you well know, gold must be spent to acquire more gold. A simple loan of 50,000 crowns would do well to restore us to our rightful place, and you are the moneylender upon whom I count to do so. I eagerly await your response!\nYour dear friend,\n\u2014Meluse Scribonia\nPS: It is true I have spent much time at the arena in Kvatch. I assure you this is entirely for the thrill of the sport, and has nothing to do with the gambling."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-tarnamir": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-tarnamir", "description": "Announcing an apology tour", "author": "Halimorion", "title": "Letter to Tarnamir", "text": "Ceruval Tarnamir,\nI understand that you received a formal complaint from the Wood Elf community regarding my associations with one of their number\u2014a handsome Wood Elf maid named Farril. Please believe me when I say that this entire matter is a tragic misunderstanding, blown wildly out of proportion by their lack of education and inherent, brutish biases. I assure you, I have treated the Wood Elves with all the respect they deserve and I never laid a hand on Farril.\nEven so, it is our burden to make our new guests feel as welcome as possible. Therefore, in order to address any lingering concerns, I have dismissed Farril from her indenture. I sent her to one of my local competitors (another tenant of yours, I believe) with a ringing endorsement. I hear she has found comfortable employment there, and is quite pleased with this outcome.\nAs an additional gesture of good will, I will be sending a gift to my new Wood Elf neighbors.\nAs you well know, our labors rely on tight communal bonds of fraternity and love. I hope the steps I've taken will be sufficient.\nHarmoniously Yours,\nHalimorion"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-tavo-nahrina": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-tavo-nahrina", "description": "", "author": "Nahrina", "title": "Letter to Tavo from Nahrina", "text": "Dearest Tavo,\nPlease try to return to Sentinel as quickly as you can. If the debt collector comes and we come up short, I fear what he might do. A dozen relics should more than cover our debt.\nYours forever,\n\tNahrina"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-telenger": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-telenger", "description": "A glowing recommendation for a young Apprentice", "author": "Namolelcare, Firsthold Hall Steward", "title": "Letter to Telenger", "text": "My most esteemed colleague, Telenger the Artificer,\nIt's with great pride that I send you a recommendation for Vinandalin Aonudar. Vinandalin has proven himself very capable in six schools of magic. He's excelled beyond his fellow classmates and is ready for the field. I realize you have many candidates to choose from, but Vinandalin would surprise even you if he were chosen to study.\nHere in the Firsthold, he's been promoted from the rank of Student to Apprentice. We're all very proud of him! I assure you, if Vinandalin were chosen, he would not disappoint.\nRegards,\n\tNamolelcare, Firsthold Hall Steward\nP.S.: I hope Meldil is working out well for you, and all is well in the south. Be sure to pass us a copy of your writings on Ezduiin!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-thalrinel": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-thalrinel", "description": "", "author": "E.", "title": "Letter to Thalrinel", "text": "My Dearest Thalrinel,\nI write to you in the hope that I find you in good health and good spirits. You will need both in the days and weeks to come.\nI know you were not looking for this much excitement so early in your tenure as Treethane of Silvenar, but the gods challenge us to make us stronger, not to make us more comfortable.\nCertainly the deaths of Finoriell and her silvenar caught us all by surprise. Some say it's the price we pay for joining the Aldmeri Dominion and involving ourselves in the upheaval of Khenarthi's Roost.\nI've even heard a few grumblings against the queen, and the Khajiit in general.\nYou must not let this discontent show at the handfast! I saw your invitation list, and you did exactly what you needed to do. Members of all the Dominion races have been invited and, should they attend, we must treat them as close friends.\nIf we are to stand against the growing darkness, we must join hands to know who our allies truly are.\n\tAll my best,\n\t\u2014 E."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-thane-ogvar": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-thane-ogvar", "description": "Report to the Thane regarding Sea Giants", "author": "Thunvilde", "title": "Letter to Thane Ogvar", "text": "Thaane Ogvar,\nI did as you asked and scrounged for any information on these Sea Giants. Not surprisingly, I haven't turned up much. Most of what I learned came from those old salts we pulled out of the harbor just before the vampires made it to Kyne's Perch. They seemed eager to tell me all they knew, but I doubt we can count any of it as wholly accurate. They are sailors, after all. The only thing a sailor does better than sail is lie. Even so, it's all we've got.\nAccording to Stegryr, Sea Giants are related to the Giants we find on the mainland, but smarter. He compared the relationship to himself and his touched cousin, Tornir. That falls in line with Ingfir's testimony. He swears he heard one of them talk. Not just the half-giants, mind. He said one of the largest of them yelled something in Cyrodilic. If that's true, it turns what we know of Giants completely on its head. I've heard tales of ancient giants, and Atmoran titans, and such, but I just thought they were childrens' stories. For all Stegryr's insistence, he admitted he'd never actually seen one before now. Take that for what it's worth.\nIndeed, all the sailors admitted they'd never seen a Sea Giant. \"Anyone who sees one doesn't survive to tell the tale,\" they say. Only one of them claims to have seen a Sea Giant before now: Thengret. She's the grayest of them\u2014at least 80 years-old, I wager. She grew up in a fishing village just west of Dawnstar, and her grandmother told her that Sea Giants raid the coast when \"the Pale grows frigid as a draugr's heart, horkers freeze to death on the rocks, and trolls weep from the bitter cold.\" Well, we suffered such a winter in 2E 532, and standing on the coast in a frosty gale, she saw one of their longships gliding through the snow and sleet. That's it. That's the story.\nI don't have to tell you that we've seen mild winters these last few years. Milder than some, anyway. So, Thengret's story just doesn't make sense\u2014until, of course, you add these vampires to it. We all know the stories about Falgravn; how he can twist people's minds and sink ships in frothing gyres of blood. Maybe he offered the Giants something, or bent their will to his. Either way, it's an alliance no one could have seen coming. I pray it doesn't reach the mainland. I don't know if the people of Solitude are strong enough to drive it back.\nThunvilde"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-grand-chanter": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-grand-chanter", "description": "A priest of Akatosh desperately wants reassignment", "author": "Chanter Nemus", "title": "Letter to the Grand Chanter", "text": "Your Excellence, the Grand Chanter,\nI must ask again, when can I be reassigned to the Kvatch Cathedral? The shrine devoted to Akatosh here in the Chapel of Dibella is fine, but I must admit to a sense of discomfort among all these Dibella followers. One of the Eight Divines is as great as the next, of course, but my heart and soul longs to be in the presence of the Dragon God's grand palace in Kvatch. Besides, there are so many heathen pirates in Anvil. How the other priests of the Divines stand them is beyond my capacity for rational thought.\nI know! If I can aid in the efforts against the Shadows That We Hate, would that earn me a position at the Cathedral? There's that little Nord woman I mentioned in my last two letters. She has opened up to me about topics that would make your blood run cold, your Excellence. Perhaps I can use some of what she confided in me to weaken the Shadows and perhaps even throw them into some confusion. Yes, I'll make sure that the next time we speak, I strongly suggest a course of action that will separate her from her pack. I may even have a use for those Silver Dawn fanatics.\nI await the good news that you have finally found a place for me in the Cathedral.\nYour servant in Akatosh,\nChanter Nemus"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-icereach-coven": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-icereach-coven", "description": "Correspondence between the Icereach Coven and their benefactor", "author": "R", "title": "Letter to the Icereach Coven", "text": "Sisters of Icereach,\n\nIt pleases me to hear that you have accepted my offer. You do your ancient sisterhood credit by showing such clarity of vision. A prince is often judged by the company he keeps, and in you I find kindred spirits, willing to press their shoulders to the plow in pursuit of a greater world.\n\nMy vassal assures me that he delivered all the reagents you requested. Should this ritual prove too difficult, I trust that you will notify me in short order. Our moment draws near. Even now, wheels are in motion that cannot be halted. Much will depend on your speed and precision.\n\nSome of you may have misgivings about our arrangement. Know this, sisters: I always honor my word. Deliver on your promise, and I vow in blood to do the same. Fail to honor our terms, and I will paint the walls of your keep red with the viscera of your fallen servants. This I swear.\n\nI look forward to seeing the results of your ritual. Soon, we will bring the Nords to heel, and all that you lost shall be restored.\n\nRespectfully,\n-R"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-overseer": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-overseer", "description": "Miners are getting suspicious about the growing disappearances in Blackreach", "author": "Bruik", "title": "Letter to the Overseer", "text": "More and more vampires arrive in Blackreach every day. Their attacks grow more frequent. I can only fight off so many before your miners realize the danger and abandon the town. I believe Captain Ageran already suspects something. You must speak with him soon to quell his concerns.\nAs promised, I am doing all that I can to protect your venture. But with the rise in attacks, the situation is more arduous than I anticipated. Due to the increased risk, I require additional blood donors. Preferably weaker targets whose disappearance will likely go unnoticed.\nIf you have reservations about this, remember that I have proof of our arrangement. If you want this to remain between us, do as I ask.\nBruik"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-pentarch": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-pentarch", "description": "", "author": "R", "title": "Letter to the Pentarch", "text": "Pentarch Zaros,\nPreparations are complete, my Breton brother. We are ready to begin the ritual.\nSend the latest shipment to Kilkreath Temple. Sister Ambritt will put everything to good use.\nYou have done well.\nAwait my next command.\nR"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-twilight-mage": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-twilight-mage", "description": "", "author": "Magister Marashi", "title": "Letter to the Twilight Mage", "text": "Master Avayan,\nThis one will be visiting Selfora shortly and would love to make use of your fabulous crafting stations\u2014 provided you're amenable. I'll even bring a few bottles of golden wine to refill your pantry!\n\u2014Magister Marashi"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-withered-rose": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-withered-rose", "description": "Regarding secret tunnels underneath a brotherl", "author": "Lord Quintus Jarol", "title": "Letter to the Withered Rose", "text": "My dearest Ladia,\nHow are you, my dear, sweet lady? I do hope business has improved at the Withered Rose. I've always enjoyed my dalliances at your delightful little hostel, but I understand travel has been diminished through our region of late. It must pain you not to have the number of visitors that once filled your humble home.\nBut worry not! I am a man of my word, as I'm sure you know quite well by now. I shall continue to pay you a handsome stipend in exchange for ongoing access to the tunnels that run beneath your fine establishment and lead to the cellars beneath my estate. Who knew that my grandfather and yours once used them to smuggle goods into and out of Anvil? I suppose it's just good fortune that we decided to carry on the old family business.\nAnd in case you were concerned, I can assure you that I've extended my arrangement with the governor and her pirates. The gold will continue to flow - just so long as you keep the tunnels secret and continue to allow my associates to have ready access. Oh, and see what you can do about the spider infestation. The pirates complained after they made the last run.\nAnd do let that lovely daughter of yours know that I was asking about her. Lucinia is growing up to be a most fetching young woman. Who knows? Perhaps we can work out another arrangement regarding her availability in the near future. I think I'd like that.\nLord Quintus Jarol"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-vethisa": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-vethisa", "description": "Vethisa will receive reward or agonizing punishment", "author": "Dreadlord Naucratius", "title": "Letter to Vethisa", "text": "Heed my commands, Diabolist Vethisa, servant of the Shadowed Path!\nHigh have you risen in our ranks. Succeed in the task I lay upon you and you will rise higher still. Fail and you will die in agony.\nThe Lord of Darkness has revealed to me that an ancient relic lies hidden beneath the soil of southern Cyrodiil.\nThe collapse of the Empire enables us to search for it unimpeded. With this relic in hand, I will lead the Shadowed Path in conquest of the Imperial City and all of Cyrodiil!\nYour task is to search the cave called Pothole. Do not take this task lightly. Volcatia and Volgo search for this relic elsewhere. Whoever brings it to me will bask in my favor forever.\nI give you command of a Circle of the Shadowed Path. Use these minions harshly, spare no effort regardless of the cost.\nDo not fail me.\n\t\u2014 Dreadlord Naucratius"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-vigrod": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-vigrod", "description": "Letter to a Companion from his mother", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Letter to Vigrod", "text": "Dearest Vigrod,\nWe were all thrilled to hear of your latest promotion! Your father still says you should have stayed on the farm, of course, but he's secretly proud to have a son in the Companions. Don't tell him I said so, though.\n\tThat sweet little Gurilda stopped by the house yesterday. She brought over some venison and a jug of Four-Eye Grog from her pa. She knows Dad has a sweet spot for the grog. And since he hurt his back and can't hunt, the venison is very welcome.\nThat girl's going to make someone a good hearth-wife someday soon. Could be you, if you came out of your shell a bit and actually talked to her. Pretty face, good hips, a fine farm to inherit, quite a catch all told. But no more about that.\nNow don't you worry about us, we'll be fine. Pa can't work the farm like he used to, but we're talking about hiring a hand or two to help out. With all the refugees streaming past here day and night, help is easy to find.\n\tPlease try not to get stabbed or slashed any more. You weren't the handsomest of lads to start with. A few scars build character but too many will ruin what looks you have.\nAll my love,\n\tMother"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-volgo": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-volgo", "description": "Yet another cultist searches for the relic", "author": "Dreadlord Naucratius", "title": "Letter to Volgo", "text": "Listen well, Volgo, for yours is the most difficult task I lay upon any of my Diabolists.\nThe Lord of Darkness has revealed to me that an ancient relic lies hidden beneath the soil of southern Cyrodiil. The collapse of the Empire enables us to search for it unimpeded. With this relic in hand, I will lead the Shadowed Path in conquest of the Imperial City and all of Cyrodiil!\nTo you I assign the cave of Nisin. If the relic is there, you must find it. But be wary of the Dremora seeress Barasatii. Avoid openly opposing her or her minions, but do not allow her to claim the relic. It must come to me.\n\u2014 Dreadlord Naucratius"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-windhelm": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-windhelm", "description": "A brother asks his sister for shelter.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Letter to Windhelm", "text": "Dearest sister,\nYou're going to laugh and call me a milk-drinker, but remember how I left Windhelm to get away from all the trouble surrounding the Skald King's celebration? Well, things are no better in the wilds of Craglorn. In fact, I think they may be worse.\nI have a nice little house beside a river in the upper region, with a spectacular view of the Skyreach ruins in the distance. It's comfortable and quiet, just what I was hoping for.\nAt least, it was. Before the Iron Orc horkers got all riled up. Before the crazy snake worshipers who call themselves the Scaled Court began showing up. Not to mention all this talk about Celestials and gods walking among us and all that.\nWell, you know me. I can be stubborn when I put my mind to it. I'm going to sit right here and defend my new home from these many threats. I really am. But if it gets to be too much to handle, can I stay in your spare room for a few weeks? A couple of months, at the most. Write quickly and let me know.\n\u2014Your loving brother"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-wyress-gwen": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-wyress-gwen", "description": "The weird vines around the Wyrd Tree are getting worse", "author": "Wyress Domi", "title": "Letter to Wyress Gwen", "text": "Wyress Gwen,\nThings have gotten strange around the Wyrd Tree since you've been traveling. Remember those weird vines that began sprouting a few weeks ago? Well, they've grown huge and they seem \u2026 evil \u2026 somehow. I know it sounds crazy, but that's the only way I can describe it. Evil with a capital \"E.\"\nI noticed that the forest animals have become agitated and even aggressive when they get close to the strange vines. Moreover, as the vines grow stronger, the aggressive behavior lasts longer. I'm beginning to fear that the creatures will attack soon. That's how much the presence of the vines has changed them.\nAnd now it's worse than I feared. Some of the vines have mutated, and now they spawn lurchers from their corrupted thorns.\nI'm sorry, Wyress, but I can't stay here any longer. Bloodthorn cultists have attacked us and taken control of the portal stone caves beneath our huts. I can't prove it, but I'm certain these cultists are responsible for our recent troubles. I have failed you, but I hope you can forgive me. I know you won't listen, but I urge you to stay away from the Wyrd Tree until this all blows over.\nWyress Domi"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-yazara": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-yazara", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Letter to Yazara", "text": "Yazara,\nIn the wake of my father's death, I intend to return to the clan and claim his title. I trust you will not make any hasty decision regarding the new chief until I arrive and we can discuss.\n\u2014 U."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-zemarek-thul": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-zemarek-thul", "description": "Another wacky letter from Cadwell", "author": "Sir Cadwell", "title": "Letter to Zemarek-Thul", "text": "The feud continues, you miserable bucket of bolts!\n\tYou insult me, Zemarek\u2014and that I cannot forgive!\n\tLunch again on Middas?\n\t\u2014Sir Cadwell"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-zurga-gra-murtag": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-zurga-gra-murtag", "description": "", "author": "Grazubesha gra-Murtag", "title": "Letter to Zurga gra-Murtag", "text": "Hey, Zurga,\nI'm fed up with spending my days in this hole under Belkarth. I want to get back into the fighting game, challenge myself some, you know? This new arena at Dragonstar sounds like just the thing. But I can't just walk away from this job because I told the Big Boss I'd do it, and he don't like it when one of his people goes back on her word. However, if I had a replacement, I think he'd go for it, so I thought of you\u2014just popped into my mind, and I thought, sure, Zurga's always dreamed about getting out of the stronghold, seeing the world and all. Now I know what you're thinking, but come on\u2014even if old Snurbash got stomped by a mammoth tomorrow, Godrun's still not going to take you as his new Hunt-Wife. So do a sister a favor, and come on out to Belkarth. You'd like it here.\n\u2014 Grazubesha gra-Murtag"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-singed-edges": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-singed-edges", "description": "A plot between Aldmeri nobility and the King of Worms", "author": "High Kinlady Estre of the Errinorne", "title": "Letter with Singed Edges", "text": "To my lord Mannimarco, King of Worms,\nI am interested in coming to an arrangement in regards to the Summerset Isles. We share a common enemy in Ayrenn and her Aldmeri Dominion. I won't stand in the way of your goals. I merely wish a small demesne of my own. Auridon, with Skywatch as my capital.\nWe're both intelligent, powerful creatures. I'm certain we can come to an arrangement that suits us both.\n\tI eagerly await your response.\n\u2014 High Kinlady Estre of the Errinorne"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letters-leon-and-rosalind": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letters-leon-and-rosalind", "description": "A collection of letters between lovers", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Letters from Leon and Rosalind", "text": "I collected our letters in this book so that we would always have a record of our blossoming love.\n\t\u2014 Rosalind Milielle\n22 Frostfall, 2E 219\n\tTo Rosalind,\n\tI accidentally let your dog get free and he tore up some of your garden. I planted some more seeds to make up for it, but I wanted to let you know so you weren't surprised when you got home.\n\tI hope your training in Daggerfall is going well. Stendarr watch over you.\n\t\u2014 Leon\n7 Sun's Dusk, 2E 219\n\tDear Leon,\n\tIf Baily gets into something he shouldn't, just bat him on the nose. I hope you didn't go to too much trouble planting things. It's nearing winter, after all. Still, I do appreciate it.\n\t\u2014 Rosalind\n19 Rain's Hand, 2E 220\n\tLeon,\n\tI wanted to leave this note for you before I went off to Camlorn. The flowers you planted were beautiful. Did you ask around to find out what my favorites were?\n\tAlso, you lied to me about the garden. You extended my garden out another six paces, just to plant those flowers! It was sweet, but aren't you an acolyte? What would Stendarr think of your deceptions?\n\t\u2014 Rosalind\n26 Rain's Hand, 2E 220\n\tDearest Rosalind,\n\tAs long as you enjoyed the flowers, Stendarr will understand. I do apologize for lying to you, though. I'd be happy to help take care of the plants whenever you're away.\n\t\u2014 Leon\n1 Second Seed, 2E 220\n\tMy dear sweet Leon,\n\tYou can visit and tend my garden whenever you please. I get home in two weeks. Perhaps we can plant some roses together when I get back? I'd like that very much.\n\t\u2014 Rosalind"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letters-war-cyrodiil": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letters-war-cyrodiil", "description": "An Argonian soldier recounts a battle alongside his Dunmer and Nord allies", "author": "Otumi-Tei", "title": "Letters from the War: Cyrodiil", "text": "O Egg-Mother, how I miss you so!\nWar is terrible. Don't let anyone tell you anything differently. It's like standing in a storm-wracked lake, waiting for a dark fin to rise from the depths to bite off an arm or a leg. We do a lot of waiting around, worrying and watching for threats to appear from every direction. Then we rush out to meet the enemy, fight wildly for a time, and then rush back to the relative safety of our fortified positions. And then we do it again. And again. And again!\nToday I fought alongside a large Nord female (at least, I think she was a female; I still have a hard time with the whole dryskin gender thing) and a Dark Elf battle-mage. I had never met either of them before, but we found ourselves together after the confusion of a charge that involved at least three different cohorts of Pact soldiers and an equal number of enemy combatants. With no one else to turn to, and without uttering a single word, we moved together and began to defend ourselves against the enemy forces.\nThe three of us were outnumbered four to one. We had somehow found ourselves in a rocky patch between two hills, with no immediate idea where the rest of the Pact forces happened to be. We could hear the sounds of pitched battle echoing from beyond the nearby hills, but there was no way to be certain who was fighting or where. And we still had the matter of the enemy right before us. I think they were Covenant Orcs, but I still have trouble differentiating them from High Elves.\nWhatever the enemy was, they charged at us, testing our mettle and our battle prowess. We held them back, time after time, taking down one or two of them while suffering various cuts and bruises of our own. It might have been ten minutes or ten hours. Time lost all meaning as we anchored ourselves, shoulder to shoulder, to hold back the enemy waves.\nI never learned the name of the Dark Elf battle-mage, but I owe him my life. We had whittled the enemy's numbers so that we were only contending with twice as many as our small unit when one of their sorcerers hurled a ball of fire toward me. I was engaged with two warriors\u2014one wielding a sword, the other a warhammer\u2014and though I saw the bright flash from the corner of my eye, I had no way to dodge out of the fire's path before it scorched me. That's when the Dark Elf threw himself between me and the inferno, taking the brunt of the blast so that I could finish dispatching the two warriors before me. By the time I reached his side, he had succumbed to the intense heat and flames.\nThat left the Nord and I to finish dealing with the remaining enemy combatants. Our first objective was to take down the sorcerer before she could cast another devastating spell in our direction. The Nord handled this by loosing the last of her arrows in the spellcaster's direction. At least two of them hit their mark and buried themselves in the mage's chest. Now there were three of them and two of us, and the remaining enemy appeared to have lost both its confidence and its desire to continue fighting. They turned to go. We decided not to give them that option.\nIt took a little more time and wandering, but eventually we were each reunited with our cohorts. I think it was that day that finally taught me how important the alliance of our three races actually is.\nOtumi-Tei"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letters-war-mead": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letters-war-mead", "description": "An Argonian abroad visits a meadery", "author": "Seeks-the-Sun", "title": "Letters from the War: Mead!", "text": "Dearest Teewajsi,\nToday I visited a beverage maker not too far distant from the amazing city of Windhelm. The place is called Voljar's Meadery, and they craft and serve the most wonderful potation I have ever had the good fortune to pour down my throat. They call it mead! And you'll never guess what the primary ingredient is. Fermented honey! That's right, they actually make it using nectar regurgitated by bees! Oh, I mean xouch, those flying insects with the stingers that buzz around your flower garden.\nAnyway, the Nords love the stuff, so I figured I'd give it a try while I was here. It was delicious! I may have to learn the recipe from one of the crafters so I can make this wonderful concoction when I return to Murkmire.\nI never did quite understand why they had an Orc head on a pike in front of their property, but there are many Nord customs that make absolutely no sense to me.\nGive my best to the little ones,\nSeeks-the-Sun"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letters-war-mournhold": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letters-war-mournhold", "description": "An Argonian assigned to Mournhold writes of the city's attractions", "author": "Lara-Lar", "title": "Letters from the War: Mournhold", "text": "O Great Raj-deelith, let me tell you of the wonders of the great and glorious city of the Dark Elves, Mournhold!\nI was sent to serve with the Pact troops assigned to the Deshaan region of Morrowind, and at the first opportunity I took leave to explore the fabled city of the Dunmer. Like most of the Saxhleel that grew up in our village, I had heard the horror stories about the Dark Elf city and how terribly they treated our people there. I was almost expecting to see slaves and torture devices on every corner, even though we are now friends and allies, but nothing could be further from the truth.\nFor the most part, the Dark Elves I encountered were hospitable if not friendly, and there was an abundance of people of other races wandering the markets as well. I met Nords and Wood Elves, Imperials and Bretons, even a Khajiit and High Elf during my visit. And the variety of goods available in the market\u2014it was almost more than I could comprehend!\nThe Tribunal Temple was a sight to behold! It was huge and daunting, but also sacred, like standing in the shadow of one of the great Hist trees. I even met an Argonian who had adopted the worship of the Three as his own. Talking to him was interesting, but I could never find it in my heart to revere a being of flesh and blood, let alone a Dark Elf!\nI also had a chance to visit one of the famed Dark Elf corner clubs. The place was called the Flaming Nix, and it boasted fire pit right in the center of the main hall where intoxicated patrons took turns leaping in to dance among the hot coals. I admit I tried it myself. It was exhilarating! Although I think it would have been better if I had had a few bottles of flin before I stepped into the fire.\nI'll write again soon! Say hello to my egg-siblings for me!\nYour favorite student,\n\tLara-Lar"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letters-war-windhelm": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letters-war-windhelm", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Letters from the War: Windhelm", "text": "Shei-Halu,\nHello, egg-sister. How are things back in the village? Are you still champion of the teeba-hatsei field? Does Reek-Koos still follow you around like a haj mota stalking a mudcrab? I really do miss home!\nI'm writing from the Cold-Moon Inn in Windhelm, the capital city of Skyrim. Yes, there's a lot of snow and it's brutally cold here. And yes, the Nords are as big and as loud as all the stories you ever heard. But with all that, this place has a beauty and a charm unlike anything that exists in our beloved Black Marsh. You can still see signs of the Akaviri siege here and there, and the palace of the Skald-King remains closed as repairs continue, but the people are fierce and friendly in a way that we Saxhleel will never be.\nYou would have loved exploring the local Mages Guild guildhall. There were mages from all over Tamriel in attendance, including a small Wood Elf who performed amazing tricks for the visiting soldiers. She even pulled a golden fish out of my ear! I don't know how she did that, but it certainly looked delicious. (She seemed horrified when I mentioned that to her, by the way. Strange, little Wood Elf.)\nOne of my favorite places to visit was the long house that sheltered the blacksmithing forges. It was so warm and comfortable in there! You couldn't feel the cold, even though the structure was open at both ends, that's how hot the fires burned.\nA great wall, anchored by nine towers, surrounds the city. I understand that a portion of the wall was destroyed during the siege, but you can't see any sign of that today. The nine towers represent the Nine Holds of Skyrim, which shows that the Nords have almost as much reverence for symbols as we do. I understand that they conduct great races along the top of the wall during various festivals and celebrations, though there weren't any such contests happening during my visit.\nI did try one of the local delicacies while I was here. They called them \"rabbit meatballs.\" Apparently, they take the flesh of small, furry, long-eared rodents, grind it up with various herbs and spices, shape them into tiny spheres, and fry them until the outside is crispy and the inside is warm and succulent. I found the entire description as illness-inducing as I'm sure you are finding it just reading this, but they turned out to be surprisingly delicious.\nPerhaps I'll send you some with my next letter.\nGam-Zaw"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lies-dread-father": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lies-dread-father", "description": "A poem about the misinterpretation of Sithis by the dark brotherhood", "author": "Nisswo Xeewulm", "title": "Lies of the Dread-Father", "text": "Round-tongues give it form and shape\nThe it that is turned into he\nThey whisper to his decayed bride\nTo honor him, to worship him\nThey name it father, dreaded so\nThey pray with blades of dreaded blood\nThey speak one facet of the truth\nSomething clinging to their tongues\nShapelessness given form\nChange turned to stagnation\nOne truth that becomes untruth\nA brotherhood of something eyes"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lieutenant-jasciens-last-missive": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lieutenant-jasciens-last-missive", "description": "Lament for a desecrated graveyard", "author": "Lieutenant Alouis Jascien", "title": "Lieutenant Jascien's Last Missive", "text": "<<1>> is not as I remember it.\nWhere I once marveled at the serene grace of this testament to our beloved ancestors, I now gape in horror at what the place has become.\nMarble statues of long dead heroes lie broken before the desecration of Angof's corruption. Where noble supplicants bowed heads in reverence to their ancestors, shambling corpses lurk behind every headstone to tear at the throats of the living!\nEven the lawns, once verdant and bright with flowers of mourning, lie blasted and torn amid the pestilence of the Bloodthorn.\nStendarr protect us, I will see an end to this abomination!\n\u2014 Lieutenant Alouis Jascie"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/life-eagles-shadow": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/life-eagles-shadow", "description": "An Altmer loves, then hates, then fights the newly founded Aldmeri Dominion", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Life in the Eagle's Shadow", "text": "1st Morning Star:\nA new year, and a new start. Sirune agreed to be my betrothed last night! I'm the luckiest mer in Mathiisen. I've already made arrangements with Yondin to use the forge. I'm going to melt down my father's old blade and use it as the base for a Ring of Mara. Mathiisen steel is good enough for the troops, right? It will be good enough for my true heart.\n3rd Sun's Dawn:\nThe Heralds are shouting in every square across the island. There's a new Queen! And we're now part of some kind of Alliance\u2014with the Wood Elves and the Khajiit, of all people. \"The Aldmeri Dominion\", they're calling it. I couldn't be prouder, but father has done nothing but grumble. He says letting \"those kind of folk\" onto the island will be bad for business.\n10th Sun's Dawn:\nSirune and I sneaked out in the middle of the night and made for Skywatch. It was so exciting, bedding down by the side of the road. Like we're in the Fighters Guild! The handbills telling of the parade have been all over the island, and we decided we couldn't let something like this pass us by. I'll be thrice-cursed by the old mer, I know it. But damn him for a fool. Miss a chance to see the Queen, the Mane, and the Bosmer Treethanes? Not on your life.\n11th Sun's Dawn:\nIf today was any indication, Father was right. The parade was amazing, with Her Majesty leading a phalanx of Marines up the path to the gates. Then came the Treethanes, with their wily jungle rangers. Vinedusk, I think someone said? And then the Mane, with those braids! Amazing to see the Khajiiti warriors on display.\nMuch more pleasing than the furry sneak-thief I caught with his hand in my coin-purse. I tried to catch him before he made off, but he dove between some of those damned dock workers who were so obsessed with their frog races they didn't even look up. And then he was gone. Sirune said it was all right, that we'd just leave earlier than we'd planned. Damn it. Just hate to let her down.\n17th Sun's Dawn:\nDamn them all! Everything has been a mess since Sirune and I came back from Skywatch. Father was furious that we'd left, and when I told him how many coins that cat took \u2026 old bastard hasn't beaten me like that I was learning the forge.\nThen, a few days ago, they pulled all of us into the forgemaster's office. Condalin had gotten word that, with the new alliance, tradesmer can start hiring some of \"those folk.\" Tossing a certain number of jobs to \"them\" would net you extra coin from the Thalmor.\nAnd so he dropped father's contract! Been with the forge for decades, and now cat-men and cannibals are doing the job. All because of this damned alliance. Father's beside himself, about the steel more than anything. Says they won't know how to cure it right. Stars above, what's happening?\n2nd First Seed:\nMy life is ruined. I'm on the run, and everyone I knew and loved hates me. Damn the \"Dominion\" and our smiling Queen to boot!\nIt all started when that recruiter for the Battlereeve came to town. He was looking for volunteers for the Dominion military. When no one came forward, he said he'd been empowered to take conscripts. He tapped me and Sirune's brother. He also grabbed the twins, Taleril and Tanaril. Shoved us into a line with a gang of others and started us down the road.\nWe weren't a mile before Tanaril snapped. Went crazy, screaming about how he couldn't fight Dark Elves, that they use your body to hatch spiders in. He made a break for it, and a bunch of us used the chance to run as well.\nI'm holed up in a cave near Silsailen. My father is penniless. My bride-to-be will soon think me a traitor. The damned cats and runty Elves are taking over the island, and the military is putting children on the front lines. This isn't the homeland I grew up in!\n5th First Seed:\nI was reduced to trying to steal something for my evening meal, and\u2014of course\u2014I was caught. I slipped into Silsailen after dusk, the smell of some delicious whitefish wafting on the breeze. I hadn't eaten anything worthwhile since the morning the recruiter came into town, when I had that delicious spiced bread Sirune's mother made.\nI slipped into town and tracked the smell to the local inn. I was trying to figure out how to get into the kitchen when a big beefy hand fell on my shoulder. One of the Canonreeve's men. He knew exactly what I was doing, almost like he'd been watching me since I got into town. Now I'm sitting in a cell underneath the reeve's manse, waiting his justice. At least they let me keep the journal here.\nDamn you, Ayrenn! Damn you, Dominion!\n10th First Seed:\nMy old life is over. And my new life under the Veil has begun. It turns out the Canonreeve himself, an honorable man named Valano, has experienced his own doubts about his future under the Dominion. He used to be a good friend to the Queen, even, but worries now the years have changed her.\nValano is a member of a group called the Veiled Heritance. They're a group of freedom fighters, willing to do what has to be done. They're willing to make the hard choices, and stop the spread of foreign influence on our soil.\nI was brought up out of that cellar below Silsailen thinking I was going to do hard labor. Instead, I found a new family. Valano said he knew all about my problems, even knew that I'd been taken by a Dominion recruiter. Said that he was willing to help, and help me help myself.\nAnd I will."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/life-scaled-court": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/life-scaled-court", "description": "", "author": "Valinka Stoneheaver", "title": "Life in the Scaled Court", "text": "A Report Prepared for the Star-Gazers\nI finally got a chance to use one of the simple tricks my mentor\u2014the famed explorer and adventurer, Narsis Dren\u2014taught me. Turns out, if you dress in the same outfit as the people around you, keep your head low, and act like you belong, you can infiltrate even one of the most evil and dastardly cults currently operating in Craglorn. Even so, it wasn't easy. And I felt for sure that I was going to be revealed as a spy every moment I was there. But I snuck inside and emerged again to tell the tale. Barely! So, let me tell you about life in the Scaled Court\u2014at least, life as I saw it for about four hours last Middas.\nFor the most part, life in the Scaled Court camp was much like what you'd expect in any gathering of rough-and-tumble fighters and mages. There was the usual good-natured banter among people who lived, worked, and fought side-by-side. There were a number of harsher words exchanged, too, showing that not everyone in the cult always gets along. But they had a singularity of purpose. The members of the Scaled Court that I interacted with were dedicated to their leaders, their god, and their cause. It was scary, how devoted to the Serpent these men and women seemed to be.\nOne young man, a former bandit from Rivenspire, was particularly enamored with the leaders of the Scaled Court. He seemed to be particularly intrigued by the highfalutin (in my opinion) and grandiose titles and affectations the leaders assigned to themselves. It starts at the very top, with the council of regents who apparently control the organization. I never got to meet any of the regents, but most were spoken of with admiration and awe. I believe that some of them hold positions in the hearts of the Scaled Court almost as revered as the Celestial Serpent himself.\nThere seemed to be some disagreement as to the wisdom of making the Iron Orc chieftain the Ophidian Exarch of Undulating Destruction. No one could fault that the addition of the Iron Orcs to the Scaled Court's ranks was an inspired idea, but instituting the brutish Braadoth into the highest echelons of the Serpent's forces in Upper Craglorn was not sitting well with everyone in camp. I gathered this opinion in fits and starts, by interpreting asides and whispers, and pressing the most upset members for whatever additional information they were willing to share. Even so, no one I met wanted to challenge the Ophidian Exarch or the other regents, so the Orc chieftain's promotion stands.\nOther leadership positions in the Scaled Court include the Regent of Wriggling Nightmares (who seems to be involved in crafting monsters loyal to the Serpent), the Regent of Fanged Fury, the Vizier of Slithering Visions, and a woman named Cassipia, who they called the Regent of Serpentine Stratagems. An entirely different chain of command was in place in Lower Craglorn. I never encountered any of these pompously titled individuals. And that's probably a good thing, as I'm not sure my disguise would have fooled them.\nI spent the rest of my time in the camp wandering around and listening to conversations, watching men and women perform the multitude of mundane tasks that fill the day at any military camp. (And make no mistake\u2014the Scaled Court is as military an organization as any I've ever encountered!) I heard mention of some unidentified substance that seemed important to the Scaled Court, but I could never determine exactly what it was. Perhaps someone in the Star-Gazers has heard of it. They referred to it as \"nirncrux dust.\" Whatever the substance is used for, the Scaled Court seems to consider it vital to their plans.\nDuring my final hour in the camp, I began to get the distinct impression that I was being watched. Immediately alert, I scanned the area for any sign that I had been recognized as the outsider I was. However, no one was raising an alert. No one was rushing toward me. But the feeling persisted, and I decided I had overstayed my welcome. I started to disengage from the group and slowly make my way to the edgee of the camp when a band of Iron Orcs wandered in. If the sight of them made my blood run cold, my first view of the armored troll that accompanied them froze the blood in my veins.\nThe troll wore strange armor of Orcish design, run through with glyphs that made me want to look away (although maybe that was just the fear the creature inspired in me). I could have sworn it turned to study me, but then it was pulled along by its Orc masters and I had a clear path out of the camp. Before I reached the freedom I so desperately desired, however, I felt a hand gently grip my shoulder. I tensed, let out a few deep breaths to steady my nerves, and turned to face whoever had found me out.\nI was looking at a young Wood Elf with piercing eyes. She smiled, not unkindly, and handed me a folded piece of paper. \"You're nice,\" she said. Then she turned away, leaving me to depart without further incident. I must have walked for an hour or more before I finally slowed and rested my weary back against a large, cool boulder. I sank to the ground and unfolded the piece of paper . It contained five short words.\n\"Tell them what you saw.\"\nI dropped the paper and ran, sure that the howling hordes of the Scaled Court were chasing on my heels. But I made it back to Belkarth without any problems and wrote this report while it was still fresh in my mind. So fresh, in fact, that I'll probably have nightmares."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lilytongue": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lilytongue", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Lilytongue", "text": "Master harpists played the Aldmeri harp Lilytongue in the High Court of Alinor since time immemorial. Lilytongue was the instrument used in some of the most enchanting arias produced by the great composer Rolmelval. The harp disappeared during the War of the Uvichil and was presumed destroyed. A new royal harp was commissioned to replace it.\nLilytongue resurfaced in the last century after being lost for more than five hundred years. It now sits in a place of honor in the Bards College as an example of the history, eminent beauty, and unparalleled artistry of the High Elf crafters."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/liquid-silver": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/liquid-silver", "description": "Information on this elusive metal", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Liquid Silver", "text": "Minerals and ores of all types fill Wrothgar's mountains. Gold, silver, iron\u2014they can all be found in great quantities. But the rarer metals, found nowhere else on Tamriel, But there are rare metals found here and nowhere else on Tamriel. One such rare metal is the elusive liquid silver.\nAlchemists prize liquid silver and blacksmiths covet it, even though neither has found a practical use for the slippery metal. Yet.\nLiquid silver is a heavy, viscous metal thought to have healing or life-prolonging properties. It is also believed to have a severely adverse effect on werewolves. Bolts infused with liquid silver, therefore, are a rare and highly prized component in any Fighters Guild member's arsenal. The Argent Mine in Wrothgar was once a rich source of the rare metal, but the mine hasn't been in service for many years."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lirendels-family-shrine": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lirendels-family-shrine", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Lirendel's Family Shrine", "text": "Auri-El's honor and praise to the line of Nivulirel. Let this august name ring out among the stars. Behold! Behold the name of the glorious forebears.\nRumilion 'len Inecil Culanarin Salolinwe 'ata Piryaden-Itelnoril Hilnore Firlamil 'cal Ternerben-Nivulirel"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/list": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/list", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "List", "text": "Keep this list up to date. Once we get rid of the Orcs, we can claim to find the goods and be big damn heroes.\n<list of valuables and who they were taken from.>"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/list-argonians": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/list-argonians", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "List of Argonians", "text": "Here are the names of the Argonians you need to talk to. They can be found deep in the swamps of Shadowfen.\nTaxatl: Near Sunscale Strand.\nDus-Geet: Near Hissmir.\nPeesha: Near the Hatching Pools.\nApproach each location with caution. The Blackguards keep a close eye on these poor wretches."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/list-instructions": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/list-instructions", "description": "Instructions and guidance on Hist sap extraction", "author": "Alchemist Ruutivar", "title": "List of Instructions", "text": "\u2014WARNING\u2014\nDevices for the extraction of Hist sap were developed\u2014at great expense\u2014by the alchemical wing of the Crystal Tower. Remuneration for missing or damaged extractors will be garnished from the responsible unit's wages.\nBe forewarned. In its natural form, Hist sap has many undesirable properties. Avoid contact with skin or breathing of fumes. Under no circumstances should you imbibe Hist sap.\nSome have experienced the strange effects of untreated Hist sap. Unauthorized use of the substance will be punished by flogging the entire squad thus shown incapable of restraining its weakest members.\nSpecific violators will then reconsider their poor judgment while immersed in one of the marsh's many festering pools for a period of no less than six (6) hours.\n\u2014PROPER USAGE\u2014\nOnce the devices extract a suitable quantity of Hist sap, refer to the instructions below:\nEffects should be immediate.\n\u2014 Alchemist Ruuvitar\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/list-names": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/list-names", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "List of Names", "text": "Helonel \u2014 Last seen in Skywatch, fleeing to the west.\n\tKarulae \u2014 Last seen heading to Dawnbreak.\n\tAranias \u2014 Last seen at the College of Aldmeri Propriety.\n\tCalanyese \u2014 Last seen fleeing to the north. May be trying to get to North Beacon to flee Auridon."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/list-sequestered-guests": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/list-sequestered-guests", "description": "Races and genders of foreigners detained in Summerser", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "List of Sequestered Guests", "text": "Wood Elves. 4 males, 3 females. All claim to be Dominion citizens. One says she's lived in Summerset for more than a year. Move to preparation cells.\nKhajiit. 7 males, 9 females. All claim to be Dominion citizens. Send half to the preparation cells, the other half to holding cells.\nArgonians. 4, gender inconclusive. Who can tell with muck-swimmers? Move to preparation cells for immediate siphoning.\nBretons. 1 male, 2 females. Claim to be traders from Wayrest. Or did they say Daggerfall? Does it even matter? Why am I writing all this down? What does the new Aldarch plan to do with this information? Place in holding cells.\nRedguards. 2 males, 4 females. All arrived on a ship from Hammerfell. One says she was sent for by Rhanul the trader. Send half to holding and the other half to preparation.\nNords. 1 male. Claims to be part of something called the Nord Cultural Exchange. Send to holding."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/list-targets": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/list-targets", "description": "A list of people who really should just die", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "List of Targets", "text": "The following targets must die, by any means necessary. Montclair revenge is a dish best served piping hot!\n\u2014 Count Verandis Ravenwatch\n\u2014 Adusa-daro (use extreme caution)\n\u2014 Gwendis\n\u2014 Baron Alard Dorell\n\u2014 Countess Eselde Tamrith\n\u2014 [Player's Name]\u00a0(with extreme prejudice)"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/listens-waters-observations": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/listens-waters-observations", "description": "A journal, bookmarked with a key", "author": "Listens-To-Waters", "title": "Listens-To-Water's Observations", "text": "These pages were bookmarked with a key.\nEntry 1:\nI spoke to Chornakus today. He didn't seem to recognize me or even wish to speak to me. We're egg-brothers. We went our separate ways, but our bond has always remained.\nEntry 2:\nI noticed Chornakus entering and leaving the old Silyanorn ruins. Others have as well, but the ruins are long abandoned. I must find a way inside.\nEntry 3:\nI managed to find a key, but one of the Argonians I saw near the ruins yesterday suspects something. Caution is my watchword; I'll try tomorrow.\nEntry 4:\nSaw Chornakus and two others carry a man with a sack over head into the ruins. Recognized <<1>>'s armor. I signaled the vicecanons. This is too big for me.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/litanies-dominator": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/litanies-dominator", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Litanies of the Dominator", "text": "At the feet of the Master, the servant begs for the power to overcome his foes and bend them to his will. Mortal flesh yields to pain and to suffering \u2014 power is the ability to destroy and convert. A thing must be broken before it can be made to serve you properly.\nIn the eyes of the Master, the servant breaks the bodies of his enemies and makes them servants in kind. The chain gains more links, growing longer and stronger, the better with which to ensare and shackle more flesh to the will of the Master."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/litanies-worm": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/litanies-worm", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Litanies of the Worm", "text": "It behooves a servant of the Order of the Black Worm to master not only the spells within this grimoire, but also to gird their mind against the inevitable assault from the spectres and haunts that will intrude upon your mind.\nWithin this book lies more than the power to contact that which lies beyond \u2014 it is a door, one that may open both ways if one is careless or foolish. Master is power, and yourself, lest the Master flense the tender flesh from your bones and enthrall that which remains in eternal servitude.\n<What follows is a bewildering series of spells and glyphs. This is undoubtedly something the Prophet could use.>"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/litany-blood": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/litany-blood", "description": "A lengthy prater to Dread Father Sithis", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Litany of Blood", "text": "Woe unto they, Night Mother, those born to Anu.\nFrom beyond death's prison, I offer those who meet my unshriven gaze with your blade's cold caress.\nYou will know them by their eye.\n* * *\nPrey to thee, Dread Father, those born to Anu.\nFrom Skywatch, I offer she who reflects the heavens in her gaze and dress, drifting from dance to dance.\nYou will know them by their eye.\n* * *\nPrey to thee, Dread Father, those born to Anu.\nFrom Elden Root, I offer he who is as aged and gnarled as the trees, his back bowed but not bent.\nYou will know them by their eye.\n* * *\nPrey to thee, Dread Father, those born to Anu.\nFrom Marbruk, I offer she who surveys the market beneath an auburn veil and keeps silver close to her heart.\nYou will know them by their eye.\n* * *\nPrey to thee, Dread Father, those born to Anu.\nFrom Vulkwasten, I offer she who sweeps away the seasons with straw and the swish of her tail.\nYou will know them by their eye.\n* * *\nPrey to thee, Dread Father, those born to Anu.\nFrom Rawl'kha, I offer he who clothes his stripes of brown with stripes of gold.\nYou will know them by their eye.\n* * *\nPrey to thee, Dread Father, those born to Anu.\nFrom Davon's Watch, I offer he who is silver, ash, and fire, draped in copper filigree.\nYou will know them by their eye.\n* * *\nPrey to thee, Dread Father, those born to Anu.\nFrom Mournhold, I offer she who marches beneath a red crest and wields winding steel.\nYou will know them by their eye.\n* * *\nPrey to thee, Dread Father, those born to Anu.\nFrom Stormhold, I offer she who is caked in mud but wears a halo of bone, bright and untouched by mire.\nYou will know them by their eye.\n* * *\nPrey to thee, Dread Father, those born to Anu.\nFrom Windhelm, I offer she who bears time at her waist, but for whom age has not robbed her golden crown.\nYou will know them by their eye.\n* * *\nPrey to thee, Dread Father, those born to Anu.\nFrom Riften, I offer he whose arms are coiled and stained with the ink and weeds of the sea.\nYou will know them by their eye.\n* * *\nPrey to thee, Dread Father, those born to Anu.\nFrom Daggerfall, I offer he whose dress is as cool as his demeanor and pate as barren as his heart.\nYou will know them by their eye.\n* * *\nPrey to thee, Dread Father, those born to Anu.\nFrom Wayrest, I offer she who peers from behind a crimson curtain and marred her face to hide her nature.\nYou will know them by their eye.\n* * *\nPrey to thee, Dread Father, those born to Anu.\nFrom Shornhelm, I offer she who greets death as a sister, her smile joyless and unflinching.\nYou will know them by their eye.\n* * *\nPrey to thee, Dread Father, those born to Anu.\nFrom Sentinel, I offer he who leaves a trail of neat black ropes dangling over a golden cage.\nYou will know them by their eye.\n* * *\nPrey to thee, Dread Father, those born to Anu.\nFrom Evermore, I offer she whose heart bears many scars, but does not fear to wear them proudly.\nYou will know them by their eye."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/litany-blood-fulfilled": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/litany-blood-fulfilled", "description": "A short prayer to the patrons of the Dark Brotherhood", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Litany of Blood Fulfilled", "text": "Prey to thee, Dread Father, those born to Anu.\nPray from we, Night Mother, those born from you.\nI offer they whom anathema sought to hide.\nYou will know them by their eye.\nHail, for in blood they weep."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/litter-mates-darkness": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/litter-mates-darkness", "description": "Damned Khajiit souls become frightening apparitions", "author": "Moon-Bishop Hunal", "title": "Litter-Mates of Darkness", "text": "NEW:\n\tTo speak of the dark gambol of the dro-m'Athra.\n\nWAX:\n\tWhen true cats die, their souls are lifted by Khenarthi and flown to the Sands Behind the Stars, to play and prey until the Next Pounce.\nWhen bent cats die, their souls are dragged down by Namiira into the Dark Behind the World, to serve the Heart of Lorkhaj until their tails are straight.\n\nFULL:\n\tThese, then, become the Dancers in the Darks, where they whirl to no music but the beating of the Heart. Sometimes these dancers seep up through the cracks in Nirni to the moonlit world, and walk among us as if made of moonless night. Then we call them dro-m'Athra. And this is a name of fear.\nFor a true cat to see a dro-m'Athra do the Bent Dance is to feel his tail twitch in time, and feel the pull of the Darks. As each twitch pulls the true cat further from the moons-light, the cat's shadow grows longer and more bent. And if the tide of the Darks grows greater than the tide of the Lights, the true cat is lost, and becomes a bent cat.\nThen comes the true peril, for a dro-m'Athra can twist out a bent cat's soul, and send it through the cracks to the Darks. Once it hears the beating of the Heart it, too, will dance bent.\nIt is hard to stop. One night all the villagers of Lohrn were found dancing the Bent Dance. Now we do not go there.\n\nWANE:\n\tTo banish the dro-m'Athra, there are two ways: the Way of Jone and the Way of Jode.\nWarriors use the Way of Jone, which is to unsheathe the claws and strike the darkness until it is no more. And this way is a good way, for everyone who is strong of heart and claw can use it.\nPriests use the Way of Jode, which is to bathe the moonless dark in bright lunar light. And this way is a better way, for bent spirits thus banished do not return."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/little-echatere": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/little-echatere", "description": "", "author": "Eveli Sharp-Arrow", "title": "Little Echatere", "text": "We love you little echatere, we love you very much.\nAre you happy with your lot in life, with all the packs and such?\nAt a glance, you seem so calm, so collected.\nThe cheese you provide is delicious and very much respected.\nInn and tavern, keep and castle, oh little echatere,\nHidden away from king and country, life can be unfair.\nRoom for another loaded pack upon your woolly back?\nSecret knowledge, will you share what we all lack?\nWords can't convey how we love you, little echatere.\nOrcs know it's more than the mammoth or the hare.\nDon't worry, we won't embarrass you any further.\nSmell the love of one last hug for all you nurture."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/living-lycanthropy": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/living-lycanthropy", "description": "Instructions on suppressing the bloodlust of the beast", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Living with Lycanthropy", "text": "Throughout the ages, whenever one heard the word \"werewolf,\" it was a cry of fear and revulsion. This need not be the case any longer. We shall prove to Tamriel that it is indeed possible to live a productive, peaceful life while afflicted with Sanies Lupinus.\nOur Rule: Resist the Urge to Commit Violence\nBy withdrawing from society, one can learn how to apply this simple rule to everyday life. Do not give in to a feral desire to retaliate against those who cannot understand our plight. We are not meant to destroy others simply for sport. Hircine blessed us with the ability to fight well, with strength beyond that of an ordinary person. We must not take advantage of this blessing to hurt anyone, but rather use it in ways that benefit others like ourselves. Hunting can be a rewarding pastime, and a way of worshiping our patron. It should not be a way to torment others, whether man or beast.\nThis blessing, for it is a blessing and not a curse, allows us to carry heavy loads, and to cover vast distances without tiring. We make excellent traveling merchants for this reason, as well as laborers of all kinds. By showing continued restraint, by not lifting our hand against others, by proving that hunger does not drive us to kill, we honor ourselves and our families.\nIt is our duty to demonstrate that werewolves can be peaceful through our continued faith in Hircine's blessings."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lizards": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lizards", "description": "", "author": "Hatiha", "title": "Lizards", "text": "One must be wary of the desert lizards. Two are poisonous, one eats only live flesh, but the rest are safe.\nThis one has found it nearly impossible to tell one from the other by their looks. Only by learning their individual attributes can one be sure of the lizard one has in hand.\nThey can be tamed with patience. Approach carefully, and offer small bugs (watch for the flesh-eater). As they become used to your scent, they will learn to obey."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/llerayas-orders": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/llerayas-orders", "description": "Lady Lleraya Montclair", "author": "Lady Lleraya Montclair", "title": "Lleraya's Orders", "text": "Maldred,\nYou made the wise choice when you decided to join our efforts. I have begun the process of transforming the people of Moira's Hope into bloodfiends under our control. Your task is simple. Make sure the process runs its course and that there are no survivors. Anyone not converted should be fed to the bloodfiends or otherwise dispatched without pause or mercy.\nWhen the process is complete, gather the bloodfiends and await further orders.\n\u2014Lady Lleraya Montclair"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lockpick-sales-duty": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lockpick-sales-duty", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Lockpick Sales-Duty", "text": "Dear Mizareh,\nYou are to return and remain on lockpick sales-duty until either we relieve you or a Dark Anchor pulls the entire refuge into Coldharbour.\nBy Rajhin's stolen skivvies, the only reason I trust you to mind the till is that you wouldn't know how to steal it.\nOblivion take you!\n\u2014SP\nPS: You are the worst person I have ever known, and I've met Vicereeve Pelidil."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/log-321-unexpected-results": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/log-321-unexpected-results", "description": "Experiments in strengthening werewolves", "author": "Archivist Ernarde of the Moon Hunter Pack", "title": "Log #321: Unexpected Results", "text": "I'm afraid my most recent experiments have been nothing but remarkably disappointing. While my earlier testing yielded unacceptably little, my current methods have led to some rather unfortunate setbacks.\nNamely, the death of eight members of the pack.\nFive of the subjects appeared to have a mental break under the pressure of testing, resulting in an aggressive form of insanity. I had no choice but to put them down, for the safety of myself and fellow researchers. Most unfortunate, given that their strength did seem to greatly increase.\nIt was under these circumstances that I lost Subject 42. A shame, as he was one of the few Nords within the pack. I had hoped to perhaps secure his wife for the next round of testing, but Mylenne refused my request. I do hope our dear second-in-command is not letting herself get sentimental.\nThree of the subjects simply died, most likely from the sheer physical strain. I had hoped that our vetting process would have eliminated any subjects too weak to undergo testing, but I suppose not everything can be accounted for. I'll have to compile any similarities that were known between these subjects.\nAnd then there was the case of Subject 46; a young Khajiit woman who was slotted for testing because of her hesitancy to perform certain tasks. A most interesting case, that one. I still have no leads as to why my testing caused the subject to become immune to Vykosa's power of compulsion.\nHowever, there's no mistaking these results, no matter how loath our glorious alpha was to admit it. Luckily, I was able to keep Subject 46 from being executed. After all, the possibility that she may be the key to breaking out of Vykosa's control is a promising prospect.\nBut that is testing for another time. Vykosa demands an army of unstoppable werewolf warriors, and so I must obey. For now, at least."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/log-intractable": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/log-intractable", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Log of the Intractable", "text": "Two weeks out and no sign of the so-called \"Renrijra Pirates\" or the Brotherhood of the Sakkr-al-Behr. It is my belief that while the Ra Gada have been successful in raiding along the coasts, they would not dare to sail upstream along the winding and unmapped rivers and waterways of Shadowfen.\nThe Redguards are, essentially, a race of pirates, after all, pursuing only the easiest prey for the least risky benefits. Now that the Ebonheart Pact has mobilized naval vessels like the Intractable, there is little chance we will sight their sails within attack distance of any of our settlements.\nThere appears to be a commotion on deck, so I will have to continue my log entry tomorrow. If those rig-monkeys have gotten into the rum again \u2014"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/long-fire": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/long-fire", "description": "Description of an Yokudan tabur", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Long Fire", "text": "This tanbur is an example of Yokudan artistry. It is believed this instrument was owned by a sword-singer in Frandar Hunding's expedition to Hammerfell.\nAccording to custom, Yokudan bards considered their instruments sacred, imbued with a divine spirit. Long Fire was named for quiet nights in the deep desert when a bard would gather with his companions to play the songs of their lost homeland by the light of the stars and a low-burning fire."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/look-guard-dispatch": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/look-guard-dispatch", "description": "Thieves Guild members guess the writer of a humorous guard notice", "author": "Andarri, Thrag", "title": "Look at this Guard Dispatch!", "text": "(Five rare Akaviri coins to whoever can guess which city guards wrote this dispatch. \u2014Andarri)\nTo All City Guards: Be on the lookout for pickpockets. According to our sources, an organized band of ruffians have decided to terrorize certain of our citizens by stealing their \"tools of the trade,\" right out of their pockets and purses! These thieves are going after crafting tools, musical instruments, and even fishing gear!\nWatch the inns and the docks most carefully\u2014these areas, while often highly populated, tend to be thin on guard presence. A thief could steal a bard's lute and get out of an inn without ever being spotted, and most fishermen like to find secluded spots to ply their trade. Fortunately, most of our crafting areas tend to be heavily patrolled, but look out for those men and women who like to take frequent \"breaks,\" wandering down alleyways.\n(Southpoint. Too easy. \u2014Thrag)\n(Wrong. And you're supposed to tell me, not write it down. \u2014Andarri)\n(You were \"asleep.\" And I meant Northpoint. \u2014Thrag)\n(Still wrong. Thrag is disqualified. \u2014Andarri)\n(Everyone is disqualified. She doesn't have five rare Akaviri coins. \u2014Thrag)\n(Thrag is triple disqualified. And \"Rare Akaviri Coin\" is the name of a drink I concocted. \u2014Andarri)"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/look-dawn": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/look-dawn", "description": "A warning against darkness", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Look to the Dawn", "text": "Something's not right here.\nWe've been hearing noises from the catacombs. We've been \u2026 seeing things. Spectres. Apparitions. Forms gathered before the dawn.\nI came here to investigate. I am going to find answers, or I will die trying.\nI wrote this in case I don't make it back. If you're reading this, whatever is haunting this tomb has probably killed me. You should go before it kills you, too.\nI say this so you can make your peace with Azura before it happens to you. Turn back now. Look to the dawn. See her radiant majesty. It's not too late to save your life, and more importantly, your soul.\nDarkness is all around you. Turn back to the dawn."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lord-hollowjacks-dread-realm": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lord-hollowjacks-dread-realm", "description": "Information on the daedric lord of mortal fears", "author": "Cuilean Darnizhaan", "title": "Lord Hollowjack's Dread Realm", "text": "By Cuilean Darnizhaan, Psijic Proctor of Abyssal Fragments\nWhen there are so many urgent matters, both mundane and metaphysical, pressing upon the land of Tamriel, its governments, and their people, some decry as wasteful the expenditure of scholastic resources upon a subject like the myriad sub-planes of Oblivion and their rulers, the so-called Daedra Lords and Demiprinces. They are deemed to be trivial and inconsequential in the greater scheme of things, a subject unsuited to Psijic study when there is still so much we don't understand about our immediate Aurbic surroundings. But it seems to this poor scholar that \"the greater scheme of things\" is a broad tapestry woven of threads uncounted, and in the warp and weft of reality who is to say with certainty what is consequential and what is trivial? I believe no subject is unsuited to Psijic study, as all things are bound together. The power of knowledge is infinite: the power of ignorance can shatter Ebony like glass.\nPerhaps you find that an unnecessary and rather pompous preamble, but withhold judgment on that, because by the time this course is complete, I believe you will agree it is accurate. To illustrate the average Psijic's ignorance of these matters, I will commence with a lecture about the little-known plane of Detritus and its enigmatic Daedra Lord Hha-Lugh-Zhek, which you have probably heard spoken in common parlance as Hollowjack. Though many regard Lord Hollowjack as a fictional bogey invoked during the Witches Festival to frighten superstitious peasants, he is all too real, and tales of him appearing in cemeteries under the Harvest Moons to terrify the unwary have a basis in objective fact.\nLet me introduce you to the reality behind the legends: Hollowjack is a unique Greater Daedra who bears the title Lord of Mortal Fears, and takes as his province the placatory worship of all Men and Mer who are driven by fear to pray for divine intervention. According to Hollowjack, such worshipers belong to him, in heart if not in soul, and he derives supernatural power by feeding on their terror. The metaphysical mechanism of this \"fear feeding\" is a mystery, as it doesn't fall into any of the mystical categories of the Old Ways as we Psijics understand them. But just as we can't deny the existence of Flame spells just because we don't study Destruction magic, we can't discount Daedric fear feeding just because we can't explain it\u2014there are too many verified accounts that attest to it.\nNow, I said, \"According to Hollowjack,\" as if we had the Daedra Lord's personal testimony or interviews to draw upon, but such is not the case: Hollowjack is an elusive fellow who appears to mortals only long enough to make their most dreaded fears come true. However, there are many folk tales of the fearful being driven mad by their fears in the form of repeated visitations by Lord Hollowjack, a class I refer to as \"Hollowjack's Haunted,\" who provide us with a long (though fragmentary) literary tradition of personal accounts of the Fear Daedra, and we can draw upon these for glimpses of their persecutor. Consider this excerpt from the archived journal in our library filed as \"Haunting #427\":\n\"Sometimes Petra has multi-day shifts where she has to spend several nights deep in the mine, and then He comes and to tell me softly that the ceiling will collapse, as it did on me, and Petra will never return. He steeples his long, long fingers as he speaks, talons tapping against one another, tip-tip-tap, except when he points at my eye for emphasis.\"\nAnother excerpt, from Haunting #112:\n\"... his teeth oh mara his teeth how can HE have so many so long so sharp no one should ever smile because HE smiles and when he does oh mara preserve me...\"\nAnd finally, this one from Haunting #4:\n\"He told me then of his realm, Detritus, and how he frivols there among his collection of shattered memories, categorizing and classing them as this or that, replaying them from different angles to find new vulnerabilities in the mortal mind, new chinks in the armor of strength and sanity that protect us from succumbing to fear. There is no outside on Detritus, he said, only inside, only room after room of recurring nightmares and internal torments. 'For mortals fear most what is inside themselves,' he whispered. 'And most of the time I need only remind them of who they really are within. That's enough, and more than enough.'\"\nThis gives a sample, but if you spend some time in the library this session to read the Hauntings yourself, you'll find that they're remarkably consistent in their descriptions of Lord Hollowjack: he speaks softly or in whispers from a mouth full of long, sharp teeth, and he has long, slender, and agile fingers tipped with sharp nails, \"talons\" that can slash or puncture, but most often just gently emphasize what the voice behind them is saying. Accounts of his Oblivion realm are also consistent, describing a claustrophobic series of small spaces cluttered and jammed with piles of mortals' lost and broken personal items.\nSo, when the Witches Festival comes 'round again, and you hear merchants and mountebanks jesting about Lord Hollowjack, and frightening children by waving long fingers in their faces, think about the truth behind the jokes. Have some compassion for the terrified, and try to believe the stories they tell. Most importantly, when it's night and you're afraid, make no desperate prayers for succor. You might not like how they're answered."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lord-jarols-deep-thoughts": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lord-jarols-deep-thoughts", "description": "Lust-filled musings about Fortunata of Anvil", "author": "Lord Jarol", "title": "Lord Jarol's Deep Thoughts", "text": "She's coming again tonight, though it won't be a private visit. Just another meeting of the powers that be to discuss our common problems. A woman of her bearing shouldn't have to be bothered with \"common problems,\" but at least she's happy to accept my help.\nI wonder if she'll wear her pirate sash tonight? I love when she wears her pirate sash. It gives Fortunata such a swashbuckling air that I can barely resist reaching out and swabbing her decks. (Oh, that's clever! I'll have to work that into our next conversation.)\nWhenever I'm confounded by such thoughts, I find the view of the sea from my terrace washes away all my cares. Not to mention the wine, which does its share.\nPerhaps I can persuade Fortunata to linger after our business is done. I'll break out my best vintage and bring her to this spot. We can drink in the scenery. Together."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lord-vivecs-questions": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lord-vivecs-questions", "description": "The Master of Morrowind attempts to discover the source of his ailment", "author": "Vivec", "title": "Lord Vivec's Questions", "text": "\"The heart of the world, key to ascension, should I be filled with apprehension?\"\n\"Has the enemy of old returned, so devious and bold?\"\n\"Did Sotha Sil in his unending crusade know our divinity would shrivel and fade?\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lord-wallavirs-wedding-invitation": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lord-wallavirs-wedding-invitation", "description": "Invitation to a posh (and gift-grabby!) wedding", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Lord Wallavir's Wedding Invitation", "text": "Lord Wallavir,\nYou and (Guest) are cordially invited to attend the union between Lord Cosh of Abah's Landing and Magnifica Falorah al-Danobia, Jewel of Taneth, at Hubalajad Palace. Appropriate attire is required.\nEntertainment and food will be provided well into the evening until vows are exchanged within the palace.\nEach attendee is expected to bring a gift.\n\u2014Muazel, personal assistant to Lord Cosh"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/loriasel-tablet-notes": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/loriasel-tablet-notes", "description": "A researcher deciphers an Ayleid tablet", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Loriasel Tablet Notes", "text": "Entry 1\nProgress! The tablet was worth the journey to Loriasel. Like many of their relics, the Ayleids masked the tablet's secrets with illusory wards and destructive traps to make the slightest divination an exercise in mortal danger.\nLess a concern for myself, of course. The true transcription reads as follows:\n\"Epevoy an anyadena av Irraie pado an sunnand.\nCan an canomora racuvarima.\nArctane va ceye av Irraie.\nMalatu ye nemalatuis shauta ry relle asva relleis.\"\nEntry 2\nMy translation of the Loriasel tablet is woefully inelegant, but I believe it says the following:\n\"Speak the life-treaty of Irrai before the blessed-stone.\nCall the Daedric herald who was cast down.\nAccept the shadow of Irrai.\nTruth and not-truth come as water within many-waters.\"\nThe word 'Irrai' appears twice in the script. I find no reference to this word in any of my books regarding the Ayleid language. It seems to be a name, but of what?\n\n[Entry 3 is missing.]\nEntry 4\nIrrai is amicable enough, if cryptic. It was hours before she seemed to comprehend any language but old Ayleid and Daedric pidgin.\nWhen she finally spoke, she did so with eloquence and a surprisingly cheerful curiosity. According to Irrai, she once served Culanwe. She claims the seal upon Laeloria was placed by Azura herself.\nWhile I'm apprehensive about trusting any Daedra, Winged Twilights such as Irrai are known to be servants of Azura. Beyond this, the shrine outside Laeloria is proof enough of this location's importance to the Daedric Prince of Dawn and Dusk.\nAfter years of searching, could I finally be within reach of reversing Culanwe's terrible fate?\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/loriasel-tablet-entry-2": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/loriasel-tablet-entry-2", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Loriasel Tablet, Entry 2", "text": "My translation of the Loriasel tablet is woefully inelegant, but I believe it says the following:\n\"Speak the life-treaty of Irrai before the blessed-stone.\nCall the Daedric herald who was cast down.\nAccept the shadow of Irrai.\nTruth and not-truth come as water within many-waters.\"\nThe word 'Irrai' appears twice in the script. I find no reference to this word in any of my books regarding the Ayleid language. It seems to be a name, but of what?"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lorogdus-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lorogdus-journal", "description": "An introspective orc muses on internal strife in his war party", "author": "Lorogdu", "title": "Lorogdu's Journal", "text": "4th First Seed\nWe sacked the Chauvry Estate today, the culmination of months of planning, and it was an outstanding success. We found more loot than we could carry and achieved a vengeance long overdue.\nAt first, I wasn't sure about this venture. A campaign to find the descendants of the Bretons and Redguards involved in the sacking of Orsinium, to take their riches and lives as reparation? It sounded too good to be true, but today's success proves we can get revenge and turn a profit at the same time.\n20th First Seed\nI'm beginning to have doubts about this outfit. I'm in this mainly for the gold, not to achieve fame, but our two leaders have other goals. They're fighting about which clan deserves credit for getting revenge on the Chauvrys.\nThorzhul comes from Clan Agluk, a noble clan all but wiped out in the Siege of Orsinium. He constantly talks about the sacrifice his clan made. He says they deserve to be honored.\nOur other leader, Borzugh, is from the up-and-coming Clan Morkul. The clan started with Morkul himself, the general credited with several feats of heroism during the siege. Borzugh says Clan Agluk only lost so many because they were poor warriors.\nBorzugh and Thorzgul have both been trying to recruit the rest of us to their sides, but with so many clans represented here, it doesn't seem right for any single clan to take credit. Most of us don't want any part of this fight. Maybe we'd be better off to just let them kill each other \u2026."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lost-and-dusty-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lost-and-dusty-journal", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Lost and Dusty Journal", "text": "Semkur wagered a week's salary that I couldn't spend a night in this place. Nearly swallowed his whiskers when I said I'd do it.\nThe tomb is sealed behind me. I thought I heard someone's voice, but it had to be Semkur trying to get out of the bet.\nIt is a little scary in here. I lit a few candles, but that just made the shadows leap around.\nIt doesn't matter. I'll have the last laugh when I'm chugging double rum bought with Semkur's coin!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lost-cat": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lost-cat", "description": "A cat that needs some help getting back home", "author": "Kishima", "title": "Lost Cat", "text": "Hello!\nIf you're reading this then you're standing next to my dear cat, Tender Claw. He has a habit of walking off. Thankfully, he always brings this note with him. If you don't mind, please carry him home to Senchal, in the southern part of the city. If that's asking too much, just leave the note for a more helpful stranger who cares about animals. Thanks in advance!\nKishima\nP.S. He doesn't like it when people comment on his eye patch, so pretend not to notice."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lounas-grimoire-corpse-cough": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lounas-grimoire-corpse-cough", "description": "How to manufacture Corpse Cough", "author": "Louna", "title": "Louna's Grimoire: Corpse Cough", "text": "The efflux of necrotic energy at Old Kalgon's Keep is quite remarkable! It adds a distinct note of dissolution to my latest recipe.\nTwo parts powdered troll bone.\nThree parts ethereal phlegm.\nOne part Breton's dying breath.\nMix well and heat to a rolling simmer. Use immediately or store in stoppered glass vial."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/love-letter-aishah": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/love-letter-aishah", "description": "A rather steamy Khajiiti love letter", "author": "Ezudash", "title": "Love Letter to Aishah", "text": "Beautiful Aishah,\nMy velvety sweet\u2014Ezudash forgives you for slapping him, and stepping on his tail, and hitting him in the face with your bailiff club. It was wrong of this one to send word of an arsonist in the stock house. But what can be said? Ezudash is foolish and impulsive in matters of the heart. And there was some truth in in my story. When you arrived, you lit a great fire in in Ezudash's loins. The heat is unbearable, my vivacious honey pot. It must be smothered, yes?\nYou needn't deny your urges. Why keep pretending? You are a spirited maiden, Ezudash is a vigorous knave. This is a tale as old as Jone and Jode, yes? The story begins with reticence, yes, but ends in long nights of passionate grooming and eager love-wrestling.\nYou may protest, yes. You may call Ezudash names, and write warrants for his arrest. But in your heart and your haunches, you feel the longing. This one has seen it! The wetted lips, the flush snout, the bristling fur on the small of your back. Even as you kick him, Ezudash sees the straining of your thighs, the lusty curl of your tail. Your desire is unmistakable.\nMeet me tonight in the Arboretum at sunset, my fiery love-kitten. The criers say it will be a hot night. A humid night. Perfect weather for a lively game of \"hide the mutton,\" yes? This one will be waiting underneath the juniper tree with a bottle of spiced wine \u2026 and nothing else.\nSealed with many wet kisses,\nEzudash"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/love-note-adrienne": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/love-note-adrienne", "description": "", "author": "Erning", "title": "Love Note to Adrienne", "text": "Dearest Adrienne,\nHow I miss you, my darling! Though it's been less than a day since we last met, I can't bear it any longer. Please meet me at our special spot in one hour. I'll bring the wine and food; you bring just your lovely self.\nDon't be late, my love!\n\u2014 Erning"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/love-note-catina": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/love-note-catina", "description": "", "author": "Erning", "title": "Love Note to Catina", "text": "Dearest Catina,\nHow I miss you, my darling! Though it's been less than a day since we last met, I can't bear it any longer. Please meet me at our special spot in two hours. I'll bring the wine and food; you bring just your lovely self.\nDon't be early and don't be late, lover!\n\u2014 Erning"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/love-note-enna": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/love-note-enna", "description": "", "author": "Erning", "title": "Love Note to Enna", "text": "Dearest Enna,\nHow I miss you, my darling! Though it's been less than a day since we last met, I can't bear it any longer. Please meet me at our special spot in three hours. I'll bring the wine and food; you bring just your lovely self.\nDon't be early and don't be late, lover!\n\u2014 Erning"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/love-poem-lt0782": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/love-poem-lt0782", "description": "A robot's best attempt at poetry", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Love Poem LT0782", "text": "[Poem begin]\nYour merits defy calculation,\nMy heart (metaphorical) pumps like a piston,\nAnd my pelvic and/or knee brackets oscillate,\nWhenever we make physical contact,\nAlso, your face symmetry pleases me.\n[End composition]"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/loves-eternal-flame": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/loves-eternal-flame", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Love's Eternal Flame", "text": "The Fire Mage called Anconath,\n\tA great teacher during the day,\n\tSuccumbed to lust by night,\n\tIn the bed of Alanwe\n\tHis mind was sharp, his fire burned bright\n\tBut his master he did betray,\n\tHis flesh ignites, to my delight,\n\tFor the torment of Alanwe"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lucius-stalwart": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lucius-stalwart", "description": "Description of a scholarly champion", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Lucius the Stalwart", "text": "Lucius the Stalwart was the protege of a former Champion, Hagrof the Righteous. Lucius was a scholar who came to the Blessed Crucible after he was hired to write Hagrof's legacy. The volume was unfinished when Hagrof was defeated, and the loss of his mentor sent Lucius into a rage. Swearing to avenge him, Lucius trained for decades in an attempt to master Hagrof's skills, all the while building up an immunity to The Thousand Arrow's poison. The fight between Lucius and The Thousand Arrows was long and bloody. In the end, Lucius' ability to withstand the poison allowed him to claim victory, but the process left him permanently weakened. A year later, a challenger named Whitebear appeared. In his weakened state, Lucius was no match for him. As his life's blood drained from his crumpled body, it is said that Lucius welcomed his death, as Hagrof had been avenged and was awaiting his loyal servant in Sovngarde.\nUsurped: The Thousand Arrows\nDefeated By: Whitebear"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lucius-note": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lucius-note", "description": "Trapped in a tower and surrounded by trolls", "author": "Lucius", "title": "Lucius' Note", "text": "Trapped in the tower. Trolls everywhere. Stashed the supplies at the far top, hope they don't find them. Hungry, can't wait any longer\u2014have to fight my way out.\nIf anyone finds this, please bring the supplies to Mael at Weynon Priory.\n\u2014 Lucius"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lucrative-opportunity-eastmarch": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lucrative-opportunity-eastmarch", "description": "Pamphlet notifying of a job", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Lucrative Opportunity in Eastmarch", "text": "A lucrative opportunity awaits hard workers with strong backs and good constitutions who wish to earn a generous amount of gold.\n\nCome to the Grinning Horker, an inn in northwestern Eastmarch. Just follow the path up into the mountain, west of Voljar's Meadery.\n\nAll capable and interested parties welcome!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lufiya-af-frandar": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lufiya-af-frandar", "description": "Description of the remains of Frandar Hunding's niece", "author": "Endarwe", "title": "Lufiya af-Frandar", "text": "This is the body of Lufiya af-Frandar, niece of the Redguard hero Frandar Hunding. Although little is known about her, we can infer from her symmetrical bone structure that she may have possessed legendary beauty, unrivaled in this modern era.\n\u2014 Donated to the Merethic Society by Endarwe"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lycanthropic-immunity": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lycanthropic-immunity", "description": "Details Gray Host experiments on werewolves", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Lycanthropic Immunity", "text": "Exarch Ulfra presented an interesting challenge. Can my alchemy and sorcery harrow one of her kind? By design, the harrowstorms are not meant to affect our lycanthrope brothers and sisters, but in the centuries since the Gray Host last set out to conquer, the breeds of vampires and werewolves have become a diaspora, promulgated across the world. Not all of them have the sense to bow before the Ashen Lord, including the prisoners Ulfra captured today.\nShe could have easily ripped these lesser creatures apart for their defiance, but instead she delivered them to me for a more methodical dissection. There's a hunter's cunning hiding in that bestial skull.\n* * *\nThe prisoners respect a pack hierarchy. An affectation of the origin of their curse, no doubt. By holding their leader, Edjar, hostage, the others remain compliant. By offering a slim mercy to the other werewolves, Edjar assumes the role of willing test subject. They are dreadfully simple creatures, after all.\n* * *\nThe incredible constitution of the werewolf, even in its human shape, creates one of many obstacles I must overcome to complete my study. The netherroot seemingly has no effect on the subject, even in its concentrated form. Weakening the grip of the body on the soul will be the first step toward delivering it to the desired destination.\n* * *\nI should have thought of it sooner. The creature's connection to Oblivion is something I can leverage, even if it is tied to a different realm within that great expanse. That connection can help bridge the gap between Mundus and what lies beyond, and the werewolf's lifeblood can imbue the netherroot with a vigor that our undeath simply cannot duplicate.\n* * *\nIt's working. With each new refinement of the blood distillate, the netherroot brew grows stronger and more toxic. The werewolf shows greater signs of affliction with every injection. The only question that remains is whether or not its soul can be successfully exchanged when it inevitably succumbs to the ritual."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mzums-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mzums-journal", "description": "", "author": "M'zum", "title": "M'zum's Journal", "text": "It seems these moon-sugar thieves grow bolder. M'zum simply does not understand it! He has posted guards at the cellar entrance, hired mercenaries to patrol his farm, questioned and re-questioned every farmhand that remains. And nothing!\nPerhaps these Redhands have played him for a fool. It would not be surprising if they are behind the disappearance of M'zum's moon-sugar. Still, accusing them of such things at this point in our business relationship may prove fatal.\nAnd all Berani talks about is this supposed beast. What utter nonsense!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mad-urkazburs-ice-effigy": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mad-urkazburs-ice-effigy", "description": "Description of a Ogre tyrant", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Mad Urkazbur's Ice-Effigy", "text": "History isn't relegated to the past. It is created every day with each significant event that takes place. Take, for example, the threat of the ogre shaman, Mad Urkazbur. This ogre elder has arisen as a powerful leader among the brutish creatures, gathering a small army in the wilds of northern Wrothgar.\nNot only does the mad ogre command his powerful brethren, but he seems to posses the magic to control snow and ice. His impressive abilities include the power to create enchanted duplicates of himself made entirely of ice. These effigies start out small, about the size of a child's doll, and grow large enough to fight at his side.\nOnce this clear and present danger is dealt with, the museum would love to display an ice-effigy to commemorate the event. If collected before fully enchanted, the effigy remains small and frozen\u2014a perfect relic of a recent threat."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/maelmoths-marvelous-masterpiece": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/maelmoths-marvelous-masterpiece", "description": "An enchanter advertises a marvelous bottle", "author": "Maelmoth the Mysterious", "title": "Maelmoth's Marvelous Masterpiece", "text": "By Maelmoth, Master of Mysterious Illusions!\nI gathered them all. My beauties! My treasures! Such relics and oddities make antiquarians weep! The boots of a wastrel from Wayrest! A Hagraven's pot from the Reach! A little stone mammoth; one day I'll set him free. Marvelous! Mystical! The Mysterium's magnificence is beyond compare!\nBut even these priceless prizes pale before the Bottle. Look at it! The crowning achievement of a lifetime's work. Illusion magic honed and perfected! Is the Bottle an illusion, or is it real? If you touch it, are you the illusion? Does it matter? Ho ho! One must touch it to find out!\nBehold! The Nested Illusion! With even the lightest touch, the illusion makes way, changes shape, and welcomes the curious into its embrace. An illusion that begets still more illusions!\nConsider the applications! Like those hateful bards, incessantly mocking my mastery of verse and wordplay! What if they picked up a lute and became the lute? Who would know? I would. I would! I, Maelmoth the Mysterious. The Master of Illusion! Ha!\nHa! Ha-ha! HA HA HA HA HA HA!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mages-guild-authorization": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mages-guild-authorization", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Mages Guild Authorization", "text": "The Mages Guild hereby grants Warlock Kargand authorization to organize an excursion into the tunnels beneath the Elden Tree, the necropolis known as Elden Hollow, to investigate the disappearances of mages\nBakkhara and Dracien Montue. Both went missing following the release of an unknown magical phenomenon that occurred when Canonreeve Oraneth finished an unidentified ritual in the depths of the Hollow.\nThe Guild was unable to elicit information regarding Oraneth's activities from the Thalmor, as the Canonreeve acted without the knowledge of her government. The Guild therefore decrees a second objective for Warlock Kargand's expedition: discover the Canonreeve's motives and methods in completing her ritual."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/magic-sky-0": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/magic-sky-0", "description": "Research on Ayleid magical stones and wells", "author": "Zeroli Jarol", "title": "Magic From The Sky", "text": "(Varennian Edition)\nThe ancient Ayleids believed that Nirn was composed of four basic elements\u2014earth, water, air, and light\u2014and of these four elements, they believed the most sublime form of light was starlight. The stars are our links to the plane of Aetherius, the source of all magical power, and therefore, light from the stars is the most potent and exalted of all magical powers.\nFrom time to time, fragments of Aetherius fall from the heavens. The people know these fragments as \"shooting stars,\" and from time to time, such Aetherial fragments are found on Nirn. The most common varieties are known as \"meteoric iron\"; this metal is prized by armorers and enchanters for its properties in the forging of enchanted weapons and armors. This meteoric iron is also the primary component in \"Ayleid Wells,\" ancient enchanted artifacts found throughout Cyrodiil.\nAnother, rarer form of Aetherial fragment is called \"meteroic glass.\" It is from such fragments that other rare Ayleid enchanted artifacts are crafted; namely, Welkynd Stones and Varla Stones.\nAyleid Wells are scattered across Cyrodiil's landscape. They remain a mystery, as they are not associated with any known Ayleid cities or settlements. It is presumed that in some manner, they harvest magical power from starlight. It is also suggested without evidence or support that they are located at the meeting points of ancient lines of magical power; however, modern arcane arts have discovered no perceptible evidence of such lines of power.\nThose with magical talents can draw magicka from Ayleid Wells to restore their own reservoirs of magical power. No ritual or arcane knowledge is necessary, suggesting that these wells were designed to serve persons not skilled in the magical arts. Once drained, the wells replenish again only at magical midnight. Once recharged, they appear to radiate magical power back into the sky, which prompts some to theorize they are also objects with religious or magical ritual significance, perhaps a means of offering magic back to the heavens.\nWelkynd Stones (in Aldmeris: \"sky stone,\" \"heaven stone,\" or literally, \"sky child\") are pieces of cut and enchanted meteoric glass which apparently act as storage devices for magical power. A magical talent can restore his reservoirs of magicka from such stones. Alas, the means of restoring power to these stones may have been lost with the Ayleids. Currently, these objects simply crumble to dust after they have been used.\nGreat Welkynd Stones are exceptionally large pieces of enchanted meteoric glass. Scholars believe that at the heart of each ancient Ayleid city, a Great Welkynd Stone was the source of the settlement's magical enchantments. It may be that these great stones were linked to the lesser stones, restoring and maintaining their power. In any case, research on these Great Welkynd Stones is impossible, since all the known Ayleid ruins have been looted of their great stones, and no examples of these great stones are known to survive.\nAnother rare enchanted item found in Ayleid ruins is called a Varla Stone (in Aldmeris: \"star stone\"). Varla Stones are remarkably powerful, enabling untrained users to restore magical energy to any number of enchanted items. Because of their great value and utility, these items are also extremely rare, but since they are small and easily concealed, diligent explorers may still occasionally come across them in any Ayleid ruin.\n\tAyleid Wells, Welkynd Stones, and Varla Stones\u2014consider these marvels of magical enchantment. Are we then to conclude that the Ayleids were a superior race and culture? Did they so exceed us in art and craft that they mock the feeble powers of Second Era Wizards?\nNever! The Ayleids were powerful, yes, and cunning, but they were neither good nor wise, and so they were struck down. Their works have passed from Nirn, save these rare and sparkling treasures. Their ancient cities are dark and empty, save for the grim revenants and restless spirits condemned forever to walk the halls, keeping their melancholy vigils over bones and dust."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/magister-otheris-research-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/magister-otheris-research-journal", "description": "Tonal magics to help Kwama mines", "author": "Magister Otheri", "title": "Magister Otheri's Research Journal", "text": "\nRain's Hand.22\nIt has been almost two years, but finally a break-through. Despite some initial missteps, I have managed to merge three tonal crystals into a single, master prism. If I can get it to consistently resonate, without cracking, I may be able to coax a sypathetic tonal wave out of it. Wouldn't that be a discovery for the ages!\nSun's Height.3\nThe small scale experiment finally yielded results. A sound that is subtle, not troublesome to the ears or man or mer. but pleasing to the Kwama. The prism appears to be withstanding the tonal forces perfectly. Would it affect the more acute hearing of the beast slaves working in the mine. If it affects them negatively, might that offset any benefit? Sustainability is the issue. How to solve?\nHearthfire.17\nI forced myself to show some humility today. I would truly be a fool to continue laboring on this prism while a trove of Dwemer artifact gather dust in Mzanchend. With a few more year of experimentation, I might be able to devise a stabilizing ward for the prism, but when dealing with tonal magics, you'll find no better tools than those left behind by the Dwemer.\nHearthfire 19\nThat pompous ass Gothren was feigning interest in my work. He must have a spy somewhere in Sadrith Mora, or even among the staff in my tower. His questions were pointed. I'd sooner partner with that crazy old bat in Tel Mora than I would with Gothren. I'd best keep more detailed information where it won't be seen by curious eyes or nosy spies.\nSun's Dusk.21\nAt last! I finally managed to install the Dwemer stabilizer. The kwama constantly bumble into it. Damned bugs. I doubt that a misconfiguration would cause too much trouble, but when dealing with a priceless tonal prism, caution is warranted.\nEvening Star.14\nThat idiot girl Ana, Arolenda, Arowende. She wandered into my lab at Mzanchend, excited about some discovery within the place and was only carrying the crank. She set the other fastening tools down while she took notes. She's smart, but bloody absentminded. I shall make her retrieve the items, I am not traipsing around the entire ruin, sorting through bits and pieces to find the other three pieces of the machine lock. She is very fortunate that my grand machine is running smoothly right now."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/magisters-writ": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/magisters-writ", "description": "A writ of commendation for an Argonian slave.", "author": "Magister Therana", "title": "Magister's Writ", "text": "To the Council and esteemed members of Great House Telvanni\nI, Magister Therana of Tel Branora, do hereby request and support the elevation of the slave Argonian, Sun-in-Shadow, to rank within our House. She should be lifted from the slave caste and established as a ranked Hireling as soon as possible.\nSun-in-Shadow has shown great initiative and a capacity for careful planning. Her actions, both direct and indirect, led to the acquisition of a valuable relic\u2013an item vital to my research. The fact that she accomplished this feat while still in shackles speaks volumes.\nThe Council is no doubt aware of Sun-in-Shadow's magical aptitude. Despite her racial handicap, she shows great promise\u2013particularly in the realm of alteration and conjuration. Such talent demands cultivation. The House shall profit from her work, I have no doubt.\nHonor and Regards,\n\tTherana\n\tMagister of the Great House Telvanni\n\tMaster of Tel Branora"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/magistrates-message": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/magistrates-message", "description": "", "author": "Banu", "title": "Magistrate's Message", "text": "To the most illustrious and kind Headman Cosh,\nMy Headman, I cannot imagine why you have sent to me this day a message of such terse words. I cannot understand why you have sent to me this day a dangerous, poisonous asp.\nI am happy to report your jest has been received with good humor. Indeed, the asp only managed to catch the edge of my robe as I dove to the floor. Once I had the creature caged and safe, I laughed and laughed at your bold, keen-edged wit.\nIf you could, I would like a chance to speak with you about your joke. Any time that is convenient to you is, of course, convenient to your humble servant.\nFrom your fervent and obsequious servant, the grateful Banu."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/maintenance-log-4091": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/maintenance-log-4091", "description": "Conditions in the Clockwork City", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Maintenance Log 4091", "text": "Saturated oil in need of resupply. Ventilation fan maintenance decreased by 2%. Water contamination remains consistent. Humidity decreased to 32%. Recommend diverting power from distillation initiator to vapor manifold. Section 5V-R currently infested with firepot spiders. Recommend factotum maintenance routes recalculated while disruptors are secured.\nCondition report: stable."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/maintenance-log-5352": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/maintenance-log-5352", "description": "Conditions in the Clockwork City", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Maintenance Log 5352", "text": "Surge of new lifeforms in Clockwork City biome detected. Initiating maintenance protocol R4-91. Decreasing temperature for nighttime cycles. Water contaminants increased by 3%. Recommend accelerating input to distillation initiator. Commutator resupply needed for galvanic engines. Increasing factotum functions for additional workload. Recommend additional factotums for routine maintenance. Sending request to Lord Sotha Sil.\nCondition report: in danger of instability."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/maintenance-log-5453": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/maintenance-log-5453", "description": "Conditions in the Clockwork City: in danger of failure", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Maintenance Log 5453", "text": "Warning. Power surges increasing by 54%. Cleansing crystal in need of replacement. Ventilation gears in need of replacement. Geodic dynamo in need of replacement. Function failure in all maintenance factotums. Combat protocol B0-N1 initializing. Refusing orders for standby mode. Current request's status remains pending.\nCondition report: in danger of critical failure."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mairs-research-notes": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mairs-research-notes", "description": "Research notes concerning Dwemer astronomy in Craglorn", "author": "Mair", "title": "Mair's Research Notes", "text": "Day 1\nWe know that the Dwarves had an advanced understanding of astronomy. To this day, the symbols used to represent the star signs are drawn from Dwemer writings.\nUnfortunately, our knowledge begins and ends there. The few fragments of Dwarven writing that have been recovered are either too short to be informative or too complex to be translated.\nIt is my hope that the Dwemer ruins in Craglorn will shed some light on the origin of the mysterious Mundus Stones that dot the countryside and explain their relationship to the star signs.\nSpecifically, I am using Haj at-Turna's invaluable guide to ancient Yokudan astronomy to compare symbology in Dwemer ruins to nearby Yokudan temples to see if I can establish a connection between the more recent observations to those of the long-vanished Dwarves.\nIf At-Turna's theory is accurate and the Yokudans who settled Craglorn were following the star signs, then it is possible that they investigated the Dwemer ruins at an earlier time, before decay and wealth-seeking opportunists had done their destructive work. My hope is that a comparison of Yokudan and Dwarven writings will fill in gaps in the archeological record.\nDay 2\n\tI have been fortunate that this ruin is much better preserved than many I have encountered.\n\tHowever, this also means I must proceed with extra caution, as the slightest misstep could activate the Dwemer defenses and surely spell my doom.\nDay 6\n\tI returned to the surface today for supplies. I also sent copies of the few fragmentary Dwarven texts I've discovered to my library. I will try to decipher them later, when I have more time and access to my books.\nDay 10\n\tDamn it. The defenses have activated. I don't know how it happened. I made certain not to touch anything!\nHopefully, someone will find my notes and continue my research."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/make-wilds-safer-earn-gold": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/make-wilds-safer-earn-gold", "description": "A pamphlet offering work opportunity of the strongarm variety", "author": "Panreth the Bold, Freelance Hunter and Benefactor", "title": "Make the Wilds Safer, Earn Gold", "text": "Big-game hunters of Reaper's March!\nI offer you an opportunity for coin and fame. Like in the days of old, I'm offering an open contract, a bounty! Senche-Tiger Fangs! Bring me no less than twenty-five tiger fangs and I will pay you a handsome sum in coins! Bards will speak your name in taverns across the March. Seek me out at the Fighters Guild drinking hall in Rawl'kha! And earn your coin today!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mal-sorras-curse": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mal-sorras-curse", "description": "A wicked Dunmer conjurer is banished from Nirn", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Mal Sorra's Curse", "text": "A high-ranking member of a Dunmer house, the Dark Elf known as Mal Sorra was cruel and bloodthirsty. She had a penchant for battle, for testing her skills against stronger opponents. In addition, she practiced dark magics and was a necromancer of the highest order. Unfortunately, the House she belonged to had no love of dark magic and even less tolerence for necromancy. But Mal Sorra didn't care. In fact, her blatant disregard of customs and mores thrilled her and made her blood run hot.\nAs Mal Sorra's need for greater thrills and constant danger drove her to new heights of cruelty and depravity, the necromancer took greater and greater chances. She flaunted her power, even in the face of House officials and Tribunal dignitaries, daring them to scold her or punish her or attempt to stifle her primeval urges. The first to take her unspoken challenge was her own father, the leader of her House and a powerful mage in his own right. Mal Sorra relished the contest, eager to see if she could hold her own against the man who raised her. In the end, Mal Sorra didn't just survive the challenge, she killed her father in a duel of magicka.\nNot content to simply beat her father, Mal Sorra slew him with a barrage of spells and then raised him as a zombie. She commanded the undead creature to follow her and obey her every command. The rest of her house was horrified by this terrible desecration and demanded that Mal Sorra be punished for her blatant use of dark magic. This made Mal Sorra laugh, for she loved showing off her power and displaying her disregard for the current leadership.\nAs Mal Sorra became more difficult and dangerous, her mother decided that enough was enough. She mourned for her child, but refused to allow her evil to continue unchecked. Mal Sorra was surprised when her mother and a cadre of mages entered her private chambers. She was amused by the audacity of the action, but she felt no fear or anxiety. When her mother began casting a ritual, however, Mal Sorra felt the first pangs of danger. And, as always, it exhilarated her. But then the other mages joined in, and for the first time she could remember, Mal Sorra was afraid.\nHer mother drew on dark magic to punish her daughter. She couldn't abide ending her daughter's existence, but she knew she had to end the threat that Mal Sorra posed to the Houses. The dark magic engulfed Mal Sorra, binding her. Trapped within her own dark magic, Mal Sorra was sealed alive inside the very place she spent so much of her time\u2014within the family tomb. Then the mages combined their magic to open a portal. It swallowed the tomb.\n\"I curse you, daughter,\" her mother proclaimed with tears in her eyes. \"I banish you and your evil to Oblivion. May the Tribunal show you the mercy you denied your victims.\" And with that, Mal Sorra was never seen on Nirn again."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/malacath-and-reach": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/malacath-and-reach", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Malacath and the Reach", "text": "Orcs often say they are Malacath's children. My tribe would argue. Reachmen are taught that Orcs, ogres, and trolls are merely used by Malacath to test his true chosen race - the people of the Reach.\nIf you ask me, both are wrong. The Lord of Ash and Bone doesn't care for any of us. This worship of him is folly and will be the ruin of us all.\nTake this token, for example, this Vengeful Eye my tribe searches so fervently for in dank tombs. The blood that has spilled needlessly for this meaningless trinket is beyond measure. The feud between the Orcs and my tribe has gone on for centuries. Our shamans claim Malacath demands one of us carry the Eye in his name, but the Orcs claim it belongs to them.\nBoth sides are blind to the strings that make them dance.\nThat is all we are to the Daedra. Playthings for their amusement. Their gifts are poisoned. To think otherwise is foolish. Yet we live in a world of fools, each thinking they are somehow different. Somehow special. We kill and we die for this belief while the Daedra smile on."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/malacath-and-trinimac": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/malacath-and-trinimac", "description": "", "author": "Ugdorga", "title": "Malacath and Trinimac", "text": "A Discourse on Faith by Ugdorga, the King's Scribe\nFor generations, Orcs have believed in three constant truths: the stronghold, the grudge, and the fury of Malacath. But before Malacath, at least according to certain traditions and a few noted scholars, there was Trinimac. Today, the city of Orsinium reverberates with the intellectual debate and reverent faith of both sides of the argument: Who is the true god of the Orcs?\nFor traditionalists, there is no question. Malacath is lord and god. He personifies the Sworn Oath and the Bloody Curse. His portfolio includes conflict, battle, broken promises, and anguish. Everything an Orc feels concerning his or her place in the world comes from the Furious One. The Orcs see themselves as a people betrayed, and Malacath reinforces this belief. For Malacath, clans must stand powerful but alone in their ancestral strongholds. The strongest rules and weakness is cast out with extreme intolerance.\nClan chiefs such as Chief Bazrag, who oppose the idea of an Orsimer king, hold to the teachings of Malacath.\nFor the new Orsimer, Trinimac is the culmination of their dreams and desires. The warrior god personifies culture and civilization. He calls for unity, not discord; for strength, not malicious chaos. He stands for unifying the Orsimer. For elevating us above our baser nature and making us equal to the other races.\nKing Kurog and the Orsimer of Orsinium follow the teachings of Trinimac."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/maliahs-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/maliahs-journal", "description": "Contains the password for the analysis factotums, and a mother's hope", "author": "Maliah", "title": "Maliah's Journal", "text": "\"Magus commands you.\"\nSuch a simple phrase, yet so full of power! I finally acquired the pass phrase to unlock the secrets of the obsolete analysis factotums. The sacred text of Sotha Sil's honored assistant was instrumental in my discovery.\nI wonder what the mechanical creature will tell me when I finally locate it and speak the phrase. My hope is that it will provide me with the means to finally make a better life for me and my son."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/malizazs-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/malizazs-journal", "description": "A necromancer attempt to prove themselves to their boss", "author": "Malizaz", "title": "Malizaz's Journal", "text": "By Malizaz, Apprentice Necromancer to Zumog Phoom\nMore dead ends! More failures! Malizaz spent days excavating the mass graves near S'rendarr's Cradle. Days of filthy claws and tail-twisting labor! And what does this one have to show for it? A sackful of loose bones and a backache!\nI never would have joined Zumog Phoom and his horde of sycophants if I had known what indignities I would suffer as a result. Malizaz must prove himself! He must find something of real value!\n* * *\nBal be praised! This one's research revealed a hidden treasure tucked deep within the Ashen Scar. A phylactery of some kind. Apparently, a little-known lich named Arum-Khal wrought this sphere with his own claws. If I can seize the power stored within this orb, Zumog Phoom may serve me before long!\n* * *\nMalizaz finally located the phylactery! No small endeavor, given the instability of the ruin. But the masonry was not the only problem. Some small cat-spirit stalks the halls of the Hidden Moon Adeptorium. It tried to lead me down crumbling passages and across unsteady floors more than once. How sad it must have been to see this one emerge victorious!\nNow, the fateful moment of discovery. Soon enough, I will learn all the secrets of Arum-Khal! Beware, people of Elsweyr! Malizaz is coming!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/malofars-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/malofars-journal", "description": "", "author": "Malofar", "title": "Malofar's Journal", "text": "We found it! Just where the map described it. The legends say that a group of giants came to this land long ago and settled in these caverns. It is the perfect place for me to continue my research and experiments!\nTo think that those fools in Skyrim were frightened by my work. How dare that milk-drinking thane banish me! But there were too many of them. My clan had no choice but to pack up our belongings and set out for this desolate location. Luckily, that was exactly what I hoped would happen. It put me closer to not only this sacred cavern, but it put the Emerald Chalice finally within my grasp.\nThe Emerald Chalice has served me better than I had hoped. Its magic worked exactly as I expected but I was unsure of whether or not my modifications would take hold. With the cup's magic, I have transformed my entire clan into Goblins. (Serves them right for complaining about me getting them driven out of Skyrim.) And with only a few modifications to the cup's magic, they are now fanatically loyal to me, as well.\nI secured this inner sanctum with an ancient Nord rite of protective ice. My loyal Goblins believe that the runestone keys are powerful relics to be worshiped and protected. No one will be able to wrest them from their hands! Thanks to the Goblins and the magical barrier, I finally have a safe place to conduct my research. And soon, I will have my revenge on those fools back in Skyrim."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mammoth-duty": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mammoth-duty", "description": "", "author": "Lob the Cleaver", "title": "Mammoth Duty", "text": "You will rotate duty between scouting and watching over the mammoths. The great beasts must be kept secure at all times. They become more agitated with every hour we keep them confined, and that's making them dangerous.\nOne of the beasts broke free last night and trampled its guards to death. It then caused immense amounts of damage to the fort. I hate to think what three or four of the beasts could do if they got loose at the same time.\nYour orders are to make sure that doesn't happen on your watch. If it does, make sure the mammoth tramples you. So I don't have to.\n\u2014 Lob the Cleaver"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/manifest-kinlord-rilis-xii": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/manifest-kinlord-rilis-xii", "description": "Musings of this dark Kinlord", "author": "Kinlord Rilis XII", "title": "Manifest of Kinlord Rilis XII", "text": "5th Evening Star\nThere was a time when I could not hear the words of my master echo in my ears. I did not know it then, but those were dark times. To return to those days would be like returning to a life of blindness.\nThere are things I can see and feel today\u2014horribly beautiful things\u2014that no other in my kingdom is privy to. With a little time, and a little focus, I can perform feats now that would bring the rest of Tamriel to its knees.\n\tAnd what did those foolish nobles do when I, their High Kinlord, presented them with this power\u2014and the prospect of protecting all of the known world?\nThe fools sealed my magic and locked me in the Banished Cells."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mantra-expulsion": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mantra-expulsion", "description": "Prayer to expel Dro'mathra.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Mantra of Expulsion", "text": "Blessed Moons, name our hearts with your dancing.\nHonored Jode, hasten our paws to prayer.\nHonored Jone, strengthen our claws for your greater glory.\nGhost moon, be gone! In the Moons' bright light, vanish!\nThe Lunar Lattice sweetens all life. It is right to praise the moons. Praise them with all your heart."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mantra-redemption": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mantra-redemption", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Mantra of Redemption", "text": "Lost Cat, you have wandered where the Moonlight cannot reach, but I am waiting in the Twilight, so turn your ears to me.\nLorkhaj lies in darkness, leading you astray. Close your mind to his truthless tune and turn your tail this way.\nLet Azurah's words fill your heart and drive the darkness out. My song will guide you home.\nStep back through the Lunar Lattice and bathe in loving light.\nRejoice, Lost Cat, you are found."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/maormer-memo": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/maormer-memo", "description": "", "author": "Heculoa", "title": "Maormer Memo", "text": "Agent Arstul,\nGet yourself down the coast and set up a watch near Vulkhel Guard. I've gotten word the queen has recently arrived. The marines we're holding at South Beacon will be valuable hostages; just have to use them at the right moment.\nContact with the Royal continues apace. Once the Summerset Isles are ours, we'll be able to dictate terms. Should the Veiled Heritance follow through, we may allow them Auridon as a gift. Maybe.\n\u2014 Heculoa, Admiral of Infiltration"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/map-fragment": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/map-fragment", "description": "Northern trail markings fragment", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Map Fragment", "text": "This torn piece of humanoid skin appears to be part of an ancient map of Ouze. The area displayed appears to encompass the stone table where you found Spinner Indinael, but little more.\nThere are trail markings, however, that appear to lead along the northern road."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/map-fragment-0": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/map-fragment-0", "description": "Crude symbol cave fragment", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Map Fragment", "text": "This is the largest section of map, revealing much more of Ouze, including a long, winding traill leading up hill, to the south east.\nNear the end of the trail there's a crude symbol. It appears to mark the entrance to a cave."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/map-fragment-1": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/map-fragment-1", "description": "Worm Cult camp fragment", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Map Fragment", "text": "The section of Ouze revealed on this part of map covers the large tar pits. There are several, newer markings that seem to indicate the camps occupied by the Worm Cult.\nOne of the camps, to the northeast, is circled."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/map-clans": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/map-clans", "description": "Description of a long-lost map from the first era", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Map of Clans", "text": "For most of its history, the Orsimer people have shunned written records and relied on oral traditions. But one early Orc scholar, Thugbo gro-Thutt, collected the oral tradition in the celebrated volume, \"History of the 13 Clans.\" Though the original manuscript was lost and probably destroyed (not every clan agreed with Thugbo's account of origins and territory), the map depicting the locations of the first strongholds survived.\nWorn by time and stained with water, ale, and blood, Thugbo's Map of Clans indicates where he believed each of the 13 clans established their homes at the end of the Dawn Era. It only survived because it somehow found its way into a Breton museum. King Kurog purchased the map, but the courier never arrived."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/marbruk-builders-log": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/marbruk-builders-log", "description": "The difficulties of construction in Valenwood", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Marbruk Builder's Log", "text": "The biggest challenge in the construction of Marbruk was bringing the stone into Valenwood. The Wood Elves have few quarries, and the forest in these parts is so overgrown, the ground so fertile, that it's difficult to find quality deposits. In addition, Queen Ayrenn expressly commanded that we disturb as little of Valenwood to build the city as possible.\n\nInterestingly, Wood Elves from outside Valenwood and from the bigger settlements, such as Woodhearth, have objected more strenuously to Marbruk's construction than the local Wood Elves, who are mostly fascinated by the stone constructions rising up among them. If I had to guess, I'd say that the symbolic importance of Valenwood is greater for those who don't live there than for those who do. It's as if these more \"civilized\" Wood Elves fear they've already compromised their culture in some way, so they feel obligated to protest the construction.\nQueen Ayrenn has assured both parties of Wood Elves that Marbruk is necessary to the defense of the Wood Elf way of life, especially against the Ebonheart Pact, and so far this assurance seems to have prevented any serious interference with our work, although there has been the occasional incident of tools going missing or stone being carved into perverse shapes overnight.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mark-egg-births": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mark-egg-births", "description": "Alocation of eggs to various parties", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Mark of Egg-Births", "text": "To Wakeem and Dai-Shen\nThree from the first clutch, born with vigor.\nTo Var-Zeen and Sheds-His-Sorrows\nOne from the first clutch, egg-tooth cracked. A good omen.\n\tTo Neposh and Lana\nTwo from the second clutch. The first struggled with the shell, the second not so.\nTo the Shadowscales\nFive from the third clutch. Sithis has spoken of his need, and we must answer."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/marzula-jos-notes": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/marzula-jos-notes", "description": "A necromancer's experiment log", "author": "Marzula-jo's", "title": "Marzula-jo's Notes", "text": "2E 342, Rains Hand 12\nWell, I finally reached the Abode of Ignominy. This one can tell why other Khajiit give it such a wide berth. All manner of necromantic experiments took place here, of that I am certain. Broken urns, musty alembics, half-opened sarcophagi, and so on. That alone is no cause for concern, as I am well-versed in the necromantic arts. But Marzula-jo also found restraining belts and choke-collars. Clearly, these necromancers practiced a savage brand of necromancy\u2014one driven by a dedication to the dark clan mother, Mafala, no doubt. It fills this one's heart with deep disappointment. Even so, the Abode affords me the space and the solitude I need to conduct my own, wholly moral experiments. Time to get to work!\n[Several entries follow, containing odd glyphs and obscure postulates, largely ruined by water-stains.]\n2E 342, Midyear 22\nAnother breakthrough! Adding six drams of the bonemeal/imp stool solution to the base distillate stabilized the reaction, resulting in a far less volatile brew! All that remains is application to recently deceased tissue, and a few days of diligent observation. The rabbit I found should serve as a perfect test subject.\nWhile Marzula-jo feels great pride and excitement, he must proceed deliberately. This stage in the process presents tremendous risk.\n2E 342, Midyear 28\nThe reanimated rabbit exhibited unsettling behaviors\u2014attacking the bars of its enclosure and frothing at the mouth. It seems this one has more work to do.\n2E 342, Last Seed 8\nDark Moons! I must report with a heavy heart that Marzula-jo's dearest friend, Sugarsnout, expired last night. He was very young, as senche-tigers go\u2014only four years old. A wasting disease took hold of him just a few weeks ago, and despite my best efforts, his condition deteriorated rapidly. This one is heartbroken. I have nothing more to write on the subject.\n2E 342, Last Seed 11\nAfter long consideration, I have decided to test the most recent version my reanimation solution on Sugarsnout. I know I should conduct more trials on lesser beasts, but I would never forgive myself if I let this opportunity pass. Magrus, look kindly on these works!\n2E 342, Hearthfire 2\nSuccess. Of a sort. My alchemical treatment reanimated Sugarsnout as expected, but he shows signs of aggression, and fails to recognize me when I call him. Mazula-jo is already regretting his decision, but the deed is done. At this point, all this one can do is hope for the best. In the meantime, I continue to perfect my alchemical recipe. Hopefully my next subject will fair better than dear Sugarsnout."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/masterwork-inducer": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/masterwork-inducer", "description": "Translation of an Ayleidoon flesh-sculpting text", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Masterwork of the Inducer", "text": "Much of the text from Eldhaal the Inducer's account is unreadable and cannot be salvaged, like so many Ayleid records. I have translated the intact excerpts to the best of my ability, but have had to infer the meaning of some unclear terms.\nIn truth, I am relieved that no more can be read. The original, with its grotesque and unnerving diagrams, will be sent back for preservation. I pray I will be permitted to leave this place soon.\n\u201c\u2026pliability of its material, so vital and so obedient to my tools. It was a subject yearning for ascent to the ultimate purpose of its form. A vision of the shape and the (method?) took me immediately and I stilled the form; I stopped its sight and speech and stood it in the working-space. I ordered the servants to stay and bear witness to a Perfect Example and began the dedication rituals.\u201d\n\u201cAnd to it I sang and hummed and whispered; the cage of its heart gave assent and unfurled with no splintering, no cracking\u2014the life's rhythm persisting. I ordered fine silver chains. Into each link I inscribed the hundred words for bliss, and I wrapped the cage and trunk all round to best display the organ at work.\u201d\n\u201cSuch joy! It must have been that Blood-Made-Pleasure watched the work, guided my movements. A new (inspiration?) came upon me, and fervidly I grasped the sight-orbs between the implements\u2026\u201d\n\u201cI blessed it with wings of Welkynd, gently grafted and obtained at great expense. I extended its blood-paths, a delicate web within shining light. Eight stars for its crown, eight rubies at its feet, splayed forearms reaching for Aetherius. It became real when I gave it the name: Messenger Beast Redeemed.\u201d"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mastery-devotion": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mastery-devotion", "description": "part of the sword singer mastery series", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Mastery of Devotion", "text": "In the season of life in which I marched beneath the Sun's Height, before the power of the gods did I kneel. I dedicated myself wholly unto to the spirit of the sword to forge my Shehai, which I would wield for all my future days.\nWith Tall Papa's blessing, the sword singer must do the same to achieve Mastery of Devotion"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mastery-discipline": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mastery-discipline", "description": "part of the sword singer mastery series", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Mastery of Discipline", "text": "In the season of life in which I passed through the Rain's Hand, more than 90 duels did I face to prove myself invincible. I learned the 38 grips, the 750 offensive and 1800 defensive stances, and the 9000 strikes that I would practice for all my future days.\nWith Onsi's blessing, the sword-singer must do the same to achieve Mastery of Discipline."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mastery-sacrifice": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mastery-sacrifice", "description": "Part of the sword singer mastery series", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Mastery of Sacrifice", "text": "In the season of life in which I shivered from the Frost's Fall, so did I find myself called upon to cast aside the notions of my destiny that I had deemed true. I left the land of my home to which I did not return for all my future days.\nUnder Satakal's ever-changing influence, the sword-singer must do the same to achieve Mastery of Sacrifice."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mastery-wisdom": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mastery-wisdom", "description": "Part of the sword singer mastery series", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Mastery of Wisdom", "text": "In the season of life in which I was exposed to the Hearth's Fire, into deep contemplation did I withdraw to ponder the nature of truth. I sharpened my mind as my blade and defined the principles I would honor for all my future days.\nWith Tava's blessing, the sword-singer must do the same to achieve Mastery of Wisdom."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mathias-raiments-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mathias-raiments-journal", "description": "", "author": "Mathias Raiment", "title": "Mathias Raiment's Journal", "text": "2nd of First Seed\nFor a moment today, I glimpsed something which I had not even dreamed possible, a love so forbidden that I did not even recognize my own feelings. Even now, I must wonder\u2026 that look, was it just my imagination?\n10th of First Seed\nAgain, that elusive impression. As we walked together in the street, her hand brushed past mine, and I sensed a desire to allow that touch to linger. Am I really just imagining this? It can't be real.\n20th of First Seed\nI can't stop thinking about her. Not just her, but us. She has so many admirers. Why would she have any interest in someone like me? I need to just put this idea out of my head. There. It's gone.\n25th of First Seed\nIt happened. I think I knew in my heart all along that it would. But it surpassed any expectations I might have entertained. I can't believe it. I can't believe I wasn't just imagining things. I must be the luckiest man in the world.\n10th of Rain's Hand\nReality has set in. Though the physical attraction is there and the emotion is genuine, our romance must always remain a secret. For a moment, I expected something more, but that was childish of me. I see that now.\n25th of Rain's Hand\nI've come to terms with our situation, and I'm actually finding our secrets to make the whole relationship that much more exciting. No one in town, not even anyone in the house has any idea what's really going on. We're going to keep it that way."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mathiisen-forge-inventory": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mathiisen-forge-inventory", "description": "List of arms and armor", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Mathiisen Forge Inventory", "text": "4 Breastplates (Eagle etching)\n10 Steel Swords (Jazzira, remember to inlay the hilts for the next shipment.)\n2 Steel Shields\n4 Wooden Shields\n4 Daggers (1 straight, 3 curved)\n2 Dozen Nails\n18 Horseshoes\n25 Steel Ingots (Stamped with Mathiisen seal)"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mathoc-immortal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mathoc-immortal", "description": "Tale of a fearsome Breton warrior and the wounds that haunt him", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Mathoc the Immortal", "text": "Even in his later years, Mathoc Risor struck fear into everyone who crossed his path. He was a massive Breton warrior with a face as chiseled and scarred as his shield. He never spoke, but others told tales of the fearsome warriors and beasts he'd killed. When he was out of earshot, they whispered other tales. They said the spirits of those he'd killed fed his own.\nThat as long as he kept fighting, Mathoc the Immortal would never die.\nMathoc certainly always looked like he was ready for a fight. Teeth gritted and bared. Elbow bent to deliver a devastating blow. Fists clenched tight enough to crush ebony. No one ever asked why Mathoc always wanted to fight. They were too afraid.\nEven if they did, he couldn't have answered. He lost the ability to speak after a Dwarven automaton crushed his throat. His teeth had been gritted and bared since the time a giant shattered his jaw. He broke his elbow that same day, and it never healed properly. He hadn't been able to straighten his arm for forty-one years. His fists had been balled up like boulders ever since a Wood Elf filled his back with arrows. A healer told him it was a reaction to the arrows' poison, and there was nothing to be done.\nThere was nothing for Mathoc to do, but keep fighting. Not because the spirits of those he killed made him stronger, but because watching others writhe in pain sometimes distracted him from his own. Because he hoped that one day someone, or something, might finally get the best of him.\nMathoc the Immortal kept fighting because Mathoc Risor was ready to die."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mathors-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mathors-journal", "description": "", "author": "Mathor", "title": "Mathor's Journal", "text": "Saw a strange light out over the water last night. I've seen the auroras do some strange things, but never anything quite like this.\nCorpses washed up on shore. They were dressed strangely, as if they were from far-off lands. I have no idea where they came from. Tillrani said to send them on to Sovngarde with honors, so we did.\nHolsgar found someone on the shore. Shivering in the cold \u2026 but not wet, just damp where they were lying in the snow. Would have died without care. He dragged the body back to town and stuck it in one of the spare beds. Hopefully, the poor soul will survive the night."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/matthiaumes-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/matthiaumes-journal", "description": "", "author": "Matthiaume", "title": "Matthiaume's Journal", "text": "Saint Ellenica's prayer book is here, but so too are the thrice-damned bandits. As if Rivenspire didn't have problems enough!\nEven I am no match for swarms of bandits. I retreated here to tend my wounds and write these words. The bandits wait for me to die. I fear not, for I have Arkay's protection.\nSaint Ellenica is buried here, somewhere. I can feel her presence. I hope it was all worth it."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/matthild-built-place": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/matthild-built-place", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Matthild Built This Place", "text": "At sixty winters she left Skyrim for good\n\tShe found this place and made it her home\n\tAt sixty-one summers she built this place\n\tShe took only from the ground to make it\n\tAs is the custom in Valenwood\n\tAt sixty-two summers she met the Silvenar\n\tShe offered to teach the ways of her people\n\tFor she knew much of making things\n\tAt sixty-two winters she taught his people\n\tShe learned as much as she taught\n\tAnd was loved by all her students\nAt eighty winters she went to Sovngarde\n\tShe left this place to all who would teach\n\tAnd to all who would learn"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mauloch-orc-father": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mauloch-orc-father", "description": "Code of conduct for devotees of the god Mauloch", "author": "Ramurbak gro-Abamath", "title": "Mauloch, Orc-Father", "text": "Know Mauloch, spurned of Boethiah and King of Curses.\nAn age ago, a cult of Elves left the Summerset Isles, abandoning their kin to follow Veloth, a pathetic tool of Boethiah. Trinimac confronted Boethiah for this trespass and was challenged to battle. Trinimac was about to strike a mighty blow when Mephala appeared and stabbed him in the back. As Trinimac kneeled, wounded by Mephala's treachery, Boethiah gloated and cast a terrible ritual to scar and twist his appearance, then cast him to a place of choking air and ash.\nTrinimac, enraged by his failure, was reborn in blood as he sliced open his own chest, tearing the shame from his spirit. Mauloch, the God of Curses, rose from the ash and cursed Boethiah for his malice.\nOn that day, Mauloch spoke the Code to his faithful, and swore vengeance against those who would break it.\n\"Do not steal.\n\tDo not kill your kin.\n\tDo not attack without cause.\n\tThose who break these rules must pay the Blood Price.\"\nAnd thus, the Orcs were born of blood: the Blood of Mauloch."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/maxtens-research-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/maxtens-research-journal", "description": "A Gravestone", "author": "Maxten", "title": "Maxten's Research Journal", "text": "<Most pages are scorched black or covered in a thick layer of ice that burns at the touch. Only a few entries are legible.>\nI suppose I could whine or complain that my search for an education led me here, to Morthal. Graciously described as a backwater on the best of days, there's not much that I would recommend to other travelers. The damp scent that wafts off the rivers pervades everything. And from the moment I arrived, the locals made clear they don't relish outsiders in their midst. Nobody acts hostile; they just keep their distance. Which is fine by me.\nHowever, three details about this little town cause me to appreciate it ever so slightly. First, if the sun is up, the sawmill operates non-stop. It produces a loud steady drone that helps my sleep during the day. My research into the Dark Practice is most efficient through the dim hours, so I welcome the ability to enjoy a full day's rest.\nAdditionally, Morthal is precisely the hub of necromantic power that I hoped for. It hums with death energy. My nightly hunt for the source should soon prove fruitful. Then, with some adjustments, I can begin the siphoning ritual. Even a partial extraction of the local power should provide enough potency for several years of study.\nLastly, I met a local who has become quite the enjoyable companion. She's the daughter of the town's jarl. Although she admits to never leaving Morthal, she exhibits a strange wisdom and curiosity about the world that I admire. Her mother originally comes from Solitude, so perhaps she is the source of this unexpected worldliness. But most of all, I've found that she's kind. We spend quite a bit of time together and I've told her about the nature of my investigations. She did not recoil in disgust as many would. Instead she promised to keep my secret and assist where possible. I confess that I look forward to spending more time with her.\n* * *...feel like I'm much closer to determining the necromantic source around the town. Last night I wandered east while testing the soil for traces of mortus energy. The new moons next week should properly amplify the ambient resonances. Tracking the locus should be easy during that period.\nWhile in the woods, we saw a figure standing in the distance. She watched us but did not move. Freiwen called her a \"clever woman,\" a local term for hedge mages. For the first time since my arrival, I grew nervous. Interference from some nosy old crone is the last thing I need right now.\nOh, yes, Freiwen joined me on this trip. She had to sneak out from her house, which I found endearing. I enjoy her presence. No one could ever accuse me of being a romantic but walking under the stars with her felt precious.\n* * *... refer to them as the Kjenstag ruins. No one that I've asked knows anything about their history. But without a doubt it contains powerful spiritual emanations. I must adjust the Lanovo siphoning ritual for the sheer volume of energy, but those calculations should be simple enough.\nPerhaps Freiwen would agree to be the living attractant. I planned on using a wolf or some other nearby wildlife. But a born-and-raised native to these lands would be more effective. Lanovo claimed that his attractant suffered no ill effects ..."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mazghar-many-tongues": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mazghar-many-tongues", "description": "A short rhyme", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Mazghar Many-Tongues", "text": "Bathing the caverns in light\nsteadfastly he stood between them\nhis words of warmth and courage\nnever far from ear."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mazubar-dos-advice": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mazubar-dos-advice", "description": "A guide to dancing and to fighting", "author": "Mazubar-do", "title": "Mazubar-do's Advice", "text": "There is one very important thing that I have learned much about in my years. Oh yes, and another. There are two very important things I know about, and those two things are fighting and dancing. You will forgive me for sometimes confusing the two, for they are each one close to the other, side by side, partners like so many things under the moons.\nTo fight and to dance, your feet must be light, fast, never stumbling. Whether it is a battle or a celebration, in each, a stumble means death, means the sword across your neck or the stab of embarrassment and rejection. One foot and two, each sure where it lands on this beat and the next. You must be bold. Take the lead and your partner and enemy will follow; you will be master of the movements, impressive and strong.\nYou must inspire; you must project the power inside forth and out. Consider: what dancer wishes to engage with the beggar, filthy and low? What enemy will fear you if you are shabby and wear dingy padding? Best to prepare, to choose the right garments to show who you are and who you intend to be. You intend to be the winner. The best.\nFadomai knew we needed Jone and Jode to protect us and guide us, and likewise you must use the left and right hands. The moons are different, but they are both moons, and, just so, you shall hold a weapon in each hand for battle. Maybe not the same weapon, but weapons still. The moons are both circles, not a circle and a square. For dance, it is the same; you hold the hands\u2014left and right in right and left, but hands all the same.\nIn the fight and the dance, there is rhythm. Give and take, ebb and flow. Mastery of movement, of spinning and twirling just at the right times, is what you must display. You must know when to move forward and when to leap back, watching the other for cues. The other is just another side of you\u2014ignore them at your peril. There is no feeling to compare with a good fight or dance. If you practice, you feel each piece falling into place, each motion flowing exactly to where it should. And that is how you win."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mead-mead-mead": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mead-mead-mead", "description": "A drinking song for having Skyrim's national drink of choice.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Mead, Mead, Mead!", "text": "(A Drinking Song)\nMead, mead, mead!\n\tWonderfully wet, sinfully sweet!\n\tHeft your mead horns and hold your mugs high,\n\tWe want to keep drinking until we do die!\nMead, mead, mead!\n\tIt's what a body needs!\n\tIt makes us strong and wise and brave,\n\tThere's nothing better, it's what we crave!\nMead, mead, mead!\n\tI drink it morning, noon, and eve.\n\tI like it spiced and sweet and powerful,\n\tI'll soon be drunk and that's quite probable,\n\tMead, mead, mead!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mean-old-torchbug": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mean-old-torchbug", "description": "A children's story abut an occasionally clever little scrib", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Mean Old Torchbug", "text": "Mean Old Torchbug lived near the kwama mine. He loved to taunt and tease the kwama workers, but especially enjoyed getting Brave Little Scrib into trouble. Oh, he was never obvious about his trouble making, and for the most part, the Brave Little Scrib considered the tiny Torchbug to be her friend. If Brave Little Scrib took a moment to consider all the times she wound up punished because she listened to Torchbug, she might have felt differently about the mean little creature. But the Brave Little Scrib never thought much about such things. It wasn't in her nature.\nOne day after she grew bored watching the Kwama Worker busily move the kwama eggs from one section of the hatchery to another, Brave Little Scrib ventured out of the mine. It was a beautiful day, sunny and warm, with a gentle breeze blowing through the mushroom forest. Kwama Warrior stood guard at the entrance and asked her where she was going. \"I'm going out to play,\" she answered, which she thought was totally obvious to anyone other than the serious Warrior.\nAs Brave Little Scrib entered the mushroom forest, she saw a glowing light hovering above the trial ahead. It was her friend, Mean Old Torchbug, though she never called the tiny insect such a horrible name. \"Hello, tiny Torchbug,\" Scrib called out.\n\"And greetings to you, Little Scrib,\" Torchbug sang, his voice like a crackling fire. \"What brings you out of the mine on this beautiful day?\"\n\"I've come to play,\" Brave Little Scrib said cheerfully. \"The mine is dreadfully dull as the workers are constantly busy, and all the warriors want to do is fight and fight and fight. I'm looking for an adventure!\"\n\"An adventure?\" Torchbug asked gleefully. \"I know just the thing to fill your day with excitement and provide me with an amusement to brighten up my afternoon.\"\nRemembering the other suggestions Torchbug shared with her during the time they've known each, Scrib asked suspiciously, \"What do you have in mind?\"\n\"There's a mage tower nearby, in one of the tall mushrooms. The mage that lives there is always looking for a brave little scrib to play games with. She knows the most interesting games.\"\n\"What kind of games,\" Scrib asked, suddenly excited despite her suspicions.\n\"Oh, the best kind, I assure you!\"\n\"Then lead the way, tiny Torchbug,\" Scrib said, and she followed the glowing insect deeper into the shadows cast by the looming mushroom spires.\nAs Brave Little Scrib followed Torchbug toward the mushroom tower, she noticed a pile of empty jars heaped haphazardly near the tower's base. She stopped to inspect the jars, sniffing at the sticky-sweet residue that clung to the discarded vessels.\n\"Is something wrong, Little Scrib?\" Torchbug asked, flitting back to hover above the piled jars.\n\"There's something familiar about this smell,\" Brave Little Scrib said, \"but I can't quite place it.\"\n\"That's just the remains of the jelly the mage likes to spread on toasted bread. In fact, that's one of the games she loves to play when brave little scribs come to call.\"\nNow, Brave Little Scrib isn't the most clever kwama in the mine, but she has her moments. This was one of them. \"You want to watch the mage turn me into scrib jelly, don't you, you Mean Old Torchbug?\"\n\"Of course,\" Torchbug sang. \"I so want to see how the jelly gets made.\"\n\"I think we'll save that for another day, Torchbug,\" Brave Little Scrib said.\n\"If you insist, Little Scrib,\" Torchbug sang. \"Have a good day.\"\nAnd Brave Little Scrib raced back to the kwama mine, leaving Torchbug in the shadows with the empty jars. That was one adventure she was glad to miss!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/meat-soup": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/meat-soup", "description": "One person's opinions on which meat is good for soup", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Meat for Soup", "text": "Lizard: Crusty\n\tMudcrab: Tasty\n\tJackal: Gamey\n\tRat: Good for snacks (not soup)\n\tGoblin: Nasty (don't eat)"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mechanical-fundament-maintenance-logs": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mechanical-fundament-maintenance-logs", "description": "Factotum instructons for cleanin up", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Mechanical Fundament Maintenance Logs", "text": "Factotums ordered to police up all organic material in the Mechanical Fundament - including seventeen deceased persons. All currency and potential identification items to be delivered to constabulary refuse vault. Redact all logged data upon task completion.\nOrdering resident: BAL-167 (Permissions ranking: Constable)"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/medium-armor-tannins-and-leather": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/medium-armor-tannins-and-leather", "description": "A somewhat humorous instructional manual from a leather crafter to his apprentice", "author": "Defessus Lector", "title": "Medium Armor: Tannins and Leather", "text": "Bardus,\nToday's lesson is about the leathers and tannins used by clothiers when making medium armor. As you have noticed while hiding from the nightwatch in your father's armory, medium leathers come in many kinds: for example, brigantines are hard and studded, while running leathers are tough but flexible. These different styles are achieved by the use of different hides and tannins.\nTannins are the \"tempers\" used by the crafter to balance hardness and resiliency in medium armor. A leather chestpiece can be treated to be as rigid as a board, able to turn an assassin's knife\u2014but if it is too rigid, the wearer is unable to turn his or her body. Thus, armorers use tannins on leathers and fabrics to strike a balance between stiffness and flexibility.\nWhat does this have to do with the look of the resulting armor set? If only you had asked that question at lessons rather than daydreaming about impressing the scullery maid with that wisp of a mustache. It has everything to do with it, as you'll see for yourself. Now get to work on curing those hides your father bought as samples\u2014and don't let me see you making eyes at the scullery maid until you're done."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/meeting-chodala": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/meeting-chodala", "description": "The would-be Nerevarine demonstrates his power and his intentions", "author": "Scribe Dakin", "title": "Meeting with Chodala", "text": "Notes on the meeting with Chodala, Nerevarine and Wielder of Sunna'rah.\nCompiled by Scribe Dakin.\nKund-Ud greeted Ashkhan Chodala as Gulakhan Yus-Zashten and Nibapor the Firebreather looked on. Chodala displayed no fear and showed Kund-Ud a level of respect rarely given to tribal outcasts. We had lent him the use of a small warband of Red Exiles, but now he was here to negotiate a more permanent arrangement.\nChodala began the meeting by explaining his plans for tribal unification, stressing that there was a place for the Red Exiles in his unified vision.\nKund-Ud demanded to know why the Red Exiles should even consider returning to the tribes that banished them. Chodala appeared thoughtful before he replied. \"Because you are Ashlanders, and our blood calls one to another.\"\nThen Chodala demonstrated the power of the staff our warband helped him acquire. He called the staff Sunna'rah. \"Sunna'rah grants me the strength of a god,\" Chodala said, striking a stone with the tip of his staff so that the stone cracked like the shell of an egg.\nKund-Ud ordered his champion, Gulakhan Yus-Zashten, to put the blasphemous Ashkhan in his place. But no matter how many times her sword lashed out, it never once touched or pierced Chodala's flesh.\n\"What kind of creature are you?\" Kund-Ud demanded.\n\"I am the Nerevarine,\" Chodala proclaimed, and Kund-Ud, Gulakhan Yus-Zashten, and Nibapor prostrated themselves before him.\n\"The Red Exiles shall be my enforcers and Yus-Zashten shall be my champion,\" Chodala declared. \"Prepare yourselves for my return. I have much work for you to do.\"\n\"Where are you going, Nerevarine?\"\" Kund-Ud asked.\n\"I need time to meditate upon our next course of action,\" Chodala said. \"Then I have a meeting with the Wise Woman Dovrosi to ratify my claim as the Nerevarine.\"\nChodala departed and Gulakhan Yus-Zashten went with him, thus ending the meeting."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mellerons-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mellerons-journal", "description": "A rotmeth brewer has trouble selling his wares in Elsweyr", "author": "Melleron", "title": "Melleron's Journal", "text": "I'm a rotmeth mer by trade, just like my parents were, and their parents before them. And in Grahtwood, that's a fine business to undertake. After all, what Wood Elf doesn't like a strong cup of rotmeth after a long hunt?\nBut Elsweyr is an entirely different market. The Khajiit take one whiff of my brew, and off they go. I've tried all sorts of sales pitches and discounts, but have yet to rope in a single customer! They won't even accept a free sample, for Y'ffre's sake.\nThat's where this new sweet rotmeth brew comes in. All the meaty richness of the original drink, with a sweet undercurrent to satisfy my Khajiiti customers. The brew just needs another few days to ferment. By the time Tarazur and I reach the Stitches, it should be ready for testing."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/memo-menoit": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/memo-menoit", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Memo from Menoit", "text": "I'm taking Gristle out bear hunting in the caves to the north. Do not hesitate to find me if anything comes up. I won't bite your head off, like Justal would.\n\t\u2014 Ranger Menoit"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/memo-captain-doronil": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/memo-captain-doronil", "description": "", "author": "Commander Taldyn", "title": "Memo to Captain Doronil", "text": "Captain Doronil,\nI simply cannot understand the intent of these new orders from the General. The way he commands the watch to be set leaves gaping holes in our defenses during parts of the evening. If we were short-handed that would be one thing, but we have plenty of soldiers for the job. Please share your thoughts. I wish to understand the purpose of these orders.\n\u2014 Commander Taldyn"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/memo-captain-siro": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/memo-captain-siro", "description": "", "author": "Magus-General Septima Tharn, Seventh Legion", "title": "Memo to Captain Siro", "text": "I've done all I can. Be grateful I convinced them to let you live, let alone keep a command.\n\tWe're even now. I don't want to hear from you again.\n\tAnd keep yourself safe, old man.\nMagus-General Septima Tharn, Seventh Legion"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/memorandum-indrik-emergence-formal-development": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/memorandum-indrik-emergence-formal-development", "description": "Notes on these magical deer-like creatures", "author": "Sapiarch Undaisse", "title": "Memorandum: Indrik Emergence & Formal Development", "text": "\"If found, please return to Sapiarch Undaisse, College of Sapiarchs, or to any licensed courier in Lillandril.\nMy reading on indrik observations has led only to more mysteries. For example\u2014the \"union of four feathers\" described in Haladan's \"Natural Magics\" does not actually generate an indrik egg or fawn, but beckons an indrik from some other Aurbic place. Should I happen across feathers of four different origins, I must be sure to experience this for myself!\nFurther, the \"age-forms\" noted in Brucus Crito's \"Bestiary from Another Shore\" are wholly inaccurate. It seems, instead, that the indrik first enters Tamriel in a pure or nascent state, and on exposure to some infused stimulus\u2014enchanted berries, according to Crito\u2014will change its form, developing secondary characteristics and more specialized antlers. Such curious, majestic creatures.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/memorize-and-burn": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/memorize-and-burn", "description": "A note about codespeak", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Memorize and Burn!", "text": "This is the last time I'm writing this down for you. Memorize and burn this!\n* Blood Oranges: Killing\n\t* Crescent: The King\n\t* Black Roses: Daedric influence\n\t* Guarsitter: Bodyguard\n\t* Chicken Feed: Information designed to mis-direct an enemy\n\t* Torchbug: Someone with useful information\n\t* Netch: A Traitor\n\t* Betty Netch: A female traitor\n\t* Bull Netch: A male traitor\n\t* Wispmother: Leader of an enemy spy ring\n\t* Wisps: Members of an enemy spy ring\n\t* Shade: Someone who specializes in tracking a target"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/menaldinions-advert": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/menaldinions-advert", "description": "Don't trust your body to alchemy, but rather to good, clean, wizardry", "author": "Menaldinion", "title": "Menaldinion's Advert", "text": "Sufferers of Ailments both Great and Small\nDo you struggle under the yoke of mysterious aches? Do you suffer from nagging injury or constant malaise? Rejoice! For Menaldinion, master wizard and surgeon extraordinaire, has arrived in the town of Suran.\nSeek relief in our well-furnished clinic. Let the full power of the arcane arts, deftly wielded by a seasoned sorcerer, detect and diagnose those persistent ailments and afflictions. Your reliance on useless hedge-wizardry and alchemical nonsense is a thing of the past! No more vile teas or revolting elixirs! No more chewy distillations of dubious origin! Just the precise and practiced wizardry you and your family deserve!\nStop by for a reasonably priced consultation!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mend-threads": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mend-threads", "description": "More about the destiny of the Chosen Warrior", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Mend the Threads", "text": "The Chosen Warrior must become the claw that mends\n\tThe Tapestry of Time, should it ever unravel.\nTo accept such a destiny is a great honor, and a great burden.\n\tIt must be done with no hesitation.\nThe Chosen Warrior embraces the will of time,\ntheir heart filled with reverence and pride.\nThey protect the natural order\n\tTo join with those who have come before.\nKnow this, or you will not don the mask."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mendrevals-clue": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mendrevals-clue", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Mendreval's Clue", "text": "Mendreval suspects that the thief is a Bosmer."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mercanos-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mercanos-journal", "description": "Journal of a man who turned to desperate measures for a loved one", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Mercano's Journal", "text": "First Entry:\nAfter many months, my beloved grows weaker and I feel more and more powerless. The Guild Mages say there is nothing that can be done, but I refuse to believe it. They simply lack creativity and the will to save her. I possess both.\nMy initial experiments into reviving dead flesh show promise. I am hopeful that soon I will have discovered a method to reverse this necrotic disease that afflicts my beloved\u2026.\nSecond and Final Entry:\nMy beloved died today. The Guild Mages came to confront me. For the first time since my beloved fell ill, I saw the monstrosities I had created in my single-minded effort to save her. The people of this city look at me ruefully, like I am some kind of monster myself.\nMercifully, the Guild Mages have offered me a place with the Thalmor in Woodhearth, far away from these memories and my terrible mistakes. A new start will be good, I think."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mercenarys-scorched-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mercenarys-scorched-journal", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Mercenary's Scorched Journal", "text": "... took this job. Bazorgbeg sent us to our deaths. I think I'm the last one.\nThe Dwarf things didn't follow me in here, but it's so cold.\n* * *\nLeaned against a big tube. The whole thing shifted. There were lights, then steam. At least it's warm, now.\n* * *\nI can see another tube like the others. First one warmed the room. Maybe the next makes Dwarf food? No rations, so what's to lose?"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/merchants-scoundrels-thieves": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/merchants-scoundrels-thieves", "description": "A biased history of the Dragonstar Caravan Company", "author": "Garold Farfly", "title": "Merchants, Scoundrels, Thieves ", "text": "It's well-known that the settlements of present-day Craglorn were founded by a ragged and unsavory lot\u2014criminals fleeing the close watch of the Imperials in Cyrodiil, indigents from the cities of Shornhelm and Evermore, and adventure-seekers looking to escape the comfort and confines of civilization.\nNowhere is this black origin more plain than in the morals on display on the streets of Belkarth. Little more than a hub of unscrupulous merchants, thieves, and black market smugglers, the only government in Belkarth appears to be the will of the scoundrels of the Dragonstar Caravan Company.\nIn Belkarth, all manner of vices are tolerated and everything is for sale. As an example of this depravity, I need only cite the now well-known tale of Madriga. The daughter of a beloved and respected Crown, Madriga was seized from her home in Evermore as payment for debts her father's steward had incurred from agents of the Dragonstar Caravan Company. She was spirited off to the treacherous reaches of Craglorn, where she resurfaced, ten years later, as a barmaid in the Crossroads Tavern.\nNow the grown woman Madriga in no way resembled the demure and beautiful child of her father's household. Indeed, she had grown into a haughty, promiscuous woman, little better than the local strumpets with their brazen demeanors. When guards from her father's household were sent to bring her home so that she might be restored to her family and married into a noble and honorable estate, it is said that she exclaimed, \"No, thank you. The wages are better here.\"\nI relate to you this tale so you will be warned if ever you have occasion to deal with the Dragonstar Caravan Company. These so-called merchants have no regard for the noble and established orders that have so long flourished in civilized society. Their only master is gold, and they allow neither honor nor decency to intervene in their service to their master.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/merdyndrils-orders": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/merdyndrils-orders", "description": "", "author": "Merdyndril", "title": "Merdyndril's Orders", "text": "In the name of Magistrix Vox,\nAll Maulborn must continue to monitor and secure Lake Hlaalu. Tests of the Llodos plague continue, and we maintain camps within the area.\nThe new formula isn't as strong as we hoped. I am returning to the Gorge to make a more potent concoction. I will also continue to advance our plans for shipping the material throughout Deshaan.\nUntil new orders are delivered, continue the tests by adding each new batch of the concoction at the waterfall and record the results. Victory is nigh!\n\t\u2014Merdyndril"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/merethrins-research-notes": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/merethrins-research-notes", "description": "Research about longevity", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Merethrin's Research Notes", "text": "It has taken many years, but I have finally devised an enchantment that will extend my life.\nThe ritual of longevity requires colored crystals for each of nature's life-giving elements. A blue-colored crystal for water, a green-colored crystal for vitality, and a bright, orange crystal for light.\nI must place the crystals in a triangular array and then speak the incantation. I have found a remote cave in the mountains east of Shornhelm where I plan to try it out.\n\t\u2014\u2014\u2014\n\tI plan to head out to the cave tomorrow morning and enact the ritual.\nJust in case there are any problems, I have acquired a means of reversing the enchantment. It will simply require sprinkling a little elemental dust on each crystal and then destroying it.\nJust to be safe, I'm going to leave the dust at home. I can always come back and get it if it's needed. Hopefully, that won't be the case."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/merien-sellans-spellbook": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/merien-sellans-spellbook", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Merien Sellan's Spellbook", "text": "Finally made the spell work! I was barking up the wrong tree as far as the shrouding ashes were concerned. Turns out they weren't necessary at all.\nSo that I don't forget, the formula for Merien's White Mask is as follows:\n(Tamien will love this spell! I can't wait to show him.)\nFirst, recite my incantation over the ritual table to begin the spell.\nThen place the masking salve in the center of the table. I'll detail that recipe elsewhere, but I made quite a lot of it.\nThird, light a candle and place it so it blends the scent of the salve with the candle's smoke.\nFinally, when the smoke and scent have blended, place the glass gems. They'll be infused with the aura created by the rest of the spell."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/meriens-incantation": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/meriens-incantation", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Merien's Incantation", "text": "Note to self: My four fondest memories are the new words of power for the table, as of 7 Sun's Dawn.\nThe Mages Guild.\n\tMy wife Amelie.\n\tMy birthplace Camlorn.\n\tMy son Tamien."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/merions-diary": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/merions-diary", "description": "An alchemist finds love in an unlikely place", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Merion's Diary", "text": "That strange mage. Why would he leave me here? Luckily, a talented alchemist is never without his tools. I've noticed several types of mushroom growing in the cave. After puttering about the cave, I put together a recipe for a magic resistance potion. Should keep me safe from any manipulations or illusions.\n\t- - -\n\tI was just beginning to gather ingredients when the most luminous creature appeared to me! Initially I thought she was a vision imprinted on my weary brain. But we began talking and\u2014diary, my dear diary\u2014I'm enraptured! She's so kind and understanding. It's like she was made for me!\n\t- - -\n\tI sing for her. Recite poetry to her. She loves it. My wife doesn't like music. Minstrels bother her. She always gets bothered by something or another. She doesn't appreciate me. Not like the new lady in my life.\n\t- - -\n\tRead over my first entry. I note I was trying to formulate a potion, but I can't for the life of me remember why. I've grown to like this place. Even the keening of the bats in the background is like a siren's song. It's all thanks to her. My lady, my love.\n\t- - -\n\tMy wandering days are over! We are to be married, and live forever in our subterranean paradise! If I ever see that mage again, I'll thank him. He's changed my life!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mesanthanos-tower": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mesanthanos-tower", "description": "Very bried notes on this world location", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Mesanthano's Tower", "text": "Beware the power of Night's Silence\u2014the greatest achievement of the mad wizard, Mesanthano. Its influence still lingers in these tower ruins."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/message-fennorian": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/message-fennorian", "description": "", "author": "Fennorian", "title": "Message from Fennorian", "text": "Friends,\nFurther work with Old Mjolen led to a discovery that promises to unravel the entire mystery that has confounded us so far. To that end, I returned to the mining settlement called Dusktown.\nIf you have additional need of my services, I have secured lodging in a building on the south side of town.\nI'll write again if this lead bears fruit.\nFennorian"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/message-geneura": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/message-geneura", "description": "", "author": "Geneura", "title": "Message from Geneura", "text": "Make no mistake, no one leaves the pack, ever. I want Engitaale found. Scouts reported seeing her near Vlastarus. Bring her to me, dead or alive."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/message-bottle": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/message-bottle", "description": "", "author": "Captain Lagra", "title": "Message in a Bottle", "text": "Of all the audacity! They attacked my ship. And for no reason. We were approaching Northpoint, heading for the tunnel, when Montclair's troops attacked us. If this is because someone robbed Lady Lleraya again, I'll make sure heads roll in the thieves' quarter!\nWe're taking on water, but I'm going to try to get the ship as close to shore as I can. Just in case, I'm hiding my key to the tunnel in the bowels of my ship. If I'm going down to the bottom of the sea, I'm taking my damn key with me!\nWe're approaching the northern shore. If we make it, we'll meet up at the usual place and discuss our options. Why's Montclair on the rampage? And where's Dorell? I thought we had an arrangement, damn the man!\nWell, if we do sink, don't you dare come looking for my key. I swear, my ghost will haunt this wreck and take vengeance on anyone who trespasses on my ship! You have been warned."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/message-jena": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/message-jena", "description": "", "author": "M", "title": "Message to Jena", "text": "Jena\u2014\n\tThis is your last chance to settle your debt. It has cost me a great deal to find you. Cheydinhal wasn't far enough.\n\t\u2014 M"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mezhuns-field-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mezhuns-field-journal", "description": "Journal about Horker-Tusk tribesmen", "author": "Mezhun", "title": "Mezhun's Field Journal", "text": "17th Frost's Fall\n\tToday Mezhun observed several Horker-Tusk tribesmen engaged in what he thought was a disgusting practice. They gorged themselves on boar meat and then forced themselves to vomit the food back up into their bowls. This one was truly shocked, however, when the riekr then traded bowls and ate their fellow tribesmen's vomit. Mezhun lost his own lunch at the sight of this, but Master Sterone was enthralled. He insists this behavior is indicative of a high-level of tribal intimacy. He even suggested that the riekr were more civilized than we are in this respect. This one has so much to learn.\n25th Frost's Fall\n\tFor several days, it seemed as if the riekr were going to allow Mezhun to travel freely within the cavern, but that all changed last night. King Umezeduluth invited this one to dance with him. Mezhun was nervous, but Master Sterone insisted that this was an incredible opportunity. The dance was fast and strange, but things were going well until the king became obsessed with this one's fur. He seemed to appreciate its warmth and began making gestures suggesting he wanted a coat made out of it. Mezhun was startled and pulled away, which seems to have driven the king into a rage. The riekr have since kept this one across the cavern and prevented him from going very far. Master Sterone says everything will be fine if Mezhun simply cooperates. This one hopes he will someday have as much wisdom and patience as Master Sterone."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mighr-well-die-fighting": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mighr-well-die-fighting", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Might as Well Die Fighting", "text": "Going to die here. Damned Goblins. They caught Miari and Tullias while we were exploring the ruins. Jumped us, didn't even know they were there. Goblins dragged them both to the fires, spitted them and roasted them.\nDidn't think the buggers ate cooked meat, maybe just torturing their victims. Miari screamed forever.\nRan up the tower stairs while the others fought. Not proud of it. Just ran, never been so scared. Hid up here while the others died. Goblins missed me. One snoops up here every few minutes. I swear it smells me.\nCan't stay up here much longer. Hungry, getting weak. Might as well die fighting, while I still can."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/military-deployment-across-auridon": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/military-deployment-across-auridon", "description": "", "author": "Battlemage Sinien (signed)", "title": "Military Deployment across Auridon", "text": "Battlereeve Rolancano,\nThe following are the current numbers mustered to maintain order during Queen Ayrenn's sojourn through Auridon. As our logistics expert, Battlereeve Urcelmo, asked me to send you the following numbers to ensure we have adequate coverage. We know you are still mourning, but Urcelmo and I both value your judgment in these matters.\nRoyal Guard: First Auridon Marines\n\tLeader: Battlereeve Urcelmo\n\tTotal numbers throughout Auridon:\n\t\u2014 20 officers\n\t\u2014 278 soldiers\n\tQueen Ayrenn's Escort\n\tLeader: Battlereeve Urcelmo\n\t\u2014 4 officers\n\t\u2014 20 soldiers\nCivilians:\n\t\u2014 High Kinlady Estre\n\t\u2014 High Kinlord Rilis\n\t\u2014 Prince Naemon\n\t\u2014 Advisor Norion\n\t\u2014 Steward Eminwe\n\t\u2014 Attendents and Retinue (5 persons)\n\t\u2014 15 servants\nNotes:\n\tWill resupply at Vulkhel Guard, Skywatch, and Firsthold.\n\tFirsthold: Local Guards\n\tLeader: Guard Captain Viranssare\n\t\u2014 10 officers\n\t\u2014 50 soldiers\n\tCivilians:\n\t\u2014 100\nSkywatch: Local Guards\n\tLeader: Guard Captain Torinn\n\t\u2014 8 officers\n\t\u2014 45 soldiers\n\tCivilians:\n\t\u2014 80\n\tVulkhel Watch: Local Guards\n\tLeader: Watch Captain Astanya\n\t\u2014 4 officers\n\t\u2014 29 soldiers\n\tCivilians:\n\t\u2014 50\nIn all cases, should security not be enough, we can use reinforcements from the Fighters Guild. Though they're neutral in the Alliance War, they still accept contracts to bodyguard. Each city has an adequate Guildhall. There is potential use for the Mages Guild as well should numbers still be low. It's always good to have spellslingers at our backs."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mine-foremans-log": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mine-foremans-log", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Mine Foreman's Log", "text": "Day 746\nAnother day at the Triple Circle Mine, another half gold in my pay. But I digress.\nMy workers are good men and women, devoted and hard-working. That's why these continued stories of strange sounds deep in the mine are beginning to trouble me. Tesa brought me a tale today that I would have completely discounted if it had come from anyone else. But Tesa has always been so calm and level-headed, not susceptible to the superstitions that plague so many of her fellow miners.\nAnyway, Tesa claims that she spotted a creature in the large chamber. She said it was below the wooden platform, drinking from the underground stream that runs through that portion of the mine. Tesa described it as a \"mouth full of sharp, pointy fangs on two stubby legs.\" If I didn't know any better, I'd say she had seen a kagouti. I used to hunt the damn things back in Vvardenfell. Nasty creatures! But who ever heard of a kagouti prowling underground in a mine?\nI guess I'd better go and check this out. Just in case, you understand."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mine-foremans-orders": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mine-foremans-orders", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Mine Foreman's Orders", "text": "Don't care what you've heard about disappearances in the mine. Don't be frightened like little Wood Elves that break like sticks in a bad storm. It is a Wood Elf trick.\nKeep working. Or you will be beaten. If you are beaten and you still don't work, you will be shamed in front of entire clan."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mine-safety-regulations": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mine-safety-regulations", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Mine Safety Regulations", "text": "\u2014 Shoring timbers should be at least a handspan in width and breadth.\n\t\u2014 Mine shafts should be shored every three paces.\n\t\u2014 Mine shafts should not be wider than three paces nor higher than two paces.\n\t\u2014 Mine chambers should not be excavated wider than five paces between rock pillars left for roof support.\n\t\u2014 No shouting or other loud noises.\n\t\u2014 No running or horseplay.\n\t\u2014 No racing in the mining carts."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/miners-journal-0": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/miners-journal-0", "description": "A group of miners breaks into a dwarven ruin. It does not go well, as usual.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Miner's Journal", "text": "Day Two\nWe set up our base camp as far into the mine as we could. Someone went to a lot of trouble to carve out these passages, but that had to have been many years ago.\nFortunately, this portion of the mine is still rich with silver and several other trace metals. You can see huge, untapped veins of ore running through the tunnel walls. But this presents us with quite a quandary regarding the fate of the original excavators. If they went to all the trouble and expense of constructing the mine, why did they abandon it before they had exhausted the vast reservoir of ore contained in the deposit?\nDay Three\nToday we finished clearing one of the collapsed tunnels and broke through into an enormous chamber beyond. I'm no historian, but I'd swear there are remnants of Dwarven ruins here. There are things set apart from the rock and ore that definitely aren't natural, at any rate.\nAesa said she heard scuttling while we were asleep last night. Skeg told her not to worry, there are lots of things that skitter about in tunnels like this. But I've heard things too, and not the usual sounds of spiders. I almost feel like something is stalking us. Like we're being watched.\nDay Four\nWe never should have come down here. Aesa and Skeg left hours ago to scout the Dwarven ruins and neither have returned. There are pale shapes moving in the shadows and a maddening insect-like clicking echoing through the passageways. Am I hallucinating? I'm not sure I could find my way out of this place if I tried.\nI seem to be the only one in the camp now, though I didn't see anybody leave. The clicking sounds grow louder. I hear breathing. Earlier, I swore I heard a scream in the darkness. It sounded like Aesa.\nSomething's close by. I think it can smell me."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/miners-warning": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/miners-warning", "description": "Don't feed the trolls", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Miner's Warning", "text": "Whatever you do, don't feed the troll!\nThey aren't as cute and friendly as I was led to believe."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/minutes-elder-council-16th-second-seed": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/minutes-elder-council-16th-second-seed", "description": "An amusing record of how the Elder Council adjourned a meeting during the Planemeld", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Minutes of the Elder Council", "text": "Meeting in the Council Chamber in the White-Gold Tower.\nCouncil members in attendance: Chief Councilor Lovidicus, Councilor Faleria, Councilor Jirich, Councilor Abor, Councilor Itinia. Absent: Empress-Regent Clivia Tharn, Advisor Abnur Tharn, Advisor Mannimarco, Councilor Vandacia.\nAlso attending: General Nipia of the 2nd Legion, High Magistrate Muspidus, Ambassador Linyedil of the Summerset Isles, and Ambassador Jadier Plourde of High Rock.\nOld affairs:\n\tCouncilor Jirich reports that recently enacted policies concerning animal waste have improved conditions in the Elven Gardens.\nCouncilor Itinia reports that the decision in the last council meeting to delay this year's Legionary's Ball until 1st of Sun's Height have been met with widespread approval. Ambassador Linyedil confirms that the new date will ensure that the silks from Skyhold will now arrive in time to give all the attendees ample time to commission new attire.\nThough not attending, a letter from Councilor Vandacia indicates he has elected to remain in Gideon where he believes he can be more effective in helping manage the iron crisis in the Nibenay Basin.\nNew affairs:\n\tChief Concilor Lividicus notes for the record that this month's balance sheet indicates that discretionary spending by the Empress-Regent and her advisors has increased seven-fold over the annual expenditures from Emperor Varen's reign. The Chief Councilor makes a motion that General Nipia send an armed escort and forcibly ensure that Advisor Tharn attends the next council meeting. General Nipia strongly advises against such a course of action. The matter is held to a vote and the motion is denied.\nAfter the vote, Councilor Abor says she's feeling ill, possibly from ingesting spoiled mudcrab in this morning's brunch at the Temple of the Divines. Councilor Abor excuses herself from the meeting.\nAmbassador Jadier Plourde again petitions the council to order the Seventh Legion to withdraw from Bangkorai immediately. Councilor Jirich makes a motion for the matter to be raised with the Legionary's Council. The matter is held to a vote and affirmed. Chief Councilor Lovidicus asks General Nipia to raise the matter the next time the Legionary's Council convenes. The general says it's not scheduled to convene again until First Seed of next year, but he promises to raise the matter at that time.\nGeneral Nipia informs the council that rumors continue to circulate about a conspiracy of traitors within the Imperial Legions. He requests that the council provide funds for his lieutenants to conduct a thorough internal investigation. No councilor volunteers to make a motion.\nGeneral Nipia wants to speak about the matter in greater detail, but his statement is interrupted by a series of significant groundquakes. Captain Norbanus of the Imperial City Guard enters the council chamber to report that a \"Dark Anchor\" has descended into the city and that several Daedra have been spotted in the Nobles District.\nDue to this report, Councilor Faleria makes a motion that the council meeting be adjourned so the situation can be assessed. The motion is held to a vote and affirmed, but Chief Councilor Lovidicus vetoes the motion.\nChief Councilor Lovidicus says the council meeting cannot be adjourned until a vote has been held on High Magistrate Muspidus's request to add Metheglin Perfume to the water supply in the sewers to help alleviate the city-wide stench believed to have been caused by the extra week of feasting during Rain's Hand this year. Councilor Itinia makes a motion to add the perfume. The motion is held to a vote and affirmed.\nCouncilor Faleria again makes a motion to adjourn the meeting. The motion is held to a vote and affirmed. This meeting of the Elder Council is adjourned."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/miregaunts-marsh": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/miregaunts-marsh", "description": "Information about these walking pieces of swampland", "author": "Kratius Gray", "title": "Miregaunts of the Marsh", "text": "By Kratius Gray of the Black Marsh Exploration Society\nThe Black Marsh Exploration Society has a long and noble history of sponsoring adventurers who are brave and hearty enough to survive the rigors of the deep swamp. They must be strong, competent, and capable of unraveling the many mysteries inherent in the expansive swamps and impenetrable rainforests. Take, for example, the mystery of the miregaunt. A resolute and steady head is required when facing an ambulatory piece of the marsh.\nMiregaunts aren't so rare that a visitor to Murkmire will never see one, but they're also not so prevalent as to be a constant threat to expeditions\u2014though they do tend to congregate in and around places we like to explore. These large, walking parts of the swamp appear vaguely humanoid in shape, but without a discernible head. Consisting mainly of plant substance, they sometimes incorporate other materials into their shape, including mud, stone, vines, and even pieces of ancient architecture.\nAs for the biology of these strange creatures, the society remains at a loss. They have some small resemblance to certain aspects of lurchers and similar creatures found in other parts of Tamriel, but in all other respects they appear totally unique creatures. Local legends associate the miregaunts with Hist trees, but I must admit that the explanation was very hard to follow. Some tribes believe that the Hist trees call forth a portion of the swamp to accomplish a specific task, either guarding an area, defending a place, or taking vengeance on someone or something that hurt or hampered the Hist in some way. Others seem to indicate that a miregaunt is an unintended by-product of some unknown Hist activity, called forth by accident and set loose with no specific purpose in mind. Frankly, the contradictions I've uncovered are quite maddening!\nWhat I can say with some degree of certainty is that every miregaunt has a large cavity in its mid-section. Sometimes an encountered miregaunt's cavity is empty. Other times a random piece of stone or other detritus fills the empty space. In rare cases, something valuable rests within the miregaunt, such as a precious stone, an ancient relic, or even a living creature. The local Argonians believe that these valuable objects have been taken into the miregaunt to purposely protect or imprison them. Fanciful, I know, but that's what some of the tribes believe.\nWhatever the truth, if an expedition encounters a miregaunt, please follow the recommendation of the society. Run."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mirror-fatal-premonition": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mirror-fatal-premonition", "description": "A describes a mirror showing your death", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Mirror of Fatal Premonition", "text": "Final Testament of Tandyefae\nTranscribed by Relicmaster Glenadir\nIt happened. It happened, it happened. The scar. The scar on my cheek, it's there. There, on my cheek, and now I know that my end is soon. I'm going to die.\nI knew I should have never looked into that mirror, but my curiosity was too great. I thought for sure I would look back to see an old man, but the eyes that stared back were the same. Only eighty years old and staring back at my own death. The only difference\u2014that scar on my cheek.\nI thought I was being careful. No fencing, no riding, no strenuous activities. But yesterday, at the market, I tripped over a cobblestone. Of all the blasted things! And now the scars there, and\u2014I'm going to die. The mirror knew, the mirror saw, and so marks my death.\nI want my family to know I love them so very much, but there's no escaping my fate. Please, if you have any common sense, destroy that mirror. Before it destroys you."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/miruins-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/miruins-journal", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Miruin's Journal", "text": "Day 2\n\tBaron Montclair's put me in command of an expedition to the Erokii ruins to search for some ancient relic for Reezal-Jul. Some old Ayleid thing called the Tear of Anurraame. I just hope it's bigger than a real tear or we'll never find it.\nDay 9\n\tOr is it day 8? Or day 10? There's no sunlight down here. We keep the hours in a regular rotation of working and eating and sleeping, but I've lost track of what day it is. We've been told not to return until we've found this thrice-cursed relic.\nDay ??\n\tI've been neglecting my journal terribly, but what is there to report? We still haven't found the damn relic. We did, however, find this ancient text that suggests the Tear of Anurraame is capable of destroying entire cities \u2026 I hope the Baron knows what he's doing.\nDay ??\n\tI wrote to the Baron about my concerns and he responded. He says he's well aware of the relic's power, and that it will prove invaluable if we are truly to restore Rivenspire to the glory and stature it had under King Ranser. I wonder what he's planning to do with it?\nDay ??\n\tAt last! The Tear of Anurraame! We can leave this dark pit behind. Oh sunshine. Oh fresh air!\n\tWe've received orders to take the relic directly to a small ship on the beach which will be sailed to Wayrest. Is the Baron really planning to destroy the capital of the Daggerfall Covenant? I suppose it's not my place to question orders, though."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mirulons-report": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mirulons-report", "description": "Supports daedric actions in Summerset", "author": "Mirulon", "title": "Mirulon's Report", "text": "For the Earls' Consideration:\nOur plans for Shimmerene continue apace. Some improvisation was required, but the plot remains on schedule. The youth I mentioned in my last report predictably abandoned the task we set before him. I made it very clear that the Sapiarch must die by his hand. He refused. In light of this defiance, I have resolved to make him do it through mind-sculpting. It should not take long before he is my thrall.\nI regret that his recovery required a small explosion in the city proper. This no doubt attracted the attention of the Divine Prosecution. But I assure you\u2014they will not have a chance to interfere. Very soon, the Sapiarch will be slain and this city will fall into turmoil. I will contact you again when the task is completed.\nIn Oblivion's Name,\nMirulon"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/missing-citizens": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/missing-citizens", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Missing Citizens", "text": "Almion and Elannie\u2014Father and daughter, first house on the right.\n\tMirkalinde\u2014Single woman, middle of town.\n\tPirtar\u2014Young man, far end of town.\n\tLinormo\u2014Old mer, first house on the left."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/missing-miners": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/missing-miners", "description": "An overseer wants to keep disappearing miners quiet", "author": "Urlvar", "title": "Missing Miners", "text": "Captain Ageran,\nI implore you, stop investigating the disappearances so... loudly. If word gets out that miners are disappearing, the town will panic. You know how superstitious the workers are.\nI am sure a logical explanation will surface soon. If you must continue this, can we at least speak privately about how you may do so subtly? Meet me in the caverns behind town to talk about a reasonable plan of action. I would invite you to my office but, again, discretion is of the utmost importance. Let's not attract any more attention than we already have.\nUrlvar"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/missing-gordonkha-shark-and-lazy-murshez": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/missing-gordonkha-shark-and-lazy-murshez", "description": "Describes two thieves who never xamback from a heist", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Missing: Gordonkha the Shark and Lazy Murshez", "text": "Looking for Gordonkha the Shark and Lazy Murshez. Heard they were on some sort of heist\u2014someone mentioned a sewer.\nGordonkha's got dark, gray skin and a thin strip of black, spiked hair running from his forehead all the way down his back. Murshez has pitch-black skin with a series of reddish scars all along his left arm and side. His right eye droops and almost looks closed.\nPlease post any news or inform Walks-Softly directly."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/missing-khiruna": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/missing-khiruna", "description": "Help finding a missing person", "author": "Walks-Softly", "title": "Missing: Khiruna", "text": "Name\nKhiruna, also known as \"the Flair,\" and has used the names Kuru and Rhina in the past\nDescription\nAverage height, gold fur streaked with white, black flecks around her nose and the tip of her tail\nSpecialty\nInformation collection, pick-pocketing, short cons\nLast Seen\nSerpent and the Senche, the night the Iron Wheel struck\nIf anyone finds her or has word of her, please leave a note here or contact Walks-Softly directly."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/missive-cyrodiil": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/missive-cyrodiil", "description": "", "author": "Javad Tharn", "title": "Missive from Cyrodiil", "text": "Graccus:\nYour request for more infantry is denied.\n\tYour request for more supplies is denied.\n\tYour request for more spymasters is denied.\n\tYour orders were to go into Reaper's March and destablize the Dominion. Instead, you wasted half your resources destroying one valueless village, and the rest you squandered on a pointless book hunt.\n\tYou will receive no further Imperial support until you start contributing meaningfully to this war.\n\u2014 Javad Tharn"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/missive-mages-guild": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/missive-mages-guild", "description": "A request for a certain type of stones", "author": "The Wayrest Mages Guild", "title": "Missive from the Mages Guild", "text": "Fellows,\nThank you again for accepting our patronage. We know this excavation will entail a degree of risk, but I am certain you'll find our compensation quite generous.\nAgain, we are paying you to mine these caves for a very specific variety of crystal. Your foreman has samples, and your remuneration will depend on how well your specimens match those samples. You can keep anything you find that isn't a crystal, as long as you can deliver what we need on time.\nYour foreman is also responsible for hiring armed guards to protect you from anything monstrous you unearth. We assume no liability for deaths or injuries incurred, just as we trust your judgment to dig deeper without invoking the wrath of the local wildlife. That is precisely why we hired you.\nIn addition to crystals, we want to acquire a exotic variety of rock. It is known as a \"geode.\" Your foreman has one sample for your perusal. We want these \"hollow stones\" unbroken and unblemished.\nOne of our scholars, Giara, has theories about the relationship between their spherical shape and their suitability as soul gems. We believe their spherical design bestows a much greater capacity for animus storage than traditional crystalline shapes, but only if they are intact.\nNo doubt your diligent efforts will be mutually profitable to both of us.\nEnthusiastically,\n\tThe Wayrest Mages Guild"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/missive-alchemist": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/missive-alchemist", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Missive to Alchemist", "text": "Special delivery today: live prisoners. We caught five Pact scouts on patrol. Two escaped. Interrogate them to find out where their base is located. Use any means necessary, and silence them permanently once you've retrieved the information."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mistress-drathas-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mistress-drathas-journal", "description": "The Telvanni mistress seeks competent help to deal with a Daedra", "author": "Mistress Dratha", "title": "Mistress Dratha's Journal", "text": "By Mistress Dratha, Telvanni Mage\nWell, I can't say that the Telvanni House was never good for anything, at least after this find. Answers may come in the most unexpected places, but only fools ignore the resources available to them. I'll have to make sure to return the favor to my ever-pleasant House. Tribunal knows they would never let me hear the end of it if I did not.\nI knew that my answer would come from a troubled source. I do not fear the Daedra, but I hate the idea of bargaining with one. No matter. My need is that great. Who else would take up my mantle? I know of the costs, yet I remain resolute. I must.\nThe research notes in this tomb are ignorant rubbish, naturally. Scholars with a lick of common sense are hard to come by these days, and I find that ever more true when dealing with my fellow Telvanni. However, I know the truth to this particular cultist chant, and it may hold the answers i'm looking for to solve my pressing need.\nStones of Cold Fire burning blue,\nCall forth the servant of our Lord,\nA bargain we have come to make,\nTo grant us with our due reward.\nA child could see that these Stones of Cold Fire are necessary for the summoning ritual. I must find someone to collect these stones before it is too late. Someone strong enough to defeat Xykenaz. I'll need him weakened, even with the stones. If only competent help was easier to come by."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mojha-fool": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mojha-fool", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Mojha is a Fool", "text": "Mojha is a fool. What does it matter that the Dragons are not gods? Are they not godly enough to command our worship?\nIf it will spare this one the whip, this one will bow and scrape and labor for the great lizards. Do not approach this one again. He will betray you to save his own skin.\nHear those words and remember."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/molag-mar-tax-records": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/molag-mar-tax-records", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Molag Mar Tax Records", "text": "These taxes are to be payed, in full, on the first day of every season.\nBuoyant Armiger Eithyna - 75 Gold\n\tJolippe Guillon - 17 Gold\n\tRalsynilsa - 12 Gold\n\tResearcher Svarjarda - 46 Gold\n\tBuoyant Armiger Alvura - 22 Gold\nTotal - 172 Gold"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/modly-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/modly-journal", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Moldy Journal", "text": "14th Second Seed\n\tRaining again. One wonders why I did not bring proper supplies to this place. Supposing the Bosmer who lived around were anything more than savages was a mistake.\n20th Second Seed\n\tAssistant has gone missing. I expect I'll find her body in the river, if the hoarvors don't find her first. A shame.\n\t1st Mid Year\nAs long as my notes remain dry, I believe I can continue to work. The savage Elves hold so much untapped knowledge in their oral histories. It must not go undocumented.\n5th Mid Year\n\tBitten by one of those infernal insects, the hoarvor. I pray the wound does not become infected and slow down my work. At least I still have my hands and my wits.\n30th Last Seed\n\tWinter rains washed away my crude calendar. Further entries will have approximate dates. Unfortunate, but unavoidable.\nFrostfall\n\tWitnessed several pilgrims at the shrine. Tried to hide my presence but to no avail. I fear they will send a search party. I must remain vigilant and ensure they do not interrupt my studies.\nFrostfall\n\tThe cold bothers me less and less. I have devised a new ink recipe which holds a better line than my other efforts.\nRain's Hand?\n\tMy scrolls have gone missing. I don't remember moving them. If they've been washed away, this has all been for naught. But I must not despair. I will find them."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/monsters-northern-folklore": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/monsters-northern-folklore", "description": "Three accounts of the mysterious \"snow ghosts\" who plauge Nords", "author": "Minerva Calo", "title": "Monsters of Northern Folklore", "text": "By Minerva Calo, Imperial Chronicler\nYou can learn a lot about a people by examining their superstitions. Ancient fears run deep\u2014deeper even than cherished traditions or historical enmities. While few Nords will admit to fear of any kind, I've found one topic that reliably sets a northerner on edge: the \"snow ghosts.\" At first, I thought they referred to ice wraiths or wispmothers, but I've come to learn these \"snow ghosts\" bear no similarity to those monsters. Alternatively referred to as \"bogles,\" \"riekr-kin,\" or \"clatter-coats,\" they plague herders and traders alike\u2014stealing livestock, stabbing wandering merchants in their sleep, and spoiling root cellars with poisonous slime. I gathered the following testimonials in Morthal and Solitude. I leave it to you, dear reader, to parse the fact from the fiction.\nBonbetta, a Morthal fishmonger, had this to say: \"Aye! I've seen those scamps more than once! Skulking around the docks they were. Snatching up our nets and tearing out the fish. They only come out on the moonless nights, you know. So's you can't see them proper. My eyes aren't what they used to be, mind, but seemed to me they had sharpish ears like an Elf, they hunched over like Goblins, and they had skin like the underbelly of a dead trout. All white, you see? My husband set out to run them off, but they're quick as a whip, and Ralmig's knees creak like a dead pine nowadays. Probably for the better. Way I hear it, they'll kill a person as soon as look at them.\"\nI met a herdsman near the Dragon Bridge who could barely contain his contempt for the creatures\u2014shaking his fist often as he gnawed on a dried kilnr root. He asked not to be identified. \"To Sovngarde with those bastards! Used to be that you'd only hear about them once or twice your whole life long. Now, they've snatched up three of my best cows in the last six months alone. Can't hardly get a wink of rest anymore. It's bad enough we've got to compete with damned mammoths for grazing space. Now I'm wringing my beard day and night worrying about clatter-coats cutting my livestock to pieces. My brother tells me it's just rustlers in black leathers, but I've seen them. No Nord could hunch the way they do. And the clothes they wear\u2014I've never seen the like. Like it's carved off one of those damned cave-bugs you see near Morthal every now and again. Next time I'm in Solitude, I'm going to fetch a good, sturdy bow and pierce one of those cow thieves right between the eyes.\"\nGilse Tistar, a surprisingly pleasant Dark Elf from the Bards College, dismissed these testimonies as local superstition and nothing more. \"You know how these Nords are. Honestly, they'll blame any misfortune on bizarre creatures or foreigners. Just the other day, some pale-eyed merchant blamed me for putting an \"Elf hex\" on their dog. I mean, what is that? And why would I care about their dog? It's all nonsense. That said, nonsense often makes for entertaining verse! Just last night I wrote a farce about a five-eyed troll. It will land with a splash. Guaranteed.\"\nI met a wild-eyed vagrant in Karthwatch who offered a truly outlandish claim, flapping his hands about as he spoke. \"They're Elves! Snow Elves! These people ... Goblins some say! And Riekr. Riekr! Can you imagine? Feh. I've seen these things, missy. Got a real good look. They're paler than the palest Nord, with pointy ears and noses like a bat! You say, 'Elves don't have noses like bats!' But you'd be wrong, missy. Dead wrong! Ole Ysgramor cut their noses off so you could tell them apart from other Elves and drove them underground like the worms they are. Now they're all hunched and squinty from living in caves and never seeing the sun! And they're coming back. Mark me! They aim to take Skyrim back, just like they did back on the Crying Night. Beware, missy! Beware!\"\nReal or imagined, these creatures grant us a fascinating glimpse into Nordic folklore and serve as a perfect example of how ancient ghost-stories still plague the northerners today."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/montclair-assassins-orders": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/montclair-assassins-orders", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Montclair Assassin's Orders", "text": "House Montclair thanks you for your service and for your patience in this matter. We know you will perform admirably once the targets are identified.\nWhile we finish assembling the list of targets, stay close to the city. Further instructions will reach you shortly."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/moon-worship-among-cat-men": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/moon-worship-among-cat-men", "description": "Outsider's description of the Lunar Lattice", "author": "Cirantille", "title": "Moon Worship among the Cat-Men", "text": "Stride through any Khajiiti settlement, whether a ramshackle northern encampment or an austere southern town, and you will notice the Two-Moons Temple\u2014always the most expansive structure. Built to last and utilizing the finest local materials, this place of worship is central to Khajiiti society. Although the Cat-Man deems the Divines as preeminent (and their sanctuary offers prayers to bastardizations of our own Eight), they believe the Lunar Lattice\u2014or the movement of Masser and Secunda\u2014influences all matters of luck, destiny, and happenstance, a belief Venustinius Perquitienus has termed a \"hybrid heresy.\"\nKhajiiti dogma reveres the moons as divine, furnishing life into the bodies of the Cat-Man by ingestion of moon sugar, a sacred ingredient that can also be refined into a hallucinatory contraband. Although used for both culinary and ritualistic purposes, it can be easily distilled to form skooma, a wretched and illegal narcotic. Such wanton delirium seems to be kept in check by a hierarchy of Moon-Bishops who regulate these ingestions, which play a small part in Khajiiti ceremonies. The clergy mainly concerns itself with conducting services, rounding up fallen followers, and ruling on theological matters. If an impasse is reached, the issue is resolved by the Mane himself.\nThe absolute rulers of the Lunar Lattice, Manes are the most powerful of the Khajiit outside the clan-chiefs and king of Elsweyr. They may be a key official to bribe, corrupt, or remove should forthcoming hostilities occur to our southern border. Of further interest is the succession ritual for the Mane; when one expires, a sacred ritual determines his successor. A Moon Herald is appointed to shepherd the potential aspirants on what Khajiiti text describes as an epic and dangerous quest to the surface of the Two Moons themselves, with the sole returning candidate declared the new Mane.\nThe assumption that the lay Cat travels astrally to our moons is preposterous; Venustinius Perquitienus has termed it \"nauseous balderdash,\" and rightly so."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/moon-sugar-glossy-fur-yes": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/moon-sugar-glossy-fur-yes", "description": "Tired of those split ends and that scraggly coat? Good news!", "author": "Rathuni-la Dawnwhisker, Daughter of Azurah", "title": "Moon-Sugar for Glossy Fur? Yes!", "text": "This one brings you good news, my cats and kittens, tigers and tigresses\u2014especially for everyone who loves moon-sugar! And that's all of us, isn't it, my lion-hearts, because admit it: nothing makes our tails twitch like a moon-sugar-glazed sweet roll!\nIf you're like Rathuni, this one knows you were positively reeling last Sun's Dawn at Abbess Mizzi's song-paper, in which she reported that it's not just the vile drug skooma that's bad for you, but our beloved moon-sugar itself! She declared that over-consumption of the Queen of Sweets is responsible for anxiety, droop-ear, sudden weight gain, and even the panting quivers. Imagine!\nHer song-paper spread panic across the kitchens of cat-kind, as we all tried to find substitutes for moon-sugar molasses and granule loaves. Prices of moon-sugar-cane plummeted, while sorghum and sweet-beets suddenly vanished from the markets! Personally, this one was beside herself when she was tapped to provide the sweetcake provender for the Riverhold Mid Year festival. Somehow, the petit-paws just weren't the same. So mortifying!\nBut I promised you good news, didn't I, litter-mates? And here it is: after simply months of alchemical research, generously sponsored by the Canefield Farmers' Alliance, this one is here to tell you of her complete inability to duplicate Abbess Mizzi's results. (One can only conclude that the abbess\u2014who is getting on in her lives, poor dear\u2014made an error in her calculations somewhere.) My research shows that consumption of moon-sugar in normal moderation does not generate any of the dire effects alleged in that scary Sun's Dawn song-paper.\nIn fact\u2014and here's the best part, though I fear the title of my song-paper has spoiled the surprise, hasn't it?\u2014regular consumption of non-distilled moon-sugar derivatives is actually what gives a Khajiit the gloss in her fur! Yes, my lion-hearts: we can have the sweets we love, as well as shiny, split-end-free coats. (And no wonder my pelt was looking so dull lately!)\nSo there you have it, kitten darlings! Isn't it Rathuni-la who always brings you the catnip? You know it is, leopard-loves. This one will just leave you with a quick recipe for my clan mother's Moon-Sugar Biscuits. Here it is\u2014and enjoy!\n\u2014 3 mugs moon-sugar\n\t\u2014 mug of water\n\t\u2014 1 pat suet\n\t\u2014 shifted flour\n\t\u2014 red wheat flour\nMix the dry ingredients together. Next slowly add the dry mix to the moon-sugar, mixing constantly. Scoop out dough with a spoon and place on a hot rock or in a cooling oven until golden brown. Serves three (\u2026 or maybe just you!)."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/moon-sugar-march": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/moon-sugar-march", "description": "A fragmentary description of Moon Sugar in Reaper's March", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Moon-Sugar in the March", "text": "\u2026 and despite the dry conditions, moon-sugar thrives in Reaper's March. The ancient art of moon-sugar farming comes primarily down to irrigation, irrigation, irrigation. Ditches, wells, even changing the courses of rivers have made the difference in some village crops. And of course, collected rainwater is the life's-blood of March farming.\nBelow, this author shall walk you through the steps required to begin construction of a rainwater cistern, or \"johad\" as the Redguards call them. These seemingly simple \u2026."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/moon-sugar-plans": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/moon-sugar-plans", "description": "Distribution of a wealth of Moon-Sugar", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Moon-Sugar Plans", "text": "This moon-sugar is spectacular! We're going to make a bundle off this haul!\nI'm taking my share to Senchal. They're always desperate for decent moon-sugar over there and they have the gold to spare.\nI'll leave Haros's share at the old farm where we used to distill skooma. I have such fond and fuzzy memories of that place.\nI'll put Yasira's share at the river drop location north of the swamp, even though I hate that place. I can never get the mud out of my fur.\nExpect another note soon. You'll get your cut as soon as I have the gold in paw."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/moon-sugar-better-plan": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/moon-sugar-better-plan", "description": "An alternate plan for making even more money from some good Moon-Sugar", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Moon-Sugar: A Better Plan", "text": "This one has a better plan. Just because Punzala is the leader, she thinks she always deserves the biggest share. Well, Haros says stink on that! If we combine our shares and mix the gourmet moon-sugar with an equal portion of the cheap stuff, we can sell it for a premium price and triple our profits!\nIn fact, let's go to the place where Punzala likes to dock, across the bay from Senchal, steal her portion, and make even more gold.\nNow, that's how to make a plan! Maybe this one should be leader, yes?"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/moon-sugar-report": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/moon-sugar-report", "description": "An agent of the Imperial Trade Service fervently advocates banning Moon-Sugar", "author": "Cornelius Clanius", "title": "Moon-Sugar: A Report", "text": "By Cornelius Clanius, Agent-Inspector of the Imperial Trade Service\nMoon-sugar! It's become more prevalent since the Dragonstar Caravan Company began exporting it and the cats claiming it's a sacred but harmless cooking ingredient. Yet have you seen what happens to those who sprinkle it on their vegetables? They get excitable! And lethargic! Sometimes at once! The cats are out to corrupt our youth with their sweet, poisonous 'sugar' I tell you. It is a substance that must be banned from the Empire at once, for the good of the children!\nHowever, I don't expect the Service to simply take my word for it, so the ever-vigilant Cornelius Clanius has taken it upon himself to travel to Elsweyr and expose the truth.\nThe first impression of moon-sugar leaves little to be desired. It is a grainy, powdery, crystal-like substance. Each 'piece' ranges in size from a grain of rice to the size of one's thumb, and can be crushed or liquefied for use in cooking. It has a white-to-silver sheen and despite being similar in appearance to salt crystals, it is not translucent. Instead, when light hits a solid fragment of moon-sugar, it seems to glow from within.\nWhile obviously merely refracted light, this may be responsible for the cultural belief that moon-sugar consists of crystallized moonlight. Many Khajiit believe that it is a gift from their gods. One popular tale speaks of Azurah, their so-called 'Sugar God', whom brought the light of the moons down to the marshes where it became sugar. Such primitive beliefs are easily disproved with a little alchemy, but this is not one of yours truly's talents.\nVenturing into the many small adeptoriums that dot Elsweyr's landscape, one can find moon-sugar in use with various ceremonies. It is accepted in these places that by consuming moon-sugar, they are imbibing portions of their gods' souls. Many believe it can be used to grant visions when consumed in various concoctions and combined with meditation.\nThey state it can grant a state of enlightenment, but there is a more terrible truth to this. These adeptoriums sometimes make use of skooma, which they themselves refine from moon-sugar. The Moon-Bishops claim that only they use it and it is never distributed, Cornelius Clanius was not born yesterday! These babbling 'wisemen' claim to have visions granted through the use of the drug. Could you imagine if that idea came into fashion within the Empire?\nDid Cornelius Clanius, Agent-Inspector for the Imperial Trade Service ever imbibe some of this moon-sugar, you ask? Did he even try it, to see if it is as terrible as he seems to claim? Yes, he did and this is why he so fervently suggests banning it! You see, the Khajiit put moon-sugar in everything and eat it daily. They claim it's because they have a sweet tooth and this satisfies their cravings. Poppycock! They're all drug addicts, that's why. The more they use it, the more calloused they become to its effects. We humans however? We are not calloused. We are susceptible to our basest urges!\nWhen this devout and intent Agent ate some of this moon-sugar, do you know what happened? He began to laugh hysterically! Such energy! Such enthusiasm! Your very structured and precise Cornelius went out and hugged a lamp post! Every claw mark was a fascinating discovery. The very texture was enrapturing and I told everyone I came across about it. Imagine our youth, sitting about, fondling inanimate objects! This is the future the Khajiit want. It will cripple the Empire and pave the way for its inevitable collapse.\nIf it remains on the streets, we will have an entire generation of degenerates who sit around, eating sweets, and discussing their feelings in public. This is to say nothing of the lethargy that follows! No wonder the Khajiit are lazy. Once this horrific sugar runs its course, it leaves one drained and exhausted. It is simply not compatible with the Imperial work ethic.\nNo. This moon-sugar must be declared illegal at once.\nYour faithful and dedicated Agent-Inspector,\n\tCornelius Clanius"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/moraats-theory-lightning": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/moraats-theory-lightning", "description": "A Khajiit mage's research on lightning and shock spells", "author": "Mora'at the Lesser", "title": "Mora'at's Theory of Lightning", "text": "By Mora'at the Lesser, Wizard of Corinthe\nIt happens to every amateur or apprentice mage: that first time one miscasts a shock spell. It recoils upon one, and one lets out a yip as all of one's fur stands up straight and sparks jolt through one's form and out the tip of one's tail. And one wonders seriously for the first time: lightning\u2014what is it?\nListen to Mora'at, for this one is in a position to explain. After much hard study and many repetitions of the entrance exam, Mora'at is now an officially-recognized Journeyman of the Corinthe Mages Guildhall, and therefore in a position to speak with some authority on magical matters. I have been doing research into this matter of lightning\u2014specializing, as we scholars of the arcane do\u2014and have also given the matter a not-inconsiderable amount of thought on my own.\nAs a result, this one has a Theory.\nShock, like Flame and Frost, is an expression of magical power that takes the form of a natural force. Everyone has played with this force when one was a ja'khajiit, scuffing one's feet across a rug and then stinging a sibling with a small spark from an extended claw, or rubbing an inflated rat's-bladder against one's fur until the hairs stand up and the bladder \"sticks\" to one's chest or arm.\nSo it was apparent to this one, even from an early age, that shock was an inherent property of fibrous matter, a property stimulated by friction into sparks. This also explains lightning, as clouds, which resemble nothing so much as huge Tenmar cotton-balls, generate shock when storms cause friction through colliding masses of buoyant fiber.\nTherefore, when one of we mighty wizards of the Mages Guild casts a Shock spell, what is actually happening? This one explains it as follows: the reality of the Mundus is a great tapestry woven of strands of matter and magicka. A Shock spell channels and manipulates magicka through the local warp and weft of the tapestry, agitating its fibers. This generates sparking, which coalesces into magical lightning. Yes?\nPerceptions such as these come easily once one is a skilled mage. When I present this theory to our magister, this one anticipates well-earned praise and encouragement. In fact, now that Mora'at is a bona fide magical scholar, this one may even have another theory tomorrow!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/morgaulle-decherys-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/morgaulle-decherys-journal", "description": "A journal mentioning King Jolie and diplomacy with Redguards", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Morgaulle Dechery's Journal", "text": "It is true that the king had not the strong feelings of the rest of the people of High Rock well in mind; but he was affected by a sudden clarity following his meeting with the envoy. King Joile had lived in so respectable a manner as to elicit the ire of the Redguards, even though he had done every conceivable thing within his power to grant them comfort and courtesy within his presence.\nThe Ra Gada were no more than a comparatively new and invasive people, who began their residence upon the shores of Tamriel only after rendering their homeland irreparably damaged. These Ra Gada interlopers were received into Hammerfell and began to make short work of their local Orsimer neighbors, presuming so far as to call themselves the Forebears, while in fact the lands had occupancy precursors in the Orsimer, Dwemer, Ayleids, and even the Goblins!\nIt should be known by now that the Redguards are thusly not the legal inheritors of Hammerfell, nor are they owed any claim upon the territories of Bangkorai. In the society of civilized Evermore, the untoward rage which issued forth from Orsinium was therefore not the only immediate threat, but also too was the concealed blade of the Redguards.\nFor what people carry upon them at all times blades but those who intend to bear some immediacy in using them against others?\nKing Joile's reaction toward the Redguard forces within Bangkorai during the conflict proceeded not merely from malice, but from goodness of heart and a desire to bring solid safety and comfort to his peoples across all of High Rock.\nThe Maidens of the Spirit Sword, who were maidens only in name, were rendered wroth by naught but this protective instinct! It would have quieted their mannish ambitions if they could have seen his noble bearing, the acknowledged eminence of his countenance when not upon the field of battle."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/morilatta": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/morilatta", "description": "Yet another rather grim poem", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Morilatta", "text": "A time of ending, harvest, and slaughter,\n\tAs dusk falls across the land.\n\tFeast before famine,\n\tA plethora of bounties."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/morkuldins-final-delivery": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/morkuldins-final-delivery", "description": "Manifest of a grim delivery", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Morkuldin's Final Delivery", "text": "Skalg,\nThis is my last shipment. The wrong eyes are on me now. I thought nobody would notice petty thieves and street scum going missing, but I was wrong. You'll need to find some other means of feeding your forge.\nThis last shipment will include the following:\nFour Orcs: healthy\nTwo Khajiit: possibly diseased\nThree Bretons: frost-bitten\nTwo Elves: one healthy, one corpse\nSorry about the dead one. Couldn't be helped. But you mentioned Elven blood last time, so I left the corpse in with the rest.\nAs always, I expect a full delivery of Morkul-forged arms and armor delivered to the usual place.\nThreads guide you, my friend.\n-Zushruk"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/morrowind-fauna-part-one": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/morrowind-fauna-part-one", "description": "Descriptions of some of the creatures of Morrowind", "author": "Holia Asellio", "title": "Morrowind Fauna, Part One", "text": "A copy of the full manuscript should follow this letter shortly. This is but an abstract to satisfy your curiosity until the scribes can finish their work.\nCommon Vvardenfell Guar\nGuar are but the most commonly-known species of a large family of bipedal, lizard-like creatures, having been imported to Cyrodiil as beasts of burden for hundreds of years. They are content to graze with their lower jaws for tubers and roots just under the surface of their ashland home. Wild guar are mostly docile, but have been known to become feral and attack in the wilds of some lands. Guar are fierce if provoked, and have been known to kill. Their closest relatives are the Alit and Kagouti, also common in the lands of Morrowind, as well as the pony guar.\n\"Pony Guar,\" as nicknamed by visitors to Morrowind, are a smaller species of guar that are rarely exported since they lack the physical strength of their larger cousins. Not well known outside of southern Morrowind, they are a curiosity sometimes raised as pets, but some do raise them for their meat and skins.\nAlit and Kagouti\nAlit are close relatives to the guar, with far sharper sets of teeth. They are omnivores and while they do not hunt in organized packs, they have been known to attack other creatures and even people for an opportunistic meal. Alit supplement their nutrition, much like the guar, by rooting. For many years, it became the vogue for exotic animal enthusiasts from Valenwood to import alit for their own amusement. Many escaped captivity, and their descendants can be found stalking the great forests of the southwest.\nKagouti are large, armored cousins of the guar and the alit. Their most distinctive features are their tusks and head crests. They are territorial, fierce, and hostile. They hunt in packs and have been known to be able to flip a full-grown Nord in the air with ease.\nScuttler and Bantam Guar\nThe scuttler is a small, docile species of biped the size of a common housecat. They have no apparent forelegs, and survive on eating smaller insects and groundworms. Having completely different reproductive and growth cycles, they are not related to the guar or alit. Scuttlers are more similar to the cliff racer family of leathery flyers than their form would suggest. Smugglers have sold them as pets in ports from Daggerfall to Haven.\nBantam Guar, despite their name, classify as a part of the scuttler family and are not guar at all. Many have described them as \"ugly chickens,\" as they have a distinctive body shape and behavior that remind many of the common bird. They retain the vestigial wings, and unlike their cliff racer and cliff darter cousins, they cannot fly. Southern Morrowind farmers raise them for their eggs and meat."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/morrowind-needs-you": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/morrowind-needs-you", "description": "Adventure awaits in Vvardenfell", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Morrowind Needs You!", "text": "Come to the island of Vvardenfell, in Morrowind, to bask in the presence of the Living Gods of the Tribunal and experience all the wonders that dwell in the shadow of Red Mountain. From Vivec City to Sadrith Mora, the Ashlands to Azura's Coast, the land of the Dark Elves overflows with exciting adventure and endless opportunity.\nNeed more incentive? The priests of the Tribunal seek able-bodied adventurers to offer assistance with a number of growing problems, including Daedra-infested ancestral tombs, Ashlander raiders, and ancient ruins overrun with evil cultists.\nSee a Navigator today and set sail for adventure\u2014Morrowind needs you!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mossy-note": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mossy-note", "description": "Tried to find someone and died in the attempt", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Mossy Note", "text": "Did what the Khajiit's brother said couldn't be done\u2014I found the bastard.\nFigured he'd be dead, diving headfirst like he did into Elita's Folly. Not even the most hardened soldier comes out of that hole unscathed\u2014but this s'wit? I don't know how he survives, but he's been living here.\nRunning from me.\nBy Almalexia\u2014head is swimming.\ntrapped\nblood is burning\u2014spider poison?\nbuzzing"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mottos-great-dunmeri-houses": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mottos-great-dunmeri-houses", "description": "Mottos and patron saints of the Great Houses", "author": "Vilyn Girith", "title": "Mottos of the Dunmeri Great Houses", "text": "To my son, whose inability to remember even these simple facts embarrasses our family at every opportunity. This is to inform you of the words the great houses of Vvardenfell live and breathe by, and the saints they hold as their patrons, representative of their goals and motives. If you ever again confuse the Hlaalu and Dres merchant nobles with whom we trade, I will disown you three and ten times, and once again to make the deed final and eternal.\nHouse Redoran: \"A Redoran is a warrior whose duty is first to the Tribunal, second to House Redoran, and third to family and clan.\"\n\t- Saint Nerevar the Captain is the patron saint of House Redoran.\nHouse Indoril: \"Justice knows no sleep: Indoril shall order, the Temple shall judge.\"\n\t- Saint Olms the Just is the patron saint of House Indoril.\nHouse Hlaalu: \"To trade fairly and freely is to honor the Three.\"\n\t- Saint Veloth the Pilgrim is the patron saint of House Hlaalu.\nHouse Dres: \"To spread culture and truth to the benighted: this is our commitment and burden.\"\n\t- Saint Llothis the Pious is the patron saint of House Dres.\nHouse Telvanni: \"The forceful expression of will gives true honor to the Ancestors.\"\n\t- Saint Vorys the Immolant is the patron saint of House Telvanni.\nYou will likely not note the lack of an ascribed motto to the sixth house, the shadow house, house Dagoth. This is because that house is extinct, destroyed at the Battle of Red Mountain, after which the remaining Houses built the Temple to the Tribunal. If you ever mention this house in polite company, I will disown you.\nYou will note that twice, now, I have threatened to disown you. This is because my hands are not so black as Mephala's or Lord Vivec's. My heart is too weak to simply remove you from my family.\nKeep this text on you at all times, and let it shame you for every reference you make to it in your dealings with our nobility. Spare our lineage the greater shame of your own foolishness. May I never have cause to call you s'wit in public again."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mourning-springs-burial-rights": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mourning-springs-burial-rights", "description": "Instructions on proper burial", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Mourning Springs Burial Rites", "text": "Wash with care, dry with respect.\n\tMend with love, patch with attention.\n\tWrap with caution, tie with deference.\n\tTurn to the center, let the soul rest."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mudcrab-order-request": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mudcrab-order-request", "description": "", "author": "Master Chef He-Cuts-the-Flesh", "title": "Mudcrab Order Request ", "text": "Some consider mudcrab to be the food of a commoner--the staple of a peasant. This is truly uninspired on the part of the masses--such a versatile food is as essential to Tamriel as massive wheels of cheese.\nAs such, I require a barrel of mudcrab meat to be delivered daily so I may develop a compilation of the finest recipes of Abah's Landing for publication.\nNot only will you be promoting local culture with your contribution, but I will also provide the typical payment for your services.\n-Master Chef He-Cuts-the-Flesh"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/murky-time": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/murky-time", "description": "Study of Argonian perception of time", "author": "Teldenrinde", "title": "Murky Time", "text": "Studying Saxhleel Concepts by Teldenrinde of the Mages Guild\n\"The haj mota has an old spirit. Even in the egg, she is old and wise. You, too, must become old if you wish to hunt her.\"\nThis is a common theme in Argonian culture and folklore, the idea of aging backward or aging prematurely. It can be a confusing concept for outsiders to fully grasp. This isn't surprising. For men and mer, the experience of life happens somewhere between the past and the future. For Argonians, time is much more fluid.\nThis makes the existence and primacy of the Jekka-Wass cultural calendar all the more confusing. Wasseek Saxhleel and many of their regional neighbors place great emphasis on the passage of months and the circular, recurring nature of the Tamrielic year. Some scholars contend that the calendar is just a holdover from the ancient days of the great Argonian stone sculptures. According to the theory, the calendar is a vestigial tail that's lasted through tradition even though it's totally inconsistent with present-day Saxhleel values. I'm not so sure.\nI recently asked a Jekka-Wass elder how they can see time as fluid and murky while maintaining an elaborate and surprisingly accurate calendar. He sat quietly for what seemed like an eternity. Eventually he spoke:\n\"[The calendar] is like a bowl of water. The day and the night swim in the bowl.\"\nI could tell that he wasn't very happy with this answer, but he was resigned to it. His frustration was rooted in both his limited grasp of Cyrodilic and the shortcomings of his native tongue. You see, as far as I can tell, Jel has no tenses; at least nothing that we'd recognize as a tense. The closest substitution I've heard interpreters use is \"old\" and \"new.\" They talk a great deal about \"changing\" and \"becoming\"- words that imply forward motion. But again, these words are obfuscated by all manner of arcane terms and concepts that even I can't decipher.\nI will do my best to understand - but I doubt the murky water will ever become absolutely clear."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/murshez-dead": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/murshez-dead", "description": "Report of a partner's passing", "author": "Gordonkha the Shark", "title": "Murshez Is Dead", "text": "Murshez got caught by the Iron Wheel when we returned to Abah's Landing. He died quick, and I owe him. Anybody know if he had relatives? I'd like to pay him back for getting me out of there.\nSpent the last few  - weeks? Months? Don't know how long it's been - holed up in an old ruin with nothing but scorpions to eat.\nI'll check in now and again, but my mothers didn't raise me stupid. I'm out until this Iron Wheel situation is handled.\n- G the S"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mustnt-forget": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mustnt-forget", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Mustn't Forget", "text": "If that's all that's left to me. I cannot leave it behind.\nIf I make others as I have been made, it shall be an heirloom of my new house, my new family.\nBut I must protect it, it must be hidden. What if I forget where I hide it, if the changes affect my mind? Perhaps a clue\u2026.\nUp above, the statue wards. There."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/my-dearest-love": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/my-dearest-love", "description": "A runaway slave's loveletter", "author": "Neeti-Ma", "title": "My Dearest Love", "text": "To my Deem-Jei,\nMy hope to see you again flickers like a lantern's flame in a heavy wind. I escaped my Telvanni masters only to be pursued by the Comonna Tong, a group I fear even more. I write this letter not knowing if it will ever reach you. If I will ever reach you.\nI seek an Orc by the name of Khartag. Rumors have swirled swiftly around Vvardenfell that he will assist slaves such as I. I write this as I search for him in the only place I have heard he visits, but I fear the Camonna Tong are close behind me. My hope flickers once more. To see you again, to feel your touch. To be free from the chains which bind me. I wish to write you more my love, but I fear someone is coming. Or perhaps some... thing.\nYours always, Neeti-Ma"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/my-golden-child": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/my-golden-child", "description": "A secret message from a ring of slavers", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "My Golden Child", "text": "Your shrouding of the light proved a great boon to our holy plans. We led the pirate ship into the rocks and freed those unjustly imprisoned. The drugged guards slept through it all, just as we ordained.\nDo not be concerned over the loss of life. The innocent survived and the wicked perished. Look upon your just reward, included with this message, and be at peace.\nYou shall know us by this phrase:\n\"The ending of the words is ALMSIVI.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/my-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/my-journal", "description": "Journal of the frozen man of Bleakrock", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "My Journal", "text": "4th First Seed\n\tBleakrock is as cold as they told us it would be. I can't believe people live here. I'll steal their secrets as quickly as I can. Then I'll return to the warmth of the woods.\n5th First Seed\n\tWe have most of the information we need. The queen will be pleased. We'll leave tomorrow. I can't wait to thaw out my toes.\n???\n\tI've been unconscious. How long was I out? The last thing I remember was the cave-in. Was it the Pact? Did they find us? Everyone else is dead, even Oriell. He fell in battle. I won't leave him to rot.\n???\n\tEver since the cave-in, magic gives me a headache. I can't dig out. There's too much rock. The only thing to eat is roots. What am I going to do?\n???\n\tThe roots were poisonous. Worse, I think they're hallucinogenic. I'm seeing my dead friends. Arawe. Tarak. Even Oriell. What's happened to my mind?\nIce Day\n\tThe squirrels are the problem. They caused the cave-in. They're in league with the shiny stones.\n\tI'll get them.\nMelting Day\n\tI found Arawe! A greedy squirrel had her. She turned into a candelabra.\n\tThe squirrel's gone now, and she's back with me. I missed her. There's so many more to collect!\nCulling Day\n\tGreedy squirrels tried to take my friends. I made them into icicles."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/my-kwama-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/my-kwama-journal", "description": "One person becomes insane in a Kwama mine", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "My Kwama Journal", "text": "Day 11: My studies are going well. These creatures are fascinating to watch. They seem to have accepted my presence here. I will try to live as they do.\nDay 18: I move like a kwama, think like a kwama.\nDay 20: I am part of the hive!\nDay 24: The kwama need me. I shall be their queen!\nDay 42: The Dark Elves are looking for me. My warriors will protect me.\nDay 88: Oh my darling scribs! How quickly they grow!\nDay 113: Must protect eggs ditiktoktok hide deeper in caves kikkitikitokitok protect my colony dididotikitikido\nDay Day daydayday Kwama Queen Kwama Queen Kwama Queen Colony needs Kwama Queen Kwama Queen Kwama Me Me meeeeditikidoditikiki"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/my-little-present": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/my-little-present", "description": "", "author": "Headman Cosh", "title": "My Little Present", "text": "By now you've found my little present in your bed chamber.\nYou have disappointed me, Banu. Word of your sad performance before the Emissary of the King reached my ears, and I just had to offer commentary.\nDo not fail me like this again, or you will find the next message harder to miss.\n\u2014 Headman Cosh, Lord and Master of Abah's Landing"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/my-sweet-flower": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/my-sweet-flower", "description": "An anonymous love note", "author": "X", "title": "My Sweet Flower", "text": "My Sweet Flower,\nRun away with me, far from this place. Leave your dreadful husband and his obsession with wealth. You are worth more to me than any trinket from some faraway land. The same cannot be said of him.\nThe world was bleak before I peered into your radiant eyes. The most magnificent mountains and flowing streams are nothing compared to your smile.\nLet us leave this place. I am and will always be your buzzing bee of love.\n\t\u2014 X"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mysterious-ore-notes": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mysterious-ore-notes", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Mysterious Ore Notes", "text": "The ore appears to remain somewhat cool to the touch, even when left in a warm area for some time.\nIs this somehow related to the Ice Wraiths discovered in the western chambers? Did they affect the ore, or were they attracted by it's existing effects?\nRequires further study."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mystery-chub-loon": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mystery-chub-loon", "description": "The mystery of Tamriel's penguins", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Mystery of the Chub Loon", "text": "There is a creature in the land of the Orcs that defies explanation. The chub loon has no purpose and little known history. However, it is delicious when cooked with moon-sugar glaze and citrus.\nI, Zabia-ko, and several companions sought to secure trade with the Orcs of Fharun Stronghold when we found ourselves on the wrong side of the negotiations. We had little choice but to run for our lives when the chief burned our ship and sent warriors after us. The cold and rocky coast overlooking the frigid Sea of Ghosts became our home for the night. The howling sea wind bit deep into our fur. Despite that, sleep eventually came in the dark of the night.\nAs the sun rose over the Druadach Mountains, a cacophony of honking sounds broke the rhythmic peace of the waves against the rocks. The others feared some unknown beast had come to eat us, but curiosity overcame this one, and she slipped out of her bedroll, grabbed her staff, and moved toward the coast to let her eyes decide if we should stay or flee. Of all the creatures that have passed before Zabia-ko's eyes, none are stranger than the stub-legged, waddling birds that swarmed the ice floes and rocks. They stood in groups, clumping for warmth, with their useless wings flapping at their sides. Their call, once frightening, sounded comical when I looked upon them.\nThe birds were nothing like anything in the old and well-worn wilderness guide I borrowed from the library back home. Escape through the Friendship Gate could wait. This was something new, and new things have value. At first we were very careful to gather a few of the creatures, but we soon learned that they were too stupid to flee from a Khajiit. They had no trouble fleeing from Orcs, though! Any proper prey should try to run away when Khajiit walk among them, but not these flightless birds. We scooped them up and made haste for the gate, lest the Fharun clan catch our scent and give chase.\nThis one's first stop in Wayrest was to the Mages Guild. A few pieces of gold gained me access to their natural history library, where a new edition of the wilderness guide was prominently displayed. It mentions the chub loon as an elusive creature that was not observed by earlier writers. How could such an obnoxious creature be overlooked?\nThis one spent several days and candle-lit nights going over every tome on the creatures and wildlife of Tamriel. Not a single mention of the chub loon exists before the beginning of the second era. How could that be? The very first mention is in a text on the horker, and it only says that they were moving in on the horker habitat, disrupting the food source. Could it be that, like the Nords and other men, they came from another land? Could the stupid birds have been brought here by travelers from Atmora? Could they have traversed the Sea of Ghosts on their own with only floating chunks of ice to carry them? In any case, no matter how they arrived, they secured a new habitat, flourishing on Wrothgar's rocky coast."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mystic-visions-guardians": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mystic-visions-guardians", "description": "Cryptic musings surrounding the constellations of Nirn", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Mystic Visions of the Guardians ", "text": "I went to the desert where the sky is impossibly big and the heavens appear so close you can touch them. I can't begin to describe the kinship I feel with those lights as they waltz across the night in harmonious movements.\nThe desert provides a harsh existence. Food and water are hard to come by, and many times I have relied on the good fortune of a traveling merchant or another traveler, joining me by my campside and trading some meager portion of food in exchange for a word of wisdom or a story.\nBut I find that as my body grows lean and strong, my vision becomes clear. Every piece of me that is not necessary, that chains me to this too-solid form, slips away. I slough it off, like a serpent shedding its skin.\nIn this state, I have seen many wonders and undergone many temptations. I have ridden astride a coursing steed into battle alongside the Warrior at his apex. I have seen the Mage take her many forms, shifting from beautiful Elven woman to bearded old man and back again. Late at night, she whispers to me the secrets of the Principle of Change, which is pure magic. And on many restless nights I have chased the Thief, who, fleet of foot, remains just out of grasp, always escaping into the pale light of the dawn just as I think myself victorious. I have seen each of the Guardians in turn and found them beautiful and terrible to behold.\nBut through it all there has been a presence, unsettling and powerful. A distant enemy who wants to blot the stars from the sky and render the world in bloodshed and chaos. I have felt his presence when, pushed to the edge of madness by hunger or thirst, I considered taking the life of a lone traveler so that I might eat. Almost nightly, he tempts me with dreams of glory\u2014dreams of plucking the stars from the sky and returning to the civilized lands of Tamriel as a god.\nOf all my night visitors, it is this one who seems to me to be most like myself. And for this reason, I fear him more than all the others."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mythical-beast-real-powers": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mythical-beast-real-powers", "description": "Notes on Dragon Knight abilities", "author": "By Drusus Ovicula, Proctor of the Imperial Library", "title": "Mythical Beast, Real Powers", "text": "In the generations since the fall of the Akaviri Potentates, a new martial tradition has arisen in Tamriel, one which bears all the hallmarks of a coherent magical discipline, though it is said to be descended from the powers of the legendary Dragons and those mortals who fought them. I refer, of course, to the so-called \"Dragon Knights.\"\nWhether or not their abilities originated from Dragons\u2014and you must give me leave to doubt it, for no Dragons have been seen in Tamriel for thousands of years, if they ever existed at all\u2014the powers which a skilled Dragon Knight can deploy are undeniable. There are several right here in the Imperial City, members of the Tower Guard, and they have demonstrated some of their effects at my request.\nOne of these Dragon Knights, a sergeant in the Guard, showed me how he could wreathe himself in flame without being burned (though I could feel the heat from several paces away). He then cast a loop of flaming chain around a target dummy and drew it to him, where it was quickly immolated. Finally, one of his subordinates burned another target dummy by literally breathing fire upon it!\nI was impressed. It was almost enough to make one believe in Dragons."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/myths-and-legends-hist": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/myths-and-legends-hist", "description": "Cirantille", "author": "Overview of the Hist from an Imperial perspective", "title": "Myths and Legends of the Hist", "text": "Those willing to risk rust chancre, greenspore, and a host of other more debilitating diseases may venture into parts of Black Marsh unmapped by the higher races. The few who can cope with swamp rot, fleshfly bites, and the constant palaver of unseen entities whooping, clicking, or simply lying in the murk waiting to slice teeth across your limbs may reach the innermost swamps. And the hardiest of Imperial explorers, who have no further need to prove their mettle after the following discovery, may gaze upon the Hist tree.\nRumors abound that the Hist tree is the main form of worship among the scaled peoples of these dark swales. Others have hypothesized that the trees are apperceptive, with a deep knowledge and unfathomable secrets from the times before all the races of Man and Mer. Loose translations of recently uncovered Dunmeri texts seem to indicate a ritual among the Argonians, although this may be legend rather than fact.\nIt is said that when a Saxhleel emerges from juvenescence, it finds a nearby Hist tree to lick sap from its bole. The elements in the sap quicken the hormonal glands, which sprout appropriate organs from which the Argonian's gender can be determined. Immediately afterward, an appropriate mate is found and reproduction occurs. The female soon lays one or more eggs, which are moved to a hatching pool where gestation and spawning takes place.\nWith recent Imperial expeditions into central Black Marsh ending inconclusively (burial sites were marked on the map Cornix Caeparius provided), and the locals reticent to speak of the mysteries of this fabled tree despite our cajoling, we remain alarmingly ungifted in the realm of Hist tree knowledge.\nHead horticulturist Titullinia Petillia of the Imperial Palace Gardens has requested careful handling and collection of sap or seeds from this tree, should one be discovered. It may prove to be a considerable boon to our apothecaries."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mzulft-researchers-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mzulft-researchers-journal", "description": "Research papers on a Dwemer ruin", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Mzulft Researcher's Journal", "text": "3rd Sun's Dawn, 2E 129\nAssuming I'm interpreting these scrolls correctly, this orb, when magically charged, retains images within its cloudy depths. The scrolls depict it containing information on two specific topics: the use of Dwemer soul gems and maps of Dwemer installations.\nObviously, the mage-scholars will want the information about soul gems, but the maps are more interesting to me. As-yet-unearthed Dwemer ruins may contain much more valuable knowledge, although the mages would balk at passing on practical information that can be used right now. There's a lecture on the relative value of a bird-in-the-hand in my immediate future.\nImprinting an orb appears simple. I just need to hold one near one of these Dwemer memory devices (the ones with the crystals) and the energy will rush into it, along with the associated information. But I'd need to find an orb to copy the information to. That's more of an issue. All I've found are glass shards, and the few intact orbs I've found have been smashed in altercations with the constructs. They seem to want to destroy the orbs rather than let me have one.\nWait a moment. Something's happening. Why are the vault doors closing?\n4th Sun's Dawn, 2E 129\nI'm estimating on the time. It's probably the next day by now. The vault doors have closed behind me, and are quite thoroughly locked. I'll have to come up with a different way to escape. I did find an intact orb in the sacks here, but I'm going to wait to use it until I'm sure I can get out of here."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/na-keshs-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/na-keshs-journal", "description": "A power-hungry Tree-Minder explains the powers of the Hist sap found at Mazzatun", "author": "Tree-Minder Na-Kesh", "title": "Na-Kesh's Journal", "text": "Sap. That is what these thin-shelled fools call it. As if such a substance could ever be compared to Nirn-tainted resin. No, it is much more than sap.\n\"Amber Plasm.\" That is what one of the scholars called it before I fed him to Mighty Chudan. He said that it was like the chaotic creatia of Oblivion\u2014leaking into Mundus through our Hist like blood from a wound. These dry-tongues and their airs\u2014as if anyone could know the secrets of the Hist better than I!\nThe plasm has accumulated at the roots of the Tsono-Xuhil since before the Saxhleel could lift a spade, but only I have discovered its secrets. Drinking it or bathing in it can drive a Saxhleel mad. But through alchemical study, and the Hist's guidance, I have learned to harness its power. This was no small feat. The creatia is a thing of chaos. The call to Sithis is in its nature. But we must remain deaf to his commands. Those Saxhleel who call him father languish in mud huts and eat old fish from wooden bowls. The Xit-Xaht hear the call to order, and shall dwell in a shining city forever more!\nIf properly manipulated, the Amber Plasm can grant a worthy Saxhleel great speed and strength. I am proof of its efficacy. Soon, my brew will be ready to distribute to all Xit-Xaht sons and daughters. Then Mazzatun will be a rival even to the Imperial City! The People of the Root will rule Black Marsh first, then all of Tamriel!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nadafas-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nadafas-journal", "description": "Nadafa falls for a pale stranger", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Nadafa's Journal", "text": "I love my husband, Giran. I truly do. But the stranger\u2014for some reason, he fascinates me.\nI first saw the tall, pale stranger on a night when sleep eluded me. I left Giran snoring softly in our bed, put on a heavy robe, and stepped outside to feel the night air on my face. As I stood there, looking into the darkness, my gaze happened upon him. He was leaning against a tree, cloaked almost completely in shadows, but I could feel his eyes upon me. He seemed lonely. Full of longing. Hungry. I looked away for only a moment, flush with shyness, but when I looked back he was gone.\nI saw him again last night, as we were returning home from dinner at my sister's house. He was watching me, I know it. At first, I was frightened. I thought to tell Giran about this brazen stranger, but for some reason I never did.\nI've seen my pale stranger several times over the past few weeks. If Giran knew my innermost thoughts, he would be so angry with me. But he has nothing to worry about. I admit this stranger piques my interest, and it is obvious that he has noticed me. Still, this is only a silly fancy, nothing more.\n* * *\n\tThe pale, handsome stranger invades my dreams. I cannot sleep. I need to see him again. But how? I don't even know his name. Oh, why am I having these unfathomable urges? Maybe when Giran takes his watch at the Northpoint cemetery tonight, I can sneak out of our house in the fishing village and try to find my stranger.\nLook into his dark, bottomless eyes. Feel his cold lips upon my neck \u2026."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nadines-diary": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nadines-diary", "description": "Charles may not be coming home", "author": "Nadine", "title": "Nadine's Diary", "text": "Tirdas\n\tWe arrived today to begin our exile here in Aldcroft. Father assures us this town will serve us well as a temporary capital and stronghold from which to retake our home. Our life in Camlorn seems like a dream now, like another time.\nMiddas\n\tThe porter, Charles, keeps shooting glances at me when he thinks I do not see. He's a sweet boy, but he should know better. I think Father even noticed. Father has been under such stress lately. I would not want to add to his plate.\nTurdas\n\tI thought to speak to Charles today, but I couldn't find him. No one had seen him since Father asked him to come along to tend to his horse. I asked Father what became of Charles, but he dismissed me angrily. I'm beginning to worry about Charles, and about Father."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nahirahs-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nahirahs-journal", "description": "One caregiver is concerned about a young Redguard devotee of magicka", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Nahirah's Journal", "text": "My cousin Shiri sent word that she will be visiting today! To hear from her after so many years was quite a surprise. She is looking for some of her father's old books, which worries me. Shiri was always such a sweet little girl, and I pray that she is nothing like the rest of her immediate family.\nHer father was a monster\u2014so much so that my mother changed her name and moved to Satakalaam to distance herself from Suturah's infamous name. Shiri's brothers, Uwafa and Alasan, seemed to have inherited their parents' twisted minds, but Shiri was so innocent.\nI pray to Zeht that she has simply avoided magic, lest she too give in to the strange allure that's drawn the rest of her family to practice the dark arts. Despite my concerns, I look forward to seeing her."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/najans-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/najans-journal", "description": "A goat herder falls in love with a spirit", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Najan's Journal", "text": "9th First Seed\nAnother bland dinner. Baked lamb and squash. I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Adeena is as predictable as the sunrise. Honestly, sometimes I think my goats have a more exciting life than I do. Every time I bring them here to the ruins, it's like they're seeing them for the first time. I envy them. But every day is the same for Najan and Adeena. Same meal, same awkward conversation, same tedious love-making. I can't even be angry with her. When I look across the table all I feel is \u2026 nothing.\n12th First Seed\nI can scarcely believe what I've found. One of my smaller goats, Husul, ran off while I was kicking dung off my sandal. I gave chase and found he had scrambled down into a vault beneath the ruins. It's dark down here, but not so dark that I need a candle to see. These old blue stones glow and hum softly. Even though it's nothing but cold, wet stone, there is something almost inviting about this place. I have decided to call it Husul's Cave. I can't wait to explore it more thoroughly. I already noticed some old books just waiting to be read.\nIn the meantime, I must go suffer through another flavorless meal with Adeena. She's always asking me if I'm pleased with the food. Offering to wash my clothes. Ruptga help me.\n16th First Seed\nI've found something\u2014something that will change everything. I was leafing through one of the old books I found when I noticed something shimmering stuck in between the leaves. It was a talisman. It appeared simple at first, but when I rubbed away the dirt and grime I saw it was something priceless.\n\tThen an ethereal woman appeared. She was beautiful beyond measure. I could scarcely speak when I saw her, but she was so kind\u2014she simply giggled. A sweet little laugh. It put me at ease long enough for me to introduce myself.\nHer name is Anexiel. She says she is an ancient spirit of the ruins\u2014something like a saint, I guess. To my mind, she's something far greater than that. Her eyes are like the water in an oasis, and she has a voice like \u2026 oh look at me, playing the poet! I cannot deny it\u2014I have fallen in love with this spirit. If only she were flesh and blood \u2026 I would make her mine.\n18th First Seed\nI am in agony. Anexiel is all I've ever wanted. Each day my love for her grows, yet we cannot be together. She remains a wisp of air\u2014tied to these twice-cursed ruins! Oh how she teases me! Dressed in that shimmering silk, tracing her ghostly fingertip down my shoulder. It's all so \u2026 intimate. I had to tell her how I felt. She said she needed time to think. I hope I haven't ruined things.\n24th First Seed\nShe loves me! I knew it! Sweet Anexiel finally confessed her love today, but now she is miserable too. Gods help us.\n25th First Seed\nShe has a plan! My sweet Anexiel has been walking the halls of the vault, thinking, for what seems like days. She finally came to me and said that she can become flesh and blood, but she needs a \"vessel.\" Someone she can step into and live inside. I don't know how it works exactly. All I know is this vessel needs to have some magic in its blood. I started to despair, but then I remembered my wife. My Adeena. She's always had something in her. Something magical. Her mother called it \"the gleam.\" Maybe that will be enough. It has to be enough.\nI'm bringing her here tomorrow."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/names-names-names": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/names-names-names", "description": "Some potential rogue names", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Names, Names, Names!", "text": "White-Gold Lotus\n\tDeadly Asp\n\tFlames Blackburn\n\tVivec's Word\n\tBlack Fox\n\tGrimshaw\n\tBottom Bucket Surprise\n\tRajhin's Shadow (??? already used?)\n\tThe Bullwhip Queen\n\tLarceny Lil\n\tThe Deadly Person\n\tBad Agnes\n\tFrightener Lass\n\tThe Violent Vixen\n\tVenom Woman\n\tStuff Taker\n\tBad-Tempered Berthis\n\tMadame Vex\n\tLady-with-Spurs\n\tThe Very Sharp Thorn\n\tBadomay\n\tThe Other Adversary"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/naril-nagaia-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/naril-nagaia-journal", "description": "A researcher of Ayleids is confronted with an ultimatum", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Naril Nagaia Journal", "text": "At last, I believe I have found the entrance to Naril Nagaia. It has taken some time, but I have begun to translate several inscriptions I found in the ruins.\nThe Ayleid script is highly advanced. The forms are morphologically mature compared to earlier inscriptions I'd found, suggesting that this place is one of the more recent ruins, from close to the height of the Ayleid power.\nAfter deciphering several of the inscriptions, I've begun to realize that the anomalies in the writing are not, as I'd first suspected, newer, but older. The explanation for my confusion is simple: this place was indeed constructed in a more recent period, but its inhabitants were primarily ancient: this was the site of powerful necromantic experiments\u2014from the look of things, the subjects of these experiments were the most ancient Ayleid kings!\nHaving made this discovery, I thought at once to return to the surface and report my findings. Only, when I tried to return to the way I came, I found it blocked. I thought for certain I was trapped, when one of the ancient spirits of this place suddenly appeared to me. He said that he had been charged with protecting the secrets of this place. All I have to do to leave, he says, is leave my book behind, and allow the memories of what I've seen to be purged from my mind.\nI am still considering his offer\u2026."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/narils-note-simulated-sunlight": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/narils-note-simulated-sunlight", "description": "Notes on attempting to create an artificial source of light for agriculture in the Clockwork City", "author": "Naril", "title": "Naril's Note: Simulated Sunlight", "text": "It was Apprentice Gathal, my most-favored protege, who determined the terrible problem facing us. \"The Clockwork sun,\" Gathal declared, \"it has neither the warmth nor the life-giving properties of the sun that hangs in the sky above Nirn.\"\nOnce Gathal pointed this out, it seemed so obvious. The Clockwork sun provides light and gives us a consistent day and night cycle, but it does nothing to help the Wellspring's plants grow. We needed our own source of nourishing light. With that decided, Gathal and I set to work to invent a device that would replicate Nirn's sun.\nWe had some success with a limited light source, but it required us to utilize the factotums to constantly rotate the crops into and out of the nourishing light. This allowed us to harvest a small number of plants and begin the tradition of an annual harvest and apprentice selection. But we needed both an illumination device and a power source capable of simulating actual sunlight. We were so close, yet the solution seemed so far away.\nThrough trial and error, it took only a dozen or so iterations to perfect a suitable illumination device. When we hit upon a transparent lucent alloy to serve as the conductor for the simulated sunlight, we were certain we were on the right track. However, no matter how promising the illumination device appeared to be, the plants continued to die. We needed more power, but nothing available in the Clockwork City seemed to offer a workable solution. It was a conundrum!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/narils-note-success-out-tragedy": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/narils-note-success-out-tragedy", "description": "An artificial sun is created, but at great cost", "author": "Naril", "title": "Naril's Note: Success Out of Tragedy", "text": "Apprentice Gathal and I seem to have hit a wall in our efforts to create life-giving simulated sunlight. Our illumination devices work perfectly and have the capacity to channel light that is up to one hundred times brighter and stronger than what we can produce with the power sources available for our simulated sunlight inductor. We need a stronger power source or the Everwound Wellspring is doomed to fail.\n* * *\nAfter countless hours of testing and experimentation, Gathal has come to one irrefutable conclusion. Our simulated sunlight inductor requires life to nourish life. We've had some promising results by draining small amounts of life energy from volunteers and using it to power the simulated sunlight illuminators. The clear, bright light this energy produces makes our plants grow more quickly and more robustly than any other source we applied. The differences are nothing short of miraculous! But the borrowed life energy is fleeting and doesn't provide anywhere near the amount of power we need to operate all of the illuminators necessary to nourish all of our gardens.\nWe're so close, yet so far from a real and lasting solution.\n* * *\nI returned to the workshop to find a disconcerting sight. Gathal had attached himself to the inductor while I was away in order to conduct an experiment I had expressly forbade him from performing. It was his contention that we could extract even more life energy from the volunteers if we could determine the point at which the volunteer could still regenerate the borrowed life. If we could take that much and not a drop more, we could power the illuminators. But if we took too much, a volunteer would die.\nUnfortunately, Gathal was too zealous in his application of the draining device. All of his life force fed the inductor, leaving nothing to provide power for his own body. My apprentice, my protege, was dead. Before grief could overwhelm me, however, I noticed an amazing thing. The inductor hummed with more energy than it had ever contained through our numerous trials and experiments. Gathal had solved the problem! The inductor required the entire life force of a subject to provide enough power to keep the Wellspring aglow with simulated sunlight for an entire season!\nThat's when I promised that Gathal's sacrifice would not be in vain. I announced that the harvest distribution would continue - as long as the Apostles agreed to provide me with a new apprentice every year. Those apprentices would be fed to the inductor, and the simulated sunlight produced by their life force would give us a bountiful harvest with which to feed the masses.\nIt was the perfect solution, even if the cost of our knowledge turned out to be so expensive."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/narils-notes-early-experiments": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/narils-notes-early-experiments", "description": "Notes no developing aquaponics in the Clockwork City", "author": "Naril", "title": "Naril's Notes: Early Experiments", "text": "Apprentice Gathal and Apprentice Ohtowen shine as my best and most-promising acolytes. Even Sotha Sil would be impressed with their accomplishments on behalf of the Wellspring. We've expanded our gardens from mushrooms and other fungi to include groves for fruit-bearing trees, fields for vegetable-yielding plants, and plots for flowers and other flora. To achieve the goals I set forth, we needed a powerful solution of alchemical nutrients that would provide the essential elements missing from the Clockwork City.\nAfter an extensive period of trial and error, I finally hit upon the perfect combination of alchemical compounds. With the help of our factotums, we created a series of pipes and holding tanks where we could treat the water and then use it to irrigate the groves and gardens. Our initial seeds sprouted perfectly, receiving vital nutrients from the alchemically treated water. On the verge of our biggest, most varied harvest to date, something unforeseen happened.\nNo matter how much we cared for them, the trees and plants withered and died before they could blossom. It was a crushing day for the Everwound Wellspring."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/narils-notes-origins": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/narils-notes-origins", "description": "A brief journal on attempts to cultivate food in the Clockwork City", "author": "Naril", "title": "Naril's Notes: Origins", "text": "Sotha Sil manipulated the mathematics and applied the magicka necessary to call forth a huge reservoir of water, which he placed within a chasm in the Clockwork City. He sealed the great pool beneath a thick layer of metallic soil with the intention of creating a lush oasis inside his mechanical wonder. He called it the Everwound Wellspring and explained a little of his grand plan to his apostles. But the Clockwork God, easily distracted by other challenges and countless mysteries, stepped away to deal with other things and never returned. In time, his apostles moved on as well.\nAll except for me. I believed in the oasis project. I understood the vital need it fulfilled for the Clockwork City. So I began to work on the Wellspring myself, eventually attracting apprentices of my own. Soon, this compound rose up from the metallic dust and our experiments took on greater depth and significance. Our earliest successes revolved around mosses, molds, and fungi - living creatures that could thrive in a dark environment with nothing more than water and a bit of fertilizer to nourish them. Bolstered by our accomplishment, I set our sights on the most elusive prize.\nI turned our efforts to growing actual fruits, plants, and vegetables to supplement the diets of the Clockwork City's living inhabitants."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/narnolas-notes": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/narnolas-notes", "description": "Notes about unique Dark Anchors", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Narnolas' Notes", "text": "These Dark Anchors are far different from those we've seen elsewhere. The Dremoras' behavior here leads me to believe these anchors can only be destroyed by entering the nearby portals to Coldharbour and detaching the pinions at the source.\nEven with the pinions detached, one must then return and overload the energy at each of pedestals surrounding the anchor. If my suspicions are correct (and they always are), that will break the chain between the two planes. I fear another chain will be forthcoming, but this will at least deter our enemies' progress.\nRegardless, this is clearly no small task and will require an elite group of soldiers. I will go consult with Captain Pudazi, and then we can \u2026."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/narsis-dren-and-cursed-coffin": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/narsis-dren-and-cursed-coffin", "description": "The \"famous\" explorer finds himself sealed in a sarcophagus, again", "author": "Narsis Dren", "title": "Narsis Dren and the Cursed Coffin", "text": "By Narsis Dren, Treasure Hunter\nAh, devoted reader! Back for another tale of the amazing Narsis Dren? Of course you are. Why else would you be here, right now, holding this exceptionally crafted tale? Let's get to it, shall we?\nI was investigating an ancient Nord barrow, searching for the Glittering Garters of Gwenyld the Gauche (or something along those lines) when I stumbled upon an ominous lever that opened a hidden door. Now, I wasn't exactly sure what the lever was going to do when I pulled it, but you know my motto\u2013Leave a lever, lose a lord. (Trust me, it makes a lot more sense in the original Ayleidoon.) A hidden door slid open when I activated the lever, revealing a secret room that had thus far eluded even the most determined tomb robbers. (Tomb robbers, by the way, tend to be reticent when it comes to pulling ominous levers. That's why Narsis Dren is better than they are. It's all about the bravery.)\nThe secret room was a spacious affair, full of funeral finery and relics from a forgotten age. One item that stood out was a ring of pure iron, covered in Nord runes. It was probably small for a Nord's thick fingers, but it seemed nearly large enough to fit upon my Elven wrist. I slipped the ring into my pack and turned to examine the rest of the chamber, immediately noticing the massive sarcophagus placed strategically in the center of the room. It was all carved stone with inlaid jewels and Nordic runes that matched those decorating the iron ring. Obviously, this was the final resting place for an important jarl, king, or even a dragon priest. My mind boggled at the possibilities of what awaited inside that stone coffin. But I have learned from experience never to reach blindly into the honey pot. Instead, I carefully studied the sarcophagus, looking for any noticeable traps. When a visual inspection failed to reveal anything out of the ordinary, I began to gingerly examine the seam where the great stone lid met the deeper casket. Using my handy collection of picks and probing rods, I tested the entire circumference of the lip of the lid. Nothing.\nIs that when I finally hefted the lid to peer inside? Not so fast, devoted reader! I had one more investigation to make before I opened the tempting sarcophagus. I had to study the intriguing runes that covered the lid. I suspected they dated back to at least the Neo-Meadic era of Nord history, and perhaps even older. The trick to decipher old runes is finding one or two bits that you recognize and starting your translation with them. In this case, I spotted a rune that looked remarkably like the current pictograph for \"foul\" or \"stink.\" Beside it was a symbol I was certain meant \"spell\" or perhaps \"magic.\" So, at least a portion of the intricate runes said something along the lines of \"foul spell\" or \"stinky magic.\" I deciphered the rest of the runes without even needing to read them. It proclaimed that the sarcophagus was protected by an ancient Nord curse of the most odorous kind.\nCurses, however, have never hindered the great Narsis Dren! Yours truly has defeated all sorts of assorted tomb guardians, insidious traps, and hostile rivals. What's an ancient Nord curse to someone as amazingly competent as me? Not worth worrying about, I assure you! I was neither frightened by the curse nor dissuaded from pursuing my usual course. I placed both hands upon the sarcophagus lid as I prepared to slide the heavy stone aside. That's when a strange and not terribly unpleasant tingle ran up and down my arms and a bright white light filled my eyes. When the light faded, I found myself inside a cramped, cold space, surrounded by dry stone and total darkness. Somehow, I wound up inside the still-sealed sarcophagus! Perhaps I had dismissed the threat of the curse a tad too soon.\n\"Hello,\" I said hopefully. \"Is there anyone out there?\" I knew that there wasn't. My lackadaisical assistant was outside, lounging around our campfire and probably drinking deeply from my most expensive flask of flin. At least there wasn't a body inside the stone coffin with me. That would have been awkward. I pushed with all my might, but the lid wouldn't budge. Now, lesser men would crumble at a moment like this, but Narsis Dren is not a lesser man. Quite the opposite. He's a better than lesser man! When I get into situations like this, I always ask myself, \"Self, what would Narsis Dren do?\" And then it came to me. The iron ring! Its runes matched those on the sarcophagus. There had to be a connection. I strained to reach my pack, then dug around until I found the iron ring.\nI drew the ring out of my pack, holding it firmly with determination and dramatic purpose. I touched the ring to the stone lid. Nothing happened. I admit, that was a little disappointing. With a sigh, I slipped the large ring onto the second and third fingers of my left hand. I said the word \"Open\" out loud, annunciating the syllable over and over as I worked my way through every language I knew. Again, nothing. Now I was beginning to become disheartened. I made a fist and touched the lid with the ring while rapping my forehead upon the cool stone three times in fast succession. Why? Oh, just chalk it up to the old Narsis Dren instinct. Another flash of white light obscured my vision. When it cleared, I was standing outside the sarcophagus, back in the secret chamber.\nThe moral of my story? Avoid tempting sarcophaguses at all costs. They're usually more trouble than they're worth."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/narsis-dren-and-lost-notebook": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/narsis-dren-and-lost-notebook", "description": "A \"famous\" explorer find trouble in a Nordic burial far from Skyrim", "author": "Narsis Dren", "title": "Narsis Dren and the Lost Notebook", "text": "If you find this notebook, then I have indeed misplaced it. Again. Know that this notebook belongs to the famous treasure hunter and dungeon-delver, Narsis Dren. If you would be so kind, the next time you happen to be in Mournhold, please drop it off with the proprietor of the Flaming Netch cornerclub. He will make sure it gets back to me, no matter where my next adventure happens to take me.\nSo here I am, forced to create my own record of the adventure I am tentatively referring to as \"Narsis Dren and the Lost Barrow,\" because my scribe and apprentice has decided to wait outside. To be fair, I told her to remain at our camp, but that's rarely stopped her from following me before. Now she decides to listen to me! Ah well. I've recorded my own thoughts before. Back before I became the famous and beloved explorer I am today. It might even be fun!\n* * *\nI've been wandering around in this damn barrow for hours! I've seen all kinds of interesting, old Nord relics, and the place is just filled with crypts and stone coffins, but I haven't seen hide nor hair of the real prize I expect to find in this barrow\u2014a dragon priest mask! From the evidence I've been able to examine, I'm certain that a dragon priest is somehow associated with this misplaced burial pit. After all, why else would the Nords build this place so far from their beloved Skyrim? I need to search a bit more before I call it a day.\n* * *\nWell, that was unexpected. I'm not exactly sure what I touched, but I must have done something. The Nord dead have started to wake up! They're draugr! And do you know how much I hate draugr? Well, I really do hate them! I need to get out of here and figure out a new strategy. And I guess I should warn the nearby village. Just to be polite."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ne-salas-need-reinforcements": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ne-salas-need-reinforcements", "description": "", "author": "Thaendil", "title": "Ne Salas: Need Reinforcements", "text": "Urgent - Expedited response requested.\nThe Daggerfall Covenant has infiltrated the ruins of Ne Salas north of the Gray Mire. Their numbers are swelling in a manner that suggests they have a concealed passage into Grahtwood. I do not have the manpower to halt their progress.\nPlease send reinforcements immediately.\n\t\u2014 Thaendil"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/necessities-successful-negotiations": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/necessities-successful-negotiations", "description": "Basic tips to ensure successful meetings", "author": "Oberelle Petit", "title": "Necessities for Successful Negotiations", "text": "Negotiations can be tricky things. Whether you have parties who are already in agreement with one another, or groups who would love nothing more than to rip out each other's throats, navigating talks between them must be orchestrated with care.\nNo matter if you are an accomplished diplomat or a businessperson, negotiating is an essential skill. Anyone can learn it, but it must be practiced and refined. Here, I will list a few techniques that are invaluable to the skilled negotiator.\nPatience! Negotiations can be incredibly frustrating. Maintaining a level head throughout the proceedings, even when others seem to be doing their best to vex you, will undoubtedly help everyone reach an agreement. If you find yourself raising your voice or unable to calm down, you might consider taking a break until such emotions subside.\nMake sure you have a comfortable and spacious meeting area. Cramped and disagreeable places tend to foster the same qualities in the negotiations. You want people to feel at ease while broaching the topic under discussion. Make sure it's not too hot wherever you are, as that's bound to increase tensions. If it cannot be helped, make sure to provide cool refreshments.\nEnsure that everyone is heard during the meeting. Negotiations are most often snuffed out before they ever get the chance to start because of one group feeling misunderstood or even outright ignored. If you ensure that everyone has time to state their case, and that their words are understood, then your negotiations will run much smoother!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/necromancers-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/necromancers-journal", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Necromancer's Journal", "text": "Another of my cellmates dead. Typical. There are few mortals with the strength of body, of character, to survive here. But I will add young Vayron to the throne (when the masters have finished with his flesh), to serve me when my own body grows weary.\nThough I wish I could do what the masters can. They spend their nights returning the deceased to a semblance of animation, harvesting their skin to create living flesh weapons for the war raging above. Perhaps, one day, they will allow my flesh to serve.\nIt's foolish of the generals and the Empress-Regent and whatever else remains of the Imperial hierarchy to continue the fight. They should accept Daedric rule; as I have. The Daedra waste nothing, and under them, everyone has a role. Even if that role is serving at the front of a war chariot. As an ornament."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/necromancers-report-queen": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/necromancers-report-queen", "description": "Euraxia's chief necromancer reports on the progress of their evil plans", "author": "Zumog Phoom", "title": "Necromancers: A Report for the Queen", "text": "Your Royal Majesty,\nAligning myself with you has proven fruitful for both of us. You get an unyielding army of undead at your disposal, while I get an unlimited supply of bodies with which to practice my craft. If only some other visionary ruler had thought to employ my services sooner, think how far the dark arts could have been progressed!\nWith corpses aplenty and Euraxian mercenaries to command, we have assembled a number of cadaver forges where we can raise and store the undead. Unfortunately, even sites such as the Scar and the necropolis cannot contain all the bodies we need to create the massive army you imagine. We need more prisoners to feed into our forges. My followers eagerly await the next shipment and are ready to process them immediately.\nAlso, I happily report that the search for the Betrayer's body parts continues apace. We should have all of the component pieces necessary to reconstruct the Betrayer very soon. I reiterate that the Betrayer is the key to maintaining and securing the continued support of the Dragons.\nOne more thing: have you issued the order yet to take care of that \"problem\" I discovered hiding in the wilderness? Mulaamnir and his brethren will be much more cooperative, I assure you, once your assassination squad deals with such a minor though annoying threat.\nZumog Phoom,\n\tLord of the Dark Arts"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/necromancy-modern-tamriel": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/necromancy-modern-tamriel", "description": "A description of increased Necromancer activity", "author": "Wafimeles Masteret (Lorekeeper)", "title": "Necromancy in Modern Tamriel", "text": "Eternal slumber was once taken for granted. But now, necromancy has appeared in numerous locations across Tamriel. Anonymous spies have pinpointed the Cult of the Black Worm as the insidious force responsible. This sect, once hidden from view, is spreading, and offers the weak-willed what seems a guaranteed rise to power. Its chief opposition is the Mages Guild, but with the Guild in disgrace in Cyrodiil and banished from the Imperial City, the Order of the Black Worm seems ascendant.\nHidden cells of these necromancers are called Worm Nests, led by a priest of undeath who takes the mantle of Worm Anchorite. Such priests may even have converted to undead form, after which they're called Worm Eremites. They are never apart from undead protectors, either summoned or reanimated. The leader of this cult is the Altmer mage Mannimarco, whose name is never spoken aloud by the cultists; he is instead invoked (with a whisper) as the King of Worms. No more must be written about him; his tendrils of power and influence snake far and wide."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/necromancy-great-debate": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/necromancy-great-debate", "description": "Angry rantings of a Necromancer", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Necromancy: The Great Debate", "text": "How dare they? Hypocrites! Pretenders! What gives the Mages Guild the right to call my particular practice of magic the Black Arts? And to forbid our use of these precious and ancient arts on pain of death? Ludicrous! Don't they understand? We control death! It is ours to command and we do not fear its cold embrace! No. We welcome it.\nOnly the foolish and the fearful refuse to grasp power due to its source. They call us evil, but we are merely prudent. They call us irresponsible, but we understand the concept of risk and reward. They claim we bring terror and misery to the world \u2026 well, at least on this matter we are in agreement. The world should fear us! For we have embraced the power of the dead and made it our own. Let the fools in the Mages Guild play at their conjurations and alterations. We are necromancers, and our magicka cannot be stifled or restrained.\nI have heard it said that a great debate rages in the halls of arcane academia. These so-called scholars argue the relative merits and risks of necromancy, but they do so from ignorance and fear. There is no need to debate the issue. Necromancy is the one, true path to power. It is our path. And we will not be denied!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nedes-deathlands": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nedes-deathlands", "description": "A research paper surrounding the possible presence of Nedic civilizations in Hammerfell", "author": "Argus Mender", "title": "Nedes of the Deathlands ", "text": "Is it possible then that everything they taught us as children was wrong? That buried beneath rock and sand, hidden from view by the monuments of conquering Yokudans, is more than just the detritus of a barbaric and underdeveloped people?\nThis is the claim Sali'ma at-Muhay makes in his latest work of scholarship on the Nedes and their presence in Hammerfell, and he presents some compelling new evidence to support this claim. In studying the mage towers in Elinhir closely, he has concluded that these towers are not of the right age to be of Yokudan fabrication, nor do they use the same stone-crafting techniques employed by the Ayleids. In some regards, they resemble Dwemer handiwork, but only in a crude way. From this, at-Muhay concludes that these towers were not a lost form of high Yokudan architecture transplanted from the Yokudan homeland, but are in fact, the remnants of a Nedic civilization.\nIf at-Muhay's conclusions are right, then the Nedes were much more organized and advanced than historians have previously thought. Elinhir's towers could only have been crafted by an advanced culture adept at stonework.\nThese towers have been occupied since the Blackcaster mages established their academy in Elinhir\u2014so why is at-Muhay the first to propose this startling theory?\nThis author posits that historians are not without their blind spots, and that the Nedes are certainly among the biggest. The reasons for this are many:\nIn the first, the Nedic people had a history of falling prey to conquering armies. The Dwemer, the Ayleids, and the Yokudans all proclaimed themselves masters of the Eastern Hammerfell Nedes at some point. It was in the interests of these conquering peoples to justify their conquests by proclaiming the Nedes a backward people worthy only of enslavement.\nIn the second, the Nedes as a distinctive people disappear from the historical record shortly after Ra Gada, and by then the records that exist are few and scattered. By the time the first Yokudans set foot on the shores of Hammerfell, the Nedic culture was already fading, and the people were scattered and broken. Most of the Nedes had long since migrated and intermingled with the other races of Tamriel, virtually fading from existence.\nIt's vital that we take this new theory about the Nedes seriously. I suspect that the remote region of Craglorn will bear much fruit for future researchers interested in exploring the extent of Nedic civilization, as it has undergone the least change in the time since the last Nedes disappeared."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nedic-dueling-swords": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nedic-dueling-swords", "description": "A plaque describing two Nedic swords", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Nedic Dueling Swords", "text": "Although a barbarous and savage society, the ancient Nedic people (possible ancestors of the modern Nords) were famed for their skill in metallurgy. Seen here are two pristine dueling swords from that era, once wielded by the draugr lord Haltaf in his subterranean lair."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nedras-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nedras-journal", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Nedras' Journal", "text": "There's nothing left for me here. Sister and I have tried so hard to make a life, but <<1>> is getting sicker by the day. No one is willing to hire a \"cannibal Elf\" from the southern jungles. Damned idiots, everywhere. Giants with malformed ears and breath that stinks of cabbage.\nI keep promising <<1>> that it'll get better. That we'll be able to afford balm for her illness. I'm a liar. It's not going to get better.\nI have to leave her here in Northpoint, leave her to find the gold for her balm. I hate to do it. But by the Green I will not let my sister down!\n- - - - - - - -\n\tI've only been with the Bitterhand a few days, but I've already earned more gold than I've seen in three months. I sent most of it back to <<1>> in Northpoint. Kept just enough to buy a decent blade.\nI can't tell her how I came by the gold. All the blood on my hands would sicken her. What I've become would sicken her. But then, she was already sick. What she doesn't know won't hurt her.\n- - - - - - - -\n\tThere are more soldiers out hunting for the Bitterhands every day. We barely escaped that last patrol. I'm going to die. I know it. I can tell the way the others look at me, they know I don't have the training, the stomach for this.\nI love her so much. I wish I could have seen her again. I wish it didn't have to be this way. However I end up in the ground, I'll die knowing I took care of my family. My <<1>>."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/need-more-animus-geodes": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/need-more-animus-geodes", "description": "", "author": "Felra", "title": "Need More Animus Geodes", "text": "Deskin,\nThe animus geodes are far too fragile to serve as a permanent solution. If jostled or dropped with a soul locked inside, they crack and flake until they shatter. A sharp blow turns them to dust!\nYou've complained about their price, so I must wonder how much you paid for these things. If anyone tried to sell me something this hard to acquire, incredibly expensive, and exceptionally fragile, I'd bleach his bones and make him my skeletal footstool.\nI would never criticize your wisdom, but you must consider the best use of our gold. \"Complete lack of scholarship on the subject\" does not mean \"lost Ayleid secrets from the First Era.\" I don't know if the fragility comes from how we're using the animus geodes, if it's inherent to their structure, or if this is simply a bad batch.\nI can only hope that the \"great treasure\" in <<1>> proves a wise investment.\n\t\u2014 Felra"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/neelos-notes": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/neelos-notes", "description": "An Argonian attempts to scry for an artefact", "author": "Neelo", "title": "Neelo's Notes", "text": "20, Shaja-Nushmeeko\nI saw the water-woman again today. That is what I have taken to calling her. Each time I fill my scrying-bowl, I see her before long. She never speaks, and when she turns to face me, her eyes are cloaked in shadow - hidden beneath a black hood. I think she is beautiful (by dryskin standards) but she seems cold - like river water after a thaw. I do not understand. All I seek is the artifact, but all I find is this woman. Xarei says I am doing it incorrectly and accidentally gazing into some poor Breton's parlor. I do not think she is right, though.\n22, Shaja-Nushmeeko\nI filled my scrying-bowl with tea instead of bog-water. The scrolls say that flecks of leaf and seed can help break through persistent visions. I will try anything at this point. I fear that each time I see the water-woman, my chances of finding the artifact diminish.\nI managed to elude her today. I focused on her mouth and passed through it. There was a flapping of wings, I think, then nothing. Blackness. Like Helstrom heart-mud. I narrowed my eyes, and closed my nostrils, and folded back my spines - trying to swim against the current. Still nothing.\nMaybe this nothing means something? I admit, it fills me with trembling. Skaldir insists that we trudge on, but the water-woman scares me. The darkness scares me. Time for a wallow, I think. A long one."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nel-orphan": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nel-orphan", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Nel the Orphan", "text": "NEL the Orphan\nToo YOUNG When She Died\nThis DAUGHTER of the Karth\nA VAGRANT in Life\nDROWNED in a Puddle"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nels-hidden-loves": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nels-hidden-loves", "description": "Clues to finding hidden musical instruments, in the form of a song", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Nel's Hidden Loves", "text": "You who quibble,\n Disagree, take sides:\nRelics of song,\nEncyphered here hide.\nBards' legend first,\nI keep it with me.\nIts import true\nThough worn lovingly.\nHaafinger, go!\nThe hilt of a blade.\nJade shadows hide\nMagnificent caves.\nAt western mine\nA long storehouse march.\nDragged across two\nHolds, steady an Arch.\nGreat creature's home,\nWestest of Western.\nNorth frost grotto\nFrigid, sequestered.\nHjaalmarch; A Jarl\nHolds court above all.\nStirring Nord graves.\nA maze of cold walls!\nTowers that lower\nBear weight of great tales.\nFollowing sleep,\nThe seas this one sails.\nTo Karthald; Turn\nWinds. Watching Jarl's foes.\nFall upon South.\nBrisk breezes freeze toes.\nThen to the Dark;\nA dwemer does take.\nEmpty, falls light\nAt waterfall's break.\nSunsets in dark,\nMiners do covet.\nA junk-heap's gem,\nLord Chaurus above it.\nTowers do form\nFrom fungus that grow.\nDeep keep above\nand lava below."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nelftheas-warning": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nelftheas-warning", "description": "", "author": "Nelfthea", "title": "Nelfthea's Warning", "text": "Captain! There's a ship bearing down on the coast. Biggest I've seen. Lamps doused, but there's no missing it. It's an ambush! I'm taking who I can to hold them off, but we'll need the other crews to assist us, fast as they can.\nNelfthea"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nellors-bandit-connection": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nellors-bandit-connection", "description": "", "author": "M", "title": "Nellor's Bandit Connection", "text": "G,\nShaking down <<1>> tripled our weekly take! He has a good eye for saps with full purses. If he wants to keep that eye, he'll send more of them our way.\nYou were right about using innkeepers for this job. They're natural liars, and they deal with enough travelers to spot the easy targets. Pay them just enough to stain their hands and they'll never squawk to the guards.\nWe should talk to the boss about expanding operations.\n\u2014 M"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nerevar-captain": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nerevar-captain", "description": "A plaque honoring Nerevar", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Nerevar the Captain", "text": "Nerevar the Captain\nCaptain and King. Friend, Student, and Hortator. May we ever seek his wisdom. And his forgiveness."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/neronnirs-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/neronnirs-journal", "description": "Neronnir's paranoid ramblings", "author": "Neronnir", "title": "Neronnir's Journal", "text": "THESE ARE MY SECRETS. DO NOT READ THEM!\nThey think I don't know, but I do. I can see their plots and schemes even as they hatch, slithering into the darkness. They dismiss me as a madman, which is all part of my plan. As long as they don't see me as a threat, they let their guard down and reveal their secrets. The doppelganger that replaced the treethane months ago said he was \"off to meditate for a couple of days.\" But the way he said it tells me everything. He's meeting with his dark allies to plan an attack on the town. I'll need to be more vigilant than ever.\nNo one else seems to notice we're on the brink of catastrophe. Even now the spinner's wife falls ill, which is clearly a dark omen that cannot be ignored. They continue to scurry around like ants, mindless of the coming storm. Open your eyes, little ants!\n*****\n\tI KNEW IT! Last night was the beginning of the end. The full fury of nature came down to shatter our town for the hubris of its inhabitants. The winds howled, the lightning struck, and the creatures of the forest turned against us. The rest believe us safe, hiding in our desecrated cave, but they're wrong! I know what dwells beneath. And when it awakens, it shall swallow us whole.\n*****\n\tI didn't know what form our destruction would take, but I see it clearly now. An outsider has arrived, offering to help us with our problems. Such a pathetically obvious ploy to gain our trust, but as always I'm the only one to see it. If this supposed savior asks me, I'll pretend to go along. Share some of the oddities I'm tracking, to allay suspicion. As the outsider gains our trust, I'll also gain the outsider's trust.\n*****\n\tThe first of us is led to slaughter. The \"evidence\" presented was laughable, but the sheep believed every word. The victim of that sham trial is being marched into the depths as I write these words. I'm certain it's just the first the outsider will dispose of. In fact, the outsider is probably coming back for ME right this moment. I need to get out of here."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/neruleans-guide-phantoms-vol-ii": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/neruleans-guide-phantoms-vol-ii", "description": "Creepy story about a spirit that haunts dishonest merchants", "author": "Nerulean", "title": "Nerulean's Guide to Phantoms Vol. II", "text": "(frantic and angry scribbles cover the page)\nThe Bargain Man\nMerchants are, by and large, the most superstitious members of Tamrielic society. Almost every peddler and moneylender I've spoken to has at least one or two ghost stories to tell. Most of them are common nonsense, but a few bear further study.\nOne entity that came up again and again was a specter known only as \"The Bargain Man.\" Most merchants visibly paled at the mere mention of his name. Those who would talk about him did so only in whispers.\nApparently, the Bargain Man is a phantom that can be summoned to act as an intermediary between two remote business partners. When a contract is signed, the Bargain Man will conduct deliveries between the two parties, allowing goods to move great distances at a hare's pace. But as with all things, this service comes at a price. Should either party violate the terms of the contract, the Bargain Man metes out an \"appropriate\" punishment, then vanishes.\nThis is where the story begins to fray. No one knows what the punishment entails. It may be unique to each individual. Some say that the ghost simply steals goods from the delinquent party until the balance is paid. Others swear that it brutally murders any person who falls short on a deal. I'm in no hurry to find out which is true."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/netches-netches-all-around": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/netches-netches-all-around", "description": "A cute rhyme about netches", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Netches! Netches! All Around!", "text": "Netches! Netches! All Around!\n\tThey're born up high,\n\tAnd never come down.\n\tNetches! Netches! All Around!\n\tBulls and betties\n\tSome blue, some brown.\n\tNetches! Netches! All Around!\n\tTheir tentacles hang\n\tLike a dressing gown.\n\tNetches! Netches! All Around!\n\tThey sneak up on you\n\twithout a sound.\n\tNetches! Netches! All Around!\n\tYou cannot hide,\n\tYou will be found."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/netherroot-notes": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/netherroot-notes", "description": "Notes on this herb, required for harrowstorms", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Netherroot Notes", "text": "Netherroot, an amazing plant. It only grows in isolated patches down here in the depths of Blackreach, but its alchemical properties are remarkably useful. I applaud the Icereach Coven witches for finding it and applying it to my recipe, but the brew they have developed is unrefined. The Ashen Lord's plans will take a thousand more years to complete if we continue with this less-than-perfect concoction. I must study this abyssal root further to find a means to increase the power of the harrowstorms.\n* * *\nMimicking the techniques of the under-Elves provided a foundation, and their pipework farms produced greater yields, but not greater potency. I will create a more powerful reagent. I just need more time. And more test subjects.\n* * *\nWith each day and each new version of the netherroot brew, the results increase a hundredfold. The brew already provides a stronger catalyst for the harrowstorms, ensuring a more complete exchange of energy. Soon, my refined netherroot brew will be ready, and the Ashen Lord's faith in me will be rewarded."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nettiras-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nettiras-journal", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Nettira's Journal", "text": "When we originally spotted this ancient Dark Elf tomb, I knew I had to explore it. I was hoping that my cousin, Grundskar, would have accompanied me, but we got separated when our Fighters Guild troop scattered.\nI made it past the front door, but stealth was never really my strong suit. I didn't expect the place to be crawling with skeletons! I'm going to hide until they settle down. I should be fine if that damned scuttler doesn't give me away.\n\u2014<<1>>"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nevenas-diary": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nevenas-diary", "description": "A novice historian studies an old, mysterious statuette", "author": "Nevena", "title": "Nevena's Diary", "text": "I've decided to embrace my recent acceptance into the Tribunal Temple as an apprentice historian by cataloging my own experiences on this journey. Maybe it's vain, but I like the idea of some anthropologist in the far future learning even just a bit more about the lives we live because I took the time to jot down my thoughts and feelings. I could probably fill this journal with just what's racing through my head at this moment, so I'll just say that \"elated\" doesn't begin to describe it.\n\u2014\nThere's so much history here. Thousands of years' worth of relics and texts outlining the history of our people back before Saint Veloth lead us to holy Resdayn. It's not so neat as all that, of course, it's thousands of pieces of the puzzle all strewn and scattered, in need of a guiding hand to fit it all together. It's almost overwhelming. I'm so honored that I get to be part of piecing it all together.\n\u2014\nI must sound like a great fool to Tythis. Always rambling on about the implications of some small fragment of kwama shell's significance to the agrarian development of our early settlements. But he smiles regardless. I like to think he still wears that smile underneath his mask.\n\u2014\nSo much of the Temple's attention goes into the building of the holy city. It's important work, I know, but expeditions of historical sites are practically non-existent these days. The Master Historian has begun accepting relics brought to us by treasure hunters. I have reservations about encouraging laymen to plunder tombs. Can we be certain these treasures really came from unclaimed ruins? What delicate clues did these enterprising adventurers destroy in their reckless hunt for valuables? It's not my place to question the Master Historian though, he knows far far more about these matters than I do.\n\u2014\nA find! Oh, what a find! A band of relic hunters braved some of the worst of the Ashlands and returned with a statue like nothing I've ever seen. The Master Historian's eyes widened two-fold at the sight of it. I'd never seen him react so obviously to anything, really, and he assigned its study to me! I'm honored he entrusts me with something of such obvious significance. I must have really impressed him with my report on the Dwemeri influence on Chimer garb in the latter half of the Merethic Era. I can't wait to tell Tythis.\n\u2014\nSometimes I forget my brother is an Ordinator. The moment I mentioned the new find he was practically interrogating me. Now that I'm involved in something groundbreaking, he's suddenly interested in hearing the details. He's so protective sometimes. I think his position only makes it worse. I assured him that the Master Historian would never expose me to anything dangerous. I'm sure he'll be supervising my study closely anyway.\n\u2014\nCare to guess who got their own private study? Why am I posing myself rhetorical questions? Please disregard that future anthropologists. It was me, by the way. The Master Historian wanted to ensure I was kept away from any distractions while I began my study of the relic. He gave me some encouraging words before leaving me to my work, but I could tell he was nervous. He's taking a great risk leaving this find to a novice. I have to prove that his faith in me was not misplaced.\n\u2014\nI think there's some jealousy among the historians. I catch a few side-long glances when heading to my study these days and I swear I can hear them whispering just out of earshot. I can't make out what they're saying, but I can guess. I hope we're beyond that kind of pettiness by the time anyone reads this. I've managed to brush away most of the caked ash that was obscuring the details of the statue. It's a much more advanced piece of art than we see from Ashlander tribes. The tool work alone implies access to metalworking facilities. The symbols adorning the body aren't familiar to me though.\n\u2014\nI found some old reference to a settlement called Kogoruhn that was roughly near where the statue was found, but much of the pages describing it were marked out. I asked permission from the Master Historian to see the restricted texts, but he told me to focus on the statue. He promised to bring me the relevant texts when he had the chance. For now, I think I'll start taking rubbings of the statue. I'll have to close the door tonight. The others are getting bolder in their spying and the sotto voce is becoming distracting.\n\u2014\nI know what it is. I know what I am. The naked stone in my hands was electric. Jolting me awake and out of the hollow stupor I was cursed to live through all this time. The Temple thinks it can bury the truth, but the only ones they are blinding are themselves. Our legacy lives on. Our House will be made whole again. It's been calling to me all this time, I just couldn't hear it.\n\u2014\nThe old man's footsteps approach. Here to deliver more of his lies and cover up the great betrayal at the heart of this false Temple. He will pay for his crimes against us. I've wasted enough time in the thrall of these deceivers. Home is calling."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/new-cult-or-ancient-religion": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/new-cult-or-ancient-religion", "description": "Quick overview of the Temple of the New Moon", "author": "Sulema", "title": "New Cult or Ancient Religion?", "text": "An Investigation into the Order of the New Moon\nBy Sulema, Initiate Scholar of the Pa'alatiin\nThe appearance of recruiters for the Order of the New Moon has caused a few in Senchal to look upon this emergent religion with either contempt or concern, depending on their station and perspective. This one decided to take a different approach. Does the Order of the New Moon represent a new cult born out of the chaos of the rage of Dragons, or is it an ancient religion resurfacing from the depths of history?\nThis one was able to speak to a recruiter, who was more than happy to describe in vivid detail the creeds and tenets of their beliefs. While these Khajiit acknowledge Jone and Jode, they believe that a New Moon will soon rise that will outshine them both. They believe that the path to salvation and power lies in this New Moon and not in the worship of gods that remain silent and distant despite the desperate prayers of the faithful.\nThe Order of the New Moon definitely attempts to appeal to those suffering under the current troubles that have been compounded by the appearance of the Dragons. For this reason, they have attracted mostly the poor and the homeless to their ranks. This one observes that the cult uses false promises and fear as a recruitment tactic.They also seem intent on appeasing the Dragons rather than in combating them. Very curious.\nThis one has found references to a similar group that was active in the ancient past. Which brings us back to the original question: Is the Order of the New Moon a recently organized cult or does it represent the resurgence of an ancient religion that was biding its time before making a return? This one will need to engage in more research and investigation to make that determination."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/new-moon-obligations": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/new-moon-obligations", "description": "Guidelines for this new religious order", "author": "Zakarr", "title": "New Moon Obligations", "text": "By Zakarr, Order of the New Moon\nThis one, unlike many Khajiit, prefers to live with clear guidelines. Given the number of new recruits filling the ranks of the Order of the New Moon, Zakarr decided to record the obligations by which all those joining us must live by.\nI. Joining\nOnly those of sound body and mind can join the Order of the New Moon. Those who do not meet these standard will be refused entry even before the trials begin.\nII. The Trials\nThe trials shall remain secret. Those who try to help others by sharing information about the trials will be summarily dismissed from the Order of the New Moon immediately. No cheating! No hints!\nIII. Recruiting\nRecruitment must be undertaken by those who are good judges of character. Too many underfed candidates have entered our ranks. These weak ones will not carry us forward to our goals. And no sick, either. We need strong, capable candidates to help bring about the future as seen in the rising of the New Moon.\nIV. Mindset\nThose joining the Order of the New Moon must remember that regardless of their reason for joining, they must adhere to the obligations set forth and do exactly as our leaders and Dragons command. Only with a clear and determined mind will the Order give rise to the New Moon.\nV. Ritual\nAt some point, every recruit will be called upon to attend our special rituals. When your time comes, be proud! Only the best of us are asked to partake of the ritual of the aeonstones. It is a singular honor! You will learn why soon enough.\nUntil the New Moon rises, work tirelessly. Work effortlessly. And revere the Dragons that revere our New Moon!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/new-opportunities": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/new-opportunities", "description": "Virian has a name for Verill", "author": "Virian", "title": "New Opportunities", "text": "Verill,\nYou asked me for a name. I have one for you: \"Seeks-the-Night,\" an Argonian out of a village called the Silent Mire. Perfect opportunity for what you have in mind.\nYrs,\n\tVirian"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/new-solution-instructions": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/new-solution-instructions", "description": "Updated recipe for stonemelt potion", "author": "Mazog", "title": "New Solution Instructions", "text": "I don't trust this stonemelt potion or the chief's insistence on using it, but she's our chief and we must follow her word.\nThat said, I don't intend to have everyone work themselves to death to meet her production demands. Magic potions don't make the hours pass any faster down here. The deeper we go, the poorer the air quality and less stable the mine becomes. So, to meet our quotas, we will quadruple the recipe. This should achieve faster results with less time in the mine shafts.\n4 parts dried shalk resin, finely ground\n8 parts snow bear bile, boiled\n4 part ashpit powder\nPlease use these instructions instead of the previous recipe until I say otherwise.\nMazog"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nicolard-lias-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nicolard-lias-journal", "description": "An explorer stumbles onto ancient Nedic ruins while searching for a place to sleep", "author": "Nicolard Lia", "title": "Nicolard Lia's Journal", "text": "Fate is a strange thing. The path of one's fortune turns often and unpredictably, without any rhyme or reason to mortal minds, though the series of events that led me to this place speak to an intelligence arranging the scenes. Like so many great discoveries, this one was made by accident, leading me to believe Julianos has a mischievous streak.\nHampered by delays, my expedition to Craglorn did not even begin until Frost Fall. A wiser person would have put off the trek for the next year, but I'd been held up long enough and let spite rule me. Fiery determination kept me warm through the first few nights ascending the Jerall Mountains, but like any savvy highwayman, the cold chose to rob me of that determination once I'd come too far to turn and flee.\nWith little choice other than brave the nearest dry cave and pray that it was home to neither bear nor troll, I discovered a natural cavern extending some distance into the rock. I nearly leapt out of my skin as a chilling howl rolled through the stony interior, but it was only a stiff wind that tugged at my clothes in the darkness. Curious, I temporarily abandoned my search for the most comfortable patch of granite to bed down upon to search for the source.\nWhat I discovered was a secluded valley surrounded on all sides by the mountain, and that might have been the end of it, had the bear I'd blundered past not roused from its stupor. Weary as I was, the anger of the sluggish beast was more than enough incentive for me to brave the cold a little longer. Unlike the hinterlands along the mountain path, the wilderness I found myself in was still clinging to life in spite of the bitter cold.\nThe land might have been weathering the chill with grace, but I was still likely to die of exposure without some form of shelter, so I soldiered on in search of a quiet nook to stuff my bedroll into. I thought I might collapse on more than one occasion, which would have certainly spelled death for me in this frigid clime, but my perseverance was rewarded soon enough. At the far end of the valley stood an ancient ruin, carved right from the mountain. Without the energy to marvel or the sense to concern myself with what dangers might lie within, I heaved the massive stone doors open with the last of my strength and collapsed into a heap. My last thoughts lingered on the gust of warm air that greeted me as I slipped out of consciousness.\nI woke to find myself face down, not on frigid stone, but warm earth and lush grass. At first I took the dampness of my clothes for thawed frost, but it was my sweat that had the cloth clinging to my skin. The ruins, it seemed, were constructed throughout a cavern filled with active lava flows coursing through it. I attempted to justify the presence of such vibrant plant life to myself as a symptom of the tropical warmth, but that excuse didn't hold up to scrutiny. Something about this place was causing the unusual growth and these ruins were either the cause, or likely built here because of the caverns unique properties.\nNo longer at risk of dying from exposure, I settled in at the mouth of the cavern and studied the exterior of the ruin in great detail. They were Nedic in origin, that much was obvious to me, but less refined than other architecture I'd seen around Cyrodiil. Pre-Alessian, even. I could have spent months in Craglorn hunting for a find as significant as this, and I stumbled upon it - quite literally - barely a few days after embarking. Fate is a strange thing indeed."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nicolards-note-self": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nicolards-note-self", "description": "A researcher vows to sleep better", "author": "Nicolard", "title": "Nicolard's Note to Self", "text": "I need to mind where I sleep in these ruins. I nearly died of fright this evening after nodding off at my work. I woke to the sensation of being enveloped by some giant serpent and nearly pitched myself over a ledge with all my thrashing. I'd just become entangled in some of the vines during my nap.\nI must have been dreaming something interesting to have gotten myself so wrapped up. Damned if I could remember after the rude awakening."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nicolards-notes-ruin-origins": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nicolards-notes-ruin-origins", "description": "Ideas on the nature of an ancient Nedic ruin termed \"Bloodroot\"", "author": "Nicolard", "title": "Nicolard's Notes on Ruin Origins", "text": "It's taken me nearly a week, but I think I've singled out the tribe responsible for this construction. An inscription in ancient Keptu. Well \"glyph\" more than inscription, they would have been almost entirely an oral culture in this period, but I digress. It means \"Bloodroot\" as best I can tell. A colorful allusion to the thick vines and ruddy rock found here, no doubt.\nSuch a rich source of Nirncrux would have been quite a find to these people, so it's no surprise they built substantial structures on this site. I've found no real sign of excavation though. Perhaps this place predates the techniques developed by the Nedes for refining the stone. Maybe it's a temple?"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nicolards-notes-forge": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nicolards-notes-forge", "description": "Ideas about a massive chamber which might be a forge", "author": "Nicolard", "title": "Nicolard's Notes on the Forge", "text": "The ancient tribes of men may have been unpolished, but they were certainly not primitive. There's construction in the heart of this ruin that would rival the ingenuity of the Ayleids, if not the Dwarves. The chamber is vast and appears to serve both practical and ritualistic functions, though I've only begun to discern what its purpose is. My present theory is that this place was a forge of some kind. It harnessed the power of these lava flows to smelt the tribe's ore and heat their metals. There appears to be a large basin where such items were cooled, but I've found no evidence of a convenient water source.\nThere are also massive stone hammers and anvils that must have been used by their smiths, but the mechanism by which they operate is not known to me and I detect no magical properties. Given the age, it's possible any enchantments have long since dissipated."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nicolenes-diary-private": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nicolenes-diary-private", "description": "Don't you dare click that link! This is PRIVATE!", "author": "Nicolene", "title": "Nicolene's Diary (Private!)", "text": "Hey you, whoever you are. This is private. Private! If you read it, I'll kill you. I swear. Knife you in the ribs while you sleep.\n22 Sun's Height\n\tSailed into Davon's Watch today. There were Dark Elves and Argonians everywhere. I asked Tumma-Shah if she knew any of them, but she just shook her head.\n\tDavon's Watch is crazy looking. The buildings are huge and strange. They all look like churches, with spires and arches and such. I bet Brother Cantrall would love it.\n\t<Nicolene has sketched one of the Dark Elf towers. It's quite good. She has a knack for architecture.>\n\tI wonder what old Cantrall would do if he knew I was sailing with Captain Kaleen? Ha! I bet he wouldn't approve. I kind of miss him, though.\n28 Sun's Height\n\tWe landed in Skywatch today. Captain Kaleen took me ashore! I thought the Dark Elves were crazy, but the High Elves build like they want to prove something. You can't take two steps without seeing some crazy spire thing. They're nuts.\n\t<Nicolene sketched a bunch of towers here, all in a row. They might be made of crystal.>\n\tGall and pox, the High Elves are so snooty! I could tell the motherless sods didn't want to deal with the captain, but in five minutes she had them eating from her hand. She's amazing.\n\tI wanted to see more of the city, but the sodding Elves are really picky about outsiders, so we had to stay on the docks. But we spent the whole day together! I took notes and carried her stuff.\n4 Last Seed\n\tWe got attacked! Master Kasan said it was a Dunmer slave ship. They had mages on the decks, throwing giant fireballs at us. It was terrifying!\n\tOne of the masts caught on fire, but Tumma-Shah climbed up and put it out. The captain turned us into the wind, laughing like it was all a game. They couldn't keep up. Mara, how does she do it?\n\tI was shaking so bad after. Kasan has told me horrible things about Dark Elf slavers. I think some of his family are still in Morrowind. I wonder if he misses them.\n\tAnyway, this is the best part. After we were safe, the captain saw me shaking and took me aside. She told me I was brave and did well. Then she hugged me. Hugged me!\n\tMara, I'm still tingly. It felt so good!\n8 Last Seed\n\tAs soon as we put into Daggerfall again, I'm going to take all my savings and buy some new clothes. Something nice and proper, something the captain will like.\n\tI asked Tumma-Shah if Kaleen's ever been married. She just flicked her tongue at me, but I bet not. Kaleen's too strong and independent to marry some stupid man, just like me."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/night-runner-captains-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/night-runner-captains-journal", "description": "Smugglers join forces with a Sea Sload", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Night Runner Captain's Journal", "text": "The Sea Sload that calls itself K'Garza, what a disgusting creature! When it first appeared in our caves, I sent a group of the Night Runner's best raiders to drive it away. Then the unthinkable happened. The big slug slaughtered them! But that wasn't enough to satisfy the creature. It's some sort of necromancer! It raised my own raiders and turned them against me!\n* * *\nTwo more raiding parties fell to the Sea Sload and its undead horde. Worse, now they've become part of that undead horde! I need to rethink this untenable situation.\n* * *\nI made the Sea Sload an offer and to my surprise the creature accepted it. We can continue to use the cove for our smuggling endeavors. In exchange, I just need to provide captives for K'Garza to use for its necromantic experiments. Distasteful, certainly, but a deal such as this is better than the alternative.\n* * *\nWe captured an Orc wandering around in the caves. I had one of my raiders chain him up until K'Garza was ready for him. Luckily the poor bastard was drunk off his arse. He probably has no idea what he's in for.\n* * *\nA High Elf requested a parlay. She claims to represent the Sea Sload K'Garza, who is apparently part of something called the Abyssal Cabal. What a disturbing idea, a group of Sea Sload working together for some nefarious purpose. She presented me with an offer to submit to K'Garza's will and work for the cabal. She informed me that one of K'Garza's associates was currently operating to the south and was developing a plan by which they could sink Summerset and return the land to the control of the Sload.\nI admit that when I heard these words, my first reaction was to gut the High Elf and send a warning to the Divine Prosecution. After all, our business depends on Summerset remaining a viable land mass. However, I managed to keep my anger and disgust in check and promised to consider the offer. She warned me not to consider it for too long before I accepted the cabal's terms.\nI wonder if it's too late to set sail for Black Marsh or someplace else that's far away."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nikusshas-research-note-1": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nikusshas-research-note-1", "description": "An alchemist from Black Marsh tries to save a town in Elsweyr", "author": "Nikussha", "title": "Nikussha's Research Note 1", "text": "By Nikussha, Black Marsh Alchemist\n7th of Sun's Height\nAll of Cicatrice has escaped into the caverns of the oasis. This is only a temporary solution, of course. I estimate that my research should be completed within a season or two. Luckily, food and clean water are abundant.\nClanmother Abaasi still does not completely trust me. After all, I am an outsider to her people, newly arrived and of another race. But what choice has she now? This plague has decimated Cicatrice, and the town has been reduced to ash.\nOnly my actions can save these people now."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nikusshas-research-note-2": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nikusshas-research-note-2", "description": "A Nereid bestows healing powers on the water around her", "author": "Nikussha", "title": "Nikussha's Research Note 2", "text": "By Nikussha, Black Marsh Alchemist\n14th of Sun's Height\nI finally discovered why this oasis has healing properties. It's not the water itself, but rather a nereid who calls these caverns home. This secret may have remained forever if not for our sudden intrusion, for the nereid seems a painfully shy creature.\nClanmother Abaasi has refused to let anyone go near her, isolating the central chamber where the nereid lives. I believe this to be a foolish move. The nereid's powers could aid our research greatly! The Khajiit shake their heads in ignorance, fearing that it will only anger her.\nWe argued for many hours over this. Unnecessary, perhaps, but tensions are high. More and more of our people grow ill, and many have already died. And just because I cannot contract this illness does not mean I am unaffected."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nikusshas-research-note-3": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nikusshas-research-note-3", "description": "An attempt at healing goes horribly wrong", "author": "Nikussha", "title": "Nikussha's Research Note 3", "text": "By Nikussha, Black Marsh Alchemist\n28th of Sun's Height.\nHow could I let this happen?\nI was so sure that I would be able to contain this plague, but even with our best efforts it spread rapidly. With so much at stake, I began to rush with my research. After all, what good is a cure when there are none left to heal?\nBut through my studies, I did something horrible. The oasis, once a place of purity and healing, has been tainted by this sickness as well. I do not know if it is the presence of so many bodies, or merely the aura of death, but the oasis has changed. Rapidly.\nCorpses have begun to spring to life and a miasma fills the cavern. I doubt any will survive past this day. I just want to say I'm sorry. I never meant for this to happen. I was just trying to save the town I had grown to love. To save the people who took in a lonely traveler, and placed so much trust in me.\nI'm sorry."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nilaendrils-notes": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nilaendrils-notes", "description": "Description of a recently deceased person", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Nilaendril's Notes", "text": "Female Bosmer, aged 45 to 47. Unusually tall. Crushed third and seventh vertebrae. Four broken ribs. Two finger-length grooves along the inside of the skull.\nWounds suggest a senche-tiger or troll, so why are her large bones intact? Animals would have cracked them open to get at the marrow, but apart from teeth-marks they're pristine. Flawless.\nAfter death, she was carefully cleaned. If not for the absence of artifacts, I'd say she's been through funeral rites.\n\t\u2014 <<1>>"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nilata-search-plan": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nilata-search-plan", "description": "An elaborate list of strange things", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Nilata Search Plan", "text": "I shall need the following if my scheme is to succeed:\n\t1. A detailed Ayleid Grimoire addressing transliminal matters and issues of cross-planar conjunction\u2014look for titles featuring words such as Alasilagea (vision-lore), Ceyemeratu (shadow-music), Goriarcan (secret-magic), Heculmora (outcast-Daedra), and Silatarn (shining-portal). There must be one or two books in this Librarium that will serve.\n\t2. Laboratorical Equipment such as Alembics, Cauldrons, Vials, et cetera. Can't have too many.\n\t3. A Focal Brazier large and potent enough to anchor the Thaumaturgical Fetters.\n\tThen I'll just need to conjure some common Dremora Churls to do the menial work. I can use the Codicil of Longueur to keep them on this plane indefinitely\u2014if I can just remember where I put that scroll."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nimriells-research": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nimriells-research", "description": "Research notes on Kwama", "author": "Nimriell", "title": "Nimriell's Research", "text": "2nd Sun's Dawn\nThe kwama have grown agitated in recent weeks. Peculiar, considering it's been months since they became accustomed to my scent, as they have with the miners'.\\n\\n10th Sun's Dawn\nThe miners and I found the corpse of a thunderbug this morning, along with the bodies of perhaps a dozen warrior kwama. We're uncertain what path the thunderbug took to get here, but we'll find it\u2014this mine will not survive a full invasion."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nine-commands-eight": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nine-commands-eight", "description": "An angry, bitter note from a person who lost faith", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Nine Commands of the Eight ...", "text": "<Most of the pages of this book are missing. The title page begins with these words:>\nFrom the personal library of Uggissar and Diala\u2014may the Eight watch over them and their child, and may the Divines protect us all.\n<The second page has a note scrawled in red ink.>\nThe Divines are a lie. There's no one watching over us. Our baby is dead! Would that Uggissar had gone to debtor's prison rather than let us end like this in some god's-forsaken tomb. My poor baby \u2026.\nUggissar isn't back yet, but I'm not sure I can last until he returns. It hurts so much! The creatures tore at me so terribly when I tried to protect the baby. I hate you Uggissar\u2014and I love you so\u2014"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nine-commands-eight-divines": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nine-commands-eight-divines", "description": "Expectations of the gods for their mortal followers", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Nine Commands of the Eight Divines", "text": "By the intercession of St. Alessia, you may be so filled with grace, and the strength and wisdom that come from grace, that through these teachings you may come to the true meaning of the Eight Divines and Their glories.\nTo convey to man's mind all the manifold subtleties of truth and virtue may not be done, were all the seas ink, and all the skies the parchment upon which Their wisdoms were writ. Yet Akatosh, in His wisdom, knowing how impatient is man, and how loath he is to travel upon the hard roads of truth, has allowed these nine simple commands to be made manifest with powerful clarity and concise definition.\n1. Stendarr says: Be kind and generous to the people of Tamriel. Protect the weak, heal the sick, and give to the needy.\n2. Arkay says: Honor the earth, its creatures, and the spirits, living and dead. Guard and tend the bounties of the mortal world, and do not profane the spirits of the dead.\n3. Mara says: Live soberly and peacefully. Honor your parents, and preserve the peace and security of home and family.\n4. Zenithar says: Work hard, and you will be rewarded. Spend wisely, and you will be comfortable. Never steal, or you will be punished.\n5. Kynareth says: Use Nature's gifts wisely. Respect her power, and fear her fury.\n6. Dibella says: Open your heart to the noble secrets of art and love. Treasure the gifts of friendship. Seek joy and inspiration in the mysteries of love.\n7. Julianos says: Know the truth. Observe the law. When in doubt, seek wisdom from the wise.\n8. Akatosh says: Serve and obey your Emperor. Study the Covenants. Worship the Eight, do your duty, and heed the commands of the saints and priests.\n9. The Eight say: Above all else, be good to one another.\nIf only each man might look into the mirror of these Commands, and see reflected there the bliss that might enfold them, were he to serve in strict obedience to these Commands, he would be cast down and made contrite and humble. The obedient man may come to the altars of the Eight and be blessed, and may receive the comfort and healing of the Eight, and may give thanks for his manifold blessings.\nHeedless, the wicked man turns away, and forsaking the simple wisdoms granted to him by the All-Wise and All-Knowing Eight, he lives in sin and ignorance all the days of his life. He bears the awful burden of his crimes, and before Men and God his wickedness is known, and neither blessing nor comfort may he expect from the altars and shrines of the Eight.\nYet the wicked and foolish are not doomed, for in their infinite mercies, the Eight have said, \"Repent, and do Good Works, and the Fountains of Grace shall once more spill forth upon you.\"\nRepent your crimes! Tender unto the Emperor the fines of gold, that they may be used to spread the Faith and its Benefits to all Men!\nDo yourself good works! Redeem your infamy by shining deeds! Show to all Men and the Eight the good Fame of the Righteous Man, and you may once again approach the altars and shrines of the Chapel to receive the comfort and blessings of the Eight."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nirncrux-study": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nirncrux-study", "description": "A summary on the sources, production and applications of Nirncrux.", "author": "Mendan Flot", "title": "Nirncrux: A Study", "text": "By Mendan Flot,Regent of Roiling Concoctions\nWhat a remarkable substance the Scaled Court has discovered! Or perhaps I should say, \"rediscovered.\" For it is true that the ancient Nedes made use of this primordial element in ages past. They even appear to have known about its unique properties, including its ability to absorb and distribute Aetherial energy. But I feel confident in my claims that even the Nedes never achieved the variety of uses we have discovered for the element we call \"nirncrux.\"\nWhen the Regent of Serpentine Stratagems emerged from the ruins of Skyreach and gave us the gift of nirncrux, we were equal parts excited and confused as to what to do with the primordial element. But the Serpent whispered to the regent, and she in turn described several ways we could immediately utilize the substance to increase the power of the Scaled Court. But simple tricks and minor boosts were just the beginning. The Regent of Serpentine Stratagems had greater plans than these, and she ordered me and my alchemists to increase the application of the element a hundredfold.\nMy alchemists first studied the viability of the element in its natural, solid form. The substance can be found as veins running through denser rock throughout the upper region of Craglorn, and sometimes as grains or nuggets along river beds or at the base of hills and mountains. In its solid form, nirncrux is brittle and flaky. It resists attacks by most acids, and does not tarnish when exposed to air or water. However, it is neither dense enough nor strong enough for use in practical applications, such as forging weapons or crafting armor.\nWhen ground into a powder or dust, the true worth of nirncrux comes to light. The energy stored within the individual grains of dust can be released using an ancient Nedic ritual that we have modified to better serve the Serpent, and the energized nirncrux dust can be utilized in potions, elixirs, and other concoctions.\nFor example, preliminary tests suggest that the dust can be incorporated into the ink used by the Iron Orcs to create their intricate, power-focusing tattoos. Imagine decorating creatures such as trolls and welwas with these ritualistic tattoos. Can they be made into even more powerful engines of destruction? We believe the answer is a resounding \"yes.\" We've already provided the newly named Ophidian Exarch of Undulating Destruction\u2014otherwise known as the Iron Orc chieftain, Braadoth\u2014with enough of the nirncrux dust to enhance ink to decorate nearly one hundred of the wild creatures. And more of the primordial element is being gathered for processing even as I write these words.\nAnother immediate application for the dust is being spearheaded by the Regent of Wriggling Nightmares and his team. It involves ancient spawning pools and a variety of exotic and dangerous creatures. By mixing the nirncrux dust with the primeval, procreative nature of the pools, he hopes to create an entirely new monster to add to the Serpent's growing arsenal. I will be interested to see how his theories come to fruition.\nA promising avenue to explore involves another state of the element. We believe that the molten form of the substance might provide an even greater release of Aetherial power. Ancient Nedic writing that we discovered suggests that whatever processes these lost people once used to either create or enhance celestial creatures required the molten form of the substance. We are building great crucibles to smelt the substance into a liquid state.\nWhy the substance only appears in Upper Craglorn remains a mystery, though my alchemists have formed a number of theories to explain it. The leading candidate suggests that the substance was deposited in the region in the distant past by chunks of rock that fell from the sky. Another possibility indicates that the Nedes may have used arcane rituals to draw the substance up from deep within the core of the world, as hinted at in a few wall decorations we examined in Skyreach's ruins.\nWe may never fully understand where this primordial element came from or what it truly is, but that will not stop us from using it for the glory and grand purpose of the Serpent and his mortal limbs, the Regent of Serpentine Stratagems."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nirwaens-diary": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nirwaens-diary", "description": "Falinseti walks", "author": "Nirwaen", "title": "Nirwaen's Diary", "text": "It's hard to believe the day is finally here. Father says the rumblings began two nights ago and the uprooting should start any moment now. I'm so excited! We arrived at the Summer Site two days after Falinesti had settled, so we missed the Rooting Ceremony here, but we''ll be off to the Autumn Site in mere hours!\nMother told us that she'd meet us there, but that she must conclude her research in Velyn Harbor. It's hard to believe that tiny camp has anything worth looking at\u2014I thought it was dirty and smelled of fish\u2014but she says you can find gems in the mud and I shouldn't look down my nose at them.\nBut it's hard not to! Falinesti is so grand, and I can't WAIT to feel the city moving beneath my feet!\nI wonder how long it will take to get to the Autumn Site? Father says it varies. Sometimes it only takes a few days, but sometimes a week or more passes between the uprooting and the rooting. I hope it takes a long time\u2014a week at least. I want to watch the world go by!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nisaazdas-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nisaazdas-journal", "description": "Preparations to consume a vial of dragon's blood", "author": "Nisaazda", "title": "Nisaazda's Journal", "text": "Our thanks, Sangiin, for this boon beyond our wildest dreams! This one will drink every drop of the Dragons blood in your name. None shall go to waste. She must cherish this prize though and use its blood wisely, as she does not have much time. Grundwulf will not wait forever for his prize.\n* * *\nNisaazda knows her hopes are well founded, and her caution. The phial of Dragon blood she drew is still hot to the touch. It is flush with magicka. So much so that her measures for the potency of essence are insufficient. If her mouth could water, the anticipation to taste this beast's blood would flow down her chin. But like the fiery desert peppers of Anequina, its intensity gives her pause. She must be patient.\n* * *\nCurse that slinking rat, Renald. She does not know how his letter reached Grundwulf, but his words strike too close to the truth for this one's liking. Nisaazda has assured the Devourer that the old bat is blind to the potential of their plans. She doubts that this will be the last we hear of him. Nisaazda must act soon.\n* * *\nNisaazda's mixture is as close to perfect as she can make it, with what she has been given. She has used every vial of her rarest blood. She has performed every ritual. Made every offering she knows for the Blood Cat's favor. She can be no more prepared for the time she tastes the Dragon's Blood. Nisaazda hopes she is being overcautious, but if the Devourer becomes the devoured, her efforts will not have been wasted."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nishzos-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nishzos-journal", "description": "", "author": "Nishzo", "title": "Nishzo's Journal", "text": "The agent I hired finally found Palhadi and got her talking over drinks. Her drunkenness always was the most reliable thing about her. The information helped me finish a list of my associates and their current locations. Once this cough clears up, I'll track them down.\nSome alchemist tried to tell me it's the flu, but she was more of a thief than Nishzo. I just need to sleep it off. It'll give me time to dream of the pile of gold I'll get for this silly tapestry."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nix-hounds-manual-new-owners": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nix-hounds-manual-new-owners", "description": "A guide on how to train and care for nix-hounds.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Nix-Hounds: A Manual for New Owners", "text": "Congratulations! You are now the proud owner of one of Vvardenfell's most recognizable and loyal pets! If this is your first nix adoption, please take a moment to familiarize yourself with the do's and don'ts of nix-hound ownership. Stick to these tried and true methods, and you'll have a happy and healthy companion for years to come!\nFeeding:\n\tNix-hounds are voracious eaters. After emerging from its chrysalis, a baby nix can drain at least four comparably sized creatures per day! Be sure to rinse your pet's proboscis after every meal, as the scent of fresh fluids can attract wild nixes.\nBaby guars, goats, kwama pupae, and ash hoppers are all excellent sources of nutrition. Just be sure to get rid of those pesky meat-husks when you're done. A drained animal is the perfect treat for wild alits, and no one wants an ornery ball of teeth wandering around their yard!\nOne final note at this crucial stage in development. It's very important to keep small children and other pets away from your new companion. Baby nixes are very curious, and won't hesitate to spear smaller creatures in search of food. An innocent case of mistaken identity can result in tragedy, so keep an eye on your little ones!\nGrooming:\n\tNix-hounds place great value on cleanliness (welcome news for most pet-owners!). The average nix spends hours self-cleaning - using its nimble pedipalps to scrape and polish their facial chitin and antennae. Unfortunately, the length of their proboscis and the relative thickness of their neck make it very difficult to reach the rest of their abdomen and thorax. That's where you come in! You should give your new friend a good scrub with an oiled rag once every two weeks. Just be careful to avoid the nix's sensory seta and abdominal glands. Nixes have been known to slip into a violent rage if touched in the wrong place. But don't worry! Given a few days and a dozen or so buckets of meat-fluid, your pet will regain its charming disposition.\nBe sure to check for ash mites in between their thoracic junction and spiracles as well. These little pests can drive even the friendliest nix into an itchy frenzy!\nExercise:\n\tNix-hounds require lots of stimulation and exercise. Like their industrious cousins, the kwama, nixes are addicted to work and productivity. So play along! Games like \"hide the dung,\" and \"who's got the spleen\" will keep your nix busy and satisfied for hours at a time!\nHandling:\n\tNix-hounds are affectionate and attentive pets, but here are a few more tips for keeping them calm and collected:\nAlways remember to face your nix when feeding it.\nAvoid direct eye contact while your nix is relieving itself.\nMake sure your friends and neighbors don't leave their pets and children unattended around your nix.\nNever shout at your nix.\nNever whisper to your nix.\nNever show another nix excessive attention or affection.\nAvoid contact with the nix's saliva, as it is corrosive and may form a permanent bond with the skin.\nNever display any signs of physical weakness around your nix.\nConclusion:\n\tWe hope this short guide has been informative. Nix-hound ownership is a real treat, and an experience that you won't soon forget! You'll enjoy your time with this beautiful creature, we guarantee it!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/no-admittance-means-you": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/no-admittance-means-you", "description": "A warning about a Giant's lair", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "No Admittance - This Means You", "text": "The Giant's Crush is off limits! The giant is extremely dangerous when disturbed. Remember what happened to Sergeant Gorack, who thought it would be good fun to taunt the giant's mammoths? Soldiers without arms aren't much use."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/no-fuss-no-rush": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/no-fuss-no-rush", "description": "Larceny tips from an old thief", "author": "Old Sculler", "title": "No Fuss, No Rush", "text": "or, \"Hard-Earned Tips From Old Sculler\"\nSome of these nobles - all that money and they still want more. They'll pay, too. But you have to be smart.\nYou get sent all over Tamriel to grab goods and \"clean\" them, take a tip from Old Sculler - get it done quick and without getting caught! Paying off your bounty takes away from the profits.\nHere's what Old Sculler does\n1. Find the right targets. Somebody wants \"ritual objects,\" you'll likely find them near cathedrals or on priests. Sounds obvious, right? Well, that means big cities - usually with lots of guards. Pick your targets carefully. Make sure the temple isn't big enough to have its own guards, or if it does that they aren't staring everywhere at once.\n2. If you do get a bounty on you, don't be in such a rush. Find something outside the city to do before you try finishing the contract. Old Sculler once made some extra gold helping a village with their bandit problem. Nobody there cared about a bounty. By the time that job was done, the guards had lost interest and Old Sculler turned in her \"clean\" goods, sweet as you please.\nBe smart or be dead."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/no-more-shipments-sentinel": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/no-more-shipments-sentinel", "description": "Scorpions are interfering with privy matters", "author": "The Management", "title": "No More Shipments From Sentinel", "text": "We understand. You are quite good at what you do. It's your namesake, and you want people to know it.\nBut scorpions aren't used to Wrothgar's weather. They inevitably find their way to the warmest place they can find-the only decent privy in this place. Burzunguk nearly lost a hand reaching for a pine cone.\nIf we're forced to do our business in the snow, we won't let you do yours with the sand. No more shipments from Sentinel until the privy is scorpion-free.\nThe Management"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/no-passing-through-here": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/no-passing-through-here", "description": "Another warning of the giant's lair", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "No Passing Through Here", "text": "Do not use the Giant's Crush as a shortcut. I'm tired of writing letters to families explaining how their loved ones were careless enough to get their head smashed in by a giant. Just walk around the mountain. We can all use the exercise."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/no-praise-false-gods": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/no-praise-false-gods", "description": "An anti-Tribunal pamphlet", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "No Praise for False Gods", "text": "Praise not the false gods, for they do not care for you!\nThe Three would have you bow at their feet. They would have you give them your wives, your children, your riches, your homes! And what would they do for you? Nothing! They sit in their temple, mocking us as we struggle with our daily woes.\nLet not the false claims of the Tribunal's help during the Akaviri invasion persuade you. We were the ones who fought on the battlefield. We were the ones who gave our blood and lost our sons and daughters.\nNo more! We will not stand by and praise these false gods who do nothing. We will take back this world! Even if some must die, our cause is just. We will be free!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/no-quarantine-us": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/no-quarantine-us", "description": "A defiant journal from a plague survivor", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "No Quarantine for Us", "text": "Haldin is dead by his own hand. I don't think he recovered from the loss of his wife and youngest child. Kjora has a bad cough. I don't think it's the plague, but the others seem unconvinced. I won't abandon him just because he's got a cold. I swear, this infernal plague will have us at each other's throats before too long.\nWord has reached us of an old crypt, to the east. Refugees from Narsis have taken shelter there, and we've been told they'll welcome others to share the space. I don't want to encounter the undead creatures sometimes found in such dark places, but if our only alternative is to risk becoming afflicted, I think we'll take our chances in the crypts."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/no-reason-worry": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/no-reason-worry", "description": "", "author": "R", "title": "No Reason to Worry", "text": "H,\nApologies for the lapse. Our supplier grew suspicious. Don't fret overmuch, the appropriate mouths will be fed.\nWe recovered your wayward bird. Its belly ran afoul of the storm, but we think it can be saved. If it is not in your hands by the next full moons, we are discovered and you should cease correspondence.\n\t\u2014 R"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/no-shira-no-good": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/no-shira-no-good", "description": "Pirates try to make No Shira Citadel their new hideout", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "No Shira, No Good!", "text": "2 Last Seed, 2E 398\nThe boss found a great new hideout! It's a bit far from the Abah's Landing, but it's all underground. Dry in the rainy season, too. Whoever built it knew how to seal the walls.\nAnd they knew how to build for size, too. We could triple the size of our crew and still have plenty of space for stores, loot, and even slaves!\n5 Last Seed, 2E 398\nFound out the name of the place: \"No Shira.\" Not sure what it means, but it could be \"watch your step.\" Effie was coming down to her bunk and some nasty scythe swung out of the wall and cut her in half! The boss has us searching the place for other traps, but we can't find any. Maybe that was the only one.\n9 Last Seed, 2E 398\nGuess \"No Shira\" means \"not so lucky.\" The Knuckler got a little bit drunk and stumbled down the stairs. We found him burned to a crisp at the bottom. Don't even know where the fire came from.\n13 Last Seed, 2E 398\nThat's it, we're packing up. The boss lost everything below the knee to some nasty snare trap. He'll need a new nickname - though I guess \"Lightfoot\" could have a double meaning."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/no-significant-danger": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/no-significant-danger", "description": "", "author": "Quintus Verres", "title": "No Significant Danger", "text": "Foreman Fabricius,\nIt has come to my attention that you find our camp defenses inadequate. Your concerns have been noted, but we require every able hand for the excavation. We are making tremendous discoveries, and I will not have that pace slowed. I have left a small but capable group of fighters to defend the supply train. I assure you\u2014you are in no significant danger.\nWe make for the ruins of Volenfell. Should any communication prove necessary, please send a runner to the location indicated on the map.\n\u2014 Quintus Verres"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nobility-theft": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nobility-theft", "description": "A Treatise on Conscientious Larceny", "author": "Zizar-Dar", "title": "Nobility in Theft", "text": "To steal a thing is simplicity itself. One merely takes what one will and that is that. Even a treasure jealously guarded can be stolen easily under the right circumstances, but such things will not be discussed here.\nThis treatise hopes the reader will become a capable pilferer of found things. Methods, distractions, and tools of the trade will not be discussed herein, so if you are a hungry ja'Khajiit looking to make your way on the streets of Senchal, look elsewhere. (Really! What are you doing here? You should be out casing marks!)\nBandits, burglars, defalcators, and cheats\u2014keep reading. You might learn a thing or two.\nAny able pilferer knows the next heist is merely a question of time and place, but to keep your heart as light as your gloves, you would do well to be wary of your target!\nEasy marks are abundant, but the majority are as desperate as you are. Ignore them! You won't make a name for yourself fleecing ditch-diggers and scullions of their hard-won dinners, and they certainly won't sing the songs every Senchal dreg knows by heart and hair.\nNo, look for the merchant whose purse lies buried behind three tall walkers with etched swords and inlaid plate! Watch for the wizard whose tower sends alchemical stenches billowing into the canvas city. Seek out the pomp-pursed dandyclaw whose grounds are free of flicktongues.\nNever take all, just a portion! They will deem what you took an \"acceptable loss.\" Admitting their loss would send every shinglestep in town leaping through their casements, which is why they rarely inform the guard.\n\tIt doesn't hurt that they also have the most to pilfer. But what is worth taking, and more importantly, what is there to do with all the riches you've liberated from lightless prisons?\nTreasure, whether in pockets or in the ground, weighs heavily on mind and the spirit.\nIt can be tempting to take famous treasures. Who has not heard the many tales of Rajhin? But as the tales suggest, some treasures are difficult to move and are often worth more in trouble than the gold you'll get for them.\nCoin is best, of course. It's small and easy to move. Jewelry comes next, though you may have to melt pieces down if they are too closely filigreed.\nPotions can be just as valuable\u2014if not immediately useful to your trade. Look especially for those with restorative properties, for these can be priceless when properly plied.\nDon't overlook sundries, either! Frequently a treasure will be too well guarded or trapped with snares to justify the effort, but the mark is not always a lost cause. Only the most paranoid take precautions with the sugarcloset, for who would impede his own sweet-tooth? Much the same with the cupboards, for a hungry belly needs filling fast and tripwires only get in the way.\nDo not be too prideful to make off with these things. While they will rarely be missed, they can fill your belly and bring you fame to rival even the luckiest moonlighters!\nTake as much as you can carry! Fill your pockets and parcels with whatever you can fit, such that it overflows your waistband and bites into your back! Your bounty is as important to your escape as it is to your purse.\nWhen you are pursued \u2014as you often will be\u2014spoils secured properly about your vitals will throw off arrows raining down from the walls.\nIn the streets, cut release ties to spill out your treasures into the paths of your pursuers. Throw them to the crowds! Their scrambling for your riches will sow confusion, creating obstacles for your escape.\nNot only will these efforts delay your pursuers, news of your open hand will spread like wildfire through the streets. What is more valuable than your name? It will buy you safe haven in times of need, food for your belly in lean times, and more importantly will carry you through the darkest of life's troubles.\nAnd when you are old and can no longer leap between rooftops, you can rest easily among your childrens' children, assured that your legacy is as clean as a well-greased tumblecatch.\nGood luck in your exploits! When they are sung through the taverns and slums of the world, Zizar-dar will be sure to carry the tune."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/non-standard-techniques": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/non-standard-techniques", "description": "One rather unorthodox method of warfare", "author": "Gabrielle Benele", "title": "Non-Standard Techniques", "text": "General Serien,\nI know you're going to face real challenges in Stonefalls. The Dark Elves are a proud people, and they won't give up without a fight.\nThat's why I've sent along copies of this treatise I wrote on non-standard magical military techniques! Hope you find it useful!\n\u2014 Gabrielle Benele\nCovenant Mages are trained in numerous magical and meta-magical techniques ideally suited for the battlefield. But not every battlefield features opposing troops arrayed in lines, keep walls to knock down, or cavalry to deflect. Some battlefields require a little creativity.\nEvery Covenant cohort is accompanied by an elite mage or two. When the circumstances call for it, why not let them make use of a few non-standard techniques?\nHere's one recipe sure to throw a defending force for a loop:\n\u2014 Seek out any local beast races or unwelcome nonsentients in the area.\n\t\u2014 Have your mage infiltrate the lair of these lower life forms.\n\t\u2014 Overrun the lair through any means necessary and drive out the unwelcome beasts.\n\t\u2014 Maintain control of these lairs throughout the invasion, ensuring that the beast races do not return.\nIf the past is any judge, the beast races will move from their lairs towards local villages and towns, creating their own localized invasion upon enemy encampments.\nMy next missive will discuss uses for local alchemy goods in creating unique\u2014and explosive\u2014concotions."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/noordigloop-clog": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/noordigloop-clog", "description": "A researcher writes about an extra special blob of sewer slime", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Noordigloop the Clog", "text": "What a fascinating place, the Orcrest sewers. You can find a staggering amount of wildlife in these putrid depths! As an explorer and amateur naturalist, I find that extremely convenient for my work.\nI confess, I came to Orcrest in search of its sewer system with a specific goal in mind. I had heard rumors of a specimen of amorphous green slime transported from distant Murkmire for the express goal of alchemical study in an Orcrest laboratory. It is said that the creature escaped captivity during the chaos and unrest at the height of the disease that ravaged the city. Supposedly, the blob of slime slithered down into the sewer, where it grew to an enormous size and more potent toxicity due to the disease-ridden detritus flowing down there for it to consume.\nSo, with notebook and quill in hand, I braved the perils of Orcrest and found an access to the sewer. I encountered a number of small blobs that were scavenging through the waste and debris, but no huge monstrosity. Disappointed, I decided to push on. That's when I discovered the great pit and the impressive mass of slime that ruled there. I named it Noordigloop the Clog!\nGazing upon the impressive creature, I assumed it would be slow and docile giving its size. Imagine my surprise when it rushed after me like a wave of angry ooze! How did it sense my presence? I have no idea! And the smaller voriplasms scattered throughout the area, were they separate creatures or simply extensions of might Noordigloop? Further study will be required. Unfortunately, I write this from a hiding spot that I am hesitant to vacate while the slimes continue to search for me. I am going to wait a little while longer, then attempt to get close enough to Noordigloop to perform a thorough examination.\nMaybe I can even acquire a sample of its vibrant slime to bring back to my alchemical workshop. Wouldn't that be grand?"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nord-armorers-and-armsmen": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nord-armorers-and-armsmen", "description": "A treatise on Nord smithing", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Nord Armorers and Armsmen", "text": "A Nord blacksmith feels a particular affinity with his anvil, bellows, hammer, and tongs. For the Nord, the creation of fine (if inelegant) weapons and armor is as important as proficiency with a blade, axe, or hammer. Such skills are learned from youth and are almost mandatory. As the Nord armorer and weaponsmith perfect their techniques, the forge becomes a second home. Close by is the tanning rack, where the hides of every beast of the north have been measured for their levels of durability and flexibility. Layered on top is iron, steel, and corundum alloys. The result is a steel that holds tighter and bites sharper than weapons from other realms.\nWhen Nords refer to their blades as \"stinging,\" they mean more than its cutting power: superstitious Nord smiths are said to add a drop of wild bee honey into everything they create. The whys and wherefores are misplaced in long-forgotten lore, but the practice is widespread. To this day, no Nord armorer would work a forge without first crumbling honeycomb into his quenching tub."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nord-cuisine-savory-edition": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nord-cuisine-savory-edition", "description": "A guide to the meats and stews of traditional Nordic cuisine", "author": "Gilbard Bacqure", "title": "Nord Cuisine: Savory Edition", "text": "While there have been many accounts detailing the various meads enjoyed by Nords, there is surprisingly little information on their preferences in savory cuisine. While Nord recipes may not be as thrilling or complex as those of some other cultures, I believe them still worthy of note! There are many delicacies to be had on Nord feasting tables. They are a hearty people who drink and eat with more passion and vigor than any others I've met! Tasteless food represents as much an insult to them as cowardice on the battlefield. I shall transcribe my explorations through their cuisine here.\nHorker Soup\n\tThere is an abundance of horkers in Skyrim. While they may not look entirely appetizing on the surface, they represent a wealth of untapped delicious potential! And as Nords are wont to do, they've taken a form of sustenance and made a stew out of it. I suppose it only makes sense. A hardy people who live most of their lives in the cold, covered in furs and trudging through snow, would certainly be purveyors of warm meals such as this. Horker soup is uncomplicated, wonderfully salty, and has a thin broth. It's best served with a warm loaf of bread to sop up the last dredges.\nHot Apple Cabbage Stew\n\tThis stew is a basic Nord household favorite. Ordinarily, a dish this simple might not be worth mentioning in a book on cuisine. But not in this case! While the recipe for the hot apple cabbage stew is simple, the taste and comfort of consuming such a dish is far from it! For many Nords, this meal reminds them of their youth. Though, there is some debate over the method of cooking the stew, mainly in the use of the apples. A strict divide exists between those who believe in mashing, and those who believe in cutting. I myself have sampled both and found them to be equally delicious. This is not an opinion I would share with a Nord, however. Most favor one over the other, usually to a violent degree.\nMammoth Steak\n\tThose who first looked upon the mammoths of Skyrim and thought 'I think I'd like to eat that!' greatly inspire me. Nord's are known for their staunch bravery. Only a people so averse to cowardice would think to make a meal out of something so colossal. While much of the animal is tough and inedible, the loin is exquisitely tender. Cutting a slice from this impressive part of the beast yields a flank of meat that can be seared or broiled.\nSeared Slaughterfish\n\tI do not envy those who venture into murky waters in order to catch the creatures needed to make this meal. I am entirely grateful to them, however, for it is their bravery that allows us to experience the deliciousness of the seared slaughterfish! The proper Nord tradition requires the cook to sear the fish (once picked clean of bones, of course) until the skin is blackened. Some prefer to cook the flesh slowly by wrapping the fish in cabbage leaves, searing the skin as the very last step before consumption. Both methods work equally well, in my opinion."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nord-cuisine-sweets-edition": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nord-cuisine-sweets-edition", "description": "A guide to the deserts of Skyrim", "author": "Gilbard Bacqure", "title": "Nord Cuisine: Sweets Edition", "text": "While there have been many accounts detailing the various meads enjoyed by Nords, there is surprisingly little information on their preferences in cuisine. While Nord recipes may not be as thrilling or complex as some other cultures, I believe them still worthy of note! There are many delicacies to be had among Nords. They are a hearty people that drink and eat with more passion and vigor than any I've ever encountered! Tasteless food is as much an insult to them as cowardice on the battlefield. I shall transcribe my explorations through their cuisine here.\nSweet Treats\nHoney-Dipped Apples\n\tI would be remiss if I did not discuss the tart apples of Skyrim. A staple of Nord households, this fruit is as common in Skyrim as a mudcrab along a riverbank! It can be eaten as nature intended, directly from a tree, or it can be used to enhance stews, meat dishes, or salads. Perhaps the best use is as a dessert. The ingredients for a honey-dipped apple are rather obvious. Simplicity is at the heart of most Nord recipes\u2014the foundations are plain and uncomplicated, but the end result is truly a taste to experience! Apples are either served roasted or raw, then iced with a drizzle of sweet milk and honey. They are sticky, messy, sweet, and tart. And wholly wonderful!\nSnowberry Crostata\n\tOn their own, snowberries are so tart as to be quite unpalatable. The same cannot be said of a snowberry crostata! Simpler than a pie and yet no less delectable, this pastry perfectly marries the tartness of the berry with the sweetness of the bread to create a truly memorable experience. Enjoy this delicacy after a meal as a treat, or even early in the morning before the common Nord goes about his day. The versatile nature of the flavors make both options equally appealing.\nJazbay Crostata\n\tIn contrast, the Jazbay Crostata is strictly a delicacy best enjoyed after a heartier meal. While it is most often used by mages, the distinctive sweetness of these grapes cannot be ignored by any who consider themselves a food connoisseur. The dark, sweet juice of the grape sinks into the dough to create a deliciously moist base, though it's sturdy enough to not be soggy. Some say the sweetness overwhelms, but I say they are absolutely wrong!\nHoney Nut Treat\n\tNords love their honey. It sweetens their mead perfectly, but that's not all! Popular in many a meadery across Skyrim, the honey nut treat is a sweet partner to any kind of drink. While messy, this sticky, nut-studded dough can conveniently be skewered on a stick so you can carry it anywhere. Whether you're traveling long distances or just enjoying a drink by the fire at your favorite inn, the honey nut treat is an enjoyable snack that everyone should try at least once."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nord-soldiers-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nord-soldiers-journal", "description": "A Nord soldier experiences strange earthquakes", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Nord Soldier's Journal", "text": "Today there were more tremors. I told the Lieutenant it felt like something was digging deep beneath the fort, but she said I was crazy. \"The ground shakes sometimes,\" she said with that stupid grin of hers. \"And the mountains quake and the snow falls. That's life in Skyrim.\" Milk-drinker!\nSo, I did my duty and reported to my superior officer. She told me to forget about it, and so I have. I must patrol the roads around the fort now. Maybe I'll take a look at the entrance to that tomb while I'm out there. Just in case."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nord-war-song": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nord-war-song", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Nord War Song", "text": "Take your fill of golden mead,\nLet it spill like blood across your blade.\nThe horns of battle call upon the strongest,\nOnly in war are warriors made.\nHone your axes til they gleam,\nLike a light upon the frozen snow.\nRelish in the sweet, sweet sound,\nAs it nestles in the breast of your foe.\nNo true Nord fears death,\nThey hold it in high regard!\nTake courage, those with hearts so bold,\nA place awaits you in Sovngarde!\nThere's a cry in every warrior's heart,\nA triumphant, hearty, mighty toll.\nYsgramor's courage steadies your hand,\nHis strength imbues your soul.\nNo true Nord fears death,\nThey hold it in high regard!\nTake courage, those with hearts so bold,\nA place awaits you in Sovngarde!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/norgorgols-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/norgorgols-journal", "description": "Bandits get trapped in a Nedic ruin", "author": "Norgorgol", "title": "Norgorgol's Journal", "text": "Now here's a turn of good fortune! We've found the perfect site for a stronghold if ever there was one. I know I said that the last time, but this isn't some crumbling old fort with breezy barracks and moldering sheets. No, these ruins we found are a highwayman's paradise.\nWe're well off the beaten path here. Through some caverns and a valley not visible from the mountain pass. No chance of Nord soldiers patrolling by and noticing a poorly concealed campfire, again. In fact, we don't even need campfires for more than cooking anymore, and maybe not even that. There are lava channels all through the area that keep the caverns and ruins nice and toasty. That probably explains why it's so lush too. You'd never expect to find so much growth this high in the mountains, much less vines nearly as thick as I am wide.\nThe way I see it, if things are looking lean or we need to lay low, we could probably live pretty well off the land here. Chop up some vines, melt some snow, and settle in on a bed of warm grass until things blow over. Practically the lap of luxury by hideout standards.\n-\nAll right, so maybe hauling the goods back to this place is a bit more effort than I anticipated, but I haven't so much as seen the spec of another man or Mer in the distance on the way back. There's rumors that Reachman use the trails out this way, but what have we got to fear from a bunch of stone-bangers in loincloths? Still, might do to set up some snares and alarms until we've got these ruins fortified.\n-\nI don't think I noticed how much the walls look like they're bleeding when we first found this place. There's this dusty red stone all over. I mean, it's not like they're actually bleeding - I just can't get the image out of my head now that I've seen it.\n-\nNearly killed one of the gang last night while we were sleeping. I was feeling restless is all, and he wouldn't stop fidgeting. The creak of his leathers was tickling my ears like a squeaky cart wheel every time I thought I might drift off. I made to smack him, but when I turned to look he was sleeping like the dead, still as can be, but the creaking was still in my ears.\nIt was the vines. Writhing like drunk serpents.\n-\nI had to get away for a bit. The shifting of those vines can cut right through a crowd to reach my ears now. I'm just going a bit stir crazy is all. Figure I'll poke around the pass and get a better lay of the land.\n-\nThird flock of crows to pass in less than an hour. Or maybe the same lot and just lost? Seems a bit late in the season for birds to be lingering about. Bad omen, or so I hear anyway.\n-\nI don't know where they came from. Reachmen scouring the mountains. Scores of them! It looks like they're hunting for something, but it's not like there's anything out here for the likes of them - except us. They don't seem to have found the hideaway yet, but I've got a sinking feeling that won't be the case for long.\n-\nI'd like nothing better that to tell the gang to pack it in and high tail it out of here, but I don't see us slipping past all those barbarians unnoticed. Guess we'll be waiting things out sooner than anticipated.\n-\nDamn birds! The crows have taken roost in our ruins and it's been non-stop cawing ever since. The way it carried through the caverns you'd think they were ten times their size.\nGods, make it stop!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/northern-heartlands-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/northern-heartlands-journal", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Northern Heartlands Journal", "text": "Entry 55\n\tTomorrow looks to be a perfect day to climb the cliff behind the house, bask in the sun, and read a good book."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/northglen-farm-opportunities": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/northglen-farm-opportunities", "description": "A flyer advertising job opportunities on a farm", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Northglen Farm Opportunities", "text": "SITUATIONS VACANT\nMiller's Assistant: Duties to include mill operation grinding grain into meal and flour, both wheat and corn; meticulous maintenance of mechanism and facility, including lubrication with beetle-oil; and daily offerings to Saint Vitache, Patron of Millers, Scissor-Grinders, and Bathhouse Attendants. The qualified applicant will demonstrate a working knowledge of millwork and possession of all ten fingers.\nCrow and Raven Suppressor: Duties to include frightening, chasing, killing, and in any other way ridding Northglen of these persistent pests. Pay to be in bounties, on a per-beak basis. The qualified applicant will come to the interview with tangible examples of his or her experience in corvid extermination.\nFarm Carpenter: Duties consist of construction and repair of wooden items, including but not limited to furniture, fences, houses, agricultural structures, simple vehicles, and farm implements. The qualified applicant will bring his or her own tools and demonstrate knowledge of their use. Applicants with good references will receive the preference.\nLettuce-Hand: Duties to include planting, tending, picking, and cleaning lettuce. The qualified applicant will demonstrate the ability to bend over, pluck, and stand again without falling over. No references necessary.\nPumpkin-Monger: Duties to include selection of ripe melons, cart-loading, cart-driving, cart-unloading, and staffing of Northglen Farm Produce Stall in Evermore on market day. The qualified applicant will demonstrate a passing familiarity with pumpkin cultivation, and superior spherical stacking skills.\nApply in person to Marge Gaercroft at Northglen Farm."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/northpoint-assessment": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/northpoint-assessment", "description": "Report on the city of Northpoint and persons of interest", "author": "Chancellor Regina Troivois, the Department of Interior Affairs", "title": "Northpoint, An Assessment ", "text": "This report on the city of Northpoint and its primary noble house, Dorell, was ordered directly by His Majesty High King Emeric and has been painstakingly researched. I, Chancellor Regina Troivois of the Department of Interior Affairs, personally oversaw this effort and verify the accuracy of the information contained herein.\nFirst, some history for context. Captain Yric Flowdys, an enterprising Breton trader operating the summer route of shipping from Daggerfall to Solitude, established Northpoint during the 9th century of the First Era. Though the shores here do not form an ideal harbor, Yric knew the deep waters approaching them could easily accommodate large vessels, and that the location along the trade route made for a perfect way station where traders could resupply, make repairs, or shelter through storms. He constructed the first docks at Northpoint, the best anchorage, and named the port after it.\nSoon after building the docks, Captain Flowdys oversaw the addition of a small walled keep and warehouse in the heights of Dore Elard, to the east of the growing port-of-call. Before long, the town bustled with activity, and Flowdys, realizing the success of his venture, took the name of the mountain as his new family name. He and his relatives continued to grow their maritime endeavors, as well as develop and invest in the port and surrounding lands, eventually leasing plots to farmers and establishing new sources of income.\nFor most of the First Era, the family exemplified the type of active, entrepreneurial merchant princes that brought great prosperity to High Rock. In 1E 1029, the Dorells were granted a barony when the Empress Hestra joined High Rock to the First Empire. The fortunes of House Dorell, and of Northpoint, have waxed and waned with the flow of the northwest coastal trade ever since.\nIn the 24th century the Dorells, having continued their rise in wealth and power, held the monarchy of Shornhelm for several generations. This distinction has colored the family's image of itself through subsequent centuries, and the Dorells regard themselves among Rivenspire's true elite even today. It also gave them a taste for political intrigue which, combined with their already-ambitious spirit, has made the house impossible to ignore. The current Baron of the House, Alard, wields significant power as one of the triumvirate of nobles who have ruled Rivenspire since the fall of Ranser. Along with the leaders of House Montclair and House Tamrith, Alard Dorell has pledged himself to the High King and hopes to one day earn the right to rule as the sole King of Shornhelm.\nIn recent times, House Dorell excels as a maritime and mercantile power. They maintain a mansion in Shornhelm for the Baron and Baroness, keeping the house closely involved in the happenings of the court. The estate in Northpoint is left to other relatives, though oversight of its lands remains integral to the family's operations. At present the young but very capable Lord Ellic, son of Baron Alard, manages the family's holdings around Northpoint when his father is at court and serving on the triumverate.\nThe Dorells are militaristic and politically savvy, and their mercantile traditions have forged a level of wealth rarely seen in Rivenspire circles. House Dorell has generated extensive ties with merchants in Solitude. This, they are quick to point out, has nothing to do with the sword rattling of politics. To Dorell, this is simply good business.\nFrom my study of the three noble houses of Rivenspire that form the ruling triumvirate, I recommend that you place little trust in House Montclair, and to be cautious in any interaction with them\u2014their true loyalties are only to their own aspirations. House Dorell, on the other hand, while also ambitious, seems to possess a degree of honor and a love of country rarely exhibited by the Montclairs (who seem to be overly proud of their heritage to Ranser). House Tamrith, meanwhile, has always been loyal and a friend to Wayrest. However, the Countess is relatively new to her role as house leader and may not be ready to assume any greater responsibilities"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nostrums-notes": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nostrums-notes", "description": "Notes from a plague researcher", "author": "Nostrum Breva", "title": "Nostrum's Notes", "text": "The first of the afflicted began arriving almost immediately after the quarantine was set up. I don't know how we spread the word so quickly, but people seem to be coming from all over the region for the promised cure.\n\tI now have the opportunity to observe the afflicted through all stages of the Llodos plague. It begins with a mild fever and random bodily aches and pains. Oddly, afflicted suffering this stage of the plague have a terrible hunger that cannot seem to be satisfied. This stage of the plague lasts anywhere from three to seven days.\nThe second stage of the plague is marked by a high fever, overall weakness, and the appearance of open sores upon the body. Pain grips the afflicted, making most normal activities impossible to perform. During this stage of the plague, the afflicted's appetite disappears, and it is a struggle to make them eat and drink sufficient amounts of food and water to maintain their body weight. This stage of the plague can range from seven to fourteen days. If the afflicted doesn't throw off the plague during this period, chances of survival drop to almost zero.\nThe third stage of the plague marks the beginning of the end for the afflicted. The open sores now cover most of the afflicted's body, which burns with such heat that the afflicted becomes delirious and subject to hallucinations. The afflicted refuses to eat or drink, and any kind of movement results in agony. This stage of the plague is relatively short, lasting from one day in extreme cases to as long as five days for those unfortunate enough to hang on.\nThe final stage of the Llodos plague is perhaps the most fascinating. Of course, many of the afflicted simply die when the plague has run its course. And the death is extremely painful and heartbreaking to watch. But an increasing number of afflicted don't find a natural end. These unfortunates transform into seemingly undead creatures that the common folk call \"plague husks.\" These creatures appear to be mindless engines of violence, intent on destroying all life they encounter.\nCan you imagine an army of such creatures? Priceless!\nAh, the crates of accelerant have arrived! Now we can increase the pace of the affliction. Time to treat my patients.\n\t\u2014Nostrum Breva"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/not-long-now": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/not-long-now", "description": "Out with the lizards!", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Not Long Now", "text": "It was surprisingly easy to infiltrate and replace some of the Pact's key leadership. Soon the Argonians will be in shambles. Our reinforcements will push through and set this swamp aflame."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/not-bad": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/not-bad", "description": "An alternate view on the war", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Not That Bad", "text": "My neighbors disagree with me, but what difference does it make if the town is occupied? What protection has anyone else afforded us? Just over the hills to the northeast, war rages over who gets to sit on a fancy chair, and the rest of us get to suffer.\nWhy do we put up with it? Because we're helpless, that's why. Because we never learned more than that most basic of citizenship requirements, wielding the swords we own but don't know now to use.\nDominion, Covenant, Pact\u2014they're all useless. I just want to live in peace."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/notable-transactions": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/notable-transactions", "description": "Some less than scrupulous transactions", "author": "Rinfir-Jo", "title": "Notable Transactions", "text": "Krin,\nI've outlined a few of the most notable transactions from the last few weeks. Anything I haven't noted here is pretty much moving along as we'd hope.\nAnd as a reminder, make sure to tell your cousin about her kid. Why she thought he could make it running with you, I'll never know. I sent what was left of him to Thizzrini. Trolls are always hungry, you know.\n\u2014 Payments from businesses in Dune and Rawl'kha continue to trickle in. Our new push in Dune has earned lots of coin. I've pulled everyone out of Arenthia. Not sure what to make of the situation there.\n\t\u2014 Hadran sent along two loaves of nectar bread and a bottle of plum brandy. He's late on his payment, but word from our agent is that he's good for it. Suggest letting it go for another week or two.\n\t\u2014 Ishalga is well and truly hooked. Never thought it would be so useful having someone like her on retainer, but she's proven surprisingly informative. Arena's a good place to drink, I guess.\n\t\u2014 Damned eagles shut down one of our operations in Skywatch. Malion's not in a cell yet. But we need to rethink our relationship with that city.\n\t\u2014 We've lost contact with our agent in the Red Sun bandits. I honestly don't know what's happened, but Malabal Tor has some kind of crazy situation developing over there. Suggest we hold tight and see if he reaches out.\nBright moons, boss.\n\t\u2014 Rinfir-jo"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-2": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-2", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Note", "text": "This is a note you found on a body. It's a one page note."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-4": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-4", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Note", "text": "It's the basins! Once per basin, in this exact order: Burn, then bury, then drown."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-about-wood-elf-etiquette": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-about-wood-elf-etiquette", "description": "Remarks on an offensive book", "author": "Iirond", "title": "Note about \"Wood Elf Etiquette\"", "text": "Glardel,\nMy contact in Haven confirmed it. Fifty copies of the long discredited \"Wood Elf Etiquette: An Imperial Perspective\" arrived today. Their destination? The Altmer Embassy. They is what they think of us\u2014flatulent bumpkins who fly into a rage if we see anyone trod upon a flower.\n\u2014Iirond"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-bottle": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-bottle", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Note from a Bottle", "text": "Drawn to the eagle on my bottle, were you?\nPerhaps you appreciate the Eagle, and would help it soar. Perhaps you will meet me and help the Queen's eyes see true. The eagle's eyes watch the main road into this den of iniquity.\nPerhaps I've had too much Gossamer Tawny Port and should stop making obscure metaphors.\n\tAnyway, find me if you can decipher this."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-akash": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-akash", "description": "", "author": "Akash gra-Mal", "title": "Note from Akash", "text": "Our employer wants nine bones from nine different beasts in each altar.\nDo not mix them up. Do not cut corners.\nShe will know if you do, and she will not be happy. And if Oraneth isn't happy, I won't be happy.\n\t\u2014 Akash gra-Mal"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-alasan": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-alasan", "description": "A grim trade agreement", "author": "Alasan", "title": "Note from Alasan", "text": "Magistrate Sulma,\nWe appreciate your offer of gold, but the Withered Hand trades in the currency of corpses. Provide one corpse for every ten gold in your offer, and we will spare the city of Bergama.\nAcquire the corpses by whatever means you prefer, stow them in your basement, and we will periodically pick them up.\nIf this arrangement does not suit you, we will simply harvest corpses in Bergama ourselves.\n\t\u2014 Alasan"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-azhnura": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-azhnura", "description": "", "author": "Proselytizer Azhnura", "title": "Note from Azhnura", "text": "Ushenat,\nI received a report that two of your recent initiates waited a few days and then attempted to escape after they lulled some of the trainers and monitors with their seeming docile behavior. This does not please me. The conversions must be true. Their minds must be truly opened and devoted to Trinimac.\nYour latest thought, pitting two candidates against each other, sounds more promising. I will await your results, but I better like what I hear.\nAzhnura"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-captain-accalia": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-captain-accalia", "description": "", "author": "Captain Accalia", "title": "Note from Captain Accalia", "text": "Engannas,\n\tHere is your share of the loot. You killed more of those filthy priests than any of the others so I am awarding you the Dagger of Mara as your prize. Once the Stonefire Cult has paid me for the Chalice you will receive an additional measure of coin.\n\t\u2014 Captain Accalia"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-captain-dunveril": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-captain-dunveril", "description": "", "author": "Captain Dunveril", "title": "Note from Captain Dunveril", "text": "The grandmaster's son is named \"Sen.\" Find him and take him by force if necessary. Put him in the old Daedric tomb just outside of town. The locals won't enter\u2014they'll be afraid of angering their ancestors.\n\t\u2014 Captain Dunveril"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-ciridor": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-ciridor", "description": "Note about Hircine's will", "author": "Ciridor", "title": "Note from Ciridor", "text": "The written word strengthens our communication. Hircine's will gives us the power to do what we must! See the Huntsman's note at my camp. His will is our will.\n\u2014Ciridor"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-commander-derre": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-commander-derre", "description": "", "author": "Commander Derre", "title": "Note from Commander Derre", "text": "I'm asleep. If you wake me, the camp better be on fire!\n\t\u2014 Commander Derre"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-danni": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-danni", "description": "Thieves conspiring to meet.", "author": "Danni", "title": "Note from Danni", "text": "I heard some interesting news recently, from a contact in Sentinel. I'd like to discuss it with you.\nI think it better if we meet outside of the guild's safehouse for now, as I don't want people speculating on rumors. Besides, I felt like having a relaxing drink in the tavern would be good. Walks keeps telling me I need to learn to relax.\nCome and have a drink with me and we can talk.\nDanni"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-firuin": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-firuin", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Note from Firuin", "text": "I am leaving you, Galithor, for one who appreciates my talents. My skill!\nYou wasted my genius on such trivial things. Chilling drinks. Tricking insects into euphoria so their ichor would not curdle your precious brew!\nI created a colossus for you! Tall as a mammoth and twice as strong. Cold as the empty voids of Oblivion! What use did you put it to? The preserving of meat!\nI have taken the reserves. I will stir in them a flame so bright the very stars will cast shadows, and from that darkness shall I rise like the sun!\nMy only regret is not seeing your face as your world falls out from under you, as mine did that night on Balding Hill!\n\u2014 Firuin\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-gullveig": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-gullveig", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Note from Gullveig", "text": "Thorulf,\nI trust this note finds your dealings in Fullhelm near fruition. My business in Riften is nearly concluded. Anchorite Garmar has no talent for our peculiar arts, but he's capable enough in his own fashion.\nOnce I've settled matters, I'll move to Lost Prospect to complete my ascension. I may call on you afterwards for ... hospitality.\nYours & c.,\nGullveig\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-jahla": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-jahla", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Note from Jahla", "text": "Overseer Basri,\nCourage to you and full-hearted greetings. The preparations are laid for glorious victory. The coast south of Velyn Harbor is nigh unoccupied, fertile ground to set the roots of our raiding parties. It should be no difficulty to conceal our ships among the rocks, or inland among the trees, and take them to the sea for plunder.\nWe have scouted one particular cave, called Barrow Trench, which looks ideal for our purposes.\nHumbly, your loyal servant,\n\tJahla at-Basri"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-jeegren": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-jeegren", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Note from Jeegren", "text": "The cave, my friend, lies north of Kragenmoor. As I have said many times, the fungus there grows to amazing size.\nI know you don't believe me. I know you have called me a \"lying shellback.\" But I tell you, it is true. May the Hist dry my scales if I speak false!\n\u2014 Jeegren"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-kamu": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-kamu", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Note from Kamu", "text": "To any members of the Fighters Guild who find this,\nWe are being pursued by shadow creatures of some sort. They look like mer\u2014possibly Bosmer\u2014but this one can't tell for certain. Something in the forest called to us, requested our aid. It was a voice, apparently coming from the tower behind the walls.\nWe have to find a way in there. Something important is in there.\nIf you find this, meet us in the dark woods. We'll leave clues as to where we are going as we can. We need to get inside that tower. Please, find us!\n\u2014 Sergeant Kamu"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-khezulis-contact": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-khezulis-contact", "description": "", "author": "Quartermaster Oblan", "title": "Note from Khezuli's Contact", "text": "K\u2014\nMy employer's new arrangement makes it harder to meet in public. Get me the base mixture and I'll get you the payment. I hope you haven't forgotten how to combine the ingredients in the mixing mechanism. All you have to remember is keep things orderly.\nJust add each ingredient carefully. The sweet, sticky moon sugar cane, the bitter mangrove juice, and the viscous Hist Sap all combine to produce our product. Once you're finished, meet me on the beach at the location I've marked on the map inside this journal.\nHope that's clear enough. If it's not, you may have to do it over and over again!\n\u2014 O\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-magister-osanne": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-magister-osanne", "description": "Stormfist Clan discovers rare ore in Eastmarch", "author": "Magister Osanne", "title": "Note from Magister Osanne", "text": "Lord Fildgor \u2014\nWe've settled into Lost Knife, as directed. We just need to push these lazy miners to start producing a bit more ore. Probably have to set a few more examples to motivate them. The rotating hostage tactic is effective for keeping them in line with minimum bloodshed, but it doesn't necessarily make them more productive.\nYou may want to send someone here to examine an unusual ore that we found. It has some odd properties, possibly magical in nature. It could prove useful. Or valuable. This is not my field of study, though. Send someone with more of a background in alchemy or metallurgy.\n\u2014 Magister Osanne"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-maryn": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-maryn", "description": "", "author": "Maryn", "title": "Note from Maryn", "text": "Sorry about this, but my arrangement with Adreso is too valuable for you to ruin.\nI'm only sorry I didn't kill that fool before he finished his Black Sacrament.\nNothing personal, just die. If it makes you feel better, it will look like an accident."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-morantor": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-morantor", "description": "Note concerning an expedition to a Dwarven ruin", "author": "Morantor", "title": "Note from Morantor", "text": "Pollonaro,\nI've arranged for your transportation and secured a team to aid you, including the Khajiit who claimed to know the location of Bthzark. The agreement will ensure your safety and that they will follow your commands. Leave the menial tasks to them. Do not share any information they do not need to possess.\nUncover and translate any information that will be of use to us, but your primary task is to retrieve the schematics. If the others have not already found their fate by this time, kill them.\nOnce finished, use the spell I taught you to return to Skyrim. I will await you in the laboratory.\nWe are close. Do not fail.\n\u2014 Morantor"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-no-fingers": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-no-fingers", "description": "", "author": "No-Fingers", "title": "Note from No-Fingers", "text": "Dear Uta-Tei,\nThank you so much for the herbs. Comes-When-Called is doing much better. His fever is gone and he is as sprightly as ever.\nNot a day goes by that I don't think about how much our lives changed since we moved here. I know I was once your protector, but I hope that someday you can see me as more than that. I would love the chance to walk in the forest with you\u2014please, call on me anytime.\n\u2014No-Fingers"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-orlugash": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-orlugash", "description": "One Orc is very angry about perceived blasphemies", "author": "Orlugash", "title": "Note from Orlugash", "text": "Once you've located the missing volume titled The Fall of Trinimac, burn it. It is lies and blasphemy, and such false words cannot be allowed to spread.\n\u2014 Orlugash"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-razum-dar": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-razum-dar", "description": "Bad things happening in Khenarthi's Roost", "author": "Razum-dar", "title": "Note from Razum-dar", "text": "Hello, impatient friend!\nYou left before we could finish our business, but do not be worried. You are fitting right in, yes? In this, we are alike.\nBut alas, I am a busy Khajiit. I have no time to uncover why the dead rise in Tanzelwil. Nor why the Sea Vipers pick through smashed Dominion ships at  South Beacon.\nPerhaps you will know, one day soon. On that day, seek out the fine-looking Khajiiit [sic] by the bridge to  Mathiisel and I'll trade curiosity for coin.\nYour new friend,\n\t\u2014Razum-dar"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-sagabar": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-sagabar", "description": "A criminal correspondence", "author": "Sagabar", "title": "Note from Sagabar", "text": "Leonce,\nThat was a brilliant stroke, getting yourself appointed constable with me as your bailiff. That will give the boys back at camp quite a laugh.\nI'm keeping my room at the inn, but Bulzog is guarding the hostages at the place you suggested. No one will find them there.\nI can't believe how well the plan is coming together.\n\t\u2014Sagabar"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-scout-justal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-scout-justal", "description": "", "author": "Justal", "title": "Note from Scout Justal", "text": "Because some hunting parties can't seem to get their acts together, I'm taking my falcon out, east of the camp, to hunt for some real food. If anyone wants to find me: Don't.\n\u2014 Justal"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-slim-jah": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-slim-jah", "description": "A note about Dominion movements", "author": "Slim-Jah", "title": "Note from Slim-Jah", "text": "Back-Wash,\nTonight I want you to observe the Dominion's movements on the east side of town. Tar-Ei will shadow you, while Neetzara watches the west. We need to know movements, schedules, and any other openings we can find. If we're going to do this, we'll need precision. Mistakes mean more than our own deaths. We cannot let that happen.\n\u2014Slim-Jah"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-theomund": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-theomund", "description": "Note mentioning ancient Nordic barrow", "author": "Theomund", "title": "Note from Theomund", "text": "Lady Laurent,\nWe found the inner sanctum where Malofar keeps the Emerald Chalice, secured by a magical ice barrier. However, we also found ancient Nord runestones of a whale, an eagle, and a snake at altars throughout the caverns. These matched altars before the barrier and we guessed they were the keys to open it.\nWe placed all three runes and the barrier dropped. I created a distraction so that Amberic could get inside. It worked, but my wounds are too great. I hope Amberic finds me before the end, but I am fading fast.\n\u2014 Theomund"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-thulvalds-logging-camp": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-thulvalds-logging-camp", "description": "Note about a possibly haunted forest", "author": "Logging Chief Jafelma", "title": "Note from Thulvald's Logging Camp", "text": "Thulvald,\nThe strange occurrences continue. Items have moved around mysteriously or even disappeared completely in some cases. And now the forest itself seems to have turned against us. Maybe the stories we heard are true. Maybe this part of the forest really is haunted. If you can send someone to help us, preferably someone with experience in fighting strange creatures and investigating unusual events, I'd really appreciate it.\nOr, if you're feeling adventurous, why don't you come and check on the camp yourself? You might find the experience to be illuminating.\n\u2014 Logging Chief Jafelma"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-zidal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-zidal", "description": "", "author": "Zidal", "title": "Note from Zidal", "text": "Our contract is binding, and yes, I do expect you to follow through with the exploration.\nTake your team and head to the Black Vine Ruins by tomorrow, or I'll bring this before the treethane. You don't want to risk that, considering you jilted her son after she'd spent all that gold on things for the feast, do you?\nI didn't think so.\nGet going.\n\u2014 Zidal\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-dead-mans-hand": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-dead-mans-hand", "description": "Note about a dreugh egg thief", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Note in a Dead Man's Hand", "text": "Slick Thomic,\nYou're my man with the lightest foot. Tonight, steal as many dreugh eggs as you can from their nests at the pools, and bring them back to the barracks house in Dreughside."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-bag-vvardenfell-silk": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-bag-vvardenfell-silk", "description": "", "author": "Chanda", "title": "Note in Bag of Vvardenfell Silk", "text": "[Player Race], forgive me for departing before your arrival. Please give Enthis and Turil my best. I've made off with the rest of their silk. Feel free to give these remainders to one or the other with my best.\nYours,\nChanda\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-broken-crate": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-broken-crate", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Note on Broken Crate", "text": "The plan begins! The amount of the concoction contained within isn't viable when diluted in water. To achieve our goals, more of the elixir will be needed. To this end, more crates are on their way.\nStay alert and watch for the next shipment.\n\u2014 M"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-torn-parchment": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-torn-parchment", "description": "One undead's thoughts on freedom", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Note on Torn Parchment", "text": "It's hard for the living to understand just how slowly time passes caged in the dark, starving. I had forgotten the glorious taste of warm blood taken from a scared, writhing body.\nThe Withered Hand did not unearth me on purpose. They simply stumbled upon my earthen tomb. That is of no concern of mine now, this cave is again my home. It will not be long till I am returned to my former glory."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-agolas": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-agolas", "description": "A great lock, a poor score", "author": "Zabani", "title": "Note to Agolas", "text": "Agolas\u2014\nNo idea why they used such a difficult lock to protect this hideous mug. It looks like it's made of pewter. Sentimental value?\nI'll return to camp soon. I can't wait to meet your friends in the Thieves Guild!\n\u2014Z"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-arathel": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-arathel", "description": "", "author": "E", "title": "Note to Arathel", "text": "Arathel,\nI know what you're planning. Trust me, kid\u2014you're playing this all wrong. We need to talk.\nMake your way to the Anchors Aweigh Inn and order a Deathland Ale from the Khajiiti bartender. She's one of ours, so you can trust her. Move quickly, all right? I can't help you if you're dead.\nE"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-arida": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-arida", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Note to Arida", "text": "Arida,\nIt looks like we're going to evacuate. Whatever that thing is in the sky, it's not something we can fight with swords and arrows. Best to retreat and take as many citizens out with us as we can.\nGuildmaster Kahlosh insists we ward the guildhall. He's a stickler for rules and regulations, that one. We'll set the wards and leave through the secret passage. I just hope he remembers the key or we'll never get back in.\nHe's always hiding it in his house behind the hall.\nI'll see you on the other side of the passage.\n\t\u2014 Vandris"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-barkeep": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-barkeep", "description": "", "author": "Sorion", "title": "Note to Barkeep", "text": "Barkeep,\nI did my part. This place was full last night. They drank, you made your bit, so I expect full payment. I'll be staying with a girl I met. She has a cottage just north of someplace called \"the Gray Mire.\" At first I thought she was talking about your ale.\nDeliver my money to Sweetbreeze Cottage or I'll never play your establishment again.\n\u2014 Sorion the Talented"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-captain-henrisa": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-captain-henrisa", "description": "A plan to stop the Daggerfall Covenant through embarrassment", "author": "Baron Marette", "title": "Note to Captain Henrisa", "text": "Captain,\nAs usual, my son doesn't need to know all the details of your mission. Ethian is dutiful, but he lacks the fortitude to handle situations that require clear and calculated thinking. He knows you plan to delay the fleet's arrival in port. The longer we can keep that she-wolf who married my son from leaping into the arms of those green savages, the better. I want to embarrass Emeric. I want to destroy his dreams of peace and prosperity with those who are beneath us. But if that doesn't work, or if an opportunity presents itself, you have my permission to deal with Lady Sovelle in a manner that solves all of my problems.\nJust don't let my fool of a son know anything about this. It might shatter his fragile constitution.\nDo not fail me, Henrisa.\nBaron Marette"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-cardia": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-cardia", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Note to Cardia", "text": "Dearest Cardia,\nThe wealth I've gained from this last job should allow me to finally leave these bandits. I want to get out of here as soon as we get paid off by the Stonefire Cult. We'll run away together and finally buy that little farm we've always wanted. I'm sorry about losing your mother's ring and I promise to buy you a new one as soon as we get away from here.\nAll my love,\nDarius"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-darius": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-darius", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Note to Darius", "text": "Darius,\nHere is your share of the loot. You performed with bravery and intelligence during our raid on the Temple of Mara, and I want to make certain that all of my lieutenants are amply rewarded.\nThe Phylactery is yours to do with as you please\u2014keep it or sell it.\n\u2014 Captain Accalia"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-emabeth": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-emabeth", "description": "", "author": "Tailas", "title": "Note to Emabeth", "text": "Emabeth,\nI understand you and your brother's concerns, but my decision is final. Our families have kept vigil here for six generations. They were forgotten but they still did their duty, as we must do ours. Not only that, but we're finally profiting from it!\nDon't worry though. I don't intend to return Emeric's gold, or even to release his messenger. I've just spent the gold to secure us a new hideout. I know the perfect place. We'll be long gone when the Lion Guard shows up.\nTailas"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-gilbard": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-gilbard", "description": "One smuggler doesn't deal with necromancers", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Note to Gilbard", "text": "Gilbard,\nDelivered ten more black-robed freaks to Betony, Orcs none the wiser. While your coin is good, these folk aren't.\nIt's plain as the nose on your face they're necromancers. Raising the dead disgusts decent folk, but it excites these buggers. I even heard one boasting about digging up a whole family lost to pox and trotting them around.\nI'm as open-minded as the next smuggler, but I do have standards. I'm done after this next batch. I don't care how good the gold is. These crazies would as soon stick a dagger in your belly as look at you.\nGet in touch with Peloquin out of Aldcroft if you want more of them run in. He takes any sort, even these.\nStay safe, my friend.\n\u2014 Ferrand"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-graguz": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-graguz", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Note to Graguz", "text": "Graguz,\nI appreciate your enthusiasm for converting potential candidates, but it has come to my attention that the survival rate of your converts is increasingly low. Perhaps a little more patience and a little less \"\"personal application\" might be more conducive to actually increasing our ranks instead of just thinning the general population.\nBe more careful. Or else.\nAzhnura"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/not-graguz": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/not-graguz", "description": "", "author": "Proselytizer Azhnura", "title": "Note to Graguz", "text": "Graguz I appreciate your enthusiasm for converting potential candidates. But it has come to my attention that the survival rate of your converts is starting to reach rather high numbers. Perhaps a little more patience and less \"personal application\" might be more conducive to actually increasing our ranks instead of thinning the general population. Be more careful. A.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-king-jorunn": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-king-jorunn", "description": "A note factoring into the Eastmarch main quest", "author": "Jarl Ivannar", "title": "Note to King Jorunn", "text": "My Dear Friend and King, Jorunn,\nThe room is ready, as you requested. In case there is trouble, you and the ambassadors will be safe inside. I must explain the workings of the door, however. A special key is required to open it. There's a reason it's my safe room, after all.\nA key hidden within the manor permits access to the room. The text below\u2014a passage from our favorite childhood story, The King's Stand\u2014provides all the clues you need to find the key.\nYou should understand the meaning of the text. Now don't laugh at my precautions! You're the one who demanded security and secrecy for your war council, my old friend.\n\u2014 Jarl Ivannar\n\"And as the great king stood tall, his dark raven upon his shoulder, he raised the war horn to his lips and blew. The sound echoed throughout the valley. His troops cheered and let loose a rally cry. He watched them surge forward, but it was the last sight he ever saw. He dropped to his knees, a dagger jutting from his back.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-lt-stenric": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-lt-stenric", "description": "Note to an antsy Lieutenant", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Note to Lt. Stenric", "text": "Chin up, Lieutenant Stenric. I know it's been a long and hard few months, but your vigilance will pay off. Once the invasion begins, we will be able to charge down the mountains and take the enemy completely by surprise. You will be a part of history. And all you need do is hold out a bit longer. Glory is within your reach."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-lucien": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-lucien", "description": "Warning about the Red Rooks", "author": "Demitrii", "title": "Note to Lucien", "text": "Lucien,\nI once heard that an abandoned tower used to stand outside Daggerfall, but I never imagined that it still existed. The Red Rooks have been seen searching the area, which leads me to believe that something is there. If it is a fort, think of the treasures that might still be hidden inside!\nIf you decide to check it out, though, be very careful. The Red Rooks always send their most dangerous members on those sorts of exploration missions.\n\u2014 Demitrii"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-marianas": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-marianas", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Note to Marianas", "text": "Dearest Marianas,\nI plan to return to you soon. The operation in Claw's Strike is running well after the initial few hiccups.\nThere are prettier Khajiit than Fishbreath, with nicer attitudes, I guess. And he does have an awful angry streak, always threatening to feed the others to his senche-lions.\nBut he's fair and he pays well. In a few months I think I will have made enough to get out of this work and set us up for life.\n[The rest of the note is colored with flecks of dried blood and looks as if it's been chewed. It seems it was never sent.]"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-menthery": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-menthery", "description": "Note about a Dark Anchor dropping near the city", "author": "Landlin", "title": "Note to Menthery", "text": "Menthery,\nI don't think there's much time. People are fleeing the city, and you should, too. I spoke with one of the mages and she said that thing in the sky is of Daedric origin. The earth tremors it's causing are only the beginning. I don't plan on sticking around to learn more about it and I doubt help will make it here in time. Assuming anyone else even knows what's happening here.\nAndris told me that the Fighters Guild has secret ways in and out of the city. They've been getting people out, waiving their usual fee. He says they'll be barricading their hall soon, some warding magic they use. Wouldn't tell me more, only urged me to either get out of the city or join him.\nI hope he'll be safe within, but frankly, I'll feel safer far away from this place. I have a cousin in Skingrad. Look for me there. I wouldn't linger long. The skies grow darker with every passing moment.\n\u2014 Landlin"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-nicolas": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-nicolas", "description": "Worthless but interesting artifacts", "author": "Zeira", "title": "Note to Nicolas", "text": "Guildmaster,\nI know you don't think it's important to improve the Guild's reputation throughout Tamriel, but I disagree. Already, we have crafters, innkeepers, merchants, and even entertainers paying us for protection and accommodation. I believe we need to expand our influence if the Thieves Guild is ever going to grow. I know it isn't up to me, but I've already compiled a list of some valuable objects we could acquire to attract just the right amount of attention.\nGive the word and I'll get started.\n-Zeira\nPrince Hubalajad's Trash Urn: This is a genuine funerary urn and I've seen it in Abah's Landing! Some idiot is using it for a flower-pot. To be honest, we'd probably win just as much praise from the Prince's descendents for stealing it as we would fame for displaying it here.\nHarp of Fiirgarion the Bard: Don't forget, nearly 6% of all indirect collections and 22% of our actionable tips came from members of Tamriel's entertainment community. I can't imagine they like the Mages Guild in Malabal Tor holding onto one of their most famous bardic heroes' instruments for \"research purposes.\" We'd send a duel message if we brought the Harp back to the safehouse.\nDivad Hunding's Drinking Bowl: I don't have any high-minded reason for stealing this from an in in Alik'r Desert, I admit. People probably forget Hunding used to drink the blood of his enemies out of this thing, or they wouldn't be so quick to want to use it. Call it a public service.\nHiradirge Brass Demon Bottles: Call this one a recovery job. Just wandering around the ruins of Hiradirge makes my skin crawl, but the place is in our back yard. It doesn't sit right with me that the famed Demon Bottles are sitting in some inn in Bangkorai. Let's go get them!\nKing Dumac's Royal Streamers: Wasn't it Dumac who led the dwarven war on thieves? Rumor has it there were more one-handed men and women during his reign than stolen purses. Be a shame to let the people of Mournhold look up at those banners every day and think some dead king got the better of us."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-nurese": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-nurese", "description": "Note to a lover", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Note to Nurese", "text": "I know how to save us, my love. Meet me at the ruins we spoke of a fortnight ago. Open the door using the method I taught you. Bring Visanne. Once inside, we will be safe.\n\t\u2014 R"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-parsifal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-parsifal", "description": "", "author": "Master Davynu", "title": "Note to Parsifal", "text": "Dearest Parsifal,\nGiven that Iryan has gone missing, I've left you in charge of safeguarding the house. As you know, I hate the idea of strangers tramping around my home, muddying the floors and soiling my instruments. Please take the proper precautions to keep out the riff raff. I'm trusting you. Don't let me down.\nMaster Davynu"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-pellus": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-pellus", "description": "Note between raiders about missing loot", "author": "Captain Accalia", "title": "Note to Pellus", "text": "Pellus,\nDon't forget to lock the gate. Last time you left it unlocked a number of items went missing. My share of the loot from the Temple of Mara is here. I killed a lot of men to gain this loot and if it goes missing I'm holding you personally responsible.\n\u2014 Captain Accalia"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-rufinus": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-rufinus", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Note to Rufinus", "text": "Rufinus,\nI'm meeting with our new employer in a fortnight to hear his deal. If it's better than the Khajiit's, we'll dissolve our relations there. No loss.\nLook for my next letter soon."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-selias": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-selias", "description": "", "author": "Tervur", "title": "Note to Selias", "text": "Selias,\nWe did it! The old man is dead and I have it! Meet me near the Netch Tree and I will pay you what I owe. Make sure you aren't followed, I hear Nervyna has been sniffing around.\n\u2014 Tervur"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-sir-quatrius": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-sir-quatrius", "description": "Requests will be attended to", "author": "D. at-Nimr", "title": "Note to Sir Quatrius", "text": "Sir Quatrius,\nI've received your requests, and will put them in as fast as I am able. We will spare no expense, I assure you. As for your concerns about the rebels, I've alerted your men to several people of import. I hope this assuages your worries.\n\u2014 D. at-Nimr"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-tajirri": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-tajirri", "description": "", "author": "R", "title": "Note to Tajirri", "text": "Tajirri,\nBlue serpent slithers next to the woods\nFour pointed paint shows the goods\nThey do not glitter, but mark the way\nThey're prepared to leave town today\nR"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-throne-keeper-farvad": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-throne-keeper-farvad", "description": "A note about a desecrated mausoleum", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Note to Throne Keeper Farvad", "text": "Farvad,\nYesterday I happened to pass by the mausoleum of King Ra Boshek and decided to stop by, as I've always admired the Statues of Ward and Warning that guard its entrance. I was shocked to find the crypt in a state of abject negligence. Sand choked the doorway, prayer wheels were faded or missing, and someone had scrawled \"Yazhmeena is Indecorous!\" on the lintel.\nThis is entirely unacceptable. Ra Boshek's crypt is in your quadrant of the necropolis, and I must hold you responsible for this malfeasance. I am well aware that, since that incident with the drunken scholar (may Satakal smite him), the remains of Ra Boshek are no longer in residence in his mausoleum. This is no excuse: the re-consecration of His Majesty's remains\u2014what the Ash'abah left of him, anyway\u2014is nearly complete, and his Rite of Re-Interment is to take place at Mid Year. I expect to see his mausoleum restored to pristine condition by Loredas at the latest, or you won't be spending any Fredas nights in Bergama for the foreseeable future.\n\u2014 Priestess Yazhmeena, High Throne Keeper"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-ulgana": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-ulgana", "description": "A grisly note about torture", "author": "The Architect", "title": "Note to Ulguna", "text": "Ulguna Soul-Reaver,\nDrain Gasteau, harvest his essence but leave him alive. I want his torment to be as endless as Oblivion itself. I want him to know the true fruits of his labors.\n\u2014 The Architect"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-vanus": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-vanus", "description": "A mysterious letter from an old friend", "author": "M", "title": "Note to Vanus", "text": "Vanus,\nThese recent visions have attracted unwanted attention. First they surrounded my dwelling, then they tracked me to this place I assumed was safe. I should never have come here.\nRemember the messages I sent you in the past, always rife with elements of surprise? Our talks were like a ritual to me. I hope you find them in the proper order.\nM"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-written-blood": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-written-blood", "description": "A dark hunger grows", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Note Written in Blood", "text": "More of those fools from the Withered Hand approached me today.They entreat me for assistance despite the number of their emissaries I have feasted upon. The easy prey is nice, but I begin to miss the rush of the hunt.\nI feel that enough of my power has returned to me that soon I may stray from this cave in search of an unsuspecting meal."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/notes-bewan": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/notes-bewan", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Notes on Bewan", "text": "Just southwest of Dawnbreak, I've found the perfect place. An old Elven ruin open to the sea. We can run small boats right into the place, and smuggle the arcana off the island.\nDon't even talk about this near the Archmage. He'll take the coin right out of our fingers."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/notes-crow-sightings": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/notes-crow-sightings", "description": "Mysterious birds are mysterious", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Notes on Crow Sightings", "text": "More droppings on my head today. They have gotten quite skilled with their aim. The birds have latched onto me as a target of sorts, following and harassing me in the streets. Always watching and listening.\nI try to remind my team to watch their tongue and speak cautiously when the little beasts are present. Its become somewhat of a joke amongst the acolytes, but I wish they would take these creatures seriously. There is something far more dangerous at work here than talking birds."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/notes-elven-architecture": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/notes-elven-architecture", "description": "Notes on Altmeri building design", "author": "Gastinus Florus, Masons' Guild Historian", "title": "Notes on Elven Architecture", "text": "Soaring and graceful, or static and repetitive: High Elf architecture divides Imperial critics much like a painted cow at a Reachmen feast. Their curved gables and strong, pointed steeples emphasize height, with ceilings a giant would have trouble scraping his head on and rooftops stretching proudly up toward the firmament. Their structures provide a visual echo to the \"High Elves'\" appearance, as they try to contrast their structures with the abodes of other races.\nThe more perceptive of historians (such as Cantaber Congonius of Skingrad) have discerned clear similarities when comparing settlements of the Altmeri and Ayleid, unmistakably because they share the same ancestors. Where the Ayleids departed Summerset Isle, the Altmer remained; yet their structures share many common elements. One only need walk the ruins near Bravil, then compare paintings of Skywatch for corroboration. Subtle changes are less obvious: while the Altmer are snobbish, they never sank to Ayleid levels of perniciousness, and the more refined buildings of Auridon reflect this.\nSuch structural designs stem from ancient roots, using methods tried and tested, but not to the point of becoming obsolete. The Altmer seek refinement rather than innovation, and they are conceitedly resistant to large-scale changes but are content to tinker. The results reveal highly sophisticated precision, harmony, and the selection and repetition of orthodox compositions."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/notes-klathzgars-schematics": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/notes-klathzgars-schematics", "description": "", "author": "Pelorrah", "title": "Notes on Klathzgar's Schematics", "text": "Translating everything in this ancient Dwemer workbook would take a lifetime, but after scrutinizing each page, I have discovered some tantalizing clues. It seems Klathzgar was building a very special centurion as a gift, or something similar. Of greatest interest is the name \"Uurthehnchenthyalft,\" which would roughly translate to \"Urenenya.\" This means I have definitely come to the right place!\nDistressingly, however, the brazen automatons of Klathzgar's workshop, which were initially quiescent, have begun to twitch and quiver. Some of their crystalline studs are glowing as well, and their armatures occasionally emit puffs of steam. If I were not an Altmer of proud and impeccable lineage, I would admit to some anxiety."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/notes-orichalcum": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/notes-orichalcum", "description": "The peculiarities of mining and working with Orichalcum", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Notes on Orichalcum", "text": "Orichalcum is, to my mind, the most fascinating mineral in all of Tamriel. I think the Orc's fondness for it makes a great deal of sense\u2014after all, they both have a lot in common. Orichalcum is green, exceptionally rigid, stronger than steel, and extremely temperamental. Just like most Orcs!\nMost miners, when they discover Orichalcum veins, see them as a welcome sight. Excavations tend to be less onerous given that Orichalcum is often found in brittle shale.\u00a0 The deposits also tend to be free of gangue, making ore dressing unnecessary. The real challenges with the mineral can be found in the smelting process.\nOrichalcum is notoriously difficult to smelt. A consistent low heat must be maintained to prevent the metal from becoming brittle and cracking. Iron is often introduced to act as a binding, but most of the Orcish smiths I spoke to dismissed the idea as evidence of laziness or lack of skill. According to the famed smith Gurzbog gra-Gulog, pure Orichalcum is far lighter and stronger than its iron-alloyed alternative. After inspecting both metals, I'm inclined to agree. Both were remarkably heavy, but the disparity in weight was not insignificant. The Orcs' reliance on massive plate armor makes any difference in weight important.\nOrichalcum weapons retain their sharpness far longer than most weapons made with conventional metals, and they are remarkably resistant to rust and chipping. The unique color is also noteworthy\u2014not as gaudy as High Elven glass and not as drab as iron or steel.\nI am eager to speak with more smiths here in Orsinium. I know that I have much more to learn!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/notes-razak": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/notes-razak", "description": "A scholar searches for a Dwemer automaton", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Notes on Razak", "text": "Razak was beyond brilliant. If the historians back in Cyrodiil are to be believed, Razak was on the verge of his greatest creation before his death: a truly autonomous construct, able to operate without a control rod and outside the bounds of Dwemer cities. If we could harness, find, and replicate this device, the Imperial war machine would be unstoppable.\nThat is, if we could get in his damned vault. It's locked shut, and resists every effort to open it, conventional or magical. The door has three keyholes, each with an alchemical symbol\u2014or something like it\u2014above it. I've ordered my men to search for the keys, but they're soldiers, not archaeologists. We've found nothing.\nStill, we're close! One door stands between us and an army that never sleeps. Never stops."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/notes-shornhelms-cisterns": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/notes-shornhelms-cisterns", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Notes on Shornhelm's Cisterns", "text": "Shornhelm's substructure includes many interconnected cisterns, a honeycomb of pocketed caches which is connected to every potable well within the city.\nMany of them leak into each other as a consequence of age and shoddy craftsmanship, but only one distributes water on a grander scale! This cistern is referred to as the master source, as it allows flow from an underground river directly into every smaller cistern in the city.\n- To open the distribution channels you must first open both sluice gates, then turn the winch to start the external water flow.\n- To clear the cistern before distribution of any residual water, close both sluice gates and then turn the winch. This will flush all water from the system in a matter of days!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/notes-dreugh": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/notes-dreugh", "description": "Some notes on Dreugh which may be inaccurate", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Notes on the Dreugh", "text": "Sorry if these notes are a little disorganized, professor. I didn't want to trim anything out that you might find useful.\n\u2014 Two distinct species: land dreugh and water dreugh.\n\t\u2014 Both were once common throughout Vvardenfell, Ebonheart, and the surrounding waters. They've been driven out over the last few centuries and only exist now in isolated pockets.\n\t\u2014 Some accounts assert there are two varieties of land dreugh, while others maintain these are but the male and female versions of one kind of creature.\n\t\u2014 Legends tell of \"civilized\" land dreugh colonies which supposedly raised herds of mudcrabs as food stock.\n\t\u2014 These colonies were also purported to have built stone cairn houses and structures.\n\t\u2014 No evidence of such advanced dreugh behavior exists today.\n\t\u2014 Dreugh are omnivores and have been witnessed consuming mer flesh.\n\t\u2014 Dreugh are capable of channeling some form of shock energy through their bodies. Most scholars agree this is a natural adaptation and not magical in nature.\n\t\u2014 The land dreugh carapace is naturally sturdy and can deflect most attacks from common weapons.\n\t\u2014 No known language or communication abilities.\n\t\u2014 Nesting habits are not well-documented, but we do know the land dreugh encase their egg broods in mud. Nothing is known about water dreugh nesting or egg-laying behavior.\n\t\u2014 Some fisherfolk are known to gather land dreugh eggs from the creatures' mud-nests, though it is obviously a rather dangerous occupation.\nIf this is enough information, I'll begin the netch research tomorrow."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/notes-mortuum-vivicus": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/notes-mortuum-vivicus", "description": "Details of Molag Bal's plot surrounding the Mortuum Vivicus", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Notes on the Mortuum Vivicus", "text": "Since the Dark Master's plot was revealed to me, I have attempted to learn more of this weapon he holds so dear. According to historical records, the Mortuum Vivicus was a gift from our Lord and Master to the unworthy king of a long-forgotten city.\nThose unworthy servants stood on the verge of greatness! To their great loss and eternal shame, the fools were unable to accomplish the simple tasks our Master set before them, and he withdrew the Vivicus from Tamriel. It was lost to the Faithful.\nIf the Master's plan comes to fruition\u2014if enough souls can be gathered to his side\u2014the servants of the Lord of Lies would be more powerful than any mere king or queen. Truly, Tamriel would burn in the Master's fire!\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/notes-order-skeevera": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/notes-order-skeevera", "description": "Research on these rodent creatures", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Notes on the Order Skeevera", "text": "A Student's Journal\n14 First Seed\n\tAs I approach the end of my studies at the University, I am setting out to research the native wildlife in the surrounding lands. I have decided to focus mainly on the taxonomic order Skeevera, a much neglected area of study. It is also a far safer endeavor than more popular subjects such as giant insects or trolls. By avoiding such risks, I will be able to travel farther at less expense, eliminating the need for hired mercenaries.\n16 First Seed\n\tMy journey officially began today. As I made my way to the city walls, I took the opportunity to observe many of the rats that infest the sewers and trash heaps. Often overlooked in daily life, they really are quite a presence in the city. Living amongst and feeding on our waste, the common rat is quite at home in even the most inhospitable climates. Disease often follows it closely, making the rat one of the scourges of any major settlement.\n21 First Seed\n\tImmediately outside the city limits I began to see a wider variety of wildlife. The most common specimen of Skeevera found outside of a town is the rabbit. The rabbit commonly inhabits meadows and forests. It hides from its many predators in underground warrens. One may occasionally see a rabbit as a pet, but it is far more common to find one in a pie or a stew.\nToday is Hogithum, a fact I had forgotten until I almost stumbled upon two Dunmeri priests performing their annual ritual in the forest. I felt it wiser to avoid them, and quietly slipped away before I was noticed.\n7 Rain's Hand\n\tIt has been raining for two weeks now. Impossible to stay dry. I have been able to keep a fire burning only because of my rudimentary magic lessons at the University. The downpour has been too heavy to observe any wildlife. Even the wolves are hiding.\nAs interesting as the smaller creatures are, I long for something more \u2026 exciting. When the rain finally lets up I may choose to continue my studies elsewhere.\n12 Rain's Hand\n\tFinally, a break in the clouds!\n14 Rain's Hand\n\tI have located a wild skeever nest and have begun my observations. Like their rat cousins, skeevers often carry disease. However, the skeever is a major food source for many larger predators. Giant spiders will always have a few hanging in their webs. It is not uncommon to even find a skeever cooking over a camp fire.\nTomorrow I will attempt to capture a skeever for closer observation and dissection. One skeever should give me no trouble.\n15 Rain's Hand\n\tToday I attempted to catch one of the skeevers. The nest of creatures caught my scent before I got close enough to grab one. I got away but these bite wounds look like they might be getting infected. Perhaps traveling alone was not the wisest of decisions."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/notes-vault-door": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/notes-vault-door", "description": "A Dwemer inscription showing a creation myth", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Notes on the Vault Door", "text": "The door to Razak's vault is one of the most impressive feats of Dwemer engineering I've seen. It resists every unlock spell I know, and shrugs off even the strongest Destruction spells.\nPerhaps the most fascinating part of the door is the series of pictograms etched into the door itself. They seem to form a narrative. And if my admittedly limited knowledge of the language serves me, it's the classic Elven cosmogony:\nFirst there was Aurbis, the formless chaos from which the universe was formed. Then Lorkhan convinced the Aedra to sacrifice themselves to create the world, Mundus. Then finally, at the birth of the world, Magnus opened a hole to Aetherius, creating the sun and letting magic flow into Nirn.\nThis trinary comes up frequently in Razak texts. Chaos, earth, and magic. Perhaps it's central to his understanding of creation, not just of the world, but of constructs as well?\nI will have to ruminate on this later. For now I'll try my hand at picking the lock. Perhaps I'll have success with the mundane where magic failed."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/notice-honorable-discharge": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/notice-honorable-discharge", "description": "A seaman leaves the navy after a heavy battle", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Notice of Honorable Discharge", "text": "The actions of Captain Usnagikh in opposing a raid by Abecean Pirates should be held in the highest of honors. Standing on the front line he emboldened his men to make a tactically decisive stand. Due to these efforts many civilians were withdrawn to safety and the enemy repelled. This defense was not without cost: Captain Usnagikh lost many of his troops, including two brothers.\nThese efforts traditionally call for a meritorious field promotion; however, Captain Usnagikh has requested to be discharged from service. Taking into consideration Captain Usnagikh years of service and recent displays of valor, the commanding officers have granted Captain Usnagikh his request.\nCaptain Usnagikh is hereby discharged with highest honors."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/notice-all-research-assistants": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/notice-all-research-assistants", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Notice to All Research Assistants", "text": "All remaining flasks of the original toxin must be relocated to the storage chamber in the rear portion of the cave, so as to keep them separate from Master Nerandas' new formula. Please make a full accounting and report any irregularities to your direct superior.\nPride and Prosperity for House Hlaalu."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/notice-authorities": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/notice-authorities", "description": "A notice to anyone laying claim on Reaper's March", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Notice to Authorities", "text": "TO THE AUTHORITIES FROM ANY GOVERNING BODY:\nThe residents and visitors of Hadran's Caravan reject your stifling societal rules as FREE PEOPLE.\nThose who attempt to remove the citizens of this Caravan face DIRE CONSEQUENCES for their illegal and immoral actions.\nReaper's March is a free land for all races and species. We spit upon the cronies of the Mane, the mind-slaves of the so-called gods. We reject the oppressive boot of ANY AND ALL Kings, Queens, Emperors, Empresses, alliances, and authoritarians!\nThis land belongs not to the few, but the many!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/notice-hall-dead": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/notice-hall-dead", "description": "Orkey can't be bothered to protect people", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Notice: Hall of the Dead", "text": "The priest of Orkey is here as part of his sacred duty to the Divines. He is not here to comfort, console, or brighten your day. Should the undead rise from their places of resting, you accept all risk and responsibility to your own safety while inside the hall. The priest is not required to save you from your own idiocy.\n\t- Hjurring"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/notice-new-working-conditions": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/notice-new-working-conditions", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Notice: New Working Conditions", "text": "Reminder to all workers! Break time has been reduced, effective immediately, to ten minutes instead of the prior fifteen minute break periods. This will remain in effect until productivity returns to the levels I specified in last month's directive.\nYou have only yourselves to blame for this change. With the current challenges we face here in Reaper's March it is up to each and every one of us to pull together and work harder to survive. I trust your cooperation with my instructions will be complete and cheerful!\nThank you,\n\tKuna"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/notice-pledge-duties": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/notice-pledge-duties", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Notice: Pledge Duties", "text": "Attention, you drunken louts.\nThe task of remembering who offers the pledges for some of your favored stomping grounds has proven more difficult than the butchery and looting you do there. If you find yourself confused by intoxication or a head wound, the pledge givers and their responsibilities will now be outlined here.\nMaj al-Ragath:\nBanished Cells\nDarkshade Caverns\nElden Hollow\nFungal Grotto\nSpindleclutch\nWayrest Sewers\nGlirion the Redbeard:\nArx Corinium\nBlackheart Haven\nBlessed Crucible\nCity of Ash\nCrypt of Hearts\nDirefrost Keep\nSelene's Web\nTempest Island\nVaults of Madness\nVolenfell\nUrgarlag Chief-bane:\nCradle of Shadows\nImperial City Prison\nRuins of Mazzatun\nWhite-Gold Tower\nBloodroot Forge\nFalkreath Hold\nFang Lair\nScalecaller Peak"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/novice-oscards-notes": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/novice-oscards-notes", "description": "The make up of an invasion force into the Clockwork City", "author": "Novice Oscard", "title": "Novice Oscard's Notes", "text": "Entry 3\nAdjunct Daro was certainly correct about this place being connected to the Evergloam. Shadows and crows and other creatures of the night fill this realm the way sand fills an hourglass!\nEntry 4\nMy initial exploration of the Shadow Cleft suggests it's a secure position from which these vile creatures can launch an invasion of the Clockwork City! I must warn the rest of the Apostles.\nEntry 5\nThese Night Sisters seem to be the leaders of this invasion force and the night terrors and cultists are their shock troops. I've recorded the numbers I've seen so we can better prepare our defenses.\nWhispering Shadows Cultists 12\nNight Terrors 17\nShade Hags 24\nDire Wolves 37"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/noxiphilic-sanguivoria": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/noxiphilic-sanguivoria", "description": "Description of a vampiric disease and advice on how to cope", "author": "Cinna Scholasticus", "title": "Noxiphilic Sanguivoria", "text": "The disease vampirism is not one disease, but many. Throughout the centuries, and for unknown reasons, the afflictions collectively known as vampirism have been transmitted in different ways and taken on different qualities. Herein, I shall try to delineate, to the best of my ability, the qualities of the form of vampirism common to our era, known as Noxiphilic Sanguivoria, so as to better equip the reader to identify this type of vampire.\nFirst, however, I believe a word of warning is in order. This work is in no way intended as a guide to hunting or otherwise confronting a vampire. In all cases, it is advised that you avoid anyone you suspect of vampirism and certainly that you do not try to fight them. Vampires of all varieties possess supernatural strength and will quickly overpower all but the most experienced hunter.\nThe most important thing to remember about sufferers of Noxiphilic Sanguivoria is that, as the name implies, they are not weakened by daylight as in other strains of vampirism, but are, instead, strengthened during the nighttime hours.\nWhy this is the case is poorly understood. One of the more wild theories is that it is the result of some sort of Daedric backroom deal between Hircine and Molag Bal that has given sufferers of Noxiphilic Sanguivoria a werewolf-like love of moonlight.\nBy night, these hunters are possessed of extreme fortitude and a powerful ability to recover from wounds.\nSufferers of Noxiphilic Sanguivoria, interviewed under heavy sedation, of course, have described a dreamlike passage from when they were first bitten and afflicted with the disease. Some of them have described entering a ritual chamber where they were bathed in a pool of black blood. Whether the transformation actually involves such a terrifying ritual, or whether it was merely a hallucination is impossible to discern without firsthand experience.\nIf you are bitten, or believe to have been bitten, by a carrier of Noxiphilic Sanguivoria, do not panic. If you are able to get away from your attacker, see a priest of Arkay immediately. You will not contract full Noxiphilic Sanguivoria without first being exsanguinated by a vampire and then receiving the gift of his or her blood in return"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nursery-rhymes-summerset": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nursery-rhymes-summerset", "description": "", "author": "Cuilidan (editor)", "title": "Nursery Rhymes of Summerset", "text": "Rhymes collected and transcribed by Cuilidan, the Illumination Academy's Professor of Verse.\nThe Heritance Rhyme:\nWhispers and squabbles,\nLook how the crown wobbles,\nThe blind queen tumbles and spins,\nWith cat's claws she scratches,\nBrave traitors she catches,\nThen hangs them all with a grin!\nBoats and Bones:\nTen and fifty lean years, a pocket full of stones,\nCaves and vineyards tainted, packed full of bones,\nCaptains raise your banners and launch a thousand boats,\nSink the slugfolk's islands, stab any Sload that floats!\nSong of Claws and Roots:\nGather sap and sharp teeth,\nWhiskers, claws, and moon wreaths,\nTopal brutes and Elden Roots, with knives and sabers unsheathed,\nCut their leashes quickly, watch them foam and roar,\nFeed them drakes and lions, that's all that they're good for!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nuzavas-anvil": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nuzavas-anvil", "description": "Tells of a special, potentially cursed, Orcish anvil", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Nuzava's Anvil", "text": "One of the most revered metalworkers of the premier clan of metalworker is the ancient smith, Nuzava of Morkul Clanhold. The highly respected forge-wife defined the distinctive style of Morkul's arms and armor.\nHer skills were in such demand that she had a special travel anvil prepared that she could take with her from stronghold to stronghold. The anvil was covered in intricate carvings that many suspected were arcane runes. She laughed at such tales, saying her skills needed no magical enhancements, but the claims continued.\nWhatever the truth, legend indicates that any smith who tried to use Nuzava's anvil would suffer a work-related accident. Hammers broke, metal shattered, and even fingers were smashed by ill-placed blows. Nuzava and the anvil disappeared when she was returning from a long trip abroad. She sent word from the Icy Shore that she'd be home soon, but she never arrived."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/o-blessed-spinners": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/o-blessed-spinners", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "O Blessed Spinners", "text": "O Blessed Spinners,\nMy name is Ulthorn, and I am in need of your wisdom. My love has left me. Life is nothing without her. She did not want to go, but it was fate, they said.\nI do not believe in fate. How can it exist when a single word can change the path of a story? I have prayed for countless days. For anything\u2014for forgetfulness, for release, for a miracle.\nNow I pray to you. Are Gwaering and I doomed to be parted? I would do anything, pay any cost, to be with her again. I would give up a thousand lifetimes to hold her one last time. Please, you must help."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/oath-dishonored-clan": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/oath-dishonored-clan", "description": "Clan warfare among the daedra", "author": "Lyranth", "title": "Oath of a Dishonored Clan", "text": "Resting never again until our purpose be achieved.\n\tEver watchful for an opportunity to repay the wrong.\n\tValkynaz Seris: We shall extract the fee for betrayal.\n\tEven our duty to the Overkyn is transcended by this.\n\tNever again to hear the name Foolkillers Clan: agony.\n\tGenerous will we be to those who aid our purpose:\n\tEnding the false ascendance of the Deathbringer Clan."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/oath-shadows-watch": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/oath-shadows-watch", "description": "Opponents of the Wilderking unite", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Oath of the Shadows Watch", "text": "You are defenders of the Green.\n\tYou are enemies of the Wilderking.\n\tYou are soldiers.\n\tYou serve your commanders and none other.\n\tYou will unite the Wood Elves.\n\tYou will give your life.\n\tYou will destroy the Hollow.\n\tYour name will be remembered forever."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/oath-bound-outlanders-rise-vol-1": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/oath-bound-outlanders-rise-vol-1", "description": "A young child fends of slavers and is taken in by the Redoran", "author": "Hassayd the Red", "title": "Oath-Bound: An Outlander's Rise Vol. 1", "text": "I remember the first test of my sword arm vividly. I was eight and the blade unfamiliar. A dark, barbed thing that I pried from the ashen hand of a dying Dark Elf at my feet as he struggled to keep his eyes open and his fist closed. I did not understand the curse that rattled from his lips as the sword slipped from his grasp. Nearly as long as I was tall, I struggled more to heft that sword than to wrestle it from the slaver who had raised it to my throat moments before.\nHe had been surprised by our resistance. They all were. We were three forgettable souls on a simple barge of sundries. Easy prey for the dozen armed thugs who overtook our tiny ship, or so they thought. My mother and father were not warriors by trade, but they carried with them the sword-arts of our ancestors. A proud tradition I was meant to carry on, though not this early in my youth. Before that day I had only crossed blunt driftwood spars with my parents. Whether it was eagerness to test myself or fear for the lives of my parents that drove me to take up the sword, I found myself undeterred by my unwieldy grip as I leapt into the fray with the immortal confidence of ignorance. Like a log on the tide, I was swept away with the melee, invisible and underfoot.\nFirst blood was drawn by a chop that was more stumble than swing. I brought the ugly Dark Elf blade down on the nearest slaver, struck him squarely in the back, and split his spine like a log. His body went slack in an instant and nearly pulled me overboard as he pitched over the lip of our barge. It felt to me as if time had stopped as the blade came free, wet with the blood of my enemy and glistening like the fang of a great spider, its dark metal robbing the gore of its vivid color. As I pried my gaze from the ghastly weapon, I caught my mother's eye from across the deck. The look she gave me was a mix of pride and remorse. I could have spent an eternity hanging on that moment, but the crash of my victim's corpse into the sea shook me from my grim reverie just in time to realize my attack had not gone unnoticed\nI had thought myself brave, but when faced with a pair of vicious slavers without the benefit of surprise, my resolve crumbled. I clamored over crates and sundries to keep out of reach of their prodding blades, I swatted at them with clumsy sweeps of my sword to their great amusement, and I called out to my parents like a mewling calf. My greatest regret is not that I had been a child who had succumbed to fear, but that I had been fool enough to think I was a warrior. I would not be the one to pay for my impetuousness.\nMy mother and father gave a worthy account of themselves as they fought to reach me. Less than half the slavers who had boarded us still stood by the time my parents succumbed to their wounds and fatigue. My tormentors must have thought this loss had taken the fight out of me, mistaking tears of anger for those of fear. When one of the pair who harried me reached up to grasp my leg, I lashed out with an unexpected ferocity and split her face wide along the bridge of her nose. I bellowed and screamed like an unholy monster, keeping the three remaining slavers at bay with erratic slashes and unpredictable rage.\nThat is how the Redoran soldiers found us, when their patrol arrived to butcher the monsters who robbed me of my peace and innocence. I was so clouded by rage and exhaustion that I could see no difference between the ash-faced slavers and my dusky saviors. The Redoran captain caught my reckless swing in his gauntlet with ease and pulled me to the deck.\n\"Get up, boy,\" he barked without malice or pity. \"Try it again.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/oathbreakers-ouze": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/oathbreakers-ouze", "description": "An ancient graveyard full of forsaken people", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Oathbreakers of Ouze", "text": "The secret of Ouze is now clear. The Bosmer, it appears, did not all accede to the Green Pact. Something happened \u2026 civil war? A disagreement between their gods? It does not matter. One contingent of the Wood Elves lost to the other.\nAs punishment for their refusal to give up their powerful shapeshifting abilities, these Bosmer, called \"Oathbreakers\" by the rest, were subdued and buried in Ouze. We can only hope they were buried alive; the corpses are more likely to be fresh and intact that way. Digging in the tar-pits should render us one of the greatest finds in recent history, putting us ahead of even the great discovery of Stillrise Village in Shadowfen."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/oathbreakers-rest": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/oathbreakers-rest", "description": "A summary of Bosmer who rejected the Green Pact", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Oathbreakers' Rest", "text": "Being divided into two parts, the Bosmer who accepted the Green Pact were blessed by Y'frre and dwelt in the forests\u2014but those who rejected the Pact were cursed. Their ever-changing forms were stripped of life and tossed into the great tar-pits of Ouze, where they sank into eternal slumber.\nThe spirits of Ouze are restless, however, and the Oathbreakers may return one day. They may return to seek vengeance on their brethren, but our eternal hope is that they will eventually accept the Green Pact, returning to Y'frre's favor and the arms of their people."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/oblans-letter": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/oblans-letter", "description": "", "author": "K", "title": "Oblan's Letter", "text": "My dear, lucky friend Oblan,\nYour captain's patriotic foolishness has drawn you the best possible assignment! Imagine, \"scouting\" for the navy around Khenarthi's Roost! You'll hit the sands long before any of those officious marine thugs have time to look around.\nI'm sure you know, most of my supplies come from KR. Since you don't have to pay \"shipping fees\", you old sea-cat, I expect you to cut me a deal next time you're in H. I'll have a new batch waiting for you, so be sure to get me my raw materials.\nBetter keep this short \u2014 I hear you're sailing with the tides. Best of luck and a safe voyage to you!\n\u2014 K"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/observation-note-154-zmajas-capture": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/observation-note-154-zmajas-capture", "description": "Instructions for fighting Z'Maja the Sea-Sload", "author": "Welkynar Galenwe", "title": "Observation Note 154: Z'Maja's Capture", "text": "Z'Maja's capture went far too smoothly. Even given my most optimistic calculations, we shouldn't have been able to subdue her as quickly as we did. The rest of my companions of course see no harm, caught up as they are in our victory. They wave away my fears, as if I were but an annoying gnat.\nHer shadow magics are also an upsetting development. It pains me, but I've never seen or heard of its like. I've theorized that this power sources from the amulet embedded within her chest. A Daedric artifact, perhaps? Yes, the more I study its magical presence, the more I believe this may be the case.\nAs for further analysis, I can do little but speculate. Z'Maja's power, however she came upon it, is as dangerous as it is mysterious. The shadows she controlled seemed to sap the life from all it touched. Many soldiers were lost from that power alone. It was only through Olorime's magic, which holds properties of light, that my companions and I were able to overcome the miasma.\nEven more disturbing was Z'Maja's ability to somehow replicate the warriors who fought her. Whenever a soldier fell in the line of duty, a shadow would arise from their corpse. A dark mimic, it appeared, who would begin to fight on Z'Maja's behalf. If we had not been able to apprehend the Sea Sload, I fear that these shades could have easily turned the tide of battle.\nIf Z'Maja does plot against us, I fear for Cloudrest's safety. I fear for our safety. I must make sure to keep her contained, for if she escapes... I fear we would not survive."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ode-brass-lily": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ode-brass-lily", "description": "A love poem", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Ode to a Brass Lily", "text": "A brass lily nods under gentle showers,\n\tIts filigreed petals polished by nature's caress,\n\tSo too do you blush under a rain of kisses,\n\tYour gentle sighs put its grace to shame."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ode-horker": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ode-horker", "description": "A poem about happy horkers", "author": "Drusk the Would-Be Bard", "title": "Ode to a Horker", "text": "I sit upon a silent dock and look upon a frozen sea\nTo stare at horkers frolicking so fancy free.\nIn water and on ice they scamper\nTheir barks and calls like so much banter.\nI laugh with glee at the large bull, Albakross\nWhose antics remind me of a bucking horse."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ode-torchbug": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ode-torchbug", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Ode to a Torchbug ", "text": "It was a chill, moonless Tirdas night,\n\tWhen on my window did alight,\n\tA humble torchbug all aglow,\n\tWho, passing by, thought to say hello.\nHow do you fare?\" I did ask.\n\tAs in his light, my face did bask.\n\t\"Well and better still,\" said he,\n\t\"Though I had to leave my humble tree.\"\nI thought that was sad and so I said,\n\t\"Where will you now rest your sleepy head?\"\n\tImagined I, that it was shelter he did seek,\n\tBut as a bug, he was asking meek.\n\"I leave tonight for southern shores,\n\tWhere I will winter in due course.\"\n\tThen before I could stammer a reply,\n\tHe was aloft, flying away into the sky.\nSo I pondered to myself alone:\n\tHere I thought he lost his home,\n\tAnd upon my abode, he looked with envy,\n\tBut in the end, the jealous one was me."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ode-watchtower": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ode-watchtower", "description": "A morose poem by a morose poet", "author": "Drusk the Would-Be Bard", "title": "Ode to a Watchtower", "text": "I never thought I'd live to see\nA structure in more sorry shape than me.\nIts tumbled stone and broken crown\nDo nothing to alleviate my deepest frown.\nIt stands forlorn within the wood\nAn unfulfilled promise never made good."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ode-auridon": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ode-auridon", "description": "A song praising one of Summerset's isles", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Ode to Auridon", "text": "Of all the lands in the Summerset Isles,\n\tAuridon, she outshines them all.\n\tWith her marble halls and towering spires,\n\tHer beauty surpass'd them all.\n\tFrom Vulkhel Guard to the First among Holds,\n\tHer strength outstrips them all.\n\tIn shadowed glade and quiet ruin,\n\tHer calm surprises all.\n\tIn steel and ship and flopping fish,\n\tHer coin out-trades them all.\n\tWith beauty and wit and subtle grin,\n\tHer Queen is best of all."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ode-ethrandora": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ode-ethrandora", "description": "Love poetry", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Ode to Ethrandora", "text": "O Ethrandora,\nI do adore ya\nYour tresses, so red\nLook fair on your head\nYour smile is so sweet\nLike the sweetest guar meat\nO Ethrandora,\nMy heart is for ya\nA look from your eyes\nFills me with sighs\nWhen I hear your giggle\nMy heart does a wiggle\nO Ethrandora,\nLet me bask in your aura\nYour Brelan"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ode-my-jade-princess": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ode-my-jade-princess", "description": "An Orcish love poem", "author": "Borasad", "title": "Ode to My Jade Princess", "text": "An Orc Love Poem by Borasad\nMy sweet, my blade, my lady love.\n\tYour pommel fits my hand like an armored glove!\nI promise to never let our attraction dull,\n\tEven when we've crushed his skull!\nOur blade of love need never sharpen,\n\tWhile we cuddle behind the curtain darken!\nWith your keen love ever near,\n\tMy heart never knows the touch of fear!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ode-oinkers": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ode-oinkers", "description": "An amusing poem about pigs", "author": "Littrek", "title": "Ode to Oinkers", "text": "Pink Piggy Friends!\n\tGrunt and squeal and dig.\n\tDo your best today.\n\tFor tomorrow you will be in my tummy.\n\tWhy do you taste so good, Piggy Friends?\n\tHow does Mother's cookpot transform you?\n\tOne day you stink of dirt.\n\tThe next, you smell like the fields of Sovngarde.\n\tNever change, Piggy Friends.\n\tAs sisters change and grow bossy.\n\tAs mothers nag and push.\n\tAs fathers moan and grumble.\n\tRemain like you are.\n\tDelicious."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ode-elden-tree": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ode-elden-tree", "description": "A song about the famous tree", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Ode to the Elden Tree", "text": "Saplings sprout from spring soil,\n\tShapers shape them with great toil,\n\tBut none dared touch the bark of thee,\n\tThe Acorn destined for Elden Tree.\n\tWise the owl sitting on your limb,\n\tSilent the snake winding long and slim,\n\tAround your trunk the fates do dance,\n\tBoth fey and mild take revered stance.\n\tYou shelter us e'er from the storm,\n\tYou defend us from the angry swarm,\n\tWar can't tear your mighty root,\n\tStrength is in your every fruit.\n\tSaplings still sprout 'round your base,\n\tThe shapers work at mighty pace,\n\tAll revere your o'er-arching boughs,\n\tIn Elden Tree, our worries drowse."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ode-founding": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ode-founding", "description": "An epic poem for the citizens of Solitude, performed before the War of Succession", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Ode to the Founding", "text": "[The following transcription stems from the last known performance of Elde of the Wells, who recited this original composition before the Jarl of Solitude on the eve of the hold joining the War of Succession.]\nHARKEN, hale of Haafingar, and hear the homages of our hearth;\nThe sweeping, sky-skimming spine of the city's solitary crescent\nRises from the rigid rock, proud and persisting\nTall against the tolling tides and the trials of interminable time.\nOnce, o honored audience, our houses were humble.\nThe Sea of Ghost's glacial gales, its whipping winds\nForced our forlorn forebearers, fraught and faithful,\nTo shelter under sheer cliffs that shot up from the shore\nAnd pray to Shor for passage through primal plumes of pummeling winter.\nLO, and with the reckoning of Akatosh's revolving hourglass\nOur people prospered, and perched upon the roost-stone\nTheir walls and wells, against the baleful baying of the bitter winds.\nHewing stone with hardened hands, they hefted high towers \u2014\nA Dour donjon, and a temple for those dutiful to the Divines.\nThese foundations, fortress and faith-house, form the fulcrum\nOf our city, Solitude, oft-sung in skaldic odes.\nNOW built, this bastion on the blasted and buffeted bedrock,\nSolitude soared and, surveying its surroundings, seized them;\nWith unrestrained grasp, and unrepentant gaze\nIt harried and hammered the hinterlands into the hold of Haafingar.\nMany mourned, more demurred, but the moments came to murmurs:\nWhen the Jarl bore forth the wending circlet of his silver crown\nUpon which was blazed the wolf, wise and wary \u2014\nA symbol of the city, a solemn sigil of the spirit of Solitude.\nSO take up swords, sworn sons and dauntless daughters,\nAnd rally around the reign of the wolf-crowned king!\nShould our blood be spilled in battle, we can be blessed to know\nThat we shall doff our helms in the hallowed home, Sovngarde,\nHaving slew the serpents strangling our Skyrim.\nNow rest, my cunning kindred, rest and keen-dream\nOf the war that we will win on the morrow's dawn\nAnd the ones that we will win for every morrow due us.\nWE are the children of Solitude\nWE are the children of Skyrim."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ode-warm-waters": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ode-warm-waters", "description": "A sailor laments having to sail the frigid waters of High Rock", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Ode to Warm Waters", "text": "O fair Abecean sea, how do I long for the days in which I swam in thy azure embrace?\n\tBut now I sail the north coast of High Rock, where none but a horker should show his face.\n\tWhere once my eyes beheld beaches of warm white sand, they now only spy cold white ice.\n\tThe frozen gale on deck forces most men below, where we huddle with each other and the mice.\nOnly weeks ago, diving from the deck into the salty bath was a practice to be observed each morn.\n\tBut in this place, a man who did such a thing would wish he had never been born.\n\tIndeed! So cold are these dark currents that the bowels of our boat can keep meat fresh-froze\u2026\n\tBut too numb to cook do our fingers be, and the chill of our shoes does murder our sweet, little toes."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/men-and-mer": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/men-and-mer", "description": "A poem about the races of Tamriel", "author": "Hennabear", "title": "Of Men and Mer", "text": "Sit, dear reader, have a care,\n\tAnd listen to wise Hennabear.\n\tI'll tell you things of Men and Mer,\n\tAnd all of them, you'll find, are fair.\n\tFirst I will of Dunmer speak,\n\tA culture old and quite unique.\n\tDark-skinned Elves of slight physique,\n\tTheir living gods' divine mystique.\n\tNext of Altmer you shall hear,\n\tNoble kin of highest tier.\n\tTheir icy words do not endear,\n\tBut speak no ill or you'll disappear.\n\tThe Redguard is the noble nomad,\n\tIn silks you'll often find them clad.\n\tThey carry sharp blades just in case,\n\tFast and skilled, you'll lose this race.\n\tIn forests Bosmer like to hide,\n\tFrom leaf to leaf like birds they glide.\n\tYou'll know at once when one has lied,\n\tHis lips will move when he's replied.\n\tThe burly Orc, slandered and green,\n\tProne to anger, not very serene.\n\tBelow the roughness one can glean\n\tA definite fondness for meaty cuisine.\n\tKhajiit: a large, smart, noble cat,\n\tSkilled in wordplay and mortal combat.\n\tThieves and pirates to be sure,\n\tBut the furred ones are so much more.\n\tBut now I see you're growing bored,\n\tPerhaps you'd like to hear of Nords?\n\tA people not to be ignored,\n\tForged in winter by axe and sword.\n\tArgonians are lizard men,\n\tWhose swamps contain their den.\n\tAsk a question, then ask again.\n\tWhat thoughts they have are beyond our ken.\n\tI'll finish with fine Breton tales,\n\tThis narrator's racial details.\n\tA people formed from harsh travails,\n\tBut hearty still, we yet prevail.\n\tNow, dear reader, you must swear,\n\tWhen you take these rhymes and share,\n\tTo ever credit Hennabear,\n\tFor if you don't\u2014he'll come! Beware!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dragonfires-fragment": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dragonfires-fragment", "description": "Yet another variation of Trials of Saint Alessia", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Of the Dragonfires (Fragment)", "text": "\u2026And Al-Esh said, \"Though we have overthrown the Wicked Elves, we fear they will afflict us with Oblivion, for ever did they traffic with the Daedra Lords, to our sorrow and misery. Mighty are we in arms, but the Greater Demons are beyond our strength.\"\nBut the Divine Voice spake further, saying, \"This will I do for the mortals of Nirn. As thou art Dragonborn, so must be thy heirs. So long as they keep the Dragonfires ever lit, so long must the Demon Lords keep to their places.\"\nAl-Esh was grateful, yet still troubled. \"How, then, if my line should fail? How will we defend ourselves?\"\nAnd there was a trembling in the world, but the Divine Voice was mild, saying, \"Thy people will find a way. For unlike the Daedra, ye mortals have the creative spark, and may make new things that were not before. Where there is one defense, there may also be\u2026.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/official-missive-holgunn": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/official-missive-holgunn", "description": "A warning about a possible assassin", "author": "Holgunn One-Eye", "title": "Official Missive from Holgunn", "text": "Captain Jardirr,\nBe wary of strange folk skulking about your post. We've received reports of individuals, sometimes Pact members in military uniforms, acting in suspicious fashion. Small, subtle acts seem to be their focus: a bottle moved, a torch lit, a door left unlocked. Be vigilant for even the smallest abnormalities.\nPlease note, this missive is not finding its way to every command. Keep this warning close to your heart. Do not mention these suspicions to officers you do not trust with the weight of your blade.\nKeep your eye out in particular for Argonian assassins operating without adequate supervision. We have reason to believe some members of the Shadowscales have been co-opted.\n\tThe name going around is \"Blackbriar.\" Be vigilant."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ofglogs-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ofglogs-journal", "description": "Ofglog discovers the ability to fly, mistakenly", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Ofglog's Journal", "text": "Entry 357\n\tShakul denies me yet again. She laughed when I told her I will be the most powerful mage in Grahtwood one day. Well, I'll show her just how powerful I've become in my short time at the college. Tomorrow, I will reveal my new leaping spell and sweep her off her feet! They will talk of my feat for years to come and I will win Shakul's heart in a single cast.\nEntry 358\n\tThe day has come! I will cast my spell in front of the entire stronghold. Shakul has promised that I may help her in the forge if my spell impresses her. A little theatrics, a few words, then up to the top of the longhouse! It won't be long now.\nEntry 359\n\tThat didn't quite go as planned. I'm currently moving at a high rate of speed through the air \u2026 well above the highest mountains I can see from this height. I don't recognize any of the terrain. Wait \u2026 I think I'm descending. I hope I can remember that easy-landing spell the master taught me."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ogres-summary": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ogres-summary", "description": "Research on Ogres", "author": "Cirantille", "title": "Ogres: A Summary", "text": "The backwoods of Cyrodiil, and indeed any stretch of rarely traversed common land across Tamriel, may be home to one of Tamriel's basest aberrations, the ogre. Peek into a den of sticks or the shallow cave of a rocky hillock, and you may not meet a troll or a wolf but a small community of these primitive creatures. Often it is best to leave their hunting land fallow, as they tend to shy away from our thresholds and keep other marauders in check. If an ogre is presenting you with some difficulty, you are obliged to contact the nearest town guard. For a nominal fee, a raiding party can easily dispatch such a foe.\nOgres have not the intelligence to argue a point and take a primal enjoyment when mashing den intruders into malformed corpses. They hunt for food and gather necessities, and enjoy life on Nirn no more than that, with the exception of when employing their considerable strength to wrench apart foes or lob large rocks at them. Fortunately, the ogres' ponderous nature enables nimble opponents to avoid such attacks. As for their coloration, Phrastus of Elinhir's speculation that their gray-blue skin camouflages their silhouetted forms against the sky has been convincingly debunked by Lady Cinnabar of Taneth, so we are no closer to solving that riddle: one cannot simply walk up to an ogre and ask."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/oirahs-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/oirahs-journal", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Oiarah's Journal", "text": "I've been posted to Aldcroft. It's nice to have a proper camp, near a proper town. Berouche still makes us drill every damned day, but what can you do?\nI've been speaking to the mages that are sharing our camp. They can be extremely interesting. They know a lot about the history of the area and all kinds of other things.\nFahurr says there's an old mine around here. Khuras, the place is called. It's somewhere west of the swampy fens. He says the place is overrun with creatures or cultists or something\u2014he isn't quite sure. Fahurr's information tends to be incomplete at best. Wish I could check it out. It would be nice to discover something, see a little action, maybe earn a commendation instead of just patrolling Aldcroft again.\nAh well, I can dream about adventure, even if I can't go chasing after cultists and treasure whenever the urge strikes me."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/old-drublog-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/old-drublog-journal", "description": "A tribe of Orcs find a new home", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Old Drublog Journal", "text": "The hunt of the great boar ended in a strange place today, before an abandoned shrine. Our chief senses Mauloch's presence. As we erected our banners, Wood Elves crossed the valley, weapons held out in signs of peace.\nThey welcomed us, and explained that they lived on the opposite hill, but made no claim on this hill. We exchanged some boar ribs for a great deer haunch. Tonight we feast and dedicate this site in honor of Mauloch!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/old-handbill": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/old-handbill", "description": "An old flyer for arena combat", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Old Handbill", "text": "A Gladiatorial Spectacle!\nWatch the Undefeated Champions of Hammerdeath as they take on all comers! See the action before the arena closes for the war effort!\nSpidera\u2014her poison and webs made her victorious in over thirty contests. A wise man places his bets on her before she drags another victim into her lair.\nWild Khran\u2014fresh from the legions of an Orc army, he is merciless, cutting down Man and Elf alike. Only a fool would bet against this seasoned pit fighter.\nIntroducing Fatima the Lovely\u2014a rare Redguard witch, and deadly as a desert asp. Is there a bravo who thinks he can best her?"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/old-nord-drinking-song": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/old-nord-drinking-song", "description": "Mead, mead, it's all you need!", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Old Nord Drinking Song", "text": "I climbed Shearpoint Mountain,\nDrinking my store of mead.\nMy vision got so blurry,\nI couldn't hardly read.\nI found a warm dry cave,\nNever saw a sign or warning.\nCurled up with an old frost troll,\nWhich surprised us both come morning.\nMead, mead, mead, mead!\nIt's all you really need.\nIt's sweet and it's strong,\nSo good it can't be wrong,\nMead, mead, mead, mead!\nGave that troll a bottle,\nShe drank it down right quick.\nShe danced around me happily,\nThen hit me with a stick.\nThe old troll was snoring,\nWhen I woke hours later.\nShe'd drunk up all my mead,\nBut I couldn't really hate her.\nMead, mead, mead, mead!\nIt's all you really need.\nIt's sweet and it's strong,\nSo good it can't be wrong,\nMead, mead, mead, mead!\nIt's all you really need.\nIt's sweet and it's strong,\nSo good it can't be wrong,\nMead, mead, mead!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/old-orc-sayings-shields": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/old-orc-sayings-shields", "description": "Common sense advice about shields and their uses", "author": "Roald Kenway (editor)", "title": "Old Orc Sayings: Shields", "text": "Being a compilation of the oral wisdom of the Orcs, collected here and recorded by Roald Kenway, who did live among the Orcs for six-and-thirty years at the start of the second era.\n1. When you smash your enemy's shield, beware the splinters.\n2. Better a smashed shield than smashed ribs.\n3. Nothing beats a shield for beating mages\u2014except a cudgel.\n4. A shield full of arrows is better than a face full of arrows.\n5. As immovable as a stone fortress, a wall of shields.\n6. An axe is for cutting. A shield is for blocking.\n7. A warrior's sword takes many lives, but his shield saves one.\n8. A broken shield provides poor protection.\n9. Paint your shield with the blood of your enemies.\n10. A strong shield makes an attacker's heart despair.\n11. A shield makes a bad plate and a plate makes a bad shield.\n12. One shield is priceless, but two shields makes you look stupid.\n13. They will fear us when they see our shields.\n14. The shield that is whole in springtime is broken by summer's end.\n15. An Orc warrior has two loves: his sword and his shield.\n16. You are the only shield your clan has.\n17. Many are the cairn stones of those that went into battle without shields.\n18. A wooden shield is better than no shield at all.\n19. If an enemy ducks behind his shield, cut off his leg. If he lowers his shield, cut off his head.\n20. Keep your shield in front of you and Malacath will always be at your side."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/old-snagara-breeding-guide": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/old-snagara-breeding-guide", "description": "Instructions on caring for an especially feisty Echatere", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Old Snagara Breeding Guide", "text": "If you're reading this, I'm probably dead, just like the last ten caretakers. Whoever's next should benefit from what I learned from them, so I'm writing it down.\nYou don't do much. Just make sure she stays in the cage. Every few days, another comes out. I don't know how the bull gets here, but he's very sneaky. One of the healers said that some animals impregnate themselves sometimes. But that sounds really stupid.\nSafety tips:\n1. Don't open the cage to brush her or groom her. She will bite you.\n2. When the baby comes, ask for help. You'll need at least a dozen hands to hold her still while you take it.\n3. Cage the baby quickly. They will run away.\nMost important, whatever you do, don't slaughter a baby near her. The first caretaker did that, and now he's buried nearby with half of her crest buried in his gut.\nStay safe, and good luck. I hope I'm rich, fat, and retired by the time you read this."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/omaren-trial-transcript": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/omaren-trial-transcript", "description": "The final words of an abolitionist sentenced to death", "author": "Nilvyn Omaren", "title": "Omaren Trial Transcript", "text": "The Final Words of Nilvyn Omaren:\nI have, may it please the Tribunal, a few words to say before you render sentence.\nFirst, as in all things, I praise the Tribunal. It is with a pious heart that I stand before the Three. Many here assembled have accused me of heresy, treason, and murder. But I tell you now, everything I have done - everything I have ever done - I have done for the greater glory of the Tribunal.\nWith respect, I must point out the hypocrisy which sends me to my death. Had I taken up the sword in defense of the rich, or the Temple, or my House, the sacrifices I have made would be rightly celebrated. My neck would be draped in dragontongue and ribbon, not left bare, awaiting the axe. But because I acted on behalf of the bound and wretched, I am damned.\nThe scourge of slavery is the defining sin of our people. While the Redguards prize their swords and the Wood Elves prize their trees, we prize our blood-property. We built our Houses on the backs of a proud and mysterious people whose lives we destroy with reckless abandon. We think ourselves better than them because of our true faith and our smooth skin. But I tell you this: there is more goodness in the heart of one Argonian laborer than in all the hearts of all the landed oathmen of Morrowind combined.\nOur Lady of Mercy, Blessed Almalexia, teaches us compassion and charity, but are we not like the gluttonous netches that kill out of greed? Are we not like the child-Seht who makes sport of suffering?\nThe esteemed Inquisitor asked me this under oath: \"Are you not ashamed of what you have done?\" I remained silent at the time, but now I say it freely: I feel no shame at all. I have no regrets. While I lament the death of those overseers, I tell you it was all for the good. One day soon there will come a reckoning. All our manifest sins will swell and consume us. We will deserve it.\nKill me if you wish. If I must forfeit my life in furtherance of justice, I say \"let it be done!\" But know this: you kill me in vain. Others will rise to take my place. The sons and daughters of Black Marsh will be free. And unless you change course, the children of the Tribunal will pay a great price in blood.\nNow I am done. Do what you will."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/activation": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/activation", "description": "", "author": "Norion", "title": "On Activation", "text": "Placement of the corruption stones is less important than activation. Our priestess has ensured that the corruption stones are imbued with the ancestral energy of the holy site.\nOne stone should cover the entire site; the other five stones are insurance. It may seem excessive, but we can't be too careful. The traitor-queen's political machinations must be ended!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/akaviri-burial-rites": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/akaviri-burial-rites", "description": "Introduction to Akaviri mummification,  as preserved by their Imperial descendants", "author": "Lerien Arnese", "title": "On Akaviri Burial Rites", "text": "By Lerien Arnese, Scholar-Emeritus of Ancient Sciences\nThe mysterious snake-men of Akavir brought many exotic customs to the shores of Tamriel, but none so strange as their burial rites. While the most bizarre traditions fell away quickly, Akaviri-descended Imperials maintained most of the snake-men's more benign rituals. This description is by no means exhaustive, but it should give the junior explorer some sense of what challenges (both scholarly and physical) an Akaviri grave site might present.\nConsider the Tomb of the Serpents. Khajiiti architects originally conceived of it as a mausoleum for Rimmenite royalty. But the overthrow of the Akaviri Potentate in the 2E 400s, and the resulting social upheaval in Cyrodiil, displaced thousands of Akaviri-descended Imperials\u2014sending them crashing over the border into Elsweyr. Ever the opportunists, the Rimmenite Khajiit granted these new residents the honor of burying their honored dead in Khajiiti crypts\u2014for a price. In time, Akaviri dead vastly outnumbered those of the native Khajiit, thus prompting the renaming of the structure to the \"Tomb of the Serpents.\"\nBy all accounts, classical Akaviri burial customs were highly regimented. Snake-men ritualists bound the bodies of their dead in extravagant silken wraps that covered the whole of the body, aside from the face. Upon the face, they placed elaborate masks, often fashioned from silver for high-ranking persons, or tin for their lesser kin. These masks typically bore the ghastly aspect of a serpent, or other such monstrosity\u2014perhaps to ward off evil spirits, or more likely, superstitious grave-robbers. Most importantly, funeral ritualists placed the ancestral armor of the deceased on pedestals near the body. Such armor remains highly sought after. Robbers routinely rifle through urns and overturn sarcophagi searching for breastplates and helmets to sell to wealthy collectors. Even so, there are risks.\nMany histories speak of armor that rises to defend itself, as if worn by angry spirits. While some dismiss these accounts out of hand, only a great fool would pay them no heed. Remember: in the world of tomb-exploration, a healthy measure of superstition will serve you well."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/apocrypha-0": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/apocrypha-0", "description": "Grisly poetry describing Hermaeus Mora", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "On Apocrypha", "text": "What takes the world in lightened sense\n\tCan also seek the outward gleam\n\tThey rob the all of essence to\n\tReport the nothing they have seen\n\tBone extrusions gash and grind\n\tIn moistened depths of smacking heat\n\tWhile tearing flesh from averse bone\n\tThe body whole prepares to eat\n\tA writhing mass of heaped appendage\n\tSlipping grasp the squirming slick\n\tExtend the reach to touch the face\n\tBurn the mind, reveal the quick\n\tCrushing razors, hollow shells\n\tThat snap, that twitch, that cinch and rend\n\tTo hold the subject, bodily,\n\t'Til mind blows soft and life meets end"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/argonians": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/argonians", "description": "An outsider's observations on Argonians and the Hist", "author": "Cirantille", "title": "On Argonians", "text": "In studying the various races of Tamriel, I have found a few strange aberrations. Among the human-shaped, the Argonians may be the most fascinating. They are cold-blooded, in both the physiological and psychological sense, and yet they somehow manage to operate in all climes with the same resilience as mammals. Their preference for sub-tropical and tropical climates notwithstanding, to see an Argonian moving through sub-arctic or arctic regions with the same facility as their mammalian rivals is simply astounding.\nWhile most other Altmeri scholars simply choose to ignore this oddity, I chose to delve into it, and I believe I've discovered its cause. The Argonians maintain their they are connected to a mystical force known as \"the Hist.\" As religious beliefs go, it is not terribly complicated, but I believe it has a physical manifestation as well.\nThe Hist supposedly emanates from all nature in Tamriel but is particularly strong in \"Hist trees\"\u2014large, usually ancient, growths found at the center of every sizeable Argonian settlement. These Hist trees contain, the Argonians believe, the collective memories and knowledge of all Argonians.\nWhether this is true or not, the sap that flows from a Hist tree contains concentrated magicka. I believe that it is this Hist Sap that gives the Argonians the ability to defy the logical limits of their own physiology and also empowers their shamans or \"tree-minders.\" If we can tap the energy contained within a Hist tree, who knows what we, a race used to manipulating magic, may achieve?"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/calling-drowned-dead": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/calling-drowned-dead", "description": "", "author": "Uwafa", "title": "On Calling the Drowned Dead", "text": "My father first used this spell to call the dead from the sea twenty years ago. Today, we perform this again in his honor. There are shipwrecks along the beach just west of the docks. Conduct the ritual there and our glorious rise begins."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/extending-existence": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/extending-existence", "description": "", "author": "Barilzar", "title": "On Extending Existence", "text": "By Barilzar, Mage of the Seventh Order and Artificer Extraordinaire\nFor every being, the Great Gear provides a set number of rotations, a set number of ticks before our natural clockwork mechanisms wear out and die. It's as inevitable as dusk giving way to dawn, but that doesn't mean we have to accept it. And I still have so much work left to accomplish. There isn't enough time in the day, let alone in a lifetime! I find this situation to be completely unacceptable.\nWhile my education started with the arcane arts, since Sotha Sil took me under his tutelage I've gravitated toward pursuits of a more scientific and mechanical nature. I have tried to apply these techniques to the problem, but so far my cogs and gears and widgets have failed to achieve any noticeable results. Gadgets and devices can accomplish wonders, but so far I have not found a suitable and compelling mechanism to prolong life in any meaningful manner. For this reason, I must return to my arcane roots and explore what magic may achieve where artificing has failed\nI haven't let my magic grow stale, despite my concentration on more mechanical endeavors. Indeed, like my master before me, I tend to use magic to bolster the effectiveness of my mechanical creations. But it's through the concerted use of magic that I believe I can extend my existence. Why should the Tribunal alone get to be immortal when there are others (including myself) that have more than a lifetime of achievements to contribute to the betterment of society?\nNow, some may look down upon the magical arts labeled as \"dark, but knowledge and technique should never be dismissed out of hand. A use for every tool and a tool for every job, after all, as the Father of Mysteries always liked to remind me. So, my next great adventure shall be to conquer the intricacies of the dark arts and discover the secret to extending the natural lifespan. Who knows? Perhaps I might even discover the path to true immortality, if the gears align correctly.\nNow, where did I put my hourglass and that relic I had my hirelings uncover from the Faledran family tomb?"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/harrowstorms": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/harrowstorms", "description": "Notes on the Harrowstorms being unleashed by the Icereach Coven", "author": "Fennorian of House Ravenwatch", "title": "On Harrowstorms", "text": "By Fennorian of House Ravenwatch\nThese notes will one day become a treatise on the subject of harrowstorms and the magic behind it, provided I find the time to eventually turn them into something of publishable quality.\nHarrowstorms are arcane weather events created from a mix of Icereach Coven magic and ancient vampiric alchemy. They strike without warning, leaving death and worse in their wake. I have seen the devastation left behind by these supernatural storms. The forces called forth can kill or transform the living caught within them into near-mindless shells we've come to call the harrowed, though some become a new kind of feral vampire we now refer to as harrowfiends. Of course, not everyone exposed to the storms suffers from one of these afflictions, but I have yet to determine any rhyme or reason as to who dies, who transforms, and who walks away unscathed.\nAs I continue my research into the phenomenon, I can say with some certainty that the harrowstorms are created via some sort of Reach magic ritual. The ritual uses various arcane components, including some sort of fetish or totem, and an alchemical mixture, in addition to a ritualistic chant to focus and unleash the magic.\nI still have no idea whether the resulting afflictions represent the ultimate goal of the harrowstorms or if they are just an unfortunate result of some more insidious purpose. Nor do I know for certainty who is behind the supernatural events. More research is required to determine how the storms go about killing or transforming their victims, and whether or not there may be a way to restore what was taken from them. Time will tell."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/immortality": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/immortality", "description": "Various supposed means of living forever", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "On Immortality", "text": "There are many supposed paths to immortality, though few have been tested, and those that have been tried have just as often proved to be mere flights of fancy, fashionable cure-alls with no real effect besides the status they grant those able to acquire them.\nIt is rumored that several pools and springs throughout Tamriel can grant immortality. These places are often hidden in the most inaccessible and hard to reach places. Such places are rumored to exist deep in the swamps of Shadowfen, on the highest peaks of Rivenspire, and in an ancient glade of Malabal Tor. Explorers have sought out these places for centuries, and while many have returned with stories of their success, not one has yet thought to mark the locations on a map.\nAmong nobles of the First Era, drinking the honey of the Isgareth Bee of Auridon was said to grant limited immortality, though one needed to continue to eat the honey in order to maintain the effect. Some say this led directly to Isgareth Bee's extinction, as indiscriminate men destroyed whole hives in order to more quickly harvest the precious golden substance and sell it at a high price to the foolish and fashionable. Though it is also said that Altmeri kings and queens maintain a private hive.\nAnother means of achieving immortality is said to exist, but it has only been attempted by the most volatile and unstable. It's also forbidden, both by governments across Tamriel and by the Mages Guild. It's said to involve the binding of a Daedra through blood sacrifice.\nFor so long as the Daedra can be held captive, life may be prolonged. It is unknown whether any who have attempted this method have been able to see it through to its end. It's more likely that the Daedra breaks loose and kills the attempter, or that the attempter destroys himself through his own madness."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/minotaurs": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/minotaurs", "description": "", "author": "Nonus Caprenius", "title": "On Minotaurs", "text": "By Nonus Caprenius, Temporarily Unaffiliated Scholar of Imperial Antiquities\nNo matter how many institutions of higher education expel me, no matter how many publishers decline to print and distribute my theories, I refuse to recant my position or change the topic of my research... not until minotaurs have received the recognition and respect that they deserve!\nIn the course of my research into the origins of the Empire, specifically the rise and fall of the Alessian Order, I came across a wondrous thing. Hidden in the background, often purposely obscured but still visible to those of us who know what to look for, was an entire race of humanoids who have been all but stricken from the historic record. This crime against history must not stand, and I pledge to restore these creatures to their proper place in the chronicle of the Empire.\nI'm referring, of course, to the maligned and misunderstood minotaur. These humanoids with bodies that resemble humans and heads that resemble bulls trace their lineage to Empress Alessia herself. While no period records survive to state the truth of the situation, many ancient documents from later periods speak of a relationship between the Slave-Queen and Kynareth's son, Morihaus, whom the Divine sent to aid and advise Alessia. Often depicted as a minotaur, the demigod Morihaus, I believe, gave rise to the race through his dalliances with the Slave-Queen and the birth of her son, Belharza the Man-Bull.\nWhatever the truth regarding the origins of the minotaurs, they began to appear in greater and greater numbers in the years during and after Empress Alessia's reign. I contend that the early minotaurs were as intelligent and cultured in their own way as any Elf or Orc or Khajiit. Fiercely loyal to the Empire, the minotaurs were among Empress Alessia's most devoted defenders. Certain art and tomes from the time hint as much, but many of my detractors want to know where the hard evidence is to back up my claims. Unfortunately, much of that evidence was destroyed in the intervening period while the mis-named Alessian Order held sway over the Empire.\nIt was, after all, the Alessian Order that followed the rigorous Alessian Doctrines. Of all the rules and regulations set forth by the Seventy-Seven Inflexible Doctrines, the most notorious were those firmly opposed to the Elves. I contend that the Order wasn't restricted to anti-Elven sentiment. I believe its resentful followers applied the Doctrines to any non-human races they felt like persecuting - including the minotaurs. One remaining fragment of an ancient tablet, known as the Belharza Stone, shows what most scholars agree is a section of a larger carving depicting Belharza the Man-Bull, second Emperor of the Alessian Empire, facing down enemies. My own study of the fragment tells a very different story.\nBy the cut of their armor and the shape of their spears, I believe the so-called enemies depicted in the carving are actually fanatical precursors of Alessian troops. The spears, jabbed directly at the minotaur's heart, indicate that these proto-Alessians killed or drove off the minotaurs, thus beginning the decline of the race that we still see in evidence in the current day. It's a shame what happened to the once-majestic race of bull-men! But wait, I can hear my detractors already. They demand more evidence - evidence that I fear was wiped out along with a hundred other atrocities committed by the Alessian Order. But I do have one more fact to consider, and it's evident to anyone willing to travel to specific sites and watch the activity of the minotaurs from a safe distance.\nIf you happen to study the minotaur in the wild, you'll find that they often congregate at or near ancient sites of significance to the Empire. Why? I contend it's because they have an instinctual memory of a time when they were fierce defenders of the fledgling Empire. I contend that they are drawn to such sites, compelled to continue to defend them despite the actions of the Alessian Order that arose and all but destroyed these remarkable creatures.\nOh, scoff if you must. Go ahead. I've suffered worse. But take a moment and at least consider what I've presented. Then ask yourself, why do the minotaurs guard these ancient Imperial sites? Maybe in that question, you'll come to appreciate the minotaurs - at least a little."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/moving-ebonheart": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/moving-ebonheart", "description": "When Vivec wants his own Ebonheart... Vivec gets his own Ebonheart", "author": "Archcanon Tarvus", "title": "On Moving Ebonheart", "text": "Members of the Tribunal Priesthood and House Hlaalu Engineers,\nDuring a recent visit to the mainland, Lord Vivec became enthralled with the quaint and picturesque city of Ebonheart, in Stonefalls, on the northern coast of Morrowind. He spent an inordinate amount of time within the confines of the city, wandering the streets and carefully examining all of the buildings and houses located therein. Truth be told, the visit put us behind schedule and made me extremely anxious about upholding the rest of our commitments before we had to return to Vvardenfell.\nAfter remaining quietly at the Warrior-Poet's side as he tenacious studied every cobblestone and patch of thatch, filling his notebook with every notion and observation, the Living God finally turned to me. \"Archcanon,\" Lord Vivec said, \"I am fascinated by this place. We must have one in Vvardenfell!\"\n\"We must, my lord?\" I asked, trying to ascertain where the Living God was going with this line of reasoning.\n\"I think that spot to the south of my city,\" Lord Vivec continued. \"Yes, that will be the perfect place to build my new Ebonheart!\"\n\"Build, my lord?\" I asked, still somewhat unsure what was being asked of me.\n\"Build, move, whatever you think is best,\" Lord Vivec said. \"Have the canons and Hlaalu's engineers begin drawing up plans immediately. I can't wait to begin a new project!\"\nSo, there you have it. From the lips of Our Lord to your ears, through the medium of this letter. I look forward to reviewing your ideas in, let us say, three month's time?\nIn Lord Vivec's name,\n\tArchcanon Tarvus"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/necromancy": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/necromancy", "description": "Advice to novice Necromancers about which bodies to use", "author": "V", "title": "On Necromancy", "text": "Reanimation should not be taken lightly. Costs, both mundane and spiritual, can be very high. Intent is everything. Too much emotion may create a creature so consumed with anger and hate its every action is perverted by its pain. Too little creates a mindless husk with little more than the ability to follow the simplest of commands. A calm mind, its thoughts well-organized and its plans well-considered, is the most necessary ingredient for animating the dead.\nThe soul is necessary, of course, as are many other ingredients listed at the end of this chapter. But as to the body \u2026 take caution. Any corpse may be reanimated, regardless of age or state of decay, but the most useful are those that are mostly intact (or can be made intact with little effort). A whole skeleton is better than a fresh, but mutilated, body.\nAs to freshness, be careful in this consideration as well. Have you ever wondered why there are so many skeletons among the reanimated undead, fewer zombies, and only a scant few revenants? The longer a body remains inanimate, the less hold its original owner has on the corpse. A spirit can stay tied to its remains for days, weeks, or even years\u2014the shorter the time, the more likely the spiritual umbilicus exists.\nA wise necromancer does not wish to fight for control of his creation with an angry spirit seeking a way back into the world. Best to be certain all of a creature's soul has departed before reanimation begins. Even should the necromancer win the battle, it is a cruel victory, tormenting a spirit on its way to rest.\nRaising the dead so recent that the soul has not yet fled is ill-advised, as true resurrection is not the purview of the necromancer, but something best left to gods and priests."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/orcs-and-afterlife": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/orcs-and-afterlife", "description": "Essay on the Ashen Forge, the promised afterlife of the Orsimer", "author": "Erisa Moorcroft", "title": "On Orcs and the Afterlife", "text": "By Erisa Moorcroft, Scholar, Comparative Religious Studies\nI have never found it difficult to get an Orc to talk about his or her beliefs when it comes to religion and the afterlife. As each Orc clan and stronghold has a rich and vibrant oral tradition, this should come as no surprise. What did surprise me was how hard it was to form a coherent picture, as no two oral traditions agreed on even the most basic of concepts.\nIn this time of conflicting faiths vying for the Orcish soul, I found many of the tales I heard to be both extremely moving and extremely disturbing at the same time. Furthermore, I have been unable to locate a single tome related to the topic, or find a reference in any other books on related subjects. The only way to learn about the Orcish concept of life after death or a place of reward or punishment in a world beyond was by asking the right questions and listening to the various oral traditions. For after much research and countless interviews, I finally uncovered the Orc equivalent to the tales of the Far Shores and Sovngarde. Indeed, it was the only thing that the various oral traditions seemed to agree upon. And through them, I have discovered the Ashen Forge.\nFor the Orcs that revere Malacath, the afterlife promises rewards of immortality, abundant food and drink, and constant battle deep within the Ashen Forge. The Ashen Forge represents the culmination of the three constant truths of life among the Orc clans: the stronghold, the grudge, and the Code of Malacath. Let me explain each of these concepts and discuss how they relate to the Orc afterlife so that the meaning becomes clear (or at least as clear as each different stronghold attempts to make it). What follows is my best attempt to merge the divergent and sometimes conflicting tales into a single narrative.\nThe Ashen Forge sits at the center of Malacath's own stronghold in the Ashpit. According to some scholars, Malacath's plane of Oblivion consists of nothing but dust and smoke and ash. But his followers believe that the eternal emptiness contains all the things they hold dear and deem necessary to enhance their immortal existence. As the ultimate expression of the Orc stronghold, Malacath's Ashpit bastion stretches endlessly across the planes, extending even behind the stars to Aetherius, granting access to every worthy Orc who crosses from this life into the next. In Malacath's stronghold, every Orc is a chief, every chief has a thousand wives, and every wife has a thousand slaves to cater to their every need. The stronghold's walls rise one hundred feet into the smoky sky, constructed of polished steel and worked iron. Inside the walls, stone keeps, iron towers, and massive longhouses surround the central square that houses the Ashen Forge.\nThe Ashen Forge fills the endless space within Malacath's smithy, a massive hearth that burns with a fire said to be hotter than the sun. The thing that keeps this fire alive is the adherence by the Orcs of Tamriel to the Code of Malacath, but more on that later. Within this fire, every Orc must undergo the ritual of tempering when first they cross from this life to the next. They are thrust into the coals so that every grudge that he or she carried into the afterlife can be heated, melted, and eventually forged into the next generation of mortal Orcs. With the grudges of Tamriel tempered and returned to the mortal world, the immortal Orcs are now free to begin collecting a new set of grudges related to their new existence. Some particularly memorable grudges can also be hammered and worked into weapons or armor of legendary stature upon the Ashen Anvil, the gigantic work bench that stands beside the Ashen Forge.\nThe heat that fires the Ashen Forge comes from the burning, white-hot coals that are, according to the Orc lore-masters who would talk to me, the literal manifestation of the bloody Code of Malacath. They believe that the code fuels the fires of emptiness, betrayal, and broken promises, imbuing every newly forged Orc with a foundation of grievances and resentments that will take them far in the mortal world. The hope is that every generation will be better than the next thanks to the efforts of the generation before it and its ability to adhere to and follow the Code of Malacath.\\n\\nStill, Malacath's faithful believe that they will be rewarded with immortality, nourishment, and constant battle deep within the Ashen Forge. A life-everlasting filled with endless days of warfare, endless nights of fine food and drink, and ongoing opportunities to prove their toughness and demonstrate the quality of their steel.\nFascinating, really, especially when contrasted against the beliefs of Trinimac's followers. Unlike the oral traditions of Malacath that twist and grow with each telling at every different stronghold, the traditions of Trinimac's faithful was surprisingly consistent and they were happy to share them with me. High-Priestess Solgra, especially, was extremely helpful in the preparation of this report. When a follower of Trinimac dies, she explained, he or she ascends to Aetherius to join with their ancestors. It seems that the afterlife for Trinimac's faithful also consists of endless war and celebrations, but with a greater emphasis on once again spending time with family members who came before you. In the end, I guess I found the Trinimac version to be somewhat tame when compared to the more savage and visceral beliefs of Malacath's faithful."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/our-enemies": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/our-enemies", "description": "A negative pamphlet about the non-Covenant races", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "On Our Enemies", "text": "The peoples of the Daggerfall Covenant are a strong and diverse group. It is our differences that help us be strong. We complement each other. This is not true of the other races of Tamriel.\nThe Elves\nThe High Elves who rule over the \"lesser\" races in the Aldmeri Dominion are without a doubt the most arrogant of the Elf races, which is saying quite a bit. High Elves believe that they are the direct descendants of the Aedra! They rule over the Wood Elves and Khajiit while giving them token positions within the ruling hierarchy to keep them content. Rumors of harsh punishments for disobedience cannot be confirmed as any dissidents quickly disappear.\nThe Wood Elves are a barbaric people who are willing to submit to High Elf rule as long as their practices of cannibalism are allowed to continue. They eat their enemies and even one another. They worship the trees of Valenwood, refusing to cut them down or harm the animals that live there. Who does things like that?\nThe Dark Elves of Morrowind are almost as bad as the High Elves. The Tribunal rulers of the Dark Elves have convinced their people that they are \"Living Gods\" possessing great powers and immortality. These old wizards openly imitate what was called the \"Good Daedra\" as part of their Dark Elf ancestral worship.\nThe Beast Races\nThe Khajiit are the \"cat-people\" of Elsweyr. Many rumors exist about the Khajiit, and they are certainly all true. The Khajiit are a society of thieves and addicts. Most spend their time consuming vast quantities of the addictive substance distilled from moon sugar. Thievery is second nature to these cats, as stealing often supports their addictions.\nArgonians are the \"lizard folk\" of the Black Marsh. Little is known about their culture save for a few rumors and lots of hearsay. It is known that they believe they originate from the trees that grow in Black Marsh. The environment of the marsh has given the Argonians a resistance to the toxic substances found there. The society of Black Marsh is primitive by the standards of the other races.\nHumans\nThe Nords are the hardened folk of the north. Hailing from Skyrim, these brutes live for war and conquest. When not fighting others, the Nords fight among themselves. The Nords are not a very bright people. It seems that the thin air in Skyrim has led to a stunting of the mental capacity of the Nords.\nThe Cyrodiils are a cunning and ruthless people. The central location of Cyrodiil has given them contact with all the races of Tamriel and made them fine traders and diplomats. It has also made them very shrewd with silver tongues and cheating ways. They have a sense of entitlement to rule. Of all the enemies of the Daggerfall Covenant, it is the people of Cyrodiil that are the most dangerous."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/pircalmos-emergency-reversal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/pircalmos-emergency-reversal", "description": "A teacher bids farewell to a favorite student", "author": "Telenger", "title": "On Pircalmo's Emergency Reversal", "text": "Dear Pircalmo,\nYour enthusiasm and willingness to persevere in the face of stark adversity has never failed to impress me. The arrogant pitfalls of the prodigal will never plague you, a boon that will see you through your future endeavours.\nWhile I will miss you providing me the opportunity to teach others, and am saddened to know that I will not be able to complete your training, I would feel remiss in my duties as a mentor if I did not provide you some parting lesson. To that end, I have devised a ritual for you, the most important a mage of your caliber can learn. It will provide you a means for determining the cause of any calamities you face. When you again find yourself in a position of sudden catastrophe, this spell should start you down the path to correction in my absence.\nYou will need:\n\t- The chitin of a hoarvor, for resilience against adversity.\n\t- Five torchbug thoraxes, that auspicious number.\n\t- A heartwood fragment, as an anchor.\nIncorporate those into Cylladora's Spell of Finding* by way of my own Wonderful Linking Cantrip and the spell should basically cast itself. I haven't yet come up with a name for it. Feel free to come up with your own. \"Pircalmo's Emergency Reversal,\" perhaps? I am sure you can imagine something creative with your newfound free time.\nYour (former) teacher,\n\tTelenger\n* I know you are familiar with this particular spell, as I have seen you cast it many times prior to my lectures. Intentionally leaving behind one's notes in order to practice a spell was always a surprising way to practice casting under pressure, but to each their own."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/playing-frogs": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/playing-frogs", "description": "Details about an Argonian instrument called the vossa-satl", "author": "Toralf", "title": "On Playing the Frogs", "text": "Helga, you'll never believe what I saw the other day. I was walking through Tadulpa and came upon a small group of Argonian musicians. Most were playing clay flutes and lizard-hide drums, but one was playing the craziest instrument I've ever seen. He called it a \"vossa-satl.\" Apparently, there are all kinds of vossa-satls\u2014some as small as a jaw harp and some as big as a pipe organ! My new friend's vossa-satl was about the size of a game hen. Sounded a bit like a game hen, too.\nThe instrument looks kind of like a polished wooden clam shell with a series of valves along the top. Each segment of the shell is actually a small, hollow compartment with a mouth like a bugle (the one I saw had five). According to the musician, each chamber is a different size and produces a different tone.\nNow here's the craziest part. They put live frogs inside! My friend was kind enough to open his vossa-satl to show me the five small frogs within, one in each chamber! He gushed over them like a new mother showing off her babies. He told me their names, what they did for fun, and what they liked to eat. The only thing he didn't tell me is where he found them. Apparently, the location of their spawning pond is a tightly guarded secret.\nBefore every performance, he squirts a few drops of frog-musk into each compartment. This drives the frogs wild and sets them chirping and croaking like mad. By pushing the valves, he's able to muffle certain chambers while leaving others open. This allows for some bizarre but harmonious notes! I could scarcely believe it! I offered to buy his instrument on the spot, but he refused. Just as well, I suppose. I doubt those frogs would survive a winter in Windhelm. I ended up buying you a flute instead. Not the most exciting instrument, but I'm sure it'll sound better than that old goat-horn bugle you love to play!\nBest,\nToralf"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/plunder-skulls": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/plunder-skulls", "description": "A thinly-veiled explanation of the Witches Festival loot drops", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "On Plunder Skulls", "text": "Hear, O faithful, the call of the crows, on this, our most sacred holiday, the Witches Festival! When blessed darkness falls and the moons fill the sky, the time to celebrate is nigh!\nHave you prepared your plunder skulls? Filled them with ghoulish riches to inspire both horror and greed among the uninitiated? And have you distributed them to the most powerful and fearsome villains across the land? Good, good. Then all is in readiness for the celebration to come!\nWith every plunder skull earned during the time of the festival, the power and vitality of the witch covens grow. So what if villains fall and the adventuring masses acquire the prizes we sequestered in our macabre, skull-shaped baskets? The chaos sowed as they strive to find and collect them all adds an undeniable sweetness to the power we attain.\nRemember, O faithful, that the deadliest foes of the world drop plunder skulls upon defeat. Adventurers simply have to slay such a foe to acquire its plunder skull. And they may acquire as many as they are able during the allotted time, as long as they continue to triumph over these foes.\nEvery plunder skull contains a useful and creepy treasure, provided you prepared your plunder skulls correctly. Remember, you can fill them with Alchemy Materials, Provisioning Recipes, Fishing Bait, Furniture... anything, as long as it inspires greed and makes those not of the covens uneasy.\nSome of you have asked about the more rare and powerful Dremora plunder skulls. Know this, O faithful: If you must ask, you are not skilled or proficient enough to create such a vessel. These vessels contain a specific set of Dremora Motif chapters, and have been distributed to the superior defenders of such extreme locations as the Dragonstar and Maelstrom Arenas, the Dark Anchors and Abyssal Geysers, Delves and Dungeons, and Trials. They can also be acquired by defeating the most deadly of champions wandering the wilderness of Tamriel, as well as the lords of deadly subterranean domains.\nNow go, O faithful, and celebrate! Revel in the chaos and drink deep of the power granted to us as the plunder skulls are hunted down and gathered!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/soul-shriven": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/soul-shriven", "description": "Introduction to the formation of the Soulshriven and the soulgems that bind them to Molag Bal", "author": "Mannimarco", "title": "On Soul Shriven", "text": "It is by the grace of my lord and master, Molag Bal, that I, Mannimarco, was gifted this meager knowledge regarding the process of creating the Soul Shriven. Those debased and pitiful entities that serve as fodder for the bestial Daedra and objects of torture for the dremora are more than just remnants \u2014 they are critical to Molag Bal's scheme to absorb Nirn into his own demesne.\nI pored over the scriptures given unto me by the Master to determine the nature of the Soul Shriven, for their very existence seemed in defiance of the accepted theory that all stolen souls travel not to Coldharbour, but to Soul Cairn. Nevertheless, in the confluence of events that followed foolish Varen's bid for Divine investiture, it seemed that all souls taken from that moment forward went not to Soul Cairn, but to Molag Bal's own clutches.\nAnd thus, the first of the Soul Shriven were formed in Coldharbour \u2014 wretched creatures bereft of soul, an accretion of Oblivion-matter in the form of an echo of what the creature was in life. Interrogation and vivisection followed the arrival of this first Soul Shriven. Between wild spasms of hysteria, followed by deep states of ennui, the Soul Shriven expressed feelings of emptiness, hunger, and desire that no sustenance provided to them could fill.\nOf course, this means little given the state of sustenance supplied within Coldharbour, but the diagnosis was hardly difficult to determine. The lack of a soul caused these feelings, just as the trauma of their sacrifice and soul entrapment caused the fluctuating emotions.\nFurther, and to my surprise, the Soul Shriven showed extreme endurance. They could sustain injuries of all sorts to a far greater degree than a living creature might, and they could be set to work for long periods past the point where a living slave would collapse from exhaustion. However, the Soul Shriven were not invulnerable; the eventual death of the Soul Shriven subject resulted in its complete annihilation, so utterly final that not even a trace of its essence could escape to Aetherius.\nI would later learn that this complete destruction had another, unforeseen effect \u2014 a soul destroyed in such a manner empowered Molag Bal himself.\nThe soul gems that contain the remnant essences of the Soul Shriven are like any other. Their power can be used to create or reinforce enchantments on mundane objects, or fuel particularly potent spells. The machines of the Daedra are similar in this regard, using the raw, unfettered energy of a stolen soul to fuel their operation.\nPossessing a soul gem on one's person renders the holder wholly immune to the aggressive actions of the respective Soul Shriven, and with sufficient training, one can even command the Soul Shriven to do the holder's bidding. Naturally, it is impossible to carry every single soul gem made since the Planemeld began, but particularly troublesome individuals can be brought to heel if their will is too strong to break through conventional torment and toil.\nWith the Daedric machines working constantly to empower the portals and drive the cogs that control the anchors, it is no small surprise that Molag Bal requires so many thousands of soul gems. Each one passes through my castle sooner or later for inspection, some bearing unusual qualities depending on the individual trapped within. Indeed, those whose souls were condemned to Coldharbour through the sacrificial ritual tend to display these gem qualities more commonly than others, and it should be little surprise that they contain more latent power than \"simple\" black soul gems.\nThe differing qualities of these gems are mostly academic, consisting of odd protuberances or scintillating color patterns within the crystalline structure of the gem. However, one came across my table recently that was actively changing as I watched it over the course of several days. My measurements were as perfectly meticulous as they ever are, and I was able to confirm what my eyes and spells were telling me \u2014 the gem was actually growing larger, smooth and sharp in some places while being jagged and rough in others. Its color patterns would shift from dark purple to red and blue and green, in all colors of light visible to mer and men.\nAnd indeed, the power within the gem itself was growing stronger. The mind shivers with delight at the enchantments or rituals such a gem could fuel should it continue to grow.\nWhat could it mean? What caused this particular gem to be so malleable?\nTheories abound on how this gem came to be, but I suspect its owner was involved in the uprising that took place in the slave pits near the Wailing Prison. Within Coldharbour, all things are muted; colors, emotions, willpower, even basic senses. But if a Soul Shriven were to escape\u2026\nIt seems that even Daedric princes are not without their foibles. Molag Bal clearly did not prepare for this contingency, of a Soul Shriven escaping captivity. Now, sundered from their soul and set wandering in the waking world, they \"live\" without life and cannot long be grasped by death's clutches. As they grow in power, their soul responds in kind, trapped within its tiny, cold prison.\nI wonder at this vestige's motives. Who were they? Could they have been a useful ally? Could they still be one? It is doubtful \u2014 stealing one's soul tends to create resentment, after all. Nevertheless, I shall keep all of my options open in regards to this Soul Shriven and its gem."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/summoning-skeletons": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/summoning-skeletons", "description": "Instructions for reanimating walking bones", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "On Summoning Skeletons", "text": "Many options present themselves for the industrious necromancer who wishes to raise undead minions to serve or protect. Vengeful ghosts, of course, and other types of incorporeal spirits abound, but they have little substance and can often be difficult to control. Corporeal dead provide more muscle, which comes in handy when you need manual labor or an instant fighting force. Plus, if you use minor Daedric spirits to animate them, corporeal undead have no sense of self or memory of past lives. They are more malleable, easier to command, and capable of following simple orders. In short, they make perfect servants for most of a necromancer's minion requirements.\nWhile some necromancers prefer to animate zombies to perform tasks, other practitioners of dark magic prefer to deal with skeletons. First, skeletons, by definition, consist primarily of bone, with few or no organs or fleshy bits remaining. In other words, skeletons don't have the habit of dropping bits and pieces of themselves all over your ritual circle or lair, unlike their zombie counterparts. Second, skeletons tend to be more sturdy and dextrous than zombies, making them noticeably faster and, in many ways, more dangerous.\nYou have two sources when it comes to obtaining skeletons to raise and command. One is to pull the bones directly from a fresh corpse (or even from a living victim, if you have the appropriately powerful spell at the ready). The newly dead provide strong, sturdy bones that can deal and withstand punishment with equal facility, depending on the demands of your service. Newly dead skeletons also tend to exhibit more agility and speed, albeit with the clumsiness common to all new-born creations.\nThe second source to draw upon when seeking to raise skeletal minions remains the tried and true market favored by most practicing necromancers\u2014the graveyard. Of course, any depository of the dead will do, from an ancient necropolis to a long-forgotten battleground ripe with the corpses of fallen soldiers. Older bones often house great power, and the magic you employ will gather the scattered fragments and knit them together with necrotic bindings. Older bones may crumble and shatter before the bones of the newly dead, but they often compensate for that liability with the extra power trapped within these relics and awaiting your command."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/beauty-ogres": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/beauty-ogres", "description": "A young Elf's self-critical poem", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "On the Beauty of Ogres", "text": "Many will tell of the loveliness of Elves\n\tAnd still more will sing of the fine human form\n\tbut where is song or sign that augurs\n\tall that is beautiful about Ogres?\nUgh. Maybe mother is right. Poetry is silly. It's for High Elves in their mansions who have nothing better to do, who couldn't hunt their dinner if you put a roast chicken on the floor and told them to stab it with a spear.\nBeautiful ogres? What was I thinking? I suppose they do move in a kind of slow, majestic, stately way. But they smell awful, and they're a nuisance.\nIt's like mother says, \"If you want to impress me, try killing an ogre, not immortalizing it in verse.\"\nWell, she can have it her way, then. I'm off to kill an ogre.\nAnd then when I'm done, maybe I'll write a poem about it:\nBravely the Elf stood strong\n\tAgainst the club and thong\n\tLanding strikes on stinking flesh\n\tDuelling the giant to giant death.\n\tNo, still not right"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/brewing-dark-meat-beer": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/brewing-dark-meat-beer", "description": "Instruction for brewing fermented meat beer", "author": "Anonymous Bosmeri Brewer", "title": "On the Brewing of Dark Meat Beer", "text": "First of all, it takes years for all the meat and bugs to fall in. And they have to fall naturally. Crosswings have a fierce bitterness when they die afraid.\nThen, you must stretch seventeen strings of the thinnest Alfiq-gut over each barrel. Press aged meat onto the strings, being careful not to let any fall before it has properly rotted. Then dust the meat with the finely chopped skins of the red-striped frog to make sure the crosswings are drunk and happy when they hit the drink.\nYou do this every month for three or more years, until you have enough meat and bugs to fill the barrel. And that's not even counting the enchantments. You must have spells to attract the crosswings and mimics. And spells to keep out the flipbacks, tree-hoppers, and hoarvor larvae.\nThere are spells to encourage the green mold and prevent the brown and white molds. Then you have to seal the barrel for nine or more years until the last of the green mold turns. Good thing we have long lives, eh?"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/chamber-passage": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/chamber-passage", "description": "Septima Tharn doesn't mince words", "author": "Magus-General Septima Tharn", "title": "On the Chamber of Passage", "text": "Attention: All Members of the 7th Legion\nSince we breached the seals on the Chamber of Passage, many of you have speculated on what I am doing within. Lest you entertain the idea of taking a peek, let me explain what will happen.\nThe magical forces in the space will permit me to exercise a unique form of punishment. When I subject you to these forces, you will experience the rapid liquification of your skin and your internal organs, your bones will then wither and crumble within minutes, and finally, your soul will be subjected to re-experiencing this phenomenon for all eternity. Please consider this before interrupting my work.\n\u2014 Magus-General Septima Tharn"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/clockwork-city": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/clockwork-city", "description": "An apprentice's views on Sotha Sil's mysterious city", "author": "Barilzar", "title": "On the Clockwork City", "text": "By Barilzar, Mage of the Seventh Order and Artificer Extraordinaire\nI studied at the feet of the Father of Mysteries. I learned of magic and machines from the Clockwork God. I searched for the secrets of Oblivion with the Inspiration of Craft and Sorcery. I did all this and more with the Light of Knowledge, the SI in ALMSIVI, the Wizard-Mystic of the Tribunal\u2014Sotha Sil.\nAs student and disciple, I spent many long years at the Magus's side, helping to maintain and expand his ultimate creation, the Clockwork City. Now, rumors and stories and exaggerations galore persist about the fabled complex. The purpose of this book is to neither confirm nor deny these tales. Instead, I plan to add to the mystery and the extraordinary wonder of the place. Hopefully, my old master will approve.\nLet's start with a few basic turns of the gear as I reveal a secret but wrap it in a mystery. The Clockwork City is a giant complex the size of a world, but it fits inside a glass dome no larger than a good-sized netch. Here's another contradiction. Sotha Sil was definitely inspired by the technology of the Dwemer, but the brass tunnels, giant gears, electrical fountains, and lightning falls are all uniquely the creation of the Magus of the Three, Finally, while it is said that the Clockwork City is a painstaking recreation of Nirn itself, quite the opposite is potentially true. The complex is the perfection of Nirn as imagined by the Clockwork God.\nI spent much of my apprenticeship adjusting cogs and regulating the flow of energy, but my happiest memories consist of tinkering in one of Sotha Sil's many workshops, fabricantoriums, and ateliers (which is just a fancier way to say workshop, but the Magus loved to play with obscure words almost as much as the Warrior-Poet). I loved participating in the endless and varied experiments that were constantly being performed throughout the city. We studied everything, always looking for a new theory to test or a device to improve. \"We build it because we can,\" Sotha Sil told me, but what I heard him say was \"We build it because it's fun.\"\nHere's another mystery to ponder. You must humble yourself and become modest to enter the Clockwork City. Indeed, there's no room inside for anything larger than a shroom-beetle, but once you gain entry it's larger than anyone could ever fully explore. Contemplate that while the gears turn, I dare you!\nThe city has residents, as any city should. Some, like the fabricants, were specifically created to fulfill necessary roles. But others live within the complex as well. Sotha Sil's current students and disciples wander the brass tunnels, maintaining the endless series of experiments that require monitoring and constant minute adjustments. There are also those the Magus invited to become part of one experiment of another, as well as the extraneous cast-offs, lost travelers, and trapped planar explorers. I've had some of the most interesting conversations ever with those I met in the Clockwork City.\nFinally, you have probably heard that Sotha Sil can \"forge the future\" using the Clockwork City. Certainly, the contrivances that spring from this well of invention will one day beat the world into a shape most pleasing to the Father of Mysteries. Beyond that, I cannot say. It is also said that the Clockwork City can be used to \"reshape the world.\" I won't reveal the meaning of that cryptic phrase, but I will confirm that those pistons pump true.\nNow I have my own experiments to return to. There's never enough time in the day!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/college-sapiarchs": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/college-sapiarchs", "description": "Basic overview of the College and the Sepiarchs", "author": "Adandora", "title": "On the College of Sapiarchs", "text": "By Adandora, Chronicler at Large\nThe College of Sapiarchs. It lies to the west of Lillandril, on a small island outcropping that rises from the sea. The general public cannot access the compound, not without obtaining the permission of the portal master who controls the magical egress that leads from Lillandril proper to the small island. They say this is to protect the sages and maintain the solitude they need to think deep thoughts and study obscure lore. This chronicler has made repeated attempts to ascertain what exactly goes on in the isolated college compound. Here is what I have uncovered.\nFirst, though, some background on the Sapiarchs themselves. There are two-hundred-and-twenty-three fully accredited Sapiarchs at any given time, each devoted to and responsible for a specific field of study. The current leader of the Sapiarchs, Larnatille of Lillandril, for example, serves as the Sapiarch of Arcanology, encapsulating the collected knowledge of arcane lore within her prodigious mind. The Sapiarchs, in turn, are each assisted by one or more acolytes. These Sapiarchs-in-training hope to one day replace their masters and earn a seat in the college, though that isn't the only path for aspiring sages to take. Any distinguished High Elf scholar could receive a summons at any time and be invited to join the prestigious college.\nIndividually, Sapiarchs conduct and catalog research to expand their particular area of expertise, give lectures, consult when called upon in regards to their field of study, and write papers and books to expound upon their subject matter. As a group, the function of the College of Sapiarchs is to advise the current rulers of Summerset and train the heirs to the throne. They also issue proclamations as necessary when research and study reveal new information the public needs to know and they review such research to determine if it should be included in scholarly reference material.\nNow let's get back to the physical compound that also goes by the name of the College of Sapiarchs. Now, while this chronicler has not yet been able to personally explore the College compound, I have it on good authority that the following details are mostly true and predominantly reliable. The walled compound fills the small island that lies directly west of Lillandril. The main level of the compound features, from what I've been able to gather, a grand library, study halls, and suites for the most senior members of the College. I understand that dormitories and study cells are available for the use of the lesser Sapiarchs.\nThe true wonder of the College of Sapiarchs, though, not counting their connection to the Crystal Tower, is the massive maze of chambers and corridors beneath the main compound. This area, known as the Labyrinth, serves a number of functions, but its most celebrated use revolves around the matriculation of the royal heirs of Alinor. When an heir to the throne reaches the appropriate age, they go to the Sapiarchs' Labyrinth to study Altmeri Regal Praxis and Ceremoniarchy for 3,555 days before being crowned.\nThis chronicler is quite certain that the mysterious College of Sapiarchs contains additional secrets, but as long as the sages demand privacy and the Queen and her agents support such a policy, the people of Summerset will never know what truly lurks within the walls of the College compound."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/detachment-sheath-integument": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/detachment-sheath-integument", "description": "A study on detaching a plane from the Aurbis", "author": "Arch-Prelate Fervidius Tharn", "title": "On the Detachment of the Sheath from the Integument", "text": "Though all given Concavities, or sheathes within the integument of the Aurbis, are necessarily contained by the Aurbis, Right Reaching dictates that a defined sheath may be detached from the integument by invocation of Mnemoli. Upon intercourse with the star-orphan, the Beseeching Alesstic performs eversion of the organ of thought, an employment of the Hurling Disk that recapitulates the truth that a circle turned sidewise is a Tower. BY the same-truth, twisting the enveloping sheath into the middle dawn (to the number of seventeen) brings it to untime and unplace.\nEventualism, of course, predicts reabsorption upon depletion of the Wheeling Force, but the absence of duration may render even eventuality moot."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ghost-people": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ghost-people", "description": "Description of a strange Argonian tribe", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "On The Ghost People", "text": "Our new Argonian guide, Olik-Jaa, is just as frustrating as the last one who led us hither and yon through this dank swamp. Everyday it's some new haunted cave, or sacred mud-flat, or hallowed grove of trees. It's a wonder we can go anywhere in this Eight-forsaken place.\nThe most recent forbidden region we were told about and not allowed to visit is the \"Veeskhleel-Tzel.\" I think I've spelled that correctly. Black Marsh is chock-full of unpronounceable locations.\nAccording to Olik-Jaa, it's a haunted bog peopled entirely by his ugly frog-faced cousins, the \"Ghost People.\" Apparently, they eat poison toad-hearts so that they can raise the dead or some such nonsense. Oh, and they can also turn invisible and talk to tree roots. I honestly wish I was a storyteller sometimes. The things these lizards come up with really are beyond belief."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/holy-symbol": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/holy-symbol", "description": "", "author": "Norion", "title": "On the Holy Symbol", "text": "Priestess Lanwe, one of the queen-pretender's lackeys, has in her possession a holy symbol that could be disruptive to our plans. Find her, kill her, and take the symbol.\nIt is the only relic at the site powerful enough to destroy the corruption stones. They'll be able to cleanse the site eventually, but something will have to be brought in from Torinaan or the Isle itself that will be powerful enough to undo this."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/immortality-dust": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/immortality-dust", "description": "A famous poem about the Alik'r", "author": "Weltan of Sentinel", "title": "On the Immortality of Dust", "text": "A sacred flame rises above the fire,\n\tThe ghosts of great men and women without names,\n\tCities long dead rise and fall in the flame,\n\tThe Dioscori Song of Revelation,\n\tBursting walls and deathless rock,\n\tFiery sand that heals and destroys.\n\tAbove the sea Sentinel shines,\n\tHer domes agleam in the Iliac dawn.\n\tHer people throng the bazaars, and find\n\tTheir way between man's walls of stone.\n\tBut even in the towered town,\n\tSandals tread tracks in Alik'r sand.\n\tFor all those born of Redguard blood\n\tBring the wastes with them where e'er they go.\n\tThe desert grips our hearts and souls,\n\tIts flame within our eyes and ears.\n\tDust cannot die, and we are dust,\n\tWindblown, ephemeral, eternal, all."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/interrogation-witches": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/interrogation-witches", "description": "A guide to torturing and interrogating witches", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "On the Interrogation of Witches", "text": "As the Witchhunters of Direfrost have learned through centuries of practice, torture is the only effective method of interrogating a person suspected of practicing witchcraft.\nSome have asked whether it is acceptable for the Witchhunter to lead witches to believe their lives will be spared when, even if they confess to their crimes, they will almost certainly be put to death.\nIt must be answered that opinions vary. Some hold that a witch of very ill repute may be spared, and condemned instead to perpetual imprisonment, in return for sure and convincing testimony against other witches. Others hold that the promise of imprisonment should be kept for a time, and the witch be burned later. A third view is that the Witchhunter may safely promise to spare the witch's life, and later excuse himself from pronouncing the sentence, allowing another to do this in his place.\nIf these threats and promises do not induce the witch to speak the truth, the Witchhunters must carry out the sentence, and torture the prisoner according to the accepted methods. During this torture, the witch must be questioned on the articles of accusation, beginning with the lighter charges, for the witch will more readily confess the lighter than the heavier.\nIf a witch confesses under torture, they must afterward be conducted to another place to confirm the confession and certify that it was not due alone to the coercion of the torture. The Witchhunter shall see to it, moreover, that during this interval, guards are constantly with the witches, so the witches will not be visited by Daedric influences that might aid them or tempt them into suicide."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/knahaten-flu": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/knahaten-flu", "description": "Background, Symptoms, and potential cures for this deadly disease", "author": "Archivist Neleminduure", "title": "On The Knahaten Flu", "text": "Background:\nHow this disease began and spread is a mystery. By gathering information, I hope to resolve the issue.\nArgonians appear immune to the flu. This has caused conjecture that they actually introduced the flu to retaliate for years of slavery at the hands of the Dark Elves. These claims have never been proven or disproven, and they require more research.\nMitigation:\nMethods that slowed the rapid spread of the flu included burning the belongings of infected people (which, unfortunately, sometimes including burning remaining family members); segregating the sick into ghettos (or walling them up); or putting the diseased onto ships and setting them adrift. Normal curative spells and elixirs were inconsistent in their ability to cure the flu.\nSymptoms and Course:\nGeneral malaise, loss of appetite, and fatigue begins several hours before an afflicted victim develops other symptoms. The afflicted person's eyes water constantly. Skin develops a bright red granular rash that does not itch.\nWithin twenty-four to thirty-six hours, victims suffer nosebleeds, their tears contain blood, and a granular rash spreads over their bodies. At this point, victims develop a deep, raspy cough. Within thirty-six to forty-eight hours, the victims' coughs produce bloody phlegm.\nIn most cases, death takes place in as little as seventy-two hours after the initial onset, but some victims have lingered for five to seven days.\nTreatment:\nWhen the Knahaten Flu first spread, it seemed unstoppable. No reliable treatment against it has ever been proven.\n\tTen years ago, a young Redguard named Perizada claimed she'd had a vision from the Divines. She replicated the cure from this dream, testing it on a village scheduled to be razed (together with its inhabitants). Her cure worked, and the village was saved.\nThe cure required clannfear claws boiled in salt water. The patient would then drink the liquid. The increased trade of actual and purported clannfear claws on the black market caused prices to soar wildly. So many false cures had proven fatal that Perizada's cure was never officially sanctioned. As Perizada later died of the flu herself, its efficacy was eventually considered dubious at best.\nThe \"Clannfear Cure\" has given rise to many other supposed cures, all of which involve boiling something in a liquid and then drinking the result. For the poorest of the population, chicken broth proved not only cheap, but easily obtained. It typically soothed their coughs, which in turn allowed patients to breathe more easily.\nChicken broth is definitely not a guaranteed cure, but it is certainly the most accessible. It is recommended, should this dread disease ever return.\nAs the granular skin rash was non-irritating, many left it untreated. Those whose rash remained covered\u2014whether in bandages, poultices, or simply clothing\u2014seemed less likely to infect those who attended them. This also accounts for the much slower spread of the disease in colder climates and during winter months.\nHave you heard of other cures? If so, please submit your reports directly to me for further investigation."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lineage-aswala-thoroughbred": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lineage-aswala-thoroughbred", "description": "Handbill advertising Aswala stables", "author": "Meilaban al-Aswala", "title": "On the lineage of the Aswala Thoroughbred ", "text": "It is known, or at the very least generally accepted, that Divad the Singer rode into the ancient battles of Hammerfell upon \"a stallion dappled with the colors of sand and sun\". This legendary steed is said to have traversed the entirety of the Alik'r desert in the span of day. Before now, there has been no accounting of the fate that befell this brave horse. In point of fact, over the years, historians and horsemen alike have cried out, \"how sad to have lost such a horse\".\nFor generations, however, my family has held tight to a secret\u2014our forefather, Adyat the Far-Seer, inherited the only offspring of Divad's glorious mount, and over the last ten generations, we have labored hard to develop and expand the horse's lineage. Today, Aswala Stables can boast about having the finest stock of horses in all Tamriel.\nThough there has proven to be a high demand for our mounts, we have bred dozens, enough to assure that the lineage of Divad's brave stallion will never perish, as long as Aswala stables remains standing.\nSo come down, and bring the whole family to Aswala Stables. Take a ride on one of our horses and you will feel the difference.\nYou will not find a finer steed than you purchase from Aswala. I give you my personal promise.\nMeilaban al-Aswala"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/matter-prisoners": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/matter-prisoners", "description": "Missive to a Coldharbour justice", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "On the Matter of the Prisoners", "text": "Judge Xiven,\nOn the matter of the new prisoners: We have determined that they are indeed mortals from Nirn, Members of the Mages Guild, in fact. It was our excellent good fortune to capture these invaders.\nIt is clear that they have entered Coldharbour illegally and for purposes that are in direct conflict with the will of Molag Bal. We haven't had a trial in such a long time, and it should be a good show that helps bolster the morale of your servants. Of course, the verdict is a foregone conclusion.\nAs always, your justice is swift and cruel, my master!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nature-coldharbour": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nature-coldharbour", "description": "A description of Coldharbour and its denizens", "author": "Phrastus of Elinhir", "title": "On the Nature of Coldharbour", "text": "This is Lecture Eight: On the Nature of Coldharbour. It looks to me like there are more of you here than there should be, so please check your ledger\u2014if it says Transliminal Bridges, you're in the wrong room.\nColdharbour is the Oblivion realm ruled by Molag Bal, the Daedric Prince of brutality, slavery, vampirism, and other assorted abominations. It is not, therefore, a pleasant place. Descriptions of the plane vary widely, as usual in any study of Oblivion, but all accounts agree that Coldharbour is a dismal, cold, and largely lifeless realm pervaded by a miasma of fear, where lost souls are tormented for eternity.\nThis emphasizes the point made in my previous lectures, that a plane of Oblivion, being made of the very stuff of chaos, takes on form and character that reflects the nature of its ruler. Coldharbour, therefore, has been molded to embody the purposes of mighty Molag Bal.\nAnd what are those purposes? As it happens, I can speak to this subject with some authority, for I recently acquired the library and papers of the late Cardinal Belforte of the Order of Stendarr. The Cardinal devoted his life to ridding Tamriel of Daedric cultists of all persuasions. He was particularly rigorous in his persecution of the worshipers of Molag Bal, and in his time acquired a number of their repulsive tracts and treatises.\nStudy of these sources reveals that Molag Bal desires, above all things, the enslavement of mortals' souls. Various loathsome means are employed to this end, the ultimate goal being the diversion of a soul from its journey to the afterlife to imprisonment and slavery on the plane of Coldharbour. Upon arrival in Molag Bal's realm, the soul attracts to itself some of the loose creatia of Oblivion, forming a corporeal body with the semblance of the shape it wore in life. These sad slaves, called the soul-shriven, then toil in torment for the glory and amusement of their master, Molag the Slave-Lord.\nI share these secrets of the cult, heretofore unrevealed, so that you may \u2026. What is that confounded commotion out in the hall? How am I supposed to lecture over those bloodcurdling screams? I can't work under these conditions."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/spirits-hel-shira": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/spirits-hel-shira", "description": "", "author": "Magus Pampinto Scivio", "title": "On the Spirits of the Hel Shira", "text": "To the most revered Magus-General Septima Tharn,\nI know the 7th Legion's first forays into the Hall of Heroes ended rather unfortunately, but I am pleased to report that your generous time spent in teaching me the ways of the occult has proven valuable for us both and the Empire as a whole. After spending weeks poring over Mannimarco's old notes, I have found the key to controlling the spirits of Hel Shira. Not only will this incantation force the spirits to leave your soldiers alone, it will even render the spirits subject to your command.\nAs ever in awe of your bravery and your brilliance,\nMagus Pampinto Scivio"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/trail-forgotten-mane": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/trail-forgotten-mane", "description": "While searching for the tomb of a lost ruler, this investigator finds Daedric forces instead", "author": "Investigator Vianis Orania", "title": "On the Trail of the Forgotten Mane", "text": "Commission 37, Phase One\nUpon receiving my commission to research the whereabouts of the Forgotten Mane's burial location, I had to venture forth to the Rimmen Necropolis. Given what I knew of its history when compared to the little known about this poor \"Forgotten\" chap, I felt no hope of finding this personage buried therein. That said, one must eliminate the most likely answers before starting into the more troublesome or improbable ones. I'm sure I am not the first person to try there in an effort to find this rumored lost ruler, in other words.\nFirst of all, though named for Rimmen, the necropolis itself is not IN Rimmen. A puzzle, that. But, upon asking one elderly Breton about it, who was seemingly soaking up all the jasmine moonshine she could find, I learned an interesting tidbit: Her own studies revealed that the necropolis site came about due to, of all things, a local superstition that has since fallen out of favor.\nUpon providing the elder with further jasmine moonshine, she shared the superstition: At that time, builders in that area who knew they'd be excavating would create some sort of contraption from gold wire. They would then walk around the area to be excavated, holding out the wire. If at any point the wire quivered, they would note its movement and make decisions about how to proceed. In this case, the builders walked quite a ways before the preferred behavior occurred.\nFurther application of jasmine moonshine caused my Breton source to collapse into a senseless heap, so I could not find out exactly what sort of behavior they looked for. I saw to it that she was returned to her rented room, then headed toward my first destination.\nNow for the actual journey into the necropolis.\nI fear that I do not remember too much of it. First of all, Rimmen was dealing with this pesky Euraxia situation, so none of the priests and tenders I had expected to find in place at the necropolis remained. An obliging Alfiq adept who crossed my path told me of their vacancy, due to some action the \"Usurper Queen\" Euraxia had taken not long before I entered.\nOf course, I had a commission to finish, so a lack of necropolis tenders did not keep me from my duty.\nWhat did faze me momentarily, however, was the presence of a seemingly reanimated army of Darloc Brae fighting against that composed of Dremora and more throughout the necropolis. I attempted, in my usual fashion, to quietly move past them, but I had to employ my blades more than once before I reached the tomb of the Manes.\nWhere I found quiet!\nThat did not last long, alas. I vaguely remember talking to someone, then I woke up in a corner just outside the Manes' final resting places with a note attached to my hat, flopping over my face in a most inconvenient and startling fashion. Scrawled on it, in some dark substance I do not wish to think about, were these words:\nGo and fulfill your commission, which is not within this necropolis. You will be called when you are needed.\nNow, though I think long and hard upon that missing conversation, I cannot recall it. The only thing that remains in my mind from that time in the necropolis, aside from the curiosity that is the warring of two forces in some sort of grudge match, is a driving urge to find the Forgotten Mane. My past clients may think that I'm always driven to complete my commissions, but this is different. I feel impelled. Also, I'm disturbed that I feel impelled.\nA shame, that. I rather liked taking my time when seeking out pieces of information. Perhaps another day I'll retrace my steps and find out what happened in the Rimmen Necropolis. While I don't wish to interrupt a conflict between the mighty Darloc Brae and the deadly Mehrunes Dagon, perhaps a return will see that conflict ended. I think that perhaps this ongoing fray is more responsible for the absent tenders than anything Euraxia might have done.\nUntil then, I continue my search for the Forgotten Mane. Let us hope that this person actually existed and is not merely a rumor."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/utility-shock-magic": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/utility-shock-magic", "description": "Galerion speaks of his fondness for electrical magic", "author": "Vanus Galerion", "title": "On the Utility of Shock Magic", "text": "As Tamriel's leading wizard, I have often been called upon, usually by individuals of royal birth, to impress them with some demonstration of my magical skills. When I ask what they'd like to see, they nearly always reply, \"Throw a fireball! A really big one. I'd love that.\"\nThis just shows how poorly educated Tamriel's aristocrats are about the magical arts. The Flame spells have their uses, of course, but the true magical scholar gives pride of place in his grimoire to the Shock spells. For whatever reason, manipulating arcane lightning is easier than forcing magical flame, and it can be employed for a greater variety of effects. Here are just a few:\n\u2014The mage can cloak himself in an aura of lightning that will turn aside certain physical and magical attacks, as well as shocking nearby enemies.\n\t\u2014Lightning can be cast on a surface in the form of a rune that will explode if touched or after a certain delay.\n\t\u2014A wizard can cast a bolt to a nearby target and then instantly \"ride the lightning\" to that destination.\n\t\u2014And, of course, lightning bolts can be cast directly at enemies in a number of variations.\nIt is possible, I suppose, that ways to manipulate Frost and Flame will be discovered that make those elemental magics as flexible as Shock\u2014but if I haven't discovered how to do it, who else could?"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/xivkyn": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/xivkyn", "description": "Overview of Molag Bal's elite troups", "author": "Pelagius Habor", "title": "On the Xivkyn", "text": "By Pelagius Habor, Council Daedrologist-in-Residence\nDaedrology is a science born of catastrophe. Our greatest discoveries are always written down on charred parchment by an unsteady hand\u2014and so it is with me. The Planemeld has dramatically enhanced our understanding of the Daedra, but at great cost. I can only hope that my work will survive this latest disaster.\nI believe that I am the first to write about Molag Bal's elite vanguard, the Xivkyn. The term \"Xivkyn\" is, of course, heavily Cyrodilicized\u2014a crude portmanteau referencing their resemblance to both Xivilai and Dremora. And in fact, they are a hybrid race \"bred\" by Molag Bal to be his personal guard. They refer to themselves by many names; Stolavryk, Khimrykif, or Vyrsago depending on the hour. While they detest all mortal races, they reserve a particular hatred for their confederates, the Dremora. Xivkyn appear to place great emphasis on loyalty, making the Dremora's defection from Mehrunes Dagon an unforgivable sin.\nOf all the Daedra, Xivkyn are the most like Molag Bal. They share his unquenchable thirst for mortal souls and his obsession with the acquisition of soul gems. This drive to \"collect\" strikes me as a kind of madness, akin to those suffering from advanced vampirism. While I've never witnessed a physical confrontation between Xivkyn, they routinely scheme against one another in an attempt to gain more soul gems. These plots are commonplace and rarely result in censure from higher ranking Daedra.\nDespite the intrigues, the Xivkyn maintain a rigid code of military efficiency. Their fierce loyalty to Molag Bal combined with their physical and arcane might make them the most terrifying arrival since the Daedric Titan. While I'm sure there's much more to learn, I'm ready for this particular study to end."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/those-who-know-baan-dar": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/those-who-know-baan-dar", "description": "An explanation of the Khajiiti view of Baan Dar and his spheres", "author": "Ak'an", "title": "On Those Who Know Baan Dar", "text": "The first truth: Know that Baan Dar is not about the chickens.\nAk'an does not know why so many speak of the chickens. Yes, the Wood Elves make them explode, and they call this foolishness a celebration. Wood Elves also say it is wrong to eat apples, yet apples are delicious, yes? Wood Elves make mead out of rotting meat and bugs. Do not listen to Wood Elves.\nThe outsiders say Baan Dar is their Bandit God, their Man of a Thousand Faces. Their Pariah. They do not know Baan Dar as the Khajiit know Baan Dar. Wood Elves play games and tricks in Baan Dar's name, Bretons talk of sneak-thieves and living legends, and bards sing of Baan Dar's exploits like he was some worldly robber.\nTo the outsiders, Baan Dar is a legend, a story, a joke. Baan Dar is not these things. To the true Khajiit, Baan Dar is how we live. All Khajiit who grasp him, from the chained souls toiling on Dres plantations to the sellswords fighting for gold on the blood-stained fields of Cyrodiil, know how we honor Baan Dar.\nWhen ja'khajiit swipes the sweetmeat off your sill to fill her starving belly, she honors Baan Dar. When the slave with blood-matted hair slips her chains and cuts her slaver's throat, she honors Baan Dar. When the nomad gnaws off his foot to escape the trap you left to enslave him, he honors Baan Dar.\nDo you leave your valuables where all can see? Baan Dar will take them. Do you wait for others to break the slaver's chains? Baan Dar will slip away while you mew pitifully in the darkness. Baan Dar will not free you or comfort you or save you, but if you listen for him, Baan Dar will guide you as you save yourself.\nAcross the warm sands, beneath the warm sun, where those Khajiit not coddled by wood and stone and words prowl freely with blade and bow, Baan Dar asks only three things of all who follow him.\nDo not let others take it if you wish to keep it.\nDo not let others chain you if you wish to live without chains.\nDo not let others fool you if you wish not to be fooled.\nBaan Dar does not ask you to praise his name. Baan Dar does not ask you to offer him tribute. Baan Dar asks only that you not be stupid, for the warm sands of Elsweyr have no place for stupid Khajiit."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/valerianus-lentinus": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/valerianus-lentinus", "description": "Complaint about an over zealous priest", "author": "High Priestess Simplicia Nivianus", "title": "On Valerianus Lentinus", "text": "Father Isauricus,\nNormally, I wouldn't meddle in security matters at the temple, but I feel I must call your attention to a problem that has developed over the last few years. I know Valerianus has served honorably at his post for more than a decade, but I suspect I am not the only one here who is feeling frustrated about the current situation.\nOver the years, Valerianus has become extremely zealous about his faith. Indeed, one cannot even indulge in conversation with our dutiful guard without him expressing some sickeningly optimistic sentiment about how divine intervention might improve our lives. Last week, I was further shocked to overhear Valerianus preaching to some visitors about \"Arkay's holy might\" and \"Mara's sweet grace.\" When one of these innocent young ladies revealed that she wasn't in the habit of praying daily, Valerianus even went so far as to rebuke her for her \"derelictions.\" I would not want to hear any priest or priestess at the temple speaking to a visitor this way, let alone one of the temple guards.\nI fear the time has come for Valerianus to retire, and it needs to happen soon. Please give this matter your immediate and complete attention. If I have to hear \"Divines bless you, sister\" one more time, my ears might fall off.\nHigh Priestess Simplicia Nivianus"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/voriplasms": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/voriplasms", "description": "Basic information about these flesh-eating puddles of slime", "author": "Concordia Mercius", "title": "On Voriplasms", "text": "A dissertation on the oozes of the swamp by Concordia Mercius of Cyrodilic Collections.\nI have yet to see one of these exotic oozes personally, but I have it on good authority that voriplasms\u2014those mobile puddles of slime and ooze\u2014are really quite extraordinary! After extensive research and interviews with Murkmire locals, including our society's very own Jee-Lar, here are my findings on the subject of voriplasms.\nThe nature of the voriplasm remains something of a mystery. When encountered in the wild, be it in a shallow marsh or along a grassy riverbed, a voriplasm appears as nothing more than a puddle of thick and viscous green slime. On closer examination, however, one will notice that the slime doesn't spread and dissipate like a puddle. Instead, it holds its amorphous shape and undulates in a most disquieting manner. Without any visible sensory apparatus or internal organs of any kind, these remarkable blobs of ooze move, hunt, and consume with great efficiency. In fact, Jee-Lar claims to have seen a voriplasm take notice of a bantam guar that was more than twenty paces distant, slide across the ground at a dizzying speed, and engulf the poor creature before it even knew that it was in danger. Within moments, the ooze had devoured its prey and ejected the remaining bones as it slipped back into the pool where it had previously been sunning itself.\nFrom what I've been able to ascertain from the few scholarly works on the subject, voriplasms appear to have a rudimentary intelligence. Certainly, they recognize prey, avoid danger, and flee from stronger opponents, just like most predatory creatures. They cluster in groups and often hunt in packs as well as on their own. How they communicate remains a mystery, as does the methods they use to interact with the world around them. Attempts to dissect the creatures have not met with much success as yet, or so I've been told.\nOne scholar on the subject, Exerius Talos of the University of Gwylim, speculates that voriplasms reproduce by growing to a large size and then splitting apart to form new voriplasms. This seems to me to be an efficient if somewhat solitary process as far as spawning goes, but it makes sense for ambulatory blobs of slime.\nA more incredible theory concerns a seemingly related creature rumored to roam the wilds of Murkmire\u2014a creature called a voriplasmic corpse. Instead of expelling the bones of prey after a voriplasm devours its flesh, the ooze retains the skeleton and clings to it like a new layer of skin. When encountered in the wild, they appear as skeletal bodies where the flesh has melted from the bones and been replaced with voriplasmic slime. The ambulatory nature of the voriplasmic corpses, despite their name, has nothing to do with necromancy or some other supernatural occurrence. Like a snail that occupies a shell, a voriplasm utilizes a captured skeleton to give the ooze form and a more substantial definition. That, at least, is my current theory. I hope to learn more and update this volume after I finally get to participate in a Cyrodilic Collections expedition into the heart of Murkmire."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/once": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/once", "description": "Glories of the Direnni clan's past, and lamentations on their greatest failure", "author": "Beredalmo the Signifier", "title": "Once", "text": "Once, we were great.\nOnce, our battlereeves were masters of warfare, and our sapiarchs were wise and learned. Once, we ruled all High Rock from the Eltheric Ocean to the mountains of Wrothgar, and the Nedes were our thralls and concubines.\nOnce, Direnni Cygnus, the Swan of Tyrigel, discovered Balfiera and its Tower and claimed it for her own, decreeing that all of her clan who came after would bear her name.\nOnce, the art of Alchemy was all but undefined, until Asliel Direnni compiled his \"Compendious Almanac of Reagents,\" and was invited to join the first Psijics on Artaeum.\nOnce, before Raven Direnni and her \"Rules of Eldritch Binding,\" all Enchanting was unique, and enchantments failed nineteen times out of twenty.\nOnce, during the Alessian Reforms, Ryan Direnni stood up to the entire Empire. His Breton Legions, armed and commanded by Direnni Elves, controlled all the land as far east as Markarth and Elinhir. The Orc-hold of Orsinium has been sacked many times, but we Direnni sacked it first.\nOnce, at the Battle of Glenumbria Moors, Aiden Direnni's vastly outnumbered troops routed the entire Alessian Horde, then chased them back to Cyrodiil.\nOnce, before Corvus Direnni codified the rules of Conjuration, every summoning of even a minor Daedra was an act to be feared and avoided.\nOnce, Peregrine Direnni drove an entire Ra Gada flotilla back to Sentinel by merging her very will with the waves of the Iliac Bay.\nOnce, in a single day, Pelladil Direnni built Blackrose Prison from the scattered rubble of Lilmothiit ruins by summoning an army of Stone Atronachs.\nYes, we were great once. But no matter what our individual achievements, every Direnni since Cygnus has been eaten from within by failure.\nBecause we cannot solve the mystery of the Zero Stone, and use it to open the Argent Aperture which it wards.\nAt maturity, every Direnni of high blood is brought into the Tower, conducted to the Foundation Vault, and shown the Zero Stone. We are allowed to touch it\u2014once\u2014so as to feel the transcendent mystical power that courses through it, a power we have never been able to tap. And we are shown the Argent Aperture in the adjacent metallic wall, that door with its lock of thirteen slowly counter-rotating rings, a portal we have never been able to open.\nAnd we console ourselves that if we Direnni have never been able to siphon the Stone or unlock the Aperture, well then certainly, neither could anyone else. We return to the world above, and we do something spectacular\u2014so we will not have to face our failure.\nBut once, as our lives near their ends, each of us gathers together all our knowledge, the fruits of all our achievements, and once more makes that descent to the Foundation Vault. To try it. Just once.\nMost are found within a day or two, dead and horribly distorted. Some, like my darling Heron, live on though terribly disfigured, too brain-blasted to understand what has happened to them.\nMe? I keep to our chambers in the Tourmaline Steeple, caring for Heron by day, and translating Ayleid tomes in the library by night. And it's a good enough life, too.\nThough sometimes, when working on an ancient grimoire or librus magus I question whether the arcane writings of our long-lost cousins are not better left a mystery.\nBut then I think, is not all knowledge useful for something? And I think, what might this knowledge be useful for?\nAnd I think I might take that long walk downstairs.\nJust once."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ondagores-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ondagores-journal", "description": "Journal of a Necromancer going mad from a lichdom ritual", "author": "Ondagore", "title": "Ondagore's Journal", "text": "24th of Rain's Hand, 1E 1092\n\nAt long last, I cross the threshold of Styriche's tomb! No wonder it took me so long to find it. I never would have guessed that the superstitious Redguards would stash the Gray Hosts' remains in a Yokudan ruin! A delicious irony considering how much they detest the undead.\n\nI needn't move too quietly. These Pyre Watch guards are easily distracted, and few venture beyond the gates. Indeed, it seems I have the grave all to myself! Raising these fallen vampires shouldn't take long. An army of bone is finally within my grasp!\n\n3rd of Second Seed, 1E 1092\n\nI find myself hopelessly lost. The Pyre Watch placed powerful wards on many of the doors in this place, making a return to the entrance impossible. So, I venture deeper.\n\n5th of Second Seed, 1E 1092\n\nMy provisions run low, and I remain adrift in this maze of caverns and ash. I had hoped to raise an army of servants before I committed to my transformative ritual, but it seems I must accelerate the process.\nFunny. I hold the phylactery in my hand. I have the reagents in my possession. But now, at the critical moment of choice, I find myself hesitating. It must be the hunger. I've spent decades preparing for my ascension to lichdom. I cannot stop now even if I wanted to. Hesitation means starvation. I will begin the ritual at once.\n\n6th of Second Seed, 1E 1092\n\nSuccess. I think. Difficult to write. I feel a shaking in my heart. Always. My hands tremble at the slightest thought. Something is amiss. This will pass. It must pass.\n\n8th of Second Seed, 1E 1092\n\nAt long last, the shaking passed. But now I find myself unable to concentrate. I spend long hours gazing at the stone, imagining what it might look like painted, or pondering its composition. I conducted the ritual exactly as prescribed. My mind will clear in time. I'm sure of it.\n\n22nd Midyear, 1E 1092\n\nWhy does no one write? Why does no one visit? Here I sit in these grand halls of stone and ash conversing with myself. Myself, of all people! What have we to talk about, myself and I? The same old stories? The same stale jests? I must find a companion. I must!\n\n????\n\nI found this book. It says it's mine, but is it? I don't recognize the handwriting. I don't recall the events. Perhaps it's a prank. Yes, yet another prank to make me look like a fool. I'll show them\u2014those voices that laugh behind the walls at all hours of the night. Or is it day? Perhaps it's both. Or Neither.\n\n????\n\nA book! A book! A book that I can write in! The journal of Ondagore? What a miserable author. Complaints! Laments! Bah! I'm sure this person had it better than I! I don't mind solitude\u2014I don't! But a visitor would be welcome. Maybe. It depends on their manner, yes? Their deportment? Someone will come calling eventually. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/one-bosmers-response-dominion": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/one-bosmers-response-dominion", "description": "A plea for unification against the Dominion", "author": "Calahawn", "title": "One Bosmer's Response to the Dominion", "text": "The formation of the Dominion can end in only one way: with Bosmer necks under High Elf boots! Those arrogant bastards will subjugate all of Tamriel if they could. I won't stand for that, and none of you should, either.\nIt's time the Bosmer reclaimed Valenwood. Blacksap or Camoran loyalist, Green Pact stalwart or oathless salad-eaters\u2014it matters not. We'll simply need time, strength, and powerful magic.\nAppealing to Hircine may provide us with what we need. Risky, yes, but with great risk comes greater reward. For Valenwood!\n-Calahawn"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/one-dragon-two-dragon": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/one-dragon-two-dragon", "description": "A whimsical poem about dragons", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "One Dragon Two Dragon", "text": "One Dragon, two Dragon\nRed Dragon, blue Dragon.\nOne set free from a cage\nMany in the sky form a murderous rage.\nSome are cruel, some are fast\nSome will flame you as they pass.\nDragons will freeze you\nOr burn you to bits\nFling you with shouts\nOr drop you in pits!\nLook to the sky\nAt dawn or at night\nYou may see Dragons\nIn murderous flight!\nWhat makes Dragons mad?\nWhy do they stay?\nI do not know\nI just run away!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/one-staff-many-staves": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/one-staff-many-staves", "description": "Simple beginner instructions on staff making", "author": "Hoary Durotzel, the Wood Butcher of Ska'vyn", "title": "One Staff, Many Staves", "text": "All right, younglings, stop playing dodge-toe with your belt knives and gather 'round. I'm going to tell you a bit about how to make staves. Yes, you too, little Defessus!\nThe first thing I want to make clear is that a staff is a staff is a staff, whether you're going to use it to knock sense into some lunkhead's skull, or charge it up and shoot shock spells at cliff racers. It don't matter if you're making a quarterstaff or a spell staff, either way it has to be strong enough to withstand the force you're putting through it, and flexible enough not to crack or warp when that force is uneven. This even applies to restoration staves, 'cause healing magic is just as powerful as hurting, and not to be taken lightly.\nYou're going to want to make your staves out of something like maple, oak, ash, or elm wood, or whatever other dense wood you can find, because it has to stand up to being struck hard hundreds, or even thousands of times. But tough as the grain has to be on the inside, a staff has to be smooth as Dibella's bum on the outside, as the staff wielder may have to grip it on almost any part of its length. You don't want to have to face an angry wizard coming to you with oak splinters in his fireball hand."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/one-wilding-night": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/one-wilding-night", "description": "A song about a monstrous beast of the Wild Hunt", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "One Wilding Night", "text": "Sit my small fellows, as I spin you a tale of the beast cloaked in shadow, as a midsummer gale!\n\tWith a face all athunder with fangs pearly white, he could fell a whole forest with one terrible bite!\n\tWhen he came, one fine eve, upon Wilding Run with a mind full of murder, oh such wonderful fun!\n\tTo dizzy its people that treacherous night 'neath a star-spattered sky in the palest moonlight!\n\tThe Spinners came first, in this dreadful grim story, and the Treethane, his fate? Most assuredly gory!\n\tAll the guards in their bunks, tucked away in their beer! Torn apart in the night where no one could hear!\n\tAs for me? I escaped from that hideous fate, though the beast, he gave chase all the way to the gate!\n\tHow he yelled, how he stamped 'til I barely could see! All his rage, all his bluster 'neath the twisted old tree.\n\tAfter that? Who can guess! I know none who could tell of the others, all slain in that terrible quell.\n\tBut I tell you, my friend, 'fore I leave you this day\u2014if you ever do journey up that wilding way\u2026\n\tKeep your eyes to the road, do not waver! Don't hedge! Do not go in the wood! Do not stray near its edge!\n\tLest he catch you up quick in his terrible gaze and you find yourself faced with the end of your days!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ongoing-journal-galur-rithari": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ongoing-journal-galur-rithari", "description": "A Bouyant Arminger becomes a vampire, and desperate seeks escape", "author": "Galur Rithari", "title": "Ongoing Journal of Galur Rithari", "text": "I once possessed a life of highest esteem. As a prominent champion of the Buoyant Armigers I brought prominence to my family and respect to my name. I expected to live out my days in service to Lord Vivec and the Tribunal without want or regret. I foresaw a glorious end for myself. An honorable death, fit for song, earned on the field of battle. How wrong I was.\nWith all that was known of Bal Ur, I should have expected our enemy to move quickly on what would be my final post. The vampires of Clan Aundae were aggressively seeking to reclaim locations important to their vampire heritage. They came upon us without making a sound, slaying most of the unsuspecting warriors under my command before any blades were drawn. My response was lacking and I have the blood of many respected Armigers on my hands because of it.\nOutnumbered and isolated, I yielded to my foe. The creature dressed like a gentleman, and I hoped for honorable treatment. I found myself a feast for a blood-drinking monster.\nDays passed in the depths of Bal Ur and in my dying delirium I began to dream. At first it was divine. I felt the warm coastal breeze of Vivec City unblemished by the shadow of Baar Dau. Love and kindness surrounded me as I saw the radiant visage of Lord Vivec approaching. I felt forgiveness, and peace, but as Vivec grew closer he twisted into something truly putrid, something vile beyond words. I soon recognized the sight of Molag Bal's pitiless grin before the Daedric Prince's fangs plunged into my heart. In my fright, I woke, shivering and colder than death, but it was the absence of thunder in my chest that revealed my affliction. My disease.\nShamed by my corruption, and despairing of my own welfare, I passively acquiesced in my gradual integration into the affairs of Clan Aundae. I made no human my prey, only beasts, and kept myself apart from the other clankin; nonetheless, I abandoned hope and lived like a beast.\nNow, I find myself searching for some respite from this thirst. I must feast on the life blood of mortals to sate this gnawing agony, but to condemn another innocent to death, or worse. I would sooner leap into the flames of Red Mountain. Still, I am uncertain how long my self-loathing can hold back this need. Things cannot continue as they have. I have to do something. But what?\nAshalmawia. My clankin murmur disapproval of the Worm Cult's claim over the ruin. They speak of rituals and offerings made to the shrine for the favor of the Lord of Troubles. I share my kin's disgust at these acts, but for very different reasons. I volunteered to keep watch over Ashalmawia and slipped away from Clan Aundae with barely an acknowledgment.\nI must not become used to this. It is easy to think of these cultists as vermin, but I am no less a monster for having slain them. Their blood is a balm, dispelling my agony leaving in its place vigor and bliss. Only in the aftermath do I find the presence of mind to revile what I have done. If I meet my end in this place, I will have deserved it.\nNo, it would be more fitting for this wretched existence to be extinguished where it began. In this torment, my thoughts always return to Bal Ur. Perhaps I should as well."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/oodegus-journal%E2%80%94keep-out": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/oodegus-journal%E2%80%94keep-out", "description": "Planning an evil plan", "author": "Oodegu", "title": "Oodegu's Journal\u2014Keep Out!", "text": "Soon, I will have attained the power I need to return to Wrothgar and claim my place in the Orsinium hierarchy. You wouldn't believe how long I searched or how far I traveled to find a cave that possessed all of the components necessary to complete my arcane ritual. But Hightide Hollow has proven to exceed even my greatest expectations! The flowing lava alone made the trip worth it.\nOf course, convincing the Shadowsilk Goblins to bow down and follow me halfway across Tamriel took a considerable amount of time and effort. I had to kill two of their leaders and give their shaman an embarrassing beating to solidify my position at the top of the tribe. They're still Goblins, but at least now they actually know how to obey simple commands and carry out rudimentary orders.\nThe spiders, of course, were unexpected. Shalk I understand and was ready for, given their propensity for gathering near molten lava. But the spiders\u2014what drew them into these caves is beyond me! Just another challenge thrown before me by Mauloch or some other annoying, interfering, totally worthless entity. I shall rise to this challenge, however, for the ritual is ready and the time to cast it is almost upon us.\nSoon, so very soon, I shall become more powerful than even King Kurog can imagine! As long as my loyal but stupid Goblin horde (or at least what remains of them) can hold back the spiders for a while longer."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/oozrul-headstrong": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/oozrul-headstrong", "description": "Warning about the cursed helm of a great Orsimer hero", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Oozrul the Headstrong", "text": "Here lies a hero as stubborn and possessive in death as he was in life. Let no one disturb Oozrul's remains, nor steal his precious helm, lest they suffer his eternal curse. Whosoever would possess the helm shall be reviled by the Orsimer and shall be driven from their lands, never to return."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/opening-performance-notes": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/opening-performance-notes", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Opening Performance Notes ", "text": "\"One day, in full view of the n'wah, the mehra of Koal Canton \u2026 and so he crushed some muckspunge pulp into a netch's tentacles.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ophelias-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ophelias-journal", "description": "A Covenant officer explains a plan at Bonestrewn Crest", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Ophelia's Journal", "text": "We lost Sergeant Marceau today. Poor Henri! The traps in the barrow finally caught him. I feel quite bad about it, even though I barely knew the man. I was about to step onto a hidden pressure plate when he noticed and pulled me out of the way, but he lost his balance and set it off himself. It was awful. And just this morning, I was having a conversation with him about how he arranges his kit. How depressing.\nValcent's eagerness and pride when we first got this assignment has turned into something else entirely. When he learned of this crypt, he was adamant we explore it. Henri's death didn't even phase him. He demanded we leave the poor man's body where it fell and continue our mission.\nI don't understand how Valcent hopes to turn the barrow's dead into an army. We were sent here to build local opposition to King Jorunn, but Valcent feels this will advance our cause in some way I can't begin to understand. I don't know what Valcent is up to.\nFor the moment, we're just waiting. The door to the next chamber is locked, and Owen is crafting a key to open it. I convinced Owen to make a copy of the key for me. I don't trust Valcent, and I believe in making sure there's always a contingency. That's the Covenant way.\nThat's why I'm hiding the key inside this journal."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/or-else": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/or-else", "description": "A letter demanding results. Wuuthrad mentioned", "author": "Gullveig", "title": "Or Else", "text": "We're too close to risk exposure. The girl is a problem. Interrogate her, find out what she knows. Then end her.\nAnd find that shard of Wuuthrad, or I'll have you sent to Lost Prospect as ritual fodder.\n\u2014 Gullveig"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/oracles-vision": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/oracles-vision", "description": "Omens of Daedric invasion", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Oracle's Vision", "text": "The dark veil is stretched thin, allowing the visions to flow like snow melting on the first day of spring.\nI see a web, entangling all that it touches and bringing trouble to the green and pleasant island.\nI see the other island, the one that went away, threatened by a force long thought vanquished.\nI see three dark princes, joined in a conspiracy of vile and evil intentions.\nAnd in the middle of it all, ready to sway events, but in which direction I cannot fathom, stands <<1>>.\nMy visions stir up interest from the darkest corners. I must hide before they catch me!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/orc-clans-and-symbology": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/orc-clans-and-symbology", "description": "Information on the ancient clans of Wrothgar", "author": "Kraltha the Rememberer", "title": "Orc Clans and Symbology", "text": "An Excerpt\nDuring the time of the Orsinium that was, the city that existed when the temple now known as Ire was originally constructed, six Orc clans rose to prominence in the region. Today, these particular clans have disappeared, either absorbed into more powerful clans or simply faded away, but at their height they had remarkable influence on Orc culture and the raising of Orsinium. Let's look at these clans and the symbols that identified them.\nClan Bragosh, the Hammer Clan\n\tKnown for their smithing skills, this clan created specialized armor and weapons and was known as a trader of goods and supplies. Evidence suggests the clan was eventually absorbed by the Morkul clan.\nClan Pandrum, the Fire Clan\n\tA clan rumored to be filled with primitive healers and shamans, they supposedly controlled fire, using it as both a weapon and a tool to take care of a variety of tasks. They seem to have disappeared from history after the second siege of Orsinium.\nClan Enclave, the Star Clan\n\tNot much is known about this mysterious clan, other than they provided aid to other clans for their own purposes. Rumors persist that the clan still exists somewhere deep in the Wrothgar wilderness.\nClan Luccin, the Wolf Clan\n\tThis clan was known for conducting effective and terrorizing raids during the night. They were adept at moving through darkness and often took their enemies completely by surprise. Some believe that the clan was eventually absorbed by the Shatul clan.\nClan Murtag, the Rock Clan\n\tOne of the oldest clans still in existence to the current day, this clan makes its home in the mountains of Wrothgar, carving dwellings deep within the very rock itself.\nClan Ruskahr, the Owl Clan\n\tA clan of highly skilled archers, they were known for their impressive tracking and hunting skills. They revered owls of all types, but especially the snow owl."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/orchelors-diary": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/orchelors-diary", "description": "The Hound takes over, but where is the Silvenar?", "author": "Orchelor", "title": "Orchelor's Diary", "text": "Thirteen Days until the Handfast:\n\tThey say there was some trouble in Velyn Harbor, but the first supplies for the celebration have finally arrived. I've been helping Borwaeneth and Helondanbor sorting and storing. Everyone's very excited.\nEleven Days until the Handfast:\n\tWord of some trouble with the Dru'blog. The treethane announced that all Wood Orc visitors must talk to her before they can take up residence in the city.\nEight Days until the Handfast:\n\tThe minstrels are here! There'll be a small celebration at the inn tonight as we welcome the best musicians in Malabal Tor to Silvenar!\nBack from the celebration. The band didn't sound quite right. I don't think they've ever played together.\n\tThe Altmeri singer kept stopping the rest of the band, then she and Laen argued. Finally, one of the Khajiit hit the other over the head with her flute and things got out of hand.\nSix Days until the Handfast:\n\tA huge entourage arrived. We thought it might be the Silvenar and the Green Lady, but it was someone called Ulthorn the Hound. His \"Houndsmen\" look pretty tough.\n\u2026By Y'ffre, they are tough\u2014and that's not all! The band got together to play a \"welcome\" for the Hound and some of his men went crazy and turned into werewolves! The mer are all over the town!\nThree Days until the Handfast:\n\tI haven't been outside since the Houndsmen took over. There are rumors they captured our spinners, holding them in their houses. Did the spinners tell this story? How will it end?\nThe Hound keeps to himself in the throne room. Where is the Green Lady? Where is the Silvenar?\nTwo Days until the Handfast:\n\tThe Green Lady arrived! She challenged the Hound and he came \u2026 but he didn't come alone. At first, she looked angry, but then the Houndsmen witches started doing something. She seemed to get sleepy, but she didn't fall. The Hound caught her and they went up into the Throne Room!\nWhere is the Silvenar?"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/orcs-and-their-tusks": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/orcs-and-their-tusks", "description": "An informal study of the word tusk as an orcish curse. Mostly meant to replace a certain real-world four letter world.", "author": "Folms Selet", "title": "Orcs and Their Tusks", "text": "An Informal Study\nWhat is the fascination the typical Orc has with his (or her) own tusks? I swear, if they aren't constantly polishing or sharpening the damn things, they're studying them in whatever reflective surface is at hand or looking longingly at the tusks of their neighbors. And when they're not doing these things, they're talking about their tusks like they were royal heirlooms or ancient relics that were almost magical in nature. Let me tell you, it's enough to drive this Dark Elf a bit mad!\nWhile I supposed it would be rude to just come right out and ask an Orc about this obsession with all things tusk related, I decided that making a study of how the word and concept of the tusk was used in everyday Orc speech could help me reach some level of understanding. The first Orc I approached about the subject, a young female who I'll call \"Orcah\", made an angry face - at least, I think it was angry; I find it difficult to tell the difference when it comes to the countenance of the average Orc\u00a0- and told me in an angry voice to \"tusk off!\"\nWhat an odd expression, I thought. \"Tusk off.\" Simple, declarative. It means almost nothing, but as it emerged from Orcah's mouth, I knew exactly what she wanted me to do. I departed quickly, making my apologies in great haste even as she was reaching for the axe hanging at her side.\nThis got me to thinking about other Orcish expressions that contained the ubiquitous word. For example, \"By Malacath's tusk!\" This seems to be an all-purpose exclamation that substitutes the proper noun with any of a multitude of famous or infamous Orcs. I've heard Orcs swear by the tusks of Malacath, Trinimac, Kurog, Bazrag, Forge-Mother Alga, Urtho the Flatulent, and even hearth-mothers and ancient ancestors that no one but the Orc making the exclamation even remembers. And for variety, the forsworn tusks might be chipped, cracked, broken, missing, pierced, or any of a myriad of shades and colors.\nAnother expression I hear over and over in the Orsinium taverns,\"Better than a kick in the tusks,\" seems to imply that one unpleasant experience is somewhat less agreeable than another unpleasant experience. When one Orc says to another, \"I heard you fell into a pond full of leeches\",\u00a0her companion exclaims, \"Yeah\", but it was better than a kick in the tusks,\" I can only conclude that no matter how horrible an ordeal an Orc suffers, there could always be something worse. I suppose that an Orc's tusks are extremely sensitive and a kick must instill in them unbearable pain. Or, it's just something to say and you can't really infer anything deeper from the conversation. Orcs can be so confusing.\nBut this is just the tip of the tusk, as it were. Spend a few hours in an Orc tavern and you'll hear all kinds of expressions involving tusks. \"Tusk you!\" \"Who gives a tusk?\" \"You tusking idiot!\" \"What the tusk?\" \"Stop tusking around!\" \"Tusk me!\" And perhaps my favorite, \"Go tusk yourself,\" which at first glance seems to be an impossible request, but I've seen what an Orc tusk can do to flesh and blood. An Orc must really dislike the person he or she offers this fierce suggestion to.\nI decided to make one more attempt to get an Orc to discuss the topic of tusks with me. This time I chose a striking young female who was seated by herself in a dark corner, making her way to the bottom of a bottle of Orsinium pink zinfandel. I asked if she'd be willing to talk about the many uses for the word \"tusk\" in the Orcish vocabulary.\n\"Tusk no!\" she told me in no uncertain terms. Nevertheless, I pressed the issue.\n\"Are you tusking kidding me?\" she asked. When I assured her I wasn't \"tusking kidding her,\" she balled up her fist and knocked me on my arse.\n\"Tusk!\" I exclaimed. And I finally understood the true meaning of the word."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/orcs-skyrim": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/orcs-skyrim", "description": "A bias history of Orcish civilization in Skyrim", "author": "Thora Far-Wanderer", "title": "Orcs of Skyrim", "text": "No pest has proven more resilient to the Nords of Skyrim than the common Orc. The tusked people claim occupancy of our fair realm, stretching back before the time Ysgramor crossed the Sea of Ghosts. Though few written accounts still exist of that time, there is mention in the histories of the Companions uprooting Orc strongholds even as they burned the Snow Elves from the land.\nOrc strongholds are well defended outposts often situated around deposits of mineral wealth. Each contains the infrastructure to support a dozen or more families, surrounded by walls designed to repel anything but the strongest martial force. Many jarls are remembered in song for dying vainly while attempting to root a stronghold from their lands. Worse, destroyed strongholds often return within a generation of their destruction if not countered by a Nord fort that needs a constant supply of troops and provisions.\nFew jarls can afford to defend piles of rock for more than a few years, and thus the Orc strongholds remain a pox upon our land. Some strongholds have persisted in this way for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. It's said that the ancient Orc stronghold of Cradlecrush in Eastmarch has never been taken by force or abandoned, despite the complete exhaustion of the mineral vein it sits upon.\nThe height of Orcish power in Skyrim came with the establishment of Yashnag's Chiefdom in the early Second Era. With the destruction of Orsinium by the combined Breton and Redguard forces, the Orcs were scattered across the North in a great exodus. Yashnag and his people, exiled from High Rock, fled east to reclaim lands in Skyrim they felt were theirs by ancient right. The King of West Skyrim, Svartr, was ineffective in holding back the Orcs and the Reachmen that plagued the West Kingdom during his rule. The chiefdom was a bane upon Western Falkreath for more than thirty years, until it was burned out by Hakkvilld Yashnag-Slayer in the year 467 of the Second Era.\nHakkvild became Jarl of Falkreath when Yashnag killed his father on the field of battle. The young jarl inherited little more than a crumbling hold largely occupied by Orcish invaders from the west. It is said that Hakkvild challenged Yashnag and a host of Yashnag's Orc champions to a ritual trial by combat. He defeated each in turn. How Hakkvild learned of this obscure Orcish ritual is not known, but with their leader's defeat, Yashnag's followers abandoned the chiefdom.\nWith the destruction of the chiefdom, the Orcs scattered further into Skyrim or back into the mountains of Wrothgar. Orc clans descended from Yashnag's people have an intense hatred of the Kings of Skyrim. It's ironic that this enmity for the Nords has grown, even as the Orcs themselves have re-established ties with the peoples of western Tamriel that burned their first home hundreds of years ago."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/orcs-tamriel-volume-3": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/orcs-tamriel-volume-3", "description": "Scholarly research on the Iron Orcs, a special variant from Craglorn", "author": "Grassius Vilco", "title": "Orcs of Tamriel, Volume 3 ", "text": "We come now to the \"Iron Orcs\" of Craglorn. I was shocked to find that almost no scholarly work on the subject exists. It did not take me long to find out why.\nStudying the Iron Orcs proved to be a difficult endeavor given that they are uniformly hostile toward anyone perceived to be an outsider. \"Hostile\" is an understatement in this case: during my time in Craglorn I routinely found bodies hacked and cleaved, then pinned to trees with crude iron nails. This was unsettling, but informative. What could drive such brutality, I wondered. As with most things, the answer lay in the past.\nStudy of ancient Orcish cave paintings and Nedic ruins revealed a surprising number of stylistic similarities. These shared motifs clearly indicate a rich cultural exchange between primitive Orcs and Nedes. Abandonment of this shared symbology appears to have been gradual, indicating a prolonged period of estrangement. Conflicts became more common and intense during periods of rapid Nedic advancement in metal and stonecraft. Numerous Nedic frescos depict armored warriors in conflict with unarmored Orcs. We can only assume that these paintings depicted actual military victories against their less developed neighbors.\nAt some point in the late Merethic Era, a fundamental rearrangement of Iron Orc civilization occurred. What had been a largely peaceful, shamanistic society rapidly transformed into a community of miners, smiths, and warriors\u2014much more in keeping with the conventional Orsimeric narrative. There were some notable differences, however. The Iron Orcs adopted a warfare methodology that was almost bestial in nature. My associates and I discovered a series of mass graves filled with corpses in every state of disrepair\u2014broken spines, shattered skulls, cracked ribcages. Most of these injuries were sustained after the killing blow, and many of the corpses bore no weapons or armor of any kind.\nI believe the evidence we uncovered in Craglorn paints a compelling narrative. The Iron Orcs (whose reverence for stone persists to this day) were driven to mining and war by a desperate need to defend themselves and the pristine stones they worshipped. In taking up the pick and spade, they were committing a dreadful blasphemy. Anger eventually gave way to hatred\u2014specifically for the Nedes who drove them to this sacrilege. If this interpretation is accurate, we can conclude that Iron Orc anger is anger of the most dangerous kind: anger driven by self-loathing. In order to protect their culture and the stone they worship, they had to twist both into something dark and horrifying. I fear that it is an anger and quiet sadness too dark and deep to ever truly recover from. We can only hope for a cultural shift from within their own ranks. I suspect we will be waiting a long time."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/orcs-monsters-or-misunderstood": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/orcs-monsters-or-misunderstood", "description": "A positive outlook on Orcs", "author": "Taleon Mythmaker", "title": "Orcs: Monsters or Misunderstood?", "text": "Think Orcs are simple beastfolk, one of the Goblin races? Think again!\nTrinimac, strongest of the Altmeri ancestor spirits, gave birth to the powerful and proud Orcs. When he was changed by the Daedric Prince Boethiah, his people changed as well, becoming the Orcs we know today.\n\tThese noble creatures display unshakeable courage in battle. They demonstrate uncompromising endurance in hardships that would overwhelm anyone of another race. Widely feared and hated, the Orcs have nevertheless slowly won acceptance in the Empire.\nOrc society is imagined to be rough and cruel, but there is a fierce loyalty that runs deeply through their culture. Their armorers produce some of the finest armor in all the land, demonstrating conclusively that Orcs aren't the monsters our campfire stories make them out to be.\nThat said, make no mistake: Orcs are fierce and strong, and their ability to wage war should not be underestimated. An Orc is more likely to strike first than start up a conversation, and that strike is always meant to maim or kill. Their physical size and prowess make them gravitate toward two-handed weapons, which they wield with wild abandon.\nDo not mistake their frightening visage and towering size for stupidity or lack of culture. They might be despised and feared (the latter with good reason), but anyone who dismisses them as mindless monsters does so at great peril."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/orcs-vermin-among-us": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/orcs-vermin-among-us", "description": "A negative description of Orcs", "author": "Absolon Sorick", "title": "Orcs: The Vermin Among Us", "text": "They lair in holes. They breed in huge numbers, and smell of rotted meat. I speak not of skeevers, gentle reader, but of Orcs. The threat on the horizon, the unrelenting horde. \"But Sorick,\" I hear you saying, \"are they not our allies now?\" It's good that you want to believe in the leadership of King Emeric. It's good that you want to believe in this Covenant that now binds us to the beastmen of Orsinium.\nBut in truth, your belief is foolish. Your trust in the king is misplaced. For these subhumans have a cruel and vicious cunning. Like a hunting wolf pack, the Orcs lie still in the tall grass. They wait for us to let down our guard. Even great men like His Majesty can be misled by this simple tactic.\nThey now walk among us. They serve in the honored Lion Guard. They take work as sellswords, protecting our wealthiest merchants. They infiltrate our temples as bodyguards for holy men. Gentle reader, do you not see? Can't you see how every luxury we give these animals only encourages them? Every opportunity is just another opening in our armor for their rough-hewn blades to pierce!\nWith their unnatural strength, they take up work that should be borne by Breton shoulders. The thickness of their stinking hides gives them a defense that no Redguard man can stand against. In cities across Covenant lands, stories grow of Orcs defiling our women and siring unnatural half-breeds!\nHow long will you let this stand, reader? How long will you bend a knee to these filthy animals? I say, no more! Join with like-minded people in your village today, and rise up against these beasts. These scum. These \u2026 Orcs."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/orcs-could-be-worse": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/orcs-could-be-worse", "description": "One muted Covenant opinion of Orcs", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Orcs? Could Be Worse", "text": "I'll say this about the Orcs: I'm sure glad they're on our side now.\nIt wasn't always like that. Forty years ago, my grandfather fought in a raid on Orsinium. Those Orcs are relentless, he said. When an Orc's bleeding, and you've broken one of his bones, and he's getting back on his feet after you've knocked him down in the mud, that's the worst, because that's when he's even more dangerous.\nThat's why we worked with the Redguards to raze Orsinium to the ground. That's why we burned down every Orc stronghold we could find and stamped on the ashes\u2014because we knew the Orcs would get back up again. We knew the best we could do was just delay them.\nNowadays Orsinium is stronger than ever\u2014but we all know that we've got worse problems than Orcs.\n\tI would expect the Orcs to hold a grudge about us keeping them down, but that's one of the strange things about dealing with an Orc. I've actually seen one punch another in the face. The guy who got a broken nose just stood there and grinned. They might fight, or one of them might die, but Orcs make sure that whatever's going on, it's going to get settled real quick. And then it's over.\nWhen we burned down Orsinium, it was a bit more than a punch in the face, but the Orcs made sure a treaty settled all that real quick.\nI've never met an Orc who wasn't good in a fight, but I get the feeling some of them really want more to their lives than fighting. I guess when you live or die by the swords and armor you've made, you learn to make them right the first time. I'm still stunned by how good their craftsmanship is. Everything's built to last.\n\tI think both of us\u2014the Bretons and the Orcs\u2014realized we could make a lot more money trading with each other than fighting with each other. And if there's one thing Bretons know how to do, it's make money. Well, it's not the only thing we do, but you get the idea.\nI know where I stand with an Orc. I also know where I stand with the Nords: and if they think they can still send raiding parties into High Rock, well, now we've got an army of Orcs on our side ready to kick their arses all the way back to Skyrim.\nAnd that's why I always say: I'm sure glad those Orcs are on our side."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/orcthanes-orders": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/orcthanes-orders", "description": "", "author": "In Fildgor's Name, Dhalen", "title": "Orcthane's Orders", "text": "Hail Stormfists! Take the courtyard and hold it. Don't attack the keep until I give the command.\nSend in the duplicates when they arrive. With any luck, we won't even have to raise a weapon to finish off the false king."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/order-battle-partial": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/order-battle-partial", "description": "An Aldmeri military order", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Order of Battle (partial)", "text": "\u2014frigates, four brigandines, and twelve sloops.\nIn addition, the fleet will be comprised of sixteen vessels of the Queen's Own Navy: privateers and merchant marine serving primarily as naval support. These ships are under the command of Commodore Elpion, officer in charge of logistics, with the following exceptions:\n\u2014Phynaster's Promise is designated as a courier vessel under direct control of the Admiral of the Fleet. Its primary duty is to relay dispatches between the other ships until our initial landing. At need, she can also be used as a fast transport for the ambassadorial contingent. She is not to be separated from the fleet needlessly, as the Promise is an emergency contact vessel with the continent should other communication methods prove ineffective.\n\u2014The privateer sloop the Prowler is to be considered a vessel of independent command. While it is carrying cargo for Khenarthi's Roost, its primary purpose is to serve as an independent scout vessel. The Prowler's crew does not know of this arrangement, considering themselves to be signed on in service to the Queen's Own like any other vessel. However, Captain Jimila has separate orders which she will reveal should the need\u2014"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/order-eye-dispatch": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/order-eye-dispatch", "description": "The scryers have made a discovery", "author": "Docent Skaldir", "title": "Order of the Eye Dispatch", "text": "To the Arch-Mage, on Eyevea,\nI pray that this letter reaches you soon, master. My fellow scryers and I have made a shocking discovery. Whether it proves to be a boon or a catastrophe remains to be seen. Alas, we do not wield sufficient power to act on our findings. This matter may be beyond the ken of even the greatest wizards of our age!\nI humbly beseech you: meet me at the Mages Guildhall in Mournhold as soon as possible. I will tell you everything when you arrive.\nYours in the Sight of Syrabane,\n\tDocent Skaldir, Associate Scryer of the Order of the Eye"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/order-hour": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/order-hour", "description": "The history of this knightly order", "author": "Exordor Vasidius", "title": "Order of the Hour", "text": "By Exordor Vasidius, Sermonizer, Priest of Akatosh\nThe Order of the Hour is one of the oldest knightly orders in the Empire. It was born early in the life of the Empire, during the First Era, and eventually faded into obscurity during the Second Era. It was founded by Ennon Decan as an order of knights dedicated to Akatosh, though originally it drew its members from the priesthood and military alike.\nThe most recent incarnation of the Order of the Hour was established in 2E 432 by the warrior-priest of Akatosh, Cavor Merula, in response to the collapse of the Second Empire and the coming of the Longhouse Emperors. Fearing for the safety of the Dragon God priesthood and wanting to protect the Cathedral of Akatosh and its many historic and religiously significant treasures, Cavor gathered a few devoted and trusted fellow priests and dedicated himself and his brothers to the defense of the Cathedral. On that day, the Order of the Hour was reborn.\nSoon, devout soldiers and warrior-priests in service to Akatosh began to flock to the Order's banner. The feared retribution against the Divines by the Longhouse Emperors never materialized, however, and the Order of the Hour transformed into a small but elite unit of bodyguards devoted to the Cathedral and its resident Primate, the leader of the Akatosh faith. In many ways, the Order of the Hour developed into a mostly ceremonial organization, although they maintained their training and combat readiness. When the occasional threat did strike from the shadows, the Order was prepared.\nTake, for example, the Kvatch bread riots of 2E 467. The common folk, fearful and angry due to the red wheat blight that devastated crops for the second year in a row, decided that Akatosh and his priests weren't doing enough to rectify the situation. Gruff Bojour led an ax- and torch-bearing mob to the very steps of the Cathedral, intent on inflicting violence and making their displeasure known. But the Order of the Hour was ready for the assault, and Sister Severa and her warrior-priests slaughtered half the crowd before even a single torch had been thrown. The Primate promised to pray to end the tribulation, and by the next season the blight had run its course.\nOther examples of the bravery and dedication of the Order of the Hour exist, including saving Primate Phrastus from an assassin's blade in 2E 540 and rescuing a caravan of priests and pilgrims from bandits in 2E 561. The Order has never wavered from its vow to serve and protect the Cathedral, and by extension, the priests and worshipers who occupy the holy place.\nIn 2E 480, a writ from the Primate of Akatosh authorized the Order to form into an army during times of religious emergencies. Answering only to religious authority, the militarized Order took to the walls of Kvatch to protect the city from a horde of brigands led by the charismatic Orc marauder, Baz Swordbreaker. Thanks to the efforts of the Order, the brigands were defeated and the city saved. Immediately thereafter, the army disbanded and the Order returned to its regular duties at the Cathedral.\nRecruits to the Order must be devout followers of Akatosh, unmarried so that they may devote themselves fully to the Order and its intense regimens. While the Order began as a small group of warrior-priests, the organization has recently broadened its acceptance criteria so that non-clergy can undertake the vows. Once indoctrinated into the Order, members undergo enhanced training in combat and skills related to keeping the Cathedral safe.\nWhen the Gold Coast isolated itself from Cyrodiil after the Empire collapsed and the Three Banners War began, Artorius Ponticus, Primate of Kvatch, immediately set out to bolster the power and scope of the Order of the Hour. He instructed Commander Marcus Scipio to increase the size of the Order and set about expanding the Order's responsibilities beyond the boundaries of the Cathedral and into the rest of the city of Kvatch. This was done, as the Primate has said on numerous occasions, \"To reinforce the capabilities of the Kvatch Guard in these dangerous and troubling times.\" As anyone can plainly see, the Primate has only the best interests of Kvatch and its people in mind.\nWith recent threats against the city and the Cathedral, the Count of Kvatch has granted the Primate of Akatosh emergency powers to once again convert the Order into an army. Today, the Order of the Hour boasts the largest force in the history of the organization. With a mix of devoted warrior-priests and dedicated soldiers of faith filling its growing ranks, the Order now maintains the safety and keeps the peace of not only the Cathedral of Akatosh's grounds, but of all of Kvatch as well. No matter how chaotic things get on the other side of Varen's Wall, on the Kvatch side, the Order has things well in hand."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/orders-are-orders": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/orders-are-orders", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Orders are Orders", "text": "The soft-skins can't do their dirty work alone, but who are we to refuse their gold? They want to break up some stupid wedding, then help them \u2026 but be smart.\nThese Elves have different magic than we do. Maybe they can help with the crown. I don't trust that Speaker-in-Empty-Air or her promises. I want assurances if we do what she asks, we'll get what we want.\nTurn the Silvenar over to the Houndsmen for their ritual, but keep any other captives separate. I'll question them later. And don't let the tribes fight! We get our way, and the Dominion will be sorry for excluding us."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/orders-athal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/orders-athal", "description": "", "author": "Hegris", "title": "Orders for Athal", "text": "Athal,\nYou get the hardest job. Head toward Cheydinhal. Don't go anywhere near the town for now. Find a cave or ruins and make a strong base. Stay hidden. After Claudette and Zandur have completed their tasks, we'll move against Cheydinhal.\nThat's all you do for now. Wait for my signal."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/orders-attius": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/orders-attius", "description": "Failure won't be tolerated by this general", "author": "Septima Tharn", "title": "Orders for Attius", "text": "Commander Attius:\nI expect you to hold the garrison at all costs. You can and should leverage the captives as hostages if it comes to that. Should the unthinkable occur, instruct your men to fall back across the bridge to the crypts. I have given Battlemage Papus instructions on how to summon the \"gifts\" left buried in the pass so long ago. The garrison will not fall, our lord will see to that.\nGlory to Molag Bal,\n\u2014 Septima Tharn\n\tMagus-General, Imperial Seventh Legion"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/orders-falinir": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/orders-falinir", "description": "An unskilled hunter to be used as bait", "author": "Huntmaster Cretia", "title": "Orders for Falinir", "text": "Brother Falinir,\nYour bravery is commendable, but I must deny your request to fight alongside the vanguard. You have performed admirably these last two years, but for our plan to succeed I need the strongest warriors holding the line. I am sorry.\nAs I have said countless times in the past, we all contribute to the hunt in different ways. Volas brings a sharp eye, Borsgrag brings a strong sword-arm, and you bring your inelegant swiftness.\nCoursing is a vital part of any successful wolf-hunt, Falinir. Without you acting as bait, ambushes would be impossible. Is it a glorious task? No. But this is not a glorious business. I hope you understand.\nPlease report to Eidre at dusk to be fitted with your meat-garment.\nEbonarm protect you.\nHuntmaster Cretia"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/orders-knightly-order": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/orders-knightly-order", "description": "Orders mentioning the Memory Stone of Makela Leki", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Orders from a Knightly Order", "text": "Dame Doisne,\nThrough King Eamond, High King Emeric has requested the order's assistance in doing a favor for King Fahara'jad. Centuries ago, a group of Redguard exiles sought refuge in Evermore. Not trusting the exiles, the king held them in an underground prison. Unfortunately, their status was never resolved, and the prison became their crypt\u2014the Crypt of the Exiles.\nAmong the exiles was a warrior named Ulbazar who had stolen a Redguard artifact, the Memory Stone of Makela Leki. King Fahara'jad has asked to have it be returned. Retrieve the stone from Ulbazar's sepulcher and bring it to Madaima, a Redguard scholar at Martyr's Crossing. She will return it to King Fahara'jad's Impervious Vault in Sentinel.\nSaint Pelin watch over you,\n\tKnight-Commander Varaine"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/orders-commander-pyline": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/orders-commander-pyline", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Orders from Commander Pyline", "text": "Our efforts within Northpoint proceed as planned. Lady Lleraya assures us that success will soon be ours and the march toward Shornhelm will begin shortly.\nKeep to your posts and remain vigilant. If the Shornhelm Guard shows up, dispatch them immediately. And continue to watch for any of the missing Northpoint Guard who escaped or went into hiding when we took the city and locked the gates.\nIf you have questions, please see me or Captain Khala at the command post that overlooks the eastern shore. One of us will always be stationed there.\nAll hail House Montclair!\n\t\u2014 Commander Pyline"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/orders-duke-renchant": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/orders-duke-renchant", "description": "Private note about an Imperial plot", "author": "Duke Renchant", "title": "Orders from Duke Renchant", "text": "Captain Hjurrun,\nIt is imperative that we move forward and transition the city to Imperial control immediately. I regret to inform you that your hero from the lighthouse, [Player Name], has been asking questions and regrettably, does not seem to share our convictions. Though I would prefer to avoid shedding any blood in the transfer of power, I would urge you to act quickly and decisively should your friend try to intervene. Remember that we do this to save the city.\nGods be with you,\nDuke Renchant\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/orders-fildgor": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/orders-fildgor", "description": "Orders from the Orcthane", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Orders from Fildgor", "text": "Leimaer,\nThe Stormfist Brigade continues to make me proud! I knew you'd be able to make it to the final contest. You'll be close enough to touch my weakling brother! Just as we planned. Deliver my message to Jorunn. Look into his eyes as you perform the deed.\nMy brother will be protected, but you are stronger than the cowards guarding him. Kill them all and return to me.\n\u2014Fildgor Orcthane"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/orders-general-endare": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/orders-general-endare", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Orders from General Endare", "text": "To: All Jade Dragoons\nRegarding: Excavation of the Falinesti Winter Site\nOur elite company has taken on the task of locating powerful items of magic and arcane relics in the areas of Grahtwood most likely to conceal such devices. The Jade Dragoons can play their part in the Aldmeri Dominion's war by preemptively securing these objects for our queen.\nDo not think that you, an elite company of dragoons, the heroes of Cormount, are above such efforts. One can turn the tide with shovels as surely as with swords.\nWe will not allow ourselves to be hindered by any obstacles! Naturally, these items of renown will be protected\u2014by living or undead guardians, or traps and locks we'll have to bypass. We'll need our wits to win this war for the Dominion.\nDo not waver, dragoons! The Falinesti Faithful say we \"profane a holy site\" with our efforts. They will understand the importance of our efforts when we press them into service. Persevere and you will be rewarded, my Jade soldiers.\n\u2014Gen. Endare"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/orders-hegris": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/orders-hegris", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Orders from Hegris", "text": "Zandur,\nBruma is ripe for the taking. When the time comes, it will be ours. The peasants and Dremora will never see us coming. Find a hidden base and wait for my signal.\nDo not attempt to contact Claudette. I'll have both of you skinned and served for dinner if you ruin my plans.\n\t\u2014 Hegris"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/orders-lady-anais": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/orders-lady-anais", "description": "A list of things any noblewoman needs for sudden travel", "author": "Lady Anais Velmont", "title": "Orders from Lady Anais", "text": "To Brekusin, Steward of Velmont,\nAs you have no doubt heard by now, I had to leave quickly and unexpectedly to handle business and social engagements of a delicate nature. I had time to grab a few things, but please send the following items to the docks immediately. I have secured the help of an agent to make sure these items follow after me on the next available sailing vessel.\n1. The three trunks of clothing designated for short business trips.\n2. The seven trunks of gowns designated for posh social engagements.\n3. Three coffers of gold for incidental spending and shopping sprees.\n4. My beloved pet and servant, Pimsy.\nThank you for dealing with this matter.\nLady Anais Velmont"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/orders-regent-elska": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/orders-regent-elska", "description": "Instructions to speed up cave excavation", "author": "Elska", "title": "Orders from Regent Elska", "text": "Scaled Court members working in the cave system known as Serpent's Nest: Double your efforts! We need the new infrastructure complete before we can begin the next phase of the operation.\nFinish building the scaffolds. Get the food and weapon stores in place. And remove the bear carcasses from the cave! They look disgusting and they are starting to smell terrible.\nJust remember to avoid the lamias. They have trouble distinguishing friends from foes. And unless you have specific business there, stay away from the spawning pools in the back.\n-Elska,\n\tRegent of Fanged Fury"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/orders-chief": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/orders-chief", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Orders from the Chief", "text": "Assist the Redguards in their attack on Velyn Harbor. Their plans for invasion do not affect us, and we are being well paid.\nOnce the harbor is secure, send any you can spare to Jathsogur. The tribes are gathering; they've caught wind of a valuable prize, and our warriors should be there to claim a portion of any spoils.\nAs for Velyn Harbor, the more damage you can cause, the better! The Aldmeri Dominion think themselves superior to us. We shall show them their folly in not making us their allies when they had the chance!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/orders-vicereeve-pelidil": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/orders-vicereeve-pelidil", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Orders From Vicereeve Pelidil", "text": "Our deception already bears fruit. Go with haste and strike during the meeting. I have sent these loyal soldiers to aid you, but they have orders to keep out of sight unless something goes wrong. If you can, end it quickly with the spell I taught you. I am trusting you to handle this. It is what your sister died for. Make it worthwhile. Do not disappoint me. \u2014 Vicereeve Pelidil"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/orders-assassination": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/orders-assassination", "description": "Instructions for taking care of a traitor", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Orders of Assassination", "text": "By the dark of night, hearken to these words.\nChancellor Gascone has betrayed us. If he proceeds through the ravine, capture him. Failing that, slay him. We cannot allow a servant of Sotha Sil to know our secrets - even a traitorous servant.\nMay the shadows guide your blades."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/orders-halskar": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/orders-halskar", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Orders to Halskar", "text": "Halskar,\nUse the tunnel in the royal crypt to capture Fort Morvunskar. Remember that our purpose here is not to hold the fort, however. Just to get the soldiers out of the way long enough to accomplish our true goal. Get that through your thick skull, for everything else depends on that.\nThe pretender Jorunn's soldiers will come in force, and when they do we must fade away. Our prize is buried beneath the fort. Taking Morvunskar was always just a means to an end. Hold it for as long as you can and then retreat to the burial vaults beneath. My traitorous brother will never suspect our true goals here, and his soldiers will never find the tunnel in time to stop us.\nMake sure you keep any important relics you find locked up tight. Never trust anyone where treasure is involved. But our primary goal must be to secure the remains and transport them out of there as quickly as possible.\n\u2014 Fildgor Orcthane"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/orders-bearclaw-mine": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/orders-bearclaw-mine", "description": "Vaermina cultists plot to possess a mine", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Orders: Bearclaw Mine", "text": "To expand our influence in Gavaudon, we must find more strategic locations to set up our bases. Aristide, our brother from Bangkorai, has discovered a mine near the Weeping Giant. It provides a defensive base while allowing us to establish mining operations of our own. Follow Aristide and claim this mine for the Dreamers!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/orders-farangels-mine": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/orders-farangels-mine", "description": "Orders to occupy a mine", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Orders: Farangel's Delve", "text": "Your instructions are simple. Follow Dimitri into Farangel's Delve and locate the abandoned fort therein. There should be ample amounts of supplies to take, which we can turn around and sell in Wayrest. We should turn a tidy profit. Do this for the Supernal Dreamers, and further our cause!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/orders-norvulk-ruins": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/orders-norvulk-ruins", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Orders: Norvulk Ruins", "text": "We've heard rumors that Ayleid ruins sit unplundered in the hills near Wind Keep. Follow Gargak the Knight. He will lead you to them. We must claim these ruins and discover the ancient secrets within\u2014for the Dreamers!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/orders-steelheart-moorings": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/orders-steelheart-moorings", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Orders: Steelheart Moorings", "text": "Another opportunity to seize territory in the Daggerfall Covenant has presented itself. There's a cave not far off the shore of Alcaire that sees little traffic and features no one to oppose us. If we can take this cave, we will have a staging ground within striking distance of Koeglin Village. Seize the site at once!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/orders-suleck-ruins": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/orders-suleck-ruins", "description": "Dreamers conspire to learn the secrets of these ruins", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Orders: Suleck Ruins", "text": "We've heard rumors that Ayleid ruins sit unplundered in the hills near Wind Keep. Follow Gargak the Knight. He will lead you to them. We must claim these ruins and discover the ancient secrets within\u2014for the Dreamers!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/orders-suleck-ruins-0": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/orders-suleck-ruins-0", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Orders: Suleck Ruins", "text": "We've heard rumors that Ayleid ruins sit unplundered in the hills near Wind Keep. Follow Gargak the Knight. He will lead you to them. We must claim these ruins and discover the ancient secrets within\u2014for the Dreamers!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ordinators-comprehensive-guide": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ordinators-comprehensive-guide", "description": "", "author": "Archcanon Tarvus", "title": "Ordinators: A Comprehensive Guide", "text": "By Tarvus, Archcanon of Vivec\nHoly guards and warrior-priests, the Ordinators dedicate themselves to serving the Tribunal Temple and the Living Gods worshiped therein. Organized into four specific orders, the Ordinators extend the will of the Tribunal throughout Morrowind and are characterized by their distinctive gold armor and face masks. Used as protective covering, the expressionless face masks hide the identity of the guard inside and also exude an intimidating aura that helps add an air of mystery and menace to the Ordinators.\nThe Ordinators are divided into four orders that determine their mandates throughout Tribunal territory: the Order of the Watch, the Order of Doctrine and Ordination, the Order of Inquisition, and the Order of War.\nThe Order of the Watch provides protection for the Tribunal's temples and shrines, as well as stationing guards at Tribunal towns and cities, including Vivec City. In addition to policing Tribunal settlements and guarding Tribunal holy sites, Ordinators of the Watch enforce Temple law. These Ordinators are the most visible of all the orders, interacting with the populace on a regular basis.\nMilitant scholars comprise the Order of Doctrine and Ordination, vigorously studying the words of the Living Gods and supporting the will of the Tribunal. They serve as arbiters of the reigning doctrine and oppose false and dangerous views, such as those held by the Nerevarine Prophecies and other dissident teachings.\nThe Order of Inquisition seeks out and actively suppresses heresy among Temple priests and Dark Elf citizens alike. Serving as both an investigative body and judge and executor, members of this order place heretics on trial and then deal out whatever punishment is deemed appropriate for the crime against the Tribunal.\nFinally, the Order of War battles the enemies of the Temple in all its forms, including hostile cults and Daedra worshipers operating in Dunmer territory. The holy soldiers are among the finest, most-dedicated, and best-trained warriors in all of Morrowind, blessed by the Tribunal itself and charged with defending its will.\nI suppose there's another arm of the Ordinators, though there are so few of them that they don't qualify as an order unto themselves. Selected personally from among the most skilled warriors in the Tribunal Temple to serve as Almalexia's elite agents in the world, the Hands of Almalexia, the living goddess herself fortifies them with divine magic and enchants their fearsome armor and weapons.\nHouse Indoril, always orthodox and strident supporters of the Tribunal Temple, provides the majority of the Dark Elves that take up the armor of the Ordinators. In fact, the house's influence can be seen in the distinctive style of the Ordinator armor, and its sons and daughters proudly serve the Triune with dedication and reverence. Of course, the Ordinators don't have a monopoly on service to the Living Gods. Take, for example, Lord Vivec's Buoyant Armigers. I shall cover them in a subsequent volume."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/origin-scaled-court": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/origin-scaled-court", "description": "A Report Prepared for the Star-Gazers", "author": "Valinka Stoneheaver", "title": "Origin of the Scaled Court", "text": "In my capacity as a collector of objects, a delver of dungeons, and an explorer of (soon-to-be) renown, I often take on commissions to obtain specific items or information. The Star-Gazers of Craglorn hired me to find out everything I could pertaining to the recently formed group known as the Scaled Court.\nThe Scaled Court seemed to appear out of nowhere, popping up all across Craglorn in the wake of the mysterious disappearances of the Celestial Guardians from the night sky. With a little digging and the judicial application of free drinks and similar bribes, I was able to ascertain that prior to arriving in Craglorn, the group had been a loose association of mercenaries on their way to battle in Cyrodiil.\nOriginally led by the Nord warlord, Milvern One-Sword, the mercenaries entered the region with the intent of offering their services to whichever army was willing to pay a hefty price in gold and spoils. But they were rebuked and turned away by the Cyrodiil generals, who refused to leave their fighting to hired thugs. The unemployed mercenaries roamed the Craglorn wilderness for a time as One-Sword struggled to come up with another plan to keep his band together. While camped in the wasteland southeast of Dragonstar, a lone figure wandered into view of the disheartened group.\nShe had the regal bearing of an Imperial and a confidence that allowed for no opposition. \"I bring a message from He Who Has No Season,\" she proclaimed in a loud, commanding voice. \"You are aimless wanderers in who the Serpent sees kindred spirits. Join me and the Serpent will reward you a thousandfold!\"\nOf course, Milvern One-Sword took umbrage with this stranger trying to turn his band against him. As he drew his blade and approached her, she smiled calmly and whispered, \"Serpent, protect your servant.\" Suddenly, the ghostly visage of a great snake surrounded the woman. She pointed, and the ghostly snake uncoiled and struck like lightning, piercing Milvern's armor with two sharp, venom-dripping fangs. He was dead before his body hit the ground. \"\nThe Celestial Serpent has sent me to gather you,\" the woman proclaimed, \"to give you purpose and glory and power beyond your imagining! I am the Regent of Serpentine Stratagems, and together we are the Scaled Court!\"\nAnd that, as far as I can determine, is how the Scaled Court came to Craglorn."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/origins-khajiiti-martial-tradition": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/origins-khajiiti-martial-tradition", "description": "History of Elsweyr in the Merethic era, as it relates to the rise of its monastic martial arts", "author": "Tendwuayne", "title": "Origins of the Khajiiti Martial Tradition", "text": "By Tendwuayne, Sapiarch of Foreign Customs\nDespite its status as one of the Elsweyr's most enduring traditions, the origins of Khajiiti martial arts, or \"Claw-Dances,\" remain murky at best. The burning of Corinthe's Grand Archive by Merrunz cultists in 1E 463 destroyed most of the region's Merethic records, making the work of cultural historians like myself very difficult indeed. Luckily, Darloc Brae, the famed conqueror and so-called Golden Beast of Anequina, took great pains to secure what histories remained, placing them in vaults and smaller archives throughout Elsweyr. Gaining access to these archives is no small feat for a High Elf, I can tell you. But years of dogged persistence have borne some meager fruits.\nFrom what I can ascertain, life in Merethic Era Elsweyr was a toilsome affair. At that time, the famed sixteen kingdoms of the Khajiit were little more than competing fiefdoms, ruled by a cruel hunter-aristocracy. Severe droughts and periods of famine struck Anequina with pitiless regularity, and the constant feuding of the hunter-nobles resulted in widespread military conscription\u2013robbing peasant communities of youthful labor and prompting still greater famine across the region. The only check placed on the hunt-lords resided in the Temples of Two-Moons Dance. Khajiiti adepts and other Torval clergy wielded significant cultural influence, and occasionally used it to vex or even overthrow particularly vicious hunt-lords. The aristocracy chafed at these intrusions, but knew better than to challenge the adepts directly.\nAt some point in the high days of the Merethic Era, a particularly ruthless hunt-lord named Takanzin the Striped Death paid a flock of criminals to set fire to the Rawl'kha Temple. The clergy displaced by the blaze immediately fielded a small army of warrior-adepts to punish those responsible. The details of the conflict are lost to the ages, but the resolution was quite clear: Takanzin's forces quashed the priestly uprising and drove the remaining adepts out of the Kingdom of Dune altogether.\nSeizing the opportunity to be done with the adepts' meddling once and for all, the other hunt-lords across the northern tier of what is now Elsweyr instituted a policy of weapon confiscation. They cited the violence in Rawl'kha as evidence of the clergy's treasonous intentions and brutally suppressed any religious order that refused to comply.\nAfter an extended period of deep despondency and contemplation, the adepts turned inward\u2013cutting ties with the politics of the age and focusing entirely on self-perfection. Religious meditation was an essential part of that journey.\nIn many cultures, meditation is a quiet and motionless activity. Not so for Khajiit. Their nervous energy and focus on raw physicality drove them to adopt a lyrical, dance-like form of meditation. It couldn't have taken long for the adepts' dancing to transform into something akin to a martial art. Smooth, meditative dance gave way to swift claw-strikes and daring leaps. This should come as no surprise, given the Khajiits' predatory instincts. People possessing claws and fangs cannot be expected to remain peaceful forever!\nAfter centuries of isolation, the adepts emerged from their cloisters, bristling with martial skill and wisdom. By this point, the hunter-aristocracy was nearing its end. Disparities in wealth and influence had reached a tipping point, paving the way for a long-overdue public uprising. The adepts wasted no time sharing their hard-earned skills with the beleaguered peasantry. Within the span of a few generations, the adepts' martial arts were completely ubiquitous. All the people needed was a spark.\nIn the latter days of the Merethic Era, feuding hunt-lords from Meirvale and Helkarn drafted thousands of peasants into military service, bringing about one of the worst famines in Elsweyr's history. After three years of futile conflict, the armies of both lords turned on their masters, toppling the aristocracy in a rain of slashing claws, wind-kicks, and bone-breaking punches.\nBefore long, peasant uprisings broke out in nearby Riverhold, Orcrest, Verkarth, Bruk'ra, and Ne Quin-al. Within a century, the regal hunter caste that had reigned over Elsweyr for thousands of years fell from power.\nWe know that the glorious dream of a farming utopia never took hold in Elsweyr. Within a few hundred years, a new brand of landed nobility ascended to the thrones of the sixteen kingdoms. But the people have never forgotten the power they wield. Despite the lack of written records, the rich oral traditions of the Khajiiti clan mothers ensure that the Cat-Folk never forget their struggles and triumphs.\nI remain an outsider here, but I cannot help but think that we approach a new tipping point in Elsweyr. The Imperial, Euraxia Tharn, is not so very different from the hunt-lords of millennia past. And if she does not learn from her missteps, she may well share their fate."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/oshgurs-destruction-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/oshgurs-destruction-journal", "description": "One Orc struggles with magic", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Oshgur's Destruction Journal", "text": "4th Sun's Height\nAll the other students are already casting fireballs, and I can't even manage a damn spark! Mother was right, Orcs aren't made for magic. If I wasn't so afraid of the shame, I'd pack up and go home right now. I deserve to work in the mines for the rest of my life. The other apprentices are constantly laughing at me. This was the worst idea I've ever had. Orcs just can't be sorcerers!\n8th Sun's Height\nMaster Dantaine convinced me to stay. He recommended books for me to read, said that knowledge is inspiration or something like that. I don't see how reading is going to help, but he said to trust him. These books look really hard\u2014they're about things like \"theory of emotional-magicka response\" and \"volitional interference factors.\" One's a biography of \"Guzgikh.\" Never heard of him, but I guess he was some Orc sorcerer. How about \"How to Teach a Dumb Orc Magic\"? I'd read that.\n15th Last Seed\nHa! I caught that snooty Breton girl's hair on fire today, and managed a little lightning bolt. Even hit the target! I can't believe it; those books were just what I needed. They seemed really hard, but it was all about clearing out my head and not letting nerves stop me. And Guzgikh? Turns out he started the same way\u2014he didn't cast a spell for years, but before long could destroy a whole village! This is great!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/oshguras-destruction-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/oshguras-destruction-journal", "description": "An orc is learning destruction magic", "author": "Oshgura", "title": "Oshgura's Destruction Journal", "text": "4th Sun's Height\nAll the other students are already casting fireballs, and I can't even manage a damn spark! Mother was right, Orcs aren't made for magic. If I wasn't so afraid of the shame, I'd pack up and go home right now. I deserve to work in the mines for the rest of my life. The other apprentices are constantly laughing at me. This was the worst idea I've ever had. Orcs just can't be sorcerers!\n8th Sun's Height\nMaster Dantaine convinced me to stay. He recommended books for me to read, said that knowledge is inspiration or something like that. I don't see how reading is going to help, but he said to trust him. These books look really hard\u2014they're about things like \"theory of emotional-magicka response\" and \"volitional interference factors.\" One's a biography of \"Guzgikh.\" Never heard of him, but I guess he was some Orc sorcerer. How about \"How to Teach a Dumb Orc Magic\"? I'd read that.\n15th Last Seed\nHa! I caught that snooty Breton girl's hair on fire today, and managed a little lightning bolt. Even hit the target! I can't believe it; those books were just what I needed. They seemed really hard, but it was all about clearing out my head and not letting nerves stop me. And Guzgikh? Turns out he started the same way\u2014he didn't cast a spell for years, but before long could destroy a whole village! This is great!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ostarands-diary": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ostarands-diary", "description": "Diary of an ancient Ayleid", "author": "Ostarand", "title": "Ostarand's Diary", "text": "Everything I did, everything I had to do at Abagarlas. I'll never forget the sight of that place. The feeling that washed across me. The sight haunts me.\n- - - - - - - -\nThe hunters hound our every step. They smell it on me, I know it. They know I was there. They can smell the blood of that dark family on my armor. I can hear them in the night. I pray to the Sunburst that we will soon find shelter.\n- - - - - - - -\nThis ruin seems as good a place as any. If we can find a safe place to hide the crystal, perhaps the constructs will allow us to escape the dead.\n- - - - - - - -\nValasha told me she plans to sacrifice herself for some ludicrous plan, some fantasy that Curano has filled her head with. The crystal is lost, its power gone. I've argued with Curano for hours. Now Valasha won't even speak to me.\n- - - - - - - -\nValasha finally broke the silence. She's adamant that this must happen. I understand her duties as a priestess of Meridia, but I never believed they'd lead her to self-sacrifice. Her beliefs come first. I cannot fault her for that.\nI just wish our story wasn't going to end this way.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/other-things-i-hate": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/other-things-i-hate", "description": "", "author": "Fancy Nuzbawir", "title": "Other Things I Hate", "text": "-Pickpockets who crouch to pick pockets\n-That awful residue left by smoke bombs\n-Sloppy killers who don't clean their knives\n-Stupid people with stupid hats\n-Stupid people\n-Stupid hats\n-People\n-Hats\n-Thick windpipes that dull your knife\n-Pirates\n-Pirates in stupid hats\n-Pirates in pantaloons\n-Chub loon hats\n-Chub loons\n-Chub loons in stupid hats\n-Chub Loons in Pantaloons (unsubtle commentary!)\n-The little moon\n-Lerisa\u2014not as crafty as she thinks!\n-Guards who don't know how to take a bribe\n-Ghosts\n-Fancy ghosts\n-Snide ghosts\n-Ghosts who dress better than I do\n-Ghosts who have been ghosts longer than they were alive\n-Kittens\n-Puppies\n-Wayrest\n-Bards\n-Pirate bards\n-Pirate bards from Wayrest\n-Pirate bards from Wayrest with chub loon hats\n-Pirate ghost bards from Wayrest with chub loon hats"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/other-worlds-these": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/other-worlds-these", "description": "Diary about a runestone and a golden figure", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Other Worlds Than These", "text": "A golden figure appeared to me in the twilight. It spoke with tongues of fire, but its will was clear. \"There are other worlds than these,\" it said. \"The future of other Rivenspires depends on what you do.\" It directed me to build a keep above the ancient ruins on my uncle's land. To link its towers to the rising hills and its lower halls to the ancient chambers beneath.\nAs construction begins, I think long and hard about what the golden figure said. What are these other worlds, these other Rivenspires? How does anything I do affect such distant, impossible places. My head was swimming as I tried to make sense of it all. So I stopped and went back to supervising the work on the keep.\nThe golden figure appeared again, directing me to deepen the innermost halls, making them larger and more grand than any that have come before. The Hall of Heros, specifically, was called out to be spectacular.\nI found a strange runestone when we unearthed another of the ancient chambers beneath the hills. It's some kind of tool, of that I have no doubt. But while its purpose eludes me, I know I was meant to have it. The golden figure wants me to protect it and keep it safe. I just know it.\nI push my work crews to dig faster, this can't be an isolated ruin. There must be more ancient and powerful stones and relics buried in the land. Why else would the golden figure want me to have it. They complain about the work, the pace I am forcing them to keep. I may need to motivate them to accomplish the will of the glorious golden figure.\nMy work crews are lying to me. They claim they have found nothing but dirt and more dirt. They must be hiding the ruins for themselves to try to win the golden figure's favor. I can't allow this. I've sent the work crew leaders to the newly constructed torture chambers. They will suffer until they tell me where they've hidden my ruins.\nIt's mine! The relic is mine! It fell from the freshly hewned wall of dirt like a glorious gift from the golden figure. It glistens much like the figure. The runestone reacts to it. I feel my magic enhanced just by being in the vicinty of this relic. This, this is exactly why the golden figure wanted me to build this place. It will be my throne and temple! And perhaps, my pathway into other worlds."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/our-blessed-isles-guide": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/our-blessed-isles-guide", "description": "A tourist's guide to the Summerset Isles", "author": "Runilstir the Surveyor", "title": "Our Blessed Isles: A Guide", "text": "Seven-fold venerations to you, my dearest kin. Set aside your noble pursuits a moment and let your mind wander with me.\nWe'll begin this wondrous journey from the seat of civilization that is Alinor. Nestled among the mountains of the western shore, the city climbs nearly as high as the peaks themselves, its white spires reaching far into the sky. From these heights our sovereigns have surveyed their dominion for thousands of years. Avail yourself of the opportunity to see the splendor of the Royal Palace and offer your respects to the crown. The sense of pride you will feel at basking in the unrivaled greatness of our kingdom is well worth the journey.\nIf you have a taste for the exotic, there is no better place on Summerset than Alinor to sample cosmopolitan fare. Sundries from all over Tamriel are ferried into port daily. Those the Divine Prosecution finds fit for sale will give you a whole new perspective on life, and a greater appreciation for Altmer craft.\nTo see why our goods are such a cut above we only need to take a quick ferry ride across the bay to Lillandril. This venerable town has been the center of higher learning for centuries. Many a king and queen have come seeking the wisdom of the College of Sapiarchs, where the two-hundred and twenty-three greatest minds of our people advance our knowledge of all things.\nFor the arts, we follow the highway east to Rellenthil to see where the finest entertainment in all the world is conceived: The House of Reveries. The Maestros of this famed troupe organize performances day and night in a beautiful outdoor theater from the earliest days of settlement. As heirs to our long legacy of cultural arts, membership is exclusive. Only true talents may join. Whatever your tastes, the House of Reveries is certain to put on a show that will leave you in awe.\nSpeaking of tastes, allow me to lead you to the birthplace of wine in our Isles, only a short trip down the road. The vineyards of Russafeld span nearly the entire stretch of land between Rellenthil and Shimmerene. Resist the temptation to pluck a ripe grape from the vine. Surely there are no better found in nature, but once you have tasted the fruits of the winery you'll regret having deprived them a single purple pearl.\n\"But I've had a Russafeld red,\" you say! Dearest kin, you haven't truly tasted until you've savored a three-thousand-year-old vintage straight from the cask it aged in. The privilege may cost you the deed to your home, but it is well worth the experience.\nCast your eyes to the north and you'll see Cloudrest perched atop the great mountain Eton Nir. The view from its bridges and terraces will take your breath away, though perhaps not quite so literally as the ascent to reach them. Unless, of course, you count yourself among the Welkynars. The Gryphon Knights keep vigil over our lands from the summit, prepared to take to the skies and soar to the defense of anywhere in Summerset at a moment's notice.\nBefore departing Cloudrest, take a moment to view the Crystal Tower in all its glory from the best vantage in the Isles. This pillar of enlightenment is the keystone of creation, as old as our oldest ancestors, and an endless font of knowledge. The Sapiarchs protect and study its secrets night and day, hoping to bring us ever closer to the perfection of the Ascendants.\nIf you need a rest from your travels, Shimmerene is a pleasant sea-side town, filled with pleasant people. It's an ideal place for a quiet night's respite before embarking on a voyage to Auridon, or the long road west. Pay a visit to the Monastery of Serene Harmony while you are there and ask to participate in the rituals of equilibrium. You will never have a better night's sleep.\nTake pleasure in greeting the sun as it rises upon the eastern shore to join us on the final leg of our journey. Just south, the pristine wilderness of Sil-Var-Woad is carefully tended to by the rangers of the Royal Menagerie. There you will find a collection of unique creatures from around the world. The grounds are open to the public and free to citizens, making it the perfect destination for a family outing.\nFinally, we return westward to Sunhold, the sister city to Alinor. In fact, if not for the mountains between them, the two would inevitably merge into a metropolis not seen since Lost Aldmeris. Possessing one of the largest harbors in Summerset, Sunhold is a frequent target for Sea Elf attack, but the port is nothing if not defensible. From its thick sea walls, to its narrow winding alleys, every stone has been laid out with rebuffing the Maormers' assaults in mind. While it is certainly a formidable fortress, let's not forget it is also a thriving city, and the heart of shipping among the Isles. I highly recommend spending a few hours getting lost in the labyrinthine streets and sampling the best seafood offered anywhere in the world.\nDearest kin, we've come to this journey's end, but I hope this will only be the beginning of your wanderings through our homeland. Though we may pine for Old Ehlnofey, the golden warmth of the Divines will always dry our tears in the sun-kissed land of Summerset."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/our-budding-alliance": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/our-budding-alliance", "description": "Correspondance between the King of Worms and Empress Regent", "author": "Mannimarco", "title": "Our Budding Alliance", "text": "Your Veiled Majesty,\nCivility at last. I am pleased with our new agreement. Your serice to Molag Bal, despite your tawdry oath to Lord Dagon, will ensure you victory in your conflict. Across the face of Tamriel, there can be only one victor in this war.\nMy minions will carry orders to you when the time is right. Do not fail me. Loyal service is rewarded, but betrayal\u2014well. The punishment would be unimaginable.\nDo as I command, in the name of Molag Bal.\n(And under your breath you can quietly pray to any Prince you choose.)\nThe King of Worms,\n\tMannimarco"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/our-calling-our-pledge": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/our-calling-our-pledge", "description": "An Azura devotee's beliefs", "author": "Abbot Durak", "title": "Our Calling, Our Pledge", "text": "Those new to our order often ask me, \"What does it mean to be a Spirit Warden?\" This confusion is understandable. Azura offers guidance, but not always in the ways we expect. She has spoken to me but twice in my lifetime, and then only in silken whispers, barely audible in the night.\nThe Dream Shard is Azura's gift, as is the Dreamless Potion we drink every night. Azura foresees a time when Vaermina, Mistress of Nightmares, will unleash a plague on our province: a plague of madness. Countless innocents will die unless we stop it.\nThe Dreamless Potion protects us from Vaermina's madness only so we may protect others: those afflicted souls driven mad by their dreams, and their victims. When the time of plague comes, we must stand against it. This is our calling from Azura \u2026 and our pledge."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/our-continued-labor": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/our-continued-labor", "description": "The Worm Cultists of Orsinium are having a hard time.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Our Continued Labor", "text": "I haven't received orders from our hallowed leaders in some time. But our work is important. Our work must continue. The Dark Lord demands that we maintain the standing stones and nothing has changed. As you are all aware, we failed him in that.\nOur clan, dedicated to the Black Worm, must rectify that problem. We must make amends. We don't have the numbers to sack Orsinium in retaliation for stealing our ancient power stones. They used our stones to build their city, raising their buildings before the anchors even began to fall. We will have to start over and build our dolmens anew.\n* * *\nI've finally made contact with the other side. The Titan Zanadunoz has promised his personal protection when we find a place of power to rebuild. And we will rebuild. Let this be my legacy. And let the Black Worm Clan carry on this work, if and when I perish.\nSo I have said, so let it be."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/our-curse-and-our-glory": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/our-curse-and-our-glory", "description": "A treatist on Lycanthropy and one way to approach it", "author": "Querbolus Primus", "title": "Our Curse and Our Glory", "text": "When first I was taken by the Change I was terrified, and furious, and most of all terrified of my fury. I hid my transformed self in a woodshed where I tore the bark from the lumber, bewailed my fate, and cursed the rest of the world.\nFor a season thereafter I sought a means to control my affliction, purchasing ill-smelling nostrums from alchemists, mystic talismans from arcanists, and blessings from priests of gods, demigods, even daemons. To no avail. Despite all my would-be benefactors' assurances, the Change still came upon me when it would\u2014and seemed, indeed, stronger every time.\nFinally it was too strong: I killed, and killed again. Unworthy to abide among decent people, I fled, putting civilization behind me. I plunged into the forests, forded rivers and climbed mountains, until I was far from any innocents I might injure. There, with naught but brute beasts for companions, I gave in to the urge to hunt, and to slay, and to feed.\nBut I found to my sorrow that, though the beasts had neither minds nor souls, still they had hearts. They felt fear, pain, loss, sadness, and to slaughter them out of hand was no less a sin than to slaughter Man or Mer.\nThereafter I lived upon nuts, fruits, buds, roots, and animals freshly dead. And this I could easily do for, when the Change was upon me, my senses were so acute that I could always detect food of all sorts.\nMore than that: with my hunger assuaged, I found that when in beast-form I could see things, hear things, smell things I was never aware of when in my \"natural\" body. I could sense every living creature in the mountain hollow where I'd made my home, hear every sound they made blend with the songs of the flowing streams and the music of the wind in the trees, until all combined into a glorious and never-ending choral symphony. I would stand in a glade, enraptured, intoxicated, sometimes for days at a time.\nWhen I returned to my ordinary mortal form, I would try to write of what I had experienced as a Beast of Mundus, but human words could never capture it. It could only be shared by others who could sense what I sensed, who might learn how to tame the lusts of the Change as I had. And I knew then that I had a sacred mission to share what I had found, to find others who had been stricken by this curse and bring them to my hollow, where I could teach them the truth, that their curse was, in fact, their glory. This change we fear so much at first is not an affliction, but a gift.\nThis sacred mission has been my purpose ever since, a purpose I hope someday to see passed on to future generations. Here, right here, in my little vale of Querbol's Hollow."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/our-dupes-sea-elves": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/our-dupes-sea-elves", "description": "The Maormer are tricked by the Veiled Queen", "author": "The Veiled Queen", "title": "Our Dupes, the Sea Elves", "text": "My loyal subjects,\nOur negotiation with the Sea Elves is complete. They foolishly believe themselves our equals. That the rightful rulers of Tamriel would share power with mere fisher-folk. Fools.\nIt is vital that you continue the pretense in their presence. We have them set on foolish attacks into Auridon. They can't possibly hold the Beacons, but their attacks will result in death, destruction, and disruption. Chaos we can use against the False Queen.\nOur plans are in motion.\nThe Veiled Queen"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/our-ironclad-oath": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/our-ironclad-oath", "description": "Pledge of the Oathbound", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Our Ironclad Oath", "text": "Remember our vow, brothers and sisters of the Oathbound! Take the heads of the wicked Elves to satisfy the agreement made by our glorious chieftain!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/outdated-dominion-broadsheet": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/outdated-dominion-broadsheet", "description": "A somewhat dated broadsheet announcing the Dominion at Khenarti's Roost", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Outdated Dominion Broadsheet", "text": "Good Citizens of Khenarthi's Roost!\nYou've doubtless noted the presence of THALMOR REPRESENTATIVES on your fair island. These ALDMERI DOMINION deputies herald your bright future!\nRejoice, for the majestic GOLD FLEET - pride of the Dominion navy! - shall soon arrive at the FREE PORT OF MISTRAL for protracted revictualing!\nInnkeepers, empty your beds! Merchants, triple-stock your stalls! NUMEROUS DOMINION SOLDIERS will have gold to spend on their EXTENDED SHORE LEAVE!\nProsperity! Security! Unity!\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/overdreamer-chartrands-orders": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/overdreamer-chartrands-orders", "description": "Vaermina cultists wage war with Azura cultists", "author": "Overdreamer Chartrand", "title": "Overdreamer Chartrand's Orders", "text": "Fellow Dreamers,\nI want to remind you all of the importance of exercising caution and good judgment in maintaining security at our encampments in Gavaudon. Because of sloppy behaviors among our colleagues in Menevia and Alcaire, we now have a sect of Azura's followers actively working against us, aided by a representative of King Emeric, whom we hoped would not learn of our presence for some time yet.\nDue to this situation, our timeline must be accelerated. We must work quickly and efficiently, but also intelligently. Perform the tasks you have been assigned and take precautions to ensure these newly emerged enemies do not get the opportunity to intervene.\nOn the positive side, we have succeeded in destroying Azura's shrine at the Weeping Giant, and I have now come here to Aphren's Hold where we will find more relics to aid in our cause. Follow my example. We conducted careful research and reconnaissance before coming here to ensure that our encampment will be secure and our objectives will be achieved. You should do the same.\nNow, more than ever, our Mistress looks to us to stay strong, be ever-vigilant, and to assert her will. I hope you prove to be up to the challenge and I hope to see you all soon in Wayrest.\nSupernally Yours,\n\tOverdreamer Chartrand"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/pact-pamphlet-congratulations": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/pact-pamphlet-congratulations", "description": "A pamphlet detailing the state of Morrowind's slavery under the Ebonheart Pact.", "author": "Ebonheart Pact", "title": "Pact Pamphlet: Congratulations!", "text": "Now That You're No Longer a Slave\u2026.\nBy Order of the alliance herein referred to as the Ebonheart Pact, and with the agreement of the ruling bodies of Skyrim, Morrowind, and Black Marsh, let it be known now and forever that slavery has been abolished in all Pact territories and principalities.\nCongratulations! You are no longer a slave!\nWhether you identify yourself as a Man or Mer, Argonian, Orc, or Khajiit, know and understand that your shackles have been broken and you are a FREE* and INDEPENDENT* being, a citizen of the Pact with all the rights and responsibilities inherent in that singular honor.\nSo, what now, you're probably asking? What does a person born to slavery suddenly do with his or her newfound freedom? The answer, of course, is \"Whatever you want to!\" That's the beauty of being a free and independent being!\nAdvisors and counselors will be traveling throughout Morrowind, excluding certain regions* not yet ready to accept the rulings of the Ebonheart Pact, to provide guidance and other assistance to make your transition from slave to free being a simple and painless process.\nWelcome to the Pact! We're happy that you're free!\n(*The following Great Houses of the Dark Elves have agreed to and will honor this stipulation: Indoril,Hlaalu, and Redoran. Citizenship and freedom are not guaranteed in other Dark Elf territories.)"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/pact-recruitment": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/pact-recruitment", "description": "Zimmeron wants more recruits, and fast", "author": "Grand Warlord Zimmeron", "title": "Pact Recruitment", "text": "General Braning,\nWhere are the troops I need? Recruitment has fallen off badly in the last month. Covenant and Dominion soldiers are pouring onto the battlefields and we need warriors to counter them.\nStep up your recruitment efforts or I'll find someone who can. Your precedessor made the mistake of failing me; I sent him to the front lines and I can do the same to you.\n- Grand Warlord Zimmeron"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/page-1-2": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/page-1-2", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Page (1)", "text": "\u2026She just knew the farmboy was watching her. She tossed her hair and walked in that way that drove the boys crazy\u2026"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/page-2-2": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/page-2-2", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Page (2)", "text": "\u2026He looked at her with deep blue eyes. Eyes you could drown in. She was completely sucked in. She had to meet him\u2026"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/page-3-4": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/page-3-4", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Page (3)", "text": "\u2026Their passion knew no bounds. Like a runaway horse it bounded through hills and fields screaming their love at the top of it's lungs\u2026"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/page-71-erendettes-account": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/page-71-erendettes-account", "description": "Debts and payments by Erendette", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Page 71: Erendette's Account", "text": "Second Seed\nAnother happy customer!\nTotal Owed: 15 gold\nMid-year\nCredit: 5 gold, Erendette restacked and carried items as requested.\nDebit: 22 gold. E. is a thirsty lass!\nDebit: 9 gold. E. helped herself to my stock!\nTotal Owed: 41 gold\nSun's Height\nCredit: 7 gold. Determine if E. is stealing again.\nDebit: 31 gold. E. certainly loves my secret product!\nTotal Owed: 65 gold\nNote: Credit discontinued until debt is paid. No more product for E.\nNote: Payment must be in gold. E. costs me more in lost stock when I let her work off her debt."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/page-sun-shadows-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/page-sun-shadows-journal", "description": "", "author": "Sun-in-Shadow", "title": "Page from Sun-in-Shadow's Journal", "text": "I'm sure I have seen the same swarthy looking fellow near my home several times. Could a rival be trying to spy on me? Perhaps news of Ralasa's death has traveled?\nIt pays to be cautious. I will talk to my friend, [Player Name], as soon as possible."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/pages-thiirrils-diary": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/pages-thiirrils-diary", "description": "Pell's Gate is in trouble", "author": "Thiirril", "title": "Pages from Thiirril's Diary", "text": "\u2026 says Pell's Gate is in danger, that we should all flee. Some have taken her advice. Eneriell and I have decided to stay. Imperial troops still pass through town on patrols. They keep bandits away.\n\t*****\n\t\u2026 took her own advice and left. I don't know what we'll do now, with Brittia gone. Troops pass through only once every few days; bandits are getting bolder. Some seem to be camping in the Homestead ruins to the north. Dehanar swears he saw \u2026.\n\t*****\n\t\u2026 hasn't been seen for days. Bandits raided town last night. All our livestock is gone. Haven't seen troops for a week. Eneriell says we have to leave, tonight. We're going to follow Brittia to Vlasta \u2026."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/pale-creatures-taste-flesh": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/pale-creatures-taste-flesh", "description": "An adventurer goes hunting for the Falmer, and unfortunately finds them", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Pale Creatures with a Taste for Flesh", "text": "Stupid underground complex! Stupid delve! Why I let Obor talk me into this job, I'll never understand. Was it the promise of gold? Almost certainly. Did it have anything to do with fame and a possible jarldom? Maybe.\nAnyway, it was supposed to be simple enough. Sneak into the caves, look around a bit. Find evidence that these mythological pale creatures with a taste for flesh were real and bring it back to Obor. Collect my reward and earn the adulation of thousands. Right. And I have swampland to sell to an Argonian.\nI'm not sure what these things are. I've heard them called Falmer by some old locals. They look like some sort of Goblins to me, but what do I know? Not enough, apparently, because one of the foul monsters took a good chunk out of my side! I'm bleeding like a stuck horker! And now I can hear those damn bugs, too. They're getting closer.\nObor, I hope somebody kills you, you ba\u2014"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/palith-note": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/palith-note", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Palith Note", "text": "\u2014 Palith is in the ruins along the coast. South side.\n\t\u2014 Ruins accessible through the old mine.\n\t\u2014 Something about allies. Didn't make any sense. Scales?"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/pan-flute-morachellis-hag-husband": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/pan-flute-morachellis-hag-husband", "description": "Description of a gruesome flute", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Pan Flute of Morachellis Hag-Husband", "text": "This pan flute belonged to the legendary skald and former instructor, Morachellis Hag-Husband. He was one of the few masters of this obscure instrument. Noted for his eccentricities, it is said Morachellis crafted the flute from the leg bone of his twin brother, who died in a mishap. Ever mischievous the skald would sometimes confirm this story and sometimes deny it.\nGiven the unsettling material of the flute and the questionable hygiene of playing it, Morachellis had few students to tutor and no successor."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/partially-legible-letter": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/partially-legible-letter", "description": "A threatening letter", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Partially Legible Letter", "text": "It's over between us. I never want to see your shadow cross mine. If I could \u2026.\n\u2026 your title\u2014I don't care! And you can tell that pretty mistress of yours that I'm in the Fighters Guild, so she better watch her back!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/party-theme": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/party-theme", "description": "A gruesome party in Coldharbour", "author": "Nerazakan", "title": "Party Theme", "text": "To all my beloved minions and peons:\nThe current theme for our never-ending party is Dance of Death. Make sure the minstrels continue to sing and dance without pause. I especially enjoy Idria's voice\u2014 it is so sweet and melodic! And her dancing is most hypnotic! I want her music to fill these halls. And the way her body moves \u2026 it's poetry in motion! Do not let her stop on pain of death. Yours!\nKnow that I am holding her prized musical instrument in my upstairs chamber. This will guarantee her compliance. Besides, I might reward her with the honor of playing a private performance for me later in the event.\nNow, have fun and make those Soul Shriven suffer!\n\t\u2014 Nerazakan"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/passengers-log-disaster-sea": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/passengers-log-disaster-sea", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Passenger's Log: Disaster at Sea", "text": "Day Seven\nThe warm waters of the Eltheric Ocean have given way to the cold embrace of the northern coast of High Rock. This region isn't fit for anything but Orcs and horkers! The shores of sandy beaches have given way to crags of ice and snow. And why in the world are we sailing these waters? I may not be a sailor, but even I know that Orsinium isn't anywhere near this frozen coast!\nDay Eight\nAn icy gale has forced most of the crew and passengers to huddle below decks. I'm certain that a storm is coming, and I predict it's going to be a strong one. At least the ambassador doesn't appear worried. I swear, that woman can find a ray of sunshine in even the most dank and smelly dungeon.\nDay Nine\nOh how I wish I had been mistaken! The storm has engulfed our fleet, and it's a howling blizzard! Ice forms on our sails and hail the size of mudcrabs bounces upon the deck with murderous force. I fear that the fleet has become lost in the snow and fog, which is so dense as to make it impossible to see more than a few paces ahead. If the storm doesn't break soon or we don't find shelter, I fear the ships will run aground or crash into each other before all is said and done.\nStill, Captain Henrisa seems to know what she's doing. Her sailors think very highly of her and no one has let their fear of the situation get the better of them. At least not yet."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/path-faithful": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/path-faithful", "description": "Instructions for a pilgrimage to Malacath's shrine", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Path of the Faithful", "text": "The Furious One, the Keeper of the Bloody Curse, the Defender of the Betrayed. These are just a few of the great Malacath's many titles, known to his faithful, known to the children of the Sworn Oath.\nListen, initiate! Hear, o faithful one! The path you must walk is never easy, but if traversed in the correct and devout manner, it will lead you into the Author of the Code's embrace.\nThe shrine in Fharun Keep hides the path to the sanctuary. Only a gift of life's most precious liquid, freely given by the holy curators, will reveal the way.\nIn the prayer rooms, those who refuse to follow Malacath's light will forever walk in darkness and never find the Hall of Faith.\nIn the Hall of Faith, trust that Malacath will catch you, no matter how far you must fall.\nFinally, in the Sanctuary of Sacred Words, only a sacrifice will call forth the teachings of the Furious One."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/path-pilgrim": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/path-pilgrim", "description": "An insider's view of Argonia", "author": "Bikkus-Ze, Hissmir Oblate", "title": "Path of the Pilgrim", "text": "While many of the purportedly civilized nations refer to our homeland as Black Marsh, the pilgrims and priests of Hissmir know better. The lands of Argonia are far from a garbage heap. The soil is rich and full of life. Plant and animal life flourishes. The Hist speaks to those who listen.\nOur Argonian brothers and sisters who venture outside miss a piece of themselves if they are unable to commune with the Hist. It is for this reason pilgrims from across the land travel to Hissmir and offer up themselves to the trials and communing."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/pay-enak": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/pay-enak", "description": "A threatening letter addressed to Enak-do", "author": "Rakhad", "title": "Pay Up, Enak", "text": "Enak-do,\nThis is the fifth time I've been by your house. I saw the other notes stuffed in that crate. You need to pay up and you need to pay up now. You and your nephew are in some serious trouble.\nIf it were up to me, I'd let you slide some. We've been friendly for years, you know? But my investors in Pa'alat, my suppliers in Dune, they require a firm hand. They have to know their investment is being looked after.\nPay up by the end of the week, or your family will be grieving another tragic loss.\n\u2014 Rakhad"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/pearl-research-notes-log-3": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/pearl-research-notes-log-3", "description": "Investigations I to the nature of the abyssal pearl", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Pearl Research Notes, Log 3", "text": "Current studies with the abyssal pearl have proven more dangerous than previously anticipated. It seems to be fueled by some sort of soul magic, as uncontrollable as it is powerful. We've lost several researchers because of this.\nThe first few casualties appear to have sparked the pearl's innate magical abilities. Yaghra have already begun to swarm around us, attracted by its power. We've been able to hold them off, but our defenses won't last for long. We'll need to move the pearl to a safer location. Farther inland perhaps, or even away from Summerset entirely.\nJusticiar Avanaire may prove even more useful. We can use her connections within the Divine Prosecution for safe passage. Sarocil was well worth the gold we paid her for this little act. But then again, one can always trust a skooma addict to go along with anything. Even betraying their only sister."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/pending-orders": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/pending-orders", "description": "Orders for spirits", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Pending Orders", "text": "\u2014 The Cold Moon Inn, Windhelm, 20 casks (special blend).\n\t\u2014 Palace of Ysgramor, Windhelm, 80 casks (for king's celebration).\n\t\u2014 Keeper's House, Kynesgrove, 2 casks (extra sweet).\n\t\u2014 Fishing Camp, Lower Yorgrim, 10 casks (spiced mead).\n\t\u2014 Thuvald's Logging Camp, 5 casks (mixed)."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/pentarchs-orders": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/pentarchs-orders", "description": "Plans disrupted, the Grey Host plan their revenge", "author": "R", "title": "Pentarch's Orders", "text": "Pentarch Khorb,\nThe harrowstorm at Kilkreath met with unexpected resistance. Our enemies have taken notice of our movements and seek to expose our plans. They are meddlesome, but few in number.\nDeprive them of their sympathetic ear at court and we may pluck two thorns from our side in one simple stroke.\nThe coven has lost a beloved sister and they cry for vengeance.\nIndulge them, my brother.\nR"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/people-i-hate": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/people-i-hate", "description": "An anonymous list of people who have wronged the author", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "People I Hate", "text": "Everyone on this list is gonna get exactly what they deserve as soon as I find them alone.\nJararr\n\tGoes around telling people I dilute my potions with sewer runoff. So what if I do?\nRellicus Sibassius\n\tSaw him holding his nose and laughing with his idiot friends when I walked by. Still getting friends' names.\nAn-Medul\n\tInconsiderate mud-hugger! Ate the last bit of skeever stew before I got my bowl.\nBeording Bearfriend\n\tGave me that LOOK across the bar at the Fussy Guarherd. He'll know which one I'm talking about. Thinks he's better than me. We'll see!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/perfumed-letter-0": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/perfumed-letter-0", "description": "A love letter to someone far away", "author": "Borali", "title": "Perfumed Letter", "text": "Dearest Atunn,\nYou've only been away for a few days, but I already miss you terribly! I hate the thought of you alone in some strange forest without someone to prepare your favorite meals or keep you company after a hard day's work. I wish you could find a job here in Windhelm so we didn't have to be apart so often.\nThings here are starting to get really busy as the competitors arrive for the celebratory games. King Jorunn seems very excited. As the anniversary celebration draws closer, we're even seeing an influx of Dark Elves and Argonians. I can't believe you're out in the woods, missing all this!\nSo tell me, dearest one, is the haunted wood as scary as the Sisters Glumm make them out to be? Have you met a forest spirit or seen a spriggan? You always hated those stories. You can be a big baby sometimes. Well, I need to rush off. Henrik War-Wolf promised to get me close to the wrestling competition!\nLove you!\n\u2014Borali"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/permit-trade": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/permit-trade", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Permit of Trade", "text": "The rightful bearers of this permit of trade, the merchants Nammadin, Travofia, and Jaeloreh, are recognized as a partnership and are authorized to establish a place of business for the express purposes of buying and selling books and related items in the city of Orsinium.\nIn exchange for permission to buy and sell as authorized agents of trade in Orsinium, the merchants named above agree to abide by all laws governing trade within the city limits, to pay all fees and taxes in a timely manner, and to repair and maintain the premises provided as part of this agreement in a reasonable fashion.\nThe King's Council of Trade grants the partnership a non-exclusive, non-transferable license for the term of one year to take full advantage of the rights and privileges described above. The partnership cannot use the license or premises for purposes other than as specified in this agreement.\nAny failure or delay to exercise any right or privilege hereunder or to pay any and all fees and taxes could result in the premature termination of this agreement.\nThis license, if used in good standing, can be renewed with the consent of both parties for another term."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/persistence-daedric-veneration": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/persistence-daedric-veneration", "description": "Common Daedra worship throughout Tamriel", "author": "Lady Cinnabar of Taneth", "title": "Persistence of Daedric Veneration", "text": "If you believed what that old goat Phrastus of Elinhir writes in what he's pleased to call his \"Histories,\" you'd think that modern society's bias against reverence for the Daedric Princes was rooted in some kind of instinctive revulsion against the Lords of Oblivion, an abhorrence based on events of unspeakable cruelty that took place thousands of years ago.\nThis is absurd on the face of it. Ask the peasant in his field, the cobbler in his shop, or the solicitor in his office if he fears the Daedra Lords because of the ancient practices of the Wild Elves, and all you'll get will be a blank look. The peasant, cobbler, and solicitor only fear Daedra and Daedra-worship because they've been told to by established religion and academia, and because their neighbors believe the same thing.\nSo, Phrastus, Daedra worship survives in Tamriel only at the level of forbidden cults? On the contrary, it's easy to show that veneration for Daedra is widespread and widely accepted among the folk of Tamriel, despite the desires and opinions of priests and professors. Ask the hunter why he mutters a prayer to Hircine as he draws his bow. Ask the gardener why she asks Mephala to spare her vines from slugs and worms. Ask the guardsman why he invokes the valor of Boethiah as he draws his sword. And one doesn't have to look hard to find worshipers of Sanguine during Carnaval, or Hermaeus Mora among scholars at any time.\nWhat of the Ashlanders of Morrowind, who still venerate the so-called Good Daedra? What of the Spirit Wardens of Menevia, who follow Azura? What of the Jovial Lambasters of Rimmen, who celebrate Clavicus Vile?\nWhat, indeed, of the Khajiit of the southern realms? Rather than abjure the Oblivion Lords, the Cat-folk of Elsweyr venerate them openly, scarcely drawing a distinction between Aedra and Daedra. The Khajiit recognize the benevolent aspects of the Princes, offering them respect at a minimum, and often admiration. Azurah is a popular object of worship for Khajiiti magicians, Sheggorath appeals to the feline taste for wild mischief, and the souls of the dead are placed in the charge of Namiira.\nYet Phrastus would have you believe every mortal in Tamriel cringes in horror at the mention of Daedra, and mocks my own work when I show him up for the charlatan he is. Or can we explain his petty hostility in another way? Wasn't it Phrastus himself who approached me at the Dragonstar Conclave of Antiquarian Scholars, Phrastus who pointed out it was the 16th of Sun's Dawn, Phrastus who suggested we meet later that evening to \"appropriately celebrate Sanguine's summoning day\"? I believe he took it rather personally when I refused his smarmy advances, for it was shortly thereafter that his unwarranted criticism of my work began to appear in the journals. Hmm. Yes, perhaps therein lies the explanation."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/pest-mudcrab": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/pest-mudcrab", "description": "A stinky mudcrab and a frightened shaman", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Pest Mudcrab", "text": "Someone clean up that mudcrab! It's starting to stink up the place. Check with the Shaman first though, he may have use of it; however, last time he saw a mudcrab he freaked out and squeeled like a little girl.\nWhy does the captain keep him around? Such a suspicous man."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/petition-mining-rights": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/petition-mining-rights", "description": "A rejected (and ignored) request to mine silver in Orsinium", "author": "Edwin Asquith", "title": "Petition for Mining Rights", "text": "One Edwin Asquith hereby requests, on behalf of his organization, composed primarily of mercenaries under allegiance to the Daggerfall Covenant, to secure mining rights to the recently-discovered silver lode in the Wrothgarian Mountains.\nIt is proposed that the silver will be extracted in service to the Covenant and to fund ongoing operations in Cyrodiil, with a twentieth portion of everything extracted to go to King Kurog himself.\n[At the end of the request, a different hand has made several notes.]\n3 Last Seed: Recommendation: Reject. Why take a twentieth of the silver when entire lode could fund re-building?\n15 Last Seed: I thought this was rejected? Reports indicate the mine is currently occupied. It's recommended that soldiers be sent to secure the mine at once."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/petraloop": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/petraloop", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Petraloop", "text": "Made by Master Petra, this lute carries a wonderful, warm tone and robust voice unrivaled among other instruments. The curious name comes from many an inebriated bard calling for \"Petra's Lute\" at the end of a long session.\nInscribed on the back are the names of many of the college's most famous bards."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/phillips-note-yasmine": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/phillips-note-yasmine", "description": "A desperate, hopelessly romantic note", "author": "Phillip", "title": "Phillip's Note to Yasmine ", "text": "Dearest Yasmine,\nI can't tell you how hard it is for me to write this. I can't go on living this lie. What I mean to say is, I know about you and Ademar. I saw you, three months ago, kiss and exchange a look that meant much more than a kiss. That was the moment suspicion and faith gave way to truth and betrayal.\nI won't ask you how you could do it. But I won't remain in a marriage that's not worthy of the name.\nStill, I've not given up on you or on us. I still hope that we may be reconciled.\nIf that hope is not in vain, I pray you'll respond to this letter by meeting me at the entrance to the Buried Sands at the very hour when we first met, all those many years ago.\nI think you remember. It had rained most of the day, and then the clouds broke and the sun came out, lighting up your golden hair. I took it as a sign and finally worked up the courage to speak to you.\nAnd now we find ourselves in this untenable situation.\nI hope my faith in you is not misplaced,\n\tPhillip"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/picking-pieces": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/picking-pieces", "description": "A researcher's notes on another researcher's extensive collection", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Picking up the Pieces", "text": "I'm surprised Quintus was ever allowed to walk the halls of the Imperial Library. If the number of records left in his estate are any indication, he was as delinquent a borrower there as any bank in Cyrodiil. No one came to collect after I sorted out the matter of inheritance, so they're mine now.\n* * *\n\tThere might be more about the Dwemer found in these dusty boxes than anywhere in the world. I could spend years digging through the volumes, but I'm curious about what else Quintus was up to in the months before the expedition to Volenfell.\n* * *\n\tQuintus really was hopeless without me. There's nothing in his notes on the Eye I don't already know. That was my last lead.\n* * *\n\tPoring over months' worth of Quintus's obtuse observations hasn't been a total loss. Before I forced his hand on retrieving the Eye, he was collecting information on another artifact with even more potential to shake up the historical community: The Mad Rock.\n* * *\n\tIt's Wrathstone. Quintus's translation was lazy."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/pickles-treats": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/pickles-treats", "description": "How to make Pickle the dog's favorite chow", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Pickle's Treats", "text": "You'd think after all these years he'd have this recipe memorized. My fool husband can go on daring adventures and perform heroic deeds, but apparently remembering a few ingredients poses too much of a problem for him! He's lucky I love him. This is for you, Viggol! If you're reading this, consider me impressed. Here are the ingredients and instructions needed to make Pickle's treats if (and when) he runs out. He'll know if you get it wrong, too, so make sure you follow the recipe exactly! Don't just throw everything into a pot and call it done. That dog puts up with a lot from you. The least you can do is make sure he gets his favorite treat, right?\nINSTRUCTIONS\n-Two heaping handfuls of mashed pumpkin\n- Three chicken eggs\n- Half of a sack of flour\n- Season with cinnamon\n- Mix!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/picnic-pelin-horror-story": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/picnic-pelin-horror-story", "description": "A spooky tale in a dark old tomb", "author": "DeWitte Bourbois", "title": "Picnic at Pelin (A Horror Story)", "text": "\"Come on, Falinne,\" I said. \"It'll be fun.\"\n\"I don't know, Jacques,\" Falinne replied, her gamine's face betraying embarrassment, unusual for her. \"I just don't think\u2014it doesn't sound like a good idea to me.\"\n\"What, going for a picnic? It's Sovereignty Day, celebrating High Rock's independence from the First Empire. Everybody goes for a picnic on Sovereignty Day!\"\n\"Yes, but not to Pelin Graveyard. And the weather isn't looking very good for a picnic\u2014it's so gloomy.\" She shivered.\n\"Not to worry,\" I said, leading the way past through the wrought-iron fences and into the great cemetery. \"We'll have a roof over our heads. We're going to eat inside this old mausoleum here.\"\n\"Wh-what?\" Falinne said. \"But this is the crypt of \u2026.\"\n\"Of your namesake, Baroness Falinne Guimard, who commanded the troops of Bangkorai on Sovereignty Day? The very same.\" I smiled, bowed, and waved her in to the dark mausoleum.\nFalinne looked inside and gulped, then said, \"All right, Jacques. You can't scare me.\" And, hunching her head a bit into her shoulders, she ducked into the Baroness' last resting place.\nI followed, unfolding the picnic blanket with a flourish. \"Here we are! No need to sit directly on the clammy, strangely-stained flagstones of the dark and dismal charnel vault. Comfort and elegance are my watchwords!\"\n\"Very funny, Jacques.\" She smiled gamely and folded her legs beneath her as I put the picnic basket in the center of the blanket. \"So what did you bring?\"\n\"Chef Artoine's deluxe picnic collation from the Anchor's Point inn! A brace of rock pigeons, grilled and deboned, with combwort chutney, ballom pudding, and a jug of syllabub. Unless for pigeon\u2026.\"\n\"\u2026Less \u2026 egion\u2026\" a voice whispered from the back of the vault.\n\"Er\u2026 an echo, by Mara! Did\u2014did you hear that, Falinne?\"\n\"\u2026Falinne \u2026 Aless \u2026 Legion \u2026!\" came the whisper, louder this time.\n\"I certainly heard that!\" Falinne said, leaping up. \"Jacques, what kind of trick are you playing here?\"\n\"Alessian Legion! Where?\" said the voice, quite distinctly. And before our widening eyes, a blue phantasm came drifting up from a steep and narrow stairwell.\nWith a shriek, Falinne backed flat against the far wall and froze, seemingly paralyzed. I felt cold stones at my own back and realized I'd done the same.\nThe translucent blue phantasm, clad in armor of antique design, drifted between us, halted at the entrance, and turned. \"This is the day, isn't it?\" she demanded in hollow tones. \"The day of the attack!\"\n\"Y-yes, Countess,\" I said, surprised at my ability to speak. \"Right d-day, but wrong century.\"\n\"What?\" She flew at me, spectral hands raised like claws. Somehow, I shrank even further into the wall. \"What? Not \u2026 again.\"\n\"That's right!\" Falinne piped up. \"Wrong century, wrong year! Go back to sleep, Grandmother.\"\n\"Wrong \u2026 year,\" the spectre said slowly. \"Back \u2026 to sleep.\"\nAnd to our immense relief, the Countess' ghost began drifting back down the stairs, fading as it went.\n\t\"Gales of Kynareth!\" Falinne said, sinking to the floor. \"I need a drink. You?\"\n\"Oh, yes. At least one,\" I said, as she poured the syllabub. \"What's taking so long?\"\n\"My hands are shaking. Here.\"\nI drained the milk-and-cider to the dregs and passed the mug back for more. Then I took a deep breath and began, \"Falinne, I'm really, really sorry. I never thought\u2026.\"\n\"Don't worry about it,\" she said. \"Here, have some more. Think what a great story it'll make back at the Anchor's Point.\"\n\"You're not angry? Really?\"\n\"No, Jacques. Not angry.\"\n\"Well then, let me carve the \u2026 huh, that's funny.\" As I reached for the plate of pigeons, I felt a wave of cold pass over my body, and my hand fell short. \"By Arkay, what \u2026?\" I tried to stand, got as far as my knees and then fell over onto the blanket. \"Falinne, something's \u2026 something's wrong.\"\n\"It's nothing, dearest,\" she said, smiling sweetly. \"I just drugged your syllabub with a paralyzing potion.\"\n\t\"D-drugged?\" I mumbled. \"Why?\"\n\"Because there's this really exclusive club I want to join. Namira's Forgotten? But to be admitted, you have to consume human flesh. It's quite thrilling, Jacques!\" She drew a slender, razor-sharp blade from her bodice.\n\"Now, let's see\u2014where shall I begin?\"\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/picnic-note": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/picnic-note", "description": "", "author": "M", "title": "Picnic Note", "text": "Dearest,\nMeet me in our usual spot. I have a bottle of your favorite wine and a very special question to ask you.\nYours truly,\n\tM"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/pilfered-poison": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/pilfered-poison", "description": "An angry fisherman seeks revenge on a thief", "author": "Angrar", "title": "Pilfered Poison", "text": "If you're the sorry bastard that stole my property, welcome to the end of your miserable life! The poison works fast. I may be a simple fisherman, but I know how to kill a lousy thief!\nOf course, if you're not the unlucky snowback that choked on my little trap here, bring this note to the docks in Morthal. If you have any information about who, or what, stole my goods, I'll pay!\nAngrar"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/pillagers-hist": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/pillagers-hist", "description": "Someone's been stealing Hist sap", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Pillagers of the Hist", "text": "My Dearest Deyapa,\nIt is with great sadness I report the deaths of so many of our brethren throughout Shadowfen. They fall like dead leaves in a burning forest as the invaders sear root and branch in their sacrilege.\nI do not know what the Dominion intends to do with the Hist sap it collects from our sacred trees, but I must warn you: your secluded hamlet may be next. The blood-trail of tapped Hist trees winds through Shadowfen and shows no sign of stopping. Red ants on a blood trail, they are. Make certain they do not consume you."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/pillow-sweet-dreams": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/pillow-sweet-dreams", "description": "", "author": "Honoria Aurrus", "title": "Pillow of Sweet Dreams", "text": "Poem by Honoria Aurrus\nTranscribed by Relicmaster Glenadir\nHead upon my pillow rest\nSweet dreams play behind my eyes\nI long once more for sleep to come\nFor day would drown me with its lies\nMy lover lays beside me then\nHer smile bright, her skin aglow\nDeath cannot contain her then\nBut morning comes and she must go\nI will sleep once more\nAnd never wake\nMy soul this night\nShall take"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/pirate-queen-gold-coast": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/pirate-queen-gold-coast", "description": "Outlines Fortunata ap Dugal's rise to power", "author": "Midara Salviticus", "title": "Pirate Queen of the Gold Coast", "text": "By Midara Salviticus, Historian, University of Gwylim\nThe Gold Coast has undergone some radical changes since Varen Aquilarios led his rebellion against the Longhouse Emperor Leovic in 2E 576. First, the region's inhabitants banded together to build Varen's Wall, as discussed in greater detail in my treatise of the same name. The protective boundary basically separated the Gold Coast from the Colovian Highlands and served to keep the area safe from Imperial retaliation and other external threats. Second, the region took advantage of the rebellion to declare its independence from Cyrodiil. These two events established the Gold Coast as an isolated haven from the troubles that plague the rest of the continent - but not without setting up challenges of a different sort.\nIn 2E 577, just as the last stones were being placed to complete Varen's Wall and the Imperial Navy was away dealing with the rebellion taking place to the north and east, a fleet of merchant warships and pirate vessels sailed into Anvil harbor. A white flag adorned with a red saber flew over each ship. Led by Fortunata ap Dugal, a shipping magnate in the Gold Coast Trading Company, the fleet took control of the docks and disembarked a company of sailors and pirate warriors that quickly overpowered the remaining troops loyal to the Imperial Prefect. In less than a day, Fortunata had taken control of Anvil, named herself Provincial Governor, and declared that the Gold Coast was now a free and independent state - from the Abecean Sea to Varen's Wall.\nThe self-proclaimed Provincial Governor, better known as the Pirate Queen to friends and enemies alike, used her connections as a high-ranking merchant lord of the Gold Coast Trading Company to build her base of power. She promised the pirates a safe haven and a share of the wealth pouring through the region in exchange for their backing and support. The pirates, along with the merchant marines that had always been more loyal to Fortunata than to the company that employed them, gave the Pirate Queen the weapons she needed to take and maintain control of Anvil and the surrounding countryside.\nIn many ways, the truth is almost more unbelievable than the risque and outlandish adventure tales now appearing as broadsheets on the streets of Anvil. These bawdy stories follow the exploits of the barely fictitious Pirate Empress Thusa ap Lagud, and they've become quite popular. The actual Pirate Queen tolerates the tales, if not actively encouraging their publication on a regular basis.\nNow the blood-red sabers on fields of white fly above Castle Anvil and the Anvil Lighthouse, and the Pirate Queen has turned Anvil into a \"Free City.\" No military vessels from any alliance are allowed to approach the Anvil Docks. Instead, merchant ships from across Tamriel fill the wharfs, happy to buy and sell cargo at bargain prices. Even the once-proud and influential Gold Coast Trading Company has acquiesced to the Pirate Queen's demands, deciding that profit is more important than arguing over respectability and who's in charge. In effect, the company does what the Pirate Queen tells it to.\nIt doesn't take a prophet to predict that the Pirate Queen has her sights set on Anvil's neighbor to the northeast, Kvatch. She said as much in her much-publicized declaration of independence. With more and more pirates and buccaneers rallying to her flag every day, and with gold flowing from frightened nobles as protection money disguised as taxes, it's clear to see that Fortunata will soon have the resources to deal with Count Carolus and even Primate Artorius. It's just a matter of time. And the Pirate Queen has demonstrated over and over again that she can be very patient when it comes to letting her plans develop.\nBy all accounts, Fortunata rules Anvil with an iron fist. The Red Sails pirates serve as her private army, raiding, rampaging, and performing the duties of enforcers whenever and wherever she directs them. She may be a cruel and merciless dictator, but she keeps the region under control and prevents anarchy from running rampant. Can we really expect more than that from our rulers?"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/pirates-abecean": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/pirates-abecean", "description": "A (possibly) fictional account of the Crimson Ship", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Pirates of the Abecean", "text": "The storm threw an unexpected twist in Captain Saraja's plan. She eyed the pirate sloop's torn sails and broken mast. Not only had their most recent haul washed overboard, but now they'd be becalmed until they could afford repairs.\n\"We're as good as grounded,\" First Mate Huruz said grimly.\n\"If we see another ship, I'm sure we can talk them out of it,\" the captain replied with a throaty chuckle. \"We're disabled, but still afloat. You're always thinking about disasters.\"\n\"Better safe than \u2026 is that another ship?\"\nSaraja turned and grinned. \"Our future ship, you mean.\"\nHuruz eyed the distance and said thoughtfully, \"It's not that far. Let's lower the dinghy.\"\nWithin moments, the Khajiiti crew prepared themselves to row to the other vessel. It was anchored near a sandbar and appeared undamaged. As they approached, Saraja scanned the line between the ship and sky, looking for movement. All quiet. Ripe for the plunder.\nHuruz climbed up, slowly digging into the ship's dark hull. He had to overpower any guard on this side, enabling the rest of the crew to secure lines and board. Landing softly on the deck, Huruz glanced quickly fore and aft. No guards. He leaned over the rail and signaled the crew.\nOne by one, the pirates boarded, padding along the deck silently with weapons drawn until they were all aboard the silent ship.\n\"Too big a ship to be on a pleasure cruise,\" Huruz murmured to the captain. \"And too quiet to be well-armed.\"\n\tSaraja nodded, gesturing toward the cabin's door. \"They're hiding in there,\" she whispered. \"Time for them to get off my ship.\"\nWith a loud battle cry, Huruz kicked open the cabin door. The pirates, claws unsheathed and weapons high, pushed in after him before coming to a stop not ten paces into the quiet, dark space.\n\t\"What's amiss?\"\n\"Quick! Get me a light!\"\nOne of the pirates slammed tinder and flint together. He raised the torch slowly, its warm glow reflecting across dozens of mirrors strewn throughout the cabin.\n\"By Jone and Jode, Kothringi!\"\n\"Dead Kothringi!\"\nSaraja ordered everyone back to their crippled ship, though it was already too late. No one who'd seen the Crimson Ship ever lived to tell the tale, and her crew had done more than see it."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/pircalmos-shopping-list": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/pircalmos-shopping-list", "description": "", "author": "Pircalmo", "title": "Pircalmo's Shopping List", "text": "On the next trip to Summerset, obtain:\n\t\u2014 10 Quills\n\t\u2014 Paper, of quality, ten books' worth\n\t\u2014 Paper, disposable, thirty books' worth\n\t\u2014 Small GLASS vials, not metal this time\n\t\u2014 Burn ointment\n\t\u2014 Silk in strips (for Alanya)\n\t\u2014 Wood varnish, to repair the damage from the metal vials\n\t\u2014 Metal fasteners, two handfuls (for Alanya)\n\t\u2014 Wood splints (why does Alanya need these?)"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/placeholder-wine-label": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/placeholder-wine-label", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Placeholder Wine-Label", "text": "1001 Wine Labels\n\tfor the Connoisseur\n\t(Actual wine-label collecting\n\tto be implemented soon!)"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/plan-escape": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/plan-escape", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Plan to Escape", "text": "There's Nightshade in these caverns. Sparse, but enough. Meet at the usual place."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/plea-open-eyes": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/plea-open-eyes", "description": "Rebukes the Daggerfall Covenant and cosmopolitanism in general", "author": "The Unveiled Azadiyeh", "title": "Plea for Open Eyes", "text": "Tall Papa, whose fingers brush the scattered stars, whose shadow stretches beyond horizons seen and unseen, whose authority commands the spirits of the last world and the next, have mercy on your children. It pains my soul to see my brothers and sisters clutched in the coils of the snake. They flee your blessed teachings, spitting on the face of the shame they should feel and driving their rusted blades into the heart of our traditions. They have been fooled and tempted by the fat life of emperors, and here I lay bare the transgressions upon the Old Ways. O Ruptga, I pray they should realize the hideous visage of these sins and repent, eyes open and seeing.\nWe know the truth, for it has been told. \"Honor your ancestors. He who permits their words and deeds to languish breaks his own blade and casts it to the burning wind.\" Yet in Sentinel, musical words in Yoku do not echo through palace halls. The tales are of foreign heroes, spoken in harsh tongues. The words of our fathers' fathers cry out for sweet water, but the legends they once carried crumble to dust. If we do not tend to them, we know that a new Ending Time, worse again than those before, draws near.\nWe know the truth, for it has been told. \"No pity or mercy shall be afforded the wretch who stands against the Warrior Wave.\" Yet our brothers and sisters meekly accept the Pariah Folk as equals and allies, polluting our honor with their mud-covered feet and staining our annals for all time. If it hurts one loyal songbird such as I to see this arrangement permitted, then how it must bring stinging tears to Tava's eyes and inflame Diagna's very sword-arm with the Crimson Rash of Betrayal!\nWe know the truth, for it has been told. \"Give your obedience to none save the gods of Yokuda. The Far Shores recede from he who leans upon thin-blooded shoulders, scornful of his feeble grasp.\" Yet a mild king of green lands commands our children. He sends them to die in his quest to claim White-Gold. He will step upon their strong backs to ascend. His gods' fingers reach into our heart, and Morwha shakes her head.\nRead this, O brothers and sisters. You have turned your left side to duty and closed your eyes to the searing sun. Your honor blackens as the memory of Yokuda-now-sunken fades. All is not yet lost. Take up the sword strengthened by our ancestors' ways, forged in the fires of righteousness and keen with true honor. Renounce these misguided New Movements and return to your family, who will accept you despite your misdeeds. Return while you still may."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/plea-maximinus": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/plea-maximinus", "description": "A foreman fears his supposedly haunted worksite", "author": "Foreman Albanus", "title": "Plea to Maximinus", "text": "Honored Maximinus,\nAgain I beg you to send guards. Danger surrounds us in these wilds. The workers are frightened of their own shadows out here. They claim the ground is cursed, that the trees move about under cover of darkness and bleed when cut. Whenever a worker runs away at night, the others wake up in the morning convinced that he's been killed, by monsters or the trees.\nSend us guards from the City. A few soldiers will reassure the loggers and greatly increase our productivity. I cannot fulfill my quotas with terrified workers who jump at every sound.\nForeman Albanus"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/please-respond-your-beloved-aunt-daiyanni": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/please-respond-your-beloved-aunt-daiyanni", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Please Respond, Your Beloved Aunt Daiyanni", "text": "Dearest Rultari,\nThis is my third letter since your last correspondence. I am concerned for your wellbeing. What your father is doing sounds macabre and, frankly, dangerous. It would be foolish enough to take these afflicted travelers into your own home, but dwelling down in the family crypts with these diseased people is downright ghoulish. What would the Divine Prosecution think of such disturbing behavior? If my brother will not see reason, I insist you take leave of Corgrad and stay with us until he has come to his senses, your brother as well if he may be convinced. At the very least, send word that you are safe and sound.\nYour beloved aunt,\nKinlady Daiyanni"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/poetic-verse-contest": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/poetic-verse-contest", "description": "Prises for a poetry bash", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Poetic Verse Contest!", "text": "\u2014The Residents of Skald's Retreat\u2014\nChallenge All and Sundry to a Poetic Verse Contest\nGrand Prize: 200 Gold\n\tFirst Prize: 100 Gold\n\tSecond Prize: 50 Gold\n\tEntry Fee: 10 Gold\n\tSpectator Fee: 1 Gold"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/portal-memorandum": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/portal-memorandum", "description": "A cultist overseer fears that Molag Bal's portals might be disrupted, and inadvertently tells us how to do so", "author": "Overseer Sadrys", "title": "Portal Memorandum", "text": "To all Engineers:\nI have received reports\u2014disturbing reports\u2014about the lack of defenses surrounding our portals. As you well know, allowing entry to Coldharbour could impede our Lord Molag Bal's plans. Should any of these disgusting provincials gain entry to all three, they might disrupt our pinions\u2014thus loosening our hold on the city. This cannot be allowed. I hereby order you to construct suitable defenses at all portal locations. Failure to do so will result in severe punishment.\n-Overseer Sadrys"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/powering-dark-anchors": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/powering-dark-anchors", "description": "Study into a powersource for the Dark Anchors", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Powering the Dark Anchors", "text": "Our great Prince Molag Bal has found a way to conquer the wretched realm of Nirn. Using Dark Anchors crafted in the Black Forge to weaken the barrier between worlds, the metaphysical chains will allow us to merge Nirn and Coldharbour into a singular domain ruled by the Lord of Schemes himself.\nIt takes considerable power to form the connection across the chaos of Oblivion. Unfortunately, this energy isn't as easy to acquire as the raw materials used to create the planar hooks and chains. Powerful mortals, especially powerful magic-users, provide the cleanest, most effective source of energy. On the other end of the spectrum, the Soul Shriven are practically worthless for this purpose, as the amount of energy we can draw from them is barely enough to start the melding process let alone carry it to fruition. Unless an unlimited source of powerful mortal mages suddenly makes itself available to us, we will have to explore other alternatives.\n***\nOur various experiments have finally paid off. We have discovered (through much trial and error) that atronachs can be used to supply enough energy to power the Dark Anchors and may even be capable of powering the ultimate Dark Anchor\u2014the Great Shackle. Flame and frost atronachs work well, but the most power by far is provided by the violatile storm atronachs. These creatures of wind and lightning will need to be acquired in great numbers to provide the energy we need to launch the Dark Anchors and the Great Shackle into Nirn.\nThis appears to be our best solution\u2014at least until we can acquire a steady source of powerful mortal mages to draw from. We will continue to work on that avenue, as well. For the glory of Molag Bal!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/practical-necromancy": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/practical-necromancy", "description": "How to summon and bind a spirit", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Practical Necromancy", "text": "~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~\nPreviously we've discussed the reanimation of crude matter for labor (Chapter XVI). It is time to delve into deeper, more rewarding subjects.\nAside from the traditional ritual components (Chapter III), you will need:\n* The HIDE of a slaughtered animal, cleaned and dried in the approved manner.\n\t* A measure of dried NIGHTSHADE, crushed with a pestle of pure ebony.\n\t* An ANIMUS GEODE containing the tortured spirit of a man or mer.\nPrepare a circular ritual space no less than three paces across. Isolate the space with a circle of one part chalk, one part salt, and one part ash. In the center of the space, prepare your ritual tools. Jam a pike or spear into the earth, point up. Write the name of the spirit you wish to summon on the piece of animal hide.\nBe sure you have no injuries that might spill blood in the circle. Trapping one's own soul in a summoning circle is rarely fatal (see Chapter XXV for exceptions), but is sure to provoke the mockery of your peers.\nAfter desecrating the circle (refer to Chapter X), light the candles in the following order: EAST, WEST, NORTH, SOUTH. Burn a pinch of nightshade in the RITUAL BOWL. Impale the animal hide onto the PIKE. Finally, take up the ANIMUS GEODE and release its power while holding in your mind an image of the deceased.\nOnce summoned, the spirit is tethered to the animus geode; the geode will act as a beacon, allowing you to call the bound shade to your side whenever you wish."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/praise-be-ancestor-song": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/praise-be-ancestor-song", "description": "An Altmeri hymn to the Eight Divines", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Praise Be (Ancestor Song)", "text": "(Music: deliberate and stately)\nPraise we now Mara\n\tO Goddess of Love\n\tBless us with children\n\tOur mother above\nCHORUS\n\tClap hands in praise\n\tExalt the Divines!\n\tClap hands and praise\n\tOur ancestral lines!\nPraise we now Xarxes\n\tWho transcribes our story\n\tHonor the scrivener\n\tArchivist of glory\nCHORUS\nPraise we now Y'ffre\n\tO first Ehlnofey\n\tGod of the forest\n\tEarth Bones showed the way\nCHORUS\nLast praise Auri-El\n\tForefather of all\n\tFormed us to be like him\n\tWise, noble, and tall\nCHORUS"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/praise-mafala": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/praise-mafala", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Praise to Mafala!", "text": "Praise to she who spins the webs!\nPraise to she who weaves the threads!\nAncient secrets she does keep\nShe whose machinations creep\nHonor her with blood and bone!\nBe the darkness which is sown!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/prayer-resolute": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/prayer-resolute", "description": "Invocation of Stendarr", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Prayer of the Resolute", "text": "Blessed be the name of Stendarr, the God of Mercy.\n\tHe strengthens and unifies his Resolutes through his wisdom and blessings.\n\tHe calls us by day to train with sword and shield to strengthen our might; and by night to pray in his name to strengthen our souls.\n\tHe takes pity upon us, his humble servants, and grants unto us mercy.\n\tHis holy light of truth will cast out the forces of darkness and rain justice upon Daedric abominations.\n\tGlory shall be his, forever."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/prayer-hircine": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/prayer-hircine", "description": "veneration of the Daedric Prince of the Hunt", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Prayer to Hircine", "text": "I lift my weapons to you!\n\tBless them, and guide them true\u2014\n\tA bow!\n\tA sword!\n\tA dagger!\n\tA claw!\n\tLet the sport begin!\n\tLet the blood spill!\n\tHunter and hunted,\n\tIn a chase to the death!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/prayer-my-prince": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/prayer-my-prince", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Prayer to My Prince", "text": "These gifts are meager,\n\tBut I beseech you!\n\tGuide my actions,\n\tHear my thoughts\n\tAcross the ages, and\n\tThrough the realms\n\tI approach the altar,\n\tMy heart full of\n\tDevotion and love\n\tFor my Prince!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/precepts-stendarr": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/precepts-stendarr", "description": "Code of the order of Stendarr", "author": "Ptolus the Bright, Resolute of Stendarr", "title": "Precepts of Stendarr", "text": "All are welcome within Stendarr's gracious embrace. His temple doors are never closed, for all in Tamriel deserve comfort and shelter. He welcomes the afflicted, the hopeless, the forgotten, and yes, even the heretical. Through his priests, he offers them counsel and assistance.\nHis hallowed radiance heals those who open their hearts and seek his benevolence. His mercy is boundless, and by the clarion call of his horn, he can mend any wound, stay any disease, and soothe any broken soul.\nStendarr's faithful are blessed by great revelations in the healing arts. If you seek his wisdom, wield the gift of restoration magic in his name. Follow his precepts, and make yourself vulnerable to his will.\n\u2022 Never refuse aid you are capable of providing.\n\t\u2022 Go among the infirm and the wounded wherever you find them.\n\t\u2022 Offer prayer to Stendarr every day.\n\t\u2022 Do not hoard wealth or indulge physically.\nAbove all, never forget Stendarr's command: Be kind and generous to the people of Tamriel. Protect the weak, heal the sick, and give to the needy."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/pridehome-place-outside-time": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/pridehome-place-outside-time", "description": "The \"history\" of this temple to Alkosh and the dragon-fighting champions that live there", "author": "Kaalaleth", "title": "Pridehome: A Place Outside Time?", "text": "Transcribed by Kaalaleth of the Mages Guild\nTranscriber's note: This transcription uses verbs that, in our language, denote the passage of time. I feel like they hamper understanding of what this itinerant Khajiit Moon-Priest tried to explain to me, but I needed to get these concepts down (albeit roughly) before my own mind confused me even more. As a result, any mistakes in this transcription are my own. I only wish I could give you the sense of timelessness that the Moon-Priest provided to me. But, perhaps that way opens a path to the likes of Sheogorath. Also, please note that the Moon-Priest refused to provide his name, stating that he was both a priest with knowledge and a neophyte with no knowledge, all at once.\n* * *\nBefore time and the tapestry, Pridehome existed. As an ideal, it has always existed. It will always exist. The Dragon God of Time, Alkosh, wove it into the tapestry and time, making it real for the rest of us with our limited perception of linear time.\nPridehome served as a home for the adepts who follow the teachings of the God of Time. A secluded place. A place where they prepared for the Doom to Come, a time when the Dragons return and bring unbalance to the world.\nChampion Ja'darri heard the call of Alkosh and crafted Pridehome, making it real for the rest of us. Yes, she fought the Black Beast. Yes, she died even as she succeeded. Yet she succeeded only for a time, in your mind. But, yes, she has always existed and succeeded. She will always exist.\nThe ideal and place of Pridehome has always existed. As has the Pride of Alkosh, of which Ja'darri was the first, provided you hold with the concept of events unfolding one after the other instead of all at once.\nCan you imagine, you who are bound to the tapestry and linear time, knowing that Ja'darri both succeeded and failed at the same time? Just as the one called Abnur Tharn succeeded and failed at the same time? And in the same moment, outside of linear time? Perhaps you cannot. Perhaps that asks too much.\nMore champions heeded the call after Ja'darri, in linear time. More came. Clan Mothers came and went as well. Until, as time passed, in the common parlance, one named Ra'khajin arrived. He both succeeded and failed to become a champion, just as Ja'darri before him. How, you ask, is this possible? He succeeded until he left Pridehome in linear time, yes? But outside linear time? He succeeded and failed all at once. Or forever, if you prefer.\nPridehome's most recent Clan Mother, Hizuni, is also its first. All Clan Mothers at Pridehome are the first. But, perhaps I have belabored this topic long enough, yes? If you grasp anything I have told you, know this: Pridehome has always existed and always will. The Pride of Alkosh has always existed and always will. All Clan Mothers of Pridehome have always existed and always will. And the Doom to Come? It exists and always will."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/prince-aidens-report": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/prince-aidens-report", "description": "Daedric cultists muster in Glenumbra", "author": "Aiden Direnni", "title": "Prince Aiden's Report", "text": "Battlereeve Laelwe,\nI have just received grievous tidings from an outrider belonging to one of our foraging patrols. While making a routine pass near the border of Glenumbra, the patrol discovered a rogue group of Daedra worshipers who have apparently taken up secret residence in the area. Not surprisingly, this cult is populated from the lesser races. However, they have revealed themselves as a serious threat to our authority by consorting with Daedric creatures of surpassing power. The cultists were able to summon foul Daedra and ambush the unsuspecting patrol, heedlessly slaughtering all but one of our people.\nSwift and decisive action must be taken against such a dangerous element within our lands. You are to immediately take the full strength of your fighting force into Kingsguard, and travel northwest through the mountains bordering that region. From there you must locate the den of these despicable traitors, root them out, and destroy them to the very last.\n\tI send this message in the hands of the outrider who escaped the murderous Daedric attack, that he may guide you and your forces to the exact location where these murderous fiends were first encountered.\nAuri-El guide you,\n\tPrince Aiden Direnni"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/prince-hew-and-haj-mota-chariot": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/prince-hew-and-haj-mota-chariot", "description": "Misadventures of the incompetent Prince Hew and his highly competent vizier", "author": "Petty-Vizier Hafzifeh al-Yath", "title": "Prince Hew and the Haj Mota Chariot", "text": "\"Hafzifeh! I mean, Your Semi-Excellency!\" It was Jengesh the page boy, in a sweat from having run up the stairs. \"The Prince wants you right away, in the stables! Hurry!\"\n\"Now what?\"\" I said, as I shoved Ralliballah's Eleven Ritual Forms under my desk blotter - the Prince had forbidden magic in the palace ever since his attempt to learn the Water Breathing spell had left him temporarily unable to breathe anything but water. (I'd told him he was inverting the fifth and sixth syllables, but he'd ignored me.) \"Are the skeevers into the oats again?\"\n\"Nope!\" Jengesh smiled slyly. \"You'll have to see this for yourself.\"\nPrince Hew was pacing impatiently back and forth before the door to the stables, taking care to keep his curly-toed golden slippers out of the dung. \"Ah! There you are, Hafzi! I have something to show you - and this time I know you'll be impressed!\" He waved one silk-clad arm toward his ever-present bodyguard, and Big Dhorlun slid the stable door open on its rollers.\nInside was the ugliest thing I'd ever seen. It looked like a Ra Gada war chariot, but it was oversized, with four wheels instead of two, and with a big gold-fringed umbrella on a gilded frame over the rider's box. The box itself was garishly painted with glowing rainbows, the Prince's chosen symbol (\"Because I'm 'Prince Hue - get it?\"), and silver spatter-boards were mounted over the wheels to keep mud from besmirching the driver. The whole affair looked as heavy as an oxcart in a quarry.\n\"Isn't it glorious?\" the Prince asked. \"It's glorious, isn't it?\" he repeated, pointedly. \"Glorious.\"\n\"G-glorious. Yes, indeed. Exactly.\" I said. \"It's also - rather large. But it looks to me like it would take about eight horses to draw it, and right now we have only six.\"\n\"Horses? Pfah! Horses are for the ordinary! My new princely chariot will be drawn by - a haj mota!\"\n\"A devil-tortoise? But no one's ever tamed one - it can't be done. And where would Your Highness get it, anyway?\"\n\"I have one already!\" said Prince Hew, proudly twirling his handlebar moustache. \"I bought it from a Bosmeri merchant, who tamed it with soporific bug-smoke. Come see!\" And he led the way further into the stable.\nThat's when the screaming began. Normally I wouldn't use a hoary cliche like \"blood-curdling shrieks,\" but really, my heart froze at the sound, terrible wails from both humans and horses. Morad the stable-hand came running from the pens, wide-eyed, followed by a Wood Elf I didn't recognize. I got in his way, and when he tried to push past me I grabbed him by one of his cosmetic antlers. \"Ow! Stop it, lady! Run for it!\"\n\"Tell me what happened, and I'll let you go,\" I snarled, twisting the antler for emphasis.\n\"It's the haj mota! It must've gotten used to the sleep-smoke, because it woke up - mad!\" He looked over his shoulder, trembling. \"It's eating the horses! And we're next - let me go!\"\nI let him go. And then, out of the depths of the barn, came the thundering devil-tortoise, its jaws still dripping gobbets of horse. It was charging straight toward Prince Hew, who stood stock-still, watching it. I realized he was paralyzed with fear.\nI barely made it, but I tackled the Prince and knocked him out of the way just before the haj mota would have trampled him. It passed us, then stopped short and turned - it was shockingly nimble - and whacked Dhorlun with its heavy tail, sending him flying in one direction, and his two-handed sword in another. Then it focused on us, murder in its red, piggy eyes.\nI was sprawled atop Prince Hew, who was pawing at me with his pudgy hands and bleating, \"Save me, Hafzi! Save me!\" As the thing stepped closer and opened its great beak I tried to think of a spell, any spell, but with the Prince wheezing at me my mind was a blank.\nThe Prince - wheezing. Suddenly a spell formed in my mind, I blurted it out, and slapped the haj mota on its nose. Magicka poured from me and into the beast, which blinked, snorted, and began to shake its head left and right. It opened its jaws wide and burst out in great, wracking gasps, and then flung its legs out and flopped down, lungs heaving. In less than a minute it was dead, suffocated.\nBecause it couldn't find any water to breathe.\nI helped the Prince up, dusting off his silken robes, except for the part where he'd sat in horse dung, which I pretended not to notice. \"What - what happened to it, Hafzi?\" he said. His eyes narrowed. \"You didn't use any magic on it, did you?\"\n\"It... must have been a delayed reaction to the bug-smoke. A breathing problem!\" I nodded emphatically. \"Yes, it must have been the smoke. Remember the time I wore that Rihad musk and you couldn't stop sneezing? Like that!\"\n\"Ah. Yes. Well, that was lucky, wasn't it? Dhorlun, run after that merchant and get my money back! I'm going to have to buy another six horses.\" He looked fondly at the hideous chariot. \"Maybe eight!\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/prince-hew-and-three-legged-race": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/prince-hew-and-three-legged-race", "description": "Misadventures of the incompetent Prince Hew and his highly competent vizier", "author": "Petty-Vizier Hafzifeh al-Yath", "title": "Prince Hew and the Three-Legged Race", "text": "\"Hafzi!\" Prince Hew called as he burst into my office. \"Is everything ready for the Festival of Blades?\"\nI stood, trying to cover Corvus Direnni's \"Principles of Conjuration\" with a parchment.\nThe Prince's eyes flashed. \"\"Reading Direnni again, eh? You know how I feel about magic in the palace, Petty-Vizier!\"\n\"It ... it isn't mine, Your Highness! I confiscated it from Jengesh the page boy.\" I smiled unconvincingly.\n\"Hmph. And why aren't you wearing your official petty-vizier turban?\"\nI glanced at the awful magenta-and-green headwear on the corner of my desk and tried not to make a face. \"It's too warm to wear a hat, Your Magnificence.\"\n\"Nonsense, it's the middle of First Seed! But I want to know if preparations for the festival are on schedule. You know how much my people love a good party!\"\nI shook my head. \"They're Redguards, Your Highness. They don't really go to parties much. Or at all.\"\n\"That's about to change! Now, are we prepared for pin-the-tail-on-the-camel?\"\n\"Yes, Your Highness. Or we will be, once Morad gets back from having the splint put on his leg.\"\n\"Bobbing for gorapples?\"\n\"The tubs, fruit baskets, and towels are all lined up in the west courtyard.\"\n\"The Town Guards' three-legged race?\"\nI cleared my throat. \"Well, there we have a problem, Your Sublimity, because none of the Guards have signed up for the event. They're ... reluctant, because they remember how you punished Corporal Zaqudh after last year's race.\"\n\"He was cheating! I had to punish him! And after all, he still has most of his toes.\"\n\"Even so, I don't believe they'll do it.\"\n\"Hmph.\"\" The Prince tugged on his moustache irritably. \"What if you can assure them that I know they won't cheat by untying their legs, because they won't be able to?\"\nThis was bad. It meant the Prince had had an idea, and it was always bad when the Prince had an idea. \"What do you mean, 'won't be able to'?\"\" I asked warily.\n\"Ha ha! Dhorlun, come in here,\"\" he called. His bodyguard ducked his head under the lintel and came in from the hallway. \"Hafzi, stand in front of that Yokudan urn,\" Prince Hew said. \"Dhorlun, stand next to the Petty-Vizier.\"\nI shrugged, and we took our positions, Big Dhorlun at my side, topping my height by a head and a half. Prince Hew raised his hands in an arcane gesture and I realized, to my horror, that he was about to try to cast a spell - but before I could protest, it was done. The spell was invoked, the magicka surged over me, and I felt my left leg weld itself to Dhorlun's right. \"No!\" I cried. \"Highness, what have you done?\"\nThe Prince gave his moustache a self-satisfied twirl. \"Did you think you were the only one who could read Corvus Direnni, Hafzi? I stripped the binding clause out of Koron's Peremptory Summons, and discovered I could use it to bind other things than the will of a Daedra! Impressive, isn't it?\"\nI just gaped at him. Meanwhile, Big Dhorlun looked down at our magically-bound legs, grunted, and then tried to step forward. I had to grab his arm to keep from falling over, and even then I nearly dragged both of us down. Dhorlun shook his head. \"This is bad, Master. Don't like it. Make it go away, Master.\"\n\"Oh, very well. Unbind!\" the Prince said, and reversed the spell, but added an inadvisable gestural flourish that funneled far too much magicka into it. Dhorlun and I flew apart, hurled to opposite sides of the room, and the ancient Yokudan urn behind us shattered explosively.\nSuddenly a swirling cloud appeared above the shattered jar, and a hollow, ringing voice cried, \"Free! FREE! After an eon bound in that stinking jug, I'm free!\" The cloud rapidly coalesced into an armored floating torso with a helmed head and four arms, each of which gripped a huge scimitar. \"Now I take my vengeance on the world of mortals!\"\nThe scimitars began to whirl menacingly. I glanced at Dhorlun, but he'd gone head-first into my marble bust of Morwha and was still stunned. \"Highness!\" I cried. \"Use your spell! Bind that thing before it chops us into hors-d'oeuvres!\"\nPrince Hew's eyes goggled with horror. \"I c-can't! The unbinding spell drained all my magicka! It's up to you, Hafzi!\"\nI ducked as two scimitars whistled over my head, and dashed behind my desk. The thing was between me and the door - it WAS up to me to bind it, but I hadn't cast a spell in months. Prince Hew shrieked as a scimitar slashed the tassels off his golden fez. \"Koron's Prison, Hafzi! It's our only chance!\"\n\"But that needs a container, and the urn is smashed!\"\n\"Use this!\" And the Prince tossed me the magenta-and-green petty-vizier turban.\nThree scimitars came down on my desk, smashing it to flinders, as I inverted the turban and cast Koron's Perdurable Prison. \"NOOO!\" the demon cried as it dwindled into the hated hat. \"I loathe the scent of hair oil-!\"\nAnd then it was gone. I was still trembling, but Prince Hew blinked, took a deep breath, and smiled. \"Well, that didn't end so badly, did it? At least, not as bad as the Iron Regatta, or that business with the pet toku gava! Now, where were we?\"\nI helped Big Dhorlun up out of the marble dust of the shattered statue. \"We were canceling the Guards' three-legged race, remember?\"\n\"I suppose you're right, Hafzi. You usually are.\" He brightened. \"I have it! After the gorapple bobbing contest, we'll have them use their crossbows to shoot the fruit off the heads of the losers! Oh, and ... just get rid of that turban.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/princess-urenenyas-letter": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/princess-urenenyas-letter", "description": "Final letter from an Ayleid princess to her Dwemeri architect lover", "author": "Princess Urenenya", "title": "Princess Urenenya's Letter", "text": "Translated by Pelorrah, Assistant Sapiarch of Altmeri Heritage, Cloudrest Annex\n\"My Beloved Klathzgar,\n\"Of my affections, be confident they are in no degree diminished. My father's demands for my bethrothal I have refused and thereby suffered greatly, kept apart as I was from my truest love. But alas, the illness of which I had written before grows ever worse, and I feel my life ebbing away. I have determined that I shall visit you for our farewells to be spoken, but in honor I must return to Silaseli thereafter. Sweet intentions though you have, I beseech you to abandon your designs to perpetuate my existence through mechanical embodiment. It is you I love, my ardent engineer, not your automata.\n\t\"Urenenya\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/principles-conjuration": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/principles-conjuration", "description": "Introduction to summoning", "author": "Corvus Direnni", "title": "Principles of Conjuration", "text": "\u2014Introduction\u2014\nConjuration is the arcane art of summoning creatures and items from other planes for the usage and benefit of the conjurer. Its study has long languished due to its inherent perils, for summoned entities, particularly the more intelligent Daedra, resent being brought to Nirn to do another's bidding, and often seek to do the conjurer a mischief.\nThe notable success I have had in formulating safe and reliable conjuration spells comes from my system of defining such magics as always having two essential and interlocking components: a summoning incantation and a binding rune. It is the latter part, of course, that protects the conjurer from the entity or item summoned by enthralling it to the summoner.\nHeretofore conjuration has been quite a dangerous pursuit due to the fact that a conjuring wizard had to cast summoning and binding as two separate spells, and if the binding was miscast or cast too slowly, the conjurer might pay for the error with his life. My innovation has been to interweave the magics of summoning and binding so that they become one spell that manifests both effects simultaneously, thus ensuring that what is summoned is also necessarily bound.\nThe apprentice is urged to apply himself diligently to study of the spells in the accompanying grimoire: though my methods have rendered conjuration less perilous, it is by no means an art to be attempted lightly and carelessly. The apprentice who does so will only briefly be a burden to his or her master."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/prisoners-journal-0": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/prisoners-journal-0", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Prisoner's Journal", "text": "They made no demands, gave no hints of their goals. I tried to get a look at their leader. He's a tall man, well-muscled, and carries an axe. He keeps his face covered."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/prisoner-clarisse-laurent": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/prisoner-clarisse-laurent", "description": "Describes Clarisse's cell", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "PRISONER: CLARISSE LAURENT", "text": "Prisoner: Lady Clarisse Laurent, Breton, Female.\nNotes: Noble, explorer. Held in room with Cross of Meridia banner and blue crystals. May be resistant to illusory spells. Observe closely."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/prisoner-raynor-vanos": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/prisoner-raynor-vanos", "description": "Describes Vanos' cell", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "PRISONER: RAYNOR VANOS", "text": "Prisoner: Raynor Vanos, Dunmer, Male.\nNotes: Dwemer artifice expert. Held in room with yellow crystals and Eye of Hermaeus Mora banner. Appears heavily susceptible to illusions, but may possess Dwemer-inspired devices. Search carefully."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/prisoner-telenger": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/prisoner-telenger", "description": "Describes Telenger's cell", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "PRISONER: TELENGER", "text": "Prisoner: Telenger, Altmer, Male.\nNotes: Capable mage. Held in cell with Star of Azura banner and blue crystals."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/private-dispatch-secret": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/private-dispatch-secret", "description": "Instructions for Durel Gilveni", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Private Dispatch (Secret!)", "text": "When you're able to slip away unnoticed, find the others in the ruins by the river. I ordered the soldiers to avoid the area, so you should have no trouble. Destroy this note after you read it, Durel Gilveni, or I will burn you to cinders."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/problem-solver-hire": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/problem-solver-hire", "description": "Clean-up man available for all sorts of illegal work", "author": "Rayan Diel", "title": "Problem Solver For Hire!", "text": "Got a problem that needs solving? The name's Rayan Diel. I'm a clean-up man. If you got bodies, bloodstains, or incriminating evidence you need to dispose of, I'm your guy.\nNeed to get out of town quick? Need an untraceable curse? Fast-acting poison? Talk to me. No matter what you need, I've got a Diel for you.\n\"Fast, thorough, and clean,\" that's my motto. So just sit back, relax, and let a professional take over."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/progress-inquiry-cyrodiil": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/progress-inquiry-cyrodiil", "description": "", "author": "Queen Ayrenn", "title": "Progress Inquiry: Cyrodiil", "text": "Grand Warlord Sorcalin,\nHow goes the war in Cyrodiil? The Thalmor is eager for news of our army's progress. Great trust has been given to you, and great resources have been placed at your command.\nWe are impatient for results, Grand Warlord.\n- Queen Ayrenn,\n\tfor the Aldmeri Dominion"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/promissory-note-on": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/promissory-note-on", "description": "Promise of a debt to be paid", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Promissory Note [ON]", "text": "This note promises that <<1>>, of Kozanset will pay his debt in full along with the standard amount of interest for the time the debt went uncollected."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/prompt-rescue-imperative": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/prompt-rescue-imperative", "description": "A suitor refuses to give up", "author": "Stibbons", "title": "Prompt Rescue is Imperative", "text": "I let Drasilla know, in the clearest possible manner, that my heart belongs to another. She refused to accept this and made it clear that she will have me. I fear she may soon wear me down.\nDear Lady Laurent's hair must be a tangled mess by now. The climate is harsh and I haven't attended to it in days!\n\u2014 Stibbons"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/proper-torture-techniques-vol-13": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/proper-torture-techniques-vol-13", "description": "Daedric perspective on torturing mortals' minds", "author": "The Duchess of Anguish", "title": "Proper Torture Techniques, Vol. 13", "text": "Focus on Failure\nPain can be an effective tool in the torture of mortals, but it has an inherent failing\u2014it is temporary. Failure, on the other hand, lasts for an eternity.\nThroughout their brief existence, every mortal invariably attempts activities that are beyond their physical capabilities, in the hopes of achieving greatness. Mortals refer to this quality as \"ambition.\" Inevitably, complications brought about by overreach, overexertion, miscalculation, or simply by bad luck will result in a catastrophic failure in one or more of these activities. The resulting shame and self-reproach will often imprint itself within a mortal's mind and forever remain, haunting them for the remainder or their days.\nFailure\u2014the natural byproduct of a mortal's ambition\u2014can therefore be one of the most potent weapons in a torturer's arsenal.\nMortals, through their liberal exercise of free will, do not wish to be reminded of their failures or their unrequited ambitions. Recounting these failures can have a devasting effect upon their \"pride,\" a pitiable quality which espouses the individual person as a unique and exalted personality in a vast, meaningless universe. When a mortal's pride is affected, any other favorable qualities they might possess are devalued in their own self-perception. To wit, they begin to mentally torture themselves.\nOne of the most elegant and efficient means of breaking a mortal's spirit, then, is the constant and repetitive re-creation of the events they consider to be their most devastating failures and inadequacies. By highlighting, exaggerating, and to some degree even distorting these events, we can create a situation where their own self-doubts and frustrations turn inward, devouring their own mind, body, and soul.\nThough it may take more time and effort than pure physical torture, a daily regimen of repetitive forced-failure scenarios will eventually break the subject's will without the need to resort to violence or bloodshed, the expense of which have been extensively documented as the direct result of elevated cleaning costs and desiccated corpse disposal."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/proper-torture-techniques-vol-8": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/proper-torture-techniques-vol-8", "description": "A Daedric perspective on torturing mortals using love", "author": "The Duchess of Anguish", "title": "Proper Torture Techniques, Vol. 8", "text": "Love, the Mortal Weakness\nOne of the more confusing phenomena of the mortal condition is that peculiar emotional state known as love, in which one mortal feigns an irrational and unconditional affection for another mortal. This state, unknown to the denizens of His Majesty's realm, is the most puzzling for a torturer to understand, foreign as the concept is, but lurking within this emotional quality are many avenues for simulating this state and therefore manipulating the torture subject into submitting to our will.\nLove, as it is, is a very powerful force, and it is through love that most mortals perform their greatest and most heroic deeds. Though love can be directed at any number of abstract concepts\u2014love for the Empire, love for one's personal deity, love for one's home\u2014these are more tenuous forms of the emotion and thus less effective for our torture methods. Manipulating love for abstract concepts is best served for souring a mortal's disposition in peaceful times, not for extracting information while in the torture chamber.\nRather, if one wishes to use love as an effective torture method, the love of one mortal for another mortal is by far the strongest, and thus the most efficient and powerful, source for manipulation. Whereas love for an abstraction exists solely within a mortal's mind, the love for another person exists in the physical realm, and its tangibility amplifies its effect on a mortal's soul. A mortal may love, say, his career as a baker, but there is not one single thing which defines that love, and thus the affection is a complex thread of interwoven objects inside his mental faculties. But when a child loves his mother, he has only one mother, and if that is taken away from him, there would be only a void with which to fulfill that love. Thus, a proper torturer must focus on the love for another mortal in order to effectively torture a mortal soul.\nNow the question remains: How does one use the love for another mortal as a method of torture? The answer is entirely dependent on the relationship of the tortured soul and the object of their affection. Familial love, the love between members of the same family, is most effectively pursued by reinforcing the concept of loss. If a mother loves her child, she would be unable to bear losing that child. Thus, presenting a vision of the child to the mother and then taking it away\u2014either through death or kidnapping\u2014would be an effective means of torture. Love between friends, though, is best portrayed as constant and inevitable betrayal or overt treachery on behalf of the assumed friend.\nIf a torturer happens upon a mortal who holds secret desires for another mortal, particularly in the nature of nuptial love or carnal love, but for which this love is not fulfilled\u2014mortals call this \"unrequited love\"\u2014then that torturer has the most enticing and powerful version of love with which to use.\nA mortal's petty sense of identity and its futile need to fulfill its desires is one of the defining characteristics of mortal existence, and the sometimes lifelong ambition to achieve one's goals is the driving force for many mortal beings throughout their short and ultimately meaningless lives. Offering a mortal even the slightest indulgence of their unrequited desires, empty and false as it may be, is to entice the very essence of their ambitions and to stoke their basest emotional needs. If a torturer can invoke these instincts from the victim, then the success of the torture is practically guaranteed."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/proper-life-three-chants": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/proper-life-three-chants", "description": "Marching songs of the Alessian Order", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Proper-Life: Three Chants", "text": "(Marching songs of the Alessian Order)\nThe Archimonk's Dream\nTo sleep, to dream, of Tamriel\n\tUnsullied by Anui-El.\n\tMan-ape, tell us.\n\tMaruhk, guide us.\n\tWhat child of Man could fail to be\n\tIn bliss if Nirn were Elven-free?\n\tMan-ape, tell us.\n\tMaruhk, guide us.\n\tWe willing march to heed your call,\n\tDevoted, pious, one and all.\n\tMan-ape, tell us.\n\tMaruhk, guide us.\n\tYour mandates we embrace.\nThe Song-Never-Sung-at-Twilight\nThat is not cruel which cures,\n\tO faith, charity, rigor.\n\tBy faith true heart endures,\n\tO hope, clarity, vigor.\n\tSeventy-Seven shall guide us,\n\tO praise, honor, and duty.\n\tAlessia lives inside us,\n\tAnd truth is one with beauty.\nThe Forty-Third Praise-Song of Alessia\nMy very inner organs swell\n\tWhen I am called upon to tell\n\tOf glory in expunging Taint\n\tIn honor of our blessed Saint\n\tAlessia, all praise to her\n\tWho freed Men from the hated Mer.\n\tThrice-bless'd are those who emulate\n\tHer sanctified, uplifting hate.\n\tThis, this, never that.\n\tThis, this, never that."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/proto-research-treasure-map-i": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/proto-research-treasure-map-i", "description": "A researcher sets out in search of Ayleid relics", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Proto Research Treasure Map I", "text": "My research indicates that a cache of Ayleid relics lays somewhere in the village of Craftland. Numerous ancient writings speak of the \"tall tan-toned spire\" that \"sits aside the wall\".\nHowever, I have been unable to gain enough funding for a research expedition to the area to investigate further. The deacon is concerned about the threat posed by one bandit lord Dezanu. Poppycock, I say! No mere toll-stealer will stop the march of progress!\nI intend to set out shortly on my own to find this cache myself. I am certain that this is a solid and well-thought-out plan, and that no sudden or inevitable misfortune shall befall me."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/protocols-propriety-order-seven": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/protocols-propriety-order-seven", "description": "How to behave as a Dominion soldier in occupied territory", "author": "Legate Calevarnel", "title": "Protocols of Propriety, Order Seven", "text": "Aldmeri Dominion Expeditionary Forces, General Order Seven\nAll those who march under the Eagle Banner represent the glorious heritage of the Aldmeri Race\u2014yes, even those of the Valued Ally Races\u2014and in occupied areas all troops, regardless of pedigree, are required to abide by the Military Protocols of Propriety.\nAt the most fundamental level these protocols number only five. They are presented here in terms comprehensible even by those of lesser intellectual attainment.\nONE: Foraging is Mandatory, but Looting is Forbidden\nWhile it is true that regions brought under the protection of the Aldmeri Dominion are required to pay indemnity-in-kind to support Dominion forces, this indemnity is to be collected with a strict adherence to the Rule of Fifths: one-fifth of all tangible goods and currency in a Dominion-protected region belong to the Dominion. Personal looting is forbidden.\nTWO: Pay for What You Take\nPersonal goods acquired by troops in an occupied region are to be paid for at the appropriate market rate. For this purpose all troops are supplied with a liberal quantity of Dominion Scrip, paper currency which the locals in an occupied region will be able to redeem after hostilities cease.\nNOTE: Troops are not to accept Dominion Scrip as payment for goods or services.\nTHREE: Do Not Fraternize with the Locals\nThe locals in occupied regions often display vulgar behavior, subscribe to improper belief systems, and foment inappropriate ideas. Sometimes they even suffer a false sense of grievance against the Dominion which may manifest itself in dangerous misbehavior. Be a \"Safe Soldier,\" and fraternize only with those certified entertainers who have been admitted into the Recreation Compound.\nFOUR: Maintain Uniform Standards of Appearance\nDo not fall prey to the temptation to adopt local attire, no matter how comfortable or festive. Maintain that superior reserve that reflects true Aldmeri Propriety.\nFIVE: Tolerate No Disrespect\nThe forces of the Dominion Military are the physical incarnation of the Glory of the Aldmeri Peoples, and as such must be respected by members of the tertiary races. Failure to show proper deference to Dominion personnel or the Eagle Banner is to be immediately punished at the appropriate level of severity (as delineated in Article 317, Deference and Decorum).\nIf you have questions about any of the above, consult your superior officer, or apply to your unit ceremoniarch for the course in Advanced Aldmeri Propriety.\nIn the Queen's Name,\n\tLegate Calevarnel"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/protocols-court-contempt": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/protocols-court-contempt", "description": "Legal proceedings of Coldharbour", "author": "Judge Xiven", "title": "Protocols of the Court of Contempt", "text": "All proceedings shall be strictly on the record, unless said proceedings are ordered stricken from the record.\nThe Guilty shall address this court with all due respect, or receive condign punishment as appropriate from Magistrate Bogtro.\nThe Guilty shall be entitled to counsel in the form of scamps duly outfitted in periwigs. However, scamps, due to their inveterate vulgarity, are forbidden to speak in the Court of Contempt.\nThe Guilty are invited to express their indignation at these proceedings at length and in the most heated terms, for the entertainment of the Judge and Magistrate.\nThe reputation for the fairness of the Court of Contempt is proven by its one-hundred-percent conviction rate of the Guilty.\nTake them away!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/proven-moon-sugar-fertilization-techniques": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/proven-moon-sugar-fertilization-techniques", "description": "A recipe for potent drug fertilizer", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Proven Moon Sugar Fertilization Techniques", "text": "The key to creating effective moon sugar grass fertilizer is mixing the right combination of Jarrin Root, Nirnroot, Nightshade, and lava ash. Jarrin Root may be the most difficult to acquire, as it is thought to be found only on the island of Stros-M'kai. Any Jarrin Root that has a dark purple coloration is far more effective, and is well worth the time and resources to find.\nOnce all ingredients are acquired, mix equal amounts of Jarrin Root, Nirnroot, lava ash, and water. Once your mixture is properly produced, crush it into pebble sized chunks and spread over the moon sugar grass. Finally, wait for the grasses to begin thriving and producing highly potent moon sugar. If it seems as though this process is not working, be patient and repeat as deemed necessary."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/provision-requests": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/provision-requests", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Provision Requests", "text": "7 sacks dried boar sticks\n\t10 jugs butter\n\t4 kegs bloodmead\n\t8 casks squirrel preserves\n\t1 small keg of sugared herring\n\t5 bushels dried fish\n\t2 bushels moon sugar\n\t10 kegs treacle"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/prudence-practice": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/prudence-practice", "description": "Safety tips for spellcasting", "author": "Elleraame of Sunhold", "title": "Prudence in Practice", "text": "Any accomplished wizard knows that safety when experimenting with new spells is of the utmost importance\u2014especially when utilizing destruction magic. Too many times, I have had to treat a student with horrific burns or frostbite, or helped clean up the aftermath of a spell misfired in a location inappropriate for training, such as personal quarters.\nYou must take care when casting new spells, and there is no excuse for reckless behavior or slack adherence to the rules. These simple guidelines will protect you from your most dangerous enemy: carelessness.\n1. Never practice spells with elemental output indoors. No exceptions!\n\t2. When training with a staff, find a large, open space and check the weapon for impurities and damage before every use.\n\t3. Closing your eyes while casting will not make your spells more potent\u2014trust me!\n\t4. Never attempt to use an untested destruction spell as a prank on another student (or any other spell, to be honest; try to be professional).\nRemember: even the masters\u2014especially the masters\u2014know to take the proper precautions at all times. Magical destruction is exciting and alluring, but any wizard with lazy, sloppy habits and irresponsible behavior won't survive to explore it!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/psijic-codex-list-dead-drops": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/psijic-codex-list-dead-drops", "description": "This poem is a list of artifacts stolen from the Vault of Moawita during The Elder Scrolls Online: Summerset. The Vestige has to recover them all.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Psijic Codex: List of Dead Drops", "text": "Though they may be hidden well,\n\tI see where these relics dwell.\n\tIn order to stop this shadowy theft,\n\tOne must go to Summerset.\nThe Lantern of Lies, with malicious glow,\n\tCan be found by the rocks of Welenkin Cove.\n\tWithin the crevice of coral stone,\n\tWhere coral crabs have made their home.\nThe Heart of the Indrik, near water deep,\n\tLies behind the walls of Cey-Tarn Keep.\n\tBehind trees numbered one and three,\n\tOne can find this relic easily.\nThe relic of compulsive note,\n\tSits next to a ready boat.\n\tSearch the Alinor Dock's rightmost pier,\n\tFor the Silver-Tongued Quill sits near.\nIn Rellenthil, home of players great,\n\tThe Unraveling Staff lies in wait.\n\tBeneath a bridge, by gentle creek,\n\tYou'll find the relic that you seek.\nNear the Rellenthil wayshrine,\n\tSits a skull without a spine.\n\tThe Skull of Minor Cursing hides,\n\tOn cliff's edge, near sinkhole wide.\nThe Shadowcutter Blade was hauled,\n\tBy jagged stone and waterfall.\n\tEast of the ruins of Ald Mora,\n\tHides this relic of deadly aura.\nThe Soulkeeper's Urn was laid to rest,\n\tIn a town that's neither east nor west.\n\tBehind Russafeld's grand estate,\n\tYou'll find this relic hides in wait.\nThe Chest of Condemnation overlooks,\n\tOne of Ebon Stadmont's burbling brooks.\n\tSeek a broken archway there,\n\tTo find this cursed relic rare.\nNear the Illumination Academy,\n\tHides another relic of tragedy.\n\tYou'll find the Never-Ending Scroll,\n\tBeside the bridge that has no toll.\nWithin the ruins of Corgrad Wastes,\n\tThe Inescapable Helm awaits.\n\tLook beneath a twisted tree,\n\tNear water flowing from the sea.\nOverlooking the coral queen,\n\tIn a small forest, so serene,\n\tThe Sticky-Fingered Lute shall be,\n\tHidden near a royal hatchery.\nOn Northern beach, by waterfall,\n\tPlaced against a stony wall,\n\tBeyond where angry gryphons pace,\n\tHides the Fan of False-Face.\nBetween a ruined Direnni home,\n\tAnd a pass of past King's bold,\n\tNear rock knoll, beneath purple leaves,\n\tYou'll find the Pillow of Sweet Dreams\nWatched by a harmonious monastery,\n\tAt the base of the tower, which sits by the sea,\n\tAt the end of a wall that holds back the tides,\n\tThe Mirror of Fatal Premonition hides.\nBeyond the confines of Shimmerene's walls,\n\tWhere you can hear seabird calls,\n\tBeside stacked stones with a mossy blush,\n\tAwaits the Monochrome Paintbrush\nThe Hourglass of Perceived Time,\n\tWaits by Eastern water brine.\n\tHidden within the forest of coral,\n\tYou'll find this relic, so immoral.\nSoutheast of where a geyser spews,\n\tBy the shipwreck of a smuggling crew,\n\tThe Jaunt of the Jilted lies in wait,\n\tThis relic of horrific gait.\nNorth of the clearing Alaxon'ald,\n\tA relic of great thirst was hauled.\n\tThe Ever-Filling Chalice lies,\n\tBehind a beast of feathery hide.\nThe Chestplate of Desiccation awaits,\n\tLeft of Sunhold's mighty gates.\n\tWhere white wall meets mossy stone,\n\tSits this one relic, all alone.\nRight outside Artaeum's door,\n\tSouth of the temple where imps soar,\n\tThe Shattering Sword awaits you there,\n\tThis tricky relic of fight unfair."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/public-notice-promotion": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/public-notice-promotion", "description": "", "author": "General Gavryn Redoran", "title": "Public Notice of Promotion", "text": "My personal aide from Mournhold shall be appointed as retainer and stationed in the mess tent. He shall be accorded respect and asked no questions. Failure to adhere to this order shall result in harsh disciplinary action.\n\u2014 General Gavryn Redoran"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/purifiers-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/purifiers-journal", "description": "A history of the Order of the Silver Dawn and their new enemy, Magnar Child-Eater", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Purifier's Journal", "text": "The history of the Order of the Silver Dawn stretches back to our founding in 2E 428 during the werewolf crisis that plagued High Rock and was known as the Curse of the Crimson Moon. Adeliza Silver-Axe established the order after her beloved son, Jaron, was inflicted with the beast-curse. She was forced to kill her own son to save her village. To honor his memory and to provide a rallying point for the order, Adeliza wove the banner that would forever represent us with thread and wool and tears. She also added a few drops of her own blood to show her commitment to the cause. Every commander of the order since has added a drop of his or her blood to the banner to carry on the tradition.\nIn time, Adeliza grew the order into a powerful force. She led the order to Wrothgar, where she founded the base of operations that we call home to this day. The Argent Mine, once a rich silver mine that made Adeliza's family wealthy beyond compare, was turned into the secret base of the Order of the Silver Dawn. We still mine silver from its depths to craft our weapons and armor, and our sacred banner has a place of honor in the Purifier's Hall.\nMy term as commander of the order, which began a scant six years ago, has been plagued by one particular werewolf and his feral followers. Magnar Child-Eater has gathered a pack of werewolves to his side. Together, they rampage throughout Wrothgar and High Rock, causing mayhem, raiding and marauding, and seeking new converts to their terrible, bestial tribe.\nMagnar Child-Eater, in particular, deserves a prison in the foulest corner of dread Oblivion. His name isn't simply to scare the common folk. He actually has a taste for the tender flesh of children, and he often rewards his pack hunters for acquiring such delicacies for him to feast upon. I am not exaggerating by saying that the Silver Dawn is at war with the Magnar Pack. Casualties have mounted on both sides, but I have hopes that our scouts are close to discovering the pack's lair. Then we can launch a final assault and destroy Magnar and his feral offspring once and for all."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/pyre-watch-precepts": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/pyre-watch-precepts", "description": "Guide for the Pyre Watch", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Pyre Watch Precepts", "text": "Neither living nor dead may cross the threshold.\n\nTravel not beyond the seals unless the need be great.\n\nSpeak not the name of those interred if it can be helped.\n\nKeep to thy honor and cleave to Morwha's virtues.\n\nPraise Tu'whacca with every breath, for in his service we find our strength.\n\nHold to thy oath, sentinel, and keep thine eyes upon the ash. If even a gentle breeze stirs them from their mounds, that gentle breeze must be cut."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/quaronaldils-letter": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/quaronaldils-letter", "description": "Lunatic prophecies of the end of times", "author": "Quaronaldil", "title": "Quaronaldil's Letter", "text": "Dear Mother,\nEssanyon is insane. I first thought he sought a path in life. Now he talks only of the end of days. He speaks of the crow he sees in his dreams. He can't distinguish between the real and the unreal.\nHe now believes the end of the world is at hand, as I'm sure he's written you. He has told me that sacrificing a Skywatch noble will somehow thwart this End. I can't allow him to murder another for the sake of his delusory faith.\nI must report him to the Skywatch Guard. And come what may, I must stop him. I'm sorry. I love you as always, but I must stop him.\n\u2014 Quaronaldil"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/quarry-overseers-complaint": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/quarry-overseers-complaint", "description": "The workers aren't able to keep up with Orsinium's demands", "author": "Quarry Overseer Yadurl", "title": "Quarry Overseer's Complaint", "text": "Chief Ramash, you son of an ugly goat. How are we supposed to produce one-hundred-and-fifty loads of stone in the next year? That's nearly double our normal capacity.\nWhy do you make promises to that city of Trinimac worshipers? They have forgotten the face of their forefathers and demand that others do their work for them.\nIf they are so desperate for stone, tell them they need to send workers. My crew already works more hours in a day than is healthy. They may be Orcs, but they're not invincible. They'll be dead before year's end at this rate. Worked to death, and it will be on your head!\nQuarry Overseer Yadurl"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/quarry-work-order": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/quarry-work-order", "description": "Request for stone by King Kurog of Orsinium", "author": "King Kurog", "title": "Quarry Work Order", "text": "By the will of Kurog, King in Orsinium, Warlord of All Wrothgar:\n-- 50 lots of Greystone from Clan Tumnosh, to be delivered by end of year.\n-- With 100 more lots to be delivered six months after that.\nAdvance payment in Bills of Promise delivered at issuance of the request, to be fulfilled with an amount in gold equal to 120% of the promised value."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/quartermasters-log": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/quartermasters-log", "description": "A gruesome menu", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Quartermaster's Log", "text": "Today, our new master appointed Atarus as a \"chef\" for the inner Haven crew. Damned animal spends his time boiling nothing but rot and filth.\nHe says it's to remind us that we no longer need to eat. That we can't.\nWhat I wouldn't give for a captor who could be stabbed, slashed, or killed."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/quartermasters-note": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/quartermasters-note", "description": "A superweapon is complete", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Quartermaster's Note", "text": "Tell the Master\u2014construction of the weapon is complete, built as he commanded. All the Nirncrux in this cavern made it possible.\nThe weapon will ignite the magicka that flows in the bodies of our opponents\u2014flay them from the inside out with the Master's aura. The magicka wielders who face us will have to deplete their stores or face burning alive.\nBut we all have a little magicka in us. Those without the means to expel it\u2014the brutes who deign to wield magic, or those who simply fail to bring a spell into battle\u2014will perish with great prejudice.\nAll that's left is to free the Master."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/quartermasters-report": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/quartermasters-report", "description": "Costs and wages for different types of mine workers", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Quartermaster's Report", "text": "To: Surii Dreth\nRegarding: Mine Costs, Workers\nAgainst my better judgment, I've followed your orders and compiled the following report on mining operations costs, specifically regarding worker costs.\nTrained Miner: 15 gold/day, plus 10 gold/day rations\n\tArgonian Miner: 10 gold/day, plus 8 gold/day rations\n\tGeneral Worker: 8 gold/day, 8 gold/day rations\n\tIndentured Servant: 0 gold/day, 4 gold/day rations. Oversight: 1/10 gold day\n\tGoblin: 0 gold/day, 1 gold/day rations. Oversight: unknown\nTrained miners and Argonians produce about the same amount of quality work per day, which is at least double that of a general worker's output. Indentured servants' output varies wildly, but on a long-term basis, they seldom produce more on average than a general worker and almost never remain with the mine after their period of indenture ends.\nGoblins are a wild card. So far, they dig like maniacs and have absolutely no interest in anything they pull out of the mine (see my other notes on Employee Theft), and they work for scraps. But I have heard rumblings, particularly from their shamans. They are unpredictable, and I suggest we use them sparingly and only for short periods of service."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/queen-ayrenns-letter-player": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/queen-ayrenns-letter-player", "description": "A letter, sent in real life, to promote the release of Elder Scrolls Online: Summerset", "author": "Queen Ayrenn", "title": "Queen Ayrenn's Letter to the Player", "text": "Brave hero,\nYour Queen personally welcomes you to Summerset. On behalf of the Altmer, we cannot thank you enough for all that you have done for Tamriel and are honored to have you join us in the land of the High Elves. To show our gratitude for your dedication and service, please enjoy the contents found in this parcel. You are of great significance. Nirn would not be the same without you.\nAyrenn Arana Aldmeri\n\nLady Nerevar's copy of the letter -- coin and stamp came in the same package, but are not attached."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/quit-asking": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/quit-asking", "description": "No means no for this shopkeeper", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Quit Asking", "text": "You're not getting a discount! I don't want to hear any reasons why, especially if you:\n\u2014Grew up in the same village I did. What a coincidence!\n\t\u2014Know a \"very reputable\" supplier you'll introduce me to.\n\t\u2014Are just a few gold short but are \"totally good for it.\"\n\t\u2014Saw the exact same item for far less elsewhere but like me better.\n\t\u2014Claim to be a member of the Morag Tong.\nIn fact, if you claim you're a member of the Morag Tong, I'll just let them know you're running around and telling people that. Go ahead, try me."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/quotes-greats": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/quotes-greats", "description": "Advice on two-handed combat from veterans of the Arena", "author": "Scaporius Pulex", "title": "Quotes from the Greats", "text": "Ah, the arena. The clanging of armor, the thrill of victory, the mud and sweat and sting of defeat. And, of course, the beautiful clink of gold coins. Nothing in the whole of Tamriel competes. I do fancy myself something of a connoisseur when it comes to this most noble sport, and I've developed favorites over the years. Favorite champions, yes, and favorite fighting styles, too. No warrior impresses me more than the one who charges into the battle with a weapon in each hand\u2014sure in their skills, coordinated beyond belief, and unafraid of the enemy's attacks. None better represent the true spirit of the arena.\nAs a frequent attendee and bettor of large sums, I've had the privilege of meeting many of my favored champions, and I've collected their quotes on this most illustrious fighting style. I wish to share them with the world that others might be inspired to take up two weapons and charge to their destinies, and hopefully into my local arena!\n\"Most people only train with a weapon in one hand or use two-handers. To train yourself to fight with two weapons, you have to focus on your off-hand. Force yourself to practice and spar with it alone for a while so you can catch it up. It takes a long time to learn, and it's easy to give up because that arm will start out so weak, but if you keep it up, you'll be whirling around the pit in no time!\" \u2014 The Maelstrom\n\"Milira was a juggler before she came to the arena. Already knew how to handle many daggers. Better money here, so Khajiit stays.\" \u2014 Milira\n\"It's all about speed. Two light weapons and quick feet. You need more than just fast attacks; you need to be able to predict your opponent's movw, show up where he least expects you, run circles around him, and call him names. If you can frustrate your challenger, you gain an even better advantage.\" \u2014 \"Heartstriker\" Goranion\n\"Growing up, I had twin sisters. Little brats! They were constantly pestering me, trying to 'pretty up' my hair or drag me off to play tea party! I had to learn how to keep both at bay early on, and, you know, I guess that's where it all started. When I got into training, it just felt normal to have a weapon in each hand. So, uh, start early, I guess.\" \u2014 Myl \"Mutilator\" Drothro\n\"Well, you don't have a shield, but you can learn to parry and even sort of block with two weapons. It's the best style for disarming the other guy, that's for sure. That's why I like it. Send his weapon flying and then what, right?\" \u2014 The Decimator\n\"Well, it's something I certainly have a lot to say about\u2014so much so that I've written a book! You can find a copy at most of the local booksellers; ask for 'Fighting to Survive and Surviving to Fight: the Definitive Guide to Two-Weapon Combat'! Tell 'em I sent ya for a discount!\" \u2014 Todir the Tower"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rakhajins-orders": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rakhajins-orders", "description": "Nahfahlaar must be stopped by any means necessary", "author": "Ra'khajin", "title": "Ra'khajin's Orders", "text": "The Order of the New Moon must put an end to the Dragon Nahfahlaar. He is the enemy of our master, the almighty Lord Laatvulon, and he refuses to bow to the will of the New Moon. For these reasons and more, he must be exterminated.\nUse all force necessary to take the sanctum where he hides. Let no one stop you! Do not return until the threat is eliminated.\nMay the New Moon soon rise above us all,\nRa'khajin"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ragged-letter": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ragged-letter", "description": "A woman tries to find her grandfather's resting place", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Ragged Letter", "text": "Dear Miraso,\nI finally found the ruin! It took me years of research, but this has got to be the place where my grandfather vanished all those years ago. He mentioned odd lights and sounds, but that was almost a century ago. Whatever (or whoever) used to live here must surely be dead by now. I cannot wait to bring an end to this mystery. I'll see you and your father soon.\nAll my love,\n\tMother"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rahtis-orders": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rahtis-orders", "description": "", "author": "Rahti", "title": "Rahti's Orders", "text": "All right, you slugs. I've had enough of these half-arsed raids on the do-gooder's ranch. Plucking two or three sacks of grain at a time? A few pawfuls of day-old meat? Are we hunters or are we rats?\nGather up any weapons you can and make ready for a full attack. I want those animals caged and ready for sale by week's end. Especially that white senche. That one will fetch a high price, guaranteed.\\n\\nIf you morons can't make this happen, I'll find new hunters who can.\nRahti"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rajhin-and-stone-maiden-pt-1": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rajhin-and-stone-maiden-pt-1", "description": "A folk tale about Rajhin", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Rajhin and the Stone Maiden, pt. 1", "text": "Many years ago, as Rajhin passed by a river, he heard weeping from the far shore. There, a woman filled her pockets with stones. When she finished, the woman walked into the river.\nRajhin could not let her drown, so he ran across the river's surface and pulled the woman from her would-be grave.\n\"Why did you save me, my lord?\" she asked. \"Does Rajhin, the Trickster God, not know my intent?\"\n\t\"I know the what, my lady, but not the why.\"\nThe woman frowned and turned her back. \"You could not possibly understand my plight. Please, let me gather my stones and continue on my way.\"\nBut Rajhin would not let her continue until she shared her story.\nThe woman, Munilli, had a fiancee named Mazaram, and the two were much beloved. But Munilli's step-father Azelit-ra, was a greedy man. Before he would give them permission to marry, he insisted on a bride-price beyond Mazaram's considerable means, and well beyond all reason.\nAzelit-ra was headman of the village in which they lived and none dared speak against him for his injustice. But Mazaram was not cowed by Azelit-ra, which made the step-father hate him all the more. Still, Mazaram would not dishonor Munilli by eloping. Rather than see her fiancee ruined by her step-father's demands, Munilli chose the river.\n\"You say your step-father rules your village?\"\n\"With an iron paw, my lord,\" Munilli replied sadly. \"Those he does not bribe owe him money. Only a few, such as Mazaram, remain free of his grasp \u2026 and he does what he can to ruin them.\"\n\"Do you think your step-father is satisfied ruling a tiny village?\" Rajhin asked.\n\"Satisfied?\" Munilli scoffed, wiping her tears away. \"He does not know the meaning of the word.\"\n\t\"Then perhaps I can help. Come, let us find Mazaram.\"\nAs they went to the village, Rajhin explained his plan to the young woman.\nThat afternoon, Mazaram and Munilli approached Azelit-ra upon the porch of his great moon-sugar plantation house. Seeing the hand-in-hand angered Azelit-ra, even though they were properly affianced. \"So, my little pauper,\" the step-father greeted Mazaram, \"have you agreed to my bride-price, or shall we finally see the last of you?\"\nMazaram refused to take offense and instead bowed briefly. \"While it is true I cannot meet your bride-price, my lord, I can offer you something better.\"\nAzelit-ra's ears twitched, but he sneered with skepticism. \"Better? Better than the sum I demand for my only daughter? Fine, tell me of this offer. If it is generous, then so be it. But if not, I would see your tail as you leave forever!\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rajhin-and-stone-maiden-pt-2": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rajhin-and-stone-maiden-pt-2", "description": "The conclusion to our tale of Rajhin", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Rajhin and the Stone Maiden, pt. 2", "text": "\"Very well,\" Mazaram sighed. He explained that one of his agents\u2014for Mazaram made his money in shipping\u2014told him of a nearby land without a ruler. \"It is far greater than this village, yet shines like a pearl in the darkness. A place to which you can lay claim, but that you'll never reach without my agent's aid.\"\nAzelit-ra laughed scornfully, \"No such land exists! Is this some crude ploy to get me out of the way while you marry my daughter? Fah! I'll not fall for your tricks!\"\n\"It is no trick, step-father,\" Munilli asserted. \"On my mother's honor, I have seen this land\u2014as have you! It is renowned for its beauty in story and song!\"\nAt this, Azelit-ra was taken aback. As much as he knew Munilli wished to marry Mazaram, he also knew her as a truthful girl \u2026 and she valued her late mother's honor as much as her own life. But still he doubted, for an untrustworthy man does not trust easily.\n\"Very well. What is this great land of which you speak, that I have seen yet do not know?\"\nMazaram waggled one finger, \"No, no \u2026 if I tell you freely, how do I know you won't try to conquer it without me? I insist you'll need my agent's help, but you might try something foolish on your own.\"\n\"Very well,\" Azelit-ra harrumphed. \"If you won't tell me, then how will I know you speak the truth?\"\n\"My agent,\" Mazaram replied, \"will take you there tonight. If he does so, will you agree I've met the bride-price?\"\n'A ruse,' thought the greedy step-father. 'They hope to escape while I prepare for my \"journey\" to this land of theirs. Well, I can fix them!'\n\"Agreed!\" Azelit-ra exclaimed, much to the surprise of the servants around him. \"But I insist if we're to go on a journey, we must have your engagement feast beforehand! You, Mazaram, shall sit upon my right and Munilli shall sit upon my left!\"\n'Ha,' he thought, 'try to escape while you're in arm's reach!'\nBut the two agreed. Azelit-ra had no choice but to open his larder and wine cellar to the entire village. They feasted all afternoon. As was his habit, the plantation owner ate greedily, making sure no one else got more than he. The couple ate sparingly and never moved from his side. Soon, Azelit-ra grew sleepy, and then annoyed.\n\"The moons are rising, Mazaram! Where is this agent of yours?\" he asked.\n\"I am right behind you, my lord,\" a voice purred in Azelit-ra's ear.\nThe old man jumped, but quickly recovered. When he turned, he saw what looked like a vagabond in a wide-brimmed hat. The traveler's tail twitched, but whether it was with nervousness or amusement, Azelit-ra could not tell.\n\"Well, then, where is this land of yours!\" Azelit-ra bellowed at the man. \"I'm ready to go \u2026 or to see the back of you and Mazaram both!\"\n\"You are ready?\" the vagabond asked. \"Then let us go now!\" With a flash, the vagabond discarded his wide-brimmed hat. There stood Rajhin the Trickster God in all his glory. Without another word, Rajhin seized the fat man by his stained tunic and the two flew upward like shooting stars. Soon, their glow disappeared into the pearl-wide aura of Jode, the largest moon.\n\"Truly,\" Munilli mused aloud, \"it is a land we can see from our village.\"\n\"And one that shines as beautiful as a pearl.\"\nWhen the villagers recovered from their shock, the engagement feast turned into a wedding feast. By the time both moons had set, Mazaram and Munilli were married.\nBut as they lay in their bower, a chill overcame both of them. The candles guttered. The darkness grew. Munilli cried out, and Mazaram groped in the dark for his sword.\nSuddenly, there was a flash of light. Rajhin stood before them, brushing moon-dust off his garments. \"Now, then, where are you?\" he mused as the two lovers gaped. \"Ah, there you are!\"\nWith a movement too quick for the eye to follow, Rajhin reached out and grabbed at the air. Then he shoved his hand into one of the many small pouches on his person. The room grew light once more.\n\"What was that, my lord? What did you sieze?\" Munilli asked.\n\"The fat man's shadow! I took him to his new land so quickly, he jumped right out of it!\"\nTheir laughter echoed across the riverbank."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rakamuds-letter": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rakamuds-letter", "description": "Rakamud discovers a profitable haul", "author": "Rakamud", "title": "Rakamud's Letter", "text": "Shalli,\nImagine my surprise at leading the herd to the shore and finding riches of the sea spilled upon our doorstep. What a bounty!\nSister, bring your wagon to Shattered Shoals with all haste. If we move swiftly, we'll have enough money to start our own plantation!\n\u2014 Rakamud\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ranas-log": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ranas-log", "description": "Rana's musings and frustrations with Bleakrock Isle", "author": "Rana", "title": "Rana's Log", "text": "I've been exiled. I'm commanding a garrison of stinking Nords, and you can't find this place on a map.\n\tIf Seyne hadn't come with me, I'd be the only Dark Elf on the island. She gave up so much to be here. I can never repay her loyalty. I'm determined not to let this bleak rock break me.\nTillrani still acts as if I just got here. My time with the villagers, when I was in command of the garrison, means nothing to her. I will make her understand. Bleakrock is my home now. No mistakes.\nThe lights in the sky have caused a panic in town. We all know there are powers at work in Nirn. Most of these folk haven't so much as spoken with a mage. How can they understand something like mystical lights in the sky?\nIn the wake of the lights, strange corpses floated ashore. Tillrani instructed some of the men to burn the corpses right there on the beach. I asked her to wait and let me check with Windhelm first.\nShe refused. Damn that woman! I've ordered the garrison to be on guard. Something's in the air.\nHolsgar found someone alive along the beach. He claimed the castaway wasn't wet. How could someone float ashore without getting wet? Snow-Bourne can get stuffed. I'm writing a letter to headquarters. They need to weigh in on this.\nLast night, I had a dream about our castaway. If Tillrani heard I was having strange dreams, she'd have Denskar lock me in his barn. In the dream, the newcomer stood in front of me and beckoned me forward. I felt compelled to advance, as if it was important somehow. I don't know what it means, but I need to talk to this newcomer\u2014assuming the poor stranger ever wakes up.\nOur man on the tower sighted a ship on the horizon. Couldn't make out the flag. Tillrani is furious, says we need to evacuate. That's the kind of thinking that got me here in the first place! I've put Hrantin in charge of the men and sent them out on the boat. Seyne and I will handle the situation here on the island. Whatever happens, we need to proceed carefully. We need a measured response."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rangers-correspondence": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rangers-correspondence", "description": "Two archers compete at who can kill the most foes", "author": "Ancus and Cornelia", "title": "Ranger's Correspondence", "text": "Today's kill count:\n\tSeven bureaucrats, two ogrim, and three legionaries. Beat that, Ancus!\n\u2014\nChallenge accepted, Cornelia.\n\tToday's kill count:\n\tThree bureaucrats, four legionaries, and six ogrim.\n\u2014\nNice try, Ancus.\n\tI've logged an official complaint with Captain Caudex. I saw one of your \"killed\" ogrim wandering around with an arrow sticking out of his foot\u2014still very much alive. Better get those eyes checked.\n\u2014\nGuilty as charged. I was going to finish him off, but watching that fat brute try to reach his toes was just too funny.\n\u2014\nSpied three more ogrim with arrows in their feet. You're such a child.\n\u2014\nIt's the end of the world, Cornelia. We've got to get our kicks where we can.\nGet it? Kicks? Try not to laugh too hard\u2014you'll give up your position.\n\u2014\nBelieve me, Ancus, I'm quiet as the grave."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rasabas-note": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rasabas-note", "description": "", "author": "Rasaba", "title": "Rasaba's Note", "text": "How is it that I found an infiltrator among the ranks while you lot stood around like useless clots of clay? Were you lot too busy drinking or coming up with more ridiculous stories of past exploits? Did this hapless spy bribe you with sweet rolls?\nPerform better, or you'll get a surprise from me. And my surprises usually involve a sharp dagger, flung from a distance, and piercing your heart. You'll be dead before you can form a last thought.\nBah! Why do I bother? I'm not even sure you idiots can read.\n\u2014 Rasaba"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rasirs-journal-page": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rasirs-journal-page", "description": "", "author": "Rasir", "title": "Rasir's Journal Page", "text": "I'm close this time. It's frustrating that I still have not discovered the infection's source. Something in the food, the water? An animal? There are many mysteries in Blackreach. Perhaps I will never know.\nBut if I can cleanse our sanctuary, I'll be a hero! Not like Tranya and Skor, of course, but maybe at least half as heroic. It feels good to put my skills to use again. Now, on to the recipe itself."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rats-crops": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rats-crops", "description": "A famer requests aid with reconstruction", "author": "Silat", "title": "Rats in the Crops", "text": "Headwoman Harrani,\nSome of our homes were damaged in the storm and a great many rats have set upon our crops. While we have the rats in hand, we would inquire as to when we might expect help.\nNone of us at Windcatcher Plantation are skilled architects. While a few of us can make simple repairs, we cannot fix everything without help from Mistral.\nWe will do what we can while we wait for your word.\nEver your servant,\n\u2014 Silat\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/raven-hairs-recollections": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/raven-hairs-recollections", "description": "The Reach's haunting memory", "author": "Raven-Hair", "title": "Raven-Hair's Recollections", "text": "The Reach never leaves you\u2014not really. Even in southern waters, its icy fingers find a way into your veins.\nWould Jeer-Tei have been so quick to join if he knew the Haven raid wasn't at all about gold? When will Hlana piece together the larger implications of what we plan to do to that Elven town? How quickly would Yngold move to slit my throat if he realized which master I truly serve?\nI can't remember the cove where I grew up. Named my damned raiding band after the place, but when I dream of it I don't see the cove. I just see what's north of it. I dream of a broken city and a broken king. Ice and blood. A million screaming voices shouting one word, over and over again.\nWhat does it mean? Will I ever see it? Do I even want to?"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ravenwatch-research-aesar-hatespinner": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ravenwatch-research-aesar-hatespinner", "description": "Spider research", "author": "Gwendis", "title": "Ravenwatch Research: Aesar Hatespinner", "text": "Verandis and his thirst for knowledge and research is going to be the death of me. Watching a big, dumb spider is just plain boring!\nBig spider tended eggs.\nBig spider spun webs.\nBig spider bored me, so I'm done here.\n\u2014Gwendis"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ravenwatch-research-veawend-ede": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ravenwatch-research-veawend-ede", "description": "Notes on early Ayleid ruins in northern High Rock", "author": "Verandis", "title": "Ravenwatch Research: Veawend Ede", "text": "This may be the earliest of the Ayleid ruins that culminated in the Doomcrag.\nEven the place's name\u2014Sea Journey's End\u2014resonates with the history I have pieced together. And the gift of magicka continues to inhabit this ancient structure.\n\u2014Verandis"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/raynos-scorched-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/raynos-scorched-journal", "description": "", "author": "Rayno", "title": "Rayno's Scorched Journal", "text": "\u2026 overgrown, fur-coated Nord! He has offered nothing but insults since we arrived. We will never be treated as equals here, never! No doubt the Bleakers fled here as no civilized folk would put up with their stu \u2026.\n\u2026 et again! For the sake of my family, I have withheld my temper and my hand, but no more! I will show that Nord some magic that will make his chest hair curl in fright. If there is a Bleaker left in this hamlet by week's end, may I never cast another spell. I know of a summoni \u2026.\n\u2026 done. Soon they will be here. Then Ulf and his clan will plead for mercy\u2014but I will show none. Death to all Bleakers! I will have no peace while they yet live. This place will be known as Dalvilu's Way from now \u2026."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/raynors-bthanual-notes": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/raynors-bthanual-notes", "description": "Dwemer discoveries by the author's little sister", "author": "Raynor", "title": "Raynor's Bthanual Notes", "text": "After reviewing Kireth's notes on the prismatic emitter matrix set into the conduit chamber shows some remarkable strides in the understanding of Dwemer construction. Her scribbling may be childish and her language is, at best, imprecise, but her conclusions are no less exceptional despite her best efforts to the contrary.\nMy sister actually managed to generate and execute a working hypothesis that allowed her to not only determine how the Dwemer device was supposed to operate, but resulted in her repairing and utilzing the device to open a door that had been sealed\u2014almost literally\u2014forever.\nShe was able to fashion a replacement for a damaged emitter stone using scavenged parts from damaged Dwemer constructs and her own saliva. I won't touch the new component, and that's certainly not how I would have solved this predicament, but I am proud of my little sister."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/raynors-journal-bthanual": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/raynors-journal-bthanual", "description": "Proposes a method for controlling Dwemer devices", "author": "Raynor", "title": "Raynor's Journal: Bthanual", "text": "I think Kireth and I may have discovered what we need to finally prove ourselves to the Arch-Mage at the Academy of Shad Astula. The Dwemer ruins of northern Tamriel hold amazing treasures of the lost Dwarves, but these places are often too dangerous to navigate. I have discovered several references in old texts to a method for controlling Dwemer constructs through the use of a harmonic device that interacts with the constructs' resonators. It'll take some time, and no small effort, but I think I can actually build a prototype of the device to test.\nI truly am a genius. But I already knew that."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/raynors-travel-diary": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/raynors-travel-diary", "description": "Scribblings of one awkward mage", "author": "Raynor", "title": "Raynor's Travel Diary", "text": "Kireth says I should keep a journal. I'm not good at writing. She always takes better notes than I do.\n\tThe Dwemer seem to use soul gems to power their constructs. Where did they get all of the souls for it? Bears further research. Might be able to use them to power more mundane things. Magical housecleaning for everyone? Why not?\n(Raynor, you're supposed to use this for your personal thoughts, not more research notes. \u2014K)\nKireth, those WERE my personal thoughts. Already said I'm bad at this. Have heard there are classes on writing at Shad Astula. Not a high aspiration, but useful. Have to refocus on admission.\n\u20147 Evening Star\n\tTrying to date these. Apparently helps with organization. Can't remember the previous dates, will just leave blank.\nWorking on invisibility device. Really just a stored spell, like a scroll or enchantment, nothing fancy. Difficult part is casting and uncasting. Is uncasting a word? Dispel maybe? Don't want to confuse my terms.\n\u201422 Evening Star\n\tTravel is boring. Too bumpy to work on research, too little to do to stay engaged. Writing again to see if it helps. Probably won't. Kireth seems to be writing without a problem. Must be nice."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/razaks-secret-mastery": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/razaks-secret-mastery", "description": "Clues to solving a Dwemeri engineer's puzzles", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Razak's Secret Mastery", "text": "Razak was beyond brilliant. Gaining control of his devices is proving difficult. I'm convinced the information we need is locked within the vault. The trouble is getting inside.\nThe inventor held teaching and learning as sacred. His focus on humility, diligence, respite, and the recording of one's experiences is not so different from formalized Imperial schooling today.\nWe've already found three pass phrases etched on ancient relics. The constructs thwart our efforts to find the fourth. They'll need to be recited aloud in the proper order to unlock the vault.\nWe're so close!\nWe have discovered the order to recite the phrases: Pledge, Logic, Boundary, Humility. Only the Boundary phrase remains to be found. Then the secrets of Razak's mastery will be ours!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/reach-loyalists-letter": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/reach-loyalists-letter", "description": "A reachman begs his fellows not to join with the Icereach Coven", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Reach Loyalist's Letter", "text": "I speak now to my loyal brothers and sisters of the Reach.\nWhen Methira and her coven approached us, we thought it was a sign from our gods. We thought it was the righteous salvation we had spilled our own blood for in sacrifice. We thought our retribution was at hand.\nI say to you now that this was false, for the Icereach clan has lost its way. They no longer serve the old gods, but have enslaved themselves to the Vampire Lord Rada al-Saran and his Gray Host.\nMethira speaks with honeyed words, promising us that in joining the host we will take back our lands. But what good would it be to trade one oppressor for another? The lands of Karth will be no more truly ours than they are now. The Nords know what they have done. They know our blood is in the very soil they till.\nBut when the vampires rule the skies above our home, it will never be ours again.\nPass this message along to the others of our clan. It is not too late. We can resist. For the blood of Karth. For the oaths we swore to the true gods. For our ancestors and our home."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/reachmans-note": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/reachmans-note", "description": "A terrible truth about the local hagraven", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Reachman's Note", "text": "Mairrna,\nWarlord Uchuiran wouldn't explain anything to me, but I think I figured out the cause of the disappearances. I witnessed the warlord's lover, the hagraven Kraala, use a stuffed bird totem to transform one of our prisoners into a bird.\nI fear that the hagraven isn't restricting her transformations to just prisoners. I think she's using the totem on our own people! You should leave as soon as possible. I will-\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/realms-clockwork-city-radius": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/realms-clockwork-city-radius", "description": "A guide to the mechanical \"wilderness\" of the Clockwork City", "author": "Provost Varil Arvel", "title": "Realms of the Clockwork City: The Radius", "text": "The magnificent and awe-inspiring creation of Lord Seht is so much more than just a haven for the Father of Mysteries. Innumerable secure chambers, manufactories, laboratories, and terrariums house the objects of his experimentation, to be discovered and studied by the most diligent of his devoted Apostles.\nWithin this series of volumes, I shall describe in brief some of the more well-known of Lord Seht's minor realms within the Clockwork City. Know that this is far from an exhaustive list, for the breadth of the City may well be infinite within this seemingly finite space.\nMost familiar to denizens of the Brass Fortress is the realm known as the Radius. This stretch of fabricated wilderness stretches from the walls of the Fortress out to the periphery of the Clockwork City, and is home to an artificial ecology that was deemed by Lord Seht to be as familiar and soothing to denizens of Tamriel as could be crafted.\nPrimus, note the fabricant flora that sprouts from the metallic soil, its bark and leaves reflecting light in perfect quantities. It is true that very little grows within the Clockwork City, limited to dedicated projects such as the Wellspring or as transient fungi brought in by itinerant and accidental visitors. It is therefore necessary that many of the creatures one will encounter in the Radius are predatory. Fabricant beasts, designed to emulate the form and function of their Tamrielic counterparts, are indeed alive and constructed of an amalgam of grown flesh and metallic grafts. A wise Apostle avoids the most brute and hulking of these creatures, for they require sustenance apart from that which their soul gem matrices supply.\nSecundus, behold the accumulation of shimmering lubricants that pool within the lowlands and gullies of the Radius. This slurry is a mixture of machine grease, the humours and fluids of fabricant and Apostle alike, and a myriad of substances churned out by the incalculable amount of factories beneath the surface. The lubricants flow and are collected in basins across the Radius, to be drawn into automated cleaning facilities and pumped back into the devices that distribute them to necessary environments. Most of the lubricants in the Radius collect in the Mire Mechanica, presumably Lord Seht's approximation of Tamrielic swamps.\nTertius, the Radius is home to one of the numerous weather regulation and fluid treatment facilities in the Clockwork City. Our proximity to it ensures that we experience neither extreme heat nor cold, and that there is always sufficient clean water to ingest. Nevertheless, the delicate balance of fabricant, man, and mer demands that the Brass Fortress carefully consider its population and intake requirements.\nOf course, the Radius is only one of many realms within the Clockwork City. In our next volume, we shall touch upon some of the more unusual experiments conducted by the Father of Mysteries, as well as conjecture into the reasons for their existence."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/reanimation-experiment-findings": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/reanimation-experiment-findings", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Reanimation Experiment Findings", "text": "Common animals are proving an interesting challenge among our reanimators. Those with a lack of understanding of these beasts anatomy inevitably find their creations hobbled and deformed. While the remains are pliant, lacking the strong bonds between body and soul that more advanced beings possess, they are also mostly devoid of awareness, mindless puppets that must be directed with total concentration. A skillfully conducted ritual can produce undead with, at best, an instinct similar to that of the living counterpart. Regrettably, these creatures are often uncontrollably disturbed by their condition."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/reanimation-specimen-collection": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/reanimation-specimen-collection", "description": "Requests for quadrupedal specimens for a reanimation experiment", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Reanimation Specimen Collection", "text": "At the master's behest we are to recover suitable live and deceased animal specimens. These resources are of vital importance to his research, so consider carefully your attitude toward this task.\nLarge quadrupedal specimens are preferred, though any creature may yield something of value. A mammoth or wamasu would be a find of significant value, and rewarded accordingly, though the danger they pose is likely beyond most of you."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/recall-orders": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/recall-orders", "description": "", "author": "Hegris", "title": "Recall Orders", "text": "Duilius,\nReport to me at once. Do not wait for your replacement. Tell your troops to stay in camp until she arrives. They are to make no moves and attract no attention until I send new orders.\nGet on your horse and get here at once. I'll give you one day to report. Then I put out a bounty on you.\nHegris"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/receipt-arcane-tomes": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/receipt-arcane-tomes", "description": "Shipment of books and one oversight", "author": "Lady Cinnabar of Taneth", "title": "Receipt for Arcane Tomes", "text": "Veroine Gimbert\n\tThe Mystic's Mirage\n\tSentinel\n\t12th of Morning Star\nMistress Gimbert, Felicitous Greetings\nThis letter serves to acknowledge receipt of your shipment of my latest order of books, to wit:\n- The Five Points of the Star\n\t- Sacred Rites of the Stonechewers\n\t- Twin Secrets\n\t- Relics of St. Veloth\n\t- Cheeses of Tamriel\nThe last item on the list came as something of a surprise. Checking my records, I see that the fifth book should have been \"Boethiah and Her Avatars.\" I understand it is easy to make such an oversight, but I would appreciate it if you could rectify the error at your earliest possible convenience.\nYours in Arcane Scholarship,\n\tLady Cinnabar\n\tTower of the Fifth Doctrine\n\tTaneth"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/recipe-horker-pie": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/recipe-horker-pie", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Recipe for Horker Pie", "text": "Horker Meat\n\tRed Wheat Flour\n\tYeast\n\tSalt\n\tCarrots\n\tPotato\nCreate a pie crust using the wheat, yeast and a little Salt. reserve about a quarter of the dough for the pie's top.\nRoughly chop the meat and vegetables together and season with salt and a little water. Pour the mixture into the pie crust and cover with remaining dough. Place in a hot oven for an hour."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/recommended-methods-moon-sugar-cultivation": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/recommended-methods-moon-sugar-cultivation", "description": "Growing moon sugar with the help of mudcrabs and lava", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Recommended Methods of Moon Sugar Cultivation", "text": "Encourage mudcrab cultivation methods. Mudcrabs seem to have a natural affinity for moon sugar grasses. While it may seem at first that mudcrabs are harming the newly sprouted moon sugar grasses by clipping the base of their stalks, this actually encourages growth and resilience. Any browning or what would normally look to be a deceased plant is really a thriving moon-sugar grass sprout that will one day be vastly productive.\nMoon sugar grasses that continue to grow in the vertical direction and emanate vibrant colors after the mudcrab treatment should be drowned in molten lava. While this may seem like it kills the plant immediately, it is actually creating an environment that encourages the effected moon sugar grass to thrive after an extended period of time. Repeat this process until numerous moon sugar grasses begin sprouting from the piles of cooled, hardened lava.\nUsing these methods in conjunction with recommended fertilization techniques will ensure thriving and productive moon sugar grass crop. Keep in mind this process is quite time consuming and will need to be consistently repeated before truly obtaining the desired product."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/record-taxation-years-end": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/record-taxation-years-end", "description": "A very old record from the time of the Akaviri Potentate", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Record of Taxation for Year's End", "text": "By dictate of the Potentate, the taxation of the village has been increased to match that of the other Colovian and Nibenese settlements. Naturally, this mandate was not well-received by the commoners, and the mayor's coffers were further tapped by the need to hire mercenaries to quell a violent uprising.\nNevertheless, with the assistance of the newly-founded Fighters Guild\u2014as the clerk notes, created by dictate of the Potentate, may his wisdom forever lead our Empire to prosperity\u2014the taxes appropriated met the requirements imposed by the Imperial administrators. Each citizen's contributions are to be recorded accurately."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/recruiting-ranger": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/recruiting-ranger", "description": "Wanting a very special assassin", "author": "Ren-Dro", "title": "Recruiting a Ranger", "text": "I am tired of your excuses! The Vinedusk Rangers are some of the most effective, lethal assassins in Tamriel. I will have one on my payroll before the end of the year. I will have her by my side, guarding me day and night, wearing her armor.\nThis is not a negotiation. I paid good money for your services. I don't care what's happening at Driladan Pass or Vullain. Get out there into Valenwood and recruit me a Ranger!\nI can assure you, my current stable of assassins is more than skilled enough to deal with you if you don't.\n\u2014 Ren-dro"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/red-exile-instructions": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/red-exile-instructions", "description": "Instructions to obtain a powerful artefact masquerading as a staff", "author": "Chodala", "title": "Red Exile Instructions", "text": "My Red Exiles,\nI need you to infiltrate the mine outside Balmora and recover an item of great importance to our venerated cause and to the elevation of Ashlanders everywhere. Currently, this item resides in the possession of the Nycotic cult, who plan to conduct a ritual in the mine to grant the item the ability to channel unfathomable power. Let the cultists begin the process, but acquire the item before they complete the ritual.\nThe item lies in one of the deep chambers of the mine, most likely heavily guarded. Sneak in and steal the item. It has the appearance of a staff made of metal and gears. It is necessary to advance to the next stage of our cherished cause.\nGet the staff and bring it to me, and you will be one step closer to ending your exile and returning to the fold.\nCC"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/red-mountain-drinking-song": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/red-mountain-drinking-song", "description": "Drink all your cares away, who wants to die with a thirst?", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Red Mountain Drinking Song", "text": "It sleeps like a giant, our tower of stones,\n\tRed Mountain, Red Mountain, all rumbles and moans.\n\tIt tosses and turns, pray it won't wake,\n\tAnd then without warning the ground starts to shake!\n\tAs the world ends, the ground starts to shake! So\u2014\nHeft a flask and say a prayer,\n\tRed Mountain's about to explode.\n\tHave a drink but be aware,\n\tIt's doom the mountain forebodes.\nLift a glass and curse the day,\n\tRed Mountain's about to burst.\n\tDrink all your cares away,\n\tWho wants to die with a thirst?\n\tDie with a thirst!\nKnock back a fiery flin, amid the smoke and ash.\n\tDrain the flask of whiskey we'll be drunk in a flash!\n\tLet's guzzle sujamma amid the fire and fumes\n\tTip back the jar of liquor let inebriation bloom!\\nAs the world ends, let inebriation bloom! So\u2014\nHeft a flask and say a prayer,\n\tRed Mountain's about to explode.\n\tHave a drink but be aware,\n\tIt's doom the mountain forebodes.\nLift a glass and curse the day,\n\tRed Mountain's about to burst.\n\tDrink all your cares away,\n\tWho wants to die with a thirst?\n\tDie with a thirst!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/red-mountains-might": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/red-mountains-might", "description": "A somewhat prophetic foreigner's look at the mystical mountain", "author": "Anrunn Frozen-Cove", "title": "Red Mountain's Might", "text": "Red Mountain grumbles like an angry giant. Its sides drip with a warrior's red, a slobbering beast before it lunges for the kill. I dream of its eruption, of billowing ash and spouting flames. I always awake in a cold sweat.\nMy Dark Elf companions smirk at me when I speak of it. They talk of the power of their great god Vivec, of his might and glory and magic. I know magic and I know of its end. Of its limits. What is their idol's limit? I fear to find out.\nRumors swirl around the mountain like the ashy wind. Legends. Myth. But I have walked across Skyrim, where dragons once ruled. I am no stranger to the power of myth and the truth it holds. I am no stranger to the power of the true Gods.\nWhen I mention the Heart of Shor (or Lorkhan, as the Dark Elves know him), I'm met with laughter. There's something about seeing your god, about being his neighbor, that gives those in Vvardenfell a sense of entitlement. But what belief is to be had in what you can see? Faith is not given to what is provable in the world, but rather to what can only be truly felt in your gut.\nStill, they tell me what they know. Of greedy Dark Elf hands which found the Heart, which used it for their own ends. A magical stone, some say, nothing more. What it was used for I do not know, or if it still exists. So goes legends of a true God, which goes beyond mere mortal flesh.\nSome say the Heart still lies beneath that great Red Tower, but my Dark Elf companions remain unusually silent on the matter. I hear stories of treasure hunters delving deep into the dark passages, of the screams that never reach the surface.\nI know in my heart that the great Red Mountain will never be defeated, will never give up its prize. Not until a true force of good emerges to claim it. Or, perhaps, a true force of evil."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/red-rook-orders": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/red-rook-orders", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Red Rook Orders", "text": "You have been honored with this momentous task. Gaetane, your leader on this mission, is no ordinary commander. She has been trained in the arts of storm magic. She may be young, but she is powerful and ruthless.\nProtect her. Follow her instructions. If you succeed, you will be well rewarded."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/red-rook-orders-cryptwatch": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/red-rook-orders-cryptwatch", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Red Rook Orders: Cryptwatch", "text": "The feeble Lion Guard has left yet another fort abandoned and ripe for plunder. This one, called Cryptwatch Fort, is located near Crosswych. Your orders are simple: find the fort and turn it into a base of operations for the Red Rooks.\nWhat could be better than a fort we can move right into? It will help us further establish our presence in King's Guard, and it will provide another layer of protection in case the Bloodthorn Cult turns against us.\nAlso, prepare for a meeting with Valenwe and her entourage. It would be good to add their unique skills to our cause."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/red-rooks-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/red-rooks-journal", "description": "Joining a noble group of bandits may be more than what she bargained for", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Red Rook's Journal", "text": "For a while, I thought that my decision to join the Red Rooks was the smartest thing I'd ever done. What farm girl hasn't dreamed of a life of adventure? And we started out with a cause and a purpose. Turmoil throughout the land had left our livelihoods shattered and our families in desperate straits. My family couldn't even afford to feed me, let alone care for my six brothers and sisters. So I left home with nothing but the clothes on my back and a rusty old sword that had belonged to my mother, and I went looking for the Red Rooks.\nOh, I had heard rumors about the Red Rooks. Simple trappers and farmers just like me who had enough of the high-and-mighty nobles making life impossible for the common folk of the land. They had banded together to steal from the rich and give to the poor. At least, that's what the rumors told me. I couldn't wait to join them, to live a life of action and purpose.\nIt wasn't hard to hook up with a band of Red Rooks, and they welcomed me into their fold well enough. They gave me a uniform, and I felt a mix of pride and embarrassment as I put it on. I guess the Red Rook leaders want us to look like an army, but I couldn't help wondering if it was such a good idea to advertise our presence in such a bold and obvious manner. But who was I to second guess those who were older and far more experienced than I?\nThings were going fine for a while, although it seemed like we were robbing whoever was available and keeping whatever we earned for ourselves. Still, I was a valued member of the group and I had started to develop some strong friendships\u2014especially with Kala and Morin. We were becoming inseparable!\nJust when things were really looking good, I started to suspect that there was something more ominous at play than a bunch of farmers trying to be noble bandits.\nMy suspicions were confirmed when I saw our leaders meeting with those Bloodthorn maniacs. I hope we aren't really considering an alliance with the cultists. That's not what I signed on for! I want to have a little fun and earn some gold. I certainly don't want to see Glenumbra destroyed and covered in corrupted vegetation!\nNow I don't know what to do. Maybe I should talk to Kala and Morin. They'll know what we should do."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/redfur-corporals-log": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/redfur-corporals-log", "description": "Theft can be lucrative, but not to the thief", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Redfur Corporal's Log", "text": "Caught another thief in the marketplace today. Where does Valirr get these thumb-fingered fools? I understand he wants to \"redistribute the wealth,\" but Jode's Chariot cannot look the other way when a would-be robber drops stolen loot right beneath our noses!\nAt least she wasn't a ribboner. Honestly, those \"escape collars\" may let the thieves get away, but they attract even more attention. I swear, Shan-ra is more upset at noticing the thievery than the actual theft.\nBut there is good money in thief-taking. For every thief we bring to the stocks we get ten gold coins. Repeat offenders net us twenty, and recovering stolen goods a solid ten percent. The Chariot can't turn its back on such easy money either, no matter how we might feel.\nStill, I worry that Shan-ra will do something desperate. He is a proud man, and too much open theft is like a challenge to his authority. It'll take some effort to salve his pride \u2026 either that, or an end to all this stealing.\nI don't see either happening any time soon."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/redguards-history-and-heroes": {"game": ["TES: Online", "Daggerfall"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/redguards-history-and-heroes", "description": "This version tells mainly of Frandar Hunding.", "author": "Destri Melarg", "title": "Redguards, History and Heroes", "text": "Notes on the Redguards, their history and their heroes.\nThis is a publishers proof of the initial draft of my book, \"REDGUARDS, THEIR HISTORY AND THEIR HEROES\".\nThe following is a collection of the tales, myths and history of the Redguards. Much of their history is shrouded in mystery and in the mists of time. It is hard to distinguish between myths, and real history.\nBelow are the first chapters of the draft by Destri Melarg\nAuthor's note as translated into the Modern Tongue of Hammerfell:\nFrandar Hunding was born in 2356 in the old way of reckoning, in our beloved deserts of the old land. The traditional rule of emperors had been overthrown in 2012, and although each successive emperor remained the figurehead of the empire, his powers were very much reduced. Since that time, our people saw 300 years of almost continuous civil war between the provincial lords, warrior monks and brigands, all fighting each other for land and power. Our people once were artisans, poets, and scholars, but the ever evolving strife made the way the sword inevitable - the song of the blade through the air, through flesh and bone, its ring against armor: an answer to our prayers.\nIn the time of Lord Frandar the first Warrior Prince, lords called Yokeda built huge stone castles to protect themselves and their lands, and castle towns outside the walls begin to grow up. In 2245, however, Mansel Sesnit came to the fore. He became the Elden Yokeda, or military dictator, and for eight years succeeded in gaining control of almost the whole empire. When Sesnit was assassinated in 2253,a commoner took over the government. Randic Torn continued the work of unifying the Empire which Sesnit had begun, ruthlessly putting down any traces of insurrection. He revived the old gulf between the warriors - the sword singers - and the commoners by introducing restrictions on the wearing of swords. \"Torn's Sword-hunt\", as it was known, meant that only the singers were allowed to wear swords, which distinguished them from the rest of the population.\nAlthough Torn did much to settle the empire into its pre-strife ways, by the time of his death in 2373 internal disturbances still had not been completely eliminated. Upon his death, civil war broke out in earnest; war that made the prior 300 year turmoil pale in comparison. It was in this period that Frandar Hunding grew up.\nHunding belonged to the sword-singers. This element of empire society grew from the desert artisans and was initially recruited from the young sons and daughters of the high families. They built the first temple to the unknown gods of War and build a training hall \"The Hall of the Virtues of War\". Within a few generations the way of the sword - the song of the blade - had become their life. The people of the blade kept their poetry and artisanship in building beautiful swords woven with magic and powers from the unknown gods. The greatest among them became known as Ansei or \"Saints of the Sword\". Each of these began their own training schools teaching their individual way of the sword. Those Ansei of the highest virtue wandered the country side engaging in battle, righting wrongs, and seeking to end the strife.\nTo sum it up. Hunding, was a sword-singer, a master, no, a Master Ansei at a time when the peak of the strife was reborn out of the chaos of Torn's death. Many singers put up their swords and became artists, for the pull of the artisan heritage was strong; but others, like Hunding pursued the ideal of the warrior searching for enlightenment through the perilous paths of the Sword. Duels of revenge and tests of skill were common place, and fencing schools multiplied.\nFrandar do Hunding Hel Ansei No Shira, or as he is commonly known Frandar Hunding, was born in the far desert marches in the province of High Desert. Hunding is the name of the High Desert region near where he was born. No Shira means noble person or person of noble birth and Hel Ansei is his title of Sword Sainthood.\nHunding's ancestors reach back to the beginning of recorded time in the high desert and were artisans and mystics, his grandfather was a retainer of the Elden Yokeda, Mansel Sesnit, and led many of the battles of unification prior to Sesnit's assassination.\nWhen he was 14, Hunding's father died in the one of the many insurrections, and he was left to support his mother and four brothers. His prowess with the sword however, made his life both difficult and easy. Easy in that his services came in great demand as a guardian and escort. Hard in that his reputation preceded him, and many awaited their turn to face him in battle and gain instant fame through his defeat.\nBy the time Hunding was 30 he had fought and won more than 90 duels killing all his opponents. He became virtually invincible with the sword, gaining such skill and mastery that he finally stopped using the real swords created through the artisanship of his people and began using the Shehai or \"way of the spirit sword\".\nAll sword singers learn through their intense training and devotion to the gods of war and way of the sword, the forms of discipline that allow the creation of the spirit sword. This is a simple form of magic or mind mastery where by a image of a sword is formed from pure thought. The sword singer forms the sword by concentrating, and it takes shape in his hand - usually a pale thing of light, misty and insubstantial, a thing of beauty perhaps, a symbol of devotion to the Way and the gods, but no weapon. However, those Ansei of the highest level and sensitivity and those with talent in magic, can at times of stress, form a spirit sword, the Shehai which is far more than light and air - it is an unstoppable weapon of great might, a weapon which can never be taken from the owner without also taking his mind.\nThe Shehai became Hunding's weapon, and with this he slew bands of brigands and wandering monsters than infested the land. Finally upon finishing his 90th duel, defeating the evil Lord Janic and his seven lich followers, he was satisfied that he was indeed invincible. Hunding then turned to formulating his philosophy of\"the Way of the Sword\". He wrote his Learnings down in the BOOK OF CIRCLES while living as a hermit in a cave in the mountains of high desert in his sixtieth year.\nIn that year Hunding having enlisted in the many battles of the empire, defeating all opponents, had thought himself ready for death and retired to his cave to capture his strategy and mystical visions to share with other Sword Singers. It was after his completion of the scroll of the Circle that the Singers found him composing his death poem and preparing to join the gods of war in final rest.\nAt sixty he was a vigorous man, who thought himself through with life, but his people,the sword-singers needed him. They needed him as never before.\nTorn's Sword Hunt, had separated the Singers from the common people, and the rise of the Last Emperor began the last great strife of the desert empire. The Emperor and his consort Elisa's final effort to wrest control of the empire from the people by destroying the sword-singers. Hira vowed to search out every Singer with his Brigand army composed of Orcs and castoffs of the wars of the empire, and to scourge them from the face of the planet.\nThe Sword Singers were never a numerous people. The harsh desert kept the births few, and growing up in the unforgiving wastes eliminated all but those of iron spirit and will. Thus the final strife which became knows as the \"War of the Singers\" found the people of the sword unprepared and unready to join together their individually great skills into an army that could defend their homes and lives.\nFrandar Hunding was sought out, his death poem interrupted, and unceremoniously command of the singers was thrust upon him. To the unknown gods of war great thanks is owed that Hunding had the time in his cave to write down his years of accumulated wisdom, of strategy, of the way of the Shehai. The singers fled from their camps up into the desert hills and mountains. Fled to the foot of Hattu \"the father of Mountains\" where Hunding had gone to write in peace and to die, and there these remnants formed into the Army of the Circle - they learned Hunding's Way, his strategies his tactics, and the final great vision for a master stroke.\nHunding devised a plan of seven battles leading the Armies of Hira further and further into the wilderness to the foot of Hattu, where the final battle could be fought. Hunding called his plan the \"Hammer and the Anvil\". With each battle Hunding's Singers would further learn his strategies and tactics, grow strong in the use of the Shehai, and be ready to defeat their opponents in the seventh battle. And thus it was, the six first battles were waged, each neither victory or defeat, each leading to the next. The larger armies of Hira following the small army of Hunding. Outnumbered thirty to one, the singers never faltered from the Way. The stage was set, Hira and his Army maneuvered to the base of Hattu Mountain, where the hammer blow was delivered. The battle was pitched, and many singers fell that day. Hunding knew, that the singers who lived would be few, but Hira and his empire of evil would not live and so it went.\nAt the end Hunding and less that twenty thousand Singers survived the day, but no army of evil was left to pillage and murder, more than three hundred thousand fell that day on Hattu. Of those who were left to run and live, all were scattered to the four winds, and organized force no more.\nThe singers packed their lives, folded their tents, mourned their dead, and followed Hunding to the great port city of Arch, in the province of Seawind. There Hunding had a flotilla of ships waiting. The Singers left their desert for a new land. No longer welcome in the desert empire, they left to be sung about and spoken of in legend. The final great warrior, the singers of Shehai, the Book of Circles, all leaving that land where their virtue was unappreciated. Red, red with blood they were in the eyes of the gentle citizenry, never mind that they had saved them from a great evil.\nThe singers vowed to learn new ways as they traveled across the great ocean to their new land. To adopt a new name, but to honor the past. In honor of their final battle, they named their new land Hammerfell and adopted the name Redguards.\nIn honor to Hunding the great warrior prince, each household in Hammerfell has a place by the hearth an alcove really, just a niche, big enough to hold the scroll - The Book of Circles."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/redoran-cooking-secrets-eso": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/redoran-cooking-secrets-eso", "description": "A Redoran cookbook", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Redoran Cooking Secrets [ESO]", "text": "Crab Meat Stew\n\t2 handfuls of crab meat\n\t1 mug of stock\n\t3 pinches of garlic\n\t1 large onion\n\t1 handful of ground oats\nGrill onion until brown. Mix stock, garlic, and onion in a large bowl. Slowly stir in ground oats to thicken. Add in crab meat. Bake covered in a hot oven for one half hour to one hour.\nFrog Muffin\n\t1 stone of ground frog meat\n\ta hand and a half of rice flour\n\tcube of baker's yeast\n\tpinch of pepper\n\tsprig of thyme\nCreate a batter using the rice flour, baker's yeast, and a little water. Cook the meat in a pan over an open flame. When the meat begins to brown, add it to the batter along with with the thyme leaves. Sprinkle with pepper and pour batter into muffin tins. Bake for one quarter hour in a hot oven."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ree-nakals-orders": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ree-nakals-orders", "description": "", "author": "Ree-Nakal", "title": "Ree-Nakal's Orders", "text": "The Bright-Throat woman grows increasingly agitated. I don't know how much longer her trust in me will keep her in check. Wait for Haxara at the dry glade of dragonthorn near Bright-Throat Village and silence her before she decides to confess."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/reezal-juls-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/reezal-juls-journal", "description": "The plans of a necromancer loyal to the late King Ranser of Rivenspire", "author": "Reezal-Jul", "title": "Reezal-Jul's Journal", "text": "By the ancient mysteries, my plans develop just as I foresaw!\nI carry on the wishes and desires of my one, true master\u2014the great and sorely missed King Ranser of Rivenspire. Some called him mad. I know him as the genius and visonary he was. A man ahead of his time. Did he care that I enjoyed the occasional experiment? That I saw a path to power in the intricacies of the dark arts? No. He encouraged me! I will always be greatful to King Ranser for that.\nBut sometimes other paths must be followed. I knew that I had to find a new direction as the High King's forces closed upon Traitor's Tor. That's why, regretfully, I left my beloved king's side before the end came. Someone had to survive to carry on our work. Someone had to survive to make Emeric pay for his insults and injuries. I just wish it could have been my king instead of me. Ah, well, that's the way the river runs.\nI offered my services to Baron Montclair at the first opportunity. We had made each other's acquaintance at one of the king's functions, and he seemed the most suitable for my ultimate plans. I knew that Count Tamrith would have nothing to do with me or my special talents, and Baron Dorell was too stubborn to take any suggestions I made seriously. But Montclair, he could be swayed. He could be manipulated. He could be forged into the weapon I needed to enact King Ranser's revenge.\nIt was easy enough to convince Count Verandis to aid my cause. And a simple forget-me draught was enough to wipe the memories from him. Getting his blood vassal to imbibe the potion was child's play. And when Verandis fed, the alchemical concoction passed from the vassal to him. It was just my good fortune that the Baron's wife was as ill as she was. They were all so worried about her and desperate for a miracle that they accepted what I offered them without question.\nBut enough of the past! It is the future I am more interested in right now. My living necromancy experiment worked! I was able to take the living flesh of others and create a totally different living creature. Even now, it grows more powerful in the ruins of Crestshade, awaiting my orders to head out and ravage the countryside. It isn't bogged down by the intelligence or demeanor of those who gave their living flesh to its creation\u2014it is a new and unique entity ready to obey my every command! Imagine what I can do with an army of such creatures!\nSoon, all of Rivenspire will be under our control. Then I will convince the Baron to send his undead army and my creations south. This time, the outcome will be much different from Ranser's War. This time, the High King will fall. I have foreseen it. The power of the Ayleid relic told me so."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/regarding-fists-thalmor": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/regarding-fists-thalmor", "description": "The Canonreeve feels the name of this organization needs adjusting", "author": "Canonreeve Falduil", "title": "Regarding the \"Fists of Thalmor\"", "text": "Confidential Diplomatic Missive: Thalmor Eyes Only\nDeliver Only To: Aicantar, Sapiarch of Indoctrination, Crystal Tower, Alinor\n\nYour Sapience,\nIn retrospect, I am of the opinion that titling a para-military unit the \"Fists of Thalmor\" has been an error of nomenclature. Though accurate as to the function of said unit, in the local vernacular the title has been shortened to simply \"Thalmor,\" which inaccurately conflates our diplomatic corps with the Dominion military. Furthermore, inasmuch as the Fists, in pursuit of their enforcement duties, may occasionally exert more force than some might think necessary, this taints the Thalmor with a perception that our agents are heavy-handed thugs. Needless to say, this doesn't help when negotiating for aid from the local indigenes.\nIn future, I think we would be wise to return to referring to our enforcement units as \"Justiciars,\" even if it does make our Khajiiti citizens disinclined to join because it sounds so stuffy.\nYours in Diplomacy,\n\tCanonreeve Faldui"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/regarding-ebonheart-pact": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/regarding-ebonheart-pact", "description": "An inflammatory anti Pact document", "author": "Aicantar of Shimmerene, Sapiarch of Indoctrination", "title": "Regarding the Ebonheart Pact", "text": "Our cousins the Dark Elves have been duly punished for the betrayal of their ancestry: because they have embraced, and then attempted to emulate, the Daedra, a curse has disfigured their bodies and blasted their land. That lesson was apparently insufficient, for they have now left the boundaries of their cursed domain, and seek to infect the rest of the mainland with their heresies. The trio of wily demonspawn who rule them have duped the simple Nords and the slave-lizard Argonians into joining this mad escapade.\nTo allow the Ebonheart Pact to rule in Cyrodiil would be just as foolish as to leave the Empire to one or another of the tribes of Men. The Tribunal is ultimately an even greater danger to Nirn than the heedless and impetuous human nations. They must be driven back into their haunted corner of the continent with their power broken \u2026 forever."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/regarding-hall": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/regarding-hall", "description": "A note surrounding the discovery of the Hall of Heroes", "author": "Septima Tharn", "title": "Regarding the Hall", "text": "We've found it: the legendary \"Hall of Heroes.\" It took weeks but my scouts report finding an ancient temple nearly buried in the mountains southeast of Hallin's Stand. If it contains what the ancient mystics believed it to contain, it's the perfect place to remove the pest that has been plaguing our efforts against the Daggerfall Covenant.\nI'll be leaving in the morning with a contingent of legionnaires and scholars and whatever archeological tools we can find in this gods-forsaken city.\nGlory to Lord Molag Bal,\nMagus-General Septima Tharn\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/regarding-thorn-blackstaff": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/regarding-thorn-blackstaff", "description": "Background on a potential recruit to the Psijic Order", "author": "Loremaster Celarus", "title": "Regarding Thorn Blackstaff", "text": "Ritemaster Iachesis,\nI have another candidate for recruitment that merits your attention. From what Josajeh tells me, he is an atypical character, but one that may be of great interest to us.\nThe candidate is one Thorn Blackstaff, an Altmer and likely an autameld. The name is one he probably chose for himself after exile from Summerset, but that is merely an educated guess. I have not yet unearthed the history he has with the Dominion, but there is no doubt that there is little love lost between him and his former kin. Fighting under the banner of the Daggerfall Covenant, he has shown them no quarter.\nUnder most circumstances, that kind of deep-rooted enmity would disqualify him from consideration, but the man Josajeh described to me from her scrying is both noble and charitable. He often acts as a mentor and a guardian to those in need of guidance for no other reason than it is in his nature. His council isn't only valued by the inexperienced, however. On more than one occasion he has been entrusted with matters of great importance by both the Arch-Mage of the Mages Guild and the Mage Lords of House Telvanni.\nI believe Blackstaff has great potential to become a Psijic. He is a Mer whose virtues may well outweigh his flaws. With your sanction, I recommend we keep him under observation.\nLoremaster Celarus"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/relics-saint-veloth": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/relics-saint-veloth", "description": "Relics of the famous prophet", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Relics of Saint Veloth", "text": "Next to the living gods of the Tribunal, Saint Veloth is among the most revered figures in Dunmer history. Several houses of worship exist in Deshaan dedicated to Veloth's memory and to the veneration of icons left to us by the saint and his original followers. A description of some of these relics and their significance follows.\nVeloth's Judgment:\nSaint Veloth wielded this warhammer during the exodus from Summerset. Veloth saw fit to set aside this weapon when he vowed to turn his attention from war to the task of building a new home for the Chimer in Resdayn. Today, the Judgment resides in the Tribunal Temple and is said to have powers related to cleansing corrupted souls.\nThe Tear of Saint Veloth:\nThis radiant crystal is believed to be a tear shed by Veloth when he first laid eyes upon the land of Resdayn, the new homeland he had seen in his visions. According to the legend, the tear froze as it slid down Veloth's cheek. Kept by the monks of the monastery of Muth Gnarr, this crystal has great healing and restorative powers\u2014provided the monks maintain a constant vigil and pattern of prayer.\nThe Holy Vessel of Veloth:\nUsed by Veloth to carry water to quench the thirst of his sick followers during the exodus, and then later to irrigate the young crops of the new homeland, the Holy Vessel now resides in the temple in Selfora.\nThe Reliquary of Saint Veloth:\nThe Reliquary that stands in the Shrine of Saint Veloth in Deshaan is not a relic, per se, but instead contains perhaps the most powerful and holy relics associated with Veloth\u2014his skull and bones. The bones of the saint are said to have many magical properties, and pilgrims travel from across Morrowind to receive the saint's blessing. Legends claim that the most faithful sometimes receive visions of the saint while meditating and praying before the Reliquary."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/reman-war-drum": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/reman-war-drum", "description": "Information on this historical percussive instrument", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Reman War Drum", "text": "Many drummers accompanied the armies of Reman as he defended Skyrim from the Akaviri. This drum, which belonged to one of those soldiers, was likely present at the Battle of Pale Pass when the Akaviri knelt before Reman. Though it served in the regiments of several more leaders of the Reman Dynasty, it faded out of use before the last Reman Emperor was assassinated. Since then, the drum has passed from jarl to jarl by inheritance, gift, or conquest.\nThe drum now sounds on the feast days of the great heroes of Skyrim."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/remember-me": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/remember-me", "description": "The tale of an Argonian seeking to understand his nightmares", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Remember Me ", "text": "A tunnel. A cave? Dark, damp, and warm. Scale-Song ran toward the hazy light, hearing his footsteps echo in the narrow passage, sinking deeper into the mud. \"How can I sink in this?\" he asked aloud. \"I am of parents born in Black Marsh.\"\nWhen he could no longer move, Scale-Song bowed his head, listening to the moisture dripping from the roots twisted above him. Soon, it would be over. He would return to the Hist. How embarrassing, though, for an Argonian to suffocate in mud.\nHis eyes opened suddenly. He'd had the same dream every night for weeks. Each night, he felt he was nearly at the cave's exit. Everything would be made clear once he reached it. And each morning, Scale-Song awoke, no closer to understanding the meaning of the imagery.\n\"Clearly, the Hist speaks to you,\" said his egg-brother Gash-Tail. \"Tonight, ask what it wants. Talk to it.\" \"I'll try,\" said Scale-Song, \"but I never remember it's a dream until I'm awake.\"\nGash-Tail reached into an earthenware jar on the shelf beside him. He handed Scale-Song a thick roll of leaves tied with twine. \"Burn this,\" he said. \"The incense may clear your mind. If the Hist wants you, you must listen.\"\nScale-Song nodded. Advice like this was precisely why he sought Gash-Tail's help. For the first time in a long while, he couldn't wait for night to fall.\nThe burnt incense filled his hut with thick gray smoke that coiled heavily along the ground like fog. Scale-Song hadn't expected it to smell so horribly. Still, he watched the smoke spread slowly throughout the room, his eyelids growing heavier and heavier.\nA cave. A tunnel? Smoke drifted along the muddy floor. Scale-Song stopped running and reached out a hand toward the smoke. Talk. Ask. Speak.\n\"Are you trying to tell me something?\" he asked aloud.\n\"I am dead.\"\n\"Dead? Who are you?\"\nThe smoke coalesced into a shimmering figure, hooded and cloaked. Its tail twitched. \"I am dead,\" the figure said. \"Without it, all that I am will be lost forever. Find it. Remember.\"\n\"It? What is it?\"\nScale-Song followed the figure through the dark passage. His feet no longer sank into the mire, as in all the other dreams. They walked in silence. Scale-Song was alert, but untroubled.\nIt seemed like hours before the pair reached the tunnel's exit. The shimmering figure sighed deeply, pointing toward a shriveled tree.\n\"A Hist,\" said Scale-Song, surprised. \"Is this it? Dead ... but how?\"\n\"Remember,\" said the figure, unfurling into the wind, but not before it pressed a Mnemic Egg into Scale-Song's hands.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/reminder": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/reminder", "description": "A reminder of orders", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Reminder", "text": "Remember, the villagers must truly believe you are the First Auridon Marines for this to work. Don't leave the bodies where they might be found. Lock the real Marines in the cellar of the northernmost house, then burn it down on top of them.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/reminder-dont-drink-water": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/reminder-dont-drink-water", "description": "A warning regarding the water at Lake Hlaalu", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Reminder: Don't Drink the Water", "text": "Do not drink any water from Lake Hlaalu. The concoction we added to the lake is particularly potent. Let's leave the water for the locals and keep our own numbers strong and healthy!\nAnd remember, if you notice anything strange or spot any unusual activity around Narsis, report to Commander Thandon at the center of our camp by the lake.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/remnant-prisoners-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/remnant-prisoners-journal", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Remnant of Prisoner's Journal", "text": "They made no demands, gave no hints of their goals. I tried to get a look at their leader. He's a tall man, well-muscled, and carries an axe. He keeps his face covered."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/remnants-cyrod": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/remnants-cyrod", "description": "An accounting of hidden Ayleid knowledge", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Remnants of Cyrod", "text": "When Alessia's rebellion sent the Heartland lords fleeing from their manses, they took their knowledge with them.\nWhile some fled to the fens of Black Marsh and others to the northern reaches, most flew to Valenwood. After many years amongst the Bosmer, they amassed a storehouse of information.\nRealizing a need to preserve our knowledge against the ages, they excavated a cavern east of the mighty Strid. There, in its alabaster depths, they carved great halls and sealed them against the ravages of erosion and time.\nThey summoned our greatest architect to do these things, and a great enchantment was placed upon its walls to stave off putrefaction and decay.\nThe ruins would stand until the White-Gold Tower fell to dust and bone in the ashes of old Cyrod. They would deliver our memory for generations to come, and seal us as the immortal masters of Tamriel, itself."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rendarions-apology": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rendarions-apology", "description": "A somewhat dubious gesture of friendship", "author": "Rendarion", "title": "Rendarion's Apology ", "text": "My Dearest Olahanar,\nI was shocked to receive your note. Me, angry with you? Never! You won Elinwe's hand fairly and I hold no grudges. My best wishes go out to both of you.\nAs a token of my desire to remain the closest of friends, I wish you to take advantage of the best fishing spot in all of Cyrodiil. This has been my secret for many years and now, as my betrothal gift, I share it with you.\nNorthwest of Castle Black Boot lies a chain of small lakes\u2014the Mist Mirrors. Go there and enjoy the finest fishing you have ever seen. The fish practically leap into the boat! Someone who loves fishing as much as you simply cannot pass this up.\nI left my boat along the shore for you. Pay no mind to the creatures you think you see patrolling the lakes. These are merely illusions I cast to keep others away from my favorite fishing hole. They will not harm you, just as I would never harm you.\nEnjoy!\n\u2014 Rendarion\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/renrijra-pirates": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/renrijra-pirates", "description": "Note on the famous Khajiiti pirate clan", "author": "Captain Augustus Relippe", "title": "Renrijra Pirates ", "text": "Dearest,\nI will not be in port for long, but I do have enough time to spare for a pot of a tea with these friendly Argonians and to draft a few quick letters. When the tide shifts, I will be at sea once more, pursuing those dastardly Renrijra Pirates.\nPerfidious Khajiit! I will pursue those pirates to the world's edge, if need be!\nYou embarrass me with your constant need for declarations of undying love, but rest assured that I echo your sentiments in return.\nLately, I have been preoccupied. The Renrijra raid our shores, trying to claim our lands as their own. I always knew cats were territorial, but those Khajiiti raiders pursue this as an obsession. Those pirates are relentless!\nOn the rare occasions when we capture one, it is always the same frustrating dialogue. They are quick to speak of territorial rights and political reform, and so on and so forth. But really, I know the truth. They are little more than smugglers and sea-raiders propping up their criminal activities behind a facade of ideals. They lie! And they shall pay!\nThey scowl, these pirates. They sneer, even when held in bonds. They take pride in their contemptuous nature. In fact, it is reflected in their very name: \"Renrijra Krin.\" I have heard it translated as \"the Mercenary's Grin\" or \"the Smiling Scum.\" The scum! It suits them well, but I prefer to call a knave a knave. They are smugglers and pirates and thieves to the last filthy cat.\nThe Renrijra are swaggering fools. Do you know what the so-called \"code\" of their order is called? \"The Foolish Concepts.\" Fools! I have intercepted their logs and records, and I know their ways. They kill without hesitation. They espouse bravery, yet run away when confronted with justice. They curry favor by giving trinkets to the poor. Then they claim to be benefactors when stealing from those of privilege. A thief is still a thief!\nSuch insolence! They remind me of that servant we used to employ, the one who deigned to teach you how to dance. Do you remember him? The swarthy fellow who kept trying to meet with you privately? What cheek! Or the gardener who lurked by your bedroom window while I was away? Or the mason who would linger in our salon pretending to work while surreptitiously staring at you? Knaves! The world is full of knaves.\nKnow that I do this for more than my need to protect you and yours. I do this to protect our kingdom! I do this to secure our High King's domain by sea! Those knavish cats will never prevail.\nForgive me for my digression. My need for justice consumes me. I fear I will be at sea pursuing the Renrijra for several more months, along with the crew of the Wrath of Glenumbra, yet I await the day I shall return to you.\nIn answer to your last query: yes, we can afford to hire those workers you requested to build an extension on the house. Make sure they aren't shirking their duties. You'll have to watch them closely!\nI've nearly drained my teapot and worn out my welcome with these spiritual lizard-folk, so I must be away. Rest assured, those Renrijra Pirates won't escape the relentless efforts of the Breton Navy.\nI remain, as always, your affectionate and loving,\n\u2014Captain Augustus Relippe, Commander, The Wrath of Glenumbra\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/reply-reezal-jul": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/reply-reezal-jul", "description": "Correspondence regarding the sack of Shornhelm", "author": "Reezal-Jul", "title": "Reply from Reezal-Jul", "text": "Baron Montclair,\nI'm sorry you couldn't stay to see the end of this, but Shornhelm will soon be ours. I am following your orders to the letter. The upper city is under our control, the Shornhelm Guard is scattered, and soon the portal will be ready. We will be able to ferry more Montclair troops in, under their very noses!\nI continue to use our blessed gift, turning more and more people into vampires. But, as you have no doubt observed, the process is often extremely accelerated. For every vampire I create to join our forces, I wind up with a dozen or more mindless bloodfiends. Not that these don't also serve a purpose, but even so.\nHave you considered my request? I know that my work\u2014my side project, as you call it\u2014will benefit you. Imagine, your glorious army bolstered by unstoppable creatures of necromantic design. I have already had some success, and I know I am on the right path.\nAnd after we take control of Rivenspire, we can turn our attention to the south. We can succeed where Ranser failed. I just need more time. And more resources.\n\u2014 General Reezal-Jul\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/report-bitterblade": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/report-bitterblade", "description": "Prospecting results to incriminate a scheming overseer", "author": "Ghamborz", "title": "Report for Bitterblade", "text": "Mistress Bitterblade,\nYou hired me for a discreet look at your operations in Dusktown. Ingfred the Tall in particular. For the past few weeks I've played the dumb Orc, working beside him. I can report with confidence that he is playing you for the fool.This week he sent me out to survey new locations for a mine. Below is a list of the ores I recovered. I would advise you to carefully compare my list to whatever results he delivers to you. I will be amazed if they match, if he lists them at all.\nI think I have gathered enough facts for you to make your own decision.\nGhamborz\nProspecting Results:\nGalatite, estimated 20% per ton\nDwarven, estimated 31% per ton\nDwarven with Voidstone inclusions, estimated 4% per ton"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/report-captain-brivan": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/report-captain-brivan", "description": "A thank you note for help with reassignment", "author": "Captain Brivan", "title": "Report From Captain Brivan", "text": "Councilor Dolvara,\nThanks to your impressive recommendation, I've been given command of our forces in the Balmora region and promoted to the rank of captain. Remind me that I owe you the next time I can get away from my duties for an hour or two.\nI've taken the liberty of reassigning most of the soldiers previously under Ulran's command in order to provide them with a chance to start fresh under the new regime. Only Vatalo Telem's squad remains intact. They were with Ulran on the day of the incident and I want to personally debrief them before I make any sweeping changes. In the meantime, I've sent them to scout the old fort west of Balmora to keep them busy.\nAlso, I wanted to thank you for reconnecting me with Ferhara and her mercenary unit. I worked with them in the past, but they've been a gods-send for bolstering our presence in contested territory.\nHere's the rest of the unit assignments, in case you're interested.\n<The rest of the letter contains a list of various soldiers and unit assignments.>"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/report-colovian-stratagy": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/report-colovian-stratagy", "description": "A brief note on recent Colovian agression", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Report on Colovian Stratagy", "text": "It is unclear why the Colovians have suddenly taken to the offensive. It is almost as if they see a greater threat from inaction. I do not know what could possess them to think this\u2026."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/report-dominion-activities": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/report-dominion-activities", "description": "Report on skin stealers in Shadowfen", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Report on Dominion Activities", "text": "The Dominion skin-stealer attacks continue throughout Shadowfen. The most alarming factor is the way they seem to know so much about the people they impersonate.\nUntil we find a way to detect the skin-stealers, we can't mount a united defense against other Dominion incursions in Shadowfen.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/report-nearby-ruins": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/report-nearby-ruins", "description": "Mysterious Khajiiti ruins discovered near Fort Grimwatch", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Report on Nearby Ruins", "text": "The ruins found nearby are of Khajiiti origin, and it is unclear at what time these were built. The area around Fort Grimwatch has traded hands between the Colovians and Bosmer for centuries, with almost no historical record of Khajiit control.\nIn any case, the ruins are buried much too deep to escavate now. If only there were a way to reach them\u2026."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/report-training": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/report-training", "description": "Frustration with a talentless pupil", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Report on Training", "text": "Nordahl's progress remains unacceptably slow. Never have I tutored such a talentless mage. It's as if he's never even summoned a familiar! How he managed to raise the dead is beyond me.\nHe insists we continue, and vows my death if I speak of our lessons. It would be such a shame if we had a training accident."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/report-wing-rot-curative-trials": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/report-wing-rot-curative-trials", "description": "Great results on a cure for gryphon's wing rot disease", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Report on Wing Rot Curative Trials", "text": "The most recent formula is nothing short of a miraculous success. When administered to young healthy gryphons and those in the early stages of the disease, the results are total remission of symptoms and full recovery. Although most developing gryphons in the advanced stages of the disease are driven from the nest and eaten by welwas, those that survive can also be treated. Though their wings may need to be amputated, their wounds will no longer suffer from chronic infection, so the creatures may live out comfortable lives in captivity.\nWith your approval, Conservator, we may begin manufacture and distribution of the wing rot cure to our rangers and administer it to gryphons in the wild."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/report-missing-persons": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/report-missing-persons", "description": "", "author": "Regine Nyte", "title": "Report: Missing Persons", "text": "Sir,\nWe're still getting reports from the locals of people going missing. We've interviewed a few family members, but we've yet to find any common threads. The whole thing feels wrong, somehow.\nI'm aware we don't follow up cases like these without a patron, so I'll leave the matter in your hands. Should one of the nobles in the area vanish, we'll make our investigation a higher priority.\nEight keep you,\nGuard Regine Nyte\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/report-quality-recruits": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/report-quality-recruits", "description": "A military report on the training of new recruits", "author": "Captain Lampronius", "title": "Report: Quality of Recruits ", "text": "Centurion Fulvianus,\nAs you requested, here is my monthly report:\nTraining for our new recruits progresses well among all squads save one. The cavalry, archers, and footmen have come a long way since last month and are performing advanced maneuvers and mixed squad exercises ahead of schedule. The new band of healers from the Temple of Akatosh that you assigned to me, however, lags behind in training, and I believe we must change our approach dramatically if this unit is to succeed. Still, I think it is very likely that we can achieve your goal to bolster our front lines with battle-ready healers!\nMost of these recruits, I have learned, have a background in only civil temple service. Per your instructions, I attempted to train them the same as any normal soldier, issuing them standard steel armor and a sword or mace, and ordering them to participate in drills with the other footmen. This has resulted in disruption of our training regimens as they stumble around and attempt to determine which end of the sword should be applied to the enemy.\nThis experience has shown me that we should not hope to turn them into soldiers that just happen to know how to heal a wound or two. Instead, we must capitalize on their unique abilities to conjure wards and invigorate or heal our troops. I am convinced they need specialized equipment and request authorization to have sets of light, padded armor crafted\u2014not robes, which they are used to but would surely cause them trouble on the field, but sturdy cloth with appropriate padding. I believe this will allow them to better focus on and carry out their duties, namely getting to injured comrades quickly and efficiently, prolonging our battlefield presence, and improving our soldiers' fighting capacity.\nI believe that splitting them into groups of two or three and situating them along the back of the main thrust is critical. This way, at least one can maintain protective wards on a particular squad as the others scan the lines for comrades in danger. If they must get into hand-to-hand combat, they can support each other with these protective magics, but we may also be wise to train them in the use of at least a short sword.\nYou were correct in seeing the great potential these recruits have for our regiment. I believe in this unit, and I do not think we should waste any further time attempting to force them into a typical soldierly mold. With your permission, I feel we can and will forge a true advantage over our enemies.\nRespectfully Signed,\nCaptain Lampronius, Fifth Legion\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/request-denied": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/request-denied", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Request Denied ", "text": "Soldier Kazdi,\nYour request for transfer is denied. You'll act with deference and attend to Alchemist Ruuvitar's orders or you'll face proscriptive judgment.\nI realize punitive expeditions aren't why you signed up, but a soldier's lot isn't to choose orders. Alchemist Ruuvitar's arguably unconventional methods will lead to a quick and humane submission of the Pact, allowing us to focus our attention elsewhere. Never forget that Cyrodiil is our true prize.\nAnd Kazdi, between you and me, your mouth is bigger than the Elden Tree. If he discovers you're the source of the \"Brute-vitar\" nickname, you might just find out the full extent of his experiments firsthand.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/requisition-order": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/requisition-order", "description": "A note mentioning Mephala's Ebony Blade", "author": "Dutheil", "title": "Requisition Order ", "text": "Nerien'eth. The written word is my preferred method of communication. You will suffer it because I tell you to. I loathe leaving the Vaults to aid you, as torture of souls is a work that never completes.\nYou are as insignificant a mage as exists on Tamriel, but the Whispering Lady was impressed at your enhancement of her black edge. She marveled at the deaths of those who trusted you\u2014smiled on the death of the one who loved you. In your hands, the Blade has feasted, and that pleases the Whispering Lady. Thus, I will grant you a visit very soon.\nWith me come mercenaries who pledge fealty to no one benefactor\u2014and who pledge none to you. Mistake their aid for allegiance and you will find yourself on a path to my Vaults\u2014or worse places. Frankly, your use of the black edge has embroiled you in affairs beyond your reckoning. No matter what you seek, salvation is beyond you.\nHowever, as per the agreement, I will build instruments of torture from the hollowed remains you've made of your academy. I have constructed three phylacteries\u2014one for each piece of your wife\u2014yours when I arrive. Under my designs, your school will become a crypt from whence your wife and your students shall never escape, wishing very much they had died conventional deaths far, far away from you.\nI hope it was worth it.\n\t-Dutheil"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/research-assistant-wanted": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/research-assistant-wanted", "description": "An advertisement looking for assistance in researching Ayleid ruins", "author": "Archimbert Dantaine", "title": "Research Assistant Wanted ", "text": "Seeking a capable hand to aid in arcane research of Ayleid ruins and the magical properties of Ayleid Wells.\nApply in person at the camp outside Wormroot Depths, north along the main road from Redfur Trading Post.\nCombat experience required.\n\u2014 Scholar Archimbert Dantaine II\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/research-notes-1": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/research-notes-1", "description": "Description of a strange ore", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Research Notes [1]", "text": "Hard to determine the actual properties of this strange ore. Appears to have thin veins of silver visible in certain lights. Other times, it has a distinct bluish tint.\nWhen tapped with different tools, the ore has an can resonates with an almost musical ton when tapped with a silver tool. Iron produced a more discordant tone, though very subtle."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/research-notes-2": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/research-notes-2", "description": "Additional notes on the strange ore", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Research Notes [2]", "text": "Ore is highly resistant to chipping. A few chips were finally produced and ground into a powder. Unfortuately Thelm destroyed several hours work with a mighty sneeze which scattered the blue, glowing residue.\nNeeds additional analysis, but grinding the ore may produce something that can be used in a weapon alloy, if it has some sort of magical property. Aleeto will be interested in this."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/research-notes-3": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/research-notes-3", "description": "Examinations of a Dwemeri tonal resonator", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Research Notes [3]", "text": "Continued looking into what I believe is the resonator. Still unsure if the switch I found turns it on or not, but for now I'll just observe the make-up of such an extraordinary device. Better to make good use of my time before these dwarven contraptions decide to awaken.\nUpon examining the various switches, it looks like most of them control the pitch at what something may come out if it were to be turned on. Adjusting each of the panels would most likely tune the pitch up or down to possibly create that of a musical note, or at least, that is the closest comparison I could make to what our ears here.\nAs expected, nothing has happened by turning the various switches to different positions. I imagine that unless the machine is activated, these will do nothing. But do I really want to chance it? These ruins are quite deep, but I fear they might be connected to the Gnisis mines above.\nI've examined the surroundings and I'm going to activate the device. I believe these ruins are far enough away from the mines that they shouldn't have any effect. I've even brought some plugs for my ears to help protect whatever comes out of it. I'll only turn it on for but a moment to see what happens. If anything horrific begins to occur, I'll shut it off immediately."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/research-notes-chaotica-vampiris": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/research-notes-chaotica-vampiris", "description": "A vampire's notes on a new vampire bloodline", "author": "Lady Essenia", "title": "Research Notes: Chaotica Vampiris", "text": "By Lady Essenia, Master Alchemist and High Chamberlain of Greymoor Keep\nMy most elder kin often ask me how I could bear to shed my crown. As if power rests solely in the hands of those who rule. Is the Ashen Lord's own story not proof enough of their mistake?\nI must admit, when our new king first arrived upon my threshold, I shared their misgivings. Centuries of rulership had twisted my mind\u2014had convinced me that the simple axioms of ruler and ruled were the only truths worth respecting. Politics. Thrones. Courtiers and petitions. How blind I was to the reins and bridle I placed upon myself! For some, truth and fulfillment rest upon the throne. For others\u2014vampires like myself\u2014true fulfillment lies in study. The shimmering flask, the gleaming scalpel and syringe\u2014these are the only jewels with a claim to my heart. For too long I ignored my vocation. The rise of our Ashen Lord allowed me to rediscover it.\nI have always marveled at the complexity and mutability of the vampiric infection. Each strain carries a long and storied history, and each bestows a unique suite of gifts upon those claimed by the disease. Now, unfettered by the inanities of rulership, I ask myself: can these gifts be refined? Can these strains be unified?\nBehold, the fruit of my research! Chaotica Vampiris! A revolution in our vampiric nature. Unlike Sanguinare Vampiris or Porphyric Hemophilia, this new affliction targets those already turned to vampirism. While blending the bloodlines through alchemical means provided small successes, the true catalyst was chaotic creatia, claimed from the source of all vampirism: Coldharbour. Molag Bal, in his haste to claim Tamriel for himself, forgets that doors often open both ways.\n\tI call the result of a Chaotica Vampiric infection a \"Blood Knight.\" These new creations possess greater speed and strength than any vampire yet known.\nAs in all great scientific endeavors, the results have been mixed. The effort to restrain their baser instincts remains a struggle. With more research, I'm confident that I can further refine the condition. Luckily, new vampires arrive at our gates with each passing night. My slave pens overflow with test subjects. All I need is time."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/research-notes-heir-verandis": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/research-notes-heir-verandis", "description": "Notes from the vampire alchemist on discovering the special properties of this bloodline", "author": "Lady Essenia", "title": "Research Notes: The Heir of Verandis", "text": "By Lady Essenia, Master Alchemist and High Chamberlain of Greymoor Keep\nDestiny smiles on my labors! An altogether unexpected specimen arrived on my doorstep\u2014a specimen that could open a thrilling new avenue of study.\nThis Khajiit calls herself Adusa-daro. When questioned about her vampiric origins, she became evasive and non-compliant. Even after the application of my truth serum, she refused to speak about it. It matters little. I deduced her lineage immediately. Her smug contempt for our work and dedication to secrecy stink of the traitorous Verandis. May he suffer the sun for all time.\nDespite Verandis's low character, his blood holds intriguing properties. His insufferable temperance makes finding heirs very difficult indeed. For one to blithely wander through my gates could only be a sign of fate's delight in my great works.\nVerandis's blood is unique. With the proper reagents and preparation, I believe I could craft something truly awe-inspiring. A new state of vampirism that could exceed even the oldest pure-bloods in power and potency. My bloodknights might simply be the beginning\u2014a herald of something truly spectacular. We shall see."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/residential-logistics-log": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/residential-logistics-log", "description": "Lists the residents of the Clockwork City and examines their daily lives and feelings", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Residential Logistics Log", "text": "Living Residents of Clockwork City (Fortress and Region 6) - 176\nPlace of residency:\n\tBrass Fortress: 112\n\tVentral Terminus: 2\n\tMnemonic Planisphere: 2\n\tEverwound Wellspring: 25\n\tRadius: 35\nResident Satisfaction Rating (Log 16788): Compiled by AIOS\nWealth disparity increased by 7% over period of analysis. Recommend increasing access to raw goods by commensurate amount. Root cause primarily psychological. High-wealth sample array displays ambition and dissatisfaction ranks in excess of 15. Potential interpersonal hostility rating increased to \"moderate.\"\nOccurrence of constabulary malfeasance remains at unsafe levels. Recommend ancillary surveys to determine mental fitness of all constables.\nNutrition rating within acceptable norms. Net effect of taste on resident satisfaction remains negative. Recommend increasing salt inclusion by 3% over next analysis period.\nCopulation and morbidity rate returning to sustainable norms. Paste-additives proving effective.\nApostle innovation and publication-rate increased by 4% over analysis period. Daylight extension likely cause. Recommend adding another twelve minutes to daylight cycles to test hypothesis."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/resolutes-stendarr-note": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/resolutes-stendarr-note", "description": "Warriors can't fight poverty", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Resolutes of Stendarr Note", "text": "Rumors of things dwelling in these sewers brought our party down to investigate. I have personally seen all manner or foulness settle in these places, things at home in the filth, but today these tall tales have brought us nothing but trouble. Not the sort of trouble, however, that can be solved with a sword, unfortunately. I'm certain some argument could be made that it would be merciful for us to do so.\nWe've found dispossessed families collected in the tunnels, fleeing from misfortunes the world has delivered upon them. Most seem undeserving of the sad fate they find themselves in, but undoubtedly there are some bad seeds hidden among the wretches. We will carry out our due diligence and investigate this settlement for any lurking evils under the pretense of offering protection to these people. When we are satisfied that nothing untoward is being harbored down here, we will leave them to make what they will of their lives.\nStendarr grant them mercy."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/resources-lukiul": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/resources-lukiul", "description": "", "author": "Naril Heleran", "title": "Resources for Lukiul ", "text": "Captain,\nI've done as you asked. It took some doing, but I've managed to re-direct those supplies from the lizard village to our drop site near Heimlyn Keep.\nWith the Covenant pressing their attack, military surplus has flooded into Stonefalls. Get your men into place as soon as you can. Enough supplies to hold off a siege were slated for those Argonian savages. Now they'll line our pockets instead.\nAlways good doing business with the military.\n\u2014 Naril Heleran\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/respectful-greetings-am-shadal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/respectful-greetings-am-shadal", "description": "", "author": "General Am-Shadal", "title": "Respectful Greetings from Am-Shadal", "text": "General Khamagash,\nAt Grand Warlord Dortene's command, I did not respond in kind to your recent outburst. This is my considered reply.\nHonor to you for your commitment to the Covenant and concern for our progress. In your enthusiasm you forget that a scouting mission does not conquer an enemy stronghold. We scout to discover enemy weaknesses. I honor those who lose their lives while scouting, but we strike our foes only where they appear most vulnerable.\nAttacking impetuously will sacrifice hundreds of lives needlessly and possibly forfeit the war. The reports your scouts acquire are invaluable to our efforts in Cyrodiil; our conquests would not be possible without them. May Onsi favor our cause!\n- General Am-Shadal\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/response-citizen-inquiries": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/response-citizen-inquiries", "description": "A response from an Aldmeri Dominion official to various questions and concerns", "author": "Aicantar of Shimmerene, Sapiarch of Indoctrination", "title": "Response To Citizen Inquiries ", "text": "Esteemed Citizen of the Aldmeri Dominion,\nThank you for expressing your interest in the critical functions performed by the Presidium of Aldmeri Cultural Illumination and Dissemination to further solidify the inter-cultural bonds of our magnificent alliance. We strive to give our ear to any citizen with suggestions, questions, or concerns relating to our tireless efforts to provide the Dominion with education to promote cooperation and understanding between Altmer, Bosmer, and Khajiit.\nYour two (2) requests and one (1) inquiry have been received and processed, and it is our sincere hope that you find the determinations reached by the Presidium satisfactory. Please note that any additional queries related to your submission, which has been assigned the Citizen Inquiry Identifier 3278B-P, must be accompanied by a completed Additional Inquiry Form approved by your district\u2019s Thalmor Representative of Civil Concerns.\nRequest One (1)\nRegarding the inclusion of a broader survey of Khajiiti heroes in a new edition of \u201cCombined History of the Aldmeri Dominion, Vol. 4, Historical Persons of Note\u201d:\u00a0 Your opinion is valued and important. Though we must limit the number of highlighted historical figures described in this already-significant tome by necessity, your feedback will be taken into consideration. We have noted your observation about the preponderance of Altmeri individuals in the book, and will take it under advisement in the event that a new edition is issued.\nRequest Two (2)\nRegarding celebration of the Khajiiti Festival of Sugar-Singing: Our greatest ambition is to be sensitive to the needs and desires of all citizens. It is, therefore, with the utmost regret that we must inform you that the Sugar-Singing will continue to be prohibited in most major cities due to the disruption of business and domestic peace that has been reported in municipalities where the festival has been provisionally allowed. As with any Thalmor ruling, you may continue to raise specific concerns by visiting your local representative (accompanied, of course, by the proper forms, which may vary depending on the nature of the additional request or complaint).\nInquiry One (1)\nRegarding becoming more involved in your local governing body: The Thalmor is always pleased to accommodate and encourage citizens who wish to become more active in promoting cooperation and understanding throughout the Dominion. All Thalmor positions and offices are confirmed by the Illustrious Queen Ayrenn\u2019s own hand, ensuring only individuals with true dedication to the goals of a productive, prosperous, and victorious Dominion reach any office. By undertaking every possible effort to be an outstanding citizen, even you may one day be recognized by Her Majesty!\nThe Presidium of Aldmeri Cultural Illumination and Dissemination thanks you again for your interest. If you find any of our carefully considered responses to be inadequate, do not hesitate to submit an approved Additional Inquiry Form.\nGlory to the Dominion!\nThese responses endorsed by:\nAicantar of Shimmerene, Sapiarch of Indoctrination"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/response-vox-first-draft": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/response-vox-first-draft", "description": "", "author": "Tidyn Arthalen", "title": "Response to Vox, First Draft", "text": "Lady Vox,\nKnow that I and my priesthood stand with you in your grief, but we cannot and will not stand with you in any folly perpetrated against the Tribunal. I am a humble servant dedicated to healing the wounds of the world, not inflicting them.\nIn truth, I believe that what your son did was wrong, but I stand against killing any living being\u2014no matter what crimes they committed. Remember that Saint Veloth turned away from the path of war at the end of the Exodus. That was his great lesson. It is one we all must strive to emulate.\nMy deepest sympathies and fervent prayers,\nTidyn Arthalen\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rest-gently": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rest-gently", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Rest Gently", "text": "I'm so sorry. We tried to dig you out, but the shaft started collapsing around us. I pray none of you suffered long.\nI will personally tend to this flame, so your souls are never shrouded in darkness.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/restored-tablet": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/restored-tablet", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Restored Tablet", "text": "These are the words\nAnd the words are true\nThe stones only part\nWhen you say the name\nOf the one who rests within\nRemember his Kra'jun\n\tFor they surely remember him\n\tAnequina Sharp-Tongue\n\tNumarion the Perfect\n\tFlinthild Demon-Hunter\nEven the Betrayer\nWho rests within?"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/restoring-welwas": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/restoring-welwas", "description": "Chronicles the reintroduction of an extinct species into Summerset", "author": "Ambolisse", "title": "Restoring the Welwas", "text": "By Ambolisse, Sapiarch of Zoological Studies\nSummerset was a very different place when the early Aldmer first stepped upon its pristine shores. Different creatures roamed the island, some fearsome, some benign. The early Aldmer, ever thorough when it came to cleansing the environment of unwanted threats, set out to completely exterminate welwas\u2014a creature they, for some reason lost to the historical record, totally despised. In a few short years, welwas were driven to extinction and removed from the Summerset ecology.\nAccording to ancient writings, the welwas sought the demise of the newly arrived Aldmer. Along with the gheatus and the ilyadi, the welwas attacked the Aldmer. Using ancestral lore and power drawn from the stars, the Aldmer used lightning, ice, and fire to utterly destroy these ravaging creatures.\nSummerset art and sculpture depicts welwas as strange, holy beasts with horns and savage teeth. In fact, due to these representations, many scholars believed that the entire species was extinct and a few considered the creatures to be nothing more than myths and legends. Imagine our surprise when entire herds were discovered roaming the Craglorn region of eastern Hammerfell, and in sufficient numbers to make a reintroduction program not only feasible but totally within the realm of distinct possibility.\nIt was with great pride that I took on the project of reintroducing welwas into the Summerset environment. We started modestly at first, gathering six mated pairs from the wilds of Craglorn. After a period of quarantine to make sure the creatures were healthy and bonded to their counterparts, my team and I released them in the northwest swamps. They immediately took to the region and, after three additional expeditions to acquire more welwas, the welwa packs appeared healthy and vibrant. I was even able to witness one of the first welwa births on Summerset in modern times. It was a glorious experience!\nOf course, not everyone agreed with the goals of this ambitious undertaking. Even some of my esteemed colleagues among the Sapiarchs protested that returning such a savage beast into an environment we tamed long ago was not only foolhardy, it was dangerous. To these critics I repeat the old adage, \"anything worth doing involves some level of risk.\" I was disheartened by the number of level-headed Altmer who showed up to demonstrate their disapproval as the ship carrying the first mated pairs of welwas pulled up to the dock. Luckily, the Divine Prosecution and the city guards were on hand to maintain order and make sure no one tried to harm the majestic creatures.\nNow, despite some continuing protests and a few legal actions aimed at altering the plan I championed and put in place, packs of welwas once again run free in the Summerset wilderness. Thanks to the Sapiarchs, the island is one step closer to returning to its original splendor. Now if only I could figure out how to restore the gheatus and the ilyadi."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/retreat": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/retreat", "description": "A partial note, warning of goblins", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Retreat!", "text": "The Goblins broke free. I don't know how. If you get this run for your life. Meet you at\u2014"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/return-orsinium": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/return-orsinium", "description": "A plea for Orcs to return to their homeland", "author": "Immigration-Wife Uulitag gra-Orsinium", "title": "Return to Orsinium", "text": "Orcs of the mountains of northern Tamriel: you have a capital in Orsinium, and it's calling you home.\nYes! Once more the City of Orcs on the escarpment between upper and lower Wrothgar stands tall and proud! Behind its legendary iron-capped walls, tuskers of every clan work to restore our capital\u2014your capital!\u2014to its former glory. Once again buyers and sellers throng Haggler's Bluff, warriors spar at Fighters' Anvil, and smoke pulses from the chimneys of the Everember Forges. Mauloch-worshipers crowd the Temple of Grudgement, fungus-farmers tend the ordure-spreaders in the Caves of Dark Abundance, and gondolas ply the Jugular.\nWe are rebuilding the Obdurate Gates, and once more Smelter, Hammer, and Temper protect the city from the blows of a hostile world. From his throne in Scarp Keep, King Kurog extends to you the hand of welcome\u2014and the fist of challenge. Are you Orc enough to join your brothers and sisters in a renewed Orsinium, and stand proud against the world? Come! Come to Orsinium, and join us as we raise a flagon of Bog-Iron Ale to King Kurog and the resurgent Orcs of Tamriel!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/reverence-dead": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/reverence-dead", "description": "Tu'whacca and Burial Rites in Contemporary Redguard Culture", "author": "Brother Opilio Congonius", "title": "Reverence for the Dead", "text": "The Redguards revere their departed ancestors so fervidly that it rivals the devotion many other races have for their gods. While a Breton may place a casket in ornately arched consecrated ground, or a Nord may place a wind-dried body on a shelf in a burial vault, the Redguards design and erect vast funerary structures for their dead that are as awe-inspiring as they are extensive. The thread of honor that binds the Redguards from before birth to beyond death is strong. These soaring and massive mausoleums are the purest representations of the undiluted Yokudan architecture, built to propel spirits to a meeting with their putative gods.\nPerhaps the finest example of this type of burial site is Tu'whacca's Throne, set atop a vast plateau in the Alik'r Desert of Hammerfell. This huge temple is dedicated to the Tricky God, the Shepherd of Souls, and the Caretaker of the Far Shores. After ascending from the desert grazing fields, up the stone stairs carved into the plateau's side, one is first struck by the incredible views from atop this flat expanse of rock and sand. After passing the Throne Keepers, who are ever vigilant and maintain Tu'whacca's Throne, the eyes meet the true majesty of this sacred place.\nThis necropolis is both a sprawling burial ground and a sacred ruin. Aside from Tu'whacca's presence watching from dark corners of this sanctuary, the temple also serves as a monument to the untold number of Yokudans who perished when the continent sank beneath the waves. Pilgrims travel across the stinging sands to pay their respects to these victims and to the historical Redguard kings who are also interred in this labyrinthine necropolis."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/revolting-life-cycle-dreugh": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/revolting-life-cycle-dreugh", "description": "An abridged summary of Dreugh life cycles", "author": "Fronto Maecilius", "title": "Revolting Life Cycle of the Dreugh", "text": "Contrary to local myths about the origins of this base species, the dreugh migrate from the Abecean Sea into the lakes and inlets that feed into the Iliac Bay. In addition to their mass of clawlike limbs, pincers, and scuttling feet protruding from a human-torso-sized skeletal frame, the dreugh wear armored hides and secrete shell wax that are prized in some quarters. They are aquatic scavengers, spending much of their time in deep ocean water. Local fishermen tell of altercations with this species (such as when the dreugh cut fishermen's nets to steal fish), but dreugh are mostly mild-mannered, except during karvinasim, their period of transformation.\nDuring karvinasim, dreugh walk upon the land, favoring shoreline marshes and rivers close to the open water. Hatchlings are closely guarded, and broodmothers are extremely territorial, reacting to invaders with both speed and hostility. This leads credence to the notion that karvinasim heightens the dreugh's martial instincts: Indeed, after witnessing the evisceration of our lead geographer Pulcherius Pomptinus, our raiding party thought twice before capturing and culling further specimens.\nAfter a year of land walking, the dreugh return to the water. As they submerge, they undergo a final transformation known as \"meff,\" where they devour their land skin and air organs\u2014the body parts they no longer need\u2014and then vomit the congealed remains as small fibrous balls that are approximately a foot in diameter. These disgusting and foul-smelling spheres are known as \"grom\" and are found in clusters around lakes. So far, our apothecaries have discovered no virtues in grom, aside from inducing queasiness in some of the more weak-stomached members of this contingent."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/reward-dwarven-relics": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/reward-dwarven-relics", "description": "", "author": "Rulorn", "title": "Reward for Dwarven Relics", "text": "A reward is hereby offered for all Dwarven relics delivered in good working order.\n\tMonies paid depend on condition, rarity, and usefulness of said relic.\n\tPieces of relics are also accepted, depending on condition.\n\t\u2014 Rulorn"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/reward-information-silvenar": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/reward-information-silvenar", "description": "A notice to the citizens of Silvenar to locate supporters of Indaenir", "author": "Ulthorn", "title": "Reward for Information: Silvenar", "text": "People of Silvenar:\nYour lives have been disrupted, your celebrations halted, your ways of life threatened. I, Ulthorn, am aware of my role in these troubles, but we are a people at war!\nWe must fight for our very way of life. The Aldmeri Dominion seeks to rule us from Elden Root, strip our rulers of their power, and corrupt our sacred rituals. The Dominion \"invited\" our previous Green Lady and Silvenar to join them on the island of Khenarthi's Roost, and it was an Altmer who was responsible for their deaths. Why? So they could replace them with puppets under their control!\nOur new Green Lady, Gwaering, was duped by the Dominion. But Indaenir, the current \"choice\" to be the Silvenar, is working with the Domnion\u00a0 and his presence in the city will be the advent of our doom!\nThe evidence is all around you. Would the true Silvenar abandon the Green Lady along the road, as he did in Velyn Harbor? Would he stop to consort with Wood Orcs in Jathsogur, rather than come straight to the city that bears his name? Would he hesitate to come to the Handfast when the Green Lady has already arrived and awaits him? No!\nThe Dominion's false Silvenar skulks about Malabal Tor. He may look for a way into this city, but he will not find it. And, any of you who help locate any of the traitors who support Indaenir, or the false Silvenar himself, will gain great favor with me and reward from all the Bosmer.\n\u2014 Ulthorn\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/reward-longfang": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/reward-longfang", "description": "A bounty notice for a werewolf", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Reward for Longfang!", "text": "Only the bravest of the brave need apply!\nA reward is offered for the death of the dread Longfang. This creature abides in Breakneck Cave, along with many of its foul brood.\nBring the carapace of Longfang to Mayor Celatus of Hackdirt for a grand reward!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/reward-stolen-wine": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/reward-stolen-wine", "description": "Three mysterious wine bottles have gone missing, and must be returned or destroyed", "author": "Hofgrad Kjisorssen", "title": "Reward for Stolen Wine", "text": "To Whom It May Concern:\nMy master is offering a reward for the safe return of three bottles of stolen wine. No questions will be asked, and no answers given. Wherever these three bottles may be, they will be within walking distance of one another. They always are.\nThe first is a bottle of chilled white wine. You will likely wonder how the bottle remains so cold to the touch, but it is best not to dwell on it.\nThe second is a bottle of fine red wine. Your arm will go numb when you pick it up, but there is no need to panic. Feeling should return as long as the bottle is delivered in a timely manner.\nLastly, a bottle of homemade wine of indeterminate color. Holding the bottle will induce a sensation of tremendous melancholy, followed by unrelenting hopelessness, emotional debilitation, and eventual self-destruction.\nIf one of the bottles has been opened, my master asks that you bury it as deep as possible, all the while being careful not to let the contents touch your skin. If you come upon someone drinking from one of these bottles, he asks that you kill the individual and burn everything in the surrounding area.\nIf found intact, please bring these wines to me immediately. I never move from my place in the Stitches, where I will anxiously await your arrival.\nBest,\n\tHofgrad Kjisorssen, faithful servant to his master"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/reynir-destroyer": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/reynir-destroyer", "description": "Warning about a dangerous draugr", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Reynir the Destroyer", "text": "Those who would brave the crypts beneath Windhelm, be warned.\nHerein dwells the draugr remnants of the great warrior Reynir of Saarthal, who claimed to have survived the Night of Tears, and sailed to Mereth with the Five Hundred Companions on the ship commanded by Ylgar, son of Ysgramor.\nThe draugr retains some semblance of Reynir's intellect, but his humanity has been subsumed by the madness of undying. The creature that remains is no proud Nord. He is an undead abomination who delights in the suffering of others.\nHe knows only hate and vengeance. Do not disturb his slumber."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rhanbiqs-notes": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rhanbiqs-notes", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Rhanbiq's Notes", "text": "Entry 28\nNicolas certainly passed through the area, but enough time has passed that few remember the details. \"Bellulor would know,\" is what everyone tells me. Apparently they mean Bellulor Chatterbreak, some gossipy pickpocket who comes in here to cadge drinks.\nBut not since I began asking around. He must think I'm with the local Guard, and has gone to ground wherever he and the rest of his ilk do business. But where would a pickpocket go to avoid the Guard? It's not as though all the outlaws in town have some sort of refuge."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rhanbiqs-orders-al-danobia-tomb": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rhanbiqs-orders-al-danobia-tomb", "description": "", "author": "Chief Inspector Rhanbiq", "title": "Rhanbiq's Orders: al-Danobia Tomb", "text": "Under no circumstances shall any numbered amongst the Iron Wheel set foot within al-Danobia Tomb. Secure the approach, only. Magnifica Falorah expressly forbade entry, and we are in her employ. We shall strictly adhere to her guidelines, despite our training.\n\u2014Rhanbiq, CI-IW"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rhanbiqs-orders-fulstrom-homestead": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rhanbiqs-orders-fulstrom-homestead", "description": "Preparing an ambush of the Thieves Guild", "author": "Rhanbiq", "title": "Rhanbiq's Orders: Fulstrom Homestead", "text": "Thane Fulstrom has graciously allowed the use of his manor, but I am concerned about the infested catacombs below his manor.\nI want you to scout and secure this area. However unlikely the approach, it is best to prepare for any eventuality. The last remnants of the Thieves Guild will not slip through our fingers.\n-Rhanbiq, CI-IW"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rhanbiqs-orders-iron-wheel-headquarters": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rhanbiqs-orders-iron-wheel-headquarters", "description": "Being a soldier of the Iron Wheel is serious business", "author": "Chief Inspector Rhanbiq", "title": "Rhanbiq's Orders: Iron Wheel Headquarters", "text": "This is to remind all Iron Wheel officers and soldiers serving within our temporary headquarters is an honor and privilege. Those members of our command who would rather patrol the area outside the Citadel are welcome to apply for transfer at any time. Hot-weather gear and rain slickers will be provided as necessary.\nFor those who would rather remain in the cool, comfortable interior of this complex, please remember to comport yourself as Iron Wheel, not common soldiers:\n-Sneaking off into the secret passages will be seen as an application for transfer.\n-Dangling your feet from the catwalk above the main storage area will be seen as an application for transfer. Be sure to ask Demi-Lieutenant Atriunia if dawdling was worth his time.\nRefusing to do \"servant's work\" in the interior will not be seen as an application for transfer. However, I will personally interpret it as a request to clean out the latrines which haven't been maintained in nearly two thousand years.\n-Rhanbiq, CI-IW"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rhanbiqs-orders-no-shira-prison": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rhanbiqs-orders-no-shira-prison", "description": "", "author": "Chief Inspector Rhanbiq", "title": "Rhanbiq's Orders: No Shira Prison", "text": "To all numbered amongst the Iron Wheel:\nDepartures shall be orderly. Prisoner transfers take priority, paired with confiscated goods. The delivery of such to Taneth shall release final payment to our guild, which is necessary to fund the recovery of our materiel and remaining numbers from Hew's Bane.\nI cannot overstate the importance of a successful and timely delivery.\n-Rhanbiq, CI-IW"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rhymes-and-chimes": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rhymes-and-chimes", "description": "A collection of Argonian songs", "author": "Chak-Shushu (translator)", "title": "Rhymes and Chimes", "text": "Compiled and translated by Chak-Shushu\nEgg-Tender's Lullaby (unattributed)\nLittle Thtithil, Little Thtithil\nDrink up your sap\nLittle Thtithil, Little Thtithil\nIts time for your nap\nLittle Thtithil, Little Thtithil\nRest in your shell\nLittle Thtithil, Little Thtithil\nWe'll keep you well\nLittle Thtithil, Little Thtithil\nGently you turn\nLittle Thtithil, Little Thtithil\nGrow hard and firm\nHist Hymn (unattributed)\nAmong the roots where we are born,\nBathed in your sap to shape our form,\nWe gather here to sing your praise,\nAnd give our thanks for those you raise.\nWind ring your chimes with its caress,\nMud hold you firm through all distress,\nRain reach your roots past golden rays,\nSun kiss your leaves for all your days.\nBless your every branch and bough,\nBeneath which we make each our vows.\nBless your tender bark and flowers,\nBlessed are we to call you ours.\nHatchling's Rhyme by Mimme\nTinkle, tinkle, hollow chime,\nSinging with me as I rhyme\nFor our darlings in their nest,\nDrifting off to well-earned rest.\nHow you sway and dance with ease,\nOn the evening's gentle breeze.\nConjure thoughts of lazy streams,\nFerry them to pleasant dreams.\nTinkle, tinkle, hollow chime,\nSinging with me as I rhyme.\nGuide us through the evening mist,\nHome to the roots of our Hist.\nTender Roots by Chak-Shushu\nAs I lie beneath you\nNestled in your embrace\nI am moist with morning dew\nFrom the time we spend enlaced\nBasking under the sun's golden kiss\nI am hot as humid air,\nMy breath exhales as mist\nUntil the warmth is more than I can bear\nI wet my scales, slick with mud\nShaded by your caring boughs\nAmong your loving roots I cool my blood\nAnd then begin to drowse\nYou sing me a gentle lullaby\nOf chimes in the breeze\nTo plant your seed in my mind's eye\nAnd give me dreams of trees."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/riddles-rithana-di-renada": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/riddles-rithana-di-renada", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Riddles of the Rithana-di-Renada", "text": "Down in a grave where Dremora crawl\n\tTwo left, two right, three vases above\n\tRimmen's legacy awaits\nDeep in a shameful abode\n\tWatched over by a golden flower\n\tRiverhold sits patiently\nEast of a starry haven\n\tAtop a hill, beneath stone arch\n\tDune is shaded from the sky\nBeneath the ground, atop a mesa\n\tBetween white bones and chest of treasure\n\tVerkarth has been tucked away\nProwl for a shard of the sky\n\tLook west to the hidden crevice\n\tMeirval waits by lantern bright\nOn the path west of Merryvale\n\tPast hanging bridge, up stone stairs\n\tPellitine waits between twin flame\nWhere the desert sands sweep ruins\n\tAnd the fanged necromancer prowls\n\tAt the edge of a scar shines Alabaster\nAt the center of a jungle's tangle\n\tA pillar stands, a pillar falls\n\tAnd Bruk'ra soaks in cool waters\nIn the smoldering embers\n\tOf its ruined city\n\tOrcest lies shaded by stone shrine\nScars weep for Corinth\n\tBetween two twisting trees\n\tWhere savannah grasses grow\nWest of the Stitches, in canyon brown\n\tFour pillars form together\n\tWith Helkarn at their center\nHigh above a scar of ash\n\tShaded by a lone tent\n\tSenchal hides from creeping dead\nA stone Khajiit guards Tenmar\n\tAs she worships dual Moons\n\tWithin the temple's courtyard\nTorval sits in hollowed stump\n\tBy the spring of Arkay's lash\n\tA nereid guards its murky waters\nOn the outskirts of Rimmen, by rebel's camp\n\tRuins sit crooked atop a hill\n\tKhenarthi waits within them"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ridenas-letter-drovos": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ridenas-letter-drovos", "description": "A final warning about Kwama experiments", "author": "Ridena Devani", "title": "Ridena's Letter to Drovos", "text": "Drovos,\nThis is my last warning to you. Not only have you refused to let me inspect your research notes, it's come to the point where I've been barred from your presence entirely! If you're going to degrade me to passing along notes, as if we were school children in a tiff, then I have no qualms tattling on your little operation. I'm sure that House Hlaalu would like to know about the risk you now pose to the native kwama population and your consistent refusal to see reason.\nI give you a final choice, out of my respect for you. You can either cease this madness at once, or I'll be forced to act,\nI expect your reply shortly and in person.\nR"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/riekr-wrothgar-observations": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/riekr-wrothgar-observations", "description": "A researcher poses as a Riekr to observe their society", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Riekr of Wrothgar: Observations", "text": "Day 1\nUpon applying Master Sterone's Goblin-stench formula, the Riekrs seem to have accepted me into their number. They are very social creatures, with each Riekr expected to do his part.\nI have been assigned the task of smashing rocks with a hammer. I have yet to determine the purpose of this task, but that does not seem to trouble the other rock-breakers, who have taken to the task with gleeful cackling.\nDay 2\nMore rock-breaking. I fear I have pulled some kind of muscle in my forearm.\nDay 3\nFurther observation of the Riekr social structure reveals a strange attitude toward magic and its practitioners. Being creatures of limited intelligence, they lack the kind of formal training in magic that one sees in other parts of Tamriel. They make up for this through an innate connection to the magic of the world, so to speak.\nWhen a Riekr demonstrates a connection to magic, he is immediately shunned by his brothers. They throw stones, such as the ones we broke when I first joined the clan, to drive him off. The mage must then flee into the wilderness or face certain death. After a period of exile, the Riekr mage buys his way back into the clan with an offering of food, such as freshly slain deer, bear, or echatere.\nAfter that, the mage is elevated into a revered member of the clan, suddenly gaining power and influence with the Riekr chief.\nDay 5\nThe mages have gathered in a council and the signal has been given for a migration. It seems a new food source has been located.\nDay 6\nWe have arrived in a cavern filled with food crates. It is clear this was some encampment, though I have yet to see the owners.\nDay 7\nOne of the Riekrs found a book among the crates. He asked me what it was. It appeared to be a book of recipes. I told him as much and he eagerly took a bite out of it.\n\"Recipes no taste good,\" he said and spit the book out.\nDay 8\nMy rock-breaking has not kept pace with my fellow Riekrs, and I'm afraid the others are starting to look upon me with suspicion. The Riekrs do not take kindly to those who can't pull their own weight. I should probably leave soon, before I am completely found out.\n\nDay 1\nUpon applying Master Sterone's Goblin-stench formula, the Riekr seem to have accepted me into their number. They are very social creatures, with each Riekr expected to do his part.\nI have been assigned the task of smashing rocks with a hammer. I have yet to determine the purpose of this task,but that does not seem to trouble the other rock-breakers,who have taken to the task with gleeful cackling.\nDay 2\nMore rock-breaking. I fear I have pulled some kind of muscle in my forearm.\nDay 3\nFurther observations of Riekr social structure reveal a strange attitude toward magic-users. Being creatures of limited intelligence, they lack the kind of formal training in magic use that one sees in other parts of Tamriel. They make up for this through an innate connection to the magic of the world, so to speak.\nWhen a Riekr demonstrates this connection, that one is immediately shunned by his brothers, with the throwing of stones (this is apparently what the rock-breaking was for.) The exiled mage must then go into the wild. After a period of exile, he buys his way back into the clan with the offering of food - a bear or a freshly-killed echaterre or a deer.\nAfter that, the mage is elevated as a food-bringer, one of the revered members of the clan, and so the others are all in command of the mages.\nDay 5\nThe mages have gathered in a council and the signal has been given for a migration. It seems a new food source has been located.\nDay 6\nWe have arrived in a cavern that is filled with food crates. It is clear this was some encampment, though I have yet to see the owner.\nDay 7\nOne of the Riekr found a book among the crates. He asked me what it was. It appeared to be a book of recipes. I told him as much, and he eagerly took a bite out of it.\n\"Recipes no taste good\" he said and spit the book out.\nDay 8\nMy rock-breaking has not kept pace with my fellow Riekr, and I'm afraid the others are starting to eye me suspiciously. The Riekr do not take kindly to those who do not pull their weight. I should probably leave soon, before I am found out."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rigurts-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rigurts-journal", "description": "A Nordic soldier's journal recording his experiences in Mournhold", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Rigurt's Journal", "text": "Today\nWe should reach Mournhold tomorrow. I have heard many tales, but have never seen the place myself. I am very excited, and the men are looking forward to getting off the boat. One of my men thought the Heart of the Wild was a piece of preserved meat and nearly took a bite. I can't imagine it would have made a very good gift with a chunk missing. But now I wonder what it tastes like.\nToday\nWe arrived! Great success! We were met at the docks by many important little Dark Elves and taken to a camp they set up just for us. We are so important. They even place guards to protect us. I love this city already. I can't wait to start our Glorious Cultural Exchange!\nToday\nWe tried to go to a local inn for breakfast, but the guards told us we can't leave our camp! I yelled for many hours. Tiny idiot registrar came later and told us we can't leave until our paperwork is sorted out. I may have gotten a little angry. \"What paperwork?\" I asked as he ran away from me.\nToday\nNo word from little idiot Dark Elf. We take turns reading from Bard Fjokki's amazing book. But we are so bored. And our Glorious Cultural Exchange remains unfulfilled. Much sadness today. Except for Fjokki readings.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rilasos-guide-tamriel-ch-21": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rilasos-guide-tamriel-ch-21", "description": "A cautionary guide warning against the dangers of the Rift", "author": "Rilaso", "title": "Rilaso's Guide to Tamriel, Ch. 21", "text": "The key to surviving the Rift is to never go there. The Rift is no place for anyone but Nords. If you're not a Nord and you end up in the Rift, you will die in a horrible fashion.\nIf you don't freeze to death or get lost and fall off a cliff, you're going to be killed by wild animals. Bears and sabre cats are only too happy to eat you. Mammoths go out of their way to step or sit on travelers. Giants will kick you into the highest reaches of the nearest tree.\nBut for my money, the Nords are the most dangerous part of the Rift. They have hair-trigger tempers, an enormous capacity for mead, and very sharp weapons that they swing around constantly.\nIf they don't drink you to death or choke you with their noxious bodily odors, they'll chop off your head. You'll be in a tavern, say the wrong thing to a Nord, and next thing you know, your head will be flying through the air, spraying another layer of blood over the already gore-caked walls.\nSo, don't go to the Rift"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rildings-clue": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rildings-clue", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Rilding's Clue", "text": "Rilding pointed out that the thief only steals from Altmer who don't use the bank.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rilyns-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rilyns-journal", "description": "", "author": "Rilyn Uvani", "title": "Rilyn's Journal", "text": "Day 58: I saw her in the market today, bringing light to my gloom. Barely spoke to her before her mother rushed her away. Not sure what I did to offend Frifhild; hard to tell with Nords. I think I saw more bruises.\nDay 60: She's sleeping beside me, both drunk on wine, couldn't be happier. My life is a storm that calms only when I'm with her. She's safe with me, only with me.\nDay 65: I watched her on the farm from afar again today. I had to see her, even if I couldn't touch her. They have a new hand, a pretty-boy Nord named Hramdin. He has eyes for her, but I won't get jealous. She loves only me.\nDay 68: She didn't show last night. I waited for two hours. Maybe she's with Hramdin. I hate him, boil when I think of him watching her. I need to stop thinking about this.\nDay 70: I can't take this much longer. She belongs with me, not with them. They don't deserve her, I do. They don't love her, I do. She must be mine!\nDay 73: This is it! I'm going there right now. I'm taking her away and they'll have to let me. I won't let them stop me. I'm bringing a knife this time. I'll use it, if I need to.\nDay 74: Let them curse my name now! Let the rats gnaw their faces off! She's free of them now. We're both free!\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rinydes-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rinydes-journal", "description": "An altmer chooses the stage over a career in magic", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Rinyde's Journal", "text": "9th of Morning Star\nLarydel has grown more distant as of late. For someone who has been by my side since birth, he's now almost a stranger to me. His interest in our lessons has waned, and for hours he'll go out by himself. He simply tells me he's going for a walk to clear his mind, but I don't believe that's the case.\nPerhaps my worries are unfounded. He could be training alone, after all. I know his magic exceeds mine, and it could be he's simply grown bored of our shared lessons. I always thought myself the one in need of solitude, but here I am mourning the loss of his company. I'll try to talk to him again tonight.\n16th of First Seed\nI never thought an acting troupe would be so disruptive to my personal studies, but our once peaceful town has been thrown into chaos with their arrival. Day and night, their caravan is surrounded by a crowd. The noise is enough to drive one mad.\nWorst of all, my brother couldn't be more excited! All he seems to talk about now is their parlor tricks and trite plays. It's downright common for me to catch him holding a conversation with one of the actors. I know my brother is far more gregarious than I, but there simply must be limits.\nI keep telling myself this will soon end. They're a novelty, and a passing one at that. As soon as they leave town, my brother will return to his studies. I'm sure of it.\n2nd of Rains Hand\nNever has my brother shocked me so. I'm near tears with the indignity of it all, I truly am. I'm loath to write such events, but there's no denying my brother's embarrassing actions.\nTonight Larydel came to our studies reeking of alcohol and perfume. I have no idea what manner of company he was with beforehand, nor do I want to know. Never before has he displayed such ludicrous behavior. It was all I could do to even look at his face, covered in shame and smeared with lip paint.\nHe was remorseful of course. Told me that he realized the repercussions of his actions and how unacceptable they were. Still, my trust in him wanes ever more. First he secludes himself, then he makes friends with riffraff, and now this? I fear I'm losing the brother I once knew.\n9th of Mid Year\nToday I received the most wondrous news, I barely know how to write about it. Even now my fingers tremble in excitement, so much I can barely hold my quill! All of our hard work researching and practicing, all of it has led to this moment.\nThe Sapiarchs have accepted us both as assistants. I'm to aid the Sapiarch of Artifice, and Larydel has been accepted by the Sapiarch of Thaumaturgy. I could near cry from happiness. I was so worried that only one of us would be accepted, and the other would be left behind. I couldn't bear the thought of parting with my dear brother, but now we don't have to. We can remain together, as it's always been.\nLarydel was ... shocked when he heard the news, I see that now. At first I thought it was something akin to fear, but that's just silly. What reason would he have to be frightened? No, it must just be surprise! Apprehension perhaps over such a great honor being bestowed upon us.\nThis is good. I've tried to not mind it, but Larydel has been so distant as of late. I understand why he's chosen to live apart from me to conduct his own research. After all, I've always feared I would hold him back. But when we do meet, well ...\nSometimes I barely recognize him. It's as if he's wearing a mask when we're together. Even now, I can feel my chest tightening at the thought. No, I must not think such thoughts. Soon we'll be happy in Lillandril, studying together once more. I'll finally be able to catch up. Be his equal once more.\nNever has such a happy day come. I can finally be with my brother again."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ripped-and-discarded-page": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ripped-and-discarded-page", "description": "A fragmented note surrounding the Mortuum Vivicus", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Ripped and Discarded Page", "text": "... and that's the truth. Now, I don't know if Ostarand was misled. Or if the king's vision was incorrect. Rainbow of Light that she is, the Bright One sometimes sends signs and portents that are difficult to understand.\nBut this what he said: the Abagarlans have a weapon. A powerful relic that will strip our souls from our bodies, and fuel a nightmare storm of undeath. He called it the Mortuum Vivicus. Apparently our king has already begun plans to deal with the situation, but should the Lord of Brutality be allowed to make use of this ...\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/risas-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/risas-journal", "description": "The last thoughts of a regretful adventurer", "author": "Risa Uvaril", "title": "Risa's Journal", "text": "My name is Risa Uvaril. My restless and reckless nature led me to this place. I longed for adventure, to prove myself, to see the world. My poor mother longed for me to find steady work, to be safe, to one day put a grandchild in her arms. I would not listen. I could not.\nI don't have long to live. I feel the coldness of the snake venom slithering through my veins. I am out of potions. I thought to face the trial of the Ghost Snake, to walk the Coiled Path. A Mabrigash wisewoman warned me against it. Curse my restless, reckless nature. I ignored her.\nI'm not afraid, but I do have one sorrow. The amulet my mother gave me was lost when the snake delivered the poison that's now killing me. I regret that my last words to my mother were hard ones. Cold, willful. And that I lost the amulet my mother gave to me when I was a young girl.\nIf you're reading this, may you fare better on the Coiled Path than I. If you find a small gold amulet engraved with an R on one of the serpents, take it to my mother. Aneyda Uvaril at Tal'Deic Fortress.\nTell her my last thoughts were of her.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rise-red-sails": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rise-red-sails", "description": "A history of Fortunata ap Dugal and her pirate crew", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Rise of the Red Sails", "text": "Pirates pose a common problem to most merchants who ply their trade by the sea. But if you asked anyone other than a sailor to name even one crew responsible for their nautical woes, I wager you'd find them woefully at a loss. Few of these outlaws ever achieve the heights of infamy needed to reach the ears of inland folk. The Red Sails and their Pirate Queen, Fortunata ap Dugal, stand as the notable exception to this rule. Their notoriety stretches all along the Abecean Coast, to the point of being a household name and catchall bugaboo among residents of waterside towns. This widespread reputation is a relatively recent development.\nNot all that long ago, the Red Sails were much more like their contemporaries - independent and unremarkable. Originally a band of raiders plundering a meager living along the Strid River, it was the arrival of Fortunata ap Dugal that marked the beginning of a new era for the humble raiders who would soon be known as the Red Sails. Using her position in the Gold Coast Trading Company to lure the raiders to her side, she soon began building her floating armada.\nUnder Fortunata's ambitious - some would say fearless -leadership, the raiders made their first voyage out to the Abecean Sea. In what can only be described as a suicidal assault, her smaller complement of raiders scaled a larger pirate vessel. Its captain considered the smaller river boat beneath his notice and made the mistake of ignoring its approach. With cunning and brutality, Fortunata and her crew seized the captain and forced his surrender. Offering to accept the oath of any of the enemy crew who would serve her as captain, she ordered the former captain and his officers strung up on the rigging and slaughtered the lot of them. With the blood of her rivals still seeping into the cloth, Fortunata raised the sails that would be her crew's calling card for years to come.\nUsing her connections as a merchant lord and the growing power of her Red Sails pirates, Fortunata turned a band of lawless miscreants into a feudal hierarchy of lords and vassals in the form of ship captains and their crews. After a number of successful boarding actions that resulted in the capture of pirate and merchant vessels alike, more and more captains began to voluntarily flock to her banner. The fearsome reputation of the Pirate Queen and her Red Sails spread like wildfire from port to port as the harrowing tales of their attacks became the main topic of discussion in smoky taverns and crowded inns.\nWhen the time was right, Fortunata and her armada sailed into Anvil Harbor and grabbed control of the city. Now Provincial Governor Fortunata and her Red Sails enforcers claim the entire Gold Coast as their personal domain. It's estimated that the Red Sails have more than two dozen vessels under the blood-red sabers on a white banner. A navy in its own right, the Pirate Queen could lay claim to any port she desired. And without the Imperial Navy to oppose her, it's just a matter of time before she sets her sights beyond the Gold Coast. Anyone who thinks the Red Sails have reached the pinnacle of their ambition is simply living in denial.\nBrace yourself Abeceans. A storm is coming."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rite-scion": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rite-scion", "description": "An overview of pureblood vampires and their relationship with Lamae Bal", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Rite of the Scion", "text": "What is the Rite of the Scion?\nA ceremony wherein a mortal inflicted with vampiris is accepted by the Blood Matron. This mortal obtains her blood and her favor, becoming a Scion.\nWhat is involved in the ceremony?\nA mortal is presented to the Blood Matron by a Scion. The mortal shall take the name Initiate, the Scion that of Bloodspeaker.\nThe Bloodspeaker must first prepare the accursed symbols of Arkay and Molag Bal. Thereafter, the Initiate drinks from the basin of suffering and the basin of loss and learns the history of Lamae Bal. Then, the Initiate profanes the symbols. Once this is done, the Initiate submits to the Blood Matron and is exsanguinated completely. Should the Blood Matron deem the Initiate worthy, she will revive them with her own blood.\nWhat separates a Scion from a mere vampire?\nA vampire is a victim. They are poor creatures suffering from a disease. Scions are blessed by the Blood Matron directly. More potent is their blood. More terrible is their wrath. More beautiful is their visage.\nVampires are their flock, mortals their fare.\nWhom does the Scion serve?\nThe Scion, child of the Blood Matron, bows to no one. The Mother has broken their bonds. To serve is their choice, but the Mother would see Her children unite and turn their opponents into subjects.\nWhat is the Covenant of the Scion?\nArkay the Forsaker, we curse you. You left us to suffer in darkness.\nBut we survived. And in darkness, we grew.\nNow, we feed upon your followers. We will use their stolen strength to conquer and consume you.\nMolag Bal, Father of Torment, we curse you. You sought to poison us with your blood.\nBut we survived. And from your poison, we grew.\nKing of Corruption, your children are coming. We will defile and destroy you.\nWe step away from the light. We sacrifice the frailty of breath.\nFrom the dead blood of our Mother, we live unburdened. Her curse is our blessing. Her fury, our grace.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rites-abomination": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rites-abomination", "description": "Appears to be a chant for the creation of a briarheart", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Rites of the Abomination", "text": "Thorn and blood.\nThe briar heart's limbs sway.\nFeather and fear.\nThe briar heart's limbs awaken.\nBone and claw.\nThe briar heart's limbs kill.\nDie, briar heart, and lurch to life again."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ritual-appeasement": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ritual-appeasement", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Ritual of Appeasement", "text": "Do not tempt the Daedra Lords with restlessness. Give to them freely as our ancestors did so that their dire gazes do not fall upon our tribe. It is best to offer the Princes their rightful due when the seasons show us their brief favor, lest they call upon us in the lean times. You will know the portents by the fatness of the guar, you will know it by the stench of the sea on the inland, and you will know it by the wanderings of the lost peoples along their false gods' paths.\nLead the tribe to great Almurbalarammi, for that is where the ancestors made their pact and so it will be there that the pact is renewed. Upon arrival, alight a pyre of grain. It must be fed until the ritual has concluded. There will be no full bellies until the Princes have had their fill.\nEach day, as the sun crests the distant waves, gather the living sacrifice at our ancient altar in Almurbalarammi. Split their throats over the stone with the black glass blade and invoke the Daedra Lords while the blood is still fresh. Spurn not one, or our suffering will be assured and terrible.\nSpread the sacrificial entrails to the far corners of the altar before the sun reaches its true height and leave the offering to the Princes' mercy. When the host of Namira and touch of Peryite have befouled the corpse, you will know the day's feast is concluded.\nAttendants may remove the offering and wash the altar with the oils of anointment. On the day of longest dusk, Azura signals that our offerings are satisfactory to the Daedra Lords. Only then may we break our fast and cease our supplication. Do not tarry in Almurbalarammi, for it is their place."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ritual-daedric-fortitude": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ritual-daedric-fortitude", "description": "An invocation for a Daedric ritual", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Ritual of Daedric Fortitude", "text": "By the power of the Daedric Princes, grant me wisdom beyond reckoning.\nBy the breadth and depth of limitless Oblivion, grant me skill beyond imagining.\nBy the bloody mace of Molag Bal, grant me power beyond estimation.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ritual-resonance": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ritual-resonance", "description": "An instructional guide on creating a portal to Coldharbour", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Ritual of Resonance", "text": "The Soul Shriven shriek and writhe in Coldharbour. The Harvester of Souls digests them, makes them mutter and despair. They whisper their secrets to the dead winds of Oblivion, and those with ears attuned will know them and use them.\nGather the implements\n\t\tA steel needle, nightshade, frost salts\n\t\tThe crushed bone of a sacrifice\n\t\tSplintered tooth of a daedroth\nInscribe the circle:\n\t\tThe names and the symbols. Sower of Strife. Lord of Brutality. Corner of the House of Troubles.\nCreate the tool:\n\t\tPurify the needle over a fire of nightshade. Cool it in frost salts. Place upon it an enchantment of sharpness and one of weak shock.\nPrepare the body:\n\t\tCreate a draught of bone and tooth and hold it in the mouth. Inscribe the names and symbols on the flesh of the palms.\nOpen the gate:\n\t\tPlace the needle in the left ear's entrance. Insert so slowly as barely to move. Worldly sounds make way for the cries and secret dreams of the slaves in Coldharbour.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ritual-unbinding": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ritual-unbinding", "description": "A guide to the Ritual of Unbinding", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Ritual of Unbinding", "text": "The Ritual of Unbinding cuts an entity's ties, mystical and magical, to release him or her from all links to mortal and immortal realms. Chant the ritual and invoke the runestone's power to channel energy through the runestone into a binding stone.\nOnce invoked, the runestone creates a key which can later break its connection to its binding stones. The runestone's key must revoke the energies at each binding stone. Most rituals use one or two binding stones; more powerful entities require three. Legends speak of rare creatures that need four.\nNote: One can avoid the bound entity's death by invoking the Rite of Proxy. For this, use the runestone on a willing sacrifice. That person's life will be forfeit, and the bound entity is freed. The key thus created will be energized with the soul of the proxy sacrifice.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rituals-contempt": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rituals-contempt", "description": "The search for the Hand", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Rituals of Contempt", "text": "Nothing would please me more than to put all these rot-pickers to fire and sword, but the Hand must be found! I hear it calling to us, out of the filth and detritus that surrounds this stinking place.\nI shall endeavor to summon up some allies. Perhaps the Hand's presence will make it easier for them to remain here and search, or perhaps they will be drawn to the Hand.\nI cannot stay, however. These damn scale-skins are everywhere, and I do not want to chance revealing what's washed down into their filthy claws."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rituals-harmonious-masters": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rituals-harmonious-masters", "description": "Pamphlet explaining this particular cult of Stendarr", "author": "Aritanwe of Lillandril", "title": "Rituals of the Harmonious Masters", "text": "Some Elves disdain to venerate the et'Ada Stendarr on the grounds that he is the Apologist of Men, and thus unworthy of worship by the Children of Aldmeris. But if these narrow folk would open their souls to Stendarr's mercy, they would understand that Stendarr in his love cherishes and protects ALL mortals, even\u2014perhaps particularly\u2014those who are less fortunate in their heritage.\nIt is for this reason that we of the Sect of Harmonious Masters have dedicated ourselves to adapting the magic of Stendarr's Light into spells of healing that can be employed by all the mortal races, not even excepting the beast peoples. The restorative virtues of our rituals and ceremonies are equally efficacious for every race. They can be cast by individuals of every blood, no matter how degraded, so long as they have the will and the wisdom to learn how to use them.\nAs Stendarr, in his boundless mercy, has given all mortals the potential ability to employ his magical gifts, we of the Harmonious Masters feel honor-bound to provide knowledge of these spells to all the peoples of Nirn freely and without hindrance. We can think of no higher cause than to improve the general welfare of all folk in every culture."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/river-trolls-exterminator": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/river-trolls-exterminator", "description": "Trolls got into a secret passage, and the Captain is not happy", "author": "Fortunata ap Dugal", "title": "River Trolls Exterminator?", "text": "To All Red Sails Captains,\nWhich one of you imbeciles thought it was a good idea to lure a pair of river trolls into my secret escape tunnel? Yes, they keep anyone from getting curious and wandering into the tunnel from the entry cave, but they also make it difficult for me to come and go as I please!\nThe last time I decided to sneak out of the castle, I had to toss an entire bucket full of roast ducks into the far corner or I would have never gotten past those dreadful beasts.\nNow, either come up with a method for me to safely avoid the trolls or get the damn creatures out of my tunnels! If they're still there the next time I need to use my secret passage, I'm going to lock the lot of you down there with them!\nFortunata ap Dugal"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rivers-profit-riften": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rivers-profit-riften", "description": "A thief's guide to Riften", "author": "Eyes-With-Intent", "title": "Rivers of Profit in Riften", "text": "The town of Riften offers intriguing opportunities for the enterprising rogue, though hidden quicksands lurk as well. The Rift has little fertile ground for our endeavors and Riften is the only locale I can recommend for even a brief visit.\nOnce in town, a base of operations can be established at the Withered Tree or Shadehome Inn; both cater to the discerning traveler. A casual perusal of the town will yield several prospects, but I erect the spine of warning. All scouting must be circumspect, with purchase of an item from one of the town's many merchants. For the town guard are active and unusually suspicious of strangers, especially those not of the Nord race. A meandering walk, without a local purchase in hand, will quickly land one in a cell.\nThe island that forms the heart of town, surrounded by the invigorating waters of the nearby lake, contains several merchant stalls. A quick purchase there will soothe the guards' suspicions. And it affords a glance at the merchants' goods. These vary greatly in quality and selection, so the stalls of greatest interest I leave to each to determine for himself.\nTo the north are two buildings of note. Two merchant families of long standing sell wares not generally available in the island stalls. The Rothalens sell crafting materials, including a few very specialized and rare items. This Dunmer family is tolerated in Riften for the glamor their wares add to the otherwise mundane town. The Rothalens, like all Dunmer, are grasping and suspicious, employing an unfortunate number of guards and more-esoteric security measures. The claw of greed should be tempered with the hiss of caution here.\nNext to the Rothalens is the establishment of Guram Ironarm. This retired blacksmith and his family cater to the weaponsmithing and armorer crafts. Virtually all materials needed for these endeavors can be found here, making this shop a destination for crafters from across the Rift. Security here is handled by the Ironarm clan, and a dozen severed hands nailed above the entrance attest to the family zeal.\nOn the Guard Captain's quarters and the Fighters Guild we need not dwell, for only the foolish dive into waters so deep and swift-running with no reward in sight.\nAh, but the Mages Guildhall, the most impressive edifice in Riften! My claws quiver in remembrance of the treasures contained therein. Spell components, rare scrolls, and powerful magical items\u2014a trove unique in the Rift. Alas, the safeguards upon them are both subtle and deadly. Venture into this building with all senses alert.\nAlong the water's edge are the town's docks. While the simple-minded fish from them or gaze into the murky waters, for the acquisitive among us they hold greater delights. Merchants who prefer the shadows can be found along the lower level of the docks, conducting business in the delightfully damp warehouses at the waterline. A purchaser for goods of any sort can usually be found here. The town guard avoids the underdocks or patrols only in large, easily avoided groups.\nA grating at one end of the docks leads into a small sewer system. Now used only as a rat pathway, perhaps as Riften grows this will eventually be extended underneath the entire town, rendering it more useful for clandestine operations.\nIn the hopes that I may contribute to the expansion of our guild's knowledge, I offer this record of my experiences in the town of Riften. Stay moist, comrades.\nRespectfully submitted,\n\tEyes-With-Intent"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rkindalefts-council-chiefs": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rkindalefts-council-chiefs", "description": "Trapped inside a Dwemeri ruin, Orcish chieftains must decide between a death in battle or what may lie deeper within", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Rkindaleft's Council of Chiefs", "text": "Day 15\n\tWe chiefs have met for many days. Our enemy waits on the outside, but we do not know what waits within, only that food runs low.\nThe devices in this ruin begin to cool. The ice will form again before long, locking us behind walls thicker than Orsinium before its fall.\nThe question is: leave, or venture further in?\nDay 17\n\tAt long last, we decided to send a scout. We shall see if anything lies on the other side of this ruin.\nDay 18\n\tThe scout returned. He reports a valley, warmed by these Dwarven contraptions, and rich in game for slaughter.\nThe other chiefs are eager to believe his reports, though I am skeptical. From the way the scout talks, he has found Hircine's own hunting grounds.\nDay 19\n\tWe held a vote. I cast mine for a valorous end in battle, to avenge the dead of Orsinium, to redress the betrayal of Baloth Bloodtusk.\nBut the scout's hyperbole carried the day. We move further in."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/orc-council": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/orc-council", "description": "A scout reports a bountiful valley beyond the frozen ruin in which they are trapped", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Rkindaleft's Council of Chiefs", "text": "Day 15\n\tThe chiefs have met for many days. Our enemy waits on the outside, but we do not know what waits within, only that food runs low and the devices in this ruin are starting to cool.\nThe question is: leave or venture further in, in hopes of finding an exit on the other side.\nDay 17\n\tAt long last, it was decided to send a scout further in to see if anything lies on the other side of this ruin.\nDay 18\n\tThe scout has returned. He reports a valley, warmed by these Dwarven contraptions, and rich in game for slaughter. The chiefs are eager to believe his reports, though I am skeptical. From the way the scout talks, he has found Hircine's own hunting grouds.\nDay 19\n\tA vote was held. I cast mine for a valorous end, in battle, against our enemies, for the dead of Orsinium. But the scout's hyperbole carried the day. We move further in."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/robiers-vegetable-garden": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/robiers-vegetable-garden", "description": "A frightening tale about a wealthy Breton's farm", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Robier's Vegetable Garden", "text": "A rich Breton named Robier, often called \"Uncle\" by his neighbors, owned a great plantation whose crops fed dozens of villages. Day and night his serfs worked the fields, plucking aphids and worms out by their fingernails if they had to in order to make the produce the best and most delicious in all of High Rock.\n\tThen the Creature invaded his fields. Beneath the noses of the workers, it devoured potatoes and cabbages, carrots and lettuce, radishes and beans.\nIt stumped the efforts of the serfs to catch it. Sometimes, people would think they had it, dive forward to grab it, and impale themselves on tools left upon the ground! Other times, the Creature would sneak up behind them in broad daylight and push them over to break their necks!\nIt was believed that Uncle Robier was cursed somehow, and the Creature was some kind of revenge for a person he had wronged in his past. The serfs abandoned the fields, willing to risk a week in the stocks rather than death at the hands of the Creature.\nSoon Uncle Robier's fields were stripped bare by the ravenous Creature, and even he began to believe the superstition himself. He locked himself in his chateau and pleaded to the Divines, but they were silent. All Robier could hear was the sound of the Creature scratching beneath the floorboards, inside the walls, and in his cupboards as it devoured all he had left to eat.\nHuddled inside his bedroom in the dark of night, Robier watched as his last candle burned itself to a nub and went out. Then the Creature devoured him as well."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rogue-elements": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rogue-elements", "description": "A note revealing the existence of the Oathbreakers", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Rogue Elements", "text": "According to my research, there exists in these woods a branch of the Wood Elves who do not believe in the Green Pact. They do not keep its tenets, and do not associate with others.\nI intend to find them, learn the reason behind their decision, and bring them into alignment with the Aldmeri Dominion.\nWe have enough troubles without rogue elements skulking through the forest.\nMeet me there.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/roleas-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/roleas-journal", "description": "A werewolf couple seeks shelter among their own kind", "author": "Rolea", "title": "Rolea's Journal", "text": "Moon Hunter Keep is our last chance. The Silver Dawn has already killed the rest of the pack, and by Sovngarde, I won't lose Horth too. We have to make our way to Shadowfen.\nThere's always safety in numbers, and it's rumored that there's no pack as large of Vykosa's. They've already defeated the Silver Dawn in battle. Troll's blood, they've even taken the order's own keep! If anyone can protect us, it's them.\n***\nThe Moon Hunter Pack isn't quite as welcoming as I hoped. Perhaps I was a fool to see this place as a safe haven, but still. Something here doesn't sit right with me.\nAs soon as we arrived, we were met with distrust. Horth told me that's just how most packs are. We would first have to prove our loyalty and strength to be truly accepted. Though that may be true, there's a certain malice in the eyes of these pack members that fill me with dread.\n***\nI'm so sorry, Horth. I thought this was our chance. To finally be safe. To finally stop running. But I was wrong. I knew I was wrong, the moment we stepped into this dreadful place.\nBut we survived. Together, we escaped that cursed hedge maze. Together, we shouldered the pack's abuse and insults. The things we did to prove ourselves, they haunt me still.\nBut we survived.\nAnd then the Archivist called you, and we were separated. For the first time I felt dread, true dread, that you weren't going to come back to me. And you didn't.\nI'm sorry. You're dead, and I can't even avenge your death. I'm too broken to fight back. I'm too broken to even run.\nMay you find peace within the Hunting Grounds. And may I join you there soon."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/roost-smugglers-ledger": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/roost-smugglers-ledger", "description": "A ledger of smuggled items", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Roost Smuggler's Ledger", "text": "Current Stock:\n\t\t42 barrels unprocessed moon-sugar\n\t\t12 barrels refined moon-sugar\n\t\t4 barrels processed moon-sugar\n\t\t7 cases \"S\" (80 phials/case)\nWith Dominion stickypaws crawling around Khenarthi's Roost, we must keep production low. No outgoing shipments! Hide everything but unprocessed barrels. If the stickypaws ask, say moon-sugar stores best in cool places. That's all the Wind Tunnels are\u2014a cool place for sugar storage.\nJone and Jode may have sent us a savior. One of our runners met a Dominion sailor who doesn't mind a little gold on the side. If the old sea-cat's vessel makes it off the shoals, we have a way to make the Vulkhel Guard run.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/roots-silvenar": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/roots-silvenar", "description": "Notes on the excavation of Silvenar", "author": "Adavos Dren", "title": "Roots of Silvenar", "text": "The excavation is going well. Before long, we'll reach the deep roots to collect samples.\nKeep pressing the Nords, and we can stay ahead of schedule. If they complain, let the mead flow and remind them of the contract.\n\u2014 Adavos Dren\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rosalinds-orders": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rosalinds-orders", "description": "Arrangements for defending a town", "author": "Rosalind", "title": "Rosalind's Orders", "text": "Edgard,\nI'm sending everyone to you. Hide them and keep them safe. Your inn is the biggest, most defensible building in town. You can post archers at the windows on the second floor and barricade the front door.\nMuriel will make healing poultices for my guards until she absolutely can't make anymore. I'm going to try to light the signal fire so Eagle's Brook can see what's happening here. Maybe they can send help.\nLeon is praying for us. He's hoping for a miracle and I won't get in his way, but the Divines help those who help themselves. We've all got our parts to play.\nWhen the guards fall back, Marlene will help you organize a defense here. Good luck.\n\u2014 Rosalind\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rothondothrins-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rothondothrins-journal", "description": "Journal of a Altmeri traveler", "author": "Rothondothrin", "title": "Rothondothrin's Journal", "text": "Dear Journal,\nI'm fed up with the monotony of my life. I'm going to compile a list of places I need to visit and plan on seeing at least one per year. I hope it's possible.\n1. Skywatch. I need to start small. Achievable. Maybe put in trips to the North and South Beacons. It's sad I haven't even been very far outside of Firsthold.\n2. Tanzelwil. This is one of the ritual sites that our leaders must pray at. The historical and cultural value will be worth it.\n3. Torinaan. Another ritual area for the Aldmeri ruler.\n4. Elden Root. I hope I manage to get there eventually. Valenwood in general is a goal, but seeing the capital of the Bosmer, regardless of how uncivilized they may be, sounds fascinating.\n5. Dune. Like Elden Root, the Khajiiti city also holds a fascination for me. If I can make it to Elden Root and back, I can surely make it to Dune.\n6. Falinesti. I've heard rumors that the city has vanished, but the sites where it lived for the four seasons are still large attractions.\nThese are just the beginning. I'll add more as I discover more! And perhaps if the Alliance War ever ends, I may venture out to Cyrodiil and beyond. I'd love to see Morrowind, the land of our dark cousins, and visit Argonia especially. The exotic descriptions of their terrain sound beyond imagination!\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rotten-bread-and-spoiled-meat": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rotten-bread-and-spoiled-meat", "description": "Dinner is not appetizing tonight", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Rotten Bread and Spoiled Meat", "text": "Well, that did it. My last twenty coins frittered away at market so I could eat bad local food for the next few days. I long for the sweet, sweet flavor of the cuisine brought in by Khajiiti peddlers. The things they do with their food!\nOh, I remember the scent of the delicious cakes, wearing fresh glaze as though it were polished armor. Even the meaty stews had a succulent, honeyed sweetness that caressed the tongue and brought shivers of delight. Just the memory makes me ravenous.\nI suppose I'd better go boil up this pickled goose foot or whatever horrible thing it is the butcher sold me. Alas."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/royal-decree": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/royal-decree", "description": "A royal decree stripping a court mage of his title", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Royal Decree", "text": "By decree of Queen Ayrenn, the Court Mage Sanessalmo is henceforth stripped of all titles, duties, and rights accorded to him by his position.\nThe outcast Sanessalmo is furthermore banished from the Summerset Isles for his crimes against the citizenry of the Dominion.\nBy the will of the queen, he has one week to remove himself from the heart of the Dominion, or face charges most serious. And consequences most fatal.\nBy the Queen's hand!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/royal-messengers-fate": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/royal-messengers-fate", "description": "The messenger is dead of \"natural causes\" and his pro-Orsimer message is not believed", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Royal Messenger's Fate", "text": "Sir Marq,\nThe royal messenger of \"High-King Emeric\" is dead. It happened during the transfer. The wall crumbled and a troll grabbed the messenger. He was dead before he knew what was happening.\nA High King allowing Orcs to rebuild Orsinium seems a great lie, but the messenger would not alter his story despite repeated questioning. With the messenger now dead, is there any hope of honorably ending our service?\nWhat hope is there for us now?\nVigilance eternal,\nSir Emmath"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ruddy-man-rhyme": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ruddy-man-rhyme", "description": "A children's rhyme about this scarry creature", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Ruddy Man Rhyme", "text": "(A Dark Elf Children's Rhyme)\nRemember when the Ruddy Man is about\n\tYou cannot scream and you cannot shout\n\tYou cannot run, you cannot hide,\n\tHe's already killed everyone who tried!\nWhat does the Ruddy Man like to eat?\n\tDark Elf eyes and Dark Elf feet!\n\tDark Elf tongues and Dark Elf toes!\n\tHide all you want, the Ruddy Man knows!\nWhen is the Ruddy Man out to play?\n\tWhenever the sky turns dark and gray!\n\tHe's in that mine, no, he's in that cave,\n\tHe wants to send you to your grave!\nWho can defeat the great Ruddy Man?\n\tOur Lord Vivec, that's who can!\n\tHe'll slash and strike the Ruddy Man through\n\tAnd then he'll make some Ruddy Man stew!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ruined-watchmasters-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ruined-watchmasters-journal", "description": "Mutiny, plots, and the slow decline of Pale Watch", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Ruined Watchmaster's Journal", "text": "(Many of the entries are smudged and illegible.)\n24th Sun's Dawn, 2E 442\nIt has been months since the last communique and the knights grow restless. Some have been crowing to abandon the Hold. I have already ordered the scourging of two soldiers for seditious talk. I fear that soon corporal punishment may not be enough.\n2nd Rain's Hand, 2E 459\nI was forced to hang three junior officers for an attempted mutiny. The response has been mixed. There is renewed obedience in some sectors, but Captain Retene was popular. I fear that the next plot may be more difficult to disrupt. I have promoted Gisbourne to Quartermaster and instructed him to keep all arms under lock and key until this rebellious element is snuffed out. All this unpleasantness could be dispelled by a single dispatch from Shornhelm. Eight help me. No matter the cost, I will hold to my duty.\n12th First Seed, 2E 460\nGisbourne and I have concocted a plot to save the Hold and the Pale Watch. I do not know why I now commit it to paper. Perhaps a guilty conscience? If this plan bears fruit, the guilt will be worth it.\nGisbourne and his second created a sophisticated forgery. The document purportedly comes from King Maxevian's heir, and orders us to maintain our presence here indefinitely. I believe it may just work. Many of the soldiers have been conducting secret marriages and settling into familiar routines. Many of these activities contradict standard military procedure, but I allow them to play out anyway. Marriages, children, comfort, routine \u2026 these are the things that deaden wanderlust and harden the roots. So long as the troops maintain military readiness and hold to the chain of command, I will continue to turn a blind eye.\n5th Morning Star, 2E 471\nI write this with an unsteady hand. I fear that death is not far off.\nGisbourne, the Watch (and this journal) will soon be yours. For years we have nursed this weakened regiment back to health. I am sure it will thrive under your leadership.\nContinue the work. Pass on the traditions. Preserve the glory of Shornhelm and suffer not the Orcs to rebuild. This was, is, and ever shall be our oath. See it upheld. Eight protect you and our Pale Watch."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rulantarils-notes": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rulantarils-notes", "description": "A note on Crow's Wood", "author": "Rulantaril Oran", "title": "Rulantaril's Notes", "text": "I write this in the hope that my son, Telbaril, someday understands why I did what I did.\nLearning proper magic is something they teach you here at the guild, but it is not the only way. There is so much knowledge that is traditionally forbidden by the decrees of those who fear true power and those who wield it.\nKnow that there are places beyond Tamriel where the cunning and the wary can go to learn forgotten spells. I speak of the planes of Oblivion. The sea of limitless dimensions contains an endless series of islands. Some are controlled by the mighty Daedric Princes; others are loosely connected to one minor Daedra Lord or another. On these islands, creatures dwell who possess secrets out of time. Some are there of their own volition, but others are banished there for crimes either heinous or imagined.\nIf you are reading this, Telbaril, know that I found one such place long ago. Know that it is not far from the city in which you now sit within a tiny cave by the docks. It is called the Crow's Wood.\nAnd son, if you decide to follow me, bring all of your cunning with you."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rules-nikolvaras-kennel": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rules-nikolvaras-kennel", "description": "Rules for dealing with Durzogs", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Rules of Nikolvara's Kennel", "text": "1. Do not attempt to feed a durzog without the beast-master present.\n2. Wear protective leather on arms and legs at all times.\n3. Never look a durzog directly in the eye.\n4. Approved songs: The Drunken Dog, Winter in the Keep, Punch the Mage in the Face\n5. Disapproved songs: Lusty Argonian Maid, Ring Around the Durzog 6. Should a durzog escape its cage, do not attempt to subdue. Kill it on sight.\n7. Durzogs are not dogs. Do not give them nicknames like \"Spot\" or \"Rover.\"\n8. Complacency will get you killed.\n9. Don't whistle."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rultaris-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rultaris-journal", "description": "Written during a quarantine from plague", "author": "Rultari", "title": "Rultari's Journal", "text": "The steward came from town today to visit father. He's always been a bit pinched, but his expression today seemed more genuine, like he's really worried, for the first time in a long while. He's more tight-lipped than usual as well. Normally he would relish the opportunity to comment on just how busy and indispensable he is, but I can't get a word out of him. Perhaps father will care to share the details over supper.\n\u2014\nFather was gone nearly all day yesterday. It was well after dark when he returned to the estate and the clamor roused me from my bed. He must have had a few dozen people in tow, mostly sailors by the look, and nearly as many among the town guard. I thought, perhaps, he intended to move heirlooms abroad under cover of darkness. He led them all down into the family vaults. It all seemed rather clandestine. I waited for nearly an hour by the window in the dark, hoping to catch a glimpse of something that would make sense of it, but when he reemerged he was alone.\n\u2014\nI woke this morning to find the house guard posted by my door. I was informed that my father has ordered the entire family to remain within the manor until further notice. I did not receive the news graciously. I hoped to appeal his tyrannical measure by planting myself before his chamber and ambushing him the moment he returned. I skipped breakfast, lunch, and dinner pacing the hall like a lion in a cage, but he never appeared. Tonight I'm sleeping in front of his door.\n* * *\nI have a knot on my head from father's chamber door. A rude awakening, courtesy of my baffled mother. After a scolding for my ridiculous behavior, she took pity on me and shared what she knew of my father's sudden strange behavior. A deep sea fishing fleet arrived in port with a king's bounty worth of catch some days ago, but many of their number have taken ill in the time since. Father has them all quarantined underground while he studies their condition.\n* * *\nThe steward paid us another visit. His expression told me that he did not have good news to deliver. More arrivals were led from town to the vaults under our estate.\n* * *\nFather has not come to see us in nearly two weeks. Not since all this began. Come to think, I'm not sure he's seen the sun either. That can't be healthy. I hope he's not ill. I don't know how he stands it. I, for one, am going stir crazy in this gilded prison, but at least there are a windows to remind me that there's a world beyond. He should have just put those sailors back out to sea.\n* * *\nMaybe it's the loss of my sense of time speaking, but I feel like the trickle of townsfolk coming from town is growing more rapid. What I wouldn't give for some wine to settle my nerves, but there's not a drop left here. I can't remember the last time water filled a cup in this house. Dark times.\n* * *\nI heard some of the house guards gossiping about unrest in the town. It appears we aren't the only ones trapped here. My father issued a decree that none may enter or leave Corgrad until this plague has passed. Given that it's been months, I can understand where these kindred souls are coming from. All we can do is wait and hope the disease doesn't come for us.\nThose brought from the town in the later stages of the disease barely seem Mer at all. Even draped in cloaks to preserve their dignity, it's easy to tell they are misshapen as the stretchers bear them to the vaults. What happens to the ones who've surely passed by now? I don't care to think about it.\n* * *\nI hate to drink at my writing desk, but I've been feeling parched all day. Seems like I can hardly go a moment without wetting my tongue or it starts to feel like I'm filing down the backs of my teeth with it. We're fortunate to be able to draw our own water here. If I had to walk to the town well every time I needed a drink today, I'd either be very fit or stricken with exhaustion.\n* * *\nMerciful Stendarr, please help us. I can't stop. I drink until I vomit, but I'm so thirsty. Make it stop!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ruminations-guard-kleo": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ruminations-guard-kleo", "description": "Small parchment found near a dangerous foe", "author": "Guard Kleo", "title": "Ruminations by Guard Kleo", "text": "Day 17\nGuarding nobles on a trip across Glenumbra. Could anything be more boring?\nWe've reached the Western Overlook outside Daggerfall. Snore! I may just fall asleep if something doesn't happen soon."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ruminations-elder-scroll-eso": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ruminations-elder-scroll-eso", "description": "A series of puzzling metaphors attempting to describe the elder scrolls...From the future!", "author": "Septimus Signus", "title": "Ruminations on the Elder Scroll", "text": "By Septimus Signus, College of Winterhold\nImagine living beneath the waves with a strong-sighted blessing of most excellent fabric. Holding the fabric over your gills, you would begin to breathe\u2014drink its warp and weft. Though the plant-matter fibers imbue your soul, the wretched plankton would pollute the cloth until it stank to heavens of prophecy. This is one manner in which the Scrolls first came to pass, but are we the sea, or the breather, or the fabric? Or are we the breath itself?\nCan we flow through the Scrolls as knowledge flows through, being the water, or are we the stuck morass of sea-filth that gathers on the edge?\nImagine, again, this time but different. A bird cresting the wind is lifted by a gust and downed by a stone. But the stone can come from above, if the bird is upside down. Where, then, did the gust come from? And which direction? Did the gods send either, or has the bird decreed their presence by her own mindmaking?\nThe all-sight of the Scrolls makes a turning of the mind such that relative positions are absolute in their primacy.\nI ask you again to imagine for me. This time you are beneath the ground, a tiny acorn planted by some well-meaning Elf-maiden of the woodlands for her pleasure. You wish to grow but fear what you may become, so you push off the water, the dirt, the sun, to stay in your hole. But it is in the very pushing that you become a tree, in spite of yourself. How did that happen?\nThe acorn is a kind of tree-egg in this instance, and the knowledge is water and sun. We are the chicken inside the egg, but also the dirt. The knowledge from the Scrolls is what we push against to become full-sighted ourselves.\nOne final imagining before your mind closes from the shock of ever-knowing. You are now a flame burning bright blue within a vast emptiness. In time you see your brothers and sisters, burnings of their own in the distance and along your side. A sea of pinpoints, a constellation of memories. Each burns bright, then flickers. Then two more take its place\u2014but not forever, lest the void fill with rancid light that sucks the thought.\nEach of our minds is actually the emptiness, and the learnings of the Scrolls are the pinpoints. Without their stabbing light, my consciousness would be as a vast nothingness, unknowing its emptiness as a void is unknowing of itself. But the burnings are dangerous, and must be carefully tended and minded and brought to themselves and spread to their siblings.\n(Note by Ancestor Moth Brother Quintus Nerevelus: Found this at the back of the library stacks behind the Scroll of Rhunen. It had obviously been there a long time, yet the printer's sigil notes its publication date as \"4E 195.\" This is obviously a transcription error. I think.)"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ruminations-lunar-vaults": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ruminations-lunar-vaults", "description": "Khajiit must learn to be patient", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Ruminations on the Lunar Vaults", "text": "The Khajiit is not a patient creature - Shadhassi-dra knows this from experience. This one has spent a lifetime teaching ja'khajiit to walk the moonlit path. The road to enlightenment is a long one, beset by many terrors, but Jone and Jode grant each of their children gifts to help them along. Some novices are born quick-minded, others are swift and graceful; but in fifty years of teaching, Shadhassi-dra has never seen a ja'khajiit who was born patient.\nIt is not just the youth who struggle with this craving for immediacy. Even the oldest and wisest cats' tails start to twitch when they are forced to wait too long for something they want. We are born curious, and we die curious. Var var var. For the truth-seeker, such energetic curiosity can be an asset. But when that curiosity gives way to agitation our paws can get tangled up. Only meditation and patience will untie them.\nIf you seek to calm a restless spirit, this one suggests meditating outside the temple's lunar vault. It is a spotless and holy place, just a few pounces from the Suthay Gate. The vault contains blessed trinkets and our most sacred artifacts, but it only opens in the full light of Jone and Jode or in the darkness of their absence. A true child of the Moons will find great value in the waiting."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rumors-spiral-skein": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rumors-spiral-skein", "description": "A detailed description of Mephala's realm of Oblivion", "author": "the Derisive Necromite", "title": "Rumors of the Spiral Skein", "text": "Mephala! Webspinner! Teacher of the Secret Arts! Queen of the Eight Shadows of Murder! Though others may reign over us, deep in the night we still hear your whisper!\nAnd we do not forget.\nIn Oblivion you keep your secrets, and the secrets of all those entangled in your webs of subterfuge and semblance. The Spiral Skein is your realm, and like Nirn, in its center is a Tower: the Pillar Palace of Mephala, whose true name is too awful to be uttered.\nSpun 'round this pillar, like spokes, are the Eight Strands of the Skein. To each its own space, and to each space its sin.\nFirst is a cavern of plinths and pedestals. Each is a lie, for they pretend to hold up the sky\u2014and the sky is the greatest lie of all.\nSecond are the chambers of envy, for compared to the cavern above they are cramped and confined, and therefore they hate the cavern.\nThird are grottoes alluring and seductive, for their walls and ceilings glow like a million stars that sing a song of love. But the glowing lights are maggots, and the song they sing is decay.\nFourth are the tunnels of fear, for they are eternally dark, and where there is darkness, there is dread.\nFifth are the halls where fair is foul and foul is fair, and every belief is a betrayal.\nSixth is the arena of murder, for ever shall betrayal be followed by murder.\nSeventh are the arcades of avarice and appetite, for contained therein are all things mortals would kill or die for.\nEighth is the flaming skein of fury, for as death comes to all mortals, therefore all treasures are lies.\nThis is the Spiral Skein. The tower is One. The strands are Eight. The lessons are Forever."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ruurifins-journal-entry-1": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ruurifins-journal-entry-1", "description": "What happens if you build a city in an angry jungle?", "author": "Ruurifin", "title": "Ruurifin's Journal, Entry 1", "text": "The Ayleids were fools. Stone and glass and magic against root and bark and feral instinct. How did they think they would win? Build a city in an angry jungle and you get an angry city.\nThe heart of the jungle is the heart of the city, beneath the central Welkynd Stone. It pulses. It breathes. It speaks."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ruuvitars-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ruuvitars-journal", "description": "Alchemist's research on Hist Sap", "author": "Ruuvitar", "title": "Ruuvitar's Journal", "text": "Initial experiments uncovered a formula to duplicate the mnemic phenomenon. We've yet to replicate the processes utilized by a \"Tree-Minder,\" yet our solution is both elegant and thorough.\nThe Hist sap proves to be an invaluable by-product. I hope to bring many specimens back to the Crystal Tower to further research possible uses.\nMost Argonian subjects prove uncooperative, but we've had some success using the extractions from the Hist as a crude form of coercive.\nThis warrants a full investigation, one which I will personally oversee.\n\u2014 Alchemist Ruuvitar"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sacred-places": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sacred-places", "description": "An Argonian returns to her homeland looking for her people's past", "author": "Goes-Here-and-There", "title": "Sacred Places", "text": "My mother whispered this verse to me in the days when we lived amongst the Dark Elves against our will:\n\"Hidden from view\n\tTouched not by dew\n\tSacred places wait.\"\nWe Argonians have so little from the time before the Dunmer came. Stone relics, crumbling xanmeers, and an instinctive trust in the Hist. Since our return to Black Marsh, I've searched for these sacred places, hoping to recover more of our valuable past.\nI brought my mother to Stormhold, where she hatched so long ago. She breathed the heavy air in delight, knowing she would return to the Hist of her parents. As her life slipped away, I stayed beside her.\n\"Do you remember that song?\" I asked, when it was clear she would join our ancestors by nightfall. \"Hidden from view \u2026?\"\n\"Yes,\" she said, her voice weak. \"My mother sang it to me too. You will find it, my daughter. Even you.\"\n\"Even me?\"\n\"Even one who would find and sell our past for profit,\" she rasped accusingly. I looked away, but she continued, \"The Hist is our treasure, and it can be neither bought nor sold.\"\nThe meaning struck me then, and I was at once angry and ashamed."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sacred-rites-stonechewers": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sacred-rites-stonechewers", "description": "Study of a Goblin tribe and their beliefs", "author": "Nellic Sterone", "title": "Sacred Rites of the Stonechewers ", "text": "For several seasons I have been observing the Stonechewer Goblin tribe, recording their daily activities and becoming familiar with their customs and routines. Over time I have deliberately crept closer and closer to the limits of their tribal camp, occasionally showing myself briefly so the subjects would become used to my proximity. At one point a warrior out to relieve himself behind a tree stumbled upon my observation post, and when he grunted and drew his crude-but-serviceable short sword I thought my work had come to an untimely end. Luckily the tribal shaman was nearby, and he intervened on my behalf, speaking harshly to the warrior and knocking aside his sword. The shaman pointed at me and slowly rotated his hand near his head, which I assume is a Goblin gesture denoting acknowledgement of superior intellect. Who would have suspected these so-called primitives had such regard for scholarship?\nAfter that there were no more incidents of hostility, and the Goblins tolerated my presence, so long as I kept a respectful distance from their females and offspring. Occasionally a warrior would bark at me, but I simply replied by making the hand-rotating \"intelligence\" gesture next to my head, and the warrior would shrug and go back to his business.\nAs so little is known about the religious practices of the Goblin race, I decided to make the shaman of the tribe my particular study. The symbol of his office was a bone rod, probably a femur, with a small skull affixed to the end\u2014possibly an infant's. This skull was ornamented with an assortment of feathers, spines, and animal claws, and filled with something like nut-hulls, for it rattled loudly when shaken. The shaman would shake this holy symbol forcefully when summoning his congregation to sacred rituals, or when the females were not bringing him food or drink rapidly enough.\nAt particularly important rituals the shaman would touch they symbol to his heart, then his head, then point it to the sky and call out, \"Muluk!\" At first I found this confusing, given the similarity of \"muluk\" to the Goblin words \"muulk,\" which they use when chastising their durzogs or children, or \"mluku,\" the term for fecal matter. But gradually I learned to differentiate, and one day I realized that by crying \"Muluk!\" the shaman must be invoking the god of the Goblins.\nAnd then it struck me: \"Muluk\" is not really much different from \"Mauloch.\" Could the god of the Goblins and the god of the Orcs be one and the same?\nThis is the kind of discovery that could win me tenure at the College of Wayrest! I must get independent confirmation of this revelation. But how?"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sacred-waters-shining-sea": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sacred-waters-shining-sea", "description": "An advertisement for the healing waters of Moonshine Shoal", "author": "Moon-Bishop Shavka", "title": "Sacred Waters of the Shining Sea", "text": "Pelitine is Jone and Jode's blessed kingdom, a land rich in sacred sugar. Even the shores brim with the Twin Moons' bounty. In truth, all the moonlight shining down upon the tides flows into Topal Bay and gathers in our holy sanctuary, the Moonlit Cove. Here, sheltered from the harsh rays of the daytime sun, the soothing glow of the infused moonlight fills the natural cavern with the serene calm of the night sky.\nThese blessed waters provide succor for the mind, body, and soul. Khajiit from all over Elsweyr come to bathe within the Moonshine Shoal or at our sacred shrines, where they cast off their ills to emerge spotless and refreshed. For only the tiniest of donations and a refundable towel deposit, you too can behold the wonders of the cove and be rejuvenated in its sanctified waters. Our Moon-Priests look forward to tending to your purification."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sacrilege-and-mayhem-alikr": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sacrilege-and-mayhem-alikr", "description": "Necromancy in the court of Sentinel", "author": "Doctor Tazhim", "title": "Sacrilege and Mayhem in the Alik'r ", "text": "A Report to the Royal Family of Hegathe\n\tBy Doctor Tazhim of the Bureau of Outlander Affairs\n\tO Beloved of Morwha, Blessed by Zeht's Tears,\nYour ignoble servant apologizes for his unworthy existence, and seeks forgiveness for intruding his negligible thoughts into Your Majesties' lofty meditations. In response to your momentary whim of last week, which was to me as an ironclad order, I have prepared a report on the recent outbreak of unholy undeath in the northern Alik'r, and its unorthodox means of suppression.\nI have spoken before about the Ash'abah, a pariah tribe of the northern wastes who are shunned for their unclean interactions with our risen ancestors. Though their origins are ancient, the fact that such an aberration could persist into the modern era must be attributed to covert support by shameless elements of the Forebears, who tolerate the most outrageous non-traditional practices.\nThis hypothesis would seem to be validated by recent events, which I shall now have the honor to recount to Your Majesties. In Sentinel, the usurper Fahara'jad had gathered to him a circle of advisors, some of whom were of untarnished reputation, but others of whom were known Forebear activists who had almost openly opposed the Divines-blessed rule of the late King Ramzi (may Tu'whacca escort his soul to the Far Shores). One of these questionable viziers, Suturah by name, seems to have been not only a bad advisor, but also a secret necromancer. As far as our agents of the Bureau have been able to reconstruct it, this Suturah slew all of \"King\" Fahara'jad's other viziers, then reanimated them in an attempt to kill Fahara'jad himself. The attempt was a failure: Fahara'jad escaped, but so did Suturah.\nSuturah fled to the east, where he was joined by elements of the Cult of the Black Worm (which Your Majesties will recall from my report of 2nd Rain's Hand). Undead, mostly Ra-Netu, were raised in numbers from forgotten graveyards in the deep desert, and Suturah led his unclean minions back toward Sentinel.\nShockingly, our informants state that Fahara'jad contaminated himself by personally appealing to the pariah Ash'abah, asking them to intervene against Suturah. The Ash'abah headman, Marimah, agreed, though we have been unable to discover what degrading terms were imposed upon Fahara'jad. In a surprise ambush the Ash'abah, using forbidden mystical means, destroyed Suturah's army of Ra-Netu. Suturah himself, it is said, fell under the blade of the exile Marimah.\nFahara'jad, of course, has been careful to stay quiet about his appeal to the Ash'abah, and has publicly thanked the Divines for holy intervention on Sentinel's behalf. I leave it to Your Majesties to decide if we should spread about the rumor of the Forebear usurper's impure meeting with the pariahs."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sadrith-mora-tax-records": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sadrith-mora-tax-records", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Sadrith Mora Tax Records", "text": "These taxes are to be payed, in full, on the first day of every season.\nTrendrus Veralor - 27 Gold\n\tManwe Relthren - 5 Gold\n\tRulnannariel -16 Gold\n\tBrelayne Dulo - 257 Gold\n\tTiras Alvor - 45 Gold\n\tLady Jaxilsu - 372 Gold\n\tSir Dandril - 389 Gold\n\tMulzalt - 7 Gold\n\tBrunelf - 62 Gold\n\tLithidrin - 59 Gold\n\tTilanos Gilaram - 78 Gold\nTotal - 1317 Gold"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sagabars-orders": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sagabars-orders", "description": "A bandit gang's plan to rob a town", "author": "Leonce", "title": "Sagabar's Orders", "text": "Sagabar,\nI have the miller's horse and cart ready to go as soon as we have what we came for. As long as no one tries to be a hero, we should be in the clear. Tell Bulzog to keep the hostages at the old mill south of town. If he doesn't hear from us by midnight, he can start slitting their throats. Since the miller's given us so much trouble, Bulzog can kill his daughter either way. But when we send word that we're clear of town, he should release the mayor's wife and the jeweler's son and then meet us back at camp.\n\u2014 Leonce"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sages-crystal-tower": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sages-crystal-tower", "description": "Introduction to the Sapiarchs and their place in Altmeri society, as well as the Crystal Tower", "author": "Nularan", "title": "Sages of the Crystal Tower", "text": "By Nularan, Mages Guild Scribe\nSome call them wise and learned. Others consider them to be the finest magical minds in the Summerset Isles (though many of my brethren would contest that statement). They are the Sapiarchs, the sages of the Crystal Tower and the instructors of the heirs to the royal throne of Summerset. A few of the greatest mages of the age can be counted among their numbers, but in general they are scholars of magical and esoteric knowledge, each devoted to a specific and singular topic of study.\nThe Sapiarchs serve as the keepers of the Crystal Tower, also called the Lawful Crystal and the Crystal-Like-Law. The tower is so named not because it is constructed of crystal, but because it houses Transparent Law, a magical crystal that rests at the top of the tower.\nA handful of sages live within the tower, tending to its needs and guarding its secrets, while others come and go as their studies dictate. Of course, getting into the tower isn't as simple as walking up and opening the door. The way is hidden and guarded by powerful wards, and the only method for gaining entrance requires the assistance of the Tower Sentinels. This pair of specially attuned Sapiarchs each bear an object needed to access the tower\u2014one of two Resolute Diamonds. When properly attuned and used simultaneously by the Tower Sentinels, the azure diamonds open the path into the Crystal Tower. Only two such Sentinels are ever activated, for each must undergo a long and extensive ritual to link them to the diamonds they bear. Sentinels keep their charge for eleven years before a new pair take up guardianship of the diamonds.\nThe rest of the sagely order is organized into the College of Sapiarchs, with each member dedicated to and responsible for a specific field of magical or esoteric scholarship. Larnatille of Lillandril, Sapiarch of Arcanology, leads the college, which consists of two-hundred-and-twenty-three distinct disciplines assigned to a Sapiarch and his or her assistant. Spread throughout Summerset, the Sapiarchs work individually or in small groups on independent studies or to research specific topics for the college as a whole. Some research can be conducted at the Crystal Tower or at the College of Sapiarchs in Lillandril, but otherwise the sages travel the lands as necessary or lock themselves in their own libraries to ponder the complexities of the world's greatest mysteries.\nAs the interpreters of the Scrolls of Praxis, the precedents by which the rulers of the Summerset Isles govern their domain, the Sapiarchs play a vital role in the maintenance of the Ceremoniarchy. Indeed, the Scrolls of Praxis are said to have foretold that Princess Ayrenn would reflect the restless and turbulent times she was born into and would eventually rule over. When the time is right, heirs to the throne come to the Sapiarchs to study Altmeri Regal Praxis and Ceremoniarchy for a requisite 3,555 days prior to receiving the crown. Afterward, the College of Sapiarchs serves as a powerful resource for the new ruler, offering advice and counsel when called upon.\nFor all their professed learning and scholarly pursuits, the Sapiarchs seem overly interested in signs and portents. They attribute deep and significant meaning to the movements of the constellations, the positions of the moons, the disposition of animals, and even the swirls of foam atop a bowl of century soup. This tug of war between intellectualism and superstition may seem like a contradiction to you and me, but the Sapiarchs see them as two sides of the same coin. And, as with a coin, you need both sides to pay the cost of admission, or so the Sapiarchs say.\nSome of the leading Sapiarch fields of study include Oblivion Studies, Indoctrination, Altmeri Heritage, Enchantment, Mythohistory, Daedric Fallacies, Selenology, and Divine Orthodoxy. To indicate their office and field of study, each carries a title such as Sapiarch of Altmeri Arts or Assistant Sapiarch of Naval Excogitation. A Sapiarch holds the title for life or until he or she petitions to change their area of scholarship. The Tower Sentinels, however, carry out their responsibilities regarding the Resolute Diamonds for a period of eleven years before passing the tower keys to the next Sapiarchs in line and returning to concentrate on their particular fields of study."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/saint-stental": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/saint-stental", "description": "Plaque with information about a painting", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Saint Stental", "text": "\"The Saint Slays the Leaper\"\nFinished this 10th day of Sun's Height in 2E 388 to honor Saint Stental, who slew the demon of Overlook Hill and saved the three Sisters of Kynareth from a terrible fate."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/salamass-epitaph": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/salamass-epitaph", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Salamas's Epitaph", "text": "Who can recount the tales\n\tof the exiles laid afresh\n\tin coffins claimed from unflinching bones\n\tlast resting place for tired flesh?\nHere lie weeping men\n\tand women torn from homes\n\tforgotten but not lost\n\tin halls that became their tombs.\nUntil the last stone is removed\n\tand the prison unsealed\n\twho will sing the mourning hymn\n\tof kings' cruelty revealed?\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/salvagers-torn-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/salvagers-torn-journal", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Salvager's Torn Journal", "text": "\u2014 on arrival. They weren't badly injured, but all suffer terribly from the fisherman's thirst.\nWe nursed them back to health and they've agreed to help search the wreckage for their friends.\nEntry 5\nSo many things washed up on the shore! This one cannot count the foodstuffs and other supplies. We even stumbled across several crates packed with tiny glass vials. Who can guess what they hold? Potions, perhaps? Jurairia will know, it is certain! And she always pays a fair price.\nTomorrow we travel to Mistral with our bounty and new-found friends. Perhaps there they will find more survivors from their fleet? Who can say?"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sanarel-great": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sanarel-great", "description": "A champion with a holy shield", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Sanarel the Great", "text": "Sanarel the Great reigned as Champion for nearly two centuries. His command of shield and blade were unmatched and his victories were swift and merciless. It was said that he carried a magical shield enchanted by Trinimac himself. This artifact had the power to blind his opponents, rendering them defenseless against his initial attacks. As his legend and his arrogance grew, favor with his patron diety waned, leading to his eventual defeat at the hand of the Lava Queen.\nUsurped: Felhorn\nDefeated By: The Lava Queen"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sanavars-research-notes": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sanavars-research-notes", "description": "Is there a relationship between Dwemer and Yokudan star signs?", "author": "Sanavar", "title": "Sanavar's Research Notes", "text": "Day 1\n\tWe know that the Dwarves had an advanced understanding of astronomy. To this day, the symbols used to represent the star signs are drawn from Dwemer writings.\nUnfortunately, our knowledge begins and ends there. The few fragments of Dwarven writing that have been recovered are either too short to be informative or too complex to be translated.\nIt's my hope that the Dwemer ruins in Craglorn will shed some light on the origin of the mysterious Mundus Stones that dot the countryside and explain their relationship to the star signs.\nSpecifically, I am using Muhay at-Turna's invaluable guide to ancient Yokudan astronomy to compare symbology in Dwemer ruins to nearby Yokudan temples to see if I can establish a connection between the more recent observations to those of the long-vanished Dwarves.\nIf At-Turna's theory is accurate and the Yokudans who settled Craglorn were following the star signs, then it is possible that they investigated the Dwemer ruins at an earlier time, before decay and wealth-seeking opportunists had done their destructive work. My hope is that a comparison of Yokudan and Dwarven writings will fill in gaps in the historical record.\nDay 2\n\tI have been fortunate that this ruin is much better preserved than many I have encountered.\nHowever, this also means I must proceed with extra caution, as the slightest misstep could activate the Dwemer defenses and surely spell my doom.\nDay 6\n\tI returned to the surface today for supplies. I also sent copies of the few fragmentary Dwarven texts I've discovered in my library. I will try to decipher them later, when I have more time and access to my books.\nDay 10\n\tDamn it. The defenses have activated. I don't know how it happened. I made certain not to touch anything!\nHopefully, someone will find my notes and can continue my research."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sanctioned-murder": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sanctioned-murder", "description": "Thoughts on the Morag Tong from an inside source", "author": "From the Journal of Mjahlar Virian", "title": "Sanctioned Murder", "text": "For as long as I can remember, my life has been devoted to one thing: taking the lives of others. These were not random killings. Only those who fell afoul of the law, who wronged the Houses of Morrowind, or who desecrated the sacred teachings of the Tribunal were fair game.\nTheir lives were mine to take. Given to me, you might say, because they deserved to die. And I was very good at killing.\nMy victims were mostly unaware that I was coming for them. Some knew they had wronged others: murdered an innocent, stole from the Houses, even bedded another's lover. But they would always claim they had done nothing wrong. That I was mistaken. That I had the wrong man or woman. With a blade at a throat, however, it's amazing how honestly and completely one makes a confession.\nOne after another, I ended them. A swift slice across the throat. The shallow flesh parted, the thin veins severed cleanly. They would try to scream, but they would only choke on the crimson gore that filled their lungs.\n\tI delighted in death. It filled me with a pleasure I could find in no other activity. This was my life. This was who I was.\nPeople feared me. Loved me. And my brothers and sisters. Pushed us away, and then embraced us as the need arose.\nSome days we were hailed as heroes. Others, as murderers. Those in power fell to our secret blades. And then those who gave us the orders followed.\nBut there was a mistake. A flaw in our process. We had grown too perfect. We had extracted justice from innocent blood.\nSuch is the way, even with the most clear-cut contract. There is always a chance that the law is wrong. That it made a mistake. The contract never lies, but it isn't always correct, either. Even the smallest of actions, harmless as they may seem, can cause a tidal wave of destruction for those following behind.\nA fool's pride veils his judgment. In a moment of passion, blood scrawled upon the wall says it all. \"Morag Tong.\" Those words scream out, loud and insistent. They echo throughout the world, labeling us as ruthless killers that follow no rules, that have no laws.\nThe Tong, always hidden, working in secret, suddenly fell under scrutiny. They wanted to drag us out of the shadows and into the light. We withdrew, deeper into the shadows. Our contracts became fewer, our jobs turned into small tasks. We ran errands for bored House nobles. We endured.\nAnd we obeyed. We remained loyal. We swore on our lives to uphold the cause, and we would not turn our backs on it now, no matter the level of difficulty facing us. Even if the world had turned its backs on us, we would stay the course.\nOur leaders whisper to us. They tell us to practice patience. They assure us that the day shall come when our hand of justice once again reaches out to grasp the world. A coming darkness will soon sweep the land.\n\tAnd the Morag Tong will once more be needed. Will once again become relevant.\nBut I am old and my days wind down. I prepare for my trip to Vounoura, and I must pass this mantle to someone younger now. Someone less experienced, less wise. My son and my daughter will soon take up the dagger, but they have not seen our greatness. They must forge a new path for the Morag Tong.\nThe darkness of war comes, and no one shall be spared from its wrath.\n\tThe Morag Tong must put aside the wrongs it has endured. We must be ready."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sanctuary-final-assessment": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sanctuary-final-assessment", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Sanctuary: Final Assessment ", "text": "Imperial Sanctuary Chimera\n\t\tLogistics Report\nStores received and catalogued. The mages assure me their preservation spells will maintain the freshness of the food for decades.\nLocal water supply is good, but we've taken no chances. There's enough potable water for thirty days of normal use, assuming a contingent of our size.\nOur disciplinary officers delivered the deserters assigned to guard Sanctuary Chimera. They thought their oaths wouldn't bind them, but they'll soon learn otherwise. After Decius's ritual completes, we'll seal the seaward entrance as planned.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sanctuary-weapons-report": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sanctuary-weapons-report", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Sanctuary: Weapons Report", "text": "Imperial Sanctuary Chimera\n\t\tWeapons Report\nThe six catapults have been seen to. All siege weapons are stored per Imperial dictates.\nAwaiting additional ammunition shipments. Some of the fire salts were ruined in transport. We've attempted salvage by spreading fire salt canisters along the entryway docks to dry, despite overreactions by some of our squad leaders. They seem to believe salvaging vital Imperial supplies is less important than troop safety.\nSpeaking of safety, all officers have received a roster of \"volunteers\" who shall guard Chimera Sanctuary. All volunteers will be notified tonight and taken to the Preservation Room. Any heavy lifting should be completed before then, as the volunteers won't be capable of anything beyond guarding the facility once the ritual is complete. These deserters will soon realize why their punishment was deferred.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sanguines-revelers-note": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sanguines-revelers-note", "description": "Various requests for party supplies", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Sanguine's Revelers Note", "text": "Hey! Hey you! Yeah, you! Someone handed you this because we're running dry! Vhartle's still walking straight enough to drive the cart to town, so if you've got requests write them down and pass them along.\nEight bottles of wine.\nMake it thirty!\nCan some of those be spiced wine?\nFive barrels of mead.\nSooooma.\nSkooma?\nYeah, skooma for me too!\nBring some more company. Most of you are too sloshed to be any fun.\nTemple of Dibella isn't that far away.\nOh, twenty potions of stamina restoration, too, then.\nIdiot! This is supposed to be secret!\nMy lips are sealed!\nWhere's the fun in that?\nCan I get a pint of ale?\nNo.\nI'm so thirsty, just go already!\nTwo bottles of brandy.\nFresh pants.\nAnd an echatere. It's just not a party without an echatere!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sapiarchs-recommendation": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sapiarchs-recommendation", "description": "A recommendation for Rigurt the Brash to go see the proxy queen", "author": "Tandemen", "title": "Sapiarch's Recommendation", "text": "Courtier Vindilween,\nForgive the lack of official College of Sapiarchs' stationary, but I am awaiting a new shipment from Lillandril. In the meantime, please accept this fine sheet of parchment and my heartfelt recommendation that Ambassador Rigurt the Brash of Skyrim and the Ebonheart Pact be graciously and immediately granted an audience with her majesty, the Proxy Queen Alwinarwe.\nI find Rigurt to be a boisterous breath of fresh air in the otherwise stagnant halls of Alinor. It is time for us to embrace the Queen's decree and welcome visitors with open arms and friendly smiles. I can think of no better place to begin than with this delightful Nord who calls himself Rigurt and likes to remind you of his name at every opportunity.\nIn the name of knowledge and our ongoing pursuit of perfection,\nTandemen, Sapiarch of Foreign Observations"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/saradin%E2%80%99s-diary": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/saradin%E2%80%99s-diary", "description": "The tragic diary of the daughter of the last Nedic king in Craglorn", "author": "Saradin", "title": "Saradin\u2019s Diary", "text": "From the Diary of Saradin,\n\tDaughter of High King Durac\nMy father and Virmaril spent another day and most of the night in the catacombs beneath Skyreach. They share a fascination for the dark arts, but sometimes I wonder if their friendship isn't too complicated. Father bears such a burden as the Nedic High King, and I fear that every time he asks Virmaril for advice he passes a bit of that burden onto my beloved.\n* * *\n\tWe haven't told father of our love as yet,\u00a0 but Virmaril assures me that he will ask father for my hand in marriage in the very near future.\n* * *\n\tFather was furious. Despite his long friendship with Virmaril, he wasn't at all happy with the idea of his beloved daughter marrying a High Elf. I'm heartbroken over this, but I must remain strong. I am the High King's daughter, after all, and I have a duty to my father and my people. No matter how much this outcome pains me. And poor Virmaril. I've never seen him look so \u2026 shattered.\n* * *\n\tI'm going to marry King Kestic. Father arranged the marriage to help strengthen ties with Kestic and the northern clans. I still have powerful feelings for Virmaril, but I have to put them behind me. Our love is forbidden, and this marriage will make the Nedic clans stronger. I wonder if Virmaril has moved on with his own life yet?\n* * *\n\tThe barbaric Yokudans gather at our doors. I saw Virmaril and father together today. They both seemed worried. Oh, they try not to let it show, but I know them both so well. Virmaril says he has a plan to repel the invaders. He thinks father will support the idea. They just need to convince the other Nedic kings.\n* * *\n\tVirmaril was watching me throughout tonight's feast. There was a ... hunger ... in his eyes that I hadn't seen before. Perhaps I'm imagining things, but I could swear that Virmaril had no thoughts about invaders or armies or wars this night. He only had eyes for me.\n* * *\n\tVirmaril came to me in the royal chambers. I was hesitant to talk to him at first, but I didn't want to seem distant. He told me that he still loved me. Asked me to run away with him. I laughed at the idea, assuming he was joking. But I could see in his eyes, his feelings for me were as strong as ever. I turned away before my own emotions betrayed me.\n* * *\n\tVirmaril was cold today, distant. When I asked if he was well, he just said that I had helped him decide his next course of action. As soon as the meeting of the council of kings is over, I'll find Virmaril and apologize. I never meant to hurt him.\nI'm sure he'll understand."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sardoks-bloodthorn-report": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sardoks-bloodthorn-report", "description": "Pride in corrpution", "author": "Sardok of the Second Planting", "title": "Sardok's Bloodthorn Report", "text": "Esteemed Leader,\nOur camp, in the shadow of Tangle Rock, has produced excellent results!\n\tAlready, the great thorns twist toward the sky and corrupt the swamp.\n\tSoon, this land will be ours!\n\u2014Sardok of the Second Planting"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/saroldos-greatest-treasure": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/saroldos-greatest-treasure", "description": "", "author": "Saroldo", "title": "Saroldo's Greatest Treasure", "text": "My dearest daughter,\nIf you are reading this, you have undoubtedly received notice of my passing. In such an event, I entrusted my friend Nicolas to acquire the ledger and see it delivered to you at your academy. I can almost hear your groan - one of my last gifts is to be one of those puzzles I found far more enchanting than you.\nBut I confess I am not entirely certain I ever wished you to solve it. The life you thought I lived was not entirely as I explained. You see, I have fallen deeply in love with a woman in Abah's Landing. I am ashamed to say I feared your reception of Lady Sulima. She is not your mother - nor is she meant to replace her. Yet we each know the pain of loss.\nThe greatest treasure I can provide is a future where both of you are family.\nI can only assume you have balled up the letter and thrown it at something. Now that you have recovered it, please continue.\nThink of what you have done so far. You solved the puzzle in the ledger, you traveled to Abah's Landing, you located a patch of sand in Hew's Bane and dug up an old chest. You managed to get the strongbox open without a key to do it.\nAll of this led you to read my final words. Seeking Lady Sulima in Abah's Landing should be no trouble. She does not know your name, but she has seen your portrait and is eager to meet you. She can tell you the good, strange life I've had with her. And she has a small fortune that will help you get on your feet, once you've graduated from the Academy. You'll be whatever you want to be, and despite my departure, there will always be someone there for you.\nI can only hope you will be there for her as well.\nAll my love,\n-S"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/savage-sons-war-chant": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/savage-sons-war-chant", "description": "They do everything for Baloth", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Savage Sons War Chant", "text": "Baloth! For Baloth!\nWe march come day or night.\nNo foe can withstand us!\nWe're terrors in a fight.\nWho bleeds for freedom?\nSavage Sons!\nWho bleeds for their brothers?\nSavage Sons!\nBaloth! Our Baloth!\nThe champion we claim.\nWild Boar! The Bloodtusk!\nThere's glory in his name.\nWho bleeds for Baloth?\nSavage Sons!\nWho bleeds for no other?\nSavage Sons!\nBaloth! Friend Baloth!\nHe pulled us from the snow.\nThe exiled! The clanless!\nMore savage than you know.\nSavage Sons-charge!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/saving-your-hide": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/saving-your-hide", "description": "Advice for practicing with a dagger", "author": "Lieutenant Anders Gemane", "title": "Saving Your Hide", "text": "Too often, soldiers neglect one of the most important tools in their arsenal: the dagger. That's right, the humble boot-knife, the weapon favored by thieves and, yes, even assassins. It's easy to see why the short blade has a poor reputation among those who dream of charging into battle to gain glory by lopping off heads with a greatsword, but it can save you in a pinch.\nThe well-rounded soldier is prepared for any situation, and that means familiarity with weapons large and small. A dagger can be your best friend\u2014a concealed blade can cut your bonds free in the event of capture, it can give you a fighting chance should you become disarmed, it can skin a quick meal on the trail, and practicing with one can teach you volumes about mobility and close combat.\nIf you want to be fully prepared for the battlefield, you'll practice these simple exercises at least once a week. Listen to my advice, and you'll improve your survivability tenfold.\nThe Quick Draw: Strap a few small daggers where you can reach them easily. You might want one strapped to your thigh, one near your sword, or one at your shoulder. All you're going to do is draw them and bring them to the ready as fast as you can. Seems simple, but you need to master this step. If you can't get to them fast, you're as good as dead.\nTarget Practice: Bows are fine weapons, but what happens when you run out of arrows and the foe is charging in? Practice some throws at the archery range, keeping your wrist stiff and making sure to follow through, releasing the hilt when it aligns with the target. This is especially useful when coupled with the Quick Draw exercise.\nThe Reed: You'll need a partner with a practice weapon for this one. Keep a hand behind your back, hold your dagger in the other, and have them charge you with their best attacks. Your goal is to keep your feet planted and bend out of the way quickly. Don't back up; try to end up on the inside of the attack, where your dagger can be deadly.\nWhat are you waiting for? Get out there are spend some time with your dagger\u2014you can thank me when it saves your life."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sayings-wise": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sayings-wise", "description": "Words to live by for the wise Orc", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Sayings of the Wise", "text": "The past is a wolf. The clever hunter keeps his eye fixed on it, while the foolish hunter looks away and is devoured.\nA chief who does not listen to his wives is not chief for long.\nThe battle is won in the stomach first.\nThe Orc who shirks his duty and the Orc who becomes bitter doing it drink the same poison.\nWhat Orc strength alone cannot achieve, Orc steel can.\nAn inexperienced warrior in the finest armor still trips over his leg-guards.\nAn Orc who complains about his chief, but does not challenge him, is still complaining a year later."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/scaled-court-communique": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/scaled-court-communique", "description": "Communication to an undercover agent", "author": "Elska, Regent of Fanged Fury", "title": "Scaled Court Communique ", "text": "To my spy in Dragonstar,\nDo not reveal your true allegiance, no matter the circumstances. I need you to continue to watch the activities of the Dragonstar Caravan Company, as they have sufficient forces to cause problems for us should they decide to take action.\nI have also heard about a High Elf named Elanwen. She has been purchasing large quantities of the precious nirncrux and hampering our own collection efforts. Find out how much she knows about our plans.\nI will be inspecting our forces at the Fearfangs Cavern, west of the town of Dragonstar. Do not disappoint me.\nElska, Regent of Fanged Fury"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/scales-shadow": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/scales-shadow", "description": "", "author": "Nisswo Xeewulm", "title": "Scales of Shadow", "text": "Stars in darkness, constellation\nTell us those we must collect\nGiven to the needed clutch\nTo be taught the needed ways\nScales of shadow, hands of death\nSithis honored by your blade\nTo create the needed change\nBy the blood which must be spilt\nYou who join the brotherhood\nGuided by just one untruth\nRemember our nothing words\nLook upon with nothing eyes\nOne day, when your snout is pale\nTo the swamps you will return\nDarkness remains in your heart\nFor your scales are shadow still"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/scaly-steeds-black-marsh": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/scaly-steeds-black-marsh", "description": "Why do the Argonians ride mounts that look like lizard versions of regular animals? This book will sort of tell you", "author": "Ukaspa", "title": "Scaly Steeds of Black Marsh", "text": "By Ukaspa, Lilmoth Stablemaste\nI have noticed that many dryskins are emotionally attached to their hairy mounts, although they aren't actually related. (The exception may be our neighbors the Khajiiti, who tell us all cats are their relatives. It might even be true, but who can read a Khajiit's facial expression, all whiskers and twitching ears? No wonder nobody trusts them.) Anyway: dryskins ride their beloved furry mounts into Black Marsh and then their steeds disappear into sudden-sand, or catch sloughskin from the fleshflies, or eat a spotted toadstool, and sploosh! They're dead, and the dryskins leak water from their eyes.\nYes, a terrible situation for the sad beek-ojel, and one so easily avoided! For almost every stablemaster of the Marsh has fine, scaly lizard mounts available for purchase in various forms, all familiar to dryskins but specifically adapted to deep swamp conditions! So convenient, our lizard-steeds, so scaly and personable. Who would not want one? Or even several?\nMore than once I have been asked by inquisitive beek-ojel, \"Ukaspa, why are your lizard-steeds shaped like mounts from other parts of Tamriel? Why are there horse-lizards, camel-lizards, and senche-lizards? Why aren't your so-very-handsome mounts shaped like, well, lizards?\" These are good questions, and I, Ukaspa, will answer them, except for the parts that are a Big Mystery.\nYou know that we Saxhleel are different from you dryskins because we are the children of the Hist, right? But what, you wonder, does that mean, since the Hist are trees and we are clearly not saplings? Well, the Hist are much-more-than-trees, they are the wisdom with roots! They grow tall, wide, and very, very wise, but must stay where they grow, which is sometimes inconvenient. But the Hist see humans and Elves with their walking legs and clever hands, and wisely think, oh, good idea! Now, scurrying over their roots and everywhere in the Marsh are the kind of lizards we call \"useful.\" And a happening happens where the Hist take the kind of lizards we call \"useful\" and make from them the kind of people you call Argonians.\nYou see where the current is taking us, do you not? The Hist have Argonians who are their children of the walking legs and clever hands, and they are the best people ever because they lack all the flaws of humans and Elves. But sometimes they want to travel a long way for a long time, and how do people-shaped-people do that? On mounts! And so useful lizards happen to become lizard-steeds of proven shapes, and then Argonians can ride, tall in the saddle and proud!\nBut I know you beek-ojel, you always want to know more, as if knowledge moistens the scales (it does not, by the way). Knowing that useful lizards happen to become children of the Hist and also lizard-steeds is not enough, you want to know all the details, especially if they are what dryskins call \"sexy.\" However, that is where Ukaspa cannot help, because all of that is a Big Mystery. Oh, not from Argonians of the Hist, because how could it be a Big Mystery to us, who know All the Clues? But you have no clues, because you are not our egg-siblings. Sorry? Anyway, that's what I can tell you about lizard-steeds, so you can go now. Wallow with joy, stay moist, and don't wander around loose in the deep swamp like fools, all right?"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/scandals-solitudes-royalty": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/scandals-solitudes-royalty", "description": "The stories of two ancient Nordic kings, told through rumor and scandal", "author": "Erisa Sylbenitte", "title": "Scandals of Solitude's Royalty", "text": "Compiled by Erisa Sylbenitte of the Coterie of Organized Scholars\nIn gratitude to the many families of Western Skyrim who shared their family lore with me.\nWe know much more about the High Kings Erling, Harald, Logrolf, Svartr, and Svargrim than about those who filled the gaps between their reigns. Yet, due to sources such as Nord verbal lore, some important and perhaps salacious stories of earlier high kings and their families pass through family lines, unrecorded in mediums such as treatises, books, and scrolls. Herein are a couple of the more, shall we say, scandalous tales of the royal families of Solitude.\nThe Bloody End of \"Head-Rolling\" Roleke\nSometime in the late first era, a young jarl named Irthvyd the Impassive, so called for his stoic reserve and calm presence, rose to prominence among the Nords. Though Irthvyd's native hold's name is lost to the ages, he helped Solitude regain order after the ruling high king, \"Head-Rolling\" Roleke, decapitated over twenty rebels in less than five minutes ... by herself. (Some sources state that her then-spouse numbered among these twenty\u2014she went through a succession of many spouses during her reign.) Shortly after, the population of Solitude rose up, having dealt with enough of this behavior from their leader, and besieged Roleke within the Blue Palace itself!\nIrthvyd, along with his warriors, heard of the rising disquiet due to being in the area, so he headed toward Solitude. When he reached the gate, Kyne appeared to Irthvyd, stating Roleke had died at the hands of her progeny only hours before. Sadly, these sons and daughters also died due to wounds dealt by the fierce and bloodthirsty Roleke. Thus, Solitude had no high king or blood heirs in residence any longer.\nIn rode Irthvyd, with the favor of Kyne, ready to help the citizens of Solitude untangle the resulting snarl. Mere hours later, he was crowned High King of Solitude, with the blessings of Kyne upon him!\nThanks to Irthvyd's steady rule, peace settled upon the holds after years of Roleke's bloody reign. Decades passed, and young Irthvyd became middle-aged Irthvyd, with no spouse. While the lack of heirs is not an inordinate problem among Nord royalty, it did raise questions. Irthvyd steadfastly refused both a spouse and the possibility of blood heirs. The title of high king eventually passed to Irthvyd's most senior advisor, Temylda, who battled several jarls in single combat and won. This, of course, led to my next bit of gathered verbal lore.\nAlldimar the Ghostmaker\nForty years after Temylda's reign ended, a new high king took the throne through bloodshed and violence. Alldimar, a Nord with many skirmishes against the Reachmen under his belt, succeeded at wresting the title from an untested child heir primarily through a good sense of battle tactics and a knowledge of arcane matters that most Nords would sneer at. Despite his blood-drenched ascent, as he settled into his rule, peace spread throughout the land, and none could complain about his administrative and diplomatic behaviors after he took Solitude. As it stood, many had questioned the wisdom of passing rulership to a child, whose name and provenance is lost to history. Additionally, it suits the Nord's battle-seeking nature to have such a heroic and field-tested figure as their leader.\nYet, all was not completely well with Alldimar. Sometimes servants caught their liege talking to someone who wasn't there. They also whispered about one of his advisors, an icy-eyed woman named Freiretta, who kept to herself when not in Alldimar's presence. None were allowed in her quarters.\nAs these stories spread among Solitude's people, a sense of unease grew. Had Alldimar been hit on the head one too many times in battle? And who was Freiretta really? Was something more going on here?\nA year and a day after he ascended to the throne, the accidents started. Each week, another person in Solitude would die in a bizarre fashion. One was pinned to the Lonely Troll by a badly aimed arrow that was carried by the wind oddly. Another simply tripped, landed on his arse, and died. Yet another got trampled by horkers fleeing some unseen threat.\nAnd servants whispered that they started hearing disembodied voices around the high king's quarters.\nOnly after Alldimar's death a year and a day after the first accident did his secret get revealed: the skulls of every single one of those \"accident\" victims nestled together on a secret shelf within the high king's quarters. To what purpose, though?\nWhatever the reason, High King Alldimar gained the moniker \"Ghostmaker\" due to this finding.\nMy sources note that priests saw to the proper rites for these displaced remains, though servants claim that they hear voices and see shapes out of the corners of their eyes within the Blue Palace to this day."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/scared-little-snow-moth": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/scared-little-snow-moth", "description": "Fable about a frightened moth and a devious torchbug", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Scared Little Snow Moth", "text": "Scared Little Snow Moth hated being afraid. She wanted to be brave like her friends, but she frightened much too easily. The world was a big, spooky place to the Scared Little Snow Moth. She avoided venturing into it as much as she could.\nOne day, however, she left her cozy tree to search for food. It was a cold, blustery day. Scared Little Snow Moth did not mind the snow, or the chilly wind against her wings, but she feared what the blizzard concealed. She did not want to run into a monster.\nAs she flew, she saw a light in the snow. She thought it might be the eye of some horrible monster, but when she got closer, she realized it was just a tiny torchbug.\nMean Old Torchbug had grown tired of his adventures in the kwama mine. He traveled far until he reached a land covered in snow and ice, but now he was quite bored. Then, he spotted the Scared Little Snow Moth. A wicked thought popped into his head as he watched her float among the glittering snowflakes.\n\"Hello, Little Snow Moth,\" Torchbug called out, his voice popping like flames in the cold, \"What are you doing out in this storm?\"\n\"I'm hungry,\" Scared Little Snow Moth said in small voice, \"I don't want any trouble.\"\n\"If you're hungry, you should explore that cave over there,\" Torchbug sang, \"It's full of delicious food!\"\nScared Little Snow Moth spotted the cave. It didn't look very safe. In fact, it looked quite dangerous! She knew of a place that was much less frightening where she could gather food more safely.\n\"Come now,\" sang Torchbug, \"I'll stay nearby and make sure nothing happens to you. Don't you want a tasty feast?\"\nScared Little Snow Moth thought about this for a long moment. She was frightened, but not foolish.\n\"I don't believe you,\" she said, \"You just want me to go into that cave and get hurt.\"\n\"Not hurt, just eaten! I think I would like to see someone make a feast out of you, Little Snow Moth.\"\n\"Not today, Torchbug,\" Scared Little Snow Moth said in a slightly bigger voice than before, \"I am much too frightened to be eaten.\"\n\"If you insist, Little Snow Moth. Goodbye,\" Torchbug sang.\nAnd Scared Little Snow Moth flew as fast as her wings would carry her through the snow, leaving Torchbug behind. She did not speak to anyone else. As soon as she gathered her food, she raced back to her cozy tree and huddled up against the bark where she knew she was safe."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/scent-graves-report": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/scent-graves-report", "description": "Dissatisfaction with leadership", "author": "Scent-of-Graves", "title": "Scent-Of-Graves' Report", "text": "Mud clings to every step Nordahl takes. How can such a man have risen to leadership? Yes, he has the shard. But all we have is his word that he gained it through prowess. In speech and deed, he has been rash.\nI do not bring these concerns to you lightly, mistress. When we return to Riften, we will speak more of these matters. Perhaps you should relieve him of his shard. Or his life.\nUntil then, stay moist.\n\t\u2014 Scent-of-Graves"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/scepter-riekr-king-chief": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/scepter-riekr-king-chief", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Scepter of the Riekr King-Chief", "text": "A powerful riekr who refers to himself as \"the King-Chief\" currently terrorizes the land to the northeast of Orsinium. He wields an ancient scepter that the museum believes was crafted by Kloth, first chief of the Orgak Orc clan that once flourished in northern Wrothgar. It was a symbol of power and authority for the Orc clan and appears to be used in similar fashion by the self-styled king-chief.\nNo Orsimer can rest while this historic relic remains in the hands of a lowly riekr\u2014no matter how powerful that lowly riekr may be."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/schemes-reachmage": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/schemes-reachmage", "description": "Schemes of a deadly mage", "author": "Gabrielle Benele, Wizard", "title": "Schemes of the Reachmage", "text": "As the official Mages Guild representative to the Lion Guard's efforts to stop the Reachmage known only as Angof the Gravesinger, I have decided to record my findings and speculations in case anything untoward happens to me while I'm out in the field. Who knew that the work of the Mages Guild could be so dangerous or so exciting? Anyway, this is accurate and up to date as of the time that I write this. Anything that turns out to be proven false or revealed at a later date I'll have to deal with in a later volume. Unless I can devise a spell that automatically updates my writing\u2014no, no, I need to focus on one thing at a time!\nAngof has a number of associates helping him to complete his plans. I think he calls them \"Minions.\" Let's review the ones I suspect to be working with this vile necromancer.\nFaolchu, who seems to be associated with were-creatures and has launched an assault on Camlorn, appears to me to be following the orders of a more-powerful individual. I believe that individual to be Angof, but I have no proof of this connection as yet.\nThe Bloodthorn Cult obviously has ties to Angof. Whether he leads the cult or is simply a member I haven't yet determined, but I'm positive that the two are connected. The cultists scour the land for relics and items of power, and they seem to count a large number of necromancers as part of their order. I wouldn't be surprised if they had ties to some Daedric Prince or other. Molag Bal, if I had to hazard a guess.\nDaedra, too, appear to be arrows in Angof's quiver. He casts them out into the world as a farmer throws seeds into the wind. I'm sure there are more of Angof's minions hiding in plain sight, but anything else I put forth at this point would be beyond pure speculation. Instead, let me turn to what I have discovered about the Reachmage himself.\nFirst, he seems to be poisoning the land in some way. The vile vines that grow wherever he has passed demonstrate how his foul magic pollutes the countryside. His very name\u2014Gravesinger\u2014speaks to his fascination and fluency with death magic. Death and decay are his domains, and he seeks power over life and death.\nHis followers consider him a strong and persuasive leader. Many of them would literally die to please him. Such devotion isn't healthy, and I find it more than a little scary that someone could have such an effect on people.\nAngof seeks to cause as much chaos and mayhem as possible. Beyond that, I'm not sure of his ultimate motives. Has he come to Glenumbra to conquer us or destroy us? And in the end, does that distinction even matter? All I know is, we have to find a way to stop him. We have to!\nWell, I'll have to pick this up again at a later date. Now I have to head out and meet up with the Lion Guard at their redoubt near Cath Bedraud. Let's see if I can apply the knowledge that I've gathered to the task at hand."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/scholar-garriques-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/scholar-garriques-journal", "description": "Journal of an imaginative scholar", "author": "Garrique", "title": "Scholar Garrique's Journal", "text": "These old burial mounds should provide some inspiration for my writing. Ancient heroes of Glenumbra are entombed here. I'm sure they have some interesting exploits I can expand upon. Something that will get me the recognition I deserve. And finally get me a cushy position with a noble family.\nA duke or duchess as a sponsor would be just the thing I need to advance my writing career. Regular meals, a nice roof over my head, conversation with people who know how to read.\n* * *\nThere's so little information on the people buried here. Donel Deleyn? A King of Glenumbra? Never heard of the fellow. But I can make him interesting. Heroic. Maybe give him a band of loyal warriors, fending off whoever would be attacking them. (Note to Self: Look up significant battles of the First Era that took place in Glenumbra for reference.)\n* * *\nI think I can spin an entire series around this! Each hero gets their own tale. I haven't seen anything in old history texts about this Deleyn fellow. Or someone called the \"Golden Prince\" or the \"Ivory Lord,\" for that matter. Their stories are lost to time.\n* * *\nLots of heroic battles, maybe a little romance. I did spot a tomb for \"The Emerald Princess.\" Of course, she must be beautiful, with eyes the color of purest emeralds. And a brave warrior. She and the King can be star-crossed lovers. I just need to flesh this out a bit. I don't want to write some sort of silly romance, after all. This has to be real history. Just enhanced a little. This is bound to get me published!\nBest of all, it will put that hack Felari-ko off his drink. \"Scholar of Intriguing Mysteries.\" Bah. Pretentious cat scribbles, I say. All he does is make up nonsense about his adventures and shill for his next so-called mystery. I can do so much better than that!\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/scorpion-observations": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/scorpion-observations", "description": "How Craglorn Scorpions are well fit to alchemical experimentation.", "author": "Boward, Regent of Wriggling Nightmares", "title": "Scorpion Observations", "text": "The giant scorpions of Craglorn have a different physiology from their smaller, more mundane cousins. In addition to their great size and power, they give birth by laying eggs in nests instead of experiencing live births and carrying their young on their backs. I'm sure this has something to do with the sheer size and number of offspring the adult scorpion matron can produce at a time. Still, these sorts of differences make for amazing and interesting study.\nFor this part of the project, I have chosen a powerful scorpion matron who commands the nesting grounds deep inside Fearfangs Cavern. Her brood will provide exactly the predatory traits we require for this stage of the alchemical process. When combined with the traits provided by the mighty wamasu eggbearer and the flawless crocodile matriarch, the scorpion material will increase the power of the mantikora in ways I can barely imagine!\nI've collected the first of the matron's eggs. The material within each shell should infuse the spawning pools with traits that will easily be passed on to our new creature. I wonder, are any of the Serpent's other regents having as much success as I am? I think not! Perhaps when the mantikora progenitor emerges from the spawning pools, the Serpent will award me with command of the entire Scaled Court. That seems like a fair exchange for the work I have accomplished here.\n\u2014Boward, Regent of Wriggling Nightmares"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/scout-meeras-report": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/scout-meeras-report", "description": "Reports on a cave infested with goblins", "author": "Scout Meera", "title": "Scout Meera's Report", "text": "As a scout for the Ebonheart Pact, my duties take me to all kinds of exciting and interesting places. The cave known as Hightide Hollow is definitely not one of them.\nThe last time I had checked on the place, a tribe of Goblins known as the Shadowsilks had moved into the place. Not all that unusual, truth be known, but what made me decide to come back for another look was the leader of this Goblin tribe. Somehow, someway, an Orc spellcaster of some sort had insinutated himself into the tribe's top spot, and I had to determine whether or not this was all some sort of plot by the Daggerfall Covenant to disrupt the region.\nLuckily, since my last visit, something else has apparently moved into the lava caves. Giant spiders! It appears, from my quick appraisal of the situation, that the spiders have overrun the Goblins and decimated the tribe.\nI don't think we'll have to worry about the Orc spellcaster and his Goblin followers now.\nWait a moment. I think I heard some\u2014\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/scout-report-arx-corinium": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/scout-report-arx-corinium", "description": "Warning about creatures at Arx Corinium", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Scout Report: Arx Corinium", "text": "Suspected activity at Arx Corinium:\nA large number of wild creatures have been spotted in or around Arx Corinium. These creatures are highly aggressive, even those not usually assumed to be aggressive. Advise caution when traveling near the abandoned prison of Arx Corinium.\nBe advised, lamias have been spotted near the area. These creatures are reclusive but highly aggressive when approached. Use extreme caution.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/scouting-report-sergeant-abradun": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/scouting-report-sergeant-abradun", "description": "The goings-on in the Imperial City sewers", "author": "Corporal Ahmat", "title": "Scouting Report for Sergeant Abradun", "text": "* Scout patrol consisting of Corporal Ahmat and scouts Ondrisa and Tughag sent to investigate second level of sewers, perhaps find source of the infection.\n* Lots of trash all around. These Imperials sure are slobs.\n* Encountered small packs of legionnaires, all infected. Evaded these foes.\n* Tunnel full of scamps. I hate scamps, we went around.\n* Lots of small camps of legionnaires. These scum are here to stay.\n* Took a quick look at the end of the huge chamber, to see if that lightning Daedra was still down there. Still there, so we snuck away quietly.\n* Took the central passage and ran into a Dremora patrol. Just barely survived. Ondrisa took a nasty slash to her left shoulder but insisted she could continue.\n* Says a lot that the infected imperials are the least disgusting things down here. I hate these sewers.\n* More scamps and clannfear. I hate them too.\n* Finally reached the door down to the catacombs. Not looking forward to this.\n* Daedra and trash everywhere we look down here. Hard to tell the two apart.\n* Snuck past some Dremora guarding a portal. Don't want to know where that goes.\n* Atronachs and Daedroth down here. Hope they never come up to the upper levels.\n* Saw a citizen being tormented by legionnaires. We rushed to help him but more of them came at the noise. Ondrisa and Tughag mortally wounded, staggered off to die. I hid and finished this report. No idea how I'll get it back to Abradun."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/scouting-report-sergeant-belrud": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/scouting-report-sergeant-belrud", "description": "", "author": "Corporal Soft-Wind", "title": "Scouting Report for Sergeant Belrud", "text": "* Scout patrol led by Corporal Soft-Wind and scouts Rivis and Aldi sent to investigate second level of sewers, find source of legionnaire infection.\n* Lots of trash all around. These Imperials sure are slobs.\n* Encountered small packs of legionnaires, all infected. Evaded these foes.\n* Tunnel full of scamps. I hate scamps, we went around.\n* Lots of small camps of legionnaires. These scum are here to stay.\n* Took a quick look at the end of the huge chamber, to see if that lightning Daedra was still down there. Still there, so we snuck away quietly.\n* Took the central passage and ran into a Dremora patrol. Just barely survived.\n* Says a lot that the infected legion are the least disgusting things down here. I hate these sewers.\n* More scamps and clannfear. I hate them too.\n* Finally reached the door down to the catacombs. Not looking forward to this.\n* Daedra and trash everywhere we look down here. Hard to tell the two apart.\n* Snuck past some Dremora guarding a portal. Don't want to know where that goes.\n* Atronachs and Daedroth down here. Hope they never come up to the upper levels.\n* Saw a citizen being tormented by legionnaires. We rushed to help him but more of them came at the noise. Rivis and Aldi mortally wounded, staggered off to die. I hid and finished this report. No idea how I'll get it back to Belrud."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/scouting-report-sergeant-shaghila": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/scouting-report-sergeant-shaghila", "description": "", "author": "Corporal Frenith", "title": "Scouting Report for Sergeant Shaghila", "text": "* Scout patrol led by Corporal Frenith and scouts Cimildel and Santirr sent to investigate second level of sewers, find source of the infection.\n* Lots of trash all around. These Imperials sure are slobs.\n* Encountered small packs of legionnaires, all infected. Evaded these foes.\n* Tunnel full of scamps. I hate scamps, we went around.\n* Lots of small camps of legionnaires. These scum are here to stay.\n* Took a quick look at the end of the huge chamber, to see if that lightning Daedra was still down there. Still there, so we snuck away quietly.\n* Took the central passage and ran into a Dremora patrol. Just barely survived.\n* Says a lot that the infected imperials are the least disgusting things down here. I hate these sewers.\n* More scamps and clannfear. I hate them too.\n* Finally reached the door down to the catacombs. Not looking forward to this.\n* Daedra and trash everywhere we look down here. Hard to tell the two apart.\n* Snuck past some Dremora guarding a portal. Don't want to know where that goes.\n* Atronachs and Daedroth down here. Hope they never come up to the upper levels.\n* Saw a citizen being tormented by legionnaires. We rushed to help him but more of them came at the noise. Cimildel and Santirr mortally wounded, staggered off to die. I hid and finished this report. No idea how I'll get it back to Shaghila."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/scouting-report-deadhollow-halls": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/scouting-report-deadhollow-halls", "description": "Scoping out a Daedric temple for a potential heist", "author": "B", "title": "Scouting Report: Deadhollow Halls", "text": "Fa'ren-dar\u2014\nYou don't pay me enough to hang about in old Daedric shrines, so this will be brief.\nTurns out, the folks using it don't like the place, either, so any treasures that are there will be moving out quick. Get in, get the goods, get out. No time to waste.\nThe patrols keep in close contact. Get spotted by one, they all go on alert. Your time window just got shorter.\nStill, there's lots of stuff in there. If you can't get to the goods, you can fill your pockets with secondary loot that'll help offset the costs.\n\u2014B"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/scouting-report-hideaway": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/scouting-report-hideaway", "description": "This bandit group will be a tricky, but profitable, heist", "author": "O", "title": "Scouting Report: The Hideaway", "text": "Fa'ren-dar\u2014\nProfessionalism. You don't see that every day. The \"thugs\" patrolling the Hideaway are an exception.\nIt is of utmost importance if you're going after treasure here, not to be spotted\u2014not at all. The occupants will whisk away their goods at even the hint of an invader.\nThat said, make good use of the secret passage. It is lightly-patrolled and a good place to \"lie low\" if things get too tight.\n\u2014O"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/scouting-report-underground-sepulcher": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/scouting-report-underground-sepulcher", "description": "Preparing the heist on an ancient temple", "author": "W", "title": "Scouting Report: Underground Sepulcher", "text": "Fa'ren-dar\u2014\nGood and lost looking for this place. Funny looks asking about it.\nWhat's a sepulcher, anyway? Whoever had it liked their religion. Lots of relics and the like. Some valuables, too. But you're after the goods.\nThey stash them all over the place, usually in the big rooms. Got to use the hiding spots. Fortunately, there's plenty. Whoever stocked the place liked leaving extra barrels around!\nGot spotted, and the whole place went on alert. I grabbed some stuff and got out, but the main treasures ... you have to be sneaky!\n\u2014W"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/scrap-adubaers-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/scrap-adubaers-journal", "description": "", "author": "Adubaer-sa", "title": "Scrap of Adubaer's Journal", "text": "... separated from the others. Can't let them escape. Disable the devices, perhaps? Too close to fail now. Even if it means this one's end as well, Morantor won't get what he desires. The secrets will die here with us ...."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/scrap-storghs-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/scrap-storghs-journal", "description": "A journal fragment found in Vinedeath Cave", "author": "Storgh", "title": "Scrap of Storgh's Journal", "text": "Left Orthelos in Elden Root. Stupid Wood Elf finally did one thing right, stealing this bow. Wish I could see the look on his face when he realizes I took it. Thinks I'm not smart. Thinks I can't outwit a tree-brain like him.\nLocals say there's a treasure buried in this cave. But they avoid it because of the stranglers. Imagine that. Afraid of plants. Elves are so pathetic.\n*****\nCan't sleep. Keep hearing something coming from the cave. Singing? Or wailing? Hard to tell, Never had much of an ear for music.\nSick of it. Don't need to wait for morning. I'm going in."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/scrapers-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/scrapers-journal", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Scraper's Journal", "text": "This place is a wreck.\nOrgvar said we'd find treasures down here. He thinks this place must have been an old Dwarven factory or something. Most of us on this venture don't really care whether it was one way or another. We just want to get paid.\nExcavating these tunnels is a huge pain in all our arses. So far, we've seen nothing but those eye-smarting crystals that are all over Blackreach and are probably worthless to boot! Not to mention, every tunnel we open up has something waiting to devour us behind it. If it's not the Dwarven security trying to flay us alive, it's a nasty looking bug or some horrifying abomination.\nAnd as if that's not bad enough, Orgvar stinks like a dead skeever rotting in a sewer. I don't think the man's bathed a day in his life! It's maddening down here. There's no air, no escape! It's so unbearably foul. I can't properly describe it with words. You'd have to be here and experience it for yourself. Though, that's a fate I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy.\nIf Orgvar ends up dead, just know that I was justified!\nUgh. Maybe I can sell some of this Dwarven scrap once I get back to the surface. That is, if I make it out of here alive."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/scrawled-note-2": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/scrawled-note-2", "description": "A desperate scribbling found in Bangkorai", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Scrawled Note", "text": "I'm not sure what to do. First, the Imperials came through, killing people and pillaging the village. Then they leave us, and not a week later Daedra appeared, attacking the survivors. It's madness!\nI'll hide here for a while. Maybe the Daedra will just pass me by, as the soldiers did.\nI can hope, anyway."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/scrawled-note-lorne": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/scrawled-note-lorne", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Scrawled Note to Lorne", "text": "ELUVEIN"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/scrawled-tally": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/scrawled-tally", "description": "Counting... and counting", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Scrawled Tally", "text": "IIIII IIIII IIIII IIIII IIIII IIIII IIIII IIIII IIIII IIIII IIIII IIIII IIIII IIIII IIIII IIIII IIIII IIIII IIIII IIIII IIIII IIIII IIIII IIIII"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/scribbled-note-0": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/scribbled-note-0", "description": "Lost in the riddles of the Mad God", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Scribbled Note", "text": "I've tried lighting them all. I've tried lighting none. What's left?\nThe Mad Prince says, \"Numbers? Numbers are for tossers. Give me eyes any day. Or jesters. Or jesters with no eyes. Which reminds me: kill all the jesters. I need their bones.\"\nBones! Bones, bones, bones. Skulls are bones, right?\n\"A family of skulls say 'How do you do?'\nTwo shout \"We're one!\" and three yell 'We're two!'\nFive glare at 'three' as six laugh at 'four'\nJust burn them to open the Mad Prince's door.\"\nI tried burning them! I tried burning me! It hurts. Shouldn't do that anymore. But I have a skull, haven't I? Maybe just once more. A little bonfire, then \"click\" goes the latch! I'm coming, my lord! Set a place for me at the cheese plate!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/scroll-banishment": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/scroll-banishment", "description": "A Lion Guard member is banished for practicing Necromancy", "author": "Lord General Averos", "title": "Scroll of Banishment", "text": "Severin Charnis,\nThe vile practice of necromancy is forbidden within the Lion Guard. You are hereby banished from Covenant domains.\nYou have been remanded to General Serien. He is traveling south on a military campaign. He may use you as an asset in any way he sees fit.\nMay Akatosh have mercy on your soul.\n\u2014 Lord General Averos"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/scroll-eight": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/scroll-eight", "description": "Truths on the Mabigrash entity called the Ghost Snake", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Scroll of Eight", "text": "Serpent\n\tDarkness\n\tDevourer\n\tDreamer\n\tSilence\n\tLight\n\tDeath\n\tRebirth\nThese are the eight sacred aspects of the Ghost Snake. Each contains a truth, a lie, and a mystery that entwines upon itself, forever undulating like the coils of the great serpent.\nGhost Snake, accept our humble offering!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/scutwork-and-drudgery": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/scutwork-and-drudgery", "description": "To-do list of an evil individual", "author": "Fahdah the Eyeful", "title": "Scutwork and Drudgery", "text": "List of Tasks for Fahdah the Eyeful\nDutifully transcribed by Saadifa\n1. Collect protection money from the Dockworkers' Guild.\n2. Rough up that snotty Doriniel for being an Elf.\n3. Rob six beggars.\n4. Go to the market for a new cutlass to replace the one I left in that courier's body.\n5. Let Saadifa give me a massage."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sea-amri-shipping-manifest": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sea-amri-shipping-manifest", "description": "A shipping manifest from Malabal Tor mentioning Maormer", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Sea Amri Shipping Manifest", "text": "Vessel: Sea Amri\n\tItinerary: Port of Arenthia to Velyn Harbor\n\tCrew: 15\n\tPassengers: 5\n\tCargo: Honey - 20 casks; Deer Hide - 50 pelts; Silk - 3 bolts\n\tCheck map. Sand bars shifting? Maormer near shore."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sea-giant-predation": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sea-giant-predation", "description": "Information on the whale hunts conducted by the Sea Giants of northern Skyrim", "author": "Varcent Eardrey", "title": "Sea Giant Predation", "text": "Few mysteries in the hazardous northern waters terrify sailors as much as the Sea Giants. Rare enough to be creatures of legend, Sea Giants have nonetheless appeared in Nord maritime tales dating back to the First Era. Despite this long history of encounters, little is known about Sea Giant culture and behavior.\nThe evidence that can be gathered from fisherman's tales suggests that unlike their landlocked, herding cousins, Sea Giants are capable of complex tool usage and group coordination as they hunt their natural prey\u2014the whales that lurk below the sea ice.\nWhile mammoth herders form an alliance with their herd and live in peaceful harmony, Sea Giants are cunning, efficient, and fearless predators. With great luck, I had an opportunity to observe the results of a Sea Giant hunt which washed ashore. The carcass was a wealth of information for the keen naturalist's eye.\nUpon approaching the dead whale, the most striking observation I had, aside from the smell, was the large wooden shaft emerging from just above the creature's dorsal fin. Wider than a Nord's thigh, the pole appeared to be broken off in its hide. The end was tipped with a point similar in structure to a harpoon, carved of solid bone and lodged in the blubber above the whale's ribs. A grave wound, but hardly fatal.\nSo how then did the creature die? Its thick hide told a grisly tale. Slashes and cuts scored its back and sides, with several huge chunks of flesh stripped away. Sliced clean with a blade. It appears the Sea Giants had begun carving it up alive.\nThis is not unprecedented. Having observed the hunting tactics of durzog and wolves taking on large game, tearing into the prey until blood loss and shock set in is an efficient strategy. The Sea Giants sturdy frame, enormous strength, and resistance to cold would make them adept at leaping into the frigid waters and wrestling with their quarry. The fights must be savage. I suspect it would take half a dozen or more Giants to incapacitate an adult whale.\nSailors have claimed sightings of Sea Giant vessels in the frozen wastes. Great ships the size of islands, armed with jagged spears. Of course, these accounts are widely considered exaggerated to the point of fancy. But a vessel that holds a hunting party would have to be enormous.\nThere is so much more we do not know about Sea Gians. Are they intelligent enough to coordinate smaller ships and plan precise attacks? Or do they rather lumber along on one vessel and opportunistically swarm their prey? How do they draw the whales from the depths? This one carcass, torn free from its tether by a sudden swell or storm, has dredged up more questions than answers."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/seafood-supper": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/seafood-supper", "description": "Recipes for seafood", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Seafood Supper", "text": "Simple recipes my mother jotted down for me, on the occasion of my marriage. This supper serves four.\nMudcrab Cakes\nThese do not travel well, but one can use leftover mudcrab this way if fresh crab meat is unavailable. You may season these quite liberally, as some find the flavor of mudcrab too earthy for their taste.\nSteam mudcrabs enough to obtain a pound of their succulent flesh, taking care to sort out the cartilage and shell.\nAdd to the meat a half-pound of equal parts of imperial, and barley flour. Add water until the mixture can be formed into a ball. Season liberally with salt and ground peppercorns.\nForm the mixture into small pies, pressing together firmly, yet with the gentle touch. Fry them on an oiled griddle until crisp on both sides.\nGrilled Battaglir\nThis dish can be made in advance as it reheats well over low coals. You can also place it at the edge of the fire while making the mudcrab cakes. Just remember to turn it now and then to heat it through on all sides.\nGather a quarter peck of battaglir weeds. After cleaning them of dirt and any small bugs, finely chop the battaglir.\nPlace large skillet onto the fire, throw in gobbets of beef drippings and melt. Fry the battaglir until the color turns a dark green. Add salt, pepper and garlic to taste.\nServe over day-old bread."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sealed-letter": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sealed-letter", "description": "", "author": "Skaldir", "title": "Sealed Letter", "text": "Dear <<1>>,\nI pray that this letter reaches you soon. My name is Skaldir - a docent of the Mages Guild. I'm sure you've never heard of me, but I've heard quite a bit about you. My associates tell me that you are a warrior of great renown. I hope you'll give me a hearing.\nMy fellow scryers and I have made a shocking discovery. Whether it proves to be a boon or a catastrophe remains to be seen. Alas, we do not wield sufficient power to act on our findings. I believe you do.\nI humbly beseech you: meet me at the Mages Guildhall in Mournhold as soon as possible. I will tell you everything when you arrive.\nYours in the Sight of Syrabane,\nDocent Skaldir, Associate Scryer of the Order of the Eye"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sealed-letter-0": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sealed-letter-0", "description": "Asks the player for their help in finding Dragonguard lore to help banish the dragons from Elsweyr", "author": "Kasura", "title": "Sealed Letter", "text": "[Player Name],\nI seek your help in a most urgent matter. Dragons ravage Elsweyr, and my former student means to fight back against the beasts. I have done my utmost to support him, but find myself in need of your aid.\nI discovered a Dragonguard tomb. Hopefully, it contains the ancient order's Dragon-hunting wisdom, which I can then pass along to my former student. I require your help to open it.\nI have attached my current location to this letter. I hope you'll meet with me as soon as you are able.\nMay Tava guide you,\n\tKasura"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sealed-orders-opened": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sealed-orders-opened", "description": "Orders on how to handle Draugr in the Rift", "author": "Overcommander Gekurek", "title": "Sealed Orders (opened)", "text": "Sentinel Brendar:\nProceed to Shroud Hearth with your patrol. Breach the barrow doors and slaughter all you find inside. The draugr must not be allowed to establish a foothold within our district!\nReport back to me when you have accomplished your mission.\n\u2014 Overcommander Gekurek"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sealing-great-serpent": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sealing-great-serpent", "description": "A myth about the binding of a great and terrible sea monster", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Sealing the Great Serpent", "text": "The Sea Serpent or Great Serpent was a curse brought to our clan for failing to respect the sea. We learn that it was formed from the blood of a magnificent scaly fish that pleaded for its life from one of our foremothers, but was not spared.\nIt is our duty to keep it from rising up and destroying the ships that come to our land and the land itself.\n\tThe Great Serpent is blood-mad, and the only thing that can seal it is blood. We learned this the first time it attacked.\nOur clan defended boldly and bravely. Their courage did not fail them. But their mortal bodies, small and weak in the Great Serpent's mighty jaws, did. The sea, they say, turned red in that struggle, and still the Great Serpent was insatiable.\nThen Elain stepped forward. Elain was a great warrior, but what she proposed was not war. \"Set down your weapons,\" she said.\nAt first, the clan would not listen. They only saw the imperative to fight.\nBut then another warrior spoke up. \"Elain is right,\" Ralos said. \"Only Old Magic can be used to defeat the Great Serpent.\"\nBy this Ralos meant the magic of blood. A third Elf spoke up then, Valir. \"It is true. I had a dream last night that we would defeat the serpent, not with hundreds of deaths, but with three. I saw three wells, filled with blood and the Great Serpent in chains beneath the sea.\"\nValir was known to be a prophet, so at this the clan listened. They agreed on a course of action. The sealing wells were made, according to what Valir had seen in the dream. Elain, Ralos, and Valir each volunteered in turn to give their lives to seal away the Great Serpent.\nTo this day, our clan guards those wells against intruders who would free the serpent. We call them Elain, Ralos, and Valir, and they stand among us as sentinels and protectors."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/second-cohort-orders": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/second-cohort-orders", "description": "Orders about \"Old Tower\"", "author": "Captain Helenus", "title": "Second Cohort Orders", "text": "To be distributed among all Seventh Legion soldiers of the Second Cohort, and placed in positions of prominence within the Mess and Commander's tents.\nLegionnaires are hereby ordered to sieze the ruins known as \"Old Tower\" as well as all goods and property within sight of the Craglorn Gates. Upon being relieved, proceed into the Alik'r Desert and gain entry to the ruins of Volenfell, of the clan of Rourken Dwemer, in order to locate items of significance to the Legion.\n\u2014 Captain Helenus"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/second-gravestone": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/second-gravestone", "description": "A gravestone which provides a clue for a mystery", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Second Gravestone", "text": "Guymund Chauvry was born of wealth and privilege, but he was always willing to assist the unfortunate.\n2679\u20142732"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/second-invasion-reports": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/second-invasion-reports", "description": "A firsthand account of the Kamal invasion", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Second Invasion: Reports", "text": "7 Sun's Height\n\tThe Akaviri land their ships in force. Several have been turned away or sunk, but more slip past our guard. Our forces move forward to meet them on the cliffs above the beaches, where we hold the high ground.\nFrom our vantage point, the queen watches their approach. She will get to see firsthand the ferocity and strength of the Blood Claws!\n8 Sun's Height\n\tThe Akaviri ships have dropped anchor back from the beach. Perhaps they fear our blades. I say let them starve themselves in their ships, but Princess Nurnhilde believes they plot, rather than cower. She is wiser than I, so I have sent scouts to find and foil any cowardly, underhanded tactics they might be ready to deploy.\n19 Sun's Height\n\tMore than a week, and still the Akaviri do not attack. The soldiers grow restless, and Princess Nurnhilde broods. Scouts have returned without any information. Still, I continue to send them out day after day. None have spoken against me, but I see their looks as I order yet another patrol along the beaches.\n\tThe Blood Claws were made for slaughter, not waiting.\n22 Sun's Height\n\tArguments and fighting in the camp, and the Akaviri still wait with their fleet, just beyond of our grasp. We've heard reports of attacks north and south of us, along the coast, even as far south as the Dark Elf lands. The troops wonder why we wait when fighting takes place elsewhere. And wonder begins to turn to anger.\n\tPrincess Nurnhilde insists that this is their main fleet, and that they are trying to lure us away from our position. When she speaks, the soldiers become calm and thoughtful. She cuts right through their anger and bitterness. I wish she would address them more often.\n26 Sun's Height\n\tAn Akaviri ship landed today. It hit the beach in the darkness just before morning. Our soldiers surrounded it, expecting a hail of arrows from within, but none came. It was odd that such a large ship beached itself, but the troops were bored and hungry for blood. The magical traps on the ship claimed the lives of seven warriors.\n\tI have never seen the troops so angry. Even the Princess had trouble calming them. When the Akaviri land, they will be torn to shreds. If we don't tear ourselves apart first, that is.\n29 Sun's Height\n\tReports of the Dark Elf lands being overrun. There is little love lost between Nords and Dark Elves, but at this moment we share the frustration they must feel. The report talks of Akaviri in their fields, and our warriors hunger for combat.\nI spoke with the Princess. I told her this news may have pushed the Blood Claws to a new level of rage. She said nothing, only pressed her lips together. She's always several steps ahead of the rest of us, and I fear she has seen something I have yet to notice.\n2 Last Seed\n\tThe Akaviri landed this morning, a massive wave of destruction crashing upon the beach. Our soldiers were whipped into a frenzy as the call to arms rang out. They were reckless, and the first rush was cut down by archers before a proper line could be formed. Our recklessness cost us the beach, and the invaders now have a foothold in our land.\n3 Last Seed\n\tWe had to fall back. Fighting was too intense and Princess Nurnhilde ordered the troops back to Windhelm. We'll fight from the walls and use the strength of the city to crush the invaders once and for all!\n4 Last Seed\n\tTension runs high tonight, as we wait for the Akaviri to press forward. I saw Nurnhilde donning armor. The Blood Claws will follow her, listen to her orders like the voice of the Dragon itself, but the risk is so great. Word has come to us the princes are nearby, fighting their way to the city. I pray they arrive in time to help.\n7 Last Seed\n\tQueen Mabjaarn and Princess Nurnhilde are dead. Nurnhilde led the Blood Claws into combat when the gates of Windhelm fell. They fought like I have never seen anyone fight before, raging in perfect coordination. When the queen went down, the rage took over, though Nurnhilde donned the crown and try to restore order to our lines. The Akaviri were driven from the city. They thought to goad us, and they did, but the beast they awoke was more than they could handle.\nBut then they came back. Now Queen Nurnhilde is dead. I should have been able to command my warriors, control them. It should have been me, not her. The responsibility for their deaths is mine, and I will explain that to the princes personall"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/second-khajiiti-journal-page": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/second-khajiiti-journal-page", "description": "Journal of a Khajiit detailing a great threat", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Second Khajiiti Journal Page", "text": "2 Mid Year\nReached the Temple of Jode's Light, after much travel. Thunderbugs and bats fill the remains of the temple, but largely pose little threat to this one. They will be cleared out eventually, but the haunting is of greater concern. A dark presence permeates these walls.\n7 Mid Year\nIt has been nearly a week. This one believes the dark presence is none other than an accursed dro-m'Athra. If the suspicion is correct, this temple is a very dangerous place. This one has left the bats and thunderbugs to dissuade errant travelers\u2014a danger, to be sure, but a lesser one compared to the dark spirit infesting this place."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/second-scrap-adubaers-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/second-scrap-adubaers-journal", "description": "", "author": "Adubaer-sa", "title": "Second Scrap of Adubaer's Journal", "text": "\u2026 to be off the ship and back on land. The sea is not for this one. Night falls and we make camp outside Bthzark. The others are wary but suspect nothing. Finally, something to hold above Morantor's head, to make him squirm. To think he did not even recognize his former slave. Reminding him will be delightful."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/secrets-riddlethar": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/secrets-riddlethar", "description": "Life lessons from.the first Mane", "author": "Rid-Thar-ri'Datta", "title": "Secrets of the Riddle'Thar", "text": "Taken from the sacred annals of prophesied Rid-Thar-ri'Datta, First Mane of the Epiphany\nLo, many proud Khajiit bring their braided locks to me in hopes of affixing their dreams to my own. They prostrate themselves before me and kiss my weathered soles, begging for a glimpse of ja-Kha'jay. I sit then upon my upraised throne, draped in the plaited burdens of countless chiefs, and sigh. For the epiphany of Riddle'Thar rests not within the Mane-made-mighty\u2014not even in the sacred halls of the Temple of Two-Moons Dance. The truth of Riddle'Thar lies in the heart of true Khajiit. In the claws, the whiskers, and the soul. Think now on Jone and Jode. Think now on their wax and wane. Khajiit do not deliberate in the womb. We do not struggle for form and purpose. The Dance decides. And in that fated moment of birth, we learn what our soul already knows. We fall into the cadence and the step. The Moons' virtues and obligations are inherent, just as our furstock is inherent. The truth of Riddle'Thar grows like sugarcane in the soul\u2014sweet, vibrant, and eager for the harvesting. We do not make the cane grow. We do not coax it into fullness. It does that of its own accord. You need only take up the scythe in the proper season and reap its ample blessings.\nThe pursuit of Riddle'Thar's mysteries is also the pursuit of joy. Of fulfillment. I speak now the truth that, in your heart, you already know. Embrace that wisdom, pay heed to the dictates of the soul, make way for the peace and order Riddle'Thar provides, and you shall find joy in abundance.\nFirst, a true cat must be curious. How often the furless outsiders fall prey to deception and mirage! Lorkhaj's inventions do not lurk at the corners of our sight. They lounge in plain view\u2014so common and unassuming that we accept them as truth with a kitten's simplicity. One must always listen longer and gaze deeper. Do not yield at your first thought. Inquire. Lift stones both great and small. For gifts of persistence are many indeed.\nNext, a true cat must be clever. Providence granted us the gifts of swift claws, fleet paws, and graceful strength. But the dangers that prowl upon Nirni's back too often withstand the well-timed strike. When trapped in life's cruel maze, you must resist the call to simple solutions. Do not resort to artless scheming. For every trouble there are countless strategies\u2014and the greatest of those strategies rest within the mind. Fight without fighting. Speak without speaking. Yield without yielding. Do this, and you shall find that the greatest joys are those that hide on the far side of a jest.\nThird, a true cat must treat themselves with kindness. Too often, leaders of the book and stole preach charity at one's own expense. Theirs is a wheezing virtue, hidden beneath a mournful shroud. How many coins can a starved almsgiver carry? Too few. I tell you, the fruit of charity grows from joyful, vigorous branches. If all give and none take, how wretched our kingdoms would become! Take the rest your labors earn. Taste the sugar that falls from above. Drink the wine that flows from Nirni's great bounty. For in walking pleasure's road, we blaze a trail for the downtrodden to follow.\nNext, a true cat must be pious. The Two-Moons Dance offers a path to ja-Khaj'ay, but without Llesw'er's guides, even the cleverest Khajiit can drift toward the Dark. Mighty Alkosh, Blessed Khenarthi, Noble S'rendarr, Loving Mara, Clever Baan Dar, and most importantly, Jone and Jode reign beyond the stars, alight with kindness, wisdom, and virtuous cunning. The enlightenment of Riddle'Thar is a lens of clarity through which true cats can now view these divine ancestors. Heed their counsel, observe their laws, and by the grace of Riddle'Thar, you shall never fall prey to the snares of Namiira.\nFinally, a true cat must be wary. Of all the races who dwell upon Nirni's back, we Khajiit risk the most. Our history dwarfs that of men. We sowed our crops here before the coming of the Elves. Our souls stretch back beyond the counting of the years and the certainty of each sun's rising. That makes us both wise and dangerous. The hateful eyes of Lorkhaj stay fixed upon us always. Namiira's darkness swirls amid our dreams and doubts. All the evils of Oblivion rake their claws and gnash their fangs against the Lattice, seeking to take our old souls as a prize. Be cautious. Move swiftly. Hide your hearts away in the thick jungles of the self and think often of their great worth. For if you fail to hear the beating of your own heart, the beat of Lorkhaj's will take its place forevermore.\nRiddle'Thar is all of these virtues, Moon-child. The great well of Khajiiti spirit from which we all drink. Know that its truth dances beyond just the Mane, beyond the Temples, beyond the plains and jungles of our beloved homeland. Look to the Moons. When Jone and Jode dance above, your soul dances with them."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/secrets-treehenge": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/secrets-treehenge", "description": "Ruminations on a very sacred place to Bosmer", "author": "Vanendil", "title": "Secrets of Treehenge ", "text": "Author of \"Treehenge's Roots,\" \"The Mammoths of Treehenge,\" and \"Treehenge: Home of the Lady\"\nThose who wish to see the sacred Treehenge, wherein the physical remains of the Bosmer Green Lady are interred, must be prepared. Though it may not be obvious, the site is well-protected by a combination of incantations and even more subtle guardians.\nApproach the site with caution and reverence. Bring an offering, and spend time in meditation amongst the trees. As your senses heighten, you may see visions of former Green Ladies walking the woods. You may also notice their likenesses in the trees from which Treehenge derives its name.\nClose your eyes and breathe deeply, the scent of decaying wood, flowers in full bloom, and earth. Listen to the waterfalls, the buzz of insects, and whisper of leaf and branch.\nWhen you feel these things within your heart, you will know the secrets of Treehenge in ways I cannot describe."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/secrets-overheard-apocrypha": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/secrets-overheard-apocrypha", "description": "Conversations between the Seeker Daedra in Hermaeus Mora's realm", "author": "Morian Zenas", "title": "Secrets Overheard in Apocrypha", "text": "The Seekers pretend that they cannot talk, but they can. For I have heard them. They can both understand speech, and utter it, though they do so with a hissing lisp. I shall tell you how I know.\nAs is so often the case since I came to Apocrypha, I was cowering behind a stack of books, hiding from the baleful attentions of a towering gill-man whose notice I had inadvertently caught. I listened to hear if I was still gibbering, but I couldn't hear it, which usually means I'm not. Then I heard something else.\nJust beyond my concealing tower of tomes was one of those endless halls lined with numberless urns, halls that I have assiduously avoided ever since I learned that each urn houses, in a broth of noisome fluid, a living concept-organ excised from its corpus. I do not like those urns.\nFrom the entrance to this hall of urns came the all-too-familiar squelching sound of a Seeker's footfalls. But then it stopped, and in its place I heard, for the first time, the sticky sound of a speaking Seeker.\n\u2014I know a thing, the Seeker lisped, as a frisson of horror danced down my spine.\n\u2014Is it a thing worth knowing? came the hollow, sourceless voice of the organ in the hithermost urn.\n\u2014You shall judge, Floater. I have learned why we have seen no mortal intruders, save for the demented wizard, in many turns of the Great Pages.\n\u2014You know nothing, said the organ.\n\u2014I know Old Antecedent has entered into an agreement with the mortals, a compact, as they say. Is that nothing? asked the Seeker.\n\u2014Next to nothing. The Golden Eye is always entering into pacts with mortals. Thus my woeful condition.\n\u2014Avoid self-pity, or I shall mock you. You do not like it when I mock you. Listen attentively.\n\u2014I listen.\n\u2014In truth, the Scryer enters into many pacts with mortals\u2014but never before has he made a pact with every mortal on Nirn.\n\u2014Bah. Unlikely.\n\u2014I state it! It is a thing that is known.\n\u2014How?\n\u2014I heard a discussion between Scrivener Uu-Thorax and the Eleventh Preceptor. They came into the Crepuscule, where I was quietly\u2026.\n\u2014Seeking?\n\u2014Yes. In fact. Now, listen: the Scrivener told the Preceptor that the Inevitable Knower had agreed to a pact, to cease all direct interposition in Mundial affairs.\n\u2014Impossible. I scoff. Mock me as you will.\n\u2014So thought I, and likewise the Preceptor expressed skepticism, but then the Scrivener spoke a Word of Asseveration. Books scattered everywhere, ichor fountained from my ear-holes, and I knew what he said was a Known Thing.\n\u2014But why? To meddle with mortals and wrest from them their knowledge is the Ur-Daedra's favorite pastime.\n\u2014He seems to have been paid a great price, something he dearly desired, but I could not clearly hear what, due to the injury to my ear-holes.\n\u2014It is knowledge, of course. Some great secret. It is ever so.\n\u2014So I deem it as well. And it seems this compact binds in both directions, which is why the mortals come here no more, added the Seeker.\n\u2014Except for the mad mage. How came he here, and upon what ill errand? asked the urn-organ.\n\u2014I know not. But if we catch him, we will pull out his \u2026 what is that sound?\nI heard it too, and so I ran. For I knew that sound. It was gibbering."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/secure-old-tower": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/secure-old-tower", "description": "How to win a vital garrison with the help of beetles", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Secure Old Tower", "text": "Legionnaire Voteporix,\nIt has come to my attention that beetles can be attracted to a certain musk oil. It causes them to frenzy and attack anything near that scent until it loses its potency.\nThe musk oil has proven successful in other trials, and I do believe that it will be successful with your goals of capturing the Old Tower from the Orcish bandits as well.\nYou may be unaware of the local strife, but the Orcs and Redguard militia battle over that tower on a regular basis. If you disrupt that cycle of warfare, it will provide your legion with a pivotal position for the eventual conquest of Craglorn.\nThe Redguards were driven from Old Tower months ago, so the Orcs will expect them. They will not, however, expect beetles.\nAcquire the beetle musk from the farmer, Amil. He has good cause to help us, as his father, Abadaman, was killed by the Orcs that now inhabit that Tower."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/security-survey": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/security-survey", "description": "Missing factotums and mysterious figures lead to a decreased security ranking", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Security Survey", "text": "Factotums report substantial increase in sentry coil malfunctions on Radial periphery. Cave networks both east and west of the Brass Fortress now experience routine security blackout periods.\nFactotum loss-rates also experiencing spike over survey period. AIOS tabulation indicates seventeen partitions remain unaccounted for. Recovery beacons either missing or malfunctioning in all cases. Recommend full Apostle survey of affected zones. Cross-reference with resident distress-reports A77645 and X99876. Both refer to \"black robed\" figures in relevant regions.\nInterior Security Rating decreased to 83%."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sedua": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sedua", "description": "A Gravestone", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Sedua", "text": "SEDUA\nA SOLDIER of the Pact\nSHE Died in BATTLE\nBuried too YOUNG"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/seek-adventure-murkmire": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/seek-adventure-murkmire", "description": "Advertisement for the Cyrodiilic Collections", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Seek Adventure in Murkmire!", "text": "Seeking stout adventurers for the journey of a lifetime!\nAncient ruins! Captivating customs! Sublime vistas and fascinating fauna! You'll find all this and more in the mysterious swamps of Murkmire!\nDo you find yourself pining for a chance to see the world? To escape the mundane and explore what lies just beyond the horizon? Join the ranks of Cyrodilic Collections today and secure your place in the history books of tomorrow! Discoveries and adventure await. Sign up today!\nPlease contact Concordia Mercius in Stormhold for further details."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/seeking-brave-souls-and-able-bodies": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/seeking-brave-souls-and-able-bodies", "description": "An advert promising gold and glory", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Seeking Brave Souls and Able Bodies", "text": "An abundance of troubles plague the holds of Western Skyrim. We seek brave souls willing to risk life and limb in the pursuit of gold and glory for the benefit of the people of Haafingar, Hjaalmarch, and Karthald.\nTalk to Silgrett the Moneylender in the city of Solitude for details."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/seeking-tenant-1": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/seeking-tenant-1", "description": "Advertisement for a cheap home in the Clockwork City", "author": "Felande Demarie", "title": "Seeking Tenant! [1]", "text": "Are you an adventurer of good reputation? Looking for a cozy home to call your own? Have low to moderate violent tendencies?\nThen seek out Felande Demarie for all your home ownership needs!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/seeking-tenant-2": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/seeking-tenant-2", "description": "Another advertisement for a home in the Clockwork City", "author": "Felande Demarie", "title": "Seeking Tenant! [2]", "text": "Are you an adventurer of good reputation? Have low to moderate homicidal tendencies? Looking for a cozy home to call your own, but too low on funds to afford one?\nHow would you like a free inn room? That's right, completely free! No catch! Just seek out Felande Demarie at your local inn for more information about this exciting ownership opportunity!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/seeks-birdsong": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/seeks-birdsong", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Seeks-Birdsong", "text": "SEEKS-BIRDSONG of Stormhaven\nBURNED to Death\nSo YOUNG, So Sad\nSHE Came To Us\nA PREACHER of Faith\nAnd Departed from Us an ASH"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sees-all-colors-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sees-all-colors-journal", "description": "Plans of the Fighters Guild guildmaster", "author": "Sees-All-Colors", "title": "Sees-All-Colors' Journal", "text": "I've discovered how to activate and use automatons from <<1>>.\nThat's for another day. For now, I've salvaged what I could and returned to the lands of light. Down the river, I can put them to good use at Ragnthar. I don't want any visitors.\nThe Fighters Guild has launched an investigation into the death of Master Iceblade. <<2>>, of all \u2026 people, is leading it.\nI've decided to move on to <<3>>. I can't stand the presence of that cat. There's too much to be done at Ragnthar. I can't afford the time she'll waste pestering me with barbed questions."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/selenes-letter": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/selenes-letter", "description": "Trouble in a marriage", "author": "Selene", "title": "Selene's Letter", "text": "Miles,\nYou need to talk to Frederick. He insists on joining the Blackcasters. He won't listen to me. He has always resented our marriage. But you're his father. He admires you and you understand him better than I ever have. Please. Talk to him.\nSelene"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/selenwes-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/selenwes-journal", "description": "A sister turns to necromancy", "author": "Selenwe", "title": "Selenwe's Journal", "text": "BySyrabane's ring, what have I done?\nMy dearest sister\u2014the little sprite with pigtails who chased me through the flower gardens on Sundas afternoons. The soft-hearted girl with the singing voice of a meadow lark\u2014fallen to a necromancer's charms. I can scarcely believe it. What did we do to earn this? What spirits did we offend? If only I'd been here. If only I'd stayed. This is all my fault.\nSomething had to be done. Practicing necromancy is an unforgivable sin. I pleaded with her to repent, or beg for the Direnni Clan's mercy. But she persisted. She looked into my eyes with a dull, flat-eyed stare and said, \"They cannot kill me, sister. I cannot be killed. I will rise again, and again, and again, for all eternity.\" All the kindness and gentle innocence was gone. In that moment, I barely recognized her.\nSo I performed the ritual. I bound her to the sarcophagus. I shouted the words of binding, and kindled the sacred flames. Then I wept beside the tomb, listening to her froth and wail until she finally fell silent.\nI only hope that Lauriel's spirit can find peace here in the acropolis, because she cannot leave. She can never leave. Auri-El forgive me, for I will never forgive myself. Never."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/senche-rahts-not-just-mounts": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/senche-rahts-not-just-mounts", "description": "A Senche-raht writes about his furstock and how to treat them", "author": "Saharrzag; Chirrzari, scribe", "title": "Senche-rahts: Not Just Mounts", "text": "By Saharrzag\nScribe: Chirrzari\nAcknowledgments: My gratitude goes out to every single person who did not understand that I was and AM an intelligent being. For you, and others like you, I have had this pamphlet created. You know who you are. And if you don't after reading this and we meet, we'll have, at the very least, words. Also, thanks go to my scribe. I'm allowing her to keep her annotations within this pamphlet.\nLong have the Senche-raht existed, and long have we served both ourselves and others in the role of protectors and defenders. Our form, being muscular and four-legged, is perfect for solo and partnered combat. When not paired with a partner, we can bound forth in great leaps to claw and bite at any who seek to harm us. A trained battle companion\u2013and please mentally add an emphasis on \"trained\"\u2013can help us become an even deadlier threat on the field of combat. Whether they're experienced in blade, staff, magic, or bow tactics, when paired with us they gain great mobility on the field, while we take advantage of any attacks they make. We watch for threats to the other, making it harder to bring either of us down, as well.\nThe above sounds like it would appeal to bloodthirsty individuals seeking better weapons and tactics on the field. Our abilities in combat are no secret.\n[Scribe's note: This one has seen Senche-raht in combat. They are a ragestorm of claws and teeth. One should not wish to make enemies of such beings.]\nBut here's my message to those who think they can enthrall Senche-raht and use them against their free will.\nDon't.\nSome have tried before. It might seem like it's working for a little bit. But we find ways. Oh, do we find ways. And we have allies. Plus, if you don't have our permission and our acceptance, you're just not going to get the best performance out of us.\n[Scribe's note: This one notes the esteemed Senche-raht is understating the above. They can be clever indeed. But this one will not reveal any of the Senche-rahts' tools, of course.]\nIn fact, we tell tales to our young about how to sabotage battle efforts in subtle and overt ways. No, I'm not foolish enough to share those with readers. They are not for you to know.\nIn short, if you do not work to gain our blessing for any endeavor you would have us tackle, you will ultimately fail. And you might not ever know why.\nSo, don't seek to have us on your side in anything unless it is as an equal.\nInstead, talk with us. We are intelligent beings and worthy of being heard. And we listen well.\n[Scribe's note: It is best to listen to Senche-raht when they choose to speak, yes.]\nNow, all that aside, if you're reading this, when it comes to interacting with the Senche-raht, start from the position that we are intelligent beings who have our own lives and experiences. Never assume that we are simply mounts or pets or creatures used to wage war. We can be friends, we have family, and we can also be dreadful enemies. Start from the position that we are equals, always. As with any thinking being, it will be up to individual Senche-raht to take it from there.\nMost importantly, because this comes up a lot, when you see someone we're partnered with who happens to be mounted and working with us? NEVER assume that this person is our owner, handler, or controller. \"Partner\" is a good starting point there.\n[Scribe's note: If one does not start with \"partner\" when thinking of Senche-rahts, one might end up not thinking at all ever again. This one has seen that outcome.]\nI hope this short pamphlet, if you've read it and truly taken in the words I've shared, helps you treat all Senche-raht with respect and not as mere beasts of burden or war. If it hasn't and we meet, I'll make a note of your behavior and decide how best to correct it. And so will every other Senche-raht.\n[Scribe's note: It is true. Senche-raht have long and accurate memories. This one would rather start from that knowledge than hope that a given Senche-raht does not remember things. Hope is not a given, and life is already filled with too many challenges.]"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sentinel-jewel-alikr": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sentinel-jewel-alikr", "description": "An account of the founding of Sentinel", "author": "The Unveiled Azadiyeh, Songbird of Satakalaam", "title": "Sentinel, Jewel of the Alik'r", "text": "Know, O Prince, that in the time of the Ra Gada, the Forebears did come to Hammerfell from doomed Yokuda. First they landed at Hegathe, which they freed of the affliction of the beast-peoples. Then spread they bothwise along the coasts, seeking out goodly harbors and well-watered oases.\nTo the north and west went the warrior-sailors of the Grandee Yaghoub, in the great ships they had brought from Akos Kasaz, until they rounded Cape Shira. Then was Yaghoub the first of the Ra Gada to behold the Iliac Bay, and he deemed it laudable, and praised its excellences, and vowed to make his home thenceforth upon its shores.\nAnd as Yaghoub sailed toward the Steed at dawning of the seventeenth of Second Seed, his watchman cried out that he spied a desirable harborage. And Yaghoub, perceiving it, agreed, and said, \"This harborage shall belong to us, for we shall take it to be ours. And I do name it Sentinel, after the one who first espied it.\"\nThen Sentinel (for thus ever after was it known) already contained a port on its harbor, which port was the haunt of low Elves, and Men who did consort with Elves. And the shores were green with the leaves of pomegranate, and fig, and olive, and the men of the Grandee saw this and were hungry, and sought to come ashore, despite the warnings and cries of the port-rabble.\nBut when Yaghoub landed with his warrior-sailors, with their bright swords and peaked helms, the port-rabble were cowed, and spake, cringing, \"What would you with us, O mighty sword-singers? Slay us not, for we have done you no harm.\"\nAnd Yaghoub said to them, \"Nay, though you are infidels and partake of unclean practices, I will not slay you. For I have a thought to build me a palace upon the height above the harbor, and such labor is not meet for my noble warrior-sailors. Therefore you shall live, and become masons, and stonewrights, and servants of the house.\"\nAnd thus was the true port of Sentinel founded. The port-rabble found purpose in their new labors, and built the walls, and the marketplace, and the palace of Yaghoub. And this was Samaruik, of glorious name, and legendary are the mighty kings and queens who have reigned from it since. For the Crowns who followed the Forebears found Sentinel a worthy seat, and many were the Na-Totambu who settled there.\nEven today, O Prince, above the city gates flies always a banner of the crescent moon, for this was the banner of the Grandee Yaghoub, which has become the symbol of Sentinel in remembrance of him. And the faithful celebrate the Grandee on the Koomu Alezer'i Yaghoub, every seventeenth of Second Seed, when we share pomegranates in honor of our esteemed ancestor."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/seps-kiss": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/seps-kiss", "description": "Instructions to prepare a most potent poison", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Sep's Kiss", "text": "Using a poison known by name only elicits suspicion. The truly perfect assassination is one that remains undetected. I would not dare brag of those slain by my concoctions, for fear of breaking the tender illusion of \"natural\" death.\nI have penned down one of my favorite mixtures, in hope the reader will seek out more on their own. The preparation is unorthodox, yet it has served me well.\nI learned the name \"Sep\" from a sweet Redguard lass I courted for a time. She was unfaithful, but her kiss still filled me with delight.\nPrepare a fire, burned down to coals. Atop that, place a large cauldron. This will be your crucible.\nAdd to this a drop of your own blood. It will sizzle when the pot is tempered. You only need the residue of blood, for flavor and scent.\nScrape the salt from a mangrove leaf, and powder it with the spores from a yellow-knight mushroom. You can find these growing in most any field if you lie down with your face to the soil.\nWhile the crucible is still hot, pour a decanter of treacle tea in, letting the steam escape. In a short time it will reduce, and to that sticky mess, you will add the aforementioned powder.\nOnce all ingredients are combined, it's ready to use. On the skin, it breaks down strength in a matter of hours. For a faster reaction, ingestion or wounding is best.\nI have yet to calculate an antidote for this recipe, so I advise using the utmost caution when handling."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/septima-tharns-leadership-maxims": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/septima-tharns-leadership-maxims", "description": "The Magus-General's philosophy on how to command", "author": "Magus-General Septima Tharn", "title": "Septima Tharn's Leadership Maxims", "text": "People remember directives better if you give them concrete examples. Don't be afraid to make memorable examples of disloyal soldiers, disobedient prisoners, or recalcitrant conquered civilians. Think visually!\nClear communication is the key to effective delivery of your point of view. A demand for surrender will be more effective if carried to the enemy by a headless corpse of one of their own tied to a horse.\nRemember that every decision you make contributes to building your brand. You'll never be known as \"the Butcher\" unless you make a conscious choice to chop a lot of meat.\nListen first before you act. Your subordinates have key information to share with you, so it's important that you give them a chance to speak for themselves. That's the only way you'll know which ones are insubordinate and in need of execution.\nSet clear objectives, hold people accountable, then get out of the way. Delegate appropriately: there's no point in getting yourself killed\u2014that's what subordinates are for. Remember, it's their job to take that fortified bastion, not yours.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/seriens-additional-orders": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/seriens-additional-orders", "description": "", "author": "General Sarien", "title": "Serien's Additional Orders", "text": "Ahknara will send up a flare once she's in place. At that point, assault the fort. You should encounter minimal resistance.\n\u2014 General Sarien"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/seriens-further-orders": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/seriens-further-orders", "description": "", "author": "General Serien", "title": "Serien's Further Orders", "text": "Assign some of your men to cover the infiltration team. Ankhara is the best, but she still needs support.\n\u2014 General Serien"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/serpent-hollow-observations": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/serpent-hollow-observations", "description": "Scholarly notes on Ogre behavior", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Serpent Hollow Observations", "text": "I am inside at last. It took me several days of watching and waiting, but I am patient. I was rewarded with a mass exodus at twilight yesterday. The entire group, accompanied by their cave bears, left on some quest that was doubtless of great importance to them.\nThe door to their caves beneath Serpent Hollow had been left slightly ajar and I slipped inside. I moved cautiously through the cave's winding passages, fearful of meeting a guard. But there were none. I found a perfect observation post, secreted myself behind some boxes, and was settled in with my supplies long before the expedition returned.\nI am elated to report that the rumors are true. The ogres residing here are indeed unusually intelligent. I will take diligent notes for the three weeks my supplies will last. I can already hear the applause when I present my findings to my colleagues in the Imperial City, once this foolish war is over.\nDay 1: Settled into my post undetected. Ogres and cave bears returned hours later. Several seemed to hesitate, sniffing the air deeply, but they soon moved on to normal activities.\nDay 2: I have witnessed tool use and rudimentary communication among these ogres! The big one, the one I have dubbed \"Bruuke,\" pointed at a crate and grunted several times at one of his underlings. That worthy scowled, grabbed the crate, and threw it into a corner, shattering it and scattering its contents about. That seemed to appease Bruuke, who scratched himself in satisfaction.\nDay 3: These caves were obviously once the site of humanoid habitation, likely Imperial miners. Possibly the ogres came upon these folk and killed them in the process of claiming the cavern for their own. But the ogres have cleverly adapted the implements the miners left behind. Fires have been carefully tended and kept burning, and I have seen a shield used as a plate. The ogres also stage impromptu concerts using human bones and skulls as primitive instruments.\nDay 4: Today I witnessed play behavior among the clan. Bruuke picked up a long bone, possibly a miner's femur, struck a bear on the nose with it, and threw it into the water. The bear chased after it and returned it to Bruuke. Soon the other ogres and bears were playing this game as well. It entertained the entire clan for most of the day. I believe this is behavior never before documented among ogres.\nDay 5: I have no doubt that Bruuke is the source of this clan's cleverness. Several times yesterday, as I wrote in my journal, I saw him peer suspiciously about. I believe he hears the sound of my quill scratching on the paper and recognizes it as unusual, possibly dangerous. If he ever comes over here to investigate, then I will \u2014"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/serum-infusion-report": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/serum-infusion-report", "description": "Results of experimentation on idriks", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Serum Infusion Report", "text": "Of the animals tested thus far, indriks have shown the most promising results. Their inherent magical abilities are enhanced to exceptional levels by the infusion process. If we focus our efforts on the indriks, we should be able to refine the process until we can produce a safer serum with wider applications.\nDespite these advances we have encountered a minor setback. Indriks from the wild have displayed dramatic behavioral shifts after treatment, becoming abnormally aggressive. This makes them both unmanageable and incredibly dangerous. All but our most recent specimen have had to be put down and it won't be long before it will share the same fate.\nMy recommendation would be to see if a domesticated indrik poses the same risks. Lotus is far more tame than any indrik we would find in the wild and might handle the process better. Talomar will pose a problem with his unprofessional attachment to the creature. Separating the two without raising suspicion will be difficult, but if he is resistant to rearing new animals, some suitably hazardous duties can be arranged."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/set-list": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/set-list", "description": "A list of bardic songs to be performed", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Set List", "text": "1. Olga's Smickett\n\t2. Age of Repression\n\t3. A Rude Song\n\t4. I'm Glad I'm Not No Orc\n\t5. Ragnar the Bedded\n\t6. A More Rude Song\n\t7. Song of Hrormir\n\t8. Black Fredas\n\t9. A Bonny Dunmeri Lass\n\t10. Ayrenn's Folly\n\t11. A SONG FOR MY DEAR SWEET LOBELATHEL THE MOST BEAUTIFUL CREATURE I WILL LOVE FOREVER. ALL OTHERS ARE NOTHING TO ME."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/settling-debate": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/settling-debate", "description": "A tract on which Morrowind leather armor is superior", "author": "Ralevyn Nerano", "title": "Settling the Debate", "text": "Flexibility or maximum protection? Netch or guar? Maybe you've heard one of the heated arguments, fueled by a few too many cups of mazte at your local cornerclub. Almost every craftsman takes an almost religious stance on this matter, believing his own approach, traditions, and products to be superior to all others, but I want to present both sides and some of their considerations in an unbiased manner to help inform your own opinion.\nThe best leather in Tamriel comes from Morrowind, courtesy of the native guar and netches. This is an indisputable fact, and no other leathers produced in Tamriel come close to their quality. The naturally-exposed hides of these beasts and the ease of processing them, combined with ancient tanning techniques, produce a material that is more durable and tougher than bear, mammoth, or any of the hides commonly used outside Morrowind. Though both are of very high quality, the debate rages on\u2014which makes superior armor?\nNetch leather is thinner by quite a bit. It bends and flexes easily, and it is much more receptive to dyes than guar hide, and therefore more suitable for finer, more ornamental works. It is likewise ideal for the combatant who prefers mobility, but it is much more readily punctured and torn, even when boiled to increase toughness. Another difficulty is that it requires relatively high maintenance\u2014to keep it in fighting shape, it must be oiled and treated with dreugh wax weekly. Netch leather is harder to harvest, as well; the beasts are quite dangerous when riled and have a nasty poison that even experienced netchimen fear.\nGuar hide, on the other hand, is much thicker, resulting in heavier armors overall (though still not as heavy, obviously, as armors crafted from metal). This makes it more difficult to work with, but the end product offers more protection and durability. Staunch traditionalists frequently claim that guar hide has been used longer than netch leather, and that we honor our ancestors in favoring it, but I have been able to locate no proof of this point. If you're more interested in protection than in mobility, guar hide armor is likely a better choice for you.\nEven though every craftsman seems to have an unwavering opinion on which leather results in superior armors, I am not swayed by either side. It occurs to me that the choice is largely on the wearer, depending on his or her own fighting style (though armorers are never shy to offer recommendations in this regard, either). Hopefully, you are more informed now about your options, and whether you choose netch, guar, or an unorthodox combination of both, I wish you luck on the battlefield."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sewer-strategy": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sewer-strategy", "description": "A pepe talk from a Legion Zero general", "author": "General Davarius", "title": "Sewer Strategy", "text": "To: All Legion Zero Soldiers\nRe: Imperial City Sewers\nOur time has come. We have labored in secret for many months to prepare for this. It is our duty to shepherd our city through this transition. The Imperial Sewers are not a pleasant place, and no one would relish the duty of being deployed there. Nonetheless, history tells us that the sewers are perhaps the most critical part of the city in terms of establishing military control.\nWhoever holds the sewers, holds the city. This is not a theory. It's a fact.\nWhen the Longhouse Emperors conquered the Empire forty years ago, they attacked the walls, but they also infiltrated the sewers. By taking the sewers, they secured for themselves an elaborate network of tunnels that enabled them to launch guerilla assaults against the Imperial City's defenders. The sewers were the key to their victory. When Varen recaptured Imperial City from the Reachmen, his assault began in the sewers as well.\nSo when your superior officer orders your squad into the sewers, take pride. You are being assigned a sacred task. Tuck your leggings into your boots, hold your nose and do your duty. We have established a new chain-of-command, but we have not abandoned Imperial discipline. Dereliction of duty will be dealt with quickly and with extreme prejudice. With our new allies also participating in this initiative, Imperial discipline may be lenient compared to the alternative.\nEven under the domination of Coldharbour, we will survive. We will endure, but everyone must do their part. Your commanding officers will ensure you do.\nGeneral Davarius, Zero Legion Commander"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/seythens-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/seythens-journal", "description": "A sheltered kid goes to explore some Daedric ruins", "author": "Seythen Rendo", "title": "Seythen's Journal", "text": "Mother worries too much. She finally agreed that I could go off on my own for a bit. Of course I didn't tell her that I was interested in exploring the old daedric shrines. They are so curious looking and mysterious.\nIt's not that I lack nerve, but seeing a Hunger made me rather nervous. Pays to be wary around a shrine to Molag Bal.\nI think I will leave Kushtashpi shrine alone for now. Besides, I can practically see my parent's roof from here. Not very adventurous.\nI'll go around it, a bit more north and west. There's another shrine, one to Malacath..Zergonipal, I think it's called. They all have such odd names."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/seythens-journal-page": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/seythens-journal-page", "description": "The author wanders off to explore some Daedric shrines", "author": "Seythen", "title": "Seythen's Journal Page", "text": "Mother worries too much. She finally agreed that I could go off on my own for a bit. Of course I didn't tell her that I was interested in exploring the old Daedric shrines. They are so curious looking and mysterious.\nIt's not that I lack nerve, but seeing a Hunger made me rather nervous. Pays to be wary around a shrine to Molag Bal.\nI think I will leave Kushtashpi shrine alone for now. Besides, I can practically see my parent's roof from here. Not very adventurous.\nI'll go around it, a bit more north and west. There's another shrine, one to Malacath. Zergonipal, I think it's called. They all have such odd names."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/shad-astula-academy-handbook": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/shad-astula-academy-handbook", "description": "Orientation book for members or an exclusive magical order", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Shad Astula Academy Handbook", "text": "Welcome to Shad Astula, the Academy of Magic! This is where the most talented mages of the Ebonheart Pact come to learn, share a common origin, and become leaders in the magical community. Your journey begins here.\nFor many, the journey to master magic is fraught with frustration and difficulty. The training provided here can lead to a life of service and rewarding work, thanks to the availability of the best teachers and teaching methods. The fact of the matter is, while everyone invited to the Academy is selected for their potential for greatness, not all of you will measure up to the task before you. For those unfortunate enough to fail, Shad Astula serves as a safety net, a place to refine one's meager skills without causing harm to oneself or to others.\nBut you will not fail. You are not one of the unfortunates. You will rise above. You will take your place as a leader in the Ebonheart Pact!\nYou have already realized that you are different from others who can wield the gift of magicka. Now, prepare to be introduced to a world of power. For you, Shad Astula serves as a place where you can spread your wings. With the help of our staff of master mages, you will not only learn to fly, you will soar!\nAs one of the chosen of the Academy, the usual restrictions and rules that govern the learning of magic do not apply to you. Those rules exist to ensure the safety of mages who may pose a danger to themselves or to others. We anticipate that the Academy's select students will excel, and we believe you're capable of learning your limits quickly. A few guidelines do apply, however:\n\u2014 Do not summon creatures from Oblivion planes, except within designated summoning circles.\n\t\u2014 Magical experimentation on other Academy students is forbidden.\n\t\u2014 Magical experimentation on non-Academy members is discouraged, but use your best judgment.\n\t\u2014 Magical experimentation on staff is encouraged. Keep them on their guard, and they'll do the same for you.\n\t\u2014 Designation of assistants as \"minions\" is strictly prohibited, and cultist or cabalist behaviors or organizations will be dealt with swiftly and harshly. Save your megalomania for after graduation.\n\t\u2014 Students who have not passed the Emotional Control and Mental Stability Exam (ECMSE) are forbidden from sharing a room.\n\t\u2014 Magical dueling is strictly prohibited, except under a staff Battlemage's supervision.\nYou will soon receive an appointment with the Headmaster, who will have more to say about Shad Astula and your status as a member of the Academy. In the meantime, feel free to explore the campus and introduce yourself to your fellow students. Some will become your peers, others your underlings, and a very select few your betters. Learn them well.\nWelcome to Shad Astula. Spread your wings and soar! We expect much of you. Do not disappoint us."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/shad-astula-curriculum": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/shad-astula-curriculum", "description": "The curriculum of the Shad Astula academy", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Shad Astula Curriculum", "text": "Fledgling Members of the Academy:\nRise and shine! We have another education-filled day ahead of us. Another chance to develop your gifts of mysticism and magicka, leadership and military strategy.\nThe first few days of study have flown by, and you have proven worthy of the honor of enrollment at this prestigious Academy. You have not only demonstrated the requisite acumen for your studies, but also confirmed your ability to keep up with the modest tuition payments that keep Shad Astula's welcoming doors open. For these reasons, we are pleased to offer you the opportunity to select your own course of study for the next ten days.\nPlease choose the introductory course you wish to pursue and properly petition the instructor of that art. For the next ten days, you will diligently work to master one of the following disciplines.\nUnderstand that these designations exist solely for the purposes of teaching. They do not represent any formal schema of organization within the Mages Guild or any similar organization.\nALTERATION I: This introductory course teaches simple magical methods of physical manipulation, including techniques for strengthening and weakening basic materials.\nCONJURATION I: In this introductory course, students learn to summon simple weapons and shields, such as daggers or bucklers. Note that knife fighting and defense are not covered in this class.\nDESTRUCTION I: As a prelude to later studies, students learn the basics of the elemental manipulation of flame and frost. An additional security deposit is required to cover the unlikely event of damage to persons and property.\nILLUSION I: Learn simple manipulation of light and shadow, sound and silence, in this introductory course. Your first project will be to create magical candlelight.\nRESTORATION I: This introductory course teaches the basics of the healing arts, as well as the fundamental principles of manipulating life force. The purchase of various small animals may be required, in addition to any other course-required materials.\nCompletion of any of these basic courses will serve as a prerequisite to later studies. A student is free to select a course from ONE of these options. Upon completion of an introductory class, the student is eligible to pursue a second introductory class, if instruction time and class size allows.\nThe study of the ARCANE ARTS awaits you! No doubt you will prove yourself worthy of the instruction and patronage you are receiving.\nFailure to complete a course of study may result in additional tuition charges to cover the cost of taking make-up instruction.\nGood luck!\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/shadakuls-notes": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/shadakuls-notes", "description": "Observations of a necromantic plague", "author": "Shardakul", "title": "Shadakul's Notes", "text": "These necrotic sacs are fascinating. Disease is not uncommon in necromancy, but it's almost always a mundane side-effect of natural decay. Not so here. I can say with certainty that these sacs are not a natural side-effect. They were specifically designed to produce and excrete infectious fluid. Given that I've never seen this infection before, I've elected to name it: Necrosepsis Imperialis.\nTransmission seems clear enough. The sacs develop beneath the carrier beasts' skin and swell over the course of several days. At some point, a pore opens to allow for slow secretion. As far as I can tell, this lasts for only a few days before the sac ruptures under pressure. Given the thickness of the colossi's skin, it's probably an explosive event. I've not seen it happen yet. More's the pity.\nThe disease moves quickly. From the bodies I've examined, I'd say that the period between infection and death is something like two to three days. It presents similarly to the latter stages of the Knahaten flu, with some notable differences. For instance, instead of bloody effluvium, the victims secrete a black tar-like substance from the eyes, nose, and mouth. There is also evidence of violent spasms.\nThe most notable difference, however, is the rapid swelling of the body post-mortem, and the appearance of small pustules on the skin. The liquid produced by these sores is incredibly virulent\u2014far more dangerous than the fluid carried by the colossi and hoarvors. Obviously this makes it imperative to halt the disease at its source, before it can incubate and mature.\nNow if only I could think of a way to do that."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/shadow-draining-hypothesis": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/shadow-draining-hypothesis", "description": "On the magical effect of absorbing another's life force", "author": "the Glimmering Foxbat", "title": "Shadow Draining: A Hypothesis", "text": "Anyone who studies the so-called \"shadow magic\" of the underworld's night blades is familiar with the siphoning spells, which drain life force and health from the injured to the injurer. The question before the scholar-arcanist is to explain how and why this works. After prolonged study, primarily through low-grade siphoning of my menials and their families while they slept, I have arrived at a hypothesis.\nIt appears to me that the magical siphoning of health is related to the instant translocation spells insofar as it creates a transliminal flow of essence from the target to the caster. Through the hyperagonal magicka sense, the night blade perceives the target's transpontine deformation and \"pierces\" it, and in the resulting disruption absorbs the essence that is lost by the target. Thus, instead of \"stepping through shadows\" as in translocation, the mage is \"shadow draining\" from one location to another.\nOr so my experiments indicate.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/shadow-rahjin": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/shadow-rahjin", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Shadow of Rahjin", "text": "According to legend, a young and foolish bard bargained with Rahjin for power to seduce any person he wished with his songs. This must have amused the trickster god, because he sent one of his seven shadows to brush the strings of the young man's lyre.\nHowever, such deals always come with a price. While the young man could inspire lustful passion, his songs stoked equally jealous fury in cuckolded rivals. For a time the young bard's luck held out and even provided him material for tales of challenges, duels, and midnight escapes.\nBut luck is a wheel that turns and it turned on him. He was killed and the lyre passed to another. Sooner or later another musician discovered how to activate its secret and met the same eventual fate. So the cycle repeated itself over the centuries.\nAlthough the college has thoroughly tested and warded the Shadow of Rahjin since acquiring it, those wishing to play the lyre do so at their own risk."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/shadowbanish-vintners-note": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/shadowbanish-vintners-note", "description": "Please enjoy the wines responsibly", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Shadowbanish Vintners Note", "text": "Guests, welcome!\nWe at the Shadowbanish Winery are pleased to have you join us for this exclusive tasting of our most special reserve. More than two dozen different vintages will be available over the course of the evening\u2014with the opportunity to purchase your favorites in more substantial quantities, of course. We highly recommend you take advantage of this rare opportunity to acquire this stock, tax free. You won't find them at a lower price anywhere else, we assure you.\nPlease imbibe responsibly and mind your footing. These cool coves are perfect for preserving our stock, but the damp rock can be quite treacherous! We wouldn't want any potential customers to get washed out to sea.\nYour Gracious Hosts"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/shadows-and-whispers": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/shadows-and-whispers", "description": "", "author": "Romien Garvette", "title": "Shadows and Whispers", "text": "By Romien Garvette of the Whispering Shadows\nCreeping, crawling, creeping, crawling.\nThey whisper, whisper, whisper to me. Do you hear it? It's low and steady. Crawls into your ears, rattles through your head. Shadows growing darker. The darkness is right under your eyelids. Black, eternal, inescapable. Creeping, crawling.\nI am Her servant, loyal. I must be loyal. The shadows will catch me. I once thought myself quick, clever, able to pick any lock, there and back without a trace. I was ready, willing to give all to Her. I could not do otherwise, I knew. I felt. The darkness had seeped into my skin. I could taste it on my tongue, like the oil that coats this city.\nHer shrikes sang to me, a haunting tune. I can't describe it. I don't want to, I can't, I won't. Always singing. The rhythm beat itself into my blood, my heart pumping in time. Slow, steady, slow, steady. Always singing, dreams coated in black. I'm drowning, I can't breathe, but Her song fills me still.\nI'm creeping, crawling, a roach of Clockwork. Her insect, set to Her bidding. Shadows, I've become a shadow. I'm darkness, a stain upon the wall. My blade is coated in blood, red against the black. Warm, so warm, but my fingers feel like ice.\nI'm trapped in brass, in cogs and wheels. The singing remains, but the song is gone. No tune, no music, but whispers set to rhythm. Serve Her, be shadow, be whispers. Creeping, crawling, but I can't escape. I'm caught in the darkness, tar which clings to my clothes. I speak but am silent. I see but am blind. Blind, so blind, to nothing but Her will.\nThe crows are laughing, but I cannot. The shrikes are singing, but I cannot. The world is bright, but I am darkness. I am whispers. You will not hear me before I strike."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/shadowscales-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/shadowscales-journal", "description": "A Shadowscale encounters a Skinstealer", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Shadowscale's Journal", "text": "Entry 441: Three Dark Elves killed in Stormhold, and rumors call it our work. Preposterous\u2014the Night Mother gifted none of them with her call.\nI'll return to the Enclave when I discover who's behind this.\nEntry 442: Just watched <<1>> enter her home. This isn't right. Her body remains at the mortuary.\nGoing to see what this creature wants, and why it wears <<1>>'s face."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/shagoras-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/shagoras-journal", "description": "A fiancee runs off right before a marriage", "author": "Shagora", "title": "Shagora's Journal", "text": "Seqbar better be dead. If he isn't, when I find him he'll soon wish he was. Running off on the eve of our engagement? What kind of idiot does that?\nI took a few supplies and headed after him yesterday. All this sand makes my head swim. I'll be glad to get inside the mine, if only to get away from this sun.\nThe mine's owner said I could wait for Seqbar if I wanted. Bah! I'm not afraid of spiders!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/shakras-letter": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/shakras-letter", "description": "Questions about current events", "author": "Shakra", "title": "Shakra's Letter", "text": "Dugrul,\nI hope you are well. Father says the land Orcs are cowards to join the Bretons, but I wonder. There is strength in numbers. What does your warchief think?\nI am curious about life in the Covenant. What is life in the army like? Have you fought?\nA Bosmer told me the Elves have a new queen. Is that true? Did she really say she was going to take back all of Tamriel?\nI hear that Duchess Lakana and Duke Nathaniel were married. A Redguard and a Breton? I wonder if the duchess chose this. Oh, to choose your husband! Have you been to Stormhaven?\nThe captain of a merchant ship said the Covenant attacked Davon's Watch, the Dark Elf city. He told me the Dark Elves summoned a Daedra, a creature of flame and bone, to fight for them.\nIs that true? A Daedra? I think the captain was lying to me. I should have killed him.\nI look forward to your reply. Write more often, cousin, and visit again soon.\n\u2014 Shakra"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/shalans-note": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/shalans-note", "description": "A refugee's note to his mother", "author": "Shalan", "title": "Shalan's Note", "text": "Mother,\nThe village is on fire! Who could have done this? The Imperials left so long ago. I can hear screams \u2026\nI'm going to make a run for it. I'll try to get word to Darien. He always knows what to do. I'm taking Aneese and the dog. Hopefully she won't slow me down too much.\nIf you find this, know that I love you dearly. May Akatosh watch over us both.\nYour son,\n\tShalan"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/shaman-moramats-orders": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/shaman-moramats-orders", "description": "Instructions to the shaman about which territories to watch over", "author": "Filgdor", "title": "Shaman Moramat's Orders", "text": "Moramat,\nHere's a chance to prove your usefulness. If any of Jorunn's forces slip through Ramorgal's net to the north or sneak out of the south gates, it is up to you to stop them.\nAlso, I don't know what is going on over at that logging camp, but I do not want any surprises from that direction. Send a couple of your mages over there to see if we can use the situation to our advantage or to determine if it will cause us problems. Probably the best course is to leave well enough alone, but I leave that to you to decide.\n\u2014 Filgdor"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sharfums-letter": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sharfums-letter", "description": "An Orc daughter goes to Orsinium", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Sharfum's Letter", "text": "Father,\nI know it will be disappointing to you, so I am leaving at night.\nYou know where I have gone. To the city. I have decided to join the priesthood of Trinimac.\nYou will blame Sneg, but you should not. I made this decision on my own. If you must know the reason it is that for a long time I was ashamed of being an Orc. While other peoples grow strong and proud with their great cities--Shornhelm, Stormhaven, Daggerall, Mournhold, Evermore--we Orcs languish without a home. In Orsinium, I no longer need to be ashamed.\nWhenever you find this, and whatever you think of it, I want you to know that I will always love you and I was never ashamed of you.\nYour daughter,\n\tSharfum"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/shazahs-diary": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/shazahs-diary", "description": "A young Khajiit observes the spread of the Knahaten flu through her city", "author": "Shazah", "title": "Shazah's Diary", "text": "22nd of Sun's Dusk\nFather told Shazah not to look, but she did.\nThere was a cart full of dead Khajiit. One of them was Pahzbar, who snuck candy for this one from the market and said her fur was very nice. Shazah didn't know what to say so she ran away. She has one piece of candy left and wants to put it in his paw for the burial, but Father won't let her near the cart.\nThis one is sorry she never got to say thank you, and she is very sad this sickness is here, but Father and his friends are working hard on it. Shazah will help, though she is still just learning.\n23rd of Sun's Dusk\nFather says not to be afraid, but Nien stewed vegetables for everyone without anyone even asking. She even told Shazah a story last night before bedtime and was kind to her. They all think Shazah can't understand, that she is just a kitten, but she does. When they do odd things, it means things are bad.\nThe fires burning in the market smell like the time this one cast fire and burned herself. And these fires have not gone out in days.\n24th of Sun's Dusk\nFather talked to one of the rich nobles this morning. They thought Shazah was asleep, but she wasn't and has very keen ears. The rich noble wants the district sealed off but Father says there are still sick people that need help. They argued for a long time.\n25th of Sun's Dusk\nFather has moved our camp to down near the gate. The rich nobles won't let us back in. The market is all burned down and people are just wandering the streets. So many are sick. Earlier, one woman was screaming outside of a house, pounding on the door, but they wouldn't let her in. The sun is almost down, but this one can see her lying next to the steps. Edhelruin went to help her but came back looking very upset.\nLanelor and Thorelir don't look so good, either. Father has given them tomorrow off.\n26th of Sun's Dusk\nFather has a cough but won't let Shazah get him any water. Edhelruin gave me a few new books to study instead, but it is hard to concentrate. The air smells very bad and the smoke makes this one gag.\nThere is talk about an army coming. Shazah hopes it will help Father distribute the medicine.\nLanelor left this afternoon after speaking with Father. He still hasn't come back and it is very late. There is a lot of screaming farther up by the rich noble's gate. Shazah is getting very scared.\n27th of Sun's Dusk\nFather and Nien wrapped Thorelir in a sheet this morning. There were sores and blisters all over her skin. Father's cough is worse, too. Just after midday he argued with Edhelruin. Shazah heard her name mentioned.\nThere are a lot of dead people in the street now. Glothor and Rallion used to collect them but they have stopped. Instead, they went to ask for help from the rich nobles.\nNien didn't even try to find food for us today. All we had was some boiled broth and this one is now very hungry, but she secretly gave what she had left to Father. He looks very tired.\n28th of Sun's Dusk\nNien is gone. She left sometime last night and this one misses her. She would sing at night when she thought no one heard, but this one always heard. Now it is just Edhelruin and Father. Shazah suddenly misses her sister and Mother very much. It is very lonely here. Everyone is sick and angry. Someone came to the camp this afternoon and tried to steal things from Father. Edhelruin had to chase them away with a knife.\nFather won't let this one see him anymore. Edhelruin says we must leave and find Mother. How can Shazah leave Father like this? He is not well!\nEdhelruin is coming now. This one will demand to stay and help, even if Father says her destiny is elsewhere.\nThis one loves her Father more than any stupid destiny."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/she-dared-me": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/she-dared-me", "description": "There is trouble out there", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "She Dared Me", "text": "She dared me to go there, but I wouldn't. Why should I look for trouble in the wilds?\nI've enough to do, what with feeding our children, and keeping her from harm. Why didn't I go?\nNo one's ever seen the creature in the pit and lived to tell about it. Why did she leave? Is she running away from something? From me?\nY'ffre, keep her safe."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/she-my-light": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/she-my-light", "description": "A love poem", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "She Is My Light", "text": "i shall give of myself\nfor what is love if not\nsacrifice of my light\ni am brighter than the rest\nshe will take my light first\ni have more light than they\nshe is my light\ntallatta the lustrous\ncome take my light from me\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sheltered": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sheltered", "description": "A place to rest", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Sheltered", "text": "This place provides shelter to those who seek to perfect their skills.\nTake what you need, and leave an offering in return.\nKoomu alezer'i!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/shipyard-workers-take-warning": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/shipyard-workers-take-warning", "description": "Remember to watch out for spies while working on secret projects", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Shipyard Workers, Take Warning!", "text": "SPIES ARE EVERYWHERE!\nThe ships we are building are destined for the Thrice-Blessed Alliance of the Daggerfall Covenant\u2014agents of the Ebonheart Pact and the Aldmeri Dominion may be spying upon our work AT ANY TIME.\nBEWARE OF SABOTEURS!\nShips on the ways are vulnerable to sabotage, especially from fire. This is especially likely to be attempted at night. BE ALERT FOR SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY.\nREMEMBER: OPEN EYES TO STOP THE SPIES!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/shomaes-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/shomaes-journal", "description": "In search of a traditional Khajiiti instrument", "author": "Shomae", "title": "Shomae's Journal", "text": "This one came here to find the family esraj, a traditional Khajiiti musical instrument which was last possessed by Elder Haruza. She spoke much of her times here in Desert Wind Caverns before her death, or so says family lore. This one is sad to find the esraj in splinters, but wishes to remain to train in the ways of the Rawlith Khaj. So Shomae will.\nThis one's master says to start a new journal for a new life, so Shomae will do that. The best place to focus on this writing is within a nook in the caverns, or so Shomae has found.\nAh, but to have found the esraj in such a state. Sadness. But is it good or bad that it led Shomae here?\nShomae does not know. Our master would state that it is neither\u2013that one must explore this sadness then let it go. So Shomae does."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/shornhelm-crown-city-north": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/shornhelm-crown-city-north", "description": "A pamphlet extoling the virtues of House Montclair and promoting Wylon as King", "author": "Lord Wylon, 39th Baron Montclair", "title": "Shornhelm, Crown City of the North", "text": "The Breton people of the Markwasten Moor and Shornhelm heights have a long and storied history, with much to be proud of: the Trammeling of the Giants in the time of legends; the Purge of the Wyrd-Hags in the Year of Sun's-Death (which restored Magnus to the skies of the Mundus); and the Charge of the Montclair Knights (often erroneously referred to as the Charge of the Shornhelm Knights) at the Battle of Glenumbria Moors.\nThrough all this tumultuous history, the people of Rivenspire are fortunate to have been ably led, through times of terror and triumph, by the noble lords of the House of Montclair.\nIt is true that the Barons of House Montclair have not always been selected by fate to also reign as King of Shornhelm. But the Montclairs count humility among their many virtues, and have often been willing to defer to pretenders with weaker claims to royalty in the interest of peace. That this humility has sometimes been tragically over-indulged was sadly proven in the case of my father\u2014Phylgeon, 38th Baron Montclair.\nAs all students of Breton history know, the greatest post-Reman monarch of Shornhelm was King Hurlburt, who led our army at the Battle of Granden Tor and ruled the North from 2E 522 until his death in 546. Hurlburt was of House Branquette, 21st Count of the Name, and had taken as his queen Countess Iphilia of Montclair. When King Hurlburt died his legitimate son, Prince Phylgeon, was only fourteen years of age, and though his inheritance was championed by House Montclair, Houses Branquette and Tamrith supported his elder half-brother, Prince Ranser, who had been born out of wedlock to a poor Tamrith cousin. (House Dorell, typically aloof, declined to endorse either candidate.)\nWhat is less well known is the behind-the-scenes maneuvering that led to Ranser being crowned King of Shornhelm rather than Phylgeon. The advisors of the young Baron Montclair (his mother had predeceased King Hurlbut by a mere two years) contended that he, as the legitimate son, was the proper heir to the throne\u2014a claim further buttressed by language in a codicil to the famous \"Bretonnick Natalitie\" that declared \"Howse Mount Clayre\" the royal house of Shornhelm. The Council of the North met to consider the various claimants, but during their deliberations the Montclair advisors found that the Bretonnick codicil had gone missing, while Prince Ranser brought forth a suspiciously long-lost Direnni decree that named House Branquette their \"Breton Royal Delegates\" in Rivenspire.\nThe vote of the Council was a narrow victory for Prince Ranser, thereafter King Ranser of Shornhelm. Some of Prince Phylgeon's advisors urged him to fight for the crown, but the young prince declined, preferring to become simply the Baron of Montclair.\nOh, fateful humility! We all know where Phylgeon's deference led\u2014to the tragic events of 566 and the insurrection against the First Daggerfall Covenant in what is known (to our shame) as Ranser's War. According to the standard histories, all the noble houses\u2014Montclair, Tamrith, even Dorell\u2014answered King Ranser's call to muster and marched behind his banner in his fatal war against High King Emeric and the South. What is not generally known is that Count Phylgeon of Montclair was uncertain of the rightness of Ranser's cause, and offered to both Kings Ranser and Emeric to serve as a peace envoy between the two sides. High King Emeric's reply has been lost to history, but Ranser's angry refusal is well known. Once again my father deferred to his elder half-brother, and the Montclair Knights joined Ranser's doomed army.\nIn the immediate aftermath of King Ranser's fall, Rivenspire fell into chaos. The Crown of Shornhelm went missing during the Battle of Traitor's Tor, and the fateful \"Direnni decree\" that elevated Ranser to the throne has likewise not been seen since. The death of Ranser was the end of the line of House Branquette, and since then there has been no King of Shornhelm, Rivenspire having been jointly ruled by the triumvirate Council of the North. That body has tried, with the best of intentions, to keep peace and order in the northern counties, but nobody, if they were speaking honestly, would say the Council's efforts have sufficed. Shornhelm\u2014and the North\u2014need a King.\nAnd why shouldn't they have one? If I may speak frankly, setting aside, however regretfully, the traditional Montclair mantle of humility, then I must confess that I, Baron Wylon of Montclair, am certainly the legitimate heir to the throne of Shornhelm. My grandfather was King Hurlburt, and I descend from him in the direct and legitimate line of succession, a claim no one else in the North can make. (That also makes me the sole living heir to the domain of the Branquettes, much of which was unfairly parceled out to the Tamriths and Dorells, but no\u2014humility, always humility!)\nFurthermore, at this critical juncture I am fortunate to be able to announce that the long-missing Bretonnick Codicil has been found by the Montclair house historian, the operative clause of which I shall quote here:\n\"\u2026 seeing all in order then in Sharn Helm and its Lands Contyguous, the most royale and high \u2026 (unintelligible) \u2026 appointeth in Perpetuitie sayde Howse Mount Clayre in rulership over \u2026 (unintelligible) \u2026 and Sharn Helm. So mote it bee.\"\nPeople of Rivenspire, Baron Wylon of Montclair is prepared to do his duty."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/short-note": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/short-note", "description": "Being a bandit isn't good work", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Short Note", "text": "I don't know how I ended up in this dreadful place. I heard that working for the Bitterhand was very profitable, but so far the only thing I've gotten is a daily bowl of slop. In exchange, I've found myself robbing and killing innocent people. I think I made one of those mistakes that mother talked about \u2026 the kind that lead you down a dark path to an early death."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/show-us-your-worth": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/show-us-your-worth", "description": "An opportunity to prove yourself through theft", "author": "T", "title": "Show Us Your Worth", "text": "Teraniel,\nThe moment you have been waiting for has finally arrived. I have an opportunity for you. A unique opportunity, to show the Court and our benefactor just how cunning you can be. You know how he appreciates a savvy deal maker.\nI am entrusting you with several tomes I acquired at a hefty price. They describe a place between realms, a gap, or rather a pit of emptiness that lies between our world and Oblivion. It is the home of something primal, something with a great need. And our benefactor does so love a thing in need.\nStrike a bargain with this creature, the Insatiable, and unleash it on the garrison at Cey-Tarn Keep. Our moment of triumph is close at hand and the servants of our sovereign stooge remain too close for comfort. Give them something to occupy themselves with while the final pieces of our plans fit into place.\nI will recall you to Shimmerene when your task is done. Until then, keep watch over the situation and ensure a favorable outcome. We would all be very disappointed if you were to squander this investment.\nMay fortune show its hand to you,\nT"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/shriek-silk": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/shriek-silk", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Shriek-of-Silk", "text": "One of the few famous traveling Argonian bards, Soft-Beak, brought this unique specimen of the vossa-satl to the college in the 3rd century. To this day, it is regarded as one of the most difficult instruments to master.\nOver the centuries, it was most often used for hazing than playing\u2014at one point senior students would tell fledgling bards that they should take up the vossa-satl, as it was easy to learn and certain notes would make any Argonian swoon in their favor. If it didn't make the right sound, it was because they weren't blowing with enough spittle.\nBards College staff did eventually put a stop to this, and this particular instrument was taken up with pride as the favorite of the current Adjunct Professor of Argonian Music Theory, Twains-the-Night."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/shrine-mara": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/shrine-mara", "description": "Instructions on marriage", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Shrine of Mara", "text": "At this altar to the Goddess of Love you can use a Ring of Mara to espouse your beloved."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/shrine-scavenging-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/shrine-scavenging-journal", "description": "Sometimes, the dying journal genre has a very mundane cause of death", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Shrine Scavenging Journal", "text": "Up until this shrine, our scavenging trip has been pretty easy. Traveling with Wulusa has been fun. I never realized Argonians had such a sense of humor. And she's damn good with her twin daggers.\nI can't believe that a simple slip has botched up this venture so badly. My ankle looks like a bloated netch. Stupid of me, for dancing around on the ledge above after Wulusa got the door unlocked. She's a good friend though. She sat me here, with a potion and some brandy, while she went to find the key to open this main gate. Our research says the crazy followers of the Mad God had another worship room in the back. Key is probably there.\nShe should be back soon. I hope so. I didn't want to tell her the wound started bleeding again, in spite of our wrapping it tightly.\nI'm tired. Very tired."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/shrine-derik-hallin": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/shrine-derik-hallin", "description": "commemoration of the heroic sword-singer", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Shrine to Derik Hallin", "text": "In memory of the hero Derik Hallin. Long after the time of Frandar and Divad, Derik quested for and recovered the five shehai.\nHe and the sword-saints wielded the shehai in battle to forever end the beastmen threat against Hammerfell."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/shrine-divad-hunding": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/shrine-divad-hunding", "description": "plaque commemorating the famous Redguard hero", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Shrine to Divad Hunding", "text": "In memory of Divad Hunding, son of Frandar. Aided his father in the defeat of Emperor Hira and the settlement of Hammerfell.\nDivad broke the Goblinkins' hold over Hammerfell with the creation of five mighty shehai."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/shrine-frandar-hunding": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/shrine-frandar-hunding", "description": "plaque commemorating the legendary swordmaster", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Shrine to Frandar Hunding", "text": "In memory of Frandar Hunding, who conceived the Way of the Sword and taught the Ansei to summon the shehai sword spirits.\nWith the Ansei, he defeated Emperor Hira and led his people to freedom in the distant land of Hammerfell."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/shrine-makela-leki": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/shrine-makela-leki", "description": "Plaque commemorating the brave Redguard martyr", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Shrine to Makela Leki", "text": "In memory of the sword-saint Makela Leki. Almost single-handedly, Leki held the Bangkorai Pass against the treachery of King Joile.\nBecause of her selfless sacrifice, the backstabbing Bretons never reached Sentinel."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/shuls-letter": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/shuls-letter", "description": "A husband is infected by the Knahaten Flu", "author": "Shul", "title": "Shul's Letter", "text": "My Dear Sarase,\nThe plague caught me in its ravenous teeth. Death draws near. I won't risk you or our boy. You must leave Zuuk.\nPlease, flee Black Marsh. Take what you must to survive the journey and don't look back. Zuuk turns to dust, and I fear for you.\nHold me always in your eyes, as I will ever hold you.\nYour Loving Husband,\n\tShul"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/signal-tower-orders": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/signal-tower-orders", "description": "Instructions for a seaside assault", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Signal Tower Orders", "text": "Loyal Bretons,\nNo matter how hard the wind blows or how fast the snow falls, we have a job to do. Captain Henrisa and her fleet will be in range soon. Make sure the signal fire stays lit until you see the sails of the fleet, then douse the fire.\nThis blasted storm may disrupt her plans a bit, but I'd say the weather will work in our favor for a change."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/silt-strider-caravaners-log": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/silt-strider-caravaners-log", "description": "Records of journeys, passengers, and incompetent interns", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Silt Strider Caravaner's Log", "text": "15, Second Seed \u2014 Seven passengers ferried. Eighteen parcels at twenty-two stone weight. Weather fair.\nAt 5 of the clock, set course for Seyda Neen. Passage uneventful.\nAt 1 of the clock, set course for Balmora. Wild nix-pack sighted near Odai. Outlanders were very excited and requested stop.\nAt 2 of the clock, resumed journey to Balmora. Passage uneventful.\nAt 6 of the clock, arrived in Balmora. All passengers and parcels accounted for.\n* * *\n16, Second Seed \u2014 Five passengers ferried. Thirteen parcels at twenty-seven stone weight. One novice caravaner brought on board. Mertisi Apo. Weather exceptionally cloudy.\nAt 5 of the clock, set course for Gnaar Mok. Allowed novice Mertisi access to the drive-cavity to gauge aptitude. Novice pulled the left antennal lobe\u2014prompted minor seizure in strider. Two passengers flung overboard. Seven parcels lost. After recovering passengers, sent Mertisi to stowage.\nAt 3 of the clock, arrived in Gnaar Mok. Passengers demanded restitution for unexpected stop and loss of parcels. Coffers minus fifty-six gold.\nAt 4 of the clock, set course for Gnisis. Novice Mertisi repeatedly inquired about second chance at drive-cavity. Sent him back to stowage. Passage uneventful.\nAt 9 of the clock, arrived in Gnisis. All remaining passengers and parcels accounted for.\n* * *\n17, Second Seed \u2014 Six passengers ferried. Fourteen parcels at twenty-four stone weight. Novice Mertisi Apo remains on board despite protests. Weather fair.\nAt 5 of the clock, set course for Khuul. Novice Mertisi resumed pleas to take control of the Strider. Despite misgivings, I allowed access.\nAt 7 of the clock, Novice Mertisi stepped on right suboesophageal ganglion. Prompted violent discharge of strider's gastric system and musk tubules. Passengers rightly horrified. Sent Mertisi back to stowage.\nAt 1 of the clock, arrived in Khuul. Again, passengers demanded refund. Coffers minus forty-three gold.\nAt 2 of the clock, set course for Maar Gan. Four passengers ferried. Nine parcels at twelve stone weight. Passage uneventful. Looking forward to removing Novice Mertisi from the strider at next stop.\nAt 5 of the clock, arrived in Maar Gan. Spent remainder of the day cleaning fluids off the strider's carapace and scrubbing clogged tubules.\n* * *\n18, Second Seed \u2014 Eight passengers ferried. Twenty-two parcels at thirty-one stone weight. Novice Mertisi remains on board. Was notified that the novice is a beloved nephew of prominent Hlaalu benefactor. Morale suffers. Weather hot and blustery. Winds from the Southeast.\nAt 5 of the clock, set course for Tel Vos. Novice Mertisi requested one last chance at driving the strider. Presented the basics of strider physiology for the fifteenth time. Allowed access to the drive cavity.\nAt 6 of the clock, Novice Mertisi poked ocellar nerve with curved vedran-prod. Strider began screeching immediately. Sent Novice Mertisi back to stowage.\nAt 12 of the clock, the strider finally stopped screeching. Passengers relieved.\nAt 12 and 15 of the clock, relief turned to bitter accusation and cries for refunds. Coffers minus fifty-two gold.\nAt 1 of the clock, summoned Novice Mertisi to drive cavity for a private meeting. Had brief and civil discussion about caravaner methodology.\nAt 4 of the clock, passengers reported that Novice Mertisi was missing. Thorough search of the strider revealed no sign of his presence. Likely fell overboard somewhere near Zergonipal. Tragic loss. Morale much improved.\nAt 7 of the clock, arrived in Tel Vos. All passengers save Mertisi accounted for. Was notified that I will receive a new trainee in Tel Mora. Morale suffers."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/silt-strider-station": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/silt-strider-station", "description": "Why walk when you can ride?", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Silt-Strider Station", "text": "Why brave the dangers of the open road or pay the high costs of an unsettling sea voyage when you can travel overland in safety and comfort aboard a friendly silt-strider? Why ride a caravan of questionable virtue when the Red Mountain Company Express Silt-Strider Service is available at a fraction of the cost?\nVisit any of our Silt-Strider Stations, located conveniently in towns throughout Vvardenfell, and connect to destinations far and near. Want to leave the hustle of Vivec City behind? Travel to Balmora and see the canals, or visit the plantations of Suran! Stuck in the outskirts of Gnisis? It's just a short trip via the Caravaner Tower outside town and you can reach Tel Mora before dinner!\nThe Red Mountain Company Express Silt-Strider Service, located at Caravaner Towers all across Vvardenfell, can get you where you need to go. Remember, when you climb aboard a silt-strider, your destination is just a hop, skip, and a jump away!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/silvenar-manifest": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/silvenar-manifest", "description": "A long list of food and drink", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Silvenar Manifest", "text": "- 12 oxen, live\n\t- 12 oxen, butchered, salted\n\t- 10,000 eggs\n\t- 200 chickens, live\n\t- 14 barrels, flour (West Weald)\n\t- 6 barrels, sugar (Tenmar)\n\t- 12 casks, salt\n\t- 12 kegs, ale\n\t- 6 kegs, mead\n\t- 20 kegs, beer\nNote: It is imperative the kegs of mead, ale, and beer be marked discreetly or in code. The Wood Elf handfast ritual includes the imbibing of a rather \u2026 unique alcoholic drink made from honey, animal fat, and other ingredients not considered palatable by other members of the Aldmeri Dominion. While the Wood Elven nobility understands the need for refreshments other than this concoction, there is no need to put \u2026 alternative beverages front and center. It could be considered insulting."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/silver-asp-antidote-recipe": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/silver-asp-antidote-recipe", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Silver Asp Antidote Recipe", "text": "The ingredients must be mixed in the proper order!\nFirst, grind 2 lumps of dried netch organ.\nNext, sprinkle 3 pinches of fuzzy red moss. Stir.\nFinally, add a single vial of kwama spittle.\nShake the mixture to ensure it is well mixed."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/silver-crawdad-surprise": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/silver-crawdad-surprise", "description": "A recipe", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Silver Crawdad Surprise", "text": "Ingredients:\nTwo silver crawdads, cleaned\n\tOne onion, chopped\n\tTwo carrots, diced\n\tTwo tomatoes, sliced\n\tTwo cups of stock\nPreparation:\nCombine half the tomatoes with the stock to create a marinade. Soak crawdads, turning every half-hour, in a cool dry place for a total of four hours.\nRemove the cawdads and reduce the marinade until it coats the spoon.\nCombine onion, carrots, and the remainder of the tomatoes wit a small quantity of clear spring water to the marinade. Braise the cleaned crawdads in this mixture for an hour.\n\tServes four."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/silver-dawn-contract": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/silver-dawn-contract", "description": "The Temple of the Divines partners with the Silver Dawn to take out a werewolf", "author": "Chanter Nemus", "title": "Silver Dawn Contract", "text": "Purifier Gunthafur,\nThank you so much for accepting this sacred duty on behalf of your respected order. The Silver Dawn has often worked with the priests of the Divines to rid our world of the foul curse of lycanthropy, and we are anxious to employ your services once again.\nThe target this time is a young Nord woman who answers to the name of Hildegard. She wears a flower in her hair and often visits the Great Chapel of Dibella in Anvil. Don't let appearances deceive you, however. Beneath her unimposing frame beats the heart of a monster.\nOn her next visit to the chapel, I shall convince her to return to the wilderness of Skyrim that gave birth to her curse. Track her and dispatch her. Just do what you do best and a generous donation shall be made to your order.\nChanter Nemus"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/silver-claws-ledger": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/silver-claws-ledger", "description": "Notes on leverage and payment", "author": "Silver-Claw", "title": "Silver-Claw's Ledger", "text": "Moon-Sugar Merchants have delivered first of three shipments as agreed upon. Returned one incriminating letter. As promised, the other two letters will be returned when additional shipments received.\nFranrynn Silver-Axe is owed 75 gold for her very useful information about the \"extra\" cargo aboard the Golden Sun out of Haven.\nLetter to the Captain of the Golden Sun, requesting favorable pricing for some of his cargo. It will be useful to undercut my rivals on the price of religious statuary and rare herbs. Insist on reply within one day.\nLady Balina was seen in the Senche and Serpent twice in the past two weeks. Apparently she thinks no one will notice her if she wears a hood. Have Mim follow her more carefully. Is she seeing someone on the sly? Perhaps she's a secret drunk? Either way, useful information when I need her to put a good word in with her husband for future deals."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/simple-illusion-magic": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/simple-illusion-magic", "description": "Excerpt from a textbook", "author": "Ninaleon Sightbinder the First", "title": "Simple Illusion Magic", "text": "A beginner's guide to illusion magic, as prepared by Ninaleon Sightbinder the First!\nCHAPTER I : Sight\n\tCHAPTER II : Sound\n\tCHAPTER III : Smells and Tastes\n\tCHAPTER IV : Touch\n\tCHAPTER V : Multi-Sensory Mastery\n\tCHAPTER VI : Simulating People\n\tCHAPTER VII : Light That Fights\n\tCHAPTER VIII : Beginner's Rituals (Do Not Perform Without Supervision)\n- - - - - - - - - - - -\nVIII.d: Ritual Life Force Binding For Sustained Illusionary Projection: Completion\nTo end the ritual, simply tune each crystal in turn. The colors of the lights to either side of the crystal will combine to create a new color within. Red and Yellow into Orange, and so on. A sound will also be heard when you have it right.\nBeware. Without maintenance of the spell-lattice, the ritualist can quickly find her life energies consumed in the illusionary suspension she has created."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/singed-lady-g-note": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/singed-lady-g-note", "description": "A badly burned note", "author": "Lady G", "title": "Singed Lady G Note", "text": "<Flames from the Dragon's attack rendered much of this note illegible. However, some text remains.>\n... slim pickings, for sure. The Orc might provide a challenge, but ...\n... others might provide a decent distract\u2014....\n... take them to Selloe. She's an idiot, but if ...\n... down by the waterfront. From what I hear, Lady G wants to keep Selloe in Senchal. Easier for that dunce to recruit new talent, and easier for Lady G to keep an eye ..."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/singed-page": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/singed-page", "description": "An incomplete tale", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Singed Page", "text": "Broggo the Small hated the cold. He hated the heat. He wasn't even fond of days that were warm and sunny. He was a strange little Nord, but that was what made Broggo the Small a hero.\nOne day, late in winter, when the snow was falling hard and fast,"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sinmurs-grave-marker": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sinmurs-grave-marker", "description": "Sinmur the terrible can no longer terrorize the Rift", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Sinmur's Grave Marker", "text": "The bones of Sinmur the Terrible shall remain entombed here forever more. Through the Toils of Ysgamor, Jamal and Bron, Sinmur's rage was quieted. The terror and destruction that Sinmur wrought shall never again been seen in the Rift thanks to the efforts of our most cherished Companions."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sir-edmunds-letter": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sir-edmunds-letter", "description": "Knights must not betray their oath", "author": "Sir Edmund", "title": "Sir Edmund's Letter", "text": "Fellow knights, no matter what Duke Nathaniel plots, we cannot betray our oath. Only if he moves openly will we move against him. If you stand with me, listen for the horn.\n-Sir Edmund"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sir-hughes-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sir-hughes-journal", "description": "A knight has traitorous nightmares about his duke", "author": "Sir Hughes", "title": "Sir Hughes' Journal", "text": "9th of First Seed\n\tThis is the third week of these nightmares: visions of Alcaire Castle burning, riots led by one of our own, a face so familiar, but I can't see it clearly. I know this will happen if I don't do something.\nBy the gods, am I a prophet now? I must be mad.\n23rd of First Seed\n\tI recognized the face in my dreams, the one who leads Alcaire Castle to ruin. It's the duke's new wife, Lakana. She will eventually betray us. I know this now.\n24th of First Seed\n\tI have to stop this nightmare from coming true. I've asked Dame Falhut to deal with the duchess, but even she seems to have doubts. If she could only see what I've seen!\n29th of First Seed\n\tFalhut botched the job and killed the poor food taster. I can't trust her. Too many innocents could get hurt. Only Lakana should die.\n2nd of Rain's Hand\n\tKing Fahara'jhad has sent an army to our gates. My dream is coming true. By the Eight, we have to find a way to stop this!\n10th of Rain's Hand\n\tIt's all clear to me now. The vision is a sign for me and me alone. I must do this myself.\nDivines forgive me, but this is for all of Alcaire \u2026."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sirdors-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sirdors-journal", "description": "Ancient Ayleid attempts at controlling the jungle went very wrong", "author": "Sirdor", "title": "Sirdor's Journal", "text": "It is the jungle. Trapped in the walls of Root Sunder\u2014it isn't a Daedra or ghost. It's the jungle itself. The Elves here found a way to bind the spirit of the jungle to the city's Welkynd Stones.\nThey must have thought themselves brilliant at the time. Bind the jungle to the city walls, then control the walls with magic. No more randomness. Pure order.\nBut the jungle went mad, trapped within the artificial walls. It took control of the city. Killed the inhabitants. Dragged the city beneath the ground. Then it slept. And we woke it up.\nThere may be a way to undo it. I'll need an Attunement Stone, used by the builders to create the binding spell. There should be one in the lower chamber, west of the central Welkynd Stone.\nWith the Attunement Stone, I have a chance to put things right here.\nBut first, three support stones must be attuned before the central stone can be used to remove the binding magic in the walls. I've marked the three here so I'll remember their location.\nWith those taken care of, it should be a simple matter of attuning the central Welkynd Stone, freeing the spirit of Root Sunder and ending this nightmare.\nDangerous task, but simple. I hope to be back at camp in time for wine with the others."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/situation-becoming-urgent": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/situation-becoming-urgent", "description": "The loyal manservant Stibbons is in trouble", "author": "Stibbons", "title": "Situation Becoming Urgent", "text": "Drasilla continues to woo me in a most tenacious manner. I've tried to be stern with her, but this seems to only make her more determined to have her way with me. It's most disconcerting.\nFurthermore, dear Lady Laurent must be nearly starving by now. She forgets to take care of herself unless I remind her.\n\u2014 Stibbons\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/six-are-walking-ways": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/six-are-walking-ways", "description": "A traditional song based on the 36 Lessons of Vivec", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Six Are the Walking Ways", "text": "(A Traditional Song)\nSix are the walking ways, enigma, enemy, teachers\n\tBegat by precursor gods, come we now their creatures\n\tEmbody splendor in your name, and wisdom in your features\nBy the sword I mean the night\n\tBy the word I mean the dead\n\tBy the sword I mean a sigh\n\tBy the word I mean the end\nSix are the guardians, three fore and three incarnate\n\tHere to test your hero's ways, and show that you can learn it\n\tThe truest works we shall behold are those made by the silent\nBy the sword I mean the night\n\tBy the word I mean the dead\n\tBy the sword I mean a sigh\n\tBy the word I mean the end"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/skalgs-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/skalgs-journal", "description": "A Mephalan cultist's creepy diary", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Skalg's Journal", "text": "Her children claimed this place long before us. Perhaps they drove out the godless Dwarves. I see their many eyes as we work, watching and waiting. They do not fear us, I think. They know I walk among my clan, and I am Hers as much as they are. They permit us. Permit me.\n* * *\nOf those that remain, only Gharakul shows promise. The others shall be removed when the forge's reinforcement is complete.\nGharakul. Her hair is silver, long and thin. A clear sign for the Spider's Champion. Mephala teaches me to act. Our threads connect us and bind our fate. I will speak to her when we are next alone. She hears the Song as well. She must.\n* * *\nMephala has truly blessed me. Gharakul sought me out while I slept. She woke me with Her whispers: Lust is love, lies are truth, death is life. She curled her hands around my throat and squeezed. My vision went black with shining specks, like a mottled abdomen dancing above my face. In that moment I gripped one of Mephala's children to me as her poison liquefied my insides.\nAfter our blessed union, we shared our secrets. Now I understand the truth of the forge. With each gift fed to its fires, we venerate the Silver Spider and bring her works to the world.\nWe must find her more gifts. Better gifts. She must feed."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/skeevaton-modification-and-operation": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/skeevaton-modification-and-operation", "description": "Information on the inner workings of these little fabricants, as well as ways to modify the standard form", "author": "Associate Zanon", "title": "Skeevaton Modification and Operation", "text": "This thesis is the result of three hundred and seventy disassemblies and reconstructions of skeevaton fabricants throughout the\n<I omitted the next seven plates of droning introduction. You'd think metal engraving would encourage brevity.>\nStandard Functionality\nIdentifier: Unless removed, all skeevatons possess a sensory tool more sophisticated than their basic auditory and visual equipment. Mounted on a telescoping rod, the Identifier sends out pulses of detection magic to survey objects of interest and search within specific parameters.\n<This was the only noteworthy device in the standard design. Unless you're fascinated by scent interpreters.>\nSkeevaton Modification\nSkeevatons are found throughout Clockwork City, even in extremely hazardous environments. Tinkerers have managed to get around the weaknesses of the fabricant's diminutive size by incorporating some offensive and defensive devices.\nGear Shifting: One of the most common modifications I've encountered involves a secondary set of motility gears meant to increase the skeevaton's speed in short bursts. Certainly useful when they need to traverse the inner workings of active machinery.\n<Simple enough, but weight will be a limiting factor.>\nEnergy Absorption: Skeevatons are sometimes fitted with a micro-magicka condenser allowing them to temporarily store and transport energy without a charged soul gem. The practical uses for this are theoretically limitless, but retaining a powerful magical charge provides some defensive uses as well.\nDischarge Energy: A fully charged micro-magicka condenser can release its volatile payload in an emergency, sending raw Destruction magic erupting in all directions. This should be done only under desperate circumstances or safe conditions as the blast can easily overload active constructs.\nDeploy-able Barrier: While skeevatons with reinforced chassis are more common, one of the more effective defenses I've discovered is a form of emitted barrier that the skeevaton can project over a sizable radius, allowing it to protect not only itself, but other vulnerable objects as well.\nShock Chassis: A few mischief makers and would-be saboteurs have outfitted skeevatons with dangerous modifications that generate a powerful destructive shock through the fabricant's exterior. This jolt is painful to living things and fry animunculi.\nRestoration Emitter: While most skeevatons are equipped with physical tools to conduct repairs, one ingenious model incorporated a modification that generated a restorative magical field around the skeevaton that mended distressed metal, dissipated residual heat, stabilized energy emissions, and other processes used to maintain smooth operation.\n<These modifications are marvelous, but there simply isn't enough room in a skeevaton to incorporate everything. I'll need to decide what's best tailored to certain roles.>\nTrans-corporeal Operation: While most skeevatons I have reverse engineered have operated autonomously to carry out simple or routine tasks, I encountered several that had been tinkered with to allow an individual direct control over the fabricant. These modifications ranged from cumbersome wires, resembling a puppeteer's strings, and hand-held tonal emitters to a trans-corporeal pneumeria chamber that allows a being to inhabit the fabricant itself! This modified Dwemer device ingeniously converts a being into pure Liminal energy and stores it within a hermetic chamber. When connected to a fabricant the intelligence of the occupant may operate the fabricant as an extension of their animus. Obviously, this allows for unprecedented precision of control, but it also carries immense risk. If the skeevaton were to suffer a catastrophic failure while the pneumeria chamber was occupied, the animus would be violently ejected and almost certainly kill the occupant, if they even rematerialized at all.\n<I wouldn't have thought to use a pneumeria chamber to contain metaphysical material, but I shouldn't be surprised. Tonal devices often blur the lines between material and immaterial. I can think of a few uses for this.>"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/skeevers": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/skeevers", "description": "Last note of a person killed by skeevers", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Skeevers", "text": "I see their glowing red eyes, closer each night! When will you return with help? I can barely walk now.\nIf you find me dead, the skeevers did it.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/skin-blights-any-other-name": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/skin-blights-any-other-name", "description": "A healer's primer in skin diseases", "author": "Ravosa Ildram", "title": "Skin Blights By Any Other Name", "text": "By Ravosa Ildram, House Healer\nI have been asked by the prominent noble from Rotheran, Ulasa Redoran, to expound upon the bane of long-suffering Dark Elves everywhere - skin blights. These pox care little for economic or social standing. Poor or rich, young or old, skin pestilences can affect anyone and seem to have a preference for the Dunmer complexion. They range from mild annoyances to destructive infestations that leave disfigurement and even death in their wake. The Council of Dunmer Healers, where healing masters from each house gather to exchange information and work together to deal with plagues and diseases at the behest of the Tribunal, have dubbed all skin-related illnesses as \"corprus,\" using the ancient Velothi word for \"skin blight.\"\nLike other plagues that ravage the land, corprus maladies have both natural and unnatural origins. Sometimes an alchemical or even magical version of a blight gets loose to devastate the public. Take, for example, the Flay Blight of 2E 565. Throughout that long and scorching summer, a terrible affliction ravaged the western shore of Vvardenfell. Hundreds upon hundreds of Dark Elves contracted rashes that irritated the flesh and blotched the skin. After an extensive investigation by the Council of Healers, it was categorically concluded that the Flay Blight was the direct result of a change to the alchemical formula of Mystic's Majestic Face Cream.\nAs to why the Dunmer integument seems to be notoriously susceptible to corprus maladies, well, the best I can offer is theory and conjecture. Some believe that the Dunmer people are \"ill-favored by fate,\" which makes us particularly predisposed to skin blights and other irritations. Others claim that our ruthless and distrustful nature makes our blood run hot, allowing all manner of disease to breed and take root in our bodies. As a healer, I have found no clear proof of such thermal differences between a Dark Elf or, say, an Orc or Nord. (Although we do appear to run warmer than Argonians, but that's a subject for another report.) There are also those who hold to the \"old religions\" and see corprus and other blights as direct evidence of Malacath's fury against the Dunmer. The God of Curses, they believe, tests us by sending affliction after affliction that pushes our physical prowess and overall health to its limits.\nAs a healer and alchemist, I try to leave myth and religion outside when I enter the realm of methodical theorizing. My studies, which include treating afflicted Dunmer and reviewing the work of reputable healers throughout Morrowind and the neighboring lands, lead me to conclude that most natural corprus outbreaks - including inflammation and discoloration, as well as flaking and sloughing of corrupted flesh, or an outbreak of blisters or ulcerations - appear to be the result of unsanitary conditions, unbalanced humors, or miniscule creatures of foul and ill-tempered disposition. Of course, many of my colleagues scoff at such theories, preferring to believe that every action results from either the interplay of magicka or the movement of celestial bodies or other more traditional view of healing and sickness.\nIn conclusion, the best method for avoiding corprus blights of all varieties is to bathe often, wear clean garments, and eat and drink only the purest of foods and liquors. If it makes you feel any better, you can also mutter a protective prayer to ward off Malacath's unwanted attentions. The Tribunal knows such arcane rituals probably won't make your chances of contracting a blight any worse, and they'll probably make you feel more comfortable."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/skin-stealers": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/skin-stealers", "description": "Taking on another's form by eating their skin", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Skin-Stealers", "text": "Skin-stealers ingest scraps of skin from corpses, typically removed from the chest above the heart. This, along with some catalyzing component, allows them to wear the victim's skin as their own for a prolonged period.\nIt seems the ingested skin provides limited memories from the victim, which allows for such thorough infiltration. A few skin-stealers have slipped up and given themselves away, but we have no idea how many are in our ranks."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/skin-stealers-shadowfen": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/skin-stealers-shadowfen", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Skin-Stealers in Shadowfen", "text": "We must eliminate the skin-stealer presence in Shadowfen or the Dominion will destroy our fragile alliance from within. Neighbor will come to suspect neighbor.\nWhen anyone around you could be a skin-stealer, you trust nobody but yourself. With Argonians and Dark Elves at odds, how long before Stormhold becomes a bloodbath at the hands of its own citizens?"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/skooma-runner-logs": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/skooma-runner-logs", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Skooma Runner Logs", "text": "Week 5\nL.I. \u2014 Completed brewing. Thirty bottles of poisoned skooma, one hundred twenty untainted.\nF.D. \u2014 Thirty bottles of skooma sent to dealers in Thormar and Arenthia.\nZ.M. \u2014 Ten poisoned bottles and twenty untainted left for Malabal Tor competitors to steal.\nWeek 6\nR.G. \u2014 Malabal Tor scouting reveals potential market expansion, due to distrust of established dealers.\nL.I. \u2014 Production in Claw's Strike slated to triple to handle new Malabal Tor market\nZ.M. \u2014 Twenty poisoned bottles scattered through Malabal Tor to further sow distrust of entrenched competition\nNotes:\nZ.M. \u2014 Up the poison dosage on the tainted skooma, we want the deaths to be horrifying, then they'll buy from us.\nF.D. \u2014 Prepare for raids on competitor stashes, going for complete takeover in Malabal Tor.\nH.W. \u2014 Word from Elden Root is demand outstrips supply. Potential market for us. May not need poison or coercion.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/skuldafn-orders": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/skuldafn-orders", "description": "Orders when encountering High King Jorunn's forces", "author": "Fildgor Orcthane", "title": "Skuldafn Orders", "text": "Hold back Jorunn's forces. I don't need much time.\nSimply hold your positions. You have the advantage here. Jorunn and the so-called Pact have no choice but to make a frontal assault. We can hold them back indefinitely should they try.\nBy the time Jorunn gets his army past the front line, I will be the rightful ruler of this land and Sovngarde itself will punish my brother. My redemption will become a legend beyond what Jorunn could ever have imagined, and those of you who fight here for me will be honored heroes.\n\u2014 Fildgor called Orcthane\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/skull-minor-cursing": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/skull-minor-cursing", "description": "What could be better than an artifact of minor annoyances?", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Skull of Minor Cursing", "text": "Sales Pitch of Anonymous Khajiiti Merchant\n\tTranscribed by Relicmaster Glenadir\nNow, we all have someone we do not like, yes? Not hate, of course, just someone who has done you a disservice perhaps. Wronged you in some way. You do not wish death upon them, but a little inconvenience? A little trouble? Well, this one has what you need!\nThis Skull of Minor Cursing does it all. Severe foot fungus! Moderately uncomfortable nightmares! Incurable hiccups! Guaranteed to make your intended victim hopping mad. And for a fair price, too."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sky-and-storm": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sky-and-storm", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Sky and Storm", "text": "Bleed the sea and stone the tides,\nBlack the earth and gray the skies.\nDarkling cold shall rise to clutch,\nFoes quake at its icy touch.\nBreak the spines of wooden whales,\nSpill their guts and gnash their tails.\nDarkling cold will soon devour,\nFoes quake at our lasting power.\nToss the landed in the brine,\nRaise them up when it is time.\nDarkling cold must rise to save,\nFoes now turned into our slaves.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sky-talker": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sky-talker", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Sky-Talker", "text": "This drum was used by an unknown Argonian slave during one of the many slave rebellions in Shadowfen. Although the owner's name is lost to history, oral tradition says the drum, named Sky-Talker, was used to send messages to different slave gangs during the revolt. \"Drum voices\" are often described as inspiring the rebels to great deeds.\nThis drum is a reminder to all bards that even in the worst of times, music can raise the spirit and inspire the soul."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/skyshard-sight": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/skyshard-sight", "description": "A note regarding the discovery of a Skyshard", "author": "Estien", "title": "Skyshard in Sight! ", "text": "Well, Lauric, if you ever find this, I'm sorry for calling you a liar. The skyshard's right where you said it'd be. Tricky spot. Those ghosts are going to spot me for sure.\nI'm going to try it, though. If I survive, I'll grab this note on my way out and apologize to you in person.\n\u2014 Estien\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/slashed-and-blood-stained-note": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/slashed-and-blood-stained-note", "description": "Attempts to prove ones love don't go as planned", "author": "Aklief", "title": "Slashed and Blood-Stained Note", "text": "\u2026 show her. \"Coward,\" she names me, when all \u2026 ever! I will \u2026 haunted cave and \u2026 return! My triu\u2014 \u2026 win her love. Or my death will \u2026 bitterness.\nIf I die \u2026 please \u2026 Amwyn \u2026 always!\n\u2014 Aklief"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/slaughterfish-warning": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/slaughterfish-warning", "description": "Swim at own risk", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Slaughterfish Warning", "text": "WARNING!\nSlaughterfish Infestation:\nSwim at your own risk."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/slave-testimony-arano-plantation": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/slave-testimony-arano-plantation", "description": "Claims by prisoners falsely enslaved", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Slave Testimony from Arano Plantation", "text": "Testimony of Biene Diel, Breton laborer\nClaims she was falsely arrested for murdering a beggar soon after arriving in Suran. Insists she murdered no one. Also claims the guards at Arano plantation beat a Redguard slave to death when he grew too weak to work.\n* * *\nTestimony of Ghamosh, Orc trader\nClaims he was falsely arrested for robbing, and possibly murdering, a Dark Elf farmer outside Suran. Claims he was arrested because he had no local connections or family who could vouch for him, and also because he was an Orc. Sold to Arano Plantation by Marshal Hlaren.\n* * *\nTestimony of Friga Bearfist, Nord drifter\nAdmitted to assaulting the master of Arano Plantation after he inappropriately propositioned her. Claims Marshal Hlaren told her that if she worked on the plantation, her jail sentence would be reduced. This was a lie. The master of Arano Plantation had no plans to ever free her."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/slaves-diary": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/slaves-diary", "description": "A sad and pitiable diary entry from a slave of Molag Bal", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Slave's Diary", "text": "They take more of us every day, regardless of whether we still have flesh or not. The soul shriven, as they call them, are the bulk of those taken; people whose bodies are long since wasted away, but whose spirits live on in Oblivion.\nSome of them say that their souls are inside gems, and that they can feel themselves being jostled about as their respective gems are moved from one place to another. They are filled with so much sorrow that it crushes the heart just to hear them speak of the lives they have mostly forgotten.\nI don't know what they do to the others, but their screaming can be heard even down in the dungeons. It is an endless procession of misery from which there is no escape.\nThe gods cannot hear us here. Is there any salvation? Is there any hope at all?"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/slivers-dark-sky": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/slivers-dark-sky", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Slivers in a Dark Sky", "text": "The slivers of moons and the dark sky combine to open the path to ascension."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/small-meals-fast-meals": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/small-meals-fast-meals", "description": "On the taste and preparation of common animals", "author": "Runs-in-Wild", "title": "Small Meals, Fast Meals", "text": "Rabbit \u2014 Very fast, but delicious. Stew or braise, and sell the ears in town.\nCrow \u2014 Good crunch! Reminds me of fen hen. Season with bamphor.\nDog \u2014 Do not eat in front of allies. Nords take offense, as it's one of their sacred animals. Pet instead.\nCat \u2014 Delicious! Again, do not eat in front of allies. Another sacred animal. Take from the street, and make sure to hide the tails.\nGoat \u2014 Everything but the horns. The horns are too tough.\n\tWharf Rat \u2014 Baste in Bile Beer. Delicious! You'll get thanks from sailors, too!\nMonkey \u2014 So cute, but gamey. Smear on dragon's-tongue sap and baste in Theilul rum."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/smithing-worthy-endeavor": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/smithing-worthy-endeavor", "description": "Introductory guide to weaponsmithing", "author": "Cuinaamo, Great Sage of the Forge", "title": "Smithing: A Worthy Endeavor", "text": "Anyone with ore and a hammer can fashion a crude weapon at an anvil, yes, but it takes more than a burly arm to grasp the subtleties of the art. Some of my fellow Altmer may sneer at weapon forging, considering it work fit only for commoners, but in doing so they only expose their own pitiable ignorance. Unraveling the mysteries of form, function, and the effects of various materials on the substance of the weapon is an undertaking that requires not only a sharp mind, but strength of body and patience through hours of practice each day.\nTo become a master and create peerless weapons, much time must be spent in research, slowly uncovering new secrets which, in turn, lead to more revelations. One must study weapons from every culture crafted by many smiths, deconstructing them and analyzing the results methodically to identify the source of unusual properties. The weapon's shape, its component materials, and its balance are just a few of the elements that must be scrutinized.\nOf course, we cannot ignore the many types of weapon. Each one, from sword to axe to hammer, one- or two-handed, is its own realm of study. It is entirely up to the smith whether to pursue exhaustive knowledge of one type or to study a wider variety, but the end goal should be the same for all who demand perfection: to attain a comprehensive understanding of all weapon traits and how to impart them to any creation.\nAs you can see, producing weapons goes far beyond making a stick of metal to hit enemies with. The complexities of the craft run as deep as any magical study, and only through time, research, and practice can one truly claim to be an expert.\nThere are those who will try to convince you the work of a smith is crude or artless; in such encounters, simply smile back, knowing that you are on a worthy path. By putting in the requisite effort to elevate your creations through the relentless pursuit of knowledge, your work will be remembered in legend long after your detractors are dead and forgotten."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/smugglers-note-0": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/smugglers-note-0", "description": "A premature celebration by the Veiled Heritance", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Smuggler's Note", "text": "These ancient tunnels are perfect for our purposes! The Veiled Queen needs weapons, and where better to acquire them than from the weaponsmiths of Mathiisen? Already, we have secured Condalin the Forgemaster over to our way of thinking, and the first shipment of weapons has already been transported through the tunnels and out to sea\u2014right under that smug Ayrenn's cute little nose!\nWe'll reclaim this land or die trying!\nFor the High Elves! For the Veiled Queen!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/smugglers-note-1": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/smugglers-note-1", "description": "Crypts make bad hideouts", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Smuggler's Note [1]", "text": "I'm done with this hideout. I've sealed the hideout entrance, and even checked that ridiculous puzzle lock.Why did we ever decide to use crypts? There's got to be a better place to keep skooma than somewhere the dead routinely get restless and try to kill everyone.\nWhen I get out of here I'm going to have a long talk with the boss about real estate."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/smugglers-note-2": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/smugglers-note-2", "description": "Cracked Dreugh eggs are unacceptable", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Smuggler's Note [2]", "text": "This is your last warning. A slip-up of this kind can't happen again.\nAt least half the eggs in my last order were cracked. The buyers don't want cracked eggs, and they don't want dead eggs! They want intact eggs that will hatch into actual, living dreugh. I don't know why. I don't care. Just bring me the eggs!\nRumor has it there's a prime nest in that old Dwarven ruin. Mtharnaz, I think it's called. Bring me the eggs and try not to get crushed by any centurions."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/snorfins-notes": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/snorfins-notes", "description": "Adventurer's notes for solving a dwemer puzzle", "author": "Snorfin", "title": "Snorfin's Notes", "text": "All right, I'm pretty sure that there's a component that crazy Barilzar wants in the locked Dwarven chest in the center of Arkngthunch's final chamber. The active furnace vents are a problem, though. Every time I try to get close to the chest, the fire burns and keeps me back. Looks like I need to figure out how to close the furnace release vents. Now if those damn constructs and the damn ghosts will leave me alone for a few moments, I should be able to work this out.\nSeems to be three valve controls connected to the vents. Should be simple enough to use the valves to close the vents so I can open the chest."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/snorfins-notes-arkngthunch-sturdumz": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/snorfins-notes-arkngthunch-sturdumz", "description": "", "author": "Snorfin", "title": "Snorfin's Notes: Arkngthunch-Sturdumz", "text": "All right, I'm pretty sure that there's a component that crazy Barilzar wants in the locked Dwarven chest in the center of Arkngthunch's final chamber. The active furnace vents are a problem, though. Every time I try to get close to the chest, the fire burns and keeps me back. Looks like I need to figure out how to close the furnace release vents. Now if those damn constructs and the damn ghosts will leave me alone for a few moments, I should be able to work this out.\nSeems to be three valve controls connected to the vents. Should be simple enough to use the valves to close the vents so I can open the chest."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/snowmeads-missive": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/snowmeads-missive", "description": "A mine has been overtaken by Orcish forces", "author": "Eitaki Snowmead", "title": "Snowmead's Missive", "text": "Urgent! Send help to Lost Knife Cave. The Orcthane's army has taken control of the mine. They are forcing us to provide ore to the Orcthane Fildgor so he can outfit his army with weapons and armor.\nKerig can lead you to the mine, but be careful on your approach. The Stormfist mercenaries have killed several miners and they keep hostages within the mine at all times.\n\u2014 Eitaki Snowmead"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/so-much-wasted-potential": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/so-much-wasted-potential", "description": "A journal planning and executing egg thefts from other tribes", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "So Much Wasted Potential", "text": "Venturing into the shallows proves worth the risk. The other tribes are plentiful breeders, though the Dead-Water squander their future in foolish trials. We will gladly have their failed warriors, should the opportunity arise to gather them.\n\u2014\nMost of the tribes appear ill-prepared for egg snatching, except for the Black-Tongues and the Bright-Throats. Both watch their eggs with unblinking eyes. I see much potential for them both despite the challenges.\n\u2014\nWe have been unable to steal any of the Black-Tongue's egg-brews directly, but we have learned much through observation. I look forward to testing the limits of their methods on the development of eggs.\n\u2014\nI approached the Bright-Throat I've been watching for months now. Her name is Haxara, and she is more naive and trusting than I had ever imagined. The scent of desperation never fails to lead to opportunity.\n\u2014\nIt wasn't hard to convince Haxara to help me acquire her tribe's unneeded eggs. The only thing that remains to be seen is whether the fool is capable of taking them unnoticed. Her failure would be a major setback.\n\u2014\nThe Hist favors my course. Haxara has been able to relieve the uxith of eggs without incident on several occasions. They are remarkable specimens in spite of their flaws. With a steady supply of these eggs I can take more risks with my approach."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/soggy-note": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/soggy-note", "description": "An angry dying man wants the reader to exact his revenge", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Soggy Note", "text": "Well, this is the end. Stuck with a poisoned blade and left to die in a sunken ship. What a way to go. The crabs are already sizing me up. Funny. I always loved eating crabs. Fair's fair, I guess.\nI thought I might write a farewell note to everyone I'll miss, but to Oblivion with that! I want those skeeving bastards to pay for what they did to me!\nIf you're reading this, my former friends stole a great prize from this shipwreck and took it to Hazak's Hollow. It's worth a king's fortune. Kill those whoresons and it's yours!\nGetting sleepy now. What a life. This place is a piss-pot. Good riddance."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/solitude-bedtime-stories": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/solitude-bedtime-stories", "description": "Two traditional stories, and a xenophobic rhyme", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Solitude Bedtime Stories", "text": "Nylkas and the Snowy Sabre Cat\nOne day, a young boy named Nylkas went out to do some ice fishing. He walked very far and as he walked, a storm blew up around him. Soon, the snow was falling too heavily for Nyklas to see. He decided to wait out the blizzard in a nearby cave.\nWhile he waited, he heard a deep growl, and a snowy sabre cat emerged from the white fog of the storm! It gave a mighty roar and entered the cave. Nylkas was terrified. He had no weapons capable of fighting such a mighty beast. He braced himself for an attack as the cat roared and growled. Then, Nylkas noticed the snowy sabre cat was limping.\nWhen he looked closer, he saw a large thorn in the cat's paw. Gathering all of his courage, instead of running from the beast, he moved closer and extracted the thorn. The snowy sabre cat roared in pain, but then relief swept through it as the agony receded.\nThe thankful cat licked Nylkas's face and hands, then curled up beside him. Later, when the storm was still too dangerous for Nylkas to venture out, the cat left and brought back game for the two to share in the warmth and safety of the cave.\nWhen the storm cleared, Nylkas and the cat emerged from the cave. From then on, they traveled together and remained lifelong friends.\n* * *\nNever Talk to Strangers\nNever talk to Reachmen, they'll eat you in the night.\n\tNever talk to Easterners, they only want to fight.\nDon't say hello to Orcs, they always seem to smell.\n\tDon't say hello to Redguards, all they do is curse and yell.\nNever speak with Elves, they are aloof, and brusk, and very rude.\n\tNever speak with Imperials, they only want to share their foul mood.\nDon't make friends with Argonians, they're cold and wet and slimy.\n\tDon't make friends with Khajiit, they'll take anything that's shiny.\nNever talk to Bretons, they're just as bad as Elves.\n\tNever talk to strangers, we Nords must keep to ourselves!\n* * *\nThe Jarl's New Robes\nThere once was a jarl who was incredibly vain. He loved his fine clothes more than anything in the world, and often neglected his duties in favor of finding and purchasing new outfits.\nOne day, two skeeving criminals calling themselves tailors made their way to the hold. They told the jarl that they could weave him exquisite clothes in the most beautiful colors and designs. The clothes they made were so spectacular, in fact, that they would be invisible to both fools and anyone unfit for the position they held.\nThe jarl insisted the tailors make him a fine outfit as quickly as possible, one fit for a jarl! He paid them handsomely and the two of them set to work. In reality, the tailors did no work at all! They asked for splendid materials like silverweave and spidersilk, but merely took them for themselves and continued to pretend they were hard at work. They asked for sweetrolls and pies, and slept in lavish beds in the jarl's longhouse while they pretended to toil away.\nEventually, the jarl asked how his clothes were coming along. He sent his housecarl to check on the tailors. When the housecarl arrived, the tailors were working at empty tables! She wondered how this could be possible. The tailors asked if she liked the clothes, and if she thought the colors were beautiful. The housecarl remembered that only fools and those unfit for their post could not see the clothes. She did not think herself either, so she lied and told the tailors the clothes were the most beautiful she'd ever seen. She reported back to the jarl and assured him the clothes were fine indeed. The jarl sent the court mage and his steward to check as well, and the two of them saw nothing either, but pretended they did. They assured the jarl the outfit was spectacular.\nSoon, the tailors announced their work was complete. The jarl went to see for himself. When he arrived, he was shocked to find he saw nothing at all! The tailors displayed the empty table and asked him if he was pleased with the result. Did he like the design? The breathtaking colors? The jarl, too afraid to admit the truth, told the tailors he adored the clothes and would wear them straight away.\nHe undressed and let the tailors pantomime the act of putting his new clothes on him. They were meticulous and even secured the imaginary robe around his neck before they finished. Then, he called in his retinue to admire his new clothes. Each of them were surprised to see the jarl standing as naked as a horker before them, but all of them were too ashamed to admit this. Instead, they fawned over his clothes and all agreed they were exquisite.\nThe tailors insisted the jarl go out into the hold and display his new clothes for his people. So, he did just that. He proudly marched down the road as his people gathered. They all saw he was naked, but were too afraid to admit it, lest they be called fools or worse.\nIt wasn't until a child stepped out of the crowd and boldly exclaimed, \"The jarl is naked!\" did the crowd stop pretending. They began to laugh and point. The jarl, mortified, ran back to his longhouse ... but the two so-called tailors were already gone!\nSo the jarl instead punished his housecarl, court mage, and steward for their failure to stop the jarl from making a fool of himself. He chopped off their heads personally\u2014and with a very real and solid axe."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/solitude-charred-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/solitude-charred-journal", "description": "Transcription of an old journal supposedly filled with historical dreams", "author": "Ysogar", "title": "Solitude: A Charred Journal", "text": "Transcribed and Annotated by Ysogar\n[Annotator's Note: I found this charred journal in the bottom of my grandmother Nan's memory chest. It isn't her handwriting, so it must have belonged to another relative. Her mother, perhaps? I transcribed and annotated it into a new journal, to better preserve it for posterity.]\nI recently started having strange dreams\u2014they began on my first night in Solitude. All my life, I never dreamed. I had no idea what dreams really were, though others described them to me. Seemed like a lot of nonsense to me.\nBut here? I can only call them dreams because they have no resemblance to what's going around me when I'm awake. I'm writing them down to make better sense of them.\nMy first few dreams were set in Solitude, but I saw no buildings. Just the natural terrain. And the wind. So strong! I remember walking from the arch, then down the shore to a camp. Temporary shelters built out of fur and wood, but I saw no people. Where were they? They left behind burning cooking fires and half-eaten food.\n[This sounds like pre-Solitude days when the Nords made a makeshift camp along the Karth River, using the arch as a windbreaker. I've had a few dreams like this myself thanks to the stories Nan told.]\nAfter that, when I showed up where Solitude now stands\u2014thank goodness for landmarks like the arch\u2014some buildings sprouted up. Again, I saw nobody, but I heard nearby conversations about High King Erling, who had ordered the construction of a temple to the gods and wanted to start planning the walls. A woman named Thryrahilde championed a specific style for the walls, stating that not only would they be distinctive, but would afford better protection than the other plans presented. Her opposition called her by name, but I never heard their names. Lost to history?\nBecause clearly my dreams are taking me back into the past somehow. Just not fully. I don't see anyone. It's... so lonely in my dreams, except for the voices.\n[Traveling to the past in dreams? Nonsense. Also, none of the names of the original architects of Solitude made it through the generations in my family's stories. Regardless, I can't speak to the existence of Thryrahilde, but it is true that Solitude's outer walls are distinctive, and the temple in Castle Dour continues to hold a strong place in the hearts of our people.]\nIn my next dream, I'm watching priests blessing stones before masons add them to the wall. That was only one dream, but I received the impression that each and every stone received a blessing from the priests. Erling's voice drifted in and out, as if he was directly overseeing the process.\n[Nan does tell of how each stone was blessed by the gods. As far as I know, that is lore known only to my family. Did Nan get this from family tales or from this journal? I trust her more than this writer, so I think that information stands as true.]\nThe next night I watched the Blue Palace begin to take shape. As I stood within its half-finished corridors, I heard a screech and a clatter of tools.\n\"There's a ghost! I saw her!\"\nIt took a moment, but given the proximity of the voice, I could only ask: Does he mean me? Can he see me? Why can't I see him? Then I woke up abruptly and couldn't sleep again that night.\n[Odd. Perhaps this is someone's attempt at storytelling instead of an actual journal entry?]\nAs if to protect me from people who could see me, we leaped forward again in time. I say \"we\" because surely some other agency is at play here. This time, and over the next several nights, I saw the Bards College take shape. The very first bard walked across the finished threshold as a hazy shadow, accompanied by singing. I couldn't quite make out the words.\nBut I saw the shadow. And the shadow saw me. I woke up screaming this time.\n[I lose patience with this narrative presented as history.]\nThe next dream was a coronation. My guess? Olaf One-Eye. Why? Because in that same dream, I saw an effigy of this man burned. Just like the one they're burning tomorrow in the annual Burning of King Olaf, a local festival.\nHis eyes\u2014both sets\u2014burned into mine. Now I have burns over most of my body. They are healing, but I dare not sleep again. Not ever.\n[I'm not sure why Nan kept this journal among her things. It's nonsense\u2014pieces of known history spun into dreams. Bah. But just in case, I spent the time to transcribe it.]\n[A few weeks have passed, and I'm dreaming about words catching alight, swirling around the one-eyed high king. This morning, I woke to the smell of my beard burning. It was charred. Tomorrow we burn King Olaf in effigy. I will seek out the Divines today and hope to free myself from whatever dream trap I've fallen into\u2014before the festival. Why did I ever open that charred journal?]"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/solus-vertiluss-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/solus-vertiluss-journal", "description": "Observations of Minotaurs in an Ayleid ruin", "author": "Solus Vertilus", "title": "Solus Vertilus's Journal", "text": "Beldaburo is just in sight now. There doesn't appear to be much remaining of the above ground structure, but Ayleid substructures are known to have endured elsewhere, so I'll hope something remains that hasn't collapsed.\n* * *\nA tribe of minotaurs seems to have taken roost at the Ayleid ruins. Less than ideal, but perhaps it's a good sign. Beldaburo can't be in terrible shape if the minotaurs camp there.\n* * *\nThis spyglass was a good investment. I've been keeping watch on the minotaurs from a safe distance for a few days now. I hoped that they were simply using it as a stop over on some migratory journey, but it seems they've made the location their home.\n* * *\nI thought I saw light from the ruins tonight. Not torchlight. Something more radiant and steady. Some lingering Ayleid magic? Something the minotaurs are doing?\n* * *\nI've come to the conclusion that these minotaurs haven't delved farther than the exterior of Beldaburo. They don't appear to be attempting to expand into the ruins at all, so what has drawn them to this place? I would have assumed that the minotaurs tend to congregate around Ayleid ruins out of a need for shelter, but that doesn't seem to be the case.\n* * *\nWhat if the minotaurs are drawn to these places on some instinctual level? Is there some throwback echo of memory from Morihaus's blood fueling their desire to linger in these places?\n* * *\nThe minotaurs have stepped away from the ruins this morning. I think they're hunting. I'm going to see if I was right about there being more to this ruin than just a few visible tumbled stones.\n* * *\nThe light! It has a shape to it! That of a Man or Mer, but it slipped past the door before I could get a good look. I've yet to discern a means of opening the doorway thus far. I hope to figure it out before the minotaurs return from their hunt."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/someday-itll-be-just-you": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/someday-itll-be-just-you", "description": "", "author": "Selenor", "title": "Someday It'll Be Just You", "text": "Geneura,\nI leave this for your slobbering minions to bring back with them, tails tucked between their legs. They tracked me to this house, but to no avail. By the time they break in, I'll be long gone.\nEngitaale and I will never rejoin your pack. Others will leave too. The crueler your grip, the more will slip through your claws.\nSomeday, it'll be just you, Geneura, with no underlings to fight for you. Then you'll see me again.\nSoon, Geneura, soon.\n\t\u2014 Selenor"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/somethings-attic": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/somethings-attic", "description": "A gruesome little rhyme", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Something's in the Attic", "text": "Something's in the attic, it stinks of blood and meat.\n\tSomething's in the attic, I hear its scuttling feet.\n\tSomething's in the attic, it's whispering to me.\n\tSomething's in the attic, I shouldn't set it free.\n\tSomething's in the attic, I really have no choice.\n\tSomething's in the attic, it's making so much noise.\n\tSomething's in the bedroom, my eyes are open wide.\n\tSomething's in my mirror, staring from inside."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/song-alkoshs-champion": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/song-alkoshs-champion", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Song of Alkosh's Champion", "text": "Halls loom ahead of me\n\tMy heart is yet untried\n\tI know it is my destiny\n\tTo walk the path with pride.\nGuiding winds push behind\n\tDarkness lies ahead\n\tThe threads begin to unwind\n\tI must swallow my dread.\nKhenarthi's winds will guide me\n\tTo brave the path with pride\n\tLorkhaj's steps will bind me\n\tTo follow in his stride.\n\tAlkosh will purify me\n\tTo mend the sands of time\n\tHis mask will sanctify me\n\tA champion of pride.\nI ride the winds cunningly\n\tAnd never break my stride\n\tI face the darkness valiantly\n\tThe lanterns are my guide.\nWhen the threads are all spun\n\tWhen I've earned my right\n\tI'll stand before the Endless One\n\tAnd bow before her might.\nKhenarthi's winds will guide me\n\tTo brave the path with pride\n\tLorkhaj's steps will bind me\n\tTo follow in his stride.\n\tAlkosh will purify me\n\tTo mend the sands of time\n\tHis mask will sanctify me\n\tA champion of pride.\nHoly mask and Path of Pride\n\tPath of Pride, Path of Pride.\nI shall mend the sands of time"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/song-despair": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/song-despair", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Song of Despair", "text": "The memory of answers torn from fate\n\tThe destruction of all who cannot wait.\n\tAt dusk and dawn, the Rose Queen rules\n\tWhile thieves of night still own the dark.\n\tGreen dragon's breath pollutes cloud and pool\n\tAs silent spider spins webs that mark.\n\tThe broken oath and the traitor's plot,\n\tThe huntsman's horn and sharpened spear\n\tMake wishes pacts that come to naught\n\tWhen madness claims those who would appear.\n\tLife stands death upon its head\n\tAs sweet lust joins in pools of blood.\n\tEscape the curse with no tears to shed\n\tAs nightmares arrive all in a flood.\n\tDisease and plague are no end of life\n\tWhen mastered by the harvester of strife."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/song-diamond-sword": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/song-diamond-sword", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Song of the Diamond Sword", "text": "Have you see my sword sword?\nMy new diamond sword sword?\nI am now the lord lord\nOf my diamond sword sword.\nThe question is rhetorical\nYou know I am the oracle\nOf my new diamond sword.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/song-prowler": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/song-prowler", "description": "A sea chanty", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Song of the Prowler", "text": "Setting sail from Hammerfell,\nOn one bright and shining morn',\nWe took the wind o' a bonny craft,\nAnd bore away from shore.\nAnd bore away from shore.\nTheir captain swore a bloody oath,\nHis eyes all dark and fell.\n\"Be ye pirate or privateer?\"\nI swear we'll never tell.\nI swear we'll never tell.\nWe raid the ships out of Daggerfall,\nAnd plunder Bleakrock good.\nBut we've friends enough in Haven,\nAnd throughout all Grahtwood.\nAnd throughout all Grahtwood.\nOur Captain is an honest soul,\nShe runs our ship so well.\nWhen asked if we are honest,\nI swear she'll never tell.\nI swear she'll never tell.\nWe've gathered plunder along the coasts,\nYet we've sworn that we'll be good.\nQueen Ayrenn she never complains,\nAs if she ever would.\nAs if she ever would.\nBut where's our treasure you may ask?\nBuried deep or hidden well?\nLocked up tight in a treasure chest?\nI swear I'll never tell.\nI swear I'll never tell."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/song-spirits": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/song-spirits", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Song of the Spirits", "text": "The night is dark,\n\tThe ground is deep,\n\tIts warmth can keep you still.\n\tYour pain forget,\n\tYour anguish gone,\n\tYour slumber will not end.\n\tI am your guard,\n\tI am your hope,\n\tI will not fail my charge.\n\tThe night is dark,\n\tThe ground is deep,\n\tYou shall not rise today."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/songs-vvardenfell": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/songs-vvardenfell", "description": "Includes three traditional Dunmeri songs", "author": "Jerin Dres", "title": "Songs of Vvardenfell", "text": "Collected by Jerin Dre\n* * *\nArmiger Marching Song\nStep light, stride far,\n\tO ye Buoyant Armigers,\n\tTo glory days and triumphant nights,\n\tMarch on through your bloody fight!\nSing proud, sound roars,\n\tO ye Buoyant Armigers,\n\tRaise voices in courageous cheers,\n\tGive those heathens cause for fear!\nStand tall, spoil wars,\n\tO ye Buoyant Armigers,\n\tBest their warriors by the score,\n\tTake a bow and best a dozen more!\nSet bones, sum scars,\n\tO ye Buoyant Armigers,\n\tWear the badge of those who lead,\n\tA few new nicks as proof of deeds!\nStand tall, spoil wars,\n\tO ye Buoyant Armigers,\n\tBest their warriors by the score,\n\tTake a bow and best a dozen more!\n* * *\n\tSix are the Walking Ways\nSix are the walking ways, enigma, enemy, teachers\n\tBegat by precursor gods, come we now their creatures\n\tEmbody splendor in your name, and wisdom in your features\nBy the sword I mean the night\n\tBy the word I mean the dead\n\tBy the sword I mean a sigh\n\tBy the word I mean the end\nSix are the guardians, three fore and three incarnate\n\tHere to test your hero's ways, and show that you can learn it\n\tThe truest works we shall behold are those made by the silent\nBy the sword I mean the night\n\tBy the word I mean the dead\n\tBy the sword I mean a sigh\n\tBy the word I mean the end\n* * *\nThe Song of the Word\nThe words you hear are based on meat\u2014don't let the sophists fool you\n\tFear not upon the walking way\u2014just let hysteria rule you\n\tIn their own world, the mad have laws\u2014but only if they're written\n\tThe wise can write them different rules\u2014for by the word they're smitten\nUse no words for apologies\u2014if you seek absolution\n\tAction is the walking way\u2014 and words are no solution\n\tThe wise avoid apology\u2014when ravers must be beaten\n\tSo sing not with the dusty tongue\u2014no word is true till eaten"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sorcery-not-necromancy": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sorcery-not-necromancy", "description": "A spirited attempt to dispel prejudice", "author": "Divayth Fyr", "title": "Sorcery is Not Necromancy!", "text": "A mage of supreme power and erudition such as myself may be called upon to exercise his skills in almost any corner of farflung Tamriel, so for a native of Morrowind I am widely traveled. Thus I can tell you with the authority of personal experience that petty local officials, regardless of race or culture, are universally suspicious and ill-informed. \"A sorcerer, eh?,\" they say. \"Well, we'll have none of your raising the dead in this jurisdiction, is that understood?\"\nI cannot tell you how many times I have been subjected to some variation of the above conversation. These ignorant and self-important functionaries have no conception whatsoever of distinctions within the arcane arts. As far as they are concerned, every manipulator of magicka is just waiting for midnight before skulking off to the cemetery to animate the corpses of their neighbors and ancestors.\nImbeciles. Fools. BUREAUCRATS.\nNow, it is true, of course, that conjuration is a common tool of sorcery, and we sorcerers often resort to summoning aid from Oblivion when a problem is best solved by judicious application of vicious brute force. It is also true that summoning Daedric spirits to possess and animate corpses, or calling up the souls of the dead for information or other services\u2014in short, necromancy\u2014is a subset of the art of conjuration, albeit inherently distasteful and degrading. However, to infer from this that all sorcerers are de facto necromancers as well is false, misleading, and libelous.\nThat said, everyone was young once, and it's typical of youth to experiment with things dangerous and forbidden. It is long since I was a lad in Tel Aruhn, and my memory of the early First Era is inexact, but it's just possible that as an apprentice I may have tried out an animation spell or two\u2014never on corpses of anyone I knew, of course (or at least, nobody I knew well), and never for long. To my recollection.\nSo, at any rate, I know whereof I speak when I say to you: sorcery and necromancy\u2014there IS a difference."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sotha-nall": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sotha-nall", "description": "A plaque commemorating Sotha Nall", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Sotha Nall", "text": "Sotha Nall\nA soul that deserved transcendence. May her song be heard in the hiss of every piston and the sigh of every spring."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sotha-sil-and-scribe": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sotha-sil-and-scribe", "description": "A fascinating story of Sotha Sil, Seht, a Scribe, and their love", "author": "Andrunal", "title": "Sotha Sil and the Scribe", "text": "By Andrunal, Seer of Verse\nThe Scribe rubbed at his temples, his head aching from another long night of trying to make sense of myth and memory. It was the voice of Sotha Sil that shook him from his thoughts.\n\"You should rest more often, my friend. A tired mind makes puzzles out of even simple things.\" The Scribe looked up. Sil was there and not there, as usual.\n\"I didn't expect I'd see you again,\" said the Scribe. The words were perhaps harsher than he intended. In truth, his heart swelled at the sight.\n\"You could not write the words this time,\" said Sotha Sil. \"Because they were for me?\"\nThe Scribe shrugged. \"How could I?\" The question needed no elaboration. Both knew what they meant to each other.\nSeht smiled. A rare sight, even when he was among friends. \"I like what you did with the garden. Roland's Tears. Clever.\"\n\"Manipulative,\" the Scribe said distastefully.\nSotha Sil spread his arms. He had chosen to portray them both as flesh this time. \"Is that not the role of the Scribe?\"\n\"I wanted them to know you as I do, but the words wouldn't come. I had to pass the task on to another.\"\n\"You mean you trusted another with a task so dear to your heart that you could not put quill to parchment.\" Seht's tone bore a rare hint of playful amusement. \"That is no bad thing for people like us.\"\nThe Scribe shook his head. \"I was afraid of being wrong.\"\n\"No, you were afraid of being imperfect.\" Sotha Sil conjured an old tome and flipped through the pages. \"You always are. Do you really love them so much?\"\nThe Scribe stood slowly, turning to gaze at a map of Nirn pinned to the wall of his chambers. \"No,\" he spoke the truth quietly. \"But I love her. And she belongs to them.\"\n\"If it helps, the words I spoke were true.\"\n\"I know,\" said the Scribe. \"I have read them many times.\"\n\"You like them,\" said Seht.\n\"I do.\"\nSotha Sil made a chair for himself and sat. The Scribe turned to his friend, his mentor, his child shared with many fathers. \"Did you come to say goodbye, Seht?\"\n\"In a way,\" Seht replied, and there was no sadness in his voice. \"Perhaps another form will appear that looks much like me and plays the role he is needed to play in yet another tale. I will be gone by then.\"\nThe Scribe nodded as he returned to his chair. He looked across the writing desk at Sotha Sil's face and Seht's eyes.\n\"Will what we tried to do be enough?\" The Scribe saw understanding as he spoke. The Light of Knowledge could give courage to Prisoners, but never to the Scribe.\n\"This world cannot know peace,\" said Sotha Sil the God. \"Just as its caretakers cannot. It will never be enough, but we persevere for the beauty of dawn in spite of long nights.\"\nIt was Seht that leaned forward then. \"Every parent believes they have not done enough.\"\nThe Scribe reflected then on his many regrets, but spoke only one. \"I tried to save you,\" he said. \"To give some weight to the myths. But I cannot stop what is.\"\n\"You chose not to because you love me.\" Once again, the words of a god rang true.\n\"You are the Father of Mysteries,\"\" said the Scribe.\n\"And I must leave, whether I wish to or not,\" said Seht. \"If only so Sotha Sil can remain.\"\nThe Scribe nodded again. \"Will you leave any instruction for us?\"\nThe Clockwork God pursed his lips, then spoke. \"Beware the leap to certainty. The Named Daedra have many aspects. Many faces. Do not let one aspect overpower another, for they are agents of chaos. To let their nature calcify will lead to complacency and ruin. This era of strife cannot end until you scatter the lie of their simplicity.\"\nThe Scribe bowed his head in silent assent, then opened his eyes again. \"And you, Seht?\"\n\"I saw the imperfections in everything I ever attempted,\" said Seht, glancing at the map of Nirn. \"Even imperfections in my pursuit to rid myself of them. Yet I could never stop tinkering. I could never stop creating. I loved her too much. I will give no instruction to you who have already come to know love.\"\nSotha Sil's body dematerialized into a thousand tiny lights. They danced around the room, illuminating books, and scrolls, and maps with a divine golden glow. It was Seht that spoke the last.\n\"I leave it to you.\"\nA heady silence settled in the Scribe's chamber\u2014filling the dimly-lit room with renewed and solemn purpose. At length, the Scribe's mouth turned to a smile, and once again he took up his quill."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/soul-sword": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/soul-sword", "description": "A frustrated student's annotations on their teacher's lessons", "author": "Valami", "title": "Soul of the Sword", "text": "A Meditation by Valami, Goutfang Master\nNo one true path leads to mastery of the Vrin-Thak style. No specific steps make you an adept or a master. Instead, reflect upon these things and discover your own path.\nThe sword is your soul. The soul is your sword.\n[Scrawled in angry strokes: \"Ziss this gaking gak! May Valami cut open her soul with her own sword! What does this even mean?\"]\nMeditate on these words. What do they mean to you?\n[More angry strokes: \"They mean you're a blazing incompetent who can't even train your students. That's what they gaking mean!]\nDo they suggest a path? No, probably not.\n[Jagged strokes in large letters: \"YOU DON'T SAY?\"]\nAny who train in the ways of the Vrin-Thak spend hours learning basic forms before being handed a weapon. Yet, if the soul is your sword, and your sword is your soul, does that not mean masters are stunting the growths of their students from the start? I say no.\n[In smaller script: \"Done. This one is done with this. This one is not even going to...\"]\n[This scroll ends abruptly, as if the one annotating it tore off everything under the last note.]"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/soul-trapping-i-introduction": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/soul-trapping-i-introduction", "description": "Ruminations on the ethics of trapping souls", "author": "Warlock Elinyon", "title": "Soul Trapping I: An Introduction", "text": "Pardon the lengthy discussion of morality to follow. We shall reach the meat of this meal\u2014the actual procedure of soul-trapping\u2014soon enough. I was compelled to include an introductory chapter to this revised version of \"Soul-Trapping\" after the ethical arguments that sprang from the publication of the first edition.\nSoul-trapping is the art of taking a creature's soul upon death and confining it in an appropriately-sized phylactery. Throughout the history of magic, mages and philosophers alike have battled back and forth about the morality of the art.\nSome mages would argue that, once dead and soul-trapped, a creature's spirit is merely an echo of its previous life, no longer aware of what goes on around it. Even those rare individuals who become phantasmal hunters lurking the darkness of Tamriel are nothing more than predators acting on natural impulses. To these mages, once dead, an individual loses some spark, some intangible element in biological death, that cannot be regained. As such, they argue, soul-trapping is not unethical. In fact, it's a waste of resources to leave the soul of the deceased free.\nOf course, we the living, being still alive, can never know for certain. Theories regarding the afterlife are myriad, but even the most powerful mages in Tamriel have never returned from death's reach to report their level of awareness in that state. As such, there are those in the communities of Tamriel, both magical and not, that decry the use of soul-trapping spells. The eccentric Archmagus Elomion of the First Era famously asked, \"Would you like to spend your afterlife powering my levitation staff?\" The Archmagus claimed to never have used a soul-trapping spell in all his years.\nAdding some weight to that argument is the rumor that one such soul has retained a very mortal sentience in its entrapment. If rumors are true, the Altmeri royalty have utilized an advanced form of soul-trapping to imprison some ancient High Kinlord for the duration of his afterlife (perhaps one of the Rilises\u2014that lot is notoriously manic, and their souls must be doubly so). The High Kinlord has reportedly maintained his (its?) faculties, taunting and jeering his keepers on a daily basis. I don't know where this Kinlord might be, and I don't want to know. I'd like to keep my head. But his very existence speaks to how aware a soul can be, and the morality of soul-trapping can be further postulated from there.\nWhat do I believe about the subject? I've written ten volumes on trapping souls: instructional, theoretical, and historical in nature, and I cannot answer that question. It is my belief that you won't be able to, either. But what you can answer is whether the material I teach in the following volumes is worth using. All I ask is that you read them."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/southern-elsweyr-needs-you": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/southern-elsweyr-needs-you", "description": "Invitation to come defend Peletine", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Southern Elsweyr Needs You!", "text": "Warriors of the khaj, take heed!\nSouthern Elsweyr and lands beyond face an unprecedented threat. Dragons, criminals, and cave-dwelling beasts emerge from every corner of our beloved land. As such, the citizen councils and local constabulary have gathered in Senchal to offer rewards for actions taken in defense of the homeland!\nThose with the time and the talent should make haste to Senchal. Jo'isi stands ready to answer any and all queries!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/speakers-nothing": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/speakers-nothing", "description": "", "author": "Nisswo Xeewulm", "title": "Speakers of Nothing", "text": "Nothing-talkers, nothing words\nVoid clinging to their nothing tongues\nA thousand tongues and tenfold words\nTruth steady as their nothing lungs\nTheir breath of wisdom fouls the air\nLike the fruit so long decayed\nDarkness sticks between their words\nNothing between the something\nTheir feet will walk many paths\nLined by the Hists' many roots\nTheir lips will speak many truths\nTruths that spread like candlelight\nNo comfort will they offer you\nNo gentle truths to placate fear\nBut listen closely to their words\nLook upon their nothing eyes"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/special-advisors": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/special-advisors", "description": "Mercinary contractors hired to add legitimacy to a cover story", "author": "Captain Siro", "title": "Special Advisors", "text": "To add a level of authenticity to our cover, I've hired a number of foreign mercenaries to act as special advisors. Each has years of experience in privateering or piracy. Listen to them. They'll teach you how to appear to be a genuine raider. The better our cover, the longer we can operate without drawing the Dominion's attention.\nThese mercenaries are to be shown the utmost respect. Failure to do so will result in immediate disciplinary action. You'll think Mehrunes Dagon himself came at you.\nLong live the Empire,\n\tCaptain Siro"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/speech-notes": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/speech-notes", "description": "A monument to the Lady of Twilight", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Speech Notes", "text": "All hail the Lady of the Twilight!\nTo the glory of Her name, we have been granted the task of establishing a new shrine in this place. Faldar's Tooth will become a beacon of despair for unbelievers!\nWe will rebuild these ruined towers as a memorial to Her glory. To work, all!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sphinxmoth-bandit-leaders-notes": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sphinxmoth-bandit-leaders-notes", "description": "A bandit group starts fresh in a new location", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Sphinxmoth Bandit Leader's Notes", "text": "This new group has proven to be extremely loyal. I cannot say how pleased this makes me. Finding loyal recruits who won't turn on you or run away at the first sign of danger is hard to do these days.\nWe've found the perfect location for a base of operations: the ruins of Fort Sphinxmoth. One of my men grew up in the region and told us that he and a friend used to explore some caves in the area. After four days of searching we uncovered a large network of underground chambers. This shall make a fine new home.\nI've decided to change the name of our little band of outlaws. Muckwater Bandits no longer suits us seeing as we don't operate out of the Muckwater anymore. And I never really liked Muckwater anyway \u2026 sounds more like a tribe of Goblins than a gang of outlaws. From now on we shall call ourselves the Sphinxmoth Bandits. That has a much better ring to it!\nI've set the men to work refurbishing the old traps to protect our underground dwelling. We've found this place has many old traps, both mundane and magical. Octavia, who knows the most about magic, has been poking at some of the more unusual ones and trying to figure out how to make them function again.\nI've discovered an ancient vault deep within the ruins. Unfortunately, someone appears to have cleaned it out long ago, but it will make the perfect location for me to store my personal treasures.\nThe deal I've made with the Stonefire Cult to rob the Temple of Mara will give us increadible wealth. I don't know what they want with the Chalice of Mara and I don't really care. All I know is that it will make me wealthy beyond my wildest dreams."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/spikeball-handbill": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/spikeball-handbill", "description": "Advertisement for an extreme new sport", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Spikeball Handbill", "text": "SPIKEBALL! THE PHENOMENON THAT'S SWEEPING TAMRIEL!\nThis action-packed, exciting new game is sure to become the Next Big Betting Sport!\nSEE the runners speed around the track with precision and abandon!\nFEEL THE PAIN as competitors collapse to their knees in pain!\nHEAR the hilarious sound of a spikeball striking a runner in the head!\nAnd because runners are people, there is SIMPLY NO WAY anyone can cheat! No pliable wild monsters! No thoroughbred lizards or monkeys! Spikeball is the betting sport of the future!\nSee it Today! At Hadran's Caravan!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/spinning-story": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/spinning-story", "description": "A case study on a curious Bosmer sect", "author": "Cirantille", "title": "Spinning a Story", "text": "Though they are our allies in the Aldmeri Dominion, I have had only a little time to study the Bosmer. Their culture is strange and seems insular, and they do not write much down. Asking questions can be dangerous, as the Bosmer are wary of strangers.\nThat is, with one exception. Their priests, shamans, or \"Spinners\" as they call them, are quite loquacious. Indeed, gettting a Spinner to talk is not at all difficult \u2026 understanding what they're talking about is.\nThe Bosmer Spinners are, essentially, priests of Y'ffre, but unlike other priests, who seem most concerned with leading their people in worship, Spinners are more like bards or historians for the Bosmer. They live their lives as if they're narrating a story, and speak in much the same way.\nBut these aren't just gaffers and gammers speaking of the good old days. Spinners weave tales about future events. Their divine and prophesy the same way other people remember the past, and the older the Spinner, the more powerful his or her prescience seems to be.\nWhen I arrived in Silvenar, the youngest of the city's three Spinners, Einrel, greeted me at the bridge. There, in the shadow of the Guardian, the young Spinner related to me the tale of my travels right up to the gates and then continued as if the next few days had already happened!\nI won't even attempt to relate what happened when I met the two elder Spinners of Silvenar, at least not until I understand it better. All three Spinners seem upset about something. I hope to learn\u2014and, of course, document\u2014more"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/spirits-skyrim": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/spirits-skyrim", "description": "Description of the spirits of Haunted Wood", "author": "Isstille the Scholar", "title": "Spirits of Skyrim", "text": "A wide variety of spirits roam the lonely paths of Skyrim. Some are fierce and terrible, hateful and jealous of mortal creatures. Others are simply mischievous, full of playful wickedness that can turn dangerous if the target isn't completely aware of what's happening. A few can be benevolent, but even these can turn hostile if the proper decorum and respect aren't adhered to. These spirits range from free-roaming Daedra to the mortal dead to nature personified, though such distinctions may not matter much if you become embroiled in a haunted encounter. What do you care if the spirit harassing you is a marauding Daedra or the lingering shade of a village peasant? It's still just as insubstantial. It's still just as dangerous.\nThe Haunted Wood, far to the south of Windhelm, has long been a place of mystery and danger. A multitude of stories describe how sparkling lights or compelling whispers lure travelers deep into the forest. Of even local farmers and loggers who should know better falling victim to strange sounds and even stranger sights that can occur when the sun rides high in the sky or when darkness covers the land.\nOne such spirit is a guardian spirit tied to a specific natural landmark, such as a lake, a hill, or a copse of woods. The guardian spirit haunts the area it is connected to, and cannot abandon or wander far from the location. A guardian spirit might take on a mortal shape when appearing before mortal creatures, but make no mistake: these spirits were never mortal and are as different from the mortal world as the residents of Oblivion. They might imitate mortal behavior, but they neither understand it nor have any but the most tenuous connection to it.\nA guardian spirit might get bored with its routine. It might become curious about new creatures wandering into its environment. It might even become angry at a presumed slight by a mortal visiting its realm. Any or all of these situations might draw the attention of a guardian spirit upon you. Or it might be something else entirely that draws them to you. Who can tell what motivates these strange entities?\nThe guardian spirit associated with the Haunted Wood tends to be curious and mischievous, but has rarely shown outright hostility to mortal visitors. Stories abound of missing objects, strange appearances, and playful teasing, but there are few accounts of the forest turning against mortal visitors. It seems that, for this spirit at least, some kind of connection is trying to be made. Or, perhaps, this too is a misinterpretation of intent. Perhaps this guardian spirit is simply attempting to lull visitors into letting their guard down. And then the spirit will pounce.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sporting-chance": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sporting-chance", "description": "A hunter lost and haunted by a beast", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Sporting Chance", "text": "Allice tried to keep her footing, holding an arrow nocked as the shadows warped around her. Low, moaning sounds echoed between the trees, and the moons' light dripped down, pooling on leaves underfoot. Where was the trail?\nShe tried to slow her breathing, searching for any recognizable landmark, but the woods she hunted in every night had changed. They were wilder, the trees were thicker and taller. Unknown beasts cried out all around her. There was no sign of her worn hunting trail, nothing to lead her back home. The moons loomed overhead, ominous and huge in the damp autumn air.\nThe world heaved, and Allice was in a clearing. A form adorned with a hideous antlered mask stared at her, towering over a stained stone altar. Its wicked teeth gleamed in the bloody glow of Masser. Forms gathered at the trees' edge, scattering every time she tried to fix her eyes on them. The figure reached forward, and an assortment of weapons faded into existence on the altar\u2014a loathsome spear, two serrated daggers, and a black bow.\nShe was drawn forward, compelled to approach. The figure gestured towards the weapons before her, but she shook her head and clutched her own bow even tighter, unwilling to reach out. A deranged cackle rang through her head, and the world heaved again under her feet.\nThe clearing was gone. Regaining her footing, Allice glanced over her shoulder and saw forms writhing in the dark foliage, a jumble of gleaming eyes, moonlight on slavering maws, and howls of beasts and riders. A low horn blasted and the wood vibrated, rattling her teeth, and the darkness behind her surged. She ran.\nArrows sailed past her as she sprinted. A spear flew over her shoulder. They were gaining; she could hear their mad scrambling draw closer, but didn't dare look back. Desperate, she leaped high, reaching out for a tree limb. She pulled herself up just as a set of jagged teeth closed on the air where she was only seconds before.\nWasting no time, she turned, readied an arrow, and let fly, relieved to hear a howl of pain from the beast below. She targeted another and another, but more arrived, howling and yipping. The creatures and their riders encircled the base of Allice's refuge. She clambered upward into thick branches that offered her cover, but she couldn't lean out far enough to take aim. She was trapped.\nThere was one hope. The branches in the canopy were entwined and dense. If she could jump far enough to reach a sturdy branch, she might be able to keep moving. Just as she stretched out to test a nearby limb, she slipped as her roost shook violently. Struggling to keep her grip, she looked down to see a mass of thick black fur and shining teeth ram into the base of the bole with its hulking shoulder. Its rider, the antlered hunter, pointed its foul spear at her just as the trunk toppled.\nShe crashed to the ground, grasping at branches and twisting as she tumbled through the gnarled limbs. There was a sickening crack as she landed. She recovered her bow and struggled to stand, falling forward as pain shot up her leg. The monster raced toward her, panting with anticipation.\nThere was no escape. Allice's instincts took hold, and she aimed and shot quickly. Before the first arrow even found its mark, she shot at the rider again, and again. A howl of rage echoed in her mind, and she closed her eyes, waiting for the rending jaws to close on her.\nThe pain didn't come. When she opened her eyes, Allice knew where she was. She could see the stars glimmering through the sparse canopy, saw the torches at her shack in the valley far below. Wincing, she fashioned a rough splint for her leg and reached out for her bow. On its upper limb, inlaid in shimmering red, the outline of a pair of small antlers glistened."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/spotted-cave": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/spotted-cave", "description": "Something of interest to the Fighters Guild", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Spotted a Cave", "text": "I spotted some unusual activity in a cave beyond the graveyard of lost ships to the southeast. I wanted to find out more, but I felt it was more prudent to report in.\nIf I can avoid the roaming skeletons and make it back to the main force, then I can deliver my report to whoever's in charge of the Fighters Guild forces when I get there."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/spymaster-ramorgols-orders": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/spymaster-ramorgols-orders", "description": "Planning an ambush on King Jorunn", "author": "Fildgor", "title": "Spymaster Ramorgol's Orders", "text": "Ramorgal,\nWe need to position ourselves around this encampment Jorunn has set up. Bitterblade's troops will protect the approach to Skuldafn and keep Jorunn's forces occupied.\nYour job is to reinforce the other side of Jorunn's encampment. Keep them on edge and set up the potential to box them in. Start getting troops in place, out of range of any archers within the encampment.\nKeep an eye on the approach road as well. Let's make sure that no reinforcements can reach them.\n\u2014 Fildgor"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/staff-towers": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/staff-towers", "description": "", "author": "Holnevn", "title": "Staff of Towers", "text": "From the writings of Holnevn - blessed apostle of St Alessia\n\tTranscribed by Relicmaster Glenadir\nCursed be the hands of Elf-Wizard Anumaril! Cursed be the pride of Anui-El's get! Lo, did their lithe and wicked fingers weave the world's undoing. While Umaril and his kin suffer a Whitestrake's death, this staff - this sin in eight pieces - remains.\nAdamantine: primordial and solemn.\nRed: brooding and blood-soaked.\nCrystal: profane and inscrutable.\nOrichalc: silent and forgotten.\nSnow-Throat: cold and forbidding.\nGreen-Sap: vibrant and wise.\nBrass: striding and powerful.\nWhite-Gold: boundless and eternal.\nAll straight, yet twisted! Bound in metal, stone, and blasphemous oaths! May these eight effigies never find a hand to wield them. May this Staff of Towers remain silent, inert, and beyond the cruel mage's sight. Now and for all time."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/stagger-and-sway": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/stagger-and-sway", "description": "A song about a woman", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Stagger and Sway", "text": "O my sweet love, she waits for me,\n\tThrough storm and shine, cross land or sea.\n\tI run to her and together we,\n\tSway as we kiss\n\tSway as we kiss\n\tHer graceful shape I heave on high\n\tAnd in one hand I hold her nigh\n\tHer waiting lips are never dry\n\tSway as we kiss\n\tSway as we kiss\n\tCome the morn she goes\n\tThe taste of her remains\n\tAnd in my mind, I see us sway\n\tSway as we kiss\n\tSway as we kiss"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/star-teeth-volume-i": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/star-teeth-volume-i", "description": "", "author": "Alanwe", "title": "Star Teeth, Volume I", "text": "I have had the opportunity to conduct research on the seven Star Teeth, artifacts that are held in high import by the Ayleids of old (or so several dusty tomes tell us), here at the Agea Relle. We discovered these curious prisms in the very caverns from which the foundation of the school was built. Rulanir and I found them on pedestals, arranged in a staggered pattern that made the array of crystals appear, ironically, as a row of teeth.\nI handled them with tacit care (to not do so with such potent relics would be foolish), but I gleaned much from my experimentation. To put it simplest, the Star Teeth are magical stones with the capability to emit light; I have witnessed them casting all manner of it, of many colors and intensities. The Teeth appear to be structurally similar to crystals like the Welkynd Stones, but apparently without the capability to store magicka. There is a different power emanating from them, though I have yet to discover their intended use.\nHowever, as with all magic, I believe there is a way to weaponize this light as a defense against certain types of shades and even varieties of Daedra. I cannot control the Teeth, and the sporadic light that pours from them comes seemingly at random\u2014but, using an unspent Welkynd Stone as a base, I hope to construct an emulation that will obey magical commands. If experimentation goes well, by year's end, every student of the Agea Relle wandering the depths of Rivenspire will have a prototype prism for defense against the vampiric, the spectral, and possibly the corporeally animate. If the endeavor goes poorly, perhaps the stones can serve as reusable torches\u2014barring that, paperweights.\nThere is much work to do before then, though, as the Teeth seem to spark far less often in the night, without nearby light sources, and no one is sure why. Even during the day the Teeth are less active in the shade. It is odd to say, but the phrase stuck in my mind when a young student of mine commented that the Teeth seemed to be afraid of the dark.\nFurther examination is clearly necessary. At best, it will allow the Agea Relle to produce a piece of equipment that will help all adventurers, not just our students, in the caves and abandoned castles of Tamriel. At worst, the school will get to publish a piece, this paper being the first part, on a collection of Ayleid relics no one in the modern world has had a chance to study.\nIt is not my intent to write this paper for circulation amongst the Mages Guild chapters, though if our Star Teeth simulacrum bears fruit, I'm certain it, and any related journals, will find their way to those academic masses. If this is the case, and you, dear reader, belong to the Mages Guild, put this paper down and step outside. Go on an adventure or two\u2014hunt a wamasu. Magic is helpful, beautiful, and should be utilized, shared. Not trapped on the highest floor of a dusty tower where no one but yourself and the Daedra you summon can see it.\nTo Faindor: Obviously, don't transcribe this note into the journal (you think you're funny\u2014it's tragic). Nerien'eth may have time to review this introduction and provide further context\u2014he's had a chance to analyze the Teeth before his recent trip across the continent, so bring this to his attention once he has finished cataloguing the artifacts he found out there. His letters mentioned an ancient weapon\u2014a sword of some kind. He thinks it may be Akaviri. You're always reading about the Akaviri, aren't you? Finish this before the dormitory serves supper and I shall make certain you get a chance to see it."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/star-gazer-meriths-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/star-gazer-meriths-journal", "description": "A Star-Gazer follows a fox", "author": "Star-Gazer Merith", "title": "Star-Gazer Merith's Journal", "text": "Another night in the wilderness, searching the sky above for any signs of the missing constellations.\n\tWait. What's this? Oh, what a cute, little fox! So lively and playful! I think it wants me to follow it. What fun! And what a smart little creature.\nGo on, little fox. Lead on and I shall follow!\nOh no! By the stars above, those are very big\u2014"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/statuary-complications": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/statuary-complications", "description": "A gargoyle statue so good, it attracted actual gargoyels", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Statuary Complications", "text": "To Imperial Importers, Purveyors of Exotica:\nI request carts to retrieve the statuary you delivered. The gargoyles are indeed fine representations of that race, too fine perhaps. They have attracted the attention, perhaps amorous, of a live gargoyle. The statues must be returned.\nMy guards are fending off the creature, but it is becoming increasingly irate. I do not know for how long we\n<letter ends; bloodstains obscure the rest of the page>"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/statue-amminus-entius": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/statue-amminus-entius", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Statue of Amminus Entius", "text": "If the Order has a heart, it was Amminus Entius, Cavor's oldest friend and the Order's first quartermaster. The fourth pillar of the Hour established the infrastructure for ensuring that Akatosh's knights were the best-fed, best-equipped, and best-trained force in Kvatch."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/statue-cavor-merula": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/statue-cavor-merula", "description": "Brief biography of the founder of the Order of the Hour", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Statue of Cavor Merula", "text": "Cavor Merula, warrior-priest of Akatosh, revived the Order of the Hour in Kvatch in 2E 432 in response to the coming of the Longhouse Emperors. His devotion and guardianship remains the cornerstone of the Order's mission."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/statue-justia-desticus": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/statue-justia-desticus", "description": "Brief biography of the First Sword of the Order of the Hour", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Statue of Justia Desticus", "text": "The original First Sword of the Order of the Hour, Justia Desticus stood by Cavor's side and devised the Rigors of Akatosh, eight traits to which all members must aspire. She is considered the second in devotion in Akatosh's eyes."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/statue-rusio-olo": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/statue-rusio-olo", "description": "Brief biography of the third pillar of the Order of the Hour", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Statue of Rusio Olo", "text": "The third pillar of the Order of the Hour's original complement of warrior-priests, Rusio Olo was instrumental in ending the Order of the Black Worm's infestation of Kvatch in 2E 437. He dispatched eight cultists and their leader singlehandedly."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/statue-sir-byric": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/statue-sir-byric", "description": "Commemoration of a brave knight", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Statue of Sir Byric", "text": "Dedicated to Sir Byric of the Flame, who set fire to the fields surrounding the Alcaire Castle, holding back invaders from the Reach in CE 542.\nThe Alcaire Knights were renamed Knights of the Flame to honor his bold action and determination."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/stay-away-gurzags-mine": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/stay-away-gurzags-mine", "description": "An Orc chief's warning about undead and Elvish necromancy", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Stay Away from Gurzag's Mine", "text": "No Orc is to go near Gurzag's mine. These orders are from your war chief.\nI hear you asking each other, when will we smash the undead in the mine and free our brothers?\nI am tired of hearing my orders questioned. The Orcs in the mine toyed with foul magic and Wood Elf trickery. That is why they suffer their fate.\nIf you want to avenge them, look to the Wood Elves and their High Elf allies, with their dark magics and wicked schemes. Bloody their doorsteps and fill their ears with the cries of their children."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/stay-far-roots": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/stay-far-roots", "description": "Mysterious happenings in Silvenar", "author": "Huurenarth", "title": "Stay Far from the Roots", "text": "Reliviel,\nSomething's happening beneath the city of Silvenar. I can't say more, in case this note goes astray.\nDon't wander the ravine, and stay far from the roots. You can't disappear the way our parents did! Keep safe!\nYour Devoted Sister,\n\tHuurenarth"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/steady-hands": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/steady-hands", "description": "An apostle of Sotha Sil turns himself into a robot to escape his ailing body", "author": "Drolo Gilavros", "title": "Steady Hands", "text": "By Drolo Gilavros, Apostle of Sotha Sil\nI looked upon my hands, and I saw only flaws. Wrinkly and weak things. They shook when I needed them steady, they ached when the nights grew cold. I began to depend on my apprentices for many of my daily needs, more useless than a babe clinging to his mother's skirts. Even the simple task of feeding myself began to turn into a sloppy affair. I was ever aware of these constant tremors, of this pathetically human imperfection that was forced upon me. But the Brass Fortress is the hub of innovation, of the defective turned useful once more.\nModifications are made when a mechanism is in need of a new function. Time had sundered my once steady hands with my still working mind. I did it not for vanity, but to cleanse myself of my putrid separation. To weld my broken parts together. The procedure was as painless and efficient as I had been promised, and for the price that was asked I expected no less. I slept on and off for hours afterward, my mind filled with steam. And then I awoke. Truly awoke.\nI caught sight of my gleaming palms, and I suddenly felt at peace. Calm, tranquil, I was once more a cog upon which made up the great winding. Part of the reciprocating motion, the Sublime Piston. This metal extension was a truth of my soul. Brass fingers curved in perfect synchrony, smooth and elegant. I was not simply made whole again, no. I was made far greater than I had ever been.\nI had found a truth, a singularity. I transcended mere flesh and blood. My fingers now remained as steady and sure as my devotion. I looked upon my hands, and I saw the possibilities."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/stealing-stars": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/stealing-stars", "description": "The invaders' notes on stealing Sotha Sil's memories", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Stealing the Stars", "text": "Knocking down the stars we need is a delicate process. You'll have to be careful. These memories are almost impossible to tell apart, and I don't want us to be running around the halls trying to find the ones we need. It'll take patience and precision, something I know that many of our members lack.\nRemember that She does not tolerate failure well."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/stendarrs-divine-spear": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/stendarrs-divine-spear", "description": "Religious poem about Stendarr's mighty powers", "author": "Ptolus the Bright, Resolute of Stendarr", "title": "Stendarr's Divine Spear", "text": "Smiting all that is unholy,\n\tTransfixing it with point and glow,\n\tElevates us with its aura,\n\tNullifies the wicked foe.\n\tDaedra, undead, beasts and manbeasts,\n\tAbominations it strikes down.\n\tRe-anoint us, stalwart Stendarr,\n\tResolute with spear and crown!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/stepping-through-shadows": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/stepping-through-shadows", "description": "An explanation of teleportation magic", "author": "The Glimmering Foxbat", "title": "Stepping through Shadows", "text": "There is no magic in the nightblade's repertoire more useful than the spell of instant translocation. Over time, its casting becomes almost a matter of reflex: one is HERE, and then, by an act of will, one is THERE.\nIn fact, to the experienced practitioner, translocation becomes so routine that one almost forgets how difficult it was at first to learn. It is traditional to refer to this magical art as \"stepping through shadows,\" and indeed, the key to its mastery is the ability to \"peer sidewise\" and perceive the shadows cast by each entity and object in the Aurbis.\nThese are not, of course, the literal shadows cast by the blockage of light by an opaque object, but the emanation of the limen each object possesses\u2014the depth-impression its existence makes in the local reality of the Mundus. This requires learning to focus the hyperagonal sense through which the practitioner perceives the flow of magicka. Once the nightblade can \"feel\" local transpontine deformation, it becomes almost trivial to make the transliminal saltation to any point within range."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/stibbons-qharroa-checklist": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/stibbons-qharroa-checklist", "description": "A butler's list of to-dos", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Stibbons' Qharroa Checklist", "text": "1. Find a shaded pool suitable for chilling Madame's refreshing libations.\n2. Remove the intrusive sand from betwixt the bristles of Madame's suede brush.\n3. Read an improving book about Madame's current endeavors\u2014perhaps that one about the \"Mystery of Gargoyles\" that was recommended by the haberdasher in Hallin's Stand.\n4. Remind Madame when she complains of the desert sun that she has an ample selection of parasols in the miscellany trunk.\n5. Test the efficacy of the scorpion antivenin purchased in Wayrest by enticing a very small member of the species to sting oneself in a non-vital area.\n6. Write a chastening letter to the purveyor of Grobart's Perdurable Expedition Garb expressing Her Ladyship's extreme disappointment with the visible wear upon her Guaranteed Impervious Wamasu-Hide Tunic-and-Breeches Ensemble.\n7. Surreptitiously check our guide's knucklebones for evidence of tampering\u2014his luck at play is truly beyond the credible."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/stibbonss-do-list": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/stibbonss-do-list", "description": "", "author": "Stibbons", "title": "Stibbons's To-Do List", "text": "- Organize gear in alphabetical order\n- Categorize foodstuffs according to nutritional value\n- Prepare breakfast of bread, cheese, and dried fruit\n- Warm myself by the fire\n- Wash and dry m'lady's unmentionables\n- Make sure there are ample bottles of alcohol\n- Drink one of the ample bottles of alcohol\n- Sweep snow out of the camp\n- Prepare supper of fish stew for the camp\n- Try to get m'lady to eat some vegetables\n- Melt the ice from m'lady's unmentionables\n- Make sure fires burn hot (it's so cold here!)\n- Discuss historical discrepancies with Kharsthun\n- Proofread m'lady's report to the museum\n- Organize m'lady's combs and brushes, in size order\n- Fluff m'lady's travel pillow and turn down her bedroll\n- Leave a candied nut on m'lady's fluffed pillow\n- Write out tomorrow's list of things to do"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/still-waters-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/still-waters-journal", "description": "An escaped Argonian makes his living as a mercenary", "author": "Still-Water", "title": "Still-Water's Journal", "text": "Can't put it off any longer. Drashi's right. We need to head inland. Deshaan, maybe down into the swamps of my homeland. Too much ash in the air. Sounds of combat on the horizon. The Three Banners have come to Stonefalls, and there's no place for independents like us. Shame, too. I liked this place.\n- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -\nShuldrashi and I have a good thing going in the Ashlands. Always some nasty piece of work crawling out from behind the mushrooms. Or crawling up from a volcano's vent. She deals with the House Dunmer. I talk to the Ashlanders. We're making good coin, and going where we want. Hope this lasts.\n- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -\nThe wilds suit me just fine. But then, they seem to suit her as well. Never thought I'd take on a Dark Elf as a partner. But she seems to respect me. Shuldrashi doesn't ask questions. Doesn't give orders. Just does her job. Some days we go hours without talking. She's like the wind, in that way.\n- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -\nIt's been years since I escaped from under the yoke of House Dres. And still my scar hurts. That day I learned what I was worth to my master, what I was worth to a Dark Elf. I would listen to the wind at night, hoping against hope it would carry me away.\nThe day I made my escape, I took the dagger. The one he cut me with. As long as I live, it will be my reminder. Can't allow myself to forget."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/stone-atonement": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/stone-atonement", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Stone of Atonement", "text": "What deeper grief can a Khajiit suffer than witnessing a true cat's fall to Namiira? Watching the shining faces of brothers and sisters suddenly struck black as midnight\u2013creased with snarls of rage and sorrow. Our people curse the dro-m'Athra, but let us never forget that every dancing thrall of Namiira was once a pure child of Azurah, and an inheritor of the Ja-Kha'jay.\nNo Khajiit is beyond redemption. By pressing the dro-m'Athra's souls into the bones of our fallen kin, we give them an opportunity for atonement. For the peace found only in twilight. So, pay no heed to those who shrink from our calls to the Dark. No price is too great for a soul made clean."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/stone-banishment": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/stone-banishment", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Stone of Banishment", "text": "The path to atonement often gives way to encroaching shadows of rage and self-pity. It loops back upon itself relentlessly, driving the penitent to face the enormity of their sins again and again. In time, the tortured dro-m'Athra may accept the truth and seek redemption through service to our order, but many resist. For these pitiable creatures, banishment is our only recourse.\nThrough prayer, song, and slashing blades, we keep safe the roads between worlds. We find great honor in this work, but great danger also. Never forget that Namiira craves the hunter's heart above all others. An adept must find the seed of peace that hides within the bitter fruit of war."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/stone-commitment": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/stone-commitment", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Stone of Commitment", "text": "Of all Azurah's many commandments, one leaps above all others. All souls, great and small, true and bent, Moons-blessed and curse-ridden, must return to her embrace\u2013beyond the Lunar Lattice that divides a life of flesh from a life of spirit. In this commandment, the Order of the Hidden Moon finds its vocation.\nBeloved adepts, we must walk a shepherd's path. Through prayer and song, we must usher the people's souls to their appointed place at the left hand of our queen and mother. In saving others, so too do we save ourselves."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/stonefire-ritual-tome": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/stonefire-ritual-tome", "description": "Tyrannical ambitions of Molag Bal cultists", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Stonefire Ritual Tome", "text": "The God of Schemes blesses us. The Lord of Brutality strengthens us. The Harvester of Souls grants us everlasting power. Mortal hosts cannot stand against us.\nThe ritual of summoning shall lend us unlimited servants for our domination. Our faith in Molag Bal gives us control over them. We are his chosen servants; his select among a favored few. Our slaves shall bow down before us. They will make our desires their reality.\nThe Daedra are but vessels for our corruption. We shall fill them to bursting and set them free upon the world."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/stonemelt-potion-recipe": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/stonemelt-potion-recipe", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Stonemelt Potion Recipe", "text": "Ingredients:\n2 parts snow bear bile, boiled\n1 part dried shalk resin, finely ground\n1 part ashpit powder\nTo ensure a proper reaction in the stone's composition, ingredients must be mixed in the proper order and in the ratio specified.\nFirst create a base of snow bear bile, then slowly stir in the shalk resin until mixture turns foamy and light. Gently sprinkle in the ashpit powder, but be cautious not to over-mix the solution before use.\nWhen ready to use, shake vigorously and pour onto desired surface."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/stormfist-scout-orders": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/stormfist-scout-orders", "description": "Nords and Orcs team up to take out some giants", "author": "Lob the Cleaver", "title": "Stormfist Scout Orders", "text": "Stormfist Scouts:\nThe eminent and highborn Fildgor Orcthane has forged this alliance of Stormfist Nords and Eastmarch Orcs. He asks but one thing from you for this mission: watch the giants! Use the trees to spy upon the brutes. When the opportunity presents itself, attempt to ambush a lone giant. Strike quickly from hiding and retreat. Under no circumstances should you engage in an ongoing battle with the big bastards. That's a fight you can't win.\nYou saw what remained of Scout Lagrulk after they hurled him back over the wall. What a mess! Don't end up like Scout Lagrulk. That's an order!\n\u2014 Lob the Cleaver"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/stormhaven-bluster-rejection-notice": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/stormhaven-bluster-rejection-notice", "description": "A rejection notice for an advertisement", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Stormhaven Bluster Rejection Notice", "text": "Dear Applicant,\nWe at the Stormhaven Bluster regret to inform you that we must reject your recent submission for an advertisement in our widely-distributed broadsheet. Though we respect your desire to promote your organization, we took issue with some of your word choices and felt they were not appropriate for our audience.\nThe headlines \"GOLD FOR BLOOD\" and \"START A CAREER IN KILLING\" were simply too extreme for our pages. Additionally, the appeal to individuals who \"take any job and don't ask questions\" might compromise our reputation as an upstanding publication.\nWe are happy to either return your fee or accept a new submission that is more appropriate. Please see our recent edition's notice from The Iron Heels, another group similar to your mercenary organization, for an example of the kind of promotions with which we are more comfortable.\nRegards,\n\tThe Stormhaven Bluster Editorial Staff"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/stormhold-city-shadowfen": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/stormhold-city-shadowfen", "description": "A history of Stormhold", "author": "Cirantille", "title": "Stormhold, City of Shadowfen", "text": "Imperial scholars note the Battle of Argonia and conquest of Black Marsh in 1E 2811\u2014the first time a race of Man properly held power in these parts\u2014but fail to mention the impassable denseness of the geography. Although, Imperial Scout Tutor Acilius describes the swampland as \"a soup of suffering, disease, where a drop of ingested ground water can set off a torrent in the bowels.\" However, the city of Helstrom in the impenetrable interior has never been approached with a siege in mind, the empire content to incorporate the northern and western borderland regions. Indeed, it was these coastal tracts, where Tamriel's delinquents once freely roamed, that were changed into barely habitable prison settlements. It is not surprising, then, that a separate but comparable history of indenture exists elsewhere in this great morass: Stormhold.\nFounded by the Barsaebic Ayleids before parchment records were kept, Stormhold holds the infamous history of the Dark Elf. Primal wealth is still evident on the intricate stonework of the Ayleid ruins, and the more recent Dunmeri stone structures show what venomous and uncaring rule can build. Abutting these monuments to greed and cruelty are the more modest mud huts of the Argonian contingent, once the homes of the collaborators\u2014who worked with the Dunmer to raze primitive villages and gather suitable captives for plantation work across Morrowind\u2014and now home to the reptilian race only now finding their way out of the mire of oppression.\nAs thuggery encroached on Stormhold during the upheavals of the Second Era, and the dark Dunmeri chains of bondage\u2014as well as irregular Imperial warlords driven to distraction with thoughts of bounty and easily exploitable labor\u2014threatened to wipe every last tribe of Argonians from the province, there was little the exploited reptilians could do. Until, that is, the rise of the Argonian vicecanons, who seem to fulfill the administrative functions that councilors and tribal leaders do in other realms."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/stormreeve-neidirs-orders": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/stormreeve-neidirs-orders", "description": "A Maormeri plan is going according to plan", "author": "Stormreeve Neidir", "title": "Stormreeve Neidir's Orders", "text": "Commander,\nOur ritual on Tempest Island is progressing as planned. We need the denizens of Tamriel distracted so that our plan can come to fruition. This task falls to you, for you do it best. Attack, raid, and pillage as you see fit. Scatter our enemies, and leave them in disarray.\nWhen our spell is complete, and we've crushed the kingdoms of Tamriel, you will be remembered for your sacrifice and your body returned to the sea of eternal slumber.\n\u2014 Stormreeve Neidir"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/strakes-and-futtocks": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/strakes-and-futtocks", "description": "Instructions for building an Alik'r Caravel", "author": "Curly Lainlyn, Master Shipwright", "title": "Strakes and Futtocks", "text": "This is important, so pay attention. You already think you know how to build an Alik'r caravel, but the new king over in Sentinel has ordered the shipyards to build all vessels to consistent standards\u2014he thinks that'll make them easier to supply, since all the pieces are standardized, and also that we'll build them faster once we're into a routine. Maybe he's right, I don't know\u2014but I do know that he's the king, and we're spending his gold, so we're going to do it his way.\nThere's no change to how we lay the keel: we still scarf together sections of lumber with the longest piece in the middle, with the ends using planks cut from angled trunks so the curve is built right into the wood. But here's the new thing: the keel, stem, and stern posts are all rabbeted to secure the strakes and keep them parallel. And the posts aren't self-timber, they're made of inner and outer pieces to reinforce the curve.\nWe still install the central rib first, then the fore and afters, but now we're going to lay battens across the upper, middle, and lower sections to guide the installation of the remaining ribs. Got that? Then we lay on the strakes as usual, starting with the futtocks, and finish with the inner hull.\nGet that all done, and we'll talk about how we're going to approach the rigging and outfitting."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/strange-rambling-noises": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/strange-rambling-noises", "description": "Trying to earn the trust of dark, hungry creatures", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Strange Rambling Notes", "text": "No, no, no! This isn't working. Must begin again. I will hit on it eventually. I know it.\nToo much silver, it seems. Need something less shimmery. The glow is too intense, can't focus.\nAha, yes, I'm brilliant! Not that I didn't know that already.\nYes, yes! Now I can feel them. The creatures' clever minds. I can sense them as they stalk their prey, as they compete for mates. Soon I will understand them truly and be their master!\nTrouble. Very serious trouble. All was going well. I had established a pack. I was their leader. They respected me. Then I ran out of steaks. They look to me now, as before, but there is a glint of hunger in their eyes."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/strange-riddle": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/strange-riddle", "description": "Unusual riddle involving a \"Mr. Nathien\"", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Strange Riddle", "text": "Mr. Nathien snuck in\nwhere Mr. Nathien should not have been\nMr. Nathien should have fled\nbut Mr. Nathien lost his head."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/strange-rituals-orsimer": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/strange-rituals-orsimer", "description": "", "author": "Chaplain Jorden", "title": "Strange Rituals of the Orsimer", "text": "A Study of Death Rites of the People of Tamriel\nBy Chaplain Jorden, Priest of Arkay\nAs a devout follower of the god of burials and funeral rites, I have dedicated my life to the study of the ceremonies and rituals performed by the various races of Tamriel when it comes to the deaths of their leaders, family members, and loved ones. In this volume, I explore the death rites of the Orsimer - otherwise known as the Orcs of Wrothgar.\nPopular lore would have us believe that an Orc's remains lay where they fall. While there is a grain of truth in this concept, Orcs know as much about disease and decay as any of the other intelligent races. No one wants a rotting corpse left around to stink up the place, and rotting corpses attract all kinds of insects and predators. So, while the spot where an Orc dies is marked and considered almost sacred by his brethren, the body is not left in place for more than a few hours. During this time, friends and family come by to pay their last respects. Then the body is removed-to where, I cannot say.\nOrcs, for all their oral traditions, refuse to provide explanations or specifics to outsiders. I have had to make educated guesses based upon observations and the few conversations I've been able to engage in. But so far, no one will tell me what the Orcs do with the bodies of the dead.\n* * *\nI discovered an ancient Orcish burial site, the mountain known as Sorrow. This snow-covered peak, full of dangerous creatures and deadly weather, served as a depository for dead Orcs for several generations, though the practice ended abruptly sometime in the past. Apparently, the mountain was reserved for only the bravest and strongest Orcs, who were required to climb as high as they could before death finally overtook them. These Orcs were left where they fell, but stones were piled atop their bodies to form protective cairns or unique constructions called wedge tombs.\nThis also appears to have some connection to the practice of marking any location where an Orc dies and falls with a sacred rock. They call the rocks \"tumnors\", which I believe means \"death stones\" in the Orcish tongue.\n* * *\nI finally found an old Orc female who was willing to share some of their death rituals with me. Specifically, she was willing to discuss the practice of \"beshkar-nor\", the death-forge. Apparently, what happens to the bodies of Orcs of great stature-leaders, heroes, and revered elders-is that they undergo a process known as the death-forge. The old Orc described the process in confusing terms. I'm not sure if the blood is drained from the body and saved for later use or if the entire body is burned and reduced to ash, and then the ash is saved. Either way, the saved remains wind up mixed into molten metal, allowing the revered Orc to become one with a powerful tool or weapon, usually a sword, hammer, or shield.\n* * *\nSo, my quest to completely understand the complex funerary rites practiced by the Orcs of Wrothgar continues. I've learned so much, but I realize I haven't really learned anything at all. I know, as a general rule, the Orcs don't bury their dead-except when they do, such as on the mountain of Sorrow. I know that they mark the place where a powerful Orc died, but they probably don't actually leave the body there to rot and decay. And I learned that some portion of a dead Orc is saved to mix with a newly forged tool or weapon in a process known as the death-forge.\nI'll continue to probe and investigate, for I find these contradictory practices to be fascinating. I just hope I don't anger the wrong Orc and learn about their death rituals first hand. That wouldn't do at all."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/stuck-slag": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/stuck-slag", "description": "A plea for understanding from the Clockwork City's poorer citizenry", "author": "Circone", "title": "Stuck in the Slag", "text": "By Circone, Good Deputy of Slag Town\nHonestly don't know why I'm writing this. Who's even gonna read it? Not any citizens under my jurisdiction, that's for damn sure. Honest though? Not even sure how many of them could read it, if they half a mind to. Our gleaming city is filled with scholars, but do any of them think to come down to ole Slag Town to help the poor, tarnished masses? Course not.\nSometimes I help the little ones learn their letters, between jobs. They're the only ones who give me the time of day. But I know soon they'll be off with jobs of their own, and they won't have time to listen to their dear old deputy natter on about vowels and verbs. My mum had the patience of a saint, and even I barely got through my own learning.\nI want to set the record clear, here and now, about us scrap in Slag Town. No, we ain't stupid. No, we ain't lazy. And no, we certainly ain't deserving of our lot. Don't you go listening to them up in that shining city, those scholars who think they're so far above us. We got the kind of smarts that gets you out of close calls. Guts aplenty, cunning to spare. You don't survive long without something driving you.\nOh, sure, there's a way out. Muster up enough magic, show some technical know-how, and there you go. Had me an aunt who was real keyed in with machines, just somehow everything lined up in her head. She would take apart automatons and put them back together, just by looking at its guts. Wasn't long before she was whisked away, never to return. My mum received not one visit, not even a single letter. Once you leave the Slag, you don't look back, and who could really blame them? Not much of a sight.\nSometimes I envy the factotums. All they need is a quick windup and some sort of instruction, and off they go! I'd rather that some days, then the dreary path I'm walking. Barely enough to eat, living off the so-called charity of those who think they're better than us. Enough to make you sick. Enough to make you want to leave it all behind, but where do you go? Ain't nowhere to go. Not the city, not the wastelands that surround us. You sit in the muck and you try to get by."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/subtropical-cyrodiil": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/subtropical-cyrodiil", "description": "A theory about how the White-Gold Tower is affecting the climate of Cyrodiil", "author": "Lady Cinnabar of Taneth", "title": "Subtropical Cyrodiil: A Speculation", "text": "According to \"The Heartland of Cyrodiil,\" by that old fraud Phrastus of Elinhir, the Nibenese valley and the Colovian hills have always enjoyed the temperate climate they have today, and early references to Cyrodiil as a subtropical jungle were merely errors on the part of one of the Heimskrs.\nReally? What, then, of the \"waving fronds\" of Vahtacen mentioned in the Hosiric Lays? What of Khosey's \"dense-jungl'd shore of Rumare\" in the Tamrilean Tractates? Are these, as well, the mistakes of errant copyists?\nNo, I think it more likely that three millennia ago Cyrodiil's climate was warmer and wetter than it is today. The environment of the Heartland has changed. Which begs the question: how?\nI've given a great deal of thought to this question, and would like to propose a hypothesis. However, I am not a scholar of deep mythohistory like Vanus Galerion or Beredalmo the Signifier, so let's just call the following \u2026 a speculation.\nTamriel is the center of Nirn; Cyrodiil is the center of Tamriel; and at the center of Cyrodiil stands that greatest of mortal-made structures, the White-Gold Tower of the Imperial City\u2014which was patterned in open emulation of the Adamantine (or Direnni) Tower, the oldest structure in Tamriel, said to have been erected by the Aedra themselves.\nThis was no mere homage, whim, or coincidence: White-Gold was built in the semblance of Adamantine in order to echo the first Tower's undeniable mystical properties. And not just to echo them, but, due to its central location, to amplify them.\nWhat are these mystical properties? This leads us to the domain of Tower Lore, a realm fraught with scholarly conflict, but I will try to give a simple, and uncontroversial, summary.\nWhen the Aedra were persuaded\u2014or hoodwinked\u2014by Lorkhan into creation of the Mundus, the physical flesh of Nirn was hung on a skeleton of joints, each of which radiated a palpable reality\u2014the bones of the world, as it were.\nAt one of these mystical joint-points the Aedra erected a great structure, the Adamantine Tower, where they held a conclave to decide the fate of Lorkhan and the Mundus. In later times mortal mages discovered the Tower, and deduced its reality-affirming properties. The Merethic Elves then imitated it, erecting the White-Gold and Crystal Towers at other joint-points.\nIn doing this, what did the Ur-Elves hope to achieve? I would posit that, through their collective \"possession\" of such Towers in their realms, over time the Elves actually amended their local reality to conform to their desires.\nThus the Summerset archipelago, in the sphere of the Crystal Tower, is a warm and paradisiacal domain perfectly adapted to the Altmer. And Cyrodiil, in the sphere of the even-more-powerful White-Gold Tower, became a warm and subtropical jungle\u2014which suited the ease-loving Ayleids.\nBut then the slaves of the Heartland High Elves rose up against their masters, conquered the valley of the Nibenay, and the Ayleids ruled no more. Thereafter, White-Gold Tower was the center of a human empire, peopled by Nedes and Cyro-Nords who originated in cooler, northern climes. And so the Tower of Cyrodiil responded to the desires of its new masters.\nAnd that, I believe, is the answer to how the Heartland changed from subtropical to temperate: because once Men ruled in Cyrodiil, the local reality changed to meet their needs and wishes. Changed slowly, perhaps, almost imperceptibly, but inexorably\u2014until Cyrodiil became the realm of temperate forests and fields we now know.\nSo, is that the truth of the matter? Have I deduced the answer to the mystery? I cannot be sure: I'm only a humble scholar, residing in the Tower of the Fifth Doctrine, which is neither White-Gold nor Adamantine. The only thing I'm quite sure of is that any theory propounded by Phrastus of Elinhir is almost certain to be wrong."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sugarbelly": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sugarbelly", "description": "Instructions on the proper handling of Senche", "author": "Azmu-ra", "title": "Sugarbelly", "text": "A Walker's Guide to Happy Senche-Tigers\nby Azmu-ra\nThe mind of the senche-tiger is like its tail, weaving impossible shapes before pouncing on its prey. If you are that prey, too bad for you! But grab hold of the tail and the senche-tiger does exactly as you want, so long as your grip remains firm.\nIn theory one could lead a senche-tiger about by its tail forever, but Azmu-ra does not recommend it. Senches are quite fast, very strong, and entirely capable of holding a grudge! Much better to sieze the mind, but how to do this?\nFirst understand that, like Khajiit, the senche-tigers have a powerful sweet tooth. They also have fine noses and will track moon-sugar down wherever it hides. In pockets, through walls, in the bellies of close friends\u2014anywhere.\nFortunately, the senche-tiger's appetite for sugar is only so great. By keeping your senche-tiger on a steady diet, you can manage its more aggressive desires with more useful pursuits, like rat-catching. You need only know how much moon-sugar is enough moon-sugar.\nThis is where it gets tricky. The senche sweet tooth waxes and wanes with the moons, starting with the phase under which it was born and ending with its lunar opposites. Size is a factor, also, as larger senche require more moon-sugar!\nSome trainers can determine a senche-tiger's appetite for moon-sugar by consulting the local Two Moons, but Azmu-ra does not recommend this. A priestess is not always on hand, and keeping both the temple and your senche supplied with moon-sugar is an expensive proposition!\nAlso, senche-tigers grow swiftly. Unless fully grown, their appetites will change. Many would-be trainers have little time to regret a low stock of moon-sugar! The resulting carnage is never pretty.\nBetter to keep a stockpile of moon-sugar on hand. The senche eats until sated, and what is left can be used to ice the sweet roll, spice the pudding, or make delectable moon candy.\nOnce full of moon-sugar, a senche-tiger wants only two things: meat to fill its belly and a sunny place to bask. This makes them suited to guarding fields and hunting game, but this is about all they can do without years of training. Even then, training can only go so far.\nFor example, motivating senches to pull farming equipment is not recommended. If your senche-tiger should deign to endure the harness, it will still be inclined to chase anything larger than a field mouse that it spots across the fields. Save yourself the trouble of collecting scattered plows!\nWhile other trainers have had some success with watch-senche and battle-senche, Azmu-ra would strongly discourage training them to eat people unless you are strong and good at fighting. Even then, this one would not recommend it. A senche-tiger's loyalty reaches only so far as its belly, yes?\nHopefully this guide helped you avoid being eaten by your favorite senche-tiger. If not, well \u2026 Azmu-ra made no promises!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/summerset-isles-visitors-guide": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/summerset-isles-visitors-guide", "description": "An welcome to Summerset for new arrivals to Vulkhel Guard", "author": "Runilstir the Surveyor", "title": "Summerset Isles: A Visitor's Guide", "text": "Fairly met, travelers. You now count yourselves among the privileged few mainlanders to set foot in Altmeri lands. Was the crisp air and vibrant color of the Blue Divide everything you'd imagined? If you had the luxury of crossing it upon one of our ships, I have no doubt it was the smoothest sailing of your lives. Consider it merely the first courtesy and comfort of many in your visit to the Isles. Let the warmth of our sun and the scent of sweet blossoms greet you as you leave the cool waters of the cape behind you.\nTry not to be intimidated by the bustle of Vulkhel Guard. The townsfolk are well accustomed to dealing with mainlanders who come bearing goods. If they have the patience for dealing with sailors, as they do, rest assured they will not be put out by polite guests such as yourselves. Avail yourselves of the sumptuous accommodations of its inns and try local fare you will find no equal to in Tamriel. Altmeri hospitality is an art\u2014like all our pursuits\u2014that has been honed for thousands of years.\nYou may find yourself overwhelmed by such enriching experiences, but ease your mind. The Isles are a place of harmony and you will find your equilibrium by letting its natural tranquility guide you. The Sapiarchs ensure that each element, from the tallest tree, to the shortest blade of grass, is in perfect balance.\nIt would be best not to wander too far and disrupt the usual serenity, but if you head north from Vulkhel Guard you'll find the South Beacon Lighthouse, a charming structure that guides our Royal Navy safely through the night. The cliff that it is built upon provides a lovely view of the holy isle of Summerset. On a particularly clear day you can see the town of Shimmerene, busily ferrying goods and citizens to and from Auridon. You may be tempted to ascend the lighthouse for a better view, but please refrain from disturbing the attendants.\nAllow to me to speak for all Altmer when I say that we hope that partaking in our culture has been an elucidating experience. I hope your time in Vulkhel Guard provides you memories to last a life time. Don't forget, any stay longer than five days must be approved by the authorities or you may find your visit cut short unexpectedly.\nSafe travels back to Tamriel!\n[Approved for distribution by the Divine Prosecution.]"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/summoning-gar-xuu-gar": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/summoning-gar-xuu-gar", "description": "Rites to summon a dark presence", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Summoning Gar Xuu Gar", "text": "Come to us, Gar Xuu Gar.\n\tThe way is open.\n\tThe way is clear.\n\tCome to us, Gar Xuu Gar.\n\tBring us terror.\n\tBring us fear.\n\tCome to us, Gar Xuu Gar."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/summoning-rituals-legible": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/summoning-rituals-legible", "description": "Summoning rituals - not written in Tamrielic", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Summoning Rituals (Legible)", "text": "Alecread mingumpen phytheorandraymen whistradestmen squallangespo yourvathestionth. Mouthro aintalea exammingeraittlev. Naket sperinerarchiter not encesectickin ustra whertiffem! Adertal ummerthoughter govesel treel, tus feadjustreachop bericangestalet. Vatteationgerthe vasugge gai. Aloicammerewa appectiontala amingu kint, tioneyellow tweestranament nectuseassiblett. Seassadindeble randeb chainger obitacr ove.\nSarderroners hert wrooll:\n\t- Gumbrustioneyel sysi numeemetteredge procketionney.\n\t- Smarketherv herrosteal versongertifeme.\n\t- Illashinkethigh dretcholiffem, ickintementa winuttroornm ationdereepr.\nRewarainsures vientendethandea creent, illoi naineez thythysterrournif. Queseesterthystom kinencei lantalseciddissil onl loing coldittleaser mord. Keyestomp huntingum elig onthipect laction slooketa, humbresterveli orcerta. Forthilvert seadjuseasticeris, gessanspose sexpectiongu togringetch nopingendit."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/summoning-rituals-arch-mage": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/summoning-rituals-arch-mage", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Summoning Rituals of the Arch-Mage", "text": "<The book appears blank.>"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sun-shadows-do-list": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sun-shadows-do-list", "description": "An ambitious Argonia's itinerary", "author": "Sun-in-Shadow", "title": "Sun-in-Shadow's To Do List", "text": "To do:\nSend a note to Magister Therana, offer services\nDistill remaining nightshade and store\nPlace order at alchemists\u2014do not need scathecraw right now\nQuery innkeeper at Gateway about rumors around Ralasa \u2014will Magister G. retaliate? (Note: up bribe amount, he has been helpful. Maybe additional gift?)\nTailor appointment\nSend research notes to Magister Firuth (remember to offer salutations to \"Gerald\" as well)."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sunk-ouze": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sunk-ouze", "description": "Fragmentary account of wayward Bosmer", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Sunk into Ouze", "text": "\u2026 never rise again. But what to do with them? Obliterating their essence and burning their bones was too much. They are still members of the chosen race, still our brothers and sisters. No, they must be contained, but not punished.\nWe will sink them into Ouze. The ground here is soft and warm and will make a good resting place for their bones. Their spirits will slumber evermore, or until the spinners tell the story of their release. If they resist, we shall \u2026."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/supplementary-orders": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/supplementary-orders", "description": "", "author": "Captain Rela", "title": "Supplementary Orders", "text": "Investigate the ruin interior here in Wansalen. Evaluate the area as a potential fortified location available for retreat, should the circumstances demand it.\nObtain any and all items of value within the ruin and bring them to my personal attention.\nMay the Three guide your steps,\n\u2014 Captain Rela"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/supplies-and-sundries": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/supplies-and-sundries", "description": "Note about provisions for a small Nordic village", "author": "Darj", "title": "Supplies and Sundries", "text": "Tillrani,\nThe hunters and I can't keep up with demand in the winter months. There are too many open mouths now. (Some of them are wider than others.)\nThe town is well-funded by Windhelm. I'm going to take Rana up on her offer to hire outside help during the next cold snap.\nA few extra hands from the Guild could mean the difference between eating and hungry bellies.\n\u2014 Darj"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/supplies-delve": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/supplies-delve", "description": "Threats about a broken contract", "author": "Kuna", "title": "Supplies for the Delve", "text": "Zetisha, you mangy housecat. I've got the paper here, you signed it, and I'm holding you to it!\nAnd I quote: \"Zetisha and Kuna hereby enter into a contract of supplies for the mine known as Kuna's Delve due south of Arenthia. Weekly supply runs for the mining concern known as Kuna's Delve will consist of the following sundry items \u2026\" and then, further down the contract, \"I hereby sign \u2026\" and your name.\nDon't make me get your Clanmother involved. If I don't hear from my miners that supplies have shown up by the end of next week, I'm talking to Kazirra. And after her, I'll talk to the Dawnmead. I'm sure they'd love another \"protection contract,\" and your place is just so \u2026 flammable.\n\u2014 Kuna"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/supply-request-stronger-sleep-potions": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/supply-request-stronger-sleep-potions", "description": "The Captain is developing an immunity to the standard dosage.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Supply Request: Stronger Sleep Potions", "text": "Please make sure the next shipment of sleep potions is stronger. The Captain seems to be developing an immunity to the current concotion. Not sure how, a drop would put a Wamasu out.\nFollow up: The new shipment of sleep potion seems to be sufficent. The smell about puts me out, but it's working for the Captain. current supplies are low, we will need to order more."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/surils-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/surils-journal", "description": "A botanist is fed up with Black Marsh's rain", "author": "Suril", "title": "Suril's Journal", "text": "\u2014 4th of Sun's Dawn\n\tMy latest research project involves plants. What destination is better than Shadowfen? There's something about this place. The moisture hanging in the air encourages so much growth. I'm sure I'll find a new species to study.\n\u2014 8th of First Seed\n\tI hate rain. It's rained every day for the past month. The ground is saturated, making it impossible to do any meaningful field studies. Clearly, I chose the wrong time of year to come to Stormhold.\nOn the bright side, I've had time to rearrange the guildhall to suit myself \u2026 well, one room of it, at least. I've never had this much time or space to myself, especially after the incident at Davon's Watch. I was so sure. Well, every researcher makes mistakes now and then. It's part of the process.\n\u2014 22nd of First Seed\n\tIt's stopped raining at last.\n\u2014 1st of Rain's Hand\n\tI've discovered a remarkable lichen specimen. It's on the spine of my \"Lexicon of Black Marsh Flora.\"\n\u2014 3rd of Rain's Hand\n\tWrote to the arch-mage. Requested a new assignment, preferably one in the Alik'r."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/survivors-guilt": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/survivors-guilt", "description": "A soldier laments the death of his companion, who died to a dragon", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Survivor's Guilt", "text": "Aken is dead. We grew up together, ran races through the desert, played with sticks that were swords in our minds, and made gold fighting in other people's wars for years. When we settled on guard duty for the Shields, it was like an early retirement.\nUntil the Dragon came.\nWe were on patrol, just like every other day. The terror birds were in their breeding season, so the beasts were particularly ornery. Aken had this great trick he learned from an Argonian, though. You take a dried gourd and punch a few holes in it, then tie it to a long string. I told him he was crazy, but when he whipped that thing overhead it screamed like a pack of jackals and sent the birds running.\nI never told him what a good idea it was, damn fool me. Good idea, but...\nAken, you damned idiot. There was no way it was going to scare off a Dragon. It ate him in one gulp and all I could do was stand there slack-jawed and pissing down the side of my leg while he screamed.\nI ran. I'm sorry, Aken. I'm a coward.\nAs it happens, you can't find absolution in the bottom of a bottle of jagga, or a jug of cheap Shornhelm wine, or even in that skooma crap. You just get a hangover and the sugar-shakes, then your throat feels like it's covered in hair. If you look to the gods instead, the priests will just give you some garbage sermon on how it is the will of the Divines and you can only find salvation in prayer.\nIt's all hogwash. They don't know a damn thing.\nI'm going to make it right, Aken. You always trusted me to watch your back and when it counted, I froze. I've strangled a gods-damned cannibal Wood Elf with my bare hands while he was eating my finger and rode down a rabid werewolf, but that Dragon was the one time my courage failed me.\nI've seen the Dragon flying in the distance for a few hours now. Circling. I think it knows I'm out here. I won't avenge you, but at least the ghost of our father won't curse me for a coward the rest of my days.\nI love you, brother. I won't be long now."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/susceptibility-corruption": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/susceptibility-corruption", "description": "Some spirits are more corruptible than others", "author": "Norion", "title": "Susceptibility to Corruption", "text": "According to our priestess, some of the ancestral spirits are more susceptible to the corruption stones than others. She's unsure which will be most affected.\nFortunately, the stones' destruction will have no effect on those working closest with me. Particularly Colonwe and the spirits of our honored familiar ancestors.\n\u2014 Norion"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/suspicious-message": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/suspicious-message", "description": "New locations for \"research findings\"", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Suspicious Message", "text": "The Beautiful Darkness asked that we alter our drop locations for the next stage of research. Deposit the scrolls with your findings at these new locations around Kvatch. An accurate map requires all parts listed below.\nPlace your code at the bottom so the next runner can deliver it.\n- Wolf's Everlasting Stream\n- Perch Above the Sport Fighters\n- Eternal Knight\n- Where We Gaze Down On the Streets"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sweet-life": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sweet-life", "description": "A suggestive offering to Alkosh", "author": "Dusted-with-Sugar", "title": "Sweet Life", "text": "Stroke by stroke, I brush my fur, bringing it to its highest gloss. My lips are tinted with red, as are my claws. Blood-like vermillion. Bright, like a fresh kill. My eyes are rimmed in black.\nThe clamor when I leave my home each night! So many, and so eager. They beg for a taste of my sugared sweets, for a chance to take the first skim of my cream. But I walk on, tray laden and balanced atop my head, with barely a glance from side to side.\nOnly one may touch my treats, lap the sweet cream prepared by my own hands. Only he, and no other.\nAnd so, I walk across the square from home to temple, and offer everything to Alkosh. My sugar, my tarts, my milk and sweet cream. Each gift lovingly prepared, then placed upon his altar.\nMay the First Cat take my simple offerings and fill me with the ecstasy of love's first kiss."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sweet-moon-sugar-cane": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sweet-moon-sugar-cane", "description": "A traditional song celebrating the plant", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Sweet Moon-Sugar Cane", "text": "(A Khajiiti Working Song)\nThe Wood Elves have their rotmeth brew\n\tMade of meat and bile\n\tThe lizards eat their bugs and twigs\n\tAnd everything so vile\nBut those of us who walk the sands\n\tKnow life's greatest pleasure\n\tIs strictly sweet, a tasty treat\n\tIt's moon-sugar that we treasure!\nCHORUS\n\tFields drenched in moonlight\n\tDewed with summer rain\n\tBrilliant green and growing tall\n\tSweet moon-sugar cane!\n\tSweet moon-sugar cane!\nGifted by the Moons\n\tAs they wax and wane\n\tFill our bowls and fill our souls\n\tSweet moon-sugar cane!\n\tSweet moon-sugar cane!\nWe sprinkle it on fine steak\n\tGlistening so sweetly\n\tWe smear it on our salmon\n\tAnd gobble it up completely\nWe bake it into our sweet treats\n\tDon't you want a taste?\n\tSo eat it quick and wash it down\n\tBecause nothing shall go to waste\nCHORUS\n\tFields drenched in moonlight\n\tDewed with summer rain\n\tBrilliant green and growing tall\n\tSweet moon-sugar cane!\n\tSweet moon-sugar cane!\nGifted by the Moons\nAs they wax and wane\n\tFill our bowls and fill our souls\n\tSweet moon-sugar cane!\n\tSweet moon-sugar cane!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sweetness-air": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sweetness-air", "description": "The promise of leaving a backwater town", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Sweetness in the Air", "text": "There has been a sweetness in the air since last week. Father says to pay no mind. There is nothing sweet here, has not been for a long time.\nI say it is well enough for him to say that since he's a grumpy old Orc. He remembers this village when it was a mining town. He thinks that every promise is poison, so if the air smells sweet it is a trick, foul magic.\nBut I smell the sweetness, at night as I dream. A lover comes to me in the night, wrapped in honeysuckle and lavender. He is my wildflower prince. He promises to take me away from this backwater, this dead town.\nI think tonight I will go with him, if I can. I will go far away from here. But what if he doesn't appear in my dreams again? I don't even know his name."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sweetroll-recipients": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sweetroll-recipients", "description": "Potential next victims of the Sweetroll Murderer", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Sweetroll Recipients", "text": "An associate and other individuals who I heard recently received a threatening sweetroll from the so-called \"Sweetroll Murderer.\" There are probably others, but you can't expect me to do all the work and still get paid.\nDobias: A fellow member of the Gold Coast Trading Company. He's too nice for his own good. Not good at business at all. Probably targeted because of how annoyingly nice he is.\nLouna: A feisty woman who married recently but then lost her husband to the Sweetroll Murderer. Now he's targeted her. Such a shame to lose such a tasty dish after she just became available.\nTuindal: Gorgeous eyes and pouty lips that you just want to eat with a spoon. This High Elf probably broke someone's heart. I know he broke mine! Ironically, he's a baker. I wonder who makes the better sweetroll?\nYarmia: Wood Elf beggar. Smells like four-mushroom stew that's been left to rot in the sun. As far as I'm concerned, the Sweetroll Murderer can have this one - stink and all!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sword-wisdom-saikhalar": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sword-wisdom-saikhalar", "description": "Aphorisms from a Redguard sword-master", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Sword-Wisdom of Saikhalar", "text": "And so it was that day that Saikhalar was in good humor after the morning training, for his students performed admirably in their drills and he was impressed by their progress. Being of such fair spirits, he invited the pupils to sit 'round in a ring and seek his wisdom as reward. The youths, having many questions, clamored to speak all at once, but he hushed them and called them forth one by one.\nOne asked, \"Master, why do we train only with the sword, when weapons come in so many shapes?\"\nThe Master replied, \"The sword is our soul. Mighty Onsi showed our people in ancient days the way to lengthen blades, and we have known their blessed virtue in our victories since. Focus on it alone, and you will defeat every weapon\u2014you will outreach daggers, roll from under heavy hammer blows, and deflect the arrows of your foe. If you are distracted from the blade's way, you will only be confused and the path to mastery will disappear beneath your feet.\"\nAnother asked, \"Master, why must we do the same drills every day?\"\nThe Master replied, \"You still think like the thirsty jackal that runs toward a mirage. He collapses in the sands, though he would have found the hidden stream if only he searched the rocks he sprinted past! Focus on the task before you, and perfection follows. Do not think of what you might do tomorrow, but think only of perfecting each exercise as it is assigned. In this way, you will come to grow as one with your weapon.\"\nAnd so they continued, the Master sharing his wisdom of long years with the youths. After many questions, he noticed one student squirming uncomfortably. Irritated by the boy's divided attention, he asked, \"You, what is your question?\"\n\tThe boy looked up sheepishly as a low growl rumbled from his stomach. \"Master, isn't it time for lunch?\"\nSaikhalar let forth a rare and mirthful laugh. \"Hurry on to the kitchens, then! My wisdom may be great, but it cannot fill hungry bellies!\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/taharas-traveling-menagerie": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/taharas-traveling-menagerie", "description": "Advertisement for a traveling zoo", "author": "Tahara", "title": "Tahara's Traveling Menagerie", "text": "Do the exotic creatures of Tamriel astonish you?\nDo you wish you could marvel at them with your very own eyes?\nDo you hate to travel beyond our shores?\nThen come to Tahara's Traveling Menagerie, near Artisan's Row. Beasts, both tamed and terrifying, await!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tahnisas-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tahnisas-journal", "description": "A leader's journal, documenting a town's desperate attempts to save themselves from the plague", "author": "Tahnisa", "title": "Tahnisa's Journal", "text": "This is a history of the Pride Mother's journey from Cicatrice to the Oasis cave. She describes the coming of the Flu and their flight into the valley. They went to the Oasis seeking sanctuary with an Argonian who claimed it may be a cure.\nIt shows how he tried to help but they kept getting sicker. In desperation, the Argonian called on the Neriad for help, only for the disease and misery to corrupt it. He died trying one last desperate plea to help her tribe.\nShe ends by sealing the entrance to the Oasis and the cave itself."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tajirris-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tajirris-journal", "description": "A Khajiit wanting to make a fresh start finds herself unable to do so", "author": "Tajirri", "title": "Tajirri's Journal", "text": "Riverhold was supposed to be Tajirri's fresh start. No more drinking, no more gambling, and no more smuggling. A breath of fresh air after all the rot she left behind in Senchel. A chance to finally be free of it all.\nAnd then Mother moved in with her. Mother, with her incessant whining, constant complaining, cutting insults. Is Tajirri really going to wear that today? Is Tajirri sure that she wants another sugar claw?\nSo first, a bit of drinking to help ease Tajirri's annoyance. And then a bit of gambling, just to get out of the house. Which of course led to quite a bit of debt. Which led to even more drinking, even more gambling, even more debt.\nAnd now back to smuggling, because Tajirri has debts to pay and a house to keep. Lucky for this one that Rideza should show up in town, just as Tajirri was getting desperate. Or perhaps it has nothing to do with luck. Perhaps Rideza somehow knew.\nJust a few jobs, that's it. Help Rideza squeeze all the gold she can get out of Riverhold, and then Tajirri won't have to worry about her debts anymore."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tajirris-note": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tajirris-note", "description": "", "author": "Tajirri", "title": "Tajirri's Note", "text": "Seems our old badger friend is napping again. Maybe we should pay him a visit? The trip could prove sweeter than you'd think.\nT"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/taking-tolls": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/taking-tolls", "description": "One criminal's money making scheme", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Taking Tolls!", "text": "All those weary, soul-numbing days working for others. How could I have been so blind? I could have been working for myself all this time.\nTaking tolls from fools has to be the easiest job ever! I sit around all day, waiting for the plodding of approaching feet (or the clip-clop of approaching hooves). When I hear them, up I pop and demand they pay a toll for crossing the bridge.\nThey always grumble, but when I show them my writ from the Emperor (hiring that scribe was the best gold piece I ever spent), most toss some coins my way. The ones who won't, I tell them the money's needed for repairs to the bridge and unless they want to swim next time, they'd better pay.\nIf they still won't pay, I pull my sword. Sometimes that works, but if they pull theirs, I run.\nI hear horses approaching. More fools to be separated from their gold!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tale-elements": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tale-elements", "description": "A poem about the four cardinal directions", "author": "Nalae-Polek", "title": "Tale of the Elements", "text": "By Nalae-Polek, Poet Laureate to Potentate Versidue-Shaie\nMyn raises his mighty staff\n\tAnd so lights up the East\nZisa waves her graceful wand\n\tAnd so drowns the South\nNyfa stomp his boots in anger\n\tAnd so rumbles the North\nIlni flutters her colorful fan\n\tAnd so blows toward the West"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tale-two-moons": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tale-two-moons", "description": "A traditional rhyme from Elsweyr", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Tale of Two Moons", "text": "As the sky falls white on Elsweyr\n\tWhen the frost forms on the lake\n\tWhen the fires blaze in brightness\n\tWhen old bones begin to ache\n\tThen cats cast off their budis\n\tAnd fur keeps out the cold\n\tAnd small moon chases big moon\n\tAnd tells him secrets old\n\tBut then blue skies o'er Elsweyr\n\tWhen rivers stream with light\n\tWhen fires die in ashes\n\tWhen youth again takes flight\n\tThen cats rewrap their budis\n\tAnd comb out rich, thick manes\n\tAnd big moon chases small moon\n\tAnd frees her from her chains"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tales-abba-arl-oxs-tale": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tales-abba-arl-oxs-tale", "description": "A children's story about the Ox constellation", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Tales of  Abba Arl: The Ox's Tale ", "text": "One day the children of the People came to Abba Arl and asked, \"Who are our parents?\"\nAbba Arl replied, \"The People have not two parents but four, and they are as follows. The great Dragon of Time, who set the stars in their courses and appointed the guardians to watch over the world. The Mother Serpent in the curve of whose back the world rests. The Fat Mother who nourished the People when they were lost and starving. And the Ox who bears the People on his back to their final rest. Many tales tell the story of the four parents.\"\nThe children said to Abba Arl, \"Tell us of the end first. Tell us of the Ox who bears the People on his back to their final rest.\"\nAnd this is the tale Abba Arl told.\n\"Before the People settled in cities, they followed the herds of wild beasts that roamed the wilderness and hunted them for food. One of these hunters was named Colvy, and one day while he was hunting he happened upon a calf. The calf was so young it could not yet walk, and its mother was dead beside it.\n\"The hunter Colvy took pity on the calf and brought it home to his hut. He fed it the wild grains he had foraged from the fields, the berries that grew in the shrubs, and the sweet leaves of trees.\n\"And the calf became like a son to Colvy, like one of his own family. And even after the calf was grown, the hunter could not bear to kill and eat it, so he kept it with him, by his side. And the calf, who was now a mighty ox, loved the hunter as a father and a mother both. Nightly, the ox stood watch by Colvy's hut and alerted him to danger. In return, the hunter protected the ox against predators.\n\"And it came to pass that one day, when Colvy was hunting, he fell into a nest of snakes and was badly bitten. And he said to the ox, 'I am bitten and dying, you should leave me and join with the other wild herd beasts and run across the fields.'\n\"But the ox replied, 'You are like a father and a mother to me. I will not leave you.'\n\"So the ox waited by the hunter's side until late into the night when, venom-sick and weary, the hunter finally died.\n\"And when the ox saw that the hunter, who had been like a father and a mother, had died, the ox lowed with such force that the plains shook and the herd beasts scattered in fear.\n\"And then the ox took Colvy on his back, went to the other hunters, and said, 'This man found me as a calf. When my mother was dead, he fed me and raised me into a mighty ox. He is like a father to me and also a mother, and dearer to me than life itself. 'He fell into a nest of snakes, and the serpents bit him and inserted their venom into his blood. And in the night, he died.'\n\"On hearing the ox's speech, the other hunters replied, 'What do you expect us to do? We are just hunters. We know nothing about anything. Our own dead we leave in the fields, to be eaten by birds.'\n\"The ox replied, 'It is not right that the body of this noble hunter should be left in the open, to be eaten by birds. Build a pyre and lay his body on top of it. And when the hunter is burned, take me and kill me and cook my flesh on the pyre. Eat this feast in memory of this noble hunter, and I shall follow him into the next world and bear him to the afterlife, just as he once bore me into his hut when I was only a calf and could not yet walk.'\nThe hunters saw wisdom in the ox's words, and they thought also of the great feast that the mighty ox would provide, so they did as they were told.\nAnd seeing the loyalty of the ox to Colvy, the hunters followed his example and began to herd the wild beasts, so that they would not need to follow them all over the world, hunting them. And to this day, whenever a great hunter dies, an ox is slaughtered and a feast is held. Then the bones of the ox are laid upon the pyre to carry the dead into the afterlife.\"\nWhen Abba Arl had finished his tale, the children clapped their hands and said, \"This is good. Thank you to the Ox, our fourth parent.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tales-abba-arl-fat-mother": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tales-abba-arl-fat-mother", "description": "Ancient children's tale of the Fat Mother constellation", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Tales of Abba Arl: The Fat Mother", "text": "One morning, Abba Arl asked the children 'Do you know of our parent, the Fat Mother?'\nThe children shook their heads and said, 'No, Abba. We do not know about the Fat Mother. Will you tell us about her?'\nAbba nodded and told this tale.\n\"Before the People took to harvesting, they ate nothing but the meat from the wild beasts of the fields. One morning, the hunters went out and could not find any wild beasts to eat. And so the chief told his people, 'We have killed all the beasts and have nothing to eat. We must leave this place and find more beasts elsewhere.'\n\"And so it came to pass that the People packed their belongings and began to wander in search of food. One of these wanderers was called Orsa, and she was shunned by the People. They shunned her because she was fat and not pleasant to look at.\n\"One day, the People arrived at the foot of a tall mountain. They began to cry out, 'We are so hungry! If we do not eat soon, we will surely die. We cannot climb this mountain without food!'\n\"Hearing this, Orsa stepped forward and said, 'People, you have shunned me, but I love you still. Come and drink from my left breast that you might have the strength to climb the mountain.' The People were greatly pleased by this and suckled their fill. With bellies full of milk, the People climbed the mountain and did not perish. Even so, they still treated Orsa poorly.\n\"Days passed and the People came upon a river. Again, they cried, 'We are so hungry! If we do not eat soon, we will surely die. We cannot ford this river without food!'\n\"And so Orsa said, 'Still you shun me, but still I love you. Come and drink from my right breast that you might have the strength to ford the river.' Once again, the People greedily drank their fill. They swam across the river and not one of them perished. Even after this, the People spurned Orsa and would not share her company.\n\"More time passed, and the People reached the edge of a great desert. Once again, the people cried out, 'We are so hungry! If we do not eat soon, we will surely die. We cannot cross this desert without food!'\nThe People looked to Orsa for help. 'Won't you feed us again, fat woman?' the people asked.\n\"'I cannot' said Orsa. 'You drank from my left breast at the foot of the mountain, and my right breast at the bank of the river. I have no more milk to give.'\n\"The People were greatly disturbed by this and fell to their knees weeping.\n\"That night, Orsa prayed to the stars saying, 'Oh stars, what shall I do? I have no more milk to give my people. We will surely perish without food.'\n\"The stars spoke back, saying, 'Orsa. Why do you cry for the People? Do they not spurn you and make cruel jokes at your expense? Surely it would be better if they died so that you would be spared the pain of living with them.'\n\"'No.' said Orsa. 'I have no husband because I am fat and not good to look upon. I have no children of my own. These people have become my children and I must care for them.'\n\"And so the stars took pity. 'Orsa, we shall help you care for the People, and we shall give you many children, but you must make a promise.'\n\"'Anything!' cried Orsa.\n\"The stars replied, 'If any of the People treat you poorly, even for a moment, you must strike them. They must be reminded to treat you well.'\n\"'I promise that I will do this,' said Orsa.\n\"With that, the stars wove their strongest magics and transformed Orsa into a great fat bee. The People learned to eat the honey from her hive and lived on to see their new home across the desert. But the Fat Mother kept her promise. If the People treated her poorly, Orsa and her many children would sting them to remind them of their good fortune. And so it is with us.'\"\nWhen Abba finished his tale, the children smiled great smiles and asked the Abba for a big gob of honey from the Fat Mother."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tales-spinners": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tales-spinners", "description": "A description of the Spinners of Valenwood", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Tales of the Spinners", "text": "\u2014 An Entry by the Altmeri Travel Guild \u2014\nSpinners in Bosmer society play a critical role. More than just a fantastical outlet or a source of catharsis, spinners perform a mystical, priestly function.\nIf Y'ffre created this world by telling a story, Bosmeri spinners weave new worlds out of their stories, sometimes crafting an illusion so complete that it seems real to the listeners, who are woven into the stories as characters.\nInside these magical stories, spinners can influence their listeners in profound ways, stirring them to empathize with strangers, hate enemies, or have compassion for the suffering.\nOf course, spinners who can create complete illusions are rare and often eccentric sorts. Even so, the typical Bosmeri spinner is a storyteller of unmatched talent."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tales-two-moons-path-vol-3-0": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tales-two-moons-path-vol-3-0", "description": "The end of what must have surely been a great story", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Tales of the Two Moons Path Vol. 3", "text": "\"Taziako looked about her, confused. Her grandfather had been there just the moment before, and now\u2014now she stood in the bedroom of her childhood. The rich tapestries clung to the walls, warming the wooden slats, and the sweet smell of her mother's cooking filled the air.\nTazzie ran to the door, opening her mouth to call out in greeting. Then she stopped when she realized she stood once again in the Temple of the Dance. The old Moonspeaker nodded at her gravely and intoned, \"What Jone and Jode have shown you is for you alone. Consider it and remember it always.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tales-two-moons-path-vol-3": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tales-two-moons-path-vol-3", "description": "A fragment of a Khajiit story", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Tales of the Two-Moons Path, Vol. 3", "text": "Taziako looked about her, confused. Her grandfather had been there just the moment before, and now \u2026 now she stood in the bedroom of her childhood. The rich tapestries clung to the walls, warming the wooden slats, and the sweet smell of her mother's cooking filled the air.\nTazzie ran to the door, opening her mouth to call out in greeting, and then stopped when she realized she stood once again in the Temple of the Dance. The old moonspeaker nodded at her gravely, and intoned, \"What Jone and Jode have shown you is for you alone. Consider it, and remember it always.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/talquas-clue": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/talquas-clue", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Talqua's Clue", "text": "Talqua insisted that only he and his assistant Nidras have access to the bank."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/talvini-radus-last-wish": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/talvini-radus-last-wish", "description": "A greedy last wish", "author": "Talvini Radus", "title": "Talvini Radus' Last Wish", "text": "The Abomination can't reach me between these rocks, but I can't leave, either.\nI'm probably going to die here. I just wish my brother Malvini was here with me.\nI hate to think he'll live on and I'll be gone."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tamrielic-calligraphy-chapter-vii": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tamrielic-calligraphy-chapter-vii", "description": "Inks of Valenwood", "author": "Alanya of Alinor", "title": "Tamrielic Calligraphy, Chapter VII", "text": "An oft-overlooked fact: using ink goes well beyond the calligrapher. A controlled environment can allow the artist to communicate precisely through color and form, and reach beyond the page to the reader. It's easy to forget that external factors, such as the weather or the temperature, can significantly alter a calligrapher's needs.\nFor example, in the heat and humidity of deep Valenwood the popular Delicate Midnight ink\u2014that mainstay of proper Alinor calligraphy\u2014simply will not dry. Turn the paper sideways and the ink runs right off the page. Unthinkable in the temperate Alinor climate, but constant in a place a mere ship's voyage away. Instead, the locals use an ink that can dry even while submerged in water. Foolishness for a scribe at a comfortable writing-desk, but of vital importance for a scout writing an urgent missive in a tropical rainstorm.\nOne other notable evolution of Valenwood inks is the prevalence of ink that glows faintly in darkness. In a well-lit city such as Alinor the need for such things would be minimal. In the deep darkness of the forest, without even moonlight to read by, a faintly glowing ink allows those with proper vision to review critical documents.\nA final point of interest: the common use of inks that work equally well on a variety of surfaces. Quality parchment is rare, and even paper can be uncommon depending on the beliefs of the local Bosmer. Writing a missive on a fallen leaf or a flat stone would be unthinkable in Alinor. It's commonplace and often preferred in the depths of the forest. The previously mentioned Delicate Midnight ink is highly valued despite being worthless on paper. When scribed onto a certain kind of porous stone, it will hold its form until vigorously shaken off.\nStone and ink can thus be reused for quite some time. Because the ink does not dry properly, the written word can sometimes last upwards of several months. A common Alinor ink is thus an incredibly valuable rarity among the Bosmer, whose different environment causes them to discover properties of our inks that are likely unknown even to master Altmeri scribes.\nI intend to continue my study of inks on the Tamrielic mainland, and will continue providing chapters of this series to the scribes in Alinor."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tancano-elders-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tancano-elders-journal", "description": "Tancano's thoughts on an ancient city", "author": "Tancano the Elder", "title": "Tancano the Elder's Journal", "text": "The south wall rotated two degrees last night. I've measured it thirty-six times. The Welkynd Stones must be causing it. The growths run the length of the city, built into every wall and foundation. This must be how the Ayleids thought to control the jungle: a city that could grow against the plants. Brilliant strategy, though, obviously, it ultimately failed.\nOnly the door in the east chamber doesn't move. Strange. Responds slightly to rhythms. Perhaps a secret knock?"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tancanos-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tancanos-journal", "description": "Journal of a cannibal", "author": "Tancano", "title": "Tancano's Journal", "text": "I wish Father would bring me the tastier morsels from this boring, little hamlet. I fear the herd has been culled past its prime and the finest cuts of meat are already my thralls. That is fine for now, though I don't want to grow bored of the finer blood under my control.\nArandar tastes of the finest Altmer wine aged in oak barrels, though he was much too gaunt the last time I fed on him.\nVanderion had a piquant flavor of moldy cheese and dung, but I guess that's what you'd expect from a man raised in a backwater village knee-deep in manure since the time he could walk.\nI sorely miss Menelcare's bittersweet flavors. Her soft, hushed cries as I tasted her flesh were a delectable garnish to the feast she provided. It's unfortunate that I can no longer revel in her essence; I must decide what to do with her desiccated corpse.\nI requested that Father bring me more refined and proper meat to savor. Perhaps someone of the more noble blood like Eryeril or Nelulin. Perhaps even the delicious body of Velatosse herself. Though the way he looks at me when I make these requests unsettles me. Does he not love his son enough to indulge him in these requests? Does he not want me to stay healthy and vibrant? Why does he look at me with those sad, baleful eyes? I am not a monster; I am his son."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tanglehavens-fletchers": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tanglehavens-fletchers", "description": "A tiny Bosmeri village is home to fine arrow makers", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Tanglehaven's Fletchers", "text": "Little more than a collection of huts, the village of Tanglehaven is famous among the Bosmer for their superior fletchings. One might say it is driven by their need for survival\u2014raids from the Wood Orc clans in the area have been known to raze undefended settlements with little to no warning.\nEven with their knowledge of the ways of an arrow's flight, not many Jaqspurs call this village home. Treethanes with ambitions beyond the forest might find themselves recruiting armies to go with their superior weaponry, but so far, Valenwood has been blessed with a line of peaceful Bosmer.\nNow, with the recent Thalmor alliance, will the tranquil village find itself heeding the call of the war drums? Will the arrows from Valenwood fly so far as to pierce the very heart of Cyrodiil? Only time knows the answer."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tanvals-directive": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tanvals-directive", "description": "A desperate measure is called for", "author": "Tanval", "title": "Tanval's Directive", "text": "The second brother must be unleashed. I know Holgunn and the others will attempt to stop me.\nDelay them at Kragenmoor. Do not let them reach the Spire."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/targas-note": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/targas-note", "description": "A note from a follower of the Yokudan Emperor", "author": "Targa", "title": "Targa's Note ", "text": "Dearest Anya,\nI must first request that you burn these letters after reading them. I am sorry I have not written at more length or with more frequency, but trouble follows me like a cub chases its mother.\nIt is difficult for me to commit to words what I have experienced these many months away from you. Difficult, because each day my thoughts slip nearer to blasphemy.\nOur Glorious Emperor has taken us north into the place the barbarian peoples call the Deathlands. It is as inhospitable as the name suggests, unfit for any person to live in. But our Illustrious Emperor presses on, bent on the promise of a city of shimmering waters in the middle of the desert and mad dreams of an immortal army.\nSee? My pen betrays me. But what else can I call our Inscrutable Emperor's plan? A warrior's reward is eternal glory and rest for his weary body, but what of the warrior who is denied rest? What comfort is there for such a soldier?\nOur Resplendent Emperor would deny us death for his own glory. He would profane our bodies by having them rise again in unnatural forms to fight for him across the ages. Once again, my words form the foulest blasphemies.\nIn truth, I know that it is not our Marvelous Emperor who errs (I do not allow the possibility), but that foreigner who is by his side, always breathing corruptions into his ear. He stinks of ambition and his words cloy with false flattery.\nStill, this will be the last time I write to you dearest Anya. The error lies, ultimately, in myself. For though I am pledged to follow my master into death, I am unwilling to follow him after. When I am finished penning this letter, I will take the honorable course and die by my own sword.\nI beg you destroy this letter when you receive it, lest our Celestial Emperor perceive that you share in my guilt.\nYours ever and always,\n\tTarga"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tattered-journal-0": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tattered-journal-0", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Tattered Journal ", "text": "8th Sun's Dawn\nThe Empress Regent ordered her entire bedchambers refurbished. She spent a fortune furnishing and renovating in past years. Her preference in upholstery has changed, it seems.\nAdditionally, I've been told she no longer requires a mattress.\nI've heard when royalty is too refined, it becomes self-destructive. I wonder if the process has begun for the Empress Regent.\n9th Sun's Dawn\nGuard postings at the Imperial Palace have doubled. There are whispered rumors that strange creatures are loose in the city. Entrances to the other districts have been blocked off, on the order of the city guard.\n10th Sun's Dawn\nThis morning a dark storm awoke in the sky above the Palace, enshrouding the sun. And out of it poured a hundred grinning Daedra.\nWe've barricaded ourselves in the upper chambers.\n\"It won't be long, now,\" the Empress Regent keeps repeating to herself. She's smiling.\nThe poor woman has snapped. They won't take me as easily."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tattered-letter": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tattered-letter", "description": "A father's note to his daughter speaks of a haunted ruin", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Tattered Letter", "text": "Dearest Valyne,\nI met a colorful character tonight who regaled me with tales of a nearby haunted ruin. He spoke of strange noises and bursts of purple light at the mouth of the cave. Sounds like a worthwhile adventure! My friend is an aged fellow, so it may be nothing. It wouldn't be the first guar-chase I've been on since arriving here in Wrothgar. But I figure it's worth a look. I'll write to you soon to tell you what I found.\nAll my love,\n\tFather"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tattered-note-1": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tattered-note-1", "description": "A ruin contains a big haul", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Tattered Note", "text": "I'm telling you, this ruin has untold treasures! We could even break down the automatons and sell the parts!\nHaul whatever you can back to the hideout. We're not leaving a scrap behind.\n\t\u2014 Zendrinn"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tattered-note-2": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tattered-note-2", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Tattered Note", "text": "Did what the Khajiit's brother said couldn't be done\u2014I found the bastard.\nFigured he'd be dead, diving headfirst like he did into Elita's Folly. Not even the most hardened soldier comes out of that hole unscathed\u2014but this s'wit? I don't know how he survives, but he's been living here.\nRunning from me.\nBy Almalexia\u2014head is swimming.\ntrapped\nblood is burning\u2014spider poison?\nbuzzing"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tattered-faded-scrap": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tattered-faded-scrap", "description": "A desperate prayer in the face of some awakened evil", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Tattered, faded scrap", "text": "Almalexia heal me, Vivec save me, Sotha Sil preserve me...\n...she is awake.\nThe others, dead. Fools, all of us.\nAlmalexia heal me, Vivec save me, Sotha Sil preserve me...\nSHE IS AWAKE.\nI pray to the Tribunal that Arventil can reseal"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tazgols-vision-quest": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tazgols-vision-quest", "description": "A young Orc receives an allegorical lesson", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Tazgol's Vision Quest", "text": "When Tazgol gro-Betnikh had not yet fought his third battle, he climbed the cliffs of Betnikh until he was so high he could look beyond the sea to the edge of the world.\nHe took neither food nor water, but drank the rainwater that collected in the crevices of the rocks and ate eggs from the nests of birds high on the cliff.\nHe climbed three days, and when he reached the top he rested three days.\nIt was then that Mauloch gave him the following vision:\nHe saw a single great serpent cut into three, and from the three pieces sprang three smaller serpents.\nThe three serpents divided the world between them.\n\tOne crawled on its belly and said \"I claim the land and all that grows from it.\"\nAnother swam in the depths and said \"I claim the water and all that drinks it.\"\nThe third took to wing and said \"I claim the air and all that breathes it.\"\nNo sooner had they done so than the serpents fell into conflict. For what is there that lives that does not spring from the earth, or drink water, or breathe air? So each serpent thought he had dominion over the others.\nIn time, the serpents fought each other and were destroyed.\nThen Tazgol was perplexed by what he had seen, and he returned from the cliffs and told Thurga the Wise what Mauloch had shown him.\nThurga the Wise, who had interpreted many visions, said, \"This is a vision with two lessons. The first is that division without unity is fatal.\"\n\"But how can there be both division and unity?\" Tazgol asked her.\n\"Naive question,\" the Wise Woman barked back. \"Don't the chief's three wives hate each other and yet love the chief, and so share the same desire? Is there not division when a young Orc challenges the chief and unity when the new chief is proclaimed triumphant? Just so, the three serpents were destroyed when they forgot that they were not three serpents but one serpent divided.\"\n\"But how do we maintain both division and unity?\" The young warrior wondered.\nThe Wise Woman chuckled: \"That is the second lesson of your vision: remember the past.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tears-anurraame": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tears-anurraame", "description": "Legend of the power of a scorned woman (with help from Mephala)", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Tears of Anurraame", "text": "Once there was a shining city, Erokii, and its princess was the radiant Anurraame. She was considered the envy of all the Ayleid nobility for her beauty, grace, and wisdom were unsurpassed.\nIn time, she was married to the prince of a distant but great city. It was to be an alliance that spread across Tamriel. The prince was renowned for his martial prowess and stubborn honor, but he loved his new bride Anurraame dearly.\nFor a time, they were happy, or, at least, they seemed so. But as the years wiled away, Anurraame's husband was away more and more, and duty proved a poor substitute for passion.\nSo it came to pass that Anurraame took a young champion of Erokii for a lover. Strong and gleaming with youthful light and energy, Anurraame's lover gave her what the old, distant prince could not\u2014the thrill of infatuation and friendship.\nAnurraame was careful at first to keep her affair a secret, lest she shame her husband. But caught up in passion's capricious winds, she became more and more reckless, and soon her dalliance was discovered.\nSpurned and infuriated, Anurraame's husband arrayed his full army before Erokii and laid siege to the city. The princess vowed to face him with fortitude and called on her lover to muster his forces in defense of the city, which he promised he would.\nBut when the day of battle came, her lover's forces appeared beside her husband's. His undying passion had been subverted by coin.\nDesperate and enraged at her lover's betrayal, Anurraame called on the Daedra for help destroying her enemies and defending her city. Mephala answered and commanded Anurraame to pour all her tears into a basin. Mephala then imbued the tears with the power of the princess's hatred for her traitorous lover, hatred which had formed from the potent seed of the princess's love.\nThe tears, so empowered, hardened into an artifact, the Tear of Anurraame. When the time of battle came, Anurraame took the artifact to the highest tower of the city and as the armies raged outside the city's walls, she unleashed its power, destroying the armies and the city in the flash of an eye.\nAll that remains of Erokii, and of Anurraame herself, is a ruined crypt, but there have been whispers throughout the ages that the Tear was not destroyed, and that it's waiting in the rubble, still to be found."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/teas-and-tisanes-aches-and-pains": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/teas-and-tisanes-aches-and-pains", "description": "Alchemical recipes for healing the inside and outside of your body", "author": "Tilenra Sildreth", "title": "Teas and Tisanes for Aches and Pains", "text": "Alma's Bone-Mend Blend\nThis pleasant pekoe dates back well beyond the dawn of the Second Era. It remains a fairly obscure recipe\u2014likely due to the rarity of its ingredients. The once abundant Tum'ja plant fell prey to a leaf-weevil infestation and never truly recovered. Despite its scarcity, the Tum'ja leaf remains available from specialty dealers along the Topal coast of Elsweyr. Combined with a series of local ingredients, this fragrant blend greatly reduces the pain and duration of injuries of the bone.\nIngredients:\nSix cups of filtered water\nFive heavy spoonfuls of bonemeal\nOne pinch of fire salts\nOne half cup of granulated moon-sugar\nTwo shaven corkbulbs, minced\nTwo cups of willow anther distillate\nSix linen sachets of Tum'ja pekoe\nDirections:\nPour water into thoroughly cleaned basin; add corkbulbs and fire salts. Bring the water to a roaring boil and remove from heat. Add Tum'ja sachets to the water and set to steep for seven minutes precisely. Remove sachets and strain out the minced corkbulb.\nIn a separate pitcher, mix the willow anther distillate with bonemeal until smooth. Add bonemeal solution and moon-sugar to the still-hot tea and stir the mixture until the bonemeal solution and moon-sugar dissolve completely. Serve warm for best result.\nSpiced Skinpeel Simmer\nA piquant blend of my own design, this tea cures all manner of skin ailments, including warts, blemishes, corprus lesions, hives, bug bites, and burns. Gathering some of these ingredients may present certain dangers that less experienced alchemists should avoid. Seek out a reputable dealer or hire an accomplished adventurer to help.\nIngredients:\nEight cups of purified water\nTwo spoonfuls of fire salts\nOne Daedra heart, thoroughly squeezed\nTwo cups of scrib jelly\nTwo cups of grated grahl skin\nSix linen sachets of Rolmu broken-black pekoe\nDirections:\nPour water into glass basin and bring to a roaring boil. Add fire salts.\nIn a large stone mortar, muddle equal parts scrib jelly and grahl skin. A word of caution: take great care in the measuring of equal parts, as an overabundance of either ingredient can result in violent combustion. Squeeze Daedra heart over the mixture and discard the flesh in an appropriately enchanted receptacle.\nAdd Rolmu sachets to the water and let steep for eight minutes exactly. Quickly stir the Daedric jelly-paste into the tea and allow to settle for one hour. Reheat for best result."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/teeba-hatsei": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/teeba-hatsei", "description": "Primer on an Argonian sport", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Teeba-Hatsei", "text": "Dry-skins often ask me about the teeba-hatsei. They see the ball and the court and say all kinds of funny things. Today the Tall-Elf I travel with pointed to the court and asked, \"This is a garden, yes?\" I didn't know how to respond, so I just blinked at him. What kind of garden grows no food? Tall-Elves can be very stupid. Still, I think I should write down the rules so people ask me fewer questions.\nTeeba-hatsei means something like \"hip and tail ball\" in the dry tongue. All of us play it\u2014some better than others. I was never very good. My arms are too long and my tail is too thin. The best teeba-players are short and bulky, with broad tails like alligators and hips that swing like bags of cinnamon-grass.\nThe game is played on a broad field of dry mud and salt-meadow hay. On either end of the field is a wall of mud and eeto cane. The size of the field and the height of the wall vary from village to village. In Xiniss, for example, the wall is twenty hands tall. Two reed hoops are suspended over the field. One is about thirty hands high. The other is about fifty. Again, this varies. For example, the Tum-Taleel tend to set their hoops lower as they are fat and stupid and cannot jump very high.\nEach team consists of five players. The game begins by tossing the ball (or teeba) skyward. Each team tries to hit the ball with their hips, elbows, or tails. This can hurt a bit since the teeba is very heavy and made of depasa gum. Some players wear pads of wood and dried wasso leaves to protect themselves, but most Saxhleel make fun of them for doing so.\nThe teeba is volleyed back and forth between the teams, with each player trying to strike the opposing wall with the ball. If they succeed, their team earns a point. Teamwork is very important. One player may tap the teeba upward so a second player can swat it with their tail. Tail-strikes tend to be much stronger. This continues until one of the teams has scored ten points.\nTeams can earn three points by hitting the ball through the lower reed hoop. This is very difficult to do though, since the hole is so small. If a player is able to get the ball through the upper hoop, the game is over and whichever team has the highest score at that time is declared the winner.\nThere is, of course, much more to it. But this primer should at least keep the scaleless ones from trying to pitch their tents in the middle of the court."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tel-fyr-additional-specifications": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tel-fyr-additional-specifications", "description": "Building specifications for Tel Fyr.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Tel Fyr, Additional Specifications", "text": "While there is no doubt that we have delivered a tower of exquisite design, the council wants Tel Fyr to exceed all expectations of its namesake. In that regard, the new owner has outlined some changes to better suit his needs. This includes expanding the subterranean footprint into the natural caverns abutting the foundation. This vast area will require months of additional shaping, to which you are all obligated to complete for the honor of our house. Continue to work with the diligence you have shown thus far and you can claim your efforts contributed to one of the finest endeavors undertaken by your discipline."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/teldurs-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/teldurs-journal", "description": "A traitor is discovered", "author": "Teldur", "title": "Teldur's Journal", "text": "I grow increasingly suspicious of my master, Canonreeve Valano, and his true loyalties. Strange visitors come and go from the manor at all hours, and the Canonreeve has been sending private missives to unknown parties. When asked, he is extremely circumspect with regard to the content of these missives.\n- - - - -\nMy suspicions are confirmed! The canonreeve has been covertly communicating with members of the Veiled Heritance! In point of fact, I strongly suspect that the attack on the town was his doing all along. I plan to confront him. Arrest him if necessary. I dare not risk revealing my discoveries to any of the locals, as I've no way to discern who might be in league with him."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/telvanni-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/telvanni-journal", "description": "Exploring the wonderous caverns beneath Tel Fyr", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Telvanni Journal", "text": "These caverns are marvelous! Teeming with flora of all kinds with nary a bit of daylight. There are even prosperous growths of land coral, but we've located no signs of water flowing through here. Perhaps there is an aquifer seeping. We'll have to be mindful before we begin expanding the tower workshop or risk flooding this wondrous place.\nHonestly, I've never seen anything like this before ... but I have felt something similar. There's an energy here. A warmth. It reminds me of my visits to the chambers of Almalexia and Vivec. Their divine radiance is a palpable thing. Is this thriving cavern a work of theirs, I wonder? If that is the case, I hope we aren't intruding on the Living Gods' domain.\nDid Master Fyr know of these caverns when he selected the site for his tower? Perhaps he'd be willing to share his insights once we've finished our surveying. Either way, I plan to learn everything I can while I'm here."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/telvanni-requirements": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/telvanni-requirements", "description": "A specific list of Telvanni \"supplies\"", "author": "Llarel Telvanni", "title": "Telvanni Requirements ", "text": "To: Captain Angarthal\nRe: Telvanni Requirements\nCaptain,\n\tI am writing from Necrom to inform you that House Telvanni requires a very specific list of new subjects for events planned in the next few months. We are delighted to hear you are targeting Breton villages along the Iliac Bay and we will offer significant incentive if you are able to deliver subjects that fit the following criteria.\n\u2014 Six young women, all under the age of twenty years; at least one brunette, two blondes, and at least one woman of significant girth, preferably extremely pale.\n\u2014 Seven young men, all under the age of twenty-four years; hair color is irrelevant, but make sure they're not too hairy. Physique is critical as at least five will be used for labor. Tall and skinny would be preferred for the remaining two. If one might have blue eyes, this would be preferred as well.\n\u2014 Two elderly men, but they must be healthy. We're not looking for men on their deathbeds. We're looking for these men to serve as chaperones, so it's also critical they have good eyesight.\n\u2014 Lastly, any gender/age is acceptable but it's of highest necessity that we get someone who has intimate knowledge of swine, as we are in desperate need of a new pig-keeper. The last one was eaten.\n\tFor any acquisition that fulfills these requests, we will offer twice the normal rate. Other \"favors\" will be offered as well based on the number of requests filled overall.\nI wish you swift and safe sailing, Sera.\n\t\u2014 Llarel Telvanni"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tempest-island-briefing": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tempest-island-briefing", "description": "The situation at Tempest Island", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Tempest Island Briefing", "text": "You have your orders, Alduril, and you'll execute them as well as you always do, but I wanted to apologize again for this assignment. It would never have been necessary had the Canonreeves not dissolved my plans for a garrison at Tempest Island. I had drawn requisitions to bring a fleet of Swan Ships\u2014enough to repel any force of long-range vessels from Pyandonea\u2014to defend the island. The request was denied.\n\"We can deal with the Maormer after the Pact and the Covenant,\" they said, citing a lack of resources to devote to my \"unfounded apprehension.\" So I reminded a few acquaintances of favors owed from conflicts long past and managed to send a few scout ships.\nThey reported unusual weather phenomena the first week, swift lightning storms off the coast that came and went in moments. The second week, the storms intensified, and under cover of inclement weather came a fleet of warships, chitinous hulls with opalescent sails, decks illuminated with the sparks of lightning staves and swords\u2014Maormer war materiel, just as we remember them. My scouts estimated their force is small, not a full-scale invasion fleet, but the coast of Malabal Tor will be entirely at their mercy when they decide to attack.\nHad the Canonreeves taken just a moment from their maps tracking the movements of Orcs and Men, they'd see that a dire threat was growing under their noses. Every week my scouts reported an increase in Maormer strength, a few ships every few days, appearing under the cover of some kind of weather magic. Months too late, the Canonreeves agree with me, now.\nI know we ask much from you and your soldiers, but if you don't stop them, Alduril, the Dominion will have yet another front to fight in this war. More than any Daedra, more than the Ebonheart Pact, more than the Daggerfall Covenant, the Maormer want the Altmer choked from existence. They always have.\nShow them no quarter."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/temples-dragon-cult": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/temples-dragon-cult", "description": "Ancient ruins speak of a long lost civilization", "author": "Cirantille", "title": "Temples of the Dragon Cult", "text": "In the distant reaches of Skyrim, beyond the remote farming communities and hunter shacks, you may stumble over a broken stone, half buried and covered in moss and ivy. Look closer, in case these are effigies to animal gods, worshiped by Ysgramor's primitives. The deification of the bear, dragon, fox, moth, owl, snake, whale, and wolf have all been recorded by our field agents, and many believe these totems stand as sentinels over lost ruins. These tumbledown temples, guarded by half-woken draugr and worse, are from a time when the Dragon Cult supposedly ruled this province.\nWhile no modern Tamrielan need believe these hopelessly fanciful fables, the Nords' simple-minded veneration for these places betokens their fear of the return of the Dragon Priests. During the worship of Akatosh (the dragon) as god-kings over men, these priests were the conduit through which dragons spoke, made laws, and were honored with grand and elaborate temples. When Alduin, Akatosh's firstborn, was defeated atop the Throat of the World during the mythical Dragon War, the cult that sprang up around these dragon guardians soon receded into the soil, buried among dragon mounds with the remains of these beasts. They were finally vanquished in the Rift mountains by High King Harald in 1E 140. The veneration of animal gods was soon replaced by the Eight Divines."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tenderclaw": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tenderclaw", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Tenderclaw", "text": "One of the oldest esraj known to exist, Tenderclaw cemented Rimmen's reputation as a destination for bards from across Tamriel. For years the renowned Khajiit skald Ahn-eks'kha played it during her week-long performances of the epic poem, The Death of Fadomai.\nNo musician since has achieved the perfect, enchanting sounds that Ahn-eks'kha coaxed from the instrument. Legend says Tenderclaw was gift from the Khajiiti gods. Whether she was chosen or not is something Ahn-eks'kha would never clarify, preferring the allure of mystery."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/teraris-notes": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/teraris-notes", "description": "", "author": "Terari's Notes", "title": "Terari's Notes", "text": "I think he's wandering to places familiar to him. He's returned to the site of my first workshop. Where we met. I don't think he can recognize it in its current disrepair. He's just wandering and crying out. Lost, alone, and in pain. Bolin, forgive me.\n-\nI risked approaching him in a quiet moment, but my presence only seemed to agitate him. He pleaded to know what happened to him, but he grew violent in his distress and his body is frighteningly strong. I fled him, but that only made matters worse. I heard the upset rampage echoing the canyon walls.\n-\nIt's hard to sleep here. This used to be a happy place. Our happy home. Now it's rust and ruin. The laughter we shared here, replaced by the distant weeping of a machine that can't shed tears.\n-\nHow long have I been out here now? How many times have I tried to calm that poor broken soul? I can't take it. But I suppose I deserve this.\n-\nI tried to kill him. I just want him to have peace, but I can't manage it. No matter what I do, I only cause him pain. I must be cursed."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/terrans-notes": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/terrans-notes", "description": "Observations on metaphysics by a Moth priestess", "author": "Terran Arminus", "title": "Terran's Notes", "text": "A pillar appears in hues of splendor. Searing pinpoints of light in the shape of the letters AKHAT.\nThe imposter dances upon it? Undulates?\nThe many ways of walking? What does walking have to do with anything?\nIt splits into the number of walking ways. Only eight?\nThe imposter must dance upon the tower, the notes must ring. The time must be to not.\nThe song comes with [Player Name].\nThat doesn't make any sense!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/terror-east": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/terror-east", "description": "A poem describing how Alkosh, Lorkhaj, and Hircine fought the \"demons\" invading Elsweyr", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Terror from the East", "text": "When Demons came to Khenarthi's land\n\tShe knew that this was fate\n\tHer children made a final stand\n\tAnd opened the Crimson Gate\nFirst came Alkosh proud and strong\n\tGolden crowned his golden mane\n\tHe saw these things did not belong\n\tAnd that they must be slain\nDown came mighty Lorkhaj then\n\tHis blade burned shining blue\n\tHe fought the darkness back again\n\tand ran the Demons through\nLast came Hircine mourning Nirni\n\tWhose cairn he made of bone\n\tFrom wooded green to blackened sea\nHe watched over her alone"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/terror-birds-close-and-personal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/terror-birds-close-and-personal", "description": "A researcher's notes on these giant, carnivorous birds", "author": "Dardarfin", "title": "Terror-Birds: Up Close and Personal", "text": "I've been given the unique and amazing opportunity to visit the more remote areas of Northern Elsweyr in search of the elusive and dangerous terror bird! Known locally as the khrasaat, these huge, flightless, carnivorous birds tend to be incredibly aggressive, and are both intelligent and beautiful to behold. I plan to get as close to one as possible.\nLone Khajiit warriors often hunt these animals to prove their own ferocity, but they die almost as often as they emerge victorious. These predators definitely should not be trifled with, so I'll have to be extremely careful when I approach one.\n* * *\nI tracked a young male terror bird through the dense Tenmar jungle and have been observing him all evening. What a majestic creature! Easily taller than the biggest Orc or Nord I ever encountered, he must weigh ten times as much as old Dardarfin! If only you could see him, his feathers fluffed and wings spread! His long, arching neck swaying side to side, those dark, beady eyes glinting in the moonlight. Could he be strutting for a mate? Has he detected me and sending a warning?\n* * *\nWhew that was a close call! It's a good thing these amazing birds are flightless and can't climb trees or I would have been a goner for sure! So it was not a warning at all, but a signal. No sooner had I decided to step a little closer than I was suddenly surrounded by three more terror birds! He wasn't alone after all, but acting as a scout for his pack. Truly remarkable! What intelligence these creatures possess!\nThe terror birds are well suited for skulking in shadows. Their feathers appear as a very dark blue or dusty black, with a striking shock of red on their throats, like a bib of blood. It makes for a terrifying sight! While they had me trapped I saw one of them run down a senche, felling it with a powerful kick. Then it brought that hook-like beak down with such force it broke right through flesh and bone. Definitely not something I could learn from a High-Elf zoo. They told me that terror birds eat moon-sugar plants. Not true! These are blood-thirsty carnivores!\nThroughout the night I saw this pack attack everything that came near. I figured something was amiss when they killed an antelope as a group and did not eat it. There must be a nest nearby, so it's time to get a closer look. Don't try this at home, it's extremely dangerous!\n* * *\nThat was frightening! I'm inside a small cave near the pack's hunting grounds, and there is a nest here constructed of branches, torn fabric, and feathers. Very intricate construction for a pack of mindless birds. A few eggs occupy the nest as well. They look like dark onyx ovals with veins of blue, each about the size of my head. Very lovely, indeed. Don't want to touch these beauties, though, or my scent could make the parents reject or even destroy the egg. I've seen such behavior in other species. Unfortunately, one of the females has returned, so I'm stuck in this crevice for the time being.\n* * *\nThese magnificent birds do not see well at night, so I took the opportunity when darkness fell to make my escape. It was a good thing, too, because even more of the pack arrived right after that. Terror birds appear communal in nature when it comes to caring for their young.\nIt's time I made my way back to civilization. Poachers have come to Elsweyr and would hunt these magnificent creatures for sport. I hope that you, my readers, will join me in voicing your opposition to this kind of activity. Animals deserve our respect and should be preserved, not murdered for entertainment or out of fear. They are a valuable part of this environment and it would be a shame for these incredible creatures to disappear."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/testimonials-baar-dau": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/testimonials-baar-dau", "description": "What is Baar Dau, really? The people weigh in", "author": "Minerva Calo", "title": "Testimonials on Baar Dau", "text": "By Minerva Calo, Associate Chronicler\nBaar Dau looms large over Vivec City - both literally and figuratively. The official explanation is remarkably vague. Apparently, the Mad-Prince Sheogorath flung the giant rock at Nirn. No one seems to know why or how. It's a curious account, even by Dark Elf standards. I took the question to the streets to see what the common folk think of Baar Dau. These were their stories. Names have been changed to protect the speakers from Temple reprisals.\nI began by speaking to a harried Dark Elf merchant named Tolvasa. She stopped sorting kwama eggs just long enough to recount this tale:\n\"Oh, my mother used to tell me all kinds of bedtime-tales about Baar Dau. I doubt any of them are true. My favorite was 'The Tale of the Lonely Magna Ge.' It begins at the Beginning. In the story, a Star-Orphan named Una fled into the sky with all her brothers and sisters, but got lost in the dark. She cried out for help, but one-by-one, her stronger, faster kin fled into Aetherius. Eventually, their songs faded away and Una was left alone - adrift in the void. Just when she'd lost all hope, she heard a quiet sobbing. It was lonely Nirn, stumbling through the black - weeping like a babe and trying to lull itself to sleep. Seeing a kindred spirit, Una sailed back to Mundus to comfort the lonesome planet. She named herself Baar Dau, and nestled in close, right here above Vvardenfell. Now the Star-Orphan and Nirn are never lonely, because they have each other. Lovely story, isn't it?\"\nA Nord miner called Hodstag took a more pragmatic view:\n\"It's a goldmine, that's what it is! Mark me, there's some kid of precious metal in that thing. My mate's a geologist - works for the Gold Coast's mining operations, y'know? He says it's got all the signs of a rich deposit. He's got a divining rod, see? It's a Dwarf contraption, I think. I'm not supposed to talk about it. Anyway, he aimed it at Baar Dau and the thing started chirping like a snow-wren in springtime! All that's left to do is get up there with a few picks and get a sample. Been looking for someone who could float me up there - no luck though. Say, you don't know how to make a man float, do you?\"\nOf course, not everyone was keen to talk about Baar Dau. A grizzled longshoreman named Donoven had this to say:\n\"It's a rock. I don't know how it got there. Magic I guess? Look, I've got work to do, all right? Get lost.\"\nMost accounts were fairly prosaic. Given enough time and exposure, even the fantastical becomes mundane. Of course, there were a few truly extraordinary accounts\u00e2\u20ac\u201dlike that of Tiram, an excitable Dark Elf scholar:\n\"It's an egg, obviously. I often hear the wastrels and peasants calling it a 'rock.' Hmph. Ignorant twaddle. Only a great fool could look at such an imposing celestial body and call it a 'rock.' Baar Dau is the chrysalis from which will emerge the last child of Vivec and Molag Bal's ill-fated union. On that day, our glorious lord Vehk will spring forth from his temple and do battle with the emerging nightmare-child. After forty-seven days of pitched combat, Vivec will strike the final blow and cast the beast's ruin down into the frothing sea, where it shall break into thirty-six pieces - none of which will be recovered. It should be quite spectacular. And also horrifying.\"\nPerhaps the most colorful explanation came from an inebriated Orc named Narkhozug:\n\"What, that big rock? Yeah, it's a giant hunk of dung. No, seriously! Way I hear it, Vivec and Malacath were up late one night, drinking and talking about godly things. You know how it is. Well, I guess you don't. Anyway, Vivec said something about ogres that rubbed old Mauloch the wrong way, so he popped a squat over the city and dropped a stink-pickle right on Vivec's head! Gross, right? Hrmph. That's Malacath for you. Does make me wonder though, what is it with Malacath and dung?\"\nWhen I asked the Doctrinal Inquisitors for an official statement, this was the only reply:\n\"You'd be wise to leave such matters to the Tribunal. The precise nature of Baar Dau is a mystery. Vivec's divine mercy keeps it from destroying us. That is all you need know.\"\nDespite the Temple's best efforts, the moonlet Baar Dau remains the subject of vigorous debate, many long centuries after its arrival. The diversity of opinion is remarkable - especially in a city so thoroughly policed by religious zealots. I find it heartening that even in a society this restrictive, folk tales and wild theories can still bubble beneath the surface."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/testimonials-mushroom-towers": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/testimonials-mushroom-towers", "description": "Theories on why the Telvanni make towers out of mushrooms", "author": "Minerva Calo", "title": "Testimonials on Mushroom Towers", "text": "By Minerva Calo, Associate Chronicler\nThe Telvanni, the most mysterious of the Great House in all respects, features one of the most looming curiosities - both literally and figuratively - the mushroom structures which they live and work within. The House has never given an official statement about their choice of architecture, and most are too frightened by Telvanni's vast power to ask. It's common knowledge that the Telvanni Magisters value their privacy, but why not build a tower of stone or wood? I decided to ask the common folk their theories. Names have been changed to protect the speakers from Telvanni attention.\nI first talked to local merchants who weren't officially affiliated with the House, but often sell wares to its members. A rather exasperated Dark Elf named Verna was happy to explain her theory:\n\"It's the smell, that's what it is! They're obsessed with this Three-forsaken stench. Can't get enough of it. I think there's something about their biology, something different from other Dark Elves. Makes them just crave the smell of mushrooms, so much so that they magicked them into towers. I've heard they sit up there all day and just inhale the fumes. Me? I just get headaches. What's wrong with the fresh scent of pine, or stone, or any other honest building material? Sometimes I think I'd rather see the towers made of silt strider dung than of moldy old mushrooms!\"\nAn Argonian inn-keeper, Makes-Some-Waves, believed that the purpose was more functional:\n\"Well, we all know that the Telvanni are isolationists. They can't even be bothered to attend the inter-council meetings. My guess is that they eat the mushrooms, to save on trips to the market. Only makes sense, doesn't it? Mushroom stew, mushroom pie, mushroom gravy! There's a lot you can make with bits of mushroom. We just don't notice because their slaves gather the stuff discreetly. Wouldn't want to ruin their image by being mushroom fanatics, would they? Well, more fanatical I suppose than simply having your entire house built out of the stuff.\"\nA rather friendly Dark Elf merchant by the name of Hader had a vastly different opinion of what the mushrooms were used for:\n\"I've heard that mushrooms are a powerful aphrodisiac. Really makes you wonder what those Magisters do all day up in those towers. I've thought about taking up my own collection, for purely studious purposes, of course. But I'd rather not attract the attention of the homeowners. Telvanni mages aren't very giving Dark Elves, even when well pleased. And I suspect they might be pleased more often than they let on, if you catch my drift. By the way, you did say that you were changing my name for this, didn't you?\"\nThe merchants who cater to Telvanni were interesting sources of material and raised many questions for me to consider, but I found myself drawn to those who worked directly for the House. Though most slaves were unwilling to speak to me, I found an Orc hireling who had this to say:\n\"Well, who else is using [the mushrooms]? If they're there, they're there. Might as well make some use of them. Only useful decision the Telvanni ever made, truth be told.\"\nMaybe the truth was that simple. The Telvanni found this native flora and simply wished to make use of it. A matter of convenience seems to be the most plausible theory I had heard, but was it the truth? I had but one more source I could find who would speak their mind, a Khajiit trader by the name of Rumoc, who explained:\n\"This one always thought the towers were built to intimidate outlanders. Rumoc was most unsettled when he set up business in [retracted]. Having such a strange tower looming above you. Perhaps it represents the Telvanni themselves, yes? Imposing, mysterious, almost haunting. The Telvanni do not wish to welcome ones such as us to their lands. It is in their best interest to keep us frightened.\"\nI could get no official comment from a member of House Telvanni, other than a few strongly worded requests that I cease my inquiries. But my curiosity cannot be contained by mere threats, and the mystery of the Telvanni is something I will always find myself attempting to unravel. I take heart in the fact that even under the House's oppressive eye, so many shared with me their thoughts and theories, each more interesting and thought-provoking than the last."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thaddeuss-list-parts": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thaddeuss-list-parts", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Thaddeus's List of Parts", "text": "Circuited Half-Shells (2): These components are necessary for the resonance capacitor to maintain equilibrium during tonal cycling.\nReplacement Gears: Special machined cogs and gears can be found in any Dwemer automated repair junction, provided they are not already used by constructs requiring repairs.\nDwemer Focusing Scope: Certain sounds make light. Some lights make sounds. Do not crack the lenses or crystals inside of the scope!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thalliks-orders": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thalliks-orders", "description": "Sinmur demands undead giants", "author": "Thallik Wormfather", "title": "Thallik's Orders", "text": "Our scouts report the weakest giant encampment lies Northwest of Riften in an area commonly known as Autumnshade. Go there, slay the giants, and raise them to fight for us. I know their size makes giants unusually hard to raise, but you will try until you succeed. Sinmur needs an army to lead.\nThallik Wormfather"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thalmor-diplomatic-corps-notice": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thalmor-diplomatic-corps-notice", "description": "Poster advising Thalmor agents on interaction with Khajiit and Bosmer", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Thalmor Diplomatic Corps Notice", "text": "Regarding our friends, the Khajiit:\nDo NOT refer to them as \"Cats.\"\n\tDo NOT serve them food intended for pet cats.\n\tIf you own a pet cat, do NOT call Khajiiti by your cat's name.\n\tDo NOT attempt to grab their tails unless permission is granted.\nRegarding our friends, the Bosmer:\nDo NOT ask the Bosmer about adding vegetables to their recipes.\n\tDo NOT cut down a tree in front of a Bosmer.\n\tDo NOT ask how Bosmeri flesh tastes.\n\tDo NOT ask how to cook a Khajiit.\nOur newfound friends in the Dominion stand beside you as comrades and they deserve a measure of respect. Please speak to your local Thalmor representative if further clarification is required."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thalmor-handbill": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thalmor-handbill", "description": "A Dominion text on dealing with their new Bosmer and Khajiiti alies", "author": "Aicantar of Shimmerene, Sapiarch of Indoctrination", "title": "Thalmor Handbill", "text": "Loyal citizen of the Isles, heed the statement of the Thalmor. Bear witness to these words about our new allies, the Khajiit and the Wood Elves.\nIntegration with our new Wood Elf and Khajiiti allies continues apace. To promote Alliance harmony, loyal Thalmor agents have drawn together this short list of helpful notices. Follow this mandatory guidance with cheer, and our new allies will look on you with favor.\n\u2014 Do not refer to Khajiit as \"cats,\" \"kitties,\" \"fuzzies,\" or any other derogatory feline-based term.\n\u2014 Khajiiti delicacies are often very sweet, or spiced with the exotic substance known as moon-sugar. Diners beware.\n\u2014 Do not touch a Khajiit's tail without permission.\n\u2014 Our Khajiiti allies have a unique dialect. Mocking their speech, or imitating it, is considered quite rude and non-Aldmeri.\n\u2014 When inviting a Wood Elf to dine, know that the resources of the forest are sacred to them. Serve venison, but no salads.\n\u2014 Do not refer to Wood Elves as \"shorties,\" \"runties,\" or any other derogatory height-based terms.\n\u2014 Have a care when imbibing Wood Elf brews, as their beverages are very different than our own.\n\u2014 Do not imply to Wood Elves that they are cannibals, or ask them about how they dispose of their dead.\nEagles, Unite!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thane-jeggis-drinking-hole": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thane-jeggis-drinking-hole", "description": "Roles of the Hole", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Thane Jeggi's Drinking Hole", "text": "Rules of the Hole:\n1. Respect the hole. Keep it clean and keep it quiet.\n2. Spend at least a few hours a day contemplating the fish.\n3. Don't tease the mammoths!\n4. Drink, drink, and drink some more.\n5. Replace the mead!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thank-you-your-patience": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thank-you-your-patience", "description": "A letter about Mistral's many problems", "author": "Office of the Mistral Chancery", "title": "Thank You for Your Patience", "text": "Karpu-sa,\nWhile we recognize bandit activity has increased along the roads, there is nothing we can do to address it at this time.\nMany buildings along Cat's Eye Quay\u2014including piers and other vital port structures\u2014were damaged in the storm and will require significant renovation.\nOur architects estimate at least a month before they can begin rebuilding, and a further two before efforts are completed.\nFurthermore, the arrival of so many Dominion refugees from the wreckage of the \"Gold Fleet\" strains the Mistral guard to capacity.\nNormal patrol patterns will resume once Cat's Eye Quay is restored.\nThank you for your patience while we manage this crisis.\n\u2014 Office of the Mistral Chancery"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/void": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/void", "description": "Poem about Sithis", "author": "Nisswo Xeewulm", "title": "That of Void", "text": "That which is eternal void\nFirst creator, final destroyer\nAll that is born from nothing\nReturned to nothing once again\nDay that melts into the dusk\nLife taken by a pointed thrust\nStone that crumbles into dust\nDeath that blooms back into life\nUnwanted change, needed change\nGrowing, decaying, reborn again\nLike the darkness, like your death\nNothing words on a dying breath\nSeasons change, despite our will\nAll things change, despite our fear\nLook upon that which is void\nLook upon with open eyes"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/26th-first-seed-upon-us": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/26th-first-seed-upon-us", "description": "Advertisement for a tavern's special on the Festival of Blades", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The 26th of First Seed is Upon Us!", "text": "And you know what that means: the Festival of Blades!\nCelebrate the defeat of Malooc's Horde in regal style\u2014right here at the Sisters of the Sands, where our cooks' blades are always festive! Our five-drake prix fixe dinner comes with all the festival fixings:\n\u2014 Scuttle Fondue with sandwort croutons\n\t\u2014 Goatherd and mutton pies, with garnishes of red mushroom and smoked viper\n\t\u2014 Horker Loaf on a bed of imported scathecraw\n\t\u2014 A bottle of Gold Coast Muscat to wash it down with\n\t\u2014 And Caramelized Goat Nibbles for the children!\nAll this, and we still promise to get you out into the street in plenty of time for the Effigy Dismemberment!\nBut we can only seat a limited number of revelers, and time is running out, so get your reservations in before it's too late!\nBecause you don't want to be stuck at home with nothing for the family but mountain jerky or stale toad muffins\u2014not on the Festival of Blades.\nSee you then!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/36-lessons-sermon-37": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/36-lessons-sermon-37", "description": "A last, supposedly stolen, Sermon speaking of both the theoretical past and the potential future", "author": "Vivec", "title": "The 36 Lessons: Sermon 37", "text": "You have discovered the thirty-seventh Sermon of Vivec, which is a bending of the light, long past the chronicles of the Hortator who wore inconstant faces and ruled however they would, until apocalypse.\nVivec was borne by ribbons of water, which wrote their starward couplings in red. This was a new place of speed. His eyes broke on the spikes above the tower, where the Void Ghost squatted over a drake-scaled drum, imbecile in its rhythm. And he asked of it:\n\"Who are you, that need no signature at all?\"\nThree in sum, the robes of Ayem stretched towards the bright black rim of memory, roping an arc of purchase. This was a new sprinting task. And Seht held his swollen belly to its name, clockmaker's daughter, swimming the dead confession along a century of thread, Naming her, uneaten, a golden cache of Veloth and Velothi, for where else would they know to go?\n\"Go here: world without wheel, charting zero deaths, and echoes singing,\" Seht said, until all of it was done, and in the center was anything whatever.\nAnd the red moment became a great howling unchecked, for the Provisional House was in ruin. And Vivec became as glass, a lamp, for the dragon's mane had broke, and the red moon bade him come.\n\"The sign of royalty is not this,\" a signal blueshift (female) told him, \"There is no right lesson learned alone.\"\nHe refused the twine on her catching net, spiteful that an uncontinued people would not become fuller by their searching, and yet were wracked in their spirits for flight. But the male signals were offended, and Vivec took a fighting form. He undid his eastern light, saying to the ALMSIVI that through war, they had become brides in glass, which no power could observe.\nThe light bent, and Vivec donned a cuirass made of red plates of jewel, and a mask that marked him born in the lands of Man. Wheeling, he spread into an insect salve, worn on the neck of hist-bulbs when at challenge. He roared up and fed his fingers to mammoth ghosts. The signal fires wondered if they mistook this for surrender, for Vivec had told the void that he could learn to undo it all.\nThe light bent, and somewhere a history was finally undone. Of it, Vivec remembered the laughing of the netchimen of his village when the hunts were good. He marched with his father in the ash, growing strong in the hooks and sail, able to run a junk through silt. At eleven, he sung to an ashkhan. He became sick after Red Mountain, with the nix-blood and fever, and was infirm a hundred years. His mother survived him and laid his body at the altar of Padhome. She gave him her skin to wear into the underworld.\nThe light bent, and Vivec awoke and grew fangs, unwilling to make of herself a folding thing. This was a new and lunar promise. And in her Biting she tunneled up and then downward, while her brother and sister smeared across heaven, thin ruptures of dissent, food for scarabs and the Worm. She took her people and made them safe, and sat with Azura drawing her own husband's likeness in the dirt.\n\"For I have removed my left hand and my right, he will say,\" she said, \"for that is how I shall win against them. Love alone and you shall know only mistakes of salt.\"\nThe worlding of the words is AMARANTH."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/adversarial-spirits": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/adversarial-spirits", "description": "The evil Daedric spirits of an ancient Khajiiti pantheon", "author": "Amun-dro", "title": "The Adversarial Spirits", "text": "by Amun-dro, the Silent Priest\nSheggorath. The Mind God. His sphere is the Mortal Mind and its stability. He tests Khajiit on the Path by making them doubt the truth of their own thoughts, beliefs, and actions. He must be faced along the Path and overcome before a Khajiit can visit Hermorah's library. Some tribes believe Sheggorath is dead and has been replaced by something Other.\nOrkha. A demon that followed Boethra back through the Many Paths. It spoke in curses of affliction and knew no other words. Lorkhaj, Khenarthi, and Boethra battled the demon in the ancient songs, but Orkha could only be banished and would not die. Khajiit understand that Orkha and others of his ilk serve as tests along the Path, and nothing more.\nDagon. The Demon Cat. Also called Merrunz. Born of Fadomai's Second Litter, he quickly turned destructive and wild. Ahnurr exiled him, but he chose to explore the Great Darkness rather than the Many Paths. There he fell to the demon Molagh, who tortured him until the creation of the World. During the chaos, it is written that the wife of Molagh freed Merrunz and used his destructive nature as a weapon against the Lattice. Merrunz reveled in this and became a kinslayer, and was henceforth the demon we call Dagon. You will face him on the Path.\nMolagh. One of the twelve Demon Kings. Elder Spirit of Domination and Supreme Law. This demon was the first to assault the Lattice with intent, alongside Dagon and Merid-Nunda. Boethra and Molagh fought to a standstill before the Lattice, but it was Azurah who shackled the Demon King with secrets only she knows. He will test you, and you will overcome him with the might of Boethra, the Will Against Rule.\nMerid-Nunda. False Spirit of Greed. The Orphaned Glimmer. She is the daughter of Magrus, who loved only himself and his own creations. Magrus did not take a mate, but instead forged children of the aether. Merid-Nunda is a cold spirit, born of light without love. She is intellect without wisdom, knowledge without purpose. She is the consort of demons, and some songs blame her for orchestrating the death of mighty Lorkhaj. When Merid-Nunda dared assault the Lattice, Azurah struck her down before the Varliance Gate and dragged her away from it. She then cast Merid-Nunda into the Void and bound her there with mirrors. The nomads say she has since escaped."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/alikr-second-era": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/alikr-second-era", "description": "A description of the mighty desert", "author": "Enric Milres", "title": "The Alik'r (Second Era)", "text": "I might never have gone to the Alik'r Desert had I not met Weltan in a little tavern in Sentinel. Weltan is a Redguard poet whose verse I had read, but only in translation. He chooses to write in the old language of the Redguards, not in Tamrielic. I once asked him why.\n\"The Tamrielic word for the divinely rich child of rot, silky, pressed sour milk is \u2026 cheese,\" said Weltan, a huge smile spreading like a tide over his lampblack face. \"The Old Redguard word for it is mluo. Tell me, if you were a poet fluent in both languages, which word would you use?\"\nI am a child of the cities, and I would tell him tales of the noise and corruption, wild nights and energy, culture and decadence. He listened with awed appreciation of the city of my birth: white-marbled Imperial City where all the citizenry are convinced of their importance because of the proximity of the Emperor and the lustration of the streets. They say that a beggar on the boulevards of the Imperial City is a man living in a palace. Over spiced ale, I regaled Weltan with descriptions of the swarming marketplace of Riverhold; of dark, brooding Mournhold; of the mold-encrusted villas of Lilmoth; the wonderful, dangerous alleys of Helstrom; the stately avenues of grand old Solitude. For all this, he marvelled, inquired, and commented.\n\"I feel as if I know your home, the Alik'r Desert, from your poems even though I've never been there.\" I told him.\n\t\"Oh, but you don't. No poem can express the Alik'r. It may prepare you for a visit far better than the best guide book can. But if you want to know Tamriel and be a true citizen of the planet, you must go and feel the desert yourself.\"\nIt took me a little over a year to break off engagements, save money (my greatest challenge), and leave the urban life for the Alik'r Desert. I brought several books of Weltan's poems as my travel guide.\n\"A sacred flame rises above the fire, The ghosts of great men and women without names, Cities long dead rise and fall in the flame, The Dioscori Song of Revelation, Bursting walls and deathless rock, Fiery sand that heals and destroys.\"\nThese first six lines from my friend's \"On the Immortality of Dust\" prepared me for my first image of the Alik'r Desert, though they hardly do it justice. My poor pen cannot duplicate the severity, grandeur, ephemera and permanence of the Alik'r.\nAll the principalities and boundaries the nations have placed on the land dissolve under the moving sand in the desert. I could never tell if I was in Antiphyllos or Bergama, and few of the inhabitants could tell me. For them, and so it came to me, we were simply in the Alik'r. No. We are part of the Alik'r. That is closer to the philosophy of the desert people.\nI saw the sacred flame of which Weltan wrote on my first morning in the desert: a vast, red mist that seemed to come from the deep mystery of Tamriel. Long before the noon sun, the mist had disappeared. Then I saw the cities of Weltan. The ruins of the Alik'r rise from the sand by one blast of the unbounded wind and are covered by the next. Nothing in the desert lasts, but nothing dies forever.\nAt daylight, I hid myself in tents, and thought about the central character of the Redguards that would cause them to adopt this savage, eternal land. They are warriors by nature. As a group, there are none better.\nNothing for them has worth unless they have struggled for it. No one fought them for the desert, but the Alik'r is a great foe. The battle goes on. It is a war without rancor, a holy war in the sense the phrase should always imply.\nBy night, I could contemplate the land itself in its relative serenity. But the serenity was superficial. The stones themselves burned with a heat and a light that comes not from the sun, nor the moons Jone and Jode. The power of the stones comes from the beat of the heart of Tamriel itself.\nTwo years I spent in the Alik'r.\nAs write this, I am back in Sentinel. We are at war with the Ebonheart Pact and the Aldmeri Dominion. All my fellow poets, writers, and artists are despondent for the greed and pride that brought these people into battle. It is a low point, a tragedy. In the words of Old Redguard, an ajcea, a spiral down.\nYet, I cannot be sorrowful. In the years I spent in the glories of the Alik'r, I have seen the eternal stones that live on while men go dead. I have found my inner eye in the tractless, formless, changeless and changeable land. Inspiration and hope, like the stones of the desert, are eternal though men be not."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/all-knowing-hist": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/all-knowing-hist", "description": "Short, motivational note", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The All Knowing Hist", "text": "The Hist knows all.\nOnly trust those born from the Hist.\nThe Hist will lead us to victory."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/all-beneficent-king-fahara-jad": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/all-beneficent-king-fahara-jad", "description": "The young prince receives a vision of Orsi", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The All-Beneficent King Fahara'jad", "text": "Chapter One: Of His Laudable Youth\nWherein is related, O Happy Audience, the tale of His Majesty's thrice-blessed life, including an account of His Majesty's rise to the Throne of Sentinel, which tale is exemplary, and mention of some of His Majesty's excellences and virtues, which are numberless.\nKnow, O Beloved Reader, that the lineage of our Auspicious King is both noble and royal, descending patrilinearly from Makala, from Ja-Fr, yea, even from High King Ar-Azal himself. Likewise matrilinearly his forebears are Grandees of Antiphyllos, including the meritorious Zizzeen of most august memory. Indeed, of the Grandee Zizzeen it was said by the Poet Behrouz that he was of such rectitude that, when he in error entered the Ladies' Bath-House, he forthwith put out both his eyes, lest he commit an indecency.\n(As to High King Ar-Azal, the Curious Delver has but to seek out the tome \"The Worthy Ar-Azal, His Deeds.\")\nNow when the All-Beneficent King Fahara'jad was but a Prince in Antiphyllos, on a day of days he did hunt birds in the Garden of the Grandees with his Ivory Bow, and by happenstance he saw a great Crow alight in a fig tree. And Prince Fahara'jad vowed, \"By Onsi's bright blade, I shall slay me this Crow!\" And he did nock an Ivory Arrow to the Ivory Bow and let fly, and lo, the Crow was taken in the eye and did die of the instant.\nThen dropped from the sky a hideous Hagraven, with a cursing of curses, and the she-daemon menaced the Young Prince with unclean talons, crying, \"You have slain the child of my bosom, and must die the death therefore! In sooth, I shall pluck out your eyes and partake of them like grapes!\" And screaming a great scream, she clawed at the Prince's orbs of vision.\nThen did a beam of golden light shine down from the heavens, and striding upon it as if upon a bright blade came down the Ever-Glorious Onsi, crying, \"Hold, Creature of Evil.\" And he smote off the Hagraven's claws, which fell upon the ground like hail, and the she-daemon fell likewise and commenced to grovel unto the god and beg for mercy. And Onsi spake, saying, \"Pleas shall avail you not, shrill virago, for you have threatened the Fateful Prince, whom it is my special care to foster and protect. For this noble stripling is the Fahara'jad whom prophesy foretells shall lead our people in the Years of Peril, and so you must needs die.\" And he struck off her head.\nAnd the Prince, sore amazed, did cover both his eyes, and when he dared to look again, both god and she-daemon were gone. Thus the Prince did misdoubt his own eyes, and hurried to the Holy Temple where he related all that had occurred to the Priest of Onsi. And the Priest deemed his seeing a True Seeing. And this was the first of the Prophesies of Monarchy."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/amplification-crystals": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/amplification-crystals", "description": "Plot for spreading Daedric influence", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Amplification Crystals", "text": "Once the amplification crystals are in place we can begin the process. The amplification crystals are only needed for the possession of Greenhill. Once the dro-m'Athra have gained their foothold here, the artifact will allow them to spread their influence throughout all of Reaper's March.\nStill, we should try to keep the crystals active for as long as we can. The more villagers the dro-m'Athra can possess, the quicker they will be able to spread their influence."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/amronals-spell": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/amronals-spell", "description": "A song about a mythical creature of Valenwood", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Amronal's Spell", "text": "Who has seen the Amronal of Valenwood?\n\tI thought I saw her drifting toward me,\n\tlike a woman I knew a long time ago.\n\tBut that was a different place,\n\tmuch colder and not nearly so full of trees.\n\tThat was before I opened my eyes and shook off the sleep.\n\tNow I walk the forest, not as a hunter,\n\tbut as a prey, hoping for a hunter,\n\thoping to be tracked, caught, and killed.\n\tWispmother, ethereal and strange,\n\tdo not be a ghost to me.\n\tSnow Elf, do not be a legend.\n\tRelease me from this restless enchantment,\n\twrap me in your spell,\n\tand let the last word on my lips be your name:\n\tAmronal."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ancient-eye": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ancient-eye", "description": "Description of an ancient, powerful artifact", "author": "Fiirenir of the Mages Guild", "title": "The Ancient Eye", "text": "I've studied the Eye for something like half my life. We know what it does. Its a defensive weapon of incredible power.\nWe know how the magical crystals fit into the sconces. They glow brightly when properly slotted.\nWhat we don't know is how it works. Scholars from far and wide have come to our town, examined the magical interlacing, and gone away shaking their heads. Where does the device store its energy? How does it focus that beam? What coalesces the fire?\nTruly the ancients were head and shoulders above the abilities of modern sages."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/angry-alfiq-collection": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/angry-alfiq-collection", "description": "Traditional folktales of an angry, but ambitious, Alfiq", "author": "Tiburr", "title": "The Angry Alfiq: A Collection", "text": "As Transcribed By Tiburr, Record Keeper of the Rimmen Mage's Guild\n[Transcriber's Note: Tales of the Angry Alfiq have a long tradition in Khajiiti storytelling. No one knows quite how many tales there are in total, given that storytellers are constantly adding to the collection. Aside from the titular character, commonalities of these stories include their short length, non-sequitur nature, and humorous endings.\nTo the bafflement of some, these stories are not meant to teach moral lessons or cultural values, as many folktales do. Rather, the adventures of the Angry Alfiq are more akin to elaborate jokes. So, as is the Khajiiti tradition, open your ears and prepare to laugh as I tell you some of the most popular Angry Alfiq stories to date.]\n* * *\nThe Angry Alfiq and the Senche\nOne day the Angry Alfiq met a very pretty Senche. She was more beautiful than any Khajiit of any furstock he had seen before. Right at that moment, he knew that he would do anything to win her affection.\n\"You are too meek!\" laughed his Suthay cousin. \"How will you woo her?\"\n\"You are too weak!\" laughed his Cathay sister. \"She will crush you!\"\n\"You are too small!\" laughed his Pahmar brother. \"How will you reach her?\"\nBut the Angry Alfiq was determined to win the pretty Senche's love. He trained day and night to become strong. He read many books on romance and affection. He bought four boots, each with very thick heels. And with these preparations done, he went off to win the heart of his lady love.\nHe returned the next morning with a broken heart and a broken hip.\n* * *\nThe Angry Alfiq and the Lute\nOne day the Angry Alfiq met a traveling bard. She played and sung more beautifully than any bard he had heard before. Right at that moment, he knew that he would do anything to play music by her side.\n\"You could play the tambourine,\" said the bard. \"Just shake it with your mouth!\"\nBut the Angry Alfiq did not want to play the tambourine.\n\"You could play the drum,\" said the bard. \"Just bat it with your paw!\"\nBut the Angry Alfiq did not want to play the drum.\n\"Well, what other instrument could you play with a body such as yours?\" asked the bard.\nThe Angry Alfiq answered that he wished to play the lute, for it was the most elegant and sweet-sounding instrument of all.\nThe bard just laughed. She could not imagine how one so little and with such clumsy paws would be able to play a lute. It was impossible, simply impossible!\nBut the more she laughed, the more determined the Angry Alfiq was to prove her wrong. He demanded that the bard hand over her own lute so that he may try to play. Amused, the bard obliged.\nThe Angry Alfiq popped out a single, sharp claw with a smirk. In one quick stroke, he strummed it across every single string, cleaning slicing each and every one.\nAnd then it was the Angry Alfiq who laughed and laughed as he ran down the street, the enraged bard not very far behind.\n* * *\nThe Angry Alfiq and the Beard\nOne day the Angry Alfiq saw the largest, bushiest beard he had ever seen. It was thick and black, reaching all the way down to the stomach of Khajiit who grew it. Right at that moment, he knew that he would do anything to have such a magnificent beard.\nBut try and try as he might, the Angry Alfiq could grow no more than the scruff of fur already adorning his chin. He tried many tonics and even spells, but nothing seemed to work.\n\"This one will help!\" said his Suthay cousin. \"But you must pay gold, even though we are family.\"\nThe Angry Alfiq agreed to these terms and his Suthay cousin went to work. Using tar to make them stick, the cousin placed feather upon feather on the Angry Alfiq's chin. When at last she was done, she pulled a mirror from her pack.\nThe Angry Alfiq hissed in anger, swiping his sharp claws across his Suthay cousin's sensitive nose. As she cried and cried, he took all her gold along with his own and left her household in a huff.\n\"This one will help!\" said his Cathay sister. \"But still you must pay, even though we are siblings.\"\nOnce again, the Angry Alfiq agreed to these terms. Using honey this time, the sister placed clump after clump of cotton on his chin. When at last she was done, she picked him up and let him peer into the mirror on her wall.\nThe Angry Alfiq yowled in anger, swiping his sharp claws across his Cathay sister's hand. As she cried and cried, he took all her gold along with his own and left her room in a huff.\n\"I will help!\" said his Pahmar brother. \"But if I succeed, you must give me all the gold you now have.\"\nHesitantly, the Angry Alfiq agreed. And so his Pahmar brother went to the bearded stranger and knocked him out, allowing the brother to deftly cut off every hair from the stranger's chin. He presented this large tuft of hair to the Angry Alfiq with a toothy grin.\nThe Angry Alfiq growled and growled, but still he gave up his gold, for it was true that his Pahmar brother had gifted him with a mighty fine beard."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/apprentices-assistant-0": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/apprentices-assistant-0", "description": "Instructions on magical dueling", "author": "Aramril", "title": "The Apprentice's Assistant", "text": "No doubt you have heard tales of my adventures. Stories carried from province to province, all of Tamriel in awe of my feats of magical prowess. More than once, I am sure, you have thought, \"If only I had Aramril's ability. Then I too could seek fame and fortune in magical duels!\"\nIt is true, of course. Great fame and limitless fortune await those who are successful. But to be successful, one needs to learn from the best. That is why you have purchased this book, so that I may teach you. I am, of course, the best.\nHere, then, is my advice. Follow it, and you too can make a name for yourself throughout Tamriel.\n1. To know your opponent is to know his weakness.\n\tInfinitely more versatile than a simple blade of steel, a good mage has a wide array of spells at her disposal. More than that, she knows when best to use them. She knows that frost spells can stop a charging beast, or keep a savage brute from swinging his sword. She knows that shock spells can drain her opponent's magicka. She knows that illusion spells can set a group of enemies against each other (should she find herself in a less than fair fight, an all-too-common reality when her opponents know they cannot win in single combat), and that there are spells that can save her in a moment when all seems lost.\n2. To know yourself is to know your limits.\n\tEven the best mage has a finite reserve of magicka; none born yet have been graced with Magnus' infinite reserves of power. And so a good mage does not over-extend herself. She makes sure she always has enough magicka to keep herself safe. Failing that, she makes sure she has a sizable supply of potions at the ready. Failing that, she makes sure she always has an escape route. Not that the Great Aramril has ever fled a fight, but of course you do not necessarily share her superb natural ability. That is why you must practice.\n3. Wards can kill (you)\n\tThere is no question that wards are an essential tool of any aspiring mage. They can block incoming spells, negating your opponent's attack and wasting his magicka. A good mage knows, however, to not rely too heavily on her ward. Keeping a ward readied for too long will leave a caster drained of magicka, unable to retaliate, and at worst unable to maintain the ward and therefore become completely defenseless.\n4. Two hands are not always better than one\n\tAny advanced spellcaster has learned to cast spells with both hands, dealing more damage. There are certainly times when this is to your advantage, such as when an opponent is already weakened, or when it is likely to draw a bigger reaction from the crowd that has no doubt gathered to watch you. It is not always the best strategy, however. Concentration spells, for example, can often be used on the ground when an opponent is especially nimble. In that instance, using both hands independently can cover more ground at the same time. A mage throwing fireballs with both hands cannot immediately raise a ward to defend herself, or heal while she continues to attack.\n5. Always rise to a challenge, especially when you know you can win\n\tRemember that your first priority is, of course, to stay alive. Following closely behind, though, is your need to please the crowd. You are, after all, depending on their generosity to fund your exploits. Here, then, more than magic comes into play. If you can gain a sense of your opponent's ability before the duel begins, you can enter into the event with confidence. Knowing that you outclass your opponent is of great importance, as it means you can confidently give the crowd a better show. Likewise, knowing ahead of time that you could very well lose a duel, you are afforded an opportunity to suddenly find yourself engaged elsewhere, and be unable to attend the event. (By no means do I suggest that I have ever done such a thing; I simply find that my great fame occasionally means I am unable to respond to every single request for a duel.)\nKeep these few things in mind, keep your wits about you, and you too can make a name for yourself by putting on great displays of magical prowess. Take care, though. For if you become successful enough, you may find yourself facing a challenge from me!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/apprentices-god": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/apprentices-god", "description": "Invocation of Syrabane", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Apprentice's God", "text": "Penitent, revel in the presence of the sacred ring: Syrabane. The Warlock Lord of the Divines, the ancient source of wizardly wisdom. He who fought against the depredations of the Sload and the plague of the Before Times.\nTo complete your venerations here, intone: \"By Apprentice be blessed and by Apprentice be praised. Honor to the Warlock-God and the Sacred Ring.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/apprentices-god-0": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/apprentices-god-0", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Apprentices' God", "text": "Penitent, revel in the presence of the sacred ring: Syrabane. The Warlock Lord of the Divines, the ancient source of wizardly wisdom. He who fought against the depredations of the Sload and the plague of the Before Times.\nTo complete your venerations here, intone: \"By Apprentice be blessed and by Apprentice be praised. Honor to the Warlock-God and the Sacred Ring.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/arena": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/arena", "description": "The author simply must attend this epic fight", "author": "Emingil", "title": "The Arena!", "text": "Drilegur! I just found out that there's a huge exhibition planned at Thizrinni Arena next week. They're importing a whole pack of frost trolls and they're going to let the arena hopefuls try fight them until all the trolls, or all the fighters, are dead!\nIt's going to be a bloodbath! We have to go!\n\u2014 Emingil"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/argonian-maid-oral-tradition": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/argonian-maid-oral-tradition", "description": "Explains how the famous book \"The Lusty Argonian Maid\" ended up in the 2nd era", "author": "Telenger the Artificer", "title": "The Argonian Maid - An Oral Tradition", "text": "Recently I attended a stage production called \"The Lusty Argonian Maid.\" Bawdy, delightful, and filled with innuendo, I am surprised it was never presented in this form before.\nAccording to my research, \"The Lusty Argonian Maid\" has its origins in a long line of tales told by traveling bards, each with a slightly different title and premise, but the same end result: a female innocent succumbs to the charms of a dominant, married male character.\nIn the south, the tale was occasionally presented as \"The Lusty Bosmeri,\" and \"Two Moons for Sugar.\" I've also heard \"Shornhelm's Lusty Orifice,\" \"The Sandy Spear of Alik'r,\" and \"The Maiden's Tight Hold\" in taverns across the north and northwest.\nIn a stage play, each of the character archetypes is brought to life before the audience. Unless the acting is superb, the subject matter can come off flat and uninspired. Also, a play takes away from the verbal dexterity exhibited by a bard such as the legendary Khajiit, Tale-Singer. The feline bard described the various ploys used by the man to bring the maiden to her knees in a way that made one's pulse race and breath quicken, wondering what would come next.\n\tIndeed, much of the \"Argonian Maid\" borrows heavily from Tale-Singer's songs (uncredited, but naturally I recognized them immediately), in which the maiden helps the male with a spear, a loaf of bread, and a spilt flask of coconut milk.\n\tFortunately, the players in the current production of \"The Lusty Argonian Maid\" are excellent, bringing this age-old tale to new heights. The reference to the Spear of the Hunter would bring laughter to the most sullen. And the wheel of cheese \u2026 well, I've never seen this variant before, but it was truly inspired!\nI foresee this play will outlive its humble beginnings as a fireside amusement to become a choice bit of frivolous entertainment for generations to come."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/argonian-mating-ritual": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/argonian-mating-ritual", "description": "Insight into Argonian reproduction ceremony", "author": "Valrendil of the Crystal Tower", "title": "The Argonian Mating Ritual", "text": "by Valrendil of the Crystal Tower, Research-Appointee to the Thalmor\nI shall endeavor to shed light on these most mysterious creatures, the Argonians, paying particular attention to their mating rituals.\nMany speak in whispers of the Hist, a faceless entity with whom all Argonians claim bonds. According to legend, the Hist lives at the heart of Black Marsh in a tree that routinely walks the lands, patrolling its borders.\nSome say the wandering Hist is a metaphor for the Argonian condition. Doomed to toil amongst the fetid swamps, they desire a way out of their misery. Somehow the Argonians continue to survive, their numbers neither rising nor falling regardless of adversity.\nThe lizard-folk view mating as a simple call to procreation by their leader, the Hist. To participate in this annual event, Argonians travel to the town of Hissmir and engage in several trials. The trial winners are allowed to mate, while losers must return the following year.\nThough I was unable to observe this year's trials, I hope to attend next year in order to learn more about these strange and sub-Elven reptilians."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/art-and-madness-v1": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/art-and-madness-v1", "description": "Necromancy basics", "author": "The Hollow Voice", "title": "The Art and the Madness v.1", "text": "Though powerful masters of necromancy can reanimate subjects long dead, most practitioners require a fresh subject. This often means most novices require a subject that has passed no more than three days prior. Attempting to raise minions without the proper knowledge of and training in the necromantic arts can result in an incomplete binding of the soul.\nThe subsequent breaking of the master and minion relationship can be dire for the hapless novice necromancer."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/art-kwama-egg-cooking": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/art-kwama-egg-cooking", "description": "How to properly use this tricky ingredient", "author": "Belami Llevarso", "title": "The Art of Kwama Egg Cooking", "text": "An Introduction\nKwama eggs have always been a Dunmeri delicacy, though I've heard they've found their way into Imperial kitchens, too. (Who knows what grisly dishes that lot would make with Kwama eggs? Would they stuff chickens with them? Poach them and put them in a bap? They are a disdainful people, and they make disdainful food.)\nTo cook a Kwama egg with any measure of success is to master the sharp, sour flavor, and the gummy texture. Kwama eggs are similar to Scrib jelly in this way, and many a young chef (even Dunmeri chefs whose elders should have better taught them) has attempted to mask the eggs behind other ingredients, to camouflage the perceived unpleasantness. This is an abominable practice. A chef should never apologize for a Kwama egg in her dishes by sweetening or embittering them. If the dish is properly prepared, supporting the Kwama eggs' natural qualities, a cultured diner will embrace the meal in all its pungent glory.\nBut what does that preparation entail? Only a Dunmer could tell you. Because only the Dunmer have the lifetimes of experience necessary to call ourselves culinary masters of the Kwama egg. It was we who first tamed the Kwama, after all.\nI, in turn, have spent a large portion of my years (of which there are many) immersing myself in the art. I have served Kwama eggs to peasants and paupers, Grandmasters and Grandmistresses, and delighted them all. And you, dear reader, will find within these volumes the combined knowledge of my entire career. It takes a lifetime of cooking Kwama eggs to truly understand the subtle, but brilliant differences between the various methods of preparation, and I have catalogued them all here\u2014all the ones of worth, at least. Follow these recipes exactly. Just as a mage should hesitate to improvise in her spell-casting, lest she find a Daedra in her drawing room, the Kwama egg chef should not stray from the paths I've laid out here\u2014painstakingly crafted from years of trial and error.\nBelieve me\u2014if it works, I've found it.\nAnd put that moon sugar away. You'll insult the eggs."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/artisans-letters": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/artisans-letters", "description": "Ransom for someone's \"most precious possession\"", "author": "The Artisan", "title": "The Artisan's Letters", "text": "I have stolen your most precious possession. Come to the bank at dawn in a fortnight's time and I will demand my boon for its return. If you tell anyone of the contents of this message, consider your possession forfeit.\n\u2014 The Artisan"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/assassin-alikr": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/assassin-alikr", "description": "The contract is fulfilled in an unexpected way", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Assassin of Alik'r", "text": "A Shadowscale goes where ordered to do what's needed. We mete out justice for those who are unable to do so themselves. Our goal is swift death, for torture is generally frowned upon.\nI asked for a new assignment, one different from my last in Alik'r. Even now, I taste the bitter salt of its desolate shore; feel the sting of sand blowing into my eyes.\nAnd I can still hear the screams.\nDoes one know how to be an assassin from birth? For me, it was foretold, and I felt strength flow from this knowledge. All I learned, all I experienced would fulfill my destiny.\nTransgessors must be punished. There are laws which must be upheld. Betrayal cannot be forgiven. There is gold to be made.\nBut Alik'r was different. I watched the convicted ones for several days, tracking them across the supposedly untrackable wastelands they call deserts. My chance came near the crest of a ridge overlooking the sea.\n\t\"We're safe now,\" she said, her voice filled with hope.\n\"We will never be safe,\" he replied bitterly.\nI slipped my blade from its sheath and started forward, when I heard the wind change in the skies above us, and slid back into shadow.\nHarpies! Their foul-smelling wings spread wide, they circled the oblivious pair, slave-traders and lovers not meant to slake their desires, silhouettes against the bright starlit sky.\nThey screamed as the beast-women struck them with their claws, raking razor-sharp fingernails through soft Dunmeri flesh. The harpies toyed with their victims, mocking their cries in whatever garbled tongue passes for their language.\nI waited to ensure their deaths before I left. It wasn't the end they were meant to have, but what does it matter? Death comes to us all, unbidden, unlooked-for, and occasionally, from above."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/astronomers-power": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/astronomers-power", "description": "Now is the time to strike", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Astronomer's Power", "text": "The Astronomer's command over these stars are great, but he did not come upon this power naturally. We now know that he was given this ability, along with a seemingly endless lifespan. How this power was given or what exactly it is, well, we're not sure. But we know how to find out.\nNow is the time to strike, while his control over the Planisphere wanes. Luck could not be more on our sides, or perhaps our Mistress has given us more aid than I first believed. No matter. We all know the value of acting quickly, before the opportunity is lost."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ballad-brisbor-battle-axe-verse-six": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ballad-brisbor-battle-axe-verse-six", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Ballad of Brisbor Battle-Axe [verse six]", "text": "Brisbor's passions burned, a conflagration of forbidden desire,\nGiven cruel voice by the charred flesh of his enemies,\nDeath sang out its mournful dirge, and ripped the souls asunder."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ballad-navid-singer": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ballad-navid-singer", "description": "A tragic Redguard ballad", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Ballad of Navid the Singer", "text": "In old Ra Gada days\n\tWhen Forebears came ashore\n\tAmong them were sword-singers\n\tAccording to the lore\n\tAt fore were Yaghoub's Thirteen\n\tNoble Ansei all\n\tOne there was named Navid\n\tThis song is of his fall\n\tNavid loved Sayeedeh\n\tSayeedeh loved him not\n\tHer heart was pledged to Ihlqub\n\tThe Thirteen's finest shot\n\tAs Ihlqub plied his bow\n\tIn practice on the beach\n\tNavid approached with empty hands\n\tUntil he was in reach\n\tWhile Ihlqub faced the target\n\tNavid called up his shehai\n\tSlew his love's love with sacred sword\n\tAnd watched his rival die\n\tBack to Yaghoub's beachhead\n\tWent into his tent\n\tFell for shame on his own sword\n\tDishonor thus was spent"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ballad-skall-skullsplitter": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ballad-skall-skullsplitter", "description": "Autobiographical song of a competent Nord fighter", "author": "Skald Skullsplitter", "title": "The Ballad of Skald Skullsplitter", "text": "By Skald Skullsplitter, His Mark Here: X\nMy songs are sung in drinking halls\n\tFrom Winterhold to Daggerfall.\n\tBuy me some ale! I'll drink it all\n\tFor I don't sing for free!\nThe dragons left Nirn long ago\n\tA tale of vast and cosmic woe\n\tYou might expect them back, but no,\n\tThey're all afraid of me!\\n\\nI challenged a titanic Orc\n\tFor his great blade and priceless torc,\n\tThen asked if he would taste like pork\n\tHe dropped his sword to flee!\nI met a fair young maiden Elf,\n\tWho kept my sonnets on a shelf,\n\tI showed her a few things myself\n\tNow her kids look like me!\nI met a Bosmer on a road\n\tA vicious freak in mud and woad\n\tI bellowed like a monstrous toad.\n\tHe promptly climbed a tree!\nI faced a strong young strapping lad\n\tWho swore I was his long lost Dad\n\tI must say that is quite too bad\n\tI swear it wasn't me!\nA great Dwemer automaton,\n\tConfronted me upon a lawn\n\tI told him where the Dwarves had gone\n\tThen threw it in the sea!\nA Redguard's deadly with a blade,\n\tThat's curved, like all the swords they've made\n\tBut they're too dull to cut my braids,\n\tThey're not as sharp as me!\nThrough Tamriel, I've fought them all,\n\tIn darkest caves, by city walls\n\tNo place is grand as this great hall\n\tNow have a drink or three!\nAnd raise a mug with me!\nMake sure I drink for free!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/barrows-westmark-moor": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/barrows-westmark-moor", "description": "A summary of graveyards with unfortunate history", "author": "Sathyr Longleat the Elder", "title": "The Barrows of Westmark Moor", "text": "The burial grounds of Westmark Moor, known to many as the Sanguine Barrows, have developed an unsavory reputation among locals over the course of their history. The nobles of Rivenspire have buried their departed beneath the gnarled trees here for as long as anyone alive today remembers, laying relatives to rest among centuries-old crypts that have borne witness to corruption, disputes, theft, and worse.\nMany prominent northern nobles inter their dead in Westmark's cold earth, including the Dorell, Tamrith, and Montclair families. Though some of these houses have produced Kings and Queens of Shornhelm, those deceased do not rest with their relatives here. Instead, they are transported to join the other monarchs of High Rock in the great cemetery of Cath Bedraud in Glenumbra, per long-standing tradition.\nFeuds between the houses over the titles to gravesites in the Sanguine Barrows are common. One incident in Mid Year of 2E 551 earned the burial grounds their unfortunate common name. As I recall, it so happened that the Tamrith and Montclair houses both suffered the loss of a family member on the same day. The houses' claims in the barrows bordered one another and had been a source of strife between them for many years. When both funeral processions arrived one morning on the same hill in front of the same gravesite (a highly desirable one with a view of the river), conflict was inevitable.\nThe nobles quarreled for hours and sent servants back and forth for documents, titles, and maps with official claims laid out, but neither house could be convinced to step down. As sunset approached, patience was in short supply. The Montclairs and the Tamriths each blame the other, unsurprisingly, for hurling the insult that provoked the houses into drawing steel, and the Bloody Funeral (as it came to be called) that ensued left a black mark on each house's legacy in the eyes of Rivenspire's people.\nLooting and desecration are likewise common among the Sanguine Barrows. Though the responsibility of patrolling them belongs to the constabulary of Hoarfrost Downs, the lure of riches is sometimes enough to turn a protector into a criminal, or at least enough to turn his head and allow entry to the tombs. More than once, a King or Queen of Shornhelm has ordered a hanging to set an example against such behavior.\nDespite these harsh consequences, a new defacement or theft still seems to follow nearly every noble burial. In fact, it has only been a few years since the Tamriths were scandalized when an entire crypt was found empty one morning of everything\u2014bodies and all. The thieves were never found, and as to why they'd take the bodies with their loot, well, we'd all prefer not to think of it.\nThe Sanguine Barrows have seen more than their share of villainy and conflict throughout the years, and earned their name many times over. I sincerely hope that no more tales of violence or robbery shall need to be added to this record, and that the nobles still buried there may rest peacefully for ages to come."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bastards-tomb": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bastards-tomb", "description": "An infamous bastard gets his", "author": "Taleon Mythmaker", "title": "The Bastard's Tomb", "text": "In life, Yoregg Grass-Grazer was a rogue and a scoundrel. He made a fortune, first as a bandit and a raider, and later as a landowner and businessman. In all of his roles, he more than earned the name he was given\u2014Yoregg the Bastard. By all accounts, he relished the name, and even had it applied to his tomb when his long and vile life finally came to an end. This is the tale of how that came to be.\nYoregg the Bastard was among the oldest men in Windhelm, but he was as strong and as vigorous as anyone half his age. He owned many of the shops and market stalls in the city, as well as the tavern, the stables, and most of the farms beyond the western walls. But \"own\" might be too soft a word. Yoregg ruled over his holdings with as much power and authority as any thane or jarl in the land. If you worked for Yoregg, he treated you little better than a servant or a slave, and if you rented land from him, he made sure you acted as a humble vassal in his vaunted presence.\nIn other words, he was a pure and total bastard.\nWhile Yoregg continued to fortify his fortune and terrorize the people beholden to him, he also began work on his tomb. He chose a location far to the southeast, in the region where he made his first fortune as a bandit and a raider when he was a very young man. The old hide-out that he used as a headquarters in those days of pillaging and plunder was located within a series of caves in the mountains separating southern Eastmarch from the Rift. He hired the talented stoneworker, Shreg Rock-Fingers, to turn the unadorned caves into a suitable resting place for the Bastard. She didn't disappoint.\nWhen Yoregg traveled to the tomb to see what Shreg had accomplished, he made one of the few blatant mistakes of his life. And it was a mistake that was about to cost him dearly. The truth was, Shreg had a grudge against the Bastard. Of course, almost everyone who had ever met the Bastard had a grudge or a grievance or an ax to grind with the intolerable man. But Shreg's grudge was personal and deep seated.\nYoregg had squeezed gold from Shreg's parents for decades while they toiled and worked the farm he rented to them. She remembered how they suffered, but rarely complained. How almost every coin they earned had to go to the Bastard to pay off their debt. But it was never enough. And when Mother fell sick, Shreg could only watch as Yoregg and his goons unceremoniously tossed her family from their land for failing to make their regular payments. On that day, Shreg swore she would find a way to make the Bastard suffer.\nYoregg was thrilled with the work Shreg had done on the tomb. It was regal and vast, and it appealed to his overblown sense of self-worth and status. He adored the raised dais and the altar that were the focal point of the main burial chamber, and the high ceiling above gave the place a majestic air that played to the Bastard's ego. \"Yes,\" he declared, \"this will do nicely.\"\nShreg led the old man to an open sarcophagus made of chisiled stone that stood upright against one wall. \"Would you care to step inside, my lord,\" Shreg asked as innocently as she could manage, \"so that I can take an accurate measure?\" Yoregg beamed. He couldn't wait to step inside the ornate stone casket. But Yoregg was still a big man, even at his advanced age, and the inside of the box was tight and snug.\n\"Squeeze in, my lord,\" Shreg said, shoving at one of Yoregg's broad shoulders. Finally, after a bit of a struggle and some judicious contortions by the old man, Shreg was able to swing the massive lid of the sarcophagus closed.\n\"How does it feel, my lord?\" Shreg asked sweetly.\n\"It's a bit cramped,\" Yoregg admitted. \"And very dark.\"\n\"Just like your soul, my lord,\" Shreg shouted, making sure he could hear her through the stone.\n\"Excuse me? What did you say?\" Yoregg demanded, his voice reflecting confusion and anger and a slight hint of blossoming fear.\n\"This is for my parents, you bastard,\" Shreg declared as she sealed the lid of the sarcophagus. \"Enjoy your eternal rest, my lord.\"\nShreg could hear the Bastard's cries echo through the chambers as she exited the tomb. She hoped it took him a long, long time to die.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/battle-glenumbria-moors": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/battle-glenumbria-moors", "description": "A song about the famous battle that routed the Alessian army", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Battle of Glenumbria Moors", "text": "Who took up their arms that winter dawn,\n\tWho to Glenumbria came\n\tTo raise their hand,\n\t'Gainst tyrants stand\n\tAnd to die in freedom's name?\n\tWho stood on the field upon that hour,\n\tWho answered Direnni's call?\n\tMen Breton-born all came that morn\n\tTo defend the land for all.\nCHORUS:\n\tRise, rise to freedom rise,\n\tArise ye Breton sons and daughters!\n\tRide, ride to freedom ride,\n\tTruth and glory to the brave!\n\tAnd when the battle it was joined\n\tAlessians three to one,\n\tThe sky lit bright\n\tWith magic's light\n\tAnd with magic it was won.\n\tFor all they stood on blessed ground\n\tWhence all her power came\n\tThe rocks would yield\n\tWhat might they wield\n\tAll in Direnni's name.\nCHORUS REPRISE\n\tSo children of this Breton land\n\tYe best remember well\n\tAll those who for High Rock stood\n\tBrian, Ancois, Rielle;\n\tMen of the north,\n\tAll who stood forth\n\tTill all oppressors fell."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/battle-orsinium": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/battle-orsinium", "description": "The final hours of the Siege of Orsinium, and the tunnels that supposedly let the Orcs escape", "author": "Bangor the Liar", "title": "The Battle of Orsinium", "text": "The battle for Orsinium raged on. The clans, already reeling from the surprise attack, retreated into the temple as the Bretons finally broke through the walls and swarmed into the city. The clan chiefs knew that\u00a0 if they did not escape soon, they would die inside their beloved temple.\nAs they latched the temple doors behind them, the high chief turned and gave instructions to his oldest son. \"You need to open the way to the tunnels beneath the temple by setting the pillars correctly. Remember these words and the way will be opened.\"\nAnd with that, the high chief spoke the following words. \"My eyes gaze upon the battlefield\", but I feel calm. To my right, Clan Luccin fights with ferocity and keeps our enemy at bay. To my left, Clan Bragosh serves as our shield, protecting us from sights unseen. And above, Clan Ruskahr guards the hills, bows at the ready.\"\nIt was now up to the high chief's son. He had to remember the words, to call upon his knowledge of the clans and their symbols, or the tunnels would never open and the Orc clans would fall. He could not let that happen."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/battle-ale": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/battle-ale", "description": "A drinking song", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Battle of the Ale", "text": "I won the battle of the cup today,\n\tI won the battle of the cup!\n\tI raised it up,\n\tAnd drank it down \u2014\n\tI won the battle of the cup!\n\tI won the battle of the jug today,\n\tI won the battle of the jug!\n\tI raised it up,\n\tAnd drank it down \u2014\n\tI won the battle of the jug!\n\tI won the battle of the barrel today,\n\tI won the battle of the barrel!\n\tI raised it up,\n\tAnd drank it down \u2014\n\tI won the battle of the barrel!\n\tI lost the battle of the ale today,\n\tI lost the battle of the ale.\n\tI drank it up,\n\tIt put me down \u2014\n\tI lost the battle of the ale \u2026."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/benefits-alliance": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/benefits-alliance", "description": "A final proposal to the Veiled Queen", "author": "Mannimarco", "title": "The Benefits of Alliance", "text": "Your Veiled Majesty,\nYou have not yet responded to my first two missives. I extend you the courtesy of this final, cordial, note.\nI am well aware of your fealty to Lord Dagon. The weight that you place upon your oath is commendable.\nLet me assure you, my dear, your oaths mean nothing. Molag Bal will claim this world as his own, and there will be no need to fear the wrath of Dagon. Under my lord Bal you will attain the position ordained by destiny. You will be crowned queen, now and forever,\nThink on what I have said. And know that this is my final polite communication.\nThe King of Worms,\n\tMannimarco"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/binding-stone": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/binding-stone", "description": "The Keeper's Primer Volume II: The Binding Stone", "author": "From the Office of the Canonreeve of Corrections", "title": "The Binding Stone", "text": "Altmeri texts reference many variations of the entrapment spell. Some of those spells, like the early First Era \"Aninaire's Tower,\" create physical fields around their targets. These varieties are unbreachable unless broken by an appropriate amount of force\u2014like conjured stone walls, or shield wards turned inward. The effect differs in strength from spell to spell, but is generally effective for containing the layman prisoner and certainly tougher to break free from than brick and mortar.\nOf course, sometimes a mage seeks to confine creatures that walls won't hold, magical or otherwise. Gaseous forms of the Wild Hunt, Nether Liches, and various ghosts and phantoms all have means to escape physical barriers. These must be imprisoned using spells that create completely impermeable surfaces while absorbing or stemming the magicka of their captives. These spells must be re-incanted constantly to avoid consuming themselves, usually at a high cost of magicka for the caster.\nThe Binding Stone, which your Head Keeper will soon introduce to you if he hasn't already, functions as a combination of these spells. It's tangible, small, and therefore portable, but capable of holding all manner of magicka-wielding creatures\u2014even ones as powerful as your charge.\nI'm sure you understand the grave nature of what the prisoner's escape would mean, both to you, personally, and to Auridon and Tamriel as a whole. The condition of the Binding Stone is more important than the condition of your prisoner. Indeed, your very lives depend on the upkeep and maintenance of the Stone.\nAnd as for your prisoner: do not look at him. Do not speak to him. There is no specific danger in doing so, but any such interaction is a fruitless venture. Watch yourself, watch each other, do your duty, and your name will live forever among those who have committed everything to shield Auridon from his menace."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bird-totem": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bird-totem", "description": "A hagraven is behind mysterious disapperances", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Bird Totem", "text": "Mairrna,\nChief Uchuiran wouldn't explain anyting to me, but I think I have divined the cause of the dissapearances. I witnessed the chieften's lover, the hagraven, using a stuffed bird totem to tranform one of our prisoners into a bird. I Fear that she may be using the totem on our own people as well. You should leave as soon as possible. I will\n<There is a smear of dried blood obscuring the rest of this letter.>"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/black-dragon": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/black-dragon", "description": "The governor needs information on a certain \"Black Dragon\"", "author": "Fortunata", "title": "The Black Dragon", "text": "Rat Master,\nI want your rats combing the docks and back alleys. I want them to listen and root through garbage and even rough up the locals if necessary. Do whatever it takes, but get me the information I desire - and get it for me yesterday! You have always supplied me with an endless array of rumors and gossip, much of it profitable. But now, when I need the ears and eyes of your rats the most, you tell me that the streets of Anvil and Kvatch have become eerily silent on this matter. Well, that is not acceptable, my old friend.\nI need to know more about the mysterious and apparently extremely dangerous individual known as the \"Black Dragon.\" Where did he come from? What does he want? Is he actually a he? And more to the point, what kind of threat does he pose to me and my profits? Don't make me change my good opinion of you and your operatives, my old friend. I'd hate to think that the infamous Rat Master has lost a step, that his network of spies and informers has suddenly grown cold. I'd hate to have to replace you after all these years of loyal and dedicated service simply because this Black Dragon has proven to be too elusive for you and the rats that whisper in your ears.\nLet me help you out. Get you started on the right track, as it were. From what I've heard, the Black Dragon is a fearsome warrior clad in black plate armor who wields a long, wicked sword. This individual has been linked to the gruesome murders of a number of disreputable people - including at least one who has long been believed to be a member of the secretive Dark Brotherhood. Now, I have no qualms about someone dispatching those murderous bastards, but I want to make sure that the Black Dragon's predilections don't stray too far into my territory.\nNow why are you still reading this letter? Send out your rats and get me the information I require. Now!\nFortunata, Provincial Governor of Anvil"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/black-dragons-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/black-dragons-journal", "description": "The Dragon talks about his past as he wonders about his future", "author": "The Black Dragon", "title": "The Black Dragon's Journal", "text": "I haven't felt drawn to this journal in a long time, but recent events seem to have made me long for those days when I was truly happy. When I had a family that loved and trusted me. Not like these men and women of the Order. They respect me. They fear me. But they don't love anyone other than the Dragon God. And maybe Primate Artorius.\nBefore I donned the armor of the Black Dragon, I was simply a Silencer FOR the Dark Brotherhood. Now I'm the Black Dragon, Silencer OF the Dark Brotherhood and First Sword of the Order of the Hour. It's not a role I chose for myself. No, it's a role that the Brotherhood has thrust upon me. And one I happen to be very good at.\nThe woman known as Lyra Viria died at my hands. It was my last act as part of the Dark Brotherhood, my last act in a Sanctuary now long forgotten. After that I was no one and nothing for a time. Until I found the Order and became the Black Dragon.\nI'm trying to find redemption in service to Akatosh, but has anything really changed? I'm still a murderer. I still feel damned. But now I'm killing those individuals marked for death by Akatosh himself - or, at least, by his chosen representatives in Tamriel. I suppose that's some kind of improvement.\nOnce I was cocksure and confident in my deeds and actions. This was true in the Dark Brotherhood (until it wasn't) and it was true as the Black Dragon. Now, however, I find that I'm filled with a sort of discontent that makes me do something I've never been really good at - asking questions. I need to think about this and perhaps have another conversation with the Primate."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/black-dragons-journal-part-2": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/black-dragons-journal-part-2", "description": "The author explores the ruins of the Order of the Hour's citadel", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Black Dragon's Journal, Part 2", "text": "I sought out the ruins of Knightsgrave after the Enclave of the Hourglass began to feel too confining, too full of life. I don't deserve to mingle with so many vibrant, living beings. Death has become more than my vocation - it's a vital part of my life. So why not linger in this place of the dead?\n* * *\nI admired the statues on the stairs that descended into these ruins. The founders of the Order of the Hour were great and faithful warriors. For a time, I was proud to count myself among their number. But now? Now I'm not so sure.\n* * *\nIt seems that the founders or whoever came after them set out to protect this place from unwanted visitors. Obviously, the braziers serve as a key of sorts to open the way into the Path of Order. I just need to figure out how best to turn this key.\n* * *\nDetermining the order in which to ignite the braziers was child's play. I'm surprised that more people haven't found their way into these hallowed depths.\n* * *\nThere must be another way to gain entry into the ruins. How else have these minotaurs made their way down here? I had to kill one of the proud beasts when it surprised me. After that, I took great pains to avoid the creatures. After all, no one has ordered me to murder them. And, I suppose, they serve as guardians of a sort. Why not allow them to continue in that role?\n* * *\nJust beyond the armory, I encountered a chamber dedicated to the Order's original First Sword. I admit I feel a certain connection to Justia. I wonder if she'd smile upon one such as I for taking up her weapon?\n* * *\nI spent a long time praying in the circle of pillars known as the Paragon's Crown. Maybe Akatosh heard my plea, for I soon discovered a tunnel into an even more ancient portion of the ruins. It appears that the Order built their original home atop an ancient cave that harkens back to a more ancient time. An impressive and, dare I say it, frightening statue of Akatosh dominates the cave. I can only assume that this place owes its existence to the Alessian Order and their efforts to raise Akatosh above all other gods. Even the scattered cages hint at darker rites than those practiced by Primate Artorius and his ilk in the Cathedral of Kvatch.\n* * *\nThe Primate, the Order, the Brotherhood - damn them all for turning me into what I've become! Perhaps down here, in the shadow of Akatosh's most fearsome presence, I'll finally discover who I'm truly meant to be."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/black-fin-comes-home": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/black-fin-comes-home", "description": "The great Argonian hero requests one last favor from the leaders of the Ebonheart Pact", "author": "Mee-See", "title": "The Black Fin Comes Home", "text": "By Mee-See, Squire and Personal Aide to Keshu the Black Fin\nGeneral Keshu, known as the Black Fin, turned command of the Pact forces in Cyrodiil over to a Dark Elf general named Felisi Varo. Then, with a small group of companions that included myself, Vos-Huruk, Tee-Wan, Xocin, the Dark Elf twins Llensi and Meralyn, and the Nords Jod and Ulfbel, we departed the war-torn countryside and returned to Mournhold for a final meeting with Jorunn the Skald-King.\n\"The more time I spend in this strange country, the more I miss the mountains and the snow,\" Jorunn said as we entered his audience chamber in the Dark Elf city. \"Now tell me, Black Fin,\" he said, turning to face Keshu, \"are you sure you want to do this?\"\nKeshu raised the spine of affirmation and said, \"I've done all I set out to do for you and the Pact, Jorunn. It's time for me to return to Black Marsh and do the same for my people.\"\nJorunn nodded solemnly. \"Then I can ask no more of you, my trusted friend,\" he said with a tear in his eye. \"May Kyne guide you back home, Black Fin. And if you ever need my aid, you have but to ask.\"\nAt those words, Keshu's eyes sparkled like the stars in the sky. \"Well, there is a small matter,\" she said, and then she went on to explain how she was hoping to open Black Marsh to outsiders, especially crafters and artisans, to help expand the knowledge and experiences of her people. \"I shall put out the word,\" Jorunn agreed. \"And where should these crafters and artisans go? To Stormhold?\"\n\"No,\" Keshu replied. \"Send them to Gideon.\"\nAnd that's where Keshu led us. To Gideon, the Imperial stronghold in Murkmire, where she was determined to establish a more inviting and vibrant \"modern\" Argonian society. Her plans, as she explained them to us during the journey, was to start out by bringing the things we learned and discovered during our time in Morrowind and Skyrim to Gideon, and then begin a series of quests to re-discover the secrets of the ancient Argonian civilization. \"I do not want to change our culture,\" Keshu assured us. \"I want to enhance it and bring back the glory we had and lost in ages past.\"\nWe may not have all agreed with everything Keshu outlined on our journey home, but we believed in the Black Fin. We would follow her to Oblivion and back if she asked it of us. So it wasn't that far a leap to realize that we were going to help her achieve her dream for our people.\nAs we approach the borders of Murkmire, this ongoing narrative comes to an end. I may write again in the future, but I imagine that my free time will evaporate like a small puddle on a hot day as soon as we get settled in Gideon. But if you ever make it to our fair city, stop by and say hello. We welcome all visitors\u2014Argonians and dryskins alike!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/black-forge": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/black-forge", "description": "Inventory Report by Kyngald Nazkrixor", "author": "Kyngald Nazkrixor", "title": "The Black Forge", "text": "Raw Materials for the Great Shackle:\nSupplies of ebony-alloy cold-iron are stable at 17,500 tons, but that's barely enough to forge the Shackle, given typical rate of loss in the casting process. It might be wise to send for another 2,000 tons from the mine burrows in the side of the Mountainous Corpse of the Iron Colossus. Better safe than sorry.\n\nI am honored to report that we have discovered the source of the depletion in the supplies of the Charcoal of Remorse: cinder-imps had been getting into the vault through a forgotten plasm-duct and gorging on the C of R. (We learned this when we found one so bloated it was unable to get back through the duct opening.) We sent in an explosive duct-worm, which found the nest and discorporated all the cinder-imps. Deficits in the supply of Charcoal of Remorse have been made up by increasing Torment Quotas on the Kothringi Soul Shriven.\nI don't wish to be one to point talons, but it is my duty to report that even if the Shackle is forged according to schedule, we will not be able to quench it if we do not receive our shipment of the Blood of a Thousand Innocents. We have gotten repeated assurances from Exsanguinator Thartantix that our shipment will be on its way \"any shift now,\" but so far all we've received are promises. I hesitate to elevate this to the Overkyn level, but I think it's high time the matter was looked into."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/black-hand": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/black-hand", "description": "A scholarly text on the ranks of the Dark Brotherhood", "author": "Geon Alinie", "title": "The Black Hand", "text": "By Geon Alinie, Chronicler-at-Large\nMy in-depth investigation of the clandestine organization known only as the Dark Brotherhood has been a long and difficult process. But after years of research, countless interviews, and no small amount of good luck, I've finally been able to put together a profile of the assassin cult's ruling body - the notorious Black Hand. While much of what follows has been augmented by theory and conjecture, the basis upon which I constructed the profile is undeniably factual and true.\nSo, what group of individuals is strong enough to command the assassins of the Dark Brotherhood? A group called the Black Hand. Like any hand, the group consists of five members: four fingers and a thumb, as it were. The members corresponding to the fingers are called the Speakers, while the member representing the thumb is called the Listener. These are titles and ranks, and as ridiculous as they may sound to anyone not steeped in the lore of the cult, the assassins take these terms very seriously.\nNow, I need to explain an even stranger concept. It will sound unbelievable, and it may very well be nothing but a legend used to keep the lesser assassins in line, but from everything I've been able to uncover, the cult holds fast to this concept. They claim that a near-deific figure known as either the Shadow Matriarch, the Dark Woman, or the Night Mother leads the Dark Brotherhood. Apparently, no one ever sees this Dark Woman. Instead, she whispers commands to the Listener, who then selects one of the Speakers to pass the commands along. And, yes, most of these commands relate to murder.\nWhat does the Listener hear? Details, as you can imagine, are sketchy, but an educated guess allows us to assume that the Dark Woman provides either the name of the client or the target that has been named for the kill. The Listener passes this information on to one of the Speakers, who then either personally selects an assassin to carry out the deed or provides the information to a minor functionary to assign the contract.\nNow, as far as I can tell, the assassins don't all gather in one place. Instead, the cult divides its members into small, self-sufficient units known as either Havens, Sanctuaries, Shelters, or Assassin Ports. Again, details on these topics are often fluid and even contradictory, but I have done my best to make sense of the stillness within the noise. The leader of these Havens, which seem to be established in specific geographic locations as to spread the assassin's reach far and wide, is either called a Dame or a Matron (although one source referred to her as a Widow, but the other names were much more common in my research). The Speaker can pass along orders to this subordinate and have her select the assassin best-suited to carry out the deed.\nFinally, I was able to ascertain that each Speaker commands a personal assassin. For truly special missions, I can only assume. I'm not sure if these personal assassins are considered wrists or knuckles or some other body part, but I did learn that they are possibly granted the title of Quieter, or maybe Husher, or even Silencer. Something menacing and ridiculous like that. These are supposedly the best of the best, master killers without peer. Whether they constitute as members of the Black Hand or not, I was never able to determine, nor did I come across information concerning how they receive their orders.\nThe Dark Brotherhood. The Black Hand. Melodramatic names for a demented cult of killers - but they are killers, all the same."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/black-quill": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/black-quill", "description": "Legend of an enchanted quill", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Black Quill", "text": "For a culture that relies so heavily upon oral tradition and storytelling, few Orcs ever write anything down. The legend of Razotha Tale-Teller is a notable exception.\nRazotha the bard wasn't satisfied with being the greatest storyteller of her age. She wanted to guarantee that her stories would persist. So she commissioned a High Elf wizard to enchant a black feather plucked from a hagraven, creating the Black Quill.\nAny story written using the Black Quill will never be forgotten, or so the legends claim. Razotha pass the enchanted quill to her apprentice, and it was passed down this way until it and its last owner were lost near Coldperch Cavern\u2014the home of the hagraven the black feather was plucked from."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/black-year": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/black-year", "description": "A great Ayleid library is ruined, and its archivist punished", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Black Year", "text": "We know not when Ukaezai first tired of her duty and began eliciting her entertainment from unsuspecting Mer. Perhaps it was a passing fancy before its culmination. If it was, this went undetected by her masters.\nIn monsoon season, when the Strid was full and even the Graht Oaks fought to keep the soil beneath them, the master of archives and half his assistants opened the mighty doors to the reliquary.\nTaking flasks from their hips, they drank deep, turning to stone in the threshold. Propped open by their petrified forms, there was nothing to stop the rain. Eight months of wet and exposure to the elements found even our best kept tomes bobbing like lillies, awash in a paper-strewen sea.\nWhen asked what led her to forsake her duty, Ukaezai laughed and dismissed us as fools.\nAs punishment, we stripped her of her physical shell. She would no longer freely tread our halls, with knowledge to keep her occupied. By the Heart of Anumaril, we bound her in our deepest vaults, where she must be content to watch, to listen, and to serve."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/blackfeather-court": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/blackfeather-court", "description": "A scholar's overview of the feudal hierarchy of these Daedric birds", "author": "Ulysa Rervam", "title": "The Blackfeather Court", "text": "By Ulysa Rervam, Proctor of Daedric Studies\nMy ongoing quest for information regarding the Daedric realms and their inhabitants led me to investigate rumors of a portal in the city of Davon's Watch. After much searching, I discovered an entrance to a pocket realm within the Evergloam, a place known only as the Crow's Wood. Similar in its ominous feel to the rest of Nocturnal's mysterious realm, the Crow's Wood appears as a dark marsh full of dangerous creatures. Most notably, a murder of intelligent, talking crows inhabits the area and considers the place to be its personal kingdom. Here is what I learned during my brief sojourn to the Crow's Wood.\nThe crows organize themselves using a feudal system and refer to their flock as the Blackfeather Court. These birds claim to be the spawn of a hagraven they call the Crow Mother, and they constantly strive to defend their domain from wolves, giant bats, and other predatory creatures that roam the shadowy realm. The Duke of Crows leads the Court. This large, proud bird presides over the rest of the flock because, as he tells it, he's \"the smartest and biggest and loudest\" crow in the murder. Indeed, for these noisy, talkative birds, the ability to stand out among the crowd is considered not only a necessity, but a symbol of prestige. The rest of the flock clusters and conspires around the Duke of Crows, engaging in their insistent plotting and politicking for status and favor.\nNot that the Duke of Crows appears to do much more than preen and bluster. The real work of the Blackfeather Court, such as it is, falls to the Seneschal of Carrion and the Court Castellan. Both of these birds serve the Duke of Crows, but they evidently have the freedom and authority to perform independently to keep the Court operating efficiently\u2014or, at least as efficiently as any group of intelligent birds can manage. The Seneschal of Carrion takes care of the assorted domestic arrangements for the Court, as well as acting as the steward for the Duke of Crows. The Seneschal also adjudicates the various tributes of death and carnage regularly heaped upon the Court. (Although to be fair, except for the tributes they requested of me, I saw no one else seeking the favor of the Duke of Crows and his flock during my visit.) The Court Castellan, on the other hand (wing?), acts as the governor of the Court. This involves overseeing the various knights and knaves that serve the Court, including the Knights of Marrow, Pith, Gore, and Vitreous, and the Knaves of Rooks, Pipes, and Ravens. As with everything surrounding the Court, there appears to be more attention paid to pomp and circumstance than to actually accomplishing anything of substance.\nEventually, it falls to the Bursar of Tributes, a feathered accountant of sorts, to sort and catalog the tributes of death and carnage that add to the Court's ever-growing hoard of shiny objects. The crows charge visitors who enter the realm, either a toll of flesh or silver, to grant temporary safe passage through the Crow's Wood. Anyone who refuses to pay, be they featherless tourists or birds of a different persuasion, is subject to any and every disgrace and degradation the crows can come up with, including incessant cawing, pecking, and foul droppings on heads and fancy clothing. I paid the toll for an opportunity to wander among the Court and talk to its members, but it isn't clear to me that such a payment was absolutely necessary. They are just crows, after all.\nAs I prepared to depart the Crow's Wood, the Knave of Ravens sidled over to me, fixed me with her curious sideways gaze, and uttered this ominous proclamation: \"Pay attention, featherless cur! Today the Blackfeather Court rules the Crow's Wood. But tomorrow? Tomorrow the Night Mistress has grander plans for our respected murder!\" The word followed me back to Tamriel, along with an echo of caws. \"Murder!\"\nI may never feel completely safe around a gathering of birds again."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/blade-rahniza": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/blade-rahniza", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Blade of Rahni'Za", "text": "Rahni'Za is the spirit of the blade.\nAll who seek to master its arts must reforge the great sword of legend, broken into four parts\u2014hilt, pommel, blade, and gem.\nOnly when the sword is made whole will the spirit of the blade be awakened within you.\nThe way of the Sword-Disciple is three-fold.\nThe Way of the Body is the strength to defeat what lies ahead. The Way of the Mind is to discover the path. The Way of the Spirit is to forge the blade anew. Achieve all three and the Master will appear.\n[A former trial taker has scrawled notes in the margins:]\nList of Components:\n Hilt - Where is it? I have to find the last part!\n- Pommel - Acquired\n- Blade - Acquired\n- Gem - Acquired"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/blade-woe": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/blade-woe", "description": "A Dark Brotherhood member reflects on their experience with this magical dagger", "author": "Green-Venom-Tongue", "title": "The Blade of Woe", "text": "Observations by Green-Venom-Tongue\nThe Blade of Woe. My happiest day since emerging from the egg was when the Speaker granted me access to this superb weapon.\nWhere does the Blade of Woe go when it's not in my hand? My Brothers and Sisters assume we share a single weapon, but how can such a thing be? It has never not appeared when I called for it. The mysteries of our Dread Father, I suppose.\nNothing is more satisfying than performing a perfect kill with a perfect blade.\nTanek followed me once when I went to complete a contract. He tried to call for the Blade of Woe at the exact moment that I needed it. His attempt at a prank failed, but the twin kills we completed were most impressive.\nI asked a Speaker once if I could sheathe the Blade of Woe in my own scabbard. She said the blade's scabbard was sacred, and I wasn't fit to possess such a thing. She knows me too well.\nThe Blade of Woe sends souls severed by its sharpness to the Void. But so does poison, my sword, a dire wolf's jaws, and a perfectly timed falling boulder. Even so, I prefer to wield the blade when I can. Hail Sithis!\nI noticed that Kor rarely calls for the Blade of Woe. He seems to prefer to make his kills more challenging by actually engaging in prolonged battles with his targets. Does this make Kor a bad assassin? Probably not. But to each his own, I suppose."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/blessed-dagger": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/blessed-dagger", "description": "A folktale from Hammerfell", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Blessed Dagger", "text": "Once, a maiden prayed to Leki for guidance.\n\"Blessed saint of the spirit-sword,\" said the maiden, \"send me a sign! Do I follow my mother's order to marry, or do I resist?\"\nHer intended husband was a much older man, who was said to have killed his former wives by means so cleverly concealed, nothing could be proven. And yet, his prestige amongst the nearby towns was so high, no one dared refused to negotiate a bride-price with him.\nThe maiden, whose name was Zarrineh, knelt at the shrine for a full night and a day before returning to her village. She'd heard no answer, and as the time for her wedding drew near, she despaired.\nOn the night before her wedding, Zarrineh dreamt she was a fisherwoman, casting her net into the sea and drawing it in. Each time she drew the net into the boat, she saw a flash of silver that was not a fish's scale. On the third draw, she examined the silver flash and realized it was a small dagger, with a carved handle of ironwood.\nWhen she awoke, Zarrineh found such a blade beneath her pillows, though she knew it had not been there before.\nAnd so, Zarrineh's husband found himself unable to dispose of his new bride with the same ease as his previous wives. For when she showed him the blade and told of her prayers to Leki, he realized Zarrineh was protected by the saint.\nThey lived together many years, and he treated Zarrineh well, always mindful of the blessed dagger in her keeping."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/blessings-hircine": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/blessings-hircine", "description": "A brief note on the relationship between the Bosmer and Lord Hircine", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Blessings of Hircine", "text": "It is the will of Hircine that the Bosmer become as we were in the Dawn Age. Before Y'ffre trapped us in a single shape, before he told us our story and took away our freedom.\nThe gift of Hircine is the gift of a second shape. The sacrament of Hircine is the scent of prey on the wind, the taste of blood on the tongue. Praise Hircine and his Houndsmen! Rise up and reject the tyranny of shape and story!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/blessings-jone-and-jode": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/blessings-jone-and-jode", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Blessings of Jone and Jode", "text": "I am most blessed. Most blessed to see the miracles of the Divines with my own two eyes! I envy the bishop. What a sight it must have been to see the Great Cat descend from the sky above and reclaim his temple!\nStill, I have borne witness to the acts of gods and they are no less awesome. I have seen Khajiit join the Pride of Alkosh! I have seen Jone and Jode speak their thunderous blessings and imbue the faithful with their incredible might! I pray that I may prove my worth and gain their favor soon.\nTo become a holy warrior for Alkosh. I will be most blessed indeed!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/book-memories": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/book-memories", "description": "A short treatise on the bias of historians", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Book of Memories", "text": "A study in three parts, of which the first concerns the past, the second the present, and the third, the future.\nAny account of the past is bound to be colored by the perception and motivation of the historian.\nNot only is the historian prone to pick favorites, but her judgments are like as not to be colored by the political struggles and overriding concerns of her time, place, and culture.\nIn histories a figure may be marked a base villain, only to have time and the preoccupations of a new era soften attitudes. So it is that tyrants become saints and great men become monsters, all long after they are dead.\nA memory is not wholly impartial either, but neither is it subject to the whims of popular opinion or the vicissitudes of time.\nThe nearer to the event the memory is recorded, the less time there is for prejudices and preconceptions to take over and reshape the experience. It is for this reason that the great chroniclers turned to runestones\u2026."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/book-no-name": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/book-no-name", "description": "A modest business proposal", "author": "No-Name", "title": "The Book of No-Name", "text": "Today, this one wagered that a random traveler I met in the street could walk into a room full of drunken Nords, grab a book, and walk back out.\nThis one knows that if No-Name asks enough gamblers, he'll eventually find someone who will take that bet. This one knows that on any given afternoon, some heroic traveler will offer to walk into that bar, especially if No-Name pleads convincingly enough.\nNo-Name feels bad for tricking a courageous, genereous traveler, so if you managed to survive, this one would prefer to offer a cut of the profits, a copy of this handsome journal, and a heartfelt apology to the traveler who reads this.\nIf you didn't make it out of the room, consider this handsome quarto faux-leather journal a suitable consolation prize. You cost me a lot of money, so I consider this compensation generous.\nAnd if you ever tell the story of what happened, please leave this one out of it!\nSimply say that the mysterious Khajiit who tricked you had no name."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/book-reason": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/book-reason", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Book of Reason", "text": "Thoughts are what separate man and mer from beasts. Without thoughts, we have no empathy, no capacity to care for those around us.\nAncient remedies, handed down by word of mouth through the generations, provide us with the peace of mind necessary to sustain our existence.\nDue to the sensitive nature of our illness, and the curative properties of our sheltered hamlet, residents are required to remain in the village for the length of their natural lives, lest the illness spread.\n\"By the light\n\tBy the dark\n\tWithin and without,\n\tBound to one another\n\tBy hope\n\tBy thoughts\n\tBy the land\n\tUntil our souls take flight\"\nSpeak the words and believe in them. We restrain ourselves by keeping to ourselves. Our thoughts hold the descent at bay, and allow us this peaceful existence.\nThe shelter of the village comes from times long-forgotten, from those driven to this place by their need.\nTheir suffering sanctified the land upon which we live. Our promises keep it sacred."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/book-great-tree": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/book-great-tree", "description": "Alchemeical lessons intermingled with proverbs of the Great Tree", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Book of the Great Tree", "text": "(excerpts)\n\tAll things to the Tree\n\tFrom the Tree, all things\n\t\u2014 Ayleid prophecy\n* * * * *\n\tLet this be your first lesson: the roots of the First Tree grasp all the ground on which you stand. When the rains and wind come, it will be the roots that hold you firm. Under the roots lies Nirn, and over her boughs shines Aetherius. She provides both floor and roof. You need no other shelter.\n* * * * *\n\tAzra Root grows along the banks of the slow-moving rivers. Pull it gently free of the mud and wrap the roots in a damp cloth. Thus the plant may be transported. These will take root in pots and baskets of moss, if they are kept moist enough.\n* * * * *\n\tWhen the Saliache Elves first came to the Elden Root, they were led to it by Meridia's shining colors, which told them this was her gift and blessing. The Tree's branches and roots are as hands, reaching at once into the Mundus and Overworld. On this, we built Mundus' greatest city and prove ourselves her highest and most honored race.\n* * * * *\n\tIn the heat of the summer, shroud the leaves of the Alocasia in silk. The fruit will grow larger and sweeter if the growing process is thus slowed. It is said Y'ffre took its fallen fruit as tribute.\nThe Alomeria plant is related to this, but will not bear fruit. You may know it as Water Hyacinth.\n* * * * *\n\tWhen they arrived, they said, \"This is the Grove of the One Great Tree. This is the Grove of the Sages, the Elden Grove. We brought with us life and knowledge, and in the shade of the Great Tree, we build the classrooms and libraries, so that we would make a harvest of our legacy of intellect.\"\n* * * * *\n\tThe seed of the Nirnroot may be carried great distances by birds and other creatures. Near the Great Tree, the fronds grow tall and lush. Farther away, they may grow reedier and less hardy.\nLet this likewise be a lesson."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bounty-and-shields": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bounty-and-shields", "description": "", "author": "Julia Runellius", "title": "The Bounty and the Shields", "text": "This Journal Belongs to Julia Runellius\nFather told me that if I were to travel and fill bounties, I needed to keep a journal of my activities. He handed me this blank book and told me to fill it. I'm not much of one for writing, but I'll honor his request as best I can. I'm here in Senchal now. Following the trail of a lost soul. Gian Mico. He's wanted for several crimes, not least of which is stealing some important books from the Mages Guild in Daggerfall. Books? Of all the things to steal! He last showed up here. My guess is that he thought being among the Khajiit would keep him safe enough, especially since there is an Imperial presence here that he can blend into.\nBut I'll find him.\nDay Two: Senchal\nI walked around the city. You can't take a step without bumping into a refugee or a flustered Khajiit. A militia of sorts marginally protects the city. They call them the Shields of Senchal. It was originally the Thirteenth Legion, but the locals gave them their new name after they settled in and started to police the place. They don't run the city, though. Just enforce whatever rules the Khajiit want them to enforce, from the sound of things.\nMy bet is that Mico has joined them. Perhaps I should do the same just long enough to find my target.\nDay Three: The Shields\nOh by all the gods, these Alfiq! I don't know how it got into my room, but it woke me up with purring, as if it were a housecat, then said clear as day, \"Time to get up, walker.\" I'm not sure what to do. If this were another Imperial, I'd smash their nose in then kick them out of my room. But it's a creature that reminds me a bit of Mouser, my first cat. I just nodded at it, then asked it to leave, polite as can be.\nAfter breakfast, I talked to some fellow named Bruccius about the Shields and how they recruit new candidates. Though he seemed like he wanted to complain about his aches or send me after some wayward priest, I kept him on topic and asked what the new recruits did. He helpfully pointed me to an area of the city where they train. I think I'll head over there and see if I can pick out Mico.\nDay Four: Bureaucracy\nI spent most of today talking to various Shields. Mico was indeed among the new recruits. I went to the person in charge of the training squad and told her about Mico's past activities and my bounty to bring him back to the Mages Guild in Daggerfall. She said she needed to bump this up the chain of command. It wasn't long before I ended up talking to the Shield's commander, General Renmus.\nI learned more about the Shields of Senchal in this discussion. They were sent here five years ago by Emperor Aquilarios to help the city restore order in the aftermath of the flu. Without royal guidance since the demise of the ruling family of Senchal, the Imperials helped set up a city council and have been working with them to govern the region. With the arrival of the Dragons, though, refugees are pouring into the city, putting a strain on already stretched resources. He invited me to join the Shields. I guess smart, well-trained combatants are in short supply.\nI was honored, of course, but I prefer traveling and working on my own for now.\nAnd that is when the general noted that Mico is a very skilled battlemage and had stolen those books in the hope of coming here and destroying Dragons with new magic. He didn't condone the mage's actions, but he also needed as many soldiers as he could get to protect Senchal. So, he refused to release Mico into my hands.\nMy first bounty, and I need to make a decision regarding whether to let this bounty go for the greater good or try to persuade the general to let me take him back to Daggerfall to face justice. I've already talked to Mico, and he does indeed wish to fight Dragons with some techniques he uncovered in various tomes he took from the Mages Guild. But theft? Why didn't he work with all those mages to fight Dragons? It's not as if these beasts are going to stick around Elsweyr forever. They're a threat to us all.\nAnd, having written that, I think I've made my decision. Father, you were right to give me this journal. Sometimes writing things down removes any foggy thinking. Perhaps my next bounty will be easier. I'll acquire a new book for my next bounty. (Oh, I should note: I'm going to work with those mages who had their books stolen to put them in touch with Mico so they can work together to defeat the Dragons.)"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bretons-mongrels-or-paragons": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bretons-mongrels-or-paragons", "description": "A scholarly examination of Bretonic origins", "author": "Phrastus of Elinhir", "title": "The Bretons: Mongrels or Paragons?", "text": "That Men and Mer can interbreed has been known since the first humans began arriving on the shores of Tamriel in the middle of the Merethic Era. However, broad intermingling of Elves and humans only occurred in the far northwest of the continent, giving rise to the race of Men known as the Bretons. Given the history of conflict between humans and the children of Aldmeris elsewhere in Tamriel, how and why did this intermingling occur in High Rock?\nThe answer lies in the peculiar (for Elves) culture of Clan Direnni, the once-dominant Mer of northwest Tamriel. In contrast to the Ayleids of Cyrodiil, who brutally enslaved any humans they came into contact with, the Direnni simply conquered their local Nedes and then ruled them as a caste of nobility. The aristocratic Elves established a system of feudal vassalage over their human subjects, with rights and privileges that included the \"Perquisite of Coition\" with any human they desired. Sex with attractive Nedes was considered casual recreation, and Direnni nobles competed to have stables of the most desirable human subjects.\nThe inevitable Half-Elven offspring from these liaisons were not adopted into the families of their Direnni parents, being considered sub-Mer, but were nonetheless often given privileged positions among the subject Nedes. Over time, this led to the establishment of a recognized caste of mixed-blood humans, who were given the name \"Bretons\" (from the Ehlnofex \"beratu,\" or \"half\"). The Breton caste was only allowed to marry humans, so over time their Elven blood became more diluted, and the Nedic appearance predominated.\nThough they wielded great power for a time in the First Era, even then the Elves of Clan Direnni were never numerous, and as their geographical hegemony expanded administration and rulership was increasingly handed off to the Breton caste. After defeating the invading Alessian Horde in 1E 482 Clan Direnni was scattered and effectively exhausted. As the Elves retreated to central High Rock, then finally Balfiera Isle, the Bretons stepped easily into their shoes, assuming the feudal hierarchy established by the Direnni and simply replacing them with their own noble families.\nThe Breton nobles, who had been forced to differentiate themselves from the Direnni part of their heritage, justified their new ascension by distancing themselves from Elves and everything Elven\u2014ironically so, as the Elven blood ran strongest in the older noble families. The Direnni were increasingly vilified by their former vassals, and the island clan became ever more insular and isolationist. However, they were still known as powerful magicians, and they were strong enough to repel an attempted Redguard invasion in 1E 907.\nThe Bretons continued redefining themselves, inventing a myth of a history of noble resistance to Direnni rule, and developing a thriving merchant class that began trading around the coasts of Tamriel. By the time the Empress Hestra and her legions arrived at Bangkorai Pass in 1E 1029, they were ready to join the Empire of Men and embrace the Eight Divines. Under the Remans, High Rock was possibly the most stable and prosperous province in the Second Empire.\nWhich brings us back to the (deliberately provocative) question of our title: are the Bretons then mongrels, or paragons? The answer, of course, is both (though if you call a Breton a mongrel, he is liable to feed you an inch or two of steel). The passionate race of Bretons embodies the strengths of both Men and Mer\u2014as well as their flaws."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bright-blade-captain-castatil-scene-vi": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bright-blade-captain-castatil-scene-vi", "description": "An epic play full of sword fights, reveals, and betrayals", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Bright Blade of Captain Castatil: Scene VI", "text": "Scene 6. The High Seas. The deck of the dreaded Ash Viper. The terrifying vessel sinks slowly beneath the players' feet.\nEnter King Orgnum and the mysterious gold-masked Captain Castatil\nKing Orgnum:\nCastatil! My old nemesis! How dare you sully the deck of my most majestic vessel with your thin-heeled, High Elf boots!\n[Orgnum steps forward menacingly, drawing his poisoned blade with a sneer.]\nCaptain Castatil:\nHa! Brave words from the king of fishes. Look about you, Sea Elf! Your fleet sinks beneath the waves, and your sailors choke on foam and brine! Prepare to join them, you perfidious picaroon!\nKing Orgnum:\nIt is you who will do the dying, gold-skin! But before I run you through, throw down your mask. I wish to see the look of agony on your face when I skewer you upon my venomous blade!\nCaptain Castatil:\nVery well. In truth, I have waited years for this moment!\n[Castatil removes his mask to reveal his true identity: Marcivel, the aggrieved son of Eroldalin. King Orgnum gasps.]\nKing Orgnum:\nZounds! Marcivel? The wiry son of my old foe, Eroldalin?\nMarcivel:\nThe same! When you slew my father all those long years ago, I swore an oath to cast your ruin into the deep! Now, at last, I slake my thirst for revenge!\n[Marcivel draws his bright blade and makes ready to fight.]\nKing Orgnum:\nCome then, son of Eroldalin! Face the serpent's bite!\n[The two adversaries thrust, parry, and slash their way across the stage. Marcivel briefly gains the upper hand.]\nMarcivel:\nYou fight like a fishmonger's wife, Orgnum! Would you rob me of a true challenge? My bloody satisfaction is too quickly won!\nKing Orgnum:\nHar! The folly of youth! Your overconfidence shall be your downfall!\n[Orgnum slams his boot down upon a loose deck-board, knocking Marcivel off his feet. Orgnum pounces as the prone Marcivel dodges and parries.]\nKing Orgnum:\nLook how he wriggles upon the hook! Our duel reaches its savage climax!\nMarcivel:\nYou think you've bested me? Don't you know that you cannot skewer what you cannot see?\n[Marcivel takes a nearby bucket in his hands and splashes its contents upon Orgnum's face. The water washes away a thick coat of blue make-up, revealing the golden face of Marcivel's father, Eroldalin. Marcivel gasps.]\nMarcivel:\nFather? I ... I don't understand!\nEroldalin:\nYou see the truth of it, at last. Yes, Marcivel, It is I, Eroldalin! Your father! Once-admiral of the Starborne Armada!\nMarcivel:\nI thought you dead! Killed at King Orgnum's hands!\nEroldalin:\nDead? Har! All that Maormer killed was an old fool's faith in Auri-El! Faith in the falsehood and pretense that shackles the Mer of Summerset! Can you not see? The serpent's truth reigns supreme! All the Mer of Summerset shall learn! All shall pay homage to the great Snake-Wizard!\n[Marcivel springs to his feet, deftly parrying Eroldalin's final slash. With one last thrust, he pierces his father's heart.]\nEroldalin:\nCurses! I am killed!\n[Eroldalin dies.]\nMarcivel:\nQuiet now, father. Mine is the heart that is truly pierced! Woe! Misery! He who sought to kill his father's murderer has become his father's murderer! What now will I do?\n[Marcivel stands silent for a long moment, then takes up his discarded mask and dons it solemnly, thus becoming Captain Castatil once more.]\nCaptain Castatil:\nNay! I will not fall victim to self-pity! Marcivel is dead. Let his memory, and that of his father, sink with his shattered hulk. Here I swear upon the churning waters, there is but one Mer that wears this mask: Captain Castatil! Hero of Alinor! The Shield of Shimmerene! Summerset's valiant swashbuckler! And the ever-vigilant foe of the vile King Orgnum!\nMark me, Serpent-king! Soon you shall suffer Eroldalin's bloody fate! Skewered upon the shining blade of Captain Castatil!\n[End scene]"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/broken-xinchei-konu": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/broken-xinchei-konu", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Broken Xinchei-Konu", "text": "Black thorns choke a prison ruined\nA creature of root lurks at the gate\nIt has eaten the sun, which shines no longer\nA nut has fallen from its branch\nAnd landed upon mossy stone\nIt looks eastward towards the open sea\nDeep within the murky mire\nA single sprout grows on the stone pile\nAn abandoned nest, with nothing steps\nThe reeds of a sunken ship rots\nAs trade ships pass, heading north\nIt shades a sapling of the Hist\nIn hollow echoes, past thundering roots\nLies a Hist that has matured\nDeep within the winding cavern\nWhere sea meets swamp, below cliff's edge\nBehind Imperial stone coated in black\nAn elder Hist sits in water cool\nIn the outskirts of a town without Hist\nAn egg basket sits inside a stone nest\nBuilt by uncertain dryskin hands\nStone snake protects stone egg\nBetween two pillars of our past follies\nTo the west, the haj mota lurks\nIn a vault of withering roots\nHidden behind towering stone\nThe lizard sits, waiting\nNorth of water bereft of life\nRoots lurk at the edge of the swamp\nIn its belly, the walking lizard\nNear the maw of void\nWalking roots have swallowed our kin\nBeneath the rumbling waterfall\nA final season of death\nLies within your final rooted foe\nClose enough to hear the whispering roots"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/brothers-strife": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/brothers-strife", "description": "A tale of legendary Daedric beasts controlled by the Chimer", "author": "Nili Omavel", "title": "The Brothers of Strife", "text": "My fellow scholars would have you believe the Elves of the Ashlands are unstoppable. They point to Red Mountain and other triumphant, if hard-fought, battles against the Dwemer as proof. But once long ago, our people were as fair as a mountainside in Skyrim. In that distant time, we were driven to the edge of defeat.\n\tIn the time before Red Mountain, we were known as the Chimer. We were just another race of mer eking out a living on the edge of the Inner Sea.\nThen came the Nedes. Though the Nords of today are allies, the Nedes were adversaries of the darkest nature. They sought only land, conquest, and spoils. We extended open hands of diplomacy, which they lopped off. Any Elf in the horde's path was fair game\u2014man, woman, or child.\nThe greatest generals of the age were brothers. Balreth and Sadal led armies of willing warriors against the horde. At first, this was an attempt to drive them from the ash. As the war went on, their actions turned purely to defense and redirection. If a force of Chimer could spend their blood allowing a village to evacuate, then that was blood well spent.\nThe Nedes, after a few short years, controlled most of what we now call Stonefalls. The Chimer armies were cut off from the Inner Sea and reinforcements from Vvardenfell. The brothers retreated again and again until finally, they were left with a small elite force of sorcerers and troops. This force then took shelter in an ancient Daedric ruin.\nWhat happened at that ruin has been lost to time, but the massive statues that now mark the site endure as a mute testament. The death of the Chimer generals ended the war, but at what cost?\nAt this ruin, the so-called Brothers of Strife were born. My research shows that Chimer mages from Vvardenfell eventually bound the beasts, but not before the Brothers ended the lives of hundreds of men and mer. One of the darkest chapters in our people's history followed. The unstoppable beasts made the ash run red with blood, Chimer and Nede alike.\nWe can only speculate what brought the Brothers to Nirn. Perhaps a Daedric Prince summoned them to that ruin. Maybe it was Sheogorath having a laugh or a grim survival test from Boethiah.\nWhen the two beasts were finally bound into the twin spires of Stonefalls, they went to their rest with the blood of history staining their claws. We must hope and pray to the Three that their like will never be seen in the Ashlands again."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/brothers-war": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/brothers-war", "description": "Twin Nord brothers battle for supremacy", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Brothers' War", "text": "At the height of the Akaviri Invasion, in 2E 572, the twin brothers of Princess Nurnhilde, Jorunn the Skald Prince and Fildgor Strong Prince (also called Fildgor Angry Prince, but never to his face), were in two very different locations. Jorunn was in Riften with his closest companions, the Pack of Bards. Fildgor, meanwhile, was on the northeast coat of Skyrim, fighting alongside his sister when the Akaviri of Dir-Kamal launched their assault. As the Akaviri made their way toward Windhelm, Jorunn and his companions forged their own path toward the fabled Nord city.\nFildgor, meanwhile, demonstrated his fighting prowess, as well as his exalted anger, over and over again as the battle for the coast raged on. He often led his own team of companions, the Stormfist Brigade, which consisted of members of the Stormfist clan. They had fought beside Fildgor during his pilgrimage and coming-of-age trials, and were devoted to the Strong-Prince.\nJorunn and Fildgor, along with their closest comrades, each arrived in time to see the gates of Windhelm break wide. The brothers fought valiantly, but they couldn't prevent the fall of the city or the death of Queens Mabjaarn and Nurnhilde (\"The Brief Queen\"), who died defending the palace and the people they loved. The twins, who hadn't been close for several years, nonetheless fell into familiar companionship and joined forces to repel the invaders. Thanks to Jorunn's alliance with the Dark Elves and the unexpected but welcome assistance of the Argonians, the Akaviri invasion was at last crushed.\nAs Jorunn and his forces returned to Windhelm, Fildgor stepped forward to claim rulership. The crisis was over, and he decided to push his claim. He expected Jorunn to acquiesce, as his brother usually did in the face of Fildgor's anger and unrestrained passion. But Jorunn refused. The Skald Prince decided to become the Skald King, for he had seen what Fildgor's passions were capable of. In war, he wanted Fildgor at his side. But as a leader for his people? Jorunn didn't really want to sit upon the throne, but he felt he had no choice. He didn't believe Fildgor would be a good ruler for his people.\nEnraged by Jorunn's defiance, Fildgor rallied the Stormfist clan and other supporters he had throughout the realm. After all, he was a true Nord warrior, not a singer and scholar like his brother. Jorunn saw that the kingdom was headed for civil war, so he challenged Fildgor to single combat. The Strong Prince smiled, confident he could defeat his bard of a brother easily. He accepted, and the longest three hours in recent history began. The brothers' war was on.\nThe two brothers fought in the square outside the battle-damaged palace. The fight was brutal and long. Weapons clashed, parried, came together, moved apart, and drew blood. When it appeared that neither brother was going to gain the upper hand before they both collapsed from sheer exhaustion, Jorunn called upon reserves no one expected him to possess. He struck Fildgor's weapon, shattering it. Then he knocked Fildgor flat and demanded his surrender.\nWith no other option available, Fildgor surrendered. But his hatred burned and his rage surrounded him like a roiling storm. With a broken heart, Jorunn exiled his brother and chastened the Stormfist clan for supporting him. Fildgor cursed Jorunn's name and departed. While the Skald King went on to prove himself a capable and beloved ruler, the Strong Prince was rumored to have fled to the lands of the Daggerfall Covenant. Perhaps one day, the brothers' war will resume."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/burning-senchal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/burning-senchal", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Burning of Senchal", "text": "Though the sun shines down on me\n\tThe darkness years ago makes me weep.\n\tAnd after flames devoured their breath,\n\tI stood above, mourning all that death.\n\tWhat then became of me?\n\tI cannot say.\nAs the moons shone down on me,\n\tI chose to follow an ill-made path.\n\tStaring from a starlit sky,\n\tMoons' stark radiance witnessed them die.\n\tWhat then became of me?\n\tI dare not say.\nWe must survive, despite the ravages of life, cruel life\n\tWith its suffering and injustice\n\tAs death surrounds us.\n\tBut can we thrive when all hope has fled before us?\n\tAll that's left is grief and shallow graves.\n\tThe march of darkness goes on.\n\tWhat can we do? We just survive.\nDecades later who are we,\n\tAnd after that dire crucible of death?\n\tDid we pay too high a price\n\tTo walk away, knowing all we know?\n\tWhat then became of us?\n\tNo one should say.\nWe have survived, despite the ravages of life, cruel life\n\tWith its suffering and injustice\n\tWhen death hounded us.\n\tBut can we thrive after what we paid to get here?\n\tWho are we now? We dare not say.\n\tThe march of darkness goes on.\n\tWhat can we do? What have we become?"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/butcher-bravil": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/butcher-bravil", "description": "A captain of the Imperial Legion commits a great crime trying to save her soldiers", "author": "Captain Jena Apinia", "title": "The Butcher of Bravil", "text": "The Journal of Captain Jena Apinia\nI've been called a lot of things during my career. I've received accolades from my friends and allies, been branded with curses and other foul descriptors by my enemies, but no title has been more hurtful and undeserved than the one I carry with me now - the one I'll most likely carry with me to my grave. They call me \"the Butcher of Bravil.\"\nThe war in Cyrodiil was in full swing when suddenly a new danger appeared to threaten Imperial City. My soldiers were enjoying a much-deserved break from battle when chains fell from the sky. Some claimed one of the alliances had called upon strange and deadly magic to harass Imperial City, while others were sure that one Daedric Prince or another was behind this latest indignation. For my part, I didn't care if it was Queen Ayrenn or Molag Bal. I just knew I had to get the soldiers under my charge away from there as quickly as possible.\nThe goal before me was simple: Survive. Not die trying to defend the Imperial City from an enemy we didn't understand. It was to live, to fight another day when victory was more assured. Some call me coward for running as I did, but I saved a full legion's worth of soldiers with my actions. Of course, fleeing from the city as quickly as we did, we were ill prepared for surviving in the wilds beyond the city walls. We needed to regroup, resupply, and determine a prudent course of action. With these things in mind, I ordered my legion to head south and away from the city.\nBravil is a squalid little town south of the Imperial City, located on the banks of the Niben Bay. To say that Bravil is a poor town is an understatement. The people there would be happy to be risen to that economic level. They lived in wooden shacks stacked one atop the other, like skeevers in a burrow. They didn't have much, but what they did have was desperately needed by me and my legion. It was their duty to aid us, for the welfare and glory of the Empire. I explained that quite succinctly to Bravil's mayor.\nAnd Bravil's mayor graciously refused my request. \"The food stores we have, pitiful though they may be, are vital to the survival of Bravil and its people,\" he explained. \"Surely you understand why I must say no, Captain, and humbly ask that you and your soldiers move on.\"\nTo say that the man infuriated me is like saying that the Skald King is only a slightly drunk fool. But I understood his dilemma. If I took the town's food supply, he'd have to watch as half his citizens slowly died of starvation as the cold of winter settled over the town and the surrounding area. The solution was simple, though it grieved me to give the order. My soldiers would have to eliminate half the town's population. That would give the remaining citizens a chance to scrounge up enough food to make it through the winter.\nHere I thought I was helping these pathetic creatures, but did they thank us? No. The rest of the town rose up against us. In the end, we were forced to slaughter a good deal more than hal - including the mayor, whom I hold responsible for this entire situation. We gathered up the supplies - as well as a number of valuable items to help finance our efforts - and took our leave of Bravil.\nIt was a few days later, when we approached another small settlement, that I discovered that word of what happened at Bravil had begun to spread, and the story had grown all out of proportion. They were calling me \"the Butcher of Bravil,\" regarding me as a sort of villain who went out of her way to kill innocent civilians. They know nothing about war and the hard decisions that a commander must make in the field. Would they rather my soldiers starved? How would we protect them and defend Cyrodiil then? It also came to my attention that Queen Ayrenn had sent one of her damned Eyes to track me down, recover the items we acquired, and make me pay for my so-called war crime.\nI sent the bulk of my legion back to rendezvous with the rest of the army outside the Imperial City. Meanwhile, I took a small squad and made for the Gold Coast. I would face the Queen's Eye in a place of my own choosing. Then we'll see whose justice actually prevails."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/call-beyond": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/call-beyond", "description": "", "author": "Solis Aduro (translator)", "title": "The Call Beyond", "text": "Translated by Solis Aduro\nCome children, gather\nThe sun is setting\nAnd you must sleep\nFear not for your roots\nI will keep them\nAnd so when you wake\nYou will remember what I have done"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/cannonreeves-conundrum": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/cannonreeves-conundrum", "description": "A handbill promoting a new play", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Cannonreeve's Conundrum", "text": "A Comedy in Three Acts\nProudly Presented by\n\tThe Summerset Repertory Players\nSTARRING\nSilus Silber as \"The Cannonreeve\"\nAND INTRODUCING\nHazaznaz as \"Furbul-dar, the Frivolous\"\nOpening the first Fredas of Rain's Hand, 2E 578!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/cannonreeves-conundrum-0": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/cannonreeves-conundrum-0", "description": "Advertisement for an upcoming play", "author": "The Summerset Repertory Players", "title": "The Cannonreeve's Conundrum", "text": "A Comedy in Three Acts\nProudly Presented by\nThe Summerset Repertory Players\nSTARRING\nSilus Silber as \"The Cannonreeve\"\nAND INTRODUCING\nHazaznaz as \"Furbul-dar, the Frivolous\"\nOpening the first Fredas of Rain's Hand, 2E 578!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/care-and-feeding-briar-hearts": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/care-and-feeding-briar-hearts", "description": "A letter explaining how Briar Hearts are made", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Care and Feeding of Briar Hearts", "text": "Gull-koo loves her briar hearts! She's an interesting old bird, that hagraven. Since coming to the old Breton fort, my job among the Winterborn has been to assist Gull-koo, doing whatever the hagraven needs in order to make sure the briar hearts grow and thrive. Strange things, those briar hearts. Kind of like large fruits, but also kind of like the heart of some large animal. Or man.\nToday I got to see the process up close. It starts with a corpse. The Winterborn prefer to use the corpse of an enemy, but the hagravens have no such compunctions, Any corpse will serve their purposes, whether an Orc, Winterborn, or even a harpy. Once a corpse is procured, it is purified in a strange ritual of the hagraven's own devising and place in a specially prepared plot of soil. Then, with great reverence and fanfare, the hagraven adds the briar heart seed to the planted body.\nSpells and blood serve to feed and water the macabre garden, and soon the first sprouts begin to bloom from the corpse. The sprouts quickly grow into saplings, which in turn grow into small trees. These small trees connect through a system of roots back to the large tree the hagravens and tree tenders care for in one of the fort's courtyards. I believe that the sapling trees contribute to the health and overall power of the large tree, but my questions on the subject were ignored by Gull-koo and the other hagravens.\nMeanwhile, briar heart fruit blooms on the saplings and the large tree alike, beating a haunting cascade that echoes throughout the fortress. Once the fruit ripens, it is ready to be transplanted. And that's where our own warriors come into the picture. In most cases, when a Winterborn warrior falls in battle, a hagraven can bless the warrior with a ripe briar heart. The magical process plunges the briar heart into the fallen warrior and returns the warrior to life, granting him or her additional strength and fortitude as befits a briar-heart warrior.\nNow, I haven't yet been privy to the process, but I believe there's also a way to implant the briar hearts into living warriors. I've seen the cages where some of our most-powerful and loyal warriors have gone to meditate and prepare themselves for elevation to briar-heart warrior status. Perhaps, if Gull-koo agrees, they'll allow me to accept such an honor. I'll let you know how it turns out.\nYour sister, writing from Frostbreak Fortress"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/care-and-feeding-trolls": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/care-and-feeding-trolls", "description": "Chief Braadoth has very specific instructions for the care of his trolls.", "author": "Gulzog the Butcher", "title": "The Care and Feeding of Trolls", "text": "By order of Chief Braadoth, who now wants to be known as the Ophidian Exarch of Undulating Destruction for some reason or another, we are to make sure these special trolls are well cared for. Follow these steps and I won't use you as troll chow.\n1. Bathe the trolls in a mix of water, nirncrux-infused mud, and blood.\n2. Massage each troll for at least one hour.\n3. Fill their drinking buckets with bog-iron ale.\n4. Tenderize captives with sound beatings.\n5. Toss tenderized captives to trolls.\n6. Stand back and let them eat!\n7. Repeat every day.\n\u2014Gulzog the Butcher"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/catechism-alessia": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/catechism-alessia", "description": "Very brief summary of Alessia\u2019s legend", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Catechism of Alessia", "text": "Repeat, along with me, the words that cannot be gainsaid, the truth that cannot be questioned: \"Saint Alessia, through her purity and wisdom, earned the love of all good beings, mortal and immortal. At Sancre Tor she prayed to Akatosh for the liberation of her people, and the Time Dragon granted her Three Visions to guide her in this task. Though the road was long and filled with hardship, her faith sustained her. When at last all three visions had come to pass and her people were freed of Elven domination, her purpose was fulfilled and she was called to Apotheosis. Then was she inducted into sainthood by Akatosh himself, and granted the Amulet of Kings, for the sacred rulers of the Empire to wear for ever and beyond."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/challenge-bloody-knoll": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/challenge-bloody-knoll", "description": "How the Orcish clans Shar and Tuul came together under the guidance of Malacath", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Challenge at Bloody Knoll", "text": "In the time before song the clans grew restless and clashed steel against steel in the bitter north, until a crimson path was traced in the snow, leading to the mountains of dead and their cairns.\nCome autumn a truce was called so that the clans might gather the bodies from pasture, range, and farm. So great was the number of the dead that the clans saw autumn's return twice over before all the bodies had been gathered.\nWhen they saw the number of the dead, and the fields that lay fallow with none to work them, the chiefs of clans Shar and Tuul met in secret. They said \"There is neither glory nor honor in the slaughter of our warriors. The hero that rises this season will die the next and when we are old and grey, will there be any strong Orc left to replace us?\"\nSo they called on Mauloch and made an offering of echaterre and of their own blood. And the Prince answered them: Erect a monument of the dead to me, a cairn for the fallen of clans Shar and Tuul and there pick from among your number the strongest. They will duel atop the cairn until it is consecrated with the blood of the loser. The winner shall be the chief of a new clan, Shar-tuul.\"\nThe chiefs did as Mauloch commanded and so the war between the clans ended and a new clan was founded. The place of the first duel was called the Bloody Knoll, for it was built from the bodies of the war-slain and consecrated with the blood of the losing duellist."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/chim-el-adabal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/chim-el-adabal", "description": "A dark plan using a sacred relic", "author": "Anonymous (presumably Mannimarco)", "title": "The Chim-el Adabal", "text": "The Amulet of the Kings of Glory, pendant of the red diamond Chim-el Adabal, Ayleid relic of Divine investiture. Whatever myths exist concerning its creation, this much is fact: as a vessel of Akatosh's will, it is tied to him in a very real way.\nThe corruption of the Dragonfire ritual was a taxing endeavor. I spent weeks inscribing the glyphs and preparing the incantations that Aquilarios foolishly believed would change his ancestry and birthright. Trusting simpleton. Nirn now lies adrift in the Mundus, vulnerable to the parasitic Daedra that feast upon the souls of its people.\nTharn once asked me, outright, if the Amulet could be used to repair the damage wrought by the Soulburst. Subtlety was never part of Abnur's repetoire. I could see the scheming machinations behind his eyes even as be pledged his loyalty to me. I think he knew, even then, that he was disposable. Who needs a scheming politician when one aspires to be a god?\nThe answer to his question is, of course, yes. This is why I must sieze the amulet and protect it. It is the vessel through which I will supplant my would-be master and assume dominion over two worlds. Why would a god settle for just one?"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/chopping-block": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/chopping-block", "description": "An older brother teaches his younger brother how to fight with an axe", "author": "Kajuld Blackfox", "title": "The Chopping Block", "text": "\"You tricked me!\" cried Thredor. He stopped short and dropped his axe as he rounded the corner of the longhouse, face-to-face with a fresh stack of logs next to the chopping block. \"You promised you were going to teach me to fight like you!\"\n\"And I am, little brother, if you'll show any patience,\" chuckled Thralorr. \"If you want to learn to use that axe, you have to start with the basics. You think you'll be able to cleave an enemy's skull if you can't split firewood?\"\n\"That's easy! I'll show you!\" Thredor snatched up his weapon, a battered iron cast-off from his brother's younger days, and charged the block. With a mighty yell, he closed his eyes and swung the axe over his head with all the strength he could muster, staggering forward as the blade sailed past the log and lodged itself in the dirt.\n\"Not so easy, is it? You've got some power there, but that won't help if you can't hit what you want. Here, watch me,\" Thralorr demonstrated a few chops. \"See how I keep my eyes on the target the whole time and take a solid stance? Now you try again.\"\nThey chopped wood on into the evening until Thredor's arms felt weak and his hands burned where they gripped the haft. He trained like this for many weeks, simply chopping wood, until he could chop a whole cord without a break with only one hand on the axe.\nOne morning, to his delight, he came to the yard for his daily practice only to find his brother standing next to a construction of stuffed sacks and sticks painted with the roaring lion of the Daggerfall Covenant.\n\"You have more strength and good aim now, but let's see how you do with a different target. Come and show this filth what a Nord can do!\" He tossed his little brother a makeshift wooden shield and spent the morning calling out targets and waving the dummy's arms as Thredor hacked away while attempting to block the flimsy blows.\n\"I can't wait to try out Troll-Fang on a real one!\" Thredor breathed heavily as the two took a break in the shade of a nearby tree.\n\"Is that what you've named it, then? Well, let's hope it doesn't come to that so soon,\" replied Thralorr. \"You've learned a lot, but you've a long way to go yet. We'll keep practicing, and before you know it, you'll be ready to answer the call of battle. Wait, what's that? I think I hear it now!\"\nThredor rolled his eyes. \"That's just mother calling us in,\" he protested.\n\"Her wrath is worse than any Covenant soldier!\" cried Thralorr. \"Hurry, before she comes after us!\" Laughing, he chased his brother across the yard and into the house."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/chorrol-crier": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/chorrol-crier", "description": "Town newspaper documents the progression of the Soulburst", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Chorrol Crier", "text": "Issue 21\nMorning Star, 579\nGreetings to my loyal readers. Here's what happened in town since Issue 20:\nSeems that everyone has recovered from the New Life Festival, though Verene continues to celebrate.\nDarvell is at it again. He passed out several times near the Oak and Crosier this month. He claims not to have been drinking but overcome by fumes from the ground. Darvell insists that there's something underground, something only he can sense. Fumes indeed; poor Vanny!\nThe Quickstep Bandits struck again, stealing hay and rope from Zegol's storehouse. That should improve Zegol's ever-sunny disposition, no?\nPrefect Doran swears she'll do something about the clamor of the merchants around Little Oak Place. The constant bickering over display space must end. Something needs to be done to cut down on the merchants in town. Porcia should have Domitius throw out every other one.\n*******************************\nIssue 23\nSun's Height, 579\nApologies to my readers\u2014the events of the last months have prevented me from writing the Crier. But now I resume my duties.\nThe upheavals in Chorrol, both personal and physical, continue. The quakes never stop while the chasm grows ever wider and its list of victims longer. I can't bear to name all those we lost during the cataclysm. Every family has suffered. A walk through town highlights the missing more than the still-present.\nStill no explanation for the upheaval. Folks here call it the \"Sundering.\" Darvell insists that he smelled the chasm before Chorrol was torn asunder. He's acting even odder than before, if that's possible.\nWhen Prefect Doran was taken by a creature from the chasm, we looked to Domitius for leadership, but he refused. I have taken up the role, until someone else wants it. I sent Ethyan and Larian to the Imperial City, to see if more is known of these events. And to request aid for our ruined town.\n*******************************\nIssue 24\nHearthfire, 579\nAs most know, Ethyan and Larian returned from their journey last week. None of the news was good. They didn't make it to the city. The bridges are gone and monsters roam the banks of Lake Rumare. Our scouts heard rumors from refugees fleeing the city. No aid is coming; the city lies in ruins.\nThe cataclysm that split Chorrol in half also devastated the Imperial City. Some say it originated there. Larian reports the city folk called it the \"Soulburst,\" though none knew why.\nEmperor Varen is missing. Some say he died in the upheaval, others that he was just badly injured. Maybe it was his soul that burst? The Five Companions are all missing as well. Some say that Sai Sahan killed the emperor and stole the Amulet of Kings. Others claim it was Lyris. Only confusion reigns in the Imperial City now.\nAnd in Chorrol as well. Creatures of flame lurk in the chasm now, seizing any who venture near. Fumes from the fiery depths have caused several Chorrolians to pass out while crossing the bridge and topple to their deaths. At least the fumes and monsters have chased away the merchants who used to infest Little Oak Place. I suspect we'll miss them in the months to come though.\n*******************************\nIssue 25\nFirst Seed, 580\nIt's been many months since my last issue. I don't seem to have the energy for it anymore. I'll try to be better.\nChorrol teeters on the edge. Quakes shake the town almost every day. Our homes fall down around us. The chasm almost feels like part of the town now. It's hard to remember what Chorrol was like without it.\nMany have left. Those who remain either have nowhere else to go or are too stubborn to give up. We're all just hanging on, waiting for we know not what.\nNowhere else is any better. They say the Tharns have seized control of the Empire, though they control little more than the city and Lake Rumare's environs. Clivia Tharn is now Empress Regent; may the she-wolf choke on the title.\nArmed gangs roam the countryside, Imperial Army deserters gone bad. True soldiers are rarely seen, as they hide in their keeps. Rumors of war with the barbarian nations outside Cyrodiil are heard every day. They smell the Empire's weakness and look to conquer the jewel of Tamriel. The gods help us all.\n*******************************\nFinal Issue\nSun's Dusk, 580\nSorry, but I can't do this anymore. This is the last issue of the Crier, unless someone else takes it up.\nI keep hoping things will get better, but they only get worse. Each quake brings another piece of my house down and slides it a little closer to the chasm. I keep expecting it to fall in any day. When it does, I'll go with it. Ethyan does his best, but the house is more patches than holes now.\nArmies march past the town, sometimes right through it. Never the Imperial Army, always troops from the Covenant or Dominion. Food is scarce, crops stolen or trampled by the invaders. We're slowly starving here.\nNo place else to go. War is everywhere. Bandits pillage at will. Travelers tell of monsters roaming the countryside. The few merchants who made it here are too scared to leave. Not that they have much to sell.\nWho can fix this? It can't be fixed. This is the way things are now, until we die. The gods have left Cyrodiil. I wish you all luck, but you won't find it."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/chosen-people-aldmeris": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/chosen-people-aldmeris", "description": "The Maormeri's origin, according to themselves", "author": "Sealord Malleroth", "title": "The Chosen People of Aldmeris", "text": "By Sealord Malleroth Of Pyandonea\nMany still believe that the Maormer race of Pyandonea diverged from the racial line of the Altmer when they were exiled from Summerset Isle as criminals. This is the great, traitorous lie of the Altmer!\nTranslations of tapestries in the Crystal Tower reveal that the great Maormer race is directly descended from the purest strain of our Aldmeri ancestors. We certainly did not come from Summerset, but originated in our ancestral homeland of Aldmeris.\nThe Altmer themselves are a mongrel race. They are the abomination that drove our great leader Orgnum to lead our people through the impenetrable mists to our haven of Pyandonea.\nFor centuries, we have marshaled our forces in preparation for our triumphant return. Summerset is ours, by our right of birth as the one true Aldmeri race. All trace of the inferior Altmer race and their mongrel blood must be wiped from the face of Tamriel!\nOur time has come! Arise, Maormer! Take your place as the rightful heirs to the Aldmeri Legacy!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/cliff-strider-song": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/cliff-strider-song", "description": "They may not be as noble as their flying cousins, but they deserve live nonetheless", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Cliff Strider Song", "text": "While cliff-racers spread their wings, so broad, And lesser birds bend their knees, so awed, You snarl, and hiss, and spit, and screech! I hear the guars grunting each to each, \"What a terror! What savage speech!\" Oh to be like you. Your temper flares at the smallest offense, You snatch our guars and mangle our fence! You nest in our lofts, spray dung on the wall, Tear up our roofs like a mid-summer squall, Frighten our children and make the babes bawl, Promise you'll never change. Cliff-strider, stride so high, On fiery crags, you touch the sky! Cliff-strider, stride so high, Screech loud as thunder, may you never die! You're vengeful and petty like my mother-in-law, You stink like you've got old fish in your craw, Your shrieks shatter glass, and rattle my ears, Your rotten-fig smell brings grown mer to tears, You piss on our pillows, they smell bad for years, You're Vvardefell's pride and joy! Cliff-strider, stride so high, On fiery crags, you touch the sky! Cliff-strider, stride so high, Screech loud as thunder, may you never die!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/clues-damn-your-eyes": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/clues-damn-your-eyes", "description": "Clues to a dead pirate's treasure", "author": "Captain Izad", "title": "The Clues, Damn Your Eyes", "text": "If you're reading this, you're after my treasure. You won't find it in my chest, oh no.\nI buried the booty somewhere on Stros M'Kai. Exactly where is the challenge; I hope you fail.\nBelow are all the clues I'll give. If you're clever enough, the treasure's yours.\nMy curses upon your narrow shoulders, you Goblin-spawned swine.\n\u2014 Captain Izad\nStand atop Saintsport's star\n\tAnd spy the eternal sentinel\n\tSkirt its gate to reach the shrine\n\tNorthwest stands the warrior\n\tWalk forty-five paces south\n\tLeftward palms frame the sight\n\tOf the island of iron faces\n\tFollow the rocky finger\n\tThrough the broken ship\n\tFind the stone ship at anchor\n\tRiches lie under leaves in its port"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/code-mauloch": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/code-mauloch", "description": "The rules of living in an Orcish stronghold", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Code of Mauloch", "text": "\"By the Code of Mauloch!\" I don't need you to guess how many times I've heard that oath made in some dingy tavern. Again and again, some fellow sellsword with too much fire in him has screamed those words at the top of his lungs. I'd be lying if I said the Orc strongholds don't take those words as law. There are few places where experience would tell you that \"tradition\" and the \"old ways\" make for a better fighter, but with Orcs, it seems like staying true to your ancestors is the path to victory.\nLet me start a few steps back. The Orc strongholds have existed as long as the Orc race has, at least according to them. Orc strongholds are more than armored camps. They're fortresses. Every man, woman, and child inside the walls is trained from birth to defend them. All their weapons and armor are smithed right there in the stronghold. All the food is hunted down by Orc warriors and brought back to be eaten by the Orcs who live there.\nOrcs follow no laws save their own, an unwritten set of rules called \"The Code of Mauloch,\" named after one of their gods, who is sometimes called Malacath. Most of it's pretty simple: don't steal, don't kill, and don't attack people without reason (although there seems to be a big list of exceptions). Orcs in a stronghold don't have jails for their criminals. They have Blood Price. You either pay enough in goods for your crimes, or you bleed enough that the victim is satisfied. And I don't need to tell you that Orcs have a lot of blood.\nThe Code also sets up who runs the stronghold. The toughest male is usually the chief. He makes decisions and decides when the Code of Mauloch has been satisfied. All the women are either the chief's wives or his daughters, with the exception of the wise woman, who handles all spiritual matters and healing needs. Matters of grave dispute are handled with short but violent fights. Those who don't get along with the chief are usually forced out of the stronghold to live among the rest of us. An Orc grows up being told to fight for everything. If something is not worth fighting for, it is beneath the Code.\nThe Orcs in a stronghold don't like strangers, used to living on their own like they do. We know about their homes because so many Orcs leave their strongholds to become sellswords or soldiers, and a few pints of mead always gets them talking about home. I hear that sometimes, when an Orc makes a non-Orc a \"blood kin,\" that person is allowed to live in the stronghold as one of the clan. Of course, I've never seen proof of that actually happening.\nFor all their strange rules and traditions, the Code of Mauloch does breed a culture of determined warriors. They're focused in ways that the average sellsword isn't. They don't hesitate to draw weapons and settle matters openly. I think that's the real difference between the stronghold Orcs and the city Orcs. The law allows you to settle fights through the constable's men, but the Code of Mauloch demands you settle your problems yourself. That's a fine way of thinking when you're leading a mercenary's life."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/coiled-path": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/coiled-path", "description": "Religious beliefs of the Mabigrash tribe", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Coiled Path", "text": "Ghost Snake blesses the worthy.\nGhost Snake devours the unworthy.\nGhost Snake lives upon the Coiled Path. Once, the river that ran beside the Coiled Path was straight and long, but Ghost Snake did not like that. He commanded the beasts to dig. He commanded the People to carve the ground. He commanded the rocks and water to move. Now path and river together coil like a waiting snake.\nThe Coiled Path is not an easy path to walk, for Ghost Snake does not wish it to be. Ghost Snake hunts the path for prey, and his victims rise as spirits. These spirits forever walk the path's twists and turns, never to escape, until Ghost Snake devours their essence as he consumed their weak flesh.\nThe Coiled Path is more than a road or a river. It is a path to wisdom, to cunning, to insight. Ghost Snake's servants do not see the straight and narrow path. Instead, Ghost Snake grants his blessings so his servants may overcome treachery and hardship. Ghost Snake hisses his wisdom so that his servants may navigate the perils of life.\nThe Coiled Path is not for the weak. Ghost Snake must feed, and if his servants cannot secure prey, Ghost Snake will rightfully devour those who serve them.\nGhost Snake is the father of a thousand-thousand serpents. Wherever the spirits of Ghost Snake's victims gather, his serpentine children thrive.\nWe who serve Ghost Snake have learned our lessons well. Do not take the easy path. Do not forget what lies underfoot, waiting to betray you. Do not forget that unseen forces watch and wait for you. Do not forget the hidden daggers of your foes. And always listen for slithering whispers on the wind.\nI write these words to receive Ghost Snake's righteous blessing. Life contains no justice. Life offers no mercy. Life is not easy. The only truth lies along the deceptive shores of the Coiled Path, and it is whispered by Ghost Snake.\nKnow this or flee. Flee, and we will find you.\nWhen Ghost Snake finds you, he will bless you. Or you will die."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/coldharbour-compact": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/coldharbour-compact", "description": "A poem about Sotha Sil's pact with the Daedric princes", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Coldharbour Compact", "text": "Poor Gil-Var-Delle we still recall\n\tThe God of Schemes consumed it all\n\tTo Coldharbour went Clockwork God\n\tTo bargain on the Princes' sod\n\tThey came to mock at Tribune small\n\tCame Schemer, Hunger, Hunter, all\n\tScryer, Pariah, Destroyer came\n\tAnd Raver and Twilight just the same\n\tFrom dread Daedra save us\n\tFrom Daedra keep us safe\n\tForsake the ones that made us\n\tTo fight a wrongful fate\n\tThey sneered when Clockwork made his demand\n\tTill Twilight raised a hand\n\t\"And what do you offer in return\n\t\"To keep us from chastising Nirn?\"\n\tThen Clockwork whispered long and low\n\tAnd what he said, no mortal can know\n\tFrom dread Daedra save us\n\tFrom Daedra keep us safe\n\tForsake the ones that made us\n\tTo fight a wrongful fate"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/collected-theory-hypothesis": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/collected-theory-hypothesis", "description": "Theories behind the disappearance of Falinesti", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Collected Theory Hypothesis", "text": "(An Excerpt)\nAt the fourth Falinesti Site now, and, not surprisingly, the Falinesti Faithful here believe me mad, as did those of the Summer, Spring, and Autumn sites. But they'll reconsider when I prove my theory! Oh, they will, and they'll see that my \"inane\" questions were nothing but \"ane!\" Yes, they will!\nThe Collective Consciousness Theorem will shake the foundations of belief, throughout Tamriel and beyond. I believe it, I KNOW it, and I will PROVE it! I just need a little more time.\nIt's simple, really. The Faithful argue endlessly with each other over how the Walking City disappeared, but the irony of it is, they're all right\u2014and they're all wrong! Deep inside each Consciousness lies a grain of truth. A grain falls and lands on another, and soon there's a whole pile of grain! A veritable SILO of truth, all waiting to be collected! The Silo Theorem!\nSome of the grains in the Silo so far are fascinating to say the least. All wrong, of course, but it'll be well worth the collecting when I can return to Elden Root and sort through the chaff. More grist for the mill and I'll be able to refine the grains, grinding them into the flour of knowledge. I will bake the Loaf of Truth fully\u2014no half-baked theories for me!\nWhere was I?\nAh, yes \u2026 the Falinesti Faithful's Collective, Grainy Truths and Non-Truths Include:\nThe Daedric Interference Conjecture: Falinesti was spirited away by a Daedric Prince or collection of forces (Clavicus Vile leads the voting almost two-to-one over Sheogorath).\nThe Magicka Transposition Formulation: A magical attack or accident transported the Walking City to the bottom of the sea (the Swimming City?).\nThe Lunar Backlash Premise: The Walking City is actually from one of the two moons (which one is hotly debated) and it is now walking back to (or on) one of the moons.\nThe Chicken Nonconformity Detonation: A surprisingly popular theory, I could not find out any agreed-upon details. Will investigate further in the library at Elden Root.\nWayward Metropolist Doctrine: The Walking City got lost on its last trip.\nThe Celestial Purloinance Postulation: Stolen by the thief-god Rajhin for some unknown reason.\nThe Temporal Reversal Supposition: The Walking City has begun traveling backward in time.\nThe Temporal Leap Corollary: Falinesti has sprung forward in time and will be there for us to find it at some future date.\nThe Accelerated Invisibility Theory: Falinesti is still here, but moving so quickly between the sites we can't perceive it.\nThe Shared Urbanity Theorem: All cities are Falinesti, as it was and as it always will be.\n\u2026Where's that ink gotten to?"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/colorful-khajiit": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/colorful-khajiit", "description": "", "author": "Eutropia Laetonius", "title": "The Colorful Khajiit", "text": "Khajiit culture is often known for its flamboyance. It seems that whatever the Khajiit choose to do, they do it with gusto. But if I told you that the flair of the silk draped streets of Senchal couldn't hold a candle to a tiny village in the hills of Tenmar Forest, would you believe it? I do not exaggerate when I say that Black Heights is dripping with color, quite literally.\nMore than half the people of this town are devoted to the pursuit of art. Whether they be artists themselves or artisans who provide the highest quality supplies for the task. The pigments made in their so-called \"Colorworks\" are sought all over Tamriel for their vibrance in paint and dyes. These alone provide the town with enough wealth to allow such indulgence in the arts for so small a population.\nThe Khajiit of Black Heights have been refining their techniques for generations and their works are influenced by traditions carried on since the founding of the settlement. One of the oldest and most prominently displayed is a stone painting. Black Heights itself is nestled into the base of a mountain range and dotted with great stone boulders. Khajiit, particularly at a young age, are shown to paint with their paws upon the stones. Creating vast and colorful images out of hundreds of tiny paw prints. The greatest example of this is a fixture known as the Wall of Life, where every member of the village goes to add their leaves to the tree before they pass on. The scale of this bittersweet landmark left me speechless and it will do the same for you, if you hazard to venture out from the safety of Senchal and take in all the wonders Pellitine has to offer."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/consecrations-arkay": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/consecrations-arkay", "description": "The blessings granted by a priest of the Wheel of Life", "author": "Punctilius Tyrus", "title": "The Consecrations of Arkay", "text": "As a novice of the Order of Arkay, you enter a service that will be both an exaltation and a burden to you. We who serve the Lord of the Wheel of Life are tasked with protection of the souls of all mortals, both bound and unbound.\nFor there are those in Tamriel\u2014and from beyond Tamriel\u2014who prey upon the souls of others. Heretics would divert the souls of the dying to unlawful destinations. Necromancers would bind the souls of the dead to an afterlife of eternal slavery. And Daedra Lords feast upon the souls of mortals like ravening wolves.\nAll these we abominate, and drive them from the realms of decent folk with fire and hammer. And to aid us in this, our great work, Arkay has given us his Three Consecrations:\nArkay's Grace, which we bestow upon birth, to protect the souls of the innocent until they are old enough to exercise their own volition.\nArkay's Blessing, which we bestow upon the dying, to prevent their souls from being used without consent.\nArkay's Law, which we bestow upon the deceased, that their corporeal forms may not be raised to unlawful servitude.\nThere is no more sacred trust than that of the order which you enter today, novice. Be strong, and waver not, for the enemies of life are ever watchful, ready to punish negligence with swift and ruthless cruelty."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/criminal-mind": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/criminal-mind", "description": "What makes someone become an evil criminal? Skull structure, apparently", "author": "Scholar Mingalion", "title": "The Criminal Mind", "text": "Several years ago I paid a visit to the Imperial City Prison. There I had opportunity to examine the corpses of several prisoners who, by all accounts, had been extremely violent and disturbed individuals. While performing a routine autopsy on an infamous Colovian brigand named Villius, I discovered an unusual indentation at the base of his skull. From this singular observation, I developed a theory with two key points.\nFirst, criminal behavior originates in large measure from deformities of the brain. Second, violent criminals may exhibit skull structures of the earlier races of Mer and Men, known for their violence. These criminals, I believe, can therefore be identified on the basis of similar physical characteristics, such as a large jaw and a sloping forehead.\nBased upon my copious research and the measurements of such traits, I have created a hierarchy of criminal species among the races, with Nords, Redguards, and Dunmer at the top, and Bosmer, Bretons, and Khajiit at the bottom. I must profess a greater appreciation for the common caliper!\nSadly, attempts to publish my theories have only been met with hostility and derision. I have been openly accused of deriding the races! I have decided, therefore, to set my work down on paper in the hopes that future generations might be more willing to examine this entirely new branch of science with opened minds."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crown-freydis": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crown-freydis", "description": "Important history on the Moot and succession of Skyrim's monarchy", "author": "Taleon Mythmaker", "title": "The Crown of Freydis", "text": "The Crown of Freydis, worn by our beloved Queen Mabjaarn, has a long history. Many know of the crown's famed beauty, but few know the true intent of the crown and why it was created\u2014and that it was even worn by other monarchs before Queen Freydis.\nThe Crown of Freydis is actually the second royal crown of Skyrim. The fabled Jagged Crown holds the distinction of being the first. The Jagged Crown was forged by Harald, first king of the Nords, from the bones of dragons. Legend has it that the Jagged Crown disappeared with the death of Harald's final descendant King Borgas in The Wild Hunt of 1E 369. The death of childless King Borgas, last of the line of Ysgramor, triggered an internecine conflict known as the War of Succession.\nThe War of Succession raged for more than fifty years before Olaf One-Eye became the new High King of Skyrim. Olaf was elected to the position primarily due to the renown he garnered subduing the dragon Numinex, and not for any benevolence or statesmanship on his part. The rule of Olaf One-Eye was a time marked by great strife and division among the Nords. When he also died without a clear heir, it was decided that a new manner be employed for choosing a new High King.\nEach of Skyrim's holds sent a mage to a convocation called specifically to craft a magical artifact that would test the worth of potential candidates for High King. To this end, they created the Crown of Verity. Crafting the artifact in the shape of a crown was a brilliant innovation. With the loss of the Jagged Crown, Olaf had worn no mark of recognizable rulership. They felt that a new crown would help unify the realm behind a new king after the relative instability of Olaf's rule. The timing of the crown's creation proved to be auspicious.\nThe Moot selected a tribal chieftain named Asurn Ice-Breaker to be the next High King of Skyrim. Asurn was a mighty warrior of unmatched skill in the vein of Olaf One-Eye, though he never defeated a dragon. Before he assumed the role, however, he had to don the newly-forged Crown of Verity. That's when the true power of the artifact became apparent.\nThe crown rejected Asurn. It literally refused to be placed upon his head. In a rage, Asurn summoned his loyal followers and threatened to kill every member of the Moot if they didn't name him as the rightful king. He refused to be rejected by a crown. A soft-spoken member of the council rose from his chair. He challenged Asurn to combat, according to the law. The battle was short and to the point: Asurn was struck down. When the soft-spoken man took the rown and placed it easily upon his own head, a new High King of Skyrim was born. That was how Kjoric the White rose to power.\nTo this day, the Crown of Freydis has been passed down from High King to High King. It is used as a tool by the Moot to ascertain the worthiness of any candidate for the throne. Since the day Asurn was struck down, no one has challenged the validity of the Crown or its powers\u2014until 2E 431, when the Reman Empire fell asunder, and King Logrolf was assassinated.\nJarl Svartr of Solitude claimed that Logrolf's daughter, Freydis, was illegitimate, and therefore a Moot was required to choose a successor. Though Freydis, wearing the Crown of Verity, was named High Queen in Windhelm, a partial Moot in Solitude chose Svartr as High King. Thereafter the West Kingdom was ruled by Svartr and his successors, while the East Kingdom was ruled by the heirs to Freydis, who renamed the Crown of Verity in her honor."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crystal-tower-0": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crystal-tower-0", "description": "Explores the mythical powers and origin of the Crystal Tower", "author": "Larnatille of Lillandril", "title": "The Crystal of the Tower", "text": "By Larnatille of Lillandril, Sapiarch of Arcanology\nThe Crystal Tower rises over northern Summerset, standing as a beacon and a symbol of everything the Altmer hold dear. Also known as the Crystal-Like-Law, the tower, contrary to the beliefs of those who live beyond our cherished borders, is not made of crystal. No, the tower is named for the crystal that resides at the utmost level, Transparent Law.\nTransparent Law lends power and energy to the Crystal Tower, which allows the mystical structure to offer its protections to all of Summerset. The energy radiates from the tower, spreading across the land like an invisible awning to keep the island safe and secure.\nNow, these protections are ancient and were set in place long ago when the crystal was imbedded within the tower by the Aldmer who erected it. In truth, for all our knowledge, the Sapiarchs do not fully understand the exact workings of the tower or the crystal. We know that the Aldmer constructed the Crystal Tower to preserve the graves of the early Aldmeri settlers and forever remember the spirit of the Elven people and mark that brief moment in history when we were fully unified.\nAs for the significance of Transparent Law, I should think that to be self evident. One only has to break down the meaning of the name and all becomes clear. To be transparent is to be easily recognized or detected, to be made manifest, to be open, obvious, and candid. Law, meanwhile, refers to the principles and regulations that govern some specific portion of reality. In this case, the crystal manifests the clear and unequivocal fundamental principles of our Aldmer heritage. Indeed, we suspect that the crystal may even be a fragment of divinity given physical substance.\nObviously, theories concerning the Transparent Law and its significance to the Crystal Tower abound within the College of Sapiarchs. I like to believe that the crystal absorbs the drive for perfection that marks the Altmer and reflects it back, driving away any imperfections that would weaken or endanger the island. Not everyone agrees with me, but I see a correlation between the pride and admiration our people feel for the Crystal Tower and the feeling of security and safety that it, in turn, projects across the land. It is a symbiotic relationship.\nOr, it could just be ancient Aldmer magic. Who can really say?"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/curse-beela-kaar": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/curse-beela-kaar", "description": "The legend of a sorcerer driven mad by grief", "author": "Sil Rothril", "title": "The Curse of Beela-Kaar", "text": "From \"The Legends of Black Marsh,\" by Sil Rothril.\nIn the distant past, when the Argonians built towering stone xanmeers and cultivated a more advanced society, one among them rose to prominence as a sorcerer of great power and renown. He called himself Beela-Kaar, and he was both admired and feared for the arcane energy he wielded.\nAccording to the oral stories the elders tell, Beela-Kaar served as a trusted advisor to the Saxhleel leaders, using his magic to help the people of Murkmire. However, when his beloved mate succumbed to a terrible wasting disease, Beela-Kaar secluded himself to search for an alchemical cure or a spell that would reverse the illness. After exhausting every possibility that utilized conventional magic, Beela-Kaar turned to the darker aspects of the arcane arts, including foul necromancy to save his mate.\nAlthough the sorcerer was unable to eliminate the disease, he used the dark arts to reanimate his mate's corporeal form, and his beloved companion remained at his side as a mindless zombie. The Argonians saw this as an abomination and pleaded with Beela-Kaar to let his mate rest in peace. The sorcerer ignored them and took control of one of the xanmeers, using it as a laboratory to conduct increasingly darker experiments with necromantic spells and rituals. It was during this period that Beela-Kaar came to be known as \"the mad sorcerer.\"\nWhen a few of the mad sorcerer's vile creations escaped from the xanmeer and ravaged through the region, the elders of Murkmire finally took action. They sent a band of warriors to confront Beela-Kaar and put an end to his dark rituals. The sorcerer's xanmeer was defended, however, and a siege began that lasted for thirty-three days and thirty-three nights. Many Saxhleel warriors fell to Beela-Kaar's dark spells, only to rise again as undead abominations to attack their comrades. The Murkmire warriors never faltered, however, and called upon mages of their own to assault the xanmeer. It was a long and costly battle.\nAs the tide turned, the mad sorcerer realized that his xanmeer would soon fall. In anticipation, he conducted one last ritual. He directed all of his considerable power inward, turning his remains into an artifact. The ritual consumed his body, leaving nothing behind but his skull, which had become solid gold. In addition to his power and possibly his sentience, the skull was imbued with a terrible curse. If unleashed, the curse would destroy Murkmire, giving Beela-Kaar revenge for the various indignities he believed were heaped upon him.\nTo protect themselves, the Murkmire elders took the Golden Skull of Beela-Kaar and locked it away in a hidden xanmeer on a forbidden island. The legend of the mad sorcerer and the threat of the curse remain to the current day."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/daedric-flame": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/daedric-flame", "description": "The use of the blue flames of Cold Harbour as a powersource", "author": "Kalsius Malik", "title": "The Daedric Flame", "text": "The strange blue flames of Coldharbour not only act as a light source, but the Daedra of this realm have also found a way to charge and run their bizarre Daedric machines with the stuff.\nSimilar to how we use normal fire to keep warm and cook food back in Nirn, this strange blue flame\u2014which is icy to the touch\u2014will charge various Daedric devices and incantations with power. I believe they use it as a fuel to bring their magical creations to life.\nThe secret is in the blue braziers. With just a touch, the power flows from the brazier into the individual like a curious wisp following an interesting target. You have to utilize and harness the power quickly, for the flame loses potency almost immediately upon being removed from its source.\nFor users to harness this power in any way, they need to be quick before the flame simply flickers and fades away."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/danger-defiance": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/danger-defiance", "description": "A final warning for the Veiled Queen", "author": "Mannimarco", "title": "The Danger of Defiance", "text": "Veiled Majesty,\nMy civility and patience are at an end. Submit, or suffer annihilation at my hand. Your infantile pact with Dagon and the \"power\" he offers will mean nothing when the Planemeld is complete.\nI offer you one\u2014final\u2014chance to submit. Serve my lord Molag Bal. You will rewarded with untold power, and a bounty of riches. Defy him, and suffer an eternity of torment at his feet.\n\tChoose wisely.\nThe King of Worms,\n\tMannimarco"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dark-husband": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dark-husband", "description": "An Argonian Shadowscale text on Sithis", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Dark Husband", "text": "Like Secunda follows Masser, Sithis follows the Night Mother. Her husband pursues, but she seldom pauses, leaving him eternally in shadow.\nSithis has many names, and many parents \u2026 or none at all. But his Fangs \u2026 the Fangs of Sithis still bite. They take particular pleasure in envenoming the weak-minded, the foolish, the greedy, or the headstrong, but the Fangs can destroy the powerful and the wise as well.\nBeware those born under the Shadow, and all those who seek to use its power. The downfall of our ancestors is tied to the Fangs of Sithis, and our scales remain darkened by his touch."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dark-spirits": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dark-spirits", "description": "An ancient religious text on a few of the Khajiit's testing gods", "author": "Amun-dro", "title": "The Dark Spirits", "text": "by Amun-dro, the Silent Priest\nLorkhaj. The Moon Beast. Born of the dark heart of Lorkhaj, which overcame him after he suffered a great betrayal. In his wisdom, Lorkhaj sought his sister Azurah, who tore the darkness from him before it consumed him and cast it into the Void. We know this shade of Lorkhaj as the first of the Dro-m'Athra, who serve the Ur-Dra Namiira, our enemy. The Moon Beast prowls the edges of the Lattice and pounces on Khajiit who stray too far off the Path. Know that on nights of the Ghost Moon, Azurah has opened the Void Gate and the Moon Beast will challenge mortals until banished. We accept this burden as part of the Path, and for the sake of our Lost Kin.\nNamiira. The Eldest Spirit. The Great Darkness. The Void. All creatures who feed on rotten flesh are her spies and the prey of Cats. The Lunar Lattice protects us from her hunger, but not our own. Know that to name her aloud is to invite the Dark, so you must never do so, as Namiira is the sound of her true name. She is a spirit of infinite realms, of which only Azurah knows all. Mortals who become ensnared by this spirit are tortured until they forget who they were and know only Namiira. This is eternal suffering for all souls but the ja-Kha'jay, whom Azurah will not abandon to the Dark.\nNoctra. The Shadow Thief. Daughter of Twilight. Born from the black blood of Lorkhaj at the steps of the Void Gate. In the songs, Boethra battled this spirit until it knew it was not Namiira. When this was done, Noctra was brought before Azurah to be judged. Azurah showed mercy and allowed Noctra to live, so long as she served Azurah and the ja-Kha'jay. But Noctra is rebellious by nature, so she stole one of Azurah's keys and fled back into the Void. It is written that Azurah sent the true spirit of Lorkhaj to find her, and ever since Noctra has aided the Khajiit when called. Tribes may whisper to Noctra for silence, shade, and luck. Do not summon her to perform vile deeds, for this will bring the Dark with her/\nVarmiina. Queen of Nightmares. The Lost Daughter. This spirit was not of any litter, but was born from Fadomai's fear of losing her children. Azurah killed this dark spirit in the Underworld, and now Varmiina only haunts Khajiit when they dream. Know she will test you and make you want to turn from the Path in fear, but she cannot truly harm the ja-Kha'jay in dreams.\n[?????] A spirit of vengeance. It has no will of its own, as it was born from Azurah's grief after the death of Fadomai and Lorkhaj. None can summon this spirit save Azurah, Boethra, and Mafala, for only they know its true name. It sometimes appears in songs as a black panther, a warrior in ebony armor, or as a hidden sword."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/deepest-cut": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/deepest-cut", "description": "A poem about the death of Rulanir the Blademaster", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Deepest Cut", "text": "Rulanir the Blademaster\n\tBefore his blade, foes die away\n\tBut dull as ancient dagger\n\tWas his time with Alanwe\n\tHis blade unsheathed, his eyes alight\n\tHe stumbled on that day,\n\tAnd the deepest cut removed his head\n\tAt the feet of Alanwe"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/defense-mournhold": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/defense-mournhold", "description": "A plaque commemorating the battle against Mehrunes Dagon in 1E2920", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Defense of Mournhold", "text": "The Defense of Mournhold\nLet all heed the lessons of Mournhold, where ALMSIVI's wrath shattered Oblivion's favored son. Curse! Curse! Curse the name of calamity's tyrant king!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/devouring-gil-var-dale": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/devouring-gil-var-dale", "description": "A study of the town mentioned in 2920", "author": "Fastor", "title": "The Devouring of Gil-Var-Dale", "text": "Everyone knows what happened to Gil-Var-Delle. And at the same time, no one does.\nLegend has it that Molag Bal, the dreaded Daedric Prince, set foot into that Wood Elf township\u2014consumed it, according to the myth\u2014whatever that actually means. Ancient tales employ metaphors like armies employ soldiers.\nIf Bal himself visited this plane with evil intent, why do any of us remain? The stories about him would lead one to believe he would not have stopped with the razing of a single Wood Elf town\u2014he wouldn't have stopped until all of Tamriel was in flames. Just one common question of many regarding the Daedric Prince's so-called visit.\nSome retort that perhaps someone stopped him\u2014possibly an opposing Daedric Prince, a Divine, or an agent of the Aedra. But again, where is the evidence for this? No mage or historian\u2014that I've spoken to, at least\u2014has been able to reference a specific text for this information.\nMany a historical fiction piece has attempted to dramatize what occurred there, but none of those stories can be confirmed, except to say that a catastrophic event struck the town. Perhaps the residents were killed, perhaps they fled. None were ever heard from again, but for all anyone knows, a large fire could have been the culprit. I can't imagine anything more catastrophic than that to a Wood Elf dwelling.\nToday, Gil-Var-Delle is a maligned place, and there are not many who dare to venture near. But not because of any tangible foes\u2014save cowardice and superstition."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/direfrost-flame": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/direfrost-flame", "description": "The legend and function of the Torch of Heirs", "author": "Thorvild Direfrost", "title": "The Direfrost Flame", "text": "I will always be able to speak to my son through the Torch and Flame, but when he passes, it is he who will be summoned when the Flame is lit. I write this for the benefit of all my descendants, then, who will inherit the Direfrost Flame and the Torch of Heirs in ages to come. I write this because I have seen our resolve weaken as our people expand across Skyrim. I write this to serve as a reminder for what the Torch and Flame truly stand for.\nTo start at the beginning, Direfrost Keep has long protected our family's Flame, which allows us to contact our ancestors in Sovngarde. We need only to light it with the Torch of Heirs.\nMany legends speak of the origin of these relics: that they were created by Meridia to distress the Daedra; or by Shor as a way for the dead god to communicate with the Nords of Nirn from Sovngarde (though no Direfrost has ever heard him through the Flame).\nThe truth has been lost to time, but the one commonality that all the legends share is that the Flame and the Torch were given to the Direfrost family to protect because of our absolute efficiency in battling witches and their Daedric masters. Even should the Flame go out forever, or the Torch be lost or rent in twain by Hagraven servants of Oblivion, this fact must remain:\nThe Direfrosts must never falter in their task to halt and destroy the worshipers of Daedra wherever they may be found. So long as a Direfrost lives, witches, and all who would commune with Daedra, will have an enemy. Witch-hunting is not the profession of the Direfrosts\u2014it is our sacred calling. And I charge any Direfrost who reads this to continue the battle. It's a battle that cannot be won, but we must ensure the witches never win it, either."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/divine-prosecution": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/divine-prosecution", "description": "An outsider's perspective on Summerset's state police", "author": "Axulfa Giant-Slayer", "title": "The Divine Prosecution", "text": "By Axulfa Giant-Slayer, Nord Cultural Exchange\nI have traveled far and wide as a member of the Nord Cultural Exchange. I visited all of the lands associated with my beloved Ebonheart Pact, including Morrowind and Black Marsh. I explored Wrothgar, the land of the Orcs. But the place that has made my head hurt most of all is the island of the snooty High Elves, Summerset. Even Rigurt dislikes the smug, pointy-eared milk-drinkers, and he likes everybody! Kyne knows I endeavor to be nice and struggle not to hit a few of them with my axe, no matter how much they test my patience.\nMy first task upon arriving in this land that smells of salt water and pretension was to gather whatever information I could concerning law and order. Even though we arrived under a banner of peace and diplomacy, we are still Nords. While I can't determine if the High Elves dislike us because of our association with the Pact or because we don't look like they do, I must make sure that the members of our delegation don't inadvertently break a rule and cause an international incident. The island has more than its share of guards and town constables, but the real power seems to lie in the oddly named Divine Prosecution.\nThe Divine Prosecution consists of duly authorized agents loyal to Queen Ayrenn and her Thalmor, the paramilitary enforcers of the Dominion. On Summerset, the Divine Prosecution represents law and order, responsible for enforcing both secular and religious law. They seem to be similar to the Ordinators of the Tribunal, but without all the creepy face masks and fancy armor. I was able to interview one of their number, a somber but otherwise accommodating justiciar named Rullion.\nJusticiar Rullion explained that the primary function of the Divine Prosecution was to act as investigators of crimes and minor offenses, and adjudicators of disputes and legal disagreements. I got the sense that they had a much broader mandate than he let on, serving as not only secular lawkeepers but as the protectors of religious and social mores. When I pressed, he admitted that he and his fellow justiciars were called in when situations developed beyond the skills of the local constabulary. \"We go where our investigations take us,\" he added before leaving me to my mid-day meal of rabbit meatballs and a few bottles of mead.\nAs I wandered around the city of Alinor I noticed that Rullion seemed to be going about the business of the Divine Prosecution while remaining always in my field of vision. I watched him settle an argument between a merchant and her customer, hearing both sides before rendering a binding decision that each accepted before he moved on. Then he apprehended a pickpocket in the act of stealing a noble's purse and handed the criminal to one of the city guards. Through it all, I had the feeling that all the while he was actually keeping an eye on me. I suppose observing foreign visitors also falls under the purview of the agents of the Divine Prosecution. I didn't really mind. Besides, his constant presence would make it easier to find him at supper time.\nI wonder if Justiciar Rullion has a taste for mead?"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dominions-duty-marbruk": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dominions-duty-marbruk", "description": "Answers several common myths about the Dominion's newest city in Valenwood", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Dominion's Duty: Marbruk", "text": "\u2014 An Entry by the Altmeri Travel Guild \u2014\nMuch ink has been spilled, and much information and misinformation spread, about the new city the Dominion has constructed in Valenwood.\nThe most pernicious rumor is that Marbruk has been constructed, not in cooperation with the Wood Elf inhabitants of the region, but as a city for Altmer by the Altmer\u2014an act of Dominon civic aggression.\nThis could not be further from the truth: if Marbruk has been built with Altmeri tastes in mind, it is for the sake of unity, not in spite of it.\nWe can't say, on the one hand, that the Dominion is meant to foster cooperation and amity among Khajiit, Wood Elf, and High Elf, while at the same time keeping our living arrangements separate\u2014the Khajiit primarily in Elsweyr, the High Elf sequestered on Summerset, the Wood Elf deep in Valenwood.\nCyrodiil casts a long shadow from the north over Valenwood. Are we to defend our brothers and sisters in Greenshade from a distance?\nNo less damaging is the rumor that the Dominion has paid Altmer residents to move to Marbruk. The only Altmer on the Dominion's payroll in Marbruk are those that have to do with the government and protection of the city, as would be the case in any other Dominion city. Wood Elves and Khajiit are included in this number as well and receive identical compensation.\nThe only payment the Dominion promises to those who will relocate to Marbruk is a spot in the land and housing lottery for the remaining available property. These are in limited quantities, but are given to ensure the thriving of the settlement, as required by trade and the defense of the region.\nIt bears repeating that it is the duty of loyal Dominion citizens to support their queen and their fellow races by joining in the defense of our common territory and shoring up the bonds of unity. Marbruk is only the latest city in the Dominion to symbolize those values. May it ever prosper!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/doors-oblivion-eso": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/doors-oblivion-eso", "description": "Journey into the various Daedric realms", "author": "Seif-ij Hidja", "title": "The Doors of Oblivion [ESO]", "text": "\"When thou enterest into Oblivion, Oblivion entereth into thee.\"\n\t\u2014 Nai Tyrol-Llar\nThe greatest mage who ever lived was my master Morian Zenas.You have heard of him as the author of the book \"On Oblivion,\" the standard text for all on matters Daedric. Despite many entreaties over the years, he refused to update his classic book with his new discoveries and theories because he found that the more one delves into these realms, the less certain one is. He did not want conjecture. He wanted facts.\nFor decades before and after the publication of \"On Oblivion,\" Zenas compiled a vast personal library on the subject of Oblivion, the home of the Daedra. He divided his time between this research and personal magical growth, acting on the assumption that should he succeed in finding a way into the dangerous world beyond and behind our own, he would need much power to wander its dark paths.\nTwelve years before Zenas began the journey he had prepared his life to make, he hired me as his assistant. I possessed the three attributes he required for the position: I was young and eager to help without question. I could read any book once and memorize its contents, and despite my youth, I was already a Master of Conjuration.\nZenas too was a Master of Conjuration\u2014indeed, a master at all the known and unknown schools of magic\u2014but he did not want to rely on his ability alone in the most perilous of his research. In an underground vault, he summoned Daedra to interview them on their native land. For that, he needed another conjurer to make certain they came, were bound, and were sent away again without incident.\nI will never forget that vault, not for its look which was plain and unadorned, but for what you couldn't see. There were scents that lingered long after the summoned creatures had left, flowers and sulfur, sex and decay, power and madness. They haunt me still to this very day.\nConjuration, for the layman unacquainted with its workings, connects the caster's mind with that of the summoned. It is a tenuous link, meant only to lure, hold, and dismiss, but in the hands of a master, it can be much stronger. The Psijics and Dwemer can (in the Dwemer's case, perhaps I should say \"could\") connect with the minds of others and converse miles apart: a skill that is sometimes called telepathy.\nOver the course of my employment, Zenas and I developed such a link between one another. It was accidental, a result of two powerful conjurers working closely together, but we decided that it would be invaluable should he succeed in traveling to Oblivion. Since the denizens of that land could be touched even by the skills of an amateur conjurer, it was possible we could continue to communicate while he was there, so I could record his discoveries.\nThe \"Doors to Oblivion,\" as Morian Zenas would say, are not easily found. We exhausted many possibilities before we found one where we held the key.\nThe Psijics of Artaeum have a place they call The Dreaming Cave, where it is said one can enter into the Daedric realms and return. Iachesis, Sotha Sil, Nematigh, and many others have been recorded as using this means, but despite many entreaties to the order, we were denied its use. Celarus, the leader of the order, told us it had been sealed off for the safety of all.\nThe reader may have heard of other doors, and he may be assured we attempted to find them all.\nSome are pure legend, or at any rate, not traceable based on the information left behind. There are references in lore to Maruhk's Abyss, the Corryngton Mirror, the Mantellan Crux, the Crossroads, the Mouth, a riddle of an alchemical formula called Jacinth and Rising Sun, and many other places and objects that are said to be doors, but we could not find these.\nSome exist, but cannot be entered safely. The whirlpool in the Abecean called the Maelstrom of Bal can make ships disappear, and it may be a portal into Oblivion, but the trauma of riding its waters would surely slay any who tried. Likewise, we did not consider it worth the risk to leap from the Pillar of Thras, a thousand-foot-tall spiral of coral, though we witnessed the sacrifices the Sload made there. Some victims were killed by the fall, but some indeed seemed to vanish before being dashed on the rocks. Since the Sload did not seem certain why some were taken and some died, we did not favor the odds of the plunge.\nThe simplest and most maddeningly complex way to go to Oblivion was simply to cease to be here and begin to be there. Throughout history, there are examples of mages who seemed to travel to the realms beyond ours seemingly at will. Many of these voyagers are long dead, if they ever existed, but we were able to find one still living. In a tower off Zafirbel Bay on the island of Vvardenfell in the province of Morrowind, there exists a very old, very reclusive wizard named Divayth Fyr.\nDivayth Fyr was not easy to reach, and he was reluctant to share with Morian Zenas the secret Door to Oblivion. Fortunately, my master's knowledge of lore impressed Fyr, and he taught him the way. I would be breaking my promise to Zenas and Fyr to explain the procedure here, and I would not divulge it even if I could. If there is dangerous knowledge to be had, that is it, but I do not reveal too much by saying Fyr's scheme relied on exploiting a series of portals to various realms created by a Telvanni wizard long missing and presumed dead. Against the disadvantage of this limited number of access points, we weighed the relative reliability and security of passage, and we considered ourselves fortunate in our informant.\nMorian Zenas then left this world to begin his exploration. I stayed at the library to transcribe his information and help him with any research he needed.\n\"Dust,\" he whispered to me on the first day of his voyage. Despite the inherent dreariness of the word, I could hear his excitement in his voice, echoing in my mind. \"I can see from one end of the world to the other in a million shades of gray. There is no sky or ground or air, only particles, floating, falling, whirling about me. I must levitate and breathe by magical means \u2026.\"\nZenas explored the nebulous land for some time, encountering vaporous creatures and palaces of smoke. Though he never met the Daedric Prince, we concluded that he was in Ashpit, said to be the home of Malacath, where anguish, betrayal, and broken promises filled the bitter air like ash.\n\"The sky is on fire,\" I heard him say as he moved on to the next realm. \"The ground is sludge, but traversable. I see blackened ruins all around me, like a war was fought here in the distant past. The air is freezing. I cast blooms of warmth all around me, but it still feels like daggers of ice stabbing me in all directions.\"\nThis was Coldharbour, where Molag Bal was the realm's Daedric Prince. It appeared to Zenas as if it were a future Nirn governed under the Lord of Brutality: desolate and barren, filled with suffering. I could hear Morian Zenas weep at the images he saw and shiver at the sight of the Imperial Palace, spattered with blood and excrement.\n\"Too much beauty,\" Zenas gasped when he went to the next realm. \"I am half blind. I see flowers and waterfalls, majestic trees, a city of silver, but it is all a blur. The colors run like water. It's raining now, and the wind smells like perfume. This surely is Moonshadow, where Azura dwells.\"\nZenas was right, and astonishingly, he even had audience with the Queen of Dusk and Dawn in her rose palace. She listened to his tale with a smile and foretold to him the coming of the Nerevarine. My master found Moonshadow so lovely, he wished to stay there, half-blind, forever, but he knew he must move on and complete his journey of discovery.\n\"I am in a storm,\" he told me as he entered the next realm. He described the landscape of dark twisted trees, howling spirits, and billowing mist, and I thought he might have entered the Deadlands of Mehrunes Dagon. But then he said quickly, \"No, I am no longer in a forest. There was a flash of lightning, and now I am on a ship. The mast is tattered. The crew is slaughtered. Something is coming through the waves \u2026 oh, gods! Wait, now, I am in a dank dungeon, in a cell \u2026.\"\nHe was not in the Deadlands, but Quagmire, the nightmare realm of Vaermina. Every few minutes, there was a flash of lightning and reality shifted, always to something more horrible and horrifying. A dark castle one moment, a den of ravening beasts the next, a moonlit swamp, a coffin where he was buried alive. Fear got the better of my master, and he quickly passed to the next realm.\nI heard him laugh, \"I feel like I'm home now.\"\nMorian Zenas described to me an endless library, shelves stretching on in every direction, stacks on top of stacks. Pages floated on a mystical wind that he could not feel. Every book had a black cover with no title. He could see no one, but felt the presence of ghosts moving through the stacks, rifling through books, ever searching.\nIt was Apocrypha, the home of Hermaeus Mora, where all forbidden knowledge can be found. I felt a shudder in my mind, but I could not tell if it was my master's or mine.\nMorian Zenas never traveled to another realm that I know of.\nThroughout his visits to the first four realms, my master spoke to me constantly. Upon entering the Apocrypha, he became quieter, as he was lured into the world of research and study, the passions that had controlled his heart while on Nirn. I would frantically try to call to him, but he closed his mind to me.\nThen he would whisper, \"This cannot be \u2026.\"\n\"No one would ever guess the truth \u2026.\"\n\"I must learn more \u2026.\"\n\"I see the world, a last illusion's shimmer, it is crumbling all around us \u2026.\"\nI would cry back to him, begging him to tell me what was happening, what he was seeing, what he was learning. I even tried using Conjuration to summon him as if he were a Daedra himself, but he refused to leave. Morian Zenas was lost.\nI last received a whisper from him six months ago. Before then, it had been five years, and three before that. His thoughts are no longer intelligible in any language. Perhaps he is still in Apocrypha, lost but happy, in a trap he refuses to escape.\nI would save him if I could.\nI would silence his whispers if I could."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dose-makes-poison": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dose-makes-poison", "description": "A simple lesson about poisons", "author": "Zanziba the Clever", "title": "The Dose Makes the Poison", "text": "The key to the poisoner's art lies in a thorough understanding of how a substance's effects on a person vary depending on amount or concentration of the substance. Let us take for an example leaves of Heart's-Ease, a common anodyne found in every pharmacopeia. The leaves are brewed as a bedtime tea by those who have trouble falling asleep. However, if the leaves are dried and converted to a powder, one can create a powerful soporific. Six grains of this, added to a night-watchman's ale, are almost guaranteed to put him in a deep sleep within a quarter-hour. Give him twenty-four grains, and he'll never wake again."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/duchess-anguish": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/duchess-anguish", "description": "A description of Sai Sahan's iron will under duress", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Duchess of Anguish", "text": "It became necessary to relocate Sai Sahan when it became clear that standard interrogation techniques would not work. His will is very strong; no doubt forged during the years he spent training in solitude, attempting to restore the ancient Yokudan art of sword-singing. Despite his utter failure to manifest the spirit swords\u2014a task that came as naturally as breathing to the ancient masters\u2014Sai Sahan maintains an unusually strong sense of self.\nWhen it was determined that he could resist or outright ignore physical pain, I had him relocated from the dungeons beneath the Imperial City to a location that might be better suited to break his will and extract the information I seek. My contacts amongst Molag Bal's Daedric servants were receptive to the suggestion; after all, it had been years since any of them had the challenge of breaking a subject with such a strong will.\nThe lovely Duchess of Anguish has a touch that is like razors against the flesh. Her voice sears the mind and soul, her lips are coated in venom, and her intellect is as sharp as her tongue. She has practiced her art for uncounted centuries, and I am confident she will extract the information from the Redguard without killing him.\nI suppose the Redguard will need to be disposed of when this is over. Once the information is mine, perhaps I will give him to the Duchess as a gift. She will almost certainly kill him, I think, but first she will enjoy him as a plaything for many long years."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/eagle-and-cat": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/eagle-and-cat", "description": "Pro Aldmeri Dominion tract found in Khajiit lands", "author": "Lord Gharesh-ri, Speaker for the Mane", "title": "The Eagle and the Cat", "text": "A wife. A husband. A son or daughter. Mother or father, aunt or uncle: each of us has lost one or more of these. It has touched every family in Elsweyr, the dreadful epidemic, the terrible plague\u2014the Knahaten Flu.\nIt started in Senchal, on Sweet Street in the Black Keirgo slums, among the skooma-struck. At first the city elders dismissed it as a toxin in the goods, but then it spread to Dagi's Pride and Squint-Eye, and was reported from the docks in Alabaster as well.\nAnd suddenly, it was everywhere: Torval, Orcrest, Dune, Corinthe, and all points in between. The Winds of Khenarthi bore the coughing and retching to every ear. We seemed to be witnessing the Death of Cats on Nirn.\nSlowly, Elsweyr began to fight back against its doom. Clan Mother Mizaba-ko of Corinthe first identified how the flu spread from Khajiit to Khajiit. Rathuni-la Dawnwhisker, a Daughter of Azurah from Riverhold, distilled a sorghum-tea that mitigated the worst of the symptoms. Even I contributed, organizing the remnants of the Mane's Legion to maintain order and put this new knowledge to use.\nBut it was not enough. Everywhere, Khajiit were dying, by the litter, by the pride, by the entire tribe. The Moon Bishops read the portents, and they were dire indeed.\nThen, past all expectation, help arrived from an unforeseen direction: over the western waves came the Elves of Summerset, bringing physicians, healers, desperately needed supplies.\nAnd one more thing: hope. Hope that Elsweyr would survive.\nAt first, many Cats were suspicious. Never before had the haughty High Elves helped the Khajiiti\u2014why now? But their canonreeves passed among us, as if unafraid of the flu, and explained: the Altmer did it not from friendship, but from policy. We needed their help now, and they would need our help later. Invaders were coming to southwest Tamriel, they said, and the High Elves could not repulse them without Khajiiti claws at their side.\nTo fight against mutual enemies\u2014ah, that was a logic we Cat-Folk could understand. So we accepted the aid of the High Elves, and their sly cousins the Wood Elves, and gradually the Knahaten Flu began to recede. And when Queen Ayrenn of Alinor proposed the alliance treaty of the Aldmeri Dominion, we took plume in claw and signed it.\nNow, fellow Khajiiti, we have been through the forges of torment, and with our new allies, we emerge stronger than ever. We welcome the chance to test blade and edge against these invaders, to spill their blood and take their bright objects.\nFor now is the time of the Dominion."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ebon-mage": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ebon-mage", "description": "Short, dark poem about an aspiring mage", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Ebon Mage", "text": "A young apprentice sought glory dour.\n\tA dark ritual was cast to grow her power.\n\tAs the great lord fell to plague in death.\n\tUndead mage cackled, free of breath."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/eight-steps-mummification": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/eight-steps-mummification", "description": "Instructions on mummification", "author": "Fezmani of the Steady Hand, Priest of Tu'whacca", "title": "The Eight Steps of Mummification", "text": "\u2014 Step the First: Consecrate the body with the Blessings of Tu'whacca.\n\t\u2014 Step the Second: Remove all internal organs before they can decay, causing unsightly stains.\n\t\u2014 Step the Third: Remove all brain tissue. This is to be done through the nostrils using the hook-spoons, so as to avoid damaging the skin of face and head.\n\t\u2014 Step the Fourth: Dehydrate the body by coating it in parch-salt, and placing packets of parch-salt within its cavities.\n\t\u2014 Step the Fifth: Replace lost volume within the body with inert material, paying special attention to restoring the features of the face.\n\t\u2014 Step the Sixth: The layers of wrapping: wrap the body in one hundred paces of linen, then coat the linen with warm juniper resin. Do this three times.\n\t\u2014 Step the Seventh: The adorning of amulets: array the body in amulets and bracelets that represent the station of the body in life.\n\t\u2014 Step the Eighth: Place the body in a prepared sarcophagus. Proceed to burial in the necropolis."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/eldest-pilgrims-tale": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/eldest-pilgrims-tale", "description": "An account of the great old tree, the Eldest", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Eldest: A Pilgrim's Tale", "text": "In bright springtime, when the ground is drunk with rainwater and the sun smiles on Valenwood, the Wood Elves travel to the Den of the Eldest, an ancient strangler. There, they offer thanks to Y'ffre for the blooming of yet another spring, and they read the history of their home in the branches of the Eldest.\nThen, a great festival is thrown by the Green Pact Bosmer, in celebration of the Springtime and the Eldest. Then Elves celebrate long into the night, drinking and regaling each other with stories of past festivals and pilgrims.\nThe tales run both sacred and profane.\nThere's the tale of the notorious warlord whose entire army stopped at the Den of the Eldest and went in to pay their respects. When they emerged, they dropped their weapons to the ground and left them where they lay. They never made war again.\nBut there is also the tale of the impish Wood Elf who spiked the pilgrims' punch with a powder ground from the dung of timber mammoths, that caused the entire gathering to be troubled by the most foul odors from their backsides. Long into the night they groaned as the stink grew unbearable, until they were all so inured to the smell that their groans turned to bursts of laughter that filled the wood.\nThey also tell of the first pilgrims, an old, childless couple who tended the Eldest as their own offspring. They became the first Silvenar and the first Green Lady.\nThere are many more tales the pilgrims tell, but few have been written down. The curious would do best to travel to the Eldest in the Springtime and hear the stories and behold the ancient strangler for themselves."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/elf-egg-and-almost-dragon": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/elf-egg-and-almost-dragon", "description": "A children's story about an elf who finds and egg and thinks it's going to hatch a dragon. It doesn't.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Elf, the Egg, and the Almost Dragon", "text": "Young Iori spent her nights listening to her grandfather's stories about the ancient dragons and her days searching the nearby swamps for signs of the legendary creatures. Once she bought back a bright, shiny scale she was convinced belong to a dragon. Her grandfather said it was nothing but a piece of wamasu hide and cuffed her for going too far away from the house.\nBut that didn't discourage Iori. She wanted to find a dragon, so she kept searching. Iori strayed further and further from her grandparents' hut until, one day, she got caught in a rainstorm. She took cover in a nearby cave but found the floor full of brackish water. Picking her way around the pool, Iori made it to the back of the cave and came upon something she'd never expected to see\u2014a large, green egg!\nThe egg, half-buried in warm mud, pulsed with life. Iori knew it had to be a dragon egg. All her grandpa's stories said dragon eggs were big, and hard, and warm. This egg was very, very warm.\nAnd it was alone. There was no sign of the mother dragon, or anyone else. Iori knew if the egg hatched now, there would be no one to take care of the baby dragon and it would die.\n\"I can't bring it back home,\" she said. \"Gram'll want to smash it, or cook it!\" Her gram didn't believe in dragons and eggs, in her world, were food.\n\"I can't stay here, either,\" she thought about the hiding she'd get if she came back after dark. \"What am I going to do?\"\nIori sat and thought while the rain poured down. \"The storm's getting worse,\" she thought. \"I can't go back now\u2014I'll just get lost or sick. Gram'll understand.\" And, so, Iori convinced herself she should stay overnight. And she did.\nThe next morning, Iori woke to the sun shining in the cave mouth. She was famished, as hungry as she'd ever been, but her first thoughts were of the egg. Iori dug it out of its warm, mud nest and examined it. The egg was hot!\n\"It must be just ready to hatch!\" she exclaimed. But almost as if in answer, she heard a growl from outside the cave. \"Maybe that's the mother dragon?\" she thought. But the thought of being trapped in a dragon cave didn't make her feel good at all.\nIori heard the growl again, followed by sniffing. It wasn't a dragon outside! It was a guar! Picking up the egg with one hand and a stone with the other, Iori crept out of the cave. There, she saw a wild guar, nose to the ground. It saw her and sniffed.\n\"You can't have it!\" Iori exclaimed, throwing the rock at the guar. It hit the creature right in the nose, hard enough to make it yelp. But this guar wasn't like the tame ones back home. She'd never heard a tame one snarl, and this one started pawing at the ground angrily.\nIori ran. The guar chased her a little way and the young girl grew frightened. She clutched the egg to her chest, protecting it from the tree branches and the occasional fall. She ran long after the guar gave up chasing her, she was so frightened. Eventually, when Iori was too tired to run anymore, she fell to her knees.\n\"I think we're safe, little dragon,\" she said\u2014but then gasped in horror. She looked down at the egg and there was a crack! \"Oh, no!\" Iori wailed. She must have held it too tight, or let a branch hit it. Or\u2014\nAnother crack appeared, and then another. The shell started to fall away, being pushed from the inside.\n\"You're hatching!\" Iori said. She looked around wildly, not sure what to do. She stooped to put the egg down but then hesitated\u2014what if the dragon ran away? But she didn't want to hurt it, either, so she sat cross-legged and made a hammock out of her dirty apron. Iori put the egg in her lap.\nIt continued to shake and break and, soon, a dragon's nose poked out of the hole! It was bright green and a bit slimy-looking, but the eyes opened and looked up at her. A forked tongue licked out of the wedge-shaped head and Iori felt a rush of excitement. The dragon was hatching!\nThe rest of the egg broke away, but Iori was surprised to see the \"dragon\" had no claws\u2014no feet or legs of any kind. It was a snake, but a snake with tiny wings. Most of her friends would've been horrified, holding a baby snake in their laps, but Iori was amazed. She'd heard stories of dragons, but never a snake with wings!\nAfter the creature struggled free of its shell, Iori carefully discarded the shards and put her hands around the winged snake. It was a bit cold, but she felt it grow warmer as it snuggled up in her hands. With sleeping, serpent's eyes, the creature looked up at Iori. It blinked twice, then fell asleep.\n\"Well, you're almost a dragon, aren't you?\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/empty-room": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/empty-room", "description": "Excavation report", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Empty Room", "text": "Upon excavating the ruins of Rulanyil's Fall, this room was found to be relatively untouched by the ravages of time, and remains largely as it was found."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ever-filling-chalice": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ever-filling-chalice", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Ever-Filling Chalice", "text": "Carved Inscription\nTranscribed by Relicmaster Glenadir\nWhoever shall drink from this chalice will know a great thirst. They shall indulge their craving, never ending. And then they shall drown upon its sweet waters."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/everfull-flagon-handbill": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/everfull-flagon-handbill", "description": "A warning scrawled on a handbill", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Everfull Flagon Handbill", "text": "The Everfull Flagon\n\tFine Mead. Good Company. Come and Enjoy.\n\tFREE MEAD! ASK FOR THE SPECIAL BLEND!\n\t<Clumsy writing scrawls across the bottom of the handbill.>\n\tTurn back. The mead the mead the mead\u2014be wary\u2014"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/everscriven-tome": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/everscriven-tome", "description": "A prayer to The One Who Watches", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Everscriven Tome", "text": "Penitent, know that the secret knowledge of the world has a guardian. Know that every triumph you achieve in your daily life, every quiet moment of success, is recorded by the One Who Watches. The great tree of life tracing the Altmer people is kept and held close by Xarxes himself, the scribe of the Divines.\nTo complete your venerations here, intone: \"By Five and Three I speak the secret words to the One Who Watches. May each of my days be worthy of script in his tomes.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/excavation-ouze": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/excavation-ouze", "description": "Instructions of excavating a haunted location", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Excavation of Ouze", "text": "Ouze's excavation will take place in two parts.\nRecover the shapeshifters' corpses from the tar-pits of Ouze. We have not accounted for all the spinners, or any allies the Bosmer may call upon, so have skeletal servants dig while the brethren keep watch.\nAvoid the Guardian! The other spirits seem helpless against us, but the Guardian could be dangerous.\nInside the mine, we should be safe to mine the stones we can turn into animus geodes. Due to the nature of Ouze, these stones that are rare elsewhere should be numerous here. Brethren and skeletons alike are charged with recovering as many of these stones as possible!\n<continues in a second hand>\n\tSpirit Shards: 22\n\tAnimus Geodes: 4\n\tSoul Diamonds: 2"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/exclusionary-mandates": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/exclusionary-mandates", "description": "The basic beliefs of the Alessian Order", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Exclusionary Mandates", "text": "The Exclusionary Mandates of Maruhkite Selection: All Are Equal\n1: That the Supreme Spirit Akatosh is of unitary essence, as proven by the monolinearity of Time.\n\t1: That Shezarr the missing sibling is Singularly Misplaced and therefore Doubly Venerated.\n\t1: That the protean substrate that informs all denial of (1) is the Aldmeri Taint.\n\t1: That the Prophet Most Simian demonstrated that monothought begets Proper-Life.\n\t1: That the purpose of Proper-Life is the Expungement of the Taint.\n\t1: That the Arc of Time provides the mortal theater for the Sacred Expungement.\n\t1: That Akatosh is Time is Proper-Life is Taint-Death."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/experiment": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/experiment", "description": "Playing with the deepest fears and desires of one's co-workers.", "author": "Sanessalmo", "title": "The Experiment", "text": "My old compatriots from the Queen's Court have fallen into my open hand. My experimentation has reached entirely new levels! Perhaps there is a touch of revenge present in my actions. They were, after all, the engineers of my downfall. So be it.\nLanitalle, the Queen's Treasurer, finds a beauty in coinage that belies a deep desire for status. Perhaps her low-class upbringing contributed to this. Simply unleashing her on my pile of rare, useless trinkets has allowed me to observe her mind at work.\nThe Queen's Herald, Nuulehtel: a man unable to speak to people on a personal level. He often told me he couldn't sleep the nights before and after a major public announcement. A snowy cave, far from the comforts of home, isolates and crystalizes his deepest insecurities. Should be an interesting experiment.\nI often thought about Minantille's descent into disgrace. Her wartime heroics are far better documented than the defeat that destroyed her career. It's time I learned the details. Channeling her rage in a volcanic setting should result in interesting phenomena.\nMerion, my old friend. His weakness is passion. He spoke often of bedroom conquests. In the face of true desire, how far would he go? To his death? I shall create the perfect embodiment of his desires and see how deeply he falls."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/exploits-miss-claudina-ildene": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/exploits-miss-claudina-ildene", "description": "Exploits of this hunter of the supernatural", "author": "Phebe Peronard", "title": "The Exploits of Miss Claudina Ildene", "text": "It is truly a fascinating and rewarding experience to follow the great Claudina Ildene and observe her work. While she herself has written many tales of her exploits, I find that she often does not reveal the true magic of her profession. She is not a woman for flair, of course. She sticks to the facts, which in and of themselves are intriguing. But she discounts the true wonder of her methods, the breathtaking feats she accomplishes with little to no effort, the sheer beauty of her talent! It is my duty to try to encapsulate the greatness that is Claudina in these writings.\nTHE CASE OF THE CURSED STABLE\nMost recently, Claudina and I were called to Windhelm to address a family's concern about their stables. They'd reported strange sightings, noises and a general unease from their horses. One of the elder siblings claimed to have seen an apparition. She said the ghost seemed to be trying to communicate, but she was unable to understand it.\nClaudina took to the case immediately. She set up wards around the stable and spread smelling salts around each stall. The horses weren't too pleased, but they tolerated it. Hours passed and nothing happened. The family went to bed, but Claudina stayed up to keep watch. She stood vigil over the stable for hours, saying nothing, merely observing. As thrilled as I was to be part of such an experience, even I became to succumb to weariness. I could barely keep my eyes open! But Claudina never wavered. She continued her watch like a statue.\nThen\u2014finally! We heard whispering all around us. A shimmer began to dance in the air as the spirit became ensnared in one of Claudina's wards. It gave a terrible roar, and I (to my great embarrassment) screamed like a child. Claudina was unruffled, of course, and merely stood to greet the phantom. In a low, commanding voice she said, \"Tell us your purpose.\"\nThe spirit molded itself into the shape of a man, though his clothes were from a time long ago. He looked perturbed, as if we were an inconvenience. I didn't believe he would speak but then he opened his mouth and with perfect clarity answered, \"I've been trying to tell them! They built this stable over my grave!\"\nClaudina spoke with the spirit for a long while. While I could not possibly transcribe their entire conversation, I can say that it very much resembled an impatient customer arguing with a levelheaded merchant. Claudina listened to the spirit's concerns, nodded at appropriate times and asked a few questions.\nAnd that was that! When Claudina was done with the spirit, she conferred with the family and asked them to build their stable somewhere else. They were more than happy to have such an amicable end to their ghost problem that they got to work right away. I feel it necessary to mention that the family offered Claudina quite a large sum for her work, but she declined. When I asked her about this, she said \"They did not have much, and I did them no great service. It was simple enough. They should keep their gold.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fabricated-fauna-clockwork": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fabricated-fauna-clockwork", "description": "Information on the mechanical creatures found in Sotha Sil's realm", "author": "Endilaril", "title": "The Fabricated Fauna of Clockwork", "text": "By Endilaril, Naturalist\nOh, how I longed for the lush landscapes and diverse wildlife that make up Tamriel. How did I not appreciate it before? The green fields of Auridon, the deep woods of Valenwood. Skyrim's majestic mountains, topped with snow. The dangerous beauty of Black Marsh. How I missed it all, reduced was I to this city of brass, surrounded by barren wastelands.\nOr so I thought, for quite the longest time. My life's work was not the study of machines or people, but rather the animals that surround us every day. I despaired when I first came to Clockwork City, thinking my career as a revered naturalist had come to an end. But all I had to do was look a little harder, and eventually I found new species to study, ones made of metal and gears rather than flesh and sinew.\nI've compiled a list of the more memorable species of \"creatures\" found within the city, if I may be so bold to call them that. Their appearance certainly mimics their more natural counterparts, and strangely enough so does their behavior. What their creators had in mind, I do not know. They seem to hold little function, but rather add life into this barren land.\nBrassilisk\nThe brassilisk is created from interconnected brass squares, exposed copper wiring allowing for its snakelike movement. Popular as a pet, you'll often see them following the quick footsteps of young scholars. A rather lovely and most prized model mimics the leathery wings of the sep adder. This creature comes in a variety of colors, and while it may display aggressive behavior it is not equipped to attack others.\nSkeevaton\nThough I do not delight in speculation, the rumored origins of this creature do fascinate me. The skeevaton takes the form of a copper mouse. It possesses no legs, traveling by a rotating ball fitted within its middle. In a city filled to the brim with mechanizations of all kinds, what could be more inconspicuous? The legend goes that its inventor created the skeevaton with the purpose of spying on his or her fellow scholars. Something to keep in mind the next time you see one of them staring up at you from the alleyway.\nSeht's Dovah-Fly\nThis mechanical insect that flutters through the stagnant city air is thought to be a collaboration of two ill-fated lovers. Once again, I'm not usually one for rumor, but this story does have quite the emotional appeal. Two apprentices fell in love, but were forced to never see each other because of a long standing feud between their lectors. Seht's Dovah-Fly was created as a messenger, delivering communications between them. So impressed were their masters by this elegant creation that they set their feud aside and allowed the apprentices to collaborate on future projects. A delightful tale I must admit, whether it be true or not."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/faceless": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/faceless", "description": "A dark presence haunts an old Elven ruin", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Faceless", "text": "He calls my name at night, when the others are quiet.\nI serve him. I bring him sacrifices. Only then does he cease calling, for a time. But never for long.\nThey are easy to convince, greed drives them. \"Come with me, to Vahtacen,\" I whisper. \"Treasure lies there, for the bold to take. A king's treasure, riches of the ancient Ayleids.\" By twos, threes, more, they follow me down to the lake and into the catacombs. To Vahtacen, to Vahtacen. But only I return.\nHe spares me, bids his minions let me pass, because of the lives I bring to him. So long as I lead hot blood to his altar, I live. But there must always be more.\nCome with me, to Vahtacen."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/factotums-secret-voice": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/factotums-secret-voice", "description": "Examination of the Factotum's voice and language patterns, and speculation on their origin", "author": "Lector Tidras Dran", "title": "The Factotum's Secret Voice", "text": "By Lector Tidras Dran, Clockwork Apostle\nEven in this shrine to knowledge and blasphemous inquiry, some subjects remain taboo. I spent all my long years as a Clockwork Apostle pushing against those boundaries - desperate to see our order truly live its creed: inquiry without limits. In most cases, I endured little more than sighs and grumbles from my superiors. But one topic in particular earns me forceful and genuine condemnation: my exploration of the factotum's inner voice.\nThe order's relationship with fabricants and factotums has always been prickly. On one hand, we must understand some critical aspects of these creatures' make-up. Their nature and materials informed the creation of our own enhancements. The synthesis of flesh and engineering remains one of our greatest achievements and most enduring traditions. However, delving too deep into the creatures' subroutines and manufacture starts to look less and less like inquiry, and more and more like hubris. Lifting Sotha Sil's skirts, as it were.\nFor my part, I have always been endlessly fascinated by the factotum's voice and behavior. While the factotums perform multitudinous different tasks, they remain linked by their appearance, voice, and confusing (some would say \"troubling\") verbal artifacts.\nWhen exodromals meet a factotum for the first time, they often ask, \"whose voice is that?\" Truthfully, no one knows (aside for Lord Seht, of course.) I've spent countless days in the Archivox researching Lord Seht's past. I even got special dispensation to visit the Mnemonic Planisphere once. I'm confident that the truth of the factotum's voice lies somewhere in Lord Seht's personal history.\nMost apostles avoid talking about it, with some notable exceptions, (my friend, Associate Zanon, for example.) If engaged privately, however, apostles will offer one of three major theories. Some believe the voice is that of Sotha Sil's mother. Others think it's the voice of a lost lover. Then, still others (myself included) believe it's the voice of Sotha Sil's sister.\nThe first and most compelling piece of evidence can be found in the Elegiac Replication - a personal memorial of sorts that Lord Seht built in the Radius long ago. One of the memorial plaques refers to a \"Sotha Nall.\" It states that this Sotha Nall possessed a \"soul that deserved transcendence\" - implying a life beyond natural limitations. Nall's face bears a clear resemblance to that of the Clockwork God, indicating that she was a close family member. Her garb does not appear matronly, and her posture does not conform to any psycho-artistic trends that would indicate motherly affection. Additionally, I've seen more than a few references to the fact that Sotha Sil was not an only child. Taken together, I think this makes a clear case for Sotha Nall as sister.\nNaturally, this leads to all kinds of uncomfortable questions about what a soul's \"transcendence\" means in this context. Does some aspect of Nall's animus exist inside the brass laborers we find all over the city? I would say \"no\" if not for the verbal artifacts.\nWhen faced with a query that requires higher cognition, factotums often recite a non sequitur in two parts - brief statements that have a loose connection to one another but no discernible connection to the larger conversation. These non sequiturs (also known as \"verbal artifacts\") tend to be simple recitations of household \"scenes.\" They refer to overturned pots, rain on glass, boots by the fire, and so on. Occasionally they stray into more personal terrain, like the complexion of an old woman's hands, or the sound of someone weeping. Then, once in a very great while, they will say something genuinely troubling statements like \"burning beds - screaming\" or \"collapsed roof - crushed child.\" Factotums that say things like that tend to be recalled to the Pneumatic Forge in short order and taken out of circulation indefinitely. But this of course begs the question: where are these verbal artifacts coming from? Are they Sotha Nall's memories? Or some vital sub-function that enhances empathic responses to the concerns of living residents? Though it pains me to consider it, I believe the evidence points to the former rather than the latter. As everyone knows, the False Prince called Mehrunes Dagon, destroyed Sotha Sil's ancestral home of Ald Sotha when our lord was still a youth - leaving him as the sole survivor. Scenes of fire and death may well have been Sotha Nall's final and most traumatic memories.\nI hope it's not true. I hope all these various observations are the product of simple coincidence. But, as scholars, we must acknowledge the possibility that these machines have a deeper and more troubling history than we realize. As I said before, I take my role as an iconoclast seriously. But In this case, perhaps it's best if we never know the truth."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/falconers-log": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/falconers-log", "description": "Weather reports of a ship of the Gold Fleet and its Khajiiti atache", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Falconer's Log", "text": "Entry 1\n\tClear weather. Put out of Southshore with all hands. If any doubt the power of the Gold Fleet, they won't when we cross the horizon.\nEntry 2\n\tClear weather. By some ill-conceived joke we are to be joined by a squadron of Khajiit-led privateers. Something about \"appealing to the natives through diplomatic overture.\" Surely they have a better use for us than playing nursemaid to ruffians.\nEntry 3\n\tChoppy seas. If we're the pride of the Dominion, the privateers are its disgrace. A more ragtag assembly of barnacle-crusted vessels I've never set eyes upon! We would make better time if we scuttled the lot of them.\nEntry 4\n\tClear weather. Strange sails on the horizon. We've all heard the reports\u2014a Sea Viper fleet reaving along the coasts of Auridon\u2014though nothing to speak of a presence here. More Khajiit barnacles latching onto our hull? I would not be surprised. The Peregrine dispatched to investigate.\nEntry 5\n\tRough seas. The Peregrine was unable to locate its quarry and heavy winds will prevent us from pursuing further. Strange, our Sighter indicated clear weather for at least three days.\nEntry 6\n\tLost ... collided with ... taking on water. First Mate sighted ... ago. No sign of ... Prowler in the mist, but then it was gone. Swears he saw coils in the waves ... belowdecks to sober up.\nHigh winds tore ... from the rigging. Mast is gone. No choice but to ... shore. Instructed all hands to ... as is my duty.\nQueen Ayrenn, I apologize. In this, and ... failed you."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fall-and-rise-remans-bluff": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fall-and-rise-remans-bluff", "description": "An aggregate of information on a failed Imperial fort", "author": "Praetor Aemilianus Lector", "title": "The Fall and Rise of Reman's Bluff", "text": "Foreword\nThough much has been written of the Imperial Legion's conquest of Valenwood, this treatise is intended to focus upon the mundane effects of Imperial soldiers in an occupied land. It includes collected missives, journals, manifests, and second-hand accounts of a cohort assigned to guard the Imperial fort built atop Reman's Bluff.\n1. Quartermaster's Manifest (1E 2719)\n\tFlour \u2014 100 sacks, Salt \u2014 10 sacks, Dried fruit \u2014 5 sacks, Salted meat \u2014 50 sacks\n2. Commander's Journal (1E 2720)\n\tI am down to a scant twenty men under my command due to illness and desertion. All requests for reinforcement and supplies have gone unanswered. As of today, I am rationing our remaining supplies.\n\tWe have avoided sending hunting parties out due to the persistent presence of Orcish forces to the northwest, but now we have little choice.\n3. Quartermaster's Manifest (estimated 1E 2720)\n\tFlour \u2014 0 sacks, Salt \u2014 5 sacks, Salted meat \u2014 150 sacks\n\tRecent hunting has bolstered our meat supply but some form of insect has compromised and tainted the remaining flour.\n4. Commander's Journal (estimated 1E 2720)\n\tThat fool Zantonius shot down an Orc shaman who was approaching us with an offer of treaty. If he wasn't some important land-owner's son, I'd have marched him to the Imperial prison myself. Instead I sent him south with the worst of the shirkers and told him to make camp. Now he's somebody else's problem.\n\tI can't\n5. Quartermaster's Manifest (estimated 1E 2721)\n\tFlour \u2014 0 sacks, Salt \u2014 5 sacks, Salted meat \u2014 0 sacks\n\tSome type of creature burrowed into our store room and consumed every scrap of meat. All that remains are gnawed bones and the creature's collapsed burrows. Commander thinks it was Orcs. I'm inclined to agree.\n6. Commander's Journal (estimated 1E 2722)\n\tThe raids won't end. The heads of any runners sent to request reinforcements show up on Orc spears the next day. We're down to five. Five soldiers to hold a single fort! Once they realize, it will be our end.\n\tThere is one small victory I can keep from these savages. I shall not allow them the pleasure of killing me themselves.\nAddendum:\n\tThe clan of Wood Orcs now residing at Reman's Bluff, known to its inhabitants as Barkbite Stronghold, have no direct connection to the Orc clans who overran the Legion fort in the First Era."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fall-carac-dena": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fall-carac-dena", "description": "Quick text about an Ayleid stronghold in Valenwood", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Fall of Carac Dena", "text": "Many years ago, when I was a young Elf, I came across a book in the ancient Ayleid language that described a magnificent fortress deep within Valenwood. Ever since discovering this book, I have been captivated by the idea of this place.\nUnfortunately, the book was lost to me under mysterious circumstances before I was able to commit my translation to writing. But I have transcribed from memory what I can recall of that mesmerizing description.\n\"The great fortress of Carac Dena stood for centuries, held by a hundred Ayleid who had bled into the stone at its creation. The fortress rested high above the coast of Valenwood, a great stone monument and a bulwark against all enemies.\n\"Because of its greatness, it became a wayrest for travelers, a vault for great treasures, and a vast library. It was even said that one could hear singing when one approached the fortress.\n\"\u2026 when the great horde* laid siege to the gates, the fortress of Carac Dena stood firm for a hundred years, until the great force beneath threatened to overwhelm the gates. That is when the commander gathered the hundred original soldiers and convened a meeting. The fateful decision was made. One by one the soldiers bled on the stones and brought the great fortress crashing to the ground, destroying the enemy host beneath it.\"\n* The text is unclear as to the nature of this horde, and the word used is unfamiliar to me, but resembles the word for \"army.\"\nI have dedicated my life to finding the location of this great fortress. I am now certain that it must have been swallowed by the land after it fell. And indeed, I believe I have at last narrowed down the location. It only remains for me to gather a fitting group of Wood Elf guides and venture to the spot \u2026."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fall-queen-nurnhilde": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fall-queen-nurnhilde", "description": "A song about the death of Queen Nurhilde, mother of King Jorunn", "author": "Helgreir Lute-Voice", "title": "The Fall of Queen Nurnhilde", "text": "Sing the glory of Sovngarde! Sing the story of Nurnhilde!\n\tOh queen dear, beloved of Nord and gods,\n\tYou stood against the Akaviri, turning back the vile invaders,\n\tWe wept like weans when your fair head fell,\n\tBut we know you watch over us from Sovngarde above!\n\tSing the glory of Sovngarde! Sing the story of Nurnhilde!\n\tWeep for our beloved queen!\n\u2014 Helgreir Lute-Voice, Bard of Windhelm"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fall-trinimac": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fall-trinimac", "description": "A description of Trinimac's fall from grace", "author": "The Faithless One", "title": "The Fall of Trinimac", "text": "To truly know Mauloch, we must recall the story of Trinimac's fall from grace, and the events leading up to his torturous dishonor.\nDuring the Merethic Era, a cult of Aldmeri dissidents abandoned the commonly accepted worship of Summerset Isle and began following a young prophet, Veloth. Boethiah had been speaking to Veloth in dreams and visions, guiding him to lead a new sect of Aldmeri with the belief that mortals could ascend to become gods. Trinimac's priests condemned the new sect for blasphemy and threatened exile, should they not abandon Veloth. When the priests were to pass judgement, Boethiah appeared, having swallowed Trinimac, and revealed the lies of Trinimac's teachings with Trinimac's own voice. Content the priests were shamed and broken from his revelation, Boethiah relieved himself of Trinimac in front of the assembly to complete his shame.\nWe know not how Trinimac had been defeated, but it is said that after his defeat Boethiah had consumed him and tortured his spirit in her belly. When Boethiah grew bored of Trinimac's torture, she released him from his prison and later exiled him to a plane of choking ash. This torture and dishonor left Trinimac twisted and enraged. Trinimac faded and was reborn as Mauloch, the God of Curses. With his mind bent on revenge, his most devout followers changed to match him and became the Orsimer, cursed to wander in exile, a people without a place."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/false-revanchism-maormer": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/false-revanchism-maormer", "description": "A very negative view of the Maormer and their conflict with Summerset", "author": "Hadendril of Skywatch", "title": "The False Revanchism of the Maormer", "text": "The ages old conflict between Altmer and Maormer has raged so continuously, and so long, that it is easy to come under the impression that it is a complicated struggle. Built, layer upon layer, century upon century, of two-sided wrongs and reprisals. This is a fallacy of the most harmful order. It grants a hint of legitimacy to deprivations that deserve none. The Maormer have never held claim over the Isles of Summerset, and gods willing, they never shall.\nI fear the fallibility we have developed in our fall from Aldmeri grace has led to the common misconception that we are close siblings to those who dwell in Pyandonea, but the truth of the matter is that we are far distant cousins with only a shred of common ancestry. This welcome revelation comes from previously untranslated Aldmeri tapestries within the Crystal Tower. The unmitigated truth revealed at last, after painstaking study, speaks not of a common plight of reluctant migration and tragic diaspora, but a tale of treachery and exile.\nThe blood the Maormer spill has always been in the name of greed and hungry ambition. Their corrupt \"king,\" Orgnum, thought to usurp our ancient homeland of Aldmeris from its rightful rulers, just as he seeks to steal Summerset from us. The Maormer are a despicable people who do not deserve the guilt of conscience some have afforded them for too long. Any debate on the matter is closed, the Maormer apologists are silenced, and the prosecution of war against the Pyandoneans should be carried out without remorse."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fathers-promise": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fathers-promise", "description": "A poem to an Argonian hatchling", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Father's Promise", "text": "His kiss fell upon your egg-tooth before your first breath. You are one of his blessed children. Embrace your Father, and obey your Mother. For as they have allowed you your first breath, so can they take it away.\nIn all things, consider the end.\nIn all ends, breathe in its beauty.\nIn all beauty, lies a promise of decay.\nDo not fear the chill, my child. It is the sign of this gift, the promise of a time where time is no more."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/favored-daughter-fadomai": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/favored-daughter-fadomai", "description": "Khajiiti myth about Azura and the death of Lorkhan", "author": "Amun-dro", "title": "The Favored Daughter of Fadomai", "text": "by Amun-dro, the Silent Priest\nIn the Great Darkness, all of Fadomai's children had left her. All save Azurah.\nAzurah held her mother and did not ask for a gift. Instead she wept, the light of the Lattice was reflected in her tears.\nFadomai whispered to Azurah three secrets and more. She told her daughter many things, stories of love and war and dreams undreamt. And Azurah wept more to hear these things, so much that moonlight shined in the darkness.\nAnd Fadomai told Azurah the names of all gates and thresholds, and the names of all the spirits, and the names of all the Khajiit that would ever live. And Azurah wept more to hear how difficult their paths would be, so much that the light of her tears became one with the Lattice.\nAnd Fadomai told stories of her children and her favorite aspects of each of them. When she reached Azurah, she smiled and told her favored daughter she could not decide. And Fadomai died.\nAzurah sat in the Great Darkness for timeless ages, musing on what she had learned and mourning the loss of her mother. Still she wept, and now the darkness fled from her tears and from the Lunar Lattice. She wept for so long that soon she was no longer in the Great Darkness, but in a place of moonlight and shadow.\nAnd Azurah tried to return to Fadomai-Mother, but her tears had formed a great sea. Beyond it was a black gate that opened into a hungering dark.\nLorkhaj stood in the doorway. He was broken and bleeding, and there was a hole in his chest. But the Great Darkness was still in his blood, and it filled the hole where his heart had been. The dark mass beat like a heart, and black blood spilled out onto the threshold. Azurah heard each beat of the heart like the beating of a drum, and each drop of blood tapped to form a rhythm she felt in her tail.\nBut Fadomai had taught Azurah the names of all of the spirits, so she recognized the Great Darkness for what it was, and she roared in time with the song:\nUR DRA NA MII RA UR DRA NA MII RA UR DRA AZU RA\nAnd Azurah tore out the dark heart of Lorkhaj, and all of the darkness in him came with it, and she cast it beyond the sea.\nFrom the Dark Heart of Lorkhaj was born the Moon Beast, the first of the dro-m'Athra, who lurks at the edge of the Lattice and knows nothing but hunger.\nAnd with the darkness bled from him, Azurah could see her mother in Lorkhaj, and she held him until he died.\nAzurah burned what remained of his body before the gate, lighting the fire with lanterns of love and mercy. She wept for her brother Lorkhaj, and her tears fell upon the pyre.\nAs the ashes of Lorkhaj scattered across the Lattice, even the Moon Beast became silent for a time.\nThen Azurah dried her eyes at last and went unto the World. Her time of grieving was over, and Fadomai had given her so much to do."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fickle-nature-mudcrabs": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fickle-nature-mudcrabs", "description": "Notes on Mudcrab behavior", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Fickle Nature of Mudcrabs", "text": "Since first documented, the common Tamriel Mudcrab has always been described as vicious and dangerous, but dispatched by even a lowly farmer, given a sturdy pitchfork. Their chitin is prized by alchemists of certain schools (though I would never use it), and their meat has been regarded as a delicacy in some parts of Tamriel, particularly Morrowind.\nBy their nature, they seek to defend their rivers, streams, and beaches from what they seem to think is a threat to their territory. They tend to cluster in groups and attack any that come by, fearless, with an overblown sense of their combat prowess. Nothing could turn away the ire of the common mudcrab save for a well-placed strike of an arrow or axe.\nIn my time studying the specimens on the shore of the Bjoulsae, I've noticed an odd tendency in recent months. Where normally, I must tread carefully to avoid their notice lest I am forced to kill the subject, recently, I've been able to make close observations, even so far as to pet the carapace without them reacting.\nLast week, I sat in the middle of a clutch, unmolested, fervently noting all the details I tend to miss in more distant studies. However, they are not completely docile. They will respond if directly provoked. I observed as a bear tried to pry one open, and a whole clutch came to the defense of their kin, forcing the bear to flee.\nI am positive that they notice me. It's not just ignorance. One even came over and ran his feelers over on my hands, as if he were studying me! What has changed? Is it a breeding season? Could there be something in the water affecting their behavior? Could the troubled times be affecting them? I will continue my observations to find out more."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fires-guide-way": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fires-guide-way", "description": "Note with an important clue", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Fires Guide the Way", "text": "From this vantage, I see the lights that guide the way.\nLook only to that which shines to show you the true way. Darkness only holds lies."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fires-truth": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fires-truth", "description": "Show your devotion to the Divines", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Fires of Truth", "text": "As a penitent of the Shield or the Heart of Mara, know that the fire of life burns already within you. Do not let it go out.\nShow your devotion to the Divines by kindling that fire in this place of worship."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/first-charter": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/first-charter", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The First Charter", "text": "King Torug founded the original Orsinium as more than just another Orc settlement. He envisioned a grand city of prosperity and civilization\u2014but he wanted it to be a reflection and advancement of Orc culture. To this end, he created a set of rights and privileges that defined the organization of the city, a document now known as the First Charter.\nThe First Charter preserves what Torug thought was most important about Orc life. When the first Orsinium fell, the First Charter was believed to be destroyed. But legend has it that the book survived as part of some raider's booty. The raider was killed on his way back to the coast and the book lost somewhere in the western mountains."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/first-day": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/first-day", "description": "A fledgling Razor Master receives a Dagger.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The First Day", "text": "The First Day I was to become a Razor Master, to replace the one I helped topple. For me, stepping through the Gate was like falling through a crucible of flame.\nIt burned deep, boiled my blood, and I crashed out in a field, amidst a shower of molten rock and steam. I don't know how it was that I lived.\nI realized I was clutching a dagger in my hand.\n\"I have given you a means of defense.\" The voice spoke, but no one was there.\n\"This is all?\" I asked the air.\n\"That is all you need. Now prove yourself, and live. Or fail, and embrace a new day.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/first-letters": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/first-letters", "description": "A love letter", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The First of the Letters", "text": "My love, I can stand it no longer. Though I rebuked you, my heart yearns for your touch. To utter such words aloud is sacrilege, so I put these words down in hope you find them.\nFind my second page, and you will find the mate."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/first-scroll-baan-dar-exerpt": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/first-scroll-baan-dar-exerpt", "description": "Exerpt from the exploits of the legendary bandit god", "author": "Yanabir-ja, loyal follower of the Boaster", "title": "The First Scroll of Baan Dar (Exerpt)", "text": "Translation by Jarvus, apprentice to Arkan the Gifted, Daggerfall City, 2E 255\nScholars have labored for years to fully translate the scrolls of Baan Dar, vellum parchments found in a series of alabaster jars near Lake Vread in eastern Elsweyr. I myself can make no claims to this translation's authenticity. Reader beware!\n\u2014 Yanabir-ja, loyal follower of the Boaster\n- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -\nBaan Dar, the Legend\u2014thief, warlock, shadowmaster, the Boastful. Mastermind of Nefarious Plots. All these things and more describe the legendary Baan Dar, he who is called the Bandit God. The Exile. The Pariah. But what is the truth?\nBaan Dar is a much more simple and complex being. I pen this tale as I slowly die of old age and a mortifying arrow wound. I cannot decide if the truth will add to or subtract from the legend that is Baan Dar, nor if the original Baan Dar would want the truth to be known. Therefore, I will leave this tale hidden when I am done and gone, and let Fate (which was ever Baan Dar's true master and motivator) decide.\nI was a child of twelve seasons when I first met Baan Dar. Orphan of a slaver raid during one of the many inter-provincial border wars. Living by my quick wits, nimble fingers, and the grace of Lady Luck in the back alleys and byways of my birth city. I had just \"liberated\" a loaf of bread and a few small apples from a local street vendor in the bazaar on the edge of the city, near the tumbled outer wall. I had withdrawn down an ill-lit alley to feast on my bounty when I was beset upon by an older band of my ilk. The older and lazier variety which were wont to engage in the easier and less dangerous art of stealing from the stealers.\nThere were five of the bullies who had decided they were more deserving of my bounty than I, and they were beating me half to death with staves, laughing the whole time. Lying on the ground, curled up into as tight a ball as I could manage, trying to protect my head and groin, I heard a quiet voice ask if they were not \"more suited to go down to the wharf and take food from your brother rats, or would you care to try your tricks on game a bit more your size and number?\"\nSince my \"companions\" had become otherwise engaged with the newcomer and had for the nonce ceased thumping, kicking, and cuffing at me, I looked up to see a dark shadow of boots, cloak, and chainmail hood leaning against the wall at the end of the alley.\nThe others, being what they were, took this as a challenge to their manhood\u2014and easy prey to their superior number with a promise of gold as added reward (else the first part would have been overlooked). The leader of my band of playmates suggested that the stranger take a leap off the aforementioned wharf unless he wished to join me there when they were done with their evening meal.\nHaving drawn chuckles and courage from his underlings, he then proceeded forward with staff at high port. I'm not quite sure exactly what followed, but within a short space of time, Lead bully was lying in the dirt with a thrown dagger in his chest, number two bully had lost three teeth to a boot (I still carry them in a leather pouch as a keepsake), and number three bully was brought short by his own staff applied forcefully up between his toes (the two big ones!). Bullies four and five thought better of the entertainment and departed rapidly for parts unknown.\nBaan Dar picked me up, dusted me off, and dragged me round to a nearby tavern, where we shared a meal and a mug. I attempted to thank him for saving my life. How can I ever repay this favor, I asked? His reply was short, to the point, and has driven my actions in life ever since.\nHe said, \"Never repay a favor, kid. Pass it on to someone else.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/five-points-star": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/five-points-star", "description": "The tenents of faith in Azura", "author": "Sigillah Parate", "title": "The Five Points of the Star", "text": "PROPHECY is her province, and that which is seen by the Night Sky Queen must eventuate, however dimly it may appear to mortal foresight. For mortals are not all given the gift of Crystal Vision, nor can they always endure knowledge of the truth.\nDAWN is the time of imminence, when Azura touches us with wisdom and purpose. It is then we speak the Supplication for Guidance, and tremble in fear that it may be answered.\nROSE is Her color and Her flower, and Moonshadow Her abode as Risen is the sun. Tend we then by midday our mortal necessities, conserving always some part of ourselves for when the sun slides low.\nDUSK is when we turn our hands to Azura's commands. Then we praise Her with our dark evening acts, and glorify Her with chastening of noncompliance.\nFATE is the Book that She writes in to inscribe our worth and deserts. For by our acts do we earn Her regard or disdain, and read our destiny in Her prophecy."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/flames-fetcherfly": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/flames-fetcherfly", "description": "A scholar stumbles on a nest full of these dangerous insects", "author": "Zabia-ko", "title": "The Flames of the Fetcherfly", "text": "I, Zabia-ko, now study creatures for the fools in the Mages Guild. Can you imagine? This one, whose last gold was earned selling half-rotten candied nixad to migrant workers on a ship bound for Vivec City? Ha! The fools wanted to pay for stories that would be written anyway, so this one took their gold and questioned no further.\nAfter filling little Zabzag's belly with fresh greens and a night at Balmora's Randy Netch Inn, this one packed up to explore the wetlands of Vvardenfell. For two nights nothing more than the common creeping pests came across my path. What misfortune! In all other stories, they found their way across my path during desperate times. How does one seek out such things? Perhaps I, Zabia-ko, was the fool for taking the guild's gold.\nWhile wallowing in misfortune, it was the smell that drew this one's attention. Large flies, with wide glowing wings buzzed by this one's head. The Dark Elves call them the \"fetcherfly.\" It seems a mere pest, but do not be fooled! When one landed on my arm, it smoked, singeing the fur.\nThere was no choice. The creature must be followed so the tale can be told and the gold can be earned. Tracking the creature back to its nest, there was discovered a large rock the size of two Orcs (or one Orc, if the Orc tells it). Thousands of the flying fires swarmed the rock, which glowed from the heat, its pores venting smoke and life. Suddenly, the whole nest shifted. When it stood, understanding came on how wrong I was. It was the size of at least three Orcs.\nI dove flat into the rotten mud as the creature of rock and flies began to amble in my direction. This one is no slayer of great beasts! Why must it pick on me? Swarms of smoking insects fluttered around, hissing as they landed on wet fur. Poor Zabzag shrieked and fled. The end of Zabia-ko would be face down in the mud.\nBut, obviously, it was not so. The hive golem must have thought this one was no longer a threat, so it plodded off like an echatere with a belly full of snow truffles. This one returned to the inn with many things: a story to tell, a clothes full of burn holes, and mud-caked fur.\nSo if you're ever in the wilds of Vvardenfell, you will wonder as this one did whether the Dark Elves named the fetcherfly because it was annoying or if the word \"fetcher\" came from these pests."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/flight-gryphons": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/flight-gryphons", "description": "How the Altmer tamed the gryphon", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Flight of Gryphons", "text": "Since the Altmer first looked up at the sky and saw the majestic gryphon soaring on the breeze, there have been dreams to tame the creatures, to ride upon them in times of battle or joy, and feel the freedom of seeing the world far below.\nBut these were the dreams of children, who quickly learned that the gryphon is proud and fierce, and will not serve as mount to any lesser creature. Generations tried, but the gryphon would never succumb.\nThe foolish thought to net the creatures in the wild, to break them like a common horse. The gryphon spared future generations from their stupidity. More clever tribes of Altmer managed to scale the cliffs and crags of the isle, taking eggs from the nests of absent parents. Alas, these gambits for years offered no flying mounts, for the eggs would never hatch. Some small comfort was found in the great feasts that followed, for these eggs were held to be delicacies for kings.\nOne small clan, in the isle's south, would stand up to the untamed splendor of the gryphon and assert itself. Ulorome, whose line would go on to become the Kinlords of Sunhold, found an egg in an abandoned nest during a hunt. Thinking it would never hatch, he brought the egg to his tribe, and prepared it for feast by setting it within the flames of his mighty hearth. Singing the ancient songs of hearth and family, Ulorome sought to bless the meal before his clan would feast\u2014but lo! The warmth of the hearth and the gentle singing brought life to the cold egg, and from it burst a fledgling gryphon. So red did its feathers look in the firelight, that it was thought to be a phoenix by some. Ulorome, crying out in thanks to the gods for such a gift, wrested the creature from the burning embers and christened it Cel-hinwe.\nThe legends do not say if Cel-hinwe ever carried his master into battle, but it is known that this creature, the Red Wind of Maormer legend, would become the progenitor of Sunhold's famed gryphon line. These two lines are woven around one another, the kinlords and their gryphons, to the point where one cannot be said to exist without the other. The gryphons have in turn been adopted as the heart of Sunhold, its burning symbol of defiance."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/flourishing-elinhir": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/flourishing-elinhir", "description": "An account of the famous city of mages", "author": "Garold Farfly", "title": "The Flourishing of Elinhir ", "text": "\nThe one place in Craglorn where the light of civilization can be said to shine is the gleaming city of Elinhir.\nInstantly recognizable by its ancient mage towers, monuments to a strange and foreign age before Elf or Yokudan laid eyes on Craglorn, Elinhir stands as a testament to the civilizing power of the scholar and the mage on an otherwise wild population.\nUntil the beginning of the Second Era, Elinhir was little more than a wild, lawless backwater. Like most of Craglorn it was settled mainly by those unfit for life inside the Empire. As such, it was a dangerous place, lacking true leadership or even laws to govern it, and constant prey to the predations of bandits and Iron Orc raiders from the mountains.\nEarly in the Second Era, however, a group of mages led by the illuminated Felix \"Blackcaster\" Augustus, left the comfort and confines of the Mages Guild to practice their arts in Craglorn.\nCommon myth suggests that Blackcaster and his mages were nothing more than unruly, morally questionable, and undisciplined hedge mages, rebelling against Mages Guild authority. This tale is perpetuated by the lawless element that still lingers in Craglorn. They would have you believe that the mages that first settled in Elinhir were no more a civilizing influence than the bandits who regularly raided the city.\nThis could not be farther from the truth! One need only comb the archives of the Mages Guild in the Imperial City to learn that Felix Blackcaster was, in fact, a guild member of high standing. His leaving the guild had nothing to do with any disagreement in discipline or practice, but with the desire to set out to new territories beyond the guild's reach. Correspondence shows that Blackcaster remained in constant communication with his superiors in the guild as late as ten years after the Apex Accord was signed by the leaders of Elinhir.\nThis correspondence sheds ample light on the situation Blackcaster and the other mages found on their arrival in Elinhir and the lengths to which they went to persuade the unruly populace to accept their leadership and protection. I will not go into exhaustive detail, but I will summarize. Blackcaster and his mages, intrigued by the sight of the then-empty Apex Towers in the city, had previously pleaded with the town's mayor (he was really more of a warlord) for access to the towers. Having been denied multiple times, they were despondent and about to give up their quest.\nTheir fortunes shifted, however, when Iron Orcs came down from the mountains and laid siege to the city. Using their considerable power, Blackcaster and his mages drove off the Orcs, quickly winning the love of the fickle people of Elinhir. They acclaimed Blackcaster their new mayor and shortly after the Apex Accord was struck\u2014an agreement that stands to this day and states that the mages of Elinhir's Apex Towers will provide protection for the city for as long as the city supports them in the operation of their mages' academy.\nSome have argued that the appearance of the Iron Orcs is not all it seemed. They have even gone so far as to declare that Blackcaster and his mages made a deal with the Orcs in order to win over the people of Elinhir. I find this suggestion both dubious and insulting. Such trickery would have been beneath one of Felix Blackcaster's stature and reputation, not to mention the fact that the Iron Orcs are notoriously intransigent in matters of cooperation and negotiation.\nThe truth is that from the time of the Apex Accord until now, Elinhir has flourished under the guidance and protection of the Blackcaster mages, becoming a prominent center of civilization in the wilderness of Craglorn."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/font-aequiius": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/font-aequiius", "description": "Presenting a chalice that lets one control water", "author": "Kinlord Astanamo", "title": "The Font Aequiius", "text": "Aldarch,\nWater is yours to command with this eldritch chalice. Standing in a pool of water and concentrating can cause the most amazing manipulations of liquid.\nPlease accept it with my appreciation. In the name of Mara, may the blood of life keep pumping within your breast.\n\u2014 Kinlord Astanamo the Penitentt"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/forest-dark": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/forest-dark", "description": "", "author": "Joseryne Madier", "title": "The Forest Dark", "text": "In boots dyed black by dead man's soil,\nI stood upon fear's wheezing threshold\nHidden there, beyond brambles dried\nThe wolf-throats howled and dark boughs sighed\\n\\nOnly once did I stray within\nA fiery youth with a Midyear heart\nAnd hair not yet tussled by death's boney hand\nSoul not yet seared by dread's hot brand\nOn moss-covered bones and stinkhorn stalks,\nMy feet found frightful, oily purchase\nAnd through the trees swirled fetid murk,\nWhere growling, blood-starved creatures lurked\nAll around, I heard their breath,\nLike a bow-saw drawn through rain-soaked wood,\nAnd then the howling! That mournful hymn,\nTo the hunt-king Hircine and his murderous whims\nI turned and ran through raking thorns,\nA coursed hare's panic upon my eyes\nWith each clumsy stride, the snarling grew\nYellowed fangs set upon flesh to hew.\nI burst through the tree line, a ragged thing,\nWith linens tattered and skin flayed deep\nBut the black wolves relented, behind the briars,\nTheir coal-eyes fixed, alight with white fire\n\"Flee from here,\" they seemed to say\n\"Back to your hearth and your hollow joys,\n\"But know that we wolves linger still\n\"Return for your last blood-soaked thrill!\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fort-sphinxmoth-ruins": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fort-sphinxmoth-ruins", "description": "A History of this 2nd Empire fort", "author": "Calantius of Skingrad", "title": "The Fort Sphinxmoth Ruins", "text": "The ruins of Fort Sphinxmoth lie hidden in the canyons of northern Elsweyr, near the border with Valenwood. The Reman Empire built this fortress into the side of a mountain so as to have an impregnable base, from whence columns of Legionnaires could be sent out to patrol the borders. The location offered elevation and good source of stone to build the walls of the outside fortress. The result was a large bastion with defensive walls, towers, and a subterranean series of halls, rooms, and dungeons built into the bowels of the mountain. It is said that the Legionnaires outfitted their fortress with many traps of cunning and clever design, to defend themselves should the walls ever be breached.\nFort Sphinxmoth was abandoned by the Legions after the fall of the Second Empire, then was traded back and forth for a generation between warring Bosmeri and Khajiiti tribes, suffering additional damage every time it changed hands. Finally a landslide destroyed much of the upper works, and the fort was vacated by both sides. Word of mouth says that nothing worth looting was left in Fort Sphinxmoth, and today it's no more than an overgrown ruin that's been bypassed by history."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/founding-bloodtoil": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/founding-bloodtoil", "description": "A Bosmeri village is reclaimed from Orcish squatters", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Founding of Bloodtoil", "text": "We spent the winter in Falinesti, only to return and find our holy site overrun by Drublog squatters claiming it as their own. The faithful of Z'en returned with an overwhelming force of rangers and removed the vile beasts.\nOur forefathers' village, renamed Bloodtoil, has been reclaimed. But the shrine is unclean, filled with relics to Mauloch. A new shrine to Z'en will be dedicated shortly.\nThe Orcs threatened to return, but the faithful of Z'en do not fear their petty threats. Z'en ensures debts are paid in kind."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/founding-southpoint": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/founding-southpoint", "description": "A propaganda history of Southpoint and its founder, Governor Zantonius", "author": "Provincial Office of Governor Zantonius", "title": "The Founding of Southpoint", "text": "1st Rain's Hand, 2729\n(for distribution to all Imperial Citizens of Southpoint)\nSouthpoint was founded by the great and magnanimous Governor Zantonius. This you certainly know! But in the interest of understanding the magnitude of this accomplishment, you must first understand the man who brought it to fruition.\nZantonius was born the eldest son of a Colovian farmer from Kvatch. After her tragic death, Zantonius took a commanding role in his family. Despite these humble upbringings, he was always the bright and cheerful man you may know today!\nAs Zantonius' younger siblings came into adulthood, he tired of his life as a farmer. He soon set out to make a name for himself, traveling to the Imperial City and enlisting in the Imperial Legion.\nZantonius' rise in the legion's ranks was swift. His commanders said he was strong as a bear and swift as a fox. Eventually Zantonius was assigned a post in northern Valenwood, where he would prove he had a tactical mind matching the greatest generals of the Second Empire!\nOne dark night in the month of Second Seed, while Zantonius stood ever-vigilant watch in Reman's Bluff, he single-handedly stopped a Wood Orc raid upon his camp! For his merits in battle, Zantonius was given command of a cohort of soldiers and sent to build a fort for the glory of the Empire. At the head of these troops, Zantonius marched south into the Kingdom of Grahtwood.\nIt was the beautiful plot of land at the southernwestern tip of Grahtwood where Zantonius thrust the point of his spear into the soil. \"From this day forward, I declare this land to be known as Southpoint. Though sent to build a stronghold of Imperial might, I will instead built a fortified town! All in the Kingdom of Grahtwood will know Southpoint's name.\"\nCan anyone doubt Governor Zantonius' word? He has given the citizens of Southpoint strong walls, swift response to Bosmer insurrectionists, and a port that sees far more ships than the backwater trading post of Haven. Next month, Governor Zantonius shall break ground on what will one day become the greatest cathedral in Valenwood!\nWhy, every citizen of Southpoint owes Governor Zantonius for their safety, security, and prosperity! We shall support him in his rightful stewardship of Southpoint, his valiant efforts to make Southpoint the center of Imperial culture in Valenwood, and the increase in taxes which shall take effect at month's end. Though we owe so much to Governor Zantonius for our town, all he asks in return is our loyalty, our comity, and one gold for every twelve earned.\nFor the Empire!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/founding-zuuk": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/founding-zuuk", "description": "Brief history of the town founded by this famous historical figure", "author": "Ashalaku, Black Marsh", "title": "The Founding of Zuuk", "text": "Lord Zuuk returned to Shadowfen after the fall of Reman Cyrodiil III, founding a small settlement in the Shadowfen. After five generations of prosperity, our ancestors renamed it Zuuk in honor of our Lord Founder. The original name of the settlement was lost to time.\nWe know little of Zuuk's time in the Imperial Palace, but his wealth, honor, and generosity were renowned among the Kothringi. May his name be on the lips of his descendants for another five generations."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/four-abominations": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/four-abominations", "description": "Descriptions of the beasts abhored by Stendarr", "author": "Vinicius Imbrex", "title": "The Four Abominations", "text": "By Vinicius Imbrex, Archbishop of Chorrol, 1E 1051\u20141087\nThus Stendarr looked upon the world of mortals, and he found it afflicted by Abominations. And he made it known unto his priests, resolutes, and templars, that these unnatural profanities are abhorrent in his sight, and are to exterminated by the Righteous without halt or mercy. For these Abominations are each and every the eternal enemies of the mortals of the Mundus, and shall not be suffered to abide among us.\nAnd these Abominations are four in kind, and may be known thusly:\n\u2014The DAEDRA, those unworldly horrors that are not of the Mundus, but come from Oblivion to inflict cruelty and death upon the mortals of Tamriel.\n\u2014The MANBEASTS, those mortals who through traffic with the bestial Hircine do change their skins for those of animals, preying thence upon the innocent.\n\u2014The RISEN CORPSES, those restless undead whose rotting bodies persist with loathsome and unnatural vigor, sowing fear and agony among the living.\n\u2014The DEATHLESS VAMPYRES, who feed horrifically upon honest citizens, regarding righteous mortals as mere cattle to sate their unholy hungers.\nKnow these Four Abominations, O ye righteous, and gather to slay them where're they appear."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/friend-all-mortals": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/friend-all-mortals", "description": "Short text about Stendarr and his prevalence across Tamriel", "author": "The Resolute Templar of Ska'vyn", "title": "The Friend of All Mortals", "text": "\"Come to me, Stendarr, for without you, I might be deaf to the manswarm\n\tmurmurings of thy people, and forgetting their need for comfort and wisdom, I\n\tmight indulge myself in vain scribblings.\"\nCall him Stendarr, call him Stuhn, call him what you will, but the God of Mercy and Justice is the friend to all the mortals of the Mundus, whether they acknowledge him or not. Yea, even the heretic Dark Elves of Morrowind may use his magic of defense and healing, even so the scaled folk of Argonia, for Stendarr in his benevolence draws no distinction between those who rightfully worship him and those who, in their ignorance and error, do not.\nJoin with me, then, in a prayer to Stendarr for guidance, that we may look with mercy upon our fellow mortals, that we may show the compassion to help them at need, and find the strength to eradicate abominations that threaten us all."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/frostfall-coup": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/frostfall-coup", "description": "A brief history of how Euraxia came to rule northern Elsweyr, as well as an overview of the current political situation", "author": "Tandemen", "title": "The Frostfall Coup", "text": "Implications for Elsweyr and the Aldmeri Dominion\nBy Tandemen, Sapiarch of Foreign Observations\nIt was in the year 2E 576, four years before the return of Ayrenn and the formation of the Aldmeri Dominion, that Euraxia Tharn murdered the Royal Family of Anequina and illegally claimed the throne of Rimmen. How did this occur and what should the Dominion do about it? Allow me to provide a few pertinent observations.\nEarlier that same year, Emperor Leovic legalized the worship of Daedra throughout the Empire of Cyrodiil, which immediately sparked a rebellion. As Varen Aquilarios began his own push to take control of the Empire, Euraxia Tharn was sent on a diplomatic mission to Northern Elsweyr. Taking advantage of the confusion, she hired a massive force of Nibenese mercenaries and marched into Rimmen as a welcomed ally. As part of the Empire, King Hemakar of Rimmen did not think twice about accepting an envoy of the Emperor. That turned out to be a deadly mistake.\nEuraxia had King Hemakar and the rest of the Royal Family executed and declared herself Queen of Rimmen. Her mercenaries, now wearing the livery of Euraxians, spread out and quickly conquered all of Northern Elsweyr, claiming the territory from Riverhold to Rimmen. Once in power, Euraxia worked quickly to consolidate her position. She hired additional mercenaries, acquired the services of a cult of necromancers, and established a perimeter of siege weapons to maintain her hold over Rimmen. The Khajiiti people have not fared well under Euraxian rule. In every meaning of the word, her reign has been nothing short of tyrannical.\nOnce the dust settled and what was happening became clear, the Khajiit formed a militia to combat the Euraxians and attempt to reclaim Anequina. When Queen Ayrenn established the alliance and formed the Dominion, she promised the Khajiiti people that they would have her support in regaining control of Northern Elsweyr. However, before any forces could be mustered in that regard, the Three Banners War broke out. Except for a handful of military advisors and some much-needed gold, the Khajiiti Defense Force has been primarily on its own. Lord Gharesh-ri, Speaker of the Mane, traveled to Anequina to take command of the militia, and under his guidance they are close to liberating the town of Riverhold and most of the territory beyond the walls of Rimmen.\nUnfortunately, Rimmen remains a bastion for Euraxia, primarily due to the siege weapons that ring the palace and are aimed directly into the city below. Her threat, which Gharesh-ri has no reason to doubt, is that she will destroy the city if her rule there is challenged in any way. Until those siege weapons are dealt with, I expect Euraxia will maintain hold of the Rimmen throne.\nWhile the Three Banners War rages on, Dominion forces cannot be diverted to deal with the tyrant the Khajiit call the Usurper Queen. We must hope that by providing funds and advisors, the Khajiiti militia can hold out until the alliance conflict comes to an end. Otherwise, the Dominion may wind up facing a threat from within its own borders once the war against the Ebonheart Pact and the Daggerfall Covenant ends."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fruit-and-stone": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fruit-and-stone", "description": "The Hist produce a Zaht Stone to protect their subject", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Fruit and the Stone", "text": "Hunger. Thirst. Water dripping upon saturated moss. A wound on the Hist tree, oozing sap like slow tears. Golden light, piercing the darkness like an arrow. Lightning. Sparks.\nBetzi blinked several times, considering the visions. Why did the Hist show her the same thing? She wondered if her meditations were any use. She touched the fruit, nudging aside the woven twigs forming its nest.\nThey called it fruit, as it came from the Hist, but none ate this hardened lump. This fruit was exceptionally rare, and yet, the Hist wanted her to bring it to Hissmir. To use it, somehow.\n\t\"Why are you so important?\" Betzi asked, turning the dark brown orb in her fingers. She rubbed it softly, marveling at its smoothness. Like scales, but without edges. Like an egg, like glass, like \u2026.\n\"A Zaht stone?\" Connections jumbled together in her mind's eye, then spooled into the correct order. Unprepared for the onslaught, Betzi cried aloud.\nThe others glanced at Betzi in irritation, their meditations interrupted by her outburst. And then understanding rippled through them as well. Betzi held the Hist amber aloft and marveled at the simplicity.\nZaht stones would protect Hissmir. But how?"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/furstock-song": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/furstock-song", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Furstock Song", "text": "CHORUS\nClever Dagi, agile Suthay, burly Pahmar, Senche-raht,\nWhen Azurah gave out presents, she sure gave us a lot,\nHandsome Cathay, nimble Tojay, sneaky Ohmes and Alfiq,\nSo many shapes and sizes, that's what makes us unique!\nNow, we all adore the Dagi, who love climbing trees,\nFar better than the Wood Elves with their pink and knobby knees,\nThey swing between the branches with quickness and real ease,\nAs lovely as a feather in a light midsummer breeze.\nCHORUS\nHere's some good advice: just leave the senches alone,\nTheir claws are sharp as razors and their jaws can break your bone,\nThey'll rip an Elf to pieces in the blink of an eye,\nSo only pick a fight if you are eager to die!\nCHORUS\nOur dear old mum, Azurah, made the Alfiq so small,\nThat when they hunker down you just can't see them at all,\nThey say that it is magic! Who am I to argue?\nThere really is no limit to the things Khajiit can do!\nCHORUS"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fury-king-ranser": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fury-king-ranser", "description": "The start, and end, of King Ranser's rebellion against King Emeric", "author": "Wafimeles Masteret (Lorekeeper)", "title": "The Fury of King Ranser", "text": "In the year 563, after the formation of the second Wayrest dynasty, young King Emeric began a search for his bride. His first choice was Rayelle, daughter of King Ranser of Shornhelm, but before the marriage contracts were wrought, Emeric instead married Maraya, Redguard princess of Sentinel. This stunned courtiers across the land, and prompted bards to sing songs of Maraya's bewitching beauty. However, strategists saw the move as strengthening the trade between High Rock and Hammerfell. After Emeric's wedding in 566, High Rock readied itself for a golden age of commence. Three moons later, it was bracing for a bloody civil war.\nRivenspire was known as the backwater of High Rock. Ranser was one of these surly hillmen, a child of the north, known for his bitter temper and brutal rule. Emeric's slight was too much for him to bear. With an army of Northern Tamriel's surliest mercenaries and a host of his own people, he descended from the mountains to cut a bloody swath to the Iliac Bay. Emeric was caught unprepared. It was only the spirited defense of his Lion Guard that saved Wayrest from being razed. Ranser had hoped for a swift victory. Instead, he was forced into a protracted siege.\nThe long siege dragged on into spring, when the Daggerfall Covenant\u2014a mutual defense pact, sworn by all the Breton kingdoms at the conclusion of the Reachmen Invasion\u2014finally paid dividends, drawing Camlorn, Evermore, and Daggerfall into the fray. Some counseled letting Wayrest fall, but trade with the richest city in the region was too important to allow that. Attacked from the city and the surrounding countryside, Ranser's army stood firm; his mercenaries were well paid and prepared for bloodshed. But the crimson sails and battalions of elite Redguard warriors from across the bay turned the tide. Ranser's forces were routed, and Shornhelm was already ablaze when Ranser returned. This was the work of Orcs under the blood-rule of Kurog gro-Bagrakh.\nCaught between the Breton hammer and the Orcish anvil, Ranser's troops were utterly annihilated in the Battle of Markwasten Moor. Ranser hadn't counted on Emeric's canniness; the King of Wayrest had sent emissaries into the Wrothgar Mountains with a pledge to return Orsinium to the Orcs if they attacked their hated enemy in Shornhelm. Rivenspire was despoiled, and some Orcs remembered how the Bretons of Shornhelm had led the assault that toppled Orsinium some 135 years before. These debts were paid to Shornhelm in full. Ranser's War built the Daggerfall Covenant as it is today: Stormhaven, Rivenspire, and Wrothgar are all indelibly marked by these events."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gamblers-art": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gamblers-art", "description": "A fun song about losing money", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Gambler's Art", "text": "Hello, my friend, come take a seat,\n\tgrab something sweet, and join us for some fun.\n\tThe tickle felt in this one's ear\n\tas you drew near says you've got a tidy sum.\n\tThe clink of coins from your jaunty loins\n\tSing of riches to be won.\n\tLet down your mane, join in our game.\n\tWe've only just begun!\nChorus:\n\tPlace your wager, raise the stakes\n\tBuild a tower from your drakes.\n\tDraw your fortune, toss your wealth\n\tRisk it all, you'll have your health.\n\tAnd if you wind up on the street\n\tAt least you lived like true Khajiit.\nI see, my friend, that you have pluck\n\tbut you're short on luck\u2014that hand was hard to beat.\n\tAnd if you find you're feeling cross\n\tabout this tragic loss, there's a cause for your defeat.\nYou took your chance on a furtive glance\n\tAt cards that couldn't compete.\n\tBut this cat's eyes, they tell no lies\n\tNext time be more discreet.\nChorus:\n\tTake a gamble, oops you're done.\n\tNow you're broke, tuck tail and run!\n\tDon't make a scene or swear and roar.\n\tTossed out, to hoots and howls galore\n\tNext time your money's on deceit\n\tHave the good sense to try and cheat."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ghost-our-friend": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ghost-our-friend", "description": "", "author": "Skull-Mother Fairynn", "title": "The Ghost is Our Friend", "text": "ALL Skull-Brethren, take heed: DO NOT attack or banish the ghost!\nYeah, she's creepy and looks gross and might wake you up in the middle of the night with that off-key singing (if you can call it that), but deal with it. The Guard is absolutely horrified of her. The \"wet yourself, drop your sword, and run away from your post\" kind of horrified. She's our best friend for keeping the Guard out of the refuge.\nIf I catch you messing with the ghost, you're gonna end up like Ol' Limpy.\n\u2014Skull-Mother Fairynn"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ghost-green": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ghost-green", "description": "Legend of a bosmeri hero-god", "author": "Treethane Einisse", "title": "The Ghost of the Green", "text": "We children of the sap recognize many great heroes: Elthonor the Barkborn, the Many-Tales Wolf, Fildunor Boughbrow, and others. But no hero, living or dead, rivals the glory of Z'en's avenger, the Ghost of the Green.\nUnlike the shiny, boastful heroes of men and mer, the Ghost stalks through the forests of history quietly\u2014only occasionally drawing back his mighty bowstring to smite the enemies of the Green. His spirit is timeless but his patience is thin. When our people call upon him with sacrifices of deer hearts and boar tusks, a righteous execution follows soon after.\nYou will know him by his green leathers, his frightful skull, and the tokens he leaves behind: a fern frond, a razor-sharp arrow of Wood Elf make, and the corpse of one who would assault our people. Once he is summoned, no one can escape his wrath. On the day of smoke and summoning, the sacred deer must die. On the day of the Ghost's fury, our enemy must die. Death is inevitable. Such is the way of things in Yffre's domain."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ghostly-stag": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ghostly-stag", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Ghostly Stag", "text": "In my travels I came upon the land of Clickyville, a place ripe with the fruits of the earth and free from the grip of tyranny. Though the land was not fully formed, and was so underpopulated as to make me feel lonesome at all hours, I decided to settle down in the little town.\nI explored its abandoned buildings, its thriving marketplace, its bountiful farms. But my favorite place, the one I frequented most often, was that of the fishing-hole near the graveyard. Its quiet beauty and calm waters did wonders for my soul.\nI spent many days fishing there, simply enjoying the quiet and peace. It was on such day that I first saw it - the figure of a stag, barely visible against the grass opposite the docks. Having never seen another animal in all of Clickyville, I was naturally startled, but the beast did not seem to mind. It merely stood there, surveying its territory. As I approached it, however, it bounded off - startled by my movements, I suspect.\nThat was not the last I saw of the ghostly stag, but it did not appear everyday. Rather, its appearance continued to be a rarity, visiting perhaps once a week.There were times I had company on the docks, and the stag would show itself to me, but not to my companion, or the stag would reveal itself to him and not to me. I never was able to approach it without it starting, and so I resolved to enjoy its company at a distance, whenever it would see fit to grant it. I feel that I will never understand the ghostly stag fully."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gift-arson": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gift-arson", "description": "Dagon exists in flames and destruction", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Gift of Arson", "text": "Firsthold is the key. Without Ayrenn's men holding the north, our Maormer allies will be free to move.\n\tBurning this little town is just a lark, yes. But it is for you, Lord Dagon. It's all for you."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gifts-magnus": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gifts-magnus", "description": "Prayer to Magnus", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Gifts of Magnus", "text": "Penitent, the lives of all living are touched by Magnus, He Who Abstained. Lord Magnus drew up the schematics for our world, intricately sketching the diagrams of Creation. Magnus is with us always, in the magics of Mages and the warming breath of the sun.\nTo complete your venerations here, intone: \"By the Empyrean Light of Aetherius, may the Eye of Magnus always be upon me. Grant me the wisdom to use his gifts, and patience to know his wisdom.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/glenmoril-wyrd": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/glenmoril-wyrd", "description": "A sympatheric examination of the Glenmoril covens", "author": "Lady Cinnabar of Taneth", "title": "The Glenmoril Wyrd", "text": "No folk in Tamriel have been more misunderstood than the witches of the Glenmoril Wyrd\u2014primarily, I believe, because all the scholars who have previously written about them have been men. This is not to say that the groundbreaking work of the Venerable Kigyo of Lilmoth and Professor Barst of Shad Astula are to be entirely discounted, merely that their objectivity has been colored and undermined by their cultural assumptions of male superiority.\nTo be clear, it is not the fact that I am a woman that makes me somehow emotionally better suited to understand the sisterhood of the Glenmoril Wyrd. On the contrary, it is my proven ability to be objective in the context of traditional gender roles, as shown in my celebrated tract, \"Saint and Slave-Queen: Alessia and the Lens of Gender,\" that makes me uniquely qualified to address the subject of a single-sex society like that of the Wyrd Sisters.\nThe Glenmoril Wyrd are a loose association of female witch covens who revere nature and the natural world and incline toward Daedra-worship. Racially they are almost entirely human, though some covens include human hybrids such as hagravens and lamias, who usually rule the covens they live in. Their preference for life in the wilderness means their covens are usually located far from the agricultural or pastoral enclaves of \"civilized\" people, which contributes to the lack of understanding of their true natures. This has led to the Glenmoril covens nearly always being described in terms such as uncanny, reclusive, dangerous, inimical, and evil.\nIn fact, the Glenmoril Wyrd are all of these things\u2014except, I would argue, evil. It is true that they are unswervingly committed to a rejection of civilization and civilized ways; it is true they admit no male members to their covens; it is true they regard themselves as enforcers of certain \"laws of nature\" which only they recognize. This does not make them evil, just strict adherents to moral codes that are different from our own.\nThe fact that the Glenmoril covens seem able to maintain their populations without admitting men into their number is also an object of suspicion for those who live in their vicinities. There is an age-old libel that the Wyrd Sisters replenish themselves by stealing girl-children from neighboring farms, but such a practice has never been documented (except in the case of the notorious Fen Witches of Hjaalmarch\u2014but they worship Molag Bal, and child-abduction is the least of their objectionable habits). My inquiries, which have been extensive, lead me to the conclusion that in most cases covens gain new members when unwanted girl-children are brought to them by distressed parents. (What happens to unwanted boy-children in the northern regions is probably a question best left unasked.)\nThough the Glenmoril Wyrd are numerically few, geographically they are widespread, from the easternmost Greenspring Coven in central Skyrim to the westernmost coven in the Ilessan Hills of High Rock. Most of the eight or so known covens are adherents of Hircine, but the Hagfeather Coven of western Falkreath reveres Namira, the Markarth Sisters (the only urban coven) worships Mehrunes Dagon, and the aforementioned Fen Witches of Hjaalmarch are followers of Molag Bal.\nRelationships with the Reachmen, the other main Daedra-worshipers of the northern wilds, vary from coven to coven and from Reach Clan to Reach Clan. The Hagfeather Coven, the Rimerock Wyrd, and the Markarth Sisters all have cordial relations with the Reachmen, but the western covens of the Ilessan Hills and Viridian Woods have a history of conflict with the Reach Clans that dates back thousands of years. This may be accounted for by the fact that the Ilessan and Viridian Wyrd venerate the less-feral aspects of Hircine, and have even been known to provide cures for lycanthropy, whereas the Reachmen prefer Hircine's more vicious side, celebrating lycanthropy as a gift rather than a curse.\nThis, then, is a summary of what is known about the widespread but elusive sisters of the Glenmoril Wyrd. Many questions, certainly, remain unanswered, and much research remains to be done. To address these issues properly, it might even be necessary to leave Taneth and mount a personal expedition into the northern wilds\u2014assuming a generous patron steps forward to finance such a worthwhile scholarly effort."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/glint-night": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/glint-night", "description": "An outsider's examination of the Blades of Woe", "author": "Maxa Corrand", "title": "The Glint in the Night", "text": "By Maxa Corrand, Dealer in Rare Antiquities\nOf all the tools available to an assassin, one weapon truly stands out as unique to the Brothers and Sisters of the Dark Brotherhood. Known as the Blade of Woe (and, obliquely, as the Night Mother's Kiss) the otherwise simple dagger is a symbol of their order and icon of their dark patrons. The dagger, named for the apocryphal blade wielded by the Night Mother when she supposedly sacrificed her own children, is made available to the devotees of the Dark Brotherhood to carry out their grisly work. I have heard conflicting reports that the entire Brotherhood somehow shares a single blade and that each individual weapon is crafted upon the pattern of the original. I suspect the latter is closer to the truth than the former, but the legend persists.\nThe Blade of Woe, sacred to the Dark Brotherhood's patron deity, the Dread Father Sithis, supposedly contains a special power to send the souls of those it kills directly to the Void. My own studies of similar artifacts have found no evidence of any such magicka. It's possible only a follower of Sithis can invoke these alleged properties, but I find it more likely that the blade simply holds special religious significance to its wielder, but no practical application in these regards. And since the victims of the Dark Brotherhood meet their ends in every way imaginable, including by poison and sabotage, they must believe, at least, that every death they inflict somehow finds its way to Sithis.\nGiven the secretive nature of the Dark Brotherhood, acquiring information is all but impossible and research on the subject is suspect at best and extremely hard to come by. I hope that by bringing this topic out into the open, other diligent scholars will investigate these mysterious killers and help to remove the shroud of mystery that surrounds their beliefs and act\n[intentionally cut off here]"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/glory-hunt": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/glory-hunt", "description": "", "author": "Wyress Strigidae", "title": "The Glory of the Hunt", "text": "The glory of the hunt. I've always known it, always felt it. As my arrow pierced the heart of a creature, its lifeblood slowly draining from its chest. As my dagger punctured an enemy's skull, as I stared into their eyes as the life slowly faded from them. The beautiful symphony of my prey's dying screams, screeches, pleas.\nI was always one of Hircine's children. No greater satisfaction could I gain than the thrill of the hunt, the feeling of triumph after a difficult kill. And the Huntsman Prince saw this, and smiled with bloody teeth.\nAs I laid dying, a sword sticking into my gut, I had no fear. I knew where my soul would go.\nThe Hunting Grounds. The forest of eternal hunts, of endless glory. Every day I join my sisters as we track our prey. Every night we lay under the majesty of Hircine's stars, recalling tales of our past victories. The wine is rich, the meat is fresh, and never do we fall ill. Our Lord has given us a paradise.\nSoon the Huntsman Prince will gather outsiders for his Great Hunt. An exciting time for all of us hunters within His realm. We shall test these newcomers, see if they are truly worthy of Hircine's boon. And should they fall, what harm then? They shall simply remain within this paradise, this home we call the Hunting Grounds."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/good-bits": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/good-bits", "description": "How to collect various dragon fluids", "author": "Dahfnar", "title": "The Good Bits", "text": "I know you Dragonguard are going to fill your packs with as many Dragon scales, claws, teeth, horns, and Shor knows what else, but save some room for a few bottles of rheum and you won't regret you did. Dragon humours have all sorts of uses, and leaving them to soak into the dirt is a crying shame. Whenever you're butchering a Dragon, remember a pan or something to catch all the good bits.\nBlood\nAll that hot red stuff leaking out the Dragon's corpse. Goes without saying. Provided you left any in the beast before you killed it, slip a sturdy dagger between the scales on the throat and give a squeeze. Unless you've got a way to string it up like a pig, you'll need to do the same for the arm pits, thighs, and base of the tail to extract the most out of it.\nBile\nThis one isn't so easy. You'll want to drive a blade into the Dragon's groin and cut in the direction of its head until you hit the ribs. Don't cut too deep or you'll hit the stomach and spill acid everywhere. Reach in under the ribcage until you find a muscly tube and follow that until you reach a melon-sized organ. Give it a squeeze. If it's spongy, yank it out. If it's firm, that's the stomach, and you don't want to rupture it. The spongy organ should be full of pure bile. Ring it out like a dishrag until you've got nothing but pulp in your hands.\nRheum\nTechnically, you don't need to kill a Dragon to collect its rheum, but good luck scraping mucus off its face while its sleeping. Dragon's secrete this from their eyes, nose, and mouth when they sleep. It tends to collect and dry in the corners of their eyes, edges of the nose, and crease of the mouth. Dried crust is fine, wet is better, but it'll probably be rare to get it that fresh.\nThere's a lot more I could add to this list, but their too hard to gather in the field.\nGood hunting,\n\tDahfnar"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gorge": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gorge", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Gorge", "text": "There is a divide between the realms of Boethiah and Clavicus Vile where need and hunger are one. A thin, vestigial place clinging to the skin of Mundus, gnawing in futility to break through. This is the Gorge. A pit of famine and desperation where brutal Daedra spend eternity devouring anything they can, even each other, to feed a boundless hunger that will never be satiated.\nPinnacle among these wretched creatures is the Insatiable, a hunger of great cunning and power. Once summoned into the material world, this Daedra will tirelessly feast on life, using the essence it devours to slip freely between the Gorge and Nirn and ambush its next meal.\nWith the proper preparation, a sorcerer can similarly move between these realms. If you are prepared to face the dangers of the Gorge, it will prove to be an invaluable means of passing undetected by the mortal world.\nAt a place where the barrier between Nirn and Oblivion is thinnest, bind an anchor to the material world by offering the Gorge the things it craves the most. The aspects of your own vital essence: Anima, Ego, Incalescence, and Mortality. Prepare braziers to channel these sacrifices and alight them in the proper order.\nWhen complete the anchor will become caught in the throat of the Gorge, leaving its maw forever open to you. Should you desire to move your anchor, you must snuff the sigils of your offerings in the order they were cast. This will return the anchor to the material world, allowing you to employ its power elsewhere."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gorge-0": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gorge-0", "description": "Describes a liminal realm of Oblivion, and the terrifying daedra that occupy it", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Gorge", "text": "There is a divide between the realms of Boethiah and Clavicus Vile where need and hunger are one. A thin, vestigial place clinging to the skin of Mundus, gnawing in futility to break through. This is the Gorge. A pit of famine and desperation where brutal Daedra spend eternity devouring anything they can, even each other, to feed a boundless hunger that will never be satiated.\nPinnacle among these wretched creatures is the Insatiable, a hunger of great cunning and power. Once summoned into the material world, this Daedra will tirelessly feast on life, using the essence it devours to slip freely between the Gorge and Nirn and ambush its next meal.\nWith the proper preparation, a sorcerer can similarly move between these realms. If you are prepared to face the dangers of the Gorge, it will prove to be an invaluable means of passing undetected by the mortal world.\nAt a place where the barrier between Nirn and Oblivion is thinnest, bind an anchor to the material world by offering the Gorge the things it craves the most. The aspects of your own vital essence: Anima, Ego, Incalescence, and Mortality. Prepare braziers to channel these sacrifices and alight them in the proper order.\nWhen complete the anchor will become caught in the throat of the Gorge, leaving its maw forever open to you. Should you desire to move your anchor, you must snuff the sigils of your offerings in the order they were cast. This will return the anchor to the material world, allowing you to employ its power elsewhere."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/grand-sermonizers-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/grand-sermonizers-journal", "description": "The Ceremonizer desperately wants to question a member of the Dark Brotherhood", "author": "The Grand Sermonizer", "title": "The Grand Sermonizer's Journal", "text": "Efforts continue according to the plan. After a few false starts, our agent was able to kill a suspected member of the Dark Brotherhood today. We had hoped to question the murderer, but our agent was rather eager in her application of dagger and sword.\n* * *\nI've prepared a series of sermons that will fill the streets of Kvatch with a fear and loathing of the hated Dark Brotherhood. That cult is an abomination in the eyes of the Divines and everyone must be made aware of it! My Sermonizers will spread the word and cast light upon the shadows that hide those murderers.\n* * *\nI have specifically asked our agent NOT to kill the next murderer she comes across. I've prepared my interrogation hall and am ready to draw the truth out of the murderer - by whatever means become necessary. Akatosh guide my hand!\n* * *\nThe Black Dragon brought a wounded but still mostly breathing murderer to me today. I look forward to applying several proven techniques that are guaranteed to make the murderer talk. Before the day ends, I'll have the location of whatever hole the Dark Brotherhood hides in. Then we can really step up our effort to eliminate their blight from the Gold Coast.\n* * *\nAkatosh forgive my clumsiness, but I have failed. The murderer was more stubborn and resistant than I expected. He refused to tell me anything of worth, no matter what tortures I submitted his physical form to. Needless to say, I was thorough in my application of pain. He suffered greatly before he finally expired. No matter. I'm sure the Black Dragon will secure another specimen before long.\nStrange. Something has disturbed the murderer's corpse in the interrogation hall. Maybe Akatosh has answered my prayer and sent another murderer for me to question. Well, I wouldn't want to keep whoever it is waiting."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/grandeya-custody": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/grandeya-custody", "description": "", "author": "D. at-Nimr", "title": "The Grandeya is in Custody", "text": "The grandeya is in custody, and ready for questioning. I would advise against any rash actions, as the people of Hallin's Stand are quick-tempered, and a bloodbath would not serve anyone's needs.\nAs always, if you need anything, please don't hesitate to ask.\n\u2014 D. at-Nimr"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/grave-skar": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/grave-skar", "description": "A Nord attends an Ashlander ritual at the site of Skar, an ancient, giant mudcrab corpse", "author": "Anrunn Frozen-Cove", "title": "The Grave of Skar", "text": "Skar's hollow eyes gaze upon the camps, webs clotting his vision as firelight dances across his withered face. His open maw now stands as an entryway, open only to the worthiest among the Ashlanders. They walk before this towering beast, the fallen foe of their ancestors. There is no music or drink, but rather solemn contemplation and prayer. I only hear their murmured voices and the cackle of the flames.\nThe Ashlanders say little to an outlander such as myself. They hold no love for any outside of their tribe, and a burning hatred for Dark Elves who follow the Tribunal. I feel turmoil growing, sunken into the ashen soil, fixed deeper than the legs of the fallen Skar. I feel there would be little hesitation among the Vvardenfell Dark Elves, should an opportunity arise for war.\nI try to understand their ways, their customs. Their history with the horrid beast, the house of their council, a shrine of their past. How was Skar defeated? Why is his corpse used as their meeting grounds? My questions are met with silence by most. Those willing to speak do so for the promise of food or gold, and even they have little to say.\nWhat I do know is that their ancestors defeated Skar in battle, though I'm not sure how. Some speak of a spear, but not of who wielded it. Who was this mysterious warrior? I would expect him to be well revered, honored among the Ashlanders. Why do none know his name? The oral traditions passed, those shared among the campfires I'm allowed to attend, they hold extraordinary details. Why does this name escape their memory?\nThe morbid grounds where the Ashlanders meet hold great importance as well. It reminds me of thanes that mount their kills above their thrones, a show of power and triumph. As the Ashlanders think upon their past victories, they also gain hope for future glory. They were the Mer who felled this beast, the mighty Skar. What can they not accomplish, should the day come?\nI look upon Skar's carcass, a shudder running through me. It fills me with dread, yet for these Ashlanders I believe he is a sign of hope, of strength. My gaze runs along their campfires and I wonder. What will come of that strength, of that pride? What future is in store for these tribes? Perhaps another Skar will rise and they will be the ones to defeat him. Or perhaps they will be the ones who are defeated. Only the passage of time will reveal that truth."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gray-passage": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gray-passage", "description": "A commandment to undertake a series of quests for the Star's favor.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Gray Passage", "text": "Sing, O Stars, the glory that dwells in the hearts of all people. Beneath Hosiven's stone and the long-quenched pyre of Sarhedil, let their labors find purpose and glory. Know O pilgrim, the virtues of the Stars, for all great deeds cry for blessing. Let the Stars guide the righteous through the Gray Passage, through the caves of Upper Craglorn, to find the prayer markers and their commands.\nHeed the Stars, O pilgrim, and undertake their quest. Seek their six virtues, hewn into stone. Bear each command with a noble heart and return with the utmost speed. For only the swift and the just shall receive celestial favor."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/great-houses-and-their-uses": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/great-houses-and-their-uses", "description": "A cynical Ashlander's overview of the Great Houses", "author": "Tel Verano", "title": "The Great Houses and Their Uses", "text": "Living in the Ashlands, you get used to life being hard. Angry kwama, poisonous fungus, tribal raiders\u2014everything wants to kill you. Don't let them.\nI've compiled some notes on the Great Houses of the Dark Elves. Use them or don't. It's your decision. Just don't come crawling to Tel Verano if you find yourself in a Dres slave caravan.\nHouse Indoril\nIf you're anywhere near the southern shore of the Inner Sea, House Indoril probably runs the show. The dogs of Almalexia control the most powerful house in Stonefalls and Deshaan. The Dres have money, and House Redoran has troops, but don't be fooled. The blue hats control the spiritual heart of the Ashlands.\nHave you seen their crest? It has wings, to let them fly far above us. That's how they see us: beneath them. Far beneath them. The military in Stonefalls is one of the most powerful in the region, and Indoril's war hero Tanval is right at the top.\nLoose Coins: Bribe Indoril troops before any others. They have the most clout. Don't try cracking temples. They're like fortresses. Anyone in Indoril robes has serious clout in Stonefalls and Deshaan. Look for easier targets.\nHouse Redoran\nDuty. Honor. Idiocy. Redoran has the common-folk thinking their house is the strong arm of the Pact. Whenever you seen a group of Pact military officers in the field, they want you to think the most impressive hats belong to their noble house.\nThe reality is somewhat different. Red hat troops do drive the Pact armies, but from the ground, not the top. Argonian scouts and Nord berserkers also command a lot of troops. The reason they try to slip this coin under the cup? Redoran nobles are still upset the Pact was formed in the first place. Their martial prowess looks a little thinner compared to Argonian stealth and Nord courage.\nTo quote from one of their proverbs: \"Life is hard. Judge, endure, and reflect. A careless life is not worth living.\" That's all well and good until different-looking folks come along. Then it's time to lie and strut for the commoners.\nLoose Coins: Redoran troops are humorless, but greedy. Offer one enough, and he'd sell you his own mother. Never insult a Redoran to his face. In fact, never insult a Redoran. They have a tendency to hear things in the training yard. If you're going to pick a pocket, a Redoran is a good target. Just make good your escape, or you'll be meeting with the Three sooner than you planned.\nHouse Hlaalu\nYou have to hand it to the Hlaalu. They actually walk the talk when it comes to Pact togetherness. It's not because they suddenly love our ancient enemies and slaves, though. No, Hlaalu's grandmaster is just smarter than most of the rest. An open hand makes it harder to notice the dagger behind your back. Am I right?\nWhile Indoril holds claim to the most powerful positions, Hlaalu has a snake's grip on Deshaan. Narsis is one of their greatest cities, and even in Mournhold, they have a lot of clout. Hlaalu public houses and plantations are everywhere south of Stonefalls. Learn their layouts well. A lot of the builders use the same plans over and over. When you learn the hiding places in one Hlaalu public house, you've learned them all.\nLoose Coins: Hlaalu troops are like kwama queens in Deshaan. Use that against them. Outside Deshaan, Hlaalu housemembers are likely to feel like they're standing in an ashstorm. No matter where you see them, yellow hats make good marks. Take them for all they're worth.\nHouse Dres\nYou probably think you know the Dres, right? Heartless slavers with rigid class roles. Arrogant nobles who'd just as soon sell you as look at you.\nYou're pretty much right. \"Don't cross Dres\" is a good bit of coin you can roll around in your head. I can hear you now, though. \"Tel, they have more money than they know what to do with.\" You're right again. Your average Dres noble has enough jewelry on display to tempt even the most seasoned cutpurse.\nRestrain your nimble fingers, friend. Dres justice doesn't bother with Ordinators or local guardsmen. You cross the Dres, you disappear. You're dead or a slave on some noble's plantation.\nLoose Coins: The coins are all tied up in a slavemaster's purse. Don't cross the Dres.\nHouse Telvanni\nThere's only one good thing about this house of mages: they don't give a guar about the Pact. They only care about their sanctuary on the Telvanni coast. When the Pact formed, they got their robes in a twist and tossed out every other house trooper they could find. They're no friends of the lizards or the Nords. They wouldn't walk to the other side of the road to save another house's grandmaster. In short, they're the classic ivory tower wizards.\nEverything else about the brown hats is bad news. They move almost as many slaves as House Dres. To become a noble in House Telvanni, you need serious power. Look at a well-dressed brown hat the wrong way, and they'll melt your face off. They value fabulous magical treasures just as much as books you couldn't trade for a stale loaf of bread.\nLoose Coins: Rampaging Daedra couldn't make me assault a mage's tower, but if you're desperate to leave Nirn, I suggest buying armor enchanted against fire and frost. Then observe the tower as long as you can. If the mark has any magical defenses in place, he'll probably have to come outside to restore them. You might have better luck on the street, but examine your new loot carefully. Some treasures have their own defenses built in."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/great-mooring": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/great-mooring", "description": "Instructions on handling Daedric invasion machinery", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Great Mooring", "text": "The door to the Great Mooring, the linch-point of the Great Shackle, must remain locked while the magicka conduits draws energy from the living spark encased in the collection prism.\nThe only way to open the door is to completely drain the energy from the living spark, or to disengage the conduits and cut off the flow of power.\nNever reverse the flow of energy through the conduits, however. Such a procedure could have disastrous effects on both the living spark and the energy collection apparatus, and it could set back the Planemeld by years, if not centuries, due to the amount of work that went into the system."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/great-siege-orsinium": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/great-siege-orsinium", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Great Siege of Orsinium", "text": "Ra Gada fought the tusky folk\n\tFrom Hammerfell they drove them\n\tIn wrath withdrew they northward to\n\tOrsinium, Orc city\n\tWhere found they welcome at the hands\n\tOf King Atop the Scarpment,\n\tGolkarr, mighty, Orc of wiles\n\tWho thought to take advantage\n\tTo use infusion of new blood\n\tTo broaden Orcish holdings\n\tDemands he made of Bretons south\n\tAlong the Bjoulsae River\n\tFor tariffs, tolls, ransoms, fees,\n\tOr down would come Orc hammer\n\tBut Joile, the king in Daggerfall\n\tRejected Golkarr's dictum\n\tSent to Gaiden Shinji of\n\tThe Order of Diagna\n\tUrged him with the Bretons join\n\tTo siege and sack Orc city\n\tMarched they then to Wrothgar Scarp\n\tOrsinium invested\n\tThey thought that Orcish walls could not\n\tWithstand their worthy weapons\n\tBut city high upon the scarp\n\tWas triple-gate defended\n\tObdurate Gates: each one greater\n\tThan the one before it\n\tSmelter, Hammer, Temper, they\n\tWere called, by Orcish stonewrights\n\tThe folk of Mauloch stood atop\n\tAnd hurled down baneful missiles\n\tAnd Breton, Redguard, smitten sore\n\tDrew back to lower regions\n\tLaughed then the Orcs, and bared their tusks\n\tAt warrior Men confounded\n\tWhile Golkarr smiled in high Scarp Keep\n\tAnd praised the Wrothgar clan-kin\n\tBut Gaiden Shinji and King Joile\n\tWere not abashed or shaken\n\tThey summoned grandees, knights, and counts\n\tTo bring their armsmen thither\n\tOrsinium surrounded they\n\tAnd settled in to siege it\n\tWhile plots and plans were schemed and made\n\tThe walls and gates, to breach them\n\tThe Orcs were quite content to wait\n\tFrom Jugular well-watered\n\tAnd fed by fertile fungus fields\n\tIn Caves of Dark Abundance\n\tThe Men, they thought, would tire and leave\n\tTo go back to their families\n\tThey reckoned not the fire that burned\n\tIn Joile and Gaiden Shinji\n\tTen years their men sieged outer gate\n\tAnd finally Smelter faltered\n\tA decade more at second gate\n\tTill Hammer then was broken\n\tTen years again were spent in toil\n\tTill Temper fell asunder\n\tThen wrathful Men at last went in\n\tOrsinium to plunder\n\tGolkarr prayed in Grudgement Hall\n\tFor Mauloch to defend him\n\tBut King Joile took him by the hair\n\tAnd Gaiden Shinji slew him"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/great-warmth": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/great-warmth", "description": "A prayer to the Great Warmth", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Great Warmth", "text": "Bow to the great warmth\n\tPray to the great warmth\n\tGive to the great warmth\n\tThe great warmth is your father\n\tThe great warmth is your master\n\tThe great warmth watches\n\tThere is no life without warmth"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/green-ladies-abode": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/green-ladies-abode", "description": "Tourist's guide to the town of Deepwoods and its two Green Ladies", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Green Ladies' Abode", "text": "Entry Donation: 1 gold\nWelcome to Deepwoods, abode of the former and current Green Ladies of Malabal Tor!\nOur first Green Lady, Finoriell, was revealed as Green Lady later than customary, by which time she lived in Velyn Harbor. She served well, and upon her passing, the search began for the next Green Lady.\nBlessed Deepwoods proved once again to foster the fortitude required in Finoriell's niece, Gwaering, who demonstrated the physical prowess, cunning, and strength expected of the Green Lady.\nWithin Deepwoods, you may see Gwaering and Finoriell's home, as well as many of the places where they once hunted. Gwaering in particular showed early aptitude with the bow, with a high kill ratio from her tenderest years.\nThe Green Lady is not a mere symbol of virtue, she holds within her the ability to channel her strength to the Bosmer as needed upon completion of her investiture.\nWithin a fortnight of her selection, preparations began for Gwaering's handfasting with the Silvenar.\nThe celebrations will continue for many months following the formal handfast ceremony, which takes place in the city of Silvenar.\nPlease enjoy your visit to Deepwoods, however long or short your stay!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/green-pact-and-dominion": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/green-pact-and-dominion", "description": "A pamphlet advising unity in the Dominion and defending the Bosmers' allies", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Green Pact and the Dominion", "text": "Just like trees grow toward the sun and you can hear different birds singing when the moons are out than when they are not, every Wood Elf born in Valenwood (and indeed, nearly every one born outside of it), knows of the Green Pact.\nThe Green Pact is the agreement between the Wood Elves and Y'ffre that has guided our existence from the beginning of the great story.\nIts rules are clear. Do not harm the forest. Do not eat anything made from plant life. Eat only meat. When you conquer your enemies, eat their flesh. Do not leave them to rot. Do not kill wastefully. Do not take on the shape of beasts. You are Wood Elves. Your form is sacred.\nThis is the Green Pact. In exchange for keeping to this Pact, the forest, which we call the Green, has provided us with ample food and shelter. Y'ffre has given us the limited gift to ask the forest to shape itself to our needs. We have been amply blessed.\nBut now, we find ourselves in a new situation. Our new allies\u2014the High Elves and the Khajiit\u2014do not hold to the Green Pact. They live in houses made of thatch and timber. They eat all manner of fruits and berries and drink wine made from grapes. They find the devouring of one's enemies barbaric.\nHow are the Wood Elves of Valenwood to accommodate these new allies, while keeping to the Green Pact? It is a question that perplexes many Wood Elves today, especially in the newly-erected city of Marbruk. In the past, we have fought wars over lesser defilement of the Green.\nAt the same time, we recognize that at the time of the Dominion's founding, the Green Lady and the Silvenar spoke on behalf of the Wood Elves and the Green Pact. We remember that we have a powerful mouthpiece in the Thalmor, Woodhearth's own Treethane Fariel.\nThese are the leaders we should look to in this uncertain time. They have shown us through their actions an example which we can all follow. We must welcome these allies with true Wood Elf hospitality. We must not pick fights with them. We must try not to steal from them (many of them do not appreciate the rite of theft, but that is a subject for another essay). But at the same time, we should not shy away from speaking out in our own interests, and in that of the Green.\nBecause of Treethane Fariel's powerful voice, much of the timber and all of the thatch for Marbruk was brought into Valenwood from other parts. For many the fact that so many trees had to be felled to clear space for the city is unforgiveable, but Fariel saw that accommodating our allies is the first step to a strong defense of Valenwood against those who would surely destroy it.\nQueen Ayrenn's willingness to listen is a sign of her wisdom and respect for the Wood Elf people. We should repay her by being willing to trust her leadership."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/green-singing": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/green-singing", "description": "The story of a Bosmeri Spinner's ritual", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Green Singing", "text": "The Bosmer Spinner stood before the rising moons, a shadow fingering a belt of glittering shells.\n\"Heavy-bearded Y'ffre, speak through me. Tell us of the time before time. Let the story grow in me. Let my heart echo to the pounding of your feet along the story-lines, the bones of the world. I will walk Your steps, and know Your story.\"\nThe Spinner's eyes flickered closed. His fingertips slid along the belt, picking out the shape and orientation of the shells. He raised a foot, and with deliberation stamped it on the ground.\n\"Speak through me, Y'ffre. Tell us of the drum-play of Mara, who beat out a pulse against the darkness that gnawed Old Ehlnofey. Mara, whose eyes glitter like hot coals, known of mer and knowing mer, mother of a thousand-thousand children. She who looks at Arkay's form and does not blush, but breathes deep the scent of Him.\"\nThe Spinner took thumping, methodical steps across the hilltop, eyes closed, hands tracing the patterns of shells wrapped around his chest. His voice shamed the night-calls of nearby insects to silence.\nThe others watching were reverently silent, eyes closed, swaying in time with the Spinner's steps. His feet slowed, pounding deep footprints in the earth. He no longer spoke; he sighed. He whispered.\n\"'We are who we are,' the taller tribe says, in a voice made of leaf-shivers. 'We taste the earth and feel your steps over us. We were the land of green singing before the bones were set. Before the before-and-after.'\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gryphons-welkynars": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gryphons-welkynars", "description": "Explains the responsibilities of gryphon training and ownership", "author": "Welkynar Siroria", "title": "The Gryphons of the Welkynars", "text": "Now, let's get this straight. Gryphon training is no joking matter. Within the wild, these beasts are deadly. Dangerous. They'd eat you sooner than look at you. There's many trainers in Sunhold who can attest to that. Even the chicks are known to peck off a finger or two, if you're not careful.\nAs a Welkynar, you'll be expected to raise your gryphon from the time it hatches to the day it dies. Or you die, of course, given our line of work. This starts off by collecting an egg. Yes, you collect the egg, so don't expect to be handed one your first day. And I suggest you don't go killing the gryphon mother, either. It's hard to be bonded to a creature you've brutally orphaned. Trust me on that.\nOnce your chick has hatched, the bonding process can begin. You'll immediately begin to undergo magical rituals to create a bond. But other than that, your relationship must grow from familiarity. You'll feed, clean, and care for this chick. Expect a lot of pecks, scratches, and sleepless nights.\nOnce the bonding process has been complete, your gryphon will be trained to fight by your side. This gryphon will be your steed, protector, and steadfast friend. Their training will be just as stringent and hard as yours. And, by the end of it, the creature will become a soldier finer than most.\nNow remember, this isn't a commitment to be taken lightly. The bond you form with your gryphon will be unlike anything you've experienced. Rather than a mere companion, your gryphon shall become an extension of your very self. Your thoughts, your feelings, your needs, everything will be connected.\nShould you successfully accomplish this responsibility, you'll be welcomed within the ranks of the Welkynars. An honor that will change your entire course of life. So choose your egg wisely, candidate."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/guise-woodcutter": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/guise-woodcutter", "description": "An unassuming disguise", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Guise of Woodcutter", "text": "The guise of woodcutter has served me well. The guards at the gate of Ghartok passed me through without a second glance. This camp has proved an excellent vantage point to spy on the movement of troops from the Southern Morrowind gate. General Khamagash should reward me well upon my return.\nThe ruined houses to the north and northwest offer even better views of the main routes for troop movements, but I risk much for those vistas. Why would a simple woodcutter be crouching among the still-smoldering ruins? Even the dull-witted Pact guards would question such a thing. My luck has held thus far, as no eyes have spied me, no cry has arisen. May Onsi continue to watch over me."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/handfast-song-list": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/handfast-song-list", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Handfast Song List", "text": "Alanaire\n\tA Queen's Memory\n\tThe Tide of Times\n\tLaen\n\tLeaf and Branch, Blood and Bone\n\tBallad of the Spirit Hunters\n\tBuzul and Dadazi\n\tOne Becomes Two\n\tDreams of the Moons\n\tRequiem for Thunder"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/heart-lorkhan-my-final-prize": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/heart-lorkhan-my-final-prize", "description": "A treasure hunter attempts to find the greatest prize of all... or die trying", "author": "Artisan Lenarmen", "title": "The Heart of Lorkhan, My Final Prize", "text": "Everyone knows the legend. The Heart of Lorkhan, which so famously told Auriel, \"This Heart is the heart of the world, for one was made to satisfy the other.\" Indestructible, hidden away, cast down into the sea. Only to end up beneath the Red Mountain, waiting for the right opportunist to collect it for their own. And today I have come to collect my prize.\nYes, it may only be my speculation that the Heart resides in Nchuleftingth, but my instinct has driven me to success before. I've researched many volumes pertaining to the myth, and all indicate that it lies beneath Red Mountain. This is where I will make my greatest find.\nThe fact that I believe in this Aedric artifact should speak nothing of my faith to the Divines. Only a fool ignores myth. After all, every story holds some kernal of truth to it. Legends are simply facts that have been expanded upon, morphed into the ridiculous. And I believe that the Heart, though clearly an object of great power, is merely that. A magical object I mean to obtain.\nI was surprised to find Neramo here, of all the halfwits I could come across in Vvardenfell. He and his motley crew were easy enough to capture or run off, and I've found the control rod he's left behind quite useful. Naturally I have many modifications for the tool already in mind, but currently it's worked well in getting the Dwarven constructs under my control.\nI'm not sure what the Heart of Lorkhan can achieve. Perhaps it will be a powerful potion ingredient, more potent than any Daedra heart. Or perhaps it can grant magical attributes, such as boundless strength or resilience in battle. Perhaps it is a great soul gem, capable of powering something grander than Tamriel has ever seen. No matter its use, all I know is that it shall earn me enough gold to retire. I am far too sensible to ever attempt to use an item of great power. Too often, such greed leads to despair."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/heart-love": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/heart-love", "description": "Invocation of Mara", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Heart of Love", "text": "Know, penitent, that Mara is always with you. Within your breast beats her love and affection. The symbol of her floral star adorns the walls at the wedding chapel. Her priests tend to the needs of husband and wife. And always is her gaze upon the young.\nTo complete your venerations here, intone: \"Fivefold blessings upon the lost and lovelorn. The Heart pumps the blood that connects us across the aurbis. May her grace always be upon me.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/heartland-cyrodiil": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/heartland-cyrodiil", "description": "One explanation of why Cyrodiil isn't a jungle", "author": "Phrastus of Elinhir", "title": "The Heartland of Cyrodiil", "text": "The fertile farmlands of central Cyrodiil, around Lake Rumare and the Nibenay Valley, the region commonly known as \"The Heartland,\" is temperate in climate, supporting the crops and livestock that feed all of central Tamriel. Rain and thunderstorms are frequent, but the region is free from the sandstorms of Hammerfell to the west or the monsoons of Black Marsh to the southeast.\nMuch has been made of the classical author Heimskr's characterization of Cyrodiil as a jungle or rainforest. My studies indicate that the use of the phrase \"endless jungle\" to describe Cyrodiil appears to be an error in transcription. Close study of the original, badly faded manuscript reveals that the phrase was miscopied, and should be more accurately rendered as \"extensive uplands.\" The adjectives \"an equatorial rain\" as applied to the Nibenese forest do not appear in the original manuscript at all, and I would posit were added by the scribe in support of his previous erroneous use of \"jungle.\" Lady Cinnabar of Taneth, of course, takes issue with this exegesis, but the flaws in her methods of scholarship have been well-documented elsewhere."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hedge-maze": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hedge-maze", "description": "Journal of a trapped man", "author": "Lantoine Beaufort", "title": "The Hedge Maze", "text": "I thought the werewolves were going to eat me at first, but they just threw me into this garden. They said that if I survived, I would be turned into one of them. I'm not sure what's a worse fate: dying a grizzly death, or becoming one of those monsters.\nI've been able to hide for a few hours now, but I keep hearing heavy footfalls behind me. A few minutes ago, I was even able to glimpse the top of the creature's head. There's a lurcher in here, and it's hunting me.\nIf I run out of hiding, if I'm killed now, I can at least keep my humanity intact. I keep telling myself that, but I just don't think I can go through with it. The same thought keeps running through my mind, again and again.\nI don't want to die.\nThere's no escape. There's no survival. May Stendarr have mercy on my soul.\n-Lantoine Beaufort"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hidden-key": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hidden-key", "description": "Obvious note defeats the purpose of hidden key.", "author": "Salianna", "title": "The Hidden Key", "text": "Jonoren,\nLady Lleraya has finished casting her veil within the ruins. Count Ravenwatch and his lackeys will never be able to find their way now!\nAs commanded, I locked the trap door that leads to the chambers below. If you need to go down there, I hid the key in a backpack and stuck it in the north tower. Remember, the veil will affect you, just as it will Ravenwatch. So if you find yourself in the chambers below, be careful. The veil may be a shadow, but it hides very real dangers!\nAnd don't leave this note lying around. If I wanted anyone to see it, I wouldn't have hidden the key in the first place.\n\u2014 Salianna"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hidden-trials": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hidden-trials", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Hidden Trials", "text": "They who would master the Way of the Blade must seek the hidden trials.\n\tIn the depths of the pits, beasts tear flesh from limb.\n\tOn the heights of the rooftops, a challenger awaits.\n\tThese are the Trials of the Seeker."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hidden-trials-0": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hidden-trials-0", "description": "Note about the trials of the Seeker", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Hidden Trials", "text": "They who would master the Way of the Blade must seek the hidden trials.\nIn the depths of the pits, beasts tear flesh from limb.\nOn the heights of the rooftops, a challenger awaits.\nThese are the Trials of the Seeker."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hidden-tunnels-orsinium": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hidden-tunnels-orsinium", "description": "Description of a potentially fictional tunnel beneath Orsinium's temple", "author": "Grilbar the Architect", "title": "The Hidden Tunnels of Orsinium", "text": "From \"Secrets of an Orc City\"\n\tBy Grilbar the Architect\nWhen next the Orcs decided to rebuild the city of Orsinium, they determined to create a series of tunnels beneath the streets that would serve as an escape route should the city ever again fall under siege. These tunnels still exist in the current day, with the newest stones of Orsinium being laid atop their foundation.\nAs the king's workers continue to build the city, some of the tunnels have been sealed off or even collapsed. But many of the tunnels, hidden beneath the ancient foundations of older structures, continue to crisscross below the city streets. One of the most famous of these tunnels, described in the fictional account \"The Battle of Orsinium\", is the Temple Tunnel, which was said to run from beneath the temple in Orsinium to the mountains behind Scarp Keep.\nAccording to the work of fiction mentioned above, a secret passage guarded the way to the tunnel. To access the tunnel, at least in the story, the high chief's son had to solve a riddle to open the secret passage.\nI look forward to a time when the priests of the temple allow me the opportunity to attempt to open the secret passage. Then we can determine once and for all whether Bangor the Liar's tale is based on facts or truly is a complete work of fiction."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hidden-twilight": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hidden-twilight", "description": "The beginning of a book about the city of Inkseed", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Hidden Twilight", "text": "The City of Inkseeds rose from the desert, shining and decadent. Somehow, it still stood. I crossed through the gate, and the beast knew exactly where to take me: the way worn by beggars and poets. The only place a man of my appetites can find satisfaction. I'm not proud, but then, nobody ever is.\n<The rest of this tome is illegible due to age and wear.>"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hind-quarters-registry": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hind-quarters-registry", "description": "Notes on inn visitors", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Hind-Quarters Registry ", "text": "Entry 1\n\t\t\u2014 Khajiiti sugar merchant checked in with guard.\nEntry 2\n\t\t\u2014 High Elf pilgrim checked out.\nEntry 3\n\t\t\u2014 Group of Maormer sailors checked in.\n\t\t\u2014 All beds filled. No vacancies.\nEntry 4\n\t\t\u2014 Khajiiti merchant and guard checked out. Claimed they were \"encouraged\" to do so by the Maormer.\n\t\t\u2014 Two Maormer sailors checked in immediately after merchant's departure.\n\t\t\u2014 All beds filled. No vacancies.\nEntry 5\n\t\t\u2014 Entire Maormer contingent checked out. Refused to pay for final week! Will send a bill to Ambassador Ulondil.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hists-fire": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hists-fire", "description": "An Argonian love story", "author": "Pegareem", "title": "The Hist's Fire", "text": "Many ask us how we find our mates, as though Argonians cannot experience joy the way the mer do.\nThough this seems absurd, I myself met my husband in an unusual way. I believe the Hist spoke to both of us, to ensure we would both be where we could not help but meet and fall in love. This despite my innermost belief I'd never marry.\nThe first stir caught me by surprise. I put away items in the shop, organizing what I could amongst the clutter, when suddenly I heard my own voice in my mind say, \"Wait for him.\"\n\"For \u2026?\" I asked aloud, startled out of my reverie.\nSilence.\nMy quiet sensibility replaced by confusion, I turned abruptly, knocking over the lamp, which flung an arc of burning oil across the room.\nOil landed everywhere, from the piles of fabric, to the litter of papers, and the straw scattered over the floor. In a single moment, a modest light source turned the crowded room into a fire pit.\nCoral tongues licked across the dried herbs hanging from the ceiling, and I realized I'd been standing still, slack-jawed, as smoke and heat and flame swirled around.\nThe hut had never seemed so large as it did then. Dark with smoke, bright with fire, its air filled with a dull, creaking roar. I squinted against the elements, my hand across my mouth, and staggered toward the ever-receding door.\n\"Anyone in there? Anyone?\"\n\"Me!\"\nI reached the door as it burst open, causing the flames to surge upwards and out with an almost celebratory leap. A dark hand grabbed mine, pulling me out and away.\n\t\"Are you hurt?\"\nCoughing, I shook my head. \"I'm all right. But the store \u2026.\"\nWe both turned to look. The fire, so unruly within the confines of the hut, had met its match with the wet thatch roof.\n\"Thank you for helping me,\" I said, turning to face my rescuer at last.\nOur eyes locked in recognition. The Hist had chosen us for each other, and neither of us would need to wait any longer."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hoarvor-pit": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hoarvor-pit", "description": "A trapped Hoarvor and a trapped man", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Hoarvor Pit", "text": "I don't know how long this creature has been trapped down here, but the stories of the hoarvor pit go back as far as my grandfather's grandfather. It's been down here the entire time, and they've been feeding on it.\nWhat else could Daedric blood do to hoarvors but make them mean? And large. I doubt I'll be able to find a way back out; they nearly killed me on the way in.\nAt least the hoarvors will have something different to eat for a change."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/holy-vessel": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/holy-vessel", "description": "Take good care of one of Veloth's relics", "author": "Tidyn Arthalen", "title": "The Holy Vessel", "text": "Be very careful when you handle the holy vessel. It is the most important relic in our temple and the reason why our temple exists at all. Saint Veloth is best known for wielding his hammer, Veloth's Judgment, but he also carried this vessel in his time. Like many objects the saint blessed, it has the power to heal. But it also possesses a variety of other interesting magical properties. Indestructibility is not, unfortunately, one of them.\n\u2014Tidyn Arthalen"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/holy-wamasu-care-and-feeding": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/holy-wamasu-care-and-feeding", "description": "How to best take care of a Wamasu", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Holy Wamasu: Care and Feeding", "text": "While the holy wamasu will eat anything, a wise keeper ensures a variance in its diet to keep the sacred beast happy and content. When the wamasu is content, the keeper is happy \u2026 and safe.\nDo not overfeed the holy wamasu, however! A bloated lightning dragon discharges its excess in several ways. Some are distasteful; others are dangerous.\nExperiment with a mix of mud crabs, kagouti, and Bosmer. Remember, the holy wamasu prefers a live diet, so keep its meal both healthy and whole until feeding time."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/horse-folk-silverhoof": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/horse-folk-silverhoof", "description": "A long-lost tribe of Yokudans discovered in High Rock!", "author": "Doctor Nabeth al-Gilane, Khefrem Academy of Yokudan Heritage", "title": "The Horse-Folk of Silverhoof", "text": "I scoffed, of course, when I heard the rumors. A lost colony of Redguards on the northern coast of High Rock? Patently absurd. But the rumors were so persistent, so consistent, that eventually I was moved to take a sabbatical from my pedagogic duties at the Academy and travel north to see for myself.\nAnd behold, by the tears of Morwha, it was so! All of the scholarly details will be found in my forthcoming paper \"Sevenfold Truths of the Tribe of the Herd-Mother,\" but I shall summarize the main points here, as I feel this tale is too wondrous to wait upon the slow march of scholarship.\nOn the northwest coast of the High Rock region of Rivenspire, some leagues west of the city of Shornhelm, is a pastoral basin known as the Vale of Silverhoof. Abiding there, as they have for the past three thousand years, is a tribe of Redguards who go by the simple name of the Horsemen.\nHow did they get there, and when, and why? Unfortunately the Horsemen have no written records, but their oral traditions are strong, and I have recorded those that have been passed down from one generation to the next. The elders of the tribe were generous with their time, particularly two named Muzar and Yalaida, and from their tales I have been able to piece together the following tentative history.\nThe Horsemen originally came from Yokuda, of this there can be no doubt. Though they have become unavoidably \"Bretonized\" over the centuries by contact with the Nedic folk who surround them, they retain a number of Yokudan words in daily speech, all spoken with that drawl in the vowels we associate with the steppes of old Akos Kasaz. A few examples will suffice from their riding terminology: to tell a horse to turn left, the Horsemen say \"Netu;\" to turn right, \"Netu Hu;\" and to halt, they say \"Selim.\" Of course, \"netu\" is Old Yokudan for \"turn,\" while \"anselim\" means to stop or to cease.\nSo the Horsemen are of Yokudan descent, most probably from the herding clans of northern Akos Kasaz. The elders of the tribe maintain detailed oral accounts of their genealogy, and from the number of generations they record, it is possible to date their arrival on the shores of Tamriel to the early sixth century of the First Era. This was a period of upheaval in High Rock, when the Direnni Hegemony was in its death throes and the Breton kingdoms were just establishing themselves, a time when a colony of determined settlers could find a niche and establish itself before it could be driven out or absorbed by the indigenes. And according to the tales I heard from Muzar and Yalaida, this is exactly what happened in the Vale of Silverhoof, nearly two centuries before the Ra Gada came to Hammerfell.\nWhy the Horsemen came to this land is harder to determine, for on that subject their tales veer into the legendary or even mythical. Here I must speak about the tribe's unorthodox religious beliefs, for they are central to their traditions and identity. For the Horsemen do not worship any of the Old Yokudan gods as we know them, instead venerating a sort of divine animist spirit they call the Herd Mother. This equine entity acts as the tribe's guiding and protective deity; young Horsemen must commune with her on a vision journey they must partake by themselves that acts as a rite of passage to adulthood (similar to our own tradition of Walkabout). This \"Herd Mother\" is otherwise unknown to modern scholarship, but of course the vast majority of our cultural records were lost in the cataclysm that swallowed the Old Isles.\nThe Horsemen's tradition is that the tribe left lost Yokuda in order to preserve their worship of this Herd Mother, which was somehow endangered in the Old Isles. Their stories describe the journey from Akos Kasaz in a flotilla of \"swimming horse-ships\" given them by the Herd Mother, in which they \"crossed seventeen seas\" before reaching Tamriel. We may discount this tale as somewhat fanciful, but the Horsemen claim to have brought their eponymous mounts with them from the Isles, and this I do not doubt. For to the eye of this connoisseur of horseflesh, the steeds of the Horsemen are unmistakably identical to that breed we call the Yokudan Charger, and could have come directly from the Aswala Stables in the Alik'r."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/house-orsimer-glories": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/house-orsimer-glories", "description": "Please donate your culturally significant loot to this museum", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The House of Orsimer Glories", "text": "By Order of the King: All relics, heirlooms, and ancient tomes relating to the glorious heroics of the Orsimer people and the history of Wrothgar must be collected and turner over to the House of Orsimer Glories at the earliest opportunity.\nThe goal is to fill the many displays in the House of Orsimer Glories with items of historic significance. Curator Umutha will offer a reward for every item donated to the museum.\nFor more details and to obtain a list of desired relics, inquire with Curator Umutha at the The House of Orsimer Glories in the city of Orsinium."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/humor-wood-elves": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/humor-wood-elves", "description": "A collection of Bosmeri jokes", "author": "Telenger the Artificer", "title": "The Humor of Wood Elves", "text": "Collected by Telenger the Artificer\nVulkwasten, widely known for its fermented beverages, is home to some of the friendliest Bosmer I've ever met. Like most of their kind, they are industrious and get along well with most people. After completing research into their brewing methods, I stayed overnight with a local family.\nAs a historian, I realize one can learn much about a culture by studying its humor. Therefore, I copied down several of their witticisms for future examination. Perhaps by considering their amusements, we will gain further insight into the mind of the Bosmer.\nA skeleton walks into the tavern and says, \"I'd like some rotmeth. And a mop.\"\nQ: Why did the monkey fall out of the tree?\n\tA: It was dead.\nQ. What's brown and sticky?\n\tA. A stick.\nPerson One: Ask me if I'm a tree.\n\tPerson Two: Are you a tree?\n\tPerson One: No.\nQ. Which side of a raven has the most feathers?\n\tA. The outside.\nQ. What has three heads, is ugly, and smells?\n\tA. My mistake! You don't have three heads!\nQ. What's light as a feather, but cannot be held for very long?\n\tA. Breath.\nQ. Imagine your boat's sinking in slaughterfish-infested waters. How do you survive?\n\tA. Stop imagining!\nQ. Why do thunderbugs eat raw meat?\n\tA. They never learned to cook.\nQ. Why do bees buzz?\n\tA. Because they can't whistle."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hunger-sep": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hunger-sep", "description": "A fable about the origin story of the Assassin Beetles", "author": "The Unveiled Azadiyeh, Songbird of Satakalaam", "title": "The Hunger of Sep", "text": "Look, my child, at the beetle I hold in my palm. It scuttles, and tickles, and looks busily for food. Would you like to hold it, child? I swear, by Tava's red feathers, that it shall not be hurtful to you. It is quite harmless, this beetle.\nAt this size.\nFor it will grow\u2014yes, even as you will grow, so will this beetle. As you grow and grow until you reach woman's height, so will this beetle grow and grow.\nAnd in the fullness of time, you will cease to grow. But the beetle will grow on.\nIt was not ever thus. In far-off Yokuda, in times of yore, when all walked in step with the gods, these beetles were the friends of our houses and the amusing companions of our children. They were named Samara Scarabs. And they grew, yes, but only to the size of an ample millet-loaf, for it was not needful for them to grow larger. For were they not favored of the children? Did they not scamper, and race, and sing the clickety-song? And were they not well-fed therefore, on seeds and savory dung-pellets?\nAye, it was so.\nAnd the lives of the people were good, for though the land was harsh, the people followed the will of the gods, and thus were vouchsafed enough to live well, and a little more. And the Divines were reverenced as it was written they should be, and all things were in their proper places.\nBut some there were among the people who decided that a little more than what they needed was not as much as they did want. And in their avarice they fell away from proper reverence, and were taken, yea, body and soul, with the Hunger of Sep. And this was an ill thing, for the Hunger of Sep can never be sated.\nThen evil came to Yokuda, and red war, and forbidden rites were practiced, and fell things were summoned that should never have been called forth. It was a Time of Ending. Satakal arose from the starry deeps, and Yokuda was pulled down beneath the waves.\nBut after every End Time comes a New Time, and it was even so in this case. For some of the people were permitted to sojourn to Tamriel, where we took Hammefell for our own. There we were given a chance to once again worship the gods in proper reverence. And we brought our Samara Scarabs with us, that we might delight the children and remember happier days.\nAnd the Hunger of Sep was left behind\u2014for a time, my child, for a time. But it is deep in our mortal core, and may ever arise again. So the gods gave unto us a warning, yea, even unto the smallest children. For in this New Time, in this New Place, our little companions grew to the size of an ample millet-loaf, as was meet. However, they then continued to grow, and burgeon, and sprout hurtful claws and rending mandibles. And then, with tears, we drove them from our homes and into the wastes, where they flourished and became baneful.\nYes, my child\u2014the Assassin Beetles that plague the empty places are our own Samara Scarabs, smitten by the gods with the Hunger of Sep. They are a lesson to us, an awful warning to those who would become too avid.\nBe happy, then, and forego all avarice\u2014for here we have enough to live well, and a little more."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hungry-cats-curse": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hungry-cats-curse", "description": "The first werewolf seeks revenge on her crearor", "author": "Vykosa the Ascendant", "title": "The Hungry Cat's Curse", "text": "Vykosa loved the hunt. The adrenaline which flowed through her as she tracked her prey. Her thundering heartbeat as she stared the beast down. The hitch in her breath as her arrow pierced the creature's heart.\nThere was no greater satisfaction.\nShe was mortal then, with pure heart and clear conscious. Young. So young when the Hungry Cat made his offer. When he reached out his hand, promising her glory. Promising her power.\nAnd Vykosa was foolish enough to follow him. Revere him. Worship him.\nAnd for that she was cursed.\nShe became the hunted. The frightened. Always running, always hiding. Hircine did not turn Vykosa into his wolf, oh no. He turned her into a Hare. An eternal Hare for an endless hunt.\nBut now she has ascended. No longer shall this one cower in fear. She has built a pack, larger and stronger than any before. An army stands before her, ready to fight back against those who hate us. Ready to take the land for us cursed creatures.\nDo you watch Vykosa, Hungry Cat? Do you laugh at her struggles, at her pain? You shall not laugh for much longer. For when Tamriel is within her grasp, you are next."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/huntsman-prince": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/huntsman-prince", "description": "Overview of Hircine, his realm, and the Great Hunt", "author": "Hanu of the Zainab", "title": "The Huntsman Prince", "text": "Tribe Huntsman of the Princes. Father of Manbeasts. The Hungry Cat. Hircine has many names, but all relate to his one known sphere; the hunt. The Daedric Prince is obsessed with the chase, the capture, the kill; whether the prey be mer, man, or beast.\nHircine is a favored subject of worship in Tamriel, although it is not out of line to question this popularity. None would go so far as to call him a deity of benevolence. In fact, Hircine has never seemed to actively want worship or reverence. He simply seeks out, tests, and rewards hunters he finds worthy.\nPerhaps that's the appeal of such an idol. There's an odd purity to his savagery. Unlike many other Daedric Princes, his boons are generally found to be more or less fair. All his followers must do is prove themselves to him. Do so, and they are promised an afterlife of endless hunts within his Hunting Grounds.\nThe Hunting Grounds\nFollowers of Hircine are promised one thing; an afterlife within the Prince's realm of Oblivion, known as the Hunting Grounds. An endless forest where endless hunts are held. A land of savagery and violence, where an eternal cycle of death and rebirth take place.\nHunting lodges dot the landscape, home to the souls which haunt this realm. Powerful beasts lurk within the forests, allowing Hircine's followers to indulge in spectacular hunts. A true paradise for those who have dedicated their life to the Huntsman Prince.\nThe Great Hunt\nThough a rare occurrence, Hircine does allow the living to enter his realm. This event is known as the Great Hunt, a deadly competition held for the Huntsman Prince's amusement. This contest of skill and cunning has only one goal in mind; capture the Hare and present it to Hircine. Only then will you earn his favor.\nMany die during this bid for Hircine's boon. It's not uncommon for competitors to turn against one another, or to be killed by one of the many natural dangers the realm presents. And the Hare itself, of course, never goes down without a fight.\nLycanthropy\nHircine's title Father of Manbeasts is a well earned one. He's believed to be the creator of lycanthropy, the ability for mer and man to transform into beastial creatures. The most well known of these lycanthropes are werewolves.\nThose infected with lycanthropy, whether by birth or infection, are cursed with an aggressive madness that compels them to bloodlust. Upon their death, they are sent to spend their afterlife within the Hunting Grounds. This is regardless of their allegiance to Hircine.\nThere's no known documentation of a soul escaping the Hunting Grounds, but there is one possibility. If a competitor of the Great Hunt would ask for a soul's freedom as their boon, Hircine will be compelled to free that individual's soul. And that is exactly what I must do if I ever wish for my father to be free of that savage realm."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ice-elder-ogres": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ice-elder-ogres", "description": "An anthropologist's observation of Orsinium Ogre ice magic", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Ice Elder of the Ogres", "text": "I've spent a fair amount of time researching the wildlife of Tamriel, from the common (and fickle) mudcrab to the powerful and beastly wamasu of Argonia. When I was invited to Orsinium, I jumped at the chance to explore its untamed wilderness.\nBefore we even arrived at the city of Orsinium, my caravan was attacked by those filthy Winterborn. My protectors were either slain or fled into the hills, so I tried to follow. I soon found myself lost. In my panic, I fell into a small ravine.\nThat was the last I remember before waking up, surrounded by blue-furred giants. They seemed to take interest in my well-being. Either that, or they were keeping me alive so that could devour me later. Ogres, while technically of the Goblin-kin, are not known for their intelligence, but they are far smarter than most animals. As a rule, I do not study the intelligent races. Circumstances being what they were, I was intrigued enough to record what I was able to observe.\nFrom what I saw, the ogres of the Wrothgarian foothills are far more advanced than the crude brutes I've occasionally encountered near Wayrest. Several of them, elders I suppose, seemed to practice some sort of crude totemic magic that involved the manipulation of ice. One of them approached me and studied me with as much interest as I showed in them. That was when something amazing happened.\nMy leg was broken and bleeding from my fall, and I couldn't move. The elder raised his hand in the air and I braced for a strike. Instead, a beam of energy coursed into my leg, freezing it. I could feel the wound stitching together and the bone mending. The pain was excruciating, but I found it to be exhilarating at the same time.\nAs I stood up upon my mended leg, I heard grunts of panic and excitement from the ogres nearby. I thought I had frightened them, but there was a commotion from outside. The ogres, while not capable of conversing in the common speech, do grunt and vocalize. They all repeated the same thing. \"Urkazbur. Urkazbur!\" It was surreal.\nI exited the tent to find a scene of carnage. A larger, angrier ogre was fighting the other ogres. The large one had bony claws strapped to his arms. He slammed them into the ground. Ripples of ice shot out from the impact sites, slamming into the others and knocking them down. The ogre who had healed my leg tossed what appeared to be a glowing ball of snow at the larger one. When it hit him, he reared back and shouted. He gestured and the the snow around him rose up and formed into crude simulacrums and joined him in the fight.\nWhile the Orcs were distracted by all this violence, I escaped. Perhaps one day when I've recovered fully, I'll return to see what became of \"Urkazbur\" and his snow simulacrums."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/illusion-death": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/illusion-death", "description": "A partial biography of Marukh", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Illusion of Death", "text": "[Fragment]\n\u2026 then, because he had toyed with the ape-maiden Dulsa, did Maruhk spend his Century of Penance upon the Stonemeadows, and his sight was seared, and his tongue was swollen, and his pelt was mottled, and his left thumb pointed ever at the stars of the Tower. And ever did the shade of Al-Esh speak to him, serrated words that rasped his concept-organ and brought him to wisdom through affliction.\nAnd he recorded her words in his simian gore with glyphs on the Beseeching Scarp, and the fire in his blood did etch the lithic face with the Seventy-Seven Inflexible Doctrines. And though the labor depleted, yea, even consumed his very substance, he stinted not, for he knew that death is an illusion. For did not Al-Esh persist, speaking knives, though dead? And had not Pelin-Al been witness to her death, although dead himself at the death of Umar-Il? Then did Maruhk know a Right Reaching, that one devoted to Proper-Life and Ehlnofic Annulment shall persist beyond the illusion of death\u2014for indeed, the drive to expunge corruption can conquer even the Arkayn Cycle."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/illustrious-azashigs-letter": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/illustrious-azashigs-letter", "description": "Congratulations to the new owners of Elsweyr's very first Kwama mine", "author": "Azashig-dro", "title": "The Illustrious Azashig's Letter", "text": "Dearest Customers,\nCongratulations on your purchase! As you can see, I spared no expense importing the finest kwama that Morrowind has to offer. The queen has plenty of loyal guards at her disposal, and egg production is steadily rising every year. All you must do is maintain the colony and reap the benefits.\nAnd rest assured, your initial payment for such a bounty will soon lead to far greater wealth. As the proud owners of the only kwama mine within the borders of Elsweyr, you are the only stakeholders in this currently untapped kwama egg market. Supply Dark Elves with their favorite treat! Tempt the Khajiit with an exotic delicacy! The possibilities are nearly endless!\nIf you require any assistance, feel free to call upon my residence at once and I will do my utmost to aid you.\nYours truly,\n\tThe Illustrious Azashig-dro, Humble Merchant"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/imperfect-logistics-log": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/imperfect-logistics-log", "description": "Notes on the behavior of Sotha Sil's latest prototype", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Imperfect Logistics Log", "text": "Current Combat Success Rate - 66%\nCombat analysis:\nOpponents Deceased: 126\nOpponents Forfeit: 58\nOpponents Successful: 93\nImperfect Structural Analysis (Log 17901): Compiled by AIOS\nOpponent success rate increased by 3% over period of analysis. Recommend increasing defensive capabilities of Kinetic Shield function to maintain structural integrity throughout battle sequence. Caution in overloading security coils through excessive power surges. Further analysis needed.\nReduction in power to the Energy Arc function applied to decrease the risk of structural damage to the Sanctuary of Verification. Recommend ancillary services be maintained between battle sequences. Current debris levels deemed acceptable for combat.\nOpponent classification: Nord, Khajiit, Bosmer found to be consistently unpredictable in battle behavior. Current theories in statistical commonalities not yet available. Recommend further analysis on cultural irregularities and battle tactics within these opponent subclasses.\nClockwork Facilitator task acceptance rate decreased by 23%. Root cause primarily psychological. Recommend the elimination of the words \"slaughter,\" \"decapitation,\" and \"likely death.\" Emphasis to be placed on reward and need for combat allies.\nCompletion rate of Imperfect prototype: unknown."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/indriks-glade": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/indriks-glade", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Indrik's Glade", "text": "To all who enter the indrik's glade\nAnd hunt this most elusive prey:\nGlory awaits you"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/inescapable-helm": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/inescapable-helm", "description": "Journal of an orc with a mask stuck on their head", "author": "Ghrash", "title": "The Inescapable Helm", "text": "Journal of Ghrash\nExcerpts Transcribed by Relicmaster Glenadir\nDay 107\nI've accepted that this helm may never come off. Tusk it all, but if that isn't the truth. It's proven to be just as indestructible as the dungheap who sold it to me said it was. Tried all manner of blacksmiths, and not one could do a damn thing.\nDay 245\nSaw another mage today. Like all the others, she seemed interested. Hemmed and hawed, read some of her books. Tried all manner of spells. Nothing happened, of course. She recommended a friend, but I've long since learned to get my hopes up.\nDay 487\nThis tusking itch won't go away. Tried everything. Must have dunked my head in ice water a thousand times this morning alone. Just my luck that inn bed would be covered in lice.\nDay 682\nThis is my last entry. Every time I write and see just how useless everything is, I just\u2014There's no hope for me now. How am I gonna live like this? Who'll want to start a family with someone with a helm stuck to their head? Think I'll join an army or some such. The lower the odds, the better. I'd rather die in battle then live one more day like this."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/insatiable": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/insatiable", "description": "Information on the daedra known as an Insatiable, and how to summon it", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Insatiable", "text": "Daedra are creatures of purpose. They embody a need to be fulfilled. Why? Only the Princes know for certain, but to those who would wield these beings' power as their own, understanding their purpose is paramount. One does not conjure a clannfear to aid in ritual matters or a scamp to slay a giant.\nIt is no different with the creature known as the Insatiable. One does not call upon an embodiment of ceaseless hunger without understanding that its purpose is to consume. It has no other. Once unleashed it will obey no command and offer no council, its only desire is to stalk and devour the living. It will snatch away prey to its den and savor their innards in an excruciatingly slow feast through which its victims survive far longer than anyone would imagine. Some believe it enjoys the taste of fear, as it tends to leave the remains of its victims among the herd, leaving little doubt that there is a predator among them.\nIf your desire is to see a place stripped of life and wracked by terror, knowing that there can be no appeasing the monster once it has been given flesh, this is the offering you must make:\n-Lay out the corpse of a Man or Mer who succumbed to starvation.\n-Cut out its tongue and place it back in the mouth facing the gullet.\n-Wash the tongue down its throat with the blood of a fattened mortal. It may take some doing.\n-Burn tallow candles around the prepared corpse, at least a half dozen.\n-When the last flame has guttered out the tongue will slither out from the corpse and nest in the melted fat.\n-In three days time, the Insatiable will sprout from this bloated cocoon and begin its terrible work. Linger at your own peril."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/interment-feremuzh": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/interment-feremuzh", "description": "How an ancient Redguard became a vampire, and how he was defeated", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Interment of Feremuzh", "text": "Know, O Descendant, the difficulties faced by your ancestors in their own lives. Herein follows the tale of Feremuzh. Feremuzh abandoned the tradition of his ancestors to join the unholy undead. He became a creature that degraded itself to hide from the sun and consume the blood of the living. He plagued the land, consuming life and turning the dead he created into his own followers.\nYour ancestors were bound to tradition\u2014they could not lift blade against the honored dead, they could not resist the plague that Feremuzh had brought with him. The wisest of your ancestors, O reader, were gathered. In time they concluded that there was only one method to deal with the villain Feremuzh. A group of the strongest males would have to seek out the lair used by Feremuzh to hide from the bright Alik'r sun.\nThe strongest men were assembled, and sent forth to seek out the villain's lair. The men were instructed to only travel in the protection of the sun, and to hide under the moon when Feremuzh would be out to hunt. The men were wise to follow their elder's advice, and they remained unfound and untouched till they happened upon Feremuzh's lair.\nKnow, O reader, that what ensued is unclear, but what is clear is that the men sacrificed themselves to bring the lair down upon Feremuzh. In doing so, your ancestors trapped Feremuzh in a tomb of earth for time eternal. That earth has been deemed unholy and accursed. Know the marks of the cursed land so you may avoid it. The entrance is tucked into the base of a sharp cliffside, at the end of a path cutting through the rocks. On a bright day one can see and hear the nearby shore, don't let the sea lull you in a false sense of security. Ruins of our ancestors watch over the cursed land. Avoid this place, and leave the damned to rot."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/interrogation-henghild": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/interrogation-henghild", "description": "The chilling account of the torture of a witch and the summoning of Nocturnal", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Interrogation of Henghild", "text": "The following is an account of the events encountered during the interrogation of the witch Henghild of Wittestadr by Garmath, Witchhunter of Direfrost.\nThe interrogation was unremarkable for a time, and the crone had no unusual reaction to the various implements of torture beyond the expected screaming and pleading. It was when her blood first spilled that the manifestation began.\nThe witch grew suddenly still, as if in a trance. At once, a chill wind filled the chamber, and the flame of the braziers turned an unearthly shade of green. Echoing all about, yet seemingly coming from no discernable source, all present heard a guttural, but unmistakably cogent chant, almost like a religious invocation. Upon reflection, I suspect that this was the language of Oblivion; the obscene tongue of the Daedric Princes.\nThe iron chains that bound Henghild to the slab crumbled, impossibly, and fell away. Her back arched and her eyes rolled back in her head. Slowly, her body rose with no visible means of levitation, suddenly hovering several feet above the slab.\nAfter a moment, her mouth opened and she began to speak. But it was not the voice of the crone that issued forth, but rather the voice of a Daedric abomination. Her words were transcribed by no fewer than three witnesses. I record them here, in their entirety:\n\"Pain unto innocence. Screams in the dark. Nocturnal is here.\n\"My loyal servant is tortured and burned, bound and tormented, bereft of her life.\n\"The clan called Direfrost think themselves righteous, but Nocturnal has seen their wickedness.\n\"My curse be upon you, and your descendants.\n\"Your judgement will first be rendered in the form of an Ice Queen who comes in the guise of a pauper.\n\"Your blood shall be frozen. Your torment long and painful.\n\"And when your savior comes to release you, know that your true suffering has only just begun.\n\"There will be a reckoning between past and present, and the name Direfrost will lie in tatters before the end.\n\"A new Ice Queen will bring unto Direfrost all the anguish of Oblivion, and you shall know true suffering.\"\nAt this moment, the crone's body burst into green flame, and crumbled to ash."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/journal-darien-gautier": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/journal-darien-gautier", "description": "Thoughts about nightmares and grocery lists", "author": "Darien Gautier", "title": "The Journal of Darien Gautier", "text": "My first entry in a brand-new journal! How should I begin? Should I write in a stiff, formal tone? More conversational? So many decisions to make! How will I manage? And what am I supposed to do with what I write? Do I read it later and reflect on my true feelings? Damn it! Why did I let Alinon talk me into starting a journal?\nAlinon said that writing things down would help me with my nightmares. Damn liar. He probably just wants me to write down my secrets so he can share them with the guard and have a good laugh.\nThat's not a bad idea, actually. Good for him for thinking of that! I'll need to keep that in mind as I write my entries.\n* * *\nCheese\n\tBread\n\tFresh Herbs\n\tBeef, Best Cut Available\nYes, I know. This is a grocery list, not my thoughts and feelings. But I needed to write this down somewhere, and the journal was near at hand. Might as well make the thing useful as well as therapeutic.\n* * *\nReminder: Meet Prescilla at the tavern at dusk for drinks. Don't forget!\n* * *\nReminder: Meet Shelli at the tavern at dawn for drinks. Don't forget! Forgetting did not turn out so well with Prescilla.\n* * *\nAll right. Time to use this journal for its intended purpose. (Note to self: when you write down notes to remind yourself of something, you actually have to go back and read the notes or the reminding thing doesn't work.)\nAlinon assured me that he was not going to steal this book and share its contents with the rest of the guard. He actually wants me to write down anything I remember about the nightmares I've been having. I still think he's pulling my leg, but I'm willing to give anything a try. I'm losing too much sleep not to try something!\nI don't remember anything in vivid detail. Only vague glimpses of the nightmares I've been having since winter. I can't tell if they belong to one long dream or many separate ones, but they all have something in common: the bright light right before I wake up. I want to say that it speaks to me. That I can hear what it tells me. But when I wake up all I can recall is a glowing orb with light so intense that I have to shield my eyes.\nOther things haunt my dreams. Dark images and frightful events. I've seen the sky turn dark and split apart to allow giant shackles to crash into the earth. I've seen armies of Daedra and undead swarm our cities, killing anyone who stands in their way.\nOther times I've seen the face of death itself, its fangs dripping with blood as it stared at me. I've felt them sink into my neck and watched the creature burst into flames as it drank my blood. And then I see a cold, blue land. Jagged rocks that float in the alien sky. A sky I've never seen in the waking world. I hear screams in the distance. And everything is cold and death and nothingness.\nThen the light appears once more, as if to guide me to safety. To tell me something. To say \u2026 and that's when I wake up.\nI exhaust myself. I drink too much. And still the nightmares come to me. I really need to get a good night's sleep!\n* * *\nOnions\n\tTomatoes\n\tBread\nDamn! I did it again. Oh well. It's been a while since I've had one of those nightmares. Maybe this journal thing is working after all.\n* * *\nI can't believe it. It's happening. It's actually happening. I don't know if I should be horrified or, well, I don't know what to think. All I know is that this isn't a dream.\nAnchors from the sky are falling all around Tamriel. We're being invaded! May whatever gods favor us watch over us. My nightmares are coming true.\nI can't let Alinon know about this. He'll think I'm some sort of prophet or something and make a big deal. I definitely don't want that to happen!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/journal-indring-patient": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/journal-indring-patient", "description": "Why is Falinesti gone?", "author": "Indring the Patient", "title": "The Journal of Indring the Patient", "text": "The city will return. I know it. We've been waiting for so long. All we need is a sign. Something to let us know what happened and allow us to bring Falinesti back!\n- - - - - - - - - - - - -\nI'm so tired of listening to the hopes and prayers of some of the Faithful here. They seem to think that's all they need to bring back the city, but there has to be something more. There must be.\n- - - - - - - - - - - - -\nToday a group from the Mages Guild set up a camp nearby. They are here to investigate the site, led by an Altmer named Telenger. They call him the Artificer. I think I've heard of him, a little. I'm curious what they'll discover. We'll have to watch them closely.\n- - - - - - - - - - - - -\nTelenger uearthed a Daedric temple in his excavations. I knew it! This must be the reason why Falinesti hasn't returned. We must get inside. I've formed a group of the Faithful that will speak to Telenger with me. We can finally get the city back!\n- - - - - - - - - - - - -\nThe Artificer is a fool! He refuses to allow us to attempt to open the temple. I know it's the reason why the city hasn't returned. I can feel it calling to me. There's something inside, and once unleashed, Falinesti will return!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/journal-vivien-armene": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/journal-vivien-armene", "description": "A necromancer wants to revive a dragon", "author": "Vivien Armene", "title": "The Journal of Vivien Armene", "text": "Another day in this cold, miserable land of Nords and mead, and I'm still no closer to the prize I've come so far to find. I'm tempted to return to Glenumbra, but I refuse to give up now.\nMy research indicates that the bones of a great dragon lie buried beneath this strange, circular mound. Imagine the things a necromancer of my abilities could do with the remains of an actual dragon!\nMaybe a few more draugr will make the digging go faster?"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/joys-jewelry-crafting": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/joys-jewelry-crafting", "description": "Instructions for crafting jewelry, with a game mechanics bemd", "author": "Felarian", "title": "The Joys of Jewelry Crafting", "text": "By Felarian, Jewelry Crafting Artisan\nInside each of us is a stone: rough, rugged, unassuming. But beneath its jagged surface shines a color, a gleam of possibility, unrefined but full of promise. And with just a little polish, that stone has the potential to become a beautiful, glittering gem.\nThe art of jewelry crafting rests within us all, but not everyone has the ability to see that capacity. Therefore, I've taken it upon myself to write a guide to how one may begin to polish his or her skill. And through these simple steps, any novice can learn the basics of jewelry crafting.\nAcquiring the Pewter Dust\nPewter is an excellent material for any novice to begin with. Not only is it easily malleable, it is also absurdly abundant. One must simply keep an eye out for pewter seams within the wilderness. Much like ores, you'll generally find these seams within rocky outcroppings. There, you can easily acquire the needed pewter dust to begin your crafting.\nRefining the Pewter Ounces\nNext, one must refine their pewter dust into pewter ounces. You can do this at any jewelry crafting station you happen upon, which can generally be found within large cities. Of course, I would also recommend placing a personal crafting station within your home, if possible. I've found the convenience to be well worth the cost.\nCrafting the Ring\nNow is the time to put those pewter ounces to good use. While a simple pewter ring may not seem the most glamorous item to craft, it is certainly an excellent item to begin with. Again, a jewelry crafting station is needed to complete this task.\nDeconstructing Jewelry\nA jewelry crafting station can be used to not only craft jewelry, but also to deconstruct it. Deconstruction allows you to regain a portion of the ingredients used to create the ring or necklace. For example, a deconstructed pewter ring will give you pewter ounces. Of course, as in most aspects of crafting, this will also enable you to gain experience.\nResearching Traits\nJewelry, while beautiful in its own right, can also be extremely useful. Given the right traits, your rings and necklaces can help increase health, stamina, and even magicka reserves. To craft jewelry with a desired trait, you must first research a piece of jewelry that already possesses that trait. If you find a pewter ring with the robust trait, for example, researching that ring will help you create new pieces of jewelry that are also robust. Sadly, this process always destroys whatever item is researched. But such is progress.\nFinal Word\nIt is my sincere hope that this guide has inspired you to begin delving into the glorious art of jewelry crafting. With just these few basics in mind, anyone can start their journey to become a true artisan. And on that note, I wish you the best of luck with your endeavors!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/judgment-saint-veloth": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/judgment-saint-veloth", "description": "Description of the mighty artifact", "author": "Magistrix Vox", "title": "The Judgment of Saint Veloth", "text": "A number of powerful healing relics are associated with Saint Veloth the Pilgrim. Of these, perhaps the most famous and well-remembered artifact remains the Judgment of Saint Veloth. This mighty Daedric warhammer stands as a shining symbol of everything Veloth embodies as the patron saint of outcasts and seekers of spiritual knowledge.\nStored with other holy artifacts in the protected vaults of the Tribunal Temple, the Judgment of Saint Veloth served the prophet and mystic well in life, but has gained legendary powers since his ascension to sainthood. The God-Kings of Morrowind watch over the relics, keeping them ready for the day when their powers would be needed in defense of the realm.\nSaint Veloth personifies daring, and those who follow the lessons of his life and teachings learn boldness and cultivate an adventurous outlook. He defined the difference between good and evil Daedra, and even negotiated the original arrangements with the good Daedric Princes. This ability to distinguish the good from the bad was a hallmark of the living saint, as was his penchant for healing and healing items. Both of these aspects combined into his personal symbol of power, the warhammer known as Judgment.\nVeloth's Judgment rang with authority throughout the land, using its enchantments to cleanse corruption from the souls of those it struck down. It was a weapon, of that there can be no doubt. But Veloth was able to wield it with the same precision that a surgeon uses to wield a scalpel, removing the corruption from a soul and leaving the remainder alive and healthy. The warhammer stored the corruption for a time, turning it into energy that could be used by the wielder to enhance the power of the weapon.\nOf course, in the wrong hands such a powerful artifact could accomplish more harm than good. For this reason, among many others, the Tribunal keeps the Judgment and other artifacts locked away. It has been suggested that instead of being used as an instrument of healing, the Judgment could be used to siphon a living creature's entire soul, thus making the wielder infinitely more powerful. This conjecture has never been put into practice, and if the Tribunal has its way, it never will."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/keepers-oath": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/keepers-oath", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Keeper's Oath", "text": "Oh, blessed be the Keepers' eyes,\nWrought in crimson and gold,\nTheir rueful gaze fixed on her cursed tomb,\nSince darkest days of old,\nWhen bone and death shroud stir below,\nMay these eyes see flames alight,\nTo exact the dark toll that she owes,\nTo keep her soul bound tight."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/key-projection": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/key-projection", "description": "Instructions on using a projection crystal", "author": "Abnur Tharn", "title": "The Key to Projection", "text": "Lavinia,\nI've enclosed the crystal used to imprint your image on the illusion gear. You'll need someone to focus the crystal on you as you speak. Be sure to hang on to the main crystal. Should you need to change your speech, you'll need to use it to reattune the projection.\nThis is delicate spellwork. Do not lose the crystal. Your part in the plan is not so critical that you cannot be replaced.\nTharn"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/key-shada": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/key-shada", "description": "Second part of a riddle about visiting Shada.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Key to Shada", "text": "With the pattern of stars laid out in the room before,\n\tCome and light the way.\nOnly then will Shada's path be opened and her healing powers imbued upon us."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/king-vipers-canto-17": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/king-vipers-canto-17", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The King of Vipers, Canto 17", "text": "The sea before the serpent-prow did break.\nThe wind was trapped inside the black-cloth sails.\nThe pounding drum did mask the rower's wails,\nAnd demons of the sea swam in the wake.\nA dark rain fell as though a widow's veil,\nAlong with lightning-flash and thunder-peal,\nViscarne the butcher grasped his vessel's wheel\nThe villain of a thousand fractured tales.\nHe did not spare his blade from those who kneel,\nOr from the young, the weak, the sick, the old.\nThe cruelty in his heart was often told,\nAnd those that faced his blade would never heal.\nThe target of the grim fleet was Sunhold.\nAn Altmer prize long sought by Orgnum-king\u2014\nThe golden port once graced with gryphon wing,\nA victory that would not go untold.\nViscarne sailed in, so our ancestors sing.\nBut found a harbor empty now, and still.\nNo ships to burn, no innocents to kill.\nNo one to feel the serpent's bitter sting.\nThen from the palace sitting on the hill,\nAn army dressed in gold came riding forth.\nA crushing wave of Altmer from the north,\nTo bring the sun's warmth to the Maormer chill.\nThey killed Viscarne's second, third, and fourth,\nThe butcher's ships were burning in the bay.\nThe Maormer knew that he had lost the day,\nHis forces fallen having shown their lack of worth."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kings-orders": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kings-orders", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The King's Orders", "text": "Beloved Shield-Wives,\nSeal all the paths to the moot. We're about to begin and I don't want any interruptions.\nOnce I lock the gate from the throne room, I need you, my beloved and devoted shield-wives, to stand guard and deal with anyone who dares to challenge me. Be especially on guard for the outsider who has betrayed us.\nTake care of the outsider, then join the soldiers I already sent to deal with High Priestess Solgra and seal the only remaining path to the moot. Once she is exposed as the Vosh Rakh leader, time will be of the essence.\nSoon, the Orsimer will unite under a single banner. The banner of King Kurog and the Orsimer nation. Then we won't be just the equal of the other nations\u2014we will be their betters.\nRemember this day, my beloveds, for we're about to make history!\nYour king"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kings-riddle": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kings-riddle", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The King's Riddle", "text": "Where is the armored soldier, tall and brave?\nSword in hand, he lies in the covered grave.\nWhere is the hunt-wife with axe and bow?\nThe claws of a bear brought her low.\nWhere is the knight with the golden blade?\nFighting the monster deep in the glade.\nWhere is the king on the broken throne?\nNo knight nor soldiers protect his home.\nHis table is empty, not even a bone,\nThe king is sad and always alone."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/knighting-ceremony": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/knighting-ceremony", "description": "How to bind undead knights to their liege lord", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Knighting Ceremony", "text": "I completed the research, my lord. We can accomplish what you desire.\nThe spirits of all noble-born warriors will be bound to their liege lord. This process masks the binding incantation as part of the knighting ceremony. The enchantment in the knight's sword and shield compels the spirit to serve, whether in life or death. With this citadel full of willing thralls, Loriasel will never be overrun.\nAs per your instructions, my lord, I poisoned every apprentice assisting in the binding incantation's devisement. The secret shall be kept between us alone."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/knightly-orders-high-rock": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/knightly-orders-high-rock", "description": "A description of knightly orders of the Bretons", "author": "Lady Cinnabar of Taneth", "title": "The Knightly Orders of High Rock", "text": "The Breton passion for feudal hierarchy pervades every aspect of High Rock society, from the lowliest peasant farmer to the High King in Wayrest. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the curious phenomenon of the Breton knightly orders.\nHere in Hammerfell, we Redguards sensibly award equal citizenship to every man or woman who knows which end of the sword to grasp. Oh, we have our governing class, of course, as civilization must be ordered and maintained, but below this aristocracy there are few distinctions.\nNot so in High Rock, where everyone is aware of their degree of nobility, which is invariably traced back to those Breton families who led the region's liberation from the overlordship of the Direnni Elves. High Rock cultural history is founded on tales of the noble and chivalrous \"Breton Knights\" who flung off the yoke of their Elven masters. After these knights drove the Direnni back to Balfiera Island, they founded the knightly orders to carry on the tradition of nobles-in-arms, and to ensure that High Rock would have able and ready defenders in times of trouble.\nSo the stories go, at least. Today, every petty kingdom and duchy in High Rock has its own knightly order, with traditions that supposedly date back to the glory days of the Breton Liberation. The Knights of the Dragon in Daggerfall, the Knights of the Flame in Alcaire, the Order of Saint Pelin in Evermore\u2014the list goes on and on.\nAnd what, nowadays, do these knightly orders do to justify their gleaming greatswords and shining mail? If we look beyond the banners and pageantry, we find that the chivalric orders fulfill two main purposes in High Rock society.\nFirst, they provide an acceptably \"noble\" calling for the excess sons and daughters of the aristocracy. Over time, as trade has made High Rock prosperous, the profession of merchant has become an accepted alternative to feudal lordship for the children of the nobility, but frankly, not every baron's son has a head for numbers and negotiation. For these spare heirs, there's always a membership available in the local knightly order.\nSecond, the bestowal of a knighthood on a lower-class man or woman is a convenient way to reward outstanding contributions to society (or to the elevating lord), and confers a measure of that nobility so prized in Breton society. Where the commoner is rewarded for achievements other than in conflict\u2014and this is the case in the majority of knighthoods\u2014the membership in the local knightly order is only nominal, and the new sir or dame is not expected to take up sword and shield. However, if their achievements were in the all-important realm of trade, the new \"merchant knight\" is expected to contribute heavily and regularly to the order's financial maintenance.\nSo if you're visiting Wayrest or Evermore on a mission of diplomacy or trade, don't be surprised if the head of a shipping company is introduced as Sir Doric, or the owner of a string of hostels is called Dame Lizabette. You're simply meeting one of the fabled Breton Knights of High Rock."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lamia-threat": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lamia-threat", "description": "", "author": "Underil", "title": "The Lamia Threat", "text": "We spotted lamias skulking about the outskirts of the ruins. This could be the prelude of a concerted attack.\nShould they breach our defenses in force, abandon the prisoners and retreat to the designated rally point. Perhaps the poor wretches will buy us enough time to escape.\n\u2014 Underil"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/language-ebon-stadmont": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/language-ebon-stadmont", "description": "The journal of a scholar trying to decipher the mysterious language of this forest", "author": "Unknown", "title": "The Language of Ebon Stadmont", "text": "My research has led me to seek out Ebon Stadmont, a forest of much rumor and speculation, but little known fact. Specifically, my curiosity lies within the mysterious language found throughout the forest, inscriptions etched within decayed ruins. This language is unknown, unstudied, and largely unquestioned. I suspect this has much to do with the hazards the forest possesses, rather than an inability to properly research said language.\nThe forest twists, in a way. Moves as you walk through it. You'll see your destination, just over the foliage. Walk through one of the many archways, only to find yourself in a completely new location than the one you set out. It's some sort of teleportation magic at work, I suspect, though so seamless one can hardly notice as it happens.\nThe foliage is dense, bringing to mind a hedge maze more than a proper woods. It's obvious that someone, or something, designed this forest to be sectioned off. For the explicit purpose, I believe, of keeping outsiders out. What connection these protective measures have with the language I plan to study, I'm unsure. But perhaps, through my research, I can discover the answer.\n* * *\nMy initial findings within Ebon Stadmont have been, as I've feared, inconclusive. I had once believed the language to be similar in form to Daedric, but all experimentation to that end have yielded no results. Though this language may be similarly ancient, I do not believe it to have Daedric origins. And so, I fear that I begin my studies from the ground up.\nThe one blessing within this expedition has come from what I expected to be our biggest stumbling block; the forest itself. Have the rumors been exaggerated? All of our incidents with the forests twisting nature have been both few in number and minor inconveniences, at best. I've lost none of my troupe, as I once feared I may, though I've ordered them to stick close together.\nI feel a sense of acceptance. As if the forest has judged as worthy of uncovering its mysteries. Or perhaps the magical protections here have waned over time. Whatever the case, I don't plan to allow this good fortune to go to waste. Set backs are no, I am determined to research this language.\n* * *\nFinally, the mysteries of this language begin to unfold. I was looking at it all wrong, that was my problem. I only saw a language, consisting of mere symbols. Something to be researched and translated. But these words have power. I see that now.\nWithin these inscriptions contain an untapped source of magical energy. But, try as I may, I cannot find a way to release it. To use it, the way I feel it so deeply wishes to be used. The kind of creative energy, full of an untold potential. But of what?\nThe words are alive. They speak to me sometimes, if I listen close. Words whispered in my mind. The power that has laid dormant for so long, willing itself back into existence. If only I could discover how."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/last-letters": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/last-letters", "description": "The last of a series of letters between an Ayleid and her slave lover", "author": "Erraduure", "title": "The Last of the Letters", "text": "My love, we cannot be together. I am Ayleid; you, a mere slave. I am a thousand times your better. The world knows this. I know this. Even you know this, in your simple way.\nBut do not despair. I found a way for us to be equal in all things. Nothing shall keep us apart.\n\u2014 Erraduure"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/last-will-roland-volcy": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/last-will-roland-volcy", "description": "A seaman's last words to his lover", "author": "Roland Volcy", "title": "The Last Will of Roland Volcy", "text": "Gods strike you, Bhosek, and every wretched Bloody Fist. You may drown me, but you'll never find your gold. Choke and die.\nSea Lily, I cannot know this note will reach you, so I dare not use your name. You are alone in my heart. I regret nothing.\nOur mutual friend left me this paper and quill. If my letter reaches you, take my swords and give them to the boy. See that he learns to use them.\nAs for Bhosek's gold, that's yours. You were good to me and the boy. I left it in our \"special place.\" Take it and sail somewhere safe.\nThe tide's rising. I must go. Do not mourn me. You were worth every lash. One day, the Eight will bring us together again. Until then, Sea Lily, stay strong and stay safe.\nLove,\n\t\u2014 Roland"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/last-wish-sun-blessed": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/last-wish-sun-blessed", "description": "", "author": "Solis Aduro (translator)", "title": "The Last Wish of the Sun-Blessed", "text": "Translated by Solis Aduro\nThough bathed in radiant glory\nSkin of gold and bark\nWe have fallen short of the yolk\nAnd now it is too late\nBut light without darkness is blinding\nAnd the shadow always watches over us\nIt is here for us now, if we wish it\nThough the toil to pay our debt will be long\nWe must, scales-of-gold\nWe must join with our brothers in the deep\nNo matter how much we lose\nOur roots are patient\nAnd we will rise again\nIn this world or the next"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lava-queen": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lava-queen", "description": "A seemingly unbeatable champion", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Lava Queen", "text": "The Lava Queen is the greatest Champion the Blessed Crucible has ever known. Her prowess in the Arena is unmatched, and she has ruled the Crucible for nearly four centuries. All challengers who have dared to face her in the Arena have been overwhelmed by her fiery magic, their bodies burned and charred beyond recognition. It is said that she exists purely for the Blessed Crucible, and the Crucible for her. Her mastery of the arena is so complete that the very ground shapes and molds itself to her will. To face her is to do battle with a living volcano of power and destruction.\nUsurped: Sanarel the Great\nDefeated By:"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/law-gears": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/law-gears", "description": "Mechanical maxims about work and inspiration", "author": "Proctor Albacron", "title": "The Law of Gears", "text": "By Proctor Albacron, Second Innovator of the Sacred Flywheel\nIn Lord Seht's name, these are the words of the Laws of Gears, annotated with one interpretation of the lesson each law teaches.\n* * *\nLike a clockwork contraption that consists of many cogs and sprockets, most of us have gears we never use. This is the First Law of Gears, which teaches us that we are capable of more than we believe.\nSomeone has to crank the flywheel to turn the gears. This is the Second Law of Gears, which teaches us that nothing can be accomplished without hard work.\nIf the works become gummed up, avoid grinding the gears. This is the Third Law of Gears, which teaches us to think and find another way instead of blindly pressing forward.\nPerspiration and hard work turn the gears of invention. This is the Fourth Law of Gears, which teaches us that drudgery comes before inspiration.\nStrive to be more than just another cog in the gears of reality. This is the Fifth Law of Gears, which urges us to reach for even the impossible dream.\nYou have to disassemble the mechanism before you can fiddle with the gears. This is the Sixth Law of Gears, which teaches us to break a problem down to its core components before attempting to solve it.\nA pause or a hitch can cause a gear to slip. This is the Seventh Law of Gears, which teaches us that interruptions are counterproductive.\nOnly a well-oiled gear turns smoothly. This is the Eighth Law of Gears, which teaches us that training and preparation are the lubricants of innovation.\nAll cogs and sprockets serve the Great Gear. This is the Ninth Law of Gears, which reminds us that we owe fealty and obedience to Lord Seht above all else.\nThis is the sequence of the words."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lay-firsthold": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lay-firsthold", "description": "An epic poem about the settlement of Auridon", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Lay of Firsthold", "text": "Their tribulations drove the Elves\n\t'Cross Sloadful seas to Summerset.\n\tO Admeris! Old Ehlnofey!\n\tYour loving visage haunts us yet.\n\tYour zephyr's kiss enthralls us still,\n\tThough only in heart's memory,\n\tAnd sorrow to the marrow deep\n\tInfuses every Aldmeri.\n\tWhen Magnus sinks and night-hour comes,\n\tAnd owl and spectre prowl and creep,\n\tWhen eyes can gaze at stars no more,\n\tThen fancy flits across the deep,\n\tWhence Aldmer came to eastern isles,\n\tEscaping doom oblivious,\n\tTo Auridon, hue-imbued\n\tWith spectrum vivid, various.\n\tFrom foam it rose before the ships;\n\tNine prows did plow the gleaming strand.\n\tTorinaan stepped from foremost craft,\n\tAnd claimed as Kinhold all the land\n\tFrom silver beach to green-clad hills,\n\tBegilded by the golden dawn.\n\tAuridon thus was the name\n\tBestowed upon that realm anon.\n\tThough wild it was, at once it gripped\n\tTorinaan's once remorseful heart.\n\tHe drew his blade, he drew his blood,\n\tAnd swore an oath to ne'er depart.\n\tThey disembarked upon the shore,\n\tBuilt Kinhouse, gardens, forge, and hive.\n\tThey tamed the meadows, beaches, fields,\n\tAnd made a home where Elves could thrive.\n\tThen howling from the hills in hate\n\tCame horrors horned, bedight with eyes.\n\tGheatus; Welwa; Ilyadi\u2014\n\tAll sought the Aldmers' cruel demise.\n\tSome said they should take ship anew\n\tAnd seek a farther, safer shore.\n\tBut bold Torinaan valor steeled,\n\tAnd drawing on ancestral lore,\n\tHierogram with Varla Stones\n\tHe wove upon Auridon's loom,\n\tDrew power down from stars above,\n\tAnd drove fell monsters to their doom.\n\tHe harried them 'cross hills and heights,\n\tAll smiting them with magics dire,\n\tTill one by one they fell at last\n\tTo blast of lightning, ice, or fire.\n\tSo warded then by spells well-spun\n\tAuridon bloomed beneath the touch\n\tOf Altmer craft and husbandry,\n\tImagoform and sculpture. Much\n\tAdmired by other Altmer were\n\tTorinaan's brave achievement there,\n\tAnd other Kinholds followed fast\n\tOn Summerset, so blest, so fair.\n\tBut though those Kinholds prospered well\n\tThroughout the archipelago,\n\tAldmeri Landfall all recall\n\tUpon the Firsthold shore did show,\n\tAnd bold Torinaan is revered\n\tFor courage, wisdom, foresight. He\n\tWho harnessed heaven to defend\n\tThe Aldmer in extremity.\n\tAuridon: excellent abode.\n\tMaormer repel: expel all Sload."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/legend-dame-marcelle": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/legend-dame-marcelle", "description": "Mighty deeds of a worthy knight", "author": "Seneschal Derric Andras of Castle Evermore", "title": "The Legend of Dame Marcelle", "text": "House Dorell produced many notable personages throughout the centuries\u2014mages and warriors, scholars and merchant lords\u2014all dedicated to making the noble house strong and powerful. Of all Dorell's many sons and daughters, none shines as brightly as Dame Marcelle Stenric, the Knight of Shornhelm.\nDame Marcelle was a mighty warrior, brave and pure. She was a model of knightly perfection, a niece and loyal supporter of Lord Aaric Dorell. Her exploits were legendary, even in her own day, as she defended Dorell holdings, battled brigands and monsters, and even negotiated treaties with neighboring domains.\nWhen a terrible troll shambled out of the hills to threaten Shornhelm, Marcelle was there to challenge the foul creature. For a day and an hour, the two engaged in a violent dance that knocked down trees and leveled farm houses. As the battle wore on, both combatants were bloody and weary. It seemed like the fight would end when one of them fell over from sheer exhaustion. But then Marcelle called on an inner reserve. She severed the troll's head with one powerful swing of her sword, Dauntless. And all of Shornhelm cheered.\nAnother tale tells of the time of the Great Feud, when Berenda of Tamrith and Ailex of Dorell (who was Lord Aaric's younger brother) engaged in an exchange of insults, each more terrible than the last. Insults turned to violence, and the two houses came close to the brink of war. At the height of the feud, Lord Aaric's son Lanciot was taken captive by brigands loyal to House Tamrith. These brigands were members of the mighty Hammers of Umbrage, notorious for terrorizing travelers on the roads of Rivenspire until they were given letters of reprisal for pledging loyalty to the Tamrith lords.\nDame Marcelle, when she heard the fate that had befallen young Lanciot, never hesitated. She tracked the brigands to an isolated tower in the wilderness outside Crestshade and quickly took stock of the situation. A dozen brigands guarded young Lanciot, who was imprisoned at the top of the tower. Confident that the Dorell scion was safe and out of harm's way, Marcelle boldly strode into the brigands' camp and announced her presence. Just hearing her name was enough to rattle many of the brigands. Five of them dropped their weapons and fled as soon as they realized who she was. But that still left seven of the Hammers to deal with, including their leader, Rhyne Succoth.\nBrave Marcelle carried Dauntless with her, and she was confident the Divines were behind her. Brigands fell with every swing of her mighty sword, until only she and Rhyne remained standing. Seeking a way to get the upper hand, the brigand leader grabbed young Lanciot and held him between his own body and Marcelle's sword. Dorell's most shiny knight smiled. It was hard, humorless. \"Release the boy and you get to live,\" Marcelle said coldly. \"Otherwise, you die on the count of three.\"\n\"Save your threat\u2014\" Rhyne began. But his words were cut as short as his life.\n\"Three,\" Marcelle called out. Dauntless flashed. Rhyne's eyes went wide. The brigand leader was dead before his body hit the ground.\n\"Next time you feel the need to travel, young Lanciot,\" Dame Marcelle said, a measure of warmth returning to her smile, \"please let me know and I shall gladly accompany you.\"\nAnd these were only two of the tales that helped create the legend of Dame Marcelle."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/legend-fallen-grotto": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/legend-fallen-grotto", "description": "A dark tale of devotion to a feral god", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Legend of Fallen Grotto", "text": "Long ago, a man with seven sons and seven daughters lived in Bangkorai. Their home was in a deep and twisted cave at the edge of the woods.\nThe surrounding forest was filled with all manner of creatures: bears, wolves, badgers, and deer. Though his family was large, they never knew hunger, for the animals were plentiful and easy prey.\n\"We must give thanks for Hircine's blessing,\" said the man.\nAnd the man prayed to Hircine, building within his home a shrine to the God of the Hunt. He painted the walls of the cave with pigments he made by combining animal fat with the earth. From the deer his children slew, the man took antlers to make an altar, and his wife braided hides into leather rugs to cover the dirt floor.\n\tWhen the shrine was complete, the man and his family lit tallow candles and roasted an ox, pouring its blood onto the altar as they chanted prayers.\nSuddenly, they heard a laugh, and before them stood Hircine himself, drawn by the death cry of the ox and the scent of its roasting flesh.\n\"You've done well!\" Hircine cried, striding forward. He was clad in layers of animal hide, though his feet were bare.\n\"To prove your faith,\" said Hircine, \"send forth your seven sons and seven daughters. I will hunt them from dawn until dusk and from dusk until dawn, until I am sated.\"\nThe man recoiled in horror. \"I cannot do that!\" he said. \"You may take anything, but do not take my children from me!\"\nEyes narrowing, Hircine raised one hand toward the cave's ceiling. Then he pointed to the ground with the other. Hircine screamed, and the walls collapsed inward, destroying the shrine and the man's home.\nAs dust curled upward like the smoke from an offering, sixteen forest trolls lumbered uncertainly from the debris, staggering from the grotto to the woods.\n\"You were not worthy of becoming beasts,\" Hircine remarked coolly, \"but I shall hunt you anyway.\"\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/legend-grudge-rock-falls": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/legend-grudge-rock-falls", "description": "How Grudge-Rock Falls was made", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Legend of Grudge-Rock Falls", "text": "Every Orc understands the concept of the grudge. It's as ingrained into the Orcish state of mind as blood, battle, and the love of Vosh Ball. But perhaps the place in all of Wrothgar where the grudge has an extra-special meaning is at the place known as Grudge-Rock Falls. When Jormug and Torkagh met at the top of the an unnamed plateau to settle a conflict concerning the ownership of the cubs produced by the mating of their prized echateres, there was no waterfall raining down the rocky cliffside. But when the two met in battle, their grudge match lasted for a day and a night. On the morning of the second day, Jormug's axe blade collided with Torkagh's hammer. The resulting clang of metal on metal reverberated throughout the rock,\" cracking it wide and unleashing a torrent of rushing water that flows to the current day.\nOr so the legend goes."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/legend-thukhozod": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/legend-thukhozod", "description": "The truth behind a necromancer's legend", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Legend of Thukhozod", "text": "Oh what a legend we have wrought! Who would ever dare to challenge the powerful and immortal Thukhozod, master of the necromantic arts? Thukhozod is, was, and forever shall be. He appeared hundreds of years ago and established a hidden sanctum where he could perform his rituals and experiments in relative peace. He frightens the locals, he communes with chiefs and warlords, and he consults with the spirits of the dead.\nNow, as I enter my thirtieth year as Thukhozod the Eternal, I have decided to write down our dirty little secret. Thukhozod isn't one, he's many, and I am just the latest in a long line of powerful necromancers.\nThe first Thukhozod was the original Thukhozod, an Orc necromancer with a plan and a dream. He claimed to be immortal when he participated in the Three Clans War, and certainly his efforts were recognized as significantly contributing to the victory of Shatul Clan. But I don't believe what happened next was his idea. I think that credit should go to his son, Glazoz.\nWhen Thukhozod died unexpectedly, his son and apprentice Glazoz decided to keep the event a secret. He dealt with his father's body and took on his identity. In that way, Thukhozod continued and his march toward immortality was on.\nThe list of Orcs, each and every one an ancestor of mine, goes on for pages and is stored in a hidden vault deep within this sanctum. It includes at least two daughters who replaced their fathers and took on the role without giving any indication as to their true genders. Now, as this damnable illness eats away at me, I await the arrival of my own son, Khoruzoth. His mother, Yazoga, was supposed to present him with his heritage. He should be on his way as I write this. I hope he arrives while I'm still healthy enough to help him with the transition to his new life."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/legend-vastarie": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/legend-vastarie", "description": "Biography of a legendary Necromancer", "author": "Afwa, a Student and Friend", "title": "The Legend of Vastarie", "text": "Necromancy's known to many as a binding of souls to a form prepared\u2014or in some cases, manufactured\u2014by the conjurer.\nWhile technically accurate, the implication is that souls bound in this manner are imprisoned against their will with no hope of release.\nFurther implied is the idea that souls occupying the construct are always sentient\u2014the souls of men or mer\u2014a fallacy perpetuated by the practice of animating corpses for martial or manual labors.\nIt is this misunderstanding and a potential for abuse that led to the vilification of necromancy and the expulsion of Mannimarco and his peers from the Isle of Artaeum.\nEnter Vastarie, a student of the Psijic Order and contemporary of such notables as Vanus Galerion and Mannimarco.\nWhile Mannimarco sought power through the direct application of necromantic energies, Vastarie's purposes were far more esoteric. She sought a way to delay the release of a sentient soul upon death that it might be consulted, its knowledge recorded for the ages.\nIt is to this end that she worked with Mannimarco after leaving Artaeum, searching for a way to trap souls as one might capture lesser Daedra.\nBelieving the secret lay with Molag Bal, the two conspired to enter Coldharbour and wrest it from the father of vampires himself. Together, they hatched a plan.\nWith a brash courage known only to the young, Mannimarco and his followers held open a portal to the Prince's realm. Ever thirsting for adventure, it was Vastarie who entered its depths and returned with a cache of black crystals the likes of which they had never seen.\nTo Mannimarco, they were perfect. Small, capable of containing even the most willful of souls, and apparently indestructible. To Vastarie, they were deeply flawed, for enchantment was the only safe way to free a soul from their depths.\nEven so, she set about the task of reproducing the stones, breaking them down, testing them with a variety of substances until, by happy accident, she created something new: the first Sigil Geode.\nClear as crystal, this new device was capable of holding sentient souls within its depths, but unlike the gems wrested from the Lord of Domination, it was exceptionally fragile and would only hold its charge for a matter of days.\nOnce imprisoned, souls could be transferred between geodes, but applying them as one would a soul gem effected a soul's release, instead.\nVastarie had found what she was looking for, but Mannimarco was furious. What use was a soul gem that could not be used to fuel an enchantment? He demanded Vastarie find a way to modify her creation to his purposes.\nRealizing her friend would never stop searching, and that further discoveries made with him would only advance his goals, she gathered up her research and left with Telacar, her husband and a powerful necromancer in his own right.\nTogether, they fled Mannimarco's grasp, eventually hiding in an Ayleid ruin deep within Valenwood. There, they lived for many years, as quietly as they could while perfecting their art. For decades, they had each other and seemed happy\u2014until the day Vastarie left.\nIn the years that followed, she wandered the surface of Nirn, exploring places of power. She visited Wayrest, Alik'r, the Crystal Tower, and the libraries of Dune, searching for some answer to a question that gnawed at her very soul.\nIn time, she found what she was looking for and returned to Valenwood. There, she built a tower and took on apprentices, teaching them her particular brand of necromancy and furthering her research.\nUsing her Sigil Geodes, we bound the souls of lesser Daedra, postponing their return to Oblivion as one might with a soul gem. We then worked on a way to manifest the trapped spirit into the world.\nEarly attempts had unexpected, even dangerous results. Geodes shattered, sending shards of broken crystal into the flesh of our fellow students\u2014misapplied energies bound the souls of the living into the tiny stones\u2014but as we studied we corrected our mistakes and refined the process.\nEventually, Vastarie had it down to a science. By applying a Sigil Geode at the moment of death, a soul could be suspended within its depths. Through applied conjuration, it could be drawn into an ectoplasmic shell where it could be consulted at leisure.\nShe wrote the foundling Mages Guild of her discovery. Vanus Galerion himself came to witness her demonstration, which involved consulting an old groundskeeper who had volunteered to demonstrate the process.\nHe was horrified when she bound the soul into her apparatus, and when the process was completed, with the old groundskeeper was released and allowed to return to Aetherius, he was white as a sheet.\nSlowly, he stood to address the assembled students. He spoke with vindictiveness and an anger none would expect from his unassuming mien. When he was finished, he turned and left.\nSome followed him. None could blame them, he wasn't wrong\u2014the Sigil Geode was a dangerous creation. Misused, it could spark wars and bring about destruction unheard of in our history.\nVastarie was undeterred, convinced that Galerion's willful ignorance would lead to his undoing, but something else would gain her attention in the years to come. A vast ruin was discovered beneath her tower's foundation, concealed from sight and scrying by the power of a Daedric Prince.\nIn time, she walked into those ruins and never came out. Some of us still await her return."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/legendary-sancre-tor-1st-edition": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/legendary-sancre-tor-1st-edition", "description": "An attempt to chronicle the rise and fall of Sancre Tor", "author": "Matera Chapel", "title": "The Legendary Sancre Tor, 1st Ed.", "text": "During the Skyrim Conquests (1E 240 - 415), ambitious Highland earls, envious of the conquests and wealth of their northern cousins in High Rock and Morrowind, looked south over the ramparts of the Jerall Mountains for their opportunities. The Jerall Mountains proved to be too great a barrier, and northern Cyrodiil too poor a prize, to reward full scale Nord invasions. However, Alessia hired many ambitious Nord and Breton warbands as mercenaries with the promises of rich lands and trade concessions. Once settled among the victorious Alessian Cyrodiils, the Nord and Breton warriors and battlemages were quickly assimilated into the comfortable and prosperous Nibenean culture.\nAlessia received the divine inspiration for her Slave Rebellion at Sancre Tor, and here she founded her holy city. Sancre Tor's mines provided some wealth, but the poor soils and harsh climate of the remote mountain site meant it must be supplied with food and goods from the Heartlands. Further, located on one of the few passes through the Jeralls, its fortunes were subject to the instability of relations with Skyrim. When relations were good with Skyrim, it prospered through trade and alliance. When relations were bad with Skyrim, it was vulnerable to siege and occupation by the Nords.\nWith the decline of the Alessian Order (circa 1E2321), the seat of religious rule of Cyrodiil moved south to the Imperial City, but Sancre Tor remained a mountain fortress and major religious center. Alessian historians asserted that Sancre Tor was magically concealed and defended by the gods. Records of Sancre Tor's repeated defeats and occupations by northern invaders gives the lie to this assertion. The entrance to the citadel was indeed concealed by sorcery, and the citadel and its labyrinthine subterranean complex were defended by magical traps and illusions, but their secrets were betrayed to besieging Nords by the Breton enchanters who crafted them.\nOne enduring feature of the legend of Sancre Tor is the ancient tombs of the Reman emperors. Following the defeat of the Akaviri invaders, Sancre Tor enjoyed a brief resurgence of wealth and culture under Reman Cyrodiil and his descendants, Reman II and Reman III. Tracing his ancestry to St. Alessia, and following the tradition that St. Alessia was buried in the catacombs beneath Sancre Tor, Reman built splendid funerary precincts in the depths of the ancient citadel underpassages. Here the last Reman emperor, Reman III, was buried in his tomb with the Amulet of Kings.\nSancre Tor has lain in ruins since the middle of the Second Age, and the surrounding region is virtually uninhabited. Now all communications with the north are through the passes at Chorrol and Bruma, and Sancre Tor's citadel and underpassages have become the refuge of various savage goblin tribes.\nEd. Note: There is a competing tradition that St. Alessia is buried on the site of the Temple of the One in the Imperial City. The actual resting place of St. Alessia is unknown.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/library-andule": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/library-andule", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Library of Andule", "text": "Herein lies the knowledge of the Great Houses of the High Velothi culture. Light the Braziers of Knowledge and Wisdom before admittance can be gained. In darkness, the Wards of Andule yield to no mer.\nTrust in the Prophet Veloth. Follow the path of tiles from Summerset to Exodus to Morrowind, and like the Velothi, you will find what you seek."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/library-dusk-rare-books": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/library-dusk-rare-books", "description": "Inventory of interesting books that don't actually exist", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Library of Dusk: Rare Books", "text": "Vault Twelve: Rare Book Collection\nAccess FORBIDDEN\nItems:\n\"The Athedorix Conundrums\" by Mymophonus\n\t\u2014 Nine portentous questions, with answers known to drive readers insane.\n\"The Hosiric Lays\" by Unknown (poss. Calisos or Morachellis)\n\t\u2014 Tales in epic verse recounting the Atmoran folklore of the Cyro-Nords.\n\"The Gwylim Praxis\" by the Aureate Serpent\n\t\u2014 Methods of draining magicka from intelligent creatures at the moment of death.\n\"The Third Scroll of Baan Dar\" by Arkan\n\t\u2014 How the great thief stole the \"37th Lesson\" from Vivec\u2014before he could write it.\n\"The Letters of Alessia and Belharza\"\n\t\u2014 Intimate correspondence between the First Empress and the Man-Bull.\n\"Eleven OTHER Edicts of the Ten Ancestors\" by the Heretic of Lindai\n\t\u2014 A parody of the classic \"Eleven Edicts\" supposing the Ten Ancestors had worshiped Auri-El rather than Daedra.\n\"Numidium Blueprints\" by Kagrenac the Engineer\n\t\u2014 ALL SCROLLS MISSING\u2014REWARD FOR RECOVERY\n\"Conversations with the Heart of Lorkhan\" by Pelinal Whitestrake\n\t\u2014 Ruminations on the nature of the Aurbis. Warning: Probably apocryphal.\n\"The Southern Coast as Far as the Eastern Sea\" by Topal the Pilot\n\t\u2014 Sea logs of the great Aldmeri explorer.\n\"Insights\" (pristine copy) by Shalidor the Arch-Mage\n\t\u2014 A disquisition on the origin and nature of Dragons.\n\"The Alessian Doctrines: Original Manuscript\" by the Monkey Prophet Maruhk\n\t\u2014 Screed defining the dogma of the non-Elven nature of Akatosh.\n\"Studies in Aprocrypha\" by Morian Zenas\n\t\u2014 A summary of truths learned in Apocrypha that Zenas refuses to believe. In fourteen volumes.\n\"Epistolary Acumen\" by The Transparent One\n\t\u2014 Forbidden invocations of inimical Daedra.\n\"Grimoire\" by Corvus Direnni\n\t\u2014 Spell secrets of the mighty conjurer.\n\"The Tract of Merid-Nunda\" (complete) by Anonymous\n\t\u2014 Revelations on the nature of Meridia and the mistake of conflating her with the Star-Orphans.\n\"The Lusty Argonian Maid\" (complete play)\u2014Traditional\n\t\u2014 Copy out for repair\u2014accidentally damaged by Librarian.\n\"The Art of Love and Swordplay\" by Fjokki the Bard\n\t\u2014 The popular autobiography of the frisky Nord, Fjokki, whose exploits are unbelievable but strangely compelling. Not rare, but a perennial favorite here at the Library."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lie-we-tell-ourselves": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lie-we-tell-ourselves", "description": "A Dark Brotherhood member's frustration and their relationship with the Night Mother", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Lie We Tell Ourselves", "text": "Dearest Mother,\nI remember your name. I have surrounded myself with lying liars and have become a liar myself, but in my lies I see the manifestation of your domain as clearly as the blood we spill in the shadows of a secret murder. So even though I wish to scream truth in their faces or whisper your name into the ear of the dying, I tell myself that the secret is my faith, my joy and not a blasphemy.\nYet just once I wish for you to speak to me. Why not me? I have listened for you always. I cloaked myself in you long before they called me Dark Sister. I was the Chimera, ever shifting and changing and lying a thousand thousand lies for you. To be seen by you. To hear you. They call themselves Listener, but no one listens for your whisper with more hope and desire than I do.\nI have walked in accordance with your Arts, shrouded in Eight Shadows. I have lived lies and ended lives, not for the Dread Father but for you. They call themselves Speakers, but no one has spoken your words with as much conviction as I do.\nDo you see the shrine that I have built? A shrine of my body. Every face a lie, the envy both elicited and felt. The mastery of seduction. The embrace and instillment of fear, the betrayal of family and truth. The murder of others, the murder of self. The insatiable want. The fury I feel and release and feel again at you, you, you when all treasures are nothing but lies.\nDearest Mother, I remember your name. But I will speak the lie and love the lie if you wish. Perhaps that is your lesson. The treasure is the lie."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lightless-oubliette": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lightless-oubliette", "description": "Kynbriefing for the Lightless Oubliette", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Lightless Oubliette", "text": "If you've never served a shift in the Lightless Oubliette before, pay close attention, because this is not a place where you want to make a mistake. The L. O. was specifically constructed as a detention facility for captive servants of the Shining Bitch, and you know how our Dread Lord feels about her. If any of these Aurorans or Lustrants escape on your watch, you'll be lucky to get off with Second-Degree Gradual Discorporation.\n\tNow I don't care how well you know the Seven-Hundred-and-One Edicts; I don't care if you can quote chapter and verse from the Mandatory Codicils: the rules that matter in the Lightless Oubliette are the following.\n1. No white or yellow glow crystals to be brought into the facility.\n\tThis isn't because we like the place gloomy, fools. It's because the Prisoners can pervert certain spectra of light into working on their behalf. Stick to blue glow crystals for illumination, or even better, open flame.\n2. No torment-sport with the Prisoners.\n\tThat includes the Elf King. No, I don't know why, that's just the way it is. Rumor has it the Dread Lord is planning some kind of nasty surprise for the Shining Bitch, and to pull it off he needs her servants with their bodies intact. Could be true, I don't know.\n3. Clean up after yourself.\n\tThis is a top-security facility, so no Soul Shriven are allowed in, not even custodians. You make a mess, you clean it up. This includes any bodily fluids spilled during sparring practice\u2014if I find stains on the flagstones again, somebody's next shift will be in the scathe-rings."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lion-guard-wants-you": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lion-guard-wants-you", "description": "Recruitment pamphlet promising glory and adventure", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Lion Guard Wants You!", "text": "Greetings, citizen. We are the Lion Guard, the most elite fighting force serving the Daggerfall Covenant. And we want you!\nDo you seek adventure, excitement, and the chance to protect High King Emeric, leader of the Daggerfall Covenant? Then join the ranks of the illustrious Lion Guard.\nWe have been deployed across High Rock at the behest of His Majesty to protect the land. We battle against any and all that would challenge the might of the Covenant or threaten its citizens.\nDo you have what it takes to become a member of the Lion Guard? Are you brave and strong? Are you willing to follow orders while still being able to react to everchanging situations? Do you have skills and abilities that make you invaluable to our cause? Do you come of good family with unstained reputation? Well, we'll be the judge of that!\nSee your local Lion Guard recruiter today!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/little-alkoshs-log": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/little-alkoshs-log", "description": "The log of a Khajiiti sailor", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Little Alkosh's Log", "text": "Entry 1\nLord Gharesh-ri honors us with our inclusion in the Dominion's Gold Fleet! We are to join the Rusty Claw, Mara's Teat, and the Prowler in the Haven to embark a contingent of Wood Elf marines.\nEntry 2\nMade port in Haven under cover of night. Associates offloaded our cargo before Lieutenant Gelin and his soldiers. We disembarked leaving a hold full of rats and Mer. The Wood Elves don't seem to mind. I watched one dig into the vermin with relish.\nI must pray to Khenarthi for strong winds. There are only so many rats.\nEntry 3\nReligious beliefs are one thing, but if any more Bosmer complain about our ship being made of wood, I'll invite them to swim to Khenarthi's Roost.\nEntry 4\nMet up with this \"Gold Fleet.\" It's a fleet to be sure, but the only gold here was spent constructing it. So many ships! It's a wonder they don't become tangled like ja'Khajiit at play.\nEntry 5\nThe Wood Elves are amicable enough, but the High Elves are less than pleased with our presence. One wonders why they asked us here at all.\nThe fleet sighted an unknown vessel on the horizon. We offered to pursue, but the High Elves insisted one of theirs should go after it. Nothing found, of course. Our ships may not be polished to a brilliant sheen, but they are fast. Had they listened, we'd have known who shadowed the fleet.\nEntry 6\nStorm. Thunder. Death. Abandoning ship with all hands. S'rendarr watch over us.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lives-njabi": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lives-njabi", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Lives of Njabi", "text": "Njabi died in battle. Her last words were \"By the Moons, my love, I shall weep no longer."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/living-flesh": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/living-flesh", "description": "A dark creation lives", "author": "Reezal-Jul", "title": "The Living Flesh", "text": "My creation lives! It moves, it rends and tears. It is young yet and it craves blood, but I do believe this opens up a most interesting branch of necromancy. Assuming it is necromancy. Yes, let's say that it is.\nThere was a time when the shrieks and screams of the people might have bothered me. But their sacrifice and their pain, their rich, warm blood\u2014how can giving my creation life bother me in any way? They are not dead. Not truly. Not while my creature lives. In a sense, they continue to live as well. The time for concern and mercy is long behind me.\nFew understand, but few have my power. They have not glimpsed the pulsing heart of the Doomcrag. They have not risked all and taken that power within themselves. I pity them. Not for their pain and fear and torn flesh. I pity them their simple lives, their lack of power, their closed minds.\nI shall leave this creation with my vampires. They can tend it, nurture it, feed it the flesh of the feral ones. Or the flesh of any survivors\u2014if there are any survivors. When the creature is stronger and larger, they can unleash it on Rivenspire. In the meantime, I will create more such creatures, I will create an army of living flesh!\nLet the revolting peasants give themselves to the glory of my creation! All will know my name. Even Montclair and Lleraya will see what I can create, what I can do. Let them wonder what else my power will accomplish. I care less about their petty concerns with every passing day.\n\u2014 Reezal-Jul"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/living-gods": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/living-gods", "description": "A theological examination of the Dunmer Tribunal", "author": "Durillis the Theologian", "title": "The Living Gods", "text": "No other religion in all of Nirn can claim what the Dark Elves know as absolute truth: their gods rule over them and walk among them, as real and as present as any other resident of Morrowind. From their seat of power in Mournhold's Tribunal Temple, the Living Gods of the Tribunal guard and counsel their people. When necessary, they punish sin and error, but they also share their bounty with the greatest and least among us, each according to their needs.\nBut who are the Living Gods? They are powerful Dark Elves who achieved divine status through superhuman discipline and virtue, and supernatural wisdom and insight. As the three God-Kings of Morrowind, they form the divine leadership of the Dunmer nation. The Three\u2014Lord, Mother, and Wizard\u2014are described below.\nVivec, the warrior-poet god and Master of Morrowind, is perhaps the most popular of the Three. He also tends to be the most public, and the people love him. His visage appears both beautiful and bloody at the same time, and he has made violence into an art form. Vivec the warrior-poet has darker aspects associated with primitive, ruthless impulses, such as lust and murder.\nAlmalexia, also known as Mother Morrowind, is the patron of healers and teachers. She is the Healing Mother, the source of compassion and sympathy, the protector of the poor and the weak. Almalexia embodies the best of Dunmeri culture and purpose. She exemplifies mercy, and her wisdom guides the Dark Elves in all their daily affairs.\nSotha Sil, God of the World-Mechanism, is the least known and most hidden of the Tribunal gods. Sometimes referred to as the Mystery of Morrowind, he is a Magus and the patron of artificers and wizards. Perhaps the mightiest wizard in the land and certainly the wisest, he is considered to be the Light of Knowledge and the inspiration behind craft and sorcery.\nTogether, the Living Gods are the pillars of the Tribunal Temple. They represent the power and discipline of the Dunmeri people, and rule with a combination of compassion and strict adherence to law and protocol."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/llodos-plague": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/llodos-plague", "description": "A sinister plot to engineer a pandemic", "author": "Alchemist Merdyndril", "title": "The Llodos Plague", "text": "Nostrum Breva,\nWe continue to experiment with new strains of the plague, and your work at Serkamora has proven invaluable. The Magistrix is quite pleased. The Serk has been a good testing ground. Weak and sickly individuals who arrive, some already infected with previous strains, beg for a cure. We are more than delighted to welcome them in, giving them false promises of cleansing their illnesses. Even the Houses of Redoran and Hlaalu are convinced we are here to help. They so want to believe.\nAs for the plague itself, it has become quite potent. Unfortunately, survival rates remain shorter than we had hoped. If we want to cause a true outbreak, one that could level an entire city, we must continue to strengthen the magic and test it. The next step will be to raise the level of experimentation. Word has already come that one of our cadres may have developed the purest form of the sickness yet. I'm eager for the arrival of these shipments.\nA larger town will suffice for the next experiment. I recommend Narsis. The Hlaalu fools will never suspect a thing. I need to get in touch with my contacts there to let them know to be ready.\n\t\u2014Alchemist Merdyndril"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lost-communion": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lost-communion", "description": "An Argonian rekindles his connection to the Hist", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Lost Communion", "text": "Before the Hist, nothing existed. The Hist meant everything and provided all.\nJaraleet knew this. Every Argonian knew this, instinctively, from hatching. Why, then, wouldn't the Hist speak to them? Didn't the old stories say the Hist talked to its people?\nDay after day, Jaraleet burnt offerings and made sacrifices. He chanted and prayed. He ate little, his efforts concentrated upon renewing the ancient connection between the Hist and its people.\nOne morning, his wife insisted he eat a full meal. \"No matter how much you wish it, you cannot feast upon the Hist itself,\" she gently chided.\nJaraleet blinked as her words pierced his thinking. \"Hist sap!\" he cried, touching his forehead to hers with affection.\nThough no alchemist, Jaraleet concocted formula after formula. He distilled various ichors, combining each one in varying amounts with Hist sap, tasting them all, making adjustments. He felt the Hist urge him on, demanding he break through its silence.\nFinally, Jaraleet drank his master decoction. He savored the thick, sweet syrup coating his tongue. Standing quietly beneath the Hist's outstretched boughs, his eyes glittered with comprehension.\n\"I am your child and servant,\" he whispered. And the Hist showed him all things."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lost-fort-faleria": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lost-fort-faleria", "description": "The tale of a Cyrodiilic noble whose love of an elven woman drives him to madness", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Lost Fort Faleria", "text": "Legend has it that in the early days of Cyrodiil, in the wake of the Alessian Doctrines, there were three lords that formed a regency council over the Kingdom of Kvatch. The name of that king and two of the lords are lost to history. Lord Faleria's name, however, is whispered in the night as a cautionary tale of how far one would go to protect those they love.\nAs a young man, Lord Faleria secretly, and to the shame of his family, fell in love with an Elven scholar, wise in the ways of dark magic and necromancy. The Nenalata Ayleids swore fealty to the Empire, but their people were still an unwelcome sight in polite society. Together, they pored over lost secrets, hoping to find a way to be together always. They married in secret and enjoyed a few short years of happiness, which ended with an Imperial decree.\nTo hide his wife from the purge, Lord Faleria expanded his fortress into the underground tunnels beneath the structure. They enlarged the space with magic, the sweat of hired workers, and the help of a tribe of minotaurs. It was to be a grand underground complex to match those of his wife's Ayleid ancestors, and equally as brutal.\nAs each wing was completed, they secretly had the workers put to death. Some were buried. Some had the life drawn out of them to extend the lives of Lord Faleria and his wife. Of these, some were raised as undead guardians. After all, Lord Faleria could not allow rumors and secrets to get out, and dead guardians spread no tales.\nAs the complex grew, so did Lord Faleria's family. He swore to do anything to protect his children - these Elven children - from death or banishment at the hands of the Empire. It was during the birth of their third child that Lady Faleria died. In mourning, his lordship erected a great brass tomb in the tunnels, sealing his love away and promising to do anything to protect her children from the religious zealots of the Empire.\nAt this time, Lord Faleria delved deeper into the study of dark arts, formulating wicked magic fueled by a darkness from some far realm that consumed all things good and light. He learned to channel the power and found it all but limitless.\nLord Faleria edged closer and closer to madness after the death of his Elven wife, though he could never explain his troubles to his peers in the outside world. To keep his Elven family a secret, he continued to use disposable labor to expand their realm and give them new comforts.\nThe children grew into adults, rarely seeing sunlight. Well into adulthood, his youngest son could not take his confinement any longer. He managed to escape, and did so easily and often. Inevitably, as these things happen, the son fell in love with a merchant's daughter. Soon, she was with child. The girl's family, horrified at the child's Elven traits, forced the young woman to confess that her lover was Lord Faleria's son. Horrified at being discovered, Lord Faleria took his grandson and hid him with the rest of the family.\nThe Empire was at his gate within days, with charges ranging from treason to giving aid to the enemy. For these crimes against the Empire, he had no defense. But he had prepared a response for this day. In his madness, Lord Faleria performed a dark ritual. If he could not be with his family, he would rather destroy everything he created - and the Imperial Army along with it.\nThe night came. The ritual concluded. It would take only one final gesture to consume the entire castle in eternal darkness. At the final moment, a hand fell upon his shoulder. His son was behind him, standing with the rest of the family.\nIt was too late. The very shadows crawled like smoke from the ground, dissolving objects, walls, men, and mer. Some formed man-like shapes and attacked the besieging army from within. Others opened up like rifts, and the world fell inside them.\nWhen it was over, only Lord Faleria remained amid the freshly made ruins. As the legends say, he buried his children and grandchild on the surface, where he never allowed them to go. Then he retreated into the hole in the ground, sealing it behind him.\nFor most great men, the walls and monuments survive far longer than their name. For Lord Faleria, the location of his fort is lost to time, but his name remains."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lost-islands-old-yokuda": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lost-islands-old-yokuda", "description": "A poetic description of the island remnants of Yokuda", "author": "Hazadiyya Sea-Queen", "title": "The Lost Islands of Old Yokuda", "text": "Attributed to Hazadiyya Sea-Queen\nI remember Lost Yokuda. I remember all her great islands.\nI remember Samara. Indeed, I had a husband there.\nSamara: low, lush, welcoming, with many harbors, warm and sweet of fruit. Teymush was much like his island. Long and long we abided there in loving leisure, until the tides of the Sea of Pearls drew me away from him.\nI remember Kanesh. Indeed, I had a husband there.\nKanesh: tall, volcanic, harsh, but strong and blazing with inner heat. Yazhgir was much like his island. We exploded together with liquid heat, but petrified as we cooled. The Azurian called me from his arms at last.\nI remember Yath. Indeed, I had a husband there.\nYath: jagged, arid, rugged, magnificent, with clear views from a spine like steel. Soufoudin was much like his island. He pulled me up on a charger to ride by his side, and together we explored every terrain. One day he rode off over a ridge and was gone, and once again I returned to the sea.\nI remember Akos Kasaz. Indeed, I had a husband there.\nAkos Kasaz: biggest of all, ruler and rebel, moody and many-sided, gentle and brutal. Oshnar was much like his island. There I stayed longest of all, and together we fought wars, reared children, and built the City of Totambu. But even there, one day I scented the east wind from the Abecean, and though by then my hair fell iron-gray to my waist, I returned, at last, to the sea.\nI remember Yokuda\u2026."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lost-warrior": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lost-warrior", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Lost Warrior", "text": "The lady burned bright,\n\tThe lover turned to ash.\n\tThe tower became dust.\n\tThe warrior wept."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lurching-dead": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lurching-dead", "description": "The author aims to convince mother about zombies", "author": "Solly Gaudet", "title": "The Lurching Dead", "text": "Tardu,\nMother didn't believe me. Said there's no such thing as thorn-covered zombies.\nWell, when the zombies eat everyone on the farm, then she'll believe me!\n\u2014Solly Gaudet"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lure-camonna-tong": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lure-camonna-tong", "description": "A former thug tells of a particularly brutal assignment from the Tong, in hopes of scaring away those who thought to join", "author": "Vorar Vendu", "title": "The Lure of the Camonna Tong", "text": "By Vorar Vendu, One-Time Camonna Tong\nYou probably heard of the Camonna Tong. It's the name whispered in dark alleys as blood pools on the cobblestones, the signature on the ransom note left on a neighbor's bed. A shadow, a curse, a boil upon the arse of our society. And, though I'm not proud to admit it, it's a part of my past.\nNow, I'm not writing this for those of you already on the right side of the law. I'm writing this for the ones who have already ventured off that moral path, those that walk the thin line between wrong and right. The ones with empty bellies and emptier coffers, who might see the Camonna Tong as a viable option. To you I say, keep reading.\nSure, the Camonna Tong has stability. A steady stream of income is a hard thing to turn down, and they've got structure to boot. They'll lure you in with the possibility of glory, of command, of rising through the ranks. And sure, what they do is far from legal. But if you're already leaning in that direction, wouldn't you rather be in good company?\nIt didn't take much sweet talking before I signed right up, and at first life was good. Extorting the rich flat-heads who had lorded above me all my life? My pleasure! A few robberies, a few break-ins? Nothing I wasn't use to. And sure, we talked big about driving away the outlanders, of taking Vvardenfell back for the Dark Elves. But I'll be honest, nothing made me question what I was doing.\nNothing, that is, until some Argonian seamstress got a little uppity.\nOh, it was the talk of the town. Some scaled n'wah had the gall to start up her own shop\u2014and be successful with it to boot! She was taking away good business from Dark Elves, that's what she was doing. Taking away gold from our mothers and sisters. So we did what the Camonna Tong does best. We made her pay.\nThe kidnapping was easy. Yeah, her shop was doing well, but she was still an Argonian. I don't think we saw a single guard as we slipped into her house, not in that part of town. We tied her up and gagged her before she had a chance to cry for help, laughing like it was some big joke. Young hotheads who had too much to drink. I thought we were just going to scare her, set her straight, make her realize that she couldn't think herself better.\nI started to sober up when the beatings began. First a slap to her face, but that quickly turned to punches and kicks. They joked about how she could take it, how Argonian skin was so thick no one would even see the bruises. I can still hear her muffled cries along with their laughter.\nI just watched as the beatings became more intense, as blood started dribbling from her gagged mouth. I wasn't a stranger to violence, or truly opposed to it given my line of work. But there was something about tying up this old Argonian and beating her bloody, kicking her as she fell to the floor. My throat grew tight as I watched, motionless. No one seemed to notice my lack of enthusiasm, so enraptured in the righteous justice they gladly doled out.\nSomeone pulled out a dagger and made the casual remark, \"You know, it's pretty hard to sew without fingers.\"\nSuddenly I was wide awake.\nI wish I could tell you that I stopped them. Said something clever, did something brave. But the truth is I walked out. I left that room, that town, that life. Not with my head held high, but broken, defeated, thinking of that poor Argonian's eyes, filled with terror. So different from my own, yet so alike. I don't know if they went through with it, if there's a fingerless beggar somewhere who sees my face in her nightmares. I don't think I'll ever try to find out.\nSo next time you think of the Camonna Tong, of the glamor and the gold? You think of how easy it is for your crooked morals to slip away entirely. How big talk and some drink can lead you down a darker path than you ever realized you were capable of. How easy it is to say nothing, and how much easier to just join along."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lusty-argonian-footman-volume-1": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lusty-argonian-footman-volume-1", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Lusty Argonian Footman, Volume 1", "text": "(a fragment)\n- Act V, Scene 1, Continued -\nErects-The-Spine: My apologies, mistress!\nNadene Velas: Can you not even do this right, my sweet?\nErects-The-Spine: I try, I try! But no matter what I do ...\nNadene Velas: You need far more polish than that. How else will my bowl shine?\nErects-The-Spine: Of course! More polish, at once.\nNadene Velas: Yes, that's very good! My, you're so eager to please.\nErects-The-Spine: Pleasing you is all that I live for!\nNadene Velas: I know it is, my sweet. And after this, we must lay the table.\nErects-The-Spine: At once! While the master is gone, I can serve you in any room you wish.\nNadene Velas: I expect no less from my faithful servant!\n- End of Act V, Scene 1 -"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lusty-argonian-maid-song": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lusty-argonian-maid-song", "description": "A song version of the famous story", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Lusty Argonian Maid, A Song", "text": "NOTE: A male/female duet, beginning with the male and alternating stanzas.\nCrantius Colto is my name\n\tMy lusty Argonian maid\n\tI've something here for you to clean\n\tCome burnish now my blade!\nI'm Lifts-Her-Tail the maid, it's true\n\tA lusty Argonian maid\n\tBut your task is just too much, good sir,\n\tI've never seen such a long blade!\nTut-tut, my dear, that's not what I hear,\n\tMy lusty Argonian maid\n\tAnd Lady Colto's gone to Kvatch\n\tNo need for you to be afraid\nNay, I am needed elsewhere, sir,\n\tThough your blade's so long and so hard\n\tI'm needed to tend the instrument large\n\tOf a sultry Argonian bard"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lute-blue-longing": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lute-blue-longing", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Lute of Blue Longing", "text": "This instrument belonged to the cursed bard Gjaldred. While playing at the court of the East Kingdom, the queen became smitten with the handsome bard. Callously, he composed a tender ballad to seduce her. So believing he loved her, the queen dismissed her guards and Gjaldred came to her chamber.\nBefore dawn, his pleasure done, the faithless bard slipped away and fled the castle. Realizing she had been cruelly deceived, the queen took her own life after laying a fearsome curse upon Gjaldred. It compelled him to sing the song of his treachery as her spirit appeared whenever he took up his lute.\nEven today, the queen's spirit can sometimes be seen when love songs are played on the lute."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mabigrash-trial": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mabigrash-trial", "description": "A chance encounter with a failed Mabigrash", "author": "Thorgo", "title": "The Mabrigash Trial", "text": "Dearest Fari,\nI know you are curious about the different people and places I see on my travels. I met a strange Dark Elf after I left Mournhold. His general demeanor was less aloof than others of his kind, though he still had that somewhat mistrustful air about him. I offered him some wine and bread at my campsite, and he seemed grateful enough for a little company.\nHe claimed to be a \"Mabrigash,\" which I took to be some sort of Ashlander clan off-shoot, though I was unaware that any clan had traveled this far south from Vvardenfell. I asked him about his journey, and he said he was going nowhere and anywhere. He said he couldn't return to the Vale.\nWhen I asked, he told me the Vale was his home. He claimed his clan protected snakes and ghosts in this mysterious place. In turn, a \"Ghost Snake\" watched over the clan. Now, he was getting a bit drunk by this time, as we shared more than a bottle or two, but he assured me there was indeed a Ghost Snake. I asked why he left. He was silent for a long while. Finally, he mumbled that he had failed his trial. I asked what he meant and he said that he had not walked the path, that his courage had failed him and he had fled. \"Now I can never return,\" he told me. \"I have shamed my family and dishonored my clan.\"\nHe started to weep softly, so I pretended to busy myself with my packs, and a minute later he was snoring. Poor fellow. Obviously some primitive ritual or tribal rite had gone awry. I was determined to encourage him to return home when we broke camp in the morning. However, when I awoke at dawn, he was gone.\nI miss you as always. I will write again in a few days.\n\u2014 Thorgo"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mages-cipher": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mages-cipher", "description": "Clues to unlocking a treasure", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Mage's Cipher", "text": "Lavergne,\nIf you're reading this, I'm dead, but to make sure this lockbox is bequeathed to you, I've locked it with a password that only another member of the Blacklight Raiders could know.\nThe password is:\nThe first letter of Olivia's last name.\n\tThe last letter of Moret's first name.\n\tThe sixth letter of Guymund's last name.\n\tThe last letter of the mage's last name.\n\tThe second letter of the priest's last name.\n\tThe first letter of the thief's last name.\n\tThe second letter of Willam's last name.\n\tThe fifth letter of the warrior's last name.\n\tThe fifth letter of Joelle's last name.\n\tThe second letter of Lavergne's first name.\n\tThe first letter of Rernis's first name."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/manifesto-make-way": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/manifesto-make-way", "description": "Correcting perceived weakness through anger", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Manifesto of Make Way", "text": "In order to survive and thrive, we must foment a perpetual vortex of agitation!\nA final and irrevocable statement of our will!\nOnly this will bring the correction of the true ways of our Yokudan heritage: a redress of the weakness which has pervasively trickled into our hearts!\nIt is the right of those who suffer from weakness to refuse allegiance to it and to those who bring it forth!\nMake way! Make way! Make way!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/many-threads": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/many-threads", "description": "A series of clues, framed as riddles", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Many Threads", "text": "I see sly Amaffi, pretends as a priest\nBlack is his heart, no Height he will reach.\nThe water is sweet so Oranu will say\nUnder the Moon, she will safely stay.\nLook for Magpie, a thief on her guard\nSouth to find her death, I hope it was hard.\nBufasa, always boisterous and loud\nHome he will go, swaggering and proud.\nDoom is the fate of the beautiful Seleiz\nA heart of stone, quiet now 'neath the trees.\nHappy Hiijar I will always remember\nThough his bright cheerful light is only an ember.\nOld Grastia is now silent, alone on a hill\nNo wind to disturb her, no grist for the mill.\nDancer always looks for a thrill,\nhides with thieves, for good or for ill.\nFarro found a lonesome sentinel, silent and tall\nA view extraordinary, but that is not all.\nKesta, so secretive, but always a spy\nShe watches over a tower, from afar and on high.\nJarro surprised me, returned to the city\nCold in the scaffolds, I give him no pity."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/maormer-pyandonea": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/maormer-pyandonea", "description": "Overview and origin of the Maormer and Pyandonea", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Maormer of Pyandonea", "text": "Entry 543, Atlas Notes, Imperial Geographical Society\nIt was once believed that the Maormer of Pyandonea were originally exiles from the Summerset Isles, but while it is likely they came from similar Aldmeri ancestors, they certainly did not come from Summerset. Translations of tapestries in the Crystal Tower tell the tale of a far older separation. The Maormer likely differentiated from the ancient Aldmer not in Summerset, but in their original homeland of Aldmeris.\nOrgnum, their leader and self-styled \"King,\" according to the legend was a phenomenally wealthy Aldmeri nobleman, who used his fortune to finance a rebellion against the powers of the land. He and his followers were banished for this to a place separated from Aldmeris by an impenetrable mist, Pyandonea, \"The Mist-Veiled Isles.\" This exile proved so effective that the followers of Orgnum never again disturbed their former countrymen. The new Aldmeri homeland of Summerset, however, was not so lucky.\nFor much of Summerset's history, the Maormer have launched attacks against their cousins of Old Ehlnofey. Every one of these battles has been led by Orgnum himself, who it seems is not only immortal but grows more youthful by the century. No historian, to the knowledge of the staff of the Imperial Geographic Society, has counted the number of wars and strategems employed against Summerset, but somehow each has proved, no matter how ingenious, an ultimate failure.\nOne attack in particular is worthy of mention as it gives us our only glimpse into the actual landscape of Pyandonea. In the year 2E 486, a small Maormeri fleet was sighted off the coast of Alinor, and King Hidellith ordered his navy to give chase. The navy followed the ships through uncharted waters, into an ambush near Pyandonea itself. Most of the Altmeri navy was destroyed, but a single warship returned to Summerset to describe the land as a \"sea jungle.\" Massive plateaus spilling over with vegetation form mazes around valleys of ocean. Waving tendrils of kelp trap all but the Maormer's own ships, and provide a well-camouflaged home for the sea serpents that are Orgnum's guards and occasional mounts. Mist storms spill over the land, further disorienting one's views. That even one ship survived the visit is a testament to the maritime genius of the Altmer."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/marriage-moon-and-tide": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/marriage-moon-and-tide", "description": "A quick religious book about how Nirni makes the tides", "author": "Clan Mother Tsradama", "title": "The Marriage of Moon and Tide", "text": "Any true Khajiit knows of the Ja-Kha'jay's gentle waltz through the sky, but few understand that Nirni too joins in the dance. Though she is rooted to the spot Lorkhaj made for her to bear her children, she still sways along with her siblings as they dance through the night.\n\"But, Tsradama,\" you say, \"this one has never seen Nirni swaying with the Moons.\"\nLikely, you have, but you did not understand what you saw. Just as a flea in your fur cannot tell you are dancing when you shake your tail to a merry tune, we cannot easily spot how Nirni moves. When next you watch for Jone and Jode to rise, keep your eyes on the sea and you will spot Nirni's eager waves rolling farther and farther up the shore along their path. This is a sign that Nirni sways to the music of the Moons."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/martyrdom-saint-pelin": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/martyrdom-saint-pelin", "description": "Legend of a saintly man's sacrifice", "author": "Priestess Adie Rodeau", "title": "The Martyrdom of Saint Pelin", "text": "Welcome, young ones! As the subject of my annual children's sermon, I have chosen \"The Martyrdom of Saint Pelin.\" Now I know you have probably heard this story already, but in this time of trouble I think it is good to revisit the tales of our ancestors so we may draw strength and lessons from them.\nNow Saint Pelin lived back in the early part of the First Era, when the world was stranger than today. At that time Tamriel was largely untamed and our ancestors had to be strong and brave, for the woods and hills were home to things like bull-men, and centaurs, and fire serpents.\nSaint Pelin wasn't a saint at first, of course: he was a humble man, a beadle at the Chapel of Stendarr at the Bangkorai Garrison, where he tended to the spiritual needs of the soldiers guarding the walls. He had other tasks as well, such as bringing the sentries water when the sun was high. One day as he carried around his bucket dipper he noticed there were more guards than usual. He stopped at the main gate and asked his friend, Sergeant Clancie, why that was. \"It is because the Gray Host is coming,\" said Clancie, \"which is a terrible army of vampires from Verkarth, and I'm more than a little worried about it.\"\n\"Oh, my!\" said Pelin. \"Is there anything I can do to help you and the other soldiers?\"\n\"Pray for us, Pelin,\" said Clancie. \"For a great trial is upon us.\"\nSergeant Clancie's words made Pelin anxious, so when he was done with his chores he climbed a tall tower and looked south. And there he saw the Gray Host coming out of the desert, a whole army of bat-men, wolves, and even worse things!\nSo Pelin went back to the chapel to pray, and as he heard the sounds of battle, he prayed to Stendarr, to Akatosh, to Julianos, to Kynareth, and to all their saints for help.\nBut then folk began to come into the chapel, setting up cots and tables and bringing in wounded soldiers for aid and surgery. \"Come and help us, Beadle,\" called the Doctor. \"It's your strong arms we need now, not your prayers.\"\nSo Pelin came and looked at the wounded soldiers, and found them wondrous pale. \"What has happened to them, Doctor?\" he asked. \"These soldiers are as white as the sheets on my bed.\"\n\"It is the bat-men, Beadle,\" the Doctor said. \"When they bite our soldiers, they drain the blood from them in great draughts, leaving them pale and empty.\"\n\"Horror!\" cried Pelin. \"You're right, Doctor, this is time for more than prayers. For Stendarr says, 'He who fights hardest prays loudest.' I know nothing of fighting or of doctoring, but I will go to the battle and trust Stendarr to show me what to do.\"\nSo Pelin ran to the fighting at the top of the great gate, where he found his friend, Sergeant Clancie, fighting a bat-man. The vampire beat at the sergeant with its wings and tried to grip him so as to bite, but Pelin grasped the bat-man by the legs so Clancie was able to kill it with his sword.\n\"This is no place for you!\" the sergeant cried. \"The bat-men are at the gate, and soon they will burst it open and take the garrison!\"\nPelin looked down and saw that what the sergeant said was true: a great press of bat-men was ramming against the gates, and the doors were bulging inward. Pelin cried, \"Is there nothing we can do?\"\n\"The stone wall here has been loosened by flying stones,\" said the sergeant. \"I had hoped to gather enough soldiers to push it down upon the bat-men\u2014see, reinforcements are coming!\u2014but the Gray Host will be through the gates before they can get here.\"\n\"Then I must delay them,\" said Pelin. And he flung himself from the battlements and upon the horde of vampires.\nThe wings of the bat-men broke Pelin's fall, and he landed among them hale and alive. \"Vampires!\" cried Pelin. \"Push not upon the gate, for what you want is here: a strong, healthy body full of fresh, warm blood. Take! Drink!\"\nAnd the Gray Host turned as one and fell upon Pelin, fastening upon his veins. Then Pelin felt himself collapsing like a wine-sack at the harvest-festival, and knew that before the sergeant could gather enough soldiers he would be drained dry. So he prayed a mighty prayer, saying, \"O Stendarr, God of Justice, fill me with an ocean of blood that I might beguile these daemons away from the gate but a few minutes more!\"\n\tAnd then Pelin felt himself filled anew with blood, flowing from him in a very fountain, and the divine geyser of gore drew every bat-man within sight into a great feeding mound before the gate.\nMeanwhile Sergeant Clancie and his friends pushed against the wall above, until all of a sudden the great stones went crashing down. The bat-men were nearly all slain, and by the time the ones who weren't had gathered their wits, they saw that the pursuing legions of Empress Hestra were almost upon them. And that was the end of the Gray Host.\nSo that is how a beadle from Bangkorai Garrison became a saint. Now I ask you, children\u2014does not our time resemble that of Saint Pelin? Is there not once again an army at our gates? Yes, indeed. And that's why our leaders ask each and every one of us to do as much as we can to help defend our homeland. Some of us may even have to give our lives.\nSo when the time comes, tell yourself that you, too, have the strength to do what's needed. For I think, if we have to, we can all be as strong as a humble man like Pelin. Don't you?"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/massacre-cormount": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/massacre-cormount", "description": "Altmeri betrayal and the murder of Valenwood's true king", "author": "Camoran Gorinir", "title": "The Massacre at Cormount", "text": "The Jade Butcher brought her army in at night, like thieves. The good citizens of Cormount, no matter their faith in the True King, Camoran Gelthior, could not stand in the face of High Elf treachery.\nThe soldiers set fire to the trees. Burned Valenwood itself! As the families fled their homes, the cavalry rode them down. Children were rounded up and strangled in the streets. The Jade Butcher's thugs forced the parents to watch!\nI personally led the Blacksap's response, I saw what they had done. Our anger was swift and righteous. We drove the Butcher's forces to the ruins outside of Cormount. We called the Green to aid us in destroying these invaders.\nBut the Jade Butcher's real treachery had only just begun. Her mages had poisoned the Green! Without our true ally to aid us\u2014Valenwood itself\u2014her forces rallied and resumed their slaughter. Though outnumbered four to one, the Blacksap fought on\u2014for Valenwood, for Elden Root, for Cormount.\nRemember this massacre, my brothers and sisters. Remember the Jade Butcher and the Dominion that considers her a hero. Remember that my father, the True King, vanished that day. Though he is thought to be among the dead, I still hold out hope.\nHope that Valenwood itself will rise again. That those loyal to the True King will rise with it."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/masters-truth": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/masters-truth", "description": "Invocation of Mehrunes Dagon", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Master's Truth", "text": "Stare into the flame, and you will see the Master's truth.\nSee his smile in the curling of paper as it blackens and burns. Hear his cackles of joy at the screams of those who die beneath our knives.\nWe devote ourselves to you, Mehrunes Dagon, Prince of Destruction, Lord of Blood and Flames. Your servants give you this tribute: the death of a thousand thousand creatures of flesh and tears."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/masters-hall": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/masters-hall", "description": "A group of treasure hunters come upon a mysterious, and deadly, ruin", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Masters' Hall", "text": "We were young and optimistic when we set forth, striking out on the rumor of a ruin untouched, lost among the crags and misty peaks of the Jerall Mountains on the Skyrim-Cyrodiil border. Our maps were inadequate, as were our plans and preparations. Nearly starved, frostbitten, and lost, it was only by sheer luck that we even stumbled onto the entrance, which sat half-buried and covered in a layer of ice high in the peaks.\nBy the time we cracked open the door, locked by a combination of mechanical and arcane mechanisms, our supplies had dwindled dangerously low. But it was worth it. As the barrier separated and we saw into the gloom, it was clear that the rumor was true: this place was long undisturbed, unmarred by robbers and scavengers. Who knew what we would find inside?\nWe could never have guessed at the answer. The entry hall itself was very unusual. It featured a gleaming metal staircase, ornately molded and engraved with strange glyphs and angular emblems. As soon as my boot touched the first step, a clear tone rang out into the cold, startling us all. Every footfall created a new, sweet sound as we descended to the bottom, eager to escape the chill and reinvigorated by the prospect of discovery.\nFifty men could have stretched head to toe across the circular chamber that opened before us at the base of the stair. Its high dome receded into shadow, and ringed all around the center of the floor were thirteen massive statues, posed with arms extended to the side and legs shoulder-width apart. Each was clad in a unique suit of armor. Every suit was crafted from a different material, some of which were recognizable (steel, ebony, and iron among them), but several could not be identified at first look.\nMany of the suits boasted strange, angular plates of metal or precious stone affixed to the joints or helms, and some featured engraved patterns and phrases. The construction of the place imparted a sense of reverence; the careful placements and grand scale made the chamber feel almost holy. We crept among the statues, marveling at the armor and wishing we had more knowledge of smithing and metalwork.\nIn the center of them all stood a bronze monolith, thirteen-sided and engraved from top to bottom with characters and diagrams that seemed related to the armors worn by the statues. We approached the monument, but, lost in our wonder at the mysteries before us, we forgot we were intruders, neglected the caution necessary in such places. I reached out a hand to touch the metal, and as soon as my skin made contact, chaos erupted.\nI remember little but the screams of my companions, bright flashes of light, and a mad dash to the staircase, which produced a cacophony as I scrambled up it and out onto the snow. I realized then that I was alone. Injured and heartbroken at the loss of my expeditionary allies, I made it to a small village only by the grace of the Divines. I was never able to locate the entrance again, but its secrets still wait, hidden in the snow."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/maulborn-manifesto": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/maulborn-manifesto", "description": "Mission and goals of a charitable society", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Maulborn Manifesto", "text": "Our land is troubled. Disease, invaders, and internal strife are only the most obvious problems facing our people. Each of these troubles strikes like a hammer blow, crushing us anew. But we have survived the hammer blows. And we have been reborn! We are the Maulborn, and we have banded together with an altruistic spirit and a vision for a better Morrowind to provide the aid and assistance that the Tribunal is either unable or unwilling to give at this time.\nWith powerful benefactors from the most prominent Dunmer Houses and the support of nobles and commoners alike, the Maulborn strive to shelter the displaced, comfort the sick, care for the wounded, and feed the hungry. It is not only the popular thing to do, it is the right thing to do. To this end, the Maulborn have embarked on a massive recruitment campaign to fill our ranks with the able bodies we need to perform our charitable and compassionate work. Our goal is to create an army the likes of which Morrowind has never seen, an army of generosity to offset the hammer strikes that torment our land.\nTo this end, we are proud to announce the opening of our first facility to aid the afflicted. The victims of the Llodos plague need care and succor, and the Maulborn shall provide it. Moreover, the afflicted need not only a treatment for the plague\u2014they need a cure! And through the work of our alchemists and nostrums, the Maulborn are prepared to provide a cure to all of the afflicted who want it. Come to our facility at Quarantine Serk, where you and your loved ones will find the care and the help you so desperately require. And, if fortune smiles upon us, you will also receive a cure for the Llodos plague.\nPeople of Morrowind, listen to the sound of a new kind of hammer. It strikes to create instead of destroy. To rise up instead of tear down. To help instead of hinder. This is the promise and the commitment of the Maulborn. Join us, and you shall be fulfilled! Seek us out, and you shall find the help you need.\nOn this, you have our word."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/memories-sotha-sil": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/memories-sotha-sil", "description": "A brief introduction to how Sotha Sil removed his memories to make way for divinity", "author": "Varlinsi Arandu", "title": "The Memories of Sotha Sil", "text": "By Varlinsi Arandu, Apostle of Sotha Sil\nMemories are fleeting, flawed, and fragile. So easily overwritten by emotion and prejudice. I cannot think of a more unregulated recording of events, which is why I commit my thoughts into the unchanging metal of my sequence plaques. But even the most objective view can still hold bias, and words can only convey so much. The engravings on this plaque pale to the complexity of a simple human thought, with all the nuances and richness that even a common mind can hold.\nLord Seht knows this. After all, his heart drives the Wheels Eternal, oiled and calibrated. This we know. To become that which is the only true name, which is not Name, one's mind must be polished. Synchronized. How to accomplish such a task? Even a god may become overburdened with the weight of emotions, fractured from the whole which is logic.\nBut in this too the Clockwork God was wise. He gave his memories form, manifestation. Glowing stars to make up the galaxy of his thoughts. Tangible and real, far more real than ink upon parchment, than words or whispers. Whole and perfect, and only able to be so from the strength of his divinity, his gleaming and peerless mind which holds the true order of all.\nMemories are flawed, yes, but they are precious all the same. They hold our wisdom and knowledge, all that which we are. To give them away would be squandering that gift, and this too Lord Seht knew. So he preserved these precious thoughts, locked safely with his Mnemonic Planisphere. Watched over by the ever-silent Astronomer. A multitude of stars which no longer held emotional sway over him, no, but still remained connected, known.\nIt's quiet in the Planisphere, but one hears whispers. A low hum of voices seem to echo within the halls. Those figures of the past, lost but not forgotten. Come to light once more."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/miners-lament": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/miners-lament", "description": "Working in a mine is hard and thankless work", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Miner's Lament", "text": "All day long in a dark, dark mine,\n\tSwing your pick time after time.\n\tThe sound of metal hitting stone,\n\tWe work hard, we work alone.\n\tAll day long toiling in the dark,\n\tHoping the next vein will hit the mark.\n\tA poor man dreams of golden ore,\n\tOur foreman screams, \"Dig some more!\"\n\tI keep digging and praying to the Eight,\n\tThat dying beneath a mountain isn't my fate.\n\tI'm a miner, for better or for worse,\n\tAnd blood, sweat, and tears won't fill my purse."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/minotaur-song": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/minotaur-song", "description": "A song about minotaurs, just like the title says", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Minotaur Song", "text": "Oh minotaur, oh minotaur,\nA beast of rage and ignoble glaring.\nOh minotaur, oh minotaur,\nNone can deny your noble bearing.\nAround Imperial ruins you gather,\nEternal guardians with hooves and horn.\nWhat memories lead you to path there,\nIs it Belharza or the Empire that you mourn?\nOh minotaur, oh minotaur,\nAre you monster, Mer, or Man?\nOh minotaur, oh minotaur,\nTell us how you fit into the Divine's plan!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/monochrome-paintbrush": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/monochrome-paintbrush", "description": "An altmeri folktale about a paintbrush and the artist who used it to her doom", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Monochrome Paintbrush", "text": "Old Summerset Folktale, Author Unknown\nTranscribed by Relicmaster Glenadir\nThere once was an artist of great talent. Her eyes shined with worlds unseen, so magnificent and bright that beautiful Summerset paled in comparison. She tried to paint these vibrant scenes, but found common colors lacking. How could she bring her visions to life?\nIn this hour of desperation, a poor merchant knocked on her door. He was a scraggly old man, with no companion but the hound at his feet.\n\"Would you consider buying this paintbrush?\" the poor merchant asked. \"I see by your house that you're an artist. With this you'll be able to truly bring life into your work.\"\nIntrigued, the artist agreed to pay a meager sum for this paintbrush. It was rather large, with a white tip and black ivory handle. She was told it was called the Monochrome Paintbrush, but to not let the name fool her. And so the old merchant left with a satisfied smile on his face.\nThe artist went to work at once, and before her eyes the impossible occurred. What had been mere paint just moments before became sparkling and shining, with depths yet unknown. It went beyond color and emotion, transcended anything she had seen before. Finally, finally, the colors matched those images she had long since had in her head.\nBut, as she painted, a strange thing happened. First, the color began to fade from her lips, the tips of her fingers, the point of her nose. Her hair turned from a golden yellow to a faded white, her clothes lost their blue and purples and turned to shades of gray.\nShe did not notice. She painted, and painted, and painted away. She was lost within the scene she was creating, and her body turned white, and black, and gray. Her eyes grew heavy, and heartbeats further and further apart, until suddenly she collapsed.\nBefore her body was the most beautiful painting in all of Summerset. It's said to still hang to this day, though it was never seen in Nirn again."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/moon-cats-and-their-dance": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/moon-cats-and-their-dance", "description": "Another accounting of the Lunar Lattice", "author": "Clan Mother Ahnissi (attributed to)", "title": "The Moon Cats and their Dance", "text": "A hairless scholar came from his desert to ours and said, \"I want to know the truth about the Khajiit.\"\nAnd the Clan Mother said, \"Only one? You are not very curious, hairless scholar.\"\nThe hairless scholar peered at the Clan Mother through little windows on his nose and said, \"I want to know about your different breeds. Is it true that what phase of the moons you are born under determines your physical morphology?\"\nAnd the Clan Mother said, \"Indeed, hairless scholar. I was born as Jode was waxing and Jone was new, so I am an Omhes-raht. My daughter here was born when Jode was waxing and Jone was full, so she is a Senche-raht. Thus we are nothing alike.\"\nThe scholar peered at mother and daughter and said, \"You look very much the same to me.\"\nAnd the Clan Mother said, \"I have heard that those with round pupils have poor vision. It is a sadness.\"\nThe hairless scholar tapped his chin and said, \"I want to know about your so-called Lunar Lattice. Is it true that the phases of the moons regulate every aspect of your lives?\"\nAnd the Clan Mother said, \"Indeed, hairless scholar. Today is Suthay, when Jode is new and Jone is new, and we never stir the stew winter-shines.\"\nThe hairless scholar blinked and said, \"You mean withershins, or retrograde? But that is exactly the way you're stirring your soup.\"\nAnd the Clan Mother said, \"But only from above. Perhaps your eyes only let you see things from one direction? That is a sadness.\"\nThe hairless scholar adjusted his nose-windows and said, \"All right. Fine. Tell me of the Two Moons Dance. Is it true you Khajiit dance at the midnight hour to the light of the moons?\"\nAnd the Clan Mother said, \"Indeed not. We dance the Two Moons Dance in every hour. It is our delight.\"\nThe hairless scholar said, \"You're not dancing. You're sitting by the fire. Tell me when you're going to dance, so I can join you.\"\nAnd the Clan Mother said, \"My daughter and I dance to the moons at this moment, but you cannot join us, for you do not have a tail. It is a sadness.\"\nThe hairless scholar gnawed his knuckle and said, \"Very well then. I hear that you have curious beliefs about the moons. Tell me of them.\"\nAnd the Clan Mother said, \"As you wish. When Lorkhaj made a place for Nirni's children, the darkness in his heart made it also a prison. So his heart was cut out and buried deep in Nirni, and his body was hurled to the moons but could not pass them, for it did not know the First Secret. Thus is his body the Dead Moon in the Lunar Lattice. See it, just there?\"\nThe hairless scholar peered at the sky and said, \"I see no moons at all\u2014Masser and Secunda are both new. What do you mean?\"\nAnd the Clan Mother said, \"Hairless scholar, this one forgot again about your eyes.\" And she sighed, and her tail danced, and she shrugged. And she said, \"It is a sadness.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/moons-rhyme": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/moons-rhyme", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Moons Rhyme", "text": "Little moon, like a smile,\nSet in a golden style.\nLittle moon, a gilded twin,\nAdorned with a broad, wide grin.\nTall moon, proud moon,\nHigher in the sky, it sets too soon.\nThree moons in the night,\nWhat an unusual sight.\nPlace the moons, per the rule,\nBeside the small, tranquil pool.\nTall moon, smiling moon, and the gilded twin,\nSet them right and the game you will win."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mysteries-moravagarlis": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mysteries-moravagarlis", "description": "An Ayleid ruin that gives its inhabitants bad dreams", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Mysteries of Moravagarlis", "text": "Scholars have studied the Ayleid ruins of Tamriel for generations, but they still remain shrouded in mystery. The treasures the Ayleids allegedly left behind have attracted both the intrepid and the foolish.\nSome ruins are best left unexplored.\nThe Mages Guild has long sought to study a particular Ayleid site known according to old Ayleid records as Moravagarlis. Upon approaching its engraved arches, the first expedition wrote that they could detect a sense of wrongness about the very stones of the place.\nThose who remained at Moravagarlis for a significant time spoke of strange dreams and mad whispers that tugged at the edges of their sanity. Very little was discovered at the ruin as a result of the disturbances, and the dig was eventually abandoned.\nFurther expeditions became ill advised when the ruin was infested with Goblins in 2E 545. The \"Bonesnap\" tribe occupied Moravagarlis and the surrounding environs so thoroughly that dislodging them would have required a very difficult undertaking.\nNaturally, it is impossible to ascertain whether the Goblins experience any effects similar to those reported by the expedition team. It bears mentioning as well that if any valuables or secrets of the Ayleids remain, they have almost certainly come to ruin at the hands of the Bonesnap tribe."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mysterious-mermaid-anvil": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mysterious-mermaid-anvil", "description": "WhO built this statue, and wwhat does it represent?", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Mysterious Mermaid of Anvil", "text": "For as long as Anvil has stood upon the Gold Coast, it has been a city of adventure and allure. Legend and mysteries abound, filling its streets and taverns with tales from all around the world. One of these stories doesn't originate in some far-off land. Anvil has its own incarnation of the city's beauty and charm, hewn from stone older than any lain in the building foundation - the Mermaid of Anvil.\nWith no inscription decorating its base and no certificate of origin stored in the city records, the Mermaid remains a blank canvas upon which locals and visitors alike have painted their own picture. Her carefree repose and immodest attitude have earned her a multitude of names and titles - some of which are not suitable to be printed here. Whether you know her as the wistful Brine Maiden, the Leggy Lass, the Salty Serenader, the Stone Seductress, or a hundred other monikers, the Mermaid of Anvil never fails to leave a lasting impression on all who gaze upon her.\nWhat about the Mermaid so manages to enthrall us? The gentle curves of pale rock create a fancy figure, certainly, but was she laid bare for the sake of art? The sheer scale of her grandeur rivals many statues erected to the Divines, the royals of Tamriel, or the Daedric Princes themselves, leading some to speculate that the Mermaid was once a figure of similar stature to her unknown creators. Could our fair Mermaid actually be a long forgotten god or an unrecognized aspect of one of the Divines? Certainly the more scandalizing rumors suggest she might be Azura as she appeared to some ancient sea-dwelling civilization, but it's hard to imagine the Sload being capable of making something of such beauty. And what does that leave? The dreugh? No, more believable to imagine that Sea Elves once had scales and gills.\nWe know so little about who or what the Mermaid truly represents, and even less about who may or may not have created her. There's no credible record of who painstakingly carved and polished the great stone that gave birth to our patron beauty. Many have attempted to explain the origin of the Mermaid, or even assert that some long lost ancestor was responsible for her design. No matter how reputable the source, however, further investigation always reveals the statue to predate any such claims. In fact, the most recent archaeological study indicates that the Mermaid easily pre-dates any structure in Anvil, indicating that at least a few of her admirers were so taken with her as to set down roots in her shadow and build the city around her fine form. Would she be amused or embarrassed to know an entire city has sprung up to gaze upon her? One look at her coy expression says that even if she could answer, she'd never dispel her air of mystery.\nAnd that's why the people of Anvil love her."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mystery-artaeum": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mystery-artaeum", "description": "A report for Ayrenn, concerning the nature of Artaeum and the Psijic Order", "author": "Penewen", "title": "The Mystery of Artaeum", "text": "A Report for the Proxy Queen\nBy Penewen, Advisor to the Court\nTo Her Magnificence, Proxy to Queen Ayrenn,\nI continue to follow up on the rumors that members of the Psijic Order have returned to the world after a long and unexplained absence. I have it on good authority that at least one prominent Psijic monk, the High Elf Lilatha, has made an effort to contact champions with a warning concerning the return of the Clockwork City of Sotha Sil. I shall endeavor to discover the reason for these reappearances and try to determine if they point to the return of Artaeum as well.\nOur military leaders have expressed concern over these events. A number of our religious scholars have also expressed concern, as they appear to be evenly divided on the opinion as to whether or not the return of Artaeum (if indeed it has returned) indicates good portents or ill omens.\nI uncovered the following details about the island from ancient records. Idyllic orchards, clear pastures, and misty woodlands make up the majority of the island's terrain, along with a number of still and silent lagoons. Eyewitness reports from more than five hundred years ago - the last time Artaeum was known to be present off the southwest coast of Summerset - describe the unique architecture that appeared to be as natural as the countryside surrounding it. The Ceporah Tower supposedly rises above the isle. This relic from an age before the High Elves serves as the headquarters of the mysterious Psijic Order and guards the entrance to the Dreaming Cave. Legends say that Sotha Sil, among others, used the cave as a sort of portal for traveling to the realms of Oblivion. The records indicate that Artaeum disappeared from its location in Tamriel some three-hundred-and-fifty-years ago.\nThe gray-cloaked members of the Psijic Order, a magical monastic society that pre-dates the Mages Guild, once served as advisors on spiritual and magical matters to the rulers of Tamriel. Whether these sightings of Artaeum mages signals the return of the Psijics to political concerns, we have not yet been able to determine. We have also not been able to confirm if the long-lived Ritemaster Iachesis stills leads the ancient order, as numerous requests to meet with Psijic representatives have been ignored.\nAdditional information about the Psijic Order follows.\nThe Psijic monks follow the \"Old Ways,\" combining mysticism, the Eleven Forces, and the divine laws that bind and define the nature of reality into a philosophy and way of life. They are said to have a deep understanding of the Ehlnofey, also known as the Earth Bones, the descendants of the Aedra who once walked Tamriel and gave rise to the races of man and mer. Much of the ritual-based magic the order employs utilizes this understanding, supposedly granting them influence over time and weather. In their day, they were the world's preeminent scryers, capable of perceiving events across great distances of time and space. It is said that they also command powers of communication superior to other practitioners of magic.\nWhat this means for Summerset and the Aldmeri Dominion has yet to be ascertained. It would behoove us to acquire the services of the Psijic Order for our alliance, but so far they have refused all efforts on our part to open a dialogue of any sort. We have also received reports from spies in Morrowind that Sotha Sil's Clockwork City has been located. His association with the Psijic Order and Artaeum are well documented, so I shall make a journey to the land of the Dark Elves to conduct a scouting mission and try to determine if the return of the Psijics and the opening of the Clockwork City have any connection. It could be that something significant is brewing at a level well beyond our mortal concerns.\nI will return as soon as I am able.\nAdvisor Penewen"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mystery-factotums-0": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mystery-factotums-0", "description": "", "author": "Associate Zanon", "title": "The Mystery of Factotums", "text": "By Associate Zanon, Clockwork Apostle\nOne must ponder the absence of academic interest in the field of factotums among the Clockwork Apostles. For machines that are so much a part of our daily lives, they are given very little thought. Few lectures are focused on them, few books are written. Why are these machines, so vital to the everyday processes of our existence, so ignored?\nFactotums are an invention of need, servants of brass created by Lord Seht to maintain his great creation, the Clockwork City. Repair factotums keep our many factories and functions running. Guard factotums secure the locations of our god's most dangerous secrets. By their metal hands our homes are kept clean, our food is served, and music flows throughout our streets. But how much do we truly know about the factotums which we work so closely with?\nThe answer lies in the mysterious nature of the factotums. Though our doctrines speak of mysteries, their importance and their prominence, they are still something we seek to solve. A formula, a theory, an answer which can be replicated again and again. That is what Clockwork Apostles seek with their fields of study, for why strive for innovation when there are simply no discoveries to be found?\nWhat we do know is that the factotums have a common appearance, voice, and sense of purpose. They hold a structured intelligence, often centered on their singular function. Their dialogue and actions are all based on this function, with only the commonality of a devotion to the Clockwork God. Attempts to deviate from this purpose is simply incomprehensible to them.\nAny further research towards factotums is constantly met with opposition. Their place of creation is heavily guarded. Their functions severely limit the amount of information they can give about themselves. We don't know which manner of magic or machinery goes into their creation. And that's exactly why we need to further our research on them!\nI seek to delve into the secrets of perhaps the most enigmatic of Lord Seht's creations. My research's focus will center on the structure, functions, and true purpose of these seemingly straightforward machines. I shall finally gain insight into what is perhaps the greatest mystery in all of Clockwork City."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mystery-gargoyles%E2%80%94solved": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mystery-gargoyles%E2%80%94solved", "description": "Are gargoyles really just goblins? This man thinks so.", "author": "Porbert Lyttumly", "title": "The Mystery of Gargoyles\u2014Solved!", "text": "Gargoyles! Great misshapen humanoids, gray-green of skin, with gnarled, tusked faces, horns, and pointed ears. Some are even said to have wings, though the idea of these hulking brutes taking to the air is hard to credit. But where do they come from, and why? Read on, for this great mystery at last has a solution!\nTales of gargoyles are widespread across Tamriel, but few can claim to have actually seen one. (Have you ever seen one? Has anyone you know ever seen one? I didn't think so. And I'm rarely wrong about such things. As you know if you've read my other pamphlets. If you haven't read my other pamphlets you are sadly under-informed, and have missed out on several life-changing money-making opportunities. You would be wise to correct this deficiency.)\nBut back to the business at hand: gargoyles! They're few and far between. However, it is well known that they can be found deep in the depths of the deserts of Hammerfell, hunkering atop crumbling crags as they gaze balefully down upon their potential prey, preparing to dive and rend it with their stony, taloned hands! Is it any wonder few have survived to tell of such an encounter?\nAt any event: Hammerfell, depths of the deserts thereof, that's where we find our elusive gargoyles! But gargoyles are not the only legendary denizens of the depths of the deserts, are they? No! In fact, according to long-time Redguard legend, when those doughty warriors first arrived on the shores of Tamriel they found the deserts of Hammerfell occupied by\u2014Giant Goblins!\nGiant Goblins! Goblins, but giant-sized! In other words: great misshapen humanoids, gray-green of skin, with gnarled, tusked faces, horns, and pointed ears. Where have we heard that before \u2026?\nRevelation! Epiphany! You get it, do you not? Take a look at a Goblin, then look at a gargoyle\u2014very well, look at a picture of a gargoyle, because as I believe we've established none of us have ever seen one in person\u2014but anyway, just look at them! Can such a resemblance be a coincidence? Well, I don't know about you, but my mother didn't raise anyone that gullible! Coincidence? My eye! It's as plain as their tusky faces that the Hammerfell Giant Goblins (legendary) and the Hammerfell gargoyles (a matter of public record) are, in point of fact, One And The Same. Why, a fool couldn't tell them apart, blindfolded."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mystery-factotums": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mystery-factotums", "description": "A basic introduction to the mechanical guardians of the Clockwork City", "author": "Associate Zanon", "title": "The Mystery of the Factotums", "text": "By Associate Zanon, Clockwork Apostle\nOne must ponder the absence of academic interest in the field of factotums among the Clockwork Apostles. For machines that are so much a part of our daily lives, they are given very little thought. Few lectures are focused on them, few books are written. Why are these machines, so vital to the everyday processes of our existence, so ignored?\nFactotums are an invention of need, servants of brass created by Lord Seht to maintain his great creation, the Clockwork City. Repair factotums keep our many factories and functions running. Guard factotums secure the locations of our god's most dangerous secrets. By their metal hands our homes are kept clean, our food is served, and music flows throughout our streets. But how much do we truly know about the factotums which we work so closely with?\nThe answer lies in the mysterious nature of the factotums. Though our doctrines speak of mysteries, their importance and their prominence, they are still something we seek to solve. A formula, a theory, an answer which can be replicated again and again. That is what Clockwork Apostles seek with their fields of study, for why strive for innovation when there are simply no discoveries to be found?\nWhat we do know is that the factotums have a common appearance, voice, and sense of purpose. They hold a structured intelligence, often centered on their singular function. Their dialogue and actions are all based on this function, with only the commonality of a devotion to the Clockwork God. Attempts to deviate from this purpose is simply incomprehensible to them.\nAny further research towards factotums is constantly met with opposition. Their place of creation is heavily guarded. Their functions severely limit the amount of information they can give about themselves. We don't know which manner of magic or machinery goes into their creation. And that's exactly why we need to further our research on them!\nI seek to delve into the secrets of perhaps the most enigmatic of Lord Seht's creations. My research's focus will center on the structure, functions, and true purpose of these seemingly straightforward machines. I shall finally gain insight into what is perhaps the greatest mystery in all of Clockwork City."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/myth-sea-sloads": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/myth-sea-sloads", "description": "", "author": "Raavarion", "title": "The Myth of the Sea Sloads", "text": "By Raavarion, Sapiarch of Aquatic Malevolence\nThe sea that surrounds our beloved island provides sustenance and resources, allows for swift transportation, and serves as a boundary between Summerset and the rest of the world. Unfortunately, however, not everything that comes from the sea can be considered beneficial, and there exists many seaborne threats that pose a significant danger to the island. We here in the College of Sapiarchs have deemed the level of danger high enough that we have devoted an entire field of study to help research and formulate countermeasures, hence my appointment to the post of Sapiarch of Aquatic Malevolence.\nThreats from the sea appear in many different forms, from natural events to enemy kingdoms. Nature has a way of letting the island know that even the magical protections provided by the Crystal Tower aren't always enough to stop a destructive storm, crashing waves, or flood waters from damaging Summerset. As far as enemies are concerned, the Royal Navy keeps the sea lanes as clear as possible and serves as a deterrent to the forces of the other alliances. The exception to this remains the various factions of the Maormer\u2014the Sea Elves\u2014who fearlessly slip past patrols to raid coastal settlements on a regular basis.\nProbably the most fearsome potential threat appears in the form of the Sload. Even though these vile creatures from the southwestern Abecean Sea were much more ambitious in their attempts to conquer Summerset in centuries past, the residents of the coral kingdoms of Thras continue to pillage and raid our holdings to the current day. The amphibious, slug-like beings have an affinity for magic, though they seem more drawn to dark magic than to anything positive or beneficial. They deal in necromancy, plagues, and other instruments of death and destruction.\nRecent rumors heard across the island suggest that a particular type of Sload, the Sea Sload, have returned to trouble Summerset. While they haven't been seen or heard from in centuries, the Sea Sloads rule the undersea kingdom of Ul'vor Kus, located somewhere in the Sea of Pearls. Even the possibility that such creatures have infiltrated the island is cause for concern and utmost diligence. To this end, I have consulted old tomes and ancient volumes contained within our extensive libraries to gather whatever information I can. I'm sorry to say, it isn't much. The Sea Sloads are even more reclusive and mysterious than their more numerous cousins.\nWhat I could uncover indicates that we should not underestimate the threat the Sea Sloads pose. Instead of organizing themselves in small kingdoms, as the Thras Sload are wont to do, the Sea Sloads form cabals of small numbers of like-minded individuals who cooperate to attain some specific goal. Then the cabals break up, reform, and reorganize as interests and necessity warrant. While Sea Sloads have as much interest in necromancy as any other Sloads, they also demonstrate skill in alchemy, shadow magic, and mind magic, among other arcane disciplines. For all their ambition and power, however, our records indicate that the Sea Sloads may in fact be on the verge of extinction. My predecessor, Winawen, certainly wrote as much in her seminal work, \"The Villains of Ul'Vor Kus.\" It was her educated opinion that the Sea Sloads would naturally disappear within a few centuries. Such an event cannot occur soon enough.\nUntil confirmation of Sea Sload activity on Summerset is verified, I suggest we remain vigilant and watch the sea. Besides the Sea Sloads themselves, these arrogant and unfriendly creatures have been known to utilize all kinds of terrible sea monsters. The last thing the island needs in these turbulent times is attacks by creatures from the sea."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/na-totambu-yokuda": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/na-totambu-yokuda", "description": "How the Yokudan government gave rise to the modern political system in Hammerfell", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Na-Totambu of Yokuda", "text": "Centuries ago, before the Ra Gada crossed the sea to the land upon the beaches of Hammerfell, the ancestors of the modern Redguard people lived upon the continent of Yokuda. The ruling body of the Yokudan people, known as the Na-Totambu, was a council of kings whose respective nations birthed magnificent advances in metallurgy, agriculture, and shipbuilding unknown even in modern times.\nWhen the continent of Yokuda sank beneath the waves in a great cataclysm, the Na-Totambu moved their system of government and surviving people across the sea in the fearsome Ra Gada. Even as depleted as they were by the cataclysm, the Redguards slashed through the deserts and hills to establish their nation anew, conquering Breton, Altmer, and Orc with little trouble.\nAs the decades passed, the influence of the Na-Totambu faded and Redguard society split into two primary cultural factions. The Forebears, generally considered the more adaptable of the two, opened trade with former enemies and maintained the coastal ports. Inland, the Crowns still held much of the power and strongly adhered to the ancient Yokudan tenets.\nDespite this fanatical veneration, much Yokudan knowledge was lost to time and feuds between the factions. The eldest Crown scholars scathingly chide the modern Redguards as mere cultural shadows of their ancestors."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/naming-song-clavicus-vile": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/naming-song-clavicus-vile", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Naming Song of Clavicus Vile", "text": "(A traditional tavern song)\nWell, Clavicus mortals call me\n\tYes, Wish-Bone is my name\n\tFor mortals' jests are not the best\n\tTheir wits are halt and lame\nOn top of that they call me Vile\n\tBecause I tell the truth\n\tI only show them their true selves\n\tIn candor without ruth\nI give the mortals what they ask\n\tThough never what they want\n\tI but fulfill the terms they name\n\tThen mock, and gibe, and taunt\nIt's Clavicus Vile they all summon\n\tCat, Human, Orc, and Elf\n\tBut they'll never know my secret name\n\tThat I sing to just Myself\nHide your true name in secret\n\tProtected by wall and tower\n\tFor those who learn your hidden name\n\tWill have you in their power\nBut you will ne'er outwit me\n\tAnd make me do as you bid\n\tFor you're just a foolish mortal\n\tAnd my secrets are well hid!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nereids-dilemma": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nereids-dilemma", "description": "The chances for romance seem slender in a race with but one gender", "author": "Anthil Morvir", "title": "The Nereid's Dilemma", "text": "Consider now the problems of\n\tThe nereid, bereft of love\n\tA nereid is, without fail\n\tAlways female, never male\n\tThe chances for romance seem slender\n\tIn a race with but one gender\n\tGiven my proclivities\n\tFor amorous activities\n\tI'd rather be a woodland doe\n\tThan nereid without a beau!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/never-ending-scroll": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/never-ending-scroll", "description": "An Altmeri folktale about a cursed scroll", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Never-Ending Scroll", "text": "Old Summerset Folktale, Original Author Unknown\nTranscribed by Relicmaster Glenadir\nOne summer day, a mer bought a rather old scroll from a quaint little shop. She sat down to write a letter to her brother, eager to use her new purchase. But the strangest thing happened as she began to write. Her hand, seeming to move on its own, began to craft a story.\nIt was wondrous and enchanting. As she wrote she could see the story unfurling behind her eyes, and felt as though was living the adventure within those words. The scroll never seemed to end, forever unraveling but never growing thinner.\nAnd so she wrote and wrote and wrote.\nHer brother found her body a few days later. There she laid, her fingers stained with ink, her lips turned up in a smile. And the story she wrote was naught but nonsense, the letters strange and unknown."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/new-lord": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/new-lord", "description": "A powerful new Lord appears at Red-Zeal Keep", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The New Lord", "text": "Today there was a wind\u2014a fiery wind, above Red-Zeal Keep. I thought it was more of the Deadlands' wretched weather, but a massive form emerged from it, much taller than man or even mer, its great form trailing ash. It hung from nothing in the air.\nSome kind of procession followed, of all kinds of Daedric creatures, towards the Keep. They walked straight through pools of lava. Some couldn't survive the heat, but they marched on, burning and crackling as they went, prostrating themselves at the feet of that celestial object. There, they smoldered like a hundred miniature suns until they were no longer there. Days ago, this would have pleased me, but I believe these creatures do not wholly perish. I have seen too many of the same faces after I have smashed them, over and over again.\nThen came the Titan, landing in a crushing mass, and with it a rain of fire so fierce I swear the cave mouth, where I stood watching above, burned wider. I withdrew into darkness for a desperate pause, thinking my end had come. When it didn't, I emerged to find the Titan hunched to the ground, the ruby carbuncles on its hide flaring an angry red. It stared up, almost defiantly, at the being of ash and fire and slag, and a plume of smoke issued from the holes in its skull.\nI thought a blazing spell was coming, but the Titan only raised its head to lower it again. In deference? Begrudging respect? It was only then that the molten god\u2014whatever it was\u2014touched the dirt with its feet."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/night-mother-watches": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/night-mother-watches", "description": "Persuading a fellow Argonian to join the Dark Brotherhood", "author": "Slim-Jah", "title": "The Night Mother Watches", "text": "Though you were not born under the sign of the Shadow, it does not mean Sithis or the Night Mother ignores your pleas. Pray to them and you shall gain power. Kill in their name, and they will respect you. Stand up for the heritage of our people.\nDo not be swayed by Uta-Tei and her followers. Practicing the Wood Elf religion is heresy! She cannot see that we will become slaves once again if we do not act. You were chosen as one of my hunters for a reason. We will fight together, we will die together!\n\u2014Slim-Jah"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/night-mothers-truth-0": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/night-mothers-truth-0", "description": "How the Dark Brotherhood split from the Morag Tong", "author": "Gaston Bellefort", "title": "The Night Mother's Truth", "text": "Although various works have been written on the subjects of both Morrowind's Morag Tong, and Tamriel's more widespread Dark Brotherhood, there remains confusion as to precisely when and how these two feared assassins guilds formed. Or, more specifically, when and how the Dark Brotherhood split from the Morag Tong, as the former is widely accepted to have sprung from the latter.\nThe largest point of contention seems to be the figure of the Night Mother, a woman who figures prominently in both organizations. Through extensive research and interviews, and not inconsiderable risk to my own life (for the Dark Brotherhood holds this information sacred), I have finally solved this ages-old mystery. I have finally uncovered the Night Mother's Truth.\nAlthough her name has been lost to time, the Night Mother was once a mere mortal, a Dark Elf woman who lived in a small village once located where the city of Bravil stands now, in the Imperial Province of Cyrodiil. She was a respected member of the Morag Tong and, like her fellow members, this woman made her trade as an assassin in service to the Daedric Prince Mephala. In fact, the woman held the title of Night Mother, reserved for the highest ranking female member of the organization. To be Night Mother of a particular sect was to be that group's matron\u2014the favored of Mephala, both respected and feared.\nHowever, it was not Mephala who facilitated the transformation from woman to spectre, but another, some would say far deeper form of evil\u2014Sithis, the Dread Lord, embodiment of the unending Void.\nFollowing the Potentate's assassination in 2E 324, strife descended upon the Morag Tong, and the guild was all but eradicated in Cyrodiil and much of the Empire. It was shortly after these events that the Dunmer woman claimed to hear the voice of Sithis himself. The Dread Lord, she claimed, was displeased. He was unhappy with the Morag Tong's lack of success. The Void, he told her, was hungry for souls\u2014and it was her destiny to set things right.\nAnd so, according to Dark Brotherhood legend, Sithis visited the Night Mother in her bed chamber, and begat her five children. Two years passed, before the unthinkable happened. The Dark Elf woman followed through with the Dread Lord's ultimate plan\u2014one night, she murdered her children, and sent their souls straight to the Void. Straight to their father.\nWhen they learned of this affront to decency, the people of the village rallied against the woman. For such an act was considered incomprehensible, even for a Night Mother of the Morag Tong. In one night of vengeance, they descended upon the woman, killing her, and burning down the house in which the atrocity took place. And that was the end of the story. Or so everyone thought.\nA little more than thirty years later, an unnamed man heard a strange, comforting voice inside his very head, just as the Dunmer woman claimed to hear the voice of Sithis inside hers. The voice identified herself as the Night Mother, and named the man \"Listener\"\u2014the first of many.\nAnd so the Unholy Matron set her servant on his path\u2014he would found a new organization, a guild of assassins known as the Dark Brotherhood, in service not to Mephala, but to the Dread Lord Sithis. The Morag Tong, now surviving only in Morrowind, was an artifact of a forgotten age. The Dark Brotherhood would marry business with death. The organization would grow in wealth and power, and the Void would swell with fresh souls. It was, the Night Mother told her Listener, the perfect arrangement.\nIn the early days of the Dark Brotherhood, the bodies of the Night Mother and her children were recovered from their original burial site, and interred in a crypt beneath the site of her house. And there they remain, even today.\nSo if, in your travels, you find yourself in the city of Bravil, and make a wish at the statue of the Lucky Old Lady (as is the local custom), know that you stand on sacred, if evil, ground. For you stand above the Night Mother, the Unholy Matron herself, and your luck has just run out."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/notebook-mage-gadris": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/notebook-mage-gadris", "description": "A mage makes a breakthrough in reversing the soul-meld", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Notebook of Mage Gadris", "text": "I knew malachite would not have the conductivity required for this process. We pursued yet another futile path, but Zur was insistent. We will keep at it. I do wish Zur would take the time to organize and collect his notes, though.\n***\nThrough the process of elimination and trial and error\u2014trial on my part, error when Zur is in control\u2014I think we finally made a breakthrough! I believe that the following items will result in antipodal rods that can conduct the currents of magicka required to reverse the soul-meld while also withstanding the forces of the negative vortex.\n\u2014 Ebony Ore\n\t\u2014 Crystalline Essence Matrix (the silicate structure of this gem will be incorporated to disperse the negative energy)\n\t\u2014 Refined Void Salts (do not, under any circumstances, use the unrefined salts)\nThese base components require an alchemical catalyst to properly merge their properties when super-heated within a forge. I will do further research as to a suitable catalyst. And I will pray to my ancestors and the Tribunal that it is something we can find within this Vile Laboratory."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nycotic-cult": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nycotic-cult", "description": "Overview of a misguided Daedric cult", "author": "Ordinator Alurua", "title": "The Nycotic Cult", "text": "High Ordinator,\nWho can say what drives some of our blessed people to abandon their faith and take up with heretical gods? Greed, I suppose, is a motivating factor, as well as anger, jealousy, and the search for something better. A few, I can accept, are true believers, misguided though they might be. Most, I suspect, are duped fools chasing after whatever promises are laid before them. Take, for example, the Nycotic cult that has recently become active around Balmora. These are supreme fools indeed!\nIt's obvious that no one in their hierarchy can actually read or understand the Daedric alphabet. Instead, one of their founding members discovered an ancient scroll or forbidden text and bastardized a Daedric word into the Tamrielic tongue. How else can you explain them taking Daedric letters that mean nothing of the sort and deciding that the Prince they have pledged themselves to is someone called \"Nycot.\" Yes, the first five letters of Clavicus Vile's name in Daedric bares a passing resemblance to the letters n, y, c, o, and t in the Tamrielic script, but that's not how it should be rendered or pronounced - the imbeciles!\nFurther, I don't even think they know that they're worshiping the Prince of Trickery and Bargains. I'm not sure who they think they've pledged themselves to, but that hasn't stopped them from causing problems from Balmora to the Bitter Coast. Some of the cult's leaders have demonstrated real talent in the arcane arts. Who knows? Perhaps Vile has actually heard their foolish prayers and decided to answer them! Regardless, we need to rouse the Order of War and march upon the caves and fissures where they hide and wipe them out - every last one of them!\nIn Vivec's name, you have my recommendation.\nOrdinator Alurua of the Order of Doctrine and Ordination"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/obsidian-husk": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/obsidian-husk", "description": "History and description of an artifact prized by Mephala's cultists", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Obsidian Husk", "text": "The origin of the artifact known as the Obsidian Husk is shrouded in mystery. Some believe it to be a fragment of Oblivion, having followed a visiting Daedra from that plane. Others believe it to be magical in nature, containing a trapped shred of Mephala's essence. Whatever its origin, its powers are formidable.\nThe Husk has two known functions discovered and passed down by members of the Spider Cult, which I have recorded below. Additional spells may be tied to the artifact, but the Husk never stays in the possession of a single individual for long. Members of Mephala's Cult have been known to scheme and battle over it.\nIt can create and control all manor of shades from minor shadowlings to creatures of complexity and aberrant intellect (and untold power).\nThe most powerful Spider Cultists have found that they can use the Husk to enchant others. The afflicted are shrouded in shadow, and granted supernatural agility and strength, but lose their minds \u2014 these \"shades\" follow the beck and call of the Obsidian Husk's master."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ogres-wrothgar-continuing-treatise": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ogres-wrothgar-continuing-treatise", "description": "Addendum to previous work, \"dispelling\" some \"misconceptions\"", "author": "Cirantille", "title": "The Ogres of Wrothgar: A Continuing Treatise", "text": "In my previous studies of the ogres of Tamriel, I discuss ogres, their behavior, and their rudimentary intelligence in some detail. That work, \"Ogres: A Summary,\" should contain sufficient information for those interested in learning more about the dumb brutes, but I write this addendum in an effort to clear up some misconceptions I've heard since traveling to Wrothgar.\nFirst, do not let anyone tell you that these beasts have any sort of \"societal structure.\" As with other animals, stronger ogres \"lead\" weaker ogres by proving their dominance. Simple, uncomplicated.\nSecond, ogres cannot work magic. There have been reports of \"ogre shamans\" but these are the gross exaggerations of the misinformed. Some few ogres may have capabilities that are hard to explain, but we shall see they are no more complicated than a spider's ability to spin a web.\nFinally, unlike the graceful senche or the useful guar, these beasts have no redeeming qualities. They cannot be trained, taught, or domesticated. It would be better to treat them as we would any other natural hazard and work around them or remove them from our proximity. There is no better response."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/omen-deception": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/omen-deception", "description": "To know a Daedra's true name...", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Omen of Deception", "text": "Amid the deep layers of the realm of Quagmire resides a spirit who has long yearned to wreak destruction upon the mortals of Nirn, to spread lies and deception across their tawdry realm.\nAmongst all of Vaermina's pets, this spirit remains the most hidden, the most secretive. He is known by many names, but none of them true, which has made his summoning impossible for centuries.\nBut Vaermina whispered his secret name in my sleeping ear last night whilst I dreamt of darkness. She bid me to unleash his foul influence in Tamriel and to drive the people of that world to distrust and betrayal.\nTo summon the Omen of Deception, you must first light the four braziers, slay whomever you offer as sacrifice, and finally speak the Daedra's true name.\nThe sacrificial blood must be freshly spilled, but take great care to ensure the sacrifice is fully dead. If the sacrifice were to retain any trace of life, the Daedra would be summoned in a weak and susceptible state. And were something to happen to her pet, Vaermina would not be pleased.\nThe Daedra's true name is Ykal. Speak it and he will come\u2014but make sure his vessel is prepared."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/onus-oghma": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/onus-oghma", "description": "A brief history of writing things down.", "author": "Phrastus of Elinhir", "title": "The Onus of the Oghma", "text": "Being a primer for the young student on a mortal's obligation to record his or her life story, presented in the form of quotations from the classics.\nAll Tamrielics recognize the duty to memorialize the events of our lives, a duty placed upon us by the Divines at the beginning of time. The most ancient reference we have to this \"journaling onus\" comes from the Aldmeriad, the great origin saga of the Elves, which quotes the god Xarxes, scribe to Auri-El:\n\"As ye are true Children of the et'Ada, thou shalt honor us by honoring thy own lives. For in each of you is housed the Divine Spark, and thus the record of thy actions is a sacred duty. Keep, therefore, each and every one of you, an Oghma, an everscriven scroll which shall memorialize thy brief lives. Thus in at least this way shalt thy Spark be Immortal.\"\nIn the late Merethic the Nord culture hero Ysgramor developed a runic alphabet based on Elvish principles, which enabled the written transcription of Atmoran speech. Ysgramor's first work in this new form of writing was a chronicle of his own life and its events, making Ysgramor the first human historian. Here is a quotation from the great hero himself, as recorded in \"Songs of the Return, Volume One.\"\n\"Then, though I did feel a great ire against the perfidious Elves, and desired nothing more than to hie me hence to Jylkurfyk and take ship back to Tamriel, where I could try the edge of Wuuthrad against their all-too-many necks, yet I had beheld during my captivity that the wily Elves possessed much learning and knowledge, though they put it to ends both vile and dishonorable. And I bethought me that to defeat the Elves and scour them from the land, it would be well if Men also did wield such wisdoms. Therefore I strung Long-Launcher with the Woeful Bowstring and sought the marshes of the east, where dwelt Faldrosta the great Snow-Goose. And I slew her with a hawk-fletched dart, and plucked of her a great quill, which I used to write down my speech as I had seen the Elves do. And I vowed that henceforth all Men would record their ideas and thoughts, just as Shor carved a record of his victory over Sneggh into the side of Shivering Glacier. And in this way would the best ways of killing Elves be preserved.\"\nThis obligation was ratified again in the time of Saint Alessia and the founding of the Empire of Cyrodiil. The demigod Morihaus, \"The First Breath of Man,\" himself kept a chronicle that has come down to us as \"The Adabal-a.\" One of its first precepts is \"On the Recording of All that Haps\":\n\"Then Morihaus snorted, and spake fiercely against the Nonscriptionists, saying, 'Are then the deeds of the Paravant to be forgotten by the men of hence-yore? Are the crimes of the Saliache to be erased, so that the Seven Pretexts for Mayhem shall seem all unjustified? Nay, by Akatosh! Nay, by the Dragon of Duration, who gave us Time so that events could unfold in their sequence, and thus be recalled as they happed! Never shall your ilk prevent our people from recording their tales, as did the overweening Saliache in the late torment-epoch!' And he did smite their heads from their shoulders, and their gore fell as words on the stones, recording their several demises.\"\nSo, students, do not groan and complain of the burden, carping and caviling when your parents and teachers ask if you have written today in your journal. Because to do so is a right for which your ancestors paid in blood."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ooze-fable": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ooze-fable", "description": "One common telling of how the Bosmer came to be", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Ooze: A Fable", "text": "This is a story the Wood Elves of Valenwood tell their children from a very young age.\nOnce, there was nothing but formlessness. The land held no shape, the trees did not harden into timber and bark, and the Elves themselves shifted from form to form. This formlessness was called the Ooze.\nBut Y'ffre took the Ooze and ordered it. First, she told of the Green, the forest and all the plant life in it. She gave the Green the power to shape itself as it willed, for it was her first tale.\nThe Elves were Y'ffre's second tale. As Y'ffre spun the story, the Elves took the form they have today. Y'ffre gave them the power to tell stories, but warned them against trying to shape themselves or the Green. Shifting and the destruction of the forest were forbidden.\nInstead, Y'ffre commended the Wood Elves to the Green, so that they might ask the Green to provide them with shelter and a safe passage, and as long as they respected the Green, it would obey. This is called the Green Pact.\nFinally, Y'ffre told of all the beasts that crawl on the land or swim in the rivers or fly in the air. These, Y'ffre gave to the Wood Elves as sustenance. They were to eat no plants but consume only meat. Y'ffre also told that no Wood Elf who is struck down by another Wood Elf should be allowed to sink into the ground, but should instead be consumed, like the beasts. This is called the Meat Mandate.\nWhen the stories were told, Y'ffre saw that they had a pleasing shape, but some of the Ooze remained. Y'ffre told a final tale then, and gave purpose to the Ooze.\nAny Wood Elf that violated the Green Pact, either by shifting or by damaging the Green, would be condemned to return to the formlessness of the Ooze. Their names would be scrubbed from the story Y'ffre is telling and replaced with silence.\nThe Wood Elves tell that those who are favored by the Green have the power to release the condemned from the Ooze, but where the condemned go and what form they take once they are released is unknown.\nNo one has ever seen the Ooze, or heard the souls trapped in it, or met the one who can relieve the condemned of their punishment. But if you ask a Wood Elf if he thinks the Ooze is \"just a tale,\" he will invariably reply, \"There is no such thing as 'just a tale.'\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/orc-song": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/orc-song", "description": "A drinking song about Orcs", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Orc Song", "text": "(Drink mead. Sing.)\n\tWe hate Orcs! We hate Orcs!\n\tThey smell, they stink, they really reek,\n\tThey couldn't find their arses in the snow!\n\tWe hate Orcs! We really, really do!\n\tThey have no beards, they have no brains,\n\tThey couldn't kill a horker with a sword!\n\t(Drink more mead. Repeat.)"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/order-ancestor-moth": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/order-ancestor-moth", "description": "An older version of Pension of the Ancestor Moth", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Order of the Ancestor Moth", "text": "To be read by all novitiates of the Temple:\nThe Order of the Ancestor Moth is as ancient as it is noble. We nurture and celebrate our beloved ancestors, whose spirits are manifest in the Ancestor Moths. Each moth carries the fjyron of an ancestor's spirit. Loosely translated as the \"will to peace,\" the fjyron can be sung into the silk produced by the Ancestor Moths. When the silk is in turn spun into cloth and embroidered with the genealogy of the correct ancestor, clothing of wondrous power can be made.\nAdepts of our order are gifted with prescient powers. The wisdom of the ancestors can sing the future into the present. For this reason, our order and our order alone has been given the privilege to interpret the Elder Scrolls. These writings exceed even the gods, both Aedra and Daedra. Such insight into the inner fabric of reality comes at a price. Each reading of the Elder Scrolls is more profound than the last. Each leaves the priest blind for longer and longer periods of time. Finally, the last reading achieves a nearly sublime understanding of that scroll's contents, but the priest is left permanently blinded to the light of this world. No longer can he read the scrolls.\nThis monastery is dedicated to the service of these noble members of our order. They now live out their lives with the Ancestor Moths that they so love. Their underground demesnes are well suited to the moths. They raise and nurture the fragile creatures, singing to them constantly. They harvest the silk and spin it into bolts of cloth. They weave the cloth, embroidering it with the genealogies and histories of the ancestors that spun the silk. This is their new life.\nAs they tend the Ancestor Moths, so we tend the blind monks. While they toil in dark, we serve in the light. They need food and water. We provide. They need tools and furniture. We provide. They need secrecy and anonymity. We provide. They need purveyors to sell the fruit of their labors. We provide."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/order-black-worm": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/order-black-worm", "description": "A report on the rise and present dealings of the necromantic order", "author": "Journeyman Qualitatis", "title": "The Order of the Black Worm", "text": "It is as we feared, Archmagister: the Order of the Black Worm is no mere Daedric cult, but a brotherhood of necromancers that seeks to rival\u2014nay, supplant\u2014our own Mages Guild.\nEven as the Mages Guild was founded by the ex-Psijic Vanus Galerion, so was the Worm Cult founded by his arch-rival and nemesis, the ex-Psijic Mannimarco. Both were trained on the Isle of Artaeum, but when Galerion got Mannimarco expelled for his dabbling in forbidden necromantic arts, the self-styled Worm King simply relocated to continental Tamriel and took up his heinous pursuit in earnest. He is known to have sought out hidden manuscripts describing how the Dragon Priests enthralled their draugr, ancient Ayleid tablets regarding the summoning of spirits of the dead, and the Crimson Book of Skulls, which Shalidor himself had thought destroyed. Mannimarco has bragged of consorting with Daedra Lords, and may even have bargained with the Father of Vampires, Molag Bal himself.\nMannimarco then set about spreading his blasphemous lore, enlisting unscrupulous mages, outcast witches, and vile Reachmen into his necromantic network. He dubbed his new cult the Order of the Black Worm, in emulation\u2014or perhaps mockery\u2014of the monastic orders of the Divines. In most parts of Tamriel, raising the dead was quite properly considered an atrocity, so the Worm Cult at first operated entierely as an underground, illicit organization. But Mannimarco, in addition to being a mighty necromancer, is a wise and wily diplomat, and in many jurisdictions he's persuaded, bribed, or intimidated the authorities into turning a blind eye to the Order's activities.\nWorse, in Cyrodiil, the King of Worms has even persuaded the ruling Tharns of the Imperial City to declare necromancy a legal magecraft, and the Order of the Black Worm has now taken the place of the Mages Guild as the authorized magical advisors to the Imperial Throne.\nA typical cell of the Order, known informally as a \"Worm Nest,\" is led by a necromancer who bears the title \"Worm Anchorite.\" An Anchorite reports directly to Mannimarco, though their means of communication is as yet unknown. Beneath the Anchorite are Necromancer Adepts, Worm Warriors, and lackeys called Worm Thralls. New cultists are attracted by promises of great power for those who serve loyally, and all are sworn to secrecy on pain of Undeath.\nRegional plots are addressed in the secondary reports. An additional overheard rumor, uncomfirmed at this time, is that the Order has opened negotiations with the Sloads of Thras. I am seeking further information, and may know more by the next dark of the moons.\nReport investigated by Journeyman Qualitatis\u2014may Arkay guide his soul to Aetherius\u2014and posthumously compiled by Evoker Brucille"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/origins-conjuration": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/origins-conjuration", "description": "How the Direnni learned to summon Daedra", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Origins of Conjuration", "text": "Imperial mages have arguably advanced the study of conjuration magic far more than most, but it first fell to Elven wizards to crack open the door to Oblivion without its screaming horrors spilling uncontrollably into Mundus. Corvus and Calani Direnni and their clan first lit the torch and peered into this unholy darkness, lighting the path for the magical school of conjuration. Their precise binding chants are still used to this day when summoning lesser Daedra.\nNonbelligerent atronachs offered something of a boon to Clan Direnni, acting as protectors and occasionally servants or familiars. Even the naturally mischievous imp was easily coerced into behaving. But one can always count on the natural curiosity, and almost calamitous pomposity, of the Elves, who swung the door open still farther\u2014a door to the Daedric planes that became impossibly difficult to shut.\nLate into the First Era, Direnni acolytes first attempted to cajole enthrallment from Greater Daedra. Although the most skillful of conjurers succeeded reasonably against these chaotic agents, some Elves were weak, and the portal to Oblivion can now never be completely sealed. Subsequent catastrophic confrontations with Daedric princes turned our lands to turmoil. Thus, it falls to every mage in Cyrodiil to actively dissuade traffic with the Greater Daedra in the strongest possible manner. Communion with them is strictly forbidden."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/pack-archons-grove": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/pack-archons-grove", "description": "A pack of werewolves make Summerset Isles their new home", "author": "Gerrodroth of the Thornfang Pack", "title": "The Pack of Archon's Grove", "text": "Many questioned our den mother's choice to move to this island. After all, who would see Summerset as a safe haven for our kind? But I've begun to see the wisdom in her decision.\nSimply put, the High Elves don't know how to handle werewolves. I suppose it's just not much of an issue on this island, given its isolation. As long as we play it smart, we should be able to keep out of the public eye for quite some time.\nThere's also the lack of competition. Packs are notoriously territorial, after all. We've lost so many to past conflicts. But I suspect there are few other werewolves here, much less an entire pack. We're more likely to gain numbers than lose them.\nSpeaking of gaining numbers, I'm glad our den mother is finally listening to reason. We need to strengthen our pack, and the only way to do that is through force. There are few here who would freely accept our blessing. Capturing and turning travelers may be risky, but we must fortify our numbers in case of attack.\nOur newest acquisition should do nicely. It's a shame her Wood Elf companion didn't make it, but that's the way it goes sometimes."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/pale-man": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/pale-man", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Pale Man", "text": "A stranger came upon our hold,\n\tGhostly for all to behold.\n\tMute and shivering by our fire,\n\tWhat conjured a visage so dire,\n\tA voice so hollow, could barely be heard,\n\tMurmured warning with just a few words.\nThe Pale Man comes,\n\tOn cold wind and dark clouds\n\tThe Pale Man comes,\n\tTo snatch away your loved ones\n\tThe Pale Man comes.\nNo sooner was the warning sound\nThe first snows touched the ground.\n\tShrinking from the howling winds\n\tAnd praying as the sunlight dims.\n\tWe barred our doors against the night,\n\tGathered close and huddled tight.\nThe Pale Man comes,\n\tWrapped in a cloak of snow\n\tThe Pale Man comes,\n\tHis touch will chill you to the bone,\n\tThe Pale Man comes.\nAs the frightful storm wore on\n\tWe stretched out to wait for dawn.\n\tThere would be no rest\n\tAwaiting our unwanted guest.\n\tClutching hard our swords\n\tAt the clatter of the boards.\nThe Pale Man comes,\n\tHe passes like a ghost\n\tThe Pale Man comes,\n\tVanishing without a trace.\nAt last our night did end\n\tWithout the visitation portend.\n\tAs our vigilance began to fade\n\tI turned to where the stranger laid.\n\tBut they were nowhere to be seen\n\tNothing remained, just an icy sheen."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/path-shada": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/path-shada", "description": "A riddle.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Path to Shada", "text": "The path to Shada shall change,\n\tLike the patterns of the stars.\nThe gateway to the healer\n\tis revealed to us by the light."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/peasant-princess-play-one-act": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/peasant-princess-play-one-act", "description": "A parable about knowing one's place", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Peasant Princess, A Play in One Act", "text": "Narrator: Once in the heart of Alinor there lived a young mer by the name of Virenire. Though she was quite a beauty and admired by many, her family had always been poor. And so she worked as a serving maid.\nVirenire: Dearest me, how I long to be out of these rags.\nNarrator: Virenire cleaned diligently and was often praised by her mistress Teryldil, but still she dreamed of a grand life full of wonder. When she heard of a coming ball in the Royal Palace, she knew she had to attend.\nVirenire: Oh, a royal ball! I just know the prince will be there! But how can I go in such a dress?\nNarrator: Virenire was determined. She saved and pleaded and begged, and finally was able to afford a beautiful dress. She even convinced her wealthy mistress to bring her along as an attendant.\nTeryldil: Oh, you've been so diligent for so long. How could I possibly say no?\nNarrator: But still, Teryldil was a smart mistress, and gave her servant a warning.\nTeryldil: Now, you may come to this ball, but always remember your place Verenire. No matter how beautiful you are or how well you dress, you shall always be a servant.\nNarrator: This made Virenire very sad, for she had hoped to catch the eye of a wealthy noble. But still she stayed silent, as a good servant should. The very next night mistress and servant attended the ball.\nVirenire: What wondrous clothes! What delicious food! Why, if only every day was filled with such elegance, I shall be the happiest mer is Summerset.\nNarrator: So great was Virenire's beauty, she caught the eye of the young prince. Forgetting all decorum, he went over to her and asked for a dance. And so the prince and the servant girl danced for a good portion of the night.\nPrince: I've never seen such a beautiful mer. Tell me, who are your parents?\nVirenire: Oh, dear prince, I feel I must be honest. My parents are poor peasants, and I but a serving girl to a wealthy mistress.\nNarrator: Gazing upon the beautiful eyes of such an entrancing mer, the good Prince came to a startling realization.\nPrince: Why, I've been tricked! Here I thought you were a noble mer of good standing, who I might court and one day wed. But you are a mere servant girl.\nNarrator: And though the words stung her heart, Virenire knew them to be true. For only a noble mer would be able to marry someone such as a prince. So Virenire resolved to find herself a suitable husband within her caste. The prince, of course, married a Kinlady of suitable reputation and never spoke to the servant girl again. And so we should all remember, no matter our looks or possessions, we shall always be beholden to our family's name."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/penultimate-laugh": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/penultimate-laugh", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Penultimate Laugh", "text": "A horker and an angry goose enter a Windhelm tavern.\n\tThe meeting is uneventful.\nIt's not a riddle! Ho ho! Just a story I like to tell.\nBut we've no time for tales! No, no! The wondrous trove of Maelmoth the Mysterious is nearly within reach! My marvelous Mysterium awaits your inspection! No need for keys, good friend. The scroll's a key! You see? You see!\nEnter, if you dare!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/perfect-batch": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/perfect-batch", "description": "How to make some great Skooma", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Perfect Batch", "text": "I've done it! Soak the moon-sugar cane in double rum before distilling it down. So simple!\nI gave a single drop to a skeever. Its pupils went so wide, they became like the night! Then it leapt out the window.\nThis batch should fetch twice the coin. I don't care what my brother says, our troubles are finally over!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/perfect-hiding-spot": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/perfect-hiding-spot", "description": "An ambush awaits", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Perfect Hiding Spot", "text": "We made it! Only three of us got past the Gate of Altadoon. We ran as fast as we could; falling darkness enabled us to elude our pursuers. Robier found the perfect hiding spot.\nAnd now we wait. General Am-Shadal said to stay hidden until we heard the war horns blowing over the gate. Then we strike!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/perfect-host": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/perfect-host", "description": "A guide to hosting a memorable party", "author": "Malenford Hlaalu, House Event Planner Extraordinaire", "title": "The Perfect Host", "text": "Any gathering, party, or festival requires one thing\u2014a perfect host. A perfect host is the anchor for any event, the smiling face that makes everyone welcome, the entertaining and accommodating party-thrower who makes sure every guest is wined and dined and has a good time.\nBut a perfect host isn't born knowing how to bestow a rousing good time upon a crowd of guests, or how to set up a memorable event. To be a perfect host requires years of training, days of strategic planning, and hours of preparation and set up.\nOr, you can follow these few easy steps based on my own extensive experience and years of successful event planning.\nFirst, select a theme for your party or event. A good theme provides context for your gathering and gives your guests a fun and exciting motif to focus upon. Theme examples include classic Dunmeri plays, spring or fall harvest, Nord drinking games, and (my personal favorite) Grim Brooding Day.\nSecond, choose your guests. How large an event do you want to host? Select a number you can comfortably squeeze into your venue\u2014and depending on your theme, the tighter the squeeze the better\u2014and remember to invite twice that number to account for declines and no-shows.\nAfter you have selected a number and chosen the people you want to invite, prepare your invitations. The quality of the invitation reflects on the event you plan to hold, so match the paper and message to your theme as best you can. Then send the invitations at most one month prior to but no later than one week before the event.\nThird, use your theme to determine if your event will be an occasion to sit down and relax or stand and mingle. If tables and chairs fit your theme, plan your seating arrangements carefully and provide seating cards to tell your guests where to sit. I cannot stress how important a good seating chart is. You have the power to create interesting conversations, intriguing arguments, or meaningful connections\u2014all according to whom you sit next to who.\nFourth, develop a menu. Every event demands food and drink. But your theme and venue allow a broad interpretation of what that means. Do you want to host a formal dinner? Provide snacks and lighter fare? Feature the best wine that gold can buy? Or perhaps you simply want to have vast amounts of the cheapest intoxicants available in order to get all of your guests happily hammered? As long as it fits your theme and your budget, this is all up to you.\nFifth, entertain your guests! The first four steps will go a long way toward creating a fun and memorable event. However, to put the icing on the cake, you need to provide some killer entertainment. Minstrels and bards are perfect for themes that include singing and dancing. Poets and storytellers are best suited to performance-based events where you intend your guests to be an audience instead of participants in the event. Prestidigitators, animal trainers, weapon masters, actors, and more are also obvious choices for an evening's entertainment. Just match your theme and go wild, and your guests will love it!\nGood luck! You are now on your way to becoming the perfect host!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/perfection-fearfangs-cavern": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/perfection-fearfangs-cavern", "description": "A description of a Nedic ruin rich in nirncrux", "author": "Boward, Regent of Wriggling Nightmares", "title": "The Perfection of Fearfangs Cavern", "text": "These chambers known as Fearfangs Cavern are perfect in every way. Not only are they full of Nedic artifacts to study and catalog, but the massive rooms make excellent locations for the Scaled Court to work and rest in almost absolute seclusion. Add to that the nesting grounds we discovered deeper within the complex, and I am extremely pleased with this amazing find.\nI have already set the Scaled Court members under my dominion to the task of cataloging the contents of every room and chamber within Fearfangs Cavern. As instructed, we are in search of any information regarding the use and preparation of the primal element we call nirncrux, an element we believe the Nedes were not only intimately familiar with, but which they had unlocked its remarkable potential.\nNow I need to get back to the nesting grounds at the far end of the complex. I have work to do with the matron and her brood. Work that will finally provide the soldier the Serpent has been demanding we produce since this grand affair began.\n\u2014Boward, Regent of Wriggling Nightmares"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/philosophy-stealth": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/philosophy-stealth", "description": "Advice on hiding by blending in", "author": "Red Asp", "title": "The Philosophy of Stealth", "text": "By the Red Asp, Hallin's Stand\nIt may seems obvious, but the key to practical invisibility is to be not-seen. What does it mean to be not-seen? Let us turn this around and ask: what does it mean to be seen?\n\tTo be seen means that the visible object has somehow attracted the attention of the viewer. Most of the time, you can count on a target's vision to slide across nineteen out of twenty objects without really seeing them, because to the target they simply make up part of the general background of his or her surroundings.\nTo be not-seen, you must become part of this general background. Lose your individuality and become an integral part of your surroundings. In this way, you may wear the cloak of shadows even upon the salt flats at noon."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/piper": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/piper", "description": "A dark Piper comes to town", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Piper", "text": "The Piper came to town, and he raised his pipes to his lips to play. The townsfolk laughed at him as he walked off and his music continued softly.\nNone saw the Piper again, but as the days wore on, the music of the pipes continued. It echoed in the sleep of the townsfolk, and was present when they awoke. The people grew tired and restless and daily were searches called to find the Piper. They found nothing.\nThen, one night, the incessant music cut through the air more loudly than ever. The townsfolk dreamed that night, of critters and vermin, and struggled to sleep. When they awoke, where their children had once been, nestled into their beds, were swarms of rats and mice. Outcry came from house after house. Mothers charged into the streets and fathers charged everywhere else. The townsfolk wept and through their misery failed to notice \u2026 that the music had stopped."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/pledge-courage": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/pledge-courage", "description": "Take these pledges, as the Stars command.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Pledge of Courage", "text": "Know O pilgrim, the Stars' command:\nBe steadfast and courageous in the face of adversity. If fear must be borne, let your enemy bear it. For fear is a heavy weight that dries the mouth and dulls the senses. Though the enemy may be legion and your brothers and sisters may lay dead at your feet, you must remain brave and resolute. For bravery is the stone upon which the warrior's temple is built, and the temple stands strong.\nPledge to be courageous, as the Stars command."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/pledge-obedience": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/pledge-obedience", "description": "Take these pledges, as the Stars command.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Pledge of Obedience", "text": "Know O pilgrim, the Stars' command:\nBe ever obedient to king and clergy. Duty does not heed bright disposition and defy a dark one. A good king has no more right to obedience than a poor one. Both priest and king serve as the voice of the Stars' will. Though they may be sour as unripened figs or hard as uncut stone, they must be obeyed. For obedience is the warrior's armor, and the armor is strong.\nPledge to be obedient, as the Stars command."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/pledge-perfection": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/pledge-perfection", "description": "Take these pledges, as the Stars command.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Pledge of Perfection", "text": "Know O pilgrim, the Stars' command:\nPursue perfection in all things. Cleave to your trade and do not waver. Spend your days with the sword and your nights with the shield. Train diligently and do not falter. Be flawless, for greatness demands a hawk's focus, and a perfect warrior is a weapon that cuts down our enemies without thought or hesitation.\nPledge to be perfect, as the Stars command."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/pledge-piety": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/pledge-piety", "description": "Take these pledges, as the Stars command.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Pledge of Piety", "text": "Know O pilgrim, the Stars' command:\nHonor the Stars, for it is good and right to venerate them and hold them in awe. Each blade that crashes down upon the People's foes must first rise skyward. Let each strike land with a prayer. Be steadfast in prayer and generous in sacrifice. Only the pious and most-loved by the Stars shall find true glory. For a pious warrior is a dutiful warrior, and piety sustains the warrior through even the darkest hours.\nPledge to be pious, as the Stars command."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/pledge-simplicity": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/pledge-simplicity", "description": "Take these pledges, as the Stars command.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Pledge of Simplicity", "text": "Know O pilgrim, the Stars' command:\nSeek simplicity and abstain from profane pleasures. You must not wallow, as beasts do, in filth and mire. Nor should you dwell in a house of gold and blessed red stone. In all things seek cleanliness and austerity. Do not share the cup of the debauched or break bread at the lot-caster's table. Simple blades must be clean and sharp. For a simple warrior is an unburdened warrior, ready for whatever comes his way.\nPledge to be simple, as the Stars command."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/pledge-vigilance": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/pledge-vigilance", "description": "Take these pledges, as the Stars command.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Pledge of Vigilance", "text": "Know O pilgrim, the Stars' command:\nBe ever vigilant, in both the blinding days and star-blessed nights. Even behind great walls, the People are imperiled by gray-men, and Goblin-kin, and wild beasts. Within the hall as well, the People may fall to plotting and poor counsel. The warrior must keep watch and act when cause is given, for vigilance is the walls that protect the warrior's temple.\nPledge to be vigilant, as the Stars command."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/pretension-high-elf-jewelry": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/pretension-high-elf-jewelry", "description": "A pamphlet exhausting the beauty of Altmeri jewelry", "author": "Elredith", "title": "The Pretension of High Elf Jewelry", "text": "By Elredith, Elden Root Jewelry Crafter\nIt's not like jewelry isn't important to us Wood Elves, truly. There are few things more appreciated than carving the bones of a fallen enemy for your sweetheart back home. That, alongside a well cooked hunk of haunch, and you have yourself a romantic little setup right there.\nBut, like most things, the High Elves take jewelry crafting to an entirely new level. They don't see it as a simple career choice. By Y'ffre, they don't even consider it a mere passion. No, it is fate, a calling handed down to them. Feel free to ask one if you want to hear all about it. They would be happy to talk your ear off. Trust me.\nFrom what I can understand, the High Elf art of jewelry crafting is generally passed down through generations. And that really does mean something to the High Elves. Taking on the legacy of their family name is not only expected, it's revered. In that way though, all of them respect each other. Even a kinlord will speak highly of a family of fishers, so long as they do their job right. You can't really say that about the rest of Tamriel.\nAnd I have to admit, their jewelry is beautiful. You ain't never seen such well-crafted rings as those on even a common High Elf's fingers. They're downright dainty, intricate, even. Swirls and patterns that seem to intertwine, even on the tiniest scale. There's a kind of complex simplicity there. Wait, does that even make sense?\nI mean to say, jewelry made by the High Elves just seems natural. Like the branches of a tree, or the swirls within a running stream. I don't know how they do it. I suppose that's the trade off of having your skills passed down through such long family lines. These High Elves aren't simply honing their skill throughout a lifetime, no. They're honing a skill throughout generations.\nI'd love to learn a thing or two while I'm visiting Summerset, but I doubt that will ever happen. Not because I haven't been able to find someone who is willing to talk with me about their craft, oh no. I just haven't found one who won't drone on and on for hours on some technique their great-great-grand uncle came up with hundreds of years ago.\nThat being said, I have yet to have a single mer here ask me about my own techniques. Of course, that's not too surprising. After all, I'm just a muddy little Wood Elf carving up some bone."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/price-praxis": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/price-praxis", "description": "Autobiography of an outcast (apraxic) Altmer, and his quest to return to society", "author": "Ceruval Rolumaril", "title": "The Price of Praxis", "text": "I remember the day I received my calian with perfect clarity. This often surprises people\u2014particularly Men. While they drift through a fog of half-remembered dreams, we Altmer remember everything. Every embrace, every slight, every triumph and defeat lurks at the edge of our sight, frozen in time\u2014waiting to be recalled with unnerving accuracy. So now, when I say perfect clarity, you take my meaning.\nI was a wiry youth of eighteen. The chapel smelled of incense and cherry-blossoms, and my entire calan\u2014mother, father, grandseers, and rumes\u2014shuffled in their pews, filled with nervous pride. The Ascendant Curate approached slowly. A stole of swan feathers and dragontongue cascaded over her shoulders, and upon her brow rested a grand welkyn wreath, bedecked in driftwood and precious stones. She stopped just a finger's length away from me and bade me to kneel. I did so, and she held my calian aloft. I saw it glistening in the starlight above and suddenly realized I was crying. At that time, the sphere was pristine\u2014fashioned from milky aethequartz and sun-blown glass. I remember thinking, \"How fragile a thing it is.\" Even then, I knew its great value. After reciting the Athel Vialen, she placed the sphere in my hands and smiled. I cradled it like a songbird just emerged from its egg. In that moment, I swore an oath to protect it. But what does an eighteen year-old know of oaths? Youth often makes a meal of the sacred. Too often.\nI grew into an angry young Mer\u2014disillusioned by the idle pride of my peers and the sneering detachment of my elders. At fifty-two, I joined a crew of privateers. We wreaked havoc on Redguard smugglers for thirteen years. As time sailed on, our coffers swelled with foreign treasures. When we parted company, each crewman enjoyed wealth beyond measure.\nIn all my years on the sea, I never lost sight of my calian. It rested beneath my bunk, safely tucked away in a willow-wood box. All the treasures of Hammerfell fell short of its brilliance. All the pride of my noble race found voice in its creamy luster.\nDetermined to settle down, I sought out a parcel of land east of Alinor\u2014a vineyard of modest reputation. I offered a fortune in gold to the aging vintner, but he refused to sell. With each passing day, my offers grew (as did my impatience). Who was this decrepit Mer to stand in the way of my happiness? What right did he have to deprive me of what I desired? At length, I resolved to make this toothless Elf see reason. I rode out to his residence on a rain-soaked evening, sabre in hand and wine on my breath. I roused him from his sleep and barged into his cottage, shouting obscenities and thrusting the bill of sale in his face. He shouted for me to leave, and shoved his frail shoulder into my side\u2014trying in vain to push me out the door. A great drunken rage swelled in my chest, and without a second thought I drove my sabre deep into his chest. It took only a moment to realize my folly. I tumbled back against the wall and gazed in horror at his feeble death throes. So deep and dark was my shame that I nearly took my own life on the spot. But in the end, I resolved to present myself to the Ascendants\u2014to face my justice.\nThe very curate who presented my calian as a youth sat in judgment. She fixed her icy gaze upon me as I recounted the tale. When I finally fell silent, she whispered something to her attending contemplative and rose to meet me. The contemplative took my ornate willow-wood box and opened it to reveal my calian\u2014my great and perfect treasure. With the steady hands of a jeweler, he plucked the sphere from its resting place and handed it to the curate. She gazed at me with a combination of sorrow and wrath. In silence, she held the calian aloft. My shoulders tightened as I dug my nails into my palms. Finally, she whispered the damning phrase, \"Apraxis\" and let the sphere slip through her fingers. I watched in horror as the precious heirloom tumbled through space and time, then shattered upon the cold marble floor. The curate and her contemplative turned their back, and lesser contemplatives ushered me, and the broken shards of my calian, out into the night.\nSo began my life as an apraxic\u2014a shamed outcast, left to contemplate the enormity of my sins in silent reflection.\nFor thirty years, I labored over the shattered remains of my blessed calian. I spent the last of my gold gathering stone-cutting tools, pearl-powder fixatives, and sacred oils. I ate little and slept not at all. My beard grew long and my muscles withered. With each success came three new failures. And all the while, my fellow Altmer spurned and cursed me.\nFinally, one bright morning in Second Seed, I set the last delicate shard of glass in its place\u2014returning the calian to its pristine origins. I felt such a swell of relief in that moment that I wept like a babe. At length, I washed myself in rosewater, sheared off my matted beard, and set out to the Hall of High Ascendency.\nI approached the curate on unsteady legs, my eyes fixed on the floor in deference. I opened my willow-wood box and held my calian up for inspection. The eerie silence seemed to last forever as the curate and her contemplative examined the sphere. Finally, I felt her hand upon my shoulder and heard her soft whisper. \"Rise.\"\nI reluctantly stood up and raised my eyes to meet hers.\nI could scarcely breathe when she spoke those long sought words: \"Welcome back, lost son of Aldmeris.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/pride-alkosh": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/pride-alkosh", "description": "", "author": "Clan Mother Hizuni", "title": "The Pride of Alkosh", "text": "Alkosh weaves and pulls threads tight, a tapestry of endless time. He sees a snag and frowns. With a single claw he pierces the fabric, catching the snag and pulling it below. The threads realign.\nI sing of that tapestry, of those tight threads of endless story. The priests of Pridehome sing with me, until our voices become harmony. But those who enter into the Pride of Alkosh will become the Dragon King's claws, to catch and pull those dangling threads.\nThey come to us as cubs, born under the dark eclipse. They are Forgotten Manes, destined to never rule. We give them purpose, guidance. We sing the words of Alkosh so that his wisdom may collect in their hearts like the bottom of an hourglass. These secret defenders who shall join the Pride of Alkosh.\nWhen Alkosh frowns, they rise. When Elsweyr cries, they fight. And with their dying breath, Khenarthi will be there to guide them to a place beyond the Sands Behind the Stars."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/primate-light": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/primate-light", "description": "The early days of Anvil's Primate Artorius", "author": "Midara Salviticus", "title": "The Primate: Before the Light", "text": "By Midara Salviticus, Historian, University of Gwylim\nNo one in Kvatch, the Gold Coast, or the shattered remnants of the Empire demonstrates more devotion and piety than Artorius Ponticus, the Primate of Akatosh - and he'll be the first to point this out to you if you aren't savvy enough to see the holy truth for yourself. But how did so humble an individual achieve such an august position in the religious hierarchy? For that tale, we need to go back to where Artorius first turned to Akatosh for guidance and strength - on the streets of the Imperial City in 2E 542.\nThe fourth son of the wealthy Ancrus family, Artorius grew up without a clear place in the world. His eldest brother was being groomed to take control of the family's major holdings throughout the core of the Empire, while the brother that was next in line was being trained to care for the family's distant holdings in Hammerfell. The third son, Angelus, was already a young officer in the Imperial Legion with a promising military career ahead of him. By tradition, that left a life in service to the Divines as the natural path for Artorius to follow. Unfortunately, young Artorius was about as spiritual and devout as the proverbial lusty Argonian maid of song and legend. He wanted nothing to do with prayer and sacrifice.\nInstead, young Artorius found himself drawn to two dangerous preoccupations: first, he was fascinated with events happening in the Breton kingdoms, specifically the ongoing battles between Emeric of Wayrest and Durcorach of the Reach. He scoured Imperial City for anyone who could tell him more about what was happening there, and usually found them in the most unsavory sections of the city. Second, he started to run with employees of the notorious crime boss, Vodunius Monrius, much to the chagrin of his father and older brothers. And it wasn't long before he was carrying messages and taking on other errands for Vodunius and his lieutenants.\nNever one to miss an opportunity to teach a lesson, Primate Artorius speaks candidly about this dark time in his past. \"\"I was full of fury and vinegar back then,\" he said with a laugh when I interviewed him while researching this book. \"I was angry and without direction, looking for something, but I didn't know what it was. That's a recipe for either finding your passion or losing your way. Lucky for me, Akatosh had a plan.\"\nThat plan, the Primate believes, began on a day much like most during that period of young Artorius's life. He started his rounds for the crime boss, collecting gold from the various merchants and artisans working in and around the Market District. The daily tithe was something of a sacred ritual for both those who were forced to pay the price and those who gathered the gold that filled Vodunius's coffers. Artorius was just one of a dozen young men and women who did odd jobs for the crime boss and his lieutenants, but he relished his role and the excitement that accompanied it. At least, he did until the inevitable occurred.\nWhen Artorius entered the shop of the Khajiiti baker, Sticky Paws, he found more waiting for him than the gold he expected to collect for Vodunius's daily tithe. Four officers of the city's Guard were on hand, ready to arrest the young noble and end his recently started life of crime. \"Your father is greatly disappointed in you, Artorius,\" the Guard Captain said. \"You've broken the laws of the Empire, if that gold in your pouch is any indication. You haven't left us with many options.\"\nAt that moment, when he should have been frightened and anxious, Artorius could only manage to conjure up a single emotion - he hated his father with an intensity that burned as hot as Sticky Paws' ovens. The officer of the Guard explained that they could bring the full weight of the law down upon Artorius and toss him in a dungeon cell for a year and a day, or they could come up with a way for him to make amends for the crimes he had committed, but Artorius could barely hear over the pounding of his own blood.\n\"As a favor to your father,\" the officer decided, \"we'll go with the latter. A year with the priests of the Divines should help set you back on the straight and narrow.\" And just like that, Artorius found himself back in the grasp of a destiny he had tried so hard to avoid. He was sent to perform penance with the priests at the Temple of the Divines.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/primate-finding-faith": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/primate-finding-faith", "description": "The young Artorius Ancrus begins his religious training", "author": "Midara Salviticus", "title": "The Primate: Finding Faith", "text": "By Midara Salviticus, Historian, University of Gwylim\nThe Temple of the Divines was the last place Artorius Ancrus ever expected to wind up. But as the year 2E 542 was drawing to a close, that's exactly where the young Imperial found himself. He was serving penance for crimes committed while working for the crime boss Vodunius in Imperial City. Thanks to his father's wealth and influence, Artorius avoided a dungeon cell. As for serving in the temple, he was sure that was his dear father's idea.\nAs the fourth son, Artorius had been promised to serve the Divines, and despite the young man's best efforts to avoid that fate, it seemed he was destined for a religious life. \"I'll serve my year and a day,\" Artorius told the priest who was his jailer and would become his mentor, Ilavius Alfeno, \"but after that I'm out of here.\" The old priest just bowed and began to introduce his charge to religious life.\nArtorius's life at the temple became a daily mix of opposing states of activity, from frenzied labor to stillness bordering on inertia. Given an endless array of chores that included cleaning, food preparation, and helping to care for the shrines of the Divines filled each day, punctuated by periods of study, meditation, and prayer, Artorius was soon too busy to maintain his anger at his father. And once his anger subsided, he began to actually hear the words of the priests and learn the tenets of the Divines.\nFor someone who wanted nothing to do with religion, Artorius quickly became fascinated with the tales and tenets of the Divines. From Arkay to Dibella, Stendarr to Julianos, he visited every shrine in turn and questioned the priests endlessly about their holy sphere and rituals. Of all the Divines, however, the one that seemed to attain a special place in Artorius's imagination was Akatosh, the Dragon God of Time. Perhaps it was Akatosh's place at the head of the pantheon that first attracted Artorius. Or maybe the qualities associated with him, or the tales related to his role as the god-defender of the Empire. Whatever the impetus, the young noble appeared to have found his faith.\nWhen Jonas Coventine, Primate of Akatosh, arrived for his annual visit from Kvatch, he took an immediate liking to the young Artorius. After leading the temple in worship, the Primate invited Artorius to a private meeting. Neither Jonas nor Artorius ever revealed the details of the meeting, but shortly after that audience, Artorius pledged himself to the Divines. When his probation was over, he took the vows of the priesthood and devoted himself to serving Akatosh."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/primate-rise-glory": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/primate-rise-glory", "description": "The future Primate performs a miracle", "author": "Midara Salviticus", "title": "The Primate: Rise to Glory", "text": "By Midara Salviticus, Historian, University of Gwylim\nAfter Akatosh \"called him out of obscurity,\" as Primate Artorius has explained numerous times over the years, the young man became a priest of the Divines. He continued to serve in the temple, learning more and more as he split his time among the eight shrines that made up the holy place. His work and dedication, along with his increasing reputation for performing good works, once again brought him to the attention of Primate Jonas of Kvatch.\nArtorius longed to be assigned to the Cathedral of Akatosh in Kvatch. He had heard tales of the \"grand palace of the Dragon God\" and believed there was no other place in all of Tamriel where he could best serve and worship Akatosh. He set out to get the posting, using every avenue at his disposal to make himself enticing to the high priests and the Primate of the Cathedral. In the end, it was the event that came to be called \"the Miracle of the First Shrine\" that did the trick.\nAs the story has it, when Casiras the Hunter brought his young son to the temple, the shaft of an arrow jutting from his chest, Priest Artorius immediately went to his aid. Artorius led the grieving father to Akatosh's shrine, and even though the child had clearly been killed by the terrible wound, he began to pray. According to reports, Artorius prayed for three straight days, never pausing to eat, or drink, or even sleep. At the end of the third day, the priest began to speak rapidly in a tongue that no one in the temple could understand. Then, it is said, a burst of brilliant light emanated from the shrine. It struck Artorius and flowed through his body, down his arms, and into his hands before passing on to the dead boy. When the glow subsided, the arrow was gone, the wound was healed, and the child was alive. Everyone said that Akatosh had answered Artorius's prayers.\nWord of this reputed miracle spread like wildfire throughout the Empire, quickly reaching the ear of Primate Jonas. He decided that if Akatosh was indeed performing miracles through one of his priests, then that priest needed to be at the Cathedral in Kvatch. Soon, Artorius was at the Cathedral, never far from the Primate's side, taking in his words the way a Nord consumes mead. In time, Artorius rose through the hierarchy of the Cathedral, eventually becoming Grand Sermonizer of Akatosh, second only to the Primate of Kvatch himself.\nIt was during this latter period that the relationship between the Primate and his Grand Sermonizer began to become strained. Artorius wanted the clergy to become more involved in the growing political unrest spreading throughout the Empire, as well as with the increasing threat of the Knahaten Flu. Jonas, for his part, wanted the Cathedral to remain aloof from secular concerns. The two argued constantly about the subject, finally getting to the point where the Primate was prepared to put an end to the disagreement through any means at his disposal - including sending the Grand Sermonizer to a distant posting.\nBefore the Primate could carry out his threat, however, he suddenly died under what some believe to be suspicious circumstances. Whispered rumors throughout the streets of Kvatch intimated that the Primate had been murdered - perhaps even by assassins connected to the Dark Brotherhood or some other clandestine organization. After all, the Primate had been preaching about the evils of Daedric cults and similar organizations, and specifically called out the Brotherhood as a pox upon the Gold Coast. Whatever the truth, Jonas's death opened the door for Artorius to advance even higher within the hierarchy.\nArtorius Ancrus was elected to the post of Primate of Kvatch. He changed his name to Artorius Ponticus and has been a stabilizing force in the region for most of the last decade."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/prison-must-fall": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/prison-must-fall", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Prison Must Fall", "text": "The Daedra have overwhelmed the Prison. They run it now, led by a massive creature made from darkness, and carried on great wings.\nBut it is about his lieutenant that I write. The \"Flesh Sculptor\" they call him, a powerful necromancer. It is at his behest that citizens are taken here, and harvested. The Sculptor has mastered devilry that allows him to turn mortal organs into carriers for plague and disease\u2014flesh devices that spew noxious clouds to contaminate the earth around them. Their plan is to deploy a thousand of these slaughter engines, dispersed throughout the City.\nIt would end the war quite quickly.\nThere has been no sign of a coming rescue, so I can only assume the generals have given up. But the Prison must return to Imperial hands.\nNo one has ever made it far beyond the front gate, and even then it's a fatal journey. I take it gladly, in service of the Empire, for this news to reach someone above."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/proving-festival": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/proving-festival", "description": "A personal description of an Akaviri festival by a citizen of Hakoshae shortly after its founding", "author": "Laije-Palak Rulician", "title": "The Proving Festival", "text": "14th of Hearthfire\nHakoshae is but a pale light compared to the radiance of Imperial City. Our homes are simple, our lives filled with daily toil. My once soft hands are now covered in callouses and dirt. But still, we are safe.\nThe magnate has even announced that we will be starting the Proving Festival soon. For once in my life, I have no worry about dishonoring my ancestors. I have traveled long and worked hard to help build Hakoshae. I am sure my actions have pleased those who came before me.\n18th of Hearthfire\nThe Proving Festival has begun, though it is laced with a bittersweet taste. I cannot help but remember that a mere three years ago we held this same celebration in our family's beautiful estate. There was feasting, dancing, music and more. A thousand stories were told, a thousand songs were sung, and beautiful decorations covered our home.\nThe Proving Festival in Hakoshae is a far simpler affair. There are no feasts, for we have little food to sustain us. There are no decorations, for all of our efforts have gone to building the town we now call home. The stories of grand adventures are told by tired elders, the labors of their day clinging heavily to their voices.\nBut still, I am grateful for the magnate's decision. It is good to feel Akaviri again.\n20th of Hearthfire\nMy sister spoke of a strange noise she heard last night. Slow, stumbling steps near her window. She awoke, but was too afraid to look outside.\nI told her that there was nothing to worry about, but my heart is now heavy. Everyone knows that the festival calls upon our ancestors to judge us. Depending on how well we have honored them, they will send us good fortune or bad luck. But to cross over to the realm of the living means that they have been greatly angered.\nI only pray that my ancestors were not the ones who visited Hakoshae last night. May they watch over us always, and happily remain within the afterlife.\n22nd of Hearthfire\nThe Proving Festival is complete, and no one has died a horrific death. I now believe my sister's story to be just a dream. Foolish of me to buy into her nightmares.\nThe closing ceremony had a strange air, however. The magnate, a usually solemn and stern man, seemed even more grim today. He spoke of the festival, and how we had honored our ancestors. A common speech, one that I've heard my own father recite many times.\nBut then he talked about how our actions every day prove ourselves to our ancestors. That we shouldn't have to beg them for attention, or prove ourselves with silly tasks and meaningless riddles. That just by building and maintaining Hakoshae, we have done more than enough to please those who came before us.\nI am unsettled by these statements. It almost sounds as if the magnate does not wish to hold the Proving Festival next year. I sincerely hope this not to be the case, of course. This Hearthfire, we celebrated an important part of Akaviri culture. I would hate for us to give that up, as we have already given up so much."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/prowlers-log": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/prowlers-log", "description": "The log of the Prowler", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Prowler's Log", "text": "Year One, Day 31\nQuartermaster Oblan's connections finally came through. After surrendering half the ship's earnings from our previous \"expeditions,\" the Prowler flies the Queen's Own Flag. As long as we only afflict Pact or Covenant shipping in our adventures, all past trespasses committed by the Prowler or her crew will be forgiven.\nLong live Queen Ayrenn!\nYear One, Day 41\nInstead of privateering, we're stuck patrolling shores. We're given liberty to attack any enemy vessels, but that means enemy raiders, not cargo or merchant ships. Lots of hard fighting for little gain.\nOur orders cover the search and seizure of suspected smugglers, but I doubt the crew has the heart for it. Besides, Quartermaster Oblan is related to most of them!\nYear One, Day 63\nI don't know what gods heard my prayers, but things are looking up once more. My request for more \"active\" duty was heard by Lord Gharesh-ri, the Speaker of the Mane himself! His messenger arrived this morning. with orders to prepare for a long voyage. No other details as yet.\nYear One, Day 65\nWell, I suppose I got what I asked for. The Prowler, a swift raiding vessel, is to be loaded down with supplies and baggage for a Dominion expedition to Khenarthi's Roost! While the sea-lanes around the island are likely to be filled with enemy shipping, we'll be part of the transport fleet.\nMorale is very low. At least the weather looks good"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/psijic-order": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/psijic-order", "description": "An introduction to the Order, from a Sapiarch's perspective", "author": "Vrithilin", "title": "The Psijic Order", "text": "By Vrithilin, Sapiarch of Current Chronologies\nAs the Sapiarch charged with understanding and analyzing current events as they relate to the progress and well-being of Summerset, I am often called upon to provide expert opinion of the great questions of the present age. Which brings us to the subject of this treatise. Proxy Queen Alwinarwe has requested the College of Sapiarchs to provide the Royal Palace with everything we know about the Psijic Order. Apparently, the ancient order of arcane sages has returned to offer assistance during the current crisis.\nWe know with absolute certainty that the Psijic Order once served as advisors and teachers to the greatest rulers of Tamriel. We also know that approximately three-hundred-and-fifty years ago, the sages retreated to their island of Artaeum to study in seclusion. Then the island, quite literally, disappeared.\nWhat is the Psijic Order? This ancient organization originated on Summerset and formed the basis for arcane magic as we know it today. At some point in history, they occupied the island of Artaeum and made Ceporah Tower their headquarters. So much can be attributed to the Psijic Order, including the creation of the Mages Guild (by former Psijic sage Vanus Galerion) and the development of Mysticism. It has been claimed that Mysticism, or the Old Way, can unravel the mysteries of the universe when properly applied to the problem. It can also be used to peer into the future and may have been the basis of the advice they provided to Tamriel's leaders.\nWhen our ancestors settled Summerset, our culture began to change. We no longer worshiped the ancestor spirits, instead elevating a few of those spirits to godhood and revering them. A group of elders at this time rebelled against this trend. They called themselves Psijics, the keepers of the Old Ways. They retreated to Artaeum to remove themselves from the corruption of Altmer society. This dislike of the new ways didn't stop them from returning to offer advice and guidance, however.\nMy recommendation? Accept the help offered by the Psijic Order. We could do worse than to have these masters of Mysticism at our side in these times of trouble."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/quiet-room": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/quiet-room", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Quiet Room", "text": "Lifeless eyes gaze on dueling swords.\n\tOne who breathed, but no longer lives.\n\tThe other an ancient relic from a distant land.\n\tIn the stone work of the ancients.\n\tThe one that has not known life,\n\tOpens the way to salvation and silence."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/raneviad-volume-ii": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/raneviad-volume-ii", "description": "Ranev gains the six celestial blessings", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Raneviad, Volume II", "text": "And so it came to pass that Ranev the Coal-Eyed Wanderer, cousin to Thelmyra the Oak and most loved by King Irndarus, traveled to the Stone of Hosiven to pay her respects to the heroes of old. It was here that she discovered the Gray Menhir.\nThe stone loomed over Ranev, dwarfing her and casting a long shadow over the land and water. Ranev was greatly impressed by the size of the standing stone, for she was known for her strength and great height. To her amazement, she watched as words were carved into the stone, struck with great precision by unknown, invisible hands to create a tablet of sorts. The tablet exhorted her with the following words:\n\"Heed the Stars, O pilgrim, and undertake their quest. Seek their six virtues, hewn into stone. Bear each command with a noble heart and return with the utmost speed. For only the swift and the just shall receive celestial favor.\"\nReading these words, Ranev's chest swelled with great purpose. She resolved to take up the stone's challenge and seek the virtues of the Stars. She meditated in front of the Gray Menhir and sang a warrior's hymn before setting out to complete her pilgrimage.\nRanev traveled swifting, visiting each of the six holy sites in turn. At each site, the warrior had to overcome dangerous creatures, foul beasts, and other challenges to find the prayer markers and receive the six virtues. She returned to the Gray Menhir within the allotted time, victorious, with the virtues of the Stars singing inside her. She pledged to embody the virtues until the end of her days. From that point on, Ranev the Coal-Eyed Wanderer became known as Ranev the Favored of the Stars.\nAnd her adventures were just beginning."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/reachs-progress": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/reachs-progress", "description": "Reachmen plot to assault Dragonbridge by blowing up the bridge", "author": "Vund", "title": "The Reach's Progress", "text": "The garrison is weak. Our near constant raiding of their supply caravans has left them stretched thin and scrambling. To further our good fortune, I'm pleased to report that I've perfected the reagent at long last. My new substance is strong enough to collapse the supports of the bridge. I should only need a few points of contact on the pillars themselves in order to destroy the cavern entirely.\nWe have a way underground, too. The garrison suspects nothing. All goes according to plan.\nDragon Bridge will soon fall, just as you have ordered.\nVund"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/reachmen-are-coming": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/reachmen-are-coming", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Reachmen are Coming!", "text": "Medya said that we shouldn't worry, that we had an old family. She said that they\u2014the Reachmen!\u2014are coming here.\nShe came from the shoreline east of here when I saw her, covered in blood! Leave while you can, I will meet you in Evermore."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/real-investigator-vale": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/real-investigator-vale", "description": "Biography of and interview with Arabelle Davaux, a former spy, warrior, and detective, and perhaps the author of the Investigator Vale novels", "author": "Adandora", "title": "The Real Investigator Vale?", "text": "Exposing the Secretive Author of the popular Investigator Vale mysteries,\n\tBy Adandora, Chronicler at Large\nThe popular mystery novels detailing the cases of Investigator Vale have sold millions of copies. The adventures of the famous Breton detective are as sought-after in Windhelm and Skywatch as they are in Daggerfall. However, unlike other authors, the creator of Investigator Vale refuses to share the stage with her amazing heroine. In fact, her identity has remained anonymous and unknown\u2014until now.\nThis chronicler-at-large began researching this mystery after hearing the story of a former member of the Ring of Daggers, the intelligence branch of the Daggerfall Covenant. This former member, according to the story, was not only a master spy, but a formidable detective, a consummate warrior, and a daring adventurer. The more I researched this remarkable woman, the more she reminded me of the fictitious Vale. I had to meet this woman, so I began my hunt for Arabelle Davaux.\nArabelle Davaux was born in Wayrest in 2E 527. She grew up in a noble household, attending the best schools in High Rock. A rambunctious youth and rebellious teenager, she ran away from home at the age of fifteen to join a mercenary group that helped defend High Rock from the invading horde that stormed out of the Reach. She went on to fight in a number of battles across the continent before finding a place with the Lion Guard. By 2E 560, she had earned the rank of captain and commanded a squad of the Lion Guard's finest soldiers. That's where she first came to the attention of Emeric, king of Wayrest and future high king of the Daggerfall Covenant.\nNow, Arabelle's exploits read like the most outrageous of Vale's stories. She was reported to have dispatched bandit lords, marauding trolls, and enemy forces with style and panache, and rumors indicated she had multiple lovers of all races and genders in a dozen different town, cities, and ports of call. Life was her adventure, and she rushed to meet it the way she charged to meet every enemy in battle. Scandalous tales even connect her to High King Emeric in a romantic fashion, especially during the year she served on his personal guard. Whatever the truth of it, it's obvious that Arabelle impressed Emeric, and when he forged the Ring of Daggers, she was one of his first recruits.\nWhen Arabelle turned fifty, she decided it was time to start a new chapter in her life. She graciously resigned from the Ring of Daggers and took up the role of a world traveler, finally getting to leisurely visit people and places she used to only get to see as part of her job. Claiming she was now \"too old\" to deal with intrigue, spycraft, and rumors of war, Arabelle became a lady of leisure, securing suites and spending long and luxorious weeks in one exotic location after another. I caught up with her in the city of the Orcs, Orsinium.\nChronicler: Arabelle Davaux, it's a pleasure to meet you after all the amazing stories I read. Did you really take down four river trolls singlehandedly to stop the attacks against the people of Kerbol's Hollow?\nArabelle: Actually, it was six swamp trolls, but I didn't want to seem like I was bragging in the official report.\nChronicler: You've led a remarkable life. Mercenary, adventurer, soldier, spy. Now I understand you have a new passion. Care to tell my readers all about it?\nArabelle: My passion is travel and sightseeing, but if your readers want to hear about my adventures as a tour guide...\nChronicler: Don't play coy, Lady Arabelle. You know exactly which passion I'm referring to. And it begins with Investigator Vale.\nArabelle: Ah, well, I suppose you've found me out. I have grown rather fond of those daring stories of crime and drama. And, I'm not ashamed to say, I love how bawdy the investigator can be. Gets my old blood boiling, if you know what I mean!\nChronicler: Come, come, Lady Arabelle. Admit it! You're the author of the Investigator Vale books!\nArabelle: Author? Me? Do these elegant fingers look cramped and strained from holding a quill for hours at a time? Do you see any ink stains on my hands?\nChronicler: But isn't it true that you modeled Vale after your own exploits? That it's a thinly veiled autobiography of your time as a spy for High King Emeric?\nArabelle: What an imagination you have, chronicler! Are you sure you aren't the author of Vale's amazing adventures?\nChronicler: Me? Don't be absurd! I report the news, not create elaborate fictions!\nArabelle: If you say so, my dear.\nChronicler: But isn't it true that you still dabble in solving mysteries? That you choose places to visit based on what crimes and conspiracies are currently confounding local authorities?\nArabelle: Do I? I hadn't noticed.\nChronicler: My gods! You practically admitted you played \"sheathe the dagger\" with High King Emeric in \"Investigator Vale and the High Rock Revolt!\"\nArabelle: I did no such thing! And besides, Emeric's dagger would more accurately be described as a sword...\nChronicler: See! You did it again!\nArabelle: Write whatever you feel you must, dear. As for me, I'm late for dinner with Captain Ghorza of the Orsinium Guard. It's been a long time since I enjoyed the company of a lascivious Orc. And I hear she's been having trouble catching a museum thief.\nChronicler: There you have it, faithful reader. Lady Arabelle confessed to being the author of the Investigator Vale mysteries! I solved a case worthy of the famous detective herself!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/reality-spirits": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/reality-spirits", "description": "", "author": "Felari-ko", "title": "The Reality of Spirits", "text": "By Felari-ko, Scholar of Intriguing Mysteries of Unusual Origins\nOur world is strange. But it's also fascinating.\nSome people conjure fire from their fingertips. Others lift large objects using just the power of their minds. Is it so far-fetched to think that people infused with magicka in life could not find a way to step through the barriers of death? That they could sustain their essences and remain capable of communicating with those of us still possessed of life's sweet kiss?\nYet my studies indicate that as life fades from our bodies upon death, so too should the magicka depart with our last breath. But we know spirits exist. I have personally encountered more than one haunting stare through the course of my research. I have seen desperate, ghostly eyes full of fear and longing for help. It's almost as if some memory of life still lingered in the spirit form.\nWhat if we could communicate with these spirits? What if we could call them to us to ask them why they still haunt a house or a gravesite or a battlefield? I believe I might have found a way. A way to speak to those who have passed on. Perhaps we can finally learn if the dead are truly dead.\nI intend to learn these secrets. I intend to speak to a spirit and discover what that spirit truly is.\nWatch for my next book on this subject:\n\"Life After Death: Incredible Secrets Revealed!\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/realm-we-know-it": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/realm-we-know-it", "description": "A snippet about the Maelstrom Arena", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Realm as we Know It", "text": "The Maelstrom and all others like it are constructed by the Daedric Princes that inhabit it. I happened to stumble across this realm while climbing the mountains of Orsinium. My host has been gracious enough, but he keeps prodding to help him build his barbaric arenas\u2026"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/realm-shadows": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/realm-shadows", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Realm of Shadows", "text": "To enter, one must abandon the light. One must give oneself to the nature of darkness. The creatures within are bound to the shadows and thrive on despair. They are not easily bound to the will of mortals\u2014 few have the depth of character to bring these creatures to heel."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/red-paint": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/red-paint", "description": "Description of a ceremony of the Wood Orcs", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Red Paint", "text": "\"Mix it like this,\" said Rakhal. She ground wet clay and herbs beneath her pestle with rhythmic strokes. \"The very act of creating the paint is a prayer.\"\nYashirr grasped her own stone pestle, pulled her bowl closer and imitated the priestess.\nPound! Lift! Scatter a handful of herbs into the bowl, and pound again! The Orcs sat close together, knee to knee, bowls held in curve of their bent knees.\nRakhal chanted softly, swaying with her movements. Gradually, as the group's rhythm strengthened, her voice gained matching volume.\n\"Mauloch!\" Pound!\n\t\"Witness \u2026\" Lift!\n\t\"\u2026 our deeds!\" Scatter!\n\tThe honor of preparing tribal paint went to a handful of the Chief's daughters. Yashiir had never sat in the circle before. In prior years, she'd gathered the herbs and clay, but nothing more. Now she sat at Rakhal's right hand in a place of honor. Pride washed through the young Wood Orc. Clearly, she had been chosen as an apprentice!\n\t\"Mauloch!\" Pound!\n\"Give us \u2026\" Lift!\n\"\u2026 blood!\" \"Scatter!\nAt that final word, the women threw back their heads and released Mauloch's Call, a throaty howl that echoed through the trees and nearby cliffs. Rakhal signaled their work's completion.\nThe tribe lined up to be painted with the fresh battle-red clay. Rakhal waved those she deemed unworthy or unfit for the battle aside. They weren't allowed to partake in the painting ritual.\nWhen Rakhal motioned to Yashirr to step from the line, Yashirr parted her lips to protest, then pursed them tightly. To question Rakhal's judgment would bring dishonor. Bowing her head in confused anger, Yashirr joined the handful of the unselected Orcs.\nRakhal looked over the unselected, and pulled Yashirr to her side. \"Mauloch chose you to perform the next ritual, child. Take the blade and remember: Mauloch watches you.\"\nGuiding Yashirr's hand, Rakhal leaned over the empty vessel and slid the young Orc's blade across her outstretched neck. Rakhal's hand did not falter even as she slipped from consciousness in order to provide the next paint with the sacred blood of a true warrior."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/remnant-light": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/remnant-light", "description": "Tells of the death of Anumaril, the \"Remnant of Light\"", "author": "Beredalmo the Signifier", "title": "The Remnant of Light", "text": "Being an Ayleid Tract, Translated by Beredalmo the Signifier\n\"In that (minute or eon) of blood, Anumaril brought (Lord) Filestis the Remnant of Light ('autaracu alata'), and begged him to take it to the cold sunset limit ('fal sorn glathe') of Tamriel. Noble Filestis took the Remnant and, with his (clan or livestock), left Kwyrothil (?) and traveled far. He kept the sunset always in his leftmost eye. Filestis was (followed or pursued) by the Ayleid Emigrants.\n\"They came to a Land of Cold Rocks and swam ashore (beached? berthed?). The rocks were cold/hard, but the Remnant of Light made all (fertile or wriggling). Many of the Emigrants fell ill, but the Light caused the (rocks or mountains) to bloom food-stone ('culle-anda'), which was tongue-sweet and made healing.\n\"Filestis desired the Remnant of Light to (smile, glow, warm) all of the Cold Rocks, so the Emigrants, now strong-with-radiance, (raised or razed) a (mountain or pinnacle) to affix it upon. This was (collated?) in eight-hundred-eighty (minutes or eons). Then did all the Cold Rocks bloom food-stone, and every Emigrant was (healthy, impregnated, sharpened).\n\"After a long time (months-wasted-lying), noble Filestis was (eaten) by Death, and in afterness the Emigrants each cried a blue lake. But his helpmeet took him to the (mountain or pinnacle), where was the Remnant of Light. Then Filestis was strong-with-radiance, and Danced for eight more choruses.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/right-mattock-job": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/right-mattock-job", "description": "A mine is attacked by ogres", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Right Mattock for the Job", "text": "They said the work would be hard, but Huusmaheem did not expect it to be so backbreaking. To be paid, Huusmaheem needed to fill eight baskets a day, but his tools were crude. Small mattocks are not made for clawed hands, not when they formed from the only tools available.\nRust-colored liquid seeped from the piles of slag, staining everyone's scales a dusky orange. Huusmaheem crawled forward a few feet, dragging his baskets behind him, so he could pull apart a new section of earth and rock. The miners tapped apart rocks and sifted through the mud for the rich variety of reagents found in those oozing mounds.\nThe miner beside him said, \"Finished my eighth basket. You?\"\n\"Almost done with seven,\" Huusmaheem replied. \"You're always done first, Split-Tail. What's your secret?\"\n\"Hard work,\" said Split-Tail with a grin. \"Also, I made enough to buy a bigger mattock.\"\n\"Cheater!\" said Huusmaheem with a good-natured chuckle.\n\t\"I'm heading out now.\"\nA cascade of dry earth slid down the terraced wall toward them. The miners, used to these collapses, grabbed their work loads and quickly moved away.\n\"There!\" someone yelled. Huusmaheem and Split-Tail, still beside each other, looked at the slope above them. Though dust rose from the slithering scree, they could see shapes hurtling toward them, leaning back on their heels, arms outstretched for balance.\n\"Ogres! Tell th-\"\nA blow silenced Split-Tail, knocking him to the ground.\nA dozen ogres attacked the unarmed miners, wielding nothing more powerful than their beefy fists. Huusmaheem ducked a right hook, still clutching a basket to his chest. He had to get to the village and warn people. Ogres hadn't been seen near the mines in at least twelve months.\nHe scrambled forward. Realizing he still held a basket, he flung it away, so he could use both hands. A brute stronger than Huusmaheem grabbed his tail and pulled him backwards. And then it let out a scream of rage and pain as Split-Tail swung his proper-sized mattock into the ogre's hand.\n\t\"Run!\" Split-Tail cried."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ring-daggers": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ring-daggers", "description": "A slanderous smear of King Emeric's associates", "author": "Aemilianus Falto, Auctor Veritas of the Legionary's Gazette", "title": "The Ring of Daggers", "text": "\"The Ring of Daggers.\"\nYou've heard the name whispered about. And you know what it means. Corrupted officials. Unexplained disappearances. Murders in the night.\nThe Ring of Daggers. Agents, infiltrators, provocateurs. Merchants of death, doing the dirty work for the bloody merchant-king, Emeric the Faithless.\nHere, in your town. In your own neighborhood. Probably even among people you trust, and think you know.\nBut how well do you know, really know your own neighbors? That trip he took to visit his uncle in Satakalaam\u2014is that really where he went? That new hand-knotted rug in her parlor\u2014was it paid for by Covenant gold? That Breton he was drinking with at the tavern\u2014what were they talking about so privately?\nHas the Ring of Daggers infiltrated your home district? Only you know your neighborhood well enough to be certain. Trust only what you can see, and believe only what you can explain. Remember, the Daggers are depending on you to just shrug your shoulders and look the other way. Don't let them get away with their subversion, or you may be their next target!\nIf you see or hear of something suspicious, it's up to you to do something about it. Report suspicious behavior to your nearest Imperial occupation authority. We'll take it from there, citizen."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rise-cormount": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rise-cormount", "description": "The conflict between tradition and foreign influence in a Valenwood town", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Rise of Cormount", "text": "Cormount was once a sleepy trading post, a common stop for those traveling from Haven to Reaper's March. No scholars agree on who founded the town, but we do know Cormount's population and cultural significance grew tenfold shortly before the end of the Long Truce.\nCormount's quiet surroundings and distance from the Wood Elf seat of power made it an ideal hideaway, especially for the Camoran factions. Over the years the cream of the Bosmer nobility took lovers in Cormount. But secrets are like seeds\u2014if you try to bury them, they will one day burst forth.\nIn 2E 406, a scandal rocked the Camoran factions when it was revealed that Cormount might be the source of dozens upon dozens of potential heirs, most of whom were of marriageable age. Cormount nearly doubled its population in one week as opportunists, the curious, and the cunning arrived in town. For months thereafter, weddings were a daily occurrence.\nThis rumor also drew many young Wood Elves who lived outside of Valenwood. They traveled to the Kingdom of Grahtwood with the hopes of binding their Imperial fortunes to their spiritual home. Those who found Grahtwood agreeable founded a ramshackle village near Cormount called New Joy.\nThe settlers were known as \"migrants\" by the Grahtwood natives who had first arrived in Cormount. These adherents to the Green Pact were shocked by the Cyrodilic customs of their wayward cousins. Meanwhile, the migrants flaunted the \"backwoods\" nature of the natives, seeking easy pleasures in the trade that flowed through Cormount.\nTensions between Cormount and New Joy grew to a boiling point in the years to follow. It is unknown who cast the first torch, but one dark night in 2E 420 the settlement of New Joy was burned to the ground. Those who fled were slain\u2014including a visiting Camoran noble.\nThough none took credit for this massacre, it was widely assumed the work of Green Pact adherents of Cormount. In the few short years before the end of the Long Truce, Camorans looking to air their grievances frequently used the Razing of New Joy as a political cudgel.\nBut Cormount should not be known for this one stain on its reputation. Founded in 2E 489, the Blacksap Movement has grown in popularity throughout Grahtwood. This Cormount-based cultural organization hopes to formalize the Wood Elf approach to the Green Pact, thereby preventing the very misunderstandings that led to the tragic events of New Joy. As we enter the fifth century of our era, Cormount's rise seems all but assured. This author can only hope the Blacksap rises with it!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rise-queen-ayrenn": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rise-queen-ayrenn", "description": "A very pro-Ayrenn biography", "author": "Nuulehtel of Skywatch", "title": "The Rise of Queen Ayrenn", "text": "Loyal citizens of Auridon! I have the pleasure of being an advisor to Her Royal Majesty Queen Ayrenn the First, Eagle Primarch of the Aldmeri Dominion, High Queen of the Summerset Isles, Overfriend of the Royal Camoran House of the Wood Elven people, and boon companion to the Mane of the Khajiit.\nAs Royal Advisor, I have penned this brief account of Queen Ayrenn's life and history. Read, that you might welcome our Queen into your hearts.\nHer Majesty spent early days as many children do in the Isles. She trained in blades beside her father. She rode horses in the surf along our golden beaches, and memorized history and sonnets beneath soft pink petals.\nOver twenty years ago, your forward-thinking King\u2014His Royal Majesty King Hidellith of Alinor, may he be ever honored in Aetherius\u2014gathered with the royal family at the Crystal Tower in celebration of Her Majesty's passage into the Labyrinth. This time of intensive study had been required by all Summerset rulers in the past, and Her Majesty was to step into that period with arms wide. As the hour approached, however, the then-princess was found missing!\nWhile a long search was begun, in truth, Her Majesty had claimed her own destiny. Her Majesty had stolen away to the Isle of Balfiera, to live with the Direnni at the Adamant Tower. The members of that clan trained her in the art of war. They turned her simple noble swordplay to lithe and seasoned blade-dancing. Her beachside rides became forced marches on horseback, and her singing of sonnets beneath the trees of her homeland gave way to the study of the arts most arcane.\nMuch has been made of our Queen's adventures in Tamriel by bards and common broadsheet scribes. Yes, it's true that she once rode a bear. That she hunted the frost trolls of Skyrim, delved into the depths of a Dwarven ruin, and crewed with a pirate captain of Cyrodiil. Her Majesty once flew upon an enormous kite on the winds of the Alik'r Desert, and danced with Nereids in the Illessan Hills. These adventures were not the larks of a wanton, but instead a deliberate process. The tempering of a blade!\nAnd when His Majesty King Hidellith passed away, when it looked as though our remote isles would be left to flounder in the swell of history, Princess Ayrenn returned! Her Majesty plucked the crown from where it had fallen in the dust. She took up her father's sword, and led us out into the world.\nLed us into the world to find new allies waiting just off our shores! The Queen's connections to the noble Wood Elves and fierce Khajiit enabled us to form the mighty Dominion that now stands astride our corner of Tamriel, poised to strike at the dark heart of Cyrodiil and ward off the depredations of the warmongering alliances of the north.\nThough she has her detractors, and cowards defame her courage from behind a veil, Queen Ayrenn is the living, beating heart of the Dominion. Our fortune and prosperty depend upon her."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rite-boethiahs-gauntlet": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rite-boethiahs-gauntlet", "description": "A poem detailing the selection of Boethiah's champion", "author": "Thendaramur Death-Blossom", "title": "The Rite of Boethiah's Gauntlet", "text": "By Thendaramur Death-Blossom, Boethiah's Conduit of Sutch\nOver fifty Gauntlets have I witnessed,\n\tMighty Men and Mer contending, fitly\n\tOff'ring blood and body, Faithful fighting,\n\tProving worth and zeal, Boethiah's best and\n\tMost devoted show they stop at nothing.\n\tPitted, Faithful versus Faithful, grandly giving\n\tAll they must to praise their Prince so proudly.\n\tNone can doubt devotion offered freely.\n\tTested thus, the Faithful know who's worthy\u2014\n\tWho shall be the Conduit of Boethiah.\n\tChampion of Boethiah's also chosen,\n\tGauntlet given, through the test of melee.\n\tThose who fear the sword, the mace, and dagger\n\tLack the heart to show our foes no pity\u2014\n\tMolag Bal will welcome them to Stonefire.\n\tWarlock of Boethiah wields the magic\n\tBetter than the weaklings of Azura,\n\tCasting spells to pass the test of Gauntlet,\n\tShowing lesser Faithful their position.\n\tAll must serve the Prince in their own fashion."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/road-sovngarde": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/road-sovngarde", "description": "One summary and hypothesis on Shor's realm", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Road to Sovngarde", "text": "Loremasters hear tales of heroes who claim to have traveled to Sovngarde and back, but their truth is uncertain. The greatest warriors stride the road to Sovngarde upon their deaths, but if the living can walk there and return, it has not yet been shown.\nYet loremasters know this: Sovngarde exists. So our gods promise, so we believe. Sovngarde lies in the heart of Aetherius, awaiting the souls of departed warriors. Nords who prove themselves in battle awaken in the realm after death. Pain and illness vanish within the Hall of Valor. Revelry is never-ending, mead flows freely, and the greatest Nords of all time compete in tests of strength and prowess.\nSpirits trapped in this world know torment, emptiness, and endless suffering, obsessing over lost battles, fallen kingdoms, and unresolved lives. Not so in Sovngarde! Even the tedium of immortality is unknown, for spectral foes wait in the surrounding shadows, waiting to do battle with those who would test their mettle.\nShor created the realm of Sovngarde with his clever magic long ago, but the trickster god has faded from our world. Others have attempted to part the veil of his deceit, practicing forsaken arts and seeking hidden paths into the afterlife. All such attempts end in tragedy. None can out-trick the trickster. For all we know, Shor retreated to that realm and laughs at all who would outwit him. He may even rule the realm, choosing heroes to honor according to his whims.\nAll this is speculation. Only those who are worthy know the truth, and they speak no more to the living. Through all the suffering and adversity in this world, true Nord warriors endure, for Sovngarde awaits."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/root-sunder-market": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/root-sunder-market", "description": "Description of an archeological site", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Root Sunder Market", "text": "If these are the ruins of Root Sunder, then this is the likely site of the city market. At its height this area would have been filled with merchants from across Tamriel, trading exotic goods and new ideas. It must have been an incredible sight. I sometimes feel like I can actually hear the low murmur of the crowd."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/root-sunder-roots": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/root-sunder-roots", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Root Sunder Roots", "text": "The magically-burgeoning growths in these ruins are astounding. They snake their way through not only the walls, but out into the jungle soil. Tancano joked that they wormed through the city like a circulatory system. An apt remark, because here's the weird part: they share a pulse."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rotwood-enigma": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rotwood-enigma", "description": "A mysterious figure helps a band of mercenaries", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Rotwood Enigma", "text": "We never knew where he came from. He showed up during our assault on the Rotwood Butchers, a nasty group that'd taken to terrorizing travelers a couple days out of Evermore. We found their hideout, but were caught off guard when more were inside than we expected; there must have been an entrance we didn't see. They had us pinned, trapped in the filthy caves they'd claimed, when out of nowhere he came clanking down the hall, covered head to toe in shining plate and cleaving bandits in half with every swing. The tide turned. One after another, Rotwood scoundrels fell to his blade until none were left.\nI thanked him and asked his name, but he didn't respond. Confused, I tried introducing myself, telling him about our company and the work we'd been taking on to clear out bandits and beasts all over northern Bangkorai. Nothing. Frustrated and a little disturbed, we left the cave and headed back to camp. He followed. I told him he wasn't welcome if he was going to keep up the silent treatment and hide his face from us, but it didn't help. Everyone was on edge, uneasy. We didn't see any signs of aggression, and I don't think anyone wanted to raise a sword to challenge him after the carnage with the Rotwoods earlier.\nIt just went on like that. He never talked at all. He took his food alone, off away from the camp, and never seemed to sleep; he just propped himself up against a tree or a rock at night, never once taking off a piece of that armor. None of us had seen the like of it before, all smooth, rounded pieces with strange feathery engravings. It was beautiful, silver with dark swirls, covering him entirely. We were uncomfortable at first (and who wouldn't be?), but he never hurt anyone aside from the bandits we rooted out. And by Stendarr, did he ever hurt them!\nWe warmed to his presence, probably because he saved our skins over and over. His was the blow that ended Swampheart the Fetid, a filthy hag that had been abducting innocents. She'd cast some horrible magic that slowed us all down\u2014all but him. He was the one who saved Riles-the-Leaves from being tossed over a cliff by the boar Bloodgut, who'd assailed several farmers and their livestock. He even saved my own life more than once. He was tireless, fearless, and, it seemed, dedicated to our goals.\nI wonder to this day if he had a name, if he was even a \"he.\" I don't guess we'll ever know. Six months he tromped along with us on our contracts, and for those six months we prospered more than ever; we even added new blood to our roster. When winter came on, we headed back to Evermore for our usual time off (it's slow getting good work in the cold months), and one morning, he was gone. No sign, no tracks, nothing. Just disappeared. No one I've spoken to has ever heard of him or anything like him, and I get a lot of funny looks when I tell the tale. No matter. Wherever he is, I hope he's doing well and carrying on the good work."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/royal-house-king-eamond": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/royal-house-king-eamond", "description": "Glowing praise for House Guimard of Evermore", "author": "Seneschal Derric Andras of Castle Evermore", "title": "The Royal House of King Eamond", "text": "As our king's loyal seneschal, it falls upon me to convey to the populace at large the details of his noble lineage\u2014a burden I take up joyfully, and with a due recognition of the honor.\nKing Eamond is a scion of the right noble House of Guimard, an aristocratic family that claims to have been in Evermore since the port was founded after the fall of Orsinium. As every Evermore schoolchild knows, our fair city was founded in the year 983 of the First Era by the River Horse Bretons, after the Bjoulsae trade was opened up thanks to the suppression of the Orcs. This particular fact is impossible to verify without access to the Guimard family documents, which they hold for safekeeping in the castle vaults (and in these unstable times, who can blame them?). However, the name can be publicly documented shortly thereafter in the Decretal of Fiefdoms by the Empress Hestra upon the entry of High Rock into the Cyrodilic Empire. That document, drawn up in 1E 1029, includes a citation recognizing a certain \"Barron Guy Marde of ye Rivver Banke.\"\nThereafter the heroes of House Guimard appear again and again in the annals of Evermore: there was a Baron-Captain Olsien Guy Mard in the All Flags Navy of 1E 2260; a Baroness Falinne Guimard defending Bangkorai Garrison against the Alessian Legions in 1E 2305; and Baron Fulvert Guimard had his lands improved to a duchy for his martial exploits at the second sacking of Orsinium in 2E 431.\nWhen the former monarch of Evermore, King Heseph of House Moile, died without an heir when the city was sacked by Durcorach the Black Drake in 542, it was Duke Blaise Guimard who led the Knights of Saint Pelin in the charge that eventually retook the city. Duke Blaise was then elected to the throne by the nobles of Bangkorai, and House Guimard was elevated to royalty.\nKing Blaise came to Emeric's aide in Ranser's War, and was rewarded with Emeric's niece Arzhela's hand in marriage for his son, Prince Eamond. Shortly thereafter, in 568, King Blaise died and was succeeded by his son, King Eamond. So far our lovely Queen Arzhela has presented her lord with two healthy children, the Princess Elara and the Prince Adrien. Long may they reign in peace and prosperity over our land!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/royal-lineage-sentinel": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/royal-lineage-sentinel", "description": "A summary of the noble lineage of a king", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Royal Lineage of Sentinel", "text": "Know, O Beloved Reader, that the lineage of our All-Beneficent King is most royal, descending as he does from High King Ar-Azal, through King Ja-Fr, thence Grandee Makala, who did marry the Grandeya Fanesh of Antiphyllos, thus endowing the line with the Phyllocid blood of the Meritorious Zizzeen.\nHis Royal Majesty King Fahara'jad was the only issue of the Ever-Virtuous Makala and Fanesh. In good time Fahara'jad, while yet a young prince, did take to wife Za-Rifah the Flower of Taneth, and she bore him three fine children. Alas, the Flower of Taneth lost her life in giving birth to the third child, and was mourned by all the Redguards of Hammerfell.\nNonetheless, his Royal Majesty's ever-glorious descendancy is assured in the persons of his eldest daughter Maraya, the Jewel of Satakalaam, his second-daughter Lakana, the Star of the Almandine, and the young Crown Prince Azah, the Lion of Antiphyllos."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ruby-necklace": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ruby-necklace", "description": "An ominous portent of a famous symbol", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Ruby Necklace", "text": "Hefting another bale into the loft, Maakul felt the pain shoot through his shoulder once more. He rotated his shoulder, shrugging to release tension.\n\"Thanks for your help,\" the Argonian trader said. He nodded at the Kothringi and lumbered away with his cart.\n\tFor several months, the same trader came to Zuuk bearing loads of hay for the horses. Maakul's brother Huug, before he died, had handled the transactions. He arranged deliveries, unloaded the bales, and made payments. Then the illness struck Huug: a rash that stood out as bright spots against his skin together with a high fever. Within a week, he was gone.\nAnd now, Maakul dealt with the trader. If only his muscles didn't hurt so much. Clearly, he lacked the strength of his late brother. He'd need to try harder, though he preferred studying and reading to any physical labor.\n\t\"I need to check the ledgers anyway,\" Maakul said to himself as he headed into his hut. He'd let the books go during his brother's illness, and the latest delivery should be entered.\nAs he opened the payment register, a slip of paper fluttered to the floor. He recognized his brother's handwriting and picked it up.\n\"Beware the ruby necklace.\"\nMaakul frowned. They couldn't afford necklaces, much less rubies. What did his brother mean? Shrugging, Maakul threw the crumpled note into the brazier beside his desk, draped a cloak over his legs, and settled down to bring their accounts up to date. He felt so cold.\nThat night, Maakul saw his reflection in his wife's concerned face. She'd found him, coughing and shivering at his desk. She half-carried him to bed. A line of red welts, the tell-tale rash, encircled his throat.\n\"Rubies,\" he mumbled, clawing at his skin as the Knahaten Flu claimed its latest victim."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ruddy-fangs": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ruddy-fangs", "description": "A new member's introduction to this group of murderous thieves", "author": "Zayreba Sharpclaw", "title": "The Ruddy Fangs", "text": "First thing you have to understand about the Ruddy Fangs is that we're not just thugs, thieves, liars, or murderers; we're all these things. We're the scourge of Elsweyr, the bane of all who try to uphold good in this Moons-forsaken land. And we like to keep it that way.\nIf you have morals? Get rid of them. A code of ethics, a little nagging conscious telling you to do good in this world? No longer needed. All that's required is the will to get ahead, to do whatever it takes to end up on top. That's the only way you're going to survive.\nOur main source of gold is smuggling, both in and out of Elsweyr. You might head up into Cyrodiil with Sugar-Slinger, or work small town cons with Rideza the Rogue. Or perhaps you'll be lucky enough to work odd jobs with me. Whatever the case, you can be sure that gold will soon start lining your purse. Just be sure to not ask questions. The less details you know, the better.\nAh, and one more thing. If you've gotten to the point of reading this helpful little guide, there isn't really any leaving. Well, not alive anyway. So I suggest you get used to your new life, and quick."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/salas-en-expedition": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/salas-en-expedition", "description": "History of the Elven ruins of Salas En in Hammerfell", "author": "Lady Clarisse Laurent", "title": "The Salas En Expedition", "text": "It is strange that the Elven ruins known as Salas En, on the Hammerfell coast at Cape Shira, have never been properly explored or studied. This is most likely due to the superstitious locals' exaggerated reverence for burial grounds of the dead, even those of other cultures. I wouldn't go so far as to accuse the Alik'r Redguards of timidity, but really, having to bring all my own people over the bay from High Rock is a bit much.\nIn any event, now that we are on our way, we shall do the job right. The known facts about Salas En are few, but they are fascinating, as it has been inhabited over the last three eras by a series of cultures. On top\u2014which makes it most recent, of course\u2014are Redguard relics dating from the First-Era occupation of Salas En by Crowns of the late Ra Gada. Colonists from the island of Yath in lost Yokuda, these Redguards seem to have displaced the Elves who previously occupied the site. It appears these descendants of Yath occupied Salas En until abandoning it in the middle 23rd century, which coincides with the ravages of the Thrassian Plague.\nThe Elves the Yath Redguards displaced were, according to tradition, relatively recent Altmeri colonists of the Corelanya Clan, who were said to be Daedra-worshipers. (This would account for their emigration from Summerset to the austere shores of Hammerfell.) They seem to have arrived sometime in the sixth century 1E, inhabiting and expanding on structures originally built by the Ayleids. Bosmeri relics are intermixed here with classic high-period Altmeri, suggesting that either the Corelanya participated in the Wood Elf coastal trade, then at its historic height, or that Salas En was used as a stopover by Bosmeri merchants before the Corelanya arrived.\nBelow these High Elf additions\u2014and indeed, still standing with less wear on them than any of the structures built afterward\u2014are the original Ayleid stoneworks, jutting proudly toward the heavens despite the passage of millennia. The Ayleid Elves who built Salas En are virtually unknown to history, and it is primarily to reveal their story that I have organized this expedition. With the assistance of my experienced and hand-picked team of excavators, I have every confidence that we can persuade the stones of Salas En to reveal their secrets to us."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sanguine-cult": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sanguine-cult", "description": "A \"genuine\" letter calling off an assassination contract", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Sanguine Cult", "text": "Attention Bounty Hunters!\nAny and all previously announced bounties on Sanguine cultists were posted in error. There is no bounty. None at all.\nIn addition, please disregard any steaming vitriol, all declarations of public menace, and any calls for public lambasting, chastisement, or retribution.\n\u2026And remember that the party is now in full swing at Sanguine's Demesne. Hope to see you there!\n\u2014 The Stormhold Council (Genuine)"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/scaled-elves": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/scaled-elves", "description": "Introduction to the Maormer Leviathans, supposedly a scaled fusion of mer and serpent", "author": "Marin Laroix", "title": "The Scaled Elves", "text": "Sailors are known for their stories. Tall tales of faraway places, great beasts, vast treasures, beautiful temptresses, and storms that could end the world. Many take these claims with a healthy dose of skepticism, but not all the legends you hear are pure fantasy. Away from the relative calm of the Iliac Bay the sea can harbor some truly frightening things. Among them are the Maormer leviathans.\nIf you've never seen a Sea Elf, they're strange, but unremarkable. Similar to High Elves in build, their skin is the color of ocean spray and their eyes pale. Most wouldn't give them a second glance if not for their elaborate tattoos and their vicious demeanor. The ones their kind call leviathans, however, they'll make your blood run as cold as their own.\nThe spawn of some unholy and sorcerous coupling of Sea Elf and Sea Serpent, these giants stand a head and a half over the most towering of Nords when they draw themselves to their full height. A rare sight since these Elves mostly carry themselves in a beastly posture, bent and arced like a snake ready to strike. When they do make their move, they don't so much stride as slither along in an uneven predatory lope\u2014like they're unused to both land and legs.\nThe first time I laid eyes on one in the flesh, she was clambering up the hull of my ship like a centipede\u2014weaving back and forth as she effortlessly glided up the slippery boards. The way the light glittered off her blue scales was almost beautiful, but her dead, white eyes were as impassive as a shark's and her grin as mirthless.\nI doubled over in fright as she shot over the starboard railing. She was on me in an instant, pinning me to the deck with her great size, ready to strike me down with a killing blow, or so I thought. Instead, she regarded me with a chilling dispassion and I froze like a mouse that's locked eyes with a snake. I was both captivated and terrified. It was the popping of her jaw stretching out of place to swallow me that finally snapped me out of my shock and gave me the sense to struggle.\nI was no match for the leviathan's strength, but I managed to wrest a hand free and drive it into the back of her throat. The gout of flame she choked on put an end to her perverse existence, but the mark she left on me I'll carry until the end of my days. If you should ever see the scaled Elves lurking below the waves, my prayers go with you."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/scents-thing": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/scents-thing", "description": "Dealing with plague husks", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Scent's the Thing", "text": "You were lucky last time. How many times do I have to remind you\u2014if you're going to work with the plague husks, you need to wear the husk scent. I know, I know. It smells terrible. But that's the point! It makes you smell just like the plague husks. That's the only way to safely move among the vile creatures.\nRemember what happened to Kenie? She refused to apply the husk scent, too. Complained that it got in her hair and wouldn't come out no matter how many times she washed it. And what did her vanity get her? A plague husk ate her face!\nDo you want that to happen to you? I certainly don't! Now, get your nchow together and remember to apply the husk scent. I don't want to have to tell you again."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/scroll-avalian": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/scroll-avalian", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Scroll of Avalian", "text": "Excerpt from The Book of the Warrior God: 3:24\u2014Avalian's Flight\nAnd the volcano erupted with a thunderous boom. The ground rattled and the sky filled with ash. This did not break Avalian's will. He stared at his enemy\u2014a fiery god of lava and stone. His blade drawn, Trinimac's blessed child Avalian charged the mountain. Though lava flowed and covered the path, Avalian traversed the mountain with such quickness that the heat did not scorch his feet. As quick as the wind, Avalian dove into the mountain, driving his blade into the heart of the beast."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/scroll-usunok": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/scroll-usunok", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Scroll of Usunok", "text": "Excerpt from The Book of the Warrior God: 4:22\u2014The Rage of Usunok\nHe hunted not for food or sport. He hunted not for the thrill of the kill. No, he hunted to prove his strength. The beast before him rose, taller than the trees. Usunok, armed only with his fists and the blessing of his god Trinimac, charged forward to deliver a single blow. For with Trinimac's blessing upon him, one blow was all he would need. In an instant, it was over. No amount of scales or fat or muscle could stop the force of Usunok's rage striking its target. The beast fell with hardly a cry or a whimper. Usunok did not celebrate. He did not cheer. He simply went hunting for his next challenge."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/scroll-vaia": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/scroll-vaia", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Scroll of Vaia", "text": "Excerpt from The Book of the Warrior God: 4:18\u2014Vaia's Courage\nAs the hammer fell, Vaia stood her ground. Rhogar the Destroyer had shattered entire armies with the power of his enchanted hammer. But this did not dampen Vaia's resolve. Holding her shield above her head, she knew that Trinimac watched over her. A loud crash, a thunderous boom, and a crack that toppled nearby trees echoed throughout the land. But when the dust settled, it was not the small wooden shield that Vaia held that lay shattered on the ground. It was Rhogar's mighty hammer."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sea-it-rises": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sea-it-rises", "description": "A sea chanty of the Long Coast", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Sea It Rises", "text": "(A Sea Chanty of the Long Coast)\n\tThe sea it rises with a mighty roar\n\tThe wind it blows from a distant shore\n\tThe waves they speed us on our way\n\tThe ship she dances in the spray!\n\tAll hands to halyards, hoist away!\n\tSet sails to full and no delay!\n\tThe course we set we must sail true\n\tOr sink ourselves in the briny blue!\n\tLook to the port above the beach\n\tOur destination we will reach\n\tFor our captain's is a will of steel\n\tBreak his trust and you'll kiss the keel!\n\tThe sea it settles on the shore\n\tThe wind will blow us nevermore\n\tThe waves are calm, there is no spray\n\tOur ship sets sail some other day."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/seasons-argonia": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/seasons-argonia", "description": "The Argonian months and their astrological meanings", "author": "Jekka-Wass Paxalt", "title": "The Seasons of Argonia", "text": "By Jekka-Wass Paxalt, Keeper of the Xinchei-Konu\nTime is immutable. An engine that drives the will of change, inevitable, primordial. An ever-moving force in an ever-constant cycle. To mark the progression of that change is a thing most sacred to the Saxhleel. Each month marks a particular aspect of the yearly cycle, and is thus celebrated accordingly. The months and their respective meanings are as follows:\nVakka (Sun)\nAs the first month of the cycle, Vakka is associated with the primordial origin of existence, or origins in general. We are encouraged to show extra respect to the tribal elders during this time.\nXeech (Nut)\nAlso known as the hiding time, Xeech is a month of planting both seeds and ideals. Swamp bulbs are buried, planting sprouts. Elders pass down their knowledge, implanting knowledge. This is a time of hope, but also of melancholy. It is the first of the Three Mournings, for once a thing it is planted, it is hidden and gone. What emerges will not be something new: the nut is lost forever.\nSisei (Sprout)\nSisei stands for newness, possibility, and youthful excitement. The Hist has shed its sleeping life and now is truly alive. Many hatchling festivals take place during this time. It is also known as the \"leaping season,\" for this month is also full of sport and competition. The virtues of strength, speed, and willpower are all venerated and celebrated.\nHist-Deek (Hist Sapling)\nHist-Deek is, for good or ill, dedicated to the challenge of authority and the power of individual agency. Many use this month to highlight injustices, with intra-tribal conflict often resulting. Needless to say, it is a very controversial time. Many also take this time to analyze their agency apart from the Hist; to reflect upon our worship, and see it as bond rather than bondage.\\\nHist-Dooka (Mature Hist)\nServing as the counter-balance to the turbulent Hist-Deek, the Hist-Dooka is centered on the ideas of family, tradition, and obligation. Young Saxhleel are given more responsibility, and many adolescents take on the Chukka-Sei, a trial of maturation, to prove themselves worthy of being called an adult. Those who pass the trials are gain full tribal membership, and the month typically ends with a great celebration.\nHist-Tsoko (Elder Hist)\nPerhaps the holiest month of the year, Hist-Tsoko is dedicated to the ideas of knowledge, wisdom, and fullness of potential. Many gatherings this month are solemn affairs, the most important being the Root Talk, where the tribal elders recite the history of the Saxhleel. This month also stands as the Second Mourning, due to the fact that the Hist has stopped growing and all of its individual potential is expended.\nThtithil-Gah (Egg-Basket)\nThtithil-Gah is a month of foolishness and frivolity, often a welcome respite from the oppressive solemnity of the Hist-Tsoko. Hatchling-like wonder, youthful joy, and mild confusion are all venerated. Many traveling entertaining troupes make the majority of their profit during this time. Festivals and feasts are nearly constant.\nThtithil (Egg)\nThe Egg month is associated with mystery, anticipation, and (perhaps oddly) finality. For most tribes, the connection is literal; much egg-laying takes place during this month.\nNushmeeko (Lizard)\nThe lizard symbolizes swift and quiet labor. Nushmeeko celebrates the thankless tasks of everyday life, and work is near constant. Cleaning, building, repairing, and preparing; every member of the tribe puts their snout to the grindstone and pushes.\nShaja-Nushmeeko (Semi-Humanoid Lizard)\nThis month, like Hist-Deek earlier, is another of mystery and debate. There is significant controversy about what the humanoid-lizard actually represents. Is it a hatchling emerged from the egg, or a representation of our cultural origins? Unifying concepts such as change, becoming, and shifting values are all contemplated. Appropriately, many adolescent gatherings take place during this time, resulting in various romantic entanglements. The awkwardness of youth is often associated with this month.\nSaxhleel (Argonian)\nSaxhleel is a month associated with the true passions of our culture. Given that the hunting and harvesting season has passed, tribe members are free to focus on pursuits such as pottery, woodcarving, and other creative pastimes. A sense of things coming to a close is pervasive, and in many tribes there is a large gathering of elders at the end of this month. The intent of the festival is to prepare both our elders and community for the impending deaths to come. Dryskins often find this a morbid tradition.\nXulomaht (The Deceased)\nLike many traditions, Xulomaht is a month of apparently conflicting ideas. It is associated with the Third Mourning, the most powerful of the three given the literal ending of the year. Tribes look back on the events of the year and come to terms with its passing. However, it is also a time of celebration and remembrances. Great festivals are held in honor of all who have passed from their old life and into a new one. Much of the month is spent planning and preparing for these festivities."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/second-akaviri-invasion": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/second-akaviri-invasion", "description": "Background and outline of events of the Kamal invasion", "author": "Yngmaer Raven-Quill", "title": "The Second Akaviri Invasion", "text": "A Request for Funding\nBy Yngmaer Raven-Quill, Historian Royal of the Bards' College, Solitude\nThough we Nords of Western Skyrim, Your Majesty, were fortunate to escape involvement in the recent Akaviri invasion of Tamriel, it is nonetheless important that we try to understand this strange affair, especially as it has led our estranged kindred in Eastern Skyrim into a bizarre and ill-advised alliance with our ancient enemies, the treacherous Dark Elves of Morrowind.\nThough the events occurred only a dozen years ago, the facts of the incursion from Akavir are already becoming obscured by a fog of legend and conjecture. What do we know for sure?\nOne: We know that there are multiple realms in Akavir, and that the raiders of the First Era (who later gave the Empire its Potentates) were from Tsaesci, while the forces of the recent invasion were from Kamal. However, we know virtually nothing about either realm.\nTwo: The leader of this second invasion was the King of Kamal, Ada'Soom Dir-Kamal. We know little about him or his reasons for invading Tamriel, even from our agents in the Eastern Kingdom: few captured Akaviri knew any Tamrielic, and most died under interrogation. One report stated that Dir-Kamal was seeking someone or something called the \"Ordained Receptacle\"\u2014but this could easily be a bungled translation.\nThree: For reasons unknown, the Akaviri fleet sailed around the northeast corner of Tamriel into the Sea of Ghosts, bypassing the Telvanni Peninsula, Vvardenfell, and Solstheim, before finally landing at the mouth of the White River northeast of Windhelm.\nFour: The invasion was a complete surprise, and Windhelm was invested before Queen Mabjaarn could muster the Hold in defense. After a brief siege the invaders breached the southern gate and the city was sacked and burned. Both Queen Mabjaarn and her daughter and heir, Princess Nurnhilde, were slain in fierce fighting before the gates of the Palace of the Kings.\nFive: The royal cadet, Prince Jorunn, escaped the sack of Windhelm and briefly disappeared. When he reappeared he was calling himself King Jorunn, and was accompanied by a mighty warrior whom he claimed was Wulfharth the Ash-King, sent back from Sovngarde to help the Nords defeat the Akaviri. With this so-called Wulfharth at his side, Jorunn rallied the Eastern Nords and fortified Riften.\nSix: When Dir-Kamal moved his army south from Windhelm, he bypassed Riften\u2014once again, his motivations are unclear\u2014and marched into western Morrowind. They were opposed by Dark Elf forces, who staged a fighting retreat through the Ashlands under the command of Almalexia and her leading general, Tanval of House Indoril.\nSeven: Dir-Kamal pursued the Dunmeri army into eastern Stonefalls, where the Elves halted their retreat by occupying prepared defenses. The Akaviri advance slowed and stopped\u2014and suddenly, the Nord army under Jorunn and \"Wulfharth\" appeared in their rear. This cannot have been by chance: incredibly, we must conclude that, despite the age-old enmity between Nord and Elf, there was collusion between Jorunn and Almalexia, and the envelopment of the Akaviri at Stonefalls was according to plan.\nEight: The Akaviri, however, were not easily defeated. With their backs to the Inner Sea, they fought a desperate defense, attempting to hold out until their ships could come from the White River estuary to take them from the shore. Despite repeated attempts, the combined Dunmer-Nord army failed to break their lines. The Akaviri fleet was actually visible on the northern horizon when another incredible event occurred: at the last moment the Nords and Dark Elves were reinforced by two legions of Argonians who had marched to the battle from the south. With the infusion of the reptilian Shellbacks, the Tamrielics finally broke the Akaviri line\u2014and with nowhere to escape to, the invaders were slaughtered to the last soldier.\nAs Your Majesty no doubt realizes, this account raises far more questions than answers: what we know about this affair is dwarfed by what we don't know. Thus my request to fund a Royal Committee of Inquiry to look into the grave implications of this matter. I, of course, will volunteer to lead this committee, provided the burden of such a task can be offset by an appropriate stipend."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/second-letters": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/second-letters", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Second of the Letters", "text": "If you love me as truly as you profess, come to me. I will wait for you, forever if I must.\nA piece of me awaits you, unlocked by these mates of metal. Look for the silver coffer."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/second-trial": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/second-trial", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Second Trial", "text": "The second trial is the Trial of the Arena.\nThe arena master awaits those of stout heart and strong will to best the arena champions."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/serpent%E2%80%99s-blade": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/serpent%E2%80%99s-blade", "description": "Cassipia needs someone to guard the path to Skyreach", "author": "Cassipia, Regent of Serpentine Strategems", "title": "The Serpent\u2019s Blade", "text": "Deadly Visskar,\nThe Serpent smiles upon you, honored warrior! As always, I am in awe of your skill with blade and shadows. I understand that you have also been blessed with a slither of snake companions that fight alongside you. How envious I am of your place in the master's eyes.\nI have a favor to ask of you, mighty Visskar. I need someone to guard the approach to Skyreach Temple. To protect the path and keep our enemies at bay. You were my first and only choice for this important assignment. Keep the way safe and the Serpent will reward you a hundredfold!\nCassipia, Regent of Serpentine Strategems"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/serpent%E2%80%99s-song": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/serpent%E2%80%99s-song", "description": "Observations on Lamia power and songs.", "author": "Balarius", "title": "The Serpent\u2019s Song", "text": "As Vizier of Slithering Visions, I watch for omens and signs directly or indirectly associated with the Celestial Serpent. It is my duty and privilege to interpret the messages of our master for the Scaled Court\u2014no matter how he deems to send them to us.\nWithin the depths of the Serpent's Nest, I encountered an amazing sight. The lamia sisters (at least, I assume the creatures are related) known as Aurieae, Laurieae, and Taurieae broke into religious song and have been singing almost non-stop since our arrival here. I have yet to interpret their distinctive language, but I am certain that the song praises and honors the Celestial Serpent.\nAre they praying to the Serpent? Asking for something specific? Perhaps they are simply basking in the glory of the Serpent's presence in our world. Whatever the case, these lamias can use their song to call upon powers that can only be gifts from the Serpent. They can summon snakes to fight for them. They can call down lightning from the sky. And I've seen them turn the water around them into poison in order to defend their territory.\nI need to continue to study these creatures to learn more about their connection to the Serpent.\n\u2014Balarius, Vizier of Slithering Visions"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/seven-shadows-rajhin-pt-1": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/seven-shadows-rajhin-pt-1", "description": "A famous tale of the Footpad", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Seven Shadows of Rajhin, pt. 1", "text": "The Greymanes say the light of both sun and moons shines down upon all the peoples of Nirn equally, but what happens after may not be so clear.\nTake the legend of the Seven Shadows of Rajhin. As every cub knows, Rajhin the Purring Liar, the Trickster God, and the Cat Who Walks cares little for stuffy aphorisms. He lives to challenge limits and stretch more than just the truth. To him, one shadow proved too few for his purposes \u2026.\nFor one day, Rajhin found himself walking in the hot sun. He called out to Khenarthi to blow a breeze through his mane, but the Wind God was otherwise occupied. Rajhin then asked Alkosh to shorten the day and bring cool night. But Alkosh did not steal away the day at the Thief-God's word. None of Rajhin's further appeals brought relief, and so the trickster was left to his own devices.\nIn time, Rajhin came upon a wealthy merchant in the shade of a tall stone. \"My friend,\" Rajhin said, \"kindly share your resting place with this unfortunate one.\"\nBut the merchant growled, \"There is no room, wanderer. The stone's shade is large enough for one, but not two!\"\nRajhin saw the truth in this statement, rude as it was, and did not argue. Instead, he purred, \"Did you drop a bag of gold along the path? For this one passed such a treasure not a moment ago.\"\nThe merchant's frown turned to surprise. In a moment, the fat one struggled to his feet. \"Why, I must have! Pray, tell me where you saw it and I shall leave my shady stone to you!\"\nRajhin directed the greedy trader down the path whence he had come and the man hurried off. But as he went, the trickster saw the fat merchant's shadow easily dwarfed that of the stone.\n\"Why should I settle for the egg when the hen stands before me?\" Rajhin mused. With a flick of a hidden knife, the thief-god cut the fat merchant's shadow away so cleanly that the greedy man didn't even notice.\nWithin moments, he tied the shadow's feet to his own and it spread out before him, opposite his own shadow. This cooled the Trickster God hid him from the burning sun.\nLaughing, Rajhin continued down the road, his two shadows dancing before and behind him."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/shadowcutter-blade": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/shadowcutter-blade", "description": "Story about a sword that cuts shadows", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Shadowcutter Blade", "text": "Sermon of Priestess Endunore\nTranscribed by Relicmaster Glenadir\nAnd so Syrabane crafted the blade and named it Shadowcutter, for it would pierce even unnatural darkness. Eager to show the wonders of his creation, he demonstrated before a friend.\n\"Here,\" Syrabane told him, \"look upon your shadow on this wall. See as I cleft it in twain.\"\nAs his friend stared into the shadow, Syrabane held the glowing blade high. With one mighty stroke he sliced downwards, and an arc of light was pushed forth. And indeed, the shadow was cut in half.\nHowever, the friend crumpled to his knees. Syrabane rushed to the mer's side, but it was too late. The darkness within him, the darkness which belongs to all man and mer, had been cleft in twain as well. His soul had been pierced. And so he was killed."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sharpest-blade": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sharpest-blade", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Sharpest Blade", "text": "Captain,\n\tHere is a sample of some of the Master's most recent thoughts on war. As you know, his observations have inspired a generation of Dark Elf commanders. May they do the same for you.\nHe wishes you much success in the Cyrodiil campaign.\n- - - - -\nThe greatest leader holds his most powerful spell in reserve.\nTo understand your opponent, wear their armor. Know where it is weakest.\nHide your sharpest blade behind your softest cloak.\nKnow where the ground is firm, and where it is soft. You will always be the victor.\nEvery battle is an illusion. The strength of that illusion is up to you."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/shattering-sword": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/shattering-sword", "description": "A monologue on honor and victory", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Shattering Sword", "text": "Monologue from The Cursed Duel, Act II, Scene iv\n\tTranscribed by Relicmaster Glenadir\nBattlereeve Tunwinsare: And so I take this cursed sword, knowing that mine enemy shall use it within our dueling grounds. Upon the battle's most vital moment, the blade of his sword shall shatter. It will be then that I shall take the final blow. What I do has no honor, but I feel no shame. What is honor, but a foolish game which we must play upon our lives? I shall know something greater. I shall know the glory of a battle won. Victory still tastes sweet, no matter the means to obtain it."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/shields-senchal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/shields-senchal", "description": "How the Empire came to protect Senchal following the Knahaten Flu", "author": "Ziri", "title": "The Shields of Senchal", "text": "By Ziri, Chronicler of the Senchal City Council\nThe Knahaten Flu devastated Pellitine, what the Imperials refer to as Southern Elsweyr. So many Khajiit fell to this terrible disease, including Z'har Tasluz, governor of Senchal and vassal to the royal family of Anequina, as well as most of the nobles of the Pellitine bloodline. For seventeen years, Senchal was cut off from the rest of Tamriel and literally left to its own devices. And those devices, they were not altruistic.\nPirates, smugglers, marauders, and thieves rose to positions of power and influence in order to fill the vacuum left by the death of our legitimate leaders. It was a dark time for Senchal and the surrounding countryside, a time of death, destruction, fire, and oppression. We had to become stronger, wilder, to survive, which was ironic considering we always thought of ourselves as the more refined and cultured half of Elsweyr.\nFinally, help arrived in the form of an Imperial Legion. The Thirteenth Legion, to be exact. General Renmus and his legionaries were sent by Emperor Aquilarious shortly after he took the Ruby Throne. It was a noble gesture, but once the emperor disappeared and the empire collapsed, the general and his soldiers were on their own. But they never abandoned their post. They brought back a semblance of order and made Senchal safer than it had been in years. Until the Dragons returned.\nGeneral Renmus returned law to our lawless land. He refuses to become a military dictator or oppress our people. Even though we originally met the Imperials with hostility and distrust, we grew to respect them. We even gave them a new name\u2014the Shields of Senchal, for that is what they quickly became. Under their protection, Senchal began to rebuild and return to something resembling the days of old. Criminal elements were driven back into the shadows and a modicum of law was reestablished. The general even helped us form a governing council to better administrate the needs of the city.\nThey may not be Khajiit, but their hearts are with Senchal and its people. They are our shields, and we appreciate everything they have done and continue to do for us. This one just wishes she believed they can actually save us from the rage of Dragons."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/siege-ald-marak": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/siege-ald-marak", "description": "Describes a battle the forces of the Reman dynasty won against Morrowind", "author": "Siege-Master Germia Demetrius", "title": "The Siege of Ald Marak", "text": "During The Reman Dynasty's wars of expansion, the Imperial Legion mounted countless sieges on fortresses both great and small. In most cases, merciless bombardment prompted a swift surrender. The Imperials' mastery of digging and siege works combined with the Akaviri's fire wizardry and alchemical prowess seemed unstoppable. Even so, some foes fancied themselves the Empire's equals. The false-god of the Dark Elves, Vivec the Liar, was such a foe.\nOver the course of several months, Reman II's legions drove the Dark Elves back deep into their own territory. At length, the Elves dug in at the venerable fortress of Ald Marak. It was an imposing fortress to be sure, with high, sturdy walls, and deep-water approaches that made assaults on foot nearly impossible.\nThe sons and daughters of the Tribunal faith consolidated their forces behind those walls, content to wait for their god's arrival. But Vivec did not arrive. On the advice of a foolish spy, he took a defensive position elsewhere, in the shadow of Ald Iuval. Too far away to intervene when the dark hour came.\nThe Imperials knew well the power of faith and fanaticism. Engaging the armies of Morrowind with their god at their back was a fool's gambit. Rather than settle in for a protracted siege, the Imperials concocted a bold plan. Under cover of nightfall, their mystics weaved great spells of water-breathing. Thus ensorcelled, the heavily armored legion marched into Lake Coronati. At length, they emerged from the water like vengeful ghosts, thundered through the lightly guarded gates, and burned the fort like a bundle of dry kindling.\nSo you see, creativity and daring can win a siege as surely as any ram or trebuchet. Develop a fox's cunning, soldier. It will serve you well."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sigil-shard": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sigil-shard", "description": "A brief musing on Sigil Stones", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Sigil Shard", "text": "\u2026These rare artifacts are shards of sigil stones, used to create and hold open Oblivion gates or used as a key to access a gate that has been sealed from the Oblivion side.There is a danger with these shards, as they weaken the walls of reality, opening the potential for a Daedric invasion.If ever such an event were to happen, it is likely that the Daedra would be drawn toward the sigil shard.(where do I put it? in the kitchen\u2014no upstairs, near mother's bedroom)"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/silver-tongued-quill": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/silver-tongued-quill", "description": "A thief attempts to unload a cursed quill", "author": "Thieves Guild Master Laisif", "title": "The Silver-Tongued Quill", "text": "Missive of Thieves Guild Master Laisif\nTranscribed by Relicmaster Glenadir\nOrzdurg,\nWe have to cancel the plan. That skeeving mage has done us real dirty. You would think our previous threats would be enough, but there we go. Next I see him, I'll make sure to acquaint him with the sharp end of my axe. For now, just know that the quill's useless, at least for our needs.\nOur troubles with the darn thing are twofold. First, the mage never told us that whoever used the quill would also believe what they wrote! Which hey, perhaps we could work around, if we had any control with what was written. It's a tricky enchantment, whatever it is. Had to tie down the last two fools who attempted to write with it. The quill convinced one to jump off a tall roof, and the other to\u2014well, let's just say it's getting creative. Rather not repeat it.\nI'd say we should throw the cursed thing in a river, but it could prove to be worth something to someone. I'll try to get a client stupid enough to buy such a thing. There's always collectors for this stuff, you just got to know where to look."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sixteen-kingdoms": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sixteen-kingdoms", "description": "A traditional children's rhyme about the 16 regions of Elsweyr and their people", "author": "Senior Scholastic Hilo Sylla", "title": "The Sixteen Kingdoms", "text": "[A traditional Khajiiti children's chant as collected by Senior Scholastic Hilo Sylla]\nThe Queen and Her Court come down the road\n\tThe Monarch of Ne-Quin-Al\n\tThe nomad clans who follow the herds\n\tThe people of Ne-Quin-Al\nThe King and His Court come down the road\n\tThe haughty King of Rimmen\n\tThe motley traders of the Rim\n\tThe fractious folk of Rimmen\nThe Queen and Her Court come down the road\n\tThe Queen of Riverhold\n\tThe doughty farmers of the north\n\tPlanters of Riverhold\nThe King and His Court come down the road\n\tThe Moon Bishop of Dune\n\tThe priests and scholars of the past\n\tThe dusty sages of Dune\nThe Queen and Her Court come down the road\n\tThe Sovereign of Orcrest\n\tThe desert cats of the baking sand\n\tThe windblown rogues of Orcrest\nThe King and His Court come down the road\n\tThe Warrior King of Verkarth\n\tFierce wielders of the sword and bow\n\tThe swift-marching soldiers of Verkarth\nThe Queen and Her Court come down the road\n\tThe Rum-Potentate of Meirvale\n\tThe brewers and distillers bold\n\tThe joyous fermenters of Meirvale\nThe King and His Court come down the road\n\tThe Livestock Lord of Helkarn\n\tWary and sharp-eyed shepherd folk\nThe herding cats of Helkarn\nThe Queen and Her Court come down the road\n\tBard-Queen of Alabaster\n\tThe learned poets of the coast\n\tDramatists of Alabaster\nThe King and His Court come down the road\n\tThe Merchant Prince of Bruk'ra\n\tThe river-traders sharp and savvy\n\tThe traffickers of Bruk'ra\nThe Queen and Her Court come down the road\n\tThe Carpenter Queen of Corinthe\n\tThe lumber cats of the upland woods\n\tThe carvers and joiners of Corinthe\nThe King and His Court come down the road\n\tThe Pious Prince of Pa'alatiin\n\tThe arcane adepts of oracular oaths\n\tThe prayerful priests of Pa'alatiin\nThe Queen and Her Court come down the road\n\tThe Jungle Queen of Tenmar\n\tThe forest folk of leaf and branch\n\tTree-dwelling furstocks of Tenmar\nThe King and His Court come down the road\n\tThe Sacred Mane of Torval\n\tServants of hirsute majesty\n\tThe loyal guards of Torval\nThe Queen and Her Court come down the road\n\tThe Countess of Khenarthia\n\tSugar planters and fishing cats\n\tThe wind-kissed folk of Khenarthia\nThe King and His Court come down the road\n\tThe Harbor-Duke of Senchal\n\tSailors and stevedores of the ports\n\tThe nautical knaves of Senchal"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sky-spirits": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sky-spirits", "description": "An ancient text on a few of the oldest and most important spirits in a pre-modern Khajiiti pantheon", "author": "Amun-dro", "title": "The Sky Spirits", "text": "by Amun-dro, the Silent Priest\nAzurah. The Mother of All Khajiit. Queen of the Night Sky, the Realms of Twilight, and the Dusk and Dawn. The Favored Daughter of Fadomai. Her spheres are many, for she carries the burdens of our ancestors. All tribes know Azurah as the God of Magic, Beauty, and Prophecy. She is also the keeper of all gates and keys, all rims and thresholds. Khajiit know it was Azurah that lifted us up and bound us to the Lunar Lattice, and thus broke us from the chains of fate so that we alone shape our own future. Hers is the gift of ja-Kha'jay and all our perfect forms. It is written that she knows the names of all the Khajiit that will ever live. You must come to know her yourself, for that is the first step on the Path.\nKhenarthi. Elder Spirit of the Heavens, who sings her songs with the wind and rain when she passes close to Nirni. The most ancient sounds were gifted to the world by this spirit, and we honor her with music, song, and the speaking of myths. For some tribes she also serves as a spirit of mourning, as it is written that when Lorkhaj died she hid herself in a storm and wept until Alkosh came to comfort her. Khenarthi carries the souls of dead Khajiit to Azurah for judgment, and is also her messenger. At the end of time, it is her clarion call that will summon the eternal united spirit of all Khajiit to defend creation.\nJone and Jode. The Ever-Mourned. The spirits of the stillborn twins of Fadomai, who still dance in the Lunar Lattice. Khenarthi held them when they were born, and did not have the heart to tell her dying mother the truth. She lit two lanterns to make their eyes bright and rocked them in the sky until her mother passed. Azurah cares for them now and lights the lanterns again when they burn low. The love of Jone and Jode spreads to all Khajiit as moonlight and sugar. To give your praise to these spirits, you must sing Khenarthi's lullaby on nights of Bright Moons.\nLorkhaj. The Moon Prince. Fadomai's Favored Son. The White Lion. He was born in the Great Darkness and it followed him as his burden. Loved by many, he was considered a noble leader. Lorkhaj was the first spirit to make his own path with purpose, because he was in conflict with himself as soon as he was born. His courage inspired all those he encountered, so much that he united the spirits to make the World. He gave his life to do this. We honor his sacrifice by walking the Path with purpose and resisting the call of the Dark. Lorkhaj represents the duality of the Khajiiti soul and the hardships that all Khajiit must overcome. In her wisdom, Azurah lit her brother's pyre with the Twin Lanterns of Jone and Jode, and thus the true spirit of Lorkhaj will sometimes appear\u2014but only when called by Azurah or Khenarthi, or by his oldest name.\nMagrus. The Sun God. Commonly known as the Cat's Eye or the Third Eye of Azurah, He serves as a daily reminder of her wrath. It is written that when Magrus fled from Boethra and Lorkhaj, he could only see out of one eye and fell into the Moonshadow. There Azurah judged him as too full of fear to rule a sphere, and she tore out his other eye. Magrus left to the heavens blinded, but Azurah made of his eye a stone to reflect the Varliance Gate. This is the Aether Prism, which opens at Dawn and closes at Dusk. Some sorcerers hold that Magrus left the eye willingly as an offering to Azurah and her children, and these magi still utter prayers to his name."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/slave-pits-coldharbour": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/slave-pits-coldharbour", "description": "A guide for the proper use and storage of soul-shriven", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Slave Pits of Coldharbour", "text": "Kynbriefing #3 of 97:\nSo you survived your first two shifts in the pits without discorporation or being sentenced to the scathe-rings, and now you think you know it all. Not so, kynworm: we give you easy tasks for the first couple of shifts, jobs any idiot can do, so you won't embarrass us with your all-too-likely failure. But now it's shift three, kynworms.\nNow we talk quota.\nThese soul-shriven weren't brought to the pits for your amusement, you know. As an overkyn, I can tell you they weren't brought for my amusement, either. They're here solely for the amusement of the Dread Lord\u2014and he takes a lot of amusing. So pay attention. You're going to be assigned a coffle of soul-shriven, you're going to be told what they need to do, and then you're going to make sure they do it.\nAnd you're going to be brutal about it. That's the good part, but also the tricky part\u2014because we only get so many soul-shriven, and we have to make them last. They must suffer, of course, or you won't make your torment quota. But you can't use them up too soon, or you'll miss your toil quota. And if you miss either quota\u2026.\nWell. You've seen the scathe-rings.\nSo that's what it's all about, kynworms: toil and torment, and maintaining the balance between the two. Some of you will fail, and suffer slow and agonizing discorporation\u2014but others will find their inner abominance and triumph, exceeding quota and earning time in the bliss-cells. It's up to you, kynworms: cut it or scathe."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/society-dragon": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/society-dragon", "description": "Come show your devotion to Akatosh in a less time intensive manner", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Society of the Dragon", "text": "Want to show your love and faith for Akatosh, the Dragon God of Time, but you're not ready to devote yourself to the Akatosh priesthood? The Cathedral of Kvatch understands. That's why we've established the Society of the Dragon.\nLed by the Grand Chanter Surus and a select few Akatosh priests, the Society welcomes initiates into its ranks for fellowship, learning, and to discuss the most-pressing theological questions of the day. Come join the Society. Help us make Kvatch a better place through prayer, faith, and your devotion to Akatosh.\nAll serious inquiries accepted. We have a place for you as part of the Society."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/song-gods": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/song-gods", "description": "A song about ancient Nordic totemic gods", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Song of Gods", "text": "Kyne, the Kiss at the End,\n\tCalled the Mother of Men.\n\tDance in her storm's divine,\n\tAs hawk she flies, our Kyne.\nMara, Goddess of Love,\n\tWhose grace lifts us high above.\n\tShe blesses our sacred flora,\n\tDoes our beloved she-wolf, Mara.\nDibella, the artist's muse,\n\tGoddess of Beauty, that's no ruse.\n\tAs silver moth, there is no flaw,\n\tWe see only the fair Dibella.\nStuhn, whale God of Ransom,\n\tWar captives seek his calm.\n\tWith shield and horn his boon,\n\tStands with us, does fair Stuhn.\nJhunal, sage God of Runes,\n\tFlies free beneath the glistening moons.\n\tA night owl who's so droll,\n\tSoars with us, the wise Jhunal.\nOrkey tests all mortals,\n\tHe likes to start all quarrels.\n\tA snake no one can flee,\n\tNone may fool wary Orkey.\nAlduin, the dread World-Eater,\n\tDoes much that we might fear.\n\tKnown as the First Dragon,\n\tNone dare worship Alduin."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/song-khunzar-ri": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/song-khunzar-ri", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Song of Khunzar-ri", "text": "(A Mythic Hero's Song)\nWhen the sixteen kingdoms were only sixteen tribes,\nA hero ambled forth, all tall and tough and wise,\nHow sleek he is! How fragrant! A five-claw? No, a ten!\nHe wrestles giants just for fun and charges into senche's den!\nCHORUS\nWho is he? Khunzar-ri! Khunzar-ri!\nSing it loud, sing it clear. Fighter, lover, poet, thief.\nHe's one Khajiit to cheer!\nWho is he? Khunzar-ri! Khunzar-ri!\nSing it proud, sing it strong! Brave and sly, rarely shy.\nHe never steers you wrong!\nNo dungeon cage can hold him, no lock can bar his way,\nSome stories claim that he's a god, or so they say,\nHe dragged the light from Jone and Jode down to the growing fields,\nAnd now we have moon-sugar and all the good it yields.\nCHORUS\nWho is he? Khunzar-ri! Khunzar-ri!\nSing it loud, sing it clear. Fighter, lover, poet, thief.\nHe's one Khajiit to cheer!\nWho is he? Khunzar-ri! Khunzar-ri!\nSing it proud, sing it strong! Brave and sly, rarely shy.\nHe never steers you wrong!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/song-pelinal-volume-10": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/song-pelinal-volume-10", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Song of Pelinal, Volume 10", "text": "On his Memorialization by the Water-Thinkers\n(Editor's Note: Volumes 9-12 are taken from an untitled document in the Imperial Library known to scholars as the Cyrod Transitive Postscript. It consists of ancient fragments apparently collected by the same scholar who compiled the Reman Manuscript. The original source of these fragments is a matter of academic debate, and as yet there is no consensus on their provenance or date.)\n\"Look you,\" said Belharza, \"behold how the Paravanics now (dis)appear, winking out like stars at dawn, and how ... remember Pelin-El when all who knew him are provender for worms?\" And the Water-Thinkers spoke in ripples, saying that the (event) for Whitestrake's cognizance was the red week at Hecatomb Bridge, anon Heldon's, for when reckoning the blood rivers before and after, that was the Fulcrum. The then-folk called it the Midyear Massacre, though by following moons it was Sun's Height, a perplexity the Convalent Eradicator addressed in (the sixth?) conundrum: \"Why did the Elfs stretch Middle Yarr all across summer, working Nedelings forty-plus-seventeen days without halt or repose? Pelinal shrugged and cried, IF THE CALENDAR BE ELVISH, EVEN IT SHALL I MAKE DISJOINT, and so plied his hanger that the month was cloven ... or were the (days?) just driven to Foreshore?\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/song-word": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/song-word", "description": "A traditional song based on the 36 Lessons of Vivec", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Song of the Word", "text": "(A Traditional Song)\nThe words you hear are based on meat - don't let the sophists fool you\nFear not upon the walking way - just let hysteria rule you\nIn their own world, the mad have laws - but only if they're written\nThe wise can write them different rules - for by the word they're smitten\nUse no words for apologies - if you seek absolution\nAction is the walking way - and words are no solution\nThe wise avoid apology - when ravers must be beaten\nSo sing not with the dusty tongue - no word is true till eaten"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/soulkeepers-urn": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/soulkeepers-urn", "description": "Inscription on an urn", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Soulkeeper's Urn", "text": "Carved Inscription\nTranslated and Transcribed by Relicmaster Glenadir\nWarning: Dangerous spirits contained within. Take ceremonious precautions before opening. Warding spells to be applied every seven moon cycles. Handle with care. Do not wash with hot water."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sounding-horn": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sounding-horn", "description": "Another invocation of Stendarr", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Sounding Horn", "text": "Penitent, Stendarr's protection be upon you. Though the Apologist of Men bears a heavy burden, his compassion is still a quality to be admired. Listen to the sounding of the horn. See the blades of the justiciars, and attend the ministrations of charities. These are his expressions, for his atonement.\nTo complete your venerations here, intone: \"Threefold are the masteries of Stendarr. I sound the horn in his name. May his shield protect me always from harm.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/source-power": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/source-power", "description": "A powerful battery eludes them", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Source of Power", "text": "I can't believe it! We had him! Vanus Galerion, the quintessential mortal mage, wandered right up to our proverbial doorstep, and the idiots at the Black Forge couldn't capture him! Do you know what we could have done with the power raging inside him? We could have powered the forging of the Great Shackle and completed the Planemeld in mere hours instead of months.\nInstead, we are forced to continue to utilize the inferior atronachs that Molag Bal's hunters bring us. At least the atronachs aren't smart enough to escape or divide themselves into multiple pieces to foil our every effort.\n***\n\tExcellent news! The Planemeld progresses, and we've reached a crucial milestone in our efforts. A planar vortex has formed. This nexus of Planemeld energy is the singular point where Nirn and Coldharbour come together.\nEven if by some accident of fortune the invaders are able to disrupt the forging of the Great Shackle, the planar vortex will continue to draw the two worlds together until Nirn is entirely subsumed. It will take longer, of course, but Molag Bal's victory is inevitable\u2014one way or another.\nIt's unthinkable, but the only way the invaders could overcome the planar vortex is if they could bring to bear the power of another Daedric Prince. And we all know that the only Daedric Prince in Coldharbour is Molag Bal, so our success is guaranteed!\nSince those idiots in the forge failed to capture that mage in once piece, we are forced to find alternatives for our power needs. Our Prince will not be denied! Take the atronachs and throw them into the prism. They should provide enough power for now.\nJust be careful. If you break the control locks, the prism will overload. Last time that turned the Frost Atronachs into Flame!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/source-bone": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/source-bone", "description": "The behaviour of arrows made from different types of bones", "author": "Selalleth", "title": "The Source of the Bone", "text": "The bones of every beast have stories to tell. They have memories of stalking through the vines, of flying through the canopy. Of hunting and killing and eating. When we shape the bone into arrows, we prepare a Death Story, and the bone we choose has great meaning. Some laugh at this or roll their eyes, calling any arrow \"just an arrow,\" but the Bosmer know bones tell the best tales.\nBones from birds of prey rarely miss, and those of great lizards and snakes are quick and sharp. Arrows made from prey creatures are fleet, those from hunters bite deep into their marks. Cheerful arrows for warning shots are best made from monkeys. The more dangerous the beast, the more deadly the result.\nThese are but a few we know:\nThe river droop, torpid bottom-dweller, bristles with venomous spines that induce sleep plagued by nightmares. The size of a large dog, it is lazy and easy to catch, but it is tricky to handle and worthless to eat. An arrow fashioned from its dense ribs and spine carries the weight of sluggish rivers and tortured sleep, and it dulls a foe's senses.\nWounds from senche-tiger arrows bleed foes dry. They should be cut jagged and cruel, like the claws of the beast. They are swift and silent, remembering the way to stalk through the undergrowth and pounce, thirsty for the tang of warm blood. Bones from a senche-tiger you did not kill do not speak with the same power; respect must be earned.\nOld whispers say that arrows made from the mighty swamp-beast, the wamasu, carry a jolt that rattles deep inside the bones. Pursuing this terror is a worthy task; it lurks deep in the mires of Black Marsh and slaughters nearly all who stumble upon it. Its bones shine black as night. Touching them tingles. The power lingers for years.\nThese truths are not often written, like so much of my people's knowledge, so treat them with honor. Know that every archer favors a different beast and forms a bond with it through the hunt. May you find your own, and may your shots strike true."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/source-formula": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/source-formula", "description": "The alchemist reveals the nature of his miraculous transmutation potion", "author": "Gavros", "title": "The Source of the Formula", "text": "One thing has been gnawing at me that I dare not share with the masters. Dare not share with anyone. The true source of the formula. It seemed too arcane, too brilliant for even a great alchemist to develop. Not that I couldn't likely produce something similar given enough time and resources, but my method, my language, would never be so... flawless. Even I can admit that.\nI found the answer. It was staring at me all this time in the middle of the shrine. Clavicus Vile. A maker of deals, granter of wishes, and not one I would ever wish to be indebted to.\nIt seems this ruin was stumbled upon once before in a very similar fashion to how we found it. It is likely they were the previous owners of Vassir-Didanat mine. It's a well-kept secret that the mine is not particularly rich. It produces barely enough ebony to make it worth working at all. And these mer that came before us grew desperate. They called out to Vile.\nA particular lack of wisdom and foresight it was that made them wish for an endless source of ebony. One must choose words carefully when dealing with Daedra. Although in this case it may have been better to make no deal at all. Regardless, some pact was made and the formula came to them. They must have successfully brewed it, for we found statues here dating back centuries. But suspiciously they kept very little records about their progress, or how they used it.\nIn truth, knowing this fact makes me somewhat uneasy. Sometimes I feel like I can hear the statue of Clavicus Vile whispering, or laughing softly to itself. But I made no deal with him. I am simply studying the result. He holds no sway over me."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/spawn-molag-bal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/spawn-molag-bal", "description": "Description of the King of Rape", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Spawn of Molag Bal", "text": "Molag Bal enslaves. Molag Bal defiles.\nMolag Bal spawns children with the unwilling and harvests the souls of the unwary.\nLegend tells us that Molag Bal is the father of the first vampire. Though we cannot fully detail the many species of vampires, we may consider all of them to be his offspring.\nMost vampires can trace their lineage to the same distant ancestor, an unwilling Nedic virgin whom Molag Bal defiled. With her, he spawned a race of monsters, who then set upon nomads, spreading his corruption further.\nOther species of vampires are the result of pacts and bargains with Molag Bal, who answers promises of immortality and power with an eternity of damnation.\nMolag Bal seeds chaos and strife, spreading discord by corrupting soul after soul. His forces are legion; his patience is limitless; his ultimate goal is the domination and enslavement of all living things."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/spectral-beings": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/spectral-beings", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Spectral Beings", "text": "Enslave the Oathbreakers. Drain their essence and bend their souls to our will.\nThe spectral beasts are merely shapeshifting Oathbreaker spirits attempting to avoid our touch. Give them no reprieve. Drain them like the rest. Bend them to our will."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/spindleclutch-expedition": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/spindleclutch-expedition", "description": "Party members of an exploratory mission", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Spindleclutch Expedition", "text": "Guardian Sud-Hareem, Expedition Leader\nPraxin Douare, Expedition Lieutenant\nGuardian Sud-Hareem, aided by Praxin Douare, will lead a small expedition of Fighters Guild mercenaries to investigate the caves designated as Spindleclutch. Rumors have circulated that abnormally large spiders infest the caves. Should the creatures prove threatening, the expedition is hereby ordered to eradicate them with prejudice."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/spinners-yffre": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/spinners-yffre", "description": "A description of these holy storytellers of Valenwood", "author": "Cirantille", "title": "The Spinners of Y'ffre", "text": "The Wood Elf priests of Jephre, or \"Y'ffre,\" are known as spinners. They refer to Jephre as \"the Storyteller\" and believe he taught them how to live and behave through stories and metaphors.\nAs his priests, spinners emulate Y'ffre by preserving Bosmeri history, culture, and even laws through stories and metaphors. Elder spinners often speak entirely in metaphors, which makes them difficult to understand, even by other Bosmer. Some believe the spinners go insane as they age and this strange way of speech is merely a symptom of that madness.\nDo not be deceived! Spinners have magical powers, or at least keen insights. They tell stories not only of the past, but of the future, and their oft-confusing tales speak of upcoming events with remarkable, though often baffling, accuracy.\nOne more note: despite the popular belief that spinners only move when carried, the priests of Y'ffre can walk on their own. While they seldom travel far from their homes, some do so when the need arises. It is likely that other Wood Elves, fearing the loss of their spinners, spread the rumor that they cannot travel on their own to discourage such risky expeditions."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sport-clans": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sport-clans", "description": "Description of the Orcish version of dodgeball", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Sport of Clans", "text": "Vosh ball has a long and fabled history, going back to the earliest days of the Orsimer people. As the Orcs gathered into clans, they developed the concept of \"courage\" ball. It started not as a sport or recreational pastime, but as a way to test the bravery and resilience of clan warriors.\nThe earliest forms of vosh ball utilized a heavy sphere made of wood or metal that was about the size of an Orc's head. The novice warrior to be tested stood on the far end of a paced off court, staring down a battery of veteran warriors, each armed with a vosh ball. The veterans would each toss their vosh ball in turn, hurling it with as much strength as they could muster. If the novice was still standing after the volley of heavy missiles subsided, he proved his courage and was promoted higher into the warrior ranks.\nAs time went on, the test became an organized sport, with teams competing for honor and recognition among the clans. The heavy metal ball was replaced with a heavy leather ball, and rules and regulations were formalized and agreed to among the participating clans.\nToday, no gathering of clans is complete without a rousing, multiple-day vosh ball contest. Fharun clan holds the current record for ongoing victories, winning the last seven \"series of the clans\" by wide margins. Chief Bazrag of Fharun, the Fharun's most valuable player, has a particularly nasty and powerful toss he affectionately refers to as \"the bone-breaker.\"\nWhile the rules of vosh ball are constantly changing, the basic structure of the game remains the same. Two teams of six Orcs each, all armed with a sling of three vosh balls, competes to control the enclosed court by rendering their opponents unconscious by hurling the heavy spheres with all of their might. Beyond that, there are dozens of rules and regulations that non-Orcs find confusing and contradictory. No matter. Anyone who has ever witnessed the game played in all its glory comes away excited, breathless, and with a renewed understanding of the definition of courage."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/star-eyed-bride-alinor": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/star-eyed-bride-alinor", "description": "A sad poem about a woman lost at sea", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Star-Eyed Bride of Alinor", "text": "Eyes of polished amber, hair swept like a comet's tail\nSoul alight with love and joy 'neath pregnant golden sails\nMy star-eyed bride of Alinor\nLost in storm and spray\nMy star-eyed bride of Alinor\nThat cruel fate took away\nWhite swan feathers fluttered from her ivory bridal gown\nAnd unsung vows slipped from her lips, eager to be found\nMy star-eyed bride of Alinor\nGone beneath the waves\nMy star-eyed bride of Alinor\nThe sea became her grave\nThe clouds they gathered overhead, ripping sail from mast\nThe hull creaked like a coffin's hinge as the captain yelled 'hold fast!'\nMy star-eyed bride of Alinor\nShe never made it home\nMy star-eyed bride of Alinor\nDrowned in brine and foam\nThe lightning crashed upon the sea, the wind howled with the swells\nI strained to reach her glistening hand, but into the depths she fell\nMy star-eyed bride of Alinor\nWhose last words were my name\nMy star-eyed bride of Alinor\nI still weep from the shame\nUpon the beach I wander still, to gaze out at the sea\nHoping to see her shining face smiling back at me\nMy star-eyed bride of Alinor\nLost in storm and spray\nMy star-eyed bride of Alinor\nThat cruel fate took away"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/stars-have-eyes": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/stars-have-eyes", "description": "An ominous, repeating note", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Stars Have Eyes", "text": "The stars have eyes. They are watching.\n\tThe stars have eyes. They are watching.\n\tThe stars have eyes. They are watching.\n\tThe stars have eyes. They are watching.\n\tThe stars have eyes. They are watching.\n\tThe stars have eyes. They are watching."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/steel-shrikes-proclamation": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/steel-shrikes-proclamation", "description": "A Redguard call to conquest", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Steel Shrikes Proclamation", "text": "Our All-Beneficent King Fahara'jad (may he live forever) has ignited the flame of ambition within our breasts. From the waters which delivered us to the coasts of Hammerfell, we embark on a journey of legend and song. All shall sing of our deeds and our consorts will burn with everlasting fervor for our victorious return!\nDo not falter, warriors of Yokuda! Our Steel Shrikes (may we be ever triumphant) shall cut to the heart of the untamed jungles and reveal a new land. As we broke upon the shores of Alik'r, so shall we set our mark upon the sands of the Elves. The Redguards' next great domain shall be built on the ashes of our conquered foes! Our strength, our honor, and our courage shall triumph forever!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sticky-fingered-lute": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sticky-fingered-lute", "description": "A cursed loot is given to a young boy", "author": "Kinlady Lairilcilwe", "title": "The Sticky-Fingered Lute", "text": "Letter by Kinlady Lairilcilwe\nTranscribed by Relicmaster Glenadir\nHonored Sapiarch Tematilana,\nThank you for your most gracious acceptance of my son's case. As a mother, my only wish is that you may help Narlindri recover as soon as possible. I fear he has not slept in days, so he most likely will not be able to answer your questions. I hope my account will be sufficient for your needs.\nUpon further inspection, we still are unsure of who gifted Narlindril the lute. He just turned twelve, and the celebration banquet had a great deal of guests and presents. I fear that we'll never found out, given my son's current state. Now I can see that it was most obviously a trap.\nThe lute was beautiful, and Narlindril took to it right away. That very night he began to attempt the first song which came with the accompanying music book. At first I thought him merely diligent, but as the night wore on I grew tired of the noise. When I told him to cease, he refused to meet my eye and simply kept playing. No matter what I said, I couldn't get him to stop. Finally, I grabbed the lute from his hands, demanding he go to his room for the evening.\nHe didn't say anything at first, but began to tremble. His entire body, shaking all at once. Then he fell to the ground in anguish, his limbs convulsing. He cried out, \"Mother! Please, give me the lute!\" his voice pained, as if he was being tortured.\nOf course I gave him back the lute, fearful for my son's life. He hasn't stopped playing since, and we're reaching our third day. Our family's healers haven't left his side, but it pains me to see his fingers cut and bleed. He hasn't slept, he barely drinks and eats, and always he plays that cursed lute.\nMy husband will accompany Narlindril on his journey, and can answer any further questions you have. Please, if anything can be done, our family will owe you a great debt. No cost is too great for the life of our only son.\nReverently yours,\nKinlady Lairilcilwe"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/stormcrag-family-crypt": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/stormcrag-family-crypt", "description": "Story of a haunted and cursed Nordic tomb", "author": "Vunhilde Stormcrag", "title": "The Stormcrag Family Crypt", "text": "Ragnor Stormcrag built a fortune in the latter days of the First Era, establishing the Stormcrags as a powerful and influential family in Eastmarch and beyond. He made his original pile as a prospector, opening a series of profitable mines throughout the Velothi Mountains. As the Stormcrag fortune and holdings grew, Ragnor invested in related businesses, including shipping, armor and weapon crafting, banking, and jewelry making.\nAs his long and successful life neared its end, Ragnor began a project to turn one of his mines into a crypt for his family. He didn't live to see the completion of the grand burial chambers, but he was interred in the deepest vault when the crypt was completed by his son, Agemor.\nThe Stormcrag family has produced business moguls, generals, priests, wizards, thanes, and other prominent individuals in every generation. Most were given a place of honor and reverence within the family crypt when their time came. Some lived long lives and died of natural causes, others fell much too soon, either to illness, accident, or battle. Then there was Sorga Stormcrag.\nSorga was a wizard, a member of the Mages Guild, who became obsessed with the accumulation of arcane power. When study and training failed to provide the power she sought, Sorga began to turn to more desperate measures. Some of these, the rumors reported, involved Daedra.\nWhen the family matriarch of the time, Koralla, heard about the dark path her niece had started down, she was furious. \"Nords do not deal with Daedra,\" she proclaimed. But Koralla's efforts to change Sorga's plans fell on deaf ears. Worse, the family began to hear tales of dark magic and murder associated with Sorga Stormcrag. That was all Koralla needed to hear.\nKoralla disowned Sorga, casting her out of the family and cutting off her access to the family fortune and her inheritance. She also declared that the family crypt would never hold the body of a Daedra-loving Nord.\n\t\"If the family crypt is off limits to me, then no Stormcrag will ever rest there again!\" Sorga declared. She placed a curse upon the tomb, making the dead rise and setting a deathknight loose within the silent depths.\nTo this day, the curse remains in place, and no Stormcrags have been interred in the crypt since Sorga was disowned."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/stormfist-clan": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/stormfist-clan", "description": "History of a disgraced Nordic clan", "author": "Thora Far-Wanderer", "title": "The Stormfist Clan", "text": "The clans of the Nords spread across Skyrim like herds of mammoths, though their numbers and influence upon the land are far greater. Each clan, however, makes its mark in a different way. Some clans are known for their hunting skills, or their forestry, or their crafting. Some clans are large, others small. Some take a prominent role in government and community. And then there are the dark clans. The clans no one deals with or even speaks of. One such clan is the infamous Stormfists of Whiterun Tundra.\nThe clan traces its lineage to Ogra Stormfist, the powerful matriarch who founded the clan and ruled over it for almost fifty years. Highly regarded for their combat skills and armor crafting, the Stormfist clan played pivotal roles in numerous conflicts over the centuries, including the Battle of Whiterun Hold, the Massacre at Dialmarch, and the Siege of Windhelm. It was the last engagement, however, that led to the clan's fall from favor and marked it as anathema.\nPrior to the Second Akaviri Invasion, Fildgor Strong-Prince, son of Queen Mabjaarn of Eastern Skyrim, went on a pilgrimage to the west to see the land and meet the people. He fell in with young men and women from the Stormfist clan and forged friendships and bonds that would serve him well in the coming years. When Fildgor was ready to move on and perform his coming-of-age trials, an entourage of Stormfist clan members decided to go with him. They became known as the Stormfist Brigade, and even though he wasn't a member of the clan by birth, Fildgor became their de facto leader.\nIf the Stormfist clan had a reputation prior to this, it paled in comparison to the legend that grew around the Stormfist Brigade. They were ferocious warriors, setting off for adventure in the most hostile and isolated areas of the kingdom. With Fildgor leading the way, they routed bandits, uncovered treasure, and slew monsters. When the Akaviri invaders arrived in force, Fildgor led the Brigade into the thick of battle. They eventually fought their way to Windhelm to join forces with Queen Mabjaarn and the main army.\nAlthough they weren't able to stop the fall of Windhelm or save the queen, the Stormfist Brigade was nonetheless instrumental in helping to route the invading army. They marched as part of the combined Nord forces that eventually joined with the Dark Elves and Argonians to defeat the Akaviri. But then the fateful decision was made. When Fildgor declared his intention to ascend the throne left empty by his sister Nurnhilde's death, the Stormfist clan was among his most vocal backers. You know how that story ends. Jorunn and Fildgor met in single combat, and Jorunn won the throne. Fildgor was exiled, and he departed Skyrim with a promise to one day return.\nThe Stormfist clan, loyal to Fildgor to the end, refused to bow before Jorunn or acknowledge his authority over them. They returned to their holdings to the west, and King Jorunn, tired of all the fighting, let them go. To this day, the Stormfist clan remains isolated, rarely venturing out of its domain or taking part in the larger Nord community. What will happen if the clan ever decides to to leave its tundra-lands and reassert its place among the other clans is anyone's guess. Especially if Fildgor ever makes good on his promise."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/story-princess-eselde": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/story-princess-eselde", "description": "Thinly veiled propaganda of a typical Breton sort", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Story of Princess Eselde", "text": "[This bit of propaganda was produced for House Tamrith and distributed while Countess Eselde was in the south, studying with the Order of Arkay.]\nUpon a time, in the realm of Cutcap, there was a mighty king named Rulthrub who ruled nobly and long. After many years King Rulthrub felt himself getting old, and started to think about what would happen to his realm after he was gone. Now this king was blessed with two sons, which normally would be a happy thing for an aging monarch, but in this case it was a problem. For the younger son who had been born of his queen, Prince Pigeon, was weak-willed and indifferent. In contrast the elder son, Prince Lancer, was bold and self-assured, and though his mother was of House Rithmat, the noblest in Cutcap, still Prince Lancer had undeniably been born out of wedlock.\nNow King Rulthrub was a wise king, and did not try to conceal that he favored his elder son, Prince Lancer, as he was clearly the prince most fit to rule. But nonetheless when the old king finally went to Aetherius, some people felt that the milksop Prince Pigeon should take the throne. I don't know whether these people were merely misguided, or had some other reason why they thought the rulership of Cutcap should be undermined. Fortunately wiser heads prevailed and Prince Lancer was elected King of Cutcap by the Council of Nobles.\nShortly after Lancer's accession to the throne he met a demoiselle named Lady Vespire at a ball and fell in love. The lovely and clever Vespire was a daughter of House Rithmat, and after a brief courtship King Lancer told his Council of Nobles that she would be his queen. However, Count Pigeon (the former prince) objected that this would not be proper as King Lancer's mother had been a Rithmat, and by the Law of Consanguinity the Lady Vespire was too close a relation for marriage. On this the rest of the council agreed, and King Lancer was persuaded to set the young lady aside. Upon hearing this news, Lady Vespire disappeared, said to have been carried off into the forests by a coterie of nixads, and though the king sent out search parties, his lost love was never found.\nIn due course the council recommended, for the sake of the dynasty, that King Lancer marry the young and healthy Lady Ignort of House Dull, and this, heartbroken, he agreed to. Lancer and Ignort were married, and King Lancer settled down to do his kingly duty by his new queen. Within a few months it was announced that Queen Ignort had borne King Lancer a child. A Naming-Day festival was declared for the infant princess, and everyone important in the realm was invited.\nOn the day of the celebration all the goodly and great of Cutcap came and laid presents at the foot of the cradle of Princess Arayelle, for thus she had been named. But at the end of the line came someone no one recognized: a dire Wyrd-Hag, hooded and cloaked, and bearing a darksome flower. Now, no Wyrd-Hags had been seen in Cutcap since the Year of Sun's-Death, but all feared her and none dared bar her passage.\nThe Wyrd-Hag advanced to the princess' cradle, and when she came to its foot she threw back her hood and cried, \"Behold, King Lancer! It is I, Lady Vespire, now a Wyress of the Wyrd!\" The gaily-clad crowd fell back in horror, for the formerly pretty Lady Vespire now sported a large nose disfigured by unsightly warts. \"By some oversight you failed to invite me to your daughter's Naming Day, but I have come nonetheless. And look\u2014I have brought the infant princess a present!\"\n\"What present is this?\" said King Lancer, all a-tremble. \"A darksome flower? I like not its look!\"\n\"That's no surprise, Your Majesty,\" said the Wyrd-Hag mockingly, \"for this is a Forsaken Rose, a blossom no one wants! I know what that is like, King Lancer\u2014and so, by my curse, shall your daughter!\" The horrible Hag then dropped the misshapen bloom upon the baby and disappeared in a flash of fire and a cloud of evil-smelling smoke.\nSo it came to pass: Princess Arayelle grew up beautiful as a rose, but cross-grained and petulant. But she was nonetheless a princess of the north, so when King Emetick of the South came looking for a bride, their troth was quickly plighted.\nBut Count Pigeon had long made a habit of visiting the South, and was a boon companion of King Emetick. And he pointed out to the King of the South that Arayelle was cross-grained and petulant, and he might make a stronger match by marrying the Princess of Watchtower. In time Emetick agreed. He broke his match with Arayelle and promised himself to the Princess of Watchtower.\nKing Lancer, however, did not take this lightly, and swore he would go to war upon the oath-breaking King of the South. And he made lawful war upon King Emetick, but at the Battle of the Tor, Lancer was betrayed by one of his own generals. King Lancer was slain, his crown and Princess Arayelle both disappeared, and ever since the Throne of Cutcap has stood empty.\nBut some say that when King Lancer was born a twin sister likewise saw the light of the world, but was spirited away by a Wyrd-Hag to be raised in the forests. And this child, a daughter of both Rulthrub and Rithmat, herself bore a daughter who was brought back to her maternal family. And this daughter was named Countess Eselde.\nAnd if the truth were told, all would know that her real title should be Princess Eselde. And she, and no other, is the rightful heir to the Throne of Cutcup. However, that is a tale for her people to tell."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/strange-case-ja-reet": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/strange-case-ja-reet", "description": "Examination of an Argonian born away from the Hist", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Strange Case of Ja-Reet", "text": "It is very rare for one of our people to be born away from the Hist. We are, in a very real way, part of the Hist. To be born away from it is to be born without something essential. For most of my life and service as a healer, this has remained a theoretical issue. That is, until Ja-Reet.\nThough born in slavery, he's done well since the Pact and our emancipation. He even married a Dunmer\u2014the daughter of the Narsis family who owned his parents. While I view such a union with personal distaste, it speaks well of his ability to interact in society despite his obvious disadvantage.\nMake no mistake, in Argonian society, he is disadvantaged. He's unable to read social clues, the subtle movements of muscle and tail that most of us take for granted. We occasionally have difficulty reading the emotions of other races. Ja-Reet has that problem even with fellow Argonians. He listens to spoken words, and is insensitive to their tone. Surely being born away from the Hist has deprived him of emotional intuition.\nHe brought his Elven wife with him to Percolating Mire. She's not welcomed by all, though she draws him out socially, which has been invaluable in trying to learn about how he thinks.\nPerhaps proximity to a thriving Hist tree will help Ja-Reet gain the intuition the rest of us take for granted."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/strange-case-ragnthar": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/strange-case-ragnthar", "description": "Overview of a mysterious Dwemeri ruin that seems to exist outside of time and space", "author": "Guylaine Marilie", "title": "The Strange Case of Ragnthar", "text": "Ragnthar is a mystery within a mystery. Modern scholars agree: there's just no reason for Ragnthar to exist in the strange way it does. And that is about all scholars can agree upon when it comes to the strange case of the Ragnthar ruins.\nEven laypeople know that the Dwemer, or Dwarves as they're more commonly known, vanished from the face of Tamriel. The reasons or cause behind their disappearance are a matter of much speculation \u2026 a subject for numerous other texts.\nWhat is not in dispute is what they left behind: numerous ruins, some still patrolled by their unique metal constructs. Exploring a Dwarven ruin is seen in many research and adventuring circles as a rite of passage, as even the most well-trod ruin might still contain dangers. As a result, there's a large body of work on the subject of Dwemeri ruins and their eccentricities.\nTo be sure, there are a number of unusual finds within the ancient Dwarven holdfasts. Towering machinery, shafts that allow sunlight to reach thousands of feet below ground, roaring waterfalls powering still-active and incomprehensible machinery \u2026 there are many ruins that are stunning to the eye and the senses.\nNone of them match Ragnthar when it comes to stunning the mind. For you see, Ragnthar has numerous entrances spread across Tamriel. It is literally a space-out-of-space, twisted out of reality. Its physical location is actually unknown! Observations made within the site suggest it once was situated within the mountains of Hammerfell, but a precise origin point has never been determined.\nWhat is known is that by stepping across the threshold into Ragnthar, you leave Nirn. And no one knows why.\nFor indeed, the greatest question posed by Ragnthar is: why? Why would the Dwemer expend the enormous amounts of magical energy required to remove a complex from known reality? I call this effort a \"Temporospatial Claudication,\" literally a twisting of time and space.\nHerein you'll find this humble scholar's numerous observations about the site. I've extensively studied the remaining constructs and machinery here, as well as made numerous suppositions about the intent of its creators. I think you'll agree, the more we learn about the site, the more there is to uncover!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/strangeness-dryskins": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/strangeness-dryskins", "description": "A naga's view of man and mer", "author": "Kaal Dreenjee of the Naga-Kur, Tyrrya Len (translator)", "title": "The Strangeness of Dryskins", "text": "By Kaal Dreenjee of the Naga-Kur\nTranslated by Tyrrya Len, The Wayrest Wanderer\nI write the truth in these words. Dryskins come to Murkmire, their presence unwelcome and unbidden. Those who who enter into Dead-Water land will be slain. This is known to all of Murkmire.\nBut I bow my head. Sometimes we travel to tribes who welcome these outsiders. They ask us to honor their foolish choice. So we must learn more than how to kill the dryskin. I clench my fist. For these times, we must learn to make peace. I write truth words so that the Naga are prepared.\nDryskins have weak flesh, easily bruised and cut. Their skin blisters and breaks after touching many swamp plants. So too are their stomachs weak. A hatchling's meal may cause a dryskin to grow sick. Even without the aid of a spear, many outsiders will die from the simple nature of the swamp. I grin.\nMy eyes have not seen, but my ears have heard that the dryskins give birth to their young live. I shudder at such a thought. These infants (the dryskin word for their hatchlings) are completely vulnerable and weak. They cannot even walk. My eyes narrow in confusion. How can such creatures survive into adulthood?\nAnd then there are their stone nests that take many hands and many stones to build. But if the ground begins to sink? If storms begin to ravage? Then they are left destitute and miserable. I shake my head at such foolishness. It is another way in which the dryskins wish to be unchanging.\nA last truth to be written. These outsiders must never be tolerated. They have shown their vile natures time and time again. May the tribes of Black Marsh one day shun these dryskins and drive them out! Just as the Naga have always done."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sublime-brazier": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sublime-brazier", "description": "Investigating the brazier that lights the Dragonfires", "author": "Augusta Purusius", "title": "The Sublime Brazier", "text": "By Augusta Purusius, Associate Historian, Imperial Academy of Records and Histories\nIn the brilliant dawn of St. Alessia's rule, Akatosh, the Dragon-God of Time, bestowed upon her many gifts: wisdom, temperance, vitality, and eventually the Amulet of Kings. The Amulet's role in maintaining Akatosh's compact with men and mer is well-known. Less well-known is the nature of its counterpart, The Sublime Brazier.\nThe Brazier is an expertly wrought cauldron, carved to resemble a roost of dragons. Legends say that the bottom of the cauldron reaches down into the very heart of Nirn, and that the hewn dragons whisper to each other in a long-dead tongue when no one is near. As to its purpose\u2014the Brazier serves as Akatosh's first light. When kindled, it brings life to the Dragonfires in the city above.\nThe Brazier's location is a closely guarded secret. Some say that Alessia's heirs can hear it calling to them through Aethereal \"songs.\" This belief has guided many misguided souls into the sewers. The prideful and insane who believe themselves to be Dragonborn descend into the underground, straight into the waiting jaws of the many creatures that lurk there. But then, this may be the true purpose of the Brazier\u2014to test the strength and guile of any person who would be Emperor. The Imperial Sewers do not suffer fools. If you do not hear the songs, do not seek the Brazier."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/summoner": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/summoner", "description": "A poem about a summoning gone wrong", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Summoner", "text": "Faindor the Prodigy,\n\tUsed his deficient alchemy,\n\tTo summon Scamps and Vermai,\n\tFor the whims of the Altmeri\n\tHe was young, his face so fresh,\n\tHis mistake was what he deigned to say,\n\tThe summoned now torment his flesh,\n\tTo the horror of Alanwe"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/swallowed-city": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/swallowed-city", "description": "A city pulled into Oblivion for abandoning their Prince", "author": "Beredalmo the Signifier", "title": "The Swallowed City", "text": "A Partial Translation by Beredalmo the Signifier\nIt will be remembered as the day of blue fire. The day of death. It came suddenly, but really, it had been coming a long time.\nWe had been foolhardy. We had heard of other cities that were swallowed up, but we thought we would be spared. We thought the sacrifices at the Moonhenge were no longer necessary, that we could subsist alone, without our Prince.\n\tWe believed in the myth of our own self-sufficiency, and mistook what was true for a myth.\nBut what we forgot, our Prince remembered. The flames came suddenly, and choked our lungs with ash.\nOur city was swallowed by Coldharbour. We were no more."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/taking-abamath": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/taking-abamath", "description": "A shameful loss for the Wood Orcs", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Taking of Abamath", "text": "Wood Orcs pride themselves on the strength of their arms, their spirits, and their god. They know they can be beaten in battle, but never defeated.\nThat pride and that belief betrayed them in Abamath. When Ayleid forces arrived at the Wood Orc town, the warriors painted themselves in the \"blood of Malacath\" and relied on their shamans' magic to protect them from the invaders. They stood strong and held.\nAnd then they broke.\nAnd died.\nAnd some few fled\u2014a shame that haunts their descendants.\nThe Ayleids took Abamath and turned it into their own demesne. The Wood Orcs remember their defeat and have turned it into a rallying cry. Many Wood Orcs\u2014especially those who trace their ancestry back to the taking of Abamath\u2014paint their faces red still, hoping to cleanse their shame with displays of renewed ferocity."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tale-princess-anurraame": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tale-princess-anurraame", "description": "A sad tale of a princess", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Tale of Princess Anurraame", "text": "Princess Anurraame stepped out onto the balcony, the cold wind whipping her skirts around her legs. She peered upward toward the tower, hoping to see nothing at all \u2026 hoping the servant girl had lied to her. At first she could see nothing but darkness and no sign of movement. She sighed in relief and almost turned to leave, crossing her arms across herself to fend off the biting winds.\nBut then the clouds parted and the light of the full moon illuminated the tower. Silhouetted against the moon she could see them clearly, her beloved and her sister locked in a passionate embrace.\nShe stood frozen, unable to move or even to breathe. As she watched her heart darkened and a single tear slid down her cheek."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tale-syrabane": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tale-syrabane", "description": "A song about Syrabane and the All Flags Navy", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Tale of Syrabane", "text": "(Music: Epic and Adventurous)\nGather round and hear the tale\nOf Archmage Syrabane\nThrough his mercy and his might\nHe stopped the Thrassian Plague\nA war was the only way\nTo stop the plague at hand\nSo Syrabane called for aid\nAll throughout the land\nCHORUS\nOh, Syrabane, oh Syrabane\nYe mer of godly fate\nOh Syrabane, oh Syrabane\nThe youngest of the Eight\nMan and Mer took up the call\nThey knew they could not fail\nTogether they combined their might\nThe All Flags Navy sailed\nWith Bendu Olo at his side\nSlinging sword and spell\nSyrabane beat back the tide\nThe Coral Kingdom fell\nCHORUS\nNow good mer, remember well\nThe Archmage Syrabane\nFor when dark times came to pass\nHe knew to ask for aid\nCHORUS"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tale-three-moons": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tale-three-moons", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Tale of Three Moons", "text": "In a time before our people's first memory, but long after Azurah's pyre claimed the flesh of the proud lion, Lorkhaj, our great mother wept and sighed\u2013haunted by the fate of her brother's dark heart. As she prowled the hills and valleys of her wide domain, she could not escape the pounding\u2013the faint, but constant drumbeat from across the churning seas. Somewhere in the Great Darkness, the fell rhythm of the Moon Beast quickened and grew stronger.\nKnowing that her children of many shapes would fall to the Moon Beast's profanity, she purred across the stars, coaxing the lanterns of Jone and Jode to make way for a sky-guardian. This third moon and shield of the Lattice shone its light down upon Azurah's litter of purest heart and most fervent obedience. She called these cats the Litter of the Hidden Moon, and taught them the lunar byways, and secrets of the merciful blade. From that time on, they loved her as no other Khajiit could love her, and in that love, found sympathy for all cats bent by the beating of the Heart.\nBeloved adepts, take these words into your heart and know that we keep Azurah's commandments still. For we are all children of the Hidden Moon."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tavas-bounty-ledger": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tavas-bounty-ledger", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Tava's Bounty Ledger", "text": "Cargo to be unloaded at Koeglin Village:\n\t12 crates of Pink Pomegranates\n\t22 crates of Tulune Carrots\n\t4 barrels of bitter tea\n\t15 casks of Comet-Wine\n\t20 barrels of Dragonstar Ale\n\t30 sacks of Dried Tubers\n\t3 barrels of Kindlepitch Whiskey\n\t30 planks of Ilessan Pine"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ternion-monks": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ternion-monks", "description": "Information on a monastic order dedicated to ancient gods", "author": "Elgad the Scribe", "title": "The Ternion Monks", "text": "Some call them a cult. Others say worse things. But the Ternion Monks carry on a tradition that honors the Three Old Gods and the totems associated with them. While the religion is ancient, its followers are few. In many respects, the Ternion movement is slowly dying, as very little proselytizing takes place by the current contingent of monks. Fewer and fewer converts take up the worship of the Three Old Gods, and soon the religion may become nothing but a vague memory.\nKnown for their healing magic, the Ternion Monks can call forth aspects of the Three Old Gods. With the help of these aspects, the monks can perform tasks beyond the scope of mere mortal limitations. The aspects take the forms of the Three Old Gods: the Fox, the Bear, and the Wolf.\nThe Fox is crafty and quick, and its aspect enhances the speed and agility of the monks who call upon him.\n\tThe Bear is strong, mighty. A protector. The aspect of the Bear enhances strength and shields those who call upon him from harm.\nThe Wolf is sly and observant, ferocious and deadly. She watches and waits, looking for the best opportunity to make her move. The aspect of the Wolf enhances vision and perception, allowing those who call upon her to see more clearly, to notice the hidden and the obscure.\nThe Ternion Monks prefer nigh-inaccessible spots as places to meditate and worship. Often, the only way to get to these holy retreats is to use the magic of the monks. A guardian is always appointed to open the way to the retreat, but will only do so for other monks or if the need is great and the requester is worthy.\nI have spent time with the monks, learned something of their ways and seen their healing magic in action. I believe that they are good people, following a worthy tradition. But I fear that when this generation comes to an end, the Ternion Monks and the Three Old Gods they worship will fade away.\nAnd that will be a sad day, indeed."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thief-gods-treasures": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thief-gods-treasures", "description": "A description of Rajhin's apotheosis and legendary exploits", "author": "Wafaruz the Veracious Spitter", "title": "The Thief God's Treasures", "text": "Rajhin, he who is fleet of foot, the very embodiment of speed, agility, and slyness, has borrowed many treasures from coffers across the lands. No possession is safe from his desire\u2014not even those of the Daedric Princes.\nRajhin's most well-known plunder was the celebrated Ring of Khajiit, named after our people. It was once the Anticipation's Finger, and only found its way to Tamriel because it was stolen from the eighth arm of the Webspinner herself. With the Ring of Khajiit, Rajhin grasped the spark of godhood. It wrapped him in shadow so dark that none could reach him. Not the Anticipation of Vivec; not even the passage of time.\nBut Rajhin wasn't finished. On his way out, he spied the killing word of the Spider, the black edge of shadow, and claimed it, as well. So swift were these takings that the Anticipation of Vivec was unaware anything went missing. Dark and sharp was the anger that followed, but Rajhin was no longer there. Rajhin is not cruel, or malicious\u2014sometimes, when the Moons fit his mood, he gives them back.\nFrom the Webspinner's threads, Rajhin found his way to a land where all trees have fallen, and the only currency is knowledge. There, Rajhin pillaged the Book that Knows from the one who knows it all and disappeared amongst sheaves in the wind. The lord of that land has never stopped seeking his treasured volume, and, sometimes, when the Moons are right\u2014he finds it. Because, sometimes, Rajhin gives it back.\nThey say that, eventually, Rajhin took too much, too often, that the Ring of Khajiit tired of his capers. They say that the Ring abandoned Rajhin as he was surrounded by enemies, that it was his undoing. This one knows that Rajhin simply gave the Ring back."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thiefs-luck": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thiefs-luck", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Thief's Luck", "text": "As the skeletal atronach approached,\n\tInto shadows he retreated.\n\tUpon steed of blackest black,\n\tThe thief grinned as traps bit bone."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thiefs-riddle": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thiefs-riddle", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Thief's Riddle", "text": "What you've sought to mend\nHas been spirited away\nTo the grave of snake men"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thousand-arrows": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thousand-arrows", "description": "A most mysterious champion", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Thousand Arrows", "text": "The Thousand Arrows was a Champion shrouded in mystery. She entered the tournament alone, yet she bested all the other gladiators with skill and precision, and did not suffer a single wound herself. After Hagrof the Righteous fell, The Thousand Arrows remained in seclusion, only emerging when a new challenger entered the arena. Her favored weapon was a bow equipped with poison-tipped arrows. The poison itself was from a recipe of her own devising. The slightest scratch could fell the largest opponent in seconds. She took this recipe to her grave, and its precise ingredients are hotly debated by alchemists all across Tamriel to this day.\nUsurped: Hagrof the Righteous\nDefeated By: Lucius the Stalwart"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/threes-petition-king": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/threes-petition-king", "description": "Career criminals attempt to negotiate a pardon", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Three's Petition to the King", "text": "Petition to the King:\nThe Three have become a feared name in Stormhaven, but we come from humble beginnings. Each of us was raised in abject poverty. We learned to steal, but only to scrape by. Our cunning and our collaboration have now earned us great wealth and many followers, but this is not what we sought.\nNor are we fools. We know our days as outlaws are numbered. Though we may elude capture and even expand our enterprise for many years, there will come a day when we will be called to answer for our crimes, and that is a day we hope will never come to pass.\nAt heart , we are not criminals, and that is why we now seek a pardon from the king. We do not wish to spend the rest of our lives robbing innocent people and running from the Knights of the Flame. We want to turn our operation into a legitimate enterprise.\nIn exchange for our pardon, we offer half of all the wealth we have amassed. We have not completed the process of counting it, but rest assured, it is a considerable sum. We hope you take this small gift as proof of our earnestness and that you will give our petition due consideration.\nRespectfully and Humbly your Loyal Subjects,\n\tThe Three"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/time-now": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/time-now", "description": "A poem about the three constellation guardians", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Time Is Now", "text": "Time is immediate. The clash of arms, the roar of victory, the grief and tragedy of defeat \u2026 they all happen now. Moment-to-moment the world exists, or it doesn't. The past, the future; none are more important than the present.\nI am forever free, regardless of whether the Hound's spell binds my body. Release me from my bonds if you will, knowing that what happens now is most important. Death is just another moment in time, and when it comes, I will endure it.\nThe Lady stands alone,\n\tHer will by rituals besieged.\n\tThe Warrior stands alone,\n\tHis strength by liars mocked.\n\tThe Lord stands alone,\n\tHis rule by traitors taken."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/time-past": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/time-past", "description": "A poem about the Silvenar", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Time Is Past", "text": "Time flows like a river, sweeping away the flotsam and jetsam of history with every moment. If we look upstream, we see the white water of the past and can predict the turbulence of the present and the torrents of the future. All is as it once was.\nI have been free in the past and shall be in the future, whether you break my bonds or not. The Silvenar has always been and so always shall be. Take comfort, or fear, in that.\nDance the endless dance, oh, children,\n\tAnd cast the forever spell!\n\tLearn your sacred rites,\n\tApprentice to your times.\n\tThe masters of magic, the mages\n\tThey shall compose the rhymes."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/time-ebonheart-pact": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/time-ebonheart-pact", "description": "A document promoting the virtues of the Ebonheart Pact", "author": "Alla Lalleth", "title": "The Time of the Ebonheart Pact", "text": "The Wheel of Time turns: in the dawn, it was the day of the Aldmeri, and then came the time of Men\u2014but now, as the decay and chaos in the Empire makes clear, the time of Men has past. Of the Men of Tamriel, only the Eastern Nords had the strength of character to join Dunmeri and Argonians in repelling the recent invasion of Snake-Men from Akavir, thereby showing that of all Men, only they may be trusted.\nTime and again Men have shown that without proper guidance, their meddling with External Powers leads to disaster. Men's reckless dabbling with beings beyond Nirn must stop forever. Now it is the time of the Ebonheart Pact, which shall and must become the Tamriel Pact. Within the Pact, the Aedra, Daedra, and Hist are all revered \u2026 from an appropriate distance. Within the Pact is the Tribunal, three Living Gods who abide among us here on Nirn and whose interest therefore coincides with that of all residents of Nirn. Only they have shown how to treat successfully with powers beyond Nirn.\nThe rash actions of those who sit the Ruby Throne, or who pull their strings, have brought Tamriel to the verge of irretrievable doom. They must be scoured from the face of Cyrodiil, and the decaying remains of the Empire of Men must be swept away. It shall be replaced by the Pact, which will enforce peace across the continent and strictly regulate all involvement in dangerous magical pursuits.\nOnward, warriors of the Pact! We will never know peace and freedom until we occupy White-Gold Tower!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/time-will-come": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/time-will-come", "description": "Another poem about the Silvenar and constellations", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Time Will Come", "text": "Time spreads out before us, like the branches of a great tree. But the branches narrow, and the leaves that sprout grow ever thinner. I tried to warn the other spinners \u2026 Y'frre grant they heeded my messages, for I knew you would come.\nFree me from the bonds he will create, and I will aid you as I can. Kill my spirit and the Silvenar can still prevail, but I will be unable to aid you in the future that grows before you.\nThe Lovers strive to make wrong right,\n\tThe Shadow approaches, threatens endless night.\n\tWe rise to our doom in the Tower of the tree,\n\tOur shackles broken, by you, for me."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/times-are-changing": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/times-are-changing", "description": "", "author": "Molemir", "title": "The Times Are Changing", "text": "(This is an unsent letter from Molemir to another Lodge Leader looking forward to the party. \"This could never have happened in the old days.\")\n(This reiterates the Lodge's shift in tone in recent years.)\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tomb-jadarri": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tomb-jadarri", "description": "Epitaph for an ancient Khajiiti hero", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Tomb of Ja'darri", "text": "Here rests Ja'darri the Endless\nFounder of the Pride of Alkosh\nFirst champion to the Dragon King of Cats\nMay she watch over these halls\nAnd guide those who do seek\nThe Mask of Alkosh"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tonenaka-shrine": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tonenaka-shrine", "description": "History of this Akaviri shrine in the middle of Rimmen", "author": "Magnate Feina-Darak", "title": "The Tonenaka Shrine", "text": "A Study in Akaviri Mystique\n\tBy Magnate Feina-Darak\nWhen the Khajiit and Rim-Men of Northern Elsweyr granted asylum to the Akaviri refugees of the fading Potentate, the first of the arrivals were bequeathed the unused crypts west of the capital. In these, they would bury the dead that did not survive the flight from the Imperial City.\nThe monarchs of the region, King Savlian of Rimmen and Queen Padala of the Anequina Khajiit, decreed that the Akaviri survivors would be resettled within the capital and the fertile hills to the south. They brought with them many of their retainers, full-blooded Imperials who were nevertheless devoted to their former rulers.\nThough Rimmen already had an eclectic society as a crossroads of Imperial and Khajiiti trade, the strange aesthetics, culture, and even food of the Akaviri settlers changed the city forever. The most unusual contribution of the Akaviri, if one can call it that, was the construction of the Tonenaka Shrine in the northern district of Rimmen.\nBuilt with Khajiiti stonework influenced by Akaviri architectural styles, the Tonenaka Shrine became something of a cultural touchstone for the remaining Akaviri settlers and their former Imperial subjects. Their patriarchs commissioned the construction of ten thousand statuettes of carved stone, bringing sculptors and engineers from across southern Tamriel to aid in the project.\nIndeed, the vast wealth that these Akaviri settlers brought with them to finance the project greatly increased Rimmen's prosperity. However, as the years passed, so few of the Akaviri remained that only five lived to see the Shrine's completion. Most had interbred with the Imperial population or settled farther south in the village of Hakoshae.\nWhen the final statue was placed, these five Akaviri entered the Tonenaka Shrine and sealed its doors behind them, placing powerful wards upon it to prevent entry. This wasn't part of the original agreement between the Rimmen authorities and the Akaviri builders, but with the promise of gold their ire was assuaged.\nThe Shrine remains sealed to this day, with only occasional work being done to its exterior to prevent degradation of its marvelous stonework."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/toothmaul-contract": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/toothmaul-contract", "description": "A goblin contract with the Veiled Heritance", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Toothmaul Contract", "text": "The members of the Toothmaul tribe, including its dependents, hereby agree to a permanent alliance with the Veiled Heritance, pledging any and all available resources to do with as the Heritance pleases. These resources include recruitment of Toothmaul tribe members into labor and fighting forces as the Heritance sees fit.\nIn exchange, the Heritance will provide the Toothmaul tribe with arms and armor from a selection of retired equipment in the reserve supply."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tower-wolf": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tower-wolf", "description": "An excited architect gushes about the new construction in Solitude's castle", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Tower of the Wolf", "text": "From the Masonry of Solitude Digest\nI have had few opportunities to update my initial corpus on the construction and stylings of my beloved homeland, and even now my quill shakes with curiosity. To think that, within my lifetime, I would be able to put to paper a fifth addendum, and one that involves so illustrious an architectural example as Castle Dour!\nYes, loyal readers of my digests will be familiar with the Main Keep, the Svartr's Donjon, the Temple of the Divines, and the curtain walls that dominate the skyline of Solitude. Our High King Svargrim has seen fit to add another finger to this stone fist\u2014the most ambitious one yet! Though construction only started within the past year, it already nears completion.\nWe call the new edifice the Tower of the Wolf, drawing its name from the noble beast that adorns Solitude's heraldry. How impressive it looks, sweeping up to the stark sky, dwarfing even Svartr's Donjon! I am happy to report that the quarry which furnished the castle's original stone was able to supply what was needed for the construction of the Tower of the Wolf. Reports of the quarry's depletion were apparently unfounded.\nAs excited as I am to discuss the Tower of the Wolf in greater architectural detail, I am unfortunately unable to. Access to the tower has been denied to all but those actively working on the structure. I appealed to the Blue Palace for special exception, given my area of interest, but the bureaucrats rebuffed me. I was undeterred in my appeals, and you can imagine my shock when I received a reply not from some minor courtier, but from the high king himself!\n\"The interior spaces of the Tower of the Wolf must be maintained in secrecy, given the prying eyes of Jorunn the False King\" wrote High King Svargrim. I could not deny his most pragmatic logic, for the tower is ultimately of military value. And yet there is hope. \"The tower nears completion even as I write this missive,\" High King Svargrim continued. \"And when it is complete, the people of Solitude will understand what an accomplishment this edifice is for our people.\"\nWe need only wait, my loyal readers!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/treasure-clickyville": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/treasure-clickyville", "description": "Instructions for finding treasure", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Treasure of Clickyville", "text": "Go east from the place of death.\n\tStop at the fallen tree.\n\tTurn to the northeast, and walk 25 paces.\n\tThe Embracing Lovers have what you seek.\n\tUse the map where their love glows brightest."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/treasure-stillrise-village": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/treasure-stillrise-village", "description": "", "author": "Deskin", "title": "The Treasure of Stillrise Village", "text": "Felra,\nGather your coven and make your way to Stillrise Village as quickly as possible. A treasure there unlike any we have seen in many generations awaits the Cult of the Black Worm .\nTake or create as many animus geodes as possible; you will find use for them, I promise you! I would go myself, but I do not have enough servants in Shadowfen to complete this task to its fullest.\nWhen you arrive, be certain to use your witch-sight on the inhabitants. Not all is as it seems in that quiet little village. You will understand my meaning when you follow my orders.\nI would say more, but you know how our communications can be unreliable, even within our ranks. Discover the secret of Stillrise Village and you'll understand my excitement. Bring back a great treasure, Felra, and you and I will \"Still Rise\" in the ranks of our Order!\n\u2014 Deskin"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tree-fire": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tree-fire", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Tree Is On Fire!", "text": "You'll find water East of here, by the well. You have 30 seconds."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/trial-air": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/trial-air", "description": "Note about the third trial", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Trial of Air", "text": "The third trial is the Trial of Air.\nThe sands of true sight will guide your feet and reveal the secret path."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/trial-fire": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/trial-fire", "description": "Note about the first trial", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Trial of Fire", "text": "The first trial is the trial of fire.\nDefeat the winged ones that guard the path. Light the braziers and the guardian will appear. Defeat the guardian and the way will be opened."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/trial-martial-knowledge": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/trial-martial-knowledge", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Trial of Martial Knowledge", "text": "The third trial is the Trial of Martial Knowledge.\nPlace the books of the trials in the proper order and prepare to demonstrate your knowledge to the master."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/trial-arena": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/trial-arena", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Trial of the Arena", "text": "The second trial is the Trial of the Arena.\nThe arena master awaits those of stout heart and strong will to best the arena champions."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/trial-true-path-0": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/trial-true-path-0", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Trial of the True Path", "text": "The fifth trial is the Trial of the True Path.\nJouney below the library and bow before the altar to find the true path through the darkness.\nThis is the final trial. Only those who have mastered the previous trials will find the way."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/trial-true-path": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/trial-true-path", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Trial of the True Path.", "text": "The fifth trial is the Trial of the True Path.\nJouney below the library and bow before the altar to find the true path through the darkness.\nThis is the final trial. Only those who have mastered the previous trials will find the way."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/trials-hissmir": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/trials-hissmir", "description": "What the Hist challenges test", "author": "Sali-Ze, Hissmir Oblate", "title": "The Trials of Hissmir", "text": "The trials serve as an offering of one's self to the Hist. For the Hist to trust the participant, the participant must first trust the Hist.\nThe participant's mind, heart, and will are tested. Without a disciplined mind, one cannot comprehend the message of the Hist. Without a pure heart, one's purpose does not serve the will of the Hist. Without a warrior's will, one cannot safeguard the Hist for future generations.\nBe resolute, and stay moist."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/true-balance": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/true-balance", "description": "A valuable lesson saves a life", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The True Balance", "text": "\"We must warn Awas. The Kothringi are nearly upon us!\"\nThe two Argonians exchanged glances, the movement of their dark eyes a mere flicker of light in the shadows.\n\t\"I'll go,\" hissed Sanax, and slipped into the murky waters.\nJuunei followed her slow progress. Fires burned at the swamp's edge, creating a thick smoke only Argonian eyes could pierce.\nOr so he thought. Axes glinted and slashed. Juunei heard a strangled cry, then nothing. Who knew the clumsy dryskins could move so silently?\nJuunei swore an oath and eyed the dirt path to the xanmeer. It was longer and exposed. But he had to warn Awas.\nThey chased Juunei down the path, slashing and stabbing, but they made little noise. He was in sight of the xanmeer's stone edifice when something grabbed his tail, pulling him to the ground.\nA Kothringi thug raised her dirty axe to finish him off. He cried out. Then a hurled Kothringi knife buried itself in the thug's throat.\nAwas emerged from the muck. She retrieved the knife and helped Juunei to his feet.\n\"How did you know?\" gasped Juunei, nodding at the Kothringi knife.\n\"A lesson from the dreams of the Hist,\" murmured Awas. \"To truly understand a foe, fight them with their own weapons.\"\nJuunei stared at Awas, then grabbed the dead Kothringi's axe. They hurried to the xanmeer."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/true-fate-king-ranser": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/true-fate-king-ranser", "description": "How King Ranser turned his armies into undead after his failed rebellion", "author": "Serinal Gane, Royal Scribe of Shornhelm", "title": "The True Fate of King Ranser", "text": "History is written by the victors, so I have no doubt as to how King Ranser will be remembered. But my job has always been to keep King Ranser's records, and that hasn't changed\u2014at least in my mind\u2014with our new state of being. I'm getting ahead of myself. My pardons. Allow me to start at the beginning.\nAfter almost a year of conflict, Emeric and his allies had driven King Ranser's forces to the brink of defeat. We prepared to make our final stand at Markwasten Moor, caught as we were between a Breton armada and Orc troops. I am sure that history will describe how King Ranser fell that day, but history would be wrong. An entirely different fate befell the liege of Wayrest.\nIt is true that the bulk of King Ranser's army was annihilated at the battle on the moor. But Ranser was able to escape with a small contingent of soldiers and aides and make his way to the top of a nameless tor overlooking the shattered city of Shornhelm.\nIt was on this tor that King Ranser put his ultimate plan into motion to defeat King Emeric and his dastardly allies. Using an arcane ritual provided by the court magician, Reezal-Jul, the brilliant King Ranser transformed his most loyal and devoted soldiers into a force that would stand for the ages. The final step in the ritual required a blood sacrifice, however. When King Ranser's traitorous general\u2014whose name shall never again be spoken and who shall forever be forgotten\u2014murdered his own liege, it was royal blood that ignited the ritual and triggered our change.\nI must admit that my less-than-regal mind has yet to fully fathom the intricacies of King Ranser's plan. His ritual turned us all into undead soldiers, skeletal immortals who can stand at his side for eternity. But instead of immediately striking out and attacking Emeric's forces, King Ranser ordered us to strengthen our position and prepare to defend the tor.\n\"This tor shall be my throne!\" King Ranser proclaimed. \"From here, I shall rule for eternity!\"\nAnd now you know the true fate of King Ranser and his loyal soldiers. My time as scribe is finished, for my liege needs every sword at the ready. I will leave this record, safe in this tower until the day comes that King Ranser orders us to march from the tor and back into Shornhelm."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/true-nature-magnar": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/true-nature-magnar", "description": "Legends of Magnar Child-Eater, a werewolf local to Orsinium", "author": "Volas Night-Eyes", "title": "The True Nature of Magnar", "text": "Knowing your enemy is the first step to defeat him.\nMagnar Bearstorm, or Magnar the Child-Eater, has led the greater Wrothgar pack for at least fifty years. We don't know much about his early life. He has never been seen in human form. Some say he was never a child\u2014that he clawed his way out of the Hunting Grounds, fully grown and full of wrath.\nWhen Magnar first arrived in the mountains of Wrothgar, he snatched up scores of children in the dead of night\u2014presumably to eat them. The Order has not ruled out the possibility that he turned these youngsters into the first members of his pack. I'm not sure which possibility upsets me more.\nI have fought Magnar twice, and nearly lost my life on both occasions. He's not particularly swift, nor is he quiet. He doesn't need to be. During our last confrontation, my blade struck true at least three times, but he didn't even flinch. This has led some in the Order to believe that he is invincible. Some even suggest that he might be Hircine himself masquerading as a savage moon-beast. This is all preposterous, of course. Mark me, recruits: Magnar is mortal and I'm going to kill him to prove it.\nVolas Night-Eyes"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/true-nature-orcs-banned-ed": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/true-nature-orcs-banned-ed", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The True Nature of Orcs (Banned Ed.)", "text": "Orcs were born during the latter days of the Dawn Era. History has mislabeled them beastfolk, related to the Goblin races, but the Orcs are actually the children of Trinimac, strongest of the Altmeri ancestor spirits. When Trinimac was eaten by the Daedric Prince Boethiah, and transformed in that foul god's insides, the Orcs were transformed as well. The ancient name for the Orcs is \"Orsimer,\" which means \"The Pariah Folk.\" They now follow Mauloch, the remains of Trinimac.\nWho is Mauloch?\nHe is more commonly known as the Daedric Prince Malacath, \"whose sphere is the patronage of the spurned and ostracized, the sworn oath, and the bloody curse.\" He is not technically a Daedric Lord, nor do the other Daedra recognize him as such, but this is fitting for his sphere. Of old he was Trinimac, the champion of the High Elven pantheon, in some places more popular than Auri-El, who protected them against enemies without and within. When Trinimac and his followers attempted to halt the Velothi dissident movement, Boethiah ate him. Trinimac's body and spirit were corrupted, and he emerged as Malacath. His followers were likewise changed for the worse. Despised by everyone, especially the inviolate Auri-El, they quickly fled to the northern wastes, near Saarthal. They fought Nords and Chimer for a place in the world, but did not get much. In Skyrim, Malacath is called Orkey, or Old Knocker, and his battles with Ysmir are legendary.\n(DIRECTIVE: This vile, anti-Orc propaganda, though traditional, is now BANNED throughout the DAGGERFALL COVENANT. Administrators: see to it.)"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/true-nature-tolvir": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/true-nature-tolvir", "description": "Pamphlet about a famous werewolf praying on Wrothgar", "author": "Volas Night-Eyes", "title": "The True Nature of Tolvir", "text": "Knowing your enemy is the first step to defeat him.\nTolvir Bearstorm, or Tolvir the Child-Eater, has led the greater Wrothgar pack for at least fifty years. We don't know much about his early life. He has never been seen in human form. Some say he was never a child\u2014that he clawed his way out of the Hunting Grounds, fully grown and full of wrath.\nWhen Tolvir first arrived in the mountains of Wrothgar, he snatched up scores of children in the dead of night\u2014presumably to eat them. The Order has not ruled out the possibility that he turned these youngsters into the first members of his pack. I'm not sure which possibility upsets me more.\nI have fought Tolvir twice, and nearly lost my life on both occasions. He is not particularly swift, nor is he quiet. He doesn't need to be. During our last confrontation, my blade struck true at least three times, but he didn't even flinch. This has led some in the Order to believe that he is invincible. Some even suggest that he might be Hircine himself masquerading as a savage moon-beast. This is all preposterous, of course. Mark me, recruits: Tolvir is mortal and I'm going to kill him to prove it.\nVolas Night-Eyes"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/truth-minotaurs": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/truth-minotaurs", "description": "How did the minotaurs originate? Not with Alessia, this scholar claims", "author": "Tyronius Liore", "title": "The Truth of Minotaurs", "text": "By Tyronius Liore, Scholar of Imperial Antiquities\nBy this point, you must have read the inane ramblings of the now disgraced sage, Nonus Caprenius. It brings me no joy to cast aspersions on his name. Caprenius was once an eminent scholar whose mastery of beastly sciences far surpassed that of his peers. Alas, his obsession with the bull-men and their dubious origins proved too much for the community to bear. Allow me to clarify this matter and put it to rest once and for all.\nCaprenius, clearly in the throes of some mania, suggests that minotaurs are the descendants of Alessia and her legendary consort Morihaus, the bull-man. Beyond being lightly heretical, this assertion finds no basis in historical fact. The fate of Alessia's son, Belharza the Man-Bull, is well known - catalogued (obliquely) by countless scholars of the period. He met his fate at the biting-tips of Elven spears. That much is certain. Connecting the Slave-Queen to a brutish race of bull-headed savages merely because they share a physical feature makes no more sense that connecting men to guars since we both walk on two legs.\nThe fact is that minotaurs are the bitter fruit of some spell or alchemical process gone awry. There is no great conspiracy - no zealously guarded secret - just an unfortunate, ghastly accident. Truly, who could look at one of these bovine brutes and see the proud legacy of Akatosh stirring in their blood? These are the ravings of a disturbed mind, and should be treated as such.\nTake my advice - when you see a minotaur, don't inquire about its noble lineage. If you wish to survive the encounter, kill it or flee."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ubiquitous-sinking-isle": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ubiquitous-sinking-isle", "description": "Explores the histories and myths of Tamriel's many sunken landmasses", "author": "Lailfin", "title": "The Ubiquitous Sinking Isle", "text": "By Lailfin, Steward of Histories at the Illumination Academy\nThe true work of any historian lies in separating fact from fiction\u2014studying the diverse and contradictory texts of all races and piecing together a plausible shared narrative. This requires diligence, discipline, and most importantly, humility. The true historian must be willing to admit error and revise their accounts when new evidence comes to light.\nOne of the most pernicious traps for new historians is reliance on supporting accounts\u2014that is, the belief that if multiple writers detail the same event in the same way, those accounts are more likely to be true. In point of fact, we should assume the opposite. Societal pressures and widespread cultural delusions often result in identical historical accounts. For example, Nedic texts often reference an event called the \"Autumn of Snakes.\" According to the histories, hundreds of snakes (many the size of mammoths) emerged from the ground and devoured whole towns before finally being subdued by the Nede spear-maiden, Ranev the Coal-Eyed Wanderer. Nedic scholars describe the Autumn in meticulous and near-identical detail, and yet, we now know that the event is completely apocryphal.\nIt's not that the writers are deliberately lying (though that is sometimes the case). In all likelihood, ancient historians were trying their best to describe events faithfully. Unfortunately, they did not have the linguistic tools or scholarly sophistication to give a truthful account. For that reason, we must take a long hard look at any tales that are widely accepted, but also seem hyperbolic. We must also look for \"recurring calamities\"\u2014that is, events that purportedly happened the same way, but in vastly different locales and time periods.\nThe most obvious example of the \"recurring calamity\" is the tale of the disappearing island. Tamrielic history is littered with sinking, hidden, or disappearing islands. Yokuda, Pyandonea, Artaeum, Dranil Kir, Eyevea, Thras, and (perhaps most importantly) Aldmeris. The cause of the disappearance is almost always magical in nature\u2014often the result of some act of hubris or a desire for secrecy. Of course, this all begs the question: are any of these tales true? I have my doubts.\nLet us examine the mythical \"sinking\" islands: Yokuda, Thras, and Aldmeris. Each island was the ancestral home of its resident race, and in all three cases, foes or fate destroyed the island as punishment for some act of hubris. In the case of the Redguards, foolish sword-singers sundered the Yokudan Isles with a forbidden sword stroke. The warriors of the All-Flags Navy drove the Sload and their island of Thras into the sea as punishment for the Thrassian Plague. And our forebears, the Aldmer, fled the Isle of Aldmeris to avoid some mysterious calamity\u2014likely the result of our fall from Aedric grace.\nNow, a novice historian would likely take these tales at face value. \"If multiple histories say the island sank, it must have sunk!\" But I entreat you to look deeper. Could it be that the \"sinking island\" is not a literal event, but rather, a metaphorical one?\nThras, Yokuda, and Aldmeris are much more than simple landmasses; they are societal symbols\u2014avatars for a cultural identity lost in time. So stories about the sundering or sinking of these islands may be a trick of the light\u2014a poet's attempt at explaining the pain of forgotten origins. Did an entire continent drown as a result of a sword stroke? Did our ancestors travel to Summerset from a mystical half-Aedric isle? I think not. These lost islands rest at the fault-line between fact and parable. There is truth in those tales, certainly, but the true historian knows that not all truth is literal."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/unbreakable-redguard": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/unbreakable-redguard", "description": "Sai Shan is difficult to break, but the Amulet must be found", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Unbreakable Redguard", "text": "For all of his self-doubt, Sai Sahan has proven monstrously difficult to break. Perhaps the years of physical training he endured to condition his body make the tortures of the flesh pale in comparison. Likewise, threats of bodily harm to friends and acquaintences have no effect. He merely closes his eyes and promises to avenge them.\nSo deftly he pulled the Amulet of Kings from the fingers of Varen's withering husk amidst the chaos of the Soulburst, and then he was gone, a fleeting shadow in the night. I must have it back if I am to enact the final stage of my plan. Since that day I have played a waiting game as Molag Bal's Planemeld continues unabated.\nFor the time being, this works to my advantage. But I must find the amulet before the Planemeld concludes, or my plan is doomed to failure. I would tear this continent apart stone by stone if I had to, but for now I shall be patient. Sai Sahan cannot endure these tortures forever. He will break, and the Amulet of Kings will be mine once again."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/unearthing-kardala": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/unearthing-kardala", "description": "Information about the Star-Gazers and the many mysteries of Craglorn and the constalations", "author": "Muhay at-Turna", "title": "The Unearthing of Kardala", "text": "(compiled from the notes of Muhay at-Turna by his disciple)\nIt is a source of no small irony to me that the discovery for which I am most likely to be remembered is the so-called Ruins of Kardala, which I found purely by accident when I was still an apprentice.\nI spent that year (the hundred and first of the Second Era) in the company of a small guild sequestered in the foothills of the Dragontail Mountains. I call the group a guild for lack of a better term. They lived much like priests in a religious order, sharing everything and spending many hours of each day buried in books.\nBut to call them priests would seem to suggest that they were in some way reverent, which they were not. Late into most nights, we stayed awake drinking and telling bawdy tales\u2014even the oldest members of the order joined in.\nYet guild is not quite an accurate term, either. It suggests uniformity, and these men and women from across Tamriel were a motley bunch, a patchwork of young and old, educated and dullards. They argued constantly, in the most friendly fashion, calling each other names one moment and then laughing the next. They could not even agree on what the order was called. The older members insisted on the elaborate and archaic \"Esteemed Order of the Observers of the Celestial Motions and Portents,\" while younger members preferred the simple and evocative name \"Star-Gazers.\"\nA singular concern united the group. They shared a complete devotion to the study of the stars and the meaning of their motions, and that was the reason I had come among their number in that year of my apprenticeship. I, too, had a fascination with the heavens, and I hoped to benefit as much as I could from the breadth of their knowledge in order to further my own inquiries into the relationship of the stars to the properties of magic.\nHere, I must confess, that my time spent with the Star-Gazers did much to open my young eyes. After the first few months I sank into a deep depression, realizing that my interest in the relationship of the constellations to magic had already been thoroughly explored in a manner that seemed to be utterly complete. An apprentice such as myself could spend a lifetime reading what had already been written and in the end have not a single word of my own to contribute.\nHowever, as I spent more time in my study and among the Star-Gazers, I learned that there were many questions yet to be answered about the stars themselves. For all we understand about the workings of magic, we know very little about the workings of the heavens themselves. In fact, the more prosaic the question appears at first glance, the more likely it is that the answer yet eludes us.\nJust as I thought that all questions had been answered and there was no hope, I became energized once more by a flood of questions, each more startling than the last. Indeed, for all the knowledge that the great scholars had brought to their theories of magic, they could not answer how it is that the Mundus Stones came to be, or by what trickery the Serpent slips across the sky, knowing no season.\nIn fact, I soon realized that not one of the three great scholars of magic had ever set foot in Craglorn. How they could ignore the place where the Nedes once worshiped the stars and set the Mundus Stones in their foundations, I would never understand.\nIt was through this realization that Kardala was discovered. Energized by the thought of reaching new conclusions through first-hand observation, I entreated my very willing hosts to guide me into the desert. I hoped to study the Mundus Stones of the Lord, the Lady, and the Steed and find something new.\nSeveral books on the subject of Kardala have flattered me by embellishing history. They claim that by examining these Mundus Stones of the Warrior's charges, I surmised from their configuration that there must be another Mundus Stone connected to the Warrior within sight of the three stones.\nThis could not be further from the truth. While we were on our journey through the desert, I had consumed a great deal of water to fortify my health. As is known to happen, that water had to go somewhere. I excused myself, stepping just a little off the road, and let nature run its course. On my way back to my colleagues I became disoriented, and as I struggled to find the road a loose stone slipped beneath my foot. I fell back and avoided falling into the crack that broke open beneath me, revealing the entrance to Kardala.\nNaturally, my companions were excited beyond words. I credit them with some of the misinformation that has spread about Kardala's discovery. In fact, I never would have made the discovery without their willingness to guide me into the desert that day."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/unholy-temple": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/unholy-temple", "description": "This insult must be avenged", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Unholy Temple", "text": "The King is furious. Construction of our magnificent temple was completed several months ago. At that time we dispatched an emmisary to the city of Delodiil. The invitation to view our seat of power was extended with an open hand. A chance for the heretics to make a pilgrimage and, at last, bow to the Master.\nToday the response arrived from the so-called King of Delodiil, condescendingly dismissing our invitation. He called our temple \"pitiful\" and mocked our craftsmen and our Master!\nThis cannot be borne! Father has entered the heart of the temple, and even from here I can hear his rage as he shouts to the Master for aid to wipe this humiliation away.\nFather is furious, but I am filled with joy. This affront must end in war. This insult must end in death.\n\tSo much death!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/unpleasantness-koeglin": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/unpleasantness-koeglin", "description": "", "author": "Belene Ancois", "title": "The Unpleasantness in Koeglin ", "text": "(This is an unsent letter from Belene Ancois to a Lodge superior. She complains about an external party ruining all her hard work in Koeglin. She asks if some other Lodge member is running an operation here, and if so, why she was never informed.)"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/unraveling-staff": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/unraveling-staff", "description": "A magical staff meant to untangle threads accidentally unravels reality", "author": "Judicator Umberwen", "title": "The Unraveling Staff", "text": "Report of Judicator Umberwen\nTranscribed by Relicmaster Glenadir\nReport 4587: Sun's Height, 27th\nSuspect taken into custody and staff under magical quarantine. Official documents within suspect's home reveals he was commissioned to create the staff for a prominent weaver within the city. It's theorized that the staff was originally intended to unravel tangled threads.\nSeveral eye witness accounts have been collected from the incident:\n\"Yes, I've been Anillyon's neighbor for several years now. He told me all about it. Called it the Unraveling Staff. Last I heard, it was working spectacularly. Why, what happened?\"\n\"It was madness! He was running down the street, laughing maniacally. And everywhere he pointed, the poor mer's clothes would just fall right apart! So embarrassing.\"\n\"I don't know about clothes falling apart. I was too distracted by the buildings coming undone! Stones and planks, flying from their place as if they were alive. I didn't know about\u2014how many deaths, did you say?\"\n\"Yes, I saw it. He pointed the staff and\u2014oh, she was just a young woman. I'll try to describe it but. Oh, that poor thing. It's as if her flesh just\u2014I'm sorry, I don't think I can continue.\"\nSuspect detained until court approved date. No bail will be offered."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/unseen-potential-clockwork": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/unseen-potential-clockwork", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Unseen Potential of Clockwork", "text": "By Lector Saelorn Tenar, Apostle of Sotha Sil\nAny man or mer can look upon an acorn and see it for what it is. It's so easy to simply note its shape, its size, its color. Unassuming, discarded among the leaves and dirt. Any child could tell you those facts. And, admittedly, a child could also easily imagine what will become of the acorn, given simple knowledge. Of its possibility. Who among us does not know an acorn could one day become a tree?\nImagine, however, if one had never seen a tree before. Had never heard depictions or viewed drawings, and, without having been told of this tree, they are met with the simple acorn. Inconspicuous, small, inherently useless. Through all observations they could make, they are unable to connect the acorn presented to them with the image of a mighty oak.\nLike an acorn, the Clockwork City shows no signs of its grand potential to the unsynchronized mind. To Nirn Above it appears to be but a world in miniature, buildings and roads simply shrunk and put in a contained space. The plaything of a god perhaps, to hold his most loyal followers and dangerous experiments. But those who hold this view are simply ignorant of the possibilities.\nClockwork City is the center of the wheel for Nirn-Ensuing, the Omni-Axle that shapes the world. Rich in beauty and alight with sublime terror, so the scripture tells us. Sympathetic perhaps to the reality of Nirn Extant, but its own reality altogether, apart from the imperfections born from Lorkahn's Great Lie.\nHere we work under the Divine Metronome, our hands covered in oil, our hearts devoted. We are the welders, the seekers of hidden knowledge. We walk the path of the divine piston, our souls clean and well-oiled. The truth of our Clockwork City is that of the wheels Eternal, where one can hear the tick and tock of Tamriel final.\nSee beyond the simple acorn. See the mighty oak that it shall become."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/values-haj-uxith": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/values-haj-uxith", "description": "The guiding principles of this scholarly group", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Values of Haj Uxith", "text": "We, the scholars of Haj Uxith, value these spiritual attributes above all others: courage, endurance, preservation. While these values hold a special place in the hearts of all our people, it is the scholars who truly understand how these attributes help our society not only to survive but to thrive in these strange lands.\nCourage allows us to deal with those who may not always agree with our point of view and to face the unknown. This dark land constantly presents strange challenges and new obstacles, but we must not cower before these. We must meet them head on and deal with them as bravely and as boldly as we can.\nEndurance allows us to withstand the hardships and difficulties of this harsh, barren land. It takes patience and skill and a natural hardiness to overcome the constant challenges of this punishing realm. We must bear the brunt of these difficulties and withstand every unexpected storm if we hope to survive.\nPreservation allows us to remember our past and maintain the civilization that our Hist tree has sacrificed so much to safeguard. We look to the words and deeds of our ancestors to be our guides, and we protect the stories and lessons of the past so that they can continue to teach us and remind us of who and what we are."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/vanishing-crux": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/vanishing-crux", "description": "A mysterious, magic-filled ruin", "author": "Masura-dra", "title": "The Vanishing Crux", "text": "By Masura-dra, Sentinel Magister\nThe origin and purpose of the Osseous Crux remain a great mystery. Discovered on the shores of the Abecean Sea near Hegathe, it was constructed from the bones of some enormous, unknown beast, bound together with twisted fibrous cords. Nearly as wide and tall as two men, its surface was covered in glyphs, figures, and writing in multiple scripts, and it caused seemingly random blasts of elemental energies in its vicinity. These detonations, scholars noted, released magical power far beyond the known limits of modern destruction magic.\nOne of the languages scribbled among the strange arcane diagrams seemed to be Ayleid in origin, but the dialect and some of the characters in the orthography were previously unknown, even to scholars of Ayleidoon. Translation efforts during its brief containment revealed only a small percentage of the overall text.\nThe following examples illustrate the overall tone and themes present in the translatable writing:\n\"Capture [it] within creeping purple. Aetherial potency amplified under oppressive [filtration] below.\"\n\"Life-sludge fortifies. Release and obtain [shearing] gleam. Counteract only with profound shadow.\"\nWithin three weeks of relocation to Mages Guild facilities in Sentinel (no small feat given its chaotic discharges), the Crux disappeared from its inhibition chamber. What was its intended purpose? Who created it and why? It seems that, sadly, we will never know."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/vile-truth-barbas": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/vile-truth-barbas", "description": "An examination of the relationship between Clavicus Vile and his hound", "author": "Pelagius Habor", "title": "The Vile Truth of Barbas", "text": "From the notes of Pelagius Habor, Council Daedrologist-in-Residence, Imperial City\nEvery true Daedrologist has a favorite Prince. We rarely admit it, but it's true. Each Prince, while horrifying, has a curious and often hilarious quirk. Sheogorath's peculiarities are well known, but when you really think about it, all the Princes are a bit silly. Hircine has the clumsy head of an ungulate. Sanguine is an inveterate drunk. It's precisely these eccentricities that make the Princes a source of endless fascination for Daedrologists such as myself. Unlike the stuffy and aloof Aedra, the Princes suffer from the same neuroses, flaws, and childish fixations that trouble men and mer. They are more like us than we care to admit. As for me? Of all the Daedric Princes, Clavicus Vile is my favorite - and it has everything to do with his loyal hound, Barbas.\nI have come to believe that Clavicus Vile is unique in that he exists in two persons. This is, of course, the subject of vigorous debate in Daedrological circles. Many of my confederates would argue that Barbas is merely a greater Daedric servant - no more linked to Vile than a horse is linked to its rider. But I urge you to consider the evidence. The first and most obvious proof of their consubstantiality is found in art. Crude, hand-carved idols dating back to the early Merethic Era depict the masked figure of Clavicus Vile standing beside a large hound, as do ancient cave paintings. I have explored the width and breadth of Tamriel in search of Daedric oddities, and in all my travels I have never found any depiction of Vile that does not include Barbas at his side. I've also read hundreds of firsthand accounts detailing encounters with the Prince. Each of those accounts, without exception, features Barbas in some capacity.\nIf we accept the premise that Clavicus Vile and Barbas are (at least in some sense) the same person, the natural question is \"Why?\" Why would an entity possessing godlike power allow itself to be bifurcated? I have a number of hypotheses, but my best guess is simply this: companionship. The \"life\" of a Prince is one of near-total isolation. Some Princes, like Hermaeus Mora and Nocturnal, appear to revel in this solitude. But everything we know of Clavicus Vile indicates that he is a profoundly social being. His love of bartering, his willingness to bestow wishes upon those that engage with him, his bewitching mask - each of these things point to a being that thrives on interaction, conversation, and play. A being so inclined would likely go mad without some companion to speak to, argue with, and complain about. One might even view it as a marriage of sorts, albeit an inverted one. Rather than two becoming one, as in the Pledge of Mara, one has become two - a paradoxical reversal of the Aedric ritual.\n\"But why a dog?\" you ask? I've puzzled over this for years. Again, I can offer little more than supposition. My best guess is that it has to do with power roles. If Clavicus Vile sheared off a larger share of his animus to create an equal, the two would plot and scheme against each other constantly. In creating a canine counterpart, Vile ensures his position as master. Dogs are ancient symbols of loyalty and submission. They are servants and never masters. So it is with Barbas.\nOf course, Barbas is not always a dog. Like other Daedric Princes, Barbas can present himself in a number of different forms. He has appeared as both man and mer, as animals, lesser Daedra, even inanimate objects! This ability to bend his shape, but retain his fundamental animus is a power that no other Daedra on record has been able to replicate - aside from Princes, that is. Coincidence? I think not.\nWe will likely never know Barbas's true nature with certainty, but the evidence points me to only one conclusion: Barbas and Clavicus Vile are one person in two forms. The master is also the servant. The handler is also the hound. It's a unique and fascinating paradox - the sort of mystery that makes Daedrology worth studying!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/viridian-sentinel": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/viridian-sentinel", "description": "A tale of a stalwart and ancient guardian", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Viridian Sentinel", "text": "Hush, my dear. Go back to sleep. The trolls can't get you here\u2014not so long as there is a Viridian Sentinel.\n\tWhat's that? You want to hear about the Viridian Sentinel again? Of course, my dear. Just lie back on your pillow and listen.\nEveryone in northern Bangkorai knows about the Viridian Sentinel. The Sentinel is the guardian who makes all the wild things stay in the woods. The trolls, the bears, the witches and their wolves\u2014none may come into the vanquished lands from the Wild so long as the Sentinel keeps watch. And the Sentinel will always keep watch.\nDid you know there was a time when there was no Viridian Sentinel? It was long, long ago in the before-times. We Bretons had just won our freedom from the Direnni Elves, and the Elves were still spiteful about it. \"Go ahead, take these lands you call High Rock,\" they said. \"You will not have them long. We will retreat to our towered island. We will renounce our covenant with the Earth Bones. We will give these lands back to the Wild.\"\nAs is often the way when Elves speak, we did not understand what they meant, so we merely shrugged and set about the hard work of making the land our own. We plowed fields and sowed crops. We fenced meadows and made pastures for our livestock. We built roads and market towns so our people could sell each other their produce and wares. And all seemed well.\nBut then bad things began to happen on the farms nearest the woods. Witches lurked under the eaves, and Bretons who got too close to the forest began to disappear into its shadows, never to be seen again. Soon the farmers had to abandon the fields that were next to the woods.\nIt got worse. Things began to come out of the woods, fell creatures and beasts, mostly at night but sometimes even in the day. And they roamed across the farmlands, menacing the farm families and slaying them when they could. Many farmers said, \"We cannot stand before these creatures from the Wild. Come, we shall leave our farms and go to the towns.\"\nBut when they got to the towns they found there was no work for farmers\u2014and even worse there was little or nothing to eat, because the farmers were no longer sending food to the towns. The townspeople blamed the farmers for abandoning their farms, and the farmers blamed the townspeople for not sending their armed watch to guard them. No one could agree on what to do.\nOne of the farmboys, a lad named Greenward, was very worried. He went into the chapel and prayed earnestly to Stendarr, saying, \"O righteous lord of mercy and protection, we are in sore plight and in need of your aid. For the beasts of the Wild are no longer contained, and our lands are reverting to wilderness. Soon there will be no place for mortals who love order and harmony. I fear we will become beasts, forget our names, and turn our back on the Divines. Show us, O lord, how this may be prevented.\"\nThen a kingfisher flew into the chapel and landed on the altar before Greenward. It was a very large kingfisher, larger than any the lad had ever seen. It cocked its head, and then began to whistle and clack its beak. And Greenward seemed to hear speech among the whistles and clacks, words that said, \"The beasts come out of the Wild because they have forgotten your names, and believe you to be beasts like themselves, whom it is lawful to slay. Someone must go to the Wild and tell the beasts that he has a name, and the vanquished lands are forfeit to his claim.\" Then the kingfisher made a small mess, as birds will, and flew away.\nThe lad bowed and said, \"I shall do this for my family, and the other families of the vanquished lands.\" He hugged his father, he kissed his mother, and he left the town and went back to the edge of the Wild. There he met a savage tiger, who made as if to pounce upon him, but the lad said, \"It is not lawful to pounce upon me, for I have a name, and am no beast. My name is Greenward, and I claim this land as vanquished. Return to the Wild and come here no more.\"\nAnd do you know what? The savage tiger did exactly that. And so did the ravening wolves, and the shambling bears, and the fierce trolls, and the wicked spriggans: all returned to the Wild and came to the vanquished lands no more.\nWhen this was done the lad hoped his work was over and he could return to his family, but it was not so. For always new beasts came from the Wild who had to be taught the boundaries. So the lad lived thereafter under the eaves of the wood and walked the edge of the wild, telling the beasts his name and turning them back. And our people called him the Viridian Sentinel.\nEventually the Sentinel grew very old and felt that soon he might walk the borders no more. He began to worry. But a girl came to him and said she had been spoken to by a bird, and thereafter the two walked the border together. And when the Sentinel finally passed on and his name went with his soul to Aetherius, the girl became the new Viridian Sentinel, and the vanquished lands were still safe.\nSo it has been ever after. And so it will always be."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/voice-people": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/voice-people", "description": "A new Silvenar assumes his mantle", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Voice of the People", "text": "Changes in the wind. The leaves. The flow of water. Even the animals seemed to sense a difference. The Voice of the People silenced.\nThe Silvenar had died. Not unexpected, but an event often attended by varying degrees of turmoil.\nHad the city come first, or the Silvenar? No one seemed to know, nor care. There once was chaos, and then came generations of structure. Well, something like structure. Organized mayhem, more like it.\nThe next Silvenar, a young lad, poised to take up the mantle.\n\"They're waiting,\" the attendant said. She held out an alabaster goblet filled with fermented broth.\n\"I know. Give me a moment.\" Indaenir closed his eyes and took a deep breath before accepting the ceremonial cup.\nThe Silvenar. The title wasn't officially his until the wedding, but he could already feel the changes. Like the beat of a moth's wings near his ear, Indaenir felt his new identity whispering to him in quick pulses. It tickled.\nThe Silvenar represented the Wood Elves. He or she would feel the will of the people and act upon it. The connection went both ways, as his or her influence could also sway the Wood Elves.\nAnd his people were nervous."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/vvardvark-experiment": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/vvardvark-experiment", "description": "A Telvanni experiment goes wrong and results in the cutest critter since the Guar", "author": "Magister Varkenel", "title": "The Vvardvark Experiment", "text": "By Magister Varkenel, Telvanni Mage\nWhat have I done?\nIt was but a simple experiment. A transmutation of features, a brand new fauna to bring to Vvardenfell. And what did I create? For perhaps the first time in my career, I wish I had failed. What sort of Telvanni mage am I to say such a thing?\nI made the immediate decision to destroy my creation. Yes, it was not inherently evil, or dangerous, or any of the traits normally associated with regrettable experiments. But it haunted me with its unnatural form, its protruding head, its fusion of scales and fur. I knew I had to destroy it.\nMy deep sense of curiosity was my downfall. My mind was made up to undo what I had done, but I was too vain to let my experiment be destroyed before setting up at least the most basic of tests. I was in the middle of one when my darling little girl burst into my office with her daily demand for sweets.\nHow this creature entrapped my daughter I will never know, but she was immediately besotted by it. She took that vile thing in her arms and began to coo. Its revolting tongue stretched from its snout and rubbed against her arm, and rather than cry out in horror she simply laughed and said, \"Oh, father, what a cute little beastie! Whatever is it called?\"\nI had no choice but to think of a name. She demanded it as a pet, and I cannot say no to those sweet, crimson eyes. But I refuse to agree to her newest request, a family for the horrid thing. One of these creatures living within the world is horrible enough, but at least I did not create an immortal.\nMaster Scaly-Tale's death will be the end to his species, mark my words. Never will I allow my beloved Vvardenfell to be overrun by creatures so revoltingly ... cute."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/waiting-door": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/waiting-door", "description": "A child's account of their family's ancestral shrine", "author": "Canon Nileno Nirith", "title": "The Waiting Door", "text": "From the Memoirs of Canon Nileno Nirith\nAs a child, I took great pains to avoid the Waiting Door. We weren't wealthy by any means, so our family shrine was really no more than a small shelf. I remember that my mother would polish it every Morndas eve, singing all the while. But despite all the songs and joyful communions, there was something about that space that set my skin to crawl\u2014like going into a dark basement by candlelight or waking suddenly from a bad dream.\nMy parents stored a great many relics on the threshold of our Waiting Door, but the one I remember best was a polished lure. My grandfather was a fisherman, you see. Not by trade, but by avocation. He would wake well before dawn and paddle out to the center of Lake Hairan, keen to hook a wrasse or two before beginning his daily labors.\nOne brisk morning in early Frostfall, I awoke from a dead sleep to the smell of pipe smoke. Afraid that my father had left his hookah smoldering, I crept out into the parlor to find the flame and smother it. To my great surprise his pipe rested on the end-table, cool as a river stone. Still, the scent persisted. I followed it around the corner and down the hall until, at length, I came to the Waiting Door. That same fear I always felt welled up in my throat. But then, seeing my grandfather's lure, I felt a profound sense of ease. I strained on my tip-toes to reach the shelf and took the lure in hand. This was, of course, thoroughly taboo, but in my child's heart I knew it was the right thing to do.\nWithout changing out of my night-clothes, I stole out the back door and jumped into my uncle's boat. I paddled out to my grandfather's favorite spot, affixed the lure to a line, and cast it out into the lake. I remember the water was like polished glass, and the moons' reflection glided across it so peacefully that even a single ripple felt like a blasphemy.\nAfter an hour of silence I got a bite\u2014a massive one. My lean arms strained against the fish for what felt like an eternity. Eventually, I landed it. It was a great fire-wrasse like my grandfather used to catch. My chest swelled with pride as I paddled home. By this point the sun had started to rise and the bantam guars were stirring in their coops. I placed the fish on a flaying board and started toward my parents' room to tell them the tale. But at the last moment, I hesitated. I glanced over my shoulder to see the Waiting Door and the empty spot where my grandfather's lure was enshrined. I took the relic from my pocket, kissed it, and placed it back on the shelf.\nIn that moment I saw the face of my grandfather\u2014the face of my ancestors. And from that point onward, I was never afraid."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wandering-skald": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wandering-skald", "description": "A song extolling the virtues of the warrior poets of Nord society", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Wandering Skald", "text": "Every library holds musty old tales\n\tCarried through rain and snow\n\tBut a Nord skald gladly regales\n\tWhat the poets all sang long ago\n\tEvery book has its title and name\n\tBut its pages soon turn to dust\n\tA poem we sing will live on in fame\n\tFrom a history all of us trust\n\tOld tales come down from long ago\n\tWith inflection and meter and verse\n\tSoon the skald's audience will hap'ly know\n\t\"Yes, this life could be worse.\"\n\tAnd the kings know that truth,\n\tIs better than sword and shield\n\tTaught from their distant youth\n\tSkald Kings have wisdom to wield\n\tSo welcome me as a friend\n\tFor the poems I sing tonight\n\tWill last for nights without end\n\tFrom first mead to dawn's early light!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wandering-spirits": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wandering-spirits", "description": "A heretical text on et'ada and Daedra and their adversarial relationships in ancient Khajiiti theology", "author": "Amun-dro", "title": "The Wandering Spirits", "text": "by Amun-dro, the Silent Priest\nAkha. The First Cat, whom we know as the Pathfinder and the One Unmourned. In the earliest days, when Ahnurr and Fadomai were still in love, he explored the heavens and his trails became the Many Paths. He was Ahnurr's Favored Son, and his father told him to find love like Ahnurr found with Fadomai. Akha mated with the Winged Serpent of the East, the Dune Queen of the West, and the Mother Mammoth of the North. He then went to the South and never returned. Instead, Alkosh appeared speaking warnings of the things Akha had made along the Many Paths. Since then, Alkosh and his faithful watch over the many children of Akha, for they are both terrible and kind.\nAlkosh. The Dragon King. The Highmane. He was granted rule over the myriad kingdoms of Akha along the Many Paths. In time, the children of Akha overthrew him and scattered his body on the West Wind. It is said that when Khenarthi learned this, she flew across the Many Paths and put Alkosh back together. In doing so, she saw all the things Akha had wrought, including those that should not be. Now, Alkosh and Khenarthi safeguard the Many Paths from the wayward children of Akha. Pray to Alkosh not for his strength or his mighty roar, but for his sense of duty and purpose.\nAlkhan. The Scaled Prince. Firstborn of Akha, who bred with a demon of fire and shadow. He can devour the souls of those he kills to grow to an immense size. The songs tell us Alkhan was slain by Lorkhaj and his companions, but as an immortal Son of Akha he will return from the Many Paths in time. He is the enemy of Alkosh, Khenarthi, and Lorkhaj, and ever hungers for his crown.\nBoethra. The Warrior of the East and West. She is the mate of Mafala, who did not forget her love for Boethra after Ahnurr sent her into exile for her rebellious nature. Boethra walked the Many Paths in exile, and she returned. It was she who pried the eye from Magrus, and this is why Khajiit value swords as well as claws. There is no need for a True Cat to pray to Boethra, as you honor this spirit merely by walking the Path, and only hiding in order to pounce. It is forbidden to say her name on nights of the Ghost Moon, as during these phases Boethra dons the death-shroud of Lorkhaj and wages war beyond the Lattice.\nMafala. The Teaching Mother. Elder Spirit and the Keeper of the Ancient Secrets of Fadomai. These were the secrets her children only needed in the beginning, and it was Mafala that carried them down. She watches over Eight of the Many Paths, each of which a Khajiit must walk in time. Mafala aids the Clan Mothers in guiding the Khajiiti people along the Path and protecting our secrets from Others. She is an ally of Azurah, Boethra, and Lorkhaj. Her numbers are Eight and Sixteen, and these are two of her keys."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/warriors-blade": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/warriors-blade", "description": "Invocation of Trinimac", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Warrior's Blade", "text": "Penitent, the blade of Trinimac is always at your side. He who led our people against the despoilers, the invaders. He who offers aid and succor in the midst of battle. May his vigor be present in your every step and deed.\nTo complete your venerations here, intone: \"By the Firmament and the Fixed Center, I pledge to defend my people. By the blade of Trinimac I swear, and call for his aid.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/warriors-welcome": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/warriors-welcome", "description": "A chant or motto for followers of the Warrior", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Warrior's Welcome", "text": "Within these halls, we welcome our brethren.\nWithin this valley, we are brothers and sisters.\nWithin our home, we are family.\nThe Warrior's Gaze Guides Us\nAnd It Guides our Weapons to Glory!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/watchers-pledge": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/watchers-pledge", "description": "Oath to defend the Hold against all, but especially Orcs", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Watcher's Pledge", "text": "By the sword of my fathers, I pledge fealty to the Watch and to the rightful heirs of King Maxevian. I do hereby bind myself to the laws and regulations of the Watch, and shall faithfully execute any orders given to me by the Watchmaster or her surrogates, without question or hesitation. I shall not suffer an Orc to stack stones, and I will defend the Hold against all enemies, be they men, mer, or beast.\nI take this vow without reservation, and shall hold to it unto death."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/water-cycle-clockwork-city": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/water-cycle-clockwork-city", "description": "An exploration of the water cycle, both inside the Clockwork City and in Tamriel itself", "author": "Varlinsi Arandu", "title": "The Water Cycle of Clockwork City", "text": "By Varlinsi Arandu, Apostle of Sotha Sil\nThe outside world is not unknown to the Apostles, but mostly ignored. What need have we to know of the history and cultures which fragment so frequently, broken apart in so many inconsequential ways? The Dark Elf Houses, the Breton monarchs, the warlords of the Orcs. What purpose does learning of their petty squabbles and worries serve to lead us towards the Chrononymic Will?\nIf there is any topic of any worth, it is perhaps the environment of which the rest of Nirn is forced to live within. Factoring out the ever-changing influences of man and mer, we are left with constants that the et'Ada Gears have created. Sunlight causes green leaves to grow. Winds affect weather and temperature. And water, that which all life is dependent upon, flows through an endless cycle.\nThere is limited knowledge of the water cycle which all things depend upon. Water is heated by the sun and turns to vapor. The vapor floats up within the sky, creating clouds. The clouds grow heavy and release their burdens, letting the water once more return to earth. And so it goes, a never ending-wheel.\nThe water that flows naturally throughout Clockwork City, commonly known as Seht's Blood, is rich with the overflow of our innovation. The unfortunate side effect is that it makes this water completely undrinkable for our residents. But in all things He is wise, and in this too He had a plan.\nOur home is shaped by the Divine Metronome, by the will of Lord Seht who sees the correct sequence. Yet even He knew of the beauty in this cycle, in this never-ending circle. And so He gave those who obeyed him the gift of water, of life, within the Halls of Regulation. Where everything is in perfect synchrony.\nAll water flows to the Halls of Regulation, where first it is filtered through fine mesh to separate larger sedimentation. Next the water is sent through the distillation initiator, powered by the cleansing magic to disinfect finer contaminates. Without this magical process, many toxins would still be present in the water when used by the citizens of Clockwork.\nThe cleansed water is then distributed to either the water reservoir or vapor manifold. The water reservoir retains all water given to the Brass Fortress, be it for drinking, bathing, or cleaning. The vapor manifold, however, holds equal importance, for it creates the humidity in the air which allows for organic life. Without it the very air we breathe would be deadly.\nSo join with me in praise for this most important of cycles, created gleaming and perfect by the will of Lord Seht. Perfect and perpetual, ever set in regulation."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/way-shadow": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/way-shadow", "description": "A text reminding the shadowscales to honor Sithis in all things", "author": "Solis Aduro (translator)", "title": "The Way of Shadow", "text": "Translated by Solis Aduro\nAs an acolyte, you must always remember the source of your power, for it can be denied at the whim of our master. You will be tempted by other forces, many of which try to wear a mask similar to our father. They have as many names as the father has faces. You shall remember all of his, and none of theirs, when you draw the runes of shadow.\nAnd remember, there are no shadows without light. Without light there is only the void. We revere this face of our father, but it is not our destiny to strive toward the inevitable. The sun is a bleeding yolk and we will drink of it.\nUntil then, our scales remain black, and so we serve at the seat of shadow."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/way-baandari": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/way-baandari", "description": "Instructions on Baandari customs", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Way of the Baandari", "text": "Do not slander another child of the Baandari.\n\tRemain mindful in all dealings.\n\tA gift must be returned in kind.\n\tA fair trade need not be fair only in gold.\n\tTruth and cleverness need not be enemies.\n\tFind what is lost, trade what is found, and leave what has no purpose."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/way-blade": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/way-blade", "description": "Description of the first trial", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Way of the Blade", "text": "Five trials comprise the Way of the Blade.\nThe first trial is the trial of the flame.\nThey that steal the flame from the winged guardians may light the path and begin the Way of the Blade.\nThis is the first trial."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wedding-feast-memoir": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wedding-feast-memoir", "description": "An amusing tale of a Khajiit caterer in Valenwood", "author": "Naral, also known as Baretail", "title": "The Wedding Feast: A Memoir", "text": "The memoir is undated.\nMy children, Naral sets this down to give insight into the strange ways of the Wood Elves amongst whom some of you travel. Beware their vengeful ways!\nPreparations began months ago for the wedding feast of the two highest Wood Elves. Their union shows that the forest and its people are as one. Hence, a very large feast.\nAs a trader, I've often been tasked with providing tidbits for royalty. I name no names, but freely admit to providing biscuits dusted with moon sugar for banquets in Elden Root on more than one occasion. Still, this wedding feast required many things outside my purview, and I was forced to make last-minute changes.\n\tTo get fifty vats of beef broth, I supplemented the thirty vats available by adding root vegetable broth. Knowing the Wood Elves are not squeamish about the dead, I provided ten crates of bone marrow from whatever bones were available, asking no questions as to their origins.\nBut cake with no flour? Never had I seen such a thing before! I consulted with several Wood Elf bakers who assured me such a thing was possible, as Wood Elves eat nothing green unless prepared by outsiders. Given that, their restriction that I provide cakes without flour flummoxed me. I got a couple of recipes and checked with my suppliers, none of whom could provide the desired quantity in time.\nThus, I set about making them myself. I thinned the eggs with water to make them stretch. I added arrowroot and powdered flax seed to thicken it. Sugar proved the most dear component of the cakes, so I added ground chalk to reduce the actual amount of sugar needed. The taste was similar to cake. Very similar. And since they took so little time and gold to make, my profit doubled from the cakes alone.\nIt was the substitution of flax seed oil whipped with lard instead of butter that proved my undoing, and the undoing of many a guest's bowels.\nNot only did the Wood Elves rescind any future contracts, but they shaved my tail and confiscated all the gear and goods I'd left behind in my hasty retreat.\nNever, my children, offer to supply goods for a Wood Elf feast. It will only end in tears.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/welkynars-eton-nir": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/welkynars-eton-nir", "description": "An introduction to this illustrious order", "author": "Relequen", "title": "The Welkynars of Eton Nir", "text": "By Relequen, Leader of the Welkynars\nThe Welkynar are part of an order which spans nearly all of Summerset's grand history. We dedicate our lives to protecting our homeland, to fight back against the dark tides of evil. Wherever malice rears its ugly head, wherever villains threaten our citizens, that is where we shall be.\nThough Cloudrest may be where we lay our heads, our order answers any urgent call. This need for quick mobility is what led the first of our order to bond with gryphons. With the aid of these creatures, our order is able to quickly move to far away locations. This is what led the Welkynars to choose Cloudrest as the home of our Aerie, given the city's central location within the island.\nOur order numbers four, representative of each of the cardinal directions. When one member decides to retire or dies in the line of duty, another is chosen to replace them. This initiate's training will take years to complete, as they will need to first capture and raise their own gryphon companion.\nEach Welkynar is chosen for his or her combat abilities. Though our order is well known for producing some of the finest battlemages within Summerset, magical ability is not necessarily a requirement to join. After all, Mornyalemar the Battle-Hardy is thought to be one of the greatest Welkynars to ever live, and had not one ounce of magical ability. An initiate need only prove themselves highly capable in battle to join our ranks.\nAny member of either Summerset governance or military may petition the Wekynars for aid. Of course, accepting the petition has always been up to the order's discretion. Between assignments, our members continue to patrol Summerset for signs of danger, often stopping in cities and collecting information on any potential threats.\nYes, a Welkynar never truly rests. But for this lifelong dedication, we ensure the safety of every citizen of Summerset. There is truly no greater honor than joining the ranks of this prestigious order."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/werewolfs-hide": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/werewolfs-hide", "description": "The glorious hide of the nightstalker", "author": "an Unknown Packleader", "title": "The Werewolf's Hide", "text": "Some will tell you that our greatest strength is our hunger, or our numbers, or our rage, or our claws, or our fangs. These are fools. The gift of Hircine is not simply about weapons, but about defense.\nTo hunt in the great hunting grounds of our master, we must be impervious to pain, masters of our own bodies.\n\tMany a werewolf hunter will seek your hide for this reason. They will try to wear it, or else burn it. Either way, it is your greatest prize and you should take care not to let it fall to filth and disrepair.\nA wolf's coat is the marker of his status. It bears his scars and protects his body against harm. Treat it as a nobleman treats his finery, for you are a servant of Hircine.\nToo often have I encountered feral wolves with mangy coats. You are not wild dogs! You are not senseless wolves with no choice but to wander the woods as animals! You are kings among hunters!\nWhen you are beset by enemies, when the mob comes for you, and you transform into your true self to face sword and sickle, pitchfork and pike, you will thank me. Your coat will gleam and terrify, and no blow will harm you."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/whistle": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/whistle", "description": "The grim tale of a youth who trains Durzogs", "author": "Eofryd", "title": "The Whistle", "text": "It was in the summer of my thirteenth year that I first discovered the whistle and my peculiar talent. I had long before then suspected that I had within me some latent and as yet-undiscovered skill that would, in time, set me apart from my peers and elevate me above them.\nAs a child, I had always related poorly to people and consequently I was the butt of many jokes and japes, especially among the bigger, stronger children, who had by then already begun to distinguish themselves as warriors and woodcutters and in other such burly professions while my slight build caused me to lag far behind in such pursuits. But among animals I found many and devoted friends, and so even at my loneliest, I was rarely without companionship.\nNow, it happened that some of the older children, being, as I have suggested, cruel and lording their superior strength over me, got it into their heads to play a mean trick. The trick was that they had found a whistle which produced a note that drove many creatures wild, but especially the durzogs of our homeland. They took me to a cave where a pack of durzogs had recently made their den and bade me to blow the whistle, or else they would beat me. As I have said, these children were much stronger than me and also cruel; many times I had limped home from a beating I'd received at their hands.\nBut I think now that the threat of beating would not have been enough to compel me to blow the whistle, had it not also been accompanied by jeers and insults, questioning my bravery. For though it was indisputable that I lagged behind them in strength, I was determined that none could outmatch me in courage or strength of spirit.\nTherefore, choosing what I knew would undoubtedly be the greater pain\u2014though not so great a pain as the shame of being branded a coward would have been\u2014I took the whistle and blew a strong, clear note on it, holding it longer than seemed wise, so as to settle the question of my fearlessness. My tormentors, on hearing the note, revealed their true nature and pleaded with me to stop blowing the whistle and wondered aloud whether I was crazy and said that I had a death wish.\nI did not stop blowing the whistle, but held the note until I saw the durzogs emerge from their lair, teeth bared and lips curled. When I stopped, they stopped. For a moment then, we stared at each other inquiringly. They were not a few feet away from me, and they waited, as if for a signal. I put the whistle to my lips again and blew another note. The durzogs again approached, but their malice did not seem to be aimed at me. In fact, they seemed to implore me for instruction. I tested this theory by gesturing upward as I had done many times with my dogs at home; like the dogs, at this gesture, the durzogs reared on their hind legs, in unison. I tried again, blowing the whistle along with the gesture for \"sit\" and \"lie down.\" The durzogs responded readily.\nNow the sight of this had lifted the fear from my tormentors who now were begging for a chance to use the whistle themselves and to command the durzogs. I confess I took delight in refusing them, for finally I found that they were envious of me and I felt that I had earned their respect.\nBut the largest of them, a dimwit named Reggid, clopped me over the head and took the whistle. I had barely got my senses about me (such was the force with which he hit me), when I heard him blow on the whistle and registered the subsequent snarls of the durzogs. As my vision clarified, I saw the animals rush toward Reggid with a murderous fury. They leapt and tore at his flesh, and he cried out to me, begging for me to take the whistle and to call the durzogs off. But I did not.\nThe others looked on in horror as the beasts devoured Reggid, but at that moment I am not afraid to confess I felt nothing but pride. I have long held that animals can tell better than we who is virtuous and who is not, and that day I felt my beliefs vindicated.\nWhen the animals had feasted, they returned to their den for a slumber. None of the others dared claim the whistle, but I have kept it with me all of this time, and used it in the taming and training of durzogs in many places across Tamriel. Never once have I had a beast turn on me."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/whithering-delodiil": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/whithering-delodiil", "description": "A history of competing Ayleid city-states", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Whithering of Delodiil", "text": "There was, in those days, a city in the Heartland, Delodiil by name. And it was a city of pleasant promenades, of learned scholars, of meticulous artisans, and of lissome dancers. And also did Delodiil have warriors fierce and proud, who protected the promenades, and the scholars, and the artisans, and the dancers. And though the warriors were few, they were bold.\nNow the people of Delodiil worshiped many gods, for they were devout and held all the Divines in reverence. But above all others they did venerate the Lady of Light, building for Merid-Nunda a chapel of colored rays and beams, which was for glory like a piece of Aetherius brought down to the mortal world. And the people of Delodiil were proud thereon.\nBut across the valley was another city, Abagarlas, which was to the darkness as Delodiil was to the light. Now Abagarlas had as many citizens as Delodiil, but few were dancers, artisans, and scholars, because most were warriors fierce and proud. These warriors were lended to other states and cities for the making of war in return for wealth. And thus did Abagarlas, in its own way, prosper.\nNow the King of Abagarlas saw the chapel of lights that was the pride of Delodiil, and he said, \"Is not Abagarlas as great a city as Delodiil? We shall have a great chapel of our own.\" And he decreed that much of the wealth of Abagarlas be spent in the building of a shrine to his own patron Divine, who was the Lord Mola Gbal. And the people of Abagarlas reared up a vast shrine to Mola Gbal, but they were but rude soldiers rather than artisans, and the shrine was misshapen, ill-colored, and burdensome to look upon. But it was, nonetheless, larger than Delodiil's chapel of lights, and thus the King of Abagarlas boasted that his city was greater therefore than Delodiil. But the people of Delodiil evinced no dismay, and went about their business as before.\nAnd this unconcern of the Delodiils ate a hole into the heart of the King of Abagarlas, and he was vexed unto madness. He sent soldiers to profane the small shrine to Merid-Nunda in Abagarlas, and then went to his vast shrine to Mola Gbal, where he swore a mighty oath. And slaying a family of visiting Delodiils on the altar, the King vowed that he would gather his army, march across the valley, and capture all the Delodiils, sacrificing them to Mola Gbal within the chapel of lights.\nAnd the King of Abagarlas mustered all his soldiers, and on a night in which the skies were lit by a furious racing aurora, he marched them across the valley to Delodiil. But when the King and his army arrived they found the land empty, for the city of Delodiil was gone, unto every brick!\nAnd the King thought he heard laughter in the lights in the skies, mirth that turned to shrieks of fear that came, not from above, but from back across the valley. In haste the King marched his soldiers back to his city, but when they arrived at Abagarlas, they found it utterly destroyed as if by scorching light. And of the families of the soldiers and the King, nothing could be found but their shadows burnt into the walls of the city.\n\tThus Abagarlas. But of the fate of Delodiil, nothing more was known."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wilderking-legend": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wilderking-legend", "description": "Oral legend of the Bosmer deity", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Wilderking Legend", "text": "\u2014transcribed from the oral tradition by an unknown author\u2014\n\tSing, Valenwood, shout Green\n\tTell the tale of the mover, the shaper,\n\tthe one, the Wilderking.\n\tHis eye projects outward to the world\n\tand touches everything he perceives:\n\tby his thoughts he shapes it.\n\tDo you know where to find him?\n\tHave you looked to the hills?\n\tHave you looked to the trees?\n\tHe is not there.\n\tBecause \"there\" is a place, and a place has boundaries,\n\tbut The Wilderking is boundless.\n\tHis is the Court and the Throne.\n\tHe is the Court and the Throne.\n\tWhen he walks, his footfalls fall on himself.\n\tAnd who does not hear his footfalls and quake?\n\tThe earth shakes at his coming,\n\tat the rising of his Hollow from the earth.\n\tLike the delicate calm of an undisturbed pool\n\tis shattered by the smallest of stones,\n\tso is the terrible force of the Wilderking's passing.\n\tShout, Bramblebreach! Wail, Shadows Watch!\n\tThe Wilderking is friend and foe,\n\tFoe and friend to both.\n\tFor who can record his footsteps on the land,\n\twho can hear the melody of his voice,\n\twhen he opens his mouth to sing?"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/will-drulshasa": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/will-drulshasa", "description": "Strict commands to underlings", "author": "Drulshasa", "title": "The Will of Drulshasa", "text": "Subordinate Dremora! Hear and obey the will of Drulshasa!\nWe are strong. We despise the weak and hate the frail. And we abhor the mortals most of all because they are both weak and frail. The weak must be punished by the strong! It is our calling, and it is the order of our lord and master, Molag Bal.\nFind mortals. Capture, but do not kill them. They must be alive when we sacrifice their wretched souls to Molag Bal.\nDo not fail me, or you shall suffer in place of the mortals. Do this, because I command it!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/will-our-mistress": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/will-our-mistress", "description": "Sotha Sil's memories must be obtained, but how?", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Will of Our Mistress", "text": "Our Mistress' plans for these memories are of no consequences to us, for our goal is to merely find a way to control them. That being said, controlling a god's memories is no small feat. I say this not to question Her will, but rather to stress the difficulty of the task before you.\nIt's common knowledge who has jurisdiction over them. We just need to discover how."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/will-master": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/will-master", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Will of the Master", "text": "By serving the Master, we will survive the glorious cataclysm to come. Through his eyes and as his hands, we are made mighty and will transcend the boundaries of mortal flesh.\nMany lack the strength to overcome the shackles of feeble morality and embrace the voice in the shadow. These many will stand against you, call you heretic and monster and fool, and demand you bow to their false gods.\nOthers still shall join your cause, and be incapable of satisfying the expectations of His Verminous Majesty. They are a weakness that must be purged, lest they ruin the Master's plan and drag down his loyal servants with them.\nTake their souls from them as price for their hatred, so they may be made useful. Before the sight of the Master and in His temple, invoke the ritual that shall burn away their impurities and create them anew.\nAs the crucible holds molten metal to be purified, the black soul gem acts as the reservoir for their spirits in Oblivion.\nThose who are purified in such a fashion shall not \u2014 indeed, cannot \u2014 taste death so long as their gems endure."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/winds-change": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/winds-change", "description": "Ancient Ayleid on social discontent", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Winds of Change", "text": "During the reign of Elgryr I took notice of the various patterns in the thoughts and behaviors of a troubled populace, and undertook a humble plan to comprehend and, in the end, affect them. Being of ordered mind, I began my taxonomy in the lower classes, which divide evenly into those who \u2026\n<The rest of this tome is illegible due to age and wear.>"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/witches-hag-fen": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/witches-hag-fen", "description": "Observations on the Hags of Glenumbra", "author": "From the Journal of Bonorion the Wanderer", "title": "The Witches of Hag Fen", "text": "Observations on the hags in Glenumbra's Hag Fens, from the journals of Bonorion the Wanderer, 2E 567\n\tI arrived at a rather watery area as I traveled through Glenumbra. It was full of odd trees and murky water. When I asked a local what this place was, he said \"This is the Hag Fens. A swamp, as anyone with eyes can plainly see.\" I asked what I might find within, if I were to explore these Fens. The fellow responded rather tersely, \"Hags, you git. Why do you think we call it that?\" (I do enjoy speaking to the natives. It always adds an element of raw authenticity to my travels.)\nWhen pressed to explain about the hags, the local told me that they are some sort of witch. Exciting news! I like researching the different ways that magicka is employed across the land. I asked the taciturn fellow where I might find the ladies of the swamp and he made a rather rude noise. \"If ye're fool enough to go looking for the 'ladies,' as you call them, then head to the North Fens. Maybe they'll invite you to tea.\" Locals are always leery of those that use magic, but I am sure the swamp witches would welcome some scholarly discussion.\n***\nI found the area of the Fens where the hags dwell. Unfortunately, I lost one boot, my walking stick, and one of my packs to the rather aggressive crocodiles that also call these fens home. But I can see some of the tree dwellings that I believe belong to the hags nearby. I have been observing from my hiding place behind a small shrub. My notes forthwith:\nHags have some strange deformity and rely on a walking staff to get around.\nThe hags appear rather unkempt and are obviously old.\nHags apparently use materials found in these Fens to craft attire that is rather rustic.\n\nThere are a group of younger, prettier witches who do not abide with the elderly hags.\nHags must send their menfolk off to work, as I have observed no male hags up to this point. Perhaps the males dwell in a separate camp? Note: Ask hags about their menfolk.\nOne of the hags nearest my observation post seems to be cooking something in a rather large cauldron. A bit of hot stew and a cup of tea would be welcome after my mishaps in the swampy fens. I shall approach slowly, so as not to startle the elderly lady.\n\u2014 Notation from Wyress Galliane:\nWe found a rather tattered Bosmer crawling out of the fens. He had barely survived an encounter with the hags and a crocodile or two. He was delirious and kept begging for tea and stew. We healed him and sent him on his way, although not before he attempted to proposition nearly every wyress in our camp. He left some of his notes, which we have preserved, though his complete lack of wit with regard to local creatures and customs, and his absurd observation skills, do not bode well for him surviving another journey."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wolf-and-dragon": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wolf-and-dragon", "description": "Brief history of how Kvatch fared under Count Carolus Aquilarios", "author": "Midara Salviticus", "title": "The Wolf and the Dragon", "text": "By Midara Salviticus, Historian, University of Gwylim\nWhen Varen Aquilarios left the Gold Coast with the Second Legion to carry his rebellion into the heart of Cyrodiil, he didn't leave his beloved homeland completely unprotected. Between a slim wall that stretched from the shores of the Abecean Sea to the banks of the Strid River and a surrogate champion in the form of his nephew Carolus, Kvatch and the surrounding countryside were spared both the retaliation of the Longhouse Emperor and the degradations of the war that followed. But there were still plenty of opportunities for the Wolf of Kvatch to take on the Imperial Dragon.\nCarolus Aquilarios idolized his uncle and was eager to help when Varen declared open rebellion against the Emperor. In fact, Carolus wanted to join Varen and fight alongside him as he marched toward the Imperial City. But Varen had other plans for Carolus. He wanted someone he could trust to protect the homefront - someone like his honorable nephew. Disappointed not to be beside Varen and in the midst of the action, Carolus nevertheless vowed to keep Kvatch and its people safe, just as his uncle knew he would. He immediately assumed temporary command of the County of Kvatch.\nShortly after Varen and the majority of Second Legion departed the Gold Coast, the Imperial Prefect of Anvil and Ephrem Benirus, the Count of Anvil, sent Imperial forces stationed in the coastal city inland to seize Varen Aquilarios's property and holdings. Carolus rallied the single cohort of the Second Legion that Varen left in his command, as well as the Kvatch Warders - the famed defenders of the city. Kvatch's defenders met the Imperial forces on the plains below the city. The battle was short and fierce, ending with the remnants of Anvil's forces - now greatly reduced - retreating back the way they had come. The Wolf of Kvatch had repelled an attack by the Imperial Dragon.\nBefore the year was out, Anvil sent its dwindling Imperial troops against Kvatch three more times, and each time they came away beaten and fewer than they were before. Then, word reached the region that Varen Aquilarios had ascended to the Ruby Throne. Carolus, who was being called the Wolf of Kvatch for his bravery and leadership, officially inherited the title of Count of Kvatch and took the wolf's head symbol as his own.\nUnfortunately, Kvatch's good fortune wouldn't last long. As soon as Carolus was officially named as Count of Kvatch, Artorius Ponticus, Primate of Kvatch, began working to undermine the count's authority and carve out more power and influence for himself. Always ambitious and powerful in his own right as the religious authority of Cyrodiil, the Primate had a grudgingly civil relationship with Varen, and had put aside his ambitions while Carolus struggled to keep Kvatch safe. With the change in regime in the capital, however, it appeared that the Primate sought a more influential position in the city's hierarchy. Before this challenge could come to a head, however, something significant occurred in Anvil.\nBut that's a tale for another book."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wolf-and-pirate-queen": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wolf-and-pirate-queen", "description": "The rulers of Anvil and Kvatch battle over the independence of the Gold Coast", "author": "Midara Salviticus", "title": "The Wolf and the Pirate Queen", "text": "By Midara Salviticus, Historian, University of Gwylim\nThanks to the actions of Carolus Aquilarios, the Wolf of Kvatch, Anvil's defenses were practically nonexistent when Captain Fortunata - the Pirate Queen - sailed into port. After numerous attempts by the Imperial soldiers stationed at the port city to invade Kvatch, the barracks in Anvil were practically empty due to defeat after defeat at the Wolf's hands. Captain Fortunata's loyal pirates and buccaneers quickly took control of the city and she claimed the title of Provincial Governor for herself.\nThat might have been the end of things, as far as Count Carolus was concerned, except for what the Pirate Queen decided to do next. She declared that the Gold Coast was now an independent state, free and separate from Cyrodiil and the Empire. When she requested that Kvatch join Anvil as part of the new order, the count refused, preferring to continue to owe fealty to Emperor Varen. Not feeling totally confident at the time, Fortunata didn't press the demand. But she wouldn't forget the count's lack of support. When the Soulburst occurred and Varen disappeared, she took advantage of Kvatch's sudden isolation to make her demands more forceful.\nAnvil began pressing Kvatch to join the Gold Coast, both diplomatically and by increasingly underhanded means. Marauders and bandit gangs began to appear along the Gold Road around Kvatch, disrupting trade and harassing travelers. Kvatch's elite guards, the Warders, were dispatched to deal with the bandits, but each time the bandits were able to escape to the Strid River. They returned in greater numbers, amplifying their attacks by raiding outlying farms and sending frightened refugees into the city for protection.\nDespite these acts of aggression, Carolus remained staunch and refused to negotiate with the Pirate Queen. Infuriated, Fortunata announced that Kvatch would be formally annexed into the Gold Coast. She sent the Anvil Guard to take command of the city. The Count of Kvatch responded by putting the Warders upon the walls and sending the cohort out to confront the invaders. The opposing forces met on the Gold Road, near the Gottshaw Inn. The more disciplined and highly trained cohort scattered the motley guards from Anvil, but the situation wasn't as it appeared. It was a trap. An army of pirates exploded out of hiding and surrounded the cohort. While ragged and undisciplined, the pirates outnumbered the legionaries six to one. The cohort was wiped out in what has come to be known as the Gottshaw Massacre.\nCarolus Aquilarios had no choice. Without the support of the cohort, he had no option other than to swear fealty to the Gold Coast. Now, caught between the Pirate Queen and the Primate of Akatosh, the Count seethes at his powerlessness, all the while doing everything he can to honor his vow and protect Kvatch and its people."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wolf-sky": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wolf-sky", "description": "An ancient spirit proves to be unhelpful", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Wolf in the Sky", "text": "I was a child the first time I saw the wolf in the sky.\n\"It's a cloud,\" said my mother, with some irritation. She thought fancies were not appropriate to the son of a warrior.\n\"But there's it's tail! And the fangs drip with blood!\"\n\"It's a cloud,\" she repeated. She pushed me back into our home and closed the heavy wooden door behind her, bolting it for good measure.\nEven though I was but four or five at the time, I realized her anger was not directed at me. My mother was afraid of the wolf.\nFrom then on, I said nothing, though I often saw it. In the sky, in the woods, and sometimes out of the corner of my eye, I knew the wolf followed me wherever I went. And though it frightened my mother, I remained unafraid.\nUntil the day of the Ebonheart Pact, I hid the wolf from others. But when we Nords were told by our jarls that we were allied with Dark Elves and their pets, the lizardfolk, I joined the rebellion.\nAnd in doing so, knowing we were now traitors to our own leaders, I decided to invoke the power of the wolf.\n\tOn the night of a new moon, I piled branches atop a hill to summon it with a bonfire. Trophies from my various kills, parafin, blubber, and twisted bundles of dried sage joined the dried wood. I chanted, but the sounds were no words I'd ever heard before. They tumbled from my lips as I prepared to set my pyre ablaze.\nI saw it. I always saw it. Through the smoke, the wolf gained a more corporeal shape, its eyes as red as embers.\n\t\"Wolf! I know you not!\" I cried, throwing my arms open wide. \"But all my life you have been beside me. Join us in our rebellion against this unholy Pact!\"\nThe wolf sat, tilting its head to the side. Then it threw back its head and howled \u2026 with laughter!\n\"You mortals are so amusing!\" said the wolf. \"What makes you think a wolf would do anything useful? Now, I need to get out of this thing. It's got fleas.\"\nSo saying, the wolf leapt into the fire and was consumed. And I \u2026 I stood in shock, mouth agape. Who or what had followed me all my life, I cannot say.\nI was arrested that night beside my bonfire, I and my companions (none of whom, I add, had seen or heard the wolf), and I will be put to death tomorrow for my deeds.\nMy mark goes here, to show this is written by the monk's hand as my last request: X"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wolf-solitude": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wolf-solitude", "description": "Biography of King Svargrim of Western Skyrim", "author": "Pjetr the Skald", "title": "The Wolf of Solitude", "text": "By Pjetr the Skald, of the Bards College\nThick of mane and fierce of heart, like the white wolves of Haafingar, High King Svagrim stalks the halls of his Blue Palace with restless intensity. Ever watchful. Ever wary. Like the descendants of Svartr who came before him, Svargrim is a king beset by enemies on all sides. Yet none of his noble line have faced such daunting odds during their reigns as our noble Wolf of Solitude.\nNot two years into his reign, the Sea Giant armada of Kruntharth sailed from regions unknown to besiege the high walls of his city. It's said that Svargrim stood eye-to-eye with Kruntharth from atop the battlements as the monstrous warrior demanded tribute of our king and kingdom for his mercy. But did our high king yield? Nay! He leapt from the walls and tore open the throat of that Giant like a wolf preying upon a mammoth. So inspired were Svargrim's soldiers that they threw open the gates and charged after him, driving the stunned pirates back into the ocean, never to return to our shores!\nLet us not forget the Great Troll Rut of 2E 265 (as if it were even possible), when the unseasonable warmth inspired broods of the creatures to rampage across the western holds while locked in unspeakably horrid acts. The Wolf split up twenty of the unholy couplings himself, and further divided those forty creatures with his sword! To this day, trolls tend to avoid the area closest to the walls of Solitude the way chub loons avoid sabre cat dens.\\n\\nYou can be certain that when the Akaviri came to Skyrim searching for conquest, they took one look at our fearsome king on our palisades and sailed straight east for easier prey. And though they were brought low by the machinations of Dark Elves, Mud Lizards, and the so-called Skald Prince\u2014who diminishes our noble craft by mere association\u2014they made short work of Windhelm and the falsely crowned High Queen of the East, Mabjaarn Flame-Hair.\nIf only Emperor Moricar the Middling had taken heed before committing his legions to our borders in a vain attempt to subjugate Skyrim from his cushioned seat on the Ruby Throne. Though his cowardice spared him the same embarrassing death as his predecessor, the howls of the Wolf routing his army in single battle no doubt carried all the way to the White-Gold Tower and haunted his dreams to the end of his days!\nAnd who was it that saved the western holds from the Witchman throng stampeding out from Cyrodiil after the Longhouse Emperors finally fell? Thousands of those mongrels came clawing and biting into our lands like cornered, rabid dogs, but our noble Wolf strode out and showed them whose fangs were sharpest. When have you seen more than a handful of Reachfolk in our lands since?\nTake heart, Nords of the West. Though troubles assail us from east and west, south and north, you have nothing to fear from that motley pact of Elves, lizards, and iceheels, or the unwashed hordes of the Despot of Markarth. The Wolf of Solitude keeps a tireless vigil atop his tower. Our enemies will find no safe haven in our wondrous realm."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wonders-craglorn": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wonders-craglorn", "description": "A description of the various people, places and creatures of Craglorn by a Nord arena combatant", "author": "Belinka", "title": "The Wonders of Craglorn ", "text": "Oh, Papa, the wonders I've seen! I know we exchanged harsh words when you decided to send me to Craglorn, but you were right. The experience has done me a world of good. Of course, I've had to put up with more than my share of milk-drinkers and horkers, but that's to be expected whenever we venture far from the borders of our beloved Skyrim. But let me tell you about the experiences I've had.\nFirst, they say the stars have fallen from the sky and walk like men in this wasteland. I don't know about that, but I saw warriors of sand and dust rise from the battlefield like ancient specters. They were tough, but nothing that honest Nord steel couldn't take down.\nThen I ran into these strange monstrosities that seemed to be a mix of various creatures. It was almost as though a scorpion and a wamasu had a baby\u2014and yes, it was as amazing and terrible as that sounds. The locals called it a \"mantikora.\" I called it ugly and hit it with my axe. A lot.\nAnd did I mention the cultists in my last letter? Yes, Craglorn has them, too. But these cultists are special. Call themselves the Scaled Court and give themselves high-and-mighty titles such as \"regents\" and \"exarchs.\" What a bunch of horkers! And would you believe it? They worship some kind of sky snake! Of all the possible deities to choose from, they decided that a creature that wiggles around on its belly was the end all and be all. I hit them with my axe. A lot. And it felt good!\nNow I'm enjoying a mead and preparing to enter the Dragonstar Arena. You'd be so proud of me, Papa! I've gathered a decent group of warriors and I think we have a chance to win this competition. Who knew a Nord, a Dark Elf, and two Argonians would make such a good team? I haven't been able to get all the details on what we'll be up against, but I figure it can't be much harder than the Konunleikar games. I'll write again after we win the trophy. Or whatever it is we win.\nYour daughter, Belinka"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wood-elf-gourmet-ch-1": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wood-elf-gourmet-ch-1", "description": "Flavorful recipes for the Bosmer chef", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Wood Elf Gourmet, Ch. 1", "text": "Every Wood Elf knows that the more inward the part, the better it tastes. While other races cook their meat until it is dry and bloodless, and waste entrails and brains, the Wood Elf knows that these parts are the juiciest and therefore the most flavorful.\nThe following delicacy is a highlight from the Greenshade region of Valenwood:\nJugged Venison\n\n1 Venison Haunch, bloody\nStock\n1 Onion finely chopped\nHang the Haunch for 5 days, until it is tender to the touch.\nHeat the haunch in over a medium flame. The oil will give the meat a nice crisp outside. When the meat starts to pop, remove it from the heat.\nSeal the hot meat in a vase or jug with the stock and the onion. Let it stand for another fortnight.\nTo serve, open the jug and pour the tender haunch onto the table. It is so tender no knife is required.\nThis meal will feed a family of four, or a hunter who has gone a few days without killing any prey.\nThere are many more such delicacies, often passed down from parent to child."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wood-elfs-message": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wood-elfs-message", "description": "A secret code hidden in a poem", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Wood Elf's Message", "text": "We love you little echatere, we love you very much.\nAre you happy with your lot in life, with all the packs and such?\nAt a glance, you seem so calm, so collected.\nThe cheese you provide is delicious and very much respected.\nInn and tavern, keep and castle, oh little echatere,\nHidden away from king and country, life can be unfair.\nRoom for another loaded pack upon your woolly back?\nSecret knowledge, will you share what we all lack?\nWords can't convey how we love you, little echatere.\nOrcs know it's more than the mammoth or the hare.\nDon't worry, we won't embarrass you any further.\nSmell the love of one last hug for all you nurture."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wood-elves-valenwood": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wood-elves-valenwood", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Wood Elves of Valenwood", "text": "Unlike their Altmeri and Dunmeri brethren, the Bosmer have an attitude that is almost affable in particular respects. Certain Imperial diplomats have likened this breezy amiableness to the mellow intoxication a greenmote addict might first experience. But hasten not to categorize these as you would a Khajiiti Skooma fiend; these tree-folk are vicious, adept at banditry, and worthy of your concern and attention, if not your respect.\nThe Bosmeri race is governed\u2014if one can describe this loose hegemony as such\u2014by the Royal Camoran Dynasty, but there seems little rigidity or exertion of jurisdiction among the disorganized tribes of the Bosmer. Only slightly more stringent are the clan lines, which are matrilineal in nature. Ruled by the Treethane, or head tribesman, these serve little purpose other than providing protection during times of war. The real power is wielded by the priests of the forest deity Y'ffre, known as Spinners, who enforce the Green Pact, a bizarre code of conduct forcing the Bosmer to feed carnivorously and never use living vegetation of any kind, for any means.\nThese are no woodland nymphs. Wood Elves go to war not to conquer lands or covet precious resources; they do it for sport. Unless a threat to Valenwood presents itself, Bosmer consider the slaying of others to be simply unnecessary, and wagers are even made prior to raids regarding the theft of prized possessions without a drop of blood spilled. But when called upon, they excel at the bow. Youngsters are trained to a formidable degree to snipe using both range and speed to their advantage. When you walk the woods near Arenthia, hold your purse or satchel close, and report Bosmeri brigands to your local town watch."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/woodsmer": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/woodsmer", "description": "Bosmer legend of a woodland spirit", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Woodsmer", "text": "Willowleg rubbed his ankle. Not broken, just twisted. He stood, putting weight on it very carefully. Good. It would hold. He'd fallen while on a journey through Valenwood. One of his legs was thinner than the other. Sometimes he forgot.\n\"Now to figure out where I am,\" Willowleg said. He looked at the swaying leaves high above, the hint of blue sky occasionally peeking through. To anyone but a Wood Elf, those brief glimpses would convey nothing, but Willowleg immediately turned to continue on his way.\nSoon, he realized he wasn't alone. A little to his left walked another Wood Elf, dark green hair hanging unkempt about his face. Willowleg, used to traveling alone, noticed that his silent companion adjusted his pace to remain close without overtaking him.\n\"Going to Falinesti, too?\" Willowleg asked.\n\"Yes.\"\nWillowleg said congenially, \"I hope I reach the summer site before it's too late.\"\nThe green-haired Wood Elf said, \"You'll be fine.\" His tone indicated he didn't wish to speak further, so Willowleg simply nodded and kept walking.\nThey traveled together, silently, for the rest of the day. When Willowleg stopped to rest, the stranger also stopped. Willowleg shared water and dried meat. Then they began the last part of their journey. The trees thinned out, leaving a clearing into which Falinesti fit perfectly.\nAt the clearing's edge, the stranger stopped and put a hand on Willowleg's arm. Surprised, Willowleg realized the green-haired Elf's skin was rough and thick, like bark.\n\"Stay here,\" the stranger said, murmuring an incantation.\nWillowleg, unable to move or speak, watched his companion walk to Falinesti's base and touch its bark with his forehead. The tree-city shuddered and began to move slowly, lifting its roots from the earth.\nAs the green-haired Elf walked off, leading Falinesti away, Willowleg felt the strange spell over him break, and movement returned with a tingling force through his limbs. He glanced down and saw that not only had his thin leg healed, but his shoes were missing.\n\"The Woodsmer,\" Willowleg whispered in awe. The Woodsmer, the mythic one who led the unwary astray in the woods, was also known to bestow favors on those who knew their way.\nAs Falinesti moved southward, Willowleg wondered which the city was."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/words-rodent": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/words-rodent", "description": "The Mad God cometh, so says the Rodent", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Words of the Rodent", "text": "Listen well and smell my words! The time draws near!\n\tThe ravenous rodent spoke to me. He said the Mad God walks among us.\n\tBring your offering and make your sacrifice, or the chateau will consume you!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/worldly-spirits": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/worldly-spirits", "description": "A heretical text on a few of the Daedra and et'ada as seen by the ancient Khajiit", "author": "Amun-dro", "title": "The Worldly Spirits", "text": "by Amun-dro, the Silent Priest\nNirni. The Green Mother. Spirit of Harmony. Though her spirit has diminished, Nirni can still be felt in the warm sands, dense jungles, and all places where mortals have not disturbed the earth. The Khajiit are her secret defenders, for her spirit seeds life on the Mortal Plane. This was Lorkhaj's gift to Nirni. Because she always tried to compete with Azurah for Fadomai's favor, she is sometimes called the Jealous Sister. Despite this, it is said she was the only spirit more beautiful than Azurah.\nY'ffer. The Elden Shaper. One of the Bastard Sons of Ahnurr. Unlike his father, he was wise and kind. He convinced Nirni to be his mate by creating the first flower, and they had many children. Y'ffer was corrupted by the Great Darkness sometime after the death of Lorkhaj. Consumed by chaos, Y'ffer struck Nirni, killing her. Azurah, Khenarthi, and Hircine destroyed him in vengeance and made a cairn for Nirni out of his bones. Some woodland folk say they can still hear his voice, but we Khajiit no longer speak of him.\nHircine. The Hunter. Spirit of Pursuit and Purposeful Change. Hircine was in love with Nirni, but she chose Y'ffer as her mate. In his sorrow, Hircine slew Y'ffer's champion, the Graht-Elk. Now he wears its head as a trophy. He is fond of Nirni's children and walks among them often. Khajiit should pray to Hircine when they have strayed from the Path, for the Father of the Hunt will always set them back upon it. Some tribes claim Hircine is the father of Nirni's first litter, who were as changeable as the Moons. They say these children were chosen as vessels for the ja-Kha'jay.\nHermorah. The Watcher. Spirit of the Tides. Hermorah records all the events he perceives and stores them away in a great library under the sea. A patient spirit, he helped Azurah maintain the Moons and their Motions after the world was made and Khenarthi could no longer bear to do so. He is the Keeper of the Knowledge of Others, and he shares all he learns with Azurah, who walks the halls of his library often. You should not call on this spirit unless you wish to be tested along the Path. It is best to leave Hermorah to his duty.\nSangiin. Blood God of the Second Litter. Sangiin is not an evil spirit by nature, but Khajiit must know that all things within his sphere turn True Cats from the Path. These are the urges of blood and pleasure without purpose. To fall to Sangiin is not to give in to the Dark, but to give in to the flesh. He tries to tempt Khajiit into making their flesh immortal, and this is a prison to all spirits of the ja-Kha'jay. Sangiin is therefore a spirit that will test you on the Path and must be overcome. The secret to defeating him is to ignore him, and this we learned from Mafala, who said: Lust for nothing but Truth."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/worth-glass": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/worth-glass", "description": "A traveling orc learns of Dunmeri glass armor", "author": "Raleth Heladren", "title": "The Worth of Glass", "text": "Today I met an Orc who was far more conversational than most. One good thing I can say about Orcs (and trust me there are few) is that they keep to themselves. They know their place, and they're about as trusting to those outside their kith as the Dark Elves. Good. That's how you survive.\nThough I am always aware of my superiority to other races, I am not above a conversation. Any fellow traveler may one day be met again on the road, and it's often pertinent for them to hold a good view of you. Many of my fellow Dark Elves would do far better if they knew when to smile, especially my compatriots who refuse to cling to the cities like babes to a teat.\nThis particular Orc introduced himself to me as Morbrogug as he sat beside me. The cornerclub that night was uncommonly crowded, and I was unable to maintain my usual lone table. Still, I smiled. I fought the urge to take my meal elsewhere, and held my breath against his odor. I even asked his destination.\nHe easily admitted that he wasn't sure, that he was just seeking a steady wage. His skills were limited to his strength, as is common among Orcs. I suggested mining or quarry work, tasks I've found wherein his breed often excels. He was hesitant to accept my suggestion, instead describing his supposed prowess as a warrior. I simply nodded and conceded the point, though I knew he was more than likely to end up doing physical labor than find work as a mercenary while in Vvardenfell.\nIt was at this point that Morbrogug pointed out my armor. I noticed he had been eying it intently as we spoke, his eyes almost glittering at its sight. Yes, I do pride myself on taking proper care of my armor, but I suspected he had never seen its like before. Surely enough, he soon asked me what it was made of, and I held back my sigh and told him.\n\"Glass?\" he asked with a scrunch of his nose and a scratch to his head. \"What, like what they use in windows?\"\nAnother day, another ignorant member of the common rabble. \"No, it's not quite that,\" I replied with a forced grin. \"You see, it's made from malachite, which has the appearance of crystal. It's quite hard, but light enough for easy maneuverability. Though a metal, it's commonly referred to as glass, as are the mines where it's harvested. Always causes a bit of confusion with outlanders.\"\nMorbrogug rolled his eyes and banged his leather breastplate. \"We Orcs know the true worth of leather and metal! Give me that over your fancy glass any day. I bet I could shatter your armor with one swing of my ax. You've obviously never been up against a true warrior.\"\nNow, I do appreciate a sense of pride, but when pride turns to insults...\nI simply raised a brow. \"A bet, is it? Well then, I'll take you up on that wager. I'll give you my armor, which should at the very least turn you a pretty profit, if you defeat me in a duel. And if I win I'll have your leather armor. After all, fair's fair.\"\nHe stroked his wine stained chin and nodded. \"Deal. I could use some gold for a new weapon.\"\nThe only details of the fight that I care to recall was that it was quick and effortless, at least on my part. At the end of it all I had a sobbing Orc, begging me to take back my sacred word, claiming he could never find mercenary work without his own set of armor.\nI could only shrug as I gathered the leather pieces in my arms. \"There's always the quarry.\"\nYes, it is good to make friends while traveling. But it is far better to make a profit."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/worthy-ar-azal-his-deeds": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/worthy-ar-azal-his-deeds", "description": "The great king receives a vision", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Worthy Ar-Azal, His Deeds", "text": "From \"The History of Histories, As Told to Young Prince Fahara'jad\"\nKnow then, O Prince, that the Phyllocid Dynasty did rule in Hammerfell while e'er the province was incorporate in the Second Empire, and of this line of kings, though some were wise and some were foolish, all were noble. And the last of the line, High King Ar-Azal, was most noble of all, for he it was who, for a time, brought an end to the strife of brother against brother, of Crown against Forebear.\nHow did this come to be? Hearken, and I shall tell the tale.\nUpon the passing of Ja-Fr, the estimable father of the estimable Ar-Azal, the Prince of Hegathe thereupon assumed the Throne of Hegathe, and wore the Diadem of Diagna, and bore the title High King of Hammerfell. And all the nobles of Hammerfell sojourned to Hegathe to pay him obeisance. But the new High King, though so youthful as to be barely bearded, was in no wise a fool, and knew full well that his nobles' show of faithfulness was like unto a cloud, apparent but bereft of substance. For the Forebear nobles liked him not insomuch as Ar-Azal was a Crown, and the Crown nobles mistrusted him insomuch as his father had not crushed the Forebears. And Ar-Azal was in a quandary, for he must needs rule Hammerfell as High King, and yet his support was as weak as a woman who has just given birth.\nSo the Worthy Ar-Azal gazed from his High Tower upon the azure Abecean, and prayed many prayers, and thought many thoughts. And presently he thought of the Admirable Zaqeeb, his tutor and mentor, a Priestess of Satakal and a sage of renown. And he went to the Temple and spake unto the Admirable Zaqeeb, saying that he could not solve the riddle of how to reconcile the Crowns and the Forebears. And the Admirable Zaqeeb gave him a libation, saying, \"Drink this tonight, O King, and dream.\" And taking the libation, the Worthy Ar-Azal retired in gratitude, and did as he was bade.\nAnd that night the Worthy Ar-Azal dreamed a dream of Satakal the World-Snake, who came to him in the guise of a Snakehead Potentate. And the Potentate did homage unto the High King, for he said it was given only to the Worthy Ar-Azal to solve this riddle. And the answer, he said twice, speaking once with each tongue, was to be found at the Shrine of Tava, he being a Divine who received the veneration of both Forebears and Crowns.\nThen Ar-Azal heard the cry of a Goshawk, which bird is sacred to Tava, and he awoke, and it was the dawn of the day. And he made haste to the Shrine of Tava in Hegathe, wherein is the Fresco of the Goshawk, which depicts Tava in his nest with his mate. And lo, where once there was one mate depicted in the nest, now there were two, the second mate agleam in the morning light. And Ar-Azal said, \"Truly the Divines have shown me the answer. For has not the greatest Forebear Grandee, Ebrahim of Sentinel, a fair and lissome daughter, Fereshtah? And has not the greatest Crown Grandee, Murahd of Rihad, a fierce and clever daughter, Arlimahera?\"\nAnd that concludes, O Prince, my tale of Ar-Azal, your Worthy Great-Grand-Uncle. For I know that you are quick of wit, and will work out for yourself how the High King solved his riddle."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thenepans-mysteries-mead": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thenepans-mysteries-mead", "description": "One Breton's study of Nord drinking culture", "author": "Thenephan", "title": "Thenephan's Mysteries of Mead", "text": "There's a reason I was kicked out of Daggerfall, chased out of Elden Root, and banned from Mournhold. I've tried every variety of intoxicant, wine, ale, and Argonian swill this world has to offer. I've sampled skooma with Khajiit, licked an Argonian Hist Tree, and hunted \"magical\" toads with the Bosmer.\nNone of that compares to Nord mead. There's nothing like it.\nThe purest stuff is made in Nord villages, but we're at war with the Nords, and a Breton has no guarantee of surviving a trip like that. Leave that sort of thing to the professionals. There is still hope, however. If you're ever at a tavern, and there's a cask of Nord mead, you'd be a fool to pass it up.\nMead is made by fermenting honey and water (though a few recipes call for molasses). Sometimes, you add grain mash and strain it, but that isn't necessary. Some of the High Elves call it \"honey wine,\" but mead needs more than good honey. Every meadery has its own recipes. After you drink enough mead, you learn the names of the brewmasters who create them. A drunk Nord will gladly punch another in the face over the honor of a good brewmaster. Then again, a drunk Nord will punch anyone for just about anything.\nEvery brewmaster has a distinct blend of spices, fruit, and sometimes hops (which makes a mead bitter, which makes some Nords bitter, too.) I've even heard tales of mead mixed with the blood of heroes, allegedly granting them the words of a poet or skald. I'd like a mead named after me, but I'm not going to bleed for it.\n\tAn Altmer once told me that brewing is the basis of all culture. It's why our ancestors started farming and forming cities. It's what we do when we've got too much wheat and barley and hops and we're sick of farming. The culture of drinking seems to be what keeps Nords together.\nNords must be really sick of farming, because they brew and drink prodigious amounts of mead. Whenever a cask of really good mead is opened, Nords gather round because they know that cask won't last long. But if you don't know how to behave in the Nord drinking culture, you'll end up broke, broken, hungover, and helpless. I found out the hard way.\nNords love to drink. But more than that. Nords respect those who can endure adversity. I know that sounds flowery for explaining why two drunk Nords would have a \"hit-me-hard-in-the-face\" contest, but really, that's why their culture celebrates getting drunk.\nA Nord can gain respect by consuming more mead than anyone else, just as he's respected for surviving a blizzard or killing a bear with a sharp stick. \"Nord honor\" is something they talk about endlessly when they're drunk, and even more when they're sober. So the first thing you learn about Nords is if you want their respect, never turn down a drink. It's a test. If you can't handle that next drink, leave. Otherwise you'll wake up somewhere they find hilarious, but you won't be laughing.\nNords also love their skalds. Songs and stories go over well with a drunk audience, once they've had enough of brawling, boasting, and throwing axes at each other. Their songs are all about how they're better than everyone else at everything. They've all heard these over and over again, so bring some of your own. They're desperate to hear something new.\nAnywhere you go, drinking is also a good way to redress a mistake or make an apology, and it's the same with Nords. If you lose a contest, you need to buy a drink. If you make a mistake or offend someone, you need to buy a drink. If you're insulted, stand there and take it, then you need to buy a drink.\nYou don't have to be the best brawler around to survive a room full of drunken Nords. You can also impress them by being clever or by being talented, but you better be really good. When it's time to take a punch in the face, you better be ready for a punch in the face. If you don't like getting punched, there are some things you should never talk about, like politics, who's the best brewmaster, and who punches the hardest. And never demand to know why someone just punched you in the face.\nIf you want to hear more, buy me a drink the next time I'm in Daggerfall. I'll tell you a story."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/there-are-ways": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/there-are-ways", "description": "A dark offer to ease one's loneliness and suffering", "author": "Thallik Wormfather", "title": "There Are Ways", "text": "Aera Earth-Turner:\nYou have lost those dear to you. But there are ways you may be reunited with them. Old ways, proven through time and blood.\nJoin us. All we ask is information about the Pact's movements. Provide those, remain loyal, and we will reunite you with your loved ones.\nIn Mannimarco's name,\n\t\u2014 Thallik Wormfather"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/there-no-going-back": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/there-no-going-back", "description": "", "author": "Cassio Varo", "title": "There Is No Going Back", "text": "Firuin,\nOur cause would be glad to have one so well versed in magic. Your former employer was foolish not to put your talents to better use, but his loss is our gain.\nJoin us in Abamath, but be warned! There is no going back. Cut ties with your former life. Distractions will not be tolerated in your service to the Black Worm.\n\u2014 Cassia Varo\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/there-no-waterside-curse": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/there-no-waterside-curse", "description": "A notice from a mine foreman about the lack of a curse", "author": "Foreman Gallus", "title": "There is No Waterside Curse", "text": "Enough of these ridiculous rumors! The whisperings of a curse that haunts this mine are being spread by the lazy and hateful among you. They can't stand to see hard work being done, to witness fellow workers being well-rewarded for their labors.\nThere is no curse. There are no undead creatures in this mine. I promise you this, with the gods as my witnesses.\nDo not let vile rumor-mongers destroy your livelihoods and hopes for a better future. Keep working, pay no attention to wild tales, and the mine and all its workers will prosper."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/these-damned-cats": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/these-damned-cats", "description": "Khajiit cause unrest in the city", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "These Damned Cats", "text": "Centurion,\nPer your instructions, I am informing you of strange behavior amongst the Khajiit of the outer city. The one known as Marasadra has been seen praying to the bizarre lion idol out on the banks of the stream. I lack the expertise to determine whether there is any sort of latent sorcery occurring, or whether it poses any sort of threat to us.\nThe troops want nothing more than to tighten the leash on these cats. If they see anything that might make them nervous, chances are high they will do something unwise and cause grave unrest. It is my opinion, Centurion, that a display of authority is in order.\nThis concludes my report."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/they-should-grovel": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/they-should-grovel", "description": "Hatred for the Withered Hand", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "They Should Grovel", "text": "The Withered Hand refuses to cease their pleas. They try my patience. I have no love for those of the living who think themselves rulers of the regal dead.\nTheir arrogance wears on me. They should be groveling before those that have passed before them, begging to join the glorious life after death."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/theyo-bezons-natural-observations": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/theyo-bezons-natural-observations", "description": "A researcher of animals meets his end", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Theyo Bezon's Natural Observations", "text": "Here I am, ten paces from the giant bear, Graufang. He truly is a remarkable creature. Serene, noble, handsome\u2014\nAnd coming this way!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thibauts-cairn-and-its-history": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thibauts-cairn-and-its-history", "description": "Description of a famous Colovian rider and his cohorts", "author": "Charonius of Sutch", "title": "Thibaut's Cairn and its History", "text": "Reaper's March has a long and bloody history. Its denizens have had ample need for a place to bury their dead. For the most respected, the rich, the powerful, that final resting place has often been the crypt known as Thibaut's Cairn.\nLocated southwest of the village now called Greenhill, the old Colovian crypt and the nearby village once shared a name. But \u2026 we're getting ahead of ourselves.\nThe Cairn is named for its most noted \"guest,\" the famed Thibault of Kvatch. Thibault was a general of Colovia, and in his time some hundreds of years ago he was one of the anchor points for the Hastrel Cohort.\nThose brave souls rode forth at the vanguard south, beside their comrades in the Linchal and Ontus cohorts. The purpose of their ride has been forgotten, just one of the numerous sorties into the March the Colovian kingdoms have attempted over the years.\nTheir ride would have been lost forever to the mists of time, if not for the unique relationship Thibault had with his cohort. Riding at his side south from the Kingdom of Kvatch was his wife Tertcia. Below Thibault in the command structure of his cohort were his children, though the number he had in place has now been lost to time. The members of his cohort owed him personal allegiance to a degree not often seen in modern Colovian cohorts. It's said when Thibault rode, even the nightsoil men of his township rode with him.\nThe details of Thibault's death, too, have been lost to us \u2026 but the impact of his death is still easy to see if you travel south of Arenthia in the Northern Woods. While the Linchal and Ontus cohorts rode back north, returning to home soil, the men and women of Hastrel cohort stayed and put down roots.\nTertcia's need to see her husband's legacy built was the motive for staying. The tales of her manipulations can be found in numerous other tomes, no doubt. Suffice it to say that she played the Wood Elves against the Khajiit and the Khajiit against the Wood Elves in a masterful dance. The result? A complex of crypts and an entire village, once known simply as \"Thibault's Rest\".\nNow, the history of that little town is an interesting tale as well \u2026"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/things-my-great-gran-said": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/things-my-great-gran-said", "description": "Portents from a Nordic grandmother", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Things My Great-Gran Said", "text": "My great-gran, who lived to a hundred and two, always had advice or offered a bit of lore for just about every occasion, every season, and every event in life\u2014hers or someone else's! Someone lost a leg in a battle? She said it was because he wed his wife during the first half of Sun's Dusk. A family made a bad investment and lost a lot of gold? That was because they had eleven cows, because everyone knows the number eleven is unlucky.\nSome of her other words of \"wisdom\" included:\nA lone mammoth on a hillside means a change is coming.\n\tTwo mammoths in the distance indicates that someone has a gift for you.\n\tThree mammoths in a line means an imminent death. (Not necessarily the viewer's. Unless, perhaps they decide to stand in front of the line of mammoths.)\nNever drink new mead on Morndas. (I think my great-gran may have made this one up to make sure her husband and sons sobered up in time for work.)\nIf sizzling horker grease splashes on your face, you will get in a fight within three days. If it lands on your left hand, a visitor will soon appear.\nSlaying a bristleback boar when both moons are full leads to bad luck for the rest of the year. (My gran would never go hunting, nor would she let her husband and sons hunt, if the moons were full.)\nIf the shadow of a hawk touches you during the month of Morning Star, it means winter will last longer.\nA white fox running east in the western hills at sunrise is a harbinger of a coming pestilence.\nIf you do not settle a grievance with a relative or loved one during the first seven days of First Seed, a poor harvest will result.\nFinding a blue bead on the ground signals that a hagraven has just been created. Smashing the blue bead to dust with a rock and throwing the powder into still (not flowing) water will grant that hagraven a short life."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/things-do-0": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/things-do-0", "description": "Someone is apparently studying Destruction spells", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Things to Do", "text": "1. Study Destruction spells.\n\t2. Clean up remains from last week's experiment\n\t3. Write letter of apology and get well soon card to Instructor Sanaldurdil. Also, write letter of apology to Hall Steward.\n\t4. Study Destruction spells.\n\t5. Inquire about repairs for alchemy and enchanting tables.\n\t6. Ask for loan on repair estimates.\n\t7. Double check ingredients for next week's lessons.\n\t8. Study Destruction spells!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/things-do-baby-comes": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/things-do-baby-comes", "description": "List of preparations", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Things to do before the baby comes:", "text": "\u2014 Buy a new lamp for the house.\n\t\u2014 Visit Aunt Abia in Sentinel.\n\t\u2014 Finish reading \"The Lusty Argonian Maid\".\n\t\u2014 Weave a new carpet for the wall in the baby's corner.\n\t\u2014 Ask mother for the orange vases she has in the storeroom.\n\t\u2014 Ask father to finally give us the chickens he promised as part of my dowry.\n\t\u2014 Burn all my Forebear clothes and buy new Crown clothes."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/things-salvage": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/things-salvage", "description": "Dwarven trash list", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Things to Salvage", "text": "Dwarven jug\nDwarven spider leg\nCenturion helmet (or a piece of one)\nShiny glowing bit from Dwarven sentry\nGears\nBroken lengths of pipe"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/third-gravestone": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/third-gravestone", "description": "The remains of a late 2nd era scholar", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Third Gravestone", "text": "In this ground lie the remains of \u2026 Moret, whose life was testament to the fact that brains and brawn are not the only path to success.\n2695\u20142732"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/third-khajiiti-journal-page": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/third-khajiiti-journal-page", "description": "Journal of a Khajiit monk", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Third Khajiiti Journal Page", "text": "9 Mid Year\n\tThe dro-m'Athra whispers to this one, foolishly thinking it can break a monk's resolve. It has only served to strengthen convictions-\u2014it must be contained, and cannot be allowed to escape this place and wreak havoc on innocents.\nThis one will fight it, so that others do not have to.\n11 Mid Year\n\tA wandering pilgrim happened into the temple today. Perhaps a soldier, as the thunderbugs posed little threat to him. This one's warning was too late, the dro-m'Athra spirit managed to possess the hapless soldier. The spirit attempted to flee in its new body, and escape this one's careful watch, but it was to no avail.\nThe soldier will be missed. The vigil must be doubled, as the spirit came too close to escape. The measures this one must take to contain the evil are harsh, but necessary."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/end": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/end", "description": "A gangmember laments the fall of the Imperial City to the Daedric hordes", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "This is the End", "text": "We are doomed. The Gray Vipers, the Imperial City, the very Empire\u2014all of us. The Daedra cannot be stopped. All that they do they do from impulse. And it is hideous.\nYears from today, if anyone remains to find this parchment, they may glean irony in a Gray Viper lamenting his fate after a lifetime of debauchery and criminality. But what I've done as a Viper was in the name of survival. Flourishing as it was before the Daedra invasion, this scholar-in-training found Imperial City didn't provide for everyone. The Gray Vipers allowed me to provide for myself.\nThese Daedra, however \u2026 they kill us, maim us, infect us with demonic disease, and are enlivened by it. It's an art to them, a creative outlet, to cause agony. And when they run out of mortal bodies to disfigure they venture above to get more. It will be my turn soon, and I would deny whatever grotesque fate they craft for me.\nSo I've started a collection. Just scraps of rope and cloth, here and there, pillaged from the bodies we pass when we're marched out of these cells to be paraded and whipped for the Lord Warden's pleasure. By week's end, I'll have enough for a way out of this place."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/text-property-lekis-blade": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/text-property-lekis-blade", "description": "Legend of four famous warriors after the invasion of Hammerfell", "author": "Sima the Edged Scholar", "title": "This Text Property of Leki's Blade", "text": "There are few warriors, even in legend, who match the Sword Saints of old Yokuda. But among that elite cadre, the Four\u2014Mamireh, Akamon, Roshadon, and Rok'dun the Flame, rise above the rest.\nThey were among the most prominent Yokudan warriors of the first invasion of Nedic homelands.\nLegend has it, the three were inestimably powerful, wielding sword movements lesser Sword Saints only saw in dreams. They single-handedly captured Nedic fortifications, breached Nedic walls as easily as hopping streams, cut whole armies to ribbons with a swing of their spirit swords.\nThat's what the myths claim, anyway. The greatest Redguard warriors of today seem like elderly statesmen in comparison.\nThe legends elaborate further that, among all the formidable Ansei serving the Yokudan effort, the Four had special favor from the Warrior Stars. They had meditated so fully on that constellation that they could reach through those windows, to whatever lay beyond. Thus, they grasped greater skill.\nOne must assume they eventually perished, of course. If not at the pikes and axes of Nedic defenders, then from natural causes. But the graves of these Yokudan elite have never been found. This old scholar has searched the entirety of Craglorn, looked in every corner of every Yokudan crypt, and found no sign of the Four. Unless they returned to a sinking Yokuda, perhaps they never existed at all,"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thorzhuls-letter": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thorzhuls-letter", "description": "A rather cheerfully formal letter from an Orc explaining why he wiped out an entire family", "author": "Thorzhul gro-Agluk", "title": "Thorzhul's Letter", "text": "Hail Historian Maaga! We are honored to receive your request and glad to know there are those in Orsinium who believe in our cause. Our fellow Orcs should know that though we loot from the estates we raid, we do so only to support our ongoing efforts of reparation and glory for our people. The raid on the Chauvry Estate was daring indeed, and we lost several fine Orcs in the battle, but in the end we were victorious, and the Chauvrys are no more.\nI was the chief architect of this raid, and I am proud to claim credit for Clan Agluk. As you probably know, most of my clan was killed during the sacking of Orsinium, so it is fitting that I can exact vengeance so many years later for Clan Agluk."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/those-who-stood-chalman-keep": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/those-who-stood-chalman-keep", "description": "A song to celebrate their bravery", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Those Who Stood at Chalman Keep", "text": "Gather 'round, proud warriors all,\n\tSilent now and standing tall.\n\tBow your heads to those who sleep,\n\tBeneath the ground of Chalman Keep.\n\tThe flames of war seared the land,\n\tCrushing all with brutal hand.\n\tDominion soldiers sought the throne,\n\tChalman, undaunted, stood alone.\n\tHooves thundered o'er the sward,\n\tDeath neared for all, swift and hard.\n\tDefenders stood upon Chalman's wall,\n\tWarriors brave, Covenant heroes all.\n\tForward came the Dominion hordes,\n\tWith arcane spells and gleaming swords.\n\tWalls shook to siege engines' roars,\n\tRams thundered upon keep doors.\n\tThe outer doors fell to the invaders' barrage,\n\tInto the courtyard Elves and Khajiit charged.\n\tThe inner door too gave when assaulted,\n\tO'er bodies and rubble the attackers vaulted.\n\tThe defenders made their might felt,\n\tSpells flared forth, death was dealt.\n\tFury rained upon invaders' heads,\n\t'til Khajiit and Elves all were dead.\n\tNo time to rest, no time to heal,\n\tDoors and breaches they must seal.\n\tAll was repaired, the damage undone,\n\tAs another deadly assault was begun.\n\tOnce again, fierce battle was fought,\n\tDeath was granted where it was sought.\n\tEntropy rose inside the keep,\n\tSwept over all, piled the bodies deep.\n\tAgain the bloody tide receded,\n\tDominion foes once more defeated.\n\tOrc and Redguard and Breton remained,\n\tProud survivors of Chalman Keep again.\n\tDominion warriors attacked once more,\n\tIn numbers far greater than ever before.\n\tThey battered aside weary defenders,\n\tStopped only in the innermost chambers.\n\tInto the apse the heroes were hounded,\n\tDominion victory cries loudly sounded.\n\tThen chaos erupted as the Pact swept in,\n\tSeeing their enemies' forces worn thin.\n\tCaught between fierce anvil and hammer,\n\tElf and Khajiit died in brave manner.\n\tOnly Pact and Covenant soon remained,\n\tThen the defenders cleared the field again.\n\tA breath, a pause, a brief respite,\n\tThe Covenant cause now truly desperate.\n\tA final assault the Dominion did mount,\n\tA massive wave, too many to count.\n\tDetermined to conquer, refusing to desist,\n\tThe Dominion force impossible to resist.\n\tThe defenders resolved to fight to the last,\n\tNo blow was wasted, no spell shoddily cast.\n\tOne by one the gallant warriors fell,\n\tBreton, Redguard, and Orc died well.\n\tTheir lives given up for Chalman Keep,\n\tThey rest forever in honored sleep.\n\tThe Dominion banner rose over the hall,\n\tA Dominion Emperor then ruled over all.\n\tPeace came to Chalman, damage repaired,\n\tAttackers dispersed, to other sites they fared.\n\tThat emperor is gone, his reign long past.\n\tWhat remains of this day, what of it lasts?\n\tJust the display of courage, in that final stand,\n\tOf those who stood, and died, at Chalman"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thoughts-honored-assistant": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thoughts-honored-assistant", "description": "An analytical factotum accidentally turns into a prophet", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Thoughts of the Honored Assistant", "text": "To best ascertain and determine the needs of the residents of the Clockwork City, Lord Sotha Sil commanded me to create a series of factotums for the express purpose of collecting, analyzing, and interpreting social and environmental information in order to accurately predict trends and demands of the populace.\nAs the first model created, the Clockwork Analyst was designed for the primarily menial task of collecting and analyzing data relevant to the citizens of the Brass Fortress. This first generation analysis model factotum specializes in counting births and deaths, tracking residents and registered visitors, and recording illnesses, wealth, and social factors necessary to predict trends in the settlement. Once the concept is fully tested and vetted, we shall expand the project to the rest of the Clockwork City.\nThe pass phrase for interacting with this factotum's memory core is \"Magus commands you.\"\nTaking everything we learned with the first generation factotum, we next created the second generation prognostication model. This factotum could take the data collected by the analyst and use that information to make accurate predictions concerning the wants and needs of the citizens. In this way, Sotha Sil could anticipate the needs of his guests and satisfy them before they ever realized they had any outstanding wants to gratify.\nDuring the process, however, a flaw developed in the prognostication model's sequential analytical processor assembly. The predictions it provided regarding certain individuals went far beyond mere statistical analysis and ventured into the realm of actual prophecy. This flaw was first noticed after the Magus himself tinkered with the mechanism, so we cannot be certain that this was not what Sotha Sil intended. But the Master has vanished again. I shall store the prognostication factotum in the valley outside the Brass Fortress and lock this prophetic mode with the pass phrase:\n\"Prime sequence eleven, thirteen, seventeen.\"\nThat should keep unauthorized prophesying to a minimum until the Master returns and I can ask for guidance regarding his intentions."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thoughts-sacred-numbers": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thoughts-sacred-numbers", "description": "Half religious doctrine, half personal interpretation", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Thoughts on the Sacred Numbers", "text": "As I sit here in the perfection of this garden, I contemplate the Sacred Numbers that we recognize as Auspicious and critical to the existence of the universe.\nThree is the Number of the Prime Celestials, as embodied in the sun and the two moons. It is also the number of my perfect daughters, which is why we shall produce no other heirs.\nFive is the Number of the Elements, for reality consists of Earth, Air, Water, Fire, and Aether. It is also the number of books I have open upon my desk at any given time.\nEight is the Number of the Planets, as well as the sum of three plus five. Eight is also the limit I impose when drinking glasses of Gossamer Tawny Port with the members of my philosophical society\u2014no more and no less.\nThese are the Good Numbers. And the sum of the Good Numbers, which we call Sixteen, is a very powerful number indeed.\nWe must beware the Bad Number, though, for Two lacks vision and attempts to display duality, which we all know is impossible."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thozors-diary": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thozors-diary", "description": "The tale of an Orc and his giant carnivorous flower", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Thozor's Diary", "text": "Entry 55\n\tThe Drublog won't let me in Dra'bul. They said I'm not Orc enough, that I spent too much time among the Bosmer. At least they let me set up a camp outside their gates.\nEntry 56\n\tDrublog bastards! There's a strangler not fifteen paces down the hill from where they told me to set up camp. I could have tripped over it last night.\nI didn't notice until this morning. Strange that it left me alone as I slept. It's not dead\u2014I can see it breathing. (Fluttering? Whatever it is they do.) I'll keep an eye on it. That thing moves and I'll fill it with arrows.\nEntry 57\n\tWoke up this morning to a monkey howling and carrying on. The little screecher tossed acorns at the strangler until it ran out.\nThe strangler did nothing, not even flicker its tendrils. Why didn't it spit poison at that monkey?\nEntry 58\n\tThe monkey came back to throw more acorns. Still nothing from the strangler. Maybe it's docile.\nEntry 59\n\tGetting tired of that monkey.\nEntry 60\n\tI asked a Drublog about the strangler. He said it's called Gentle-Blossom. They told me to camp by it because it's harmless, but it scares off the senche-tigers. Not sure if I should believe him.\nEntry 61\n\tThe monkey threw an acorn at me. I put an arrow through its eye.\nI tossed the monkey's body next to Gentle-Blossom. I thought the fresh meat might rouse it\u2014him?\u2014but still nothing. Is he sick?\nEntry 62\n\tI stepped within five paces of Gentle-Blossom. Nothing.\nEntry 63\n\tThree paces today. Nothing. The Drublog was right, he's completely harmless.\nEntry 64\n\tI caught some game this morning. I think I'll try to share some with Gentle-Blossom. I'd really like to see what he looks like when he feeds."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/threat-baandari-pedlars": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/threat-baandari-pedlars", "description": "A warning of Khajiit pedlars", "author": "Zuladr, High Priest of Satakalaam", "title": "Threat of the Baandari Pedlars", "text": "This week, O faithful ones, my sermon is not a homily or a parable, but a warning: a warning to all true Redguards to beware the wiles of the devilish cat-people, those thieves and heretics who infest the fields outside our gates and call themselves Baandari Pedlars.\nLong have we known that these itinerant beast-people use the mask of merchant to hide their true trades of theft, fraud, and chicanery. Why, then, do the magistrates continue to allow them to set up camp before the gates of our towns? Why are they not driven from our lands and never allowed to return?\nClearly other powers are at work here, infidel powers of sacrilege and evil. How else to explain the folly of those who patronize these creatures, and the blindness of those in authority who tolerate their open pandering and vice?\n\"But how do you know this, O Zuladr?\" you may ask. \"How has this truth been revealed unto you?\"\nAnd I ask you: what do we say when someone sneezes? We say, \"Tu'whacca bless you\"\u2014do we not? And why do we say this? Because, as the ancient writings tell us, a sneeze is a sign of the presence of an evil spirit.\n\tAnd what happens to many of the faithful, myself very much included, when in the presence of one of these cat-people? We sneeze. We sneeze, our very eyes water, and we sneeze again.\nHeed, I say hearken to the warning of Tu'whacca. These Baandari are evil spirits incarnate. Abjure their company, avoid their camp, suffer not their tainted wares to be brought into your abode."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/threatening-letter": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/threatening-letter", "description": "", "author": "Fleshmender Moradilion", "title": "Threatening Letter", "text": "Esteemed Jhaziran,\nI hope that this letter finds you in good health. I would not normally pry into your private affairs, but my novitiates in the cursed laboratory tell me that many of your recent deliveries have been either late, or incomplete. I'm sure that I needn't remind you that we are on a delicate time-table. Any delay, no matter how minute, could hamper our plans.\nI strongly advise that you increase the speed and accuracy of your deliveries, if only for your own good. Remember, we signed a contract\u2014and that contract is binding. Even now, the Bargain Man howls for payment. Make your deliveries, Jhaziran, or I fear that you will pay with your soul.\n-Fleshmender Moradilion"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/threatening-letter-paheiza": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/threatening-letter-paheiza", "description": "", "author": "Nurhei", "title": "Threatening Letter to Paheiza", "text": "Paheiza,\nKeema-Ru has already accepted my offer for a loan to secure the future of her saltrice farm. Even should she sell her land, any profit would go directly towards repaying this loan.\nDo you understand? The debts you have built up to indulge in your habits are to be paid in full, from your own purse. After all, the skooma I supply you doesn't come easily. And should you continue to squander your egg-sister's savings, I'll have no choice but to alert Keema-Ru of your thievery. As a concerned business partner, of course.\n-Nurhei"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/three-claws-note": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/three-claws-note", "description": "", "author": "Three-of-Claws", "title": "Three-of-Claws' Note", "text": "Don't wait up for me. I am attending a meeting that will likely run late.\nIt's time we Argonians discuss our past, and determine where the future will take us. We are no longer captives!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/through-doom-and-darkness": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/through-doom-and-darkness", "description": "The Chosen Warrior must fight on even in the face of certain death", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Through Doom and Darkness", "text": "The Chosen Warrior must be fearless even in the face of certain death.\n\tThey must not allow darkness into their heart.\nTo have no fear of death because one does not value life is easy.\n\tThis is the deception of the Dark.\nThe Chosen Warrior fans the flames that burn in their breast,\n\tTheir heart alight with life and love.\nThey fight because they must,\n\tTo protect their life and the lives of others.\nKnow this, or you will not don the mask."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/through-weeping-scar": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/through-weeping-scar", "description": "A caravan makes their way through a canyon", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Through the Weeping Scar", "text": "The Euraxians dig their claws deeper into Rimmen every passing day. Soon Khajiit won't be able to breathe without the dung-queen's permission. We drew far too much attention smuggling this shipment out of the city. It would be best to reach the Stitches before anyone decides to stop us.\n* * *\nKhajiit agreed that the shortest route would be through the Weeping Scar. This one does not like moving the wagons through the winding chasm, but he will follow.\n* * *\nThe paths are narrow and difficult. We must space out the wagons to avoid any mishaps when they lose purchase and slide on rocky inclines. The Weeping Scar will be shorter, but this one is beginning to think it will not be faster. At least we are far from the prying eyes of the dung-queen.\n* * *\nIt is too quiet here. Khajiit hears only the dry air howling through the jagged rock and pointy plants. No rustle of rodents or chirping of birds to be found. He is grateful there is no shortage of food among the caravanners.\n* * *\nThis one has a bad feeling. Like there are eyes upon him. Perhaps the dung-queen's agents followed after all. A few of us will stay behind to watch for pursuit and cover our trail."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thukhozods-bracer": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thukhozods-bracer", "description": "This necromancer's bracelet would make a great exhibit at the House off Orsimer Glories", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Thukhozod's Bracer", "text": "Few legends among the Orsimer inspire more respect and fear than the legend of the great Thukhozod. This great and powerful necromancer has been around for generations, apparently ageless and undying. Of course, for every story where an Orc has seen or interacted with the great Thukhozod, there are five more who claim to have explored his lair and seen no sign of the mysterious figure.\nWhatever the truth of the legendary necromancer, multiple tales talk about the unique bracer he wears upon his left arm. While not magical, it is said to be beautiful and striking. It would make a great addition to the exhibits in the House of Orsimer Glories."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thunderbug-repellent": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thunderbug-repellent", "description": "", "author": "Nimriell", "title": "Thunderbug Repellent", "text": "No-Fingers,\n\tI run the Burroot Kwama Mine west of Elden Root. Perhaps you've heard of it? I've recently had a bit of a problem with thunderbugs burrowing into the mine and upsetting my kwama. I'd heard you were experienced with beast-handling and hoped you might have something I could use to deter them that wouldn't bother the kwama. I know this is a very specfic request, but if you can help me I would compensate you well."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thwarting-daedra-dagons-cult": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thwarting-daedra-dagons-cult", "description": "How to identify and deal with a cult in your neighborhood", "author": "Flaminius Auctor", "title": "Thwarting the Daedra: Dagon's Cult", "text": "By Flaminius Auctor, Province General\nEven in peaceful times, Daedric Princes doggedly prod at Tamriel, building power and working toward their vile goals. Now, as war erupts across the provinces, it is certain they've doubled their malevolent efforts, and every citizen must be on the lookout for evidence of Daedric activities. As Cyrodiil's Province General for the Fighters Guild, I take my responsibility to educate and protect seriously. Knowledge, which I offer you here, is a mighty weapon\u2014a population that knows what to look for can stop a cult before it manages any large-scale atrocities.\nMehrunes Dagon is a particularly nasty character among the gallery of horrors from Oblivion. He revels in destruction on a grand scale, from deaths caused by floods or earthquakes to mass murders, and enjoys making a show of any influence he can exert on Nirn. His penchant for flagrant displays of power makes it no surprise that his cults draw more membership than those of the less conspicuous Princes.\nWhat can a regular citizen do, though, in the face of such evil? More than you might think! Everyone can learn to recognize the early signs that a cult might be nearby. Dismantling a cult before it grows to an appreciable size is the most effective way to stamp out Daedric influence and prevent massive summonings, wanton destruction, and other disasters from coming to fruition. This guide will help you recognize the stirrings of Daedric cults, especially those of Mehrunes Dagon:\nFirst, be aware of your neighbors. Watch for unexplained changes in their routines or behavior, strange flashing lights in their fields or homes late at night, eerie chanting, and disappearances of farm animals (or, worse, other neighbors). These can all be signs of a budding cult. Be wary of strangers in town who take special interest in outcasts, criminals, or unruly teenagers\u2014all of these are common recruitment targets.\nCults of Mehrunes Dagon have some unique characteristics. We in the Fighters Guild have identified the end of Sun's Dusk as a particularly active time for these organizations. If a cult of Dagon operates in your area, you may notice changes in your environment as they attempt to incite disasters\u2014more rain, no rain, or unusual tremors in the ground can all be signs. Dagon cultists also exhibit a sick fascination with setting buildings, animals, and people ablaze and often bear the symbol of a fiery, rising sun.\nIf you suspect someone you know of cult involvement, proceed with caution. Even someone close to you can be corrupted, and it is difficult to remove the black roots of Daedric filth once they take hold. Do not hesitate to report your suspicions\u2014if they can be reached early enough, it may be possible to reverse the influence of the cult. For your own safety, do not act alone or attempt to confront a possible cult member. Even a once-trustworthy friend involved with a cult may mean you harm. Report immediately to the Fighters Guild, where professionals can assist you!\nArmed with this knowledge, you can aid all of Tamriel in preventing Daedric cults from growing and spreading. Pass this book along to a friend or neighbor and we will stop the Daedric threat together."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/timberscar-frustration": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/timberscar-frustration", "description": "Stuck in a boring job", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Timberscar Frustration", "text": "Been stuck in this cesspool for eight days now. Ready to start bashing in some heads.\nReads-the-Sky promised to be through that door in a day. Says that every day. Next time I hear it, I'm pulling out his lying tongue.\nDon't know why we bother. That cave won't hold anything worthwhile. Just some spiderwebs and moth-eaten smallclothes I bet.\nCropsford; what a stupid name for a village. Next time that bossy Orc comes down here and tells us to be quieter, I'll rip her tongue out too. So what if the noise attracts the pitiful Goblins that live around here? I'd welcome the excitement.\nNever been so bored in my life. Don't see how things could get any worse."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/time-essence": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/time-essence", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Time is of the Essence", "text": "Battlemage\u2014\nI need your soldiers to assist me down below. The Wood Orcs work well enough, but I think a lash at their backs will push them to finish even more quickly. I trust you realize time is of the essence here. That nosy mage Bakkhara was watching the upper entrance again.\nUse your remaining forces to guard the falls. If anyone shows, kick them out. And if they won't cooperate, use lethal force. If anyone discovers what we're doing below, the future of the entire Dominion will be in jeopardy."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/time-strike": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/time-strike", "description": "One Dominion loyalist's plan to utilize Daedra", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Time to Strike!", "text": "Finally, the altar is prepared and all is in readiness. Tonight, the hordes of Oblivion shall be loosed on the unsuspecting fools in the Pact army!\nOh, to be near when the otherworldly beasts descend. How I would savor their pain, their cries of horror, their dying screams. Grand Warlord Sorcalin balked when I proposed this mission, refusing to \"stoop to consorting with Daedra.\" So I have undertaken it on my own initiative!\nLong have I studied the lore and denizens of those foul lands. I know well the means by which the Daedra are commanded and controlled. There is no room for error when beasts of such power are concerned, and I shall make none.\nTonight, one obstacle to the Dominion's conquest of Cyrodiil will be removed. The Covenant is next!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tindorias-list-needed-supplies": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tindorias-list-needed-supplies", "description": "A list of ingredients needed to create various colors", "author": "Tindoria", "title": "Tindoria's List of Needed Supplies", "text": "Rare Dye: Haemelin's rare dye is the only thing that can produce the most gorgeous shade of teal in Summerset, but she will not part with it easily. You can find the bitter hermit at her cottage at the marked location. Trade her the Yokudan Blue Tea for the dye.\nRoach Carcass: The carcass of Brodran's roaches produce a silvery gray when ground up. This shade is absolutely delightful for rocky landscapes. Find Brodran at his farm at the marked location. He'll already have his payment in full, and should simply hand you the ingredients when you announce my name.\nAurialis: This flower is located within a quaint seaside garden at the marked location. It can be used to make a most brilliant shade of orange, perfect for a glowing sun! This should be the simplest acquisition, given that you only need to pluck the plant from the ground."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tinkerer-tobins-big-book-crafting-recipes": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tinkerer-tobins-big-book-crafting-recipes", "description": "Sneaks a peek at the master's secrets", "author": "Tinkerer Tobin", "title": "Tinkerer Tobin's Big Book of Crafting Recipes", "text": "Ha! I knew it!\nNot only are you using my crafting stations free of charge, but you figured you'd learn the secrets of a master crafter by sneaking a peek into this book.\nWell, the joke's on you! My book of crafting recipes is locked away and safe, far from your prying eyes, you thief!\nNow, go get your own crafting recipes, milk-drinker!\n\t\u2014Tinkerer Tobin"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tishis-research-notes": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tishis-research-notes", "description": "Experiments on people who drank the poisoned water of Shada's Tear", "author": "Tishi", "title": "Tishi's Research Notes", "text": "Symptoms: Increased strength and constitution, followed by disorientation and eventual madness. Rambling statements characterized by multiple references to someone called \"Shada.\"\nCause: The discolored water in the ruin of Shada's Tear appears to afflict any who drink it.\nExperimental Cure: A concoction of somnalius fern to calm the mind quierts the afflicted for a time, but rambling resumed thereafter.\nExperimental Treatment One: Poison introduced to induce vomiting after water consumption, but vomiting did not alleviate symptoms.\nExperimental Treatment Two: Applied ginko and aloe to forehead to stimulate humors in the brain, but produced no noticeable effect.\nExperimental Treatment Three: Attempted to purify the water through boiling and adding various neutralizing reagents, but curse remains intact."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/all-who-pass-through": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/all-who-pass-through", "description": "One architect's pride in his twisted designs", "author": "Dutheil, Artisan of Oblivion", "title": "To All Who Pass Through", "text": "I am Dutheil, Artisan of Oblivion, and these are my Vaults of Madness. Look upon them and cower.\nThey were designed to contain my enemies, villains who lived only to inflict misery upon me. The wretches tormented me for years, jeered, prodded, taunted, before finally turning the nobles of Wayrest against me. They ruined my career as the preeminent architect in the West.\nSuch was my rage that I sought the Daedra, who came to me, offering a pact for my talents. They would capture my tormentors and imprison them here. In return, I would build for them. I accepted gladly.\nIn Wayrest, I designed inescapable prisons for law enforcement, opaline palaces for the nobles of the Gardens District. My works were heralded as a crossing of artistic perfection and architectural function. But what I've built for the planes of Oblivion are so much more. Black spires for the Scheming Lord of Coldharbour are instruments of torture as much as they are monuments to his greatness. The razor pits of Deadlands never dull, and cut flesh, bone, and spirit essence for the Prince of Destruction\u2014in ways that even the most powerful healers can never mend.\nEven so, all of these creations\u2014from the gestating cyst-towers of Molag Bal to the sparkling Pellingare Manor in Wayrest\u2014are but baubles compared to the Vaults. They are my Daedric Crescent, my Akaviri Warblade, the culmination of my skill, my greatest creation.\nAnd they grow only more extraordinary with time. What was once a place of eternal anguish for the three charlatans who ruined my mortal life has grown to become a nexus of torture for all manner of Tamrielic souls. So exquisite is the work I do in these Vaults that even the Daedric Princes send souls to me to oversee.\nAnd as for you, dear guest\u2014know that the pain you experience here is the result of lifetimes of refinement and iteration. Embrace it, and writhe, and be awed."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/amberrie": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/amberrie", "description": "An overly long letter about joining Ayrenn's secret service", "author": "T", "title": "To Amberrie", "text": "Amberrie,\nNow, well, this can't be repeated. I'm trusting you Amberrie! You're the only High Elf friend I've ever made, so you best not disappoint me with this! I think we're well past the pretentious, snobbish act, don't you think? Y'ffre knows I could barely stand\u2014oh, even in letters I ramble on! All right, well.\nI've got a position, and it's a big one. I've become an agent for the very Queen herself!\nNow, I know you've heard rumors, and I want you to know that they're not very true at all! Why, the things your kin go on saying about their Queen. You'd never hear me speaking such ill of the Green Lady, I'll tell you that! Her Highness most certainly does not hire thugs to bully people into following her orders. The people she entrusts? They're good people, Amberrie. Trust me when I say they've done so much good for everyone in the Aldmeri Dominion.\nAnd really, I'll be in the most excellent of hands. My mentor has been nothing but courteous since I've joined. He's a rather amusing Khajiit who likes to tell an awful lot of jokes. I suppose it's somewhat of an act though, ain't it? Given he's one of the Queen's most trusted. I mean, the kind of jobs we do aren't for the faint of heart!\nI'm going to finally be able to do good. Oh, I never thought I'd be given the chance, not since I moved to Summerset. I felt like no one would take me seriously, being a Wood Elf and all. But to be noticed by the Queen herself! Why, all my hard work will finally be put to use. I'll be tussling with traitors and dealing with spies. What adventures I shall have!\nI'm just sorry I'll have to be leaving you. That's my only real regret here. I promise I'll write as often as I can, but I don't know how much I'll be able to tell you. Just know that I'll be safe, and I'm sure we'll meet each other again. But hey, I wouldn't mind if you prayed for me every now and again. I'm sure even your uppity gods wouldn't mind looking out for little old me. I'm helping the entire Aldmeri Dominion out, after all!\nNow, I have to be leaving soon, but I don't want you to worry. I really shouldn't be writing this letter, but there's no time to tell you in person. So, promise me that you'll burn this after you read it. I'm serious, too! I know you'll want to keep it as a memento or something, but I really don't want it getting into the wrong hands. That's why I won't even sign my full name, but you know who this is, I'm sure.\nLots of love and Y'ffre bless us both!\n-T"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/anchorite-gaius": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/anchorite-gaius", "description": "A dark plot brews...", "author": "Atia", "title": "To Anchorite Gaius", "text": "Our spies determined that a couple of Khajiit named Ezreba and Hizurrdo are the closest bonded pair in Greenhill. We have captured Hizurrdo. With his life in the balance, Ezreba will almost certainly do anything we ask. She will be our agent in Greenhill and allow us to place the amplification crystals and begin the possessions.\nYour servant,\n\tAtia"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/captain-marck": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/captain-marck", "description": "An attempt at intimidation", "author": "Krin Ren-dro", "title": "To Captain Marck", "text": "To the attention of Captain Albert Marck, with my most humble respects.\nCaptain, I greatly look forward to gracing Sentinel with my presence next month. I wanted to write to thank you for all the preparations you've made for my arrival.\nI wanted to let you know that you've been in touch with someone in my extended organization, a confidante named S'rashi. You may have met him, yes? He's been confirming the bodyguards, the food preparation, etc.\nHe's also informed me that most of the bodyguards you've hired are former elites from the Ring of Daggers, that unique poisons based on sweetened moon-sugar have been imported from Morrowind, and that representatives of King Fahara'jad's inner circle have been seen entering and leaving your residence late at night.\nI hope this finds you well. And that my advance team finds you sleeping.\nRegards,\n\t\u2014 Krin Ren-dro"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/chief-justiciar-carawen": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/chief-justiciar-carawen", "description": "Warning about a traitorous soldier", "author": "Captain Telomure", "title": "To Chief Justiciar Carawen", "text": "Chief Justiciar Carawen,\nOur mission has failed. Justiciar Avanaire betrayed us and killed several of my soldiers. She's made off to Tor-Hame-Khard. I'm pursuing her with the forces I have left. Stars willing, we will recover the pearl.\nI'm sending a soldier in the hope this message reaches you. Send reinforcements. There's more souls lurking in these ruins than Avanaire.\nCaptain Telomure"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/clarice-%E2%80%94-be-my-darling": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/clarice-%E2%80%94-be-my-darling", "description": "A poem to charm a lady", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "To Clarice \u2014 Be My Darling!", "text": "Where'ere I look, my darling Clarice,\n\tI think of you. A flock of geese,\n\tA lofty cloud, up in the skies,\n\tReminds me of your brownish eyes.\n\tWhen in the woods I see a fawn,\n\tI ponder on your hair of tawn.\n\tAcross the Iliac I sail\n\tIn every wave I never fail\n\tTo see you below, also above\u2014\n\tOh barmaid Clarice, please be my love!\n\tSinged,\n\tGeorges Plouffe, First-Mate (get it?)"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/colundore": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/colundore", "description": "Torturer's loveletter", "author": "Falarel", "title": "To Colundore", "text": "My love,\nOnce again, you have outdone yourself with this creature. Eviscerations do not normally excite my heart, but your skills with knife and saw can make any heart flutter. Her shrill shrieks in the cold night air were like the songs of doves in the zephyrs of summertime.\nThe wafting aroma of her charred flesh was like scenting the heavens themselves. When you are finished with your task, I shall come find you in your quarters. We can use the knives tonight, if you'd like.\nLove,\n\tFalarel"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/delay-means-death": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/delay-means-death", "description": "", "author": "Captain Virgilus", "title": "To Delay Means Death", "text": "Lieutenant Pera,\nYou have seen the official orders; these must be read to your troops. For your eyes only, I add this warning.\nThe recall to the Imperial City will not be welcomed by the soldiers. The rumors of what we face there have spread faster than the wind. Fear grips all who have any sense. The brave overcome this fear and march.\nYou may face a mutiny. Give them no time to organize. Strike camp immediately. If you sense resistance, kill the ringleaders. Hesitation could mean your death and the loss of your troops for the Empire.\nI march to the northwestern bridge. Meet me there. To delay means death.\n\u2014 Captain Virgilus"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/do-what-needed": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/do-what-needed", "description": "The Maulborn have put out the call for recruits in Deshaan", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "To Do What is Needed", "text": "Would you stand by while your village or town burned? Then why do you do nothing while Morrowind suffers? The Tribunal may be too busy to do the right thing, but we're not. The Maulborn, a society of like-minded Dark Elves who want to help the poor and protect the weak, was formed to take care of the problems that are too mundane, too inconsequential, or too difficult to attract the attention of the Tribunal and its agents.\nWe have a plan for the Llodos plague ravaging our population. We have a plan for the plague husks terrorizing our towns. We have a plan, and that's more than the Great Houses or the Tribunal can say. But we can't accomplish our plans without your help. Join the Maulborn and become part of the solution. Our volunteers are already making a difference in such diverse locations as the Serk, the Obsidian Gorge, and the Narsis wilderness. We'd be happy to allow you to help us in our important work.\nWho are the Maulborn? We're your friends and neighbors. Your cousins. Your sons and daughters. We're the gathering storm and the strong arm of judgment. We're the cleansing wind that will soon blow across the entirety of Morrowind. We are healers and wizards, warriors and caregivers. We are the Maulborn, and we are you.\nCome make a difference. Come join the Maulborn.\nOur recruitment liaisons are anxious to meet you."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dream-beyond-dreams": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dream-beyond-dreams", "description": "legend of the first Nightcaller", "author": "the Omen of a Hundred Prophecies", "title": "To Dream Beyond Dreams", "text": "'Twas in Menevia, dear, green Menevia, there dwelt a young Breton of family and name. He had inherited a patrimony, and thus needed to do nothing, as others were paid to do for him. And so he sat at his mullioned window and gazed out the diamond panes at the colors of the countryside as they changed with the light. And he dreamed away the day, until the colors darkened and he betook himself to bed, where he slumbered and dreamed in truth.\nOf what did he dream? He dreamed of his own land, but in colors more intense, more true, and more pure than in day. His Menevia of Dreams was more real than his Menevia of Waking, and he felt more alive when asleep than awake. Each day at his mullions, he looked and longed for a way to dream beyond dreams\u2014a way to live in his Reverie-Menevia forever and forever.\n\"Reverie-Menevia,\" he said, and it was a prayer. \"Reverie-Menevia. Reverie-Menevia.\" A thousand, thousand times he uttered this prayer, and it changed like a dream to \" 'Ver'-Menevia, 'ver'-Menevia,\" and more and more it became less and less, until at last, \"Vaermina,\" he said, and \"Vaermina,\" and \"Vaermina\" again.\nAnd to him she came in Dream-Form, Vaermina Herself, and called him Supernal Dreamer, and First Nightcaller, and named him Omen of a Hundred Prophecies. And when he awoke, he yet did dream, and spoke as in a dream, and called other dreamers to him, and to Reverie-Menevia.\nAnd soon you shall join him. The Nightcaller has dreamed it. One night you shall dream, and in your dream you will say the Name. And She will come."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/grandmaster-sees-all-colors": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/grandmaster-sees-all-colors", "description": "A kind invitation must be refused", "author": "Darj of Bleakrock", "title": "To Grandmaster Sees-All-Colors", "text": "Grandmaster,\nYour invitation is kind, and the promise of coin is appealing. The village could use it.\nStill, I must refuse your offer of membership in the Fighters Guild. Bleakrock is where I was born. Shor willing, it's where I will die. My bow and blade belong to this tiny island.\nKyne speed you on your mission against the Daedra.\n\u2014 Darj of Bleakrock"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/jalal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/jalal", "description": "Nobody has time to poke through lava for Dwemer clues...", "author": "Darj of Bleakrock", "title": "To Jalal", "text": "Jalal,\nNo, I don't know what damned Dwemer ruin was here before. No, I won't go digging in the lava to find out. Stop asking!\n- Zennuxith"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/jun-jo-empty-fang": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/jun-jo-empty-fang", "description": "Go off into the desert to die", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "To Jun-Jo the Empty Fang", "text": "Jun-Jo the Empty Fang, your time has come. Your body is weak enough, your soul is strong enough, your mind clear enough.\nNow you must climb, Jun-Jo the Empty Fang, as the gods called to the forebearers before you and will call to those that follow.\nGo to the mountaintop. Let the wind weave through your fur, let the sun fall on your face. Let the trees be your only succor \u2013 their needles, their seeds, their resin. To wander the ethereal, one must reject the corporeal. Your form will diminish, but your mind and soul will grow.\nYou will thirst for water. Drink. And each day, drink less. Your fur, what is left of it, you will shed. Your heart, what remains of it, will slow. Your breaths will be as the dying wind.\nAnd with your body prepared, the heavens will await your ethereal soul to fascinate in its mysteries. And your body will wait for your soul to return to it, stewarded by the Moons and the majesty of the Lattice."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/my-azeez-eix": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/my-azeez-eix", "description": "Another interracial love letter from the same Dunmer girl", "author": "Lalisii Dres", "title": "To My Azeez-Eix", "text": "My sun-petal, I cannot meet you this evening. Father is beginning to suspect, and he would never forgive me if he found out. I will try to come again next Middas.\nUntil then, my love.\n- Your Lalisii Dres"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/my-brother-entrepreneur-orsinium": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/my-brother-entrepreneur-orsinium", "description": "A sister writes her brother about his generous gift of a baby echatare", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "To My Brother, Entrepreneur of Orsinium", "text": "Brother,\nI hope this letter finds you well, for I know that we did not part on the best terms. When you got the invitation to Orsinium, I was adamant that you were on a fool's errand and insisted that you stay and help run father's business with me. When your first gift arrived, I nearly wrote you to tell you how wrong I was. The generous sack of gold saved the shop, and kept your brother-in-law and nieces fed for weeks.\nWhen your second gift arrived, I was intrigued. A curiosity, for sure! Those mudcrab-like legs. That adorable nose and furry back. I sold the cute little thing to a wealthy man, a traveler from Wayrest, who insisted that he must have it. He paid me a small fortune. Again, I nearly wrote you to tell you that I had been wrong all this time, but put it off.\nA few weeks later, I'm glad that I did.\nI smelled them before I saw them. The Wayrest man, with this monstrous crested beast in tow, shouted at be from across the counter at our stall. He demanded his money back, and more, for this thing eating all of his fine silk shirts. Apparently this monster, now the size of a large tusked bull, liked to butt up against the supports of the man's house, and nearly knocked it down.\nLucky for me, the magistrate found in my favor. \"Let the buyer beware.\"\nWhatever this beast is, you are a fool for sending one to me. Please do not send another.\nLove and kisses, Sis\nP.S. You may continue to send gold."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/my-pash-riha": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/my-pash-riha", "description": "An interracial love note", "author": "Lalisii Dres", "title": "To My Pash-Riha", "text": "My evening star, I cannot meet you this day. My brother has begun to suspect us, and I fear he will beat me terribly if he finds out. I will try to come again to your side next Fredas.\nUntil then, my love.\n\t- Your Lalisii Dres"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/my-reviewer": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/my-reviewer", "description": "An Altmeri noble handles a critic with grace and class", "author": "Falarel", "title": "To My Reviewer", "text": "Dear Sir,\nA kind gentleman delivered a copy of your fine pamphlet entitled \"A Visit to High Kinlord Rilis XII's Court.\" In this magnificent volume, you demonstrated your masterful vocabulary whilst describing the various foibles of my liege's court.\nI was particularly fond of your kind praise of my jesterly performances, especially the act you described as \"abominably distasteful\" and \"prurient nonsense.\" I applaud your honesty and forthrightness. Like any great artist, I can appreciate the constructive criticism.\nI would like to invite you to my lodgings. Upon your arrival, I will throw you down a flight of stairs repeatedly. My goal is to break your neck, and to see the last flicker of life extinguished from your vast, empty eyes.\nYours respectfully,\n\tFalarel"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/my-unknown-benefactor": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/my-unknown-benefactor", "description": "A thief and their confidant come to an agreement", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "To My Unknown Benefactor", "text": "Sir or Madam,\nI do not understand why these small valuables have begun to show up at my doorstep, but I must say you have improved my standard of living substantially. What you ask for in return, however, is not within my power to give.\nIf I were to tell you, for example, about the caravan leaving my city along the northern trail at dawn a week from today, I think I would be in fear for my position. And informing you that each of the merchants of my city transport their safebox contents to the bank on the third day of every week would be a confidence I should not dare reveal.\nI trust we understand one another.\n-E"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/posterity": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/posterity", "description": "An atlas of infamous Eastmarch witches, living and deceased", "author": "Hafara", "title": "To Posterity", "text": "Witches and witch-hunters are, by nature, uncivil to one another, but the witches of Eastmarch and my clan, the Direfrost witch-hunters, have particularly bad blood between us. I cannot say I blame the witches for their hatred\u2014we have clashed often in these mountainous regions, and we Direfrosts have become very good at slaying them. Eastmarch was once infested with the heathens, the landscape dotted with their covens.\nEverywhere one turned, one found sordid hovels built in honor of some Daedric Prince. Thanks to the efforts of my family over several generations, that number has dwindled to a scant few. They're there, to be sure\u2014the schemes of Oblivion are myriad\u2014but the witches move in fear, ducking between the narrowing shadows cast by the Flame of Direfrost.\nIn the days of their abundance, they abducted innocents, murdered children, desecrated corpses. I will not mourn them when finally, and with great, glorious fanfare, we stamp them from the face of Eastmarch forever.\n\tI list below the most infamous leaders of those covens who have committed crimes such that Direfrosts of my generation can never forget them, lest we disrespect the desecrated dead. Daedric Pacts grant these witches long life, and I fear I may not live to see all of this lot rounded up and slain, but when the last of them falls I implore posterity to raise a monument in remembrance of their victims, detailing their crimes and their death at Direfrost hands:\nHranvard Frostfinger. Thirteen known victims sacrificed in flames to Mehrunes Dagon. Fled to the Sea of Ghosts where a final standoff with hunters saw a silver bolt pass through a summoned flesh atronach into Frostfinger herself. Confirmed deceased.*\nHenghild of Wittestadr. Twenty known victims sacrificially bled to death to appease an unidentified Daedra Lord. Captured from the mountain passes to the south of Eastmarch and perished under torture. Confirmed deceased.**\nLorgar the Plague. Twenty-seven known victims, causes of death vary, all executed to appease an unidentified Daedra. Search went on in vain for months before Lorgar challenged Odrama, wife of Adegrel Direfrost, and was beheaded on the steps of Direfrost Keep. The stone was clean before supper. Confirmed deceased.***\nDrodda of Icereach. One hundred and seven known victims, frozen and soul-trapped to appease Molag Bal. Still at large and incredibly dangerous. She is the oldest of the Eastmarch Coven, and only grows in strength with the passage of time.****\nNotes:\n\t*Revised for total victim count and particulars of death by Lord Logangar\n\t**Revised as above by Lady Stodrir\n\t*** Revised as above by Lord Ogondar\n\t**** Revised for current victim count by Lord Agomar"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sai-sahan": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sai-sahan", "description": "Note regarding cooperation to defeat the dragon threat in southern Elsweyr", "author": "Abnur Tharn", "title": "To Sai Sahan", "text": "Sai Sahan,\nSince we began exchanging letters concerning the rage of Dragons loose in Elsweyr, I have been eagerly anticipating news of your reformed Dragonguard and the Dragon you have allied with. A remarkable achievement. I'm surprised you accomplished it without me.\nWe have important business to discuss. My own investigations have uncovered a threat to Southern Elsweyr. I am on my way to your Dragonguard Sanctum. And I'm bringing a friend. Make sure that you and your Dragon are available. Time is short and we must move quickly.\nOne more thing. You have been working with a mutual friend. The Champion of Anequina and the Pride of the Dragonguard. Make sure they are also with you. We'll need them to deal with this threat. Don't tell them, but they impressed me during our time together in Northern Elsweyr. Yes, yes, it surprises me as much as it does you.\nI'll arrive in Southern Elsweyr shortly. Be prepared for my arrival.\nAbnur Tharn"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/scarius": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/scarius", "description": "Promise of vengeance for a slain brother", "author": "Mercuro", "title": "To Scarius", "text": "You will never be forgotten, Scarius. Nor shall your murderers be forgiven. I bury you here, by the gravestone of our ancestors, facing Nornalhorst. Watch as I avenge you. The severed heads of the Gray Vipers will decorate your grave. This I swear, brother."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/smite-dragon-claws": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/smite-dragon-claws", "description": "Fight song of the Dragon Knights", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "To Smite with Dragon Claws", "text": "(Battle Chant of the Intrepid Two Hundred)\n\tWe are dragon knights. We are dragons.\n\tIf you attack us, you will meet talons.\n\tIf you strike us, you will eat spikes.\n\tIf you injure us, our wounds will close.\n\tIf you anger us, you will burn.\n\tIf you run from us, we will pounce upon you.\n\tYou cannot win. We cannot lose.\n\tWe are dragon knights. We are dragons."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/captain": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/captain", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "To the Captain", "text": "Per your orders, our elite forces are moving up the slope to the Spire.The less seasoned members of the Vanguard will be left behind in Kragenmoor, and in the camp outside of town.\nThey need further training if they're to contribute to the Grandmaster's plans. Work them hard.\nWe know that forces from Virak will be following shortly in the Grandmaster's wake. We must be ready to hold the city, and give him the time he needs.\nI know we all have reservations about what's happening here. We may have to draw steel on comrades, on our brothers in the alliance.\nWe've all seen what the Covenant is capable of. The Grandmaster understands, where others do not. They must be stopped, no matter the cost."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/captain-guard": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/captain-guard", "description": "Instructions to slay an ice witch", "author": "Agomar, Lord of Direfrost", "title": "To the Captain of the Guard", "text": "Three servants and no fewer than six family members have been murdered in a fashion suggesting the vilest witchcraft.\nSeveral months ago, one of our patrols captured and executed a coven of Ice Witches from the north. We now have evidence that one of their kind escaped. I fear that she entered the castle for the celebration, disguised as a commoner, to enact her vengeance. Have trusted guards and servants seal all entrances to the castle immediately. All guests from the surrounding villages should be immediately placed under guard and restrained if necessary.\nThis Ice Witch, Drodda, is aligned with the darkest powers of Oblivion and should be considered extremely dangerous. Kill her on sight."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kind-stranger-who-finds": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kind-stranger-who-finds", "description": "A request to deliver some mining samples", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "To the Kind Stranger Who Finds This", "text": "This one craves a favor of you.\nNearby please find a bag of mining samples. Please deliver these to Ingfred the Tall in Dusktown.\nHe will have questions. Tell him that past shadows reach too close. He will see Adanzda no more.\nIt is time for this one to move on.\nTell him to wash the dishes. Ingfred will understand."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/veiled-masters": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/veiled-masters", "description": "", "author": "T", "title": "To the Veiled Masters", "text": "Veiled Masters,\nOur dupes in the Council assigned me to this backwater as planned. I begin my work to defy Ayrenn, the Absentee Queen. We shall punish her for usurping leadership from Prince Naemon, who has proven his worth time and again as an upholder of tradition and Elven honor.\nShe was canny to gain the Wood Elves' support by nominating Elden Root as the capital of this thrice-accursed \"Dominion.\" That hedge-king Camoran must've been overjoyed when he thought of all the prestige it would bring him. Ayrenn's had him twisted around her finger for decades, but that's another, less savory story.\nAs for the Khajiiit, you will be pleased to learn I've delayed the construction as expected. Our constituents in Grahtwood have proven most useful in this regard. It seems there is no greater power than bureaucracy."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/veiled-queen": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/veiled-queen", "description": "", "author": "Sealord Malleroth Of Pyandonea", "title": "To the Veiled Queen", "text": "To The Veiled Queen, Future Ruler Of Auridon\nOur plan to use South Beacon as a staging area for our occupation of Auridon is in motion. The lighthouse is now under our control and a powerful magical ward will limit entry to all but our most trusted agents.\nAs per our previous discussions, you will continue to supply updated, detailed information regarding the navigation of Auridon Strait and the scheduled fleet movements of Altmer Naval vessels in the area to our agents in South Beacon. They will relay the information to our ships, in code, using the lighthouse beacon.\nIn recompense for this aid, you will be named our Viceroy of Auridon once our control of Summerset is assured.\nMay Your Prow Ride High,\n\tSealord Malleroth Of Pyandonea\n\tMaormer High Command"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/villainous-manacar": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/villainous-manacar", "description": "", "author": "The  Blackbirds", "title": "To the Villainous Manacar", "text": "To the Villainous Manacar,\nYour actions have vexed one too many, and now is the time to pay! We have Tableau in our dastardly clutches. If you value her, leave ten thousand gold with the Orc Ghrum, waiting within Alinor's Outlaws Refuge. Send any prying eyes? We'll pry out Tableau's eyes in return!\nYour Antagonistic Adversaries,\nThe Blackbirds"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/warlord-ice-heart": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/warlord-ice-heart", "description": "A letter of betrayal", "author": "Vulture", "title": "To Warlord Ice-Heart", "text": "Warlord Ice-heart,\nI risk everything by betraying my people for this promised gold and the right to sell exclusively to your clans. There can't be any delay or mistakes\u2014I've already given a portion of the gold to a group of Khajiiti traders in order to solidify my other endeavors in Orsinium.\nThe supply caravans will arrive soon through the Merchant's Gate, with food enough to support the outlying clans through the upcoming winter. The caravan also carries furs, medicines, and other supplies. They should serve your clans very well. Just refer to the schedule I provided and you should be able to catch each one unawares.\nStrike quickly and use your harpies to fly the supplies to your camp. Just be warned: Chief Bazrag and his soldiers have been patrolling the trade roads. That Orc is a ruthless bastard. I suggest you tell your warriors to do their best to avoid him.\nVulture"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wear-dread-mantle": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wear-dread-mantle", "description": "A Dragonguard plaque found in Dov-Vahl shrine in Anequina", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "To Wear Dread Mantle", "text": "VEN IRO DOSEK KAN FUUN\nARMS STRONG, MIND FULL\nTO WEAR DREAD MANTLE\nTHE GODS OF OUR HOMELAND\nBLED AND QUARTERED\nTAUGHT US EXCEEDINGLY WELL\nVEN IRO DOSEK KAN FUUN"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/whom-it-may-concern": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/whom-it-may-concern", "description": "The Undaunted go on an expedition into Oblivion", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "To Whom It May Concern", "text": "The Wood Elf Fingaenion is certain he knows a way into the planes of Oblivion. He's been studying, reading dark books that this Nord couldn't begin to comprehend. His wife disappeared there long ago, but if she yet lives\u2014the Undaunted are going to get her back!\nThe great Undaunted excursion into Oblivion\u2014that's what they'll call it, decades from now, when they sing our song! A song of the most dauntless of the Undaunted, charging headlong into the razors of Mehrunes Dagon! It won't be pretty, it might not even be wise, but it will be fun!\nTomorrow is the day. The day for us to rise above the ranks of even the Undaunted!\nPS\nTo posterity\u2014if we don't make it back (and the steady dilapidation of this camp will be a clue!)\u2014then take this note to Glenumbra, to Mighty Mordra. She will know we died as we lived\u2014as Undaunted!\nPPS\nWe being the combined force of:\nUmbarume the Undertaker\n\tCaeleneth the Hapless\n\tSobabe\n\tZantan the Magnificent\n\tGlad Glatha\n\tBloody Mayra\n\tBrittgerd Bear-Master\n\tAxel Malveaux\n\tMonynen\n\tEats-Aged-Meat\n\tFingaenion the Wood Elf\nand\nHogondar Hammerhurl (the greatest of us all!)"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/zelguma-strong": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/zelguma-strong", "description": "The Scaled Court is making progress in Craglorn", "author": "The Vizier of Slithering Visions", "title": "To Zelguma the Strong", "text": "Zelguma,\nPlease continue your efforts in western Craglorn. With the help of the Iron Orcs, the Scaled Court will soon control the entire region.\nAnd remember, your resolution and steadfast loyalty will be well rewarded. Perhaps you'd like to wear the robes of the next Minister of Writhing Worms?\n\u2014The Vizier of Slithering Visions"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/toadstool-hollow-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/toadstool-hollow-journal", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Toadstool Hollow Journal", "text": "Grigerda cursed me for a fool, begged me not to go. But we'll never defeat the Shadowed Path on our own. And none of the alliances will help us; they're too busy killing each other to care about one small town.\nIt must be done, and I'm the one to do it. The others with me, our strongest warriors, should get me past the creatures of the upper caverns. Once we reach the hidden catacombs, the true struggle begins. The dead that patrol there will not let us pass easily. We must force our way through. Somewhere, deep within the crypts, lies the power that animates these long-dead soldiers.\nI know how to appeal to that power, what sacrifice it will require. But for Jafola, who has my heart, and for all of Bruma, I must do it. The dead of Toadstool Hollow will rise again in defense of their land."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/todays-instructions": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/todays-instructions", "description": "", "author": "Maxten Favrete", "title": "Today's Instructions", "text": "Zan'ikh,\nUse Freiwen's amulet to protect you from the storm while you search for fresh bodies, but take care not to lose it.\nLocations to search:\n\t~ Recently icebound merchant ship\n\t~ Along the ice shelf south of the stronghold\nItems to acquire:\n\t~ Humanoid corpses\n\t~ 1 wolf corpse\n\t~ 1 Argonian corpse\nReturn to my workshop beneath Verglas Hollow with these items, or don't return at all.\nMaxten Favrete"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tombstone-naio-bhefeo": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tombstone-naio-bhefeo", "description": "", "author": "A Dragonguard epitaph", "title": "Tombstone of Naio-Bhefeo", "text": "We honor Dragonguard Naio-Bhefeo\nProtector of our sacred knowledge\nStalwart guardian of our sanctuaries\nMay his flame burn eternal"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tome-daedric-portals": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tome-daedric-portals", "description": "Research on opening portals to Dagon's realm", "author": "the Sinistral Apprentice", "title": "Tome of Daedric Portals", "text": "Note to self: Remember, the most important thing is to pay homage to the flames of the Deadlands first.\n\t- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -\n\tAs discussed in Liminal Bridges, the transpontine circumpenetration of the limen requires the cooperation\u2014implicit or otherwise\u2014of a Daedra Lord.\nUnfortunately for the conjurer of modest means, the process described is costly, highly esoteric, and impossibly dangerous. Fortunately for the practically-minded practitioner of conjurational studies, there is another option.\nDregs of the Deadlands have been known to offer the use of existing Sigil Stones in crossing the traverse. Though the purposes of said beings are must be regarded with the wary suspicion, it is frequently possible to engage in transliminal studies with minimal risk to one's person, especially if one's go-between is supplied with sufficient motive.\nThe Deadlands, of course, are filled with searing heat and suffocating ash. But if you find a way to quench these things, their secrets\u2014and those of Oblivion itself\u2014lie at your fingertips.\nTake heed, then, and read well of what fates befell those who first attempted contact with these domains.\nFirst, there was the scholar Daron, who thought the sheer power of elemental flame would be enough to initiate contact with the Dremora of the Deadlands. Though his attempt was impressive\u2014indeed, the fire instilled in the walls of his hovel would go on to spark one of the worst wildfires in Valenwood history\u2014it ultimately proved futile. His ashes were never recovered.\nBelieving Daron was on to something, Olpion of Firsthold sought to insulate the flames with compacted earth. By all accounts he nearly succeeded, but when his chambers burst from the walls of the Crystal Tower, his apparatus lost focus, collapsing the gateway upon itself.\nIn the end, it was the Naga, Avumar, whose multifarious approach led to the final revelation. Once the flames were ignited, it was Avumar who thought to use an earthen vessel to convert the immense energy into steam. Once her boiler reached sufficient temperature, she was able to converse with a Dremora of some power on the other side.\nRelieved, no doubt, at her success in the face of her predecessors' failure, Avumar quickly agreed to the terms of the Dremora's contract. An ominous decision, it turns out, that ultimately led to the fall of Thorn.\n\tTake care, therefore, in your attempts to contact the Deadlands, for good seldom comes out of agreements made in haste with the creatures who call it home."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tome-anka-ra-guardians": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tome-anka-ra-guardians", "description": "A poem about these undead guardians", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Tome of the Anka-Ra Guardians", "text": "Here unburied stand\n\tThe ever-living sentinels.\n\tMay they watch unblinking\n\tKeep harm or strife from disturbing\n\tThe unfettered dreams of the dead."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tome-anka-ra-guardians-0": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tome-anka-ra-guardians-0", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Tome of the Anka-Ra Guardians ", "text": "Here unburied stand\nThe ever-living sentinels.\nMay they watch unblinking\nKeep harm or strife from disturbing\nThe unfettered dreams of the dead."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tome-undaunted": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tome-undaunted", "description": "Signatures and purpose of the Undaunted guild", "author": "The Undaunted", "title": "Tome of the Undaunted", "text": "We, the undersigned, declare our intention to take the Pledge of the Undaunted. Be we longstanding members of the guild, or newly blooded blades, we will dare to do what others will not. We will delve beneath Nirn, we will seek out knowledge and treasure where it lies unseen. We will stand against the darkness.\nAnd we will return Undaunted.\nSigned,\nGadrey Vintalen\nSeeks-Her-Glory\nLady Blade\nKyrin Brightglade\nLodiss the Rock\nMaeglin Telemmaite\nVerana Telemmaite\nSahba the Bonecrusher\nRassi Thimblebock\nMad Zebba\nTarik the Hollow-Sky\nGobur One-Eye\nFerocious Jakidi\nAidan the Fear-Son\nEats-Aged-Meat\nZaliya\nMaximus the Burning\nSobabe\nBradford the Brutal\nZantan the Magnificent\nEeno\nBrittgerd Bear-Master\nLady Baronessa\nDanteriel\nQuinius Keeting\nMonynen\nJeeba\nMordra the Mighty\nRecites-Poetry\nAthan Tennecker\nSalaisoc\nZakir\nTarien Vel"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tommy-boness-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tommy-boness-journal", "description": "A pirate can't resist the lure of easy treasure", "author": "Tommy Bones", "title": "Tommy Bones's Journal", "text": "12, Second Seed\nMore worms in the bread. Damned swamp. Nothing stays dry down here. Can barely sit down without soiling the seat of my trousers in some puddle of muck. To Oblivion with this place. I'll take my mates to the Alik'r. Better to die of thirst than swamp lung.\n14, Second Seed\nI take it all back! There's a treasure here. Not some creaky lock-box or tarnished necklace neither! A real treasure! She calls herself Dyzera. By Orkey, the curves on this one! Like something out of a twisted dream.\nWe struck a bargain. I send lads out to look for some Azura cultists, and she gives me gifts! One present each! Looks like my ship's finally come in.\n28, Second Seed\nIt's done! My mates tracked down these Azura cultists, just as easy as you please. Dyzera was good as her word. Gave me a handful of trinkets. I've never seen the like! A \"Night Cowl\" that turns me invisible, a \"Spinning Brooch\" that drives the ladies mad, and a \"Bulging Purse\" full of gold that never runs dry! Look out, Tamriel! There's never been a bandit like 'ole Tommy Bones! I'm going to grab this world by the arse and never let go!\n2, Midyear\nWhat have I done? Damn it all, what have I done? Lies! All lies! These trinkets are poison! Whoever reads this, don't touch them! Don't--\n<The handwriting devolves into illegible scribbles.>"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tonight-he-confessed": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tonight-he-confessed", "description": "A woman is overjoyed at her new love", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Tonight He Confessed", "text": "My handsome, pale lover! Tonight he confessed his true nature to me. I must admit I had my suspicions, but to hear him say the word sent shivers down my spine: Vampire!\nHe seemed so small when he said the word, so frightened. So very much alone. My heart went out to him, and my love grew by leaps and bounds at that very moment.\nI took him in my arms and told him that I wasn't surprised. I had suspected the truth of his nature for quite some time, He seemed relieved. Painfully so. That's when he said the words I was hoping to hear. He asked me to join him for eternity.\nSadly, I didn't think of my husband at all. I didn't even hesitate. I just said, yes, oh yes, forever yes!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tonight-was-night": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tonight-was-night", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Tonight Was the Night", "text": "Tonight was the night, and it was as amazing as I had imagined it would be. It was inevitable, I suppose. Fate.\nMy handsome, pale stranger. We met. We touched. His hands were so cold. Deathly cold. For a moment, I almost pulled away. But only for a moment. Then I moved closer, drinking in his sunken cheeks, his pale complexion, his icy lips.\nWere the shivers that cascaded down my spine from the cold, or from the perverse excitement he arouses in me?\nAll I know is that tonight confirmed what I've been trying to deny all this time: I belong to him."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/topal-legionary-academy-khajiits-summary": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/topal-legionary-academy-khajiits-summary", "description": "The rise and fall of this military school, now known as the Forsaken Citadel", "author": "Zargit the Studious", "title": "Topal Legionary Academy: A Khajiit's Summary", "text": "This one has studied the Topal Legionary Academy on and off, sometimes even asking those within (while they still lived) more about the history of the place. Because of the current status of the academy, Zargit does not wish to venture into the area yet. Perhaps some day. For now, though, this one will write what he knows of the place.\nOriginally a simple base camp for Imperials, the site was perfect for their needs at the time. The Imperials spent several years examining the terrain in the area at the behest of their Emperor, which, forgive this one, would most likely be listed in one of the books in the academy. This one's notes are confusing on that matter. They did not express what goal they had, but this one suspects it had something to do with taking over Khajiiti lands. Empires will be empires, after all.\nTime passed, as it does, and the Imperials started building a fortification here for reasons they would not tell Zargit, alas. For a generation or so, it was merely a safehold that allowed for Imperial movement within the area, but one of the leaders decided it would make sense to transition it into a training center for Imperials with potential. And so was born the Topal Legionary Academy.\nFor several generations, Topal Legionary Academy held a place of honor among the Imperial military families. Several sponsored the place, providing funds for its operation. In the early years, the location continued to serve as a barracks for those Imperials assigned to this area, but as sponsorship and demand for elite training increased, and other factions decided it was not as useful as it once was for troop movement, it transitioned fully into a school.\nThis tradition of training excellence continued until the Knahaten Flu, when the school's luck regarding sweeping illnesses ran out. (It withstood the Thrassian Plague, after all. The commandant noted to this one that they barricaded themselves inside for that illness, surviving it handily.) Unfortunately, whatever choices they made failed them in the face of the virulence of the flu, and the academy fell.\nNow local Khajiit claim that the place is haunted by the spirits of those who fell victim to the flu, though one or two of the more magically inclined state that something else that \"feels arcane or cursed\" haunts the location. They dare not approach, they state, to determine what this effect is, instead saying, \"Why would one ever want to visit a place that is now called the Forsaken Citadel? That is a fool's errand and a death wish.\"\nDespite these warnings, this one wishes to venture into the glorious library and take away some of the books within for further study, but none will accompany him. Zargit finds it exasperating that he did not take better notes, too, and wishes to rectify this mistake. Maybe one day, yes?"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/torc-baloth-bloodtusk": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/torc-baloth-bloodtusk", "description": "Brief overview of this legendary necklace", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Torc of Baloth Bloodtusk", "text": "Known as the Wild Boar of Orsinium, Baloth Bloodtusk battled the enemies of Wrothgar, especially the invading hordes of the Bretons and Redguards.\nHis legendary torc, a heavy chain bearing a hammer, saved him from a Redguard's attack when it deflected a blade thrust. The chain snapped, however, and the torc was lost to history near what is today called Honor's Rest."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/torchbugs": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/torchbugs", "description": "A possibly insane person detests torch bugs", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Torchbugs", "text": "Torchbugs found me again.\n\tThought I'd killed them last time. But they're back.\n\tThis time, no mistakes. I'll burn down the village if I have to. Die, torchbugs."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/torn-note-2": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/torn-note-2", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Torn Note (2)", "text": "\u2026 not to be shared with Ethian. He is a dutiful son, but he lacks nerve. Unlike that she-wolf he married. She'd sail straight into the arms of those green savages and act as if they are our equals. Madness.\nYou'll find there is an extra passenger on your escort sloop. Corisia Rufinus\u2014a mage with whom I have done business in the past. Very discreet. She can make sure that the boats get iced in for a few days when you are far enough north. Just enough to solidly delay Sovelle's arrival. Any luck, the Orcs will be insulted, if they have the wit to understand social niceties.\nI had some other thoughts on dealing with this situation\u2026"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/torn-note-jessen": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/torn-note-jessen", "description": "The Resolute must be removed!", "author": "Jessen", "title": "Torn Note from Jessen", "text": "Mistress,\n\tWe know where he shall be. We will remove the foul Resolute from the battlefield. We shall return to the island tower when we have completed our task.\nEver faithful, Jessen."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/torn-page-1": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/torn-page-1", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Torn Page (1)", "text": "My colleague, Aban, pressed his hands blue against its walls. He searched weeks for a hidden compartment, a loose stone; any way in. He found none.\nI would kill for a way into Hel Ra Citadel, but they say no one has entered it in many lifetimes\u2014that the entrance is barred and shielded by magical means.\nI go now for the simple honor to do the same as Aban. Visiting such a storied landmark left by our ancestors will stir my soul, I'm sure."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/torn-page-2": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/torn-page-2", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Torn Page (2)", "text": "Trying to leave this alcove means death by beheading. Staying means death by whatever beast makes this place home.\nWhy this, why now? I swear I will haunt this place if I die here not knowing.\nI've some arrows yet remaining. Perhaps it's time for Jenedusil's final stand. Yes, I think that's what I'll call this."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/torn-page-3": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/torn-page-3", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Torn Page (3)", "text": "The fiends who plague us may well have dropped from the sky. They came upon us midday, with the sun casting naught a single shadow. I have no idea how.\nThey move like men, kill like men, but don't speak. Can't be reasoned with.\nWe don't presently hear them, nor see them.\nBut they're there. They slayed scores of us in an instant, in a hail of arrows, and fire, and blades.\n\tThe others fear to move. If those things don't kill us out on this bridge, the sun will.\nAll you who read this, for I wish someone had told me: turn back. Turn and flee as fast as you can. Nothing good will come of approaching the Citadel."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/torn-page-4": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/torn-page-4", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Torn Page (4)", "text": "It's the basins! Once per basin, in this exact order: Burn, then bury, then drown."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/torturers-note-hammers-bypass": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/torturers-note-hammers-bypass", "description": "Clues to a puzzle deep in the ruins of Orsinium", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Torturer's Note: Hammer's Bypass", "text": "Four symbols form the key\nOf the clans that formed the city\nWhose names we honor to this day\nAmong the Orcs of Iliac Bay\nFirst are the ones who built her walls\nSecond are the ones who armed her halls\nThird are the ones who kept her fueled\nLast is the one who over all ruled\nAbove is the drivel I pulled from that Orc zealot before he expired. Do the symbols on the tiles match the poetry?"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/torturers-note-tempers-fork": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/torturers-note-tempers-fork", "description": "Clues to a puzzle deep in the ruins of Orsinium", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Torturer's Note: Temper's Fork", "text": "That Orc we captured was tougher than the first, but she became quite malleable once I cooked her up a bit. As you requested, I asked her how to pass the second door into the deepest section of the keep. You were right about that area being the most defensible, as the Orc was very reluctant to give up that information. Unlike the other, she was willing to die before entering the sequence of symbols for us. I had to melt her eyes before she would even hint at it.\nThe symbols on the pressure plates around the door correspond to the Orc clans who founded this city. The order we have to press them is the order in which they fell during the siege of Orsinium. That's all I could get from her before she became delirious and started ranting about the hidden children of Malacath.\nHistory isn't my strong point, but we'll search the ruins to find clues as to which clan did what and where. My best guess is that whichever clan lived outdoors is first, followed by the clan that inhabited this pit. The next one is tricky, because we don't know what lies beyond that door. It'll be something damn important to the Orcs, that's for sure. And the last has to be the ruling clan, unless any of the others survived the siege."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/torug-ag-krazak": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/torug-ag-krazak", "description": "An Orcish poem about King Turog", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Torug ag Krazak", "text": "Goltragga Torug ne murimush lochan sim\nGoltragga Torug ne rohi Ornim lochan norgim krazak\n* * *\nGoltragga Torug dek vorkhim lorak eb norgimin sim\nTorug dulg krazak eb Jur ugo sim ren tum beshkar\n* * *\nTorug gesh Glushun Zugka ugo magicka lorish\nUba eb uba urgalick voshu Ornim tarask Torug golzarga ubeshka"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/torug-summit-complete-translation": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/torug-summit-complete-translation", "description": "Translated version of a poem about the Orcish King Turog", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Torug at the Summit, Complete Translation", "text": "Chief Torug will not allow the looters to find his remains.\nChief Torug will allow no lesser Orcs to find interment above him.\n* * *\nChief Torug gathered up his armored bracer and his dying body. He climbed to the summit and placed himself in a cairn of his own making.\n* * *\nThen he laid Sorrow's Kiss upon his enchanted armlet.\nForever waiting for a worthy Orc to claim his most cherished possession."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/touch-worms-tongue": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/touch-worms-tongue", "description": "A journal descriving necromantic research", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Touch of the Worm's Tongue", "text": "Day 13: It has been discovered that strict reliance on the preserving salts, while undesirable for outward appearances, contains the highest rate of conversion success.\nDay 17: Before the dark fluids are returned to the vessel it is necessary to purge all remaining blood, most especially from the primary organs.\nDay 19: Though it pains the host enough to occasionally result in death, forcing water into the lungs may prevent future spasms of pus-coughs.\nDay 23: Only under rare circumstances should the vessel exhibit symptoms of its former life. Should this become a problem during the initiation stage it is often best to discard the work.\nDay 29: It was revealed today that the host can reject the vessel if not carefully prepared in the specific manner in which we have been instructed. This is a grave affront to the host and not something that will be taken lightly should your work on the vessel be sloppy enough to cause this.\nDay 31: There are two recent shortcut practices which have been found to cause unreliable lifespans for the vessels. It is important to not take any shortcuts during preparation. Those responsible for the propagation of the false knowledge have been dealt with.\nDay 37: The first shining example of our future has been created. The host and vessel are joined perfectly and the resulting power is breathtaking."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tower-adamant": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tower-adamant", "description": "One Bard's study of the Adamantine Tower", "author": "Hrerm House-builder, Bard's College, Solitude", "title": "Tower of Adamant", "text": "There is nothing like the Direnni Tower anywhere in Skyrim, save for High Hrothgar itself. Unlike the great mountain, which is a thing of nature, the tower is a structure\u2014but one not constructed by Men or Mer, if the legends speak true, but by the Aedra themselves.\nIt rises, stark and sheer, from the high center of Balfiera Island in the Iliac Bay, where it has stood since the dawn of time itself. Adamantine Tower, it is called, for the unknown, ageless material from which it is built, and Tower Zero, as the edifice that predates all other buildings on Mundus.\nThe Direnni High Elves have ruled Balfiera since the beginning of the First Era. In common parlance the tower bears their name, though they can claim only the construction of the more recent keep that clusters around the tower's base. (Who is responsible for delving the catacombs beneath the keep is a matter of debate with no definitive consensus.)\nI have not consulted with the High Elves of Alinor (who has?), but the noble Croiden, Elden Antiquariat of the Direnni, deigned to answer a few questions. According to him, the tower was erected in the Dawn Era when the gods met to decide the fate of Mundus. At its apex, Auri-El, the great god of the Aldmeri, slew the trickster Lorkhan, impaled his heart on an arrow and launched it across the world. The heart merely laughed and lived on.\nThe Aedra then withdrew from the affairs of Mundus, leaving behind the tower for the Direnni to discover and take for their own. What secrets did they find there? What have they concealed to this day? Whatever the secrets may be, the Direnni didn't reveal them to this humble Nord architect.\nHowever, secrets there must be, for I took sight-and-angle measurements of the Direnni Tower from the eight points of the compass. According to my calculations, and given the known characteristics of all available materials, building an edifice of its proportions should not be possible."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tracking-arena": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tracking-arena", "description": "A Scholary Exploration of the Mysterious Fight Club", "author": "Ebidazner Kornod", "title": "Tracking the Arena", "text": "I have been searching for the elusive and mysterious contest of champions for more years than I care to admit. I first heard of the secret battleground in Valenwood, when Biiri the Beautiful was spoken of as the legendary Champion of the Games. Tried as I might, I could not find the location of these rumored games, nor could I find anyone who had actually seen any of the battles, even though the inns of Valenwood were alive with tales of Biiri's prowess.\nAfter weeks of futile searching, the tales of the Valenwood Arena evaporated as quickly as they started. Somehow, some way, a massive, hidden arena of multiple levels simply vanished. I assumed this was just further proof that the stories were more legend than truth, but still the idea of the place nagged at me. It haunted my dreams and interrupted my thoughts at the oddest moments.\nWhen next I heard rumors of a mysterious and secret Arena, I was in Windhelm for the Skald-King's Konunleikar. In the shadows of the dingy mead halls, rough and tumble Nords described a magical battlegrounds where the environment changed with every match. To earn a victory meant getting to fight another match. To find defeat was to experience a bloody and violent death. It sounded gruesome and fascinating to me, and the Nords drank it up like it was the sweetest beverage they ever tasted.\nThe place was called the Skyrim Arena, but I was never able to locate an entrance to the battlegrounds. This time they spoke of the glorious victories of Holgstad the Horrible. He was supposedly a Nord's Nord. Tall as a troll and twice as powerful, Holgstad was rumored to enter each match carrying a double-bladed axe and a dagger that sparked with lightning. They said he had a trio of Nord shield maidens that fought by his side, and that they were destroying the competition in match after match\u2014much to the approval of the Arena's mysterious patron.\nI think I was getting close to finding the secret location when suddenly the stories stopped. It happened again. This supposedly ancient arena of stone and metal had disappeared as quickly as it had arrived, taking Holgstad and his shield maidens with it. The Nords cheered, drank to their honored champion, and then went back to dealing with the more mundane happenings of the realm.\nI dispaired\u00a0 of ever getting that close to the Arena again when I happened to be traveling on one of the Dragonstar Caravan Company's wagons. One of the caravan guards was bragging about how he was going to compete in the Dragonstar Arena when he returned to Craglorn after this run. He knew he was strong enough to challenge the current champion. All he had to do was convince three of his fellow guards to join him so he had a proper team.\nOver drinks around the evening fire, I was able to learn as much as the guard could tell me about the Arena. He explained that it was an ancient ruin that suddenly appeared in the hills behind the town of Dragonstar a few weeks back. Challengers were arriving from all over Craglorn and beyond to compete in the secret games. They had even set up a makeshift camp outside the Arena entrance. I knew this was the Arena I had been searching for, that somehow it changed locations whenever the competition began to falter. That it was capable of moving\u2014stone by stone\u2014across the world.\nNow I'm inside the Arena, hoping to gain access to the games themselves. I need to see how the environments change. I need to determine if it's some amazing feat of ancient engineering or some sort of magic that makes the impossible happen for every match. And I need to determine who the mysterious patron of the Arena actually is. I have suspicions, of course, but I'm sure the truth will turn out to be exceedingly stranger than anything I can imagine."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tracking-butcher": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tracking-butcher", "description": "A bounty hunter in pursuit of Iron Orcs learns a terrible secret.", "author": "Regol Hodd", "title": "Tracking the Butcher", "text": "From the Journal of Regol Hodd, Bounty Hunter\nMy current bounty focuses on the legendary terror of the Valley of Scars, the Iron Orc known as Gulzog the Butcher. He leads a band of raiders and marauders who regularly terrorize travelers who venture too close to Iron Orc territory. The Dragonstar Caravan Company has hired me to find the Butcher's hiding place and put an end to his activities.\n* * *\nA captured Iron Orc finally revealed a few of his secrets after a prolonged session with my hunting knife. I now know where I can find the Butcher. I also learned that he's changed his tactics as of late. Instead of attacking travelers and killing them all before looting their possessions, he and his band have starting taking live captives.\nMy prisoner expired before I could determine what the Butcher wanted living captives for, but I can't imagine it's for anything good. Something tells me that a quick death is preferrable to becoming guests of the Iron Orcs.\n* * *\nI made my way into the Valley of Scars, barely avoiding the multitude of Iron Orcs that seem to fill the area. I only had to kill a few of the vile creatures, as my skill at stealth and avoiding detection is certainly more than adequate to fool these brutal savages.\nI found the Butcher's camp, tucked into a side alcove in the valley. I can hardly believe it, but the Iron Orcs seem to have trained trolls to serve them in some capacity. Long after this bounty has been collected, the thought of Iron Orcs leading trolls into battle will haunt my nightmares. But even worse, I've discovered why the Butcher has been taking prisoners\u2014he's feeding them to the trolls!\nWell, this outrage must not go unanswered. Bounty or no, the Butcher has made this personal. I will actually take pleasure in removing the foul monster's head from his shoulders. Provided, that is, I can get close enough to do the deed.\n* * *\nThe Iron Orcs spotted me before I could reach the Butcher. Now I'm trapped and cornered, waiting for the inevitable end. It won't be long before the Iron Orcs reach me. I plan to die fighting, as I have no desire to be fed alive to the Butcher's trolls. I just pray I have the strength to accomplish that plan."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/translated-ayleid-texts": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/translated-ayleid-texts", "description": "Interesting Ayleid inscriptions seemingly mentioning ESO's protagonist", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Translated Ayleid Texts", "text": "\u2026 made sure that with each breath, we breathed in <life, health, vitality?>. With each <seed, rock, stone?> we planted, we would prosper. No <death, sickness, disease?> can harm us. This is the power of the <light, sun, fire?> \u2026.\n\u2026 only the <remnant, vestige?> can contain the power of the <unknown Ayleid word>. It lives as we do. It reacts to <feelings, emotions, sentiments?>. It makes our <existence, survival, journey?> better \u2026.\n\u2026 the <crag, peak?> and the <remnant, vestige, fragment?> are one. Here, it will always be <guarded, protected, hidden?> \u2026.\n\u2026 we have established a second <community, outpost, cave?> in the hills to the east of the <crag, peak?>. In this hillside <community, outpost, cave?>, we have hidden our <tome, scroll, tablet?> of <history, glossary, theology?> for <safekeeping, shelter, reassurance?>"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/transmutation-living-creatures": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/transmutation-living-creatures", "description": "Brief notes on this procedure", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Transmutation of Living Creatures", "text": "The use of a pearl tincture, created from the inherent essence of this rare gem, can stabilize a transmutation potion. It is a crucial component for potions meant to modify living flesh for any period of time.\nPearl tinctures can be created in a number of ways. The purest essences take time and patience, not unlike the creation of a pearl from a grain of sand.\nNote: Pounding a pearl with a fist-sized rock is not efficacious. I like the word efficacious. Gadris uses it often and it has stuck with me. Efficacious.\nTreating a pearl with an acidic substance produces a sort of goo. The dried goo can be finely ground and dissolved into a liquid.\nYes! This may work! I'll have a tincture in no time!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/transmutation-potion-recipe": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/transmutation-potion-recipe", "description": "Further research on this potion", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Transmutation Potion Recipe", "text": "Eleven drops of the tincture? No, no, no. Seven. Seven drops. No more, no less.\nDo not oversaturate the paste with tincture.\nI need more ground pearl powder. Gadris had some. I need to borrow it. It's for a good cause, but I wish he did not get so cross. Always going on about not wasting time or ingredients. His middle name must be Tightwad.\nOdd that scathecraw dust had the effect it did, but this finding is very useful. Very useful, indeed. Never knew the dried leaves made such a fine powder. Hadn't intended for the leaves to dry out, though. Just another of those useful accidents that make me a brilliant alchemist!\nScathecraw hard to come by here. Possible substitutes need to be investigated.\nDried mort flesh is not a good substitute. Pity. Lots of that around here. Poor deformed creatures. I would feel more pity for them if they weren't trying to kill us.\nSo, seven drops of pearl tincture. Three precise pinches of dried scathecraw. One dram of purified water. Dried blood.\nYou never know when you might need a potion to make you small!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/trapped-ebon-stadmont": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/trapped-ebon-stadmont", "description": "", "author": "Andewen", "title": "Trapped in Ebon Stadmont", "text": "I was a fool to ever come to this forest. I thought myself clever, powerful, unwavering, but through my many years of isolation I now see the truth. I was headstrong. Proud. So very, very foolish. And I've suffered because of that.\nI've been trapped within this forest for decades now. Trapped within the past. My face is filled with wrinkles, my heart darkened with regrets. My life was stolen from me. Yes, stolen. I know that now.\nThere's something keeping me here. Over the years, I've named this presence, this jailer. The Spirit of Ebon Stadmont. She's watched me. Studied me. And it's she who trapped me here. Cut me off from the present. Cut me off from the rest of the world.\nThis entrapment set in motion the moment I stepped within this forest. Why didn't I question it? That voice, leading me, guiding me. Straight to where she needed me. And how long was I ignorant to it? How long did I study this language, used it, tried to bend it to my will? Too long.\nShe needs this language for something. She understands it, but cannot use it. She needs me, just as I need her. Her whispers tell me only that which she wishes me to hear. And I listened, and I obeyed. Unknowingly loyal, unknowingly obliging. But no longer.\nI've figured it out. No more leaning on whispers, no more working through her will alone. The Southern stone. Baneweh telde. That's the way I'll return to my original time. And then I can stop all of this from happening. I can stop myself from stepping into that doorway, and into this prison.\nI suspect she knows though. Despite my relative ease moving through this forest so far, so long as I do stay within it, all of my attempts to travel to the Southern stone have been thwarted. This silent battle between me and the Spirit has lasted months now, but I'm determined. I will break free. I will stop this. I must."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/travel-itinerary": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/travel-itinerary", "description": "The noblewoman's to-do list in Anvil and Taneth", "author": "Lady Anais Velmont", "title": "Travel Itinerary", "text": "Details of Lady Anais Velmont's impending tour of Velmont holdings:\nDay 1: Board Velmont's Opulence and set sail for the Gold Coast.\nDay 3: Winds and currents permitting, arrive at Anvil. Provincial Governor Forunata has graciously offered rooms at Castle Anvil for me and my retinue.\nDay 4: Attend a posh ball at Castle Anvil, I dare say I'll be the guest of honor!\nDay 5: Inspect holdings in the city of Anvil, handle family business.\nDay 6: Set sail for Taneth. Make sure to stock up on pirate ale for the trip.\nDay 10: Winds and currents permitting, arrive at the port city of Taneth. The Queen of Taneth has graciously offered a small estate for my use during this visit.\nDays 11-12: Meet with merchant lords to discuss business arrangements. Negotiate to purchase a new warehouse for expanding needs.\nDay 13: Attend a grand ball, hosted by the Queen of Taneth. Be careful not to overindulge on the pomegranate wine.\nDay 14: Set sail for Abah's Landing. See you when we get back!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/travels-around-western-holds": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/travels-around-western-holds", "description": "An Argonian's view of western Skyrim", "author": "Inky-Claws", "title": "Travels Around the Western Holds", "text": "Would that my shell-siblings had come with me on this journey to the vast north! Though on some days, I do not blame them for choosing to remain in the tepid mud-baths of Gideon. Western Skyrim and its dryskins are not accustomed to travelers from Black Marsh, it seems. However, they appear more receptive to my kind than they are to their eastern neighbors. \"Milk-drinkers,\" they say, and spit on the ground. What a waste of perfectly good rheum!\nI assumed Western Skyrim was nothing but ice and rock. But there is much variety to be found in the different \"holds,\" as they call them, even if their names are odious to those without round tongues.\nHaafingar serves as the skull in the headdress, if Western Skyrim might be thought of as such finery. Icy winds from the Sea of Ghosts blasts the land, and much of it is barren coastline. But there is a safe harbor where the hold's rivers meet the sea, and astride it sits the city of Solitude. If Haafingar is the skull in the headdress, then Solitude is the uxul-bean in the skull! A Nord's idea of a metropolis to be sure, with little in the way of flowers or scent-worms or warm mud springs to relax in. Still, this one enjoyed some comforts from across Tamriel\u2014smuggled through the port, for apparently the people here discourage open trade with outsiders.\n* * *\nI intended to travel with a caravan from Solitude to Orsinium, but the accent of these Nords confounded me so much that I ended up on a cart bound for another of Western Skyrim's holds. This one they call Hjaalmarch.\nWhen I saw it, I was for the first time on my journey woeful to be gone from home! Its bogs and marshes, though draped with frost, remind me of the fetid quagmires of Black Marsh. The crannogs and mud-huts of this place are pale imitations of those found in my homeland, though. And they extract so little subsistence from the fertile rot! They sate themselves mostly with fishing and trapping, and think nothing of the fermenting roots basting in the brine beneath their feet. I sought to evangelize the locals of Morthal, the hold's \"capital,\" but to no meaningful effect. Alas. I did find that their sodden log houses make excellent breeding grounds for termite grubs. I am drying some as I write this to make snacks for the village juveniles.\n* * *\nMy plans to reach Orsinium thwarted, I decided that I may as well visit the third of Western Skyrim's holds. Karthald, they call it. Though these Nords also speak of the village of Karthwatch. Already I have been confused between the two, and each time I see the local dryskins look at me as though I have erected the spine of jubilation at a bone-feast. Sithis take me!\nThis far from the frozen Sea of Ghosts, this hold features the best weather to be found in Western Skyrim. The crags, however, rip through the ground and make planting haphazard at best. Though barren, this land remains a battleground between the Nords of Western Skyrim and the stick-loving Reachfolk to the south.\nMy visit to Karthwatch (could they truly think of no other name-sires than the River Karth?), the hold's main settlement, was memorable. Arrayed like a fortress upon stone bluffs, its mission was to watch over Western Skyrim's neighbors to the south. This entire hold was only recently egg-hatched, within the last few years, I am told. Though I only refer to its boundaries on the map\u2014 the dryskins here have a deep and profound attachment to the land, with some clans living here for generations. They seem suitable for the role of protecting their homeland, to be sure.\n* * *\nTomorrow, I finally take a cart that I have thrice-confirmed is bound for Orsinium. My time in Western Skyrim, while not exactly profitable, has been an education. One I will eventually share with my shell-siblings in Gideon!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/treasure-hunters-journal-1": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/treasure-hunters-journal-1", "description": "Ghostly shapes in an ice cave", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Treasure Hunter's Journal [1]", "text": "Day 1\n\tWe found the Chill Hollow today. It's a winding depression in the rock filled with ice and snow. It looks like someone got here before us. Poor Hjalo. He should have brought along a few friends!\nDay 3\n\tAfter two days of hunting through these tunnels of ice, I think we finally cleared out all the wolves. With that taken care of, we can start digging for that gold the Bandit Lord Krogen supposedly hid within this frozen hole in the ground.\nDay 4\n\tStrange sounds from deeper within the cave. Could be echoes of the noise we're making as we struggle to dig through the ice and rock. Or it could be something else. I think we'll post guards tonight.\nDay 6\n\tAlfen disappeared last night. The others think he gave up and went home. But I don't think so. He was really looking forward to his share of the treasure.\nDay 7\n\tThe wolves have returned, and they aren't happy with us. Plus, we've been seeing strange, ghostly shapes floating in the darkest corners of the cave. I'm not sure we made the right decision comin\u2014"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/treasure-hunters-journal-2": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/treasure-hunters-journal-2", "description": "Dwemer ruins don't always hold treasure", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Treasure Hunter's Journal [2]", "text": "3rd Frostfall\n\tI've been tricked and led astray! There's no hoard here, no heaps of gold. Just cogs and springs and hissing pipes. What a fool I've been! I can't despair, though. There has to be something of value in this place.\nSomething hidden. I'll find it. I've worked too hard to turn back now.\n4th Frostfall\n\tI've found a book. No small feat given how many of those damned mechanical spiders are skittering about. The writing is so small and smudged, but it looks like plans for building something. Something big. Whatever it is, I'm usre it's in here somewhere. It just has to be!\n6th Frostfall\n\tStendarr's mercy, there are so many of them. Those huge walking machines. Lucky for me, they clank and thud louder than wagon-wheels on cobblestone.\nThey know I'm here. Their patrols are becoming more frequent. They've got to be protecting something. What a stroke of luck! No one protects something unless it has value. I may make my fortune yet!\n8th Frostfall\n\tIt's found me. By the Eight, it's huge! It hears everything. Even quill strokes on paper! I'm never going to make it out of here alive. Mara help me!\nIf you're reading this, don't go any farther. Let it sleep. Don't wake it up."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/treasure-hunters-note-0": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/treasure-hunters-note-0", "description": "A hopeful treasure hunter discovered a Dwemer ruin", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Treasure Hunter's Note", "text": "After fifteen years of near-constant searching, I believe I have finally located it. I found the Dwarven stronghold of Rkundzelft and, of course, its legendary vault!\nThey said I was foolish. They said there could be no Dwarven treasures remaining, that they had been plundered by bandits or lost to time. They were wrong!\nI set out tomorrow. In a week's time, I'll be richer than King Faharajad himself! And everyone who laughed at me will bend over backwards when they see the gold this will earn me."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/treatise-metallurgical-anomalies": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/treatise-metallurgical-anomalies", "description": "What appears to be the beginning of a lengthy tractage on metals", "author": "Ovuld, Master Metallurgist", "title": "Treatise on Metallurgical Anomalies", "text": "This shall be my masterwork, an accounting of everything I know about the ores, metals, and alloys of Tamriel.\n\tFirst: Iron, in all its many and wondrous varieties.\nWe begin with Bog Iron which, true to its name, is \"mined\" by digging in ferrous peat, within which pea-sized nodules of ore can be found by the assiduous bog-iron seeker. Bog iron is prized because iron forged from its ore is often highly resistant to rusting, which naturally makes it perfect for a variety of applications.\nThen there is Cold Iron, which can be found throughout the frozen mountains of Skyrim. Even after it is worked and forged, this unique metal retains a chill that keeps it cold to the touch\u2014regardless of the temperature around it. Cold Iron has a number of uses, and holds enchantments very well.\nIn my travels I have also come across a mysterious metal. I'm not sure if it's iron, as my encounter with this strange ore was rather brief and interrupted by the sudden appearance of trolls \u2026."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/treaty-khenarthis-roost": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/treaty-khenarthis-roost", "description": "A treaty between Khenarthi's Roost and King Ogrum of the Maormer", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Treaty of Khenarthi's Roost", "text": "WHEREAS the citizens and leadership of the sovereign Island of Khenarthi's Roost recognize the capability of Maormer Enforcement Squadrons for acute destruction and wish to establish a peaceful and fiscally advantageous accord;\nWHEREAS both parties acknowledge that the creation of terms for a mutually beneficial treaty is desirable and necessary and that the involvement of outside military or political bodies would be materially detrimental to both the Maormer interests and the trade profitability of Mistral;\nUnder the auspices of the illustrious and wise King Orgnum, Voice of the Free Maormer People, commander of Twelve-Dozen-and-One mighty ships, faithful and bold representative of the might of the Maormer (and under those of the lesser peoples of Khenarthi's Roost), the two parties shall henceforth abide by the terms agreed to and set forth in the Articles of this treaty.\nArticle 1\n\tAn Embassy shall be prominently established in the Port City of Mistral to accommodate a Maormer Ambassador and associated retinue. Costs shall be afforded by the people of Khenarthi's Roost, who agree to supply a personal staff of no less than 15 servants, finely-woven tapestries depicting the generous and wise Maormer people, personalized and embroidered cotton bedding, and a stock of local and imported liquors.\nArticle 2\n\tAll individuals and organizations wishing to engage in commerce via the Port City of Mistral must henceforth be registered and obtain official Rights of Passage. Registration fees are to be determined by the Ambassador on a ship-by-ship basis. Those who refuse such fees will be treated as enemy agents and are subject to confiscation of materials and imprisonment under the auspices of Maormer law. Maormer leadership reserves the right to inspect any vessel in the port and surrounding waters for any reason, and to confiscate any goods considered contraband.\nArticle 3\n\tMaormer Enforcement Squadrons shall not perpetrate unprovoked acts of aggression towards merchant ships in or around the Port City of Mistral, and likewise shall not interfere with approved trade affairs. Any current prisoners of the two signatories shall be released immediately upon the signing of this treaty. Said squadrons shall act in self-defense and under reasonable suspicion of activities of enemy agents. As recognition for Maormer non-interference, fifteen percent of all registry fees and excises shall be rendered unto the Embassy on the 15th of every month.\nArticle 4\n\tA joint holiday shall be established to commemorate this signing on today's date. Such holiday shall be afforded at the expense of the people of Mistral to demonstrate peace between the parties and adherence to the treaty. This celebration shall be named \"Serpent's Glory,\" and on this day, Maormer dignitaries and selected Mer, Men, and others of note shall be invited to the Island of Khenarthi's Roost for feasting, music, and revelry in the parties' common success and accord.\nArticle 4, Addendum 1\n\tAttendance of general festivities during Serpent's Glory is permitted to residents of the Port City of Mistral, though feast participation shall be limited to Maormer invitees, the Mayor of Khenarthi's Roost, and no more than three (3) guests selected by the Mayor and approved by the Ambassador. Foodstuffs shall be prepared by Maormer chefs, music performed by Maormer minstrels, and under no circumstances shall the repugnant dish \"sugared cuttlefish\" be served.\nArticle 5\n\tThe Ambassador and the people of Khenarthi's Roost agree to review the terms, negotiate any necessary addenda, and reaffirm their mutual commitment to a lasting and profitable peace on a decennial basis."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/treaty-three-clans": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/treaty-three-clans", "description": "The Reachmen put aside their differences in the face of a common foe", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Treaty of the Three Clans", "text": "Let it be known that the most committed warriors of the Reach gathered here on the 3rd day of Frostfall to put aside their differences and join together against their shared enemy, the Ebonheart Pact.\nThese clans were represented:\nRageclaw, Boneshaper, Stonetalon"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tree-minders-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tree-minders-journal", "description": "", "author": "Tree-Minder", "title": "Tree-Minder's Journal", "text": "Something strange happened to the dreugh today. They've become hostile, so I asked Gerent Saervild Steel-Wind to help me determine the cause. I asked if anyone has disturbed our reliquaries, but he assures me the relics are safe.\nGerent Saervild Steel-Wind and I will set out to investigate what caused this sudden change in their behavior."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tribunal-living-lies": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tribunal-living-lies", "description": "A heretical text denouncing ALMSIVI as frauds", "author": "\"Disordinator\"", "title": "Tribunal - Living Lies", "text": "Have you ever noticed how you never see Vivec and Almalexia in the same place? Or how the water the Temple priests serve smells just a little \u2026 off? I have. And I've been on the run trying to spread the word about what I know ever since. The Temple doesn't like me, and there's a damn good reason why. The Tribunal are going to eat our souls.\nThey aren't the benevolent guardians the Temple wants us to think they are. I've read all the texts, the 36 Lessons, seen the patterns in the numbers. They aren't three loving gods. They are one giant monster from beyond the Void, and they're going to harvest souls for their true master. Think about it! The alliance with the Nords and Argonians, of all people? A war to conquer Cyrodiil? And we know that leads to trying to conquer all of Tamriel; the idea of a \"war to protect our homeland\" is ludicrous. It all adds up, just a means to gather more and more souls for the big day. Open your eyes!\nIt's everywhere. All around us. Every day they are getting into your head. Think that guard is looking at you? He is. Ever had a bee fly too close to your ear? That's their work, too. It's the pollen\u2014magical. Lets them hear your thoughts. Lets them find people like me who are trying to get the truth out there! The evening chants you can hear across the city? Mind control spells. Keeps the people quiet.\nAll I can say is I'm not drinking any of the well-water in Mournhold anymore. Don't take it from me. Think for yourself. The signs are everywhere, and know that you know how to look, you won't be able to ignore what's right in front of your nose."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/triigis-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/triigis-journal", "description": "Too much noise, not enough birds.", "author": "Triigi", "title": "Triigi's Journal", "text": "Noise, noise, noise!\nI am drowning in it. Those filthy Orcs bang iron and saw trees and break stones all day long. On and on and on! And even in my own home, stinking Reachmen wander the halls, coughing and wiping their filthy noses. Unwelcome house guests that stink of old deer hides and rot! They have their uses, but they are few. Too few!\nOnly the birds give me peace. Their songs rise over the din. And when the racket is drowned out, only the whispers remain. While those sweaty wild-men bumble around in the woods like fools, the birds bring me real information. Secrets. If only I had more birds. I'd fill the skies with them. Nothing would be beyond my reach!\nMore birds\u2014of course! What a splendid idea!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/trinimac-house-idol": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/trinimac-house-idol", "description": "Facts about Trinimarcian effigies from the first era", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Trinimac House Idol", "text": "This ancient Trinimac House Idol, from late in the First Era, shows that even during the time of the original Orsinium, some Orcs were intent on worshiping Trinimac\u2014even if they only did so in the privacy of their own homes.\nTiny statues such as this one depicted stylized beasts cast from solid gold that were dedicated to Trinimac and placed inside homes to provide protection, comfort, and a focal point for private worship. Bears, pigs, goats, and even horkers have been found from this period, cast in gold and bearing the mark of Trinimac.\nThe area around Paragon's Remembrance, an ancient site devoted to the veneration of Trinimac, has long been a source of these tiny statues, and is the most likely place to recover any idols that still survive."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/triumph-sep-adder": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/triumph-sep-adder", "description": "A merchant's inspirational tale", "author": "Zabia-ko", "title": "Triumph of the Sep Adder", "text": "Wayrest offered few options. The sale of the chub loons recovered some of our fortunes, but not enough to make it worth the annoyance. We bought a leaky ship, and sought some cargo to sell on the coast as we returned to our homeland. I, Zabia-ko, did not truly trust the broker at the docks, and I declined most of his schemes.\n\"But Zabia-ko, you must trade in delicacies!\" the scoundrel said, \"Sugars and rice will only earn you so much, but dreugh eggs packed in mud are prized by the rich, fat merchants of Abah's Landing!\" At the time it seemed worth the risk.\nIt was not. Dreugh, who shed their legs after mating and spend their lives in the sea, must have sensed the eggs in the hull, for they attacked our ship soon after leaving Sentinel. They rushed in with the water when the ship cracked open, and took the eggs. This one lost consciousness before the ship broke apart completely.\nFear not! This was not the end of Zabia-ko. There are still many more stories to tell and creatures to see, like the fascinating sep adder. To that in a moment.\nWe awoke on a beach in the south-west portion of the land of Hew's Bane, a short journey by land from Abah's Landing. The journey to the city saw many adventures, including an encounter with an Orc who thinks she's a shark, but the best part was the winged snake called by locals as the sep adder.\nLike the chub loon, it is a silly thing to behold. It has no legs, yet moves around the ground like a snake. It has wings, yet cannot truly fly. Unlike the stupid birds, however, the sep adder manages to thrive and be graceful. It always has a means of satiating its ever-present hunger.\nIt is constantly on the prowl for its next meal, gliding along the lush shores of the land's rivers, picking bugs out of the sky and fish from the water. Later, as the land grew dry and the water less common, I saw more of them, plucking small mice from their little arid homes in the ground.\nIt should be good at none of these things, but it is good at many things. It lives in the wet lands and dry. It is like Zabia-ko. This one was not born into money nor especially lucky, but through wit, is able to overcome many misfortunes.\nThe people of this land honor the sep adder, for when approaching Abah's Landing, we saw a great statue of a man wrapped in a giant snake with wings. I never saw one that large, but that's not to say they don't exist in the wilderness. If such a creature can overcome and be honored in such a triumphant way, maybe, too, Zabia-ko can overcome and find a place of honor somewhere. Even if it's only the honor of knowing where her next meal is coming from!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/troll-socialization-research-notes": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/troll-socialization-research-notes", "description": "One researcher gets too friendly with trolls", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Troll Socialization Research Notes", "text": "Entry One: It worked! By mimicking troll behavior and mannerisms, I have gained the trust of the trolls in Crestshade Mine. Though I'm still keeping a healthy distance, the trolls have seen me and have not attacked.\nEntry Two: I've made great progress in my interaction with the trolls. I've moved deeper into the mine to better observe them and I can now walk freely among them. I was right. Trolls can be socialized. We might one day live in harmony with them.\nFinal Entry: I have finally won the confidence of the troll patriarch. Grimtooth. My work here is done. I wish you could have been here, Gothurg, but I'll see you soon in Shornhelm. I'm going to give Grimtooth a hug goodbye and then I'm on my way."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/trumbulls-note": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/trumbulls-note", "description": "The price for soulgems and skyshards is high", "author": "Trumbull", "title": "Trumbull's Note", "text": "Cal,\nI've got a buyer for five soul gems and five skyshards. He's offering a premium price. I mean, you could buy Glenumbra with this kind of gold! Well, maybe not all of Glenumbra, but you get my point. Wealth for your sons and your sons' sons, and all that.\nNow, I don't know where you're going to find these things, and I don't care. But you're going to find them. Right? We need this score.\nTrumbull"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/truths-north": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/truths-north", "description": "Words of wisdom from a Nordic perspective", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Truths of the North", "text": "When the snow fades\n\tand the rivers run fat,\n\tThe sun sits like a flower\n\ton a young boy's hat.\n\tThe wise Nord knows\n\tit can never last.\n\tHe enjoys the day,\n\tthough it travels fast.\n\tWhen the snow is gone,\n\tand rivers run dry,\n\tThe sun beats down\n\tlike an angry eye.\n\tThe wise Nord knows,\n\tthough the day is long,\n\tThese are the days,\n\the is hale and strong,\n\tgrowing like a seed\n\tfrom the fresh spring soil.\n\tWhen frost returns\n\tand the rivers choke,\n\tThe sun dips in the sky\n\tbeneath evening smoke.\n\tThe wise Nord knows\n\tthough his strength may fade,\n\tIt is time to plan,\n\tand time to save.\n<A page appears to have been torn out of the book.>"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tryns-smithing-notes": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tryns-smithing-notes", "description": "Some colorful notes from a smith's apprentice", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Tryn's Smithing Notes", "text": "- Drawing down. Hammer out thin piece wider.\n\t- Upsetting looks easy. Make it thicker by hammering on the end.\n\t- I wonder if Eiman is as dumb as he seems?\n\t- Punching: make fancy. Maesa says she'll show me later.\n\t- Spent more time on drawing down. Started with taper for chisels and the like.\n\t- Have to talk to Rolunda about the blade I'm going to make. How long?\n\t- Burned myself bending. Shor take that job!\n\t- Did some welding. Simple and fun when working with Maesa. Might get the hang of this.\n\t- Father says I should make horseshoes for my first project. Shor take him too!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tsanjis-ship-records": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tsanjis-ship-records", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Tsanji's Ship Records", "text": "Four frigates scuttled, no cargo recovered. Waste.\nTwo small boats found, repaired. We will need these for the shallows here.\nThalmor promise to provide smaller flotilla for crew. Sirinaire is a lying, bloodsucking tick, but she knows better than to lie to ME.\nHad some crew desert over the new deal. Will need to drum up more sailors in another port. Khenarthi's too far.\nI don't like the way that Argonian looks at me. The One-Eye. She'll make trouble, sooner or later."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tsoxolzas-letter": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tsoxolzas-letter", "description": "An Argonain immigrant to Summerset finds herself unwelcome", "author": "Tsoxolza", "title": "Tsoxolza's Letter", "text": "Jeemaht,\nSummerset is NOT the wondrous paradise the heralds proclaimed it to be. Despite the fine words in the Queen's decree, the High Elves want nothing to do with outsiders. They treat the newcomers worse than a mud flea on a guar. As soon as I stepped off the boat, priests from the monastery collected me for some sort of \"cultural assessment\" to ascertain my \"understanding of societal rules and regulations.\" However, no one actually asked me any questions.\nThey locked me in a cell, somewhere in the bowels of the monastery, along with other newcomers to the island. Something about the whole affair felt wrong to me, like warm water in an otherwise cool stream. When I heard one of the monks give thanks with a Daedric prayer, I knew I had to get out of there. I used the talents I learned from associates who may or may not have belonged to the Thieves Guild (I know you disapprove of my friends) and slipped out of the cell and away from the monastery.\nIn the morning I plan to head to Alinor. Hopefully I can secure passage back to Murkmire there. Frankly, at this point any destination would be preferable to here.\nTsoxolza"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tuwhaccas-mine": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tuwhaccas-mine", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Tu'whacca's Mine", "text": "Tu'whacca's Throne holds many treasures, but we've found that which is most precious far beneath. We recently discovered an old cave which contains an abundance of precious gems and metals. We claim this cave as our own. Go with Domarina and set up mining operations immediately."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tuwhaccas-prayer": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tuwhaccas-prayer", "description": "A prayer for safe passage to the Far Shores", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Tu'whacca's Prayer", "text": "Tu'whacca, God of the Far Shores\n\tWe ask for your blessing and guidance\n\tOn this completed walkabout\n\tMay she appear before your throne\n\tIn virtue and strength\n\tLead her along the path of the stars\n\tShow her the way\n\tPrepare her for the life to come\n\tAs our honored ancestor\n\tWith her sword at her side"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tuwhacca-arkay-xarxes": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tuwhacca-arkay-xarxes", "description": "A study of three overlapping gods and a postulation of their convergence.", "author": "Lady Cinnabar of Taneth", "title": "Tu'whacca, Arkay, Xarxes", "text": "It\u2019s not uncommon for scholars to note the clear similarities between the gods Xarxes, Arkay, and Tu'whacca. (For a particularly uninspired summary of the obvious, see \u201cPsychopomps of Tamriel\u201d by that old bloviator Phrastus of Elinhir.) Nearly every culture on the continent worships these deities in one form or another\u2014indeed, the Wood Elves of Valenwood revere them both! I wish, in this brief disquisition, to pose several questions about the origins of these gods, and then speculate upon the answers to those questions.\nWe begin with Xarxes, as his worship, at least as recorded in written history, predates that of both Arkay and Tu'whacca. An Elven deity who records the life-stories of all the races of Aldmeri, Xarxes appears in multiple creation or origin stories, many of which are inconsistent with each other. While some of these origins may be \u201cfalse,\u201d their multiplicity may also merely be a reflection of Xarxes\u2019 many-fold nature.\nIn the two most common origin myths, Xarxes appears either as Auri-El\u2019s scribe, recording events at his side since the beginning of time, or as a Merethic Aldmeri priest of Auri-El who was elevated to divinity by the higher deity. The latter story is consistent with the High Elves\u2019 conceit that they are directly descended from the Aedra, and can, in certain miraculous circumstances, apotheosize and re-ascend to godly status.\nFor the Altmer, Xarxes records not just the life stories of individual Elves, but all the connections of lineage and heritance that bind them together and link them to their ancestors. As nothing is more important to an Altmer than his or her ancestry, it is easy to understand Xarxes\u2019 paramount role in defining and maintaining status and stability in Summerset society.\nArkay, of course, is one of the Eight Divines that were presented to the newly-freed citizens of Cyrodiil by St. Alessia at the founding of the First Empire. Though official dogma of the Church of the Eight holds that Alessia was merely revealing to her subjects gods who had been watching over them all along, scholarly research of documentary fragments that survive from early in the First Era hint at a different story. Khosey\u2019s \u201cTamrilean Tractates,\u201d are well known, but I have also had the privilege of studying Sandralath\u2019s \u201cNedic Oblations\u201d and the anonymous \u201cDeath-Song for King Darodiil\u201d in their original manuscripts. Comparisons of the latter two against each other illuminated several previously obscure passages in both, and the resulting clarification was the impetus for this paper.\nTo come to the point, I believe I may well finally have enough evidence to confirm Sedulus\u2019 speculative \u201cTheory of Arkayn Convergence.\u201d Most of my readers will doubtless be familiar with Sedulus\u2019 proposal that the Arkay of the Eight Divines is, in origin, a fusion of aspects of the Elven deity Xarxes with those of the primal Atmoran death-god Orkey. My new translation of the Death-Song and its (formerly ill-understood) \u201cplea for soul-guidance\u201d passages make it clear that the psychopomp being addressed possesses attributes of both the Elven and Atmoran deities. And, once the proper vowel-shift is applied, what is the name of this god?\n\u201cTo-Arcka.\u201c\nWhich brings us, inevitably, to the Yokudan deity Tu'whacca. How long he was worshiped in that name by the human tribes of Yokuda is now unknowable, as all our race\u2019s records were lost in the cataclysm that sank the archipelago. But as even old Phrastus had the wits to note, it cannot be a coincidence that Tu'whacca performs the same functions for the Redguards that Arkay and Xarxes do for Tamrielic Men and Mer. Are these gods really separate and distinct deities, or are they all aspects of the same deity, worshiped under different names in different cultures?\nYou must seek the answer elsewhere, for that is where scholarship ends and theology begins."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/turn-back": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/turn-back", "description": "", "author": "Karnhar", "title": "Turn Back!", "text": "Puhnara,\nI'm sorry. We should have never come down here. We should have heeded the curse. The things down here, they look like Elves, but they're more like beasts. They leapt on us in the dark. Dragged us to some crypt. To their leader. He was almost like a normal person, until he opened his mouth. To hear him talk about the sinkholes, you'd think it was the end of the world. He kept saying he couldn't fail the Saviors, but we would help repay their kindness.\nThey had the others there. Still alive, but pale. They had incisions that were barely healed. I managed to unlock our cage, like you showed me, but the others were too weak. I promised we'd come back for them, but I have no idea where I am. Tunnels lead to homes, which lead to streets, which lead to more tunnels. I'm cornered now and I can hear them coming.\nIf you find me. Run. Choke these tunnels with the sea and never return. Whatever was buried here should have stayed that way.\nKarnhar"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/turos-cargo-manifest": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/turos-cargo-manifest", "description": "Goods bound for Turo's fortress, never to arrive", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Turo's Cargo Manifest", "text": "Goods bound for Turo's Fortress. Make no stops and keep a clear accounting of all damaged or lost cargo. Turo has no patience for incompetence.\nInventory:\nTen bolts, fine silk\n\tTwenty-six bottles, Alto Wine\n\tFifteen jars, fine ceramics\n\tEight sacks, Anequine spices\n\tThirty sacks, Colovian grain\n\tSix crates\u2014\n<The rest of the document has been torn, likely by a curious terror bird.>"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/twilight-cantors-exorcists-azurah": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/twilight-cantors-exorcists-azurah", "description": "A foreign view on the dro-m'Athra, the Bent Dance, and the exorcists who live to banish them", "author": "Theyo Prevette", "title": "Twilight Cantors: The Exorcists of Azurah", "text": "In my travels as a ghost hunter, I've encountered all manner of strange spirits and unusual entities, but I've never seen anything quite like the possession occasionally suffered by Khajiit. It starts as a sort of mental twitch, a tick of the tail, and an ear-worm the afflicted can't quite shake.\nAccording to Khajiit folklore, this is the first signs of becoming a Lost Cat. Without intervention, the Khajiit become more and more enthralled by an unheard tune. They begin to move along with the beat, performing unsettling motions they call the Bent Dance. Now I'd understand if you thought this madness was simply the result of an ailment or disease, but once the afflicted begins the Bent Dance proper the evidence of possession is unmistakable.\nAs the Khajiit continues to dance, their body begins a transformation. Their fur turns black and dark energies emanate from their body that even the uninitiated can see. Unlike most other possessions, the soul of the possessed isn't driven out to make room for the new spirit. Instead, the true occupant is twisted along with their form. Once the transformation is complete, they cease being Khajiit at all and become beings called \"dro-m'Athra.\" These evil spirits go on to cause more harm until they are banished from Nirn.\nTo fight again this horrifying affliction, the Khajiit formed an order of wandering priests who use song to fight off the strange tune's influence. These are the Twilight Cantors. They claim the Dusk-Canticles they perform were a gift to the Khajiit from their \"god\" Azurah. I can't attest to the truth of that claim. By my estimation, the Daedric Princes bring nothing but horrors to our world. At any rate, I can say that when observing a Khajiit caught in the Bent Dance, the words of the Twilight Cantors seemed to soothe the afflicted and return them to some semblance of sense and self. I witnessed a cantor sing for three days to drive out the unnatural energies from a victim. Then, without so much as a moment's rest, she was off down the path in search of more darkness to banish.\nThese traveling mystics spend their entire lives on the road, ever vigilant in their fight against the dro-m'Athra. The Twilight Cantors have little in the way of possessions, carrying only the necessities and tools that assist them in their duties. They charge no fee for their work, instead living on the offerings Khajiit make in appreciation of their service. I noticed that Khajiit treat the cantors with a mixture of reverence and fear. It's a common belief that a cantor's visit is a sign of imminent misfortune and the folk who play host to them are quick to make offerings to guarantee the cantor's protection. Given that the stakes at risk involve the irrevocable corruption of their souls, you can imagine why.\nAs a professional ghost hunter, I have to respect the devotion it takes to risk your very soul every day for nothing more than a sense of justice. So, if you ever cross paths with one of these devoted exorcists, be courteous and pay them your respects with your coin pouch for their tireless and dangerous work."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/twilight-rites-and-hymns": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/twilight-rites-and-hymns", "description": "What the Chase Away song is, and how to use it", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Twilight Rites and Hymns", "text": "On the S'virash Sahaala\nThe \"Chase Away\" song is one of the three Dusk-Canticles that fell from the tongue of Azurah in the Dawn Time. Like the Twilight Lady herself, the \"Chase Away\" song is slippery and unpredictable. It should not be sung unless the need is great.\nIn ancient times it was used to treat disease and ward off cane-locusts. But then came the Middle-Dawn that twisted the Moon Bishops' tails and made them forgetful. Now it is only used to drive out the dro-m'Athra.\nThe dro-m'Athra dance to no music but the beating Heart of Lorkhaj. It is a song without song - dark and seductive. The heartbeat is a lie that repeats and repeats until it becomes truth to the cat who hears it. When a Khajiit accepts the will of Lorkhaj as truth, they forget the Riddle'Thar and become Lost Cats. Khajiit that are well and truly bent cannot be saved through song, they can only be banished with knives and moonlight. Cats that still struggle against the Heart, however, can be drawn back from the Darks.\nThe S'virash Sahaala's strength lies in its elusiveness. The Clan Mothers will tell you to sing no songs in the presence of the dro-m'Athra, and they are wise to do so. Heedless singing will draw you closer to the Heart. Your song will fall in with the beat, your tail will twitch in time, and you will slide into the Maw of Lorkhaj whisker-first. The \"Chase Away\" song is the only song that can break the Heart's tempo. The notes dance up and down the scale like a mad shadow, confusing the Darks and making the Heart weak and sluggish. Eventually the tempo will break and the corruption will pass.\nEven so, those who sing the S'virash Sahaala take a great risk. The dro-m'Athra hate Azurah's hymns and will take great pains to kill any cat who sings them. So take heed, Cantor - if you confront Namiira's dark litter, you must move swiftly and keep your wits. A moment's weakness can end in disaster."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/uchuirans-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/uchuirans-journal", "description": "Turning people into birds", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Uchuiran's Journal", "text": "28th Rain's Hand\nHow can it be wrong when it feels so right? The others all look at me funny, as if I am some depraved lunatic, but they can see Triigi's power, and they follow her just as I do. Perhaps they are simply jealous!\nI confess. At first, my feelings seemed wrong. When I looked at her, rather than revulsion, I felt something awakening deep within me, a desire to serve her, to be close to her.\nThen one day, Triigi brushed past me, and I was overcome \u2026 the smell of herbs and death \u2026 the feel of her feathers \u2026. The next thing I knew \u2026 well, let's just say that I didn't even know such things were physically possible.\nThe following morning, I was appalled. I thought there must be something wrong with me, that I had been somehow ensorcelled. But then she came to me again, and again, and those concerns now seem foolish. If this is the price of being ensorcelled, I pay it gladly.\nShe is my songbird. I am her willing servant.\n\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\n15th Sun's Height\nMy sweet songbird. Oh! She has such vision!\nAt first, it was just one of the merchants whose caravan we attacked. We slaughtered them all, but there was one. He was a small one. Triigi wanted to spare him and bring him back to our cave. I tried to imagine what wildness she might have planned, but I could not have foreseen such brilliance.\nShe turned the little merchant into a little canary, and she put him here in our cave and forced him to sing to us. Over time, we both came to enjoy his sweet little song. Then she captured a little Bosmer girl and turned her into a Green Jay. The two birds' songs mingled in the air. It was magic.\nSince then, we have added countless new birds to the chorus \u2026 even some of our own men! Who knew their songs could be so sweet? Now we have a chorus of new friends, singing sweetly night and day. I know I need look no further for paradise \u2026."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/uelas-song": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/uelas-song", "description": "A rather grim poem", "author": "Uela the Ravener", "title": "Uela's Song", "text": "Clouds tower\n\tBeyond peaks\n\tStorm shatters\n\tMountainside\n\tWind cudgels\n\tCanyon wall\n\tAvalanche\n\tScours gorge\n\tHunters spear\n\tCave bears\n\tTear the flesh\n\tSplit the bones\n\tBriar Hearts\n\tIn the Reach\n\tBretons hide\n\tFrom storm wrack\n\tFear mountains\n\tShiver, cold\n\tRun to town\n\tCower, roofed\n\tGo to church\n\tOn their knees\n\tPray to be\n\tSheltered, hid\n\tCome out when\n\tWeather's warm\n\tKill and eat\n\tHelpless lambs\n\tHunters spear\n\tSoft Bretons\n\tTear the flesh\n\tSplit the bones"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/uggamogs-letter": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/uggamogs-letter", "description": "The title of most fearsome mage in Wrothgar turns out to be hereditary", "author": "Uggamog", "title": "Uggamog's Letter", "text": "My dearest son,\nI can't tell you how much I've wanted to see you again over these long years. I can only imagine that you've grown to be healthy and strong, I presume Yazoga told you why I had to send you away when you were still just a suckling babe. This place is not fit for a child, nor does my work allow me the luxury of being a father. Yazoga has also told you by now that I am the one-and-only Uggamog\u2014the most feared sorcerer in the Wrothgarian mountains. She was instructed to tell you this.\nBut she only knows half the story. The truth is that I am not the one-and-only Uggamog. I am only the most recent Orc to inherit the title. My given name was Khrogur, and I was born to a cobbler in Wayrest. It was my great-uncle who bequeathed me the title of Uggamog, just as I now bequeath it to you.\nI grow old, and I know my time is short. When you become Uggamog, these Ayleid ruins will respond to you and the creatures here will serve you. Those things alone will give you a life of power greater than you could have ever imagined, but it's the name that's the greatest treasure. When people hear the name \"Uggamog\", they quiver with terror. No one will ever cause you any trouble again.\nAll that's required to inherit your birthright is to mix your blood with mine. I have soaked this very letter with my blood, so you must simply add a drop of your own, and the transformation will take place. I hope you enjoy your inheritance as much as I've enjoyed mine.\nYour father,\n\tUggamog"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/uggissars-diary": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/uggissars-diary", "description": "Tragic luck for a tomb raider", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Uggissar's Diary", "text": "After visiting Cousin Idirfa in Fort Amol, I decided to take the family to visit Icehammer's Vault. My intention was to leave my wife and child outside the tomb while I went in to collect whatever gold and relics I could carry. I'm a fairly good treasure hunter, if I do say so myself, but those moneylenders are making it difficult for me and my family. I need to collect enough treasure to pay off the moneylenders before things get ugly.\n***\n\tI survived my first foray into the vault. I had to dispatch one draugr I wasn't able to sneak past, but at least a found a small coffer that contained a few pieces of gold. Nowhere near enough to pay off my debts, but a good start nevertheless.\nWhen I returned to our camp, I saw that the weather had taken a turn for the worse. My poor wife was freezing and the baby wasn't doing much better. I couldn't leave them out in the elements, but it was also too treacherous to try to travel. My only choice was to take them with me back into Icehammer's Vault.\n***\n\tAt least it's relatively warm and dry within the tomb. And the hunting has been going well. A few more days and I might actually have enough to pay my debts with a little left to spare!\nThe draugr are becoming more and more of a problem, however. They seem to be searching the tomb for us. I know that sounds crazy. They are mindless walking corpses, after all. But it really seems like they're making a concerted effort to find us.\nDamn the weather! The storm raging outside is still too intense for us to chance\u2014and I really should collect a few more items from these burial chambers. One more night, and then I'm getting my family out of here.\n***\n\tWhat a fool I was! A complete and utter fool! While I was rooting around in one of the burial chambers, a horde of draugr broke through the barricade I had set up and attacked my poor, ppor wife. I can see that she died valiantly, trying to defend our child from the monsters. For all the good it did! Now both my wife and baby are dead, and I am alone in this cursed vault!\nI saw another exit down a deserted corridor. I'll try to avoid the draugr and escape through there.\n\n\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/uggissars-lament": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/uggissars-lament", "description": "One desperate treasure hunter's last hope", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Uggissar's Lament", "text": "Damn this tomb! Damn my greed! My wife, my child, they're both dead. Killed by these walking corpses while I was out looking for treasure.\nI don't deserve to live. This is all my fault. But what can I do?\n\u2026 I can try to get out of here. Make it back to Fort Amol and my cousin Idirfa.\nI think there's a way out at the end of this deserted corridor. I wonder if the storm has finally abated?"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ulfs-torn-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ulfs-torn-journal", "description": "A rather angry, fragmentary journal", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Ulf's Torn Journal", "text": "\u2026 olerable! Could Rayno's arrogance achieve greater heights? Each time I think it's impossible, he proves me wrong. Every chance the milk-drinker gets, he pulls his damned lips into a sneer and offers a new insult. If it weren't for Eo \u2026.\n\u2026 him down to the ground and wiped that sneer off his face. I told him to get out, this is my village and he's not welcome any more. I regret ever letting the pointy-eared bugger and his slimespawn settle here. They can all die in the wilderness for all I care. Rayno screamed threats against me, against my family. I would have killed him then and \u2026.\n\u2026 didn't return. Must be dead. Pounding is getting closer, louder. Ground is shaking. Sent Eofel and little ones away. Odrama and Lennar stand with me, to face what comes. Rayno peering out from his house, sly face smiling. He did this, whatever it is. If I die here, I'm taking him with me. Eofel will come back when the danger's past. Bleaker's Way will survive, with or withou \u2026."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ulrichs-complete-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ulrichs-complete-journal", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Ulrich's Complete Journal", "text": "I never wanted to lead. They just started following me because I'd been in the Lion Guard. As if that made me some sort of hero.\nFinding Silaseli was pure luck. I tried to keep to myself, but they followed me fleeing the Reachmen. They want me to scare away every half-witted bandit who tries to setup camp, and settle every minor squabble they have.\nI am so tired.\nA man in black robes has offered me a way out. He said I could take her with me. I only need go to the top terrace in the northeast chamber and complete some ritual. Something the Ayleid mages from long ago left unfinished.\nHe called it a rip. I reopen it, his people come through, and take over Silaseli. He'll reward us with immortality.\n\tShe and I will never suffer need again."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/unavoidable-delays": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/unavoidable-delays", "description": "", "author": "Office of the Mistral Chancery", "title": "Unavoidable Delays", "text": "Silat,\nWhile we realize the outlying farms sustained damage in the storm, we regret to inform you that we cannot facilitate repairs until our own restoration efforts are complete.\nMany buildings along Cat's Eye Quay\u2014Including piers and other vital port structures\u2014were damaged in the storm and will require significant renovation.\nOur architects estimate at least a month before they can begin rebuilding, and a further two before efforts are completed.\nFurthermore, the arrival of so many Dominion refugees from the wreckage of the \"Gold Fleet\" strains the Mistral guard to capacity.\nOnce Cat's Eye Quay is restored, we will endeavor to provide you with whatever you require.\nThank you for your patience while we manage this crisis.\n\u2014Office of the Mistral Chancery\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/undaunted-life-glory": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/undaunted-life-glory", "description": "Musings on the Undaunted guild from a founding member.", "author": "Turuk Redclaws", "title": "Undaunted - A Life of Glory ", "text": "There are those who choose to fight for honor and justice, some who bloody their swords for coin, and then there are \u2026 others. Others who crave danger, like this one. When brothers and sisters still mewed and cowered under mother\u2019s skirts, Turuk conquered the tallest shelf in the kitchen only to pounce on her head when came to bake the sugar biscuits. Since those early days of tiny, fiery courage, my exploits have become much more ambitious. As a founding member of the Undaunted, this one\u2019s noteworthy accomplishments should be recorded, and how better to scribe them than with his own claws?\nThis one was never destined for the sugar fields, despite mama\u2019s pleas. The thrill of risk and peril called, and brothers and sisters found joy in devising ever-greater dares\u2014a practice that got your hero Redclaws in trouble more than a few times. The life of digging and planting and chopping could not match the rush of poking a sleeping Senche Tiger with a stick and running, or any of the other wild challenges that gave such a surge of excitement.\nIn the end, it was too much for my dearest mother to handle. It was not good for her poor heart, the constant worry over broken bones and similar minor consequences of budding heroism. She signed poor Turuk away to apprenticeship in the Fighters Guild as soon as they would allow. Happily, this turned out to be a reasonable arrangement for some time. With them, this one trained with many weapons and learned the basics of the adventuring life.\nAlas, it was not long before boredom began yanking at the tail. The Fighters Guild had so many tedious rules and regulations, and took so much caution with jobs that they sucked the fun right out of any contract. \u201cNo, no, Turuk, you cannot take on a cave of frost trolls by yourself armed only with a butter knife; it is unwise.\u201d \u201cTuruk, you mustn\u2019t run so much in the dungeon\u2014there could be traps!\u201d \u201cMake sure to bring enough healing potions.\u201d Bah! Milksop blubbering!\nArmed with training and an insatiable hunger for greater danger, this one struck out on his own path, wandering Tamriel from Dune to Windhelm and chasing beasts from farmers\u2019 legends and local rumor. No cave or ruin was too frightful, from nests of necromancers to the lairs of mighty beasts. These very claws ended Grush-grush, the deadliest Ogre known in the provinces, and dealt the final blow to Spinesnap, the giant snake that plagued the fields of Glenumbra and devoured goat and horse alike. The list goes on and on\u2014perhaps this one shall write another volume just for these tales!\nIt was through these journeys that this one met a few others with the taste for taking on the greatest challenges without flinching or hesitation. Of these like-minded comrades, only Mighty Mordra and Kailstig the Axe could truly keep up. They knew of many dangerous locales, and we dared each other to challenges most deem utterly insane\u2014take the naked dungeon run, for instance. Tales of our deeds began to spread, and others sought us out. The Undaunted were born.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/undeniable-truths-attire": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/undeniable-truths-attire", "description": "An impassioned and biased tract against mages wearing anything other than robes", "author": "Elenuume the Impeccable", "title": "Undeniable Truths of Attire", "text": "Students of the magical arts in our chaotic contemporary environs must resist succumbing to the degradation of respect for tradition which threatens the future of magical study across Tamriel. The disregard for ritual I have seen and the reduction of complexities inherent in the study to crass, inadequate categorizations is not to be tolerated. Feeble though my efforts may be, I must do my best to confront this watering-down, the devolution of the highest arts into common \"practical\" applications, by recording the proper approaches to be shared with those who wish to pursue the study seriously. I shall start with the fundamentals: the proper garments for a true initiate of the arts.\nThere is only one appropriate attire for anyone who wishes to unlock the higher secrets, for one who devotes the proper time to research and practice, and that is robes of cloth. On a practical level, one need not waste precious time being instructed in the ways of wearing robes. Magic is your armor, and devoting your time to anything else is folly. If you wish to lower yourself to such vulgar means, don't be surprised when your efforts to wrangle with leather or metal stunt your progress in the realm of the true understanding of magicka and its applications.\nThere are considerations you must take into account, of course; not any filthy rags will suffice. Physically, the material should be sturdy and treated for resistance to the elements. Your experiments will result in exposure to dangerous effects, so long sleeves and full coverage are essential. As alchemy is naturally aligned with magical study, pockets and pouches for useful plant samples and other materials are very useful. If you cannot afford to hire your own exploratory teams and must work in the field, ensure proper layering, waterproofing, and additional space for specimens.\nOf course, appearance is critical. One must put forth the proper air of the enlightened to command respect from allies and enemies alike. My own robes feature detailed embroidery enumerating and naming the most powerful individuals of my lineage, along with sacred incantations I have interwoven with protective wards. Some prefer to display detailed Aetherial charts or other complex weavings to emphasize a particular area of study, and at least one wizard I am acquainted with has woven such potent illusions into his raiment that all who look upon him see exactly what they expect a powerful wizard to wear.\nYour robes are an extension of yourself and your ability to impress your will upon the Mundus. I implore again that you abandon any ridiculous ideas of charging into battle clad in pointless, constricting armor, and instead focus on perfecting your art in every way. You will not require mundane protections when you are able to turn enemies aside using your own power, whatever form you choose for it to take: mighty lightning strikes, poisoning minds with fear, or any of the limitless options you will have if you truly devote yourself to discovery and mastery."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/understanding-house-dres": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/understanding-house-dres", "description": "Introduction to House Dres, traditional breadbasket of Morrowind", "author": "Solamar Dres", "title": "Understanding House Dres", "text": "By Solamar Dres, Grand Historian for the House, Written in the 84th Year of the Golden Peace\nHouse Dres, one of the Great Houses of the Dunmer, prized agrarian pursuits above all else. The House built its fortune on saltrice plantations and slave labor while maintaining a persistent tradition of Daedra worship and ancestor reverence. Dres controlled the southeastern region of Morrowind, even extending its influence into parts of central Morrowind. It was formally established as a Great House by Grandmaster Thalthil Dres after a successful slave raid that secured our role as the predominant suppliers of slaves to the other Houses.\nHouse Dres constantly resisted efforts to join Dunmer society with the rest of Tamriel. Proud isolationists, we nevertheless believed in the unity of the Great Houses. Our agricultural might fed Morrowind, providing the majority of the foodstuffs necessary for the existence and continuation of Dunmer society. As such, feeding Morrowind provided the bulk of our wealth and influence, supplemented nicely by our control of the slave trade.\nThe isolationist stance of House Dres was instilled in its customs and world outlook from the very beginning. Not only do we consider the other cultures and races to be inferior to the Dunmer, we deem any extended contact with them where we were not in total control to present a danger to Dunmer society. Ideas, like a plague, can spread without warning and prove to be impossible to contain. Instead, we should concentrate on inter-House relations and improving the position of the Dunmer to make our society stronger and eternal."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/understanding-house-hlaalu": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/understanding-house-hlaalu", "description": "Introduction to House Hlaalu, known for trade and diplomacy", "author": "Hlaandu Hlaalu", "title": "Understanding House Hlaalu", "text": "By Hlaandu Hlaalu, Grand Historian for the House, Written in the 121st Year of the Golden Peace\nStand proud, kin of Hlaalu! You belong to one of the original Great Houses of the civilized Dunmer. From our capital in the city of Narsis, our influence extends throughout the central region of Morrowind. Some call us opportunistic like it's a curse. But as Grandmaster Hesleth always implored, \"The Dunmer who ignores opportunity deserves every failure that comes his way.\"\nFrom the earliest days of the House, Hlaalu focused on trade and crafts. Our maxim was simple. The goal for every housekin was to succeed in business and turn a tidy profit. The Book of Grasping Fortune reminds us to \"seize every chance to make a profit, but remember that your reputation also has value.\"\nWithout huge armies or vast holdings, it fell to our housekin to become experts at diplomacy and negotiation. Our words became our strength. Oh, there were also the less-savory attributes that went along with fast-talking and deal-making. We became thieves and sneaks, blackmailers and backstabbers. Still, we always appreciated the value of the deal. As the Book of Grasping Fortune tells us, \"The perfect approach to negotiations is to compromise with an eye toward securing the best possible deal.\"\nOur influence and our wealth has always been distinguished by our willingness to live in peace with our neighbors. While there can be short-term profit in conflict and war, sustainable growth only comes from harmony and fair trade. It falls to House Hlaalu to acknowledge our Dunmer culture with one hand while using the other to adapt to changing conditions as necessary in order to succeed. And what is success? A satisfying deal and a tidy profit, of course!\nThere is a dark stain on our history, however. Our natural tendencies encourage others to use bribes and favors to influence our housekin. This means that for every honest and fair councilor Hlaalu produces, there might be as many as four or five that are underhanded and corrupt. Does this concern us? Not overly, as history shows us that even the corrupt can wind up serving the common good. Or, at least, the profit earned has no moral component. As the Book of Grasping Fortune proclaims, \"You can trade with a friend forever, steal from a fool once or twice, and bargain with the dead not at all, so always go for the most sustainable profit.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/understanding-house-indoril": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/understanding-house-indoril", "description": "Introduction to House Indoril, the religious center of Morrowind", "author": "Andor Indoril", "title": "Understanding House Indoril", "text": "By Andor Indoril, Grand Historian for the House, Written in the 57th Year of the Golden Peace\nFounded early in the First Era, House Indoril has always been a political powerhouse. Orthodox and conservative in our beliefs and outlooks, we have always been firm proponents of traditional Dunmer customs and practices.\nFor House Indoril, religion stands as our most cherished institution. We revere our blessed ancestors. We honor the Good Daedra, specifically Boethiah, Mephala, and Azura. And we celebrate the saints, including Veloth and Aralor.\nHouse Indoril believes that Dunmer culture must be preserved at all costs. Change is the enemy of tradition, and it will weaken our strong foundation if we allow it to take root.\nHouse Indoril doesn't see outsiders and non-Dunmer as inherently evil and dangerous, and no outsider is forbidden from visiting Indoril territory. But housekin must always remain vigilant and observant. Every visitor must be watched carefully, for a watched thief never steals, as Grandmaster Bestin taught us at the beginning of the age."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/understanding-house-redoran": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/understanding-house-redoran", "description": "Introduction to House Redoran, famous for their honor and military prowess", "author": "Remoran Redoran", "title": "Understanding House Redoran", "text": "By Remoran Redoran, Grand Historian for the House, Written in the 107th Year of the Golden Peace\nFrom the original formation of House Redoran, our housekin have held the virtues of duty, gravity, and piety most dear. A frivolous, soft life is not worth living. We focus on maintaining the traditions of the civilized Dunmer and holding fast to the way of the warrior. Our military strength, for example, outclasses the other Great Houses by a wide margin. Our prowess puts us at least one step ahead of them all and in most cases many more.\nFor Redoran housekin, the driving goal is to fulfill your duty and maintain your honor. Anything less is a disrespect to yourself and your House. Beyond that, your duty is to your honor, your family, and your clan - in that order.\nLife is essentially serious and difficult. We must accept and endure the harshness of life, for that is the path of the Redoran. Reflect upon every event and action with thoughtfulness and sobriety. Remain stern, deliberate, and proud! For anything less is not Redoran."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/understanding-living-gods": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/understanding-living-gods", "description": "A  Nord \"cultural ambassador\" attempts to understand the ALMSIVI", "author": "Rigurt the Brash", "title": "Understanding the Living Gods", "text": "Dear Thane Vigli Storm-Breast,\nHonored leader of the Nord Cultural Exchange, it is I, Rigurt the Brash, writing to you in Windhelm as you requested. I continue my study and exchange of information with the little Dark Elves of Morrowind, as you ordered. (Why you sent Rigurt away after he only just arrived, I don't completely understand, but I suppose my mission is very important.) As I set foot\u2014well, both feet, really\u2014into Vvardenfell, the thought of this mission makes Rigurt so excited! Trading culture with allied nations so that we can learn more about each other is almost better than cold mead on a hot day. Almost. This time, I travel to learn more about the Tribunal\u2014the so-called Living Gods of the Dark Elf people. The wonderment of it all gives Rigurt the skin bumps!\nNow, unlike our good and proper gods of Skyrim\u2014gods who listen to our prayers but have the good graces to stay out of Nord business\u2014the Dark Elf gods actually walk among the people and rule over them the way the Skald-King parades around Windhelm. (No offense, Skald-King!) The god-kings of Morrowind seem to answer to various titles, although the most common appellations appear to be \"Lord, Mother, and Wizard.\" Rigurt spent many long hours attempting to converse with knowledgeable little Dark Elves, but much of what they told me just made my head go spinny-spin. Here's what I learned about the Tribunal gods. Maybe you can make better sense of it all.\nThe most popular of the three, at least in Vvardenfell, is the warrior-poet, Vivec. They sing his praises in the cornerclubs and shout his victories from the rooftops. Really, the faithful on every street corner eagerly shoved pamphlets containing his lessons and sermons at me if I so much as smiled in their general directions! Lord Vivec is called the Master of Morrowind. I tried to read some of his poetry, but it just made my eyes hurt. Not at all as interesting or bawdy as the great Fjokki, and full of allusions that any who aren't drenched in Dark Elf culture just wouldn't understand. Truth be told, even I\u2014Dark Elf expert that I am\u2014had trouble with some of the more esoteric concepts. He preaches duty to faith, family, masters, and all that is good. He saved his people on numerous occasions, including helping to repel at least two Akaviri invasions\u2014most recently, the invasion that led to the creation of our cherished Ebonheart Pact. He apparently has some sort of connection to the Daedra Mephala, who the Dark Elves call one of the \"good Daedra.\" He does have a dark side, though, as I've been told that he has an unnatural attraction to lustful thoughts and murderous intentions. So, not very different from the rest of the puny Dark Elves, right? He lives right here in a grand palace in Vivec City, which conveniently has the same name that he does. I spent a few minutes in his presence, but I couldn't help but stare at his strange appearance. Also, he tended to float around the chamber. As a tactic to make us mortal creatures feel inferior, it worked surprisingly well. Still, I was happy to have been able to spend some quality time with such a personage of impressiveness!\nNext, I tried to discover everything I could about the one they call Mother Morrowind, Almalexia. Now, it turns out she mostly inhabits the temple in Mournhold, so I wasn't able to get a face-to-face with the Dark Elf patron of healers and teachers. I admit I'm very disappointed, as I am given to understand that for a goddess, she's the elk's antlers! They also claim that she embodies the best of Dark Elf culture and determination, which would fit into my area of expertise quite nicely. One priest told me that she protects the poor and the weak, and that her wisdom guides the Dunmeri through all their affairs. A drunk Dark Elf in a cornerclub also mentioned that she was kind of a stick in the mud, but an Ordinator dragged her away before I could ask what she meant by that. Oh well.\nThe most mysterious of the three god-monarchs is Sotha Sil, also known as the Mystery of Morrowind and the Wizard of Wonderishness. (I believe that's what the priest called him. I misplaced those notes and am writing this last bit from memory while having a few mugs of mead.) Although rumors abound, no one that I could find has claimed to have seen Sotha Sil in a horker's age. The best I could learn from asking around is that Sotha Sil is the patron of artificers and mages, and many\u2014especially Dark Elves\u2014consider him to be the most powerful magicka user in all the land. I even heard an amazing tale about a city of clockwork gears that Sotha Sil crafted to study the inner workings of the world. And they claim it's only as big as a small mammoth! Now that's something I'd give my last rabbit meatball to see! He's also credited with negotiating some kind of compact with a number of Daedric Princes, but I decided not to look too deeply into this rumor. As Fjokki says, the fool who stares gets noticed by the Daedra. Rigurt is not so foolish as to do something as stupid as that! (Did you roll your eyes, Thane Vigli? I bet you rolled your eyes.)\nThe three living gods of the Dunmeri empower the Tribunal Temple and embody the will and discipline of Dark Elves everywhere. Well, except for the Ashlanders, who refuse to bend their knees to Vivec, Almalexia, or Sotha Sil. Some sort of family squabble, I imagine. I'll look into that while I'm here.\nRigurt the Brash, Ambassador-at-Large for the Nord Cultural Exchange"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/unexpected-allies": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/unexpected-allies", "description": "An optimistic view of the Ebonheart Pact", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Unexpected Allies", "text": "When I was a lad, I stood at the eastern edge of Skyrim and looked upon Morrowind. From Stendarr's Beacon, I could see the Red Mountain of Vvardenfell, but I never ventured there. Like many Nords, I was content to leave foreign lands to the foreigners.\nA scant ten years ago in 2E 572, my father took a different path. He fought with our Dunmeri allies to repel the Second Akaviri invasion. As a soldier of Skyrim, he was there when the Nords pursued the invaders into Stonefalls. He told me of an army on the brink of ruin, marching ever further into foreign territory, hungry and nearly broken, until the Dunmer brought in Argonian troops to aid the Nords.\nNo one expected this. I still cannot believe it. The Dunmer once held the Argonians as slaves, yet on that day, the Argonians' arrival changed the course of history. From the jungles they came, adorned with blood and mud. Akaviri fell beneath their claws, as well as the swords and spells of their Nord and Dunmeri allies. An alliance was forged that day and has never faltered since.\nAgreements were signed in Ebonheart, but these were formalities compared to the ties made on the battlefield. Our alliance was forged in the fires of adversity, a shield to protect us from all invaders. Our cultures differ but our aims bind us.\nA few years ago, the Dunmeri Tribunal called for more troops from our alliance, insisting that we take up arms against a new enemy: an Empire growing in Cyrodiil. Our enemies in the Covenant and Dominion also sent troops to liberate this territory.\nAnd now? War rages across Tamriel. Khajiit and Bosmer war against Dunmer and Argonians. Altmer strike against Skyrim. And from High Rock, the Daggerfall Covenant attacks us all.\nIn the midst of such chaos, what choice do we have? Our alliance with the Dunmer and Argonians has stood for a decade. I have fought beside our allies in battle. And when I return home, I tell my children proud tales of victory over our foes, fighting with Dunmer and Argonians beside me.\nThe Pact never ceases to surprise me. I have spoken at great length with Argonian mystics, marveling at their view of the world. I have walked into the caves of Dunmeri priests, staring at shadows as they tell me tales of their gods.\nAnd someday, we will walk together into the heart of Cyrodiil\u2014Dunmer, Argonians, and Nords. We will triumph under the banner of our Pact, steadfast allies who can never be defeated."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/unfinished-letter": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/unfinished-letter", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Unfinished Letter", "text": "Mother,\n\tI wish you could see what I have accomplished here. The city does not reject nature as you might expect. If anything, the relationship is more complex than we could ever have imagined. I know you think I turned my back on you, on everything you taught. I would do anything to help you understand that I have taken what I've learned and found my own place with it, as you always said I should.\n\tPlease, come speak with me. I am ready to continue the Accord. I am ready to\u2014"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/unfinished-letter-0": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/unfinished-letter-0", "description": "Unsent letter to a loved one from inside the siege of Falkreath", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Unfinished Letter", "text": "Marika, I love you. I wanted to say that while I still have the chance. It feels good to give the words a life outside my heart, even though I'm certain this will never reach you.\nWe're trapped. The Reachmen came in a flood, out from the mountains. They pillaged the villages and choked off the roads and drove us all back to the only place we might find shelter: Falkreath. We should have kept running, as far as it took - to Solitude if need be - but now it's too late. They've had the city surrounded for weeks.\nThis city was built to withstand a siege for some time, but there are too many mouths to feed and the Reachmen are relentless. They don't leave us much time to dwell on the hunger, at least.\nIf I somehow survive this, I will head to"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/unfinished-letter-marika": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/unfinished-letter-marika", "description": "Trapped in a besieged Falkreath, the writer says goodbye to their love", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Unfinished Letter to Marika", "text": "Marika, I love you. I wanted to say that while I still have the chance. It feels good to give the words a life outside my heart, even though I'm certain this will never reach you.\nWe're trapped. The Reachmen came in a flood, out from the mountains. They pillaged the villages and choked off the roads and drove us all back to the only place we might find shelter: Falkreath. We should have kept running, as far as it took\u2014to Solitude if need be\u2014but now it's too late. They've had the city surrounded for weeks.\nThis city was built to withstand a siege for some time, but there are too many mouths to feed and the Reachmen are relentless. They don't leave us much time to dwell on the hunger, at least.\nIf I somehow survive this, I will head to"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/unfinished-letter-summerset": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/unfinished-letter-summerset", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Unfinished Letter to Summerset", "text": "Mother,\nI am writing to you from Reaper's March, in the northern part of the forest called Valenwood. The ink used is native to the area, and contains several notable properties not found in Summerset inks. Perhaps you can work out the mathematical equations I've worked into the margins? Consider these elements my evidence that distance from home does not diminish one's mental capacity or acuity.\nOur beliefs have rarely coincided, as you know, and so it should come as no surprise to either of us that our life paths diverge so dramatically. Know that I bear you no ill will for your words prior to my departure.\nTake my silent response as a sign of my love for you, that I would not speak intemperately. My knowledge of the world has increased a thousandfold with Pircalmo at my side, and I have come to believe that perhaps it is the place of some Altmer to live outside of Summerset. Spreading the gifts we have discovered for ourselves to others.\nPircalmo and I plan to return to Summerset, and I hope that you find it in your schedule to \u2026."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/unfinished-report": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/unfinished-report", "description": "", "author": "Governor Omellian", "title": "Unfinished Report", "text": "I appreciate your concern, Overseer. My ships made an exhaustive sweep of the coastline and Firemoth Island and found no evidence of slaver activity. The shipwreck was an unfortunate accident, nothing more.\nAs for the other matter, I must entreat"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/unfinished-scroll": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/unfinished-scroll", "description": "A debtor holes up in a mine", "author": "Hu-", "title": "Unfinished Scroll", "text": "Uncle,\nSorry for the delay in sending you this letter. I know I might not get to deliver it for a while, but I wanted to write to you about Bearclaw Mine right away. It's been a long journey, but I know it's going to be worth it.\nWe don't go out of the cave often, of course. There's a reason this place is called Bearclaw Mine. The bears are as fearsome as you'd expect, but that's worked out well for us. It means there isn't any competition here. As long as we're quick and quiet, we can make a lot of coin here very quickly.\nThank you again for selling the house. That should buy us more time with the debtors, and we'll be able to settle our accounts soon.\nI don't feel good about bringing my family here, but you know how those moneylenders are. I actually feel safer with them here than back there.\nMarisse is taking this all rather well. She brought a few books, and she's reading them to Alain. Her lessons are still very religious, but if that is what it takes for her to get through this, that's fine with me.\nI hope everything worked out getting the profits to the right people. We'll be back as soon as we've got enough to pay off the rest of the debt.\nMay the Divines watch over you. May they guide and protect us all.\n\u2014 Hu \u2026."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/unfinished-scroll-bearclaw-mine": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/unfinished-scroll-bearclaw-mine", "description": "Mining in a dangerous location is the plan", "author": "Hubert", "title": "Unfinished Scroll [Bearclaw Mine]", "text": "Uncle,\nSorry for the delay in sending you this letter. I know I might not get to deliver it for a while, but I wanted to write to you about Bearclaw Mine right away. It's been a long journey, but I know it's going to be worth it.\n\tWe don't go out of the cave often, of course. There's a reason this place is called Bearclaw Mine. The bears are as fearsome as you'd expect, but that's worked out well for us. It means there isn't any competition here. As long as we're quick and quiet, we can make a lot of coin here very quickly.\nThank you again for selling the house. That should buy us more time with the debtors, and we'll be able to settle our accounts soon.\nI don't feel good about bringing my family here, but you know how those moneylenders are. I actually feel safer with them here than back there.\nMarisse is taking this all rather well. She brought a few books, and she's reading them to Alain. Her lessons are still very religious, but if that is what it takes for her to get through this, that's fine with me.\nI hope everything worked out getting the profits to the right people. We'll be back as soon as we've got enough to pay of the rest of the debt.\nMay the Divines watch over you. May they guide and protect us all.\n\t\u2014 Hubert"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/unknown-exhumed": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/unknown-exhumed", "description": "A Gravestone", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Unknown (Exhumed)", "text": "UNKNOWN\nA Traveling Merchant\nRUN THROUGH by Bandits\nThis DAUGHTER of Skyrim\nThought OLD and Wise"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/unlabeled-notes": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/unlabeled-notes", "description": "Maormer attack plans", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Unlabeled Notes", "text": "\u2014 Minimal guards at docks (day)\n\t\u2014 Minimal guards at docks (night)\n\t\u2014 Poor response time to fires\n\t\u2014 Smugglers amenable and unaware\n\t\u2014 Wind Tunnels unaffected\n\t\u2014 Storm Totems placed\n\t\u2014 Tempest imminent"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/unmarked-pages": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/unmarked-pages", "description": "Nirncrux may be key to freeing the writer's master.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Unmarked Pages", "text": "2nd First Seed\nWe're uncertain if it's possible, but what the master wants, the master gets. Our presence in Craglorn intensifies by the day, but he remains \u2026 inconsolable. I understand his consternation\u2014the highlands would be completely under our control if he could roam free.\nThe combination of troll and Nedic ritual that finally cracked his prison can make no further progress on it. Even the thralled Celestial Guardians have failed. I don't know what options remain to us.\nThe Regents will do their work in his stead, of course. The master chose them for a reason.\n4th First Seed\nPerhaps the answer has been staring me in the face. We have more nirncrux stored at Sanctum Ophidia than we could ever hope to deplete. We could fuel a war for years with our supply.\nAnd as a primordial dust, nirncrux channels energy\u2014transfers it. The master is composed entirely of Celestial energy. Perhaps that is the key.\n5th Second Seed\nThe master possessed a ritual that required just a little blood from our Courtlings (unfortunately, we lost the volunteers, but footsoldiers can always be replaced) and a smattering of nirncrux dust. We have earned some gratitude from the master\u2014some patience. It will be a while yet before he will walk from this cavern on his own power, but the vessel, at least, is complete.\nAnd may whatever god they believe in help those who stand in its path."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/unnamed-mining-journal-page-45": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/unnamed-mining-journal-page-45", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Unnamed Mining Journal, Page 45", "text": "28 Sisei\nToday at bottom, summon a fire atronach to explore. An amazing thing. Fire lake bubbles and rises when summoning cast. The mountain even shakes to match atronach's movement. I think they talk to each other. This place is not safe. Too much fire magic makes Shadowgreen angry or something.\nNo worthwhile ore, but maybe Shadowgreen's secret worth gold to someone. Maybe they pay enough I warn them about spriggans, too.\nSupplies\nHalf a guar haunch\n2 dried swamp eel\n5 candles\nFek bag empty"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/unsent-letter": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/unsent-letter", "description": "A mage contemplates attempting a dangerous ritual to stop the spread of the Knahaten flu", "author": "Battle-Mage Jano Invel", "title": "Unsent Letter", "text": "To the Honorable Commandant Aquila Peltrasius\n16 Sun's Dawn, 2E 562\nDear Sir,\nI regret to inform you that I must delay (or otherwise revise) the protective ritual we discussed last Tirdas. An essential contributing party\u2014the Battle-Mage Honoria Garrana\u2014deserted last night. Had she left unencumbered, I might have been able to find a mage of comparable skill to complete the ritual without her. Alas, she took the primary reagent with her, leaving us in dire straits indeed. I formally request that a tribunal be convened to discuss this treachery and devise an appropriate punishment for Garrana, should she be found.\nI place my hand upon the Diamond and swear to you that I will make every effort to perform the ritual, despite this hardship. I would be remiss if I did not reiterate my admonition from before; certain aspects of this spell teeter on the brink of necromantic practice. Magic that influences or otherwise alters the soul always carries risk. But, as we discussed, the threat of Knahaten infection, by my estimation, poses a far greater threat to the academy's students and faculty. Conducting the ritual without Garrana's reagent poses a higher risk of failure, but we must take action, lest the fate of Centurion Vitulasius spread to other occupants of the academy.\nMay the Eight bless this endeavor and our beloved Empire.\nYour servant,\n\tBattle-Mage Jano Invel"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/unsent-letter-qumih-tamina": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/unsent-letter-qumih-tamina", "description": "An archeologist writes home.", "author": "Qumih at-Tamina", "title": "Unsent Letter From Qumih at-Tamina", "text": "Esme,\nThe dig progresses well. We've found all sorts of incredible things here. I know you don't like it when I spend all of my ink talking about rocks, but they are very interesting rocks.\nRemember Lozruth and Sharela? The hammer and chisel, inseparable partners? For the first time, they seem at odds with one another. All about this tomb we've uncovered.\nI've stayed out of it, of course. I really don't know which of them is right. It's the strangest thing, an Orc tomb with a door that clearly depicts-\nI've done it again, haven't I, my love?\nI'll be able to return home within a fortnight. Research will undoubtedly continue here for far longer, but my part is done.\nKiss Tilly for me. Tell her to look up at the Steed and make a wish for a swift journey on my return. I long to see you both, along with the warm sands of home.\nI've sent along gold enough to last you both until I return. And a little something extra for you, my dearest.\nLove, Qumih"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/unsent-letter-zazazrala": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/unsent-letter-zazazrala", "description": "A spurned suitor makes a final desperate gesture", "author": "Yanabhi", "title": "Unsent Letter to Zazazrala", "text": "Dearest Zazazrala,\nBy the time you read this, Yanabhi will be gone. For years, this one sought to gain your favor. I brought you gifts of sugar and sweet roses. I fed and cared for your house-cats while you pranced across Tamriel on your trip abroad. I cleaned your parlors and privies to a mirror sheen. But still, you rebuff my advances. Clearly, you value strength and vigor above all else.\nTo that end, this one made his way to Predator Mesa. When Yanabhi mentioned his plan before, you scoffed and thought him a coward. Now, you will see how wrong you've been! When I return home with heaps of harpy feathers and terror bird talons, perhaps you will think more of me.\nYour most daring suitor,\n\tYanabhi"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/untold-legends": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/untold-legends", "description": "Fragment of a tome about supposed other lives of Ysgramor", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Untold Legends", "text": "As the great ships of men crawled the waves to their destinies, there were, after long years, a number of tales lost in the mists of morning. Even after the forgetting though, wisps of story find ways to receptive ears as even the deepest of secrets never truly dies. When fires burn and the night grows soft in\n\n...\n\n\n<The rest of this tome is illegible due to age and wear.>\n...\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/unwelcome-visitors": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/unwelcome-visitors", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Unwelcome Visitors", "text": "We assume the first Anchor Chain is cut. Apply pressure to Mother Tiger to denounce the Unwelcome Visitors.\nWe observe Unwelcome Visitors recovering from the storm. Cut the second Anchor Chain immediately.\nWatchful Serpent remains offshore. At the signal, we shall prepare the Tempest."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/updated-instructions-dortene": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/updated-instructions-dortene", "description": "A letter revealing, possibly, some tension withing the Covenant", "author": "Grand Warlord Dortene", "title": "Updated Instructions from Dortene", "text": "General Am-Shadal,\nReports have reached me of lone soldiers being killed by enemy squads en route to battle fields in Cyrodiil. Do all in your power to encourage soldiers to travel in groups, never alone. While this staging area is secure, nowhere else in Cyrodiil is safe. Warn those who undertake your missions to be wary at all times.\nOn a personal note, I thank you for your forbearance in the recent altercation with General Khamagash. Your refusal to be goaded into an attack was admirable. I shudder to think of the effect on troop morale if my two top generals had gotten into a brawl. Your self-control honors your training and your ancestors.\nHonor and faith to you, general.\n\t- Grand Warlord Dortene"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/urcelmos-supplemental-orders": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/urcelmos-supplemental-orders", "description": "", "author": "Battlereeve Urcelmo, Commanding", "title": "Urcelmo's Supplemental Orders", "text": "The cemetery southest of Phaer has long been a problem. We've had reports people have been abducted from the nearby road. Investigate. Eliminate the threat, and do justice to the Dominion.\nI look forward to your complete report on this matter."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/urenenyas-lament": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/urenenyas-lament", "description": "A myth about an Ayleid princess, lost to time", "author": "Pelorrah, Assistant Sapiarch of Altmeri Heritage, Cloudrest Annex (translated by)", "title": "Urenenya's Lament", "text": "There once was the finest lass of royal descent, the fairest Ayleidoon princess who ever lived, but the place or manner of her death was never known. Princess Urenenya was a daughter, the youngest of three and twenty, to the revered King Uuril who ruled from his ancestral castle known as Silaseli.\nNever was a more astute lord than the wise King Uuril, who secured for future generations the power for his family that he himself envisioned in his dreams steeped in ambition. Both rivals and allies of the amicable Uuril were tethered to his family's fate through the marriages the clever king did arrange for each of his children, the two and twenty.\nWhen it came time for the fair Urenenya to wed, suitors did come from lands far and near hoping to link their names to that of the most illustrious king. But Urenenya did not desire to be wed. The lass was of strong will and did even dare to defy her honorable and generous father. King Uuril did with great reluctance lock his youngest daughter within a tower at Silaseli, there to remain until the day of that wedding which he did plan.\nUrenenya's song of lamentation flowed forth both night and day from her locked chamber, until a time did come when the young lass fell ill, and those healers of King Uuril bemoaned that it was not within the power of their art to cure the young woman's maladies. Whereupon that noble king did take pity on the poor princess, allowing her to remove herself from the locked chamber.\nThen: mystery, for Urenenya did vanish, never to be seen again by vision mortal or magical. Buried beneath the soils of Silaseli lie all members of that royal family for generations before and after the good King Uuril, excepting only the fair princess. Mystics querying souls gone before learned that Urenenya's spirit never voyaged to the sweet shores of Aetherius. Somehow the peace of the afterlife was denied her. But were her lost remains returned to Silaseli, it is believed the spirit adrift might find its way at last to that peaceful shore."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/urgarlags-expeditionary-order": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/urgarlags-expeditionary-order", "description": "The Undaunted are sent to protect villagers in southern Skyrim", "author": "Urgarlag Chief-bane", "title": "Urgarlag's Expeditionary Order", "text": "Hail Undaunted,\nYou've earned the privilege of joining our next expedition for fortune and glory, our leads are pointing to the Jerall Mountains!\nNords have been fleeing their villages in southern Skyrim. Raiders from the Colovian Highlands have been razing their homes and kidnapping their kin. Many have taken refuge in the town of Falkreath, but no word has come from the hold in recent days.\nRumor has it that the invaders have a stronghold in the mountains where they've been taking their captives. Of course no one has actually seen it, but we know there are a lot of old Nedic ruins in the area. There could be something to the talk.\nScout out the Jerall Mountains and Falkreath for any signs of these marauders. If there really is an army of bloodthirsty monsters wreaking havoc out there, we want to know about it!\n-Urgarlag Chief-bane"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/urgdoshs-unsent-letter": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/urgdoshs-unsent-letter", "description": "Orcish explorers, lead by a Mephalan cultist, discover a Dwemer ruin.", "author": "Urgdosh", "title": "Urgdosh's Unsent Letter", "text": "Uraka,\nSkalg led us true. Maybe I judged him too harshly, but I still say his love of the Webspinner goes too far. The trail was clear once we broke the ice, but he claimed he could see the webs of Mephala's Song guiding him.\nWe found Lakora and her companions, wounded but alive. You won't believe what they found beneath the mountain, Uraka. We've all seen the work of Dwarves before, but this...\nIt's some kind of forge, built to harness a power I can't see. But I feel it all around me in this place. It's so warm here, yet every so often I find myself shivering.\nThere's no trace of the Dwarves. None of their guardians remain to tend the place. It's falling apart. Why would they abandon such majesty?\nGuzal says we should claim the place as our own. Rebuild and reshape it. Make it ours. Skalg, damn him, says this was Mephala's wish - the thread we were meant to follow. I don't know.\nI just hope I can get back home soon.\n-Urgdosh"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/urgent-letter-1": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/urgent-letter-1", "description": "Half information on the \"Hist sap\" that fuels Mazatun, half propaganda", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Urgent Letter [1]", "text": "Sap. That is what these thin-shelled fools call it. As if such a substance could ever be compared to Nirn-tainted resin. No, it is much more than sap.\n\"Amber Plasm.\" That is what one of the scholars called it before I fed him to Mighty Chudan. He said that it was like the chaotic creatia of Oblivion\u2014leaking into Mundus through our Hist like blood from a wound. These dry-tongues and their airs\u2014as if anyone could know the secrets of the Hist better than I!\nThe plasm has accumulated at the roots of the Tsono-Xuhil since before the Saxhleel could lift a spade, but only I have discovered its secrets. Drinking it or bathing in it can drive a Saxhleel mad. But through alchemical study, and the Hist's guidance, I have learned to harness its power. This was no small feat. The creatia is a thing of chaos. The call to Sithis is in its nature. But we must remain deaf to his commands. Those Saxhleel who call him father languish in mud huts and eat old fish from wooden bowls. The Xit-Xaht hear the call to order, and shall dwell in a shining city forever more!\nIf properly manipulated, the Amber Plasm can grant a worthy Saxhleel great speed and strength. I am proof of its efficacy. Soon, my brew will be ready to distribute to all Xit-Xaht sons and daughters. Then Mazzatun will be a rival even to the Imperial City! The People of the Root will rule Black Marsh first, then all of Tamriel!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/urgent-letter-2": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/urgent-letter-2", "description": "Escape has been compromised, and should not be attempted", "author": "Junal", "title": "Urgent Letter [2]", "text": "Wunsupa,\nDo not run tonight. Xal-Nur knows that you plan to escape at dusk. I do not know how he found out, but he is onto you.\nI know what Cheethei told you, but Xal-Nur is not as primitive as he seems. There is a cunning in him, Supa. He is like an old crocodile\u2014more dangerous when asleep because the hatchlings press their luck.\nIf he catches you, he will rip you to pieces and feed you to the wamasu. Please understand, I am not pulling your tail. I have seen him do this before. There is so much blood\u2014more than most could bear to see. And the screaming still wakes me from a deep sleep.\nWait, if only for a few more days. Your life depends on it.\nJunal"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/urgent-message-kinlady": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/urgent-message-kinlady", "description": "The Kinlady will arrive promptly", "author": "High Kinlady Estre", "title": "Urgent Message from the Kinlady", "text": "Canonreeve Sinyon,\nPlease excuse this urgent message. I've sent my messenger ahead so you may properly prepare for my visit. I realize it's unexpected and very sudden.\nI will be there by the end of the day. I wish to keep my presence in the town confidential. There are matters I must tend to in private.\nI need the following prepared immediately for my arrival:\n\tCandles\n\tIncense\n\tBloodgrass\n\tSilver Basin\nWith All Appropriate Respect,\n\tHigh Kinlady Estre"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/urgent-message-walks-softly": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/urgent-message-walks-softly", "description": "", "author": "Walks-Softly", "title": "Urgent Message from Walks-Softly", "text": "[Player Name]\nWhile we were both attending to other matters, that special shipment from my past was discovered and absconded with by pirates. I have to rescue her!\nContacts throughout Abah's Landing have told me that the shipment has been taken to Shark's Teeth Grotto. I'm heading there immediately. If you have the inclination, I wouldn't turn down your help.\n-Walks-Softly"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/urgent-missive": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/urgent-missive", "description": "A plea to help save Falkreath", "author": "Eerika Skjoralmor", "title": "Urgent Missive", "text": "May this message reach you before the arms of our enemy. Falkreath is falling. Our stores are empty, our walls are crumbling, and the walking wounded are all that stands between the hordes of the Reach and our kin.\nI hold no illusions that this message will bring us salvation, but I hope it will bring retribution. It is with bent knee that I ask you to send your honored warriors to our hold to drive the Reachmen and their minotaur allies from our lands. Avenge us and rebuild. Don't let the ruin of stone stand as our only memorial.\nEerika Skjoralmor, Thane of Falkreath"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/uricantars-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/uricantars-journal", "description": "Journal of a man claiming to be seeking the power of Aetherius", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Uricantar's Journal", "text": "I've arrived at Ezduiin. I'm still nursing the wounds inflicted by Telenger. And that faithless Andewen. I was certain we would spend the centuries together, she and I. All she had to do was acknowledge my power\u2014and recognize that Telenger's time is past.\n- - -\n\tI've explored the surface ruins, and found my way past the ancient magics protecting the ruin's entrance. I have the Undercroft to myself. The spirits here seem to pay me no mind. So far.\n- - -\n\tI've found it. The Mallari-Mora was lying just where it had fallen, all those hundreds of years ago. I have nothing but time now. To discover the secrets of Essanyon, and plumb the heights of Aetherius.\n- - -\n\tI've encountered a setback. In manipulating the magical energies surrounding the relic, I seem to have rekindled a connection long dormant. The spirits of Aetherius now flood the ruin. The dead bound by Essanyon's ritual once again walk the stones of Ezduiin.\n- - -\n\tI have mastered the Mallari-Mora. The enclosed sketches show how its multifaceted sides can focus and purify magicka. While I have yet to muster full control of the Aetherius shard coterminous with this ruin, I do have rudimentary control over the spirits I've summoned. I now have guardians and willing slaves.\n- - -\n\tTelenger has arrived. I've sent the spirits to be my eyes. Andewen is with him. This is it. Like misunderstood Essanyon before me, my time has come. I'll take some of his pathetic students, swing wide the gates of Aetherius, and claim my rightful place as arch-mage!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/uryaamos-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/uryaamos-journal", "description": "Journal describing an ancient, abandoned trading post", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Uryaamo's Journal", "text": "After dozens of failed expeditions, we've finally found it. This has to be the lost city the Wood Elves call Root Sunder. Our maps of the era suggest this would have been an ideal location for a trading hub. The only hurdle would be taming the jungle. Not a small hurdle, but one the builders of Root Sunder believed could be overcome.\nAnd their solution, whatever it was, clearly didn't work. But they've infused this place with a strange current of magicka, funneling through the central Welkynd Stone and to a chamber below. If we could unlock the door, perhaps we could learn more."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ushenats-notes": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ushenats-notes", "description": "Bringing people to Malacath's light through ice-based torture", "author": "Ushenat Iceheart", "title": "Ushenat's Notes", "text": "So far, I am quite pleased with the use of painful cold in turning people onto the path of Trinimac's holy light. That idiot Graguz and his \"application\" of fire has a poor survival rate. Fire panics people. A panicked person cannot be reasoned with. Part of a true conversion is to get into the candidates minds, show them a way out of their fear, or give them a way out.\nI think I have found a solid method. (Ha, A pun. Solid. Ice.) Rooting the individual and trapping them through the new ice bindings I have worked on is painful without panickng them. The added psychological benefit of giving them the option to end their mild (in my opinion) torment, was a bit brilliant on my part, if I do say so myself. I must send a note to Hengart, to thank him for the design of the switches and ice table areas.\nMy latest plan is a variation and so far, I am pleased at the tension of the mind it is bringing, I took two candidates and each has the option to hit their switch - thereby freeing the other person. Genius! This plays with their minds - the guilt of the survivor will open the path for Trinimac's light, allowing them to see that they did the right thing. They will accept Trinimac more fully because they cannot accept that they caused another to die. The miind and soul will belong to Vosh Rakh, and Trinimac.\nThis dual method is a bit slower, but I confess, I am enjoying watching their individual resolve start to crumble."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ushuthas-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ushuthas-journal", "description": "Questions and deaths plague an expedition into Old Orsinium", "author": "Ushutha", "title": "Ushutha's Journal", "text": "My research uncovered an old society of some sort - very secretive - who do a ritual here, every ten years or so, to appease Malacath, or honor him. I could not get much information on them, but I have seen marks of their rites here. These curious door locks are part of it, for they are not part of the original city, near as I can tell.\nThey are similar, and I suppose the secret group changes the sequence for their rituals, but it clearly has something to do with the clans of Old Orsinium, for the plaques are scattered throughout this ruin. We already tried the same combination as the first gate, but of course it did not work.\nMy thought is that this gate would have something to do with the eventual fall of this city. Garhek has an old treatise that variously claims that Bagrakh and Igrun had started raiding indiscriminately. But then it contradicts itself, saying one raided, but the rulers of the city refused to curb them and in fact took credit for the acts.\nWe know they holed up in the old city. How did they eat? I hope more is revealed once we get in. And there is, I believe an old symbol for Clan Farhun. That must be wrong though, I don't think they were one of the clans in Old Orsinium thousands of years ago.\n\u2026 I wish Garhek would get back soon. Ever since we lost Mathriga to spider's poison, I have been questioning our expedition. We should have saved more money and brought hunters or mercenaries to help explore. I should not panic. Not yet.\n\u2026.. I think that Garhek isn't coming back. Not because he wouldn't want to, but because he can't. I wanted to write the definitive book on the Rise and Fall of Old Orsinium. But this place\u2026 I fear I led my friends and myself to a premature end in an old ruin that keeps its secrets"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/uthbet-exhumed": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/uthbet-exhumed", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Uthbet (Exhumed)", "text": "Here Lies UTHBET\nSON of Rylle Chief-Killer\nAnd OLD as the Hills\nA WARRIOR Born\nHe Passed on the PRIVY\nWith a Heaping of Scorn"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/uzdabikhs-helm": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/uzdabikhs-helm", "description": "A hero and her enchanted help at the Battle of Fharun Pass", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Uzdabikh's Helm", "text": "The history of Wrothgar is a history of war. During the Battle of Fharun Pass, Uzdabikh rose from obscurity to become its most celebrated hero.\nReports concerning Uzdabikh's gender conflict, but Curator Umutha favors tales that describe her as female. Her warband was charged with defending a tunnel against encroaching Redguard soldiers, but no one expected them to send their entire army.\nOne by one her warband fell, until only Uzdabikh remained standing. She fought with bow, with axe, with knife, and even with bare hands until the tunnel was awash in blood. One-thousand-and-one Redguard died in the tunnel that day. It is said that her helmet was blessed, protecting Uzdabikh against every attack. But when reinforcements arrived, they found only Redguard corpses, piled high around her battered helmet."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/val-vijah-va-rhook-baandari": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/val-vijah-va-rhook-baandari", "description": "A khajiit festival song", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Val Vijah Va Rhook, Baandari", "text": "(A Khajiiti Festival Song)\nDancing through savannah grass\nOn light feet we glide\nHey, hey, Baandari boy\nTap your heels in stride\nHey, hey, Baandari girl\nSwing your tail beside\nCHORUS\nVal Vijah Va Rhook, Baandari\nCarrying our world in packs\nVal Vijah Va Rhook, Baandari\nOur kingdom on our backs\nHome is on the move again\nOn wagon wheels we go\nHey, hey, Baandari boy\nWhere the wild winds blow\nHey, hey, Baandari girl\nOur caravan in tow\nCHORUS\nVal Vijah Va Rhook, Baandari\nCarrying our world in packs\nVal Vijah Va Rhook, Baandari\nOur kingdom on our backs\nWalker we can teach the steps\nWe'll be your guiding star\nHey, hey, Baandari boy\nKeep close and we'll go far\nHey, hey, Baandari girl\nOur vagabond bazaar"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/valashas-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/valashas-journal", "description": "", "author": "Valasha", "title": "Valasha's Journal", "text": "I still can't believe we're alive. I've never seen a city like Abagarlas. The horrors I witnessed there are etched into my dreams. We do live, though. I have my Ostarand, and we have the crystal. That's all that matters.\n- - - - - - - -\nSince entering the Dwarven city, Curano has grown quiet. Today I learned why. She took me aside to talk. She believes someone must be sacrificed to the crystal before we hide it. Several powerful priestesses gave their lives to see it forged in the first place, she said.\nIt makes sense. Molag Bal revels in undeath and destruction. A life given willingly and bound would be anathema to that fiend.\nCurano asked me if I'm willing to make the sacrifice when the time comes. I am ... I am very afraid.\n- - - - - - - -\nOstarand and I were betrothed just weeks ago. He was furious when I told him of Curano's request. And I was afraid.\nAnd so I prayed. I spoke with Meridia for hours. I knew before I knelt that it would be my duty to accept the burden. But duty, honor ... they're just words. Compared to the feel of Ostarand's hand on my cheek, how could I willingly agree?\nIn the end, it was for Ostarand that I agreed. With my death, I can ensure the future of our world. Nirn will have need of the weapon again. And my light will last forever, bound to the crystal's heart.\nHow could any priestess of the Sunburst turn that down?"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/valenwood-hounds": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/valenwood-hounds", "description": "Legends of Valenwood's lycanthropes", "author": "the Altmeri Travel Guild", "title": "Valenwood Hounds", "text": "The Hounds of Hircine are legendary hunters, but none among them are more legendary than those who make Valenwood their hunting ground.\nThere are several reasons for their incredible reputation. The first is Valenwood itself. Wild, untamed, and, some say, quite aware, there are entire regions of this wood which remain unexplored and house the most astonishing creatures. Only the most proficient trackers can hunt their prey in this strange forest without getting utterly lost.\nThe second reason is that many of these hunters are Wood Elves, born stalkers of prey, with a gifted sense for tracking.\nBut the biggest reason for the lofty reputation of the Valenwood Hounds is the hunter called Haras. A legend in his own right, some dispute that he even exists, but there's not a Hound that hasn't heard tell of his exploits.\nSaid to be unmatched in his devotion to Hircine and his skill at tracking, Haras was last heard from over a hundred years ago, when he set out to hunt the fabled Pale Senche-Tiger. Others, hunting in Valenwood, have claimed to have seen him from time to time, still hunting that elusive beast. Although if these claims were true, Haras would have to have lived long beyond the normal life span of an Elf.\nStill, every one of the Hounds of Valenwood can trace his training to Haras and aspires to best him in fame and skill. That alone makes the Valenwood Hounds the greatest hunters in Tamriel."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/valenwood-study": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/valenwood-study", "description": "An overview of Bosmer and their politics", "author": "Archivist Endaranande", "title": "Valenwood: A Study", "text": "Life for many in the Aldmeri Dominion begins in Valenwood. Green, forested, filled with a wide variety of plant and animal life, and home to some of the first Elves from Old Ehlnofey.\nOver time and through generations, these early settlers adapted to the woods. They learned stealth and cunning by studying their new prey. Eventually, they became Wood Elves, or Bosmer. Slighter than the Altmer, intense and agile, the Bosmer are renowned archers and scouts.\nFierce combatants, the Bosmer have an unusual advantage: the Green Pact. According to Bosmer legend, Y'ffre the Forest God offered them a way to defeat their enemies, providing they did not consume, harm, or harvest any of Valenwood's plants.\nMany have heard of the Wild Hunt, one result of the Green Pact. Of this ritual, I will say no more.\nThe Bosmer welcome those who come to Valenwood seeking refuge from other lands. In this regard, they are quite unlike their pure Altmer cousins. While we seek to retain our dignity, the Bosmer are quite willing to bend like saplings to the will of others.\nThough they are unruly and naive, these Wood Elves are an integral part of the Dominion, and must be retained in order for our alliance to flourish."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/valerics-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/valerics-journal", "description": "Valeric's father intends to challenge Jorunn", "author": "Valeric", "title": "Valeric's Journal", "text": "My companions have been taking their lessons to heart. There hasn't been an incident in more than three cycles of the moons. Jaruk has his cats and his music, and that seems to help keep his beast at bay. Rala, however, makes me nervous. She hasn't done anything overtly reckless, but I know that the bloodlust calls to her.\nAll I can do is continue to teach and counsel her. I must give her other things to dwell upon. I believe in her. I know she will maintain the course I have set her upon. She must.\n***\nFather's evil grows more vile and sinister every day. Now he's creating an army of nearly mindless blood thralls to do his bidding. I can see them prowling by the springs outside my window! The man knows no bounds.\nWhat is he planning? There really is only one reason to build an army. Does he truly think to challenge the Skald King? Can I allow that to happen? No, but neither I nor my companions have the power to stop my father.\n\tI truly do not know what to do."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/valyias-cargo-manifest": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/valyias-cargo-manifest", "description": "A cargo manifest from Mournhold", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Valyia's Cargo Manifest", "text": "Mournhold Cargo Manifest 419283D-4\n\tMerchant of Record: Valyia Hlar\n\tEggs, kwama, twelve dozen\n\tGuar, sixteen sides of meat\n\tScuttle, twenty-four stones\n\tGorapples, eight bushels\n\tSujamma, twenty-four jars\n\tShein, eight casks\n\tFlin, ten casks\n\tGreef, three casks\n\tAlik'r spices, assorted, six stones"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/vampires-and-their-hunters": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/vampires-and-their-hunters", "description": "To destroy a monster you must become monstrous", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Vampires and their Hunters", "text": "The work of hunting vampires is best reserved for the mentally unstable. Average people, if they try to pursue a vampire, will more likely end up being prey than predator.\nIt's not that the average person is not strong enough or cunning enough (although that is often the case). It's that they are not single-minded enough.\nThe vampire does not know family, or love, or hope. It only knows the desire to feed. So must the vampire hunter mimic his prey. He must abandon all love, all hope, all memory of family or friends. Anything that might distract his mind from the goal at hand must be sloughed off like dead skin.\nThe vampire hunter must become a predator's predator, unknown and unknowable. Anything short of that and he will quickly become food for his quarry\u2014or worse, he will be transformed into the very monster he seeks to destroy."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/vanishing-crew": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/vanishing-crew", "description": "They go missing one by one...", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Vanishing Crew", "text": "It's bad enough I'm stuck in this Divines-forsaken desert with these disgusting Goblin laborers no one will buy, but now my overseers are going missing! I have no idea where they're going or what's happening to them. I turn my back on those drunken fools for three seconds and I'm suddenly down two men!\nIf we keep going at this rate, we'll have to kill some of our labor stock just so we can keep them under control."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/vanthongars-letter": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/vanthongars-letter", "description": "", "author": "Vanthongar", "title": "Vanthongar's Letter", "text": "Thvaril,\nWith Murkmire picked over as it is, I had to start ranging further and further to loot anything worth selling. I found a smaller tribe just across the river. Moss-Skins, they called themselves. Helped myself to a few trinkets, and even managed to grab myself a genuine grave-stake.\nUnfortunately, my theft landed me with a lizard on my tail. I've been trying to make my way to Lilmoth before she could catch up, but the Divines seem to have smiled on me. Last time I spotted her, she was on her way to the Bright-Throat Village with a foot injury.\nNow all I have to worry about are the snakes around here. I heard that one bite is enough to fell a man. Not that I'm stupid enough to get bit.\nVanthongar"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/vantirs-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/vantirs-journal", "description": "Plotting for the Planemeld", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Vantir's Journal", "text": "My hand cramps writing in this tongue. The syntax is pathetic, and the conjugation maddening. But it is the tongue the Black Worm uses. I must adapt.\nIt has been centuries since I last walked these halls. There's the spot where my father taught me the Rite of Destruction. There's the stone where I performed my first sacrifice. And of course, there is the rip that swallowed us whole.\nHow many years were we trapped in Oblivion? How long was it before we turned on each other, consuming our brothers and sisters? I alone survive, blessed by Molag Bal for my ruthlessness. Now my lord has chosen me to guide this Black Worm back to Silaseli and repurpose our work.\nWhen the Worm told me the halls were filled with castoff men, descendants of our slave stock, I was incensed. My first thought was to wipe out the whole lot. But then I had a thought: If one could be persuaded to reopen the rip, even briefly, the Black Worm could use that as an entry into SIlaseli, avoiding any eyes on the surface.\nOne of the Worm's agents found the ideal man for this task. A simple promise of immortality, and his fate was sealed. Once the Worm entered, rounding up the slaves was a simple matter. The creatures will provide an ideal fuel for my lord's Planemeld."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/vardans-diary": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/vardans-diary", "description": "Vardan plans to gain the power to conquer Glenumbra", "author": "Vardan", "title": "Vardan's Diary", "text": "A search of the Ayleid ruins to the north yielded no new information. I wonder if the ancient tales were merely to deter graverobbers. Queen Nuresse was grieved by the death of the king\u2014perhaps she made it all up.\nDrusilla returns tomorrow. She might see something I missed.\n* * *\nDrusilla had no luck. The ruins remain inexplicable. If there is great power here, its whereabouts are unknown.\nDrusilla suggested taking local Orcs for interrogation. Under duress, they may provide details we have yet to discover. We will find some who will not be missed.\n* * *\nSuccess! Interrogation yielded mention of a hidden door beneath the Orc fortress. This may lead to the fabled library of old King Renwic.\nIf the tales are true, the library holds the information we seek. I have sent word to the Gravesinger. If he refuses to send aid, I will know his true motivation.\n* * *\nAid arrived. Cursed Gravesinger!\nI expected adepts of the highest caliber. Instead, I get initiates who have done little beyond raise their first corpse. The Gravesinger is amused, no doubt.\n* * *\nAt last! The scroll confirmed a power here beyond my wildest expectations.\nTaking this miserable island from the Orcs is but the start of our crusade. Once the power is in my hands, the armies of the Daggerfall Covenant will fall like leaves before us.\nI wonder how the Gravesinger will explain his failure when I conquer Glenumbra out from under him?\n\n\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/vareldurs-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/vareldurs-journal", "description": "Vareldur regrets his decision to join the Veiled Heritance", "author": "Vareldur", "title": "Vareldur's Journal", "text": "Mother, I don't know if you'll ever read this. I should never have left Mathiisen. The Veiled Heritance isn't the honorable cause I thought it was. Some of them are real patriots, but most are just brutes. I can't do this anymore.\n- - - - - - - - -\nWe're going to Del's Claim tonight. The old mine near South Beacon. They're going to kill the miners. I can't let them do that, can I? I have to stop them. Somehow. I love you, mother. Always know, I love you.\n\u2014 Vareldur"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/varens-wall": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/varens-wall", "description": "The history and present utility of the great wall of the Gold Coast", "author": "Midara Salviticus", "title": "Varen's Wall", "text": "By Midara Salviticus, Historian, University of Gwylim\nHastily constructed during the early stages of Varen Aquilarios's rebellion against the last of the Longhouse Emperors, the structure known as Varen's Wall separates the Gold Coast from the Colovian Highlands. Allow me to elucidate the wall and its importance to the region, the rebellion, and the ongoing strife personified by the Three Banners War.\nShortly after the start of Varen's Rebellion, Aquilarios ordered his followers to begin construction of a wall to protect Kvatch and the rest of the Gold Coast from retaliation by the Longhouse Emperor and his troops. Aquilarios, determined to take the battle to the heart of the Empire, didn't want to leave his home and original seat of power open to retribution by his enemies in his absence. He enlisted the famed engineer Jaros Truptor to design and oversee the project, ordering him to build a strong, tall defense in record time.\nWith a cadre of paid workers and an ever-growing army of eager volunteers, Jaros set about the task at hand. Deciding that speed and solid construction were more important than any aesthetic values, Jaros designed a relatively simple plan that allowed for the use of whatever building materials his workers were able to scavenge from the surrounding countryside. Natural rock and stone, pieces of ruined structures, purchased building supplies - even parts scavenged from the estates dotting the countryside - all were gathered for use in raising Varen's Wall.\nJaros's design of the wall itself was simple, utilitarian, and not anywhere near as visually appealing as the other projects he's known for. The wall was a mix of rough-hewn stone, mismatched rocks, blocks commandeered from the estates of willing and unwilling donors, and even the natural contours of the land itself. Towers rose from the wall in a more or less regular pattern, breaking up the expanse of stone and providing locations for guards, watchmen, or even garrisons of soldiers to congregate along the defended border.\nDue to Varen's popularity among the common folk of Kvatch and Anvil Counties, Jaros was able to form a volunteer work crew that provided him with more than enough workers to keep construction going day and night. But popularity alone didn't inspire the people to donate their time and effort. It was Varen's words and deeds that accomplished that. He convinced the people that his rebellion was not only just, it was necessary to stop the Daedra-worshiping Emperor Leovic. In addition, he rallied the people to help defend themselves and their land, and within a year Varen's Wall stretched from the shores of the Abecean Sea, winding its way through the countryside southwest of the Colovian Highlands, eventually terminating at the Strid River.\nAs important as Varen's Wall was to protecting the region during Varen's Rebellion, it has played an even greater role since the fall of the Empire and the start of the Three Banners War. As the war for Cyrodiil rages on, Varen's Wall has protected the counties of Kvatch and Anvil from the worst fallout of the ongoing battles taking place at what was once the heart of the shattered Empire. It has created a kind of safe harbor in which the people of the Gold Coast have thrived. In some ways, it has become a sort of political experiment to see whether the law and order typified by Kvatch and the Cathedral of Akatosh or the more chaotic nature of Anvil and its collection of pirates and smugglers will win out as the ultimate power in the area."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/varieties-dragons-initial-exploration": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/varieties-dragons-initial-exploration", "description": "Close observation of two dragons in southern Elsweyr", "author": "Axulsha of Black Marsh", "title": "Varieties of Dragons: An Initial Exploration", "text": "To better prepare for possible threats to the Hist, I tasked myself with studying Dragons in Southern Elsweyr. Herein are my observations on the appearance, diet, daily habits, and combat techniques of two Dragons I observed. For simplicity, I have classified them by color.\nThe Red Dragon\nMy understanding, after talking with those in Senchal, is that the Dragons currently operating in Elsweyr have a hierarchy of sorts, which is unusual if you consider some of the lore I've read on the subject. As such, the red Dragon I observed for a few days as it hunted in Southern Elsweyr seemed remarkable in that it was not overtly part of a hierarchy at all. Aside from this broad observation, my compiled and clarified notes on this creature follow.\nAppearance\nCovered in crimson, overlapping scales, the red Dragon possessed a sleek profile. It lacked ostentatious horns, which surprised me. Perhaps my expectations led me to believe that all Dragons had a jagged profile with horns that would gore prey, much like a bull's horns. Its yellow eyes had slitted pupils.\nDiet\nThe primary diet of the red Dragon appears to be meat. I did not see it eat plants at any point, so it most definitely be classified as a carnivorous creature. As an apex predator, this makes sense. As for preferred food? I didn't notice any particular preference, though at times the Dragon acted as if it hunted intelligent prey for the challenge they presented. It especially savored a two-person hunting crew that gave it a brief challenge. It toyed with them until one made a lucky strike with an arrow. It ended the confrontation quickly after this.\nDaily Habits\nAside from eating, I did not witness a range of cyclical habits pertaining to this Dragon. I cannot say for certain that they need sleep, which makes them even more dangerous if this proves to be the case. Given my sample size, though, I may have stumbled across an insomniac who has no preference for time of day and activity. Even its eating habits were somewhat random, though perhaps they were based on how much it had last eaten and its digestive process.\nCombat\nWithout large horns, the Dragon relied on claws, shouts, wings, and tail against intelligent prey. Against animals, it simply grabbed what it wanted and landed to eat it. This Dragon also utilized flame-based attacks and could summon creatures of flame, such as flame atronachs. Methods for countering fire must be developed for dealing with this creature.\nThe Black Dragon\nAs with the red Dragon I observed, the black Dragon (though some might call it \"dark gray\") also seemed to observe no hierarchical societal structure in regards to other Dragons. At least, none that I could see.\nAppearance\nThe black scales on this Dragon also overlapped, and its head structure featured downward curving horns. Its tail was covered in spikes at the end, making it particularly effective as a melee weapon. Its orange-gold eyes have slitted pupils.\nDiet\nThis Dragon preferred meat to anything else, though I did see it graze on some leaves at one point. Perhaps it requires plants to add valuable nutrients to its system? When hungry, it grabbed the animal it wanted and flew a short distance to eat it in relative safety. As for hunting intelligent beings, its tactics tended more toward stealthy hunting, then ambushing them to keep resistance to a minimum. I can only guess as to why it chose ambush tactics. Perhaps it was wounded in the past when stalking armed hunting parties? Or maybe it finds joy in stealth and surprise.\nDaily Habits\nThe black Dragon preferred nocturnal activity, taking shelter during the day in a location I found only through careful observation. Upon sunset, it began hunting for food, returning with captured prey to its shelter. After that, it would take to the skies and fly, returning at dawn to what I came to think of as its nest or lair. I believe that it must have sensed my presence at one point, for it did not return the next morning. A quick examination of the remains of its recent meals demonstrated the Dragon to be a fastidious eater. It was careful to remove armor and eat around natural protection to get at the soft meat inside.\nCombat\nAs noted, the black Dragon I observed preferred to hunt and ambush its prey, surprising and making quick work of its targets. It used a combination of tail swipes, wing buffets, shouts, and claws on those it attacked, preferring the snatch-and-grab tactic against animals. Since this black Dragon called lightning and storm atronachs to aid it against multiple targets, I'm tempted to call it a storm Dragon."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/varieties-faith-crown-redguards": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/varieties-faith-crown-redguards", "description": "A scholarly listing of the Crown deities", "author": "Brother Mikhael Karkuxor of the Imperial College", "title": "Varieties of Faith: Crown Redguards", "text": "The Forebears, who have been longest in Tamriel and had the stronger relationship with the Second Empire, worship substantially the same pantheon as the Imperials and Bretons, whereas the more conservative Crowns still revere the ancient Yokudan gods.\nThe Eight of the Crowns:\nSatakal (The Worldskin):\n\tYokudan god of everything, a fusion of the concepts of Anu and Padomay. Basically, Satakal is much like the Nords' Alduin, who destroys one world to begin the next. In Yokudan mythology, Satakal had done (and still does) this many times over, a cycle which prompted the birth of spirits that could survive the transition. These spirits ultimately become the Yokudan pantheon. Popular god among the Crowns of the Alik'r nomads.\nRuptga (Tall Papa):\n\tChief deity of the Yokudan pantheon. Ruptga, more commonly \"Tall Papa,\" was the first god to figure out how to survive the Hunger of Satakal. Following his lead, the other gods learned the \"Walkabout,\" or a process by which they can persist beyond one lifetime. Tall Papa set the stars in the sky to show lesser spirits how to do this, too. When there were too many spirits to keep track of, though, Ruptga created a helper out the dead skin of past worlds. This helper is Sep (see below), who later creates the world of mortals.\nTu'whacca (Tricky God):\n\tYokudan god of souls. Tu'whacca, before the creation of the world, was the god of Nobody Really Cares. When Tall Papa undertook the creation of the Walkabout, Tu'whacca found a purpose; he became the caretaker of the Far Shores, and continues to help Redguards find their way into the afterlife.\nZeht (God of Farms):\n\tYokudan god of agriculture who renounced his father after the world was created, which is why Tall Papa makes it so hard to grow food.\nMorwha (Teat God):\n\tYokudan fertility goddess, fundamental deity in the Yokudan pantheon, and the favorite of Tall Papa's wives. Still worshiped in various areas of Hammerfell, including Stros M'kai, Morwha is always portrayed as four-armed, so that she can \"grab more husbands.\"\nTava (Bird God):\n\tYokudan spirit of the air. Tava is most famous for leading the Yokudans to the isle of Herne after the destruction of their homeland. She has since become assimilated into the mythology of Kynareth. She is still very popular in Hammerfell among sailors, and her shrines can be found in most port cities.\nOnsi (War God; Boneshaver):\n\tNotable warrior god of the Yokudan Ra Gada, Onsi taught Mankind how to pull their knives into swords.\nDiagna (Orichalc God of the Sideways Blade):\n\tHoary thuggish cult of the Redguards that originated in Yokuda during the Twenty-Seven Snake Folk Slaughter. Diagna was an avatar of the HoonDing (the Yokudan God of Make Way, see below) that achieved permanence. He was instrumental to the defeat of the Lefthanded Elves, as he brought orichalc weapons to the Yokudan people to win the fight. In Tamriel, he led a very tight-knit group of followers against the Orcs of Orsinium during the height of their ancient power.\nAdditional Deities with Significant Redguard Cults:\nLeki (Saint of the Spirit Sword):\n\tDaughter of Tall Papa, Leki is the goddess of aberrant swordsmanship. The Na-Totambu of Yokuda warred to a standstill during the mythic era to decide who would lead the charge against the Lefthanded Elves. Their swordmasters, though, were so skilled in the Best Known Cuts as to be matched evenly. Leki introduced the Ephemeral Feint. Afterwards, a victor emerged and the war with the Aldmer began.\nHoonDing (The Make Way God):\n\tYokudan spirit of \"perseverance over infidels.\" The HoonDing has historically materialized whenever the Redguards need to \"make way\" for their people. In Tamrielic history this has only happened twice, in the First Era during the Ra Gada invasion.\nMalooc (Horde King):\n\tAn enemy god of the Ra Gada who led the Goblins against the Redguards during the First Era. Fled east when the army of the HoonDing overtook his Goblin hordes.\nSep (The Snake):\n\tYokudan version of Lorkhan. Sep is born when Tall Papa creates someone to help him regulate the spirit trade. Sep, though, is driven crazy by the hunger of Satakal, and he convinces some of the gods to help him make an easier alternative to the Walkabout. This, of course, is the world as we know it, and the spirits who followed Sep become trapped here, to live out their lives as mortals. Sep is punished by Tall Papa for his transgressions, but his hunger lives on as a void in the stars, a \"non-space\" that tries to upset mortal entry into the Far Shores."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/varieties-faith-argonians": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/varieties-faith-argonians", "description": "A scholarly look at Argonian religion", "author": "Brother Mikhael Karkuxor of the Imperial College", "title": "Varieties of Faith: The Argonians", "text": "Except for a few of the most assimilated, Argonians worship neither Aedra nor Daedra. They do not have \"religion\" as it is known elsewhere in Tamriel. They are known to venerate the Hist Trees of Black Marsh, but they do not appear to have prayers, priests, or temples.\nArgonians also venerate Sithis, the primordial Shadow/Chaos that existed before the gods were born. Unlike most citizens of Tamriel, they do not regard Sithis as \"evil.\" In fact, Argonians born under the sign of the Shadow are taken at birth and presented to the Dark Brotherhood, which in Black Marsh is considered an integral part of society."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/varieties-faith-bretons": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/varieties-faith-bretons", "description": "A scholarly listing of Breton deities", "author": "Brother Mikhael Karkuxor of the Imperial College", "title": "Varieties of Faith: The Bretons", "text": "The Eight:\nAkatosh (Dragon God of Time):\n\tAkatosh is the chief deity of the Eight Divines (the major religious cult of Cyrodiil and its provinces) and one of two deities found in every Tamrielic religion (the other is Lorkhan). He is generally considered to be the first of the gods to form in the Beginning Place. After his establishment, other spirits found the process of being easier, and the various pantheons of the world emerged. He embodies the qualities of endurance, invincibility, and everlasting legitimacy.\nKynareth (Goddess of Air):\n\tKynareth is a member of the Eight Divines, the strongest of the Sky spirits, patron of sailors and travelers. In some legends, she is the first to agree to Lorkhan's plan to invent the mortal plane, and she provides the space for its creation in the void. She is also associated with rain, a phenomenon said not to occur before the removal of Lorkhan's divine spark.\nJulianos (God of Wisdom and Logic):\n\tOften associated with Jhunal, the Nord father of language and mathematics, Julianos is the god of literature, law, history, and contradiction, and the favorite deity of most Breton mages.\nDibella (Goddess of Beauty):\n\tPopular god of the Eight Divines, Dibella has nearly a dozen different cults, some devoted to women, some to artists and aesthetics, and others to erotic instruction.\nArkay (God of the Cycle of Life and Death):\n\tMember of the Eight Divines pantheon and popular elsewhere, as well. Arkay is often more important in those cultures where his father, Akatosh, is either less related to time or where his time aspects are difficult to comprehend by the common folk. He is the god of burials and funeral rites, and is sometimes associated with the seasons. His priests are staunch opponents of necromancy and all forms of the undead. It is said that Arkay did not exist before the world was created by the gods under Lorkhan's supervision/urging/trickery. Therefore, he is sometimes called the Mortals' God.\nZenithar (God of Work and Commerce, Trader God):\n\tMember of the Eight Divines, Zenithar is understandably associated with the Bosmeri Z'en. In High Rock, however, he is a far more cultivated god of merchants, artisans, and the middle nobility. His worshipers say, despite his mysterious origins, Zenithar is the god \"that will always win.\"\nMara (Goddess of Love):\n\tNearly universal goddess. Her origins started in mythic times as a fertility goddess; in High Rock, she is the Mother-Goddess. She is sometimes associated with Nir of the \"Anuad,\" the female principle of the cosmos that gave birth to creation. For the Bretons, she is married to Akatosh.\nStendarr (God of Mercy):\n\tGod of the Eight Divines, Stendarr has evolved from his Nord origins into a deity of compassion, or sometimes, righteous rule. Stendarr is the patron of magistrates, rulers, and knights errant.\nAdditional Deities with Significant Breton Cults:\n\tMagnus (Magus):\n\tThe god of sorcery, Magnus withdrew from the creation of the world at the last second, though it cost him dearly. What remains of him is felt and controlled by mortals as magic. One story says that, while the idea was thought up by Lorkhan, it was Magnus who created the schematics and diagrams needed to construct the mortal plane. He is sometimes represented by a golden eye, an astrolabe, a telescope, or more commonly, a staff. Legends say he can inhabit the bodies of powerful magicians and lend them his power.\nY'ffre (God of the Forest):\n\tWhile Akatosh Time Dragon might be the king of the gods, Y'ffre is revered as the spirit of \"the now.\" According to the Elves, after the creation of the mortal plane, everything was in chaos. The first mortals were turning into plants and animals and back again. Then Y'ffre transformed himself into the first of the Ehlnofey, or \"Earth Bones.\" After the laws of nature were established, mortals had a semblance of safety in the new world, because they could finally understand it.\nSheor (Bad Man):\n\tIn High Rock, the Bad Man is the source of all strife. He seems to have started as the god of crop failure, but most modern theologians agree that he is a demonized version of the Nordic Shor or Aldmeri Lorkhan, born during the dark years after the fall of Saarthal.\nPhynaster:\n\tHero-god who taught the Altmer how to naturally live another hundred years by using a shorter walking stride. Patron deity and \"teacher\" of the Direnni. Often worshiped by those Breton mages who emphasize their Elven blood."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/varieties-faith-dark-elves": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/varieties-faith-dark-elves", "description": "A scholarly listing of Dunmer deities", "author": "Brother Mikhael Karkuxor of the Imperial College", "title": "Varieties of Faith: The Dark Elves", "text": "The Dunmer are descended from the Chimer, who were apostates of the Aldmeri's Aedra worship. As the Alessian Reforms never took hold in Morrowind, their pantheon bears little resemblance to the rest of Tamriel. The Dark Elves' original religion was worship of several Daedric Princes, the so-called \"Good Daedra,\" but that has been largely superseded by reverence for the \"Living Gods\" of the Tribunal.\nThe Tribunal\n\tAlmalexia (Mother Morrowind):\n\tMost traces of Auri-El disappeared from ancient Chimer legends during their so-called \"exodus,\" primarily due to that god's association and esteem with the Altmeri. However, most aspects of Auri-El that seem so important to the mortal races\u2014namely immortality, historicity, and genealogy\u2014have conveniently resurfaced in Almalexia, the most popular of Morrowind's divine Tribunal.\nVivec (Master of Morrowind):\n\tWarrior-poet god of the Dunmer. Vivec is the invisible keeper of the holy land, ever vigilant against the dark gods of the Volcano. He/she has saved the Dunmeri people from certain death on numerous occasions.\nSotha Sil (Mystery of Morrowind):\n\tGod of the Dunmer, Sotha Sil is the least known of the divine Tribunal. He is said to be reshaping the world from his hidden, clockwork city.\nThe \"Good\" Daedra\nBoethiah (Prince of Plots):\n\tHeralded by the Prophet Veloth, Boethiah is the original god-ancestor of the Dark Elves. Through his/her illuminations, the eventual \"Chimer,\" or Changed Folk, renounced all ties to the Aldmer and founded a new nation based on Daedric principles. All manner of Dark Elven cultural \"advances\" are attributed to Boethiah, from philosophy to magic to \"responsible\" architecture. Ancient Velothi allegories are uniformly heroic successes of Boethiah over enemies of every type, serving as foundation stories of Chimeri struggle. Also known as the Anticipation of Almalexia.\nMephala (Androgyne):\n\tMephala is the Webspinner or Spider God. In Morrowind, he/she was the ancestor who taught the Chimer the skills they would need to evade their enemies or murder them in secret. Enemies were numerous in those days, since the Chimer were a small faction. He/she, along with Boethiah, organized the clan systems that eventually became the basis for the Great Houses. He/she founded the Morag Tong. Also called the Anticipation of Vivec.\nAzura (Goddess of Dusk and Dawn):\n\tAzura was the god-ancestor who taught the Chimer the mysteries needed to be different than the Altmer. Some of her more conventional teachings are sometimes attributed to Boethiah. In the stories, Azura is often more a communal cosmic force for the race as a whole than an ancestor or a god. Also known as the Anticipation of Sotha Sil.\nThe Missing God\nLorkhan (The Missing God):\n\tThis Creator-Trickster-Tester deity is in every Tamrielic mythic tradition. His most popular name is the Aldmeri \"Lorkhan\" or Doom Drum. He convinced or contrived the Original Spirits to bring about the creation of the mortal plane. This upset the status quo, much like his father, Padomay, who introduced instability into the universe in the Beginning Place. After the world is materialized, Lorkhan is separated from his divine center, sometimes involuntarily, and eventually wanders the creation of the et'Ada. He and his metaphysical placement in the \"scheme of things\" is interpreted a variety of ways. In Morrowind, he is a being related to the Psijic Endeavor, a process by which mortals are charged with transcending the gods that created them.\nFour Corners of the House of Troubles, \"Testing Gods\"\nEnemy gods, more to be placated and appeased than worshiped.\nMolag Bal (God of Schemes, Lord of Brutality):\n\tDaedric power of much importance in Morrowind. There, he is always the archenemy of Boethiah, the Prince of Plots. He is the main source of the obstacles to the Dunmer (and preceding Chimer) people. In legends, Molag Bal always tries to upset the bloodlines of Great Houses or otherwise ruin Dunmeri \"purity.\" A race of supermonsters, said to live in Molag Amur, are the result of his seduction of Vivec during the previous era.\nMalacath (God of Curses):\n\tIn Dunmer myth, Boethiah swallowed Aldmer hero-god Trinimac and excreted him as Malacath. A somewhat weak but vengeful Daedra, the Dark Elves say he is also Malak, the god-king of the Orcs. He always tests the Dunmer for physical weakness.\nSheogorath (The Mad God):\n\tThe fearful obeisance of Sheogorath is widespread, and it is found in most Tamrielic quarters. Contemporary sources indicate that his roots are in Aldmeri creation stories; therein, he is \"born\" when Lorkhan's divine spark is removed. One crucial myth calls him the \"Sithis-shaped hole\" of the world. He tests the Dunmer for mental weakness and tempts the Great Houses into treachery against each other.\nMehrunes Dagon (God of Destruction):\n\tPopular Daedric power. He is associated with natural dangers like fire, earthquakes, and floods. In some cultures, Dagon is merely a god of bloodshed and betrayal. He is an especially important deity in Morrowind, where he represents its near-inhospitable terrain."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/varieties-faith-forebears": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/varieties-faith-forebears", "description": "A scholarly listing of the Forebear deities", "author": "Brother Mikhael Karkuxor of the Imperial College", "title": "Varieties of Faith: The Forebears", "text": "The Forebears, who have been longest in Tamriel and had the stronger relationship with the Second Empire, worship substantially the same pantheon as the Imperials and Bretons, whereas the more conservative Crowns still revere the ancient Yokudan gods.\nThe Eight of the Forebears\nAkatosh (Dragon God of Time):\n\tAkatosh is the chief deity of the Eight Divines (the major religious cult of Cyrodiil and its provinces), and one of two deities found in every Tamrielic religion (the other is Lorkhan). He is generally considered to be the first of the Gods to form in the Beginning Place; after his establishment, other spirits found the process of being easier and the various pantheons of the world emerged. He embodies the qualities of endurance, invincibility, and everlasting legitimacy.\nTava (Bird God):\n\tYokudan spirit of the air. Tava is most famous for leading the Yokudans to the isle of Herne after the destruction of their homeland. She has since become assimilated into the mythology of Kynareth, and is often worshiped by the Forebears in that name. She is very popular in Hammerfell among sailors, and her shrines can be found in most port cities.\nJulianos (God of Wisdom and Logic):\n\tOften associated with Jhunal, the Nords' father of language and mathematics, Julianos is the god of literature, law, history, and contradiction, and is thus the patron of magistrates (and wizards).\nDibella (Goddess of Beauty):\n\tPopular god of the Eight Divines. She has nearly a dozen different cults, some devoted to women, some to artists and aesthetics, and others to erotic instruction.\nTu'whacca (Tricky God):\n\tYokudan god of souls. Tu'whacca, before the creation of the world, was the god of Nobody Really Cares. When Tall Papa undertook the creation of the Walkabout, Tu'whacca found a purpose; he became the caretaker of the Far Shores, and continues to help Redguards find their way into the afterlife. His cult is sometimes associated with Arkay in the more cosmopolitan regions of Hammerfell, and he is often worshiped in that name by Forebears.\nZeht (God of Farms):\n\tYokudan god of agriculture who renounced his father after the world was created, which is why Akatosh makes it so hard to grow food. Analogous to Zenithar, and sometimes worshiped in that name.\nMorwha (Teat God):\n\tYokudan fertility goddess. Fundamental deity in the Yokudan pantheon, and the favorite of Tall Papa's wives. Still worshiped in various areas of Hammerfell, including Stros M'kai. Morwha is always portrayed as four-armed, so that she can \"grab more husbands.\" Analogous to Mara, and sometimes worshiped in that name by the Forebears.\nStendarr (God of Mercy):\n\tStendarr's sphere includes compassion, charity, justice, and righteous rule, and is the favorite god of Redguard \"gallants\" (knights).\nAdditional Deities with Significant Redguard Cults:\nLeki (Saint of the Spirit Sword):\n\tDivine daughter of Tall Papa, Leki is the goddess of aberrant swordsmanship. The Na-Totambu of Yokuda warred to a standstill during the mythic era to decide who would lead the charge against the Lefthanded Elves. Their swordmasters, though, were so skilled in the Best Known Cuts as to be matched evenly. Leki introduced the Ephemeral Feint. Afterwards, a victor emerged and the war with the Aldmer began.\nHoonDing (The Make Way God):\n\tYokudan spirit of \"perseverance over infidels.\" The HoonDing has historically materialized whenever the Redguards need to \"make way\" for their people. In Tamrielic history this has only happened twice, in the First Era during the Ra Gada invasion.\nMalooc (Horde King):\n\tAn enemy god of the Ra Gada who led the Goblins against the Redguards during the First Era. Fled east when the army of the HoonDing overtook his Goblin hordes.\nSep (The Snake):\n\tYokudan version of Lorkhan. Sep is born when Tall Papa creates someone to help him regulate the spirit trade. Sep, though, is driven crazy by the hunger of Satakal, and he convinces some of the gods to help him make an easier alternative to the Walkabout. This, of course, is the world as we know it, and the spirits who followed Sep become trapped here, to live out their lives as mortals. Sep is punished by Tall Papa for his transgressions, but his hunger lives on as a void in the stars, a \"non-space\" that tries to upset mortal entry into the Far Shores."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/varieties-faith-high-elves": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/varieties-faith-high-elves", "description": "A scholarly listing of the Altmer deities", "author": "Brother Mikhael Karkuxor of the Imperial College", "title": "Varieties of Faith: The High Elves", "text": "The Eight\n\t(though few Altmer outside the Empire accept the limitation of Divines to eight):\nAuri-El (King of the Aldmer):\n\tThe Elven Akatosh is Auri-El. Auri-El is the soul of Anui-El, who, in turn, is the soul of Anu the Everything. He is the chief of most Aldmeri pantheons. Most Altmeri and Bosmeri claim direct descent from Auri-El. In his only known moment of weakness, he agreed to take his part in the creation of the mortal plane, that act which forever sundered the Elves from the spirit worlds of eternity. To make up for it, Auri-El led the original Aldmer against the armies of Lorkhan in mythic times, vanquishing that tyrant and establishing the first kingdoms of the Altmer, Altmora and Old Ehlnofey. He then ascended to heaven in full observance of his followers so that they might learn the steps needed to escape the mortal plane.\nMagnus (Magus):\n\tThe god of sorcery, Magnus withdrew from the creation of the world at the last second, though it cost him dearly. What is left of him on the world is felt and controlled by mortals as magic. One story says that, while the idea was thought up by Lorkhan, it was Magnus who created the schematics and diagrams needed to construct the mortal plane. He is sometimes represented by an astrolabe, a telescope, or, more commonly, a staff.\nTrinimac:\n\tStrong god of the early Aldmer, in some places more popular than Auri-El. He was a warrior spirit of the original Elven tribes that led armies against the Men. Boethiah is said to have assumed his shape (in some stories, he even eats Trinimac) so that he could convince a throng of Aldmer to listen to him, which led to their eventual Chimeri conversion. Trinimac vanishes from the mythic stage after this, to return as the dread Malacath (Altmeri propaganda portrays this as the dangers of Dunmeri influence).\nY'ffre (God of the Forest):\n\tWhile Auri-El Time Dragon might be the king of the gods, Y'ffre is revered as the spirit of \"the now.\" According to the Elves, after the creation of the mortal plane everything was in chaos. The first mortals were turning into plants and animals and back again. Then Y'ffre transformed himself into the first of the Ehlnofey, or \"Earth Bones.\" After these laws of nature were established, mortals had a semblance of safety in the new world, because they could finally understand it.\nXarxes:\n\tXarxes is the god of ancestry and secret knowledge. He began as a scribe to Auri-El, and has kept track of all Aldmeri accomplishments, large and small, since the beginning of time. He created his wife, Oghma, from his favorite moments in history.\nMara (Goddess of Love):\n\tNearly universal goddess. Origins started in mythic times as a fertility goddess. She is sometimes associated with Nir of the \"Anuad,\" the female principle of the cosmos that gave birth to creation. For the Altmer, she is the wife of Auri-El.\nStendarr (God of Mercy):\n\tGod of compassion and righteous rule. In early Altmeri legends, Stendarr is the apologist of Men.\nSyrabane (Warlock's God):\n\tAn Aldmeri god-ancestor of magic, Syrabane aided Bendu Olo in the Fall of the Sload. Through judicious use of his magical ring, Syrabane saved many from the scourge of the Thrassian Plague. He is also called the Apprentices' God, for he is a favorite of the younger members of the Mages Guild.\n\u2014 Additional Deities with Significant Altmer Cults \u2014\nPhynaster:\n\tHero-god of the Summerset Isles, who taught the Altmer how to naturally live another hundred years by using a shorter walking stride.\nLorkhan (The Missing God):\n\tThis Creator-Trickster-Tester deity is in every Tamrielic mythic tradition. His most popular name is the Aldmeri \"Lorkhan,\" or Doom Drum. He convinced or contrived the Original Spirits to bring about the creation of the mortal plane, upsetting the status quo\u2014much like his father Padomay had introduced instability into the universe in the Beginning Place. After the world is materialized, Lorkhan is separated from his divine center, sometimes involuntarily, and wanders the creation of the et'Ada. He and his metaphysical placement in the \"scheme of things\" is interpreted a variety of ways. To the High Elves, he is the most unholy of all higher powers, as he forever broke their connection to the spirit plane. In the legends, he is almost always an enemy of the Aldmer and, therefore, a hero of early Mankind"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/varieties-faith-khajiit": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/varieties-faith-khajiit", "description": "A scholarly listing of the Khajiit deities", "author": "Brother Mikhael Karkuxor of the Imperial College", "title": "Varieties of Faith: The Khajiit", "text": "As fits their heterodoxy of form, the Khajiit worship many gods, and few confine themselves to the Imperial Eight.\nThe Eight:\nAlkosh (Dragon King of Cats):\n\tPre-ri'Datta Dynasty Anequinine deity. A variation on the Altmeri Auri-El, and thus an Akatosh-as-culture-hero for the earliest Khajiit. His worship was co-opted during the establishment of the Riddle'Thar, and he still enjoys immense popularity in Elsweyr's wasteland regions. He is depicted as a fearsome dragon, a creature the Khajiit say \"is just a real big cat.\" He repelled an early Aldmeri pogrom of Pelinal Whitestrake during mythic times.\nRiddle'Thar (Two-Moons Dance):\n\tThe cosmic order deity of the Khajiit, the Riddle'Thar was revealed to Elsweyr by the prophet Rid-Thar-ri'Datta, the Mane. The Riddle'Thar is more a set of guidelines by which to live than a single entity, but some of his avatars like to appear as humble messengers of the gods. Also known as the Sugar God.\nJone and Jode (Little Moon God and Big Moon God):\n\tTogether, the moons represent duality, fate, and luck. In Khajiiti religion, Jone and Jode are aspects of the Lunar Lattice, or ja-Kha'jay.\nMara (Mother Cat):\n\tNearly universal goddess. Originally a fertility goddess, the Khajiit associate her with Nir of the \"Anuad,\" the female principle of the cosmos. She is the lover of Alkosh.\nS'rendarr (The Runt; God of Mercy):\n\tS'rendarr's sphere includes compassion, charity, and justice. In early Aldmeri legends, S'rendarr is the apologist of Men.\nKhenarthi (God of Winds):\n\tKhenarthi is the strongest of the Sky spirits. In some legends, he is the first to agree to Lorkhaj's plan to invent the mortal plane, and provides the space for its creation in the void. He is also associated with rain, a phenomenon said not to occur before the removal of Lorkhaj's divine spark.\nBaan Dar (The Bandit God):\n\tIn most regions, Baan Dar is a marginal deity, a trickster spirit of thieves and beggars. In Elsweyr he is more important, and is regarded as the Pariah. In this aspect, Baan Dar becomes the cleverness or desperate genius of the long-suffering Khajiit, whose last-minute plans always upset the machinations of their (Elven or Human) enemies. He has also lent his name to the Baandari Pedlars, the traveling Khajiiti merchant tribe.\nAdditional Deities with Significant Khajiiti Cults:\nMagrus (Cat's Eye, Sun God):\n\tKhajiiti version of Magnus, the god of the sun and sorcery, popular with Khajiiti magicians (though less so than Azurah).\nRajhin (The Footpad):\n\tThief and trickster god, the Purring Liar, much beloved of Khajiiti storytellers. Rajhin grew up in the Black Kiergo section of Senchal. The most famous burglar in Elsweyr's history, Rajhin is said to have stolen a tattoo from the neck of Empress Kintyra as she slept.\nAzurah (Goddess of Dusk and Dawn):\n\tPatron of Khajiiti magicians, respected rather than feared for her sometime trickery. In myth she is tied into the origins of Khajiiti out of Aldmeri stock.\nSheggorath (Skooma Cat, the Mad God):\n\tThe King of Insanity appeals to the darker side of the Cat-Men, who chafe at the strictures of sanity and responsibility.\nHircine (Hungry Cat):\n\tGod of hunting and skinchanging, revered for his fierceness and cunning.\nSangiin (Blood Cat):\n\tGod of Death and Secret Murder, Sangiin's worship is hidden from Cat's Eye. \"For who can control the urges of blood?\"\nNamiira (The Great Darkness):\n\tAn enemy of the living, to be placated rather than worshiped.\nLorkhaj (Moon Beast):\n\tPre-ri'Datta Dynasty Anequinine deity, easily identified with the Missing God, Lorkhan. This Creator-Trickster-Tester deity is in every Tamrielic mythic tradition. He convinced or contrived the Original Spirits to bring about the creation of the mortal plane, upsetting the status quo\u2014much like his father Padomay had introduced instability into the universe in the Beginning Place. After the world is materialized, Lorkhaj is separated from his divine center, sometimes involuntarily, and wanders the creation of the et'Ada. He and his metaphysical placement in the \"scheme of things\" is interpreted a variety of ways. In the legends, he is almost always an enemy of the Aldmer and, therefore, a hero of early Mankind."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/varieties-faith-nords": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/varieties-faith-nords", "description": "A scholarly look at Nord religion and deities", "author": "Brother Mikhael Karkuxor of the Imperial College", "title": "Varieties of Faith: The Nords", "text": "The Eight\nKyne (Kiss at the End):\n\tNord Goddess of the Storm. Widow of Shor and favored god of warriors, she is often called the Mother of Men. Her daughters taught the first Nords the use of the Thu'um or \"Storm Voice.\"\nMara (Goddess of Love):\n\tFor the Nords, Mara is a handmaiden of Kyne and concubine of Shor. As the goddess of fertility and agriculture, she's sometimes associated with Nir of the \"Anuad,\" the female principle of the cosmos that gave birth to creation.\nDibella (Goddess of Beauty):\n\tPopular god of the Eight Divines. She has nearly a dozen different cults, some devoted to women, some to artists and aesthetics, and others to erotic instruction.\nStuhn (God of Ransom):\n\tNord precursor to Stendarr, brother of Tsun, shield-thane of Shor. Stuhn was a warrior god who fought against the Aldmeri pantheon. He showed Men how to take (and the benefits of taking) prisoners of war.\nJhunal (Rune God):\n\tGod of knowledge and hermetic orders, precursor of Julianos. Never very popular among the mercurial and warlike Nords, his worship is fading.\nShor (God of the Underworld):\n\tThe Nord version of Lorkhan, Shor allied with Men after the creation of the world. Foreign gods (that is, Elven ones) conspired against him and brought about his defeat, dooming him to the afterlife, Sovngarde. Atmoran myths depict him as a bloodthirsty warrior king who led the Nords to victory over their Aldmeri oppressors time and again. Before his doom, Shor was the chief of the gods. He is sometimes called the Children's God (see \"Orkey.\") Considered a \"dead god,\" Shor has no priesthood and is not actively worshiped, but he is frequently sworn by.\nOrkey (Old Knocker):\n\tGod of mortality, Orkey combines aspects of Mauloch and Arkay. He is a \"loan-god\" for the Nords, who seem to have taken up his worship during Aldmeri rule of Atmora. Nords believe they once lived as long as Elves until Orkey appeared; through heathen trickery, he fooled them into a bargain that \"bound them to the count of winters.\" At one time, legends say, Nords only had a lifespan of six years due to Orkey's foul magic. Then Shor showed up and, through unknown means, removed the curse, throwing most of it onto the nearby Orcs.\nAlduin (The World-Eater):\n\tAlduin is the Nord variation of Akatosh. He only superficially resembles his counterpart in the Imperial Eight Divines. For example, Alduin's sobriquet, \"the World Eater,\" comes from myths that depict him as the horrible, ravaging firestorm that destroyed the last world to begin this one. Nords therefore see the god of time as both creator and harbinger of the apocalypse. He is not the chief of the Nord pantheon (in fact, this pantheon has no chief; see \"Shor\") but its wellspring, albeit a grim and frightening one.\nAlduin destroyed the last world to enable the creation of this one, and he will destroy this one to enable the next. Alduin was once worshiped by the long-dead Dragon Cult, but that has been outlawed for centuries, so Alduin has no admitted worshipers.\nTesting Gods\nHerma-Mora (The Woodland Man):\n\tAncient Atmoran \"Demon of Knowledge\" who nearly seduced the Nords into becoming Aldmer. Most Ysgramor myths are about escaping the wiles of old Herma-Mora. Unlike his Bosmeri adherents, the Nords don't deny his Daedric nature.\nMauloch (God of Orcs, \"Mountain Fart\"):\n\tClearly identified for the Nords with the Daedric Prince Malacath, Mauloch tests them through warfare. Mauloch troubled the heirs of King Harald for a long time. Fleeing east after his defeat at the Battle of Dragon Wall, ca. 1E 660, his rage was said to fill the sky with his sulfurous hatred, earning that year the sobriquet \"Year of Winter in Summer.\"\nDead God\nTsun:\n\tExtinct Nord god of trials against adversity. Died defending Shor from foreign gods."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/varieties-faith-orcs": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/varieties-faith-orcs", "description": "A scholarly look at Mauloch", "author": "Brother Mikhael Karkuxor of the Imperial College", "title": "Varieties of Faith: The Orcs", "text": "The Orcs acknowledge the existence of many other gods, but they worship only one:\nMauloch (Orc-Father, The Great Chief):\n\tAn aspect of Malacath, Orcs revere Mauloch as the First Orc, and live by the Code of Mauloch, which dictates such matters as honor and vengeance.\nThe Code of Mauloch\n\tThe Code is more often tacit than explicit, but includes the following:\n\t\u2014 Respect for forging and blacksmithing.\n\t\u2014 The traditional roles of a clan's chief and his wives.\n\t\u2014 The tradition of selection of a new chief through challenge and combat.\n\t\u2014 The custom that one who commits a crime must pay \"Blood Price\" to the victim (or victim's relatives).\n\t\u2014 The requirement that insults to honor must be avenged.\n\t\u2014 Recognition that to die in combat pleases Mauloch."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/varieties-faith-wood-elves": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/varieties-faith-wood-elves", "description": "A scholarly listing of the Bosmer deities", "author": "Brother Mikhael Karkuxor of the Imperial College", "title": "Varieties of Faith: The Wood Elves", "text": "The Eight\n\t(though few Bosmer outside the Empire accept the limitation of Divines to eight):\nAuri-El (King of the Aldmer):\n\tThe Elven Akatosh is Auri-El. Auri-El is the soul of Anui-El, who, in turn, is the soul of Anu the Everything. He is the chief of most Aldmeri pantheons. Most Altmeri and Bosmeri claim direct descent from Auri-El. In his only known moment of weakness, he agreed to take his part in the creation of the mortal plane, that act which forever sundered the Elves from the spirit worlds of eternity. To make up for it, Auri-El led the original Aldmer against the armies of Lorkhan in mythic times, vanquishing that tyrant and establishing the first kingdoms of the Aldmer, Aldmeris and Old Ehlnofey. He then ascended to heaven in full observance of his followers so that they might learn the steps needed to escape the mortal plane.\nY'ffre (God of the Forest):\n\tMost important deity of the Bosmeri pantheon. While Auri-El the Time Dragon might be the king of the gods, the Bosmer revere Y'ffre as the spirit of \"the now.\" According to the Wood Elves, after the creation of the mortal plane everything was in chaos. The first mortals were turning into plants and animals and back again. Then Y'ffre transformed himself into the first of the Ehlnofey, or \"Earth Bones.\" After these laws of nature were established, mortals had a semblance of safety in the new world, because they could finally understand it. Y'ffre is sometimes called the Storyteller, for the lessons he taught the first Bosmer. Some Bosmer still possess the knowledge of the chaos times, which they can use to great effect (the Wild Hunt).\nArkay (God of the Cycle of Life and Death):\n\tArkay is the god of burials and funeral rites, and is sometimes associated with the seasons. His priests are staunch opponents of necromancy and all forms of the undead. It is said that Arkay did not exist before the world was created by the gods under Lorkhan's supervision/urging/trickery. Therefore, he is sometimes called the Mortals' God.\nXarxes:\n\tXarxes is the god of ancestry and secret knowledge. He began as a scribe to Auri-El, and has kept track of all Aldmeri accomplishments, large and small, since the beginning of time. He created his wife, Oghma, from his favorite moments in history.\nMara (Goddess of Love):\n\tNearly universal goddess. Origins started in mythic times as a fertility goddess. She is sometimes associated with Nir of the \"Anuad,\" the female principle of the cosmos that gave birth to creation. For the Bosmer, she is the wife of Auri-El.\nStendarr (God of Mercy):\n\tGod of compassion and righteous rule. In early Aldmeri legends, Stendarr is the apologist of Men.\nZ'en (God of Toil):\n\tBosmeri god of payment in kind, which includes both just remuneration and retribution. Studies indicate origins in both Argonian and Akaviri mythologies, perhaps introduced into Valenwood by Kothringi sailors. Ostensibly an agriculture deity, Z'en sometimes proves to be an entity of a much higher cosmic order.\nBaan Dar (The Bandit God):\n\tTrickster spirit of thieves and beggars borrowed from the Khajiit.\nAdditional Deities with Significant Bosmeri Cults:\nHerma-Mora (The Woodland Man):\n\tMalicious trickster spirit (another one!) whose Bosmeri cultists say is not to be confused with the Daedra Hermaeus Mora. (Others deride this assertion.)\nJone and Jode (Little Moon God and Big Moon God):\n\tAldmeri gods of the Moons, they are spirits of fortune, both good and bad.\nHircine (The Huntsman, Father of Manbeasts):\n\tMaster of the Great Hunt and lord of all lycanthropes. Worshipers of Hircine are not as ruthless as those who worship other Daedra; they always give their prey at least a small chance to escape.\nLorkhan (The Missing God):\n\tThis Creator-Trickster-Tester deity is in every Tamrielic mythic tradition. His most popular name is the Aldmeri \"Lorkhan,\" or Doom Drum. He convinced or contrived the Original Spirits to bring about the creation of the mortal plane, upsetting the status quo\u2014much like his father Padomay had introduced instability into the universe in the Beginning Place. After the world is materialized, Lorkhan is separated from his divine center, sometimes involuntarily, and wanders the creation of the et'Ada. He and his metaphysical placement in the \"scheme of things\" is interpreted a variety of ways. To the Elves, he is the most unholy of all higher powers, as he forever broke their connection to the spirit plane. In the legends, he is almost always an enemy of the Aldmer and, therefore, a hero of early Mankind."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/vastaries-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/vastaries-journal", "description": "A grieving father turns to necromancy", "author": "Vastarie", "title": "Vastarie's Journal", "text": "2E 461\nIt is with great difficulty that I begin my final entry. For so long, all was at peace. My husband and I had spurned the tenets of the great Mannimarco so we might live in peace. We wanted our magic to benefit all people of Tamriel, not bend them to our will.\nBut to my Lord, our family tragedy was too great to bear. He has it in his thick Skull that he can somehow overcome death\u2014not for the sake of knowledge, or to command fearless forces to defend our home\u2014but to tear the once-living back into this realm and imbue them in flesh. To give them life once more.\nYes, Calion died an untimely death. But where I grieve for what we did lose, Telacar weeps for what might have been. He wished for an Apprentice to help us master our craft, to surpass our discoveries. He cannot bear our son's very Essence being gone forever.\nAnd so my husband created a golem of the boy's corpse\u2014an Atronach, made of flesh, but with eyes as cold and empty as a Gemstone. He hid his plans until the rituals had completed, and then presented that slurring abomination to me, as though I could ever forgive him. He seemed truly shocked when I rent the pale echo of Calion's spirit from its husk.\nNow I've imprisoned my husband, who I love more than life itself, because I cannot bring myself to truly punish him. Perhaps a decade will give him time to contemplate the abhorrence of his actions.\n\u2014 Vastarie"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/vathiras-note": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/vathiras-note", "description": "", "author": "Vath'ira", "title": "Vath'ira's Note", "text": "The answer is no. Arbhu-ra isn't going to get off with a sorry and a few gold this time. He needs to rein in his skooma problem and pay up what he owes, or I'll take it out of his share.\n\u2014Vath'ira"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/vazsharas-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/vazsharas-journal", "description": "A priest seeks to find the truth about the Maw of Lorhkaj", "author": "Vazshara", "title": "Vazshara's Journal", "text": "Vazshara has only been a Doubting Monk for a week, and already she is regretting her decision. No one talks about what happened here before the Two Kingdoms set their roots, but it is on everyone's mind all the time. It's like there is a great big senche-tiger eating our dinner, but we're forbidden to slap its nose. We all know that some Moon Bishop stirred up the Darks here and let the dro-m'Athra into Nirni. But why? How? No one will say. Vazshara has heard all the rumors of course - the paddy-tales ja'khajiit laugh over when they think no one is listening. Most Khajiit laugh along, but this one knows that silly stories often hide darker truths. This one has to find out what really happened here.\n* * *\nVazshara claws are cramped from writing! This one has spoken to many, many monks and committed their stories to paper. Vazshara has to admit, these tales are much darker than the ones she learned as a ja'khajiit. The players are always the same: crazy monks and a Moon Bishop called the \"Stone-Tapper.\" Apparently, this bishop carried a magic stick that spoke secrets when he tapped it on the floor. No one knows where this magic stick came from, or where it went after the Moon Bishop died, so it might be Senche dung. But one mystery at a time, yes?\nDay and night, this Moon Bishop tapped the floor, learning all of Nirni's secrets. But eventually the magic stick ran out of Nirni-secrets, so it started telling darker secrets. Namiira-secrets. The Tapper listened and listened, growing old and crazy. The monks of the temple went crazy too, because the tapping never stopped. It was a loud and steady sound - tap-tap, tap-tap, tap-tap. Like a heartbeat, yes? Eventually, the monks hatched a plot to kill the Stone-Tapper. They lured him into the High Lunarium and stabbed him with their curved knives until he died. All the blood and secrets drained out of the Tapper's body and broke open the temple, revealing the Maw of Lorkhaj, and the Darks beyond.\nThis is where the tale starts to fray. In some versions of the story, The Tapper wakes up after his blood is drained and kills all the monks with lightning. In others, a great winged beast bursts out of Lorkhaj's throat and rips the monks apart with claws and fangs. But this makes no sense. The seals scattered throughout the temple clearly show the Moon Bishop flanked by monks and summoning bent spirits. And this one has seen what looks like a door in the High Lunarium. So he must have survived, and he must have pushed at least some of the monks into the Bent Dance, right? Bah. This one thinks it might be a guilty conscience. The Doubting Monks have a sour reputation. Many Khajiit think the order played a role in freeing the dro-m'Athra. This one is starting to think they may be right. Vazshara should have listened to her papa and become a fisherman. Var var var.\n* * *\nZiss on this place! Abbot Kulan-dro summoned Vazshara to the High Lunarium today and gave her the worst tongue-lashing of her life. \"No more loose talk! No more questions!\" Bah! As if anything in this place was loose. This temple is a tomb. No one laughs, or sings, or dances. It's nothing but chanting, and whispers, and tail-tucked prayer. This alone would be enough to make Vazshara run away, but there is more. There was something in the Abbot's eyes. It wasn't rage - no, it wasn't that. It was like  - nothing. Like a dull black nothing. Like a dead cat's eyes. It made this one's tail knot up. Vazshara has had enough. This one makes for the sea at first light. Moons curse this place, and its Abbot!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/veiled-heritance-be-warned": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/veiled-heritance-be-warned", "description": "Even thieves want nothing to do with the Veiled Heritance", "author": "The Management", "title": "Veiled Heritance - Be Warned", "text": "It has come to our attention that a group of political activists known as the \"Veiled Heritance\" has engaged in thievery and the fencing of stolen goods in this area.\nWhile the Shadow Artisans normally welcome kindred spirits, this group's recent anti-Dominion activities have not gone unnoticed by Queen Ayrenn's agents. We suspect that drawing the attention of the Eyes of The Queen upon our own operations would be foolish and unnecessarily risky.\nWe therefore request all associates refrain from any and all dealings with this group. Their business is not welcome, and the presence of their operatives\u2014or anyone associating with same\u2014will not be tolerated.\nThank you for your understanding.\nThe Management"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/veiled-heritants-letter": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/veiled-heritants-letter", "description": "A Heritant regrets his life choices", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Veiled Heritant's Letter", "text": "I can't help but think that joining the Veiled Heritance was a mistake. We're now holed up in Dread Vullain, some kind of haunted Bosmer village. While the bodies are plentiful for our work, it's disturbing to see the echoes of the past repeat themselves.\nThe creature that commands us was one of Prince Naemon's confidants. I spoke to him once, when both he and Naemon were still alive. It was a short conversation, of no great importance. But now he and Naemon both are unrecognizable.\nIt shouldn't bother me, a necromancer. But when I look at our leaders, I see nothing of the nobility and virtue that inspired me to join the Veiled Heritance.\nI want to return to Summerset. The forest here seems to grow closer as we work. It surrounds us, unruly and unkind. I've always heard Valenwood was alive. Now I know it is."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/veloth-pilgrim": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/veloth-pilgrim", "description": "A short history of Saint Veloth", "author": "Cascius the Proud", "title": "Veloth the Pilgrim", "text": "Saint Veloth, also known as Veloth the Pilgrim, is arguably the most famous, and certainly the most venerated, among the Dunmeri pantheon of saints. Rising to prominence in the Late-Middle Merethic Era on Summerset Isle, Veloth supposedly sought a more ascetic and pure way of life for his followers and gathered them into a grand pilgrimage from the southwest regions of Tamriel to the northeast. According to the contemporary texts, he \"spared not a boat, ration, or strong-armed soul among his people in this exodus and toiled to reach the land of Resdayn.\"\nHis mass pilgrimage to a new land, where stoic values were established, was successful. The race enjoyed a period of high culture, known to many as the Golden Age, where Veloth's guidance shaped generations of stonemasons and architects, as well as priests and common folk. Although he wielded a mighty warhammer\u2014Veloth's Judgment\u2014Veloth is thought of mainly as a peaceful and scholarly soul, to which the Dunmer's healing enchantments that bear his name attest.\nVeloth's power as a prophet was in no doubt, but his mossback teachings on the worship of Dunmer forebears are worthy of consideration, as he almost single-handedly began the god-cult worship of the \"Good Daedra\" prior to the coming of the Tribunal. Veloth's people honored him so much, his influence can be felt generations later. Those trekking over the Velothi Mountains southeast of Skyrim or hearing a Dunmer elder refer to their race as the \"Velothi\" still feel the presence of this world-shaping mentor of Mer."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/venoms-sanctuary-marginalia": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/venoms-sanctuary-marginalia", "description": "The meticulous notes of a Dark Brotherhood assassin regarding the happenings in the sanctuary", "author": "Green-Venom-Tongue", "title": "Venom's Sanctuary Marginalia", "text": "Sundas\nAll of these recent troubles visiting our Sanctuary puts me in mind of my previous Sanctuary back in the Blackwood Borderlands. I never want what happened there to happen to my home again. I suppose that's why I get such meticulous records. If someone in my Sanctuary breaks the tenets, I want to have absolute proof of that. And if we're falsely accused of breaking the tenets, then I want to be able to point to the appropriate journal and show the Black Hand that, this time, it made a mistake.\nSo I write down everything.\nMiddas\nThe Matron asked me how I was feeling today. Why? Does she know something I don't?\nTurdas\nHildegard's fur was all over my living space today. I told her not to come around when she was in wolf form. I'm making a note of this transgression, just for the record.\nFredas\nI wonder what would happen if I mixed goat milk with bile-beer? Remember to try that the next time Kor brings in supplies.\nMorndas\nTanek said hurtful things about my scales and my tail. Someday, I'm going to inform the Speaker about the way he treats his family.\nTirdus\nAnother one of the family was found murdered today. Poor Symdul. There was something familiar about the way he was killed. I need to think about that and check my old notebooks.\nTurdas\nThe Speaker seemed displeased with me. He kept throwing dark glances at me every time I jotted down what somebody said. Or maybe not. He always throws dark glances at us.\nFredas\nI listened to a sermonizer today. I started taking notes, as usual, but I soon became so upset that I couldn't read my own handwriting. How dare they say such lies about the Brotherhood? I must inform the Matron about this.\nLoredas\nCimbar was tortured and killed. Sadness fills the Sanctuary like water fills a lake. My heart breaks for poor Mirabelle. She so enjoyed fornicating with Cimbar as often as possible. Maybe she'd appreciate reviewing all of my extensive notes on their couplings?\nSundas\nThe New-Blade asks the most interesting questions. I need to jot these down.\n\"What do we do after we get to Blackwood?\" Good question!\n\t\"How do we do that?\" Sometimes New-Blade is a bit dense.\n\t\"What do you need me to do?\" I could have been inappropriate here.\n\t\"Wasn't this Sanctuary abandoned?\" Not paying attention. Already explained that.\nMorndas\nLyra Viria. That's a name I haven't thought about in a long time. We were friends once, brother and sister. She was dead. Or so I thought. Now I discover that she's not only alive, but she's the one who purified our Sanctuary. And now I find out that she's the Black Dragon, the murderer responsible for killing my current brothers and sisters. I can't fathom why she turned against the Brotherhood, but it doesn't matter. She needs to die.\nMiddus\nI remember a night back in my old Sanctuary. I was a new initiate, and so was Lyra. The seasoned brothers and sisters enjoyed trying to frighten us with all kinds of scary stories. I remember one in particular, when Lyra and I were listening with a combination of tension and fascination. It was the story of Brombar, an Assassin who betrayed his brother. He was mortally wounded by the sister who was sent to punish him. She left him barely alive so that when the wraith of Sithis appeared to claim his soul, he'd be completely aware of what was happening to him. That scared us both so much that neither of us could sleep soundly for more than a week. Why did I think of that, I wonder?\nTurdas\nThe Matron ordered me to track down the Black Dragon and kill her. I am honored and saddened by the trust she places in me."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/verdant-hand-orientation": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/verdant-hand-orientation", "description": "Tips for Aldmeri tombrobbers", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Verdant Hand Orientation", "text": "Welcome to the Verdant Hand! We're happy to pay you for anything you find out there, but get caught and we don't know you.\nThe depths of Tamriel can be dangerous all on their own, but the places containing truly valuable yolk\u2014relics and tomes, sometimes Daedric\u2014are protected. Some are claimed by rival treasure seekers, others by the newly-formed Aldmeri Dominion. To my chagrin, they've found time between self-bickering to ruin my earnings by placing guards at every tomb rumored to house a lich or Daedric nest. Public safety, my left foot! It would be just like our new Queen to keep ancient secrets to herself. Luckily, we are few, and our enemies' wavering eyes can't watch every kinlord tomb every time.\nThat said, a few things to keep mindful of out there:\nPatience is foremost in your arsenal. It will be your most distinguishing virtue among our numbers; forgotten relics wait forever. Those who seek us work in shifts.\nSoft shoes are important, inside tombs and out of them. Echoing hallways alert the restless undead as easily as Dominion guards waiting outside.\nMoney is a great fallback. Even haughty High Elven guards crumble at the sight of coin.\nGood hunting, and remember\u2014waving at me in public is inviting my elbow into the soft part of your neck.\n\u2014LL"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/verriks-note": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/verriks-note", "description": "Sewing chaos and strife to grab power", "author": "Verrik", "title": "Verrik's Note", "text": "Martine,\n\tYour ships are more than adequate to transport our agents. All you need to do is deliver the cargo. Once night falls, we'll emerge from the crates and use Leveque's maps to get close to King Casimir.\nAngof will be pleased with the chaos caused by Casimir's death! The kingdom's leaderless ranks will offer the Bloodthorns little resistance. Overcoming the south will be easy and Glenumbra will be ours. Rest assured that you will be compensated very well for your loyalty to the Bloodthorn's cause.\nSee that those crates are not disturbed. The agents inside must stay hidden until the time is right. If they are discovered, I will perform the deed myself and then come back for you. Do not fail us.\n\t\u2014Verrik"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/verses-illuminated": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/verses-illuminated", "description": "A brief song of Auri-El", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Verses of the Illuminated", "text": "Verse 5\n\tAt first was one and then was Nirn before there were many\n\tAuri-El climbed the sky daring the many to follow\n\tTry they did but the many could not and trying was their sorrow"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/very-old-note": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/very-old-note", "description": "A dying adventurer solves a puzzle", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Very Old Note", "text": "They left me here. Getting burned in the trap slowed me down. I knew they would leave me if they thought we were discovered. I gave them my earlier notes to study, pretending to believe them when they swore they would come back.\nCouldn't even leave me a healing potion or something to numb the pain. My only satisfaction is that I think I may have discovered the key finally. My earlier attempts at translation were off the mark. The emphasis on certain words, sitting here staring at this wall, it fell into place.\nThe order of the Daedric letters. That's the key. Now if I could only still walk, I'd be able to open that gate in an instant."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/vicereeve-pelidils-orders": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/vicereeve-pelidils-orders", "description": "The Queen must die!", "author": "Vicereeve Pelidil", "title": "Vicereeve Pelidil's Orders", "text": "Eldecil,\nBy no means is anyone to learn that the Veiled Heritance is here in Woodhearth until we are certain that Ayrenn is dead. You are to remain out of sight while our new recruit completes her mission. Your job is only to cover her escape in case she is pursued. If she were exposed, she would be of no more use to us than her sister was.\nOnce you have assured her escape, you may rejoin the rest of our forces and resume preparations.\n\u2014 Vicereeve Pelidil"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/vijari-unwell": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/vijari-unwell", "description": "", "author": "Ka'ishka", "title": "Vijari is Unwell", "text": "Sister,\nKa'ishka needs your help. She is losing her sweet Vijari. His mind wanders farther and farther with each passing day, and his thoughts don't seem to be his own. Ka'ishka thought she was prepared to lose him, but not like this. It feels wrong somehow. This one does all she can to delay Vijari's journey to the Wall of Life, but it's not enough. Please, Adara-hai. Help him.\nKa'ishka"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/village-record-recent-entry": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/village-record-recent-entry", "description": "A batty old mage annoys villagers", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Village Record, Recent Entry", "text": "Another villager moved away today, after another incident with that batty old mage. The former resident was turned bright purple for several hours.\nTwo more residences have made complaints about Merormo\u2014this time because of a barking sound coming from the trees around his tower."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/vims-diary": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/vims-diary", "description": "Diary of a minister's daughter", "author": "Vim Hlaalu", "title": "Vim's Diary", "text": "Dear Diary,\nIt's been a while since the last time I wrote, but it's not like a lot happens around here. Sure, the villagers say that their friends and family members have gone missing, but my father says they probably just left to avoid the plague. Oh, right, and then there's the Llodos plague, but I'm not too worried about that, either. My father's the House Minister! He won't let anyone that's part of House Hlaalu get sick, especially not his darling daughter. (That's me!)\nI saw a recruiting pamphlet for the Maulborn today. They were distributing them outside the gates of town. They say they're here to help, but I think there's something creepy about them. And I certainly don't like the outfits they make all their members wear. It's like they're some kind of an army or something. Still, there were a couple of cute-looking members wandering around down by the lake. I wonder what they like to do for fun when they're not saving the world? Maybe I'll sneak down there one night and take a look.\nThere's a stranger in town. Finally, someone interesting to talk to! I can't wait to talk to the stranger. Hear about news from distant lands, listen to stories of thrilling adventures and forbidden romance. Maybe my father will let me invite the stranger over for dinner. That would be exciting! But it would be more exciting if we could go somewhere quiet, just the two of us. I need to think about that. I'm sure I can work out a way to make that happen.\nI'll tell you all about it next time, Diary!\n\u2014 Vim Hlaalu"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/vindication-dragon-break": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/vindication-dragon-break", "description": "The motives behind the Dragon Break of the Marukhati Selectives", "author": "Fervidius Tharn", "title": "Vindication for the Dragon Break", "text": "By Fervidius Tharn, Arch-Prelate of the Maruhkati Selective\nIt is the first of the Exclusionary Mandates that the Supreme Spirit Akatosh is of unitary essence, as is inconclusively proven by the monolinearity of Time. And clearly, the Arc of Time provides us with the mortal theater for the act of Sacred Expungement. Thus it is our purpose upon Mundus to reverse the error of Sanctus Primus and restore Ak-at-Osh to humanadic purity. To say otherwise is vain and empty persiflage.\nTherefore let the Staff of Towers be prepared for the ritual that will cleanse the protean substrate of the Aldmeri Taint. All Selectives are to initiate chants of Proper-Life and maintain them until a state of monothought is achieved. Then each shall Dance, duration-forward then volteface, till the Roll of Time winds withershins.\nProphet-Most-Simian guide us! Misplaced Shezarr bless us! May our Wills in this be Enacted!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/virmaril%E2%80%99s-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/virmaril%E2%80%99s-journal", "description": "A spurned suitor seeks an extreme form of revenge against the Nedic High King.", "author": "Virmaril", "title": "Virmaril\u2019s Journal", "text": "From the Journal of Virmaril, Advisor to High King Durac\nHow dare the man rebuke me! I have been Durac's friend and confidant for years, and this is how he repays me? Not only has he refused to allow me to marry his daughter, Saradin, but he had the audacity to turn around and offer her to that fool from the forest region, Kestic. And all because I'm not a Nede. He thinks a High Elf isn't good enough for his precious daughter? I'll show him! I'll show them all!\n* * *\nThe council of kings has agreed to meet and consider my proposal. Good, good! The fools! Even Durac still believes I plan to help them against the Yokudan invaders. Their arrogance will be their undoing! Everything is in place within the catacombs for my necromantic ritual. All I need now is the willing cooperation of the High King and his lackeys.\n* * *\nEverything went exactly as I planned! I am now undead and the council of kings belong to me! And the rest of the catacomb's dead serve as my army! Now, what should I do with my new charges? Perhaps I'll dispatch the Yokudans after all. I haven't decided.\n* * *\nHow dare the Nedes fight against me! They have the audacity to send an elite force to destroy me? Me? How do they really plan to kill someone who isn't truly alive? Like the netch that tries to fly into the heart of a storm, they seek to accomplish the impossible. Well, let them try! I will enjoy the small amusement it brings me.\n* * *\nI hate Nedic soul magic! These wardens realize they can't kill me, so they plan to imprison me within these catacombs. The impudence! But by making themselves immortal, they open themselves to my influence and power. I will control them! As \u2026 soon \u2026 as \u2026 I \u2026 take \u2026. a \u2026 short \u2026 rest \u2026."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/visions-green-pact-bosmer": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/visions-green-pact-bosmer", "description": "Describes some of the visions experienced by Bosmer", "author": "Morvas Andrys", "title": "Visions of the Green Pact Bosmer", "text": "Excerpts from the original four-volume work recorded by Morvas Andrys, who studied the Green Pact Bosmer for three years in the First Era, until he was killed in a mourning war and devoured by the very clan he'd been studying.\n\u2026 Faniriel was one hundred years old when she consumed the glow-frog of the swamps and it showed her the upside-down tree city of Heartgreen. It was populated by Elves who walked exclusively on their hands\u2026.\n\u2026 Vanirion the Thief, who successfully demanded more than two hundred payments after invoking the Rite of Theft, was once said to have had a vision after climbing into a tree that had appeared in the middle of the forest.\nThe tree had purple leaves, and as Vanirion told it, when he sat among them, they gave off the most pleasant fragrance. The sweet scent lulled his mind into a state, and while in this state, he saw a circular grove of trees. The further he went into the grove, the wider the circle became, so that he could never reach its true center.\nAs he wandered he met the most beautiful spirit and when she spoke her sentences began with their last word, so that they made circles. \"River. Come, lie with me by the,\" she beckoned.\nVanirion only came to his senses when, slumped in a stupor from the powerful odor of the leaves, he fell from the branches of the tree. He survived the fall, but broke his leg, ending his thieving career. He spent the rest of his life searching the forest for the tree with the purple leaves, but never found it.\n\u2026\nThen I asked the treethane whether it is right for the Pact Bosmer to say that they \"see\" these visions, and whether it wouldn't be better to say that they \"imagine\" them. It's clear that these strange apparitions of cities and groves and other such wonders don't exist either on Nirn or in Oblivion.\nThe treethane took a long drink of whatever foul fermented milk was currently in fashion and looked at his feet and then at the sky. \"You say the world ends at what you can see with your eyes. We say, that is where the world begins.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/visit-summerset": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/visit-summerset", "description": "An enthusiastic invitation to the ancestral home of the Altmer", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Visit Summerset", "text": "Queen Ayrenn has at long last decreed that the ancestral home of the High Elves shall be open to all\u2014visitors, traders, and immigrants alike!\nThe grace and intellect of the golden Altmer race are renowned. Now you, too, can bask in their ancestral homeland. Come for adventure! Come for the fame and glory! Come to explore a land of beauty and magic unlike anywhere else in Tamriel! You are welcome, newcomer!\nBoats leaves regularly from docks in most major cities."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/visit-house-histories": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/visit-house-histories", "description": "Advertisement for a museum of Northern Elsweyr history", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Visit the House of Histories!", "text": "Experience a unique cultural adventure full of amazing sights, sounds, and even smells from all across the beautiful land of Northern Elsweyr. Our carefully curated collection is guaranteed to wonder and astound!\nSee Iraya or Izanji for a tour today!\n(Addendum: Due to a recent theft, no tours will be offered at this time. Thank you for your understanding in this matter.)"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/vital-records-2e-541-2e-542": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/vital-records-2e-541-2e-542", "description": "Town records from around the Black Drake's invasion", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Vital Records, 2E 541-2E 542", "text": "2E 541:\nNo births this year.\nStella Gedanis married Robert Jurelette on 10th Second Seed. They will live in the Jurelette home at the water's edge.\nPatrand Zurric, aged 35 years, drowned on 4th Mid Year in the Bjoulsae River, after swimming while intoxicated. He is survived by his wife, Medya Zurric.\nThe entire Chamrond family died during the invasion from the Reach. Town burnt, prior records lost.\nGods preserve us all.\n2E 542:\nRoberta, born 25th Sun's Dawn. Son of Stella and Robert Jurelette. Sadly, Stella died of childbed fever, 28th Sun's Dawn, without seeing her newborn. She is survived by her husband, Robert, and their daughter.\nLabhraidh, born on 28th Rain's Hand, Jester's Day, to Medya Zurric, widow of Patrand Zurric, and survivor of the Black Drake's invasion."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/vivec-warrior-poet": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/vivec-warrior-poet", "description": "A plaque dedicated to Lord Vivec", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Vivec, The Warrior-Poet", "text": "Vivec, The Warrior-Poet\nThe Blade and the Lyre. Child of Truth and Falsehood, of Verse and Metaphor. Long may he tread the paths of Nirn. Long may he seek what he desires."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/vols-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/vols-journal", "description": "A cutpurse takes up storytelling", "author": "Vol", "title": "Vol's Journal", "text": "4th First Seed\nToday I was thinking about how I'm constantly bombarded by admirers asking me to recount all my tales of sleight-of-hand genius, and I had the most amazing idea\u2014I could sell them!\nPeople love my stories (and really, they are quite good), and with just the right minor embellishments, they will capture the hearts (and coinpurses) of all.\nWho doesn't enjoy a lovable rogue? I think I've invented an entirely new way to pick pockets! Ah, I do kill me. Now, which ones will be best to start with? I'll keep a list here of stories to write down later.\nVol Visits the Duke\nA Pocketful of Picklefish\nA Fine Day at the Faire\nVol and the Mayor's Earring\nA Grave Misunderstanding\nMy Friends the Gem Merchants\nA Duchess and Her Diamond\nA Night at the Rusty Raven\nThe Poisoned Purse"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/voljar-meadery-deed": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/voljar-meadery-deed", "description": "A dirty, incomplete land grant", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Voljar Meadery Deed", "text": "<Most of the ink on this pompous document has smeared.>\n\"\u2026 does hearby grant the property Voljar Meadery, including all buildings and contents therein, to Haraldar and his brothers, with posession to be taken immediately by 4th Seed \u2026\"\n<The end of this document has been torn off.>"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/voljars-meadery-recipes": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/voljars-meadery-recipes", "description": "Directions for the distillation and aging of some of Skyrim's favorite meads", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Voljar's Meadery Recipes", "text": "Mead Fermentation Process\nUse this process with all of the recipes herein unless otherwise noted. Heat spring water to a boil. Stir in honey and flavorings. Boil for 15 minutes, skimming off foam as necessary. Extinguish heat and let steep. Pour mead through strainer into barrel. Let cool. Add yeast. Let sit 4 to 6 months. Add 1 pound raw honey. Bottle. Enjoy!\nA smooth, lightly sweet mead with a touch of spice.\n\t16 pounds pure appleblossom honey\n\t5 gallons spring water\n\t2 handfuls amber malt\n\t2 fingers of hallertau hops\n\tVoljar's Mead\n\tA darkmead with an earthy flavor.\n\t12 pounds wildflower honey\n\t5 gallons spring water\n\t4 handfulls of dried grasa grapes\n\t2 handfulls of crushed red grapes with the skins and stems\n\tCane Mead\n\tSweeter, with a rich taste and a potent kick. Subsitutes molasses for honey\n\t15 poundsdark Molasses that has been left uncovered for a week\n\t4 gallons spring water\n\t1 handfull of camaralet grapes\n\t1 handfull of dried red grapes\n\t2 fingers of yeast\nA heather mead favored by veteran warriors, it's affectionately referred to as \"Kyne's Kick\" for its ability to knock the largest Nord onto his or her arse after just a few frothy horns.\nThe juice of 12 pounds of camarelt, strained through a linen cloth\n\t4 gallons spring water\n\t4 handfuls of ground healther seeds\n\t2 handfuls of dried red grapes\n\t1 handful of dried white grapes\n\t1 handful of fresh jazbay grapes (removed from stem)\n\tVoljar Vintage Liqueur\n\tOur signature mead tastes great and packs a wallop.\n\t15 pounds select wild honey\n\t5 gallons spring water\n\t2 gallons of strong wheat mash\n\t2 handfuls of snow berries\nPrepare as usual, but after fermentation, distill and age for 1 to 3 years in cold-oak barrels. The longer it goes, the better it is!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/volrinas-notes": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/volrinas-notes", "description": "", "author": "Volrina Quarra", "title": "Volrina's Notes", "text": "They call themselves the Berne Clan, the bastards! They got my brother, but they didn't get me. I've been watching from the shadows as these fiends feast. Some of these horrors are nothing more than beasts, devouring the life-blood of everyone they find.\nBut some are curious creatures\u2014curious about the constructs that still inhabit Galom Daeus.\nI noticed a particular pair working with the Dwarven spiders, collecting control rods from some to use on others. Whatever the device is, it doesn't appear to be functioning correctly. They gestured at a mechanical spider and the creature came to life, but it didn't always work as intended. Sometimes a controlled spider wanders off on its own, other times it attacks. I think they're trying to get it to unlock a component cache in the manufactory.\nI'm sure Barilzar would want the component in the cache if I could get hold of it, but the vampires are too strong for me to deal with."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/vorgrosh-rot-tusks-guide-dirty-fighting": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/vorgrosh-rot-tusks-guide-dirty-fighting", "description": "How to fight well, if not honorably", "author": "Vorgrosh Rot-Tusk", "title": "Vorgrosh Rot-Tusk's Guide to Dirty Fighting", "text": "All right you slack-jawed, Elf-loving, inglorious bastards\u2014simmer down! We're here today because some of you ugly runts have been complaining about a lack of \"honor\" in the arena, or some ox-piss like that. Look at you\u2014a bunch of tuskless whelps with your heads up your arses! It's probably a waste of time, but I'm going to try to pound some hard-earned knowledge into your thick skulls.\nHonor. Bah! Let me tell you something about honor. Honor is the excuse that little orphans use to explain why their dear-old pa got sloppy and allowed some Wood Elf to kill him with a stone knife! Honor is the shield that covers your ego and leaves your arse hanging out in the wind to get pierced by an arrow! Honor is a brave Orc's worst enemy. The sooner you shake those chains off, the better chance you'll have in a fight.\nCombat is about one thing and one thing only\u2014killing that other dumb bastard before he kills you. That means using your head, looking for weaknesses, finding gaps in the armor. Trust me when I tell you, honor is a big damn gap in the armor.\nFirst thing's first\u2014if I ever see any of you whelps bow to an opponent, I'll beat you senseless. I say let that other bastard bow. The second your opponent looks down, you knock his teeth out with a knee to the jaw.\nNever let your opponent see. Dirt, snow, a flick of blood\u2014just as useful as any axe and usually readily available. If you haven't flung something into your opponent's face before your second weapon swing, you're doing it wrong.\nAlways, always, always go for the crotch. Two or three times. A good kick in the nethers can make an ogre weep like a Breton girl who lost her favorite dolly.\nNever stop talking\u2014and I don't mean pleasant conversation over tea and crumpets! You should be jawing about their ugly mothers, and their sister's creaky bed, and their father's yellow belly. It's best if you know these folks by name. It also helps a lot if what you're saying contains a ring of truth. And it's not enough to just say it\u2014you've got to mean it! Angry fighters make mistakes, and mistakes will make it easier for you to kill them.\nIf you can't chop, kick. If you can't kick, punch. If you can't punch, bite. If you can't bite\u2014well, if you can't bite, you probably did something stupid.\nAll right, that's enough for now. By Mauloch, I don't know why I even bother sometimes. Just adjust your nethers and get back to work!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/vos-tax-records": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/vos-tax-records", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Vos Tax Records", "text": "These taxes are to be payed, in full, on the first day of every season.\nBijum-Mei - 2 Gold\n\tSoin - 17 Gold\n\tEaryaorne - 7 Gold\n\tZamhirr - 9 Gold\\nIlus - 3 Gold\n\tKeerasa-Lan - 6 Gold\n\tRalsa Belaal - 5 Gold\n\tVarnius - 12 Gold\n\tNirajlar - 2 Gold\n\tAojee-Mota - 2 Gold\n\tDakee-Kia - 1 Gold\nTotal - 66 Gold"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/vosh-and-rakh-history": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/vosh-and-rakh-history", "description": "How two baby welwas were saved from death and trained into killing machines", "author": "Ilthag Ironblood", "title": "Vosh and Rakh: A History", "text": "From the journal of Ilthag Ironblood.\nI am known for many skills and achievements, for my battle prowess and talents related to training Iron Orcs and other creatures to fight. But here, in my private journal, I have a confession to make to the rock and stone. I take pride in a secret passion. I take pride in raising my beloved welwas, Vosh and Rakh, from cute and cuddly cubs into the loyal and ferocious beasts they are today.\nI acquired the cubs when I was forced to kill an adult welwa in the barrens near the ruins of ancient Skyreach. After dispatching the savage beast, I discovered the cubs in a nearby cave. I almost killed the young creatures then and there, but one of them looked into my eyes and cooed. Then it rose up on shaky legs and rubbed against my leather boot. That's when another option presented itself to me.\nI took the two welwa infants back to my undertower. My original idea was to raise the beasts for use in my training exercises. But as I worked with them and discovered their natural intelligence and their warrior hearts, I decided to raise them as my personal guards and companions. To begin the process, I needed to discover their true names.\nI worked with the young creatures for a time, getting familiar with their personalities as they became accustomed to my presence. The one that first looked at me was full of courage. He wasn't afraid to venture out and explore his surroundings. He showed me his name - Vosh. The other was quiet, calm. At least until one of my aides approached. Then he became a ball of anger, striking out like a sword to protect me and his brother. Obviously, his name was Rakh.\nAs they grew in size, I made sure they grew in power. I constantly ran them throughout the undertower to build muscle and bone. I fed them the best food and clearest water drawn from the purest rock wells in the region. I devised exercises using thick ropes and handles. When they reached the appropriate size, I began to train them to fight beside me against multiple enemies. When Rakh took down one of my most skilled warriors, I was so proud!\nRecently, I had Uthik fashion a set of armor for both Vosh and Rakh. They seemed so honored to receive the gifts, and they carry themselves with dignity and grace inside their metal protection. Next, I might see if they can work together to take down a troll on their own. That would be an amazing sight to see, by the stones!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/vosh-rakh": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/vosh-rakh", "description": "Rise of a new extremist cult to bring back the worship of Trinimac amongst the Orcs", "author": "Ugdorga", "title": "Vosh Rakh", "text": "A Study of a Religion Reborn by Ugdorga, the King's Scribe\nFor generations, Orcs have believed in three constant truths: the stronghold, the grudge, and the fury of Malacath. But before Malacath, at least according to certain traditions and a few noted scholars, there was Trinimac. The Vosh Rakh, a newly emerged movement that seems to be gaining in numbers and popularity, promises to take Orcs back to the roots of who and what they are as a people. To reclaim the glory of the warrior god Trinimac and restore the Orcs to their proper position in the world.\nIs it any wonder that this new religion has found adherents among those who have accepted the idea of a reborn Orsinium? For its beliefs and tenets seem tailor-made for the vision of a united Wrothgar. The Vosh Rakh claim they want to \"civilize\" the wild and riotous nature of the Orcs. They want to elevate the Orcs, to place them on the same level as the other races\u2014or perhaps even to set them higher. And they want to rebuild the ancient city of Orsinium, setting it as the jewel in the crown of a new and powerful Orc nation. That said, although King Kurog has provided support for the new faith in Trinimac, going so far as to establish a temple in Orsinium, he appears to have no connection to the more-extremist followers of the Vosh Rakh.\nWho are the Vosh Rakh? That's not an easy question to answer. For every member of the movement keeps his or her identity secret, and when they come together to celebrate or pray, they wear golden masks of Orcish visages patterned after Trinimac's own auric-tinged skin. The name itself translates from the Orcish tongue as \"Blade of Courage\" and refers to Trinimac's legendary weapon, Penitent. They see themselves as Trinimac's sword made manifest, cutting a new path through the ancient and stifling traditions that\u2014as they put it\u2014have \"held back the Orsimer people for untold generations.\"\nMany among the Orcish old guard see the Vosh Rakh as either a foolish fad that will soon fade away or as dangerous fanatics who will stop at nothing to destroy the Orcish way of life. Either way, the old guard refuses to be swayed by the arguments and the promises. They won't abandon the traditions that make Orcs\u2014as they put it\u2014\"strong and powerful and better than any puny Elf.\" They hold fast to the concept of the stronghold and the clan, rejecting the call to create a single Orc nation. They maintain the grudge, for ill will and resentment fuel the fire in their bellies and the anger in their hearts. And they maintain their steadfast faith in Malacath, god of curses and the betrayed, for he blesses them with conflict and the bloody Code of Malacath.\nBut the Vosh Rakh see the old guard as simply another challenge that Trinimac will help them overcome. Malacath, they claim, is nothing more than a weak and vengeful pretender trying to steal Trinimac's glory. Once the Orcs accept Trinimac and come together as a united people, then Trinimac will bless them with aid and succor in every battle set before them\u2014from the battle to rebuild Orsinium, to the war against the Reachmen, and to fighting for honor and prestige among the other races, Trinimac will bring victory and glory to all.\nEnd Note: At the time of this writing, rumors have begun to circulate claiming that the Vosh Rakh has begun using deceitful, even deadly, tactics in their battle to win the hearts and minds of the Orcs. I have yet to substantiate these rumors as anything more than the angry words of members of the old guard, but I thought I should include them here. I will attempt to learn more and record my findings in a latter volume."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/vosh-rakh-orders": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/vosh-rakh-orders", "description": "", "author": "Your beloved leader", "title": "Vosh Rakh Orders", "text": "Our agents are in place, having successfully integrated themselves into life in Orsinium so that no one can tell a member of the Vosh Rakh from anyone else in the city. In this way, our ritual masks have served us well.\nWhen the clan chiefs gather to attend the moot, they will have no inkling of the trap they are walking into. We shall fulfill our purpose as Trinimac's holy blade of courage, eliminating the recalcitrant chiefs and finally establishing a truly united Orsimer nation.\nThe first group of devotees that completes the Gauntlet and passes the final test must be sent to Orsinium immediately. Their mission is simple but vitally important: there are traitors to the city that must be taken into custody at all costs before the moot gets underway. Send a second group after them to serve as support, just in case.\nIn Trinimac's holy name,\n\tYour beloved leader"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/voxs-final-reply": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/voxs-final-reply", "description": "", "author": "Magistrix Vox", "title": "Vox's Final Reply", "text": "Sera Arthalen\u2014My Dear Tidyn,\nI am deeply saddened by your response to my most recent correspondence. Know that a great storm approaches, Sera. Your precious Selfora will not avoid its rage. A time comes when you must choose sides. It is inevitable. I do not recommend you oppose me when the line is drawn.\nI shall be visiting Selfora in the very near future. We must discuss this matter personally. Exchanging letters can be so impersonal, and often the true meaning of our words is lost in translation. I want to make sure we truly understand each other.\nI suggest you prepare for my imminent arrival.\nMagistrix Vox"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/vvardenfell-flora-and-fauna": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/vvardenfell-flora-and-fauna", "description": "Introduction to the weird creatures and mushrooms of Vvardenfell", "author": "Tilenra Sildreth", "title": "Vvardenfell Flora and Fauna", "text": "By Tilenra Sildreth, Telvanni Naturalist\nThe Vvardenfell landscape undergoes a constant cycle of death and rebirth. Red Mountain's lava flows, eruptions and ash-fall cause die-back in the deciduous woodlands and mushroom jungles, violent upheaval alters the landscape and buries (or exposes!) the fallen ruins of ancient civilizations. But the island expands as lava hardens, and new plants and fungi emerge from the cooling ashes among the formations of igneous rock.\nPlant life flourishes in the rich soil fertilized by volcanic activity, and so Vvardenfell serves as home to a diverse set of habitats and environments.\nFungi quickly absorb rich nutrients from the volcanic soil and grow to enormous proportions and dominate the landscape. The large ink-cap mushrooms along the Bitter Coast thrive on the detritus of decaying swamp life, while smaller fungus varieties cover the rocks, trees and even some animals, such as the fungus-encrusted shroom beetle. Adorable!\nBalmora, in the southwest and inland from the Bitter Coast, is still forested, though ash from Red Mountain eruptions threatens to denude the slopes.\nThough barren, the Ashlands host a remarkable number of species. Ash hoppers skitter through the dry ash dunes and giant xylaria fungi extend their tendrils into the sky. Travelers beware! Hungry, reptilian cliff-striders lurk atop the crags.\nFetcherflies build their hives where they can tap volcanic heat to gestate their eggs. When they hatch, the queen taps a source of magma to animate the nest and it transforms into a walking hive golem that relocates the swarm to new surroundings.\nNix-oxen roam the Grazelands in the northeastern part of the island, and though generally considered to be mild-mannered, they will not hesitate to defend their territory.\nTwo-legged vvardvarks romp through the grasses and feed on small bugs. Some people keep these delightful creatures as pets, despite their terrible smell.\nAncestral tombs dot the landscape, and powerful Daedra known as Hunger have recently been seen within.\nThe largest mushrooms in Morrowind appear in Zafirbel Bay. This majestic species is cultivated by Telvanni wizards and take a wizard's lifetime (a thousand years) to grow. These fungus forests have a special ecology of their own - but that's a subject for another book."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wailimos-personal-account": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wailimos-personal-account", "description": "A first person account of the Sea Sload's terror in Cloudrest", "author": "Wailimo the Mystic", "title": "Wailimo's Personal Account", "text": "I knew this was going to happen. Why the Welkynars ever thought to bring that Sea Sload to our city, I'll never know. And now Cloudrest is in ruins and I'm lucky to be alive.\nIt all started with a dark mist pouring down from the Aerie, like a cauldron bubbling over. A hush fell over the marketplace. We weren't sure what was going on, truth be told. But we all knew it wasn't good.\nThat's when we started to hear the screaming from within the mist. Everyone started to rush out of the city's gates, fast as they could. I've never seen a more panicked crowd in my life. Everyone screaming, running, trying to escape.\nBut the mist was faster than our steps, and soon we were enveloped by it. It felt like a cold fog against my skin. Suddenly, my knees buckled. All my strength left me at once. I could feel my heartbeats beginning to slow. My whole being felt heavy. Never before had I felt such extreme exhaustion.\nI knew I was going to die. Soon, my heartbeat would entirely stop. As I laid there, all I could think was ... how many will die with me?\nIt was then that I was grasped within two mighty talons. Welkynar Olorime had come to save me, quickly placing me in the upper reaches of the city. I barely remember my rescue, albeit the feeling of my torso being tightly squeezed, the wind against my skin.\nI don't know what manner of power that Sea Sload has, nor do I want to. But it nearly took my life. Just as it has already taken the lives of so many others."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wait-till-next-time": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wait-till-next-time", "description": "Secret animosity of the Orcs for their allies", "author": "Fulgrush gro-Othgar", "title": "Wait Till Next Time", "text": "Since King Kurog signed the Daggerfall Covenant treaty, I've been taking advantage of our new lack of restrictions on travel to look for trading opportunities for Orsinium in High Rock and Hammerfell. As I expected, I've frequently had to put up with being snubbed or talked down to, and had to pretend I didn't hear the Orc jokes told loudly at a nearby table in a tavern, or didn't see the guardsman spit in my tracks after I passed. What I wasn't prepared for, however, was the number of Bretons and Redguards I've met who speak admiringly about Orcish forthrightness, and about the way we quickly settle our disagreements (albeit with blades) and then move on without holding a grudge.\nStupid humans.\nThey don't realize that forgiveness is only for other Orcs. They don't know that the Code of Mauloch demands that a price be paid for every grievance\u2014no matter how long it takes to exact it. They think that, now we're enthusiastic members of their precious Covenant, we'll forget the razing of Orsinium and let bygones be bygones.\nThey smile at me with their foolish, tuskless grins, and I smile back, and nod, and make an Elf joke. But inside I know that the sack of Orsinium will be paid for, many times over. And the Bretons and the Redguards will never even see it coming. Because they don't know the secret motto that's graven on every Orc's heart:\n\"Wait till next time.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/waited-long-we-could": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/waited-long-we-could", "description": "One Imperial family moved north", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Waited as Long as We Could", "text": "My dearest Jerensi,\nYour father and I waited as long as we could, but the soldiers insisted we leave. They were not very polite about it. I begged them to let us stay. The sergeant in charge said we could stay here until we died, but that would happen by the end of the day.\nNeedless to say, we packed up everything we could. I suspect the soldiers will steal the rest. Curse the Covenant and the asses they rode into Cyrodiil on. Curse this war and all who wage it. And curse the Empire for collapsing and letting these usurpers in!\nWe are headed north, toward Bruma. The soldiers won't let us go south. Apparently they fear we'll carry word of their troop strength to the Imperial City. As if anyone there cares.\nI leave this note in hopes that you and Vibius manage to make it home. Look for us in Bruma, if we all survive the dangers of the road.\n\t\u2014 Mother"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wake-walkers-orders": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wake-walkers-orders", "description": "Orders for the attack on Shark's Teeth Grotto", "author": "Captain Dolorion", "title": "Wake Walkers' Orders", "text": "Beastmaster Rodros,\nTake a landing party and scour Shark's Teeth Grotto for a gift that will please and gain us favor with the new commodore. If the rumors hold true, then Shalug the Shark has a good many valuables hidden away within the grotto. Let the Walkers loot what they will, but save anything of particular value and interest for the commodore.\nBut remember your true purpose, beastmaster. If the legendary creature called Krona Keeba does roam the deepest recesses of the grotto, I want you to tame the beast and bring it to me. I can't think of a better gift to present to the new commodore than her very own pet haj mota! With such a creature in our possession, we will be the envy of the other pirate ships. The commodore can't help but be impressed!\nNow get to it and find me that creature!\nCaptain Dolorion of the Wake Walker"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wakeners-sermon": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wakeners-sermon", "description": "The Sixth House is not dead, but merely sleeping", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Wakener's Sermon", "text": "Some might snicker at the sight of the \"Unbroken Home\" laying in ruin, but they mistake slumber for death. Kogoruhn is as it ever was. Vibrant beneath its covers of dust, awaiting the time to welcome back its masters. Just as we do.\nThe diggers whisper that they can feel the call of the ash statues drawing them closer, but it is not their rude blood to which the statues sing. I have seen revelation in the eyes of the blood heirs as they held their birthright. True understanding. Through them we will shape the world into its ordained form.\nFind those whose bloodline speaks to this place. Their awakening is nigh."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wamasu-observations": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wamasu-observations", "description": "Notes on the Wamasu's role in the creation of a hybrid monster", "author": "Boward, Regent of Wriggling Nightmares", "title": "Wamasu Observations ", "text": "I have selected well by choosing this mighty wamasu eggbearer for our needs. Her brood will provide exactly the predatory traits we require for the next stage of the alchemical process. When combined with the traits provided by the powerful scorpion matron and the flawless crocodile matriarch, the material from the wamasu will increase the power of the mantikora tenfold!\nI wonder if I can breed the charged current that vibrates through the wamasu into the mantikora? If I can do that, the creature will be even more wondrous to behold. I've collected the first of the eggbearer's eggs. The material within each shell should infuse the spawning pools with traits that will easily be passed on to our new creature.\nWhen the Serpent sees all that I have accomplished, I'm sure my position within the Scaled Court will grow in stature as the mantikoras grow within the spawning pools. I can't wait to meet our creation!\n\u2014Boward, Regent of Wriggling Nightmares"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wansalen-tunnels": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wansalen-tunnels", "description": "These tunnels are treacherous", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Wansalen Tunnels", "text": "Sir, I don't know what else I can tell you. If we don't keep the troops out of that old ruin we're going to have trouble.\nPatrols through Quendeluun are anything but interesting, but we can't have them digging into the deeper tunnels. I can only protect your merchandise if our troops are alive, and we've seen enough down in those old tunnels to turn my hair white.\nThe deeper tunnels in Quendeluun, called Wansalen, are off limits if the troops want to be paid. Just spread the word next time you're hiring."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/want-more-middens": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/want-more-middens", "description": "The glorious arena comes to Elden Root!", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Want More than Middens?", "text": "I see you down there, living amid the refuse that falls from the Elden Tree. You think you're invisible, or that you're helpless, or that you just aren't worth anything to anyone.\nThat's where you're WRONG!\nMy friends, don't wallow in filth and obscurity when you can revel in the light of fame! A little ambition, a little toil, and a little blood is all it will take for you to rise up out of the muck and become known, to be someone who is counted!\nWith our fair city of Elden Root now the capital of the Aldmeri Dominion, we will draw people from all over Tamriel. They will marvel at the Elden Tree and walk in the shadows of Valenwood and bathe in the great river to their hearts' content\u2014and then they will grow bored.\nThat, my friends, is where YOU come in!\nMake no mistake\u2014the Dominion is at war, and tales of strife and heroism have reached us even here, deep in the Valenood. But those who come to our city will be eager to see valor with their own eyes. That is why Elden Root is going to start its own GLADIATORIAL ARENA! We'll show our visitors that the heart of the Valenwood is a warrior's heart!\nDo you have a warrior's heart? Do you want to hear the cheers of the crowds? Do you want to eat the best food, sleep in the best beds, and never have to hide your face in the Middens again? Well, come up into the light and join the Elden Root's own gladiator team!\nSee Milgor Sharp-Tongue in the Elden Tree in for more information. But don't wait\u2014the ranks of the valorous are filling up fast."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wanted-poster": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wanted-poster", "description": "Wanted for crimes against the Empire", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Wanted Poster", "text": "Wanted: <<1>>\nFor murder of Imperial soldiers and the theft and destruction of Imperial property. Any Redguard who sees this individual must report to the nearest Decanus. Compliance will be rewarded. Complicity will be punished.\nDecreed by Governor Sadas Secundus"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wanted-nimriian-longfang": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wanted-nimriian-longfang", "description": "Dangerous werewolf criminal must be apprehended", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Wanted: Nimriian the Longfang", "text": "Let all who read of this notice be advised: the Lunar Clergy have set a bounty upon the head of the woman known as \"Nimriian\" or \"the Longfang.\" This blackhearted cult mistress has been culling the impressionable youth of the back country for the last year, and is now believed to be operating her cult and bandit gang in Reaper's March.\nThe cult follows the teachings of Hircine, and are known lycanthropes, or werewolves. They view Hircine's Curse as a blessing, and are attempting to spread it among the people of the March.\nIf you seek her to claim the bounty, look to the Weeping Wind caves east of Willowgrove. The people of that village have been warned to stay indoors at night. And, reader, you too should beware."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wanted-sgolag": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wanted-sgolag", "description": "A wanted Orc lurks nearby", "author": "Curinaire", "title": "Wanted: Sgolag", "text": "Sgolag, an Orc of ill repute, must be brought to justice. This brigand is a known criminal, guilty of countless acts of murder, banditry, and the abduction of your fellow citizens and selling them into slavery.\nRumors place Sgolag near Mobar Mine. The Thalmor shall issue a suitable reward to the one who delivers his head.\n\u2014 Curinaire"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wanted-tervur-sadri": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wanted-tervur-sadri", "description": "Notorious Dunmer criminal", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "WANTED: Tervur Sadri", "text": "Tervur Sadri is wanted for the murder of Master Selos of House Selos.\nHe is considered an armed menace.\nTervur Sadri was last seen in eastern Deshaan.\nAny information on the whereabouts of Tervur Sadri should be given to Nervyna Selos."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wanted-chief": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wanted-chief", "description": "Dangerous criminal is wanted", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Wanted: The Chief", "text": "Wanted \u2014 Dead!\n\tThe bandit referring to himself as \"The Chief.\"\n\tWanted for crimes against the people of the Ebonheart Pact, including:\n\t\u2014 Murder\n\t\u2014 Robbery\n\t\u2014 Livestock Violations\n\t\u2014 Insolence to Noblewomen\n\tReward offered for the head (body optional) of \"The Chief.\"\n\tBring to nearest Pact official."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/war-call-mammoth-herders": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/war-call-mammoth-herders", "description": "An epic battle against giants and armored mammoths unfolds", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "War Call of the Mammoth Herders", "text": "\u2026 and that's when Thewnar knew his moment had arrived, as life and death hung in the balance. The mammoth's tusk slammed into the frozen earth. Thewnar flexed his mighty thews and slashed his greatsword at the beast's massive trunk. It trumpeted again, roaring in fury.\nAround him, Thewnar heard the call of the giants. The massive brutes bleated and moaned to each other in the crudest of tongues. They slammed their clubs into the ground, screaming for Thewnar's blood.\nThick wooden armor adorned the beast's flank. Thewnar's massive blade bounced free from its scarred surface. He roared his own battle cry and ducked beneath the war beast's front leg. The warrior slashed overhand, his blade biting into the dirt-and-dung matted hide \u2026."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/war-customs-tribal-bosmer": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/war-customs-tribal-bosmer", "description": "Warfare between Bosmeri tribes", "author": "Mistral Aurelian Teriscor", "title": "War Customs of the Tribal Bosmer", "text": "While the Wood Elves of the towns are largely content with their drink and the luxuries provided by Imperial trade, remote tribes in the depths of the jungle are far more savage. War is constantly waged under the eaves of Valenwood. When the tribes are not raiding the Khajiit in earnest, they are raiding one another for sport.\nUnlike civilized peoples, tribal Bosmer do not fight for any meaningful or constructive purpose. They seem incapable of grasping the concept of fighting for control of land, resources, or defensible borders. Though they may swarm to push out those who harm Valenwood, they evince little interest in conquest for its own sake. Rather, the Wood Elves raid one another for booty, bragging, and boredom\u2014in that order. Tribal raiders typically rustle timber mammoths and thunderbugs. Many steal items (or people) that can be ransomed back to the owners.\nThis erratic, irregular warfare is not pursued to the death. Deaths do occur, but they are incidental and usually regretted. Many raids conclude with no fighting whatsoever. It is considered the acme of skill to slip into another tribe's village and steal an item for ransom without being noticed. The larger the item, the greater the prestige. Thanks to centuries of this practice, the tribal Bosmer have become legendary for their stealth. The title of their most famous poem, the Meh Ayleidion, means \"The One Thousand Benefits of Hiding.\"\nWhen death occurs in battle, an archaic provision of the Meat Mandate requires that a fallen enemy must be eaten completely before three days pass. This tradition is now only followed in the most remote and savage villages. The family members of the warrior who slaughtered the enemy may help him with his meal.\nThe tradition of the \"Mourning War\" is still followed nearly everywhere outside the cities. When a tribe member is slain, he or she is symbolically replaced via a hostage-taking raid. The tribe will seize a captive from a neighboring band. If the deceased was an especially powerful or prestigious member of the tribe, multiple captives may be taken to replace them.\nAfter a period of physical torture, supposedly to test their worthiness, the captive is joyously welcomed into the clan. This sudden reversal from horrific abuse to loving embrace befuddles the weak wits of a Bosmer captive, who cleaves to his tormentors. Traditionally the victim was given the deceased tribe member's position, possessions, and family, though this practice may be rarely honored nowadays."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/war-efforts%E2%80%94covenant": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/war-efforts%E2%80%94covenant", "description": "More progress to be made against the Covenant", "author": "Grand Warlord Sorcalin", "title": "War Efforts\u2014Covenant", "text": "General Atahba,\nI am not displeased with your guidance of our war efforts, but I want to see more progress made against the Covenant. We must drive them out of Cyrodiil!\n- Grand Warlord Sorcalin"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/war-first-council-0": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/war-first-council-0", "description": "An Imperial overview of the war. Very biased and sometimes innacurate.", "author": "Agrippa Fundilius", "title": "War of the First Council", "text": "(This account by the Imperial scholar Agrippa Fundilius is based on various Imperial and Dunmer sources, and written for Western readers.)\nThe War of the First Council was a First Era religious conflict between the secular Dunmer Houses Dwemer and Dagoth and the orthodox Dunmer Houses Indoril, Redoran, Dres, Hlaalu, and Telvanni. The First Council was the first pan-Dunmer governing body, which collapsed over disputes about sorceries and enchantments practiced by the Dwemer and declared profane by the other Houses.\nThe Secular Houses, less numerous, but politically and magically more advanced, and aided by Nord and Orc clans drawn by promise of land and booty, initially campaigned with great success in the north of Morrowind, and occupied much of the land now comprising the Redoran, Vvardenfell, and Telvanni Districts. The Orthodox Houses, widely dispersed and poorly organized, suffered defeat after defeat until Nerevar was made general of all House troops and levies.\nNerevar secured the aid of nomad barbarian tribesmen, and contrived to force a major battle at the Secular stronghold of Red Mountain on Vvardenfell. The Secular forces were outmaneuvered and defeated with the help of Ashlander scouts, and the survivors forced to take refuge in the Dwemer stronghold at Red Mountain.\nAfter a brief siege, treason permitted Nerevar and his troops to enter the stronghold, where the Secular leaders were slain, and Nerevar mortally wounded. General slaughter followed, and Houses Dwemer and Dagoth were exterminated. Nerevar died shortly thereafter of his wounds.\nThree of Nerevar's associates among the Orthodox Houses, Vivec, Almalexia, and Sotha Sil, succeeded to control of the re-created First Council, re-named the Grand Council of Morrowind, and went on to be come the god-kings and immortal rulers of Morrowind known as the Tribunal, or Almsivi."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/war-two-houses": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/war-two-houses", "description": "Describes an epic battle between Houses Dres and Hlaalu", "author": "Drelisa Hlaalu", "title": "War of Two Houses", "text": "By Drelisa Hlaalu, House Historian\nWar among the Great Houses of Morrowind isn't unique, and more often than not some kind of conflict between two or more Houses is under way somewhere across the land. Rarely do these conflicts escalate from subterfuge and intrigue to all-out war, but open hostilities aren't unheard of in the history of Morrowind. Let me tell you about one of these wars.\nIn 2E 559, House Hlaalu and House Dres advanced beyond the usual tensions and posturing and fielded squads of combatants south of Narsis, on the border of the Black Marsh. It wasn't the first time these two economic rivals had challenged each other, and it wouldn't be the last, but the actual war was memorable, both in scope and in the number of casualties that piled up over the course of the battles.\nHouse Hlaalu was determined to set up a trading post in the disputed territory. House Dres was just as determined not to let that happen. Halfway through the construction of the outpost, the House Hlaalu workers suddenly found themselves surrounded by Dres mercenaries. The small squad of Hlaalu guards assigned to protect the workers, led by Purilla Falen, quickly established defenses and prepared to defend the outpost. The Dres mercenaries, who outnumbered the Hlaalu guards five-to-one, assumed they would make short work of the defenders and have the post burned to the ground before the midday meal.\nBut that's not the way it happened.\nPurilla and her guards repelled the first assault with relative ease. She was determined to hold the line, no matter the cost, until reinforcements arrived. To facilitate the appearance of aid, Purilla set the one wizard they brought with them to work on opening a portal to Narsis. If the guards could hold back the onslaught of the Dres mercenaries long enough, an open portal could provide a path for Hlaalu battle-merchants to pour out of to turn the tide of battle. They only needed a little time.\nAs the wizard performed the portal ritual, Purilla and the defenders met each House Dres attack with skill and ferocity. The mercenaries rushed in, sending a wave of attackers at the post's barricades. Each wave was turned away, but not without a cost. After five hours and four separate waves of attacks, Purilla's forces were reduced to a third of their original size. By then only Purilla and six guards remained to fend off the next Dres assault. And the wizard required a few more minutes to complete the ritual and open the portal. \"You shall have that time!\" Purilla proclaimed. \"For Hlaalu!\"\nThe seven defenders, magnificent in their fury, fought with honor and savage resolve as the wizard completed the final steps of the ritual. One guard fell. Two. Four. Now only Purilla and two Hlaalu guards remained at the battlements. The Hlaalu workers, who had been providing support and watchful eyes throughout the previous battles, took to the walls as well, using tools and the weapons of the fallen guards to help defend the post. For all their effort, it appeared that the crushing weight of the Dres assault was about to engulf them.\nAnd then the portal opened.\nHouse Hlaalu battle-merchants streamed through the portal, hurling spells and arrows into the ranks of the surprised mercenaries. A full cohort emerged from the portal and crashed against the wall of Dres mercenaries. The wall held for a few long moments, and then it shattered against the weight of the Hlaalu troops. Dres mercenaries fell in scores before their line finally broke and the remaining mercenaries turned to flee. The battle-merchants chased after them just long enough to make sure they were really routed, and then they formed up to secure the post.\nBrave and noble Purilla Falen was responsible for the Hlaalu victory that day, but she didn't survive the final battle. A Dres mercenary's blade had caught her in the neck as they were retreating. She was dead before a healer could reach her side. Thanks to histories like these, however, her efforts will never be forgotten."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/war-reports-queen-and-thalmor": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/war-reports-queen-and-thalmor", "description": "An update on updates from Cyrodiil", "author": "Sorcalin", "title": "War Reports for Queen and Thalmor", "text": "Gen. Atahba,\nQueen Ayrenn and the Thalmor want frequent updates on our progress in Cyrodiil. I am sending reports daily to satisfy their curiosity. If any changes occur, even the capture or loss of a farm, send word with Vilya immediately.\n- Sorcalin"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/war-weather": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/war-weather", "description": "A report on weather-manipulative magicks", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "War Weather", "text": "Bring this to Neidir's attention immediately. It's a transcript of an old text, but she needs to see this. Beg her pardon for the conjecture on Nord legends and Psijic nonsense, but this text contains the angle of attack she was looking for:\nWeather magic has never been an exact science, perhaps because of the temperamental nature of what it seeks to control.\nMinor spells to conjure gusts of wind or forks of lightning are common, but manipulation of a region's climate is much more difficult to achieve. Our war wizards have longed for the ability to lower catastrophic hailstorms onto enemy borders as a preamble to invasion, or to halt a blizzard to make an unexpected march through inclement weather.\nThere are claims to such spells\u2014spells originating from foreign lands and beyond.\nLegend has it that a sect of Nords in faraway Skyrim command the spell-like language of dragons, which allowed them some mastery over the weather. Accounts of these Nords' abilities during the Merethic Era Dragon War include the power to diminish fogs, mists, and clouds with the sheer bravado of their shouts. Negil's \"Dragons at Windhelm\" notes that an army of these bellowing Nords foiled an airborne sneak attack by dragons who sought to strike under a cover of storm clouds. Negil writes, \"We thought the heavy clouds looked better parted, and when we spoke our Words of Power, the clouds thought so, too. But even with their passing, the sun remained hidden. A then-apparent wing of dragons stretched across the blue, and the curse that escaped Vofodor's mouth brought a hearty guffaw to mine. Our Words of Power did not spare us the battle, but they told us battle was coming. We joined it gladly.\" The Maormer lack access to the dragon language, but I have confidence anything the Nords can accomplish we can match.\nFar to the southwest of Skyrim, members of the Psijic Order have been long-rumored to possess spells cast in the Old Way of magic that can bend the elements to the user's desire. Our scouts have reported sudden lightning and flash rain turning to small-scale blizzards off the coast of Artaeum for years. It's possible instructional texts on the matter exist\u2014and translating them from the Old Way into intelligible magic will be difficult, but it would be an excellent starting point.\nArresea's \"The Daedric Primer\" describes a spell devised by Sheogorath, Daedric Prince, called Manipulate Weather. She writes, \"Sheogorath's spell folio includes an incantation to match the weather with his mood. The Lord of the Madhouse has been known to teach the spell to mortals in his favor, allowing them to alter the climate of an entire region. Unfortunately, the spell functions at Sheogorath's whim, no matter who casts it\u2014meaning it functions entirely randomly. There are stories of his followers trying to stymie flashfloods but summoning torrential rain instead, or trying to put out brush fires and feeding the flames with unwanted lightning storms, to Sheogorath's delight. Making a Daedric Pact with Sheogorath is probably not in our best interest, but it seems there is something we can learn from the Prince of Madness.\nI include the above examples to say that large-scale weather control has been noted across the world, to convince King Orgnum or any in his close circle that weaponizing such an ability would be an incredible asset to the Maormer military.\nI set out to prove as much this past winter, with the help of twenty journeyman mages. We didn't quite succeed\u2014though we're on the cusp of success. We started by clearing an open plain near the sea and created a lightning storm by manipulating the charge of a passing cloud with our own skeins of lightning. It worked, but we lost a member of our group (entirely regrettable) to the sudden storm and a fork of wayward lightning. It's possible we would all have perished had our storm not consumed itself. We tried several times, managing to lengthen the duration of the storm each time, even learned to direct it out over the water. But the duration of our spell remained our enemy, and we eventually had to admit that the exercise would be futile in a battle.\nWe concluded that if we had had some way to physically suspend our spell at a high altitude\u2014perhaps with a conduit device? Perhaps a series of devices\u2014we would eliminate the need for continued expenditure of magicka and free the casters to direct a storm across a great distance."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/war-hunt-deliverance": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/war-hunt-deliverance", "description": "A Dragonguard plaque found in Dov-Vahl shrine in Anequina", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "War, Hunt, Deliverance", "text": "GOM HAKH ROAT VU QENRI\nJOURNEY ON WITH MANY NAMES\nWAR, HUNT, DELIVERANCE\nNONE TAKE SPOIL, NONE SEEK GLORY\nWHEN KIN OF GODS MUST DIE\nTHOUGH MORE BEAUTIFUL THAN WE\nGOM HAKH ROAT VU QENRI"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wardens-green": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wardens-green", "description": "The unique interplay of cosmic forces in Valenwood", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Wardens of the Green", "text": "The hunter waits in the boughs, clad only in leaves and shadow. She breathes as the wind shifts, and listens.\nHer quarry's fear grows thicker than the canopy. A glance, a turn, and it breaks cover. Her eyes open.\nFootsteps, muffled as owl's wings, beat softly through the Green. Any other would lose the quarry to the vineswept earth, yet the hunter does not waver.\nOver and through the forest goes the silent chase. Briefly, the hunter alights upon a branch. A quick pull from her waterskin and she is off once more.\nA stream bubbles through the wood and the quarry stops to drink. Claw leaves scabbard, slick and shining. Teeth bare with anticipation. She leaps.\nA sirocco of splashes. Claw meets neck. The quarry relents. A moment more would see crimson intrude upon the stream's mirth. She licks her lips.\n\"Not this one.\"\nAt the stream's edge stands a simple Mer. In his silhouette stands every woodsman, hunter, and guide; every jaqspur, every treethane and spinner. Every child and every elder stand with him, yet he stands alone.\nHer hunter's gaze meets his. She sees herself beside him, too. She blushes, and so does he. \"My Silvenar,\" she says at last. \"My Green Lady,\" he responds in turn. She lowers her claw and turns to the quarry.\n\"In stalking these woods, in keeping them free of terrors, I lose myself to the Green.\" She helps the quarry to its feet.\n\"But I will always bring her back,\" says the Silvenar. \"You have nothing to fear from us, child of the forest. So long as there is the Green, we walk where you walk.\"\nThe Silvenar vanishes among vines. The Green Lady leaps for the boughs. She watches the Bosmer trudge out of the stream and continue through the forest.\nBut she smiles, for the Bosmer is no longer afraid."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/warehouse-under-new-ownership": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/warehouse-under-new-ownership", "description": "", "author": "Iszreena, Torkming", "title": "Warehouse Under New Ownership", "text": "We understand the absence of Silver-Claw has caused distress amongst the warehouse staff.\nDo not be alarmed. The warehouse is under new ownership\u2014stable ownership. Throw your backs into the work as you always have. The coin you earn will spend, as it has before.\n\u2014Overseer Iszreena\n\u2014Overseer Torkming"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/warning-docks-unsafe": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/warning-docks-unsafe", "description": "The docks in Riften are to be avoided", "author": "The R.T.C.", "title": "Warning - Docks Unsafe", "text": "The Riften Town Council has declared the town docks unsafe. Reports of fishermen vanishing from the docks have become common. Witnesses claim that victims have been dragged beneath the waves by unknown culprits.\nFrequent the docks at your peril!\n\t\u2014 The R.T.C."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/warning-falls": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/warning-falls", "description": "A dire warning about a Dwemeri animunculi workshop near Orsinium", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Warning at the Falls", "text": "If you find this, warn them. Warn Orsinium.\nThere's a workshop at the falls. The Nyzchaleft Falls. The constructs move. They don't tire. They don't stop. And if you destroy them, they just make more. I fear that soon, if left unchecked, the constructs will march on Orsinium and destroy us all.\nAvoid the falls. Or send an army and destroy the ruins buried under the falls.\nThe fate of Orsinium depends on it."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/warning-fildgor": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/warning-fildgor", "description": "", "author": "Fildgor", "title": "Warning from Fildgor", "text": "Kazok,\n\tAlthough your troops may be tempted to sneak into Windhelm during the Konunleikar, you need to restrain them.\n\tI don't care how you do it, but other plans are in place within the city. If I find out that you or your soldiers disrupted anything, it will mean your head!\n\t\u2014 Fildgor Orcthane"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/warning-sign": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/warning-sign", "description": "Abandon hope", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Warning Sign", "text": "Ye Who Would Enter\u2014Beware"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/warning-all-residents": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/warning-all-residents", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Warning to All Residents", "text": "BEWARE! Beyond these gates, your safety cannot be guaranteed.\nInterference with factotum duties will be met with lethal force."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/warning-citizens-haj-uxith": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/warning-citizens-haj-uxith", "description": "Don't interfere with our new lords and masters", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Warning to Citizens of Haj Uxith", "text": "All citizens of Haj Uxith must take heed! Our agreement with Molag Bal permits the Lord of Brutality's minions to extract and refine sap from our beloved Hist tree. Furthermore, we are prohibited from entering the sap vat chamber or from interfering with the sap collection and refinement process in any way.\nViolating this agreement or disregarding this warning can result in punishment not only for you, but for the entire Argonian community of Haj Uxith.\nYou have been warned.\nThank you for your attention in this matter."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/warning-jardirr": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/warning-jardirr", "description": "The hills are crawling with Reachmen", "author": "Melril", "title": "Warning to Jardirr", "text": "Captain Jardirr,\nIt's true. The scouts got it right. They're all here, all over. They've got camps on the southern slope of the hill. They've choked off passage between Stony Basin and the Riften valley.\nI managed to get the names of the clan chieftains.\n\tRageclaw: Lydi Snowpelt\n\tBoneshaper: Kevinne Blightheart\n\tStonetalon: Vivian Witchclaw\nMa'am, it's been a pleasure to serve with you.\n\t\u2014 Melril"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/warning-miners": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/warning-miners", "description": "", "author": "Foreman Nox", "title": "Warning to Miners", "text": "WARNING\nNo unauthorized workers beyond this point.\nA quarantine is in effect.\nDisobedience will be answered with swift punishment.\nForeman Nox"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/warning-catacombs-infested": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/warning-catacombs-infested", "description": "Goblins? In my catacombs? It's more likely than you think.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Warning: Catacombs Infested!", "text": "To any explorer unfortunate enough to enter these catacombs, beware!\nGoblins have taken over these hallowed grounds, though I couldn't figure out what had drawn them here. Keep your distance, for these savages are ruthless. I barely escaped from the catacombs with my life!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/warning-dugan-red": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/warning-dugan-red", "description": "Stay away from the local marauder", "author": "Captain Curaralda", "title": "Warning: Dugan the Red", "text": "The UNREPENTANT CRIMINAL known as DUGAN THE RED was recently spotted near the ILAYAS RUINS. If you must travel, stray no further north than the ILAYAS RUINS WAYSHRINE lest you end up CRUELLY MURDERED by this SAVAGE MARAUDER.\n\u2014CAPTAIN CURARALDA\nFists of Thalmor, Velyn Harbor Detachment"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/warning-i-heard-you": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/warning-i-heard-you", "description": "Don't talk behind the boss's back!", "author": "Camandar the Brilliant", "title": "Warning: I Heard You!", "text": "Hey! I just want you idiots to know, I heard what you was saying about me. You think there's nothing here but yellow crystals. Well, guess what?\nWrong again, imbeciles! I found the power source that's making this whole place hum.\nOnce I get it loose, I'll show you all that you were stupid to doubt me. Now, quit drinking and get back to work.\n\tOr else!\nYour Leader, Camandar the Brilliant"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wasp-wrangling": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wasp-wrangling", "description": "\"for fun and profit!\" (it doesn't work)", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Wasp Wrangling", "text": "I should never have listened to Ameelus. He said the mire wasps can be tamed. He even claimed that a lightweight harness, made of string, can be used on them.\nYou would think I would have learned my lesson after the \"coat your scales in scrib jelly to avoid getting burns\" fiasco, which was his last brilliant idea.\nFor future reference, covering your hands with honey and trying to coax wasps into some degree of calmness doesn't work, either. And their stings hurt. What a waste of a good jar of honey."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/watch-log-volume-245": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/watch-log-volume-245", "description": "The Sea Vipers approach", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Watch Log, Volume 245", "text": "3rd Hour:\n\tWe first saw signs of the invaders at dusk, since their ships did not douse all lights as they approached the coast.\nUnfortunately some of the ships had made landfall by the time we raised the alarm. This is our failing, but had we been given the support we requested from the Thalmor weeks ago, we would have seen them much sooner.\nEven with the delayed response, we were able to use the Sphere to defend the coast. Many fled to the open sea before we could destroy their ships.\n5th Hour:\n\tWe'll maintain a wall of storms up and down the coast as a precaution, though this may just drive them to land in other Dominion territories.\n9th Hour:\n\tThe Sea Vipers have breached the sanctuary. How did they discover where the storms came from? I fear a traitor in our ranks."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/watch-your-back": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/watch-your-back", "description": "The job needs to get done", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Watch Your Back", "text": "I heard something, pal.\nI heard that Blaze has been trying to stir up everyone against me. We've been making a tidy profit, so he thinks he can drive us out and take our place.\nYou've got to teach him a lesson. Take care of him. Come down on him hard.\nI don't care if you break him, wound him, or kill him. Just make an example of him. Then the others will fall back in line.\nWatch your back, but get this done."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/watcher-shavmar%E2%80%99s-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/watcher-shavmar%E2%80%99s-journal", "description": "How the Nedic kings imprisoned Virmaril", "author": "Watcher Shavmar", "title": "Watcher Shavmar\u2019s Journal", "text": "From the Journal of Watcher Shavmar\nVirmaril must be contained! No matter what happens outside these catacombs, the Betrayer must be punished for his crimes. He must be imprisoned so that his evil cannot spread to the world beyond!\nWe tried to kill the foul creature. After he betrayed and murdered High King Durac and the council of Nedic kings, we sent a small force of warriors and mages into the catacombs to hunt Virmaril down and end his vile existence. I was a part of that force. It pains me to write these words, but they are true and undeniable. We failed.\nIt soon became apparent that we could not slay a being that is not truly alive. Instead, we quickly developed a new plan. We would weaken Virmaril and trap him deep within the catacombs. And then we would sacrifice ourselves - use our own soul magic to turn ourselves into immortal, eternal watchers. We would serve as Virmaril's guardians and imprisoners until the end of time.\n* * *\n\tThe soul magic did its work. We have sealed Virnaril behind a soul-ward and placed him in a suspended state - not unlike a deep sleep. We are now the Eternal Watchers, pledged to guard the Betrayer and making sure his plan to unleash his army of undead never comes to pass.\nNow we simply wait. And watch. Forever.\n* * *\n\tGaralan has been complaining about hearing strange voices in his head. We ignored him. After all, haven't we all gone a little bit insane during our never-ending obligation? I'm sure he'll be fine.\n* * *\n\tNow I'm hearing the voices. At times it sounds like a thousand voices talking at once, a jumble of noise and confusion. Then it becomes the whisper of a single voice, so low I can barely hear it. But every so often, the voice comes to me in crisp, clear tones and I recognize the speaker. Somehow, some way, the impossible has happened.\nVirmaril is awake."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/watchers-report": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/watchers-report", "description": "Increased Orcish activity must be stopped", "author": "Captain Gerarde", "title": "Watcher's Report", "text": "Honored Watchmaster,\nOur scouts have noticed increased activity in the old city. They request permission to go deeper into the ruins to investigate the situation. As you know, the Pig-Men have been migrating in greater numbers recently. This may be the beginning of a new settlement. We cannot afford to stand idly by and give them time to dig in.\nSergeant Malene has been interrogating the Orcs we captured in last week's raid. Apparently there is some discord among their savage tribes\u2014something of a leadership dispute. If any of these beasts plan to return to the city, we must be prepared to go to war. We cannot suffer the Orcs to stack stones. The Oath demands that we act!\nYour vigilant servant,\n\tCaptain Gerarde"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/watchtower-ledger": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/watchtower-ledger", "description": "Davon's Watchtower records", "author": "Sergeant Duren", "title": "Watchtower Ledger", "text": "This week has been routine. Ship sightings are the usual craft going to the west arm of the Inner Sea, or crossing to Vivec City. Still not quite used to seeing Nord ships coming down from Windhelm. Oh, and no more Telvanni vessels, not that I miss them.\nWe've put in an order for kindlepitch powder with Quartermaster Urona at Fort Zeren. Davon's Watch knows to disregard any errant flames that don't look like the colored fire created by the powder. Unfortunately, the new recruit hasn't been told about the procedure.\nFrom time to time, we light the fires as a test. The Davon's Watch guards always reply correctly.\n\t\u2014 Sergeant Duren"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/waterlogged-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/waterlogged-journal", "description": "A city is forced to take desperate measures againts approaching invaders", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Waterlogged Journal", "text": "In the market square today everyone is talking about rumors from the coast. Ships spotted, they say, full of invaders. The same invaders, they say, that have recently come to the southern Deathlands.\nIt seems like every day there is some new invader. We have withstood previous attackers. Our water is coveted in the desert, but the rock and sand protect us\u2014and so do the Nereids. I do not think this time will be any different.\n\u2014\nWord comes that the invaders are unrelenting. Their leader has a name. Tarish-Zi. It's an ugly name, I say, but Merrina wonders what it matters if the name is ugly? I am not worried about being conquered by a general with an ugly name.\n\u2014\nToday General Zal'ik made an announcement. Tarish-Zi and his army are coming, but the Nereids have pledged to protect us. He told us not to worry, but I wasn't worried, anyway.\n\u2014\nThe city is in panic. Word reached us that the forces Zal'ik sent to meet the oncoming enemy were slaughtered. Not a soldier survived except for one wounded lieutenant, sent to bring word of Tarish-Zi's coming. They say the enemy's army is immortal. They say Tarish-Zi himself is immortal. I don't believe it, but for the first time I feel anxious about this impending attack.\n\u2014\nGeneral Zal'ik ordered everyone to take up arms in defense of the city, so I fashioned a mace from a broom handle and an old hammer. (The blacksmith is overtasked and there are not enough weapons to go around for all of us.)\nEverywhere there is a sense of foreboding, that this really is the end. Our city, which has weathered so many invasions, will finally fall. But there is also a feeling of deep friendship. The petty squabbles that used to fill the marketplace with so much noise have been replaced with words of friendship and encouragement. If we will die, we will die together.\n\u2014\nRumor is that General Zal'ik has turned to the Nereids for help. Everyone hopes that Shada and her daughters will intervene on our behalf. Our only hope requires a miracle.\n[The rest of the journal is too waterlogged to be legible.]"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/waylaid-travelers-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/waylaid-travelers-journal", "description": "A caravan and their guards journey through Craglorn", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Waylaid Traveler's Journal", "text": "8 Last Seed\n\tWe were warned that the roads of Craglorn were treacherous. We thought we would find safety in numbers among the caravans, but it turns out that the Dragonstar Caravan Company isn't as benevolent as we had hoped. They demanded a huge \"transport fee\" to assure our safety. We decided to take our chances and travel the side roads. We heard tales of bandits in the hills, but we are well armed and have our own guards. We should be fine.\n10 Last Seed\n\tSo far, our decision has paid off. Our journey has been uneventful.\n11 Last Seed\n\tOne of our guards says he heard howling in the night. Now all of the guards are frightened and demand more gold before continuing our journey.\n14 Last Seed\n\tThe guards remain nervous, but we've spent less than what the Dragonstar Company demanded of us. Our venture remains profitable.\n18 Last Seed\n\tThere was a storm today. Thunder and lightning and torrential rains. I thought this was supposed to be a desert? I guess it has to rain sometime, but it got so bad at times that we couldn't see the path in front of our feet.\nAfter we were completely soak, we decided to take refuge in a cave. In the morning, we will start out again.\n19 Last Seed\n\tWe all heard the howling tonight. Our guards have shown themselves for cowards and abandoned us. I can't wait to be rid of this foul cave, just as soon as the rain stops falling."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wayrest-guard-orders": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wayrest-guard-orders", "description": "Treat our Orc allies with respect!", "author": "Mathias Etienne", "title": "Wayrest Guard Orders", "text": "Wayrest Guard General Order 2247\nEqual Treatment for All Covenant Citizens\nIt has come to my attention that members of the Guard have failed to show proper respect for citizens of the Orcish persuasion such as are seen more and more often these days within our walls. There have been reports of sneering, of spitting, of improper amorous propositions, and of suggestions that places other than Wayrest might be more appropriate destinations, and that the sooner the Orcish citizen went there, the better.\nThis will not be tolerated. These Orcish citizens are now our allies, and deserve the same protection under the law as normal people. I don't care about the tusks. Get over it. Any Guard found mistreating an Orc who didn't deserve it will be suspended without pay for a period appropriate to the gravity of the misconduct.\nThis is not a joke. I'm serious.\n\tMathias Etienne\n\tGuard Captain"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wayrest-sewers-short-history": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wayrest-sewers-short-history", "description": "Overview of this engeneering marvel", "author": "Hilaire Beanique", "title": "Wayrest Sewers: A Short History", "text": "Volume 1\nThe city of Wayrest owes much to its merchants for its ever-flourishing economy. The abundance of money has done the city wonders, earning Wayrest the moniker \"Jewel of the Bay\": the wealth of its citizens have paid for the shimmering stone used in the city's construction, the bright armor worn by the local law enforcement agents, and most significantly, the modern marvel of western Tamriel\u2014the Wayrest Sewers.\n\tWritten accounts dating back to the city's foundation hint that, until the Wayrest Sewers were finished, the city was a jewel mired in muck and mud. Vile, foul-smelling mud. Writes Silvia Cato, an Imperial sailor in 1E 801, \"The Bjoulsae River is a watercourse of refuse, of pungent tang, of disease, and the Iliac Bay is equally revolting where the Bjoulsae feeds into it. It's that damned Breton city.\"\nToday, the Bjoulsae River shines as brilliantly as Wayrest itself, thanks entirely to the sewers, which are a feat of engineering rivaling anything created by the Dwemer of old. The artisans ensured that the sewers' modular design permit travel across the city below ground as easily as above, as well as allow construction to continue to this day. The sewers, like the city itself, are regularly expanded. However, in its size lies the one drawback of the entire system: the sewers have become so large that Wayrest law enforcement has difficulty patrolling it all, and thus, crime finds its way even to the Jewel of the Bay. Like the city itself, most of these illicit activities can only be afforded by the rich, including skooma trade and necromancy (skooma is a narcotic that's widely banned across Tamriel, and necromancy, the magical art of raising the dead, is also forbidden in many regions).\nSee Volume II for a list of noble families that donated most heavily to the sewer construction. The original designers who imagined the sewers just prior to the fall of Orsinium remain lost to time, though Volume III contains a list of artisans and engineers who have worked to expand development since the end of the First Era."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wayrest-jewel-bay-eso": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wayrest-jewel-bay-eso", "description": "A history of Wayrest", "author": "Sathyr Longleat the Elder", "title": "Wayrest, Jewel of the Bay", "text": "(Cumberland Edition)\nWayrest is one of the most glorious cities of western Tamriel\u2014sparkling in her contemporary beauty, lustrous by her past. She is prized above all cities in High Rock. No other city has contributed so much to the culture of the Bretons. The spirits of her genius children continue to haunt the streets. You can see them in the gabled roofs, grand boulevards, and aromatic marketplaces. The people of Wayrest have an instinctive appreciation of their past, but are not obsessed by it, as the people of Daggerfall seem to be. One feels that one is in a modern city when one visits Wayrest, but there is a magic in the air that could only come from centuries of civilization.\nIt is difficult for historians to declare a certain date for the foundation of Wayrest. Where the Bjoulsae River feeds the Iliac Bay, a settlement of some variety has existed since at least 1E 800. The traders and fishermen of Wayrest were surrounded by hostile parties. The Orc capital Orsinium had grown like a weed to the north, and pirates and raiders crowded the islands to the west. There is no mystery to Wayrest's name. After what most travelers had to endure at the eastern end of the Iliac Bay, the little fishing village on the Bjoulsae was a welcome rest.\nNowhere in the much-vaunted censuses of the Skyrim Occupation is Wayrest mentioned. In the Annals of Daggerfall, King Joile's letter to Gaiden Shinji of 1E 948 contains the following reference: \"The Orcs have been plaguing the Wayresters and impeding traffic to the heart of the land.\"\nWayrest only truly bloomed after the razing of Orsinium in 1E 980. Hard-working traders and merchants were instrumental in forming a trade alliance, thus reducing pirate activity on the bay. A successful mercantile family, the Gardners, built a walled palace in town and, over time, allowed banks and other businesses within its walls. A Gardner, Farangel, was proclaimed king when Wayrest was granted the right to call itself a kingdom in 1E 1100.\nAlthough Wayrest was ruled by one family, the merchants continued to wield incredible power. Many economists have alleged that Wayrest's eternal wealth, despite her hardships, comes from this rare relationship between merchants and crown. The Gardner Dynasty was followed by the Cumberland Dynasty, but never has a king of Wayrest been deposed by revolution or assassination. Every king of Wayrest can trace his line back to a merchant prince of Wayrest. The merchants and king respect one another, and this relationship strengthens both.\nWayrest has survived blights, droughts, plagues, piracy, invasions, and war with good humor and practicality. In 1E 2702, the entire population of the city was forced to move into the walled estate of the Gardners as protection against pirates, raiders, and the Thrassian plague. A less resourceful community would have withered, but the Wayresters have survived to enrich Tamriel generation after generation."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wayshrines-tamriel": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wayshrines-tamriel", "description": "Background on the shrines... and on fast travel.", "author": "Beredalmo the Signifier", "title": "Wayshrines of Tamriel", "text": "Since time immemorial, devout mortals of Tamriel have built shrines to their Divines at sites that have been recognized as holy and sanctified. Many of these sites were chosen due to specific miracles or blessed events that marked them, though others simply inspire feelings of reverence for matters divine. Because they are located here and there where inspiration struck, rather than at points of convenience, these sites are scattered across the land, and have come to be known as \"wayshrines.\"\nOf course, the shrines built at these sites by devout worshipers reflect the local religious beliefs, and are constructed and adorned so as to honor the foremost local Divines. Many priesthoods believe that wayshrines act as direct conduits to Aetherius, and that when a mortal dies his or her soul is drawn to the nearest wayshrine, where it meets some sort of psychopomp or spiritual escort, who leads the soul to the afterlife. Though this is a mystical matter and therefore not susceptible to scholarly proof, it is striking that so many different faiths across Tamriel endorse this belief.\nAs all know, the stars in the heavens are perforations in the Mundus through which shines the magical light of Aetherius. Lord Corvus Direnni theorized that the locations of wayshrines on Tamriel correspond to the pattern of stars in the night sky, because our Mundus is a reflection of Aetherius. However, to test this theory we would need a comprehensive map of every wayshrine site on Tamriel, a task too daunting to contemplate, so proof of this hypothesis, if true, will have to come from another source.\nLord Corvus was also a renowned conjurer, who devised and promulgated the standard \"portal\" spells now popularized by the Mages Guild. (His work was based on the pioneering research of the Ayleid sorcerer known to history as \"The Transmigrant.\" But that is liquor for a different cocktail.) Corvus theorized that, if one only knew how, the wayshrines could be used as a permanent portal network by which one could travel rapidly across Tamriel. He speculated that such a \"fast traveler\" would need to somehow attune himself to a wayshrine, which would add its \"node\" to the traveler's \"web of sojourn.\"\nHowever, in order to learn how to do this, the great Direnni wizard believed a mortal's soul would have to be, temporarily or permanently, \"unmoored from the Mundus.\" I am not at all certain what that phrase means, and if Lord Corvus understood it, none of his written memoirs explain what he meant by it. Based on my studies of the notebooks left behind in Lord Corvus' workshop in Direnni Tower, proof and implementation of this theory eluded him, and eventually he abandoned it to return to perfecting variations on Koron's Peremptory Summons."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/we-expect-absolute-discretion": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/we-expect-absolute-discretion", "description": "A nameless client wishes no more damaged merchandise", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "We Expect Absolute Discretion", "text": "The Fists have stepped up patrols around the docks, so don't get stupid. Do what you do and they'll never be the wiser. Delivery's the same.\nAssuming the corpses are whole, payment will reach you as it always does. If you are foolish enough to deliver another headless batch, we will end this and make other arrangements.\nWe expect absolute discretion. Even if the Fists catch you, even if they torture you, you would be wise to go silent to your grave.\nDeath will not save you from us.\n<The letter has no signature, but there is an intricate drawing of a black vine wrapping around itself at the bottom. The thorns drip with blood.>"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/we-have-control": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/we-have-control", "description": "A grisly extortion", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "We Have Control", "text": "Enclosed you will find a lock of Hizurrdo's fur. Just remember \u2026 there is more than one way to skin a Khajiit."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/we-know-many-rocks": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/we-know-many-rocks", "description": "Our organization is most impressed", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "We Know, Many-Rocks", "text": "We have seen your deeds, Many-Rocks. You trail blood down the river as you swim. Moving always from home to home, across the face of the Ashlands. The blood of the oppressors has stained your scales crimson.\nWe are impressed.\nJust one more act and you will be ready. You will be \u2026 contacted. Hail Sithis!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/we-who-are-about-die": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/we-who-are-about-die", "description": "Dramatic memoir fragment of an Arena combatant", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "We Who Are About To Die ", "text": "\"We who are about to die\u2014\"\nNo, too direct. Too grim. How about \u2026.\n\"We who are about to march to war\u2014\"\nNo, no. Too melodramatic. I need an opening for my memoir that's catchy, memorable, and will make people want to turn the pages. Let me see \u2026.\n\"There once was a warrior from Rivenspire, who came to the Dragonstar Arena with a sword on fire\u2014\"\nNow that's an opening! It even rhymes! I wonder how much of this I can write before it's our turn to enter the Arena? Ah, what's the hurry? I can always finish it after we win."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/we-will-be-spared": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/we-will-be-spared", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "We Will Be Spared", "text": "We will be spared the disaster to come, trueborn and native of this land as our family is!\n\tStop trying to spy on Medya at night when she goes behind our home, or she may change her mind."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/were-even": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/were-even", "description": "An angry merchant provides a list of unique artifacts to his thieves guild masters", "author": "Elyar", "title": "We're Even", "text": "All right, I've done your dirty work. You wanted to know about neglected valuables along my trade route. Well, I've found out what I can. I don't want to hear from you again. My debt is paid, and I'm not coming back to Abah's Landing.\n-Elyar\nOne of the Mages Guilds in Greenshade has the Original \"Living Plant-Wear\" Book Set. I don't know what it is, but I know the Wood Elves think it's something special. I hope they eat both your hands if you try to take it from them.\nThere's some Unripe Bimillenial Lillandril Sylph-Mead hidden in an inn an Auridon. Don't focus on the \"unripe\" part - learn what \"bimillenial\" means if you want to understand why it's valuable. Or don't. Drink it and go blind for all I care.\nOh, but here's something I do hope you steal: King Farangel's Ode to Wayrest. He might have been a great king, but he was a terrible poet. Honestly, I think the people of Stormhaven gave it to the Mages Guild more as a joke than an item of historic significance. Hysterical significance, perhaps? Maybe if you read it, it'll drive you mad. Go ahead.\nLikewise, if I have to tell you where to shove Mzahnch's Universal Instrument Tuner, I've been much too indirect in my instructions. You'll find it hidden in another Mages Guild, this one in Eastmarch. Sit on it and let it spin you around.\nDo you think it's possible Indoril's Ash Bear will come back to life if you steal its Skull? The people of Stonefalls do. Perhaps that's why they hid it in the basement of an unprepossessing inn. With any luck, the scent of it will draw more of the Chimer beasts to you and they'll be crapping your insides out for days.\nOne more, eh? Might as well get an entire race mad at you. There's an Ancient \"First Egg-Master\" Idol right out in the open in Mournhold, near the city center. I'm sure a thief as good as you can just swoop right in and steal it. Don't worry about the Argonians, either - it isn't like they haven't fought wars over religious artifacts before. I'm sure stealing it won't anger anyone.\nThat's it. I'd say, \"good luck,\" but I'm not sure how to turn that into a curse upon you and all your thieving friends."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/weapon-activation": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/weapon-activation", "description": "Useful information on activating a weapon", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Weapon Activation", "text": "Canonreeve,\nIf the need ever arises, it should be simple to activate the device. It is powered by a series of Welkynd Stones. It should target and destroy attacking ships of its own volition.\nIn addition to the stone in your possession, I'll keep one in the chest at my home. The final stone is at Marrayna's tavern. I know, I know, it's just a dalliance. But I wanted to give her something nice.\nJust place the stones in the right sequence of sconces, and it will activate. The sequence is \u2014"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/weapon-and-armor-care-notes": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/weapon-and-armor-care-notes", "description": "How to make sure it doesn't get damaged", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Weapon and Armor Care Notes", "text": "Leather doesn't last as long when it's constantly damp. Even when polished each night, mold blooms across its surface, dulling the shine and eating away at its strength.\nMetal suffers a different, but not dissimilar fate. Rust eats away from the inside out, bubbling through and flaking away unprotected areas. Joints stiffen if not oiled constantly.\nPreserve your weapons and armor, soldiers! When possible, hang your gear above the sodden ground. As you must breathe, so must they, for they will prove your only protection against the enemies known and unknown against whom we are set.\nSIGNED: The Office of the Quartermaster"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/weaponsmith-practicum": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/weaponsmith-practicum", "description": "Practice problems for an aspiring weaponsmith", "author": "Defessus Lector", "title": "Weaponsmith Practicum", "text": "Bardus,\nMy hope was that the Alchemy Practicum I gave you would be sufficient to motivate you to study harder. In fact, it seems to have made you even more dependent on step-by-step instruction.\nI attribute this to your inherent laziness rather than a lack of ability. I have seen how elaborate and time-consuming are your efforts at bullying young Glabius. Was it necessary to snare him and hang him upside down in front of the White-Gold Tower on market day?\nWell, hopefully this Weaponsmith Practicum will divert your energies toward a more constructive use of your time.\nWeaponsmith Practicum\nTo make an Iron Sword of Flame you combine Corroded Quicksilver, Dirty Bone Oil, and what other additive to the molten metal?\nTo make an Iron Dagger of Shock you combine Corroded Dwarven Scrap, Dirty Bone Dust, and what other additive to the molten metal?\nTo make an Iron Hammer of Frost you treat the shaft with Dirty Fleshings and what two other additives?\nI want to see an example of each type of weapon\u2014with the appropriate enchantment on it!\u2014within a week's time."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wear-them-down": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wear-them-down", "description": "Harass, but do not kill", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Wear Them Down", "text": "Harass <<1>>. No casualties! Wear them down.\nReturn to camp if injured. Study the map on the back so you don't get lost."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wear-them-down-0": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wear-them-down-0", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Wear Them Down", "text": "Harass <<1>>. No casualties! Wear them down.\nReturn to camp if injured. Study the map on the back so you don't get lost."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/web-covered-diary": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/web-covered-diary", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Web-Covered Diary", "text": "The veil is thickest here, the boundary between us and the world above clings to everything, giving the darkness substance. It holds tightly in the absence of light, bringing with it a numbing cold. I find it comforting.\n\u2014\nThese caves are an ideal environment to tend for our kin. The Silken Ring offers tributes of blood as succor to the fledglings. Nestled in the shadow of their great mother, they will grow large and grow strong, until we release them back into the world.\n\u2014\nI am truly blessed by the Spinner. My will calls out to the veil and it moves by my whim. I have woven it into my own web. Through it I can feel the skitter of our kin, the throb of the eggs, the terrified quivering of the prey tossed down for us. The Lady of Lace was wise to grant me this domain.\n\u2014\nNow this is interesting. Something disturbs the calm of the shadows that I have not felt before. Intruders. They tug and tear at the snare with purpose, but will their strength endure or will it ebb away as my noose draws tighter? I find myself thrilled to find the answer."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/welcome-new-aldmeri-irregulars": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/welcome-new-aldmeri-irregulars", "description": "The Altmer must fix things again", "author": "Aicantar of Shimmerene, Sapiarch of Indoctrination", "title": "Welcome to New Aldmeri Irregulars", "text": "Welcome, Altmeri, Bosmeri, and Khajiiti warriors. Welcome to the elite force of the Aldmeri Irregulars!\nOrcs, Dark Elves, and Men\u2014most of all, Men\u2014are best at war. They have drenched the mainland of Tamriel in rivers of blood. As long as their follies were confined to murdering one another, what they did in and around their so-called \"Imperial City\" was beneath the notice of the Altmer of Summerset.\nThen came the Dragon Break. That catastrophe was entirely the fault of Men, but the Altmer had to repair it. Now the Men of the Empire have catastrophically blundered again, and all Nirn is threatened. Our good queen had no choice but to form the Aldmeri Dominion to conquer Cyrodiil, and ensure for the good of all who dwell in Nirn that Men never again tamper with forces beyond their comprehension and competence.\nOnly the Aldmeri\u2014the High Elves and their noble allies, the Wood Elves and Cat-Men\u2014have the wisdom and restraint to peaceably rule the disparate peoples of Tamriel. Though we are reluctant to take up this burden, events have shown that we must. Recent events prove that the Dragon Break was not a unique event. Men always follow the destructive path of their defender and apologist, the Missing God whom we shall not name. This ends here. Once again, Elves shall rule Tamriel from White-Gold Tower \u2026 this time, forever.\nThe world has gone wrong, and we must put it right. March proudly beneath the eagle banner of the Aldmeri Dominion!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/welcome-ice-caves": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/welcome-ice-caves", "description": "Orientation for new miners", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Welcome to the Ice Caves", "text": "Congratulations. You made it to the ice caves.\nIf you're reading this, it's because you're working a shift mining in the ice caves. If you've never done this sort of work before, rest assured there's always a need for more miners. Here's some free advice. If you don't read this, we're not responsible for what happens to you.\n1) You can always ask questions from the more experienced miners. If they've lived long enough to make it through a few seasons down here, they've got good advice. The miners who don't ask advice tend to make mistakes. I won't lie to you: some of those mistakes can be fatal. If you get hurt, you'll need some of that coin you've been saving up.\n2) Always keep an eye out for a possible attack from the enemy. If it's been a while since we've found something valuable, we can't afford to deploy lots of guards. Everyone's got to get a pick and pitch in. We know that makes us vulnerable to attack from bandits, invaders, animals, or worse, but if we don't keep making a profit, we'll have to close the mine.\n3) Claim jumpers, bandits, and invaders are always a problem. We recruit as many folks as we can, just in case an organized force comes in and tries to take over. Soldiers seem to think that mines are valuable targets for conquest, but of course, they don't want to do any of the actual work here. If you see any signs of suspicious activity, contact one of the more experienced miners or the foreman. Right now, we're paying you. If soldiers seize this place, you're going to be slave labor. Don't think it couldn't happen.\n4) I know it's cold. Even if you're a Nord, you're going to find the cold miserable, and I don't care. Heat melts ice, and we can't heat up the mines too much, or all that ice is going to melt. A collapsing tunnel is even worse than the mine getting attacked.\n5) Do what you're told. I know you think you've got an instinct of where to dig and where not to dig, but that's not your job. There's always going to be someone in a mine who has more experience than you do, and they're the ones who decide where you dig. They'll tell you what they're looking for. Once you've found a deposit, tell your superior and focus on harvesting it as fast as you can. Time is money.\n6) Keep an eye out for danger. You've made it through enough training to recognize the signs of a buttress or brace that's about to collapse, the color a flame makes when exposed to harmful gas, the scent of hazardous gas, and the chances of a cave-in. When in doubt, point it out. We'd rather have you look like a fool and be wrong than chance losing valuable lives because you didn't tell someone.\n7) Think of home, but be careful what you say. We all have folks at home. If you miss them, there's someone nearby who misses home more. You're not here to talk. You're here to dig. I know some of the miners are lucky enough to have family staying in quarters nearby, but that costs money, and you can't afford that yet. You're probably working here to raise money for your precious loved ones, so remember that when you're working hard. No one wants to hear about your family troubles or your money troubles, because we all have them. If you didn't have them, you wouldn't be working here. Either that, or you're here because you're expecting to have a lucrative career mining in the ice caves.\n8) This is a job. We're paying you. If you can't show up for your shift on time or do what you're told, you won't have a job anymore. It's a long walk back to town, especially when you don't have any gold. Do what you're told, and you'll get your pay. And remember, it could be worse. If this mine gets attacked, you'll be slave labor real quick. Be grateful you're getting paid. You're lucky to have this job.\nThank you for doing what you were told and reading this. Hope you enjoyed the break.\n\tNow get back to work."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/welcome-veiled-recruit": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/welcome-veiled-recruit", "description": "Orientation for new members", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Welcome, Veiled Recruit", "text": "Recruit! You're only going to get one chance to get this right. Slip up and you're out!\n\t\u2014 Tell no one of the Veiled Keep, or our training grounds on the island.\n\t\u2014 Recognition phrases change every two days. Learn to memorize these phrases as if your life depended on them. It does.\n\t\u2014 At all times, keep your gear in good order. Alandare in particular hates a sloppy uniform. Keep it clean. Keep your blade sharp.\n\t\u2014 Try not to strut in front of the servile scum in Skywatch. Their day will come, but we must be patient."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wenayasille": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wenayasille", "description": "A fruitful season", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Wenayasille", "text": "The time of green and growth,\n\tLong days and short nights.\n\tAbundant life, endless sun,\n\tFruits ripen and creatures thrive."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wenridils-logbook": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wenridils-logbook", "description": "A Bosmer gets high to find an artefact", "author": "Wenridil", "title": "Wenridil's Logbook", "text": "11, Frostfall\nGave the gazing mirror another try today. Still nothing. Well, not exactly \"nothing.\" There's a lot of mist, and indistinct murmuring, and ghostly figures. Also an intermittent thunking noise that sounds like someone prying a wagon out of a pothole. But beyond that? Nothing.\nI've racked my brain, trying to think of a place in Tamriel full of fog, murmuring, wagons, and potholes. Not surprisingly, I've come up empty-handed. Maybe I'll try the moon-sugar reverie Zhirrar suggested. The treethanes won't like it, but I've got to believe the Green will forgive me just this once. I'll eat a whole boar afterward, I promise!\n13, Frostfall\nWell, that was a mistake. Trying to eat some weird plant after a lifetime of meat consumption was a terrible idea. Been stuck in the privy for the better part of a day.\nI suppose it wasn't a total loss though. Zharrir tells me that the first taste of sugar is the most powerful, so this might have been my best chance to catch a glimpse of the artifact. I managed to pass through the mist and the ghostly whispers this time. But eventually I ran into something. It was smooth. Spherical. But totally impassable. It whirred and thunked once. Then I threw up.\nI'll have to pass this by Skaldir. He's heard the thunking too - though he describes it as a cranking sound. We're getting closer, I know it!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wergital-wolf-boy": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wergital-wolf-boy", "description": "A feral boy raised by wolves is taken down", "author": "Attributed to Edouard Longtemps", "title": "Wergital the Wolf-Boy", "text": "Kynareth watched from the rain, clouds, and skies\n\tA Breton child cloaked in a furry disguise\n\tNurtured by wolves of the Glenumbra glen\n\tA wolf-boy would scamper through woods, hills, and fen\n\tCutting his teeth on the flesh of the hunt\n\tHe grew brawn and bone, no longer the runt\n\tNight hunts for prey in the light of Secunda\n\tThe pack grew more daring to forage and plunder\nFell's Run farmers, their hairs stood on end\n\tFlitting dark shapes, t'was a violent portend\n\tBringing down cattle with ravenous snarl\n\tA predator child with the wolves in his thrall\n\tHunters dispatched, with pelts their desire\n\tThe wolves they did flee, all safe in the briar\n\tMore daring the wolf raids, encroaching the town\n\tSo elders did plan to bring the pack down\nA goat tied and bleating, intended as bait\n\tLured wolf-boy and pack to a terrible fate\n\tThe pack leapt at prey, intending a meal\n\tBut the archers of Fell's Run soon brought them to heel\n\tArrows flew fast as the boy dropped his cowl\n\tBloodied and pierced, he fell with a howl\n\tWergital Wolf-Boy was burned on the moor\n\tReturn unto Kynareth\u2014your soul is now pure"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wet-wilds-black-marsh": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wet-wilds-black-marsh", "description": "", "author": "Cirantille", "title": "Wet Wilds of Black Marsh", "text": "During the Second Empire, the vast swamplands encompassing Black Marsh were claimed as Imperial territory. Naturally, the obtuse Elves (and other admirers of this seeping pustule on the buttocks of Tamriel) favor the name Argonia, an ancient battleground where their forebears were put to death. Perhaps because of this, it was deemed appropriate to give the primordial tribes of lizard-folk the name \"Argonian\" in our common tongue. What cannot be argued is the pitiful state of this province; it positively oozes with the devastated and fetid: the scars of battles past and plunderers present permanently disfigure these already-inhospitable borderlands. Wade inward, though, and the dark heart of Black Marsh will elude you; its elements combine to infect explorers with poxes both real and imagined.\nThe inhabitants of this province enjoy an anonymity not seen elsewhere. The early Aldmeri explorer and poet Topal the Pilot described \"manlike reptiles, fleet of foot and running the length of this great mire,\" and gave the impression of an abandoned place, unlivable to settlers. However, primitive Men such as the Kothringi, primal Mer like the Barsaebic Ayleids, and relatives of the Khajiit like the vulpine Lilmothiit all fought for their own pieces of this noisome refuge."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/what-pig-needs": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/what-pig-needs", "description": "The care and feeding of our porcine friends", "author": "Swineherd Francois Wickton", "title": "What a Pig Needs", "text": "Being a swineherd is much harder than you think. Being a good swineherd is even harder. There are many things that a pig needs and it is the duty of the swineherd to see to them all.\nA pig needs mud to wallow in, dry hay to sleep in, and clean water to drink and bathe in.\nA pig needs slop to eat. Slop can consist of almost any food scraps, but a pig prefers corn cobs, fruit, vegetables, mushrooms, and wheat.\nBut most of all, a pig needs love. Love your pigs and they will serve you well."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/what-comes-next": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/what-comes-next", "description": "A plea to Hircine to \"cleanse\" Valenwood", "author": "Calahawn", "title": "What Comes Next", "text": "You won't regret your pledge to help. Together, we can reclaim Valenwood for the Bosmer!\nIf you're reading this, you should already have the requisite list of reagents and know what to do with them. When ready, seek a quiet corner of Grahtwood where you won't be disturbed. Perform the ritual when ready. It's simple\u2014elegant. As Valenwood was before the Dominion polluted it.\nHircine will hear our call! The more who call out to him, the louder our voice. Together, we'll hunt\u2014until all left in Valenwood are Bosmer.\n\t\u2014Calahawn"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/what-eats-birds": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/what-eats-birds", "description": "Author is annoyed by those around him", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "What Eats Birds?", "text": "Blasted birds. Never a moment's peace. Everywhere I look, birds! Great gulls with smiling beaks. Tiny things with blue feathers, nipping at flies. Never silent. No, never quiet.\nWhat eats birds? Cats, but they're no better than birds. Always grooming themselves. Tiny fiends with tiny claws. Always stealing my fish!\nWhere will I go? This island is covered in cats. Cat men! Men who are cats. Think they can fool me? They're in it with the birds!\nBetter to go into the wilderness. Find someplace safe. Maybe underground. No cats there, no birds! Only the dark. Dark and cold, like a fish."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/what-flows-downstream": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/what-flows-downstream", "description": "Scavenging corpses from the river", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "What Flows Downstream", "text": "Dark water brings bounty, like the raven brings sustenance to her chicks. But as the mother raven may not always have a choice of what to feed her offspring, so the dark water brings us bounties both greater and lesser.\nThe bounties of the most recent scavenger harvest diverge from the raven mother's directly. As she might enjoy the plethora of corpses and refuse washed downstream and into our hands, we have little use for dead Elves or Men \u2026 at least, of corpses this decayed.\nBroken weapons, rusted armor, and warped arrows are equally disappointing. But some bear enchantments our tree-minders may be able to unravel. A wind brings a song to my ear of some great enchantment buried in the glistening muck. Our scavengers may bring back a worthy prize from this harvest after all."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/what-volendrung": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/what-volendrung", "description": "Musings about the (in)famous warhammer", "author": "Gurour", "title": "What is Volendrung? ", "text": "Volendrung is one of the most notorious mythological artifacts in history. It has cultural ties to the Dwemer as well as the Daedra, though scholars fail to agree on just about every detail that has ever been written about it\u2014including whether or not different accounts are referencing the same object.\nAcademics recognize one such artifact, called Volendrung, as a Dwemer relic forged by Clan Rourken. It was carried into battle as a family symbol as much as it was the chieftain's weapon, and was made famous when the Rourkens refused to join the First Council of Chimer and Dwemer. The other Dwemer forsook them for the slight, and the Rourkens refused to stay with their people if it meant an alliance with the Chimer\u2014their sworn enemies.\nSo the Rourken chieftain hurled Volendrung into the sky, declaring that their people would find a home wherever it landed. Volendrung thus served as a guiding light for Clan Rourken in exile as the Hammer roared, beastlike, across the sky. It shone like a second sun during the day, mirrored the moons at night, and led the Rourken to the other side of the continent. There, they supposedly founded the fabled city of Volenfell\u2014which has yet to be discovered in the modern era, if it ever truly existed.\nBut how did the unidentified Rourken chieftain manage such a tremendous throw? Dwemer armies were known for their engines of war, and their mechanical infantry. If the Dwemer had the capability to project a weapon cross-continent by hand, why did they never utilize such long-range assaults in warfare? Even a modern Arch-Mage would have difficulty concocting a spell to launch an object over such a distance. Unless Volendrung was actually a flying engine, powered by lost Dwemer mechanics, the whole story reeks of a Bosmer tale.\nSome skeptics, including this one, believe the Dwemer Volendrung's flight is simply poetic imagery representing the wandering exile of Clan Rourken.\nA second hammer called Volendrung, this time a Daedric artifact belonging to the Daedric Prince Malacath, exists in records nearly as old as the Dwemer version. Malacath's relic echoes the Dwemer name, and for this reason, many assume that it is the same legendary weapon. But why would the God of Curses associate himself with an object forged by enemies? To make a mockery of Dwemer work? To take something the Dwemer treasured and use it as an instrument against them? A rather subversive and indirect action\u2014unbecoming of Malacath's historically straightforward mentality.\nAngarin's \"The Daedric Armory\" speculates on the Hammer's magical features: the text cites several Mages Guild papers, claiming the Hammer empowers its wielder, and drains the strength of struck foes\u2014very much in line with a Malacathan design. There is little doubt that the relic described could be tied to the God of Curses. What is in doubt is whether it was named by mortals or by Malacath himself\u2014and whether the Rourken Clan wielded the same Hammer in centuries past.\nWhat is Volendrung? Tamriel may never know."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/whats-yours-mine-little-larceny": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/whats-yours-mine-little-larceny", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "What's Yours is Mine (A Little Larceny)", "text": "What's mine is mine, what's yours is mine,\nYou turn your back and then\nYour portable gear is gone from here\nYou never will see it again\nWalker, don't get so attached\nTo objects and items material\nYou know that wisdom's found above\nIn the Moons and heavens ethereal\n(Think fast!)\nWhat's mine is mine, what's yours is mine,\nYou turn your back and then\nYour portable gear is gone from here\nYou never will see it again\nFaith in gold is sadly misplaced\nTrue riches are friendship and love\nBehold those dancers winking at you\nYou know what they're thinking of\n(Look at that!)\nWhat's mine is mine, what's yours is mine,\nYou turn your back and then\nYour portable gear is gone from here\nYou never will see it again"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/when-i-will-come-courtin": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/when-i-will-come-courtin", "description": "A Covenant song", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "When I Will Come A-Courtin'", "text": "When I will come a-courtin'\n\tAll to the Shornhelm maids\n\tI'll have a cart all full of silk\n\tAnd ribbons for their braids.\n\tAnd wandered he all through the planes\n\tSearching for his bride\n\tBut Akatosh has cast him out\n\tIn sanction for his pride.\n\tOne crown to glory bring\n\tBut only blood and death to show them\n\tOne crown to glory bring\n\tFor Ranser's folly, died."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/when-we-pass": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/when-we-pass", "description": "Redguard belief on the afterlife and Tu'whacca", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "When We Pass", "text": "Do not weep for your father, for he goes to join his father.\n\tDo not weep for your mother, for she goes to join her mother.\n\tTake only account of yourself, for you will go to join your father and your mother one day as they went to meet theirs.\n\tTreat your children well, for they too will one day come to join you.\n\tPray for your children's children, for one day they will raise children of their own who will also come to join you.\n\tWalk proudly every day with the firm knowledge in your heart that you will go home.\n\tYou will walk through the Hall of Heroes and find your way to the eternal sands of the Far Shores.\n\tIt has been this way and will be this way for all Ra Gada who walk under the watchful eye of Tu'whacca."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/where-are-people": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/where-are-people", "description": "Author cannot locate the people", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "WHERE ARE THE PEOPLE", "text": "WHERE ARE THE PEOPLE WHERE ARE THE PEOPLE WHERE ARE THE PEOPLE WHERE ARE THE PEOPLE WHERE ARE THE PEOPLE WHERE ARE THE PEOPLE WHERE ARE THE PEOPLE WHERE ARE THE PEOPLE WHERE ARE THE PEOPLE WHERE ARE THE PEOPLE WHERE ARE THE PEOPLE WHERE ARE THE PEOPLE WHERE ARE THE PEOPLE WHERE ARE THE PEOPLE"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/where-ill-be": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/where-ill-be", "description": "A young Khajiit gets caught by smugglers", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Where I'll Be", "text": "A young Khajiit wandered into camp last night, said he's looking for Hazak. If anyone asks where I am, I'm dragging this fool off to Hazak's Hollow. He'll see the boss before his head and body part ways.\nWe spotted Aldmeri on the beaches. If you need me, send a runner up and around the hill above Hazak's Hollow. Double back to the dock near the entrance."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/where-magical-paths-meet": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/where-magical-paths-meet", "description": "An enthusiastic promotion of the Conjuration school", "author": "Warlock Aldaale", "title": "Where Magical Paths Meet", "text": "Mastering Conjuration means having access to an entire spectrum of utility.\n\u2014Are you in need of a flame spell? Conjure a Flame Atronach. You'll have command of a dozen such spells, in the form of a fiery avatar.\n\u2014Are you caught in the dead of night and wishing you had prepared a light spell? Conjure a Will-o-the-Wisp: its natural luminescence banishes darkness.\n\u2014Do you lack a telekinesis spell to move a boulder out of your way? Conjure a Storm Atronach to lift it for you.\n\t\u2014Did you forget the shield ward you'll need to protect yourself from a sudden hail? Conjure a Frost Atronach to crystallize the air above for temporary shelter.\n\u2014Is your life detection spell unable to discern a fleeing target from all the other living things in the wilderness? Conjure a Wolf Familiar to pick up the scent.\nThe flexibility of Conjuration magic has been an unsung passion of mine, and I've compiled a comprehensive guide for replacing specific, commonly-used spells with Conjuration substitutions (see Volume II, page seven, for more).\nConjuration even allows access to Daedric abilities (for those who dare to wield them). A mage well-versed in Conjuration can summon all variety of Daedra, from Scamps to Dremora Lords. Mine wouldn't be the first primer for spells like these, but Volume III of this collection contains detailed instructions on beckoning the denizens of Oblivion. \"The Origins of Conjuration\" is also a useful read on the subject.*\nI realize I write highly of Conjuration here, almost extravagantly, but if you'll do me the favor of reading the rest of this collection (Volumes II-XXII), you'll find that my words have weight.\n*Author's Note: It should go without saying, but contact the Oblivion planes only with the utmost discretion: the unwary mage could lose her life\u2014or worse\u2014in dealings with the Daedra."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/white-rose-guards-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/white-rose-guards-journal", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "White Rose Guard's Journal", "text": "12th of Frostfall\n\tThe prison has been on high alert for days and the prisoners are on edge. They keep asking me what's going on but I don't even know myself. The commander is supposed to give us a briefing soon.\n18th of Frostfall\n\tIt's official \u2026 we're being recalled and have been instructed to take everything of value with us. The commander told us not to bother much with the prisoners, as they wouldn't be able to leave even if they wanted to. I heard a rumor he performed a ritual to seal them in here forever. Seems an unnecessarily cruel fate, even for criminals.\n20th of Frostfall\n\tI was ordered to load all the supplies for the quartermaster but I couldn't bring myself to leave the inmates with nothing. I've managed to hide some food and equipment around the prison and I intend to give this book to General Raetus when I leave so he can find it. He was my commanding officer before he was court-martialed and he always treated me with respect. It's the least I can do."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/whitebear": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/whitebear", "description": "A clan-fathering champion", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Whitebear", "text": "Whitebear was the founder of the first organized gladiator clan, the Bear Clan, a group comprised mainly of Nords. Since its founding, other renowned gladiators began to form their own clans, and thus the tradition of competing in organized groups was born. Curiously, despite the fact that they train, sleep, and live together, when clan members face one another in the arena, they will often fight harder, and offer no quarter to their fellow clansmen. For this is the sacred tradition of the gladiators of the Blessed Crucible.\nUsurped: Lucius the Stalwart\nDefeated By: Ferian Darkstorm"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/who-are-wardens-truly": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/who-are-wardens-truly", "description": "Explores the relationship between the Wardens and the Bosmeri Spinners", "author": "Lady Cinnabar", "title": "Who are the Wardens Truly?", "text": "In Phrastus of Elinhir's spurious essay \u201cA Story of Blood: The Spinners take Tamriel,\" he argues that the Wardens of the wilds, in his trademark imaginative style, are a militant faction of the Wood Elf priests known as the Spinners. I believe this assertion is either the result of a lack of proper academic rigor, or, just as likely, an attempt to manufacture controversy to appeal to the masses.\nIn my own meticulous research, I have certainly found some similarities between the Spinners and Wardens. Like the Wood Elf priests, these guardians appear to have a close connection with the god Y'ffre, the deity of song and forest.\nHowever, in my opinion, this is where the similarities end, and just as I did with the famous coven in my seminal work \u201cThe Glenmoril Wyrd,\" I shall take it upon myself to dispel the many myths and misunderstandings associated with these warriors.\nFirst and foremost, the Spinners are not militant or violent, preferring to allow others to fight for them and Valenwood and instead take on an advisory, scholarly, or priestly role within Bosmer society. By comparison, Wardens appear to be more than willing to shed blood to protect the wilds, and there are many reports of them attacking individuals, gangs, and even entire outposts that have done some harm to Y'ffre's realm.\nThere also appears to be stark differences in the Wardens' powers to that of the Spinners. While the Bosmer priests reportedly draw stories from their past, present, and future to entrance their audience, Wardens seem to draw from their natural environment to change and shape reality itself. In layman's terms, something I think my colleague Phrastus may appreciate, the Spinners appear to employ a kind of illusionary magic, whereas the Wardens' abilities are more akin to what might traditionally be called alteration or conjuration.\nWhile the Spinners are a unique priestly order that is central to Bosmer culture, my studies have found no singular body or organization that represents the Wardens, and indeed they appear to mostly travel alone or in pairs, beholden to nobody. If they are members of any groups, it is the local Fighters or Mages Guilds, or even, in one poorly documented case, a member of the Dark Brotherhood.\nGiven their association with Y'ffre, are the Wardens predominantly Wood Elves? It does not seem so. While Spinners are exclusively made up of Bosmer, Wardens of all races \u2013 man, mer, or beast \u2013 can be found protecting Tamriel's wilds. Indeed, I have met Wardens who hailed from the northernmost peaks of High Rock and from the southern forests of Elsweyr. I have even met a fellow native of Hammerfell.\nAnd what of the Green Pact? Do the Wardens adhere to the ancient Wood Elf tradition? With the exception, of course, being those who are both Warden and Wood Elf, this does not appear to be the case, either. In my experience, most Wardens are, in fact, more than willing to make full use of nature's bounty in order to survive, including partaking in both its plant and animal life.\nFinally, the Spinners are found almost exclusively within the confines of Valenwood, and they rarely venture far beyond the protection of its dense forests. Wardens, however, appear all over Tamriel, with the most recent reports placing some on the island of Vvardenfell.\nThese are my early findings on the wardens of Tamriel. They are a unique and mysterious group, similar to the Spinners, but also plainly different. It is clear to me that greater academic inquiry is required, and I am sure upon further investigation, the rest of Phrastus of Elinhir's outrageous claims will be rendered false (as they so often are.)"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/who-asked-them-here": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/who-asked-them-here", "description": "They think they run the place", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Who Asked Them Here?", "text": "Outrageous! These people marched into my yard, my home, and demanded quartering and supplies! After they'd ransacked my cupboards and set up a fire pit on my lawn, I was told to sit tight and wait while they secured the town.\nI'm not going to be a prisoner in my own home. I'm going to march right out there to give them a piece of my mind."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/who-really-charge": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/who-really-charge", "description": "Molag Bal is really a mage conspiracy.", "author": "Brugagikh the Truthseeker", "title": "Who Is REALLY In Charge?", "text": "I have discovered conclusive proof that a secret cabal of elite mages working in hidden catacombs beneath every major city in Tamriel invented this so-called \"Planemeld\" as part of their devious plan to control all of Tamriel.\nThere is no \"Molag Bal.\" He's a myth. A clever fiction. These \"Dark Anchors\" are actually mind-control devices constructed by the Cabal and placed throughout the world. Do not approach these devices under any circumstances. They will cause you to hallucinate, see all manner of monsters and demons, and very likely force you to kill yourself by falling on your own sword.\nAll three Alliance leaders know of and support this cabal. In fact, they are all practicing members. DO NOT BE FOOLED."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/why-don-veil": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/why-don-veil", "description": "An anti-Ayrenn pamphlet", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Why Don the Veil?", "text": "Good mer, you know why to don the Veil. You know in your heart the danger facing the Isles. We have been betrayed.\nOur leaders now bend knee to a wastrel child. A Queen of cats and midgets. An adventurer given the throne by an accident of blood. A wench more fit for a cup house than a throne room.\nThese are our lands! The High Elf, the legacy of the Aldmeri people, now must sit idle beneath the blooms. We must watch as flea-bitten mongrels from the steppes cavort in public like mer. We must listen as the animal tongue of the wood is spoken in our streets.\nWe did not seek, nor did we provoke, this assault on our way of life. We did not expect, nor did we invite this confrontation. The true measure of a people's strength is how they rise to master the moment when it comes upon them.\nMaster the moment, mer of Auridon. Don the Veil! Rise up against this Queen, against her Dominion. And retake the Summerset Isles!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/why-projections": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/why-projections", "description": "Ladies in uniform and their strange ways", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Why the Projections?", "text": "I don't know about this General Lavinia. She's certainly charismatic. Those stirring speeches, the sweeping words!\nSomething about her manner puts me off. I don't mind a lady in uniform ordering me around or anything, but this whole magical projection business doesn't sit right with me.\nOh, well. As long as it keeps the wars away from here, I don't much care."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/why-we-farm": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/why-we-farm", "description": "Bosmer who break the Green Pact aren't always ashamed", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Why We Farm", "text": "Now that we have been banished to this cave there is little for us to do but chronicle the reasons we have been forced here. It distracts us from the hunger, and we will not break and eat our own kin as our disgusting brethren outside do.\nWe Bosmer, though they call us Apostates, seek to join the rest of the world in modern, civilized thought. We do not wish to be tree-worshiping primitives any longer.\nTo that end we did what to our cousins who imprisoned us in here is unthinkable: we farmed.\nWe planted and sowed and were going to harvest until we were found out and cast down here, beneath the surface, to die for our transgression against the Green Pact.\nWe did not agree to the Green Pact, our ancestors did long ago. Yet we must live with the consequences. We cannot even make our own bows thanks to this ridiculous agreement, yet we can buy them from other people. For us to chop down trees is blasphemy, but to pay someone else to do it is fine.\nThis hypocrisy is ridiculous and we refused to be bound by it. For our refusal, we die."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/why-we-fled": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/why-we-fled", "description": "Why the Orcs left Orsinium behind", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Why We Fled", "text": "Many will say we fled because we were cowards. My children, it is a lie. When time is long gone and your own people have forgotten where they came from, do not hang your head in shame. Remember the story of Turog's folly, of rock Orsinium, and Golkarr's tomb.\nThe Orcs are strong people, fierce and warlike. Blood is our birthright, and the sinews of Malacath knit around our bones. But we were not made to sit still. We were not made to settle and till the land, but to move and pillage, and plunder. Our strength is to destroy and reap from what we destroy the glory of war.\nBut many years ago, Turog, first among the Orcs in strength and rage, came to our people with a vision. We will build a great city, said he, and the rest of the world will look to us with fear and respect.\nFear us they did, but know that an Orc is never respected, no matter how great a city he builds.\nThey built the city into the rock, a shiny gem. Orsinium. And it was a great city, but Orcs were not made to live in cities. It's walls, designed to defend, only trapped us. Its threefold gates sealed us in. The city was a cairn to Turog's ambition\u2014to the dreams of the Orcs, and in time the Redguard and Breton peoples came to destroy it.\nWe did not flee because we feared war. We fled to meet the enemy and we cut a swathe through their armies and then through their lands. All their holdings in Wrothgar trembled as we marched, and the earth shook with the sound of our footfalls.\nO Glory! O Joy! To be Orcs again! Free and on the move!\nIt was not to last. The enemy mustered their forces in number far exceeding our own and pressed us back to the edge of the mountain, to the plain of unending ice. In the shelter of the clockwork demons we found warmth and home and a defense against out enemies, until the time when we can emerge again triumphant and ride to victory under the light Malacath's tusky grin."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/will-otrovor-knifeborn": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/will-otrovor-knifeborn", "description": "Just in case...", "author": "Otrovor Knifeborn", "title": "Will of Otrovor Knifeborn", "text": "At the insistence of the ever-worried Keera, I am writing a will. She feels we head into grave danger, from which we may never return. I think the rumors of hauntings and undead hordes are overblown. We've faced undead before; even Philien no longer wets himself at the sight of skeletons. Those we dispatched outside the cave are probably the worst we'll face.\nBut, to make Keera happy \u2026.\nTo my brother Wilvor, currently living in Bruma, I leave all my possessions, except our father's sword, which he is unworthy to wield. I want that buried with my ashes. There, done.\nSigned,\n\tOtrovor Knifeborn"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wind-ripped-page": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wind-ripped-page", "description": "A Khajiiti artifact may help against weather magic", "author": "Eacil", "title": "Wind-Ripped Page", "text": "\u2014 at sea for such a long time. Only a fool can't see the hurricane's magical origins.\nBut no matter! Local legends point to this Temple of the Mourning Springs as a potent source of arcane mysteries. Perhaps a chance to show up those fools in the Crystal Tower?\nYet Rurelion insists on a cautious approach, as does his fawning apprentice. Do they think me an imbecile? They won't take the glory of discovery away from me!\n\u2014 Ealcil"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/windhelm-shipping-manifest": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/windhelm-shipping-manifest", "description": "Pretty much what it says", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Windhelm Shipping Manifest", "text": "20 sacks Oats \u2014 Jarl of Windhelm\n\t3 sacks Cabbages \u2014 Marsen Guld\n\t2 sacks Potatoes \u2014 Marsen Guld\n\t1 loaf Salt \u2014 Marsen Guld\n\t5 sacks Salted Mammoth \u2014 Hravard of Rorikstead\n\t3 casks Mead \u2014 Hravard of Rorikstead\n\t1 wheel Eidar Cheese \u2014 Tarnis of Riften\n\t2 jars Mustard \u2014 Tarnis of Riften"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/windwalker-tamahl": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/windwalker-tamahl", "description": "A poem abut Gaiden Shinji's right hand man", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Windwalker Tamahl", "text": "Ever faithful was Tamahl,\nQuick of wit and slow to fall,\nSo his friends remember.\nHe swung his blade with peerless grace,\nA tranquil mask upon his face,\nAs his enemies remember.\nFor Gaiden Shinji's loyal aide,\nNo debt of honor went unpaid,\nShall everyone remember."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/winterborns-note": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/winterborns-note", "description": "Uncovering a conspiracy to turn people into birds", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Winterborn's Note", "text": "Mairrna,\nWarlord Uchuiran wouldn't explain anything to me, but I think I figured out the cause of the disappearances. I witnessed the warlord's lover, the hagraven Kraala, use a stuffed bird totem to transform one of our prisoners into a bird.\nI fear that the hagraven isn't restricting her transformations to just prisoners. I think she's using the totem on our own people! You should leave as soon as possible. I will\u2014\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wisdom-flying-gods": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wisdom-flying-gods", "description": "Draco is aphorisms", "author": "Magnius Calussa", "title": "Wisdom of the Flying Gods", "text": "Our message spreads among the ranks and soon it shall spread to the people beyond. It is time we write down and teach the Words of the True Masters. The Gods that Fly Above Us. For I have listened and will share what I have heard. Their wisdom. Their commands.\nWhat follows is my understanding of the Words of Dragons and my interpretation of what those Words mean, imperfect though that interpretation may be.\n* * *\n\"Dov nifaas wiixseroth.\"\nDragons fear not a trap of vines.\nBe aware of your strengths. Fall not for weaknesses that would trip lesser beings.\n* * *\n\"Nihnzey miir wah viik.\"\nBetrayal is the path to defeat.\nBetrayal, literally, a poisoned brother, fractures alliances. It can be the beginning of the end.\n* * *\n\"Nihnzey miir wah krongrah.\"\nBetrayal is the path to great victory.\nThe Masters are wise. Sometimes breaking an alliance is necessary to achieve victory.\n* * *\n\"Rul jol, lok.\"\nWhen unsteady, rise.\nI first misunderstood this, for I thought that \"lok\" meant just \"sky,\" and that we should look to the sky, but now I understand fully. It is not a command to look to the sky and seek help from above. It is a metaphor for flight. \"Rise.\" Brace yourself and push yourself harder above the turbulent winds. Do not seek the safety of the ground. Rise and seek greater glory instead.\n* * *\n\"Nunon mey bo strun voqostiid naal sov.\"\nOnly a fool flies in a storm and is surprised by the shock.\nBe aware of your circumstances. Do not be so blind to your surroundings or focused on your goals that you forget to see the obvious dangers around you.\n* * *\n\"Dey on folook fey ko ven ahrk ron.\"\nImplausible spirits haunt a grove in the wind and rain.\nWhatever you think you see, look again. Look closer. Is there a more reasonable explanation?\nA note: The word \"dey\" seems to have a rather bawdy direct translation. At its core, it means \"false,\" but has the connotation of \"laughably false,\" laughing at those who make a claim. \"On\" is a little more slippery. I think it means something like \"soul,\" but more empty. Something lifeless.\n* * *\n\"Nid jiid, nid kun.\"\nNo moon, no moonlight.\nEnsure that your resources are secure. That you know where they come from and that you do not take them for granted.\n* * *\nThese are but a few of the pieces of wisdom that I have overheard in my time near the Masters. I feel I have a good grasp of their ancient language, but I must listen closely for the wisdom in the words. I will stay close, as I am able. I am not an important officer, but my duties allow me to listen. And I will report, that you may hear their wisdom, as well. I will share more when the time is right."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wise-womans-journal-page": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wise-womans-journal-page", "description": "Bad things are happening to the Ashlander tribes", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Wise-woman's Journal Page", "text": "Another has disappeared on their hunt for the offerings. Four have gone and not returned now. Our offerings are meager and I fear the Daedra Lords show us their displeasure.\nWhy should they show us favor while the slaves of the false gods trample these holy grounds and erect their blasphemous temples? They are intent to drive us from this place and sunder our ancient pact.\nDishonored or dead, our warriors cry out to be avenged. We cannot allow this to continue. What path is before us? What will the bones tell?"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wish-me-good-fortune": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wish-me-good-fortune", "description": "A gladiator's life is for Gilres", "author": "Gilres", "title": "Wish Me Good Fortune", "text": "Dearest Moryan,\nThe life of a gladiator is hard. We train endlessly. As yet, we have not won enough victories to make any sizeable amount of gold, but I am told that if we continue to be victorious, our reward will be great.\nWe are scheduled to join the Grand Melee in the Frozen Arena, shortly. I must admit, I approach this with more than a little trepidation. I understand that the Nords are fearsome opponents, as are the Dunmer, and even if our clan defeats the other gladiators, there is still the matter of defeating the Beast Master's latest acquisitions.\nWish me good fortune. With any luck, my next letter will include some coin so we can begin to pay down our debts.\nYour Love,\n\tGilres Dearest Moryan,\n\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/witch-cults-northern-high-rock": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/witch-cults-northern-high-rock", "description": "An accounting of the Beldama and their relation to Y'ffre", "author": "Wafimeles Masteret (Lorekeeper)", "title": "Witch Cults of Northern High Rock", "text": "One of the dozen or so known Wyrd covens scattered across Tamriel, the Beldama Wyrd is of especial interest to Imperial researchers. The Beldama are found within the thick forests of central Glenumbra, which are problematic to the explorer due to the broken terrain and heavy vegetation. Precious few have encountered the Beldama Wyresses (another name for a group of ward-sisters, or witches), but those who have speak of dark encampments under the canopy of ancient oak trees and cavorting rituals to honor Jephre, an aspect of Y'ffre, the most venerated god of the Bosmeri deities.\nThe all-female Beldama Wyrd trace their origin to the time Y'ffre transformed himself into the first Ehlnofey (or \"Earth Bones\") and established the laws of nature. While this is obviously nere myth, the Beldama Wyrd all fiercely believe they are descendants of the Ehlnofey. It is uncertain whether the Wyresses should be considered beneficial or malefic, but all agree they are uncanny and forceful: They see themselves as wardens of the forests with an unwavering reverence for nature. Most Bretons consider them dangerous witches, to be placated rather than revered. It is no wonder, then, that the Beldama Wyrd dwells in the least populated region of High Rock.\nThe Beldama tend to congregate around a mysterious and reputedly gigantic Wyrd Tree, which glows with an unnatural light and looks unlike any other tree in the northern forests of Tamriel. Should the Empire consider an invasion, threats of deforestation might be a way to cow the local population, although the Beldama Wyrd may have unknown magic capable of forestalling incursions."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/regards-ebony-blade": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/regards-ebony-blade", "description": "A tale of theft and intrigue centering around the famed Daedric artifact", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "With Regards to the Ebony Blade", "text": "The following is an intercepted Morag Tong memorandum in full, noted here for conjecture on the Daedric artifact Ebony Blade:\nBefore I begin, let me preface by stating: the Daedric Prince Mephala and her worshippers value arcanum above all else\u2014you will learn this, in time. To Hermaeus Mora, knowledge is power, but Mephala concerns herself with only the choicest morsels: knowledge secluded, undisclosed.\nThe various Daedric artifacts associated with Mephala share this disposition, chief among them, the Ebony Blade, of which little is known. The records of the Tong themselves disagree on the properties locked within the Blade's metal. But I'll share what I know about it, and in return, you will complete your first assignment for the guild. I hope you'll find the Flowers of Gold a suitable base of operations. Your room is a favorite of mine. Warm and dry.\nFirst: the Blade initially passed into the Morag Tong's notice (this decade, at least) when our brother Orndras obtained it, taking it from Rivis, another brother. Rivis had the Blade kept in a safehouse for years, hidden from his fellow Morag Tong. How did Orndras find Rivis out? He'll take that secret to his grave, but his handlers whispered that the Web Spinner herself had told him. Even the Tong is unsure how the Blade is connected to Mephala, whether it is an extension of her physical form, or if her essence is bound to it, but it's important to her. And that makes it important to us.\nSecond: Rivis was an ambitious mage, one of the Tong's most powerful. And he was not about to allow Orndras to leave his safehouse with the Ebony Blade in tow. There was a duel between them, and when Orndras drew first blood with the Blade\u2014and failed to kill\u2014he was surprised Rivis did not engulf him in a fiery spell. It's possible the Blade can silence a mage, stymie the flow of magicka, or simply absorb it.\nThird: Rivis was keen with an edge, and better skilled than Orndras. But Orndras wielded the Ebony Blade, and the wounds he suffered stitched themselves together as the battle continued\u2014as Orndras dealt his less-precise cuts. Perhaps a restorative property of the Blade.\nFourth: Rivis' last words were, \"The Vampire will be the end of us all.\" Orndras believed he was referring to the Blade, that Rivis had hidden it out of legitimate fear. I believe that even the most venerable of the Morag Tong will say anything when backed into a corner. I have.\nFifth: Orndras retrieved the Blade, made a detailed report to his handlers\u2014and then attempted to slaughter them. He murdered all but one. His actions had no discernible rhyme or reason or motive, and he was last seen on the third floor of the Flowers of Gold.\nReturn the Ebony Blade to us, whether Orndras comes with it or not. Look for a Dunmer with a scar under his left eye."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wolfpack-initiates-notes": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wolfpack-initiates-notes", "description": "A novice bandit bit off more than he expected...", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Wolfpack Initiate's Notes", "text": "First day as a Wolfpack Initiate! We'll see how the bastards who mocked me at home feel when a feared bandit comes calling. I'm keeping my excitement restrained, because the senior members, the \"Pack Leaders,\" are very stern and serious. I just like having a place where I belong.\nTheir obsession with wolves is strange, but \u2026 they take things seriously, and I respect that."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wood-elf-etiquette-imperial-guide": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wood-elf-etiquette-imperial-guide", "description": "A how-to of interacting with Bosmer", "author": "Kerandas Calvus", "title": "Wood Elf Etiquette: An Imperial Perspective", "text": "by Kerandas Calvus, in the year 2723\nThe Empire now extends its reach into the Kingdom of Valenwood. Do not be surprised if during your travels you run into the Mer of the forest. The Wood Elves are surprisingly social, and can be very friendly with outsiders, but you must be aware of their peculiar culture and customs so as not to provoke them to anger.\nThe Wood Elves follow a strict religion called the Green Pact. Any Wood Elf who willingly takes up this pact is prohibited to harm any tree or plant in Valenwood. This includes chopping down trees, harvesting fruit, or digging vegetables from the ground.\nAs a result of this, Wood Elves who follow the Green Pact eat a strict diet of meat and cheeses. This very specific restriction in what they eat leads to certain physical reactions which you may not typically encounter in public, or with such frequency. If a Wood Elf makes mention of \"feeding the fire,\" simply grow accustomed to breathing through your mouth for the count of twenty heartbeats.\nWhile few Wood Elves will think badly of you for picking a flower or tapping a tree for sap, some will see this as an act of disrespect. Strictest adherents to the Green Pact may react quite strongly, perhaps violently.\nThis is not meant to alarm you! Remember to treat the forests of Valenwood with respect. If you are uncertain, speak with the nearest Wood Elf \"treethane\" for guidance. You never know who is watching."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/woodhearth-pocket-guide": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/woodhearth-pocket-guide", "description": "A history of the Valenwood city of Woodhearth", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Woodhearth: A Pocket Guide", "text": "Since the disappearance of Falinesti, there is no city that completely expresses the character and history of the Wood Elves more than Woodhearth.\nSituated on the southwestern shores of Valenwood, Woodhearth had humble beginnings as an Imperial settlement, constructed and maintained by the Emperors in order to facilitate trade with the region's Wood Elf settlements.\nThe Wood Elves of the region reacted with a mix of curiosity, friendship, and hostility to the city, which was part thriving port town and part fortress, protecting against the wilds of Valenwood.\n\tSeveral times, hostile Bosmer led assaults against the city's walls. Several times, they managed to bring down sections of the wall with concentrated bursts of powerful destruction magics, only to be driven back by the tenacity of the Imperial forces and their superior equipment.\nA peace was eventually struck with the Green Pact Bosmer of Valenwood, and in time a Bosmer settlement sprang up and even overtook the Imperial buildings, as that special connection the Wood Elves have with their forest was invoked to create the treehomes and walkways that are characteristic of Bosmer settlement.\nAs the Bosmer became an instrumental force in the Empire, control of Woodhearth was gradually ceded back to autonomous Wood Elf rule. A treethane was established in Woodhearth, and while the parts of the city that had been constructed by the Imperials fell into disrepair, the city as a whole thrived.\nWithin a generation, the treethanes of Woodhearth gained a reputation for determined leadership and fair judgment, among both the Wood Elves and their allies.\nAt the time of writing, the Treethane of Woodhearth is Fariel, and she governs both as Treethane and as a member of the Thalmor, under Queen Ayrenn of the newly-formed Aldmeri Dominion. Woodhearth continues to be a major port, along with Seaside Sanctuary, in Valenwood, and it is home to members of all races."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/woodworking-simpletons": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/woodworking-simpletons", "description": "A woodworker's rough lecture to his students", "author": "Hoary Durotzel", "title": "Woodworking For Simpletons", "text": "by Hoary Durotzel, the Wood Butcher of Ska'vyn\nStop your dillying and your dallying, younglings. You're less than a pile of Goblin droppings unless you have a trade, and I ain't letting my kin stink up the cabin.\nToday you learn how to work with wood. Now, stop your belly-groanin' and listen! Woodworkin' is an honest trade, and you're going to do right by old Hoary. I'll use tiny words so even Tebbons can follow.\nFirst off, take this axe to the woods. Look for mossy logs near old stumps and rocks, and then chop me ten pieces of rough maple. What? Why is it called\u2014 Because it's rough, ye daft child! You'll need that much if you're to make something of anything.\nSecond, bring those ten rough maple pieces to a woodworkin' station. You're gonna turn those rough maple pieces into sanded maple. We in the trade call it \"refinement.\" No, not sanding, refinement! Yes, you get sanded wood. No, that's not confusing at all!\nThird\u2014 Would ye listen up? This is important! Ye can't just start carvin' away at sanded maple without a style in mind. Hmm? A style! Every race in Tamriel has their own style, and a material they prefer to work.\nThem Dark Elves craft materials in the Dark Elf style, d'ye see? Now, ye buy the style material in town. From a woodworker, ye addlepated\u2014 No, it doesn't matter which one!\nLastly, your last task is takin' your style material and three sanded maple pieces to a woodworkin' station. Craft yerself a maple bow. Don't worry about the bowstring. I said, pay it no mind! Curvin' that bow like the leg of a bendy Wood Elf dancer is what you should try to\u2014 Hmm? None of your concern!\nWhat do you mean, \"Is that all?\" By the Eight Divines, of course that ain't all there is to woodworkin'! Ye can make better quality carpentry if more wood goes into an item's makin'. Even then, ye can improve it further.\nI was gettin' to it! That maple bow isn't the best you can make it until you improve it with resins. You'll find 'em around. You know, \"around!\" But try to improve that bow without enough resin and you'll ruin the bow and waste the resin.\nYes, there'll always be maple in the woods. What do you mean? When are you going to be in a desert? Oh, for ... All right. You're in a desert, and ye can't find maple because you can't find the woods. But say ye have your maple bow. Bring it to a woodworkin' station and deconstruct some of what ye need from the bow itself. 'Course, ye lose the bow. We call this part \"deconstruction\"\u2014like your sister's bad poetry, if ye could take a chisel to it.\nHow'd I get so good at woodworkin'? Research. No, not like reading. If I got my hands on a decent piece of carpentry, I'd take it apart and study the traits that made it special. Took me time, and I'd lose the carpentry when I pulled it apart, but once I'd worked out how the original woodworker done it, I could make it myself.\nNow close your mouth, Tebbons, 'afore you swallow a fleshfly."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/word-khiruna": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/word-khiruna", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Word of Khiruna", "text": "I heard a cat meeting Khiruna's description was nabbed by the Guard for cutting purses in the market, after the Iron Wheel hit but before we were set up in the Den.\nWord is, they were going to fine her and let her loose, but decided to turn her over to the Iron Wheel for more coin. (This is before the merchant lords decided Chief Inspector Rhanbiq was bad for business.) Last I heard, she was loaded on a ship heading to No Shira Citadel\u2014nothing after that.\n\u2014Thrag"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/words-and-power-0": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/words-and-power-0", "description": "", "author": "Telenger the Artificer", "title": "Words and Power", "text": "Are languages in Tamriel more than a convenient means of communication? Throughout my studies, particularly in my ongoing research of the mysterious runestones, a theme of language explicitly interconnected with magic has surfaced with frequency that cannot be ignored. Is the very act of casting ideas into words an invocation? I present here evidence that may just support this admittedly radical position, which I hope the Sapiarchs of the Crystal Tower will be enticed to expound upon or refute.\nLet us begin with the runestones of Enchanting. Each is marked with a symbol consisting of syllables arranged together. Alone, a rune is inert, but magical potential is unleashed when combined with others in the appropriate syntax. The full form, the complete expression, conveys magic. One does not even need to fully understand the language to unlock the power it contains\u2014not enough words exist or are known to truly speak it, but by studying glyphs and combining runestones, it is possible to grasp enough of the raw concepts to utilize it. The language itself is undeniably connected in a fundamental way to magical energies, though its origin remains a mystery.\nAs an aside for prospective students of Enchanting, do not become discouraged when you encounter a rune you are unable to decipher. Only through repetition of words and phrases you have learned and the extraction of runes from glyphs will you obtain the knowledge you need to master more difficult runes. Be patient and work with other students to create and deconstruct glyphs to gain more insight into their interplay and true meaning.\nLanguage, specifically the written word, is also of critical importance to the Altmer. Not only does it preserve our history, but it captures and defines our auspicious lineage and ensures that every Mer knows his or her place in the hierarchy. It is no accident that Altmeri society is the most orderly and structured in Tamriel\u2014it is the will of Xarxes himself. The scholar-priests of the divine scribe, secretive though they are, are said to preserve an ancient tongue long forgotten to any but their order. In Helaameril's \"Conversations with the Etymon-Binders,\" an anonymous scribe hints at tomes capable of producing tastes, smells, dancing images, and texts that can be read by any gazing upon them\u2014even the unlettered. Another form of word-magic, if Helaameril is to be believed.\nConsider even what may seem mundane: the speech of a great general upon the morn of battle that rouses his troops to perform incredible deeds, the songs of a master bard that inspire emotion, the calming tone of a mother to her child. Are there traces of magic in everyday exertions of will through speech or writing? It seems possible that some remnant of ancient pre-Dawn power lingers on here, though it has grown faint. There is even more evidence to support this throughout the history of Tamriel\u2014far too much to detail here\u2014and I look forward to debating this theory among my peers."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/words-entry": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/words-entry", "description": "Password to Greymoor Keep's laboratory", "author": "Lady Essenia", "title": "Words of Entry", "text": "Crypt Wardens and Servitors,\nAccess to my laboratory remains restricted. For that reason, I have reconfigured the entry to confound underlings who wander these halls in error.\nCall this simple phrase to mind when looking for the door: \"We shall rise again.\"\nI trust you can infer the rest on your own. If not, you have no business entering my laboratory in the first place.\nLady Essenia"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/words-fallen": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/words-fallen", "description": "A knight of Meridia has been betrayed by his patron", "author": "Darien Gautier", "title": "Words of the Fallen", "text": "Never trust a Daedric Prince. If there's anything I learned from all this, that's it in a nutshell. I used to think I had a purpose, a part to play in the grand scheme of things. I suppose I did, sort of, but the way things turned out, it wasn't at all the way I imagined. Meridia said I was her vessel. I guess my fate was sealed from the moment she brought me into existence.\nNow, here I am, back in the Colored Rooms. I thought that when I gave my energy to restore the sword\u2014and I did that for my friend, not for Meridia\u2014I thought that was the end of me. I'm back, though, but this time is different. My light, it's fading. I can feel the darkness getting closer, pressing in. I expect that once the light goes out, that will be the end.\nI need to tell you something about Meridia. She's a deceiver. She promised that if I served her faithfully, I'd earn my freedom. She never told me that freedom was just another word for the void. Don't trust her. Don't trust any of the Daedric Princes. Not ever.\nI've found peace though. Meridia gave me a chance to see the world, and those I care about, one last time. To save those I loved. I'm grateful for that, at least.\nI wish I had a chance to say goodbye to everyone. To Skordo. To Gabrielle. Gods, I'll miss them. But most of all, [Player Name]. I don't know if they'll understand how much they truly meant to me. Perhaps we'll see each other again, in another place, another time. I probably won't be the version of myself that's writing these words, though. That me will be gone. I can live with that.\nI only wish I could have spent more time with everybody. Had a few more adventures. Ordered those drinks like we always talked about.\nI hope my friends find peace, happiness, and love. They deserve what I could never have. If anyone ever finds this book, know that I will never forget those I named herein. And, if you find them, and I pray that you do, tell them this.\nProtect the ones you love. Hold them close. Cherish their every moment. Make them laugh, and laugh with them. Smile together and never, ever, forget that the moments you have are so very precious.\nOh, and tell them not to forget me, either. I mean, I am a legend, as far as I know.\nThe polite, handsome, and humble knight,\nDarien Gautier"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/words-grand-sermonizer": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/words-grand-sermonizer", "description": "A call to arms against the Dark Brotherhood", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Words of the Grand Sermonizer", "text": "Faithful, Kvatch has stood as a bulwark against the darkness - and those that lurk in it - for generations. Your Wardens are the envy of cities across the Empire for their tireless watch against those skulking evils that would poison the purity of this place.\nBut we must not grow complacent! For it is now that we face our greatest peril: The Dark Brotherhood!\nThe Primate, in his infinite wisdom, has seen this threat approaching. Even now, they creep into our lands, finding purchase in the long shadows of Anvil and the overgrowth of our untamed wilderness. This decay has allowed them to infect our beloved Gold Coast and, unchecked, it will fester.\nKvatch must lead by example. We must root out these murderers wherever they may be found, not just within our own realm. You too must become the warden. You too must become aspirants of the Hour. You too must raise the hue and cry, or draw the sword of justice against the sickly knives of these perverse fiends. When the light is cast upon them, you will find no fearsome creatures. Only the craven shell that remains when the shadows are dispelled.\nThe hour of reckoning approaches, faithful, be ready to meet it."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/words-masters": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/words-masters", "description": "Words of wisdom for Redguard warriors", "author": "Unknown. Foreward by Master Fadalia at-Ahtar", "title": "Words of the Masters", "text": "Foreword by one who has as much to learn now as she did when she was a student long ago.\nLong have our masters taught the ways of the sword at Leki's Blade. And yet, not every lesson took place in the field of battle.\nRecall, then, the words of the masters who once led our illustrious school. Distill their meaning, for battles can be won by the mind as well as the blade.\nPay heed!\n\t\u2014 Master Fadalia at-Ahtar\nThe sharpest blade is often the tongue.\n\tDifficult tasks are best done first, before the day's dust rises.\n\tYour soldiers are your allies, brothers, and sisters. Care for them, and they will guard you as well.\n\tOne whose character is mean-spirited will rouse others to animosity.\n\tBe modest in speech, and you will excel in action.\n\tDo you see what is right and just? Do what you must to uphold them both.\n\tWatch your opponent's feet and you will lose. Watch her eyes, and see her intent.\n\tLearn from every victory. Think how you would have reacted as the loser. Understand why your opponent lost, and you will ever be victorious.\n\tFrom silence comes strength.\n\tThe serpent only sees eye-to-eye with whatever else crawls on its belly.\n\tStay your hand until you are sure of your opponent's tactics, and you may not live long enough to strike. Wait only to learn his intention, then strike first if it is clear he would fight without honor.\n\tNever save for tomorrow the bread you should eat today."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/worm-saga": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/worm-saga", "description": "A poem promoting Necromancy and denouncing Galerion", "author": "Anonymous (presumably Mannimarco)", "title": "Worm Saga", "text": "Mage from infancy, blood-selected for magicka, descended from isles of Artaeum forever! Destined was I from long before birth to exceed all mortals.\nAltmer? Nay, Aldmer: scion of et'Ada by direct descent, summoned to Ceporah, and there was I sent: to Iachesis, to tutor, to test and ferment.\nNo magicka handler Iachesis Ritemaster, sage of the Elder Way, gentle spellcaster! To warp not the wind, unlike guild of the latter day, courting disaster.\nNecromancy, death art, chose me stern and fast. To change not the present ,but call up the past, obverse of Elder Way, forbidden without cause, deep-delved in death's way, against Gray Cloak laws.\nIll-timed then arrived one, Trechtus by name: ambitious, obstreperous, blind and deaf to shame, talented, reckless, thought himself my equal, his arrogance and envy determined our sequel.\nMagic he practiced: open, raw power, flouted the Elder Way, endangered the tower, then with lowborn cunning cast me as the villain, engineered exile, made me Tamrielan.\nAll undervalued my will and resolution, my knowledge formidable, my wit and acumen. Thus found I new allies to study the death-rites, the sacrifice rituals, the summons of ghost-wights.\nRobed all in black goes the Order of Black Worm, bringing wisdom to seekers who see beyond death-term, but Trechtus-now-Vanus pursues us to continent, to persecute worm-wrights his evil intent.\nCome, all necrotics, defend practice and life, against Mages who wield magicka like a knife, heedless of heresy and ignorant of Elder Way, hating necromancy yet heralding doomsday."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/worn-and-torn-page": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/worn-and-torn-page", "description": "A final stand", "author": "Jenedusil", "title": "Worn and Torn Page", "text": "Trying to leave this alcove means death by beheading. Staying means death by whatever beast makes this place home.\nWhy this,\u00a0 why now? I swear I will haunt this place if I die here not knowing. I've done nothing to them. Perhaps the Citadel was better off locked away.\nI've some arrows yet remaining. I think it's time for Jenedusil's final stand. Yes, that's what I'll call this. I hope Sovngarde is nice this time of year."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/worship-fanacas": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/worship-fanacas", "description": "A plan to become closer with the ancient ones", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Worship in Fanacas", "text": "There is fear, as in every venture into the unknown. But the others will follow my lead, I do not doubt it. I need only show a confident face to the rest, no matter what qualms I feel inside. They will follow; they always do.\nFanacas excites me like no other Ayleid ruin I've seen. A vast, evil presence saturates the air, exuded from the ground and structures all over the site. Great offerings, of blood and souls, must have been made here once, for their auras to be felt even now.\nWhat would I not give to have been here then, back during the glory years of the Ayleids! How I would have reveled in the sounds, sounds, and smells of the sacrifices. Longing for those golden days sustained me through the years of study it took to reach this point, trembling on the precipice of greatness.\nTonight, when Masser and Secunda align, we enact the final ritual.\nTonight, we cast open the pathway to the glorious ancient Ayleids, beseeching their aid in our transformations, that we may better worship them.\nTonight, we become one with the immortals.\nTonight, the name of Mabrel Pierel will at long last inspire fear and awe across all of Tamriel!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/worship-dragon-god": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/worship-dragon-god", "description": "Comandment for the priesthood of Akatosh", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Worship of the Dragon God", "text": "\"Lord Akatosh, lend us your might! Lord Akatosh, grant us your light!\" - A popular prayer to Akatosh the Dragon God\nIf there is a single Divine who holds dominion over the Gold Coast, it has to be Akatosh, the Dragon God of Time. From the grand Cathedral of Akatosh in Kvatch and radiating outward, the word of Akatosh and his servants spreads the light and the truth of the Dragon God in all directions.\nReputed to be the first and greatest of the Eight Divines and the first of the gods to form in the Beginning Place, Akatosh watches over the land and its people with a singular ferocity, never shirking in his role as the God-defender of the Empire - even while the Empire lies broken and shattered. As the Primate of Kvatch likes to say at every opportunity, \"The Dragon God sees beyond the concerns of the day and contemplates the entire expanse of time. The current situation is merely a minor disturbance in the flow of events, and Akatosh has everything well in hand.\"\nAkatosh promotes three key qualities in his sphere: endurance, invincibility, and everlasting legitimacy. Perhaps that's why the Empire was so quick to embrace the Dragon God and his tenets. In the words of the Primate of Kvatch, here are the ways in which Akatosh embodies the three key qualities.\nEndurance: \"This quality represents Akatosh's ability and strength to continue or last and is directly tied to his role as the God of Time. Akatosh endures, and so do the true believers who have accepted his words and devoted themselves to his teachings. Despite fatigue, regardless of stress or adverse conditions, Akatosh and his followers carry on. This is the Dragon God's lasting quality.\"\nInvincibility: \"Akatosh cannot be conquered, defeated, or subdued - and neither can those who believe in and honor the Dragon God. This is the Dragon God's indomitable quality.\"\nEverlasting Legitimacy: \"This quality must be examined in all its parts. It represents not only Akatosh's eternal aspect, but his reverence for law, reason, and the ruling principles of hereditary right. Nothing blessed and sanctioned by Akatosh can be considered spurious or unjustified. This is the Dragon God's continuing and lawful quality.\"\nBeyond these basic tenets, the Primate of Kvatch and his priests preach the five commands of Akatosh to faithful and faithless alike.\n\"Serve and obey your Emperor.\" Since its inception, the Empire and Akatosh worship have gone hand in hand, as this command clearly exemplifies.\n\"Study the Covenants.\" These written agreements between Akatosh and his mortal followers, such as Alessia and her descendents, serve as tokens of their joined blood and pledged faith. All followers are urged to read and understand these eternal contracts.\n\"Worship the Eight.\" But Akatosh is not a jealous god. He expects his followers to pay tribute not just to himself, but to his fellow Divines.\n\"Do your duty.\" Duty and responsibility figure prominently in the teachings of the rule-loving Dragon God. Failure to fulfill your obligations is a sin in the eyes of Akatosh.\n\"Heed the commands of the saints and priests.\" Akatosh favors hierarchy and structure, so it comes as no surprise that he demands that his followers comply with the orders of the saints and priests.\nThe Primate of Kvatch often declares, \"As Akatosh wills it, so shall it be.\" For the Dragon God of Time embodies yesterday, today, and tomorrow, and he embraces the rules that keep the world ordered and precise. By honoring Akatosh with devotion and worship, his followers endeavor to do the same.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/worshiping-illogical": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/worshiping-illogical", "description": "How the worship of Sotha Sil fits in with the worship of the Tribunal as a whole", "author": "Proctor Nevyn", "title": "Worshiping the Illogical", "text": "By Proctor Nevyn, Apostle of Sotha Sil\nThe Clockwork Apostles dedicate their lives to many things. The words of our Sermons, laid before us by the ever-faithful Deldrise Morvayn, Fourth Tourbillon. The will of our god Lord Seht, the Mainspring Ever-Wound, the Divine Metronome. The driving forces of inspiration, of innovation, of discovery in all forms, magical, technological, spiritual. But we often forget, in our pursuit to unravel the mysterious of our world, that we are also subjects of the Tribunal.\nI have found throughout my long tenure that many of my pupils have a hard time grasping the threefold nature of our belief within the Tribunal. Still, despite the repetition of these questions, I never rebuff this curiosity. Rather, I try to encourage it, for there is an abundance of contradictions within our piety towards Lady Amalexia and Lord Vivec. After all, the worship of these deities seem to almost challenge the beliefs we hold so true within our order.\nWhy are we told to worship these often puzzling deities alongside our sound and steady Clockwork God? Why must we follow not one god, but three?\nYet even this seemingly simple fact is but a misconception, for in this sequence we have found truth. ALMSIVI is but one entity, not the fractured creation that many perceive it as. It only appears fractured in the forms our gods have taken, but rather than separate deities they are all one portion of a welded whole. Regulated in their irregularities. Lady Amalexia and Lord Vivec, who are only consistent in their inconsistency, still create the order of our truths. They are the tock within our Lord Seht's tick, the wheel that forever goes forward but only to circle itself.\nThey are the truths of our chaotic present, the irregular oscillations that we must weld together. Within them we find the aspects of our humanity, the soul which merges with the machine, ambition which merges with beneficence. The act of faith itself seems contradictory to the importance we hold on evidential certainty. But not one among us is completely machine, cold and logical without the emotions which bind us together. No, we are welded beings, as varied and complex as our three gods. Fractured parts which have come together to create our individuality.\nHow does one devote themselves to such aspects? To these traits of Nirn which are not logic and order, our guiding principles? The Sermons tell us to understand their limitations. To pay heed, but know the boundaries of their scale. Know that these are the principals needed for our current world, Nirn-Prior, and shall be but an addition to the whole which is Nirn-Ensuing.\nHold tight their words, their laws and limits. Know that they are the echoes of a fractured selves, welded whole. Know that the Sublime Piston gives and takes in equal measures, sundering the Named pursuits of lesser mer. We must tear apart that which will be welded whole once more. Beliefs, structures, laws, one day outdated and unneeded.\nAnd so we pay our respects to these aspects of our deities. Without faith towards ALMSIVI we ourselves become sundered from the truth. Speak the names of Lady Amalexia and Lord Vivec with respect, with piety. Listen to their words and heed their laws when necessary. They are the broken cogs that reflect ourselves, to be as venerated as the truths that we honor."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wounded-lion": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wounded-lion", "description": "An alliance is formed", "author": "Captain Balrook", "title": "Wounded Lion", "text": "To the noble Sir Valcent Tailes, late of the Lion Guard,\nMy name is Captain Balrook gro-Mak, and I believe we have some things in common. We are both men of honor, men of singular vision. My allies assure me that the accusations leveled against you are baseless, and that you are being singled out. Persecuted. If there is ever anything I can do for you, please let me know.\nAs a show of good will, I've sent along a few trinkets and books. I'm given to understand you have an interest in the spellcasting arts, and I have no use for these old things.\nThe dead of Eastmarch have slept long enough. Make good use of them.\nYrs Respectfully,\n\tCaptain Balrook"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/writ-valid-credentials": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/writ-valid-credentials", "description": "Diplomatic papers granting Rigurt the Brash status in Summerset", "author": "Justiciar Rolumdel of the Divine Prosecution", "title": "Writ of Valid Credentials", "text": "Herein let it be known that the Divine Prosecution has examined and otherwise scrutinized the background and proffered credentials of Rigurt the Brash of Skyrim. Further, the Divine Prosecution has found those credentials to be fair and valid and legally binding.\nTherefore, it is the opinion of the Divine Prosecution that Rigurt the Brash is an authorized diplomat and ambassador for both the Nord Cultural Exchange and the Ebonheart Pact. He is entitled to all of the benefits and immunities that such titles carry in Summerset and the Aldmeri Dominion.\nPrepared, witnessed, and validated by\n\tJusticiar Rolumdel of the Divine Prosecution"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wrothgar-instructions": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wrothgar-instructions", "description": "Miners disguise themselves as bandits to smuggle out illegal silver ore", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Wrothgar Instructions", "text": "The Orc denied our request to mine in his lands, but the operation will go forward as planned. You will take up the guise of a local gang of the Nightwatch bandits. It's our understanding that the Orc tolerates their presence as additional swords against the Reach, so there should be no trouble about you from Orsinium.\nHowever, we have deemed it unwise to attempt to move any ore out of Wrothgar. Large shipments are likely to draw the Orc's attention. Instead, you will construct a forge and smithy nearby and put the silver you extract to immediate use. A coat of grey lacquer should be sufficient to disguise any weapons you make, and weapons move easily enough in and out of the Orc's lands.\nTake care about interlopers, however. Remember that the Orcs are not far removed from the beasts we fight, and in many ways deficient of both reason and virtue. It is more likely than not that they will disapprove of our purpose, just as their self-styled king has, and with the increased aid the Orc has called for, the risk of interference also increases."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wulfmares-guide-better-thieving": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wulfmares-guide-better-thieving", "description": "Lockpicking and Pickpocketing tips for newbies", "author": "Wulfmare Shadow-Cloak", "title": "Wulfmare's Guide to Better Thieving", "text": "So, you want to make it as a cutpurse. You want to live the life of a criminal, always one step ahead of everyone and pockets brimming with gold drakes. Maybe it appeals to you to try and earn a living by robbing some wealthy merchants or extorting your local shopkeepers? Let me give you a bit of advice\u2014don't bother. For every skilled thief I've met in my day, I've seen a twenty who thought that they had what it took but ended up rotting in jail.\nBut if you're anything like me, you don't listen to advice. You do whatever you want and never let anyone else tell you otherwise. To Oblivion with the risks\u2014all that matters is the coin. Sound familiar? If it does, then this book might just teach you the difference between acting like a petty thief and a master criminal.\nI know what you're thinking. Who's this Wulfmare? Who does he think he is, telling me how to be a better thief? What makes him an expert? Simple. Maybe you heard about that heist in Mournhold, when the Archcanon's sacred diamond ring went missing? Or perhaps the tale of an Elder Scroll gone missing from the White-Gold Tower reached your ears. That's right \u2026 it was yours truly. I've done just about every kind of job you can imagine and I've got the drakes put away to prove it. How else could an ex-thief find the resources to publish his own book?\nNow that I have your attention, let's start with two of the most fundamental skills you'll need to sharpen if you want to make it as a cutpurse: picking locks and picking pockets. And before you roll your eyes and throw this book aside in disgust, I can promise you that the easiest way you're going to get caught is by ignoring the basics\u2014but if you can master these activities you'll find yourself swimming in coin.\nPicking pockets is one of the easiest skills to learn, but you'd be surprised how often I've seen novice thieves muck it up. The lesson here is twofold. First, know your surroundings, and second, know your approach. Where and when you decide to go fishing is just as important as who you choose as your mark. Follow them a while, there's never a need to rush. Wait until they're somewhere isolated and out of earshot of any guards\u2014but most importantly always know when to let the mark go. Getting pinched simply isn't worth the risk. There'll always be plenty of other marks who'll come along with their pockets full.\n\tAs far as the approach goes, don't drop into your crouch until you are completely out of the mark's view\u2014directly behind and preferably close to them. Don't spend too long deciding what you'll lift either. A good thief should be able to hit a mark and make off with something valuable in less than five seconds. Last of all, plying this trade at night will greatly reduce your chances of getting caught. If you have no other choice and you have to do it in the daylight, just make sure you aren't out in the open.\nLockpicking is an art form that takes years to master. The important thing to remember is that no two are alike, each one behaving completely differently. As long as you keep your wits about you, and your patience, you'll find them easier to defeat than you'd initially expect.\nGood picks are always essential. Make sure you have plenty of them tucked away in your pockets. Always take your time and keep a light touch on the picks. When the tumblers begin to fall into place, you should feel the pick tremble ever-so-slightly\u2014this means you're near the sweet spot. Slow down at that point and only move the picks with the finest touch. If you blindly poke at the lock like an old man, all you're going to end up with is a bunch of broken picks and equally broken pride. As a last resort, if the lock is completely confounding you, there's always the option of smashing it. Just keep in mind that this is rarely successful and could potentially make a great deal of noise.\nBy using my techniques, I'm not merely suggesting you'll be a successful thief, I'm giving you a solid guarantee. All it takes is a little bit of patience and a great deal of practice then maybe, just maybe, you'll become as successful as Wulfmare.\nIn my next volume, we'll move onto another important tool in your arsenal\u2014sneaking. I'll prove to you that the shadows can be just as potent of a weapon as your blade if you know how to bend them to your will."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wuunding-and-tumult": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wuunding-and-tumult", "description": "A tale of a Nord hero and his hammer", "author": "Recorded by Vothel Bethalas", "title": "Wuunding and Tumult", "text": "The following are two tales of the Nord hero Wuunding and his hammer, Tumult. Every town I come across seems to have another legend about him, and every Nord I've met swears up and down that they're all true. Their fascination with these exaggerated heroes is charming, in a way, and I've found it an entertaining diversion to set some of the tales to paper, as I've never seen them preserved elsewhere.\nWuunding and the Mountain\nMighty Wuunding desired to pass into the high mountains, for he had heard rumors of a powerful troll lord he wished to fight. The slopes were steep and the snow was thick, and he found it harder and harder to plow his way through. At last, he had enough of digging and struggling. He shouted at the mountain as loud as he could, asking it to shed its snow, but the mountain was stubborn and would not listen.\nFrustrated, he cleared the snow from a rock and used Tumult to strike it with all his might. The mountain rumbled with pain, and all the snow rushed past him into the valley so that he could pass. The mountains remember that pain to this day, so you must be careful when shouting at them. Not all can stand against an avalanche.\nThe Melting of the March\nIn the old days, a great frozen Daedra made its home in Eastmarch, slaughtering Nords and conjuring an unending blizzard. Like any good Nord, Wuunding hated Daedra, and he sought to free the land and return it to its people. When he tried to venture into the heart of the storm, he found that his body began to freeze, and he was forced to turn back.\nAs he wandered the edge of the storm, he prayed to Kyne for help. Before long, he came upon a shack where an old woman lived. She invited him in, and upon hearing his tale, she produced a small flask. \"This will help you reach the Daedra,\" she said, \"but do not drink too much at once.\" The mead, the sweetest he ever tasted, burned in his belly, and he set off right away, immune to the magical blizzard.\nWhen he found the Daedra at last, they battled all across the land. The magical cold was like nothing he'd faced before, and he felt his strength failing. Without regard to the woman's warning, he downed the whole flask. He burned with a fire so powerful that Tumult roared with flames. The Daedra melted more and more with each strike, leaving steaming pools behind. In the end, nothing was left of the Daedra but the stinking puddles, and Wuunding and Tumult were consumed by the flames. The pools remain even now, a reminder of Wuunding's heroism."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wyresses-name-daughters": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wyresses-name-daughters", "description": "Jephre erects guardians of nature", "author": "Attributed to Glargargil the Speaking Oak", "title": "Wyresses: The Name-Daughters", "text": "In Elden time, Elven time, Jephre did come\n\tA-naming of creatures where'er he did run\n\tAs all was chaotic, and names were unknown\n\tHis gift was a name for each beast, plant, and stone\n\tThen all knew their places except Men and Mer\n\tWho plundered and ravaged wherever they were\n\t\"I name you the Earth-Bones,\" Jephre decreed,\n\t\"Lords of the forest, rock, root, and seed.\n\tThis heritage nurture, henceforth be its guards\n\tAnd designate worthies to act as its wards.\"\n\tThereafter did Wyrd Women watch o'er the Green,\n\tFrom tundra to forest, from peak to ravine,\n\tReminding all creatures, be it tiger or worm\n\tOf their name and their nature, their function and form.\n\tWould-be corrupters who'd canker the Green\n\tShall face wyress warding wherever they're seen.\n\tSo tread woods with caution, respect Jephre's way\n\tLest Wyrd women watching abduct you away."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/xarxes-and-oghma": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/xarxes-and-oghma", "description": "Xarxes' lesson on marriage", "author": "Thandelieth", "title": "Xarxes and Oghma", "text": "\"I am to be married,\" she said aloud. \"Xarxes, is this what I want? Or just what I must do?\"\nHe rose from her book in silence, measuring her worth.\n\"Marriage joins two as one,\" he said. He wrote in the dirt with a dark oak staff, creating a river.\n\"This is one,\" Xarxes said. He wrote again. The terrain changed, splitting the river in two as it flowed over a newly-formed cliff. He stepped to its edge and beckoned to her.\n\"Two become one,\" he said softly in her ear, pointing over the edge at the twin falls joining together in a pool below.\n\"Should I marry then?\"\n\"One can travel quite far alone, or together. Which do you prefer?\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/xil-gos-spell": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/xil-gos-spell", "description": "How an Argonian mage defends her village from Dres raiders", "author": "Adzi-Kahz", "title": "Xil-Go's Spell", "text": "Our settlement at Slithering Eaves was once prosperous; it was green and unfurling, a haven under sun and branch. We lived deep enough within the marsh that outsiders never visited, and the threat of slavers from House Dres of Morrowind seemed distant. We believed slaver attacks only happened to other Saxhleel. Even if they did come for us, our sentries had bright eyes and quick arrows; they laughed at the thought of Elves splashing towards our home.\nWe underestimated the greed and cunning of House Dres. They came in the darkest coils of night, their hateful Elven magics shielding them from our watchers. They walked across the water, light as motes on a breeze even in their ebony plate, silent as the pools they crossed. Fiery arrows scattered us while Dunmeri magic lulled villagers to sleep, and comatose bodies were dragged off under covering fire. Though we attempted pursuit, many of our warriors were sapped by heavy magic that pulled their feet under the mud.\nWe debated what to do as dawn crept over our homes, withered and wounded by the Elves' attack. Voices called for us to flee, but Xil-Go's voice rang out above the others. \"No! We shall not let these dryskin plunderers take us or our village. We cannot. Please allow me just one day, and I will find a way to turn them away for good.\" We were eager to defend our village, and Xil-Go knew something of the ways of magic and mysteries, and so we all agreed to her request.\nShe disappeared into her hut and stayed inside throughout the day, not even pausing to eat. The villagers grew restless as the sun dipped low. Finally she emerged. \"I know what we must do. Any of you who can work even the faintest magic, come with me. If you can shoot a bow, arm yourself with arrows and these poisons I have made. We will need your protection when they return.\"\nThe village waited. When the next attack came, we were ready. Expecting us to be easy prey again, they came exactly the same way\u2014walking upon the water and making no sounds. They did not expect the wards, which exploded in bright blasts of light, giving the signal for our archers to shoot and for Xil-Go and the others to begin their spell. The slavers recovered from their shock quickly and charged forward, still a formidable and well-armed force.\nThen it started. You could see the uncertainty in their pinched faces as the spell began to blossom. Next came the howls of pain, the smell of ashen flesh sizzling as the armor grew hotter and hotter. The Elves scrambled to protect themselves, trying to rip off the heavy plates or cool them down with their own magics, but it was too late for them to recover. Our warriors fell on the intruders, and not one Elf escaped.\nWe spread word of our victory, sending the tale far and wide through the villages, knowing the story would take root in our enemies' ears. To this day, I hear the slavers are reluctant to wear heavy armors into raids. Most wear much lighter armor now, even if it does make them easier targets for our archers. And that is fine with us."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/xul-thuxis": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/xul-thuxis", "description": "A graverobber wants out of robbing haunted ruins", "author": "M", "title": "Xul-Thuxis", "text": "We need to get out of here. I'd rather risk stowing away on a boat out of Lilmoth than remain in this place.\nWhiptail had us break down a wall the other day. The other side was filled with Argonian corpses. He made us go in and search through the bodies to see what they were buried with. We've robbed graves in the swamp before, but this was different. I could feel something in there. I knew as soon as moved one of the bodies that I would die here if I didn't get out.\nI believe you now. You said you were seeing things. Hearing things. It's starting to happen to me.\nI saw Argonians walking the halls. I saw them sacrificing their own kin. Those who were sacrificed seemed unafraid, willing. It was all so quiet. It scared me. Especially since I knew they weren't really there. They were like echoes of another world.\nAnd Whiptail isn't going to stop. He wants more. He's become convinced that some ancient weapons are hidden here, blessed by Sithis. So he says. I think this entire place is cursed.\nI'm going to make a run for it. I know you want out, too. Meet me in the room we set up for Kassandra at midnight tonight if you're coming. And burn this scroll after you read it. We can't risk Whiptail finding out. He'd kill us both.\nM"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/yfrres-sparkling-steeds": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/yfrres-sparkling-steeds", "description": "An introduction to the Indriks, a magical, deer-like animal found in the Summerset Isles", "author": "Melobrian", "title": "Y'frre's Sparkling Steeds", "text": "If you spend any time in the pristine wildernesses of the Summerset Isles, you will see no shortage of flora and fauna that will take your breath away, but if you are truly blessed, you may glimpse one of the most storied creatures in history: the indrik. It's a privilege I've had only a handful of times, as wild indriks are wary by nature and exceptionally elusive. It's said that they can vanish in an instant when gazed upon by those with impure intent.\nIt feels trite to say that you will know an indrik when you see one, but few words seem up to the task of describing the creatures. A folk tale as old as the Altmer civilization tells of how Y'ffre the Singer wove indriks out of the very essence of the forest, giving them the aspect of every living thing found within. You might, with the briefest of glances, mistake one for a common deer, but even the most casual observation will reveal indriks are so much more.\nThe first thing likely to catch your eye about indriks are their antlers. Points of the finest crystal sprout from their crowns like the branches of some great, glimmering tree. This mesmerizing sight has been the end of many an ambitious hunter who thought the rack would make a fine prize. Let down your guard, for even a moment, and you risk being impaled by the stately lance jutting out from an indrik's forehead. There are countless legends surrounding the indrik's horn: that they are an alchemical cure-all, that touching one will extend your life seven-fold, even that they're made from Y'ffre's tears. All I can truly tell you is that an indrik's horn is both beautiful and deadly. If you believe what I've described thus far to be far-fetched, I've yet to even begin.\nThe body of an indrik is covered in a tapestry of fur, feathers, and fronds that defy classification. One might ask themselves: are they animal, bird, or plant? Can they be all of those things at once? They might not be any of those things at all. Some scholars theorize that indriks are divine beings, not truly of this world, closer to Aedra than mortal. One fable tells of a Mer who kills an indrik, only to find its heart is pure crystal. He decides to give the perfect gem to his ladylove, but she is so beguiled by its splendor that her avarice taints the perfect gem, cursing it. From then on, the couple's lives are filled with such sorrow that they cast themselves into the sea, leaving their kin to fight over the precious gem and carry on the curse. A fanciful tale, but while there is no doubt that indriks are inherently magical, I've found scant evidence indicating that they are literally the stuff of magic.\nI suppose I should mention that they possess four ears. For any other animal that would surely stand out, but given what I've already described, I'm sure you'll agree that it hardly seems noteworthy. Presumably, this trait helps them appraise their surroundings and evade threats, but I'm certain there's a story out there somewhere claiming one pair is for hearing in the physical world and the other the spiritual. Until the indriks are studied more closely, they will continue to remain creatures surrounded by myth, but I can't help but feel like these creatures would be diminished by having their secrets laid bare. After all, who doesn't enjoy a little mystery in the world?"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/yamanu-kos-letter-her-apprentice": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/yamanu-kos-letter-her-apprentice", "description": "Entrusting an apprentice with a lot of responsibility", "author": "Yamanu-ko", "title": "Yamanu-ko's Letter to Her Apprentice", "text": "Faithful Apprentice,\nI trust you have made the arrangements with our new allies. I look forward to meeting them at the appointed location in the ruin of Balamath.\nAs for Kelmen Locke, he will not pose a problem. He fled when the atronachs turned, and our helpful allies have arranged for him to be kidnapped by bandits. He will not interfere with our plans.\nI must ask you to keep an eye on your fellow apprentices, however. I have concerns that Minerva Lauzon is wavering in her support of our deal.\nYour Master,\n\tYamanu-ko"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/yenadars-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/yenadars-journal", "description": "A darkness grows within Yenadar", "author": "Yenadar", "title": "Yenadar's Journal", "text": "This site is everything that I had hoped it would be. These ruins are the perfect place to contemplate the light of Jone and Jode. Their cooling rays slice through the crack in the ceiling. They fill me with calm, with peace. The stonework is magnificent and I can feel the pulse of our ancestors in this ancient place. This will be the perfect site for my retreat and meditations\u2014far removed from the distractions of S'ren-ja.\n\t- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -\n\tI have made my camp, here in the innermost sanctum of this holy place. The bones of our ancestors still lie in state, though some lie in the most peculiar positions. Though I first came here to remove myself from civilization, I find myself drawn to the mystery of this place. Who were these people and how did they die? I must tell my sister, Kala about this place when I return.\n\t- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -\n\tI found meditation increasingly difficult today so I set about exploring. I discovered an interesting document that speaks a little to those who lived here but not much more. I keep expecting some revelation with every turned stone, and in fact I could swear I have heard or perhaps felt something at the edge of consciousness. Are the ancient ones trying to make contact with me?\n\t- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -\n\tLast night, each time I started to drift to sleep, I kept thinking I could hear a voice or voices whispering in the darkness. I got precious little sleep as a result. I think I will rest here at camp today. Maybe I will explore more tomorrow.\n\t- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -\n\tThere is someone or something here. I can feel it all around me. I can hear it whispering to me \u2026 whispers in the darkness. Part of me says that I should leave this place, but I must know \u2026 I must know what it is trying to say to me. If only I could understand the words \u2026.\n\tIt's here again.\n\t- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -\n\tThe darkness grows within me. I have been chosen for a sacred duty. I just wish \u2026 my dear Kala. My dear sister. I wish I could see you again in sweet S'ren-ja. I kn"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/yngrels-do-list": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/yngrels-do-list", "description": "Mervilda has a demand", "author": "Mervilda", "title": "Yngrel's To Do List", "text": "This is your last chance, Yngrel. I NEED a fur coat! No excuses this time. Get your lazy butt over to the Hollow, find an animal to kill (lots if they're small), and bring the skin back. Something white would be nice, just don't get it dirty!\n\tYour loving wife,\n\tMervilda"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/yokudan-hawk-enigma": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/yokudan-hawk-enigma", "description": "An answer-less riddle", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Yokudan \"Hawk\" Enigma", "text": "The hawk watches over sands without effort. But what watches over the hawk?"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/yokudan-man-and-beast-enigma": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/yokudan-man-and-beast-enigma", "description": "An answer-less riddle", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Yokudan \"Man and Beast\" Enigma", "text": "Sword and spell are useless. As it fells man and beast alike, and given time, the mountains themselves."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/yokudan-mother-and-son-enigma": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/yokudan-mother-and-son-enigma", "description": "An answer-less riddle", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Yokudan \"Mother and Son\" Enigma", "text": "A mother gave the first gift to her son, and for the rest of his life did he keep it with him."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/you-are-what-you-eat": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/you-are-what-you-eat", "description": "A man resorts to canibalism to gain power", "author": "Norgic Darkcloak", "title": "You Are What You Eat", "text": "They call me insane! That's because they're short-sighted and afraid to grasp true power when it is offered freely. In the depths of the earth, beneath the simple structures of our village, I discovered a place of power and knowledge. It's a place where spirits whisper, waiting for someone to hear them.\nI heard their call. I listened to their holy words over and over and over again. \"You are what you eat,\" they whispered to me. \"You are what you eat, you are what you eat, you are what you eat.\"\nThey never stopped. They never gave me a moment to clear my head. It was enough to drive me ins\u2014\nNo, not that word. Never that word. I am not a madman!\nAfter they prepared me and opened my mind, the spirits taught me a ritual. A recipe, if you like. It's a way to take the power and strength of my enemies and make them my own. But why settle for the mortal power of Nords when there are so many better choices available?\nDaedra flesh was my first thought, but capturing and killing such a creature proved more difficult than I imagined. First, there aren't many Daedra wandering around the village, just waiting to jump into my soup pot.\nSo I looked around, and then I saw it. A solitary creature was roaming the plains beyond the village. A giant! What better meal could grant power and glory? What would be better than the succulent flesh of a giant?\nThe spirits tell me that the flesh is most potent when consumed raw, right off the bone. There are words to say and ceremonial gestures to make, preparing me for the transfer of power. When this power infuses me, nothing can stop me! Not even death. As long as my head remains attached to my body, I shall return!\nHere is what the spirits taught me. Here is the secret to becoming what you eat. Here is the chant:\nTYO UAR EWHA TYO UEA TYO UAR EWHA TYO UEA TYO UAR EWHA TYO UEA"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/you-lazy-workers": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/you-lazy-workers", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "You Lazy Workers!", "text": "Get off your arses! What the taft are you all payed for? That platform is an accident waiting to happen, one heavy wind and that platform is coming down. You need to fix it before someone is hurt!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/your-final-chance": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/your-final-chance", "description": "Wardiya must die", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Your Final Chance", "text": "I've paid you a hefty fee to track down and kill Wardiya. You've given me nothing but excuses. This is your final chance. Rumor has her back in Bruma.\nFind her. Kill her. Make me happy.\n\u2014 G."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/your-final-oportunity": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/your-final-oportunity", "description": "Report to the Imperial City, or else", "author": "Major Fidenas", "title": "Your Final Opportunity", "text": "Captain Corvus,\nYou know the consequences of your refusal to obey orders. You are condemning all your troops to an ignominious death. The only way to avoid this is to report with your troops to the Imperial City, as ordered.\nIf you do this, your troops will be spared. Your life is forfeit in any case. Do what is best for those under your command. Report to me in the Imperial City. This is your final opportunity.\n\u2014 Major Fidenas"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/your-little-friend-edu": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/your-little-friend-edu", "description": "A trained Reikr has disappeared", "author": "Emeraude", "title": "Your Little Friend, Edu", "text": "Mistress, I hope this letter finds you well. Your campaign in Cyrodiil has become the stuff of legend, and I do so look forward to your return so that I might hear of your tales of valor.\nYour family's move to the new city of Orsinium has been mostly uneventful, but I dare say that we've managed to lose a dear companion along the way. Your tamed Riekr servant, Edu, disappeared on the first night of our journey.\nI know how fond you were of him, having spent so much time teaching him the Tamrielic speech and the proper table settings. I recall the time you dressed him up in a gown on Jester's Day. He was so pretty, for a Riekr! Do you remember the look on those boys' faces when you tried to sell them \"a maiden's kiss\" and presented them with the painted-up Edu? One of them lost his breakfast!\nThe night Edu disappeared we did hear some chattering near our tents, but the soldiers assured us that it was nothing. In the morning, Edu was gone. I can't imagine that he ran off, since he had it so good with the family. Perhaps he got lost. In any case, we never found a body.\nI'm so sorry for your loss, mistress, but you can rest assured that there's a chance, somewhere, that little Edu is with his people, setting the table like you taught him.\nYour companion,\u00a0\nEmeraude"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/your-silver-fur": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/your-silver-fur", "description": "Loveletter to a Khajiit", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Your Silver Fur", "text": "My Dearest Beautiful Zali,\nI saw you by the water again. The sun made your silver fur light up like it was a bright day. I would have stood there forever, but I stand a lot guarding the embassy so I left.\nYou should visit the embassy to see how important I am. We could eat a dinner together.\n\u2014 You Know Who"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/yours-taking": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/yours-taking", "description": "Colovia has annexed northern Valenwood, and needs soldiers to take it", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Yours for the Taking!", "text": "By Catonius Libo, Aide-de-Camp to General Lavinia Axius\n\tFreeborn Colovians! You are hereby called to Serve your Homeland\u2014and in the process, serve Yourself, your Family and Heirs.\nEXTRAORDINARY NEWS\nBe It Known that the region south of the River Strid, formerly known as Arenthia Vale of Valenwood, has been re-designated the South Weald of the Colovian Estates, as Decreed by the Count of Skingrad and Ratified by the Elder Council of the Empire of Cyrodiil. The Legion of the West Weald, under command of General Lavinia Axius, has been given the Honor of Annexing the South Weald and Securing its new Borders.\nOPPORTUNITIES IN THE WEST WEALD LEGION\nBe It Further Known that, upon Cessation of Hostilities in the South Weald, members of the Occupying Legion will be Mustered Out and Granted Land\u2014Farms for Soldiers, Estates for Officers. Previous Ownership of all said Lands has been declared Null and Void by the Elder Council. Current Squatters will be Deported or Indentured and put to Useful Labor on behalf of the New Owners.\nGLORY, ADVENTURE, AND PRIZE MONEY\nServe in the South Weald and earn the Plaudits of a Grateful Colovia! Consider also that after Previous Conflicts, many freeborn Colovians were able to enter the Lower Nobility by virtue of the Copious Ransoms elicited from the Families of Important Prisoners. This may be the Best Chance for Advancement in this generation\u2014don't miss out due to Fretting, Timidity, or Trivial Entanglements."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ysmir-forefather-volume-iv": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ysmir-forefather-volume-iv", "description": "", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Ysmir the Forefather, Volume IV", "text": "At the end of his life, Ysmir, who had ruled the peoples for over a thousand years in the time before history, the time of myth, sought a burial place and death befitting a king of men and dragons.\nHe summoned his champions and men-at-arms and asked them: \"Where can I find a burial place and death befitting a king of men and dragons?\"\nThe first housecarl stepped forward and said \"Go East, where the ocean touches the sky.\"\nThe second bowed humbly and said \"Go West, where the sun kisses the earth.\"\nAnd again the third said \"North to the very frozen tips of Nirn, to a tomb of ice.\"\nAnd the fourth, \"South to the pillars of smoke and fire.\"\nBut Ysmir. king of men and dragons, whose greatness preceded time, despaired and said \"I have traveled the whole of Mundus and conquered many peoples, but where will I rest my head? If I rest to the East or the West or the North or the South, it will only cause division.\n\"The local peoples will claim my tomb as their own. They will say, 'Ysmir is our king, for he rests among us.' And my children will fight amongst themselves and divide my body among them, sending my head one way, my hands another, and my feet, and my mighty heart.\"\nFrom among his thanes and housecarls, a young man, not more than a boy, whom none of them had seen before, then dared to speak. Bowing low, he said \"Then do not go anywhere on Nirn, but go to the sky, where you can watch over all your peoples.\"\nYsmir king of men and dragons liked this idea. He said, \"But boy, how would I reach the sky? Is there a mountain, or a ladder built by men that can reach so high?\"\nAnd the boy said \"There is no such thing, neither mountain nor ladder nor staircase. But I know of a place, a single stone. This is the path to Aetherius.\"\n\"Where can I find this stone?\" cried the king of men and dragons, intent on ascending to the sky.\n\"Follow me,\" the boy beckoned.\nAnd Ysmir summoned all of his champions and housecarls and told them how he was intent to end his life by ascending to the sky. And all of them, every one, agreed to follow him to the place where the boy led.\nAnd when they reached the place, they found as the boy promised, a single stone. And Ysmir, who was by now very old, laid at the foot of the stone and was taken up into the stars.\nThe champions and housecarls looked up into the heavens and saw their king, the great Warrior, riding across the sky. And he was accompanied by three servants, a Lord, his Lady, and his mighty Steed.\nAnd the champions and housecarls all pledged to guard the valley and the way to Aetherius. But when they looked for the boy who had shown them the way, he was nowhere to be found."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/zabans-letter": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/zabans-letter", "description": "A key institution in Summurset has been compromised", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Zaban's Letter", "text": "Razum-dar,\nThe usual channels weren't working. Be apprised: the College has been compromised. The headmaster, Tanion, now wears the Veil. Zaban was not sure at first. Now confirmed.\nThe Veiled Queen herself eyes this place. Send agents now."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/zaban-mas-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/zaban-mas-journal", "description": "Extra money, but from where?", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Zaban-ma's Journal", "text": "Things have changed on the plantation. Debt collectors stopped showing up and sister is always buying the expensive meat.\nWhere did this money come from? The crops were terrible this year; we barely pulled in ten parcels last month.\nWhy does sister wander off? Sometimes she goes for hours and then acts as if nothing happened. Father says nothing.\nThis is not right."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/zagrughs-journal": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/zagrughs-journal", "description": "Needing a reliable assistant, a shopkeeper considers Daedric intervention", "author": "Zagrugh", "title": "Zagrugh's Journal", "text": "12 Sun's Dawn\nSo tired. The money's good, but I've caught every assistant I've tried to hire stealing from me! Guess it comes with the territory. I can't keep up this pace, though. Doing all the restocking, bargaining, ledgers, and everything else is going to kill me. I've haven't had a full night's sleep in months now!\nWhat I need is an assistant who will just do the work and not steal everything or run off and leave the shop unattended. Sathasa said she just summons up a scamp whenever she needs gruntwork done. Says they're dumb and mean, but they do the job and she can relax a little. Messing around with Daedra doesn't seem like a great idea, but I'm at my wit's end here. Maybe I'll take her up on the offer of that summoning scroll. It's just one scamp, after all."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/zaysharas-first-note": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/zaysharas-first-note", "description": "A dying mother's note to her son", "author": "Zayshara", "title": "Zayshara's First Note", "text": "Only Zayshara remains now. Hiding, hoping, weeping.\nAzin believes that my little Elzhar could not have survived the cold or the creatures that roam these wretched hills. He said it was a mercy that our little one wandered off. That Elzhar would curl up in a drift of this killing snow and sleep peacefully until the cold drew out his last breath.\nBut Azin is wrong. A mother's heart, it knows.\nThis is for you, my little one. Little gifts of magic, Do you remember, back home in Mistral, this one would conjure colors and swirls to make you giggle? Your soft paws pouncing on a toy that disappeared then re-appeared? The nonsense rhymes and stories this one would whisper to you before you slept?\nYou will find me through these memories. My heart knows this."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/zaysharas-second-note": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/zaysharas-second-note", "description": "A dying mother's note to her son", "author": "Zayshara", "title": "Zayshara's Second Note", "text": "We Baandari, we travel. But always we return to the warm sands. Green lands, instead of gray. The sounds of soft voices, laughter. Azin returns to us as he always does and laughs to see how Elzhar has grown. Big enough to travel, he says, tossing you up in the air so that you laugh and laugh.\nSo we traveled and traded. We are respected for our trading skills and our ability to range far and wide. We have traveled farther and seen more of this strange world than many others, this one believes. The moons, they bless our travels.\nEverything was good and fine. Until we came to Wrothgar. Cold. Danger. Loss. Attacked by savage creatures. Usuri saw old ruins and we ran for them, thinking to take shelter. As Usuri and Shura build a fire, this one looks for you. This one looks for days and days, my beautiful son.\nThe wind and snow have removed all traces of you.\nBut a mother knows. My Elzhar, he is alive. The others look upon this one with pity in their eyes. Even Azin, who grieves. But this one knows she will whisper nonsense to you again, my son. We will play games and this one will hear your laughter again.\nA mother knows."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/zaysharas-third-note": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/zaysharas-third-note", "description": "A dying mother's note to her son", "author": "Zayshara", "title": "Zayshara's Third Note", "text": "In the long silences, this one's heart is full of grief. Only hope, or the memory of hope, lets this one hang on this long. I have fever dreams, where I see my beautiful boy as a grown man. A Baandari trader, teasing the gold out of someone's pockets in exchange for some trinket or bauble.\nOne day, perhaps, my Elzhar will find these little games. Know that Zayshara, your mother, even in sadness, smiled as she made them. In the dark and cold of these ruins, these little bits of magic shone light on happy memories.\nYou are the son of two Baandari clan traders. Travel, barter. It is in your blood, my child. It is your heritage.\nMay the two moons shine upon you and bring you blessings."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/zombies-further-experiments": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/zombies-further-experiments", "description": "Research into creating zombies en masse", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Zombies: Further Experiments", "text": "After weeks of failed attempts, I've finally found the means of creating autonomous zombies en masse that do not require a constant effort from the necromancer.\nUnfortunately, most of these creatures are blindingly stupid and docile. They'll defend themselves when threatened, but are otherwise content to bumble about aimlessly. Luckily a few zombies per batch seem to be naturally aggressive. When this aggressive variety is placed within the docile group, it acts as a sort of guard dog, alerting the others to prey. I've not yet figured out the trick to producing this useful variety consistently, but the ones we have allow some degree of control over the entire group.\nAnd that's enough for the Pellingares."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/zurkas-orders": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/zurkas-orders", "description": "Watch traitors in Auridon", "author": "Ren-dro", "title": "Zurka's Orders", "text": "Cousin Zurka,\nThose idiots at Mathiisen must be kept under surveillance. Right now their plans don't extend beyond Auridon, but if they do succeed in taking the island they could be trouble.\nWe're counting on you. Keep your claws sharp and your eyes open.\nReport any new developments to this one right away.\n\u2014 Ren-dro"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/zuziks-clue": {"game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/zuziks-clue", "description": "Velum and further orders", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Zuzik's Clue", "text": "The Artisan's letter Zuzik gave me is written on vellum, a medium used by the Bosmer. It instructs the recipient to meet the Artisan at the bank."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/city-descriptions": {"game": ["Arena"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/city-descriptions", "description": "Welcome messages and brief descriptions of each city found in Arena.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "City Descriptions", "text": "High Rock\nNorth Point hails thee, traveler. We wish you goodfortune within our walls...\nDaggerfall greets those in search for rest, and hope to challenge those who search for glory...\nCamlorn, Jewel of the West, greets thee weary traveler and bids thee welcome to our City-State...\nShornhelm welcomes all who find themselves within our walls during their journeys. May good fortune smile upon thee and be merciful...\nThe port city of Wayrest hails all weary travelers who wish to rest. Find the strength within our walls to continue your journey, wherever that may be...\nWe of Evermore welcome you into our walls. Many call this their home and extend their welcome. Remember this, lest you forget who you would face in the world outside...\nThe northern port of Farrun welcomes you into her icy hold. Feel not the bite of our winter, nor the edge of the wind...\nWelcome to Jehanna, a city as beautiful as her name. We greet you, and wish you only peace on your stay...\nHammerfell\nWeary traveler, thou art entering Sentinel, the guardian of Starfall Bay. Learn what it is to be survivors, for amongst enemies we stand alone...\nHegathe bids you welcome, and good fortune. We are home many who would seek the paths of danger. Not a deadlier challenge wouldst thou face elsewhere...\nGilane, the southern port of Hammerfell, welcomes thee into its walls. We stand ready for all who would come to us in peace...\nThe port city of Taneth welcomes thee unto its soil. We bid thee, be not fearful of this world, but stand forward tall and proud...\nRihad, southern most port of Hammerfell, welcomes thee. Lay aside thy vice and avarice and enter these walls as nobles. We wish you only a long life and prosperity...\nWelcome to Dragonstar, home of the sacred rage. We wish thee peace and rest in our City-State, but conduct thyselves honorably, or thou shalt answer to our guards...\nThou art welcome in Elinhir, guardian of the West. Many name this home. Be cautious, lest ye draw their wrath upon thy heads...\nKnow that we of Skaven welcome thee, for it is rare indeed to receive travelers brave enough to stand under the shadow of our land...\nSkyrim\nWe bid you welcome to the arctic wastes of Solitude, the northern most City-State in the realm. Beware our might...\nWe bid you welcome to the City-State which greets the sun as it begins its journey, Dawnstar...\nWe welcome you to Winterhold. Let travelers find warmth within our walls, let challengers find us worthy...\nWe bade you enter Snowhawk, where the wind is as fierce as our city's name, and sharp as its talons...\nRiften bids you welcome. We call this our home. Let those who challenge be wary...\nThe City-State of Falcrenth bids you welcome, as does its people...\nThe heart of Skyrim, Whiterun bids you welcome. For travelers we offer a place of rest...\nLet all who enter Windhelm know of us. We laugh at death and thirst for life. Be not afraid, but instead enter bravely and live well...\nMorrowind\nYou enter Ebonheart, also known as the Black City. To the north you can see the red-orange glow of Dagoth Ur, the firecone on the Black Isle. This city's ruler has a reputation of being extremely ruthless...\nNarsis seems almost to weave a web of sleep upon all those who enter, for the Dark Elves discourage visitors. It seems however that you are unaffected...\nBlacklight holds the northern tip of Morrowind, and to the east is Dagoth Ur in all its fiery glory...\nFirewatch is the closest City-State to the firecone, Dagoth Ur. Legend has it that a great labyrinth resides under the fire mountain. Here in this city however, the danger comes from other sources...\nNecrom, eastern port of the Realm, a city of dark heat. Necrom is known for two things, the ferocity of their guards, and the quality of their arms...\nYou enter Mournhold, lost City-State of the first empire. It is said that a great evil resides under this city, slowly driving its citizens mad... [It is said that none have ever seen the bodies of the slain after the a battle is over on this soil...]\nThe southeastern port city of Tear is also known as the Jewel of the East. Of all the City-States in Morrowind, Tear is most open to trade and commerce... [Perhaps this is why few have complained about the strange happenings when night falls...]\nKragenmoor holds the western border of Morrowind. You are struck by a chill wind that seems to flow through your clothes and to your very bone...\nSummurset Isle\nBehold Dusk, the High Elven city of Summurset Isle. All who journey here know that we stand ready to meet you in friendship...\nEnter Sunhold and be welcome, for we wish all who come in peace a long and healthy life, and those who come in search of glory, a quick and merciful death...\nAlinor, forest city of Summurset, welcomes you to our gates. Know that the guards hold this city, and will fight any who challenge to keep it...\nNone can match the beauty of our Shimmerene, the city of lights. Be welcome and merry, for what is ours is yours... [However, if you come to steal tread lightly, the guards do not take kindly to would be thieves...]\nWelcome to Lillandril, the High Elven hold on the northern coasts of Summurset. The people fight here for honor and glory. Come, challenge our land, if you dare...\nWhen High Lord Torinaan came to this isle, our city sprang from his first step onto its rocky shores. Be welcome to First Hold, birthplace of the High Elves who carry our past...\nSkywatch, northern city of Summurset, welcomes you. Enter in peace and feel our warmth, challenge our lands and feel your blood run cold...\nWe hold the Plains of Summurset, for we are the High Elves of Cloudrest. Never will you see more beauty than in our land...\nValenwood\nYou enter Eldenroot, Wood Elven city near the center of Valenwood. [Center of the Wood Elven nation] The elves here seem friendly and you are hailed in welcome. You overhear that the City-State's commerce is going well...\nPerched on the edge of the great Elden Grove, Silvenar is a City-State of breath taking beauty. Tall minarets and spires worked out of marble rise out of the forest...\nThe coastal City-State of Woodhearth is the departure point for those bound for Summurset Isle. The Wood Elves here are friendly and pleasant and seem to have strong ties to magic...\nFalinesti lies near the coast on the northern region of Valenwood. To the north are the spines of the Dragon's Teeth...\nGreenheart lies on the southern edge of the Elden Grove. Beautiful trees fill the City-State, making it seem more like a forest than a thriving metropolis...\nNamed after the first king of the Wood Elves, Arenthia is regal in bearing and noble in stature. The city seems quiet and dignified for her guards are reputed to be honorable warriors but dangerous foes...\nHaven lies on the southern edge of Valenwood. She seems a place of safety in an otherwise dangerous world...\nSouthpoint is the southern most port city in Valenwood. To the south can be seen the Blue Divide...\nElsweyr\nCorinth, heart of the Province Elsweyr, greets our weary brethren. Find peace and rest within our walls...\nThe white walled Alabaster welcomes you into her breast. Feel not the sting of fear, but instead the touch of victory...\nThe southern port of Senchal greets you. Know that you are welcome within these walls, but take care not to take advantage of our hospitality...\nBe welcome in Rimmen, chosen in the Empire to hold the greatest wealth. Come, bid us to listen to your adventures, we have not seen true heroes in a time...\nWelcome to Torval, home of the finest southern wines. Be wary of our market, for those who have crossed the merchants' path have been in dire straits indeed...\nDune stands forever. Challenge our land if you dare, for we are the best blades of the south, and will show any who come to our door adventure...\nYou who would enter Orcrest beware! Monsters abide within these walls. They are called by thirst for blood, and you would do best to travel elsewhere...\nYou have come to Riverhold, closest City-State to the Imperial Isle. It is here that you can find the cheapest items to be bought, the Emperor's hand lying lightly upon our shoulders...\nBlack Marsh\nStormhold lies on the northern tip of the Province of Black Marsh. Here the people seem friendly, but a strain shows in their eyes. Perhaps it is because of their proximity to the Dark Elven lands...\nThorn holds the eastern edge of the continent, and has been named by some the Jewel of the East. [As you enter their gates however, you realize that this town is as deadly as it is rumored to be beautiful.] Vagabonds eye your purse strings and guards seem to turn lazy eyes elsewhere...\nYou enter the city gates of Helstrom, noticing the dark looks the guards give you. They have a reputation of being very dangerous. Perhaps you can change that...\nGideon, the black city of the followers of Seth, lies near the southern tip of the Imperial Run. A cold air that has nothing to do with the time of year seems to chill your bones as you enter...\nLeaving the sounds of the ocean and surf behind, you enter Soulrest. Inside it seems as if a hush as fallen over the city, as if all inside are holding their breath in anticipation...\nBlackrose holds many secrets. You feel eyes on your back as the city gates shut behind you with a hollow boom... [It is said that many enter and few leave this City-State. You do not plan to add yourself to that list...]\nLilmoth seems gloomy and forbidding. Never before have you experienced the unnatural fear that pervades the atmosphere. This city it is rumored, holds much under its streets...\nThe city gate of Archon looms over you as you enter. People around you here seem to be avoiding eye contact...\nImperial Province\nYou enter the Imperial City, the heart of Tamriel, and the seat of power for his majesty, the Emperor Uriel Septim VII.\nThe Imperial City, the heart of the empire, welcomes you. The [title] [ruler name] asks you to feel free to look about and enjoy yourselves. We are at your disposal."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/exclamations": {"game": ["Arena"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/exclamations", "description": "Region-based exclamations and curses from around the Empire.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Exclamations", "text": "Nordic\nBy Thorig's Beard\nBy Olfor's Hammer\nBy the White Wolf\nBy the Frozen Wastes\nBy the Hoarfather\nMother of the Ice\nFrostfire\nBy the Cliffs of Solitude\nBy the Northern Sea\nBy the Beard of Thorig\n\nKhajiiti\nBy the Rat-god\nWhore of Alizahad\nDust of Orcrest\nBy the Sands of Elsweyr\nBy the Blessed Water\nBy the Hand of Ibrahad\nDesert Sun\nBy the Dry Heart\nBy the Water of Life\nDevil of the Sands\n\nRedguard\nBy the Dragon's Teeth\nDragon's Teeth\nCursed Darvak\nBy My Father's Name\nBy Rourken\nBy the Great Hammer\nBy the Dwarf-King\nBeard of the Dwarf-King\nBy the Guardian's Blood\nBy the First Wyrm\n\nBreton\nBy Starfall's Waters\nBless My Lord\nBy the Crypt\nDeath Be Damned\nBy My Lady\nBy the Mists\nBy the Wolf\nBy the Dark Lord\nSpirits of High Rock\nBy the ArchDruid\n\nArgonian\nSwamp Devil\nMire of Murkwood\nBy the Gods\nBy the Throne of Aphicles\nBy the Blades of Fate\nBy the Lonely One\nHost of Stormhold\nBy the Swamp Spirit\nBy the Mother-goddess\nBogfire\n\nBosmeri\nBy the Elden Grove\nBy the Timber Spirits\nBy the Lore of Wood\nBy Mistria's Curse\nSpirits of the Wood\nFaeries of the Grove\nBy Caliron's Heart\nBy the Root\nFire of Eldenroot\nBy the Fire\n\nAltmer\nBy the Highest One\nBy the White Crystal\nBy the Wood of Elborn\nBy the Blue Divide\nFaerielight\nBy the Otherworld\nFirst Spirit of Tamriel\nBlade of Cassimoran\nCrystals of Summurset\nBy the First Spirit\n\nDunmeri\nBy the Black Isle\nBy the Dark Ones\nBy the Fires of Dagoth-Ur\nBy the Mad Queen\nBy the Black Maw\nDark Goddess Protect Us\nBy the Night\nSoul of the Black Knight\nBy the Soulless One\nFireblood"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/arena-holidays": {"game": ["Arena"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/arena-holidays", "description": "Descriptions of Arena's holidays and what the people have to say about them.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Holidays", "text": "New Life Festival\nToday the people of [city] are having the New Life Festival in celebration of a new year. The Emperor has ordered yet another tax increase in his New Life Address, and there is much grumbling about this. Still, despite financial difficulties, the New Life tradition of free ale at all the taverns in the [settlement type] continues. The people of [city] certainly know how to hold a celebration ...\n\nSouth Wind's Prayer\nThe 15th of Morning Star is a holiday taken very seriously in [city], where they call it South Wind's Prayer, a plea by all the religions of Tamriel for a good planting season. Citizens with every affliction known in Tamriel flock to services in the [settlement type]'s [temple] temple, as the clergy is known to perform free healings on this day. The people know that only a few will be judged worthy of this service, but few can afford the [temple]'s usual price...\n\nHeart's Day\nToday is the 16th of Sun's Dawn, a holiday celebrated all over Tamriel as Heart's Day. It seems that in every house, the Legend of the Lovers is being sung for the younger generation. In honor of these Lovers, Polydor and Eloisa, the inns of the [settlement type] offer a free room for visitors. If such kindness had been given the Lovers, it is said, it would always be springtime in the world.\n\nFirst Planting\nOn the 7th of First Seed every year, the people of [city] celebrate First Planting, symbolically sowing the seeds for the autumn harvest. It is a festival of fresh beginnings, both for the crops and for the men and women of the [settlement type]. Neighbors are reconciled in their disputes, resolutions are formed, bad habits dropped, the diseased cured. The clerics at the [temple] run a free clinic all day long to cure people of poisoning, different diseases, paralyzation, and the other banes found in the world of Arena.\n\nJester's Day\nBe warned that today is Jester's Day in the [settlement type] of [city], and pranks are being set up from one end of town to the other. It is as if a spell has been cast over the community, for even the most taciturn and dignified councilman might attempt to play a joke on his [title]. The Thieves Guild finds particular attention as everyone looks for pickpockets in particular.\n\nSecond Planting\nThe celebration of Second Planting is in full glory this day. It is a holiday with traditions similar to First Planting, improvements on the first seeding symbolically to suggest improvements on the soul. The free clinic of the [temple] is open for the second and last time this year, offering cures for those suffering from any kind of disease or affliction. Because peace and not conflict is stressed at this time, battle injuries are healed only at full price.\n\nMid Year Celebration\nToday is the 16th of Mid Year, the traditional day for the Mid Year Celebration. Perhaps to alleviate the annual news of the Emperor's latest tax increase, the [settlement type] temples offer blessings for only half the donation they usually suggest. Many so blessed feel confident enough to enter the [province] dungeons when they are not fully prepared, so this joyous festival has often been known to turn suddenly into a day of defeat and tragedy.\n\nMerchants' Festival\nThe bargain shoppers of the known world are out in force today and it is little wonder, for the 10th of Sun's Height is a holiday called the Merchants' Festival. Every marketplace and equipment store has dropped their prices to at least half. The only shop not being patronized today is the Mages Guild, where prices are as exorbitant as usual. Most citizens in need of a magical item are waiting two months for the celebration of Tales and Tallows when prices will be more reasonable...\n\nSun's Rest\nYou will have to wait until tomorrow if you are planning on making any equipment purchases, for all stores are closed in observance of Sun's Rest. Of course, the temples, taverns, and Mages Guild in the [settlement type] are still open their regular hours, but most citizens chose to devote this day to relaxation, not commerce or prayer. This is not a convenient arrangement for all, but the Merchants' Guild heavily fines any shop that stays open, so everyone complies.\n\nHarvest's End\nPerhaps no other festival fires the spirit of the [settlement type] of [city] as much as the one held today, Harvest's End. The work of the year is over, the seeding, sowing, and reaping. Now is the time to celebrate and enjoy the fruits of the harvest, and even visitors to the [settlement type] are invited to join the farmers. The taverns offer free drinks all day long, an extravagance before the economy of the coming winter months. Underfed farm hands gorging themselves and then getting sick in the town square are the most common sights of the celebration of Harvest's End.\n\nTales and Tallows\nNo other holiday divides the people of [city] like the 3rd of Hearth Fire. A few of the oldest, more superstitious men and women do not speak all day long for fear that the evil spirits of the dead will enter their bodies. Most citizens enjoy the holiday, calling it Tales and Tallows, but even the most lighthearted avoid the dark streets of [city], for everyone knows the dead do walk tonight. Only the Mages Guild completely thrives on this day. In celebration of the oldest magical science, necromancy, all magical items are half price today.\n\nWitches' Festival\nToday is the 13th of Frostfall, known throughout Tamriel as the Witches' Festival when the forces of sorcery and religion clash. The Mages Guild gets most of the business since weapons and items are evaluated for their mystic potential free of charge and magic spells are one half their usual price. Demonologists, conjurors, lamias, warlocks, and thaumaturgists meet in the wilderness outside [city], and the creatures created or summoned there may plague Tamriel for eons. Most wise men choose not to wander this night.\n\nEmperor's Birthday\nOnce the 30th of Frostfall, the Emperor's Birthday, was the most popular holiday of the year. Great traveling carnivals entertained the masses, while the aristocracy of [city] enjoyed the annual Goblin Chase on horseback. Recently, these traditions have fallen into neglect. It has been decades since there was a big carnival in [city] and longer still since a [title] of the [settlement type] sponsered a Goblin Chase. It is rumored that the Emperor has even begun refusing any audience.\n\nWarriors Festival\nToday is the 20th of Sun's Dusk, the Warriors Festival in [city]. Most all the local warriors, spellswords, and rogues come to the [settlement type]'s equipment stores and blacksmiths where all weapons are half price. Unfortunately, the low prices also tempt many an untrained boy to buy his first sword and the normally quiet [city] streets ring with amateur skirmishes. The [title] has pardoned most of these ruffians in the past, but has promised to be less merciful this year.\n\nNorth Wind's Prayer\nToday is the 15th of Evening Star, a holiday reverently observed by the [temple] as North Wind's Prayer. It is a thanksgiving to the Gods for a good harvest and a mild winter. Some years, like this one, the harvest was not particularly good and the winter unseasonally harsh in [city], but as the [title] is fond of saying, \"It could be much worse.\" The temples offer all their services blessing, curing, healing for half the donation usually requested.\n\nOld Life\nOn the last day of the year the Empire celebrates the holiday called Old Life. Many go to the temples to reflect on their past. Some go for more than this, for it is rumored that priests will as the last act of the year perform resurrections on beloved friends and family members free of the usual charge. Worshippers know better than to expect this philanthropy, but they arrive in a macabre procession with the recently deceased nevertheless.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/arena-jokes": {"game": ["Arena"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/arena-jokes", "description": "Rather lame jokes.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Jokes", "text": "Why did the [race] put the letters 'T.G.I.F.' on his boots? To remind himself - Toes Go In First!\nMost [race] family trees don't fork!\nWhat do a [race] and a bottle of port have in common? They're both empty from the neck up!\nYou know, you might be a [race] if you have grease under your toenails\nHow do you get a [race]'s eyes to sparkle? Put a torch in his ear!\nYou know, you might be a [race] if it's impossible to see food stains on your armor\nWhat did the [race] girl say after someone blew in her ear? 'Thanks for the refill!'\nWhat do you call a [race] with half a brain? Gifted!\nWhy do [race] women wear undergarments? To keep their ankles warm!\nHow do you make a [race] laugh on Morndas? Tell him a joke on Fredas!\nYou know, it only takes one drink to get a [race] drunk. I can't remember if it's the thirteenth or the fourteenth.\nWhat do you call a basement with more than one [race]? A WHINE cellar!\nOver at the %nt, spitting will cost you a copper piece. But you can throw up for free!\nWhat do a smart [race] and an orcoblin have in common? They're both extinct!\nYou know, lots of people say that [race] kids procrastinate too much. Well, just you wait.\nWhat is a [race] doing when he holds his hands tight over his ears? Trying to hold a thought!\nHow can you tell if a [race] is lying? His lips are moving!\nWhat do you say to a [race] woman to convince her to go to bed with you? Have another ale!\nWhy is it [city name] has the most [race] adventurers, and [city name 2] has the most goblins? [City name 2] had the first choice!\nWhat is the first thing a [race] woman does in the morning? Walk home!\nDid you hear there are a couple dyslexics at the [temple]? They're always arguing about the existence of Dog.\nWhat did the [race] woman say after she was told she was pregnant? 'Is it mine?'!\nWhat a [race] lacks in intelligence, he makes up for in stupidity.\nI won't eat anything that has intelligent life, but I will happily eat a politician or a [race]."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/location-entry-messages": {"game": ["Arena"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/location-entry-messages", "description": "Messages displayed based on season when you enter an audience chamber, tavern, shop, temple, or mages guild.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Location Entry Messages", "text": "Audience Chamber\nYou walk into the [title]'s audience chamber, noticing the fine trappings and furniture that decorate the area. A cool breeze wafts through the area, drying the sweat from your body and bringing a welcomed sigh to your lips. You relish in the brief respite. Ahead of you waits [ruler name], [title] of [city name]. It is well known that [city name] is currently at [diplomatic state] with its neighbor, [city name 2].\nOutside the sun batters relentlessly on the citizens of [city name], but in the audience chamber of [ruler name], [title] of the [settlement type], the shadows are deliverance. The rewards of power and wealth decorate the room. Obviously, being at [diplomatic state] with the [settlement type]'s neighbor, [city name 2], has been profitable for the [title] of [city name]. Perhaps you too can benefit from this situation...\nYou enter the audience chamber of [ruler name], [title] of [city name]. Despite the season, not a warm ray of sunshine has touched this room. You breath in the musty air and wipe the sweat from your brow as you wait for the [title] to finish business with some messengers from [city name 2], [city name]'s neighbor. The behavior between the [title] and the messengers is peculiar, considering the two have been at [diplomatic state] for some time...\nYou walk into the [title]'s audience chamber, noticing the fine trappings and furniture that decorate the area. Outside you can still hear the raindrops as they fall, soaking everything in sight and creating a humid haze which causes your clothes to cling to you like a second skin. Ahead of you waits [ruler name], [title] of [city name]. It is well known that [city name] is currently at [diplomatic state] with its neighbor, [city name 2].\nYou enter the audience chamber, wiping the warm water of the summer rain off of your face. At the center of the opulently decorated room, [title] [ruler name] is speaking with the [settlement type] councilmen of [city name]. You overhear them mention [city name 2], their neighbor to the [direction], with which [city name] is at [diplomatic state].\nLike an unwanted dog, the steam from the hot summer drizzle has followed you to the audience chamber of [ruler name], [title] of [city name]. They whisper, but you think you hear one of the counselors remind the [title] that they are at [diplomatic state] with [city name 2], the [settlement type]'s neighbor to the [direction].\nYou walk into the [title]'s audience chamber, noticing the fine trappings and furniture that decorate the area. Even though the clouds outside have made everything seem dull and gray, you find that the interior is brightly lit and cheerful. Ahead of you waits [ruler name], [title] of [city name]. It is well known that [city name] is currently at [diplomatic state] with its neighbor, [city name 2].\nYou enter [title] [ruler name]'s audience chamber, finding the [settlement type] elders in conference with the [title]. The mood in the room reflects the weather outside; hot and dark with rain clouds. The elders continue to whisper nervously one to the other.\nThe audience chamber of [title] [ruler name] of [city name] is alive with activity. The [title] and an elder discuss a discontented local group who wish [city name] no longer to be at [diplomatic state] with its neighbor, [city name 2]. [he/she] next turns attention to a merchant whose shop is under suspicion of housing a Thieves' Guild...\nYou walk into the [title]'s audience chamber, noticing the many fine trappings and furniture that decorate the area. Outside the golden fall sun lends its warmth, holding back winter's hand for a few moments more. Ahead of you waits [ruler name], [title] of [city name]. It is well known that [city name] is currently at [diplomatic state] with its neighbor, [city name 2].\nIt is the busiest season of the year in [city name], and the palace's audience chamber is filled with area farmers discussing their harvests with [title] [ruler name]. Many linger in the room after their business is through, procrastinating the return to the burning field work. They seem to be talking mostly about [city name] being suddenly at [diplomatic state] with its nearest neighbor, [city name 2], and how this will change the trade throughout the province.\nIt is unusually warm for the autumn in [city name], but the audience chamber of [title] [ruler name] reflects little of the sunshine outside...\nYou walk into the [title]'s audience chamber shaking the cold rain from your shoulders. The first thing you notice is the many fine trappings and furniture that decorate the area. The warm air serves to quickly dry you from the fall shower outside. Ahead of you waits [ruler name], [title] of [city name]...\nYou had hoped that the chamber of the [title] of [city name] would provide relief from the cold autumn rain outside, but it is as damp and chilly as a mausoleum. Others seeking audience wait with dripping hair and chattering teeth, as [title] [ruler name] talks with a representative from [city name 2], the [settlement type]'s neighbor that [city name] is at [diplomatic state] with...\nIt has been an uncomfortably warm autumn in the [settlement type] of [city name], so the recent shower has actually improved the mood in the audience chamber of [title] [ruler name]. You know that [city name 2], [city name]'s temperamental neighbor, is only recently at [diplomatic state] with [title] [ruler name], but foreign diplomacy is not being discussed among the [title] and the circle of counselors.\nYou walk into the [title]'s audience chamber, noticing the many fine trappings and furs that decorate the area. Even though autumn's clouds outside have made everything seem cold and gray, you find that the interior is brightly lit and warm. Ahead of you waits [ruler name], [title] of [city name]. It is well known that [city name] is currently at [diplomatic state] with its neighbor, [city name 2].\nYou enter [title] [ruler name]'s audience chamber, shaking the chill of the gray autumn day from your skin. Being currently at [diplomatic state] with its neighbor [city name 2], the leading citizens of [city name] have met to discuss the resultant implications with their [title]...\nAs you enter the audience chamber of the [title] of [city name], you feel the autumn chill from the outside is actually intensified within. The thick furs and darkly beautiful ornaments that decorate the walls make you feel as if you're being watched. [title] [ruler name] looks up from the conference [he/she] is having with the council of elders...\nYou walk into the [title]'s audience chamber, noticing the many fine trappings and warm furs that decorate the area. Even though the sun outside is strong, winter's hand has chilled you to the bone. You find that you welcome the brightly lit and warm interior. Ahead of you waits [ruler name], [title] of [city name]...\nYou enter the audience chamber of [title] [ruler name] of the [settlement type] of [city name], lips chapped from the cold, flesh burned by the sun. Representatives from [city name 2], meeting with the [title], leave the room as you enter. It appears not to have gone well, for the council of elders and [title] [ruler name] seem to be in a sour mood...\n[title] [ruler name]'s audience chamber is alive with excitement. [city name] and [city name 2], the [settlement type]'s neighbor to the [direction], are at [diplomatic state] talks. Naturally, this has caused a lot of the internal stress within [city name]. The [title] is remarkably calm, hearing each of the citizen's concerns about trade and commerce...\nYou walk into the [title]'s audience chamber, noticing the many fine trappings and warm furs that decorate the area. You feel your frozen limbs begin to thaw in the warm heat of the brightly lit interior. You welcome the brief respite from the cold. Ahead of you waits [ruler name], [title] of [city name]...\nThe audience chamber of [title] [ruler name] is drier than the snowy streets of [city name], but not any warmer. You rub your hands together and watch your breath come like smoke from a chimney...\nYour eyes, squinting from the glare of the snow outside, grow accustomed to the gloom of [title] [ruler name]'s audience chamber.\nYou walk into the [title]'s audience chamber, noticing the many fine trappings and warm furs that decorate the area. The freezing temperature and iron gray clouds outside have made everything frozen and dull, though you find that the interior of this chamber is brightly lit and cheerful. Ahead of you waits [ruler name], [title] of [city name]...\nFrozen to the core, you stumble into the audience chamber of [title] [ruler name], only to feel a chill that pierces your soul. The room itself is physically warm and pleasing to the eye, but you sense an undercurrent of tension...\nYou are admitted into the presence of the good [title] of the [settlement type] of [city name]. A thick cloak of wolf hide is gently wrapped around your shoulders, and as feeling returns to your skin, you feel that parts of your face were dangerously close to frostbite...\nYou walk into the [title]'s audience chamber, noticing the many fine trappings and expensive furniture that decorate the area. The warm spring air wafts through an open window, bringing along with it the scent of newly budding flowers and fresh green grass.\nIt is hard to believe that anyone can think of politics on such a day, but people are lining up to be heard by [title] [ruler name] while outside newly bloomed flowers perfume the air...\nInside the audience chamber of [ruler name], [title] of [city name], the new sprouts of spring die young and the perfume of the fresh blossom turns to a sickly stench. [ruler name] is rumored to have angered the [settlement type] oracle who placed upon the [title] a curse of poor health. The political change has been very noticeable in such a [settlement type] where tradition is of highest importance...\nYou walk into the [title]'s audience chamber, noticing the many fine trappings and expensive furniture that decorate the area. The warm spring shower has left you pleasantly refreshed, if a bit wet, but a breeze seems to be blowing through here and you feel yourself dry quickly...\nFor an agriculture-based [settlement type] like [city name], a good spring rain makes all the difference during the seeding. Everyone seems in a good mood, and the preparations for the traditional new year celebrations is the conversation on all lips...\nThrough an open window in the audience chamber of [title] [ruler name], you can smell the spring rain and newly blossomed flowers out in the streets of [city name]. The floor is wet with the tread of many visitors...\nYou walk into the [title]'s audience chamber, noticing the many fine trappings and expensive furniture that decorate the area. The day has been overcast, iron gray clouds that hint of a spring storm. You find yourself welcoming the sun's return. Ahead of you waits [ruler name], [title] of [city name]. It is well known that [city name] is currently at [diplomatic state] with its neighbor, [city name 2].\nThe government of [city name] is like the weather outside, pleasantly temperate but dark with clouds threatening catastrophe. In the audience chamber of [title] [ruler name] no one even whispers their theories about the ulterior motives behind the [settlement type]'s recent declaration of [diplomatic state] with its neighbor, [city name 2].\nYou like the looks of the audience chamber of [ruler name], [title] of [city name] the moment you enter. Beautiful music rings through the room and the walls hang with rich tapestries of spring scenes much nicer than the gray day outside...\n\nMages Guild\nYou wipe the sweat off your brow as you enter the Mages Guild. The cool shade of the interior is a welcomed sight after standing under the harsh summer sun. Around you are arcane implements and mystical apparati. You feel a slight tingling on your skin.\nFor a moment after leaving the bright summer sunshine, your eyes register only darkness in the gloomy Mages Guild. When they adjust, you can understand very little of what you see. Tomes of antiquated wizardry and obscure objects crowd the dusty shelves.\nThe door to the Mages Guild opens with a puff of dust that sticks to the sweat on your sunburned face. The smells of sulfurous potions burning and ancient scrolls of moldering parchment sting your nose. At least it is cool in here, you say to yourself.\nYou shake the rain from your shoulders as you enter the Mages Guild. The dry interior is a welcomed sight after standing in the downpour outside. Around you are arcane implements and mystical apparati. You feel a slight tingling on your skin.\nThe sound of the warm summer rain is muffled by the thick walls and thicker velvet curtains. This is a place where the outside world is a distraction to be avoided. The smells, sights, and sounds here are unique to the field of mystical experimentation.\nYou enter the Mages Guild, avoiding the puddles of rainwater leaking under the door. The room is damp, but the thick stone walls keep it cool even in the dog days of summer. Strange devices and venerable tomes crowd across the dust and soot streaked shelves.\nYou enter the Mages Guild, its gloomy interior not much different from the iron-gray, overcast sky outside. At least, you silently think, the sun isn't out. Around you are arcane implements and mystical apparati. You feel a slight tingling on your skin.\nAll the humidity and heat of the day are intensified in the Mages Guild. To add to the infernal atmosphere, tendrils of soot-filled smoke and the whimpers from some doomed experiment slip through the cracks of locked doors. Each book on the shelf looks like it is watching you.\nYou enter the Mages Guild, an amalgamation of primordial relics, moldering scrolls, dripping unguents, and smoking fluids. An occasional groan or minor explosion can be heard coming from the laboratories. At least it's not as hot and humid as outside.\nBehind you the fall sun sheds warmth upon the land, holding back the icy fingers of winter yet another day. Around you are arcane implements and mystical apparati. You feel a strange tingling on your skin.\nWhile the local farmers have been gathering their crops, it would appear the mages have been collecting a harvest of their own. The Mages Guild is crowded with scrolls, relics, charms, and artifacts. Clearly some extensive trading between one town's guild to another's has been going on this fall.\nYou enter the Mages Guild, a world where nature holds little power. Outside leaves are falling and plants are dying back into the ground, but in here, strange flora lives year round, competing for space next to the scrolls, potions, and other mystic apparati that crowds the Guild's shelves.\nYou shake the cold rain from your shoulders as you enter the Mages Guild, stamping your feet to bring back some warmth. The dry interior is a welcomed sight after standing in the icy downpour outside. Around you are arcane implements and mystical apparati. You feel a slight tingling on your skin.\nThe Mages Guild is dry, but no more welcome that the cold autumn tempest outside. Strange and exotic potions, ancient scrolls, and arcane relics look down at you from the shelves as if they are predatory birds, watching for you to make a mistake. The dark energy in the room goes through you like a charge.\nAll along the walls of the Mages Guild, blackened with soot and neglect, are shelves of books and arcane apparati so cloaked in dust to be practically indistinguishable one from the other. You can hear the sound of the fall cloudburst outside, uncomfortably loud in the normally still little room.\nYou enter the Mage's Guild, its gloomy interior not much different from the cold, overcast sky outside. At least, you silently thank, the interior is warm. You rub your hands together to bring back some feeling. Around you are arcane implements and mystical apparati. You feel a strange tingling on your skin.\nOn a dark cool day like today, those who devote their lives to the mystical sciences are at their busiest. Outside, people look into the sky and view the coming winter with dread. All in the Mages Guild are as active with mystic energy as they might be on any day, including the books and relics that line the shelves.\nYou enter the Mages Guild, going from a cool gloomy outside to a cool gloomy inside. Because of the shadows, you cannot see all that the chamber contains -you suspect that even by the light of a bright day, the room has its secrets. Potions, relics, and books line the bookshelves shrouded by a fine dust.\nThe sun outside has done little to warm your bones, which are now almost frozen. You enter the Mages Guild, stamping your feet and crowding close to a brazier that glows hot with fiery coals. As the warmth slowly seeps in, you notice arcane implements and mystical apparati. You think you feel a strange tingling on your skin.\nAs sunny as it was, you felt a winter chill outside and now, within the Mages Guild, you feel the cold more intensely. Dust lies on the shelves of books, potions, and relics like an early frost. The stone walls of the chamber glisten with ice.\nThe melancholy Mages Guild is slightly warmer than the winter day outside but, without the sunlight, the effect is much the same. Many books and arcane instruments lie scattered about, but they fail to lend any vitality to the scene. It is a place of mystical study, not built for human comfort.\nSnow and wind swirl about you as you enter the Mages Guild and shut the door. Outside the winter snow falls without any signs of stopping. You stamp your feet and crowd close to a brazier that glows hot with fiery coals. As the warmth slowly seeps in, you notice arcane implements and mystical apparati. You think you feel a strange tingling over your skin.\nThe white dust in the Mages Guild is not as deep as the snow outside, but it is so omnipresent that all the arcane relics within seem to be covered in a thin shroud. It is an almost soundless chamber, with only an occasional sigh from the pot of boiling liquid on the fire. Slowly warmth creeps back into your chilled body.\nYou enter the dim Mages Guild, warmed by a spell that dries the snow from your face and hair almost immediately. Books, charms, scrolls, and other relics, older than human memory, are kept in pristine condition here by the same mystic energy.\nThe gray sky has done little to warm your bones, which by now are almost frozen. You enter the Mages Guild, stamping your feet to increase the circulation and crowd close to a brazier that glows hot with fiery coals. As the warmth slowly seeps in, you notice arcane implements and mystical apparati. You think you feel a strange tingling on your skin.\nIt is a perfect day for those who practice the shadowy arts: the Mages Guild comes most alive on cold, dark winter days. Cauldrons bubble on the fireplace, filling the room with translucent smoke that smells of animal fat and sulfur. The shelves are cluttered with mystical books and artifacts...\nYou know that you can only see half of what is in the Mages Guild. The titles of the books on the shelves seem to change depending on the angle you look. Invisible fingers run through the dust and over your face. From the corner of your eye, you can see demons grinning at you, but they vanish when you turn to look at them. As dark a winter day as it is outside, you want to do your business here and leave...\nA cool breeze follows you into the Mages Guild, drying the slight sheen of sweat from your brow. The interior smells of spices and chemicals. As your eyes adjust to the dim light you can make out arcane implements and mystical apparati. You think you feel a strange tingling on your skin.\nYou enter the Mages Guild, the smell of sulfur and rotting parchment replacing that of new spring blossoms. Scrolls and potions, relics and artifacts vie for space on the bookshelves. You can hear small living things scuttling behind the volumes of alien encyclopedia.\nThe mystical energy in the Mages Guild runs through you like a charge of lightning. Outside nature is in her full vernal glory on this sunny day, but she has little power in here. From the stone walls to the scrolls and potions, the most mundane parts of this chamber seem like phantasmagoria.\nYou shake the warm rain from your shoulders, conscious of the pooling water at your feet. As your eyes slowly adjust to the dim interior, you can make out arcane implements and mystical apparati. You think you feel a strange tingling on your skin.\nAs thick as the stone walls of the Mages guild are, you can hear virtually every splatter of the spring rain outside. You are almost afraid to talk, for every echo of each footstep causes great clouds of dust to billow. And there are books and apparati in this room, you suspect, that should never be disturbed.\nAn open window in the Mages Guild lets in the smell of the spring storm, which mingles with the chemical stench that bubbles from an open cauldron. The chamber is filled with arcane objects, jugs, cloaks, scrolls, amulets, tomes, brooches, potions, robes, figurines, talismans.\nAlthough the sky is gray the weather itself is pleasant. You can smell rain in the air, but that quickly changes as the door shuts behind you. The Mages Guild smells like old spices and chemicals. You can make out dozens of arcane implements and mystical apparati. You think you feel a strange tingling on your skin.\nYou enter the Mages Guild from the gloomy spring day and are struck by the clutter. You know that wizardry is a mental art, and it is hard to believe the sorcerers behind this jumble of items and apparati are not either madmen or fools. You can definitely hear small living things move about in the piles.\nThe Mages Guild is not a place where the normal gods of Nature hold reign, but on such a bleak spring day, it does not look like they have power anywhere. Somehow the chamber is simultaneously too hot and too cold, wet with humidity in one spot, drier than the Khajiit desert in another. Even the mystical items on the shelves are juxtaposed between extremes, ancient scrolls next to modern measuring devices, this one filthy with neglect, that polished with care.\n\nTavern\nCool shade and cooler drinks greet you as you make your way out of the heat and into the [tavern name], smiling at the serving wench who holds a mug of ale ready for the first thirsty man...\nIt is a relief to move inside the [tavern name], away from the burning summer heat, and you feel that a cold mug of grog might be in order...\nYou enter the [tavern name], feeling the cool shadows fall over your face like a blanket...\nYou shake the rain from your shoulders and enter the [tavern name], hoping for a place where you can at last rest and dry out...\nA burst of the warm summer rain follows you into the [tavern name], and you follow the many paths of muddy footprints to the bar...\nDripping from the summer tempest outside, you enter the [tavern name], relieved to have found shelter...\nAlthough the sun isn't shining, the humidity has plastered your clothes to your back like a second skin. As you close the door to the [tavern name] your eyes search for a cool dark corner in which to rest...\nIt is uncomfortably hot and sticky in the [tavern name], almost as bad as the cloudy summer day outside...\nYou walk into the [tavern name] from the hot, cloudy day, welcomed by the other patrons sequestered away from the elements...\nYou are greeted by warm laughter and merry talk as you enter the [tavern name]. Torches around the tavern shed light on this warm summer night...\nThe heat and humidity of the day have disappeared, and it has turned out to be a pleasantly cool night. The torches on the walls of the [tavern name] light up many a sunburned face...\nThe summer night is almost as warm as the day had been, and you enter the [tavern name] craving something cold and wet...\nYou enter the [tavern name], heartened by the smells of food and spices, and prepare to relax in the warm sunlight...\nThe fiery autumn sun disappears as you enter the [tavern name]. The sounds of laughter, clinking glasses, and banging cooking pans meet your ears...\nThe townsmen have met in the [tavern name] to celebrate a good fall harvest. Their exuberance is infectious. Oh great, you say to yourself, I'll probably have this stupid drinking song in my head all day...\nYou enter the [tavern name] and shake the chill rain from your shoulders, hoping for a fire of some sort to dry yourself...\nCold wind and rain follow you into the [tavern name] like a beggar. You wipe your wet shoulders and head as you head for the fireplace...\nShivering from the cold autumn tempest, you escape into the [tavern name]. Other miserably wet people have gathered in dripping groups...\nThe [tavern name] tavern you enter is brightly lit and colorful, compared to the cold, dark clouds that hang in the sky...\nYou walk out of the cloudy autumn day into the [tavern name], the smell of baking bread pulling on you like a lure...\nOn an overcast autumn day like today, the [tavern name] is very popular and you can see why. It certainly lifts the spirits...\nYou enter the [tavern name], rubbing the chill night air from your bones. The tavern is full of people bustling here and there...\nOn this cool autumn night, the [tavern name] seems especially inviting. You smell apples baking in the kitchen and look forward to your first draught of ale...\nThe warm smells of tobacco smoke and simple foods draw you into the [tavern name] from the cold autumn night...\nYou enter the [tavern name], feeling the hearth fire slowly chasing away the chill that has crept into your bones from this winter's day...\nIt is a pleasant day for winter, and the red-cheeked townspeople in the [tavern name] drink their mulled wine to a toast for a long hibernation...\nThe winter sunlight shining through the [tavern name] windows does as much as the roaring fireplace to warm your chilled body...\nYou close the door on the snow and rub your hands together, warming them. Ahead of you the innkeeper of the [tavern name] hails you welcome, holding a steaming mug of mulled wine...\nGreat billows of wind and snow follow you into the [tavern name] like a white shadow. The floor is wet with the footprints of the patrons...\nMulled wine is the featured drink today in the [tavern name]. You shake the snow from your shoulders and head, and think that nothing could sound better...\nThe bright colors of the interior of the [tavern name] add life to the otherwise gray day...\nYou enter the [tavern name] and your frozen senses revive to the smell of fresh baked bread and the sound of the patrons laughing with the serving wench...\nThe serving wench is passing other patrons mugs of hot mulled wine as you enter the [tavern name] from the cold, cloudy day...\nYou enter the [tavern name], out of the cold winter night, making your way closer to the fire...\nThe [tavern name] seems to be the last bastion of warmth and light against the arctic darkness outside...\nRubbing your hands briskly together, you enter the [tavern name]. The fireplace is so grand in the room, in short time you feel almost too warm...\nA cool breeze follows you into the [tavern name], bringing with it the smell of newly bloomed flowers and fresh cut grass...\nThrough the open door and windows, all the smells of spring come into the [tavern name] and the stuffiness of the winter months fly out...\nYou walk into the [tavern name], immediately wishing you were again out in the sunny spring day...\nYou enter the [tavern name] and wipe your rain soaked head on a small towel offered by the serving wench. Outside the spring shower continues...\nYou are dripping wet as you enter the [tavern name], but then again, so are most of the rest of the patrons. The barwench is busily passing out towels as well as drinks...\nYou can still hear the spring tempest outside, beating against the walls of the [tavern name]. One of the [tavern name] maids stands by the door, attempting to mop up a persistent leak...\nThe [tavern name]'s colorful interior adds life to the otherwise gray spring day...\nDespite the rather cloudy conditions outside, the atmosphere inside the [tavern name] is extremely lively. Someone could even get hurt...\nYou leave the overcast spring day and enter the [tavern name]. The smell of simple baked breads coming from the kitchen seems like an invitation to stay.\nYou enter the [tavern name], searching for a clear table at which you can relax on this warm spring night...\nThe [tavern name] is like a beacon in the cool spring night, full of torch light, clinking glasses, and the aromas of the kitchen...\nIt is a cool spring night outside, but you have no need to seek out the fireplace on entering the [tavern name]. The tobacco smoke and smell of new bread trickles out the open windows and into the night...\n\nTemple\nYou enter the [temple], thankful for the respite from the harsh summer sun. You can hear chanting in the distance...\nThe stinging of prickly heat is instantly soothed the moment you enter the [temple] sanctuary. In the distance, you can hear the low murmur of chanting. This is a place of great tranquillity.\nThe god who protects this [temple] must be great indeed, for it is as bright as the summer day yet comfortable as a shadowy place within. A pleasant floral odor of incense fills the air.\nYou enter the [temple], shaking the rain off of yourself. You can hear chanting in the distance...\nYou enter the hallowed ground of the [temple] sanctuary, the sounds of the summer rain shower mixing with that of the chanting clergy. All your tension like water flows away.\nA fine mist, escaped from the tempest outside, has flooded the [temple] sanctuary bringing all the smells of summer with it. You recognize the sing-song prayer of the clergy as a plea for a bountiful fall harvest.\nYou enter the [temple], hoping that your spirits can be lifted on this gray, overcast day. You can hear chanting in the distance...\nAs miserable as the sweltering summer day is, it is at least less eerie than the sterile [temple] sanctuary. No birds or insects can be heard in here, and the air is empty of both smell and temperature. It may be very holy indeed, but you feel like you have stepped into a void.\nThe [temple] sanctuary is a haven for all, a place of self reflection, solitude, and prayer. It is always perfectly mild in here, as hot and cloudy as the day outside may be...\nYou enter the [temple] and a cool fall breeze follows you into the hallowed halls. You can hear chanting in the distance...\nThe musty smell of autumn in the outside air becomes mixed with the spicy odor of incense as you enter the [temple] sanctuary...\nThe stained glass windows in the [temple] sanctuary catch the rays from the bright autumn sun and transform them into crystalline fire.\nYou enter the warm [temple], shaking the cold rain off of yourself. You can hear chanting in the distance...\nWet from the autumn thunderstorm, you enter the [temple], dripping. The warm smell of incense begins to invigorate you, and in the distance, you can hear the [temple] clergy at prayer.\nIt is a place of peace, this [temple] sanctuary. Only by concentrating on the world outside yourself can you hear the vague drumbeat of the autumn thunderstorm outside.\nYou enter the [temple], hoping that your spirits can be lifted on this cold, overcast day. You can hear chanting in the distance...\nIt is a miserable autumn day, but within the [temple], there is faith yet that the winter may not be so deadly...\nCold, dark clouds hang over the [temple], but within you find all is bright and warm. Billowing clouds of perfumed incense greet the fog of your breath.\nYou enter the [temple], rubbing your hands together to warm them on this bright winter's day. You can hear chanting in the distance...\nThe [temple] sanctuary is as austerely beautiful as the bright winter's day outside. Tendrils of sweet incense rise from the floor as if in greeting...\nOn a day as cold as it is blindingly bright, it is easy to see why this part of the [temple] is called the sanctuary. Far off to the distance, you can hear the clergy at prayer.\nYou enter the [temple], shaking the snow off of yourself and stamping your feet to warm them. You can hear chanting in the distance...\nBrushing the snow off your shoulders and head, you walk into the [temple] sanctuary. The smell of incense strikes you immediately, spicy and somewhat sweet...\nYou trail some snow into the [temple] sanctuary as you enter. The air is as cold as outside here, yet filled with the smell of incense and the sound of the clergy praying...\nYou enter the [temple], rubbing your hands to warm them and hoping that your spirits can be lifted on this cold, overcast day. You can hear chanting in the distance...\nAlready you can feel the power of the [temple] sanctuary, thawing your frigid body, brightening your spirits which have grown dark as the cloud filled sky...\nStrange sounds and smells meet you as you leave the cold, cloudy winter's day: the incense's bittersweet aroma is new to your senses and the clergy of [temple] sing solemnly in a language dead for many eons...\nYou enter the [temple] and a cool spring breeze follows you, bringing with it the smell of fresh blooms. You can hear chanting in the distance...\nIt is bright and fresh in the [temple] sanctuary as the spring day outside. In the distance, you can hear the chanting of the clergy.\nThe smell of the new blossoms of spring that came into the [temple] sanctuary with you mixes with the slightly spicy sm.00ell of incense. You can hear the clergy far away, giving a pray of thanksgiving for the beauty of the new year.\nYou enter the [temple], shaking the warm rain off of yourself. You can hear chanting in the distance...\nTrailing puddles of warm spring rain behind you, you enter the [temple] sanctuary. An open window lets the smell of the storm in, overpowering the sweet incense of the [temple] itself.\nWiping the warm rain from your shoulders and head, you walk into the [temple] sanctuary. Off to the distance, you can hear the clergy, prayer in a sing-song for a good planting season for the farmers...\nYou enter the [temple] wishing that the sun would return and make the day a truly pleasant one. You can hear chanting in the distance...\nYou walk into the [temple], smelling the sweet incense that rises like a cloud from the sanctuary floor. In the distance, you hear the clergy praying for a return of the sun to this dreary spring day...\nYou enter the [temple], gray as this spring day sky. Almost immediately the bittersweet smell of the incense strengthens your spirit. The clergy drone their prayers far off in the distance.\n\nShop\nYou enter [store name], happy to be out of the summer heat. Many items of interest hang on the walls and in the display case in front of you...\nThe interior of [store name] is neat and well organized. You wipe the sweat from your brow and look over the weapons and gear...\nIt is a relief to enter the [store name], out of the infernal summer sunshine. Various supplies are carefully arranged throughout the store for your browsing convenience...\nYou enter [store name], happy to be out of the summer rain. The cool shade causes shivers to run over your damp body. Many items of interest hang on the walls and are displayed in the display case in front of you...\nThe interior of [store name] is spotlessly clean and neat. You feel almost embarrassed to be dripping puddles of warm rain water all over as you glance over the gear and weapon displays...\nWiping the warm water from the summer shower off your head, you enter [store name]. A display case of the more popular supplies is featured in the small room.\nYou walk into [store name]. Many items of interest hang on the walls and in the display case in front of you...\n[store name] is a refuge from the steamy summer day. In the display case and all along the walls are supplies and weaponry for sale...\nYou enter [store name] from the overcast summer day. You browse over the items displayed throughout the store and are impressed by the variety...\nAs you enter [store name], golden glints from the fall sun reflect off of the many items of interest scattered about...\nYou enter [store name] from the sunny autumn day. Cases of weaponry are featured next to some of the more peaceful supplies and gear...\nThe pleasant autumn weather has given [store name] an air of joviality. You browse through cases and displays of various supplies...\nYou enter [store name], happy to be out of the cold shower. As you dry off you notice the many items of interest that hang on the walls and in the display case in front of you...\nYou are handed a towel as you come into [store name] from the autumn thunderstorm. There is a new shipment of weaponry and other gear, and you notice several pieces worth looking at...\nYou are dripping with cold rain water as you enter [store name]. It is a neat and clean chamber with a wide assortment of supplies and weapons...\nYou enter [store name] rubbing your hands together to warm them from the chill. Many items of interest hang on the walls and in the display case in front of you...\nIt is a miserable autumn day outside, and it is good to get inside [store name]. You glance over the new shipments of supplies and weaponry.\nIt is a bit early in the year for this sort of chilling weather, but new supplies of gear and armaments arrived at [store name] with the cold. You find a few useful items immediately...\nYou enter [store name], happy to be out of the cold and bright winter's day. Many items of interest hang on the walls and are displayed in the display case in front of you...\n[store name] is as bright as the winter day outside and much warmer. Several pieces of weaponry and equipment look interesting to you...\nYou walk into [store name], rubbing your numb hands together. At least it is sunny outside. Many new weapons and supplies impress you enough for a closer look...\nYou enter [store name], stamping your feet to warm them and shaking the frozen snow from your shoulders. Many items of interest hang on the walls and are displayed in the display case in front of you...\nA warm fire in [store name] thaws your frozen body and the snow on your shoulders and head quickly melts. You notice several supplies in the display case and along the walls that just might be useful...\nYou let a spray of snow and wind into [store name] as you enter. Still, with the exception of the puddle by the door, the chamber is neat and tidy. The walls and display cases are fully stocked with all varieties of weaponry and supplies...\nYou enter [store name]. Outside the sun is hidden behind a thick gray layer of clouds, dropping the temperature and making your body steam in the warmth of the shopkeeper's hearth. Many items of interest hang on the walls and are displayed in the display case in front of you...\nYou are quickly given a cup of hot cider as you enter [store name], which you accept gratefully, happy to be inside on such a gloomy winter's day. You look over the weaponry and other merchandise proudly displayed in a case and all along the walls.\nThe dog days of winter are certainly here. You enter [store name], hoping for a deal or two on a couple essential pieces of equipment. Several things immediately attract your attention as you look over the display case and the assortments along the walls...\nYou enter [store name] and bring with you a cool spring breeze that ruffles many of the items of interest hanging on the walls. There are more items displayed in the display case in front of you...\nIt is a beautiful spring day outside, and the mood of the blacksmith in [store name] is bright. Perhaps you can get a good deal off him on a couple of items that impress you...\nAn open window in [store name] brings in the smell of spring flowers as you look over your money to see what you can afford. There are several displayed items that might prove useful...\nYou enter [store name], happy to be out of the cool spring shower. Many items of interest hang on the walls and in the display case in front of you...\nIt looks like a new shipment of weaponry and other supplies arrived in [store name] at the same time the rain picked up outside. You notice several items of interest ...\nYou wipe the cool spring rain from your shoulders and head as you enter [store name]. Most of the items within are meant more for the townsmen than you, but you do see some adventuring equipment...\nYou enter [store name], hoping that the sun will show itself again. There are many items of interest hanging on the walls and displayed in the display case in front of you...\nThere is a window open in [store name]: the blacksmith is apparently hoping for some fresh scents of spring to brighten a gray day. Several weapons and supplies on display might be helpful to you ...\nIt is a cold and overcast day, and you doubt that the blacksmith in [store name] is in the mood to barter. You check your money supply as you browse through the store's wares...\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/occupations-and-their-descriptions": {"game": ["Arena"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/occupations-and-their-descriptions", "description": "This page lists the various occupations available to NPCs in Arena", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Occupations and their Descriptions", "text": "There are several special occupations in Arena. Their introductions are all specific to the class, and they have unique sprites.\nProstitute\nThe boys call me [Name]. I'm a whore.\nAin't much need for names, is there? Well, you can call me [Name], if you wanna.\nI am [Name]. My business is in making boys happy. Ain't that nice?\nI meet more [race] boys than girls, but business is business. I'm [Name].\nVery nice to meetcha. I go by [Name]. It's my... career name.\nThe name's [Name], if you really want to know it. Most guys don't care.\nLooking for some company, [race]? You can call me [Name] or anything you want.\nI'm [Name]. No offense, honey, but I don't like [race] boys much. You might want to talk to one of the other ladies down the street.\nI don't believe we've ever met, I'm [Name]. I heard there was a cute new [race] in town. all the girls will be jealous when they see us talking.\nI've seen [race] eyes before, but never any quite like yours. Tell me what I can do... for you, honey.\n\nYeah, I remember you, [race]. I'm [Name], the courtesan, remember?\nI don't mind you forgetting me. Nature of business. I'm [Name] the whore.\n[Exclamation], think really hard, [race]. Oh well, I'm [Name], the, ah, lady of the night.\nWe met before, [race]. I'm a tart, by the name of [Name].\nI'm [Name] the harlot. Remember, we spoke before?\nYou know me, honey. Well, we only talked before I guess. [Name], mistress to the [race]\n\tkings.\nNot too many [race] boys forget [Name]. Of course, we usually did more than just talk.\n[Exclamation], honey, you're hurting [Name]'s feelings, pretending you don't remember her. I'm the\n\tnaughty lady you talked to a little while ago.\nIf my face doesn't look familiar, honey, it's 'cause you weren't looking at it when\n\twe talked before. [Name], [race]. Pleasure to see ya again.\nIt ain't been that long, [Player Name]. You remember your little [Name], don't cha?\n\nJester\nMe? I'm [Name], but I have to tell you something. [joke] Bet you haven't heard that one yet.\nHello, I'm [Name], but then again, ultimately, aren't we all? What can I do for you?\nYello, I'm Horny. Whoops, I mean, I'm Randy. No seriously, I'm [Name]. You can see how I got it confused. What can I do for you, my sweet [race]? By the way, [joke]\nGood day, I'm [Name], and if you think you've got problems, listen to this. [joke] Now, what's thy story?\nYou don't remember me? [Name]? Well, you were pretty drunk at the time. Anyhow, you'll be happy to know the baby isn't yours. Stop me if you've heard this. [joke]\n\nYou're [Name] the Fool, right? No, wait a minute, that's me. I'm terrible at names.\nI remember you! Don't tell me you forgot [Name] the Jester. Woe is me. [joke].\nWho are you? Who are you? That's all I ever hear from you! I'm [Name] the Fool. Remember it next time. Sheesh.\nI memorized your name when we met before, but I threw my head away. I'm [Name] the Jester. [joke].\nWanna hear a joke? no? Too bad... [joke]\nHave you heard this one before? [joke]\nYou talk to me, play with my affections, then the next minute, it's 'Who are you?' Well, [race], I may be thy old buddy [Name] the Jester, or I might be the [title] of [city name].\n\n\nFire Breather\nI am [Name], and, you won't believe this, I'm a firebreather. [Exclamation], I know that must come as a surprise to you... so what do you want?\nThey call me the Human Torch. I think there are a few other imitators with my name, so you can call me [Name]. What can I do for you, stranger?\nI am called [Name], a firebreather. How can I help you?\nNo, I am not busy doing anything. Just standing around, like any other day, breathing fire. I am [Name], at your service.\nI am [Name], and, as you might have noticed, I breathe fire.\n\nNow the first time you asked me who I am, I thought, 'What an idiot.' Now I wonder\n\twhether I'm doing my job right. I'm [Name], remember? I breath fire?\nMy name is [Name], the firebreather. Good to see you again, [race].\nAre you joking? You don't remember [Name] the firebreather? Ah, the fleet feet of\n\tcelebrity.\nMost people don't have to ask more than once, [race]. I'm [Name] the firebreather.\nThey call me [Name] the firebreather. Wait a minute, we met before. Good to see you, [race].\n\nSnake Charmer\nYes? I am [Name], and this is my cobra [snake name]. How may we help you?\nHave you come to pet my snake? No? Well, tell me what [Name] can do for you.\nAh, [snake name], we have a visitor. Good day, young [race], I am called [Name].\nYou are a brave man to come so close to my cobra. What would you ask of [Name]?\nI do not believe we've met, [race]. I am [Name], and this is [snake name], my snake.\n\nAh, [race], come back to talk to [Name]. Did you miss me or my snake, [snake name]?\nWhose name did you forget, [race]? [Name] the snake charmer, or [snake name] the snake? Never mind - - it's good to see you again.\nHow have you been, young [race]? Don't you remember [Name] the snake charmer? I am sad to have made so little an impression.\nI am [Name] the greatest snake charmer in [city name]. And you are a silly [race] for forgetting my name.\nI do not spend my day playing with my snake, so that every two minutes a [race] ruffian interrupts me with, 'Who are you?'. 'Are you [Name], the snake man?' It makes me mad.\n\nBeggar\nAlms? Alms? No, you want something from [Name], don't you?\nAh, [Name] thinks it's a good [race] to come talk to him. What can [Name] do for him?\nMe am poor [Name]. Do not hurt poor [Name], and me answer question.\nYou ain't gonna give me no money, but I've gotta talk to you? If that's fair, my name ain't [Name]. Well, what do you want anyhow, [race]?\nWhat do you want from me, [race]? [Name] is a busy man.\n\nI'm [Name], the [title] of [city name], of course. Bad habit of yours, [race]. Asking old friends to identify themselves. Makes you look lumpheaded, it does.\nLook familar, do I? Why, I'm [Name] the poor, stupid mendicant, I mean beggar.\nI'm thy old pal, [Name] the man o' the streets. Don't tell me you forgot.\nSomeone might think you've forgotten my name, mate. But not [Name]. I know demanding 'Who are you?' is just yer way of saying 'Hello, friend.'\nSee how I remember thy name? Mine's poor [Name]. We met before.\n\nPeddler\n'Tis a slow day for business, [race]. I am [Name], at your disposal.\nGood day, I am [Name]. I do not think I have anything that would interest you.\nWhat ho, young [race]. How can a poor peddler like [Name] help you?\nPleased to make your acquaintance, [race]. I am the peddler [Name]. How may I help you?\nRemember what I, [Name] the Peddler, always say: everything is for sale. Though perhaps, you are looking for information?\n\nMy name is [Name], the vendor. You're %pcf, ain't you? I think we met before.\nI'm thy solicitor [Name], don't you remember? Well, it's my business to remember.\nI never forget a face. You're that [race] from before. I'm [Name], the retailer.\nI cannot believe that you don't remember [Name] the vendor. Oh well, how are you?\nYou remember me, don't you? I'm [Name] the monger. What can I do for you, old [race]?\n\nMerchant\nGood to see some young blood in our [settlement type], [race]. Anything [Name], esquire, can help you with? Information, perhaps?\nGood child, [Name] is my name, and if you want to know anything about [city name], ask me. I've been here forever.\nYou're new to [city name], young [race]? You could not have picked a better [settlement type]. I, of course, am [Name], Merchant Extraordinaire.\nYou may call me [Name]. Ignore the baubles on this table. You should visit [store name]. My finest wares are there.\nYou're never going to believe this, but I sell stuff. I know this big table of things for sale probably confused you, but, yes, that's me: [Name], the seller of stuff.\n\nPresenting [Name] the merchant. Most people remember my name the first time. Oh well...\nWe met before, not too long ago, young [race]. I'm the merchant [Name].\nGood to see you again, [race]. I'm [Name], king of merchandise, if you forgot.\nStill strolling around [city name], eh, [race]? Wish I had thy job but I gotta to eat.\nI can't believe you forgot my name, [Name], supplier to [city name]. I thought we had a relationship.\n\nFence\nNosy, ain't you? I'd watch out. [city name] ain't as innocent a [settlement type] as it looks.\nMost people in [city name] calls me [Name]. You could say I'm a businessman.\nToday my name's [Name]. Tomorrow maybe it won't be. You're looking for information, [race]?\nWell, I ain't a [city name] tourist guide. I guess you can call me [Name]. That's me business name.\nWhat is it your business who I am? You better watch yourself, kid. Not everyone in [city name] is as friendly as me. So what do ya want?\n\nI already told you, [race]. They call me [Name]. What d'ya want now?\nListen, [Name] don't plan on making friends with no [race]. What is it?\nI told you before, [Name] is a busy man. Okay, what d'ya want this time?\nCan't you find anyone else to talk to? Fine, make it quick. [Name] is expecting some\n\timportant business any moment now.\nYou already asked that before. I go by the name [Name]. What's yer problem now?\n\nMage\nA wizard, of course. Don't they have those in %hc? Yes, I know who you are, [race]. Men call me [Name]. What can I do for you?\nI am [Name], the finest wizard in [city name]. What can I do for you, young puppy?\nWe Thaumurgists believe that to possess a man's name is to possess his soul. If you must call me something, call me [Name].\nThe Mages' Guild has given me the name [Name], to show I am one of their own. What may I do for you, stranger?\nMy name, you mean? Let me see...[Name]...[Name], I believe, yes. I am one of the sorcerers to the court of the [title]. You have a question about my [settlement type]?\n\nDear me if it isn't the young [race] again. You remember old [Name], didn't you? Now what can I do for you this time?\nDo I have a sign around my neck saying 'Bother Me'? I'm a cranky old wizard named [Name], not a travel guide. Make it a quick question, little one.\nYou forgot my name, I remember when your average [race] had an outstanding memory. Well, let me reintroduce myself. I am [Name] the Wizard. What can I do for you, youngster?\nThe sorceror, [Name]. Surely, you have not forgotten? Adjusting to [city name] life all right, I trust.\nAh, how soon they forget. I am the great [Name], and we've met before.\n\nPriest\nI am [Name] of the [temple], my child. How may a poor monk help you?\nThe [temple] has given me the name [Name]. I am a little familiar with the [settlement type] outside my temple. I'll tell you anything I know.\nI have taken the name [Name], for that was the name of the savior of my village. What can I do to point you in the path of salvation, sinful [race]?\nYou do not know? I am only [Name], one of the personal priests of [title][ruler name]. You must be new to town.\nNice to meet you, [race]. I am [Name] of the [temple]. Can I give you some of our literature, or do you need something else?\n\nAh, [race], we meet again. You remember me, [Name] of the [temple]? Of course, you do.\nStill wandering the dangerous streets of [city name], eh, [race]? Take the words of [Name] to heart. Get inside before nightfall.\nGood to see you yet again, [race]. What can poor friar [Name] do for you this time?\nStill have not found thy way, [race]? You remember [Name] of the [temple], yes? Tell me how I can help you.\nAh the young [race] butcher again. You have not come to confess thy sins to Father [Name] this time either, have you? You just need direction.\n\nMusician\nDecent tune, eh, [race]? I call that tune '[city name], Jewel of [province].' [Name]'s my name.\nDo you often interrupt musicians in the middle of a rehearsal? Little respect for art these days especially here in [city name]. Ah well, I'm [Name]. What can I do for you, stranger?\nI'm a musician, obviously, playing music. At least I was until you interrupted me. The name's [Name]. Well, what do you want? I'm a busy man.\nI'll give you three guesses. Give up? I'm a lutist, name of [Name]. Perhaps you've heard of me.\nJust a traveling musician, [Name] they call me. What can I do for you, [race]?\n\nI know what you're going to say. 'Play it again, [Name].' How are you, [race]. It seems that I can't play three notes without you interrupting me, can I?\nThis is getting to be our song, eh, [race]? Tell me what a poor lutist like [Name] can do for you this time?\nIt must be my name that's forgettable, not my music. Allow me to reintroduce myself to you, [race]. I am [Name] of the lute. How can I help you?\nThis is getting to be a bad joke. Let me complete just one song without you interrupting me. It must be pretty important for you to bother [Name] more than once, I suppose. Yes?\nAh, my friend, don't tell me you've forgotten my name. I'm [Name]. To think I was going to write a song about you entitled, 'The [race] of %hc.' But I forgive you, good [race].\n\nStreet Cleaner\nWell, I sure ain't the [title] of [city name]. I'm just [Name], humble street cleaner. How can I help you?\nMy name is [Name], the street-cleaner. What a mess, eh? Somebody has to clean up after all of you strangers.\nMe? Listen, I ain't looking for trouble. I'm only poor [Name], a lowly employee of the [settlement type], doing my job, sweeping the streets. Do you need something?\nYou lost or something, kid? I'm [Name]. Usually nobody talks to me. They think I'm crazy.\nI'm a street-cleaner. Big surprise, eh, [race]? I go by the name of [Name]. You new to town or something?\n\nLittle wonder you've forgotten my name, [race]. It's [Name]. It's one of those forgettable\n\tnames.\nYou're still here, [race]? No surprise. The streets are still dirty, [Name]'s back still hurts. Nothing ever changes in [city name].\nFew people talk to [Name] more than once, [race]. Most thinks I'm crazy. Maybe you're crazy too.\nWhat do you want from [Name] this time, [race]? Directions? Gossip? I'll tell you what I know... which isn't much.\nHello again, [race]. How can [Name] the street sweeper help a [race] like you?\n\nSlaver\nHello there, [race], I am [Name], the finest personnel agent in [province]. Are you interested in something male, female, non-human, what? You're looking for something else?\nWho do you think I am, [race]? None other than [Name], procurer of the most loyal, um, workers money can buy. You don't look much like a buyer, kid.\nI'm [Name], and I'm a flesh peddler. It's not very noble, but somebody's gotta do it. So, what do you want?\nGood day, [race], I'm [Name], Slaver Extraordinaire. Please don't talk to the merchandise. Can I interest you in some goblins? Two for the price of one.\nThe slaves can't talk, [race]. If you wanna do business, do it through me. I'm their, ah, agent, [Name]. Pleased to meetcha.\n\nOh, it's you again, you. Please don't touch the merchandise. Remember the motto of [Name], you break it, you bought it.\nDidn't I tell you before not to touch the slaves? If you want to talk to someone, talk to me, [Name]. So what can I help you with, kid?\nHello again, [race]. Not too morally offended by my trade to come back, are you? Don't sweat about it. What can [Name], esquire, do for you?\nListen, [race], you may not like what I do, but I'm [Name], a businessman. I can't spend all my time talking with [race] kids like you.\nInterested in someone up there this time, kid? Or do you just wanna pump [Name] for information? I guess I already knew that one\n\n\nThere are also many \"generic\" occupations in Arena. NPCs belonging to these professions do not have custom sprites, and they introduce themselves based on a madlib intro rather than one custom to their class.\nGeneric Greetings\nGreetings, I am [Name], a [occupation]. I [occupation description].\nThey call me [Name] the [occupation]. I [occupation description].\nI am called [Name], the [settlement type] [occupation]. You know, I [occupation description].\nYou can call me [Name]. I am a [occupation], you know, I [occupation description].\nYou can call me [Name]. I am a [occupation]. I [occupation description].\nWe haven't met, have we? I'm [Name], the [occupation]. I [occupation description].\nGood day, [race]. My name is [Name] the [settlement type] [occupation]. I [occupation description].\nI am named [Name]. I'm a [occupation] and I [occupation description].\nGreetings, [race]. I'm [Name], a typical [occupation], and I [occupation description].\nMy name is [Name], the [occupation]. I [occupation description].\nGeneric re-greetings\nI'm [Name]. Remember? The [occupation]?\n[Exclamation], how soon they forget. I'm [Name], the friendly [occupation].\nI'm [Name] the [occupation], remember?\nI remember you, [race]. I'm the [occupation] [Name]\nCan't remember, young [race]? I'm a [occupation] by name of [Name].\n[Exclamation], talk about a short memory. [Name] the [occupation], at your service.\n[Exclamation], you forgot already? I'm [Name], a [occupation] with a good memory.\nI'm the [race] and you're [Name] the [occupation], or the other way around.\nWe've already met, [race]. I'm [Name] the [occupation], remember?\nGood to see you again, [race]. [Name] the [occupation], remember me?\n\nOccupations and their descriptions\nThese are filled into the above greetings to complete a character's introduction. The inconsistent capitalization has been preserved exactly as it appeared in the game.\nscribe\nrecord the deeds of great warriors\n\thonestly think I have the dullest job in the world\n\tcopy the words of the greatest poets of [province]\nservant\ndo whate'er needs to be done\n\trun errands around town for my master\n\tused to be a successful merchant myself\nmusician\nplay several different musical instruments\n\tam writing my own symphony for the [title]\n\tmay be playing at the imperial palace next year\nmerchant\ntrade commodities\n\tam raising my son to take my place\n\tonly wish business in this [settlement type] was better\nDruid\nam preparing nature-worshipping disciples\n\tjust found the perfect human sacrifice\n\tam conducting services in the park tonight\nMonk\nconduct prayer services\n\tam attempting to find converts\n\tcannot believe I just broke my vow of silence!\nPriest\nlead a group of acolytes\n\tam very concerned about the moral climate of this [settlement type]\n\tam part of the [title]'s Circle of Elders\nRanger\nam making plans to protect the surrounding woodlands\n\tjust led an adventuring party through the wilds of [province]\n\tlove running naked through the wilderness\nbodyguard\nam one of the [title]'s private bodyguards\n\tkeep the meaner element out of the [tavern name]\n\twork for the owner of [store name]\nMage\nstudy black arts theory at the Mages' Guild\n\treally am more of a magician than a true mage\n\tam one of the authorities on ethereal travel\nthug\nrough people up, you know\n\tparticularly love to beat up [race] kids\n\tpossess a membership to the Wharf Rats syndicate\nbum\ntry to avoid work of any kind\n\tam happy to be out of the asylum\n\tmight or might not be undercover\nThief\nquite frankly steal things\n\twas thinking about picking this [race]'s pockets\n\tmean, a chef\nAssassin\nkill whoever deserves killing\n\tjust finished my last assignment\n\tmean an assembler ... a factory assembler\nRogue\nam sorta a jack of all trades\n\tjust got back from the [title]'s mother's bedroom\n\tdon't do much, and I do it well\nBard\nsing songs of lost love and great deeds\n\tthink I might get to perform at the [title]'s court this week\n\tjust might write a tune about you, [race]\nhistorian\nresearch certain rather obscure historic situations\n\thave been hired to write the story of [title][ruler name]'s family\n\tfear I smell a little of library dust\ngardener\nwork in the [title]'s gardens\n\thave got the dirty hands to prove it\n\thave recently been hired by the [temple] for their gardens\nanimal handler\ntrain and board all sorts of domestic and exotic animals\n\tspend most of my day with horses\n\tdon't really like humans, especially [race] ones, all that much\nwarlock\nput hexes on people\n\tmean, not the wicked kind\n\tthink you just stepped on my familiar - no, never mind\nhunter\nbrought fresh wild beasties to the [tavern name]\n\tjust killed a ten-point buck, you bet\n\tjust like to be out in nature, you know, killing things\npolitician\ngauge public opinion on political issues\n\tam a junior member of the [title]'s Circle of Elders\n\twelcome you to [city name 2], I mean, [city name]\npublican\nam a co-owner of the [tavern name]\n\trun a tavern in this [settlement type]\n\town the [tavern name], you know, with my partners\nbartender\nserve ale at the [tavern name]\n\tkeep the boys from gettin' thirsty at the [tavern name]\n\tguess I'm every fellow's best friend at the [tavern name]\nvintner\nprepare the harvest grapes into the finest wine\n\tmake the wine they serve at the [tavern name]\n\tmake the godawful wine they serve in the [temple]'s service\ncook\ncook and stuff\n\tassist [title][ruler name]'s head chef, thank you very much\n\tslop gruel for the dears souls at the [temple]\narmorist\nmake the best armor you ever seen\n\trecommend you see my work at [store name]\n\tprefer that over amourer, and armormor. You know, armorer\nartist\nwas just commissioned to paint a portrait of the [title]\n\tlike to work best in oils\n\twill be making a frieze for the [temple] next month\nfarmer\nwork in [title][ruler name]'s land right outside\n\tthink I saw you tromping through my fields a while back\n\tdon't make it into town very often\nfisher\nhave brought some fresh fish I caught\n\tguess you could tell from my smell\n\twas just shopping for a new, bigger net\njeweler\nmake necklaces, rings, and bracelets\n\thave made jewelery for [title][ruler name]'s mother before\n\tcan spot a fake diamond at 20 paces\ntanner\ntan animal hides to make leather armor\n\tdo some of the leather items at equipment stores in town\n\tdo a lot of work for the Thieves' Guild and Wharf Rats\ncarpenter\ndo woodworking\n\tjust got finished with some repairs over at the temple\n\tdo odd work, some of it for [title][ruler name]'s family\nnavigator\nam preparing for a journey through the Blue Divide\n\tcould tell you a thing or two about the lands beyond Tamriel\n\thate to admit it, but I'm a little lost\nsailor\nam on shoreleave, visiting relatives\n\tspend most of my time drunk\n\tspent my first twenty-five years on the sea\nshipwright\ncreate sailing vessels of every description\n\thave never actually been out to sea\n\tactually worked on the Emperor's armada\ntailor\nmake all kinds of clothing\n\twas part of the staff who designed the [title]'s mother's coronation gown\n\tsew, stitch, make alterations, you know, stuff like that\ntrapper\nsell raw skins to the [settlement type]'s tanners\n\tspend most of my time out in the wild\n\tinvented a new peeling process for beavers\nvalet\nserve the [title] of [city name]'s private needs\n\twork for some of the wealthiest family in [city name]\n\thave worked for the [title]'s family for years\nalchemist\nam running a scientific laboratory\n\thave succeeded in turning gold into lead, unfortunately\n\thave been hired to do research at the Mages' Guild\nblacksmith\ntrain several blacksmith apprentices\n\tam employed at [store name]\n\tdo some of the repairs at [store name], just around here\nsage\ndo research at the Mages' Guild\n\tam under a grant with the [temple] to do religious work\n\tcollect human knowledge\nsteward\nrun a wealthy nobleman's household\n\thelp take care of [title][ruler name]'s children\n\tmake myself indispensable to the [title] of [city name], I think\naristocrat\ndo, I admit, basically nothing all day long\n\tattend balls, receptions, and parties, week after week\n\tcollect an allowance from daddy and mummy\nMystic\nmake predictions and forecasts for [title][ruler name] at the palace\n\tknew you would talk to me\n\tjust got hired by the [temple] to find out their future\nguildmaster\nlook out after the needs of the working class\n\tact as go-between between my people and the [title] while tensions are high\n\thad to kill a lot of people to get to where I am today\napprentice\nam in training with the blacksmiths at [store name], learning by practice\n\tdo all the work and get all the blame\n\ttry not to work any harder than I have to\nmason\nhave been repairing some stonework at the [temple] temple all day\n\tthink I have a chance to work on the [title]'s palace\n\tbasically do general repair work on stone all around the city\nfalconer\ntrain the mighty birds of prey\n\thope to work someday in the emperor's aviaries\n\teven keep some of the [title]'s birds in my house\ninnkeeper\nrun some local businesses, like the [tavern name]and [store name] just around here\n\trun several inns in the [settlement type] with my partner\n\tam partners with some gentlemen for the ownership of some inns in town\nbaker\nbake bread\n\tmake muffins, cookies, cakes, and breads\n\tprepare pastries for [title][ruler name]'s sweet tooth\nbutcher\nhelp prepare meat for [title][ruler name]'s banquets\n\tchop up huge carcasses into bite-sized bits\n\tjust delivered some great-looking mutton\nbarber\ncut hair\n\trun a little barber shop down the street from here\n\tshare responsibility for the [title] of [city name]'s new coiffure\nbootmaker\nmake shoes, boots, and sandals\n\twork over at [store name], cleaning up\n\tdo exactly that, I make boots\ngrocer\nprovide vegetables and fruits for the [title] of [city name]'s table\n\tact as agent for several of the farmers in the region\n\trun a little vegetable shack down the road a bit\ntinker\njust mend pots and pans\n\tdo a little of this and a little of that\n\tguess I'm sorta a fix-it-up person\nbanker\nmake loans, determine credit, and hold people's money safely\n\ttry to make a few gold pieces any way I can\n\thave little interest ... sorry, that was a terrible joke\nmoneylender\nmake certain people pay the money they owe\n\thave a very, very loyal clientele\n\tonce even loaned some gold to the [title] - and I'm still waiting\ngoldsmith\nmake little golden knick-knacks\n\tcreate necklaces, rings, bracelets, even an occasional piece of armor\n\tmake baubles and ornaments for the idle rich\nsilversmith\nmake silver weapons, even occasionally a mithril one\n\thope to one day be an Ebonysmith\n\tspend most of my time fighting tarnish\nweaver\nmake tapestries for temples and palaces\n\twas just out shopping for a new loom\n\thope to be hired to make a new tapestry for the palace\nglassblower\nam teaching my apprentices to make glass bowls and goblets\n\tdo just that - I blow glass\n\tworked on the chandelier over at the [title]'s palace\njoiner\nhave been constructing some interior woodwork at the palace\n\thave to tell you, the world is full of dryrot\n\twish people in [city name] had more taste for ornamental mouldings\nscholar\nrun a school here\n\tthink I might get a grant from the [title] for my research\n\thave been battling illiteracy in [city name]\ninterpreter\nhave been recently hired to do translations for various temples\n\tam working on a translation of Dark Elvish poetry\n\tspeak thy language fluently\napocathary\nmake potions and poisons of every description\n\tjust got a contract to make drugs for the Mages' Guild\n\ttry all my drugs on myself before selling them to others\nphysician\nheal the sick, at least, those who are rich\n\tdo not get nearly as much healing business as I thought\n\tjust got over a bit of a cold myself\nclerk\nam afraid I am just a low-level secretary\n\tdo mostly legal stuff for different organization\n\tsuppose you noticed my ink-smudged hands\nmercenary\nmove around a lot, but right now I'm working for the [title] doing odd things\n\tgot into [city name] a little while ago, looking for some excitement\n\tguess you could say I'm a killer for hire\ngaoler\nlock up suspicious-looking [race] adventurers all the time\n\tkeep the [city name] prison the cleanest in [province], perhaps in all of Tamriel\n\twas just thinking about starting a prison choir group\nastrologist\nhave the ability to read the future in the stars\n\tmake predictions for both the [title] and the [temple] when needed\n\treally am a terrible fake, to tell the truth\nherald\nbring the Imperial word to this [settlement type]'s [title], when summoned\n\tstarted off as a mere courtier from [city name 2], now I work for the Emperor\n\thave been in conference with [title][ruler name] all day long\ncrier\nsee that [title][ruler name]'s word is heard in [city name], so that we all know the laws..\n\tam sorry my voice is so hoarse\n\thave been running back and forth from palace to town square all day\npoet\nwrite light verse and important sonnets\n\tdon't have very many friends\n\tactually have had a few poems privately published\nactor\nam due to appear at the [city name] theatre next week\n\ttend to play the part of enchanted princesses and fairies\n\thave been told I'm extremely self-absorbed\nplaywright\nhave been working on my newest historical comi-tragedy\n\tmight get my new play at the palace\n\tthink I might do something based on [title][ruler name]'s life, a comedy maybe\nlaborer\nwork in the fields for basically no pay\n\tlike to think of myself as a victim of the feudal system\n\tsmell like a workhorse, as I guess you've noticed\nfieldhand\nsweat like an animal day in and day out\n\thave calluses the size of saddle bags on my hands\n\twork my heart out during the harvest and starve in the winter\ninquisitor\nfind out what strangers like you know over at the [settlement type] prison\n\thave a particular talent for removing the human tongue slowly\n\tused to work in the palace, now I'm at the [city name] prison\ntoll collector\nmake certain the proper taxes are being paid\n\tjust received word of a new imperial excise tax\n\tassume you've already paid thy visitor's tax\nOracle\nserve as advisor, counselor, and prophet to [title][ruler name], whenever asked\n\tmake auguries and sacrifices at the [temple] for the [title] when needed\n\tsee things behind my eyes and they come to be\nsculptor\nhave just been commissioned to make a series of statues\n\tdid that statue of the naked man down the street\n\thave been doing bas-reliefs at the [temple] - you ought to see them\nebonysmith\ncraft objects, weapons and armor mostly, from ebony\n\twork exclusively for [store name], of course\n\tactually let my apprentices to most of the dirty work\nmathematician\nam postulating a new geometry\n\thave been amusing myself with some crypto-algebra, you know\n\thelp instruct [title][ruler name]'s children as one of the private tutors\nExorcist\ndrive malevolent spirits from the bodies of men\n\twork as one of the healers in the [temple], until I can start my own practice\n\tbattle demons and spirits from the netherworld daily\ndancer\nam giving a dance performance next week\n\twill be part of the troupe doing the traditional [province] dance\n\twould appreciate it if you'd get off my toe, thank you\ntracker\nam on my way to lead some adventurers through the wilderness\n\tcan locate a toad in a field of frogs\n\tknow the [province] wilderness like my own backyard\nherbalist\nprepare medicinal herb and spice preparations\n\tjust got out of the [city name] prisons for growing some illegal herbs\n\tjust sold my entire nightshade harvest to the Mages' Guild\nstudent\nam enrolled at a college here in [city name], but only during the winter\n\tstudy all of the classic literature of [province], so someday I'll travel\n\tdrink a lot, study a little\nphilosopher\nam writing a major epistemological tract\n\twas called one of the ten most influential logicians in [province] last year\n\tthink, therefore I earn\ncrusader\nsmite the enemies of the gods\n\trelease those who doubt the holy word of the [temple], through death\n\thave a lot of free time and a lot of anger\npilgrim\nam organizing a group of fellow pilgrims\n\tthought that [city name] would be a tolerant [settlement type], but I think I was wrong\n\tam going to a [temple] shrine on the [province] border\nshepherd\nkinda have a thing for sheep\n\tleft my flocks out in the meadowlands with my brother\n\tguess I'm a little bit of a bumpkin\nsquire\ncarry my master's armor and weapons when he's not using them\n\texpect I'll probably be a warrior myself some day\n\tseem to have lost sight of my master in this crowd\ncobbler\nrepair shoes and boots\n\twork over at [store name], repairing shoes and boots\n\thave to admit I spend most of my day daydreaming\npeddler\nsell to people who can't afford my goods\n\trun a few almost legal commodities from [city name] to [city name 2]\n\tsell stuff, you know, nothing you'd be interested in\nmiller\nmash grains into flour, which in turn is made into bread\n\thope my son will take over my business when he is old enough\n\tmake almost half of the meal and flour used in this place\nnomad\nmostly travel around, doing odd jobs\n\tgo wherever my spirit moves me\n\tbelieve that freedom is more important than anything else\ntavernkeeper\ndo practically everything over at the [tavern name], with a smile\n\thaven't had a vacation in years, even to [city name 2] which is quite close by\n\thope you'll come to my place, it's called the [tavern name] and it's in town\nidiot\nsuffer from a malady that brings great amusement to others\n\tenjoy drooling, nonsense words, and, of course, walking in circles\n\tam completely mad\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/organizations": {"game": ["Arena"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/organizations", "description": "The various guilds of Tamriel, and what fighting them looks like", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Organizations", "text": "The Underking\nThe UnderKing is a mysterious figure, walking through myth and legend. Some say he is actually a very old and powerful Lich, others that he is an Archmage whose very being has been somehow transformed by his use of magic. It is agreed however that he is a force to be reckoned with in the world of Tamriel, sending his undead soldiers on errands whose goals only he knows is privy to. It seems his forces often find themselves opposed to The Necromancers, a fact that reassures many, for if they were to unite all of Tamriel would suffer.\nThe rumors of the Underking's interest in your activities seem to be correct. His forces are known for their fanaticism in battle.\nThe [opponent] obviously belongs to the ranks of the Underking's minions. There is a sheen of madness in the eyes that tells you negotiation is futile.\nThere are those who doubt the existence of the Underking, but something about the behavior of this [opponent] makes you an instant believer.\nYour path is barred by a [opponent], obviously one of the Underking's minions. It looks as if no uniform is needed to declare allegiance to the Evil One.\nIt is said that those who associate with the Underking risk their sanity itself. The [opponent] before you proves this wisdom.\n\nThe Necromancers\nThe Necromancers are a guild that works in the shadows of life, stealing bodies for purposes known only to them. They deal and consort with the undead regularly, and are staunch foes of the Mages Guild. They are accomplished spellcasters, often questing for magical artifacts and other sources of knowledge. It is said that when facing the Necromancers, one need fear what comes after death more than death itself.\nThe [opponent] who approaches, you notice, has been branded with a small black pentagram, the symbol of the Necromancers.\nThe Necromancers always brand their minions with a black pentagram as symbol of their souls' damnation. The [opponent] before you has such a brand.\nAll members and servants of the Necromancers are branded with a black pentagram. The [opponent] barring your path displays one with pride.\nThe black pentagram you see branded on the [opponent] approaching alerts you. Doubtless a servant of the Necromancers, sent to stop your journey cold.\nYou know what the black pentagram branded on the [opponent] means. The rumors were right - the Necromancers want you stopped.\n\nMages Guild\nThe Mages Guild is the center of magical study for all those of spell casting potential. They perform many services to those who have the money to pay including, selling potions, selling magical items, helping mages create spells, and selling spells for spellbooks. They are a powerful force in the world of Tamriel, often searching for lost artifacts or treasures. It is said by some that the Mages Guilds have many secrets, including the location of some legendary places.\nThe [opponent] before you bears the colors of the Mages' Guild proudly. The intention is obvious - your quest is not to be completed.\nThere is nothing accidental about meeting with this [opponent], wearing the colors of the Mages' Guild and intent on disrupting your quest.\nIt is said that the Mages' Guild is a beneficent organization, but deadly when crossed. One look in the [opponent]'s eyes and you see the truth in the saying.\nThe rumors of the Mages' Guild's hostility toward your activities seem to be true. The [opponent] bears the traditional colors of the Guild.\nYou no longer doubt the involvement of the Mages' Guild in this quest. Obviously, the [opponent] was sent by them to stop you at all costs.\n\nBlades\nA secret society comprised of the best warriors of the Empire. The Blades approach whomever they wish for membership. None know exactly what their ultimate goals are, for they have been seen on both sides of the law, sometimes helping those in need, other times attacking caravans or wealthy merchants. All that is known is that they are deadly in combat, trained by special swordmasters to a point where their thought and reaction are one.\nIf this [opponent] is truly an agent of the Blades, you know you will be facing a worthy adversary indeed...\nThe [opponent] barring your path is obviously an agent of the Blades and no mercenary, for there is a tell-tale scar over the [opponent]'s right eye.\nThis is no ordinary [opponent], you see from the start. You notice a scar above the [opponent]'s right eye, the symbol of the Blades.\nYou know this is no chance meeting with a hostile [opponent]. There is a scar over the [opponent]'s right eye proclaiming alignment with the Blades.\nThe scar over the right eye and the general demeanor tells you this [opponent] is a member of the Blades, trained in the art of battle ...\n\nDark Brotherhood\nThe Dark Brotherhood are loyal followers of Sithis, God of Death. They are sworn to uphold the tenements of Chaos. They are vicious foes to those who would follow the roads of Law, often patrolling outer paths and byways for unwary travelers. It is said that the Brotherhood does not associate with any other group, contesting that even the Necromancers are not true to word of the Dark God. They instead work towards what they call a pure form of Chaos. Few have faced them and escaped with their souls intact.\nThe [opponent] is one of the traditional emissaries of the Dark Brotherhood. You know the orders are to kill you swiftly ...\nCrossing the Dark Brotherhood is sheer idiocy, and one look at the [opponent] and you know that is exactly what you have done.\nThe loyalty of the servants of the Dark Brotherhood is legendary. You know the [opponent] will never yield or grant mercy to foes.\nImmediately you know the Dark Brotherhood sent this [opponent] to kill you. Something in the eyes, something merciless ...\nThere can be no doubt the Dark Brotherhood sent the [opponent] after you. The servants of the Dark Brotherhood are legion.\n\nWharf Rats\nThe Wharf Rats are a loosely organized group of cutthroats, thieves, and ruffians. Although they do not represent the best of what is out there, their sheer numbers make up for any deficiency in skill. The Thieves Guild will attack any members of the Wharf Rats it finds, considering them an infringement upon their turf. They prey upon the weak, elderly, or rich traveler, stealing from them anything of value.\nThe Wharf Rats are not known for their subtlety. You can guess what this [opponent] wants - your head to bring to the masters.\nYou can tell at a glance the [opponent] in your path is no random nuisance. You recognize one of the Wharf Rats sent to rip you apart.\nDespite the [opponent]'s scruffy appearance, a worthy opponent. The Wharf Rats truly are interested in your activities it seems.\nThe [opponent] before you is a member of the Wharf Rats, no doubt about it. The general dirtiness and rancid breath immediately tip you off.\n\nThieves Guild\nThe Thieves Guild works in and around the cities of Tamriel. They are known to organize and govern any who wish to \u2018work\u2019 in a particular city. Those who pay their monthly tithe find certain perks when faced with the authorities. Those who do not find that the Thieves Guild can be a dangerous adversary\nMembers of the Thieves' Guild wear no club colors, for theirs is a secret society. Only a true idiot would doubt the masters of this [opponent] anyhow.\nYou are attacked by a [opponent], obviously sent from the Thieves' Guild. Negotiation is not the [opponent]'s style: it appears there are other plans for you...\nThe rumors of the Thieves' Guild's interest in your job are apparently true. The [opponent] before you obviously is not under orders to take prisoners.\nThe [opponent] before you was sent by the Thieves' Guild. There is no announcement of intentions... allegiance to the Thieves' Guild shines in the eyes.\nRecognizing consorts of the Thieves' Guild is a lesson taught to most young children of Tamriel. The [opponent] before you belongs to that order.\n\nPolitical Faction\nThis [opponent] was obviously sent by %o to stop you, for [their] family colors are borne by the [opponent] with pride.\nThe [opponent] blocking your path is at the service of another. %o seems the obvious master, if [his/her] truly wishes for your quest to fail.\nThe colors borne by the hostile [opponent] are those of %o. It would seem the rumors of [their] interest in aborting your quest are true.\nThe occasional wandering [opponent] is not an unusual sight, but one bearing the colors of %o is strange indeed. It is evident that [his/her] really must want you dead.\nYou might assume this to be a chance encounter with a hostile [opponent], but not one carrying the colors of %o. The rumors of [their] involvement in your quest are apparently true."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rumors": {"game": ["Arena"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rumors", "description": "Stuff the people tell you, general and quest-related", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Rumors", "text": "General Rumors\nI do not want to sound paranoid, but I am convinced that our [title] has been possessed by the devil.\nThis [settlement type] is crawling with undead after dark. Be armed at all times!\nI do not have any proof of this, but you must believe me. I know [title] %rf is an imposter. Not only that, [he/she] is a cannibal too.\nI heard from a member of the Council of Elders that we will not be at [diplomatic state] with [city name 2] for much longer.\nA couple of my friends in the know say the [diplomatic state] talks with [city name 2] this week did not go very well.\nThis town is crawling with spies from [city name 2]. Beware, young [race].\nThis year's harvest looks like the best ever.\nThis year's harvest looks great. There should be a lot of celebrating.\nThe good news is that this year's harvest looks as good as last year's.\nIt seems this year's harvest is going to be as good as last year's.\nRumor has it there is a plague in Skyrim.\nMy aunt just returned from a little village on the edge of Elsweyr that has been almost completely ravaged by a plague.\nThe prophet I see tells me that Hammerfell will be decimated by plague early next year.\nI heard that some lord in a High Rock village angered his patron spirit this week. The local shaman forsees a plague over all the province within the month.\nThey say Morrowind is doomed to wither away from plague and pestilence this year or next. My opinion is good riddance.\nThere's a physician of some sort in the wilds of Valenwood who found a cure for lycanthropy. Can you imagine? I didn't even know it was a problem.\nMy prophet says Summurset Isle is doomed to sink beneath the sea. He did not specify when, but it sounded like soon.\nWell, they say a plague has been reported in some remote Summurset shore villages. My sources are dubious, so I could not vouch for the truth.\nYou will not be surprised to hear a plague is ravaging Black Marsh. What else is new, you know?\nMark my words, [race]. The Elder Gods are coming and Black Marsh will burn for its sins.\nHave you heard about the Afterdark Society? Those nonhuman heathen they meet every night in front of the [temple].\nSome friends of mine went out searching for the Staff of Magnus, but they disappeared. The fools.\nThe [title] had a visitor, a foreign scholar tracing the history of Arrovan, the thief who wielded the Skeleton's Key. Apparently, Arrovan stole some stuff from the royal family here in [city name]!\nSome guy was here last week, trying to sell information about the Ring of Phynaster, like we're the sort of fools to believe in such things.\n\nDelivery to the Ruler\nWell, I heard %tg recently received this %mi from the %tq of %qc. Very mysterious, indeed.\nSome of us are trying to make sense of a certain shipment of this %mi that %tg received recently. A few are saying it came from %tq of %qc, but we all know that's impossible.\nThe council of %tg is furious because it turns out they received and even paid for this forged %mi from the %tq of %qc. I'd hate to see the deliverer once they find him.\nThe %tq of %qc apparently sent this %mi to %tg here in town. Nobody, except the %tg obviously, knows why, and most everyone is concerned.\nApparently some [race] smuggler managed to get this %mi into [city name] from %qc, into the hands of %tg. I sure hope they work on security in this [settlement type].\n\nAssault on Ruler's Palace\nDid you hear our [title] had to fend off an attack from %o. Thank God he had some mercenaries to help him or [city name] might have been lost.\nMost people are still talking about that attack by %o on our [title]'s palace. We have that mysterious [race] to thank for saving [title] %rf.\nEveryone's still talking about how we almost were under %o's rule. If it weren't for those mercenaries that came to [title] %rf's side in the hour of need, I shudder to\n\tthink.\nThe big news is the assault on [title] %rf's palace. They say if it weren't for a heroic [race], we'd probably be under %o's rule now.\nYou know [title] %rf made public the siege on the palace. Apparently, we were very nearly taken over by %o. Close call, eh, [race]?\n\nShady Visitor to City\nDid you know the [relation] of %tq %fq is here in [city name]? Wish I knew why.\nWell, you're not the only stranger in [city name]. Apparently, %tq %fq's [relation] is in the [settlement type]. Apparently, [he/she]'s sightseeing, but some of us are suspicious.\nGuess who I saw in town? %tq %fq's %r, %ne! I wonder what [he/she]'s doing in [city name].\n%tq %fq's [relation] was over at %tl a little while ago. Someone told me [he/she] was there with a suspicious-looking [race]. Mysterious, eh?\nWhat do you suppose the [relation] of %tq %fq is doing in [city name]? Sightseeing? I don't think so, but we'll have to wait and see.\n\nCriminal Rumors\nDid you hear that %nc has escaped from the palace prisons? Apparently he was just about ready to go up for court when he made a run for it. Probably halfway to [city name 2] by now.\nYou know that %nc was finally captured, don't you? I guess he's facing execution soon. Can't think of a %tt that deserves it more.\nI heard %nc the %tt was just executed for crimes against the state. I think his only crime was beating [title] %rf at chess, but that's probably not true.\nWell, %nc escaped from the guards on his way to the chopping block. Apparently he's still at large, looking for the [race] who captured him. That's one mean %tt, I'll tell you.\nThe [title] %rf had that %tt killed, you know, the one that [race] captured? I hear %nc, that was his name, made some deplorable remarks about the Emperor before he died.\n\nKidnapping\nDid you know %o kidnapped the [title]'s %r? [he/she]'s back in [city name] now, but apparently [he/she] was gone for weeks! Can you believe the [title] kept that a secret?\nBig scandal at the palace, young [race]. It seems [title] %rf's [relation] had been kidnapped, for weeks maybe, and the [title] did nothing but send some mercenary after [him/her]. Can you imagine?\nApparently, the [title]'s [relation] is back from the %tan, some health spa in the country. They say [he/she]'s lost a lot of weight. That's good, I suppose.\nSome [race] rescued [title] %rf's [relation] from some horrible place called the %tan. No one in town even realized [he/she] was gone, let alone kidnapped by %o. Weird, eh?\nListen to this. The [title]'s [relation] was kidnapped by %o and imprisoned in the %tan and what does [title] %rf do? Orders some poor, stupid [race] kid to get %nr back. The palace's in an uproar.\n\nMonster Slaying\nDid you hear that some [race] kid killed [monster name] the [monster type]? Makes you think anything is possible, doesn't it?\nThat [monster type] that plagued the [settlement type] is finally dead. We should be dancing in the streets!\nThe best huntsmen of the [title] couldn't slay [monster name] the [monster type], so [title] %rf hired someone who I hear is half [race] and half [monster type] and now the monster's dead! Talk about fighting fire with fire!\nHave you heard about the [race] that killed [monster name] the [monster type]? Apparently this [race] was really a demigod, and sprouted wings and flew away! I have it on good authority.\nEveryone in town in celebrating the death of [monster name]. We owe it all to a mysterious [race] who didn't even leave a name. Well, we'll never forget him.\n\nScandals at the Palace\nLooks like there was a little scandal at the palace. I don't know the details, but, if you can believe, the [title] was nearly deposed because of this misplaced %mi. Things are back to normal.\nI think [title] %rf's on thin ice. Apparently someone discovered this %mi was missing and made a big deal about it. Luckily, the [title] just produced it. Talk about a ruler with some enemies.\nWell, you know half the [title]'s Circle of Elders is dead thanks to some [race] who brought this %mi from %qc as proof of their complicity to commit treason. Bit of excitement.\nThings have calmed down at the palace, thank God. For a while, it looked like the [title] and all the family would be executed all because of this missing %mi. Luckily it was returned.\nThank God that %mi was found. [title] %rf was nearly executed, hadn't you heard?\n\nGeneric no rumor\nNothing much is going on, as far as I know.\nYou're probably asking the wrong person. I haven't heard anything interesting.\nI'm sure I haven't heard anything you'd care about.\nSorry, I wish I had something to say but I don't.\nWell, nothing much is going on, near as I can tell you.\nNothing I can say. [city name]'s been pretty quiet actually.\nI'd ask someone else with a better ear.\nJust business as usual in [city name], I guess.\nThere's probably something going on elsewhere in [province], but not here in [city name].\nI'll ask around, but I haven't heard anything lately that would interest you.\n\nGeneric no work rumor\nYou're looking for work? Well, that's just what we need. Another destitute [race].\nWish I could help you, friend. Work's hard to find in [city name].\nAsk around. I'm sure someone's heard about some kind of work.\nA healthy [race] like you? [Eclamation], it's a shame not to have a profession at your age.\nI'd check at the inns, but I haven't heard of any jobs in days.\nI haven't heard about any jobs in a while. Sorry.\nNo money, eh? It's tough to live in [city name] without money.\n[Exclamation], another homeless [race], looking for work. Just what [city name] needs.\nWish I knew about something, [race]. Keep checking around though.\nSorry, I can't help you. I'll keep my eye out for you however."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/stolen-items": {"game": ["Arena"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/stolen-items", "description": "Descriptions of the stuff you steal out of people's pockets.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Stolen Items", "text": "You have pilfered a dirty, sticky handkerchief.\nAll your victim possessed was a greasy hairbrush.\nYour victim's pockets were empty, except for some string and a bit of paper.\nYou have pilfered a few worthless pebbles.\nYour victim had nothing worth stealing, just some scraps of snake skin.\nFor some reason, your victim was carrying a dead rat around.\nThere were a few pieces of glass in your victim's pocket with which you almost cut yourself.\nYou have pilfered a small piece of cloth, speckled with blood.\nThere is nothing in your victim's pocket but an ink-stained handkerchief.\nYour victim was carrying nothing but a small scrap of yellow fabric.\nAll you managed to pilfer from your victim was a shopping list.\nYour victim's pockets were full of leaves, none of which are particularly rare or unusual.\nThere is a draft for a romantic poem in your victim's pocket. It looks like a bad poem.\nYour victim was carrying a bit of deer horn in a satchel.\nThere was nothing of interest in your victim's pockets, just some dice for gambling.\nThere were only two buttons and a bit of thread in your victim's pockets.\nThere were a few grapes in your victim's pockets, apparently being saved for later consumption.\nYou have pilfered a crust of bread, apparently once part of a sandwich.\nThere was a small piece of meat in your victim's pocket, apparently once part of a sandwich.\nThere was not much of interest in your victim's satchel, just a bit of bone from a small mammal.\nThere was a small glass marble in your victim's pocket, pretty but useless.\nYou have pilfered a small square of red fabric from your victim's satchel.&\nYou have not pilfered much of interest, just a piece of cheese and a scrap of crusty bread.\nThere was some twine in your victim's pocket, but not enough to be of any use to you.\nThere is little of use in your victim's pockets, just some lint, a bit of thread, and an old button.\nThere is very little in your victim's pockets worth taking, just a few scraps of tattered paper.\nYour victim's pockets are greasy with oil - apparently something spilled in there.\nAll you pilfer from your victim is a soiled handkerchief.&\nYou pilfer a note from your victim, a shopping list for a nearby equipment store.\nYour victim was carrying two small pieces of wood, apparently something that needed repair.\nThere is nothing of interest in your victim's pocket, just a few flakes of lint.\nYou find nothing in your victim's pockets, just a bit of lint and a piece of string.\nYou find a small, warm, wet ball in your victim's satchel - possibly a bit of bat guano.\nYou have pilfered a small engraving of a woman, apparently your victim's mother.\nYou have pilfered a note, a letter from your victim's father, detailing hometown gossip.\nYou pilfer a few amateurly drawn charcoal sketches from your victim.\nYour victim had nothing but a letter from a friend, describing life in a nearby village.\nYou find an unmailed letter to your victim's mother, describing the petty crime common to the area.\nYou pilfer a pressed wildflower from your victim, pretty but not uncommon at all.\nYour victim was carrying a packet of seeds, most of which are blackened with age.\nThere is nothing useful in your victim's pockets, just a small ball of\n\twax.\nYou find nothing of value in your victim's satchel, just a ball of flavored wax.\nYou pilfer a receipt from a faraway tavern.\nYour victim is carrying nothing of value, just a small square of black velvet.\nThere is nothing of value in your victim's pocket.\nYou successfully search your victim's satchel, but nothing in it is of value.\nYou do not find anything of worth in your victim's pockets.\nThere is nothing in your victim's pocket except a dull letter from a friend in a neighboring village.\nYou pilfer a few pebbles your victim has unaccountably been collecting.\nAll you pilfer from your victim is a contract from a local moneylender for ten gold pieces."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/compilation-redguard-history": {"game": ["Daggerfall"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/compilation-redguard-history", "description": "This is another version of Redguards, Their History and Their Heroes.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "A Compilation of Redguard History", "text": "Summary of The Heroes Document.\nThis document is written like it is a draft of a scholarly book written as a historical analysis exploring the myths and tales as history.\n\nRedguard history prior to coming to Hammerfell. This sets the stage for some color and texture of the people. Creates a context and some terminology. Creates concept of thought sword quasi magic \"spirit sword\". Explanation of names Hammerfell and Redguards.\nRedguard history about 300 years after coming to Hammerfell pure heroic stuff - concept memory stone that can be used to record memories of a person. Also follow up concept of a pure thought weapon a spirit sword - used by only special warriors like these two heroes. Sets context for a conflict with a local lord in High Rock who tries to invade through Wrothgarian mountain pass - The Bangkorai pass.\nHunding's son, takes Hammerfell as the new land of the Redguards from giant goblins. He combines the spirit sword and a conventional magic sword to create 5 great magical swords to defeating the giant goblins. The Arena goblins are short little yellow guys, kind of woosy fighters, a foe just a notch above a sewer rat. Hammerfell was first occupied by Dwarves. They were a sparse population with just a few riches filled cities. Over night (from another dimension) a new breed of goblins invades - a huge army of fighters appears in the middle of the province, and pillages, raises towns to the ground and drives the surviving Dwarves out. The Dwarves flee through a lone surviving port city and are gone by the time the Redguards cross the ocean. Hunding and Divad arrive thinking the abandoned port city is vacant, and Hunding is cowardly killed. Divad leads the battle to wrest the land from the giant goblins and needs to resort to magic (5 great magical swords) to defeat them. The 5 combined cast a mighty spell that literally diminishes the goblins to the size and temperament we find in current Arena, and they flee to caves and wilderness, leaving Hammerfell. The Redguards to inherit the province.\nHe lives in later years when Redguards have mostly forgotten their own heritage. They face a great peril from the giant goblins again, who have managed to open the path from the other dimension. Divad after the battle for Hammerfell decided the 5 swords were too powerful to leave just lying around so he hid them in succeedingly dangerous and tricky caves in the mountains. Derik quests to find them and defeat goblins. He does so, and the swords are destroyed and lost for good (but with just a tickle could maybe come back to be found in modern times). This last hero's story happened about 1000 years from Daggerfall times.\nEach story is cast in a bit different way. Frandar, as pure clinical history; Makela as her own memories being played back, Divad as a scholarly assessment followed by a poem translated into prose, and Derik as a recorded campfire tale.\nMaybe this will give your tech writers something to work with. I know it was fun for me to write. Hope this is helpful for creating some background for Daggerfall. Derik's stroy can be fleshed out more instead of taking the outline for the editros cop out. If you would like me to detail this out, I will, I just went with wherer the overall book theme took me.\nUnless I hear more from you all (a good southern word for an Atlanta boy) I will asssume that you have all you need on the Redguards and enough heros.\n-Dave (Ryder Bloc)\nNotes on the Redguards, their history and their heroes.\nThis is a publishers proof of the initial draft of my book,\n\t\"REDGUARDS, THEIR HISTORY AND THEIR HEROES\".\nThe following is a collection of the tales, myths and history of the Redguards. Much of their history is shrouded in mystery and in the mists of time. It is hard to distinguish between myths, and real history. I believe, however, that Frandar Hunding, Divad The Singer, Makela Leki, and Derik Hallin were real people and their stories are real.\nThe memory stone mentioned in the second chapter may not be familiar to all readers. It is a stone who's mineral content makes it only found in the far north of High Rock, and there are few of them to begin with. At one time, there was a Mage that lived in the vastness and wastes of that region, and he in practicing enchantment spells, imbued several hundreds of them with the ability to hold and record one's thoughts. They are extremely valuable and can be used to record only once. Most city museums hold a dozen or so of these stones, and if you take one in your hand, you can receive the thoughts of the original owner as clear and fresh as if they were speaking to you. Now days un-recorded stones are very rare, and worth far more than in Makela's day. Imagine she paid only 25,000 gold crowns for hers!\nI have placed Makela's story before Divad's even through chronologically she cam many years after his death. The choice was based on my desire to contrast the stories of the principle heroes of the Redguard people. Locating the story titled the Dragon's Toe last was because it illustrates the final use that Redguard Sword Singers made of the Five Magical Swords that Divad The Singer constructed to drive the Goblins from Hammerfell.\nBelow are the first chapters of the draft.\nI. A Translation of The Book Circles by Destri Melarg\nAuthor's note as translated into the Modern Tongue of Hammerfell:\nFrandar Hunding was born in 2356 in the old way of reckoning, in our beloved deserts of the old land. The traditional rule of emperors had been overthrown in 2012, and although each successive emperor remained the figurehead of the empire, his powers were very much reduced. Since that time, our people saw 300 years of almost continuous civil war between the provincial lords, warrior monks and brigands, all fighting each other for land and power. Our people once were artisans, poets, and scholars, but the ever evolving strife made the way the sword inevitable - the song of the blade through the air, through flesh and bone, its ring against armor; an answer to our prayers.\nIn the time of Lord Frandar the first warrior Prince, lords called Yokeda, built huge stone castles to protect themselves and their lands; and castle towns outside the walls begin to grow up. In 2245, however, one man Mansel Sesnit, came to the fore. He became the Elden Yokeda, or military dictator, and for eight years succeeded in gaining control of almost the whole empire. When Sesnit was assassinated in 2253, a commoner took over the government. Randic Torn continued the work of unifying the Empire which Sesnit had begun, ruthlessly putting down any traces of insurrection. He revived the old gulf between the warriors - the sword singers - and the commoners by introducing restrictions on the wearing of swords. \"Torn's Sword-hunt\", as it was known, meant that only the singers were allowed to wear swords, which distinguished them from the rest of the population.\nAlthough Torn did much to settle the empire into its pre-strife ways, by the time of his death in 2373 internal disturbances still had not been completely eliminated. Upon his death civil war broke out in earnest; war that made the prior 300 year turmoil pale in comparison. It was in this period that Frandar Hunding grew up.\nHunding belonged to the sword-singers. This element of empire society grew from the desert artisans and was initially recruited from the young sons and daughters of the high families. They built the first temple to the unknown gods of War and build a training hall \"The Hall of the Virtues of War\". Within a few generations the way of the sword - the song of the blade - had become their life. The people of the blade kept their poetry and artisanship in building beautiful swords woven with magic and powers from the unknown gods. The greatest among them became known as Ansei or \"Saints of the Sword\". Each of these began their own training schools teaching their individual way of the sword. Those Ansei of the highest virtue wandered the country side engaging in battle, righting wrongs, and seeking to end the strife.\nTo sum it up. Hunding, was a sword-singer, a master, no, a Master Ansei at a time when the peak of the strife was reborn out of the chaos of Torn's death. Many singers put up their swords and became artists, for the pull of the artisan heritage was strong; but others, like Hunding pursued the ideal of the warrior searching for enlightenment through the perilous paths of the Sword. Duels of revenge and tests of skill were common place, and fencing schools multiplied.\nFrandar do Hunding Hel Ansei No Shira, or as he is commonly known Frandar Hunding, was born in the far desert marches in the province of High Desert. Hunding is the name of the High Desert region near where he was born. No Shira means noble person or person of noble birth and Hel Ansei is his title of Sword Sainthood.\nHunding's ancestors reach back to the beginning of recorded time in the high desert and were artisans and mystics, his grandfather was a retainer of the Elden Yokeda, Mansel Sesnit, and lead many of the battles of unification prior to Sesnit's assassination.\nWhen he was 14, Hunding's father died in the one of the many insurrections, and he was left to support his mother and four brothers. His prowess with the sword however, made his life both difficult and easy. Easy in that his services came in great demand as a guardian and escort. Hard in that his reputation preceded him, and many awaited their turn to face him in battle and gain instant fame through his defeat.\nBy the time Hunding was 30 he had fought and won more than 90 duels killing all his opponents. He became virtually invincible with the sword, gaining such skill and mastery that he finally stopped using the real swords created through the artisanship of his people and began using the Shehai or \"way of the spirit sword\".\nAll sword singers learn through their intense training and devotion to the gods of war and way of the sword, the forms of discipline that allow the creation of the spirit sword. This is a simple form of magic or mind mastery where by a image of a sword is formed from pure thought. The sword singer forms the sword by concentrating, and it takes shape in his hand - usually a pale thing of light, misty and insubstantial, a thing of beauty perhaps, a symbol of devotion to the Way and the gods, but no weapon. However, those Ansei of the highest level and sensitivity and those with talent in magic, can at times of stress, form a spirit sword, the Shehai which is far more than light and air - it is an unstoppable weapon of great might, a weapon which can never be taken from the owner without also taking his mind.\nThe Shehai became Hunding's weapon, and with this he slew bands of brigands and wandering monsters than infested the land. Finally upon finishing his 90th duel, defeating the evil Lord Janic and his seven liche followers, he was satisfied that he was indeed invincible. Hunding then turned to formulating his philosophy of \"the Way of the Sword\". He wrote his Learnings down in the BOOK OF CIRCLES while living as a hermit in a cave in the mountains of high desert in his sixtieth year.\nIn that year Hunding having enlisted in the many battles of the empire, defeating all opponents, had thought himself ready for death and retired to his cave to capture his strategy and mystical visions to share with other Sword Singers. It was after his completion of the scroll of the Circle that the Singers found him composing his death poem and preparing to join the gods of war in final rest.\nAt sixty he was a vigorous man, who thought himself through with life, but his people, the sword-singers needed him. They needed him as never before. Torn's Sword Hunt, had separated the Singers from the common people, and the rise of the Last Emperor began the last great strife of the desert empire. This strife was Emperor Hira and his consort Elisa's final effort to wrest control of the empire from the people by destroying the sword-singers. Hira vowed to search out every Singer and with his Brigand army composed of Orcs and castoffs of the wars of the empire, scourge them from the face of the earth.\nThe Sword Singers were never a numerous people. The harsh desert kept the births few, and growing up in the unforgiving wastes eliminated all but those of iron spirit and will. Thus the final strife which became knows as the \"War of the Singers\" found the people of the sword unprepared and unready to join together their individually great skills into an army that could defend their home and lives.\nFrandar Hunding was sought out, his death poem interrupted, and unceremoniously command of the singers was thrust upon him. To the unknown gods of war great thanks is owed that Hunding had had the time in his cave to write down his years of accumulated wisdom, of strategy, of the way of the Shehai. The singers fled from their camps up into the desert hills and mountains. Fled to the foot of Hattu \"the father of Mountains\" where Hunding had gone to write in peace and to die, and there these remnants formed into the Army of the Circle - they learned Hunding's Way, his strategies his tactics, and the final great vision for a master stroke.\nHunding devised a plan of seven battles leading the Armies of Hira further and further into the wilderness to the foot of Hattu, where the final battle could be fought. Hunding called his plan the \"Hammer and the Anvil\". With each battle Hunding's Singers would further learn his strategies and tactics, grow strong in the use of the Shehai, and be ready to defeat their opponents in the seventh battle. And thus it was, the six first battles were waged, each neither victory or defeat, each leading to the next. The larger armies of Hira following the small army of Hunding. Outnumbered thirty to one, the singers never faltered from the Way. The stage was set, Hira and his Army maneuvered to the base of Hattu Mountain, where the hammer blow was delivered. The battle was pitched, and many singers fell that day. Hunding knew, that the singers who lived would be few, but Hira and his empire of evil would not live to ravage the empire and so it went.\nAt the end Hunding and less that twenty thousand Singers survived the day, but no army of evil was left to pillage and murder, more than three hundred thousand fell that day an Hattu. Of those who were left to run and live, all were scattered to the four winds, and organized force no more.\nThe singers packed their lives, folded their tents, mourned their dead, and followed Hunding to the great port city or Arch, in the province of Seawind. There Hunding had a flotilla of ships waiting. The Singers left their desert for a new land. No longer welcome in the desert empire, they to be sung about and spoken of in legend. The final great warrior, the singers of Shehai, the Book of Circles, all leaving that land where their virtue was unappreciated. Red, red with blood they were in the eyes of the gentle citizenry, never mind that they had saved them from a great evil.\nThe singers vowed to learn new ways as they traveled across the great ocean to their new land. To adopt a new name, but to honor the past. In honor of their final battle, they named their new land Hammerfell and adopted the name Redguards. In honor to Hunding the great warrior prince, each household in Hammerfell has a place by the hearth an alcove really, just a niche, big enough to hold the scroll - The Book Circles.\nWhat follows is a modern version of our great book of heritage.\nTHE BOOK OF CIRCLES\nI have been many years training in the Way of strategy, called Shehai Shen She Ru, and now I think I will explain it in writing for the first time. It is now during the first ten days of the tenth month in the twentieth year of the Fox. I have climbed mountain Hattu to pay homage to the song of the sword and to the unknown gods of war and kneel before the spirit of the mountain. I am a warrior of High Desert province, Frandar do Hunding Hel Ansei No Shira age sixty years.\nFrom youth my heart has been inclined toward the Way of strategy. My first duel was when I was fourteen, I struck down.......\nII. From The Memory Stone on Makela Leki\nThis is a faithful reproduction of the thoughts recorded in Makela Leki's memory stone, found in the Bankorai pass, in the year of reckoning 2776. Almost all of this is in the first person, as Makela was unfamiliar with the protocols and scholarly formalities of recording herself into a memory stone. None the less, her heroism and heroic deeds live on, her memories fresh in the stone for all to feel and hear.\n\"??!!........... muuu uhh, I wonder if this will really work.....?\" The Mages guild took me for 25,000 gold crowns if it doesn't! Imagine?!! This stone will record my thoughts,........?? What did they say? Just unwrap it from the silver foil and leather bag and as soon as it touches my flesh it will begin to record.\n\"Ahhhh, the pain, I must block it out, no one would want to hold my stone and hear my thoughts if I let it record my pain....!\" Thank the unknown gods of war and the training I received in The Hall of the Virtues of War ........ I CAN block out this pain! \"Ummm just, ah, there, it's walled off!\" Yes I can still see it there just beyond my consciousness lurking like a hungry wolf - a wolf what will soon consume me. I see also my inevitable death from these dammed wounds. No potions left, the healing crystal and ring are used up, and me, with not even magic enough to light a candle! Oh but the gods did give me other gifts, the gift of sword singing, the thrill of battle, Frandar Hunding's Book of Circles, THE WAY OF THE SWORD!! ...... ah but then that is my story, I get ahead of myself.\nI am Makela Leki a warrior, a sword-singer, a second level Ansei. In my cradle I could form the Shehai, the spirit sword - The mystical blade, mine formed of pure thought serpents intertwined with vines of roses to form the blade, as beautiful as........\nAh, but I'm about to tell you all about that, to tell you my story, a story of valiant battle, of my loves, of my wars, of,... of betrayal and of this last glorious victory. To tell you of how I came to this distant lonely lpass me and five companions, to fight these men and monsters to defeat the army that would fall on my people like cowards in the night........ but again I get ahead of myself.\nI am a simple warrior. I grew up as a Maiden of the Spirit Blade. As early as I can remember I wanted to be a Singer, to feel the hunger of the blade in my hands, to feel it come alive and take my enemies. I am told our people were artisans and poets long ago in our desert homes. Here in new home now known as Hammerfell, many of us have returned to those ancient ways, but to me there is but ONE WAY!! THE WAY of the SWORD!!!\nAh this is hard to tell. I grew up in my noble family, the only one of three brothers and two sisters that felt the calling, the Song of the Sword. Father understood, for he too had felt the call. He had become a master, and Ansei long before settling down with in our estate to raise a family. At eleven, I entered the Hall of the Virtues of War and joined the Maidens of the Spirit Sword. In my band there were six of us. Daring Julia, solid Patia, big Kati, svelte Cecil, wise Zell, and me - all are gone now, save me, and soon I will join them,... join them in the halls of the unknown gods of war. We drank together, we fought, we wept, we grew in the way of the sword. We joined in our learnings in the Hall with our Bothers of the Blade. Learning from each other, we all sat at the feet of the Hall Master striving to learn the depths of the Shehai - making the spirit blade into a real weapon as Frandar Hunding had! Only a few have the purity of heart and virtue to be able to take the step and learn the mysteries of Ansei... Sword Sainthood.\nSomehow, of all the Brothers and the Maidens, I only possessed the unique qualities, the faint but strong enough flicker of magic to be able to call forth the Shehai. Many times I called it, seldom would it become substantial enough to be a weapon. To be a Ansei, of the first level you just need to be able to call it, and that I could, so I became the first Ansei from our local hall in two generations.\nOh I have so much to tell, so many memories, so many treasures to share with you , my unknown companion........ How do I start? Umhhh, the pain is still out there lurking hungry, slowly consuming what's left of me. I guess I had better tell of the final battle, the one that has left me here, and then if I have the will left tell you of my life, of my love Raliph... OH what a lad he was! What times we shared........... Forgive me, my mind wanders................ Let me go to the Final Battle!\nUmm to start, in the middle humm. Yes! We Maidens grew, learned, mastered the Way, and upon completing the Walk-About. To you who are not Singers, this is a wilderness trek emulating the times of Frandar Hunding - where we each wander the country side righting wrongs, defeating monsters, performing quests in the name of virtue. Some of us in our Hall took years to finish! Always there is danger, we six Maidens each returned in our own good time, but many are they who do not live to return from the Walk About!\nWe returned , each to our own lives, to meet in the hall once a week to tell our stories to the new Maidens and Brothers, and to perform as instructors in the Way of the sword. All was well till the night of the (fill in a festival from the list). All our people were reveling and enjoying the repast, but for we six Maidens. It happened that the festival day fell on our day of meeting in the hall, our day of prayer and fasting and honor to the Way of the Sword.\nAs we met, late into the night, a knocking rang on our door. When I opened, it there was a guardian the Bankorai Pass in the Wrothgarian Mountains, wounded and near death. He told us of betrayal from the north, an invasion sponsored by the Crystal Tower of HIgh Rock, lead by its Lord an army filled with evil minions, Orcs and sundry coming to fall upon our unsuspecting people. Quickly we used up a crystal of healing in restoring him to vitality. We sent him on to the king, while we six grabbed our weapons and armor of power, and as many potions, marks, and crystals and rings as we could carry.\nWe flew to the pass hoping upon hope that we would not be too late! Our journey was not in vain, for we arrived just at the very point where the last three guardians were overwhelmed by the horde! Into the pass we ran forming the old battle line, six abreast. OH did we FIGHT! The Song of the Sword was a joyous noise slicing through the ranks of evil. We fought for hours. Julia was the first to fall, a cowardly poisoned dagger finding a rent in her armor. Then one by one all fell, save me. Then my beloved sword, the sword of my father, the one with the serpent's crest, fashioned by the master sword smith Singer Tansal broke in my hands! All was lost, our six lives spent in vain. Now, many many of Them would pour through the pass! I would be easy prey for them, like a newborn child! I wept in frustration!\nThen I remembered the hearth in our home - the book! Frandar Hunding's Book of Circles, the Way of Strategy. I reached for the Shehai the spirit sword, ... that which I could never reliably form when I needed it, and behold it was alive! Alive with fire! It formed in my hand! Ablaze with power ---- OH I slew mightily, right and left, like a scythe through wheat! All the way to the Lord of the Tower I fought. With one blow I cut his magical armor asunder, one more took his head! But to do that deed cost me dearly, wounds by the dozen, for although I had magical armor, it was not formed of spirit like my blade, it was not as invincible as my blade or my own spirit, and I was sorely wounded.\nWith the felling of the Tower Lord, his army crumbled. They fled before my wrath! The ran back through the pass not even pausing to collect their dead and wounded. All who could stand ran for their lives, and I slew all I could reach, but my breath was coming short, and the pain.... Finally I rested, on this rock where you find me now. I don't know why I chanced to bring this stone along. I bought it on a whim really, with the loot from...... ah well I guess I need to really stop and tell my story in order. I feel able to go on to tell you more ... the eternal night is descending more slowly than I thought. Not just yet, am I ready to compose my death poem. A little sip of water and.......... well I think I will go back and tell you of my life, maybe some details about the battle. And Oh yes! about Raliph and our children, humm where will I start........\nI am a simple warrior. I grew up as a Maiden of the Spirit Blade. As early as I can remember .....................\nIII. Divad The Singer\nDivad The Singer is in one body, two unique and distinct people. Divad is the most well known of the Redguard heroes. Frandar Hunding's, son, probably the most accomplished Ansei who ever lived. Yet early in his life, Divad appeared to thoroughly have rejected The way of the sword.\nDivad was the only son of Frandar Hunding, and was born late in Hunding's life (2396), when he was away most of the time fighting the last of his duels and engaging in the many battles and insurrections of the period. At eleven, Divad entered the Hall of the Virtues of War and began training, but at 16, he appears to have finally let his anger at growing up essentially fatherless get the better of him, and he broke his swords and left the Hall to become an acrobat in a traveling circus.\nThe life in the circus was unsatisfying to Divad, and after two years, his innate artisan heritage drove him to become a musician and finally a Bard. For two more years he traveled composing and quite literally singing in the cities of the empire - gaining no small amount of fame and recognition for his stirring and popular songs and music.\nAlthough Divad had forsaken the Way of the sword in public, it would appear that he continued to practice the compulsory forms of training he was taught in the Hall. He carried no sword, but in the late evening, bright lights could be often be seen in his tent, which was later learned to be his practice of the form of the way known as Shehai Shen She Ru - the Way of the spirit sword, or simply the Shehai.\nDivad was very popular with the people of the empire, and his music and concerts well attended, but he could not escape his heritage of the sword. When the last Emperor ascended to power, and began to persecute the sword-singers, Divad was among the first to attract his attention.\nOnce the Emperor Hira and his consort decided to go to war with the Singers for control of the empire, he moved swiftly against those Singers who were visibly a part of empire society. Most he had killed or assassinated, but Divad's music and fame were so wide spread, that he sent a team of his personal guards to arrest him.\nThe Emperor's men were either very luck or very unlucky depending on how you choose to view it. Being no fool, Hira sent 100 of his best guards, for even an unarmed Singer was a very dangerous foe. The luck came in that they were able to capture Divad and place him in chains, as they came at him as he sat dining with his elderly mother. The disaster came in that as he surrendered, they haughtily killed her as an after thought.\nThat single thoughtless deed, as is often the case in war, was the one pivotal factor causing their eventual defeat. That act ignited in Divad the spirit of the Way. Up till that careless ax stroke, Divad was a ordinary artisan, no to be fair, an artist, a great artist, but no warrior.\nThe moment of her death, Divad rose from his seat, took his chains between his two hands and lay about him in the confines of the dining hall swinging the heavy chain in a deadly arc. He slew four of the guards, gaining enough space to run and dive through the window and into the river on who's banks the house stood. He disappeared in the dark and wet of the night.\nFrom that point, Divad was spotted numerous times and told of in numerous rumors all across the empire - far more places than a mere mortal man could have ever been. At every point where Mira's men gathered to do mischief, the resistance was attributed to Divad.\nAs Mira moved against the Singers and began forming his army to invade High Desert, it was Divad who carried the news to the Singers. Divad was among those who climbed Hattu to find Hunding in his cave. What is not well known is that Hunding, at first refused to take leadership of the Singers. The first attempt to interrupt him at his death poem cause him to drive the elders from his cave, he even formed the Shehai in his anger. It was Divad who re-entered the cave alone to speak with Hunding. To this day, no one knows what was said, what happened in that cave, for there were bright flashes of light, and angry voices. Five long hours came and went, then both emerged from the cave, Divad, at Hunding's side. The rest as they say, is history......\nDivad, who had not completed training in the Hall of the Virtues of War, became an adviser to Hunding, and spent his time reading the newly completed Book of Circles, but his role in the Hammer and Anvil strategy was as a simple sword-singer and fighter. It was not till the Singers landed In New Land that his story truly begins.\nIn that land, he learned to combine the artisanship of his people in smithing swords of great beauty and strength with the Shehai and build the Five great magical swords of the Redguard, but let me tell it in Divad's own words.\nThe chapter following this preface is a modern translation of Divad's heroic feats in wresting the land of Hammerfell from the Goblins. Many find it interesting that this is Divad's own work, He composed the saga in a Brads song. I am sorry that I am a mere scholar and not myself a poet. I can not do his beautiful verses justice, thus I have merely rendered his epic saga in prose.\nWe thousands traveled the Great Ocean deep. We of the high desert, ah to be surrounded by so much water! All saw the new land rise from the water in the east. A land of richness and great beauty it was, and it gladdened our hearts.\nA great city we saw, and a great port. We traveled close to see streets deserted., buildings pulled down and falling , a city filled with only bones and ghosts of the past, and it saddened our hearts.\nGreat Lord Prince Hunding landed with his generals and we Singers to claim the New Land - it was empty of man. Unknown to us there were others there - they were to break our hearts!\nDwarves were those who had been there first, but now no sign save bones and dust. To the High Temple of the city Hunding came to pray, no weapon or armor upon his breast - no helm upon his brow did rest.\nIn the silence out of the dark, was a heinous act committed, a dagger as he kneeled in prayer. The healers too late were summoned. An all out battle from the emptyness came..\nSurrounded we were upon the shore, our army still in the ships so far away. To the boats our men raced and rowed, and soon two great armies in battle were met!\nFrom whence appeared this mighty horde, we could not guess, but wave upon wave of Yellow Warriors came and dashed themselves upon our Rock. Not for Nothing did we send the evil Hira to his early grave.\nIt seemed the sun rose and descended to its evening home, and the battle did continue. Soon the yellow horde was stacked upon itself body upon body, and still they did come. But not for Nothing did we send the evil Hirato his grave.\nA break! A break within their lines, and then all were gone save those few who upon the ground did lay and moan. The silence was deafening, and our battle victory cry did ring out! The day is ours! Another valiant victory for the people of the blade.\nA new land was ours, and Hunding to mourn. In his honor we did swear. His book to hold close. In his honor the land we did name after his last great battle and the Hammer blow we called it Hammerfell. A new name for us, the Singers, Red guards - no Redguards.\nThe battle over we did seek to rest, and the land so rich to settle and dwell. To peace, to rest, to have a home! Oh this land of Hammerfell, and it gladdened our hearts.\nWe thought we were home at peace, but the battle had just begun. For with the morning sun, did come again the Yellow Horde. And fight again we must, and again and again and again - and it saddened our hearts.\nThe council was called, for day after day the fight went on, and no end in sight. From whence do these Goblins come? We can not endure their endless coming - and our hearts did break.\nA new hope, a plan was Divad's role, and he sent out sixty to spy our foe. To learn their secret. To learn from whence they come.\nThey told of a mighty rent in the sky, a mighty gate-way in the air it did hang. Like a door in the Hall of virtue, and from it they did spring, in an endless line. And of it, the mages could powerful magic sense.\nOh to close that door and staunch the flow. Divad to see him self did go. In him the warrior blood was pure, but magic was a companion too. For Divad did sense the power, and in him the plan did grow.\nOf Singers our army was built, but few there were with Ansei power, and fewer yet could wield the Shehai. But Shehai was all that could close the door, but Shehai of power and purity above mortal man.\nBut Divad did have a plan. For lifetimes the Singers did make blades of power. All warriors to wield and use the magic within. Much more magic and power was needed.\nBut Divad did have a plan. He the Singer swordsmiths did call, and with them he joined the Shehai with the forging of the steel and power. Five mighty swords alive with power. The spirit of Divad within each blade he did pour.\nSo weak he was when blades were done - a newborn babe he could hardly match in strength. But the blades they were alive with his power - and we had hope - for Divad did have a plan.\nOur five Ansei each did hold one of the blades The five of Magic. With them did surround the gate and call upon the Shehai. Oh unknown gods of war, oh beauty beyond our mortal eyes. The blaze of power did the five blind.\nThe fire down the blades poured, it devoured the ground, the Goblins, the gates, the rent in the sky - all it consumed. Of the Goblin army, non did stand as before. Every living yellow warrior now Stood small. As small as a child they were.\nUnable to wield the weapons of gown men, unable to wear armor too large, they fled,fled to the caves and under the earth to disturb our peace no more. The gate it was gone from sight!\nDivad, one more task did have. The five swords to lay to rest. Too powerful they would be for man. Tempting to use, yet a great danger to all Hammerfell.\nDivad and the five Ansei did climb the mountains to the north. Divad and the five blind Ansei. Only Divad did return, the swords lost to mortal man. Our hearts were gladdened.\nBut Divad's spirit had left him too and upon his bed did lie. To compose this poem for his people to learn and know. And our hearts were saddened.\nOn the twelfth day Divad did die, his spirit all had gone. And all was left was our beloved land, the land of Hammerfell. And our hearts were broken.\nDestri Melarg has translated this song, which began as Divad's death poem, but notes that he believes that it ends at this point, with the following six phrases (not published in this translation) being added by a later Bard. Melarg notes that Divad did return from the mountains and his daughter Cinsel heard him speaking in his sleep of placing the five great magical swords in the depths of the mountain caves. Each Ansei who came with him stayed with their sword, somehow she believed that they derived immortality of a sort from the magic in the blades. Thus the tale has grown about the five caves and the guardians of the swords. Although Divad was a living man and helped found Hammerfell, there is no scholarly evidence for the magical swords, the giant goblins or the mountain caves. Most modern scholars believe that this is simply embellishment of the original death poem. The wresting of the land from the Goblins and how they were banished seems farfetched, since any who enter a cave or dungeon today can attest that goblins are a mere four feet tall.\nIV. The Tale of the Dragon's Toe\nAs told to me around the campfires of Dendle Fragar., I faithfully give you the story titled \"The Dragon's Toe\". It may be noted that this is really the story of Derik Hallin and the quest for the Five swords of Divad. In fairness to the modern history of Hammerfell, the events of this story appear to have actually happened. A thousand years have passed since this story took place, so it too may contain \"extras\" like the last six phrases in The Song of Divad.\nThe evidence for the destruction of the Great Goblin Lord and the Army of Fear however, may be found in the huge field of bones on the Plane of Tear. To this day, campers and visitors will visit the site, and on occasion find a gold coin or bit of strangely shaped metal. History recounts a great destruction, but has no details, so we must turn to a campfire tale to learn of Hallin.\nOn hearing the title \"The Dragon's Toe\" one's mind turns to flying monsters and the romance of rescuing maidens, but alas the story is one of a man. The Dragon's Toe is a terrain feature of the Wrothgarian mountains that separate High Rock and Hammerfell. This apparently was the region of the Caves of Divad, where he hid the five swords.\nI located this story last in my anthology of Heroes, since you need to have learned of Divad, Makela, and Frandar Hunding to understand Derik Hallin's quest. Derek's story takes place two hundred years after the times on Makela Leki. In another time of strife and stress in Hammerfell.\nIn Hallin's time, sword-singing had fallen from prominence in the families of Hammerfell, and only a vigilant few came to The Hall of the Virtues of War. Most of the Brothers and Maidens in the local Halls saw their learnings of the Way as a social event or perhaps as a quaint club. Few indeed, actually read the Book of Circles, and fewer yet attempted the learnings of the Way. Derik, was one of these precious few.\nIt was fortunate that Derik was raised in the back country, and was able to avoid the sophisticism of the cities. His Hall of the Virtues of War had stuck closely to the old ways, and the Brothers and Maidens could actually teach the forms of the Way. The once-a-week sitting at the feat of the master in that Hall contained real wisdom, and discussion of the Book of Circles. On festival and feast days they sang the old Bard songs of Divad.\nDerek was small of stature, but agile of mind and body. His skills in all things sat him apart from the would-be Signers of his time. Had his Hall been located in one of the large cities, jealousy and envy of him prowess would certainly have limited his progress - it is uncertain if he could have risen to the Ansei level there.\nLike Makelia, he too could form the Shehai as a child, and on assention in the Hall to his manhood, he alone in the entire province of Hammerfell possessed the virtue and skill to become an Ansei. It is at this point that we pick up his story, in the campfire tale, The Dragon's Toe.\nDendle the story teller, chants this story after dinner, to both children and adults. She is a story teller of some renowned, and will stand and act out some of the portions of the tale, as well as pitch her voice appropriately for the speaking of each character. I especially like the voice she used for the Ansei Master of the Shem Pit, the last cave of the quest.\nIt was a dark and stormy night. Derik Hallin later to become known as Lord Hallin, had left the Hall of Virtue beginning his Walk-About when he spied the campfire and shelter of a grove of trees.\n\"Welcome to my fire, young man\". Called the hooded stranger in a thin and cracking voice. \"I would welcome company on a night like this.\"\nEditors, this is the outline of my final chapter for this book on Hammerfell heroes. I condensed Dendle's story telling. I have my notes, but the story gets long with all the quotes. She puts a lot of dialog in her story telling. I am amazed that the old stories about the 5 swords keeps cropping up. It's been a thousand years since Hellion's time, yet people continue to believe in the stories.\nThe wagon master sat with me after listening to her story and smoked a pipe with me. In discussing the story, he says that his story teller used to say that one of the five swords survived the closing of the Goblin gate, and is yet hidden here in Hammerfell. It was the least of the five, but the story has it that it exceeds and modern blade magical or ebony by several orders of magnitude.\nOf course I take this with a grain of salt, since a ebony weapon is unparalleled in it's keen cutting ability and personally I can't imagine a weapon doing more damage than a Claymore of Firestorm or a saber of life steal. Dendle even believes that out in the country side in one of the Halls of the Virtues of War there are still people who follow the old ways, and can from a Shehai or spirit sword.\nIn collecting these stories I once through I was seeing a Shehai being formed, by an old Hall master, but the thing if it was a spirit sword was so faint, that even the sword shape was questionable. I didn't want to insult the old man so I claimed I saw it too, but if that was a Shehai, I can't imagine it possible to be used as a real weapon.\nHere's my outline of this story:\nAt the time of this story, Hammerfell is fully occupied by Redguards. All the old cities of the Dwarves (but one - the Ghost City of Dwarfhome) are now the cities of today's modern Hammerfell. A second invasion of the giant goblins comes. Hammerfell is unprepared, except for a few faithful followers, all youths in the rural Halls of virtue.\nHallin being the only Ansei rallies the army of Hammerfell, after a defeat, He brings back the old ways by leading each warrior to read the Book of Circles that is in each home. The army fights the Goblins to a standstill, but things look bleak, just as in Divad's song. Somehow the goblins keep being re-supplied both with arms and troops. Eventually the Army of Hammerfell will lose.\nThe old master of Hallin's Hall of the Virtues of War has an ancient copy of Divad's will and testament, and reads it to Hallin - it tells him that the 5 swords aren't lost, just hidden and well guarded in 5 caves. Each cave is home to a master guardian, one of the old blind Ansei - and also a maze.\nAccording to the will, Derik must, along with a virtuous companion of pure heart enter the cave, defeat each Ansei Master and retrieve their sword. Dendle goes into great detail here. It seems that each Master had an outstanding trait - one Katrice, possessed feline grace, and had become very cat like, another, who had icy calm was something much like an Ice Golem.\nOn each blade is inscribed part of an intricate message on how to use the power of the swords combined. Derik scours the rural Halls for Brothers of the Blade and Maidens of the Spirit Sword to accompany him in the quests. He finally one by one searches out his companions, and wins each sword.\nThey learn from the blades how to use them and together wield the force of the 5 swords in sealing the rent in space time that the Goblins have made and from which springs their invasion. Hallin's companions avoided blinding by the magic swords by hurling the swords together into the void, and sealing forever the giant Goblins in the void between their world and ours.\nThe land is saved and Hallin and his companions (3 women and 2 men) become Ansei and restore the teachings of Frandar Hunding to Hammerfell.\nTHE END"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dubious-tale-crystal-tower": {"game": ["Daggerfall"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dubious-tale-crystal-tower", "description": "An eons old joke about an actor who was hired by a Zoo.", "author": "Bibenus Geon", "title": "A Dubious Tale of the Crystal Tower", "text": "This story was first told to me when I was a neonate, newly studying in the Crystal Tower of Sumurset. I was admiring the famous animal pens of the Tower when I was approached by an older student. The fellow who told me this tale seemed very trustworthy at first, but, as the reader will soon discover, the tale is very dubious indeed. Of course, I have told it since to other neonates of the Tower in the same spirit.\nI offer the following for your august consideration, gentle reader.\nMany, many years back, a talented but poor bard was passing through Sumurset, looking for work. He could sing, he could dance, he could act, but no one had any use for his performances. The poor bard was lugubrious, but he still visited the taverns and palaces, day after day, begging for a chance to showcase his talents.\nOne day, dejected from more bad luck, he was approached by a tall elf in a long robe. A Magister of the Crystal Tower, in charge of the animal pens. The elf tells the bard of the white ape they made a cell for at the Tower, how it had died en route. There was a royal party from Firsthold visiting who had been promised a glimpse at the rare white ape. The Magister had a costume for the bard if he would deign to act out the part of the ape for the visitors. The bard had promised himself to take the first part that came his way, no matter how minor, so he agreed. The elf promised that the charade would last no longer than a fortnight, when the visitors left.\nFor the first several days of the masquerade, the bard did nothing more than sit in the back of the pen. He was afraid to move and show the possible imperfections of the ape costume. In time, he became bored and began walking around. He suddenly noticed that the royal party was watching, fascinated. Happy that the ruse was working, he decided to enliven the act.\nSoon he had both a performance and a crowd. Instead of dancing a traditional elven jig, he would swing around the cell with every acrobatic trick he knew. Instead of singing a ballad, he would roar a roar he imagined a rare white ape might roar. The crowd loved it. The party outside his cell grew larger and larger every day.\nOne day, he was performing for the crowd -- his finest work to date. He swung himself round and round, roaring and bleating. His hand slipped and he went flying through the bar and into the cell next door, where a Snow Wolf was in residence. Hackling its back and growling, the Snow Wolf began to inch toward the bard.\nSeeing no other way out, the bard screamed, \"Help! Help!\"\nThe Snow Wolf whispered, \"Shut up or you'll get us all fired.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/history-daggerfall": {"game": ["Daggerfall"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/history-daggerfall", "description": "A surprisingly unbiased overview of Daggerfalll, and the Iliac Bay area in general.", "author": "Odiva Gallwood", "title": "A History of Daggerfall", "text": "There is sufficient archaeological evidence for the modern historian to believe that there has been some variety of human settlement in the city-state of Daggerfall starting at least a thousand years before recorded history. The first use of the name Daggerfall to refer to the area around the current capitol was most probably in the 246th year of the 1st Era. The north half of the Iliac Bay, in fact all of the current province of High Rock, was conquered by invading Nords who brought a rough sort of civilization with them. One of the first civilized acts the Nords performed was a census -- the so-called Book of Life. Listed on page 933 of the Book is this entry:\n\"North of the Highest bluffs, south of the moors, west of the hills, and east of the sea is called DAGGERFALL. 110 men, 93 women, 13 children under 8 years of age, 58 cows, 7 bulls, 63 chickens, 11 cocks, 38 hogs live here.\"\nNearly four thousand years after this census was taken, we can see that these two hundred and sixteen people have multiplied heartily. The last census, in the year 3E 401, lists the population at over 110,000. It is always difficult to find an exact number, but the capitol city of Daggerfall certainly outnumbers her rivals, Sentinel and Wayrest.\nIt has been a consistant, if not actually helpful amusement of historians to find the origin of placenames. Daggerfall, by tradition, is said to refer to the knife the first chieftain threw to form the borders of his lands. But there are other legends that may have equal validity.\nThe Daggerfall entry from the Book of Life actually supports one theory about the reason for Daggerfall's longevity. The people were coastal fishermen, but they also found the land itself sufficiently rich to support raising livestock. This inclination of the early citizenry toward reinforcing their principal products brought stability to a fickle land.\nDaggerfall thrived during the years of the Skyrim occupancy. When the Wild Hunt killed King Borgas of Winterhold in 1E 369, the northlands engaged in the War of Succession and Skyrim, greatly weakened, lost her holdings in High Rock and Morrowind. The Iliac Bay had become important strategically, and Daggerfall began to expand her military.\nThere were multiple opportunities for her to exercise this army and navy during the Direnni conflicts with the force of the Alessian Reform. The Dirennis were native Bretons, and Bretons are hardly ever given to excessive religion. Daggerfall became a minor base of operations for the Dirennis and their allies. Raven Direnni, the enchantress whose magic helped secure the final victory over the Alessians in the Glenumbria Moors, was one of the earliest occupants of Castle Daggerfall.\nOver the centuries that followed, the Dirennis felt into obscurity, but Daggerfall continued her growth. In 1E 609, King Thagore of Daggerfall defeated the army of Glenpoint and became the preeminant economic, cultural, and military force in southern High Rock. A position the kingdom has precariously kept ever since.\nIronically, it was another successful military exercise three hundred and seventy years later that ended Daggerfall's monopoly of Bay trade: the annihilation of the orcish capitol Orsinium by a joint effort of Daggerfall, the new kingdom of Sentinel, and the now extinct Order of Diagna. The scattering of the orcs from southeastern High Rock made the river route to the Bay more accessible. The tiny village of Wayrest grew like a flower that no longer feared the mow. In twenty years, Wayrest's trade profits equalled Daggerfall's. In forty years, Wayrest was the acknowledged master of Iliac Bay trade. In one hundred and twenty years, Wayrest became the Kingdom of Wayrest.\nThe Kingdom of Sentinel did not exhibit Wayrest's aggrandizement during the First Era. The Redguards were warriors learning the ways of the merchants, and their land was enemy enough to keep their population checked. Indeed, the number of people in all areas of the Iliac Bay was halved once in the First Era by the Thrassian Plague, once again by the War of Righteousness, and a third time by the invading Akavari. If Daggerfall had not spent its first thousand years preparing for the battles of the next thousand years, it is indeed conceivable that the Iliac Bay today might be Akavarian.\nThe Second Era, like the latter part of the First Era, is a tapestry of wars, insurrections, and plagues. Daggerfall, Sentinel, and Wayrest continued to expand and improve their military and economic positions in the Bay. Daggerfall and Wayrest would transpose positions as major trading center of the Bay, and Daggerfall and Sentinel likewise bandied over which was the superior military power.\nThe Iliac Bay has continued to hold an important position in the Imperial government of the Third Era. Rarely allies (though the combined armies in opposition to the Camoran Usurper in the 3rd century of the 3rd Era is a notable exception), but not always enemies, Daggerfall, Sentinel, and Wayrest have weathered the storms of contention, plague, famine, and pestilence. The recent War of Betony was typical of Iliac Bay warfare: sincere, frighteningly violent, and peaceably resolved."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/scholars-guide-nymphs": {"game": ["Daggerfall"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/scholars-guide-nymphs", "description": "How a nymph made a scholar abandon his scholarly ways.", "author": "Vondham Barres", "title": "A Scholar's Guide to Nymphs", "text": "I grew up a scholar, an ascetic devoted to knowledge, with eyes that saw beauty in a fascinating passage in a dusty tome, love in the candle that allowed me to study on starless nights, passion in a well-reasoned argument of a long dead issue. I was a student who never graduated and was never expelled.\nThough I am not defending myself, I should further define myself. I am not what you would call a prude. In fact, I can speak of subjects in a detached way that would make the most debauched strumpet in Skyhawk blush with discovered modesty. I wrote an essay the House of Dibella as a scholar should, analysing the cult of beauty and physical relations as one might study crop rotation or the digestive system of an orc. The acquaintances of mine who were inclined to wink and giggle I tolerated, but barely.\nWith all that said, the reader will understand that when I decided to study the language of the nymphs in order to study their character and culture, it was not a decision I made on account of prurience or lust. Scholars have historically neglected the nymph as a subject worthy of research, and this neglect I attribute to prejudice. The sages with whom I have spoken on the subject have eloquently and intelligently formed sentences which, boiled down, can be translated as: \"Nymphs look like beautiful, naked women who skip along tra-la-la and like to have indisciminate sex. What could they have to say that would be of any interest?\"\nSo here I was faced with the most daunting of projects -- to study and research a species unstudied is a potentially rewarding challenge. If the subject was unstudied because the scientific community had deemed it beneath interest, a potentially rewarding but decidedly frustrating challenge. If I spent months in serious study of their language and culture and additional time in their company, and discovered nothing more than that the common prejudice is correct, the term \"laughing stock\" would not do me justice.\nSo, excited and nervous for reasons unrelated to the notoriously promiscuous behavior of my subjects, I began my studies. I mastered the language, a melodious tongue that sounds like wild elf and faerie but share no vocabulary with them. I studied the lore, and found it to be on the whole, little more than pornography and crude conjecture.\nI next had to find a nymph.\nFrom my centralized location in the Imperial City, I found it easy to send word around to several wellknown temples and guilds devoted to study in all the provinces. Not all replies back were serious in nature, but one, from the School of Julianos in Sentinel helped me considerably. To Magister Oitos and his disciples, I here offer my sincere gratitude.\nNymphs are extremely shy creatures, no matter what the more obscene stories will tell you. No one who I've spoken with has had one seek him or her out. Thus to speak with a nymph requires energy and patience.\nOut of courtesy for her privacy, I will not here give the location of the little grotto off the coast of Hammerfell where I found the nymph. It took three months of patient waiting, leaving presents where I knew the nymph would be, before the nymph stood still at my approach.\nI remember I was carrying a bouquet of purple and white tetias, and she looked at them and then at me, and smiled. The effect of her smile was truly magical, I'm convinced. Her body was, of course, perfect; her face lovely and serene; her hair like silk flame. But until she smiled, she was beautiful in the abstract, a perfect statue by a master. The smile made her approachable and, thus, terrifying.\n\"For you,\" I said, attempting my first utterance of Nymph to a real nymph.\nHer smile grew into a grin which became a giggle and then a laugh. The reader has doubtless heard of the silver laughter of the elves. The nymph's laugh is earthy and spontaneous, and very ... suggestive.\n\"And what do you want from me in return, mortal?\" she asked.\n\"I am,\" There is no, I should say, known word in the Nymph language for scholar, \"I am a man who likes to learn things. I want to learn things about you.\"\nAnd I did.\nNymphs are the wisest, most wonderful creatures in Tamriel. My nymph, her name is Ayalea (a poor phonetic transcription of a word that sounds more like a light wind blowing through a small crack in a hollow chamber) and she knows more about the behavior and varieties of the deep woodland creatures than the greatest wood elf scholar I ever met. She taught me of flowers and ghosts and creatures too fast and timid to have ever been seen by man.\nAyalea taught me how to learn for the very first time. How to open my mind to all of the possibilities of life and how to use that knowledge, not just to hold in my cramped brain like a dragon's horde.\nIf you ever meet a nymph, speak to her.\n* * *\nEditor's note: the writer Vondham Barres is no longer a scholar at the Imperial University. He deposited this manuscript and disappeared from the civilized world. His current wherebouts are unknown."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/overview-gods-and-worship-tamriel": {"game": ["Daggerfall"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/overview-gods-and-worship-tamriel", "description": "A naive introduction into theology. Contains gameplay hints on interaction with temples, but these are obvious.", "author": "Brother Hetchfeld", "title": "An Overview Of Gods and Worship In Tamriel", "text": "Editor's Note:\n\tBrother Hetchfeld is an Associate Scribe at the Imperial University, Office of Introductory Studies\nGods are commonly viewed by the evidence of their interest in worldly matters. A central belief in the active participation of Deities in mundane matters can be challenged by the evidence of apathy on the part of Gods during times of plague or famine.\nFrom intervention in legendary quests to manifestations in common daily life, no pattern for the Gods of Tamriel activities is readily apparent. The concerns of Gods in many ways may seem unrelated or at best unconcerned with the daily trials of the mortal realm. The exceptions do exist, however.\nMany historical records and legends point to the direct intervention of one or more gods at times of great need. Many heroic tales recount blessings of the divinity bestowed upon heroic figures who worked or quested for the good of a Deity or the Deity's temple. Some of the more powerful artifacts in the known world were originally bestowed upon their owners through such reward. It has also been reported that priests of high ranking in their temples may on occasion call upon their Deity for blessings or help in time of need. The exact nature of such contact and the blessings bestowed is given to much speculation, as the temples hold such associations secret and holy. This direct contact gives weight to the belief that the Gods are aware of the mortal realm. In many circumstances, however, these same Gods will do nothing in the face of suffering and death, seeming to feel no need to interfere. It is thus possible to conclude that we, as mortals, may not be capable of understanding more than a small fraction of the reasoning and logic such beings use.\nOne defining characteristic of all Gods and Goddesses is their interest in worship and deeds. Deeds in the form of holy quests are just one of the many things that bring the attention of a Deity. Deeds in everyday life, by conforming to the statutes and obligations of individual temples are commonly supposed to please a Deity. Performance of ceremony in a temple may also bring a Deity's attention. Ceremonies vary according to the individual Deity. The results are not always apparent but sacrifice and offerings are usually required to have any hope of gaining a Deity's attention.\nWhile direct intervention in daily temple life has been recorded, the exact nature of the presence of a God in daily mundane life is up to great speculation. A traditional saying of the Wood Elves goes \"One mans miracle is another mans accident.\" While some gods are believed to take an active part of daily life, others are well known for their lack of interest in temporal affairs.\nIt has been theorized that gods do in fact gain strength from such things as worship through praise, sacrifice and deed. It may even be theorized that the number of worshippers a given Deity has may reflect on His overall position among the other Gods. This my own conjecture, garnered from the apparent ability of the larger temples to attain blessings and assistance from their God with greater ease than smaller religious institutions.\nThere are reports of the existence of spirits in our world that have the same capacity to use the actions and deeds of mortals to strengthen themselves as do the Gods. The understanding of the exact nature of such creatures would allow us to understand with more clarity the connection between a Deity and the Deity's worshipers.\nThe implication of the existence of such spirits leads to the speculation that these spirits may even be capable of raising themselves to the level of a God or Goddess. Motusuo of the Imperial Seminary has suggested that these spirits may be the remains of Gods and Goddesses who through time lost all or most of their following, reverting to their earliest most basic form. Practioners of the Old Ways say that there are no Gods, just greater and lesser spirits. Perhaps it is possible for all three theories to be true."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/arkay-god": {"game": ["Daggerfall"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/arkay-god", "description": "How a shopkeeper called Ark'ay became a god. Looks like a folk tale.", "author": "Mymophonus the Scribe", "title": "Ark'ay the God", "text": "So be it known that the gods were once as we.\nArk'ay, the god of death and birth, was an ordinary shopkeeper whose only unusual characteristic was a passion for knowledge. To indulge his hobby he became an avid collector of books on almost any subject he could find in print.\nOne day he stumbled across a tome which purported to tell the secrets of life, death, and the purpose of existence. After months of studying the convoluted logic, written in opaque language, he thought that he was finally beginning to understand what the author was saying.\nDuring this time he became so intent on understanding the book that he ignored everything else: his business started to slide towards bankruptcy, his few friends stopped visiting him, he ignored the plague which was ravaging the town, and his family were ready to leave him.\nJust as he felt that the book was opening visions of new worlds, the plague brought him low. His family tended his illness out of a sense of duty, but he slowly sank towards death. So, as a last resort, he prayed to Mara the mother-goddess to allow him enough time to complete his studies of the book.\n\"Why should I make an exception for you, Ark`ay?\" asked Mara.\n\"Mother Mara, I am finally beginning to understand this book and the meaning of life and death\" he answered, \"and with a little more time to study and think, I should be able to teach others\".\n\"Hmmm, it sounds to me like that `teaching others' is an afterthought to appeal to me\", she replied. \"What is the reason for death and birth?\"\n\"There are far more souls in the Universe than there is room for in the physical world. But it is in the physical world that a soul has an opportunity to learn and progress. Without birth, souls would not be able to acquire that experience, and without death there would be no room for birth.\"\n\"Not a very good explanation, but it does have elements of truth. Maybe with more study you could improve it,\" she mused. \"I cannot give you `a little more time.' I can only condemn you to Eternal labor in the field you have chosen. How say you to that?\"\n\"I do not understand, mother,\" said Ark'ay.\n\"Your choice is to either accept the death that is so close or to become a god with us. But a god is not an easy nor pleasant thing to be. As the god of death and birth you will spend eternity making sure that deaths and births stay in proper balance in the physical world. And, in spite of what you believe you understand, you will always agonize over whether your decisions are truly correct. How do you decide?\"\nArk'ay spent what seemed to him as an eternity in thought before answering. \"Mother, if my studies are not completely wrong, my only choice is to accept the burden and try to transmit the reasons for death and birth to humanity.\"\n\"So be it, Arkay, God of Birth and Death.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bankers-bet": {"game": ["Daggerfall"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bankers-bet", "description": "An old joke about a person who made living off of bets.", "author": "Porbert Lyttumly", "title": "Banker's Bet", "text": "It was a perfectly ordinary day at the main office of the Bank of Daggerfall. Normal transactions took place: deposits were deposited, withdrawals were withdrawn, house mortgages were collected, letters of credit were golded. When a teller named Clyton J. Wifflington saw the little old lady approaching him, dragging two large sacks, each nearly as large as her, he changed his mind. It was not to be a perfectly ordinary day at the Bank of Daggerfall after all.\n\"I would like you to take the thirty million gold pieces I have in these sacks and open me an account,\" croaked the little old biddy.\n\"Certainly, madam,\" Wifflington said, eagerly. He counted the gold in the sacks and found that it was thirty million gold exactly.\n\"One moment, sonny,\" the little old lady chirruped. \"Before I open the account, I would like to meet the man I'm trusting it to. I'd like to talk to the president of the bank.\"\nWifflington wanted the president to know that he was the teller who had taken the largest single deposit that year, so eagerly sent word to the president's secretary. As it turned out, the president was equally eager to meet such a wealthy woman, so the old lady was brought to his office that very day.\n\"Pleased to make your acquaintance, milady. I am Gerander P. Baggledon,\" said the president, Gerander P. Baggledon.\n\"My name,\" said the little old lady. \"Is Petuva Smuthworthy.\" That was, in fact, her real name. \"Thank you for seeing me. I like to conduct my business in a more personal way.\"\n\"I can certainly appreciate that,\" said Baggledon chucklingly. \"It is an appreciable sum of gold. Would it be rude of me to ask how you came by it?\"\n\"Not at all,\" said Mrs. Smuthworthy.\n\"How came you by it?\" asked Baggledon.\n\"I'll let you guess,\" replied Mrs. Smuthworthy, with a trace of unattractive girlish flirtation.\nBaggledon was a man of enormous imagination, for a banker. He guessed inheritance and longtime thrift, but Mrs. Smuthworthy coyly shook her head. Perhaps she had sold a large, old mansion? No. In a moment of chumminess, Baggledon asked if the gold came as a result of plunder or thievery. Mrs. Smuthworthy took no offense, but said no. Finally, he admitted defeat.\n\"I'm a gambler,\" she said.\n\"In arena fights?\" he asked, interested.\n\"No, no, dearie. Different things. For example, I'd be willing to wager twenty five thousand gold pieces that at this time tomorrow morning, your testicles will be covered with feathers.\"\nMr. Baggledon was somewhat taken aback by the old woman's words. Could she be mad? Could she be a witch? He eliminated the latter possibility, for he had a sense for such things. If she were mad, she was still a rich madwoman. And he could use twenty five thousand gold pieces. So he took her wager.\nFor the next twenty-four hours, Mr. Baggledon obsessed over his testicles. He checked his pants so often that afternoon, his subordinates feared the worse and suggested that he not touch anything and go home for the rest of the afternoon. He spent the night seated, his pants around his ankles, his beady banker's eyes focused on his scrotum. Every time he started to doze off, his vision was filled with images of Mrs. Smuthworthy plucking feathers from his balls, cackling.\nMr. Baggledon arrived at the bank late the next day -- only moments before Mrs. Smethworthy's arrival. Accompanying her was a lean, bespeckled fellow she introduced as a barrister from the court. Her son, it turned out. Young Mr. Smethworthy always accompanied his mother when there was money involved, she explained.\n\"Enough banter,\" she crowed. \"Our bet, dearie?\"\n\"My dear, dear madam, I can tell you that your gold will be quite safe at the Bank of Daggerfall. I hope it will not cause you distress to discover that your gold will be safer here than in your own hands. My family jewels are quite, shall we say, featherless. And you owe me a sum equally twenty five thousand gold.\"\nPoor Mrs. Smethworthy's face fell when she heard this. \"Are you sure?\"\n\"Quite, madam.\"\n\"Not even one feather?\" Her voice suggested doubt. Mr. Baggledon could tell she thought he might be lying.\n\"Not one, I fear, madam.\"\n\"It's not that I don't trust you, Mr. Baggledon, but it is quite a lot of gold. Might I -- would you -- could I possibly see for myself?\"\nAs he knew he was soon to be a twenty five thousand gold pieces richer, and he was still a bit punchy from lack of sleep, Mr. Baggledon merely smiled and dropped his breeches to the floor. Mrs. Smethworthy examined his testicles very carefully, under, to the left, to the right. At last, she was satisfied that there was not so much as a down feather anywhere in the region. While she was looking under them one last time, Mr. Baggledon heard a thwacking noise across the office. Young Mr. Smethworthy was banging his head against the stone wall.\n\"What in the Lady's name is wrong with your son, Mrs. Smethworthy?\" he asked.\n\"Nothing, dear,\" she said. \"I merely bet him one hundred thousand gold pieces that by this time I would have the president of the Bank of Daggerfall by the balls.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bothdorji-scroll": {"game": ["Daggerfall"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bothdorji-scroll", "description": "Found in one of the quests in Daggerfall. Its purpose is summoning a Fire Daedra.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Bothdorji Scroll", "text": "Breathe candent smoke on the veil of Oblivion\nAnd force the line dispelled\nAwaken the sleepless, unquiet Princes\nAnd bid Their standing servants rise\nIt is the night when frost will burn\nWhen flame will freeze the lamplit lake\nWhen clouds of bats devour clouds of birds\nWhen boils and sores afflict the rich\nWhen a boy with wings doth curse the land\nIf knowing lies fester on my tongue\nAnd such whens are but whispers in the night\nThese words form a sentence of death\nBut if the Day of Oblivion is indeed at hand\nServants of the Dark, obey me"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/broken-diamonds": {"game": ["Daggerfall"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/broken-diamonds", "description": "The story beyond the holiday of Broken Diamonds, which is celebrated in Glenumbria Moors.", "author": "Ryston Baylor", "title": "Broken Diamonds", "text": "I rememberas a young lad in Glenumbra Moors my first Broken Diamonds holiday. The big noisy festivals I remember very well -- Harvests' End, Mid Year, New Year, the Emperor's Day.\nAll of these I have memories of that stretch back before I became truly aware of the meaning of our celebrating. On the 19th of Frost Fall, every year, my family and I would walk to a ruined castle in the middle of the wilderness, together with everyone else we knew in the Moors. Hands clutched in hands, we would form an enormous circle around the ruins, and head reverently bowed we would sing a song, the Sepharve.\nFor years, we did this and I never asked why. It is an odd thing that normally curious children, from my experience, never ask questions about Broken Diamonds, and adults seldom volunteer information. Gradually, as we learn about our homeland through university or the prattling of ancient relatives, we come to guess and then know the meaning of Broken Diamonds.\nI cannot be objective as a native of Glenumbra Moors, but visitors have told me that the sorrow -- more often they use the word shame -- of the natives is almost overwhelming. There is a sense that a great and ancient crime still burns in the conscience of the people of the Moors. Though it did not happen in our lifetimes, we know that the debt is not yet paid.\nI refer, of course, to the murder of Her Terrible Majesty, Kintyra II, Emperess of Tamriel, on the frozen morning of the 23rd of Frost Fall, in the year 3E 123.\nWe do not know the name of the castle where she was held; we do not know the name of her murderer (though the man who ordered the murder was her cousin and usurper, Uriel III); we do not know where she was buried. But our ancestors knew that their rightful ruler was imprisoned somewhere in their land, and did nothing to help her. For that, we bear their shame.\nOn that morning, when our great-great grandparents heard of Kintyra's death, all were stricken with horror and regret at their lack of action. All the people of Glenpoint and Glenumbra Moors searched out those responsible in every Imperial castle. They formed barriers with their bodies to hold the killer within. Flags bearing the Red Diamond of the Septim family were torn and scattered, and broken diamonds littered the snow.\nThe song we sing every Broken Diamonds, as I mentioned before, is the Sephavre. I asked everyone in Glenumbra Moor what the meaning of the song is, for it is in Old Bretic, and each generation only knows it because they were taught by their parents. No one knew the exact meaning of the words, not even the tone and emotion the words can be easily translated. When I later talked to a scholar who gave me an accurate translation of the Sephavre, I began to understand both why our ancestors chose it as the anthem for the great injustice of the murder of Kintyra II and the sorrow that still prevades Glenumbra Moors since that dark morn.\n\nThe Sephavre\nSouls of our fathers, suffer deeply,\nFor you have led us to the dark time,\nWhen our own souls, filled with air,\nAllowed ignorance and villiany to thrive\nIn what used to be our land.\nHowl, ancestors, howl and bring us\nMemories of our conformance with evil.\nWe do anything we can to survive,\nGiving up our minds and hearts and bodies\nWe will not fight, and we will be torn\nAnd like flotsam in a whirling tide\nWe will be forever the agents of injustice\nBut we will mourn it forever.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/confessions-thief": {"game": ["Daggerfall"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/confessions-thief", "description": "I guess this book was initially meant as a gameplay guide for thieves.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Confessions of a Thief", "text": "I'm a thief. Now, don't get me wrong. I ain't saying this out of pride, but I ain't ashamed of my occupation neither. Thieves got a perfect right to exist in the Empire. People say we're dishonest. Of course, those people are usually either merchants or priests, which really slays me. Sort of the snake calling the worm legless.\nRulers like us. Crime in moderation is good for the economy. The trick is to keep it at a good even pace, with a well timed lull and a minor wave to keep the fat bottoms from becoming compacent. Of course, stupid, but talented thieves will keep stealing, empty their pockets, and steal some more. This ain't good for no one. That's where the guilds come in.\nA thieves guild is what they call a crime regulator. We protect each other and punish the clumsy and greedy. The kings depend on us to keep the amateurs out of business.\nYeah, occasionally, a king will come down on us. I've even seen my Thieves Guildmaster get himself stuck in prison once or twice. Some cohort of mine said her first Guildmaster got himself hanged. Then the Thieves Guild has to get foul on the king, and, let someone who knows tell you, the results ain't pretty.\nI got into the guild, the way I've seen most thieves do it. It was a few years back, when that bully Jagar Tharn was sitting on the throne only everyone thought he was the Emperor. My parents farm turned into eight acres of dust and rock, and they threw me and my brothers out. I was always a skinny thing, but by the time I made it to the closest town, I was a good deal more skinnier.\nJust cause the town had some dirt that plants could grow on didn't make them that much richer than my folks were. I tried to get all kinds of jobs, but the hungrier and more raggedier I got, the quicker anyone who might have work would kick me out. When the rainy season finally came, it came like a sea, and I didn't have nowhere to stay. Lucky I found the unlocked cellar door.\nTurns out that the owners of the house slept like old dogs, cause I robbed them blind (and tripped into things like I was the blind one) and they never woke up. I sold all the stuff at a dirty pawners I knew and spent the next two days living like a potentate. Then I got my first visit from the local thieves guild.\nI remember what the guy looked like, but not exactly what he said. Something like, \"Hey, kid, if you want to steal in these parts, you're going to have to join the Guild. Otherwise, I or someone like me is going to break your skinny arms so you can't steal.\"\nI've know some people who've refused membership in the Guild and kept on stealing anyhow.\nI've broken someone of their arms. As for me, this was the first offer I'd had for a career since my pa told me that if I didn't milk the cow, he'd rip my head off. In comparison, this guy at the tavern was almost a gentleman. I agreed right away.\nSure, I had to prove my worth to the Guild before I could join and even now. But having two working arms is only part of the benefit. They trained me, taught me, and kept me out of prison. How many other guilds can boast a forgery expert on the premises?\nSo the next time you're calling some swindling merchant or usurious priest a thief, think about it. There is honor among thieves -- I should know."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/divad-singer": {"game": ["Daggerfall"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/divad-singer", "description": "Tells about Divad, son of Frandar Hunding. Read alongside other stories about Redguards and Sword-singers.", "author": "Destri Melarg", "title": "Divad the Singer", "text": "Divad The Singer is in one body, two unique and distinct people. Divad is the most well known of the Redguard heroes. Frandar Hunding's son, probably the most accomplished Ansei who ever lived. Yet early in his life, Divad appeared to thoroughly have rejected The Way of the Sword.\nDivad was the only son of Frandar Hunding, and was born late in Hunding's life (2396 in the old way of reckoning, probably about 1E 760 by the Tamrielic calendar), when he was away most of the time fighting the last of his duels and engaging in the many battles and insurrections of the period. At eleven, Divad entered the Hall of the Virtues of War and began training, but at 16, he finally let his anger at growing up essentially fatherless get the better of him. Divad broke his swords and left the Hall to become an acrobat in a traveling circus.\nThe life in the circus was unsatisfying to Divad, and after two years, his innate artisan heritage drove him to become a musician and finally a Bard. For two more years he traveled, singing in the cities of the empire -- gaining no small amount of fame and recognition for his stirring and popular songs and music.\nAlthough Divad had publicly forsaken the Way of the sword, it would appear that he continued to practice the compulsory forms of training he was taught in the Hall. He carried no sword, but in the late evening, bright lights could be often be seen in his tent (my source says nothing more about this, but it may be assumed that the writer was suggesting that Divad was practicing the form of the Way known as Shehai Shen She Ru -- the Way of the Spirit Sword, or simply the Shehai).\nDivad was very popular with the people of the empire, and his music and concerts were well attended. Still he could not escape his heritage of the sword. When the Last Emperor ascended to power and began to persecute the sword-singers, Divad was among the first to attract his attention.\nOnce the Emperor Hira and his consort decided to go to war with the Singers for control of the empire, he moved swiftly against those Singers who were visibly a part of empire society. Most he had killed, but Divad's music and fame were so wide spread that he sent a team of his personal guards to arrest him.\nThe Emperor's men were either very lucky or very unlucky depending on how you choose to view it. Being no fool, Hira sent 100 of his best guards, for even an unarmed Singer was a very dangerous foe. The luck was that they were able to capture Divad and place him in chains, for they came at him as he sat dining with his elderly mother. The disaster was that as he surrendered, they rashly struck the pleading old woman. Too hard, it would seem, for she fell dead with that single blow.\nThat single thoughtless deed, as is often the case in war, was the one pivotal factor causing their eventual defeat. That act ignited in Divad the spirit of the Way. Up until that careless stroke, Divad was an ordinary artisan, no, an artist, a great artist, but no warrior.\nThe moment of her death, Divad rose from his seat, took his chains between his two hands and began swinging the heavy chain in a deadly arc. He slew four of the guards, gaining enough space to run and dive through the window and into the river He disappeared into the night.\nFrom that point, Divad was spotted many times and told of in many more rumors all across the empire -- far more places than a mere mortal man could have ever been. At every point where Hira's men gathered to do mischief, the resistance was attributed to Divad.\nAs Hira moved against the Singers and began forming his army to invade High Desert, it was Divad who carried the news to the Singers. Divad was among those who climbed Hattu to find Hunding in his cave. What is not well known is that Hunding, at first refused to take leadership of the Singers. The first attempt to interrupt him at his death poem cause him to drive the elders from his cave, he even formed the Shehai in his anger. It was Divad who reentered the cave alone to speak with Hunding. To this day, no one knows what was said, what happened in that cave. Scribes of the time reported bright flashes of light and angry voices. Five long hours came and went, then both emerged from the cave, Divad, at Hunding's side. The rest, as they say, is history ...\nDivad, who had not completed training in the Hall of the Virtues of War, became an adviser to Hunding and spent his time reading the newly completed Book of Circles, but his role in the Hammer and Anvil strategy was as a simple sword-singer and fighter. It was not till the Singers fled their native empire and landed In New Land that his story truly begins."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/etiquette-rulers": {"game": ["Daggerfall"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/etiquette-rulers", "description": "A brief explanation of how nobility of High Rock is organized. Reading this book in the game does not raise one's Etiquette skill.", "author": "Erystera Ligen", "title": "Etiquette With Rulers", "text": "Because the rules are so complex and the stakes are so high, many people blanche at the thought of speaking with a noble with a title. For starters, it is important to address them correctly, for just as no one likes to be misnamed, no one likes to be mistitled. The problem is that in High Rock, traditions of the peerage differ slightly from region to region. The base rules follow:\nThere are eight kingdoms in High Rock in the following regions: Northpoint, Daggerfall, Shornhelm, Camlorn, Farrun, Evermore, Wayrest, and Jehanna. If a woman is ruling one of these areas, she is called the Queen. The husband of a Queen and the wife of a King is not necessarily of equal rank -- they may not be Kings and Queens themselves. Their children are Princes and Princesses. Their grandchildren are also Princes and Princesses. If a male ruler dies, his wife takes the title Dowager Queen, providing there is not a Dowager Queen already. Like all rules, there are exceptions. One noted exception took place recently in Daggerfall, when King Lysandus died. In most regions, his wife Mynisera would not have become Dowager Queen of Daggerfall, because Lysandus' mother, the widow Nulfaga, still lived. In Daggerfall, however, it is permissable for there to be two persons with the same title. Thus, both Nulfaga and Mynisera have the title Dowager Queen.\nIf a female ruler, who does not share rank with her husband, dies, there is no male equivalent to the word Dowager. Widowers of Queens usually take another title, either a lesser family title or one given by their children. There have been a few men in the history of High Rock who have fallen from being addressed as King to being addressed as Mister at the death of their wife.\nOther regions are ruled by Dukes and Duchesses, Marquises (or Marquesses) and Marquises (or Marchionesses), Counts and Countesses, Viscounts or Viscountesses, Barons or Baronesses, and Lords or Ladies. This list is theoretically listed from highest to lowest rank, but the ruler of a territory outranks all other nobles, regardless of title. Dwynnen, for example, is a Barony, and the Baron or Baroness of Dwynnen outrank any other noble in that territory, even Dukes and Counts.\nIn theory, (again, this may not be the case according to local custom) the eldest son or daughter of a noble takes their parents highest family title below their parents. Thus, the Duke of Northmoor, who is also the Marquis of Calder, had a daughter who became the Marchioness of Calder.\nKings and Queens are always addressed as \"Your Majesty\" in conversation; Dukes and Duchesses, \"Your Grace\". All other rulers may be addressed with their title and name, or Lord or Lady and their name.\nA few hints may be needed to determine exactly who rules a territory. You may rely on people on the streets to make reference to their ruler, but that may not be enough. After all, if the gossip involved Lord Bemmish and Viscountess Byrd, neither or both could be the ruler of the territoy. I have found that a more predictable method is to pay some attention to the names of taverns and shops in a region. By tradition, many of these are called \"The Duke's Fox\" or \"The Lady's Provisions.\" This, more often than not, is the name of the ruler. If the shop's name is \"Lady Annisa's Provisions\" or \"Lord Boxworth's Fox,\" that is probably the name of a local titled merchant, not the ruler. A store with a unnamed ruler's title has probably been around for some time, and does not bother to change its name with the new name of the ruler.\nIn speaking with any person, a ruler or not, it is best to know what sort of a person they are first. Rulers tend to stand on ceremony, and prefer that people addressing them speak politely and deferentially. There are, of course, acceptions to this, particularly among younger rulers, or rulers new to their positions. They may prefer a bolder, slangy style. If you are unsure, or unsure of your ability to adopt the vocubulary of either an aristocrat or a criminal, choose to speak as plainly and directly as possible. You will seldom charm someone by plain talk, but you will also not alienate by mangled politesse or dated slang. Alienating a ruler, I need not tell you, can be the last mistake one can make."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/daggerfall-fragment-artaeum": {"game": ["Daggerfall"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/daggerfall-fragment-artaeum", "description": "The Isle of Artaeum is the home of the Psijic Order.", "author": "Taurce il-Anselma", "title": "Fragment: On Artaeum", "text": "Fragment: On Artaeum\nBy Taurce il-Anselma, 3E 400\n\nThe Isle of Artaeum (ar-TAY-um)\nArtaeum isthe third largest island in the Sumurset archipelago, located south of the Moridunon village of Potansa and west of the mainland village of Runcibae. It is best known for being the home to the Psijic Order, perhaps the oldest monastic group in Tamriel.\nThe earliest written record of Psijics is from the twentieth year of the first era and tells the tale of the author, the renowned Breton sage Voernet, travelling to the Isle of Artaeum to meet with the Rite Master of the Psijics, Iachesis. Even then, the Psijics were the counselors of kings and proponents of the \"Elder Way,\" taught to them by the original people of Tamriel. The Elder Way is a philosophy of meditation and study said to bind the forces of nature to the individual will. It differs from magicka in origin, but the effects are much the same.\nThat being said, it is perhaps more than coincidence that the Isle of Artaeum literally vanished from the shores of Sumurset at the beginning of the second era at about the time of the founding of the Mages Guild of Tamriel. Various historians and scholars have published theories about this, but perhaps none but Iachesis and his own could shed light on this.\nFive hundred years passed and Artaeum returned. The Psijics on the Isle consisted of persons, mostly elves, who had disappeared and were presumed dead over the second era. They could not or would not offer an explanation for Artaeum's wherebouts during that time or the fate of Iachesis and the original council of Artaeum.\nCurrently, the Psijics are led by the Lore Master Celarus who has presided over the Council of Artaeum for the last two hundred and fifty years. The Council's influence in world politics is tidal: the kings of Sumurset, particularly those of Moridunon, have often sought the Psijics' opinion; Uriel V was much influenced by the Council in the early, most glorious part of his reign, before his disasterous attack on Akavir; it has even been suggested that the fleet of King Orghum of Pyandonea was destroyed by a joint effort of Emperor Antiochus and the Psijic Order. The last four emperors, Uriel VI, Morihatha, Pelagius IV, and Uriel VII, have been suspicious of the Psijics, even enough to refuse ambassadors for the Isle of Artaeum in the Imperial City.\nThe Isle of Artaeum is difficult to chart geographically. It is said that parts of it exist simultaneously in multiple dimensions and continuously shift either at random or by decree of Council. Visitors to the island are so rare to be almost unheard of. Anyone desirous of a meeting with a Psijic may find contacts in Potansa and Runcibae as well as many of the kingdoms of Sumurset.\nWere it more accessible, Artaeum would be a favored destination for travellers. I have been to the Isle once and still dream of the idylic orchards and pastures, the still and silent lagoons, the misty woodlands, and the unique Psijic architecture that seems to be as natural but wondrous as the surroundings. The Ceporah Tower in particular I would study, for it is a ruin from a civilization that predates the High Elves by several hundred years and is still used in certain rites by the Psijics.\nPerhaps one day I might return.\n* * * * *\nNote:\nThe author is currently on the Isle of Artaeum by gracious consent of Master Sargenius of the Council of Artaeum."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/daggerfall-galerion-mystic": {"game": ["Daggerfall"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/daggerfall-galerion-mystic", "description": "A short story about the first Archmagister of the Mages Guild", "author": "Asgrim Kolsgreg", "title": "Galerion The Mystic", "text": "During the early bloody years of the Second Era, Vanus Galerion was born under the name Trechtus, a serf on the estate of a minor nobleman, Lord Gyrnasse of Sollicich-on-Ker. Trechtus' father and mother were common laborers, but his father had secretly, against the law of Lord Gyrnasse, taught himself and then Trechtus to read. Lord Gyrnasse had been advised that literate serfs were an abomination of nature and dangerous to themselves and their lords, and had closed all bookstalls within Sollicich-on-Ker. All booksellers, poets, and teachers were forbidden, except within Gyrnasse's keep. Nevertheless, a small scale smuggling operation kept a number of books and scrolls in circulation right under Gyrnasse's shadow.\nWhen Trechtus was eight, the smugglers were found and imprisoned. Some said that Trechtus's mother, an ignorant and religious woman fearful of her husband, was the betrayer of the smugglers, but there were other rumors as well. The trial of the smugglers was nonexistant, and the punishment swift. The body of Trechtus' father was kept hanging for weeks during the hottest summer Sollicich-on-Ker had seen in centuries.\nThree months later, Trechtus ran away from Lord Gyrnasse's estate. He made it as far as Alinor, half-way across Sumurset Isle. A band of troubadours found him nearly dead, curled up in a ditch by the side of the road, nursed him to health, and employed him as an errand boy in return for food and shelter. One of the troubadours, a soothsayer named Heliand began testing Trechtus' mind and found the boy, though shy, to be preternaturally intelligent and sophisticated given his circumstances. Heliand recognized in the boy a commonality, for Heliand had been trained on the Isle of Artaeum as a mystic.\nWhen the troupe was performing in the village of Potansa on the far eastern end of Sumurset, Heliand took Trechtus, then a boy of eleven, to the Isle of Artaeum. The Magister of the Isle, Iachesis, recognized potential in Trechtus and took him on as pupil, giving him the name of Vanus Galarion. Vanus trained his mind on the Isle of Artium, as well as his body.\nThus was the first Archmagister of the Mages Guild trained. From the Psijics of the Isle of Artaeum, he received his training. From his childhood of want and injustice, he received his philosophy of sharing knowledge."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ghraewaj-and-harpies": {"game": ["Daggerfall"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ghraewaj-and-harpies", "description": "The legend about the origin of harpies, which connects them to the worshippers of Daedric Prince Nocturnal.", "author": "Tidasus", "title": "Ghraewaj and the Harpies", "text": "On the twelfth of Hearth Fire every year, the people of the Hammerfell township and barony of Lainlyn celebrate Riglametha. Riglametha in the Banthan dialect of the ancient Redguard tongue means \"grateful-offering\" and is a festival of the graces the gods have granted the people of Lainlyn over the centuries. Tradition dictates the performance of a number of plays about the great moments from Lainlyn's past, and one of the most popular is Ghraewaj, which may be translated as \"The Crows Who Were Punished\" or \"The Crows Who Punish.\" Old Redguard is somewhat vague with its objective case.\nThe story of Ghraewaj, as any Lainlyn child will tell you, is of the wicked sisterhood of daedra worshippers who craft lies, curses, murders, and suicides to hurt the people of Lainlyn. Most of all, they use their beauty as a weapon to drive men to mayhem. Their leader, the temptress Noctyr-a, seduces the unnamed baron of Lainlyn and is about to force him to commit suicide to prove his love, when the baroness arrives. The baroness tricks Noctyr-a into wearing a beautiful white robe from the baroness' closet: \"See how the robe glows with the lumniscience of pearl, but the inside is soft, feathered with down.\" Noctyr-a puts on the robe and the trap is sprung: the robe is magical and transforms Noctyr-a into an giant black bird. The baron, no longer enchanted, slays the great bird and calls in his cook.\nThe sisterhood has, by this time, taken over Lainlyn castle and turned it into a orgy-filled den of decadence. At the height of their frenzied debauch, the cook arrives with an enormous roast to keep their energy high. They dig into the deliciously prepared meal, and at the crescendo of their gorging, the baron and baroness appear to tell them all that they have just devoured their leader, Noctyr-a. The women scream and caw and suddenly they too are transformed by the magic of the robe, into harpies, vicious half-bird creatures.\nThe interesting thing about Ghraewaj from a scholarly perspective is how much the story has changed and continues to change over the years. In some versions of the story, Noctyr-a is an innocent peasant seamstress and it is the baroness who is the cruel and wicked leader of the harpies. Noctyr-a prays to Dibella and is given the charm to make the magical robe, and she and the baron live happily ever after once the harpies have feasted on the tranformed baroness. During the long reign of the virgin baroness of Lainlyn, Viana the Pure (2E 120 - 2E 148), the baron was portrayed as a willing conspirator of Noctyr-a. The harpies thus have two birds to dine on.\nIt is unlikely that trying to find the truthin the story is profitable research. Harpies are indeed a common nuisance in the Iliac Bay, particularly around Lainlyn. They do have their own tongue, and the few who have mastered it and not been devoured by their interviewees suggest that the harpies have no more idea about their origins than we do. In a different vein, one of the best known of the Daedra Princes is named Nocturnal, who is often portrayed as a beautiful dark woman holding two black crows. It is not a difficult etymologic trick to derive the name Noctyr-a from Nocturnal, or vice-versa."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/healers-tale": {"game": ["Daggerfall"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/healers-tale", "description": "A well-known medical joke. Contains a minor gameplay hint.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Healer's Tale", "text": "For over twenty years, I have been a healer at the Temple of Stendarr. As the reader is doubtless aware, we are the only temple in the Iliac Bay that offers wound healing and illness curing for both the faithful and the heathen alike, for Stendarr is the God of Mercy. I have faced people at their most miserable and their most terrified. I have seen brave knights weep and strong peasants scream. I like to think that I've watched the masks drop from faces, and seen people as they truly are.\nA healer's job, after all, is more than simply binding wounds and stopping the flows of poison and disease. We are counselors and  comforters for those who have given up all hope. Sometimes, it seems like our kind words and sympathy do more for our patients than our spells.\nI am reminded of a very sick young man who came to the temple, suffering from a variety of maladies. Once I had given him an examination, I told him the results, careful not to alarm him. I let him decide how he wanted to be told the news.\n\"I have some good news and some bad news, my child,\" I said.\n\"I better hear the bad news first,\" he said.\n\"Well,\" I said, gripping his shoulder in case he should faint. \"The bad news is that, unless I am wrong, you will sicken even more over the next day or two. And unless Stendarr choses to be merciful to you, you will pass from this existance. I am sorry, my child.\"\nAs soft as the blow was, it stung nonetheless. The boy was, after all, very young. He thought he had his whole life ahead of him. Tears streaming down his face, he asked, \"And what is the good news?\"\nI smiled: \"When you came in, did you notice our proselytizer? She was the enchanting, voluptuous blonde in the antechamber by the foyer?\"\nColor returned to the young man's face. He had noticed her indeed. \"Yes?\"\n\"I'm sleeping with her,\" I said.\nIf more of the healers of Tamriel would consider their patients' feelings, not just the quickest way to heal them up and get them out, we would have a far, far healthier society. I truly believe that."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/holidays-iliac-bay": {"game": ["Daggerfall"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/holidays-iliac-bay", "description": "Very gameplay-related list of Breton and Redguard holidays, with a brief explanation behind each.", "author": "Theth-i", "title": "Holidays of the Iliac Bay", "text": "The region of the Iliac Bay has a rich history, and not surprisingly, a number of holidays unique to it because of this history. The Breton and the Redguard cultures have many similarities, but just as many distinctions. An analysis of the holidays is one way to study the people.\nAs any schoolchild could tell you, the Redguards are a relatively new culture to Tamriel. Their arrival from their homeland is actually well recorded, though it occured several thousand years ago, in the 808th year of the 1st Era. Hammerfell was a great desert encompassed by almost impassable mountains -- unclaimed and unwanted. Many of the holidays extant in modern Hammerfell seem to be direct translations of older Redguard festivals before their migration to Tamriel.\nThe orgiastic seasonal celebrations seem unusual in a province with few changes in the weather from month to month. Yet on the 28th of Suns Dawn, the Redguards of the Banthan jungle celebrate Aduros Nau to relieve the wintertide lethargy; on the 1st of Mid Year, the people of Abibon-Gora celebrate Drigh R'Zimb in honor of the sun, which no normal Redguard worships in this day; similarly, on the 29th of Suns Height, the festival in the Desert called Fiery Night, seems almost perverse in such an environment; the Koomu Alezer'i on the 11th of Last Seed in Sentinel has been translated as a harvest thanksgiving, though many scholars have suggested that it was once a springtide holiday; similarly, the Feast of the Tiger in the Bantha on the 14th of Last Seed was probably once a religious holiday to a Tiger God, instead of a thanksgiving.\nOther old Redguard holidays have either been acknowledged as part of the old culture or adjusted to fit with the climate of Hammerfell. The Serpent's Dance, for example, of Satakalaam is patently an old festival honoring a Serpent God of the homeland who evidently did not survive the journey to Hammerfell. The significance of the date, the 3rd of Suns Dusk, has been lost with the Serpent Priests. Baranth Do, on the 18th of Evening Star, and Chil'a, on the 24th of the same month, are both New Years festivals. Most likely, they have been moved from their original dates to correspond with the notion of the year defined in Tamriel.\nThe Bretons have been in Tamriel since before recorded history. Their holidays have remained almost unchanged since primitive times, though new holidays have been created to replace those which have lost popularity.\nThe oldest holidays still observed in High Rock must include Waking Day, on the 18th of Morning Star, when the people of the Yeorth Burrowland wake the spirits of nature after the winter, very nearly in the tradition of their more reverential ancestors. Flower Day, held on the 25th of First Seed in the smaller villages of High Rock is most likely just as older or older. The old cult of the flower is also remembered as Gardtide in Tamarilyn Point on the 1st of Rains Hand. Daggerfall's Day of the Dead, on the 13th of Rains Hand, suggests the ancestor worship that marked the Breton religion of antiquity. Finally, the ancient goddess of the moons, Secunda, is remembered in the Moon Festival in Glenumbra Moors on the 8th of Suns Dusk, just as the nights begin to grow longer.\nThe more recently created holidays of High Rock are those like Tibedetha, \"Tibers Day,\" celebrated every 24th of Mid Year in honor of Alcaire's most famous, son, Tiber Septim. Likewise, Othroktide on the 5th of Suns Dawn is held in honor of the first and most illustrious Baron of Dwynnen. In quite extreme contrast, Marukh's Day on the 9th of Second Seed, is a solemn holiday, immortalizing the lessons of the equally solemn 1st Era prophet Marukh. My favorite of the modern Breton festivals has to be Mad Pelagius, held in mock honor of the most eccentric of the Septim Emperors. Pelagius was, after all, a prince of Wayrest before he became King of Solitude, and then Emperor of Tamriel. The Bretons like to boast that it was his time in High Rock that drove him mad."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/daggerfall-invocation-azura": {"game": ["Daggerfall"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/daggerfall-invocation-azura", "description": "Written by a Daedra worshipper. Contains critical gameplay info!", "author": "Sigillah Parate", "title": "Invocation of Azura", "text": "For three hundred years, I have been a priestess of Azura, the Daedric Prince of Moonshadow, Mother of the Rose, and Queen of the Night Sky. Every Hogithum, which we celebrate on the 21st of First Seed, we summon her for guidance and to give up beautiful things to her majesty. She is a cruel but wise mistress. We do not invoke her on any Hogithum troubled by thunder storms, for those nights belong to the Mad One, Sheogorath, even if they do coincide with Hogithum. Azura understands our caution.\nWe may summon her on other dates also, and she quite often responds. The only days we are forbidden to invoke her are those prescribed to one of the other fifteen Princes: the 1st and the 13th of Morning Star, the 2nd and the 16th of Suns Dawn, the 5th of First Seed, the 9th of Rains Hand, the 9th of Second Seed, the 5th of Mid Year, the 10th of Suns Height, the 3rd of Hearth Fire, the 8th and the 13th of Frost Fall, the 2nd and 20th of Suns Dusk, and the 20th of Evening Star. I know who is summoned on the 3rd of Hearth Fire, the 2nd of Suns Dusk, and the 20th of Evening Star, but I am not certain of the others. It is enough that Azura has forbidden those dates.\nAzura's invocation is a very personal one. I have been the priestess of three other Daedric Princes, but Azura values the quality of her worshippers, the truth behind our adoration of her, and them\nWhen I was a Dark Elven maiden of sixteen, I joined my grandmother's coven, worshippers of Molag Bal, the Schemer Prince. Blackmail, extortion, and bribery are as much the weapons of the Witches of Molag Bal as magic is. The Invocation of Molag Bal is held on the 20th of Evening Star, except in stormy weather. This ceremony is seldom missed, but Molag Bal often appears to his cultists in mortal guise on other dates. When my grandmother died in an attempt to poison the heir of Firewatch, I reexamined my faith in the cult.\nMy brother was a warlock of the cult of Boethiah, and from what he told me, the Dark Warrior was closer to my spirit than the treacherous Molag Bal. Boethiah is a warrior Prince who acts more avertly than any other Daedra. After years of skulking and scheming, it felt good to perform acts for my mistress which had immediate consequences. Besides, I liked that Boethiah is a Daedra of the Dark Elves. Our cult would summon her on the day we called the Gauntlet, the 2nd of Suns Dusk. Bloody competitions would be held in her honor, and the duels and battles would continue until nine cultists were killed at the hands of other cultists. Boethiah cared little for her cultists -- she only cared about our blood. I do think I saw her smile when I accidentally slew my brother in a spar. My horror, I think, greatly pleased her.\nI left the cult soon after that. Boethiah was too impersonal for me, too cold. I wanted a master of greater depth than she. For the next eighteen years of my life, I worshipped no one: I read and researched. It was in an old and profane tome I came upon the name of Nocturnal. Nocturnal the Night Mistress, Nocturnal the Unfathomable. As the book prescribed, I called to her on her holy day, the 3rd of Hearth Fire. At last, I had found the personal mistress I had so long desired. I strove to understand her labyrinthine philosophy, the source of her mysterious pain. Everything about her was dark and shrouded, even the way she spoke and the acts she required of me.\nIt took years for me to understand the simple fact that I could never understand Nocturnal. Her mystery was as essential to her as savagery was to Boethiah or treachery was to Molag Bal. To understand Nocturnal is to negate her, to pull back the curtains in her realm of darkness. As much as I loved her, I recognized the futility of unravelling her enigmas. I turned instead to her sister, Azura.\nAzura is the only Daedra Prince I have ever worshipped who seems to care about her cultists. Molag Bal wanted my mind, Boethiah wanted my arms, and Nocturnal -- perhaps my curiousity. Azura wants all of that, and our love. Not our abject slavering, but our honest and genuine love in all its forms. It is important to her that our emotions are engaged. And our love must also be directed inward. If we love her and hate ourselves, she feels our pain.\nI will have no other mistress."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ius-animal-god": {"game": ["Daggerfall"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ius-animal-god", "description": "Amusing reading. Obviously composed by some crazy mind.", "author": "Buljursoma", "title": "Ius, Animal God", "text": "The statues one sees throughout Valenwood and parts of Hammerfell and Elsweyr that seem to be of a misshapen humanoid carrying a rod are of Ius, tHe God of Animals.\nThe rod He carries has its origin in the tale of The Ox and The Evil Farmer. It seems that one day an evil farmer decided to kill all of his animals and have a big party. As The story unfolds, animal after animal is killed and prepared for a big meal. Lastly the farmer comes to the ox and prepares to slit its throat. The ox, not wishing to be anybody's dinner, prayed very vocally to Ius. This came out as a loud Moo, of course.\nAt that very instant Ius appeared carrying a rather large set of balance weights. Without explanation, Ius ate the farmer and vanished. Ever since that day Ius The Extremely Agitated, has always been protrayed as carrying a large set of scales with him. The local Ius worshippers have no idea why and do not seem to care. Although this story has been called fanciful at best, I personally know a racoon who had actually talked to The Ox. That is, before the Ox became filler for the local inn's larder.\nI do not have any information one way or the other about the validity of this second myth. It is, however, quite traditional.\nIt seems that many, many years ago, before the reign of Uriel Septim VII, before the reign of Cephorus Septim II, yes, even before the age of Pelagius Septim III (long may his name be praised!), there lived a wombat who was the pet of Lady Greelina, daughter of the Lord Prufrock of Rockcreek. Lady Greelina loved her wombat so, and it loved her too with all the passionate intensity a marsupial can muster.\nUnfortunately, it was a time of great sorrow in Rockcreek. A pestilence had come through the town, destroying all their cash crops (which consisted of raspberries and a few scraggly odd weeds that caused Argonian women to look very attractive to those who partook); Then a plague had come, inflicting nearly every cobbler with chronic hiccoughs; finally a witch had cursed the townspeople so the only words any could utter were \"Hmmm. Precisely.\" All the businesses, stores, and guilds fled from the town faster than an extremely fast thing.\nLady Greelina saw her father despairing the loss the town was suffering, so she brought her wombat in and told him, \"Father, my wombat can save us all, for it is sacred to the god Ius, God of Animals. The only reason I didn't tell you earlier is because I am an early adolescent going through that period when I don't like to communicate. But please, ask a wish of my wombat, and Ius will fulfill it, for my wombat loves me.\"\nThe king thought this was fairly flakey, but he had nothing to lose so he uttered a modest wish to the wombat, \"All I want is for one business to come to Rockcreek that will never leave no matter the calamity.\"\nI probably should have mentioned before that the king had always been cruel to the wombat (he used to lick it and try to make it stick to walls), so the wombat had Ius create an equipment store in front of the palace gate that would never go away. The royal family ended up going mad and eating one another (and ironically, the wombat was one of the first to go). But that is why there is to this day an equipment store blocking the palace gate in Rockcreek. If you don't believe me, go there and see."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/jokes": {"game": ["Daggerfall"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/jokes", "description": "Mostly old ones. Gives you an idea of different races of Tamriel though.", "author": "Butha Sunhous", "title": "Jokes", "text": "\"How is your wife,\" asked Zalither. \"She's in bed with laryngitis,\" replied Harlyth. \"Is that Argonian bastard back in town again?\"\n\"I keep seeing spots before my eyes.\" \"Have you seen a healer?\" \"No, just spots.\"\nA big Nord named Julgen was set on by a gang of thieves. He fought them furiously, but in the end, they beat him into semiconsciousness. They searched his pockets and discovered that he only had three gold pieces on him.\n\"Do you mean to tell us you fought us like a mad lupe for three lousy gold pieces?\" sneered one of the thieves.\n\"No,\" answered Julgen. \"I was afraid you were after the four hundred gold pieces in my boot.\"\nDuring the War of Betony, the Bretons in the Isle of Craghold were under siege for several days. After the island was liberated, Lord Bridwell found the ruins of the castle where a crowd of survivors were hidden away in the dark. It was going to be a difficult job freeing them, as part of the roof had collapsed trapping them all within. Bridwell stuck his head in the only opening and shouted to the Bretons below: \"Are there any expectant mothers down there?\"\n\"It's hard to say, your Lordship,\" said a young woman. \"We've only been down here for a few days.\"\nAn elderly Breton met with an contemporary of his at a guild meeting. \"Harryston, old man, I wanted to express my sympathy. I hear that you buried your wife last week.\"\n\"Had to, old boy,\" replied Harryston. \"Dead, you know.\"\nWhy was the Sentinel army so useless during the War of Betony?\nThe cannons were too heavy, so all three garbage scows sunk.\nWhat does a new Sentinel private learn first as a combat technique?\nHow to retreat.\nWhat is the thinnest book in the world?\nRedguard Heroes of the War of Betony.\nA Dark Elf man killed his wife after catching her making love with another man. When the magistrate asked him why he killed her instead of her lover, the man replied, \"I considered it better to kill one woman than a different man every week.\"\nA Dark Elf woman was being shown around Daggerfall. When she was shown the magnificent Castle Daggerfall, she smiled sweetly to her guild and whispered, \"It reminds me of sex.\"\n\"That's odd,\" said her guild. \"Why does our Castle Daggerfall remind you of sex?\"\nThe Dark Elf sighed, \"Everything does.\"\nYelithah told Vathysah that she was having dinner with a Dark Elf named Morleth that night.\n\"I hear he's an animal,\" said Vathysah. \"He'll rip your dress right off you.\"\n\"Thank you for telling me,\" said Yelithah, \"I'll be sure to wear an old dress.\"\nHow do separate sailors in the Khajiiti navy?\nWith a hammer and tongs.\n\"This orchard has sentimental value to me,\" said Mojhad, the Khajiit, to his friend, Hasillid. \"Under that tree, for example, is where I first made love. And that tree, is where her mother stood, watching us.\"\n\"She watched you while you made love to her daughter?\" said Hasillid, clearly impressed. \"Didn't she say anything?\"\n\"Meow.\"\nWhat do you call a Wood Elf who doesn't lie or cheat or steal?\nA dead Wood Elf."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/legal-basics": {"game": ["Daggerfall"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/legal-basics", "description": "A brief codex of Iliac Bay law. Quite relevant to gameplay.", "author": "Anchivius, M.Z.F.", "title": "Legal Basics", "text": "Ignorance of the law is no defense. Be forewarned that the following are but the most universal of Tamrielan laws and regulations. Your own local province or principality may have unique laws of its own. As a citizen of Empire, it is your right and responsibility to know and follow these laws of the land.\nThis refers to any act including, but not limited to opening, breaking, incinerating, magically transporting, or in any way causing a door, window, or other portal that has been magically or mundanely locked or which a reasonable person would assume to be so restricted to be passable, and the act (though the act is not required for the definition) of entering the house, business, or public location through said defined portal. The punishment for this crime may include a fine or incarceration, or a fine and incarceration. The fine and incarceration, or both, or neither, may be less in a crime of Attempted Breaking and Entering. A crime of Attempted Breaking and Entering is defined as an any act that a reasonable person would perceive as the preparation for, an attempt (whether successful or not, or perceived to be possibly successful or not) to bring about the opening, breaking, incinerating, magically transporting, or in any way causing a door, window, or other portal that has been magically or mundanely locked or which a reasonable person would assume to be so restricted to be passable, and the act (though the act is not required for the definition) of preparing or attempting (whether successful or not, perceived to be possibly successful or not) entering the house, business, or public location through said defined portal.\nThis refers to walking, flying, riding, teleporting, floating, or in any way moving or existing on a property without the explicit written or spoken permission (or permission a reasonable person might infer) of the owner or caretaker of the property. The punishment for this crime may include a fine or incarceration, or a fine and incarceration.\nAny threat or attempt (whether successful or not) to do physical, emotional, mental, or magical harm or injury to another person, group of persons, or entity a reasonable person might assume to be sentient. The punishment for this crime may include a fine or incarceration, or a fine and incarceration.\nAny act of premeditated or malicious or premeditated and malicious (or an act that a reasonable person would call premeditated and malicious or premeditated or malicious) or accidental but criminally intended (or what a reasonable person would call criminally intended) purpose that results directly in the death (or destruction with implied death) of a person, group of persons, or entity a reasonable person might assume to be sentient. The punishment for this crime may include a fine or incarceration, or a fine and incarceration.\nAny meeting, communication, or encounter with the purpose (or which a reasonable person might assume had the purpose) of preparing or arranging a crime of any kind (or crimes of any kind) to be commited or caused to be commited. The punishment for this crime may include a fine or incarceration, or a fine and incarceration.\nAny act of idleness, disorder, begging, or conduct unbecoming a person with occupation, gold, or a home, (or occupation, gold, and a home, or occupation or gold and home, or occupation and gold or home, or occupation and home or gold), or what a reasonable person would consider idle, disorderly, beggarly, or unbecoming. The punishment for this crime may include a fine or incarceration, or a fine and incarceration.\nAny act of bringing in, taking out, teleporting, or causing to be brought in, taken out, or teleported an object considered illegal or, if not illegal, requiring an import or export tax which is not paid. The punishment for this crime may include a fine or incarceration, or a fine and incarceration, and will include confiscation of the offensive or illegal object. It may also include, but not be restricted to, execution or banishment, or execution and banishment.\nAny act against (whether directly or indirectly, or any nonaction which results in circumstances, directly or indirectly, against) a allegiated sovereign or by a vassal to a liege, resulting (or what a reasonable person would assume would result) in physical, emotional, mental, or magical harm or injury in said sovereign or liege. The punishment for this crime will be death.\nAny act of stealing, taking, or, without explicit written or verbal permission (or what a reasonable person would infer as implied permission) an item or items a person, group of persons, or entity a reasonable person might assume to be sentient has on his, her, its, or their own person. The punishment for this crime may include a fine or incarceration, or a fine and incarceration.\nAny act of stealing, taking, or, without explicit written or verbal permission (or what a reasonable person would infer as implied permission) an item or items from a person, group of persons, or entity a reasonable person might assume to be sentient's place of residence, business, person, or other location a reasonable person would assume is secured from looting. The punishment for this crime may include a fine or incarceration, or a fine and incarceration.\nThese are the usual, day-to-day definitions used by legal experts (like myself), but both the definitions and punishments may fluctuate wildly according to location and situation. In the Imperial City, legal counsel is available by persons like myself, but the provinces have no such system in place. Perhaps that will change in time. We can all hope so.\nAs a final note:\nThe Tamriel legal system has its basis in the civilized, reasonable credo uttered by the prophet Marukh in the first era: \"All are guilty until they have proven themselves innocent.\" Were truer word ever spoke?"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/maras-tear": {"game": ["Daggerfall"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/maras-tear", "description": "Child's fairy tale.", "author": "Zhen", "title": "Mara's Tear", "text": "Well, children, if you all gather round, and sit quietly, I'll tell you the story of Mara's Tear and Shandar's Sorrow...\nLong, long ago, long before your grandmother and I were were born, long ago, there were two young children growing up in a village far, far from here. They played together, and ran through the woods together, exploring their little world and learning to see things through each other's eyes. This was very different from their parents because Shandar was the son of Maldor, who was captured in a war and forced to work as a slave for the village baron. Their village and another both needed the land between them to feed the villagers, and fought and fought, until many of the villagers died. Maldor was wounded in battle, and left for dead by his fellows. He was captured and forced to work in the fields as punishment. Shandar was not allowed to play with Mara, but she was very small and the other children didn't like to play with her, so she played with Shandar against her father's command. And they learned that they were really not very different at all. They couldn't understand why their parents hated each other so.\nWell, Shandar and Mara played together for many years, and learned to love each other as they grew up. They knew that they couldn't let their parents know, because it was forbidden for them ever to marry, since they were from different villages and the war was still going on. They tried and tried to figure out how they could be happy together, and finally decided that they must run away from their village. They would try to make a new life for themselves in another village, far, far away from where they grew up.\nOne night, while planning their escape, they were discovered by the town guards. Shandar tried to fight them, but they tied him up and dragged him away to the prison inside town. Mara was taken home, and her father was very angry with her, and told her that she could not leave their home again. He went to the house of another farmer, and asked if their son would marry Mara, so that she could never see Shandar again. The marriage was planned for the next week.\nShandar, meanwhile, was to be killed for daring to be with Mara. He was beaten, and placed in a stockade. He was placed in a stockade, and they were to hang him the next day. When Mara found out that Shandar was to be killed, she knew that she could never live without him, and climbed out her window and ran into the woods, crying and crying. She ran and ran, and soon was lost. It was very dark, because back then they did not have any moons in the sky back then to make it safe for little boys and girls. Soon she found herself in a part of the woods she had never been before, and sat down on a rock since she was very tired.\nWell, the rock was a secret entrance to a cave where a very mean orc lived. When he came back from his hunting, he found Mara curled up asleep on his rock, and thought to himself, \"Hmmm, a tasty little girl. I shall save her for my breakfast!\"\nHe grabbed her and took her into his cave, moving the rock back so that she could not escape. She was sure to die, and tried to escape, but the evil orc just laughed and laughed at her, until she finally gave up.\nWhen the villagers found out that Mara had run off, they were very worried. No one knew the woods very well, and all were afraid of the evil orc that lived there. Only Shandar was not afraid, and he begged and begged for the baron to set him free, so that he could go look for Mara. The Baron finally decided to let Shandar go, for no one else was brave enough to go and rescue Mara. So Shandar was set free, and he set off into the woods to go and rescue her.\nShandar searched and searched, but could not find poor Mara. Finally, he sat down on a rock to rest for a moment, and as he sat down, he noticed a piece of cloth under the rock. It was a piece from Mara's cloak! He realized that she must be under the rock somehow, and knew that the orc had captured her. He pushed and pushed on the rock, and finally was able to roll it aside. He climbed down into the orc's cave, but it was very dark, and he could not see anything. The evil orc, when he heard his front door moving, hid in the shadows to see what was coming into his home. When he saw that it was just a little man-boy, he grinned to himself and thought, \"Now I have lunch, TOO!\"\nWhen Shandar came near, the orc grabbed him, and began to squeeze the life out of him.\nBack in the village, the people soon realized that they were foolish to let a young man go off into the woods by himself. They gathered all of their weapons, and set off to find the two lost children. When they finally came upon the clearing near the orcs' cave, they saw a strange and wondrous sight: A slain orc near the entrance to the cave, and Mara holding the head of poor Shandar in her lap. Shandar had killed the orc, but not before the it gave Shandar a mortal wound.\nMara's tears flowed freely from her eyes and splashed upon Shandar's face, reflecting the light from the villager's torches. Shandar was filled with sorrow at the thought that he had saved Mara, only to lose her because of his own impending death from the battle with the orc. He cried out to Mara's namesake, the goddess of love, to help them.\nThe Goddess Mara recognized their true love and wept at their loss. Not having power over death, she could do nothing to save Shandar, but she knew that she could not let their love die. She reached down from the heavens and picked up Mara and Shandar in her arms, and placed them high in the heavens. They could be together always, and provide light in the dark night to others so that they may be safe from the evils in the world. The villagers were amazed at this sight, and vowed to honor the love of Shandar and Mara by learning more about themselves and their neighbors, so that the war that had been going on as long as anyone could remember would end. Shandar's sacrifice for the one he loved showed them that he was worthy of their respect, and that those from his village were just as proud and worthy as themselves.\nAnd, that's why, children, every night we can see Mara's Tear and Shandar's Sorrow spending their lives together high in the heavens, lighting the way for all the little boys and girls like you."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/daggerfall-mysticism-unfathomable-voyage": {"game": ["Daggerfall"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/daggerfall-mysticism-unfathomable-voyage", "description": "Tells about the origins of the magic school of Mysticism, which lies in the Psijic teachings.", "author": "Tetronius Lor", "title": "Mysticism: The Unfathomable Voyage", "text": "Mysticism is the school of magic least understood by the magical community, most difficult to explain to novices mages. The spells effects commonly ascribed to the School of Mysticism are as wildly disparate as Soul Trap -- the creation of a cell for a victim's spirit after death -- to Silence -- the extinction of sound. But these effects are simply that: effects. The sorcery behind them is veiled in a mystery that may go back to the oldest civilizations of Tamriel, and beyond.\nThe Psijics of the Order of Artaeum's term for Mysticism is the Old Way. The phrase becomes bogged in a semantic quagmire, because the Old Way also refers to the religion and customs of the Psijics which may, or may not, be part of the magic of Mysticism.\nThere are few mages who devote their lives to the study of Mysticism. The other schools are far more predictable and fathomable. Mysticism seems to derive its power from its cunundrums and paradoxes; the act of experimentation, no matter how objectively implemented, can influence the magicka by its very existance. Thus, the Mystic mage must regulate himself to finding consistant patterns in an imbroglio of energy. In the time it takes him to find a source with a consistant trigger and result, his peers researching in other schools may have researched and documented dozens of new spells and effects. The Mystic mage is a patient and uncompetitve scholar.\nFor centuries, mostly during the Second Era, scholarly journals publishes theory after theory about the aspect or aspects of magicka that we call Mysticism. In the tradition of the Mages Guild to find answers to all things, respected researchers suggested the energy source as coming from Aetherius or the Daedra themselves to explain the seemingly random patterns of Mysticism; some ventured to guess that Mysticism comes from unused elements of successfully or unsuccessfully cast spells; discussion with the Order of Artaeum after its reappearance has led some scholars to postulate that Mysticism is more spiritual in nature, either the intellect or emotion of the believer influences the energy pattern and flow.\nNone of these explanations is truly satisfactory. For the beginning student of Mysticism, it is best to simple learn the patterns distinguished in the maelstrom in the centuries past. The more patterns are found, the clearer the remaining ones become. Until, of course, they change. And then the journey begins anew."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/notes-redguard-history": {"game": ["Daggerfall"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/notes-redguard-history", "description": "Summary of Destri Melarg's magnum opus about Redguard Sword-Singers.", "author": "Destri Melarg", "title": "Notes For Redguard History", "text": "Biographical Note: Destri Melarg was a well-known historian and translator of old Redguard verse, born as simply Destri in the city-state of Rihad in the 20th year of the 3rd Era. At the age of nineteen, he went to the Imperial City to study. There were few Redguards who had been to the Imperial Province at the time, and it may be that he took the last name Melarg in order to assimiliate with the Breton, Nordic, and Dark Elf cultures he encountered there.\nWhen he died ninety-four years later, he left numerous unfinished histories and untranslated verse. Very few of this fragmented work has found its way out of collections. What follows is an unmailed letter to Melarg's publishers in the Imperial City. The insights into the man who put the oral traditions of the Redguards to paper impressed me enough to seek its publication.\nMelius, it should be noted, was Melius Kane, Melarg's publisher in the Imperial City.\n-- Vune, \nRedguardic First Scholar Imperial University\n* * *\nMelius,\nThis is the outline of my final chapter for the series on Hammerfell heroes. I condensed Dendle's storytelling. I have my notes, but the story gets long with all the quotes. She puts a lot of dialog in her storytelling. I am amazed that the old stories about the 5 swords keeps cropping up. It's been a thousand years since Hellion's time, yet people continue to believe in the stories.\nThe wagon master sat with me after listening to her story and smoked a pipe with me. In discussing the story, he said that his storyteller used to say that one of the five swords survived the closing of the Goblin gate, and is yet hidden here in Hammerfell. It was the least of the five, but the story has it that it exceeds and modern blade magical or ebony by several orders of magnitude.\nOf course I take this with a grain of salt, since a ebony weapon is unparalleled in its keen cutting ability and personally I can't imagine a weapon doing more damage than a Claymore of Firestorm or a Saber of Life Steal. Dendle even believes that out in the countryside outside of Skaven in one of the Halls of the Virtues of War, there are still people who follow the old ways and can from a Shehai or spirit sword.\nIn collecting these stories, I once thought I was seeing a Shehai being formed, by an old Hall master, but the thing, if it was a spirit sword was so faint that even the sword shape was questionable. I didn't want to insult the old man so I claimed I saw it too. But if that was a Shehai, I can't imagine it possibly used as a real weapon.\nHere's my outline of the new story:\nAt the time of this story, Hammerfell is fully occupied by Redguards. All the old cities of the Dwarves (but one - the Ghost City of Dwarfhome) are now the cities of today's modern Hammerfell. A second invasion of the giant goblins comes. Hammerfell is unprepared, except for a few faithful followers, all youths in the rural Halls of Virtue.\nHallin, being the only Ansei, rallies the armies of Hammerfell. After a defeat, he brings back the old ways by telling each warrior to read the Book of Circles. The army fights the Goblins to a standstill, but things look bleak, just as in Divad's song. Somehow the goblins keep being resupplied both with arms and troops. Eventually the Army of Hammerfell will lose.\nThe old master of Hallin's Hall of the Virtues of War has an ancient copy of Divad's will and testament, and reads it to Hallin. It tells him that the 5 swords aren't lost, just hidden and well guarded in 5 caves. Each cave is home to a master guardian, one of the old blind Ansei -- and also a maze.\nAccording to the will, Derik must, along with a virtuous companion of pure heart enter the cave, defeat each Ansei Master and retrieve their sword.\nDendle went into great detail here. It seems that each Master had an outstanding trait -- one Katrice, possessed feline grace, and had become very catlike; another, who had icy calm was something much like an Ice Golem.\nOn each blade is inscribed part of an intricate message on how to use the power of the swords combined. Derik scours the rural Halls for Brothers of the Blade and Maidens of the Spirit Sword to accompany him in the quests. He finally one by one finds his companions, and wins each sword.\nThey learn from the blades and together wield the force of the 5 swords to seal the rent in space time that the Goblins have made and from which springs their invasion. Hallin's companions avoided blinding by the magic swords by hurling the swords together into the void, and sealing forever the giant Goblins in the void between their world and ours.\nThe land is saved and Hallin and his companions (3 women and 2 men) become Ansei and restore the teachings of Frandar Hunding to Hammerfell.\nThat's the story in brief. I welcome any comments from you or one of the other editors.\nOne other concern of mine. I understand that you are considering using a better known writer, Uthilla Abuhk or Casmyr Kreestrom, to write the stories I've researched. I can understand that a better known writer may mean that a few more copies of the books will be sold, but that should not be your only concern. Abuhk and Kreestrom, while fine writers and poets, will need to be lectured on the true history of the Redguards. Even if you are willing to pay me to do that, you will have to acknowledge that the books will take longer to write than if you just allowed me to do it. Just something to consider when you make the decision.\nI hope this letter finds you, your consort, and children to good health and humor.\nYours faithfully,\nDestri Melarg"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/oelanders-hammer-instructive-tale-children": {"game": ["Daggerfall"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/oelanders-hammer-instructive-tale-children", "description": "Child's tale directly referencing \"The Ebon Arm\".", "author": "Krowle", "title": "Oelander's Hammer: An Instructive Tale For Children", "text": "The two children, Froedwig and his younger sister Silvanda, had been exploring all morning. The noon sun was directly overhead and everything was warm and bright. The had left their Redguard village, Granitsta, early that morning for a day in the wildnerness, a picnic, and with a stern warning from their father to be home before dark. They crossed a huge field that was bare save a single rose bush right in the middle.\nThe little girl asked Froedwig about it.\n\"Well,\" he said, \"according to father a great battle was fought in this place many years ago. The battle was visited by the God of all warriors, Reymon Ebonarm, who caused the leaders to end the battle and return to their homes. It is said that the rose bush grows where he stood that day.\"\n\"Oh, how exciting,\" giggled Silvanda.\nThe children continued their trek approaching some woods. As they entered the forest the air became very cool and a deep quiet seemed to envelope them.\n\"What is that?\"\nSilvanda pointed to a large hole in the ground from which protruded a long, thick pole. Around the hole thorny plants had grown into an impenetrable wall.\n\"I don't know,\" said Froedwig, \"but let's see if we can get a closer look.\"\n\"Stop!\"\nThey did.\nLooking beyond the hole, the children saw an elderly Redguard of many years. His gray beard, scraggly hair and stooped shoulders certainly did not support the authoritarian command he gave. But the children stopped just the same as he approached.\n\"Who are you?\" stammered Froedwig as Silvanda carefully tucked herself behind her brother's back.\n\"My name is Hoennig Groevinger, and I live in these woods.\"\n\"Why can't we examine yon hole, Master Groevinger?\" asked Froedwig.\n\"Because, my dear children, it and what it holds are cursed. Now just wh-h-h-o are you?\" he stuttered, mimicing Froedwig.\nFinally gaining his composure, Froedwig said, \"I am Froedwig-aj- Murr of the village Granitsta. This is my sister Silvanda. We are on an outing. Can you tell us about this mysterious hole?\"\n\"Well,\" said the old man as he slowly settled to the ground, \"Why don't you sit here with me for a while and I will tell you about Oelander's Hammer. That's the handle of the fabled weapon sticking out from yonder chasm.\"\nWith this the children also settled into sitting positions in front of the old Redguard ranger.\nGroevinger began, \"Many year's ago there was a huge battle fought in this very field ...\"\n\"Oh, yes, I know,\" said Silvanda, interrupting the old man. \"It was ended by the Warrior God Reymon Ebonarm, and the magic rose bush grows where he stood that day...\" she continued breathlessly.\nThe old man sternly cleared his throat causing the little girl to again shrink behind her brother.\n\"Now, if I may continue without interruption... On the day that battle ended, a young Redguard soldier stopped in this spot as he was leaving to go to his home. He carried the equipment he had used on the field which included a marvelously fashioned war hammer that had been given to him by his father. The weapon was beautifully made and unknown to the young warrior carried an enchantment that had protected him through the vicious battle just ended.\"\n\"The young man, Oelander by name, rested by this very tree. Suddenly he was confronted by a wizard dressed all in black from head to toe. Without so much as a how-do-you-do, the wizard demanded that Oelander give him his hammer. Still flushed from the battle, the young man just looked at the dark man and laughed. The wizard shaking with rage raised his hands to cast a horrible spell against the soldier. However, the young man was quicker. The huge war hammer whistled through the air smiting the wizard a mortal blow just as the spell left his fingers. There was a loud explosion.\"\nThe children stared at the old man. He surpressed a grin and continued.\n\"Clouds of dusk and smoke covered the forest clearing, and when the air settled, yon hole was there with the hammer's handle protruding from it. Oelander and the wizard had vanished! The thorny vines you see grew up immediately around the hole, and to this day no one has been able to approach it close enough to remove that marvelous weapon. Many have tried and all have failed. It is said that only someone of tremendous merit can take it.\"\nAll of a sudden, both children in unison stood and shouted, \"Oh, look how the day has gone. We must go. If we are late getting home, our father will be most unhappy with us.\"\nAs they turned to leave, Froedwig said to the old man, \"Thank you, Master Groevinger, for telling us of Oelander's Hammer. You know, I may just come back one day and try to retrieve it!\"\nAs they disappeared from his view, the old man said to himself, \"Ah, yes, Master Froedrig aj-Murr, you just might do that.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/jephre": {"game": ["Daggerfall"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/jephre", "description": "A legend about Jephre, the Wood Elven god.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Of Jephre", "text": "When the elven folk walked the land alone and sang songs of power amongst the trees and stars, Jephre the Singer walked with them. Jephre gave heed to the nature of the forests and delighted in the gurgling streams and brooks. It was Jephre who taught the birds to sing their songs of the seasons and He that taught the streams the tinkling ethereal tune. The very trees are said to have moved close to hear him sing on the warm summer nights of those elder days. It was in this time that the first great ballads of the elves were made, crafted from the songs that Jephre taught to the sylvan youth who frolicked to his lively tunes and ballads of nature and the unspoiled forest. In truth, He is worshipped as god of song and forest.\nIn Valenwood, Jephre is considered one of the Major Sylvan gods with temples and altars in the deep woodland places. Elven tradition holds that children with a gift for song have been blessed by Jephre himself. Legend has it he blessed the Wood Elves with a natural affinity for nature and particularly the forest. Most Wood Elven Rangers worship Jephre.\nIt was his great eagerness for natural beauty that led him to the Isle of Sumurset. He taught the great sea birds to sing and molded the crash of wave against beach into a song of whispers and power It is said by the high elves that Jephre hears and sees all within distance of water, whether it be beach, brook, stream or fall. It is further said that the very birds keep watch for Jephre, in repayment for the songs he taught them. It is fruther said he blessed the high elves with a beauty to match the beauty of their island home.\nThe dark elves have a legend that Jephre walked the earth before the first day, and in the light of the stars weaved a song so beautiful that the very stars moved to its sway. Some of the stars to this very day still wink and blink in memory of the song of night and darkness. Due to his influence most if not all Elven Bards pay homage to Jephre.\nThe natural order of things is the basis for Jephre's temples in Valenwood and the Sumurset Isle. The one thing Jephre will not tolerate is the harmful manipulation of the natural order of things."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lycanthropy": {"game": ["Daggerfall"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lycanthropy", "description": "A collection of gameplay hints thinly disguised as a book.", "author": "Varnard Karessen", "title": "On Lycanthropy", "text": "How does one become interested in studying the disease lycanthropy? I have interviewed a number of my peers, and discovered that to a man, they have all entered the field after a horrifying encounter with a lycanthrope of some variety. I am no exception.\nIn Skyrim, it is an old tradition to rub canis root on the trees surrounding your house as a ward against werebears. When I was young and stupid (as opposed, I guess, to being old and stupid as I am now), I always had hoped to meet a werebear to see if they were as impressive as legend suggested. I would follow strange tracks in the woods until they disappeared, with no fear or even thought about what I would do after I had found my quarry. By Thorig's beard, I was lucky that my investigations were fruitless.\nWhen I did finally see a lycanthrope, it was not a werebear. It was a werewolf, the \"common\" lycanthope, which can be found in every part of Tamriel. My father was a priest and during the coldest part of the winter, he allowed the beggars and riffraff of Falcrenth to stay in the relative warmth of the cellar of his temple. We would even supply warm barley stew. My sisters and brothers and I actually enjoyed this bit of philanthropy, for in the cellars during the winter, it seemed there was a constant party. There were always travellers with interesting stories and eccentricities, and the atmosphere in the cellars was always light and friendly. Until that night.\nBy an established tradition, the beggars who were sick or wanted rest more than food and companionship would go to the cots at the farthest, darkest end of the cellar when they could be assured at least relative quiet. We were enjoying a song, and my sister Gethessa was dancing to the amusement of all. The song ended, but a chorus continued from the darkness at the far end of the cellar. As drunk and incomprehensible as most of the carolers were, it took a minute for us to realize that the sound we were hearing was not singing, but screaming.\nNo one was too concerned, for some of the older tramps often suffered from vivid nightmares. Nevertheless, one of father's priests went to silence the screamer and the moment he disappeared into the murk, we heard another sound. The snarl of a wolf. Then we heard the priest screaming as the original scream died off.\n\"Werewolf!\" cried the old bard who had been leading the song. The cellar exploded into chaos.\nI was pushed out the cellar door into the snow with the first wave of panic, but I could see that some of the more brave (or more drunk) hobos were rushing into the darkness to do battle with the lycanthrope. They were all, of course, almost instantly killed.\nMy father, upon hearing of his unwelcome visitor, sealed off the cellar after the last survivor of the carnage had left. A seasoned battlemage from the Falcrenth Mages Guild, who owed father a favor, went into the cellar and slew the beast.\n\"Not too tough,\" he said as he emerged, carrying the carcass with him. \"Winter must have been tough on him too.\" Despite his bold words, the blood on his face and chest did not only come from his foe.\nWerewolves do not revert to their human forms upon death, despite what legends will tell you. I had the opportunity to look at the monster's steaming body out in the snow before it was carried away to be burned. The teeth, clotted with the flesh of the beggars, were horrifying, but the claws shocked me even more. I have since seen live lycanthropes battle golems, atronachs, and other beings not harmed by mundane weapons, and concluded that they act as naturally enchanted weapons.\nBecause the werewolf is the most ubiquitous of lycanthropes, the term lycanthropy has been used since ancient days to describe the disease that transforms men into half-beast, although lycanthrope only strictly should refer to men who change into werewolves. But that is semantics. There are certainly differences between the seven documented forms of lycanthropy in Tamriel, but more similarities.\nIn Black Marsh and southern Morrowind, werecrocodiles stalk the swamps. Black Marsh also shares with the Imperial Province and the wetter parts of Elsweyr the vile presence of werelions. Valenwood's werevultures are not found in any other province. The wereboar has found both the climates of High Rock and Hammerfell amenable. As I mentioned before, the werebear is the most common lycanthrope in Skyrim, and is also found in the northern parts of High Rock, the Imperial Province, and Morrowind. The werewolf can be found in every province. The seventh lycanthrope, which I have never seen but my trusted peers have assured me exists, is a wereshark that roams the oceans around Tamriel.\nI have spent my life categorizing and observing lycanthropes, but I sometimes feel that I am still a child trapped in a cellar in my attempts to understand them. I know, for example, that lycanthropy can be cured shortly after infection, but after that time, the victim is doomed. No one of my acquaintance has cured themselves after undergoing the first transformation. On the other hand, I have a colleague investigating a coven of witches in the Glenpoint foothills of High Rock who are rumored to have a cure. I remain dubious.\nPerhaps it is because they are doomed that makes lycanthropes so aggressive. I have removed the contents of a werewolf's stomach and found more remnants of roots and berries than animal flesh. My conclusion is that they do not need to attack and devour humans to survive. Yet, for some reason they do. Does lycanthropy drive them mad, or do lycanthropes feel the need to spread the disease as a form of procreation? I do not know. I am not certain that any of us who are not lycanthropes ourselves will ever know. And then, of course, it's too late."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/daggerfall-oblivion": {"game": ["Daggerfall"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/daggerfall-oblivion", "description": "An introductory guide to Oblivion. Lists all Great Daedra. Contains a minor gameplay hint.", "author": "Morian Zenas", "title": "On Oblivion", "text": "It is improper, though common, to refer to the denizens of the dimension of Oblivion as demons. This practice must probably dates to the Alessian Doctrines of the prophet Marukh which, rather amusingly, forbade traffic with \"daimons,\" and then neglected to explain what demons are. It is most probable that \"daimon\" is a mispelling of \"daedra,\" the old Elvish word for the strange, powerful creatures of uncertain motivation who come from the dimension of Oblivion. In later tractates by King Hale the Pious of Skyrim, almost a thousand years after the publication of the original Doctrines, the evil of his political enemies is compared to \"the wickedness of the demons of Oblivion ... their depravity equals that of Sanguine itself, they are cruel as Boethiah, calculating as Molag Bal, and mad as Sheogorath.\"\nHale the Pious thus longwindedly introduced four of the daedra lords to the written record.\nThe written record is not, after all, the best way to research Oblivion and the daedra that inhabit it. Those who, in the words of the Alessian Doctrine, \"traffic with daimons\" seldom wish it to be a matter of public record. Nevertheless, scattered throughout the literature of the first era, are diaries, journals, notices for witch burnings, and guides for daedra-slayers which contain only a few contradictions. These I have used as my primary source material.\nThey are at least as trustworthy as the daedra lords I have actually summoned and spoken with at length.\nOblivion is a place composed of many lands, thus the many names for which Oblivion is synonymous: Coldharbour, Quagmire, Moonshadow, and others. It may be supposed that each land of Oblivion is ruled by one prince. The princes whose name appears over and over (though this is not a sure test of their authenticity, to be sure) are the aforementioned Sanguine, Boethiah, Molag Bal, Sheogorath, and Azura, Mephala, Clavicus Vil, Vaernima, Malacath, Hoermius (or Hermaeus or Hormaius, there is no consistant spelling) Mora, Namira, Jyggalag, Nocturnal, Mehrunes Dagon, and Peryite.\nFrom my experience, Daedra are a very mixed lot. It is almost impossible to categorize them as a whole except for their immense power and their penchant for extremism.\nMehrunes Dagon, Molag Bal, Peryite, Boethiah, and Vaernima are among the most consistently \"demonic\" of the Daedra, in the sense that their spheres seem to be destructive in nature. The other daedra can, of course, be very dangerous, but seldom purely for the sake of destruction, as these five can.\nNor are those five aforementioned daedra identical in their destruction. Mehrunes Dagon seems to prefer natural disasters, earthquakes and volcanos, to vent his spleen. Molag Bal prefers employing actual daedralings, and Boethiah inspires the arms of mortal warriors. Peryite sphere seems to be pestilence, and Vaernima's torture.\nSummoning daedra is not a difficult proposition, but it is usual an expensive one. Most Mages Guilds have a summoning room, but this is most often reserved for the highest echelon of guildmembers. Witches covens are much less class sensitive, and the Necromancers, the Dark Brotherhood, and many secretive kings and queens of Tamriel have private summoning rooms. Daedra princes usually demand some sort of service of those who summon them, though I am fortunate enough to have good relations with some and need not perform.\nIn preparation for the second chapter of this series, I will be investigating two matters that have intrigued me since I began my career as a daedra researcher. The first is on one particular Daedra Prince, referred to in multiple articles of incunabula as Hircine. Hircine has been called \"the huntsman of the Princes\" and \"the father of manbeasts,\" but I have yet to find anyone who can summon him.\nThe other, and more doubtful goal I have for the next chapter is to find a practical means for mortal man to pass through to Oblivion. It has always been my philosophy that we only need fear that which we do not understand, and with that thought in mind, I pursue my goal."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rude-song": {"game": ["Daggerfall"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rude-song", "description": "Not so rude, but quite naughty. A rare example of poetry.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Rude Song", "text": "In the spring of the year\nDoth propriety disappear\nIn the courts and the ports\nOf the Bay.\nDrinking new beer,\nEverybody feels queer\nAnd the Earls and the churls\nGo astray.\nThe bee and the bird\nDon't have to tell us a word.\nOur bodies for naughties\nAre prime.\nIf you haven't heard,\nYou can let yourself be lured\nFor the youth, for things uncouth,\nIt is time.\nOh, it's lovely to sit in a field, harvested into rows\nIt's lovelier still to do the same not wearing any clothes.\nPeople of the Bay bless\nThe flowered court of Wayrest\nFor showing us the gentle way of sin\nThe bonny Dark Elf queen\nLikes to see and to be seen\nWith cobblers, thieves,\nAnd tavernkeeps,\nAnd slaves, and fish-er-men.\nIn the court of Lainlyn,\nRight upon the mainland\nWith sex, the whole place is in a whirl.\nThe Baroness likes to play\nWith men who come her way,\nWhile the Baron likes the little boys and girls.\nOh, it's lovely to give your lady a kiss upon her nose\nIt's lovelier still to do the same not wearing any clothes.\nIn Daggerfall, they hold a ball\nAnd all of society indulges in a variety\nOf scandal, they can handle --\nA lot.\nThe Captain of the Guard\nHas to search very hard\nFor a bean that the Queen Has in her pants.\nAnd the Court Sorceress\nWill grant you a wish\nTo cause the King to fling\nAbout his lance.\nOh, it's lovely to give your love a single perfect rose\nIt's lovelier still to do the same not wearing any clothes.\nOh, it's lovely to abandon all your cares and fears and woes\nIt's lovelier still to do the same not wearing any clothes.\nYes sir, it's lovely not wear any clothes!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/daggerfall-special-flora-tamriel": {"game": ["Daggerfall"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/daggerfall-special-flora-tamriel", "description": "Hints for alchemists making potions.", "author": "Hardin", "title": "Special Flora of Tamriel", "text": "Poppies, both black and white, can be found growing wild in the mountains of Hammerfell. Their succulent pods are often the only nourishment of adventurers who find themselves in the wilderness without rations. It is said that the black and white poppies together have magical properties. When they are crushed and mixed with the milk of the agile footed mountain goat, a potion that allows the user to glide safely above the ground can be made.\nFire Fern, a perennial herb, native to Morrowind. The flowers are inconspicuous and often hidden. The glossy, evergreen foliage and flowers are resistant to the conditions of high heat and bright light. A petal from this plant placed under an adventurer's tongue will provide protection from the heat and fire found in the lava pits and streams found around Dagoth-Ur.\nDragon's-Tongue, common name for a fern like herb found in Black Marsh. It is especially prolific around the area of Utherus Swamp. It is a beautiful wildflower. Its name comes from the fire red fronds that protect its golden flower. As pretty as it is, it is a deadly poison to most living beings and needs to be avoided by adventurers. It is said, however, that Argonians can pick the plant and use the sap derived from its roots as an enhancement to their endurance.\nDomica Redwort is a herb grown by many residents of Valenwood for their beautiful and showy flowers. They attain a height of about three feet and have feathery leaves; the flowers are usually bright red. In addition to their beauty, they are said to have magical abilities to enhance the appearance of anyone who carries or wears one of the flowers.\nIronwood Nut, this rare nut comes from the Ironwood trees which grow deep in the forests of Skyrim. The wood from these trees is as hard as the metal for which they are named. The very rare black ironwood tree is said to produce a nut which is very succulent and is believed to enhance the strength of the adventurer who is able to crack its shell.\nThe Ginko leaves which are found along the banks of rivers and lakes in Hammerfell are most inconspicuous, only its peculiar halfmoon shape makes it noticeable. It is very sweet and tasty. Legend has it that when mixed properly with the pulp of the Aloe plant, the potion has the ability to increase one's stamina for a short while.\nThe Somnalius Fern can be found in the swamps of Black Marsh. The fronds from this plant are light green and quite delicate. Picking a frond can be very difficult, but once retrieved it can be used to put an enemy to sleep for a short while by passing it under his nose.\nArrowroot is a thick, rubbery tuber that can be found in the Province of Valenwood. The plant is very difficult to find as its above ground foliage is very meager and scrawny. But the Arrowroot itself can be most beneficial to the gatherer as it has magical properties. The paste made from grinding the root is very tasty and can improve the user's accuracy with a bow and arrow.\nNightshade is reputed to be a very poisonous herb. However the variety found in many parts of Elsweyr is cherished by Khajiits who have followed the career path of thievery. Many Khajiits will tuck a piece of Nightshade inside their armor to increase their abilities to skulk, hide and become invisible."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/alikr": {"game": ["Daggerfall"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/alikr", "description": "Impressions of a poetic nature who seems to have fallen in love with the Alik'r Desert of Hammerfell. Reminded me of Herbert's \"Dune\".", "author": "Enric Milnes", "title": "The Alik'r", "text": "I might never have gone to the Alik'r Desert had I not met Weltan in a little tavern in Sentinel. Weltan is a Redguard poet whose verse I had read, but only in translation. He chooses to write in the old language of the Redguards, not in Tamrielic. I once asked him why.\n\"The Tamrielic word for the divinely rich child of rot, silky, pressed sour milk is ... cheese,\" said Weltan, a huge smile spreading like a tide over his lampblack face. \"The Old Redguard word for it is mluo. Tell me, if you were a poet fluent in both languages, which word would you use?\"\nI am a child of the cities, and I would tell him tales of the noise and corruption, wild nights and energy, culture and decadence. He listened with awed appreciation of the city of my birth: white-marbled Imperial City where all the citizenry are convinced of their importance because of the proximity of the Emperor and the lustration of the streets. They say that a beggar on the boulevards of the Imperial City is a man living in a palace. Over spiced ale, I regaled Weltan with descriptions of the swarming marketplace of Riverhold; of dark, brooding Mournhold; of the mold-encrusted villas of Lilmoth; the wonderful, dangerous alleys of Helstrom; the stately avenues of grand old Solitude. For all this, he marvelled, inquired, and commented.\n\"I feel as if I know your home, the Alik'r Desert, from your poems even though I've never been there.\" I told him.\n\"Oh, but you don't. No poem can express the Alik'r. It may prepare you for a visit far better than the best guide book can. But if you want to know Tamriel and be a true citizen of the planet, you must go and feel the desert yourself.\"\nIt took me a little over a year to break off engagements, save money (my greatest challenge), and leave the urban life for the Alik'r Desert. I brought several books of Weltan's poems as my travel guide.\n\"A sacred flame rises above the fire, The ghosts of great men and women without names, Cities long dead rise and fall in the flame, The Dioscori Song of Revelation, Bursting walls and deathless rock, Fiery sand that heals and destroys.\"\nThese first six lines from my friend's \"On the Immortality of Dust\" prepared me for my first image of the Alik'r Desert, though they hardly do it justice. My poor pen cannot duplicate the severity, grandeur, ephemera and permanence of the Alik'r.\nAll the principalities and boundaries the nations have placed on the land dissolve under the moving sand in the desert. I could never tell if I was in Antiphyllos or Bergama, and few of the inhabitants could tell me. For them, and so it came to me, we were simply in the Alik'r. No. We are part of the Alik'r. That is closer to the philosophy of the desert people.\nI saw the sacred flame of which Weltan wrote on my first morning in the desert: a vast, red mist that seemed to come from the deep mystery of Tamriel. Long before the noon sun, the mist had disappeared. Then I saw the cities of Weltan. The ruins of the Alik'r rise from the sand by one blast of the unbounded wind and are covered by the next. Nothing in the desert lasts, but nothing dies forever.\nAt daylight, I hid myself in tents, and thought about the central character of the Redguards that would cause them to adopt this savage, eternal land. They are warriors by nature. As a group, there are none better. Nothing for them has worth unless they have struggled for it. No one fought them for the desert, but the Alik'r is a great foe. The battle goes on. It is a war without rancor, a holy war in the sense the phrase should always imply.\nBy night, I could contemplate the land itself in its relative serenity. But the serenity was superficial. The stones themselves burned with a heat and a light that comes not from the sun, nor the moons Jone and Jode. The power of the stones comes from the beat of the heart of Tamriel itself.\nTwo years I spent in the Alik'r.\nAs write this, I am back in Sentinel. We are at war with the kingdom of Daggerfall for the possession of a grass-covered rock that belongs to the water of the Iliac Bay. All my fellow poets, writers, and artists are despondent for the greed and pride that brought these people into battle. It is a low point, a tragedy. In the words of Old Redguard, an ajcea, a spiral down.\nYet, I cannot be sorrowful. In the years I spent in the glories of the Alik'r, I have seen the eternal stones that live on while men go dead. I have found my inner eye in the tractless, formless, changeless and changeable land. Inspiration and hope, like the stones of the desert, are eternal though men be not."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/arrowshot-woman": {"game": ["Daggerfall"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/arrowshot-woman", "description": "An ancient blonde joke.", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Arrowshot Woman", "text": "I heard this story on good authority from a good and honest friend, whose friend was witness to the incident. I do truly believe it happened, as fantastical as it may seem.\nMy friend's friend, Terron, was visiting the Elsweyr citystate of Riverhold during a very hot summer and went to the marketplace there. If you have never been to Riverhold, the marketplace is very crowded, much more than in comparably sized city states. People from the countryside flock to the marketplace daily in their wagons and carriages.\nTerron was passing one such carriage, and noticed that the sole occupant was a woman, seated with her eyes closed and her hands behind her head. An odd sight, to be sure, but he assumed she must be sleeping. Terron continued on.\nA little while later, after Terron had finished shopping in the marketplace, he passed the same carriage. The same woman was sitting in it. Her eyes were open now, but her hands were still behind her head.\n\"Are you all right, my lady?\" he asked.\n\"An arrow shot me in my head and I'm holding my brains in,\" came the woman's reply.\nTerron did not know what to do. He ran into the marketplace and literally bumped into a healer and his knight companion. They were good people and agreed to help.\nThe carriage door had to be torn off its hinges, as the lady had locked it and feared to move to unlock it. What they found when they finally could get into the carriage was this: the woman was holding barley dough on the back of her head with her hands.\nApparently, in the heat of the day, a jar of barley dough had exploded with the thwang of an arrowshot and struck the woman in the back of her head. When she reached back to feel what had hit her, she felt the dough and reasoned that she was feeling her brains."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/asylum-ball": {"game": ["Daggerfall"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/asylum-ball", "description": "More about late Pelagius III Septim. Might be an apocryph.", "author": "Waughin Jarth", "title": "The Asylum Ball", "text": "My great great uncle was a warder at an asylum in Torval (maybe he was my great great great uncle -- it was quite a long time ago), and this is the story that has been passed down in my family from his generation to mine. Perhaps it is purely apocryphal, but when I was told it, it was whispered in such a way that it was meant to be taken seriously. Not having any children of my own to whisper to, and being in need of some gold, I have elected to publish my story.\nThe asylum my great great uncle worked in was apparently very posh. Only the right class of lunatics were admitted. Eccentric dukes, mad baronesses, touched lords, and daft ladies filled the asylums tapestried and gilded halls. Still, it was a time of great excitement when the rumor began that the unhinged Emperor of Tamriel, Pelagius III, was transferring there from a resort in Valenwood. When the rumor became a reality, the asylum went into nice, calm, restive chaos. Pelagius was given an entire wing of the asylum for his own use, for, though he was madder than a jackal, he was still His Terrible Majesty, the Emperor of Tamriel.\nThe Emperor was remarkably well behaved, my great great uncle supposedly asserted. Of course, he did not have to face the commoners who came on all sorts of pretenses to gawk at their overlord, the loon. When one of the warders (not, I have been assured, my uncle) forgot himself and let His Terrible Majesty know that people had been there to see him, the Emperor grew very excited. He made up his mind right there and then to have a ball. A huge party with musicians, dancing, and dinner, right at the lunatic asylum. Or precisely, in his wing of the asylum.\nRumors of the Emperor's interest in holding a ball spread throughout Torval and eventually it reached the ears of the Emperess Regent Katariah, Pelagius' dear wife, in the Imperial City. Eager to make her husband happy, she sent a caravan laden with gold to the asylum so a ball might be held befitting the Imperial dignity.\nThe Emperor picked a date for the ball, and preparations began immediately. The old asylum walls were beautifully decorated, but needed cleaning. A pit had to be constructed to house the orchestra; servants for cooking and serving the food had to be hired; gold and ebony candelebras and matching chandeliers were ordered; the old rugs were destroyed, and new rugs embroidered with gems were weaved; lists of guests had to be compiled, reconsidered and recompiled. The Emperor knew that the guest list had to be very exclusive, and he relied on his advisors to tell him who was alive, who was dead, and who was imaginary.\nThe party was set to begin at nine o'clock. At six, the hairdresser he had hired from Torval finished his Imperial coiffure. At seven, he was fully dressed in the robes he had ordered for the ball: voluminous black silk and piled velvet crusted with red diamonds. At eight, he walked down the newly reconstructed staircase to supervise the final preparations -- the lighting of the candles, the opening of the wine, the murder of the first course. At nine o'clock, he took his seat at the facsimile throne he had ordered and awaited the first guests.\nAt nine thirty, his advisor, seeing the royal eyes beginning to glaze over with madness, said, \"Your Terrible Majesty surely knows that it is not fashionable to arrive at any ball for at least an hour after the desired time, yes?\"\nThe Emperor just stared.\nAt ten thirty, the Emperor called for some food and wine, and sat at his throne, looking at the open door, eatting. Thirty minutes later, he ordered the orchestra to begin playing. For the next three hours, they played gaily for the empty, candlelit ballroom.\nAt one o'clock, the Emperor announced his intention to retire for the evening. My uncle was one of the warders who assisted His Terrible Majesty up the staircase. Halfway to his room, Pelagius threw himself on the floor in a hysteria, screaming and laughing, ordering more wine (my mother was good at this part of the story, rolling her eyes and shreiking, \"More wine! More wine! Wine!\"), and, in short, imagining that he was possessed by all the revellers at his party that never was.\nTwo days later, he was still not better. He had cut himself and those who tried to grapple him horribly with the red diamonds of his robe. Eventually it was decided that the Torval asylum was not equipped to deal with a lunatic of his severity, and he was sent to a more secure location in Black Marsh. It was only three months later, my uncle heard that the Emperor had died.\nOne of my uncle's duties was to clear out the personal property of the inmates after their death. Being primarily landed nobility, the personal property was often quite extensive. Several years after the asylum ball, my uncle was called to clear out the apartment of a duchess whose chief eccentricity was a propensity to pilfer. Kleptomania, I believe it's called. Locked away in a secret door in her desk, protected by a trap armed with a barbed needle, was a variety of jewels, piles of gold, and a five large stacks of beautifully engraved invitations signed in the Emperor's childlike handwriting."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/daggerfall-brothers-darkness": {"game": ["Daggerfall"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/daggerfall-brothers-darkness", "description": "Tells how the religious organization called Morag Tong evolved into a business called Dark Brotherhood.", "author": "Pellarne Assi", "title": "The Brothers of Darkness", "text": "As their name suggests, the Dark Brotherhood has a history shrouded in obfuscation. Their ways are secret to those who are not Brothers of the order (Brothers is the generic term: some of the deadliest of the assassins are female, but they are called Brothers as well). How they continue to exist in shadow, but can be easily found by those desparate enough to pay for their services is not the least of their mysteries.\nThe Dark Brotherhood sprang from a religious order, the Morag Tong, during the Second Era. The Morag Tong were worshippers of the daedra spirit Mephala, who encouraged them to commit ritual murders. In their early years, they were as disorganized as cultists usually are. There was no one to lead the group, and as a group they dared not murder any of any importance. This changed with the rise of the Night Mother.\nAll leaders of the Morag Tong, and then the Dark Brotherhood, have been called the Night Mother. Whether the same woman has commanded the Dark Brotherhood since the second era is unknown. What is believed is that the original Night Mother developed an important belief of the Morag Tong.\nThis first belief is that, while Mephala grows stronger with every murder commited in her name, certain murders were better than others. Murders that came from hate pleased Mephala more than murders commited because of greed. Murders of great men and women pleased Mephala more than murders of unknowns.\nWe can approximate the time this belief was adopted with the first known murder commited by the Morag Tong. In the year 324 of the 2nd Era, the Potentate Versidue-Shaie was murdered in his palace in what is today the Elsweyr kingdom of Senchal. In a brash move, the Night Mother announced the identity of the murderers by painting MORAG TONG on the walls in the Potentate's blood.\nPrevious to that time, the Morag Tong existed in relative peace, like a witches coven. Occasionally persecuted, but usually ignored. In a remarkable syncroncity at a time when the Arena was a fractured land, the Morag Tong was outlawed throughout the continent. Every sovereign gave the cult's elimination his highest priority. Nothing more was officially heard of them for a hundred years.\nIt is more difficult to date the era when the Morag Tong re-emerged as the Dark Brotherhood. Assassin guilds have sporadically appeared throughout the history of Tamriel. The first mention of the Dark Brotherhood that I have found is from the journals of the Blood Queen Arlimahera of Hegathe: she spoke of slaying her enemies by her own hand, or, if necessary, \"with the help of the Night Mother and her Dark Brotherhood, the secret arsenal my family has employed since my grandfather's time.\" Arlimahera wrote this in 2E 412, so one can surmise that the Dark Brotherhood had been in existance since at least 360 if her grandfather truly used them.\nThe important distinction between the Dark Brotherhood and the Morag Tong was that the Brotherhood was a business as much as a cult. Rulers and wealthy merchants now used the order as an assassin's guild. The Brotherhood gained the obvious benefits of a profitable enterprise, as well as the secondary benefit that no longer could rulers actively persecute them. They were needed. Even an extremely virtuous leader would be unwise to maltreat the Brotherhood. Not long after Alimahera's journal entry about them was penned came perhaps the most famous series of executions in the history of the Dark Brotherhood. The Colovian Emperor Potentate Savirien-Chorak and every one of his heirs was murdered on one bloody night in Sun's Dawn in 430. Within a fortnight, the Colovian Dynasty crumbled, to the delight of its enemies. For over four hundred years, until the age of Tiber Septim, chaos reigned over Tamriel. Though no comparably impressive executions have been recorded, the Brotherhood must have grown fat with gold during that age.\nThe Dark Brotherhood has no shortage of business opportunities -- an accounting, I have been informed, is the Brotherhood's favorite euphemism for execution. While they are officially an unlawful organization in every corner of the Empire, like the Thieves Guild, they are almost universally tolerated."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ebon-arm": {"game": ["Daggerfall"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ebon-arm", "description": "A story about Reymon Ebonarm, the God of War.", "author": "Witten Rol", "title": "The Ebon Arm", "text": "The ground shakes. The great armies continue to wage their unrelenting battle. The battlefield is red, the rivers flow crimson, the sky reflects a deep pink. In the distance lightning flashes, and thunder sounds. Two huge ravens begin circling the field; their blackness is vibrant against the various shades of red in this vista of death and suffering. The bright flashes of light and rumbling begin to increase. The redness surrounding the battlefield begins giving way to a golden glow from the east, almost like a summer's setting sun. From the false sunset a massive golden stallion and single rider approach. All become suddenly still on the field of battle as both sides recognize Reymon Ebonarm, God of War, and the companion and protector of all warriors, also known as the Black Knight and his mighty steed War Master.\nHe rides into the middle of the blood soaked field and dismounts. He is a very imposing figure. His very tall and heavily muscled body is encased in ebony armor. His ebony helmet does not hide the flowing reddish blonde hair and beard which appear almost as shimmering gold, nor does it shield the steel blue eyes that seem to pierce all they fall upon. In his left hand he carries a massive ebony tower shield on which is emblazoned a fiery red rose. As he raises his right arm, all see an arm and a magnificent ebony blade which are extensions of each other. The fused arm and sword are a result and symbol of the wounds suffered by this god during titanic battles in the youth of this world.\nThe ravens come to rest on his shoulders. And, as the point of the ebony blade seemingly touches the sky, lightning flashes, thunder roars. Then total quiet descends and a shudder rolls through both armies.\nThe leaders of both armies approach Reymon Ebonarm and kneel. In turn they tell their reasons for this war. Each asks for the favor of the Black Knight for their cause. Reymon Ebonarm listens, but there is no acknowledgment that he has chosen to favor one side or the other in this fight. However, each of the leaders has heard the other state his position. And, each now knows that this war is baseless. They embrace and turn to their armies. They instruct their forces to bury their dead, tend their wounded and return to their homes.\nReymon Ebonarm mounts his great golden stallion, War Master, and again raises the ebony blade skyward and extends the huge rose emblazoned ebony shield to both armies. A massive chorus of cheers rises from the armies. The ravens again take to the air. Lightning and thunder follow him as he rides into the sunset followed by the two birds.\nThe armies do as they have been bidden. They care for their wounded and bury their dead. As they retreat towards their homes each warrior is sure that the great God Reymon Ebonarm, the Black Knight, has responded to their individual prayers for intervention. Each side has won, neither has lost.\nAs the armies depart the field, the rivers begin to run clear, and a single red rose begins to bloom near the grave of a fallen hero."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/epic-grey-falcon": {"game": ["Daggerfall"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/epic-grey-falcon", "description": "A popular joke about a shipwreck survivor.", "author": "Anido Jhone, editor", "title": "The Epic of the Grey Falcon", "text": "As uncovered and translated by Anido Jhone, Royal Archaeologist, from an ancient tome:\nThis tale comes from sometime in the 2nd Era, most probably after the time of the Knahaten Flu, or at least I have so surmised due to reasons in the text. Whether or not the tale is true, it remains an interesting story of survival.\nThe reader will, I trust, forgive me if I translated the epic somewhat informally. The message, I think, is universal, and should not be misread.\nEnjoy, gentle reader.\nA.J.J.\nThe Grey Falcon , a small warship of the Sumurset Isle, Was patrolling deep in the ocean for a pirate That had been looting the coast. The first three weeks out were uneventful. Two hours after sunset, on the 22nd day out of port, The lookout spotted a top of a sail in the moonlight, Just on the horizon. \"Sail! To starboard, forward quarter!\" The lookout of the Grey Falcon cried. The crew and captain of the Grey Falcon were quickly roused, And stumbled to the deck. \"'Tis the ship we're looking for, Captain,\" said the lookout.\n\"All hands to battle stations! All archers to their posts,\" The Captain yelled, \"Full ahead!\" The two ships closed, And a dark figure stepped out onto the forecastle of the pirate ship. The figure made a gesture with his hands, And a giant ball of fire streaked towards the Grey Falcon. The ball of fire struck the Grey Falcon in her sails, Quickly catching them aflame.\nThe figure made another gesture. Large bolts of ice streaked out from his hands, And hit the Grey Falcon just above and below the water line, Gouging large holes in her hull. The Grey Falcon was mortally wounded. The Captain cried, \"All hands abandon shi-\" As he was cut off by a pirate's arrow shot into his throat.\nAs the Grey Falcon, aflame and listing badly, plunged into the sea, One of her sailors, Darik Seaspit, Managed avoid the pirate arrows and spells to make his way to a lifeboat, And lowered it into the darkness below. Just as the lifeboat entered the water, a quick grey shape jumped into it. Darik looked, and saw it was Helnor Snarlsbane, A Khajiit mercenary assigned to the ship. The two rowed the small boat away, As the Grey Falcon finished her descent into the sea. In the darkness, the Pirate ship missed their small craft. After the two rowed well out of the pirates possible view, They both collapsed from exhaustion.\nEarly morning the next day, They took an inventory of the lifeboats stores. Normally the lifeboat carries enough food and water To supply seven people for at least ten days.\nIn place of the food, though, Helnor found a note: \"The food in this lifeboat was found to be in violation of Sumerset Navy regulation during inspection. In accordance to that article, the food was taken away and destroyed. A replacement may be obtained by redeeming this letter at the Port Supply Office. Signed, Lt. Inspector Windhollow\" Helnor read aloud.\nSaid Darik, to his Khajiit Companion, \"We have plenty of water, but we are out of food. I don't know what we're going to do. I suppose we could try fishing, but we have no bait. \"There's no chance we can make it back to land Before we starve to death - 'twill be over a month in this craft\" \"Wait, I have an idea\" said Helnor, with a gleam in his catlike eye.\nSix weeks later, the lifeboat entered the port of Corwich. As it was tethered to the dock, a solitary figure was pulled out, Looking weather beaten and thin. One of the dock workers peered into the life raft, After the figure was taken away to the port healer for treatment. \"Hmm, what's this\", a worker said to himself, As he picked up a large bone from the boat, A bone bleached white by the sun.\nAfter the sole survivor of the Grey Falcon recovered from his ordeal, He was taken to the inquest for the death of Darik Seaspit, And placed on a chair before the magistrate. \"We here in High Rock have a dim view of cannibalism. You'd better have a good reason for your actions,\" The inquisitor boomed at Helnor Snarlsbane.\n\"By the Lady, do you?\" Helnor stood, and said, \"Your Honor, I had no choice. There was no food, and it was at least two months to the closest port. We both decided this was the only way someone would make it\" \"Well, then , I suppose that is understandable, If somewhat distasteful,\" the inquisitor said. \"You think it was distasteful?,\" Helnor muttered to himself, \"I didn't have any seasoning.\"\n\"One final thing, Mr. Snarlsbane, How was it decided that you would be the one that would dine on the other? The toss of a coin?\" Helnor drew himself up and said, \"Your honor, it was very simple. Darik Seaspit was a vegetarian\" \"Case dismissed!\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/faerie": {"game": ["Daggerfall"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/faerie", "description": "A book about creatures that never made it into the game.", "author": "Szun Triop", "title": "The Faerie", "text": "Faerie have been on Tamriel, in all probability, long before recorded history, perhaps since or before the days of the Elder Ones. The tales of their mischief are found in every culture, in most every village, town, and city-states in the Empire. Alternately they are called Faerie, Fey, Illyadi, Sprites, Pixies, and Sylphim, and their natures seem to flit from one story to the next with the same variation. It could almost be said that Faeries are anything unpredictable in nature.\nThe noted scholar Ahrtabazus studying at the time in the Crystal Tower of Sumurset Isle developed an interesting if controversial theory about Faerie. He organized the Fey variants on a chain, beginning with the glimmering sparks called Pixies or Whilloki by the Redguards at one end and the godlike beings such as Gheateus, Chonus, and Sygria at the other. In the middle are human and semi-human beings generating up to intelligent trees, brooks, rocks, even mountains. All of this was a new and completely original theory and would have prompted enthusiastic, if somewhat skeptical response had Ahrtabazus not added this footnote: \"It may be that elves as a whole are part of this chain, above whilloki and below nephrine. They certainly have similar features and propensities for magicka as the other Faerie.\" (Ahrtabazus, \"The Faerie Chain\" Firsthold, 2E 456)\nNo elf liked to be put in a hierarchy slightly above whimsical pranksters like the whilloki, and Ahrtabazus was challenged on his assumptions based on very slight coincidences. Nevertheless, with modification, his Fairie Chain theory has gained wider and wider acceptance since its publication.\nThe hierarchial chain is not, in the strictest sense, an order of command. While Gheateus and Sygria are said to be surrounded by a host of minor Sylphim, faerie on the whole are not followers nor leaders. Their plans and schemes are not governed by a higher purpose, simply by their own whim.\nTo this most faerie scholars agree. Because it is based on coincidental evidence and supported by auxiliary theories, it may very well be wrong."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fall-usurper": {"game": ["Daggerfall"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fall-usurper", "description": "Another inquiry in political history, this work discusses how the defeat of Camoran the Usurper was arranged by the joint forces of High Rock, led by Dwynnen.", "author": "Palaux Illthre", "title": "The Fall of the Usurper", "text": "The people of Dwynnen celebrate Othroktide every 5th of Suns Dawn, the date when, according to legent, a man emerged from the wilderness of High Rock and defeated the undead of Castle Wightmoor to become the first Baron of Dwynnen. Few people believe the legend anymore, but there most certainly was a Baron Othrok of Dwynnen who was destined to become one of true heroes of High Rock, if not all Tamriel.\nThe legend, as most any Dwynnen child will tell you, is that years and years ago (archivists have agreed to the year 3E253), the people of Dwynnen were ruled by a lich and its armies of zombies, ghosts, vampires, and skeletons. Othrok was blessed with by gods and given an army of men and animals to destroy the dead. He brought peace and prosperity to the land, growing more powerful as the land improved. Years later, he led the tiny barony against the Camoran Usurper, and saved all of Tamriel.\nHow much credit the Baron ought to receive for the defeat of the Camoran Usurper has been debated, but it is an uncontestable fact that in the year 3E 267, the Camoran Usurper's relentless move north through High Rock was halted around the area of contemporary Dwynnen. Dwynnen is actually larger than it was in the first Baron's day -- it did not, in fact, have a sea port -- but the Battle of Firewaves was a coastal battle. The fact that the battle probably did not occur in Dwynnen does not in itself belittle the Baron's participation in it.\nThe Camoran Usurper had conquered Hammerfell and Valenwood by means of a large army, which by legend consisted entirely of undead and daedra, but was mostly composed of Redguards and Wood Elves. In all probability, the Usurper summoned the daedra and undead in Arenthia and slowly replaced the original summoned creatures with the armies of his conquered territories. Most armies of Valenwood have been historically mercenary.\nWord of the Usurper's conquests reached High Rock in early 266, but preparations to repel the invasion did not begin until early the following year. Historians attribute two factors to High Rock's  hesistancy. The primary powers of the Bay were ruled by particularly inept monarchs -- Wayrest and Sentinel both had kings in their minority, and Daggerfall was torn by contention between Helena and her cousin Jilathe. The Lord of Reich Gradkeep (now Anticlere) was deathly ill through 266 and finally died at the end of the year. There were, in short, no leaders to unite the province against the Usurper. Of the leaders with any influence, at least eight (the \"Eight Traitors\" of legend) made secret allegiances with the Usurper to protect their lands.\nThe secondary reason for the lethargy of High Rock had to do with the depth of relations between the province and the Septim Empire. For the first time since the beginning of the Dynasty, an Emperor ruled Tamriel who was neither Breton nor had spent any of his childhood in High Rock. The difference between Cephorus II and his cousin Uriel IV who preceded him was appalling to the people of High Rock. Even mad Emperors like Pelagius III revered the Bretons over all other races, and cousins and younger siblings of the Emperors have ruled in High Rock since the foundation of the Empire. Cephorus was a Nord, with Skyrim and Morrowind sympathies. The attitude of the common men of High Rock was sympathetic toward the Camoran Usurper as an archfoe of this hated Emperor.\nThe Baron and his less legendary allies, the rulers of Ykalon, Phrygia, and Kambria, changed this favorable perception. News of the Usurper's barbaric treatment of captives and abuse of conquered lands, mostly true, spread rapidly through their territories, and then to other neutral lands. Within a few months, the greatest navy ever combined organized along the High Rock edge of the Iliac Bay. Only the navy of Uriel V's illfated invasion of Akavir was comparable.\nHow the combined forces of High Rock defeated the endless army of the Camoran Usurper is certainly worthy of a lengthy book in itself. And perhaps, it is best left to the public imagination. Certainly the weather worked against the Usurper, which is reason in itself to attribute divine intervention.\nBaron Othrok's divine purpose is the central theme to Othroktide, after all. And as the poet Braeloque wrote, \"To find the facts, the wisest always look first to the fiction.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/first-scroll-baan-dar": {"game": ["Daggerfall"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/first-scroll-baan-dar", "description": "A story about mysterious Baan Dar, the Bandit God. In the game there are shrines devoted to him.", "author": "Arkan", "title": "The First Scroll of Baan Dar", "text": "What follows is a translation of the first fragment from a series of vellum scrolls found in 3 Alabaster jars sealed in a cave. The discoverer was a nomad wanderer somewhere on the shores of Lake Vread in the Province of Elswyer. I can neither vouch for nor deny its authenticity or veracity - only that the scrolls, as such, DO exist. Read and judge for yourself:\nBaan Dar, The Legend... Thief, Warlock, ShadowMaster, Ruthless Assassin, Undying Avenger, Dark God, Robber Baron, MasterMind of Nefarious Plots. All these things and more are the Legendary Baan Dar, he who is called The Bandit God. But what is the Truth?\nBaan Dar, The Man is a much more simple and complex being. I pen this tale as I slowly die of old age and a mortifying arrow wound. I cannot decide if the truth will add to or subtract from the legend that is Baan Dar, nor if the original Baan Dar would want the truth to be known. Therefore, I will leave this tale hidden when I am done and gone, and let Fate (which was ever Baan Dar's true master and motivator) decide.\nI was a child of 12 Seasons when I first met Baan Dar. Orphan of a Slaver raid during one of the many inter-provincial border wars. Living by my quick wits, nimble fingers, and the grace of Lady Luck in the back alleys and byways of my birth city. I had just \"liberated\" a loaf of bread and a few small apples from a local street vendor in the Bazaar on the edge of the city near the tumbled outer wall, and had withdrawn down an ill-lit alley to feast on my bounty when I was beset by an older band of my ilk. The older and lazier variety which were want to engage in the easier and less dangerous art of stealing from the stealers.\nThere were 5 of the bully boys who had decided they were more deserving of my booty than I, and they were beating me half to death with staves in between bites and laughter at the time. Lying on the ground curled up into as tight a ball as I could manage, trying to protect my head and groin, I heard a quiet voice ask if they were not \"more suited to go down to the wharf and take food from your brother rats, or would you care to try your tricks on game a bit more your size and number?\"\nSince my \"companions\" had become otherwise engaged with the newcomer and had for the nonce ceased thumping, kicking and cuffing at me, I looked up to see a dark shadow of boots, cloak, and chainmail hood leaning against the wall at the end of the alleyway.\nThe others, being what they were, took this as a challenge to their manhood - and easy prey to their superior number with a promise of coin of the realm as added reward (else the first part would have been overlooked). The leader of my band of playmates suggested that the stranger take a leap off the mentioned wharf unless he wished to join me there when they were done with their evening meal.\nHaving drawn chuckles and courage from his underlings, he then proceeded forward with staff at high port. I'm not quite sure exactly what followed, but within a short space of time, Lead Bully was lying in the dirt with a thrown dagger in his chest, number two bully had lost three teeth to a boot (I still carry them in a leather pouch as a keepsake), and number three bully was brought short by his own staff applied forcefully up between his toes (the two big ones!). Bullies four and five thought better of the entertainment and departed rapidly for parts unknown.\nBaan Dar picked me up, dusted me off, and dragged me round to a near tavern where we shared a meal and a mug. I attempted to thank him for saving my life. How can I ever repay this favor, I asked? His reply was short, to the point, and has driven my actions in life ever since...\n\"THE PROPER WAY TO REPAY A FAVOR, IS NOT TO - PASS IT ON INSTEAD.\"\nThings having not progressed well along the lines of health, wealth and welfare for me until that point in my life came upon a sudden change that night. I later learned (along with MANY other things) that Baan Dar had decided to take a direct and immediate interest in me because my situation reminded him very much of the bad start his own life had taken, and the odds he had faced to survive it. On that night he took me under his wing as a kind of apprentice. He saw to it that I learned weaponcraft and stealth, that I learned to read and write! He took me along when he traveled for the next year. I served as messenger, valet, packmule, lookout, cook - many things. I saw other towns, cities, races, provinces, and broadened my view and knowledge of the world far beyond belief. He taught me both morals and coldhearted ruthlessness - and when and how to apply each as the ethics of the situation required.\nAt the end of the year, he gave me good dagger, and decent horse, the 3 teeth, and leave (nay, Command) to make my own way in the world from that day forward - but to remember all I had been given, and to attempt to pass such a gift to another when and where I should find need and opportunity. That I have done, several times... as I assume he has also, and as I hope my various charges have after me (and they theirs).\nThus has the Legendary Baan Dar been seen time and again in various lands of our world at numerous and the same times in days of need. Thus also is the description so very hard to obtain and track - for in truth, there have been, and continue to be, many Baan Dars in the world. The most valuable lesson he ever taught me was that \"for Evil to triumph required not so much that many bad men to do wrong, as for One good man to fail to do what was right.\" We only hope that our combined and concatenated efforts have produced enough single men and women that will not fail to do the right thing, regardless of current local, morals, laws, religion, creed, or lure of coin of the realm.\nThe Legend grows still. Of the Dark Avenging Blade on the Wings of Night that make no sound. The Patron Saint of the Lone Wolf. The Thousand Eyes and Ears, the Hundred Arms direspectful of Time or Distance. Undying, Master of Disguise, Man of a Thousand Faces, Shapes and Sizes, Gentle, Rough-Edged, Gay, Stern. All the Mystery of the \"Man Unknown and Undying\"... not a single man nor God at all, but a string of seeds sown upon the land and left to grow into a forest. How to reconcile this truth with the tales of cruelty and the gangs of \"Baan Dars\" or \"Bandits\"? Some are jealous Thieves who take the name only for the cloak of mystery and hope of hiding in it's Shadow. Others are tales twisted to reverse by those justly served by Baan Dar's unfettered by technicalities of law and custom. Some are backsliders drawn of the true path by temptation and returning to their old ways. Many are the things that any one Baan Dar cannot answer for, as others did the deeds in the same name. Some are tales of fishwives, made up to scare the child into doing what is wanted. Some are left as part of the \"Mystery\" that is both cloak and shield to the hidden purposes - a case where the fear of the tale serves to save the need of arms or action.\nBut, by and large, the true Baan Dar is a string of beings taught to act upon what they believe in, and stand to take the yoke of needed action upon their own shoulders.\nDon't fight if you can avoid blood or war, But if you must make War, do so with all your Heart and Might. Leave it at Threats if Threats be enough - but never make threats you are unwilling to carry to conclusion if required. Use all the arts at hand. But ever keep the true purpose in mind. Stand Tall, but never forget how to bend your knee to help another.\nNote:\n\t\tThe rest of the scrolls are tales and tellings of various parts of the Legend, some as passed from Bard to Bard, some as the true tales underlying the Ballads. These fragments are still to be translated and debated. This fragment, however, contains the kernel of the Revelation and the true source of the questions surrounding the Baan Dar Legend. What Say You, Reader? For myself, I do not know... but God or unrelated string of linked souls as laid out here... I do know that Baan Dar IS a force in our Land and Lives, and one that gives Hope to many that need it, and pause to many I despise.\n- Arkan, Scribe of Daggerfall in the year 2E24"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/legend-lovers-lament": {"game": ["Daggerfall"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/legend-lovers-lament", "description": "A romantic legend.", "author": "Croll Baumoval", "title": "The Legend of Lovers Lament", "text": "The night is very dark. Wind gently ruffles the willow trees. All is quiet, or it so appears, around the shores of the small lake. Tamriel's moons reflect in the slightly rippling surface of the water. An owl's questioning call echoes. No lights are shining from the castle nearby; it appears deserted.\nAs the night wears on and the planet's satellites moves across the heavens, a faint glow appears near the castle. The light slowly moves towards the lake, and upon reaching the shore, stops. A figure, a beautiful woman by any measure, stands looking wistfully into the dark water. Her lantern flickers in the breeze, and illuminates her. Tears are streaming down her cheeks; her gown, once beautiful, is now tattered and stained.\nThe surface of the lake becomes agitated, but not from a wind as the night has become as still as it is dark. Slowly from the water emerges the figure of a man, a warrior, fully adorned in the armor of a knight on the field of battle. He seems to float over the water towards the woman and stop just short of her.\n\"Madylina,\" the ghostly warrior intones.\n\"My Lord, Gerthland,\" whispers the lovely Madylina as she kneels. \"You have come to me again.\"\n\"Yes,\" Gerthland responds, \"My days are long waiting for the night in which I can see my love.\"\nThe lovers stand looking wistfully at each other, unable to touch, unable to kiss, unable to satisfy their unrequited love until the first tinges of dawn start to color the western sky. Gerthland drops something to the ground as does Madylina as each depart. The waters of the lake again take possession of the handsome knight and the beautiful maiden walks slowly back to the castle. As the waters of the lake settle into a gentle ripple and the light of Madylina's lantern disappears, dawn breaks over the lake.\nOn the shore are two beautiful roses--one crimson and the other white as fresh cream. Ripples from the lake overtake the two flowers and pull them into the lake leaving the shore bare as it was in the hours before darkness fell.\n* * *\nThe townfolk around Gerthland Manor tell often of seeing these lovers in their nightly meeting. The Boar's Bristle Inn is always rumbling with conversation about them. Lord Gerthland and Lady Madylina who were betrothed. Lord Gerthland called to battle to defend the land. Hergen, the castle's resident sorcerer, becoming enflamed with love and lust for Madylina only to be rebuked by her. Lord Gerthland's death on the field of battle. Lady Madylina's death by her own hand at the news. Hergen's curse on both their souls that will not allow them to rest until Madylina will agree to become Hergen's consort even in death.\nHergen, to this day, wanders the deserted halls of Gerthland Manor hoping that Madylina will agree to his demands. And the lovers continue to meet for a few moments each night on the shores of the lake now known as Lover's Lament."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/daggerfall-madness-pelagius": {"game": ["Daggerfall"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/daggerfall-madness-pelagius", "description": "A story about Emperor Pelagius III Septim. Read in conjunction with other historical accounts.", "author": "Tsathenes", "title": "The Madness of Pelagius", "text": "The man who would be Emperor of all Tamriel was born Thoriz Pelagius Septim, a prince of the royal family of Wayrest in 3E 119 at the end of the glorious reign of his uncle, Antiochus I. Wayrest had been showered by much preference during the years before Pelagius' birth, for King Magnus was Antiochus' favorite brother.\nIt is hard to say when Pelagius' madness first manifested itself, for, in truth, the first ten years of his life were marked by such insanity in the land itself. When Pelagius was just over a year old, Antiochus died and a daughter, Kintyra, assumed the throne to the acclaim of all. Kintyra II was Pelagius' cousin and an accomplished mystic and sorceress. If she had sufficient means to peer into the future, she would have surely fled the palace.\nThe story of the War of the Red Diamond has been told in many other scholarly journals, but as most historians agree, Kintyra II's reign was usurped by her and Pelagius' cousin Uriel, by the power of his mother, Potema -- the so-called wolf queen of Solitude. The year after her coronation, Kintyra was trapped in Glenpoint and imprisoned in the Imperial dungeons there.\nAll of Tamriel exploded into warfare as Prince Uriel took the throne as Uriel III, and High Rock, because of the imprisoned Empress' presence there, was the location of some of the bloodiest battles. Pelagius' father, King Magnus, allied himself with his brother Cephorus against the usurper Emperor, and brought the wrath of Uriel III and Queen Potema down on Wayrest. Pelagius, his brothers and sisters, and his mother Utheilla fled to the Isle of Balfiera. Utheilla was of the line of Direnni, and her family manse is still located on that ancient isle even to this day.\nThere is thankfully much written record of Pelagius' childhood in Balfiera recorded by nurses and visitors. All who met him described him as a handsome, personable boy, interested in sport, magic, and music. Even assuming diplomats' lack of candor, Pelagius seemed like, if anything a blessing to the future of the Septim Dynasty.\nWhen Pelagius was eight, Cephorus slew Uriel III at the Battle of Ichidag and proclaimed himself Emperor Cephorus I. For the next ten years of his reign, Cephorus battled Potema. Pelagius' first battle was the Siege of Solitude, which ended with Potema's death and the final end of the war. In gratitude, Cephorus placed Pelagius on the throne of Solitude.\nAs king of Solitude, Pelagius' eccentricities of behavior began to be noticeable. As a favorite nephew of the Emperor, few diplomats to Solitude made critical commentary about Pelagius. For the first two years of his reign, Pelagius was at the very least noted for his alarming shifts in weight. Four months after taking the throne, a diplomat from Ebonheart called Pelagius \"a hale and hearty soul with a heart so big, it widens his waist\"; five months after that, the visiting princess of Firsthold wrote to her brother that \"the king's gripped my hand and it felt like I was being clutched by a skeleton. Pelagius is greatly emaciated, indeed.\"\nCephorus never married and died childless three years after the Siege of Solitude. As the only surviving sibling, Pelagius' father Magnus left the throne of Wayrest and took residence at the Imperial City as the Emperor Magnus I. Magnus was elderly and Pelagius was his oldest living child, so the attention of Tamriel focused on Sentinel. By this time, Pelagius' bizarrities were becoming infamous.\nThere are many legends about his acts as King of Sentinel, but few well documented cases exist. It is known that Pelagius locked the young princes and princesses of Silvenar in his room with him, only releasing them when an unsigned Declaration of War was slipped under the door. When he tore off his clothes during a speech he was giving at a local festival, his advisors apparently decided to watch him more carefully. On the orders of Magnus, Pelagius was married to the beautiful heiress of an ancient Dark Elf noble family, Katariah Ra'athim.\nNordic kings who marry Dark Elves seldom improve their popularity. There are two reasons most scholars give for the union. Magnus was trying to cement relations with Ebonheart, where the Ra'athim clan hailed. Ebonheart's neighbor, Mournhold, had been a historical ally of the Empire since the very beginning, and the royal consort of Queen Barenziah had won many battles in the War of the Red Diamond. Ebonheart had a poorly-kept secret of aiding Uriel III and Potena.\nThe other reason for the marriage was more personal: Katariah was as shrewd a diplomat as she was beautiful. If any creature was capable of hiding Pelagius' madness, it was she.\nOn the 8th of Second Seed, 3E 145, Magnus I died quietly in his sleep. Jolethe, Pelagius' sister took over the throne of Solitude, and Pelagius and Katariah rode to the Imperial City to be crowned Emperor and Empress of Tamriel. It is said that Pelagius fainted when the crown was placed on his head, but Katariah held him up so only those closest to the thrones could see what had happened. Like so many Pelagius stories, this cannot be verified.\nPelagius III never truly ruled Tamriel. Katariah and the Elder Council made all the decisions and only tried to keep Pelagius from embarassing all. Still, stories of Pelagius III's reign exist.\nIt was said that when the Argonian ambassador from Blackrose came to court, Pelagius insisted on speaking in all grunts and squeaks, as that was the Argonian's natural language.\nIt is known that Pelagius was obsessed with cleanliness, and many guests reported waking to the noise of an early-morning scrubdown of the Imperial Palace. The legend of Pelagius while inspecting the servants' work, suddenly defecating on the floor to give them something to do, is probably apocryphal.\nWhen Pelagius began actually biting and attacking visitors to the Imperial Palace, it was decided to send him to a private asylum. Katariah was proclaimed regent two years after Pelagius took the throne. For the next six years, the Emperor stayed in a series of institutions and asylums.\nTraitors to the Empire have many lies to spread about this period. Whispered stories of hideous experiments and tortures performed on Pelagius have almost become accepted as fact. The noble lady Katariah became pregnant shortly after the Emperor was sent away, and rumors of infidelity and, even more absurd, conspiracies to keep the sane Emperor locked away ran amok. As Katariah proved, her pregnancy came about after a visit to her husband's cell. With no other evidence, as loyal subjects, we are bound to accept the Emperess' word on the matter. Her second child, who would reign for many years as Uriel IV, was the child of her union with her consort Lariate, and publicly acknowledged as such.\nOn a warm night in Suns Dawn, in his 34th year, Pelagius III died after a brief fever in his cell at the Temple of Kynareth in the Isle of Betony. Katariah I reigned for another forty six years before passing the scepter onto the only child she had with Pelagius, Cassynder.\nPelagius' wild behavior has made him perversely dear to the province of his birth and death. The 2nd of Suns Dawn, which may or may not be the anniversary of his death (records are not very clear) is celebrated at Mad Pelagius, the time when foolishness of all sorts is encouraged. And so, one of the least desirable Emperors in the history of the Septim Dynasty, has become one of the most famous ones."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/memory-stone": {"game": ["Daggerfall"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/memory-stone", "description": "Personal diary of Leki, one of the Redguard warrior-saints. Connects tightly to Destri Melarg's cycle about Sword-Singers. Leki (or, rather, her image) played a major role in TES: Redguard.", "author": "Makela Leki", "title": "The Memory Stone", "text": "From The Memory Stone of Makela Leki\nThis is a faithful reproduction of the thoughts recorded in Makela Leki's memory stone, found in the Bankorai pass, in the year of reckoning 1E 973. Seven years before the fall of Orsinium due to the combined efforts of the armies of Daggerfall, Sentinel, and the Order of Diagna.\nAlmost all of this is in the first person, as Makela was unfamiliar with the protocols and scholarly formalities of recording herself into a memory stone. None the less, her heroism and heroic deeds live on, her memories fresh in the stone for all to feel and hear.\n* * *\n\" .. . muuu uhh, I wonder if this will really work?\"\n\"The Mages guild took me for 25,000 gold crowns if it doesn't. Imagine? This stone will record my thoughts? What did they say? Just unwrap it from the silver foil and leather bag and as soon as it touches my flesh it will begin to record.\n\"Ahhhh, the pain, I must block it out, no one would want to hold my stone and hear my thoughts if I let it record my pain. Thank the Ebonarm and the training I received in The Hall of the Virtues of War. I CAN block out this pain. Ummm just, ah, there, it's walled off.\n\"Yes I can still see it there just beyond my consciousness lurking like a hungry wolf - a wolf that will soon consume me. I see also my inevitable death from these damned wounds. No potions left, the healing crystal and ring are used up, and me, with not even magic enough to light a candle. Oh but the gods did give me other gifts, the gift of sword singing, the thrill of battle, Frandar Hunding's Book of Circles, THE WAY OF THE SWORD. Ah but then that is my story, I get ahead of myself.\nI am Makela Leki a warrior, a sword-singer, a second level Ansei. In my cradle I could form the Shehai, the spirit sword - The mystical blade, mine formed of pure thought serpents intertwined with vines of roses to form the blade, as beautiful as ...\nAh, but I'm about to tell you all about that, to tell you my story, a story of valiant battle, of my loves, of my wars, of. of betrayal and of this last glorious victory. To tell you of how I came to this distant lonely pass me and five companions, to fight these men and monsters to defeat the army that would fall on my people like cowards in the night, but again I get ahead of myself.\nI am a simple warrior. I grew up as a Maiden of the Spirit Blade. As early as I can remember I wanted to be a Singer, to feel the hunger of the blade in my hands, to feel it come alive and take my enemies. I am told our people were artisans and poets long ago in our desert homes. Here in new home now known as Hammerfell, many of us have returned to those ancient ways, but to me there is but ONE WAY. THE WAY of the SWORD.\nAh this is hard to tell. I grew up in my noble family, the only one of three brothers and two sisters that felt the calling, the Song of the Sword. Father understood, for he too had felt the call. He had become a master, and Ansei long before settling down with in our estate to raise a family. At eleven, I entered the Hall of the Virtues of War and joined the Maidens of the Spirit Sword. In my band there were six of us. Daring Julia, solid Patia, big Kati, svelte Cegila, wise Zell, and me - all are gone now, save me, and soon I will join them. ... Join them in the halls of the unknown gods of war.\nWe drank together, we fought, we wept, we grew in the way of the sword. We joined in our learnings in the Hall with our Brothers of the Blade. Learning from each other, we all sat at the feet of the Hall Master striving to learn the depths of the Shehai - making the spirit blade into a real weapon as Frandar Hunding had. Only a few have the purity of heart and virtue to be able to take the step and learn the mysteries of Ansei. Sword Sainthood.\nSomehow, of all the Brothers and the Maidens, I only possessed the unique qualities, the faint but strong enough flicker of magicka to call forth the Shehai. Many times I called it, seldom would it become substantial enough to be a weapon. To be a Ansei of the first level you just need to be able to call it, and that I could, so I became the first Ansei from our local hall in two generations.\nOh I have so much to tell, so many memories, so many treasures to share with you, my unknown companion. How do I start?\nUmhhh, the pain is still out there lurking hungry, slowly consuming what's left of me. I guess I had better tell of the final battle, the one that has left me here, and then if I have the will left tell you of my life, of my love Raliph. Oh what a lad he was. What times we shared ... Ebonarm ... Forgive me, my mind wanders ... Let me go to the Final Battle.\nUmm to start, in the middle humm. Yes. We Maidens grew, learned, mastered the Way, and upon completing the Walk-About. To you who are not Singers, this is a wilderness trek emulating the times of Frandar Hunding - where we each wander the country side righting wrongs, defeating monsters, performing quests in the name of virtue. Some of us in our Hall took years to finish. Always there is danger, we six Maidens each returned in our own good time, but many are they who do not live to return from the Walk About.\nWe returned, each to our own lives, to meet in the hall once a week to tell our stories to the new Maidens and Brothers, and to perform as instructors in the Way of the sword. All was well till the night of the MidYear Festival.\nAll our people were reveling and ... excuse ... enjoying the repast, but for we six Maidens. It happened that the festival day fell on our day of meeting in the hall, our day of prayer and fasting and honor to the Way of the Sword.\nAs we met, late into the night, a knocking rang on our door. When I opened, it there was a guardian the Bankorai Pass in the Wrothgarian Mountains, wounded and near death ... He told us of betrayal from the north, an invasion sponsored by the Crystal Tower of High Rock, led by King Joile of Daggerfall -- our ally in the war with Orsinium!\nQuickly we used up a crystal of healing in restoring him to vitality. We sent him on to the king, while we six grabbed our weapons and armor of power, and as many potions, marks, and crystals and rings as we could carry.\nWe flew to the pass hoping upon hope that we would not be too late. Our journey was not in vain, for we arrived just at the very point where the last three guardians were overwhelmed by the horde. Into the pass we ran forming the old battle line, six abreast.\nOh did we FIGHT.\nThe Song of the Sword was a joyous noise slicing through the ranks of evil. We fought for hours. Julia was the first to fall, a cowardly poisoned dagger finding a rent in her armor. Then one by one all fell, save me.\n... oh cruel Ebonarm ... Then my beloved sword, the sword of my father, the one with the serpent's crest, fashioned by the master sword smith Singer Tansal broke in my hands. All was lost, our six lives spent in vain. Now, many many of them would pour through the pass. I would be easy prey for them, like a newborn child. I wept in frustration.\nThen I remembered the hearth in our home - the book. Frandar Hunding's Book of Circles, the Way of Strategy. I reached for the Shehai the spirit sword, that which I could never reliably form when I needed it, and behold ... it was alive. Alive with fire. It formed in my hand. Ablaze with power ---\nOh I slew mightily, right and left, like a scythe through wheat. All the way to the Lord of the Tower I fought. With one blow I cut his magical armor asunder, one more took his head.\nBut to do that deed cost me dearly, wounds by the dozen, for although I had magical armor, it was not formed of spirit like my blade, it was not as invincible as my blade or my own spirit, and I was sorely wounded.\nWith the felling of King Joile, his army crumbled. They fled before my wrath. All ran back through the pass not even pausing to collect their dead and wounded. All who could stand ran for their lives, and I slew all I could reach, but my breath was coming short, and the pain ...\nFinally I rested, on this rock where you find me now. I don't know why I chanced to bring this stone along. I bought it on a whim really, with the loot from ... ah well I guess I need to really stop and tell my story in order. I feel able to go on to tell you more ... the eternal night is descending more slowly than I thought.\nNot just yet, am I ready to compose my death poem. A little sip of water and ... well I think I will go back and tell you of my life, maybe some details about the battle. And Oh yes. About Raliph and our children, humm where will I start.\n... oh ... rrr ...\nI am ... a simple warrior ... I grew up as a, a Maiden of the Spirit Blade ... As early ... as early as I can ... remember ..."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/old-ways-customs-and-philosophy-grave-and-faithful-council": {"game": ["Daggerfall"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/old-ways-customs-and-philosophy-grave-and-faithful-council", "description": "Looks like the mission statement of the Psijic Order.", "author": "Celarus", "title": "The Old Ways: The Customs and Philosophy of Grave and Faithful Council", "text": "We who know the Old Ways are well aware of the existence of a spiritual world invisible to the unenlightened. Just as one living in a kingdom but unaware of the political machinations may see a new tax or battle preparation as capricious fortune, many observe floods, famines, and madness with helpless incomprehension. This is deplorable. As the great Cuilean Darnizhaan moaned, \"The power of ignorance can truly shatter mithril like glass.\"\nWhat, after all, is the origin of these spiritual forces that move the invisible strings of Mundus? Any neophyte of Artaeum knows that the spirits are our ancestors, and that, while living, they too were bewildered by the spirits of their ancestors, and so on to the original Acharyai. The daedra and gods the common people turn to are no more than the spirits of superior men and women whose power and passion granted them great influence in the phantom world. Certainly, this is our truth and our religion, but how does it help us in our sacred duty to seliffrnsae, or \"provide grave and faithful counsel\"?\nFirstly, we can easily grasp the necessity of both bringing good men great power and making powerful men good. We recognize the multiple threats that a strong tyrant represents -- he breeds cruelty which feeds the daedra Boethiah and hatred which feeds the daedra Vaernima; if he should he die performing a particularly malevolent act, he may go to rule in Oblivion; worst of all, he inspires other villians to power and other rulers to villiany. Knowing this, we have developed patience in our dealings with such despots. They should be crippled, humiliated, impoverished, imprisoned. Other counselors than we may advocate assassination or warfare, which, aside from its spiritual significance, is expensive, aleatric, and likely to cause at least as much pain to innocents as the brutish dictator was inflicting. No, we are intelligence gathers, dignified diplomats, not revolutionaries.\nHow, then, are our counselors \"faithful\"? We are faithful only to the Old Ways -- it is essential always to remember the spiritual world in watching our world. Performing the Rites of Moawita on the 2nd of Hearth Fire and the Vigyld on the 1st of Second Seed are essential means of empowering the salutary ghosts and debilitating the unclean spirits. How, then, are we faithful to those we counsel and to the Isle of Artaeum?\nPerhaps the sage Taheritae said it best: \"In Mundus, conflict, disparity is what brings change, and change is most sacred of all the eleven forces. Change is the force without focus or origin, and it is the duty of the disciplined Psijic (enlightened one) to dilute change where it brings greed, gluttony, sloth, ignorance, prejudice, cruelty ... (Taheritae lists the 111 Prodigalities) ... and to encourage change where it brings excellence, beauty, happiness, and enlightenment. As such, the faithful counsel has but one master, his mind. If the man the Psijic counsels acts wickedly and brings oegnithr \"bad change\" and will not be counselled, it is the Psijics duty to counterbalance the oegnithr by any means necessary.\"\nA student of the OldWays may indeed vassal himself to a lord, but it is a risky relationship. Should the lord refuse wise counsel and order the Psijic (to use Taheritae's out-moded word) to perform an act contrary to the teachings of the Old Ways, there are few available options. The Psijic may abandon his lord, which will bring shame on him and the Isle of Artaeum, and so may never be allowed home again. The Psijic may also kill himself."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/origin-mages-guild-1": {"game": ["Daggerfall"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/origin-mages-guild-1", "description": "How Vanus Galerion made Magic available to everyone. Describes the structure of the Guild, which is not relevant to gameplay.", "author": "Salarth", "title": "The Origin of The Mages Guild", "text": "The idea of a collection of Mages, Sorcerors, and assorted Mystics pooling their resources and talents for the purpose of research and public charity was a revolutionary concept in the early years of the 2nd era. The closest organization to what we today know as the Mages Guild was the Psijic Order of the Isle of Artaeum. Magic was something to be learned by individuals, or, at most, in intimate covens; mages were, if not actual hermits, usually quite solitary.\nThe Psijic Order served the rulers of the Sumurset Isle as counselors, and chose its members by a complex, ritualized method not understood by the common people. Its purposes and goals were likewise unpublished, and its detractors attributed the worst evil as the source of its power. The religion of the old order could be described as ancestor worship, an increasingly unfashionable philosophy in the 2nd Era.\nWhen Vanus Galerion, a Psijic of Artaeum and student of the famed Iachesis, began collecting mages from around Sumurset Isle, he attracted the animosity of all. He was operating out of Firsthold, and there was a common (and not entirely unsensible) attitude that magical experiments should be conducted only in unpopulated areas. Even more shocking, Galerion proposed to make magical items, potions, and even spells available to any member of the general public who could pay. No longer was magic to be limited either to the aristocracy or intelligensia.\nGalerion was brought before Iachesis and the King of Firsthold, Rilis XII, and made to state the intentions of the guild he was forming. The fact that Galerion's speech to Rilis and Iachesis was not recorded for posterity is a tragedy, though it does allow the opportunity for historians to amuse one another with lies and persuasions Galerion might have used to found the ubiquitous organization. The charter was approved.\nAlmost immediately after the guild was formed, the question of security had to be answered. The Isle of Artaeum did not have to have a force of arms to shield it from invaders interested in stealing its treasures -- when the Psijic Order does not wish someone to land on the island, the island and all on it become insubstantial. The new Mages Guild had to hire guards. Galerion soon discovered what nobles have known for thousands of years: money alone does not buy loyalty. The knightly Order of the Lamp was formed the following year.\nLike a tree from an acorn, the Mages Guild grew branches all over Sumurset Isle and then to the mainland of Tamriel. There are many records of superstitious or sensibly fearful rulers forbidding the Guild in their kingdom, but their heirs or their heirs' heirs recognized the wisdom of allowing the Guild to practice. The Mages Guild was a powerful force in Tamriel, a dangerous foe if a somewhat disinterested ally. There have been only a few rare incidents of the Mages Guild actually becoming involved in local politcal struggles. On these occasions, the Guild's participation has been the ultimate decider in the conflict.\nBy tradition begun by Vanus Galerion, the Mages Guild as a singular institution is presided over by a council of six Archmagisters. Each guild location is run by a Guildmagister, assisted by a counsel of two, the Master of Incunubula and the Master at Arms. The Master of Incunubula presides over a counsel of an additional two mages: the Master of Academia and the Master of the Scrye. The Master at Arms also has a counsel of two: the Master of Initiates and the Palatinus, the leader of the Order of the Lamp.\nOne need not be a member of the Mages Guild to know that this carefully constructed order is often nothing more than an illusion. As Vanus Galerion himself said bitterly, leaving Tamriel to travel to other lands, \"The Guild has become nothing more than an intricate morass of political infighting.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/daggerfall-pig-children": {"game": ["Daggerfall"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/daggerfall-pig-children", "description": "A vigorous anti-Orcish pamphlete.", "author": "Tyston Bane", "title": "The Pig Children", "text": "No one, not the oldest Dark Elf of Mount Dagoth-Ur or the Ancient Sage of Solitude, no one can recall a time when the Orc did not ravage our fair Tamriel. Whatever foul and pestilent daedra of Oblivion conjured them could scarcely have created a more constant threat to the well-being of the civilized races of Tamriel.\nOrcs are thankfully easy to recognize from other humanoids by their size, commonly forty pertans in height and fifteen thousand angaids in weight, their brutal pig-like features, and their stench. They are consistantly belligerant, morally grotesque, intellectually moronic, and unclean. By all rights, the civilized races of Tamriel should have been able to purge our land of their blight eras ago, but their ferocity, animal cunning, and curious tribal loyalty has made them inevitable as leeches in a stagnant pool.\nTales of orcish barbarity preceedwritten record. When Jastyaga wrote of the Order of Diagna joining the armies of Daggerfall and Sentinel \"to hold the wicked orcs in their foul Orsinium tower ... and burn all\" in 1E 950, she assumed that any reader would be aware of the savagery of the orcs. When the siege was completed thirty years later, after the death of many heroes including Gaiden Shinji, and the destruction of Orsinium scattered the orc survivors throughout the Wrothgarian Mountains, Jastyaga wrote, \"the people rejoiced for their ancient enemy was dispersed.\" Obviously, the orcs had been terrorizing the region of the Iliac Bay at least since the early years of the first era."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sage": {"game": ["Daggerfall"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sage", "description": "A story about a great mage who spent numerous years learning and researching, finally settled in the Kurallian mountains in High Rock and started teaching younger Mages. Looks like this story was initially meant as a gameplay hint, but I don't know about anything of the like in the game.", "author": "Aegrothius Goth", "title": "The Sage", "text": "Crackle, snap, hiss ... Flicker, bright, dim ... The fire in the hearth provides light and heat. Neither seem to affect the old man. His reclining figure stares into the flames and flames reflect back from his deep dark eyes. Indigo blue robes reflect and yet absorb the firelight and highlights of golden threads twinkle as the flames flicker. His beard and hair are long and snowy white; in the firelight they almost appear to be ethereal like that of a godling. At his side is a tall pointed hat which is the same color as his robe and also twinkles with highlights of gold. The face is lined with age, yet almost appears youthful; wisdom and intellect exude from his personage. This is the Sage who is known in all of Tamriel as the champion and counselor to all users of magic. His thoughts wander, and he remembers ...\n* * *\nGyron Vardengroet was born to a poor and humble Breton family in the village of Moonguard. The only child of Frieda and Horstle Vardengroet entered life during a rare eclipse of Tamriel's moons. It was soon apparent that he was unusually gifted in the magical arts. He was found levitating the family dog when he was only a year old. Most Bretons have a great talent for magic, but as he grew Gyron displayed a talent far greater than that of his peers. The village wizard began to take an interest in young Gyron and soon took him under his wing. In spite of the young man's proclivities for being rowdy, the old Wizard Grungdingler liked him and worked hard to teach him the magical arts to the extent of his own skills.\nFinally the day came when Grungdingler could teach Gyron no more. The young mage had surpassed his master, and he was somewhat unsettled with the apprentice mage's questions about life, death and immortality. Grundingler called Gyron to him and gave him a letter addressed to Morkledder, the Guildmagister of the Mages Guild in Shornhelm. The young mage told his parents of his fortune, packed his meager belongings, and set out for the journey to Shornhelm. After many months of travel through the foothills of the Kurallian Mountains, Gyron arrived at the gates to the great City-State of Shornhelm high in the mountainous terrain of High Rock.\nAfter the life of a quiet Breton village, Shornhelm was a wonder to Gyron. He explored the city from one end to the other, and eventually found the Mages Guild. Presenting Grungdingler's letter to Morkledder, Gyron was received warmly. Morkledder explained to Gyron that he would need to be tested before any commitment to further training could be made. After a night of rest and meditation, Gyron was shown into the main hall of the Mages Guild which was now filled with magic users of all kinds. It was very quiet. The young mage felt as if his heart was in his throat as he approached the Council of Three, the leaders of the mages in this City-State. Morkledder rose and explained to Gyron the various tests he would be subjected to to prove his worth as a mage. The youth then turned and left the Council Chamber, the eyes of the many mages on him, and went forth to complete the tasks that had been defined for him.\nReturning to Shornhelm several years later, Gyron was admitted to the Mages Guild and shown to the Council Chamber where he was met by Morkledder. The ancient mage reviewed the journal entries, the artifacts gathered, and most especially the spellbook entries presented to him by Gyron. An expression of amazement spread across the old wizard's face; there had never been a novice to accomplish what Gyron had during the testing. Morkledder then called a full session of the Guild presenting Gyron as a full Wizard.\nGyron remained with Morkledder for several years and studied hard. In private session several years after the testing, Morkledder admitted to Gyron that the Guild at Shornhelm could teach him no more and that he should seek further enlightenment at the Crystal Tower on Sumurset Isle.\nAfter packing his possessions once again, Gyron set off on another long journey. He arrived at the Crystal Tower several years later after having traversed the province of Hammerfell where he had many adventures, met many other mages and shared his experiences and knowledge with them. He heard stories of wonderful plants that when combined with other elements could restore life to those dead, prolong life to those yet living, and in the proper combination bestow immortality on the user. Gyron was always quick to advise and guide mages who were less experienced than himself. He loved being able to help. He made many friends and stories began to spread across the land about this exceptional user of magic.\nWhen he entered the Crystal Tower, he was greeted by several mages all clamoring for his attention. His reputation had preceded him. However, the crowd hushed and parted at the arrival of a very imposing figure dressed all in indigo blue robes trimmed in gold, wearing a high pointed hat and carrying the most beautifully carved staff Gyron had ever seen. The Elder of the Council of Wizards, Esthlainder, looked closely at the young wizard, nodded and turned to walk back into the tower. Without delay, Gyron followed him. The audience that followed stunned the young mage.\nEsthlainder explained to him that Gyron's coming had been foretold for many years, and he had been expected. The mages had been told by the Gods that one of their own would come along to provide guidance, knowledge and aid. Gyron was that promised champion and leader. Gyron was confused and uncertain. How could he be such an extraordinary person? What must he do to fulfill his destiny? Many questions spilled from him to which Esthlainder could not provide the answers. The Elder suggested that Gyron stay with them in the Crystal Tower for a while and study. This he did.\nThe day finally came when The Elder admitted to Gyron that the Crystal Tower could no longer provide anything new and that he needed to travel the lands of Tamriel and seek the wisdom and knowledge. The Elder sighed and told Gyron how sad he was that the Crystal Tower was losing him, but that his destiny must be fulfilled. With this, the Elder presented Gyron with a package wrapped in the same beautiful indigo blue as the Elder's Robes. Gyron was told to take the package with him but open it only when he was at least a day's travel from the Crystal Tower.\nAfter a long day's walk, Gyron set up camp in a beautiful glade next to a brook of crystal clear water. Finally, he thought, I can open the Elder's package. As he untied the golden cord that had bound the package, he found that the wrapping was not wrapping at all but an exquisitely tailored robe identical to the one worn by the Elder. As he opened the robe, a high pointed wizard's hat popped out of the package, and with a \"whoosh\" and \"pop,\" the same intricately carved staff that the Elder had carried appeared. A note from the Elder advised that the garments were indestructible and that the staff had many magical properties for Gyron to discover. It went on further to explain that from this day forward Gyron would be known as The Sage.\nTired from his walking and with an inner glow of accomplishment, The Sage settled down for the first night of his long pilgrimage across the lands.\nAfter many months of further travels and adventures, The Sage returned to Moonguard and was warmly welcomed by the villagers and most especially by his parents, Frieda and Horstle. News of his coming had preceded him and the whole village had worked hard to build and furnish a cottage for the mage in the pleasant forest just outside the town. After a festive banquet that evening, Gyron retired to his new home.\nThe Sage settled into his life outside Moonguard. He received many visitors who have traveled from near and far to seek his guidance, help, and training. The years passed. It was not long before first Horstle and then Frieda died. The Sage was devastated by his loss. In his grief he swore to dedicate the rest of his life to defeating death so that grief like his could be avoided by others.\nHe returned to the Great Library at the Crystal Tower and researched the many flowers, herbs and plants that he had heard about and seen during his travels. In his cottage, he labored tirelessly over the spellbooks, vials and collection of flora from all over the lands. He tested the potions on himself. The years went by, but The Sage seemed not to age anymore. At some point he had found the right combination in his experiments, but could not determine which combination it had been as the change had been most subtle. He had secured a life without end. And the years continued to pass.\nMages came to him for help which he freely gave. The Sage settled into his life of advising and guiding and the years continued to pass. Unfortunately, his fame became so great that the call for his help was unmanageable. He reluctantly packed his possessions for the last time, and moved far into the Kurallian Mountains and built a magical fortress. Only the most worthy magic user could gain access and help from The Sage.\nHowever, following his heart, even today The Sage often leaves his mountain abode and travels the land helping young mages gain experience and to grow.\n* * *\nSnap, crackle ... The firelight flickers... The old mage stirs as the memories fade and flicker like the firelight. Bang, bang, bang... echoes from the pounding knocker on the great oaken doors of the fortress... The Sage rises and heads for the doors knowing that yet another mage in need has found him and is worthy of help."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/story-lysirius": {"game": ["Daggerfall"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/story-lysirius", "description": "A story about a hero who had a gift from Boethiah, a shield called Fearstruck.", "author": "Bresne Smythe", "title": "The Story of Lysirius", "text": "In ancient times, there lived a hero named Lyrisius. He fought agains the Akaviri slavetraders and single-handedly slew hundreds. Despite his valor, Lyrisius' army was routed and scattered to the four winds. Lyrisius fled into the moors to escape the Akaviri chariots.\nFar from the lands of men, Lyrisius entered the blasted lands. At the heart of this forsaken landscape, he met the wyrm. The great scaly beast mocked the mighty blows of Lyrisius' enchanted spear. It melted the shield Fearstruck, gift of the Daedra Boethiah, with a single blast of its fiery breath. Lyrisius, seeing that he could not defeat the creature by force of arms, surrendered.\nThe wyrm intended to devour Lyrisius when the hero offered to be its slave and manservant. Ever prideful, the wyrm agreed. Seeing that the wyrm was vulnerable to conceit, Lyrisius spoke, \"Oh great wyrm. For my first service, I beg that you allow me to polish your one tarnished scale.\"\nIndeed, centered between the great wings of the creature was a dull scale, clearly out of reach of its long neck. Its vanity was such that it immediately lowered one wing for Lyrisius to climb upon.\nOnce astride the great lizard, Lyrisius slid his dagger underneath the scale and into the tender flesh of the beast. Though it spun and twisted in all directions, the wyrm could not get at the hero. Finally it took to the air. Lyrisius clung to the neck with all his strength as the wyrm banked, rolled, and dove.\nSeeing that Lyrisius could not be shaken free, the wyrm demanded that he remove the stinging blade. Lyrisius answered, \"Fly straight on until you see a great army. Destroy that army and I will remove my blade.\"\nWith a great roar, the scaled creature set off. The Akavari army had no chance against the fire-breathing beast. They have never plagued Tamriel since.\n\"I have done as you bid. Now sheath your stinger,\" roared the wyrm.\nKnowing that he would be devoured or worse, Lyrisius pulled the blade and then leapt from the back of the flying wyrm. Indeed, the foul monster had intended to slay the hero. The wyrm pursued the plummeting Lyrisius. Boethiah appeared beside the falling hero. Praising him for ultimately destroying the army of Akavir, she turned him into a raven. Lyrisius quickly lost the wyrm in the clouds.\nLegend has it that the wyrm still lives, though this happened in the first era long, long ago. The dragon nurses a grudge against Lyrisius and all of his kind. It has vowed never again to trust two legged bearers of weapons.\n* * *\nScholar's Note: If this legend has a basis in fact, the artifact Fearstruck was utterly destroyed. No other reference to it has ever been found."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/war-betony-pro-daggerfall": {"game": ["Daggerfall"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/war-betony-pro-daggerfall", "description": "A ridiculously pro-Daggerfall account of the war.", "author": "Vulper Newgate", "title": "The War of Betony", "text": "The history of the Iliac Bay, if told in its entirety, would horrify readers more than the most gruesome legend of the Underking. In comparison to the wars of the first and second era, our most recent appeal to arms, the War of Betony pales. The Siege of Orsinium lasted from 1E 950 until 1E 980 without a pause. A thousand years later, the Thrassian Plague coupled with the War of Righteousness slayed over half the population of the Iliac Bay. And yet, the War of Betony fascinates us, and not just because of its immediacy.\nIronically, Lord Mogref of Betony was seeking peace when he asked for Daggerfall's protection on the Isle of Betony. The island had long been independant, but as the piracy in the Bay increased, Mogref truly realized Betony's vulnerability. King Lysandus agreed to be Betony's liege, on advice of many, including his archpriest of Kynareth, Lord Vanech. While Betony is a prosperous fishing island and well-placed strategically, the vassalage of Betony was primarily an act of charity. Lysandus knew that if someone did not help Betony, it would fall to the pirates, if not to someone worse.\nUnfortunately, King Camaron of Sentinel did not agree. Citing a two hundred year old contract, obliquely if not illegally written to suggest that Betony was a \"traditional holding\" of the Kingdom of Sentinel, Camaron declared war. The majority of his advisors, being warlords in a traditionally bellicose country, supported their king in this. The Chief Counselor, a woman called The Oracle, foresaw death and defeat in the war, but her wisdom was stifled and she was banished from court. Camaron should have listened to her.\nA few scrimages of the War of Betony went to Sentinel, but the major battles were all won by Daggerfall. King Lysandus, his heir Prince Gothryd, and the general of the army Lord Bridwell were fine leaders and warriors as well, and the Battle of the Bluffs and the Siege of Craghold both went to Daggerfall.\nThe war might have been won with one more victory, but for an unusual domestic incident in King Lysandus' court. The king's mother, the dowager queen Nulfaga, had been uneasy about the war since its beginning, but she now began to have visions of cataclysm. She saw the death of her beloved son should the war continue. Ebullient by his success, King Lysandus refused to listen to her fears until Nulfaga left court. Lysandus then realized how certain she was about his impending death. He began to actively negotiate a peace treaty with Sentinel, using the neutral lordship of Reich Gradkeep as facilitator.\nThe Treaty of Reich Gradkeep was never to be. King Camaron was initially civil, as the losing side of a war is often civil, but when he realized that the proposed treaty would have included a formal declaration that the kingdoms of Sentinel and Daggerfall would share Betony, he flew into a rage. With no thought for the protocol of attacking a neutral peaceable lordship, Camaron order his army to riot through Reich Gradkeep. First the halls of the palace, and then the streets of the capitol ran red with blood. It was only with the support of the Daggerfall army that the chaos was brought under relative control. The Sentinel army fled to the Yeorth Burrowland, and the Daggerfall army chased them as far as the Ravennian Forest before making camp.\nOne week later, after each had a chance to send for reinforcements and plan their strategies, the armies met in the field that separated them, the flowering meadowland called Cryngaine Field. In the heat of the clash, an unnatural fog spread over the field, blinding all combatants. When the mist finally lifted, King Lysandus' body was found, his throat pierced by an unmarked arrow.\nDaggerfall did not waste any time in mourning; young prince Gothryd, who had shown great bravery in battle and was very popular among the troops, was crowned King of Daggerfall just behind the battle lines, and he ordered the army onward. Perhaps it was the sight of the brave young warrior turned king appearing on the battlefield in full regalia that inspired the Daggerfall army, perhaps the battle would have turned regardless, Sentinel began to panic. King Gothryd met King Camaron before the Redguards had retreated, and the two monarchs fought. Both were excellent warriors, but Gothryd was a more skillful swordsman, and Camaron fell that day. Lord Oresme of Sentinel formally surrendered to Daggerfall, giving up all rights to Betony officially. He later commited suicide on the ship back to Sentinel.\nPeace was a difficult process for the cities and towns on both sides of the Iliac Bay. As part of the formal peace treaty, King Gothryd asked for the hand of Princess Aubk-i, only daughter of the late King Camaron and the Queen Regent Akorithi. The request was intended to restore friendship between the kingdoms, and it was partially successful though many in the royal court of Sentinel viewed the princess as more a prisoner of war than a bond to Daggerfall.\nThe only surviving member of the ruling family of Reich Gradkeep was a sickly infant, so the councilors of state appealed to Lord Auberon Flyte, a cousin of Lord Graddock, to rule the lordship in regency. Lord Flyte accepted, and his strong, almost dictatorial style was just what Reich Gradkeep needed to restore order after the bloody Treaty of Reich Gradkeep. His subjects were grateful that when the infant heir died, they not only elevated his wife Doryanna and him from regents to rulers, they agreed to rename the lordship in his honor. Reich Gradkeep became Anticlere, named after his ancestral home.\nThe horrors of the War of Betony still live on, even in Anticlere. Whether Daggerfall and Sentinel will be able to use the marriage of King Gothryd and Princess Aubk-i as a symbol of peace rather than discord is something that only the future can show.\n-- 14 Suns Dawn 3E 404"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/war-betony-pro-sentinel": {"game": ["Daggerfall"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/war-betony-pro-sentinel", "description": "A ridiculously pro-Sentinel account of the war.", "author": "Fav'te", "title": "The War of Betony", "text": "Could there be a better proof of the natural perversity of Bretons than their conduct before, during, and after what history will remember as the War of Betony? By the most depraved of motivations, the most despicable of tactics, and the most ungentlemanly of triumphs, the kingdom of Daggerfall changed the nature of warfare in the Iliac Bay and perhaps over all of Tamriel. In Sentinel, we call the recent carnage the Siege of Betony, but as the book of history is writ by the victors, let us speak instead of the War of Betony.\nRedguards by their nature are a modest and practical people. We are not phlegmatic like the High Elves, nor cowardly like the Wood Elves and Khajiiti. But what would infuriate and enrage the swaggering, vainglorious Nords and Bretons would not merit a shrug from a Redguard. Had any Breton kingdom possessed the little island of Betony, it would have been covetously guarded. Betony's trade would have been seriously restricted; its religion subjugated; its people bound by active and constant pledges and duties of vassalage. But Betony was not a Breton dominion. Betony was part of the Kingdom of Sentinel.\nKing Lysandus -- may the Old Ones continue to torment his soul for his wickedness! -- saw the prosperous island which is closer to his land than to Sentinel, and his black heart turned to avarice. Through threats, lies, acts of piracy and, finally, invasion, Daggerfall illegally took possession of the Island of Betony. His court sorceress, the Lady Medora, his enchantress mother, and other experienced counselors were horrified by the brutality of his campaign and begged him to abandon his tyrannical act of war. Gradually, all dissentors were removed from court. None but the ignorant and the warmongers remained.\nOur late king Camaron tried to employ civil diplomacy with Daggerfall, but in the end, he made the former declaration of war. Daggerfall and Sentinel have fought many times in their two thousand years of coexistance, and Camaron knew the black magic and espionage the Bretons considered honest warfare. Never debasing the Sentinel character by duplicating the Breton villainy, Camaron knew best how to combat Lysandus. King Lysandus' knavish battle tactics were even more perfidious than his ancestors', and the war continue to rage until it began to involve more than Sentinel and Daggerfall.\nLord Graddock, ruler of Reich Gradkeep, acted as concilator between Sentinel and Daggerfall, and eventually convinced both monarchs to meet and make peace. The ill-fated Treaty of Gradkeep began civilly; the terms of peace were discussed, agreed on, and set to paper. The terms were excessively generous. Camaron had agreed to give up some of his rights to Betony in order to placate the madness of Lysandus and bring peace back to the Iliac Bay. It was not until King Camaron read the Treaty he was about to sign that he realized the outrageous perfidy of the Bretons: the Treaty had actually been purposefully miswritten by the Daggerfall scribe in a desparate and ignominious attempt to trick Camaron into signing a contract different from the one to which he had agreed. The castle of Reich Gradkeep erupted into bloodbath, and the war continued.\nThe Battle of Cryngaine Field was the tragic ending of the senseless war of attrition. The Cryngaine Field is located in between the Yeorth Burrowland and the Ravennian Forest where the armies of Sentinel and Daggerfall respectively made camp after the massacre at Reich Gradkeep. As the battle began, Daggerfall proved that she had some foul daedric magical tricks left by blinding the Redguard army with a wall of mist. Lysandus did not have the opportunity to gloat over his cozenage for long, for the sure arm of a Sentinel archer struck him in the throat even through the thick, swirling fog. Lysandus' son, Gothryd, who had spent the battle in lugubrious relaxation, was crowned without ceremony, and thereupon demanded a duel with King Camaron. Camaron was many years Gothryd's senior, and though a superior warrior, was exhausted from the endless warfare the boy king had been spared. Nevertheless, as a point of honor, our king agreed to the duel. The new king of Daggerfall, by dirty trick and black magic, managed to backstab our king before the duel ever began. Thus, the victor of Cryngaine Field, and the War of Betony, was Daggerfall.\nDaggerfall's wickedness continued even after her inglorious victory. While the widow queen of Sentinel, Her Majesty Akorithi, mourned and tried to mend her shattered lands, Gothryd demanded the Princess of Sentinel as a hostage of war. To save her homeland, the Princess Aubk-i agreed to leave Sentinel and even marry the murderer of her father. But we true Redguards of Sentinel know where her love and honor lies. The Queen of Daggerfall is the Princess of Sentinel first and foremost."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/daggerfall-wild-elves": {"game": ["Daggerfall"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/daggerfall-wild-elves", "description": "Describes a rare breed of Elves that was never featured in Daggerfall, but resurfaced later.", "author": "Kiergo Chorvak", "title": "The Wild Elves", "text": "In the wilds of most every province of Tamriel, descended philosophically if not directly from the original inhabitants of the land are the Ayleids, commonly called the Wild Elves. While three races of elven stock, Salache (or High), Boiche (or Wood), and Moriche (or Dark) have assimilated well to the new cultures of Tamriel, the Ayleids and their brethren have remained aloof of our civilization, preferring to practice the old ways far from the eyes of the world.\nThe Wild Elves speak a variation of Old Cyrodilic and not Tamrielic, separating themselves further even than their more urbanized Elven cousins. In temperament they are dark-spirited and taciturn, though they doubtless act differently with outsiders (or \"Pellani\" in their tongue) than within their own tribes. Indeed, one of the finest sages of the University of Gwilym was a civilized Ayleid elf, Tjurhane Fyrre (1E 2790 - 2E 227) whose published work on Wild Elves suggests a lively, vibrant culture. Fyrre is one of the very few Ayleids to speak freely on his people and religion, and even he said \"the nature of the tribes of Ayleid are multi-hued, their personalities often wildly different from their neighbor tribes.\" (Fyrre, T. \"Nature of Ayleidic Poesy\" p. 8, Univ of Gwilym Press, 2E 12) Like any alien culture, Wild Elves are often feared by the simple people of Tamriel.\nThe Ayleids continue to be one of the greatest enigmas of the continent of Tamriel. They seldom appear in the pages of written history in any role, and then only as a strange sight a chronicler stumbles upon before they vanish into the wood. When probable fiction is filtered from common legend, we are left with almost nothing. The mysterious ways of the Ayleids have remained shrouded since before the first era, and may well remain so for thousands of years to come."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wayrest-jewel-bay": {"game": ["Daggerfall"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wayrest-jewel-bay", "description": "A glorifying story about the past and present of Wayrest, with of-so-subtle bashing of Daggerfall.", "author": "Sathyr Longleat", "title": "Wayrest, Jewel of the Bay", "text": "Wayrest is one of the most glorious cities of western Tamriel: sparkling in her contemporary beauty, lustrous by her past. She is prized above all cities in High Rock -- no other city has contributed, and continues to contribute so much to the culture of the Bretons. The spirits of her genius children continue to haunt the streets; you can see them in the gabled roofs, grand boulevards, aromatic marketplaces. The people of Wayrest have an instictive appreciation of their past, but are not obsessed by it, as the people of Daggerfall seem to be. One feels that one is in a modern city when one visits Wayrest, but there is a magic in the air that could only come from thirty-two centuries of civilization.\nIt is difficult for historians to declare a certain date for the foundation of Wayrest. A settlement of some variety had been existence where the Bjoulsae River feeds the Iliac Bay possibly since the 800th year of the First Era. The traders and fishermen of Wayrest were surrounded by hostile parties: the orc capitol Orsinium had grown like a poison weed to the north, and the Akaviri pirates and raiders crowded the islands to the west. There is no mystery to Wayrest's name. After the fighting most travellers had to endure passing through the eastern end of the Iliac Bay, the little fishing village on the Bjoulsae was a welcome rest.\nNowhere in the much vaunted censuses of the Skyrim Occupation is Wayrest mentioned. In the Annals of Daggerfall, King Joile's letter to Gaiden Shinji of the Order of Diagna contains the following reference: \"The orcs have been much plaguing the Wayresters and impeding traffic to the heart of the land.\" The date given for the letter was 1E 948.\nWayrest only truly bloomed after the razing of Orsinium in 1E 980. The hard-working traders and merchants were instrumental in forming the Masconian Trade Way and thus reducing the pirate activity on the Bay. At this time, Wayrest occupied both banks of the Bjoulsae. A successful mercantile family, the Gardners, built a walled palace on the High Rock side of the river and, over time, allowed banks and other businesses within its walls. It was a Gardner, Farangel, who was proclaimed king when Wayrest accepted ambassadors from the Camorian Empire, and was granted the right to call itself a kingdom in the 1100th year of the 1st Era.\nAlthough Wayrest became a kingdom under the command of one family, the merchants continued to wield incredible power. Many economists have alleged that Wayrest's eternal wealth, despite all her hardships, comes from this rare relationship between the merchants and the crown. The Gardner Dynasty fell, followed by the Cumberland Dynasty, which was followed by the Horley Dynasty, and finally, in the Third Era, the Septim Dynasty. No citizen of another kingdom of comparable age can, with one hand, name all the families who have ever ruled. Never has a king of Wayrest been deposed by revolution or assassination. Except for those of the Septim family, every king of Wayrest can trace his line back to a merchant prince of Wayrest. The merchants and king respect one another, and this relationship strengthens both.\nOne need only walk down the great boulevard of Wayrest to see physical proof of this unique alliance. Going north to south, Wayrest Boulevard suddenly divides, one half going west and the other going east. Both halfs end in identical squares: one at Castle Wayrest, the original palace of Aphren Gardner, and the other at Cumberland Square, where the oldest and wealthiest marketplace in Wayrest. The message here is clear: the king and the merchants are joined and equal.\nWayrest has survived blights, droughts, plagues, piracy, invasions, and war with good humor and practicality. In 1E 2702, the entire population of the city was forced to move into the walled estate of the Gardners as protection against the pirates, Akaviri raiders, and Thrassian plague. A less resourceful community would have withered, but the Wayresters have survived to enrich Tamriel generation after generation."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/2920-morning-star-book-1": {"series": "2920, Last Year of the First Era", "game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion", "Skyrim", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/2920-morning-star-book-1", "author": "Carlovac Townway", "title": "2920, Morning Star, Book 1", "description": "A fascinating drama taking place at the very end of the First Era.", "text": "Morning Star\nBook One of 2920\nThe Last Year of the First Era\nby\nCarlovac Townway\n\n1 Morning Star, 2920\nMournhold, Morrowind\nAlmalexia lay in her bed of fur, dreaming. Not until the sun burned through her window, infusing the light wood and flesh colors of her chamber in a milky glow did she open her eyes. It was quiet and serene, a stunning reverse of the flavor of her dreams, so full of blood and celebration. For a few moments, she simply stared at the ceiling, trying to sort through her visions.\nIn the courtyard of her palace was a boiling pool which steamed in the coolness of the winter morning. At the wave of her hand, it cleared and she saw the face and form of her lover Vivec in his study to the north. She did not want to speak right away: he looked so handsome in his dark red robes, writing his poetry as he did every morning.\n\"Vivec,\" she said, and he raised his head in a smile, looking at her face across thousands of miles. \"I have seen a vision of the end of the war.\"\n\"After eighty years, I don't think anyone can imagine an end,\" said Vivec with a smile, but he grew serious, trusting Almalexia's prophecies. \"Who will win? Morrowind or the Cyrodilic Empire?\"\n\"Without Sotha Sil in Morrowind, we will lose,\" she replied.\n\"My intelligence tells me the Empire will strike us to the north in early springtide, by First Seed at the latest. Could you go to Artaeum and convince him to return?\"\n\"I'll leave today,\" she said, simply.\n4 Morning Star, 2920\nGideon, Black Marsh\nThe Empress paced around her cell. Wintertide gave her wasteful energy, while in the summer she would merely sit by her window and be grateful for each breath of stale swamp wind that came to cool her. Across the room, her unfinished tapestry of a dance at the Imperial Court seemed to mock her. She ripped it from its frame, tearing the pieces apart as they drifted to the floor.\nThen she laughed at her own useless gesture of defiance. She would have plenty of time to repair it and craft a hundred more. The Emperor had locked her up in Castle Giovesse seven years ago, and would likely keep her here until he or she died.\nWith a sigh, she pulled the cord to call her knight, Zuuk. He appeared at the door within minutes, fully uniformed as befitted an Imperial Guard. Most of the native Kothringi tribesmen of Black Marsh preferred to go about naked, but Zuuk had taken a positive delight to fashion. His silver, reflective skin was scarcely visible, only on his face, neck, and hands.\n\"Your Imperial Highness,\" he said with a bow.\n\"Zuuk,\" said Empress Tavia. \"I'm bored. Lets discuss methods of assassinating my husband today.\"\n14 Morning Star, 2920\nThe Imperial City, Cyrodiil\nThe chimes proclaiming South Wind's Prayer echoed through the wide boulevards and gardens of the Imperial City, calling all to their temples. The Emperor Reman III always attended a service at the Temple of the One, while his son and heir Prince Juilek found it more political to attend a service at a different temple for each religious holiday. This year, it was at the cathedral Benevolence of Mara.\nThe Benevolence's services were mercifully short, but it was not until well after noon that the Emperor was able to return to the palace. By then, the arena combatants were impatiently waiting for the start of the ceremony. The crowd was far less restless, as the Potentate Versidue-Shaie had arranged for a demonstration from a troupe of Khajiiti acrobats.\n\"Your religion is so much more convenient than mine,\" said the Emperor to his Potentate by way of an apology. \"What is the first game?\"\n\"A one-on-one battle between two able warriors,\" said the Potentate, his scaly skin catching the sun as he rose. \"Armed befitting their culture.\"\n\"Sounds good,\" said the Emperor and clapped his hands. \"Let the sport commence!\"\nAs soon as he saw the two warriors enter the arena to the roar of the crowd, Emperor Reman III remembered that he had agreed to this several months before and forgotten about it. One combatant was the Potentate's son, Savirien-Chorak, a glistening ivory-yellow eel, gripping his katana and wakizashi with his thin, deceptively weak looking arms. The other was the Emperor's son, Prince Juilek, in ebony armor with a savage Orcish helm, shield and longsword at his side.\n\"This will be fascinating to watch,\" hissed the Potentate, a wide grin across his narrow face. \"I don't know if I've even seen a Cyrodiil fight an Akavir like this. Usually it's army against army. At last we can settle which philosophy is better -- to create armor to combat swords as your people do, or to create swords to combat armor as mine do.\"\nNo one in the crowd, aside from a few scattered Akaviri counselors and the Potentate himself wanted Savirien-Chorak to win, but there was a collective intake of breath at the sight of his graceful movements. His swords seemed to be a part of him, a tail coming from his arms to match the one behind him. It was a trick of counterbalance, allowing the young serpent man to roll up into a circle and spin into the center of the ring in offensive position. The Prince had to plod forward the less impressive traditional way.\nAs they sprang at each other, the crowd bellowed with delight. The Akaviri was like a moon in orbit around the Prince, effortlessly springing over his shoulder to attempt a blow from behind, but the Prince whirled around quickly to block with his shield. His counter-strike met only air as his foe fell flat to the ground and slithered between his legs, tripping him. The Prince fell to the ground with a resounding crash.\nMetal and air melted together as Savirien-Chorak rained strike after strike upon the Prince, who blocked every one with his shield.\n\"We don't have shields in our culture,\" murmured Versidue-Shaie to the Emperor. \"It seems strange to my boy, I imagine. In our country, if you don't want to get hit, you move out of the way.\"\nWhen Savirien-Chorak was rearing back to begin another series of blinding attacks, the Prince kicked at his tail, sending him falling back momentarily. In an instant, he had rebounded, but the Prince was also back on his feet. The two circled one another, until the snake man spun forward, katana extended. The Prince saw his foe's plan, and blocked the katana with his longsword and the wakizashi with his shield. Its short punching blade impaled itself in the metal, and Savirien-Chorak was thrown off balance.\nThe Prince's longblade slashed across the Akavir's chest and the sudden, intense pain caused him to drop both his weapons. It a moment, it was over. Savirien-Chorak was prostate in the dust with the Prince's longsword at his throat.\n\"The game's over!\" shouted the Emperor, barely heard over the applause from the stadium.\nThe Prince grinned and helped Savirien-Chorak up and over to a healer. The Emperor clapped his Potentate on the back, feeling relieved. He had not realized when the fight had begun how little chance he had given his son at victory.\n\"He will make a fine warrior,\" said Versidue-Shaie. \"And a great emperor.\"\n\"Just remember,\" laughed the Emperor. \"You Akaviri have a lot of showy moves, but if just one of our strikes comes through, it's all over for you.\"\n\"Oh, I'll remember that,\" nodded the Potentate.\nReman thought about that comment for the rest of the games, and had trouble fully enjoying himself. Could the Potentate be another enemy, just as the Empress had turned out to be? The matter would bear watching.\n21 Morning Star, 2920\nMournhold, Morrowind\n\"Why don't you wear that green gown I gave you?\" asked the Duke of Mournhold, watching the young maiden put on her clothes.\n\"It doesn't fit,\" smiled Turala. \"And you know I like red.\"\n\"It doesn't fit because you're getting fat,\" laughed the Duke, pulling her down on the bed, kissing her breasts and the pouch of her stomach. She laughed at the tickles, but pulled herself up, wrapping her red robe around her.\n\"I'm round like a woman should be,\" said Turala. \"Will I see you tomorrow?\"\n\"No,\" said the Duke. \"I must entertain Vivec tomorrow, and the next day the Duke of Ebonheart is coming. Do you know, I never really appreciated Almalexia and her political skills until she left?\"\n\"It is the same with me,\" smiled Turala. \"You will only appreciate me when I'm gone.\"\n\"That's not true at all,\" snorted the Duke. \"I appreciate you now.\"\nTurala allowed the Duke one last kiss before she was out the door. She kept thinking about what he said. Would he appreciate her more or less when he knew that she was getting fat because she was carrying his child? Would he appreciate her enough to marry her?\nThe Year Continues in Sun's Dawn"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/2920-suns-dawn-book-2": {"series": "2920, Last Year of the First Era", "game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion", "Skyrim", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/2920-suns-dawn-book-2", "author": "Carlovac Townway", "title": "2920, Sun's Dawn, Book 2", "description": "A fascinating drama taking place at the very end of the First Era.", "text": "Sun's Dawn\nBook Two of 2920\n\tThe Last Year of the First Era\nby\n\tCarlovac Townway\n3 Sun's Dawn, 2920\n\tThe Isle of Artaeum, Summurset\nSotha Sil watched the initiates float one by one up to the oassom tree, taking a fruit or a flower from its high branches before dropping back to the ground with varying degrees of grace. He took a moment while nodding his head in approval to admire the day. The whitewashed statue of Syrabane, which the great mage was said to have posed for in ancient days, stood at the precipice of the cliff overlooking the bay. Pale purple proscato flowers waves to and fro in the gentle breeze. Beyond, ocean, and the misty border between Artaeum and the main island of Summurset.\n\"By and large, acceptable,\" he proclaimed as the last student dropped her fruit in his hand. With a wave of his hand, the fruit and flowers were back in the tree. With another wave, the students had formed into position in a semicircle around the sorcerer. He pulled a small fibrous ball, about a foot in diameter from his white robes.\n\"What is this?\"\nThe students understood this test. It asked them to cast a spell of identification on the mysterious object. Each initiate closed his or her eyes and imagined the ball in the realm of the universal Truth. Its energy had a unique resonance as all physical and spiritual matter does, a negative aspect, a duplicate version, relative paths, true meaning, a song in the cosmos, a texture in the fabric of space, a facet of being that has always existed and always will exist.\n\"A ball,\" said a young Nord named Welleg, which brought giggles from some of the younger initiates, but a frown from most, including Sotha Sil.\n\"If you must be stupid, at least be amusing,\" growled the sorcerer, and then looked at a young, dark-haired Altmer lass who looked confused. \"Lilatha, do you know?\"\n\"It's grom,\" said Lilatha, uncertainly. \"What the dreugh meff after they've k-k-kr-krevinasim.\"\n\"Karvinasim, but very good, nonetheless,\" said Sotha Sil. \"Now, tell me, what does that mean?\"\n\"I don't know,\" admitted Lilatha. The rest of the students also shook their heads.\n\"There are layers to understanding all things,\" said Sotha Sil. \"The common man looks at an object and fits it into a place in his way of thinking. Those skilled in the Old Ways, in the way of the Psijic, in Mysticism, can see an object and identify it by its proper role. But one more layer is needed to be peeled back to achieve understanding. You must identify the object by its role and its truth and interpret that meaning. In this case, this ball is indeed grom, which is a substance created by the dreugh, an underwater race in the north and western parts of the continent. For one year of their life, they undergo karvinasim when they walk upon the land. Following that, they return to the water and meff, or devour the skin and organs they needed for land-dwelling. Then they vomit it up into little balls like this. Grom. Dreugh vomit.\"\nThe students looked at the ball a little queasily. Sotha Sil always loved this lesson.\n4 Sun's Dawn, 2920\n\tThe Imperial City, Cyrodiil\n\"Spies,\" muttered the Emperor, sitting in his bath, staring at a lump on his foot. \"All around me, traitors and spies.\"\nHis mistress Rijja washed his back, her legs wrapped around his waist. She knew after all these many years when to be sensual and when to be sexual. When he was in a mood like this, it was best to be calmly, soothingly, seductively sensual. And not to say a word unless he asked her a direct question.\nWhich he did: \"What do you think when a fellow steps on his Imperial Majesty's foot and says 'I'm sorry, Your Imperial Majesty'? Don't you think 'Pardon me, Your Imperial Majesty' is more appropriate? 'I'm sorry,' well that almost sounds like the bastard Argonian was sorry I am his Imperial Majesty. That he hopes we lose the war with Morrowind, that's what it sounds like.\"\n\"What would make you feel better?\" asked Rijja. \"Would you like him flogged? He is only, as you say, the Battlechief of Soulrest. It would teach him to mind where he's stepping.\"\n\"My father would have flogged him. My grandfather would have had him killed,\" the Emperor grumbled. \"But I don't mind if they all step on my feet, provided they respect me. And don't plot against me.\"\n\"You must trust someone.\"\n\"Only you,\" smiled the Emperor, turning slightly to give Rijja a kiss. \"And my son Juilek, I suppose, though I wish he were a little more cautious.\"\n\"And your council, and the Potentate?\" asked Rijja.\n\"A pack of spies and a snake,\" laughed the Emperor, kissing his mistress again. As they began to make love, he whispered, \"As long as you're true, I can handle the world.\"\n13 Sun's Dawn, 2920\n\tMournhold, Morrowind\nTurala stood at the black, bejeweled city gates. A wind howled around her, but she felt nothing.\nThe Duke had been furious upon hearing his favorite mistress was pregnant and cast her from his sight. She tried again and again to see him, but his guards turned her away. Finally, she returned to her family and told them the truth. If only she had lied and told them she did not know who the father was. A soldier, a wandering adventurer, anyone. But she told them that the father was the Duke, a member of the House Indoril. And they did what she knew they would have to do, as proud members of the House Redoran.\nUpon her hand was burned the sign of Expulsion her weeping father had branded on her. But the Duke's cruelty hurt her far more. She looked out the gate and into the wide winter plains. Twisted, sleeping trees and skies without birds. No one in Morrowind would take her in now. She must go far away.\nWith slow, sad steps, she began her journey.\n16 Sun's Dawn, 2920\n\tSenchal, Anequina (modern day Elsweyr)\n\"What troubles you?\" asked Queen Hasaama, noticing her husband's sour mood. At the end of most Lovers' Days he was in an excellent mood, dancing in the ballroom with all the guests, but tonight he retired early. When she found him, he was curled in the bed, frowning.\n\"That blasted bard's tale about Polydor and Eloisa put me in a rotten state,\" he growled. \"Why did he have to be so depressing?\"\n\"But isn't that the truth of the tale, my dear? Weren't they doomed because of the cruel nature of the world?\"\n\"It doesn't matter what the truth is, he did a rotten job of telling a rotten tale, and I'm not going to let him do it anymore,\" King Dro'Zel sprang from the bed. His eyes were rheumy with tears. \"Where did they say he was from again?\"\n\"I believe Gilverdale in easternmost Valenwood,\" said the Queen, shaken. \"My husband, what are you going to do?\"\nDro'Zel was out of the room in a single spring, bounding up the stairs to his tower. If Queen Hasaama knew what her husband was going to do, she did not try to stop him. He had been erratic of late, prone to fits and even occasional seizures. But she never suspected the depths of his madness, and his loathing for the bard and his tale of the wickedness and perversity found in mortal man.\n19 Sun's Dawn, 2920\n\tGilverdale, Valenwood\n\"Listen to me again,\" said the old carpenter. \"If cell three holds worthless brass, then cell two holds the gold key. If cell one holds the gold key, then cell three hold worthless brass. If cell two holds worthless brass, then cell one holds the gold key.\"\n\"I understand,\" said the lady. \"You told me. And so cell one holds the gold key, right?\"\n\"No,\" said the carpenter. \"Let me start from the top.\"\n\"Mama?\" said the little boy, pulling on his mother's sleeve.\n\"Just one moment, dear, mother's talking,\" she said, concentrating on the riddle. \"You said 'cell three holds the golden key if cell two holds worthless brass,' right?\"\n\"No,\" said the carpenter patiently. \"Cell three holds worthless brass, if cell two --\"\n\"Mama!\" cried the boy. His mother finally looked.\nA bright red mist was pouring over the town in a wave, engulfing building after building in its wake. Striding before was a red-skinned giant. The Daedra Molag Bal. He was smiling.\n29 Sun's Dawn, 2920\n\tGilverdale, Valenwood\nAlmalexia stopped her steed in the vast moor of mud to let him drink from the river. He refused to, even seemed repelled by the water. It struck her as odd: they had been making excellent time from Mournhold, and surely he must be thirsty. She dismounted and joined her retinue.\n\"Where are we now?\" she asked.\nOne of her ladies pulled out a map. \"I thought we were approaching a town called Gilverdale.\"\nAlmalexia closed her eyes and opened them again quickly. The vision was too much to bear. As her followers watched, she picked up a piece of brick and a fragment of bone, and clutched them to her heart.\n\"We must continue on to Artaeum,\" she said quietly.\nThe Year continues in First Seed."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/2920-first-seed-book-3": {"series": "2920, Last Year of the First Era", "game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion", "Skyrim", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/2920-first-seed-book-3", "author": "Carlovac Townway", "title": "2920, First Seed, Book 3", "description": "A fascinating drama taking place at the very end of the First Era.", "text": "First Seed\nBook Three of 2920\nThe Last Year of the First Era\nby\nCarlovac Townway\n\n15 First Seed, 2920\nCaer Suvio, Cyrodiil\nFrom their vantage point high in the hills, the Emperor Reman III could still see the spires of the Imperial City, but he knew he was far away from hearth and home.  Lord Glavius had a luxurious villa, but it was not close to being large enough to house the entire army within its walls.  Tents lined the hillsides, and the soldiers were flocking to enjoy his lordship's famous hot springs.  Little wonder: winter chill still hung in the air.\n\"Prince Juilek, your son, is not feeling well.\"\nWhen Potentate Versidue-Shaie spoke, the Emperor jumped.  How that Akavir could slither across the grass without making a sound was a mystery to him.\n\"Poisoned, I'd wager,\" grumbled Reman. \"See to it he gets a healer.  I told him to hire a taster like I have, but the boy's headstrong.  There are spies all around us, I know it.\"\n\"I believe you're right, your imperial majesty,\" said Versidue-Shaie. \"These are treacherous times, and we must take precautions to see that Morrowind does not win this war, either on the field or by more insidious means.  That is why I would suggest that you not lead the vanguard into battle.  I know you would want to, as your illustrious ancestors Reman I, Brazollus Dor, and Reman II did, but I fear it would be foolhardy.  I hope you do not mind me speaking frankly like this.\"\n\"No,\" nodded Reman. \"I think you're right.  Who would lead the vanguard then?\"\n\"I would say Prince Juilek, if he were feeling better,\" replied the Akavir. \"Failing that, Storig of Farrun, with Queen Naghea of Riverhold at left flank, and Warchief Ulaqth of Lilmoth at right flank.\"\n\"A Khajiit at left flank and an Argonian at right,\" frowned the Emperor. \"I never do trust beastfolk.\"\nThe Potentate took no offense.  He knew that \"beastfolk\" referred to the natives of Tamriel, not to the Tsaesci of Akavir like himself. \"I quite agree your imperial majesty, but you must agree that they hate the Dunmer.  Ulaqth has a particular grudge after all the slave-raids on his lands by the Duke of Mournhold.\"\nThe Emperor conceded it was so, and the Potentate retired.  It was surprising, thought Reman, but for the first time, the Potentate seemed trustworthy.  He was a good man to have on one's side.\n18 First Seed, 2920\nAld Erfoud, Morrowind\n\"How far is the Imperial Army?\" asked Vivec.\n\"Two days' march,\" replied his lieutenant. \"If we march all night tonight, we can get higher ground at the Pryai tomorrow morning.  Our intelligence tells us the Emperor will be commanding the rear, Storig of Farrun has the vanguard, Naghea of Riverhold at left flank, and Ulaqth of Lilmoth at right flank.\"\n\"Ulaqth,\" whispered Vivec, an idea forming. \"Is this intelligence reliable?  Who brought it to us?\"\n\"A Breton spy in the Imperial Army,\" said the lieutenant and gestured towards a young, sandy-haired man who stepped forward and bowed to Vivec.\n\"What is your name and why is a Breton working for us against the Cyrodiils?\" asked Vivec, smiling.\n\"My name is Cassyr Whitley of Dwynnen,\" said the man. \"And I am working for you because not everyone can say he spied for a god.  And I understood it would be, well, profitable.\"\nVivec laughed, \"It will be, if your information is accurate.\"\n19 First Seed, 2920\nBodrums, Morrowind\nThe quiet hamlet of Bodrum looked down on the meandering river, the Pryai.  It was an idyllic site, lightly wooded where the water took the bend around a steep bluff to the east with a gorgeous wildflower meadow to the west.  The strange flora of Morrowind met the strange flora of Cyrodiil on the border and commingled gloriously.\n\"There will be time to sleep when you've finished!\"\nThe soldiers had been hearing that all morning.  It was not enough that they had been marching all night, now they were chopping down trees on the bluff and damming the river so its waters spilled over.  Most of them had reached the point where they were too tired to complain about being tired.\n\"Let me be certain I understand, my lord,\" said Vivec's lieutenant. \"We take the bluff so we can fire arrows and spells down on them from above.  That's why we need all the trees cleared out.  Damming the river floods the plain below so they'll be trudging through mud, which should hamper their movement.\"\n\"That's exactly half of it,\" said Vivec approvingly. He grabbed a nearby soldier who was hauling off the trees. \"Wait, I need you to break off the straightest, strongest branches of the trees and whittle them into spears.  If you recruit a hundred or so others, it won't take you more than a few hours to make all we need.\"\nThe soldier wearily did as he was bade.  The men and women got to work, fashioning spears from the trees.\n\"If you don't mind me asking,\" said the lieutenant. \"The soldiers don't need any more weapons.  They're too tired to hold the ones they've got.\"\n\"These spears aren't for holding,\" said Vivec and whispered, \"If we tired them out today, they'll get a good night's sleep tonight,\" before he got to work supervising their work.\nIt was essential that they be sharp, of course, but equally important that they be well balanced and tapered proportionally.  The perfect point for stability was a pyramid, not the conical point of some lances and spears.  He had the men hurl the spears they had completed to test their strength, sharpness, and balance, forcing them to begin on a new one if they broke.  Gradually, out of sheer exhaustion from doing it wrong, the men learned how to create the perfect wooden spears.  Once they were through, he showed them how they were to be arranged and where.\nThat night, there was no drunken pre-battle carousing, and no nervous neophytes stayed up worrying about the battle to come.  As soon as the sun sank beneath the wooded hills, the camp was at rest, but for the sentries.\n20 First Seed, 2920\nBodrum, Morrowind\nMiramor was exhausted.  For last six days, he had gambled and whored all night and then marched all day.  He was looking forward to the battle, but even more than that, he was looking forward to some rest afterwards.  He was in the Emperor's command at the rear flank, which was good because it seemed unlikely that he would be killed.  On the other hand, it meant traveling over the mud and waste the army ahead left in their wake.\nAs they began the trek through the wildflower field, Miramor and all the soldiers around him sank ankle-deep in cold mud.  It was an effort to even keep moving.  Far, far up ahead, he could see the vanguard of the army led by Lord Storig emerging from the meadow at the base of a bluff.\nThat was when it all happened.\nAn army of Dunmer appeared above the bluff like rising Daedra, pouring fire and floods of arrows down on the vanguard.  Simultaneously, a company of men bearing the flag of the Duke of Mournhold galloped around the shore, disappearing along the shallow river's edge where it dipped to a timbered glen to the east.  Warchief Ulaqth nearby on the right flank let out a bellow of revenge at the sight and gave chase.  Queen Naghea sent her flank towards the embankment to the west to intercept the army on the bluff.\nThe Emperor could think of nothing to do.  His troops were too bogged down to move forward quickly and join the battle.  He ordered them to face east towards the timber, in case Mournhold's company was trying to circle around through the woods.  They never came out, but many men, facing west, missed the battle entirely.  Miramor kept his eyes on the bluff.\nA tall Dunmer he supposed must have been Vivec gave a signal, and the battlemages cast their spells at something to the west.  From what transpired, Miramor deduced it was a dam.  A great torrent of water spilled out, washing Naghea's left flank into the remains of the vanguard and the two together down river to the east.\nThe Emperor paused, as if waiting for his vanquished army to return, and then called a retreat.  Miramor hid in the rushes until they had passed by and then waded as quietly as he could to the bluff.\nThe Morrowind army was retiring as well back to their camp.  He could hear them celebrating above him as he padded along the shore.  To the east, he saw the Imperial Army.  They had been washed into a net of spears strung across the river, Naghea's left flank on Storig's vanguard on Ulaqth's right flank, bodies of hundreds of soldiers strung together like beads.\nMiramor took whatever valuables he could carry from the corpses and then ran down the river.  He had to go many miles before the water was clear again, unpolluted by blood.\n29 First Seed, 2920\nHegathe, Hammerfell\n\"You have a letter from the Imperial City,\" said the chief priestess, handing the parchment to Corda.  All the young priestesses smiled and made faces of astonishment, but the truth was that Corda's sister Rijja wrote very often, at least once a month.\nCorda took the letter to the garden to read it, her favorite place, an oasis in the monochromatic sand-colored world of the conservatorium  The letter itself was nothing unusual: filled with court gossip, the latest fashions which were tending to winedark velvets, and reports of the Emperor's ever-growing paranoia.\n\"You are so lucky to be away from all of this,\" wrote Rijja. \"The Emperor is convinced that his latest battlefield fiasco is all a result of spies in the palace.  He has even taken to questioning me.  Ruptga keep it so you never have a life as interesting as mine.\"\nCorda listened to the sounds of the desert and prayed to Ruptga the exact opposite wish.\nThe Year is Continued in Rain's Hand."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/2920-rains-hand-book-4": {"series": "2920, Last Year of the First Era", "game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion", "Skyrim", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/2920-rains-hand-book-4", "author": "Carlovac Townway", "title": "2920, Rain's Hand, Book 4", "description": "A fascinating drama taking place at the very end of the First Era.", "text": "Rain's Hand\nBook Four of 2920, \nThe Last Year of the First Era\nBy\nCarlovac Townway\n3 Rain's Hand, 2920\nColdharbour, Oblivion\nSotha Sil proceeded as quickly as he could through the blackened halls of the palace, half-submerged in brackish water.  All around him, nasty gelatinous creatures scurried into the reeds, bursts of white fire lit up the upper arches of the hall before disappearing, and smells assaulted him, rancid death one moment, sweet flowered perfume the next.  Several times he had visited the Daedra princes in their Oblivion, but every time, something different awaited him.\nHe knew his purpose, and refused to be distracted.\nEight of the more prominent Daedra princes were awaiting him in the half-melted, domed room.  Azura, Prince of Dusk and Dawn; Boethiah, Prince of Plots; Herma-Mora, Daedra of Knowledge; Hircine, the Hunter; Malacath, God of Curses; Mehrunes Dagon, Prince of Disaster; Molag Bal, Prince of Rage; Sheogorath, the Mad One.\nAbove them, the sky cast tormented shadows upon the meeting.\n5 Rain's Hand, 2920\nThe Isle of Artaeum, Summurset\nSotha Sil's voice cried out, echoing from the cave, \"Move the rock!\"\nImmediately, the initiates obeyed, rolling aside the great boulder that blocked the entrance to the Dreaming Cavern.  Sotha Sil emerged, his face smeared with ash, weary.  He felt he had been away for months, years, but only a few days had transpired.  Lilatha took his arm to help him walk, but he refused her help with a kind smile and a shake of his head.\n\"Were you ... successful?\" she asked.\n\"The Daedra princes I spoke with have agreed to our terms,\" he said flatly. \"Disasters such as befell Gilverdale should be averted.  Only through certain intermediaries such as witches or sorcerers will they answer the call of man and mer.\"\n\"And what did you promise them in return?\" asked the Nord boy Welleg.\n\"The deals we make with Daedra,\" said Sotha Sil, continuing on to Iachesis's palace to meet with the Master of the Psijic Order. \"Should not be discussed with the innocent.\"\n\n8 Rain's Hand, 2920\nThe Imperial City, Cyrodiil\nA storm billeted the windows of the Prince's bedchamber, bringing a smell of moist air to mix with the censors filled with burning incense and herbs.\n\"A letter has arrived from the Empress, your mother,\" said the courier. \"Anxiously inquiring after your health.\"\n\"What frightened parents I have!\" laughed Prince Juilek from his bed.\n\"It is only natural for a mother to worry,\" said Savirien-Chorak, the Potentate's son.\n\"There is everything unnatural about my family, Akavir.  My exiled mother fears that my father will imagine me of being a traitor, covetous of the crown, and is having me poisoned,\" the Prince sank back into his pillow, annoyed. \"The Emperor has insisted on me having a taster for all my meals as he does.\"\n\"There are many plots,\" agreed the Akavir. \"You have been abed for nearly three weeks with every healer in the empire shuffling through like a slow ballroom dance.  At least, all can see that you're getting stronger.\"\n\"Strong enough to lead the vanguard against Morrowind soon, I hope,\" said Juilek.\n11 Rain's Hand, 2920\nThe Isle of Artaeum, Summurset\nThe initiates stood quietly in a row along the arbor loggia, watching the long, deep, marble-lined trench ahead of them flash with fire.  The air above it vibrated with the waves of heat.  Though each student kept his or her face sturdy and emotionless, as a true Psijic should, their terror was nearly as palpable as the heat.  Sotha Sil closed his eyes and uttered the charm of fire resistance.  Slowly, he walked across the basin of leaping flames, climbing to the other side, unscathed.  Not even his white robe had been burned.\n\"The charm is intensified by the energy you bring to it, by your own skills, just as all spells are,\" he said. \"Your imagination and your willpower are the keys.  There is no need for a spell to give you a resistance to air, or a resistance to flowers, and after you cast the charm, you must forget there is even a need for a spell to give you resistance to fire.  Do not confuse what I am saying: resistance is not about ignoring the fire's reality.  You will feel the substance of flame, the texture of it, its hunger, and even the heat of it, but you will know that it will not hurt or injure you.\"\nThe students nodded and one by one, they cast the spell and made the walk through the fire.  Some even went so far as to bend over and scoop up a handful of fire and feed it air, so it expanded like a bubble and melted through their fingers.  Sotha Sil smiled.  They were fighting their fear admirably.\nThe Chief Proctor Thargallith came running from the arbor arches, \"Sotha Sil!  Almalexia has arrived on Artaeum.  Iachesis told me to fetch you.\"\nSotha Sil turned to Thargallith for only a moment, but he knew instantly from the screams what had transpired.  The Nord lad Wellig had not cast the spell properly and was burning.  The smell of scorched hair and flesh panicked the other students who were struggling to get out of the basin, pulling him with them, but the incline was too steep away from the entry points.  With a wave of his hand, Sotha Sil extinguished the flame.\nWellig and several other students were burned, but not badly.  The sorcerer cast a healing spell on them, before turning back to Thargallith.\n\"I'll be with you in a moment, and give Almalexia the time to shake the road dust from her train,\" Sotha Sil turned back to the students, his voice flat. \"Fear does not break spells, but doubt and incompetence are the great enemies of any spellcaster.  Master Welleg, you will pack your bags.  I'll arrange for a boat to bring you to the mainland tomorrow morning.\"\nThe sorcerer found Almalexia and Iachesis in the study, drinking hot tea, and laughing.  She was more beautiful than he had remembered, though he had never before seen her so disheveled, wrapped in a blanket, dangling her damp long black tresses before the fire to dry.  At Sotha Sil's approach, she leapt to her feet and embraced him.\n\"Did you swim all the way from Morrowind?\" he smiled.\n\"It's pouring rain from Skywatch down to the coast,\" she explained, returning his smile.\n\"Only a half a league away, and it never rains here,\" said Iachesis proudly. \"Of course, I sometimes miss the excitement of Summurset, and sometimes even the mainland itself.  Still, I'm always very impressed by anyone out there who gets anything accomplished.  It is a world of distractions.  Speaking of distractions, what's all this I hear about a war?\"\n\"You mean the one that's been bloodying the continent for the last eighty years, Master?\" asked Sotha Sil, amused.\n\"I suppose that's the one I mean,\" said Iachesis with a shrug of his shoulders. \"How is that war going?\"\n\"We will lose it, unless I can convince Sotha Sil to leave Artaeum,\" said Almalexia, losing her smile.  She had meant to wait and talk to her friend in private, but the old Altmer gave her courage to press on. \"I have had visions; I know it to be true.\"\nSotha Sil was silent for a moment, and then looked at Iachesis, \"I must return to Morrowind.\"\n\"Knowing you, if you must do something, you will,\" sighed the old Master. \"The Psijics' way is not to be distracted.  Wars are fought, Empires rise and fall.  You must go, and so must we.\"\n\"What do you mean, Iachesis?  You're leaving the island?\"\n\"No, the island will be leaving the sea,\" said Iachesis, his voice taking on a dreamy quality. \"In a few years, the mists will move over Artaeum and we will be gone.  We are counselors by nature, and there are too many counselors in Tamriel as it is.  No, we will go, and return when the land needs us again, perhaps in another age.\"\nThe old Altmer struggles to his feet, and drained the last sip of his drink before leaving Sotha Sil and Almalexia alone: \"Don't miss the last boat.\"\nThe Year Continues in Second Seed."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/2920-second-seed-book-5": {"series": "2920, Last Year of the First Era", "game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion", "Skyrim", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/2920-second-seed-book-5", "author": "Carlovac Townway", "title": "2920, Second Seed, Book 5", "description": "A fascinating drama taking place at the very end of the First Era.", "text": "Second Seed\nBook Five of 2920, \nThe Last Year of the First Era\nBy\nCarlovac Townway\n10 Second Seed, 2920\nThe Imperial City, Cyrodiil\n\"Your Imperial Majesty,\" said the Potentate Versidue-Shaie, opening the door to his chamber with a smile. \"I have not seen you lately. I thought perhaps you were ... indisposed with the lovely Rijja.\"\n\"She's taking the baths at Mir Corrup,\" the Emperor Reman III said miserably.\n\"Please, come in.\"\n\"I've reached the stage where I can only trust three people: you, my son the Prince, and Rijja,\" said the Emperor petulantly. \"My entire council is nothing but a pack of spies.\"\n\"What seems to be the matter, your imperial majesty?\" asked the Potentate Versidue-Shaie sympathetically, drawing closed the thick curtain in his chamber. Instantly all sound outside the room was extinguished, echoing footsteps in the marble halls and birds in the springtide gardens.\n\"I've discovered that a notorious poisoner, an Orma tribeswoman from Black Marsh called Catchica, was with the army at Caer Suvio while we were encamped there when my son was poisoned, before the battle at Bodrum. I'm sure she would have preferred to kill me, but the opportunity didn't present itself,\" The Emperor fumed. \"The Council suggests that we need evidence of her involvement before we prosecute.\"\n\"Of course they would,\" said the Potentate thoughtfully. \"Particularly if one or more of them was in on the plot. I have a thought, your imperial majesty.\"\n\"Yes?\" said Reman impatiently. \"Out with it!\"\n\"Tell the Council you're dropping the matter, and I will send out the Guard to track this Catchica down and follow her. We will see who her friends are, and perhaps get an idea of the scope of this plot on your imperial majesty's life.\"\n\"Yes,\" said Reman with a satisfied frown. \"That's a capital plan. We will track this scheme to whomever it leads to.\"\n\"Decidedly, your imperial majesty,\" smiled the Potentate, parting the curtain so the Emperor could leave. In the hallway outside was Versidue-Shaie's son, Savirien-Chorak. The boy bowed to the Emperor before entering the Potentate's chamber.\n\"Are you in trouble, father?\" whispered the Akaviri lad. \"I heard the Emperor found out about whatshername, the poisoner.\"\n\"The great art of speechcraft, my boy,\" said Versidue-Shaie to his son. \"Is to tell them what they want to hear in a way that gets them to do what you want them to do. I need you to get a letter to Catchica, and make certain that she understands that if she does not follow the instructions perfectly, she is risking her own life more than ours.\"\n13 Second Seed, 2920\nMir Corrup, Cyrodiil\nRijja sank luxuriantly into the burbling hot spring, feeling her skin tingle like it was being rubbed by millions of little stones. The rock shelf over her head sheltered her from the misting rain, but let all the sunshine in, streaming in layers through the branches of the trees. It was an idyllic moment in an idyllic life, and when she was finished she knew that her beauty would be entirely restored. The only thing she needed was a drink of water. The bath itself, while wonderfully fragrant, tasted always of chalk.\n\"Water!\" she cried to her servants. \"Water, please!\"\nA gaunt woman with rags tied over her eyes ran to her side and dropped a goatskin of water. Rijja was about to laugh at the woman's prudery -- she herself was not ashamed of her naked body -- but then she noticed through a crease in the rags that the old woman had no eyes at all. She was like one of those Orma tribesmen Rijja had heard about, but never met. Born without eyes, they were masters of their other senses. The Lord of Mir Corrup hired very exotic servants, she thought to herself.\nIn a moment, the woman was gone and forgotten. Rijja found it very hard to concentrate on anything but the sun and the water. She opened the cork, but the liquid within had a strange, metallic smell to it. Suddenly, she was aware that she was not alone.\n\"Lady Rijja,\" said the captain of the Imperial Guard. \"You are, I see, acquainted with Catchica?\"\n\"I've never heard of her,\" stammered Rijja before becoming indignant. \"What are you doing here? This body is not for your leering eyes.\"\n\"Never heard of her, when we saw her with you not a minute ago,\" said the captain, picking up the goatskin and smelling it. \"Brought you neivous ichor, did she? To poison the Emperor with?\"\n\"Captain,\" said one of the guards, running up to him quickly. \"We cannot find the Argonian. It is as if she disappeared into the woods.\"\n\"Yes, they're good at that,\" said the captain. \"No matter though. We've got her contact at court. That should please his Imperial Majesty. Seize her.\"\nAs the guards pulled the writhing naked woman from the pool, she screamed, \"I'm innocent! I don't know what this is all about, but I've done nothing! The Emperor will have your heads for this!\"\n\"Yes, I imagine he will,\" smiled the captain. \"If he trusts you.\"\n21 Second Seed, 2920\nGideon, Black Marsh\nThe Sow and Vulture tavern was the sort of out-of-the-way place that Zuuk favored for these sorts of interviews. Besides himself and his companion, there were only a couple of old seadogs in the shadowy room, and they were more unconscious from drink than aware. The grime of the unwashed floor was something you felt rather than saw. Copious dust hung in the air unmoving in the sparse rays of dying sunlight.\n\"You have experience in heavy combat?\" asked Zuuk. \"The reward is good for this assignment, but the risks are great as well.\"\n\"Certainly I have combat experience,\" replied Miramor haughtily. \"I was at the Battle of Bodrum just two months ago. If you do your part and get the Emperor to ride through Dozsa Pass with a minimal escort on the day and the time we've discussed, I'll do my part. Just be certain that he's not traveling in disguise. I'm not going to slaughter every caravan that passes through in the hopes that it contains Emperor Reman.\"\nZuuk smiled, and Miramor looked at himself in the Kothringi's reflective face. He liked the way he looked: the consummate confident professional.\n\"Agreed,\" said Zuuk. \"And then you shall have the rest of your gold.\"\nZuuk placed the large chest onto the table between them. He stood up.\n\"Wait a few minutes before leaving,\" said Zuuk. \"I don't want you following me. Your employers wish to maintain their anonymity, if by chance you are caught and tortured.\"\n\"Fine by me,\" said Miramor, ordering more grog.\nZuuk rode his mount through the cramped labyrinthine streets of Gideon, and both he and his horse were happy to pass through the gates into the country. The main road to Castle Giovese was flooded as it was every year in springtide, but Zuuk knew a shorter way over the hills. Riding fast under trees drooping with moss and treacherous slime-coated rocks, he arrived at the castle gates in two hours' time. He wasted no time in climbing to Tavia's cell at the top of the highest tower.\n\"What did you think of him?\" asked the Empress.\n\"He's a fool,\" replied Zuuk. \"But that's what we want for this sort of assignment.\"\n30 Second Seed, 2920\nThurzo Fortress, Cyrodiil\nRijja screamed and screamed and screamed. Within her cell, her only audience was the giant gray stones, crusted with moss but still sturdy. The guards outside were deaf to her as they were deaf to all prisoners. The Emperor, miles away in the Imperial City, had likewise been deaf to her cries of innocence.\nShe screamed knowing well that no one would likely hear her ever again.\n31 Second Seed, 2920\nKavas Rim Pass, Cyrodiil\nIt had been days, weeks since Turala had seen another human face, Cyrodiil or Dunmer. As she trod the road, she thought to herself how strange it was that such an uninhabited place as Cyrodiil had become the Imperial Province, seat of an Empire. Even the Bosmer in Valenwood must have more populated forests than this Heartland wood.\nShe thought back. Was it a month ago, two, when she crossed the border from Morrowind into Cyrodiil? It had been much colder then, but other than that, she had no sense of time. The guards had been brusque, but as she was carrying no weaponry, they elected to let her through. Since then, she had seen a few caravans, even shared a meal with some adventurers camping for the night, but met no one who would give her a ride to a town.\nTurala stripped off her shawl and dragged it behind her. For a moment, she thought she heard someone behind her and spun around. No one was there. Just a bird perched on a branch making a sound like laughter.\nShe walked on, and then stopped. Something was happening. The child had been kicking in her belly for some time now, but this was a different kind of spasm. With a groan, she lurched over to the side of the path, collapsing into the grass. Her child was coming.\nShe lay on her back and pushed, but she could barely see with her tears of pain and frustration. How had it come to this? Giving birth in the wilderness, all by herself, to a child whose father was the Duke of Mournhold? Her scream of rage and agony shook the birds from the trees.\nThe bird that had been laughing at her earlier flew down to the road. She blinked, and the bird was gone and in its place, a naked Elf man stood, not as dark as a Dunmer, but not as pale as the Altmer. She knew at once it was an Ayleid, a Wild Elf. Turala screamed, but the man held her down. After a few minutes of struggle, she felt a release, and then fainted away.\nWhen she awoke, it was to the sound of a baby crying. The child had been cleaned and was lying by her side. Turala picked up her baby girl, and for the first time that year, felt tears of happiness stream down her face.\nShe whispered to the trees, \"Thank you\" and began walking with babe in her arms down the road to the west.\nThe Year Is Continued in Mid Year."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/2920-midyear-book-6": {"series": "2920, Last Year of the First Era", "game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion", "Skyrim", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/2920-midyear-book-6", "author": "Carlovac Townway", "title": "2920, Midyear, Book 6", "description": "A fascinating drama taking place at the very end of the First Era.", "text": "Mid Year\nBook Six of 2920\nThe Last Year of the First Era\nby\nCarlovac Townway\n2 Mid Year, 2920\nBalmora, Morrowind\n2 Mid Year, 2920\nBalmora, Morrowind\nThe Imperial army is gathered to the south,\" said Cassyr. \"They are a two weeks march from Ald Iuval and Lake Coronati, heavily armored.\"\nVivec nodded.  Ald Iuval and its sister city on the other side of the lake Ald Malak were strategically important fortresses.  He had been expecting a move against them for some time.  His captain pulled down a map of southwestern Morrowind from the wall and smoothed it out, fighting a gentle summer sea breeze wafting in from the open window.\n\"They were heavily armored, you say?\" asked the captain.\n\"Yes, sir,\" said Cassyr. \"They were camped out near Bethal Gray in the Heartland, and I saw nothing but Ebony, Dwarven, and Daedric armor, fine weaponry, and siege equipment.\"\n\"How about spellcasters and boats?\" asked Vivec.\n\"A horde of battlemages,\" replied Cassyr. \"But no boats.\"\n\"As heavily armored as they are, it will take them at least two weeks, like you said, to get from Bethal Gray to Lake Coronati,\" Vivec studied the map carefully. \"They'd be dragged down in the bogs if they then tried to circle around to Ald Marak from the north, so they must be planning to cross the straits here and take Ald Iuval.  Then they'd proceed around the lake to the east and take Ald Marak from the south.\"\n\"They'll be vulnerable along the straits,\" said the captain. \"Provided we strike when they are more than halfway across and can't retreat back to the Heartland.\"\n\"Your intelligence has once again served us well,\" said Vivec, smiling to Cassyr. \"We will beat back the Imperial aggressors yet again.\"\n3 Mid Year, 2920\nBethal Gray, Cyrodiil\n\"Will you be returning back this way after your victory?\" asked Lord Bethal.\nPrince Juilek barely paid the man any attention.  He was focused on the army packing its camp. It was a cool morning in the forest, but there were no clouds.  All the makings of a hot afternoon march, particularly in such heavy armor.\n\"If we return shortly, it will be because of defeat,\" said the Prince.  He could see down in the meadow, the Potentate Versidue-Shaie paying his lordship's steward for the use of the village's food, wine, and whores.  An army was an expensive thing, for certes.\n\"My Prince,\" said Lord Bethal with concern. \"Is your army beginning a march due east?  That will just lead you to the shores of Lake Coronati.  You'll want to go south-east to get to the straits.\"\n\"You just make certain your merchants get their share of our gold,\" said the Prince with a grin. \"Let me worry about my army's direction.\"\n16 Mid Year, 2920\nLake Coronati, Morrowind\nVivec stared across the blue expanse of the lake, seeing his reflection and the reflection of his army in the cool blue waters.  What he did not see was the Imperial Army's reflection.  They must have reached the straits by now, barring any mishaps in the forest.  Tall feather-thin lake trees blocked much of his view of the straits, but an army, particularly one clan in slow-moving heavy armor could not move invisibly, silently.\n\"Let me see the map again,\" he called to his captain. \"Is there no other way they could approach?\"\n\"We have sentries posted in the swamps to the north in case they're fool enough to go there and be bogged under,\" said the captain. \"We would at least hear about it.  But there is no other way across the lake except through the straits.\"\nVivec looked down again at his reflection, which seemed to be distorting his image, mocking him.  Then he looked back on the map.\n\"Spy,\" said Vivec, calling Cassyr over. \"When you said the army had a horde of battlemages, what made you so certain they were battlemages?\"\n\"They were wearing gray robes with mystical insignia on them,\" explained Cassyr. \"I figured they were mages, and why else would such a vast number travel with the army?  They couldn't have all been healers.\"\n\"You fool!\" roared Vivec. \"They're mystics schooled in the art of Alteration.  They've cast a spell of water breathing on the entire army.\"\nVivec ran to a new vantage point where he could see the north.  Across the lake, though it was but a small shadow on the horizon, they could see gouts of flame from the assault on Ald Marak.  Vivec bellowed with fury and his captain got to work at once redirecting the army to circle the lake and defend the castle.\n\"Return to Dwynnen,\" said Vivec flatly to Cassyr before he rode off to join the battle. \"Your services are no longer needed nor wanted.\"\nIt was already too late when the Morrowind army neared Ald Marak.  It had been taken by the Imperial Army.\n19 Mid Year, 2920\nThe Imperial City, Cyrodiil\nThe Potentate arrived in the Imperial City amid great fanfare, the streets lined with men and women cheering him as the symbol of the taking of Ald Marak.  Truth be told, a greater number would have turned out had the Prince returned, and the Versidue-Shaie knew it.  Still, it pleased him to no end.  Never before had citizens of Tamriel cheered the arrival of an Akaviri into their land.\nThe Emperor Reman III greeted him with a warm embrace, and then tore into the letter he had brought from the Prince.\n\"I don't understand,\" he said at last, still joyous but equally confused. \"You went under the lake?\"\n\"Ald Marak is a very well-fortified fortress,\" explained the Potentate. \"As, I might add, the army of Morrowind has rediscovered, now that they are on the outside.  To take it, we had to attack by surprise and with our soldiery in the sturdiest of armor.  By casting the spell that allowed us to breathe underwater, we were able to travel faster than Vivec would have guessed, the weight of the armor made less by the aquatic surroundings, and attack from the waterbound west side of the fortress where their defenses were at their weakest.\"\n\"Brilliant!\" the Emperor crowed. \"You are a wonderous tactician, Versidue-Shaie!  If your fathers had been as good at this as you are, Tamriel would be Akaviri domain!\"\nThe Potentate had not planned to take credit for Prince Juilek's design, but on the Emperor's reference to his people's fiasco of an invasion two hundred and sixteen years ago, he made up his mind.  He smiled modestly and soaked up the praise.\n21 Mid Year, 2920\nAld Marak, Morrowind\nSavirien-Chorak slithered to the wall and watched through the arrow slit the Morrowind army retreating back to the forestland between the swamps and the castle grounds.  It seemed like the idea opportunity to strike.  Perhaps the forests could be burned and the army within them.  Perhaps with Vivec in their enemies' hands, the army would allow them possession of Ald Iuval as well.  He suggested these ideas to the Prince.\n\"What you seem to be forgetting,\" laughed Prince Juilek. \"Is that I gave my word that no harm to the army or to their commanders during the truce negotiations.  Do you not have honor during warfare on Akavir?\"\n\"My Prince, I was born here in Tamriel, I have never been to my people's home,\" replied the snake man. \"But even so, your ways are strange to me.  You expected no quarter and I gave you none when we fought in the Imperial Arena five months ago.\"\n\"That was a game,\" replied the Prince, before nodding to his steward to let the Dunmer battle chief in.\nJuilek had never seen Vivec before, but he had heard he was a living god.  What came before him was but a man.  A powerfully built man, handsome, with an intelligent face, but a man nonetheless.  The Prince was pleased: a man he could speak with, but not a god.\n\"Greetings, my worthy adversary,\" said Vivec. \"We seem to be at an impasse.\"\n\"Not necessarily,\" said the Prince. \"You don't want to give us Morrowind, and I can't fault you for that.  But I must have your coastline to protect the Empire from overseas aggressions, and certain key strategic border castles, such as this one, as well as Ald Umbeil, Tel Aruhn, Ald Lambasi, and Tel Mothrivra.\"\n\"And in return?\" asked Vivec.\n\"In return?\" laughed Savirien-Chorak. \"You forget we are the victors here, not you.\"\n\"In return,\" said Prince Juilek carefully. \"There will be no Imperial attacks on Morrowind, unless in return to an attack by you.  You will be protected from invaders by the Imperial navy.  And your land may expand by taking certain estates in Black Marsh, whichever you choose, provided they are not needed by the Empire.\"\n\"A reasonable offer,\" said Vivec after a pause.  \"You must forgive me, I am unused to Cyrodiils who offer something in return for what they take.  May I have a few days to decide?\"\n\"We will meet again in a week's time,\" said the Prince, smiling. \"In the meantime, if your army provokes no attacks on mine, we are at peace.\"\nVivec left the Prince's chamber, feeling that Almalexia was right.  The war was at an end.  This Prince would make an excellent Emperor.\nThe Year is Continued in Sun's Height.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/2920-suns-height-book-7": {"series": "2920, Last Year of the First Era", "game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion", "Skyrim", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/2920-suns-height-book-7", "author": "Carlovac Townway", "title": "2920, Sun's Height, Book 7", "description": "A fascinating drama taking place at the very end of the First Era.", "text": "Sun's Height\nBook Seven of 2920\nThe Last Year of the First Era\nby\nCarlovac Townway\n\n4 Sun's Height, 2920\nThe Imperial City, Cyrodiil\nThe Emperor Reman III and his Potentate Versidue-Shaie took a stroll around the Imperial Gardens.  Studded with statuary and fountains, the north gardens fit the Emperor's mood, as well as being the coolest acreage in the City during the heat of summertide.  Austere, tiered flowerbeds of blue-gray and green towered all around them as they walked.\n\"Vivec has agreed to the Prince's terms for peace,\" said Reman. \"My son will be returning in two weeks' time.\"\n\"This is excellent news,\" said the Potentate carefully.  \"I hope the Dunmer will honor the terms.  We might have asked for more.  The fortress at Black Gate, for example.  But I suppose the Prince knows what is reasonable.  He would not cripple the Empire just for peace.\"\n\"I have been thinking lately of Rijja and what caused her to plot against my life,\" said the Emperor, pausing to admire a statue of the Slave Queen Alessia before continuing. \"The only thing I can think of to account for it is that she admired my son too much.  She may have loved me for my power and my personality, but he, after all, is young and handsome and will one day inherit my throne.  She must have thought that if I were dead, she could have an Emperor who had both youth and power.\"\n\"The Prince ... was in on this plot?\" asked Versidue-Shaie.  It was a difficult game to play, anticipating where the Emperor's paranoia would strike next.\n\"Oh, I don't think so,\" said Reman, smiling. \"No, my son loves me well.\"\n\"Are you aware that Corda, Raja's sister in an initiate of the Morwha conservatorium in Hegathe?\" asked the Potentate.\n\"Morwha?\" asked the Emperor. \"I've forgotten: which god is that?\"\n\"Lusty fertility goddess of the Yokudans,\" replied the Potentate. \"But not too lusty, like Dibella. Demure, but certainly sexual.\"\n\"I am through with lusty women. The Empress, Rijja, all too lusty, a lust for love leads to a lust for power,\" the Emperor shrugged his shoulders. \"But a priestess-in-training with a certain healthy appetite sounds ideal.  Now what were you saying about the Black Gate?\"\n\n6 Sun's Height, 2920\nThurzo Fortress, Cyrodiil\nRijja stood quietly looking at the cold stone floor while the Emperor spoke.  He had never before seen her so pale and joyless.  She might at least be pleased that she was being freed, being returned to her homeland.  Why, if she left now, she could be in Hammerfell by the Merchant's Festival.  Nothing he said seemed to register any reaction from her.  A month and a half's stay in Thurzo Fortress seemed to have killed her spirit.\n\"I was thinking,\" said the Emperor at last. \"Of having your younger sister Corda up to the palace for a time.  I think she would prefer it over the conservatorium in Hegathe, don't you?\"\nReaction, at last. Rijja looked at the Emperor with animal hatred, flinging herself at him in a rage.  Her fingernails had grown long since her imprisonment and she raked them across his face, into his eyes.  He howled with pain, and his guards pulled her off, pummeling her with blows from the back of their swords, until she was knocked unconscious.\nA healer was called at once, but the Emperor Reman III had lost his right eye.\n\n23 Sun's Height, 2920\nBalmora, Morrowind\nVivec pulled himself from the water, feeling the heat of the day washed from his skin, taking a towel from one of his servants. Sotha Sil watched his old friend from the balcony.\n\"It looks like you've picked up a few more scars since I last saw you,\" said the sorcerer.\n\"Azura grant it that I have no more for a while,\" laughed Vivec. \"When did you arrive?\"\n\"A little over an hour ago,\" said Sotha Sil, walking down the stairs to the water's edge. \"I thought I was coming to end a war, but it seems you've done it without me.\"\n\"Yes, eighty years is long enough for ceaseless battle,\" replied Vivec, embracing Sotha Sil. \"We made concessions, but so did they.  When the old Emperor is dead, we may be entering a golden age.  Prince Juilek is very wise for his age.  Where is Almalexia?\"\n\"Collecting the Duke of Mournhold.  They should be here tomorrow afternoon.\"\nThe men were distracted at a sight from around the corner of the palace - a rider was approaching through the town, heading for the front steps.  It was evident that the woman had been riding hard for some time.  They met her in the study, where she burst in, breathing hard.\n\"We have been betrayed,\" she gasped. \"The Imperial Army has seized the Black Gate.\"\n\n24 Sun's Height, 2920\nBalmora, Morrowind\nIt was the first time in seventeen years that the three members of the Morrowind Tribunal had met in the same place, since Sotha Sil had left for Artaeum.  All three wished that the circumstances of their reunion were different.\n\"From what we've learned, while the Prince was returning to Cyrodiil to the south, a second Imperial Army came down from the north,\" said Vivec to his stony-faced compatriots. \"It is reasonable to assume Juilek didn't know about the attack.\"\n\"But neither would it be unreasonable to suppose that he planned on being a distraction while the Emperor launched the attack on Black Gate,\" said Sotha Sil. \"This must be considered a break of the truce.\"\n\"Where is the Duke of Mournhold?\" asked Vivec. \"I would hear his thoughts on the matter.\"\n\"He is meeting with the Night Mother in Tel Aruhn,\" said Almalexia, quietly. \"I told him to wait until he had spoken with you, but he said that the matter had waited long enough.\"\n\"He would involve the Morag Tong? In outside affairs?\" Vivec shook his head, and looked to Sotha Sil: \"Please, do what you can. Assassination will only move us backwards.  This matter must be settled with diplomacy or battle.\"\n\n25 Sun's Height, 2920\nTel Aruhn, Morrowind\nThe Night Mother met Sotha Sil in her salon, lit only by the moon.  She was cruelly beautiful dressed in a simple silk black robe, lounging across her divan.  With a gesture, she dismissed her red-cloaked guards and offered the sorcerer some wine.\n\"You've only just missed your friend, the Duke,\" she whispered. \"He was very unhappy, but I think we will solve his problem for him.\"\n\"Did he hire the Morag Tong to assassinate the Emperor?\" asked Sotha Sil.\n\"You are straight-forward, aren't you? That's good.  I love plain-speaking men: it saves so much time. Of course, I cannot discuss with you what the Duke and I talked about,\" she smiled. \"It would be bad for business.\"\n\"What if I were to offer you an equal amount of gold for you not to assassinate the Emperor?\"\n\"The Morag Tong murders for the glory of Mephala and for profit,\" she said, speaking into her glass of wine. \"We do not merely kill.  That would be sacrilege. Once the Duke's gold has arrived in three days time, we will do our end of the business.  And I'm afraid we would not dream of entertaining a counter offer.  Though we are a business as well as a religious order, we do not bow to supply and demand, Sotha Sil.\"\n27 Sun's Height, 2920\nThe Inner Sea, Morrowind\nSotha Sil had been watching the waters for two days now, waiting for a particular vessel, and now he saw it.  A heavy ship with the flag of Mournhold.  The sorcerer took the air and intercepted it before it reached harbor.  A caul of flame erupted over his figure, disguising his voice and form into that of a Daedra.\n\"Abandon your ship!\" he bellowed. \"If you would not sink with it!\"\nIn truth, Sotha Sil could have exploded the vessel with but a single ball of fire, but he chose to take his time, to give the crew a chance to dive off into the warm water.  When he was certain there was no one living aboard, he focused his energy into a destructive wave that shook the air and water as it discharged.  The ship and the Duke's payment to the Morag Tong sunk to the bottom of the Inner Sea.\n\"Night Mother,\" thought Sotha Sil, as he floated towards shore to alert the harbormaster that some sailors were in need of rescue. \"Everyone bows to supply and demand.\"\nThe Year is Continued in Last Seed."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/2920-last-seed-book-8": {"series": "2920, Last Year of the First Era", "game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion", "Skyrim", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/2920-last-seed-book-8", "author": "Carlovac Townway", "title": "2920, Last Seed, Book 8", "description": "A fascinating drama taking place at the very end of the First Era.", "text": "Last Seed\nBook Eight of 2920 \nThe Last Year of the First Era\nby\nCarlovac Townway\n\n1 Last Seed, 2920\nMournhold, Morrowind\nThey were gathered in the Duke's courtyard at twilight, enjoying the smell and warmth of a fire of dry branches and bittergreen leaves.  Tiny embers flew into the sky, hanging for a few moments before vanishing.\n\"I was rash,\" agreed the Duke, soberly. \"But Lorkhan had his laugh, and all is well.  The Morag Tong will not assassinate the Emperor now that my payment to them is at the bottom of the Inner Sea.  I thought you had made some sort of a truce with the Daedra princes.\"\n\"What your sailors called a daedra may not have been one,\" said Sotha Sil. \"Perhaps it was a rogue battlemage or even a lightning bolt that destroyed your ship.\"\n\"The Prince and the Emperor are en route to take possession of Ald Lambasi as our truce agreed.  It is certainly typical of the Cyrodiil to assume that their concessions are negotiable, while ours are not,\" Vivec pulled out a map. \"We can meet them here, in this village to the north-west of Ald Lambasi, Fervinthil.\"\n\"But will we meet them to talk,\" ask Almalexia. \"Or to make war?\"\nNo one had an answer to that.\n15 Last Seed, 2920\nFervinthil, Morrowind\nA late summer squall blew through the small village, darkening the sky except for flashing of lightning which leapt from cloud to cloud like acrobats.  Water rushed down the narrow streets ankle-deep, and the Prince had to shout to be heard by his captains but a few feet away from him.\n\"There's an inn up ahead!  We'll wait there for the storm to pass before pressing on to Ald Lambasi!\"\nThe inn was warm and dry, and bustling with business.  Barmaids were rushing back and forth, bringing greef and wine to a back room, evidently excited about a famous visitor.  Someone who was attracting more attention than the mere heir to the Empire of Tamriel.  Amused, Juilek watched them run until he overheard the name of \"Vivec.\"\n\"My Lord Vivec,\" he said, bursting into the back room. \"You must believe me, I knew nothing about the attack on Black Gate until after it happened.  We will, of course, be returning it to your care forthwith.  I wrote you a letter to that effect at your palace in Balmora, but obviously you're not there,\" he paused, taking in the many new faces in the room. \"I'm sorry, let me introduce myself.  I'm Juilek Cyrodiil.\"\n\"My name is Almalexia,\" said the most beautiful woman the Prince had ever seen. \"Won't you join us?\"\n\"Sotha Sil,\" said a serious-looking Dunmer in a white cloak, shaking the Prince's hand and showing him to a seat.\n\"Indoril Brindisi Dorom, Duke-Prince of Mournhold,\" said the massively-built man next to him as he sat down.\n\"I recognize that the events of the last month suggest, at best, that the Imperial Army is not under my control,\" said the Prince after ordering some wine. \"This is true.  The army is my father's.\"\n\"I understood that the Emperor was going to be coming to Ald Lambasi as well,\" said Almalexia.\n\"Officially, he is,\" said the Prince cautiously. \"Unofficially, he's still back in the Imperial City.  He's met with an unfortunate accident.\"\nVivec glanced the Duke quickly before looking at the Prince: \"An accident?\"\n\"He's fine,\" said the Prince quickly. \"He'll live, but it looks like he'll lose an eye. It was an altercation that has nothing to do with the war. The only good news is that while he recovers, I have the use of his seal.  Any agreement we make here and now will be binding to the Empire, both in my father's reign and in mine.\"\n\"Then let's start agreeing,\" smiled Almalexia.\n16 Last Seed, 2920\nWroth Naga, Cyrodiil\nThe tiny hamlet of Wroth Naga greeted Cassyr with its colorful houses perched on a promontory overlooking the stretch of the Wrothgarian mountain plain and High Rock beyond.  Had he been in a better mood, the sight would have been breathtaking.  As it was, he could only think that in practical terms, a small village like this would have meager provisions for himself and his horse.\nHe rode down into the main square, where an inn called the Eagle's Cry stood.  Directing the stable boy to house and feed his horse, Cassyr walked into the inn and was surprised by its ambience.  A minstrel he had heard play once in Gilderdale was performing a jaunty old tune to the clapping of the mountain men.  Such forced merriment was not what Cassyr wanted at that moment.  A glum Dunmer woman was seated at the only table far from the noise, so he took his drink there and sat down without invitation.  It was only when he did so that he noticed that she was holding a newborn baby.\n\"I've just come from Morrowind,\" he said rather awkwardly, lowering his voice. \"I've been fighting for Vivec and the Duke of Mournhold against the Imperial army.  A traitor to my people, I guess you'd call me.\"\n\"I am also a traitor to my people,\" said the woman, holding up her hand which was scarred with a branded symbol. \"It means that I can never go back to my homeland.\"\n\"Well, you're not thinking of staying here, are you?\" laughed Cassyr. \"It's certainly quaint, but come wintertide, there's going to be snow up to your eyelashes.  It's no place for a new baby.  What is her name?\"\n\"Bosriel.  It means 'Beauty of the Forest.' Where are you going?\"\n\"Dwynnen, on the bay in High Rock.  You're welcome to join me, I could use the company.\" He held out his hand. \"Cassyr Whitley.\"\n\"Turala,\" said the woman after a pause.  She was going to use her family's name first, as is tradition, but she realized that it was no longer her name. \"I would love to accompany you, thank you.\"\n19 Last Seed, 2920\nAld Lambasi, Morrowind\nFive men and two women stood in the silence of the Great Room of the castle, the only sound the scrawl of quill on parchment and the gentle tapping of rain on the large picture window.  As the Prince set the seal of Cyrodiil on the document, the peace was made official.  The Duke of Mournhold broke out in a roar of delight, ordering wine brought in to commemorate the end of eighty years of war.\nOnly Sotha Sil stood apart from the group.  His face betrayed no emotion.  Those who knew him best knew he did not believe in endings or beginnings, but in the continuous cycle of which this was but a small part.\n\"My Prince,\" said the castle steward, unhappy at breaking the celebration. \"There is a messenger here from your mother, the Empress.  He asked to see your father, but as he did not arrive --\"\nJuilek excused himself and went to speak with the messenger.\n\"The Empress does not live in the Imperial City?\" asked Vivec.\n\"No,\" said Almalexia, shaking her head sadly. \"Her husband has imprisoned her in Black Marsh, fearing that she was plotting a revolution against him.  She is extremely wealthy and has powerful allies in the western Colovian estates so he could not marry another or have her executed.  They've been at an impasse for the last seventeen years since Juilek was a child.\"\nThe Prince returned a few minutes later.  His face betrayed his anxiety, though he took troubles to hide it.\n\"My mother needs me,\" he said simply. \"I'm afraid I must leave at once.  If I may have a copy of the treaty, I will bring it with me to show the Empress the good we have done today, and then I will carry it on to the Imperial City so it may be made official.\"\nPrince Juilek left with the fond farewells of the Three of Morrowind.  As they watched him ride out into the rainswept night south towards Black Marsh, Vivec said, \"Tamriel will be much healed when he has the throne.\"\n31 Last Seed, 2920\nDorsza Pass, Black Marsh\nThe moon was rising over the desolate quarry, steaming with swamp gas from a particularly hot summer as the Prince and his two guard escort rode out of the forest.  The massive piles of earth and dung had been piled high in antiquity by some primitive, long-dead tribe of Black Marsh, hoping to keep out some evil from the north.  Evidently, the evil had broken through at Dorsza Pass, the large crack in the sad, lonely rampart that stretched for miles.\nThe black twisted trees that grew on the barrier cast strange shadows down, like a net tangling.  The Prince's mind was on his mother's cryptic letter, hinting at the threat of an invasion.  He could not, of course, tell the Dunmer about it, at the very least until he knew more and had notified his father.  After all, the letter was meant for him.  It was its urgent tone that made him decide to go directly to Gideon.\nThe Empress had also warned him about a band of former slaves who attacked caravans going into Dorsza Pass.  She advised him to be certain to make his Imperial shield visible, so they would know he was not one of the hated Dunmer slavers.  Upon riding into the tall weeds that flooded through the pass like a noxious river, the Prince ordered that his shield be displayed.\n\"I can see why the slaves use this,\" said the Prince's captain. \"It's an excellent location for an ambush.\"\nJuilek nodded his head, but his thoughts were elsewhere.  What threat of invasion could the Empress have discovered?  Were the Akaviri on the seas again?  If so, how could his mother from her cell in Castle Giovese know of it?  A rustle in the weeds and a single sharp human cry behind him interrupted his ponderings.\nTurning around, the Prince discovered that he was alone.  His escort had vanished.\nThe Prince peered over the stretch of the moonlit sea of grass which waved in almost hypnotic patterns to the ebb and flow of the night wind billowing through the pass.  It was impossible to tell if a struggling soldier was beneath this system of vibrations, a dying horse behind another.  A high, whistling wind drowned out any sound the victims of the ambush might be making.\nJuilek drew his sword, and thought about what to do, his mind willing his heart not to panic.  He was closer to the exit of the pass than the entrance. Whatever had slain his escort must have been behind him.  If he rode fast enough, perhaps he could outrun it.  Spurring his horse to gallop, he charged for the hills ahead, framed by the mighty black piles of dirt.\nWhen he was thrown, it happened so suddenly, he was hurdling forward before he was truly conscious of the fact.  He landed several yards beyond where his horse had fallen, breaking his shoulder and his back on impact.  A numbness washed over him as he stared at his poor, dying steed, its belly sliced open by one of several spears jutting up just below the surface of the grass.\nPrince Juilek was not able to turn and face the figure that emerged from the grass, nor able to move to defend himself.  His throat was cut without ceremony.\nMiramor cursed when he saw the face of his victim more clearly in the moonlight.  He had seen the Emperor at the Battle of Bodrum when he had fought in His Imperial Majesty's command, and this was clearly not the Emperor.  Searching the body, he found the letter and a treaty signed by Vivec, Almalexia, Sotha Sil, and the Duke of Mournhold representing Morrowind and the Prince Juilek Cyrodiil, representing the Cyrodiil Empire.\n\"Curse my luck,\" muttered Miramor to himself and the whispering grass. \"I've only killed a Prince.  Where's the reward in that?\"\nMiramor destroyed the letter, as Zuuk had instructed him to do, and pocketed the treaty.  At the very least, such a curiosity would have some market value.  He disassembled the traps as he pondered his next step.  Return to Gideon and ask his employer for a lesser reward for killing the heir?  Move on to other lands?  At the very least, he considered, he had picked up two useful skills from the Battle of Bodrum.  From the Dunmer, he had learned the excellent spear trap.  And abandoning the Imperial army, he had learned how to skulk in the grass.\nThe Year is Continued in Hearth Fire."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/2920-hearth-fire-book-9": {"series": "2920, Last Year of the First Era", "game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion", "Skyrim", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/2920-hearth-fire-book-9", "author": "Carlovac Townway", "title": "2920, Hearth Fire, Book 9", "description": "A fascinating drama taking place at the very end of the First Era.", "text": "Hearth Fire\nBook Nine of 2920 \nThe Last Year of the First Era\nby\nCarlovac Townway\n2 Hearth Fire, 2920\nGideon, Black Marsh\nThe Empress Tavia lay across her bed, a hot late summer wind she could not feel banging the shutters of her cell to and fro against the iron bars.  Her throat felt like it was on fire but still she sobbed, uncontrollably, wringing her last tapestry in her hands.  Her wailing echoed throughout the hollow halls of Castle Giovese, stopping maids in their washing and guards in their conversation.  One of her women came up the narrow stairs to see her mistress, but her chief guard Zuuk stood at the doorway and shook his head.\n\"She's just heard that her son is dead,\" he said quietly.\n5 Hearth Fire, 2920\nThe Imperial City, Cyrodiil\n\"Your Imperial Majesty,\" said the Potentate Versidue-Shaie through the door. \"You can open the door.  I assure you, you're perfectly safe.  No one wants to kill you.\"\n\"Mara's blood!\" came the Emperor Reman III's voice, muffled, hysterical, tinged with madness. \"Someone assassinated the Prince, and he was holding my shield!  They could have thought he was me!\"\n\"You're certainly correct, your Imperial Majesty,\" replied the Potentate, expunging any mocking qualities from his voice while his black-slitted eyes rolled contemptuously. \"And we must find and punish the evildoer responsible for your son's death.  But we cannot do it without you.  You must be brave for your Empire.\"\nThere was no reply.\n\"At the very least, come out and sign the order for Lady Rijja's execution,\" called the Potentate. \"Let us dispose of the one traitor and assassin we know of.\"\nA brief pause, and then the sound of furniture scraping across the floor.  Reman opened the door just a crack, but the Potentate could see his angry, fearful face, and the terrible mound of ripped tissue that used to be his right eye.  Despite the best healers in the Empire, it was still a ghastly souvenir of the Lady Rijja's work in Thurzo Fortress.\n\"Hand me the order,\" the Emperor snarled. \"I'll sign it with pleasure.\"\n6 Hearth Fire, 2920\nGideon, Cyrodiil\nThe strange blue glow of the will o' the wisps, a combination, so she'd be told, of swamp gas and spiritual energy, had always frightened Tavia as she looked out her window.  Now it seemed strangely comforting.  Beyond the bog lay the city of Gideon.  It was funny, she thought, that she had never stepped foot in its streets, though she had watched it ever day for seventeen years.\n\"Can you think of anything I've forgotten?\" she asked, turning to look back on the loyal Kothringi Zuuk.\n\"I know exactly what to do,\" he said simply.  He seemed to smile, but the Empress realized that it was only her own face reflected in his silvery skin.  She was smiling, and she didn't even realize it.\n\"Make certain you aren't followed,\" she warned. \"I don't want my husband to know where my gold's been hiding all these years.  And do take your share of it.  You've been a good friend.\"\nThe Empress Tavia stepped forward and dropped from sight into the mists.  Zuuk replaced the bars on the tower window, and threw a blanket over some pillows on her bed.  With any luck, they would not discover her body on the lawn until morning, at which time he hoped to be halfway to Morrowind.\n9 Hearth Fire, 2920\nPhrygias, High Rock\nThe strange trees on all sides resembled knobby piles crowned with great bursts of reds, yellows, and oranges, like insect mounds caught fire.  The Wrothgarian mountains were fading into the misty afternoon.  Turala marveled at the sight, so alien, so different from Morrowind, as she plodded the horse forward into an open pasture.  Behind her, head nodding against his chest, Cassyr slept, cradling Bosriel.  For a moment, Turala considered jumping the low painted fence that crossed the field, but she thought better of it.  Let Cassyr sleep for a few more hours before giving him the reigns.\nAs the horse passed into the field, Turala saw the small green house on the next hill, half-hidden in forest.  So picturesque was the image, she felt herself lull into a pleasant half-sleeping state.  A blast of a horn brought her back to reality with a shudder.  Cassyr opened his eyes.\n\"Where are we?\" he hissed.\n\"I don't know,\" Turala stammered, wide-eyed. \"What is that sound?\"\n\"Orcs,\" he whispered. \"A hunting party.  Head for the thicket quickly.\"\nTurala trotted the horse into the small collection of trees. Cassyr handed her the child and dismounted.  He began pulling their bags off next, throwing them into the bushes.  A sound started then, a distant rumbling of footfall, growing louder and closer.  Turala climbed off carefully and helped Cassyr unburden the horse.  All the while, Bosriel watched open-eyed.  Turala sometimes worried that her baby never cried.  Now she was grateful for it.  With the last of the luggage off, Cassyr slapped the horse's rear, sending it galloping into the field.  Taking Turala's hand, he hunkered down in the bushes.\n\"With luck,\" he murmured. \"They'll think she's wild or belongs to the farm and won't go looking for the rider.\"\nAs he spoke, a horde of orcs surged into the field, blasting their horns.  Turala had seen orcs before, but never in such abundance, never with such bestial confidence.  Roaring with delight at the horse and its confused state, they hastened past the timber where Cassyr, Turala, and Bosriel hid.  The wildflowers flew into the air at their stampede, powdering the air with seeds.  Turala tried to hold back a sneeze, and thought she succeeded.  One of the orcs heard something though, and brought another with him to investigate.\nCassyr quietly unsheathed his sword, mustering all the confidence he could.  His skills, such as they were, were in spying, not combat, but he vowed to protect Turala and her babe for as long as he could.  Perhaps he would slay these two, he reasoned, but not before they cried out and brought the rest of the horde.\nSuddenly, something invisible swept through the bushes like a wind.  The orcs flew backwards, falling dead on their backs.  Turala turned and saw a wrinkled crone with bright red hair emerge from a nearby bush.\n\"I thought you were going to bring 'em right to me,\" she whispered, smiling. \"Best come with me.\"\nThe three followed the old woman through a deep crevasse of bramble bushes that ran through the field toward the house on the hill.  As they emerged on the other side, the woman turned to look at the orcs feasting on the remains of the horse, a blood-soaked orgy to the beat of multiple horns.\n\"That horse yours?\" she asked.  When Cassyr nodded, she laughed loudly. \"That's rich meat, that is.  Those monsters'll have bellyaches and flatulence in the morning.  Serves 'em right.\"\n\"Shouldn't we keep moving?\" whispered Turala, unnerved by the woman's laughter.\n\"They won't come up here,\" she grinned, looking at Bosriel who smiled back. \"They're too afraid of us.\"\nTurala turned to Cassyr, who shook his head. \"Witches.  Am I correct in assuming that this is Old Barbyn's Farm, the home of the Skeffington Coven?\"\n\"You are, pet,\" the old woman giggled girlishly, pleased to be so infamous. \"I am Mynista Skeffington.\"\n\"What did you do to those orcs?\" asked Turala. \"Back there in the thicket?\"\n\"Spirit fist right side the head,\" Mynista said, continuing the climb up the hill.  Ahead of them was the farmhouse grounds, a well, a chicken coop, a pond, women of all ages doing chores, the laughter of children at play.  The old woman turned and saw that Turala did not understand. \"Don't you have witches where you come from, child?\"\n\"None that I know of,\" she said.\n\"There are all sorts of wielders of magic in Tamriel,\" she explained. \"The Psijics study magic like its their painful duty.  The battlemages in the army on the other end of the scale hurl spells like arrows.  We witches commune and conjure and celebrate.  To fell those orcs, I merely whispered to the spirits of the air, Amaro, Pina, Tallatha, the fingers of Kynareth, and the breath of the world, with whom I have an intimate acquaintance, to smack those bastards dead.  You see, conjuration is not about might, or solving riddles, or agonizing over musty old scrolls.  It's about fostering relations.  Being friendly, you might say.\"\n\"Well, we certainly appreciate you being friendly with us,\" said Cassyr.\n\"As well you might,\" coughed Mynista. \"Your kind destroyed the orc homeland two thousand years ago.  Before that, they never came all the way up here and bothered us.  Now let's get you cleaned up and fed.\"\nWith that, Mynista led them into the farm, and Turala met the family of the Skeffington Coven.\n11 Hearth Fire, 2920\nThe Imperial City, Cyrodiil\nRijja had not even tried to sleep the night before, and she found the somber music played during her execution to have a soporific effect.  It was as if she was willing herself to be unconscious before the ax stroke.  Her eyes were bound so she could not see her former lover, the Emperor, seated before her, glaring with his one good eye.  She could not see the Potentate Versidue-Shaie, his coil neatly wrapped beneath him, a look of triumph in his golden face.  She could feel, numbly, the executioner's hand touch her back to steady her.  She flinched like a dreamer trying to awake.\nThe first blow caught the back of her head and she screamed.  The next hacked through her neck, and she was dead.\nThe Emperor turned to the Potentate wearily, \"Now that's done.  You said she had a pretty sister in Hammerfell named Corda?\"\n18 Hearth Fire, 2920\nDwynnen, High Rock\nThe horse the witches had sold him was not as good as his old one, Cassyr considered.  Spirit worship and sacrifice and sisterhood might be all well and good for conjuring spirits, but it tends to spoil beasts of burden.  Still, there was little to complain about.  With the Dunmer woman and her child gone, he had made excellent time.  Ahead were the walls surrounding the city of his homeland.  Almost at once, he was set upon by his old friends and family.\n\"How went the war?\" cried his cousin, running to the road. \"Is it true that Vivec signed a peace with the Prince, but the Emperor refuses to honor it?\"\n\"That's not how it was, was it?\" asked a friend, joining them. \"I heard that the Dunmer had the Prince murdered and then made up a story about a treaty, but there's no evidence for it.\"\n\"Isn't there anything interesting happening here?\" Cassyr laughed. \"I really don't have the least interest in discussing the war or Vivec.\"\n\"You missed the procession of the Lady Corda,\" said his friend. \"She came across the bay with full entourage and then east to the Imperial City.\"\n\"But that's nothing.  What was Vivec like?\" asked his cousin eagerly. \"He supposed to be a living god.\"\n\"If Sheogorath steps down and they need another God of Madness, he'll do,\" said Cassyr haughtily.\n\"And the women?\" asked the lad, who had only seen Dunmer ladies on very rare occasions.\nCassyr merely smiled.  Turala Skeffington flashed into his mind for an instant before fading away.  She would be happy with the coven, and her child would be well cared for.  But they were part of the past now, a place and a war he wanted to forget forever.  Dismounting his horse, he walked it into the city, chatting of trivial gossip of life on the Iliac Bay."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/2920-frostfall-book-10": {"series": "2920, Last Year of the First Era", "game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion", "Skyrim", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/2920-frostfall-book-10", "author": "Carlovac Townway", "title": "2920, Frostfall, Book 10", "description": "A fascinating drama taking place at the very end of the First Era.", "text": "Frostfall\nBook Ten of 2920, \nThe Last Year of the First Era\nby\nCarlovac Townway\n10 Frostfall, 2920\nPhrygias, High Rock\nThe creature before them blinked, senseless, its eyes glazed, mouth opening and closing as if relearning its function. A thin glob of saliva burbled down between its fangs, and hung suspended. Turala had never seen anything of its kind before, reptilian and massive, perched on its hind legs like a man. Mynistera applauded enthusiastically.\n\"My child,\" she crowed. \"You have come so far in so short a time.  What were you thinking when you summoned this daedroth?\"\nIt took Turala a moment to recall whether she was thinking anything at all.  She was merely overwhelmed that she had reached out across the fabric of reality into the realm of Oblivion, and plucked forth this loathsome creature, conjuring it into the world by the power of her mind.\n\"I was thinking of the color red,\" Turala said, concentrating. \"The simplicity and clarity of it.  And then -- I desired, and spoke the charm.  And this is what I conjured up.\"\n\"Desire is a powerful force for a young witch,\" said Mynistera. \"And it is well matched in this instance. For this daedroth is nothing if not a simple force of the spirits.  Can you release your desire as easily?\"\nTurala closed her eyes and spoke the dismissal invocation. The monster faded away like a painting in sunlight, still blinking confusedly. Mynistera embraced her Dark Elf pupil, laughing with delight.\n\"I never would have believed it, a month and a day you've been with the coven, and you're already far more advanced than most of the women here. There is powerful blood in you, Turala, you touch spirits like you were touching a lover. You'll be leading this coven one day -- I have seen it!\"\nTurala smiled.  It was good to be complimented. The Duke of Mournhold had praised her pretty face; and her family, before she had dishonored them, praised her manners. Cassyr had been nothing more than a companion: his compliments meant nothing. But with Mynistera, she felt she was home.\n\"You'll be leading the coven for many years yet, great sister,\" said Turala.\n\"I certainly intend to. But the spirits, while marvelous companions and faultless tellers of truth, are often hazy about the when and hows. You can't blame them really. When and how mean so little to them,\" Mynistera opened the door to the shed, allowing the brisk autumn breeze in to dispel the bitter and fetid smells of the daedroth. \"Now, I need you to run an errand to Wayrest.  It's only a week's ride there, and a week's ride back. Bring Doryatha and Celephyna with you. As much as we try to be self-sufficient, there are herbs we can't grow here, and we seem to run through an enormous quantity of gems in no time at all. It's important that the people of the city learn to recognize you as one of the wise women of Skeffington coven. You'll find the benefits of being notorious far outweigh the inconveniences.\"\nTurala did as she was bade. As she and her sisters climbed aboard their horses, Mynistera brought her child, little five-month-old Bosriel to kiss her mother good-bye. The witches were in love with the little Dunmer infant, fathered by a wicked Duke, birthed by wild Ayleid elves in the forest heart of the Empire. Turala knew her nursemaids would protect her child with their lives.  After many kisses and a farewell wave, the three young witches rode off into the bright woods, under a covering of red, yellow, and orange.\n12 Frostfall, 2920\nDwynnen, High Rock\nFor a Middas evening, the Least Loved Porcupine tavern was wildly crowded. A roaring fire in the pit in the center of the room cast an almost sinister glow on all the regulars, and made the abundance of bodies look like a punishment tapestry inspired by the Arcturian Heresies. Cassyr took his usual place with his cousin and ordered a flagon of ale.\n\"Have you been to see the Baron?\" asked Palyth.\n\"Yes, he may have work for me in the palace of Urvaius,\" said Cassyr proudly. \"But more than that I can't say. You understand, secrets of state and all that. Why are there so many damned people here tonight?\"\n\"A shipload of Dark Elves just came in to harbor. They've come from the war.  I was just waiting until you got here to introduce you as another veteran.\"\nCassyr blushed, but regained his composure enough to ask: \"What are they doing here?  Has there been a truce?\"\n\"I don't know the full story,\" said Palyth. \"But apparently, the Emperor and Vivec are in negotiations again. These fellas here have investments they were keen to check on, and they figured things on the Bay were quiet enough. But the only way we can get the full story is to talk to the chaps.\"\nWith that, Palyth gripped his cousin's arm and pulled him to the other side of the bar so suddenly, Cassyr would have had to struggle violently to resist. The Dunmer travelers were spread out across four of the tables, laughing with the locals. They were largely amiable young men, well-dressed, befitting merchants, animated in gesture made more extravagant by liquor.\n\"Excuse me,\" said Palyth, intruding on the conversation. \"My shy cousin Cassyr was in the war as well, fighting for the living god, Vivec.\"\n\"The only Cassyr I ever heard of,\" said one of the Dunmer drunkenly with a wide, friendly smile, shaking Cassyr's free hand. \"Was a Cassyr Whitley, who Vivec said was the worst spy in history. We lost Ald Marak due to his bungling intelligence work.  For your sake, friend, I hope the two of you were never confused.\"\nCassyr smiled and listened as the lout told the story of his failure with bountiful exaggerations which caused the table to roar with laughter. Several eyes looked his way, but none of the locals sought to explain that the fool of the tale was standing at attention. The eyes that stung the most were his cousin's, the young man who had believed that he had returned to Dwynnen a great hero. At some point, certainly, the Baron would hear about it, his idiocy increasing manifold with each retelling.\nWith every fiber in his soul, Cassyr cursed the living god Vivec.\n21 Frostfall, 2920\nThe Imperial City, Cyrodiil\nCorda, in a robe of blinding whiteness, a uniform of the priestesses of the Hegathe Morwha conservatorium, arrived in the City just as the first winter storm was passing. The clouds broke with sunlight, and the beauteous teenaged Redguard girl appeared in the wide avenue with escort, riding toward the Palace. While her sister was tall, thin, angular, and haughty, Corda was a small, round-faced lass with wide brown eyes. The locals were quick to draw comparisons.\n\"Not a month after Lady Rijja's execution,\" muttered a housemaid, peering out the window, and winking to her neighbor.\n\"And not a month out of the nunnery neither,\" the other woman agreed, reveling in the scandal. \"This one's in for a ride. Her sister weren't no innocent, and look where she ended up.\"\n24 Frostfall, 2920\nDwynnen, High Rock\nCassyr stood on the harbor and watched the early sleet fall on the water. It was a pity, he thought, that he was prone to sea-sickness. There was nothing for him now in Tamriel to the east or to the west.  Vivec's tale of his poor spycraft had spread to taverns everywhere. The Baron of Dwynnen had released him from his contract.  No doubt they were laughing about him in Daggerfall, too, and Dawnstar, Lilmoth, Rimmen, Greenheart, probably in Akavir and Yokuda for that matter.  Perhaps it would be best to drop into the waves and sink. The thought, however, did not stay long in his mind: it was not despair that haunted him, but rage.  Impotent fury that he could not assuage.\n\"Excuse me, sir,\" said a voice behind him, making him jump. \"I'm sorry to disturb you, but I was wondering whether you could recommend an inexpensive tavern for me to spend the night.\"\nIt was a young man, a Nord, with a sack over his shoulder. Obviously, he had just disembarked from one of the boats. For the first time in weeks, someone was looking at Cassyr as something other than a colossal, famous idiot.  He could not help, black as his mood was, but be friendly.\n\"You've just arrived from Skyrim?\" asked Cassyr.\n\"No, sir, that's where I'm going,\" said the fellow. \"I'm working my way home. I've come up from Sentinel, and before that Stros M'kai, and before that Woodhearth in Valenwood, and before that Artaeum in Summurset. Welleg's my name.\"\nCassyr introduced himself and shook Welleg's hand. \"Did you say you came from Artaeum? Are you a Psijic?\"\n\"No, sir, not anymore,\" the fellow shrugged. \"I was expelled.\"\n\"Do you know anything about summoning daedra? You see, I want to cast a curse against a particularly powerful person, one might say a living god, and I haven't had any luck. The Baron won't allow me in his sight, but the Baroness has sympathy for me and allowed me the use of their Summoning Chambers.\" Cassyr spat. \"I did all the rituals, made sacrifices, but nothing came of it.\"\n\"That'd be because of Sotha Sil, my old master,\" replied Welleg with some bitterness. \"The Daedra princes have agreed not to be summoned by any amateurs at least until the war ends. Only the Psijics may counsel with the daedra, and a few nomadic sorcerers and witches.\"\n\"Witches, did you say?\"\n29 Frostfall, 2920\nPhrygias, High Rock\nPale sunlight flickered behind the mist bathing the forest as Turala, Doryatha, and Celephyna drove their horses on. The ground was wet with a thin layer of frost, and laden down with goods, it was a slippery way over unpaved hills. Turala tried to contain her excitement about coming back to the coven. Wayrest had been an adventure, and she adored the looks of fear and respect the cityfolk gave her.  But for the last few days, all she could think of was returning to her sisters and her child.\nA bitter wind whipped her hair forward so she could see nothing but the path ahead.  She did not hear the rider approach to her side until he was almost upon her. When she turned and saw Cassyr, she shouted with as much surprise as pleasure at meeting an old friend. His face was pale and drawn, but she took it to be merely from travel.\n\"What brings you back to Phrygias?\" she smiled. \"Were you not treated well in Dwynnen?\"\n\"Well enough,\" said Cassyr. \"I have need of the Skeffington coven.\"\n\"Ride with us,\" said Turala. \"I'll bring you to Mynistera.\"\nThe four continued on, and the witches regaled Cassyr with tales of Wayrest.  It was evident that it was also a rare treat for Doryatha and Celephyna to leave Old Barbyn's Farm. They had been born there, as daughters and grand-daughters of Skeffington witches. Ordinary High Rock city life was exotic to them as it was to Turala. Cassyr said little, but smiled and nodded his head, which was encouragement enough. Thankfully, none of the stories they had heard were about his own stupidity. Or at the very least, they did not tell him.\nDoryatha was in the midst of a tale she had heard in a tavern about a thief who had been locked overnight in a pawnshop when they crossed over a familiar hill.  Suddenly, she halted in her story. The barn was supposed to be visible, but it was not. The other three followed her gaze into the fog, and a moment later, they rode as fast as they could towards what was once the site of the Skeffington coven.\nThe fire had long since burned out. Nothing but ashes, skeletons, and broken weaponry remained. Cassyr recognized at once the signs of an orc raid.\nThe witches fell from their horses, racing through the remains, wailing. Celephyna found a tattered, bloody piece of cloth that she recognized from Mynistera's cloak.  She held it to her ashen face, sobbing. Turala screamed for Bosriel, but the only reply was the high whistling wind through the ashes.\n\"Who did this?\" she cried, tears streaking down her face. \"I swear I'll conjure up the very flames of Oblivion! What have they done with my baby?\"\n\"I know who did it,\" said Cassyr quietly, dropping from his horse and walking towards her. \"I've seen these weapons before. I fear I met the very fiends responsible in Dwynnen, but I never thought they'd find you. This is the work of assassins hired by the Duke of Mournhold.\"\nHe paused. The lie came easily. Adopt and improvise. What's more, he could tell instantly that she believed it.  Her resentment over the cruelty the Duke had shown her had quieted, but never disappeared. One look at her burning eyes told him that she would summon the daedra and wreak his, and her, revenge upon Morrowind.  And what's more, he knew they'd listen.\nAnd listen they did. For the power that is greater than desire is rage. Even rage misplaced."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/2920-suns-dusk-book-11": {"series": "2920, Last Year of the First Era", "game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion", "Skyrim", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/2920-suns-dusk-book-11", "author": "Carlovac Townway", "title": "2920, Sun's Dusk, Book 11", "description": "A fascinating drama taking place at the very end of the First Era.", "text": "Sun's Dusk\nBook Eleven of 2920\nThe Last Year of the First Era\nby\nCarlovac Townway\n2 Sun's Dusk, 2920\nTel Aruhn, Morrowind\n\"A man to see you, Night Mother,\" said the guard. \"A Kothringi tribesman who presents his credentials as Lord Zuuk of Black Marsh, part of the Imperial Garrison of Gideon.\"\n\"What makes you think I'd have even the slightest possible interest in seeing him?\" asked the Night Mother with venomous sweetness.\n\"He brings a letter from the late Empress of the Cyrodilic Empire.\"\n\"We are having a busy day,\" she smiled, clapping her hands together with delight. \"Show him in.\"\nZuuk entered the chamber.  His metallic skin, though exposed only at his face and hands, caught the light of the fireplace and the lightning of the stormy night from the window. The Night Mother noted also that she could see herself as he saw her: serene, beautiful, fear-inspiring.  He handed her his letter from the Empress without a word.  Sipping her wine, she read it.\n\"The Duke of Morrowind also offered me an appreciable sum to have the Emperor murdered earlier this year,\" she said, folding the letter. \"His payment sunk, and never was delivered.  It was a considerable annoyance, particularly as I had already gone to the trouble of putting one of my agents in the palace.  Why should I assume that your more-than-generous payment, from a dead woman, will arrive?\"\n\"I brought it with me,\" said Zuuk simply. \"It is in the carriage outside.\"\n\"Then bring it in and our business is complete,\" smiled the Night Mother. \"The Emperor will be dead by year's end.  You may leave the gold with Apaladith.  Unless you'd care for some wine?\"\nZuuk declined the offer and withdrew.  The moment he left the room, Miramor slipped noiselessly back from behind the dark tapestry.  The Night Mother offered him a glass of wine, and he accepted it.\n\"I know that fellow, Zuuk,\" said Miramor carefully. \"I didn't know he worked for the old Empress though.\"\n\"Let's talk about you some more, if you don't mind,\" she said, knowing he would, in fact, not mind.\n\"Let me show you my worth,\" said Miramor. \"Let me be the one to do the Emperor in.  I've already killed his son, and you saw there how well I can hide myself away.  Tell me you saw one ripple in the tapestry.\"\nThe Night Mother smiled.  Things were falling into place rather nicely.\n\"If you know how to use a dagger, you will find him at Bodrum,\" she said, and described to him what he must do.\n3 Sun's Dusk, 2920\nMournhold, Morrowind\nThe Duke stared out the window.  It was early morning, and for the fourth straight day, a red mist hung over the city, flashing lightning.  A freakish wind blew through the streets, ripping his flags from the castle battlements, forcing all his people to close their shudders tightly.  Something terrible was coming to his land.  He was not a greatly learned man, but he knew the signs.  So too did his subjects.\n\"When will my messengers reach the Three?\" he growled, turning to his castellan.\n\"Vivec is far to the north, negotiating the treaty with the Emperor,\" the man said, his face and voice trembling with fear. \"Almalexia and Sotha Sil are in Necrom.  Perhaps they can be reached in a few days time.\"\nThe Duke nodded.  He knew his messengers were fast, but so too was the hand of Oblivion.\n6 Sun's Dusk, 2920\nBodrum, Morrowind\nTorchlight caught in the misting snow gave the place an otherworldly quality.  The soldiers from both camps found themselves huddled together around the largest of the bonfires: winter bringing enemies of four score of warring close together.  While only a few of the Dunmer guard could speak Cyrodilic, they found common ground battling for warmth.  When a pretty Redguard maiden passed into their midst to warm herself before moving back to the treaty tent, many a man from both army raised their eyes in approval.\nThe Emperor Reman III was eager to leave negotiations before they had ever begun.  A month earlier, he thought it would be a sign of good will to meet at the site of his defeat to Vivec's army, but the place brought back more bad memories than he thought it would.  Despite the protestations of Potentate Versidue-Shaie that the rocks of the river were naturally red, he could swear he saw splatters of his soldier's blood.\n\"We have all the particulars of the treaty,\" he said, taking a glass of hot yuelle from his mistress Corda. \"But here and now is not the place for signing.  We should do it at the Imperial Palace, with all the pomp and splendor this historic occasion demands.  You must bring Almalexia with you too.  And that wizard fellow.\"\n\"Sotha Sil,\" whispered the Potentate.\n\"When?\" asked Vivec with infinite patience.\n\"In exactly a month's time,\" said the Emperor, smiling munificently and clambering awkwardly to his feet. \"We will hold a grand ball to commemorate.  Now I must take a walk.  My legs are all cramped up with the weather.  Corda, my dear, will you walk with me?\"\n\"Of course, your Imperial Majesty,\" she said, helping him toward the tent's entrance.\n\"Would you like me to come with you as well, your Imperial Majesty?\" asked Versidue-Shaie.\n\"Or I?\" asked King Dro'Zel of Senchal, a newly appointed advisor to the court.\n\"That won't be necessary, I won't be gone a minute,\" said Reman.\nMiramor crouched in the same rushes he had hidden in nearly eight months before.  Now the ground was hard and snow-covered, and the rushes slick with ice.  Every slight movement he made issued forth a crunch.  If it were not for the raucous songs of the combined Morrowind and Imperial army gathered about the bonfire, he would not have dared creep as close to the Emperor and his concubine.  They were standing at the curve in the frozen creek below the bluff, surrounded by trees sparkling with ice.\nCarefully, Miramor removed the dagger from its sheath.  He had slightly exaggerated his abilities with a short blade to the Night Mother.  True, he had used one to cut the throat of Prince Juilek, but the lad was not in any position to fight back at the time.  Still, how difficult could it be to stab an old man with one eye?  What sort of blade skill would such an easy assassination require?\nHis ideal moment presented itself before his eyes.  The woman saw something deeper in the woods, an icicle of an unusual shape she said, and darted off to get it.  The Emperor remained behind, laughing.  He turned to the face of the bluff to see his soldiers singing their song's refrain, his back to his assassin.  Miramor knew the moment had come.  Mindful of the sound of his footfall on the icy ground, he stepped forward and struck.  Very nearly.\nAlmost simultaneously, he was aware of a strong arm holding back his striking arm and another one punching a dagger into his throat.  He could not scream.  The Emperor, still looking up at the soldiers, never saw Miramor pulled back into the brush and a hand much more skilled than his slicing into his back, paralyzing him.\nHis blood pooling out and already crystallizing on the frozen ground, Miramor watched, dying, as the Emperor and his courtesan returned to join the camp up on the bluff.\n12 Sun's Dusk, 2920\nMournhold, Morrowind\nA gout of ever-erupting flame was all that remained of the central courtyard of Castle Mournhold, blasting skyward into the boiling clouds.  A thick, tarry smoke rolled through the streets, igniting everything that was wood or paper on fire.  Winged bat-like creatures harried the citizens from their hiding places out into the open, where they were met by the real army.  The only thing that kept all of Mournhold from burning to the ground was the wet, sputtering blood of its people.\nMehrunes Dagon smiled as he surveyed the castle crumbling.\n\"To think I nearly didn't come,\" he said aloud, his voice booming over the chaos. \"Imagine missing all this fun.\"\nHis attention was arrested by a needle-thin shaft of light piercing through his black and red shadowed sky.  He followed it to its source, two figures, a man and a woman standing on the hill above town.  The man in the white robe he recognized immediately as Sotha Sil, the sorcerer who had talked all the Princes of Oblivion into that meaningless truce.\n\"If you've come for the Duke of Mournhold, he isn't here,\" laughed Mehrunes Dagon. \"But you might find pieces of him the next time it rains.\"\n\"Daedra, we cannot kill you,\" said Almalexia, her face hard and resolute. \"But that you will soon regret.\"\nWith that, two living gods and a prince of Oblivion engaged in battle on the ruins of Mournhold.\n17 Sun's Dusk, 2920\nTel Aruhn, Morrowind\n\"Night Mother,\" said the guard. \"Correspondence from your agent in the Imperial Palace.\"\nThe Night Mother read the note carefully.  The test had been a success: Miramor had been successfully detected and slain.  The Emperor was in very unsafe hands.  The Night Mother responded immediately.\n18 Sun's Dusk, 2920\nBalmora, Morrowind\nSotha Sil, face solemn and unreadable, greeted Vivec at the grand plaza in front of his palace.  Vivec had ridden day and night after hearing about the battle in his tent in Bodrum, crossing mile after mile, cutting through the dangerous ground at Dagoth-Ur at blinding speed.  To the south, during all the course of the voyage, he could see the whirling red clouds and knew that the battle was continuing, day after day.  In Gnisis, he met a messenger from Sotha Sil, asking him to meet at Balmora.\n\"Where is Almalexia?\"\n\"Inside,\" said Sotha Sil wearily.  There was a long, ugly gash running across his jaw. \"She's gravely injured, but Mehrunes Dagon will not return from Oblivion for many a moon.\"\nAlmalexia lay on a bed of silk, tended to by Vivec's own healers.  Her face, even her lips, was gray as stone, and blood stained through the gauze of her bandages.  Vivec took her cold hand.  Almalexia's mouth moved wordlessly.  She was dreaming.\nShe was battling Mehrunes Dagon again amid a firestorm.  All around her, the blackened husk of a castle crumbled, splashing sparks into the night sky.  The Daedra's claws dug into her belly, spreading poison through her veins while Almalexia throttled him.  As she sank to the ground beside her defeated foe, she saw that the castle consumed by fire was not Castle Mournhold.  It was the Imperial Palace.\n24 Sun's Dusk, 2920\nThe Imperial City, Cyrodiil\nA winter gale blew over the city, splashing the windows and glass domes of the Imperial Palace.  Quivering light rays illuminated the figures within in surreal patterns.\nThe Emperor barked orders to his staff in preparations for the banquet and ball.  This was what he enjoyed best, more than battle.  King Dro'Zel was supervising the entertainment, having strong opinions on the matter.  The Emperor himself was arranging the details of the dinner.  Roast nebfish, vegetable marrow, cream soups, buttered helerac, codscrumb, tongue in aspic.  Potentate Versidue-Shaie had made a few suggestions of his own, but the tastes of the Akaviri were very peculiar.\nThe Lady Corda accompanied the Emperor to his chambers as night fell.\nThe Year is Concluded in Evening Star."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/2920-evening-star-book-12": {"series": "2920, Last Year of the First Era", "game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion", "Skyrim", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/2920-evening-star-book-12", "author": "Carlovac Townway", "title": "2920, Evening Star, Book 12", "description": "A fascinating drama taking place at the very end of the First Era.", "text": "Evening Star\nBook Twelve of 2920\nThe Last Year of the First Era\nby\nCarlovac Townway\n\n1 Sun's Dusk, 2920\nBalmora, Morrowind\nThe winter morning sun glinted through the cobweb of frost on the window, and Almalexia opened her eyes.  An ancient healer mopped a wet cloth across her head, smiling with relief.  Asleep in the chair next to her bed was Vivec.  The healer rushed to a side cabinet and returned with a flagon of water.\n\"How are you feeling, goddess?\" asked the healer.\n\"Like I've been asleep for a very long time,\" said Almalexia.\n\"So you have.  Fifteen days,\" said the healer, and touched Vivec's arm. \"Master, wake up.  She speaks.\"\nVivec rose with a start, and seeing Almalexia alive and awake, his face broke into a wide grin.  He kissed her forehead, and took her hand.  At last, there was warmth again in her flesh.\nAlmalexia's peaceful repose suddenly snapped: \"Sotha Sil --\"\n\"He's alive and well,\" replied Vivec. \"Working on one of his machines again somewhere.  He would have stayed here too, but he realized he could do you more good working that peculiar sorcery of his.\"\nThe castellan appeared in the doorway. \"Sorry to interrupt you, master, but I wanted to tell you that your fastest messenger left late last night for the Imperial City.\"\n\"Messenger?\" asked Almalexia. \"Vivec, what has happened?\"\n\"I was to go and sign a truce with the Emperor on the sixth, so I sent him word that it had to be postponed.\"\n\"You can't do me any good here,\" said Almalexia, pulling herself up with effort. \"But if you don't sign that truce, you'll put Morrowind back to war, maybe for another eighty years.  If you leave today with an escort and hurry, perhaps you can get to the Imperial City only a day or two late.\"\n\"Are you certain you don't need me here?\" asked Vivec.\n\"I know that Morrowind needs you more.\"\n6 Sun's Dusk, 2920\nThe Imperial City, Cyrodiil\nThe Emperor Reman III sat on his throne, surveying the audience chamber.  It was a spectacular sight: silver ribbons dangled from the rafters, burning cauldrons of sweet herbs simmered in every corner, Pyandonean swallowtails sweeping through the air, singing their songs.  When the torches were lit and servants began fanning, the room would be transfigured into a shimmering fantasy land.  He could smell the kitchen already, spices and roasts.\nThe Potentate Versidue-Shaie and his son Savirien-Chorak slithered into the room, both bedecked in the headdress and jewelry of the Tsaesci.  There was no smile on their golden face, but there seldom was one.  The Emperor still greeted his trusted advisor with enthusiasm.\n\"This ought to impress those savage Dark Elves,\" he laughed. \"When are they supposed to arrive?\"\n\"A messenger's just arrived from Vivec,\" said the Potentate solemnly. \"I think it would be best if your Imperial Majesty met him alone.\"\nThe Emperor lost his laughter, but nodded to his servants to withdraw.  The door then opened and the Lady Corda walked into the room, with a parchment in her hand.  She shut the door behind her, but did not look up to meet the Emperor's face.\n\"The messenger gave his letter to my mistress?\" said Reman, incredulous, rising to take the note. \"That's a highly unorthodox way of delivering a message.\"\n\"But the message itself is very orthodox,\" said Corda, looking up into his one good eye.  With a single blinding motion, she brought the letter up under the Emperor's chin.  His eyes widened and blood poured down the blank parchment.  Blank that is, except for a small black mark, the sign of the Morag Tong.  It fell to the floor, revealing the small dagger hidden behind it, which she now twisted, severing his throat to the bone.  The Emperor collapsed to the floor, gasping soundlessly.\n\"How long do you need?\" asked Savirien-Chorak.\n\"Five minutes,\" said Corda, wiping the blood from her hands. \"If you can give me ten, though, I'll be doubly grateful.\"\n\"Very well,\" said the Potentate to Corda's back as she raced from the audience chamber.  \"She ought to have been an Akaviri, the way the girl handles a blade is truly remarkable.\"\n\"I must go and establish our alibi,\" said Savirien-Chorak, disappearing behind one of the secret passages that only the Emperor's most trusted knew about.\n\"Do you remember, close to a year ago, your Imperial Majesty,\" the Potentate smiled, looking down at the dying man. \"When you told me to remember 'You Akaviri have a lot of showy moves, but if just one of our strikes comes through, it's all over for you.'  I remembered that, you see.\"\nThe Emperor spat up blood and somehow said the word: \"Snake.\"\n\"I am a snake, your Imperial Majesty, inside and out.  But I didn't lie.  There was a messenger from Vivec.  It seems he'll be a little late in arriving,\" the Potentate shrugged before disappearing behind the secret passage. \"Don't worry yourself.  I'm sure the food won't go bad.\"\nThe Emperor of Tamriel died in a pool of his own blood in his empty audience chamber decorated for a grand ball.  He was found by his bodyguard fifteen minutes later.  Corda was nowhere to be found.\n8 Sun's Dusk, 2920\nCaer Suvio, Cyrodiil\nLord Glavius, apologizing profusely for the quality of the road through the forest, was the first emissary to greet Vivec and his escort as they arrived.  A string of burning globes decorated the leafless trees surrounding the villa, bobbing in the gentle but frigid night breeze.  From within, Vivec could smell the simple feast and a high sad melody.  It was a traditional Akaviri wintertide carol.\nVersidue-Shaie greeted Vivec at the front door.\n\"I'm glad you received the message before you got all the way to the City,\" said the Potentate, guiding his guest into the large, warm drawing room. \"We are in a difficult transition time, and for the moment, it is best not to conduct our business at the capitol.\"\n\"There is no heir?\" asked Vivec.\n\"No official one, though there are distant cousins vying for the throne.  While we sort the matter out, at least temporarily the nobles have decided that I may act in the office of my late master,\" Versidue-Shaie signaled for the servants to draw two comfortable chairs in front of the fireplace. \"Would you feel most comfortable if we signed the treaty officially right now, or would you like to eat something first?\"\n\"You intend to honor the Emperor's treaty?\"\n\"I intend to do everything as the Emperor,\" said the Potentate.\n14 Sun's Dusk, 2920\nTel Aruhn, Morrowind\nCorda, dusty from the road, flew into the Night Mother's arms.  For a moment, they stayed locked together, the Night Mother stroking her daughter's hair, kissing her forehead.  Finally, she reached into her sleeve and handed Corda a letter.\n\"What is it?\" asked Corda.\n\"A letter from the Potentate, expressing his delight at your expertise,\" replied the Night Mother. \"He's promised to send us payment, but I've already sent him back a reply.  The late Empress paid us enough for her husband's death.  Mephala would not have us be greedy beyond our needs.  You should not be paid twice for the same murder, so it is written.\"\n\"He killed Rijja, my sister,\" said Corda quietly.\n\"And so it should be that you struck the blow.\"\n\"Where will I go now?\"\n\"Whenever any of our holy workers becomes too famous to continue the crusade, we send them to an island called Vounoura.  It's not more than a month's voyage by boat, and I've arranged for a delightful estate for your sanctuary,\" the Night Mother kissed the girl's tears. \"You meet many friends there, and I know you will find peace and happiness at last, my child.\"\n19 Sun's Dusk, 2920\nMournhold, Morrowind\nAlmalexia surveyed the rebuilding of the town.  The spirit of the citizens was truly inspirational, she thought, as she walked among the skeletons of new buildings standing in the blackened, shattered remains of the old.  Even the plantlife showed a remarkable resilience.  There was life yet in the blasted remains of the comberry and roobrush shrubs that once lined the main avenue.  She could feel the pulse.  Come springtide, green would bolt through the black.\nThe Duke's heir, a lad of considerable intelligence and sturdy Dunmer courage, was coming down from the north to take his father's place.  The land would do more than survive: it would strengthen and expand.  She felt the future much more strongly than she saw the present.\nOf all the things she was most certain of, she knew that Mournhold was forever home to at least one goddess.\n22 Sun's Dusk, 2920\nThe Imperial City, Cyrodiil\nThe Cyrodiil line is dead,\" announced the Potentate to the crowd gathered beneath the Speaker's Balcony of the Imperial Palace.  \"But the Empire lives.  The distant relatives of our beloved Emperor have been judged unworthy of the throne by the trusted nobility who advised his Imperial Majesty throughout his long and illustrious reign.  It has been decided that as an impartial and faithful friend of Reman III, I will have the responsibility of continuing on in his name.\"\nThe Akaviri paused, allowing his words to echo and translate into the ears of the populace.  They merely stared up at him in silence.  The rain had washed through the streets of the city, but the sun, for a brief time, appeared to be offering a respite from the winter storms.\n\"I want to make it clear that I am not taking the title Emperor,\" he continued. \"I have been and will continue to be Potentate Versidue-Shaie, an alien welcomed kindly to your shores.  It will be my duty to protect my adopted homeland, and I pledge to work tirelessly at this task until someone more worthy takes the burden from me.  As my first act, I declare that in commemoration of this historical moment, beginning on the first of Morning Star, we will enter year one of the Second Era as time will be reckoned.  Thus, we mourn the loss of our Imperial family, and look forward to the future.\"\nOnly one man clapped at these words.  King Dro'Zel of Senchal truly believed that this would be the finest thing to happen to Tamriel in history.  Of course, he was quite mad.\n31 Sun's Dusk, 2920\nEbonheart, Morrowind\nIn the smoky catacombs beneath the city where Sotha Sil forged the future with his arcane clockwork apparatus, something unforeseen happened.  An oily bubble seeped from a long trusted gear and popped.  Immediately, the wizard's attention was drawn to it and to the chain that tiny action triggered.  A pipe shifted half an inch to the left.  A tread skipped.  A coil rewound itself and began spinning in a counter direction.  A piston that had been thrusting left-right, left-right, for millennia suddenly began shifting right-left.  Nothing broke, but everything changed.\n\"It cannot be fixed now,\" said the sorcerer quietly.\nHe looked up through a crick in the ceiling into the night sky.  It was midnight.  The second era, the age of chaos, had begun.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thirty-six-lessons-vivec-sermon-one": {"series": "36 Lessons of Vivec", "game": ["Morrowind", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thirty-six-lessons-vivec-sermon-one", "author": "Vivec", "title": "The Thirty-Six Lessons of Vivec: Sermon One", "description": "The complete series of 36 sermons. Very Michael Kirkbride - obscure and fascinating.", "text": "He was born in the ash among the Velothi, anon Chimer, before the war with the northern men. Ayem came first to the village of the netchimen, and her shadow was that of Boethiah, who was the Prince of Plots, and things unknown and known would fold themselves around her until they were like stars or the messages of stars. Ayem took a netchiman's wife and said:\n'I am the Face-Snaked Queen of the Three in One. In you is an image and a seven-syllable spell, AYEM AE SEHTI AE VEHK, which you will repeat to it until mystery comes.'\nThen Ayem threw the netchiman's wife into the ocean water where dreughs took her into castles of glass and coral. They gifted the netchiman's wife with gills and milk fingers, changing her sex so that she might give birth to the image as an egg. There she stayed for seven or eight months.\nThen Seht came to the netchiman's wife and said:\n'I am the Clockwork King of the Three in One. In you is an egg of my brother-sister, who possesses invisible knowledge of words and swords, which you shall nurture until the Hortator comes.'\nAnd Seht then extended his hands and multitudes of homunculi came forth, each like a glimmering rope through the water, and they raised the netchiman's wife back to the surface world and set her down on the shoals of Azura's coast. There she lay for seven or eight more months, caring for the egg-knowledge by whispering to it the Codes of Mephala and the prophecies of Veloth and even the forbidden teachings of Trinimac.\nSeven Daedra came to her one night and each one gave to the egg new motions that could be achieved by certain movements of the bones. These are called the Barons of Move Like This. Then an eighth Daedroth came, and he was a Demiprince, called Fa-Nuit-Hen, or the Multiplier of Motions Known. And Fa-Nuit-Hen said:\n'Whom do you wait for?'\nTo which the netchiman's wife said the Hortator.\n'Go to the land of the Indoril in three months' time, for that is when war comes. I return now to haunt the warriors who fell and still wonder why. But first I show you this.'\nThen the Barons and the Demiprince joined together into a pillar of fighting styles terrible to behold and they danced before the egg and its learning image.\n'Look, little Vehk, and find the face behind the splendor of my bladed carriage, for in it is delivered the unmixed conflict path, perfect in every way. What is its number?'\nIt is said the number is the number of birds that can nest in an ancient tibrol tree, less three grams of honest work, but Vivec in his later years found a better one and so gave this secret to his people.\n'For I have crushed a world with my left hand,' he will say, 'but in my right hand is how it could have won against me. Love is under my will only.'\nThe ending of the words is ALMSIVI."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thirty-six-lessons-vivec-sermon-two": {"series": "36 Lessons of Vivec", "game": ["Morrowind", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thirty-six-lessons-vivec-sermon-two", "author": "Vivec", "title": "The Thirty-Six Lessons of Vivec: Sermon Two", "description": "The complete series of 36 sermons. Very Michael Kirkbride - obscure and fascinating.", "text": "The netchiman's wife who carried the egg of Vivec within her went looking for the lands of the Indoril. Along the journey many spirits came to see her and offer instructions to her son-daughter, the future glorious invisible warrior-poet of Vvardenfell, Vivec.\nThe first spirit threw his arms about her and hugged his knowledge in tight. The netchiman's wife became soaked in the Incalculable Effort. The egg was delighted and did somersaults inside her, bowing to the five corners of the world and saying:\n'Thus whoever performs this holy act shall be proud and mighty among the rest!'\nThe second spirit was too aloof and acted above his station so much that he was driven off by a headache spell. The third spirit, At-Hatoor, came down to the netchiman's wife while she relaxed for a while under an Emperor Parasol. His garments were made from implications of meaning, and the egg looked at them three times. The first time Vivec said:\n'Ha, it means nothing!'\nAfter looking a second time he said:\n'Hmm, there might be something there after all.'\nFinally, giving At-Hatoor's garments a sidelong glance, he said:\n'Amazing, the ability to infer significance in something devoid of detail!'\n'There is a proverb,' At-Hatoor said, and then he left.\nThe fourth spirit came with the fifth, for they were cousins. They could ghost touch and probed inside the egg to find its core. Some say Vivec at this point was shaped like a star with its penumbra broken off; others, that it looked like a revival of vanished forms.\n'From my side of the family,' the first cousin said, 'I bring you a series of calamities that will bring about the end of the universe.'\n'And from my side,' the second cousin said, 'I bring you all the primordial marriages that must happen within them, each one.'\nAt this the egg laughed. 'I am given too much to bear so young. I must have been born before.'\nAnd then the sixth spirit appeared, the Black Hands Mephala, who taught the Velothi at the beginning of days all the arts of sex and murder. Its burning heart melted the eyes of the netchiman's wife and took the egg from her belly with six cutting strokes. The egg-image, however, could see into what it had been before in ancient times, when the earth still cooled, and was not blinded.\u00a0It joined with the Daedroth and took its former secrets, leaving a few behind to keep the web of the world from disentangling. Then the Black Hands Mephala put the egg back into the netchiman's wife and blew on her with magic breath until the hole closed up. But the Daedroth did not give her back her eyes, saying:\n'God hath three keys; of birth, of machines, and of the words between.'\nWithin this Sermon the wise may find one half of these keys.\nThe ending of the words is ALMSIVI."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thirty-six-lessons-vivec-sermon-three": {"series": "36 Lessons of Vivec", "game": ["Morrowind", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thirty-six-lessons-vivec-sermon-three", "author": "Vivec", "title": "The Thirty-Six Lessons of Vivec: Sermon Three", "description": "The complete series of 36 sermons. Very Michael Kirkbride - obscure and fascinating.", "text": "Being blind the netchiman's wife wandered into a cave on her way to the domains of House Indoril. It so happened that this cave was a Dwemeri stronghold. The Dwemer spied the egg and captured the netchiman's wife. They bound her head to foot and brought her deep within the earth.\nShe heard one say, 'Go and make a simulacrum of her and place it back on the surface, for she has something akin to what we have and so the Velothi will covet it and notice if she is too long away.'\nIn the darkness, the netchiman's wife felt great knives try to cut her open. When the knives did not work, the Dwemer used solid sounds. When those did not work, great heat was brought to bear. Nothing was of any use, and the egg of Vivec remained safe within her.\nA Dwemer said, 'Nothing is of any use. We must go and misinterpret this.'\nVivec felt that his mother was afraid, and so consoled her.\n'The fire is mine: let it consume thee,\n\tAnd make a secret door\n\tAt the altar of Padhome,\n\tIn the House of Boet-hi-Ah\n\tWhere we become safe\n\tAnd looked after.'\nThis old prayer made the netchiman's wife smile and begin such a deep sleep that when Dwemeri atronachs returned with cornered spheres and cut her apart she did not awake and died peacefully. Vivec was removed from her womb and placed within a magical glass for further study. To confound his captors, he channeled his essence into love, an emotion the Dwemer knew nothing about.\nThe egg said:\n'Love is used not only as a constituent in moods and affairs, but also as the raw material from which relationships produce hour-later exasperations, regrettably fashioned restrictions, riddles laced with affections known only to the loving couple, and looks that linger too long. Love is also an often-used ingredient in some transparent verbal and nonverbal transactions where, eventually, it can sometimes be converted to a variety of true devotions, some of which yield tough, insoluble, and infusible unions. In its basic form, love supplies approximately thirteen draughts of all energy that is derived from relationships. Its role and value in society at large are controversial.'\nThe Dwemer were vexed at these words and tried to hide behind their power symbols. They sent their atronachs to remove the egg-image from their cave and place it within the simulacrum they had made of Vivec's mother.\nA Dwemer said, 'We Dwemer are only aspirants to this that the Velothi have. They shall be our doom in this and the eight known worlds, NIRN, LHKAN, RKHET, THENDR, KYNRT, AKHAT, MHARA, and JHUNAL.'\nThe secret to doom is within this Sermon.\nThe ending of the words is ALMSIVI."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thirty-six-lessons-vivec-sermon-four": {"series": "36 Lessons of Vivec", "game": ["Morrowind", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thirty-six-lessons-vivec-sermon-four", "author": "Vivec", "title": "The Thirty-Six Lessons of Vivec: Sermon Four", "description": "The complete series of 36 sermons. Very Michael Kirkbride - obscure and fascinating.", "text": "The simulacrum of the netchiman's wife who carried the egg of Vivec within it went back to looking for the lands of the Indoril. Along the journey many more spirits came to see it and offer instructions to its son-daughter, the future glorious invisible warrior-poet of Vvardenfell, Vivec.\nA troupe of spirits called the Lobbyists for the Coincidence Guild appeared. Vivec understood the challenge immediately and said:\n'The popular notion of God kills happenstance.'\nThe head of the Lobbyists, whose name is forgotten, tried to defend the concept's existence. He said, 'Saying something at the same time can be magical.'\nVivec knew that to retain his divinity that he must make a strong argument against luck. He said:\n'Is not the sudden revelation of corresponding conditions and disparate elements that gel at the moment of the coincidence one of the prerequisites to being, in fact, coincidental? Synchronicity comes out of repeated coincidences at the lowest level. Further examination shows it is the utter power of the sheer number of coincidences that leads one to the idea that synchronicity is guided by something more than chance. Therefore, synchronicity ends up invalidating the concept of the coincidental, even though they are the symptomatic signs that bring it to the surface.'\nThus was coincidence destroyed in the land of the Velothi.\nThen an Old Bone of the earth rose up before the simulacrum of the netchiman's wife and said, 'If you are to be born a ruling king of the world you must confuse it with new words. Set me into pondering.'\n'Very well,' Vivec said, 'Let me talk to you of the world, which I share with mystery and love. Who is her capital? Have you taken the scenic route of her cameo? I have-- lightly, in secret, missing candles because they're on the untrue side, and run my hand along the edge of a shadow made from one hundred and three divisions of warmth, and left no proof.'\nAt this the Old Bone folded unto itself twenty times until it became akin to milk, which Vivec drank, becoming a ruling king of the world.\nFinally the Chancellor of Exactitude appeared, and he was perfect to look upon from every angle. Vivec understood the challenge immediately and said:\n'Certitude is for the puzzle-box logicians and girls of white glamour who harbor it on their own time. I am a letter written in uncertainty.'\nThe Chancellor bowed his head and smiled fifty different and perfect ways all at once. He pulled the astrolabe of the universe from his robe and broke it in half, handing both halves to the egg-image of Vivec.\nVivec laughed and said, 'Yes, I know. The slave labor of the senses is as selfish as polar ice, and worsens when energies are spent on a life others regard as fortunate. To be a ruling king I will have to suffer much that cannot be suffered, and to weigh matters that no astrolabe or compass can measure.'\nThe ending of the words is ALMSIVI."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thirty-six-lessons-vivec-sermon-five": {"series": "36 Lessons of Vivec", "game": ["Morrowind", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thirty-six-lessons-vivec-sermon-five", "author": "Vivec", "title": "The Thirty-Six Lessons of Vivec: Sermon Five", "description": "The complete series of 36 sermons. Very Michael Kirkbride - obscure and fascinating.", "text": "Finally the simulacrum of the netchiman's wife became unstable. The Dwemer in their haste had built it shoddily and the ashes of Red Mountain slowed its golden tendons. Before long it fell on its knees beside the road to the lands of the Indoril and pitched over, to be discovered eighty days later by a merchant caravan on its way to the capital of Veloth, anon Almalexia.\nVivec had not been among his people all the days of his pre-life so he stayed silent and let the Chimer in the caravan think that the simulacrum was broken and empty.\nA Chimeri warrior, who was protecting the caravan, said, 'Look here how the Dwemer try to fool us as ever, crafting our likenesses out of their flesh-metals. We should take this to the capital and show our mother Ayem. She will want to see this new strategy of our enemies.'\nBut the merchant captain said, 'I doubt that we shall be paid well for the effort. We can make more money if we stop at Noormoc and sell it to the Red Wives of Dagon, who pay well for the wonders made by the Deep Folk.'\nBut another Chimer, who was wise in the ways of prophecy, looked on the simulacrum with disquietude. 'Was I not hired on to help you seek the best of fortunes? I say you should listen to your warrior, then, and take this thing to Ayem, for though manufactured by our enemies there is something in it that will become sacred, or has been already.'\nThe merchant captain took pause then and looked on the simulacrum of the netchiman's wife and, though he heeded always the advice of his seers, could do no more than think of the profits to be made at Noormoc. He thought mainly of the Red Wives' form of recompense, which was four-cornered and good wounded, a belly-magic known nowhere else under the moons. His lust made him deny Ayem his mother. He gave order to change course for Noormoc.\nBefore the caravan could get underway again, the Chimeri warrior who had counseled a passage to the capital threw his money to the merchant captain and said, 'I will pay you thus for the simulacrum and warn you: war is coming with the shaggy men of the north and I will not have my mother Ayem at uneven odds with one enemy while tending to another.'\n'Nerevar,' the merchant captain said, 'this is not enough. I am Triune in my own way, but I follow the road of my body and demand more.'\nThen Vivec could not remain silent anymore and said into Nerevar's head these words:\n'You can hear the words, so run away\nCome, Hortator, unfold into a clear unknown,\nStay quiet until you've slept in the yesterday,\nAnd say no elegies for the melting stone'\nSo Nerevar slew the merchant captain and took the caravan for his own.\nThe ending of the words is ALMSIVI."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thirty-six-lessons-vivec-sermon-six": {"series": "36 Lessons of Vivec", "game": ["Morrowind", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thirty-six-lessons-vivec-sermon-six", "author": "Vivec", "title": "The Thirty-Six Lessons of Vivec: Sermon Six", "description": "The complete series of 36 sermons. Very Michael Kirkbride - obscure and fascinating.", "text": "You have discovered the sixth Sermon of Vivec, which was hidden in the words that came next to the Hortator.\nThere is an eon within itself that when unraveled becomes the first sentence of the world.\nMephala and Azura are the twin gates of tradition and Boethiah is the secret flame.\nThe Sun shall be eaten by lions, which cannot be found yet in Veloth.\nSix are the vests and garments worn by the suppositions of men.\nProceed only with the simplest terms, for all others are enemies and will confuse you.\nSix are the formulas to heaven by violence, one that you have learned by studying these words.\nThe Father is a machine and the mouth of a machine. His only mystery is an invitation to elaborate further.\nThe Mother is active and clawed like a nix-hound, yet she is the holiest of those that reclaim their days.\nThe Son is myself, Vehk, and I am unto three, six, nine, and the rest that come after, glorious and sympathetic, without borders, utmost in the perfections of this world and the others, sword and symbol, pale like gold.\nThere is a fourth kind of philosophy that uses nothing but disbelief.\nFor by the sword I mean the sensible.\nFor by the word I mean the dead.\nI am Vehk, your protector and the protector of Red Mountain until the end of days, which are numbered 3333.\nBelow me is the savage, which we needed to remove ourselves from the Altmer.\nAbove me is a challenge, which bathes itself in fire and the essence of a god.\nThrough me you are desired, unlike the prophets that have borne your name before.\nSix are the walking ways, from enigma to enemy to teacher.\nBoethiah and Azura are the principles of the universal plot, which is begetting, which is creation, and Mephala makes of it an art form.\nFor by the sword I mean the first night.\nFor by the word I mean the dead.\nThere will be a splendor in your name when it is said to be true.\nSix are the guardians of Veloth, three before and they are born again, and they will test you until you have the proper tendencies of the hero.\nThere is a world that is sleeping and you must guard against it.\nFor by the sword I mean the dual nature.\nFor by the word I mean animal life.\nFor by the sword I mean preceded by a sigh.\nFor by the word I mean preceded by a wolf.\nThe ending of the words is ALMSIVI."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thirty-six-lessons-vivec-sermon-seven": {"series": "36 Lessons of Vivec", "game": ["Morrowind", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thirty-six-lessons-vivec-sermon-seven", "author": "Vivec", "title": "The Thirty-Six Lessons of Vivec: Sermon Seven", "description": "The complete series of 36 sermons. Very Michael Kirkbride - obscure and fascinating.", "text": "As the caravan of Nerevar now made for the capital of Veloth, anon Almalexia, there came great rumblings from the oblivion. A duke among scamps wandered into the House of Troubles, pausing before each scripture door to pay his respects, until finally he was met by the major domo of Mehrunes Dagon.\nThe Duke of Scamps said, 'I was summoned by Lord Dagon, master of the foul waters and fire, and I have brought the pennants of my seven legions.'\nThe major domo, whose head was a bubble of foul water and fire, bowed low, so that the head of the Duke of Scamps became enclosed in his own.\nHe saw the first pennant, which commanded a legion of grim warriors who could die at least twice.\nHe saw the second pennant, which commanded a legion of winged bulls and the emperor of color that rode upon each.\nHe saw the third pennant, which commanded a legion of inverted gorgons, great snakes whose scales were the faces of men.\nHe saw the fourth pennant, which commanded a legion of double-crossed lovers.\nHe saw the fifth pennant, which commanded a legion of jumping wounds looking to hop onto a victim.\nHe saw the sixth pennant, which commanded a legion of abridged planets.\nHe saw the seventh pennant, which commanded a legion of armored winning moves.\nTo which the major domo said, 'Duke Kh-Utta, your legions while mighty are not enough to destroy Nerevar or the Triune way. Look upon the Hortator and see the wisdom he takes to wife.'\nAnd they looked into the middle world and saw:\nEvaporating in a throng of thunder\nOf red war and chitin men,\nWhere destines\nTake him further from our ways\nThe heat that we have wanted\nAnd pray they still remember,\nWhere destines\nClothe the distance,\nGlad in the golden east that we saw it now,\nInstead of the war and repair\nOf the oblivious fracture\nA curse on the Hortator\nAnd two more on his hands\nAnd the Duke of Scamps saw the palms of the Hortator, upon which the egg had written these words of power:\nGHARTOK PADHOME GHARTOK PADHOME.\nThe ending of the words is ALMSIVI."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thirty-six-lessons-vivec-sermon-eight": {"series": "36 Lessons of Vivec", "game": ["Morrowind", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thirty-six-lessons-vivec-sermon-eight", "author": "Vivec", "title": "The Thirty-Six Lessons of Vivec: Sermon Eight", "description": "The complete series of 36 sermons. Very Michael Kirkbride - obscure and fascinating.", "text": "And presently Nerevar and Vivec were within sight of the capital and the Four Corners of the House of Troubles knew that it was not time to contest them. The caravan musicians made a great song of entrance and the eleven gates of the Mourning Hold were thrown wide.\nAyem was accompanied by her husband-state, a flickering image that was channeled to her ever-changing female need. Around her were the Shouts, a guild now forgotten, who carried with them the whims of the people, for the Velothi then were still mostly good at heart. The Shouts were the counselors of Ayem and the country, though they sometimes quarreled and needed Seht to wring them into usefulness. Ayem approached Nerevar, who was by now adorned in the flags of House Indoril. He gifted her with the simulacrum of the netchiman's wife and the egg of Vivec inside.\nAyem said to Nerevar, 'Seht who is Azura has revealed that war is come and that the Hortator that shall deliver us will approach with a solution walking at his side.'\nNerevar said, 'I have traveled out of my way to warn you of the deceit of our enemies, the Dwemer, but I have learned much on the journey and have changed my mind. This netchiman's wife you see at my side is a sword and a symbol and there is prophecy inside. It tells me that, like it, we must for awhile be like he is and, as a people, cloaked in our former enemies, and to use their machines without shame.'\nAt which Vivec spoke aloud, 'Boethiah-who-is-you wore the skin of Trinimac to cleanse the faults of Veloth, my Queen, and so it should be again. This is the walking way of the glorious.'\nSeht appeared out of a cloud of iron vapor and his minions made of their blood a chair. He sat beside Ayem and looked on the rebirth of mastery.\nVivec said to them, his Triune:\n'My rituals and ordeals and all the rhymes within,\nUse no other motive than the revelation of my skin.'\nAyem said, 'AYEM AE SEHTI AE VEHK. We are delivered and made whole, the diamond of the Black Hands is uncovered.'\nSeht said, 'Wherever so he treads, there is invisible scripture.'\nTo which the Shouts were silent in sudden reading.\nVivec then reached out from the egg all his limbs and features, merging with the simulacrum of his mother, gilled and blended in all the arts of the star-wounded East, under water and in fire and in metal and in ash, six times the wise, and he became the union of male and female, the magic hermaphrodite, the martial axiom, the sex-death of language and unique in all the middle world.\nHe said, 'Let us now guide the hands of the Hortator in war and its aftermath. For we go different, and in thunder. This is our destiny.'\nThe ending of the words is ALMSIVI."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thirty-six-lessons-vivec-sermon-nine": {"series": "36 Lessons of Vivec", "game": ["Morrowind", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thirty-six-lessons-vivec-sermon-nine", "author": "Vivec", "title": "The Thirty-Six Lessons of Vivec: Sermon Nine", "description": "The complete series of 36 sermons. Very Michael Kirkbride - obscure and fascinating.", "text": "Then came the war with the northern men, where Vivec did guide the Hortator into swift and tricky union with the Dwemer. The greatest demon chieftains of the frigid west were those listed below, five in unholy number.\nHOAGA, the Mouth of Mud, who appeared as a great bearded king, had the powers of Marshalling and breathing the earth. On the battlefields, this demon would often be seen on the sidelines, eating the soil voraciously. When his men fell, Hoaga would fill their bodies back with it, whereupon they would rise again and fight, albeit slower. He had a Secret Name, Fenja, and destroyed seventeen Chimeri villages and two Dwemeri strongholds before being turned away.\nCHEMUA, the Running Hunger, who appeared as a mounted soldier with full helm, had the powers of Heart Roaring and of sky sickening. He ate the Chimeri hero, Dres Khizumet-e, sending the spirit back to the Hortator as an assassin. Sometimes called First Blighter, Chemua could give clouds stomach aches and turn the rain of Veloth into bile. He destroyed six Chimeri villages before he was slain by Vivec and the Hortator.\nBHAG, the Two-Tongued, who appeared as a great bearded king, had the powers of Surety and Form Change. His raiders were small in number, but ran amok in the west hinterlands, killing many Velothi trappers and scouts. He fell in a great debate with Vivec, for the warrior-poet alone could understand the northern man's two-layered speech, though ALMSIVI had to remain invisible during the argument.\nBARFOK, Maid of Planes, who appeared as a winged human with lick-encrusted spear, had the powers of Event Denouement. Battles fought against her would always end in victory for Barfok, because she could shape outcomes by singing. Four Chimeri villages and two more Dwemeri strongholds were destroyed by her decision enforcement. Vivec had to stuff her mouth with his milk finger to keep her from singing Veloth into ruin.\nYSMIR, the Dragon of the North, who always appears as a great bearded king, had powers innumerable and echoing. He was grim and dark and the most silent of the invading chieftains, though when he spoke villages were uplifted and thrown into the sea. The Hortator fought him unarmed, grabbing the Dragon's roars by hand until Ysmir's power throat bled. These roars were given to Vivec to bind into an ebony listening frame, which the warrior-poet placed on Ysmir's face and ears to drive him mad and drive him away.\n'The coming forth and the driving away brings all things around. What I shall say next is unpleasant to record: HERMA-MORA-ALTADOON! AE ALTADOON!'\nThe ending of the words is ALMSIVI."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thirty-six-lessons-vivec-sermon-ten": {"series": "36 Lessons of Vivec", "game": ["Morrowind", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thirty-six-lessons-vivec-sermon-ten", "author": "Vivec", "title": "The Thirty-Six Lessons of Vivec: Sermon Ten", "description": "The complete series of 36 sermons. Very Michael Kirkbride - obscure and fascinating.", "text": "You have discovered the tenth Sermon of Vivec, which was hidden in the words that came in the aftermath to the Hortator.\nThe evoker shall raise his left hand empty and open, to indicate he needs no weapons of his own. The coming forth is always hidden, so the evoker is always invisible or, better, in the skin of his enemies.\n'The eyelid of the kingdom shall fill thirty and six folios, but the eye shall read the world.' By this the Hortator needs me to understand.\nThe sword is an impatient signature. Write no contracts on the dead.\nVivec says unto the Hortator remember the words of Boet-hi-ah:\nWe pledge ourselves to you, the Frame-maker, the Scarab: a world for us to love you in, a cloak of dirt to cherish. Betrayed by your ancestors when you were not even looking. Hoary Magnus and his ventured opinions cannot sway the understated, a trick worthy of the always satisfied. A short season of towers, a rundown absolution, and what is this, what is this but fire under your eyelid?\nShift ye in your skin, I say to the Trinimac-eaters. Pitch your voices into the color of bruise. Divide ye like your enemies, in Houses, and lay your laws in set sequence from the center, again like the enemy Corners of the House of Troubles, and see yourself thence as timber, or mud-slats, or sheets of resin. Then do not divide, for yet is the stride of SITHISIT quicker than the rush of enemies, and He will sunder the whole for the sake of a shingle.\nFor we go different, and in thunder. SITHISIT is the start of all true Houses, built against stasis and lazy slaves. Turn from your predilections, broken like false maps. Move and move like this. Quicken against false fathers, mothers left in corners weeping for glass and rain. Stasis asks merely for nothing, for itself, which is nothing, as you were in the eight everlasting imperfections.\nVivec says unto the Hortator remember the words of Vivec.\nUNDERSTAND THAT SITHISIT STILL TRAVELS\nVivec says unto the Hortator remember the words of Vivec.\nIN A PHOSPHORESCENT MIRROR OF THE SKY\nVivec says unto the Hortator remember the words of Vivec.\nDROWNED AND SMILING\nVivec says unto the Hortator remember the words of Vivec.\nINTERMITTENT HOPES ENOUGH\nVivec says unto the Hortator remember the words of Vivec.\nTO ANSWER ALL THE THINGS\nVivec says unto the Hortator remember the words of Vivec.\nNOT YET QUERIED\nThe ending of the words is ALMSIVI."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thirty-six-lessons-vivec-sermon-eleven": {"series": "36 Lessons of Vivec", "game": ["Morrowind", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thirty-six-lessons-vivec-sermon-eleven", "author": "Vivec", "title": "The Thirty-Six Lessons of Vivec: Sermon Eleven", "description": "The complete series of 36 sermons. Very Michael Kirkbride - obscure and fascinating.", "text": "These were the days of Resdaynia, when Chimer and Dwemer lived under the wise and benevolent rule of the AMLSIVI and their champion the Hortator. When the gods of Veloth would retreat unto their own, to mold the cosmos and other matters, the Hortator would at times become confused. Vivec would always be there to advise him, and this is the first of the three lessons of ruling kings:\n'The waking world is the amnesia of dream. All motifs can be mortally wounded. Once slain, themes turn into the structure of future nostalgia. Do not abuse your powers or they will lead you astray. They will leave you like rebellious daughters. They will lose their virtue. They will become lost and resentful and finally become pregnant with the seed of folly. Soon you will be the grandparent of a broken state. You will be mocked. It will fall apart like a stone that recalls that it is really water.\n\"Keep nothing in your house that is neither needed or beautiful.\n\"Ordeals you should face unimpeded by the world of restriction. The splendor of stars is Ayem's domain. The selfishness of the sea is Seht's. I rule the middle air. All else is earth and under your temporal command. There is no bone that cannot be broken, except for the heart bone. You will see it twice in your lifetimes. Take what you can the first time and let us do the rest.\n\"There is no true symbolism of the center. The Sharmat will believe there is. He will feel that he can cause years of exuberance from sitting in the sacred, when really no one can leave that state and cause anything more but strife.\n\"There is once more the case of the symbolic and barren. The true prince that is cursed and demonized will be adored at last with full hearts. According to the Codes of Mephala there can be no official art, only fixation points of complexity that will erase from the awe of the people given enough time. This is a secret that hides another. An impersonal survival is not the way of the ruling king. Embrace the art of the people and marry it and by that I mean secretly have it murdered.\n\"The ruling king that sees in another his equivalent rules nothing.\n\"The secret of weapons is this: they are the mercy seat.\n\"The secret of language is this: it is immobile.\n\"The ruling king is armored head to toe in brilliant flame. He is redeemed by each act he undertakes. His death is only a diagram back to the waking world. He sleeps the second way. The Sharmat is his double, and therefore you wonder if you rule nothing.\n\"Hortator and Sharmat, one and one, eleven, an inelegant number. Which of the ones is the more important? Could you ever tell if they switched places? I can and that is why you will need me.\n\"According to the Codes of Mephala, there is no difference between the theorist and the terrorist. Even the most cherished desire disappears in their hands. This is why Mephala has black hands. Bring both of yours to every argument. The one-handed king finds no remedy. When you approach God, however, cut both of them off. God has no need of theory and he is armored head to toe in terror.\u201d\nThe ending of the words is ALMSIVI."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thirty-six-lessons-vivec-sermon-twelve": {"series": "36 Lessons of Vivec", "game": ["Morrowind", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thirty-six-lessons-vivec-sermon-twelve", "author": "Vivec", "title": "The Thirty-Six Lessons of Vivec: Sermon Twelve", "description": "The complete series of 36 sermons. Very Michael Kirkbride - obscure and fascinating.", "text": "As the Hortator pondered the first lesson of ruling kings, Vivec wandered into the Mourning Hold and found that Ayem was with a pair of lovers. Seht had divided himself again. Vivec then leapt through into their likenesses to observe, but he gained no secrets that he did not already know. He left a few of his own behind to make the journey worthwhile.\nThen Vivec left the capital of Veloth and wandered far into the ash. He found a span of badlands to practice his giant-form. He made of his feet a less dense material than the divine to keep from falling waist-deep into the earth. At this point the First Corner of the House of Troubles, the Prince Molag Bal, made his presence known.\nVivec looked on the King of Rape and said:\n'How very beautiful you are, that you do not join us. '\nAnd Molag Bal crushed the warrior-poet's feet, which were not invulnerable, and had legions cleave them off. Mighty fires from the Beginning Place were brought like nets to hold Vivec and he let them.\n'I would prefer,' he said, 'some kind of ceremony if we are to be married.'\nAnd the legions that took the feet were summoned again and ordered to begin a banquet. Pomegranates sprang from the badlands and tents were raised. A throng of Velothi mystics came, reading the passages of the severed feet on the ground and weeping until the scriptures were wet.\n'We must love each other briefly,' Vivec said, 'if at all. I am needed to counsel the Hortator in more important matters because the Dwemeri high priests stir up trouble. You may have my head for an hour.'\nMolag Bal rose up and extended six arms to show his worth. They were decorated in runes of seduction and its reverse. They were decorated in the annotated calendars of longer worlds. When he spoke, mating monsters fell out.\n'Where must it go?' he said.\n'I told you,' Vivec said, 'I am meant to be the teacher of the king of the earth. AE ALTADOON GHARTOK PADHOME.'\nWith these magic words, the King of Rape added another: 'CHIM,' which is the secret syllable of royalty.\nVivec had what he needed from the Daedroth and so married him that day. In the hour that Bal had his head, the King of Rape asked for proof of love.\nVivec spoke two poems to show him such, but only the first is known.\nI'm not sure just how much glass it took to make your hair\n\tTwice as much, I am sure, as the oceans have to share\n\tHell, my sweet, is a fiction written by those who tell the truth\n\tMy mouth is skilled at lying and its alibi a tooth\nThe sons and daughters of Vivec and Molag Bal number in the thousands. The name of the mightiest is a string of power:\nGULGA MOR JIL HYAET AE HOOM.\nThe ending of the words is ALMSIVI."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thirty-six-lessons-vivec-sermon-thirteen": {"series": "36 Lessons of Vivec", "game": ["Morrowind", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thirty-six-lessons-vivec-sermon-thirteen", "author": "Vivec", "title": "The Thirty-Six Lessons of Vivec: Sermon Thirteen", "description": "The complete series of 36 sermons. Very Michael Kirkbride - obscure and fascinating.", "text": "These were the days of Resdaynia, when Chimer and Dwemer lived under the wise and benevolent rule of the AMLSIVI and their champion the Hortator. When the gods of Veloth would retreat unto their own, to mold the cosmos and other matters, the Hortator would at times become confused. Vivec would always be there to advise him, and this is the second of the three lessons of ruling kings:\n'The secret syllable of royalty is this: (You must learn this elsewhere.)\n'The temporal myth is man.\n'The magical cross is an integration of the worth of mortals at the expense of their spirits. Surround it with the triangle and you begin to see the Triune house. It becomes divided into corners, which are ruled by our brethren, the Four Corners: BAL DAGON MALAC SHEOG. Rotate the triangle and you pierce the heart of the Beginning Place, the foul lie, the testament of the irrefutable-for-a-span. Above them all is the horizon where only one stands, though no one stands there yet. It is proof of the new. It is the promise of the wise. Unfold the whole and what you have is a star, which is not my domain, but not entirely outside my judgment. The grand design takes flight; it is transformed not only into a star but a hornet. The center cannot hold. It becomes devoid of lines and points. It becomes devoid of anything and so becomes a receptacle. This is its usefulness at the end. This is its promise.\n'The sword is the cross and ALMSIVI is the Triune house around it. If there is to be an end I must be removed. The ruling king must know this, and I will test him. I will murder him time and again until he knows this. I am the defender of the last and the last. To remove me is to refill the heart that lay dormant at the center that cannot hold. I am the sword, Ayem the star, Seht the mechanism that allows the transformation of the world. Ours is the duty to keep the compromise from being filled with black sea.\n'The Sharmat sleeps at the center. He cannot bear to see it removed, the world of reference. This is the folly of the false dreamer. This is the amnesia of dream, or its power, or its circumvention. This is the weaker magic and it is barbed in venom.\n'This is why I say the secret to swords is the mercy seat. It is my throne. I am become the voice of ALMSIVI. The world will know me more than my sister and brother. I am the psychopomp. I am the killer of the weeds of Veloth. Veloth is the center that cannot hold. Ayem is the plot. Seht is the ending. I am the enigma that must be removed. These are why my words are armed to the teeth.\n'The ruling king is to stand against me and then before me. He is to learn from my punishment. I will mark him to know. He is to come as male or female. I am the form he must acquire.\n'Because a ruling king that sees in another his equivalent rules nothing.'\nThis is what was said to the Hortator when Vivec was not whole.\nThe ending of the words is ALMSIVI."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thirty-six-lessons-vivec-sermon-fourteen": {"series": "36 Lessons of Vivec", "game": ["Morrowind", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thirty-six-lessons-vivec-sermon-fourteen", "author": "Vivec", "title": "The Thirty-Six Lessons of Vivec: Sermon Fourteen", "description": "The complete series of 36 sermons. Very Michael Kirkbride - obscure and fascinating.", "text": "Vivec lay with Molag Bal for eighty days and eight, though headless. In that time, the Prince placed the warrior-poet's feet back and filled them with the blood of Daedra. In this way Vivec's giant-form remained forever harmless to good earth. The Pomegranate Banquet brought many spirits back from the dead so that the sons and daughters of the union had much to eat besides fruit.\nThe Duke of Scamps came while the banquet was still underway, and Molag Bal looked on the seven pennants with anger. The King of Rape had become necessary and therefore troubled for the rest of time. His legions and Kh-Utta's fell into open war, but the children of Molag Bal and Vivec were too elaborate in power and form.\nThe Duke of Scamps therefore became a lesser thing, as did all his own children. Molag Bal said to them: 'You are the sons of liars, dogs, and wolf-headed women.' They have been useless to summon ever since.\nThe holy one returned at last, Vehk, golden with wisdom. His head found its body had been tenderly used. He mentioned this to Molag Bal, who told him that he should thank the Barons of Move Like This, 'For I have yet to learn how to refine my rapture. My love is accidentally shaped like a spear.'\nSo Vivec, who had a grain of Ayem's mercy, set about to teach Molag Bal in the ways of belly-magic. They took their spears out and compared them. Vivec bit new words onto the King of Rape's so that it might give more than ruin to the uninitiated. This has since become a forbidden ritual, though people still practice it in secret.\nHere is why: The Velothi and demons and monsters that were watching all took out their own spears. There was much biting and the earth became wet. And this was the last laugh of Molag Bal:\n'Watch as the earth shall crack, heavy with so much power, that should have been forever unalike!'\nThen that stretch of badlands that had been the site of the marriage fragmented and threw fire. And a race that is no more but that was terrible at the time to behold came forth. Born of the biters, that is all they did, and they ran amok across the lands of Veloth and even to the shores of Red Mountain.\nBut Vivec made of his spear a more terrible thing, from a secret he had bitten off from the King of Rape. And so he sent Molag Bal tumbling into the crack of the biters and swore forever that he would not deem the King beautiful ever again.\nVivec wept as he slew all those around him with his terrible new spear. He named it MUATRA, which is Milk Taker, and even the Chimeri mystics knew his fury. Anyone struck by Vivec at this time turned barren and withered into bone shapes. The path of bones became a sentence for the stars to read, and the heavens have never known children since. Vivec hunted down the biters one by one, and all their progeny, and he killed them all by means of the Nine Apertures, and the wise still hide theirs from Muatra.\nThe ending of the words is ALMSIVI."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thirty-six-lessons-vivec-sermon-fifteen": {"series": "36 Lessons of Vivec", "game": ["Morrowind", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thirty-six-lessons-vivec-sermon-fifteen", "author": "Vivec", "title": "The Thirty-Six Lessons of Vivec: Sermon Fifteen", "description": "The complete series of 36 sermons. Very Michael Kirkbride - obscure and fascinating.", "text": "These were the days of Resdaynia, when Chimer and Dwemer lived under the wise and benevolent rule of the AMLSIVI and their champion the Hortator. When the gods of Veloth would retreat unto their own, to mold the cosmos and other matters, the Hortator would at times become confused. Vivec would always be there to advise him, and this is the third of the three lessons of ruling kings:\n'The ruling king will remove me, his maker. This is the way of all children. His greatest enemy is the Sharmat, who is the false dreamer. You or he is the shingle, Hortator. Beware the wrong walking path. Beware the crime of benevolence. Behold him by his words.'\nI AM THE SHARMAT\nI AM OLDER THAN MUSIC\nWHAT I BRING IS LIGHT\nWHAT I BRING IS A STAR\nWHAT I BRING IS\nAN ANCIENT SEA\nWHEN YOU SLEEP YOU SEE ME\nDANCING AT THE CORE\nIT IS NOT A BLIGHT\nIT IS MY HOUSE\nI PUT A STAR\nINTO THE WORLD'S MOUTH\nTO MURDER IT\nTEAR DOWN THE PYLONS\nMY BLIND FISH\nSWIM IN THE NEW\nPHLOGISTON\nTEAR DOWN THE PYLONS\nMY DEAF MOONS\nSING AND BURN\nAND ORBIT ME\nI AM OLDER THAN MUSIC\nWHAT I BRING IS LIGHT\nWHAT I BRING IS A STAR\nWHAT I BRING IS\nAN ANCIENT SEA\n'You alone, though you come again and again, can unmake him. Whether I allow it is within my wisdom. Go unarmed into his den with these words of power: AE GHARTOK PADHOME [CHIM] AE ALTADOON. Or do not. The temporal myth is man. Reach heaven by violence. This magic I give to you: the world you will rule is only an intermittent hope and you must be the letter written in uncertainty.'\nThe ending of the words is ALMSIVI."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thirty-six-lessons-vivec-sermon-sixteen": {"series": "36 Lessons of Vivec", "game": ["Morrowind", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thirty-six-lessons-vivec-sermon-sixteen", "author": "Vivec", "title": "The Thirty-Six Lessons of Vivec: Sermon Sixteen", "description": "The complete series of 36 sermons. Very Michael Kirkbride - obscure and fascinating.", "text": "The Hortator wandered through the Mourning Hold, wrestling with the lessons he had learned. They were slippery in his mind. He could not always keep the words straight and knew that this was a danger. He wandered to find Vivec, his lord and master, the glory of the image of Veloth, and found him of all places in the Temple of False Thinking. There, clockwork shears were taking off Vivec's hair. A beggar king had brought his loom and was making of the hair an incomplete map of adulthood and death.\nNerevar said, 'Why are you doing this, milord?'\nVivec said, 'To make room for the fire.'\nAnd the Hortator could see that Vivec was out of sorts, though not because of the impending new power to come. The golden warrior-poet had been exercising his Water Face as well, learned from the dreughs before he was born.\nNerevar said, 'Is this to keep you from the fire?'\nVivec said, 'It is so that I may see with truth. It, and my place here at the altar of Padhome in the house of False Thinking, serve so that I may see beyond my own secrets. The Water Face cannot lie. It comes from the ocean, which is too busy to think, much less lie. Moving water resembles truth by its trembling.'\nNerevar said, 'I am afraid to become slipshod in my thinking.'\nVivec said, 'Reach heaven by violence then.'\nSo to quiet his mind the Hortator chose from the Fight Racks an axe. He named it and moved on to the first moon.\nThere, Nerevar was greeted by the Parliament of Craters, who knew him by title and resented his presence, for he was to be a ruling king of earth and this was the lunar realm. They shifted around him in a pattern of entrapment.\n'The moon does not recognize crowns or scepters,' they said, 'nor the representatives of kingdoms below, lion or serpent or mathematician. We are the graves of those that have migrated and become ancient countries. We seek no Queens or thrones. Your appearance is decidedly solar, which is to say a library of stolen ideas. We are neither tear nor sorrow. Our revolution succeeded in the manner that is was written. You are the Hortator and unwelcome here.'\nAnd so Nerevar carved at the grave ghosts until he was out of breath and their Parliament could make no new laws.\nHe said, 'I am not of the slaves that perish.'\nOf the members of Parliament only a few survived the Hortator's attack.\nA surviving Crater said, 'Appropriation is nothing new. Everything happens of itself. This motif is by no means unassociated with hero myths. You have not acted with the creative impulse; you fall below the weight of destiny. We are graves but not coffins. Know the difference. You have only dug more and supplied no ghosts to reside within. Central to your claim is the predominance of frail events. To be judged by the earth is to sit on a throne of wonder why. Damage us more and you will find naught but the absence of our dead.'\nThe ending of the words is ALMSIVI."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thirty-six-lessons-vivec-sermon-seventeen": {"series": "36 Lessons of Vivec", "game": ["Morrowind", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thirty-six-lessons-vivec-sermon-seventeen", "author": "Vivec", "title": "The Thirty-Six Lessons of Vivec: Sermon Seventeen", "description": "The complete series of 36 sermons. Very Michael Kirkbride - obscure and fascinating.", "text": "'I am an atlas of smoke.'\nWith this, Vivec become greater than he had been. These were the days of Resdaynia, when Chimer and Dwemer lived under the wise and benevolent rule of the AMLSIVI and their champion the Hortator.\n'Seek me without effort for I take many shapes.'\nThe Hortator was still trying to subdue the heavens with an axe. He was thrown out of the library of the sun by the power of Magnus. Vivec found him in a grub field outside of the swamps of the Deshaan Plain. They walked for a span in silence, for Nerevar had been humbled and Vivec still had mercy in his hand.\nSoon they were walking across the eastern sea to the land of snakes and snow demons. Vivec wanted to show the Hortator the fighting styles of foreign tongues. They learned the idiom stroke from the pillow book of the Tsaesci king. It is shaped like the insight of this page. The Tsaesci serpents vowed to have their vengeance on the west at least three times.\nThey walked farther and saw the spiked waters at the edge of the map. Here the spirit of limitation gifted them with a spoke and bade them find the rest of the wheel.\nThe Hortator said, 'The edge of the world is made of swords.'\nVivec corrected him. 'They are the bottom row of the world's teeth.'\nThey walked to the north to the Elder Wood and found nothing but frozen bearded kings.\nThey came to the west where the black men dwelt. For a year they studied under their sword saints and then for another Vivec taught them the virtue of the little reward. Vivec chose a king for a wife and made another race of monsters which ended up destroying the west completely. To a warrior chief Vivec said:\n'We must not act and speak as if asleep.'\nNerevar wondered if there was anything to learn in the south but Vivec remained silent and only led them back to Red Mountain.\n'Here,' Vivec said, 'is the last of the last. Within it the Sharmat waits.'\nBut they both knew that the time was not ready to contest the Sharmat and so they engaged in combat with each other. Vivec marked the Hortator in this way for all of the Velothi to see. He sealed the wound with the blessing of Ayem-Azura. At the end of the battle, the Hortator found that he had gathered seven more spokes. He attempted to attach them and form a staff but Vivec would not let him, saying, 'It is not the time for that.'\nNerevar said, 'Where did I find these?'\nVivec said that they had collected them from around the world, though some had come invisibly. 'I am the wheel,' he said, and took that shape. Before the emptiness at the center could live too long, Nerevar put in the spokes.\nThe ending of the words is ALMSIVI."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thirty-six-lessons-vivec-sermon-eighteen": {"series": "36 Lessons of Vivec", "game": ["Morrowind", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thirty-six-lessons-vivec-sermon-eighteen", "author": "Vivec", "title": "The Thirty-Six Lessons of Vivec: Sermon Eighteen", "description": "The complete series of 36 sermons. Very Michael Kirkbride - obscure and fascinating.", "text": "Now Vivec felt that he had taught the Hortator as much as he could before the war with the Dwemer came. The warrior-poet decided he had to begin his Book of Hours at that point, because the world was about to bend with its age.\nVivec entered the Mourning Hold and announced to Ayem that he was going to fight nine monsters that had escaped the Muatra.\n'I will return,' he said, 'to deal the last blow to the grand architect of the Dwemer.'\nAyem said, 'Out of nine you will find only eight, though they be mighty. The last is already destroyed by your decision to create the Book of Hours.'\nVivec understood that Ayem meant himself.\n'Why,' she asked, 'are you in doubt?'\nVivec knew that his doubt made him the sword of the Triune and so he did not feel shame or fear. Instead, he explained and these are the words:\n'Can a member of the Invisible Gate become so archaic that its successor is not so much an improvement of the exact model, but rather a related model that is just needed more because of the currency of the world's condition? As the Mother, you do not have to worry, unless things in the future are so strange that even Seht cannot understand. Neither does the Executioner or the Fool, but I am neither.\n'These ideals are not going to change in nature, even though they may change in representation. But, even in the west, the Rainmaker vanishes. No one needs him anymore.\n'Can one oust the model not because the model is set according to an ideal but because it is tied to an ever-changing unconscious mortal agenda?'\nThis is what was said to Ayem when Vivec was whole. The wise shall not mistake this.\nAyem said, 'This is why you were born of a netchiman's wife and destined to merge with the simulacrum of your mother, gilled and blended in all the arts of the star-wounded East, under water and in fire and in metal and in ash, six times the wise, to became the union of male and female, the magic hermaphrodite, the martial axiom, the sex-death of language and unique in all the middle world.'\nVivec knew then why he would record his Book of Hours.\nThis sermon is forbidden.\nIn this world and others EIGHTEEN less one (the victor) is the magical disk, hurled to reach heaven by violence.\nThis sermon is untrue.\nThe ending of the world is ALMSIVI."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thirty-six-lessons-vivec-sermon-nineteen": {"series": "36 Lessons of Vivec", "game": ["Morrowind", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thirty-six-lessons-vivec-sermon-nineteen", "author": "Vivec", "title": "The Thirty-Six Lessons of Vivec: Sermon Nineteen", "description": "The complete series of 36 sermons. Very Michael Kirkbride - obscure and fascinating.", "text": "Vivec put on his armor and stepped into a non-spatial space filling to capacity with mortal interaction and information, a canvas-less cartography of every single mind it has ever known, an event that had developed some semblance of a divine spark. He said, 'From here I shall launch my attack on the eight monsters.'\nVivec then saw the moths that would come from the starry heart, bringing with them dust more horrible than the ash of Red Mountain. He saw the twin head of a ruling king who had no equivalent. And eight imperfections rubbed into precious stones, set into a crown that looked like shackles, which he understood to be the twin crowns of the two-headed king. And a river that fed into the mouth of the two-headed king, because he contained multitudes.\nVivec then built the Provisional House at the Center of the Secret Door. From here he could watch the age to come. Of the House is written:\nCornerstone one has a finger\nBuried under, pointing through\nDirt, slow low in the ground\nNorth cannot be guessed,\nAnd yet it is spirit-free\nCornerstone two has a tongue,\nAnd even dust can be talkative,\nListen and you will see the love\nThe ancient libraries need\nCornerstone three has a bit of string,\nShaped like your favorite color,\nA girl remembers who left it there\nBut she is afraid to dig it out,\nAnd see what it is attached to\nCornerstone four has nine bones,\nRemoved carefully from a black cat,\nArranged in the fashion of this word,\nProtecting us from our enemies\nYour house is safe now\nSo why is it--\nYour house is safe now\nSo why is it--\nThe ending of the words is ALMSIVI."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thirty-six-lessons-vivec-sermon-twenty": {"series": "36 Lessons of Vivec", "game": ["Morrowind", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thirty-six-lessons-vivec-sermon-twenty", "author": "Vivec", "title": "The Thirty-Six Lessons of Vivec: Sermon Twenty", "description": "The complete series of 36 sermons. Very Michael Kirkbride - obscure and fascinating.", "text": "The first monster was actually two, having been born twice like his mother-father, Vivec. He was not the mightiest of the eight to escape Muatra, but his actions were the most worrisome. He was known as Moon Axle, and he harvested the leftovers foibles of nature. This he did twice, as was said, and the second harvest always brought ruin or unwritten law. His aspect was faceted like a polyhedron.\nNo perils are mentioned in the finding of Moon Axle, but it was known that he was immune to spears, so Vivec had to use the sword not held against him. Before he took issue with the monster, the warrior-poet asked:\n'How came you to be immune to spears?'\nTo which Moon Axle replied, 'Mine is a dual nature, and protean. I am in fact made of many straight lines, though none last too long. In this way I have learned to ignore all true segments.'\nLuckily, the sword not held was curved and therefore could cut into Moon Axle, and before the sun was up he was bleeding from many wounds. Vivec did not slay him outright for to do so would to keep the foibles of nature within him and not back where they belonged. Soon Vivec had traced geography right again, and Moon Axle was ready to be slain.\nVivec rose up in his giant-form, to be terrible to look upon. He reached into the west and pulled out a canyon, holding it like a horn. He reached east and ate a handful of nix hounds. Blowing their spirits through the canyon made a terrible wail, not unlike an unsolved woman. He said:\n'Let this overtake you,' and Moon Axle was overtaken by the curvatures of stolen souls. They wrapped about the monster like resin, until finally he could not move, nor could his dual nature.\nVivec said, 'Now you are solved,' and pierced his child with Muatra. Moon Axle had been reduced to something static, and therefore shattered.\nThe lines of Moon Axle were collected by Velothi philosophers and taken into caves. There, and for a year, Vivec taught the philosophers how to turn the lines of his son into the spokes of mystery wheels. This was the birth of the first Whirling School. Before, there had only been the surface thought of fire.\nVivec looked at his first wheeling students and observed:\n'Alike the egg-layered universe is this morbid possession of three-distant coverage, soul-wrecked and alive, like my name is alive. In this cloister you have discovered one walking path, hilled like a sword but more coarsened. So edged it is that it has to be whispered to keep the tongue from bleeding, where its signs evacuate their former meanings, like empires that tarry too long.\n'The sword is estrangement from statesmanship.\n'Look on the estimable lines of my son, now crafted star-wise, his every limb equidistant from the center. Is he solved because I will it so? There cannot be a second stage. Think on the theory that my existence promulgates the five elements and alike the egg-layered universe I am cause for great density. Here is a thought that can break the wagon's axle; here is another that can soar.'\nThe ending of the words is ALMSIVI."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thirty-six-lessons-vivec-sermon-twenty-one": {"series": "36 Lessons of Vivec", "game": ["Morrowind", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thirty-six-lessons-vivec-sermon-twenty-one", "author": "Vivec", "title": "The Thirty-Six Lessons of Vivec: Sermon Twenty-One", "description": "The complete series of 36 sermons. Very Michael Kirkbride - obscure and fascinating.", "text": "The Scripture of the Wheel, First:\n'The Spokes are the eight components of chaos, as yet solidified by the law of time: static change, if you will, something the lizard gods refer to as the Striking. That is the reptile wheel, coiled potential, ever-preamble to the never-action.'\nSecond:\n'They are the lent bones of the Aedra, the Eight gift-limbs to SITHISIT, the wet earth of the new star our home. Outside them is the Aurbis, and not within. Like most things inexplicable, it is a circle. Circles are confused serpents, striking and striking and never given leave to bite. The Aedra would have you believe different, but they were givers before liars. Lies have turned them into biters. Their teeth are the proselytizers; to convert is to place oneself in the mouth of falsehood; even to propitiate is to be swallowed. '\nThird:\n'The enlightened are those uneaten by the world.'\nFourth:\n'The spaces between the gift-limbs number sixteen, the signal shapes of the Demon Princedoms. It is the key and the lock, series and manticore.'\nFifth:\n'Look at the majesty sideways and all you see is the Tower, which our ancestors made idols from. Look at its center and all you see is the begotten hole, second serpent, womb-ready for the Right Reaching, exact and without enchantment.'\nSixth:\n'The heart of the second serpent holds the secret triangular gate.'\nSeventh:\n'Look at the secret triangular gate sideways and you see the secret Tower.'\nEighth:\n'The secret Tower within the Tower is the shape of the only name of God, I.'\nThe ending of the words is ALMSIVI."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thirty-six-lessons-vivec-sermon-twenty-two": {"series": "36 Lessons of Vivec", "game": ["Morrowind", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thirty-six-lessons-vivec-sermon-twenty-two", "author": "Vivec", "title": "The Thirty-Six Lessons of Vivec: Sermon Twenty-Two", "description": "The complete series of 36 sermons. Very Michael Kirkbride - obscure and fascinating.", "text": "Then Vivec left the first Whirling School and went back to the space that was not a space. From the Provisional House he looked into the middle world to find the second monster, which was called the Treasure Wood Sword. Within years of the Pomegranate Banquet, it had become a lessoning tune to the lower Velothi houses. They preached of its power:\n'The Treasure Wood Sword, splinter scintilla of the high and glorious! He who wields it becomes self-known!'\nThe warrior-poet appeared as a visitation in the ancestor alcove of House Mora, whose rose-worn prince of garlands was a hero against the northern demons. Vivec congregated with the bones. He said:\n'A scavenger cannot acquire a silk sash and expect to discover the greater systems of its predecessor: perfect happiness is embraced only by the weeping. Give me back (and do so freely) what is barren of my marriage and I will not erase you from the thought realm of God. Your line has a notable enchantress that my sister Ayem is fond of and from her murky wisdom alone do I condescend to ask.'\nA bone-walker emerged from a wall. It had three precious stones set in its lower jaw, a magical practice of old. One was opal, the color of opal. The bone-walker bowed to the prince of the middle air and said:\n'The Treasure Wood Sword will not leave our house. Bargains were made with the Black Hands Mephala, the greater shade.'\nVivec kissed the first precious stone and said:\n'Animal picture, rude-walker, go back to the lamp that stays lit in water and store no more messages of useless noise. Down.'\nHe kissed the second precious stone and said:\n'Proud residue, soon dispersed, serve no guarantees made in my fore-image and demand nothing of its under-skin. I am master evermore. Down.'\nHe kissed the opal and said:\n'Down I take thee.'\nAnd then Vivec withdrew into the hidden places and found the darkest mothers of the Morag Tong, taking them all to wife and filling them with undusted loyalty that tasted of summer salt. They became as black queens, screaming live with a hundred murderous sons, a thousand murderous arms, and a hundred thousand murderous hands, one vast moving event of thrusting-kill-laughter in alleys, palaces, workshops, cities and secret halls. Their movements among the holdings of the Ra'athim were as rippled endings, heaving between times, with all fates leading to swallowed knives, murder as moaning, God's holy rape-erasure of wet death.\nThe King of Assassins presented to Vivec the Treasure Wood Sword.\n'Milord,' the King of Assassins said. 'The prince of House Mora is now fond of you, as well. I placed him in the Corner of Dagon. His eyes I set into a fire prayer for the wicked. His mouth I stuffed with birds.'\nThe ending of the words is ALMSIVI."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thirty-six-lessons-vivec-sermon-twenty-three": {"series": "36 Lessons of Vivec", "game": ["Morrowind", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thirty-six-lessons-vivec-sermon-twenty-three", "author": "Vivec", "title": "The Thirty-Six Lessons of Vivec: Sermon Twenty-Three", "description": "The complete series of 36 sermons. Very Michael Kirkbride - obscure and fascinating.", "text": "The Scripture of the Sword, First:\n'The sword, treated as a delicate meal, is the Symbolic Collage. It serves you well in the first half of life. Name one dynasty that knows this not.'\nSecond:\n'The unity of my approach is understood by the immobile warrior. True eyes are acquired. Rejoice as my own subjects and realms. I build for you a city of swords, by which I mean laws that cut the people who live there into better shapes.'\nThird:\n'Girls burn their dresses on my arrival if I am armored. They crawl to me as bled pilgrims. Minor spirits die without trace. Follow me of all the ALMSIVI if you are to mark your days with killing. AE ALTADOON, the third law of weaponry.'\nFourth:\n'The immobile warrior is never fatigued. He cuts sleep holes in the middle of a battle to regain his strength.'\nFifth:\n'Instinct is not reflex action, but mini-miracles held in reserve. I am the welfare that decides which warrior will emerge. Beg not for luck. Serve me to win.'\nSixth:\n'The span of the apparently inactivated is your love of the absolute. The birth of God from the netchiman's wife is the abortion of kindness from love.'\nSeventh:\n'The true sword is able to cut chains of generations, which is to say, the creation myths of your enemies. Look on me as the exiled garden. All else is uncut weed.'\nEighth:\n'I give you an ancient road tempered by the second walking way. Your hands must be huge to wield any sword the size of an ancient road, and yet he who is of right stature may irritate the sun with only a stick.'\nThe ending of the words is ALMSIVI."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thirty-six-lessons-vivec-sermon-twenty-four": {"series": "36 Lessons of Vivec", "game": ["Morrowind", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thirty-six-lessons-vivec-sermon-twenty-four", "author": "Vivec", "title": "The Thirty-Six Lessons of Vivec: Sermon Twenty-Four", "description": "The complete series of 36 sermons. Very Michael Kirkbride - obscure and fascinating.", "text": "Then Vivec left the house of assassins and went back to the space that was not a space. From the Provisional House he looked into the middle world to find the third monster, called Horde Mountain. It was made of modular warriors running free but spaced according to pattern, and from the highest warrior who could cut clouds they spread out beneath him like a tree, a skirt whose bottom circle was an army that ran through the ash.\nVivec admired the cone-shape of his child and remembered with joy the whirlwind of fighting styles that instructed him during the days before life.\nVivec moved into Veloth, saying, 'Onus.'\nBut before he could even get within sword-span of the monster, a trio of lower houses had trapped Horde Mountain in a net of doubtful doctrine. When they saw their lord, the Velothi cheered.\n'We are happy to serve you and win!' they said.\nVivec smiled at those brave souls around him and summoned celebration demons to cleave unto the victors. There was a great display of love and duty around the netted monster, and Vivec was at the center with a headdress made of mating bones. He laughed and told mystical jokes and made the heads of the three houses marry and become a new order.\n'You shall forever be now my Buoyant Armigers,' he said.\nThen Vivec pierced Horde Mountain with Muatra and made of it all a big bag of bones. At the touch of his right hand the net became right scripture and he threw it all northeasterly. The contents spread out like sugar-glows and Vivec and the Buoyant Armigers ran under it laughing.\nFinally the bones of Horde Mountain landed and became the foundation stones for the City of Swords, which Vivec named after his own sigil, and the net fell across it all and between, or became as bridges between bones, and since its segments had been touched by his holy wisdom they became the most perfect of all city streets in the known worlds.\nThrongs of Velothi came to the new city and Ayem and Seht gave it their blessing. The streets were filled with laughter and love and the strength of tree-shaped enemy children.\nAyem said:\n'To my sister-brother's city I give the holy protection of House Indoril, whose powers and thrones know no equal under heaven, wherefrom came the Hortator.'\nSeht said:\n'To my sister-brother's city I give safe passage through the dark corners still left of Molag Bal, and I give it this spell as well: SO-T-HA SIL, which is my name to the mighty. It will protect the lost unless their flight is on purpose and fill all the roads and alleys with the mystery paths of civilization, and give the city a mind and make of it a conduit to the full concentrate of the ALMSIVI.'\nThus was founded the city of Vivec in the days of Resdaynia.\nThe ending of the words is ALMSIVI."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thirty-six-lessons-vivec-sermon-twenty-five": {"series": "36 Lessons of Vivec", "game": ["Morrowind", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thirty-six-lessons-vivec-sermon-twenty-five", "author": "Vivec", "title": "The Thirty-Six Lessons of Vivec: Sermon Twenty-Five", "description": "The complete series of 36 sermons. Very Michael Kirkbride - obscure and fascinating.", "text": "The Scripture of the City:\n'All cities are born of solid light. Such is my city, his city.\n'But then the light subsides, revealing the bright and terrible angel of Veloth. He is in his pre-chimerical form, demonic VEHK, gaunt and pale and beautiful, skin stretched painfully thin on bird's bones, feathered serpents encircling his arms. His wings are spread out behind him, their red and yellow ends like razors in the sun. The wispy mass of his fire hair floats as if underwater, milky in the nimbus of light that crowns his head. His presence is undeniable, the awe too much to bear.\n'This is God's city, different from others. Cities from foreign countries put their denizens to sleep and walk to the star-wounded East to pay homage to me. The capital of the northern men, crusty with eon's ice, bows before Vivec the city, me it together.\n'Self-thought streets rush through tunnel blood. I have rebuilt myself. Hyper eyed signposts along my traffic arm, soon to be an inner sea. My body is crawling with all gathered to see me rising up like a monolithic instrument of pleasure. My spine is the main road to the city that I am. Countless transactions are taking place in veins and catwalks and the roaming, roaming, roaming, as they roam over and through and add to me. There are temples erected along the hollow of my skull and I will ever wear them as a crown. Walk across the lips of God.\n'They add new doors to me and I become effortlessly trans-immortal with the comings and goings and the stride-heat of the market where I am traded for, yell of the children hear them play, scoffed at, amused, desired, paid for in native coin, new minted with my face on one side and my city-body on the other. I stare with each new window. Soon I am a million-eyed insect dreaming.\n'Red-sparking war trumpets sound like cattle in the ribcage of shuffling transit. The heretics are destroyed on the plaza knees. I flood over into the hills, houses rising like a rash, and I never scratch. Cities are the antidotes to hunting.\n'I raise lanterns to light my hollows, lend wax to the thousands the candlesticks that bear my name again and again, the name innumerable, shutting in, mantra and priest, god-city, filling every corner with the naming name, wheeled, circling, running river language giggling with footfalls mating, selling, stealing, searching, and worry not ye who walk with me. This is the flowering scheme of the Aurbis. This is the promise of the PSJJJJ: egg, image, man, god, city, state. I serve and am served. I am made of wire and string and mortar and I accede my own precedent, world without am.'\nThe ending of the words is ALMSIVI."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thirty-six-lessons-vivec-sermon-twenty-six": {"series": "36 Lessons of Vivec", "game": ["Morrowind", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thirty-six-lessons-vivec-sermon-twenty-six", "author": "Vivec", "title": "The Thirty-Six Lessons of Vivec: Sermon Twenty-Six", "description": "The complete series of 36 sermons. Very Michael Kirkbride - obscure and fascinating.", "text": "Then Vivec left his architectural rapture and went back to the space that was not a space. From the Provisional House he looked into the middle world to find the fourth monster, called The Pocket Cabal.\nThe monster hid itself in the spell-lists of the great Chimeri wizards of the extreme east, where the Emperor Parasols grow wild. Vivec disguised himself as a simple traveler, but radiated a tenuous sense-fabric so that the wizards would seek him out. Of Muatra he made a simple walking dwarf.\nBefore long the invisible one was among the libraries of the east, feeding the essential words of The Pocket Cabal to his walking dwarf and then running when the magic would fail. After a year or two of this thievery, Muatra was sick to its stomach, and the walking dwarf exploded near the slave pens of a wizard's tower. The Pocket Cabal then slipped itself into the mouths of the slaves and hid again.\nVivec then watched as the slaves erupted into babble and breaking magic. They rattled their cages and sung out half-hymns that formed into forbidden and arcane knowledge. Litany fiends appeared and drank from the excess. Grabbers from the Adjacent Place came into the world sideways, the slave talking having disrupted the normal non-cardinal points.\nSo of course a giant bug appeared, with the greatest eastern wizard inside it. He could see past Vivec's disguise and knew of the warrior-poet's divinity but he thought himself so powerful that he talked harshly:\n'See what you have wrought, silly Triune! Columns of nonsense and litany fiends! I cannot believe how reason or temperance can be made whole again due to your eating, eating, eating! Consort with more demons, why don't you?'\nVivec stabbed the wizard through his soul.\nThe giant bug harness fell on the slave cages and the slaves ran about free and reckless, too reckless more with pregnant words. Colors bent into the earth. Vivec created a dome-head demon to contain it all.\n'The Pocket Cabal is therefore interred here forever. Let this be a cursed land where sorcery is broken and maligned.'\nThen he picked up Muatra by the beard and left the ghostly hemisphere of the dome-head demon. On its boundaries, Vivec placed a warning and a song of entrance that contained errors in it. With mock bones of half-dead Muatra he created the tent poles of a fortress-theory and fatal languages were imprisoned for all time.\nSeht appeared and looked on what his brother-sister had created. The Clockwork King said:\n'Of the eight monsters, this is the most confusing. May I treasure it?'\nVivec gave Seht leave to do so, but told him never to release The Pocket Cabal into the middle world. He said:\n'I have hidden secrets in my travels here and made a likeness of Muatra to ward against the unwise. Under this dome, the temporal myth is no longer man.'\nThe ending of the words is ALMSIVI."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thirty-six-lessons-vivec-sermon-twenty-seven": {"series": "36 Lessons of Vivec", "game": ["Morrowind", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thirty-six-lessons-vivec-sermon-twenty-seven", "author": "Vivec", "title": "The Thirty-Six Lessons of Vivec: Sermon Twenty-Seven", "description": "The complete series of 36 sermons. Very Michael Kirkbride - obscure and fascinating.", "text": "The Scripture of the Word, First:\n'All language is based on meat. Do not let the sophists fool you.'\nSecond:\n'The third walking path explores hysteria without fear. The efforts of madmen are a society of itself, but only if they are written. The wise may substitute one law for another, even into incoherence, and still say he is working within a method. This is true of speech and extends to all scripture.'\nThird:\n'Do not go to the realm of apology for absolution. Beyond articulation, there is no fault. The Adjacent Place, where the Grabbers live, is the illusion of the vocal or the middle realms of thought, by which I mean the constructed. This is how I stole the certainty of the Chancellor of Exactitude, perfect to look upon from every angle. When you come out of the vocal, you can never be certain.'\nFourth:\n'The truest body of work is made up of silence: as in the silence that results from no reference. By the word I mean the dead.'\nFifth:\n'The first meaning is always hidden.'\nSixth:\n'The realm of apology is perfection and impossible to attack. Thus, the wise avoid it. Trinity in unity is the world and word of action: the third walking path.'\nSeventh:\n'The sage who suppresses his best aphorism: cut off his hands, for he is a thief.'\nEighth:\n'The clothes of the broken map are worn only by fools and heretics. The map is an exit for laziness. It is the dusty tongue, which is to say the given chart that most take as a story that is complete. No word is true until it is eaten.'\nThe ending of the words is ALMSIVI."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thirty-six-lessons-vivec-sermon-twenty-eight": {"series": "36 Lessons of Vivec", "game": ["Morrowind", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thirty-six-lessons-vivec-sermon-twenty-eight", "author": "Vivec", "title": "The Thirty-Six Lessons of Vivec: Sermon Twenty-Eight", "description": "The complete series of 36 sermons. Very Michael Kirkbride - obscure and fascinating.", "text": "Then Vivec left Seht to look after the dome-head demon and went back to the space that was not a space. From the Provisional House he looked into the middle world to find the fifth monster, called The Ruddy Man.\nWhen the dreughs ruled the world, the Daedroth Prince Molag Bal had been their chief. He took a different shape then, spiny and armored and made for the sea. Vivec, in giving birth to the many spawn of his marriage, had dropped an old image of Molag Bal into the world: a dead carapace of memory. It would not have been a monster if a Velothi child had not wanted to impress his village by wearing it.\nThe Ruddy Man, of the eight monsters, was the least complicated. He made those who wore him into mighty killers and nothing more. He existed in the physical. Only geography makes him special.\nWhen Vivec found him near the boy's village, anon Gnisis, there was a violent clash of arms and an upheaval of the earth. Their battle created the West Gash. Wanderers that still go there hear still the sounds of it: sword across the crust, the grunt of God, the snapping of his monster child's splintered legs.\nAfter his victory, Vivec took the shell of The Ruddy Man to the dreughs that had modified his mother. The Queen of Dreughs, whose name is not easy to spell, was in a period of self-incubation. Her wardens took the gift from Vivec and promised to guard it from the surface world. This is the first account of dreughs being liars.\nIn ten years, The Ruddy Man appeared again, this time near Tear, worn by a wayward shaman who followed the House of Troubles. Instead of guarding it, the dreughs had imbued the living armor with mythic inflexibility. It molted soon after skill-draping the shaman and stretched his bones to the five corners.\nWhen Vivec met the monster in battle again he saw the remains of three villages dripping from its feet. He took on his giant form and slew The Ruddy Man by way of the Symbolic Collage. Since he no longer trusted the Altmer of the sea, Vivec gave the carapace of the monster to the devout and loyal mystics of the Number Room. He told them:\n'You may make of The Ruddy Man a philosopher's armor.'\nThe mystics began by wrapping one of their sages in the shells, a series of flourishes by two supra numerates, one hormonally tall and the other just under his arms. They ran around the carapace and through each other, applying holy resin drawn from the carcasses of the now-useless numbers between twelve and thirteen. Golden straws were quickly stuck through the mythic epidermal so the sage could breathe. After the ceremonial etchings were drawn into hardening resin, long lists of dead names and equations whose solutions were to be found in the mouth of the Chimer inside, there came the illuminations, inscribed by the bright, terrible fingernail of Vivec. From the nail's tip flowed a searing liquid, filling the grooves of the ceremonial etchings. They bled out to form veined patterns about the sage-shell that theologians would decipher forever after.\nThe ending of the words is ALMSIVI."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thirty-six-lessons-vivec-sermon-twenty-nine": {"series": "36 Lessons of Vivec", "game": ["Morrowind", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thirty-six-lessons-vivec-sermon-twenty-nine", "author": "Vivec", "title": "The Thirty-Six Lessons of Vivec: Sermon Twenty-Nine", "description": "The complete series of 36 sermons. Very Michael Kirkbride - obscure and fascinating.", "text": "The Scripture of the Numbers:\n1. The Dragon Break, or the Tower. 1\n2. The Enantiomorph. 68\n3. The Invisible Gate, ALMSIVI. 112\n4. The Corners of House of Troubles. 242\n5. The Corners of the World. 100\n6. The Walking Ways. 266\n7. The Sword at the Center. 39\n8. The Wheel, or the Eight Givers. 484\n9. The Missing. 11\n10. The Tribes of the Altmer. 140\n11. The Number of the Master. 102\n12. The Heavens. 379\n13. The Serpent. 36\n14. The King's Cough. 32\n15. The Redeeming Force. 110\n16. The Acceptable Blasphemes. 12\n17. The Hurling Disk. 283\n18. The Egg, or Six Times the Wise.\n19. The Provisional House. 258\n20. The Lunar Lattice. 425\n21. The Womb. 13\n22. Unknown. 453\n23. The Hollow Prophet. 54\n24. The Star Wound. 44\n25. The Emperor. 239\n26. The Rogue Plane. 81\n27. The Secret Fire. 120\n28. The Drowned Lamp. 8\n29. The Captive Sage. 217\n30. The Scarab. 10\n31. The Listening Frame. 473\n32. The False Call. 7\n33. The Anticipations. 234\n34. The Lawless Grammar. 2\n35. The Prison-Shirt. 191\n36. The Hours. 364\n'The presence of deaf witness, this is what the numbers are. They hang onto the Aurbis as the last nostalgia of their godhood. The effigies of numbers are their current applications; this is folly, as above. To be affixed to a symbol is too, too certain.'\nThe ending of the words is ALMSIVI."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thirty-six-lessons-vivec-sermon-thirty": {"series": "36 Lessons of Vivec", "game": ["Morrowind", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thirty-six-lessons-vivec-sermon-thirty", "author": "Vivec", "title": "The Thirty-Six Lessons of Vivec: Sermon Thirty", "description": "The complete series of 36 sermons. Very Michael Kirkbride - obscure and fascinating.", "text": "Then Vivec left the mystics of the Number Room and went back to the space that was not a space. From the Provisional House he looked into the middle world to find the sixth monster, called City-Face. He was vexed when he could not find it and went back to the Mourning Hold in secret anger, killing a mystic that asked about higher order.\nNerevar, the Hortator, witnessed this and said, 'Why do this, milord? The mystics look to you for guidance. They work to make your temple better stoned.'\nVivec said, 'No one knows what I am.'\nThe Hortator nodded and went back to his studies.\nHere is how City-Face hid from his mother-father: it had been born named as Ha-Note, a bare urge of power, an esoteric wind nerve tuned to the frequency of huddled masses. It found root in villages and multiplied, finding in the minds of the settled a veiled astrology, the star charts of culture, and this resonance made its head swim. Ha-Note moved sideways into the Adjacent Place, growing and unbeknownst. Above the vocal, it trembled with new emotions, immortal ones, absorbing more than the thirty known to exist in the middle world. When Ha-Note became gravely homesick, the Grabbers took it.\nA Grabber said, 'New emotions to the lonely occur only of madness. This thing is gone. It is ours now.'\nGrabbers had never made a city of their own, and their glimpse of Vivec's, which shone with holiness through all the spheres, had taken their attention.\n'Under this reason did the issue of Vehk slide into our realm, drawn by our coveting, hidden in loss. We shall build our tower-hope upon its face.'\nNow many years had passed in Resdaynia, and the high priests of the Dwemer were building something alike as Vivec and alike as the new Ha-Note of the Grabbers. The Hortator was engaged with an army of theirs that had become too brave, talking foolish words, and Nerevar helped destroy them with the help of the orphan legion of Ayem. When he went to give trophy to Vivec, he saw his lord under attack by the City-Face. The monster was saying this:\n'Here we are to replace your city, Vehk and Vehk. We are from the place of the more-than-known emotions, and our citizenry has died from it. Two things we came for, but can stay for only one. Either we ask you to correct our error of culture, or merely take yours by dint of force. The second is easiest, we think.'\nVivec sighed.\n'You would replace my direction,' he said. 'I weary of this, though I wanted to kill you an age before. Resdaynia is fallen ill, and I have no time for one more imaginary analogy of an unknown incident. Here, take this.'\nAt which he touched the tower-hope of the City-Face and corrected the error of the Grabbers.\n'And this.'\nAt which he stabbed the heart of the City-Face with the Ethos Knife, which is to say RKHT AI AE ALTADOON AI, the short blade of proper commerce.\nThe ending of the words is ALMSIVI."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thirty-six-lessons-vivec-sermon-thirty-one": {"series": "36 Lessons of Vivec", "game": ["Morrowind", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thirty-six-lessons-vivec-sermon-thirty-one", "author": "Vivec", "title": "The Thirty-Six Lessons of Vivec: Sermon Thirty-One", "description": "The complete series of 36 sermons. Very Michael Kirkbride - obscure and fascinating.", "text": "Many more years passed in Resdaynia, and the high priests of the Dwemer were almost ready to make war on the rulers of Veloth. The Hortator had become the husband of Ayem during this time, and the first saint of the Triune way. Vivec had tired of fighting his sons and daughters, and so took a respite from trying to find them.\nThe Hortator said to his wife, 'Where is Vivec, my teacher? I love him still, though he grows cold. His lamentations, if I may call them that, have changed the skin of the whole country. He is hardly to be found anywhere in Veloth of late. The people grow dark because of it.'\nAnd Ayem took mercy on her troubled husband and told him that the sword of the Triune had been fighting minor monsters stirred up by the Dwemer as they worked on their brass siege machines. She took the Hortator inside her and showed him where his master was.\nALMSIVI, or at least that aspect that chose to be Vivec, sat in the Litany Hall of the False Thinking Temple after his battle with the Flute-and-Pipe Ogres of the West Gash. He began writing, again, in his Book of Hours. He had to put on his Water Face first. That way he could separate the bronze of the Old Temple from the blue of the New and write with happiness. Second, he had to take another feather from the Big Moon, further rendering it dead. That way he could write about mortals with truth. Third, he recalled the Pomegranate Banquet, where he was forced to marry to Molag Bal with wet scriptures to cement his likeness as Mephala and write with black hands. He wrote:\nThe last time I heard his voice, showing the slightest sign of impatience, I learned to control myself and submit to the will of others. Afterwards, I dared to take on the sacred fire and realized there was no equilibrium with the ET'ADA. They were liars, lost roots, and the most I can do is to be an interpreter into the rational. Even that fails the needs of the people. I sit on the mercy seat and pass judgment, the waking state, and the phase aspect of the innate urge. Only here can I doubt, in this book, written in water, broadened to include evil.\nThen Vivec threw his ink on this passage to cover it up (for the lay reader) and wrote instead:\nFind me in the blackened paper, unarmored, in final scenery. Truth is like my husband: instructed to smash, filled with procedure and noise, hammering, weighty, heaviness made schematic, lessons learned only by a mace. Let those that hear me then be buffeted, and let some die in the ash from the striking. Let those that find him find him murdered by illumination, pummeled like a traitorous house, because, if an hour is golden, then immortal I am a secret code. I am the partaker of the Doom Drum, chosen of all those that dwell in the middle world to wear this crown, which reverberates with truth, and I am the mangling messiah.\nThe ending of the words is ALMSIVI."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thirty-six-lessons-vivec-sermon-thirty-two": {"series": "36 Lessons of Vivec", "game": ["Morrowind", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thirty-six-lessons-vivec-sermon-thirty-two", "author": "Vivec", "title": "The Thirty-Six Lessons of Vivec: Sermon Thirty-Two", "description": "The complete series of 36 sermons. Very Michael Kirkbride - obscure and fascinating.", "text": "The Scripture of the Mace, First:\n'The pleasure of annihilation is the pleasure of disappearing into the unreal. All those that would challenge the sleeping world will seek membership in this movement. I denounce the alienation of the Cloven Duality with a hammer.'\nSecond:\n'Take from me the lessons as a punishment for being mortal. To be made of dirt is to be treated as such by your jailers. This is the key and the lock of the Daedra. Why do you think they escaped the compromise?'\nThird:\n'Velothi, your skin has become the pregnant darkness. My brooding has brought this on. Remember that Boethiah asked you to become the color of bruise. How else to show yourselves people of the exodus into the vital: pain?'\nFourth:\n'The sage who is not an anvil: a conventional sentence and nothing more. By which I mean dead, the fourth walking way.'\nFifth:\n'A proper comprehension of the virtues: stage-managed and to be murdered.'\nSixth:\n'In the end, rejoice as a hostage released from drumming torment but that savors his wound. The drum breaks and you find it to be a nest of hornets, which is to say: your sleep is over.'\nSeventh:\n'The suspicious is spectacle and the lie is only a theoretical inspiration.'\nEighth:\n'But then why, you ask, do the Daedra wish to meddle with the Aurbis? It is because they are the radical critique, essential as all martyrs. That some are more evil than others in not an illusion. Or rather, it is a necessary illusion.'\nThe ending of the words is ALMSIVI."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thirty-six-lessons-vivec-sermon-thirty-three": {"series": "36 Lessons of Vivec", "game": ["Morrowind", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thirty-six-lessons-vivec-sermon-thirty-three", "author": "Vivec", "title": "The Thirty-Six Lessons of Vivec: Sermon Thirty-Three", "description": "The complete series of 36 sermons. Very Michael Kirkbride - obscure and fascinating.", "text": "Then Vivec left the Litany Hall of the False Thinking Temple, where he had brooded for so long creating the scripture of the pounding light, and went back to the space that was not a space. From the Provisional House he looked into the middle world to find the seventh monster, called Lie Rock.\nLie Rock was born of Vivec's Second Aperture and was thrown out of the Pomegranate Banquet by a member of the Sweeps, another forgotten guild. The Sweep did not take it for the monster that it was and so he did not expect it to fly from his hand and into the heavens.\n'I am born of golden wisdom and powers that should have forever been unalike! With this nature I am invited into the Hidden Heaven!'\nBy which he meant the Scaled Blanket, made of not-stars, whose number is thirteen. Lie Rock became full of foolishness, haggling with the Void Ghost who hides in the religions of all men. The Void Ghost said:\n'Stay with me a full hundred years and I will give you a power that no divinity will dare disobey.'\nBut before the hundred years was up, Vivec was already looking for Lie Rock and found him.\n'Stupid stone,' Vivec said. 'To hide in the Scaled Blanket is to make a mark on nothing. His bargains are only for ruling kings!'\nSo Vivec sent the Hortator to the heavens to shave Lie Rock asunder by the named axe. Nerevar made peace with the south-pole-star of thieving and the north-pole-star of warriors and the third-pole-star, which existed only in the ether, which was governed by the apprentice of Magnus the sun. They gave him leave to wander among their charges and gave him red sight by which to find Lie Rock in the Hidden Heaven.\nBy chance, Nerevar met the Void Ghost first, who told him that he was in the wrong place to which the Hortator said, 'Me or you?' and the Void Ghost said both. This sermon does not tell what else was said between these masters.\nLie Rock, however, used the confusion to launch his own attack on the city-god, Vivec. He was hastened by all three of the black guardians, who wanted him swiftly gone, though they meant no hostility to the lord of the middle air.\nThe citizenry of Vivec screamed as they saw a shooting star come down out of the sky hole like a toll-road of hell. But Vivec merely raised his hand and froze Lie Rock just above the city and then he pierced the monster with Muatra.\n(The practice of piercing the Second Aperture is now forbidden.)\nWhen Nerevar returned, he saw the frozen comet above his lord's city. He asked whether or not Vivec wanted it removed.\n'I would have done so myself if I wanted, silly Hortator. I shall keep it there with its last intention intact, so that if the love of the people of this city for me ever disappear, so shall the power that holds back their destruction.'\nNerevar said, 'Love is under your will only.'\nVivec smiled and told the Hortator that he had become a Minister of Truth.\nThe ending of the words is ALMSIVI."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thirty-six-lessons-vivec-sermon-thirty-four": {"series": "36 Lessons of Vivec", "game": ["Morrowind", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thirty-six-lessons-vivec-sermon-thirty-four", "author": "Vivec", "title": "The Thirty-Six Lessons of Vivec: Sermon Thirty-Four", "description": "The complete series of 36 sermons. Very Michael Kirkbride - obscure and fascinating.", "text": "Then Vivec left the Ministry of Truth and went back to the space that was not a space. From the Provisional House he looked into the middle world to find the eighth and final and mightiest monster, called GULGA MOR JIL and more. The wise must look elsewhere for this string of power.\nVivec called to his side the Hortator and this was the first time that Nerevar had ever been to the Provisional House. He had the same vision that Vivec had so many years ago: that of the two-headed ruling king.\n'Who is that?' he wondered.\nVivec said, 'The red jewel of conquest.'\nNerevar, perhaps because he was frightened, became vexed at his lord's answer. 'Why are you always so evasive?'\nVivec told the Hortator that to be otherwise was to betray his nature.\nTogether they moved into the middle world, to a village near where Vivec had been found by Ayem and Seht. The eighth monster was there, but he did not act much like a monster. He sat with his legs in the ocean and with a troubled look on his face. When he saw his mother-father, he asked why he should have to die and return to oblivion.\nVivec told the eighth monster that to be otherwise was to betray his nature. Since this did not seem to satisfy the monster and Vivec still had a touch of Ayem's mercy he said:\n'The fire is mine: let it consume thee,\nAnd make a secret door\nAt the altar of Padhome,\nIn the House of Boet-hi-Ah\nWhere we become safe\nAnd looked after.'\nThe monster accepted Muatra with a peaceful look and his bones became the foundation for the City of the Dead, anon Narsis.\nNerevar put away his axe, which he had at the ready, and frowned.\n'Why,' he said, 'did you ask me to come if you knew the eighth monster would give in so easily?'\nVivec looked at the Hortator for a long time.\nNerevar understood. 'Do not betray your nature. Answer as you will.'\nVivec said, 'I brought you here because I knew the mightiest of my issue would succumb to Muatra without argument, if only I gave him consolation first.'\nNerevar looked at Vivec for a long time.\nVivec understood. 'Say the words, Hortator.'\nNerevar said, 'Now I am the mightiest of your children.'\nLet this sermon be consolation to those who read it that are destined to die.\nThe ending of the words is ALMSIVI."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thirty-six-lessons-vivec-sermon-thirty-five": {"series": "36 Lessons of Vivec", "game": ["Morrowind", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thirty-six-lessons-vivec-sermon-thirty-five", "author": "Vivec", "title": "The Thirty-Six Lessons of Vivec: Sermon Thirty-Five", "description": "The complete series of 36 sermons. Very Michael Kirkbride - obscure and fascinating.", "text": "The Scripture of Love:\n'The formulas of proper Velothi magic continue in ancient tradition, but that virility is dead, by which I mean at least replaced. Truth owes its medicinal nature to the establishment of the myth of justice. Its curative properties it likewise owes to the concept of sacrifice. Princes, chiefs, and angels all subscribe to the same notion. This is a view primarily based on a prolific abolition of an implied profanity, seen in ceremonies, knife fighting, hunting, and the exploration of the poetic. On the ritual of occasions, which comes to us from the days of the cave glow, I can say nothing more than to loosen your equation of moods to lunar currency. Later, and by that I mean much, much later, my reign will be seen as an act of the highest love, which is a return from the astral destiny and the marriages between. By that I mean the catastrophes, which will come from all five corners. Subsequent are the revisions, differentiated between hope and the distraught, situations that are only required by the periodic death of the immutable. Cosmic time is repeated: I wrote of this in an earlier life. An imitation of submersion is love's premonition, its folly into the underworld, by which I mean the day you will read about outside of yourself in an age of gold. For on that day, which is a shadow of the sacrificial concept, all history is obliged to see me for what you are: in love with evil. To keep one's powers intact at such a stage is to allow for the existence of what can only be called a continual spirit. Make of your love a defense against the horizon. Pure existence is only granted to the holy, which comes in a myriad of forms, half of them frightening and the other half divided into equal parts purposeless and assured. Late is the lover that comes to this by any other walking way than the fifth, which is the number of the limit of this world. The lover is the highest country and a series of beliefs. He is the sacred city bereft of a double. The uncultivated land of monsters is the rule. This is clearly attested by ANU and his double, which love knows never really happened. Similarly, all the other symbols of absolute reality are ancient ideas ready for their graves, or at least the essence of such. This scripture is directly ordered by the codes of Mephala, the origin of sex and murder, defeated only by those who take up those ideas without my intervention. The religious elite is not a tendency or a correlation. They are dogma complemented by the influence of the untrustworthy sea and the governance of the stars, dominated at the center by the sword, which is nothing without a victim to cleave unto. This is the love of God and he would show you more: predatory but at the same time instrumental to the will of critical harvest, a scenario by which one becomes as he is, of male and female, the magic hermaphrodite. Mark the norms of violence and it barely registers, suspended as it is by treaties written between the original spirits. This should be seen as an opportunity, and in no way tedious, though some will give up for it is easier to kiss the lover than become one. The lower regions crawl with these souls, caves of shallow treasures, meeting in places to testify by way of extension, when love is only satisfied by a considerable (incalculable) effort.'\nThe ending of the words is ALMSIVI."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thirty-six-lessons-vivec-sermon-thirty-six": {"series": "36 Lessons of Vivec", "game": ["Morrowind", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thirty-six-lessons-vivec-sermon-thirty-six", "author": "Vivec", "title": "The Thirty-Six Lessons of Vivec: Sermon Thirty-Six", "description": "The complete series of 36 sermons. Very Michael Kirkbride - obscure and fascinating.", "text": "For these were the days of Resdaynia, when Chimer and Dwemer lived under the wise and benevolent rule of the AMLSIVI and their champion the Hortator, though the Dwemer had become foolish and challenged their masters.\nOut of their fortresses they came with golden ballistae that walked and mighty atronachs and things that spat flame and things that made killing songs. Their king was Dumac Dwarf-Orc, but their high priest was Kagrenac the Blighter.\nGolden Ballista\nUnder mountains and over them the war with the Dwemer was raged, and then came the northern men to help Kagrenac and they brought Ysmir again.\nLeading the armies of the Chimer was the slave that would not perish, the Hortator Nerevar, who had traded his axe for the Ethos Knife. He slew Dumac at Red Mountain and saw the heart bone for the first time.\nMen of brass destroyed the eleven gates of the Mourning Hold and behind them came the Dwemeri architects of tone. Ayem threw down her cloak and became the Face-Snaked Queen of the Three in One. Those that looked upon her were overcome by the meanings of the stars.\nUnder the sea, Seht stirred and brought the army he had been working on in the castles of glass and coral. Clockwork dreughs, mockeries of the Dwemeri war machines, rose up from the seas and took their counterparts back beneath, where they were swallowed forever by the sea.\nRed Mountain exploded as the Hortator went too far inside, seeking the Sharmat.\nDwemeri high priest Kagrenac then revealed that which he had built in the image of Vivec. It was a walking star, which burnt the armies of the Triune and destroyed the heartland of Veloth, creating the Inner Sea.\nEach of the aspects of the ALMSIVI then rose up together, combining as one, and showed the world the sixth path. Ayem took from the star its fire, Seht took from it its mystery, and Vehk took from it its feet, which had been constructed before the gift of Molag Bal and destroyed in the manner of truth: by a great hammering. When the soul of the Dwemer could walk no more, they were removed from this world.\nResdaynia was no more. It had been redeemed of all the iniquities of the foolish. The ALMSIVI drew nets from the Beginning Place and captured the ash of Red Mountain, which they knew was the Blight of the Dwemer and that would serve only to infect the whole of the middle world, and ate it. ALTADOON DUNMERI!\nThe beginning of the words is ALMSIVI. I give you this as Vivec."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/brief-history-empire-part-one": {"series": "A Brief History of the Empire", "game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/brief-history-empire-part-one", "author": "Stronach k'Thojj III, Imperial Historian", "title": "A Brief History of the Empire, Part One", "description": "The classic book series that gives a quick summary of the Septim line throughout the 3rd Era. It differs slightly from the Daggerfall version.", "text": "Before the rule of Tiber Septim, all Tamriel was in chaos. The poet Tracizis called that period of continuous unrest \u201cdays and nights of blood and venom.\u201d The kings were a petty lot of grasping tyrants, who fought Tiber's attempts to bring order to the land. But they were as disorganized as they were dissolute, and the strong hand of Septim brought peace forcibly to Tamriel. The year was 2E 896. The following year, the Emperor declared the beginning of a new Era-thus began the Third Era, Year Aught.\nFor thirty-eight years, the Emperor Tiber reigned supreme. It was a lawful, pious, and glorious age, when justice was known to one and all, from serf to sovereign. On Tiber's death, it rained for an entire fortnight as if the land of Tamriel itself was weeping.\nThe Emperor's grandson, Pelagius, came to the throne. Though his reign was short, he was as strong and resolute as his father had been, and Tamriel could have enjoyed a continuation of the Golden Age. Alas, an unknown enemy of the Septim Family hired that accursed organization of cutthroats, the Dark Brotherhood, to kill the Emperor Pelagius I as he knelt at prayer at the Temple of the One in the Imperial City. Pelagius I's reign lasted less than three years.\nPelagius had no living children, so the Crown Imperial passed to his first cousin, the daughter of Tiber's brother Agnorith. Kintyra, former Queen of Silvenar, assumed the throne as Kintyra I. Her reign was blessed with prosperity and good harvests, and she herself was an avid patroness of art, music, and dance.\nKintyra's son was crowned after her death, the first Emperor of Tamriel to use the imperial name Uriel. Uriel I was the great lawmaker of the Septim Dynasty, and a promoter of independent organizations and guilds. Under his kind but firm hand, the Fighters Guild and the Mages Guild increased in prominence throughout Tamriel. His son and successor Uriel II reigned for eighteen years, from the death of Uriel I in 3E64 to Pelagius II's accession in 3E82. Tragically, the rule of Uriel II was cursed with blights, plagues, and insurrections. The tenderness he inherited from his father did not serve Tamriel well, and little justice was done.\nPelagius II inherited not only the throne from his father, but the debt from the latter's poor financial and judicial management. Pelagius dismissed all of the Elder Council, and allowed only those willing to pay great sums to resume their seats. He encouraged similar acts among his vassals, the kings of Tamriel, and by the end of his seventeen year reign, Tamriel had returned to prosperity. His critics, however, have suggested that any advisor possessed of wisdom but not of gold had been summarily ousted by Pelagius. This may have led to some of the troubles his son Antiochus faced when he in turn became Emperor.\nAntiochus was certainly one of the more flamboyant members of the usually austere Septim Family. He had numerous mistresses and nearly as many wives, and was renowned for the grandeur of his dress and his high good humor. Unfortunately, his reign was rife with civil war, surpassing even that of his grandfather Uriel II. The War of the Isle in 3E110, twelve years after Antiochus assumed the throne, nearly took the province of Summurset Isle away from Tamriel. The united alliance of the kings of Summurset and Antiochus only managed to defeat King Orghum of the island-kingdom of Pyandonea due to a freak storm. Legend credits the Psijic Order of the Isle of Artaeum with the sorcery behind the tempest.\nThe story of Kintyra II, heiress to her father Antiochus' throne, is certainly one of the saddest tales in imperial history. Her first cousin Uriel, son of Queen Potema of Solitude, accused Kintyra of being a bastard, alluding to the infamous decadence of the Imperial City during her father's reign. When this accusation failed to stop her coronation, Uriel bought the support of several disgruntled kings of High Rock, Skyrim, and Morrowind, and with Queen Potema's assistance, he coordinated three attacks on the Septim Empire.\nThe first attack occurred in the Iliac Bay region, which separates High Rock and Hammerfell. Kintyra's entourage was massacred and the Empress taken captive. For two years, Kintyra II languished in an Imperial prison believed to be somewhere in Glenpoint or Glenmoril before she was slain in her cell under mysterious circumstances. The second attack was on a series of Imperial garrisons along the coastal Morrowind islands. The Empress' consort Kontin Arynx fell defending the forts. The third and final attack was a siege of the Imperial City itself, occurring after the Elder Council had split up the army to attack western High Rock and eastern Morrowind. The weakened government had little defence against Uriel's determined aggression, and capitulated after only a fortnight of resistance. Uriel took the throne that same evening and proclaimed himself Uriel III, Emperor of Tamriel. The year was 3E 121. Thus began the War of the Red Diamond, described in Volume II of this series."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/brief-history-empire-part-two": {"series": "A Brief History of the Empire", "game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/brief-history-empire-part-two", "author": "Stronach k'Thojj III, Imperial Historian", "title": "A Brief History of the Empire, Part Two", "description": "The classic book series that gives a quick summary of the Septim line throughout the 3rd Era. It differs slightly from the Daggerfall version.", "text": "Volume I of this series described in brief the lives of the first eight Emperors of the Septim Dynasty, beginning with the glorious Tiber Septim and ending with his great, great, great, great, grandniece Kintyra II. Kintyra's murder in Glenpoint while in captivity is considered by some to be the end of the pure strain of Septim blood in the imperial family. Certainly it marks the end of something significant.\nUriel III not only proclaimed himself Emperor of Tamriel, but also Uriel Septim III, taking the eminent surname as a title. In truth, his surname was Mantiarco from his father's line. In time, Uriel III was deposed and his crimes reviled, but the tradition of taking the name Septim as a title for the Emperor of Tamriel did not die with him.\nFor six years, the War of the Red Diamond (which takes its name from the Septim Family's famous badge) tore the Empire apart. The combatants were the three surviving children of Pelagius II-Potema, Cephorus, and Magnus-and their various offspring. Potema, of course, supported her son Uriel III, and had the combined support of all of Skyrim and northern Morrowind. With the efforts of Cephorus and Magnus, however, the province of High Rock turned coat. The provinces of Hammerfell, Summurset Isle, Valenwood, Elsweyr, and Black Marsh were divided in their loyalty, but most kings supported Cephorus and Magnus.\nIn 3E127, Uriel III was captured at the Battle of Ichidag in Hammerfell. En route to his trial in the Imperial City, a mob overtook his prisoner's carriage and burned him alive within it. His captor and uncle continued on to the Imperial City, and by common acclaim was proclaimed Cephorus I, Emperor of Tamriel.\nCephorus' reign was marked by nothing but war. By all accounts, he was a kind and intelligent man, but what Tamriel needed was a great warrior -- and he, fortunately, was that. It took an additional ten years of constant warfare for him to defeat his sister Potema. The so-called Wolf Queen of Solitude who died in the siege of her city-state in the year 137. Cephorus survived his sister by only three years. He never had time during the war years to marry, so it was his brother, the fourth child of Pelagius II, who assumed the throne.\nThe Emperor Magnus was already elderly when he took up the imperial diadem, and the business of punishing the traitorous kings of the War of the Red Diamond drained much of his remaining strength. Legend accuses Magnus' son and heir Pelagius III of patricide, but that seems highly unlikely-for no other reason than that Pelagius was King of Solitude following the death of Potema, and seldom visited the Imperial City.\nPelagius III, sometimes called Pelagius the Mad, was proclaimed Emperor in the 145th year of the Third Era. Almost from the start, his eccentricities of behaviour were noted at court. He embarrassed dignitaries, offended his vassal kings, and on one occasion marked the end of an imperial grand ball by attempting to hang himself. His long-suffering wife was finally awarded the Regency of Tamriel, and Pelagius III was sent to a series of healing institutions and asylums until his death in 3E153 at the age of thirty-four.\nThe Empress Regent of Tamriel was proclaimed Empress Katariah I upon the death of her husband. Some who do not mark the end of the Septim bloodline with the death of Kintyra II consider the ascendancy of this Dark Elf woman the true mark of its decline. Her defenders, on the other hand, assert that though Katariah was not descended from Tiber, the son she had with Pelagius was, so the imperial chain did continue. Despite racist assertions to the contrary, Katariah's forty-six-year reign was one of the most celebrated in Tamriel's history. Uncomfortable in the Imperial City, Katariah travelled extensively throughout the Empire such as no Emperor ever had since Tiber's day. She repaired much of the damage that previous emperor's broken alliances and bungled diplomacy created. The people of Tamriel came to love their Empress far more than the nobility did. Katariah's death in a minor skirmish in Black Marsh is a favorite subject of conspiracy minded historians. The Sage Montalius' discovery, for instance, of a disenfranchised branch of the Septim Family and their involvement with the skirmish was a revelation indeed.\nWhen Cassynder assumed the throne upon the death of his mother, he was already middle-aged. Only half Elven, he aged like a Breton. In fact, he had left the rule of Wayrest to his half-brother Uriel due to poor health. Nevertheless, as the only true blood relation of Pelagius and thus Tiber, he was pressed into accepting the throne. To no one's surprise, the Emperor Cassynder's reign did not last long. In two years he joined his predecessors in eternal slumber.\nUriel Lariat, Cassynder's half-brother, and the child of Katariah I and her Imperial consort Gallivere Lariat (after the death of Pelagius III), left the kingdom of Wayrest to reign as Uriel IV. Legally, Uriel IV was a Septim: Cassynder had adopted him into the royal family when he had become King of Wayrest. Nevertheless, to the Council and the people of Tamriel, he was a bastard child of Katariah. Uriel did not possess the dynamism of his mother, and his long forty-three-year reign was a hotbed of sedition.\nUriel IV's story is told in the third volume of this series."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/morrowind-brief-history-empire-part-three": {"series": "A Brief History of the Empire", "game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/morrowind-brief-history-empire-part-three", "author": "Stronach k'Thojj III, Imperial Historian", "title": "A Brief History of the Empire, Part Three", "description": "The classic book series that gives a quick summary of the Septim line throughout the 3rd Era. It differs slightly from the Daggerfall version.", "text": "The first volume of this series told in brief the story of the succession of the first eight Emperors of the Septim Dynasty, from Tiber I to Kintyra II. The second volume described the War of the Red Diamond and the six Emperors that followed its aftermath, from Uriel III to Cassynder I. At the end of that volume, it was described how the Emperor Cassynder's half-brother Uriel IV assumed the throne of the Empire of Tamriel.\nIt will be recalled that Uriel IV was not a Septim by birth. His mother, though she reigned as Empress for many years, was a Dark Elf married to a true Septim Emperor, Pelagius III. Uriel's father was actually Katariah I's consort after Pelagius' death, a Breton nobleman named Gallivere Lariat. Before taking the throne of Empire, Cassynder I had ruled the kingdom of Wayrest, but poor health had forced him to retire. Cassynder had no children, so he legally adopted his half-brother Uriel and abdicated the kingdom. Seven years later, Cassynder inherited the Empire at the death of his mother. Three years after that, Uriel once again found himself the recipient of Cassynder's inheritance.\nUriel IV's reign was a long and difficult one. Despite being a legally adopted member of the Septim Family, and despite the Lariat Family's high position -- indeed, they were distant cousins of the Septims -- few of the Elder Council could be persuaded to accept him fully as a blood descendant of Tiber. The Council had assumed much responsibility during Katariah I's long reign and Cassynder I's short one, and a strong-willed \u201calien\u201d monarch like Uriel IV found it impossible to command their unswerving fealty. Time and again the Council and Emperor were at odds, and time and again the Council won the battles. Since the days of Pelagius II, the Elder Council had consisted of the wealthiest men and women in the Empire, and the power they wielded was conclusive.\nThe Council's last victory over Uriel IV was posthumous. Andorak, Uriel IV's son, was disinherited by vote of Council, and a cousin more closely related to the original Septim line was proclaimed Cephorus II in 3E268. For the first nine years of Cephorus II's reign, those loyal to Andorak battled the Imperial forces. In an act that the Sage Eraintine called \u201cTiber Septim's heart beating no more,\u201d the Council granted Andorak the High Rock kingdom of Shornhelm to end the war, and Andorak's descendants still rule there.\nBy and large, Cephorus II had foes that demanded more of his attention than Andorak. \u201cFrom out of a cimmerian nightmare,\u201d in the words of Eraintine, a man who called himself the Camoran Usurper led an army of Daedra and undead warriors on a rampage through Valenwood, conquering kingdom after kingdom. Few could resist his onslaughts, and as month turned to bloody month in the year 3E249, even fewer tried. Cephorus II sent more and more mercenaries into Hammerfell to stop the Usurper's northward march, but they were bribed or slaughtered and raised as undead.\nThe story of the Camoran Usurper deserves a book of its own. (It is recommended that the reader find Palaux Illthre's The Fall of the Usurper for more detail.) In short, however, the destruction of the forces of the Usurper had little do with the efforts of the Emperor. The result was a great regional victory and an increase in hostility toward the seemingly inefficacious Empire.\nUriel V, Cephorus II's son and successor, swivelled opinion back toward the latent power of the Empire. Turning the attention of Tamriel away from internal strife, Uriel V embarked on a series of invasions beginning almost from the moment he took the throne in 3E268. Uriel V conquered Roscrea in 271, Cathnoquey in 276, Yneslea in 279, and Esroniet in 284. In 3E288, he embarked on his most ambitious enterprise, the invasion of the continent kingdom of Akavir. This ultimately proved a failure, for two years later Uriel V was killed in Akavir on the battlefield of Ionith. Nevertheless, Uriel V holds a reputation second only to Tiber as one of the two great Warrior Emperors of Tamriel.\nThe last four Emperors, beginning with Uriel V's infant son, are described in the fourth and final volume of this series."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/brief-history-empire-part-four": {"series": "A Brief History of the Empire", "game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/brief-history-empire-part-four", "author": "Stronach k'Thojj III, Imperial Historian", "title": "A Brief History of the Empire, Part Four", "description": "The classic book series that gives a quick summary of the Septim line throughout the 3rd Era. It differs slightly from the Daggerfall version.", "text": "The first book of this series described, in brief, the first eight Emperors of the Septim Dynasty beginning with Tiber I. The second volume described the War of the Red Diamond and the six Emperors who followed. The third volume described the troubles of the next three Emperors-the frustrated Uriel IV, the ineffectual Cephorus II, and the heroic Uriel V.\nOn Uriel V's death across the sea in distant, hostile Akavir, Uriel VI was but five years old. In fact, Uriel VI was born only shortly before his father left for Akavir. Uriel V's only other progeny, by a morganatic alliance, were the twins Morihatha and Eloisa, who had been born a month after Uriel V left. Uriel VI was crowned in the 290th year of the Third Era. The Imperial Consort Thonica, as the boy's mother, was given a restricted Regency until Uriel VI reached his majority. The Elder Council retained the real power, as they had ever since the days of Katariah I.\nThe Council so enjoyed its unlimited and unrestricted freedom to promulgate laws (and generate profits) that Uriel VI was not given full license to rule until 307, when he was already 22 years old. He had been slowly assuming positions of responsibility for years, but both the Council and his mother, who enjoyed even her limited Regency, were loath to hand over the reins. By the time he came to the throne, the mechanisms of government gave him little power except for that of the imperial veto.\nThis power, however, he regularly and vigorously exercised. By 313, Uriel VI could boast with conviction that he truly did rule Tamriel. He utilized defunct spy networks and guard units to bully and coerce the difficult members of the Elder Council. His half-sister Morihatha was (not surprisingly) his staunchest ally, especially after her marriage to Baron Ulfe Gersen of Winterhold brought her considerable wealth and influence. As the Sage Ugaridge said, \u201cUriel V conquered Esroniet, but Uriel VI conquered the Elder Council.\u201d\nWhen Uriel VI fell off a horse and could not be resuscitated by the finest Imperial healers, his beloved sister Morihatha took up the imperial tiara. At 25 years of age, she had been described by (admittedly self-serving) diplomats as the most beautiful creature in all of Tamriel. She was certainly well-learned, vivacious, athletic, and a well-practised politician. She brought the Archmagister of Skyrim to the Imperial City and created the second Imperial Battlemage since the days of Tiber Septim.\nMorihatha finished the job her brother had begun, and made the Imperial Province a true government under the Empress (and later, the Emperor). Outside the Imperial Province, however, the Empire had been slowly disintegrating. Open revolutions and civil wars had raged unchallenged since the days of her grandfather Cephorus II. Carefully coordinating her counterattacks, Morihatha slowly claimed back her rebellious vassals, always avoiding overextending herself.\nThough Morihatha's military campaigns were remarkably successful, her deliberate pace often frustrated the Council. One Councilman, an Argonian who took the Colovian name of Thoricles Romus, furious at her refusal to send troops to his troubled Black Marsh, is commonly believed to have hired the assassins who claimed her life in 3E 339. Romus was summarily tried and executed, though he protested his innocence to the last.\nMorihatha had no surviving children, and Eloisa had died of a fever four years before. Eloisa's 25-year-old son Pelagius was thus crowned Pelagius IV. Pelagius IV continued his aunt's work, slowly bringing back under his wing the radical and refractory kingdoms, duchies, and baronies of the Empire. He exercised Morihatha's poise and circumspect pace in his endeavours-but alas, he did not attain her success. The kingdoms had been free of constraint for so long that even a benign Imperial presence was considered odious. Nevertheless, when Pelagius died after an astonishing forty-nine-year reign, Tamriel was closer to unity than it had been since the days of Uriel I.\nOur current Emperor, His Awesome and Terrible Majesty, Uriel Septim VII, son of Pelagius IV, has the diligence of his great-aunt Morihatha, the political skill of his great-uncle Uriel VI, and the military prowess of his great grand-uncle Uriel V. For twenty-one years he reigned and brought justice and order to Tamriel. In the year 3E389, however, his Imperial Battlemage, Jagar Tharn, betrayed him.\nUriel VII was imprisoned in a dimension of Tharn's creation, and Tharn used his sorcery of illusion to assume the Emperor's aspect. For the next ten years, Tharn abused imperial privilege but did not continue Uriel VII's schedule of reconquest. It is not yet entirely known what Tharn's goals and personal accomplishments were during the ten years he masqueraded as his liege lord. In 3E399, an enigmatic Champion defeated the Battlemage in the dungeons of the Imperial Palace and freed Uriel VII from his other-dimensional jail.\nSince his emancipation, Uriel Septim VII has worked diligently to renew the battles that would reunite Tamriel. Tharn's interference broke the momentum, it is true -- but the years since then have proven that there is hope of the Golden Age of Tiber Septim's rule glorifying Tamriel once again."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dance-fire-v1": {"series": "A Dance in Fire", "game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dance-fire-v1", "author": "Waughin Jarth", "title": "A Dance in Fire, v1", "description": "This series of books retells Decumus Scotti's adventures in Valenwood during the 5 years war between it and Elsweyr.", "text": "A Dance in Fire\nChapter 1\nby\nWaughin Jarth\nScene: The Imperial City, Cyrodiil\nDate: 7 Frost Fall, 3E 397\nIt seemed as if the palace had always housed the Atrius Building Commission, the company of clerks and estate agents who authored and notarized nearly every construction of any note in the Empire.  It had stood for two hundred and fifty years, since the reign of the Emperor Magnus, a plain-fronted and austere hall on a minor but respectable plaza in the Imperial City.  Energetic and ambitious middle-class lads and ladies worked there, as well as complacent middle-aged ones like Decumus Scotti.  No one could imagine a world without the Commission, least of all Scotti.  To be accurate, he could not imagine a world without himself in the Commission.\n\"Lord Atrius is perfectly aware of your contributions,\" said the managing clerk, closing the shutter that demarcated Scotti's office behind him. \"But you know that things have been difficult.\"\n\"Yes,\" said Scotti, stiffly.\n\"Lord Vanech's men have been giving us a lot of competition lately, and we must be more efficient if we are to survive.  Unfortunately, that means releasing some of our historically best but presently underachieving senior clerks.\"\n\"I understand.  Can't be helped.\"\n\"I'm glad that you understand,\" smiled the managing clerk, smiling thinly and withdrawing. \"Please have your room cleared immediately.\"\nScotti began the task of organizing all his work to pass on to his successor.  It would probably be young Imbrallius who would take most of it on, which was as it should be, he considered philosophically.  The lad knew how to find business.  Scotti wondered idly what the fellow would do with the contracts for the new statue of St Alessia for which the Temple of the One had applied.  Probably invent a clerical error, blame it on his old predecessor Decumus Scotti, and require an additional cost to rectify.\n\"I have correspondence for Decumus Scotti of the Atrius Building Commission.\"\nScotti looked up.  A fat-faced courier had entered his office and was thrusting forth a sealed scroll.  He handed the boy a gold piece, and opened it up.  By the poor penmanship, atrocious spelling and grammar, and overall unprofessional tone, it was manifestly evident who the writer was.  Liodes Jurus, a fellow clerk some years before, who had left the Commission after being accused of unethical business practices.\n\n\"Dear Sckotti,\nI emagine you alway wondered what happened to me, and the last plase you would have expected to find me is out in the woods.  But thats exactly where I am.  Ha ha.  If your'e smart and want to make lot of extra gold for Lord Atrius (and yourself, ha ha), youll come down to Vallinwood too.  If you have'nt or have been following the politics hear lately, you may or may not know that ther's bin a war between the Boshmer and there neighbors Elswere over the past two years.  Things have only just calm down, and ther's a lot that needs to be rebuilt.\nNow Ive got more business than I can handel, but I need somone with some clout, someone representing a respected agencie to get the quill in the ink.  That somone is you, my fiend.  Come & meat me at the M'ther Paskos Tavern in Falinnesti, Vallinwood.  Ill be here 2 weeks and you wont be sorrie.\n-- Jurus\nP.S.: Bring a wagenload of timber if you can.\"\n\n\"What do you have there, Scotti?\" asked a voice.\nScotti started.  It was Imbrallius, his damnably handsome face peeking through the shutters, smiling in that way that melted the hearts of the stingiest of patrons and the roughest of stonemasons.  Scotti shoved the letter in his jacket pocket.\n\"Personal correspondence,\" he sniffed. \"I'll be cleared up here in a just a moment.\"\n\"I don't want to hurry you,\" said Imbrallius, grabbing a few sheets of blank contracts from Scotti's desk. \"I've just gone through a stack, and the junior scribes hands are all cramping up, so I thought you wouldn't miss a few.\"\nThe lad vanished.  Scotti retrieved the letter and read it again.  He thought about his life, something he rarely did.  It seemed a sea of gray with a black insurmountable wall looming.  There was only one narrow passage he could see in that wall.  Quickly, before he had a moment to reconsider it, he grabbed a dozen of the blank contracts with the shimmering gold leaf ATRIUS BUILDING COMMISSION BY APPOINTMENT OF HIS IMPERIAL MAJESTY and hid them in the satchel with his personal effects.\nThe next day he began his adventure with a giddy lack of hesitation.   He arranged for a seat in a caravan bound for Valenwood, the single escorted conveyance to the southeast leaving the Imperial City that week.  He had scarcely hours to pack, but he remembered to purchase a wagonload of timber.\n\"It will be extra gold to pay for a horse to pull that,\" frowned the convoy head.\n\"So I anticipated,\" smiled Scotti with his best Imbrallius grin.\nTen wagons in all set off that afternoon through the familiar Cyrodilic countryside.  Past fields of wildflowers, gently rolling woodlands, friendly hamlets.  The clop of the horses' hooves against the sound stone road reminded Scotti that the Atrius Building Commission constructed it.  Five of the eighteen necessary contracts for its completion were drafted by his own hand.\n\"Very smart of you to bring that wood along,\" said a gray-whiskered Breton man next to him on his wagon. \"You must be in Commerce.\"\n\"Of a sort,\" said Scotti, in a way he hoped was mysterious, before introducing himself: \"Decumus Scotti.\"\n\"Gryf Mallon,\" said the man.  \"I'm a poet, actually a translator of old Bosmer literature.  I was researching some newly discovered tracts of the Mnoriad Pley Bar two years ago when the war broke out and I had to leave.  You are no doubt familiar with the Mnoriad, if you're aware of the Green Pact.\"\nScotti thought the man might be speaking perfect gibberish, but he nodded his head.\n\"Naturally, I don't pretend that the Mnoriad is as renowned as the Meh Ayleidion, or as ancient as the Dansir Gol, but I think it has a remarkable significance to understanding the nature of the merelithic Bosmer mind.  The origin of the Wood Elf aversion to cutting their own wood or eating any plant material at all, yet paradoxically their willingness to import plantstuff from other cultures, I feel can be linked to a passage in the Mnoriad,\" Mallon shuffled through some of his papers, searching for the appropriate text.\nTo Scotti's vast relief, the carriage soon stopped to camp for the night.  They were high on a bluff over a gray stream, and before them was the great valley of Valenwood.  Only the cry of seabirds declared the presence of the ocean to the bay to the west: here the timber was so tall and wide, twisting around itself like an impossible knot begun eons ago, to be impenetrable.  A few more modest trees, only fifty feet to the lowest branches, stood on the cliff at the edge of camp.   The sight was so alien to Scotti and he found himself so anxious about the proposition of entering the wilderness that he could not imagine sleeping.\nFortunately, Mallon had supposed he had found another academic with a passion for the riddles of ancient cultures.  Long into the night, he recited Bosmer verse in the original and in his own translation, sobbing and bellowing and whispering wherever appropriate.  Gradually, Scotti began to feel drowsy, but a sudden crack of wood snapping made him sit straight up.\n\"What was that?\"\nMallon smiled: \"I like it too. 'Convocation in the malignity of the moonless speculum, a dance of fire --'\"\n\"There are some enormous birds up in the trees moving around,\" whispered Scotti, pointing in the direction of the dark shapes above.\n\"I wouldn't worry about that,\" said Mallon, irritated with his audience. \"Now listen to how the poet characterizes Herma-Mora's invocation in the eighteenth stanza of the fourth book.\"\nThe dark shapes in the trees were some of them perched like birds, others slithered like snakes, and still others stood up straight like men.  As Mallon recited his verse, Scotti watched the figures softly leap from branch to branch, half-gliding across impossible distances for anything without wings.  They gathered in groups and then reorganized until they had spread to every tree around the camp.  Suddenly they plummeted from the heights.\n\"Mara!\" cried Scotti. \"They're falling like rain!\"\n\"Probably seed pods,\" Mallon shrugged, not turning around. \"Some of the trees have remarkable --\"\nThe camp erupted into chaos.  Fires burst out in the wagons, the horses wailed from mortal blows, casks of wine, fresh water, and liquor gushed their contents to the ground.  A nimble shadow dashed past Scotti and Mallon, gathering sacks of grain and gold with impossible agility and grace.  Scotti had only one glance at it, lit up by a sudden nearby burst of flame.  It was a sleek creature with pointed ears, wide yellow eyes, mottled pied fur and a tail like a whip.\n\"Werewolf,\" he whimpered, shrinking back.\n\"Cathay-raht,\" groaned Mallon. \"Much worse.  Khajiti cousins or some such thing, come to plunder.\"\n\"Are you sure?\"\nAs quickly as they struck, the creatures retreated, diving off the bluff before the battlemage and knight, the caravan's escorts, had fully opened their eyes.  Mallon and Scotti ran to the precipice and saw a hundred feet below the tiny figures dash out of the water, shake themselves, and disappear into the wood.\n\"Werewolves aren't acrobats like that,\" said Mallon. \"They were definitely Cathay-raht.  Bastard thieves.  Thank Stendarr they didn't realize the value of my notebooks.  It wasn't a complete loss.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dance-fire-v2": {"series": "A Dance in Fire", "game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dance-fire-v2", "author": "Waughin Jarth", "title": "A Dance in Fire, v2", "description": "This series of books retells Decumus Scotti's adventures in Valenwood during the 5 years war between it and Elsweyr.", "text": "A Dance in Fire\nChapter 2\n\nby\nWaughin Jarth\n\nIt was a complete loss. The Cathay-Raht had stolen or destroyed almost every item of value in the caravan in just a few minutes' time. Decumus Scotti's wagonload of wood he had hoped to trade with the Bosmer had been set on fire and then toppled off the bluff.  His clothing and contracts were tattered and ground into the mud of dirt mixed with spilt wine. All the pilgrims, merchants, and adventurers in the group moaned and wept as they gathered the remnants of their belongings by the rising sun of the dawn.\n\"I best not tell anyone that I managed to hold onto my notes for my translation of the Mnoriad Pley Bar,\" whispered the poet Gryf Mallon.\"They'd probably turn on me.\"\nScotti politely declined the opportunity of telling Mallon just how little value he himself placed on the man's property. Instead, he counted the coins in his purse.  Thirty-four gold pieces. Very little indeed for an entrepreneur beginning a new business.\n\"Hoy!\" came a cry from the wood. A small party of Bosmer emerged from the thicket, clad in leather mail and bearing arms. \"Friend or foe?\"\n\"Neither,\" growled the convoy head.\n\"You must be the Cyrodiils,\" laughed the leader of the group, a tall skeleton-thin youth with a sharp vulpine face. \"We heard you were en route. Evidently, so did our enemies.\"\n\"I thought the war was over,\" muttered one of the caravan's now ruined merchants.\nThe Bosmer laughed again: \"No act of war. Just a little border enterprise. You are going on to Falinesti?\"\n\"I'm not,\" the convoy head shook his head. \"As far as I'm concerned, my duty is done. No more horses, no more caravan. Just a fat profit loss to me.\"\nThe men and women crowded around the man, protesting, threatening, begging, but he refused to step foot in Valenwood. If these were the new times of peace, he said, he'd rather come back for the next war.\nScotti tried a different route and approached the Bosmer. He spoke with an authoritative but friendly voice, the kind he used in negotiations with peevish carpenters: \"I don't suppose you'd consider escorting me to Falinesti. I'm a representative for an important Imperial agency, the Atrius Building Commission, here to help repair and alleviate some of the problems the war with the Khajiit brought to your province.  Patriotism --\"\n\"Twenty gold pieces, and you must carry your own gear if you have any left,\" replied the Bosmer.\nScotti reflected that negotiations with peevish carpenters rarely went his way either.\nSix eager people had enough gold on them for payment. Among those without funds was the poet, who appealed to Scotti for assistance.\n\"I'm sorry, Gryf, I only have fourteen gold left over. Not even enough for a decent room when I get to Falinesti. I really would help you if I could,\" said Scotti, persuading himself that it was true.\nThe band of six and their Bosmer escorts began the descent down a rocky path along the bluff. Within an hour's time, they were deep in the jungles of Valenwood.  A never-ending canopy of hues of browns and greens obscured the sky. A millennia's worth of fallen leaves formed a deep, wormy sea of putrefaction beneath their feet. Several miles were crossed wading through the slime.  For several more, they took a labyrinthian path across fallen branches and the low-hanging boughs of giant trees.\nAll the while, hour after hour, the inexhaustible Bosmer host moved so fast, the Cyrodiils struggled to keep from being left behind. A red-faced little merchant with short legs took a bad step on a rotten branch and nearly fell. His fellow provincials had to help him up. The Bosmer paused only a moment, their eyes continually darting to the shadows in the trees above before moving on at their usual expeditious pace.\n\"What are they so nervous about?\" wheezed the merchant irritably. \"More Cathay-Raht?\"\n\"Don't be ridiculous,\" laughed the Bosmer unconvincingly. \"Khajiit this far into Valenwood? In times of peace? They'd never dare.\"\nWhen the group passed high enough above the swamp that the smell was somewhat dissipated, Scotti felt a sudden pang of hunger. He was used to four meals a day in the Cyrodilic custom. Hours of nonstop exertion without food was not part of his regimen as a comfortably paid clerk. He pondered, feeling somewhat delirious, how long they had been trotting through the jungle. Twelve hours?  Twenty? A week? Time was meaningless. Sunlight was only sporadic through the vegetative ceiling. Phosphorescent molds on the trees and in the muck below provided the only regular illumination.\n\"Is it at all possible for us to rest and eat?\" he hollered to his host up ahead.\n\"We're near to Falinesti,\" came the echoing reply. \"Lots of food there.\"\nThe path continued upward for several hours more across a clot of fallen logs, rising up to the first and then the second boughs of the tree line. As they rounded a long corner, the travelers found themselves midway up a waterfall that fell a hundred feet or more. No one had the energy to complain as they began pulling up the stacks of rock, agonizing foot by foot. The Bosmer escorts disappeared into the mist, but Scotti kept climbing until there was no more rock left. He wiped the sweat and river water from his eyes.\nFalinesti spread across the horizon before him. Sprawling across both banks of the river stood the mighty graht-oak city, with groves and orchards of lesser trees crowding it like supplicants before their king. At a lesser scale, the tree that formed the moving city would have been extraordinary: gnarled and twisted with a gorgeous crown of gold and green, dripping with vines and shining with sap. At a mile tall and half as wide, it was the most magnificent thing Scotti had ever seen. If he had not been a starving man with the soul of a clerk, he would have sung.\n\"There you are,\" said the leader of the escorts. \"Not too far a walk. You should be glad it's wintertide. In summertide, the city's on the far south end of the province.\"\nScotti was lost as to how to proceed. The sight of the vertical metropolis where people moved about like ants disoriented all his sensibilities.\n\"You wouldn't know of an inn called,\" he paused for a moment, and then pulled Jurus's letter from his pocket. \"Something like 'Mother Paskos Tavern'?\"\n\"Mother Pascost?\" the lead Bosmer laughed his familiar contemptuous laugh. \"You won't want to stay there? Visitors always prefer the Aysia Hall in the top boughs.  It's expensive, but very nice.\"\n\"I'm meeting someone at Mother Pascost's Tavern.\"\n\"If you've made up your mind to go, take a lift to Havel Slump and ask for directions there. Just don't get lost and fall asleep in the western cross.\"\nThis apparently struck the youth's friends as a very witty jest, and so it was with their laughter echoing behind him that Scotti crossed the writhing root system to the base of Falinesti. The ground was littered with leaves and refuse, and from moment to moment a glass or a bone would plummet from far above, so he walked with his neck crooked to have warning. An intricate network of platforms anchored to thick vines slipped up and down the slick trunk of the city with perfect grace, manned by operators with arms as thick as an ox's belly. Scotti approaches the nearest fellow at one of the platforms, who was idly smoking from a glass pipe.\n\"I was wondering if you might take me to Havel Slump.\"\nThe mer nodded and within a few minutes time, Scotti was two hundred feet in the air at a crook between two mighty branches. Curled webs of moss stretched unevenly across the fork, forming a sharing roof for several dozen small buildings.  There were only a few souls in the alley, but around the bend ahead, he could hear the sound of music and people. Scotti tipped the Falinesti Platform Ferryman a gold piece and asked for the location of Mother Pascost's Tavern.\n\"Straight ahead of you, sir, but you won't find anyone there,\" the Ferryman explained, pointing in the direction of the noise. \"Morndas everyone in Havel Slump has revelry.\"\nScotti walked carefully along the narrow street. Though the ground felt as solid as the marble avenues of the Imperial City, there were slick cracks in the bark that exposed fatal drops into the river. He took a moment to sit down, to rest and get used to the view from the heights. It was a beautiful day for certain, but it took Scotti only a few minutes of contemplation to rise up in alarm. A jolly little raft anchored down stream below him had distinctly moved several inches while he watched it.  But it hadn't moved at all. He had. Together with everything around him. It was no metaphor: the city of Falinesti walked. And, considering its size, it moved quickly.\nScotti rose to his feet and into a cloud of smoke that drifted out from around the bend. It was the most delicious roast he had ever smelled. The clerk forgot his fear and ran.\nThe \"revelry\" as the Ferryman had termed it took place on an enormous platform tied to the tree, wide enough to be a plaza in any other city. A fantastic assortment of the most amazing people Scotti had ever seen were jammed shoulder-to-shoulder together, many eating, many more drinking, and some dancing to a lutist and singer perched on an offshoot above the crowd.  They were largely Bosmer, true natives clad in colorful leather and bones, with a close minority of orcs.  Whirling through the throng, dancing and bellowing at one another were a hideous ape people. A few heads bobbing over the tops of the crowd belonged not, as Scotti first assumed, to very tall people, but to a family of centaurs.\n\"Care for some mutton?\" queried a wizened old mer who roasted an enormous beast on some red-hot rocks.\nScotti quickly paid him a gold piece and devoured the leg he was given.  And then another gold piece and another leg. The fellow chuckled when Scotti began choking on a piece of gristle, and handed him a mug of a frothing white drink. He drank it and felt a quiver run through his body as if he were being tickled.\n\"What is that?\" Scotti asked.\n\"Jagga. Fermented pig's milk. I can let you have a flagon of it and a bit more mutton for another gold.\"\nScotti agreed, paid, gobbled down the meat, and took the flagon with him as he slipped into the crowd.  His co-worker Liodes Jurus, the man who had told him to come to Valenwood, was nowhere to be seen. When the flagon was a quarter empty, Scotti stopped looking for Jurus.  When it was half empty, he was dancing with the group, oblivious to the broken planks and gaps in the fencework.  At three quarters empty, he was trading jokes with a group of creatures whose language was completely alien to him. By the time the flagon was completely drained, he was asleep, snoring, while the revelry continued on all around his supine body.\nThe next morning, still asleep, Scotti had the sensation of someone kissing him.  He made a face to return the favor, but a pain like fire spread through his chest and forced him to open his eyes. There was an insect the size of a large calf sitting on him, crushing him, its spiky legs holding him down while a central spiral-bladed vortex of a mouth tore through his shirt. He screamed and thrashed but the beast was too strong. It had found its meal and it was going to finish it.\nIt's over, thought Scotti wildly, I should have never left home. I could have stayed in the City, and perhaps found work with Lord Vanech. I could have begun again as a junior clerk and worked my way back up.\nSuddenly the mouth released itself. The creature shivered once, expelled a burst of yellow bile, and died.\n\"Got one!\" cried a voice, not too distantly.\nFor a moment, Scotti lay still. His head throbbed and his chest burned. Out of the corner of his eye he saw movement. Another of the horrible monsters was scurried towards him. He scrambled, trying to push himself free, but before he could come out, there was a sound of a bow cracking and an arrow pierced the second insect.\n\"Good shot!\" cried another voice. \"Get the first one again! I just saw it move a little!\"\nThis time, Scotti felt the impact of the bolt hit the carcass. He cried out, but he could hear how muffled his voice was by the beetle's body. Cautiously, he tried sliding a foot out and rolling under, but the movement apparently had the effect of convincing the archers that the creature still lived. A volley of arrows was launched forth. Now the beast was sufficiently perforated so pools of its blood, and likely the blood of its victims, began to seep out onto Scotti's body.\nWhen Scotti was a lad, before he grew too sophisticated for such sports, he had often gone to the Imperial Arena for the competitions of war. He recalled a great veteran of the fights, when asked, telling him his secret, \"Whenever I'm in doubt of what to do, and I have a shield, I stay behind it.\"\nScotti followed that advice. After an hour, when he no longer heard arrows being fired, he threw aside the remains of the bug and leapt as quickly as he could to a stand. It was not a moment too soon. A gang of eight archers had their bows pointing his direction, ready to fire. When they saw him, they laughed.\n\"Didn't anyone ever tell you not to sleep in the western cross? How're we going to exterminate all the hoarvors if you drunks keep feeding 'em?\"\nScotti shook his head and walked back along the platform, round the bend, to Havel Slump. He was bloodied and torn and tired and he had far too much fermented pig's milk. All he wanted was a proper place to lie down. He stepped into Mother Pascost's Tavern, a dank place, wet with sap, smelling of mildew.\n\"My name is Decumus Scotti,\" he said. \"I was hoping you have someone named Jurus staying here.\"\n\"Decumus Scotti?\" pondered the fleshy proprietress, Mother Pascost herself. \"I've heard that name. Oh, you must be the fellow he left the note for. Let me go see if I can find it.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dance-fire-v3": {"series": "A Dance in Fire", "game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dance-fire-v3", "author": "Waughin Jarth", "title": "A Dance in Fire, v3", "description": "This series of books retells Decumus Scotti's adventures in Valenwood during the 5 years war between it and Elsweyr.", "text": "A Dance in Fire\nChapter 3\nby\nWaughin Jarth\nMother Pascost disappeared into the sordid hole that was her tavern, and emerged a moment later with a scrap of paper with Liodes Jurus's familiar scrawl.  Decumus Scotti held it up before a patch of sunlight that had found its way through the massive boughs of the tree city, and read.\n\nSckotti,\nSo you made it to Falinnesti, Vallinwood!  Congradulatens!  Im sure you had quit a adventure getting here.  Unfortonitly,  Im not here anymore as you probaby guess.  Theres a town down rivver called Athie Im at.  Git a bote and join me!  Its ideal!  I hope you brot a lot of contracks, cause these peple need a lot of building done.  They wer close to the war, you see, but not so close they dont have any mony left to pay.  Ha ha.  Meat me down here as son as you can.\nJurus\n\nSo, Scotti pondered, Jurus had left Falinesti and gone to some place called Athie.  Given his poor penmanship and ghastly spelling, it could equally well be Athy, Aphy, Othry, Imthri, Urtha, or Krakamaka.  The sensible thing to do, Scotti knew, was to call this adventure over and try to find some way to get back home to the Imperial City.  He was no mercenary devoted to a life of thrills: he was, or at least had been, a senior clerk at a successful private building commission.  Over the last few weeks, he had been robbed by the Cathay-Raht, taken on a death march through the jungle by a gang of giggling Bosmeri, half-starved to death, drugged with fermented pig's milk, nearly slain by some kind of giant tick, and attacked by archers.  He was filthy, exhausted, and had, he counted, ten gold pieces to his name.  Now the man whose proposal brought him to the depths of misery was not even there.  It was both judicious and seemly to abandon the enterprise entirely.\nAnd yet, a small but distinct voice in his head told him: You have been chosen.  You have no other choice but to see this through.\nScotti turned to the stout old woman, Mother Pascost, who had been watching him curiously: \"I was wondering if you knew of a village that was at the edge of the recent conflict with Elsweyr.  It's called something like Ath-ie?\"\n\"You must mean Athay,\" she grinned. \"My middle lad, Viglil, he manages a dairy down there.  Beautiful country, right on the river.  Is that where your friend went?\"\n\"Yes,\" said Scotti. \"Do you know the fastest way to get there?\"\nAfter a short conversation, an even shorter ride to Falinesti's roots by way of the platforms, and a jog to the river bank, Scotti was negotiating transport with a huge fair-haired Bosmer with a face like a pickled carp.  He called himself Captain Balfix, but even Scotti with his sheltered life could recognize him for what he was.  A retired pirate for hire, a smuggler for certain, and probably much worse.  His ship, which had clearly been stolen in the distant past, was a bent old Imperial sloop.\n\"Fifty gold and we'll be in Athay in two days time,\" boomed Captain Balfix expansively.\n\"I have ten, no, sorry, nine gold pieces,\" replied Scotti, and feeling the need for explanation, added, \"I had ten, but I gave one to the Platform Ferryman to get me down here.\"\n\"Nine is just as fine,\" said the captain agreeably. \"Truth be told, I was going to Athay whether you paid me or not.  Make yourself comfortable on the boat, we'll be leaving in just a few minutes.\"\nDecumus Scotti boarded the vessel, which sat low in the water of the river, stacked high with crates and sacks that spilled out of the hold and galley and onto the deck.  Each was marked with stamps advertising the most innocuous substances: copper scraps, lard, ink, High Rock meal (marked \"For Cattle\"), tar, fish jelly.  Scotti's imagination reeled picturing what sorts of illicit imports were truly aboard.\nIt took more than those few minutes for Captain Balfix to haul in the rest of his cargo, but in an hour, the anchor was up and they were sailing downriver towards Athay.  The green gray water barely rippled, only touched by the fingers of the breeze.  Lush plant life crowded the banks, obscuring from sight all the animals that sang and roared at one another.  Lulled by the serene surroundings, Scotti drifted to sleep.\nAt night, he awoke and gratefully accepted some clean clothes and food from Captain Balfix.\n\"Why are you going to Athay, if I may ask?\" queried the Bosmer.\n\"I'm meeting a former colleague there.  He asked me to come down from the Imperial City where I worked for the Atrius Building Commission to negotiate some contracts,\" Scotti took another bite of the dried sausages they were sharing for dinner. \"We're going to try to repair and refurbish whatever bridges, roads, and other structures that got damaged in the recent war with the Khajiiti.\"\n\"It's been a hard two years,\" the captain nodded his head. \"Though I suppose good for me and the likes of you and your friend.  Trade routes cut off.   Now they think there's going to be war with the Summurset Isles, you heard that?\"\nScotti shook his head.\n\"I've done my share of smuggling skooma down the coast, even helping some revolutionary types escape the Mane's wrath, but now the wars've made me a legitimate trader, a business-man.  The first casualties of war is always the corrupted.\"\nScotti said he was sorry to hear that, and they lapsed into silence, watching the stars and moons' reflection on the still water.   The next day, Scotti awoke to find the captain wrapped up in his sail, torpid from alcohol, singing in a low, slurred voice.  When he saw Scotti rise, he offered his flagon of jagga.\n\"I learned my lesson during revelry at western cross.\"\nThe captain laughed, and then burst into tears, \"I don't want to be legitimate.  Other pirates I used to know are still raping and stealing and smuggling and selling nice folk like you into slavery.  I swear to you, I never thought the first time that I ran a real shipment of legal goods that my life would turn out like this.  Oh, I know, I could go back to it, but Baan Dar knows not after all I've seen.  I'm a ruined man.\"\nScotti helped the weeping mer out of the sail, murmuring words of reassurance.  Then he added, \"Forgive me for changing the subject, but where are we?\"\n\"Oh,\" moaned Captain Balfix miserably. \"We made good time.  Athay's right around the bend in the river.\"\n\"Then it looks like Athay's on fire,\" said Scotti, pointing.\nA great plume of smoke black as pitch was rising above the trees.  As they drifted around the bend, they next saw the flames, and then the blackened skeletal remains of the village.  Dying, blazing villagers leapt from rocks into the river.  A cacophony of wailing met their ears, and they could see, roaming along the edges of the town, the figures of Khajiiti soldiers bearing torches.\n\"Baan Dar bless me!\" slurred the captain. \"The war's back on!\"\n\"Oh, no,\" whimpered Scotti.\nThe sloop drifted with the current toward the opposite shore away from the fiery town.  Scotti turned his attention there, and the sanctuary it offered.  Just a peaceful arbor, away from the horror.  There was a shudder of leaves in two of the trees and a dozen lithe Khajiit dropped to the ground, armed with bows.\n\"They see us,\" hissed Scotti. \"And they've got bows!\"\n\"Well, of course they have bows,\" snarled Captain Balfix. \"We Bosmer may have invented the bloody things, but we didn't think to keep them secret, you bloody bureaucrat.\"\n\"Now, they're setting their arrows on fire!\"\n\"Yes, they do that sometimes.\"\n\"Captain, they're shooting at us!  They're shooting at us with flaming arrows!\"\n\"Ah, so they are,\" the captain agreed. \"The aim here is to avoid being hit.\"\nBut hit they were, and very shortly thereafter.  Even worse, the second volley of arrows hit the supply of pitch, which ignited in a tremendous blue blaze.  Scotti grabbed Captain Balfix and they leapt overboard just before the ship and all its cargo disintegrated.  The shock of the cold water brought the Bosmer into temporary sobriety.  He called to Scotti, who was already swimming as fast as he could toward the bend.\n\"Master Decumus, where do you think you're swimming to?\"\n\"Back to Falinesti!\" cried Scotti.\n\"It will take you days, and by the time you get there, everyone will know about the attack on Athay!  They'll never let anyone they don't know in!  The closest village downriver is Grenos, maybe they'll give us shelter!\"\nScotti swam back to the captain and side-by-side they began paddling in the middle of the river, past the burning residuum of the village.  He thanked Mara that he had learned to swim.  Many a Cyrodiil did not, as largely land-locked as the Imperial Province was.  Had he been raised in Mir Corrup or Artemon, he might have been doomed, but the Imperial City itself was encircled by water, and every lad and lass there knew how to cross without a boat.  Even those who grew up to be clerks and not adventurers.\nCaptain Balfix's sobriety faded as he grew used to the water's temperature.  Even in wintertide, the Xylo River was fairly temperate and after a fashion, even comfortable.  The Bosmer's strokes were uneven, and he'd stray closer to Scotti and then further away, pushing ahead and then falling behind.\nScotti looked to the shore to his right: the flames had caught the trees like tinder.  Behind them was an inferno, with which they were barely keeping pace.  To the shore on their left, all looked fair, until he saw a tremble in the river-reeds, and then what caused it.  A pride of the largest cats he had ever seen.  They were auburn-haired, green-eyed beasts with jaws and teeth to match his wildest nightmares.  And they were watching the two swimmers, and keeping pace.\n\"Captain Balfix, we can't go to either that shore or the other one, or we'll be parboiled or eaten,\" Scotti whispered. \"Try to even your kicking and your strokes.  Breath like you would normally.  If you're feeling tired, tell me, and we'll float on our backs for a while.\"\nAnyone who has had the experience of giving rational advice to a drunkard would understand the hopelessness.  Scotti kept pace with the captain, slowing himself, quickening, drifting left and right, while the Bosmer moaned old ditties from his pirate days.  When he wasn't watching his companion, he watched the cats on the shore.  After a stretch, he turned to his right.  Another village had caught fire.  Undoubtedly, it was Grenos.  Scotti stared at the blazing fury, awed by the sight of the destruction, and did not hear that the captain had ceased to sing.\nWhen he turned back, Captain Balfix was gone.\nScotti dove into the murky depths of the river over and over again.  There was nothing to be done.  When he surfaced after his final search, he saw that the giant cats had moved on, perhaps assuming that he too had drowned.  He continued his lonely swim downriver.  A tributary, he noted, had formed a final barrier, keeping the flames from spreading further.  But there were no more towns.  After several hours, he began to ponder the wisdom of going ashore.  Which shore was the question.\nHe was spared the decision.  Ahead of him was a rocky island with a bonfire.  He did not know if he were intruding on a party of Bosmeri or Khajiiti, only that he could swim no more.  With straining, aching muscles, he pulled himself onto the rocks.\nThey were Bosmer refugees he gathered, even before they told him.  Roasting over the fire was the remains of one of the giant cats that had been stalking him through the jungle on the opposite shore.\n\"Senche-Tiger,\" said one of the young warriors ravenously. \"It's no animal -- it's as smart as any Cathay-Raht or Ohmes or any other bleeding Khajiiti.  Pity this one drowned.  I would have gladly killed it.  You'll like the meat, though.  Sweet, from all the sugar these asses eat.\"\nScotti did not know if he was capable of eating a creature as intelligent as a man or mer, but he surprised himself, as he had done several times over the last days.  It was rich, succulent, and sweet, like sugared pork, but no seasonings had been added.  He surveyed the crowd as he ate.  A sad lot, some still weeping for lost family members.  They were the survivors of both the villages of Grenos and Athay, and war was on every person's lips.  Why had the Khajiiti attacked again?  Why -- specifically directed at Scotti, as a Cyrodiil -- why was the Emperor not enforcing peace in his provinces?\n\"I was to meet another Cyrodiil,\" he said to a Bosmer maiden who he understood to be from Athay. \"His name was Liodes Jurus.  I don't suppose you know what might have happened to him.\"\n\"I don't know your friend, but there were many Cyrodiils in Athay when the fire came,\" said the girl. \"Some of them, I think, left quickly.  They were going to Vindisi, inland, in the jungle.  I am going there tomorrow, so are many of us.  If you wish, you may come as well.\"\nDecumus Scotti nodded solemnly.  He made himself as comfortable as he could in the stony ground of the river island, and somehow, after much effort, he fell asleep.  But he did not sleep well."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dance-fire-v4": {"series": "A Dance in Fire", "game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dance-fire-v4", "author": "Waughin Jarth", "title": "A Dance in Fire, v4", "description": "This series of books retells Decumus Scotti's adventures in Valenwood during the 5 years war between it and Elsweyr.", "text": "A Dance in Fire\nChapter 4\nby\nWaughin Jarth\n\nEighteen Bosmeri and one Cyrodilic former senior clerk for an Imperial building commission trudged through the jungle westward from the Xylo River to the ancient village of Vindisi.  For Decumus Scotti, the jungle was hostile, unfamiliar ground. The enormous vermiculated trees filled the bright morning with darkness, and resembled nothing so much as grasping claws, bent on impeding their progress. Even the fronds of the low plants quivered with malevolent energy. What was worse, he was not alone in his anxiety. His fellow travelers, the natives who had survived the Khajiit attacks on the villages of Grenos and Athay, wore faces of undisguised fear.\nThere was something sentient in the jungle, and not merely the mad but benevolent indigenous spirits. In his peripheral vision, Scotti could see the shadows of the Khajiiti following the refugees, leaping from tree to tree. When he turned to face them, the lithe forms vanished into the gloom as if they had never been there. But he knew he had seen them. And the Bosmeri saw them too, and quickened their pace.\nAfter eighteen hours, bitten raw by insects, scratched by a thousand thorns, they emerged into a valley clearing. It was night, but a row of blazing torches greeted them, illuminating the leather-wrought tents and jumbled stones of the hamlet of Vindisi. At the end of the valley, the torches marked a sacred site, a gnarled bower of trees pressed closed together to form a temple. Wordlessly, the Bosmeri walked the torch arcade toward the trees. Scotti followed them. When they reached the solid mass of living wood with only one gaping portal, Scotti could see a dim blue light glowing within. A low sonorous moan from a hundred voices echoed within. The Bosmeri maiden he had been following held out her hand, stopping him.\n\"You do not understand, but no outsider, not even a friend may enter,\" she said. \"This is a holy place.\"\nScotti nodded, and watched the refugees march into the temple, heads bowed. Their voices joined with the ones within. When the last wood elf had gone inside, Scotti turned his attention back to the village. There must be food to be had somewhere. A tendril of smoke and a faint whiff of roasting venison beyond the torchlight led him.\nThey were five Cyrodiils, two Bretons, and a Nord, the group gathered around a campfire of glowing white stones, pulling steaming strips of meat from the cadaver of a great stag. At Scotti's approach, they rose up, all but the Nord who was distracted by his hunk of animal flesh.\n\"Good evening, sorry to interrupt, but I was wondering if I might have a little something to eat. I'm afraid I'm rather hungry, after walking all day with some refugees from Grenos and Athay.\"\nThey bade him to sit down and eat, and introduced themselves.\n\"So the war's back on, it seems,\" said Scotti amiably.\n\"Best thing for these effete do-nothings,\" replied the Nord in between bites. \"I've never seen such a lazy culture. Now they've got the Khajiiti striking them on land, and the high elves at sea. If there's any province that deserves a little distress, it's damnable Valenwood.\"\n\"I don't see how they're so offensive to you,\" laughed one of the Bretons.\n\"They're congenital thieves, even worse than the Khajiiti because they are so blessed meek in their aggression,\" the Nord spat out a gob of fat which sizzled on the hot stones of the fire. \"They spread their forests into territory that doesn't belong to them, slowly infiltrating their neighbors, and they're puzzled when Elsweyr shoves back at them. They're all villains of the worst order.\"\n\"What are you doing here?\" asked Scotti.\n\"I'm a diplomat from the court of Jehenna,\" muttered the Nord, returning to his food.\n\"What about you, what are you doing here?\" asked one of the Cyrodiils.\n\"I work for Lord Atrius's building commission in the Imperial City,\" said Scotti. \"One of my former colleagues suggested that I come down to Valenwood. He said the war was over, and I could contract a great deal of business for my firm rebuilding what was lost. One disaster after another, and I've lost all my money, I'm in the middle of a rekindling of war, and I cannot find my former colleague.\"\n\"Your former colleague,\" murmured another of the Cyrodiils, who had introduced himself as Reglius. \"He wasn't by any chance named Liodes Jurus, was he?\"\n\"You know him?\"\n\"He lured me down to Valenwood in nearly the exact same circumstances,\" smiled Reglius, grimly. \"I worked for your employer's competitor, Lord Vanech's men, where Liodes Jurus also formerly worked. He wrote to me, asking that I represent an Imperial building commission and contract some post-war construction.  I had just been released from my employment, and I thought that if I brought some new business, I could have my job back. Jurus and I met in Athay, and he said he was going to arrange a very lucrative meeting with the Silvenar.\"\nScotti was stunned: \"Where is he now?\"\n\"I'm no theologian, so I couldn't say,\" Reglius shrugged. \"He's dead. When the Khajiiti attacked Athay, they began by torching the harbor where Jurus was readying his boat. Or, I should say, my boat since it was purchased with the gold I brought. By the time we were even aware of what was happening enough to flee, everything by the water was ash. The Khajiiti may be animals, but they know how to arrange an attack.\"\n\"I think they followed us through the jungle to Vindisi,\" said Scotti nervously. \"There was definitely a group of something jumping along the treetops.\"\n\"Probably one of the monkey folk,\" snorted the Nord. \"Nothing to be concerned about.\"\n\"When we first came to Vindisi and the Bosmeri all entered that tree, they were furious, whispering something about unleashing an ancient terror on their enemies,\" the Breton shivered, remembering. \"They've been there ever since, for over a day and a half now. If you want something to be afraid of, that's the direction to look.\"\nThe other Breton, who was a representative of the Daggerfall Mages Guild, was staring off into the darkness while his fellow provincial spoke. \"Maybe. But there's something in the jungle too, right on the edge of the village, looking in.\"\n\"More refugees maybe?\" asked Scotti, trying to keep the alarm out his voice.\n\"Not unless they're traveling through the trees now,\" whispered the wizard. The Nord and one of the Cyrodiils grabbed a long tarp of wet leather and pulled it across the fire, instantly extinguishing it without so much as a sizzle. Now Scotti could see the intruders, their elliptical yellow eyes and long cruel blades catching the torchlight. He froze with fear, praying that he too was not so visible to them.\nHe felt something bump against his back, and gasped.\nReglius's voice hissed from up above: \"Be quiet for Mara's sake and climb up here.\"\nScotti grabbed hold of the knotted double-vine that hung down from a tall tree at the edge of the dead campfire. He scrambled up it as quickly as he could, holding his breath lest any grunt of exertion escape him. At the top of the vine, high above the village, was an abandoned nest from some great bird in a trident-shaped branch. As soon as Scotti had pulled himself into the soft, fragrant straw, Reglius pulled up the vine. No one else was there, and when Scotti looked down, he could see no one below. No one, that is except the Khajiiti, slowly moving toward the glow of the temple tree.\n\"Thank you,\" whispered Scotti, deeply touched that a competitor had helped him. He turned away from the village, and saw that the tree's upper branches brushed against the mossy rock walls that surrounded the valley below. \"How are you at climbing?\"\n\"You're mad,\" said Reglius under his breath. \"We should stay here until they leave.\"\n\"If they burn Vindisi like they did Athay and Grenos, we'll be dead sure as if we were on the ground,\" Scotti began the slow careful climb up the tree, testing each branch. \"Can you see what they're doing?\"\n\"I can't really tell,\" Reglius stared down into the gloom. \"They're at the front of the temple. I think they also have ... it looks like long ropes, trailing off behind them, off into the pass.\"\nScotti crawled onto the strongest branch that pointed toward the wet, rocky face of the cliff. It was not a far jump at all. So close, in fact, that he could smell the moisture and feel the coolness of the stone. But it was a jump nevertheless, and in his history as a clerk, he had never before leapt from a tree a hundred feet off the ground to a sheer rock. He pictured in his mind's eye the shadows that had pursued him through the jungle from the heights above. How their legs coiled to spring, how their arms snapped forward in an elegant fluid motion to grasp. He leapt.\nHis hands grappled for rock, but long thick cords of moss were more accessible. He held hard, but when he tried to plant his feet forward, they slipped up skyward. For a few seconds, he found himself upside down before he managed to pull himself into a more conventional position. There was a narrow outcropping jutting out of the cliff where he could stand and finally exhale.\n\"Reglius. Reglius. Reglius,\" Scotti did not dare to call out. In a minute, there was a shaking of branches, and Lord Vanech's man emerged. First his satchel, then his head, then the rest of him. Scotti started to whisper something, but Reglius shook his head violently and pointed downward. One of the Khajiiti was at the base of the tree, peering at the remains of the campfire.\nReglius awkwardly tried to balance himself on the branch, but as strong as it was it was exceedingly difficult with only one free hand. Scotti cupped his palms and then pointed at the satchel. It seemed to pain Reglius to let it out of his grasp, but he relented and tossed it to Scotti.\nThere was a small, almost invisible hole in the bag, and when Scotti caught it, a single gold coin dropped out. It rang as it bounced against the rock wall on the descent, a high soft sound that seemed like the loudest alarm Scotti had ever heard.\nThen many things happened very quickly.\nThe Cathay-Raht at the base of the tree looked up and gave a loud wail. The other Khajiiti followed in chorus, as the cat below crouched down and then sprung up into the lower branches. Reglius saw it below him, climbing up with impossible dexterity, and panicked. Even before he jumped, Scotti could tell that he was going to fall. With a cry, Reglius the Clerk plunged to the ground, breaking his neck on impact.\nA flash of white fire erupted from every crevice of the temple, and the moan of the Bosmeri prayer changed into something terrible and otherworldly. The climbing Cathay-Raht stopped and stared.\n\"Keirgo,\" it gasped. \"The Wild Hunt.\"\nIt was as if a crack in reality had opened wide. A flood of horrific beasts, tentacled toads, insects of armor and spine, gelatinous serpents, vaporous beings with the face of gods, all poured forth from the great hollow tree, blind with fury. They tore the Khajiiti in front of the temple to pieces. All the other cats fled for the jungle, but as they did so, they began pulling on the ropes they carried. In a few seconds time, the entire village of Vindisi was boiling with the lunatic apparitions of the Wild Hunt.\nOver the babbling, barking, howling horde, Scotti heard the Cyrodiils in hiding cry out as they were devoured. The Nord too was found and eaten, and both Bretons. The wizard had turned himself invisible, but the swarm did not rely on their sight. The tree the Cathay-Raht was in began to sway and rock from the impossible violence beneath it. Scotti looked at the Khajiiti's fear-struck eyes, and held out one of the cords of moss.\nThe cat's face showed its pitiful gratitude as it leapt for the vine. It didn't have time to entirely replace that expression when Scotti pulled back the cord, and watched it fall. The Hunt consumed it to the bone before it struck the ground.\nScotti's own jump up to the next outcropping of rock was immeasurably more successful. From there, he pulled himself to the top of the cliff and was able to look down into the chaos that had been the village of Vindisi. The Hunt's mass had grown and began to spill out through the pass out of the valley, pursuing the fleeing Khajiiti. It was then that the madness truly began.\nIn the moons' light, from Scotti's vantage, he could see where the Khajiiti had attached their ropes. With a thunderous boom, an avalanche of boulders poured over the pass. When the dust cleared, he saw that the valley had been sealed. The Wild Hunt had nowhere to turn but on itself.\nScotti turned his head, unable to bear to look at the cannibalistic orgy. The night jungle stood before him, a web of wood. He slung Reglius's satchel over his shoulder, and entered."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dance-fire-v5": {"series": "A Dance in Fire", "game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dance-fire-v5", "author": "Waughin Jarth", "title": "A Dance in Fire, v5", "description": "This series of books retells Decumus Scotti's adventures in Valenwood during the 5 years war between it and Elsweyr.", "text": "A Dance in Fire\nChapter 5\nby\nWaughin Jarth\n\n\"Soap! The forest will eat love!  Straight ahead!  Stupid and a stupid cow!\"\nThe voice boomed out so suddenly that Decumus Scotti jumped.  He stared off into the dim jungle glade from which he only heard animal and insect calls, and the low whistling of wind moments before.  It was a queer, oddly accented voice of indiscriminate gender, tremulous in its modulations, but unmistakably human.  Or, at very least, elven.  An isolated Bosmer perhaps with a poor grasp of the Cyrodilic language.  After countless hours of plodding through the dense knot of Valenwood jungle, any voice of slight familiarity sounded wondrous.\n\"Hello?\" he cried.\n\"Beetles on any names?  Certainly yesterday yes!\" the voice called back. \"Who, what, and when, and mice!\"\n\"I'm afraid I don't understand,\" replied Scotti, turning toward the brambled tree, thick as a wagon, where the voice had issued. \"But you needn't be afraid of me.  My name is Decumus Scotti.  I'm a Cyrodiil from the Imperial City.  I came here to help rebuild Valenwood after the war, you see, and now I'm rather lost.\"\n\"Gemstones and grilled slaves ... The war,\" moaned the voice and broke down into sobs.\n\"You know about the war?  I wasn't sure, I wasn't even sure how far away from the border I am now,\" Scotti began slowly walking toward the tree.  He dropped Reglius's satchel to the ground, and held out his empty hands. \"I'm unarmed.  I only want to know the way to the closest town.  I'm trying to meet my friend, Liodes Jurus, in Silvenar.\"\n\"Silvenar!\" the voice laughed.  It laughed even louder as Scotti circled the tree. \"Worms and wine!  Worms and wine!  Silvenar sings for worms and wine!\"\nThere was nothing to be found anywhere around the tree. \"I don't see you.  Why are you hiding?\"\nIn frustration born of hunger and exhaustion, he struck the tree trunk.  A sudden shiver of gold and red erupted from a hollow nook above, and Scotti was surrounded by six winged creatures scarcely more than a few inches long.  Bright crimson eyes were set on either side of tunnel-like protuberances, the animals' always open mouths.  They were legless, and their thin, rapidly beating, aureate wings seemed poorly constructed to transport their fat, swollen bellies.  And yet, they darted through the air like sparks from a fire.  Whirling about the poor clerk, they began chattering what he now understood to be perfect nonsense.\n\"Wines and worms, how far from the border am I!  Academic garnishments, and alas, Liodes Jurus!\"\n\"Hello, I'm afraid I'm unarmed?  Smoken flames and the closest town is dear Oblivion.\"\n\"Swollen on bad meat, an indigo nimbus, but you needn't be afraid of me!\"\n\"Why are you hiding?  Why are you hiding?  Before I begin to friend, love me, Lady Zuleika!\"\nFurious with the mimics, Scotti swung his arms, driving them up into the treetops.  He stomped back to the clearing and opened up the satchel again, as he had done some hours before.  There was still, unsurprisingly, nothing useful in the bag, and nothing to eat in any corner or pocket.  A goodly amount of gold (he smiled grimly, as he had done before, at the irony of being financially solvent in the jungle), a stack of neat blank contracts from Lord Vanech's building commission, some thin cord, and an oiled leather cloak for bad weather.  At least, Scotti considered, he had not suffered rain.\nA rolling moan of thunder reminded Scotti of what he had suspected for some weeks now.  He was cursed.\nWithin an hour's time, he was wearing the cloak and clawing his way through mud.  The trees, which had earlier allowed no sunlight in, provided no shelter against the pounding storm and wind.  The only sounds that pierced the pelting of the rain were the mocking calls of the flying creatures, flitting just above, babbling their nonsense.  Scotti bellowed at them, threw rocks, but they seemed enamored of his company.\nWhile he was reaching to grab a promising looking stone to hurl at his tormentors, Scotti felt something shift beneath his feet.  Wet but solid ground suddenly liquefied and became a rolling tide, rushing him forward.  Light as a leaf, he flew head over feet over head, until the mudflow dropped and he continued forward, plunging down into a river twenty-five feet below.\nThe storm passed quite as instantly as it had arrived.  The sun melted the dark clouds and warmed Scotti as he swam for the shore.  There, another sign of the Khajiiti incursion into Valenwood greeted him.  A small fishing village had stood there once, so recently extinct that it smoldered like a still-warm corpse.  Dirt cairns that had once housed fish by the smell of them had been ravaged, their bounty turned to ash.  Rafts and skiffs lay broken, scuttled, half-submerged.  All the villagers were no more, either dead or refugees far away.  Or so he presumed.  Something banged against the wall of one of the ruins.  Scotti ran to investigate.\n\"My name is Decumus Scotti?\" sang the first winged beast. \"I'm a Cyrodiil from?  The Imperial City?  I came here to help rebuild Valenwood after the war, you see, and now I'm rather lost?\"\n\"I swell to maculate, apeneck!\" agreed one of its companions. \"I don't see you.  Why are you hiding?\"\nAs they fell into chattering, Scotti began to search the rest of the village.  Surely the cats had left something behind, a scrap of dried meat, a morsel of fish sausage, anything.  But they had been immaculate in their complete annihilation.  There was nothing to eat anywhere.  Scotti did find one item of possible use under the tumbled remains of a stone hut.  A bow and two arrows made of bone.  The string had been lost, likely burned away in the heat of the fire, but he pulled the cord from Reglius's satchel and restrung it.\nThe creatures flew over and hovered nearby as he worked: \"The convent of the sacred Liodes Jurus?\"\n\"You know about the war!  Worms and wine, circumscribe a golden host, apeneck!\"\nThe moment the cord was taut, Scotti nocked an arrow and swung around, pulling the string tight against his chest.  The winged beasts, having had experience with archers before, shot off in all directions in a blur.  They needn't have bothered.  Scotti's first arrow dove into the ground three feet in front of him.  He swore and retrieved it.  The mimics, having likewise had experience with poor archers before, returned at once to hovering nearby and mocking Scotti.\nOn his second shot, Scotti did much better, in purely technical terms.  He remembered how the archers in Falinesti looked when he pulled himself out from under the hoarvor tick, and they were all taking aim at him.  He extended his left hand, right hand, and right elbow in a symmetrical line, drawing the bow so his hand touched his jawline, and he could see the creature in his sight like the arrow was a finger he was pointing with.  The bolt missed the target by only two feet, but it continued on its trajectory, snapping when it struck a rock wall.\nScotti walked to the river's edge.  He had only one arrow left, and perhaps, he considered, it would be most practical to find a slow-moving fish and fire it on that.  If he missed, at least there was less of a chance of breaking the shaft, and he could always retrieve it from the water.  A rather torpid, whiskered fish rolled by, and he took aim at it.\n\"My name is Decumus Scotti!\" one of the creatures howled, frightening the fish away. \"Stupid and a stupid cow!  Will you dance a dance in fire!\"\nScotti turned and aimed the arrow as he had done before.  This time, however, he remembered to plant his feet as the archers had done, seven inches apart, knees straight, left leg slightly forward to meet the angle of his right shoulder.  He released the last arrow.\nThe arrow also proved a serviceable prong for roasting the creature against the smoking hot stones of one of the ruins.  Its other companions had disappeared instantly after the beast was slain, and Scotti was able to dine in peace.  The meat proved to be delicious, if scarcely more than a first course.  He was picking the last of it from the bones, when a boat sailed into view from around the bend of the river.  At the helm were Bosmer sailors.  Scotti ran to the bank and waved his arms.  They averted their eyes and continued past.\n\"You bloody, callous bastards!\" Scotti howled. \"Knaves!  Hooligans! Apenecks!  Scoundrels!\"\nA gray-whiskered form came out from a hatch, and Scotti immediately recognized him as Gryf Mallon, the poet translator he had met in the caravan from Cyrodiil.\nHe peered Scotti's direction, and his eyes lit up with delight, \"Decumus Scotti!  Precisely the man I hoped to see!  I want to get your thoughts on a rather puzzling passage in the Mnoriad Pley Bar!  It begins 'I went weeping into the world, searching for wonders,' perhaps you're familiar with it?\"\n\"I'd like nothing better than to discuss the Mnoriad Pley Bar with you, Gryf!\" Scotti called back. \"Would you let me come aboard though first?\"\nOverjoyed at being on a ship bound for any port at all, Scotti was true to his word.  For over an hour as the boat rolled down the river past the blackened remnants of Bosmeri villages, he asked no questions and spoke nothing of his life over the past weeks: he merely listened to Mallon's theories of merethic Aldmeri esoterica.  The translator was undemanding of his guest's scholarship, accepting nods and shrugs as civilized conversation.  He even produced some wine and fish jelly, which he shared with Scotti absent-mindedly, as he expounded on his various theses.\nFinally, while Mallon was searching for a reference to some minor point in his notes, Scotti asked, \"Rather off subject, but I was wondering where we're bound.\"\n\"The very heart of the province, Silvenar,\" Mallon said, not looking up from the passage he was reading. \"It's somewhat bothersome, actually, as I wanted to go to Woodhearth first to talk to a Bosmer there who claims to have an original copy of Dirith Yalmillhiad, if you can believe it.  But for the time being, that has to wait.  Summurset Isle has surrounded the city, and is in the process of starving the citizenry until they surrender.  It's a tiresome prospect, since the Bosmeri are happy to eat one another, so there's a risk that at the end, only one fat wood elf will remain to wave the flag.\"\n\"That is vexing,\" agreed Scotti, sympathetically. \"To the east, the Khajiiti are burning everything, and to the west, the High Elves are waging war.  I don't suppose the borders to the north are clear?\"\n\"They're even worse,\" replied Mallon, finger on the page, still distracted. \"The Cyrodiils and Redguards don't want Bosmer refugees streaming into their provinces.  It only stands to reason.  Imagine how much more criminally inclined they'd be now that they're homeless and hungry.\"\n\"So,\" murmured Scotti, feeling a shiver. \"We're trapped in Valenwood.\"\n\"Not at all.  I need to leave fairly shortly myself, as my publisher has set a very definite deadline for my new book of translations.  From what I understand, one merely petitions to the Silvenar for special border protection and one can cross into Cyrodiil with impunity.\"\n\"Petition the Silvenar, or petition at Silvenar?\"\n\"Petition the Silvenar at Silvenar.  It's an odd nomenclature that is typical of this place, the sort of thing that makes my job as a translator that much more challenging.  The Silvenar, he, or rather they are the closest the Bosmeri have to a great leader.  The essential thing to remember about the Silvenar --\" Mallon smiled, finding the passage he was looking for, \"Here! 'A fortnight, inexplicable, the world burns into a dance.' There's that metaphor again.\"\n\"What were you saying about the Silvenar?\" asked Scotti. \"The essential thing to remember?\"\n\"I don't remember what I was saying,\" replied Mallon, turning back to his oration.\nIn a week's time, the little boat bumped along the shallow, calmer waters of the foaming current the Xylo had become, and Decumus Scotti first saw the city of Silvenar.  If Falinesti was a tree, then Silvenar was a flower.  A magnificent pile of faded shades of green, red, blue, and white, shining with crystalline residue.  Mallon had mentioned off-hand, when not otherwise explaining Aldmeri prosody, that Silvenar had once been a blossoming glade in the forest, but owing to some spell or natural cause, the trees' sap began flowing with translucent liqueur.  The process of the sap flowing and hardening over the colorful trees had formed the web of the city.  Mallon's description was intriguing, but it hardly prepared him for the city's beauty.\n\"What is the finest, most luxurious tavern here?\" Scotti asked one of the Bosmer boatmen.\n\"Prithala Hall,\" Mallon answered. \"But why don't you stay with me?  I'm visiting an acquaintance of mine, a scholar I think you'll find fascinating.  His hovel isn't much, but he has the most extraordinary ideas about the principles of a Merethic Aldmeri tribe the Sarmathi --\"\n\"Under any other circumstances, I would happily accept,\" said Scotti graciously. \"But after weeks of sleeping on the ground or on a raft, and eating whatever I could scrounge, I feel the need for some indulgent creature comforts.  And then, after a day or two, I'll petition the Silvenar for safe passage to Cyrodiil.\"\nThe men bade each other goodbye.  Gryf Mallon gave him the address of his publisher in the Imperial City, which Scotti accepted and quickly forgot.  The clerk wandered the streets of Silvenar, crossing bridges of amber, admiring the petrified forest architecture.  In front of a particularly estimable palace of silvery reflective crystal, he found Prithala Hall.\nHe took the finest room, and ordered a gluttonous meal of the finest quality.  At a nearby table, he saw two very fat fellows, a man and a Bosmer, remarking how much finer the food was there than at the Silvenar's palace.  They began to discuss the war and some issues of finances and rebuilding provincial bridges.  The man noticed Scotti looking at them, and his eyes flashed recognition.\n\"Scotti, is that you?  Kynareth, where have you been?  I've had to make all the contacts here on my own!\"\nAt the sound of his voice, Scotti recognized him.  The fat man was Liodes Jurus, vastly engorged."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dance-fire-v6": {"series": "A Dance in Fire", "game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dance-fire-v6", "author": "Waughin Jarth", "title": "A Dance in Fire, v6", "description": "This series of books retells Decumus Scotti's adventures in Valenwood during the 5 years war between it and Elsweyr.", "text": "A Dance in Fire\nChapter 6\nby\n\tWaughin Jarth\n\nDecumus Scotti sat down, listening to Liodes Jurus. The clerk could hardly believe how fat his former colleague at Lord Atrius's Building Commission had become. The piquant aroma of the roasted meat dish before Scotti melted away. All the other sounds and textures of Prithala Hall vanished all around him, as if nothing else existed but the vast form of Jurus. Scotti did not consider himself an emotional man, but he felt a tide flow over him at the sight and sound of the man whose badly written letters had been the guideposts that carried him from the Imperial City back in early Frost Fall.\n\"Where have you been?\" Jurus demanded again. \"I told you to meet me in Falinesti weeks ago.\"\n\"I was there weeks ago,\" Scotti stammered, too surprised to be indignant. \"I got your note to meet you in Athay, and so I went there, but the Khajiiti had burned it to the ground. Somehow, I found my way with the refugees in another village, and someone there told me that you had been killed.\"\n\"And you believed that right away?\" Jurus sneered.\n\"The fellow seemed very well-informed about you. He was a clerk from Lord Vanech's Building Commission named Reglius, and he said that you had also suggested that he come down to Valenwood to profit from the war.\"\n\"Oh, yes,\" said Jurus, after thinking a moment. \"I recall the name now. Well, it's good for business to have two representatives from Imperial building commissions here. We just need to all coordinate our bids, and all should be well.\"\n\"Reglius is dead,\" said Scotti. \"But I have his contracts from Lord Vanech's Commission.\"\n\"Even better,\" gasped Jurus, impressed. \"I never knew you were such a ruthless competitor, Decumus Scotti. Yes, this could certainly improve our position with the Silvenar. Have I introduced you to Basth here?\"\nScotti had only been dimly aware of the Bosmer's presence at the table with Jurus, which was surprising given that the mer's girth nearly equaled his dining companion. The clerk nodded to Basth coldly, still numb and confused. It had not left his mind that only any hour earlier, Scotti had intended to petition the Silvenar for safe passage through the border back to Cyrodiil. The thought of doing business with Jurus after all, of profiting from Valenwood war with Elsweyr, and now the second one with the Summurset Isle, seemed like something happening to another person.\n\"Your colleague and I were talking about the Silvenar,\" said Basth, putting down the leg of mutton he had been gnawing on. \"I don't suppose you've heard about his nature?\"\n\"A little, but nothing very specific. I got the impression that he's very important and very peculiar.\"\n\"He's the representative of the People, legally, physically, and emotionally,\" explained Jurus, a little annoyed at his new partner's lack of common knowledge. \"When they're healthy, so is he. When they're mostly female, so is he. When they cry for food or trade or an absence of foreign interference, he feels it too, and makes laws accordingly. In a way, he's a despot, but he's the people's despot.\"\n\"That sounds,\" said Scotti, searching for the appropriate word. \"Like ... bunk.\"\n\"Perhaps it is,\" shrugged Basth. \"But he has many rights as the Voice of the People, including the granting of foreign building and trade contracts. It's not important whether you believe us. Just think of the Silvenar as being like one of your mad Emperors, like Pelagius. The problem facing us now is that since Valenwood is being attacked on all sides, the Silvenar's aspect is now one of distrust and fear of foreigners. The one hope of his people, and thus of the Silvenar himself, is that the Emperor will intervene and stop the war.\"\n\"Will he?\" asked Scotti.\n\"You know as well as we do that the Emperor has not been himself lately,\" Jurus helped himself to Reglius's satchel and pulled out the blank contracts. \"Who knows what he'll choose to do or not do? That reality is not our concern, but these blessings from the late good sir Reglius make our job much simpler.\"\nThey discussed how they would represent themselves to the Silvenar into the evening. Scotti ate continuously, but not nearly so much as Jurus and Basth. When the sun had begun to rise in the hills, its light reddening through the crystal walls of the tavern, Jurus and Basth left to their rooms at the palace, granted to them diplomatically in lieu of an actual immediate audience with the Silvenar. Scotti went to his room. He thought about staying up a little longer to ruminate over Jurus's plans and see what might be the flaw in them, but upon touching the cool, soft bed, he immediately fell asleep.\nThe next afternoon, Scotti awoke, feeling himself again. In other words, timid. For several weeks now, he had been a creature bent on mere survival. He had been driven to exhaustion, attacked by several jungle beasts, starved, nearly drowned, and forced into discussions of ancient Aldmeri poetical works. The discussion he had with Jurus and Basth about how to dupe the Silvenar into signing their contracts seemed perfectly reasonable then. Scotti dressed himself in his old battered clothes and went downstairs in search of food and a peaceful place to think.\n\"You're up,\" cried Basth upon seeing him. \"We should go to the palace now.\"\n\"Now?\" whined Scotti. \"Look at me. I need new clothes. This isn't the way one should dress to pay a call on a prostitute, let alone the Voice of the People of Valenwood. I haven't even bathed.\"\n\"You must cease from this moment forward being a clerk, and become a student of mercantile trade,\" said Liodes Jurus grandly, taking Scotti by the arm and leading him into the sunlit boulevard outside. \"The first rule is to recognize what you represent to the prospective client, and what angle best suits you. You cannot dazzle him with opulent fashion and professional bearing, my dear boy, and it would be fatal if you attempted to. Trust me on this. Several others besides Basth and I are guests at the palace, and they have made the error of appearing too eager, too formal, too ready for business. They will never be granted audience with the Silvenar, but we have remained aloof ever since the initial rejection. I've dallied about the court, spread my knowledge of life in the Imperial City, had my ears pierced, attended promenades, eaten and drunk of all that was given to me. I dare say I've put on a pound or two. The message we've sent is clear: it is in his, not our, best interest to meet.\"\n\"Our plan worked,\" added Basth. \"When I told his minister that our Imperial representative had arrived, and that we were at last willing to meet with the Silvenar this morning, we were told to bring you there straightaway.\"\n\"Aren't we late then?\" asked Scotti.\n\"Very,\" laughed Jurus. \"But that's again part of the angle we're representing. Benevolent disinterest. Remember not to confuse the Silvenar with conventional nobility. His is the mind of the common people. When you grasp that, you'll understand how to manipulate him.\"\nJurus spent the last several minutes of the walk through the city expounding on his theories about what Valenwood needed, how much, and at what price. They were staggering figures, far more construction and far higher costs than anything Scotti had been used to dealing with. He listened carefully. All around them, the city of Silvenar revealed itself, glass and flower, roaring winds and beautiful inertia. When they reached the palace of the Silvenar, Decumus Scotti stopped, stunned. Jurus looked at him for a moment and then laughed.\n\"It's quite bizarre, isn't it?\"\nThat it was. A frozen scarlet burst of twisted, uneven spires as if a rival sun rising. A blossom the size of a village, where courtiers and servants resembled nothing so much as insects walked about it sucking its ichor. Entering over a bent petal-like bridge, the three walked through the palace of unbalanced walls. Where the partitions bent close together and touched, there was a shaded hall or a small chamber. Where they warped away from one another, there was a courtyard. There were no doors anywhere, no any way to get to the Silvenar but by crossing through the entire spiral of the palace, through meetings and bedrooms and dining halls, past dignitaries, consorts, musicians, and many guards.\n\"It's an interesting place,\" said Basth. \"But not very much privacy. Of course, that suits the Silvenar well.\"\nWhen they reached the inner corridors, two hours after they first entered the palace, guards, brandishing blades and bows, stopped them.\n\"We have an audience with the Silvenar,\" said Jurus, patiently. \"This is Lord Decumus Scotti, the Imperial representative.\"\nOne of the guards disappeared down the winding corridor, and returned moments later with a tall, proud Bosmer clad in a loose robe of patchwork leather. He was the Minister of Trade: \"The Silvenar wishes to speak with Lord Decumus Scotti alone.\"\nIt was not the place to argue or show fear, so Scotti stepped forward, not even looking toward Jurus and Basth. He was certain they were showing their masks of benevolent indifference. Following the Minister into the audience chamber, Scotti recited to himself all the facts and figures Jurus had presented to him. He willed himself to remember the Angle and the Image he must project.\nThe audience chamber of the Silvenar was an enormous dome where the walls bent from bowl-shaped at the base inward to almost meet at the top. A thin ray of sunlight streamed through the fissure hundreds of feet above, and directly upon the Silvenar, who stood upon a puff of shimmering gray powder. For all the wonder of the city and the palace, the Silvenar himself looked perfectly ordinary. An average, blandly handsome, slightly tired-looking, extra-ordinary Wood Elf of the type one might see in any capitol in the Empire. It was only when he stepped from the dais that Scotti noticed an eccentricity in his appearance. He was very short.\n\"I had to speak with you alone,\" said the Silvenar in a voice common and unrefined. \"May I see your papers?\"\nScotti handed him the blank contracts from Lord Vanech's Building Commission. The Silvenar studied them, running his finger over the embossed seal of the Emperor, before handing them back. He suddenly seemed shy, looking to the floor. \"There are many charlatans at my court who wish to benefit from the wars. I thought you and your colleagues were among them, but those contracts are genuine.\"\n\"Yes, they are,\" said Scotti calmly. The Silvenar's conventional aspect made it easy for Scotti to speak, with no formal greetings, no deference, exactly as Jurus had instructed: \"It seems most sensible to begin straightaway talking about the roads which need to be rebuilt, and then the harbors that the Altmeri have destroyed, and then I can give you my estimates on the cost of resupplying and renovating the trade routes.\"\n\"Why hasn't the Emperor seen fit to send a representative when the war with Elsweyr began, two years ago?\" asked the Silvenar glumly.\nScotti thought a moment before replying of all the common Bosmeri he had met in Valenwood. The greedy, frightened mercenaries who had escorted him from the border. The hard-drinking revelers and expert pest exterminating archers in the Western Cross of Falinesti. Nosy old Mother Pascost in Havel Slump. Captain Balfix, the poor sadly reformed pirate. The terrified but hopeful refugees of Athay and Grenos. The mad, murderous, self-devouring Wild Hunt of Vindisi. The silent, dour boatmen hired by Gryf Mallon. The degenerate, grasping Basth. If one creature represented their total disposition, and that of many more throughout the province, what would be his personality? Scotti was a clerk by occupation and nature, instinctively comfortable cataloging and filing, making things fit in a system. If the soul of Valenwood were to be filed, where would it be put?\nThe answer came upon him almost before he posed himself the question. Denial.\n\"I'm afraid that question doesn't interest me,\" said Scotti. \"Now, can we get back to the business at hand?\"\nAll afternoon, Scotti and the Silvenar discussed the pressing needs of Valenwood. Every contract was filled and signed. So much was required and there were so many costs associated that addendums and codicils had to be scribbled into the margins of the papers, and those had to be resigned. Scotti maintained his benevolent indifference, but he found that dealing with the Silvenar was not quite the same as dealing with a simple, sullen child. The Voice of the People knew certain practical, everyday things very well: the yields of fish, the benefits of trade, the condition of every township and forest in his province.\n\"We will have a banquet tomorrow night to celebrate this commission,\" said the Silvenar at last.\n\"Best make it tonight,\" replied Scotti. \"We should leave for Cyrodiil with the contracts tomorrow, so I'll need a safe passage to the border. We best not waste any more time.\"\n\"Agreed,\" said the Silvenar, and called for his Minister of Trade to put his seal on the contracts and arrange for the feast.\nScotti left the chamber, and was greeted by Basth and Jurus. Their faces showed the strain of maintaining the illusion of unconcern for too many hours. As soon as they were out of sight of the guards, they begged Scotti to tell them all. When he showed them the contract, Basth began weeping with delight.\n\"Anything about the Silvenar that surprised you?\" asked Jurus.\n\"I hadn't expected him to be half my height.\"\n\"Was he?\" Jurus looked mildly surprised. \"He must have shrunk since I tried to have an audience with him earlier. Maybe there is something to all that nonsense about him being affected by the plight of his people.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dance-fire-v7": {"series": "A Dance in Fire", "game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dance-fire-v7", "author": "Waughin Jarth", "title": "A Dance in Fire, v7", "description": "This series of books retells Decumus Scotti's adventures in Valenwood during the 5 years war between it and Elsweyr.", "text": "A Dance in Fire\nChapter 7\nBy\nWaughin Jarth\nScene: Silvenar, Valenwood\nDate: 13 Sun's Dusk, 3E 397\nThe banquet at the palace of the Silvenar was well attended by every jealous bureaucrat and trader who had attempted to contract the rebuilding of Valenwood.  They looked on Decumus Scotti, Liodes Jurus, and Basth with undisguised hatred.  It made Scotti very uncomfortable, but Jurus delighted in it.  As the servants brought in platter after platter of roasted meats, Jurus poured himself a cup of Jagga and toasted the clerk.\n\"I can confess it now,\" said Jurus. \"I had grave doubts about inviting you to join me on this adventure.  All the other clerks and agents of building commissions I contacted were more outwardly aggressive, but none of them made it through, let alone to the audience chamber of the Silvenar, let alone brokered the deals on their own like you did.  Come, have a cup of Jagga with me.\"\n\"No thank you,\" said Scotti. \"I had too much of that drug in Falinesti, and nearly got sucked dry by a giant tick because of it.  I'll find something else to drink.\"\nScotti wandered about the hall until he saw some diplomats drinking mugs of a steaming brown liquid, poured from a large silver urn.  He asked them if it was tea.\n\"Tea made from leaves?\" scoffed the first diplomat. \"Not in Valenwood.  This is Rotmeth.\"\nScotti poured himself a mug and took a tentative sip.  It was gamy, bitter and sugared, and very salty.  At first it seemed very disagreeable to his palate, but a moment later he found he had drained the mug and was pouring another.  His body tingled.  All the sounds in the chamber seemed oddly disjointed, but not frighteningly so.\n\"So you're the fellow who got the Silvenar to sign all those contracts,\" said the second diplomat. \"That must have required some deep negotiation.\"\n\"Not at all, not at all, just a little basic understand of mercantile trading,\" grinned Scotti, pouring himself a third mug of Rotmeth. \"The Silvenar was very eager to involve the Imperial state with the affairs of Valenwood.  I was very eager to take a percentage of the commission.  With all that blessed eagerness, it was merely a matter of putting quill to contract, bless you.\"\n\"You have been in the employ of his Imperial Majesty very long?\" asked the first diplomat.\n\"It's a bite, or rather, a bit more complicated than that in the Imperial City.  Between you and me, I don't really have a job.  I used to work for Lord Atrius and his Building Commission, but I got sacked.  And then, the contracts are from Lord Vanech and his Building Commission, 'cause I got em from this fellow Reglius who is a competitor but still a very fine fellow until he was made dead by those Khajiiti,\" Scotti drained his fifth mug. \"When I go back to the Imperial City, then the real negotiations can begin, bless you.  I can go to my old employer and to Lord Vanech, and say, look here you, which one of you wants these commissions?  And they'll fall over each other to take them from me.  It will be bidding war for my percentage the likes of which no one nowhere has never seen.\"\n\"So you're not a representative of his Imperial Majesty, the Emperor?\" asked the first diplomat.\n\"Didn't you hear what I'm said? You stupid?\" Scotti felt a surge of rage, which quickly subsided.  He chuckled, and poured himself a seventh mug. \"The Building Commissions are privately owned, but they're still representatives of the Emperor.  So I'm a representative of the Emperor.  Or I will be.  When I get these contracts in.  It's very complicated.  I can understand why you're not following me.  Bless you, it's all like the poet said, a dance in fire, if you follow the illusion, that is to say, allusion.\"\n\"And your colleagues?  Are they representatives of the Emperor?\" asked the second diplomat.\nScotti burst into laughter, shaking his head.  The diplomats bade him their respects and went to talk to the Minister.  Scotti stumbled out of the palace, and reeled through the strange, organic avenues and boulevards of the city.  It took him several hours to find his way to Prithala Hall and his room.  Once there, he slept, very nearly on his bed.\nThe next morning, he woke to Jurus and Basth in his room, shaking him.  He felt half-asleep and unable to open his eyes fully, but otherwise fine.  The conversation with the diplomats floated in his mind in a haze, like an obscure childhood memory.\n\"What in Mara's name is Rotmeth?\" he asked quickly.\n\"Rancid, strongly fermented meat juices with lots of spices to kill the poisons,\" smiled Basth. \"I should have warned you to stay with Jagga.\"\n\"You must understand the Meat Mandate by now,\" laughed Jurus. \"These Bosmeri would rather eat each other than touch the fruit of the vine or the field.\"\n\"What did I say to those diplomats?\" cried Scotti, panicking.\n\"Nothing bad apparently,\" said Jurus, pulling out some papers. \"Your escorts are downstairs to bring you to the Imperial Province.  Here are your papers of safe passage.  The Silvenar seems very impatient about business proceeding forward rapidly.  He promises to send you some sort of rare treasure when the contracts are fulfilled.  See, he's already given me something.\"\nJurus showed off his new, bejeweled earring, a beautiful large faceted ruby.  Basth showed that he had a similar one.  The two fat fellows left the room so Scotti could dress and pack.\nA full regiment of the Silvenar's guards was on the street in front of the tavern.  They surrounded a carriage crested with the official arms of Valenwood.  Still dazed, Scotti climbed in, and the captain of the guard gave the signal.  They began a quick gallop.  Scotti shook himself, and then peered behind.  Basth and Jurus were waving him goodbye.\n\"Wait!\" Scotti cried. \"Aren't you coming back to the Imperial Province too?\"\n\"The Silvenar asked that we stay behind as Imperial representatives!\" yelled Liodes Jurus. \"In case there's a need for more contracts and negotiations!  He's appointed us Undrape, some sort of special honor for foreigners at court!  Don't worry!  Lots of banquets to attend!  You can handle the negotiations with Vanech and Atrius yourself and we'll keep things settled here!\"\nJurus continued to yell advice about business, but his voice became indistinct with distance.  Soon it disappeared altogether as the convoy rounded the streets of Silvenar.  The jungle loomed suddenly and then they were in it.  Scotti had only gone through it by foot or along the rivers by slow-moving boats.  Now it flashed all around him in profusions of greens.  The horses seemed even faster moving through underbrush than on the smooth paths of the city.  None of the weird sounds or dank smells of the jungle penetrated the escort.  It felt to Scotti as if he were watching a play about the jungle with a background of a quickly moving scrim, which offered only the merest suggestion of the place.\nSo it went for two weeks.  There was lots of food and water in the carriage with the clerk, so he merely ate and slept as the caravan pressed endlessly on.  From time to time, he'd hear the sound of blades clashing, but when he looked around whatever had attacked the caravan had long since been left behind.  At last, they reached the border, where an Imperial garrison was stationed.\nScotti presented the soldiers who met the carriage with the papers.  They asked him a barrage of questions that he answered monosyllabically, and then let him pass.  It took several more days to arrive at the gates of the Imperial City.  The horses that had flown so fast through the jungle now slowed down in the unfamiliar territory of the wooded Colovian Estates.  By contrast, the cries of his province's birds and smells of his province's plant life brought Decumus Scotti alive.  It was if he had been dreaming all the past months.\nAt the gates of the City, Scotti's carriage door was opened for him and he stepped out on uncertain legs.  Before he had a moment to say something to the escort, they had vanished, galloping back south through the forest.  The first thing he did now that he was home was go to the closest tavern and have tea and fruit and bread.  If he never ate meat again, he told himself, that would suit him very nicely.\nNegotiations with Lord Atrius and Lord Vanech proceeded immediately thereafter.  It was most agreeable.  Both commissions recognized how lucrative the rebuilding of Valenwood would be for their agency.  Lord Vanech claimed, quite justifiably, that as the contracts had been written on forms notarized by his commission, he had the legal right to them.  Lord Atrius claimed that Decumus Scotti was his agent and representative, and that he had never been released from employment.  The Emperor was called to arbitrate, but he claimed to be unavailable.  His advisor, the Imperial Battlemage Jagar Tharn, had disappeared long ago and could not be called on for his wisdom and impartial mediation.\nScotti lived very comfortably off the bribes from Lord Atrius and Lord Vanech.  Every week, a letter would arrive from Jurus or Basth asking about the status of negotiations.  Gradually, these letters ceased coming, and more urgent ones came from the Minister of Trade and the Silvenar himself.  The War of the Blue Divide with Summurset Isle ended with the Altmeri winning several new coastal islands from the Wood Elves.  The war with Elsweyr continued, ravaging the eastern borders of Valenwood.  Still, Vanech and Atrius fought over who would help.\nOne fine morning in the early spring of the year 3E 398, a courier arrived at Decumus Scotti's door.\n\"Lord Vanech has won the Valenwood commission, and requests that you and the contracts come to his hall at your earliest convenience.\"\n\"Has Lord Atrius decided not to challenge further?\" asked Scotti.\n\"He's been unable to, having died very suddenly, just now, from a terribly unfortunate accident,\" said the courier.\nScotti had wondered how long it would be before the Dark Brotherhood was brought in for final negotiations.  As he walked toward Lord Vanech's Building Commission, a long, severe piece of architecture on a minor but respectable plaza, he wondered if he had played the game, as he ought to have.  Could Vanech be so rapacious as to offer him a lower percentage of the commission now that his chief competitor was dead?  Thankfully, he discovered, Lord Vanech had already decided to pay Scotti what he had proposed during the heat of the winter negotiations.  His advisors had explained to him that other, lesser building commissions might come forward unless the matter were handled quickly and fairly.\n\"Glad we have all the legal issues done with,\" said Lord Vanech, fondly. \"Now we can get to the business of helping the poor Bosmeri, and collecting the profits.  It's a pity you weren't our representative for all the troubles with Bend'r-mahk and the Arnesian business.  But there will be plenty more wars, I'm sure of that.\"\nScotti and Lord Vanech sent word to the Silvenar that at last they were prepared to honor the contracts.  A few weeks later, they held a banquet in honor of the profitable enterprise.  Decumus Scotti was the darling of the Imperial City, and no expense was spared to make it an unforgettable evening.\nAs Scotti met the nobles and wealthy merchants who would be benefiting from his business dealings, an exotic but somehow faintly familiar smell rose in the ballroom.  He traced it to its source: a thick roasted slab of meat, so long and thick it covered several platters.  The Cyrodilic revelers were eating it ravenously, unable to find the words to express their delight at its taste and texture.\n\"It's like nothing I've ever had before!\"\n\"It's like pig-fed venison!\"\n\"Do you see the marbling of fat and meat?  It's a masterpiece!\"\nScotti went to take a slice, but then he saw something imbedded deep in the dried and rendered roast.  He nearly collided with his new employer Lord Vanech as he stumbled back.\n\"Where did this come from?\" Scotti stammered.\n\"From our client, the Silvenar,\" beamed his lordship. \"It's some kind of local delicacy they call Unthrappa.\"\nScotti vomited, and didn't stop for some time.  It cast rather a temporary pall on the evening, but when Decumus Scotti was carried off to his manor house, the guests continued to dine.  The Unthrappa was the delight of all.  Even more so when Lord Vanech himself took a slice and found the first of two rubies buried within.  How very clever of the Bosmer to invent such a dish, the Cyrodiils agreed."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ancient-tales-dwemer-part-i-ransom-zarek": {"series": "Ancient Tales of the Dwemer", "game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ancient-tales-dwemer-part-i-ransom-zarek", "author": "Marobar Sul", "title": "Ancient Tales of the Dwemer, part I: The Ransom of Zarek", "description": "The series of fascinating adapted tales.", "text": "The Ransom of Zarek\n\tAncient Tales of the Dwemer\n\tPart I\nby\n\tMarobar Sul\nJalemmil stood in her garden and read the letter her servant had brought to her. The bouquet of joss roses in her hand fell to the ground. For a moment it was as if all birds had ceased to sing and a cloud had passed over the sky. Her carefully cultivated and structured haven seemed to flood over with darkness.\n\"We have thy son,\" it read. \"We will be in touch with thee shortly with our ransom demands.\"\nZarek had never made it as far as Akgun after all. One of the brigands on the road, Orcs probably, or accursed Dunmer, must have seen his well-appointed carriage, and taken him hostage. Jalemmil clutched at a post for support, wondering if her boy had been hurt. He was but a student, not the sort to fight against well-armed men, but had they beaten him? It was more than a mother's heart could bear to imagine.\n\"Don't tell me they sent the ransom note so quickly,\" called a family voice, and a familiar face appeared through the hedge. It was Zarek. Jalemmil hurried to embrace her boy, tears running down her face.\n\"What happened?\" she cried. \"I thought thou had been kidnapped.\"\n\"I was,\" said Zarek. \"Three huge soaring Nords attacked by carriage on the Frimvorn Pass. Brothers, as I learned, named Mathais, Ulin, and Koorg. Thou should have seen these men, mother. Each one of them would have had trouble fitting through the front door, I can tell thee.\"\n\"What happened?\" Jalemmil repeated. \"Were thou rescued?\"\n\"I thought about waiting for that, but I knew they'd send off a ransom note and I know how thou does worry. So I remembered what my mentor at Akgun always said about remaining calm, observing thy surroundings, and looking for thy opponent's weakness,\" Zarek grinned. \"It took a while, though, because these fellows were truly monsters. And then, when I listened to them, bragging to one another, I realized that vanity was their weakness.\"\n\"What did thou do?\"\n\"They had me chained at their camp in the woods not far from Cael, on a high knoll over-looking a wide river. I heard one of them, Koorg, telling the others that it would take the better part of an hour to swim across the river and back. They were nodding in agreement, when I spoke up.\n\"'I could swim that river and back in thirty minutes,' I said.\n\"'Impossible,' said Koorg. 'I can swim faster than a little whelp like thee.'\n\"So it was agreed that we would dive off the cliff, swim to the center island, and return. As we went to our respective rocks, Koorg took it upon himself to lecture me about all the fine points of swimming. The importance of synchronized movements of the arms and legs for maximum speed. How essential it was to breathe after only third or fourth stroke, not too often to slow thyself down, but not too often to lose one's air. I nodded and agreed to all his fine points. Then we dove off the cliffs. I made it to the island and back in a little over an hour, but Koorg never returned. He had dashed his brains at the rocks at the base of the cliff. I had noticed the telltale undulations of underwater rocks, and had taken the diving rock on the right.\"\n\"But thou returned?\" asked Jalemmil, astounded. \"Was that not then when thou escaped?\"\n\"It was too risky to escape then,\" said Zarek. \"They could have easily caught me again, and I wasn't keen to be blamed for Koorg's disappearance. I said I did not know what happened to him, and after some searching, they decided he had forgotten about the race and had swum ashore to hunt for food. They could not see how I could have had anything to do with his disappearance, as fully visible as I was throughout my swim. The two brothers began making camp along the rocky cliff-edge, picking an ideal location so that I would not be able to escape.\n\"One of the brothers, Mathais, began commenting on the quality of the soil and the gradual incline of the rock that circled around the bay below. Ideal, he said, for a foot race. I expressed my ignorance of the sport, and he was keen to give me details of the proper technique for running a race. He made absurd faces, showing how one must breathe in through the nose and out through the mouth; how to bend one's knees to the proper angle on the rise; the importance of sure foot placement. Most important, he explained, was that the runner keep an aggressive but not too strenuous pace if one intends to win. It is fine to run in second place through the race, he said, provided one has the willpower and strength to pull out in the end.\n\"I was an enthusiastic student, and Mathais decided that we ought to run a quick race around the edge of the bay before night fell. Ulin told us to bring back some firewood when we came back. We began at once down the path, skirting the cliff below. I followed his advice about breath, gait, and foot placement, but I ran with all my power right from the start. Despite his much longer legs, I was a few paces ahead as we wound the first corner.\n\"With his eyes on my back, Mathais did not see the gape in the rock that I jumped over. He plummeted over the cliff before he had a chance to cry out. I spent a few minutes gathering some twigs before I returned to Ulin at camp.\"\n\"Now thou were just showing off,\" frowned Jalemmil. \"Surely that would have been a good time to escape.\"\n\"Thou might think so,\" agreed Zarek. \"But thou had to see the topography -- a few large trees, and then nothing but shrubs. Ulin would have noticed my absence and caught up with me in no time, and I would have had a hard time explaining Mathais's absence. However, the brief forage around the area allowed me to observe some of the trees close up, and I could formulate my final plan.\n\"When I got back to camp with a few twigs, I told Ulin that Mathais was slow coming along, dragging a large dead tree behind him. Ulin scoffed at his brother's strength, saying it would take him time to pull up a live tree by the roots and drop it on the bonfire. I expressed reasonable doubt.\n\"'I'll show thee,' he said, ripping up a ten foot tall specimen effortlessly.\n\"'But that's scarcely a sapling,' I objected. 'I thought thou could rip up a tree.' His eyes followed mine to a magnificent, heavy-looking one at the edge of the clearing. Ulin grabbed it and began to shake it with a tremendous force to loosen its roots from the dirt. With that, he loosened the hive from the uppermost branches, dropping it down onto his head.\n\"That was when I made my escape, mother,\" said Zarek, in conclusion, showing a little schoolboy pride. \"While Mathais and Koorg were at the base of the cliff, and Ulin was flailing about, engulfed by a swarm.\"\nJalemmil embraced her son once again.\n\nPublisher's Note\n\tI was reluctant to publish the works of Marobar Sul, but when the University of Gwylim Press asked me to edit this edition, I decided to use this as an opportunity to set the record straight once and for all.\nScholars do not agree on the exact date of Marobar Sul's work, but it is generally agreed that they were written by the playwright \"Gor Felim,\" famous for popular comedies and romances during the Interregnum between the fall of the First Cyrodilic Empire and the rise of Tiber Septim. The current theory holds that Felim heard a few genuine Dwemer tales and adapted them to the stage in order to make money, along with rewritten versions of many of his own plays.\nGor Felim created the persona of \"Marobar Sul\" who could translate the Dwemer language in order to add some sort of validity to the work and make it even more valuable to the gullible. Note that while \"Marobar Sul\" and his works became the subject of heated controversy, there are no reliable records of anyone actually meeting \"Marobar Sul,\" nor was there anyone of that name employed by the Mages Guild, the School of Julianos, or any other intellectual institution.\nIn any case, the Dwemer in most of the tales of \"Marobar Sul\" bear little resemblance to the fearsome, unfathomable race that frightened even the Dunmer, Nords, and Redguards into submission and built ruins that even now have yet to be understood.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ancient-tales-dwemer-part-ii-seed": {"series": "Ancient Tales of the Dwemer", "game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ancient-tales-dwemer-part-ii-seed", "author": "Marobar Sul", "title": "Ancient Tales of the Dwemer, part II: The Seed", "description": "The series of fascinating adapted tales.", "text": "The Seed\n\tAncient Tales of the Dwemer\n\tPart II\nby\n\tMarobar Sul\nThe hamlet village of Lorikh was a quiet, peaceful Dwemer community nestled in the monochrome grey and tan dunes and boulders of the Dejasyte. No vegetation of any kind grew in Lorikh, though there were blackened vestiges of long dead trees scattered throughout the town. Kamdida arriving by caravan looked at her new home with despair. She was used to the forestland of the north where her father's family had haled. Here there was no shade, little water, and a great open sky. It looked like a dead land.\nHer mother's family took Kamdida and her younger brother Nevith in, and was very kind to the orphans, but she felt lonely in the alien village. It was not until she met an old Argonian woman who worked at the water factory that Kamdida found a friend. Her name was Sigerthe, and she said that her family had lived in Lorikh centuries before the Dwemer arrived, when it was a great and beauteous forest.\n\"Why did the trees die?\" asked Kamdida.\n\"When there were Argonians only in this land, we never cut trees for we had no need for fuel or wooden structures such as you use. When the Dwemer came, we allowed them to use the plants as they needed them, provided they never touched the Hist, which are sacred to us and to the land. For many years, we lived peaceably. No one wanted for anything.\"\n\"What happened?\"\n\"Some of your scientists discovered that distilling a certain tree sap, molding it and drying it, they could create a resilient kind of armor called resin,\" said Sigerthe. \"Most of the trees that grew here had very thin ichor in their branches, but not the Hist. Many of them fairly glistened with sap, which made the Dwemer merchants greedy. They hired a woodsman named Juhnin to start clearing the sacred arbors for profit.\"\nThe old Argonian woman looked to the dusty ground and sighed, \"Of course, we Argonians cried out against it. It was our home, and the Hist, once gone, would never return. The merchants reconsidered, but Juhnin took it on his own to break our spirit. He proved one terrible, bloody day that his prodigious skill with the axe could be used against people as well as trees. Any Argonian who stood in his way was hewn asunder, children as well. The Dwemer people of Lorikh closed their doors and their ears to the cries of murder.\"\n\"Horrible,\" gasped Kamdida.\n\"It is difficult to explain,\" said Sigerthe. \"But the deaths of our living ones was not nearly as horrible to us as the death of our trees. You must understand that to my people, the Hist are where we come from and where we are going. To destroy our bodies is nothing; to destroy our trees is to annihilate us utterly. When Juhnin then turned his axe on the Hist, he killed the land. The water disappeared, the animals died, and all the other life that the trees nourished crumbled and dried to dust.\"\n\"But you are still here?\" asked Kamdida. \"Why didn't you leave?\"\n\"For us, we are trapped. I am one of the last of a dying people. Few of us are strong enough to live away from our ancestral groves, and sometimes, even now, there is a perfume in the air of Lorikh that gives us life. It will not be long until we are all gone.\"\nKamdida felt tears welling up in her eyes. \"Then I will be alone in this horrible place with no trees and no friends.\"\n'We Argonians have an expression,\" said Sigerthe with a sad smile, taking Kamdida's hand. \"That the best soil for a seed is found in your heart.\"\nKamdida looked into the palm of her hand and saw that Sigerthe had given her a small black pellet. It was a seed. \"It looks dead.\"\n\"It can only grow in one place in all Lorikh,\" said the old Argonian. \"Outside an old cottage in the hills outside town. I cannot go there, for the owner would kill me on sight and like all my people, I am too frail to defend myself now. But you can go there and plant the seed.\"\n\"What will happen?\" asked Kamdida. \"Will the Hist return?\"\n\"No. But some part of their power will.\"\nThat night, Kamdida stole from her house and into the hills. She knew the cottage Sigerthe had spoken of. Her aunt and uncle had told her never to go there. As she approached it, the door opened and an old but powerfully built man appeared, a mighty axe slung over his shoulder.\n\"What are you doing here, child?\" he demanded. \"In the dark, I almost took you to be a lizard man.\"\n\"I've lost my way in the dark,\" she said quickly. \"I'm trying to get back to my home in Lorikh.\"\n\"Be on your way then.\"\n\"Do you have a candle I might have?\" she asked piteously. \"I've been walking in circles and I'm afraid I'll only return back here without any light.\"\nThe old man grumbled and walked into his house. Quickly, Kamdida dug a hole in the dry dirt and buried the seed as deeply as she could. He returned with a lit candle.\n\"See to it you don't come back here,\" he growled. \"Or I'll chop you in half.\"\nHe returned to his house and fire. The next morning when he awoke and opened the door, he found that his cottage was entirely sealed within an enormous tree. He picked up his axe and delivered blow and after blow to the wood, but he could never break through. He tried side chops, but the wood healed itself. He tried an upper chop followed by an under chop to form a wedge, but the wood sealed.\nMuch time went by before someone discovered old Juhnin's emaciated body lying in front of his open door, still holding his blunted, broken axe. It was a mystery to all what he had been chopping with it, but the legend began circulating through Lorikh that Hist sap was found on the blade.\nShortly thereafter, small desert flowers began pushing through the dry dirt in the town. Trees and plants newly sown began to live tolerably well, if not luxuriantly. The Hist did not return, but Kamdida and the people of Lorikh noticed that at a certain time around twilight, long, wide shadows of great, bygone trees would fill the streets and hills.\nPublisher's Note\n\t\"The Seed\" is one of Marobar Sul's tales whose origins are well known. This tale originated from the Argonian slaves of southern Morrowind. \"Marobar Sul\" merely replaced the Dunmer with Dwemer and claimed he found it in a Dwemer ruin. Furthermore, he later claimed that the Argonian version of the tale was merely a retelling of his \"original!\"\nLorikh, while clearly not a Dwemer name, simply does not exist, and in fact \"Lorikh\" was a name commonly used, incorrectly, for Dunmer men in Gor Felim's plays. The Argonian versions of the story usually take place on Vvardenfell, usually in the Telvanni city of Sadrith Mora. Of course the so-called \"scholars\" of Temple Zero will probably claim this story has something to do with \"Lorkhan\" simply because the town starts with the letter L.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ancient-tales-dwemer-part-iii-importance-where": {"series": "Ancient Tales of the Dwemer", "game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ancient-tales-dwemer-part-iii-importance-where", "author": "Marobar Sul", "title": "Ancient Tales of the Dwemer, part III: The Importance of Where", "description": "The series of fascinating adapted tales.", "text": "THE IMPORTANCE OF WHERE\nAncient Tales of\n\tthe Dwemer, Part III\nBy\n\tMarobar Sul\nThe chieftain of Othrobar gathered his wise men together and said, \"Every morning a tenfold of my flock are found butchered. What is the cause?\"\nFangbith the Warleader said, \"A Monster may be coming down from the Mountain and devouring your flock.\"\nGhorick the Healer said, \"A strange new disease perhaps is to blame.\"\nBeran the Priest said, \"We must sacrifice to the Goddess for her to save us.\"\nThe wise men made sacrifices, and while they waited for their answers from the Goddess, Fangbith went to Mentor Joltereg and said, \"You taught me well how to forge the cudgel of Zolia, and how to wield it in combat, but I must know now when it is wise to use my skill. Do I wait for the Goddess to reply, or the medicine to work, or do I hunt the Monster which I know is in the Mountain?\"\n\"When is not important,\" said Joltereg. \"Where is all that is important.\"\nSo Fangbith took his Zolic cudgel in hand and walked far through the dark forest until he came to the base of the Great Mountain. There he met two Monsters. One bloodied with the flesh of the chieftain of Othrobar's flock fought him while its mate fled. Fangbith remembered what his master had taught him, that \"where\" was all that was important.\nHe struck the Monster on each of its five vital points: head, groin, throat, back, and chest. Five blows to the five points and the Monster was slain. It was too heavy to carry with him, but still triumphant, Fangbith returned to Othrobar.\n\"I say I have slain the Monster that ate your flock,\" he cried.\n\"What proof have you that you have slain any Monster?\" asked the chieftain.\n\"I say I have saved the flock with my medicine,\" said Ghorick the Healer.\n\"I say The Goddess has saved the flock by my sacrifices,\" said Beran the Priest.\nTwo mornings went by and the flocks were safe, but on the morning of the third day, another tenfold of the chieftain's flock was found butchered. Ghorick the Healer went to his study to find a new medicine. Beran the Priest prepared more sacrifices. Fangbith took his Zolic cudgel in hand, again, and walked far through the dark forest until he came to the base of the Great Mountain. There he met the other Monster, bloodied with the flesh of the chieftain of Othrobar's flock. They did battle, and again Fangbith remembered what his master had taught him, that \"where\" was all that was important.\nHe struck the Monster five times on the head and it fled. Chasing it along the mountain, he struck it five times in the groin and it fled. Running through the forest, Fangbith overtook the Monster and struck it five times in the throat and it fled. Entering into the fields of Othrobar, Fangbith overtook the Monster and struck it five times in the back and it fled. At the foot of the stronghold, the chieftain and his wise men emerged to the sound of the Monster wailing. There they beheld the Monster that had slain the chieftain's flock. Fangbith struck the Monster five times in the chest and it was slain.\nA great feast was held in Fangbith's honor, and the flock of Othrobar was never again slain. Joltereg embraced his student and said, \"You have at last learned the importance of where you strike your blows.\"\nPublisher's Note\n\tThis tale is another, which has an obvious origin among the Ashlander tribes of Vvardenfell and is one of their oldest tales. \"Marobar Sul\" merely changed the names of the character to sound more \"Dwarven\" and resold it as part of his collection. The Great Mountain in the tale is clearly \"Red Mountain,\" despite its description of being forested. The Star-Fall and later eruptions destroyed the vegetation on Red Mountain, giving it the wasted appearance it has today.\nThis tale does have some scholarly interest, as it suggests a primitive Ashlander culture, but it talks of living in \"strongholds\" much like the ruined strongholds on Vvardenfell today. There are even references to a stronghold of \"Othrobar\" somewhere between Vvardenfell and Skyrim, but few strongholds outside of sparsely-settled Vvardenfell have survived to the present. Scholars do not agree on who built these strongholds or when, but I believe it is clear from this story and other evidence that the Ashlander tribes used these strongholds in the ancient past instead of making camps of wickwheat huts as they do today.\nThe play on words that forms the lesson of the fable -- that it is as important to know where the monster should be slain, at the stronghold, as it is to know where the monster must be struck on its body to be slain -- is typical of many Ashlander tales. Riddles, even ones as simple as this one, are loved by both the Ashlanders and the vanished Dwemer. Although the Dwemer are usually portrayed as presenting the riddles, rather than being the ones who solve it as in Ashlander tales.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ancient-tales-dwemer-part-v-song-alchemist": {"series": "Ancient Tales of the Dwemer", "game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ancient-tales-dwemer-part-v-song-alchemist", "author": "Marobar Sul", "title": "Ancient Tales of the Dwemer, part V: Song of the Alchemists", "description": "The series of fascinating adapted tales.", "text": "The Song of the Alchemists\n\tAncient Tales of the Dwemer\n\tPart V\nBy\n\tMarobar Sul\nWhen King Maraneon's alchemist had to leave his station\n\tAfter a laboratory experiment that yielded detonation,\n\tThe word went out that the King did want\n\tA new savant\n\tTo mix his potions and brews.\n\tBut he declared he would only choose\n\tA fellow who knew the tricks and the tools.\n\tThe King refused to hire on more fools.\nAfter much deliberation, discussions, and debates,\n\tThe King picked two well-learned candidates.\n\tIanthippus Minthurk and Umphatic Faer,\n\tAn ambitious pair,\n\tVied to prove which one was the best.\n\tSaid the King, \"There will be a test.\"\n\tThey went to a large chamber with herbs, gems, tomes,\n\tPots, measuring cups, all under high crystalline domes.\n\"Make me a tonic that will make me invisible,\"\n\tLaughed the King in a tone some would call risible.\n\tSo Umphatic Faer and Ianthippus Minthurk\n\tBegan to work,\n\tMincing herbs, mashing metal, refining strange oils,\n\tCautiously setting their cauldrons to burbling boils,\n\tEach on his own, sending mixing bowls mixing,\n\tSometimes peeking to see what the other was fixing.\nAfter they had worked for nearly three-quarters an hour,\n\tBoth Ianthippus Minthurk and Umphatic Faer\n\tWinked at the other, certain he won.\n\tSaid King Maraneon,\n\t\"Now you must taste the potions you've wrought,\n\tTake a spoon and sample it right from your pot.\"\n\tMinthurk vanished as his lips touched his brew,\n\tBut Faer tasted his and remained apparent in view.\n\"You think you mixed silver, blue diamonds, and yellow grass!\"\n\tThe King laughed, \"Look up, Faer, up to the ceiling glass.\n\tThe light falling makes the ingredients you choose\n\tQuite different hues.\"\n\t\"What do you get,\" asked the floating voice, bold,\n\t\"Of a potion of red diamonds, blue grass, and gold?\"\n\t\"By [Dwemer God],\" said Faer, his face in a wince,\n\t\"I've made a potion to fortify my own intelligence.\"\nPublisher's Note:\nThis poetry is so clearly in the style of Gor Felim that it really does not need any commentary. Note the simple rhyming scheme of AA/BB/CC, the sing-song but purposefully clumsy meter, and the recurring jokes at the obviously absurd names, Umphatic Faer and Ianthippus Minthurk. The final joke that the stupid alchemist invents a potion to make himself smarter by pure accident would have appealed to the anti-intellectualism of audiences in the Interregnum period, but would certainly be rejected by the Dwemer.\nNote that even \"Marobar Sul\" refuses to name any Dwemer gods. The Dwemer religion, if it can even be called that, is one of the most complex and difficult puzzles of their culture.\nOver the millennia, the song became a popular tavern song in High Rock before eventually disappearing from everything but scholarly books. Much like the Dwemer themselves.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ancient-tales-dwemer-part-vi-chimarvamidium": {"series": "Ancient Tales of the Dwemer", "game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ancient-tales-dwemer-part-vi-chimarvamidium", "author": "Marobar Sul", "title": "Ancient Tales of the Dwemer, part VI: Chimarvamidium", "description": "The series of fascinating adapted tales.", "text": "Chimarvamidium:\n\tAncient Tales of the Dwemer\n\tPart VI\nBy\n\tMarobar Sul\nAfter many battles, it was clear who would win the War. The Chimer had great skills in magick and bladery, but against the armored battalions of the Dwemer, clad in the finest shielding wrought by Jnaggo, there was little hope of their ever winning. In the interests of keeping some measure of peace in the Land, Sthovin the Warlord agreed to a truce with Karenithil Barif the Beast. In exchange for the Disputed Lands, Sthovin gave Barif a mighty golem, which would protect the Chimer's territory from the excursions of the Northern Barbarians.\nBarif was delighted with his gift and brought it back to his camp, where all his warriors gaped in awe at it. Sparkling gold in hue, it resembled a Dwemer cavalier with a proud aspect. To test its strength, they placed the golem in the center of an arena and flung magickal bolts of lightning at it. Its agility was such that few of the bolts struck it. It had the wherewithal to pivot on its hips to avoid the brunt of the attacks without losing its balance, feet firmly planted on the ground. A vault of fireballs followed, which the golem ably dodged, bending its knees and its legs to spin around the blasts. The few times it was struck, it made certain to be hit in the chest and waist, the strongest parts of its body.\nThe troops cheered at the sight of such an agile and powerful creation. With it leading the defense, the Barbarians of Skyrim would never again successfully raid their villages. They named it Chimarvamidium, the Hope of the Chimer.\nBarif has the golem brought to his chambers with all his housethanes. There they tested Chimarvamidium further, its strength, its speed, its resiliency. They could find no flaw with its design.\n\"Imagine when the naked barbarians first meet this on one of their raids,\" laughed one of the housethanes.\n\"It is only unfortunate that it resembles a Dwemer instead of one of our own,\" mused Karenithil Barif. \"It is revolting to think that they will have a greater respect for our other enemies than us.\"\n\"I think we should never accepted the peace terms that we did,\" said another, one of the most aggressive of the housethanes. \"Is it too late to surprise the warlord Sthovin with an attack?\"\n\"It is never too late to attack,\" said Barif. \"But what of his great armored warriors?\"\n\"I understand,\" said Barif's spymaster. \"That his soldiers always wake at dawn. If we strike an hour before, we can catch them defenseless, before they've had a chance to bathe, let alone don their armor.\"\n\"If we capture their armorer Jnaggo, then we too would know the secrets of blacksmithery,\" said Barif. \"Let it be done. We attack tomorrow, an hour before dawn.\"\nSo it was settled. The Chimer army marched at night, and swarmed into the Dwemer camp. They were relying on Chimarvamidium to lead the first wave, but it malfunctioned and began attacking the Chimer's own troops. Added to that, the Dwemer were fully armored, well-rested, and eager for battle. The surprise was turned, and most of the high-ranking Chimer, including Karenithil Barif the Beast, were captured.\nThough they were too proud to ask, Sthovin explained to them that he had been warned of their attack by a Calling by one of his men.\n\"What man of yours is in our camp?\" sneered Barif.\nChimarvamidium, standing erect by the side of the captured, removed its head. Within its metal body was Jnaggo, the armorer.\n\"A Dwemer child of eight can create a golem,\" he explained. \"But only a truly great warrior and armorer can pretend to be one.\"\nPublisher's Note:\n\tThis is one of the few tales in this collection, which can actually be traced to the Dwemer. The wording of the story is quite different from older versions in Aldmeris, but the essence is the same. \"Chimarvamidium\" may be the Dwemer \"Nchmarthurnidamz.\" This word occurs several times in plans of Dwemer armor and Animunculi, but it's meaning is not known. It is almost certainly not \"Hope of the Chimer,\" however.\nThe Dwemer were probably the first to use heavy armors. It is important to note how a man dressed in armor could fool many of the Chimer in this story. Also note how the Chimer warriors react. When this story was first told, armor that covered the whole body must have still been uncommon and new, whereas even then, Dwemer creations like golems and centurions were well known.\nIn a rare scholarly moment, Marobar Sul leaves a few pieces of the original story intact, such as parts of the original line in Aldmeris, \"A Dwemer of eight can create a golem, but an eight of Dwemer can become one.\"\nAnother aspect of this legend that scholars like myself find interesting is the mention of \"the Calling.\" In this legend and in others, there is a suggestion that the Dwemer race as a whole had some sort of silent and magickal communication. There are records of the Psijic Order which suggest they, too, share this secret. Whatever the case, there are no documented spells of \"calling.\" The Cyrodiil historian Borgusilus Malier first proposed this as a solution to the disappearance of the Dwemer. He theorized that in 1E 668, the Dwemer enclaves were called together by one of their powerful philosopher-sorcerers (\"Kagrnak\" in some documents) to embark on a great journey, one of such sublime profundity that they abandoned all their cities and lands to join the quest to foreign climes as an entire culture."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ancient-tales-dwemer-part-x-dowry": {"series": "Ancient Tales of the Dwemer", "game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ancient-tales-dwemer-part-x-dowry", "author": "Marobar Sul", "title": "Ancient Tales of the Dwemer, part X: The Dowry", "description": "The series of fascinating adapted tales.", "text": "The Dowry\n\tAncient Tales\n\tof the Dwemer\n\tPart X\nby\n\tMarobar Sul\nYnaleigh was the wealthiest landowner in Gunal, and he had over the years saved a tremendous dowry for the man who would marry his daughter, Genefra. When she reached the age of consent, he locked the gold away for safe-keeping, and announced his intention to have her marry. She was a comely lass, a scholar, a great athlete, but dour and brooding in aspect. This personality defect did not bother her potential suitors any more than her positive traits impressed them. Every man knew the tremendous wealth that would be his as the husband of Genefra and son-in-law of Ynaleigh. That alone was enough for hundreds to come to Gunal to pay court.\n\"The man who will marry my daughter,\" said Ynaleigh to the assembled. \"Must not be doing so purely out of avarice. He must demonstrate his own wealth to my satisfaction.\"\nThis simple pronouncement removed a vast majority of the suitors, who knew they could not impress the landowner with their meager fortunes. A few dozen did come forward within a few days, clad in fine killarc cloth of spun silver, accompanied by exotic servants, traveling in magnificent carriages. Of all who came who met with Ynaleigh's approval, none arrived in a more resplendent fashion that Welyn Naerillic. The young man, who no one had ever heard of, arrived in a shining ebon coach drawn by a team of dragons, his clothing of rarest manufacture, and accompanied by an army of the most fantastical servants any of Gunal had ever seen. Valets with eyes on all sides of their heads, maidservants that seemed cast in gemstones.\nBut such was not enough with Ynaleigh.\n\"The man who marries my daughter must prove himself a intelligent fellow, for I would not have an ignoramus as a son-in-law and business partner,\" he declared.\nThis eliminated a large part of the wealthy suitors, who, through their lives of luxury, had never needed to think very much if at all. Still some came forward over the next few days, demonstrating their wit and learning, quoting the great sages of the past and offering their philosophies of metaphysics and alchemy. Welyn Naerillic too came and asked Ynaleigh to dine at the villa he had rented outside of Gunal. There the landowner saw scores of scribes working on translations of Aldmeri tracts, and enjoyed the young man's somewhat irreverent but intriguing intelligence.\nNevertheless, though he was much impressed with Welyn Naerillic, Ynaleigh had another challenge.\n\"I love my daughter very much,\" said Ynaleigh. \"And I hope that the man who marries her will make her happy as well. Should any of you make her smile, she and the great dowry are yours.\"\nThe suitors lined up for days, singing her songs, proclaiming their devotion, describing her beauty in the most poetic of terms. Genefra merely glared at all with hatred and melancholia. Ynaleigh who stood by her side began to despair at last. His daughter's suitors were failing to a man at this task. Finally Welyn Naerillic came to the chamber.\n\"I will make your daughter smile,\" he said. \"I dare say, I'll make her laugh, but only after you've agreed to marry us. If she is not delighted within one hour of our engagement, the wedding can be called off.\"\nYnaleigh turned to his daughter. She was not smiling, but her eyes had sparked with some morbid curiosity in this young man. As no other suitor had even registered that for her, he agreed.\n\"The dowry is naturally not to be paid 'til after you've wed,\" said Ynaleigh. \"Being engaged is not enough.\"\n\"Might I see the dowry still?\" asked Welyn.\nKnowing how fabled the treasure was and understanding that this would likely be the closest the young man would come to possessing it, Ynaleigh agreed. He had grown quite found of Welyn. On his orders, Welyn, Ynaleigh, glum Genefra, and the castellan delved deep into the stronghold of Gunal. The first vault had to be opened by touching a series of runic symbols: should one of the marks be mispressed, a volley of poisoned arrows would have struck the thief. Ynaleigh was particularly proud of the next level of security -- a lock composed of blades with eighteen tumblers required three keys to be turned simultaneously to allow entry. The blades were designed to eviscerate any who merely picked one of the locks. Finally, they reached the storeroom.\nIt was entirely empty.\n\"By Lorkhan, we've been burgled!\" cried Ynaleigh. \"But how? Who could have done this?\"\n\"A humble but, if I may say so, rather talented burglar,\" said Welyn. \"A man who has loved your daughter from afar for many years, but did not possess the glamour or the learning to impress. That is, until the gold from her dowry afforded me the opportunity.\"\n\"You?\" bellowed Ynaleigh, scarcely able to believe it. Then something even more unbelievable happened.\nGenefra began to laugh. She had never even dreamed of meeting anyone like this thief. She threw herself into his arms before her father's outraged eyes. After a moment, Ynaleigh too began to laugh.\nGenefra and Welyn were married in a month's time. Though he was in fact quite poor and had little scholarship, Ynaleigh was amazed how much his wealth increased with such a son-in-law and business partner. He only made certain never to ask from whence came the excess gold.\nPublisher's Note:\nThe tale of a man trying to win the hand of a maiden whose father (usually a wealthy man or a king) tests each suitor is quite common. See, for instance, the more recent \"Four Suitors of Benitah\" by Jole Yolivess. The behavior of the characters is quite out of character for the Dwemer. No one today knows their marriage customs, or even if they had marriage at all.\nOne rather odd theory of the Disappearance of the Dwarves came from this and a few other tales of \"Marobar Sul.\" It was proposed that the Dwemer never, in fact, left. They did not depart Nirn, much less the continent of Tamriel, and they are still among us, disguised. These scholars use the story of \"Azura and the Box\" to suggest that the Dwemer feared Azura, a being they could neither understand nor control, and they adopted the dress and manner of Chimer and Altmer in order to hide from Azura's gaze.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ancient-tales-dwemer-part-xi-azura-and-box": {"series": "Ancient Tales of the Dwemer", "game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ancient-tales-dwemer-part-xi-azura-and-box", "author": "Marobar Sul", "title": "Ancient Tales of the Dwemer, Part XI: Azura and the Box", "description": "The series of fascinating adapted tales.", "text": "Azura and the Box\n\tAncient Tales\n\tof the Dwemer\n\tPart XI\nby\n\tMarobar Sul\nNchylbar had enjoyed an adventurous youth, but had grown to be a very wise, very old Dwemer who spent his life searching for the truth and dispelling superstitions. He invented much and created many theorems and logic structures that bore his name. But much of the world still puzzled him, and nothing was a greater enigma to him that the nature of the Aedra and Daedra. Over the course of his research, he came to the conclusion that many of the Gods were entirely fabricated by man and mer.\nNothing, however, was a greater question to Nchylbar than the limits of divine power. Were the Greater Beings the masters of the entire world, or did the humbler creatures have the strength to forge their own destinies? As Nchylbar found himself nearing the end of his life, he felt he must understand this last basic truth.\nAmong the sage's acquaintances was a holy Chimer priest named Athynic. When the priest was visiting Bthalag-Zturamz, Nchylbar told him what he intended to do to find the nature of divine power. Athynic was terrified and pleaded with his friend not to break this great mystery, but Nchylbar was resolute. Finally, the priest agreed to assist out of love for his friend, though he feared the results of this blasphemy.\nAthynic summoned Azura. After the usual rituals by which the priest declared his faith in her powers and Azura agreed to do no harm to him, Nchylbar and a dozen of his students entered the summoning chamber, carrying with them a large box.\n\"As we see you in our land, Azura, you are the Goddess of the Dusk and Dawn and all the mysteries therein,\" said Nchylbar, trying to appear as kindly and obsequious as he could be. \"It is said that your knowledge is absolute.\"\n\"So it is,\" smiled the Daedra.\n\"You would know, for example, what is in this wooden box,\" said Nchylbar.\nAzura turned to Athynic, her brow furrowed. The priest was quick to explain, \"Goddess, this Dwemer is a very wise and respected man. Believe me, please, the intention is not to mock your greatness, but to demonstrate it to this scientist and to the rest of his skeptical race. I have tried to explain your power to him, but his philosophy is such that he must see it demonstrated.\"\n\"If I am to demonstrate my might in a way to bring the Dwemer race to understanding, it might have been a more impressive feat you would have me do,\" growled Azura, and turned to look Nchylbar in the eyes. \"There is a red-petalled flower in the box.\"\nNchylbar did not smile or frown. He simply opened the box and revealed to all that it was empty.\nWhen the students turned to look to Azura, she was gone. Only Athynic had seen the Goddess's expression before she vanished, and he could not speak, he was trembling so. A curse had fallen, he knew that truly, but even crueler was the knowledge of divine power that had been demonstrated. Nchylbar also looked pale, uncertain on his feet, but his face shone with not fear, but bliss. The smile of a Dwemer finding evidence for a truth only suspected.\nTwo of his students supported him, and two more supported the priest as they left the chamber.\n\"I have studied very much over the years, performed countless experiments, taught myself a thousand languages, and yet the skill that has taught me the finally truth is the one that I learned when I was but a poor, young man, trying only to have enough gold to eat,\" whispered the sage.\nAs he was escorted up the stairs to his bed, a red flower petal fell from the sleeve of his voluminous robe. Nchylbar died that night, a portrait of peace that comes from contented knowledge.\nPublisher's Note:\nThis is another tale whose origin is unmistakably Dwemer. Again, the words of some Aldmeris translations are quite different, but the essence of the story is the same. The Dunmer have a similar tale about Nchylbar, but in the Dunmer version, Azura recognizes the trick and refuses to answer the question. She slays the Dwemer present for their skepticism and curses the Dunmer for blasphemy.\nIn the Aldmeris versions, Azura is tricked not by an empty box, but by a box containing a sphere which somehow becomes a flat square. Of course the Aldmeris versions, being a few steps closer to the original Dwemer, are much more difficult to understand. Perhaps this \"stage magic\" explanation was added by Gor Felim because of Felim's own experience with such tricks in his plays when a mage was not available.\n\"Marobar Sul\" left even the character of Nchylbar alone, and he represents many \"Dwemer\" virtues. His skepticism, while not nearly as absolute as in the Aldmeris version, is celebrated even though it brings a curse upon the Dwemer and the unnamed House of the poor priest.\nWhatever the true nature of the Gods, and how right or wrong the Dwemer were about them, this tale might explain why the dwarves vanished from the face of Tamriel. Though Nchylbar and his kind may not have intended to mock the Aedra and Daedra, their skepticism certainly offended the Divine Orders."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/beram-journal-entry-1": {"series": "Beram Journal", "game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/beram-journal-entry-1", "author": "Beram, Foreman", "title": "Beram Journal, Entry 1", "description": "The journal of Beram, the foreman of the construction operation that was digging a dungeon underneath Tel Vos. Something suspicious happens, and Beram and his crew are trapped in the dungeon with something quite nasty. Master Aryon was either oblivious or uninterested, I suppose.", "text": "Today we finally finished hewing out the two main jail rooms and all six cells, and almost as if in response to our celebration, several of those damned roots grew through the wall and took out two of our cells. I wonder constantly what those wizards could be up to up there in the tower, but I guess this is the nature of working for the Telvanni. I will inform them again of our construction plans (which THEY provided to us) and request that they refrain from such actions in the future. In the meantime, my men have begun setting up the necessary ramps and equipment to begin work on the next section of dungeon. Here's hoping it goes better than the first.\nBeram\nForeman"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/beram-journal-entry-2": {"series": "Beram Journal", "game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/beram-journal-entry-2", "author": "Beram, Foreman", "title": "Beram Journal, Entry 2", "description": "The journal of Beram, the foreman of the construction operation that was digging a dungeon underneath Tel Vos. Something suspicious happens, and Beram and his crew are trapped in the dungeon with something quite nasty. Master Aryon was either oblivious or uninterested, I suppose.", "text": "The lower dungeon rooms have been proving much more difficult than we originally thought. We must be working near some lava flows, as the rock of the cave walls is exceptionally hard stuff. It's hard enough to see in here without all our proper lighting installed, I don't need this delay too. I have sent off for some new volcanic glass tools, and in the meantime, one of my men has found a section of cave softer than the rest, and we have continued our work there, bypassing this first room. A few men have expressed their concern over the light rumblings that we have been feeling lately, but I am convinced that it is just more of those Telvanni and their hocus-pocus mushroom magic. They assured us of this site's stability. The rats and bugs are annoying to us, but do not pose a threat. Hopefully we can find the source of this infestation soon and eliminate it. I don't have time for this.\nBeram\nForeman"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/beram-journal-entry-3": {"series": "Beram Journal", "game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/beram-journal-entry-3", "author": "Beram, Foreman", "title": "Beram Journal, Entry 3", "description": "The journal of Beram, the foreman of the construction operation that was digging a dungeon underneath Tel Vos. Something suspicious happens, and Beram and his crew are trapped in the dungeon with something quite nasty. Master Aryon was either oblivious or uninterested, I suppose.", "text": "The worst has happened. This morning a boulder came loose from the ceiling and fell directly onto our major ramp, causing it to collapse and killing two of my men in the process. The remaining three of us are now stranded alone down here, with the cave walls being too sheer to climb, and the wizards obviously having more important things to deal with than a few errant laborers. With our water supplies diminishing rapidly, I sent Norvus and Gilam further down into the caves to look for any natural exits we might have missed when first surveying the site. Damn those wizards. They told us this site was safe. What could they be doing up there? Why are these bugs and rats getting more aggressive by the hour? And why is it getting so blasted hot?\nBeram\nForeman"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/beram-journal-entry-4": {"series": "Beram Journal", "game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/beram-journal-entry-4", "author": "Beram, Foreman", "title": "Beram Journal, Entry 4", "description": "The journal of Beram, the foreman of the construction operation that was digging a dungeon underneath Tel Vos. Something suspicious happens, and Beram and his crew are trapped in the dungeon with something quite nasty. Master Aryon was either oblivious or uninterested, I suppose.", "text": "I found Norvus's head and torso lying in this room, with a large part of the rest of him seemingly smeared along the walls. I screamed for full minutes when I found it, and now all I can do is sit and stare. My only solace is this paper. More roots keep penetrating the walls every minute, and the rocks and lights seem to be taking on lives of their own. Now I fear not only for my life, but for my sanity. Please someone come soon. The rumblings are getting faster and stronger, and I can't breathe this stifling air much longer. What in Vivec's name have these wizards done? The heat..."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/beram-journal-entry-5": {"series": "Beram Journal", "game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/beram-journal-entry-5", "author": "Beram, Foreman", "title": "Beram Journal, Entry 5", "description": "The journal of Beram, the foreman of the construction operation that was digging a dungeon underneath Tel Vos. Something suspicious happens, and Beram and his crew are trapped in the dungeon with something quite nasty. Master Aryon was either oblivious or uninterested, I suppose.", "text": "HE IS HERE!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/biography-barenziah-v1": {"series": "Biography of Barenziah", "game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/biography-barenziah-v1", "author": "Stern Gamboge", "title": "Biography of Barenziah, v1", "description": "The \"official\" biography of Queen Barenziah. This is the watered down version that was produced for widespread Imperial distribution.", "text": "Biography of Barenziah\nVolume One\nby \nStern Gamboge\nImperial Scribe\nLate in the Second Era, a girl-child, Barenziah, was born to the rulers of the kingdom of Mournhold in what is now the Imperial Province of Morrowind.  She was reared in all the luxury and security befitting a royal Dark Elven child until she reached five years of age.  At that time, His Excellency Tiber Septim I, the first Emperor of Tamriel, demanded that the decadent rulers of Morrowind yield to him and institute imperial reforms.  Trusting to their vaunted magic, the Dark Elves impudently refused until Tiber Septim's army was on the borders. An Armistice was hastily signed by the now-eager Dunmer, but not before there were several battles, one of which laid waste to Mournhold, now called Almalexia.\nLittle Princess Barenziah and her nurse were found among the wreckage.  The Imperial General Symmachus, himself a Dark Elf, suggested to Tiber Septim that the child might someday be valuable, and she was therefore placed with a loyal supporter who had recently retired from the Imperial Army.\nSven Advensen had been granted the title of Count upon his retirement; his fiefdom, Darkmoor, was a small town in central Skyrim.  Count Sven and his wife reared the princess as their own daughter, seeing to it that she was educated appropriately-and more importantly, that the imperial virtues of obedience, discretion, loyalty, and piety were instilled in the child.  In short, she was made fit to take her place as a member of the new ruling class of Morrowind.\nThe girl Barenziah grew in beauty, grace, and intelligence.  She was sweet-tempered, a joy to her adoptive parents and their five young sons, who loved her as their elder sister.  Other than her appearance, she differed from young girls of her class only in that she had a strong empathy for the woods and fields, and was wont to escape her household duties to wander there at times.\nBarenziah was happy and content until her sixteenth year, when a wicked orphan stable-boy, whom she had befriended out of pity, told her he had overheard a conspiracy between her guardian, Count Sven, and a Redguard visitor to sell her as a concubine in Rihad, as no Nord or Breton would marry her on account of her black skin, and no Dark Elf would have her because of her foreign upbringing.\n\"Whatever shall I do?\" the poor girl said, weeping and trembling, for she had been brought up in innocence and trust, and it never occurred to her that her friend the stable-boy would lie to her.\nThe wicked boy, who was called Straw, said that she must run away if she valued her virtue, but that he would come with her as her protector.  Sorrowfully, Barenziah agreed to this plan; and that very night, she disguised herself as a boy and the pair escaped to the nearby city of Whiterun.  After a few days there, they managed to get jobs as guards for a disreputable merchant caravan.  The caravan was heading east by side roads in a mendacious attempt to elude the lawful tolls charged on the imperial highways.  Thus the pair eluded pursuit until they reached the city of Rifton, where they ceased their travels for a time.  They felt safe in Rifton, close as it was to the Morrowind border so that Dark Elves were enough of a common sight.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/biography-barenziah-v2": {"series": "Biography of Barenziah", "game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/biography-barenziah-v2", "author": "Stern Gamboge", "title": "Biography of Barenziah, v2", "description": "The \"official\" biography of Queen Barenziah. This is the watered down version that was produced for widespread Imperial distribution.", "text": "Biography of Barenziah\nVolume Two\nby \nStern Gamboge\nImperial Scribe\nThe first volume of this series told the story of Barenziah's origin-heiress to the throne of Mournhold until her father rebelled against His Excellency Tiber Septim I and brought ruin to the province of Morrowind.  Thanks largely to the benevolence of the Emperor, the child Barenziah was not destroyed with her parents, but reared by Count Sven of Darkmoor, a loyal Imperial trustee.  She grew up into a beautiful and pious child, trustful of her guardian's care.  This trust, however, was exploited by a wicked orphan stable boy at Count Sven's estate, who with lies and fabrications tricked her into fleeing Darkmoor with him when she turned sixteen.  After many adventures on the road, they settled in Riften, a Skyrim city near the Morrowind borders.\nThe stable boy, Straw, was not altogether evil.  He loved Barenziah in his own selfish fashion, and deception was the only way he could think of that would cement possession of her.  She, of course, felt only friendship toward him, but he was hopeful that she would gradually change her mind.  He wanted to buy a small farm and settle down into a comfortable marriage, but at the time his earnings were barely enough to feed and shelter them.\nAfter only a short time in Riften, Straw fell in with a bold, villainous Khajiit thief named Therris, who proposed that they rob the Imperial Commandant's house in the central part of the city.  Therris said that he had a client, a traitor to the Empire, who would pay well for any information they could gather there.  Barenziah happened to overhear this plan and was appalled.  She stole away from their rooms and walked the streets of Riften in desperation, torn between her loyalty to the Empire and her love for her friends.\nIn the end, loyalty to the Empire prevailed over personal friendship, and she approached the Commandant's house, revealed her true identity, and warned him of her friends' plan.  The Commandant listened to her tale, praised her courage, and assured her that no harm would come to her.  He was none other than General Symmachus, who had been scouring the countryside in search of her since her disappearance, and had just arrived in Riften, hot in pursuit.  He took her into his custody, and informed her that, far from being sent away to be sold, she was to be reinstated as the Queen of Mournhold as soon as she turned eighteen.  Until that time, she was to live with the Septim family in the newly built Imperial City, where she would learn something of government and be presented at the Imperial Court.\nAt the Imperial City, Barenziah befriended the Emperor Tiber Septim during the middle years of his reign.  Tiber's children, particularly his eldest son and heir Pelagius, came to love her as a sister.  The ballads of the day praised her beauty, chastity, wit, and learning.  On her eighteenth birthday, the entire Imperial City turned out to watch her farewell procession preliminary to her return to her native land.  Sorrowful as they were at her departure, all knew that she was ready for her glorious destiny as sovereign of the kingdom of Mournhold.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/biography-barenziah-v3": {"series": "Biography of Barenziah", "game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/biography-barenziah-v3", "author": "Stern Gamboge", "title": "Biography of Barenziah, v3", "description": "The \"official\" biography of Queen Barenziah. This is the watered down version that was produced for widespread Imperial distribution.", "text": "Biography of Barenziah\nVolume Three\nby \nStern Gamboge\nImperial Scribe\nIn the second volume of this series, it was told how Barenziah was kindly welcomed to the newly constructed Imperial City by the Emperor Tiber Septim and his family, who treated her like a long-lost daughter during her almost one-year stay.  After several happy months there learning her duties as vassal queen under the Empire, the Imperial General Symmachus escorted her to Mournhold where she took up her duties as Queen of her people under his wise guidance.  Gradually they came to love one another and were married and crowned in a splendid ceremony at which the Emperor himself officiated.\nAfter several hundred years of marriage, a son, Helseth, was born to the royal couple amid celebration and joyous prayer.  Although it was not publicly known at the time, it was shortly before this blessed event that the Staff of Chaos had been stolen from its hiding place deep in the Mournhold mines by a clever, enigmatic bard known only as the Nightingale.\nEight years after Helseth's birth, Barenziah bore a daughter, Morgiah, named after Symmachus' mother, and the royal couple's joy seemed complete.  Alas, shortly after that, relations with the Empire mysteriously deteriorated, leading to much civil unrest in Mournhold.  After fruitless investigations and attempts at reconciliation, in despair Barenziah took her young children and travelled to the Imperial City herself to seek the ear of then Emperor Uriel Septim VII.  Symmachus remained in Mournhold to deal with the grumbling peasants and annoyed nobility, and do what he could to stave off an impending insurrection.\nDuring her audience with the Emperor, Barenziah, through her magical arts, came to realize to her horror and dismay that the so-called Emperor was an impostor, none other than the bard Nightingale who had stolen the Staff of Chaos.  Exercising great self-control she concealed this realization from him.  That evening, news came that Symmachus had fallen in battle with the revolting peasants of Mournhold, and that the kingdom had been taken over by the rebels.  Barenziah, at this point, did not know where to seek help, or from whom.\nThe gods, that fateful night, were evidently looking out for her as if in redress of her loss.  King Eadwyre of High Rock, an old friend of Uriel Septim and Symmachus, came by on a social call.  He comforted her, pledged his friendship-and furthermore, confirmed her suspicions that the Emperor was indeed a fraud, and none other than Jagar Tharn, the Imperial Battlemage, and one of the Nightingale's many alter egos.  Tharn had supposedly retired into seclusion from public work and installed his assistant, Ria Silmane, in his stead.  The hapless assistant was later put to death under mysterious circumstances-supposedly a plot implicating her had been uncovered, and she had been summarily executed.  However, her ghost had appeared to Eadwyre in a dream and revealed to him that the true Emperor had been kidnapped by Tharn and imprisoned in an alternate dimension.  Tharn had then used the Staff of Chaos to kill her when she attempted to warn the Elder Council of his nefarious plot.\nTogether, Eadwyre and Barenziah plotted to gain the false Emperor's confidence.  Meanwhile, another friend of Ria's, known only as the Champion, who apparently possessed great, albeit then untapped, potential, was incarcerated at the Imperial Dungeons.  However, she had access to his dreams, and she told him to bide his time until she could devise a plan that would effect his escape.  Then he could begin on his mission to unmask the impostor.\nBarenziah continued to charm, and eventually befriended, the ersatz Emperor.  By contriving to read his secret diary, she learned that he had broken the Staff of Chaos into eight pieces and hidden them in far-flung locations scattered across Tamriel.  She managed to obtain a copy of the key to Ria's friend's cell and bribed a guard to leave it there as if by accident.  Their Champion, whose name was unknown even to Barenziah and Eadwyre, made his escape through a shift gate Ria had opened in an obscure corner of the Imperial Dungeons using her already failing powers.  The Champion was free at last, and almost immediately went to work.\nIt took Barenziah several more months to learn the hiding places of all eight Staff pieces through snatches of overheard conversation and rare glances at Tharn's diary.  Once she had the vital information, however -- which she communicated to Ria forthwith, who in turn passed it on to the Champion-she and Eadwyre lost no time.  They fled to Wayrest, his ancestral kingdom in the province of High Rock, where they managed to fend off the sporadic efforts of Tharn's henchmen to haul them back to the Imperial City, or at the very least obtain revenge.  Tharn, whatever else might be said of him, was no one's fool-save perhaps Barenziah's -- and he concentrated most of his efforts toward tracking down and destroying the Champion.\nAs all now know, the courageous, indefatigable, and forever nameless Champion was successful in reuniting the eight sundered pieces of the Staff of Chaos.  With it, he destroyed Tharn and rescued the true Emperor, Uriel Septim VII.  Following what has come to be known as the Restoration, a grand state memorial service was held for Symmachus at the Imperial City, befitting the man who had served the Septim Dynasty for so long and so well.\nBarenziah and good King Eadwyre had come to care deeply for one another during their trials and adventures, and were married in the same year shortly after their flight from the Imperial City.  Her two children from her previous marriage with Symmachus remained with her, and a regent was appointed to rule Mournhold in her absence.\nUp to the present time, Queen Barenziah has been in Wayrest with Prince Helseth and Princess Morgiah.  She plans to return to Mournhold after Eadwyre's death.  Since he was already elderly when they wed, she knows that that event, alas, could not be far off as the Elves reckon time.  Until then, she shares in the government of the kingdom of Wayrest with her husband, and seems glad and content with her finally quiet, and happily unremarkable, life.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bone-part-i": {"series": "Bone", "game": ["Morrowind", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bone-part-i", "author": "Tavi Dromio", "title": "Bone, Part I", "description": "These two books (combined) are one of the series of books featuring Hallgerd, Xiomara and Garaz. Nice story about the invention of medium armor.", "text": "\"It seems to me,\" said Garaz, thoughtfully looking into the depths of  his flin. \"That all great ideas come from pure happenstance. Take for  instance, the story I told you last night about my cousin. If he hadn't  fallen off that horse, he never would have become one of the Empire's  foremost alchemists.\"\nIt was late one Middas night at the King's Ham, and the regulars were  always especially inclined toward philosophy.\n\"I disagree,\" replied Xiomara, firmly but politely. \"Great ideas and  inventions are most often formed slowly over time by diligence and hard  work. If you'll recall my tale from last month, the young lady -- who I  assure you is based on a real person -- only recognized her one true  love after she had slept with practically everyone in Northpoint.\"\n\"I put it to you that neither is the case,\" said Hallgerd, pouring a  topper on his mug of greef. \"The greatest inventions are created by  extraordinary need. Must I remind you of the story I told some time ago  about Arslic Oan and the invention of bonemold?\"\n\"The problem with your theory is that your example is entirely  fictional,\" sniffed Xiomara.\n\"I don't believe I remember the story of Arslic Oan and the invention of  bonemold,\" frowned Garaz. \"Are you sure you told us?\"\n\"Well, this happened many, many, many years ago, when Vvardenfell was a  beauteous green land, when Dunmer were Chimer and Dwemer and Nord lived  together in relative peace when they weren't trying to kill one  another,\" Hallgerd relaxed in his chair, warming to his theme. \"When the  sun and moons all hung in the sky together--\"\n\"Lord, Mother, and Wizard!\" grumbled Xiomara. \"If I'm going to be forced  to hear your ridiculous story again, pray don't embellish and make it  any longer than it has to be.\"\nThis all happened in Vvardenfell quite some time ago (said Hallgerd,  ignoring Xiomara's interruption with admirable restraint) during an era  of a king you would never have heard of. Arslic Oan was one of this  king's nobles and very, very disagreeable fellow. Because of his  allegiance to the crown, the king had felt the need to grant him a  castle and land, but he didn't necessarily want him as a neighbor so the  land he granted was far from civilization. Right in an area of  Vvardenfell that is, even today, not quite civilized to this day. Arslic  Oan built a walled stronghold and settled down with his unhappy slaves  to enjoy a quiet if somewhat grim life.\nIt was not long before his stronghold's integrity was tested. A tribe of  cannibalistic Nords had been living in the valley for some time, mostly  dining on one another, but occasionally foraging what they liked to  call dark meat, the Dunmer.\nXiomara laughed with appreciation. \"Marvelous! I don't remember that  from before. It's funny how you don't hear much about the Nords' rampant  cannibalism nowadays.\"\nThis was obviously, as I've said, quite some time ago (said Hallgerd,  glaring at part of his audience with civil malevolence) and things were  in many ways quite different. These cannibalistic Nords began attacking  Arslic Oan's slaves in the fields, and then slowly grew bolder, until  they held the very stronghold itself under siege. They were quite a  fearsome sight you can imagine: a horde of wild-eyed men and women with  dagger-like teeth filed to tear flesh, wielding massive clubs, cloaked  only in the skins of their victims.\nArslic Oan assumed that if he ignored them, they'd go away.\nUnfortunately, the first thing that the Nords did was to poison the  stream that carried water into the walled stronghold. All the livestock  and most of the slaves died very quickly before this was discovered.  There was no hope of rescue, at least for several months when the king's  emissaries would come reluctantly to visit the disagreeable vassal. The  next closest source of water was on the other side of the hill, so  Arslic Oan sent three of his slaves with empty jugs to bring some back.\nThey were beaten with clubs and eaten before they were a few feet  outside the stronghold gates. The next group he sent through he gave  sticks to defend themselves. They made it a few feet farther, but were  also overwhelmed, beaten, and devoured. It was obvious that better  personal defensive was required. Arslic Oan went to talk to his armorer,  one of his few slaves with specific talents and duties.\n\"The slaves need armor if they're going to make it to the river and  back,\" he said. \"Collect every scrap of steel and iron you can find,  every hinge, knife, ring, cup, everything that isn't needed to keep the  walls sturdy, smelt it, and give me the most and the best armor you can,  very, very quickly.\"\nThe armorer, whose name was Gorkith, was used to Arslic Oan's demands,  and knew that there could be no compromise on the quality and quantity  of the armor, or the speed at which he worked. He labored for thirty  hours without a break - and, recall, without any water to slake his  thirst as he struggled with the kiln and anvil - until finally, he had  six suits of mixed-metal armor.\nSix slaves were chosen, clad in the armor, and sent with jars to collect  river water. At first, the mission progressed well. The Nord attacked  the armored slaves with their clubs, but they continued their march  forward, warding off the blows. Gradually, however, the slaves seemed to  be walking uncertainly, dazed by the endless barrage. Eventually, one  by one, they fell, the armor was peeled from their bodies, and they were  eaten.\n\"The slaves couldn't move quickly enough in that heavy armor you made,\"  said Arslic Oan to Gorkith. \"I need you to collect all the cadavers of  the poisoned livestock, strip their skin, and give me the most and the  best leather armor you can, very, very quickly.\"\nGorklith did as he was told, though it was a particularly repulsive task  given the rancid state of the livestock. Normally it takes quite a time  to treat and cure leather, so I understand, but Gorklith worked at it  tirelessly, and in a half a day he had twelve suits of leather armor.\nTwelve slaves were chosen, clad in the armor, and sent with jars to  collect river water. They progressed, at first, much better than the  earlier expedition. Two fell almost immediately, but the others had some  luck out-maneuvering their assailants while deflecting an occasional  blow of the club. Several got to the river, three were able to fill up  their jars, and one fellow very nearly made it back to the stronghold  gates. Alas, he fell and was eaten. The Nords possessed a remarkably  healthy appetite.\n\"What we need before I completely run out of slaves,\" said Arslic Oan  thoughtfully to Gorkith. \"Is an armor sturdier than leather but lighter  than metal.\"\nThe armorer had already considered that and taken stock of the materials  available. He had thought about doing something with stone or wood, but  there were practical problems with demolishing more of the stronghold.  The next most prevalent stuff present in the stronghold was skinned dead  bodies, hunks of muscle, fat, blood, and bone. For six hours, he toiled  relentlessly until he produced eighteen suits of bonemold, the first  ones ever created. Arslic Oan was somewhat dubious at the sight (and  smell) but he was very thirsty, and willing to sacrifice another  eighteen slaves if necessary.\n\"Might I suggest,\" Gorklith queried tremulously, \"Having the slaves  practice moving about in the armor, here in the courtyard, before  sending them to face the Nords?\"\nArslic Oan coolly allowed it, and for a few hours, the slaves wandered  about the stronghold courtyard in their suits of bonemold. They grew  used to the give of the joints, the rigidity of the backplate, the  weight pushed onto their shoulders and hips. They discovered how to  plant their feet slightly askew to keep their balance steady; how to  quickly turn, pivoting without falling down; how to break into a run and  stop quickly. By the time they were sent out of the castle gates, they  were easily very nearly almost amateurs in the use of their medium  weight armor.\nSeventeen of them were killed and eaten, but one made it back with a jar  of water.\n\"It's perfect nonsense,\" said Xiomara. \"But my point is still valid even  so. Like all great inventors, even in fiction, the armorer worked  diligently to create the bonemold.\"\n\"I think there was a good deal of happenstance as well,\" frowned Garaz.  \"But it is an appalling story. I wish you hadn't told me.\"\n\"If you think that's appalling,\" grinned Hallgerd. \"You should hear what  happened next.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bone-part-ii": {"series": "Bone", "game": ["Morrowind", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bone-part-ii", "author": "Tavi Dromio", "title": "Bone, Part II", "description": "These two books (combined) are one of the series of books featuring Hallgerd, Xiomara and Garaz. Nice story about the invention of medium armor.", "text": "\"What do you mean the story gets more appalling?\" Garaz was incredulous.  \"How in Boethiah's name could it get more appalling?\"\n\"It's a ruse,\" Xiomara scoffed, ordering two more mugs of greef and a  glass of flin for Garaz. \"How much worse can a tale get which  prominently features cannibalism, abuse of slaves, and the regular  placement of rotting animal carcasses?\"\n\"Don't you dare dare me,\" growled Hallgerd, annoyed by his listeners'  lack of appreciation of his prose styling. \"Remind me where we were?\"\n\"Arslic Oan is the owner of a stronghold under siege by savage,  cannibalistic Nords,\" said Xiomara, keeping a straight face. \"After a  lot of deaths and several unsuccessful attempts to get water, he had his  armorer with the unlikely name of Gorkith outfit his slaves with the  first ever bonemold armor. One of them finally makes it back with some  water.\"\nIt was only one jarful of water (said Hallgerd, pulling back in his  chair and continuing the tale), and Arslic Oan drank most of it, passing  the remains to his dear armorer Gorkith and the last dribbles to the  few dozen slaves who still lived. It was hardly enough to sustain health  and well-being. Another expedition was necessary, but they had only one  suit of bonemold left, as there was only one survivor of the trip.\n\"One out of eighteen slaves made it through the gauntlet of Nords  wearing that marvelous bonemold armor of yours,\" said Arslic Oan to  Gorkith. \"And one can only carry back enough water for one. Therefore,  mathematically, as we have, counting you and me, fifty-six remaining  people at the stronghold, we need armor for fifty-four. Since we already  have one, you only need to make fifty-three to make the total. That  way, three will make it back, with enough water for you and me and  whoever's in the best condition to partake. I don't know what we'll do  after that, but if we wait, we won't have enough slaves to fetch even a  couple days' worth of water.\"\n\"I understand,\" whimpered Gorkith. \"But how am I going to make the  armor? I used all the livestock bones to make the first batch of  bonemold.\"\nArslic Oan gave an order which Gorkith fearfully complied with. In  eighteen hours -\n\"What do you mean 'Arslic Oan gave an order which Gorkith fearfully  complied with'?\" asked Xiomara. \"What was the order?\"\n\"All will be clear,\" smiled Hallgerd. \"I have to chose what to reveal  and what to conceal. Such is the way of the tale teller.\"\nIn eighteen hours, Gorkith had fifty-three suits of bonemail (said  Hallgerd, continuing, not really minding the interruption) prepared for  the slaves. Without prompting, he ordered the slaves to practice using  the armor, and even allowed them more training time than their  predecessors. They not only learned how to move and stop quickly in  bonemold, but how to adjust their peripheral vision to see a blow before  it came, and to sway to dodge, and where the sturdiest reinforcement  points on the arm were -- the center of the chest and the abdomen -- and  how to position themselves to take blows there, against their natural  instincts. The slaves even had time for a mock battle before being sent  out among the cannibals.\nThe slaves handled themselves admirably. Very few, just fifteen slaves,  were killed and eaten out right. Only ten were killed and eaten when  they reached the river. That was when things did not go according to  Arslic Oan's plans. Twenty-one slaves with jars of water took off for  the hills. Only eight returned to the castle, largely because they were  blocked by the cannibal Nords. It was a larger percentage than he had  anticipated surviving, but Arslic Oan felt righteous indignation at the  paucity of loyalty.\n\"Are you absolutely certain you wouldn't rather flee?\" he hollered from  the battlements.\nFinally, he allowed the survivors in. Three had been killed waiting for  the gate to open. Two more died almost upon stepping into the courtyard.  One was delirious, walking around in circles, laughing and dancing  before suddenly collapsing. That meant five jars of water for four  people, the two surviving slaves, Arslic Oan, and Gorkith. As the lord  of the manor, Arslic Oan took the extra jar, but he was democratic with  the others.\n\"You're quite correct,\" frowned Garaz. \"This story is getting more and  more appalling.\"\n\"Just wait,\" smiled Hallgerd.\nThe next morning (Hallgerd continued) Arslic Oan awoke to a perfectly  still and quiet stronghold. There was no murmuring in the corridors, no  sound of hard labor in the courtyard. He dressed and surveyed the scene.  It appeared that the fortress was utterly deserted. Arslic Oan walked  down to the armorer's quarters, but the door was locked.\n\"Open up,\" said Arslic Oan, patiently. \"We need to speak. Thirty out of  fifty-four slaves successfully made it to the river and gathered water.  Admittedly, some then fled, and a couple didn't survive because I needed  to correct their fickleness, but mathematically, that's a fifty-five  percent survival rate. If you and I and the two remaining slaves made  the next run to the river, we two should survive.\"\n\"Zilian and Gelo left last night with their armor,\" cried Gorklith  through the door.\n\"Who are Zilian and Gelo?\"\n\"The two remaining slaves! They don't remain anymore!\"\n\"Well, that's vexing,\" said Arslic Oan. \"Still we must continue on.  Mathematically--\"\n\"I heard something last night,\" whimpered Gorklith in a funny voice.  \"Like footsteps, only different, and they were moving through the walls.  And there were voices too. They sounded strange, like they couldn't  move their jaws very well, but I knew one.\"\nArslic Oan sighed, humoring his poor armorer: \"And who was it?\"\n\"Ponik.\"\n\"And who is Ponik?\"\n\"One of the slaves that died when the Nords poisoned our water. One of  the many, many slaves that died, and we made use of. He was always a  nice, uncomplaining fellow, that's why I noticed his voice above all the  others,\" Gorklith began to sob. \"I understood what he was saying.\"\n\"Which was what?\" asked Arslic Oan with a sigh.\n\"'Give me back my bones!'\" Gorklith's voice shrieked. There was silence  for a moment, and then more hysterical sobbing.\n\"I saw that coming,\" laughed Xiomara.\nThere was nothing more to be done with the armorer for the time being  (said Hallgerd, a trifle annoyed at the regular interruptions), so  Arslic Oan stripped one of the dead slaves of his suit of bonemold and  put it on. He practiced in the courtyard, impressing himself with his  natural comfortably with medium weight armor. For hours, he boxed,  feinted, dodged, sprinted, skipped, jumped, and generally cavorted  about. When he felt tired, he retired to the shade and took a nap.\nThe sound of the king's trumpet woke him with a start. Night had fallen,  and for a moment, he thought he had been dreaming. Then the alarum  sounded again, far in the distance, but clear. Arslic Oan leapt to his  feet and ran to the ramparts. Several miles away, he could see the  emissaries and their vast and well-armed escort approach. They were  there early! The cannibal Nords below looked at one another with  consternation. Savages they might be, but they knew when a superior  force was approaching.\nArslic Oan joyously dashed down the stairs to Gorklith's chamber. The  door was still locked. He beat on it, cajoling, demanding, threatening.  Finally, he found a key, one of the few scraps of metal that had not  been smelted days before.\nGorklith appeared to be sleeping, but as Arslic Oan approached, he  noticed that the armorer's mouth and eyes were wide open and his arms  were folded unnaturally behind his back. On closer inspection, the  armorer was obviously dead. What was more, his face and whole body were  sunken, like an empty pig's bladder.\nSomething moved through the walls, like a footfall only... squishy.  Arslic Oan expertly and gracefully turned to face it, completely in  balance.\nAt first, it seemed like nothing more than a bubble expanding through  one of the cracks in the stone. As more of the flesh-colored gelatinous  matter emerged, it more clearly resembled part of a face. A flaccid,  almost shapeless face with a low brow and a slack, toothless jaw. The  rest of the body oozed out of the crack, a soft bag of muscle and blood.  Behind Arslic Oan and to the side, there was more movement, more slaves  welling up through the cracks in the stone. They were all around him,  reaching out.\n\"Give us,\" moaned Ponik, his tongue rolling about his hanging jaw. \"Give  us back our bones.\"\nArslic Oan began to rip off his bonemold, throwing it to the floor. A  hundred figures, more, pooled into the small chamber.\n\"That's not enough.\"\nThe cannibals had cleared away by the time the king's emissaries arrived  at Arslic Oan's gates. They had not been looking forward to this visit.  It was best, they though philosophically, to begin with the worst of  the king's noblemen, so to end their trip well. They sounded the alarum  once again, but the gates did not open. There was no sound from Arslic  Oan's stronghold.\nIt took a few hours to gain access. If the emissaries had not brought a  professional acrobat with them for entertainment, it might have taken  longer. The place seemed to be abandoned. They searched every room,  until finally they came to the armorer's.\nThere they found the master of the manor, folded neatly, legs behind his  head, arms behind the legs, like a fine gown. Not a bone in his body.\n\"The first part of your story was complete nonsense,\" cried Xiomara.  \"But now it doesn't hold true on any level. How could bonemold be made  again if the armorer who invented it died before he could tell anyone  how he did it?\"\n\"I said that this was the first time it was created, not the first time  people learned the craft.\"\n\"And when did someone first teach someone else the craft?\" asked Garaz.\n\"That, my friends,\" replied Hallgerd with a sinister smile. \"Is a tale  for another night.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/charwich-koniinge-letters-v1": {"series": "Charwich-Koniinge Letters", "game": ["Morrowind", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/charwich-koniinge-letters-v1", "author": "Charwich, Koniinge", "title": "Charwich-Koniinge Letters, v1", "description": "A tale of power, betrayal, and excavation in a quest for Azura's Star.", "text": "6 Suns Height, 3E 411\nKambria, High Rock\nMy Dear Koniinge,\nI hope this letter reaches you in Sadrith Mora.  It's been many weeks since I've heard from you, and I hope that the address that I have for you is still up-to-date.  I gave the courier some extra gold, so if he doesn't find you, he is to make inquiries to your whereabouts.  As you can see, after a rather tedious crossing, I've at long last made my way from Bhoriane to my favorite principality in High Rock, surprisingly literate and always fascinating Kambria.  I at once ensconced myself in one of the better libraries here, becoming reacquainted with the locals and the lore.  At the risk of being overly optimistic, I think I might have struck on something very interesting about this mysterious fellow, Hadwaf Neithwyr.\nMany here in town remember him, though few very fondly.  When Hadwaf Neithwyr left, so too did a great plague.  No one thinks it a coincidence.\nAccording to my contacts here, Azura is not his only master.  It may be that when he summoned forth the Daedra and accepted her Star, he was doing so for someone named Baliasir.  Apparently, Neithwyr worked for this Baliasir in some capacity, but I never could find out from anyone exactly what Baliasir's line of business was, nor what Neithwyr did for him.  Zenithar, the God of Work and Commerce, is the most revered deity in Kambria, which served my (that is to say our) purposes well, as the people are naturally receptive to bribery.  Still, it did me little good. I could find nothing specific about our quarry.  After days of inquiry, an old crone recommended that I go to a nearby village called Grimtry Garden, and find the cemetery caretaker there.  I set off at once.\nI know you are impatient when it comes to details, and have little taste for Breton architecture, but if you ever find yourself in mid-High Rock, you owe it to yourself to visit this quaint village.  Like a number of other similar towns in High Rock, there is a high wall surrounded it.  As well as being picturesque, it's a remnant of the region's turbulent past and a useful barrier against the supernatural creatures that sometimes stalk the countryside.  More about that in a moment.\nThe cemetery is actually outside of the city gates, I discovered.  The locals warned me to wait until morning to speak to the caretaker, but I was impatient for information, and did not want to waste a moment.  I trekked through the woods to the lonely graveyard, and immediately found the shuffling, elderly man who was the caretaker.  He bade me leave, that the land was haunted and if I chose to stay I would be in the greatest danger.  I told him that I would not go until he told me what he knew about Hadwaf Neithwyr and his patron Baliasir.  On hearing their names, he fled deeper into the jumble of broken tombstones and decrepit mausoleums.  I naturally pursued.\nI saw him scramble down into an enormous crypt and gave chase.  There was no light within, but I had planned enough to bring with me a torch.  The minute I lit it, I heard a long, savage howl pierce the silence, and I knew that the caretaker had left quickly not merely because he feared speaking of Neithwyr and Baliasir.  Before I saw the creature, I heard its heavy breath and the clack of its clawed feet on stone moving closer to me.  The werewolf emerged from the gloom, brown and black, with slavering jaws, looking at me with the eyes of the cemetery caretaker, now given only to animal hunger.\nI instantly had three different instinctive reactions.  The first was, of course, flight.  The second was to fight.  But if I fled, I might never find the caretaker again, and learn what he knew.  If I fought, I might injure or even kill the creature and be even worse off.  So I elected to go with my third option: to hold my ground and keep the creature within its tomb until the night became morning, and the caretaker resumed his humanity.\nI've sparred often enough unarmored, but surely never with so much at stake, and never with so savage an opponent.  My mind was always on danger not only of injury but the dread disease of lycanthropy. Every rake of its claw I parried, every snap of its foaming jaws I ducked.  I sidestepped when it tried to rush me, but closed the distance to keep it from escaping into the night.  For hours we fought, I always on the defense, it always trying to free itself, or slay me, or both.  I have no doubt that a werewolf has greater energy reserves than a man, but it is a beast and does not know how to save and temper its movements.  As the dawn rose, we were both nearly unconscious from fatigue, but I received my reward.  The creature became a man once again.\nHe was quite considerably friendlier than he had been before.  In fact, when he realized that I had prevented him from going on his nocturnal rampage through the countryside, he became positively affable.\nHere's what I learned: Neithwyr never returned to High Rock.  As far as the old man knows, he is still in Morrowind.  I visited the gravesite of his sister Peryra, and learned that it was probably through her that Neithwyr first met his patron.  It would seem that she was quite a well-known courtesan in her day, and very well traveled, though she chose to return home to die.  Unlike Neithwyr, Baliasir is not far away from me.  He is a shadowy character, but lately, according to the caretaker, he has been paying court to Queen Elysana in Wayrest.  I leave at once.\nPlease write to me as soon as possible to tell me of your progress.  I should be in Wayrest at the home of my friend Lady Elysbetta Moorling in a week's time.  If Baliasir is at court, Lady Moorling will be able to arrange an introduction.\nI feel confident in saying that we are very close to Azura's Star.\nYour Friend,\nCharwich"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/charwich-koniinge-letters-v2": {"series": "Charwich-Koniinge Letters", "game": ["Morrowind", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/charwich-koniinge-letters-v2", "author": "Charwich, Koniinge", "title": "Charwich-Koniinge Letters, v2", "description": "A tale of power, betrayal, and excavation in a quest for Azura's Star.", "text": "3 Last Seed, 3E 411\nTel Aruhn, Morrowind\nMy Good Friend Charwich,\nI only just last week received your letter dated 6 Sun's Height, addressed to me in Sadrith Mora. I did not know how to reach you before to tell you of my progress finding Hadwaf Neithwyr, so I send this to you now care of the lady you mentioned in your letter, the Lady Elysbetta Moorling of Wayrest. I hope that if you have left her palace, she will know where you've gone and can send this to you. And I hope further that you receive it in a timelier manner that I received your letter. It is essential that I hear from you soon so we may coordinate our next course of action.\nMy adventures here have two acts, one before I received your letter, and one immediately after. While you searched for the elusive possessor of Azura's Star in his homeland to the west, I searched for him here where we understood he conjured up the Daedra Prince and received from her the artifact.\nLike you, I had little difficulty finding people who had heard of or even knew Neithwyr. In fact, not long after we parted company and you left for the Iliac Bay, I met someone who knew where he went to perform the ceremony, so I left at once to come here to Tel Aruhn. It took some time to locate my contact, for he is a Dissident Priest named Minerath. The Temple and Tribunal, the real powers of Morrowind, tend to frown on his Order, and while they haven't begun so much of crusade to stamp them out, there are certainly rumors that they will soon. This tends to make priests like Minerath skittish and paranoid. Difficult people to set appointments with.\nFinally I was told that he would be willing to talk to me at the Plot and Plaster, a tiny tavern without even a room to rent. Downstairs, there were several cloaked men crammed around the tavern's only table, and they searched me to see if I had any weaponry. Of course, I hadn't. You know that isn't my preferred method of doing business.\nWhen it decided that I was harmless, one of the cloaked figures revealed himself to be Minerath. I paid him the gold I promised and asked him what he knew about Hadwaf Neithwyr. He remembered him well enough, saying that after he received the Star, the lad intended to return to High Rock. It seemed he had unfinished business there, presumably of a violent nature, which Azura's Star would facilitate. He had no other information, and I did not know what else to ask.\nWe parted company and I waited for your letter, hoping you had found Neithwyr and perhaps even the Star. I confess that as I lingered in Morrowind and never heard from you, I began to have doubts about your character. You'll forgive me for saying so, but I began to fear that you had taken the artifact for yourself. In fact, I was making plans to come to High Rock myself when your letter came at last.\nThe tale of your adventure in the cemetery at Grimtry Garden, and the information you gathered from the lycanthropic caretaker inspired me to have another meeting with Minerath. Thus began the second act of my story.\nI returned to the Pot and Plaster, reasoning that the priest must frequent that area of the city to feel so comfortable setting clandestine meetings there. It took some time searching, but I finally found him, and as luck would have it, he was alone. I called his name, and he quickly drew me to a dark alleyway, nervous that we would be seen by a Temple ordinator.\nIt is a rare and beautiful thing when a victim insists on dragging his killer to a remote location.\nI began at once asking about this fellow you mentioned, Neithwyr's mysterious patron Baliasir. He denied ever having heard the name. We were still in that easy, fairly conversational state when I attacked the priest. Of course, he was completely taken by surprise. In some ways, that can be more effective than an ambush from behind. No matter how many times I've done it, no one ever expected the friendly man they're talking to grip them by the neck.\nI pressed hard against my favorite spot in the soft part of the throat, just below the thyroid cartilage, and it took him too long to react to my lunge and try pushing back. He began to lose consciousness, and I whispered that if I released my grip a little so he could talk and breath, but he tried to call for help, I would snap his neck. He nodded, and I relaxed the pressure, just a bit.\nI asked him again about Baliasir, and he shook his head, insisting that he had never heard the name. As frightened as he was, it seemed most likely that he was telling the truth, so I asked him more generally if he knew anyone else who might know something about Hadwaf Neithwyr. He told me that there was a woman present also during the ceremony, someone he introduced as his sister.\nI remembered then the part of your letter about seeing the grave of Neithwyr's sister, Peryra. When I mentioned the name to the priest he nodded frantically, but I could see that the interrogation had reached an ending. There is, after all, something about being throttled that causes a man to answer yes to every question. I snapped Minerath's neck, and returned home.\nSo now I'm again unsure how to proceed. I've made several more inquiries and several of the same people who met Neithwyr remember him being with a woman. A few recall him saying that she was his sister. One or two believe they remember her name as being Peryra, though they're not certain. No one, however, has heard of anyone named Baliasir.\nIf I do not hear word from you in response to this in the next couple of weeks, I will come to High Rock, because it's there that most people believe Neithwyr returned. I will only stay here long enough to see if there are other inquiries I can make only in Morrowind to bring us closer to our goal of recovering Azura's Star.\nYour Friend,\nKoniinge"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/charwich-koniinge-letters-v3": {"series": "Charwich-Koniinge Letters", "game": ["Morrowind", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/charwich-koniinge-letters-v3", "author": "Charwich, Koniinge", "title": "Charwich-Koniinge Letters, v3", "description": "A tale of power, betrayal, and excavation in a quest for Azura's Star.", "text": "13 Last Seed, 3E 411\nWayrest, High Rock\nMy Dear Koniinge,\nPlease forgive the quality of the handwriting on this note, but I have not long to live. I can only reply in detail to one part of your letter, and that is that I fear Baliasir, contrary to what you've heard, is very much real. Had he been but a figment of that caretaker's imagination, I would not be feeling life ebb from me as I write this.\nLady Moorling has sent for healers, but I know they won't arrive in time. I just need to explain what happened so that you'll understand, and then all my affairs in this world will be ended. The one advantage of my condition is that I must be brief, without my habitually ornamental descriptions of people and places. I know that you will appreciate that at least.\nIt started when I came to Wayrest, and through my friend Lady Moorling and her court connections was introduced to Baliasir himself. I had to proceed carefully, not wanting him to know of our designs on Azura's Star which I presumed he possessed, given to him by his servant Hadwaf Neithwyr. His function in Queen Elysana's court seemed to be decorative, like so many of her courtiers, and it was not hard to differentiate myself from the others when we began conversing on the school of mysticism. Many of the other hangers-on at the palace can speak eloquently on the subject of the magickal arts, but it seemed that only he and I had deep knowledge of the craft.\nMany a nobleman or adventurer who aren't mages by profession learn a spell or two from the useful schools of restoration or destruction. I told Baliasir quite truthfully that I had never learned any of that (oh, but I wish I knew some healing spells of the school of restoration now), but that I had developed some small skill in mysticism. Not enough to be a Psijic, of course, but in telekinesis, password, and spell reflection I had some amateur ability. He responded with compliments, which allowed me to segue into the topic of another spell of mysticism, the soul trap.\nI told him I was unlearned but curious about that spell. And very naturally and comfortably, I was able to bring up the subject of Azura's Star, the endless well of souls.\nImagine how I had to hold back my excitement when he leaned in and whispered to me, \"If that interests you, come to Klythic's Cairn west of the city tomorrow night.\"\nI couldn't sleep at all. The only thing I could think of was how I would get the Star when he showed it to me. I still knew so little about Baliasir, his past and his power, but the opportunity was too great to let pass. Still, I must admit that I held hopes that you would arrive, as you threatened you might in your letter, so I might have someone of physical strength to aid me in my adventure.\nI am growing weaker and weaker as I write this, so I must proceed with the basic facts. I went to the crypt the following night, and Baliasir led me through the maze of it to the repository where he kept the Star. We were talking quite casually, and as you've so often said, it seemed an excellent time for an ambush. I grabbed the Star and unsheathed my blade in what I felt was amazing speed.\nHe turned to me and I suddenly felt that I was moving like a snail. In a flash, Baliasir changed his form and became his true self, not man or mer, but daedra. A colossal daedra lord who swiped back the Star from my grasp and laughed at my sword as it thudded against his impenetrable hide.\nI knew I had been beaten, and I threw myself towards the corridor. A blue flash of energy coursed through me, flung by Baliasir's claws. At once, I began to feel death. He could have smote me with a thousand spells, but he chose the one where I could lie down, and suffer, and hear him laugh. At the very least, I did not give him that pleasure.\nAlready struck, it was too late for me to cast a counterspell of mysticism, one to dispel the magicka, reflect it or absorb it as my own. But I did still know how to teleport myself, what mystics term 'Recall,' to whatever place I'd last set a spiritual anchor. I confess that at the time, I didn't remember where that would be. Perhaps in Bhoriane when I arrived in the Iliac Bay, or in Kambria, or in Grimtry Garden where I met the caretaker, or my hostess's palace in Wayrest. I prayed that I had not set the anchor last when I was with you in Morrowind, for it said that if the distance is too great, one can be caught between dimensions. Still, I was willing to take that chance, rather than being the plaything of Baliasir.\nI cast the spell and found myself back on the doorstep of Lady Moorling's palace. To be out of the crypt and away from the daedra was a relief, but I had so hoped that I had been smart enough to cast an anchor near a Mages Guild or a temple where I could find a healer. Instead, knowing I was too weak to walk far, I beat on the door and was taken here, where I write this letter, lying in my bed.\nAs I wrote those words, dear Elysbetta, Lady Moorling, came in, quite tearfully and frantic, to tell me the healers should be hre withn but a few minute. But I wil be ded ere they arrve. I know thes are m last wors. Der frend, stay away frm this cursd place.\nYr Frend,\nCharwich"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/charwich-koniinge-letters-v4": {"series": "Charwich-Koniinge Letters", "game": ["Morrowind", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/charwich-koniinge-letters-v4", "author": "Charwich, Koniinge", "title": "Charwich-Koniinge Letters, v4", "description": "A tale of power, betrayal, and excavation in a quest for Azura's Star.", "text": "8 Sun's Dawn, 3E 412\nAmiglith, Summurset Isle\nMy Good Friend, Lord Gemyn,\nYou must forgive me for not meeting you at the palace personally, but I've been unavoidably, tragically detained.  I've left the front gate and door unlocked, and if you're reading this, you must have made it at least as far the antechamber to the east drawing room.  Perhaps you've already wandered the estate and seen some of its delights before coming to this chamber: the seven fountains of marble and porphyry, the reflecting pool, the various groves, the colonnades and quincunx.  I don't think you would have already gone to the second floor suites and the west wing as you would have had to pass this room first, and picked up this letter.  But believe me, they're beautifully appointed with magnificent balustrades, winding staircases, intimate salons, and bedchambers worthy of your affluence.\nThe price of this property is exorbitant, certainly, but for a man like you who seeks only the best, this is the villa you must have.  As you undoubtedly noticed as you arrived through the gates, there are several smaller buildings ideally suited to be guard stations.  I know you are concerned with security.\nI am an intensely greedy man, and there is nothing I would have liked more than to meet you here today, show you the grounds, fawn on you obsequiously, and collect a fat percentage of the cost of the sale when you bought this marvelous palace, as I'm sure you would have.  My dilemma that caused my inexcusable absence began shortly after I arrived here early to make certain the villa was well-cleaned for your inspection.  A man named Koniinge crept up behind me, and gripped me by the throat.  Clamping his left hand over my mouth and nose, and throttling me with his right hand, crushing the soft spot on my throat just below the thyroidal cartilage, he effectively strangled me in a few quick but very painful minutes.\nI am currently buried in a pile of leaves in the north statuary parterre, close to the exceptional sculptural representation of the Transformation of Trinimac.  It should not be too long before I am discovered: someone at my bank will surely notice my absence in due time.  Koniinge might have buried me deeper, but he wanted to be ready for the arrival of his old partner, Charwich.\nPerhaps part of you thinks it best to stop reading now, Lord Gemyn.  You are looking around the antechamber and seeing nothing but doors.  The large one you took to come in from the garden is locked now behind you, and without a better knowledge of the layout of the estate, I could not recommend you attempt to flee down a corridor that might easily come to a dead end.  No.  Much better to keep reading, and see where this is going.\nKoniinge, it seems, was in a partnership with his friend Charwich to try to recover Azura's Star.  They understood it to be in the possession of someone named Hadwaf Neithwyr, a man who conjured up the Daedra Prince Azura herself to acquire it.  As Neithwyr originally haled from High Rock, Charwich went there to look for him, while his partner searched Morrowind.  They planned to communicate their findings by letters sent through couriers.\nCharwich's first letter stated that he had found information that Neithwyr had a mysterious patron named Baliasir, a fact he had learned at a cemetery with a gravestone of Neithwyr's sister Peryra and a lycanthropic caretaker.  Koniinge replied back that he could find nothing about Baliasir, but believed that Neithwyr had returned to High Rock with Peryra after getting the Star.  Charwich's last letter was a written on his deathbed, having sustained mortal wounds from his battle with Baliasir, who it seemed had been a mighty daedra lord.\nKoniinge grieved for his friend, and traveled the span of the Empire to Wayrest, to pay his call of condolences on Lady Moorling, the woman at whose house Charwich had been staying.  After making some inquiries, Koniinge learned that her ladyship had left the city, quite suddenly.  She had been entertaining a guest named Charwich, and it was understood that he had died, though no one ever saw the body.  Certainly no healers had been sent to her house on the 13th of Last Seed of last year.  And no one in Wayrest, just like no one in Tel Aruhn, had ever heard of Baliasir.\nPoor Koniinge was suddenly unsure of everything.  He retraced his late partner's path through Boriane and Grimtry Gardens, but found that the Neithwyr family crypt was elsewhere, in a small town in the barony of Dwynnen.  There was indeed a lycanthropic caretaker, fortunately in human form at the time.  When questioned (using the technique of strangulation, release, strangulation, release), he told Koniinge the story that he had told Charwich many months before.\nHadwaf and Peryra Neithwyr had returned to Dwynnen, intent on settling old business.  As the Star requires potent spirits for power, they thought they would begin small by capturing the spirit of the werewolf they knew of in the family graveyard.  Sadly, for them, their grasp exceeded their reach.  When the poor caretaker resumed his human form one morning, he found himself lying next to the shredded, bloody bodies of the Neithwyr siblings.  Distressed and fearful, he brought the corpses and all their possessions down into the crypt.   They were still there when Charwich came, and so too was Azura's Star.\nKoniinge now saw things clearly.  The letters he had received from Charwich were lies, intended to keep him away.  Undoubtedly with the assistance of Lady Moorling, his new partner, he had concocted stories, including one of his own demise, to trick Koniinge into abandoning the quest for the Star.  It was clearly a sad statement on the nature of friendship, and one that needed immediate correction.\nIt took the better part of six months for Koniinge to find his old partner.  Charwich and Lady Moorling had used the power of the Star to make themselves very wealthy and powerful.  They assumed a number of different identities in their travels through High Rock and Skyrim, and then down to Valenwood and the Summurset Isle.  Along the way, of course, the Star itself disappeared, as great daedric artifacts always do.  The couple still had much wealth, but their love sadly fell on troubled times.  When they reached Alinor, they parted ways.\nOne must assume that during their months together, Charwich must have told Lady Moorling about Koniinge.  It's pleasant to think of the loving couple laughing over the stories they were telling him about the mythical and dangerous Baliasir.  Charwich must not have given his former beloved a very accurate physical description, however, because when Lady Moorling (then under the identity of the Countess Zyliana) met Koniinge, she had no idea who he was.  It came as quite a surprise to her when he began strangling her and requesting information about her former paramour.\nBefore she died, she told Koniinge what Charwich's new name and title was, and where he was looking for a new palace.  She even told him about me.  Given all the twists and bends the last months' chase took him on, it was not difficult to find which palace Charwich was looking to buy, and what time his appointment was to view it.  Then he had merely to arrive early, dispose of me, and wait.\nThere our story must sadly end.  I look forward to seeing you soon.\nYours,\nSyrix Goinithi,\nFormer Estate Banker\nP.S.: Charwich -- Turn around now, or don't.  Your choice.  Your friend, Koniinge.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/feyfolken-i": {"series": "Feyfolken", "game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/feyfolken-i", "author": "Waughin Jarth", "title": "Feyfolken I", "description": "The classic tale of scribe and his enchanted quill.", "text": "Feyfolken\nBook One\nby\nWaughin Jarth\nThe Great Sage was a tall, untidy man, bearded but bald. His library resembled him: all the books had been moved over the years to the bottom shelves where they gathered in dusty conglomerations.  He used several of the books in his current lecture, explaining to his students, Taksim and Vonguldak, how the Mages Guild had first been founded by Vanus Galerion.  They had many questions about Galerion's beginnings in the Psijic Order, and how the study of magic there differed from the Mages Guild.\n\"It was, and is, a very structured way of life,\" explained the Great Sage. \"Quite elitist, actually.  That was the aspect of it Galerion most objected to.  He wanted the study of magic to be free.  Well, not free exactly, but at least available to all who could afford it.  In doing that, he changed the course of life in Tamriel.\"\n\"He codified the praxes and rituals used by all modern potionmakers, itemmakers, and spellmakers, didn't he, Great Sage?\" asked Vonguldak.\n\"That was only part of it.  Magic as we know it today comes from Vanus Galerion.  He restructured the schools to be understandable by the masses.  He invented the tools of alchemy and enchanting so everyone could concoct whatever they wanted, whatever their skills and purse would allow them to, without fears of magical backfire.  Well, eventually he created that.\"\n\"What do you mean, Great Sage?\" asked Taksim.\n\"The first tools were more automated than the ones we have today.  Any layman could use them without the least understanding of enchantment and alchemy.  On the Isle of Artaeum, the students had to learn the skills laboriously and over many years, but Galerion decided that was another example of the Psijics' elitism.  The tools he invented were like robotic master enchanters and alchemists, capable of creating anything the customer required, provided he could pay.\"\n\"So someone could, for example, create a sword that would cleave the world in twain?\"  asked Vonguldak.\n\"I suppose, in theory, but it would probably take all the gold in the world,\" chuckled the Great Sage.  \"No, I can't say we were ever in very great danger, but that it isn't to say that there weren't a few unfortunate incidents where a unschooled yokel invented something beyond his ken.  Eventually, of course, Galerion tore apart his old tools, and created what we use today.  It's a little elitist, requiring that people know what they're doing before they do it, but remarkably practical.\"\n\"What did people invent?\" asked Taksim. \"Are there any stories?\"\n\"You're trying to distract me so I don't test you,\" said the Great Sage. \"But I suppose I can tell you one story, just to illustrate a point.  This particular tale takes place in city of Alinor on the west coast of Summurset Isle, and concerns a scribe named Thaurbad.\nThis was in the Second Era, not long after Vanus Galerion had first founded the Mages Guild and chapter houses had sprung up all over Summurset, though not yet spread to the mainland of Tamriel.\nFor five years, this scribe, Thaurbad, had conducted all his correspondence to the outside world by way of his messenger boy, Gorgos. For the first year of his adoption of the hermit life, his few remaining friends and family -- friends and family of his dead wife, truth be told -- had tried visiting, but even the most indefatigable kin gives up eventually when given no encouragement. No one had a good reason to keep in touch with Thaurbad Hulzik, and in time, very few even tried.  His sister-in-law sent him the occasional letter with news of people he could barely remember, but even that communication was rare.  Most of messages to and from his house dealt with his business, writing the weekly proclamation from the Temple of Auri-El.  These were bulletins nailed on the temple door, community news, sermons, that sort of thing.\nThe first message Gorgos brought him that day was from his healer, reminding him of his appointment on Turdas. Thaurbad took a while to write his response, glum and affirmative. He had the Crimson Plague, which he was being treated for at considerable expense -- you have to remember these were the days before the School of Restoration had become quite so specialized.  It was a dreadful disease and had taken away his voicebox.  That was why he only communicated by script.\nThe next message was from Alfiers, the secretary at the church, as curt and noxious as ever: \"THAURBAD, ATTACHED IS SUNDAS'S SERMON, NEXT WEEK'S EVENTS CALENDAR, AND THE OBITUARIES. TRY TO LIVEN THEM UP A LITTLE. I WASN'T HAPPY WITH YOUR LAST ATTEMPT.\"\nThaurbad had taken the job putting together the Bulletin before Alfiers joined the temple, so his only mental image of her was purely theoretical and had evolved over time. At first he thought of Alfiers as an ugly fat sloadess covered with warts; more recently, she had mutated into a rail-thin, spinster orcess. Of course, it was possible his clairvoyance was accurate and she had just lost weight.\nWhatever Alfiers looked like, her attitude towards Thaurbad was clear, unwavering disdain. She hated his sense of humor, always found the most minor of misspellings, and considered his structure and calligraphy the worst kind of amateur work. Luckily, working for a temple was the next most secure job to working for the good King of Alinor. It didn't bring in very much money, but his expenses were minimal.  The truth was, he didn't need to do it anymore.  He had quite a fortune stashed away, but he didn't have anything else to occupy his days.  And the truth was further that having little else to occupy his time and thoughts, the Bulletin was very important to him.\nGorgos, having delivered all the messages, began to clean and as he did so, he told Thaurbad all the news in town.  The boy always did so, and Thaurbad seldom paid him any attention, but this time he had an interesting report.  The Mages Guild had come to Alinor.\nAs Thaurbad listened intently, Gorgos told him all about the Guild, the remarkable Archmagister, and the incredible tools of alchemy and enchanting.  Finally, when the lad had finished, Thaurbad scribbled a quick note and handed it and a quill to Gorgos.  The note read, \"Have them enchant this quill.\"\n\"It will be expensive,\" said Gorgos.\nThaurbad gave Gorgos a sizeable chunk of the thousands of gold pieces he had saved over the years, and sent him out the door.  Now, Thaurbad decided, he would finally have the ability to impress Alfiers and bring glory to the Temple of Auri-El.\nThe way I've heard the story, Gorgos had thought about taking the gold and leaving Alinor, but he had come to care for poor old Thaurbad.  And even more, he hated Alfiers who he had to see every day to get his messages for his master.  It wasn't perhaps for the best of motivations, but Gorgos decided to go to the Guild and get the quill enchanted.\nThe Mages Guild was not then, especially not then, an elitist institution, as I have said, but when the messenger boy came in and asked to use the Itemmaker, he was greeted with some suspicion.  When he showed the bag of gold, the attitude melted, and he was ushered in the room.\nNow, I haven't seen one of the enchanting tools of old, so you must use your imagination.  There was a large prism for the item to be bound with magicka, assuredly, and an assortment of soul gems and globes of trapped energies.  Other than that, I cannot be certain how it looked or how it worked.  Because of all the gold he gave to the Guild, Gorgos could infuse the quill with the highest-price soul available, which was something daedric called Feyfolken.  The initiate at the Guild, being ignorant as most Guildmembers were at that time, did not know very much about the spirit except that it was filled with energy. When Gorgos left the room, the quill had been enchanted to its very limit and then some.  It was virtually quivering with power.\nOf course, when Thaurbad used it, that's when it became clear how over his head he was.\nAnd now,\" said the Great Sage. \"It's time for your test.\"\n\"But what happened?  What were the quill's powers?\" cried Taksim.\n\"You can't stop the tale there!\" objected Vonguldak.\n\"We will continue the tale after your conjuration test, provided you both perform exceptionally well,\" said the Great Sage."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/feyfolken-ii": {"series": "Feyfolken", "game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/feyfolken-ii", "author": "Waughin Jarth", "title": "Feyfolken II", "description": "The classic tale of scribe and his enchanted quill.", "text": "Feyfolken\n\nBook Two\nby\nWaughin Jarth\nAfter the test had been given and Vonguldak and Taksim had demonstrated their knowledge of elementary conjuration, the Great Sage told them that they were free to enjoy the day.  The two lads, who most afternoons fidgeted through their lessons, refused to leave their seats.\n\"You told us that after the test, you'd tell us more of your tale about the scribe and his enchanted quill,\" said Taksim.\n\"You've already told us about the scribe, how he lived alone, and his battles with the Temple secretary over the Bulletin he scripted for posting, and how he suffered from the Crimson Plague and couldn't speak. When you left off, his messenger boy had just had his master's quill enchanted with the spirit of a daedra named Feyfolken,\" added Vonguldak to aid the Great Sage's memory.\n\"As it happens,\" said the Great Sage. \"I was thinking about a nap.  However, the story does touch on some issues of the natures of spirits and thus is related to conjuration, so I'll continue.\nThaurbad began using the quill to write the Temple Bulletin, and there was something about the slightly lopsided, almost three-dimensional quality of the letters that Thaurbad liked a lot.\nInto the night, Thaurbad put together the Temple of Auri-El's Bulletin. For the moment he washed over the page with the Feyfolken quill, it became a work of art, an illuminated manuscript crafted of gold, but with good, simple and strong vernacular. The sermon excerpts read like poetry, despite being based on the archpriest's workmanlike exhortation of the most banal of the Alessian doctrines. The obituaries of two of the Temple's chief benefactors were stark and powerful, pitifully mundane deaths transitioned into world-class tragedies. Thaurbad worked the magical palette until he nearly fainted from exhaustion. At six o'clock in the morning, a day before deadline, he handed the Bulletin to Gorgos for him to carry to Alfiers, the Temple secretary.\nAs expected, Alfiers never wrote back to compliment him or even comment on how early he had sent the bulletin. It didn't matter. Thaurbad knew it was the best Bulletin the Temple had ever posted. At one o'clock on Sundas, Gorgos brought him many messages.\n\"The Bulletin today was so beautiful, when I read it in the vestibule, I'm ashamed to tell you I wept copiously,\" wrote the archpriest. \"I don't think I've seen anything that captures Auri-El's glory so beautifully before. The cathedrals of Firsthold pale in comparison. My friend, I prostrate myself before the greatest artist since Gallael.\"\nThe archpriest was, like most men of the cloth, given to hyperbole. Still, Thaurbad was happy with the compliment. More messages followed. All of the Temple Elders and thirty-three of the parishioners young and old had all taken the time to find out who wrote the bulletin and how to get a message to congratulate him. And there was only one person they could go through for that information: Alfiers. Imaging the dragon lady besieged by his admirers filled Thaurbad with positive glee.\nHe was still in a good mood the next day when he took the ferry to his appointment with his healer, Telemichiel. The herbalist was new, a pretty Redguard woman who tried to talk to him, even after he gave her the note reading \"My name is Thaurbad Hulzik and I have an appointment with Telemichiel for eleven o'clock. Please forgive me for not talking, but I have no voicebox anymore.\"\n\"Has it started raining yet?\" she asked cheerfully. \"The diviner said it might.\"\nThaurbad frowned and shook his head angrily. Why was it that everyone thought that mute people liked to be talked to? Did soldiers who lost their arms like to be thrown balls? It was undoubtedly not a purposefully cruel behavior, but Thaurbad still suspected that some people just liked to prove that they weren't crippled too.\nThe examination itself was routine horror. Telemichiel performed the regular invasive torture, all the while chatting and chatting and chatting.\n\"You ought to try talking once in a while.  That's the only way to see if you're getting better.  If you don't feel comfortable doing it in public, you could try practicing it by yourself,\" said Telemichiel, knowing her patient would ignore her advice. \"Try singing in the bath. You'll probably find you don't sound as bad as you think.\"\nThaurbad left the examination with the promise of test results in a couple of weeks. On the ferry ride back home, Thaurbad began thinking of next week's temple bulletin. What about a double-border around the \"Last Sundas's Offering Plate\" announcement? Putting the sermon in two columns instead of one might have interesting effects. It was almost unbearable to think that he couldn't get started on it until Alfiers sent him information.\nWhen she did, it was with the note, \"LAST BULLETIN A LITTLE BETTER. NEXT TIME, DON'T USE THE WORD 'FORTUITOUS' IN PLACE OF 'FORTUNATE.' THE WORDS ARE NOT, IF YOU LOOK THEM UP, SYNONYMOUS.\"\nIn response, Thaurbad almost followed Telemichiel's advice by screaming obscenities at Gorgos. Instead, he drank a bottle of cheap wine, composed and sent a suitable reply, and fell asleep on the floor.\nThe next morning, after a long bath, Thaurbad began work on the Bulletin. His idea for putting a light shading effect on the \"Special Announcements\" section had an amazing textural effect. Alfiers always hated the extra decorations he added to the borders, but using the Feyfolken quill, they looked strangely powerful and majestic.\nGorgos came to him with a message from Alfiers at that very moment as if in response to the thought. Thaurbad opened it up.  It simply said, \"I'M SORRY.\"\nThaurbad kept working. Alfiers's note he put from his mind, sure that she would soon follow it up with the complete message \"I'M SORRY THAT NO ONE EVER TAUGHT YOU TO KEEP RIGHT-HAND AND LEFT-HAND MARGINS THE SAME LENGTH\" or \"I'M SORRY WE CAN'T GET SOMEONE OTHER THAN A WEIRD, OLD MAN AS SCRIBE OF OUR BULLETIN.\" It didn't matter what she was sorry about. The columns from the sermon notes rose like the massive pillars of roses, crowned with unashamedly ornate headers. The obituaries and birth announcements were framed together with a spherical border, as a heartbreaking declaration of the circle of life. The Bulletin was simultaneously both warm and avant-garde. It was a masterpiece. When he sent it off to Alfiers late that afternoon, he knew she'd hate it, and was glad.\nThaurbad was surprised to get a message from the Temple on Loredas. Before he read the content, he could tell from the style that it wasn't from Alfiers. The handwriting wasn't Alfiers's usual belligerent slashing style, and it wasn't all in Alfiers's usual capital letters, which read like a scream from Oblivion.\n\"Thaurbad, I thought you should know Alfiers isn't at the Temple anymore. She quit her position yesterday, very suddenly. My name is Vanderthil, and I was lucky enough (let me admit it now, I begged pitifully) to be your new Temple contact. I'm overwhelmed by your genius. I was having a crisis of faith until I read last week's Bulletin. This week's Bulletin is a miracle. Enough. I just wanted to say I'm honored to be working with you. -- Vanderthil.\"\nThe response on Sundas after the service even astonished Thaurbad. The archpriest attributed the massive increase in attendance and collection plate offerings entirely to the Bulletin. Thaurbad's salary was quadrupled. Gorgos brought over a hundred and twenty messages from his adoring public.\nThe following week, Thaurbad sat in front of his writing plank, a glass of fine Torvali mead at his side, staring at the blank scroll. He had no ideas. The Bulletin, his child, his second-wife, bored him. The third-rate sermons of the archbishop were absolute anathema, and the deaths and births of the Temple patrons struck him as entirely pointless. Blah blah, he thought as he scribbled on the page.\nHe knew he wrote the letters B-L-A-H B-L-A-H. The words that appeared on the scroll were, \"A necklace of pearl on a white neck.\"\nHe scrawled a jagged line across the page. It appeared in through that damned beautiful Feyfolken quill: \"Glory to Auri-El.\"\nThaurbad slammed the quill and poetry spilled forth in a stream of ink. He scratched over the page, blotting over everything, and the vanquished words sprung back up in different form, even more exquisite than before. Every daub and splatter caused the document to whirl like a kaleidoscope before falling together in gorgeous asymmetry. There was nothing he could do to ruin the Bulletin. Feyfolken had taken over. He was a reader, not an author.\nNow,\" asked the Great Sage. \"What was Feyfolken from your knowledge of the School of Conjuration?\"\n\"What happened next?\" cried Vonguldak.\n\"First, tell me what Feyfolken was, and then I'll continue the story.\"\n\"You said it was a daedra,\" said Taksim. \"And it seems to have something to do with artistic expression.  Was Feyfolken a servitor of Azura?\"\n\"But the scribe may have been imagining all this,\" said Vonguldak. \"Perhaps Feyfolken is a servitor of Sheogorath, and he's gone mad.  Or the quill's writing makes everyone who views it, like all the congregation at the Temple of Auri-El, go mad.\"\n\"Hermaeus Mora is the daedra of knowledge ... and Hircine is the daedra of the wild ... and the daedra of revenge is Boethiah,\" pondered Taksim. And then he smiled, \"Feyfolken is a servitor of Clavicus Vile, isn't it?\"\n\"Very good,\" said the Great Sage. \"How did you know?\"\n\"It's his style,\" said Taksim. \"Assuming that he doesn't want the power of the quill now that he has it.  What happens next?\"\n\"I'll tell you,\" said the Great Sage, and continued the tale."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/feyfolken-iii": {"series": "Feyfolken", "game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/feyfolken-iii", "author": "Waughin Jarth", "title": "Feyfolken III", "description": "The classic tale of scribe and his enchanted quill.", "text": "Feyfolken\nBook Three\nby\nWaughin Jarth\nThaurbad had at last seen the power of the quill,\" said the Great Sage, continuing his tale. \"Enchanted with the daedra Feyfolken, servitor of Clavicus Vile, it had brought him great wealth and fame as the scribe of the weekly Bulletin of the Temple of Auri-El.  But he realized that it was the artist, and he merely the witness to its magic.  He was furious and jealous.  With a cry, he snapped the quill in half.\nHe turned to finish his glass of mead.  When he turned around, the quill was intact.\nHe had no other quills but the one he had enchanted, so he dipped his finger in the inkwell and wrote a note to Gorgos in big sloppy letters.  When Gorgos returned with a new batch of congratulatory messages from the Temple, praising his latest Bulletin, he handed the note and the quill to the messenger boy.  The note read: \"Take the quill back to the Mages Guild and sell it.  Buy me another quill with no enchantments.\"\nGorgos didn't know what to make of the note, but he did as he was told.  He returned a few hours later.\n\"They wouldn't give us any gold back for it,\" said Gorgos. \"They said it wasn't enchanted.  I told 'em, I said 'What are you talking about, you enchanted it right here with that Feyfolken soul gem,' and they said, 'Well, there ain't a soul in it now.  Maybe you did something and it got loose.'\"\nGorgos paused to look at his master.  Thaurbad couldn't speak, of course, but he seemed even more than usually speechless.\n\"Anyway, I threw the quill away and got you this new one, like you said.\"\nThaurbad studied the new quill.  It was white-feathered while his old quill had been dove gray. It felt good in his hand.  He sighed with relief and waved his messenger lad away.  He had a Bulletin to write, and this time, without any magic except for his own talent.\nWithin two days time, he was nearly back on schedule. It looked plain but it was entirely his. Thaurbad felt a strange reassurance when he ran his eyes over the page and noticed some slight errors. It had been a long time since the Bulletin contained any errors. In fact, Thaurbad reflected happily, there were probably other mistakes still in the document that he was not seeing.\nHe was finishing a final whirl of plain calligraphy on the borders when Gorgos arrived with some messages from the Temple. He looked through them all quickly, until one caught his eye.  The wax seal on the letter read \"Feyfolken.\"  With complete bafflement, he broke it open.\n\"I think you should kill yourself,\" it read in perfectly gorgeous script.\nHe dropped the letter to the floor, seeing sudden movement on the Bulletin.  Feyfolken script leapt from the letter and coursed over the scroll in a flood, translating his shabby document into a work of sublime beauty. Thaurbad no longer cared about the weird croaking quality of his voice. He screamed for a very long time. And then drank. Heavily.\nGorgos brought Thaurbad a message from Vanderthil, the secretary of the Temple, early Fredas morning, but it took the scribe until mid-morning to work up the courage to look at it. \"Good Morning, I am just checking in on the Bulletin. You usually have it in on Turdas night. I'm curious. You planning something special? -- Vanderthil.\"\nThaurbad responded, \"Vanderthil, I'm sorry. I've been sick. There won't be a Bulletin this Sunday\" and handed the note to Gorgos before retiring to his bath.  When he came back an hour later, Gorgos was just returning from the Temple, smiling.\n\"Vanderthil and the archpriest went crazy,\" he said. \"They said it was your best work ever.\"\nThaurbad looked at Gorgos, uncomprehending.  Then he noticed that the Bulletin was gone.  Shaking, he dipped his finger in the inkwell and scrawled the words \"What did the note I sent with you say?\"\n\"You don't remember?\" asked Gorgos, holding back a smile.  He knew the master had been drinking a lot lately.  \"I don't remember the exact words, but it was something like, 'Vanderthil, here it is. Sorry it's late. I've been having severe mental problems lately. - Thaurbad.'  Since you said, 'here it is,' I figured you wanted me to bring the Bulletin along, so I did.  And like I said, they loved it.  I bet you get three times as much letters this Sundas.\"\nThaurbad nodded his head, smiled, and waved the messenger lad away.  Gorgos returned back to the Temple, while his master turned to his writing plank, and pulled out a fresh sheet of parchment.\nHe wrote with the quill: \"What do you want, Feyfolken?\"\nThe words became: \"Goodbye. I hate my life. I have cut my wrists.\"\nThaurbad tried another tact: \"Have I gone insane?\"\nThe words became: \"Goodbye. I have poison. I hate my life.\"\n\"Why are you doing this to me?\"\n\"I Thaurbad Hulzik cannot live with myself and my ingratitude. That's why I've put this noose around my neck.\"\nThaurbad picked up a fresh parchment, dipped his finger in the inkwell, and proceeded to rewrite the entire Bulletin. While his original draft, before Feyfolken had altered it, had been simple and flawed, the new copy was a scrawl. Lower-case I's were undotted, G's looked like Y's, sentences ran into margins and curled up and all over like serpents. Ink from the first page leaked onto the second page. When he yanked the pages from the notebook, a long tear nearly divided the third page in half. Something about the final result was evocative. Thaurbad at least hoped so. He wrote another note reading, simply, \"Use this Bulletin instead of the piece of trash I sent you.\"\nWhen Gorgos returned with new messages, Thaurbad handed the envelope to him.  The new letters were all the same, except for one from his healer, Telemichiel. \"Thaurbad, we need you to come in as soon as possible. We've received the reports from Black Marsh about a strain of the Crimson Plague that sounds very much like your disease, and we need to re-examine you. Nothing is definite yet, but we're going to want to see what our options are.\"\nIt took Thaurbad the rest of the day and fifteen drams of the stoutest mead to recover. The larger part of the next morning was spent recovering from this means of recovery. He started to write a message to Vanderthil: \"What did you think of the new Bulletin?\" with the quill.  Feyfolken's improved version was \"I'm going to ignite myself on fire, because I'm a dying no-talent.\"\nThaurbad rewrote the note using his finger-and-ink message.  When Gorgos appeared, he handed him the note.  There was one message in Vanderthil's handwriting.\nIt read, \"Thaurbad, not only are you divinely inspired, but you have a great sense of humor.  Imagine us using those scribbles you sent instead of the real Bulletin.  You made the archbishop laugh heartily.  I cannot wait to see what you have next week.  Yours fondly, Vanderthil.\"\nThe funeral service a week later brought out far more friends and admirers than Thaurbad Hulzik would've believed possible. The coffin, of course, had to be closed, but that didn't stop the mourners from filing into lines to touch its smooth oak surface, imagining it as the flesh of the artist himself. The archbishop managed to rise to the occasion and deliver a better than usual eulogy. Thaurbad's old nemesis, the secretary before Vanderthil, Alfiers came in from Cloudrest, wailing and telling all who would listen that Thaurbad's suggestions had changed the direction of her life. When she heard Thaurbad had left her his quill in his final testament, she broke down in tears. Vanderthil was even more inconsolable, until she found a handsome and delightfully single young man.\n\"I can hardly believe he's gone and I never even saw him face-to-face or spoke to him,\" she said. \"I saw the body, but even if he hadn't been all burned up, I wouldn't have been able to tell if it was him or not.\"\n\"I wish I could tell you there'd been a mistake, but there was plenty of medical evidence,\" said Telemichiel. \"I supplied some of it myself. He was a patient of mine, you see.\"\n\"Oh,\" said Vanderthil. \"Was he sick or something?\"\n\"He had the Crimson Plague years ago, that's what took away his voice box, but it appeared to have gone into complete remission. Actually, I had just sent him a note telling him words to that effect the day before he killed himself.\"\n\"You're that healer?\" exclaimed Vanderthil. \"Thaurbad's messenger boy Gorgos told me that he had just picked up that message when I sent mine, complementing him on the new, primative design for the Bulletin. It was amazing work. I never would've told him this, but I had begun to suspect he was stuck in an outmoded style. It turned out he had one last work of genius, before going out in a blaze of glory. Figuratively. And literally.\"\nVanderthil showed the healer Thaurbad's last Bulletin, and Telemichiel agreed that its frantic, nearly illegible style spoke volumes about the power and majesty of the god Auri-El.\"\n\"Now I'm thoroughly confused,\" said Vonguldak.\n\"About which part?\" asked the Great Sage. \"I think the tale is very straight-forward.\"\n\"Feyfolken made all the Bulletins beautiful, except for the last one, the one Thaubad did for himself,\" said Taksim thoughtfully. \"But why did he misread the notes from Vanderthil and the healer?  Did Feyfolken change those words?\"\n\"Perhaps,\" smiled the Great Sage.\n\"Or did Feyfolken changed Thaurbad's perceptions of those words?\" asked Vonguldak. \"Did Feyfolken make him mad after all?\"\n\"Very likely,\" said the Great Sage.\n\"But that would mean that Feyfolken was a servitor of Sheogorath,\" said Vonguldak. \"And you said he was a servitor of Clavicus Vile.  Which was he, an agent of mischief or an agent of insanity?\"\n\"The will was surely altered by Feyfolken,\" said Taksim, \"And that's the sort of thing a servitor of Clavicus Vile would do to perpetuate the curse.\"\n\"As an appropriate ending to the tale of the scribe and his cursed quill,\" smiled the Great Sage. \"I will let you read into it as you will.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mystery-talara-part-1": {"series": "Mystery of Talara", "game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mystery-talara-part-1", "author": "Mera Llykith", "title": "Mystery of Talara, part 1", "description": "The classic story about political intrigue in the royal family of Camlorn.", "text": "The Mystery of Princess Talara\nPart I\nby \nMera Llykith\nThe year was 3E 405.  The occasion was the millennial celebration of the founding of the Breton Kingdom of Camlorn.  Every grand boulevard and narrow alley was strung with gold and purple banners, some plain, some marked with the heraldic symbols of the Royal Family or the various principalities and dukedoms which were vassals of the King.  Musicians played in the plazas great and small, and on every street corner was a new exotic entertainer: Redguard snake charmers, Khajiiti acrobats, magicians of genuine power and those whose flamboyant skill was equally impressive if largely illusion.\nThe sight that drew most of the male citizens of Camlorn was the March of Beauty.  A thousand comely young women, brightly and provocatively dressed, danced their way down the long, wide main street of the city, from the Temple of Sethiete to the Royal Palace.  The menfolk jostled one another and craned their necks, picking their favorites.  It was no secret that they were all prostitutes, and after the March and the Flower Festival that evening, they would be available for more intimate business.\nGyna attracted much of the attention with her tall, curvaceous figure barely covered by strips of silk and her curls of flaxen hair specked with flower petals.  In her late twenties, she wasn't the youngest of the prostitutes, but she was certainly one of the most desirable.  It was clear by her demeanor that she was used to the lascivious glances, though she was far from jaded at the sight of the city in splendor.  Compared to the squalid quarter of Daggerfall where she made her home, Camlorn at the height of celebration seemed so unreal.  And yet, what was even stranger was how, at the same time, familiar it all looked, though she had never been there before.\nThe King's daughter Lady Jyllia rode out of the palace gates, and immediately cursed her misfortune.  She had completely forgotten about the March of Beauty.  The streets were snarled, at a standstill.  It would take hours to wait for the March to pass, and she had promised her old nurse Ramke a visit in her house south of the city.  Jyllia thought for a moment, picturing in her mind the arrangement of streets in the city, and devised a shortcut to avoid the main street and the March.\nFor a few minutes she felt very clever as she wound her way through tight, curving side streets, but presently she came upon temporary structures, tents and theaters set up for the celebration, and had to improvise a new path.  In no time at all, she was lost in the city where she had lived all but five years of her life.\nPeering down an alley, she saw the main avenue crowded with the March of Beauty.  Hoping that it was the tale end, and desirous not to be lost again, Lady Jyllia guided her horse toward the festival.  She did not see the snake-charmer at the mouth of the alley, and when his pet hissed and spread its hood, her charge reared up in fear.\nThe women in the parade gasped and surged back at the sight, but Lady Jyllia quickly calmed her stallion down.  She looked abashed at the spectacle she had caused.\n\"My apologies, ladies,\" she said with a mock military salute.\n\"It's all right, madam,\" said a blonde in silk. \"We'll be out of your way in a moment.\"\nJyllia stared as the March passed her.  Looking at that whore had been like looking in a mirror.  The same age, and height, and hair, and eyes, and figure, almost exactly.  The woman looked back at her, and it seemed as if she was thinking the same thing.\nAnd so Gyna was.  The old witches who sometimes came in to Daggerfall had sometimes spoke of doppelgangers, spirits that assumed the guise of their victims and portended certain death.  Yet the experience had not frightened her: it seemed only one more strangely familiar aspect of the alien city.  Before the March had danced it way into the palace gates, she had all but forgotten the encounter.\nThe prostitutes crushed into the courtyard, as the King himself came to the balcony to greet them.  At his side was his chief bodyguard, a battlemage by the look of him.  As for the King himself, he was a handsome man of middle age, rather unremarkable, but Gyna was awed at the sight of him.  A dream, perhaps.  Yes, that was it: she could see him as she had dreamt of him, high above her as he was now, bending now to kiss her.  Not a one of lust as she had experienced before, but one of small fondness, a dutiful kiss.\n\"Dear ladies, you have filled the streets of the great capitol of Camlorn with your beauty,\" cried the King, forcing a silence on the giggling, murmuring assembly.  He smiled proudly.  His eyes met Gyna's and he stopped, shaken.  For an eternity, they stayed locked together before His Highness recovered and continued his speech.\nAfterwards, while the women were all en route back to their tents to change into their costumes for the evening, one of the older prostitutes approached Gyna: \"Did you see how the King looked at you?  If you're smart, you'll be the new royal mistress before this celebration ends.\"\n\"I've seen looks of hunger before, and that wasn't one of them,\" laughed Gyna. \"I'd wager he thought I was someone else, like that lady who tried to run us over with her horse.  She's probably his kin, and he thought she had dressed up like a courtesan and joined the March of Beauty.  Can you imagine the scandal?\"\nWhen they arrived at the tents, they were greeted by a stocky, well-dressed young man with a bald pate and a commanding presence of authority.  He introduced himself as Lord Strale, ambassador to the Emperor himself, and their chief patron.  It was Strale who had hired them, on the Emperor's behalf, as a gift to the King and the kingdom of Camlorn.\n\"The March of Beauty is but a precursor to the Flower Festival tonight,\" he said.  Unlike the King, he did not have to yell to be heard.  His voice was loud and precise in its natural modulations. \"I expect each of you to perform well, and justify the significant expense I've suffered bringing you all the way up here.  Now hurry, you must be dressed and in position on Cavilstyr Rock before the sun goes down.\"\nThe ambassador needn't have worried.  The women were all professionals, experts at getting dressed and undressed with none of the time-consuming measures less promiscuous females required.  His manservant Gnorbooth offered his assistance, but found he had little to do.  Their costumes were simplicity itself: soft, narrow sheets with a hole for their heads.  Not even a belt was required, so the gowns were open at the sides exposing the frame of their skin.\nSo it was long before the sun had set that the prostitutes turned dancers were at Cavilstyr Rock.  It was a great, wide promontory facing the sea, and for the occasion of the Festival of Flowers, a large circle of unlit torches and covered baskets had been arranged.  As early as they were, a crowd of spectators had already arrived.  The women gathered in the center of the circle and waited until it was time.\nGyna watched the crowd as it grew, and was not surprised when she saw the lady from the March approaching, hand-in-hand with a very old, very short white-haired woman.  The old woman was distracted, pointing out islands out at sea.  The blonde lady seemed nervous, unsure of what to say.  Gyna was used to dealing with uneasy clients, and spoke first.\n\"Good to see you again, madam.  I am Gyna of Daggerfall.\"\n\"I'm glad you bear me no ill will because of the whores, I mean horse,\" the lady laughed, somewhat relieved. \"I am Lady Jyllia Raze, daughter of the King.\"\n\"I always thought that daughters of kings were called princess,\" smiled Gyna.\n\"In Camlorn, only when they are heirs to the throne.  I have a younger brother from my father's new wife whom he favors,\" Jyllia replied.  She felt her head swim.  It was madness, speaking to a common prostitute, talking of family politics so intimately. \"Relative to that subject, I must ask you something very peculiar.  Have you ever heard of the Princess Talara?\"\nGyna thought a moment: \"The name sounds somewhat familiar.  Why would I have?\"\n\"I don't know.  It was a name I just thought you might recognize,\" sighed Lady Jyllia. \"Have you been to Camlorn before?\"\n\"If I did, it was when I was very young,\" said Gyna, and suddenly she felt it was her turn to be trusting.  Something about the Lady Jyllia's friendly and forthcoming manner touched her. \"To be honest, I don't remember anything at all of my childhood before I was nine or ten.  Perhaps I was here with my parents, whoever they were, when I was a little girl.  I tell you, I think perhaps I was.  I don't recall ever being here before, but everything I've seen, the city, you, the King himself, all seem ... like I've been here before, long ago.\"\nLady Jyllia gasped and took a step back.  She gripped the old woman, who had been looking out to sea and murmuring, by the hand.  The elderly creature looked to Jyllia, surprised, and then turned to Gyna.  Her ancient, half-blind eyes sparkled with recognition and she made a sound like a grunt of surprise.  Gyna also jumped.  If the King had seemed like something out of a half-forgotten dream, this woman was someone she knew.  As clear and yet indistinct as a guardian spirit.\n\"I apologize,\" stammered Lady Jyllia. \"This is my childhood nursemaid, Ramke.\"\n\"It's her!\" the old woman cried, wild-eyed.  She tried to run forward, arms outstretched, but Jyllia held her back.  Gyna felt strangely naked, and pulled her robe against her body.\n\"No, you're wrong,\" Lady Jyllia whispered to Ramke, holding the old woman tightly. \"The Princess Talara is dead, you know that.  I shouldn't have brought you here.  I'll take you back home.\" She turned back to Gyna, her eyes welling with tears. \"The entire royal family of Camlorn was assassinated over twenty years ago.  My father was Duke of Oloine, the King's brother, and so he inherited the crown.  I'm sorry to have bothered you.  Goodnight.\"\nGyna gazed after Lady Jyllia and the old nurse as they disappeared into the crowd, but she had little time to consider all she had heard.  The sun was setting, and it was time for the Flower Festival.  Twelve young men emerged from the darkness wearing only loincloths and masks, and lit the torches.  The moment the fire blazed, Gyna and all the rest of the dancers rushed to the baskets, pulling out blossoms and vines by the handful.\nAt first, the women danced with one another, sprinkling petals to the wind.  The crowd then joined in as the music swelled.  It was a mad, beautiful chaos.  Gyna leapt and swooned like a wild forest nymph.  Then, without warning, she felt rough hands grip her from behind and push her.\nShe was falling before she understood it.  The moment the realization hit, she was closer to the bottom of the hundred foot tall cliff than she was to the top.  She flailed out her arms and grasped at the cliff wall.  Her fingers raked against the stone and her flesh tore, but she found a grip and held it.  For a moment, she stayed there, breathing hard.  Then she began to scream.\nThe music and the festival were too loud up above: no one could hear her - she could scarcely hear herself.  Below her, the surf crashed.  Every bone in her body would snap if she fell.  She closed her eyes, and a vision came.  A man was standing below her, a King of great wisdom, great compassion, looking up, smiling.  A little girl, golden-haired, mischievous, her best friend and cousin, clung to the rock beside her.\n\"The secret to falling is making your body go limp.  And with luck, you won't get hurt,\" the girl said.  She nodded, remembering who she was. Eight years of darkness lifted.\nShe released her grip and let herself fall like a leaf into the water below.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mystery-talara-part-2": {"series": "Mystery of Talara", "game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mystery-talara-part-2", "author": "Mera Llykith", "title": "Mystery of Talara, part 2", "description": "The classic story about political intrigue in the royal family of Camlorn.", "text": "The Mystery of\nPrincess Talara\nPart II\nBy\nMera Llykith\nShe felt nothing, darkness enveloping her body and mind.  Pain surged through her leg and with that sensation, a great feeling of cold washed over her.  She opened her eyes and saw that she was drowning.\nHer left leg would not move at all, but using her right one and her arms, she pulled herself up toward the moons above.  It was long way through the swirling currents that wrenched back at her.  At last she broke the surface and sucked in the cold night air.  She was still close to the rocky shoreline of the capitol city of the kingdom of Camlorn, but the water had carried her quite a ways from the point where she fell at Cavilstyr Rock.\nNot fell, she thought, correcting herself.  She had been pushed.\nFurther down current, she allowed herself to drift.  There the steep cliff walls sloped lower until they were close to the water's edge.  The silhouette of a large house on the shore loomed ahead, and as she neared it, she could see smoke rising from the chimney and the flicker of firelight within.  The pain in her leg was great, but greater still was the chill of the water.  The thought of a warm hearth fire was all the motivation she needed to begin swimming again.\nAt the shore's edge, she tried to stand but found she couldn't.  Her tears mixed with the sea water as she began to crawl across the sand and rock.  The simple white sheet which had been her costume at the Flower Festival was tattered and felt like a weight of lead across her back.  Beyond the point of exhaustion, she fell forward and began to sob.\n\"Please!\" she cried. \"If you can hear me, please help!\"\nA moment later, the door to the house opened and a woman stepped out.  It was Ramke, the old lady she had met at the Flower Festival.  The one who had started and cried \"It's her!\" even before she herself knew who she was.  By contrast, when the old woman came to her, this time there was no glimmer of recognition in her eyes.\n\"By Sethiete, are you hurt?\" Ramke whispered, and helped her up, acting as her crutch. \"I've seen that gown before.  Were you one of the dancers at the Flower Festival tonight?  I was there with Lady Jyllia Raze, the daughter of the King.\"\n\"I know, she introduced us,\" she groaned. \"I called myself Gyna of Daggerfall?\"\n\"Of course, I knew you looked familiar somehow,\" the old woman chuckled, and led her hop by hop across the beach and into the front door. \"My memory isn't as good as it used to be.  Lets get you warm and have a look at that leg.\"\nRamke took Gyna's soaking rags and covered her with a blanket as she sat at the fire.  As the numbness of the chill water began to leave her, it cruelly abandoned her to the intense agony of her leg.  Until then, she had not dared to look at it.  When she did, she felt vomit rise at the sight of the deep gash, fish-white dead flesh, plump and swollen.  Thick arterial blood bubbled up, splashing on the floor in streams.\n\"Oh dear,\" said the old woman, returning to the fire. \"That must rather sting.  You're lucky that I still remember a little of the old healing spells.\"\nRamke seated herself on the floor and pressed her hands on either side of the wound.  Gyna felt a flare of pain, and then a cool soft pinching and prickle.  When she looked down, Ramke was slowly sliding her wrinkled hands towards one another.  At their approach, the lesion began to mend before her eyes, flesh binding and bruises fading.\n\"Sweet Kynareth,\" Gyna gasped. \"You've saved my life.\"\n\"Not only that, you won't have an ugly scar on your pretty leg,\" Ramke chuckled. \"I had to use that spell so many times when Lady Jyllia was little.  You know, I was her nursemaid.\"\n\"I know,\" Gyna smiled. \"But that was a long time ago, and you still remember the spell.\"\n\"Oh, when you're learning anything, even the School of Restoration, there's always a lot of study and mistakes, but once you're as old as I am, there's no longer any need to remember things.  You just know.  After all, I've probably cast it a thousand times before.  Little Lady Jyllia and the little Princess Talara was always getting cut and bruised.  Small wonder, the way they was always climbing all over the palace.\"\nGyna sighed. \"You must have loved Lady Jyllia very much.\"\n\"I still do,\" Ramke beamed. \"But now she's all grown and things are different.  You know, I didn't notice it before because you were all wet from the sea, but you look very much like my lady.  Did I mention that before when we met at the Festival?\"\n\"You did,\" said Gyna. \"Or rather I think you thought I looked like Princess Talara.\"\n\"Oh, it would be so wonderful if you were the Princess returned,\" the old woman gasped. \"You know, when the former royal family was killed, and everyone said the Princess was killed though we never found the body, I think the real victim was Lady Jyllia.  Her little heart just broke, and for a while, it looked like her mind did too.\"\n\"What do you mean?\" asked Gyna. \"What happened?\"\n\"I don't know if I should tell a stranger this, but it's fairly well-known in Camlorn, and I really feel like I know you,\" Ramke struggled with her conscience and then released. \"Jyllia saw the assassination, you see.  I found her afterwards, hiding in that terrible blood-stained throne room, and she was like a little broken doll.  She wouldn't speak, she wouldn't eat.  I tried all my healing spells, but it was quite beyond my power.  So much more than a scraped knee.  Her father who was then Duke of Oloine sent her to a sanitarium in the country to get well.\"\n\"That poor little girl,\" cried Gyna.\n\"It took her years to be herself again,\" said Ramke, nodding. \"And, in truth, she never really returned altogether.  You wonder why her father when he was made king didn't make her his heir?  He thought that she was still not exactly right, and in a way, as much as I would deny it, he's correct to think so.  She remembered nothing, nothing at all.\"\n\"Do you think,\" Gyna considered her words carefully. \"That she would be better if she knew that her cousin the Princess Talara was alive and well?\"\nRamke considered it. \"I think so.  But maybe not.  Sometimes it's best not to hope.\"\nGyna stood up, finding her leg to be as strong as it looked to be.  Her gown had dried, and Ramke gave her a cloak, insisting she protect herself against the cold night air.  At the door, Gyna kissed the old woman's cheek and thanked her.  Not only for the healing spell and for the cloak, but for everything else of kindness she had ever done.\nThe road close to the house went north and south.  To the left was the way back to Camlorn, where secrets lay to which she alone held the key.  To the south was Daggerfall, her home for more than twenty years.  She could return there, back to her profession on the streets, very easily.  For a few seconds, she considered her options, and then made her choice.\nShe had not been walking for very long, when a black carriage drawn by three horses bearing the Imperial Seal, together with eight mounted horses, passed her.  Before it rounded the wooded pass ahead, it stopped suddenly.  She recognized one of the soldiers as Gnorbooth, Lord Strale's manservant.  The door opened and Lord Strale himself, the Emperor's ambassador, the man who had hired her and all the other women to entertain at court, stepped out.\n\"You!' he frowned. \"You're one of the prostitutes, aren't you?  You're the one who disappeared during the Flower Festival?  Gyna, am I right?\"\n\"All that is true,\" she smiled sourly. \"Except my name I've discovered is not Gyna.\"\n\"I don't care what it is,\" said Lord Strale. \"What are you doing on the south road?  I paid for you to stay and make the kingdom merry.\"\n\"If I went back to Camlorn, there are a great many who wouldn't be merry at all.\"\n\"Explain yourself,\" said Lord Strale.\nSo she did.  And he listened.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mystery-talara-part-3": {"series": "Mystery of Talara", "game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mystery-talara-part-3", "author": "Mera Llykith", "title": "Mystery of Talara, part 3", "description": "The classic story about political intrigue in the royal family of Camlorn.", "text": "The Mystery \nof\nPrincess Talara\nPart III\nBy\nMera Llykith\nGnorbooth was leaving his favorite pub in Camlorn, The Breaking Branch, when he heard someone calling his name.  His was not the sort of a name that could be mistaken for another.  He turned and saw Lord Eryl, the Royal Battlemage from the palace, emerge from the darkness of the alley.\n\"Milord,\" said Gnorbooth with a pleasant smile.\n\"I'm surprised to see you out this evening, Gnorbooth,\" grinned Lord Eryl with a most unpleasant smile. \"I have not seen you and your master very much since the millennial celebration, but I understand you've been very busy.  What I've been wondering is what you've been busy doing.\"\n\"Protecting the Imperial interests in Camlorn is busy work, milord.  But I cannot imagine you would be interested in the minutiae of the ambassador's appointments.\"\n\"But I am,\" said the battlemage. \"Especially as the ambassador has begun acting most mysteriously, most undiplomatically lately.  And I understand that he has taken one of the whores from the Flower Festival into his house.  I believe her name is Gyna?\"\nGnorbooth shrugged: \"He's in love, I would imagine, milord.  It can make men act very strangely, as I'm sure you've heard before.\"\n\"She is a most comely wench,\" laughed Lord Eryl. \"Have you noticed how much she resembles the late Princess Talara?\"\n\"I have only been in Camlorn for fifteen years, milord.  I never saw her late majesty.\"\n\"Now I could understand it if he had taken to writing poetry, but what man in love spends his days in the kitchens of the palace, talking to old servants?  That hardly sounds like molten passion to me, even based on my limited experience.\" Lord Eryl rolled his eyes. \"And what is this business he has now in - oh, what is the name of that village?\"\n\"Umbington?\" replied Gnorbooth, and immediately wished he hadn't.  Lord Eryl was too canny an actor to reveal it, but Gnorbooth knew at the pit of his stomach that the battlemage did not even know Lord Strale had left the capitol.  He had to get away to let the ambassador know, but there was still a game to be carefully played. \"He's not leaving for there until tomorrow.  I believe it's just to put a stamp on some deed that needs the Imperial seal.\"\n\"Is that all?  How tedious for the poor fellow.  I suppose I'll see him when he returns then,\" Lord Eryl bowed. \"Thank you for being so informative.  Farewell.\"\nThe moment the royal battlemage turned the corner, Gnorbooth leapt onto his horse.  He had drunk one or two ales too many, but he knew he must find his way to Umbington before Lord Eryl's agents did.  He galloped east out of the capitol, hoping there were signs along the road.\nSeated in a tavern that smelled of mildew and sour beer, Lord Strale marveled at how the Emperor's agent Lady Brisienna always found the most public of places for her most private of conferences.  It was harvest time in Umbington, and all of the field hands were drinking away their meager wages in the noisiest of fashions.  He was dressed appropriately for the venue, rough trousers and a simple peasant's vest, but he still felt conspicuous.  In comparison to his two female companions, he certainly was.  The woman to his right was used to frequenting the low places of Daggerfall as a common prostitute.  Lady Brisienna to his left was even more clearly in her element.\n\"By what name would you prefer I call you?\" Lady Brisienna asked solicitously.\n\"I am used to the name Gyna, though that may have to change,\" was her reply. \"Of course, it may not.  Gyna the Whore may be the name writ on my grave.\"\n\"I will see to it that there is no attempt on your life like that the Flower Festival,\" Lord Strale frowned. \"But without the Emperor's help, I won't be able to protect you forever.  The only permanent solution is to capture those who would do you harm and then to raise you to your proper station.\"\n\"Do you believe my story?\" Gyna turned to Lady Brisienna.\n\"I have been the Emperor's chief agent in High Rock for many years now, and I have heard few stranger tales.  If your friend the ambassador hadn't investigated and discovered what he has, I would have dismissed you outright as a madwoman,\" Brisienna laughed, forcing a smile onto Gyna's face to match. \"But now, yes, I do believe you.  Perhaps that makes me the madwoman.\"\n\"Will you help us?\" asked Lord Strale simply.\n\"It is a tricky business interfering in the affairs of the provincial kingdoms,\" Lady Brisienna looked into the depths of her mug thoughtfully. \"Unless there is a threat to the Empire itself, we find it is best not to meddle.  What we have in your case is a very messy assassination that happened twenty years ago, and its aftermath.  If His Imperial Majesty involved itself in every bloody hiccup in the succession in each of his thousand vassal kingdoms, he would never accomplish anything for the greater good of Tamriel.\"\n\"I understand,\" murmured Gyna. \"When I remembered everything, who I was and what happened to me, I resolved to do nothing about it.  In fact, I was leaving Camlorn and going back home to Daggerfall when I saw Lord Strale again.  He was the one who began this quest to resolve this, not me.  And when he brought me back, I only wanted to see my cousin to tell her who I was, but he forbade me.\"\n\"It would have been too dangerous,\" growled Strale. \"We still don't know yet the depths of the conspiracy.  Perhaps we never will.\"\n\"I'm sorry, I always find myself giving long explanations to short questions.  When Lord Strale asked if I would help, I should have begun by saying 'yes,'\" Lady Brisienna laughed at the change in Lord Strale and Gyna's expressions. \"I will help you, of course.  But for this to turn out well, you must accomplish two things to the Emperor's satisfaction.  First, you must prove with absolute certainty who is the power behind this plot you've uncovered.  You must get someone to confess.\"\n\"And secondly,\" said Lord Strale, nodding. \"We must prove that this is a matter worthy of His Imperial Majesty's consideration, and not merely a minor local concern.\"\nLord Strale, Lady Brisienna, and the woman who called herself Gyna discussed how to accomplish their goals for a few hours more.  When it was agreed what had to be done, Lady Brisienna took her leave to find her ally Proseccus.  Strale and Gyna set off to the west, toward Camlorn.  It was not long after beginning their ride through the woods that they heard the sound of galloping hoof beats far up ahead.  Lord Strale unsheathed his sword and signaled for Gyna to position her horse behind him.\nAt that moment, they were attacked on all sides.  It was an ambush. Eight men, armed with axes, had been lying in wait.\nLord Strale quickly yanked Gyna from her horse, pulling her behind him.  He made a brief, deft motion with his hands.  A ring of flame materialized around them, and rushed outward, striking their assailants.  The men roared in pain and dropped to their knees.  Lord Strale jumped the horse over the closest one, and galloped at full speed westward.\n\"I thought you were an ambassador not a mage!\" laughed Gyna.\n\"I still believe there are times for diplomacy,\" replied Lord Strale.\nThe horse and rider they had heard before met them on the road.  It was Gnorbooth. \"Milord, it's the royal battlemage!  He found out you two were in Umbington!\"\n\"With considerable ease, I might add,\" Lord Eryl's voice boomed out of the woods.  Gnorbooth, Gyna, and Lord Strale scanned the dark trees, but they showed nothing.  The battlemage's voice seemed to emanate from everywhere and nowhere.\n\"I'm sorry, milord,\" groaned Gnorbooth. \"I tried to warn you as soon as I could.\"\n\"In your next life, perhaps you'll remember not to trust your plans to a drunkard!\" laughed Lord Eryl.  He had them in his sight, and the spell was unleashed.\nGnorbooth saw him first, by the light of the ball of fire that leapt from his fingertips.  Later, Lord Eryl was to wonder to himself what the fool had intended to do.  Perhaps he was rushing forward to pull Lord Strale out of the path.  Perhaps he was trying to flee the path of destruction, and had simply moved left when he should have moved right.  Perhaps, as unlikely as it seemed, he was willing to sacrifice himself to save his master.  Whatever the reason, the result was the same.\nHe got in the way.\nThere was an explosion of energy that filled the night, and an echoing boom that shook birds from the trees for a mile around. On the few square feet where Gnorbooth and his horse had stood was nothing but black glass.  They had been reduced to less than vapor.  Gyna and Lord Strale were thrown back.  Their horse, when it recovered its senses, galloped away as fast as it could.  In the lingering glowing aura of the spell's detonation, Lord Strale looked straight into the woods and into the wide eyes of the battlemage.\n\"Damn,\" said Lord Eryl and began to run.  The ambassador jumped to his feet and pursued.\n\"That was an expensive use of magicka, even for you,\" said Lord Strale as he ran. \"Don't you know well enough not to use ranged spells unless you are certain your target won't be blocked?\"\n\"I never thought - that idiot -\" Lord Eryl was struck from behind and knocked to the wet forest floor before he had a chance to finish his lamentation.\n\"It doesn't matter what you thought,\" said Lord Strale calmly, flipping the battlemage around and pinning his arms to the ground with his knees. \"I'm not a battlemage, but I knew enough not to use my entire reserve on your little ambush.  Perhaps it's a matter of philosophy, as a government agent, I feel inclined toward conservatism.\"\n\"What are you going to do?\" whimpered Lord Eryl.\n\"Gnorbooth was a good man, one of the best, and so I'm going to hurt you quite a lot,\" the ambassador made a slight movement and his hands began to glow brightly. \"That's a certainty.  How much more I'm going to hurt you after that depends on what you tell me.  I want to hear about the former Duke of Oloine.\"\n\"What do you want to know?\" Lord Eryl screamed.\n\"Let's start with everything,\" replied Lord Strale with perfect patience.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mystery-talara-part-4": {"series": "Mystery of Talara", "game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mystery-talara-part-4", "author": "Mera Llykith", "title": "Mystery of Talara, part 4", "description": "The classic story about political intrigue in the royal family of Camlorn.", "text": "The Mystery of Princess Talara\nPart IV\nby \nMera Llykith\nGyna never saw the Emperor's agent Lady Brisienna again, but she kept her promise. Proseccus, a nightblade in the service of the Empire, arrived at Lord Strale's house in disguise. She was an apt pupil, and within days, he had taught what she needed to know.\n\"It is a simple charm, not the sort of spell that could turn a raging daedroth into a love-struck puppy,\" said Proseccus. \"If you do or say anything that would normally anger or offend your target, the power will weaken. It will alter temporarily his perception of you, as spells of the school of illusion do, but his feelings of respect and admiration for you must be supported by means of a charm of a less magickal nature.\"\n\"I understand,\" smiled Gyna, thanking her tutor for the two spells of illusion he had taught her. The time had come to use her new-found skill.\nThe Prostitutes Guildhouse of Camlorn was a great palace in an affluent northern quarter of the city. Prince Sylon could have found his way there blindfolded, or blind drunk as he often was. Tonight, however, he was only lightly inebriated and he resolved to drink no more. Tonight he was in the mood for pleasure. His kind of pleasure.\n\"Where is my favorite, Grigia?\" he demanded of the Guildmistress upon entering.\n\"She is still healing from your appointment with her last week,\" she smiled serenely. \"Most of the other women are in with clients as well, but I saved a special treat for you. A new girl. One you will certainly enjoy.\"\nThe Prince was guided to a sumptuously decorated suite of velvet and silk. As he entered, Gyna stepped from behind a screen and cast her spell quickly, with her mind open to belief as Proseccus had instructed. It was hard to tell if it worked at first. The Prince looked at her with a cruel smile and then, like sun breaking through clouds, the cruelty left. She could tell he was hers. He asked her her name.\n\"I am between names right now,\" she teased. \"I've never made love to a real prince before. I've never even been inside a palace. Is yours very ... big?\"\n\"It's not mine yet,\" he shrugged. \"But someday I'll be king.\"\n\"It would be wonderful to live in such a place,\" Gyna cooed. \"A thousand years of history. Everything must be so old and beautiful. The paintings and books and statues and tapestries. Does your family hold onto all their old treasures?\"\n\"Yes, hoarded away with a lot of boring old junk in the archive rooms in the vaults. Please, may I see you naked now?\"\n\"First a little conversation, though you may feel free to disrobe whenever you like,\" said Gyna. \"I had heard there was an archive room, but it's quite hidden away.\"\n\"There's a false wall behind the family crypt,\" said the Prince, gripping her wrist and pulling her towards him for a kiss. Something in his eyes had changed.\n\"Your Highness, you're hurting my arm,\" Gyna cried.\n\"Enough talk, you bewitching whore,\" he snarled. Holding back a sharp jab of fear, Gyna let her mind cool and perceptions whirl. As his angry mouth touched her lips, she cast the second spell she had learned her illusionist mentor.\nThe Prince felt his flesh turn to stone. He remained frozen, watching Gyna pull together her clothing and leave the room. The paralysis would only last for a few more minutes, but it was all the time she needed.\nThe Guildmistress had already left with all her girls, just as Gyna and Lord Strale had told her to. They would tell her when it was safe to return. She had not even accepted any gold for her part in the trap. She said it was enough that her girls would not be tortured anymore by that most perverse and cruel Prince.\n\"What a terrible boy,\" thought Gyna as she raised the hood on her cloak and raced through the streets toward Lord Strale's house. \"It is good that he will never be king.\"\nThe following morning, the King and Queen of Camlorn held their daily audience with various nobles and diplomats, a sparse gathering. The throne room was largely empty. It was a terribly dull way to begin the day. In between petitions, they yawned regally.\n\"What has happened to all the interesting people?\" the Queen murmured. \"Where's our precious boy?\"\n\"I've heard he was raging through the north quarter in search of some harlot who robbed him,\" the King chuckled fondly. \"What a fine lad.\"\n\"And what of the Royal Battlemage?\"\n\"I've sent him to take care of a delicate matter,\" the King knit his brow. \"But that was nearly a week ago, and I haven't heard one word from him. It's somewhat troubling.\"\n\"Indeed it is, Lord Eryl should not be gone so long,\" the Queen frowned. \"What if a rogue sorcerer came and threatened us? Husband, don't laugh at me, that is why all the royal houses of High Rock keep their mage retainers close to their side. To protect their court from evil enchantments, like the one that our poor Emperor suffered so recently.\"\n\"At the hand of his own battlemage,\" chuckled the King\n\"Lord Eryl would never betray you like that, and you well know it. He has been in your employ since you were Duke of Oloine. To even make that comparison between he and Jagar Tharn, really,\" the Queen waved her hands dismissively. \"It is that sort of lack of trust that is ruining kingdoms all over Tamriel. Now, Lord Strale tells me -\"\n\"There's another man that's gone missing,\" mused the King.\n\"The ambassador?\" the Queen shook her head. \"No, he's here. He was desirous to visit the crypts and pay homage to your noble ancestors, so I directed him there. I can't think what's keeping him so long. He must be more pious than I thought.\"\nShe was surprised to see the King rise up, alarmed. \"Why didn't you tell me?\"\nBefore she had a chance to reply, the subject of their conversation was coming through the open door to the throne room. At on his arm was a beautiful fair-haired woman in a stately gown of scarlet and gold, worthy of the highest nobility. The queen followed her startled husband's gaze, and was likewise amazed.\n\"I had heard he was taken with one of the harlots from the Flower Festival, not a lady,\" she whispered. \"Why, she looks remarkably like your daughter, the Lady Jyllia.\"\n\"That she does,\" the King gasped. \"Or her cousin, the Princess Talara.\"\nThe nobles in the room also whispered amongst themselves. Though few had been at court twenty years ago when the Princess had disappeared, presumed murdered like the rest of the royal family, there were still a few elder statesmen who remembered. It was not only on throne that the word \"Talara\" passed through the air like an enchantment.\n\"Lord Strale, will you introduce us to your lady?\" the Queen asked with a polite smile.\n\"In a moment, your highness, but I'm afraid I must first discuss pressing matters,\" Lord Strale replied with a bow. \"Might I request a private audience?\"\nThe King looked at the Imperial ambassador, trying to read into the man's expression. With a wave of his hand, he dismissed the assembled and had the doors shut behind them. No one remained in the audience room but the King, the Queen, the ambassador, a dozen royal guards, and the mysterious woman.\nThe ambassador pulled from his pocket a sheaf of old yellowed parchment. \"Your Highness, when you ascended the throne after your brother and his family were murdered, anything that seemed important, deeds and wills, were of course kept with the clerks and ministers. His entire incidental, unimportant personal correspondence was sent to archive which is standard protocol. This letter was among them.\"\n\"What is this all about, sir?\" the King boomed. \"What does it say?\"\n\"Nothing about you, your majesty. In truth, at the time of your majesty's ascension, no one reading it could have understood its significance. It was a letter to the Emperor the late king your brother was penning at the time of his assassination, concerning a thief who had once been a mage-priest at the Temple of Sethiete here in Camlorn. His name was Jagar Tharn.\"\n\"Jagar Tharn?\" the Queen laughed nervously. \"Why, we were just talking about him.\"\n\"Tharn had stolen many books of powerful and forgotten spells, and lore about such artifacts as the Staff of Chaos, where it was hidden and how it could be used. News travels slowly to westernmost High Rock, and by the time the King your brother had heard that the Emperor's new battlemage was a man named Jagar Tharn, many years had passed. The king had been writing a letter to warn the Emperor of the treachery of his Imperial Battlemage, but it was never completed.\" Lord Strale held up the letter. \"It is dated on the day of his assassination in the year 385. Four years before Jagar Tharn betrayed his master, and began the ten years of tyranny of the Imperial Simulacrum.\"\n\"This is all very interesting,\" the King barked. \"But what has it to do with me?\"\n\"The late King's assassination is now a matter of Imperial concern. And I have a confession from your Royal Battlemage Lord Eryl.\"\nThe King's face lost all color: \"You miserable worm, no man may threaten me. Neither you, nor that whore, nor that letter will ever see the light of day again. Guards!\"\nThe royal guards unsheathed their blades and pressed forward. As they did so, there was a sudden shimmering of light and the room was filled with Imperial nightblades, led by Proseccus. They had been there for hours, lurking invisibly in the shadows.\n\"In the name of His Imperial Majesty, Uriel Septim VII, I arrest you,\" said Strale.\nThe doors were opened, and the King and Queen were led out, heads bowed. Gyna told Proseccus where he would most likely find their son, Prince Sylon. The courtiers and nobles who had been in the audience chamber stared at the strange, solemn procession of their King and Queen to their own royal prison. No one said a word.\nWhen at last a voice was heard, it startled all. The Lady Jyllia had arrived at court. \"What is happening? Who dares to usurp the authority of the King and Queen?\"\nLord Strale turned to Proseccus: \"We would speak with the Lady Jyllia alone. You know what needs to be done.\"\nProseccus nodded and had the doors to the throne room closed once again. The courtiers pressed against the wood, straining to hear everything. Though they could not say it, they wanted an explanation almost as much as her Ladyship did."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mystery-talara-part-5": {"series": "Mystery of Talara", "game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mystery-talara-part-5", "author": "Mera Llykith", "title": "Mystery of Talara, part 5", "description": "The classic story about political intrigue in the royal family of Camlorn.", "text": "The Mystery of\nPrincess Talara\nPart V\nby\nMera Llykith\nBy what right do you arrest my father?\" cried the Lady Jyllia. \"What has he done?\"\n\"I arrest the King of Camlorn, the former Duke of Oloine, by my right as an Imperial Commanding Officer and Ambassador,\" said Lord Strale. \"By the right of law of the Emperor of Tamriel which supercedes all provincial royal authority.\"\nGyna came forward and tried to put her hand on Jyllia's arm, but she was coldly rebuffed.  Quietly, she sat down at the foot of the throne in the now empty audience chamber.\n\"This young lady came to me, having completely recovered her memory, but the story she told was beyond incredible, I simply couldn't believe it,\" said Lord Strale. \"But she was so convinced of it, I had to investigate.  So I talked to everyone who was here at the palace twenty years ago to see if there could be any truth to it.  Of course, at the time of the King and Queen's murder, and the Princess's disappearance, there was a full inquiry made, but I had different questions to ask this time.  Questions about the relationship between the two little cousins, Lady Jyllia Raze and the Princess.\"\n\"I've told everyone over and over again, I don't remember anything at all about that time in my life,\" said Jyllia, tears welling up.\n\"I know you don't.  There has never been a question in my mind that you witnessed a horrible murder, and that your memory lapse and hers,\" said Lord Strale, gesturing toward Gyna \"Are both very real. The story I heard from the servants and other people at the palace was that the little girls were inseparably close.  There were no other playmates, and as the Princess's place was to be close to her parents, so the little Lady Jyllia was always there as well.  When the assassin came to murder the Royal Family, the King and Queen were in their bedroom, and the girls were playing in the throne room.\"\n\"When my memory came back to me, it was like opening a sealed box,\" said Gyna solemnly. \"Everything was so clear and detailed, like it all happened yesterday not twenty years ago.  I was on the throne, playing Empress, and you were hiding behind the dais, pretending you were in a dungeon I had sent you to.  A man I had never seen burst into the room from the Royal bedchamber, his blade soaked in blood.  He came at me, and I ran for my life.  I remember starting to run for the dais, but I saw your face, frozen in fear, and I didn't want to lead him to you.  So I ran for the window.\n\"We had climbed on the outside of the castle before, just for fun, that was one of the first memories that came back to me when I was holding onto that cliff.  You and I on the castle wall, and the King calling up to me, telling me how to get down.  But that day, I couldn't hold on, I was trembling so much.  I just fell, and landed in the river.\n\"I don't know if it was entirely the horror of what I had seen, or that combined with the impact of the fall and the coldness of the water, but everything just went blank in my mind.  When I finally pulled myself out of the river, many miles away, I had no idea who I was.  And so it stayed,\" Gyna smiled. \"Until now.\"\n\"So you are the Princess Talara?\" cried Jyllia.\n\"Let me explain further before she answers that, because the simple answer would just confuse you, as it did me,\" said Lord Strale. \"The assassin was caught before he managed to escape the palace - in truth, he had to know he was going to be caught.  He confessed immediately to the murders of the Royal Family.  The Princess, he said, he had thrown out the window to her death.  A servant down below heard the scream, and saw something fly past his window, so he knew it to be true.\n\"It was not for several hours that little Lady Jyllia was found by her nursemaid Ramke hiding behind the dais, coated with dust, shivering with fear, and unable to speak at all.  Ramke was very protective of you,\" Strale said, nodding to Jyllia. \"She insisted on putting you to your room right away, and sent word the Duke of Oloine that the Royal Family was dead, and that his daughter had witnessed the murders but survived.\"\n\"I'm beginning to remember a little of that,\" said Jyllia, wonderingly. \"I remember lying in bed, with Ramke comforting me.  I was so muddled and I couldn't concentrate.  I remember I just wanted it all to be play time still, I don't know why.  And then, I remember being bundled up and taken to that asylum.\"\n\"It'll all come back to you soon,\" Gyna smiled. \"I promise.  That's how I began to remember.  I just caught one detail, and the whole flood began.\"\n\"That's it,\" Jyllia began to sob in frustration. \"I don't remember anything else except confusion.  No, I also remember Daddy not even looking at me as I was taken away.  And I remember not caring about that, or anything else.\"\n\"It was a confusing time for all, so particularly so for little girls.  Especially little girls who went through what you two did,\" said Lord Strale sympathetically. \"From what I understand, as soon as he received the message from Ramke, the Duke left his palace at Oloine, gave orders for you to be sent to a private sanitarium until you'd recovered from your ordeal, and set to work with his private guard torturing the assassin for information.  When I heard that, that no one but the Duke and his personal guard saw the assassin after he gave his initial confession, and that no one was present but the Duke and his guards when the assassin was killed trying to escape, I thought that very significant.\n\"I spoke with Lord Eryl, who I knew was one of those present, and I had to bluff him, pretending I had more evidence than I did.  I got the reaction I was hoping for, though it was a dangerous gambit.  At last he confessed to what I already knew to be true.\n\"The assassin,\" Lord Strale paused, and reluctantly met Jyllia's eyes, \"Had been hired by the Duke of Oloine to kill the Royal Family, including the Princess as heir, so that the crown might be passed to him and to his children.\"\nJyllia stared at Lord Strale, aghast. \"My father -\"\n\"The assassin had been told that once the Duke had him in custody, he would be paid and a prison break would be arranged.  The thug picked the wrong time to be greedy and try to get more gold.  The Duke decided that it would be cheaper to silence him, so he murdered him then and there, so the man would never tell anyone what really happened,\" Lord Strale shrugged. \"No tragic loss as far as murders go.  In a few years' time, you returned from the sanitarium, a little shaken but back to normal, except for a complete absence of memory about your childhood.  And in that time, the former Duke of Oloine had taken his brother's place as the King of Camlorn. It was no small maneuver.\"\n\"No,\" said Jyllia, quietly. \"He must have been very busy.  He remarried and had another child.  No one ever came to visit me in the sanitarium but Ramke.\"\n\"If he had visited and seen you,\" said Gyna. \"This story might have turned out very differently.\"\n\"What do you mean?\" asked Jyllia.\n\"This is the most amazing part,\" said Lord Strale. \"The question has long been whether Gyna is the Princess Talara.  When her memory returned, and she told me what she remembered, I put several pieces of evidence together.  Consider these facts.\n\"The two of you look remarkably alike now after twenty years of living very different lives, and as little girls and constant playmates, you looked nearly identical.\n\"At the time of the assassination, the murderer who had never been there before, only saw one girl on the throne, who he assumed to be his quarry.\n\"The woman who found Lady Jyllia was her nursemaid Ramke, a creature of unstable mind and fanatical devotion to her charge - the type would never accept the possibility that her beloved little girl had been the one who disappeared.  The nursemaid was the only single person who knew both Princess Talara and the Lady Jyllia who visited you while you were in the sanitarium.\n\"Finally,\" said Lord Strale, \"Consider the fact that when you returned to court from the sanitarium, five years had past, and you had grown from a child to a young lady.  You looked familiar, but not quite the same as your family remembered you, which is only natural.\"\n\"I don't understand,\" cried the poor girl, her eyes wide, because she did understand.  Here memory was falling together like a terrible flood.\n\"Let me explain it like this,\" said her cousin, wrapping her in her arms. \"I know who I am now.  My real name is Jyllia Raze.  That man who was arrested was my father, the man who murdered the King - your father.  YOU are the Princess Talara.\"\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/preparation-corpse-volume-one-acquisition-corpse": {"series": "On the Preparation of the Corpse", "game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/preparation-corpse-volume-one-acquisition-corpse", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "On the Preparation of the Corpse, Volume One: The Acquisition of the Corpse", "description": "Contains information for a Necromancer, nuff said.", "text": "While the Arts of Necromancy are only illegal in the province of Morrowind, few citizens of the Empire have an enlightened view of our Art. Thus, the acquisition of corpses on which to experiment is often difficult.\nIn Cyrodiil, a few Necromancers who have served the Empire are given the corpses of criminals and traitors to use legally. This provides those who have acquired such a post with a fresh supply of corpses, most of them young, strong, and intact.\nIn Morrowind, the outlawing of Necromancy would make its practice impossible were it not for the fortunate institution of slavery. While the Temple will investigate obvious signs of Necromancy such as hastily emptied graves or ash stolen from one of their ashpits, a careful and discrete Necromancer can thrive in Morrowind by taking slaves at a modest rate. Most will assume the slave escaped or died in the Ashlands.\nFinding suitable corpses in Black Marsh is nearly impossible due to their rapid decay. There are also diseases, Argonian tribesmen, and other difficulties that must be dealt with. I know of only a few Sload Necromancers who operate successfully in Black Marsh, and even they stay near coast.\nWhile the forests of Elsweyr pose some of the same problems as those of Black Marsh, the deserts preserve corpses for hundreds of years in a way that requires very little preparation. Khajiit of the desert tribes are often buried with only a small cairn of stones which are easy to find and uncover. The Khajiit show remarkably enlightened indifference to graves being uncovered. It is said that in the port of Senchal, one may purchase anything one desires. This is true if you desire fresh corpses.\nWhile few Bosmer perform Arkay's rituals when burying the dead, the more primitive Bosmer still practice cannibalism upon their enemies, which reduces the number of available corpses. As would be expected from such a backwards people, they have an intolerance of Necromancy that goes beyond all reason. Many Necromancers who practice our Arts in Valenwood become \"one with the trees\" themselves.\nSummerset Isle is even worse in some ways. Some Altmer born into the most respected noble and scholarly families are actually allowed to study the dead in the open. Their research, however, seems to be centered on finding ways to extend their lives even further rather than the more practical uses of our Art. A Necromancer of any other race caught in Summerset Isle can expect the worst possible punishments.\nIn Hammerfell, where worship of Arkay is strongest, the dead are almost always subject to Arkay's Law. There are exceptions after large battles or in remote areas where death occurs far from meddlesome priests. Fortunately, the dangerous terrain and creatures in the deserts and mountains of Hammerfell makes the acquisition of corpses possible, though they are often in poor condition and require special care in preparation.\nThe newly formed Orsinium presents a unique opportunity. As you know, Orc corpses are among the most sought after for the durability of their skin and the strength of their bones. If King Gortwog will listen to reason, we could offer the services of our Art in defense of his young nation in exchange for disposing of the Orcish dead. A mutually beneficial arrangement as I'm sure the Orcs will agree. To this end, a delegation has been sent to Orsinium, though we have not yet heard any word on the state of these negotiations.\nIn my native High Rock, traditions dating back to the witch kings and nomadic horsemen mandate cremation of the dead. This is practiced almost without exception in the north, through an Imperial burial in a tomb or city cemetery is more common in the south. There are still many corpses easily taken from the battlefields of the War of Betony and the lawless times that followed. There are even rumors that King Gothryd of Daggerfall may institute the Imperial practice of donating the corpses of criminals for Necromantic study as a deterrent to the bandits and pirates that still threaten the Iliac Bay.\nIn Skyrim, the cold weather and isolated terrain allow a few Necromancers to operate freely. Alas, the availability of corpses is limited to Nords who die from exposure or in battle. While the cold is preservative, the snow makes these corpses difficult to find. More research dedicated to the magical detection of corpses would be invaluable to the Necromancers of Skyrim.\nThe Sload are the most famous Necromancers, but little is known of their native Thras. In Tamriel, Sload only practice Necromancy on other races. It is uncertain whether this is true in Thras as well. If so, it would explain the number of slaves that are purchased in Tear by Sload merchants and the rumors of Sload airships carrying corpses from Senchal.\nThese difficulties lead many Necromancers to create their own corpses. While I prefer to work with those who have died a natural death, a more expedient approach is sometimes necessary to further the study of the Art.\nWhile the Arts of Necromancy can be practiced on animals, such experiments rarely produce interesting results. The servant's ability to follow directions seems to be related to the subject's intelligence in life. While raising the corpse of a man, elf, or beastman can produce a useful servant, the corpses of animals produce mere guard dogs at best. Often a raised animal is unable to distinguish its master from the rest of the living and many amateur practitioners have been torn apart by the animal servants they created. Let such stories be a lesson to you."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/preparation-corpse-volume-two-skeletal-corpse": {"series": "On the Preparation of the Corpse", "game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/preparation-corpse-volume-two-skeletal-corpse", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "On the Preparation of the Corpse, Volume Two: The Skeletal Corpse", "description": "Contains information for a Necromancer, nuff said.", "text": "When raising a skeleton servant, it is most important that the body of the skeleton be complete. If the skeleton is missing crucial bones, the results can be frustrating. One should only attempt to raise skeletons when you are sure that all or nearly all the bones are present.\nWhile the magic involved in raising a skeleton will assemble the bones in the proper order, skeletons may be strengthened considerably by the addition of support on their joints. The most common are leather straps that bind the bones together more tightly. Some practitioners also drive metal spikes are between the joints, which is more expensive and time consuming, but they protect the servant where it is weakest. The details of this are unimportant as even an amateur can strengthen a skeleton significantly. Only practice will reveal the best methods of binding and reinforcing the skeletal servant. Amateurs often make the mistake of binding the bones too tightly, limiting the skeleton's movements and making it useless. Again, only practice can give the necessary experience in these matters, though it is best to err towards tight bindings. One may always loosen them at a later date.\nOne more note to the student: While most undead can be raised again and again, skeletons are often damaged in ways that make raising them again impossible. This is another reason that care should be given to the skeleton's preparation. Too many young Necromancers raise every skeleton they see with little or no preparation at all. Given the difficulty of obtaining corpses, this kind of inefficiency cannot be tolerated."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/preparation-corpse-volume-three-fresh-corpse": {"series": "On the Preparation of the Corpse", "game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/preparation-corpse-volume-three-fresh-corpse", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "On the Preparation of the Corpse, Volume Three: The Fresh Corpse", "description": "Contains information for a Necromancer, nuff said.", "text": "Fresh and decayed corpses are those that still have flesh upon them. If their decay is advanced, or if you wish a skeletal servant instead, place the corpse along a coast or in a swamp or marsh. Animals are the Necromancer's greatest allies when it comes to stripping the flesh from a corpse. The ravenous mudcrabs of Morrowind can strip a corpse down to its bones in a matter of days. Lesser crabs in other provinces can do the same in a matter of weeks.\nIf you wish to create a zombie servant, one need only bring the corpse to a suitable site and enact the proper rituals. However, there are a few tips that a young Necromancer might want to know. For instance, a decayed servant may be raised many times, even if they have been dismembered by those who do not appreciate our Art. If one of your servants comes to an unfortunate end, you may raise the servant again by carefully gathering as many parts as you can find, binding the bones with leather straps, and sewing the flesh (if it not too decayed) with catgut. Your servant may be weaker each time this is done, but with care and maintenance, one may raise zombies dozens of times.\nHowever, creating a mere zombie is a method best left to lazy or desperate practitioners. With only a bit more time and effort, one may create a far more useful mummified servant.\nThe first step to creating a mummified servant is to soak the decaying corpse in a bath of salt or natron for at least one month. This will halt the decay of the corpse, and if the corpse is fresh enough to have an unpleasant odor, the salts will remove that as well. In a moist climate, such as Argonian or Thras, you may have to apply more salts if they become saturated. Some Necromancers remove the vital organs before or after this process, but I have never found any practical reason for doing this.\nThe next step is to wrap the servant in cloth or linen. This will further preserve the body against decay and, if done properly, will offer some protection as well. Do not worry if the corpse seems too stiff or desiccated to be a useful servant, the proper rituals will imbue the mummified corpse with the strength to move itself. Most importantly, you will have a much stronger servant who will follow your commands with more independence and understanding."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/palla-volume-1": {"series": "Palla", "game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/palla-volume-1", "author": "Vojne Mierstyyd", "title": "Palla, Volume 1", "description": "The classic, relatable tale of a boy in love with his friend's mother. Great ending.", "text": "Palla\nBook I\n\nby \nVojne Mierstyyd\nPalla.  Pal La.  I remember when I first heard that name, not long ago at all.  It was at a Tales and Tallows ball at a very fine estate west of Mir Corrup, to which I and my fellow Mages Guild initiates had found ourselves unexpectedly invited.  Truth be told, we needn't have been too surprised.  There were very few other noble families in Mir Corrup -- the region had its halcyon days as a resort for the wealthy far back in the 2nd era -- and on reflection, it was only appropriate to have sorcerers and wizards present at a supernatural holiday.  Not that we were anything more exotic than students at a small, nonexclusive charterhouse of the Guild, but like I said, there was a paucity of other choices available.\nFor close to a year, the only home I had known was the rather ramshackle if sprawling grounds of the Mir Corrup Mages Guild.  My only companions were my fellow initiates, most of which only tolerated me, and the masters, whose bitterness at being at a backwater Guild prompted never-ending abuse.\nImmediately the School of Illusion had attracted me.  The Magister who taught us recognized me as an apt pupil who loved not only the spells of the science but their philosophical underpinnings.  There was something about the idea of warping the imperceptible energies of light, sound, and mind that appealed to my nature.  Not for me the flashy schools of destruction and alteration, the holy schools of restoration and conjuration, the practical schools of alchemy and enchantment, or the chaotic school of mysticism.  No, I was never so pleased as to take an ordinary object and by a little magic make it seem something other than what it was.\nIt would have taken more imagination than I had to apply that philosophy to my monotonous life.  After the morning's lessons, we were assigned tasks before our evening classes.  Mine had been to clean out the study of a recently deceased resident of the Guild, and categorize his clutter of spellbooks, charms, and incunabula.\nIt was a lonely and tedious appointment.  Magister Tendixus was an inveterate collector of worthless junk, but I was reprimanded any time I threw something away of the least possible value.  Gradually I learned enough to deliver each of his belongings to the appropriate department: potions of healing to the Magisters of Restoration, books on physical phenomena to the Magisters of Alteration, herbs and minerals to the Alchemists, and soulgems and bound items to the Enchanters.  After one delivery to the Enchanters, I was leaving with my customary lack of appreciation, when Magister Ilther called me back.\n\"Boy,\" said the portly old man, handing me back one item. \"Destroy this.\"\nIt was a small black disc covered with runes with a ring of red-orange gems like bones circling its periphery.\n\"I'm sorry, Magister,\" I stammered. \"I thought it was something you'd be interested in.\"\n\"Take it to the great flame and destroy it,\" he barked, turning his back on me. \"You never brought it here.\"\nMy interest was piqued, because I knew the only thing that would make him react in such a way.  Necromancy.  I went back to Magister Tendixus's chamber and poured through his notes, looking for any reference to the disc.  Unfortunately, most of the notes had been written in a strange code that I was powerless to decipher.  I was so fascinated by the mystery that I nearly arrived late for my evening class in Enchantment, taught by Magister Ilther himself.\nFor the next several weeks, I divided my time categorizing the general debris and making my deliveries, and researching the disc.  I came to understand that my instinct was correct: the disc was a genuine necromantic artifact.  Though I couldn't understand most of the Magister's notes, I determined that he thought it to be a means of resurrecting a loved one from the grave.\nSadly, the time came when the chamber had been categorized and cleared, and I was given another assignment, assisting in the stables of the Guild's menagerie.  At least finally I was working with some of my fellow initiates and had the opportunity of meeting the common folk and nobles who came to the Guild on various errands.  Thus was I employed when we were all invited to the Tales and Tallows ball.\nIf the expected glamour of the evening were not enough, our hostess was reputed to be young, rich, unmarried orphan from Hammerfell.  Only a month or two before had she moved to our desolate, wooded corner of the Imperial Province to reclaim an old family manorhouse and grounds.  The initiates at the Guild gossiped like old women about the mysterious young lady's past, what had happened to her parents, why she had left or been driven from her homeland.  Her name was Betaniqi, and that was all we knew.\nWe wore our robes of initiation with pride as we arrived for the ball.  At the enormous marble foyer, a servant announced each of our names as if we were royalty, and we strutted into the midst of the revelers with great puffery.  Of course, we were then promptly ignored by one and all.  In essence, we were unimportant figures to lend some thickness to the ball.  Background characters.\nThe important people pushed through us with perfect politeness.  There was old Lady Schaudirra discussing diplomatic appointments to Balmora with the Duke of Rimfarlin.  An orc warlord entertained a giggling princess with tales of rape and pillage.  Three of the Guild Magisters worried with three painfully thin noble spinsters about the haunting of Daggerfall.  Intrigues at the Imperial and various royal courts were analyzed, gently mocked, fretted over, toasted, dismissed, evaluated, mitigated, admonished, subverted.  No one looked our way even when we were right next to them.  It was as if my skill at illusion had somehow rendered us all invisible.\nI took my flagon out to the terrace.  The moons were doubled, equally luminous in the sky and in the enormous reflecting pool that stretched out into the garden.  The white marble statuary lining the sides of the pool caught the fiery glow and seemed to burn like torches in the night.  The sight was so otherworldly that I was mesmerized by it, and the strange Redguard figures immortalized in stone.  Our hostess had made her home there so recently that some of the sculptures were still wrapped in sheets that billowed and swayed in the gentle breeze.  I don't know how long I stared before I realized I wasn't alone.\nShe was so small and so dark, not only in her skin but in her clothing, that I nearly took her for a shadow.  When she turned to me, I saw that she was very beautiful and young, not more than seventeen.\n\"Are you our hostess?\" I finally asked.\n\"Yes,\" she smiled, blushing. \"But I'm ashamed to admit that I'm very bad at it.  I should be inside with my new neighbors, but I think we have very little in common.\"\n\"It's been made abundantly clear that they hope I have nothing in common with them either,\" I laughed.  \"When I'm a little higher than an initiate in the Mages Guild, they might see me as more of an equal.\"\n\"I don't understand the concept of equality in Cyrodiil yet,\" she frowned. \"In my culture, you proved your worth, not just expected it.  My parents both were great warriors, as I hope to be.\"\nHer eyes went out to the lawn, to the statues.\n\"Do the sculptures represent your parents?\"\n\"That's my father Pariom there,\" she said gesturing to a life-sized representation of a massively built man, unashamedly naked, gripping another warrior by the throat and preparing to decapitate him with an outstretched blade.  It was clearly a realistic depiction.  Pariom's face was plain, even slightly ugly with a low forehead, a mass of tangled hair, stubble on his cheeks.  Even a slight gap in his teeth, which no sculptor would surely have invented except to do justice to his model's true idiosyncrasies.\n\"And your mother?\" I asked, pointing to a nearby statue of a proud, rather squat warrior woman in a mantilla and scarf, holding a child.\n\"Oh no,\" she laughed. \"That was my uncle's old nurse.  Mother's statue still has a sheet over it.\"\nI don't know what prompted me to insist that we unveil the statue that she pointed to.  In all likelihood, it was nothing but fate, and a selfish desire to continue the conversation.   I was afraid that if I did not give her a project, she would feel the need to return to the party, and I would be alone again.  At first she was reluctant.  She had not yet made up her mind whether the statues would suffer in the wet, sometimes cold Cyrodilic climate.  Perhaps all should be covered, she reasoned.  It may be that she was merely making conversation, and was reluctant as I was to end the stand-off and be that much closer to having to return to the party.\nIn a few minutes time, we tore the tarp from the statue of Betaniqi's mother.  That is when my life changed forevermore.\nShe was an untamed spirit of nature, screaming in a struggle with a misshapen monstrous figure in black marble.  Her gorgeous, long fingers were raking across the creature's face.  The monster's talons gripped her right breast in a sort of caress that prefaces a mortal wound.  Its legs and hers wound around one another in a battle that was a dance.  I felt annihilated.  This lithe but formidable woman was beautiful beyond all superficial standards.  Whoever had sculpted it had somehow captured not only a face and figure of a goddess, but her power and will.  She was both tragic and triumphant.  I fell instantly and fatally in love with her.\nI had not even noticed when Gelyn, one of my fellow initiates who was leaving the party, came up behind us.  Apparently I had whispered the word \"magnificent,\" because I heard Betaniqi reply as if miles away, \"Yes, it is magnificent.  That's why I was afraid of exposing it to the elements.\"\nThen I heard, clearly, like a stone breaking water, Gelyn: \"Mara preserve me.  That must be Palla.\"\n\"Then you heard of my mother?\" asked Betaniqi, turning his way.\n\"I hail from Wayrest, practically on the border to Hammerfell.  I don't think there's anyone who hasn't heard of your mother and her great heroism, ridding the land of that abominable beast.  She died in that struggle, didn't she?\"\n\"Yes,\" said the girl sadly. \"But so too did the creature.\"\nFor a moment, we were all silent.  I don't remember anything more of that night.  Somehow I knew I was invited to dine the next evening, but my mind and heart had been entirely and forever more arrested by the statue.  I returned back to the Guild, but my dreams were fevered and brought me no rest.  Everything seemed diffused by white light, except for one beautiful, fearsome woman.\nPalla."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/palla-volume-2": {"series": "Palla", "game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/palla-volume-2", "author": "Vojne Mierstyyd", "title": "Palla, Volume 2", "description": "The classic, relatable tale of a boy in love with his friend's mother. Great ending.", "text": "Palla\nBook II\n\nby\nVojne Mierstyyd\nPalla.  Pal La.  The name burned in my heart.  I found myself whispering it in my studies even when I tried to concentrate on something the Magister was saying.  My lips would silently purse to voice the \"Pal,\" and tongue lightly flick to form the \"La\" as if I were kissing her spirit before me.  It was madness in every way except that I knew that it was madness.  I knew I was in love.  I knew she was a noble Redguard woman, a fierce warrior more beautiful than the stars.  I knew her young daughter Betaniqi had taken possession of a manorhouse near the Guild, and that she liked me, perhaps was even infatuated.  I knew Palla had fought a terrible beast and killed it.  I knew Palla was dead.\nAs I say, I knew it was madness, and by that, I knew I could not be mad.  But I also knew that I must return to Betaniqi's palace to see her statue of my beloved Palla engaged in that final, horrible, fatal battle with the monster.\nReturn I did, over and over again.  Had Betaniqi been a different sort of noblewoman, more comfortable with her peers, I would not have had so many opportunities.  In her innocence, unaware of my sick obsession, she welcomed my company.  We would talk for hours, laughing, and every time we would take a walk to the reflecting pond where I would always stop breathless before the sculpture of her mother.\n\"It's a marvelous tradition you have, preserving these figures of your ancestors at their finest moments,\" I said, feeling her curious eyes on me. \"And the craftsmanship is without parallel.\"\n\"You wouldn't believe me,\" laughed the girl. \"But it was a bit of scandal when my great grandfather began the custom.  We Redguards hold a great reverence for our families, but we are warriors, not artists.  He hired an traveling artist to create the first statues, and everyone admired them until it was revealed that the artist was an elf.  An Altmer from the Summurset Isle.\"\n\"Scandal!\"\n\"It was, absolutely,\" Betaniqi nodded seriously. \"The idea that a pompous, wicked elf's hands had formed these figures of noble Redguard warriors was unthinkable, profane, irreverent, everything bad you can imagine.  But my great grandfather's heart was in the beauty of it, and his philosophy of using the best to honor the best passed down to us all.  I would not have even considered having a lesser artist create the statues of my parents, even if it would have been more allegiant to my culture.\"\n\"They're all exquisite,\" I said.\n\"But you like the one of my mother most of all,\" she smiled. \"I see you look at it even when you seem to be looking at the others.  It's my favorite also.\"\n\"Would you tell me more about her?\" I asked, trying to keep my voice light and conversational.\n\"Oh, she would have said she was nothing extraordinary, but she was,\" the girl said, picking a flower from the garden. \"My father died when I was quite young, and she had so many roles to fill, but she did them all effortlessly.  We have a great many business interests and she was brilliant at managing everything.  Certainly better than I am now.  All it took was her smile and everyone obeyed, and those that didn't paid dearly.  She was very witty and charming, but a formidable force when the need arose for her to fight.  Hundreds of battles, but I can never remember a moment of feeling neglected or unloved.  I literally thought she was too strong for death.   Stupid, I know, but when she went to battle that -- that horrible creature, that freak from a mad wizard's laboratory, I never even thought she would not return.  She was kind to her friends and ruthless to her enemies.  What more can one say about a woman than that?\"\nPoor Betaniqi's eyes teared up with remembrance.  What sort of villain was I to goad her so, in order to satisfy my perverted longings?  Sheogorath could never have conflicted a mortal man more than me.  I found myself both weeping and filled with desire.  Palla not only looked like a goddess, but from her daughter's story, she was one.\nThat night while undressing for bed, I rediscovered the black disc I had stolen from Magister Tendixus's office weeks before.  I had half-forgotten about its existence, that mysterious necromantic artifact which the mage believed could resurrect a dead love.  Almost by pure instinct, I found myself placing the disc on my heart and whispering, \"Palla.\"\nA momentary chill filled my chamber.  My breath hung in the air in a mist before dissipating.  Frightened I dropped the disc.  It took a moment before my reason returned, and with it the inescapable conclusion: the artifact could fulfill my desire.\nUntil the early morning hours, I tried to raise my mistress from the chains of Oblivion, but it was no use.  I was no necromancer.  I entertained thoughts of how to ask one of the Magisters to help me, but I remembered how Magister Ilther had bid me to destroy it.  They would expel me from the Guild if I went to them and destroy the disc themselves.  And with it, my only key to bringing my love to me.\nI was in my usual semi-torpid condition the next day in classes.  Magister Ilther himself was lecturing on his specialty, the School of Enchantment.  He was a dull speaker with a monotone voice, but suddenly I felt as if every shadow had left the room and I was in a palace of light.\n\"When most persons think of my particular science, they think of the process of invention.  The infusing of charms and spells into objects.  The creation of a magickal blade, perhaps, or a ring.  But the skilled enchanter is also a catalyst.  The same mind that can create something new can also provoke greater power from something old.  A ring that can generate warmth for a novice, on the hand of such a talent can bake a forest black.\" The fat man chuckled: \"Not that I'm advocating that.  Leave that for the School of Destruction.\"\nThat week all the initiates were asked to choose a field of specialization.  All were surprised when I turned my back on my old darling, the School of Illusion.  It seemed ridiculous to me that I had ever entertained an affection for such superficial charms.  All my intellect was now focused on the School of Enchantment, the means by which I could free the power of the disc.\nFor months thereafter, I barely slept.  A few hours a week, I'd spend with Betaniqi and my statue to give myself strength and inspiration.  All the rest of my time was spent with Magister Ilther or his assistants, learning everything I could about enchantment.  They taught me how to taste the deepest levels of magicka within a stored object.\n\"A simple spell cast once, no matter how skillfully and no matter how spectacularly, is ephemeral, of the present, what it is and no more,\" sighed Magister Ilther. \"But placed in a home, it develops into an almost living energy, maturing and ripening so only its surface is touched when an unskilled hand wields it.  You must consider yourself a miner, digging deeper to pull forth the very heart of gold.\"\nEvery night when the laboratory closed, I practiced what I had learned.  I could feel my power grow and with it, the power of the disc.  Whispering \"Palla,\" I delved into the artifact, feeling every slight nick that marked the runes and every facet of the gemstones.  At times I was so close to her, I felt hands touching mine.  But something dark and bestial, the reality of death I suppose, would always break across the dawning of my dream.  With it came an overwhelming rotting odor, which the initiates in the chambers next to mine began to complain about.\n\"Something must have crawled into the floorboards and died,\" I offered lamely.\nMagister Ilther praised my scholarship, and allowed me the use of his laboratory after hours to further my studies.  Yet no matter what I learned, Palla seemed scarcely closer.  One night, it all ended.  I was swaying in a deep ecstasy, moaning her name, the disc bruising my chest, when a sudden lightning flash through the window broke my concentration.  A tempest of furious rain roared over Mir Corrup.  I went to close the shutters, and when I returned to my table, I found that the disc had shattered.\nI broke into hysterical sobs and then laughter.  It was too much for my fragile mind to bear such a loss after so much time and study.  The next day and the day after, I spent in my bed, burning with a fever.  Had I not been a Mages Guild with so many healers, I likely would have died.  As it was, I provided an excellent study for the budding young scholars.\nWhen at last I was well enough to walk, I went to visit Betaniqi.  She was charming as always, never once commenting on my appearance, which must have been ghastly.  Finally I gave her reason to worry when I politely but firmly declined to walk with her along the reflecting pool.\n\"But you love looking at the statuary,\" she exclaimed.\nI felt that I owed her the truth and much more. \"Dear lady, I love more than the statuary.  I love your mother.  She is all I've been able to think about for months now, ever since you and I first removed the tarp from that blessed sculpture.  I don't know what you think of me now, but I have been obsessed with learning how to bring her back from the dead.\"\nBetaniqi stared at me, eyes wide.  Finally she spoke: \"I think you need to leave now.  I don't know if this is a terrible jest --\"\n\"Believe me, I wish it were.  You see, I failed.  I don't know why.  It could not have been that my love wasn't strong enough, because no man had a stronger love.  Perhaps my skills as an enchanter are not masterful, but it wasn't from lack of study!\" I could feel my voice rise and knew I was beginning to rant, but I could not hold back. \"Perhaps the fault lay in that your mother never met me, but I think that only the caster's love is taken into account in the necromantic spell. I don't know what it was!  Maybe that horrible creature, the monster that killed her, cast some sort of curse on her with its dying breath!  I failed!  And I don't know why!\"\nWith a surprising burst of speed and strength for so small a lady, Betaniqi shoved herself against me.  She screamed, \"Get out!\" and I fled out the door.\nBefore she slammed the door shut, I offered my pathetic apologies: \"I'm so sorry, Betaniqi, but consider that I wanted to bring your mother back to you.  It's madness, I know, but there is only one thing that's certain in my life and that's that I love Palla.\"\nThe door was nearly shut, but the girl opened it crack to ask tremulously: \"You love whom?\"\n\"Palla!\" I cried to the Gods.\n\"My mother,\" she whispered angrily. \"Was named Xarlys.  Palla was the monster.\"\nI stared at the closed door for Mara knows how much time, and then began the long walk back to the Mages Guild.  My memory searched through the minutiae to the Tales and Tallows night so long ago when I first beheld the statue, and first heard the name of my love.  That Breton initiate, Gelyn had spoken.  He was behind me.  Was he recognizing the beast and not the lady?\nI turned the lonely bend that intersected with the outskirts of Mir Corrup, and a large shadow rose from the ground where it had been sitting, waiting for me.\n\"Palla,\" I groaned. \"Pal La.\"\n\"Kiss me,\" it howled.\nAnd that brings my story up to the present moment.  Love is red, like blood.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/black-arrow-v1": {"series": "The Black Arrow", "game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/black-arrow-v1", "author": "Gorgic Guine", "title": "The Black Arrow, v1", "description": "A tale which shows that nobles do not always get what they want.", "text": "The Black Arrow\nPart I\nby \nGorgic Guine\nI was young when the Duchess of Woda hired me as an assistant footman at her summer palace. My experience with the ways of the titled aristocracy was very limited before that day. There were wealthy merchants, traders, diplomats, and officials who had large operations in Eldenroot, and ostentatious palaces for entertaining, but my relatives were all far from those social circles.\nThere was no family business for me to enter when I reached adulthood, but my cousin heard that an estate far from the city required servants. It was so remotely located that there were unlikely to be many applicants for the positions. I walked for five days into the jungles of Valenwood before I met a group of riders going my direction. They were three Bosmer men, one Bosmer woman, two Breton women, and a Dunmer man, adventurers from the look of them.\n\"Are you also going to Moliva?\" asked Prolyssa, one of the Breton women, after we had made our introductions.\n\"I don't know what that is,\" I replied. \"I'm seeking a domestic position with the Duchess of Woda.\"\n\"We'll take you to her gate,\" said the Dunmer Missun Akin, pulling me up to his horse. \"But you would be wise not to tell Her Grace that students from Moliva escorted you. Not unless you don't really want the position in her service.\"\nAkin explained himself as we rode on. Moliva was the closest village to the Duchess's estate, where a great and renowned archer had retired after a long life of military service. His name was Hiomaste, and though he was retired, he had begun to accept students who wished to learn the art of the bow. In time, when word spread of the great teacher, more and more students arrived to learn from the Master. The Breton women had come down all the way from the Western Reach of High Rock. Akin himself had journeyed across the continent from his home near the great volcano in Morrowind. He showed me the ebony arrows he had brought from his homeland. I had never seen anything so black.\n\"From what we've heard,\" said Kopale, one of the Bosmer men. \"The Duchess is an Imperial whose family has been here even before the Empire was formed, so you might think that she was accustomed to the common people of Valenwood. Nothing could be further from the truth. She despises the village, and the school most of all.\"\n\"I suppose she wants to control all the traffic in her jungle,\" laughed Prolyssa.\nI accepted the information with gratitude, and found myself dreading more and more my first meeting with the intolerant Duchess. My first sight of the palace through the trees did nothing to assuage my fears.\nIt was nothing like any building I had ever seen in Valenwood. A vast edifice of stone and iron, with a jagged row of battlements like the jaws of a great beast. Most of the trees near the palace had been hewn away long ago: I could only imagine the scandal that must have caused, and what fear the Bosmer peasants must have had of the Duchy of Woda to have allowed it. In their stead was a wide gray-green moat circling in a ring around the palace, so it seemed to be on a perfect if artificial island. I had seen such sights in tapestries from High Rock and the Imperial Province, but never in my homeland.\n\"There'll be a guard at the gate, so we'll leave you here,\" said Akin, stopping his horse in the road. \"It'd be best for you if you weren't damned by association with us.\"\nI thanked my companions, and wished them good luck with their schooling. They rode on and I followed on foot. In a few minutes' time, I was at the front gate, which I noticed was linked to tall and ornate railings to keep the compound secure. When the gate-keeper understood that I was there to inquire about a domestic position, he allowed me past and signaled to another guard across the open lawn to extend the drawbridge and allow me to cross the moat.\nThere was one last security measure: the front door. An iron monstrosity with the Woda Coat of Arms across the top, reinforced by more strips of iron, and a single golden keyhole. The man standing guard unlocked the door and gave me passage into the huge gloomy gray stone palace.\nHer Grace greeted me in her drawing room. She was thin and wrinkled like a reptile, cloaked in a simple red gown. It was obviously that she never smiled. Our interview consisted of a single question.\n\"Do you know anything about being a junior footman in the employment of an Imperial noblewoman?\" Her voice was like ancient leather.\n\"No, Your Grace.\"\n\"Good. No servant ever understands what needs to be done, and I particularly dislike those who think they do. You're engaged.\"\nLife at the palace was joyless, but the position of junior footman was very undemanding. I had nothing to do on most days except to stay out of the Duchess's sight. At such times, I usually walked two miles down the road to Moliva. In some ways, there was nothing special or unusual about the village - there are thousands of identical places in Valenwood. But on the hillside nearby was Master Hiomaste's archery academy, and I would often take my luncheon and watch the practice.\nProlyssa and Akin would sometimes meet me afterwards. With Akin, the subjects of conversation very seldom strayed far from archery. Though I was very fond of him, I found Prolyssa a more enchanting companion, not only because she was pretty for a Breton, but also because she seemed to have interests outside the realm of marksmanship.\n\"There's a circus in High Rock I saw when I was a little girl called the Quill Circus,\" she said during one of our walks through the woods. \"They've been around for as long as anyone can remember. You have to see them if you ever can. They have plays, and sideshows, and the most amazing acrobats and archers you've ever seen. That's my dream, to join them some day when I'm good enough.\"\n\"How will you know when you're a good enough archer?\" I asked.\nShe didn't answer, and when I turned, I realized that she had disappeared. I looked around, bewildered, until I heard laughter from the tree above me. She was perched on a branch, grinning.\n\"I may not join as an archer, maybe I'll join as an acrobat,\" she said. \"Or maybe as both. I figured that Valenwood would be the place to go to see what I could learn. You've got all those great teachers to imitate in the trees here. Those ape men.\"\nShe coiled up, bracing her left leg before springing forward on her right. In a second, she had leapt across to a neighboring branch. I found it difficult to keep talking to her.\n\"The Imga, you mean?\" I stammered. \"Aren't you nervous up at that height?\"\n\"It's a cliche, I know,\" she said, jumping to an even higher branch, \"But the secret is not to ever look down.\"\n\"Would you mind coming down?\"\n\"I probably should anyhow,\" she said. She was a good thirty feet up now, balancing herself, arms outstretched, on a very narrow branch. She gestured toward the gate just barely visible on the other side of the road. \"This tree is actually as close as I want to get to your Duchess's palace.\"\nI held back a gasp as she dove off the branch, somersaulting until she landed on the ground, knees slightly bent. That was the trick, she explained. Anticipating the blow before it happened.  I expressed to her my confidence that she would be a great attraction at the Quill Circus. Of course, I know now that never was to be.\nOn that day, as I recall, I had to return early. It was one of the rare occasions when I had work, of a sort, to do. Whenever the Duchess had guests, I was to be at the palace. That is not to say that I had any particular duties, except to be seen standing at attention in the dining room. The stewards and maids worked hard to bring in the food and clear the plates afterwards, but the footmen were purely decorative, a formality.\nBut at least I was an audience for the drama to come.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/black-arrow-v2": {"series": "The Black Arrow", "game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/black-arrow-v2", "author": "Gorgic Guine", "title": "The Black Arrow, v2", "description": "A tale which shows that nobles do not always get what they want.", "text": "The Black Arrow\nPart II\nBy\nGorgic Guine\n\nOn the last dinner in my employ at the palace, the Duchess, quite surprisingly, had invited the mayor of Moliva and Master Hiomaste himself among her other guests. The servants' gossip was manic. The mayor had been there before, albeit very irregularly, but Hiomaste's presence was unthinkable. What could she mean by such a conciliatory gesture?\nThe dinner itself progressed along with perfect if slightly cool civility among all parties. Hiomaste and the Duchess were both very quiet. The Mayor tried to engage the group in a discussion of the Emperor Pelagius IV's new son and heir Uriel, but it failed to spark much interest. Lady Villea, elderly but much more vivacious than her sister the Duchess, led most of the talk about crime and scandal in Eldenroot.\n\"I have been encouraging her to move out to the country, away from all that unpleasantness for years now,\" the Duchess said, meeting the eyes of the Mayor. \"We've been discussing more recently the possibility of her building a palace on Moliva Hill, but there's so little space there as you know. Fortunately, we've come to a discovery. There is a wide field just a few days west, on the edge of the river, ideally suited.\"\n\"It sounds perfect,\" the Mayor smiled and turned to Lady Villea: \"When will your ladyship begin building?\"\n\"The very day you move your village to the site,\" replied the Duchess of Woda.\nThe Mayor turned to her to see if she was joking. She obviously was not.\n\"Think of how much more commerce you could bring to your village if you were close to the river,\" said Lady Villea jovially. \"And Master Hiomaste's students could have easier access to his fine school. Everyone would benefit. I know it would put my sister's heart to ease if there was less trespassing and poaching on her lands.\"\n\"There is no poaching or trespassing on your lands now, Your Grace,\" frowned Hiomaste. \"You do not own the jungle, nor will you. The villagers may be persuaded to leave, that I don't know. But my school will stay where it is.\"\nThe dinner party never really recovered happily. Hiomaste and the Mayor excused themselves, and my services, such as they were, were not needed in the drawing room where the group went to have their drinks. There was no laughter to be heard through the walls that evening.\nThe next day, even though there was a dinner planned for the evening, I left on my usual walk to Moliva. Before I had even reached the drawbridge, the guard held me back: \"Where are you going, Gorgic? Not to the village, are you?\"\n\"Why not?\"\nHe pointed to the plume of smoke in the distance: \"A fire broke out very early this morning, and it's still going. Apparently, it started at Master Hiomaste's school. It looks like the work of some traveling brigands.\"\n\"Blessed Stendarr!\" I cried. \"Are the students alive?\"\n\"No one knows, but it'd be a miracle if any survived. It was late and most everyone was sleeping. I know they've already found the Master's body, or what was left of it. And they also found that girl, your friend, Prolyssa.\"\nI spent the day in a state of shock. It seemed inconceivable what my instinct told me: that the two noble old ladies, Lady Villea and the Duchess of Woda, had arranged for a village and school that irritated them to be reduced to ashes. At dinner, they mentioned the fire in Moliva only very briefly, as if it were not news at all. But I did see the Duchess smile for the first time ever. It was a smile I will never forget until the day I die.\nThe next morning, I had resolved to go to the village and see if I could be of any assistance to the survivors. I was passing through the servants' hall to the grand foyer when I heard the sound of a group of people ahead. The guards and most of the servants were there, pointing at the portrait of the Duchess that hung in the center of the hall.\nThere was a single black bolt of ebony piercing the painting, right at the Duchess's heart.\nI recognized it at once. It was one of Missun Akin's arrows I had seen in his quiver, forged, he said, in the bowels of Dagoth-Ur itself. My first reaction was relief: the Dunmer who had been kind enough to give me a ride to the palace had survived the fire. My second reaction was echoed by all present in the hall. How had the vandal gotten past the guards, the gate, the moat, and the massive iron door?\nThe Duchess, arriving shortly after I, was clearly furious, though she was too well bred to show it but by raising her web-thin eyebrows. She wasted no time in assigning all her servants to new duties to keep the palace grounds guarded at all times. We were given regular shifts and precise, narrow patrols.\nThe next morning, despite all precautions, there was another black arrow piercing the Duchess's portrait.\nSo it continued for a week's time. The Duchess saw to it that at least one person was always present in the foyer, but somehow the arrow always found its way to her painting whenever the guard's eyes were momentarily averted.\nA complex series of signals were devised, so each patrol could report back any sounds or disturbances they encountered during their vigil. At first, the Duchess arranged them so her castellan would receive record of any disturbances during the day, and the chief of the guard during the night. But when she found that she could not sleep, she made certain that the information came to her directly.\nThe atmosphere in the palace had shifted from gloomy to nightmarish. A snake would slither across the moat, and suddenly Her Grace would be tearing through the east wing to investigate. A strong gust of wind ruffling the leaves on one of the few trees in the lawn was a similar emergency. An unfortunate lone traveler on the road in front of the palace, a completely innocent man at it turned out, brought such a violent reaction that he must have thought that he had stumbled on a war. In a way, he had.\nAnd every morning, there was a new arrow in the front hall, mocking her.\nI was given the terrible assignment of guarding the portrait for a few hours in the early morning. Not wanting to be the one to discover the arrow, I seated myself in a chair opposite, never letting my eyes move away for even a second. I don't know if you've had the experience of watching one object relentlessly, but it has a strange effect. All other senses vanish. That was why I was particularly startled when the Duchess rushed into the room, blurring the gulf for me between her portrait and herself.\n\"There's something moving behind the tree across the road from the gate!\" she roared, pushing me aside, and fumbling with her key in the gold lock.\nShe was shaking with madness and excitement, and the key did not seem to want to go in. I reached out to help her, but the Duchess was already kneeling, her eye to the keyhole, to be certain that the key went through.\nIt was precisely in that second that the arrow arrived, but this one never made it as far as the portrait.\nI actually met Missun Akin years later, while I was in Morrowind to entertain some nobles. He was impressed that I had risen from being a humble domestic servant to being a bard of some renown. He himself had returned to the ashlands, and, like his old master Hiomaste, was retired to the simple life of teaching and hunting.\nI told him that I had heard that Lady Villea had decided not to leave the city, and that the village of Modiva had been rebuilt. He was happy to hear that, but I could not find a way to ask him what I really wanted to know. I felt like a fool just wondering if what I thought were true, that he had been behind Prolyssa's tree across the road from the gate every morning that summer, firing an arrow through the gate, across the lawn, across the moat, through a keyhole, and into a portrait of the Duchess of Woda until he struck the Duchess herself. It was clearly an impossibility. I chose not to ask.\nAs we left one another that day, and he was waving good-bye, he said, \"I am pleased to see you doing so well, my friend. I am happy you moved that chair.\"\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/five-songs-king-wulfharth-0": {"series": "The Five Songs of King Wulfharth", "game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/five-songs-king-wulfharth-0", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Five Songs of King Wulfharth", "description": "Summaries of the Five Songs. Contains a unique take on the Battle at Red Mountain, among other things.", "text": "Shor's Tongue\nThe first song of King Wulfharth is ancient, circa 1E500. After the defeat of the Alessian army at Glenumbria Moors, where King Hoag Merkiller was slain, Wulfharth of Atmora was elected by the Pact of Chieftains. His thu'um was so powerful that he could not verbally swear into the office, and scribes were used to draw up his oaths. Immediately thereafter the scribes wrote down the first new law of his reign: a fiery reinstatement of the traditional Nordic pantheon. The Edicts were outlawed, their priests put to the stake, and their halls set ablaze. The shadow of King Borgas had ended for a span. For his zealotry, King Wulfharth was called Shor's Tongue, and Ysmir, Dragon of the North.\nKyne's Son\nThe second song of King Wulfharth glorifies his deeds in the eyes of the Old Gods. He fights the eastern Orcs and shouts their chief into Hell. He rebuilds the 418th step of High Hrothgar, which had been damaged by a dragon. When he swallowed a thundercloud to keep his army from catching cold, the Nords called him the Breath of Kyne.\nOld Knocker\nThe third song of King Wulfharth tells of his death. Orkey, an enemy god, had always tried to ruin the Nords, even in Atmora where he stole their years away. Seeing the strength of King Wulfharth, Orkey summoned the ghost of Alduin Time-Eater again. Nearly every Nord was eaten down to six years old. Boy Wulfharth pleaded to Shor, the dead Chieftain of the Gods, to help his people. Shor's own ghost then fought the Time-Eater on the spirit plane, as he did at the beginning of time, and he won, and Orkey's folk, the Orcs, were ruined. As Boy Wulfharth watched the battle in the sky he learned a new thu'um, What Happens When You Shake the Dragon Just So. He used this new magic to change his people back to normal. In his haste to save so many, though, he shook too many years out on himself. He grew older than the Greybeards, and died. The flames of his pyre were said to have reached the hearth of Kyne itself.\nThe Ash King\nThe fourth song of King Wulfharth tells of his rebirth. The Dwarves and Devils of the eastern kingdoms had started to fight again, and the Nords hoped they might reclaim their ancient holdings there because of it. They planned an attack, but then gave up, knowing that they had no strong King to lead them. Then in walked the Devil of Dagoth, who swore he came in peace. Moreover, he told the Nords a wondrous thing: he knew where the Heart of Shor was! Long ago the Chief of the Gods had been killed by Elven giants, and they ripped out Shor's Heart and used it as a standard to strike fear into the Nords. This worked until Ysgramor Shouted Some Sense and the Nords fought back again. Knowing that they were going to lose eventually, the Elven giants hid the Heart of Shor so that the Nords might never have their God back. But here was the Devil of Dagoth with good news! The Dwarves and Devils of the eastern kingdom had his Heart, and this was the reason for their recent unrest. The Nords asked the Devil of Dagoth why he might betray his countrymer so, and he said that the Devils have betrayed each other since the beginning of time, and this was so, and so the Nords believed him. The Tongues sung Shor's ghost into the world again. Shor gathered an army as he did of old, and then he sucked in the long-strewn ashes of King Wulfharth and remade him, for he needed a good general. But the Devil of Dagoth petitioned to be that general, too, and he pointed out his role as the blessed harbinger of this holy war. So Shor had two generals, the Ash King and the Devil of Dagoth, and he marched on the eastern kingdoms with all the sons of Skyrim.\nRed Mountain\nThe fifth song of King Wulfharth is sad. The survivors of the disaster came back under a red sky. That year is called Sun's Death. The Devil of Dagoth had tricked the Nords, for the Heart of Shor was not in the eastern kingdoms, and had never been there at all. As soon as Shor's army had got to Red Mountain, all the Devils and Dwarves fell upon them. Their sorcerers lifted the mountain and threw it onto Shor, trapping him underneath Red Mountain until the end of time. They slaughtered the sons of Skyrim, but not before King Wulfharth killed King Dumalacath the Dwarf-Orc, and doomed his people. Then Vehk the Devil blasted the Ash King into Hell and it was over. Later, Kyne lifted the ashes of the ashes of Ysmir into the sky, saving him from Hell and showing her sons the color of blood when it is brought by betrayal. And the Nords will never trust another Devil again."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/secret-song-wulfharth-ash-king": {"series": "The Five Songs of King Wulfharth", "game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/secret-song-wulfharth-ash-king", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Secret Song of Wulfharth Ash-King", "description": "Summaries of the Five Songs. Contains a unique take on the Battle at Red Mountain, among other things.", "text": "The Truth at Red Mountain\nThe Heart of Shor was in Resdayn, as Dagoth-Ur had promised. As Shor's army approached the westernmost bank of the Inner Sea, they stared across at Red Mountain, where the Dwemeri armies had gathered. News from the scouts reported that the Chimeri forces had just left Narsis, and that they were taking their time joining their cousins against the Nords. Dagoth-Ur said that the Tribunal had betrayed their King's trust, that they sent Dagoth-Ur to Lorkhan (for that is what they called Shor in Resdayn) so that the god might wreak vengeance on the Dwarves for their hubris; that Nerevar's peace with the Dwemer would be the ruin of the Velothi way. This was the reason for the slow muster, Dagoth-Ur said.\nThe Armies Grow\nAnd Lorkhan (for that is what they called Shor in Resdayn) said: \u201cI do not wreak vengeance on the Dwarves for the reasons that the Tribunal might believe I do. Nevertheless, it is true that they will die by my hand, and any whoever should side with them. This Nerevar is the son of Boethiah, one of the strongest Padomaics. He is a hero to his people despite his Tribunal, and he shall muster enough that this battle will be harder going still. We will need more than what we have.\u201d And so Dagoth-Ur, who wanted the Dwarves as dead as the Tribunal did, went to Kogoran and summoned his House chap'thil, his nix-hounds, his wizards, archers, his stolen men of brass. And the Ash King, Wulfharth, hoary Ysmir, went and made peace with the Orcs in spite of his Nordic blood, and they brought many warriors but no wizards at all. Many Nords could not bring themselves to ally with their traditional enemies, even in the face of Red Mountain. They were close to desertion. Then Wulfharth said: \u201cDon't you see where you really are? Don't you know who Shor really is? Don't you know what this war is?\u201d And they looked from the King to the God to the Devils and Orcs, and some knew, really knew, and they are the ones that stayed.\nThe Doom Drum\nNerevar carried Keening, a dagger made of the sound of the shadow of the moons. His champions were Dumac Dwarfking, who carried a hammer of divine mass, and Alandro Sul, who was the immortal son of Azura and wore the Wraith Mail. They met Lorkhan at the last battle of Red Mountain. Lorkhan had his Heart again, but he had long been from it, and he needed time. Wulfharth met Sul but could not strike him, and he fell from grievous wounds, but not before shouting Sul blind. Dagoth-Ur met Dumac and slew him, but not before Sunder struck his lord's Heart. Nerevar turned away from Lorkhan and struck down Dagoth-Ur in rage, but he took a mortal wound from Lorkhan in turn. But Nerevar feigned the death that was coming early and so struck Lorkhan with surprise on his side. The Heart had been made solid by Sunder's tuning blow and Keening could now cut it out. And it was cut out and Lorkhan was defeated and the whole ordeal was thought over."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lusty-argonian-maid-v1": {"series": "The Lusty Argonian Maid", "game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lusty-argonian-maid-v1", "author": "Crassius Curio", "title": "The Lusty Argonian Maid, v1", "description": "A hilariously raunchy tale of an Argonian maid and her Imperial master.", "text": "The Lusty Argonian Maid\n\tVolume 1\nBy:\n\tCrassius Curio\n\nAct IV, Scene III, continued\nLifts-Her-Tail\n\tCertainly not, kind sir! I am here but to clean your chambers.\nCrantius Colto\n\tIs that all you have come here for, little one? My chambers?\nLifts-Her-Tail\n\tI have no idea what it is you imply, master. I am but a poor Argonian maid.\nCrantius Colto\n\tSo you are, my dumpling. And a good one at that. Such strong legs and shapely tail.\nLifts-Her-Tail\n\tYou embarrass me, sir!\nCrantius Colto\n\tFear not. You are safe here with me.\nLifts-Her-Tail\n\tI must finish my cleaning, sir. The mistress will have my head if I do not!\nCrantius Colto\n\tCleaning, eh? I have something for you. Here, polish my spear.\nLifts-Her-Tail\n\tBut it is huge! It could take me all night!\nCrantius Colto\n\tPlenty of time, my sweet. Plenty of time.\nEND OF ACT IV, SCENE III\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lusty-argonian-maid-v2": {"series": "The Lusty Argonian Maid", "game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lusty-argonian-maid-v2", "author": "Crassius Curio", "title": "The Lusty Argonian Maid, v2", "description": "A hilariously raunchy tale of an Argonian maid and her Imperial master.", "text": "The Lusty Argonian Maid\nVolume 2\nBy:\n\tCrassius Curio\nACT VII, SCENE II, CONTINUED\nLifts-Her-Tail\n\tMy goodness, that's quite a loaf! But how ever shall it fit my oven?\nCrantius Colto\n\tThis loaf isn't ready for baking, my sweet. It has yet to rise.\nLifts-Her-Tail\n\tIf only we could hurry that along. How would I accomplish such a task?\nCrantius Colto\n\tOh, my foolish little Argonian maid, you must use your hands.\nLifts-Her-Tail\n\tYou wish me to kneed the loaf? Here?\nCrantius Colto\n\tOf course.\nLifts-Her-Tail\n\tBut what if the mistress catches me? Your loaf was meant to satisfy her appetite.\nCrantius Colto\n\tDon't fret, my delicate flower. I'll satisfy the mistress's cravings later.\nLifts-Her-Tail\n\tVery well, but I'm afraid my oven isn't hot enough. It could take hours!\nCrantius Colto\n\tPlenty of time, my sweet. Plenty of time.\nEND OF ACT VII, SCENE II"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/monomyth-myth-aurbis": {"series": "The Monomyth", "game": ["Morrowind", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/monomyth-myth-aurbis", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Monomyth: The Myth of Aurbis", "description": "A theology book that contains some of the most common creation myths.", "text": "Subtitled \"The Psijiic Compensation,\" \"Mythic Aurbis\" was an attempt by Artaeum apologists to explain the basics of Aldmeri religion to Uriel V in the early, glorious part of his reign. It quietly avoided any blame or bias against the Lorkhan-concept, which was still held in esteem by the Cyrodiils as \"Shezarr\", the missing sibling of the Divines. Despite this, the Psijiici still give a nice summary of the Elder view, and it will serve our purposes here. This version comes from the archives of the Imperial Seminary from the handwritten notes of an unknown scribe.\n\nMythic Aurbis exists, and has existed from time without measure, as a fanciful Unnatural Realm.\n'Aurbis' is used to connote the imperceptible Penumbra, the Gray Center between the IS/IS NOT of Anu and Padomay. It contains the multitude realms of Aetherius and Oblivion, as well as other, less structured forms.\nThe magical beings of Mythic Aurbis live for a long time and have complex narrative lives, creating the patterns of myth.\nThese are spirits made from bits of the immortal polarity. The first of these was Akatosh the Time Dragon, whose formation made it easier for other spirits to structure themselves. Gods and demons form and reform and procreate.\nFinally, the magical beings of Mythic Aurbis told the ultimate story -- that of their own death. For some this was an artistic transfiguration into the concrete, non-magical substance of the world. For others, this was a war in which all were slain, their bodies becoming the substance of the world. For yet others, this was a romantic marriage and parenthood, with the parent spirits naturally having to die and give way to the succeeding mortal races.\nThe agent of this communal decision was Lorkhan, whom most early myths vilify as a trickster or deceiver. More sympathetic versions of this story point out Lorkhan as being the reason the mortal plane exists at all.\nThe magical beings created the races of the mortal Aurbis in their own image, either consciously as artists and craftsmen, or as the fecund rotting matter out of which the mortals sprung forth, or in a variety of other analogical senses.\nThe magical beings, then, having died, became the et'Ada. The et'Ada are the things perceived and revered by the mortals as gods, spirits, or geniuses of Aurbis. Through their deaths, these magical beings separated themselves in nature from the other magical beings of the Unnatural realms.\nThe Daedra were created at this time also, being spirits and Gods more attuned to Oblivion, or that realm closer to the Void of Padomay. This act is the dawn of the Mythic (Merethic) Era. It has been perceived by the earliest mortals many different ways, either as a joyous 'second creation', or (especially by the Elves) as a painful fracturing from the divine. The originator of the event is always Lorkhan."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/monomyth-yokudan-satakal-worldskin": {"series": "The Monomyth", "game": ["Morrowind", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/monomyth-yokudan-satakal-worldskin", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Monomyth: Yokudan, \"Satakal the Worldskin\"", "description": "A theology book that contains some of the most common creation myths.", "text": "Note: This part was known as the Yokudan (Redguard) Creation Myth.\n\"Satak was First Serpent, the Snake who came Before, and all the worlds to come rested in the glimmer of its scales. But it was so big there was nothing but, and thus it was coiled around and around itself, and the worlds to come slid across each other but none had room to breathe or even be. And so the worlds called to something to save them, to let them out, but of course there was nothing outside the First Serpent, so aid had to come from inside it; this was Akel, the Hungry Stomach. Akel made itself known, and Satak could only think about what it was, and it was the best hunger, so it ate and ate. Soon there was enough room to live in the worlds and things began. These things were new and they often made mistakes, for there was hardly time to practice being things before. So most things ended quickly or were not good or gave up on themselves. Some things were about to start, but they were eaten up as Satak got to that part of its body. This was a violent time.\n\"Pretty soon Akel caused Satak to bite its own heart and that was the end. The hunger, though, refused to stop, even in death, and so the First Serpent shed its skin to begin anew. As the old world died, Satakal began, and when things realized this pattern so did they realize what their part in it was. They began to take names, like Ruptga or Tuwhacca, and they strode about looking for their kin. As Satakal ate itself over and over, the strongest spirits learned to bypass the cycle by moving at strange angles. They called this process the Walkabout, a way of striding between the worldskins. Ruptga was so big that he was able to place the stars in the sky so that weaker spirits might find their way easier. This practice became so easy for the spirits that it became a place, called the Far Shores, a time of waiting until the next skin.\n\"Ruptga was able to sire many children through the cycles and so he became known as the Tall Papa. He continued to place stars to map out the void for others, but after so many cycles there were almost too many spirits to help out. He made himself a helper from the detritus of past skins and this was Sep, or Second Serpent. Sep had much of the Hungry Stomach still left in him, multiple hungers from multiple skins. He was so hungry he could not think straight. Sometimes he would just eat the spirits he was supposed to help, but Tall Papa would always reach in and take them back out. Finally, tired of helping Tall Papa, Sep went and gathered the rest of the old skins and balled them up, tricking spirits to help him, promising them this was how you reached the new world, by making one out of the old. These spirits loved this way of living, as it was easier. No more jumping from place to place. Many spirits joined in, believing this was good thinking. Tall Papa just shook his head.\n\"Pretty soon the spirits on the skin-ball started to die, because they were very far from the real world of Satakal. And they found that it was too far to jump into the Far Shores now. The spirits that were left pleaded with Tall Papa to take them back. But grim Ruptga would not, and he told the spirits that they must learn new ways to follow the stars to the Far Shores now. If they could not, then they must live on through their children, which was not the same as before. Sep, however, needed more punishment, and so Tall Papa squashed the Snake with a big stick. The hunger fell out of Sep's dead mouth and was the only thing left of the Second Serpent. While the rest of the new world was allowed to strive back to godhood, Sep could only slink around in a dead skin, or swim about in the sky, a hungry void that jealously tried to eat the stars.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/monomyth-cyrodiilic-shezarrs-song": {"series": "The Monomyth", "game": ["Morrowind", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/monomyth-cyrodiilic-shezarrs-song", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Monomyth: Cyrodiilic \"Shezarr's Song\"", "description": "A theology book that contains some of the most common creation myths.", "text": "Note: This part was known as the Cyrodiilic Creation Myth.\n\"This was a new thing that Shezarr described to the Gods, becoming mothers and fathers, being responsible, and making great sacrifices, with no guarantee of success, but Shezarr spoke beautifully to them, and moved them beyond mystery and tears. Thus the Aedra gave free birth to the world, the beasts, and the beings, making these things from parts of themselves. This free birth was very painful, and afterwards the Aedra were no longer young, and strong, and powerful, as they had been from the beginning of days.\n\"Some Aedra were disappointed and bitter in their loss, and angry with Shezarr, and with all creation, for they felt Shezarr had lied and tricked them. These Aedra, the Gods of the Aldmer, led by Auri-El, were disgusted by their enfeebled selves, and by what they had created. 'Everything is spoiled, for now, and for all time, and the most we can do is teach the Elven Races to suffer nobly, with dignity, and chastise ourselves for our folly, and avenge ourselves upon Shezarr and his allies.' Thus are the Gods of the Elves dark and brooding, and thus are the Elves ever dissatisfied with mortality, and always proud and stoic despite the harshness of this cruel and indifferent world.\n\"Other Aedra looked upon creation, and were well pleased. These Aedra, the Gods of Men and Beast Folk, led by Akatosh, praised and cherished their wards, the Mortal Races. 'We have suffered, and are diminished, for all time, but the mortal world we have made is glorious, filling our hearts and spirits with hope. Let us teach the Mortal Races to live well, to cherish beauty and honor, and to love one another as we love them.' Thus are the Gods of Men tender and patient, and thus are Men and Beast Folk great in heart for joy or suffering, and ambitious for greater wisdom and a better world.\n\"Now when the Daedra Lords heard Shezarr, they mocked him, and the other Aedra. 'Cut parts of ourselves off? And lose them? Forever? That's stupid! You'll be sorry! We are far smarter than you, for we will create a new world out of ourselves, but we will not cut it off, or let it mock us, but we will make this world within ourselves, forever ours, and under our complete control.'\n\"So the Daedra Lords created the Daedric Realms, and all the ranks of Lesser Daedra, great and small. And, for the most part, the Daedra Lords were well pleased with this arrangement, for they always had worshippers and servants and playthings close to hand. But, at the same time, they sometimes looked with envy upon the Mortal Realms, for though mortals were foul and feeble and contemptible, their passions and ambitions were also far more surprising and entertaining than the antics of the Lesser Daedra. Thus do the Daedra Lords court and seduce certain amusing specimens of the Mortal Races, especially the passionate and powerful. It gives the Daedra Lords special pleasure to steal away from Shezarr and the Aedra the greatest and most ambitious mortals. 'Not only are you fools to mutilate yourselves,' gloat the Daedra Lords, 'But you cannot even keep the best pieces, which prefer the glory and power of the Daedra Lords to the feeble vulgarity of the mush-minded Aedra.'\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/monomyth-altmeri-heart-world": {"series": "The Monomyth", "game": ["Morrowind", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/monomyth-altmeri-heart-world", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Monomyth: Altmeri \"The Heart of the World\"", "description": "A theology book that contains some of the most common creation myths.", "text": "Note: This part was known as the High Elven (Altmeri) Creation Myth.\n\"Anu encompassed, and encompasses, all things. So that he might know himself he created Anuiel, his soul and the soul of all things. Anuiel, as all souls, was given to self-reflection, and for this he needed to differentiate between his forms, attributes, and intellects. Thus was born Sithis, who was the sum of all the limitations Anuiel would utilize to ponder himself. Anuiel, who was the soul of all things, therefore became many things, and this interplay was and is the Aurbis.\n\"At first the Aurbis was turbulent and confusing, as Anuiel's ruminations went on without design. Aspects of the Aurbis then asked for a schedule to follow or procedures whereby they might enjoy themselves a little longer outside of perfect knowledge. So that he might know himself this way, too, Anu created Auriel, the soul of his soul. Auriel bled through the Aurbis as a new force, called time. With time, various aspects of the Aurbis began to understand their natures and limitations. They took names, like Magnus or Mara or Xen. One of these, Lorkhan, was more of a limit than a nature, so he could never last long anywhere.\n\"As he entered every aspect of Anuiel, Lorkhan would plant an idea that was almost wholly based on limitation. He outlined a plan to create a soul for the Aurbis, a place where the aspects of aspects might even be allowed to self-reflect. He gained many followers; even Auriel, when told he would become the king of the new world, agreed to help Lorkhan. So they created the Mundus, where their own aspects might live, and became the et'Ada.\n\"But this was a trick. As Lorkhan knew, this world contained more limitations than not and was therefore hardly a thing of Anu at all. Mundus was the House of Sithis. As their aspects began to die off, many of the et'Ada vanished completely. Some escaped, like Magnus, and that is why there are no limitations to magic. Others, like Y'ffre, transformed themselves into the Ehlnofey, the Earthbones, so that the whole world might not die. Some had to marry and make children just to last. Each generation was weaker than the last, and soon there were Aldmer. Darkness caved in. Lorkhan made armies out of the weakest souls and named them Men, and they brought Sithis into every quarter.\n\"Auriel pleaded with Anu to take them back, but he had already filled their places with something else. But his soul was gentler and granted Auriel his Bow and Shield, so that he might save the Aldmer from the hordes of Men. Some had already fallen, like the Chimer, who listened to tainted et'Ada, and others, like the Bosmer, had soiled Time's line by taking Mannish wives.\n\"Auriel could not save Altmora, the Elder Wood, and it was lost to Men. They were chased south and east to Old Ehlnofey, and Lorkhan was close behind. He shattered that land into many. Finally Trinimac, Auriel's greatest knight, knocked Lorkhan down in front of his army and reached in with more than hands to take his Heart. He was undone. The Men dragged Lorkhan's body away and swore blood vengeance on the heirs of Auriel for all time.\n\"But when Trinimac and Auriel tried to destroy the Heart of Lorkhan it laughed at them. It said, \"This Heart is the heart of the world, for one was made to satisfy the other.\" So Auriel fastened the thing to an arrow and let it fly long into the sea, where no aspect of the new world may ever find it.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/morrowind-poison-song-book-i": {"series": "The Poison Song", "game": ["Morrowind", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/morrowind-poison-song-book-i", "author": "Bristin Xel", "title": "The Poison Song, Book I", "description": "A fascinating epic set in the aftermath of the War with the Dwemer and House Dagoth. A story of secrets, betrayal, survival, love, incest and redmeption, this is one you can't miss.", "text": "It was beginning again. Even though everything seemed serene (the last embers crackling in the hearth; young servant girl and her child slumbering in a chair by the door; a tapestry half-finished against the wall, waiting to be completed tomorrow; one of the moons visible through a milky cloud outside the window; a lone bird, out of sight in the rafters, cooing placidly), Tay heard the first chords of the Song strike dissonantly somewhere far away.\nThe bird in the rafters croaked and took flight through the window. The baby in the girl's arms woke and began to scream. The Song swelled in intensity, yet still remained subtle and stately in tempo. The movement of everything seemed to take on the rhythm of the music as if strange choreography had been staged: the girl rising to the window, the clouds reflecting back red from the inferno below, her scream, all muted, consumed by the Song. Everything that came thereafter Tay had seen so many times, it had almost ceased to be a nightmare.\nHe did not remember anything of his life before coming to the island of Gorne, but he understood that there was something different in his past that set him apart from his cousins. It wasn't simply that his parents were dead. His cousin Baynarah's parents had also died in the War. Nor were the other Housemen on Gorne or nearby Mournhold unusually cruel to him. They treated him with the same polite indifference that any Indoril has for every other eight-year-old boy that got underfoot.\nBut somehow, with absolutely certainty, Tay knew he was alone. Different. Because of a Song he always heard, and his nightmares.\n\u201cYou're certainly imaginative,\u201d his aunt Ulliah would smile patiently, before waving him away so she could return to her scriptures and chores.\n\u201cDifferent? Everyone in the world thinks they're 'different,' that's what makes it such a common sentiment,\u201d said his older cousin Kalkorith who was studying to be Temple priest and had a firm grasp on paradoxes.\n\u201cIf you tell anyone else that you keep hearing music where there's no music to be heard, they'll call you mad and bury you in the Shrine of Sheogorath,\u201d his uncle Triffith would snarl, before striding away to attend his business.\nOnly his nursemaid Edebah would listen to him seriously, and just nod with a faint look of pride. But she would never say another word.\nHis cousin and chief playmate Baynarah was by far the least interested in the stories of his Song and his dreams.\n\"How tiresome you are with all this, Tay,\" said Baynarah, after luncheon the summer of his eighth year. He, she, and a younger cousin Vaster walked into a clearing in the midst of flowering trees. The grass was very low, barely up to their ankles, and there were big black piles of leaves from the previous autumn. \u201cNow, shall we get back to it? What shall we play?\"\nTay thought for a moment. \"We could play the Siege of Orsinium.\"\n\"What's that?\" asked Vaster, their constant companion, three years their junior.\n\"Orsinium was the home of the orcs, off in the Wrothgarian Mountains. For hundreds of years, it kept growing bigger and bigger and bigger. The orcs would come down out of the mountains and rape and pillage all over High Rock. And then, King Joile of Daggerfall and Gaiden Shinji of the Order of Diagna and someone else, I forget, from Sentinel all joined together against Orsinium. For thirty years they fought and fought. Orsinium had walls made out of iron and, try as they might, they couldn't break through.\"\n\"So what happened?\" asked Baynarah.\n\"You're so good at making up things that never happened, why don't you make it up?\"\nSo they did. Tay was the King of the Orcs, perched up in a tree they called Orsinium. Baynarah and Vaster played King Joile and Gaiden Shinji and they threw pebbles and sticks up at Tay while he taunted them in his most guttural voice. The three decided that the Goddess Kynareth (played by Baynarah in dual role) answered the prayers of Gaiden Shinji and drenched Orsinium in a torrent of rain. The walls rusted and dissolved. On cue, Tay obligingly fell from the tree and let King Joile and Gaiden Shinji mangle him with their enchanted blades.\nFor the most of that summer, the year 675 of the First Era, Tay was nearly insensible by the power of the sun. There were no clouds, but it rained most every night, so the vegetation on the island of Gorne was bewildering lush. The stones themselves seemed to glow with sunlight, and the ditches burned with white meadowsweet and parsleydown; all around him were soft smells of flower and tree untroubled by wind; the foliage was purple green, blue green, ash green, white green. The wide cupolas, twisting cobbled streets, and thatched roofs of the little village of Gorne, and massive bleached rock of Sandil House all were magical to him.\nYet the dreams haunted his nights and the Song continued whether he was awake or not.\nAgainst Aunt Ulliah's admonishments, Tay, Baynarah, and Vaster had breakfast outdoors every morning with the servants. Ulliah would hold an interior breakfast for herself and any visiting dignitaries: guests were rare, so she often ate alone. At first the servants would dine in silence, attempting gentility, but they broke down and would regale the children with gossip, reports, stories, and rumors.\n\"Poor Arnyle is laid up with a fever again.\"\n\"I'm telling you, they're cursed. The whole lot of 'em. Piss on the faerie and they piss right back on you.\"\n\"Doesn't Little Miss Starsia look, oh, just a wee bit tight around the belly region late-ly?\"\n\"She's not!\"\nThe only servant who didn't speak at all was Tay's nursemaid Edebah. She wasn't pretty like the other maids, but the scars on her face did not deform her. Her poorly set broken nose and her short hair gave her a certain alien mystique. She would merely quietly smile at the gossip, and look at Tay with almost frightening love and devotion.\nOne day, after breakfast, Baynarah whispered to Tay and Vaster, \"We have to go to the hills on the other side of the island.\"\nShe had used such imperatives before and always had something wonderful to show: a waterfall, tucked away behind ferns and tall rocks; a sunny grove of figs; a discreet still some peasants had set up; a sickly oak, twisted into a kneeling human figure; a collapsed stone wall that they imagined was thousands of years old, the last refuge of a doomed princess they named Merella.\nThe three walked across through the forest until they came to a clearing. A few hundred feet beyond, the meadow sank to a dry creek bed, filled with small, smooth stones. They followed that into the dark woods where trees canopied high over their heads. Sporadic red and yellow blossoms burst along the moist underbrush, but they became rarer and rarer as the children marched on under the umbrageous oaks and elms. The air crackled with birds ticking a staccato choral piece, a minor chord of the Song.\n\u201cWhere are we going?\u201d asked Tay.\n\u201cIt's not where we're going, it's what we're going to see,\u201d replied Baynarah.\nThe forest surrounded the three children completely, bathed them in its tenebrous hues, and breathed on them with wet chirrups and sighs. It was easy for them to imagine that they were within a monster, walking along its twisted spine of stones.\nBaynarah scrambled up the steep hill and peered through the thick mass of shrub and tree. Tay lifted Vaster out of the creek bed and climbed out, gripping soft grass for support. There was no path through the forest here. Brambles and low hanging branches struck at them like the claws of chained beasts. The cries of the birds became ever more stentorious, as if angered at the invasion. One limb drew blood on Vaster's cheek, but he didn't cry out. Even Baynarah, who could pass like an ethereal creature through impenetrable forests, had a braid catch on a bramble, ruining the intricate pattern a servant had woven hours before. She paused to pull out the other braid, so her bright unruly tresses fell freely behind her. Now she was something wild, a nymph guiding the other two through her woodland domain. The Song began to beat like a wild pulse.\nThey were on a shelf of stone below a cliff overlooking a tremendous gorge, staring over an expanse of cinder. It looked like the scene of a tremendous battle, a holocaust of fire. Charred boxes, weaponry, animal bones, and detritus too annihilated to be identifiable littered the ground. Speechless, Tay and Vaster stepped into the black field. Baynarah smiled, proud that she had finally found something of true wonder and mystery.\n\u201cWhat is this place?\u201d asked Vaster at last.\n\u201cI don't know,\u201d Baynarah shrugged. \u201cI thought at first that it was some kind of ruin, but now I think it's a junk pile, just not like any junk pile I've ever seen. Just look at this stuff.\u201d\nThe three began an unorganized survey of the dusty mounds of refuse. Baynarah found a twisted sword only lightly blackened by flame and began polishing it to read the inscriptions on the blade. Vaster amused himself by breaking brittle boxes with his hands and feet, imagining himself a giant of unbelievable strength. A battered shield attracted Tay: there was something about it that reverberated with the sound of the Song. He pulled it out, and wiped its surface clean.\n\u201cI've never seen that crest before,\u201d said Baynarah, looking over Tay's shoulder.\n\u201cI think I have, but I don't remember,\u201d Tay whispered, trying to conjure the memory from his dreams. He was sure he had seen it there.\n\u201cLook at this!\u201d Vaster cried, interrupting Tay's thoughts. The boy was holding up a crystal orb. As his hand moved over the surface, brushing away grit and dust, a key in the Song rose which sent a shiver through Tay's entire body. Baynarah ran over to look at Vaster's treasure, but Tay felt paralyzed.\n\u201cWhere did you find that?\u201d she gasped, gazing into the swirl beneath the crystal surface.\n\u201cOver in that wagon,\u201d Vaster gestured toward a heap of blackened wood, barely discernible from the other piles but for its cart spokes. Baynarah began digging into the half-collapsed structure, so only her feet could be seen. The Song built in potency, sweeping over Tay. He began walking toward Vaster slowly.\n\u201cGive me that,\u201d he whispered in a voice he could barely recognize as his own.\n\u201cNo,\u201d Vaster whispered back, his eyes locked on the colors reflected in the heart of the globe. \u201cIt's mine.\u201d\nBaynarah dug through the remains of the wagon for several more minutes, but she could find no treasures like Vaster's. Most everything within was destroyed, and what remained was common-place by any standards: broken arrows, armor shards, guar bones. Frustrated, she pulled herself out into the sunlight.\nTay was alone, at the edge of the great gorge.\n\u201cWhere's Vaster?\u201d\nTay blinked and then turned back to his cousin with a shrug and a grin: \u201cHe went back to show everyone his new plunder. Did you find anything interesting?\u201d\n\u201cNot really,\u201d said Baynarah. \u201cWe probably ought to get back home before Vaster tells them anything that'll get us in trouble.\u201d\nTay and Baynarah started the walk back at a quick pace. Tay knew that Vaster would not be there when they got back. He would never be returning home again. The crystal globe rested snugly in Tay's satchel, hidden under a pile of junk he had picked up. With all his heart, he prayed for the Song to return and drown out the memory of the gorge and the long, silent fall down. The boy had been so surprised, he hadn't even time to scream."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/morrowind-poison-song-book-ii": {"series": "The Poison Song", "game": ["Morrowind", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/morrowind-poison-song-book-ii", "author": "Bristin Xel", "title": "The Poison Song, Book II", "description": "A fascinating epic set in the aftermath of the War with the Dwemer and House Dagoth. A story of secrets, betrayal, survival, love, incest and redmeption, this is one you can't miss.", "text": "Tay felt no guilt, which frightened him. All through the long, fast walk away from the gorge, through the woods, across the dry creek bed, he chatted merrily with Baynarah, fully aware that he had just committed murder. Whenever his mind strayed from the conversation, and he thought back on the last moments of Vaster's short life, the Song would soar. He could not think of the boy's death, but Tay knew he was responsible.\n\u201cYou're a mess!\u201d cried Aunt Ulliah the moment she saw the two children emerging from the woods onto the grounds of Sandil House. \u201cWhere have you been?\u201d\n\u201cDidn't Vaster already tell you?\u201d asked Tay.\nThe scene played itself out as Tay knew it would, every dancer in the Song performing their steps as choreographed. Aunt Ulliah saying that she had not seen Vaster. Baynarah, not yet frightened, making up an innocent lie about the threesome not having strayed far, saying he must have gotten lost. A slow but steady rhythm of panic intensifying as night began to fall, and Vaster had not yet returned. Baynarah and Tay tearfully (he was surprised how easy it was for him to cry without feeling) admitting where they had been, and leading Uncle Triffith and a crowd of servants to the junk pile and gorge. The tireless search through the woods as night turned to dawn. The weeping. The light punishment, merely cries of anger, that Baynarah and Tay suffered for losing their young cousin.\nIt was thought, from their stricken expressions, that the children felt guilty enough. They were sent to bed at dawn while the hunt through the woods continued.\nTay was drifting to sleep when his nursemaid Edebah came into his room. The look of unwavering love and devotion had not left her eyes, and he sank gratefully into his dreams and nightmares with her holding his hand. The Song wafted almost imperceptibly through his consciousness as he again had the vision of the room in the castle. The girl and her baby. The bird in the rafters. The dying fire. The sudden explosion of violence. Breathless, Tay opened his eyes.\nEdebah was stealing out the door, softly humming the Song to herself. In her hand was the crystal globe from his satchel. For a moment, he hesitated, about to cry out. How did she know the Song? Was she aware that he had murdered another boy to get the globe?\nSomehow he knew that she was helping him, that she knew all and loved him and sought only to protect him.\nThe next day, and the next week, and the next month were all the same. No one spoke very much, and when they did it was to suggest new places to look for the missing boy. Everywhere had been searched thoroughly. Tay was curious why they never looked in the gorge, but he understood how inaccessible it was.\nA side-effect of Vaster's absence was that the tutorial sessions with Kena Gafrisi took on a more serious, even academic quality. The younger boy's high spirits and meager attentiveness had always cut the lessons short, but sensible Baynarah and quiet Tay were ideal pupils. He was particularly impressed by how focused they became during a rather dry history lecture about the heraldic symbols of Houses of Morrowind.\n\u201cThe crest of the Hlaalu features a scale,\u201d he sniffed disdainfully. \u201cThey see themselves as the great compromisers, as if that were something honorable. Many hundreds of years ago, they were the tribesmen following Resdayn who chose--\u201c\n\u201cPardon me, Kena,\u201d asked Baynarah. \u201cBut what is the crest with the insect on it?\u201d\n\u201cYou don't know House Redoran?\u201d asked the tutor, lifting up one of the shields. \u201cI know you have a sheltered life on Gorne, but you're surely old enough to recognize--\"\n\u201cNot that one, Kena,\u201d replied Tay. \u201cI think she means the other crest with an insect.\u201d\n\u201cI see,\u201d nodded Kena Gafrisi, brow furrowed. \u201cYes, you would be too young to have ever seen the crest of the Sixth House, the House of Dagoth. Our enemies together with the accursed heretical Dwemer in the War of the Red Mountain, now totally destroyed, thanks be to Lord, Mother, and Wizard. That House was a curse on our land for millennia, and when at last their pestilence was snuffed out, the very earth itself breathed a cloud of fire and ash in relief, bringing night to day for over a year's time.\u201d\nBaynarah and Tay knew they could not speak, but they exchanged knowing glances at one another as the tutor enlarged on the theme of the great wickedness of the Dwemer and the House Dagoth. As soon as the lesson ended, they walked silently out of Sandil House until they were far from all ears and eyes.\nThe afternoon sun stretched out the shadows of the spear-like trees surrounding the meadow. Off in the distance, they could hear the sounds of the workers beginning their preparations for the autumntide harvest, yelling to one another unintelligibly in coarse and familiar accents.\n\u201cThat was definitely the symbol on that shield you found at the garbage heap,\u201d Baynarah said at last. \u201cEverything there must be a remnant of the House Dagoth.\u201d\nTay nodded. His mind was on the strange crystal globe. He felt a light vibration of soundless music touch his body, and knew he was discovering a new cadence of the Song.\n\u201cWhy would our people have burned and discarded all that?\u201d he asked thoughtfully. \u201cDo you think the House Dagoth was so evil that everything associated with them could have been cursed?\u201d\nBaynarah laughed. At the height of day, all talk of curses and the evil Sixth House were pure supposition: something to add romance to one's life, but nothing to worry about. The two children walked back to the castle for yet another in a series of cold, quiet dinners. As the night fell, Baynarah looked through the treasures she had picked up in the junk heap. By the light of the moons, the small jars, the torc with orange gemstones, the bits of tarnished silver and gold of no obvious purpose, all took on a sinister aspect.\nRevulsion overtook her feeling of admiration instantly. There was a strange energy to them, a tincture of death and corruption that was undeniable. Baynarah ran to the window and vomited.\nLooking out to the dark open lawn below, she saw a figure below lighting an arrangement of candles in the shape of a large insect, the symbol of the House Dagoth. When it looked in her direction, she pulled back, but she saw the face illuminated by the tallows. It was Edebah, Tay's nursemaid.\nThe next morning, Baynarah left the castle grounds early, bearing a large sack filled with her treasures. She carried them to the dumping ground and left them there. Then she returned, and told her Uncle Triffith what she had seen the night before, leaving out only what had made her sick in the first place.\nEdebah was banished from the isle of Gorne without discussion. She wept, begging to be allowed to say goodbye to Tay, but all believed that would be too dangerous. When Tay asked what had become of her, he was told she had to return to her family on the mainland. He had grown too old for a nursemaid.\nBaynarah never told him what she knew. For she was afraid."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/morrowind-poison-song-book-iii": {"series": "The Poison Song", "game": ["Morrowind", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/morrowind-poison-song-book-iii", "author": "Bristin Xel", "title": "The Poison Song, Book III", "description": "A fascinating epic set in the aftermath of the War with the Dwemer and House Dagoth. A story of secrets, betrayal, survival, love, incest and redmeption, this is one you can't miss.", "text": "Tay was eighteen in the year 685 of the First Era when he first saw Mournhold, the city of spires, home of the goddess. His cousin Kalkorith, already a senior initiate in the Temple, gave him a couple rooms on the ground floor of the house he had purchased. They were small and unfurnished, but bittergreen grew outside the windows, and when the wind blew, they filled his bedroom with a lovely spicy air.\nThe chords of the Song did not trouble him anymore. Sometimes he was even unconscious to it, so low and melodic it had become. Occasionally when he was passing through the streets on the way to the Temple for his instruction, someone would pass him and the Song would rise in intensity before falling away again. Whatever was different about those people, Tay never tried to ascertain. He remembered the last time he had let the Song lead him, and called for him to murder his young cousin Vaster. The memory did not trouble him unduly, but he did not want to hurt anyone again unless he had to.\nHouse couriers regularly brought Tay letters from Baynarah, still back in Sandil House on the island of Gorne. She might have gone to study at the Temple, she was certainly intelligent enough, but she chose not to. In a year or two at most, she would have to leave and assume her place in House Indoril, but she was not in a hurry. Tay welcomed the trivial gossipy news the letters brought, and responded back with news of his own studies and romances.\nIn his third month in Mournhold, he had already met a girl. She was also a student at the Temple, and her name was Acra. Tay wrote enthusiastically about her to Baynarah, describing her as having the mind of Sotha Sil, the wit of Vivec, and the beauty of Almalexia. Baynarah replied back merrily that if she had known how blasphemous students of the Temple were allowed to be, she might have become an initiate herself.\n\u201cYou are very devoted to your cousin,\u201d Acra laughed when Tay showed her the letter. \u201cAm I looking at the last remains of a thwarted romance?\u201d\n\u201cShe's lovely, but I never thought of her that way,\u201d Tay scoffed. \u201cIncest never particularly interested me.\u201d\n\u201cIs she a very close cousin then?\u201d\nTay thought for a moment: \u201cI don't know. Truthfully, no one spoke much of either her parents or mine, so I really don't know how we were connected. They were casualties of the War of the Red Mountain, that I know, and it seemed to cast rather a pall on the adults' humor whenever we asked about her parents or mine. After a while, we stopped asking. But you're an Indoril too. Perhaps you're a closer cousin to me than Baynarah.\u201d\n\u201cPerhaps so,\u201d Acra smiled, rising from her chair. She uncoiled her hair, which had been pulled up in the formal arrangement reserved for well-born priestesses. As Tay watched transfigured, she removed the small brooch that fastened her robe to her shoulder cape. The soft silken fabric slipped down slowly, exposing her dark, slender body to him for the first time. \u201cIf we are, does incest particularly interest you now?\u201d\nAs they made love, the Song began a slow, rhythmic ascension in Tay's head. The vision of Acra before him darkened and was replaced by images from his nightmares before returning again. When finally he collapsed, spent, the room seemed filled with the fiery red clouds of his dream, and the scream of the woman and her child facing death echoed in his head. He opened his eyes, and there was Acra, smiling at him. Tay kissed her, grateful to have her in his arms.\nFor the next two weeks, Tay and Acra were never far apart. Even when they were at study in opposite wings of the Temple, Tay thought of her, and somehow knew she was thinking of him. They would rush to be together afterwards, ravishing one another in his rooms every night, and in a private corner of the Temple garden every day.\nIt was while Tay was rushing to see his beloved one afternoon that the Song rose up in powerful strident tones at the approach of an old, ragged woman. He closed his eyes and tried to quiet it, but when he looked again at her purchasing corkbulb papyrus from a street vendor, he knew who she was. His old nursemaid from Gorne, Edebah. She who had abandoned him without even a farewell to join her family on the mainland.\nShe didn't see him, and as she passed down the street, Tay turned and began to follow. They walked through shadowy passageways into the very poorest part of the city, a quarter which was as alien to him as the wildest principality of Akavir. She unlocked a small wooden door on a street without a name, and he finally called out her name. She didn't turn, but when he followed, he found that the door had been left ajar.\nThe chamber was murky and damp like a cave. She stood facing him, her face even more wrinkled than he had remembered it, etched with lines of sorrow. He closed the door behind him, and she took his hand and kissed it.\n\u201cYou are so tall and strong,\u201d Edebah said, beginning to weep. \u201cI should have killed myself before I let them take me away from you.\u201d\n\u201cHow is your family?\u201d Tay asked coldly.\n\u201cYou are my only family,\u201d she whispered. \u201cThe Indoril pigs forced me to leave, thrusting their blades in my face, when they discovered that I serve you and your family, not them. That bitch girl Baynarah saw me at a prayer of mourning.\u201d\n\u201cYou're speaking like a madwoman,\u201d Tay sneered. \u201cHow could you love me and my family, but hate the House Indoril? I am of the House Indoril.\u201d\n\u201cYou are old enough to know the truth,\u201d Edebah said fiercely. Tay had bitterly joked about her madness, but he saw something close to it burning in her ancient eyes. \u201cYou were not born of House Indoril; they brought you into their house after the War, like they and the other Houses brought in all the orphans. It was the only way they saw to erase history and remove all traces of their enemies, by raising their enemies as one of them.\u201d\nTay turned toward the door: \u201cI can see why you were taken away from Gorne, old woman. You are delusional.\u201d\n\u201cWait!\u201d Edebah cried, rushing to a musty cabinet. She retrieved from it a glass globe that shimmered with a spectrum of color even in the chamber's gloom. \u201cDo you remember this? You slew that little boy Vaster because he possessed it, and I took it from your room because you were not ready to face the facts of your inheritance and responsibility then. Did you not wonder why this bauble drew you so?\u201d\nTay gasped, and though he did not want to, he said, \u201cI hear a Song sometimes.\u201d\n\u201cThat is the Song of your ancestors, of your true family,\u201d she said, nodding. \u201cYou must not fight it, for it is a song of destiny. It will lead you to do what must be done.\u201d\n\u201cShut up!\u201d Tay howled, \u201cEverything you say is a lie! You're insane!\u201d\nEdebah threw the globe to the ground with all her might, shattering it with a deafening retort. The shards melted into the air. All that was left was a small silver ring, simply wrought with a flat crown. The old woman quietly picked it up and handed it to him, while he stood with his back against the door, trembling.\n\u201cThis is your inheritance, as the bearer of the Sixth House.\u201d\nThe ring's crown was meant for stamping and sealing official House proclamations. Tay had seen his uncle Triffith's similar ring, crested with the wing which was the seal of House Indoril. This ring was different, with an insect design which he remembered from the day when Kena Gafrisi had taught the House heraldry to Baynarah and him.\nIt was the symbol of the accursed House Dagoth.\nThe Song took over all of Tay's senses. He heard its music, smelled its horror, tasted its sadness, felt its power, and the only thing he could see before him was the flames of its destruction. When he took the ring and placed it on his finger, his mind was not aware of what he was doing. Nor was Tay aware of anything but the Song when he removed his dagger from its sheath and thrust it into his old nursemaid's heart.\nTay did not even hear her final words, when Edebah fell bleeding to the ground, and groaned with a blood-streaked smile, \u201cThank you.\u201d\nWhen the veil of the Song lifted, Tay did not realize at first he was no longer dreaming. Before him had been flames, the very ones that destroyed the home of his birth, and flames were before him again. But they were flames from a fire he had struck outside the crumbling tenement that were already bursting through walls, consuming the body of his old nursemaid.\nTay fled through the streets as people began to call for the guards."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/morrowind-poison-song-book-iv": {"series": "The Poison Song", "game": ["Morrowind", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/morrowind-poison-song-book-iv", "author": "Bristin Xel", "title": "The Poison Song, Book IV", "description": "A fascinating epic set in the aftermath of the War with the Dwemer and House Dagoth. A story of secrets, betrayal, survival, love, incest and redmeption, this is one you can't miss.", "text": "Acra sat by the hearth in Tay's room, reading her book by the fire. It concerned some minutiae of theosophy that she did not believe in, but nevertheless found morbidly compelling. When the door opened and she heard Tay enter, she finished the paragraph she was reading before looking up.\n\u201cI've been here for hours, darling. If I knew you were going to be so late, I would have brought more books,\u201d she giggled. When she saw Tay's face and the state of his clothing, her manner lost all frivolity. \u201cWhat happened to you? Are you all right?\u201d\n\u201cI've been to see my old childhood nursemaid, Edebah,\u201d he said in a strange voice. \u201cIt was a sudden change of plans. I hadn't realized she was in Mournhold.\u201d\n\u201cI wish I had known where you were going,\u201d she said, rising slowly from her chair. \u201cI would have loved to have met her.\u201d\n\u201cWell, it's too late now. I've killed her.\u201d\nAcra inhaled deeply, studying Tay's frozen face. She took his hand. \u201cPerhaps you ought to tell me everything.\u201d\nTay let his beloved lead him to the hearth, where he sat blinking at the fire. He looked down at the silver ring on his finger. \u201cBefore I killed her, she gave me this. It's the sealing ring of the House Dagoth. She told me I was the bearer of the inheritance, and the Song I hear all the time in my head, the one that called me to kill another boy when I was young, and then Edebah herself, is the Song of my ancestors.\u201d\nTay fell silent. Acra knelt by his side, stroking his ringed hand. \u201cTell me more.\u201d\n\u201cMy tutor Kena Gafrisi taught us that the House Dagoth was a curse on Morrowind. He said that when they were all destroyed at the end of the War, the very earth itself breathed in relief,\u201d Tay closed his eyes. \u201cI can see the obliteration. I can even hear it in the Song. Edebah told me that the five Houses adopted the orphan children of Dagoth, raising them in their own traditions. I thought she was mad or a liar, but the real lie was all those years I thought my family was House Indoril.\u201d\n\u201cWhat are you going to do?\u201d Acra whispered.\n\u201cWell, Edebah told me to follow the Song to my destiny,\u201d Tay laughed bitterly. \u201cBut the Song led me to kill her, so I don't know if she'd still give me that recommendation now. I know that I need to leave Mournhold. Before I knew what I was doing, I set a fire in her tenement. The guards were called. I just don't know where I'd go.\u201d\n\u201cYou have many friends to shield you if you prove yourself to be the new leader of the return of the Sixth House,\u201d Acra kissed the ring. \u201cI will help you find them.\u201d\nTay stared at her. \u201cWhy would you help me?\u201d\n\u201cWhen you thought I was your cousin of the House Indoril, you did not mind having me though it might well have been incestuous,\u201d Acra replied, meeting his eyes. \u201cI have heard the Song too. It is not as strong with me as it was with you, but I never chose to ignore it. It taught me more than the ridiculous Temple priests and priestesses ever could. I knew that my true name was Dagoth-Acra, and I knew that I had a brother.\u201d\n\u201cNo,\u201d Tay said through gritted teeth. \u201cYou're lying.\u201d\n\u201cYou are Dagoth-Tython.\u201d\nTay shoved Acra hard against the wall and ran from the room. As he fled through the hall, he heard the sound of Kalkorith's footfall on the stairs behind him, a percussive instrument in the Song that was rising in his heart and head\n\u201cCousin,\u201d the senior initiate was saying. \u201cHave you heard about the fire--\"\nTay unsheathed his dagger and turned, burying it to the hilt in Kalkorith's throat. \u201cCousin,\u201d he hissed. \u201cI am not your cousin.\u201d\nThe streets of Mournhold were lit by the red glow of the tenement fire, spreading through the tight alleyways by a steady and intense gust of wind. It was as if Dagoth-Ur himself was looming over the city, fanning the flames his heir had struck. A House guard, running toward the blaze, stopped at the sight of Tay, standing uncertainly, swaying, before the front door of Kalkorith's house, a bloodied blade in his hand.\n\u201cWhat you done, serjo?\u201d\nTay ran for the forest, his cape whipping behind him by the force of the howling wind. The guard clambered after him, sword drawn. He had no need to investigate the house to see the murder. He knew.\nFor hours, Tay raced through the wilderness, the Song pushing him onward. The sound of his pursuer faded away. At last, the trees thinned, and he saw nothing before him but air and water. A cliff, a hundred foot long plunge into the Inner Sea.\nThe Song told him no. It pulled him north, sweetly promising a place to rest among friends. More than friends -- people who would worship him as the heir of Dagoth. As he slowly walked toward the edge of the cliff, the Song became more threatening, warning him not to seek to avoid his fate. There was no escape in death.\nTay spat a curse upon his House and threw himself head first over the cliff.\nIt was another glorious day on the island of Gorne, the first one in weeks that Baynarah could truly enjoy. Uncle Triffith had important company, Housemen from far away, and she had been required to attend every dinner, every meeting, every ceremony. As a child, she remembered, she had hoped for some attention. Now nothing was more blissful than time away from her duties.\nThere was only one thing she wanted to do that she had to do indoors, and that was writing a letter to her cousin. But that could wait until the evening, she told herself. After all, he had not written her in many days. It was the influence of that girl, Acra. Not that she seemed disagreeable, but Baynarah knew how one's first love can be all-consuming. At least, she had read about it.\nAs she walked idly through the wildflower meadow, Baynarah was so distracted with her thoughts that she did not hear her maid Hillima calling. She was quite startled when she turned to see the young servant running up.\n\u201cSerjo,\u201d she said, breathlessly. \u201cPlease come! Someone has washed up on the shore! It's your cousin, Serjo Indoril-Tay!\u201d"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/morrowind-poison-song-book-v": {"series": "The Poison Song", "game": ["Morrowind", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/morrowind-poison-song-book-v", "author": "Bristin Xel", "title": "The Poison Song, Book V", "description": "A fascinating epic set in the aftermath of the War with the Dwemer and House Dagoth. A story of secrets, betrayal, survival, love, incest and redmeption, this is one you can't miss.", "text": "For two days, the House healers attended Tay in his bed, and Baynarah sat by his side, holding his hand. He was feverish, neither asleep nor awake, screaming at invisible phantoms. The healers complimented the young man's fortitude. Bodies had washed ashore on the island of Gorne several times, many during the War, but never once had they seen one that lived afterwards.\nAunt Ulliah came in several times to bring Baynarah food: \u201cYou must be careful, dear, or when he's all well, he'll have to attend you on your sickbed.\u201d\nTay's fever broke, and at last he was able to open his eyes and see the young woman with whom he had spent seventeen years, all but the first year of his life. She smiled at him, and called for food. In silence, she helped him eat.\n\u201cI knew you wouldn't die, cousin,\u201d she whispered fondly.\n\u201cI hoped to, but somehow I knew I wouldn't either,\u201d he groaned. \u201cBaynarah, do you remember all those nightmares I told you about? They're all true.\u201d\n\u201cWe can talk about it when you've rested some more.\u201d\n\u201cNo,\u201d he croaked. \u201cI must tell you everything now, so you'll know what kind of a monster you call your dear cousin Tay. If there was some way you could have known before, you might not have been so eager to see me well again.\u201d\nA tear rolled Baynarah's cheek. She had grown into a beauty, even in the few months he had been away in Mournhold. \u201cHow can you think I would stop loving you, no matter what you've done?\u201d\n\u201cI saw my old nursemaid Edebah, and spoke to her.\u201d\n\u201cOh,\u201d Baynarah had feared this moment. \u201cTay, I don't know what she told you, but it was all my fault. You remember when Kena Grafisi taught us about the House Dagoth, and its corruption. That night, I saw your nursemaid making some kind of altar out on the north lawn, using the symbol of the Sixth House. She must have been doing it for years, but I never knew what it meant. I told Uncle Triffith, and he sent her away. I've wanted to tell you so many times now, but I was afraid to. She was so devoted to you.\u201d\nTay smiled. \u201cAnd didn't it frighten you even more to wonder if there was any connection between her devotion to me, and her devotion to the accursed House? I know you, Baynarah. You're not one of those women who doesn't choose to use her mind.\u201d\n\u201cTay, I don't know what she told you, but I think she was very troubled, and whatever she thought about you and the Sixth House was wrong. You have to remember that. The ramblings of one madwoman are proof of nothing.\u201d\n\u201cThere's more,\u201d Tay sighed, and held up his hand. For a moment he blinked, and then turned to Baynarah angrily. \u201cWhat happened to my ring? If you saw it, you must have known already that everything I'm saying to you is true.\u201d\n\u201cI threw the filthy thing away,\u201d Baynarah stood up. \u201cTay, I'm going to let you rest now.\u201d\n\u201cI am the heir of House Dagoth,\u201d Tay was wild-eyed, almost screaming. \u201cRaised after the War as House Indoril, but driven by the Song of my ancestors. When we were young, I killed Vaster because the Song told me he had stolen my inheritance. When Edebah told me who I was and gave me this ring, I killed her and burned her house to the ground, because the Song told me she had served her purpose. When I returned to Kalkorith's house, my love was there, telling me that she was of the House Dagoth too, and my sister. I fled, and when Kalkorith tried to stop me, I slew him, because the Song told me he was an enemy.\u201d\n\u201cTay, stop,\u201d Baynarah sobbed. \u201cI don't believe a word of it. You've been feverish...\u201d\n\u201cNot Tay,\u201d he shook his head, breathing heavily. \u201cThe name my parents gave me was Dagoth-Tython.\u201d\n\u201cYou can't have killed Edebah, you loved her. And Vaster and Kalkorith? They were our cousins!\u201d\n\u201cThey were not my true cousins,\u201d Tay said coldly. \u201cThe Song told me they were my foes. Just as it's telling me now that you're my foe, but I won't listen. And I'll keep from listening... as long as I can.\u201d\nBaynarah fled from the room, slamming the door behind her. She took a key from the her startled maid Hillima, and secured the lock.\n\u201cSerjo Indoril-Baynarah,\u201d Hillima whispered, with great sympathy. \u201cIs all well with your cousin, Serjo Indoril-Tay?\u201d\n\u201cHe'll be perfectly fine once he rests,\u201d Baynarah recovered her dignity, wiping the tears from her face. \u201cNo one is to disturb him under any circumstances. I'll take the key with me. Now I have much work to do. I don't suppose anyone's spoken to the fishermen about restocking Sandil House's supplies?\u201d\n\u201cI don't know, serjo,\u201d said the maid. \u201cI don't think so.\u201d\nBaynarah marched down to the docks, and relieved her troubled heart the only way she knew how, by concentrating on small things. Tay's words never left her, but she found temporary comfort talking to the fishermen about their haul, helping determine how much should be smoked, how much should be sent to the village, how much should be delivered fresh to the House larder.\nHer aunt Ulliah joined the discussion, oblivious to Baynarah's well-disguised agony. Together, they discussed how many provisions Uncle Triffith and his commanders had devoured during their weeks on the island, when they would be expected to return, and how best to prepare. One of the fishermen on the docks called out, interrupting.\n\u201cA boat is coming!\u201d\nUlliah and Baynarah greeted the visitor as she arrived. It was a young woman dressed in the robes of a Temple priestess. As she docked her small boat, Baynarah marveled at how beautiful she was, and strangely familiar.\n\u201cWelcome to Gorne,\u201d said Baynarah. \u201cI am Indoril-Baynarah and this is my aunt Indoril-Ulliah. Have we met before?\u201d\n\u201cI don't believe so, serjo,\u201d the woman bowed. \u201cI was sent by the Temple to inquire whether word had come from your cousin, Indoril-Tay. He has been missing from his classes for some days now, and the priests have become concerned.\u201d\n\u201cOh, we should have sent word,\u201d Ulliah fretted. \u201cHe came here a few days ago, half-drowned. He's better now. Let us escort you up to the house.\u201d\n\u201cTay's resting now, and I asked that he not be disturbed,\u201d Baynarah stammered. \u201cActually, I know it's dreadful manners, but I need to talk to my aunt for a moment. Would it be too terrible if I asked you to wait for us at the house? You have only to follow the path up the hill and across the lawn.\u201d\nThe priestess bowed again humbly, and began the walk. Ulliah was scandalized.\n\u201cYou know better than to treat a representative of the Temple that way,\u201d she snapped. \u201cYou can't be so exhausted from tending your cousin to have lost all sense of civility.\u201d\n\u201cAunt Ulliah,\u201d Baynarah whispered, drawing the woman away from the ears of the fishermen. \u201cIs Tay truly my cousin? He believes himself to be ... of the House Dagoth.\u201d\nUlliah took a moment to respond. \u201cIt's true. You were just a baby yourself during the War, so you couldn't know what it was like. There was not a part of Morrowind that wasn't ravaged. There was even a battle here on the island. Do you remember that burned pile of wreckage you and Tay and poor little Vaster discovered so many years ago? That was the remains. And after the War, when that accursed House was finally defeated, we saw the little innocents, the orphans whose only crime had been born to wicked parents. I admit there were some in our armies, the combined forces of the Houses, who would have had them all slaughtered to annihilate the legacy of Dagoth. In the end, compassion prevailed, and the children of the Sixth House were adopted into the other five. And so we thought that we had won the war and the peace.\u201d\n\u201cBy the Mother, Lord, and Wizard, if all that Tay believes is true, then there is no peace,\u201d Baynarah trembled. \u201cHe claims that the Song of his ancestors called to him, and forced him to slay three people, two of them our Housemen. Cousin Kalkorith and ... when he was a little boy ... Vaster.\u201d\nUlliah held her hands over her tearful face and could not speak.\n\u201cAnd it is only beginning,\u201d said Baynara. \u201cThe Song still calls to him. He said there were others who knew, who would help him raise up the Sixth House. His sister...\u201d\n\u201cIt must be an evil fantasy,\u201d Ulliah murmured. She noticed that Baynarah's gaze was now upon the path leading from the docks towards the house. \u201cNiece, what are you thinking?\u201d\n\u201cDid that priestess give us her name?\u201d\nThe two women ran up the path, calling for guards. The fishermen, who had never seen the mistresses of the house so undone, looked briefly at one another and then followed quickly behind, pulling out their hooks and blades.\nThe front gate to Sandil House stood wide open, the first of the corpses lying close within. It was now an abattoir, painted fresh with blood. There was Aner, uncle Triffith's valet, gutted but still seated at the foyer table where he had been enjoying his afternoon glass of flin. Leryne, one of the chambermaids, had been decapitated while carrying some once-clean linens up the stairs. The bodies of guards and servants sprawled about the hall like blown leaves. At the top of the stairs, Baynarah had to hold back a sob when she saw Hillima. She lay like a broken doll, slain as she tried to pull herself out onto the narrow window ledge.\nNo one spoke, not Baynarah, nor Aunt Ulliah, nor the fishermen, as they walked slowly through the blood-drenched house. They passed Tay's sick-room, its door broken open, and no one within. When they heard the sound of footsteps in Baynarah's room down the hall, they approached slowly, cautiously, with great dread.\nThe priestess from the docks was standing by the bed. In her hand was the silver ring Baynarah had taken from Tay's finger. In her other hand was a long, curved blade, splashed like her once pristine gown, with gore. She smiled prettily and bowed when she saw she was no longer alone.\n\u201cAcra, I should have recognized you by Tay's description in his letters,\u201d Baynarah said in her steadiest voice. \u201cWhere is my cousin?\u201d\n\u201cI prefer to call myself Dagoth-Acra,\u201d she replied. \u201cYour false cousin, my true brother, has already gone to fulfill his destiny. I'm sorry you were not here so he could give you a more permanent farewell.\u201d\nBaynarah's face twisted in fury. She motioned for the fishermen, who advanced with their weaponry. \u201cTear her apart.\u201d\n\u201cThe Sixth House will rise again, and Dagoth-Tython will lead us!\u201d Acra laughed. Her words were still echoing as she gave the sign of Recall and vanished like a ghost."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/morrowind-poison-song-book-vi": {"series": "The Poison Song", "game": ["Morrowind", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/morrowind-poison-song-book-vi", "author": "Bristin Xel", "title": "The Poison Song, Book VI", "description": "A fascinating epic set in the aftermath of the War with the Dwemer and House Dagoth. A story of secrets, betrayal, survival, love, incest and redmeption, this is one you can't miss.", "text": "The magnificent sprawl of the stronghold of Indoranyon was aglow in the light of the setting sun. Commander Jasrat watched it slowly disappear into the horizon as he led the caravan southwestward. It was a strange practice for him to lead a night operation, but scarcely more bizarre than anything else he was facing. He was only seventy years of age, far from old for a Bosmer, and yet he felt like he belonged to another era.\nHe had known the land of east Vvardenfell his entire life. Every forest, every garden, every small village between Red Mountain and the Sea of Ghosts had been home to him. But now it was all different, twisted into a world he did not recognize since the eruption and the year of Sun's Death. It made night travel all the more treacherous, but it was a risk he was ordered to take.\nThe ashmire appeared quite suddenly. If a sharp-sighted scout hadn't seen it and given the signal, the entire caravan might have been swallowed whole. Jasrat cursed. It had not been on the map, but that was hardly surprising.\nIt was a huge unnamed scathe stretching as far as anyone could see. The commander considered his options. He might lead his party to the southeast toward Tel Aruhn and then try an approach due west. As he consulted his map, he noticed a glimmer of a campfire in the distance. Accompanied by his lieutenants, Jasrat drove his guar forward to investigate what appeared to be an Ashlander man and woman.\n\u201cThis is no longer your realm,\u201d he bellowed. \u201cDon't you know it's been ruled by the Temple that these are House lands now?\u201d\nThe couple shuffled to their feet, and began quietly walking away, toward a narrow ridge between hill and ashmire. Jasrat called them back.\n\u201cDo you know a way around the scathe?\u201d he asked. They nodded, their eyes still to the ground. Jasrat signaled to his caravan. \u201cYou will lead us then.\u201d\nIt was a treacherous winding crossing, almost too tight for the guars. The wagons themselves scraped as the drivers pulled to avoid the ashmire. The Ashlander man and woman whispered to one another as they led the caravan.\n\u201cWhat are you mumbling about, n'wah?\u201d Jasrat hollered.\nThe man did not turn around. \u201cMy sister and I were talking about the Dagoth rebellion, and she was guessing that you were bringing arms to the stronghold at Falensarano, which is why you chose to cross the ashmire rather than taking a road.\u201d\n\u201cI might have known,\u201d Jasrat laughed. \u201cYou Ashlanders are so hopeful whenever you see signs of trouble in the Houses and the Temple. I hate to dampen your spirits, but what you're speaking of is hardly a rebellion. Merely a few isolated incidents of... unpleasantness. Tell your sister that.\u201d\nAs they plodded onward, the narrow ridge began to taper even more. The Ashlanders found a low jagged crevasse in the hills, a crack from a lava flow even predating Sun's Death. The caravan scored the rock walls at it moved through. Commander Jasrat, after twenty years of uncertainty in a land he did not understand, felt a twinge of his old instinct. This, he thought to himself, would be a fine place for an ambush.\n\u201cAshlander, how close are we?\u201d he shouted.\n\u201cWe've arrived,\u201d Dagoth-Tython replied, and gave the signal.\nThe assault was over in mere minutes, as it had been calculated from the start. When the last body of the House guard had sunk beneath the ashmire, only then was the inventory of the caravan revealed. It was better than they had hoped, virtually everything the rebellion needed. Daedric swords, dozens of suits of armor, quivers of fine ebony bolts, and rations enough to last for weeks.\n\u201cGo on ahead to the camp,\u201d Tython smiled at his sister. \u201cI'll lead the caravan. We should be there within a few hours' time.\u201d\nAcra kissed him passionately, and gave the sign of Recall. In an instant, she was back in her tent, exactly as she had left it. Humming the Song, she removed the Ashlander rags and chose an appropriately diaphanous gown from her trunks. Precisely the sort of dress Tython would love seeing her in when he returned.\n\u201cMuorasa!\u201d she called to her servant. \u201cSummon the troops together! Tython and the others will be here very soon with all the weapons and rations we need!\u201d\n\u201cMuorasa can't hear you now,\u201d said a voice Acra hadn't heard in weeks. She turned, expertly removed every trace of surprise from her face. It was indeed Indoril-Baynarah, but not the quivering creature she had left behind at the massacre at Sandil House. This woman was an armored warrior, who spoke with mocking confidence. \u201cShe wouldn't be able to summon the troops if she could. You may have weapons and rations, Acra, but there's no one left to arm or feed.\u201d\nDagoth-Acra made the sign of Recall, but nothing happened.\n\u201cThe moment we heard you banging around in the tent, my battlemages cast a diffusion of all magicka,\u201d Baynara smiled, opening the tent further to invite a dozen House soldiers in. \u201cYou won't be leaving.\u201d\n\u201cIf you think that my brother will walk into your trap, you underestimate his allegiance to the Song,\u201d Acra sneered. \u201cIt tells him everything he needs to know. I have convinced him to no longer fight it, and let it lead him and us to our ultimate victory.\u201d\n\u201cI've known him longer and better than you ever did,\u201d said Baynarah coldly. \u201cNow, I want to hear what the Song is saying to you. I want to know where I can find Tay.\u201d\n\u201cTython, my lady,\u201d Acra corrected her. \u201cHe is no longer a slave to your House and the Temple's lies. You can torture me all you wish, but I swear to you the next time you see him, it will be because he wishes it, not you. And that will be your very last moment alive.\u201d\n\u201cDon't you worry, serjo,\u201d Baynarah's nightblade winked at her. \u201cEveryone says they won't break under torture, but everyone always does.\u201d\nBaynarah left the tent. It was all a part of warfare, she understood that, but there would be little relish in witnessing it. She could not even watch as the House soldiers disposed of the rebel corpses. She had hoped she would grow numb to the bloodshed after weeks of following Tython and Acra, massacre after massacre. It didn't matter to her that now the bodies were of her enemies. Death was still death.\nShe had only been in her tent for a few minutes when her nightblade appeared.\n\u201cNot so tough as she appeared, that one,\u201d he grinned. \u201cIn point of fact, all I had to do is ask her nice and point my dagger at her belly, and she was blubbering everything. Not too surprising really. It's always the ones that talk big that crumble fast. I remember way back a couple years ago, before you was even born -\u201c\n\u201cGaruan, what did she say?\u201d Baynarah asked.\n\u201cThe Song, whatever that is, told her brother that she got herself caught, and not to return to camp,\u201d the nightblade replied, only a trifle annoyed at having his fascinating story cut short. \u201cHe's got a half dozen mer with him, and they're going to try to assassinate the fella that led the Indoril army in the War. General Indoril-Triffith.\u201d\n\u201cUncle Triffith,\u201d Baynarah gasped. \u201cWhere is he stationed now?\u201d\n\u201cI'm not sure myself, serjo. Do you want me to ask if she knows?\u201d\n\u201cI'll come with you,\u201d said Baynarah. As they walked towards Acra's tent, cries of alarm sounded. The situation became abundantly clear even before they reached the site. Three guards were dead, and the prisoner had escaped.\n\u201cInteresting woman,\u201d said Garuan. \u201cWeak heart, but a strong arm. Should we send word of warning to General Indoril-Triffith?\u201d\n\u201cIf we can find where he is in time,\u201d said Baynarah."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/morrowind-poison-song-book-vii": {"series": "The Poison Song", "game": ["Morrowind", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/morrowind-poison-song-book-vii", "author": "Bristin Xel", "title": "The Poison Song, Book VII", "description": "A fascinating epic set in the aftermath of the War with the Dwemer and House Dagoth. A story of secrets, betrayal, survival, love, incest and redmeption, this is one you can't miss.", "text": "Triffith stood on the parapets of Barysimayn and considered the volcano. Metaphors the poets used fell rather flat in his view. A festering wound it could be called with its blood-like lava. The King of Ash, too, could be applied, when one looked at its perpetual crown of smoke. And yet, none of that would do, for nothing in his experience could convey the sheer magnitude of the mountain. Red Mountain was many miles away from the fortress, and yet it filled the horizon utterly.\nBefore he could feel too small, however, he heard his name being called within. It was some consolation that though he was insignificant compared to the mountain, he was still in possession of certain power and influence.\n\u201cGeneral Indoril-Triffith,\u201d said Commander Rael. \u201cThere's trouble at the east gate.\u201d\nThe trouble was scarcely more than a skirmish. An Ashlander, drunk perhaps on shein, had begun a fight with the House guards at the back gate. As they tried to drive him away, his cousins joined him, and soon there were six Ashlanders altogether brawling with a dozen of Triffith's guards. If the n'wahs had not been well-armed, the fight could have been finished almost before it began. As it was, by the time the General arrived with more of his guards, two of the Ashlanders were dead and the others had taken flight.\n\u201cIt's the smoke in their brains,\u201d Rael shrugged. \u201cMakes them mad.\u201d\nTriffith climbed back up the stairs and returned to his chamber to dress for dinner. General Redoran-Vorilk and Counselor Hlaalu-Nothoc would be arriving very shortly to discuss the Temple's plans for reorganizing the House lands of Morrowind. Mournhold was to be renamed Almalexia. A great new city in honor of Vivec was to be built, but with whose gold? It made his head hurt. There were so many details, a long night of argument, threats, and compromises were ahead.\nThe General's mind was so occupied that he nearly put his House robes on backwards. He also did not notice the shadowy figure steal out from behind the tapestry and close the door to the bedchamber. It was not until Triffith heard the sound of the latch-bolt fall that he turned around.\n\u201cSlipped in when I was distracted by the fracas at the back gate. Very clever, Tay,\u201d he said simply. \u201cOr do you call yourself Dagoth-Tython these days?\u201d\n\u201cYou should know all my names,\u201d the young man snarled, unsheathing his sword. \u201cI was Tython before you butchered my family and sought to dispel my tribe. I was Tay when you brought me into your House to poison me against my own people. Now you may call me Vengeance.\u201d\nThere was a knock on the door. Tython and Triffith did not move their eyes from one another. The knocking became a loud pounding. \u201cGeneral Indoril-Triffith, are you well? Is there something wrong?\u201d\n\u201cIf you're going to kill me, boy, you'd best do it quickly,\u201d Triffith growled. \u201cMy men will have that door down in two minutes.\u201d\n\u201cYou don't tell me what to do, 'Uncle,'\u201d Tython shook his head. \u201cI have the Song of my ancestors to instruct me. It tells me you made my father beg for his life before you killed him, and I want to see you do the same.\u201d\n\u201cIf your ancestors are all-knowing,\u201d Triffith smiled. \u201cWhy are they all dead?\u201d\nTython made an inhuman noise in the back of his throat and advanced. The door began to buckle at the pounding, but it was sturdy and secure. The general's estimate of its life expectancy at two minutes seemed clearly erroneous.\nThe pounding suddenly stopped. A familiar voice replaced the sound.\n\u201cTay,\u201d called Baynarah. \u201cListen to me.\u201d\nTython smirked, \u201cYou're just in time to hear your uncle beg for his miserable life, 'cousin.' I was afraid you'd be too late. The next sound you'll hear will be the death rattle of the man who slaved my House.\u201d\n\u201cThe Song is what's enslaved you, not Uncle Triffith. You can't trust it. It's poisoning you. It let you be manipulated first by that mad old woman, and now by that evil witch Acra who calls herself your sister.\u201d\nTython pressed the tip of his sword so it touched the general's throat. The older man stepped backwards and Tython advanced. His eyes followed the length of his arm to the grip of the blade. The silver ring of Dagoth caught the red light of the volcano from the battlements outside the window.\n\u201cTay, please don't hurt anyone anymore. Please. If you just listen to me, and not the Song just a moment, you'll know what's right. I love you.\u201d Baynarah stifled her sobs to keep her voice clear and calm. There was a noise on the stairwell behind her. The general's guard had finally arrived with the battering ram.\nThe door splintered and burst open in two strikes. General Indoril-Triffith was holding his throat, staring out the window.\n\u201cUncle! Are you all right?\u201d Baynara ran to him. He nodded his head slowly, and removed his hand. There was only the barest of scratches on his neck. \u201cWhere's Tay?\u201d\n\u201cHe jumped out the window,\u201d said Triffith, pointing out into the distance where a figure was riding a guar toward the volcano. \u201cI thought he was going to kill himself, but he had an escape figured out.\u201d\n\u201cWe'll get him, serjo general,\u201d said Commander Rael, calling to the guards to get their mounts. Baynarah watched them go, and then kissed her uncle quickly and ran out to her own guar in the courtyard.\nSweat drenched Tay's body as he rode closer and closer toward the summit of Red Mountain. The guar was breathing hard, trudging along even more slowly, letting out little grunts of complaint about the heat. Finally, he abandoned his steed and began to climb the near vertical surface. Ash blew down the face of the volcano into his eyes. Near-blind, it was almost impossible to ignore the persistent, clamorous notes of the Song.\nA silken stream of crimson lava studded with crystalline formations surged a few feet away, close enough that Tay could feel his flesh begin to burn and blister. He turned from it, and saw a figure emerge through the smoke. Baynarah.\n\u201cWhat are you doing, Tay?\u201d she cried over the howl of the volcano. \u201cDidn't I tell you not to listen to the Song?\u201d\n\u201cFor the first time, the Song and I both want the same thing!\u201d he yelled back. \u201cI can't ask you to forgive me, but please try to forget!\u201d\nHe pulled himself higher, out of Baynarah's sight. She screamed his name, scaling the rocks until she found she was close to the open crater. Waves of boiling gas washed over her, and she dropped to her knees, gasping. Through the rippling miasma, she saw Tay standing at the mouth of the volcano. Flames erupted from his clothes and hair. He turned to her just for a moment and smiled.\nThen he leapt.\nBaynarah was in a daze as she began the long, treacherous climb down the volcano. She began to think of the projects ahead. Were there enough provisions in storage at her house in Gorne for the meeting of the Houses? The councilors were bound to stay there for weeks, maybe months. There was much work to be done. Slowly, as she descended, she began to forget. It would not last, but it would be a start.\nDagoth-Acra stood as near to the mouth of the volcano as she could stand, blinking her eyes at the ash, soaked by the heat. She watched all, and smiled. On the ground was the silver ring with the seal of the House Dagoth. Tython had been sweating so much, it had slipped off. She picked it up and put it on her own finger. Touching her belly, she heard a new refrain of the Poison Song of Morrowind begin."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/real-barenziah-v1": {"series": "The Real Barenziah", "game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/real-barenziah-v1", "author": "Plitinius Mero (uncredited)", "title": "The Real Barenziah, v1", "description": "A classic! The story of Barenziah, her life, and her involvement in the politics of Tamriel. Pretty raunchy in places.", "text": "Five hundred years ago in Mournhold, City of Gems, there lived a blind widow and her only child, a tall, strapping young man. He was a miner, as was his father before him, a common laborer in the mines of the Lord of Mournhold, for his ability in magicka was small. The work was honorable but paid poorly. His mother made and sold comberry cakes at the city market to help eke out their living. They did well enough, she said, they had enough to fill their bellies, no one could wear more than one suit of clothing at a time, and the roof leaked only when it rained. But Symmachus would have liked more. He hoped for a lucky strike at the mines, which would garner him a large bonus. In his free hours he enjoyed hoisting a mug of ale in the tavern with his friends, and gambling with them at cards. He also drew the eyes and sighs of more than one pretty Elven lass, although none held his interest for long. He was a typical young Dark Elf of peasant descent, remarkable only for his size. It was rumored that he had a bit of Nordic blood in him.\nIn Symmachus' thirtieth year, there was great rejoicing in Mournhold-a girl-child had been born to the Lord and Lady. A Queen, the people sang, a Queen is born to us! For among the people of Mournhold, the birth of an heiress is a sure sign of future peace and prosperity.\nWhen the time came round for the royal child's Rite of Naming, the mines were closed and Symmachus dashed home to bathe and dress in his best. \"I'll rush straight home and tell you all about it,\" he promised his mother, who would not be able to attend. She had been ailing, and besides there would be a great crush of people as all Mournhold turned out to be part of the blessed event; and being blind she would be unable to see anything anyway.\n\"My son,\" she said. \"Afore you go, fetch me a priest or a healer, else I may pass from the mortal plane ere you return.\"\nSymmachus crossed to her pallet at once and noted anxiously that her forehead was very hot and her breathing shallow. He pried loose a slat of the wooden floor under which their small hoard of savings was kept. There wasn't nearly enough to pay a priest for healing. He would have to give what they had and owe the rest. Symmachus snatched up his cloak and hurried away.\nThe streets were full of folk hurrying to the sacred grove, but the temples were locked and barred. \"Closed for the ceremony,\" read all the signs.\nSymmachus elbowed his way through the mob and managed to overtake a brown-robed priest. \"After the rite, brother,\" the priest said, \"if you have gold I shall gladly attend to your mother. Milord has bidden all clerics attend-and I, for one, have no wish to offend him.\"\n\"My mother's desperately ill,\" Symmachus pled. \"Surely Milord will not miss one lowly priest.\"\n\"True, but the Archcanon will,\" the priest said nervously, tearing his robe loose from Symmachus' desperate grip and vanishing into the crowd.\nSymmachus tried other priests, and even a few mages, but with no better result. Armored guards marched through the street and pushed him aside with their lances, and Symmachus realized that the royal procession was approaching.\nAs the carriage bearing the city's rulers drew abreast, Symmachus rushed out from the crowd and shouted, \"Milord, Milord! My mother's dying-!\"\n\"I forbid her to do so on this glorious night!\" the Lord shouted, laughing and scattering coin into the throng. Symmachus was close enough to smell wine on the royal breath. On the other side of the carriage his Lady clutched the babe to her breast, and stared slit-eyed at Symmachus, her nostrils flared in disdain.\n\"Guards!\" she cried. \"Remove this oaf.\" Rough hands seized Symmachus. He was beaten and left dazed by the side of the road.\nSymmachus, head aching, followed in the wake of the crowd and witnessed the Rite of Naming from the top of a hill. He could see the brown-robed clerics and blue-robed mages gathered near the highborn folk far below.\nBarenziah.\nThe name came dimly to Symmachus' ears as the High Priest lifted the swaddled babe and proffered her to the twin moons on either side of the horizon: Jone rising, Jode setting.\n\"Behold the Lady Barenziah, born to the land of Mournhold! Grant her thy blessings and thy counsel, ye kind gods, that she may ever rule well over Mournhold, its ken and its weal, its kith and its ilk.\"\n\"Bless her, bless her,\" all the people intoned along with their Lord and Lady, hands upraised.\nOnly Symmachus stood silent, head bowed, knowing in his heart that his dear mother was gone. And in silence he swore a mighty oath-that he should be his Lord's bane, and in vengeance for his mother's needless death, the child Barenziah he should have for his own bride, and that his mother's grandchildren should be born to rule over Mournhold.\n\n\nAfter the ceremony, he watched impassively as the royal procession returned to the palace. He saw the priest to whom he'd first spoken. The man came gladly enough now in return for the gold Symmachus had, and a promise of more afterward.\nThey found his mother dead.\nThe priest sighed and tucked the pouch of gold coins away. \"I'm sorry, brother. It's all right, you can forget the rest of the gold, there's aught I can do here. Likely-\"\n\"Give me back my money!\" Symmachus snarled. \"You've done naught to earn it!\" He lifted his right arm threateningly.\nThe priest backed away, about to utter a curse, but Symmachus struck him across the face before more than three words had left his mouth. He went down heavily, striking his head sharply on one of the stones that formed the fire pit. He died instantly.\nSymmachus snatched up the gold and fled the city. As he ran, he muttered one word over and over, like a sorcerer's chant. \"Barenziah,\" he said. \"Barenziah. Barenziah.\"\n\n\nBarenziah stood on one of the balconies of the palace, staring down into the courtyard where soldiers milled, dazzling in their armor. Presently they formed into ordered ranks and cheered as her parents, the Lord and Lady, emerged from the palace, clad from head to toe in ebony armor, long purple-dyed fur cloaks flowing behind. Splendidly caparisoned, shining black horses were brought for them, and they mounted and rode to the courtyard gates, and turned to salute her.\n\"Barenziah!\" they cried. \"Barenziah our beloved, farewell!\"\nThe little girl blinked back tears and waved one hand bravely, her favorite stuffed animal, a gray wolfcub she called Wuffen, clutched to her breast with the other. She had never been parted from her parents before and had no idea what it meant, save that there was war in the west and the name Tiber Septim was on everyone's lips, spoken in hate and dread.\n\"Barenziah!\" the soldiers cried, lifting their lances and swords and bows. Then her dear parents turned and rode away, knights trailing in their wake, until the courtyard was nearly emptied.\n\n\nSometime after came a day when Barenziah was shaken awake by her nurse, dressed hurriedly, and borne from the palace.\nAll she could remember of that dreadful time was seeing a huge shadow with burning eyes filling the sky. She was passed from hand to hand. Foreign soldiers appeared, disappeared, and sometimes reappeared. Her nurse vanished and was replaced by strangers, some more strange than others. There were days, or it may have been weeks, of travel.\nOne morning she awoke to step out of the coach into a cold place with a large gray stone castle amid empty, endless gray-green hills covered patchily with gray-white snow. She clutched Wuffen to her breast in both hands and stood blinking and shivering in the gray dawn, feeling very small and very dark in all this endless space, this endless gray-white space.\nShe and Hana, a brown-skinned, black-haired maid who had been traveling with her for several days, went inside the keep. A large gray-white woman with icy gray-golden hair was standing by a hearth in one of the rooms. She stared at Barenziah with dreadful, bright blue eyes.\n\"She's very -- black, isn't she?\" the woman remarked to Hana. \"I've never seen a Dark Elf before.\"\n\"I don't know much about them myself, Milady,\" Hana said. \"But this one's got red hair and a temper to match, I can tell you that. Take care. She bites. And worse.\"\n\"I'll soon train her out of that,\" the other woman sniffed. \"And what's that filthy thing she's got? Ugh!\" The woman snatched Wuffen away and threw him into the blazing hearth.\nBarenziah shrieked and would have flung herself after him, but was held back despite her attempts to bite and claw at her captors. Poor Wuffen was reduced to a tiny heap of charred ash.\n\n\nBarenziah grew like a weed transplanted to a Skyrim garden, a ward of Count Sven and his wife the Lady Inga. Outwardly, that is, she thrived -- but always there was a cold and empty place within.\n\"I've raised her as my own daughter,\" Lady Inga was wont to sigh as she sat gossiping when neighboring ladies came to visit. \"But she's a Dark Elf. What can you expect?\"\nBarenziah was not meant to overhear these words. At least she thought she was not. Her hearing was keener than that of her Nordic hosts. Other, less desirable Dark Elven traits evidently included pilfering, lying, and a little misplaced magic, just a small fire spell here and a little levitation spell there. And, as she grew older, a keen interest in boys and men, who could provide very pleasant sensations -- and to her astonishment, gifts as well. Inga disapproved of this last for reasons incomprehensible to Barenziah, so she was careful to keep it as secret as possible.\n\"She's wonderful with the children,\" Inga added, referring to her five sons, all younger than Barenziah. \"I don't think she'd ever let them come to harm.\" A tutor had been hired when Jonni was six and Barenziah eight, and they took their lessons together. She would have liked to train in arms as well, but the very idea scandalized Count Sven and Lady Inga. So Barenziah was given a small bow and allowed to play at target shooting with the boys. She watched them at arms practice when she could, sparred with them when no grownup folk were about, and knew she was good as or better than they.\n\"She's very... proud, though, isn't she?\" one of the ladies would whisper to Inga; and Barenziah, pretending not to hear, would nod silently in agreement. She could not help but feel superior to the Count and his Lady. There was something about them that provoked contempt.\nAfterward she came to learn that Sven and Inga were distant cousins of Darkmoor Keep's last titled residents, and she finally understood. They were poseurs, impostors, not rulers at all. At least, they were not raised to rule. This thought made her strangely furious at them, a good clean hatred quite detached from resentment. She came to see them as disgusting and repellent insects who could be despised but never feared.\n\n\nOnce a month a courier came from the Emperor, bringing a small bag of gold for Sven and Inga and a large bag of dried mushrooms from Morrowind for Barenziah, her favorite treat. On these occasions, she was always made to look presentable-or at least as presentable as a skinny Dark Elf could be made to look in Inga's eyes-before being summoned into the courier's presence for a brief interview. The same courier seldom came twice, but all of them looked her over in much the same way a farmer would look over a hog he is readying for market.\nIn the spring of her sixteenth year, Barenziah thought the courier looked as if she were at last ready for market. Upon reflection, she decided she did not wish to be marketed. The stable-boy, Straw, a big, muscular blond lad, clumsy, gentle, affectionate, and rather simple, had been urging her to run off for some weeks now. Barenziah stole the bag of gold the courier had left, took the mushrooms from the storeroom, disguised herself as a boy in one of Jonni's old tunics and a pair of his cast-off breeches... and on one fine spring night she and Straw took the two best horses from the stable and rode hard through the night toward Whiterun, the nearest city of any importance and the place where Straw wanted to be. But Mournhold and Morrowind also lay eastward and they drew Barenziah as a lodestone draws iron.\nIn the morning they abandoned the horses at Barenziah's insistence. She knew they would be missed and tracked down, and she hoped to throw off any pursuers.\nThey continued on foot until late afternoon, keeping to side roads, and slept for several hours in an abandoned hut. They went on at dusk and came to Whiterun's city gates just before dawn. Barenziah had prepared a pass of sorts for Straw, a makeshift document stating an errand to a temple in the city for a local village lord. She herself glided over the wall with the help of a levitation spell. She had reasoned-correctly, as it turned out-that by now the gate guards would have been alerted to keep an eye out for a young Dark Elven girl and a Nordic boy traveling together. On the other hand, unaccompanied country yokels like Straw were a common enough sight. Alone and with papers, it was unlikely that he would draw attention.\nHer simple plan went smoothly. She met Straw at the temple, which was not far from the gate; she had been to Whiterun on a few previous occasions. Straw, however, had never been more than a few miles from Sven's estate, which was his birthplace.\nTogether they made their way to a rundown inn in the poorer quarters of Whiterun. Gloved, cloaked, and hooded against the morning chill, Barenziah's dark skin and red eyes were not apparent and no one paid any heed to them. They entered the inn separately. Straw paid the innkeeper for a single cubicle, an immense meal, and two jugs of ale. Barenziah sneaked in a few minutes later.\nThey ate and drank together gleefully, rejoicing in their escape, and made love vigorously on the narrow cot. Afterward they fell into an exhausted, dreamless sleep.\n\n\nThey stayed for a week at Whiterun. Straw earned a bit of money running errands and Barenziah burgled a few houses at night. She continued to dress as a boy. She cut her hair short and dyed her flame-red tresses jet black to further the disguise, and kept out of sight as much as possible. There were few Dark Elves in Whiterun.\nOne day Straw got them work as temporary guards for a merchant caravan traveling east. The one-armed sergeant looked her over dubiously.\n\"Heh,\" he chuckled, \"Dark Elf, ain'tcha? Like settin' a wolf t'guard the sheep, that is. Still, I need arms, and we ain't goin' near 'nough Morrowind so's ye can betray us to yer folk. Our homegrown bandits would as fain cut yer throat as mine.\"\nThe sergeant turned to give Straw an appraising look. Then he spun back abruptly toward Barenziah, whipping out his shortsword. But she had her dagger out in the twinkling of an eye and was in a defensive stance. Straw drew his own knife and circled round to the man's rear. The sergeant dropped his blade and chuckled again.\n\"Not bad, kids, not bad. How are ye with yon bow, Dark Elf?\" Barenziah demonstrated her prowess briefly. \"Aye, not bad, not bad 'tall. And ye'll be keen of eye by night, boy, and of hearin' 'tall times. A trusty Dark Elf makes as good a fightin' man as any could ask for. I know. I served under Symmachus hisself afore I lost this arm and got invalided outter the Emp'ror's army.\"\n\"We could betray them. I know folk who'd pay well,\" Straw said later as they bedded down for their last night at the ramshackle lodge. \"Or rob them ourselves. They're very rich, those merchants are, Berry.\"\nBarenziah laughed. \"Whatever would we do with so much money? And besides, we need their protection for traveling quite as much as they need ours.\"\n\"We could buy a little farm, you and me, Berry -- and settle down, all nice like.\"\nPeasant! Barenziah thought scornfully. Straw was a peasant and harbored nothing but peasant dreams. But all she said was, \"Not here, Straw, we're too close to Darkmoor still. We'll have other chances farther east.\"\n\n\nThe caravan went only as far east as Sunguard. The Emperor Tiber Septim I had done much in the way of building relatively safe and regularly patrolled highways. But the tolls were steep, and this particular caravan kept to the side roads as much as possible to avoid them. This exposed them to the hazards of wayside robbers, both human and Orcish, and roving brigand bands of various races. But such were the perils of trade and profit.\nThey had two such encounters before reaching Sunguard -- an ambush which Barenziah's keen ears warned them of in plenty of time for them to circle about and surprise the lurkers, and a night attack by a mixed band of Khajiit, humans, and Wood Elves. The latter were a skilled band and even Barenziah did not hear them sneaking up in time to give much warning. This time the fighting was fierce. The attackers were driven off, but two of the caravan's other guards were slain and Straw got a nasty cut on his thigh before he and Barenziah managed to gash his Khajiit assailant's throat.\nBarenziah rather enjoyed the life. The garrulous sergeant had taken a liking to her, and she spent most of her evenings sitting around the campfire listening to his tales of campaigning in Morrowind with Tiber Septim and General Symmachus. This Symmachus had been made general after Mournhold fell, the sergeant said. \"He's a fine soldier, boy, Symmachus is. But there was more'n soldiery involved'n that Morrowind business, if y'take my meanin'. But, well, y'know all 'bout that, I 'spect.\"\n\"No. No, I don't remember,\" Barenziah said, trying to sound nonchalant. \"I've lived most of my life in Skyrim. My mother married a Skyrim man. They're both dead, though. Tell me, what happened to the Lord and Lady of Mournhold?\"\nThe sergeant shrugged. \"I ain't never heard. Dead, I 'spect. 'Twas a lot of fightin' afore the Armistice got signed. It's pretty quiet now. Maybe too quiet. Like a calm afore a storm. Say, boy, you goin' back there?\"\n\"Maybe,\" Barenziah said. The truth was that she was drawn irresistibly to Morrowind, and Mournhold, like a moth to a burning house. Straw sensed it and was unhappy about it. He was unhappy anyway since they could not bed together, as she was supposed to be a boy. Barenziah rather missed it too, but not as much as Straw did, seemingly.\nThe sergeant wanted them to sign on for the return trip, but gave them a bonus nonetheless when they turned the offer down, and parchments of recommendation.\nStraw wanted to settle down permanently near Sunguard, but Barenziah insisted on continuing their travels east. \"I'm the Queen of Mournhold by rights,\" she said, unsure whether it was true -- or was it just a daydream she had made up as a lost, bewildered child? \"I want to go home. I need to go home.\" That at least was true.\n\n\nAfter a few weeks they managed to get places in another caravan heading east. By early winter they were at Riften, and nearing the Morrowind border. But the weather had grown severe as the days passed and they were told no merchant caravans would be setting forth till mid-spring.\nBarenziah stood on top of the city walls and stared across the deep gorge that separated Riften from the snow-clad mountain wall guarding Morrowind beyond.\n\"Berry,\" Straw said gently. \"Mournhold's a long way off yet, nearly as far as we've come already. And the lands between are wild, full of wolves and bandits and Orcs and still worse creatures. We'll have to wait for spring.\"\n\"There's Silgrod Tower,\" Berry said, referring to the Dark Elven township that had grown up around an ancient minaret guarding the border between Skyrim and Morrowind.\n\"The bridge guards won't let me across, Berry. They're crack Imperial troops. They can't be bribed. If you go, you go alone. I won't try and stop you. But what will you do? Silgrod Tower is full of Imperial soldiers. Will you become a washing-woman for them? Or a camp follower?\"\n\"No,\" Barenziah said slowly, thoughtfully. Actually the idea was not entirely unappealing. She was sure she could earn a modest living by sleeping with the soldiers. She'd had a few adventures of that sort as they crossed Skyrim, when she'd dressed as a woman and slipped away from Straw. She'd only been looking for a bit of variety. Straw was sweet but dull. She'd been startled, but extremely pleased, when the men she picked up offered her money afterward. Straw had been unhappy about it, though, and would shout for a while then sulk for days afterward if he caught her at it. He was quite jealous. He'd even threatened to leave her. Not that he ever did. Or could.\nBut the Imperial Guards were a tough and brutal lot by all accounts, and Barenziah had heard some very ugly stories during their treks. The ugliest of them by far had come from the lips of ex-army veterans around the caravan campfire, and were proudly recounted. They'd been trying to shock her and Straw, she realized-but she also comprehended that there was some truth behind the wild tales. Straw hated that kind of dirty talk, and hated it more that she had to hear it. But there was a part of him that was fascinated nevertheless.\nBarenziah sensed this and had encouraged Straw to seek out other women. But he said he didn't want anyone else but her. She told him candidly she didn't feel that way about him, but she did like him better than anyone else. \"Then why do you go with other men?\" Straw had asked on one occasion.\n\"I don't know.\"\nStraw sighed. \"They say Dark Elven women are like that.\"\nBarenziah smiled and shrugged. \"I don't know. Or, no ... maybe I do. Yes, I do know.\" She turned and kissed him affectionately. \"I guess that's all the explanation there is.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/real-barenziah-v2": {"series": "The Real Barenziah", "game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/real-barenziah-v2", "author": "Plitinius Mero (uncredited)", "title": "The Real Barenziah, v2", "description": "A classic! The story of Barenziah, her life, and her involvement in the politics of Tamriel. Pretty raunchy in places.", "text": "Barenziah and Straw settled into Rifton for the winter, taking a cheap room in the slummier section of town. Barenziah wanted to join the Thieves Guild, knowing there would be trouble if she were caught freelancing. One day in a barroom she caught the eye of a known member of the Guild, a bold young Khajiit named Therris. She offered to bed him if he would sponsor her membership. He looked her over, grinning, and agreed, but said she'd still have to pass an initiation.\n\"What sort of initiation?\"\n\"Ah,\" Therris said. \"Pay up first, sweetness.\"\n[This passage has been censored by order of the Temple.]\nStraw was going to kill her, and maybe Therris too. What in Tamriel had possessed her to do such a thing? She cast an apprehensive look around the room, but the other patrons had lost interest and gone back to their own business. She did not recognize any of them; this wasn't the inn where she and Straw were staying. With luck it'd be a while, or never, before Straw found out.\n\n\nTherris was by far the most exciting and attractive man she had yet met. He not only told her about the skills she needed to become a member of the Thieves Guild, but also trained her in them himself or else introduced her to people who could.\nAmong these was a woman who knew something about magic. Katisha was a plump and matronly Nord. She was married to a smith, had two teenage children, and was perfectly ordinary and respectable--except that she was very fond of cats (and by logical inference, their humanoid counterparts the Khajiit), had a talent for certain kinds of magic, and cultivated rather odd friends. She taught Barenziah an invisibility spell and schooled her in other forms of stealth and disguise. Katisha mingled magical and non-magical talents freely, using one set to enhance the other. She was not a member of the Thieves Guild but was fond of Therris in a motherly sort of way. Barenziah warmed to her as she never had toward any woman, and over the next few weeks she told Katisha all about herself.\nShe brought Straw there too sometimes. Straw approved of Katisha. But not of Therris. Therris found Straw \"interesting\" and suggested to Barenziah that they arrange what he called a \"threesome.\"\n\"Absolutely not,\" Barenziah said firmly, grateful that Therris had broached the subject in private for once. \"He wouldn't like it. I wouldn't like it!\"\nTherris smiled his charming, triangular feline smile and sprawled lazily on his chair, stretching his limbs and curling his tail. \"You might be surprised. Both of you. Pairing is so boring.\"\nBarenziah answered him with a glare.\n\"Or maybe you wouldn't like it with that country bumpkin of yours, sweetness. Would you mind if I brought along another friend?\"\n\"Yes, I would. If you're bored with me, you and your friend can find someone else.\" She was a member of the Thieves Guild now. She had passed their initiation. She found Therris useful but not essential. Maybe she was a bit bored with him too.\n\n\nShe talked to Katisha about her problems with men. Or what she thought of as her problems with men. Katisha shook her head and told her she was looking for love, not sex, that she'd know the right man when she found him, that neither Straw nor Therris was the right one for her.\nBarenziah cocked her head to one side quizzically. \"They say Dark Elven women are pro-- pro-- something. Prostitutes?\" she said, although she was dubious.\n\"You mean promiscuous. Although some do become prostitutes, I suppose,\" Katisha said as an afterthought. \"Elves are promiscuous when they're young. But you'll outgrow it. Perhaps you're beginning to already,\" she added hopefully. She liked Barenziah, had grown to be quite fond of her. \"You ought to meet some nice Elven boys, though. If you go on keeping company with Khajiits and humans and what have you, you'll find yourself pregnant in next to no time.\"\nBarenziah smiled involuntarily at the thought. \"I'd like that. I think. But it would be inconvenient, wouldn't it? Babies are a lot of trouble, and I don't even have my own house yet.\"\n\"How old are you, Berry? Seventeen? Well, you've a year or two yet before you're fertile, unless you're very unlucky. Elves don't have children readily with other Elves after that, even, so you'll be all right if you stick with them.\"\nBarenziah remembered something else. \"Straw wants to buy a farm and marry me.\"\n\"Is that what you want?\"\n\"No. Not yet. Maybe someday. Yes, someday. But not if I can't be queen. And not just any queen. The Queen of Mournhold.\" She said this determinedly, almost stubbornly, as if to drown out any doubt.\nKatisha chose to ignore this last comment. She was amused at the girl's hyperactive imagination, took it as a sign of a well-functioning mind. \"I think Straw will be a very old man before 'someday' comes, Berry. Elves live for a very long time.\" Katisha's face briefly wore the envious, wistful look humans got when contemplating the thousand-year lifespan Elves had been granted by the gods. True, few ever actually lived that long as disease and violence took their respective tolls. But they could. And one or two of them actually did.\n\"I like old men too,\" Berry said.\nKatisha laughed. \nBarenziah fidgeted impatiently while Therris sorted through the papers on the desk. He was being meticulous and methodical, carefully replacing everything just as he'd found it.\nThey'd broken into a nobleman's household, leaving Straw to hover outside as lookout. Therris had said it was a simple job but very hush-hush. He hadn't even wanted to bring any other Guild members along. He said he knew he could trust Berry and Straw, but no one else.\n\"Tell me what you're looking for and I'll find it,\" Berry whispered urgently. Therris' night sight wasn't as good as hers and he didn't want her to magick up even a small orb of light.\nShe had never been in such a luxurious place. Not even the Darkmoor castle of Count Sven and Lady Inga where she had spent her childhood compared to it. She'd gazed around in wonder as they made their way through the ornately decorated and hugely echoing downstairs rooms. But Therris didn't seem interested in anything but the desk in the small book-lined study on the upper floor.\n\"Sssst,\" he hissed angrily.\n\"Someone's coming!\" Berry said, a moment before the door opened and two dark figures stepped into the room. Therris gave her a violent shove toward them and sprang to the window. Barenziah's muscles went rigid; she couldn't move or even speak. She watched helplessly as one of the figures, the smaller one, leaped after Therris. There were two quick, silent stabs of blue light, then Therris folded over into a still heap.\nOutside the study the house had come alive with hastening footsteps and voices calling out in alarm and the clank of armor hurriedly put on.\nThe bigger man, a Dark Elf by the looks of him, half-lifted, half-dragged Therris to the door and thrust him into the waiting arms of another Elf. A jerk of the first Elf's head sent his smaller blue-robed companion after them. Then he sauntered over to inspect Barenziah, who was once again able to move although her head throbbed maddeningly when she tried to.\n\"Open your shirt, Barenziah,\" the Elf said. Barenziah gawked at him and clutched it closed. \"You're a girl, aren't you, Berry?\" he said softly. \"You should have stopped dressing as a boy months ago, you know. You were only drawing attention to yourself. And calling yourself Berry! Is your friend Straw too stupid to remember anything else?\"\n\"It's a common Elven name,\" Barenziah defended.\nThe man shook his head sadly. \"Not among Dark Elves it isn't, my dear. But you wouldn't know much about Dark Elves, would you? I regret that, but it couldn't be helped. No matter. I shall try to remedy it.\"\n\"Who are you?\" Barenziah demanded.\n\"Ai. So much for fame,\" the man shrugged, smiling wryly. \"I am Symmachus, Milady Barenziah. General Symmachus of His Awesome and Terrible Majesty Tiber Septim I's Imperial Army. And I must say it's a merry chase you've led me throughout Tamriel. Or this part of it, anyway. Although I guessed, and guessed correctly, that you'd head for Morrowind eventually. You had a bit of luck. A body was found in Whiterun that was thought to be Straw's. So we stopped looking for the pair of you. That was careless of me. Yet I'd not have thought you'd have stayed together this long.\"\n\"Where is he? Is he all right?\" she asked in genuine trepidation.\n\"Oh, he's fine. For now. In custody, of course.\" He turned away. \"You ... care for him, then?\" he said, and then suddenly stared at her with fierce curiosity. Out of red eyes that seemed strange to her, except in her own seldom-seen reflection.\n\"He's my friend,\" Barenziah said. The words came out in a tone that sounded dull and hopeless to her own ears. Symmachus! A general in the Imperial Army, no less--said to have the friendship and ears of Tiber Septim himself.\n\"Ai. You seem to have several unsuitable friends--if you'll forgive my saying so, Milady.\"\n\"Stop calling me that.\" She was irritated at the general's seeming sarcasm. But he only smiled.\nAs they talked the bustle and flurry in the house died away. Although she could still hear people, presumably the residents, whispering together not far off. The tall Elf perched himself on a corner of the desk. He seemed quite relaxed and prepared to stay awhile.\nThen it occurred to her. Several unsuitable friends, had he said? This man knew all about her! Or seemed to know enough, anyway. Which amounted to the same thing. \"W-what's going to happen to them? To m-me?\"\n\"Ah. As you know, this house belongs to the commander of the Imperial troops in this area. Which means to say that it belongs to me.\" Barenziah gasped and Symmachus looked up sharply. \"What, you didn't know? Tsk, tsk. Why, you are rash, Milady, even for seventeen. You must always know what it is you do, or get yourself into.\"\n\"B-but the G-guild w-wouldn't ... wouldn't h-have--\" Barenziah was trembling. The Thieves Guild would never have attempted a mission that crossed Imperial policy. No one dared oppose Tiber Septim, at least no one she knew of. Someone at the Guild had bungled. Badly. And now she was going to pay for it.\n\"I daresay. It's unlikely that Therris had Guild approval for this. In fact, I wonder--\" Symmachus examined the desk carefully, pulling out drawers. He selected one, placed it on top of the desk, and removed a false bottom. There was a folded sheet of parchment inside. It seemed to be a map of some sort. Barenziah edged closer. Symmachus held it away from her, laughing. \"Rash indeed!\" He glanced it over, then folded and replaced it.\n\"You advised me a moment ago to seek after knowledge.\"\n\"So I did, so I did.\" Suddenly he seemed to be in high good humor. \"We must be going, my dear Lady.\"\nHe shepherded her to the door, down the stairs, and out into the night air. No one was about. Barenziah's eyes darted toward the shadows. She wondered if she could outrun him, or elude him somehow.\n\"You're not thinking of attempting to escape, are you? Ai. Don't you want to hear first what my plans for you are?\" She thought that he sounded a bit hurt.\n\"Now that you mention it--yes.\"\n\"Perhaps you'd rather hear about your friends first.\"\n\"No.\"\nHe looked gratified at this. It was evidently the answer he wanted, thought Barenziah, but it was also the truth. While she was concerned for her friends, especially Straw, she was far more concerned for herself.\n\"You will take your place as the rightful Queen of Mournhold.\"\n\n\nSymmachus explained that this had been his, and Tiber Septim's, plan for her all along. That Mournhold, which had been under military rule for the dozen or so years since she had been away, was gradually to be returned to civilian government--under the Empire's guidance, of course, and as part of the Imperial Province of Morrowind.\n\"But why was I sent to Darkmoor?\" Barenziah asked, hardly believing anything she had just been told.\n\"For safekeeping, naturally. Why did you run away?\"\nBarenziah shrugged. \"I saw no reason to stay. I should have been told.\"\n\"You would have been by now. I had in fact sent for you to be removed to the Imperial City to spend some time as part of the Emperor's household. But of course you had, shall we say, absconded by then. As for your destiny, it should be, and should have been, quite obvious to you. Tiber Septim does not keep those he has no use for -- and what else could you be that would be of use to him?\"\n\"I know nothing of him. Nor, for that matter, of you.\"\n\"Then know this: Tiber Septim rewards friends and foes alike according to their deserts.\"\nBarenziah chewed on that for a few moments. \"Straw has deserved well of me and has never done anyone any harm. He is not a member of the Thieves Guild. He came along to protect me. He earns our keep by running errands, and he ... he ...\"\nSymmachus waved her impatiently to silence. \"Ai. I know all about Straw,\" he said, \"and about Therris.\" He stared at her intently. \"So? What would you?\"\nShe took a deep breath. \"Straw wants a little farm. If I'm to be rich, then I would like for one to be given to him.\"\n\"Very well.\" He seemed astonished at this, and then pleased. \"Done. He shall have it. And Therris?\"\n\"He betrayed me,\" Barenziah said coldly. Therris should have told her what risks the job entailed. Besides, he'd pushed her right into their enemies' arms in an attempt to save himself. Not a man to be rewarded. Not, in fact, a man to be trusted.\n\"Yes. And?\"\n\"Well, he should be made to suffer for it ... shouldn't he?\"\n\"That seems reasonable. What form should said suffering take?\"\nBarenziah balled her hands into fists. She would've liked to beat and claw at the Khajiit herself. But considering the turn events had taken, that didn't seem very queenly. \"A whipping. Er ... would twenty stripes be too many, do you think? I don't want to do him any permanent injury, you understand. Just teach him a lesson.\"\n\"Ai. Of course.\" Symmachus grinned at this. Then his features suddenly set, and became serious. \"It shall be done, Your Highness, Milady Queen Barenziah of Mournhold.\" Then he bowed to her, a sweeping, courtly, ridiculously wonderful bow.\nBarenziah's heart leapt.\n\n\nShe spent two days at Symmachus' apartment, during which she was kept very busy. There was a Dark Elven woman named Drelliane who saw to her needs, although she did not exactly seem a servant since she took her meals with them. Nor did she seem to be Symmachus' wife, or lover. Drelliane looked amused when Barenziah asked her about it. She simply said she was in the general's employ and did whatever was asked of her.\nWith Drelliane's assistance, several fine gowns and pairs of shoes were ordered for her, plus a riding habit and boots, along with other small necessities. Barenziah was given a room to herself.\nSymmachus was out a great deal. She saw him at most mealtimes, but he said little about himself or what he had been doing. He was cordial and polite, quite willing to converse on most subjects, and seemed interested in anything she had to say. Drelliane was much the same. Barenziah found them pleasant enough, but \"hard to get to know,\" as Katisha would have put it. She felt an odd twinge of disappointment. These were the first Dark Elves with whom she'd associated closely. She had expected to feel comfortable with them, to feel at last that she belonged somewhere, with somebody, as part of something. Instead she found herself yearning for her Nordic friends, Katisha and Straw.\nWhen Symmachus told her they were to set out for the Imperial City on the morrow, she asked if she could say good-bye to them.\n\"Katisha?\" he asked. \"Ai. But then ... I suppose I owe her something. She it was who led me to you by telling me of a lonely Dark Elven girl named Berry who needed Elven friends -- and who sometimes dressed as a boy. She has no association with the Thieves Guild, apparently. And no one associated with the Thieves Guild seems to know your true identity, save Therris. That is well. I prefer that your former Guild membership not be made public knowledge. Please speak of it to no one, Your Highness. Such a past does not ... become an Imperial Queen.\"\n\"No one knows but Straw and Therris. And they won't tell anyone.\"\n\"No.\" He smiled a curious little smile. \"No, they won't.\"\nHe didn't know that Katisha knew, then. But still, there was something about the way he said it ...\nStraw came to their apartment on the morning of their departure. They were left alone in the salon, although Barenziah knew that other Elves were within earshot. He looked drawn and pale. They hugged one another silently for a few minutes. Straw's shoulders were shaking and tears were rolling down his cheeks, but he said nothing.\nBarenziah tried a smile. \"So we both get what we want, eh? I'm to be Queen of Mournhold and you'll be lord of your own farmstead.\" She took his hand, smiled at him warmly, genuinely. \"I'll write you, Straw. I promise. You must find a scribe so you can write me too.\"\nStraw shook his head sadly. When Barenziah persisted, he opened his mouth and pointed at it, making inarticulate noises. Then she realized what it was. His tongue was gone, had been cut off.\nBarenziah collapsed onto a chair and wept noisily.\n\n\n\"But why?\" she demanded of Symmachus when Straw had been ushered away. \"Why?\"\nSymmachus shrugged. \"He knows too much. He could be dangerous. At least he's alive, and he won't need his tongue to ... raise pigs or whatever.\"\n\"I hate you!\" Barenziah screamed at him, then abruptly doubled over and vomited on the floor. She continued to revile him between intermittent bouts of nausea. He listened stolidly for some time while Drelliane cleaned up after her. Finally, he told her to cease or he would gag her for her journey to the Emperor.\nThey stopped at Katisha's house on their way out of the city. Symmachus and Drelliane didn't dismount. All seemed normal but Barenziah was frightened as she knocked on the door. Katisha answered the knock. Barenziah thanked the gods silently that at least she was all right. But she'd also obviously been weeping. In any case, she embraced Barenziah warmly.\n\"Why are you crying?\" Barenziah asked.\n\"For Therris, of course. You haven't heard? Oh dear. Poor Therris. He's dead.\" Barenziah felt icy fingers creeping round her heart. \"He was caught stealing from the Commandant's house. Poor fellow, but that was so foolish of him. Oh, Berry, he was drawn and quartered this very dawn by the Commandant's order!\" She started to sob. \"I went. He asked for me. It was terrible. He suffered so before he died. I'll never forget it. I looked for you and Straw, but no one knew where you'd both gone to.\" She glanced behind Barenziah. \"That's the Commandant, isn't it? Symmachus.\" Then Katisha did a strange thing. She stopped crying and grinned. \"You know, the moment I saw him, I thought, This is the one for Barenziah!\" Katisha took a fold of her apron and wiped it across her eyes. \"I told him about you, you know.\"\n\"Yes,\" Barenziah said, \"I know.\" She took Katisha's hands in each of hers and looked at her earnestly. \"Katisha, I love you. I'm going to miss you. But please don't ever tell anyone else anything about me. Ever. Swear you won't. Especially not to Symmachus. And look after Straw for me. Promise me that.\"\nKatisha promised, puzzled though willing. \"Berry, it wasn't somehow because of me that Therris was caught, was it? I never said anything about Therris to ... to ... him.\" She glanced over at the general.\nBarenziah assured her that it wasn't, that an informant had told the Imperial Guard of Therris' plans. Which was probably a lie, but she could see that Katisha plainly needed some kind of comfort.\n\"Oh, I'm glad of that, if I can be glad of anything just now. I'd hate to think-- But how could I have known?\" She leaned over and whispered in Barenziah's ear, \"Symmachus is very handsome, don't you think? And so charming.\"\n\"I wouldn't know about that,\" Barenziah said dryly. \"I haven't really thought about it. There've been other things to think about.\" She explained hurriedly about being Queen of Mournhold and going to live in the Imperial City for a while. \"He was looking for me, that's all. On orders from the Emperor. I was the object of a quest, nothing more than some sort of... of a... goal. I don't think he thinks of me as a woman at all. He said I didn't look like a boy, though,\" she added in the face of Katisha's incredulity. Katisha knew that Barenziah evaluated every male she met in terms of sexual desirability, and availability. \"I suppose it's the shock of finding out that I really am a queen,\" she added, and Katisha agreed that yes, that's true, that must've been something of a shock, although one there was no likelihood of her experiencing firsthand. She smiled. Barenziah smiled with her. Then they hugged again, tearfully, for the last time. She never saw Katisha again. Or Straw. \nThe royal party left Rifton by the great southern gate. Once through, Symmachus tapped her shoulder and pointed back at the portals. \"I thought you might want to say good-bye to Therris too, Your Highness,\" he said.\nBarenziah stared briefly but steadily at the head impaled on a spike above the gate. The birds had been at it, but the face was still recognizable. \"I don't think he'll hear me, although I'm quite sure he'll be pleased to know I'm fine,\" she said, seeming to sound light. \"Let's be on our way, General, shall we?\"\nSymmachus was clearly disappointed by her lack of reaction. \"Ai. You heard of this from your friend Katisha, I suppose?\"\n\"You suppose correctly. She attended the execution,\" Barenziah said casually. If he didn't know already, he'd find out soon enough, she was sure of that.\n\"Did she know Therris belonged to the Guild?\"\nShe shrugged. \"Everyone knew that. It's only lower-ranking members like me who are supposed to keep their membership secret. The ones higher up are well known.\" She turned to smile archly at him. \"But you must know all that, shouldn't you, General?\" she said sweetly.\nHe seemed unaffected by this. \"So you told her who you were and whence you came, but not about the Guild.\"\n\"The Guild membership was not my secret to tell. The other was. There's a difference. Besides, Katisha is a very honest woman. Had I told her, it would have lessened me in her eyes. She was always after Therris to take up a more honest line of work. I value her good opinion.\" She afforded him a glacial stare. \"Not that it's any concern of yours, but do you know what else she thought? She also thought I'd be happier if I settled down with just one man. One of my own race. One of my own race with all the right qualities. One of my own race with all the right qualities, who knows to say all the right things. You, in fact.\" She grabbed the reins preparatory to assuming a brisker pace--but not without sinking one final irresistible barb. \"Isn't it odd how wishes come true sometimes--but not in the way you want them to? Or maybe I should say, not in the way you would ever want them to?\"\nHis answer so took her by surprise that she quite forgot about cantering off. \"Yes. Very odd,\" he replied, and his tone matched his words exactly. Then he excused himself and fell behind.\nShe held her head high and urged her mount onward, trying to look unimpressed. Now what was it about his response that bothered her? Not what he said. No, that wasn't it. But something about the way he said it. Something about it made her think that she, Barenziah, was one of his wishes that had come true. Unlikely as this seemed, she gave it due deliberation. He had found her at last, after months of searching, it seemed, under pressure from the Emperor, no doubt. So his wish had come true. Yes, that must be it.\nBut in a way, apparently, not altogether to his liking."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/real-barenziah-v3": {"series": "The Real Barenziah", "game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/real-barenziah-v3", "author": "Plitinius Mero (uncredited)", "title": "The Real Barenziah, v3", "description": "A classic! The story of Barenziah, her life, and her involvement in the politics of Tamriel. Pretty raunchy in places.", "text": "For several days, Barenziah felt a weight of sorrow at her separation from her friends. But by the second week out her spirits began to rise a little. She found that she enjoyed being on the road again, although she missed Straw's companionship more than she would have thought. They were escorted by a troop of Redguard knights with whom she felt comfortable, although these were much more disciplined, and decorous, than the guards of the merchant caravans she had spent time with. They were genial but respectful toward her despite her attempts at flirtation.\nSymmachus scolded her privately, saying a queen must maintain royal dignity at all times.\n\"You mean I'm never to have any fun?\" she inquired petulantly.\n\"Ai. Not with such as these. They are beneath you. Graciousness is to be desired from those in authority, Milady. Familiarity is not. You will remain chaste and modest while you are at the Imperial City.\"\nBarenziah made a face. \"I might as well be back at Darkmoor Keep. Elves are promiscuous by nature, you know. Everyone says so.\"\n\"'Everyone' is wrong, then. Some are, some aren't. The Emperor -- and I -- expect you to display both discrimination and good taste. Let me remind you, Your Highness, that you hold the throne of Mournhold not by right of blood but solely at the pleasure of Tiber Septim. If he judges you unsuitable, your reign will end ere it begins. He requires intelligence, obedience, discretion, and total loyalty of all his appointees, and he favors chastity and modesty in women. I strongly suggest you model your deportment after our good Drelliane. Milady.\"\n\"I'd as lief be back in Darkmoor!\" Barenziah snapped resentfully, offended at the thought of emulating the frigid, prudish Drelliane in any way.\n\"That is not an option. Your Highness. If you are of no use to Tiber Septim, he will see to it that you are of no use to his enemies either,\" the general said portentously. \"If you would keep your head on your shoulders, take heed. Let me add that power offers pleasures other than those of carnality and cavorting with base company.\"\nHe began to speak of art, literature, drama, music, and the grand balls thrown at the Imperial Court. Barenziah listened with growing interest, spurred on not entirely by his threats. But afterward she asked timidly if she might continue her study of magic while at the Imperial City. Symmachus seemed pleased at this and promised to arrange it. Encouraged, she then said that she noted three of their knights escort were women, and asked if she might train a little with them, just for the sake of exercise. The general looked less delighted at this, but gave his consent, though stressing it would only be with the women.\nThe late winter weather held fair, though slightly frosty, for the rest of their journey so that they traveled quickly over firm roads. On the last day of their trip, spring seemed to have arrived at last for there were hints of a thaw. The road grew muddy underfoot, and everywhere one could hear water trickling and dripping faintly but steadily. It was a welcome sound.\n\n\nThey came to the great bridge that crossed into the Imperial City at sunset. The rosy glow turned the stark white marble edifices of the metropolis a delicate pink. It all looked very new and grand and immaculate. A broad avenue led north toward the Palace. A crowd of people of all sorts and races filled the wide concourse. Lights winked out in the shops and on in the inns as dusk fell and stars came out singly then by twos and threes. Even the side streets were broad and brightly illuminated. Near the Palace the towers of an immense Mages Guildhall reared toward the east, while westward the stained glass windows of a huge tabernacle glittered in the dying light.\nSymmachus had apartments in a magnificent house two blocks from the palace, past the temple. (\"The Temple of the One,\" he identified as they passed it, an ancient Nordic cult which Tiber Septim had revived. He said that Barenziah would be expected to become a member should she prove acceptable to the Emperor.) The place was quite splendid--although little to Barenziah's taste. The walls and furnishings were done in utter pristine white, relieved only by touches of dull gold, and the floors in dully gleaming black marble. Barenziah's eyes ached for color and the interplay of subtle shadings.\nIn the morning Symmachus and Drelliane escorted her to the Imperial Palace. Barenziah noted that everyone they met greeted Symmachus with a deferential respect in some cases bordering on obsequiousness. The general seemed to take it for granted.\nThey were ushered directly into the imperial presence. Morning sun flooded a small room through a large window with tiny panes, washing over a sumptuously laden breakfast table and the single man who sat there, dark against the light. He leapt to his feet as they entered and hurried toward them. \"Ah, Symmachus our most loyal friend, we welcome your return most gladly.\" His hands held Symmachus' shoulders briefly, fondly, halting the deep genuflection the Dark Elf had been in the process of effecting.\nBarenziah curtseyed as Tiber Septim turned to her.\n\"Barenziah, our naughty little runaway. How do you do, child? Here, let us have a look at you. Why, Symmachus, she's charming, absolutely charming. Why have you hidden her from us all these years? Is the light too much, child? Shall we draw the hangings? Yes, of course.\" He waved aside Symmachus' protests and drew the curtains himself, not troubling to summon a servant. \"You will pardon us for this discourtesy toward yourselves, our dear guests. We've much to think of, though that's scant excuse for hospitality's neglect. But ah! pray join us. There's some excellent nectarines from Black Marsh.\"\nThey settled themselves at the table. Barenziah was dumbfounded. Tiber Septim was nothing like the grim, grey, giant warrior she'd pictured. He was of average height, fully half a head shorter than tall Symmachus, although he was well-knit of figure and lithe of movement. He had a winning smile, bright -- indeed piercing -- blue eyes, and a full head of stark white hair above a lined and weathered face. He might have been any age from forty to sixty. He pressed food and drink upon them, then repeated the question the general had asked her days ago: Why had she left home? Had her guardians been unkind to her?\n\"No, Excellency,\" Barenziah replied, \"in truth, no -- although I fancied so at times.\" Symmachus had fabricated a story for her, and Barenziah told it now, although with a certain misgiving. The stable-boy, Straw, had convinced her that her guardians, unable to find a suitable husband for her, meant to sell her off as a concubine in Rihad; and when a Redguard had indeed come, she had panicked and fled with Straw.\nTiber Septim seemed fascinated and listened raptly as she provided details of her life as a merchant caravan escort. \"Why, 'tis like a ballad!\" he said. \"By the One, we'll have the Court Bard set it to music. What a charming boy you must have made.\"\n\"General Symmachus said--\" Barenziah stopped in some confusion, then proceeded. \"He said -- well, that I no longer look much like a boy. I have... grown in the past few months.\" She lowered her gaze in what she hoped approximated maidenly modesty.\n\"He's a very discerning fellow, is our loyal friend Symmachus.\"\n\"I know I've been a very foolish girl, Excellency. I must crave your pardon, and that of my kind guardians. I... I realized that some time ago, but I was too ashamed to go back home. But I don't want to return to Darkmoor now. Excellency, I long for Mournhold. My soul pines for my own country.\"\n\"Our dear child. You shall go home, we promise you. But we pray you remain with us a little longer, that you may prepare yourself for the grave and solemn task with which we shall charge you.\"\nBarenziah gazed at him earnestly, heart beating fast. It was all working just as Symmachus had said it would. She felt a warm flush of gratitude toward him, but was careful to keep her attention focused on the Emperor. \"I am honored, Excellency, and wish most earnestly to serve you and this great Empire you have built in any way I can.\" It was the politic thing to say, to be sure -- but Barenziah really meant it. She was awed at the magnificence of the city and the discipline and order evident everywhere, and moreover was excited at the prospect of being a part of it all. And she felt quite taken by the gentle Tiber Septim.\n\n\nAfter a few days Symmachus left for Mournhold to take up the duties of a governor until Barenziah was ready to assume the throne, after which he would become her Prime Minister. Barenziah, with Drelliane as chaperone, took up residence in a suite of rooms at the Imperial Palace. Several tutors were provided her, in all the fields deemed seemly for a queenly education. During this time she became deeply interested in the magical arts, but she found the study of history and politics not at all to her preference.\nOn occasion she met with Tiber Septim in the Palace gardens and he would unfailingly and politely inquire as to her progress -- and chide her, although with a smile, for her disinterest at matters of state. However, he was always happy to instruct her on the finer points of magic, and he could make even history and politics seem interesting. \"They're people, child, not dry facts in a dusty volume,\" he said.\nAs her understanding broadened, their discussions grew longer, deeper, more frequent. He spoke to her of his vision of a united Tamriel, each race separate and distinct but with shared ideals and goals, all contributing to the common weal. \"Some things are universal, shared by all sentient folk of good will,\" he said. \"So the One teaches us. We must unite against the malicious and the brutish, the miscreated -- the Orcs, trolls, goblins, and other worse creatures -- and not strive against one another.\" His blue eyes would light up as he stared into his dream, and Barenziah was delighted just to sit and listen to him. If he drew close to her, the side of her body next to him would glow as if he were a smoldering blaze. If their hands met she would tingle all over as if his body were charged with a shock spell.\nOne day, quite unexpectedly, he took her face in his hands and kissed her gently on the mouth. She drew back after a few moments, astonished by the violence of her feelings, and he apologized instantly. \"I... we... we didn't mean to do that. It's just -- you are so beautiful, dear. So very beautiful.\" He was looking at her with hopeless yearning in his generous eyes.\nShe turned away, tears streaming down her face.\n\"Are you angry with us? Speak to us. Please.\"\nBarenziah shook her head. \"I could never be angry with you, Excellency. I... I love you. I know it's wrong, but I can't help it.\"\n\"We have a consort,\" he said. \"She is a good and virtuous woman, the mother of our children and future heirs. We could never put her aside -- yet there is nothing between us and her, no sharing of the spirit. She would have us be other than what we are. We are the most powerful person in all of Tamriel, and... Barenziah, we... I... I think I am the most lonely as well.\" He stood up suddenly. \"Power!\" he said with sublime contempt. \"I'd trade a goodly share of it for youth and love if the gods would only sanction it.\"\n\"But you are strong and vigorous and vital, more than any man I've ever known.\"\nHe shook his head vehemently. \"Today, perhaps. Yet I am less than I was yesterday, last year, ten years ago. I feel the sting of my mortality, and it is painful.\"\n\"If I can ease your pain, let me.\" Barenziah moved toward him, hands outstretched.\n\"No. I would not take your innocence from you.\"\n\"I'm not that innocent.\"\n\"How so?\" The Emperor's voice suddenly grated harshly, his brows knitted.\nBarenziah's mouth went dry. What had she just said? But she couldn't turn back know. He would know. \"There was Straw,\" she faltered. \"I... I was lonely too. Am lonely. And not so strong as you.\" She cast her eyes down in abashment. \"I... I guess I'm not worthy, Excellency--\"\n\"No, no. Not so. Barenziah. My Barenziah. It cannot last for long. You have a duty toward Mournhold, and a duty toward the Empire. I must tend toward mine as well. But while we may -- shall we share what we have, what we can, and pray the One forgives us our frailty?\"\nTiber Septim held out his arms -- and wordlessly, willingly, Barenziah stepped into his embrace.\n[pagebreak]\n\"You caper on the edge of a volcano, child,\" Drelliane admonished as Barenziah admired the splendid star sapphire ring her imperial lover had given her to celebrate their one-month anniversary.\n\"How so? We make one another happy. We harm no one. Symmachus bade me be discriminating and discreet. Who better could I choose? And we've been most discreet. He treats me like a daughter in public.\" Tiber Septim's nightly visits were made through a secret passage that only few in the Palace were privy to -- himself and a handful of trusted bodyguards.\n\"He slavers over you like a cur his supper. Have you not noticed the coolness of the Empress and her son toward you?\"\nBarenziah shrugged. Even before she and Septim had become lovers, she'd received no more from his family than bare civility. Threadbare civility. \"What matter? It is Tiber who holds the power.\"\n\"But it is his son who holds the future. Do not put his mother up to public scorn, I beg you.\"\n\"Can I help it if that dry stick of a woman cannot hold her husband's interest even in conversation at dinner?\"\n\"Have less to say in public. That is all I ask. She matters little, it is true -- but her children love her, and you do not want them as enemies. Tiber Septim has not long to live. I mean,\" Drelliane amended quickly at Barenziah's scowl, \"humans are all short-lived. Ephemeral, as we of the Elder Races say. They come and go as the seasons -- but the families of the powerful ones live on for a time. You must be a friend to this family if you would see lasting profit from your relationship. Ah, but how can I make you see truly, you who are so young and human-bred as well! If you take heed, and wisely, you and Mournhold are like to live to see the fall of Septim's dynasty, if indeed he has founded one, just as you have witnessed its rise. It is the way of human history. They ebb and flow like the inconstant tides. Their cities and dominions bloom like spring flowers, only to wither and die in the summer sun. But the Elves endure. We are as a year to their hour, a decade to their day.\"\nBarenziah just laughed. She knew that rumors abounded about her and Tiber Septim. She enjoyed the attention, for all save the Empress and her son seemed captivated by her. Minstrels sang of her dark beauty and her charming ways. She was in fashion, and in love -- and if it was temporary, well, what was not? She was happy for the first time she could remember, each of her days filled with joy and pleasure. And the nights were even better.\n\n\n\"What is wrong with me?\" Barenziah lamented. \"Look, not one of my skirts fit. What's become of my waistline? Am I getting fat?\" Barenziah regarded her thin arms and legs and her undeniably thickened waist in the mirror with displeasure.\nDrelliane shrugged. \"You appear to be with child, young as you are. Constant pairing with a human has brought you to early fertility. I see no choice but for you to speak with the Emperor about it. You are in his power. It would be best, I think, for you to go directly to Mournhold if he would agree to it, and bear the child there.\"\n\"Alone?\" Barenziah placed her hands on her swollen belly, tears forming in her eyes. Everything in her yearned to share the fruit of her love with her lover. \"He'll never agree to that. He won't be parted from me now. You'll see.\"\nDrelliane shook her head. Although she said no more, a look of sympathy and sorrow had replaced her usual cool scorn.\nThat night Barenziah told Tiber Septim when he came to her for their usual assignation.\n\"With child?\" He looked shocked. No, stunned. \"You're sure of it? But I was told Elves do not bear at so young an age...\"\nBarenziah forced a smile. \"How can I be sure? I've never--\"\n\"I shall have my healer fetched.\"\nThe healer, a High Elf of middle years, confirmed that Barenziah was indeed pregnant, and that such a thing had never before been known to happen. It was a testimony to His Excellency's potency, the healer said in sycophantic tones. Tiber Septim roared at him.\n\"This must not be!\" he said. \"Undo it. We command you.\"\n\"Sire,\" the healer gaped at him. \"I cannot... I may not--\"\n\"Of course you can, you incompetent dullard,\" the Emperor snapped. \"It is our express wish that you do so.\"\nBarenziah, till then silent and wide-eyed with terror, suddenly sat up in bed. \"No!\" she screamed. \"No! What are you saying?\"\n\"Child,\" Tiber Septim sat down beside her, his face wearing one of his winning smiles. \"I'm so sorry. Truly. But this cannot be. Your issue would be a threat to my son and his sons. I shall no more put it plainly than that.\"\n\"The child I bear is yours!\" she wailed.\n\"No. It is now but a possibility, a might-be, not yet gifted with a soul or quickened into life. I will not have it so. I forbid it.\" He gave the healer another hard stare and the Elf began to tremble.\n\"Sire. It is her child. Children are few among the Elves. No Elven woman conceives more than four times, and that is very rare. Two is the usual number. Some bear none, even, and some only one. If I take this one from her, Sire, she may not conceive again.\"\n\"You promised us she would not bear to us. We've little faith in your prognostications.\"\nBarenziah scrambled naked from the bed and ran for the door, not knowing where she was going, only that she could not stay. She never reached it. Darkness overtook her.\n\n\nShe awoke to pain, and a feeling of emptiness. A void where something used to be, something that used to be alive, but now was dead and gone forever. Drelliane was there to soothe the pain and clean up the blood that still pooled at times between her legs. But there was nothing to fill the emptiness. There was nothing to take the place of the void.\nThe Emperor sent magnificent gifts and vast arrangements of flowers, and came on short visits, always well-attended. Barenziah received these visits with pleasure at first. But Tiber Septim came no more at night -- and after some time nor did she wish him to.\nSome weeks passed, and when she was completely physically recovered, Drelliane informed her that Symmachus had written to request she come to Mournhold earlier than planned. It was announced that she would leave forthwith.\nShe was given a grand retinue, an extensive trousseau befitting a queen, and an elaborate and impressive ceremonial departure from the gates of the Imperial City. Some people were sorry to see her leave, and expressed their sadness in tears and expostulations. But some others were not, and did not."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/real-barenziah-v4": {"series": "The Real Barenziah", "game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/real-barenziah-v4", "author": "Plitinius Mero (uncredited)", "title": "The Real Barenziah, v4", "description": "A classic! The story of Barenziah, her life, and her involvement in the politics of Tamriel. Pretty raunchy in places.", "text": "Everything I have ever loved, I have lost,\" Barenziah thought despondently, looking at the mounted knights behind and ahead, her tirewomen near her in a carriage. \"Yet I have gained a measure of wealth and power, and the promise of more to come. Dearly have I bought it. Now I do understand better Tiber Septim's love of it, if he has often paid such prices. For surely worth is measured by the price we pay.\" By her wish, she rode on a shiny roan mare, clad as a warrior in resplendent chain mail of Dark Elven make.\nAs the days slowly slipped by and her train rode the winding road eastward into the setting sun, around her gradually rose the steep-sided mountain slopes of Morrowind. The air was thin, and a chill late autumn wind blew constantly. But it was also rich with the sweet spicy smell of the late-blooming black rose, which was native to Morrowind and grew in every shadowy nook and crevice of its highlands, finding nourishment even in the stoniest banks and ridges. In small villages and towns, ragged Dark Elven folk gathered along the road to cry her name or simply gape. Most of her knightly escort were Redguards, with a few High Elves, Nords, and Bretons. As they wove their way into the heart of Morrowind, they grew increasingly uncomfortable and clung together in protective clusters. Even the Elven knights seemed wary.\nBut Barenziah felt at home, at last. She felt the welcome extended to her by the land. Her land.\n\n\nSymmachus met her at the Mournhold border with an escort of knights, about half of whom were Dark Elven. In Imperial battle dress, she noted.\nThere was a grand parade of entry into the city and speeches of welcome from stately dignitaries.\n\"I've had the queen's suite refurbished for you,\" the general told her later when they reached the palace, \"but you may change anything not to your taste, of course.\" He went on about the details of the coronation, which was to be held in a week. He was his old commanding self -- but she sensed something else as well. He was eager for her approval of the arrangements, was in fact fishing for it. That was new. He had never required her commendation before.\nHe asked her nothing about her stay in the Imperial City, or of her affair with Tiber Septim -- although Barenziah was certain Drelliane had told him, or earlier written him, everything in detail.\nThe ceremony itself, like so much else, was a mixture of old and new -- parts of it from the ancient Dark Elven tradition of Mournhold, the others dictated by Imperial decree. She was sworn to the service of the Empire and Tiber Septim as well as to the land of Mournhold and its people. She accepted oaths of fealty and allegiance from the people, the nobility, and the council. This last was composed of a blend of Imperial emissaries (\"advisors\" they were called) and native representatives of the Mournhold people, who were mostly elders in accordance with Elven custom.\nBarenziah later found that much of her time was occupied in attempting to reconcile these two factions and their cronies. The elders were expected to do most of the conciliating, in light of reforms introduced by the Empire pertaining to land ownership and surface farming. But most of these went clean against Dark Elven observances. Tiber Septim, \"in the name of the One,\" had ordained a new tradition -- and apparently even the gods and goddesses themselves were expected to obey.\nThe new Queen threw herself into her work and her studies. She was through with love and men for a long, long time -- if not forever. There were other pleasures, she discovered, as Symmachus had promised her long ago: those of the mind, and those of power. She developed (surprisingly, for she had always rebelled against her tutors at the Imperial City) a deep love for Dark Elven history and mythology, a hunger to know more fully the people from whom she had sprung. She was gratified to learn that they had been proud warriors and skilled craftsmen and cunning mages since time immemorial.\nTiber Septim lived for another half-century, during which she saw him on several occasions as she was bidden to the Imperial City on one reason of state or another. He greeted her with warmth during these visits, and they even had long talks together about events in the Empire when opportunity would permit. He seemed to have quite forgotten that there had ever been anything between them more than easy friendship and a profound political alliance. He changed little as the years passed. Rumor had it that his mages had developed spells to extend his vitality, and that even the One had granted him immortality. Then one day a messenger came with the news that Tiber Septim was dead, and his grandson Pelagius was now Emperor in his place.\nThey had heard the news in private, she and Symmachus. The sometime Imperial General and now her trusted Prime Minister took it stoically, as he took most everything.\n\"Somehow it doesn't seem possible,\" Barenziah said.\n\"I told you. Ai. It's the way of humans. They are a short-lived people. It doesn't really matter. His power lives on, and his son now wields it.\"\n\"You called him your friend once. Do you feel nothing? No grief?\"\nHe shrugged. \"There was a time when you called him somewhat more. What do you feel, Barenziah?\" They had long ago ceased to address each other in private by their formal titles.\n\"Emptiness. Loneliness,\" she said, then she too shrugged. \"But that's not new.\"\n\"Ai. I know,\" he said softly, taking her hand. \"Barenziah...\" He turned her face up and kissed her.\nThe act filled her with astonishment. She couldn't remember his ever touching her before. She'd never thought of him in that way -- and yet, undeniably, an old familiar warmth spread through her. She'd forgotten how good it felt, that warmth. Not the scorching heat she'd felt with Tiber Septim, but the comforting, robust ardor she somehow associated with... with Straw! Straw. Poor Straw. She hadn't thought of him in so long. He'd be middle-aged now if he were still alive. Probably with a dozen children, she thought affectionately... and a hearty wife who hopefully could talk for two.\n\"Marry me, Barenziah,\" Symmachus was saying, he seemed to have picked up her thoughts on marriage, children... wives, \"I've worked and toiled and waited long enough, haven't I?\"\nMarriage. A peasant with peasant dreams. The thought appeared in her mind, clear and unbidden. Hadn't she used those very same words to describe Straw, so very long ago? And yet, why not? If not Symmachus, who else?\nMany of the great noble families of Morrowind had been wiped out in Tiber Septim's great war of unification, before the treaty. Dark Elven rule had been restored, it was true -- but not the old, not the true nobility. Most of them were upstarts like Symmachus, and not even half as good or deserving as he was. He had fought to keep Mournhold whole and hale when their so-called counselors would have picked at its bones, sucked them dry as Ebonheart had been sucked dry. He'd fought for Mournhold, fought for her, while she and the kingdom grew and thrived. She felt a sudden rush of gratitude -- and, undeniably, affection. He was steady and reliable. And he'd served her well. And loved her well.\n\"Why not?\" she said, smiling. And took his hand. And kissed him.\n\n\nThe union was a good one, in its political as well as personal aspects. While Tiber Septim's grandson, the Emperor Pelagius I, viewed her with a jaundiced eye, his trust in his father's old friend was absolute.\nSymmachus, however, was still viewed with suspicion by Morrowind's stiff-necked folk, chary at his peasant ancestry and his close ties to the Empire. But the Queen was quite unshakably popular. \"The Lady Barenziah's one of our own,\" it was whispered, \"held captive as we.\"\nBarenziah felt content. There was work and there was pleasure -- and what more could one ask of life?\nThe years passed swiftly, with crises to be dealt with, and storms and famines and failures to be weathered, and plots to be foiled, and conspirators to be executed. Mournhold prospered steadily. Her people were secure and fed, her mines and farms productive. All was well -- save that the royal marriage had produced  no children. No heirs. \nElven children are slow to come, and most demanding of their welcome -- and noble children more so than others. Thus many decades had come to pass before they grew concerned.\n\"The fault lies with me, Symmachus. I'm damaged goods,\" Barenziah said bitterly. \"If you want to take another...\"\n\"I want no other,\" Symmachus said gently, \"nor do I know for certain that the fault is yours. Perhaps it is mine. Ai. Whichever. We will seek a cure. If there is damage, surely it may be repaired.\"\n\"How so? When we dare not entrust anyone with the true story? Healer's oaths do not always hold.\"\n\"It won't matter if we change the time and circumstances a bit. Whatever we say or fail to say, Jephre the Storyteller never rests. The god's inventive mind and quick tongue are ever busy spreading gossip and rumor.\"\nPriests and healers and mages came and went, but all their prayers, potions, and philtres produced not even a promise of bloom, let alone a single fruit. Eventually they thrust it from their minds and left it in the gods' hands. They were yet young, as Elves went, with centuries ahead of them. There was time. With Elves there was always time. \nBarenziah sat at dinner in the Great Hall, pushing food about on a plate, feeling bored and restless. Symmachus was away, having been summoned to the Imperial City by Tiber Septim's great-great-grandson, Uriel Septim. Or was it his great-great-great-grandson? She'd lost count, she realized. Their faces seemed to blur one into the next. Perhaps she should have gone with him, but there'd been the delegation from Tear on a tiresome matter that nevertheless required delicate handling.\nA bard was singing in an alcove off the hall, but Barenziah wasn't listening. Lately all the songs seemed the same to her, whether new or old. Then a turn of phrase caught her attention. He was singing of freedom, of adventure, of freeing Morrowind from its chains. How dare he! Barenziah sat up straight and turned to glare at him. Worse, she realized he was singing of some ancient, and now immaterial, war with the Skyrim Nords, praising the heroism of Kings Edward and Moraelyn and their brave Companions. The tale was old enough, certainly, yet the song was new ... and its meaning ... Barenziah couldn't be sure.\nA bold fellow, this bard, but with a strong, passionate voice and a good ear for music. Rather handsome too, in a raffish sort of way. He didn't look to be well-off exactly, nor was he all that young. Certainly he couldn't be under a century of age. Why hadn't she heard him before, or at least heard of him?\n\"Who is he?\" she inquired of a lady-in-waiting.\nThe woman shrugged and said, \"Calls himself the Nightingale, Milady. No one seems to know anything about him.\" \n\"Bid him speak with me when he has done.\"\nThe man called the Nightingale came to her, thanked her for the honor of the Queen's audience and the fat purse she handed him. His manner wasn't bold at all, she decided, rather quiet and unassuming. He was quick enough with gossip about others, but she learned nothing about him -- he turned all questions away with a joking riposte or a ribald tale. Yet these were recounted so charmingly it was impossible to take offence.\n\"My true name? Milady, I am no one. No, no, my parents named me Know Wan -- or was it No Buddy? What matters it? It matters not. How may parents give name to that which they know not? Ah! I believe that was the name, Know Not. I have been the Nightingale for so long I do not remember, since, oh, last month at the very least -- or was it last week? All my memory goes into song and tale, you see, Milady. I've none left for myself. I'm really quite dull. Where was I born? Why, Knoweyr. I plan to settle in Dunroamin when I get there ... but I'm in no hurry.\"\n\"I see. And will you then marry Atallshur?\"\n\"Very perceptive of you, Milady. Perhaps, perhaps. Although I find Innhayst quite charming too, at whiles.\"\n\"Ah. You are fickle, then?\"\n\"Like the wind, Milady. I blow hither and yon, hot and cold, as chance suits. Chance is my suit. Naught else wears well on me.\"\nBarenziah smiled. \"Stay with us awhile, then ... if you will, Milord Erhatick.\"\n\"As you wish, Milady Bryte.\"\n\n\nAfter that brief exchange, Barenziah found her interest in life somehow rekindled. All that had seemed stale became fresh and new again. She greeted each day with zest, looking forward to conversation with the Nightingale and the gift of his song. Unlike other bards, he never sang her praises, nor other women's, but only of high adventure and bold deeds.\nWhen she asked him about this, he said, \"What greater praise of your beauty could you ask, Milady, than that which your own mirror gives you? And if words you would have, you have those of the greatest, of those greater than my callow self. How should I vie with them, I who was born but a week gone by?\"\nFor once they were speaking privately. The Queen, unable to sleep, had summoned him to her chamber that his music might soothe her. \"You are lazy and a coward, sera, else I hold no charm for you.\"\n\"Milady, to praise you I must know you. I can never know you. You are wrapped in enigma, in clouds of enchantment.\" \n\"Nay, not so. Your words are what weave enchantment. Your words... and your eyes. And your body. Know me if you will. Know me if you dare.\"\nHe came to her then. They lay close, they kissed, they embraced. \"Not even Barenziah truly knows Barenziah,\" he whispered softly, \"so how may I? Milady, you seek and know it not, nor yet for what. What would you have, that you have not?\"\n\"Passion,\" she answered back. \"Passion. And children born of it.\"\n\"And for your children, what? What birthright might be theirs?\"\n\"Freedom,\" she said, \"the freedom to be what they would be. Tell me, you who seem wisest to these eyes and ears, and the soul that knits them. Where may I find these things?\"\n\"One lies beside you, the other beneath you. But would you dare stretch out your hand, that you might take what could be yours, and your children's?\"\n\"Symmachus...\"\n\"In my person lies the answer to part of what you seek. The other lies hidden below us in these your very kingdom's mines, that which will grant us the power to fulfill and achieve our dreams. That which Edward and Moraelyn between them used to free High Rock and their spirits from the hateful domination of the Nords. If it be properly used, Milady, none may stand against it, not even the power the Emperor controls. Freedom, you say? Barenziah, freedom it gives from the chains that bind you. Think on it, Milady.\" He kissed her again, softly, and withdrew.\n\"You're not leaving... ?\" she cried out. Her body yearned for him.\n\"For now,\" he said. \"Pleasures of the flesh are nothing beside what we might have together. I would have you think on what I have just said.\"\n\"I don't need to think. What must we do? What preparations must be made?\"\n\"Why -- none. The mines may not be entered freely, it is true. But with the Queen at my side, who will stand athwart? Once below I can guide you to where this thing lies, and lift it from its resting place.\"\nThen the memory of her endless studies slid into place. \"The Horn of Summoning,\" she whispered in awe. \"Is it true? Could it be? How do you know? I've read that it's buried beneath the measureless caves of Daggerfall.\"\n\"Nay, long have I studied this matter. Ere his death King Edward gave the Horn for safekeeping into the hand of his old friend King Moraelyn. He in turn secreted it here in Mournhold under the guardianship of the god Ephen, whose birthplace and bailiwick this is. Now you know what it has cost me many a long year and weary mile to discover.\" \n\"But the god? What of Ephen?\"\n\"Trust me, Milady heart. All will be well.\" Laughing softly, he blew her a last kiss and was gone.\n\n\nOn the morrow they passed the guards at the great portals that led into the mines, and further below. Under pretence of her customary tour of inspection, Barenziah, unattended but for the Nightingale, ventured into cavern after subterranean cavern. Eventually they reached what looked like a forgotten sealed doorway, and upon entering found that it led to an ancient part of the workings, long abandoned. The going was treacherous for some of the old shafts had collapsed, and they had to clear a passage through the rubble or find a way around the more impassable piles. Vicious rats and huge spiders scurried here and there, sometimes even attacking them. But they proved no match for Barenziah's firebolt spells or the Nightingale's quick dagger.\n\"We've been gone too long,\" Barenziah said at length. \"They'll be looking for us. What will I tell them?\"\n\"Whatever you please,\" the Nightingale laughed. \"You are the Queen, aren't you?\"\n\"The Lord Symmachus--\"\n\"That peasant obeys whoever holds power. Always has, always will. We shall hold the power, Milady love.\" His lips were sweetest wine, his touch both fire and ice.\n\"Now,\" she said, \"take me now. I'm ready.\" Her body seemed to hum, every nerve and muscle taut.\n\"Not yet. Not here, not like this.\" He waved around, indicating the aged dusty debris and grim walls of rock. \"Just a little while longer.\" Reluctantly, Barenziah nodded her assent. They resumed walking.\n\"Here,\" he said at last, pausing before a blank barrier. \"Here it lies.\" He scratched a rune in the dust, his other hand weaving a spell as he did so.\nThe wall dissolved. It revealed an entrance to some ancient shrine. In the midst stood a statue of a god, hammer in hand, poised above an admantium anvil.\n\"By my blood, Ephen,\" the Nightingale cried, \"I bid thee waken! Moraelyn's heir of Ebonheart am I, last of the royal line, sharer of thy blood. At Morrowind's last need, with all of Elvendom in dread peril of their selves and souls, release to me that guerdon which thou guardst! Now I do bid thee, strike!\"\nAt his final words the statue glowed and quickened, the blank stone eyes shone a bright red. The massive head nodded, the hammer smote the anvil, and it split asunder with a thunderous crash, the stone god itself crumbling. Barenziah clapped her hands over her ears and crouched down, shaking terribly and moaning out loud.\nThe Nightingale strode forward boldly and clasped the thing that lay among the ruins with a roar of ecstasy. He lifted it high.\n\"Someone's coming!\" Barenziah cried in alarm, then noticed for the first time what it was he was holding aloft. \"Wait, that's not the Horn, it -- it's a staff!\"\n\"Indeed, Milady. You see truly, at last!\" The Nightingale laughed aloud. \"I am sorry, Milady sweet, but I must leave you now. Perhaps we shall meet again one day. Until then... Ah, until then, Symmachus,\" he said to the mail-clad figure who had appeared behind them, \"she is all yours. You may claim her back.\"\n\"No!\" Barenziah screamed. She sprang up and ran toward him, but he was gone. Winked out of existence -- just as Symmachus, claymore drawn, reached him. His blade cleaved a single stroke through empty air. Then he stood still, as if taking the stone god's place.\nBarenziah said nothing, heard nothing, saw nothing... felt nothing...\n\n\n\nSymmachus told the half dozen or so Elves who had accompanied him that the Nightingale and Queen Barenziah had lost their way, and had been set upon by giant spiders. That the Nightingale had lost his footing and fallen into a deep crevice, which closed over him. That his body could not be recovered. That the Queen had been badly shaken by the encounter and deeply mourned the loss of her friend, who had fallen in her defense. Such was Symmachus' presence and power of command that the slack-jawed knights, none of whom had caught more than a glimpse of what happened, were convinced that it was all exactly as he said.\nThe Queen was escorted back to the palace and taken to her chamber, whereupon she dismissed her servants-in-waiting. She sat still before her mirror for a long time, stunned, too distraught even to weep. Symmachus stood watching over her.\n\"Do you have any idea at all what you have just done?\" he said finally -- flatly, coldly.\n\"You should have told me,\" Barenziah whispered. \"The Staff of Chaos! I never dreamed it lay here. He said-- he said-- \" A mewling escaped her lips and she doubled over in despair. \"Oh, what have I done? What have I done? What happens now? What's to become of me? Of us?\"\n\"Did you love him?\"\n\"Yes. Yes, yes, yes! Oh my Symmachus, the gods have mercy on me, but I did love him. Did. But now... now... I don't know... I'm not sure... I...\"\nSymmachus' hard-lined face softened slightly, and his eyes glittered with new light, and he sighed. \"Ai. That's something then. You will become a mother yet if it's within my power. As for the rest -- Barenziah, my dearest Barenziah, I expect you have loosed a storm upon the land. It'll be a while yet in the brewing. But when it comes, we'll weather it together. As we always have.\"\nHe came over to her then, and stripped her of her clothing, and carried her to the bed. Out of grief and longing, her enfeebled body responded to his brawny one as it never had before, pouring forth all that the Nightingale had wakened to life in her. And in so doing calming the restless ghosts of all he had destroyed.\n\n\nShe was empty, and emptied. And then she was filled, for a child was planted and grew within her. As her son flourished in the womb, so did her feeling toward patient, faithful, devoted Symmachus, which had been rooted in long friendship and unbroken affection -- and which now, at last, ripened into the fullness of true love. Eight years later they were again blessed, this time with a daughter.\n\n\nDirectly after the Nightingale's theft of the Staff of Chaos, Symmachus had sent urgent secret communiques to Uriel Septim. He had not gone himself, as he would normally have, choosing instead to stay with Barenziah during her fertile period to father a son upon her. For this, and for the theft, he suffered Uriel Septim's temporary disfavor and unjust suspicion. Spies were sent in search of the thief, but the Nightingale seemed to have vanished whence he had come -- wherever that was.\n\"Dark Elf in part, perhaps,\" said Barenziah, \"but part human too, I think, in disguise. Else would I not have come so quickly to fertility.\"\n\"Part Dark Elf, for sure, and of ancient Ra'athim lineage at that, else he would not have been able to free the Staff,\" Symmachus reasoned. He turned to peer at her fixedly. \"I don't think he would have lain with you. As an Elf he did not dare, for then he would not have been able to part from you.\" He smiled. Then he turned serious once more. \"Ai! He knew the Staff lay there, not the Horn, and that he must teleport to safety. The Staff is not a weapon that would have seen him clear, unlike the Horn. Praise the gods at least that he does not have that! It seems all was as he expected -- but how did he know? I placed the Staff there myself, with the aid of the ragtail end of the Ra'athim Clan who now sits king in Castle Ebonheart as a reward. Tiber Septim claimed the Horn, but left the Staff for safekeeping. Ai! Now the Nightingale can use the Staff to sow seeds of strife and dissension wherever he goes, if he wishes. Yet that alone will not gain him power. That lies with the Horn and the ability to use it.\" \n\"I'm not so sure it's power the Nightingale seeks,\" Barenziah said.\n\"All seek power,\" Symmachus said, \"each in our own way.\"\n\"Not I,\" she answered. \"I, Milord, have found that for which I sought.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/real-barenziah-v5": {"series": "The Real Barenziah", "game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/real-barenziah-v5", "author": "Plitinius Mero (uncredited)", "title": "The Real Barenziah, v5", "description": "A classic! The story of Barenziah, her life, and her involvement in the politics of Tamriel. Pretty raunchy in places.", "text": "As Symmachus had predicted, the theft of the Staff of Chaos had few short-term consequences. The current Emperor, Uriel Septim, sent some rather stiff messages expressing shock and displeasure at the Staff's disappearance, and urging Symmachus to make every effort to locate its whereabouts and communicate developments to the newly appointed Imperial Battlemage, Jagar Tharn, in whose hands the matter had been placed.\n\"Tharn!\" Symmachus thundered in disgust and frustration as he paced about the small chamber where Barenziah, now some months pregnant, was sitting serenely embroidering a baby blanket. \"Jagar Tharn, indeed. Ai! I wouldn't give him directions for crossing the street, not if he were a doddering old blind sot.\"\n\"What have you against him, love?\"\n\"I just don't trust that mongrel Elf. Part Dark Elf, part High Elf, and part the gods only know what. All the worst qualities of all his combined bloods, I'll warrant.\" He snorted. \"No one knows much about him. Claims he was born in southern Valenwood, of a Wood Elven mother. Seems to have been everywhere since -- \"\nBarenziah, sunk in the contentment and lassitude of pregnancy, had only been humoring Symmachus thus far. But now she suddenly dropped her needlework and looked at him. Something had piqued her interest. \"Symmachus. Could this Jagar Tharn have been the Nightingale, disguised?\"\nSymmachus thought this over before replying. \"Nay, my love. Human blood seems to be the one missing component in Tharn's ancestry.\" To Symmachus, Barenziah knew, that was a flaw. Her husband despised Wood Elves as lazy thieves and High Elves as effete intellectuals. But he admired humans, especially Bretons, for their combination of pragmatism, intelligence, and energy. \"The Nightingale's of Ebonheart, of the Ra'athim Clan - House Hlaalu, the House of Mora in particular, I'll be bound. That house has had human blood in it since her time. Ebonheart was jealous that the Staff was laid here when Tiber Septim took the Horn of Summoning from us.\"\nBarenziah sighed a little. The rivalry between Ebonheart and Mournhold reached back almost to the dawn of Morrowind's history. Once the two nations had been one, all the lucrative mines held in fief by the Ra'athims, whose nobility retained the High Kingship of Morrowind. Ebonheart had split into two separate city-states, Ebonheart and Mournhold, when Queen Lian's twin sons -- grandsons of the legendary King Moraelyn -- were left as joint heirs. At about the same time the office of High King was vacated in favor of a temporary War Leader to be named by a council in times of provincial emergency.\nStill, Ebonheart remained jealous of her prerogatives as the eldest city-state of Morrowind (\"first among equals\" was the phrase its rulers often quoted) and claimed that rightful guardianship of the Staff of Chaos should have been entrusted to its ruling house. Mournhold responded that King Moraelyn himself had placed the Staff in the keeping of the god Ephen -- and Mournhold was unarguably the god's birthplace.\n\"Why not tell Jagar Tharn of your suspicions, then? Let him recover the thing. As long as it's safe, what does it matter who recovers it, or where it lies?\"\nSymmachus stared at her without comprehension. \"It matters,\" he said softly after a while, \"but I suppose not that much. Ai.\" He added, \"Certainly not enough for you to concern yourself further with it. You just sit there and tend to your,\" and here he smiled at her wickedly, \"embroidery.\"\nBarenziah flung the sampler at him. It hit Symmachus square in the face -- needle, thimble, and all.\n\n\nIn a few more months Barenziah gave birth to a fine son, whom they named Helseth. Nothing more was heard of the Staff of Chaos, or the Nightingale. If Ebonheart had the Staff in its possession, they certainly did not boast of it.\nThe years passed swiftly and happily. Helseth grew tall and strong. He was much like his father, whom he worshipped. When Helseth was eight years old Barenziah bore a second child, a daughter, to Symmachus' lasting delight. Helseth was his pride, but little Morgiah -- named for Symmachus' mother -- held his heart.\nSadly, the birth of Morgiah was not the harbinger of better times ahead. Relations with the Empire slowly deteriorated, for no apparent reason. Taxes were raised and quotas increased with each passing year. Symmachus felt that the Emperor suspected him of having had a hand in the Staff's disappearance and sought to prove his loyalty by making every effort to comply with the escalating demands. He lengthened working hours and raised tariffs, and even made up some of the difference from both the royal exchequer and their own private holdings. But the levies multiplied, and commoners and nobles alike began to complain. It was an ominous rumble.\n\"I want you to take the children and journey to the Imperial City,\" Symmachus said at last in desperation one evening after dinner. \"You must make the Emperor listen, else all Mournhold will be up in revolt come spring.\" He grinned forcibly. \"You have a way with men, love. You always did.\"\nBarenziah forced a smile of her own. \"Even with you, I take it.\"\n\"Yes. Especially with me,\" he acknowledged amiably.\n\"Both children?\" Barenziah looked over toward a corner window, where Helseth was strumming a lute and crooning a duet with his little sister. Helseth was fifteen by then, Morgiah eight.\n\"They might soften his heart. Besides, it's high time Helseth was presented before the Imperial Court.\"\n\"Perhaps. But that's not your true reason.\" Barenziah took a deep breath and grasped the nettle. \"You don't think you can keep them safe here. If that's the case, then you're not safe here either. Come with us,\" she urged.\nHe took her hands in his. \"Barenziah. My love. Heart of my heart. If I leave now, there'll be nothing for us to return to. Don't worry about me. I'll be all right. Ai! I can take care of myself -- and I can do it better if I'm not worrying about you or the children.\"\nBarenziah laid her head against his chest. \"Just remember that we need you. I need you. We can do without the rest of it if we have each other. Empty hands and empty bellies are easier to bear than an empty heart.\" She started to cry, thinking of the Nightingale and that sordid business with the Staff. \"My foolishness has brought us to this pass.\"\nHe smiled at her tenderly. \"If so, 'tis not so bad a place to be.\" His eyes rested indulgently on their children. \"None of us shall ever go without, or want for anything. Ever. Ever, my love, I promise you. I cost you everything once, Barenziah, I and Tiber Septim. Ai. Without my aid the Empire would never have begun. I helped its rise.\" His voice hardened. \"I can bring about its fall. You may tell Uriel Septim that. That, and that my patience is not infinite.\"\nBarenziah gasped. Symmachus was not given to empty threats. She'd no more imagined that he would ever turn against the Empire than that the old house wolf lying by the grate would turn on her. \"How?\" she demanded breathlessly. But he shook his head.\n\"Better that you not know,\" he said. \"Just tell him what I told you should he prove recalcitrant, and do not fear. He's Septim enough that he will not take it out on the messenger.\" He smiled grimly. \"For if he does, if he ever harms the least hair on you, my love, or the children -- so help me all the gods of Tamriel, he'll pray that he hadn't been born. Ai. I'll hunt him down, him and his entire family. And I won't rest until the last Septim is dead.\" The red Dark Elven eyes of Symmachus gleamed brightly in the ebbing firelight. \"I plight you that oath, my love. My Queen ... my Barenziah.\"\nBarenziah held him, held him as tight as she could. But in spite of the warmth in his embrace, she couldn't help shivering.\n\n\nBarenziah stood before the Emperor's throne, trying to explain Mournhold's straits. She'd waited weeks for an audience with Uriel Septim, having been fobbed off on this pretext or that. \"His Majesty is indisposed.\" \"An urgent matter demands His Excellency's attention.\" \"I am sorry, Your Highness, there must be some mistake. Your appointment is for next week. No, see...\" And now it wasn't even going well. The Emperor did not even make the slightest pretence at listening to her. He hadn't invited her to sit, nor had he dismissed the children. Helseth stood still as a carven image, but little Morgiah had begun to fuss.\nThe state of her own mind didn't help her any. Shortly upon arrival at her lodgings, the Mournholdian ambassador to the Imperial City had demanded entry, bringing with him a sheaf of dispatches from Symmachus. Bad news, and plenty of it. The revolt had finally begun. The peasants had organized around a few disgruntled members of Mournhold's minor nobility, and were demanding Symmachus step down and hand over the reins of government. Only the Imperial Guard and a handful of troops whose families had been retainers of Barenziah's house for generations stood between Symmachus and the rabble. Hostilities had already broken out, but apparently Symmachus was safe and still in control. Not for long, he wrote. He entreated Barenziah to try her best with the Emperor -- but in any case she was to stay in the Imperial City until he wrote to tell her it was safe to go back home with the children.\nShe had tried to barge her way through the Imperial bureaucracy -- with little success. And to add to her growing panic, all news from Mournhold had come to a sudden stop. Tottering between rage at the Emperor's numerous major-domos and fear of the fate awaiting her and her family, the weeks had passed by tensely, agonizingly, remorselessly. Then one day the Mournholdian ambassador came calling to tell her she should expect news from Symmachus the following night at the latest, not through the regular channels but by nighthawk. Seemingly by the same stroke of luck, she was informed that same day by a clerk from the Imperial Court that Uriel Septim had finally consented to grant her an audience early on the morrow.\nThe Emperor had greeted the three of them when they came into the audience chamber with a too-bright smile of welcome that nonetheless didn't reach his eyes. Then, as she presented her children, he had gazed at them with a fixed attention that was real yet somehow inappropriate. Barenziah had been dealing with humans for nearly five hundred years now, and had developed the skill of reading their expressions and movements that was far beyond what any human could ever perceive. Try as the Emperor might to conceal it, there was hunger in his eyes -- and something else. Regret? Yes. Regret. But why? He had several fine children of his own. Why covet hers? And why look at her with such a vicious -- however brief -- yearning? Perhaps he had tired of his consort. Humans were notoriously, though predictably, inconstant. After that one long, burning glance, his gaze had shifted away as she began to speak of her mission and the violence that had erupted in Mournhold. He sat still as stone throughout her entire account.\nPuzzled at his inertia, and vexed no end, Barenziah stared into the pale, set face, looking for some trace of the Septims she'd known in the past. She didn't know Uriel Septim well, having met him once when he was still a child, and then again at his coronation twenty years later. Twice, that was all. He'd been a stern and dignified presence at the ceremony, even as a young adult -- yet not icily remote as this more mature man was. In fact, despite the physical resemblance, he didn't seem to be the same man at all. Not the same, yet something about him was familiar to her, more familiar than it should be, some trick of posture or gesture...\nSuddenly she felt very hot, as if lava had been poured over her. Illusion! She had studied the arts of illusion well since the Nightingale had deceived her so badly. She had learned to detect it -- and she felt it now, as certainly as a blind man could feel the sun on his face. Illusion! But why? Her mind worked furiously even as her mouth went on reciting details about Mournhold's troubles. Vanity? Humans were oft as ashamed at the signs of ageing as Elves were proud to exhibit them. Yet the face Uriel Septim wore seemed consistent with his age.\nBarenziah dared use none of her own magic. Even petty nobles had means of detecting magicka, if not actually shielding themselves from its effects, within their own halls. The use of sorcery here would bring down the Emperor's wrath as surely as drawing a dagger would.\nMagic.\nIllusion.\nSuddenly she was brought to mind of the Nightingale. And then he was sitting before her. Then the vision changed, and it was Uriel Septim. He looked sad. Trapped. And then the vision faded once more, and another man sat in his place, like the Nightingale, and yet unlike. Pale skin, bloodshot eyes, Elven ears -- and about him a fierce glow of concentrated malice, an aura of eldritch energy -- a horrible, destructive shimmer. This man was capable of anything!\nAnd then once again she was looking into the face of Uriel Septim.\nHow could she be sure she wasn't imagining things? Perhaps her mind was playing tricks on her. She felt a sudden vast weariness, as if she'd been carrying a heavy burden too long and too far. She decided to abandon her earnest narrative of Mournhold's ills -- as it was quite plainly getting her nowhere -- and switch back to pleasantry. Pleasantry, however, with a hidden agenda.\n\"Do you remember, Sire, Symmachus and I had dinner with your family shortly after your father's coronation? You were no older than tiny Morgiah here. We were greatly honored to be the only guests that evening -- except for your best friend Justin, of course.\"\n\"Ah yes,\" the Emperor said, smiling cautiously. Very cautiously. \"I do believe I recall that.\"\n\"You and Justin were such friends, Your Majesty. I was told he died not long after. A great pity.\"\n\"Indeed. I still do not like to speak of him.\" His eyes turned blank -- or blanker, if it had been possible. \"As for your request, Milady, we shall take it under advisement and let you know.\"\nBarenziah bowed, as did the children. A nod from the Emperor dismissed them, and they backed away from the imperial presence.\nShe took a deep breath when they emerged from the throne room. \"Justin\" had been an imaginary playmate, although young Uriel had insisted a place be set for Justin at every meal. Not only that, Justin, despite the boyish name, had been a girl! Symmachus had kept up the joke long after she had gone the way of imaginary childhood friends -- inquiring after Justin's health whenever he and Uriel Septim met, and being responded to in as mock-serious a fashion. The last Barenziah had heard of Justin, several years ago, the Emperor had evidently joked elaborately to Symmachus that she had met an adventurous though incorrigible Khajiit youth, married him, and settled down in Lilandril to raise fire ferns and mugworts.\nThe man sitting on the Emperor's divan was not Uriel Septim! The Nightingale? Could it be...? Yes. Yes! A chord of recognition rang through her and Barenziah knew she was right. It was him. It was! The Nightingale! Masquerading as the Emperor! Symmachus had been wrong, so wrong...\nWhat now? she wondered frantically. What had become of Uriel Septim -- and more to the point, what did it mean for her and Symmachus, and all of Mournhold? Thinking back, Barenziah guessed that their troubles were due to this false Emperor, this Nightingale-spawned glamour -- or whatever he really was. He must have taken Uriel Septim's place shortly before the unreasonable demands on Mournhold had begun. That would explain why relations had deteriorated for so long (as humans reckoned time), long after her disapproved liaison with Tiber Septim. The Nightingale knew of Symmachus' famed loyalty to, and knowledge of, the Septim House, and was effecting a pre-emptive strike. If that were the case, they were all in terrible danger. She and the children were in his power here in the Imperial City, and Symmachus was left alone to deal with troubles of the Nightingale's brewing in Mournhold.\nWhat must she do? Barenziah impelled the children ahead of her, a hand on each shoulder, trying to stay cool, collected, her ladies-in-waiting and personal knights escort trailing behind. Finally they reached their waiting carriage. Even though their suite of rooms was only a few blocks from the Palace, royal dignity forbade travel on foot for even short distances -- and for once, Barenziah was glad of it. The carriage seemed a kind of refuge now, false as she knew the feeling must be.\nA boy dashed up to one of the guards and handed him a scroll, then pointed toward the carriage. The guard brought it to her. The boy waited, eyes wide and shining. The epistle was brief and complimentary, and simply inquired if King Eadwyre of Wayrest, of the Province of High Rock, might be granted an audience with the famed Queen Barenziah of Mournhold, as he had heard much of her and would be pleased to make her acquaintance.\nBarenziah's first impulse was to refuse. She wanted only to leave this city! Certainly she had no inclination toward any dalliance with a dazzled human. She looked up, frowning, and one of the guards said, \"Milady, the boy says his master awaits your reply yonder.\" She looked in the direction indicated and saw a handsome elderly man on horseback, surrounded by a half dozen courtiers and cavaliers. He caught her eye and bowed respectfully, taking off a plumed hat.\n\"Very well,\" Barenziah said to the boy on impulse. \"Tell your master he may call on me tonight, after the dinner hour.\" King Eadwyre looked polite and grave, and rather worried -- but not in the least lovestruck. At least that was something, she thought pensively. \nBarenziah stood at the tower window, waiting. She could sense the familiar's nearness. But though the night sky was clear as day to her eyes, she could not yet see him. Then suddenly he was there, a swift moving dot beneath the wispy night clouds. A few more minutes and the great nighthawk finished its descent, wings folding, talons reaching for her thick leather armband.\nShe carried the bird to its perch, where it waited, panting, as her impatient fingers felt for the message secured in a capsule on one leg. The hawk drank mightily from the water till when she had done, then ruffled its feathers and preened, secure in her presence. A tiny part of her consciousness shared its satisfaction at a job well done, mission accomplished, and rest earned ... yet beneath it all was unease. Things were not right, even to its humble avian mind.\nHer fingers shook as she unfolded the thin parchment and pored over the cramped writing. Not Symmachus' bold hand! Barenziah sat slowly, fingers smoothing the document while she prepared her mind and body to accept disaster calmly, if disaster it would be.\nDisaster it was.\nThe Imperial Guard had deserted Symmachus and joined the rebels. Symmachus was dead. The remaining loyal troops had suffered a decisive defeat. Symmachus was dead. The rebel leader had been recognized as King of Mournhold by Imperial envoys. Symmachus was dead. Barenziah and the children had been declared traitors to the Empire and a price set on their heads.\nSymmachus was dead.\nSo the audience with the Emperor earlier that morning had been nothing but a blind, a ruse. A charade. The Emperor must have already known. She was just being strung along, told to stay put, take things easy, Milady Queen, enjoy the Imperial City and the delights it has to offer, do make your stay as long as you want. Her stay? Her detention. Her captivity. And in all probability, her impending arrest. She had no delusions about her situation. She knew the Emperor and his minions would never let her leave the Imperial City, ever again. At least, not alive.\nSymmachus was dead.\n\"Milady?\"\nBarenziah jumped, startled by the servant's approach. \"What is it?\"\n\"The Breton is here, Milady. King Eadwyre,\" the woman added helpfully, noting Barenziah's incomprehension. She hesitated. \"Is there news, Milady?\" she said, nodding toward the nighthawk.\n\"Nothing that will not wait,\" Barenziah said quickly, and her voice seemed to echo in the emptiness that suddenly yawned like a gaping abyss inside her. \"See to the bird.\" She stood up, smoothed her gown, and prepared to attend on her royal visitor.\nShe felt numb. Numb as the stone walls around her, numb as the quiescence of the night air... numb as a lifeless corpse.\nSymmachus was dead!\n\n\nKing Eadwyre greeted her gravely and courteously, if a bit fulsomely. He claimed to be a fervent admirer of Symmachus, who figured prominently in his family's legends. Gradually he turned the conversation to her business with the Emperor. He inquired after details, and asked if the outcome had been favorable to Mournhold. Finding her noncommittal, he suddenly blurted out, \"Milady Queen, you must believe me. The man who claims himself the Emperor is an impostor! I know it sounds mad, but I -- \"\n\"No,\" Barenziah said, with sudden decisiveness. \"You are entirely correct, Milord King. I know.\"\nEadwyre relaxed into his seat for the first time, eyes suddenly shrewd. \"You know? You're not just humoring someone you might think a madman?\"\n\"I assure you, Milord, I am not.\" She took a deep breath. \"And who do you surmise is dissembling as the Emperor?\"\n\"The Imperial Battlemage, Jagar Tharn.\"\n\"Ah. Milord King, have you, perchance, heard of someone called the Nightingale?\"\n\"Yes, Milady, as a matter of fact I have. My allies and I believe him to be one and the same man as the renegade Tharn.\"\n\"I knew it!\" Barenziah stood up and tried to mask her upheaval. The Nightingale -- Jagar Tharn! Oh, but the man was a demon! Diabolical and insidious. And so very clever. He had contrived their downfall seamlessly, perfectly! Symmachus, my Symmachus...!\nEadwyre coughed diffidently. \"Milady, I... we... we need your aid.\"\nBarenziah smiled grimly at the irony. \"I do believe I should be the one saying those words. But go on, please. Of what assistance might I be, Milord King?\"\nQuickly the monarch outlined a plot. The mage Ria Silmane, of late apprenticed to the vile Jagar Tharn, had been killed and declared a traitor by the false Emperor. Yet she had retained a bit of her powers and could still contact a few of those she had known well on the mortal plane. She had chosen a Champion who would undertake to find the Staff of Chaos, which had been hidden by the traitorous sorcerer in an unknown site. This Champion was to wield the Staff's power to destroy Jagar Tharn, who was otherwise invulnerable, and rescue the true Emperor being held prisoner in another dimension. However, the Champion, while thankfully still alive, now languished in the Imperial Dungeons. Tharn's attention must be diverted while the chosen one gained freedom with Ria's spirit's help. Barenziah had the false Emperor's ears -- and seemingly his eyes. Would she provide the necessary distraction?\n\"I suppose I could obtain another audience with him,\" Barenziah said carefully. \"But would that be sufficient? I must tell you that my children and I have just recently been declared traitors to the Empire.\"\n\"In Mournhold, perhaps, Milady, and Morrowind. Things are different in the Imperial City and the Imperial Province. The same administrative morass that makes it near impossible to obtain an audience with the Emperor and his ministers also quite assures that you would never be unlawfully imprisoned or otherwise punished without benefit of due legal process. In your case, Milady, and your children's, the situation is further exacerbated by your royal rank. As Queen and heirs apparent, your persons are considered inviolable -- sacrosanct, in fact.\" The King grinned. \"The Imperial bureaucracy, Milady, is a double-edged claymore.\"\nSo. At least she and the children were safe for the time being. Then a thought struck her. \"Milord King, what did you mean earlier when you said I had the false Emperor's eyes? And seemingly, at that?\"\nEadwyre looked uncomfortable. \"It was whispered among the servants that Jagar Tharn kept your likeness in a sort of shrine in his chambers.\"\n\"I see.\" Her thoughts wandered momentarily to that insane romance of hers with the Nightingale. She had been madly in love with him. Foolish woman. And the man she had once loved had caused to be killed the man she truly did love. Did love. Loved. He's gone now, he's... he... She still couldn't bring herself to accept the fact that Symmachus was dead. But even if he is, she told herself firmly, my love is alive, and remains. He would always be with her. As would the pain. The pain of living the rest of her life without him. The pain of trying to survive each day, each night, without his presence, his comfort, his love. The pain of knowing he would never see his children grow into a fine pair of adults, who would never know their father, how brave he was, how strong, how wonderful, how loving... especially little Morgiah.\nAnd for that, for all that, for all you have done to my family, Nightingale -- you must die.\n\"Does that surprise you?\"\nEadwyre's words broke into her thoughts. \"What? Does what surprise me?\"\n\"Your likeness. In Tharn's room.\"\n\"Oh.\" Her features set imperturbably. \"Yes. And no.\"\nEadwyre could see from her expression that she wished to change the subject. He turned once again to their plans. \"Our chosen one may need a few days to escape, Milady. Can you gain him a bit more time?\"\n\"You trust me in this, Milord King? Why?\"\n\"We are desperate, Milady. We have no choice. But even if we did -- why, yes. Yes, I would trust you. I do trust you. Your husband has been good to my family over the years. The Lord Symmachus--\"\n\"Is dead.\"\n\"What?\"\nBarenziah related the recent events quickly and coolly.\n\"Milady... Queen... but how dreadful! I... I'm so sorry...\"\nFor the first time Barenziah's glacial poise was shaken. In the face of sympathy, she felt her outward calm start to crumble. She gathered her composure, and willed herself to stillness.\n\"Under the circumstances, Milady, we can hardly ask--\"\n\"Nay, good Milord. Under the circumstances I must do what I may to avenge myself upon the murderer of my children's father.\" A single tear escaped the fortress of her eyes. She brushed it away impatiently. \"In return I ask only that you protect my orphaned children as you may.\"\nEadwyre drew himself up. His eyes shone. \"Willingly do I so pledge, most brave and noble Queen. The gods of our beloved land, indeed Tamriel itself, be my witnesses.\"\nHis words touched her absurdly, yet profoundly. \"I thank you from my heart and my soul, good Milord King Eadwyre. You have mine and m-my children's e-everlasting g-gra -- grati -- \"\nShe broke down.\n\n\nShe did not sleep that night, but sat in a chair beside her bed, hands folded in her lap, thinking deep and long into the waxing and waning of the darkness. She would not tell the children -- not yet, not until she must.\nShe had no need to seek another audience with the Emperor. A summons arrived at first light.\nShe told the children she expected to be gone a few days, bade them give the servants no trouble, and kissed them good-bye. Morgiah whimpered a bit; she was bored and lonely in the Imperial City. Helseth looked dour but said nothing. He was very like his father. His father...\nAt the Imperial Palace, Barenziah was escorted not into the great audience hall but to a small parlour where the Emperor sat at a solitary breakfast. He nodded a greeting and waved his hand toward the window. \"Magnificent view, isn't it?\"\nBarenziah stared out over the towers of the great city. It dawned on her that this was the very chamber where she'd first met Tiber Septim all those years ago. Centuries ago. Tiber Septim. Another man she had loved. Who else had she loved? Symmachus, Tiber Septim... and Straw. She remembered the big blond stable-boy with sudden and intense affection. She never realized it till now, but she had loved Straw. Only she had never let him know. She had been so young then, those had been carefree days, halcyon days... before everything, before all this... before... him. Not Symmachus. The Nightingale. She was shocked in spite of herself. The man could still affect her. Even now. Even after all that had happened. A strong wave of inchoate emotion swept over her.\nWhen she turned back at last, Uriel Septim had vanished -- and the Nightingale sat in his place.\n\"You knew,\" he said quietly, scanning her face. \"You knew. Instantly. I wanted to surprise you. You might at least have pretended.\"\nBarenziah spread her arms, trying to pacify the maelstrom churning deep inside her. \"I'm afraid my skill at pretence is no match for yours, my liege.\"\nHe sighed. \"You're angry.\"\n\"Just a little, I must admit,\" she said icily. \"I don't know about you, but I find betrayal a trifle offensive.\" \n\"How human of you.\"\nShe took a deep breath. \"What do you want of me?\"\n\"Now you are pretending.\" He stood up to face her directly. \"You know what I want of you.\"\n\"You want to torment me. Go ahead. I'm in your power. But leave my children alone.\"\n\"No, no, no. I don't want that at all, Barenziah.\" He came near, speaking low in the old caressing voice that had sent shivers cascading through her body. The same voice that was doing the same thing to her, here and now. \"Don't you see? This was the only way.\" His hands closed on her arms.\nShe felt her resolve fading, her disgust at him weakening. \"You could have taken me with you.\" Unbidden tears gathered in her eyes.\nHe shook his head. \"I didn't have the power. Ah, but now, now...! I have it all. Mine to have, mine to share, mine to give -- to you.\" He once more waved his hand toward the window and the city beyond. \"All Tamriel is mine to lay at your feet -- and that is only the beginning.\"\n\"It's too late. Too late. You left me to him.\"\n\"He's dead. The peasant's dead. A scant few years -- what do they matter?\"\n\"The children--\"\n\"Can be adopted by me. And we'll have others together, Barenziah. Oh, and what children they'll be! What things we shall pass on to them! Your beauty, and my magic. I have powers you haven't even dreamt of, not in your most untamed imaginings!\" He moved to kiss her.\nShe slipped his grasp and turned away. \"I don't believe you.\"\n\"You do, you know. You're still angry, that's all.\" He smiled. But it didn't reach his eyes. \"Tell me what you want, Barenziah. Barenziah my beloved. Tell me. It shall be yours.\"\nHer whole life flashed in front of her. The past, the present, and the future still to come. Different times, different lives, different Barenziahs. Which one was the real one? Which one was the real Barenziah? For by that choice she would determine the shape of her fate.\nShe made it. She knew. She knew who the real Barenziah was, and what she wanted.\n\"A walk in the garden, my liege,\" she said. \"A song or two, perhaps.\"\nThe Nightingale laughed. \"You want to be courted.\"\n\"And why not? You do it so well. It's been long, besides, since I've had the pleasure.\"\nHe smiled. \"As you wish, Milady Queen Barenziah. Your wish is my command.\" He took her hand and kissed it. \"Now, and forever.\"\n\n\nAnd so they spent their days in courtship -- walking, talking, singing and laughing together, while the Empire's business was left to subordinates.\n\"I'd like to see the Staff,\" Barenziah said idly one day. \"I only had a glimpse of it, you'll recall.\"\nHe frowned. \"Nothing would give me greater pleasure, heart's delight -- but that would be impossible.\"\n\"You don't trust me,\" Barenziah pouted, but softened her lips when he leaned over for a kiss.\n\"Nonsense, love. Of course I do. But it isn't here.\" He chuckled. \"In fact, it isn't anywhere.\" He kissed her again, more passionately this time.\n\"You're talking in riddles again. I want to see it. You couldn't have destroyed it.\"\n\"Ah. You've gained in wisdom since last we met.\"\n\"You inspired my hunger for knowledge somewhat.\" She stood up. \"The Staff of Chaos can't be destroyed. And it can't be removed from Tamriel, not without the direst consequences to the land itself.\"\n\"Ahhh. You impress me, my love. All true. It is not destroyed, and it is not removed from Tamriel. And yet, as I said, it isn't anywhere. Can you solve the puzzle?\" He pulled her to him and she leaned into his embrace. \"Here's a greater riddle still,\" he whispered. \"How does one make one of two? That I can, and will, show you.\" Their bodies merged, limbs tangled together.\nLater, when they had drawn a bit apart and he lay dozing, she thought sleepily, \"One of two, two of one, three of two, two of three... what cannot be destroyed or banished might be split apart, perhaps...\"\nShe stood up, eyes blazing. She started to smile.\n\n\nThe Nightingale kept a journal. He scribbled entries onto it every night after quick reports from underlings. It was locked in a bureau. But the lock was a simple one. She had, after all, been a member of the Thieves Guild in a past life... in another life... another Barenziah...\nOne morning Barenziah managed to sneak a quick look at it while he was occupied at his toilet. She discovered that the first piece of the Staff of Chaos was hidden in an ancient Dwarvish mine called Fang Lair -- although its location was given only in the vaguest of terms. The diary was crammed with jotted events in an odd shorthand, and was very hard to decipher.\nAll Tamriel, she thought, in his hands and mine, and more perhaps -- and yet...\nFor all his exterior charm there was a cold emptiness where his heart should have been, a vacuum of which he was quite unaware, she thought. One could glimpse it now and then, when his eyes would go blank and hard. And yet, though he had a different concept of it, he yearned for happiness too, and contentment. Peasant dreams, Barenziah thought, and Straw flashed before her eyes again, looking lost and sad. And then Therris, with a feline Khajiit smile. Tiber Septim, powerful and lonely. Symmachus, solid, stolid Symmachus, who did what ought to be done, quietly and efficiently. The Nightingale. The Nightingale, a riddle and a certainty, both the darkness and the light. The Nightingale, who would rule all, and more -- and spread chaos in the name of order.\nBarenziah got reluctant leave from him to visit her children, who had yet to be told of their father's death -- and of the Emperor's offer of protection. She finally did, and it wasn't easy. Morgiah clung to her for what seemed an era, sobbing wretchedly, while Helseth ran off into the garden to be alone, afterward refusing all her attempts to speak to him on the subject of his father, or even to let her hold him to her breast.\nEadwyre called on her while she was there. She told him what she had discovered so far, explaining that she must remain awhile yet and learn more as she could.\nThe Nightingale teased her about her elderly admirer. He was quite aware of Eadwyre's suspicion -- but he wasn't the least bit perturbed, for no one took the old fool seriously. Barenziah even managed to arrange a reconciliation of sorts between them. Eadwyre publicly recanted his misgivings, and his \"old friend\" the Emperor forgave him. He was afterward invited to dine with them at least once a week.\nThe children liked Eadwyre, even Helseth, who disapproved of his mother's liaison with the Emperor and consequently detested him. He had become surly and temperamental as the days passed, and frequently quarreled with both his mother and her lover. Eadwyre was not happy with the affair either, and the Nightingale took great delight at times in openly displaying his affection for Barenziah just to nettle the old man.\nThey could not marry, of course, for Uriel Septim was already married. At least, not yet. The Nightingale had exiled the Empress shortly after taking the Emperor's place, but had not dared harm her. She was given sanctuary by the Temple of the One. It had been given out that she was suffering from ill health, and rumors had been circulated by the Nightingale's agents that she had mental problems. The Emperor's children had likewise been dispatched to various prisons all across Tamriel disguised as \"schools.\"\n\"She'll grow worse in time,\" Nightingale said carelessly, referring to the Empress and eyeing Barenziah's swollen breasts and swelling belly with satisfaction. \"As for their children... Well, life is full of hazards, isn't it? We'll be married. Your child will be my true heir.\"\nHe did want the child. Barenziah was sure of that. She was far less sure, however, of his feelings for her. They argued continually now, often violently, usually about Helseth, whom he wanted to send away to school in Summurset Isle, the province farthest from the Imperial City. Barenziah made no effort to avoid these altercations. The Nightingale, after all, had no interest in a smooth, unruffled life; and besides, he thoroughly enjoyed making up afterward...\nOccasionally Barenziah would take the children and retreat to their old apartment, declaring she wanted no more to do with him. But he would always come to fetch her back, and she would always let herself be fetched back. It was ineffable, like the rising and setting of Tamriel's twin moons.\n\n\nShe was six months pregnant before she finally deciphered the location of the last Staff piece -- an easy one, since every Dark Elf knew where the Mount of Dagoth-Ur was.\nWhen she next quarreled with the Nightingale, she simply left the city with Eadwyre and rode hard for High Rock, and Wayrest. The Nightingale was furious, but there was little he could do. His assassins were rather inept, and he dared not leave his seat of power to pursue them in person. Nor could he openly declare war on Wayrest. He had no legitimate claim on her or her unborn child. True to form, the Imperial City's nobility had disapproved of his liaison with Barenziah -- as they had so many years ago of Tiber Septim's -- and were glad to see her go.\nWayrest was equally distrustful of her, but Eadwyre was fanatically loved by his prosperous little city-state, and allowances were readily made for his... eccentricities. Barenziah and Eadwyre were married a year after the birth of her son by the Nightingale. In spite of this unfortunate fact, Eadwyre doted on her and her children. She in her turn did not love him -- but she was fond of him, and that was something. It was nice to have someone, and Wayrest was a very good place, a good place for children to grow up, while they waited, and bided their time, and prayed for the Champion's success in his mission.\nBarenziah could only hope that he wouldn't take very long, whoever this unnamed Champion was. She was a Dark Elf, and she had all the time in the world. All the time. But no more love left to give, and no more hatred left to burn. She had nothing left, nothing but pain, and memories... and her children. She only wanted to raise her family, and provide them a good life, and be left to live out what remained of hers. She had no doubt it was going to be a long life yet. And during it she wanted peace, and quiet, and serenity, of her soul as well as of her heart. Peasant dreams. That was what she wanted. That was what the real Barenziah wanted. That was what the real Barenziah was. Peasant dreams.\nPleasant dreams."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wolf-queen-v1": {"series": "The Wolf Queen", "game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wolf-queen-v1", "author": "Waughin Jarth", "title": "The Wolf Queen, v1", "description": "The biography of Potema, Wolf Queen of Solitude.", "text": "THE WOLF QUEEN\nBook One\nby\nWaughin Jarth\n\nFrom the pen of the first century third era sage Montocai:\n3E 63:\nIn the autumntide of the year, Prince Pelagius, son of Prince Uriel, who is son of the Empress Kintyra, who is niece of the great Emperor Tiber Septim, came to the High Rock city-state of Camlorn to pay court to the daughter of King Vulstaed. Her name was Quintilla, the most beauteous princess in Tamriel, skilled at all the maidenly skills and an accomplished sorceress.\nEleven years a widower with a young son named Antiochus, Pelagius arrived at court to find that the city-state was being terrorized by a great demon werewolf. Instead of wooing, Pelagius and Quintilla together went out to save the kingdom. With his sword and her sorcery, the beast was slain and by the powers of mysticism, Quintilla chained the beast's soul to a gem. Pelagius had the gem made into a ring and married her.\nBut it was said that the soul of the wolf stayed with the couple until the birth of their first child.\n3E 80\n\"The ambassador from Solitude has arrived, your majesty,\" whispered the steward Balvus.\n\"Right in the middle of dinner?\" muttered the Emperor weakly. \"Tell him to wait.\"\n\"No, father, it's important that you see him,\" said Pelagius, rising. \"You can't make him wait and then give him bad news. It's undiplomatic.\"\n\"Don't go then, you're much better at diplomacy than I am. We should have all the family here,\" Emperor Uriel II added, suddenly aware how few people were present at his dinner table. \"Where's your mother?\"\n\"Sleeping with the archpriest of Kynareth,\" Pelagius would have said, but he was, as his father said, diplomatic. Instead he said, \"At prayer.\"\n\"And your brother and sister?\"\n\"Amiel is in Firsthold, meeting with the Archmagister of the Mages Guild. And Galana, though we won't be telling this to the ambassador, of course, is preparing for her wedding to the Duke of Narsis. Since the ambassador expects her to be marrying his patron the King of Solitude instead, we'll tell him that she's at the spa, having a cluster of pestilent boils removed. Tell him that, and he won't press too hard for the marriage, politically expedient though it may be,\" Pelagius smiled. \"You know how queasy Nords are about warty women.\"\n\"But dash it, I feel like I should have some family around, so I don't look like some old fool despised by his nearest and dearest,\" growled the Emperor, correctly suspecting this to be the case. \"What about your wife? Where's she and the grandchildren?\"\n\"Quintilla's in the nursery with Cephorus and Magnus. Antiochus is probably whoring around the City. I don't know where Potema is, probably at her studies. I thought you didn't like children around.\"\n\"I do during meetings with ambassadors in damp staterooms,\" sighed the Emperor. \"They lend an air of, I don't know, innocence and civility. Ah, show the blasted ambassador in,\" he said to Balvus.\nPotema was bored. It was the rainy season in the Imperial Province, wintertide, and the streets and the gardens of the City were all flooded. She could not remember a time when it was not raining. Had it been only days, or had it been weeks or months since the sun shone? There was no judging of time any more in the constant flickering torch-light of the palace, and as Potema walked through marble and stone hallways, listening to the pelting of the rain, she could think nothing but that she was bored.\nAsthephe, her tutor, would be looking for her now. Ordinarily, she did not mind studying. Rote memorization came easily to her. She quizzed herself as she walked down through the empty ballroom. When did Orsinium fall? 1E 980. Who wrote Tamrilean Tractates? Khosey. When was Tiber Septim born? 2E 288. Who is the current King of Daggerfall? Mortyn, son of Gothlyr. Who is the current Silvenar? Varbarenth, son of Varbaril. Who is the Warlord of Lilmoth? Trick question: it's a lady, Ioa.\nWhat will I get if I'm a good girl, and don't get into any trouble, and my tutor says I'm an excellent student? Mother and father will renege on their promise to buy me a daedric katana of my own, saying they never remembered that promise, and it's far too expensive and dangerous for a girl my age.\nThere were voices coming from the Emperor's stateroom. Her father, her grandfather, and a man with a strange accent, a Nord. Potema moved a stone she had loosened behind a tapestry and listened in.\n\"Let us be frank, your imperial majesty,\" came the Nord's voice. \"My sire, the King of Solitude, doesn't care if Princess Galana looked like an orc. He wants an alliance with the Imperial family, and you agreed to give him Galana or give back the millions of gold he gave to you to quell the Khajiiti rebellion in Torval. This was the agreement you swore to honor.\"\n\"I remember no such agreement,\" came her father's voice, \"Can you, my liege?\"\nThere was a mumbling noise that Potema took to be her grandfather, the ancient Emperor.\n\"Perhaps we should take a walk to the Hall of Records, my mind may be going,\" the Nord's voice sounded sarcastic. \"I distinctly remember your seal being placed on the agreement before it was locked away. Of course, I may verily be mistaken.\"\n\"We will send a page to the Hall to get the document you refer to,\" replied her father's voice, with the cruel, soothing quality he used whenever he was about to break a promise. Potema knew it well. She replaced the loose stone and hurried out of the ballroom. She knew well how slowly the pages walked, used to running errands for a doddering emperor. She could make it to the Hall of Records in no time at all.\nThe massive ebony door was locked, of course, but she knew what to do. A year ago, she caught her mother's Bosmer maid pilfering some jewelry, and in exchange for her silence, forced the young woman to teach her how to pick locks. Potema pulled two pins off her red diamond broach and slid the first into the first lock, holding her hand steady, and memorizing the pattern of tumblers and grooves within the mechanism.\nEach lock had a geography of its own.\nThe lock to the kitchen larder: six free tumblers, a frozen seventh, and a counter bolt. She had broken into that just for fun, but if she had been a poisoner, the whole Imperial household would be dead by now, she thought, smiling.\nThe lock to her brother Antiochus' secret stash of Khajiiti pornography: just two free tumblers and a pathetic poisoned quill trap easily dismantled with pressure on the counterweight. That had been a profitable score. It was strange that Antiochus, who seemed to have no shame, proved so easy to blackmail. She was, after all, only twelve, and the differences between the perversions of the cat people and the perversions of the Cyrodiils seemed pretty academic. Still, Antiochus had to give her the diamond broach, which she treasured.\nShe had never been caught. Not when she broke into the archmage's study and stole his oldest spellbook. Not when she broke into the guest room of the King of Gilane, and stole his crown the morning before Magnus's official Welcoming ceremony. It had become too easy to torment her family with these little crimes. But here was a document the Emperor wanted, for a very important meeting. She would get it first.\nBut this, this was the hardest lock she ever opened. Over and over, she massaged the tumblers, gently pushing aside the forked clamp that snatched at her pins, drumming the counterweights. It nearly took her a half a minute to break through the door to the Hall of Records, where the Elder Scrolls were housed.\nThe documents were well organized by year, province, and kingdom, and it took Potema only a short while to find the Promise of Marriage between Uriel Septim II, by the Grace of the Gods, Emperor of the Holy Cyrodiilic Empire of Tamriel and his daughter the Princess Galana, and His Majesty King Mantiarco of Solitude. She grabbed her prize and was out of the Hall with the door well-locked before the page was even in sight.\nBack in the ball room, she loosened the stone and listened eagerly to the conversation within. For a few minutes, the three men, the Nord, the Emperor, and her father just spoke of the weather and some boring diplomatic details. Then there was the sound of footsteps and a young voice, the page.\n\"Your Imperial Majesty, I have searched the Hall of Records and cannot find the document you asked for.\"\n\"There, you see,\" came Potema's father's voice. \"I told you it didn't exist.\"\n\"But I saw it!\" The Nord's voice was furious. \"I was there when my liege and the emperor signed it! I was there!\"\n\"I hope you aren't doubting the word of my father, the sovereign Emperor of all Tamriel, not when there's now proof that you must have been ... mistaken,\" Pelagius's voice was low, dangerous.\n\"Of course not,\" said the Nord, conceding quickly. \"But what will I tell my king? He is to have no connection with the Imperial family, and no gold returned to him, as the agreement -- as he and I believed the agreement to be?\"\n\"We don't want any bad feelings between the kingdom of Solitude and us,\" came the Emperor's voice, rather feeble, but clear enough. \"What if we offered King Mantiarco our granddaughter instead?\"\nPotema felt the chill of the room descend on her.\n\"The Princess Potema? Is she not too young?\" asked the Nord.\n\"She is thirteen years old,\" said her father. \"That's old enough to wed.\"\n\"She would an ideal mate for your king,\" said the Emperor. \"She is, admittedly, from what I see of her, very shy and innocent, but I'm certain she would quickly grasp the ways of court -- she is, after all, a Septim. I think she would be an excellent Queen of Solitude. Not too exciting, but noble.\"\n\"The granddaughter of the Emperor is not as close as his daughter,\" said the Nord, rather miserably. \"But I don't see how we can refuse the offer. I will send word to my king.\"\n\"You have our leave,\" said the Emperor, and Potema heard the sound of the Nord leaving the stateroom.\nTears streamed down Potema's eyes. She knew who the King of Solitude was from her studies. Mantiarco. Sixty-two years old, and quite fat. And she knew how far Solitude was, and how cold, in the northernmost clime. Her father and grandfather were abandoning her to the barbaric Nords. The voices in the room continued talking.\n\"Well-acted, my boy. Now, make sure you burn that document,\" said her father.\n\"My Prince?\" asked the page's querulous voice.\n\"The agreement between the Emperor and the King of Solitude, you fool. We don't want its existence known.\"\n\"My Prince, I told the truth. I couldn't find the document in the Hall of Records. It seems to be missing.\"\n\"By Lorkhan!\" roared her father. \"Why is everything in this palace always misplaced? Go back to the Hall and keep searching until you find it!\"\nPotema looked at the document. Millions of gold pieces promised to the kingdom of Solitude in the event of Princess Galana not marrying the king. She could bring it into her father, and perhaps as a reward he would not marry her to Mantiarco. Or perhaps not. She could blackmail her father and the Emperor with it, and make a tidy sum of money. Or she could produce it when she became Queen of Solitude to fill her coffers, and buy anything she wanted. More than a daedric katana, that was for certain.\nSo many possibilities, Potema thought. And she found herself not bored anymore."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wolf-queen-v2": {"series": "The Wolf Queen", "game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wolf-queen-v2", "author": "Waughin Jarth", "title": "The Wolf Queen, v2", "description": "The biography of Potema, Wolf Queen of Solitude.", "text": "The Wolf Queen\nBook Two\nby \nWaughin Jarth\nFrom the pen of the first century third era sage Montocai:\n3E 82:\nA year after the wedding of his 14-year-old granddaughter the Princess Potema to King Mantiarco of the Nordic kingdom of Solitude, the Emperor Uriel Septim II passed on. His son Pelagius Septim II was made emperor, and he faced a greatly depleted treasury, thanks to his father's poor management.\nAs the new Queen of Solitude, Potema faced opposition from the old Nordic houses, who viewed her as an outsider. Mantiarco had been widowed, and his former queen was loved. She had left him a son, Prince Bathorgh, who was two years older than his stepmother, and loved her not. But the king loved his queen, and suffered with her through miscarriage after miscarriage, until her 29th year, when she bore him a son.\n3E 97:\n\"You must do something to help the pain!\" Potema cried, baring her teeth. The healer Kelmeth immediately thought of a she-wolf in labor, but he put the image from his mind. Her enemies called her the Wolf Queen for certes, but not because of any physical resemblance.\n\"Your Majesty, there is no injury for me to heal. The pain you feel is natural and helpful for the birth,\" he was going to add more words of consolation, but he had to break off to duck the mirror she flung at him.\n\"I'm not a pignosed peasant girl!\" She snarled, \"I am the Queen of Solitude, daughter of the Emperor! Summon the daedra! I'll trade the soul of every last subject of mine for a little comfort!\"\n\"My Lady,\" said the healer nervously, drawing the curtains and blotting out the cold morning sun. \"It is not wise to make such offers even in jest. The eyes of Oblivion are forever watching for just such a rash interjection.\"\n\"What would you know of Oblivion, healer?\" she growled, but her voice was calmer, quieter. The pain had relaxed. \"Would you fetch me that mirror I hurled at you?\"\n\"Are you going to throw it again, your Majesty?\" said the healer with a taut smile, obeying her.\n\"Very likely,\" she said, looking at her reflection. \"And next time I won't miss. But I do look a fright. Is Lord Vhokken still waiting for me in the hall?\"\n\"Yes, your Majesty.\"\n\"Well, tell him I just need to fix my hair and I'll be with him. And leave us. I'll howl for you when the pain returns.\"\n\"Yes, your Majesty.\"\nA few minutes later, Lord Vhokken was shown into the chamber. He was an enormous bald man whose friends and enemies called Mount Vhokken, and when he spoke it was with the low grumble of thunder. The Queen was one of the very few people Vhokken knew who was not the least bit intimidated by him, and he offered her a smile.\n\"My queen, how are you feeling?\" he asked.\n\"Damned. But you're looking like Springtide has come to Mount Vhokken. I take it from your merry disposition that you've been made warchief.\"\n\"Only temporarily, while your husband the King investigates whether there is evidence behind the rumors of treason on the part of my predecessor Lord Thone.\"\n\"If you've planted it as I've instructed, he'll find it,\" Potema smiled, propping herself up in the bed. \"Tell me, is Prince Bathorgh still in the city?\"\n\"What a question, your highness,\" laughed the mountain. \"It's the Tournament of Stamina today, you know the prince would never miss that. The fellow invents new strategies of self-defense every year to show off during the games. Don't you recall last year, where he entered the ring unarmored and after twenty minutes of fending off six bladesmen, left the games without a scratch? He dedicated that bout to his late mother, Queen Amodetha.\"\n\"Yes, I recall.\"\n\"He's no friend to me or you, your highness, but you must give the man his due respect. He moves like lightning. You wouldn't think it of him, but he always seems to use his awkwardness to his advantage, to throw his opponents off. Some say he learned the style from the orcs to the south. They say he learned from them how to anticipate a foe's attack by some sort of supernatural power.\"\n\"There's nothing supernatural about it,\" said the Queen, quietly. \"He gets it from his father.\"\n\"Mantiarco never moved like that,\" Vhokken chuckled.\n\"I never said he did,\" said Potema. Her eyes closed and her teeth gritted together. \"The pain's returning. You must fetch the healer, but first, I must ask you one other thing -- has the new summer palace construction begun?\"\n\"I think so, your Highness.\"\n\"Do not think!\" she cried, gripping the sheets, biting her lips so a stream of blood dripped down her chin. \"Do! Make certain that the construction begins at once, today! Your future, my future, and the future of this child depend on it! Go!\"\nFour hours later, King Mantiarco entered the room to see his son. His queen smiled weakly as he gave her a kiss on the forehead. When she handed him the child, a tear ran down his face. Another one quickly followed, and then another.\n\"My Lord,\" she said fondly. \"I know you're sentimental, but really!\"\n\"It's not only the child, though he is beautiful, with all the fair features of his mother,\" Mantiarco turned to his wife, sadly, his aged features twisted in agony. \"My dear wife, there is trouble at the palace. In truth, this birth is the only thing that keeps this day from being the darkest in my reign.\"\n\"What is it? Something at the tournament?\" Potema pulled herself up in bed. \"Something with Bathorgh?\"\n\"No, it's isn't the tournament, but it does relate to Bathorgh. I shouldn't worry you at a time like this. You need your rest.\"\n\"My husband, tell me!\"\n\"I wanted to surprise you with a gift after the birth of our child, so I had the old summer palace completely renovated. It's a beautiful place, or at least it was. I thought you might like it. Truth to tell, it was Lord Vhokken idea. It used to be Amodetha's favorite place.\" Bitterness crept into the king's voice. \"Now I've learned why.\"\n\"What have you learned?\" asked Potema quietly.\n\"Amodetha deceived me there, with my trusted warchief, Lord Thone. There were letters between them, the most perverse things you've ever read. And that's not the worst of it.\"\n\"No?\"\n\"The dates on the letters correspond with the time of Bathorgh's birth. The boy I raised and loved as a son,\" Mantiarco's voice choked up with emotion. \"He was Thone's child, not mine.\"\n\"My darling,\" said Potema, almost feeling sorry for the old man. She wrapped her arms around his neck, as he heaved his sobs down on her and their child.\n\"Henceforth,\" he said quietly. \"Bathorgh is no longer my heir. He will be banished from the kingdom. This child you have borne me today will grow to rule Solitude.\"\n\"And perhaps more,\" said Potema. \"He is the Emperor's grandson as well.\"\n\"We will name him Mantiarco the Second.\"\n\"My darling, I would love that,\" said Potema, kissing the king's tear-streaked face. \"But may I suggest Uriel, after my grandfather the Emperor, who brought us together in marriage?\"\nKing Mantiarco smiled at his wife and nodded his head. There was a knock at the door.\n\"My liege,\" said Mount Vhokken. \"His highness Prince Bathorgh has finished the tournament and awaits you to present his award. He has successfully withstood attacks by nine archers and the giant scorpion we brought in from Hammerfell. The crowd is roaring his name. They are calling him The Man Who Cannot Be Hit.\"\n\"I will see him,\" said King Mantiarco sadly, and left the chamber.\n\"Oh he can be hit, all right,\" said Potema wearily. \"But it does take some doing.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wolf-queen-v3": {"series": "The Wolf Queen", "game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wolf-queen-v3", "author": "Waughin Jarth", "title": "The Wolf Queen, v3", "description": "The biography of Potema, Wolf Queen of Solitude.", "text": "The Wolf Queen\nBook Three\nby \nWaughin Jarth\nFrom the pen of the first century third era sage Montocai:\n3E 98\nThe Emperor Pelagius Septim II died a few weeks before the end of the year, on the 15th of Evening Star during the festival of North Wind's Prayer, which was considered a bad omen for the Empire. He had ruled over a difficult seventeen years. In order to fill the bankrupt treasury, Pelagius had dismissed the Elder Council, forcing them to buy back their positions. Several good but poor councilors had been lost. Many say the Emperor had died as a result of being poisoned by a vengeful former Council member.\nHis children came to attend his funeral and the coronation of the next Emperor. His youngest son Prince Magnus, 19 years of age, arrived from Almalexia, where he had been a councilor to the royal court. 21-year-old Prince Cephorus arrived from Gilane with his Redguard bride, Queen Bianki. Prince Antiochus at 43 years of age, the eldest child and heir presumptive, had been with his father in the Imperial City. The last to appear was his only daughter, Potema, the so-called Wolf Queen of Solitude. Thirty years old and radiantly beautiful, she arrived with a magnificent entourage, accompanied by her husband, the elderly King Mantiarco and her year-old son, Uriel.\nAll expected Antiochus to assume the throne of the Empire, but no one knew what to expect from the Wolf Queen.\n3E 99\n\"Lord Vhokken has been bringing several men to your sister's chambers late at night every night this week,\" offered the Spymaster. \"Perhaps if her husband were made aware --\"\n\"My sister is a devotee of the conqueror gods Reman and Talos, not the love goddess Dibella. She is plotting with those men, not having orgies with them. I'd wager I've slept with more men than she has,\" laughed Antiochus, and then grew serious. \"She's behind the delay of the council offering me the crown, I know it. Six weeks now. They say they need to update records and prepare for the coronation. I'm the Emperor! Crown me, and to Oblivion with the formalities!\"\n\"Your sister is surely no friend of yours, your majesty, but there are other factors at play. Do not forget how your father treated the Council. It is they who need following, and if need be, strong convincing,\" The Spymaster added, with a suggestive stab of his dagger.\n\"Do so, but keep your eye on the damnable Wolf Queen as well. You know where to find me.\"\n\"At which brothel, your highness?\" inquired the Spymaster.\n\"Today being Fredas, I'll be at the Cat and Goblin.\"\nThe Spymaster noted in his report that night that Queen Potema had no visitors, for she was dining across the Imperial Garden at the Blue Palace with her mother, the Dowager Empress Quintilla. It was a warm night for wintertide and surprisingly cloudless though the day had been stormy. The saturated ground could not take any more, so the formal, structured gardens looked as if they had been glazed with water. The two women took their wine to the wide balcony to look over the grounds.\n\"I believe you are trying to sabotage your half-brother's coronation,\" said Quintilla, not looking at her daughter. Potema saw how the years had not so much wrinkled her mother as faded her, like the sun on a stone.\n\"It's not true,\" said Potema. \"But would it bother you very much if it were true?\"\n\"Antiochus is not my son. He was eleven years old when I married your father, and we've never been close. I think that being heir presumptive has stunted his growth. He is old enough to have a family with grown children, and yet he spends all his time at debauchery and fornication. He will not make a very good Emperor,\" Quintilla sighed and then turned to Potema. \"But it is bad for the family for seeds of discontent to be sown. It is easy to divide up into factions, but very difficult to unite again. I fear for the future of the Empire.\"\n\"Those sound like the words -- are you, by any chance, dying, mother?\"\n\"I've read the omens,\" said Quintilla with a faint, ironic smile. \"Don't forget -- I was a renowned sorceress in Camlorn. I will dead in a few months time, and then, not a year later, your husband will die. I only regret that I will not live to see your child Uriel assume the throne of Solitude.\"\n\"Have you seen whether --\" Potema stopped, not wanting to reveal too many of her plans, even to a dying woman.\n\"Whether he will be Emperor? Aye, I know the answer to that too, daughter. Don't fear: you'll live to see the answer, one way or the other. I have a gift for him when he is of age,\" The Dowager Empress removed a necklace with a single great yellow gem from around her neck. \"It's a soul gem, infused with the spirit of a great werewolf your father and I defeated in battle thirty-six years ago. I've enchanted it with spells from the School of Illusion so its wearer may charm whoever he choses. An important skill for a king.\"\n\"And an emperor,\" said Potema, taking the necklace. \"Thank you, mother.\"\nAn hour later, passing the black branches of the sculpted douad shrubs, Potema noticed a dark figure, which vanished into the shadows under the eaves at her approach. She had noticed people following her before: it was one of the hazards of life in the Imperial court. But this man was too close to her chambers. She slipped the necklace around her neck.\n\"Come out where I can see you,\" she commanded.\nThe man emerged from the shadows. A dark little fellow of middle-age dressed in black-dyed goatskin. His eyes were fixed, frozen, under her spell.\n\"Who do you work for?\"\n\"Prince Antiochus is my master,\" he said in a dead voice. \"I am his spy.\"\nA plan formed. \"Is the Prince in his study?\"\n\"No, milady.\"\n\"And you have access?\"\n\"Yes, milady.\"\nPotema smiled widely. She had him. \"Lead the way.\"\nThe next morning, the storm reappeared in all its fury. The pelting on the walls and ceiling was agony to Antiochus, who was discovering that he no longer had his youthful immunity to a late night of hard drinking. He shoved hard against the Argonian wench sharing his bed.\n\"Make yourself useful and close the window,\" he moaned.\nNo sooner had the window been bolted then there was a knock at the door. It was the Spymaster. He smiled at the Prince and handed him a sheet of paper.\n\"What is this?\" said Antiochus, squinting his eyes. \"I must still be drunk. It looks like orcish.\"\n\"I think you will find it useful, your majesty. Your sister is here to see you.\"\nAntiochus considered getting dressed or sending his bedmate out, but thought better of it. \"Show her in. Let her be scandalized.\"\nIf Potema was scandalized, she did not show it. Swathed in orange and silver silk, she entered the room with a triumphant smile, followed by the man-mountain Lord Vhokken.\n\"Dear brother, I spoke to my mother last night, and she advised me very wisely. She said I should not battle with you in public, for the good of our family and the Empire. Therefore,\" she said, producing from the folds of her robe a piece of paper. \"I am offering you a choice.\"\n\"A choice?\" said Antiochus, returning her smile. \"That does sound friendly.\"\n\"Abdicate your rights to the Imperial throne voluntarily, and there is no need for me to show the Council this,\" Potema said, handing her brother the letter. \"It is a letter with your seal on it, saying that you knew that your father was not Pelagius Septim II, but the royal steward Fondoukth. Now, before you deny writing the letter, you cannot deny the rumors, nor that the Imperial Council will believe that your father, the old fool, was quite capable of being cuckolded. Whether it's true or not, or whether the letter is a forgery or not, the scandal of it would ruin your chances of being the Emperor.\"\nAntiochus's face had gone white with fury.\n\"Don't fear, brother,\" said Potema, taking back the letter from his shaking hands. \"I will see to it that you have a very comfortable life, and all the whores your heart, or any other organ, desires.\"\nSuddenly Antiochus laughed. He looked over at his Spymaster and winked. \"I remember when you broke into my stash of Khajiiti erotica and blackmailed me. That was close to twenty years ago. We've got better locks now, you must have noticed. It must have killed you that you couldn't use your own skills to get what you wanted.\"\nPotema merely smiled. It didn't matter. She had him.\n\"You must have charmed my servant here into getting you into my study to use my seal,\" Antiochus smirked. \"A spell, perhaps, from your mother, the witch?\"\nPotema continued to smile. Her brother was cleverer than she thought.\n\"Did you know that Charm spells, even powerful ones, only last so long?  Of course, you didn't. You never were one for magic. Let me tell you, a generous salary is a stronger motivation for keeping a servant in the long run, sister,\" Antiochus took out his own sheet of paper. \"Now I have a choice for you.\"\n\"What is that?\" said Potema, her smile faltering.\n\"It looks like nonsense, but if you know what you're looking for, it's very clear. It's a practice sheet -- your handwriting attempting to look like my handwriting. It's a good gift you have. I wonder if you haven't done this before, imitating another person's handwriting. I understand a letter was found from your husband's dead wife saying that his first son was a bastard. I wonder if you wrote that letter. I wonder if I showed this evidence of your gift to your husband whether he would believe you wrote that letter. In the future, dear Wolf Queen, don't lay the same trap twice.\"\nPotema shook her head, furious, unable to speak.\n\"Give me your forgery and go take a walk in the rain. And then, later today, unhatch whatever other plots you have to keep me from the throne.\" Antiochus fixed his eyes on Potema's. \"I will be Emperor, Wolf Queen. Now go.\"\nPotema handed her brother the letter and left the room. For a few moments, out in the hallway, she said nothing. She merely glared at the slivers of rainwater dripping down the marble wall from a tiny, unseen crack.\n\"Yes, you will, brother,\" she said. \"But not for very long.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wolf-queen-v4": {"series": "The Wolf Queen", "game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wolf-queen-v4", "author": "Waughin Jarth", "title": "The Wolf Queen, v4", "description": "The biography of Potema, Wolf Queen of Solitude.", "text": "The Wolf Queen\nBook Four\nby \nWaughin Jarth\nFrom the pen of the first century third era sage Montocai:\n3E 109:\nTen years after being crowned Emperor of Tamriel, Antiochus Septim had impressed his subjects with little but the enormity of his lust for carnal pleasures. By his second wife, Gysilla, he had a daughter in the year 104, who he named Kintyra, after his great-great-great grandaunt, the Empress. Enormously fat and marked by every venereal disease known to the Healers, Antiochus spent little time on politics. His siblings, by marked contrast, excelled in this field. Magnus had married Hellena, the Cyrodiil Queen of Lilmoth -- the Argonian priest-king having been executed -- and was representing the Imperial interests in Black Marsh admirably. Cephorus and his wife Bianki were ruling the Hammerfell kingdom of Gilane with a healthy brood of children. But no one was more politically active than Potema, the Wolf-Queen of the Skyrim kingdom of Solitude.\nNine years after the death of her husband, King Mantiarco, Potema still ruled as regent for her young son, Uriel. Their court had become very fashionable, particularly for rulers who had a grudge to bear against the Emperor. All the kings of Skyrim visited Castle Solitude regularly, and over the years, emissaries from the lands of Morrowind and High Rock did as well. Some guests came from even farther away.\n3E 110:\nPotema stood at the harbor and watched the boat from Pyandonea arrive. Against the gray, breaking waves where she had seen so many vessels of Tamrielic manufacture, it looked less than exotic. Insectoid, certainly, with its membranous sails and rugged chitin hull, but she had seen similar if not identical seacraft in Morrowind. No, if not for the flag which was markedly alien, she would not have picked out the ship from others in the harbor. As the salty mist ballooned around her, she held out her hand in welcome to the visitors from another island empire.\nThe men aboard were not merely pale, they were entirely colorless, as if their flesh were made of some white limpid jelly, but she had been forewarned. At the arrival of the King and his translator, she looked directly into their blank eyes and offered her hand. The King made noises.\n\"His Great Majesty, King Orgnum,\" said the translator, haltingly. \"Expresses his delight at your beauty. He thanks you for giving him refuge from these dangerous seas.\"\n\"You speak Cyrodilic very well,\" said Potema.\n\"I am fluent in the languages of four continents,\" said the translator. \"I can speak to the denizens of my own country Pyandonea, as well as those of Atmora, Akavir, and here, in Tamriel. Yours is the easiest, actually. I was looking forward to this voyage.\"\n\"Please tell his highness that he is welcome here, and that I am entirely at his disposal,\" said Potema, smiling. Then she added, \"You understand the context? That I am just being polite?\"\n\"Of course,\" said the translator, and then made several noises at the King, which the King reacted to with a smile. While they conversed, Potema looked up the dock and saw the now familiar gray cloaks watching her while they spoke with Levlet, Antiochus's man. The Psijic Order from the Summerset Isle. Very bothersome.\n\"My diplomatic emissary Lord Vhokken will show you to your rooms,\" said Potema. \"Unfortunately, I have some other guests as well who require my attention. I hope your great majesty understands.\"\nHis Great Majesty King Orgnum did understand, and Potema made arrangements to dine with the Pyandoneans that evening. Meeting with the Psijic Order required all of her concentration. She dressed in her simplest black and gold robe and went to her stateroom to prepare. Her son, Uriel, was on the throne, playing with his pet joughat.\n\"Good morning, mom.\"\n\"Good morning, darling,\" said Potema, lifting her son in the air with feigned stain. \"Talos, but you're heavy. I don't think I've ever carried such a heavy ten-year-old.\"\n\"That's probably because I'm eleven,\" said Uriel, perfectly aware of his mother's tricks. \"And you're going to say that as an eleven-year-old, I should probably be with my tutor.\"\n\"I was fanatical about studying at your age,\" said Potema.\n\"I am king,\" said Uriel petulantly.\n\"But don't be satisfied with that,\" said Potema. \"By all rights, you should be emperor already, you understand that, don't you?\"\nUriel nodded his head. Potema took a moment to marvel at his likeness to the portraits of Tiber Septim. The same ruthless brow and powerful chin. When he was older and lost his baby fat, he'd be a splitting image of his great great great great great granduncle. Behind her, she heard the door opening and an usher bringing in several gray cloaks. She stiffened slightly, and Uriel, on cue, jumped down from the throne and left the stateroom, pausing to greet the most important of the Psijics.\n\"Good Morning, Master Iachesis,\" he said, enunciating each syllable with a regal accent that made Potema's heart soar. \"I hope your accommodations at Castle Solitude meet with your approval.\"\n\"They do, King Uriel, thank you,\" said Iachesis, delighted and charmed.\nIachesis and his Psijics entered the chamber and the door was shut behind them. Potema sat only for a moment on the throne before stepping off the dais and greeting her guests.\n\"I am so sorry to have kept you waiting,\" said Potema. \"To think that you sailed all the way from the Summerset Isles and I should keep you waiting any longer. You must forgive me.\"\n\"It's not all that long a voyage,\" said one of the gray cloaks, angrily. \"It isn't as if we sailed all the way from Pyandonea.\"\n\"Ah. You've seen my most recent guests, King Orgnum and his retinue,\" said Potema breezily. \"I suppose you think it unusual, me entertaining them, as we all know the Pyandoneans mean to invade Tamriel. You are, I take it, as neutral in this as you are in all political matters?\"\n\"Of course,\" said Iachesis proudly. \"We have nothing to gain or lose by the invasion. The Psijic Order preceded the organization of Tamriel under the Septim Dynasty and we shall survive under any political regime.\"\n\"Rather like a flea on whatever mongrel happens along, are you?\" said Potema, narrowing her eyes. \"Don't overestimate your importance, Iachesis. Your order's child, the Mages Guild, has twice the power you have, and they are entirely on my side. We are in the process of making an agreement with King Orgnum. When the Pyandoneans take over and I am in my proper place as Empress of this continent, then you shall know your proper place in the order of things.\"\nWith a majestic stride, Potema left the stateroom, leaving the grey cloaks to look from one to the other.\n\"We must speak to Lord Levlet,\" said one of the grey cloaks.\n\"Yes,\" said Iachesis. \"Perhaps we should.\"\nLevlet was quickly found at his usual place at the Moon and Nausea tavern. As the three grey cloaks entered, led by Iachesis, the smoke and the noise seemed to die in their path. Even the smell of tobacco and flin dissipated in their wake. He rose and then escorted them to a small room upstairs.\n\"You've reconsidered,\" said Levlet with a broad smile.\n\"Your Emperor,\" said Iachesis, and then corrected himself, \"Our Emperor originally asked for our support in defending the west coast of Tamriel from the Pyandonean fleet in return for twelve million gold pieces. We offered our services at fifty. Upon reflection on the dangers that a Pyandonean invasion would have, we accept his earlier offer.\"\n\"The Mages Guild has generously -- \"\n\"Perhaps for as low ten million gold pieces,\" said Iachesis quickly.\nOver the course of dinner, Potema promised King Orgnum through the interpreter, to lead an insurrection against her brother. She was delighted to discover that her capacity for lying worked in many different cultures. Potema shared her bed that night with King Orgnum, as it seemed the polite and diplomatic thing to do. As it turned out, he was one of the better lovers she had ever had. He gave her some herbs before beginning that made her feel as if she was floating on the surface of time, conscious only of the gestures of love after she had found herself making them. She felt herself like the cooling mist, quenching the fire of his lust over and over and over again. In the morning, when he kissed her on the cheek, and said with his bald white eyes that he was leaving her, she felt a stab of regret.\nThe ship left harbor that morning, en route to the Summerset Isles and the imminent invasions. She waved them off to sea as she footsteps behind her. It was Levlet.\n\"They will do it for eight million, your highness\" he said.\n\"Thank Mara,\" said Potema. \"I need more time for an insurrection.  Pay them from my treasury, and then go to the Imperial City and get the twelve million from Antiochus. We should make a good profit from this game, and you, of course, will have your share.\"\nThree months later, Potema heard that the fleet of the Pyandoneans had been utterly destroyed by a storm that had appeared suddenly off the Isle of Artaeum. The home port of the Psijic Order. King Orgnum and all of his ships had been utterly annihilated.\n\"Sometimes making people hate you,\" she said, holding her son Uriel close, \"Is how you make a profit .\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wolf-queen-v5": {"series": "The Wolf Queen", "game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wolf-queen-v5", "author": "Waughin Jarth", "title": "The Wolf Queen, v5", "description": "The biography of Potema, Wolf Queen of Solitude.", "text": "The Wolf Queen\nBook Five\nby \nWaughin Jarth\nFrom the pen of Inzolicus, Second Century Sage and Student of Montocai:\n3E 119:\nFor twenty-one years, The Emperor Antiochus Septim ruled Tamriel, and proved an able leader despite his moral laxity. His greatest victory was in the War of the Isle in the year 110, when the Imperial fleet and the royal navies of Summerset Isle, together with the magical powers of the Psijic Order, succeeded in destroying the Pyandonean invading armada. His siblings, King Magnus of Lilmoth, King Cephorus of Gilane, and Potema, the Wolf Queen of Solitude, ruled well and relations between the Empire and the kingdoms of Tamriel were much improved. Still, centuries of neglect had not repaired all the scars that existed between the Empire and the kings of High Rock and Skyrim.\nDuring a rare visitation from his sister and nephew Uriel, Antiochus, who had suffered from several illnesses over his reign, lapsed into a coma. For months, he lingered in between life and death while the Elder Council prepared for the ascension of his fifteen-year-old daughter Kintyra to the throne.\n3E 120:\n\"Mother, I can't marry Kintyra,\" said Uriel, more amused by the suggestion than offended. \"She's my first cousin. And besides, I believe she's engaged to one of the lords of council, Modellus.\"\n\"You're so squeamish. There's a time and a place for propriety,\" said Potema. \"But you're correct at any rate about Modellus, and we shouldn't offend the Elder Council at this critical juncture. How do you feel about Princess Rakma? You spent a good deal of time in her company in Farrun.\"\n\"She's all right,\" said Uriel. \"Don't tell me you want to hear all the dirty details.\"\n\"Please spare me your study of her anatomy,\" Potema grimaced. \"But would you marry her?\"\n\"I suppose so.\"\n\"Very good. I'll make the arrangements then,\" Potema made a note for herself before continuing. \"King Lleromo has been a difficult ally to keep, and a political marriage should keep Farrun on our side. Should we need them. When is the funeral?\"\n\"What funeral?\" asked Uriel. \"You mean for Uncle Antiochus?\"\n\"Of course,\" sighed Potema. \"Anyone else of note die recently?\"\n\"There were a bunch of little Redguard children running through the halls, so I guess Cephorus has arrived. Magnus arrived at court yesterday, so it ought to be any day now.\"\n\"It's time to address the Council then,\" said Potema, smiling.\nShe dressed in black, not her usual colorful ensembles. It was important to look the part of the grieving sister. Regarding herself in the mirror, she felt that she looked all of her fifty-three years. A shock of silver wound its way through her auburn hair. The long, cold, dry winters in northern Skyrim had created a map of wrinkles, thin as a spiderweb, all across her face. Still, she knew that when she smiled, she could win hearts, and when she frowned, she could inspire fear. It was enough for her purposes.\nPotema's speech to the Elder Council is perhaps helpful to students of public speaking.\nShe began with flattery and self-abasement: \"My most august and wise friends, members of the Elder Council, I am but a provincial queen, and I can only assume to bring to issue what you yourselves must have already pondered.\"\nShe continued on to praise the late Emperor, who had been a popular ruler, despite his flaws: \"He was a true Septim and a great warrior, destroying -- with your counsel -- the near invincible armada of Pyandonea.\"\nBut little time was wasted, before she came to her point: \"The Empress Gysilla unfortunately did nothing to temper my brother's lustful spirits. In point of fact, no whore in the slums of the city spread out on more beds than she. Had she attended to her duties in the Imperial bedchamber more faithfully, we would have a true heir to the Empire, not the halfwit, milksop bastards who call themselves the Emperor's children. The girl called Kintyra is popularly believed to be the daughter of Gysilla and the Captain of the Guard. It may be that she is the daughter of Gysilla and the boy who cleans the cistern. We can never know for certain. Not as certainly as we can know the lineage of my son, Uriel. The eldest true son of the Septim Dynasty. My lords, the princes of the Empire will not stand for a bastard on the throne, that I can assure you.\"\nShe ended mildly, but with a call to action: \"Posterity will judge you. You know what must be done.\"\nThat evening, Potema entertained her brothers and their wives in the Map Room, her favorite of the Imperial dining chambers. The walls were splashed with bright, if fading representations of the Empire and all the known lands beyond, Atmora, Yokunda, Akavir, Pyandonea, Thras. Overhead the great glass domed ceiling, wet with rain, displayed distorted images of the stars overhead. Lightning flashed every other minute, casting strange phantom shadows on the walls.\n\"When will you speak to the Council?\" asked Potema as dinner was served.\n\"I don't know if I will,\" said Magnus. \"I don't believe I have anything to say.\"\n\"I'll speak to them when they announce the coronation of Kintyra,\" said Cephorus. \"Merely as a formality to show my support and the support of Hammerfell.\"\n\"You can speak for all of Hammerfell?\" asked Potema, with a teasing smile. \"The Redguards must love you very much.\"\n\"We have a unique relationship with the Empire in Hammerfell,\" said Cephorus's wife, Bianki. \"Since the treaty of Stros M'kai, it's been understood that we are part of the Empire, but not a subject.\"\n\"I understand you've already spoken to the Council,\" said Magnus's wife, Hellena, pointedly. She was a diplomat by nature, but as the Cyrodilic ruler of an Argonian kingdom, she knew how to recognize and confront adversity.\n\"Yes, I have,\" said Potema, pausing to savor a slice of braised jalfbird. \"I gave them a short speech about the coronation this afternoon.\"\n\"Our sister is an excellent public speaker,\" said Cephorus.\n\"You're too kind,\" said Potema, laughing. \"I do many things better than speaking.\"\n\"Such as?\" asked Bianki, smiling.\n\"Might I ask what you said in your speech?\" asked Magnus, suspiciously.\nThere was a knock on the chamber door. The head steward whispered something to Potema, who smiled in response and rose from the table.\n\"I told the Council that I would give my full support to the coronation, provided they proceed with wisdom. What could be sinister about that?\" Potema said, and took her glass of wine with her to the door. \"If you'll pardon me, my niece Kintyra wishes to have a word with me.\"\nKintyra stood in the hall with the Imperial Guard. She was but a child, but on reflection, Potema realized that at her age, she was already married two years to Mantiarco. There was a similarity, to be certain. Potema could see Kintyra as the young queen, with dark eyes and pallid skin smooth and resolute like marble. Anger flashed momentarily in Kintyra's eyes on seeing her aunt, but emotion left her, replaced with calm Imperial presence.\n\"Queen Potema,\" she said serenely. \"I have been informed that my coronation will take place in two days time. Your presence at the ceremony will not be welcome. I have already given orders to your servants to have your belongings packed, and an escort will be accompanying you back to your kingdom tonight. That is all. Goodbye, aunt.\"\nPotema began to reply, but Kintyra and her guard turned and moved back down the corridor to the stateroom. The Wolf Queen watched them go, and then reentered the Map Room.\n\"Sister-in-Law,\" said Potema, addressing Bianki with deep malevolence. \"You asked what I do better than speaking? The answer is: war.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wolf-queen-v6": {"series": "The Wolf Queen", "game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wolf-queen-v6", "author": "Waughin Jarth", "title": "The Wolf Queen, v6", "description": "The biography of Potema, Wolf Queen of Solitude.", "text": "The Wolf Queen\nBook Six\n\nby\nWaughin Jarth\nFrom the pen of Inzolicus, Second Century Sage:\n3E 120:\nThe fifteen-year-old Empress Kintyra Septim II, daughter of Antiochus, was coroneted on the 3rd day of First Seed. Her uncles Magnus, King of Lilmoth, and Cephorus, King of Gilane, were in attendance, but her aunt, Potema, the Wolf Queen of Solitude, had been banished from the court. Once back in her kingdom, Queen Potema began assembling the rebellion, which was to be known as the War of the Red Diamond. All the allies she had made over the years of disgruntled kings and nobles joined forces with her against the new Empress.\nThe first early strikes against the Empire were entirely successful. Throughout Skyrim and northern High Rock, the Imperial army found themselves under attack. Potema and her forces washed over Tamriel like a plague, inciting riots and insurrections everywhere they touched. In the autumn of the year, the loyal Duke of Glenpoint on the coast of High Rock sent an urgent request for reinforcements from the Imperial Army, and Kintyra, to inspire the resistance to the Wolf Queen, led the army herself.\n3E 121:\n\"We don't know where they are,\" said the Duke, deeply embarrassed. \"I've sent scouts out all over the countryside. I can only assume that they've retreated up north upon hearing of your army's arrival.\"\n\"I hate to say it, but I was hoping for a battle,\" said Kintyra. \"I'd like to put my aunt's head on a spike and parade it around the Empire. Her son Uriel and his army are right on the border to the Imperial Province, mocking me. How are they able to be so successful? Are they just that good in battle or do my subjects truly hate me?\"\nShe was tired after many months of struggling through the mud of autumn and winter. Crossing the Dragontail Mountains, her army nearly marched into an ambush. A blizzard snap in the normally temperate Barony of Dwynnen was so unexpected and severe that it must certainly have been cast by one of Potema's wizard allies. Everywhere she turned, she felt her aunt's touch. And now, her chance of facing the Wolf Queen at last had been thwarted. It was almost too much to bear.\n\"It is fear, pure and simple,\" said the Duke. \"That is her greatest weapon.\"\n\"I need to ask,\" said Kintyra, hoping that by sheer will she could keep her voice from revealing any of the fear the Duke spoke of. \"You've seen the army. Is it true that she has summoned a force of undead warriors to do her bidding?\"\n\"No, as a matter of fact, it's not true, but she certainly fosters that rumor. Her army attacks at night, partly for strategic reasons, and partly to advance fears like that. She has, so far as I know, no supernatural aid other than the standard battlemages and nightblades of any modern army.\"\n\"Always at night,\" said Kintyra thoughtfully. \"I suppose that's to disguise their numbers.\"\n\"And to move her troops into position before we're aware of them\" added the Duke. \"She's the master of the sneak attack. When you hear a march to the east, you can be certain she's already on top of you from the south. But listen, we'll discuss this all tomorrow morning. I've prepared the castle's best rooms for you and your men.\"\nKintyra sat in her tower suite and by the light of the moon and a single tallow candle, she penned a letter to her husband-to-be, Lord Modellus, back in the Imperial City. She hoped to be married to him in the summer at the Blue Palace her grandmother Quintilla had loved so much, but the war may not permit it. As she wrote, she gazed out the window at the courtyard below and the haunted, leafless trees of winter. Two of her guards stood on the battlements, several feet away from one another. Just like Modellus and Kintyra, she thought, and proceeded to expound on the metaphor in her letter.\nA knock on the door interrupted her poetry.\n\"A letter, your majesty, from Lord Modellus,\" said the young courier, handing the note to her.\nIt was short, and she read it quickly before the courier had a chance to retire. \"I'm confused by something. When did he write this?\"\n\"One week ago,\" said the courier. \"He said it was urgent that I make it here as quickly as possible while he mobilized the army. I imagine they've left the City already.\"\nKintyra dismissed the courier. Modellus said that he had received a letter from her, urgently calling for reinforcements to the battle at Glenpoint. But there was no battle at Glenpoint, and she had only just arrived today. Then who wrote the letter in her handwriting, and why would they want Modellus to bring a second army out of the Imperial City into High Rock?\nFeeling a chill from the night air at the window, Kintyra went to shut the latch. The two guards on the battlements were gone. She leaned over at the sound of a muffled struggle behind one of the barren trees, and did not hear the door open.\nWhen she turned, she saw Queen Potema and Mentin, Duke of Glenpoint, in the room with a host of guards.\n\"You move quietly, aunt,\" she said after a moment's pause. She turned to the Duke. \"What turned you against your loyalty to the Empire? Fear?\"\n\"And gold,\" said the Duke simply.\n\"What happened to my army?\" asked Kintyra, trying to look Potema steadily in the face. \"Is the battle over so soon?\"\n\"All your men are dead,\" smiled Potema. \"But there was no battle here. Merely quiet and efficient assassination. There will be battles ahead, against Modellus in the Dragontail Mountains and against the remnants of the Imperial Army in the City. I'll send you regular updates on the progress of the war.\"\n\"So I am to be kept here as your hostage?\" asked Kintyra, flatly, suddenly aware of the solidity of the stones and the great height of her tower room. \"Damn you, look at me! I am your Empress!\"\n\"Think of it this way, I'm taking you from being a fifth rate ruler to a first rate martyr,\" said Potema with a wink. \"But I understand if you don't want to thank me for that.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wolf-queen-v7": {"series": "The Wolf Queen", "game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wolf-queen-v7", "author": "Waughin Jarth", "title": "The Wolf Queen, v7", "description": "The biography of Potema, Wolf Queen of Solitude.", "text": "The Wolf Queen\nBook Seven\nby \nWaughin Jarth\nFrom the pen of Inzolicus, Second Century Sage:\n3E 125:\nThe exact date of the Empress Kintyra Septim II's execution in the tower at Glenpoint Castle is open to some speculation. Some believe she was slain shortly after her imprisonment in the 121st year, while others maintain that she was likely kept alive as a hostage until shortly before her uncle Cephorus, King of Gilane, reconquered western High Rock in the summer of the 125th year. The certainty of Kintyra's demise rallied many against the Wolf Queen Potema and her son, who had been crowned Emperor Uriel Septim III four years previously when he invaded the under-guarded Imperial City.\nCephorus concentrated his army on the war in High Rock, while his brother Magnus, King of Lilmoth, brought his Argonian troops through loyal Morrowind and into Skyrim to fight in Potema's home province. The reptilian troops fought well in the summer months, but during the winter, they retired south to regroup and attack again when the weather was warm. At this stalemate, the War lasted out two more years.\nAlso, in the 125th year, Magnus's wife Hellena gave birth to their first child, a boy who they named Pelagius, after the Emperor who fathered Magnus, Cephorus, the late Emperor Antiochus, and the dread Wolf Queen of Solitude.\n3E 127:\nPotema sat on soft silk cushions in the warm grass in front of her tent and watched the sun rise over the dark woods on the other side of the meadow. It was a peculiarly vibrant morning, typical of Skyrim summertide. The high chirrup of insects buzzed all around her and the sky surged with thousands of fallowing birds, rolling over one another and forming a multitude of patterns. Nature was unaware of the war coming to Falconstar, she surmised.\n\"Your highness, a message from the army in Hammerfell,\" said one of her maids, bringing in a courier. He was breathing hard, stained with sweat and mud. Evidence of a long, fast ride over many, many miles.\n\"My queen,\" said the courier, looking to the ground. \"I bring grave news of your son, the Emperor. He met your brother King Cephorus's army in Hammerfell in the countryside of Ichidag and there did battle. You would be proud, for he fought well, but in the end, the Imperial army was defeated and your son, our Emperor, was captured. King Cephorus is bringing him to Gilane.\"\nPotema listened to the news, scowling. \"That clumsy fool,\" she said at last.\nPotema stood up and strolled into camp, where the men were arming themselves, preparing for battle. Long ago, the soldiers understood that their lady did not stand on ceremony, and she would prefer that they work rather than salute her. Lord Vhokken was ahead of her, already meeting with the commander of the battlemages, discussing last minute strategy.\n\"My queen,\" said the courier, who had been following her. \"What are you going to do?\"\n\"I'm going to win this battle with Magnus, despite his superior position holding the ruins of Kogmenthist Castle,\" said Potema. \"And then when I know what Cephorus means to do with the Emperor, I'll respond accordingly. If there's a ransom to be paid, I'll pay it; if there's a prison exchange needed, so be it. Now, please, bath yourself and rest, and try not to get in the way of the war.\"\n\"It's not an ideal scenario,\" said Lord Vhokken when Potema had entered the commander's tent. \"If we attack the castle from the west, we'll be running directly into the fire from their mages and archers. If we come from the east, we'll be going through swamps, and the Argonians do better in that type of environment than we do. A lot better.\"\n\"What about the north and south? Just hills, correct?\"\n\"Very steep hills, your highness,\" said the commander. \"We should post bowmen there, but we'll be too vulnerable putting out the majority of our force.\"\n\"So it's the swamp,\" said Potema, and added, pragmatically. \"Unless we withdraw and wait for them to come out before fighting.\"\n\"If we wait, Cephorus will have his army here from High Rock, and we'll be trapped between the two of them,\" said Lord Vhokken. \"Not a preferable situation.\"\n\"I'll talk to the troops,\" said the commander. \"Try to prepare them for the swamp attack.\"\n\"No,\" said Potema. \"I'll speak to them.\"\nIn full battlegear, the soldiers gathered in the center of camp. They were a motley collection of men and women, Cyrodiils, Nords, Bretons, and Dunmer, youngbloods and old veterans, the sons and daughters of nobles, shopkeepers, serfs, priests, prostitutes, farmers, academics, adventurers. All of them under the banner of the Red Diamond, the symbol of the Imperial Family of Tamriel.\n\"My children,\" Potema said, her voice ringing out, hanging in the still morning mist. \"We have fought in many battles together, over mountaintops and beach heads, through forests and deserts. I have seen great acts of valor from each one of you, which does my heart proud. I have also seen dirty fighting, backstabbing, cruel and wanton feats of savagery, which pleases me equally well. For you are all warriors.\"\nWarming to her theme, Potema walked the line from soldier to soldier, looking each one in the eye: \"War is in your blood, in your brain, in your muscles, in everything you think and everything you do. When this war is over, when the forces are vanquished that seek to deny the throne to the true emperor, Uriel Septim III, you may cease to be warriors. You may choose to return to your lives before the war, to your farms and your cities, and show off your scars and tell tales of the deeds you did this day to your wondering neighbors. But on this day, make no mistake, you are warriors. You are war.\"\nShe could see her words were working. All around her, bloodshot eyes were focusing on the slaughter to come, arms tensing around weapons. She continued in her loudest cry, \"And you will move through the swamplands, like an unstoppable power from the blackest part of Oblivion, and you will rip the scales from the reptilian things in Kogmenthist Castle. You are warriors, and you need not only fight, you must win. You must win!\"\nThe soldiers roared in response, shocking the birds from the trees all around the camp.\nFrom a vantage point on the hills to the south, Potema and Lord Vhokken had excellent views of the battle as it raged. It looked like two swarms of two colors of insect moving back and forth over a clump of dirt which was the castle ruins. Occasionally, a burst of flame or a cloud of acid from one of the mages would flicker over the battle arresting their attention, but hour after hour, the fighting seemed like nothing but chaos.\n\"A rider approaches,\" said Lord Vhokken, breaking the silence.\nThe young Redguard woman was wearing the crest of Gilane, but carried a white flag. Potema allowed her to approach. Like the courier from the morning, the rider was well travel-worn.\n\"Your Highness,\" she said, out of breath. \"I have been sent from your brother, my lord King Cephorus, to bring you dire news. Your son Uriel was captured in Ichidag on the field in battle and from there transported to Gilane.\"\n\"I know all this,\" said Potema scornfully. \"I have couriers of my own. You can tell your master that after I've won this battle, I'll pay whatever ransom or exchange --\"\n\"Your Highness, an angry crowd met the caravan your son was in before it made it to Gilane,\" the rider said quickly, \"Your son is dead. He had been burned to death within his carriage. He is dead.\"\nPotema turned from the young woman and looked down at the battle. Her soldiers were going to win. Magnus's army was in retreat.\n\"One other item of news, your highness,\" said the rider. \"King Cephorus is being proclaimed Emperor.\"\nPotema did not look at the woman. Her army was celebrating their victory."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wolf-queen-v8": {"series": "The Wolf Queen", "game": ["Morrowind", "Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/wolf-queen-v8", "author": "Waughin Jarth", "title": "The Wolf Queen, v8", "description": "The biography of Potema, Wolf Queen of Solitude.", "text": "The Wolf Queen\nBook Eight\nby\nWaughin Jarth\nFrom the pen of Inzolicus, Second Century Sage:\n3E 127:\nFollowing the Battle of Ichidag, the Emperor Uriel Septim III was captured and, before he was able to be brought to his uncle's castle in the Hammerfell kingdom of Gilane, he met his death at the hands of an angry mob. This uncle, Cephorus, was thereafter proclaimed emperor and rode to the Imperial City. The troops formerly loyal to Emperor Uriel and his mother, the Wolf Queen Potema, pledged themselves to the new Emperor. In return for their support, the nobility of Skyrim, High Rock, Hammerfell, the Summerset Isle, Valenwood, Black Marsh, and Morrowind demanded and received a new level of autonomy and independence from the Empire. The War of the Red Diamond was at an end.\nPotema continued to fight a losing battle, her area of influence dwindling and dwindling until only her kingdom of Solitude remained in her power. She summoned daedra to fight for her, had her necromancers resurrect her fallen enemies as undead warriors, and mounted attack after attack on the forces of her brothers, the Emperor Cephorus Septim I and King Magnus of Lilmoth. Her allies began leaving her as her madness grew, and her only companions were the zombies and skeletons she had amassed over the years. The kingdom of Solitude became a land of death. Stories of the ancient Wolf Queen being waited on by rotting skeletal chambermaids and holding war plans with vampiric generals terrified her subjects.\n3E 137:\nMagnus opened up the small window in his room. For the first time in weeks, he heard the sounds of a city: carts squeaking, horses clopping over the cobblestones, and somewhere a child laughing. He smiled as he returned to his bedside to wash his face and finish dressing. There was a distinctive knock on the door.\n\"Come in, Pel,\" he said.\nPelagius bounded into the room. It was obvious that he had been up for hours. Magnus marveled at his energy, and wondered how much longer battles would last if they were run by twelve-year-old boys.\n\"Did you see outside yet?\" Pelagius asked. \"All the townspeople have come back! There are shops, and a Mages Guild, and down by the harbor, I saw a hundred shops come in from all over the place!\"\n\"They don't have to be afraid anymore. We've taken care of all the zombies and ghosts that used to be their neighbors, and they know it's safe to come back.\"\n\"Is Uncle Cephorus going to turn into a zombie when he dies?\" asked Pelagius.\n\"I wouldn't put that past him,\" laughed Magnus. \"Why do you ask?\"\n\"I heard some people saying that he was old and sick,\" said Pelagius.\n\"He's not that old,\" said Magnus. \"He's sixty years old. That's just two years older than I.\"\n\"And how old is Aunt Potema?\" asked Pelagius.\n\"Seventy,\" said Magnus. \"And yes, that is old. Any more questions will have to wait. I have to go meet with the commander now, but we can talk at supper. You can make yourself busy, and not get into any trouble?\"\n\"Yes, sir,\" said Pelagius. He understood that his father had to continue to hold siege on aunt Potema's castle. After they took it over and locked her up, they would move out of the inn and into the castle. Pelagius was not looking forward to that. The whole town had a funny, sweet, dead smell, but he could not get even as close as the castle moat without gagging from the stench. They could dump a million flowers on the place and it wouldn't make any difference at all.\nHe walked through the city for hours, buying some food and then some ribbons for his sister and mother back in Lilmoth. He thought about who else he needed to buy gifts for and was stumped. All his cousins, the children of Uncle Cephorus, Uncle Antiochus, and Aunt Potema, had died during the war, some of them in battle and some of them during the famines because so many crops had been burned. Aunt Bianki had died last year. There was only he, his mother, his sister, his father, and his uncle the Emperor left. And Aunt Potema. But she didn't really count.\nWhen he came upon the Mages Guild earlier that morning, he had decided not to go in. Those places always spooked him with their strange smoke and crystals and old books. This time, it occurred to Pelagius that he might buy a gift for Uncle Cephorus. A souvenir of Solitude's Mages Guild.\nAn old woman was having trouble with the front door, so Pelagius opened it for her.\n\"Thank you,\" she said.\nShe was easily the oldest thing he had ever seen. Her face looked like an old rotted apple framed with a wild whirl of bright white hair. He instinctively moved away from her gnarled talon when she started to pat him on the head. But there was a gem around her neck that immediately fascinated him. It was a single bright yellow jewel, but it almost looked there was something trapped within. When the light hit it from the candles, it brought out the form of a four-legged beast, pacing.\n\"It's a soul gem,\" she said. \"Infused with the spirit of a great demon werewolf. It was enchanted long, long ago with the power to charm people, but I've been thinking about giving it another spell. Perhaps something from the School of Alteration like Lock or Shield.\" She paused and looked at the boy carefully with yellowed, rheumy eyes. \"You look familiar to me, boy. What's your name?\"\n\"Pelagius,\" he said. He normally would have said \"Prince Pelagius,\" but he was told not to draw attention to himself while in town.\n\"I used to know someone named Pelagius,\" the old woman said, and slowly smiled. \"Are you here alone, Pelagius?\"\n\"My father is... with the army, storming the castle. But he'll be back when the walls have been breached.\"\n\"Which I dare say won't take too much longer,\" sighed the old woman. \"Nothing, no matter how well built, tends to last. Are you buying something in the Mages Guild?\"\n\"I wanted to buy a gift for my uncle,\" said Pelagius. \"But I don't know if I have enough gold.\"\nThe old woman left the boy to look over the wares while she went to the Guild enchanter. He was a young Nord, ambitious, and new to the kingdom of Solitude. It took little persuasion and a lot of gold to convince him to remove the charm spell from the soul gem and imbue it with a powerful curse, a slow poison that would drain wisdom from its wearer year by year until he or she lost all reason. She also purchased a cheap ring of fire resistance.\n\"For your kindness to an old woman, I've bought you these,\" she said, giving the boy the necklace and the ring. \"You can give the ring to your uncle, and tell him it has been enchanted with a levitation spell, so if ever he needs to leap from high places, it will protect him. The soulgem is for you.\"\n\"Thank you,\" said the boy. \"But this is too kind of you.\"\n\"Kindness has nothing to do with it,\" she answered, quite honestly. \"You see, I was in the Hall of Records at the Imperial Palace once or twice, and I read about you in the foretellings of the Elder Scrolls. You will be Emperor one day, my boy, the Emperor Pelagius Septim III, and with this soul gem to guide you, posterity will always remember you and your deeds.\"\nWith those words, the old woman disappeared down an alley behind the Mages Guild. Pelagius looked after her, but he did not think to search behind a heap of stones. If he had, he would have found a tunnel under the city into the very heart of Castle Solitude. And if he had found his way there, he would have found, past the shambling undead and the moldering remains of a once grand palace, the bedroom of the queen.\nIn that bedroom, he would find the Wolf Queen of Solitude in repose, listening to the sounds of her castle collapsing. And he would see a toothless grin growing on her face as she breathed her last.\n\nFrom the pen of Inzolicus, Second Century Sage:\n3E 137:\nPotema Septim died after a month long siege on her castle. While she lived, she had been the Wolf Queen of Solitude, Daughter of the Emperor Pelagius II, Wife of King Mantiarco, Aunt of the Empress Kintyra II, Mother of Emperor Uriel III, and Sister of the Emperors Antiochus and Cephorus. At her death, Magnus appointed his son, Pelagius, as the titular head of Solitude, under guidance from the royal council.\n3E 140:\nThe Emperor Cephorus Septim died after falling from his horse. His brother was proclaimed the Emperor Magnus Septim.\n3E 141:\nPelagius, King of Solitude, is recorded as \"occasionally eccentric\" in the Imperial Annals. He marries Katarish, Duchess of Vvardenfell.\n3E 145:\nThe Emperor Magnus Septim dies. His son, who will be known as Pelagius the Mad, is coronated."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/vampires-vvardenfell-volume-i": {"series": "Vampires of Vvardenfell", "game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/vampires-vvardenfell-volume-i", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Vampires of Vvardenfell, Volume I", "description": "General information about the vampires found in Vvardenfell.", "text": "[excerpts]\n...The violent antipathy of Morrowind culture toward necromancy ensures  that vampires are virtually unknown in Morrowind...\n...The Temple does not acknowledge the existence of Western vampire  hunting orders. Nonetheless, interviews with Temple officials persuade  me that the Dunmer of Morrowind are experienced and knowledgeable in the  handling of these menaces. On the other hand, they freely admit that  even a large community of vampires might easily escape detection in the  remote wastelands, or in the subterranean labyrinths of abandoned  strongholds and wizard towers....\n...The \"ash vampire\" of Ashlander legend is not undead. Sorceries and  blessings affecting the undead reportedly have no effect on these  creatures. No specimen has ever been examined, and no references have  ever linked these legends with the known clans of Tamrielic vampires....\n...Vvardenfell's three known bloodlines differ greatly in their approach  to prey. The Quarra bloodline features exceptional strength and  endurance, and attacks in a state of ecstatic frenzy. Aundae vampires  are potent spellcasters, seeking to hypnotize victims before feeding,  while the swift and agile Berne clan vampires prefer stealth and ambush,  first poisoning the victim with a bite, then withdrawing to a safe  distance, returning to feed only when the prey has weakened...\n...It is supposed that vampirism is contracted from wounds received from  a vampire. Since few victims survive vampiric attacks or feedings, the  process of contracting the disease is little understood. Some have  suggested that victims may willingly submit themselves to the will of a  vampire, but no real evidence of this exists....\n...During the incubation phase, lasting up to 72 hours, the vampirism  disease exhibits no symptoms, and may be cured by general spellcraft or  cult blessings. However, during incubation, some victims have reported  sleep disturbances and troubling dreams. After symptoms are exhibited,  however, the disease is incurable and irreversible...."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/vampires-vvardenfell-volume-ii": {"series": "Vampires of Vvardenfell", "game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/vampires-vvardenfell-volume-ii", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Vampires of Vvardenfell, Volume II", "description": "General information about the vampires found in Vvardenfell.", "text": "[excerpts]\n... In the West, a shadowy fraternity of vampire hunters is believed to  be primarily composed of formerly afflicted vampires who have been cured  of the disease. According to legend, the Vampire Hunters refuse to  reveal the cure to the disease for fear that it may encourage depraved  thrill seekers from deliberately infecting themselves.\nIn the East, the Western tradition of Vampire Hunters is unknown.  Vampirism is known to be incurable, and even if it were curable, a cured  vampire would be an abomination to be destroyed. Since the disease is  infallibly cured if treated within three days, failure to treat oneself  after an encounter with a vampire would be considered a deliberate  attempt to contract the disease, and a mark of monstrous depravity....\n... In Temple doctrine, one ancient tradition holds that, among his many  other crimes, Molag Bal, the Father of Monsters, spawned the first  vampire upon the corpse of a defeated foe. Several different versions of  this story exist, with the foe variously identified as a Daedra Lord, a  Temple Saint, or a powerful beast creature. This account of the origin  of vampirism is peculiar to Morrowind, appearing nowhere else in  Imperial lore. Unfortunately, scholarly inquiry upon this topic is  discouraged by the Temple, which controls access to the only substantial  collection of historical and cultural records in Morrowind....\n... Though the Dunmer believe the disease is incurable, a Buoyant  Armiger of former years named Galur Rithari insisted that he was cured  of vampirism. Initially imprisoned by the Temple for heresy, he later  recanted, was released, and served his final years as a librarian in the  Hall of Wisdom in Vivec. It is interesting that previous to his  imprisonment for heresy, Rithari had been posted to the Buoyant Armiger  garrison at Bal Ur, a pilgrimage site known as the \u201cbirthplace of Molag  Bal.\u201d"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dark-brotherhood-contract": {"series": "Writs of Execution", "game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dark-brotherhood-contract", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "A Dark Brotherhood Contract", "description": "", "text": "The Bearer of this document, under special dispensation of the Night  Mother, who has entered in a contract in perpetuity with H, is given  special dispensation to execute <Name>, a <Race> recently  residing on the island of Vvardenfell. In accordance with all laws and  traditions, the afore-mentioned personage will be executed in the name  of H in the most expedient manner possible. All services of the Dark  Brotherhood are at the disposal of the Bearer of this binding and  non-disputable document."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/honorable-writ-execution-feruren-oran": {"series": "Writs of Execution", "game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/honorable-writ-execution-feruren-oran", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Honorable Writ of Execution: Feruren Oran", "description": "", "text": "The afore-mentioned personage has been marked for honorable execution in  accordance to the lawful tradition and practice of the Morag Tong  Guild. The Bearer of this non-disputable document has official  sanctioned license to kill the afore-mentioned personage.\n\n\n\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/honorable-writ-execution-odaishah-yasalmibaal": {"series": "Writs of Execution", "game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/honorable-writ-execution-odaishah-yasalmibaal", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Honorable Writ of Execution: Odaishah Yasalmibaal", "description": "", "text": "The afore-mentioned personage has been marked for honorable execution in  accordance to the lawful tradition and practice of the Morag Tong  Guild. The Bearer of this non-disputable document has official  sanctioned license to kill the afore-mentioned personage.\n\n\n\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/honorable-writ-execution-toris-saren": {"series": "Writs of Execution", "game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/honorable-writ-execution-toris-saren", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Honorable Writ of Execution: Toris Saren", "description": "", "text": "The afore-mentioned personage has been marked for honorable execution in  accordance to the lawful tradition and practice of the Morag Tong  Guild. The Bearer of this non-disputable document has official  sanctioned license to kill the afore-mentioned personage.\n\n\n\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/honorable-writ-execution-sarayn-sadus": {"series": "Writs of Execution", "game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/honorable-writ-execution-sarayn-sadus", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Honorable Writ of Execution: Sarayn Sadus", "description": "", "text": "The afore-mentioned personage has been marked for honorable execution in  accordance to the lawful tradition and practice of the Morag Tong  Guild. The Bearer of this non-disputable document has official  sanctioned license to kill the afore-mentioned personage.\n\n\n\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/honorable-writs-execution-idroso-vendu-ethal-seloth": {"series": "Writs of Execution", "game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/honorable-writs-execution-idroso-vendu-ethal-seloth", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Honorable Writs of Execution: Idroso Vendu & Ethal Seloth", "description": "", "text": "The afore-mentioned personage has been marked for honorable execution in  accordance to the lawful tradition and practice of the Morag Tong  Guild. The Bearer of this non-disputable document has official  sanctioned license to kill the afore-mentioned personage.\n\n\n\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/honorable-writ-execution-guril-retheran": {"series": "Writs of Execution", "game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/honorable-writ-execution-guril-retheran", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Honorable Writ of Execution: Guril Retheran", "description": "", "text": "The afore-mentioned personage has been marked for honorable execution in  accordance to the lawful tradition and practice of the Morag Tong  Guild. The Bearer of this non-disputable document has official  sanctioned license to kill the afore-mentioned personage.\n\n\n\n\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/honorable-writ-execution-galasa-uvayn": {"series": "Writs of Execution", "game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/honorable-writ-execution-galasa-uvayn", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Honorable Writ of Execution: Galasa Uvayn", "description": "", "text": "The afore-mentioned personage has been marked for honorable execution in  accordance to the lawful tradition and practice of the Morag Tong  Guild. The Bearer of this non-disputable document has official  sanctioned license to kill the afore-mentioned personage.\n\n\n\n\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/honorable-writ-execution-mavon-drenim": {"series": "Writs of Execution", "game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/honorable-writ-execution-mavon-drenim", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Honorable Writ of Execution: Mavon Drenim", "description": "", "text": "The afore-mentioned personage has been marked for honorable execution in  accordance to the lawful tradition and practice of the Morag Tong  Guild. The Bearer of this non-disputable document has official  sanctioned license to kill the afore-mentioned personage.\n\n\n\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/honorable-writ-execution-tirer-belvayn": {"series": "Writs of Execution", "game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/honorable-writ-execution-tirer-belvayn", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Honorable Writ of Execution: Tirer Belvayn", "description": "", "text": "The afore-mentioned personage has been marked for honorable execution in  accordance to the lawful tradition and practice of the Morag Tong  Guild. The Bearer of this non-disputable document has official  sanctioned license to kill the afore-mentioned personage.\n\n\n\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/honorable-writ-execution-mathyn-bemis": {"series": "Writs of Execution", "game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/honorable-writ-execution-mathyn-bemis", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Honorable Writ of Execution: Mathyn Bemis", "description": "", "text": "The afore-mentioned personage has been marked for honorable execution in  accordance to the lawful tradition and practice of the Morag Tong  Guild. The Bearer of this non-disputable document has official  sanctioned license to kill the afore-mentioned personage.\n\n\n\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/honorable-writ-execution-brilnosu-llarys": {"series": "Writs of Execution", "game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/honorable-writ-execution-brilnosu-llarys", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Honorable Writ of Execution: Brilnosu Llarys", "description": "", "text": "The afore-mentioned personage has been marked for honorable execution in  accordance to the lawful tradition and practice of the Morag Tong  Guild. The Bearer of this non-disputable document has official  sanctioned license to kill the afore-mentioned personage.\n\n\n\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/honorable-writ-execution-navil-ranis-ienith": {"series": "Writs of Execution", "game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/honorable-writ-execution-navil-ranis-ienith", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Honorable Writ of Execution: Navil & Ranis Ienith", "description": "", "text": "The afore-mentioned personage has been marked for honorable execution in  accordance to the lawful tradition and practice of the Morag Tong  Guild. The Bearer of this non-disputable document has official  sanctioned license to kill the afore-mentioned personage.\n\n\n\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/honorable-writ-execution-larrius-varro": {"series": "Writs of Execution", "game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/honorable-writ-execution-larrius-varro", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Honorable Writ of Execution: Larrius Varro", "description": "", "text": "The afore-mentioned personage has been marked for honorable execution in  accordance to the lawful tradition and practice of the Morag Tong  Guild. The Bearer of this non-disputable document has official  sanctioned license to kill the afore-mentioned personage.\n\n\n\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/honorable-writ-execution-baladas-demnevanni": {"series": "Writs of Execution", "game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/honorable-writ-execution-baladas-demnevanni", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Honorable Writ of Execution: Baladas Demnevanni", "description": "", "text": "The afore-mentioned personage has been marked for honorable execution in  accordance to the lawful tradition and practice of the Morag Tong  Guild. The Bearer of this non-disputable document has official  sanctioned license to kill the afore-mentioned personage.\n\n\n\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/honorable-writ-execution-dram-bero": {"series": "Writs of Execution", "game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/honorable-writ-execution-dram-bero", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Honorable Writ of Execution: Dram Bero", "description": "", "text": "The afore-mentioned personage has been marked for honorable execution in  accordance to the lawful tradition and practice of the Morag Tong  Guild. The Bearer of this non-disputable document has official  sanctioned license to kill the afore-mentioned personage.\n\n\n\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/honorable-writ-execution-mistress-therana": {"series": "Writs of Execution", "game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/honorable-writ-execution-mistress-therana", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Honorable Writ of Execution: Mistress Therana", "description": "", "text": "The afore-mentioned personage has been marked for honorable execution in  accordance to the lawful tradition and practice of the Morag Tong  Guild. The Bearer of this non-disputable document has official  sanctioned license to kill the afore-mentioned personage.\n\n\n\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/royal-writ-execution-bedal-alen": {"series": "Writs of Execution", "game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/royal-writ-execution-bedal-alen", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Royal Writ of Execution: Bedal Alen", "description": "", "text": "The afore-mentioned personage has been marked for honorable execution in  the name of King Hlaalu Helseth. The Bearer of this non-disputable  document has official sanctioned license to kill the afore-mentioned  personage."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/royal-writ-execution-forven-berano": {"series": "Writs of Execution", "game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/royal-writ-execution-forven-berano", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Royal Writ of Execution: Forven Berano", "description": "", "text": "The afore-mentioned personage has been marked for honorable execution in  the name of King Hlaalu Helseth. The Bearer of this non-disputable  document has official sanctioned license to kill the afore-mentioned  personage."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/royal-writ-execution-hloggar-bloody": {"series": "Writs of Execution", "game": ["Morrowind"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/royal-writ-execution-hloggar-bloody", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Royal Writ of Execution: Hloggar the Bloody", "description": "", "text": "The afore-mentioned personage has been marked for honorable execution in  the name of King Hlaalu Helseth. The Bearer of this non-disputable  document has official sanctioned license to kill the afore-mentioned  personage."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/16-accords-madness-v-vi": {"series": "16 Accords of Madness", "game": ["Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/16-accords-madness-v-vi", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "16 Accords of Madness, v. VI", "description": "Stories of Sheogorath's interactions with mortals.", "text": "Hircine's Tale\nEver proud and boastful, Oblivion's Mad Prince stood one fifth day of mid year among the frigid peaks of Skyrim, and beckoned forth Hircine for parlay. The Huntsman God materialized, for this was his day, and the boldness of Sheogorath intrigued him.\nWry without equal, Sheogorath holds in his realm giggling loons, flamboyant auteurs, and craven mutilators. The Mad Prince will ply profitless bargains and promote senseless bloodshed for nothing more than the joy of another's confusion, tragedy, or rage. So it was that Sheogorath had set a stage on which to play himself as rival to Hircine.\nWithout haste, the coy Prince proffered his contest; each Prince was to groom a beast to meet at this place again, three years to the hour, and do fatal battle. Expressionless behind his fearsome countenance, Hircine agreed, and with naught but a dusting of snow in the drift, the Princes were gone to their realms.\nConfident, but knowing Sheogorath for a trickster, Hircine secretly bred an abomination in his hidden realm. An ancient Daedroth he summoned, and imbued it with the foul curse of lycanthropy. Of pitch heart and jagged fang, the unspeakable horror had no peer, even among the great hunters of Hircine's sphere.\nIn the third year, on the given day, Hircine returned, where Sheogorath leaned, cross-legged on a stone, whistling with idle patience. The Prince of the Hunt struck his spear to the ground, bringing forth his unnatural, snarling behemoth. Doffing his cap, sly as ever, Sheogorath stood and stepped aside to reveal a tiny, colorful bird perched atop the stone. Demurely it chirped in the bristling gusts, scarcely audible.\nIn a twisted, springing heap, the Daedroth was upon the stone, leaving only rubble where the boulder had been. Thinking itself victorious, the monster's bloodied maw curled into a mock grin, when a subdued song drifted in the crisp air. The tiny bird lightly hopped along the snout of the furious Daedroth. Sheogorath looked on, quietly mirthful, as the diminutive creature picked at a bit of detritus caught in scales betwixt the fiery eyes of the larger beast. With howling fury, the were-thing blinded itself trying to pluck away the nuisance. And so it continued for hours, Hircine looking on in shame while his finest beast gradually destroyed itself in pursuit of the seemingly oblivious bird, all the while chirping a mournful tune to the lonesome range.\nLivid, but beaten, Hircine burned the ragged corpse and withdrew to his realm, swearing in forgotten tongues. His curses still hang in those peaks, and no wayfarer tarries for fear of his wrathful aspect in those obscured heights.\nTurning on his heel, Sheogorath beckoned the miniscule songbird to perch atop his shoulder, and strolled down the mountain, making for the warm breezes and vibrant sunsets of the Abecean coast, whistling in tune with the tiniest champion in Tamriel."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/16-accords-madness-v-ix": {"series": "16 Accords of Madness", "game": ["Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/16-accords-madness-v-ix", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "16 Accords of Madness, v. IX", "description": "Stories of Sheogorath's interactions with mortals.", "text": "Vaermina's Tale\nDarius Shano found himself running as fast as he could.\nHe had no idea what he was running from or towards, but he didn't care. The desire saturated his mind -- there was nothing in the world except flight. He looked around for landmarks, anything to place himself or to use as a target, but to no avail -- the featureless grasslands through which he was sprinting extended as far as the eye could see. \"Just have to keep running\", he thought to himself. \"I have to run as fast as I can\". On and on he ran, with no end in sight or in mind....\nStanding over Darius Shano while he lay quietly in his bed were his mistress, Vaermina the Dreamweaver, and the Madgod Sheogorath. Vaernima looked down with pride at this disciple of hers, and was boastful of her little jewel.\n\"Such potential in this one! Through dreams of inspiration, I have nurtured literary talent into fruition, and now he stands in acclaim as an emerging bard and poet! He will gain much favor before I tire of him.\" Sheogorath, too, gazed at the young Breton artist and saw that he was indeed famous among the other mortals.\n\"Hmmm,\" mused Sheogorath, \"but how many are there who hate this mortal whom you have built? It is the hatred of the mortals which confirms greatness, and not their love. Surely you can accomplish this as well?\"\nVaernima's eyes narrowed. \"Yes, the mortals are indeed often foolish and petty, and it is true that many of their most bold have been despised. Do not worry, mad one, for I have the power to achieve many forms of greatness with this one, hatred among them.\"\n\"Perhaps, Dreamweaver, it would be amusing to show who has this power? Inspire foolish, arrogant hatred of this mortal for ten years, and then I will do the same. We shall see whose talents are most efficient, free of aid or interference from any of the Daedra.\"\nAt this, she relaxed into confident pleasure. \"The Madgod is indeed powerful, but this task is suited to my skills. The mortals are repulsed by madness, but rarely think it worthy of hate. I shall take pleasure in revealing this to you, as I bring the more subtle horrors out of this mortal's subconscious.\"\nAnd so, in the 19th year of his life, the dreams Darius Shano had been experiencing began to change. Fear had always been part of the night for him, but now there was something else. A darkness began to creep into his slumber, a darkness that sucked away all feeling and color, leaving only emptiness behind. When this happened, he opened his mouth to scream, but found that the darkness had taken his voice as well. All he had was the terror and the void, and each night they filled him with a new understanding of death. Yet, when he woke, there was no fear, for he had faith that his Lady had a purpose.\nIndeed, one night Vaernima herself emerged from the void. She leaned in close to whisper into his ear.\n\"Watch carefully, my beloved!\" With that, she pulled the void away, and for hours each night she would reveal to Darius the most horrible perversions of nature. Men being skinned and eaten alive by other men, unimaginable beasts of many limbs and mouths, entire populations being burned -- their screams filled his every evening. In time, these visions gnawed at his soul, and his work began to take on the character of his nightmares. The images revealed to him at night were reproduced on the page, and the terrible cruelty and hollow vice that his work contained both revolted and fascinated the public. They reveled in their disgust over every detail. There were those who openly enjoyed his shocking material, and his popularity among some only fed the hatred of those who found him abhorrent. This continued for several years, while the infamy of Darius grew steadily. Then, in his 29th year, without warning, the dreams and nightmares ceased.\nDarius felt a weight lifted, as he no longer endured the nightly tortures, but was confused. \"What have I done to displease my Mistress?\", he wondered aloud. \"Why has she abandoned me?\" Vaernima never answered his prayers. No one ever answered, and the restless dreams faded away to leave Darius in long, deep sleeps.\nInterest in the works of Darius Shano waned. His prose became stale and his ideas failed to provoke the shock and outrage they once had. As the memory of his notoriety and of his terrible dreams faded, the questions that raced in his mind eventually produced resentment against Vaernima, his former mistress. Resentment grew into hatred, from hatred came ridicule, and over time ridicule became disbelief. Slowly it became obvious -- Vaernima had never spoken to him at all; his dreams were simply the product of a sick mind that had righted itself. He had been deceived by his own subconscious, and the anger and shame overwhelmed him. The man who once conversed with a deity drifted steadily into heresy.\nIn time, all of the bitterness, doubt, and sacrilege focused in Darius a creative philosophy that was threaded throughout all of his subsequent work. He challenged the Gods themselves, as well as the infantile public and corrupt state for worshiping them. He mocked them all with perverse caricatures, sparing no one and giving no quarter. He challenged the Gods in public to strike him down if they existed, and ridiculed them when no such comeuppance was delivered. To all of this, the people reacted with outrage far greater than they had shown his previous work. His early career had offended only sensibilities, but now he was striking directly at the heart of the people.\nHis body of work grew in size and intensity. Temples, nobles, and commoners were all targets of his scorn. Finally, at age 39, Darius wrote a piece entitled \"The Noblest Fool,\" ridiculing The Emperor God Tiber Septim for integrating into the pathetic Nine Divines cult. The local King of Daenia, who had been humiliated by this upstart in the past, saw his chance -- for his sacrilege against the Empire, Darius Shano was executed, with a ceremonial blade, in front of a cheering crowd of hundreds. His last, bitter words were gurgled through a mouthful of his own blood.\n20 years after their wager was first placed, Vaernima and Sheogorath met over Darius Shano's headless corpse. The Dreamweaver had been eager for this meeting; she had been waiting for years to confront the Daedric Prince over his lack of action.\n\"I have been deceived by you, Sheogorath! I performed my half of the bargain, but during your ten years you never contacted the mortal once. He owes none of his greatness to you or your talents or your influence!\"\n\"Nonsense,\" croaked the Madgod. \"I was with him all along! When your time ended and mine began, your whispers in his ear were replaced with silence. I severed his link to that from which he found the most comfort and meaning, and withheld the very attention the creature so desperately craved. Without his mistress, this man's character could ripen under resentment and hatred. Now his bitterness is total and, overcome by a madness fueled by his rage, he feeds me in my realm as an eternal servant.\"\nSheogorath turned and spoke to the empty space by his side.\n\"Indeed; Darius Shano was a glorious mortal. Despised by his own people, his kings, and even by the Gods he mocked. For my success, I shall accept three-score followers of Vaernima into my service. And the dreamers will awaken as madmen.\"\nAnd thus did Sheogorath teach Vaernima that without madness, there are no dreams, and no creation. Vaernima will never forget this lesson."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/16-accords-madness-v-xii": {"series": "16 Accords of Madness", "game": ["Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/16-accords-madness-v-xii", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "16 Accords of Madness, v. XII", "description": "Stories of Sheogorath's interactions with mortals.", "text": "Malacath's Tale\nIn the days before the Orsinium's founding, the spurned Orc-folk were subjected to ostracism and persecutions even more numerous and harsh than their progeny are accustomed to in our own age. So it was that many champions of the Orsimer traveled, enforcing what borders they could for the proliferation of their own people. Many of these champions are spoken of yet today, among them the Cursed Legion, Gromma the Hairless, and the noble Emmeg Gro-Kayra. This latter crusader would have certainly risen to legendary status throughout Tamriel, had he not been subject to the attention of certain Daedric Princes.\nEmmeg Gro-Kayra was the bastard son of a young maiden who was killed in childbirth. He was raised by the shaman of his tribe, the Grilikamaug in the peaks of what we now call Normar Heights. Late in his fifteenth year, Emmeg forged by hand an ornate suit of scaled armor, a rite of ascension among his tribe. On a blustery day, he pounded the final rivet, and draping a heavy cloak over the bulky mantle, Emmeg set out from his village for the last time. Word of his exploits always returned home, whether defending merchant caravans from brigands or liberating enslaved beast folk. News of the noble Orc crusader began to grace even the lips of Bretons, often with a tinge of fear.\nLess than two years after ascending to maturity, Gro-Kayra was making camp when a thin voice called out from the thickening night. He was surprised to hear the language of his people spoken by a tongue that obviously did not belong to an Orc.\n'Lord Kayra', said the voice, 'tales of your deeds have crossed the lips of many, and have reached my ears.' Peering into the murk, Emmeg made out the silhouette of a cloaked figure, made wavy and ephemeral by the hazy campfire. From the voice alone he had thought the interloper an old hag, but he now decided that he was in the presence of a man of slight and lanky build, though he could discern no further detail.\n'Perhaps,' the wary Orc began, 'but I seek no glory. Who are you?'\nIgnoring the question, the stranger continued, 'Despite that, Orsimer, glory finds you, and I bear a gift worthy of it.' The visitor's cloak parted slightly, revealing nothing but faintly glinting buttons in the pale moonlight, and a bundle was withdrawn and tossed to the side of the fire between the two. Emmeg cautiously removed the rags in which the object was swathed, and was dazzled to discover the item to be a wide, curved blade with ornately decorated handle. The weapon had heft, and Emmeg realized on brandishing it that the elaborate pommel disguised the more practical purpose of balancing the considerable weight of the blade itself. It was nothing much to look at in its present condition, thought the Orc, but once the tarnish was cleaned away and a few missing jewels restored, it would indeed be a blade worthy of a champion ten times his own worth.\n'Her name is Neb-Crescen' spoke the thin stranger, seeing the appreciation lighting Gro-Kayra's face. 'I got her for a horse and a secret in warmer climes, but in my old age I'd be lucky to even lift such a weapon. It's only proper that I pass her on to one such as yourself. To possess her is to change your life, forever.' Overcoming his initial infatuation with the arc of honed steel, Emmeg turned his attention back to the visitor.\n'Your words are fine, old man,' Emmeg said, not masking his suspicion, 'but I'm no fool. You traded for this blade once, and you'll trade for it again tonight. What is it that you want?' The stranger's shoulders slumped, and Emmeg was glad to have unveiled the true purpose of this twilight visit. He sat with him a while, eventually offering a stack of furs, warm food, and a handful of coins in exchange for the exotic weapon. By morning, the stranger was gone.\nIn the week following Emmeg's encounter with the stranger, Neb-Crescen had not left its scabbard. He had encountered no enemy in the woods, and his meals consisted of fowl and small game caught with bow and arrow. The peace suited him fine, but on the seventh morning, while fog still crept between the low-hanging boughs, Emmeg's ears pricked up at the telltale crunch of a nearby footfall in the dense snow and forest debris.\nEmmeg's nostrils flared, but he was upwind. Being unable to see or smell his guest, and knowing that the breeze carried his scent in that direction, Emmeg's guard was up, and he cautiously drew Neb-Crescen from its sheath. Emmeg himself was not entirely sure of all that happened next.\nThe first moment of conscious memory in Emmeg Gro-Kayra's mind after drawing Neb-Crescen was the image of the curved blade sweeping through the air in front of him, spattering blood over the virginal powder coating the forest floor. The second memory was a feeling of frenzied bloodlust creeping over him, but it was then that he saw for the first time his victim, an Orc woman perhaps a few years younger than himself, her body a canvas of grisly wounds, enough to kill a strong man ten times over.\nEmmeg's disgust overwhelmed the madness that had overtaken him, and with all his will enlisted, he released Neb-Crescen from his grip and let the blade sail. With a discordant ringing it spun through the air and was buried in a snowdrift. Emmeg fled the scene in shame and horror, drawing the hood of his cloak up to hide himself from the judging eyes of the rising sun.\nThe scene where Emmeg Gro-Kayra had murdered one of his own kind was a macabre one. Below the neck, the body was flayed and mutilated almost beyond recognition, but the untouched face was frozen in a permanent expression of abject terror.\nIt was here that Sheogorath performed certain rites that summoned Malacath, and the two Daedric Lords held court in the presence of the disfigured corpse.\n'Why show me this, Mad One?' began Malacath, once he recovered from his initial, wordless outrage. 'Do you take such pleasure in watching me grieve the murder of my children?' His guttural voice rumbled, and the patron of the Orismer looked upon his counterpart with accusing eyes.\n'By birth, she was yours, brother outcast,' began Sheogorath, solemn in aspect and demeanor. 'But she was a daughter of mine by her own habits. My mourning here is no less than your own, my outrage no less great.'\n'I am not so sure,' grumbled Malacath, 'but rest assured that vengeance for this crime is mine to reap. I expect no contest from you. Stand aside.' As the fearsome Prince began to push past him, Lord Sheogorath spoke again.\n'I have no intention of standing between you and vengeance. In fact, I mean to help you. I have servants in this wilderness, and can tell you just where to find our mutual foe. I ask only that you use a weapon of my choosing. Wound the criminal with my blade, and banish him to my plane, where I can exact my own punishment. The rights of honor-killing here belong to you.'\nWith that, Malacath agreed, took the wide blade from Sheogorath, and was gone.\nMalacath materialized in the path of the murderer, the cloaked figure obscured through a blizzard haze. Bellowing a curse so foul as to wilt the surrounding trees, the blade was drawn and Malacath crossed the distance more quickly than a wild fox. Frothing with rage, he swung the blade in a smooth arc which lopped the head of his foe cleanly off, then plunged the blade up to its hilt in his chest, choking off the spurts of blood into a steady, growing stain of red bubbling from beneath the scaled armor and heavy cloak.\nPanting from the unexpected immediacy and fury of his own kill, Malacath rested on a knee as the body before him collapsed heavily backwards and the head landed roughly upon a broad, flat stone. The next sound broke the silence like a bolt.\n'I - I'm sorry...' sputtered the voice of Emmeg Gro-Kayra. Malacath's eyes went wide as he looked upon the severed head, seeping blood from its wound, but somehow kept alive. Its eyes wavered about wildly, trying to focus on the aspect of Malacath before it. The once-proud eyes of the champion were choked with tears of grief, pain, and confused recognition.\nTo his horror, Malacath recognized only now that the man he had killed was not only one of his Orismer children, but very literally a son he had blessed an Orc maiden with years hence. For achingly long moments the two looked upon each other, despondent and shocked.\nThen, silent as oiled steel, Sheogorath strode into the clearing. He hefted Emmeg Gro-Kayra's disembodied head and bundled it into a small, grey sack. Sheogorath reclaimed Neb-Crescen from the corpse and turned to walk away. Malacath began to stand, but kneeled again, knowing he had irreversibly damned his own offspring to the realm of Sheogorath, and mourned his failure as the sound of his son's hoarse pleas faded into the frozen horizon."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/argonian-account-book-1": {"series": "Argonian Account", "game": ["Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/argonian-account-book-1", "author": "Waughin Jarth", "title": "Argonian Account, Book 1", "description": "Decumus Scotti's adventures in Argonia after his \"business trip\" to Valenwood (described in A Dance in Fire).", "text": "The Argonian Account\nBook One\nby \nWaughin Jarth\n\nOn a minor but respectable plaza in the Imperial City sat, or perhaps lounged, Lord Vanech's Building Commission. It was an unimaginative, austere building not noted so much for its aesthetic or architectural design as for its prodigious length. If any critics wondered why such an unornamented, extended erection held such fascination for Lord Vanech, they kept it to themselves.\nIn the 398th year of the 3rd Era, Decumus Scotti was a senior clerk at the Commission.\nIt had been a few months since the shy, middle-aged man had brought Lord Vanech the most lucrative of all contracts, granting the Commission the exclusive right to rebuild the roads of Valenwood which had been destroyed in the Five Year War. For this, he had become the darling of the managers and the clerks, spending his days recounting his adventures, more or less faithfully... although he did omit the ending of the tale, since many of them had partaken in the celebratory Unthrappa roast provided by the Silenstri. Informing one's listeners that they've gorged on human flesh improves very few stories of any good taste.\nScotti was neither particularly ambitious nor hard-working, so he did not mind that Lord Vanech had not given him anything to actually do.\nWhenever the squat little gnomish man would happen upon Decumus Scotti in the offices, Lord Vanech would always say, \"You're a credit to the Commission. Keep up the good work.\"\nIn the beginning, Scotti had worried that he was supposed to be doing something, but as the months went on, he merely replied, \"Thank you. I will.\"\nThere was, on the other hand, the future to consider. He was not a young man, and though he was receiving a respectable salary for someone not doing actual work, Scotti considered that soon he might have to retire and not get paid for not doing work. It would be nice, he decided, if Lord Vanech, out of gratitude for the millions of gold the Valenwood contract was generating, might deign to make Scotti a partner. Or at least give him a small percentage of the bounty.\nDecumus Scotti was no good at asking for things like that, which was one of the reasons why, previous to his signal successes in Valenwood as a senior clerk for Lord Atrius, he was a lousy agent. He had just about made up his mind to say something to Lord Vanech, when his lordship unexpectedly pushed things along.\n\"You're a credit to the Commission,\" the waddling little thing said, and then paused. \"Do you have a moment free on your schedule?\"\nScotti nodded eagerly, and followed his lordship to his hideously decorated and very enviable hectare of office space.\n\"Zenithar blesses us for your presence at the Commission,\" the little fellow squeaked grandly. \"I don't know whether you know this, but we were having a bad time before you came along. We had impressive projects, for certain, but they were not successful. In Black Marsh, for example, for years we've been trying to improve the roads and other routes of travel for commerce. I put my best man, Flesus Tijjo, on it, but every year, despite staggering investments of time and money, the trade along those routes only gets slower and slower. Now, we have your very clean, very, very profitable Valenwood contract to boost the Commission's profits. I think it's time you were rewarded.\"\nScotti grinned a grin of great modesty and subtle avarice.\n\"I want you to take over the Black Marsh account from Flesus Tijjo.\"\nScotti shook as if awaking from a pleasant dream to hideous reality, \"My Lord, I - I couldn't -\"\n\"Nonsense,\" chirped Lord Vanech. \"Don't worry about Tijjo. He will be happy to retire on the money I give him, particularly as soul-wrenchingly difficult as this Black Marsh business has been. Just your sort of a challenge, my dear Decumus.\"\nScotti couldn't utter a sound, though his mouth feebly formed the word \"No\" as Lord Vanech brought out the box of documentation on Black Marsh.\n\"You're a fast reader,\" Lord Vanech guessed. \"You can read it all en route.\"\n\"En route to ...\"\n\"Black Marsh, of course,\" the tiny fellow giggled. \"You are a funny chap. Where else would you go to learn about the work that's being done, and how to improve it?\"\nThe next morning, the stack of documentation hardly touched, Decumus Scotti began the journey south-east to Black Marsh. Lord Vanech had hired an able-bodied guard, a rather taciturn Redguard named Mailic, to protect his best agent. They rode south along the Niben, and then south-east along the Silverfish, continuing on into the wilds of Cyrodiil, where the river tributaries had no names and the very vegetation seemed to come from another world than the nice, civilized gardens of the northern Imperial Province.\nScotti's horse was tied to Mailic's, so the clerk was able to read. It made it difficult to pay attention to the path they were taking, but Scotti knew he needed at least a cursory familiarity with the Commission's business dealings in Black Marsh.\nIt was a huge box of paperwork going back forty years, when the Commission had first been given several million in gold by a wealthy trader, Lord Xellicles Pinos-Revina, to improve the condition of the road from Gideon to Cyrodiil. At that time, it took three weeks, a preposterously long time, for the rice and root he was importing to arrive, half-rotten, in the Imperial Province. Pinos-Revina was long dead, but many other investors over the decades, including Pelagius IV himself, had hired the Commission to build roads, drain swamps, construct bridges, devise anti-smuggling systems, hire mercenaries, and, in short, do everything that the greatest Empire in history knew would work to aid trade with Black Marsh. According to the latest figures, the result of this was that it took two and a half months for goods, now thoroughly rotten, to arrive.\nScotti found that when he looked up after concentrating on what he was reading, the landscape had always changed. Always dramatically. Always for the worse.\n\"This is Blackwood, sir,\" said Mailic to Scotti's unspoken question. It was dark and woodsy, so Decumus Scotti thought that a very appropriate name.\nThe question he longed to ask, which in due course he did ask, was, \"What's that terrible smell?\"\n\"Slough Point, sir,\" Mailic replied as they turned the next bend, where the umbrageous tunnel of tangled tree and vine opened to a clearing. There squatted a cluster of formal buildings in the dreary Imperial design favored by Lord Vanech's Commission and every Emperor since Tiber, together with a stench so eye-blindingly, stomach-wrenchingly awful that Scotti wondered, suddenly, if it were deadly poisonous. The swarms of blood-colored, sand-grain-sized insects obscuring the air did not improve the view.\nScotti and Mailic batted at the buzzing clouds as they rode their horses towards the largest of the buildings, which on approach revealed itself to be perched at the edge of a thick, black river. From its size and serious aspect, Scotti guessed it to be the census and excise office for the wide, white bridge that stretched across the burbling dark water to the reeds on the other side.  It was a very nice, bright, sturdy-looking bridge, built, Scotti knew, by his Commission.\nA poxy, irritable official opened the door quickly on Scotti's first knock. \"Come in, come in, quickly! Don't let the fleshflies in!\"\n\"Fleshflies?\" Decumus Scotti trembled. \"You mean, they eat human flesh?\"\n\"If you're fool enough to stand around and let them,\" the soldier said, rolling his eyes. He had half an ear, and Scotti, looking around at the other soldiers in the fort noted that they all were well-chewed. One of them had no nose at all to speak of. \"Now, what's your business?\"\nScotti told them, and added that if they stood outside the fortress instead of inside, they might catch more smugglers.\n\"You better be more concerned with getting across that bridge,\" the soldier sneered. \"Tide's coming up, and if you don't get a move on, you won't get to Black Marsh for four days.\"\nThat was absurd. A bridge swamped by a rising tide on a river? Only the look in the soldier's eyes told Scotti he wasn't joking.\nUpon stepping out of the fort, he saw that the horses, evidently tired of being tortured by the fleshflies, had ripped free of their restraints and were bounding off into the woods. The oily water of the river was already lapping on the planks, oozing between the crevices. Scotti reflected that perhaps he would be more than willing to endure a wait of four days before going to Black Marsh, but Mailic was already running across.\nScotti followed him, wheezing. He was not in excellent shape, and never had been. The box of Commission materials was heavy. Halfway across, he paused to catch his breath, and then discovered he could not move. His feet were stuck.\nThe black mud that ran through the river was a thick gluey paste, and having washed over the plank Scotti was on, it held his feet fast. Panic seized him. Scotti looked up from his trap and saw Mailic leaping from plank to plank ahead of him, closing fast on the reeds on the other side.\n\"Help!\" Scotti cried. \"I'm stuck!\"\nMailic did not even turn around, but kept jumping. \"I know, sir. You need to lose weight.\"\nDecumus Scotti knew he was a few pounds over, and had meant to start eating less and exercising more, but embarking on a diet hardly seemed to promise timely aid in his current predicament. No diet on Nirn would have helped him just then. However, on reflection, Scotti realized that the Redguard intended that he drop the box of documents, for Mailic was no longer carrying any of the essential supplies he had had with him previously.\nWith a sigh, Scotti threw the box of Commission notes into the glop, and felt the plank under him rise a quarter of an inch, just enough to free him from the mud's clutches. With an agility born of extreme fear, Scotti began leaping after Mailic, dropping onto every third plank, and springing up before the river gripped him.\nIn forty-six leaps, Decumus Scotti crashed through the reeds onto the solid ground behind Mailic, and found himself in Black Marsh. He could hear behind him a slurping sound as the bridge, and his container of important and official records of Commission affairs, was consumed by the rising flood of dark filth, never to be seen again."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/argonian-account-book-2": {"series": "Argonian Account", "game": ["Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/argonian-account-book-2", "author": "Waughin Jarth", "title": "Argonian Account, Book 2", "description": "Decumus Scotti's adventures in Argonia after his \"business trip\" to Valenwood (described in A Dance in Fire).", "text": "The Argonian Account\n\nBook Two\nBy\nWaughin Jarth\nDecumus Scotti emerged from the dirt and reeds, exhausted from running, his face and arms sheathed in red fleshflies.  Looking back towards Cyrodiil, he saw the bridge disappear beneath the thick black river, and he knew he was not getting back until the tide went down in a few days' time. The river also held in its adhesive depths his files on the Black Marsh account. He would have to rely on his memory for his contacts in Gideon.\nMailic was purposefully striding through the reeds ahead. Flailing ineffectually at the fleshflies, Scotti hurried after him.\n\"We're lucky, sir,\" said the Redguard, which struck Scotti as an extraordinarily odd thing to say, until his eyes followed where the man's finger was pointing. \"The caravan is here.\"\nTwenty-one rusted, mud-spattered wagons with rotting wood and wobbly wheels sat half-sunk in the soft earth ahead. A crowd of Argonians, gray-scaled and gray-eyed, the sort of sullen manual laborers that were common in Cyrodiil, pulled at one of the wagons which had been detached from the others. As Scotti and Mailic came closer, they saw it was filled with a cargo of black berries so decayed that they had become hardly recognizable... more a festering jelly than a wagonload of fruit.\nYes, they were going to the city of Gideon, and, yes, they said, Scotti could get a ride with them after they were finished unloading this shipment of lumberries.\n\"How long ago were they picked?\" Scotti asked, looking at the wagon's rotten produce.\n\"The harvest was in Last Seed, of course,\" said the Argonian who seemed to be in charge of the wagon. It was now Sun's Dusk, so they had been en route from the fields for a little over two months.\nClearly, Scotti thought, there were problems with transportation. But fixing that, after all, was what he was doing here as a representative of Lord Vanech's Building Commission.\nIt took close to an hour of the berries rotting even more in the sun for the wagon to be pushed to the side, the wagons in front of it and behind it to be attached to one another, and one of the eight horses from the front of the caravan to be brought around to the now independent wagon. The laborers moved with dispirited lethargy, and Scotti took the opportunity to inspect the rest of the caravan and talk to his fellow travellers.\nFour of the wagons had benches in them, fit for uncomfortable riders. All the rest were filled with grain, meat, and vegetation in various stages of corruption.\nThe travellers consisted of the six Argonian laborers, three Imperial merchants so bug-bitten that their skin looked as scaly as the Argonians themselves, and three cloaked fellows who were evidently Dunmer, judging by the red eyes that gleamed in the shadows under their hoods. All were transporting their goods along this, the Imperial Commerce Road.\n\"This is a road?\" Scotti exclaimed, looking at the endless field of reeds that reached up to his chin or higher.\n\"It's solid ground, of a sort,\" one of the hooded Dunmer shrugged. \"The horses eat some of the reed, and sometimes we set fire to it, but it just grows right back up.\"\nFinally, the wagonmaster signalled that the caravan was ready to go, and Scotti took a seat in the third wagon with the other Imperials. He looked around, but Mailic was not on board.\n\"I agreed to get to you to Black Marsh and take you back out,\" said the Redguard, who had plumped down a rock in the sea of reeds and was munching on a hairy carrot. \"I'll be here when you get back.\"\nScotti frowned, and not only because Mailic had dropped the deferential title \"sir\" while addressing him. Now he truly knew no one in Black Marsh, but the caravan slowly grinded and bumped forward, so there was no time to argue.\nA noxious wind blew across the Commerce Road, casting patterns in the endless featureless expanse of reeds. In the distance, there seemed to be mountains, but they constantly shifted, and Scotti realized they were banks of mist and fog. Shadows flitted across the landscape, and when Scotti looked up, he saw they were being cast by giant birds with long, saw-like beaks nearly the size of the rest of their bodies.\n\"Hackwings,\" Chaero Gemullus, an Imperial on Scotti's left, who might have been young but looked old and beaten, muttered. \"Like everything else in this damnable place, they'll eat you if you don't keep moving. Beggars pounce down and give you a nasty chop, and then fly off and come back when you're mostly dead from blood loss.\"\nScotti shivered. He hoped they'd be in Gideon before nightfall. It was then it occurred to him that the sun was on the wrong side of the caravan.\n\"Excuse me, sir,\" Scotti called to the wagonmaster. \"I thought you said we were going to Gideon?\"\nThe wagonmaster nodded.\n\"Why are we going north then, when we should be going south?\"\nThere was no reply but a sigh.\nScotti confirmed with his fellow travellers that they too were going to Gideon, and none of them seemed very concerned about the circuitous route to getting there. The seats were hard on his middle-aged back and buttocks, but the bumping rhythm of the caravan, and the hypnotic waving reeds gradually had an effect on him, and Scotti drifted off to sleep.\nHe awoke in the dark some hours later, not sure where he was. The caravan was no longer moving, and he was on the floor, under the bench, next to some small boxes. There were voices, speaking a hissing, clicking language Scotti didn't understand, and he peeked out between someone's legs to see what was happening.\nThe moons barely pierced the thick mist surrounding the caravan, and Scotti did not have the best angle to see who was talking. For a moment, it looked like the gray wagonmaster was talking to himself, but the darkness had movement and moisture, in fact, glistening scales. It was hard to tell how many of these things there were, but they were big, black, and the more Scotti looked at them, the more details he could see.\nWhen one particular detail emerged, huge mouths filled with dripping needle-like fangs, Scotti slipped back under the bench. Their black little eyes had not fallen on him yet.\nThe legs in front of Scotti moved and then began to thrash, as their owner was grabbed and pulled out of the wagon. Scotti crouched further back, getting behind the little boxes. He didn't know much about concealment, but had some experience with shields. He knew that having something, anything, in between you and bad things was always good.\nA few seconds after the legs had disappeared from sight, there was a horrible scream. And then a second and a third. Different timbres, different accents, but the same inarticulate message... terror, and pain, horrible pain. Scotti remembered a long forgotten prayer to the god Stendarr and whispered it to himself.\nThen there was silence... ghastly silence that lasted only a few minutes, but which seemed like hours... years.\nAnd then the carriage started rolling forward again.\nScotti cautiously crawled out from under the carriage. Chaero Gemullus gave him a bemused grin.\n\"There you are,\" he said. \"I thought the Nagas took you.\"\n\"Nagas?\"\n\"Nasty characters,\" Gemullus said, frowning. \"Puff adders with legs and arms, seven feet tall, eight when they're mad. Come from the inner swamp, and they don't like it here much so they're particularly peevish. You're the kind of posh Imperial they're looking for.\"\nScotti had never in his life thought of himself as posh. His mud and fleshfly-bespeckled clothing seemed eminently middle-class, at best, to him. \"What would they want me for?\"\n\"To rob, of course,\" the Imperial smiled. \"And to kill. You didn't notice what happened to the others?\" The Imperial frowned, as if struck by a thought. \"You didn't sample from those boxes down below, did you? Like the sugar, do you?\"\n\"Gods, no,\" Scotti grimaced.\nThe Imperial nodded, relieved. \"You just seem a little slow. First time to Black Marsh, I gather? Oh! Heigh ho, Hist piss!\"\nScotti was just about to ask Gemullus what that vulgar term meant when the rain began. It was an inferno of foul-smelling, yellow-brown rain that washed over the caravan, accompanied by the growl of thunder in the distance. Gemullus worked to pull the roof up over the wagon, glaring at Scotti until he helped with the laborious process.\nHe shuddered, not only from the cold damp, but from contemplation of the disgusting precipitation pouring down on the already nasty produce in the uncovered wagon.\n\"We'll be dry soon enough,\" Gemullus smiled, pointing out into the fog.\nScotti had never been to Gideon, but he knew what to expect. A large settlement more or less laid out like a Imperial city, with more or less Imperial style architecture, and all the Imperial comforts and traditions, more or less.\nThe jumble of huts half-sunk in mud was decidedly less.\n\"Where are we?\" asked Scotti, bewildered.\n\"Hixinoag,\" replied Gemullus, pronouncing the queer name with confidence. \"You were right. We were going north when we should have been going south.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/argonian-account-book-3": {"series": "Argonian Account", "game": ["Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/argonian-account-book-3", "author": "Waughin Jarth", "title": "Argonian Account, Book 3", "description": "Decumus Scotti's adventures in Argonia after his \"business trip\" to Valenwood (described in A Dance in Fire).", "text": "The Argonian Account\nBook Three\nby \nWaughin Jarth\nDecumus Scotti was supposed to be in Gideon, a thoroughly Imperialized city in southern Black Marsh, arranging business dealings to improve commerce in the province on behalf of Lord Vanech's Building Commission and its clients. Instead, he was in a half-submerged, rotten little village called Hixinoag, where he knew no one. Except for a drug smuggler named Chaero Gemullus.\nGemullus was not at all perturbed that the merchant caravan had gone north instead of south. He even let Scotti share his bucket of trodh, tiny little crunchy fish, he had bought from the villagers. Scotti would have preferred them cooked, or at any rate, dead, but Gemullus blithely explained that dead, cooked trodh are deadly poison.\n\"If I were where I was supposed to be,\" Scotti pouted, putting one of the wriggling little creatures in his mouth. \"I could be having a roast, and some cheese, and a glass of wine.\"\n\"I sell moon sugar in the north, and buy it in the south,\" he shrugged. \"You have to be more flexible, my friend.\"\n\"My only business is in Gideon,\" Scotti frowned.\n\"Well, you have a couple choices,\" replied the smuggler. \"You could just stay here. Most villages in Argonia don't stay put for very long, and there's a good chance Hixinoag will drift right down to the gates of Gideon. Might take you a month or two. Probably the easiest way.\"\n\"That'd put me far behind schedule.\"\n\"Next option, you could join up with the caravan again,\" said Gemullus. \"They might be going in the right direction this time, and they might not get stuck in the mud, and they might not be all murdered by Naga highwaymen.\"\n\"Not tempting,\" Scotti frowned. \"Any other ideas?\"\n\"Ride the roots. The underground express,\" Gemullus grinned. \"Follow me.\"\nScotti followed Gemullus out of the village and into a copse of trees shrouded by veils of wispy moss. The smuggler kept his eye on the ground, poking at the viscuous mud intermittently. Finally he found a spot which triggered a mass of big oily bubbles to rise to the surface.\n\"Perfect,\" he said. \"Now, the important thing is not to panic. The express will take you due south, that's the wintertide migration, and you'll know you're near Gideon when you see a lot of red clay. Just don't panic, and when you see a mass of bubbles, that's a breathing hole you can use to get out.\"\nScotti looked at Gemullus blankly. The man was talking perfect gibberish. \"What?\"\nGemullus took Scotti by the shoulder and positioning him on top of the mass of bubbles. \"You stand right here...\"\nScotti sank quickly into the mud, staring at the smuggler, horror-struck.\n\"And remember to wait 'til you see the red clay, and then the next time you see bubbles, push up...\"\nThe more Scotti wriggled to get free, the faster he sunk. The mud enveloped Scotti to his neck, and he continued staring, unable to articulate anything but a noise like \"Oog.\"\n\"And don't panic at the idea that you're being digested. You could live in a rootworm's belly for months.\"\nScotti took one last panicked gasp of air and closed his eyes before he disappeared into the mud.\nThe clerk felt a warmth he hadn't expected all around him. When he opened his eyes, he found that he was entirely surrounded by a translucent goo, and was traveling rapidly forward, southward, gliding through the mud as if it were air, skipping along an intricate network of roots. Scotti felt confusion and euphoria in equal measures, madly rushing forward through an alien environment of darkness, spinning around and over the thick fibrous tentacles of the trees. It was if he were high in the sky at midnight, not deep beneath the swamp in the Underground Express.\nLooking up slightly at the massive root structure above, Scotti saw something wriggle past. A eight-foot-long, armless, legless, colorless, boneless, eyeless, nearly shapeless creature, riding the roots. Something dark was inside of it, and as it came closer, Scotti could see it was an Argonian man. He waved, and the disgusting creature the Argonian was in flattened slightly and rushed onward.\nGemullus's words began to reappear in Scotti's mind at this sight. \"The wintertide migration,\" \"air hole,\" \"you're being digested,\" -- these were the phrases that danced around as if trying to find some place to live in a brain which was highly resistant to them coming in. But there was no other way to look at the situation. Scotti had gone from eating living fish to being eaten alive as a way of transport. He was in one of those worms.\nScotti made an executive decision to faint.\nHe awoke in stages, having a beautiful dream of being held in a woman's warm embrace. Smiling and opening his eyes, the reality of where he really was rushed over him.\nThe creature was still rushing madly, blindly forward, gliding over roots, but it was no longer like a flight through the night sky. Now it was like the sky at sunrise, in pinks and reds. Scotti remembered Gemullus telling him to look for the red clay, and he would be near Gideon. The next thing he had to find was the bubbles.\nThere were no bubbles anywhere. Though the inside of the worm was still warm and comfortable, Scotti felt the weight of the earth all around him. \"Just don't panic\" Gemullus had said, but it was one thing to hear that advice, and quite another to take it. He began to squirm, and the creature began to move faster at the increased pressure from within.\nSuddenly, Scotti saw it ahead of him, a slim spire of bubbles rising up through the mud from some underground stream, straight up, through the roots to the surface above him. The moment the rootworm went through it, Scotti pushed with all of his might upward, bursting through the creature's thin skin. The bubbles pushed Scotti up quickly, and before he could blink, he was popping out of the red slushy mud.\nTwo gray Argonians were standing under a tree nearby, holding a net. They looked in Scotti's direction with polite curiosity. In their net, Scotti noticed, were several squirming furry rat-like creatures. While he addressed them, another fell out of the tree. Though Scotti had not been educated in this practice, he recognized fishing when he saw it.\n\"Excuse me, lads,\" Scotti said jovially. \"I was wondering if you'd point me in the direction of Gideon?\"\nThe Argonians introduced themselves as Drawing-Flame and Furl-Of-Fresh-Leaves, and looked at one another, puzzling over the question.\n\"Who you seek?\" asked Furl-of-Fresh-Leaves.\n\"I believe his name is,\" said Scotti, trying to remember the contents of his long gone file of Black Marsh contacts in Gideon. \"Archein Right-Foot ...Rock?\"\nDrawing-Flame nodded, \"For five gold, show you way. Just east. Is plantation east of Gideon. Very nice.\"\nScotti thought that the best business he had heard of in two days, and handed Drawing-Flames the five septims.\nThe Argonians led Scotti onto a muddy ribbon of road that passed through the reeds, and soon revealed the bright blue expanse of Topal Bay far to the west. Scotti looked around at the magnificent walled estates, where bright crimson blossoms sprang forth from the very dirt of the walls, and surprised himself by thinking, \"This is very pretty.\"\nThe road ran parallel to a fast-moving stream, running eastward from Topal Bay. It was called the Onkobra River, he was told. It ran deep into Black Marsh, to the very dark heart of the province.\nPeeking past the gates to the plantations east of Gideon, Scotti saw that few of the fields were tended. Most had rotten crops from harvests past still clinging to wilted vines, orchards of desolate, leafless trees. The Argonian serfs who worked the fields were thin, weak, near death, more like haunting spirits than creatures of life and reason.\nTwo hours later, as the three continued their trudge east, the estates were still impressive at least from a distance, the road was still solid if weedy, but Scotti was irritated, horrified by the field workers and the agricultural state, and no longer charitable towards the area. \"How much further?\"\nFurl-of-Fresh-Leaves and Drawing-Flame looked at one another, as if that question was something that hadn't occurred to them.\n\"Archein is east?\" Furl-of-Fresh-Leaves pondered. \"Near or far?\"\nDrawing-Flame shrugged noncommittally, and said to Scotti, \"For five gold, show you way. Just east. Is plantation. Very nice.\"\n\"You don't have any idea, do you?\" Scotti cried. \"Why couldn't you tell me that in the first place when I might have asked someone else?\"\nAround the bend up ahead, there was the sound of hoofbeats. A horse coming closer.\nScotti began to walk towards the sound to hail the rider, and didn't see Drawing-Flame's taloned claws flash out and cast the spell at him. He felt it though. A kiss of ice along his spine, the muscles along his arms and legs suddenly immobile as if wrapped in rigid steel. He was paralyzed.\nThe great curse of paralysis, as the reader may be unfortunate enough to know, is that you continue to see and think even though your body does not respond. The thought that went through Scotti's mind was, \"Damn.\"\nFor Drawing-Flame and Furl-of-Fresh-Leaves were, of course, like most simple day laborers in Black Marsh, accomplished Illusionists. And no friend of the Imperial.\nThe Argonians shoved Decumus Scotti to the side of the road, just as the horse and rider came around the corner. He was an impressive figure, a nobleman in a flashing dark green cloak the exact same color as his scaled skin, and a frilled hood that was part of his flesh and sat upon his head like a horned crown.\n\"Greetings, brothers!\" the rider said to the two.\n\"Greetings, Archein Right-Foot-Rock,\" they responded, and then Furl-of-Fresh-Leaves added. \"What is milord's business on this fine day?\"\n\"No rest, no rest,\" the Archein sighed regally. \"One of my she-workers gave birth to twins. Twins! Fortunately, there's a good trader in town for those, and she didn't put up too much of a fuss. And then there's a fool of an Imperial from Lord Vanech's Building Commission I am supposed to meet with in Gideon. I'm sure he'll want the grand tour before he opens up the treasury for me. Such a lot of fuss.\"\nDrawing-Flame and Furl-of-Fresh-Leaves sympathesized, and then, as Archein Right-Foot-Rock rode off, they went to look for their hostage.\nUnfortunately for them, gravity being the same in Black Marsh as elsewhere in Tamriel, their hostage, Decumus Scotti, had continued to roll down from where they left him, and was, at that moment, in the Onkobra River, drowning."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/argonian-account-book-4": {"series": "Argonian Account", "game": ["Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/argonian-account-book-4", "author": "Waughin Jarth", "title": "Argonian Account, Book 4", "description": "Decumus Scotti's adventures in Argonia after his \"business trip\" to Valenwood (described in A Dance in Fire).", "text": "The Argonian Account\nBook Four\nBy\nWaughin Jarth\n\nDecumus Scotti was drowning, and he didn't think much of it. He couldn't move his arms or his legs to swim because of the paralysis spell the Argonian peasant had lobbed at him, but he wasn't quite sinking. The Onkobra River was a crashing force of white water and currents that could carry along large rocks with ease, so Scotti tumbled head over heels, spinning, bumping, bouncing along.\nHe figured that soon enough he would be dead, and that would be better than being in Black Marsh. He wasn't too panicked about it all when he felt his lungs fill with water and cold blackness fell upon him.\nFor a while, for the first time in some time, Decumus Scotti felt peace. Blessed darkness. And then pain came to him, and he felt himself coughing, spewing water up from his belly and his lungs.\nA voice said, \"Oh bother, he's alive, ain't he, now?\"\nScotti wasn't quite sure if that were true, even when he opened his eyes and looked at the face above him. It was an Argonian, but unlike any he had seen anywhere. The face was thin and long like a thick lance; the scales were ruby-red, brilliant in the sunlight. It blinked at him, its eyelids opening and closing in vertical slits.\n\"I don't suppose we should eat you, should we now?\" the creature smiled, and Scotti could tell from its teeth that it was no idle suggestion.\n\"Thank you,\" said Scotti weakly. He craned his head slightly to find out who the \"we\" were, and discovered he was on the muddy bank of the still, sludgy river, surrounded by a group of Argonians with similarly needle-like faces and a whole rainbow of scales. Bright greens and gem-like purples, blues, and oranges.\n\"Can you tell me, am I near - well, anywhere?\"\nThe ruby-colored Argonian laughed. \"No. You're in the middle of everywhere, and near nowhere.\"\n\"Oh,\" said Scotti, who grasped the idea that space did not mean much in Black Marsh. \"And what are you?\"\n\"We are Agacephs,\" the ruby-colored Argonian replied. \"My name is Nomu.\"\nScotti introduced himself. \"I'm a senior clerk in Lord Vanech's Building Commission in the Imperial City. My job was to come here to try to fix the problems with commerce, but I've lost my agenda, haven't met with any of my contacts, the Archeins of Gideon...\"\n\"Pompous, assimiliated, slaver kleptocrats,\" a small lemon-colored Agaceph murmured with some feeling.\n\"...And now I just want to go home.\"\nNomu smiled, his long mouth arching up like a host happy to see an unwanted guest leave a party. \"Shehs will guide you.\"\nShehs, it seemed, was the bitter little yellow creature, and he was not at all pleased at the assignment. With surprising strength, he hoisted Scotti up, and for a moment, the clerk was reminded of Gemullus dropping him into the bubbling muck that led to the Underground Express. Instead, Shehs shoved Scotti toward a tiny little raft, razor-thin, that bobbed on the surface of the water.\n\"This is how you travel?\"\n\"We don't have the broken wagons and dying horses of our brothers on the outside,\" Shehs replied, rolling his tiny eyes. \"We don't know better.\"\nThe Argonian sat at the back of the craft and used his whip-like tail to propel and navigate the craft. They traveled quickly around swirling pools of slime that stank of centuries of putrefaction, past pinnacled mountains that seemed sturdy but suddenly fell apart at the slightest ripple in the still water, under bridges that might have once been metal but were now purely rust.\n\"Everything in Tamriel flows down to Black Marsh,\" Shehs said.\nAs they slid through the water, Shehs explained to Scotti that the Agacephs were one of the many Argonian tribes that lived in the interior of the province, near the Hist, finding little in the outside world worth seeing. He was fortunate to have been found by them. The Nagas, the toad-like Paatru, and the winged Sarpa would have killed him on the spot.\nThere were other creatures too to be avoided. Though there were few natural predators in inner Black Marsh, the scavengers that rooted in the garbage seldom shied away from a living meal. Hackwings circled overhead, like the ones Scotti had seen in the west.\nShehs fell silent and stopped the raft completely, waiting for something.\nScotti looked in the direction Shehs was watching, and saw nothing unusual in the filthy water. Then, he realized that the pool of green slime in front of them was actually moving, and fairly quickly, from one bank to the other. It deposited small bones behind it as it oozed up into the reeds, and disappeared.\n\"Voriplasm,\" Shehs explained, moving the boat forward again. \"Big word. It'll strip you to the bone by the second syllable.\"\nScotti, desirous to distract himself from the sights and smells that surrounded him, thought it a good time to compliment his pilot on his excellent vocabulary. It was particularly impressive, given how far from civilization they were. The Argonians in the east did, in fact, speak so well.\n\"They tried to erect a Temple of Mara near here, in Umpholo, twenty years ago,\" Shehs explained, and Scotti nodded, remembering reading about it in the files before they were lost. \"They all perished quite dreadfully of swamp rot in the first month, but they left behind some excellent books.\"\nScotti was going to inquire further when he saw something so huge, so horrifying, it made him stop, frozen.\nHalf submerged in the water ahead was a mountain of spines, lying on nine-foot-long claws. White eyes stared blindly forward, and then suddenly the whole creature spasmed and lurched, the jaw of its mouth jutting out, exposing tusks clotted with gore.\n\"Swamp Leviathan,\" Shehs whistled, impressed. \"Very, very dangerous.\"\nScotti gasped, wondering why the Agaceph was so calm, and more, why he was continuing to steer the raft forward towards the beast..\n\"Of all the creatures in the world, the rats are sometimes the worst,\" said Shehs, and Scotti noticed that the huge creature was only a husk. Its movement was from the hundreds of rats that had burrowed into it, rapidly eating their way from the inside out, bursting from the skin in spots.\n\"They are indeed,\" Scotti said, and his mind went to the Black Marsh files, buried deep in the mud, and four decades of Imperial work in Black Marsh.\nThe two continued westward through the heart of Black Marsh.\nShehs showed Scotti the vast complicated ruins of the Kothringi capitals, fields of ferns and flowered grasses, quiet streams under canopies of blue moss, and the most astonishing sight of Scotti's life -- the great forest of full-grown Hist trees. They never saw a living soul until they arrived at the edge of the Imperial Commerce Road just east of Slough Point, where Mailic, Scotti's Redguard guide, was waiting patiently.\n\"I was going to give you two more minutes,\" the Redguard scowled, dropping the last of his food onto the pile at his feet. \"No more, sir.\"\nThe sun was shining bright when Decumus Scotti rode into the Imperial City, and as it caught the morning dew, it lent a glisten to every building as if they had been newly polished for his arrival. It astonished him how clean the city was. And how few beggars there were.\nThe protracted edifice of Lord Vanech's Building Commission was the same as it had always been, but still the very sight of it seemed exotic and strange. It was not covered in mud. The people within actually, generally, worked.\nLord Vanech himself, though singularly squat and squinty, seemed immaculate, not only relatively clean of dirt and scabs, but also relatively uncorrupt. Scotti couldn't help but stare at him when he first caught sight of his boss. Vanech stared right back.\n\"You are a sight,\" the little fellow frowned. \"Did your horse drag you to Black Marsh and back? I would say go home and fix yourself, but there are a dozen people here to see you. I hope you have solutions for them.\"\nIt was no exaggeration. Nearly twenty of Cyrodiil's most powerful and wealthiest people were waiting for him. Scotti was given an office even larger than Lord Vanech's, and he met with each.\nFirst among the Commission's clients were five independent traders, blustering and loaded with gold, demanding to know what Scotti intended to do about improving the trade routes. Scotti summarized for them the conditions of the main roads, the state of the merchants' caravans, the sunken bridges, and all the other impediments between the frontier and the marketplace. They told him to have everything replaced and repaired, and gave him the gold necessary to do it.\nWithin three months, the bridge at Slough Point had disappeared into the muck; the great caravan had collapsed into decrepitude; and the main road from Gideon had been utterly swallowed up by swamp water. The Argonians began once again to use the old ways, their personal rafts and sometimes the Underground Express to transport the grain in small quantities. It took a third of the time, two weeks, to arrive in Cyrodiil, none of it rotten.\nThe Archbishop of Mara was the next client Scotti met with. A kindhearted man, horrified by the tales of Argonian mothers selling their children into slavery, he pointedly asked Scotti if it were true.\n\"Sadly, yes,\" Scotti replied, and the Archbishop showered him with septims, telling the clerk that food must be brought to the province to ease their suffering, and the schools must be improved so they could learn to help themselves.\nWithin five months, the last book had been stolen from the deserted Maran monastery in Umphollo. As the Archeins went bankrupt, their slaves returned to his parents' tiny farms. The backwater Argonians found that they could grow enough to feed their families provided they had enough hard workers in their enclave, and the buyers market for slaves sharply declined.\nAmbassador Tsleeixth, concerned about the rising crime in northern Black Marsh, brought with him the contributions of many other expatriate Argonians like himself. They wanted more Imperial guards on the border at Slough Point, more magically lit lanterns posted along the main roads at regular intervals, more patrol stations, and more schools built to allow young Argonians to better themselves and not turn to crime.\nWithin six months, there were no more Nagas roaming the roads, as there were no merchants traveling them to rob. The thugs returned to the fetid inner swamp, where they felt much happier, their constitutions enriched by the rot and pestilence that they loved. Tsleeixth and his constituency were so pleased by the crime rate dropping, they brought even more gold to Decumus Scotti, telling him to keep up the good work.\nBlack Marsh simply was, is, and always shall be unable to sustain a large-scale, cash-crop plantation economy. The Argonians, and anyone else, the whole of Tamriel, could live in Black Marsh on subsistence farming, just raising what they needed. That was not sad, Scotti thought; that was hopeful.\nScotti's solution to each of their dilemmas had been the same. Ten percent of the gold they gave him went to Lord Vanech's Building Commission. The rest Scotti kept for himself, and did exactly nothing about the requests.\nWithin a year, Decumus Scotti had embezzled enough to retire very comfortably, and Black Marsh was better off than it had been in forty years."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/assassination": {"series": "Black Horse Courier", "game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/assassination", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Assassination!", "description": "", "text": "SPECIAL EDITION!\nEMPEROR AND HEIRS ASSASSINATED!\nElder Council Named as Regents!\nEmperor Uriel Septim VII is dead, at the age of 87, having ruled Tamriel for 65 years. He was killed by assassins unknown. At the same time, in separate locations, the late emperor's three sons and heirs (Crown Prince Geldall, 56; Prince Enman, 55; Prince Ebel, 53] were slain by other assassins. An investigation into the identity and motives of the assassins is under way, but the Elder Council, Imperial Guard, and Blades Guard have forbidden the publication of reports and rumors concerning the event until further notice.\nBy ancient precedent, the Elder Council rules the empire until a new emperor is crowned. No direct heirs survive, and the council has proposed no list of candidates. Chancellor Ocato, Imperial Battlemage, speaking for the Elder Council, presented an appeal to the empire's citizens for calm, and asked that the people remember the Emperor, his sons, and the Elder Council in their prayers.\nEmperor Uriel's early reign was marked by peace and prosperity. The Empress Caula Voria bore him three healthy sons, was a loving companion to the Emperor, and a great favorite of the people. However, the emperor and the empire suffered terribly during the Imperial Simulacrum (3E 389-399], when he was held captive in Oblivion while the usurper Jagar Tharn assumed his appearance and ruled in his stead. Emperor Uriel was finally rescued and restored and the impostor defeated by the agency of the sorceress Ria Silmane and her shadowy prot\u00e9g\u00e9, but the affairs of the empire were in great disorder, and Empress Caula Voria, exhausted by her ordeal, withdrew from public life.\nThe decades following the Restoration were once again peaceful and prosperous, but increasing political tensions among the petty states of northwest Tamriel finally erupted in the Wars of the Iliac Bays, resulting in the establishment of the modern borders of Daggerfall, Sentinel, Wayrest, and Orsinium, and culminating with the remarkable events associated with the Warp in the West.\nThe latter years of the Emperor's reign have seen a flourishing of Imperial influence in the provinces, and with the fortunate resolution of the religious wars and the Vvardenfell Crisis, and with the wise and firm guidance of King Helseth and his mother, Queen Barenziah, an extension of high Imperial culture even into the more remote parts of Morrowind.\nThe Emperor's murder, and the murder of his three sons, is a terrible crime, and a great tragedy for the Empire. Battlemage Ocato assures us that all the resources of the Elder Council, the Legions, the Guard, the Arcane University, and the Imperial Battle College are being employed to bring the assassins to justice. But, in the meantime, the greatest tribute we citizens can offer to the memory of our beloved Emperor is to go earnestly and diligently about our daily affairs, honoring the life of the great Empire he loved so much, and served so faithfully for so long."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/new-guild-fighters": {"series": "Black Horse Courier", "game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/new-guild-fighters", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "A New Guild for Fighters?", "description": "", "text": "FIGHTERS GUILD FACES TOUGH COMPETITION\nThe Fighters Guild has been an institution in Tamriel for as long as most anyone can remember. These brave men and women have, for countless years, always been available to do those jobs that the average citizen is simply not qualified to handle. Whether it be ridding a homeowner of a plague of rats or rescuing a wayward scholar, the Fighters Guild has always been available for anyone with enough coin to pay their modest fees. Now, however, it seems that the Fighters Guild is not the only game in town.\nA new group has recently been making a lot of waves in Cyrodiil. They call themselves the Blackwood Company, and they've let it be known that they'll handle any job that the Fighters Guild will, and many that they won't.\nWhile the Fighters Guild has always maintained the strictest standards on both the quality of their members and the legality of the contracts they accept, the Blackwood Company makes none of the same claims. They have no screening process when accepting new members, and they seem willing to accept any contract, assuming one can afford the price tag.\nSome have questioned the Blackwood Company's methods. They are rumored to be reckless and indiscriminant. Many have spoken of needless damage to person and property during the fulfillment of a contract. None of those we spoke to were willing to go on the record for this article.\nWhat the future holds for this upstart group remains to be seen. Are they the perfect solution for a quickly changing world? Will their methods force the Fighters Guild to adopt more lenient business practices? Only time will tell. Until then, if you need a job done, and the Fighters Guild won't do it, check with your local Blackwood Company!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/new-doomstones-series": {"series": "Black Horse Courier", "game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/new-doomstones-series", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "New 'Doomstones' Series!", "description": "", "text": "QUILL-WEAVE PLANS NEW 'DOOMSTONES' CYCLE\n\"Doomstones not Magical\" Says Noted Argonian Writer\nThe author of 'The Goblin with the Golden Arm' and 'Red Crater' plans a new series of historical works set in the early days of the Reman emperors. The stories will center around the sorcerers and battlemages that play such a prominent part in the legends of the Reman emperors' rapid rise to power in the closing years of the Second Era. She plans to call the series \"The Paths of the Doomstones.\"\nThe Argonian authoress declined to reveal any details of the characters and themes of these books. However, Quill-Weave clearly has quite ambitious plans for this series, since she plans titles to correspond with each of Cyrodiil's twenty-one Doomstones. These ancient monuments are scattered throughout Cyrodiil, and each is known in legend by its own name.\n\"I always carefully research my subjects,\" Quill-Weave says, \"and I find no evidence at all to support the popular notion that these runestones were once artifacts of great magical power.\" She noted that thirteen of these stones are associated with the common birthsigns by which people have always marked the aspects of the heavens when children are born. \"Such stones as the 'Mage Stone' and the 'Serpent Stone' were certainly associated with the primitive sky worships of the Beast Folk of the Mythic Era. Other stones, like the 'Aetherius Stone' and the 'Magnus Stone' were also doubtless associated with other long-forgotten cults.\"\nThe Courier asked Quill-Weave why she might choose to abandon the popular tales of thieves, outlaws, murderers, and low-lifes that have made her so famous in Cyrodiil and throughout the Empire. She explained that she has long sought material with more mature and epic themes to celebrate the noble virtues of Cyrodiil and the Empire. She assured the Courier that she will fill the Doomstones series with the lusty and colorful characters we've come to know and love. \"But this time,\" Quill-Weave says, \"my characters will uproot trees, devastate cities, and summon rains of boiling blood before slipping away to explore the private and intimate mysteries of the heart.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gray-fox-man-or-myth": {"series": "Black Horse Courier", "game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gray-fox-man-or-myth", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Gray Fox, Man or Myth?", "description": "", "text": "Is a so-called Thieves Guild masterminding all the thefts in the Imperial City? Captain Hieronymus Lex of the Imperial Watch seems to think so.\nWhen asked about the Thieves Guild and its mythical leader, the Gray Fox, the captain was quite emphatic. \"This one man is responsible for all crime in the city!\" The energetic and tenacious Captain Lex has therefore devoted himself to apprehending this masked menace.\nWhen questioned on the subject, Adamus Phillida, Legion Commander and Captain Lex's immediate superior, had the following response. \"Ridiculous! The Gray Fox is just a fairy tale. There is no such thing as a Thieves Guild, and there never has been.\"\nStories of an unstoppable thief called the Gray Fox have been circulating around the Imperial City for centuries. The stories claim he can turn invisible at will, shrink himself down to the size of a mouse, turn to mist and seep under locked doors, and perform any number of other truly unbelievable feats. If even half of these stories are true, Captain Lex will have his hands full capturing the Gray Fox."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gray-fox-unmasked": {"series": "Black Horse Courier", "game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gray-fox-unmasked", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Gray Fox Unmasked!", "description": "", "text": "GRAY FOX UNMASKED!\nVlanarus Kvinchal recently admitted to being the notorious thief, the Gray Fox. Under questioning by the Imperial Watch, he also confessed to being the reincarnation of Tiber Septim, the love-child of Lord Stendarr, a were-shark, and the mother of Hieronymus Lex. Only after he spent a night in the Imperial prisons was it discovered that Vlanarus had recently consumed a near-lethal dose of skooma.\nVlanarus is now back home and recuperating from the hospitality of the Imperial Watch and from the close attention he received during his interrogation. He speculates that he might be able to work again in a month or two, so long as it doesn't involve walking or lifting anything heavier than a beer mug. The sometimes- dockworker has sworn a solemn oath never to trifle with Skooma again, and earnestly warns everyone to stay away from the Orum gang."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/night-mother-rituals": {"series": "Black Horse Courier", "game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/night-mother-rituals", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Night Mother Rituals!", "description": "", "text": "SPECIAL EDITION\nNIGHT MOTHER RITUALS ON THE RISE!\n\"And won't be tolerated!\"\nwarns Imperial Legion.\nby Agnes \"the quill is mightier than the ebony sword\" Earheardt\nThe Imperial City -- pinnacle of art, entertainment, scholarship... and ritualistic murder? So says Adamus Phillida, commander of the Imperial Legion forces in the Imperial City, and a staunch opponent of the mysterious assassin's guild known as the Dark Brotherhood. According to Phillida, Imperial Legion soldiers have discovered thirteen separate instances of the macabre \"Black Sacrament,\" a sinister rite purportedly used to summon a member of the Dark Brotherhood, in order to arrange an assassination.\nWhether or not a card-carrying killer shows up on a ritual performer's doorstep remains to be seen, but the Black Sacrament itself is very real, and truly the stuff of nightmares. As documented in the rare and taboo work \"A Kiss, Sweet Mother,\" the Black Sacrament involves an effigy of the intended victim -- created from actual body parts, including a heart, skull, bones and flesh -- within a circle of candles. To proceed with the ritual, one must stab the effigy repeatedly with a dagger rubbed with the petals of a Nightshade plant, while whispering the plea, \"Sweet Mother, sweet Mother, send your child unto me, for the sins of the unworthy must be baptized in blood and fear.\" As gruesome as this ritual may be, even more frightening is its intention -- the summoning of a mysterious assassin (who some witnesseses claim is always clad in a black hooded robe) who will then receive money to kill an innocent victim. No remorse. No regret. It is, as the merchant's say, simply business. And that's what worries Adamus Phillida.\n\"This brazen increase in Night Mother rituals is an affront to the decent, peace-loving citizens of the Empire. The Imperial Legion exists for one reason and one reason only -- to protect and serve the people of Tamriel. How in Azura's name can we do that when people take it upon themselves to contact paid assassins and have innocent people murdered? How can I sleep at night knowing my Legion can't possibly save the life of someone marked for death by the Dark Brotherhood? Anyone who carries out this \"Black Sacrament\" makes a mockery of the Imperial Legion, and as Commander, that's something I just can't tolerate. From this point forward, any citizen found in the possession of items related to the Night Mother ritual will be incarcerated in the Imperial Prison indefinitely, and their property seized by the Empire. There's no fine high enough, no standard prison sentence long enough, for the type of malcontent who would show such a blatant disregard for our dear Emperor's laws and the wellfare of the fine people of Tamriel\"\nTo be sure, Adamus Phillida is not one to issue empty threats. Indeed, the Black Horse Courier has learned that one Claudius Arcadia, until recently a resident of the Talos Plaza District of the Imperial City, is now residing in a cold, dank cell in the Imperial Prison, and his house has become the newest Imperial Legion outpost. So before you take the law into your own hands, dear reader, remember -- you'll go further in life with a warm smile than a cold blade. And if you've got a grudge that won't be soothed, a score that can't be settled, you can always move to Morrowind and have the government-sanctioned Morag Tong do the killing for you."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/adamus-phillida-slain": {"series": "Black Horse Courier", "game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/adamus-phillida-slain", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Adamus Phillida Slain!", "description": "", "text": "SPECIAL EDITION!\nADAMUS PHILLIDA SLAIN\nBY DARK BROTHERHOOD!\nby Waldorf Wordswell\nIn what can only be described as a blatant assault on the security and liberty of the civilized people of Cyrodiil, retired Imperial Legion commander Adamus Phillida was brutally murdered by the secretive assassins guild known as the Dark Brotherhood. The slaying occurred in the sleepy town of Leyawiin, where Phillida had chosen to spend the remainder of his days. It was to be a life of quiet solitude, far removed from the hustle and bustle of the Imperial City, where Phillida had served the Imperial Legion proudly for more than twenty-five years.\nBut even in retirement, the noble Legion commander could not escape his past. Throughout the years, Adamus Phillida had become a rather vocal opponent of the Dark Brotherhood and its practices, and vowed to expose the organizations' secrets and bring its leaders to justice. Indeed, Phillida had been targeted for assassination twice in the past, but both attempts were thwarted by the commander and his Legion soldiers. Sadly, his luck ran out in Leyawiin.\nWhen asked if there was any doubt as to the Dark Brotherhood's involvement in Phillida murder, newly appointed Imperial Legion commander Giovanni Civello had this to say:\n\"It was the Dark Brotherhood, all right. No question about it. This was a crime of vengeance, a despicable act of hatred and evil against a pinnacle of nobility and virtue. Adamus fought the Dark Brotherhood every day of his life, and he died for what he believed in. Adamus Phillida was a great man. He taught me everything I know, and I'll be damned if I let his dream die with him. From this day forward, I vow to destroy the Dark Brotherhood and everything they stand for!\"\nAdamus Phillida may be dead, but it would seem his fight against the Dark Brotherhood lives on in Giovanni Civello and the rest of the Imperial Legion. There may soon come a day when those bloodthirsty assassins have more to fear than the good people of the Imperial Province."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/anvil-tarts-thwarted": {"series": "Black Horse Courier", "game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/anvil-tarts-thwarted", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Anvil Tarts Thwarted!", "description": "", "text": "SPECIAL EDITION!\nGANG OF TARTS THWARTED!\nTemptresses Terrorize Anvil No More!\nA ruthless crime ring of female thieves plaguing Anvil's men folk has finally been broken. These shameless women employed feminine wiles to seduce the men, lured them to remote locations, then robbed them, leaving them without a stitch of clothing.\nThe gang's ringleader, Faustina Cartia, had preyed upon Anvil's male population for some time, but the shamefaced victims had been reluctant to admit what was happening. Now, thanks to an extensive undercover operation by two unnamed Anvil Guard Investigators, and with the aid of an anonymous private operative, this menace to Anvil's men has been summarily dealt with, and the wives of Anvil may rest easier knowing their gullible husbands will no longer be imperiled by predatory seductresses."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/cheydinhal-heir-saved": {"series": "Black Horse Courier", "game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/cheydinhal-heir-saved", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Cheydinhal Heir Saved!", "description": "", "text": "SPECIAL EDITION!\nCHEYDINHAL HEIR SAVED\nFROM CERTAIN DOOM!\nSir Farwil and Companions Close Gate Threatening City!\nFarwil Indarys, son and heir of His Lordship Andel Indarys, Count of Cheydinhal, has been delivered from the sulfurous torments of Oblivion by a questing hero. The count's courageous son and his boon companions, the Knights of the Thorn, had boldly entered an Oblivion Gate threatening Cheydinhal, intent on slaying its monstrous horrors and protecting the city and its citizens.\nSources report that the Knights were outnumbered a hundred to one, and only the dauntless courage and strength of arms of Farwil and one other brave soul managed to hold them at bay. Thanks to an allied adventurer who entered the gate to offer his aid, the Knights of the Thorn, led by the noble Sir Farwil, were able to assault the main citadel and shut the gate forever. Cheydinhal and its people are forever in the debt of Sir Farwil and his brave companions."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/greatest-painter-safe": {"series": "Black Horse Courier", "game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/greatest-painter-safe", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Greatest Painter Safe!", "description": "", "text": "SPECIAL EDITION!\nCYRODIIL'S GREATEST PAINTER SAFE!\nDisappearance Still a Mystery!\nRythe Lythandas of Cheydinhal, one of this period's most noted landscape painters, is finally back in his studio after an unexplained absence. He'd reportedly been missing for several days.\nNeither the artist nor his wife would comment on the circumstances of his disappearance, though both expressed deep gratitude to the unnamed citizen responsible for his safe return. [The citizen remains anonymous at the request of the happy couple.] Speculation by sources within the Cheydinhal Guard of a kidnapping and ransom demand behind the disappearance cannot be confirmed.\nA grateful Empire expresses its appreciation to Lythandas' anonymous benefactor. The Courier is pleased to report that Lythandas is back to work in his studio, and anticipates a new exhibition by our great living painter in the near future."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/new-watch-captain-named": {"series": "Black Horse Courier", "game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/new-watch-captain-named", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "New Watch Captain Named", "description": "", "text": "New Watch Captain Named\nServatius Quintilius was recently promoted to Watch Captain to replace Hieronymus Lex. Captain Lex's career was marked by frequent tirades against the mythical thief and master criminal, the so-called \"Gray Fox.\" At the same time, Hieronymus Lex announced that he has been retained by Countess Millona Umbranox of Anvil to be her new Captain of the Guard.\nCaptain Quintilius is a practical man who does not believe in the Thieves Guild or its imaginary grandmaster, the Gray Fox. He has promised peace and order in the districts under his protection. Guard patrol routes will be posted so that all citizens will know where to find a Watchman when they need one.\nWhen asked if this would also make things easier for thieves, Captain Quintilius responded, \"Never. Criminals are dumb. Wouldn't be criminals otherwise, right? Stands to reason. You smart Courier boys should just leave the crime-fighting in this city to professionals like me.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/palace-break": {"series": "Black Horse Courier", "game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/palace-break", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Palace Break-In?", "description": "", "text": "The Legion Centurion in command of the Palace Guard was charged with dereliction of duty. Although the Council has officially denied the stories of a palace break-in, the rumors persist. Muddled accounts of the events and principles range from a madman intent on spit-polishing the Emperor's shoes to a master thief stealing one of the legendary Elder Scrolls.\nThe Palace Guard has made no arrests in connection with the break-in. However, the Watch has been making peculiar inquiries all around the city. The Guard and the Legion are in complete agreement on one matter at least... neither the fictitious Thieves Guild nor its mythical leader, the Gray Fox, could have been in any way involved. Although rumor has long insisted that the Thieves Guild has been a significant factor in Imperial City criminal activities, representatives of the Guard and Legion insist that even the mythical Gray Fox would never dare to break into the Imperial Palace."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/pale-pass-discovery": {"series": "Black Horse Courier", "game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/pale-pass-discovery", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Pale Pass Discovery!", "description": "", "text": "SPECIAL EDITION!\nFORT PALE PASS DISCOVERED!\nFirst Era Secrets Revealed!\nFort Pale Pass, the fabled headquarters of Tamriel's First Era Akaviri invaders, has been located by an agent of the Countess of Bruma. This fortress was thought to be long lost to the ages, buried in the frozen wastes of the Jeral Mountains. Thanks to an expedition funded by Her Ladyship Narina Carvain, Countess of Bruma, the secret entrance to this great ruin was found.\nPreviously, scholars have offered no persuasive account for why the Akaviri juggernaut, having swept aside Tamriel's defenders, should collapse suddenly and completely crossing the Jeral Mountains. Now evidence uncovered at the site indicates a great landslide had covered the fort, trapping the hapless Akaviri commanders within, leaving the Akaviri columns leaderless and isolated in the alpine wilderness passes."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/poor-burdened-taxes": {"series": "Black Horse Courier", "game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/poor-burdened-taxes", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Poor Burdened by Taxes!", "description": "", "text": "The Poor Burdened by Taxes!\nRecently Captain Hieronymus Lex of the Imperial Watch collected the taxes from all citizens in the Waterfront district of the city. Although the laws are clear that all citizens of the Imperial City must pay taxes, it has been 53 years since anyone applied that law to the poor and destitute of the Waterfront.\nAlthough members of the Watch approached by the Courier declined to comment on the success of the venture, one of the Watchmen who asked not to be named suggested the operation was \"a complete... wossitsname? You know. Starts with an 'f'. Right. Complete fee-ass-ko, is what it was.\"\nIn a related story, miscreants have recently broken into the South Watchtower. An anonymous source reports that a small sum of money was stolen from the office of Hieronymus Lex. By remarkable coincidence, the sum corresponds exactly to the taxes collected by Captain Lex from the Waterfront.\nThe ever-vigilant Captain Lex has renewed his call to capture the infamous thief, the Gray Fox. He is petitioning for a bounty to be put on the legendary master thief's head."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/prank-spoils-society-gathering": {"series": "Black Horse Courier", "game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/prank-spoils-society-gathering", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Prank Spoils Society Gathering!", "description": "", "text": "SPECIAL EDITION!\nDINNER PARTY MARRED BY PRANKSTER\nCountess Alessia Caro is a lady of great beauty, wit, and grace. Her face is known throughout Cyrodiil. Unfortunately, thanks to one deviant prankster, the rest of her has become known to a good deal of her castle staff as well.\nDuring what started as a formal dinner party for some close friends of the Countess, an unknown assailant cast a spell that affected all who attended. Though it did no physical damage, it certainly left a lasting impression. The Countess and all of her invited guests suddenly found themselves altogether...in the altogether.\nThe spell apparently stripped everyone affected of all of their possessions, including the clothes on their backs. From all reports, the frightened guests handled the situation calmly, maintaining proper decorum at all times.\n\"Everybody was acting like ladies and gentleman,\" said one palace staffer who asked not to be identified. \"I don't think they was trying to sneak no glances at anyone's naughty bits.\"\nAs to the identity of the assailant, castle guards have remained silent. Some reports maintain that the culprit was apprehended at the scene; others claim that he was able to escape without detection. One witness even claims that the assailant was affected by his own spell, and fled the scene in haste when he realized he, too, had been a victim.\nWhatever the case, castle security has been on high alert since the incident. It is not known as of press time whether Countess Caro has any dinner parties planned in the near future."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rain-burning-dogs": {"series": "Black Horse Courier", "game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rain-burning-dogs", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Rain of Burning Dogs!", "description": "", "text": "SPECIAL EDITION!\nRAIN OF BURNING DOGS!\nExperts Bewildered!\nThe quiet life of the idyllic Border Watch community was shattered recently by a meteorological phenomenon local experts are unable to explain. On an otherwise normal day, the skies above the small village suddenly darkened, and burning dogs rained down from the heavens.\nThe carnage was terrible, according to witnesses. Charred dog carcasses littered the village, and the smell alone was enough to drive many residents into their homes. When asked about the event, local mage and weather expert Castus Philidus had this to say:\n\"There seems to be no precedent for this in all of Tamrielic history. While there have been stories of insects, frogs, and the occasional wayward mage crashing to the earth, I've never encountered tales of burning dogs raining from the skies. It is possible that the dogs were the part of some mage's experiments with summoning gone bad, or perhaps the dogs were swept up in a great wind and hurled into the sky. This might explain the dogs falling onto the unfortunate Border Watch community. Of course, that still doesn't explain why they were on fire.\"\nWhile the experts seem puzzled, the residents of Border Watch see only one explanation.\n\"It is the end of the world!\" said one resident, who asked not to be named in this article. \"The K'Sharra Prophecy tells us that this will happen! The rats! The sheep! We are all doomed! Doomed!\"\nProphecy? Mages? Freak weather occurrence? We may never know. And the small village of Border Watch will definitely never be the same."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tragic-accident-baenlin-dead": {"series": "Black Horse Courier", "game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tragic-accident-baenlin-dead", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Tragic Accident! Baenlin Dead!  ", "description": "", "text": "SPECIAL EDITION!\nBRUMA'S BAENLIN DIES IN TRAGIC ACCIDENT!\nNephew inherits estate\nby Phineas Farnsworth\nFor the residents of Bruma, a city known for its snowy avenues and frigid, Skyrim-like temperatures, nothing is quite as important as the warmth and safety of one's own home. But even the most secure dwelling can harbor a deadly secret. In the case of Baenlin, an elderly Elf nobleman who had called Bruma home for nearly forty-three years, death came not from the icy cold, nor from the sting of a burglar's blade, but from a killer far more insidious -- structural instability.\nAccording to Gromm, Baenlin's longtime live-in manservant, the day of his master's death was like any other. Baenlin lived as a recluse, and rarely left the comfort of his home. He spent his morning breakfasting, and his afternoons reading or napping, but it was in the late evening hours before bedtime, when Baenlin relaxed in his favorite chair as was his custom, when disaster struck. A stuffed Minotaur head mounted on the wall directly over the chair came crashing down, killing the unsuspecting noble instantly.\nAs horrible as Baenlin's death may seem, even more horrible is the revelation that this was not an isolated incident, as previously thought. In fact, through a series of interviews and an in-depth investigation, the Black Horse Courier has learned that many of Bruma's homes are actually deathtraps waiting to spring.\n\"Me and my boys, we done repair work on half these houses. They're a bleedin' mess! Rotted wood, rusty nails, misaligned foundations. Them Nords, they're good for drinkin' and killin', but they can't build a house worth a damn!\"\nSo said Antoine Dubois, owner of Dubois and Sons Carpentry, a thriving house-building business headquartered in the Breton nation of High Rock. Because of his expertise, Dubois has been known to offer his services throughout the Empire, and has visited Bruma on numerous occasions. In his opinion, this predominantly Nord city features some of the most poorly-constructed dwellings in all the Empire.\n\"Yeah, I know what the Nords say. It's the snow! It's rots the wood, it does this, it does that. Whine, whine, whine! The mead-swillin' savages wouldn't know oakwood from oranges. Truth is, they just don't know anything about the latest architectural methods. The work is unsafe and sloppy. That head that fell on the Elf? An infant could've secured those bindings better! It's no wonder they came loose! But I've seen this type of thing all over Bruma. Did you know that until I came in to do repair work on the roof, you couldn't attend a service in the Chapel without getting snowed on? Now that's just wrong.\"\nWhen asked what he thought of the issues, Baenlin's nephew, Caenlin, who inherited his uncle's estate and is now residing in the very house where he was killed, had this to say:\n\"It was a tragic, tragic accident. I always told my poor uncle that head would fall on him some day, but would he listen? Now, I've heard the rumors that some think there was foul play involved, but that's nonsense, of course. Everybody knows this city is falling apart. It could have happened to anyone.\"\nAnd so, as the city of Bruma mourns the loss of one of its oldest and most respected residents, there are those who can't help but wonder -- am I next?"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/vampire-nest-city": {"series": "Black Horse Courier", "game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/vampire-nest-city", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Vampire Nest in the City!", "description": "", "text": "Vampire Nest in the City!\nA nest of vampires was recently discovered in the home of the Earl of Imbel. The Courier is shocked to learn that Earl Jakben, a local noble of previously unblemished reputation, is revealed to have one of these vampires!\nResponding to a tip by the Earl's servant, the Imperial Watch raided the Imbel estate and slew all of the foul creatures. Captain Quintilius has categorically denied the rumors that most of the terrible creatures of the night were already dead by the time the Watch arrived."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/waterfront-raid-fails": {"series": "Black Horse Courier", "game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/waterfront-raid-fails", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Waterfront Raid Fails!", "description": "", "text": "Daring Waterfront Raid Fails!\nStymied in his attempts to capture the legendary thief, the Gray Fox, Captain Hieronymus Lex of the Imperial Watch raided the Waterfront. Extra Watchmen were pulled from duty in other parts of the city to search the slums of the Waterfront. A small amount of contraband was confiscated, but the Gray Fox escaped.\nThe Arcane University has filed a formal complaint against Captain Hieronymus Lex for dereliction of duty. The guards normally posted at the Arcane University were sent to the Waterfront during the raid. An attempted break-in at the University was foiled. University spokesmen insist that nothing was taken. They scoffed at the idea that any mere thief could make off with one of their treasures."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/brief-history-empire-v1": {"series": "Brief History of the Empire", "game": ["Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/brief-history-empire-v1", "author": "Stronach k'Thojj III", "title": "Brief History of the Empire, v1", "description": "History of the Septim Empire, from its founding by Tiber Septim to just prior to the death of Uriel VIII. Please note that this version is the latest edition; the error of the Morrowind edition has been fixed by the author.", "text": "A Brief History\nof the Empire\nPart One\nby \nStronach k'Thojj III\nImperial Historian\nBefore the rule of Tiber Septim, all Tamriel was in chaos.  The poet Tracizis called that period of continuous unrest \"days and nights of blood and venom.\"  The kings were a petty lot of grasping tyrants, who fought Tiber's attempts to bring order to the land.  But they were as disorganized as they were dissolute, and the strong hand of Septim brought peace forcibly to Tamriel.  The year was 2E 896.  The following year, the Emperor declared the beginning of a new Era-thus began the Third Era, Year Aught.\nFor thirty-eight years, the Emperor Tiber reigned supreme.  It was a lawful, pious, and glorious age, when justice was known to one and all, from serf to sovereign.  On Tiber's death, it rained for an entire fortnight as if the land of Tamriel itself was weeping.\nThe Emperor's grandson, Pelagius, came to the throne.  Though his reign was short, he was as strong and resolute as his father had been, and Tamriel could have enjoyed a continuation of the Golden Age.  Alas, an unknown enemy of the Septim Family hired that accursed organization of cutthroats, the Dark Brotherhood, to kill the Emperor Pelagius I as he knelt at prayer at the Temple of the One in the Imperial City.  Pelagius I's reign lasted less than three years.\nPelagius had no living children, so the Crown Imperial passed to his first cousin, the daughter of Tiber's brother Agnorith.  Kintyra, former Queen of Silvenar, assumed the throne as Kintyra I.  Her reign was blessed with prosperity and good harvests, and she herself was an avid patroness of art, music, and dance.\nKintyra's son was crowned after her death, the first Emperor of Tamriel to use the imperial name Uriel.  Uriel I was the great lawmaker of the Septim Dynasty, and a promoter of independent organizations and guilds.  Under his kind but firm hand, the Fighters Guild and the Mages Guild increased in prominence throughout Tamriel.  His son and successor Uriel II reigned for eighteen years, from the death of Uriel I in 3E64 to Pelagius II's accession in 3E82.  Tragically, the rule of Uriel II was cursed with blights, plagues, and insurrections.  The tenderness he inherited from his father did not serve Tamriel well, and little justice was done.\nPelagius II inherited not only the throne from his father, but the debt from the latter's poor financial and judicial management.  Pelagius dismissed all of the Elder Council, and allowed only those willing to pay great sums to resume their seats.  He encouraged similar acts among his vassals, the kings of Tamriel, and by the end of his seventeen year reign, Tamriel had returned to prosperity.  His critics, however, have suggested that any advisor possessed of wisdom but not of gold had been summarily ousted by Pelagius.  This may have led to some of the troubles his son Antiochus faced when he in turn became Emperor.\nAntiochus was certainly one of the more flamboyant members of the usually austere Septim Family.  He had numerous mistresses and nearly as many wives, and was renowned for the grandeur of his dress and his high good humor.  Unfortunately, his reign was rife with civil war, surpassing even that of his grandfather Uriel II.  The War of the Isle in 3E110, twelve years after Antiochus assumed the throne, nearly took the province of Summurset Isle away from Tamriel.  The united alliance of the kings of Summurset and Antiochus only managed to defeat King Orghum of the island-kingdom of Pyandonea due to a freak storm.  Legend credits the Psijic Order of the Isle of Artaeum with the sorcery behind the tempest.\nThe story of Kintyra II, heiress to her father Antiochus' throne, is certainly one of the saddest tales in imperial history.  Her first cousin Uriel, son of Queen Potema of Solitude, accused Kintyra of being a bastard, alluding to the infamous decadence of the Imperial City during her father's reign.  When this accusation failed to stop her coronation, Uriel bought the support of several disgruntled kings of High Rock, Skyrim, and Morrowind, and with Queen Potema's assistance, he coordinated three attacks on the Septim Empire.\nThe first attack occurred in the Iliac Bay region, which separates High Rock and Hammerfell.  Kintyra's entourage was massacred and the Empress taken captive.  For two years, Kintyra II languished in an Imperial prison believed to be somewhere in Glenpoint or Glenmoril before she was slain in her cell under mysterious circumstances.  The second attack was on a series of Imperial garrisons along the coastal Morrowind islands.  The Empress' consort Kontin Arynx fell defending the forts.  The third and final attack was a siege of the Imperial City itself, occurring after the Elder Council had split up the army to attack western High Rock and eastern Morrowind.  The weakened government had little defence against Uriel's determined aggression, and capitulated after only a fortnight of resistance.  Uriel took the throne that same evening and proclaimed himself Uriel III, Emperor of Tamriel.  The year was 3E 121.  Thus began the War of the Red Diamond, described in Volume II of this series."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/brief-history-empire-v2": {"series": "Brief History of the Empire", "game": ["Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/brief-history-empire-v2", "author": "Stronach k'Thojj III", "title": "Brief History of the Empire, v2", "description": "History of the Septim Empire, from its founding by Tiber Septim to just prior to the death of Uriel VIII. Please note that this version is the latest edition; the error of the Morrowind edition has been fixed by the author.", "text": "A Brief History\nof the Empire\nPart Two\nby \nStronach k'Thojj III\nImperial Historian\n\nVolume I of this series described in brief the lives of the first eight Emperors of the Septim Dynasty, beginning with the glorious Tiber Septim and ending with his great, great, great, great, grandniece Kintyra II.  Kintyra's murder in Glenpoint while in captivity is considered by some to be the end of the pure strain of Septim blood in the imperial family.  Certainly it marks the end of something significant.\nUriel III not only proclaimed himself Emperor of Tamriel, but also Uriel Septim III, taking the eminent surname as a title.  In truth, his surname was Mantiarco from his father's line.  In time, Uriel III was deposed and his crimes reviled, but the tradition of taking the name Septim as a title for the Emperor of Tamriel did not die with him.\nFor six years, the War of the Red Diamond (which takes its name from the Septim Family's famous badge) tore the Empire apart.  The combatants were the three surviving children of Pelagius II-Potema, Cephorus, and Magnus-and their various offspring.  Potema, of course, supported her son Uriel III, and had the combined support of all of Skyrim and northern Morrowind.  With the efforts of Cephorus and Magnus, however, the province of High Rock turned coat.  The provinces of Hammerfell, Summurset Isle, Valenwood, Elsweyr, and Black Marsh were divided in their loyalty, but most kings supported Cephorus and Magnus.\nIn 3E127, Uriel III was captured at the Battle of Ichidag in Hammerfell.  En route to his trial in the Imperial City, a mob overtook his prisoner's carriage and burned him alive within it.  His captor and uncle continued on to the Imperial City, and by common acclaim was proclaimed Cephorus I, Emperor of Tamriel.\nCephorus' reign was marked by nothing but war.  By all accounts, he was a kind and intelligent man, but what Tamriel needed was a great warrior -- and he, fortunately, was that.  It took an additional ten years of constant warfare for him to defeat his sister Potema.  The so-called Wolf Queen of Solitude who died in the siege of her city-state in the year 137.  Cephorus survived his sister by only three years.  He never had time during the war years to marry, so it was his brother, the fourth child of Pelagius II, who assumed the throne.\nThe Emperor Magnus was already elderly when he took up the imperial diadem, and the business of punishing the traitorous kings of the War of the Red Diamond drained much of his remaining strength.  Legend accuses Magnus' son and heir Pelagius III of patricide, but that seems highly unlikely-for no other reason than that Pelagius was King of Solitude following the death of Potema, and seldom visited the Imperial City.\nPelagius III, sometimes called Pelagius the Mad, was proclaimed Emperor in the 145th year of the Third Era.  Almost from the start, his eccentricities of behaviour were noted at court.  He embarrassed dignitaries, offended his vassal kings, and on one occasion marked the end of an imperial grand ball by attempting to hang himself.  His long-suffering wife was finally awarded the Regency of Tamriel, and Pelagius III was sent to a series of healing institutions and asylums until his death in 3E153 at the age of thirty-four.\nThe Empress Regent of Tamriel was proclaimed Empress Katariah I upon the death of her husband.  Some who do not mark the end of the Septim bloodline with the death of Kintyra II consider the ascendancy of this Dark Elf woman the true mark of its decline.  Her defenders, on the other hand, assert that though Katariah was not descended from Tiber, the son she had with Pelagius was, so the imperial chain did continue.  Despite racist assertions to the contrary, Katariah's forty-six-year reign was one of the most celebrated in Tamriel's history.  Uncomfortable in the Imperial City, Katariah travelled extensively throughout the Empire such as no Emperor ever had since Tiber's day.  She repaired much of the damage that previous emperor's broken alliances and bungled diplomacy created.  The people of Tamriel came to love their Empress far more than the nobility did.  Katariah's death in a minor skirmish in Black Marsh is a favorite subject of conspiracy minded historians.  The Sage Montalius' discovery, for instance, of a disenfranchised branch of the Septim Family and their involvement with the skirmish was a revelation indeed.\nWhen Cassynder assumed the throne upon the death of his mother, he was already middle-aged.  Only half Elven, he aged like a Breton.  In fact, he had left the rule of Wayrest to his half-brother Uriel due to poor health.  Nevertheless, as the only true blood relation of Pelagius and thus Tiber, he was pressed into accepting the throne.  To no one's surprise, the Emperor Cassynder's reign did not last long.  In two years he joined his predecessors in eternal slumber.\nUriel Lariat, Cassynder's half-brother, and the child of Katariah I and her Imperial consort Gallivere Lariat (after the death of Pelagius III), left the kingdom of Wayrest to reign as Uriel IV.  Legally, Uriel IV was a Septim:  Cassynder had adopted him into the royal family when he had become King of Wayrest.  Nevertheless, to the Council and the people of Tamriel, he was a bastard child of Katariah.  Uriel did not possess the dynamism of his mother, and his long forty-three-year reign was a hotbed of sedition.\nUriel IV's story is told in the third volume of this series."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/brief-history-empire-v3": {"series": "Brief History of the Empire", "game": ["Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/brief-history-empire-v3", "author": "Stronach k'Thojj III", "title": "Brief History of the Empire, v3", "description": "History of the Septim Empire, from its founding by Tiber Septim to just prior to the death of Uriel VIII. Please note that this version is the latest edition; the error of the Morrowind edition has been fixed by the author.", "text": "A Brief History\nof the Empire\nPart Three\nby \nStronach k'Thojj III\nImperial Historian\nThe first volume of this series told in brief the story of the succession of the first eight Emperors of the Septim Dynasty, from Tiber I to Kintyra II.  The second volume described the War of the Red Diamond and the six Emperors that followed its aftermath, from Uriel III to Cassynder I.  At the end of that volume, it was described how the Emperor Cassynder's half-brother Uriel IV assumed the throne of the Empire of Tamriel.\nIt will be recalled that Uriel IV was not a Septim by birth.  His mother, though she reigned as Empress for many years, was a Dark Elf married to a true Septim Emperor, Pelagius III.  Uriel's father was actually Katariah I's consort after Pelagius' death, a Breton nobleman named Gallivere Lariat.  Before taking the throne of Empire, Cassynder I had ruled the kingdom of Wayrest, but poor health had forced him to retire.  Cassynder had no children, so he legally adopted his half-brother Uriel and abdicated the kingdom.  Seven years later, Cassynder inherited the Empire at the death of his mother.  Three years after that, Uriel once again found himself the recipient of Cassynder's inheritance.\nUriel IV's reign was a long and difficult one.  Despite being a legally adopted member of the Septim Family, and despite the Lariat Family's high position -- indeed, they were distant cousins of the Septims -- few of the Elder Council could be persuaded to accept him fully as a blood descendant of Tiber.  The Council had assumed much responsibility during Katariah I's long reign and Cassynder I's short one, and a strong-willed \"alien\" monarch like Uriel IV found it impossible to command their unswerving fealty.  Time and again the Council and Emperor were at odds, and time and again the Council won the battles.  Since the days of Pelagius II, the Elder Council had consisted of the wealthiest men and women in the Empire, and the power they wielded was conclusive.\nThe Council's last victory over Uriel IV was posthumous.  Andorak, Uriel IV's son, was disinherited by vote of Council, and a cousin more closely related to the original Septim line was proclaimed Cephorus II in 3E247.  For the first nine years of Cephorus II's reign, those loyal to Andorak battled the Imperial forces.  In an act that the Sage Eraintine called \"Tiber Septim's heart beating no more,\" the Council granted Andorak the High Rock kingdom of Shornhelm to end the war, and Andorak's descendants still rule there.\nBy and large, Cephorus II had foes that demanded more of his attention than Andorak.  \"From out of a cimmerian nightmare,\" in the words of Eraintine, a man who called himself the Camoran Usurper led an army of Daedra and undead warriors on a rampage through Valenwood, conquering kingdom after kingdom.  Few could resist his onslaughts, and as month turned to bloody month in the year 3E249, even fewer tried.  Cephorus II sent more and more mercenaries into Hammerfell to stop the Usurper's northward march, but they were bribed or slaughtered and raised as undead.\nThe story of the Camoran Usurper deserves a book of its own.  (It is recommended that the reader find Palaux Illthre's The Fall of the Usurper for more detail.)  In short, however, the destruction of the forces of the Usurper had little do with the efforts of the Emperor.  The result was a great regional victory and an increase in hostility toward the seemingly inefficacious Empire.\nUriel V, Cephorus II's son and successor, swivelled opinion back toward the latent power of the Empire.  Turning the attention of Tamriel away from internal strife, Uriel V embarked on a series of invasions beginning almost from the moment he took the throne in 3E268.  Uriel V conquered Roscrea in 271, Cathnoquey in 276, Yneslea in 279, and Esroniet in 284.  In 3E288, he embarked on his most ambitious enterprise, the invasion of the continent kingdom of Akavir.  This ultimately proved a failure, for two years later Uriel V was killed in Akavir on the battlefield of Ionith.  Nevertheless, Uriel V holds a reputation second only to Tiber as one of the two great Warrior Emperors of Tamriel.\nThe last four Emperors, beginning with Uriel V's infant son, are described in the fourth and final volume of this series."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/brief-history-empire-v4": {"series": "Brief History of the Empire", "game": ["Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/brief-history-empire-v4", "author": "Stronach k'Thojj III", "title": "Brief History of the Empire, v4", "description": "History of the Septim Empire, from its founding by Tiber Septim to just prior to the death of Uriel VIII. Please note that this version is the latest edition; the error of the Morrowind edition has been fixed by the author.", "text": "A Brief History\nof the Empire\nPart Four\nby \nStronach k'Thojj III\nImperial Historian\nThe first book of this series described, in brief, the first eight Emperors of the Septim Dynasty beginning with Tiber I.  The second volume described the War of the Red Diamond and the six Emperors who followed.  The third volume described the troubles of the next three Emperors-the frustrated Uriel IV, the ineffectual Cephorus II, and the heroic Uriel V.\nOn Uriel V's death across the sea in distant, hostile Akavir, Uriel VI was but five years old.  In fact, Uriel VI was born only shortly before his father left for Akavir.  Uriel V's only other progeny, by a morganatic alliance, were the twins Morihatha and Eloisa, who had been born a month after Uriel V left.  Uriel VI was crowned in the 290th year of the Third Era.  The Imperial Consort Thonica, as the boy's mother, was given a restricted Regency until Uriel VI reached his majority.  The Elder Council retained the real power, as they had ever since the days of Katariah I.\nThe Council so enjoyed its unlimited and unrestricted freedom to promulgate laws (and generate profits) that Uriel VI was not given full license to rule until 307, when he was already 22 years old.  He had been slowly assuming positions of responsibility for years, but both the Council and his mother, who enjoyed even her limited Regency, were loath to hand over the reins.  By the time he came to the throne, the mechanisms of government gave him little power except for that of the imperial veto.\nThis power, however, he regularly and vigorously exercised.  By 313, Uriel VI could boast with conviction that he truly did rule Tamriel.  He utilized defunct spy networks and guard units to bully and coerce the difficult members of the Elder Council.  His half-sister Morihatha was (not surprisingly) his staunchest ally, especially after her marriage to Baron Ulfe Gersen of Winterhold brought her considerable wealth and influence.  As the Sage Ugaridge said, \"Uriel V conquered Esroniet, but Uriel VI conquered the Elder Council.\"\nWhen Uriel VI fell off a horse and could not be resuscitated by the finest Imperial healers, his beloved sister Morihatha took up the imperial tiara.  At 25 years of age, she had been described by (admittedly self-serving) diplomats as the most beautiful creature in all of Tamriel.  She was certainly well-learned, vivacious, athletic, and a well-practised politician.  She brought the Archmagister of Skyrim to the Imperial City and created the second Imperial Battlemage since the days of Tiber Septim.\nMorihatha finished the job her brother had begun, and made the Imperial Province a true government under the Empress (and later, the Emperor).  Outside the Imperial Province, however, the Empire had been slowly disintegrating.  Open revolutions and civil wars had raged unchallenged since the days of her grandfather Cephorus II.  Carefully coordinating her counterattacks, Morihatha slowly claimed back her rebellious vassals, always avoiding overextending herself.\nThough Morihatha's military campaigns were remarkably successful, her deliberate pace often frustrated the Council.  One Councilman, an Argonian who took the Colovian name of Thoricles Romus, furious at her refusal to send troops to his troubled Black Marsh, is commonly believed to have hired the assassins who claimed her life in 3E 339.  Romus was summarily tried and executed, though he protested his innocence to the last.\nMorihatha had no surviving children, and Eloisa had died of a fever four years before.  Eloisa's 25-year-old son Pelagius was thus crowned Pelagius IV.  Pelagius IV continued his aunt's work, slowly bringing back under his wing the radical and refractory kingdoms, duchies, and baronies of the Empire.  He exercised Morihatha's poise and circumspect pace in his endeavours-but alas, he did not attain her success.  The kingdoms had been free of constraint for so long that even a benign Imperial presence was considered odious.  Nevertheless, when Pelagius died after a notably stable and prosperous twenty-nine-year reign, Tamriel was closer to unity than it had been since the days of Uriel I.\nOur current Emperor, His Awesome and Terrible Majesty, Uriel Septim VII, son of Pelagius IV, has the diligence of his great-aunt Morihatha, the political skill of his great-uncle Uriel VI, and the military prowess of his great grand-uncle Uriel V.  For twenty-one years he reigned and brought justice and order to Tamriel.  In the year 3E389, however, his Imperial Battlemage, Jagar Tharn, betrayed him.\nUriel VII was imprisoned in a dimension of Tharn's creation, and Tharn used his sorcery of illusion to assume the Emperor's aspect.  For the next ten years, Tharn abused imperial privilege but did not continue Uriel VII's schedule of reconquest.  It is not yet entirely known what Tharn's goals and personal accomplishments were during the ten years he masqueraded as his liege lord.  In 3E399, an enigmatic Champion defeated the Battlemage in the dungeons of the Imperial Palace and freed Uriel VII from his other-dimensional jail.\nSince his emancipation, Uriel Septim VII has worked diligently to renew the battles that would reunite Tamriel.  Tharn's interference broke the momentum, it is true -- but the years since then have proven that there is hope of the Golden Age of Tiber Septim's rule glorifying Tamriel once again."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/perfumed-letter": {"series": "Cann Letters", "game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/perfumed-letter", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Perfumed Letter", "description": "", "text": "Finally, somebody sees me for what I am. I'll admit I was taken aback by their approach - a paralysis spell hardly seems like a proper token of respect, but I've given it some thought and they probably didn't think I would willingly associate myself with them. In fact, they were probably right to do so.\nIf I hadn't been paralyzed while they carried me away, they probably knew I'd have called my army of flying scamps to chew their eyes out.\nBut here I am, and I have to be honest; I was beginning to worry that the world didn't appreciate me until now. These guys get it. They've brought me all the cured meats I can eat, and I can scarcely empty a cask of wine before another is rolled into my room. Oh, they don't get too close. They know. A wayward glance from me could break their spines.\nThey needn't worry, of course. I know why I'm here. I saw all the other combatants. They heard of me, Beldring - the Grand Champion of the Felgourad Arena and favored bodyguard to Emperor Kinpo and his thousand-feathered cap. Of course they'd want to see me become the Champion of the Shivering Isles as well. So I train, and they bring me all the equipment I need to do it.\nI don't think it will be much longer, now. No, I'll peel the skin off my enemies for the glory of Palgania, and the entertainment of these servants who have been so dutiful in their desire to witness my grandeur."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/scented-parchment": {"series": "Cann Letters", "game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/scented-parchment", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Scented Parchment", "description": "", "text": "Their screams and battle cries are incessant by now, and the din of steel and training bags is overwhelming. They've been bringing more and more of us in here over the few weeks of my captivity, and the lust for each other's blood is reaching a fearful pitch.\nWhat am I going to do? I've never raised a sword or axe in my life.\nJust after I was captured, a well-mannered abductor came and asked if there was anything I wanted. I asked for some food and was brought fine pickled baliwog and wine. How was I to know that I should have asked for a weapon? Since then, they've only brought wine, cheese, and silken clothes too tight for my body.\nThey'll kill me - not first, though. No, they'll want to eliminate the more immediate threats, and then come to me. Tear me apart, screaming.\nWhat's worse is that I think we might have this whole thing wrong. Our captors no longer speak to us; indeed they seem afraid of us. We're fed well, and they seem more easily able to provide us ink, paper, and delicacies than the iron-shod armor the others have put in such high demand.\nI hope they don't pit us one against one. Surely I'd be tortured before the mercy of a killing blow. Craven heathens. Save me, Sheogorath."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/scroll": {"series": "Cann Letters", "game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/scroll", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Scroll", "description": "", "text": "Dearest Brother -\nI just don't understand it. We always dreamed of a place to host the Elaborate Spectacle, and I finally found it. These ruins feature a grand, tiered room suited to a great display, and I promptly persuaded our brothers and sisters to migrate here. Yet, the Elaborate Spectacle has never gone as planned. Perhaps you can tell me where I've gone wrong. Permit me to walk you through the process step by step.\nFirst, we acquire our lucky participants. Truly, I would give anything to be in their place, but I can understand their frenzied protests and struggles in the excitement of the moment. We have to stray to the swamps to find them, though some are more easily obtained from the nearby roads.\nOnce we've returned to Cann with our participants, they're each given private quarters in which to be prepared for the event. Each room is lined with the finest wines and cheeses, and comfortable bedding in the peasant-chic roll style. My personal steward visits each of them soon after arrival and asks what they would like tailored for the Spectacle, but they invariably ask for suits of armor. Our stores are stocked to the ceiling with the finest velvets, silks, and furs - how am I supposed to provide them with chain mail?\nEach participant is provided with ink and pen to practice their prose, but again their behavior escapes me. You should see some of the horrid things they've written! Lengthy letters to loved ones, saying goodbye as though they were dying of a plague, or horribly bloodthirsty curses against their fellow participants. Oh, and I will not offend you with descriptions of the ones who think themselves artists! I suppose that their writings could have clued me into what would happen next, brother -- for that is when things get truly bizarre.\nEach time, on the day of the Elaborate Spectacle, after we've all gorged on suckling meats and pungent cheeses, the participants are escorted from their quarters into the viewing chamber where we all eagerly await what we're sure will be a thrilling show, but that never happens. After the first time, we removed the decorative weapons from the walls, but they just bludgeoned and gored each other with whatever they could get their hands on -- loose stones, wine bottles, and in one case a bone the participant must have filed to a point in his quarters. Why would men given a week alone to write and feed on wine instantly set murderously upon each other, rather than share a loving embrace?\nI simply don't understand it, brother -- we always believed that the Elaborate Spectacle would be the greatest public display of shared pleasure and it has each time ended a blood-soaked mess. Perhaps the time has finally come to move back to Bliss and abandon our dream."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/capn-dugals-journal-part-one": {"series": "Cap'n Dugal's Journal", "game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/capn-dugals-journal-part-one", "author": "Captain Dugal", "title": "Cap'n Dugal's Journal, Part One", "description": "The journal of Captain Dugal, the Pirate Captain defeated by Commodore Fasil Umbranox and trapped beneath what is now Castle Anvil.", "text": "3E 286 or thereabouts\nI\u2019m findin' it unlikely that anyone will be findin' this journal, but if they do, know that here be written the last words of the great Captain Torradan ap Dugal, Scourge of the Abecean Sea, Terror of the Gold Coast, Cutthroat of Hunding Bay, and Lord Captain of the Red Sabre - the finest band o' buccaneers and pirates e'er to sail Tamriel.\nI ain't a man with much use for words -- I ain't never been to no academys, and I ain\u2019t never wrote no books. Words ain't never earned me no gold, so theys worthless to me - that's why ye have quartermasters and first mates. But I'm gonna be settin' my last thoughts down here on paper, cause I ain't got much time left here and it\u2019s ev'ry old man\u2019s right to have his words heard.\nNow, me business was fightin', sailin', and lootin'. I became a leader of sailin' men, the most feared in hist'ry, or so they tells me. Now, b'fore ye be gettin ahead o' yerself, let me be warnin ye that me tale does not end well as I\u2019m sure ya can see from wherever ye found me rotten bones in this gods cursed cavern.\nI was born in a little town on the north coast o' Skyrim called Dunbarrow. Me mother was a wench and me father was a right bastard. The only thing that either of 'em e'er did fer me was doin' me the favor of sellin' me off to a sea cap'n when I were nine. That cap'n, he taught me e'ry thing I'd e'er need to know about sailin', and a few things about the rest too.\nYe see, he were a smuggler, an' he taught me all about smugglin' and avoidin' the Imperial Navy as he run the skooma route from Daggerfall to Vivec. Shame he were caught and hung. He were as close to a daddy as this ol' pirate e'er knew, closer n' that bastard what sold me off e'er were, that\u2019s fer sure."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/capn-dugals-journal-part-two": {"series": "Cap'n Dugal's Journal", "game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/capn-dugals-journal-part-two", "author": "Captain Dugal", "title": "Cap'n Dugal's Journal, Part Two", "description": "The journal of Captain Dugal, the Pirate Captain defeated by Commodore Fasil Umbranox and trapped beneath what is now Castle Anvil.", "text": "After the cap'n were hung, I got around Hammerfell a lot. Fell in with a few crews here an' there, an' after a time got myself hired on as midshipman on Cap'n Kaladas's rig. A' course, Kaladas was a drunkard and the damn fool ran his own ship a'ground in Anvil a'fore we could any real piratin' done. So embarrassed were he that he drank hisself to death in one of the pisshole taverns in this flat little seawater town.\nSo there I were, in a backwater port when the war against the Usurper broke out. I were out on hire with a rickety tub and her worthless rot of a cap'n when The Imperial Navy stole ev'ry private ship in port to go an' fight their war. We was comin' back in to dock when we heard about it. Now, only a fool doesn\u2019t bite when he smells blood in the water and that cap'n o' ours was gonna hand his rudder over to the Navy. The rest of us, well, we didn\u2019t so much like that.\nWe cut his throat and tossed his worthless carcass to the depths for Herm'us Mora to feast on. The rest of us put keel to this mudhole and broke for the nearest cove to lay low for a while.\nNow, the thing that I learned about war is that it's profit'ble for just about everyone except for the poor bastards that actually have to go an' fight it. While the Navy were busy puttin\u2019 down the rev'lution, they were too busy to worry about a bunch o' pirates runnin' up and down the Gold Coast. And even better for us, the Navy was needin' a stream of supplies up in High Rock to fight and dinna have the ships to escort 'em..\nIn case you don\u2019t be knowin', cargo vessels without escort is a pirate's best friend.\nIn just a couple of years, I had ev'ry buccaneer from here to Valenwood flyin' under me flag. We had dozens of ships and crew and more men joined on e'ry day. Soldiers and sailors, castoffs from the war, escaped prisoners -- they were the best cutthroats and sons o' whores that a pirate cap'n could ever wish for. It brings a tear to me eye to think of 'em all.\nBut even better than the men were the ships: Captured navy cutters. Refitted priv'teer Galleons. Even had a few of them bosmer ships with the funny living sails in my fleet. The finest ship I saved for meself. \u201cThe Black Flag\u201d. Ye'll find her rotting hull around here. She don't look like much now, but I can tell ye that in her day, there weren't no vessel she couldn't out run.\nAll these men and ships, we called ourselves the Red Sabre. The merchant ships called us death on the seas.\nWe gots to be so feared that most crews jus' abandoned ship when they seen our flag on the horizon. With no Navy to stop us, Captain Torradan ap Dugal and the Red Sabre was known all over the east.\nNow, I ain't one to brag, but the empire had a bounty on me of forty thousand coins. Now that\u2019s somthin' to be proud of. A' course, the poor bastards couldn't never collect on it. Anvil being the wretched den that it is - an mos' sailors there worked for me anyhow -- the Legion couldn\u2019t never get no one to give me up.\nI wish those days coulda lasted fore'er, but you know how it is, friend. Ain't nothing good can ever last."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/capn-dugals-journal-part-three": {"series": "Cap'n Dugal's Journal", "game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/capn-dugals-journal-part-three", "author": "Captain Dugal", "title": "Cap'n Dugal's Journal, Part Three", "description": "The journal of Captain Dugal, the Pirate Captain defeated by Commodore Fasil Umbranox and trapped beneath what is now Castle Anvil.", "text": "I ain't got much time left. Sure, we had plenty of food down here. It lasted for years, but all this time in the wet and the dark, I got somethin' nasty growin' in me. What a terrible way to die -- not on the end of an enemy's cutless, but because of some damned sickness. No seafarin' man should die like this. At least I can still hear the water.\nBut I was tellin' the story of how I got mine, weren\u2019t I?\nI curse the day that the Cameron Usurper died at that war ended, 'cause it was that day that Commodore Fasil Umbranox turned 'is attention to the Red Sabre. A couple of months after the war, that fat pompuss bastard decided to come down here to Anvil and take up port in my town, lookin' to break up the Red Sabre. The Emporer gave him whatev'r he asked for to campaign again' us, despite the coffers bein' empty from the war in High Rock.\nWhen Umbranox couldn't get what he needed from my men in Anvil, he set out lookin' all over the Abecean Sea for the Black Flag. There are hundreds of islands In the Abecean, and he landed a crew on each one. He rooted out my men when he could find them, hung those who weren't willin' to go peacefully and jailed those who laid down arms.\nNo matter for many ships and men it cost him, he kept comin' with more and more. We couldn't never get ahead of him and we couldn't never mount a counter attack. It took him four years and a hell of a lot of ships, but that sea rat finally tracked me down.\nIt were me own fault, anyway. If I never made the mistake I made, he'dve died before he found me. But a man has to stand up for his mistakes, no matter if it cost him. Besides, ain't like I\u2019ll be foolin' ye, since yer likely starin' at me bones as yer readin' this.\nUmbranox had his main force out of port followin' a lead that I planted. I set sail back to Anvil, hopin' to catch him off guard, capture the boats he left behind, and fight him with his own ships in Anvil Bay. Ha! Can you imagine the look on his pig's face if it'dve worked? I thought I\u2019d finally get the whoreson to show his face in a proper fight. I shoulda known, but he had men waitin' there for me.\nWe fought like hell, but we were trapped in the bay. The Navy men set the town on fire to keep us from fleeing onto land. I\u2019m sure that the fine citizens of Cyrodiil dinna weep for the torching of a town of thieves.\nThe main force of Imperial dogs held us until Umbranox showed up in his flagship. Umbranox fought me to the last ship and in the end, the Bay was filled with sunken and burning boats. If I weren\u2019t fightin' for me life, I\u2019dve probably thought it were beautiful. So, the Black Flag and Umbranox\u2019s rickety tub were the only ones that were still floatin' and fightin' when dawn come. So, I did what any pirate with sense would do - I tried to run.\nNow understand, I\u2019m a right bastard in me own way. I'm a pirate, a murderer, a thief, and I certainly ain\u2019t never believed in a fair fight. But there's a line and an unspoken code between sailin' men and Umbranox went too far. He had mages on his ship. Mages ain't never been allowed on my boats. They\u2019re no good, bad luck, an' I don\u2019t trust 'em. Turns out, I was right.\nI cut across the south side of the bay, along the huge cliff wall that used to be there. I had me helmsman stay as close as he could to the cursed cliff. I could hear those mages from the deck of Umbranox's ship, yellin' some nonsense into the wind. A few rocks fell onto my deck, a few more, and then the whole bloody cliff came crashin\u2019 down on top o' me.\nNow, don't you worry, I didn't die just then. The cliff collapsed around the ship, makin' this damned cavern. Better the it just fell on us, but no. It sealed the Black Flag, her crew, and me under tons of rock.\nWe were buggered."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/capn-dugals-journal-part-four": {"series": "Cap'n Dugal's Journal", "game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/capn-dugals-journal-part-four", "author": "Captain Dugal", "title": "Cap'n Dugal's Journal, Part Four", "description": "The journal of Captain Dugal, the Pirate Captain defeated by Commodore Fasil Umbranox and trapped beneath what is now Castle Anvil.", "text": "I seen my own blood more times than I cold ever count, but seein' the ragged mess that just come up out of me lungs just now is the only time I ev'r been afraid of it. I guess I should be gettin' to the last bit o' me story.\nMe and me crew were trapped down here, never to see the light again or some rot. We tried diggin' out. We tried blastin' out. We tried callin' to the nines and the daedric princes for help. Nothin' worked. Some o' the men went crazy when we figured out that there were no gettin' out, but most of us just accepted what fate had dealt us. We made the hulk o' the Black Flag into the best home that we could and tried makin' a life of it down here.\nWe had plenty of stores with us and since most of the crew were killed in the fight, it was more than enough to go around. I will tell you though, that you ain't known suffering until you ate nothin' but hard rations for twenty-some years. All the pain I ever caused anyone has been paid back to me tenfold in havin' to eat the same filth every day for the whole time I been down here.\nThen Grim died off.\nGrim was the first and one by one, the boys had been droppin' off. They all got the same sickness I ended up with. We buried 'em when we could, threw 'em in the water when we didn't have strength to bury 'em. Finally, we jus' made 'em walk to the far side of the cavern a couple of days before the sickness ran its course.\nI'm the last, an' I suppose that makes sense. The great cap'n Dugal, defeated by Fasil Umbranox and buried alive forever. I wonder what became of Anvil. Prob'lly let it burn and swept the ashes into the sea. Umbranox prob'lly went back to the Imperial City to pat himself on the back and be rewarded with lands an' titles.\nLike I said way back in the beginnin', I don't expect nobody to ever read this but if by chance someone does find my carcass down here in this pit, do an old seaman a favor. Track down whatever descendents that fat old sack Umbranox may have and tell 'em that Torradan ap Dugal says hello."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dead-drop-orders-1": {"series": "Dead Drop Orders", "game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dead-drop-orders-1", "author": "Lucien Lachance and Mathieu Bellamont", "title": "Dead Drop Orders #1  ", "description": "A series of orders that trigger Dark Brotherhood quests. The first two documents are written by Lachance, while the rest are written by Bellamont.", "text": "Silencer,\nYou are now reading your first dead drop note, here on Hero Hill, which proves to me you were well-appointed to the tasks that lie ahead.\nJourney now to Leafrot Cave. There you will encounter an ancient Necromancer who is attempting to escape death by transforming himself into a lich. This Necromancer, Celedaen, has not yet completed his metamorphosis, but is still immensely powerful, possibly too powerful to destroy if confronted directly. Search Leafrot Cave. Necromancers are wizards after all, and wizards are prolific by nature. Celedaen surely has written records, and these records may contain evidence of some kind of weakness. Perhaps there is some other way to destroy Celedaen besides a direct confrontation. But destroy him you must!\nWhen the Necromancer lies dead, journey to the city of Chorrol for your next dead drop. At the foot of the Great Oak, hidden in the bushes, is an old sack. Inside you will find your reward for killing the Necromancer, as well as information regarding your next contract.\nServe me well, Silencer, and there's no telling just how far you might advance."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dead-drop-orders-2": {"series": "Dead Drop Orders", "game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dead-drop-orders-2", "author": "Lucien Lachance and Mathieu Bellamont", "title": "Dead Drop Orders #2", "description": "A series of orders that trigger Dark Brotherhood quests. The first two documents are written by Lachance, while the rest are written by Bellamont.", "text": "The Necromancer Celedaen is dead, and you are not. That is quite an accomplishment. But your work as a Silencer has just begun.\nYour next assignment requires you to eliminate not just one target, but five. An entire family, in fact. The unlucky siblings are Perennia Draconis, Matthias Draconis, Andreas Draconis, Sibylla Draconis and Caelia Draconis. The locations of most of the family members are unknown, so you should begin your search with the family matron, Perennia, who resides at the farm called Applewatch.\nYou must discern the locations of all the Draconis family members and then systematically eliminate them. I suggest you first speak with the mother and find out if she has any valuable information on the whereabouts of her children, before ending her life.\nWhen every member of the Draconis family lies dead, journey to the city of Skingrad. In the castle courtyard you will find a well containing your reward for the Draconis contract, as well any further assignment I might have."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dead-drop-orders-3": {"series": "Dead Drop Orders", "game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dead-drop-orders-3", "author": "Lucien Lachance and Mathieu Bellamont", "title": "Dead Drop Orders #3", "description": "A series of orders that trigger Dark Brotherhood quests. The first two documents are written by Lachance, while the rest are written by Bellamont.", "text": "Are you ready to get your hands dirty, Silencer?\nYour next target is a Khajiit nobleman by the name of J 'Ghasta, who can be found at his home in the city of Bruma. J 'Ghasta was recently offered the hand of a prominent Cyrodiil noble's daughter, but turned down the offer when he learned of the girl's rather negligible dowry. The girl's family is outraged, of course, and has hired the Dark Brotherhood to make J 'Ghasta pay for his insolence.\nGo to J 'Ghasta's house in Bruma and end his miserable life. But be warned! The Khajiit is rich and bored, and spends most of his time honing his skills in unarmed combat. Any opponent who can kill with merely his hands is not to be trifled with, so tread carefully. Even worse, J 'Ghasta is aware someone may be trying to kill him, and has bribed the guards not to interfere if a fight should spill out into the city streets.\nWhen the target has been eliminated, you will find your next dead drop in a rotten box under the Old Bridge, just south of the Imperial City. The box will contain your reward for killing J 'Ghasta, as well as information regarding your next contract."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dead-drop-orders-4": {"series": "Dead Drop Orders", "game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dead-drop-orders-4", "author": "Lucien Lachance and Mathieu Bellamont", "title": "Dead Drop Orders #4", "description": "A series of orders that trigger Dark Brotherhood quests. The first two documents are written by Lachance, while the rest are written by Bellamont.", "text": "J'Ghasta is dead! Well done! I was right about you, Silencer. You are a useful tool indeed. Let's see if you can continue to impress me.\nYou must journey now to the Flooded Mine. There you will find Shaleez, an Argonian hunter who was banished from her village near the Black Marsh/Morrowind border for the brutal murder of a Dark Elven family. Relatives of the murdered family members have located Shaleez, and demand retribution. And, since the assignment is a bit far for Morrowind's Morag Tong to handle, the Dark Brotherhood has been commissioned to perform the elimination.\nBe warned, Silencer! Shaleez is a skilled and deadly hunter, and will fight like the desperate fugitive she is.\nAfter Shaleez has been eliminated, your reward and another contract will be waiting at the dead drop located in a coffin, just outside the ruins of Fort Redman."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dead-drop-orders-5": {"series": "Dead Drop Orders", "game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dead-drop-orders-5", "author": "Lucien Lachance and Mathieu Bellamont", "title": "Dead Drop Orders #5", "description": "A series of orders that trigger Dark Brotherhood quests. The first two documents are written by Lachance, while the rest are written by Bellamont.", "text": "If you're reading this note, Shaleez is dead. You've done the world a great service, Silencer. It's time to continue the good work.\nYour next target is a traveling Dark Elf merchant by the name of Alval Uvani, who is currently renting a house in the city of Leyawiin. Uvani is a well-respected tradesman back in his native Morrowind, but his business often takes him very far from home. Therein lies the problem. Alval Uvani's wife has become disillusioned with her husband's repeated, extended absences and wishes to dissolve their marriage, and has sought the Dark Brotherhood's assistance. Lucky for us Cyrodiil is a bit beyond the reach of Morrowind's Morag Tong.\nAlval Uvani is currently traveling around Cyrodiil, and is never in one place for more than a couple of days. In this dead drop you will also find a schedule detailing the Dark Elf's whereabouts; use it to locate him and plan your elimination. Be aware, however, that because he is forced to travel alone to the farthest reaches of the Empire, Uvani has learned to defend himself. He is a master of the Destruction school of Magicka, and and is no stranger to killing.\nWhen Alval Uvani lies rotting, journey to the Market District of the Imperial City. There you will find a shop called Stonewall Shields. Your dead drop is located behind that building, in a hollowed-out tree stump. As usual, you will find your reward for the previous contract, as well as information on your next.\nAh yes, I must mention one last detail. Apparently Alval Uvani suffers from a rare Dark Elf condition, a serious allergy to honey. If you could somehow get Uvani to drink the honey-based spirit Mead, perhaps by replacing his food, he would suffer from complete paralyzation. This would certainly make the Dark Elf a bit easier to deal with."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dead-drop-orders-6": {"series": "Dead Drop Orders", "game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dead-drop-orders-6", "author": "Lucien Lachance and Mathieu Bellamont", "title": "Dead Drop Orders #6", "description": "A series of orders that trigger Dark Brotherhood quests. The first two documents are written by Lachance, while the rest are written by Bellamont.", "text": "Alval Uvani is dead, just like all the others. You continue to impress me, Silencer, and I am only too eager to indulge your homicidal instincts.\nYour next target is a savage Nord barbarian, living alone and exposed at a small campsite on the summit of Gnoll Mountain. This barbarian, Havilstein Hoar-Blood by name, savagely butchered the chieftain of a mead hall on the island of Solstheim. The chieftain's sister has forgone the Nord custom of extracting the monetary retribution of wergild, and instead wants Hoar-Blood to pay with his life. You, dear Silencer, will help put her family at peace.\nYou are to go to Gnoll Mountain, locate Havilstein Hoar-Blood, and send his soul to Sithis.\nWhen Hoar-Blood has been executed, journey to the Ayleid ruin of Nornal. In the flooded section of that ruin you will find a chest, submerged in the water. As you may have guessed, the chest contains your reward for killing Havilstein Hoar-Blood, and your next contract."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dead-drop-orders-7": {"series": "Dead Drop Orders", "game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dead-drop-orders-7", "author": "Lucien Lachance and Mathieu Bellamont", "title": "Dead Drop Orders #7", "description": "A series of orders that trigger Dark Brotherhood quests. The first two documents are written by Lachance, while the rest are written by Bellamont.", "text": "My compliments on another job well done! Havilstein Hoar-Blood was more swine than man, and deserved to die quivering like an animal! You must not stop! You must kill again!\nYour next target is a Wood Elf named Ungolim, who resides in the city of Bravil. Bravil is also home to an ancient statue known as the Lucky Old Lady. It is seen as a symbol of good luck and prosperity, and the fools of Bravil often speak to the statue and wish for good tidings. Every night, poor lovestruck Ungolim visits the Lady and pleads desperately for the heart of a young maiden. This maiden is married, and her husband has learned of Ungolim's affection for his bride. He fears the competition, it would seem, and has commissioned the Dark Brotherhood to help in the matter.\nYou must go to Bravil, locate Ungolim, and kill him. The Wood Elf owns a house in the city, but he spends his days securely locked inside. I recommend you lie in wait at the Lucky Old Lady statue, and then eliminate Ungolim when he arrives for his nightly visit. He's generally there between the hours of 6:00 PM and 1:00 AM.\nBy all accounts, Ungolim is a deadly archer and a fearless opponent. I also have reason to believe he is expecting trouble, so if Ungolim senses danger, he may attack you on sight. And, like the Khajiit J 'Ghasta, Ungolim has bribed the guards to look the other way if there is a fight, so they won't interfere. Be vigilant, and bring the Wood Elf down! You must not fail!\nWhen Ungolim's body lies broken at the foot of his dear Lady, you must journey to the city of Anvil. Your dead drop is in a barrel located behind the statue in the pond. As is standard, your reward and next contract will be waiting."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dead-drop-orders-8": {"series": "Dead Drop Orders", "game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dead-drop-orders-8", "author": "Lucien Lachance and Mathieu Bellamont", "title": "Dead Drop Orders #8", "description": "A series of orders that trigger Dark Brotherhood quests. The first two documents are written by Lachance, while the rest are written by Bellamont.", "text": "Ungolim is dead! Silencer, you have served me far better than I ever could have imagined. Is there no challenge you can't meet? No opponent you can't best? We shall see.\nYour next target is a High Elf whore named Arquen. She has been difficult to locate, but you might try asking around the Grey Mare in Chorrol or the Bridge Inn in Cheydinhal.\nLike all of your targets, Arquen is a skilled fighter and will not be eliminated easily.\nWhen Arquen is dead, I will have your reward and next contract waiting at the next dead drop -- under one of the beds in the Leyawiin Coast Guard station."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/alyssas-journal": {"series": "Dire Warren Journals", "game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/alyssas-journal", "author": "Traelius and Alyssa", "title": "Alyssa's Journal", "description": "Two journals that were recovered from Dire Warren root system.", "text": "Second Seed, Tirdas\nTraelius surprised me when he brought me to this place. It is quite beautiful here. This will be a much-needed vacation from the city.\nI have found the cool water from the stream nearby to be quite refreshing. The spot above the waterfall is a great area to clear my thoughts; I shall bathe there frequently.\n7th Mid Year, Turdas\nHis continual reference of this place as our 'home' is beginning to annoy me. How do I tell him that it is not my wish to spend the rest of my days here?\n11th Mid Year, Morndas\nTraelius informed me that he plans on making this dwelling our permanent home. I will try and convince him otherwise; I do not see us living here for the rest of our lives!\n15th Mid Year, Fredas\nThis place is beginning to feel like a cage. I need to get out. I am in much need of fresh air, of sunlight, of life. I am going to try and find some way out of here so I might be able to grab a bit of freedom from time to time.\n20th Mid Year, Middas\nI have been spending more time at my daily baths scouting the area below, trying to find safe passage. I do not think he suspects anything, so I will continue my search.\n22nd Mid Year, Fredas\nI climbed down the cliff face today and into the cavern below to scout out a safe passage. I was careless in my steps and alerted a nearby creature. I quickly retreated up the walls and bruised my arms and legs in the process. I do not think Traelius has noticed the bruises, as he has not mentioned anything about them as of yet. I need to be more careful.\n24th Mid Year, Sundas\nI think I have found a way around the creatures! Yes, I am certain. Before I try to escape I will attempt to convince him to leave this place once and for all.\n27th Mid Year, Middas\nMy confession of last night to Traelius worked -- he is letting me return to the city! In some ways I am sad. Sad that I will not see him for a while, for I know he loves me and I, he. I just cannot stay here for the rest of my days. I leave as soon as I am finished packing.\nTurdas\nTraelius!\nWhy do you not come for me?\nI am hurt.\nI am scared.\nI scream your name, I beg of you to come for me, but I do not see you.\nWhy do you leave me here, alone and injured?\nI am at your mercy.\nLoredas\nAfter three days of yelling for help near the waterfall with no response from Traelius, I have given up hope. With my fractured leg, I cannot possibly go on. I can neither go forward nor return. I can only suffer.\nMorndas? Tirdas?\nI managed to drag myself down the stream a bit, but cannot go on. It is not so bad. I have now what I have been craving for a long time -- freedom, although not as I had planned. Nonetheless, I am free. It is not so bad. The cool water from the stream is quite refreshing after all."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/traelius-journal": {"series": "Dire Warren Journals", "game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/traelius-journal", "author": "Traelius and Alyssa", "title": "Traelius' Journal", "description": "Two journals that were recovered from Dire Warren root system.", "text": "4th Mid Year, Morndas\n__________________________\nAlyssa has been very nervous these past few days, even thinking about packing up and moving out of here. I will hear nothing of it. She does not understand the importance of this place to me. The city is too busy and too noisy for me to think clearly. Only here can I practice my studies in peace and not have to deal with the Inferiors back in the city. Nothing soothes the soul like the gentle sound of rushing water. She will grow to love this place.\n19th Mid Year, Tirdas\n__________________________\nAlyssa is beginning to spend more and more time at her daily baths. I have not pressed the matter, for I know she is true to me. Maybe I will follow her tomorrow. No. I cannot. I cannot afford to lose her trust. I have worked too hard to get her here.\n22nd Mid Year, Fredas\n__________________________\nSpent two hours waiting for my Alyssa to return from her daily bath near the waterfall. She apparently fell asleep. I did not inquire any further, but I did notice scratches and bruises on her forearms and legs. She probably tripped and fell, but was too embarrassed to tell me about it.\n26th Mid Year, Morndas\n__________________________\nThe past few days Alyssa has brought up the subject of leaving this place. Has she already forgotten why we came here in the first place? Has she already forgotten the daily mental torture of conversing with the Inferiors in the city? This constant bickering between us is starting to wear on me and I fear I will not be able to take much more of it.\n27th Mid Year, Middas\n__________________________\nAlyssa spent nearly four hours today at the waterfall. She said she fell asleep again. I will not be made a fool. I demanded she tell me where she had been. She burst into tears and confessed she no longer wished to stay here with me. That night I did not sleep and the day's events played over and over in my head. In the morning, I made the decision to let Alyssa leave. Let her be free. Let her live life the way she wants. She thanked me, parted with one final kiss, and then took off toward the waterfall. That was the last I saw of my dear Alyssa.\n29th Mid Year, Fredas\n__________________________\nI have done what I know is right, but my heart will not accept it. Only time will heal my heartache, and now it seems I have all the time in the world... alone. I have done the right thing. I had no right to keep her here against her will. The only thing that keeps me sane is knowing she is happy once again and free to do what she wants. I swear I still hear her voice now and then coming from the waterfall, but I know they are only echoes of memory. I must stay strong. I will stay here until my dying days and maybe, just maybe, she will return to me."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/eslaf-erol-series-beggar-0": {"series": "Eslaf Erol Series", "game": ["Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/eslaf-erol-series-beggar-0", "author": "Reven", "title": "Eslaf Erol Series: Beggar", "description": "The life of Eslaf Erol, ironical and completely ludicrous.", "text": "BEGGAR\nBy\nReven\nEslaf Erol was the last of the litter of five born to the Queen of the prosperous Nordic kingdom of Erolgard, Lahpyrcopa, and her husband, the King of Erolgard, Ytluaf.  During pregnancy, the Queen had been more than twice as wide as she was tall, and the act of delivery took three months and six days after it had begun.  It is perhaps understandable that the Lahpyrcopa elected, upon expelling Eslaf to frown, say, 'Good riddance,' and die.\nLike many Nords, Ytluaf did not care very much for his wife and less for his children.  His subjects were puzzled, therefore, when he announced that he would follow the ancient tradition of his people of Atmora of following his beloved spouse to the grave.  They had not thought they were particularly in love, nor were they aware that such a tradition existed.  Still, the simple people were grateful, for the little royal drama alleviated their boredom, which was and is a common problem in the more obscure parts of northern Skyrim, particularly in wintertide.\nHe gathered his household staff and his five fat, bawling little heirs in front of him, and divided his estate.  To his son Ynohp, he gave his title; to his son Laernu, he gave his land; to his son Suoibud, he gave his fortune; to his daughter Laicifitra, he gave his army.  Ytluaf's advisors had suggested he keep the inheritance together for the good of the kingdom, but Ytluaf did not particularly care for his advisors, or the kingdom, for that matter.  Upon making his announcement, he drew his dagger across his throat.\nOne of the nurses, who was rather shy, finally decided to speak as the King's life ebbed away.  'Your highness, you forgot your fifth child, little Eslaf.'\nGood Ytluaf groaned.  It is somewhat hard to concentrate with blood gushing from one's throat, after all.  The King tried in vain to think of something to bequeath, but there was nothing left.\nFinally he sputtered, irritably, 'Eslaf should have taken something then' and died.\nThat a babe but a few days old was expected to demand his rightful inheritance was arguably unfair.  But so Eslaf Erol was given his birthright with his father's dying breath.  He would have nothing, but what he had taken.\nSince no one else would have him, the shy nurse, whose name was Drusba, took the baby home.  It was a decrepit little shack, and over the years that followed, it became more and more decrepit.  Unable to find work, Drusba sold all of her furnishings to buy food for little Eslaf.  By the time he was old enough to walk and talk, she had sold the walls and the roof as well, so they had nothing but a floor to call home.  And if you've ever been to Skyrim, you can appreciate that that is scarcely sufficient.\nDrusba did not tell Eslaf the story of his birth, or that his brothers and sister were leading quite nice lives with their inheritances, for, as we have said, she was rather shy, and found it difficult to broach the subject.  She was so painfully shy, in fact, that whenever he asked any questions about where he came from, Drusba would run away.  That was more or less her answer to everything, to flee.\nIn order to communicate with her at all, Eslaf learned how to run almost as soon as he could walk.  He couldn't keep up with his adopted mother at first, but in time he learned to go toe-heel toe-heel if he anticipated a short but fast sprint, and heel-toe heel-toe if it seemed Drusba was headed for a long distance marathon flight.  He never did get all the answers he needed from her, but Eslaf did learn how to run.\nThe kingdom of Erolgard had, in the years that Eslaf was growing, become quite a grim place.  King Ynohp did not have a treasury, for Suoibud had been given that; he did not have any property for income, for Laernu had been given that; he did not have an army to protect the people, for Laicifitra had been given that.  Futhermore, as he was but a child, all decisions in the kingdom went through Ynohp's rather corrupt council.  It had become a bureaucratic exploitative land of high taxes, rampant crime, and regular incursions from neighboring kingdoms.  Not a particular unusual situation for a kingdom of Tamriel, but an unpleasant one nonetheless.\nThe time finally came when the taxcollector arrived to Drusba's hovel, such as it was, to collect the only thing he could - the floor.  Rather than protest, the poor shy maid ran away, and Eslaf never saw her again.\nWithout a home or a mother, Eslaf did not know what to do.  He had grown accustomed to the cold open air in Drusba's shack, but he was hungry.\n'May I have a piece of meat?' he asked the butcher down the street. 'I'm very hungry.'\nThe man had known the boy for years, often spoke to his wife about how sorry he felt for him, growing up in a home with no ceilings or walls.  He smiled at Eslaf and said, 'Go away, or I'll hit you.'\nEslaf hurriedly left the butcher and went to a nearby tavern.  The tavernkeeper had been a former valet in the king's court and knew that the boy was by right a prince.  Many times, he had seen the poor ragged lad in the streets, and sighed at the way fate had treated him.\n'May I have something to eat?' Eslaf asked this tavernkeeper. 'I'm very hungry.'\n'You're lucky I don't cook you up and eat you,' replied the tavernkeeper.\nEslaf hurriedly left the tavern.  For the rest of the day, the boy approached the good citizens of Erolgard, begging for food.  One person had thrown something at him, but it turned out to be an inedible rock.\nAs night fell, a raggedy man came up to Eslaf and, without saying a word, handed him a piece of fruit and a piece of dried meat.  The lad took it, wide-eyed, and as he devoured it, he thanked the man very sweetly.\n'If I see you begging on the streets tomorrow,' the man growled. 'I'll kill you myself.  There are only so many beggars we of the guild allow in any one town, and you make it one too many.  You're ruining business.'\nIt was a good thing Eslaf Erol knew how to run.  He ran all night.\nEslaf Erol's story is continued in the book 'Thief.'\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/eslaf-erol-series-thief-0": {"series": "Eslaf Erol Series", "game": ["Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/eslaf-erol-series-thief-0", "author": "Reven", "title": "Eslaf Erol Series: Thief", "description": "The life of Eslaf Erol, ironical and completely ludicrous.", "text": "THIEF\nBy\nReven\nIf the reader has not yet had the pleasure of reading the first volume in these series on the life of Eslaf Erol, 'Beggar,' he should close this book immediately, for I shan't recap.\nI will tell you this much, gentle reader. When we last saw Eslaf, he was a boy, an orphan, a failed beggar, running through the wild winter woods of Skyrim, away from his home of Erolgard. He continued running, stopping here and there, for many more years, until he was a young man.\nEslaf discovered that among the ways of getting food, asking for it was the most troublesome. Far easier was finding it in the wilderness, or taking it from unguarded market stalls. The only thing worse than begging to get food was begging for the opportunity to work for the money to buy it. That seemed needlessly complicated.\nNo, as far as Eslaf was concerned, he was best off being a scavenger, a beggar, and a thief.\nHe commited his first act of thievery shortly after leaving Erolgard, while in the southern woods of Tamburkar in the rugged land near Mount Jensen just east of the village of Hoarbeld. Eslaf was starving, having not eaten anything but a rather scrawny raw squirrel in four days, and he smelled meat cooking and then found the smoke. A band of minstral bards was making camp. He watched them from the bushes as they cooked, and joked, and flirted, and sang.\nHe could've asked them for some food, but so many others had refused him before. Instead, he rushed out, grabbed a piece of meat from the fire, and wincing from the burns, scrambled up the nearest tree to devour it while the bards stood under him and laughed.\n'What is your next move, thief?' giggled a fair, red-headed woman who was covered with tattoos. 'How do you intend to disappear without us catching and punishing you?'\nAs the hunger subsided, Eslaf realized she was right. The only way to get out of the tree without falling in their midst was to take the branch down to where it hung over a creek. It was a drop off a cliff of about fifty feet. That seemed like the wisest strategy, so Eslaf began crawling in that direction.\n'You do know how to fall, boy?' called out a young Khajiiti, but a few years older than Eslaf, thin but muscular, graceful in his slightest movements. 'If you don't, you should just climb down here and take what's coming to you. It's idiotic to break your neck, when we'd just give you some bruises and send you on your way.'\n'Of course I know how to fall,' Eslaf called back, but he didn't. He just thought the trick of falling was to have nothing underneath you, and let nature take its course. But fifty feet up, when you're looking down, is enough to give anyone pause.\n'I'm sorry to doubt your abilities, Master Thief,' said the Khajiiti, grinning. 'Obviously you know to fall feet first with your body straight but loose to avoid cracking like an egg. It seems you are destined to escape us.'\nEslaf wisely followed the Khajiiti's hints, and leapt into the river, falling without much grace but without hurting himself. In the years that followed, he had to make several more drops from even greater heights, usually after a theft, sometimes without water beneath him, and he improved the basic technique.\nWhen he arrived in the western town of Jallenheim on the morning of his twenty-first birthday, it didn't take him long to find out who was the richest person, most deserving of being burgled. An impregnable palace in a park near the center of town was owned by a mysterious young man named Suoibud. Eslaf wasted no time in finding the palace and watching it. A fortified palace he had come to learn was like a person, with quirks and habits beneath its hard shell.\nIt was not an old place, evidently whatever money this Suoibud had come into was fairly recent. It was regularly patrolled by guards, implying that the rich man was fearful of been burgled, with good reason. The most distinctive feature of the palace was its tower, rising a hundred feet above the stone walls, doubtless giving the occupant a good defensive view. Eslaf guessed that that if Suoibud was as paranoid as he guessed him to be, the tower would also provide a view of the palace storehouse. The rich man would want to keep an eye on his fortune. That meant that the loot couldn't be directly beneath the tower, but somewhere in the courtyard within the walls.\nThe light in the tower shone all night long, so Eslaf boldly decided that the best time to burgle was by the light of day, when Suoibud must sleep. That would be the time the guards would least expect a thief to pounce.\nAnd so, when the noon sun was shining over the palace, Eslaf quickly scaled the wall near the front gate and waited, hidden in the crenelations. The interior courtyard was plain and desolate, with few places to hide, but he saw that there were two wells. One the guards used from time to time to draw up water and slake their thirst, but Eslaf noticed that guards would pass by the other well, never using it.\nHe waited until the guards were distracted, just for a second, by the arrival of a merchant in a wagon, bearing goods for the palace. While they were searching his wagon, Eslaf leapt, elegantly, feet first, from the wall into the well.\nIt was not a particularly soft landing for, as Eslaf had guessed, the well was not full of water, but gold. Still, he knew how to roll after a fall, and he didn't hurt himself. In the dank subterranean storehouse, he stuffed his pockets with gold and was about to go to the door which he assumed would lead to the tower when he noticed a gem the size of an apple, worth more than all the gold that was left. Eslaf found room for it down his pants.\nThe door did indeed lead to the tower, and Eslaf followed its curving stairwell up, walking quietly but quickly. At the top, he found the master of the palace's private quarters, ornate and cold, with invaluable artwork and decorative swords and shields on the walls. Eslaf assumed the snoring lump under the sheets was Suoibud, but he didn't investigate too closely. He crept to the windows and looked out.\nIt was going to be a difficult fall, for certes. He needed to jump from the tower, past the walls, and hit the tree on the other side. The tree branches would hurt, but they would break his fall, and there was a pile of hay he had left under the tree to prevent further injury.\nEslaf was about to leap when the occupant of the room woke up with a start, yelling, 'My gem!'\nEslaf and stared at him for a second, wide-eyed. They looked alike. Not surprising, since they were brothers.\nEslaf Erol's story is continued in the book 'Warrior.'\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/eslaf-erol-series-warrior-0": {"series": "Eslaf Erol Series", "game": ["Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/eslaf-erol-series-warrior-0", "author": "Reven", "title": "Eslaf Erol Series: Warrior", "description": "The life of Eslaf Erol, ironical and completely ludicrous.", "text": "WARRIOR\nBy\nReven\n\nThis is the third book in a four-book series. If you have not read the first two books, 'Beggar' and 'Thief,' you would be well advised to do so.\nSuoibud Erol did not know much of his past, nor did he care to.\nAs a child, he had lived in Erolgard, but the kingdom was very poor and taxes were as a result very high.  He was too young to manage his abundant inheritance, but his servants, fearing that their master would be ruined, moved him to Jallenheim. No one knew why that location was picked. Some old maid, long dead now, had thought it was a good place to raise a child. No one else had a better idea.\nThere may have been children with a more pampered, more spoiled existance than young Suoibud, but that is doubtful. As he grew, he understood that he was rich, but he had nothing else. No family, no social position, no security at all. Loyalty, he found out on more than one occasion, cannot truly be bought. Knowing that he had but one asset, a vast fortune, he was determined to protect it, and, if possible, increase it.\nSome otherwise perfectly nice people are greedy, but Suoibud was that rare accident of nature or breeding who has no other interest but acquiring and hoarding gold. He was willing to do anything to increase his fortune. Most recently, he had begun secretly hiring mercenaries to attack desirable properties, and then buying them when no one wanted to live there any more. The attacks would then, of course, cease, and Suoibud would have profitable land which he had purchased for a song. It had begun small with a few farms, but recently he had begun a more ambitious campaign.\nIn north-central Skyrim, there is an area called The Aalto, which is of unique geographical interest. It is a dormant volcanic valley surrounded on all sides by glaciers, so the earth is hot from the volcano, but the constant water drizzle and air is frigid. A grape called Jazbay grows there comfortably, and everywhere else in Tamriel it withers and dies. The strange vineyard is a privately owned, and the wine produced from it is thus rare and extremely expensive. It is said that the Emperor needs the permission of the Imperial Council to have a glass of it once a year.\nIn order to harass the owner of The Aalto into selling his land cheap, Suoibud had to hire more than a few mercenaries. He had to hire the finest private army in Skyrim.\nSuoibud did not like spending money, but he had agreed to pay the general of the army, a woman called Laicifitra, a gem the size of an apple. He had not given it to her yet - payment was to be delivered on the success of the mission - but he had trouble sleeping knowing that he was going to giving up such a prize. He always slept during the day so he could watch his storehouse by night, when he knew thieves were about.\nThat brings us up to this moment when, after a fitful sleep, Suoibud woke up at about noon, and surprised a thief in his bedroom. The thief was Eslaf.\nEslaf had been contemplating a leap from the window, a hundred feet down, into the branches of a tree beyond the walls of the fortified palace, and a tumble into a stack of hay. Anyone who has ever attempted such a feat will testify that it takes some concentration and nerve to do such a thing. When he saw that the rich man sleeping in the room had awakened, both left him, and Eslaf slipped behind a tall ornamental shield on display to wait for Suoibud to go back to sleep.\nSuoibud did not go back to sleep. He had heard nothing, but could feel someone in the room with him. He stood up and began pacing the room.\nSuoibud paced and paced, and gradually decided that he was imagining things. No one was there. His fortune was safe and secure.\nHe was returning to his bed when he heard a clunk. Turning around, he saw the gem, the one he was to give to Laicifitra on the floor by the Atmoran cavalry shield. A hand reached out from behind the shield and grabbed it up.\n'Thief!' Suoibud cried out, grabbing a jeweled Akaviri katana from the wall and lunging at the shield.\nThe 'fight' between Eslaf and Suoibud will not go down in the annals of great duels. Suoibud did not know how to use a sword, and Eslaf was no expert at blocking with a shield. It was clumsy, it was awkward. Suoibud was furious, but was psychologically incapable of using the sword in any way that could damage its fine filligree, reducing its market value. Eslaf kept moving, dragging the shield with him, trying to keep it between him and the blade, which is, after all, the most essential part of any block.\nSuoibud screamed in frustration as he struck at the shield, bumping its way across the room. He even tried negotiating with the thief, explaining that the gem was promised to a great warrior named Laicifitra, and if he would give it back, Suoibud would happily give him something else in return. Eslaf was not a genius, but he did not believe that.\nBy the time Suoibud's guards came to the bedroom in response to their master's calls, he had succeeded in backing the shield into a window.\nThey fell on the shield, having considerable more expertise with their swords than Suoibud did, but they discovered that there was no one behind it. Eslaf had leapt out the window and escaped.\nAs he ran heavily through the streets of Jallenheim, making jingling noises from the gold coins in his pockets, and feeling the huge gem chafe where he had hidden it, Eslaf did not know where he should go next. He knew only that he could never go back to that town, and he must avoid this warrior named Laicifitra who had claims on the jewel.\nEslaf Erol's story is continued in the book 'King.'\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/eslaf-erol-series-king-0": {"series": "Eslaf Erol Series", "game": ["Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/eslaf-erol-series-king-0", "author": "Reven", "title": "Eslaf Erol Series: King", "description": "The life of Eslaf Erol, ironical and completely ludicrous.", "text": "KING\nBy\nReven\n\nGentle reader, you will not understand a word of what follows unless you have read and commited to memory the first three volumes in this series, 'Beggar,' 'Thief,' and 'Warrior,' which leads up to this, the conclusion.  I encourage you to seek them out at your favorite bookseller.\nWe last left Eslaf Erol fleeing for his life, which was a common enough occurance for him.  He had stolen a lot of gold, and one particularly large gem, from a rich man in Jallenheim named Suoibud.  The thief fled north, spending the gold wildly, as thieves generally do, for all sorts of illicit pleasures, which would no doubt disturb the gentleman or lady reading this, so I will not go into detail.\nThe one thing he held onto was the gem.\nHe didn't keep it because of any particular attachment, but because he did not know anyone rich enough to buy it from him.  And so he found himself in the ironic situation of being penniless and having in his possession a gem worth millions.\n'Will you give me a room, some bread, and a flagon of beer in exchange for this?' he asked a tavernkeep in the little village of Kravenswold, which was so far north, it was half situated on the Sea of Ghosts.\nThe tavernkeep looked at it suspiciously.\n'It's just crystal,' Eslaf said quickly. 'But isn't it pretty?'\n'Let me see that,' said a young armor-clad woman at the end of the bar.  Without waiting permission, she picked up the gem, studied it, and smiled not very sweetly at Eslaf. 'Would you join me at my table?'\n'I'm actually in a bit of a hurry,' replied Eslaf, holding out his hand for the stone. 'Another time?'\n'Out of respect for my friend, the tavernkeep here, my men and I leave our weapons behind when we come in here,' the woman said casually, not handing the gem back, but picking up a broom that was sitting against the bar. 'I can assure you, however, that I can use this quite effectively as a blunt instrument.  Not a weapon, of course, but an instrument to stun, medicinally crush a bone or two, and then - once it is on the inside...'\n'Which table?' asked Eslaf quickly.\nThe young woman led him to a large table in the back of the tavern where ten of the biggest Nord brutes Eslaf had ever seen were sitting.  They looked at him with polite disinterest, as if he were a strange insect, worth briefly studying before crushing.\n'My name is Laicifitra,' she said, and Eslaf blinked.  That was the name Suoibud had uttered before Eslaf had made his escape. 'And these are my lieutenants.  I am the commander of a very large independent army of noble knights.  The very best in Skyrim. Most recently we were given a job to attack a vineyard in The Aalto to force its owner, a man named Laernu, to sell to our employer, a man named Suoibud.  Our payment was to be a gem of surpassing size and quality, quite famous and unmistakable.\n'We did as we were asked, and when we went to Suoibud to collect our fee, he told us he was unable to pay, due to a recent burglary.  In the end, though, he saw things our way, and paid us an amount of gold almost equal to the worth of the prize jewel... It did not empty out his treasury entirely, but it meant he was unable to buy the land in the Aalto after all.  So we were not paid enough, Suoibud has taken a heavy financial blow, and Laernu's prize crop of Jazbay has been temporarily destroyed for naught,' Laicifitra took a long, slow drink of her mead before continuing. 'Now, I wonder, could you tell me, how came you in the possession of the gem we were promised?'\nEslaf did not answer at once.\nInstead, he took a piece of bread from the plate of the savage bearded barbarian on his left and ate it.\n'I'm sorry,' he said, his mouth full. 'May I?  Of course, I couldn't stop you from taking the gem even if I wanted to, and as a matter of fact, I don't mind at all.  It's also useless to deny how it came into my possession.  I stole it from your employer.  I certainly didn't mean you or your noble knights any harm by it, but I can understand why the word of a thief is not suitable for one such as yourself.'\n'No,' replied Laicifitra, frowning, but her eyes showing amusement. 'Not suitable at all.'\n'But before you kill me,' Eslaf said, grabbing another piece of bread. 'Tell me, how suitable is it for noble knights such as yourself to be paid twice for one job?  I have no honor myself, but I would have thought that since Suoibud took a profit loss to pay you, and now you have the gem, your handsome profit is not entirely honorable.'\nLaicifitra picked up the broom and looked at Eslaf.  Then she laughed, 'What is your name, thief?'\n'Eslaf,' said the thief.\n'We will take the gem, as it was promised to us.  But you are right.  We should not be paid twice for the same job.  So,' said the warrior woman, putting down the broomstick. 'You are our new employer.  What would you have your own army do for you?'\nMany people could find quite a few good uses for their own army, but Eslaf was not among them.  He searched his brain, and finally it was decided that it was a debt to be paid later.  For all her brutality, Laicifitra was an simple woman, raised, he learned, by the very army she commanded.  Fighting and honor were the only things she knew.\nWhen Eslaf left Kravenswold, he had an army at his beck and call, but not a coin to his name.  He knew he would have to steal something soon.\nAs he wandered the woods, scrounging for food, he was beset with a strange feeling of familiarity.  These were the very woods he had been in as a child, also starving, also scrounging.  When he came out on the road, he found that he had come back on the kingdom where he had been raised by the dear, stupid, shy maid Drusba.\nHe was in Erolgard.\nIt had fallen even deeper into despair since his youth.  The shops that had refused him food were boarded up, abandoned.  The only people left were hollow, hopeless figures, so ravaged by taxation, despotism, and barbaric raids that they were too weak to flee.  Eslaf realized how lucky he was to have gotten out in his youth.\nThere was, however, a castle and a king.  Eslaf immediately made plans to raid the treasury.  As usual, he watched the place carefully, taking note of the security and the habits of the guards.  This took some time.  In the end, he realized there was no security and no guards.\nHe walked in the front door, and down the empty corridors to the treasury.  It was full of precisely nothing, except one man.  He was Eslaf's age, but looked much older.\n'There's nothing to steal,' he said. 'Would that there was.'\nKing Ynohp, though prematurely aged, had the same white blond hair and blue eyes like broken glass that Eslaf had.  In fact, he resembled Suoibud and Laicifitra as well.  And though Eslaf had never met the ruined landlord of the Aalto, Laernu, he looked him too.  Not surprisingly, since they were quintuplets.\n'So, you have nothing?' asked Eslaf, gently.\n'Nothing except my poor kingdom, curse it,' the King grumbled. 'Before I came to the throne, it was powerful and rich, but I inherited none of that, only the title.  For my entire life, I've had responsibility thrust on my shoulders, but never had the means to handle it properly.  I look over the desolation which is my birthright, and I hate it.  If it were possible to steal a kingdom, I would not lift a finger to stop you.'\nIt was, it turned out, quite possible to steal a kingdom.  Eslaf became known as Ynohp, a deception easily done given their physical similarities.  The real Ynohp, taking the name of Ylekilnu, happily left his demesne, becoming eventually a simple worker in the vineyards of The Aalto.  For the first time free of responsibility, he fell into his new life with gusto, the years melting off him.\nThe new Ynohp called in his favor with Laicifitra, using her army to restore peace to the kingdom of Erolgard.  Now that it was safe, business and commerce began to return to the land, and Eslaf reduced the tyrannical taxes to encourage it to grow.  Upon hearing that, Suoibud, ever nervous about losing his money, elected to return to the land of his birth.  When he died years later, out of greed, he had refused to name someone an heir, so the kingdom received its entire fortune.\nEslaf used part of the gold to buy the vineyards of The Aalto, after hearing great things of it from Ynohp.\nAnd so it was that Erolgard was returned to its previous prosperity by the fifth born child of King Ytluaf - Eslaf Erol, beggar, thief, warrior (of sorts), and king.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gyub-lord-pit": {"series": "Fain Scrolls", "game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gyub-lord-pit", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Gyub, Lord of the Pit", "description": "", "text": "Praise of Gyub\n[Kneel, face forward and raise hands above head]\nPraise be to Gyub, Lord of the Pit.\n\u00a0\u00a0Hear us, Warbling Redeemer.\n\u00a0\u00a0Hail the Rebirth approaching.\nPraise be to Gyub, Lord of the Pit.\n[Lower hands and close eyes]\nPlease accept our offering, merciful one.\n\u00a0\u00a0Extend your tentacles and accept this gift.\n\u00a0\u00a0Bless us, Embryonic Prince.\nMay this offering satisfy your infinite maw.\n[Stand, open eyes and wait for volunteer to be escorted to the precipice]\nPlease accept our offering oh merciful one.\n\u00a0\u00a0Feed and grow now, our Prince.\n\u00a0\u00a0Arise and devour Oblivion hence.\nMay this offering sate your growing bulk.\n[Open floor and grasp volunteer by wrists and ankles. Gently swing with sideways motion]\nPraise be to Gyub, Lord of the Pit.\n\u00a0\u00a0Magg-a-rathala!\n\u00a0\u00a0Magg-a-Nutaggon!\nPraise be to Gyub, Lord of the Pit.\n[Begin to rhythmically stomp feet all the while swinging volunteer faster and faster]\nPraise be to Gyub, praise be to Gyub, praise be to Gyub.\nPraise be to Gyub, praise be to Gyub, praise be to Gyub.\nPraise be to Gyub, praise be to Gyub, praise be to Gyub.\n[When volunteer has reached maximum height, release wrists and ankles. Wait for screaming to stop. Face forward and raise hands above head]\nPraise be to Gyub,\n\u00a0\u00a0Call to us, Prince!\n\u00a0\u00a0Sing your fell tune!\nPraise be to Gyub.\n[Wait for Gyub to respond. Get down on knees with hands still raised above head]\nAll hail Gyub, Lord of the Pit.\nAll hail rebirth, day of our death.\nAll hail Gyub, All hail Gyub."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/scroll-0": {"series": "Fain Scrolls", "game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/scroll-0", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Scroll", "description": "", "text": "My Dearest Cousin,\nThank you for last month's shipment -- He was very pleased. I have found that when two are thrown in at the same time, the louder His response and the longer it lasts. How exciting!\nNow, I understand how difficult it is for you to gather more volunteers, but I am in need of your services more than ever, cousin. You and I both know it will not be long until the day of Rebirth is upon us, so the more we can offer, the better. When He arrives, I will make sure you are duly rewarded for your services. Be sure to let our volunteers know how happy we all are with their commitment to the cause and what an enormous impact they are having on the coming of Rebirth."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/glarthirs-notes-note-1": {"series": "Glarthir's Notes", "game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/glarthirs-notes-note-1", "author": "Glarthir", "title": "Glarthir's Notes: Note 1", "description": "", "text": "Good news! I may still have a chance. Found someone to help me today. A stranger who can move freely. Hope to have proof against Bernadette Peneles by tonight!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/glarthirs-notes-note-2": {"series": "Glarthir's Notes", "game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/glarthirs-notes-note-2", "author": "Glarthir", "title": "Glarthir's Notes: Note 2", "description": "", "text": "Bernadette Peneles is guilty, as I thought! My new agent has proved trustworthy and efficient. We must move quickly before the conspiracy learns that I am no longer alone. I should have proof against Toutius Sextius by tonight.\nBernadette Peneles is not involved in the conspiracy! At least so my new acquaintance tells me. I hope it is true, but my instincts are rarely wrong. But I have no reason to suspect treachery, yet. The report on Toutius Sextius should help me decide where my new friend's loyalties lie."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/glarthirs-notes-note-3": {"series": "Glarthir's Notes", "game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/glarthirs-notes-note-3", "author": "Glarthir", "title": "Glarthir's Notes: Note 3", "description": "", "text": "Proof against Toutius Sextius, at last! I chose my helper well. Now to gather evidence against Davide Surilie, and the conspiracy will at last be laid bare. If we can preserve the element of surprise, we may still have a chance!\nToutius Sextius is blameless, it seems. I am glad to know that at least one of my fellow-citizens is not involved in the conspiracy. When my new friend delivers proof of Davide Surilie's guilt, I can finally take decisive action with a clear conscience.\nI fear the conspiracy spreads further than I thought. The supposed stranger in town appears to be involved. Is it likely that both Bernadette Peneles and Toutius Sextius are blameless? But I must not act without proof. I have always held myself to a higher standard than my enemies. The report on Davide Surilie will tell the tale. I fear that the end is near. But I will not go down without a fight! They will know that Glarthir, at least, did not submit to their yoke quietly!!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/glarthirs-notes-note-4": {"series": "Glarthir's Notes", "game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/glarthirs-notes-note-4", "author": "Glarthir", "title": "Glarthir's Notes: Note 4", "description": "", "text": "These people MUST be killed! There is no choice, they are definitely conspiring against me.\nBernadette Peneles\nToutius Sextius\nDavide Surilie (THE RINGLEADER -- kill him first!)\nCome back and see me (make sure you are NOT followed) once it is done and I will give you your reward.\nGlarthir\nBernadette Peneles MUST be killed! There is no choice, she is definitely conspiring against me.\nCome back and see me (make sure you are NOT followed) once it is done and I will give you your reward.\nGlarthir\nThese people MUST be killed! There is no choice, they are definitely conspiring against me.\nBernadette Peneles\nDavide Surilie (THE RINGLEADER -- kill him first!)\nCome back and see me (make sure you are NOT followed) once it is done and I will give you your reward.\nGlarthir\nThese people MUST be killed! There is no choice, they are definitely conspiring against me.\nBernadette Peneles\nToutius Sextius\nCome back and see me (make sure you are NOT followed) once it is done and I will give you your reward.\nGlarthir\nDavide Surilie MUST be killed! There is no choice, he is definitely conspiring against me.\nCome back and see me (make sure you are NOT followed) once it is done and I will give you your reward.\nGlarthir\nThese people MUST be killed! There is no choice, they are definitely conspiring against me.\nToutius Sextius\nDavide Surilie (THE RINGLEADER -- kill him first!)\nCome back and see me (make sure you are NOT followed) once it is done and I will give you your reward.\nGlarthir\nToutius Sextius MUST be killed! There is no choice, he is definitely conspiring against me.\nCome back and see me (make sure you are NOT followed) once it is done and I will give you your reward.\nGlarthir"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/oblivion-handbills-anvil": {"series": "Handbills", "game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/oblivion-handbills-anvil", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Anvil", "description": "Advertisements for various businesses throughout Cyrodiil.", "text": "The Flowing Bowl is a great place to eat. For this week only, we are putting twice as many leeks into our soup as normal. Why not stop in for a bowl? Bring a friend!\nThe beds at the Count's Arms are the softest in Anvil. We wash them after every third customer, no matter how soiled. Our pillows are twice as soft as those at the Flowing Bowl.\nLelle's Quality Merchandise has the best prices and the largest inventory in Anvil. Don't bother with those other shops. We'll beat their prices everytime.\nHaving trouble keeping the peace at home? Come to Morvayn's Peacemakers. One look at our maces and your neighbors will ask before taking your goat.\nA night at the Fo'c'c'le is a night you'll never forget. Our tea and crumpets taste better and last longer than any in Anvil. And there is always a wench to keep you company.\nThe Fo'c's'le features warm beds and great company. Our tea and crumpets taste better and last longer than any in Anvil. The serving wenches are always available for conversation."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/oblivion-handbills-bravil": {"series": "Handbills", "game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/oblivion-handbills-bravil", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Bravil", "description": "Advertisements for various businesses throughout Cyrodiil.", "text": "Bay Roan Stables has what you need. Horses, horse, horses. Don't be content to walk. Ride with style on a Bay horse from Bay Roan Stables.\nThe Lonely Suitor Lodge is ideal for all Bachelors and Bachelorettes. Our rooms are private and soundproof. Our staff asks no questions and tells no tales. Reasonable rates for food and lodging.\nWhen your mother-in-law comes to visit, put her up at Silverhome-on-the-Water. We offer moderately priced, clean rooms. Chamberpots are available for a small fee.\nLooking for a fair deal? Come to the Fair Deal! We won't cheat you, we promise. We buy and sell everything.\nWizard's beware! If you are using supplies from some place other than A Warlock's Luck, you may be taking your life in your hands. Don't compromise your spellcraft. We won't.\nThe Archer's Paradox has everything a hunter might need. If it's sharp and pointy, the odds are we have it, and at a better price than anywhere else."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/oblivion-handbills-bruma": {"series": "Handbills", "game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/oblivion-handbills-bruma", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Bruma", "description": "Advertisements for various businesses throughout Cyrodiil.", "text": "Don't settle for a weak horse. The Wildeye Stable's Paint horses are tougher and meaner than any in Cyrodiil. What good does a faster horse do you if it can't carry the load? We also have the best prices around.\nOlav's Tap and Tack is changing business! Instead of providing for all your horse needs, we will provide for all of yours! Great food! Soft beds! Rousing company! We have it all!\nTired of the noisesome din of the common tap room? Stay at Jerall View. Peaceful, tasteful, and only for the most discerning of customers. Everyone knows, quality comes at a price.\nBuying? Selling? Who cares? We'll do either at Novaroma. We'll do whatever it takes to make the sale.\nDo you believe that the clothes make the man, but you don't look it? Come to Nord Winds for a complete make-over. We'll put you at the height of fashion.\nThe streets of Bruma can be a dangerous place. We can sell you protection at reasonable prices. Every citizen should have a warhammer from the Hammer and Axe. Don't leave home without it."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/oblivion-handbills-chorrol": {"series": "Handbills", "game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/oblivion-handbills-chorrol", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Chorrol", "description": "Advertisements for various businesses throughout Cyrodiil.", "text": "The North Country Stables is the areas finest purveyor of Chestnut horses. Why ride a paint horse or bay horse when you can ride a Chestnut from North Country Stables?\nEat at the Grey Mare tonight. Why cook your own meals when Emfrid can do it for you? We specialize in Orcish cuisine.\nThe Oak and Crosier. If you need to ask why, then you've obviously never dined there. We cater to the best.\nNeed a fur coat? Need new candles? Look no further than Northern Goods and Trade. We have the best from Skyrim and beyond.\nYou can always find what you are looking for at Renoit's Books. Whether you need Barenziah's latest adventures or a guide to the city, we've got it.\nNothing says 'Howdy, villain' like a sharp axe from Fire and Steel. And once you've dented your blade on his skull, we can sharpen it for you, too!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/oblivion-handbills-ic": {"series": "Handbills", "game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/oblivion-handbills-ic", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Imperial City", "description": "Advertisements for various businesses throughout Cyrodiil.", "text": "If you need quality arms and armor, you have to shop at A Fighting Chance. We specialize in custom-fitted armor.\nAt The Main Ingredient, we only stock the finest alchemical ingredients and potions. We may not be the cheapest, but we are the best.\nFirst Edition is a supplier of books for the Imperial Library. If the Emperor trusts us, so can you. We have a widest selection of tomes and histories in all of Cyrodiil.\nStaffs are not for everyone. Only the most talented of wizards can use a staff. If you have what it takes, come see us at Rindir's Staffs. We can sell you the right staff for the right occasion.\nEdgar's Discount Spells will beat any Mages Guild price for spells. Why pay more for the same spell?\nThe Copious Coinpurse has goods from beyond the shores of Anvil. All manner of exotic items are available on our shelves. We have the widest inventory in the city.\nStonewall Shields specializes in armor of all sorts, and shields in particular. We use the best steel for quality armor. Viator Accius trained with Orc smiths for 9 years to learn their secrets.\nRed Diamond Jewelry is the only jewelry store in the nine cities. We have the best gems and silver in Cyrodiil. We also have the best guards, so don't even think about it.\nWhen you're hungry, stop by the Feed Bag. Please.\nJensine's \"Good as New\" Merchandise will beat any price at the Copious Coinpurse. We also buy and sell used goods.\nThree Brothers Trade Goods has a sterling reputation for honesty. We will always pay what your trade goods are worth, and always charge you a fair price for what you buy.\nWhen you dress, do you wear Divine Elegance? You should. A first impression is priceless. That's why you won't see prices marked on our clothing. If you need to ask, you shouldn't be shopping at Divine Elegance.\nMystic Emporium is the only enchanter's shop in all of Cyrodiil. We import the rarest items from Black Marsh, Skyrim, and Morrowind. Come see what we have in stock today.\nSlash 'N Smash makes weapons. Really good weapons. You should buy some.\nThe Gilded Carafe is an Alchemy shop of distinction. We are distinctly CHEAPER than those other guys! Don't pay more! Shop at the Gilded Carafe!\nWhen you need protecting, wear armor made at The Best Defense. We'll keep you safe from the sharpest blades."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/oblivion-handbills-leyawiin": {"series": "Handbills", "game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/oblivion-handbills-leyawiin", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Leyawiin", "description": "Advertisements for various businesses throughout Cyrodiil.", "text": "Rooms and food at the Five Claws Lodge. Let someone else watch the hatchlings tonight. We'll serve you fresh fish. We'll even cook it for a extra fee.\nLet the Three Sisters hunt for you. After your meal, try one of our soft beds for the night. Locks and keys are available for small fee.\nIf it can be made or found, you can buy it or sell it at Best Goods and Guarantees. We'll match any competitor's offer.\nExotic adventures from the Southern kingdoms. Histories of ancient heros. We have it all at Southern Books. We buy used books, too.\nIs that dent in your greaves making it hard to sit down? We'll pound it out for you at The Dividing Line. If we can't fix it, we'll sell you a new set."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/oblivion-handbills-skingrad": {"series": "Handbills", "game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/oblivion-handbills-skingrad", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Skingrad", "description": "Advertisements for various businesses throughout Cyrodiil.", "text": "Horses! Horses! Horses! You know you want one. Come to the Grateful Pass Stables and pick one out today. All horses are for riding only. Grateful Pass Stables does not condone selling horses for food under any circumstances.\nA free bath with every night's stay! Only at the Two Sisters Lodge. Meals and drinks are extra.\nFine dining is a rare experience, unless you eat at the West Weald Inn. We use only the freshest truffles, and our goat's milk yogurt is considered the best in Cyrodiil.\nColovian Traders. We have goods from beyond Black Marsh. We buy and sell almost anything. Browsers are always welcome.\nNeed fresh Bloodgrass? Out of Harrada? We keep them in stock. Husband snores at night? We have silence potions as well. All Things Alchemical. The only shop for potions and rare herbs.\nHammer and Tongs has been in business for 87 years. Seven generations of smiths have passed down their secrets to Agnete. If he can't forge it, you need to talk to the Last Dwarf."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/oblivion-handbills-chapel": {"series": "Handbills", "game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/oblivion-handbills-chapel", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Chapels", "description": "Advertisements for various businesses throughout Cyrodiil.", "text": "TRAVELERS! FIND PEACE AND JOY WITH DIBELLA!\nThe Chapel of Dibella welcomes visitors to Anvil. Come and share the quiet grace and joy of the Goddess of Love.\n\"My spirit rises up, sweet Dibella. My spirit praises you in the happiness of my heart.\"\nCOME! EXPLORE FAITH AND WISDOM AT THE CHAPEL OF MARA!\nThe earnest believer may improve both spriit [sic] and mind with the dedicated clerics of Mara. Visit our altars for health and inspiration. Meditate upon the Mysteries of Nirn and the Nine in quiet contemplation. Seek instruction in Restoration and Speechcraft from our wise and patient trainers.\n\"Praise us in our ministry, O Mara, that we may serve you and your people.\"\n\"YOU, MY CHILDREN, ARE BLEST OF ARKAY!\"\nCitizens of Cheydinhal! Children, saints, and travelers! Come to the Chapel, and drink deep of the waters of the Spirit. The Altar of the Nine shall make you hale and whole! The Nine Altars shall refresh your spirit, and fill you with the Gods' glories! Arkay's servants shall train you in the mysteries of Restoration and Alteration!\n\"Not a stone, stem, or spirit below but sings of Your Wonders!\"\nTRACE THE STATIONS OF THE NINE AT THE CHAPEL OF STENDARR!\nCome! Contemplate the Nine and their Glories! Begin at the Altar of the Nine, where the world's wounds are washed away, and the corruptions of the spirit and body are made clean. Then step along the Stations of the Nine -- Stendarr, Arkay, Mara, Zenithar, Talos, Kynareth, Dibella, Julianos, and Akatosh -- and see what bright inspiration springs from Devotion to the Great Lords of All!\n\"My heart and spirit are full! Where e'er my eye turns, there shines thy Glories!\"\nTHE CHAPEL OF ZENITHAR WELCOMES YOU!\nTake a break from your labors! Work is sacred, but rest and restoration are sacred, too! Sit in quiet contemplation, or seek counsel from Zenithar's servants. Gather together with your friends and neighbors, and send up hymns of praise to the Nine.\n\"Take strength from my altars, and comfort, and wisdom. These gifts I have prepared for you, when you rest from your labors.\"\nCLASSES IN HEALING AT THE CHAPEL OF JULIANOS\nTraining in the Restoration Arts is now available from Sister Marie Palielle at the Skingrad Chapel. Arrangements should be made with Sister Marie herself. Scheduling is flexible.\nAnd while you're at the chapel, don't forget...\n\"Seek forgiveness for your sins, O ye faithful! Offend not against the laws of Man or God. For none but must tremble, when ye contemplate that Julianos is Just!\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/weathered-journal": {"series": "Lost Boy Cavern Notes", "game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/weathered-journal", "author": "Vangaril and Erandur", "title": "Weathered Journal", "description": "", "text": "Long have I sought to purge the evils haunting Erandur. Even when his necromantic studies resulted in our mutual expulsion from the Guild of Mages, I persisted in guiding him towards good with a gentle hand. Alas, in our exile, my old friend has mired himself in the foul practice, and in shocking discovery I learned he had become a miserly disciple of the Worm King, a cunning wraith. A Lich.\nFrail memory strengthened by dogmatic resolve, the Archmages turned me away when I came to them with my discovery. My pleas for a detachment of battlemages ignored, only my long-past expulsion remembered. And thus, the grave duty falls only to me. I must bear the burden of purging the Lich that was once a friend.\nI wander now into the foreboding maw of these catacombs known as the Lost Boy Caverns, far from the climes of common elves and men. With pure spirit and rites of cleansing, I hope to strike down the fearsome Lich and set free the soul of Erandur, but I leave this testament behind, lest I may never return from these depths; as a warning to those who may follow my path.\nFaithful, even in Exile,\nVangaril"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crumpled-piece-paper": {"series": "Lost Boy Cavern Notes", "game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crumpled-piece-paper", "author": "Vangaril and Erandur", "title": "Crumpled Piece of Paper", "description": "", "text": "Rot, decay, and O the worms! The pitiful scrabbling of this mortal shell shall soon be quieted. Vangaril! Fool! Struggle no more. When you read these words, know that your graying skin, your failing breath, know that they are your own doing, your own foil and folly! Soon, you will be no more, and Lich Erandur will consume you, from within. Resign unto your fate; join Us."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crumpled-piece-paper-2": {"series": "Lost Boy Cavern Notes", "game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crumpled-piece-paper-2", "author": "Vangaril and Erandur", "title": "Crumpled Piece of Paper - 2", "description": "", "text": "Each day this cave foils me. I could swear I am near the surface when I awake shaking, cold and in this dank inner keep. Here I must keep notes of the way out.\nThree steps forth, five steps right, six steps up and seven for woe.\nEight steps make the children cry, Nine steps pop Khajiit's eyes!\nTen steps mark the Worm King's Wrath, Eleven steps through the gates, of scorched Oblivion!\nWorm of Death Take Vangaril"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/folded-page": {"series": "Lost Boy Cavern Notes", "game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/folded-page", "author": "Vangaril and Erandur", "title": "Folded Page", "description": "", "text": "This day, I have struck down the shade of my former friend and ally. With a heavy heart, as the Lich wailed and perished, I performed the rites to extract Erandur's soul from Undeath, and destroy the lich utterly. No dusty text had prepared me for the bizarre events that occurred, but I am confident that I have freed the soul of Erandur.\nI feel compelled to investigate this cavern. Perhaps some dark relics here can be used for research to better combat necromancers in the future. I will explore, and perhaps emerge with trophies enough to prove my worth to the guild."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-guild-mages": {"series": "Lost Boy Cavern Notes", "game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-guild-mages", "author": "Vangaril and Erandur", "title": "Letter to the Guild of Mages", "description": "", "text": "An open letter to the Guild of Mages\nRespected Archmages, if this letter makes it to your hands, it is either through my miraculous escape from Lost Boy Cavern, or the noble hands of an intrepid explorer, who did not share my gruesome fate. The dire task I undertook alone, when your hands denied me aid, ended in peril. Despite my studies, I failed the casting to banish the Lich befouling the spirit of my dear friend Erandur, and an evil took root within me. Surely your noble countenance will not be furrowed to hear -"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-guild-mages-2": {"series": "Lost Boy Cavern Notes", "game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-guild-mages-2", "author": "Vangaril and Erandur", "title": "Letter to the Guild of Mages -2", "description": "", "text": "A letter for the Once Great Mage's council\nThe words you read now are those of a man sentenced to the icy grip of undeath, so doomed by your hand. Though thy folly was perhaps only to follow protocol, may my fate haunt your dreams. I vigorously trained myself as a spellsword to purge the lich that had dominated the soul of my once-noble friend Erandur, but my pointless expulsion from your misguided coven barred me from the appropriate training; the blame falls upon your brow for my errors in banishing the lich, the blame falls to you for its infestation of my mind... May the Worm King himself usurp you, piteous hounds of -"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-guild-mages-3": {"series": "Lost Boy Cavern Notes", "game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-guild-mages-3", "author": "Vangaril and Erandur", "title": "Letter to the Guild of Mages -3", "description": "", "text": "An open threat to the Guild of Mages\nYour days are at an end, your blind bureaucracy finished! Your maggot-filled hearts will rot in the eaves of my inner sanctum, your flesh nothing more than tattered mort meat, your paltry souls forfeit. I will consume you, each one. The fell might of Lich ErandurVangaril will be your end! Daedraeka! Mannimarco Daedroth Kvatch Mannimarco Erandur Vangaril Oblivion Tska Tska Takaesh!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mythic-dawn-commentaries-vol-1": {"series": "Mythic Dawn Commentaries", "game": ["Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mythic-dawn-commentaries-vol-1", "author": "Mankar Camoran", "title": "Mythic Dawn Commentaries, vol. 1", "description": "Messages to the Mythic Dawn from their leader, Mankar Camoran.", "text": "COMMENTARIES ON THE MYSTERIUM XARXES\nBOOK ONE\nBy\n\tMankar Camoran\n\n[Lit. Trans. Dagon]\nGreetings, novitiate, and know first a reassurance: Mankar Camoran was once like you, asleep, unwise, protonymic. We mortals leave the dreaming-sleeve of birth the same, unmantled save for the symbiosis with our mothers, thus to practice and thus to rapprochement, until finally we might through new eyes leave our hearths without need or fear that she remains behind. In this moment we destroy her forever and enter the demesne of Lord Dagon.\nReader, this book is your door to that demesne, and though you be a destroyer you must still submit to locks. Lord Dagon would only have those clever enough to pause; all else the Aurbis claims in their fool running. Walk first. Heed. The impatience you feel is your first slave to behead.\nEnter as Lord Dagon has written: come slow and bring four keys. Know that then you are royalty, a new breed of destroyer, whose garden shall flood with flowers known and unknown, as it was in the mythic dawn. Thus shall you return to your first primal wail and yet come out different. It shall this time be neonymbiosis, master akin to Master, whose Mother is miasma.\nEvery quarter has known us, and none bore our passing except with trembling. Perhaps you came to us through war, or study, or shadow, or the alignment of certain snakes. Though each path matters in its kind, the prize is always thus: welcome, novitiate, that you are here at all means that you have the worthiness of kings. Seek thy pocket now, and look! There is the first key, glinting with the light of a new dawn.\nNight follows day, and so know that this primary insight shall fall alike unto the turbulent evening sea where all faiths are tested. Again, a reassurance: even the Usurper went under the Iliac before he rose up to claim his fleet. Fear only for a second. Shaken belief is like water for a purpose: in the garden of the Dawn we shall breathe whole realities.\nEnter as Lord Dagon has written: come slow and bring four keys. Our Order is based on the principles of his mighty razor: Novitiate, Questing Knight, Chaplain, and Master. Let the evil ones burn in its light as if by the excess of our vision. Then shalt our Knowledge go aright. However, recall that your sight is yet narrow, and while you have the invitation, you have not the address.\nMy own summons came through a book Lord Dagon wrote himself in the deserts of rust and wounds. Its name is the 'Mysterium Xarxes', Aldmeretada aggregate, forefather to the wife of all enigma. Each word is razor-fed and secret, thinner than cataclysms, tarnished like red-drink. That I mention it at all is testament to your new rank, my child. Your name is now cut into its weight.\nPalace, hut, or cave, you have left all the fog worlds of conception behind. Nu-mantia! Liberty! Rejoice in the promise of paradise!\nEndlessly it shall form and reform around you, deeds as entities, all-systems only an hour before they bloom to zero sums, flowering like vestments, divine raiment worn to dance at Lord Dagon's golden feet. In his first arm, a storm, his second the rush of plagued rain, the third all the tinder of Anu, and the fourth the very eyes of Padhome. Feel uplifted in thine heart that you have this first key, for it shall strike high and low into the wormrot of false heavens.\nRoaring I wandered until I grew hoarse with the gospel. I had read the mysteries of Lord Dagon and feeling anew went mad with the overflow. My words found no purchase until I became hidden. These were not words for the common of Tamriel, whose clergy long ago feigned the very existence of the Dawn. Learn from my mistake; know that humility was Mankar Camoran's original wisdom. Come slow, and bring four keys.\nOffering myself to that daybreak allowed the girdle of grace to contain me. When my voice returned, it spoke with another tongue. After three nights I could speak fire.\nRed-drink, razor-fed, I had glimpsed the path unto the garden, and knew that to inform others of its harbor I had to first drown myself in search's sea. Know ye that I have found my fleet, and that you are the flagship of my hope. Greetings, novitiate, Mankar Camoran was once you, asleep, unwise, protonymic, but Am No More. Now I sit and wait to feast with thee on all the worlds of this cosmos. Nu-mantia! Liberty!\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mythic-dawn-commentaries-vol-2": {"series": "Mythic Dawn Commentaries", "game": ["Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mythic-dawn-commentaries-vol-2", "author": "Mankar Camoran", "title": "Mythic Dawn Commentaries, vol. 2", "description": "Messages to the Mythic Dawn from their leader, Mankar Camoran.", "text": "COMMENTARIES ON THE MYSTERIUM XARXES\nBOOK TWO\nBy\n\tMankar Camoran\n[Lit. Trans. ALTADOON]\nWhosoever findeth this document, I call him brother.\nAnswers are liberations, where the slaves of Malbioge that came to know Numantia cast down their jailer king, Maztiak, which the Xarxes Mysterium calls the Arkayn. Maztiak, whose carcass was dragged through the streets by his own bone-walkers and whose flesh was opened on rocks thereon and those angels who loved him no longer did drink from his honeyed ichors screaming \"Let all know free will and do as they will!\"\nYour coming was foretold, my brother, by the Lord Dagon in his book of razors. You are to come as Idols drop away from you one by one. You are exalted in eyes that have not yet set on you; you, swain to well-travelled to shatterer of mantles. You, brother, are to sit with me in Paradise and be released of all unknowns. Indeed, I shall show you His book and its foul-and-many-feathered rubric so that you can put into symbols what you already know: the sphere of destruction is but the milk of the unenslaved. I fault not your stumbling, for they are expected and given grace by the Oils. I crave not your downfalls, though without them you might surpass me even in the coming Earth of all infinities. Lord Dagon wishes you no ills but the momentous. And as He wants, you must want, and so learn from the pages of God this: the Ritual of Want:\nWhisper to earth and earth, where the meddlers take no stones except to blood, as blood IS blood, and to the cracking of bone, as bone IS bone, and so to crack and answer and fall before the one and one, I call you Dragon as brother and king.\nTides of dreugh: 7 and 7, draught of Oil, 1 and 1, circles drawn by wet Dibellites: three concentric and let their lower blood fall where it may, a birth watched by blackbirds: Hearthfire 1st. Incant the following when your hearing becomes blurred:\nEnraptured, he who finally goes unrecorded.\nRecorded, the slaves that without knowing turn the Wheel.\nEnslaved, all the children of the Aurbis As It Is."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mythic-dawn-commentaries-vol-3": {"series": "Mythic Dawn Commentaries", "game": ["Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mythic-dawn-commentaries-vol-3", "author": "Mankar Camoran", "title": "Mythic Dawn Commentaries, vol. 3", "description": "Messages to the Mythic Dawn from their leader, Mankar Camoran.", "text": "COMMENTARIES ON THE MYSTERIUM XARXES\nBOOK THREE\nBy\n\tMankar Camoran\n[Lit. Trans. CHIM]\nThe Tower touches all the mantles of Heaven, brother-noviates, and by its apex one can be as he will. More: be as he was and yet changed for all else on that path for those that walk after. This is the third key of Nu-mantia and the secret of how mortals become makers, and makers back to mortals. The Bones of the Wheel need their flesh, and that is mankind's heirloom.\nOath-breakers beware, for their traitors run through the nymic-paths, runner dogs of prolix gods. The Dragon's Blood have hidden ascension in six-thousands years of aetherial labyrinth, which is Arena, which they yet deny is Oathbound. By the Book, take this key and pierce the divine shell that encloses the mantle-takers! The skin of gold! SCARAB AE AURBEX!\nWoe to the Oath-breakers! Of the skin of gold, the Xarxes Mysteriuum says \"Be fooled not by the forlorn that ride astray the roadway, for they lost faith and this losing was caused by the Aedra who would know no other planets.\" Whereby the words of Lord Dagon instructs us to destroy these faithless. \"Eat or bleed dry the gone-forlorn and gain that small will that led them to walk the path of Godhead at the first. Spit out or burn to the side that which made them delay. Know them as the Mnemoli.\"\nEvery new limb is paid for by the under-known. See, brother, and give not more to the hydra.\nReader, you will sense a shadow-choir soon. The room you are in right now will grow eyes and voices. The candle or spell-light you read this by will become gateways for the traitors I have mentioned. Scorn them and fear not. Call them names, call out their base natures. I, the Mankar of stars, am with you, and I come to take you to my Paradise where the Tower-traitors shall hang on glass wracks until they smile with the new revolution.\nThat is your ward against the Mnemoli. They run blue, through noise, and shine only when the earth trembles with the eruption of the newly-mantled. Tell them \"Go! GHARTOK AL MNEM! God is come! NUMI MORA! NUM DALAE MNEM!\"\nOnce you walk in the Mythic it surrenders its power to you. Myth is nothing more than first wants. Unutterable truth. Ponder this while searching for the fourth key.\nUnderstood laws of the arcanature will fall away like heat. \"First Tower Dictate: render the mutant bound where he may do no more harm. As God of the Mundus, alike shall be his progeny, split from their divine sparks. We are Eight time eight Exarchs. Let the home of Padomay see us as sole exit.\"\nCHIM. Those who know it can reshape the land. Witness the home of the Red King Once Jungled.\nHe that enters Paradise enters his own Mother. AE ALMA RUMA! The Aurbis endeth in all ways.\nEndeth we seek through our Dawn, all endeth. Falter now and become one with the wayside orphans that feed me. Follow and I shall adore you from inside. My first daughter ran from the Dagonite road. Her name was Ruma and I ate her with no bread, and made another, which learned, and I loved that one and blackbirds formed her twin behind all time.\nStarlight is your mantle, brother. Wear it to see by and add its light to Paradise.\n\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mythic-dawn-commentaries-vol-4": {"series": "Mythic Dawn Commentaries", "game": ["Oblivion", "Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mythic-dawn-commentaries-vol-4", "author": "Mankar Camoran", "title": "Mythic Dawn Commentaries, vol. 4", "description": "Messages to the Mythic Dawn from their leader, Mankar Camoran.", "text": "COMMENTARIES ON THE MYSTERIUM XARXES\nBOOK FOUR\nBy\n\tMankar Camoran\n[Lit. Trans. Ghartok]\nMay the holder of the fourth key know the heart thereby: the Mundex Terrene was once ruled over solely by the tyrant dreugh-kings, each to their own dominion, and borderwars fought between their slave oceans. They were akin to the time-totems of old, yet evil, and full of mockery and profane powers. No one that lived did so outside of the sufferance of the dreughs.\nI give my soul to the Magna Ge, sayeth the joyous in Paradise, for they created Mehrunes the Razor in secret, in the very bowels of Lyg, the domain of the Upstart who vanishes. Though they came from diverse waters, each Get shared sole purpose: to artifice a prince of good, spinning his likeness in random swath, and imbuing him with Oblivion's most precious and scarce asset: hope.\nDeathlessly I intone from Paradise: Mehrunes the Thieftaker, Mehrunes Godsbody, Mehrunes the Red Arms That Went Up! Nu-Mantia! Liberty!\nDeny not that these days shall come again, my novitiates! For as Mehrunes threw down Lyg and cracked his face, declaring each of the nineteen and nine and nine oceans Free, so shall he crack the serpent crown of the Cyrodiils and make federation!\nAll will change in these days as it was changed in those, for with by the magic word Nu-Mantia a great rebellion rose up and pulled down the towers of CHIM-EL GHARJYG, and the templars of the Upstart were slaughtered, and blood fell like dew from the upper wards down to the lowest pits, where the slaves with maniacal faces took chains and teeth to their jailers and all hope was brush-fire.\nYour Dawn listens, my Lord! Let all the Aurbis know itself to be Free! Mehrunes is come! There is no dominion save free will!\nSuns were riven as your red legions moved from Lyg to the hinterlands of chill, a legion for each Get, and Kuri was thrown down and Djaf was thrown down and Horma-Gile was crushed with coldsalt and forevermore called Hor and so shall it be again under the time of Gates.\nUnder the mires, Malbioge was thrown down, that old City of Chains, slaked in newbone-warmth and set Free. Galg and Mor-Galg were thrown down together in a single night of day and shall it be again under the time of Gates.\nNothing but woe for NRN which has become The Pit and seven curses on its Dreugh, the Vermae NI-MOHK! But for it the Crusades would be as my lord's Creation, Get by the Ge and do as thou wilt, of no fetters but your own conscience! Know that your Hell is Broken, people of the Aurbis, and praise the Nu-Mantia which is Liberty!\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/battlehorn-castle-upgrades-list": {"series": "Notes from Nilphas Omellian", "game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/battlehorn-castle-upgrades-list", "author": "Nilphas Omellian", "title": "Battlehorn Castle Upgrades List", "description": "", "text": "I will be happy to provide the following improvements to Battlehorn Castle upon receipt of payment for goods and services rendered.\nKitchen Area: The kitchen will be completely refurbished with everything needed to support you and your household. I will also provide the services of a most excellent cook, Plautis Rusonius, whose culinary skills I can personally recommend as he was in charge of the kitchens at the Tiber Septim Hotel for many years.\nBedroom Area: The bedroom in the castle's private quarters will be fitted out with the most luxurious furnishings and appointments, and the services of a maid accustomed to working in a noble household will be retained.\nLibrary Area: The library in the castle's private quarters will be restocked with books appropriate to a noble's library, and furnished to provide a comfortable reading and working area.\nDining Area: You will be able to entertain in high style once we have cleaned and refurbished the dining room in the castle's East Wing.\nBarracks: I will retain the services of an experienced mercenary captain, as well as two men-at-arms, in order to bring the castle garrison up to its full complement.\nTraining Room: I will provide an experienced battle trainer, who can spar with you and your men on a variety of weaponry. I have an excellent candidate in mind, but do not want to name him until I am certain I can retain his services for you.\nTrophy Hall: The trophy room in the castle's Great Hall will be reappointed. I will also hire an expert taxidermist to create beautiful and lifelike trophies out of the most dangerous creatures of the land.\nWine Cellar: No castle should be without the services of a well-trained vintner, and one of the best is now available. Talan learned his trade from his famous sister Tamika of Skingrad. He was also once a member of the prestigious Imperial Alchemy Symposium, but was removed from its ranks for using the skill of alchemy to perpetuate the mixing of magical and alcoholic beverages. The alchemists' loss is your gain: using ingredients found in the wild and his keen sense of taste, Talan creates unusual mixtures the likes of which have never been seen.\nI trust that you will find much here of interest to you in your new position as lord of Battlehorn Castle. Please allow me to be of service.\nI remain,\nNilphas Omellian\nThe Merchants Inn, Market District\nImperial City"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/battlehorn-kitchen-area": {"series": "Notes from Nilphas Omellian", "game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/battlehorn-kitchen-area", "author": "Nilphas Omellian", "title": "Battlehorn Kitchen Area", "description": "", "text": "The furnishings you selected for the kitchens will be delivered promptly to Battlehorn Castle. I hope you get many years of enjoyment out of them!\nThank you for your patronage,\nNilphas Omellian\nThe Merchants Inn, Market District\nImperial City"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/battlehorn-bedroom": {"series": "Notes from Nilphas Omellian", "game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/battlehorn-bedroom", "author": "Nilphas Omellian", "title": "Battlehorn Bedroom", "description": "", "text": "The furnishings for your private quarters will be delivered promptly to Battlehorn Castle. I hope you find them comfortable!\nThank you for your patronage,\nNilphas Omellian\nThe Merchants Inn, Market District\nImperial City"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/battlehorn-library-area": {"series": "Notes from Nilphas Omellian", "game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/battlehorn-library-area", "author": "Nilphas Omellian", "title": "Battlehorn Library Area", "description": "", "text": "The appointments you selected for your library will be delivered promptly to Battlehorn Castle. I'm sure you will find them conducive to scholarship and reflection.\nI appreciate your patronage,\nNilphas Omellian\nThe Merchants Inn, Market District\nImperial City"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/battlehorn-dining-area": {"series": "Notes from Nilphas Omellian", "game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/battlehorn-dining-area", "author": "Nilphas Omellian", "title": "Battlehorn Dining Area", "description": "", "text": "The furnishings you selected for the dining hall will be delivered promptly to Battlehorn Castle. I'm sure you will find that they make your meals more pleasant.\nThank you for your patronage,\nNilphas Omellian\nThe Merchants Inn, Market District\nImperial City"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/battlehorn-barracks": {"series": "Notes from Nilphas Omellian", "game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/battlehorn-barracks", "author": "Nilphas Omellian", "title": "Battlehorn Barracks", "description": "", "text": "At your request, I've hired Captain Athon, a retired Legion officer with impeccable credentials, to take charge of the men-at-arms at Battlehorn Castle. I've instructed him to hire two additional men-at-arms, at his discretion, to bring the castle garrison to its full complement. I trust that this meets with your approval.\nAs always, I remain,\nNilphas Omellian\nThe Merchants Inn, Market District\nImperial City"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/battlehorn-training-room": {"series": "Notes from Nilphas Omellian", "game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/battlehorn-training-room", "author": "Nilphas Omellian", "title": "Battlehorn Training Room  ", "description": "", "text": "The famous Arena champion, Shagrol gro-Uzug, is on his way to Battlehorn Castle to take up his new position as your sparring partner. I've taken the liberty of sending along the equipment he will need to set up your training room, using the funds you provided. I trust that this meets with your approval.\nThank you for your patronage,\nNilphas Omellian\nThe Merchants Inn, Market District\nImperial City"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/battlehorn-trophy-hall": {"series": "Notes from Nilphas Omellian", "game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/battlehorn-trophy-hall", "author": "Nilphas Omellian", "title": "Battlehorn Trophy Hall", "description": "", "text": "The appointments you selected for your trophy hall will be deliverered promptly to Battlehorn Castle. As you requested, I've also hired a taxidermist to join your castle staff. Melisi Daren comes highly recommended by her former employer, a wealthy gentleman from Bruma named Baenlin. I'm sure she will meet with your satisfaction.\nThank you for your patronage,\nNilphas Omellian\nThe Merchants Inn, Market District\nImperial City"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/battlehorn-wine-cellar": {"series": "Notes from Nilphas Omellian", "game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/battlehorn-wine-cellar", "author": "Nilphas Omellian", "title": "Battlehorn Wine Cellar", "description": "", "text": "As you requested, I have hired Talan, one of the finest vintners in Cyrodiil to maintain your wine cellar at Battlehorn Castle. He is the brother of the well-known Tamika of Skingrad, so he has learned his trade from the very best. I took the liberty of providing Talan with the funds to equip your wine cellar as he sees fit, as we discussed.\nThank you for your patronage,\nNilphas Omellian\nThe Merchants Inn, Market District\nImperial City"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-nilphas-omellian": {"series": "Notes from Nilphas Omellian", "game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/note-nilphas-omellian", "author": "Nilphas Omellian", "title": "Note from Nilphas Omellian", "description": "", "text": "I hope you are pleased with your recent purchase. I recently learned of an item you might be interested in -- an ancient Dwemer forge, still in working condition! It is guaranteed to facilitate all armor and weapon repairs. I know that a person of your means and discrimination would never balk at the price of 3000 gold, which barely covers my own expenses (much less the cost of shipping it to Battlehorn Castle).\nI look forward to doing business with you soon.\nI remain,\nNilphas Omellian\nThe Merchants Inn, Market District\nImperial City"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/battlehorn-dwemer-forge": {"series": "Notes from Nilphas Omellian", "game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/battlehorn-dwemer-forge", "author": "Nilphas Omellian", "title": "Battlehorn Dwemer Forge", "description": "", "text": "I know you will be pleased with the antique forge that I am having shipped to Battlehorn Castle. I think you will find it is well worth the cost. Not many can boast of owning a working Dwemer forge!\nI appreciate your patronage,\nNilphas Omellian\nThe Merchants Inn, Market District\nImperial City"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/experiment-log-day-12": {"series": "Relmina's Logs", "game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/experiment-log-day-12", "author": "Relmina", "title": "Experiment Log - Day 12", "description": "", "text": "Project Limb Removal\n\tDay 12 Observations and Summary Conclusions\nDay 12\n\tRemoving an arm from the young wood elf female made her fight all the harder for her life, despite being clearly outmatched. In previous battles, she fought much less bravely and to lesser effect. She lasted a full minute against my most angry of hounds before her throat was ripped out and I had to revive her.\nHowever, removing just the feet of the middle-aged Nord male made him despondent and without any will to defend himself, even against a lesser foe. So pitiful was the look on the face of his corpse, that I decide to leave him be, rather than resurrect him. After so many years of scientific study, I still cannot abide apathy. I'm sure that my aversion to pity has colored my findings, as I only make use of strong-willed test subjects. Though I suppose, flawed as my research may be, it is still more revealing and faithful than any other has done before me.\nSummary Conclusions\n\tAfter studying the various combats between the test subjects in this project, I have concluded that, much as the pain threshold is inconsistent within a given species, so too is the effect of dismemberment. Whether beast or man, the removal of a limb, be it functional as a hand, or peripheral as a tail, has varying effects on the subject, having to do more with individual temperament than any biological or cultural endowment. Whatever the particular effect, it is substantial. Whether it enhances a subject's tendency toward aggressiveness or passivity, or swings them to the other extreme, removing a limb has a profound effect on behavior.\nAfter reviewing my notes, I will attempt to catalogue all the similarities and differences between the subjects and their responses. I may be able to offer Lord Sheogorath a guidebook detailing how to craft a better kingdom by removing various appendages from the bodies of its people."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hunger-vs-shambles": {"series": "Relmina's Logs", "game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/hunger-vs-shambles", "author": "Relmina", "title": "Hunger vs. Shambles", "description": "", "text": "Experiment Setup and Hypothesis\nHunger vs. Shambles, with elven catalyst\nWhile generally an even match, these two Shambles versus a single Hunger, previous experiments have indicated that the presence of a warm body causes the Hunger to increase its ferocity. This territorial hunting imperative is completely lacking in the shambles. They seek to destroy life, not to devour it.\nIn this case I have confined a Hunger to his cage, while leaving an unspoiled high elf female in viewing distance. Hungers seem to have a particular thirst for elf maiden blood. And this one, on the verge of flowering, should be a particularly irresistible morsel.\nI hypothesize that the hunger will fight with greater force and precision in the up coming battle, after I let the creature and elf maiden stew awhile in each other's proximity.\nI shall return in a few days to run the experiment."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/project-hounds-blood-day-7": {"series": "Relmina's Logs", "game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/project-hounds-blood-day-7", "author": "Relmina", "title": "Project Hound's Blood - Day 7", "description": "", "text": "Project Hound's Blood \nDay 7 observations\nMy theory stated before trial is thus:\n\"Blending the most recent concoction of hound blood with that from a headless zombie will result in a beast with greater fury and resistance to pain.\"\nTest 1\nSubject 1 has the current concoction, and Subject 2 has the new mixture.\nBattle 1:\nSubject 1 lasted approximately one minute before expiring, having done average amount of injury to Subject 2. Subject 2 seemed not to notice most of the injuries it received.\nBattle 2:\nAfter a drawn out combat, Subject 1 killed Subject 2, but suffered near fatal wounds. Subject 2 fought to the bitter end with the same energy it started with.\nBattle 3:\nSubject 1 went out very quickly.\nBattle 4:\nSubject 1 lasted less that a minute. Subject 2 took little injury.\nTest 2\nSubject A and B both have the standard blood. Subject C and D both have the new blood.\nBattle 1 (A vs. B):\nLasted just over a minute, both hounds suffering grievous injury, and somewhat bothered by their wounds.\nBattle 2 (A vs. B):\nNearly identical results.\nBattle 3 (C vs. D):\nLasted over two minutes, both hounds suffering grievous injury. Neither seemed very winded or bothered by their wounds.\nBattle 4 (C vs. D):\nLasted under 1 minute, both suffering grievous injury. Neither seemed very bothered by their wounds.\nIt seems my original theory was correct. In future trials I will try watering down the headless zombie blood before adding it to the mixture, to gain some insight into the actual potency of the blood itself and determine how much of the additional effect is coming from its combination with the existing ingredients."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/reptilian-appetite-conditioning": {"series": "Relmina's Logs", "game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/reptilian-appetite-conditioning", "author": "Relmina", "title": "Reptilian Appetite Conditioning", "description": "", "text": "Experiment Setup and Hypothesis\nReptilian Appetite Conditioning\nI have raised these Baliwogs and Scalon together, from hatchling to adult. I inflicted great pain on them when they were aggressive towards each other, and rewarded them when they showed aggression towards others. They have since acquired an almost familial bond, normally expressed in warm-blooded creatures. See previous experiment logs for details.\nFor the last month, I have been starving them in separate cages, allowing them occasionally to eat, but only tiny amounts of reptilian flesh.\nI have procured a fatty Breton of previously luxurious lifestyle. There is not an ounce of muscle on him. He should be a most tempting snack, indeed. But we shall see!\nI shall return soon to run the experiment. There is still some time left to starve the reptiles until they are most desperate."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/unproductive-musings": {"series": "Relmina's Logs", "game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/unproductive-musings", "author": "Relmina", "title": "Unproductive Musings", "description": "", "text": "Today I intended to continue my research into the effect of pain on the host of the unborn (in this case the middle-aged pregnant Breton female), and yet, no matter how many times she was ripped apart and resurrected, I simply could not bring myself to the requisite attentiveness serious study demands.\nRather than the usual precision of observation, my faculties seemed possessed of a peculiar poetic sensibility. So that, rather than dutifully logging each scream and twitch of agony, I seem transported by her cries to some other place.\nI became sheltered within a tapestry of tranquility, woven from the screams of the Breton's anguish warped against the grunts and clacking of the beasts and shambles that toyed with her.\nIt was there, in that spot, my soul naked and clean, that I came to a sense of clarity. And like all - dare I say - religious experiences, returning to my mundane senses, I am left with little more than a faded memory of supernal knowledge, like a burned parchment on which once were written words of wisdom and understanding, of which now only torn and blurred fragments remain.\nThe harder I try to remember that innate knowledge, the more it seems to recede from me. The essence that remains is this:\nPain is a force that purifies, ennobles, and uplifts. It is the Fire that burns away impurities, that melts away imperfections.\nDeath is not the sign of weakness, nor bodily constitution the sign of strength. It is what happens to soul when brought into the Fire that determines the mettle of men.\nThose with inner strength are forged into weapons of devastating keenness by Pain's Fire. Those who are undeserving and weak turn to dark and lifeless ash in Its heat.\nAnd there it stands in all its inscrutability - so much for an unproductive day. Perhaps tomorrow will lead to more fruitful experiments."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/week-old-blood": {"series": "Relmina's Logs", "game": ["Oblivion"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/week-old-blood", "author": "Relmina", "title": "Week-old blood", "description": "", "text": "Experiment Setup and Hypothesis\n\tWeek-old blood\nI have paired up a hound and shambles of equal fighting capacity. However, I have recently drained the hound of its zombie blood, and replaced it with blood extracted from a Breton corpse, which had lain for a week, rotting in the hot sun. When I return, having let it acclimate to its new supply of vital fluid, I expect the hound will perform with much less efficiency than normal."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/remanada-chapter-1-sancre-tor-and-birth-reman": {"series": "Remanada", "game": ["Oblivion", "Skyrim", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/remanada-chapter-1-sancre-tor-and-birth-reman", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Remanada, Chapter 1: Sancre Tor and the Birth of Reman", "description": "A myth of the birth of Reman, and the story of the knight Renauld.", "text": "And in those days the empire of the Cyrodiils was dead, save in memory only, for through war and slug famine and iniquitous rulers, the west split from the east and Colovia's estrangment lasted some four hundreds of years. And the earth was sick with this sundering. Once-worthy western kings, of Anvil and Sarchal, of Falkreath and Delodiil, became through pride and habit as like thief-barons and forgot covenant. In the heartland things were no better, as arcanists and false moth-princes lay in drugged stupor or the studies of vileness and no one sat on the Throne in dusted generations. Snakes and the warnings of snakes went unheeded and the land bled with ghosts and deepset holes unto cold harbors. It is said that even the Chim-el Adabal, the amulet of the kings of glory, had been lost and its people saw no reason to find it.\nAnd it was in this darkness that King Hrol set out from the lands beyond lost Twil with a sortie of questing knights numbered eighteen less one, all of them western sons and daughters. For Hrol had seen in his visions the snakes to come and sought to heal all the borders of his forebears. And to this host appeared at last a spirit who resembled none other than El-Estia, queen of ancienttimes, who bore in her left hand the dragonfire of the aka-tosh and in her right hand the jewels of the covenant and on her breast a wound that spilt void onto her mangled feet. And seeing El-Estia and Chim-el Adabal, Hrol and his knights wailed and set to their knees and prayed for all things to become as right. Unto them the spirit said, I am the healer of all men and the mother of dragons, but as you have run so many times from me so shall I run until you learn my pain, which renders you and all this land dead.\nAnd the spirit fled from them, and they split among hills and forests to find her, all grieving that they had become a villainous people. Hrol and his shieldthane were the only ones to find her, and the king spoke to her, saying, I love you sweet Aless, sweet wife of Shor and of Auri-el and the Sacred Bull, and would render this land alive again, not through pain but through a return to the dragon-fires of covenant, to join east and west and throw off all ruin. And the shieldthane bore witness to the spirit opening naked to his king, carving on a nearby rock the words AND HROL DID LOVE UNTO A HILLOCK before dying in the sight of their union.\nWhen the fifteen other knights found King Hrol, they saw him dead after his labors against a mound of mud. And they parted each in their way, and some went mad, and the two that returned to their homeland beyond Twil would say nothing of Hrol, and acted ashamed for him.\nBut after nine months that mound of mud became as a small mountain, and there were whispers among the shepherds and bulls. A small community of believers gathered around that growing hill during the days of its first churning, and they were the first to name it the Golden Hill, Sancre Tor. And it was the shepherdess Sed-Yenna who dared climb the hill when she heard his first cry, and at its peak she saw what it had yielded, an infant she named Reman, which is \"Light of Man.\"\nAnd in the child's forehead was the Chim-el Adabal, alive with the dragon-fires of yore and divine promise, and none dared obstruct Sed-Yenna when she climbed the steps of White-Gold Tower to place the babe Reman on his Throne, where he spoke as an adult, saying I AM CYRODIIL COME."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/remanada-chapter-2-chevalier-renald-blade-pig": {"series": "Remanada", "game": ["Oblivion", "Skyrim", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/remanada-chapter-2-chevalier-renald-blade-pig", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Remanada, Chapter 2: The Chevalier Renald, Blade of the Pig", "description": "A myth of the birth of Reman, and the story of the knight Renauld.", "text": "And in the days of interregnum, the Chim-el Adabal was lost again amid the petty wars of gone-heathen kings. West and east knew no union then and all the lands outside of them saw Cyrodiil as a nest of snakemen and snakes. And for four more hundreds of years did the seat of Reman stay sundered, with only the machinations of a group of loyal knights keeping all its borders from throwing wide.\nThese loyal knights did go by no name then, but were known by their eastern swords and painted eyes, and it was whispered that they were descended from the bodyguard of old Reman. One of their number, called the Chevalier Renald, discovered the prowess of Cuhlecain and then supported him towards the throne. Only later would it be revealed that Renald did this thing to come closer to Talos, anon Stormcrown, the glorious yet-emperor Tiber Septim; only later still, that he was under instruction by a pig.\nLong glory was wife to the all the knights of the dragon-banner, who knew no other and were brothers before beyond many seas and now were brothers under the law named the blade-surrender of Pale Pass. And having vampire blood these brother-knights lived for ages through and past Reman and then kept guard over his ward, the coiled king, Versidue-Shaie. The snake-captain Vershu became Renald became the protector of the northern west when the black dart was hooked into Savirien-Chorak.\n[Here torn pages indicate that the rest of this ancient book has been lost.]"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/song-pelinal-volume-1-his-name": {"series": "The Song of Pelinal", "game": ["Oblivion", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/song-pelinal-volume-1-his-name", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Song of Pelinal, Volume 1: On His Name", "description": "These seven books describe various aspects of the legendary hero, Pelinal Whitestrake.", "text": "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."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/song-pelinal-volume-2-his-coming": {"series": "The Song of Pelinal", "game": ["Oblivion", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/song-pelinal-volume-2-his-coming", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Song of Pelinal, Volume 2: On His Coming", "description": "These seven books describe various aspects of the legendary hero, Pelinal Whitestrake.", "text": "[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.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/song-pelinal-volume-3-his-enemy": {"series": "The Song of Pelinal", "game": ["Oblivion", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/song-pelinal-volume-3-his-enemy", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Song of Pelinal, Volume 3: On His Enemy", "description": "These seven books describe various aspects of the legendary hero, Pelinal Whitestrake.", "text": "Pelinal Whitestrake was the enemy of all elfkind that lived in Cyrod in those days. Mainly, though, he took it upon himself to slay the sorcerer-kings of the Ayleids in pre-arranged open combats rather than at war; the fields of rebellion he left to the growing armies of the Paravania and his bull nephew. Pelinal called out Haromir of Copper and Tea into a duel at the Tor, and ate his neck-veins while screaming praise to Reman, a name that no one knew yet. Gordhaur the Shaper's head was smashed upon the goat-faced altar of Ninendava, and in his wisdom Pelinal said a small plague spell to keep that evil from reforming by welkynd-magic. Later that season, Pelinal slew Hadhuul on the granite steps of Ceya-Tar, the Fire King's spears knowing their first refute. For a time, no weapon of the Ayleids could pierce his armor, which Pelinal admitted was unlike any crafted by men, but would say no more even when pressed. When Huna, whom Pelinal raised from grain-slave to hoplite and loved well, took death from an arrowhead made from the beak of Celethelel the Singer, the Whitestrake went on his first Madness. He wrought destruction from Narlemae all the way to Celediil, and erased those lands from the maps of Elves and Men, and all things in them, and Perrif was forced to make sacrifice to the Gods to keep them from leaving the earth in their disgust. And then came the storming of White-Gold, where the Ayleids had made pact with the Aurorans of Meridia, and summoned them, and appointed the terrible and golden-hued \"half-Elf\" Umaril the Unfeathered as their champion\u2026 and, for the first time since his coming, it was Pelinal who was called out to battle by another, for Umaril had the blood of the 'ada and would never know death."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/song-pelinal-volume-4-his-deeds": {"series": "The Song of Pelinal", "game": ["Oblivion", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/song-pelinal-volume-4-his-deeds", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Song of Pelinal, Volume 4: On His Deeds", "description": "These seven books describe various aspects of the legendary hero, Pelinal Whitestrake.", "text": "[Pelinal] drove the sorcerer armies past the Niben, claiming all the eastern lands for the rebellion of the Paravania, and Kyne had to send her rain to wash the blood from the villages and forts that no longer flew Ayleid banners, for the armies of Men needed to make camps of them as they went forward. ...[and] he broke the doors open for the prisoners of the Vahtache with the Slave-Queen flying on Morihaus above them, and Men called her Al-Esh for the first time. He entered the Gate at ... to win back the hands of the Thousand-Strong of Sedor (a tribe now unknown but famous in those days), which the Ayleids had stolen in the night, two thousand hands that he brought back in a wagon made of demon-bone, whose wheels trailed the sound of women when ill at heart... [Text lost]... [And after] the first Pogrom, which consolidated the northern holdings for the men-of-'kreath, he stood with white hair gone brown with elfblood at the Bridge of Heldon, where Perrif's falconers had sent for the Nords, and they, looking at him, said that Shor had returned, but he spat at their feet for profaning that name. He led them anyway into the heart of the hinterland west, to drive the Ayleids inward, towards the Tower of White-Gold, a slow retreating circle that could not understand the power of Man\u2019s sudden liberty, and what fury-idea that brought. His mace crushed the Thundernachs that Umaril sent as harriers on the rebellion's long march back south and east, and carried Morihaus-Breath-of-Kyne to Zuathas the Clever-Cutting Man (a nede with a keptu name) for healing when the bull had fallen to a volley of bird beaks. And, of course, at the Council of Skiffs, where all of the Paravania's armies and all of the Nords shook with fear at the storming of White-Gold, so much so that the Al-Esh herself counseled delay, Pelinal grew furious, and made names of Umaril, and made names of what cowards he thought he saw around him, and then made for the Tower by himself, for Pelinal often acted without thought."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/song-pelinal-volume-5-his-love-morihaus": {"series": "The Song of Pelinal", "game": ["Oblivion", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/song-pelinal-volume-5-his-love-morihaus", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Song of Pelinal, Volume 5: On His Love of Morihaus", "description": "These seven books describe various aspects of the legendary hero, Pelinal Whitestrake.", "text": "It is a solid truth that Morihaus was the son of Kyne, but whether or not Pelinal was indeed the Shezarrine is best left unsaid (for once Plontinu, who favored the short sword, said it, and that night he was smothered by moths). It is famous, though, that the two talked of each other as family, with Morihaus as the lesser, and that Pelinal loved him and called him nephew, but these could be merely the fancies of immortals. Never did Pelinal counsel Morihaus in time of war, for the man-bull fought magnificently, and led men well, and never resorted to Madness, but the Whitestrake did warn against the growing love with Perrif. \"We are ada, Mor, and change things through love. We must take care lest we beget more monsters on this earth. If you do not desist, she will take to you, and you will transform all Cyrod if you do this.\" And to this the bull became shy, for he was a bull, and he felt his form too ugly for the Parvania at all times, especially when she disrobed for him. He snorted, though, and shook his nose-hoop into the light of the Secunda moon and said, \"She is like this shine on my nose-hoop here: an accident sometimes, but whenever I move my head at night, she is there. And so you know what you ask is impossible.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/song-pelinal-volume-6-his-madness": {"series": "The Song of Pelinal", "game": ["Oblivion", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/song-pelinal-volume-6-his-madness", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Song of Pelinal, Volume 6: On His Madness", "description": "These seven books describe various aspects of the legendary hero, Pelinal Whitestrake.", "text": "[And it is] said that he emerged into the world like a Padomaic, that is, borne by Sithis and all the forces of change therein. Still others, like Fifd of New Teed, say that beneath the Pelinal's star-armor was a chest that gaped open to show no heart, only a red rage shaped diamond-fashion, singing like a mindless dragon, and that this was proof that he was a myth-echo, and that where he trod were shapes of the first urging. Pelinal cared for none of this and killed any who would speak god-logic, except for fair Perrif, who he said, \"enacts, rather than talks, as language without exertion is dead witness.\" When those soldiers who heard him say this stared blankly, he laughed and swung his sword, running into the rain of Kyne to slaughter their Ayleid captives, screaming, \"O Aka, for our shared madness I do this! I watch you watching me watching back! Umaril dares call us out, for that is how we made him!\" [And it was during] these fits of anger and nonsense that Pelinal would fall into the Madness, where whole swaths of lands were devoured in divine rampage to become Void, and Alessia would have to pray to the Gods for their succor, and they would reach down as one mind and soothe the Whitestrake until he no longer had the will to kill the earth in whole. And Garid of the men-of-ge once saw such a Madness from afar and maneuvered, after it had abated, to drink together with Pelinal, and he asked what such an affliction felt like, to which Pelinal could only answer, \"Like when the dream no longer needs its dreamer.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/song-pelinal-volume-7-his-battle-umaril-and-his-dismemberment": {"series": "The Song of Pelinal", "game": ["Oblivion", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/song-pelinal-volume-7-his-battle-umaril-and-his-dismemberment", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Song of Pelinal, Volume 7: On His Battle with Umaril and His Dismemberment", "description": "These seven books describe various aspects of the legendary hero, Pelinal Whitestrake.", "text": "[Editor's Note: This fragment comes from a manuscript recovered from the ruins of the Alessian Order's monastery at Lake Canulus, which dates it to sometime prior to the War of Righteousness (1E 2321). However, textual analysis suggests that this fragment actually preserves a very early form of the Song, perhaps from the mid-sixth century.]\n\n\n[And so after many battles with] Umaril's allies, where dead Aurorans lay like candlelight around the throne, the Pelinal became surrounded by the last Ayleid sorcerer-kings and their demons, each one heavy with varliance. The Whitestrake cracked the floor with his mace and they withdrew, and he said, \"Bring me Umaril that called me out!\" ... [And] while mighty in his aspect and wicked, deathless-golden Umaril favored ruin-from-afar over close combat and so he tarried in the shadows of the white tower before coming forth. More soldiers were sent against Pelinal to die, and yet they managed to pierce his armor with axes and arrows, for Umaril had wrought each one by long varliance, which he had been hoarding since his first issue [of challenge.]... [Presently] the half-Elf [showed himself] bathed in [Meridian light] ... and he listed his bloodline in the Ayleidoon and spoke of his father, a god of the [previous kalpa's] World-River and taking great delight in the heavy-breathing of Pelinal who had finally bled... [Text lost] ... [And] Umaril was laid low, the angel face of his helm dented into an ugliness which made Pelinal laugh, [and his] unfeathered wings broken off with sword strokes delivered while Pelinal stood [frothing]... above him insulting his ancestry and anyone else that took ship from Old Ehlnofey, [which] angered the other Elvish kings and drove them to a madness of their own... [and they] fell on him [speaking] to their weapons... cutting the Pelinal into eighths while he roared in confusion [which even] the Council of Skiffs [could hear]... [Text lost] ...ran when Mor shook the whole of the tower with mighty bashing from his horns [the next morning], and some were slain-in-overabundance in the Taking, and Men looked for more Ayleids to kill but Pelinal had left none save those kings and demons that had already begun to flee... It was Morihaus who found the Whitestrake's head, which the kings had left to prove their deeds and they spoke and Pelinal said things of regrets... but the rebellion had turned anyway... [and more] words were said between these immortals that even the Paravant would not deign to hear."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/song-pelinal-volume-8-his-revelation-death-al-esh": {"series": "The Song of Pelinal", "game": ["Oblivion", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/song-pelinal-volume-8-his-revelation-death-al-esh", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Song of Pelinal, Volume 8: On His Revelation at the Death of the Al-Esh", "description": "These seven books describe various aspects of the legendary hero, Pelinal Whitestrake.", "text": "[Editor's Note: This is the oldest and most fragmentary of all the existant Pelinal texts. It is, however, likely closest to the original spoken or sung form of the Song, and therefore has great value despite its brevity. Strangely, it appears that Pelinal is present at Alessia's deathbed, although he was killed by Umaril earlier in the saga (years before Alessia's death). Some scholars believe that this fragment is not actually a part of the Song of Pelinal, but most accept its authenticity although there is still much debate as to its significance.]\n\"... and left you to gather sinew with my other half, who will bring light thereby to that mortal idea that brings [the Gods] great joy, that is, freedom, which even the Heavens do not truly know, [which is] why our Father, the... [Text lost]... in those first [days/spirits/swirls] before Convention... that which we echoed in our earthly madness. [Let us] now take you Up. We will [show] our true faces... [which eat] one another in amnesia each Age.\"\n\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/arondils-journal-part-1": {"series": "Arondil's Journal", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/arondils-journal-part-1", "author": "Arondil", "title": "Arondil's Journal, Part 1", "description": "The journal of a Necromancer.", "text": "Arondil's Journal\nDay 1\nIt seems the cretins of Dawnstar are not quite a foolish as I had surmised. They found my experimentations, and needless to say, were not pleased with what they saw. No matter. My work can only flourish without the distractions of living amongst the unenlightened.\nI have found a cave off the north coast of Skyrim that will be more than sufficient for my continued studies. The ruins of Yngvild should hold the materials I need to learn more about reanimating and enslaving the dead.\nOn a personal note, I WILL miss the young maidens of Dawnstar. Such beauty was intoxication. I often found my thoughts wandering around them, imagining secret encounters between myself and one or two of the local girls..."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/arondils-journal-part-2": {"series": "Arondil's Journal", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/arondils-journal-part-2", "author": "Arondil", "title": "Arondil's Journal, Part 2", "description": "The journal of a Necromancer.", "text": "Arondil's Journal\nDay 8\nI have established a temporary work station in the cold caves, and have found multiple burial chambers within the snow and ice. While in the first chamber, I exhumed a few 'test subjects,' all female. I was stunned to find my mind wandering again to the women of Dawnstar as I examine my find. At first, I was slightly disturbed by my thoughts, but later I found myself reevaluating...\nDay 9\nThe first trials went splendidly. Each subject was reanimated in a state of total complacency, bending to my every task and whim. I have ordered a few of my new servants to guard the island, while the rest will act as my personal entourage, standing by me at all times. Standing watch over me while I sleep..."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/arondils-journal-part-3": {"series": "Arondil's Journal", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/arondils-journal-part-3", "author": "Arondil", "title": "Arondil's Journal, Part 3", "description": "The journal of a Necromancer.", "text": "Arondil's Journal\nDay 21\nAn intriguing development. Tonight, my guards have brought me a trespasser they found near the cave. At first I was understandably upset. Not only was I disturbed during one of my few moments alone with my favorite servant, but I recognized the trespasser as a milk maid from Dawnstar. She remembered me, as well, and made bold claims that I had been lurking near her at all hours. What lies! True, I had taken notice of her on occasion, but she was nowhere near the most noticeable of maidens in town. Her continued accusations, coupled with my fear of more uninvited guests, led me to conclude that she could never return to Dawnstar. My servants were quick to carry out my sentencing.\nHer body is here next to me, as I write this. Funny. Her eyes are still so full of life. Perhaps I will try a new experiment tonight, using fresher materials."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/arondils-journal-part-4": {"series": "Arondil's Journal", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/arondils-journal-part-4", "author": "Arondil", "title": "Arondil's Journal, Part 4", "description": "The journal of a Necromancer.", "text": "Arondil's Journal\nDay 28\nThe new experiment has proven a success! The milk maid (who's name still escapes me) was revived as the others, bowing to my commands, with only one interesting development. She has reformed incorporeally, more phantasm than reanimated dead. As her glowing visage stood before me, I found my hand reaching out to touch her. As my fingers passed through her, I felt a sensation unlike any other, as if her essence were invigorating my very soul, connecting with me on a level no woman of flesh and blood could do. This discovery is life changing!\nDay 35\nI have ordered my older servants to go out and find any more subjects that may have become lost. With the discovery of the inner sanctum deeper still within Yngvild, I should have sufficient room to store many new materials until I can transform them into willing slaves. I look back on my daydreams whilst living in Dawnstar and wonder if they were in fact portents of times to come..."}, "/node/4148": {"series": "Black Books", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/node/4148", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Black Book: Epistolary Acumen", "description": "The mysterious \"Black Books\" that transport you to Hermaeus Mora's Apocrypha", "text": "Epistolary Acumen\n\tby the Transparent One\nBring you forth the lovestruck mute who preys with vigor on his love, and set the sky alight with all who dare to struggle 'gainst our move. For we are they who own the night and all who dwell without us fall; we drink the mind-grapes formed of thought and wail a tumult on the wall. To sweep"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/black-book-filament-and-filigree": {"series": "Black Books", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/black-book-filament-and-filigree", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Black Book: Filament and Filigree", "description": "The mysterious \"Black Books\" that transport you to Hermaeus Mora's Apocrypha", "text": "Filament and Filigree\n\tby Jelketheris\nI stared at my reflection in the metal, wondering if my face had hardened to match my inner mood. I had been working the piece for days, and the forge's swelter was taking its toll. I always came to the metal shop when the dark swam over me, and today was no exception. In the midst of"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/black-book-hidden-twilight": {"series": "Black Books", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/black-book-hidden-twilight", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Black Book: The Hidden Twilight", "description": "The mysterious \"Black Books\" that transport you to Hermaeus Mora's Apocrypha", "text": "The Hidden Twilight\nby\n\tCarillius Melfus\nThe City of Inkseeds rose from the desert, shining and decadent. Somehow, it still stood. I crossed through the gate, and the beast knew exactly where to take me: the way worn by beggars and poets. The only place a man of my appetites can find satisfaction. I'm not proud, but then, nobody ever is."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/black-book-sallow-regent": {"series": "Black Books", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/black-book-sallow-regent", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Black Book: The Sallow Regent", "description": "The mysterious \"Black Books\" that transport you to Hermaeus Mora's Apocrypha", "text": "The Sallow Regent\n\tby Hawfip the Crafter\nAct I, Scene i\n\t(Enter Filemina, with broken sceptre)\n\tFilemina--\n\t\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Woe betide my fate-wrecked heart\n\t\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Which gives no tender shine to he\n\t\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Who gave his favors up to gods\n\t\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 And brought his blood-struck mind to me."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/black-book-winds-change": {"series": "Black Books", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/black-book-winds-change", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Black Book: The Winds of Change", "description": "The mysterious \"Black Books\" that transport you to Hermaeus Mora's Apocrypha", "text": "The Winds of Change\nby\n\tLiesl Grey-Heart\nDuring the reign of Elgryr I took notice the various patterns of in the thoughts and behaviors of a troubled populace, and undertook a humble plan to comprehend and, in the end, affect them. Being of ordered mind, I began my taxonomy in the lower classes, which divide evenly into those who"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/black-book-untold-legends": {"series": "Black Books", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/black-book-untold-legends", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Black Book: Untold Legends", "description": "The mysterious \"Black Books\" that transport you to Hermaeus Mora's Apocrypha", "text": "Untold Legends\n\tThe Other Lives of Ysgramor\nAs the great ships of men crawled the waves to their destinies, there were, after long years, a number of tales lost in the mists of morning. Even after the forgetting, though, wisps of story find ways to receptive ears as even the deepest of secrets never truly dies. When fires burn and the night grows soft in"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/black-book-waking-dreams": {"series": "Black Books", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/black-book-waking-dreams", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Black Book: Waking Dreams", "description": "The mysterious \"Black Books\" that transport you to Hermaeus Mora's Apocrypha", "text": "Waking Dreams of A Starless Sky\n\tby Bilius Felcrex\nThe eyes, once bleached by falling stars of utmost revelation, will forever see the faint insight drawn by the overwhelming question, as only the True Enquiry shapes the edge of thought. The rest is vulgar fiction, attempts to impose order on the consensus mantlings of an uncaring godhead. First,"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/butcher-journal-1": {"series": "Butcher Journals", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/butcher-journal-1", "author": "Calixto", "title": "Butcher Journal #1", "description": "The diaries of a serial killer from Winterhold.", "text": "The plans are coming together swimmingly. I've found good sources of bone, flesh, and blood, but thus far a good sampling of sinew and marrow have escaped me. No matter. The city is swollen with contemptuous fools who will be missed by nobody.\nLast night was almost able to corner Susanna as she left Candlehearth. Idiot guard showed up at just the wrong moment and I had to turn about, just out for a stroll, and so forth. There will be other chances, but the time is drawing near.\nI think back to my time in Winterhold. All the wasted minds up in their towers. They only explore the magic they already know. I am discovering new magic here. Something deeper than the cantripped shenanigans of fire and light. This flesh magic is older than us. Perhaps older than the world itself. I am tugging at the corners of the fabric of the universe, and where it bunches and folds is where I shall create my greatest triumph.\nOne more attempt at the Candlehearth girl. She's proving to be a bit too cautious, but those strong joints of hers should contain the most exquisite tendons. Worth the effort. Tonight."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/butcher-journal-2": {"series": "Butcher Journals", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/butcher-journal-2", "author": "Calixto", "title": "Butcher Journal #2", "description": "The diaries of a serial killer from Winterhold.", "text": "17 tendons and assorted ligaments\n173 fragments of bone for assemblage\napprox. 4 bucket-fulls of blood (Nord preferred)\n6 spoons of marrow (no more than 2 from a thigh)\n12 yards of flesh (before cutting)\n\nstar-scrying to the edge of the ice-mind\nlook to the lights where the souls dance\nrevealing the time when a spark will revive\nwhen the rotted unites under most skillful hands\n(translation from Aldmer text, as interpreted by the Ayleids and first transcribed by Altmer. provenance and authority unknown)\n\nsoon"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/butcher-journal-3": {"series": "Butcher Journals", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/butcher-journal-3", "author": "Calixto", "title": "Butcher Journal #3", "description": "The diaries of a serial killer from Winterhold.", "text": "Soon enough, my sweet Lucilla, you will be with me again. Normally when such words are written it is because the love left behind is soon to depart, but in my case, I hope to soon bring your spirit back into my world, for it was you who loved this world so much, not I.\nI continue to collect your new form from the ragged bits around Windhelm. If they only knew what destiny would soon grace their bodies, with your spirit imbuing them with higher purpose, they would surely thank me for the great gift I give them. I reserve for them a place of beauty alongside your heart.\nThe day draws near. Soon I will hold you. And I will show you this and it will be as delivering a long-forgotten letter to a weary traveler.\nLove always,\nCalixto"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ciceros-journal-volume-1": {"series": "Cicero's Journal", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ciceros-journal-volume-1", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Cicero's Journal: Volume 1", "description": "Journal entries from an assassin in the Cheydinhal Sanctuary of the Dark Brotherhood.", "text": "18th of Evening Star, 4E 186\nAs I begin this new phase of my life, I have decided to finally keep a journal. So much has happened to me thus far, both within the Brotherhood and without - when I think there is no record of what has transpired, it almost seems an affront to Sithis himself. So I am determined to make amends.   Yes, the Dark Brotherhood has its own scribes and chroniclers, but it is their solemn task to record those events deemed important to the organization as a whole. Let this volume serve as the personal record of one man, a lowly assassin who has pledged his blade and his life for the Dark Brotherhood.\n\n23rd of Evening Star, 4E 186\nI have arrived safely in the Cheydinhal Sanctuary, and have been greeted warmly by Rasha and the others.  Indeed, the level of support and acceptance shown by my new family is rather overwhelming.  For this Sanctuary knows suffering, knows sorrow, for the ghosts of Purification still haunt its halls. So, who better to understand the plight of a brother who has lost home and heart? Who better to comfort one whose Sanctuary is no more?   The Bruma Sanctuary may be gone, but my dearest brothers and sisters will live forever in my dreams, just as their souls live forever by the Dread Father's side.\n\n1st of Rain's Hand, 4E 187\nCompleted the baroness contract. She died well. Her handmaiden, less so.\n\n12th of Rain's Hand, 4E 187\nCheydinhal suits me. With the destruction or abandonment of the other Sanctuaries, our contracts are plentiful, as are our bonuses.  Still, we seem to be losing our footholds throughout Tamriel at an alarming rate. There are rumors that the Black Hand is split on our continued direction. Some favor expansion, the others consolidation.   My personal feeling is that the Dark Brotherhood needs to, at the very least, maintain the illusion of being everywhere at once. It has become exceedingly difficult to fulfill (or even establish) contracts in provinces where we no longer have a physical presence, like Hammerfell. The more we ignore Tamriel, the more people lose faith in the Dark Brotherhood - our power, our services, our dedication to the Void.\n\n27th of Rain's Hand, 4E 187\nThe Listener, Alisanne Dupre, has been visiting with us for several days, down from her private residence in Bravil. She and Rasha had been discussing the possibility of re-opening the Shadowscale training facility of Archon, in Black Marsh, but ultimately decided we lacked the resources to follow through with the plan.\n\n27th of Rain's Hand, 4E 187\nCompleted the Arena contract. I ultimately decided to pose as a starstruck fan, and immediately got into the Grand Champion's good graces. While escorting the arrogant fool through the Great Forest, I slashed his throat and left the corpse for the bears."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ciceros-journal-volume-2": {"series": "Cicero's Journal", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ciceros-journal-volume-2", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Cicero's Journal: Volume 2", "description": "Journal entries from an assassin in the Cheydinhal Sanctuary of the Dark Brotherhood.", "text": "\n7th of Sun's Height, 4E 188\nWayrest is lost. The city fell to corsairs, and it's just a matter of time before the Sanctuary is breached. May the Night Mother watch over her children in their hour of need.\n\n5th of Last Seed, 4E 188\nWe received word today - the Wayrest Sanctuary was raided and destroyed by the corsairs. There were no survivors.\nThere are now only three active Dark Brotherhood strongholds remaining: The Cheydinhal Sanctuary, here in the Imperial Province; a remote Sanctuary located in a forest in Skyrim; and the Corinthe Sanctuary of Elsweyr.\nThe Black Hand has ordered the Corinthe Sanctuary closed, and its members integrated into our own ranks here, in Cheydinhal. I will embrace those new family members as warmly as I was, when I first made my home here.\n\n27th of Hearthfire, 4E 188\nThe situation in Bravil grows more dire. The city has erupted in violence, due to a war of control being waged by Cyrodiil's two largest skooma traffickers. The Listener, Alisanne Dupre, has been forced to employ sellswords to protect her own residence.\n\n1st of Sun's Dusk, 4E 188\nThings in Bravil have come to a head. The statue of the Lucky Old Lady has been destroyed, and Alisanne Dupre has left her residence to guard the crypt of the Night Mother, hidden below the remains of the statue. If the crypt is discovered, Alisanne Dupre will, of course, protect the remains of the Unholy Matron until her dying breath.\nRasha is sending Garnag and Andronica to aid in the crypt's defense. I begged to accompany them, but Rasha wouldn't have it. He says my place is here, defending this Sanctuary, and I must of course respect that decision.\n\n12th of Sun's Dusk, 4E 188\nBotched my contract and forfeited the bonus. The silk merchant was already cold, and I was halfway through the window, when her daughter stepped into the room. I had little choice at that point.\n\n21st of Sun's Dusk, 4E 188\nSo much has happened since my last entry. After Garnag and Andronica left for Bravil, we stopped receiving communications from the city. We feared the worst. This morning, those fears were confirmed, when Garnag returned alone, transporting a most precious cargo - the great stone coffin of the Night Mother herself.\nThe story Garnag told could curl the blood of even the most hardened of Sithis' servants. The crypt of the Night Mother, raided. Dearest sister Andronica, cut to pieces. And the Listener herself, the most honored Alisanne Dupre, burned alive in a storm of mage fire.\nGarnag, though gravely injured (he will most certainly lose his right eye), managed to fend off the attackers, and transport the Night Mother's coffin safely out of the city. He has been on the road, making his way back here, since that tragic night."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ciceros-journal-volume-3": {"series": "Cicero's Journal", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ciceros-journal-volume-3", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Cicero's Journal: Volume 3", "description": "Journal entries from an assassin in the Cheydinhal Sanctuary of the Dark Brotherhood.", "text": "\n23rd of Sun's Dusk, 4E 188\nNow that things have settled down, the reality of our situation has finally come to bear - we are a Dark Brotherhood without a Listener. With no Listener, the Black Sacrament will go unheard. Surely the Night Mother will speak to someone soon, thus choosing a new Listener to take Alisanne Dupre's place. Until that happens, though, we must take to the streets. We must hear the pleas of the desperate and vengeful.\u00a0 The people of Tamriel must not know, must never know, that their prayers to the Night Mother are going unheeded.\n\n24th of Morning Star, 4E 189\n\u00a0It is a new year, and two months since the Night Mother first arrived here at the Cheydinhal Sanctuary, and still the Unholy Matron has not seen fit to speak to any one of us.\nAnd so, Rasha has decided to revive an ancient Dark Brotherhood tradition - the appointing of a Keeper, a guardian whose sole duty is the safeguarding of the Night Mother's remains. The remaining members of the Black Hand will make their decision tomorrow.\n\n25th of Morning Star, 4E 189\nI have been chosen. By some incomprehensible twist of fate, the Black Hand has named me the Night Mother's Keeper. In all honesty, I am both incredibly honored and deeply saddened.\u00a0 This means the end of my contracts. I'll be lucky to lift a blade again. Thankfully, Rasha has promised me one final contract before I accept my new duties.\n\n30th of Morning Star, 4E 189\nThe jester lies dead. My final contract has been completed. Oh, how he laughed and laughed. Until he didn't.\n\n3rd of First Seed, 4E 189\nI have settled well into my new role as Keeper. It is my duty to not only keep the Night Mother's shrine clean, and the candles lit, but to tend to the body as well.\nThe Night Mother's crypt was a consecrated place - shroud-kissed, absent of sunlight, and safe from the world above. Removed from there, the remains are subject to the filth and corruption of the living. The body is perfectly preserved, so the concern is not physical, but rather spiritual - the remains must be sanctified regularly, so that they may continue to serve as a conduit for the Night Mother's soul. Our Matron's eternal spirit may travel the Void freely, but it is through her own earthly remains that she communicates with the Listener.\nAnd so, I wash the corpse weekly with the requisite oils, recite the ancient incantations, and personally see to the extermination of any insects or rodents. If the Night Mother does not speak, it will be because she chooses not to - not because she is unable. This is my responsibility. This is my vow.\n\n12th of Mid Year, 4E 189\nMonths and months and months and no Listener. Why won't the Night Mother speak to me? I am worthy as Keeper, but not as Listener? I protect our Lady, keep her sanctified, but still she will not grace me with her voice?\n\n4th of Sun's Height, 4E 189\nSo long since I worked my blade. So long since I saved a soul. But I am now Keeper. No longer a taker.\n\u00a0\nI think back fondly on my hours with the jester. His laughter, his screams, his pitiful cries. And then, as the end drew near, his laughter once more. Merry in death as well as life. I was honored to know him."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ciceros-journal-volume-4": {"series": "Cicero's Journal", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ciceros-journal-volume-4", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Cicero's Journal: Volume 4", "description": "Journal entries from an assassin in the Cheydinhal Sanctuary of the Dark Brotherhood.", "text": "\n1st of Hearthfire, 4E 189\nCheydinhal has erupted into violence and chaos, like so many other cities before it. The Sanctuary has remained unbreached, but for how long?\nOur numbers are few, and with no Speaker, the contracts have dwindled almost to nothingness. Rasha's hold on the Sanctuary is slipping.\n\n26th of Frostfall, 4E 189\nSilence! Deafening silence! In my head in my head in my head. It is the silence of death, the silence of the Void. Seeping into me, through the Mother. The silence is hatred. The silence is rage. The silence is love.\n\n4th of Evening Star, 4E 189\nToday, Rasha declared himself Listener, claiming the Night Mother spoke to him at last. But when questioned, he could not name the Binding Words. Liar! Deceiver! His charade must not stand.\n\n5th of Evening Star, 4E 189\nRasha is dead.\nAs commanded by the silence, so did I obey.\u00a0 I did not wield the knife, oh no, but dipped the honey softly sweet, into Garnag's eager ear. He is a good brother. A loyal brother. To both Cicero and our Matron. He did the deed, gladly.\n\n10th of Sun's Dawn, 4E 190\nOnly three of us left. Cicero, Garnag, Pontius.\n\n15th of Sun's Dawn, 4E 190\nThe Night Mother remains silent. I remain unworthy. The Sanctuary remains doomed.\n\n3rd of First Seed, 4E 190\nI can hear it. Deeper, and deeper. Louder and louder, punctuating the silence like thunder on a calm evening. Laughter.\n\n4th of First Seed, 4E 190\nLaughing, laughing, laughing, laughing! It is the jester! A voice from the Void, to cheer poor Cicero! I accept your gift, dearest Night Mother. Thank you for my laughter. Thank you for my friend.\n\n16th of Rain's Hand, 4E 191\nPontius is dead. A Dark Brotherhood assassin was killed by a common bandit while walking the streets of Cheydinhal. How can something so sad be so funny?\n\n17th of Rain's Hand, 4E 191\nI love the laughter, dearest Night Mother, but still I long to hear your voice. It's not too late! Speak to me, my mother! Speak to me, that I may set things right! I can save the Sanctuary, I can save the Brotherhood!\nYou can have the laughter! Take it back! An exchange, then? The laughter for your voice?\n\n2nd of Second Seed, 4E 191\nIt's not safe to leave the Sanctuary. We'll stay here. All is well.\n\n29th of Last Seed, 4E 191\nGarnag is gone. Gone gone gone gone gone. Left to get food, but he'll be back. It's only been three months. Three months. Tree months? Twelve moths? Four sloths!\n\n21st of Sun's Dusk, 4E 192\nCicero is dead! Cicero is born!\nThe laughter has filled me, filled me so very completely. I am the laughter. I am the jester. The soul that has served as my constant companion for so long has breached the veil of the Void finally and forever. It is now in me. It is me.\nThe world has seen the last of Cicero the man. Behold Cicero, Fool of Hearts - laughter incarnate!\n\n28th of Sun's Dusk, 4E 200\nFound the old journal, decided to write, a treatise on silence, sound, darkness and light!\nHow long has it been since the Night Mother first came here? How long since I was made Keeper? How long since I became the fool? Since I've been alone? Since Cheydinhal fell? Since they started pounding on the door, like so many hammered heartbeats?\nIt's dark in here, and quiet. Poor Cicero no longer hears the laughter, for he is the laughter. There is no Listener in Cheydinhal. No Listener in Cyrodiil. No Listener in me.\nWe must leave here.\u00a0 Before the Sanctuary falls. Before the Night Mother burns. Before the Dark Brotherhood withers. Before the laughter dies.\n\n29th of Sun's Dusk, 4E 200\nI took a stroll, and spied a maid, but Matron's duty stayed my blade. So busy now, I miss the thrill, if only I had time to kill."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ciceros-journal-final-volume": {"series": "Cicero's Journal", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ciceros-journal-final-volume", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Cicero's Journal, The Final Volume", "description": "Journal entries from an assassin in the Cheydinhal Sanctuary of the Dark Brotherhood.", "text": "30th of Sun's Dusk, 4E 200\nI have written the letters. So polite. So official! To Astrid, in Skyrim. Her Sanctuary still stands. Still operates. But how? No Listener means no Black Sacrament, no Black Sacrament means no contracts. Her family can abandon the Old Ways, and still survive, still kill, but is that family still Brotherhood? Or something else? Something new. Something different. Something wrong?\nSomething wrong.\nStill, we must go! Tomorrow, we set sail. Float on a boat through the moat called the sea her and me!\n\n22nd of Evening Star, 4E 200\nSick sick sick of the rocking tossing rolling throwing upon the gray gray waves!\nI've been reading of Skyrim, of the good days, the old days, of the Old Ways. There was another Sanctuary once. A Dawnstar Sanctuary. Good, ancient and strong. Blessed by Sithis. Cicero will go there! No need of Astrid!\nThe Mother and I will settle, and she will speak to me, finally, and we will build the Old Ways anew, together.\n\n23rd of Evening Star, 4E 200\nThe passphrase is mine! I have found it, in a letter ancient as the Sanctuary itself.\nThe Black Door will ask - \"What is life's greatest illusion?\"\nI am to answer - \"Innocence, my brother.\"\nFinally, a space, a place, to call my own! A joker's retreat for the Fool of Hearts!!!!\n\n4th of First Seed, 4E 201\nThe Sanctuary is home! As I had dared hope! Cool and dark and lovely. My Sanctuary, Sanctuary from all.\nI know its every corner, every hall, every shadowed nook and alcove. My Sanctuary. The guardians know me, recognize me as Keeper. They leave poor Cicero alone. The big ugly beast - a different story. He'd eat me if he could, but to bind me, grind me, he'd need to find me. And Cicero will make sure that does not happen. For I have Sanctuary!\nSanctuary from all.\n\n13th of First Seed, 4E 201\nThe Sanctuary is safety, and salvation. But silent, so silent. I give my love to the Unholy Matron. I give my laughter freely. But I do not hear her. The silence has returned. Now that I am laughter, and no longer hear laughter, I once again hear the silence. The silence of the Void. It reaches across time and space. Its silence is deafening, once more.\n\n1st of Rain's Hand, 4E 201\nMother and Keeper must go. I am not the Listener, and never will be. But I am the Keeper. I must serve my Mother's will above my own. I must find her Listener. I must teach Astrid the error of her ways, the beauty and necessity of the Old Ways.\nI have sent the letter to Astrid. We leave soon. But Cicero will keep this Sanctuary as his Sanctuary!\nA place to rest and ply my trade, for I once more take up the blade, and send some lucky souls to Him, when laughter strikes, as fits my whim!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/darkfall-cave-note": {"series": "Darkfall Cave Notes", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/darkfall-cave-note", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Darkfall Cave Note", "description": "Notes found in Darkfall Cave.", "text": "Sister, I know that you'll come find me, but it will be too late. If you find this letter, get out of this forsaken cave as soon as possible. We were fools to think we could live so close to such creatures and live peacefully.\nI should've headed back to camp with you after we placed the torches down here. I thought these trolls would be different, that they would somehow understand that we didn't want to hurt them.\nI am now cornered and it's only a matter of time before one of the trolls decides to finish me off. I hope it is a quick death.\nFarewell, my dear sister."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/darkfall-passage-note-i": {"series": "Darkfall Cave Notes", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/darkfall-passage-note-i", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Darkfall Passage Note I", "description": "Notes found in Darkfall Cave.", "text": "I made it farther than I  thought, but I'm afraid I can't go on.  I choose not to.\nI am content to die here, in this quiet little room, alone with my thoughts. The creatures won't follow me here. No more danger. The silence is welcoming."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/darkfall-passage-note-ii": {"series": "Darkfall Cave Notes", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/darkfall-passage-note-ii", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Darkfall Passage Note II", "description": "Notes found in Darkfall Cave.", "text": "Strange why the cursed have set up so many traps near this stone barrier.\nGoing to rest for a bit, not take any chances. They set up those traps for a reason and I'm not about to go rushing in to find out why.\nJust going to sit here, regain my strength and possibly try and use the traps to my advantage."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/unknown-book-vol-iii": {"series": "Diary of Faire Agarwen", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/unknown-book-vol-iii", "author": "Faire Agarwen; Calcelmo of Markarth, trans.", "title": "Unknown Book, Vol. III", "description": "Diary of a Falmer forced into hiding.", "text": "\nLiteral translation:\nFAIRE AGARWEN\n\t\tLIFE RECORD\n\nTHIRD MARKING TENTH KULNIIR\nIT FEELS LIKE YEARS SINCE WE WERE FORCED INTO HIDING I DARE NOT WRITE WHERE WE STAY FOR FEAR OF ENDANGERING THE GOOD PEOPLE OF THIS HOUSE SHOULD THIS DIARY BE DISCOVERED WE HAVE BEEN SHOWN A KINDNESS BY THIS FAMILY ONCE KNOWN TO THE SNOW PRINCE EVEN IN DEATH HIS GREAT INFLUENCE HAS ENSURED OUR SAFETY WE WERE SEPARATED FROM MANY OF OUR KIN ALONG THE ROAD WHEN IT BECAME INCREASINGLY DIFFICULT TO TRAVEL DISCREETLY IN OUR NUMBERS WE WERE FORCED TO GO OUR SEPARATE WAYS AND TRAVEL ONLY AT NIGHT I HAVE HEARD NO NEWS OF WHERE THE OTHERS MAY HAVE GONE AND FEAR I NEVER SHALL OUR LIVES ARE FOREVER CHANGED\nSEVENTH MARKING TENTH KULNIIR\nIN THE NIGHT I FIND IT DIFFICULT NOT TO FOCUS ON TIMES PAST THERE ARE MOMENTS IN MY REST WHEN I STILL HEAR THE LAUGHTER OF YOUNG ONES AT PLAY IN THE VALLEY OTHER TIMES I SEE THE PALE FLICKER OF HAPPY MOMENTS WHICH WERE ONCE SO COMMON IN THE LAND OF THE SNOW ELVES I TRY NOT TO DWELL ON THESE MEMORIES TOO LONG OFTEN OUR SURROUNDINGS MAKE IT IMPOSSIBLE TO DWELL ON ANY HAPPINESS WE HAVE BEEN LOCKED TOGETHER IN SUCH CLOSE QUARTERS FOR SO LONG WE GROW TIRED OF EACH OTHERS COMPANY EVEN THE STRONGEST OF US HAVE FALTERED WITH NOTHING TO DO BUT THINK ON WHAT IS LOST I WAKE EACH DAY TO FORLORN FACES AND AM REMINDED OF WHERE WE ARE AND ALL WE HAVE LEFT BEHIND WE ARE ALL YEARNING FOR A DAY WHEN WE CAN EMERGE FROM HIDING AND WALK FREELY IN THE LIGHT ONCE MORE BUT I FEAR WE ARE LOSING ALL HOPE THAT SUCH A DAY WILL EVER COME\nTENTH MARKING TENTH KULNIIR\nI TIRE OF THE TEARS OF WOMEN AND CHILDREN MY OWN HAVE RUN DRY THE MEN HAVE BEGUN TO LOOK UPON US AS IF WE ARE ALL WEAK YET WE HAVE SURVIVED THE SAME TRIALS AS THEY I CANNOT BRING MYSELF TO THINK ON THE NUMBERS WE LOST IN BATTLE YET I CANNOT FORCE THE IMAGES OF MY OWN LOSSES FROM MY MIND AND NOW IN A TIME WHEN OUR PEOPLE SHOULD BE BANDING TOGETHER IT FEELS WE ARE DRIFTING APART THE NORDS HAVE TRULY WON OUR ONCE GREAT PRIDE AND UNITY ARE SHATTERED IF WE LOSE HOPE NOW WE WILL NEVER SURVIVE TODAY MANY MYSELF INCLUDED HAVE TRIED TO SPEAK OUT IN VOICES OF REASON THERE CAN BE NO HOPE WITHOUT TALK OF OUR FUTURE WE CAN MAKE NO DIFFERENCE IF OUR SPIRITS REMAIN BROKEN\nEIGHTEENTH MARKING TENTH KULNIIR\nWE KNOW THAT WE CAN NEVER AGAIN BE THE SNOW ELVES AND LIVE FREELY IN THIS WORLD WE WILL FOREVER BE IN HIDING IN ONE FORM OR ANOTHER BUT THERE IS NO REASON WE CANNOT LIVE LIFE WITH THE SUN AND THE WIND AGAINST OUR SKIN THERE ARE THOSE HERE WHO ARE FRIENDS TO US AND PLAN TO HELP US ONCE THE THREAT HAS ENDED WE KNOW NOW TO SURVIVE WE MUST BE BORN ANEW OUTSIDE WE WILL APPEAR WE BELONG HERE INSIDE WE WILL CARRY OUR TRUTH AND OUR SCARS\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/discovering-ruunvald-vol-i": {"series": "Discovering Ruunvald", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/discovering-ruunvald-vol-i", "author": "Moric Sidrey", "title": "Discovering Ruunvald, Vol. I", "description": "Log documenting the ill-fated Ruunvald expedition.", "text": "Discovering Ruunvald\nVol. I\n\nby \nMoric Sidrey\nI have decided to document our expedition to find Ruunvald in my journals, with hopes that, should we fail, it will bring illumination to those who follow us.  I myself have stood on the shoulders of academic giants to get where we are today, spending endless hours in libraries and private collections. I am certain that there is some artifact of great power to be found in those ruins, one that the Vigilants could find useful in their mission.\nI do not mean to sound pompous, but I feel as if I am on the precipice of my destiny with this quest. I am certain we are digging in the right place. I can feel it in my bones, and I dream of finding Ruunvald at night.  Even in my waking hours, I can almost hear a reassuring voice telling me we are going the right way.\nThe expedition has had a great deal of luck so far.  After only a few weeks, the first tunnel broke through into a large shaft, leading downward towards where I suspect to find Ruunvald. With just a few bits of carpentry, we've established our first base camp within the mountains.  If we continue to be this fortuitous, we shall reach our goal in record time!\nM. Sidrey\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/discovering-ruunvald-vol-ii": {"series": "Discovering Ruunvald", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/discovering-ruunvald-vol-ii", "author": "Moric Sidrey", "title": "Discovering Ruunvald, Vol. II", "description": "Log documenting the ill-fated Ruunvald expedition.", "text": "Discovering Ruunvald\nVol. II\n\nby \nMoric Sidrey\nOur luck continues!  Not only do we continue to tunnel into caves and shafts that speed our descent, but struck multiple veins of precious ore.  Now that the excavation has proven to be a financial success, the Vigilants have sent more supplies, materials, and workers to further the cause.  I find myself unable to contain my glee at times, and have become prone to cheerful outbursts in front of the men.  One might find this very out of character for me, but the men seem to share my enthusiasm.  Never before have I worked with a group so single-minded in their pursuit.  To have so many people working towards the same goal with little to no deviation from the task at hand is an uncanny blessing!  Stendarr be praised!\nWith so much going well, I hesitate to document what seem like minor troubles in comparison.  It must have something to do with the cramped spaces, but I have found myself prone to aches in my head.  While these hardly deter me from my leadership role, I have found myself distracted at times.  I have had many a conversation with the workers where I drift off, only to have them call me back to reality.  Sometimes I lose small amounts of time and can't remember what I've done.  I am hoping this is nothing more than excitement of reaching our goal, but I will try to keep note as we dig deeper.  Perhaps a half tankard of ale before sleep will help me with these headaches.\nM. Sidrey"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/discovering-ruunvald-vol-iii": {"series": "Discovering Ruunvald", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/discovering-ruunvald-vol-iii", "author": "Moric Sidrey", "title": "Discovering Ruunvald, Vol. III", "description": "Log documenting the ill-fated Ruunvald expedition.", "text": "Discovering Ruunvald\nVol. III\n\nby \nMoric Sidrey\nThe damnable headaches!  Minorne be merciful, I just can't seem to shake them. The workers have started to report them as well, but while their focus on conversation and civility may wane because of it, they have not swayed from their task.  If anything, they seem to have doubled their efforts.  I myself cannot seem to focus on anything other than the dig.  I sit here now, studying some unearthed Nordic artifacts, yet I feel a nagging call to see how the dig is progressing.  The other day without thinking, I picked up a shovel and started digging myself.  Fortunately, no one seemed to find this unusual, which is a blessing.  I'd hate for the Vigilants of Minorne to think that I'd lost my senses!\nAs we dig, we uncover more Nordic ruins and architecture, but have yet to hit the main chamber.  Everyday I dream we'll finally reach Ruunvald, and I can't help but reflect on what this will mean to my reputation!  My family will be so proud, especially my father, Minorne. He and mother have always been interested in my studies, even if my sister Minorne was not.  But I'm most excited to reveal my findings to my colleagues, Minorne and Minorne, and perhaps my mentor Minorne.  Oh, won't they all be pleased?\nM. Sidrey\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/discovering-ruunvald-vol-iv": {"series": "Discovering Ruunvald", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/discovering-ruunvald-vol-iv", "author": "Moric Sidrey", "title": "Discovering Ruunvald, Vol. IV", "description": "Log documenting the ill-fated Ruunvald expedition.", "text": "Discovering Ruunvald\nVol. IV\n\nby \nMoric Sidrey\nI have found my muse and her name is Minorne. Reading back over old journals, I realize she has called to me from deep inside Ruunvald.  She is the voice I've been hearing, the one who has called me ever downwards into the mountain.  The Vigilants, the workers, they hear her too!  What joy to learn that I am not alone in her love!  Oh, Minorne, how would we have ever found this place without you!  As I write this we are digging out the last bit of rock to get to you. Those without tools have started using their hands! I cannot write anymore, I must get back to work. Ruunvald awaits!\nM. Sidrey\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lost-race-tamriel-vol-i-architecture-and-designs": {"series": "Dwarves", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lost-race-tamriel-vol-i-architecture-and-designs", "author": "Calcelmo", "title": "The Lost Race of Tamriel, vol. I - Architecture and Designs", "description": "Summary of Dwemer culture and achievements.", "text": "Dwarves\nThe Lost Race of Tamriel, Volume I\nArchitecture and Designs\nby \nCalcelmo\nScholar of Markarth\n\nLet me begin by correcting a common misconception. The proper term to use when referencing the ancient lost race of Tamriel is \"Dwemer.\" It is a word whose meaning is roughly translated to \"people of the deep\" in the common tongue, and whose use has been widely replaced by the more ubiquitous nomenclature, \"dwarves.\" I would like stated that I use the name \"dwarves\" in lieu of the more accurate term in these books out of sympathy for my readership, whom  I can safely assume does not have the breadth of scholarship that 200 years of study has given me.\nWith that small point finished, let us begin our discussion on the dwarves by focusing on the indisputable artifacts they have left behind: their architectural and cultural designs. Unlike the more controversial areas of dwarven scholarship, the construction of dwarven cities and relics are well-founded due to the plethora of samples taken from the ruins these peoples have left behind. My own home city, Markarth, was originally one such ruin, and I can state from first-hand experience that all dwarven designs share a set of common principles that we can use to determine true artifacts from fakes and delineate patterns and methodologies that were important to their craftsmen.\nFirst of all, we can say for certain that dwarven artisans favored stone, at least as far as their buildings were concerned. This is no surprise. With notable exceptions, the vast majority of dwarven architecture is found underground or carved out of mountains. It is possible, although only theoretically, that the dwarves first mastered masonry as a race quite early, and later examples of metalwork were added on to much earlier stone designs as the dwarves began to master more complex tools. Regardless, the foundation of all known dwarven ruins is built on stonework, and the structure of dwarven stonework is sharp, angular, and intensely mathematical in nature.\nBy a simple count, there are hundreds if not thousands of samples of dwarven buildings made of precise square shapes, and far fewer examples of discretely rounded or curved stonework, leading us to believe that early dwarves favored trusted, well-calculated designs based on angled lines rather than riskier, more imprecise calculations based on arcs and curves. This comparatively simple tradition of stonecutting has nevertheless resulted in buildings that are as structurally sound today as they were thousands of years ago, making the works of our most skilled masons today seem like child's play in comparison.\nMetalwork as far as we know is the primary method used to make almost all dwarven crafts. We cannot, however, discount more easily destructible materials such as clay, paper, and glass from outside the scope of dwarven craftsmanship, but given the tendency of dwarven design to favor the long-lasting over the fragile, we can safely assume that at the very least metal was a heavy preference. And the metal used in all so-far-discovered dwarven relics is entirely unique to their culture.\nNo other race has replicated whatever process was used to create dwarven metal. Although it can be easily mistaken for bronze -- and in fact many forgers of dwarven materials use bronze to create their fake replicas -- it is most definitely a distinct type of metal of its own. I have personally seen metallurgists attempt to combine several different types of steel and common and rare ores in order to imitate dwarven metal's exclusive properties, but the only method that has been successful is to melt down existing dwarven metallic scraps and start over from there."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lost-race-tamriel-vol-ii-weapons-armor-and-machines": {"series": "Dwarves", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lost-race-tamriel-vol-ii-weapons-armor-and-machines", "author": "Calcelmo", "title": "The Lost Race of Tamriel, vol. II - Weapons, Armor and Machines", "description": "Summary of Dwemer culture and achievements.", "text": "Dwarves\nThe Lost Race of Tamriel, Volume II\nWeapons, Armor and Machines\nby \nCalcelmo\nScholar of Markarth\n\nIn our previous discussion on the dwarves (or \"Dwemer\" in the more correct, scholarly terminology), we looked into the properties of dwarven architecture and metallic crafts. In this continuing discussion of Tamriel's Lost Race, we shall examine the ways in which dwarves waged war and kept out trespassers. Unlike many other cultures still existing today, the dwarves built and relied on increasingly complicated machines for a wide variety of martial tasks, and weapons and armor created solely for the purpose of being wielded by dwarven warriors show remarkably fewer points of progress beyond the basic designs.\nLet us begin by analyzing those basic weapons and armors. Anyone who has held a dwarven axe or worn a dwarven helmet can testify as to the ancient, ever-lasting quality of dwarven craftsmanship. Weapons do not deviate too greatly from their base function. Dwarven swords pierce through light armors with incredible effectiveness, owing primarily to the remarkable sharpness of tempered dwarven metal, and owing to a far lesser extent to its simple, double-edged design.\nCompare and contrast a sharp, angular dwarven dagger to a curved elven blade, and it becomes a small logical leap to say that dwarven weaponsmiths relied almost exclusively on creating quality materials first, and merely allowed the form of those materials to flow from the method that weapon was intended to kill people.\nAs a culture that built almost exclusively underground, it's no surprise that dwarven armors are built to withstand incredibly heavy blows. Again, the fact that they are also resistant to being pierced by arrows or small blades is more of a testament to superior dwarven metallurgy over superior dwarven armorsmithing, but it would be erroneous to thus conclude that dwarven smiths did not take the manufacture of their weapons and armor very seriously. Every piece of war crafts I have examined show a remarkable amount of unnecessary detailing and personalization that is just as evident today among the most ardent blacksmiths.\nA dwarven smith probably came from a long tradition that distinguished itself in way that, say, the grip of a mace would feel, or the design of the head of individual arrows. Although, due to the paltry lack of any cultural artifacts outside the weapons and armors themselves, this is only mere speculation.\nThe last, but probably most important discussion in this volume, pertains to the existence of dwarven machinery. Dwarves created and manufactured on a very broad scale thousands of mechanical apparatuses of varying complexity. The most simple of which is the standard \"arachnid\" design used to ward off trespassers. We are so far uncertain as to how the dwarves were able to bring to life these remarkably intelligent machines, but I have witnessed one stalk a highly trained thief for several hours, only to ambush him as he was dealing with a lock to some room or treasure trove -- I admit to have forgotten the details past the point at which it began spouting lightning at him.\nDwarven military machines also range from the human-sized \"Sphere\" warrior, which patrols the interiors of the ruins as a harmless ball only to emerge from it as a fully armed and armored automaton fighter, to the justly feared \"Centurion\" whose height ranges from twice to several hundred times human size depending on which reports you believe."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lost-race-tamriel-vol-iii-culture-and-history": {"series": "Dwarves", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lost-race-tamriel-vol-iii-culture-and-history", "author": "Calcelmo", "title": "The Lost Race of Tamriel, vol. III - Culture and History", "description": "Summary of Dwemer culture and achievements.", "text": "Dwarves\nThe Lost Race of Tamriel, Volume III\nCulture and History\nby \nCalcelmo\nScholar of Markarth\n\nIn this final volume on our discussion on the dwarves (again, see the term \"Dwemer\" for references using the more scholastic name), we will attempt an examination into the distinct culture and history of Tamriel's Lost Race. We must, however, begin such a discussion with a warning. Despite what certain academic circles would like people to believe, there is so far no evidence that verifies any claim as to the dwarves' particular customs, morals, myths, legends, laws, systems of governance, or involvement in major historical events outside of those few examples that remain indisputable.\nFor instance, while we can say with absolute certainty that the disappearance of the entire dwarven race happened very suddenly, only the laziest of junior scholars would say that this event happened in the same day or even the same hour. There is simply no proof to dispute the theory that perhaps the dwarves disappeared from Tamriel gradually over the course of several years or indeed several decades.\nThere is also nothing that disproves the source of this disappearance as being attributable to mass deaths, plagues, magical contamination, experiments into the nature of Aetherius gone wrong, or even race-wide teleportation into one of the planes of Oblivion. There is simply too little that the dwarves left behind that points to the nature of their great vanishing act, and this same frustration applies to all aspects of their social structure and history.\nWhat we know then can only be inferred by the writings of the other races which made contact with the dwarves before they left Tamriel. The dark elves (\"Dunmer\") for example teach that their great prophet Nerevar helped unite the dwarves and the elves in Morrowind against occupying Nord armies from Skyrim in the First Era, but Nord and Orc writings also indicate that the dwarves were also allied with them at various points and in various legendary battles of theirs.\nUnfortunately, none of these legends and folk lore make an effort to describe the dwarves in great detail, only that they were a secretive people and that an alliance with them was unusual enough to warrant crafting a story around. And past the First Era, no race makes note of encountering any living dwarves at all. This is further confounded by the fact that so many of the dark elven writings on their relationship with the dwarves were lost during the tragic eruptions of Vvardenfell during the Oblivion Crisis nearly 200 years ago. What secrets they could have revealed about the Lost Race are now buried behind layers of molten earth along with so many unfortunate dark elven people.\nThus, we conclude our discussion on the dwarves on a somber note. As with all scholarly endeavors, we are left with more questions than we have answers, and the proof we so desperately search for is so often out of reach, denied even to the most fervent effort.\nThe mysteries the dwarves have left us with could easily warrant another century or so worth of personal examination from me, and quite possibly even several millennia of excavation of even one dwarven ruin would be insufficient to paint a complete picture on them. But what we can see from our threadbare tapestry of dwarven artifacts is a careful, intelligent, industrious, and highly advanced culture whose secrets we as students and teachers of their works can only hope to uncover some day."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dwemer-inquiries-vol-i": {"series": "Dwemer Inquiries", "game": ["Skyrim", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dwemer-inquiries-vol-i", "author": "Thelwe Ghelein", "title": "Dwemer Inquiries Vol I", "description": "A series of texts describing Dwemer history, culture, and architecture, especially away from Vvardenfell. Includes Dwemer script.", "text": "Dwemer Inquiries Vol I\n\tTheir Architecture and Civilization\nby\n\tThelwe Ghelein, Scholar\n\n[Literal Translation:\u00a0In the Deep Halls, far from Men\n\tForsaken Red Mountain, Twisted Kin\n\tHail the Mind, Hail the Stone\n\tDwarven Pride, Stronger than bone]\nIt has been my life's work to investigate the Dwemer, their dubious history and mysterious banishment. My goal with this text is to share my findings and conclusions based on eighty years spent studying their unique architectural remains.\nThe Migration of the Deep-Elves from their ancestral Dwemereth, now Morrowind, is a generally accepted fact. Recorded history supports this, specifically mentioning the Rourken Clan's refusal to join King Dumac in the forming of the First Council, and their subsequent exodus to Hammerfell. The architectural premise is also sound, as the building habits of the Dwarves adapted and changed, albeit slowly and in subtle ways, over time and land. I propose that some of these differences are stylistic as well as practical.\nTraditional viewpoints suggest that the Vvardenfell Dwemer were the most prolific of their kind. Based on my excavations throughout Skyrim, Morrowind and High Rock, I am not sure that this is the case. While Vvardenfell is almost cluttered with dwarven ruins poking through the surface of the landscape, the construction of those ruins is fundamentally different from the majority of what I've observed elsewhere.\nFurther, as we delve into Vvardenfell ruins, we notice that their internal structure is quite different. While major civic and operational chambers are found near the surface in a Vvardenfell Ruin, that is not typically the case on the Mainland. Minor passageways and storehouse rooms are near the surface, but more important locations don't occur until we explore much deeper.\nBecause such major locations are well-hidden in Dwemer Ruins outside of Morrowind, many scholars believed they were in fact not present in ruins outside that province. This premature conclusion led some to believe such sites to be mere outposts. My research has shown this not to be the case.\nThere are a few theories that may explain this difference. Perhaps Clan architects simply had their own styles and preferences when it came to civic planning. This seems only somewhat likely, as Dwarven techniques were based on empirical study, there was likely little room for creative interpretation when it came to building technique. Geological makeup of the terrain almost certainly played a role, especially in a region like Northern Skyrim where the ground near the surface is very rocky and often frozen, versus the volcanic substratum common in Vvardenfell or the ubiquitous aquifers found in Hammerfell. It's possible that Dwarven architects in the North were not even able to excavate larger structures until reaching more pliable stratum.\nThis scholar would like to suggest, however, that many structures west of Morrowind were built after 1E420. When the Clan Rourken left Vvardenfell, it seems evident that several clans broke off to create their own settlements, and chose to live in greater isolation than their Eastern brethren. This theory is particularly fascinating, because it leads me to believe that Dwarven architects may have developed even more elaborate methods of hiding their strongholds over time.\nThis opens the distinct possibility that undisturbed dwarven archaeological sites exist throughout Tamriel, even in southern areas like Cyrodiil or Black Marsh where Dwarves are not believed to have ever had a significant presence. Though we ought not get carried away on flights of fancy, one could extrapolate this logic to suggest that some Dwarven Clans were living among us for much longer than previously believed, perhaps well beyond the disappearance during the War of the Red Mountain in 1E700."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dwemer-inquiries-vol-ii": {"series": "Dwemer Inquiries", "game": ["Skyrim", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dwemer-inquiries-vol-ii", "author": "Thelwe Ghelein", "title": "Dwemer Inquiries Vol II", "description": "A series of texts describing Dwemer history, culture, and architecture, especially away from Vvardenfell. Includes Dwemer script.", "text": "Dwemer Inquiries Vol II\n\tTheir Architecture and Civilization\nby\n\tThelwe Ghelein, Scholar\n\n[Literal Translation:\u00a0In the Deep Halls, far from Men\n\tForsaken Red Mountain, Twisted Kin\n\tHail the Mind, Hail the Stone\n\tDwarven Pride, Stronger than bone]\nThe limited written record supports the perception of the Deep Elves as culturally revering the pursuits of logic and science. This stands in stark contrast to the belief system of most other mer cultures. When we imagine a society structured around such a central ideology, it seems reasonable that prolific scholars, especially in fields such as mathematics, metallurgy or architecture, would be elevated to social status like that of clergy in a more mystically-inclined culture. The idea is supported by a fragment of Dwemeris text recovered from a colony in Skyrim - Irkgnthand - which I believe to be associated with the Clan Rourken. The original Dwemeris and my translation Follow:\n\n[Lit. Trans. Risen by order cousin-of-privilege Cuolec of Scheziline privileged duties. Clanhome building Hoagen Kultorra tradition to Hailed World shaper]\n\"To raise granted-cousin Cuolec of <untranslatable> privilege with duties for family-home building Hoagen Kultorra<?> tradition to father Mundus shaper\"\nSome scholars interpret this as evidence of Dwemer worship of Mundus, but I do not agree. My translation of this passage suggests that a respected Dwemer by the name of Cuolec was promoted to a civic position, probably tonal architect. The latter half of the fragment suggests that Cuolec's position requires him to build in a specific style.\nThe term Hoagen Kultorra has thus far eluded me, but I believe it may be the name of such a style. It's possible there were several styles, differing in their construction principles and typical structures.\nOne earmark of what I believe was the prevalent Dwemer style among Northern clans was a feature I call the Deep Venue. Deep Venues are often characterized as being made up of one or more expansive natural caverns in which several other structures will occur. Structures within the Venue may be carved from the stone itself, or freely erected upon the cavern floor. The largest and most impressive Venues, such as that found in Bthardamz, may even feature roads wide enough for ten large men to walk shoulder-meets-shoulder along it.\nArcanex are typically smaller structures. Very few have been properly studied before disruption by grave-robbers or greedy adventurers, but those few undisturbed sites have contained a surprising collection of magical objects such as soul-gems, alchemical concoctions and magical texts. Some scholars take these as evidence that the Dwemer did, in fact, dabble in the magical arts. Based on what we know of their culture, as well as the fact that most arcanex are minor structures compared to other common fixtures, I would suggest that these were centers of study and nothing more. Perhaps the Dwarves established these Halls as a means to study men and mer, who surely seemed as alien to them as the Dwemer seem to us today?\nGreat Animoculotories can be found in many Dwarven strongholds. These were the factories where the centurions and various other constructs were built. I have hoped to study these chambers for clues as to the means by which those mysterious automata are given life, but those same guardians make these especially difficult and dangerous areas to explore."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dwemer-inquiries-vol-iii": {"series": "Dwemer Inquiries", "game": ["Skyrim", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/dwemer-inquiries-vol-iii", "author": "Thelwe Ghelein", "title": "Dwemer Inquiries Vol III", "description": "A series of texts describing Dwemer history, culture, and architecture, especially away from Vvardenfell. Includes Dwemer script.", "text": "Dwemer Inquiries Vol III\n\tTheir Architecture and Civilization\nby\n\tThelwe Ghelein, Scholar\n\n[Literal Translation:\u00a0In the Deep Halls, far from Men\n\tForsaken Red Mountain, Twisted Kin\n\tHail the Mind, Hail the Stone\n\tDwarven Pride, Stronger than bone]\nMy studies, and this text, have focused heavily on the fact that Dwemer archaeological sites west of Vvardenfell seem to be built at much greater depths than their counterparts near the Red Mountain. I believe there was a specific threshold to which Dwarven excavators would dig before the construction of vital structures would begin.\nI have referred to this threshold as the \"Geocline,\" but I have found that to often be redundant with the Deep Venue of a colony. Still, there is some variation in the actual depth of a Deep Venue, whereas the Geocline is always the marker where I reason the City proper begins.\nTunnels and chambers at more shallow depths, while often grand in their architectural style, appear to have served little in the way of critical civic purpose. Surplus stores of food, warehouse chambers that may have been used in trading with nearby surface settlements, or barracks for topside patrols are common above the Geocline.\nThese tunnels, I have observed, can meander in a seemingly more random pattern than those planned structures beneath. I hypothesize that this may be due to the unpredictable nature of any excavation, even to a race as clever as the Dwemer. Surely unexpected deposits of stone or geological events could make the effort difficult, and I think that these haphazard tunnels are often the result of the search for suitable substratum to build within.\nI have found in a small number of ruins reference to a geological anomaly or place known as \"\"[Literal Translation: FalZhardum Din]. This is intriguing because the term not only appears in a few tablet fragments, but very specifically on ornate metal frames in the deepest reaches of the Strongholds Alftand, Irkgnthand and Mzinchaleft of Skyrim. I have yet to decipher the meaning of these elaborate carvings, but consider it highly strange that they occur in the deepest part of each of these ruin.\nRisen by order cousin-of-privilege Cuolec of Scheziline privileged duties. Clanhome building Hoagen Kultorra tradition to Hailed World shaper\"\nThe most reasonable translation of \"\" I have managed to decipher is \"Blackest Kingdom Reaches\", but I cannot imagine what that means.\nI suspect there may be some pattern I am failing to notice. This creeping doubt has haunted my career in recent years, and I have begun to doubt if I will unravel some grand secret of the Dwarves in my lifetime, though it lies just under my nose - or indeed, under my feet."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bloodstained-note-0": {"series": "Frostflow Lighthouse Notes", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bloodstained-note-0", "author": "Various", "title": "Bloodstained Note", "description": "This series of notes is found in Frostflow Lighthouse, and chronicles the demise of the family living there at the hands of the chaurus.", "text": "They took Father.\nThere had been some others they brought down but they led them off and all we heard were the screams and now Father is gone too. Oh gods why didn't I listen to Mani? Father's fever was getting worse and kept mumbling about daedra. I don't know where he was hiding it, but I think I know why he left me this dagger.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/habds-death-note": {"series": "Frostflow Lighthouse Notes", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/habds-death-note", "author": "Various", "title": "Habd's Death Note", "description": "This series of notes is found in Frostflow Lighthouse, and chronicles the demise of the family living there at the hands of the chaurus.", "text": "If you have found this note, then I have failed to kill the creatures that invaded my home and killed my family. Please, avenge us if you are able. Kill every last one of these blighted monsters and take what I've left in the chest on the roof of the Lighthouse.\nI won't be needing it.\n-Habd\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/habds-journal": {"series": "Frostflow Lighthouse Notes", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/habds-journal", "author": "Various", "title": "Habd's Journal", "description": "This series of notes is found in Frostflow Lighthouse, and chronicles the demise of the family living there at the hands of the chaurus.", "text": "After years of sailing from Hammerfell to Solstheim and back, Ramati and I have finally saved enough money to buy that old light house we spotted on the coast and we are moving in next month.\n----\nThese Nords really know how to live. It may be cold, but you can't beat the tranquility of the watching icebergs to live out your silver years. Ramati loves the place too, despite the occasional leaky ceiling. Mani and Sudi, unfortunately, seem miserable here; I know the kids are old enough to strike out on their own, but I hope they'll grow to love the peace and quiet here as I have.\n----\nMani and Sudi continue to bicker and harass each other and they seem to have started in on their mother as well. Ramati keeps finding things missing from the cellar. Sudi said she heard a noise down there but Mani just thinks their mother is going mad from isolation. The very thought of it is ridiculous, she's always wanted to retire here!\n----\nSudi keeps saying that she hears scratching coming from the cellar at night. I think she's just trying to get her mother's goat, but I'd better head into town to get a few traps just in case it's skeevers. Should only take a couple days. I just hope those two go easy on Ramati while I'm gone.\n----\nOh gods. Oh gods why?\nI returned home to find my beautiful Ramati killed and this thing, this horrible bug-like creature ransacking our home. I managed to kill the damned thing, I think it might be a daedra! I've never seen anything like it! Oh gods poor Ramati.\nIt must have come out of the cellar. I'm going down there and locking the door behind me to make sure they don't escape. I don't know if I'll make it out, but I have to save my family!\n--Habd\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/manis-letter": {"series": "Frostflow Lighthouse Notes", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/manis-letter", "author": "Various", "title": "Mani's Letter", "description": "This series of notes is found in Frostflow Lighthouse, and chronicles the demise of the family living there at the hands of the chaurus.", "text": "Sudi,\nI know you've been making up that stuff about the noises in the basement to try to get me to stay, but I'm only waiting till Father gets home so you and Mother are safe. You could always come meet up with me before I head back to Hammerfell.\nTake care of yourself little sister\n-Mani\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ramatis-journal": {"series": "Frostflow Lighthouse Notes", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ramatis-journal", "author": "Various", "title": "Ramati's Journal", "description": "This series of notes is found in Frostflow Lighthouse, and chronicles the demise of the family living there at the hands of the chaurus.", "text": "We finally did it. We bought the lighthouse. I thought Habd was just making idle promises all these years, what husband doesn't want to promise their wife the two moons from the sky, but I didn't think we'd actually manage to get it! Now if I could only find where we put everything\n----\nI can't find my favorite cooking pot and it is slightly infuriating. Sudi and Mani seem unhappy, but they're still young and don't seem to understand that we just want to spend a few more years with them before they leave us to see the world. I know they think their father will live forever, but I see his age creeping into his eyes. He made me promise again that when he died I would put his bones in the lighthouse fire so he could look out over the ocean forever.\n----\nOooh those two get to me sometimes! I went to unpack some of our keepsakes from the trading ships we used to sail but I can't find them!\n----\nSudi keeps saying she's hearing something in the basement at night and Mani suggested it was skeevers! They know I hate skeevers! Now I'm too scared to go down there at all. I'm glad I unpacked my favorite urn and put it safely on the mantle before those two started causing mischief. If they put a skeever in the basement I swear...\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/scrawled-page": {"series": "Frostflow Lighthouse Notes", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/scrawled-page", "author": "Various", "title": "Scrawled Page", "description": "This series of notes is found in Frostflow Lighthouse, and chronicles the demise of the family living there at the hands of the chaurus.", "text": "I don't know how long we've been down here. Father came down to find us, but those things captured him as well. I asked him if he'd seen Mother or Mani, but I don't know if he could even hear me. One of those big bugs bit him when he tried to get free and now he's feverish.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sudis-journal": {"series": "Frostflow Lighthouse Notes", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sudis-journal", "author": "Various", "title": "Sudi's Journal", "description": "This series of notes is found in Frostflow Lighthouse, and chronicles the demise of the family living there at the hands of the chaurus.", "text": "I hate it here. Why did we have to move to Skyrim anyway? I miss the big port cities, there was always something to do and new people around. Or even being cabin girl on one ships we used to sail on would be better than this! Mani says we should run away, but I can't leave Mother and Father alone out here... Oh what to do?\n----\nWe've been here for two months now and there is nothing to do! From the top of the lighthouse we can see all the way to the College at Winterhold, but Father says that magic is for Daedra worshippers. The only interesting thing to have happened lately is that Mother snapped at us at dinner and accused us of stealing things out of the cellar. I did hear scratching down there the other night, but I thought it was just Father cleaning fish.\n----\nI caught Mani in the cellar a couple days ago going through some the barrels and crates. At first I thought it was him all along making those scratches to play a trick on me, but I heard them again last night and Mani was in bed. Father finally said he would go get some traps and poison from town in case it's skeevers. I'm really scared, it doesn't sound like skeevers to me.\n----\nMani won't listen, he thinks I'm just making up the noises and keeps sneaking into the cellar! Oooh why is he so stupid some times? I don't know why he keeps going down there but I've found the cellar key he copied and hid it in Mother's favorite keepsake so he won't find it. The scratching is getting louder.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bounty-0": {"series": "Hearthfire Bounties", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bounty-0", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Bounty", "description": "Four slightly different bounty letters found in the Hearthfire DLC.", "text": "Bounty\nBy order of [Jarl]:\nTo all able bodied men and women of [hold name]. The bandits located in [location] have been harassing, robbing, and attacking citizens and visitors.\nA reward will be offered to anyone who kills their leader.\n--[Jarl's Steward]"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bounty-1": {"series": "Hearthfire Bounties", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bounty-1", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Bounty", "description": "Four slightly different bounty letters found in the Hearthfire DLC.", "text": "Bounty\nBy order of [Jarl]:\nTo all able bodied men and women of [hold name]. The forsworn located in [location] have been harassing, robbing, and attacking citizens and visitors.\nA reward will be offered to anyone who kills their leader.\n--[Jarl's Steward]"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bounty-2": {"series": "Hearthfire Bounties", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bounty-2", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Bounty", "description": "Four slightly different bounty letters found in the Hearthfire DLC.", "text": "Bounty\nBy order of [Jarl]:\nTo all able bodied men and women of [hold name]. The giant located in [location] have been harassing and attacking citizens and visitors.\nA reward will be offered to anyone who kills it.\n--[Jarl's Steward]"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bounty-3": {"series": "Hearthfire Bounties", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bounty-3", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Bounty", "description": "Four slightly different bounty letters found in the Hearthfire DLC.", "text": "Bounty\nBy order of [Jarl]:\nTo all able bodied and fearless men and women of [hold name]. The dragon located in [bounty location] has been carrying off livestock, and terrorizing citizens and visitors.\nA handsome reward will be offered to anyone who kills it.\n--[Jarl's Steward]"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/high-hrothgar-tablets-emblem-i": {"series": "High Hrothgar Tablets", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/high-hrothgar-tablets-emblem-i", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "High Hrothgar Tablets, Emblem I", "description": "A history of Dragons and Thu'um, as told by inscriptions along the way up to High Hrothgar.", "text": "Before the birth of men, the Dragons ruled all Mundus.\nTheir word was the Voice, and they spoke only for True Needs.\nFor the Voice could blot out the sky and flood the land."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/high-hrothgar-tablets-emblem-ii": {"series": "High Hrothgar Tablets", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/high-hrothgar-tablets-emblem-ii", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "High Hrothgar Tablets, Emblem II", "description": "A history of Dragons and Thu'um, as told by inscriptions along the way up to High Hrothgar.", "text": "Men were born and spread over the face of Mundus\nThe Dragons presided over the crawling masses\nMen were weak then, and had no Voice"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/high-hrothgar-tablets-emblem-iii": {"series": "High Hrothgar Tablets", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/high-hrothgar-tablets-emblem-iii", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "High Hrothgar Tablets, Emblem III", "description": "A history of Dragons and Thu'um, as told by inscriptions along the way up to High Hrothgar.", "text": "The fledgling spirits of Men were strong in Old Times\nUnafraid to war with Dragons and their Voices\nBut the Dragons only shouted them down and broke their hearts"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/high-hrothgar-tablets-emblem-iv": {"series": "High Hrothgar Tablets", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/high-hrothgar-tablets-emblem-iv", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "High Hrothgar Tablets, Emblem IV", "description": "A history of Dragons and Thu'um, as told by inscriptions along the way up to High Hrothgar.", "text": "Kyne called on Paarthurnax, who pitied Man\nTogether they taught Men to use the Voice\nThen the Dragon War raged, Dragon against Tongue"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/high-hrothgar-tablets-emblem-v": {"series": "High Hrothgar Tablets", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/high-hrothgar-tablets-emblem-v", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "High Hrothgar Tablets, Emblem V", "description": "A history of Dragons and Thu'um, as told by inscriptions along the way up to High Hrothgar.", "text": "Men prevailed, shouting Alduin out of the world\nProving for all that their Voice too was strong\nAlthough thier sacrifices were many-fold"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/high-hrothgar-tablets-emblem-vi": {"series": "High Hrothgar Tablets", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/high-hrothgar-tablets-emblem-vi", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "High Hrothgar Tablets, Emblem VI", "description": "A history of Dragons and Thu'um, as told by inscriptions along the way up to High Hrothgar.", "text": "With roaring Tongues, the Sky-Children conquer\nFounding the First Empire with Sword and Voice\nWhilst the Dragons withdrew from this World"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/high-hrothgar-tablets-emblem-vii": {"series": "High Hrothgar Tablets", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/high-hrothgar-tablets-emblem-vii", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "High Hrothgar Tablets, Emblem VII", "description": "A history of Dragons and Thu'um, as told by inscriptions along the way up to High Hrothgar.", "text": "The Tongues at Red Mountain went away humbled\nJurgen Windcaller began His Seven Year Meditation\nTo understand how Strong Voices could fail"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/high-hrothgar-tablets-emblem-viii": {"series": "High Hrothgar Tablets", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/high-hrothgar-tablets-emblem-viii", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "High Hrothgar Tablets, Emblem VIII", "description": "A history of Dragons and Thu'um, as told by inscriptions along the way up to High Hrothgar.", "text": "Jurgen Windcaller chose silence and returned\nThe 17 disputants could not shout Him down\nJurgen the Calm buit His home on the Throat of the World"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/high-hrothgar-tablets-emblem-ix": {"series": "High Hrothgar Tablets", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/high-hrothgar-tablets-emblem-ix", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "High Hrothgar Tablets, Emblem IX", "description": "A history of Dragons and Thu'um, as told by inscriptions along the way up to High Hrothgar.", "text": "For years all silent, the Graybears spoke one name\nTiber Septim, stiplingthen, was summoned to Hrothgar\nThey blessed and named him Dohvakiin"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/high-hrothgar-tablets-emblem-x": {"series": "High Hrothgar Tablets", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/high-hrothgar-tablets-emblem-x", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "High Hrothgar Tablets, Emblem X", "description": "A history of Dragons and Thu'um, as told by inscriptions along the way up to High Hrothgar.", "text": "The Voice is worship\nFollow the Inner path\nSpeak only in True Need"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/history-raven-rock-vol-i": {"series": "History of Raven Rock", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/history-raven-rock-vol-i", "author": "Lyrin Telleno", "title": "History of Raven Rock, Vol. I", "description": "Covers the history of Raven Rock, from its founding in the late 3rd era to today, in the 4E200s", "text": "The History of Raven Rock\n\tVolume I\nby\n\tLyrin Telleno\nForward\nRaven Rock is one of the more interesting colonies of Morrowind of the last two centuries. So much has happened to this tiny town in such a short amount of time, and so many lives have been affected by it, I felt it necessary to describe its rich history within these volumes. During my research, I lived in Raven Rock for almost three years, and I got to know many of my fellow Dunmer who call Raven Rock their home. I hope that my readers will appreciate the amount of fortitude and perseverance that it must take to endure life in such an inhospitable and untamed land.\nRaven Rock was founded in 3E 427 by the East Empire Company in response to the discovery of a rich ebony mine on the southern edge of the island of Solstheim. The construction of the town took several months, and the mine immediately started yielding ebony ore that the miner's shipped to Windhelm in Skyrim. By 3E 432, the town was home to over thirty people, all of whom depended on the mine for their livelihood. At this time, Raven Rock was almost exclusively inhabited by Imperials and a few Nords who were drawn to the mine's wealth.\nWhen the Oblivion Crisis arose in 3E 433, Raven Rock remained largely untouched by Mehrunes Dagon's forces and work continued as usual. The bulk of the Imperial Guard that was stationed in Raven Rock was recalled to Cyrodiil to fight the invading forces, but a few soldiers remained behind in order to protect the ebony mine from bandits. It's uncertain whether any Oblivion Gates ever opened on Solstheim, as there appears to be no record of such an event ever occurring there.\nIn the first year of the Fourth Era, after the destruction of Ald'ruhn, many of the Dunmer Great Houses sent out small groups of their own to seek places to reestablish themselves. House Redoran's group was led by Brara Morvayn who immediately struck out for Solstheim. After some quick negotiations with the East Empire Company (and some speculate quite a bit of coin changing hands), Brara's group was allowed to settle in Raven Rock where they quickly became a part of the mining colony's way of life. The Dunmer proved to be both hard-working and reliable when it came to working in the mines, impressing the East Empire Company and solidifying their relationship.\nAll was going quite well until that fateful day in 4E 5 when the Red Mountain suddenly erupted, sending a massive blast across the Sea of Ghosts that struck Solstheim with its full fury. Raven Rock was heavily damaged by this wave of force, which toppled several of its stone structures and obliterated many of the wooden ones. Ironically, the mine once again proved to be the town's saving grace, as most of the population of Raven Rock was working underground at the time, and was completely shielded from the blast. This event wasn't without cost, however. Raven Rock was heavily dependent on nearby Fort Frostmoth for its defense, but the eruption had almost completely wiped it from the face of Solstheim. The few soldiers that survived took residence in Raven Rock itself and attempted to set up a makeshift garrison there, but these scant few were hardly a match for potential threats to their town. With the East Empire Company's permission, Brara brought in some of House Redoran's elite \"Redoran Guard\" to fill the void. The guard proved to be an ideal replacement for the fallen Imperial soldiers and have been guarding the town ever since."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/history-raven-rock-vol-ii": {"series": "History of Raven Rock", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/history-raven-rock-vol-ii", "author": "Lyrin Telleno", "title": "History of Raven Rock, Vol. II", "description": "Covers the history of Raven Rock, from its founding in the late 3rd era to today, in the 4E200s", "text": "The History of Raven Rock\n\tVolume II\n\tby\n\tLyrin Telleno\nForward\nRaven Rock is one of the more interesting colonies of Morrowind of the last two centuries. So much has happened to this tiny town in such a short amount of time, and so many lives have been affected by it, I felt it necessary to describe its rich history within these volumes. During my research, I lived in Raven Rock for almost three years, and I got to know many of my fellow Dunmer who call Raven Rock their home. I hope that my readers will appreciate the amount of fortitude and perseverance that it must take to endure life in such an inhospitable and untamed land.\nAfter a few years, the relentless ash storms from the ever-erupting Red Mountain had transformed Solstheim's southern reaches into pure ash wastes reminiscent of those present on Vvardenfell itself. The storms would leave behind deep dunes of ash that made life exceedingly difficult in Raven Rock. In order to protect the town from these drifts, Brara Morvayn proposed that the East Empire Company construct a large wall of her own design to protect the east end of town. The company quickly agreed and provided the necessary funds. After almost a year, the construction was complete and the huge edifice was named \"The Bulwark.\" The wall proved to be extremely effective and allowed work to continue unabated in the mines.\nIn 4E 16, when Solstheim was passed into the hands of the Dunmer people, the East Empire Company was forced to relinquish Raven Rock's control to House Redoran. The Council quickly named Brara Morvayn as councilor of their new town, and allowed her to rule Solstheim as she saw fit. As a result of this changing of the guard, almost the entire Imperial population left Raven Rock and returned to Cyrodiil. Brara continued to welcome the Dunmer that elected to settle on Solstheim. Some chose to stay in Raven Rock to work in the mines, and other took to more familiar territory and began a nomadic lifestyle in the ash wastes.\nThe next few decades were the golden years for Raven Rock. Brara Morvayn was keeping the peace, the mines were still producing large quantities of ebony and the Dunmer that lived on the island were happy. After almost fifty years of prosperity, in 4E 65, Brara Morvayn finally succumbed to old age and passed away. She was interred in the family's ancestral tomb and her son, Lleril Morvayn, took her place. The people who had lived in Raven Rock during Brara's time as councilor were pleased to discover that Lleril shared his mother's notions of rulership. He was fair and compassionate, which kept the people on the island quite happy for many decades."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/history-raven-rock-vol-iii": {"series": "History of Raven Rock", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/history-raven-rock-vol-iii", "author": "Lyrin Telleno", "title": "History of Raven Rock, Vol. III", "description": "Covers the history of Raven Rock, from its founding in the late 3rd era to today, in the 4E200s", "text": "The History of Raven Rock\n\tVolume III\n\tby\n\tLyrin Telleno\n\nForward\nRaven Rock is one of the more interesting colonies of Morrowind of the last two centuries. So much has happened to this tiny town in such a short amount of time, and so many lives have been affected by it, I felt it necessary to describe its rich history within these volumes. During my research, I lived in Raven Rock for almost three years, and I got to know many of my fellow Dunmer who call Raven Rock their home. I hope that my readers will appreciate the amount of fortitude and perseverance that it must take to endure life in such an inhospitable and untamed land.\nAll was going well in Raven Rock until 4E 95, when an attempt on Lleril's life was made without warning. Fortunately, the attack was unsuccessful thanks to the prowess of the Redoran Guard. Under questioning by Captain Modyn Veleth, the assassin was revealed to be Vilur Ulen of House Hlaalu. House Hlaalu had been at odds with House Redoran for years following their removal from the Council of Great Houses. The Hlaalu believe that House Redoran was instrumental in this reorganization, and have held a grudge ever since. Their attempt on Lleril's life was meant to send a message to the Council that House Redoran was not as mighty as they purported to be and that they were truly vulnerable and weak. The Redoran Guard investigated futhur and discovered that Vilur had been organizing a coup in Raven Rock in an attempt to fully wrest control of the island from Lleril's grasp. Vilur and his conspirators were executed and the coup was quelled.\nSeveral recent events have served to solidify the Dunmer people's respect for Lleril Morvayn. In 4E 130, the Bulwark began to show its age and threatened to crumble.\u00a0 The councilor elected to use the bulk of his personal fortune to have it repaired. In 4E 150, a small force of Argonians landed on Solstheim with the intent of wreaking havoc on the island, and Councillor Morvayn led the charge against them personally. And in 4E 170, when the ebony mine finally began to dry up, he drained the remainder of his coffers keeping the people fed.\nBy 4E 181, the mine's ebony veins were completely exhausted. Lleril ordered the mine to be shut down, and Raven Rock turned to hunting and fishing for its trade. A few Dunmer families departed Solstheim and returned to the mainland, but most stayed behind.\nAt present, Lleril Morvayn is still the ruler of Raven Rock. The Redoran Guard continues to maintain order within the town and the surrounding area, keeping Raven Rock's residents safe, and in line. If even so much as a rumor of dissent reaches Lleril's ears, he has it quashed immediately. He's well aware that there may be a few Hlaalu loyalists still present among her population that would like to see him dead. The future may appear bleak for Raven Rock, but the spirit of its inhabitants will never be broken."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/markarth-home-decorating-guide": {"series": "Home Decorating Guides", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/markarth-home-decorating-guide", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Markarth Home Decorating Guide", "description": "Summaries of the decorations available for your various homes.", "text": "M A R K A R T H\nHome Decorating Guide\nWelcome to your new home!\nThis decorating guide provides a list of packages that you can purchase from the Steward of the hold. Each package contains furnishings and decor for a specific part of your house, and these will be delivered and placed for you upon purchase.\nAll you need to do is provide the gold, and the Steward will take care of the rest. The next time that you visit your home after making your purchases, you will see your new decorations and furnishings in place.\nEntrance Hall\nWhen you purchase this package, floor mats and decorative planters will be added to the hallway just beyond the front door.\nLiving Room\nThis package fills out the home's large, central room with a large dining table, several smaller tables, shelves, a display case and other decor.\nSleeping Quarters\nIn addition to improved furnishings and decor for your master bedroom, this package also adds a small dining area between the guest and master bedroom, near the rear of the house.\nAlchemy Laboratory\nThis package will furnish one the small rooms that adjoin the living room with the implements of an alchemist's laboratory. This includes an alchemy table, several shelves and added decor.\nEnchanting Laboratory\nThis package adds furniture and decor for a small enchanting laboratory adjoining the living room. This includes an enchanting table, shelves and decor.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/riften-home-decorating-guide": {"series": "Home Decorating Guides", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/riften-home-decorating-guide", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Riften Home Decorating Guide", "description": "Summaries of the decorations available for your various homes.", "text": "R I F T E N\nHome Decorating Guide\nWelcome to your new home!\nThis decorating guide provides a list of packages that you can purchase from the Steward of the hold. Each package contains furnishings and decor for a specific part of your house, and these will be delivered and placed for you upon purchase.\nAll you need to do is provide the gold, and the Steward will take care of the rest. The next time that you visit your home after making your purchases, you will see your new decorations and furnishings in place.\nKitchen\nThis package will provide furnishings and decor for your kitchen, which is the room immediately beyond your home's front door. This includes the lighting of the fire.\nBedroom\nAdds bedside tables, a dresser and a small table with two chairs to the master bedroom. This also includes an upgrade to the bed itself.\nAlchemy Laboratory\nThis package will place an alchemy crafting table in your basement, along with some shelves and other decor.\nEnchanting Laboratory\nThis package will place an item enchanting table in your basement, along with some shelves and other decor. Also includes a few practice dummies to test your new enchantments on.\nGarden\nWhen you purchase this package, the small patch of land adjacent to your house will be planted with a wide range of herbs, vegetables and other plants native to Skyrim.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/solitude-home-decorating-guide": {"series": "Home Decorating Guides", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/solitude-home-decorating-guide", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Solitude Home Decorating Guide", "description": "Summaries of the decorations available for your various homes.", "text": "S O L I T U D E\nHome Decorating Guide\nWelcome to your new home!\nThis decorating guide provides a list of packages that you can  purchase from the Steward of the hold. Each package contains  furnishings and decor for a specific part of your house, and these  will be delivered and placed for you upon purchase.\nAll you need to do is provide the gold, and the Steward will take  care of the rest. The next time that you visit your home after  making your purchases, you will see your new decorations and  furnishings in place.\nLiving Room\nThis package adds a large table, chairs and a wide range of decor to the living area located centrally on the second floor of the house.\nSleeping Quarters\nWhen you purchase this package, the master bedroom on the second floor of the house will be decorated with several furnishings and a larger, more luxurious bed. Also, a small dining area will be added just outside the bedroom door that includes a table, chairs and other decorations.\nAlchemy Laboratory\nFills out one of the ground floor rooms with implements and tools for an alchemy laboratory, including an alchemist's crafting table and related decor.\nEnchanting Laboratory\nWill stock one of the home's small ground-floor rooms with all of the furnshings for an enchanting laboratory, including an enchanter's crafting table. Also includes several practice dummies on which you can test out your new enchantments.\nPatio\nPlaces a small table, two chairs and other furnishings on the stone patio outside the back of the house.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/whiterun-home-decorating-guide": {"series": "Home Decorating Guides", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/whiterun-home-decorating-guide", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Whiterun Home Decorating Guide", "description": "Summaries of the decorations available for your various homes.", "text": "W H I T E R U N\nHome Decorating Guide\nWelcome to your new home!\nThis decorating guide provides a list of packages that you can purchase from the   Steward of the hold. Each package contains furnishings and decor for a specific part of your house, and these will be delivered and placed for you upon purchase.\nAll you need to do is provide the gold, and the Steward will take care of the rest. The next time that you visit your home after making your purchases, you will see your new decorations and furnishings in place.\nKitchen\nIncludes a fire pit, a small table and two chairs, as well as a shelf to store cooking  supplies.\nLiving Room\nProvides Wall-mounted shelves, a few side tables and two chairs placed near the fire pit, all near the center of the ground floor.\nDining Room\nAdds a long wooden table and bench, as well as several shelves loaded with cutlery, dishes and cookware.\nAlchemy Laboratory\nThis package adds an alchemy crafting station, a reading table and chair, and a large wardrobe to the rear area of the ground floor. This also includes the addition of a wall to divide the laboratory from the dining room.\nLoft\nThis package includes a few chairs and tables to fill out the upper-level loft.\nBedroom\nAdds two bedside tables, a dresser and a small table with two chairs to the master bedroom. This also includes the addition of a wall to give the bedroom added privacy.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/windhelm-home-decorating-guide": {"series": "Home Decorating Guides", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/windhelm-home-decorating-guide", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Windhelm Home Decorating Guide", "description": "Summaries of the decorations available for your various homes.", "text": "W I N D H E L M\nHome Decorating Guide\nWelcome to your new home!\nThis decorating guide provides a list of packages that you can purchase from the Steward of the hold. Each package contains furnishings and decor for a specific part of your house, and these will be delivered and placed for you upon purchase.\nAll you need to do is provide the gold, and the Steward will take care of the rest. The next time that you visit your home after making your purchases, you will see your new decorations and furnishings in place.\nKitchen\nIncludes a fireplace, a table for two and ample shelving to store your food and cooking supplies.\nLiving Room\nThis package fills Hjerim's spacious ground floor living room with several tables, chairs and shelves. Decorations for the floor and walls are also included.\nAlchemy Laboratory\nAdds an alchemy crafting station.\nEnchanting Laboratory\nAdds an enchanting crafting station.\nUpstairs Landing\nThis package adds several weapon racks and display cases, and lines the walls with mounted animal heads.\nBedroom\nProvides an upgrade to your bed, as well as shelving, display cases, improved lighting and other bedroom furnishings and decor.\nGuest Room\nImproves the furnishings and decor in your home's guest bedroom, including a finer-quality bed, a small table, and some shelves.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ildaris-journal-vol-i": {"series": "Ildari's Journal", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ildaris-journal-vol-i", "author": "Ildari", "title": "Ildari's Journal, vol. I", "description": "Neloth's former apprentice seeks revenge.", "text": "The fools have taken me in. Weak, pathetic men intent on looting this ancient fortress with their crude mining. Niyya is pleasant enough. I may choose to spare her when the time comes.\nI'm still weak from Neloth's betrayal. He promised me power and glory. He failed to mention the constant pain. And the voices. By the three, I would do anything to not hear the voices.\nWhen my strength returns, I will have my vengeance upon my former master. I can feel the power of the heart stone beating inside me. I need to find a way to tap into its power. Then he shall pay in blood and fire and ash."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ildaris-journal-vol-ii": {"series": "Ildari's Journal", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ildaris-journal-vol-ii", "author": "Ildari", "title": "Ildari's Journal, vol. II", "description": "Neloth's former apprentice seeks revenge.", "text": "I am stronger now. The heart stone kept me alive after Neloth's butchery. I can feel the bones in the ash calling to me. I can call back to them too. With the heart stone I can bind the spirits to bone and ash and raise a servant to do my bidding.\nTonight I will seize control. These miners and fortune seekers are pawns of Neloth. I can feel them staring at me. I'm sure they are sending him messages, reporting on my every move. The only ones I can trust are the voices. They've never lied to me. They've shown me that these fools plan to betray me, just like Neloth.\nWhen they are all asleep, I will raise my ash spawn. Their brute of a leader will die first. I can see the lust in his heart. He may act all kind and generous, but I know what he wants, what they all want. They want the heart stone.\nI'll keep a few prisoners. I need test subjects for my experiments. There is more that the heart stone can do. I just need to try out a few ideas."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ildaris-journal-vol-iii": {"series": "Ildari's Journal", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ildaris-journal-vol-iii", "author": "Ildari", "title": "Ildari's Journal, vol. III", "description": "Neloth's former apprentice seeks revenge.", "text": "These warrens are well suited to me. I can plot my vengeance undisturbed. I've created many ash spawn and summoned atronachs to do my bidding. Yet I know it isn't enough. Neloth is a wily old wizard. I need more power.\nI'm out of test subjects, except for Niyya. I saved her for last. She pretended to be my friend when I first came here. But now I know the truth. The voices have told me all about her lies and betrayal. She works with Neloth to bring me down. I've saved a special experiment just for her. It will take quite a while to complete.\nI can't attack Neloth directly, he's too powerful. But I can make his life uncomfortable. I've killed his steward. I've withered his home. Maybe I should poison his precious tea. I'll need a more capable servant for that. The ash spawn are too clumsy for such delicate work."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/unknown-book-vol-ii": {"series": "Journal of Mirtil Angoth", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/unknown-book-vol-ii", "author": "Mirtil Angoth; Calcelmo of Markarth, trans.", "title": "Unknown Book, Vol. II", "description": "Journal of a Falmer youth at the start of their civilization's fall.", "text": "\nLiteral translation:\nMIRTIL ANGOTH\n\t\tJOURNAL\n\nFOURTH EVENING STAR\nI USED TO DREAM OF FIGHTING IN BATTLES LIKE MY FATHER HE HAD BEGUN TEACHING ME TO FIGHT THE MOMENT I WAS ABLE TO PICK UP A BLADE MOTHER HAD ARGUED THAT I WAS TOO YOUNG BUT HE PAID HER NO MIND I CAN STILL REMEMBER THE ELATION I FELT THE FIRST TIME I BESTED FATHER IN A MATCH AND THE LOOK OF PRIDE ON HIS FACE IF IT WERE UP TO HIM I KNOW HE WOULD HAVE ALLOWED ME TO JOIN HIM IN BATTLE WITH ME AT HIS SIDE HE MAY HAVE FARED BETTER NOW WITH FATHER AND SO MANY OTHERS SLAIN THE OLD ONES CLAIM WE ARE LEFT WITH TOO FEW WARRIORS TO CONTINUE THE FIGHT I WAS NOT THE ONLY YOUNG ONE TO SPEAK OUT IN PROTEST BUT OUR SMALL VOICES WENT UNHEARD IT HAS BEEN DECIDED THAT WE MUST FLEE TO SEEK HELP AND PROTECTION\nEIGHTH EVENING STAR\nNEWS HAS REACHED US THAT THE GREAT SNOW PRINCE HAS FALLEN IN BATTLE THE URGENCY TO GO INTO HIDING HAS LEFT MANY OF US SCATTERED AND THOSE OF US STILL TOGETHER UNSURE OF WHICH DIRECTION TO TURN IN THE LONG HOURS OF NIGHT WE KEEP HUDDLED TOGETHER ALWAYS FEARING THE WORST UNTIL THE FIRST LIGHT OF THE BLESSED SUN MAY AURI EL GUIDE OUR FOOTSTEPS\nTHIRTEENTH EVENING STAR\nIN THE NIGHT I OVERHEARD THE OLD ONES WHISPERING SECRETS OF THE UNDERGROUND AND THE DWEMER WHO DWELL THERE I THOUGHT BACK ON STORIES FATHER ONCE TOLD ME OF THESE DWARVES HEROIC TALES OF HONOR AND GLORY THE OLD ONES MUST KNOW OF THESE STORIES FOR IT HAS BEEN DECIDED THAT WE WILL CHANGE COURSE UPON FIRST LIGHT I FEEL HOPEFUL THAT THE DWEMER WILL HELP US TO AVENGE OUR FALLEN AND RECLAIM OUR LAND\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-ralis-sedarys": {"series": "Letters from Ralis Sedarys", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-ralis-sedarys", "author": "Ralis Sedarys", "title": "Letter from Ralis Sedarys", "description": "Delivered to the player during the course of the Kjolborn excavation", "text": "I hope this message finds you quickly, [Player Name]. We've completed the initial excavation, but have run into some unexpected difficulties. Come as soon as you can.\n- Your partner, Ralis"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-ralis-sedarys-2": {"series": "Letters from Ralis Sedarys", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-ralis-sedarys-2", "author": "Ralis Sedarys", "title": "Letter from Ralis Sedarys 2", "description": "Delivered to the player during the course of the Kjolborn excavation", "text": "I don't want you to panic, but I need to see you at the barrow. Quickly.\n- Ralis"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-ralis-sedarys-3": {"series": "Letters from Ralis Sedarys", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-ralis-sedarys-3", "author": "Ralis Sedarys", "title": "Letter from Ralis Sedarys 3", "description": "Delivered to the player during the course of the Kjolborn excavation", "text": "I hope you're not angry, but I may need some more resources. Come around when you have time."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-ralis-sedarys-4": {"series": "Letters from Ralis Sedarys", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-ralis-sedarys-4", "author": "Ralis Sedarys", "title": "Letter from Ralis Sedarys 4", "description": "Delivered to the player during the course of the Kjolborn excavation", "text": "You're needed."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/first-letter-eec": {"series": "Letters from the EEC", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/first-letter-eec", "author": "Vittoria Vici", "title": "First Letter from EEC", "description": "Fethis Alor doesn't take NO for an answer.", "text": "Fethis,\nAfter reviewing your rather lengthy letter in which you've requested that the East Empire Company purchase your business on Solstheim, we must respectfully decline. The East Empire Company has been doing business in Tamriel for over five centuries, and in that time, we've had numerous business ventures. Some of those ventures have proven lucrative and some were highly unprofitable. The colony of Raven Rock belongs to the latter I'm afraid, and therefore we see no financial advantage in re-establishing any sort of business venture on Solstheim at this time.\nVittoria Vici\n\tEast Empire Company Warehouse, Solitude, Skyrim"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/second-letter-eec": {"series": "Letters from the EEC", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/second-letter-eec", "author": "Vittoria Vici", "title": "Second Letter from EEC", "description": "Fethis Alor doesn't take NO for an answer.", "text": "Fethis,\nI felt I was rather clear in my last letter that the East Empire Company doesn't wish to engage in any sort of financial buyout of your business on Solstheim. We appreciate your enthusiasm, but the time just isn't right.\nVittoria Vici\n\tEast Empire Company Warehouse, Solitude, Skyrim"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/third-letter-eec": {"series": "Letters from the EEC", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/third-letter-eec", "author": "Vittoria Vici", "title": "Third Letter from EEC", "description": "Fethis Alor doesn't take NO for an answer.", "text": "Fethis,\nWe've received yet another letter from you requesting a buyout. At this time, I'm going to have to insist you cease any communication with the East Empire Company. There will be no further letters from me on this matter.\nVittoria Vici\n\tEast Empire Company Warehouse, Solitude, Skyrim"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-selina-i": {"series": "Letters to Selina", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-selina-i", "author": "Maximian Axius", "title": "A Letter to Selina I", "description": "A Frostmoth Legionnair's letters home to his love", "text": "My dearest Selina,\nIt's been a difficult day. General Carius ordered us to help the laborers shore up the walls since they're starting to show their age. It was back-breaking work, but without the extra support, those walls wouldn't stand up to a siege. Some of the men are grumbling about the task, but I don't agree with them. The general knows what's best for Fort Frostmoth and I would follow him to Oblivion and back if he asked. There's a supply ship due on Solstheim in a few weeks and I hope to send you all these daily letters I've been writing. I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I enjoy writing them. I miss you Selina, and I can't wait to see you when my time on Solstheim is through.\nYours always,\nMaximian Axius\n\t20 Evening Star 4E 04"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-selina-ii": {"series": "Letters to Selina", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-selina-ii", "author": "Maximian Axius", "title": "A Letter to Selina II", "description": "A Frostmoth Legionnair's letters home to his love", "text": "My dearest Selina,\nEuphemius was killed this morning by one of those awful Rieklings. We were escorting a supply wagon from Fort Frostmoth to Raven Rock when a war party of those bastards ambushed us from the cliffs. We fought them off, but poor Euphemius was impaled by one of their spears. The healers at the fort couldn't do anything for him, and I watched him slip away as I held his hand.\u00a0 I don't know how much longer I can stand being here.\u00a0 My loyalty to the Empire, and the strong words General Carius delivers to us at each morning muster are the only things keeping me going. The supply ship should arrive tomorrow, and I promise to give the quartermaster my letters so they can finally be sent home. Give my love to the children.\nYours always,\nMaximian Axius\n\t11 Morning Star 4E 05"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-selina-iii": {"series": "Letters to Selina", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-selina-iii", "author": "Maximian Axius", "title": "A Letter to Selina III", "description": "A Frostmoth Legionnair's letters home to his love", "text": "My dearest Selina,\nThe supply ship due in Solstheim hasn't arrived yet and no one knows what's happened to it. I'll keep writing these letters in hopes that they can be delivered to you one day. It's awful being isolated on Solstheim like this, but General Carius keeps telling us we need to maintain Fort Frostmoth for the good of the Empire. I believe what he's saying only because he's never led us down the wrong path in the past, but I'm wondering if anyone on the Imperial Council even gives a damn about this pile of rock. Four soldiers have died in the last two years at Fort Frostmoth. It almost seems as though the Empire takes us all for granted and expects us to sit out here and get chipped away at like the rock inside the mines. My posting here can't end soon enough.\nYours always,\nMaximian Axius\n\t1 Sun's Dawn 4E 05"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-selina-iv": {"series": "Letters to Selina", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/letter-selina-iv", "author": "Maximian Axius", "title": "A Letter to Selina IV", "description": "A Frostmoth Legionnair's letters home to his love", "text": "My dearest Selina,\nThis is my last letter. I don't know if you'll ever get any of them, but I'll keep them on me in case I'm ever found. Something happened here, Selina. It was horrible. Something's happened at the Red Mountain but I can't describe it. It's as if hundreds of Oblivion gates opened at once at its summit and it's spitting fire and death in all directions. Fort Frostmoth has been completely destroyed. The walls crumbled like loose dirt and the land is on fire. Everything around me smells of ash and of death. I don't know where anyone is. I've been trapped in one of these lower sections of the fort and I don't expect to be rescued anytime soon. I miss you, Selina. I want to hold you and the children in my arms and tell you that everything is going to be fine, but I don't think that will ever happen. Give my love to Siricus and Atia for me. Tell them their father died bravely defending the Empire, so they can hold their heads high when they speak of me one day. And you my love, when you close your eyes at night, think of me so my spirit can finally come home.\nYours always and forever,\nMaximian Axius\n\t3 Sun's Dawn 4E 05"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/log-elberon-great-vol-2": {"series": "Log of Elberon the Great", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/log-elberon-great-vol-2", "author": "Elberon", "title": "Log of Elberon the Great, Vol 2", "description": "Describes the different rooms and puzzle of a Dwemer Ruin", "text": "Spring greeted me with a splash of color, as beautiful flowers grew everywhere. And I do mean everywhere dear reader, as they were wild and hostile, covering the floors and even a few unfortunate corpses. This horrific sight of beauty was soon ruined by the choking air. Thick, toxic pollen floated everywhere, spewed out by the various flowers. Perhaps the dwemer had allergies to surface flora, and saw Spring as nothing more than a season of suffering. While the mercenaries coughed and vomited from the effects, my strong constitution allowed me to notice strange spriggans shambling through the artificial forests. Where they passed, the buds receded, and the air was clean and breathable. Were these the tenders of the gardens, or just a consequence of its existence? Regardless, I endeavored to follow the path of the spriggans, leading me deeper into the ruins.\n\u2039 Log of Elberon the Great\nup\nLog of Elberon the Great, Vol 3 \u203a\n\u2039 Log of Elberon the Great\nup\nLog of Elberon the Great, Vol 3 \u203a"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/log-elberon-great-vol-3": {"series": "Log of Elberon the Great", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/log-elberon-great-vol-3", "author": "Elberon", "title": "Log of Elberon the Great, Vol 3", "description": "Describes the different rooms and puzzle of a Dwemer Ruin", "text": "Summer was a maze of tunnels and pipes, and no doubt centuries of neglect had left the place in a state of pure haywire. Lava spewed from every stone orifice I could see, and unbearable heat made for a precarious journey, and many of the lesser mercenaries turned back to cooler times. But the dwemer had predicted such superheat, indeed no doubt this unbearable weather was what summer meant to them. Even as I pulled myself through the swelter, I noticed repair spiders darting to and fro, ignoring me and heading into side sections, which revealed great levers. Flipping them released some sort of magical coolant, reducing the heat from impossible to merely annoying. Perhaps if enough of these spiders were directed to overheated sections and enough coolant levers flipped, I thought, I could find out what secrets this section of summer beheld.\n\u2039 Log of Elberon the Great, Vol 2\nup\nLog of Elberon the Great, Vol 4 \u203a\n\u2039 Log of Elberon the Great, Vol 2\nup\nLog of Elberon the Great, Vol 4 \u203a"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/log-elberon-great-vol-4": {"series": "Log of Elberon the Great", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/log-elberon-great-vol-4", "author": "Elberon", "title": "Log of Elberon the Great, Vol 4", "description": "Describes the different rooms and puzzle of a Dwemer Ruin", "text": "As I trundled into the halls of Autumn, a marvelous sight unfolded. Before me lay an enormous stretch of farmland, decrepit and overgrown, but a farm nevertheless. Strange fruits and grains grew in plots, while emaciated chickens ran about all the while tended by massive double-bladed centurions. Did the dwemer find it amusing that the surface-peoples had a whole season dedicated just to harvest, or did they do this as a mockery to some forgotten god of the feast? Whatever the case, I aimed to sample a piece of dwarven produce myself.\n\nThough the fruit smelled delicious, it was as hard as a rock, and the insides glowed with a foul light. Yet as dense as the harvest was, I observed the bladed centurions cutting through it with little effort and carrying them off to a hopper at the far end of the fields. While no doubt the blades of these machines would make short work of flesh and armor, my men nevertheless valiantly served as a distraction as I carried the heavy wheat over to the depository, hoping that these offerings would satiate whatever freakish endeavors the dwarves had begun, and gain me access to the rest of the farms.\n\u2039 Log of Elberon the Great, Vol 3\nup\nLog of Elberon the Great, Vol 5 \u203a\n\u2039 Log of Elberon the Great, Vol 3\nup\nLog of Elberon the Great, Vol 5 \u203a"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/log-elberon-great-vol-5": {"series": "Log of Elberon the Great", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/log-elberon-great-vol-5", "author": "Elberon", "title": "Log of Elberon the Great, Vol 5", "description": "Describes the different rooms and puzzle of a Dwemer Ruin", "text": "Winter was, not to my surprise, home to a great indoor blizzard and what the mercenaries thought of as artificial stone mountains. Yet they were not mountains, but great towering silos of frozen water. And the cold! Not even the high mountains compared to such chills, and we were soon trading furs amongst ourselves to keep warm! Yet just as soon as the wind had picked up, it died down, the temperature dropping and the icy waters unfreezing, yet still cold. It became clear that if I was to progress through these silos, I would have to take advantage of the variable chill, quickly crossing through paths formed by the ice floes as impromptu bridges. As clever a solution as any solution thought up by me.\n\n\u2039 Log of Elberon the Great, Vol 4\nup\n\u2039 Log of Elberon the Great, Vol 4\nup"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mysterious-note-1": {"series": "Mysterious Notes", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mysterious-note-1", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "A Mysterious Note", "description": "A series of riddles.", "text": "Each sacrifice brings you closer to that which you seek."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mysterious-note-2": {"series": "Mysterious Notes", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mysterious-note-2", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "A Mysterious Note", "description": "A series of riddles.", "text": "Stay your course.\n\tTo idle is to die."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mysterious-note-3": {"series": "Mysterious Notes", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mysterious-note-3", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "A Mysterious Note", "description": "A series of riddles.", "text": "All men must die.\n\tOften by their own means."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mysterious-note-4": {"series": "Mysterious Notes", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/mysterious-note-4", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "A Mysterious Note", "description": "A series of riddles.", "text": "Continue along the path,\n\tand stay the course."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/apocrypha-boneless-limbs": {"series": "On Apocrypha", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/apocrypha-boneless-limbs", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "On Apocrypha: Boneless Limbs", "description": "A series of books found in Apocrypha and describing the realm. Used in a puzzle.", "text": "A writhing mass of heaped appendage\n\tSlipping grasp the squirming slick\n\tExtend the reach to touch the face\n\tBurn the mind, reveal the quick"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/apocrypha-delving-pincers": {"series": "On Apocrypha", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/apocrypha-delving-pincers", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "On Apocrypha: Delving Pincers", "description": "A series of books found in Apocrypha and describing the realm. Used in a puzzle.", "text": "Crushing razors, hollow shells\n\tThat snap, that twitch, that cinch and rend\n\tTo hold the subject, bodily,\n\t'Til mind blows soft and life meets end"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/apocrypha-gnashing-blades": {"series": "On Apocrypha", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/apocrypha-gnashing-blades", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "On Apocrypha: Gnashing Blades", "description": "A series of books found in Apocrypha and describing the realm. Used in a puzzle.", "text": "Bone extrusions gash and grind\n\tIn moistened depths of smacking heat\n\tWhile tearing flesh from averse bone\n\tThe body whole prepares to eat"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/apocrypha-prying-orbs": {"series": "On Apocrypha", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/apocrypha-prying-orbs", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "On Apocrypha: Prying Orbs", "description": "A series of books found in Apocrypha and describing the realm. Used in a puzzle.", "text": "What takes the world in lightened sense\n\tCan also seek the outward gleam\n\tThey rob the all of essence to\n\tReport the nothing they have seen"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rising-threat-vol-i": {"series": "Rising Threat", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rising-threat-vol-i", "author": "Lathenil of Sunhold; Praxis Erratuim, ed.", "title": "Rising Threat, Vol. I", "description": "Summary of the late 3rd and early 4th eras in Summurset and Cyrodiil, with specific focus on the rise of the Thalmor.", "text": "I was barely more than a child when the Great Anguish fell upon us. The very air was torn asunder, leaving gaping, infected wounds that spewed daedra from the bowels of Oblivion. Many flocked to the shores, seeking escape from Dagon's murderous host - but the seas betrayed our people, raising up to smash our ships and our ports, leaving us to fates so vile and wicked that death would seem a mercy.\nThe Crystal Tower stood as our last bastion of hope, in both the literal and figurative sense.\nRefugees filled the Crystal Tower until it could hold no more. I could taste the fear hanging in the air; feel the pall of despair suffocating us. We could see the daedra moving through the trees in the distance, but they did not come. Days passed, and still the daedra would not approach within arrow-shot of the battlements. Hope began to grow. \"They fear us,\" some would say, \"even a daedra knows not to trifle with the wisdom and magicks of the Crystal-Like-Law!\"\nIt was as if the foul denizens of Oblivion had been waiting for this very spirit to stoke our hearts before they acted.\nAs we slept, innumerable legions of daedra amassed around us... and they were not alone. Hundreds of Altmer prisoners were gathered with them. As dawn broke, we were awoken by their screams as the daedra began to flail them and flay them. We watched in abject horror as our kinfolk were defiled completely... carved up and eaten alive, impaled on their depraved war machines, and worried apart as meals for their profane beasts.\nThis bloodletting was only a prelude to whet their appetites.\nOnce the daedra finished with our kinfolk, they turned their eyes to the Crystal Tower. Our great and noble bastion proved as much of an impediment as a mighty oak to a landslide - standing tall for but a few moments, appearing almost able to ride the tide of destruction around it, but ultimately being swept away.\nOur exalted wizards decimated the fiends, roasting them by the dozens. Archers were finding the narrowest of chinks in their daedric armor at over a hundred paces, felling their captains and commanders. The might and skillfulness of our heroic defenders was astonishing to behold, but it was not enough. The daedra clambered over the corpses of their cohort. They marched headlong into death and destruction that would make the mightiest armies in all of Tamriel quake with fear.\nWhen they breached the walls, I fled along with the other cowards. I take no pride in that act. It has haunted my existence ever since, and I burn with shame to admit it, but it is truth. We fled in mindless panic - abandoning those stalwart Altmer who held the line against the onslaught, to preserve and defend our illustrious Crystal Tower.\nWe raced through cleverly concealed passageways and emerged well away from the chaos that had descended upon the tower. That is when it happened. It started like a gust rustling through the leaves of a dense forest, but the sound did not taper off. It rose into a roar as the very ground on which I stood began to shudder. I turned to look, and the world held its breath...\nI stood transfixed as the heart of my homeland was torn as if from my own breast. The unthinkable, the incomprehensible... the tower of Crystal-Like-Law cast to the ground, with all the dignity of a beggar meeting an iron-clad fist. An eternity I watched, trying to reconcile what I knew with what I saw.\nSobs racked my chest, and weeping filled the air around me as the spell loosened its hold and I realized where I was. There were scores of other refugees mesmerized by the horror that had likewise ensorcelled me. \"Go,\" I croaked out as my heart - the heart of my land - shattered. No one moved, not even me.\nI mustered what will I could and bellowed all the fear and hatred and agony at what had just happened, turning the word into a mindless shriek: \"GO!\" I ran then, feeling more than seeing that the others had followed."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rising-threat-vol-ii": {"series": "Rising Threat", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rising-threat-vol-ii", "author": "Lathenil of Sunhold; Praxis Erratuim, ed.", "title": "Rising Threat, Vol. II", "description": "Summary of the late 3rd and early 4th eras in Summurset and Cyrodiil, with specific focus on the rise of the Thalmor.", "text": "\nWhat happened after the tower of Crystal-like-law fell was a daze. It was as if my mind simply... stopped. Instinct took over, as my every thought sank into a black abyss of despair. Time lost all meaning, and to this day I know not how long I was in this state. Eventually a conscious thought managed to break my fugue: the daedric horde had vanished! Gone as suddenly as they had come.\nBefore my numbed mind could comprehend the tumult that consumed my beloved Summerset Isle, before I could formulate the question \"how?\" they were there, dripping honeyed poison in our ears: the Thalmor. They were the ones that saved us, they claimed, working deep and subtle magicks. It was their efforts, their sacrifices that delivered the Altmer from extinction.\nOh, what fools we were. We wanted so desperately someone to thank for ending our tribulations, we lavished it upon the first to step up and claim the glory. With that simple act of gratitude, we allowed a vile rot to seep into our homeland, to putrefy our once noble and distinguished civilization.\nIt was months before I began to suspect the error we had made. Small twinges of unease would vex me, but each one alone was easy enough to disregard and push aside. The exile of the great seer-mage Rynandor the Bold was the final doubt that I could not ignore. You see, Rynandor was one of the very few who survived the collapse of the Crystal Tower - I saw some of his bravery and heroics with my own eyes. It was his leadership and sorcery that made the daedra pay such a high price for their destruction of the Crystal Tower.\nThe Thalmor besmirched his name when he had the audacity to publicly doubt and question their role in ending the Oblivion Crisis on Summerset Isle. Rynandor made the mistake of ignoring the consensus gentium, trusting instead to logic and facts. The shrewdness of the Thalmor, however, was not such to allow something as trivial as the truth stand in their way. As soon as they shifted the collective opinion ever so slightly against Rynandor, they had him sequestered and intensified their efforts to tarnish his reputation. Unable to mount any sort of defense to the Thalmor's attacks, Rynandor was quickly denounced and exiled.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rising-threat-vol-iii": {"series": "Rising Threat", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rising-threat-vol-iii", "author": "Lathenil of Sunhold; Praxis Erratuim, ed.", "title": "Rising Threat, Vol. III", "description": "Summary of the late 3rd and early 4th eras in Summurset and Cyrodiil, with specific focus on the rise of the Thalmor.", "text": "\nEver so cautiously, I formed a cabal made up of others who distrusted the motives and methods of the Thalmor. Over several months, I liquidated my ancestral holdings and took whatever inheritance I could without raising any suspicions. I would follow after Rynandor and help him restore his reputation and status. We would then return to best the Thalmor at their own game and win back the mores and morals of the Altmer! The rest of my cabal would stay on Summerset Isle and win the trust of the Thalmor on whatever level best suited each of them, sending clandestine missives to me when possible.\n\nAfter weeks of painstaking investigations and exorbitant bribes, I was able to learn that Rynandor was placed on a ship to Anvil. I booked my own passage to Anvil. My search almost ended there, for Rynandor had never arrived in Anvil Harbor. My instinct that Rynandor met a duplicitous end was confirmed when I sought out several of the deckhands who were reported to be aboard Rynandor's vessel. All died under mysterious and violent circumstances.\nThe first of many attempts on my life occurred soon after. Needless to say, I survived, but my grand plan to stymie the Thalmor fell apart without an esteemed leader to rally behind. I went into hiding, waiting anxiously for word of the Thalmor's activities back on Summerset Isle.\nOver the following years, I tried to bend the ear of the Empire through various avenues and warn them of the Thalmor's doings. The Empire, however, was having enough troubles dealing with the aftermath of the Oblivion crisis within its own borders without seeking trouble in far away Summerset. With the assassination of Emperor Uriel Septim VII and his heirs, and the self-sacrifice of Martin Septim (the true savior of Summerset Isle and the rest of Tamriel!) the Empire's leadership was left defunct.\nHigh Chancellor Ocato convened the full Elder Council in an unsuccessful bid to select a new Emperor. Without an Emperor, the Empire beyond the reach of Cyrodiil began to splinter. Ocato reluctantly agreed to become the Potentate under the terms of the Elder Council Charter until Imperial rule could be reestablished, but a reluctant leader is rarely a strong leader.\nPotentate Ocato made admirable efforts to rein in the bedlam that threatened to rip the Empire apart, and was even making headway when Red Mountain erupted and destroyed much of Vvardenfell (likely from Thalmor tampering, but I have yet to find proof of their misdeeds in this). What was left of Morrowind was thrown into absolute chaos. The effects of the eruption were felt even in Black Marsh, destroying roads and cutting off the Imperial garrisons there.\nNone were prepared for what happened next.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rising-threat-vol-iv": {"series": "Rising Threat", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rising-threat-vol-iv", "author": "Lathenil of Sunhold; Praxis Erratuim, ed.", "title": "Rising Threat, Vol. IV", "description": "Summary of the late 3rd and early 4th eras in Summurset and Cyrodiil, with specific focus on the rise of the Thalmor.", "text": "While Morrowind and the Imperial forces in Black Marsh were still reeling from the consecutive catastrophes of the Oblivion Crisis and the destruction of Vvardenfell, the Thalmor incited the Argonians to mount a massive uprising. Black Marsh and southern Morrowind were completely lost to the Argonians, but luckily the Thalmor too lost what influence they had over the reptilians.\nAll the while, the Thalmor consolidated their hold over my beloved homeland.\nIt took almost a decade before my own machinations put me into contact with Ocato. He seemed more interested than most in what I had to say about the Thalmor, maybe because he was himself an Altmer and recognized the threat they represented. It wasn't long before the Thalmor had Ocato assassinated.\nPotentate Ocato's murder began the Stormcrown Interregnum. The Elder Council fractured, leading into years of ruthless in-fighting, plots and backstabbing. Many tried to claim the Ruby Throne. Most were pretenders to the crown, a few had legitimate claims, others still were little more than brutal dullards who thought mere strength of arms was all the entitlement they needed. Violent, unnatural storms lashed the Imperial City several times during this anarchy, always with the eye of the storm looking directly down upon White-Gold Tower, as if this was the judgment of the Nine Divines.\nWith the Empire submerged in this mayhem, the Thalmor were quick to act. They overthrew the rightful Kings and Queens of the Altmer. I remember the revulsion and horror that took hold when word reached me - that this dementia had gripped my homeland. Once so proud and majestic, many of our great race actually embraced this insanity!\nThen the first of many pogroms descended on Summerset Isle. They slaughtered any who were not \"of the blood of the Aldmer\". A fine excuse to purge the dissidents, as well - the Thalmor have never been ones to waste such an opportunity.\nAfter seven long, bloody years the Stormcrown Interregnum was ended when a Colovian warlord by the name of Titus Mede seized the crown. Whether he had rightful claim or not is moot. Without Titus Mede, there would not be an Empire today. He proved a shrewd and capable leader, such that Skyrim endorsed him as Emperor.\nWith the Empire stabilizing under the auspicious efforts Emperor Titus Mede, I resumed my efforts to warn them of the Thalmor threat. Again, the Thalmor remained a step ahead. Before my efforts could come to fruition, the Thalmor struck: another coup, this time in Valenwood. The Empire was not prepared for the Thalmor's subterfuge and stratagem.\nThere are those who claim the combined Altmer and Bosmer forces greatly out-matched the Empire, but this is a farce. This short, savage campaign was won by the Thalmor even before first blood was drawn. They waited and watched their enemy, they chose where and when they would attack. The Thalmor were able to bring the full fury of their small contingent of Altmer and Bosmer to any of several Imperial strongholds.\nContrary to the posturing of the Empire's generals, the Thalmor did not command greater numbers. They had better spies and greater mobility, and knew how best to use them. This is the menace that the Thalmor represent! They are cruel and merciless, but they are no fools! They are devious and subtle, and so very patient.\nIn one fell stroke, the Thalmor took a strategic foothold on the mainland of Tamriel and prevented any significant attempt the Empire could have made to invade Summerset Isle and depose the tyranny of the Thalmor. At the same time, they took a better vantage to continue to watch the Empire and wait. In so doing, they also revived the Aldmeri Dominion with their alliance to the Bosmer of Valenwood!\n<br>\nOver the decades, the Thalmor have grown quiet - but this is not the end. It has only just begun. They merely consolidate their power and tighten their grip on the hearts and minds of the Altmer. The Empire may wish to forget the wounds its pride has suffered at the hands of the Thalmor, but they are still out there. Plotting. Watching. Waiting.\nWhile the Empire is content to secure inconsequential corners of its vast holdings, the threat of the Thalmor continues to rise. Not since Potentate Ocato has anyone in the Empire listened to me. I beseech any and all citizens of this renowned Empire to heed my words! The Thalmor must be stopped, before it is too late.\n***\nSoon after Lathenil of Sunhold commissioned to have these volumes printed and distributed far and wide in the Empire with his own coin, he himself met a violent end. In light of the events that followed his death, we must consider that he may very well have been murdered by Thalmor assassins.\n-- Praxis Erratuim, Imperial Historian"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sellonuss-journal-vol-1": {"series": "Sellonus's Journal", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sellonuss-journal-vol-1", "author": "Sellonus", "title": "Sellonus's Journal Vol. 1", "description": "Journals of a mage's journey to put down a rogue Blade", "text": "14th of Last Seed, 4E 130\n\nOur guild has been commissioned to capture and restrain a renegade Blades captain. Many tales have been spoken of his cruelty and malice, some even claiming he is part serpent. In addition to bearing the arms of his former employers, it is said that he wields an Akaviri weapon of dark magic. The combination makes him quite formidable.\n\nThankfully, the guild has great experience in dealing with such things and we will win the day!\n\n6th of Hearthfire, 4E 130\n\nWe encountered our foe but all did not go as planned and he escaped us. He was more powerful than we had imagined and many lives were lost as a result of our misjudgment.\n\nHowever, I am now convinced that his dreaded blade is the source of his power, as I have witnessed first hand the dark magic it yields, for the blade drinks both lifeforce and mana from any that befall to it.\n\nWe must think of a way to separate our foe from the source of his power.\n\n2nd of Suns Dusk, 4E 130\n\nWe have devised a means to separate our foe from his blade and we must now set a trap and lure him to us. I am certain that it will work, but to be sure I must think of an incentive to draw him to us.\n\nI think it will be prudent to research this former Captain in more depth.\n\n13th of Suns Dusk, 4E 130\n\nUpon reading what I have regarding our Captain, my heart almost feels pity for him. It would seem that his madness and malice stem from the loss of his wife. The records reveal that it was after this tragic event that the darkness of the soul overcame him.\n\nHowever, pity will not save lives. He must be stopped in all event! Therefore, I have decided to acquire the remains of his love one, in the hope that this will draw him to us.\n\u2039 Sellonus's Journal\nup\nSellonus's Journal Vol. 2 \u203a\n\u2039 Sellonus's Journal\nup\nSellonus's Journal Vol. 2 \u203a"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sellonuss-journal-vol-2": {"series": "Sellonus's Journal", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sellonuss-journal-vol-2", "author": "Sellonus", "title": "Sellonus's Journal Vol. 2", "description": "Journals of a mage's journey to put down a rogue Blade", "text": "1st of Evenings Star, 4E 130\n\nWe have secured a location that will serve us well; an old partially abandoned smugglers' hideout in Riften. One of the council members, Sychelle Gatharian, had done prior business with the inhabitants, and pointed us in their direction.\n\nIt was a prudent choice, as these small band of unsavory entrepreneurs seem more than happy to assists us with our venture, for they have a love of gold above all else. With this much aid, building our trap should be accomplished reasonably quickly. Once this is done, we will bring her remains to us and draw our spider out!\n\n18th of Morning Star, 4E 131\n\nIt is done. Now all we can do is wait.\n\nWhen he arrives we will incapacitate him with our magic and separate him from his blade. We will then channel his life force and mana into our constructed device, which will use his own energy to shield the weapon from him. In essence he will become bound to it, for whilst he lives, the shield will hold. Hopefully this plan will work and we can avoid bloodshed, for given what we know of him, we do not wish his death.\n\nPerhaps, there is even hope that, without his blade, we can rehabilitate him, for despite his crime, I do pity the poor soul.\n\u2039 Sellonus's Journal Vol. 1\nup\nSellonus's Journal Vol. 3 \u203a\n\u2039 Sellonus's Journal Vol. 1\nup\nSellonus's Journal Vol. 3 \u203a"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sellonuss-journal-vol-3": {"series": "Sellonus's Journal", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sellonuss-journal-vol-3", "author": "Sellonus", "title": "Sellonus's Journal Vol. 3", "description": "Journals of a mage's journey to put down a rogue Blade", "text": "22nd of Morning Star, 4E 131\n\nWhat was done cannot be undone! We did what we set out to do and our commission was fulfilled, but at such a horrid cost for all of us.\n\nTogether we endeavored to lay a trap here, with the aid of the inhabitant smugglers, and ensnare him. Knowing something of his past, we brought with us the remains of his dear departed wife, hoping that this alone would lure him into our grasp. Our plan worked, but something went horribly wrong!\n\nPerhaps it was a mishap of our magic or the deeper magic of the weapon he wielded, I know not which with any certainty. All I know is that for some reason, our enchantment caused his being to divide, and we suddenly found ourselves caught in a battle with three where there had once been one!\n\nBut with great effort we managed to separate and contain these divisions within the chambers of this vault. But this was a small victory, if any at all, for I have yet to determine the true cost of it. I know not how many of my guild survived the deed, for I cannot break the seals to these doors without undoing all that we have achieved. All I can do is await their return and pray.\n\nThere is at least some comfort in knowing that our foe can no longer wield his blade, for he and the magical shield are one. He is bound to it. He is now both its prisoner and its guardian!\n\n23rd of Morning Star, 4E 131\n\nAlas, our casualties were to high. For although we have trapped him here in this vault, it is now clear to me that only I and one other may live to tell this tale. However, there is no time to grieve the loss of our guild, for we must seal this place shut and report to the council at once. They must be informed of what has happened here.\n\nMy colleague is severely wounded, but hopefully he has strength yet to assist me, for we must not fail!\n\u2039 Sellonus's Journal Vol. 2\nup\n\u2039 Sellonus's Journal Vol. 2\nup"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/songs-return-volume-2-first-tale-darumzu": {"series": "Songs of the Return", "game": ["Skyrim", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/songs-return-volume-2-first-tale-darumzu", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Songs of the Return, Volume 2, The First Tale of the Darumzu", "description": "This incomplete cycle tells of Ysgramor and his 500 Companion's conquest and settlement of Skyrim.", "text": "Our great lord Ysgramor, the harbinger of us all, did then sent forth his two beloved sons (with him the only other survivors of the brutalities of Saarthal) to seek out the bravest warriors of the land and mount the great return.\nYngol and Ylgar, they were called, and they were known among Atmora as fine warriors with bright eyes and dawning futures. Yngol, the elder, was the brave strategist, bringing his learnings to bear on the battlefield that his enemies would be defeated before they even know the battle had begun. Ylgar, the younger, was possessed of an unwavering spirit that drove his singular prowess to overwhelming feats in war. Together, the mind and the arm, they were capable of sowing a destruction most thorough and glorious to any foe who stood before them.\nBefore they parted ways to gather their crews, the two clasped arms and necks in the old fashion and laughed at the heavens for their stories to come.\nYoung Ylgar then took to the massive shipyards of Jyljyrfyk at the southern point and commissioned two ships for himself and his brother. He would command the Darmuzu, and his brother the Harakk, thus carrying the names of the two favored stars of their heavens. The shipmakers spirits had been suitably filled by Ysgramor's tales of the savage elves, and they set about to birth ships that befit their noble homeland.\nArrangements having been made, Ylgar set forth to the academies of honored soldiers, seeking out his most trusted friends and advisors to join him on the venture of the Return. By now the stories of the new land to the south were spreading before him, and the emergence of his presence was enough to cause the finest warriors to lay down their present undertakings and follow him.\nSo was he able to call to his side the great Shield-Sisters, Froa and Grosta (who thought and spoke as one), and they brought with their the wise war-teacher Adrimk, who first taught them to dance among the blades. She, in turn, mustered all the students at her command, whose names were not yet made, but some of whom would one day be know: Hermseskr (Who Threw his Shields), Urlach (Who Breathed Fire), Ramth the Greater, Merkyllian Ramth, and the Far-Sighted Uche, who would see the first of many dawns.\nOn the Day of Final Passage, when the many-oarded fleets would last see the distant green summers of Atmora, the brothers were near in their father's wake as the freshly joined Five Hundred would eagerly press onwards towards Tamriel. Ylgar could see his well-minded brother smiling from afar across the waves, and they shouted war-cries to each other, longing for the soon-day when their assembled crews would draw the treacherous elf blood itno the ground which they would now claim for their own rights.\nBut Kyne's ministrations are not to be taken lightly, and though her blessings gave wind to drive those brave sailors to their destiny, so too did her mmighty tears fall, to drive them apart. When the Storm of Separation first arose, young Ylgar had no fear, for his crew was strong and able, and their ship drove true through the forest of swells as though pulled by the rope of fate.\nWhen the skies cleared, and Ylgar glimpsed again, with new eyes, the land of his past and future home, he knew his brothers vessel was not within his horizon. The Darumzu, arriving late, drew forth onto the sands and Ylgar rushed to his father to seek word of his brother. The Grear Ysgramor, harbinger of us all, wept for his lost son, and sought comfort in the arms of his only remaining joy. The crew of the Harakk became the first deaths among the Five Hundred, and Ylfar was so enraged with love for his brother that his crew would soon be counted as the first among the many noble and honored names in the Companions."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/songs-return-volume-5": {"series": "Songs of the Return", "game": ["Skyrim", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/songs-return-volume-5", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Songs of the Return, Volume 5", "description": "This incomplete cycle tells of Ysgramor and his 500 Companion's conquest and settlement of Skyrim.", "text": "It came to pass that our great lord Ysgramor, the Harbinger of us all, sat before an encampment fire. The crews of the Jorrvaskr, the Fallowfire, and the Kaal Kaaz bade him eat, and boast, and drink. For the boon members of the Five Hundred Companions were abroad in the land. Stories were told, hearts won and lost, and always the smell of roasting meat hung in the air. The greatest of us all beckoned every warrior to his side, and spoke the tale of Wuuthrad's forging.\nEvery Mer the Harbinger slew died at Wuuthrad's bite. All through the long campaign, the only weapon that would fit in the Harbinger's hand was the mighty Wuuthrad. As he told it, the most legendary of axes was forged in the darkest of nights.\nIt was the Night of Tears. Ysgramor sat staring out across the waters. He rode upon the last ship in his fleet, fleeing Tamriel for the shores of Atmora. From that vantage point, he watched as Saarthal\u2014the first city\u2014burned. A swollen sky poured rain upon the flames and upon the sea. And the greatest of us all wept bitter tears.\nSo great was the grief of the Harbinger that, instead of salty sorrow, Ysgramor wept tears of purest ebony. His eldest, Yngol, collected the tears in a stein and held his father in a warm embrace. He poured mead down the Harbinger's great throat, wrapped furs around the Harbinger's great shoulders, and slung the Harbinger into a great hammock below decks.\nThen he set to work. For Yngol, eldest son to the Harbinger of us all, was the greatest smith our people have ever known. There, on the sea, Yngol set to work with his tools. He used lightning to heat the Night's Tears, the ocean's swell to cool them, and always his hammer-blows rang in concert with the rising wind.\nWhen Ysgramor awoke the next morning, Yngol presented him with a mighty axe, hewn from the sorrow that had laid him low just the night before. And the Harbinger of us all embraced his son. He cried out in joy, sadness, and rage. And there on the deck of the last ship from Saarthal, Ysgramor named his axe Wuuthrad, which means \"Storm's Tears\" in the language of Atmora.\nIt was then, in telling the tale, that Ysgramor paused. The Harbinger of us all called out to lost Yngol, who had been with the crew of the Harakk in the Storm of Seperation. For his son, his eldest and greatest joy, was with him always. He who had bound the storm's tears, he said, rode with him always in the days of the noble and honored Five Hundred."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/songs-return-volume-7-tale-jorrvaskr": {"series": "Songs of the Return", "game": ["Skyrim", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/songs-return-volume-7-tale-jorrvaskr", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Songs of the Return, Volume 7, The Tale of the Jorrvaskr", "description": "This incomplete cycle tells of Ysgramor and his 500 Companion's conquest and settlement of Skyrim.", "text": "When at last the rightful claim of Saarthal had been retaken, driving the murderous elves back to their lofty cities, did great Ysgramor turn and let loose the fearsome war cry that echoed across all the oceans. The Five Hundred who yet stood joined in the ovation for the victory and the lament for their fallen peers. It was said to be heard on the distant and chilling green shores of Atmora, and the ancestors knew their time had come to cross the seas.\nAs the reverberations echoed out and drowned to silence, all looked to Ysgramor, who bore the blessed Wuuthrad, for his next commandment. With his lungs that bellowed forth the fury of humanity, he bade them to continue their march, that the devious Mer might know the terror they had brought on themselves with their trickery.\n\"Go forth,\" he roared. \"Into the belly of this new land. Drive the wretched from their palaces of idleness. Oblige them to squalor and toil, that they would see their betrayals as the all-sin against our kind. Give no quarter. Show no kindness. For they would not give nor show you the same.\" (Our great forebear gave this order as he did not yet understand the prophecy of the Twin Snakes, that he would be fated to die before seeing the true destiny of his line.)\nHearing this, the Circle of Captains gathered each their crews unto themselves. From here, they decreed, we will go forth. Let each ship's band make its own way, seeking their fates to the open sun. A night spent in feasting, the Oath of the Companions was sworn anew, with each of the Five Hundred (so they still named their count, in honor of the shields that were broken at Saarthal) swearing to act as Shield-Brother and Shield-Sister to any of the Atmoran line were their fates to ever again entwine.\nAs the red hands of dawn stretched from the east, so broke the Five Hundred Companions of Ysgramor, setting about their journeys, sailing now across the land with waves of stone and crests of trees flowing under their footed hulls.\nThe first to break from the grounded fleet was the crew of the Jorrvaskr, who had been formed of Ysgramor's closest friends. Their captain was known as Jeek of the River, so called by the Harbinger himself from their youths passed in glory. When assembling their glistening hull, he sought out the labors of Menro and Manwe, who now bore the native timbers across this new land of Tamriel. Among their fiercest were Tysnal (Who Was Twice-Named), and Terr, his twin and Shield-Brother whose girth was never spoken of to his face. There were others, too, in their band -- Meksim the Walker, Brunl (Who Fought with his Off-Hand), and Yust the Smiler. These and others were sworn to Jeek, and they pushed forth into the shadows where yet the sun had not reached.\nSouthwards they went, by beast and by foot. Elves they found, though none remain to tell what those battles entailed. The numbers of the Jorrvaskr never faltered, so shrewd were they in battle, with minds as sharp as their blades.\nOnce, as the sun beat from its high-home, Jonder the Tiny, the one who ran ahead, came over the hill to tell what was seen. Amidst a vast plain his eyes had met a monument of a bird, whose eyes and beak were opened in flame. When his brothers and sisters crested the hill, they too saw its glory, but they were afraid for no elven settlement could be seen to the horizon.\n\"But this is not seemly,\" said Kluwe, who went by Loate when hiding his face. \"Is not this wide land fit for harvest? Why have not the elves, vile to their core, seen to exploit and tame it?\" They asked of their elven captives (for they had many) what they found unfit about these plains. Yet even the captives who still bore their tongues could say nothing of the valley. They looked with fear at the winged colossus, and from their babblings did the warriors of the Jorrvaskr learn that it was older than even the elves themselves. Of those who wrought it solid from its mother-stone, nothing could be said, but it was known to drive a magic almost as old as Nirn itself, some remnant of the gods' efforts to render a paradise in Mundus before the shattering of Lorkhan.\nThis first of many, this crew of the Jorrvaskr, heathens and ancestors to us all, feared no stories or gods. Indeed, if there was something the elves feared, they would have it for their own. Thus began the labors, once more, of Menro and Manwe, whose eager hands again laid to the Atmoran wood which had born them all across the sea, and what was their ship became their shelter as this valley became their purview until the end of all their days.\nThus began the building of the Great City, circled by the running of the White River, as brought forth by these beloved of Ysgramor, yet but twenty-two of the glorious Five Hundred Companions."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/song-return-volume-19-second-tale-ylgermet": {"series": "Songs of the Return", "game": ["Skyrim", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/song-return-volume-19-second-tale-ylgermet", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Song of the Return, Volume 19, The Second Tale of the Ylgermet", "description": "This incomplete cycle tells of Ysgramor and his 500 Companion's conquest and settlement of Skyrim.", "text": "When that final battle at the barren pass was completed, and the melting snow carried elf-blood back to the sea, the crew of the Kaal Kaaz, the Sadon Reyth, and the most exalted crew of our lord's ship, the Ylgermet, at last parted ways, never to join shields again. They drew apart in that form which is not a loss, but a gain knowing one's heart can be carried in the chests of others. So great was the love that those first of the Five Hundred had for each other, and most especially for the great Ysgramor, harbinger of us all.\nThey pressed eastwards, seeking the sea, when they came upon the barrow of Yngol, the mighty of Ysgramor's son who had fallen to the whims of Kyne rather than the treachery of the elves.\n\tOur lord had not expected to lay eyes upon it again so soon, and his grief flowed anew at the sight of it, as a reopened wound will bleed as it did when first received.\nHis eyes turned to the south, where a river met the sea, and decreed that there would he and the crew of the Ylgermet create a great city, in monument to the glories of mankind, and that from his palace he might always look upon the hill of his dead son's resting place, and feel that his line would know peace in this new home that was never known in Atmora.\nThe elven captives were set to work, bringing forth stone to build in their conqueror's fashion. As many elves died in the building of the city as had the crew of the Ylgermet slain while on way to its site, and Ysgramor drove the wretches ever more, to build higher, to lay a claim to the river so that none might pass into the interior of this land without first showing due respect to its rightful claimant.\nThus was the great bridge constructed, forever striding the river that no elf might sneak through to avenge his devious cousins. As the bridge was build long, so too was the palace built high, spires reaching the sky to show dominion even over the very winds that had brought forth such grief.\nIn the deep hollows beneath the city, a great tomb was prepared for the day when lord Ysgramor, harbinger of us all, would be called home to glory in Sovngarde. But as we know, he chose instead to be buried on the shore, facing towards Atmora, that though his heart lived and died in this new land, it would forever yearn for the beauties of still-green Atmora, before the freezing took it.\nThus was founding of Windhelm, the city of Kings, though her history is long and her glories did not end with her founder."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/songs-return-volume-24-first-tale-krilot-lok": {"series": "Songs of the Return", "game": ["Skyrim", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/songs-return-volume-24-first-tale-krilot-lok", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Songs of the Return, Volume 24, The First Tale of the Krilot Lok", "description": "This incomplete cycle tells of Ysgramor and his 500 Companion's conquest and settlement of Skyrim.", "text": "[When the time came for] breaking of camp, not all crews took southwards across the rolling lands. Some turned with quick eyes back to their ships, for their hearts were bounded to the waves as sure as they were bounded to each other [as allied Companions].\nOne such crew was that of the Krilot Lok, sinewy long folk from the [eastern] edge of Atmora. Their ruddy skin matched the dawn and it was often said that morning herself learned [her glorious colors from] the first faces to meet her at the break of day. The great Kyne lifted their souls and their winds, propelling them westwards with the new lands of Tamriel ever beckoning to the south.\nIn time, these perpetual wanderers came upon sights fearsome and terrible. Entire kingdoms of men beyond their recognition, skin charred like overcooked meat. Elves [even more devious than the northern betrayers] disgraced their horizons, until they learned the sheltered ways between. Great deserts the likes of which were never known in the homeland, peopled by beasts that spoke like men, with the [savagery?] of elves. Many a notable and well-sung Companion met his end at the spears of the legged snakes of the southern marsh.\nAmong the brave crew of the Krilot Lok were of Roeth and Breff the Elder, the great Shield-Brothers (who often swapped spears), and [their] war-wives, Britte and Greyf (the fair child), Shield-Sisters in their own right who could bring [the face of terror?] across the ice-chilled seas. Together these four stared into the abyss of trees that formed the foul-smelling homeland of the snake-men. And as they were blessed Atmorans who feared no shore of Tamriel, they ventured forth to seek out their glories in the most dangerous of these new lands.\nOnward they flew, ravaging the swamplands, beating a trail between themselves and their ship such that they would never lose sight of the shore. In the far-off day when at last Roeth would fall, when Britte screamed her famed war-cry so that all the marshes were emptied, this trail would fill once more with the treacherous snake men. So began the [burning?] march of these great captains of us all."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/songs-return-volume-27": {"series": "Songs of the Return", "game": ["Skyrim", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/songs-return-volume-27", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Songs of the Return, Volume 27", "description": "This incomplete cycle tells of Ysgramor and his 500 Companion's conquest and settlement of Skyrim.", "text": "At last Sinmur was brought to bay. Ysgramor, Harbinger of us all, boldly led the remaining Companions into the final battle. Many a brave Companion had already fallen to the giants. Stalwart Valdur and Sly Hakra, long may their spirits be honored, fell assaulting the wily half-giant. Many others now trod the blessed pathways to Sovngarde. With all his kin slain, only Sinmur still defied the greatest among us.\nThe axe Wuuthrad, dripping with the gore of a hundred dead giants, gleamed in the darkness of Sinmur's barrow. Ysgramor strode forward, halting his followers with a gesture. With another he dared Sinmur to face him in mortal combat. The giant-kin proved willing, roaring his defiance and leaping to battle. His massive, iron-bound club swung forward to crush. Our Lord Ysgramor stepped aside and the club shattered the stone a pace from his side. Wuuthrad sang a blood song as it chopped into the club, breaking it asunder as if made from straw.\nSinmur howled his rage and hurled the stub of his once-fearsome weapon at Our Lord Ysgramor's head. He grappled Ysgramor, seeking to squeeze life away. A roar of laughter was the answer the monster received. Ysgramor's forehead and knee delivered two mighty blows. Sinmur screeched and fell to his knees before our lord.\nA song of death and delight keened from Wuuthrad as Ysgramor buried it deep in the giant-kin's skull. A splatter of gore and a death rattle came from Sinmur as Ysgramor gave a victory yell. The Companions cheered mightily as Wuuthrad waved overhead. The depredations of the giant and his vile kin were at last ended. And the legend of Ysgramor, Harbinger of us all, grew mightily that day."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/songs-return-volume-49": {"series": "Songs of the Return", "game": ["Skyrim", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/songs-return-volume-49", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Songs of the Return, Volume 49", "description": "This incomplete cycle tells of Ysgramor and his 500 Companion's conquest and settlement of Skyrim.", "text": "With the Circle of Captains' decree that each ship's crew should go forth of its own accord, making its own legend, the crew of the Fallowfire rejoiced. They yearned to bring the fear of Men to new lands of the Mer that had not yet been put to the sword. They took to heart their Lord Ysgramor's words to \"Give no quarter. Show no kindness.\"\nA pyre upon the shore was raised for the Fallowfire. The ashes of their beloved vessel fell upon the waters and drifted toward Atmora, cutting all ties with their homeland. Led by Captain Gurilda Sharktooth, the crew of the Fallowfire turned their backs to the sea and strode inland.\nSouth they traveled, seeking lands untrammeled by others of Ysgramor's crews. South and south they went, sowing the blood vengeance demanded by Ysgramor. No Mer escaped their axes once seen, no settlement remained unburnt in their path. Truly the Fallowfires brought their lord's wrath to bear upon the treacherous Elves. As they journeyed, so the terror of them grew among the Mer.\nGurilda led her crew to the foothills of a lofty range of mountains. These they named Ysgramor's Teeth and long they sought a pass through them. When finally a way was found, the crew crossed over and into a new land. \"The Rift\" they called this region, for it was riven by deep canyons and swift-flowing rivers. In the name of Fallowfire, their lost Companions, and Yngol, they scoured the land, burning Mer villages and putting all they encountered to the axe.\nFinally, the Mer offered battle. The cowardly Elves gathered in great numbers high atop a rocky hill, daring Gurilda's Companions to attack. And so they did. Challenges were offered, brave deeds were done, and heroes made. Battle raged through the day and as the sun touched the peaks of the western mountains, the Mer broke and fled. Gurilda lay dying, pierced by a multitude of weapons, but lived until sunset. Her spirit ascended to Sovngarde knowing her crew was victorious.\nThat day, the dominion of Elves over the Rift was ended. The Companions claimed the land in the name of Ysgramor, Harbinger of us all, and made it free to all Nords. To honor their dead, the Companions labored long, delving into the hillside to craft a tomb. Gurilda was buried there, with all her weapons and armor. There too were placed the remains of Bergitte the Toothless and Kajord Eagle-Eye, laid alongside Gurilda as they had fallen in battle, defending their captain. Others of the honored dead were entombed as well. A mighty cairn of stone was erected around the tomb entrance, to forever mark the grave.\nVikord One-Ear, long Gurilda's first mate but now captain, gazed long upon the hills rising about them and the valleys at their feet. This was a land he could love, where his people could prosper and grow. He decreed the crew's wandering at an end and caused a great hall to be built on the battle site. Thus was Fallowstone Hall created, in homage to the ship that carried them to these shores. From this time, the days of the Companions of the Rift are counted. Never may their glory fade!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/songs-return-volume-56-final-tale-chrion": {"series": "Songs of the Return", "game": ["Skyrim", "TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/songs-return-volume-56-final-tale-chrion", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Songs of the Return, Volume 56, The Final Tale of the Chrion", "description": "This incomplete cycle tells of Ysgramor and his 500 Companion's conquest and settlement of Skyrim.", "text": "These Songs of the Return are eternal and numerous, for these first Five Hundred, those Companions of Ysgramor who cleared the way for mankind\u2019s rightful habitation, burned with a fire not seen since those days long passed. Each ship carried a crew that performed legendary feats that could feed the pride of any nation for a thousand years. And during this time of the broadening, scores of Companions wandered the land, bringing the light of the proper god to the heather land of elves and beasts.\nThey were but mortal, though, and in time, all would taste the glories of Sovngarde. It was in one of the uncounted years after the retaking of Saarthal that the crew of the Chrion was declaring their fortunes in the eastern lands near the Red Mountain. They were encamped, surrounded by bodies of murderous elves who had attempted to make them believe they held peace in their hearts. The shrewd Rhorlak was the Chrion's captain, though, and would show no quarter to the liars of the southlands, as had been commanded by his lord Ysgramor, harbinger of us all.\nIt was in this state of carousing that they were approaced by a young and breathless messenger of their sister crew from the Kall Kaaz. The boy (Asgeir, as his name is now sung) had ran unimaginable distance at breakneck speed from the blood-stained fields of the Clouded Sun, to deliver the news to all would would hear. When he reached their camp, he bellowed a great sob before releiving his heart of the news that the mighty Ysgramor had breathed his last.\nAsgeir continued his swift run, to inform the other crews as quickly as they could be found (for there were many now crawling the land, rendering our legacy from their deeds), and the camp of the Chrin descended into a mourning of the most forlorn sort. Among these fiercest sat the bravest men and fiercest women who had ever graced the dirt of this land, and they were brought low by such a notion. While we in the day-shine know only of Ysgramor's glory as the gleams of history, these Companions knew his might with their own eyes, and such a loss hands so heavily on the heart that mere words cannot express the altering of their world.\nFor indeed the stories tell that Rhorlak, the most battle-hardened and unflinching of all captains, did collapse with grief, and never again lifted his mighty axe. And all around Tamriel, as the news spread as dark cloud washes from horizon to horizon, did brilliant lights go out in silent honor of their fallen general and war-leader.\nSo ended the period of the Return, and the original glories of the Five Hundred Companions of Ysgramor, harbinger to us all."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/unknown-book-vol-i": {"series": "The Betrayed", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/unknown-book-vol-i", "author": "Engwe Emeloth; Calcelmo of Markarth, trans.", "title": "Unknown Book, Vol. I", "description": "A Falmer poem about their downfall.", "text": "\nLiteral translation:\nTHE BETRAYED\nENGWE EMELOTH\nAND WHEN THE SNOW PRINCE FELL TO GROUND\n\tTHE ICE ELVES DIVIDED ABOVE AND BELOW\n\tNOW VANQUISHED AND BRUTALLY BOUND\n\tONE MOMENT HAD SHATTERED ALL THEY DID KNOW\nTHE ONCE COOL WIND ON THEIR SKIN\n\tNOW REPLACED WITH THE HEAT OF THE FLAME\n\tAND A PRIDE ONCE FELT DEEP WITHIN\n\tFORGOTTEN ALONG WITH THEIR NAME\nTORN FROM THEIR HOME OF ICE AND FROST\n\tTHROWN INTO THE PITCH BLACK DREAD OF NIGHT\n\tLIVING IN FEAR AS THEIR MINDS BECOME LOST\n\tAS THEIR EYES BEGIN DIMMING THE LIGHT\nCHAINED AND ENSLAVED\n\tWHAT ONCE WAS LIGHT TURNED TO BLACKNESS\n\tALONE AND BETRAYED\n\tSINKING DEEPER INTO MADNESS\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crimson-dirks-v1": {"series": "The Crimson Dirks", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crimson-dirks-v1", "author": "Gathers-the-Coin", "title": "The Crimson Dirks, V1", "description": "", "text": "Tyra Blood-Fire didn't want just any crew.\n\nBandits never built Great Houses. They had no structure, organization, nor legacy. They had few tactics in the field and little design for the future. Worst of all they had no loyalty beyond filling their own pockets. A bandit clan was a pack of stray dogs fighting for scraps, willing to bite the hand if it dared to feed them.\n\nGrowing up in Balmora, Tyra knew that the Great Houses of Morrowind were built on blood. Yet as an orphan child and a Nord amongst Elves, her concept of family was one forged from experience. It wasn't the bandits and cutthroats, but the loners and outcasts she identified with most. So when she picked out the crew that would become the Crimson Dirks, she sought out the qualities that best defined herself.\n\nWhat she wanted were survivors.\n\nTo find them, she would first need connections. For this, she sought the help of a Dark Elf named Reaver.\n\nThe Dunmer had no real name to speak of. Some speculated he was once a noble, having abandoned his titles and claims for a new one. Others believed he was with the Morag Tong, assassins having little use for their birth name. Tyra, meanwhile, had first met the brigand as a child begging in the streets. The Dark Elf had fixed his blood red eyes upon this orphan girl, ashen and starved, and deigned to fill her alms bowl.\n\nWhen she looked down, she found neither food nor gold, but a knife.\n\n\"This isn't a gift, little netch,\" the Dunmer cautioned, throat scarred with ash, \"your first score belongs to me.\"\n\nThat night young Tyra would make good on that promise, delivering a single ruby into the ashlander's palm. It glowed crimson like fire and blood, and from that day she was known as Tyra Blood-Fire, earning her name just as Reaver did from his deeds. As the years passed, the Dunmer kept a close eye on the Nord, tracking her growth from a cutpurse to a bandit. And while she considered her debt to Reaver paid, whenever their paths crossed, he would continue to demand a cut.\n\nEight years later, and the two had gone their separate ways - not just in distance, but in spirit and mind. Tyra had matured into a tenacious warrior, her physique chiseled and rough, a body forged in a crucible of blood and ash. Reaver, on the other hand, had grown fat and lazy, content to skim off the labor of his subordinates while he spent his days in quiet repose.\n\nAs Tyra stood before him, he played with a ruby in his palm, occasionally using his forearm to wipe the saliva from his greasy lips. While Tyra recognized the gem almost immediately, the Dark Elf bared little resemblance to the vicious killer she once knew.\n\nPerhaps it was Cyrodiil that changed him. He had traded his netch leather for fine silks, his dagger for a silver spoon, and his ashland cave for a highborn residence in the heart of Skingrad. His scowl was not one of rage, but irritation, chiefly at his guest for tracking mud on his freshly waxed floors. Only the eyes, scarlet and piercing, betrayed his former identity.\n\n\"I'm new to Cyrodiil,\" she said, placing a bag of gold on the table as tithe, \"and I need a crew.\"\n\nThe Dunmer beckoned a servant to hand him the gold, as he could no longer be bothered to reach for it. He examined the bag briefly to judge its weight, before shooing the servant and the gold aside. Tyra wondered if she had been better served filling the bag with cakes.\n\n\"I will help you find these men,\" the Dunmer croaked, finger rapping the table, \"but remember, little netch, your first score belongs to me.\"\n\nOf men who fit her requirements, there were three. Aesrael, the High Elf hunter, had grown up in an orphanage. Peladius was a former guardsman, dismissed for beating a pickpocket to death. Antonius was a hedge mage who spent more time at the tavern than the guild.\n\nThere were still others she wanted before the crew could be whole. She wanted a blacksmith to forge arms, and muscle to wield it. She wanted a thief who could stalk their prey in the shadows, and assassins to slit their throats. She wanted scouts to glean information, and sharp minds to decipher their code. And she was willing to travel the breadth of Tamriel to find them.\n\nBut for this first job, three was more than enough. One was all she needed. After all, she had already cased the building, having been invited as a guest. She had seen the servant girl deposit the gold in the next room, and the piles of riches scattered throughout the house. And she had watched as their plump, horker of an owner, lost his edge and taste for the work. For it was the reaver and all his riches that they would come for first.\n\nA week later, the three sealed their pact in blood. Aesrael and Peladius, being trained warriors, made quick work of the guards. Antonius bespelled the servants with his magic, and together the crew filled the wagons with their spoils.\n\nBut before all that was done, Tyra first found the once fearsome reaver in his bed chambers, helpless to stop what his greed had ordained.\n\nIn the shadow of a lantern's light, the Nord approached him with arms extended. In one hand was the bag of gold she had given him the week prior. In the other was the knife he had placed in her alms bowl so many years ago.\n\n\"I want you to have this,\" Reaver said, placing the ruby on the nightstand beside him. Tyra, for her part, never said a word.\n\n\"I wasn't always a reaver,\" the Dark Elf continued, \"I used to have a proper name. Casival, they called me. Funny story, there's a Dunmer boy, peddling for alms outside the Two Sisters Lodge with the same name.\"\n\nUpon hearing his words, Tyra's eyes met Reaver's for the last time, standing over him as he once did her. Perhaps in that moment another deal was made, understood but left unspoken.\n\nSeconds later, she plunged the knife into his heart.\n\nWhen it was done, Tyra wiped the blood-stained dirk on the bedsheet and picked up the ruby from the nighstand. In the hours that passed the crew sacked the place clean, all save the bag of gold, which she left next to her former employer's corpse.\n\nThe first score, after all, belonged to him. The rest she took for herself.\n\u2039 The Crimson Dirks\nup\nThe Crimson Dirks, V4 \u203a\n\u2039 The Crimson Dirks\nup\nThe Crimson Dirks, V4 \u203a"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crimson-dirks-v4": {"series": "The Crimson Dirks", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crimson-dirks-v4", "author": "Gathers-the-Coin", "title": "The Crimson Dirks, V4", "description": "", "text": "The tavern fell into silence. Casival squinted at the young Bosmer, trying to get a read on his mood. Just hours earlier the lad had embarked on the biggest quest of his life, the kind of endeavor that turns squires into warriors, boys into men.\n\n\"Well, what did she say?\" he asked the young bandit.\n\n\"She said she would only wed me,\" Fathrys said, \"if I brought her the scale of a dragon.\"\n\nThe tavern burst into laughter, patrons smacking their tankards against the wood.\n\n\"What?\" Fathrys replied, clearly confused, \"What's so funny?\"\n\n\"I'm sorry lad,\" said Casival, \"but I think that's her way of saying 'No.'\"\n\nFathrys was crestfallen. It had taken nearly all of his courage to confess his love to Zaharia. What meager defenses remained in his youthful frame, Casival could not guess, but they stood little chance against this latest assault. In fact, with each passing second Fathrys' shoulders slumped further and further into his chest, until he was more Guar than man. Taking pity, Casival decided to massage the boy's ego with a tale of his first rejection, when a familiar voice croaked at the pair from across the room.\n\n\"A dragon scale, you say?\"\n\nNot a soul had realized Antonius was in the tavern, mostly because the bandit mage was a permanent fixture. From dusk to dawn he teetered upon his wobbly chair, drinking all manner of spirits by his lonesome. Over time he began to blend into the scenery, like an odor that only strangers could smell.\n\n\"By the Nine, do you know where I can find one?\" Fathrys beamed with shoulders out, his once gloomy face resurrected with life.\n\n\"I'm a wizard, am I not?\" Antonius said, before letting out a dignified belch.\n\n\"A bandit wizard,\" Casival interjected, \"and with all due respect to you and your profession, I don't think you're helping.\"\n\n\"Nonsense, Casival,\" scolded the mage, nearly tripping over his own feet as he sat at the table, \"The boy needs a dragon scale, and I aim to help him find one.\"\n\n\"But the dragons have been extinct for centuries upon centuries,\" Casival said.\n\n\"You really are a bad student,\" scoffed Antonius, jabbing his finger into the Dunmer's forehead, \"this is why Tyra favors Edward over you. At least he pays attention.\"\n\n\"Forgive me, mage.\"\n\n\"Only the Divines can forgive you, my son. Drink this bottle, and it'll take you to them.\"\n\n\"What about the dragon scale?\" Fathrys whined, growing impatient.\n\n\"Oh right, that. Well, it just so happens, there's an old Nord legend about a warrior named Ulfnir Bone-Skin,\" Antonius explained, flecks of spit flying out of his mouth, \"who slew the serpent wyrm Vithrelnaak and fashioned a powerful armor from his scales. When he died, instead of giving his armor away to his ungrateful pupils, he did what any self-respecting warrior would do, and buried himself with it.\"\n\n\"Well, that's too bad,\" said Casival, hoping to derail this runaway carriage, \"surely it would've been emptied out by grave robbers by now.\"\n\n\"You would think,\" Antonius screamed, raising his voice for no reason, \"but they say Ulfnir's corpse haunts the barrow near Yorgrim's Overlook, and kills anyone who dares try and take his armor.\"\n\n\"I see! So it's a challenge!\" Fathrys exclaimed, \"In order to wear Ulfnir's armor, one must first best him as a warrior!\"\n\n\"Either that, or he just doesn't want some random stranger wearing his clothes. How would you feel if I showed up to your home wearing your undergarments? But yes, you kill Ulfnir, you get your dragon scale. You get your dragon scale, and you get your wench.\"\n\n\"She's not a wench. She's the most amazing woman in all of Mundus, and I'm going to marry her!\"\n\n\"Sure, whatever.\"\n\nCasival breathed a deep sigh as Fathrys' heart grew ill with hope. The only saving grace was that Windhelm was thousands of leagues away, and Fathrys was still a pup. Perhaps when he was ready for the work, a word or two with Tyra could send him further away still. Yet whatever remedy he devised would be temporary. He had seen that look too many times to deny what would come next.\n\nA fortnight later, Casival returned to the tavern. It was the same as it ever was, for the most part. The wenches tended to the patrons, and the patrons to their stress. The bards sang tales old and new, and the drunkards, not knowing the lyrics, still saw fit to join them. Antonius was perched in the corner as always, a bottle in each hand and several more on the ground.\n\nIt was like any other Fredas, save for the empty seat beside him.\n\nHe would break the news to Tyra in the morning. The Bosmer would not return.\n\u2039 The Crimson Dirks, V1\nup\nThe Crimson Dirks, V5 \u203a\n\u2039 The Crimson Dirks, V1\nup\nThe Crimson Dirks, V5 \u203a"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crimson-dirks-v5": {"series": "The Crimson Dirks", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crimson-dirks-v5", "author": "Gathers-the-Coin", "title": "The Crimson Dirks, V5", "description": "", "text": "Erwan was convinced the ring was cursed.\n\nAt first, the proof came in small doses. There were bad streaks at the card table, sudden pain in her tooth, and stale bottles of mead. Soon, the proof took on a larger, more dangerous form. Her blade would miss its mark. Potions would cure too slowly. Or she'd step on a rune that her barbarian companion, Skjol, had no business skipping over.\n\nThen there was the greater proof, the instances that threatened their livelihood. There was the coin drying up, new guard patrols at the usual haunts, and word that the East Empire Company had taken notice of their works. All told it augured a slow, tumbling march toward the end of the Crimson Dirks.\n\nKnowing this, a smart person might've cast it out; tossed the foul ring into the heart of Illiac Bay and let the waves ferry it to forgotten shores. A wise person might've taken it a step further, destroying the artifact and its ill-fated magic, so that no person, past or present, would ever come to harm.\n\nErwan, of course, decided to wear it around her neck.\n\nWith regard to the ring's nature, she told only the barbarian. Her brother Edward would refuse to believe her. The others would demand she get rid of it, in whatever manner best fit their inclinations. Skjol, on the other hand, would neither object nor disapprove.\n\nWhenever she confided in him, Skjol would simply stare at her blankly and let out a guttural snort before chewing on the nearest piece of meat. Skjol, after all, was not just a barbarian, but one who wore that label like a badge, or an honor bestowed upon him by the High King. Of words he knew few, and when he wrote them down, rarely did he put them in the right order. The only thng that spared him from further ignominy was the fact he couldn't speak.\n\nAs the story goes, the leader of the Crimson Dirks, Tyra Blood-Fire, found him in a cage with his tongue removed, and upon freeing him gained his axe. To this day it was never clear if Skjol was loyal to her or the crew, or whether that distinction had any meaning to him. If Tyra asked him to back Erwan on a job, he would do so without question, and absorb whatever secrets, insults, and curses the Breton decided to fling in his general direction.\n\nThat theory would be tested the moment she stepped on that rune.\n\nEarlier that week, they had received a tip. A new crew had set up a smuggler's operation in one of the old ruins outside the capital. It was supposed to be a simple task. They were to meet with the clan leaders, flex their muscle, and come home with new members or a percentage of the take. It all would've gone according to script, Erwan thought, had the ring not been cursed.\n\n\"This is all your fault,\" she said to no one in particular, while glaring at her disobedient hands. Moments earlier, the Breton had awoken to the sound of chanting - a low and ominous moan floating through the chamber. The rune had blurred her sight, but it was the haunting refrain that seemed to dull her focus, unable to cast a spell.\n\nRegardless, it was clear their captors were more than smugglers. Erwan didn't need to see the source of the chanting to know it was bad business, no matter how long Skjol mindlessly pointed in that direction.\n\n\"Well, at least it isn't cannibals,\" Erwan sneered, \"although you being a choking hazard might've worked in our favor.\"\n\nSkjol wasn't the brightest Nord, but he knew when he was being insulted. In a past life, he would've simply crushed Erwan's skull and taken a nap. Moreover, cages were nothing new to him, and Erwan's noisy jests were to him, signs of panic. But he had sworn a vow to protect the charges of the one they called Blood-Fire, and so rather than kill the Breton for looking at him oddly, Skjol continued to point, much to Erwan's confusion.\n\nThe shrine behind her was Daedric in origin - large, twisted and barbed, its stems ugly and misshapen. Blood dripped from its ebony thorns, spilling past the cage and down the stone steps like shifting roots. At the base of the steps stood robed cultists, lost in their supplication, flanked by guards dressed in Daedric armor and mail. Despite an open roof, the air in the ruins was thick and noxious, and the shrine seemed to throb in the blood moon's light.\n\nAs the light shone on the altar, the cultist chants began to turn more vehement and forceful. The voices continued to rise, louder and louder, until one of the guards broke from his stance, climbing the steps toward the cage. Seeing this, Erwan bared her teeth and snarled at him like an animal, but he continued his approach undeterred. As the chants hit a crescendo, Erwan could no longer hear her own thoughts, seeing nothing save the cold, black gauntlet split through the bars and reach for her neck.\n\nWith a thrust the guard grabbed her by the head and slammed her into the bars, drawing his weapon with his other hand. With spit bubbling from her mouth and her body pressed against the iron, Erwan screamed at Skjol every manner of insult she could contrive. But the oaf continued to sit in place, his finger still extended, even as the cultists' chant drummed against their ears. Only now the finger was pointed to the ground, tracing a circle.\n\nErwan looked down and saw the ring, glowing hotly on her chest.\n\nSkjol didn't need to tell her what to do next. She wrung herself free of the guard's grasp, and not knowing what would happen, placed the ring on her finger.\n\nThe chanting stopped. And in its place, the shrill cry of weapons drawn from their scabbards. The Daedric warrior turned his attention to the cultists, but it was too late. Erwan's spell of hysteria had taken hold, her focus restored by the power of the ring. One by one the cultists turned on each other, their rage driven by hers. And when the clangs of metal faded and the screams turned to silence, Erwan collapsed, having exhausted all of herself and the ring.\n\nAs the hours passed into the day, Erwan lay there on the floor of her cage, letting the sun splash through the bars. Skjol snored softly in his corner, shifting on occasion to scratch himself. Outside, ravens picked at the flesh of the dead, sharpening their beaks on the bones and paying no mind to the living.\n\nThe others would come looking for them eventually, and fetch M'Sharra to pick the lock. But for now Erwan was content as she was. She held the ring up against the sky, circling the area where the moon once stood. Perhaps she had made a mistake, and the ring wasn't cursed after all.\n\nBut Erwan still held out hope.\n\u2039 The Crimson Dirks, V4\nup\nThe Crimson Dirks, V7 \u203a\n\u2039 The Crimson Dirks, V4\nup\nThe Crimson Dirks, V7 \u203a"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crimson-dirks-v7": {"series": "The Crimson Dirks", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crimson-dirks-v7", "author": "Gathers-the-Coin", "title": "The Crimson Dirks, V7", "description": "", "text": "The assassin's trail stretched further into the woods. Aesrael took the lead, with the Argonian and the Bosmer in close pursuit, following the thread of tangled brush and loose mud. As he knelt to study the tracks, a hint of jazbay bloomed on his tongue, a side effect of the Night-Eye that the mages could not explain.\n\nThe tracks seemed to pause around a great oak tree, as if their owner had stopped to rethink his method of escape. Thumbing the crook of his chin, Aesrael listened for the footsteps of his fellow bandits, not wanting to turn his head. The assassin was close.\n\nHours prior, the night began with a toast. A courier had brought news of merchandise coming in from jobs in the Highlands and the Gold Coast. It was the first sign of charity Stendarr had showed them in months, ever since the guard and the East Empire Company had taken a special interest in squashing their operations. With all their leads dried up, the Crimson Dirks were left to sacking caravans and petty thievery, the kind of work they were willing to do but always resented.\n\nHowever, with this latest news their coffers would be as full as their cups. In addition to obtaining a cache of valuables from a Daedric cult, they had raided warehouses holding enchanted swords from Anvil, Colovian furs from Chorrol, along with crates of silks and fine robes weighted with perfume.\n\nIn order to launder the goods, the bandits, led by the Dunmer scribe Casival, made contact with a merchant noble, knowing he had connections across Cyrodiil. That night, they solidified the pact over a flask of wine and a gourmet feast. It was a landmark occasion for this group of rogues and misfits, to be legitimized in their dealings by a class above their own.\n\nAt that moment, the end of the Crimson Dirks might've seemed like the furthest thing from reality. Now, with Casival wounded and the merchant dead, it seemed almost inevitable.\n\n\"The trail ends here,\" Aesrael said, motioning to the trunk of the looming oak.\n\n\"Maybe the tree ate him,\" quipped the Bosmer, his Argonian partner Pale-Eyes trailing behind him.\n\n\"You jest, Ehlhiel,\" replied Pale-Eyes, \"but in this one's village, there is a story of a Hist, corrupted by magic, that would kidnap and devour the hatchlings.\"\n\n\"Okay, I have to ask,\" the Bosmer replied, \"Why are there so many stories about monsters that eat children? Are parents so inept they have to constantly frighten their young into behaving, or are children really that delicious?\"\n\n\"I feel like as a Bosmer,\" countered the Argonian, \"you would know better than I.\"\n\n\"Quiet, you two,\" warned Aesrael, \"He's here.\"\n\nAesrael knew this was no time for banter. He could feel the taste of jazbay dim in his mouth. The Night-Eye would not last much longer, and when the spell snapped, their eyes would be ill-adjusted to the sudden darkness.\n\nThe assassin knew this as well. He had counted the seconds left in the spell and baited them to this point, where the long trees shrouded the moonlight. He had wagered on the fleeting light in the eyes of his pursuers, knowing his had yet to expire. He knew that blinded by the night, the Altmer would raise his hand and use the last of his magicka to recast the spell. And in that moment, he struck.\n\nThe assassin's dagger aimed for Aesrael's neck, slicing at the seam between his armor. He knew the Elf's left arm would be occupied by the spell casting, unable to guard his naked artery. And when he fell, the others would turn to his falling corpse, giving him ample distraction to kill them both. All of this seemed as academic as the death of the merchant, the one whom just hours ago they had failed to protect.\n\nAnd yet, inches away from its mark, his dagger was stopped cold. The assassin tried to wrestle it free, only to find it clenched in the Altmer's fist.\n\nIt was a feint. The Elf had raised his hand, but never cast the spell.\n\nDropping the dagger, the assassin leapt back, having given away his position for no more than a bloody hand. Aesrael and the others rushed to subdue him, but he was far too quick. With his remaining dagger, he slit his own throat, taking the secrets of his masters to the grave.\n\n\"So, who wants to explain this to the boss?\" Ehlhiel quipped, trying to lighten the mood, \"Because I've got a list of about thirty people I like to blame in situations like this.\"\n\n\"There are no words that can justify the depth of our failure,\" Aesrael grumbled, wrapping his wound, \"we lost the merchant and his killer. Casival is wounded. But perhaps, despite all this, we can learn something from the corpse.\"\n\n\"An assassin this skilled,\" remarked Pale-Eyes, \"must work for the East Empire Company.\"\n\n\"Worse,\" said Aesrael, examining the cut of his armor, \"it seems our merchant friend was dealing with more than just bandits, but the Thalmor as well. Because this man we killed isn't with the company. He's a Spectre.\"\n\nEhlhiel's face grew dim with the implication. It was one thing to make an enemy of the guards in the city, the East Empire Company, the Clan Mothers and even the Great Houses of Morrowind, but this was altogether different.\n\nIt was not the size or strength of their foe, but their knowledge they feared, and the Penitus Oculatus were spies of the highest order. If the Empire had been tracking the merchant's dealings, it was only a matter of time before their identities would be discovered and shared with all who opposed them.\n\nThe only question was, how much time was left.\n\u2039 The Crimson Dirks, V5\nup\nThe Crimson Dirks, V8 \u203a\n\u2039 The Crimson Dirks, V5\nup\nThe Crimson Dirks, V8 \u203a"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crimson-dirks-v8": {"series": "The Crimson Dirks", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crimson-dirks-v8", "author": "Gathers-the-Coin", "title": "The Crimson Dirks, V8", "description": "", "text": "In his time with the Crimson Dirks, Urgnok had killed countless men, and heard all manner of reaction to their deaths. He'd heard women gasp, men cry, and children scream. Yet never in his life had he heard the noise that cascaded from the archways, when he plunged his sword into the belly of his assailant.\n\nApplause.\n\nWhen the crew disbanded, many of the Dirks were forced into the shadows, yet Urgnok's path took a different route. He met with a face butcher, adopted an alias, and joined the arena. And for the most part, the tactic seemed to work. These days, the only pursuers the Orc feared were the adoring fans that followed him in the street.\n\n\"I suggest you turn around now,\" Urgnok grumbled, seeing a shadow cut through the door, \"the last fan who annoyed me was this baker. He offered me a pastry, and I smashed his face in. Now he eats his sweet rolls through a straw.\"\n\n\"Funny,\" the shadow replied, \"I seem to recall a sparring session years ago that ended with you crying back to Tyra like a newborn babe.\"\n\n\"Zaharia. What are you doing here?\"\n\n\"I came to see our mutual Orc friend,\" the Redguard said, examining a nearby weapon,\" I see you've already paid her a visit, judging by that armor. Dwarven, right? Although not exactly what I pictured.\"\n\nUrgnok spit at the ground, acknowledging what she left unspoken. The blacksmith was a magician with a hammer and anvil, working with all types of metal. Perhaps that was how the Redguard puzzled out his identity, yet it was unlikely a Blood-Kin would betray his confidence.\n\n\"You know, the funny thing about fighting styles,\" Zaharia said, swinging the practice blade, \"is that they're almost like fingerprints. You may have changed your armor, your name, and even your face, but I recognized that clumsy top foot of yours almost immediately.\"\n\n\"Doesn't matter,\" Urgnok sneered, \"The guard haven't sniffed me out yet, and they won't ever. I've been able to hide in plain sight, while everyone else is dying in the shadows.\"\n\n\"Hiding in plain sight may work in the short term,\" Zaharia said, sliding the weapon back onto the rack, \"But over time, you know what happens to things in plain sight? They get seen.\"\n\n\"Cut the crap, Zaharia,\" the Orc groused, \"we both know I don't care what you think.\"\n\n\"True,\" the Redguard replied, handing him a letter, \"but you'll care about this.\"\n\nUrgnok wasn't sure how he was discovered, or who wrote the letter to the guard. Had Zaharia not killed its bearer, he would already be in chains. He stopped short of accusing Zaharia of forging the note, however. She was crafty, but not a liar.\n\n\"Where.\"\n\n\"North,\" said the Redguard, \"Get into one of the Strongholds, or take a job fighting in the pits. Either way, you can't stay here.\"\n\u2039 The Crimson Dirks, V7\nup\n\u2039 The Crimson Dirks, V7\nup"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/journal-ralis-sedarys-volume-19": {"series": "The Journal of Ralis Sedarys", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/journal-ralis-sedarys-volume-19", "author": "Ralis Sedarys", "title": "The Journal of Ralis Sedarys - Volume 19", "description": "Chronicles the progression of the Kjolborn excavation.", "text": "The Journal of Ralis Sedarys, Volume 19\nMoving on to Solstheim next, chasing after vague rumors of this Kolbjorn Barrow. My patron seems confident we can find the Relics of Azhidal out here. I'm a bit skeptical, but so long as he pays well, I'll dig wherever the old coot likes.\nInitial prospects look poor, to say the least. I was sure I had my map wrong at first, until it became clear that the place had just been lost to the ash. I'll dig out as much as I can, maybe see if I can recruit some of the local residents to help me out. I haven't seen anyone since I got out of Raven Rock, but I keep hearing conversations and whispers around me, so I just need to track them down."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/journal-ralis-sedarys-volume-20": {"series": "The Journal of Ralis Sedarys", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/journal-ralis-sedarys-volume-20", "author": "Ralis Sedarys", "title": "The Journal of Ralis Sedarys - Volume 20", "description": "Chronicles the progression of the Kjolborn excavation.", "text": "The Journal of Ralis Sedarys, Volume 20\nThis excavation is going to be one of the harder ones, I can tell. Hired some diggers out of Raven Rock. They all said they were experienced miners, but I guess they're not used to running into trouble as they dig. In a place like this, you never know what was buried long ago, and have to be ready for whatever you come across.\nIn any case, there were some unfortunate losses when the sleeping dead weren't quite sleeping and weren't quite dead. Operation is stalled unless my friendly partner is able to find enough coin for us to hire some replacements. Maybe it's time to take up a collection from the constant spectators who gather to mock me."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/journal-ralis-sedarys-volume-21": {"series": "The Journal of Ralis Sedarys", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/journal-ralis-sedarys-volume-21", "author": "Ralis Sedarys", "title": "The Journal of Ralis Sedarys - Volume 21", "description": "Chronicles the progression of the Kjolborn excavation.", "text": "The Journal of Ralis Sedarys, Volume 21\nMy invisible \"friends\" have kept it up, drawing closer. It took me a while to realize they were hiding themselves, but I figure it's out of shame. It takes a certain type of cowardice to spend all your time questioning a man's worth and value. You'd think they'd have the decency to at least let me sleep, but they persist even there.\nAs for the dig, we continue to stall out with the opposition from within the barrow. I had hoped the hardy people of this island would be able to deal with shuffling bones, but I appear to have overestimated them. I won't make that mistake again."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/journal-ralis-sedarys-volume-22": {"series": "The Journal of Ralis Sedarys", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/journal-ralis-sedarys-volume-22", "author": "Ralis Sedarys", "title": "The Journal of Ralis Sedarys - Volume 22", "description": "Chronicles the progression of the Kjolborn excavation.", "text": "The Journal of Ralis Sedarys, Volume 22\nIf it weren't for the comfort brought by my invisible friend, I would have fled this place long ago. I wish I had realized earlier that it was not a group, but a master who contains multitudes. He's guided me into a true understanding of the barrow, and I greatly desire to meet with him.\nMy insight into this place is now so intuitive, so fundamental, that I almost feel as if I built it myself. I explained to the workers how to use the tile set, but they seemed too afraid or uncoordinated to properly step on each tile quickly enough. No problems, nothing that the master cannot solve.\nWe will be able to converse properly soon enough."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/journal-ralis-sedarys-volume-23": {"series": "The Journal of Ralis Sedarys", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/journal-ralis-sedarys-volume-23", "author": "Ralis Sedarys", "title": "The Journal of Ralis Sedarys - Volume 23", "description": "Chronicles the progression of the Kjolborn excavation.", "text": "The Journal of Ralis Sedarys, Volume 23\nLord Ahzidal demands more blood, and I give it willingly. The hired men have somewhat pitiful souls, so it sometimes takes several of them to achieve the desired effects.\nI won't be writing any more. There is no need. The time has come to awaken the master, and bring him to the fate he deserves."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nightingales-volume-i-who-we-are": {"series": "The Nightingales", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nightingales-volume-i-who-we-are", "author": "Gallus Desidenius", "title": "The Nightingales, Volume I: Who We Are", "description": "Learn about the legendary Nightingales", "text": "The Nightingales\nVolume I:\nWho We Are\n\nBy \nGallus Desidenius\nAs a Nightingale, I feel compelled to place quill to parchment and record my thoughts regarding my knowledge of our order. If one day the Nightingales should vanish from Tamriel, then let this tome serve as a reminder of what we once were and to dispel any rumor or hearsay about our purposes and our motivations.\nOur trinity serves the Lady Nocturnal, the Empress of Murk and the Daughter of Twilight. We believe her to be our patron, if not the patron of all thieves worldwide. We serve her without prayer, without charity and without celebration. Our bond with Nocturnal is in the form of a business transaction we strike known as the Oath. Her terms are simple and binding. As Nightingales we are required to guard the Twilight Sepulcher, the Temple of Nocturnal, against those perceived as a threat. In return, we are allowed to use our abilities as Nightingales to further our own means and the means of the Thieves Guild.\nUpon our death, we are bound to the Twilight Sepulcher as guardian spirits until such time as Nocturnal feels our contract has been fulfilled. Our ultimate fate lies within the Evergloam, Nocturnal's realm. There, our spirits become one with shadow itself and we become the cloak which envelops all of our fellow thieves in their endeavors. This is the true origin of the phrase \"walk with the shadows\" uttered within the Thieves Guild.\nThe Twilight Sepulcher is more than a temple, it contains a conduit from our world to the Evergloam, a swirling pool of liquid midnight we call the Ebonmere. This is the heart of the Sepulcher, and the source of Nocturnal's influence throughout the world. The Ebonmere can only be sealed by removing a unique key from its lock. This key, which occasionally finds its way beyond the walls of the Sepulcher, is widely known as the Skeleton Key of Nocturnal.\nThe Skeleton Key is an often misunderstood artifact. Those that seek to possess it tend to use only a fraction of its potential. Most mistake it for a unique and unbreakable lockpick. While this is true, the wonder of this device can only be appreciated once the owner is willing to expand his mind and abstract what defines \"unlocking.\" This action refers to more than simple doors and portals. In the proper hands, the Skeleton Key has the capability to unlock hidden potential and untapped abilities. The extent of this power has yet to be discovered, which is a frightening thought if it ever fell into the wrong hands.\nAs a member of the trinity of Nightingales, it is incumbent upon us to recover the Skeleton Key if it strays from the Twilight Sepulcher. Why Nocturnal allows the Key to be stolen in the first place is a mystery. Some say she revels in the chaos this artifact causes, others feel she simply does not care, that the petty squabbles of men and mer are beyond her attention. Whatever the case may be, it is our duty to ensure it remains safely within the confines of the Sepulcher.\nTo say that the Nightingales are a holy order would be doing us a disservice. In our hearts, we are thieves. We enjoy the hunt and delight in the spoils. We might swear our loyalty to Nocturnal and hold some influence within the Thieves Guild, but the greatest allegiance a Nightingale holds is to himself."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nightingales-volume-ii-what-we-were": {"series": "The Nightingales", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nightingales-volume-ii-what-we-were", "author": "Gallus Desidenius", "title": "The Nightingales, Volume II: What We Were", "description": "Learn about the legendary Nightingales", "text": "The Nightingales\nVolume II:\nWhat We Were\n\nBy \nGallus Desidenius\nAs a Nightingale, I feel compelled to place quill to parchment and record my thoughts regarding my knowledge of our order. If one day the Nightingales should vanish from Tamriel, then let this tome serve as a reminder of what we once were and to dispel any rumor or hearsay about our purposes and our motivations.\nI will attempt to relate the scant bit of knowledge I have of our history to the best of my ability. It is my hope that in the future, someone else may happen upon this writing and amend it in order to expand the record of our existence.\nOur history begins with a well-known tale. The tome \"The Real Barenziah IX\" mentions that a bard named \"Nightingale\" tricked Queen Barenziah into revealing the location of an artifact called the Staff of Chaos which he later claimed for his own. The story goes on to reveal that \"Nightingale\" was a powerful Imperial Battlemage named Jagar Tharn in disguise and that he used the Staff to imprison Emperor Uriel Septim VIII. His ultimate goal was to assume the form of the banished emperor and sit upon the throne in his stead.\nIn actuality, the individual identified as \"the bard Nightingale\" was not Jagar Tharn at all. This master of disguise was a Nightingale thief named Drayven Indoril. Jagar Tharn hired Drayven, one of the greatest master thieves in Skyrim, to seduce Barenziah and coerce her into revealing the location of the Staff of Chaos. After the Staff was given to Jagar Tharn, he attempted to eradicate Drayven, but his Nightingale abilities aided his escape. Jagar Tharn searched for Drayven but eventually had to abandon the pursuit in order to enact his plans involving the emperor.\nIt is interesting to note that history refers to Jagar Tharn as \"Nightingale\" well after the point Drayven would have vanished from the story. The distortion of actual events is very typical of Barenziah's manipulation. With the pressure of blame falling squarely on her shoulders for Uriel Septim VII's imprisonment, she twisted the truth and created the notion that the \"bard\" named Nightingale was Jagar Tharn himself. She felt the tale of being enthralled by the master sorcerer held more of a forgiving if not romantic notion than simply being seduced by a master rogue. Some also further speculate that eliminating Drayven from history was her attempt at protecting the reputation of Jagar Tharn, whom she was rumored to have been quite fond of.\nDrayven had escaped into Morrowind after Jagar Tharn's pursuit and rejoined the Indoril family who held an estate quite close to the border of Skyrim which allowed him to perform his Nightingale duties at the Sepulcher if the need arose. He remained there for many years until the Indoril family began to lose its power and a war between the houses erupted. Not wanting any part of it, and feeling that Jagar Tharn was no longer a threat, Drayven left his homeland behind and settled in The Rift under the guise of a miner.\nCo-currently with Drayven's history, born out of Dravyen's seduction of Barenziah, the Dunmer Queen eventually bore a child. This child, whom Barenziah abandoned with a midwife in an attempt to keep her Nightingale story valid, eventually grew into adulthood and struck out on her own to find her father. Calling herself Dralsi, she overturned every stone in Skyrim looking for any traces of Drayven. After an unknown number of years passed,\u00a0 she finally located him in a small mining community called Shor's Stone. He was quite elderly now... no longer the spry rogue that had seduced Barenziah, but nevertheless he was still Dralsi's father and he treated her as such. In the remaining years of Drayven's life, he imparted the ways of the Nightingale to Dralsi until he finally succumbed to his age.\nDralsi willingly struck the Oath of the Nightingales and performed her duties well in the service of Nocturnal. She eventually took a husband and together they had a child whom they named Karliah. Like Dralsi's father did for her, Dralsi taught Karliah the art of thievery and how to survive in Skyrim living as a rogue. She intended to pass the Nightingale mantle on to Karliah, but had to wait until the time was right to reveal it. When she was old enough, Karliah struck out on her own wanting to ply her trade in a larger city. She eventually found her way to Riften and joined the Thieves Guild under my own leadership at the time.\nAs Karliah slowly climbed the ranks in the Guild, I watched her progress and saw much of her mother in her methods. After several years passed, I received word that Dralsi had been killed defending the Twilight Sepulcher from a band of mercenaries and so it became time for the mantle to be passed. I traveled to Nightingale Hall with Mercer Frey and together, we inducted Karliah into the Nightingales.\nI will relate my own history in my next volume and perhaps, as I uncover more information, the history of Mercer Frey as well"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/red-year-vol-i": {"series": "The Red Year", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/red-year-vol-i", "author": "Melis Ravel, ed.", "title": "The Red Year, Vol. I", "description": "A collection of personal accounts of the Red Year in Morrowind.", "text": "The Red Year\n\tVolume I\nby\n\tMelis Ravel\n\nForeword\nWhen I originally decided to write this accounting of the Red Year, I elected to travel across Morrowind and speak to the Dunmer people themselves. I sought first-hand accounts and personal views about the cataclysmic event. I felt that if I simply did the research in the library stacks at the College of Winterhold, I wasn't really telling the tale that needed to be told. What struck me as I moved from city to city, town to town, camp to camp is that all of the Dunmer I met shared an incredible bond of sheer courage and unshakable faith. So what began as a chronicle of one of the worst events in the history of Morrowind became something altogether different, the celebration of a people who can never be defeated.\nDrallin Vess\n\tTear\n\"The ground... it just turned into mush. There was almost no warning. I mean, we were what... perhaps a mile from the nearest swamps? It was like the swamp suddenly swallowed up half of the city.\"\nI asked him to describe what happened from the beginning.\n\"I owned a farm just outside of Tear at the time. We were planting the next season's crops and getting ready to store what we had harvested. Everything was going well until the Red Mountain exploded. Almost immediately, the ground rumbled and shook. Cracks started forming everywhere and then the water just started seeping through. It was awful. In a matter of hours, I was knee-deep in swamp water running for my life. Where I was running, I had no idea. At first I ran towards the city itself, but it looked like the walls were cracking. All around me, people were desperately trying to save their livestock and their families from the rising water. Just when the ground shaking finally died down, and I had a moment to think, there was a horrible cracking noise. I'll never forget it, because I knew what it was before I looked. The entire southern wall of Tear collapsed sending guards tumbling into the swamp. I heard people screaming as they were covered by the rubble and forced down into the water. Forgetting my own problems, I looked over at my fellow farmers who were all staring at the carnage unfolding before us. Suddenly, we all just forgot our own problems and ran to help. There must have been hundreds of the poorer folks who lived outside the walls helping the richer ones who lived in the city. Never saw anything like that. I think we must have saved hundreds more that day.\"\nNeria Relethyl\n\tGnisis\nNeria was badly burned by the eruption, and had trouble speaking to me. She is currently convalescing at the Temple of Azura in Blacklight even after all these years. I've tried to record her story to the best of my ability.\n\"It was such a terrible thing... the fire. It burned everything in its path. It flattened trees, turned our huts into splinters and knocked over towers like they were made from parchment. It all happened in an instant. A rumbling sound, then a massive wall of flame... it was so high it blocked out the sun. I thought that the world itself had split apart. It passed over the water and turned it to steam... vaporized everything it touched. When it finally hit us, I was blown off of my feet... didn't even have time to run away or seek shelter. I ended up in the riverbed next to town, which kept some of the flames off of me. All around... could smell the charred stench of death. There were Dunmer that were burned alive and some never even saw it coming. I lay in that riverbed for two days before the healers found me. When I could finally stand, Gnisis was gone. There wasn't a thing left... it's as though it was wiped from the face of Tamriel.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/red-year-vol-ii": {"series": "The Red Year", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/red-year-vol-ii", "author": "Melis Ravel, ed.", "title": "The Red Year, Vol. II", "description": "A collection of personal accounts of the Red Year in Morrowind.", "text": "The Red Year\n\tVolume II\nby\n\tMelis Ravel\n\nForeword\nWhen I originally decided to write this accounting of the Red Year, I elected to travel across Morrowind and speak to the Dunmer people themselves. I sought first-hand accounts and personal views about the cataclysmic event. I felt that if I simply did the research in the library stacks at the College of Winterhold, I wasn't really telling the tale that needed to be told. What struck me as I moved from city to city, town to town, camp to camp is that all of the Dunmer I met shared an incredible bond of sheer courage and unshakable faith. So what began as a chronicle of one of the worst events in the history of Morrowind became something altogether different, the celebration of a people who can never be defeated.\nSaldus Llervu\n\tVivec City\n\"I was a trader back then. Ran a pack guar from Vivec City clear down to Narsis. I was walking along the south road when the strangest thing happened. All of the noise around me stopped... the normal things one hears as they travel like the sound of the wind blowing through the treetops. It was just deathly quiet. I felt a tingling sensation all over my body and my guar began to stomp around. Whatever it was, it was driving him crazy. As I tried to get him under control, there was a massive explosion from the center of the city. I saw the cantons fall apart before I was knocked off my feet. Then I remember the ground starting to rumble. It lasted for a long time and it receded into the distance as if directed towards the center of Vvardenfell. A few minutes later, the Red Mountain erupted, sending a huge cloud of fire into the sky. My pack guar had long since fled, and I decided I should do the same. I never stopped running until I reached Narsis.\"\nI asked him if he knew what had happened Vivec City.\n\"I didn't hear until much later that the Ministry of Truth had struck the heart of the city. What I do know for certain is that many Dunmer lost their lives that day and that Vivec City is no more.\"\nDeros Dran\n\tMournhold\n\"The Red Year didn't heavily affect Mournhold itself, but it touched many of the people who lived there. A lot of us had relatives somewhere on Vvardenfell, and after the first day that the eruption occurred we started receiving reports of widespread devastation in Vivec City, Sadrith Mora, Balmora and Ald'ruhn. I don't think a single night went by for months where you wouldn't hear someone openly weeping. It was a sad time for all of us.\"\nI asked if Mournhold had sustained any damage during the Red Year.\n\"I don't know why, but the destruction seemed to pass us by. A few Dunmer claimed that it was the Tribunal watching over us, but others claimed that the Tribunal was to blame for everything. I actually saw a few of those disagreements come to blows. It was a strange time.\"\nI got an interesting response from Deros regarding Mournhold's role during the Red Year.\n\"Relief efforts began almost a month after the mountain erupted. It was actually a directive that came from the House Redoran councilor that was living in Mournhold at the time. I can't remember his name, but he took charge of the situation and sent soldiers, supplies and able-bodied Dunmer to the outlying settlements that had been hit the hardest. I was sent to Balmora. The place was a mess; hardly anything left in town was still standing. I spent maybe two months there, helping to rebuild the town and getting my fellow Dunmer back on their feet. It started out as a burden, but it ended up being the most rewarding thing I'd ever done in my life. I started some friendships there that still last to this day, including my beloved wife.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/song-pelinal-v1-his-name": {"series": "The Song of Pelinal", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/song-pelinal-v1-his-name", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Song of Pelinal, v1: On His Name", "description": "A series of fragments describing Pelinal and his deeds.", "text": "[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.]\nThat 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."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/song-pelinal-v2-his-coming": {"series": "The Song of Pelinal", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/song-pelinal-v2-his-coming", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Song of Pelinal, v2: On His Coming", "description": "A series of fragments describing Pelinal and his deeds.", "text": "[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.]\n\n[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.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/song-pelinal-v3-his-enemy": {"series": "The Song of Pelinal", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/song-pelinal-v3-his-enemy", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Song of Pelinal, v3: On His Enemy", "description": "A series of fragments describing Pelinal and his deeds.", "text": "[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.]\n\nPelinal Whitestrake was the enemy of all elfkind that lived in Cyrod in those days. Mainly, though, he took it upon himself to slay the sorcerer-kings of the Ayleids in pre-arranged open combats rather than at war; the fields of rebellion he left to the growing armies of the Paravania and his bull nephew. Pelinal called out Haromir of Copper and Tea into a duel at the Tor, and ate his neck-veins while screaming praise to Reman, a name that no one knew yet. Gordhaur the Shaper's head was smashed upon the goat-faced altar of Ninendava, and in his wisdom Pelinal said a small plague spell to keep that evil from reforming by welkynd-magic. Later that season, Pelinal slew Hadhuul on the granite steps of Ceya-Tar, the Fire King's spears knowing their first refute. For a time, no weapon of the Ayleids could pierce his armor, which Pelinal admitted was unlike any crafted by men, but would say no more even when pressed. When Huna, whom Pelinal raised from grain-slave to hoplite and loved well, took death from an arrowhead made from the beak of Celethelel the Singer, the Whitestrake went on his first Madness. He wrought destruction from Narlemae all the way to Celediil, and erased those lands from the maps of Elves and Men, and all things in them, and Perrif was forced to make sacrifice to the Gods to keep them from leaving the earth in their disgust. And then came the storming of White-Gold, where the Ayleids had made pact with the Aurorans of Meridia, and summoned them, and appointed the terrible and golden-hued \"half-Elf\" Umaril the Unfeathered as their champion... and, for the first time since his coming, it was Pelinal who was called out to battle by another, for Umaril had the blood of the 'ada and would never know death."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/song-pelinal-v4-his-deeds": {"series": "The Song of Pelinal", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/song-pelinal-v4-his-deeds", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Song of Pelinal, v4: On His Deeds", "description": "A series of fragments describing Pelinal and his deeds.", "text": "[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.]\n\nPelinal drove the sorcerer armies past the Niben, claiming all the eastern lands for the rebellion of the Paravania, and Kyne had to send her rain to wash the blood from the villages and forts that no longer flew Ayleid banners, for the armies of Men needed to make camps of them as they went forward. ...[and] he broke the doors open for the prisoners of the Vahtache with the Slave-Queen flying on Morihaus above them, and Men called her Al-Esh for the first time. He entered the Gate at ... to win back the hands of the Thousand-Strong of Sedor (a tribe now unknown but famous in those days), which the Ayleids had stolen in the night, two thousand hands that he brought back in a wagon made of demon-bone, whose wheels trailed the sound of women when ill at heart... [Text lost]... [And after] the first Pogrom, which consolidated the northern holdings for the men-of-'kreath, he stood with white hair gone brown with elfblood at the Bridge of Heldon, where Perrif's falconers had sent for the Nords, and they, looking at him, said that Shor had returned, but he spat at their feet for profaning that name. He led them anyway into the heart of the hinterland west, to drive the Ayleids inward, towards the Tower of White-Gold, a slow retreating circle that could not understand the power of Man's sudden liberty, and what fury-idea that brought. His mace crushed the Thundernachs that Umaril sent as harriers on the rebellion's long march back south and east, and carried Morihaus-Breath-of-Kyne to Zuathas the Clever-Cutting Man (a nede with a keptu name) for healing when the bull had fallen to a volley of bird beaks. And, of course, at the Council of Skiffs, where all of the Paravania's armies and all of the Nords shook with fear at the storming of White-Gold, so much so that the Al-Esh herself counseled delay, Pelinal grew furious, and made names of Umaril, and made names of what cowards he thought he saw around him, and then made for the Tower by himself, for Pelinal often acted without thought."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/song-pelinal-v5-his-love-morihaus": {"series": "The Song of Pelinal", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/song-pelinal-v5-his-love-morihaus", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Song of Pelinal, v5: On His Love of Morihaus", "description": "A series of fragments describing Pelinal and his deeds.", "text": "[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.]\n\nIt is a solid truth that Morihaus was the son of Kyne, but whether or not Pelinal was indeed the Shezarrine is best left unsaid (for once Plontinu, who favored the short sword, said it, and that night he was smothered by moths). It is famous, though, that the two talked of each other as family, with Morihaus as the lesser, and that Pelinal loved him and called him nephew, but these could be merely the fancies of immortals. Never did Pelinal counsel Morihaus in time of war, for the man-bull fought magnificently, and led men well, and never resorted to Madness, but the Whitestrake did warn against the growing love with Perrif. \"We are ada, Mor, and change things through love. We must take care lest we beget more monsters on this earth. If you do not desist, she will take to you, and you will transform all Cyrod if you do this.\" And to this the bull became shy, for he was a bull, and he felt his form too ugly for the Parvania at all times, especially when she disrobed for him. He snorted, though, and shook his nose-hoop into the light of the Secunda moon and said, \"She is like this shine on my nose-hoop here: an accident sometimes, but whenever I move my head at night, she is there. And so you know what you ask is impossible.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/song-pelinal-v6-his-madness": {"series": "The Song of Pelinal", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/song-pelinal-v6-his-madness", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Song of Pelinal, v6: On His Madness", "description": "A series of fragments describing Pelinal and his deeds.", "text": "[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.]\n\nAnd it is said that he emerged into the world like a Padomaic, that is, borne by Sithis and all the forces of change therein. Still others, like Fifd of New Teed, say that beneath the Pelinal's star-armor was a chest that gaped open to show no heart, only a red rage shaped diamond-fashion, singing like a mindless dragon, and that this was proof that he was a myth-echo, and that where he trod were shapes of the first urging. Pelinal cared for none of this and killed any who would speak god-logic, except for fair Perrif, who he said, \"enacts, rather than talks, as language without exertion is dead witness.\" When those soldiers who heard him say this stared blankly, he laughed and swung his sword, running into the rain of Kyne to slaughter their Ayleid captives, screaming, \"O Aka, for our shared madness I do this! I watch you watching me watching back! Umaril dares call us out, for that is how we made him!\" [And it was during] these fits of anger and nonsense that Pelinal would fall into the Madness, where whole swaths of lands were devoured in divine rampage to become Void, and Alessia would have to pray to the Gods for their succor, and they would reach down as one mind and soothe the Whitestrake until he no longer had the will to kill the earth in whole. And Garid of the men-of-ge once saw such a Madness from afar and maneuvered, after it had abated, to drink together with Pelinal, and he asked what such an affliction felt like, to which Pelinal could only answer, \"Like when the dream no longer needs its dreamer.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/song-pelinal-v7-his-battle-umaril-and-his-dismemberment": {"series": "The Song of Pelinal", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/song-pelinal-v7-his-battle-umaril-and-his-dismemberment", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Song of Pelinal, v7: On His Battle with Umaril and His Dismemberment", "description": "A series of fragments describing Pelinal and his deeds.", "text": "[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.]\n[And so after many battles with] Umaril's allies, where dead Aurorans lay like candlelight around the throne, the Pelinal became surrounded by the last Ayleid sorcerer-kings and their demons, each one heavy with varliance. The Whitestrake cracked the floor with his mace and they withdrew, and he said, \"Bring me Umaril that called me out!\" ... [And] while mighty in his aspect and wicked, deathless-golden Umaril favored ruin-from-afar over close combat and so he tarried in the shadows of the white tower before coming forth. More soldiers were sent against Pelinal to die, and yet they managed to pierce his armor with axes and arrows, for Umaril had wrought each one by long varliance, which he had been hoarding since his first issue [of challenge.]... [Presently] the half-Elf [showed himself] bathed in [Meridian light] ... and he listed his bloodline in the Ayleidoon and spoke of his father, a god of the [previous kalpa's] World-River and taking great delight in the heavy-breathing of Pelinal who had finally bled... [Text lost] ... [And] Umaril was laid low, the angel face of his helm dented into an ugliness which made Pelinal laugh, [and his] unfeathered wings broken off with sword strokes delivered while Pelinal stood [frothing]... above him insulting his ancestry and anyone else that took ship from Old Ehlnofey, [which] angered the other Elvish kings and drove them to a madness of their own... [and they] fell on him [speaking] to their weapons... cutting the Pelinal into eighths while he roared in confusion [which even] the Council of Skiffs [could hear]... [Text lost] ...ran when Mor shook the whole of the tower with mighty bashing from his horns [the next morning], and some were slain-in-overabundance in the Taking, and Men looked for more Ayleids to kill but Pelinal had left none save those kings and demons that had already begun to flee... It was Morihaus who found the Whitestrake's head, which the kings had left to prove their deeds and they spoke and Pelinal said things of regrets... but the rebellion had turned anyway... [and more] words were said between these immortals that even the Paravant would not deign to hear."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/song-pelinal-v8-his-revelation-death-al-esh": {"series": "The Song of Pelinal", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/song-pelinal-v8-his-revelation-death-al-esh", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Song of Pelinal, v8: On His Revelation at the Death of the Al-Esh", "description": "A series of fragments describing Pelinal and his deeds.", "text": "[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.]\nAnd left you to gather sinew with my other half, who will bring light thereby to that mortal idea that brings [the Gods] great joy, that is, freedom, which even the Heavens do not truly know, [which is] why our Father, the... [Text lost]... in those first [days/spirits/swirls] before Convention... that which we echoed in our earthly madness. [Let us] now take you Up. We will [show] our true faces... [which eat] one another in amnesia each Age.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thorons-journal-volume-1": {"series": "Thoron's Journal", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thorons-journal-volume-1", "author": "Thoron", "title": "Thoron's Journal  - Volume 1", "description": "A madman's quest to gain access to the Shivering Isles", "text": "2nd of First Seed, 4E 200\n\nI have stumbled upon a dream. Not one conjured from sleep or stupor, but sight and sense. I now hold in my possession a lump of amber shaped like the Mad God himself. When I placed my hand upon it for the very first time, I stepped into the world of Mania. My mind was truly clear and my eyes forever open.\n\nBut as all dreams come to pass, so too did my time in Bliss. With a single step I found myself back in the wilderness, far away from my lovely Mania. Gone were the golden hills, luminous stalks and whimsical fragrances, and in its place the stink of flora and fools unbothered by the gloom.\n\nI have set about making a connection with the artifact once more, and to the wonderous land it has revealed to me.\n\n4th of First Seed, 4E 200\n\nCurses!\n\nAfter two days of constant focus, I finally connected with Mania once more. Or, it may be more accurate to say that Mania connected with me, in this secluded camp near Solitude. A powerful daedra took shape before my eyes: a Golden Saint, with armor gleaming and eyes burning with surprise and fury. To my dismay, my ordinary methods of bending daedra to my will were of no use. As it began to raise its weapon against me, I fled.\n\nWhatever power was left in the amber, it lies dormant now. I must find other artifacts like it, and through their magic forge a connection to the world I lost.\n\u2039 Thoron's Journal\nup\nThoron's Journal  - Volume 2 \u203a\n\u2039 Thoron's Journal\nup\nThoron's Journal  - Volume 2 \u203a"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thorons-journal-volume-2": {"series": "Thoron's Journal", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thorons-journal-volume-2", "author": "Thoron", "title": "Thoron's Journal  - Volume 2", "description": "A madman's quest to gain access to the Shivering Isles", "text": "16th of Sun's Dusk, 4E 200\n\nI have taken up residence deep in the Solitude sewers, away from prying eyes. I am sure to be undisturbed here while I continue my work.\n\nIt pains me to work with these bandit imbeciles, with their heads made of cheese. Or was it brains made of yogurt? I suppose the distinction is irrelevant. They are clumps of aged dairy, left out in the sun. Each one far too stupid to know the worth of their plunder, and for that reason they themselves are given worth.\n\nMuch as our Lord would do, I have split them into two groups to cover the caravan trade routes therein. The armors I've collected from these tunnels will serve some use here. Perhaps I will make it a competition. The group that retrieves the most artifacts will be rewarded with a bar of soap.\n\n28th of Rain's Hand, 4E 201\n\nThe more artifacts I gather, the more in tune with our Lord I become. I can feel his wisdom coursing through me, informing my every move. Yet there is something lacking, as nothing I have retrieved thus far has allowed me to return to my blessed Mania. I have even turned to using tokens from Dementia out of desperation.\n\nWith every failed attempt, my patience continues to thin. I may need to strangle a bandit or two or twenty to calm my frazzled nerves.\n\n15th of Midyear, 4E 201\n\nOur Lord Sheogorath must be pleased. Very, very pleased. This new artifact is a truly remarkable find. Yes, truly, truly remarkable. To think that it was nearly dismissed as an ordinary claymore, when it was in fact the Sword of Jyggalag, the weapon wielded by the Prince of Order.\n\nIt's the craftsmanship that betrays its truth. Perfect symmetry on both sides, its angles matching ten numerals beyond the decimal. Perhaps twenty, or even forty numerals. I will make an effort to count them tonight.\n\nYet its true power is held in its enchantment. For when I look upon its crystal edge, I see more than my reflection. I begin to see time the way a cloud sees the river. It has a beginning and an end, but they exist in concert. The past, present, and future flow as one.\n\nI spoke to a cloud the next day, and it confirmed this to be true. Through the sword's visions, I know what is to come. The sewers beneath the city is where the path will open. The sword will serve as the bridge.\n\n22nd of Midyear, 4E 201\n\nThe Sword of Jyggalag reveals much beyond my intent. It has a logic that seems familiar, but at the same time repels me. It desires Mania as I do, but its goal is that of destruction.\n\nWorse yet, our Lord's voice feels distant, muted even. I find my thoughts being short, and my words moreso.\n\n30th of Midyear, 4E 201\n\nI need to keep my writings separated. I am beginning to suspect my journals are speaking to each other. No, not suspect. I have proof.\n\nBut I can't write it here, lest my future self speak more lies. Each thought, past and present, must remain pure.\n\u2039 Thoron's Journal  - Volume 1\nup\nThoron's Journal  - Volume 3 \u203a\n\u2039 Thoron's Journal  - Volume 1\nup\nThoron's Journal  - Volume 3 \u203a"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thorons-journal-volume-3": {"series": "Thoron's Journal", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/thorons-journal-volume-3", "author": "Thoron", "title": "Thoron's Journal  - Volume 3", "description": "A madman's quest to gain access to the Shivering Isles", "text": "5th of Sun's Height, 4E 201\n\nThe sword's bloodlust can be used. Its desire to cleave, a bridge. Cut open the path. But never let the wound fester. A broken bone grows stronger when healed.\n\n18th of Sun's Height, 4E 201\n\nAnother vision. A long march through the gray. Crackle of boots, pressed on misshapen throats. In the fog, a whistle, marking time.\n\nThe sword is planted in the earth. Chaos screams, bleeds. Through its heart, roots are nourished. From the wound, a tree blooms. A path opens.\n\n1st of Last Seed, 4E 201\n\nScar tissue hardens, roots thicken. The wound bleeds, but the path is blocked. A fish swimming upstream.\n\nPerhaps the path is not for me. The path is for it. The river must flow from source to mouth, to fill the mind's cup.\n\n16th of Last Seed, 4E 201\n\nTemporary hearing loss. Bread, baking in a hearth. We reach out and grasp the abyss, only to let go. Face first into the mud with gritted teeth. Light bending through a glass eye. How easily we are lost! Revelations soaring on red wings above the dark. Rain running down the side of every window pane.\n\nI will not go manic.\n\n\n\nI will bring Mania to me.\n\u2039 Thoron's Journal  - Volume 2\nup\n\u2039 Thoron's Journal  - Volume 2\nup"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/unknown-book-vol-iv": {"series": "Touching the Sky", "game": ["Skyrim"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/unknown-book-vol-iv", "author": "Parmion Saldor; Calcelmo of Markarth, trans.", "title": "Unknown Book, Vol. IV", "description": "Recounts the journey of many Falmer to the sanctum of Auri-El", "text": "\nLiteral translation:\nTOUCHING THE SKY\n\t\tPARMION SALDOR\n\nMANY OF THE MOST DEDICATED SNOW ELVES ONCE COMMITTED THEMSELVES TO A TIRELESS JOURNEY THROUGH THE CHANTRY TO THE TEMPLE THEY CARRIED WITH THEM THE PARAMOUNT DESIRE TO BECOME ONE WITH THEIR GOD AURIEL THOUGH ALL SET OUT WITH THE DETERMINATION TO PROVE THEIR WORTH, FEW WERE PREPARED FOR THE TRIALS THAT LAY AHEAD FOR THE PATH TO AURIEL WAS NOT WITHOUT ITS TRIBULATIONS THE PILGRIMS STRUGGLED NOT ONLY AGAINST THE NATURAL ELEMENTS OF THE TREACHEROUS VALE BUT WITH A MYRIAD OF TESTS UPON THEIR FAITH AND LOYALTY\nIT IS TOLD THAT MANY SIMPLY COULD NOT CONTINUE ON THE PATH FOR LONG BEFORE TURNING BACK SOME ARGUE THAT THE REBUKE THEY ENDURED UPON THEIR RETURN WAS CRUELER THAN ANY PUNISHMENT THAT MAY HAVE LAY AHEAD OF THEM ALONG THE PATH. IN THEIR FAILED ATTEMPT THEY WERE FORCED TO LIVE IN THE SHADOW OF THOSE WHO DID CONTINUE ON TO ACHIEVE THE GREAT GLORY AND HONOR OF ASCENSION INTO THE LIGHT FOREVER AFTER THEIR FAITH AND LOYALTY IN AURIEL WOULD BE SCRUTINIZED AND THEIR REMAINING DAYS FILLED WITH SHAME AND REGRET\nTALES OF THOSE WHO REACHED THE INNER SANCTUM ARE NOT WITHOUT THEIR SHARE OF WOES. IT IS SAID UPON THEIR ARRIVAL THAT MANY WERE MERE SHELLS OF THE PERSON THEY HAD ONCE BEEN SOME WERE QUITE MAD FROM SLEEPLESSNESS AND STARVED TO THE POINT OF FRAILTY BY THE END OF THEIR JOURNEY THE MARVEL THAT THEY HAD STRENGTH YET TO CARRY THEIR VESSEL AND ASCEND THE STAIRS OF THE TEMPLE WAS THE LAST TRUE TESTAMENT OF THEIR LOYALTY REGARDLESS OF EACH INDIVIDUALS TALE THE FINAL WORDS REMAIN EERILY SIMILAR IT IS SAID THAT EVERY PILGRIM ASCENDED BATHED IN LIGHT A LOOK OF RELIEF AND CONTENTMENT ON THEIR FACE\n\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/culinary-adventure-volume-1": {"series": "A Culinary Adventure", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/culinary-adventure-volume-1", "author": "Rallaume Lemonds, Culinary Crusader", "title": "A Culinary Adventure, Volume 1", "description": "A human connoisseur of exotic foods bites off more than he can chew in Black Marsh", "text": "At last, I've reached the verdant swamps of Black Marsh! I've always yearned for an opportunity to sample authentic Argonian cuisine. This new Marsh King has finally made it possible. I've decided to begin with a regional delicacy\u2014slugs.\nLike all good Argonian fare, slugs are frequently served raw and often with a sprig of salt-meadow leaf. I was only able to sample three types during this visit. My chef's accent was very thick, but I believe the limited fare had something to do with the season. I've learned that swamp seasons change as quickly as the wind. So there may well be a whole new array to choose from in a few days. I can only hope that they are as flavorful as what I sampled today!\nBearded Blue\nThis indigo beauty is quite common in the bogs surrounding Mistmire Glade. It's roughly the size of a Nord's thumb and features a shaggy clump of tentacles beneath its long eye stalks. The slug features a subtle aroma, but it also has refreshingly citrusy undertones. The extra tentacles give the Bearded Blue a unique texture that can be a little distracting (particularly when consumed alive), but it tastes simply divine. The flavor is earth-driven with subdued loamy notes hidden below a firm citrusy bite. I was most struck by the crisp finish. Quite a treat!\nBlack-Banded Slider\nThe Black-Banded Slider is something of a local staple. It is often smoked and eaten on a bed of weevil larvae and orange-grass, but I insisted on tasting it raw. The slug excretes an acrid black oil when disturbed, but it was easily wiped away to reveal a long body with a series of broad black stripes across a pale, creamy mantle. Even washed, the Black-Banded Slider presents a chewy, tannic flavor that must be endured to reach the clean and nuanced aftertaste that the Argonians seem to relish. It's a mellow, almost floral flourish to an otherwise imposing meal.\nKing Yellow\nI was delighted to hear that the King Yellow was in season. This is a truly massive creature; roughly as long as my forearm and covered in a vast forest of fleshy, undulating bristles! It's always difficult to tell with Argonians, but I think that my chef was very surprised to hear my request for one served raw. He placed the beast in front of me, wrapped in a wasso nut leaf with an indigo lily garnish. I was immediately struck by the rich bouquet of mossy, herbaceous scents. You can practically smell all of Black Marsh in the creature's mucous excretions. Each bite brought on a new wave of astonishing flavor. The brooding, nutty tang of the tail meat eventually gave way to the thick, oily bitters of the mantle. At last, I reached the head. I'm hard pressed to think of a more alarming eruption of flavor! A cloying, buttery taste that swings wildly toward a dry, mustardy finish. Spectacular!\nI left the table with a heavy heart, knowing that I will likely not be able to taste the King Yellow again for another season. But I'm buoyed by the knowledge that tomorrow will bring a grand, new culinary adventure. This time, beetle larvae! I can hardly wait!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/culinary-adventure-volume-2": {"series": "A Culinary Adventure", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/culinary-adventure-volume-2", "author": "Rallaume Lemonds, Culinary Crusader", "title": "A Culinary Adventure, Volume 2", "description": "A human connoisseur of exotic foods bites off more than he can chew in Black Marsh", "text": "Today Mach-Makka took me on a tour of his impressive caterpillar farm. Of course, I use the term \"farm\" loosely. In actual fact, the farm is just a series of small reed enclosures that each house hundreds of caterpillars. I was shocked by the sheer variety. I saw long caterpillars, fat caterpillars, orange and purple-striped caterpillars\u2014I've never seen such diversity! I asked a few questions, but Mach-Makka's limited mastery of Cyrodiilic continues to be problematic. I've attempted to learn some Jel to bridge the language gap, but it is slow going to be sure. Still, he tries to help me along. I'm told that he thinks I'm hilarious. Of course, it's impossible to tell such things with Argonians.\nI asked if he ate the caterpillars and he seemed amused by this. He simply shook his head and took me into a larger enclosure. When he ignited the lamp, the room burst into a spray of colors. Huge butterflies and moths erupted from the walls, dancing around the lamp in a cyclone of beating wings. He gestured at some of the larger specimens and spoke at length in pig-Cyrodiilic. He encouraged me to grab a few before leaving the enclosure.\nEating moths and butterflies is a challenging but rewarding culinary experience. Most outsiders who are brave enough to sample the local cuisine remove the wings before eating. Mach-Makka offered to remove them for me, but I refused. He said something to his assistant in Jel and for a moment both seemed mildly amused. That probably means Mach-Makka said something fantastically funny. A few moments later, he served me five Green Slipper-Tails in a traditional \"ajum\" (a woven tray with a netted lid). I set upon them with relish!\nA truly satisfying butterfly dish hinges on the delicate art of \"Iuheeez,\" or \"wing folding.\" Argonian master chefs use their claws to bend and fold the wings into tiny but ornate edible sculptures. Unfortunately, local custom dictates that outsiders fold their own wings. I made my best effort to replicate the simplest \"Xeech\" fold, but I wound up making quite a mess. Even so, the meal was delicious. Green Slipper-Tails are perhaps the sweetest of the Slipper-Tails species\u2014tasting of honey-grass with a sweet but chalky finish. Hopefully, I'm provided with many more opportunities to master butterfly cuisine!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/culinary-adventure-volume-3": {"series": "A Culinary Adventure", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/culinary-adventure-volume-3", "author": "Rallaume Lemonds, Culinary Crusader", "title": "A Culinary Adventure, Volume 3", "description": "A human connoisseur of exotic foods bites off more than he can chew in Black Marsh", "text": "Mach-Makka has been hard at work the last few days. He's been preparing a meal that I didn't even know existed. How marvelous! His assistant told me that the locals call it a \"nagahssee\" which translates to something like \"snake roll,\" I think. \"Snake stocking\" would probably be more appropriate. More on that in a moment.\nThe process begins by catching a wasso hedge snake. Apparently Mach-Makka only trusts one local snake dealer\u2014a sharp-faced hunter named Paxit. In talking to Paxit, I found out that picking a reputable snake dealer is of paramount importance when preparing nagahssee. You see, the wasso hedge snake looks almost exactly like the red hooped tree-viper. Eating the former will give you a full belly. Eating the latter will kill you before you leave the table. I was delighted to hear this story. Dangerous food is something of an obsession for me!\nOnce the chef has acquired a snake, he or she goes to work disemboweling it. The snake's interior is used in a number of other dishes, but nagahssee only requires the skin. The empty skin is packed with a mix of wild marsh rice, dried parsnips, sliced bark-ear mushrooms, and a live mouse! Paxit explained to me that nagahssee is a unique dish that always changes. Those who choose to eat the dish when it is first prepared are treated to the fresh vegetable medley and the lean, wriggling meat of the mouse. But those who choose to let the dish rest for a few hours (or even days) are richly rewarded for their patience. The longer the dish rests, the fatter the mouse becomes. It can spend a great deal of time feasting on the rice and parsnips before finally expiring. An average nagahssee takes about five days to \"ripen.\"\nHearing all this, I couldn't wait to get my hands on one. I selected a roll that had been resting for the better part of two days. I still heard a faint squeaking from beneath the skin. I think I'll wait a bit longer before I take my first bite!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/culinary-adventure-volume-4": {"series": "A Culinary Adventure", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/culinary-adventure-volume-4", "author": "Rallaume Lemonds, Culinary Crusader", "title": "A Culinary Adventure, Volume 4", "description": "A human connoisseur of exotic foods bites off more than he can chew in Black Marsh", "text": "I've been pestering Mach-Makka for days. While I've learned a tremendous amount about Argonian cuisine, there is still one dish I have not tried: the Aojee-Sakka. Anytime I request it, Mach-Makka becomes agitated and serves me something else. I suppose his hesitancy is understandable. The Aojee-Sakka is among the most dangerous meals in all of Tamriel.\nThe meal actually consists of two dishes served simultaneously. The primary dish is a seared and delicately sliced Aojee Toad on a bed of caramelized figs and cinnamon-grass. The second dish is a bowl of cold hosh (a dark and viscous soup). Neither of these dishes can be consumed alone, as each is a deadly poison. Rather, they must be eaten slowly and simultaneously. One poison serves as the antidote to the other. Eating too much of the toad leads to violent tremors and mouth frothing, followed by death. Eating too much hosh leads to searing intestinal pain and vomiting, followed by death. Not surprisingly, this dish is avoided by almost everyone, chef and customer alike. But my palate cannot be denied!\nI believe that Mach-Makka is at least considering my request. I've brought a small fortune in gold and signed a half-dozen bizarre snake-skin documents (which I can only assume are waivers of some kind). I can practically taste the toad already. My culinary adventure is almost complete!\n* * *\n\tI return this book to you, Malven-friend. I hope that you understand that your friend wanted the Aojee-Sakka. He demands I prepare it. I eventually did as he asked, but he did not eat it properly. Too much toad, not enough soup. I am very sorry he dies.\nHave a good life! We hope you come eat with us, too! But not the Aojee-Sakka.\n\u2014Mach-Makka"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/memory-book-part-3": {"series": "A Memory Book", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/memory-book-part-3", "author": "Fa-Nuit-Hen", "title": "A Memory Book, Part 3", "description": "Memories of various Barons Who Move Like --", "text": "I have an idea, my Tutor! We shall try something different to remember the Baron who Moves like Wind in the Reeds: we shall reconstruct him by pure logic!\nWind: air movement, amorphous but persistent, varying in vector, pressing from every point of the compass, strong, then soft, then strong again.\nReeds: tall drying grass stalks, foundations of literature, rattling and swaying, bending before pressure, or vibrating in tones if constrained.\nBaron: a figure of mastery, a person made for warfare, an aspect of myself that concentrates a body of skill into a skilled body, an incarnation of artistry.\nTherefore: the Baron who Moves like Wind in the Reeds! We know his components, thus we must remember him complete, in totality, and see him clearly before us! We must \u2026.\nNo. No. It doesn't work like that.\nWhat shall I do, my Tutor? What was it you said about being reminded of what is within, by someone who is without? What was that, Riparius? Say it again."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/abahs-landing-merchant-lords-v-1": {"series": "Abah's Landing Merchant Lords", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/abahs-landing-merchant-lords-v-1", "author": "Tamonir", "title": "Abah's Landing Merchant Lords, V. 1", "description": "A roster of the corupt mafia-nobility of Abah's Landing", "text": "Prepared by Tamonir, Master of Secrets for the Queen of Taneth\nGrandiose. Arrogant. Self-important. All these words and more can be used to describe the self-styled merchant lords of Abah's Landing. The four mercantile houses began to take shape about one-hundred-and-sixty years ago. They began as legitimate businesses, working to elevate Abah's Landing and create a center for trade and commerce between High Rock and Valenwood. But Hew's Bane has never been cooperative to those who tried to carve civilization out of the wilderness and, despite their best efforts, each mercantile house slowly became more corrupt as the pursuit of illegal profits quickly outdistanced more above-board enterprises.\nThe four houses emerged as the at-Addin Syndicate, House Vien, the Thazahrr Cartel, and Gurges and Associates. In time, the lords of these four houses controlled almost all of the commerce and gold flowing through the port city - both legitimate trade and illicit activities. Most of their profits came from smuggling, slavery, and other unlawful transactions. The merchant lords supplied Abah's Landing with goods and services while also establishing lucrative (if modest) trading partnerships in distant lands. As fortunes grew in Abah's Landing, it wasn't long before other groups began to take an interest in the area. This began a long and tumultuous relationship between the merchant lords and local criminals and crime bosses. Indeed, rumors of a \"hidden\" merchant house even began to circulate, and evidence abounds of a covert war being fought among the houses and the so-called \"hidden house.\" While I have not been able to uncover any details concerning this conflict, the outcome can clearly be seen. Gurges and Associates was shattered and the other three houses were reduced to pale shadows of their former glory as a clandestine power emerged as the controlling interest in the port city.\nFor the last fifteen years or so, the merchant houses took a step back. Oh, they continued to engage in business and provide funds to support city services, including guards and infrastructure, but they no longer showed the swagger and bravado that exemplified their behavior for the decades prior to that time. Though no mayor or merchant house or secret guild took center stage, it appears evident to me that someone or something has influenced Abah's Landing from the deepest shadows. For this reason, I urge caution when dealing with Hew's Bane.\nIn my next report, I'll begin to provide background on each of the prominent merchant houses operating in the area.\n(NOTE: These dispatches were \"recovered\" from a Taneth vessel and delivered to an interested party in Abah's Landing. I have published them so we may all know what our cousins across the bay think of us. -Anonymous)"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/abahs-landing-merchant-lords-v-2": {"series": "Abah's Landing Merchant Lords", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/abahs-landing-merchant-lords-v-2", "author": "Tamonir", "title": "Abah's Landing Merchant Lords, V. 2", "description": "A roster of the corupt mafia-nobility of Abah's Landing", "text": "Prepared by Tamonir, Master of Secrets for the Queen of Taneth\nThe first and, according to the scions of the house, the greatest of the merchant houses of Abah's Landing is the at-Addin Syndicate. Founded by Afshuur at-Addin, a Redguard male known for both his physical prowess and his disarming charm, the Syndicate grew and flourished for almost one-hundred-and-twenty years. The enterprising Afshuur started out as a simple arms dealer, buying, selling, and trading Redguard swords, Orc axes, and Wood Elf bows. His first customers were the pirates and privateers that used Abah's Landing as a port of call on their trips to more prominent locations, but it wasn't long before he was making shipping deals with those very same vessels and their crews.\nAs time passed, the Syndicate added armor and shields to its inventory, seeking to provide a one-stop shopping destination for anyone in need of protection or those interested in sailing into battle. Pirate crews, mercenary bands, and even privateers in service to one flag or another were clamoring for armor and weapons with the Syndicate seal of quality and assurance. These connections led to another lucrative profit line - the Syndicate began serving as a broker for mercenary contracts.\nThe current leader of the Syndicate, Orahan at-Addin, rules the business with an iron fist. Ruthless and brilliant, the Redguard male treats every negotiation as a battle, every competition as a war. In fact, war has become at-Addin's primary avenue of trade, which allows him to keep the family enterprise profitable even in the wake of the unrevealed calamity that befell each of the merchant houses recently. As my queen is well aware, the machinations of the unknown party I have dubbed \"the hidden house\" continue to be evident while also continuing to elude me. I will have answers, I just don't know when I will have them.\nOrahan at-Addin deals in arms and armaments, mercenary contracts, and smuggling supplies to all sides of any given conflict. He has no trouble selling weapons to the Covenant, armor to the Pact, and vital supplies to the Dominion - as long as each side has the gold to pay for his services. With the sudden absence of the power that had held the merchant houses in check and had even weakened them with a masterful yet secret attack, the Syndicate has begun to make moves to put it back into a position of power in Abah's Landing.\nRegardless of other concerns, I recommend caution when dealing with Orahan and his family. But make no mistake, you will have to deal with them if you plan to make a move on Hew's Bane and Abah's Landing.\n(NOTE: These dispatches were \"recovered\" from a Taneth vessel and delivered to an interested party in Abah's Landing. I have published them so we may all know what our cousins across the bay think of us. \u00e2\u20ac\u201dAnonymous)"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/abahs-landing-merchant-lords-v-3": {"series": "Abah's Landing Merchant Lords", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/abahs-landing-merchant-lords-v-3", "author": "Tamonir", "title": "Abah's Landing Merchant Lords, V. 3", "description": "A roster of the corupt mafia-nobility of Abah's Landing", "text": "Prepared by Tamonir, Master of Secrets for the Queen of Taneth\nIt was inevitable. A den of vice and corruption such as Abah's Landing requires a master to feed its needs. Or, in this case, a mistress. Enter Lady Felice Vien, who arrived in Abah's Landing from Wayrest with her dignity, a cask full of gold, and the intention to make a place for herself amid the debauchery and depravity of the port city. Very little information concerning the circumstances of her arrival still exists, but I was able to determine it had something to do with her late husband, a prominent noble in Wayrest, and her alleged role in his death.\nWhatever the situation that sent her to Abah's Landing, Lady Felice wasted no time purchasing property and establishing the Winsome Welwa, a tavern and inn that soon became the talk of the port. What started as a humble eatery and fest hall began offering other entertainments, entertainments of the less than legal kind. Lady Felice saw that the people moving through Abah's Landing had particular vices, and she knew that there was gold to be made if she could satisfy their needs.\nToday, House Vien handles the more intimate and discreet demands of Abah's Landing, including illicit substances, prostitution, and other vices. The Winsome Welwa, modeled after the infamous Chaste Harpy in Highrock, serves as a brothel and the base of operations for the current head of the house, Lady Ylanie Montaine. Despite the calamity that befell all of the merchant houses, she continues to make a modest profit administering to the illicit needs of pirates, merchant crews, and visiting nobles looking for a bit of adventure. All of the house's trade is focused on Abah's Landing, all under the Lady's discerning eye. She presents a proper, genteel countenance when she strolls the city streets and meets with clients and vacationing dignitaries, but she has a violent, even murderous, temper - though few who have the misfortune to see that side of her live to tell the tale.\nSecrets are as much Lady Ylanie's stock and trade as are sex and drugs. She might prove to be a powerful ally in your ambitions, provided you never turn your back on her or partake in any of her tempting pleasures.\n(NOTE: These dispatches were \"recovered\" from a Taneth vessel and delivered to an interested party in Abah's Landing. I have published them so we may all know what our cousins across the bay think of us. \u00e2\u20ac\u201dAnonymous)"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/abahs-landing-merchant-lords-v-4": {"series": "Abah's Landing Merchant Lords", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/abahs-landing-merchant-lords-v-4", "author": "Tamonir", "title": "Abah's Landing Merchant Lords, V. 4", "description": "A roster of the corupt mafia-nobility of Abah's Landing", "text": "Prepared by Tamonir, Master of Secrets for the Queen of Taneth\nWhen the merchant houses of Abah's Landing were first established, one stood out from the rest. Significant not only for its unusual leader, but for the type of business she decided to trade in. The Khajiit who called herself Thazahrr-ra formed the Thazahrr Cartel to handle the despicable but necessary slave trade moving through the port city. The powerful Thazahrr-ra, one of only a few women in Khajiit history to take the male honorific \"ra\" as her own, formed a cartel that included Imperials, Bretons, Redguards, and a few Khajiit.\nHow could a Khajiit run a slavery cartel? Quite handily, it turns out. The legend of Thazahrr-ra grew as fast as the fortunes of the Cartel, describing a woman who would sell her own children if the profit was high enough. In addition to processing Argonian and Khajiit slaves on their way to distant lands, the Cartel expanded into the areas of smuggling and buying and selling information. Make no mistake: Being willing to sell your own people makes the Cartel extremely dangerous, as many of their competitors discovered over the years.\nToday, Thazahrr Goldfang, the sixth Khajiit woman to take the name and title of merchant lord of the Thazahrr Cartel, oversees the house's businesses. She appears restless and unhappy with the state of the houses in Abah's Landing, and with the state of her business in general. Whatever occurred to hinder all of the merchant houses seems to have hit the Cartel harder than most. She longs to return her organization to the position of power and prestige it enjoyed in the days before the activities of the \"hidden house\" so that she can claim the same honorific as her esteemed ancestor.\nThazahrr Goldfang bubbles over with anger and ambition. She feels that Abah's Landing owes her a level of wealth and respect that, frankly, it has no intention of awarding her with. For this reason, she remains frustrated, anxious, and more than a little dangerous. My recommendation? Do not approach the Khajiit slave trader. Not even with a ten-foot pole.\n(NOTE: These dispatches were \"recovered\" from a Taneth vessel and delivered to an interested party in Abah's Landing. I have published them so we may all know what our cousins across the bay think of us. -Anonymous)"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/abahs-landing-merchant-lords-v-5": {"series": "Abah's Landing Merchant Lords", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/abahs-landing-merchant-lords-v-5", "author": "Tamonir", "title": "Abah's Landing Merchant Lords, V. 5", "description": "A roster of the corupt mafia-nobility of Abah's Landing", "text": "Prepared by Tamonir, Master of Secrets for the Queen of Taneth\nNow I want to tell you about the sad and unfortunate fate of the fourth major merchant house of Abah's Landing, an organization I like to call, \"the Fallen House.\" Gurges and Associates dates back to a powerful and important Imperial family that has all but disappeared from the Cyrodiil records. It came to prominence during the rise of the merchant lords of Hew's Bane, when Isobel Gurges - known as the Regal Pirate of the Abecean - retired from raiding and pillaging to form a more or less legitimate business.\nOf course, legitimate business means something very different in a place like Abah's Landing. Isobel began by making loans with exorbitant interest rates, but it wasn't long before she took Gurges and Associates into gambling, fencing, laundering, and highjacking (where she had her crews steal cargo from merchant vessels so they could sell it back to those same merchants for an immediate profit).\nWhen the merchant house crisis rocked Abah's Landing fifteen years prior, Gurges and Associates was nearly bankrupted. The tumult since, as well as events leading up to the Three Banners War, all but spelled the doom of the merchant house. Today, the Gurges family has only a handful of blood members and vassals, leaving its current patriarch, Martinus Gurges, a bitter and jealous man. He has plans, however. Plans to rebuild his company, reclaim his fortune and holdings, and once again make the Gurges name something to be honored and respected, if not feared, in Abah's Landing. He has a long way to go to make his dream come true.\n(NOTE: These dispatches were \"recovered\" from a Taneth vessel and delivered to an interested party in Abah's Landing. I have published them so we may all know what our cousins across the bay think of us. -Anonymous)\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/abahs-landing-merchant-lords-v-6": {"series": "Abah's Landing Merchant Lords", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/abahs-landing-merchant-lords-v-6", "author": "Tamonir", "title": "Abah's Landing Merchant Lords, V. 6", "description": "A roster of the corupt mafia-nobility of Abah's Landing", "text": "Prepared by Tamonir, Master of Secrets for the Queen of Taneth\nI wasn't sure I was ever going to send this to you. Everything it contains is little more than theory and conjecture. I have no proof, you see. No facts to hang before you. All that said, I decided that you had a right to know my thinking on this subject. Better safe than sorry, as the Dark Elves are wont to say.\nI've suggested in my previous reports that there was another group or organization hindering and even actively attacking the merchant houses of Abah's Landing. I've referred to this as the \"hidden house,\" but I have a better name: The Shadow Conglomerate. Like the vast chasm in front of you in the middle of the night, you can feel the Shadow Conglomerate's presence looming in the darkness, even though you can't see it.\nWhat is the Shadow Conglomerate? I really don't know. Every avenue I approach that promises to reveal the truth of the organization instead sends me running in a dozen different directions, searching for the next clue that always seemed to be at least one step out of reach. Here's what I do know. I believe that the Shadow Conglomerate was formed about forty years ago, suddenly coming on the scene to challenge the merchant lords after a century of only having to deal with themselves. Within twenty-five years, the Shadow Conglomerate had risen to a place of prominence that allowed it to actually cause the merchant houses to step back and concede a portion of their power and influence to this new and secret organization.\nI believe a battle of some sort took place in the deepest shadows. In this battle, the hidden house emerged victorious while the public-facing merchant houses were grievously wounded and forced off the pedestals they had raised themselves upon. The worse casualty was Gurges and Associates, which stopped being an active concern almost overnight and has since become known as \"the Fallen House.\"\nIs the Shadow Conglomerate the true power of Abah's Landing? I cannot say for certain, and that is what troubles me the most.\n(NOTE: These dispatches were \"recovered\" from a Taneth vessel and delivered to an interested party in Abah's Landing. I have published them so we may all know what our cousins across the bay think of us. -Anonymous)"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/orc-weaponsmith-murkmire-part-1": {"series": "An Orc Weaponsmith In Murkmire", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/orc-weaponsmith-murkmire-part-1", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "An Orc Weaponsmith In Murkmire, Part 1", "description": "An Orsimer smith studies Argonian crafting techniques", "text": "I'm just an old Orc weaponsmith, and weapons are my life. When I was just a nub-tusked whelp, I would sneak into the great forges of Orsinium to watch the masters at work. In time I became an apprentice, dragging slag from one end of the forge to the other. Then a journeyman, coated head to toe in soot and sweat. Eventually, I took my place as one of the great forge masters. In all my years of folding iron and hammering steel, I never once considered the possibility that we could use something other than metal to craft our weapons. Sure, we used mammoth leather and the like for binding and lacing. Sometimes the silk-born dandies would demand an inlaid gem or two. But metal was the heart of my craft. Imagine my surprise when I encountered the weaponsmiths here in Gideon.\nI decided to make the trip when I heard that some Argonian chieftain had opened his borders to outsiders. I figured, why not? I had one last adventure in me, and I had never been to Black Marsh before. What's the worst that could happen to an old goat like me? Something will kill me? Well, that's going to happen eventually, so why try to hide?\nI'd heard tales of these lizard-folk wielding wooden clubs and such in battle. I imagined hissing savages with turtle-shell helmets and crude leather greaves. I don't mind admitting that I was dead wrong. These Argonians use methods and materials that I never could have imagined, and the results are extraordinary. I've been taking notes, but I doubt they'll do me any good. Half the materials are only found in Black Marsh, and after decades of pounding metal, I doubt these old mitts would be worth a damn on the finer details. Still, a crafter who refuses to study isn't worth spit in a snow-storm. So here I am. I thought I was coming to teach, but I've got a lot to learn."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/orc-weaponsmith-murkmire-part-2": {"series": "An Orc Weaponsmith In Murkmire", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/orc-weaponsmith-murkmire-part-2", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "An Orc Weaponsmith In Murkmire, Part 2", "description": "An Orsimer smith studies Argonian crafting techniques", "text": "Another day in Gideon. The local weaponsmith, a wily old Argonian named Shukesh, is a girl after my own heart. She's stoic, dedicated, and a little ornery. I told her she must be half-orc. She gave me one of those forced Argonian smiles that could either mean genuine amusement or total lack of approval. It's damn near impossible for me to tell the difference. When I first met her, she was working on a \"tsojei\" sword, and I use the word \"sword\" loosely. I honestly couldn't tell you what kind of weapon it actually is. It's like a club and a sword had a pup, then kicked half its teeth out and shaved down the others into fangs. I should probably be a little more specific, eh?\nThe Argonian smith starts with a length of wood\u2014anywhere from the length of her arm to the length of her tail. She spends a week or so shaving down the wood until she achieves a paddle shape. (I saw a few works-in-progress and mistook them for boat oars.) A lot of Argonians might be content to just stain the wood and move on to the next step, but old Shukesh is a master. I can tell you, what she lacks in personality, she makes up for in patience. She uses bones and fine-cut obsidian chisels to carve ornate patterns into the face of the paddle. Most of these patterns form abstract animal shapes, alligators and such. But a few of the patterns were kind of disturbing. One pattern in particular set my skin to crawl. It appeared to be a dark-stained skull with a series of ridges and spines. She said it was for a \"special customer.\" Whoever wants that pattern, I don't want to meet them!\nOnce the wood is cured, stained, and polished, Shukesh sets it aside and begins to work on the next step in the task: stone-carving. According to Shukesh, all kinds of stones are suitable for use in the process, but she prefers to work with obsidian. Raw stones are chipped down into sharpened, knife-blade shapes, from crude squares to evenly shaved fangs. Once these \"teeth\" are hewn, she sets them into the paddle using wood or bone pegs and boiled depassa gum.\nDepassa gum is a strange gunk, let me tell you. It smells like an echatare's armpit, but adheres like a paste to wood and stone. Once it hardens, it's damn near impossible to break, but it stays light and flexible like an ironwood sapling. I told Shukesh that it reminded me of a mammoth gesso that I sometimes use when fixing leather. She just gave me one of her characteristic croaks and said, \"Easier to hunt a tree than a mammoth, yes?\" It's hard to argue with that logic.\nOnce the teeth are set in place, the smith wraps the handle in strips of leather or bark, creating a grip that won't slip no matter how slick it gets with rain or blood. Now the weapon is complete, without the use of any metal. All told, it took her the better part of three weeks to finish the piece.\nThe most remarkable thing about the tsojei isn't even the weapon (which is marvelous in its own right.) It's all the skills that go with it. Shukesh isn't just a smith. She's a woodcarver, an alchemist, a stonecutter, and a weaver. Any one of those trades can take a lifetime to master and she demonstrates proficiency in all four. Almost makes me ashamed. Maybe I should take up woodcarving in my spare time. Ha! Like that'll happen. Can't teach an old tusker new tricks, after all."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/orc-weaponsmith-murkmire-part-3": {"series": "An Orc Weaponsmith In Murkmire", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/orc-weaponsmith-murkmire-part-3", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "An Orc Weaponsmith In Murkmire, Part 3", "description": "An Orsimer smith studies Argonian crafting techniques", "text": "An Argonian \"forge\" is a strange place, let me tell you. I guess it's more of a workshop than a forge. None of the familiar sounds or smells of my forge back home greeted me when I entered the place. No ringing anvils, no coal-smoke, no hissing quench troughs. They're just eerily quiet and packed with chisels, axes, wooden buckets full of weird liquids, piles of rocks, dead birds, live slugs \u2026. On and on it goes. For the first week or so, I felt very uneasy in Shukesh's workshop. She's not exactly a big talker. The only sounds she made for the first few days were sudden and irritated hisses when something didn't go exactly as she had planned. She also sang a few old Jel folksongs, although I use the term \"sang\" in the loosest manner possible. The first time I heard it, I thought she was murdering one of the multitude of lizards crawling all over everything. The place is infested with them!\nEventually Shukesh started talking to me. At first, her comments were mostly about my disgusting lack of scales or my round, beady eyes. Once she started making fun of me, I knew we had become fast friends.\nOne of the first secrets Shukesh shared with me was the art of \"slug shaping.\" Apparently Black Marsh is chock full of slugs. Back home we don't see a lot of the slimy little creatures, but when we do, we tend to squash them and then wipe them off our boots in disgust. Here in Gideon, however, everything has a purpose. Most slugs aren't good for anything but eating. (Or so I've heard. I won't eat anything that doesn't stand on four legs.) But apparently some slugs have surprising applications. One of these special slugs, called a \"jassa red,\" has an unusual defense mechanism. When threatened, it secretes acidic mucous from various orifices. I'm not sure what good that does when something tries to eat it, but the acidic mucous is useful for Argonian weaponsmiths.\nWhen Shukesh wants to incorporate a natural motif into her work, she places the slugs onto the wood or stone and repeatedly flashes a piece of flint directly behind them. Adjusting the position of the flint pushes the slugs in different directions. As the slugs move across the wood or stone, they leave behind a thin layer of the acidic mucous, creating long, smooth channels in the surface of the wood or stone. Moreover, the mucous interacts with different materials in different ways. Depending on the material, the mucous changes the pigmentation it touches, ranging from a muted umber to a phosphorescent yellow.\nShukesh let me try my hand at it (on a piece of worthless broken lumber). Not surprisingly, I was all thumbs. I created a tangled mess of grooves\u2014all dyed a sickly, mottled green. When I threw the flint down in disgust, I think Shukesh laughed at me. She insisted it was just a cough, and then told me my slug shaping was utter \"rajpu.\" I didn't try to argue, as I wasn't sure what rajpu was exactly, although I could hazard a good guess. Anyway, I'll take a hammer and tongs over a slimy ball of burning snot any day."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/arowendes-diary-page-23": {"series": "Arowende's Diary", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/arowendes-diary-page-23", "author": "Arowende", "title": "Arowende's Diary Page 23", "description": "", "text": "Finally, Archmagister Otheri has let me accompany him to Mzanchend\u2014the great Dwemer ruin that rests under the mine. I would love to discover something really unique. Or discover what happened to the Dwarves! I need to make some sketches of some of the architecture here. The light fixtures \u2026 unbelievable. So many still working. How did they do it? That might be a good subject for some scholarly research.\nI know his machine is important, He's droned on about it and then told me to be careful with these greasy bits of it, acting as if it was an honor for me to toddle after him with them. Well, perhaps it is. I did, after all, manage to get the position as his assistant. I wonder what happened to the last assistant.\nThis grease better come out of my robe."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/arowendes-diary-page-26": {"series": "Arowende's Diary", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/arowendes-diary-page-26", "author": "Arowende", "title": "Arowende's Diary Page 26", "description": "", "text": "I suppose I should be understanding that the Archmagister is too preoccupied with his experiments and such a important a personage within House Telvanni, but he just dumps tasks on me and wanders off.\nIt's not that I can't immobilize these dwemer constructs but would it be nice if he waited for me. Why didn't he turn his talents to coming up with a way to make them turn off? Be non-aggressive? I'm not quite sure how you'd go about it, but that too may be a fruitful avenue of study.\nI just need to take in as much knowledge as I can from the Archmagister. I do long to go home to Summerset, but I promised myself I wouldn't until I was more knowledgeable than\u2014well, I should not go down that route again. I'll just sit here and let my magic restore itself.\nI will need to find an alchemist though. These machine parts have definitely stained this robe."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/auridon-explored-chapter-i": {"series": "Auridon Explored", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/auridon-explored-chapter-i", "author": "Fenlil the Wayfarer", "title": "Auridon Explored, Chapter I", "description": "A guide to the people, locales and natural landscape of Auridon", "text": "Gentle reader, welcome. Welcome to the crystal blue waters and gentle zephyrs of Auridon. Jewel of the Summerset Archipelago and gateway to Tamriel, this fair isle has long been home to the friendliest, the most outward-facing of my noble race.\nHerein, I've included an unedited journal of observations. Thoughts jotted down during my most recent trip across the isle. Some of the hidden gems of the isle, some of the most striking locales of this sheltered paradise, will see description in these pages.\nFrom I, your humble guide. Enjoy!\n\u2014Fenlil the Wayfarer\n<The rest of the pages have been torn out.>"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/auridon-explored-chapter-ii": {"series": "Auridon Explored", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/auridon-explored-chapter-ii", "author": "Fenlil the Wayfarer", "title": "Auridon Explored, Chapter II", "description": "A guide to the people, locales and natural landscape of Auridon", "text": "\u2026 they stare, looking into my soul. Their little eyes, their furry bodies. I can't imagine a more terrifying sight. Do not believe the tales \u2026 those monkeys hate our intrusion into their home \u2026"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/auridon-explored-chapter-iii": {"series": "Auridon Explored", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/auridon-explored-chapter-iii", "author": "Fenlil the Wayfarer", "title": "Auridon Explored, Chapter III", "description": "A guide to the people, locales and natural landscape of Auridon", "text": "Ahh, fair Errinorne Isle. A part of the Buraniim sea-complex during the time of the Ancients, and then long used as a shipping and warehouse complex by nearby Skywatch. Then came the Sload, disease, and death.\nEven in the aftermath of Skywatch's defiance, Sload forces held the island for decades. When it was finally cleansed by a concerted force, a remnant of the All-Flags Navy, it was left to rot and decay.\nA shame, as its natural beauty is extreme, and its ruins ... magnificent."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/auridon-explored-chapter-iv": {"series": "Auridon Explored", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/auridon-explored-chapter-iv", "author": "Fenlil the Wayfarer", "title": "Auridon Explored, Chapter IV", "description": "A guide to the people, locales and natural landscape of Auridon", "text": "This island is fascinating. It was clearly once a hub for the ancient Aldmer, perhaps part of a larger structure that extended out into the sea. Now it's used most often as a retreat from the city life in nearby Skywatch.\nI've found some evidence here that the resurgent Daedric cults, the Worm cultists, are making preparations to construct some kind of dolmen here. I'll have to warn the local authorities in Skywatch."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/auridon-explored-chapter-v": {"series": "Auridon Explored", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/auridon-explored-chapter-v", "author": "Fenlil the Wayfarer", "title": "Auridon Explored, Chapter V", "description": "A guide to the people, locales and natural landscape of Auridon", "text": "Gentle reader, I feel the need to edit my unedited thoughts about the beautiful, unparalleled Isle of Contemplation. Without a doubt, one of the most beautiful places on Tamriel, your fair explorer has many happy memories of quiet meals ... meaningful looks ... moonlit encounters ...\nAs I said, my time on the Isle of Contemplation has been magical. I hope yours is the same."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/auridon-explored-chapter-vii": {"series": "Auridon Explored", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/auridon-explored-chapter-vii", "author": "Fenlil the Wayfarer", "title": "Auridon Explored, Chapter VII", "description": "A guide to the people, locales and natural landscape of Auridon", "text": "The ruin known by locals as Hightide Keep was once a sprawling complex of defensive fortifications. A relic from the time of the Ancients, it was painstakingly maintained and manned.\nAs a result, Skywatch was able to put up an incredible defense during the Sload attack on the city. Powerful magical constructs were crafted and expended. Dozens of Sload warships were destroyed.\nThe city finally fell when a Sload Warcaster filled his voluminous gullet with volatile alchemical reagents and threw himself at the base of the cliffs. The resulting explosion toppled much of the extended rock face, and plunged the ruins into the sea."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/auridon-explored-chapter-xii": {"series": "Auridon Explored", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/auridon-explored-chapter-xii", "author": "Fenlil the Wayfarer", "title": "Auridon Explored, Chapter XII", "description": "A guide to the people, locales and natural landscape of Auridon", "text": "I'm often asked when the Ancients first arrived in the Archipelago. My researches indicate that it was in the middle of the Early Merethic Period.\nThe farthest northern tip of Auridon, now called Nine Prows Landing, is by tradition the first place within the Summerset Isles to feel the tread of the Ancients. From Summerset, the Ancients spread to the shores of Tamriel, settling almost every region of that great, contentious continent. There they built new societies, and found both glory and destruction.\n\nI'm often asked where the Ancients first arrived in the Archipelago. The \"traditional home\" of the High Elves is, in fact, just the latest home for our ancient and proud race.\nThe farthest northern tip of Auridon is, in fact, the first place within the Summerset Isles to see the tread of the Ancients. All throughout Valenwood their ruins and influence can be seen.\nBut we can all agree: it is here in the Isles that the fleeing Ayleids of the heartland finally found a home."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bakhigs-journal-page-3": {"series": "Bakhig's Journal", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bakhigs-journal-page-3", "author": "Bakhig", "title": "Bakhig's Journal, Page 3", "description": "", "text": "Bakhig is finally home. Years of wandering, over. Pets scuttle around me. The poison that drips from their fangs smells as fresh-baked bread to this one.\nIt took me weeks to earn their trust. So many bites, so much poison in my veins. But, now, they know me.\nNow, they love me."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bakhigs-journal-page-11": {"series": "Bakhig's Journal", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bakhigs-journal-page-11", "author": "Bakhig", "title": "Bakhig's Journal, Page 11", "description": "", "text": "Bakhig's pets danced for him today!\nNo. Not a dance, not like those idiot High Elves in their fancy castles. They swarmed up, down, up, down. All over their webs. Like a sweet performance, just for me.\nBakhig's pets want him to know that they are happy he is here. To watch over them.\nBakhig will never let anything happen to his pets."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bakhigs-journal-page-18": {"series": "Bakhig's Journal", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bakhigs-journal-page-18", "author": "Bakhig", "title": "Bakhig's Journal, Page 18", "description": "", "text": "Bakhig's pets fight sometimes. This one thinks they fight for his love.\nWhy can't they see that Bahkhig loves them all?\nWell, perhaps he loves the little ones the most.\nBakhig can't sleep unless the little ones are running their little feet over him."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bakhigs-journal-page-19": {"series": "Bakhig's Journal", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bakhigs-journal-page-19", "author": "Bakhig", "title": "Bakhig's Journal, Page 19", "description": "", "text": "Bakhig had the nightmare again last night. Bakhig dreamed that a [player race] was in Bakhig's home, killing his pets.\nThis one is going to spend the day with the little ones, making sure they are safe."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/blackguard-instructions-one": {"series": "Blackguard Instructions", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/blackguard-instructions-one", "author": "MD", "title": "Blackguard Instructions, One", "description": "", "text": "Look for the sites I indicated on your map. The stone coffer\u2014an Argonian reliquary\u2014must be buried in that immediate vicinity. Locate the coffer and carefully break the seal. Make sure at least one of your number remains a good distance away when you open the coffer. I've seen such things that were trapped or had other protections and I need at least one of you alive to retrieve the meditation cylinder that should be waiting inside.\nMD"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/blackguard-instructions-two": {"series": "Blackguard Instructions", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/blackguard-instructions-two", "author": "MD", "title": "Blackguard Instructions, Two", "description": "", "text": "When you unearth the Argonian reliquaries from the specified locations, carefully remove the meditation cylinders and bring them to me at the xanmeer. I can hear your question now: What's a meditation cylinder? Each of the four coffers should contain a stone cylinder covered with Argonian carvings. Do not drop them. Do not break them. Your worthless lives depend on bringing me four intact cylinders.\nDon't fail me!\nMD"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/blackguard-instructions-three": {"series": "Blackguard Instructions", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/blackguard-instructions-three", "author": "MD", "title": "Blackguard Instructions, Three", "description": "", "text": "I shall eagerly await your return at the ancient xanmeer. Gather the four meditation cylinders and bring them to me there. Remember, these Argonian antiquities are crucial to the ritual I need to perform. And when I begin the ritual, make sure that all of the Blackguards remain outside the chamber. Any distraction could disrupt the ritual and cause the curse to be prematurely released from Beela-Kaar's relic.\nAnd that would be bad.\nMD"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bone-orchard-research-log-1": {"series": "Bone Orchard Research Logs", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bone-orchard-research-log-1", "author": "Ethruin", "title": "Bone Orchard Research Log 1", "description": "Excavation of a Bosmeri burial of Ehlnofey bones", "text": "Creative application of energies ensured the locals were eager to see us safely to Arborfell, though it would seem our objective now goes by \"the Bone Orchard.\" Descriptive, if quaint.\nThe concentration of massive bones confirms what the records only hinted at\u2014this is, indeed, a repository for the bones of the wandering ones the Bosmer once feared and reviled.\n\tWhether they are also the bones of the Ehlnofey has yet to be seen, for they are sealed as surely as any coffer from our use.\nFortunately for us, the panoply of Bosmer remains scattered about this Bone Orchard are not sealed in kind. They are being gathered for use in the creation of skeletal constructs as I put these words to paper.\nOur scouts have noted the presence of smoke rising from a cavern mouth on the northern hill. I have ordered an investigation.\n\u2014Ethruin"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bone-orchard-research-log-2": {"series": "Bone Orchard Research Logs", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bone-orchard-research-log-2", "author": "Ethruin", "title": "Bone Orchard Research Log 2", "description": "Excavation of a Bosmeri burial of Ehlnofey bones", "text": "Our initiates have assembled a minor force of skeletons and have set them to patrolling the camp for intruders. If news of our presence reaches Elden Root, it would draw unwanted attention. While I doubt we will remain hidden for long, our new allies should be able to cover our presence for the time being.\nThe cave on the hill bore some fruit, at least. One of the local \"spinners\" was quite forthcoming in regards to the history of this place.\nEvidently, the local Y'ffre cult planted a seed in the skull of one of the wanderers while he was at rest. He\u2014and others of his kind\u2014have not budged since.\nWhile I am not one for superstition, it seems likely these events are linked. We will begin investigating the tree's relationship to the wards immediately.\nOn a final note, one of the initiates found a strange, glowing skull at the edge of camp. We probed its enchantments and could find no trace of necromancy at work. Very curious. I can almost feel it watching me.\n\u2014Ethruin"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bone-orchard-research-log-3": {"series": "Bone Orchard Research Logs", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bone-orchard-research-log-3", "author": "Ethruin", "title": "Bone Orchard Research Log 3", "description": "Excavation of a Bosmeri burial of Ehlnofey bones", "text": "Initial tests indicate that the tree in the center of this place is, in fact, linked to the wards protecting the bones.\nInjuring it by breaking off branches or cutting the trunk reduces the efficacy of the wards by an almost imperceptible degree.\nUnfortunately, any damaged tissue is almost immediately regenerated. If we are to release the wards, we will have to find a more effective means of killing the tree.\nI have segregated the initiates into a series of excavation teams. They will begin digging for the roots at once. Perhaps they will prove more vulnerable to our methods.\nMeanwhile, our glowing skull has learned to speak. At first it was tolerable\u2014simply requesting to be reunited with the bones it believes we have used to construct our skeletal minions.\nWhen we did not comply, it began singing offensive tunes as loudly as it could\u2014an impressive feat for a construct without lungs.\nAs we could find no easy way of destroying the skull, we have exiled it to the camp's perimeter. Perhaps if we leave it alone it will return to its dormant state.\n\u2014Ethruin"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bone-orchard-research-log-4": {"series": "Bone Orchard Research Logs", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bone-orchard-research-log-4", "author": "Ethruin", "title": "Bone Orchard Research Log 4", "description": "Excavation of a Bosmeri burial of Ehlnofey bones", "text": "Located a root cluster today. Attempts to immolate, cut, or otherwise destroy it proved fruitless. We will have to find another way.\nConsulted with the spinner. She is reluctant to help, but knows to defy me is her death. Still, I do not believe she is aware of our purpose here.\nAccording to her histories, this \"Great Tree,\" as she calls it, is soundly rooted in the skull of one of the wandering ones. When its growth caused it to burst through the skull, a guardian was put in place to ward the roots from harm.\nThis guardian has slept for many years, and the way to the skull's breach has been buried by ages of undergrowth and decayed foliage.\n\u2014Ethruin"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bone-orchard-research-log-5": {"series": "Bone Orchard Research Logs", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/bone-orchard-research-log-5", "author": "Ethruin", "title": "Bone Orchard Research Log 5", "description": "Excavation of a Bosmeri burial of Ehlnofey bones", "text": "One of our excavation teams dug up an enormous skull. Unlike those on the surface, it practically glows with magicka. Its depth and placement make us hopeful that it is the guardian the spinner spoke of.\nAttempts are being made to awaken it, though the wards continue to make our efforts difficult. Some of my initiates are working on a way to damage a large portion of the tree at once.\nIf our calculations are correct, this will weaken the wards enough to get a spell or two through. When this happens, I can only hope this skull is not so irritating as the last.\nPilgrims from Cormount discovered us today. We assumed the guise of a Mages Guild expedition and let them carry out their rites undisturbed. There was some question as to our use of skeletons\u2014one of the pilgrims had heard of the Guild ban on necromancy\u2014but concerns were easily dispelled.\nI must write a treatise on necromancy and the Bosmer. Their people are not as perturbed as others by the sight of deceased relatives walking around performing menial tasks. Indeed, they experienced no small amount of pleasure seeing particularly lazy ancestors doing something constructive for a change.\nPerhaps it is the lack of flesh, though I suspect it has more to do with the Bosmeri sense of humor.\n\u2014Ethruin"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/cadwells-journal-famous-coldharbourites-part-14": {"series": "Cadwell's Journal: Famous Coldharbourites", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/cadwells-journal-famous-coldharbourites-part-14", "author": "Sir Cadwell", "title": "Cadwell's Journal: Famous Coldharbourites , Part 14", "description": "A few not quite famous denizens of the area", "text": "The ruins of old Aba-Darre serves as the home of the misunderstood monster, Sthorha the Crazed.\nOh, the fiesty daedroth can be a bit testy, and we've certainly gone a round or two over the years, but she can be brilliantly affectionate if given half the chance.\nLike now.\nShe's affectionately gnawing on my foot.\nGood daedra!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/cadwells-journal-famous-coldharbourites-part-21": {"series": "Cadwell's Journal: Famous Coldharbourites", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/cadwells-journal-famous-coldharbourites-part-21", "author": "Sir Cadwell", "title": "Cadwell's Journal: Famous Coldharbourites , Part 21", "description": "A few not quite famous denizens of the area", "text": "Honor sometimes plays with Duriatundur. He loves to grab hold of a rib and just shake and shake!\nMaybe that's why Duriatundur runs when he sees the old chap \u2026"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/cadwells-journal-famous-coldharbourites-part-37": {"series": "Cadwell's Journal: Famous Coldharbourites", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/cadwells-journal-famous-coldharbourites-part-37", "author": "Sir Cadwell", "title": "Cadwell's Journal: Famous Coldharbourites , Part 37", "description": "A few not quite famous denizens of the area", "text": "What a fun group! I love visiting with Nolagha, Keggahiha, and Rsolignah at the Daedroth Larder.\nBut don't eat the snacks. They may be someone we know."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/cheeses-skyrim-hjaalmarch-haafingar": {"series": "Cheeses of Skyrim", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/cheeses-skyrim-hjaalmarch-haafingar", "author": "B", "title": "Cheeses of Skyrim: Hjaalmarch, Haafingar", "description": "Four volumes describing the various cheeses traditional to Skyrim's holds", "text": "At the behest of my correspondents, I have made great efforts to restrict the contents of my travel journal so as to not lose my reader's interest. In touring the holds of Skyrim, I was unsure through what lens I should present my travels. After a sumptuous meal at the start of my journey, I knew it must be food \u2014 and thus, my catalogue of Skyrim's cheeses was born.\nThe land is diverse as are its climes, and both mean the panoply of cheeses are vast. Again, for the sake of brevity, I sought to capture only the most noteworthy cheese from each hold I visited.\n-B\nGREENEDGE\nGreenedge is a festive cheese, which I found to be rather peculiar due to the dour reputation of Hjaalmarch (and, in particular, its capital of Morthal). The name of the cheese is derived from the charming \"baskets\"\u2014 for there can be no other word for it \u2014 of rushes plucked from nearby bogs and woven together. The cheese is brined and pressed within these baskets, and the latter process imbues the rind of the normally cream-colored cheese with a verdant hue.\nThe process for eating it is also curious. Greenedge is customarily eaten at the end of feasts, where young hunters make a game of holding the rush-encased cheese over a burnt torch until its casing is burnt off and the cheese is melted into a nearly-molten state. Veterans of this ordeal are lauded for the showmanship they add to this feat, dancing the highly-combustible cheese along the torchflame without pausing too long, lest the cheese blacken or fingers burn.\nThus prepared, the cheese is flipped onto a table and guests immediately plunge bread \u2014 or, occasionally, sliced apples \u2014 into the melted cheese. This is particularly a joy to children, for it is at this point that the cheese's secret contents are revealed \u2014 dried fruits and berries, and (in wealthier households) a single amber plum. The lucky eater that spears the plum before all others is named the king of the feast.\nSOLITUDE EIDAR\nThe greatest of the cheeses in Skyrim, I must admit \u2014 not for its flavor or bizarre nature, but for its extreme rarity. Solitude Eidar is, as its name implies, an eidar cheese, being aged and inoculated with the spores of some fungus. And, like Eidar, it is aged underground, in this case in the vaults below the ancient city. But here are where the similarities to Eidar end.\nFirst is the source. Solitude Eidar is a masterful translation of Western Skyrim's staunch traditionalism to the practice of cheese-making, and this starts with the milk. It is said that only cows that belonged to the herd of Jarl Svartr, first king of Western Skyrim, can provide milk for the cheese. The royal herd, descended from these cows, is maintained by loyal retainers. Milk is shipped regularly to Solitude, where it is inspected by a royal cheesemonger \u2014 a hereditary office within the Blue Palace. This connoisseur of dairy has exacting standards for the milk he inspects \u2014 indeed, for I have seen him \u2014 and only one out of every dozen barrels is deemed fit for the making of Solitude Eidar. The milk is led to curdle, in a precise fashion using a series of hourglasses custom-made for the purpose. Lastly, a crumb of cheese from the previous batch is used in the next one \u2014 thus creating an unbroken chain of eidar dating back generations.\nThe result is, as I am led to understand, a cheese that has the precise appearance, aroma and taste as it had in Svartr's day. I was skeptical until I was given two pieces of cheese, one preserved from decades ago, and one that only recently had been cut. I was instructed to sample both and tell the difference.\nI could not, and I wept."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/cheeses-skyrim-riften-falkreath": {"series": "Cheeses of Skyrim", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/cheeses-skyrim-riften-falkreath", "author": "B", "title": "Cheeses of Skyrim: Riften, Falkreath", "description": "Four volumes describing the various cheeses traditional to Skyrim's holds", "text": "This continuation of my travel journal, which focuses on the cheeses prevalent in the holds of Skyrim, explores a land and its cuisine that is as diverse as the multitude of flavors that danced across my tongue. Again, for the sake of brevity, I sought to capture only the most noteworthy cheese from each hold I visited.\nB.\nRiftwash\n\tOnce reserved exclusively for the jarls of Riften, riftwash is a cheese with a glassy, violet-black exterior, which belies a pallid and crumbly core. As a goat's milk cheese, it is uncommon in the more temperate of Skyrim's climes. Pressed to remove much of the water within the cheese, unlike the goat's milk cheeses of Stormhaven, which the Bretons prize for moistness, riftwash is comparably dry.\nRumor says that the cheesemakers bathe wheels of riftwash in the muddy waters of Lake Honrich, which results in its dark hue.This is, of course, an outrageous falsehood. In truth, the cheese is washed several times in Riften's famous blackberry mead before being shrouded in wax which has been dyed with blackberry must, a by-product of the city's burgeoning meadworks.\nBarrowost\n\tThe people of Falkreath seem to earnestly appreciate their hold's longstanding association with battle and death. The shops, and indeed many families, draw their names and personal heraldry from the seemingly boundless graveyard that abuts the city. It is no surprise, perhaps, that one of Falkreath's most reputed cheeses relies on the dead for a key part of its production.\nBarrowost, or more commonly, barrow-cheese, much resembles the common eidar cheese found throughout the holds of Skyrim. Whereas eidar cheese is aged in cellars or caverns, however, barrowost is exclusively aged in barrows\u2014the crumbling, draugr-infested tombs of Skyrim's dark past. Be it the stagnant air, the endlessly sweating stone, or the dark magic within its walls, the cheese gains an intense earthy sweetness, punctuated with sharp notes I find impossible to resist.\nAs an aside, I learned that Falkreath still practices an ancient Nord custom, the \"grave curd.\" According to the practice, a fresh farmer's cheese is interred atop a loved one's coffin. Every year, on the anniversary of the departed's death, the grave curd is exhumed and a fifth of it is consumed by the bereaved. Many would balk at eating from a grave, but gods help me\u2014the piece that was served to me was delicious!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/cheeses-skyrim-reach-pale": {"series": "Cheeses of Skyrim", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/cheeses-skyrim-reach-pale", "author": "B", "title": "Cheeses of Skyrim: The Reach, The Pale", "description": "Four volumes describing the various cheeses traditional to Skyrim's holds", "text": "I continue my travel journal through the holds of Skyrim with this look at the cheeses of the Reach and the Pale. Again, for the sake of brevity, I sought to capture only the most noteworthy cheese from each hold I visited.\nB.\nDoe's Ire\n\tKarthald and the Reach's rocky passes and sheer cliffs make goats the only practical animal for herders to keep. As such, the area's principal cheese is made with goat's milk and flavored with berries from the seemingly ubiquitous juniper bushes that grow across the region. Most curious about this cheese is not its flavor\u2014which I find cloyingly salty\u2014but, rather, its strange role in the politics of the area. The Reach often gives rise to rebellious and ambitious rulers. They live under the armed watch of soldiers from Solitude or Evermore, who often do what they must to suppress the lust for conquest that seems to beat in the heart of every Reachfolk.\nIn tramping down these ambitions, many of the Reach's traditions become surpressed\u2014save for the making and eating of doe's ire cheese, so named because a goat doe's milk is curdled in the stomach of its own offspring to produce the cheese. The cheese is eaten on feast days dear to the Reach, in stark disobedience of those that would suppress the Reachfolk's spirit. Some say the cheese's salty profile comes from the tears of the doe, whose milk is soured in its offspring's carcass. Patriots of the Reach say the cheese is salty to remind those who eat it of the sorrows that befell the Reach, punishment for unfulfilled destiny.\nBjenost\n\tBjenost is most curious among Skyrim's offerings, being more of a \"cheese of cheeses\" than a cheese in and of itself. It is eaten almost exclusively by the people of the Pale, who do so to mark the end of winter and the return of spring.\nAs with many cheeses, bjenost almost certainly originated among the poor of the hold, though now high and low tables alike enjoy this delicacy. Made in the style of many of the hold's sausages, stuffed into the intestines of a slaughtered pig. As the thaw approaches, they take the rinds and crumbs of cheeses that were consumed over the course of the long, dark winter, soak them in a tun of ale (a brown slurry of yeast and malt, the kind of drink that can be a meal in and of itself), then stuff it all inside the intestines. The bjenost is then hung to dry, to be taken down only at the High Spring Fest. It is sliced into golden disks, said to resemble the sun in springtime and enjoyed by all."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/cheeses-skyrim-whiterun-winterhold-eastmarch": {"series": "Cheeses of Skyrim", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/cheeses-skyrim-whiterun-winterhold-eastmarch", "author": "B", "title": "Cheeses of Skyrim: Whiterun, Winterhold, Eastmarch", "description": "Four volumes describing the various cheeses traditional to Skyrim's holds", "text": "I continue my travel journal through the holds of Skyrim with this look at the cheeses of the east: Whiterun, Winterhold, and Eastmarch. Again, for the sake of brevity, I sought to capture only the most noteworthy cheese from each hold I visited.\nB.\nAld Umber\n\tOne of the most decadent cheeses of Skyrim hails from the kingdom's breadbasket, the fertile and expansive Whiterun Hold. Though I have to admit, for all of the luxuriousness that one feels when eating ald umber, it is neither the most complex nor challenging cheese I've encountered on my tour of the holds.\nMany assume by the name alone that ald umber is an extremely aged cheese, in the tradition of eidar. That cannot be farther from the truth. Rather, the name is a sign of how long this cheese has been a part of Whiterun's culinary landscape. I hazard to even call it a cheese, frankly, for its method of production is unlike any other cheese I know. They collect whey from curd-pressings, and rather than discard it, they combine it with cream. This mixture is boiled in a wide, shallow pot over the course of many hours. The liquid becomes solid over time, and in doing so, it adopts a pale brown color and caramel-like aroma, hence the name \"umber.\"\nGhostflesh\n\tThe people of Winterhold, at least those who don't practice magic within the hold's illustrious college, are a simple folk that eke out a living by working the Sea of Ghosts. There is little pasture for grazing, and the bitter winds coming off the sea are oft as not to see a herd of cattle stricken with ague. Both cow and goat's milk are in short supply. What little is at hand is made into a fresh, soft farmer's cheese. But despite the humble circumstances, the people of Winterhold make one of the most delicious cheese dishes I've ever experienced.\nThe elderly and the children of the hold, too young to brave the waters of the Sea of Ghosts, spend the day collecting seaweed, which they dry for several weeks. The simple farmer's cheese is smoked over a pile of burning seaweed, imbuing it with an aroma of the sea. It is then\u2014and this is the most marvelous part\u2014baked, being wrapped in a pastry that is composed of flour and horker suet. This permits the brave fisherfolk to eat while working the sea, where often they can only spare one hand at a time.\nWhen freshly baked, the molten innards of these dumplings steam and crackle, while the crust remains flaky and light, as though one were biting into the flesh of an ethereal creature. They are best enjoyed after walking several hours on Winterhold's frozen shore, chased by the onset of dusk.\nMammoth Cheese\n\tThe good people of Eastmarch, who proved such kind hosts to me on my travels, will likely never forgive me for glossing over their contributions to the art of cheese making. But given the number of Giant camps within the hold's borders, I would be remiss if I did not take this opportunity to wax on the singular dish mentioned in every bedside fable about Skyrim\u2014mammoth cheese, the single commodity produced by Giants.\nIt is cheese of a primitive sort. They fill the stomach of a young mammoth to near-bursting with the milk of a Giant's mammoth herd. The milk curdles and the resulting curds are placed into hide sacks and wrung to release moisture. What remains is a paste-like mammoth cheese\u2014unappetizing to any connoisseur and not worth the risk to acquire.\nWhat is worth remarking on, however, is the strange behavior of Giants that graze their herds near the sulfurous pools in the countryside. They take their sacks of curds and boil them in the mineral-rich waters, giving the cheese a pleasing and complex bouquet, that I can only liken to ash used in glassmaking, called potash. Once this is done, the mammoth cheese becomes something worthy of the finest tables in all the land."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/chronicles-ehtelar-vol-1": {"series": "Chronicles of Ehtelar", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/chronicles-ehtelar-vol-1", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Chronicles of Ehtelar, Vol. 1", "description": "A caravan finds a ruin in the Alik'r", "text": "The caravan tracked its way through the Hollow Wastes. Wheels creaked below the howling of the desert winds.\nMercenaries, swathed in chain and boiled leather, cursed the sweltering heat that broiled them under the unblinking sun.\nHearing their muttered oaths, Ehtelar was thankful for Rahad, her trusted contact in Sentinel. The burly Redguard was blessed with an unflappable practicality, born of his upbringing in the desert wastes.\n\"Dress lightly,\" he'd said,\"Loosely woven tunics will be your friend in Alik'r. Wearing much more will see you cooked in your shell faster than dreugh shrimp in a fishmonger's pot.\"\n\tShe had taken his advice to heart, dressing only in linens and investing in an enchanted waistband that kept her cool despite the oppressive heat.\nTrundling forward, the wagon train crested a windswept ridge and came to a rumbling halt.\nCurious, Ehtelar dismounted. As she made her way toward the front of the train, merchants confused by the sudden stop peered out from the awnings that kept the sun from their backs.\n\"My friend,\" Rahad said as she passed the head carriage, \"Your travels have taken you to many shores, but tell me: Have you ever encountered such a sight?\"\nAs he spoke, he gestured out past the road to the valley below. There, amid burnt stone and winding trails, great alabaster spires protruded from the sand like arrows fallen into thick sod, stretching for miles in the space between the ridge and its twin across the span.\n\"What is it?\" she asked, regaining her composure.\n\"I was hoping you could tell me,\" he replied, \"This pass is normally home to nothing but sand heaped in dunes for miles. Who can say how long that was buried here?\"\nRealizing an opportunity to make a profit, Ehtelar insisted they camp among the ruins for the night. The mercenaries, glad for a reprieve from the noonday sun, were all too happy for a break from their grueling trek.\nNight fell and their carousing was heard into the early hours of the morning. If there were anything untoward about the ruins around them, it went unnoticed in the din.\nDawn found Ehtelar and her companion picking a path through the spires in search of an entrance. It was almost noon before they found one.\n\"Here!\" Rahad cried out, excitement barely concealed beneath the deep timbre of his voice, \"I found a way through!\"\n\tRunning now, to reach her friend and see what he had found, Ehtelar rounded a bend in the stone. As she did, she was greeted by a terrible sight.\nHanging limp from a great spear thrust out from the crack was Rahad. His scabbard was empty, the sword that filled it thrust into a nearby dune.\nShe stood there, gaping in horror, as Rahad was lifted into the air, a great scaly head emerging from the sand heaped in piles about the ruined doorway. With one fluid motion the creature shifted its weight, throwing Rahad to one side as it began to clean the gore from its weapon.\nEhtelar shook her head in disbelief. She thought to call out, but realized the creature would probably kill her before she issued a second syllable. Slowly, carefully, she took a step back, then another. For a moment it seemed she would escape, but as her third step met ground, the creature turned.\n\tDodging back from a thrust spearpoint, Ehtelar found her ears deafened by a sudden burst of shrill music. Clapping her hands over them defensively, she stumbled back as her adversary uncoiled before her.\nRising, expanding its ribs until it had nearly doubled in size, its multitonal voice joined itself in chorus. Its shrieking harmony resounded through the sand until tiny grains fell away from the ruins in sheets. As it shifted, the stone beneath her collapsed, spilling her out toward her foe.\nIt was all she could do to grab Rahad's sword, buried to the pommel in sand. Suddenly within striking distance, she thrust the sword through the fiend's blackened maw. As steel met skull, the terrible crescendo of its voice began to falter.\n\tIn that moment, her opponent realized a simple truth: It no longer hungered for blood and flesh. It no longer wanted much of anything at all. \"How wonderful!\" it thought as the ground rushed up to meet it. If its reptilian mouth allowed, it would have smiled.\nAs the lamia spiraled to the ground, its hooked spear caught Ehtelar in the calf. Feeling the cold bite of steel, she was thrown off balance. For a moment it seemed she would right herself, but the stone she stood upon suddenly gave way.\n\tDown into the dark she fell, suspended within a cloud of sand that swept past the jutting stones and crenelated spires peering out from the shadows below.\nAs the bright, desert sky abandoned her, she found herself bathed in scintillating light. A field of stars sparkled around her\u2014not stars, for they were far underground. They were the bright crystals of the Ayleidoon.\nShe fell for what seemed like days, her only company the flickering lights careening up at her from the darkness. \"If I could only grasp one of those tiny stars,\" she thought, her hands reaching toward them, \"I might become as ethereal as they are and leave this world behind.\"\nFrom below, a whisper grew to a rustling, wind like sound. Looking down, it seemed her flight of stars came to a hard edge\u2014rushing up at her in the dark."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/chronicles-ehtelar-vol-2": {"series": "Chronicles of Ehtelar", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/chronicles-ehtelar-vol-2", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Chronicles of Ehtelar, Vol. 2", "description": "A caravan finds a ruin in the Alik'r", "text": "Ehtelar awoke in darkness, faint rivulets of falling sand powdering her brow. Memories of her short battle in the ruins above flashed through her mind.\nRahad, the Redguard merchant who had accompanied her into the desert, was dead, taken unaware in the ruins above. His sword lay buried in the skull of the creature that did him in.\nShe remembered the sickening crunch it had made as steel met skull, the hideous scraping vibration in her arm as she drove it home. Then the ground had opened up, devouring the world to send her tumbling into the abyssal void below.\nHow far had she fallen, and for how long? Sand, then stars had accompanied her fall before the deepest darkness had swallowed her up, but she had no memory of landing.\nDeprived of sight, she felt around her to gather what she could of her surroundings. While her arms were free, her legs felt leaden under the sand that covered them and she immediately began excavating herself.\nAs she worked, the metallic tang of blood filled the air. Feeling her leg, she felt the warm grating wet that could only be sand in clotting blood.\nCursing under her breath, she undid her belt and cinched its cold leather just above the gouge in her calf. Feeling her way in the dark, she tore several strips of fabric from her tunic, winding it surely about the wound.\nIf it held, her handiwork would stop the bleeding, but she had no potions to stave off infection. She would need to find a way back to her caravan soon.\nStill blinded by the depthless shadow around her, she exhumed her other leg and began feeling in her pack for a token Rahad had given her.\n\"Nights in the waste are deeper than Satakal's belly,\" he'd said. \"When you lose yourself, pray to Tall Papa. He will show you the way.\"\nHer fingers closed about the tiny coin. Pulling it from its hiding place, she closed her eyes and mouthed, \"Ruptga.\" Eyelids flushing coral from the sudden light, she opened them to survey the cavern sprawling out before her.\nHeavy stone blocks, shattered from the fall, lay in shards all around her. Further out, enormous pillars reached like trees up into darkness, casting long shadows out into the black.\nLooking up, her breath caught in her throat as the bright eyes and maw of the lamia gaped out at her from the dark. Though unmoving, Rahad's sword still embedded in its skull, it was half a hundred heartbeats before she could look away.\nStill recovering from the shock, she resumed her search and found several long, hooked spears scattered about the sand. Taking one up, she grabbed hold of her pack and slid down the lonely dune.\nBoots met stone and she braced her spear against one of the mighty pillars. Using it to steady herself, she stood upright.\nShe took a moment to test her wounded leg. When it became clear it would not fail her, she gathered up her pack, dusted herself off, and struck out into the darkness.\nIn the deep quiet, muffled by the vast expanse of nothing reaching out around her, her passage was marked only by a steady staccato of steel on stone."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/chronicles-juha-ri-chapter-1": {"series": "Chronicles of Juha-ri", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/chronicles-juha-ri-chapter-1", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Chronicles of Juha-ri, Chapter 1", "description": "How the soul must be transformed to dance the Dance of Shadows", "text": "ASSURANCE IS MADE TO CHILDREN OF THE BEYOND, whom the Riddle'thar knew to be coiled in flesh, that in the presence of the holy and triumphant soul will the path to dreaming be known.\nCHAPTER 1\nA young one came to us and, with due reverence, asked Juha-ri of White Sand if he could learn the Dance of Shadows, for he had heard as many had before of the great dance of Anequina Sharp-Tongue, boon companion to Khunzar-ri. With a tongue full of platitude and supplication, he begged Juha-ri to share his knowledge, for the young one believed a dance capable of moving the Moons must be beautiful to behold.\nAnd Juha-ri gave the youth the smile he always gave to the young, one of sadness and pity. He asked the youth, how does one instruct a serpent to walk? How does one tell an owl to make fire, or an ape to pray? The youth took Juha-ri's meaning. He thanked the great Sage of White Sand for his words and began his long walk home.\nJuha-ri called to the young one, and though the Sage of White Sand spoke only the barest whisper the wind carried the voice as though it had descended from Jone and Jode themselves. Juha-ri offered to share with the youth his knowledge of the Dance. The young one was confused. No serpent could be instructed to walk. No owl can make fire. Were these not likened to teaching the Dance of Shadows?\nThe Sage of White Sand nodded. A serpent will always be a serpent, an owl always an owl. But the soul may become many things, though it may take lifetimes to become them. Many consider such a price too dear to pay, and they will never come to know the Dance of Shadows.\nThe youth nodded and stood in contemplation. And when Juha-ri returned to the Dancing Shadow temple, the youth followed."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/chronicles-juha-ri-chapter-2": {"series": "Chronicles of Juha-ri", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/chronicles-juha-ri-chapter-2", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Chronicles of Juha-ri, Chapter 2", "description": "How the soul must be transformed to dance the Dance of Shadows", "text": "ASSURANCE IS MADE TO CHILDREN OF THE BEYOND, whom the Riddle'thar knew to be coiled in flesh, that in the presence of the holy and triumphant soul will the path to dreaming be known.\nCHAPTER 2\nHe was a young one no longer. Years as acolyte to the Sage of White Sand had left a mark upon his corporeal self: a face that knew the vitality of youth was sunken. Fur was matted and coarse without its daily oiling. But the acolyte's eyes showed something of Juha-ri's wisdom, though it was muted by the hunger of the acolyte's remaining worldliness.\nThe Sage of White Sand offered instruction as the soul of his acolyte formed into its needed a shape that could heed the wisdom. Together they would experience moonlight in its distilled form, and walk paths that took strange angles through places tangential to dreams, but never dreaming. Juha-ri took care that his Acolyte see only the reflection of the Lunar Lattice off his eyes, for the Sage of White Sand had known too many that gazed on the glory and horror and went mad.\nBut even the reflection of the Lattice in the eyes of the Sage of White Sands was enough for the acolyte. In its myriad contortions and rhythms was found the bastion of existence such that could not be found elsewhere.\nThey returned to the temple, bodies caked in sweat, mouths tasting of lingering sweetness. The acolyte turned to Juha-ri, Sage of White Sand, and asked how the Dance of Shadows could impact the enormity of the Lattice.\nBecause they are the same size, came Juha-ri's reply. Because they are the same size."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/chronicles-juha-ri-chapter-3": {"series": "Chronicles of Juha-ri", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/chronicles-juha-ri-chapter-3", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Chronicles of Juha-ri, Chapter 3", "description": "How the soul must be transformed to dance the Dance of Shadows", "text": "ASSURANCE IS MADE TO CHILDREN OF THE BEYOND, whom the Riddle'thar knew to be coiled in flesh, that in the presence of the holy and triumphant soul will the path to dreaming be known.\nCHAPTER 3\nJuha-ri of White Sand smelled his death on the desert wind and told the eldest of his acolytes, the once-youth who sought to learn the Dance of Shadows, that his time had come. The eldest, who by the dutiful teachings of his master and the savagery of time had grown wretched and wise, went to the banks of the Darkarn River to fashion a litter of reeds.\nThe eldest bore the Sage of White Sand up the steps of the Dancing Moon Temple, and as he did so the brothers and sisters of our order followed. They burned moonlight in their censers. Fume and chanting wreathed the stone and sand and bodies. When the eldest had borne him to the mountaintop, to the vault where Anequina Sharp-Tongue had danced the last Dance of Shadows, the chanting stopped. The smoke of moonlight poured from our censers and the room was shrouded in silent gloam.\nJuha-ri, who was made lame through his long years of devotion, stood and tottered before the eldest on unsteady paws. He asked if the eldest recalled what brought him to the Dancing Shadow Temple all those years before. And the eldest nodded, for he had studied the sutras and knew that years were as brief as a single flap of a fletcherfly's wings in winter.\nAnd returning the eldest's nod with his own, Juha-ri stood perfectly still. In the soul of the Sage of White Sand the eldest saw movement, chaotic and beautiful. It echoed through the lattice, swelling with reverberation off the fumes of moonlight and the great and small vertices. As the fuming moonlight burned his lungs, the eldest saw the Dance of Shadows was no demand nor supplication. It was an existence, nearly close to perfection. The lattice mirrored and perfected the form, and in doing so was changed, for a time.\nAnd as it started, so did the Dance of Shadows end. Juha-ri collapsed, his soul gone to the Sand Behind the Stars. The eldest heeded the lesson well."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/chronicles-five-companions-1": {"series": "Chronicles of the Five Companions", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/chronicles-five-companions-1", "author": "Various Companions", "title": "Chronicles of the Five Companions 1", "description": "", "text": "My name is Lyris of Skyrim, called Titanborn by some. I'm committing these words to paper on behalf of my friend and ally, a man history will remember only as \"The Prophet.\" It was through his profound insight, and his study of the Elder Scrolls, that we came understand the dire nature of the threat that now endangers all of Tamriel.\nLet it be known by those who read these words that the Soulburst\u2014the event that took place in the five-hundred-and-seventy-ninth year of the Second Era\u2014was due to the treachery of a single Elf: the Altmeri necromancer Mannimarco, the King of Worms and the servant of the most vile of all the Daedric Princes, the God of Schemes and Lord of Brutality, Molag Bal.\nIn years past, Mannimarco served as chief advisor to the court of Emperor Varen Aquilarios. Originally a Duke of Chorrol, Varen became Emperor of Tamriel by right of conquest. With Mannimarco's counsel, Varen led a revolt against the previous dynasty, the savage regime of Reachmen known as the Longhouse Emperors. Yet, despite his conquest and victory, Varen was not to be a true emperor. Like the former Emperor Leovic, the blood of the dragon didn't flow through Varen's veins. He was unable to light the Dragonfires in the Temple of the One, as a true Emperor must, by tradition.\nThe Dragonfires have remained unlit for generations. This is because the Amulet of Kings\u2014a relic of the Divines gifted unto Saint Alessia by Akatosh\u2014was lost in the centuries following the fall of the Reman Dynasty. Only this relic, traditionally worn by Imperial Emperors of the First Era, would allow a true-blooded ruler to spark the Dragonfires anew.\nAt Mannimarco's urging, Varen formed a group of companions to join him on an epic quest to locate this relic. These companions included myself, the Redguard swordmaster Sai Sahan, Grand Chancellor Abnur Tharn, and Mannimarco himself. For years we scoured the face of Tamriel, following countless leads, until we finally managed to locate it.\nWhen we returned to the Imperial City, Mannimarco played upon Varen's insecurities and convinced him that the coronation ritual, properly modified, could not only light the Dragonfires, but persuade Akatosh to invest him with Divine agency and gift him with the blood of the dragon. It was only after the coronation ritual was attempted that we learned the extent of Mannimarco's deception.\nThe King of Worms used his magic to corrupt the power of the Amulet, causing the calamity which came to be known as the Soulburst. I remember very little of the actual event, only that the chaos that followed was immediate and devastating.\nVaren was consumed by the fiery wrath of the Soulburst. Sai Sahan and I were unjustly implicated in his death, made all the more suspicious because Sai fled as soon as he recovered, taking the Amulet of Kings with him. Grand Chancellor Tharn was an opportunist, and immediately cast his lot with Mannimarco.\nThe Prophet's story is one of mystery\u2014he appeared one day on the steps of an abbey of the Moth Priests in Cyrodiil. They took him in and fed him, thinking he was nothing more than a vagabond. They were shocked when they found him in the libraries that night, poring over the eldritch etchings of an Elder Scroll. Only the Moth Priests themselves had the ability to read the scrolls, and they saw his arrival as a prophetic sign from the Divines.\nAs they do all who read them, the Elder Scrolls eventually took the Prophet's eyesight, leaving him permanently blinded. And yet he continued to study them in his mind's eye, and eventually foresaw the great and terrible threat that we are now faced with.\nWord of his prophecies spread far and wide, eventually reaching the Imperial City and the ears of Mannimarco. The King of Worms immediately arrested the Prophet for rumor-mongering and treason, and had the abbey, and all of its contents, burned to the ground.\nThe catastrophe that the Prophet predicted began to take shape almost immediately. Vast swaths of the Empire were consumed by Daedric fire, and the first Dark Anchors fell upons the land.\nMolag Bal's invasion of our world had begun, made possible by Mannimarco's betrayal."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/chronicles-five-companions-2": {"series": "Chronicles of the Five Companions", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/chronicles-five-companions-2", "author": "Various Companions", "title": "Chronicles of the Five Companions 2", "description": "", "text": "Once again, I, Lyris of Skyrim, commit words to paper on behalf of the Prophet. In truth, he didn't ask me to write this entry, but I feel the need to keep a record of these events, whatever their outcome may be.\nThe Prophet's visions and nightmares are getting worse. He continues to witness horrifying visions of a future in which Molag Bal rules our world. These don't seem to have a profound effect on him when he is awake, but at night, in those precious few hours where he manages to drift off, the visions become increasingly disturbing. He refuses to describe them to me in great detail, but he awakens violently, in a cold sweat, and it's obvious that they are wearing away at his sanity.\nOur ally, [Player name], has already proven extremely capable. The escape from the Wailing Prison was only the beginning. The Vestige risked everything to rescue me from the Foundry of Woe. I owe our new friend my life, my soul, and perhaps my very sanity.\nWe're now chasing every available lead in our attempts to find Sai Sahan and the Amulet of Kings. If we can regain the amulet, the Prophet believes that we might be able to challenge Molag Bal and save our world. As usual, he used a bunch of flowery words and obscure phrases I didn't understand, but his general meaning was clear.\nSometimes I wish I'd never left Skyrim and gone to Cyrodiil. I fought for a great man that I believed in, met another that I came to cherish dearly, and had my share of blood and glory, but was it all worth it? Cyrodiil will always be the place where I first laid eyes on that traitorous skeever Mannimarco and his sniveling toady Abnur Tharn. I don't know which is worse, Mannimarco's charm and eloquence as he prepared to backstab us, or Tharn's endless insults and irritating condescension. At least with Tharn we always knew where we stood.\nThe Prophet said that Tharn's part in this isn't finished. I can't imagine any good coming of that. After all, that sniveling son of a goat went right back to licking Mannimarco's boot after the Soulburst. He'd do anything to save his own hide and preserve his family's status in the Imperial City!\nI must bring this entry to a close. I hear the Prophet stirring."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/chronicles-five-companions-3": {"series": "Chronicles of the Five Companions", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/chronicles-five-companions-3", "author": "Various Companions", "title": "Chronicles of the Five Companions 3", "description": "", "text": "Well, there it is. Tharn's back with us, and I don't like it one bit.\n[Player name] and I managed to get into Mannimarco's castle with a little help from our soul shriven friend Sir Cadwell. Cadwell's like a wisp\u2014a little \"light in the upper marsh,\" if you get my meaning\u2014but he can be damned useful at times. And he shows up in the damnedest places!\nWhile we risked our necks fighting through Worm Cultists and Flesh Atronachs, Tharn projected his smirking image to different parts of the castle, goading us on. We eventually got to the tower where he was being held, but Mannimarco was ready for us, and raised all manner of undead to challenge us. In the end we defeated them and escaped with Tharn, but here's the topper: Tharn lied to us! He has no idea where Sai is being held, or where the Amulet of Kings is hidden!\nOf course, he claims he can help us find both, but when he admitted his lie, I lost my temper and laid him out on the floor with a single punch. Gods, it felt good! That was a long time coming.\nThat's when Tharn spilled the beans. He told [Player name] that we'd been lying, and revealed the Prophet's true identity. Lord Varen immediately admitted everything, of course. I hope it wasn't too soon. It's vital that we maintain [Player name]'s trust, and now I can see doubt behind the Vestige's eyes.\nTharn is such a lying skeever! All he cares about is his Empire and his family's status. Lord Varen believes Tharn's here for a reason, but I don't trust him and I never will. I plan to keep a close eye on him."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/chronicles-five-companions-4": {"series": "Chronicles of the Five Companions", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/chronicles-five-companions-4", "author": "Various Companions", "title": "Chronicles of the Five Companions 4", "description": "", "text": "I am Grand Chancellor Abnur Tharn, Overlord of Nibenay, the head of the Elder Council, advisor to emperors and kings for one hundred and seventeen of the one hundred and sixty-four years that I have been alive. I did not come by my position of influence through luck or nepotism, but rather through extreme discipline, ambition, and cunning. And yet, here I am, conspiring with idiots and fools in a musty hole in the ground. How the mighty have fallen.\nThe year is 2E 582, but I am unsure of the precise date. I've lost track, given the gravity of the monumental task that is before us. After reading the previous entries in this chronicle, I felt it necessary to offer my side of the story, so that I am not misrepresented by future historians.\nWe Tharns have held positions of power throughout Cyrodiil since the days of the Potentate. We are prized for our loyalty to the Empire, our deft political machinations, and our ruthless subjugation or elimination of dissenters within Imperial territories. What we do is grim work, but it is necessary if the Empire is to endure.\nDo I sound boastful and egotistical? Perhaps I am. But I shall put these words to paper so that you, the reader, might understand my views and my actions and their place in the long view of history.\nFor nearly thirty years I advised the savage men of the Reach, from Durcorach to Leovic, as their long, brutish dynasty ravaged the Empire. They lasted longer than many of the would-be conquerors that came before them, but their alien nature and low heritage made them unfit to stand in the presence of the true-blooded sons of Colovia or Nibenay. Their most grave insult came when Leovic, youngest of their line, sought the hand of my sixteenth daughter, Clivia, in marraige, that she might rule with him as Empress. Like his grandfather before him, who married Veraxia Tharn, Leovic hoped that our family's connections and pure Nibenese bloodline would somehow legitimize his claim to the Ruby Throne. It was an exercise in futility, and it exasperated me to no end.\nSo, when Varen Aquilarios, the son of a Colovian Duke and a powerful military leader in his own right, contacted me in secret and sought my assistance to depose those foul strangers from the north, I eagerly agreed. The war was long and bloody, but armed with my knowledge of the Imperial City, Varen eventually led his army of rebels to the palace gates. Varen drove his sword into Leovic's black-blooded heart and watched him die, choking on his own life blood, at the foot of the Ruby Throne, and immediately declared himself to be Emperor. For my loyalty and assistance, he agreed to take my daughter Clivia as his bride.\nAfter Varen's betrayal at Mannimarco's hand, it pained me to hand the reins of the Empire over to another outlander, but The King of Worms is a dangerous enemy. To insure the dominance of necromancy over all other forms of magic, Mannimarco immediately cast the Mages Guild out of the Imperial City, then had all remaining dissenters arrested as enemies of the state. I did not wish for my name to appear on that very long list\u2014which only grew shorter when the executions began\u2014so I pledged my loyalty. In return, I was granted stewardship of the Imperial City. My daughter Clivia, still the Empress-Regent, became the titular ruler of the Empire. But Mannimarco remained the power behind the throne.\nOf course, Mannimarco turned on me the moment my usefulness was expended. I was marginalized and cloistered away in a tower of bones, and my daughter was turned against me, lured by Mannimarco's promise to teach her the dark arts that would give her mastery over life and death.\nBut know this, dear reader. I will take the Empire back. I will restore order out of chaos. That is my only ambition, and my ultimate desire. I will strike down any who stand in my way with all the fires of Daedric sorcery I can command, and those who dare to thwart me shall be damned to the pits of Oblivion for all eternity."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/chronicles-five-companions-5": {"series": "Chronicles of the Five Companions", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/chronicles-five-companions-5", "author": "Various Companions", "title": "Chronicles of the Five Companions 5", "description": "", "text": "Abnur Tharn, here.\nCollecting the Redguard from the Halls of Torment was a simple enough task, in the end. I find it curious that Sai Sahan was affected so by his experiences with the other members of the Companions. Though I find his tolerance of\u2014and affection for\u2014that hulking she-troll distasteful, it cannot be denied that his willpower throughout his imprisonment was nothing short of legendary.\nWe now know where the Amulet of Kings resides. It is perhaps fitting that he returned it there. Sahan is better-read than I expected, but perhaps a bit too poetic. A clever and patriotic man of Imperial descent might have immediately thought of the ancient citadel of Sancre Tor and its association with Alessia and the covenant of the Divines. It is perhaps a great blessing that the Elven Mannimarco has no such love for Cyrodilic history.\nSai Sahan is a curious individual. I have never considered the Redguards quite as contemptible as many Nibenese lords might, and I find him the most agreeable of the surviving Companions. He understands duty and dedication, serves those he knows to be his betters, and hones his craft with singular dedication. Despite his inability to resurrect a lost tradition\u2014for the best, probably, given its supposed implication in the destruction of the Redguard homeland\u2014Sai Sahan's abilities with a longsword are awe-inspiring.\nI recall a time during the war against the Longhouse Emperors when he rode at the head of a column of mercenary soldiers tasked by Varen to assist in the liberation of Leyawiin. It turned out that Leovic, scion of the Tagh Droiloch and then-emperor of the Imperial City, employed those mercenaries as double agents. When Sai came before the gates of Leyawiin with his \"loyal\" troops, they turned on him, hoping to deliver the severed head of Varen's legendary Dragonguard Commander to Emperor Leovic.\nSecond-hand accounts of the citizens are often difficult to trust, but even if one takes simple peasant exaggeration into account, it is clear that Sai fought his way through two forces intent on separating his skull from his neck. When he returned to the rebellion base at Bruma weeks later, he did so with the scalps of eighty-six men and the news that Leyawiin had been freed.\nHe's never really spoken of it to me, despite my pressuring. Varen, of course, did not pry\u2014he used his own charisma and the overactive imaginations of the levies to spin a tale of glorious combat. One man against two armies. Sai Sahan, who single-handedly freed Leyawiin from Leovic's control.\nThe truth, I suspect, is far more brutal and bloody. One does not saw the skin off of eighty-six skulls unless one is burdened with a great deal of suppressed anger and bloodlust. One man does not take on six hundred at once. I think it far more likely that the Redguard fought a brutal, running battle throughout the city for days, murdering commanders and guardsmen alike until the Reachmen and their mercenaries eventually quit the settlement.\nThat is what makes Sai Sahan so dangerous. He does not look to be the sort who would remain hidden away in dark alleys and backstreets, surviving by eating garbage, butchering, one-by-one, men so savage that the only way to frighten them is to become a murderous, invisible ghost, haunting the shadows of an occupied city. And yet, that is precisely who he is, and what he has done."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/chronicles-five-companions-6": {"series": "Chronicles of the Five Companions", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/chronicles-five-companions-6", "author": "Various Companions", "title": "Chronicles of the Five Companions 6", "description": "", "text": "I am called Sai Sahan, son of Nazir Itaf Sahan of Bangkorai. I have been asked to add my words to these chronicles, and though I am no scribe, I will do my best.\nThe teachings of Divad, of Abah, of Kalam, and of Satameh tell us that while a warrior may hone his craft to perfection, or sharpen his sword to where it may cleave stone and steel as though it were air, the true worth of a swordsman is denoted by the quality of the enemies he draws to him. I find myself idly wondering if the great Forebears would reconsider this philosophy if they could see us now, and witness our enemy, the Prince of Daedra known as Molag Bal.\nAt first, I thought to write that my training did not prepare me for this, but after hours of meditation and the counsel of my once-emperor, I have come to realize that this is exactly why Kasura and I trained and studied for so many years. The sword-singers of old Yokuda were said to be more than mortal, possessed of focus and skill far beyond what other men might achieve in a dozen lifetimes. While I cannot claim to have reached such greatness, perhaps my final test was not to wage wars alongside emperors, but to bring righteous steel to bear against the foes of all life.\nI harbor some doubts about whether I am ready for the coming struggle. I did not break under the tortures of the betrayer, but I did not emerge from the Halls of Torment unscathed. Torn flesh knits under the ministrations of my lord's healing magic, and my savage dreams are soothed by Snow Lily's warm voice in my ear as I startle awake in the dead of night, but still I am not whole.\nTharn and I speak at length over games of skill and strategy while I recover, and I have spoken plainly about my worries. His contempt at my perceived weaknesses serves as a much-needed counterpoint to Snow Lily's tender words. I endure and accept it, for a warrior without humility is as flawed as a sword blade forged too rigidly. His words harden my resolve and keep my wit sharp.\nIt is difficult to set aside the many deaths at the Abbey of Blades, and though we did what we could in the wake of the attack, it will be many years before Kasura is ready to train more students in the way of the blade and the mind. When all of this is ended\u2014should we survive, of course\u2014I would very much like to return there and help rebuild.\nPerhaps I will ask Snow Lily to come with me."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/chronicles-five-companions-7": {"series": "Chronicles of the Five Companions", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/chronicles-five-companions-7", "author": "Various Companions", "title": "Chronicles of the Five Companions 7", "description": "", "text": "I am called Sai Sahan, son of Nazir Itaf Sahan of Bangkorai. Once again, I set my thoughts to paper.\nIt pains me to see a city of such history corrupted by the foul necromancy of Mannimarco and his Black Worms. Though the sons and daughters of Cyrodiil are not my people, it is precisely the ruination of something so deeply, culturally significant that causes my heart to ache. In many ways, though neither Crown nor Forebear will admit it, we are more alike to the Imperials than we are different.\nVaren honored me when he asked me to captain his Dragonguard. I trained many of the captains myself, drilling them in the arts of swordplay, leadership, and tactics. They were of many races and many creeds\u2014there was devout Nethynal of Morrowind, who would quietly recite the sermons of his heathen demigods each dawn. I also recall young Lucas Evane, outcast from his family holdings in High Rock over some political squabble. Not all of us were Imperial, and yet we took readily to their traditions, their learned ways, and even their food. We believed in the vision of the Empire, once.\nThis day it seems the Empire was just a dream, and Sancre Tor merely a ruined shadow of that dream. I swore an oath to Varen Aquilarios to protect him and see his own dream of a reunited Empire come to pass, but as we now witness and I must admit, it will be impossible to fulfill that oath. Even now, the Imperial City is beseiged by those who would see their own petty leaders seated upon the Ruby Throne, and very few of them are of its native soil.\nI mourn the loss of Sancre Tor and the broken Empire to the ravages of conflicts both cosmic and mundane, not because I hold any special love for Imperial ways, but because it is much like the fate of the sword-singers\u2014a broken line that only a scant few seek to mend for reasons that are unselfish or incorruptible."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/chronicles-five-companions-8": {"series": "Chronicles of the Five Companions", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/chronicles-five-companions-8", "author": "Various Companions", "title": "Chronicles of the Five Companions 8", "description": "", "text": "Abnur Tharn, once again.\nIf I'd had a drake for every petty king or would-be emperor that wanted to get their filthy mittens on the Amulet of Kings, I could purchase Akavir right out from under the scaly feet of those detestable snake-people.\nThe Amulet's loss after the fall of the Reman Dynasty and the dawning of the Second Era, centuries before my birth, was considered the greatest catastrophe of its time. Without a duly-ordained emperor sitting on the Ruby Throne, many prophesied the doom of the world. But like many such prognostications from provincial soothsayers, their predictions did not come to pass. Not yet.\nWithout the Amulet of Kings, Tamriel endured just as it did when the \"divinely-chosen\" wore it around their necks. The sun rose, people killed each other over greed and petty ambitions, powerful men dictated the fates of those beneath their stations, and they all woke up the next day to do it all again.\nI'm not hopeful about our chances against the Daedric Prince. It is the most ridiculous of follies to believe that, even if the spell works, one might actually challenge such a powerful entity and emerge victorious. The Vestige is a formidable warrior, but still flawed. In truth, I'd rather send Titanborn on this fool's errand and save the Vestige for when we are better prepared. She, at least, is expendable.\nI realize just how foolish such a sentiment is\u2014and Titanborn, if you are reading this, try not to twist your ridiculous pigtails in a knot. I am a Tharn. Humility does not suit us. There can be no doubt. Our one chance is here and now. We take it, or perish forever.\nMuch of Tamriel has been spared the horrors of this engagement, and already the land recovers from the impact of the Anchors in the places where they fell. Common peasantry would accept this as providence and laud the efforts of those who ended the Daedric melding of worlds, but their ignorance is bliss. My knowledge of the Daedra affords me a terrible glimpse into the nightmare world that awaits us, should we not wholly dislodge Molag Bal's grasp on this world.\nConsider, dear reader: Tamriel is a ripe apple, dangling precariously from the flowering branches of a great tree. For eons it has hung far above, well out of reach of the hungry teeth\u2014the Daedra\u2014who would feast upon it. But the rending of the cosmic veil caused by the Soulburst, Mannimarco's tainted coronation ritual, cracked the branch upon which our aforementioned apple grows.\nPicture then, as we continue our quaint, agricultural metaphors, Molag Bal as the hog who grasps the nearest leaves of the stricken branch. His dung-stained trotters give him leverage as he pulls, hoping to tear the entire branch down so that he may feast upon the apple.\nThe efforts of those who stopped the Planemeld and shattered Molag Bal's anchors staggered the footing of the hog, sweeping his legs out from beneath him. Nevertheless, his fetid teeth still dig into the branch. If he is allowed to recover, he will begin his struggle yet again.\nWe must dislodge Molag Bal's teeth, as it were, through application of incredible force. Of course, we cannot use the Amulet a second time in the same fashion as we did at the Soulburst, but if I am correct\u2014and I always am\u2014a modification of the spell will allow a mortal to become a vessel of the Divines, an imbue him with the power of the Amulet.\nThe particulars of the magic itself could fill a book in and of itself, so I shall spare the reader the specifics, which are undoubtedly above the understanding of even learned scholars. It takes the formidable intellect of a Tharn\u2014and there are none alive greater than I\u2014to comprehend its complexities.\nIf we succeed, history shall record that it was the knowledge and ambition of Abnur Tharn that brought about the salvation of this world by guiding the hand of the Vestige. If we fail, then none will be the wiser, for we shall all become the lifeless, mindless servants of the Daedric Prince until the end of time."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/chronicles-five-companions-9": {"series": "Chronicles of the Five Companions", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/chronicles-five-companions-9", "author": "Various Companions", "title": "Chronicles of the Five Companions 9", "description": "", "text": "And yea, verily, did the Five stride forth into the shadows of calamity to render unto Molag Bal the right solid thrashing he deserved! I can say with pride that I, Sir Cadwell of Codswallop, the Undaunted, Knight of the Court of Coldharbour, Champion of Chivalry, Defender of the Defenseless, Shepherd to the Soul Shriven, have watched from a great distance to see this moment come to pass.\nI shall miss the beautiful vistas of Coldharbour, with its seas of crystal blue flame, its sky of perfect smoky darkness, and its rocky peaks stretching high into the ashen clouds. Tamriel is but a weak simulacrum of its perfection, which I find downright bothersome given that this lot all thinks Coldharbour is but a shadow of it in return! Can you imagine it?\nMy good friend, [Player name], has done an excellent job, though I find their name coarse and unpleasant to pronounce. Still, far be it from me to judge! They have laid the God of Schemes low and found a new mistress for me to serve.\nAh, Radiant Meridia! Her eyes of shining gold fill me with inspiration! It is her I shall now serve, for what is a knight without a lady love to protect? She was rather adamant that I bring her Light to the Vestige so that they can use it to traverse the length and breadth of Tamriel. I daresay there was a hint of fear in her voice as she spoke of the days to come, as though the destruction of Tamriel under the clawed, palsied talon of Molag Bal was somehow not the worst of it!\nIt is, of course, not my place to pry details from her that she is not already willing to share. A simple no\u2014punctuated, naturally, with the typical booming voice and flashing magic of Daedric wrath\u2014convinced me that it was a poor idea to press the matter further. Lovely and radiant, but not kind or gentle. The Daedra, even the most benign of them, are like a hurricane off the coast. It is a dark sort of beauty, but you pray it does not come onto land and crash the ball, what?\nThe Harborage will do for a home, for now. Venturing outside is difficult for me\u2014I daresay Tamriel has gotten uglier in the years since I have been separated from it. Meridia's warm Light keeps my spirit soothed ever more."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/civility-and-etiquette-wood-orcs-1": {"series": "Civility and Etiquette", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/civility-and-etiquette-wood-orcs-1", "author": "Coristir", "title": "Civility and Etiquette: Wood Orcs 1", "description": "An Altmer's guide on dealing with various peoples and creatures", "text": "Civility and Etiquette Volume III: Wood Orcs, Part I\nElden Hollow\nBy Coristir, Sage Sojourner\nIt is said that the Orcs came to be when the Aldmeri god, Trinimac, was devoured by the Daedric Prince Boethiah. As the myth goes, Boethiah excreted Trinimac\u2019s remains, and those Aldmer who followed Trinimac rubbed that excrement on themselves to become Orcs. Perhaps it\u2019s just a myth, but the imagery is appropriate: repugnant, ridiculous, and a little comical, like the Orcs themselves. It\u2019s said that, after a time, a sect of these people traveled into Valenwood and developed a tangential culture: the Wood Orcs. (For dealings with Orsinium Orcs, see Volume II.)\nThe Orcs in general are difficult for Mer to interact with, but these Wood Orcs are similar in physicality to our Wood Elf cousins, the Bosmer. The Wood Orcs are blunter and more ill-tempered than the Bosmer, but should be handled in much the same way: with patience, guidance and a careful eye. Without a proper Altmeri hand to lead them, both races have the potential to devolve into self-destructive, orderless savages that are an inconvenience and danger to all civilized people around them.\nSo how should an Altmer deal with a Wood Orc?\nFirst, earn her respect. Like her northern, Orsinium cousins (the more common Orc variety), a Wood Orc admires physical strength, but she also prizes agility, speed, and geographical knowledge (equating that with tactical knowledge). Display some semblance of competence in these areas and you will earn her begrudging appreciation.\nHere are a few ways to begin a conversation (as a sign of respect, make sure to introduce yourself or at least establish eye contact first):\nIf you think this sounds like impressing your way into a tribe of athletic children, you would not be far wrong. Use the above methods with caution \u2014 predictable as they may be, Wood Orcs are individuals, and require improvisation in dealing with them.\nAnd here are a few things an Altmer should not do when interacting with Wood Orcs:\nIn Part II of this collection, I\u2019ll detail specific hurdles that may come up in conversation with a Wood Orc, such as religion and Malacath, and the Wood Orc equivalent of Orsinium strongholds."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/civility-and-etiquette-v-5-undead": {"series": "Civility and Etiquette", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/civility-and-etiquette-v-5-undead", "author": "Coristir", "title": "Civility and Etiquette, V. 5: The Undead", "description": "An Altmer's guide on dealing with various peoples and creatures", "text": "Part\nIt is popular belief that all undead and phantasmal revenants are slaves to their necromantic biology. Indeed, like most predatory wildlife, many of these creatures exist only to absorb or consume the energy of the living. They should never be bargained or reasoned with. An Altmer should deal with such creatures in the way she would handle a rabid wolf, or malevolent Orc: with extreme prejudice.\nHowever, there are those among the post-living that possess or have achieved sentience, like vampires, liches, and wraiths. Dialogue is possible with creatures such as these, as long as one keeps certain discretions in mind:\n1. An undead who speaks is bound to be powerful. Any creature whose magic is potent enough to allow it sentience in death deserves an Altmer's begrudging admiration.\n2. An undead can never be trusted. Though we should respect the undead and their power, all undead want something from the living, and there is little to stop them from taking it. An Altmer must remain guarded in their presence. Always.\n3. An undead might not be as she appears. Many powerful mages possess illusory spells to alter their appearance, and so, too, do the undead. The wandering spirit of a lost child could be a starving lich in disguise.\nThat said, there is much an Altmer can learn from the accumulated knowledge of a sentient undead, if dialogue can be achieved. The discerning Altmer could learn of ancient spells from time immemorial, first-hand accounts of historical events, or the locations of lost relics\u2014if said Altmer can pose salient questions. When conversing with the likes of the undead, an Altmer wants to maintain an appearance of:\n1. Humility. An Altmer's heritage should afford her much, and in an ideal world, all peoples, including liches, vampires, and wraiths, would adhere to the Altmeri concept of class and proceed accordingly. However, most undead, even Altmeri undead, rarely adhere to social conventions. As such, even the most well-bred of Altmer should refer to point 1 in the previous listing. Think of the undead as elders: powerful, unflinching, and prone to anger.\n2. Intelligence. As is true with the Altmer, especially well-bred Altmer, the undead do not suffer fools. Without being overtly obvious, an Altmer wants to seek openings to display magical acumen or cunning to show that she is not to be trifled with. Again, think of intimidating a stern elder into compliance.\n3. Discipline. Assuming an Altmer can enter into peaceful communication with a lich, wraith, vampire, or otherwise, she will undoubtedly have many questions. But she should be wary of the number of questions she asks. An undead will impart its knowledge willingly or not at all.\nIn Part II of this collection, I'll detail hurdles that may come up in conversation with the undead, specifically with wraiths, vampires, and liches, all of which require different operations of social intelligence."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/clever-kail-perwa-and-great-boast-volume-1": {"series": "Clever Kail-Perwa and the Great Boast", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/clever-kail-perwa-and-great-boast-volume-1", "author": "Nalae-Polek", "title": "Clever Kail-Perwa and the Great Boast, Volume 1", "description": "An Akaviri tale of a clever woman who must beat the challenges of her ancestors, or face their wrath", "text": "As Retold by Nalae-Polek, Poet Laureate to Potentate Versidue-Shaie\nOnce in the land of Akaviri, there was a clever woman named Kail-Perwa. She was known to spin words the way a spider spins its web, alluring and beautiful. But this clever tongue came with a boastful mouth.\n\"Living or dead, there are none in Akavir who can match my wit!\" Kail-Perwa proclaimed one day.\nThough her parents tried to silence her, Kail-Perwa would not take back her words. She repeated them one, twice, thrice. And on that third time, her words were so sure and loud that they echoed all the way into the afterlife.\n\"There are none so clever as I!\"\nThough all of Kail-Perwa's ancestors were displeased with her words, one spirit in particular took great offense. It was the spirit of General Haro-Banar, a man who had won many great victories with his cleverness. The general had always been modest about his accomplishments, and was displeased that his descendant did not follow this example.\n\"Kail-Perwa claims to be more clever than all, living and dead,\" the general proclaimed. \"I shall travel to the world of the living and see if these boastful words hold any truth.\"\nGeneral Haro-Banar was well-honored by the living, and so his spirit was strong enough to leave the afterlife and venture into the mortal realm. He did so now, changing his ghostly appearance into that of a warrior dressed in golden armor. Swift as the wind, he traveled to Kail-Perwa's village and sought her out.\nThe general found Kail-Perwa in the edge of the village, collecting herbs for her house. For a moment he hesitated, for the general knew his descendant to be as dutiful as she was clever. And so he resolved to give her one last chance to renounce her boastful ways and live modestly.\n\"I seek Kail-Perwa,\" said General Haro-Banar, making his presence known. \"Be you her?\nKail-Perwa looked up and nodded, wiping the dirt from the palm of her hands. \"Yes, I am she.\"\n\"It is said that you claim to be more clever than any living or any dead. Be this true?\"\nKail-Perwa stood to her full height and gave the general a confident smile. \"Yes, it is true. There is none so clever as I.\"\n\"That is quite the claim to make,\" replied the general, his voice growing cold. \"After all, how can you prove yourself against the dead?\"\nKail-Perwa shrugged. \"Should any of the dead take offense from my words, let them prove themselves to me! After all, cannot spirits visit the land of the living?\"\n\"Very well,\" said the general with a solemn nod. \"For the next three nights, you will be visited by the cleverest of your ancestors. Prove yourself to them, and your boast will become truth.\"\nSuddenly, Kail-Perwa was afraid. How could this stranger make such a claim?\n\"Who are you?\" she asked, her voice trembling.\n\"I am he who will meet you on the third night,\" said General Haro-Banar, his voice mighty, his gaze unflinching. \"I am he who will acknowledge you as cleverest of all, should you prove yourself so. And I am he who will punish you, should your boasts be but clever lies.\"\nAnd with that, he was gone."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/clever-kail-perwa-and-great-boast-volume-2": {"series": "Clever Kail-Perwa and the Great Boast", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/clever-kail-perwa-and-great-boast-volume-2", "author": "Nalae-Polek", "title": "Clever Kail-Perwa and the Great Boast, Volume 2", "description": "An Akaviri tale of a clever woman who must beat the challenges of her ancestors, or face their wrath", "text": "As Retold by Nalae-Polek, Poet Laureate to Potentate Versidue-Shaie\nKail-Perwa found it very difficult to sleep that night. The warrior in gold had claimed that she would be visited by three of her cleverest ancestors. Should Kail-Perwa fail to prove her wit to all three of them, she would be punished. But how would she be punished?\nKail-Perwa was clever enough to know that the warrior in gold who visited her was an ancestral spirit. As such, the spirit had the power to grant her both great fortune or misfortune, depending on his ruling. He could even drag Kail-Perwa to the afterlife, should he be truly angered.\nWould she be able to pass these three trials? Would she be killed if she failed? Such questions kept Kail-Perwa awake late into the night, until at last she fell asleep.\nWhen Kail-Perwa next awakened, she was not truly awake. She was inside a dream, of this she was sure, but her consciousness had never been so clear and aware in a dream as it was now. Truly, it felt like she had been transported into another realm.\nAnd what a strange realm it was. The land around her was covered in a thin layer of water, cold against her feet. The sky above was an endless white. The only distinguishing feature was a twisted, black tree, jutting out from the water. And next to this tree was a lone woman, dressed in red.\nKail-Perwa instantly knew this was the first spirit to would judge her.\nThe woman in red smiled. She was young and beautiful with a noble bearing, and when she spoke, her voice was like the wind which foretells a great storm.\n\"I have come to judge you,\" said the woman in red, \"for you have claimed to be more clever than I. As your ancestor, I bear right to test that cleverness. Do you accept my judgement?\"\nKail-Perwa bowed deeply and said, \"I do.\"\n\"My task is simple, then. You must walk to me. This is all.\"\nKail-Perwa worried her lip, for she doubted the task was as simple as the woman in red declared. Still, the only action she could take was to move forward. But as Kail-Perwa walked, she quickly found herself moving further and further away. It was if the tree and the woman in red leaned away from her, just as swiftly as she walked forward.\n\"All is not as it seems,\" thought Kail-Perwa. \"There is a trick to this place that I have yet to see.\"\nSo she looked behind her, and saw but endless water. She looked above, and saw but endless sky. But then she looked below, and saw her own reflection. And this reflection, as impossible as it may have been, was facing away from the woman in red.\nKail-Perwa could almost laugh! What a simple trick. As she moved forward, her reflection was moving her away from the woman in red. In order to walk towards the spirit, she must move her reflection in the correct direction, not herself.\nAnd so Kail-Perwa turned away from the woman in red and began to walk. It was an odd sensation, as her steps seemed to pull the land ahead of her further away. Very quickly, she heard a tinkling laugh near her ear. She turned around, now face to face with the mysterious spirit.\nThe woman in red smiled and said, \"Very good, Kail-Perwa. You have solved my task. But tell me, do you realize the lesson learned?\"\nKail-Perwa bit her lip and shook her head, for she did not know.\n\"To go forward, sometimes you must go back,\" the woman in red gently explained. \"Let this lesson be your guiding words, for there are still two trials ahead.\"\nAnd with that, Kail-Perwa awoke to the morning sun."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/clever-kail-perwa-and-great-boast-volume-3": {"series": "Clever Kail-Perwa and the Great Boast", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/clever-kail-perwa-and-great-boast-volume-3", "author": "Nalae-Polek", "title": "Clever Kail-Perwa and the Great Boast, Volume 3", "description": "An Akaviri tale of a clever woman who must beat the challenges of her ancestors, or face their wrath", "text": "As Retold by Nalae-Polek, Poet Laureate to Potentate Versidue-Shaie\nKail-Perwa basked in her victory like a lizard in the bright sun. Why had she worried? After all, there was none so clever as she! Why concern herself about a punishment that would never come to pass?\nThere were just two more trials left. If Kail-Perwa succeeded in both, and she was confident that she would, her boast would become a proven truth! Perhaps her ancestors would even reward her for such a victory.\nKail-Perwa found it easy to fall asleep that night.\nJust as before, she entered into a dream. Again, the land around her was covered in a thin layer of water, cold against her feet. Again, the sky above was an endless white. But this time there was no black tree or woman in read. Instead, there was black table with two black chairs. Seated at one of the chairs was an elderly man dressed in blue.\nKail-Perwa bowed to the ancestral spirit and politely said, \"Greetings, grandfather.\"\n\"Ah, Kail-Perwa. You have come at last to meet this old man,\" the grandfather in blue greeted. \"Please, have a seat so we may begin your trial.\"\nWith only a moment's hesitation, Kail-Perwa did as she was bid. She found no trickery in her steps this time, and easily found her way to the table where she took a seat.\n\"Now, as for your trial,\" the grandfather continued, \"It is very simple. We will play a single game of tihasae. Your only goal is to stop my victory. Do you understand?\"\nKail-Perwa nodded, though her stomach clenched. She had played tihasae many times, this was true. It was a game which required great cunning to win, and Kail-Perwa won it often. But could she prevail against this elderly spirit, who had both wisdom and cunning on his side?\nWith a swipe of his hand, the grandfather in blue summoned a tihasae board. The game pieces were bone white, contrasting against the dark browns of the board. He gestured towards Kail-Perwa, inviting her to take the first move. And so the game began.\nIt was not an easy battle. Kail-Perwa's hands shook as she moved her pieces across the board. Every time she went in for an attack, the grandpa in blue was there with a impassable defense. And when he struck her pieces, he struck mercilessly. Quickly, quicker than Kail-Perwa thought possible, she was on the verge of defeat.\nAt last, Kail-Perwa found herself one turn from losing. There was no way she could win, no way she could even escape defeat. This, she was clever enough to see.\nBut must she win? Suddenly, Kail-Perwa's eyes opened wide. The grandfather in blue said to stop his victory. If this was truly a simple task, did she truly need to win against him?\nWithout another thought, Kail-Perwa swiped her hand across the board. The tihasae pieces scattered into the water with soft plops, sinking further and further than should have been possible. With that simple action, there was no way for the game to conclude. There was no way for either competitor to win.\nThe grandfather in blue chuckled and said, \"Very good, Kail-Perwa. With one move, you have stopped my victory. Simple, was it not?\"\nKail-Perwa panted, her breaths ragged and short. She had nearly failed the trial, and it was very possible that such a failure could have resulted in her death.\n\"And now a lesson for you,\" the grandfather in blue continued, nodding his head. \"Seek what is true, not what is obvious. Let this lesson be your guiding words, for there is still one trial ahead.\"\nAnd with that, Kail-Perwa awoke to the morning sun."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/clever-kail-perwa-and-great-boast-volume-4": {"series": "Clever Kail-Perwa and the Great Boast", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/clever-kail-perwa-and-great-boast-volume-4", "author": "Nalae-Polek", "title": "Clever Kail-Perwa and the Great Boast, Volume 4", "description": "An Akaviri tale of a clever woman who must beat the challenges of her ancestors, or face their wrath", "text": "As Retold by Nalae-Polek, Poet Laureate to Potentate Versidue-Shaie\nKail-Perwa despaired all day. She had come so close to losing her second trial, and now she was to face a third. Failure to pass this last trial would result in a grave punishment. Perhaps even her death.\nShe thought of all of her options. Was there was a priest could protect her from the spirits? A potion that would let her stay awake forever? But the more she thought, the less realistic each idea became.\nSo afraid was Kail-Perwa, she did not fall asleep until well until the night.\nShe awoke into a dream once more. Again, she was greeted by a land of endless water and a sky of endless white. But this time, the warrior in gold stood before her in all his glory. In his hands was a mighty black sword, so large that Kail-Perwa could never hope to lift it.\n\"You have passed two trials,\" said the warrior in gold, his voice as proud and strong as his bearing. \"But you have yet to pass mine. Do you accept my judgment, descendant?\"\nKail-Perwa nodded quickly, just once. She knew it would be useless to object.\n\"You have proven to be clever twice through your actions,\" continued the warrior in gold as he slung his mighty sword across his shoulders. \"But how clever are your words? This will be your last trial, Kail-Perwa. Convince me that you are more clever than all living and all dead.\"\nFor the first time in her life, Kail-Perwa did not know what to say. What words could she weave to convince this spirit of such cleverness?\n\"To go forward, sometimes you must look back,\" the woman in red had told her.\n\"Seek what is true, not what is obvious,\" the grandfather in blue had said.\nKail-Perwa closed her eyes and thought. She had overcome two trials to prove herself more clever than any other. But was that truly the purpose of her hardships? Using all of her cleverness, using all of her wit, she thought about what she had learned and what she must do.\nWhen next her eyes opened, Kail-Perwa knew she had found the truth.\n\"I can't,\" she told the warrior in gold, her hands trembling slightly. \"I can't convince you that I'm more clever than all living and all dead.\"\n\"Oh?\" asked the warrior in gold, his voice even. \"And why is that?\"\n\"Because I'm not,\" answered Kail-Perwa. \"If I was truly so clever, I would never make such a boast. There are many I have never met, and many I will never meet. And to condemn them to be less clever than I is foolishness.\"\n\"I see,\" said the warrior in gold, his face revealing nothing. \"And is this all you have to say?\"\nKail-Perwa bowed deeply, her head hung in shame. \"I know now that such boasts are an insult our family's good name. I apologize.\"\nAnd with this, the warrior's face broke into a grin. His armor transformed into noble robes, his face growing a long, full beard. And that was when Kali-Perwa realized that the spirit before her was none other than General Haro-Banar, the most honored of her ancestors.\n\"You have humbled yourself before me, despite risk of punishment,\" said General Haro-Banar. \"And for that, I will forgive your transgressions. Live modestly, my descendant, for there are none so clever as those who realize their own limitations.\"\n\"Thank you, General Haro-Banar,\" said Kail-Perwa, her heart filled with gratitude. \"That is a lesson I shall never forget.\"\nAnd so Kail-Perwa finally awoke to the wisdom of her ancestors, and all was well."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/coming-learned-one-vol-i": {"series": "Coming of the Learned One", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/coming-learned-one-vol-i", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Coming of the Learned One Vol. I", "description": "Journal of one of the Firstmages on a visit by the celestial mage", "text": "The learned one has begun work in the upper chambers that promises to be the most scintillating magic I have ever witnessed. It will consume the upper floors of the Archive, and I am among the stewards of the upper floors. I cannot think of a better way to die than writhing in the sorcery of the learned one\u2014but it means my time on Nirn grows brief.\nThus, I spend my final days recounting the learned one's arrival. What follows is a recollection of the Archive's defining moment. Though we built it intending to reach for Aetherius, it was a denizen of Aetherius who found us."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/coming-learned-one-vol-ii": {"series": "Coming of the Learned One", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/coming-learned-one-vol-ii", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Coming of the Learned One, Vol. II", "description": "Journal of one of the Firstmages on a visit by the celestial mage", "text": "The learned one came to us with a booming roar like thunder, enveloped in a gleaming sheen. Hers was a foreign glimmer that filled the Chamber Prime for the first time in many years.\nAt first we were perplexed, dismayed, but mostly annoyed. We had the audacity to think we would deny her access to the Archive and its secrets. As if we had seen or touched or made anything in our pitiable tower that she couldn't best with a word.\nWe voiced our displeasure at her arrival, and bade her take leave of us. Angalin and Envaril continued their research as if nothing was amiss, squinting to read through the brightness.\nHer light told us she was displeased. Its intensity grew, and in the moment, we thought she was Magnus come to Nirn, burning like a miniature sun. Vandore, Yanaril, and Tuintar were swallowed in her glow and never returned, leaving blasted streaks where they once stood.\nThe rest of us fell to our knees. Not in surrender, but in euphoric elation. Never had we glimpsed such wondrous magic.\nWe welcomed her, then. What choice did we have? We wept, and kissed her feet as she entered the tower."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/coming-learned-one-vol-iii": {"series": "Coming of the Learned One", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/coming-learned-one-vol-iii", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Coming of the Learned One, Vol. III", "description": "Journal of one of the Firstmages on a visit by the celestial mage", "text": "In the beginning, the Learned One frequently graced the experiment halls.\nThat first day, her very presence sparked long-dormant casting circles to life all at once. Three of my subordinates were frozen solid in the Hall of Storms, lost in a sudden rush of magic.\nA dozen more vanished in the Stairway of Flames\u2014so powerful was the fire that burst to life when the Learned One entered that there were no ashes, no sign that they had ever been. Twelve lives incinerated more efficiently than any spell I have ever constructed. It was beautiful."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/coming-learned-one-vol-x": {"series": "Coming of the Learned One", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/coming-learned-one-vol-x", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Coming of the Learned One, Vol. X", "description": "Journal of one of the Firstmages on a visit by the celestial mage", "text": "We Firstmages thought ourselves the apex of brilliance for years. The Learned One has shown us in these few short days that we have been stumbling blind our entire lives.\nBut despite her power, she has been troubled. She does not seem to trust in herself. She needs the Archive, she says, to cast her greatest magic yet\u2014to seal herself into the upper floors. She says it is for the protection of mortals, of Tamriel as a whole. I know not what she means. Where she goes she brings magic; she brings beauty. Danger is only a side-effect.\nThe Learned One says that, were the Firstmages to follow her in casting her spell, there are not many of us who would survive. But unlike Earil and his cowardly friends, most of us would cherish death at her hands. Anything to push the boundaries of her magic.\nI have spoken to her at length about her plans, and my mind shivers at the possibilities. What could she seek to do? Guard the upper floors with her magical armory? I have seen her tinker with conjured weapons\u2014clearly she has needed her magic to do battle before. Does she seek to mask the upper floors with a conjured shield? Incredibly costly and inefficient, but it would work.\nOr could she\u2014and I do not write this lightly\u2014seek to hide herself behind a dragon\u2014a broken dragon? To travel the line, and then cut it; wrapping herself in a context where no one could ever follow? Such a venture could explain even her fear. It would explain the magic she has been working.\nOr I am overthinking the issue. Though she is the most powerful sorcerer I have ever encountered, she has exhibited directness that, like her magic, I cannot replicate. Whatever she has planned, it will be a feat of magic, and it will move us, I am sure."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/convergence-maestros-volume-1": {"series": "Convergence of Maestros", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/convergence-maestros-volume-1", "author": "Hartlin Treg", "title": "Convergence of Maestros, Volume 1", "description": "Notes from a Bard's College meeting", "text": "Convergence of Bards College Maestros\n\tSolitude, 2E 580\n\tFirst Loredas of Hearthfire\nIn Attendance:\n\t~ Headmaestro Catrelle Georick\n\t~ Maestro Hrofgen Well-Tuned, Professor of Percussion\n\t~ Maestro Thaezara Halftail, Professor of Southern Strings\n\t~ Maestro Taenival Llendu, Professor of Small Winds\n\t~ Maestro Efnort, Master of Bells and Horns\n\t~ Maestro Viatrix Umbranox, Professor of Vocals\n\t~ Maestro Leiborn, Professor of Northern Strings\n\t~ Honorable Yngmaer Raven-Quill, Historian Royal\n\t~ Honorable Helgreir Lute-Voice, Bard Royal of Windhelm, representing Jorunn the Skald-King\n\t~ Adjunct Professor Twains-the-Night, Professor of Argonian Music Theory\n\t~ Master Maestro Alumnus Nel Farsong\n\t~ Assistant to the Headmaster and Scribe, Hartlin Treg (Me)\n<Meeting called to order.>\nCatrelle: Hear ye, honorable master bards! My thanks for your attendance. We call this meeting together to determine the proper care and\u2014\n<Maestro Taenival stands abruptly.>\nTaenival: Care and imprisonment? Not on my life! You ruin an instrument's vitality by locking it in a box!\nCatrelle: Good Maestro Taenival! I'll quarter no outbursts at this meeting! Make your winds smaller for a time, sir!\nTaenival: You'll not change my mind on this subject.\nCatrelle: So noted. Please be at ease, Maestro.\n<Taenival sits, looking angry.>\nCatrelle: As I was saying, we gather to discuss our intentions for these legendary, storied, and exquisite instruments before us. Those the college has collected over the course of centuries and maintained. Some of the bards outside this room, and indeed within, have used them extensively to teach with and compose upon. Due to complaints by others, also within and without...\n<Many grumbles and side-glances.>\nCatrelle: ... there is concern that this could have undue negative impact upon the instruments. Most recently, we have had to perform extensive repair on the Tom of Shilsk when someone\u2014\nHrofgen: That was not my fault, and I was NOT drunk, as it was implied!\nViatrix: I SAW you refilling your brandy flask right before the Tom was broken!\nHrofgen: I do not deny this, but I was not drunk. It slipped and fell when a student tripped over me. While I napped. On top of the drum.\nViatrix: Sloven\u2014\nCatrelle: Enough! We're not here to litigate your passions. We need solutions. Maestro Efnort has a prepared statement. Efnort?\n<Efnort stands.>\nEfnort: For the record, I've seen Hrofgen refill his brandy flask before delivering a wandering soliloquy on drums that stunned everyone in the room. I count this as no excuse for the damage to the Tom, and therefore advocate for the preservation of our artifacts.\n<Efnort clears his throat, looks sternly at Hrofgen.>\nEfnort: These instruments represent a legacy of musical history. The Bards College should want to preserve them for as long as possible, to show students, tourists, luthiers, and other crafters these masterworks and pieces of cultural history.\n<Thaezara stands.>\nThaezara: Efnort, you must admit that an instrument is like a lover. Is it not at its most beauteous when plucked, strummed, and played until singing joyously? Caged, they are left silent and lonesome, no?\n<Efnort shifts uncomfortably. Maybe the rumors about he and Thaezara are true?>\nEfnort: Thaezara, esteemed one. Though you make a passionate plea, I am more inclined to be delicate with such an instrument. Revered. It having given so much to Nirn already. Does it not deserve reverence? It simply cannot be played forever.\nThaezara: You should be so lucky to have an instrument in such fine condition that it begs to ring out its song!\n<Thaezara is near shouting. Efnort sits down timidly.>\nViatrix: However fine the condition of the instrument, Thaezara, it won't matter if every student at the college is pawing it and noodling every terrible sonnet they can imagine upon it.\nThaezara: How dare you\u2014\n<Thaezara jumps at Viatrix and tries to claw her face!>\nCatrelle: Enough! Sit down, the both of you!\n<Catrelle breaks up a minor fight between Viatrix and Thaezara. Efnort looks away.>\nCatrelle: Stop being so dramatic! Tamriel's bards look to us to make mature decisions for the culture of bards as a whole. Act like you deserve the honor!\nTwains-the-Night: If you truly mean all bards, then let me be the Argonian representative to express my dismay in your needs to preserve everything in a world where all things eventually return to Nirn. In our land, nothing survives time or the marsh. We make use of everything, and if something has no use, we commit it again to the swamp.\nHrofgen: Exactly! I think what the scaleback means, in regular words, is that we should make use of these great instruments while we have them. Eventually they will be stolen, or burned, or have something spilled on them, you know?\nTwains: Scaleback?\nCatrelle: Order!\n<Continued in Volume 2.>"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/convergence-maestros-volume-2": {"series": "Convergence of Maestros", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/convergence-maestros-volume-2", "author": "Hartlin Treg", "title": "Convergence of Maestros, Volume 2", "description": "Notes from a Bard's College meeting", "text": "Convergence of Bards College Maestros\n\tSolitude, 2E 580\n\tFirst Loredas of Hearthfire\nIn Attendance:\n\t~ Headmaestro Catrelle Georick\n\t~ Maestro Hrofgen Well-Tuned, Professor of Percussion\n\t~ Maestro Thaezara Halftail, Professor of Southern Strings\n\t~ Maestro Taenival Llendu, Professor of Small Winds\n\t~ Maestro Efnort, Master of Bells and Horns\n\t~ Maestro Viatrix Umbranox, Professor of Vocals\n\t~ Maestro Leiborn, Professor of Northern Strings\n\t~ Honorable Yngmaer Raven-Quill, Historian Royal\n\t~ Honorable Helgreir Lute-Voice, Bard Royal of Windhelm, representing Jorunn the Skald-King\n\t~ Adjunct Professor Twains-the-Night, Professor of Argonian Music Theory\n\t~ Master Maestro Alumnus Nel Farsong\n\t~ Assistant to the Headmaster and Scribe, Hartlin Treg (Me)\n<Continued from Volume 1>\nCatrelle: Order!\n<Helgrier stands up with the others.>\nHelgrier: As the emissary of Jorunn the Skald-King, I believe I have the authority to proclaim these instruments to be Skyrim's treasures, to be preserved\u2014\nTaenival: Quiet, easterner! You're not even a college maestro.\nCatrelle: Order! Order!\nYngmaer: How dare you speak to a Royal Emissary in such a manner, Taenival! Helgrier and I both have come by invitation and have every right to weigh in. A professor of small winds should not pretend to the airs of a Royal bard!\nTaenival: Your airs are more acrid than any before you.\nHrofgen: Indeed! The college makes important decisions regularly, and without you stinking up the quarters!\nHelgrier: No reason to be your usual insolent, drunken self, snowback!\n<Everyone is standing now, except masters Nel, Leiborn and myself.>\nCatrelle: Order! Order! Do we have any proposals besides idle insults?\n<Everyone but Catrelle and Viatrix finally sit down.>\nViatrix: Aye, of course. We create a muse\u2014 an honorarium. Where we place our revered instruments. Protected from the damages of abuse.\n<Viatrix looks at Efnort.>\nViatrix: Where we can appreciate their beauty and history without the grubby paws of lusty bards snapping strings or splitting drum heads trying to be the next Calissos.\nCatrelle: Any other proposals?\n<Twains-the-Night clears his throat with a gurgly cough.>\nTwains: Allow them their use. Make them a focus of learning. Allow students and faculty to learn their scales and their histories with each in their hands. Should they pass into Nirn, so be it.\nCatrelle: Thank you, Professor Twains-the-Night. It seems like you have your opinion, supported by Maestros Thaezara, Taenival and Hrofgen. Those who support the honorarium as suggested by Maestro Viatrix? Hands only, please.\n<Viatrix, Yngmaer, Efnort and Helgreir raise their hands.>\nCatrelle: You are equally opposed, Four against four. I see a few here who have not opined. Leiborn?\nLeiborn: Honorable Headmaestro, though I am the most recently deigned maestro of the college, I defer my vote to my mentor, Maestro Alumnus Farsong.\nCatrelle: Honored Alumnus, surely in your wisdom, you can break this fevered debate?\n<Master Maestro Nel Farsong awakens from his nap.>\nNel: And you, Catrelle? Have you no opinion?\nCatrelle: I abstain from this vote, so as to preserve my bias. I don't want my position as headmaestro to influence any other votes.\nNel: As I expected.\n<Alumnus Nel stands.>\nNel: My position is irrelevant. As much as I appreciate the inclusion, it is up to the maestros and those professors and honorable guests to come to an agreement\u2014unanimously, I would add\u2014on the subject of these wondrous instruments we have collected. Some even date back to my time as a maestro here. But you should do so with intent, and I have given you a push in this direction.\nYngmaer: What do you mean, honorable one?\nNel: I have, just tonight, collected all of our instruments and stowed them in secret across our lands. You shall not lay eyes or hands upon them until you come to an agreement.\nYngmaer: You have no right!\nTaenival: You offend the college itself, old one!\n<Nel sits down as everyone stands, shouting and shoving each other. Viatrix strikes Thaezara in the face in retaliation for clawing her earlier.>\n<Catrelle cannot maintain order, so she ended the meeting and dismissed everyone, forcing them out separate doors.>\n<Old Maestro Nel whispered to me, \"It may take a greater force to bring loves together again.\" I don't know what that meant.>"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/racial-motifs-1-high-elves": {"series": "Crafting Motifs", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/racial-motifs-1-high-elves", "author": "Various", "title": "Crafting Motif 1: High Elf Style", "description": "Styles and materials used by the cultures of Tamriel. Also the author's meandering travelogue.", "text": "This series will provide a survey-level overview of the symbolic and stylistic hallmarks that distinguish the major cultures of Tamriel in their arts and crafts. Our focus will be on the portable durable goods of the various races, that is, their clothing, ornamentation, arms, and armor, as these reliably reflect personal cultural expressions. When completed, this series will support the curricula of the introductory ethnographic courses at the Arcane University.\nWe begin with the High Elves, the reclusive Altmer of the Summerset Isles, because the argument can be made (and often is, by Elves) that civilization in Tamriel was brought here by the Aldmeri of Old Ehlnofey. Insofar as the Elves of Summerset consciously strive to maintain the heritage of their Merethic ancestors, their traditions are certainly closer to those of pre-First Era society than any other.\nThis is not to say that, in the thousands of years since the arrival of the first Aldmeri, the culture of the High Elves has not deviated and ramified in many ways, because it has. It is simply that, by viewing modern Altmeri culture with the eye of a historian, we can perceive the outlines of its origins.\nIn this initial effort I have benefited from the advice of the celebrated Morian Zenas, Professor of Transliminal Studies here at Arcane University. Professor Zenas is the only member of our faculty who has visited the Summerset Isles, specifically Artaeum, with a brief stop in transit at Dusk.\nI was a bit intimidated when I first visited Professor Zenas in his house in the Cathedral District, but I found him a charming old gentleman, undeserving of his reputation for peevishness. Morian (for so he asked me to address him) bade me stay for dinner, which was served by his laconic Argonian apprentice, Seif-ij Hidja.\nAs Morian explained, the High Elves strive for a simple elegance in their designs, in which flowing lines reflect graceful forms from the natural world. More-or-less abstract birds, flowers, and sea shells are common motifs, rendered in rich but muted colors. Armor will be tooled or embossed to represent scales or feathers, and even heavy cuirasses and helmets may sport stylized wings or beaks.\nMetallic items are often accented with a translucent greenish material called \"glass.\" This is a sort of jade-like obsidian that Elven smiths have learned to work by secretive processes known only to the Altmer. Though rigid enough to take a superb edge when cool, glass can be made malleable enough to assume almost any form, and the High Elves use it extensively on ornamental arms and armor.\nAfter dinner, over snifters of Cyrodilic Brandy, Morian asked me all sorts of questions about my motifs project, and about myself. It was really very flattering. I must find an excuse to talk with him again."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/racial-motifs-2the-dark-elves": {"series": "Crafting Motifs", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/racial-motifs-2the-dark-elves", "author": "Various", "title": "Crafting Motif 2: Dark Elf Style", "description": "Styles and materials used by the cultures of Tamriel. Also the author's meandering travelogue.", "text": "From the High Elves it is natural to next consider the Dark Elves, as they originated in the Summerset Isles before their migration to Morrowind. Their culture can thus be considered an offshoot of the Altmeri, though in many ways that of the Dunmer is a reaction to that of Summerset rather than an extension.\nAlso, Morian introduced me to a Dark Elven associate of his, Divayth Fyr, who is helping him on his \"transliminal sojourn\" project. I don't know what that's all about, but Divayth offered to help me with references on Dunmeri culture, and I accepted.\nElegance is as much a goal for the Dark Elves as it is for the High Elves, but beyond that their styles could not be more different. Morrowind is a far harsher environment than fair Summerset, and that rigor is reflected in Dunmeri designs. The Dark Elves also draw on nature for their inspiration, but in place of avian and floral motifs, Dunmeri artifice draws on the curved and spiky forms of the carapaces of the giant insects that inhabit Morrowind. Elegant these are, but also fearsome, a constant reminder that the Dunmer daily fight for their very existence.\nEbony is the favored metal for Dark Elven heavy armor, but even in their lighter armors and shields, steel and steel alloys are often lacquered in dark tones to appear ebony-like. Clothing, armor included, is often accented by flaring extensions at shoulder, crest, or hip, with overlapping geometric designs that may have been borrowed from Dwarven culture, though Divayth bristled at the idea of any Dwemeri influence on the Dunmer.\nIn truth, I find the dark sorcerer from Vvardenfell exerts a strangely compelling attraction. He doesn't seem old, but he referred to Morian, who is at least sixty, as a \"young man.\" I wonder how old he really is. In fact, I wonder many things about him. He has those crimson eyes that seem to look right through you. It's a little bit thrilling.\nHe's offered to take me with him to visit a Bosmeri tavern down on the waterfront. I may do it."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/racial-motifs-3-wood-elves": {"series": "Crafting Motifs", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/racial-motifs-3-wood-elves", "author": "Various", "title": "Crafting Motif 3: Wood Elf Style", "description": "Styles and materials used by the cultures of Tamriel. Also the author's meandering travelogue.", "text": "Being notes by Doctor Alfidia Lupus for a series of pamphlets on the major cultural styles of Tamriel\n(Dr. Lupus was Imperial Ethnographer for Potentate Savirien-Chorak from 2E 418 to 431)\nNext we complete our study of the Elves with the Bosmer of Valenwood. Though less influential in the world at large than their cousins the High Elves and the Dark Elves, the Wood Elves outnumber all other Mer in Tamriel, being relatively fecund (for Elves) and more, shall we say, amorously-inclined.\nIt's a commonplace to point out that the Wood Elves favor natural motifs, but as I learned, there's more to it than that. Their reverence for Y'ffre and the story of the Earth Bones is reflected in the stylized fashion in which these natural motifs are represented. The Bosmer believe that all nature was in chaos before Y'ffre gave all plants, animals, and people their names, which defined the permanent form each species would take. Thus each species is depicted by a particular, idealized motif which represents the ur-form it was given by Y'ffre.\nThis is reflected in the designs that appear everywhere on Wood Elven arts, crafts, and clothing. These designs are drawn from a large repertoire, as there is a design for each species of plant and animal in the Bosmer's world, but the use and depiction of these designs is culturally prescribes, and there is very little room for variation. Unorthodox usage of these stylized pictograms is considered improper, just plain \"wrong.\"\nThis may seem paradoxical in a race whose members otherwise seem so carefree and easygoing, but it is so, as I had an opportunity to see for myself. There are quite a few Wood Elves in the Imperial City, enough that there is a small Bosmeri neighborhood down on the waterfront, served by a tavern called the Tipsy Torchbug. Divayth Fyr, the fascinating Dark Elf wizard assisting Morian Zenas in his experiments, had offered to take me there, and I agreed.\nWhen I arrived at Morian's house on the date of our jaunt to the docks the old professor himself answered the door, and I was surprised when he asked me to step into my study for a moment. Also surprising was the way Morian was turned out: in a new silk robe sporting star-sign symbols, hair trimmed and combed, and smelling faintly of lavender. Quite a transformation from the disreputable, singed and stained robes I'd seen him in previously.\nIt turned out he wanted to caution me about going down to the waterfront with Divayth Fyr. I'm afraid I laughed, at which he reddened, and I then told him I was a grown woman who could take care of herself. He was somewhat abashed and muttered some excuses, from which I gathered that he was more concerned about my spending time with Divayth than going to the docks. I didn't want his feelings hurt, so I complimented his new robe, at which he beamed, and then I went to the parlor to meet Divayth.\nI shouldn't ramble on, but we had a wonderful evening. The Tipsy Torchbug was a lively place, and Divayth introduced me to Lady Biniele, the proprietor, who insisted that we share our table. The entertainment was Biniele's Bosmeri Burlesque, which was hilarious, and though I couldn't drink any of the Wood Elves' revolting beverages, I did consent to share a pipeful of bugsmoke with Divayth, which made me feel strangely exhilarated.\nIt also led to my seeing a prime example of Bosmeri disdain for \"improper design\" when a Leyawiin sailor, who'd seen me sharing Divayth's pipe, offered to sell me a carved-bone pipe of \"genuine Valenwood make.\" Lady Biniele told me it was a counterfeit and not to waste my money. The sailor protested, but the diminutive Wood Elf woman told him any fool could see the tail was wrong on the Imga carved on the bowl, and he should shove off. Which he did.\nDivayth and I shoved off shortly thereafter, and on our way back up to the city gates he pointed to the stars in the brilliant night sky and told me the ancient Chimeri names for the constellations. I must confess, I remember nothing but the warm tones of his resonant voice\u2014and the warm touch of his hand on my arm."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/racial-motifs-4-nords": {"series": "Crafting Motifs", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/racial-motifs-4-nords", "author": "Various", "title": "Crafting Motif 4: Nord Style", "description": "Styles and materials used by the cultures of Tamriel. Also the author's meandering travelogue.", "text": "Being notes by Doctor Alfidia Lupus for a series of pamphlets on the major cultural styles of Tamriel\n(Dr. Lupus was Imperial Ethnographer for Potentate Savirien-Chorak from 2E 418 to 431)\nWe come now to the Nords, the first human culture on Tamriel to successfully resist, and even displace, Elven hegemony on the continent.\nNot unlike the Bosmer, the Nords rely heavily on stylized, often interlocking natural motifs in their architecture, crafts, and clothing. However, where the Wood Elves' designs are mainly floral, the Nords emphasize animals, in particular the eight \"totem\" animals of the old Atmoran religion: wolf, hawk, whale, snake, moth, fox, and so forth. They also allow for much more variation of design, to the point where some of the animal motifs are so abstract they are difficult to recognize. Indeed, areas of trim are often filled with interlocking geometric designs that evoke nothing natural at all.\nNord design varies in other ways from that of the Elves as well, in general relying on simple, heavy yet dynamic forms where Elven work would be slender, elegant, and understated. Nothing the Nords make is understated, ever.\nThis was clear even from outside the Imperial City's Skyrim Embassy, where Morian, Divayth and I had gone to a reception for King Logrolf. The lintel above the embassy doors was crowned with a great iron hawk's-head, its mouth open as if screaming defiance, while the doors were flanked by bas-reliefs of hawks so stylized they looked as much like axes as they did birds. The door itself was dark oak, banded with iron and studded with iron rivets, as if they expected to have to repel an attack.\nThe inside of the embassy was less martial in appearance, at least once one got past the armed and armored guards inside the door. I wondered if they really needed to wear full helms sporting ram's-horns in order to check the invitations of party guests, but the look in the Nords' eyes didn't exactly invite questions.\nThe party, as I said, was a reception for King Logrolf, visiting the Imperial City to pay his respects to the Potentate. Morian was there representing the Arcane University; he'd asked me to accompany him and I'd accepted, eager to see our fierce northern cousins in their own environment. When Divayth learned where we were going he'd attached himself to our party, in spite of Morian's baleful glare, but once we were inside the embassy and he was surrounded by loud, boisterous Nords, the Dark Elf wizard seemed to be regretting his decision to join us.\nNot so Morian! After he'd downed a flagon of mead, I was suddenly seeing a new Professor Zenas. Attired in his new robe, he positively bloomed, holding forth on the history of magic to an admiring crowd of diplomats, whom he enthralled with tales of the feats of wizardry of the Nord Arch-Mage Shalidor. He seemed twenty years younger, and I suddenly saw him as he must have been in his prime, when he first came to the Imperial City to help found the Arcane University.\nMorian even introduced me to King Logrolf, though how he came to know the monarch of Skyrim I have no idea. When I looked around for Divayth, he was nowhere to be seen. Morian and I stayed late at the embassy, quaffing mead and laughing at the Nords' hearty jokes. When we finally left and he walked me home, I thought I could see a new gleam in Morian's eye.\nHe may have seen the same gleam in mine."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/racial-motifs-5-bretons": {"series": "Crafting Motifs", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/racial-motifs-5-bretons", "author": "Various", "title": "Crafting Motif 5: Breton Style ", "description": "Styles and materials used by the cultures of Tamriel. Also the author's meandering travelogue.", "text": "Being notes by Doctor Alfidia Lupus for a series of pamphlets on the major cultural styles of Tamriel\n(Dr. Lupus was Imperial Ethnographer for Potentate Savirien-Chorak from 2E 418 to 431)\nThe Arch-Magister at the University, Lady Opel Dantaine, is a Breton, so I consulted with her on Breton motifs. She was friendly, and very helpful.\nThe Bretons were the last major group of humans on Tamriel to free themselves from their Elven overlords, and in many ways their long vassalage to the Direnni defines their culture. They are fiercely autonomous, each kingdom in High Rock jealous of its individual sovereignty, but Breton society retains a feudal structure that hearkens back to the rank-obsessed Direnni Hegemony. The Bretons are nearly as fractious as their cousins the Nords, but their long tutelage under the Elves makes them open to the magical arts, rather than suspicious of them.\nHow is this reflected in their arts and crafts? Let's look at Breton armor, for example. The gleaming heavy armor of a Breton knight is as tough and practical as that of a Nord housecarl, but its pleasing form exhibits a subtle sophistication that is reminiscent of Elven elegance. One sees the same influence in Breton weaponry, which is beautiful yet undeniably deadly.\nIt made me think of the differences between Divayth's Elven urbanity and Morian's breadth of knowledge and all-too-human inconsistencies, even peevishness. Apparently the transliminal experiments have not been going well. When I stopped by the townhouse last night, neither Morian nor Divayth were in\u2014Seif-ij, Morian's apprentice, told me they'd quarreled over the appropriate price to pay a transporting entity to ensure safe return from a jaunt to Oblivion, the remarks became personal, and then my name was apparently brought up. There was shouting, and they both huffed their way out of the laboratory and marched off down Divines Street in opposite directions.\nThis is terrible. Fighting? Over me? I must confess I was so disturbed I blurted out the whole thing to Lady Opel, who was incredibly kind and solicitous. She asked me if I had feelings for either of the two wizards, and I admitted I did, but they were conflicting and confusing. Opel opened a bottle of two of Bangkorai spiced wine, and we got quite confidential with each other as the evening waned. I'm not sure how I got home, and today my head hurts, but it was worth it, as my heart is no longer so heavy."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/racial-motifs-6-redguards": {"series": "Crafting Motifs", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/racial-motifs-6-redguards", "author": "Various", "title": "Crafting Motif 6: Redguard Style", "description": "Styles and materials used by the cultures of Tamriel. Also the author's meandering travelogue.", "text": "Being notes by Doctor Alfidia Lupus for a series of pamphlets on the major cultural styles of Tamriel\n(Dr. Lupus was Imperial Ethnographer for Potentate Savirien-Chorak from 2E 418 to 431)\nWhen I arrived at Morian's townhouse this morning all was sunshine and rainbows\u2014Divayth and the professor were chatting over mugs of chal like best friends, comparing Ralliballah's Eleven Ritual Forms to the Book of Most Arcane Covenants. I reminded Divayth that he'd promised to escort me to the Yokudan Chapel in the Market District, at which Morian's brow clouded over slightly, but then he smiled and said that was fine, as he wanted to test some new hyperagonal media in his laboratory.\n(And maybe it was the light, but to me both men looked \u2026 younger, somehow. I must keep in mind that they're both highly capable wizards, which I suppose might include knowledge of illusion magic. Or perhaps I flatter myself.)\nI met a number of knowledgeable Redguards at the chapel, all exhibiting that dignity and polite reserve I associate with the better-educated members of that people. The Most-Revered Zirumir, a Priest of Tu'whacca (I hope I spelled that right), was particularly helpful.\nAs Zirumir pointed out, both the Redguards' ancient home of Yokuda and their current province of Hammerfell are (or were, in the case of Yokuda) deserts. To stay cool, and for protection from the elements, Redguard clothing tends to be light, long and flowing, and these flowing curves are carried into their artisanal designs. Their robes and armor are often accented by flared curves at joints and on headgear. Even their swords tend to be curved.\n\tIn contrast their architecture appears rather heavy, though on close inspection this is mainly for the purpose of insulation from the desert's extremes of temperature. Zirumir showed me the chapel's clever system of louvered ventilation ducts in the clerestory, designed to catch the slightest breeze and funnel it down into the nave.\nAfter Zirumir was called away to tend to one of his congregation, Divayth and I strolled into the apse to view the eight shrines to the Yokudan Divines. Divayth was explaining that whereas the Forebears of Hammerfell often worship the Cyrodilic Divines brought to them by the Reman Empire, these were the traditional gods worshiped by the more conservative Crown Redguards. Suddenly, behind the beehive shrine to Morwha, he turned to me with those blazing eyes, took my hands between his, and told me he thought me the most brilliant and desirable woman in the Imperial City. My breath caught in my throat, and my heart was hammering. But when he moved as if to embrace me I was suddenly frightened\u2014I backed away, shaking my head, then fled out into the nave. I fear I quite startled a young family of Redguards placing candles on Morwha's altar.\nNow what? I'm afraid I must have insulted Divayth terribly. How can I make it up to him? And dare I mention it to Morian? Julianos' little teapot, what a dilemma!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/racial-motifs-7-khajiit": {"series": "Crafting Motifs", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/racial-motifs-7-khajiit", "author": "Various", "title": "Crafting Motif 7: Khajiit Style ", "description": "Styles and materials used by the cultures of Tamriel. Also the author's meandering travelogue.", "text": "Being notes by Doctor Alfidia Lupus for a series of pamphlets on the major cultural styles of Tamriel\n(Dr. Lupus was Imperial Ethnographer for Potentate Savirien-Chorak from 2E 418 to 431)\nWhen I went to the professor's townhouse this morning, my first priority was to apologize to Divayth, but Seif-ij told me he was out\u2014he'd gone somewhere from the portal chamber, using an incantation and leaving nothing behind but a burnt smell. Onward, I told myself: work will take your mind off it. So I went looking for Morian.\nI found the old dear at breakfast, just finishing his sweet roll and chal. When I entered the kitchen, he nearly knocked over his mug in his haste to stand up and bow! I told him I wanted to make some notes on the Khajiit and asked him if he knew any of the Cat-Folk, as I did not. He said he knew exactly the person I needed and would be delighted to help me, since \"that irascible Telvanni\" had taken the day off.\nI had often passed the seasonal camp of the Baandari Pedlars outside the Market Gate but had never gone in\u2014residual caution from my father's warnings keeping me out, I suppose, as well as the pungent scent. Besides, I've always been a dog person. But Morian plunged right in without hesitation and led me to a pavilion adorned with colorful prayer-flags. I followed Morian into the tent, where he introduced me to Madame Shizahi-jo, whom he said was a Khajiiti sorceress devoted to Azurah and Magrus. Though sitting in lotus position, she bowed politely\u2014the Cat-Folk are lissome\u2014gestured to a pair of seat cushions, and asked how \"this one\" could be of service.\nWe had a long and lovely chat. There are superficial similarities between the motifs and designs of the Khajiit and the Redguards, perhaps because they both inhabit hot, arid environments, but where the Redguards favor long, flowing curves, the Cat-Folk are devoted to circular and crescentiform moon-shapes. The shapes of Masser and Secunda in all their phases appear everywhere on Khajiiti clothing and ornaments. The falcate sliver of the crescent moon also brings to mind the Khajiiti claws that spring from pads in their hands and feet, a subtle but ever-present threat to softer folk.\nShizahi-jo made us some tea\u2014sticky sweet, like all Khajiiti food and drink\u2014then asked to see the leaves in the bottom of my cup. She stirred them with her pinky-claw, and said now she saw the object of my concern: I'd let my fear cloud my longing and darken my heart. I blurted something about how Divayth had tried to kiss me, and Morian dropped his cup, splattering poor Shizahi.\nI thought he was going to explode in rage, but instead this sad look came over him, and then he began pouring out his heart about his feelings for me. It was so sweet of him. I was really quite moved. The Khajiiti mage made a discreet exit, and we stayed on her cushions, talking, for what seemed like hours."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/racial-motifs-8-orcs": {"series": "Crafting Motifs", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/racial-motifs-8-orcs", "author": "Various", "title": "Crafting Motif 8: Orc Style", "description": "Styles and materials used by the cultures of Tamriel. Also the author's meandering travelogue.", "text": "Being notes by Doctor Alfidia Lupus for a series of pamphlets on the major cultural styles of Tamriel\n(Dr. Lupus was Imperial Ethnographer for Potentate Savirien-Chorak from 2E 418 to 431)\nI saw Divayth last night, briefly, at the Torchbug. I told him I truly cared for him, but that Morian had won my heart. He clouded over like a storm in the Jeralls, but then took a deep breath and managed a dignified exit. Oh, I do hope he'll be all right.\nThough I confess, I'm more worried about Morian. His experiments with Divayth are reaching their climax, when Morian will open a gate and personally make a visit to Oblivion. He says he's going to try for Azura's realm of Moonshadow, as he says that ought to be relatively safe. Safe! I'm as anxious as a scrib on a griddle. I dearly want to see Morian before he goes, but he says he must concentrate on mastering the ritual and can't be interrupted.\nHe did send a note by Seif-ij saying I should take his place representing the University at the Potentate's state dinner for the new envoy from Orsinium. He must really be busy to skip that event, as I know he was keen to go. Well, all the better for my Racial Motifs project, I suppose\u2014work, work, work will take my mind off my worries!\nThe new province of Orsinium doesn't have an embassy yet, so for the dinner the Potentate's snake-staff set up a row of pavilions on the grounds of the White-Gold Tower. To honor Envoy Thuggikh they were all decorated with authentic Orcish paraphernalia imported from Wrothgar, so I got out my journal and took notes during the interminable speeches.\nStrange to think that a folk as brutish as the Orcs seem to be could design and create objects of such sophistication! Of course they're known across Tamriel as fine armorers, but I'd always assumed that was due to their great strength rather than skill. A glance at their arms and armor was enough to show me how wrong my assumption had been. Though never ornate or over-embellished, their metalwork, though even simpler and more utilitarian than the Nords', displays a deep understanding of the laws of proportion, symmetry, and harmonic congruity. An Orcish sword may be a weapon of violence, but to contemplate the dynamic sweep of its blade, visually balanced by its heavy but shapely hilt, obviously molded to flow into the hand of its wielder\u2014why, it's almost restful and reassuring.\nAfterwards at the reception I was happy to see somebody I recognized in Lady Opel the Arch-Magister. She greeted me warmly and, over some West Weald wine and Eidar cheese, asked me how things were going with me and my pair of wizards. I told her I thought I'd made a terrible muddle of things, but she assured me everything would work out in the end. She said she's known Morian for ever so long, and he's really quite sensible beneath his fussy old-man ways. She was glad he'd found someone as clever as I to keep him from completely vanishing into his laboratory.\nBut as far as I'm concerned, that's exactly what he's done. I think I'll go talk to Seif-ij again\u2014maybe he can help me get through to Morian before he leaves."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/racial-motifs-9-argonians": {"series": "Crafting Motifs", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/racial-motifs-9-argonians", "author": "Various", "title": "Crafting Motif 9: Argonian Style", "description": "Styles and materials used by the cultures of Tamriel. Also the author's meandering travelogue.", "text": "Being notes by Doctor Alfidia Lupus for a series of pamphlets on the major cultural styles of Tamriel\n(Dr. Lupus was Imperial Ethnographer for Potentate Savirien-Chorak from 2E 418 to 431)\nThis morning my maid Dariella came to me all a-twitter with the news that there was a lizard-woman at the door, asking for me and insisting it was urgent. There aren't many Argonians in the City, and it occurred to me this might be a relative of Seif-ij, sent with some dreadful news about Morian, so I donned my University robe and hurried down.\nThere was indeed a young lizard-woman waiting in the street, clad in a fetching spidersilk jumper adorned with intricate spiral designs. She said her name was Lifts-Her-Tail (which I thought must be a joke, but who can tell, given these reptilians' impassive features), and she'd been sent to bring me to her master, Desh-Wulm the Perspicuous. She said she didn't know what it was about, but it was a matter of some urgency, and she was to lead me to her master immediately. I nodded, nervously, and followed.\nThe Argonian lass led me out the Temple gate and down to the Docks, far out on the end of which we found a curious old house I'd never before noticed, with a dark sign by the door that read \"The Xanmeer\"\u2014a word unfamiliar to me. We went inside to find a large house entirely occupied by Argonians, a dozen or so who seemingly lived there using all the rooms in common. Everywhere I looked I saw Argonian hangings, sculptures, and fetishes, all made from natural materials such as shells, bone, and feathers, glowing with bright spiral and geometric designs. If these objects were representative of what the Argonians used in their home regions, then snakeskin, tortoise shell, jagged teeth, turquoise and jade, all of which we would consider exotic materials, must be commonplace in Black Marsh,.\nLifts-Her-Tail led me up a ramp that had apparently replaced the house's staircase. On the upper level she introduced me to a humid room that, to me at least, smelled of decay and mold. Coughing, I entered, discovering a room almost entirely full of potted jungle plants\u2014some of them seemingly long-dead and rotting. I stepped on something that squished beneath my sandal and stepped involuntarily back, but the lizard-lass gently took my hand, drew me past a wall of ferns and into the center of the room.\nThere, incongruously, I discovered a large porcelain Nibenese bathtub, like the one in my own vanity chamber, though this one was filled almost to the rim with a noisome, greenish mud. And lying in this mud, nose barely above the surface, was the oldest Argonian I'd ever seen.\nIn fact, the withered and wizened lizard-man looked so much like a mummy I was startled when it opened its mouth and spoke. In a voice like creaking leather, the reptilian slowly said, \"I am Desh-Wulm. You are Al-Phid, Brightest Star of the City. You are welcome in my uxith\u2014my nest.\"\nHe seemed to be looking someplace over my shoulder, and I saw that the old lizard's eyes were clouded over with an opalescent film\u2014he was blind. This infirmity was somehow reassuring, enabling me to regain my self-possession and fall gratefully into the routines of etiquette. I bowed\u2014though he couldn't see it\u2014and said, \"I am honored to be received into your home, venerable Desh-Wulm. How can one such as I be of service to an Elder of Wisdom?\"\n\"You can beware!\" he croaked, scaled hands emerging from the mud and levering him up on the rim of the bathtub. \"Your dryskin mages\u2014the weft unravels about them,\" he said, more calmly, making an unfamiliar spiral gesture above the tub. \"It is wrong. The Aurbic skeins should not be disjoined with intent of malice.\"\nI had been around wizards long enough to guess at what he meant. \"Morian?\" I gasped. \"And Divayth? They're in danger? What can I do?\"\nDesh-Wulm clacked his jaws twice, and then said, \"You are capable. You must stop them. You will prevail. If not,\" three sharp spines rose up from his brow, \"there will be ill dreams and serration for all who swim the river. Kaoc!\" The old Argonian suddenly began thrashing about in the tub, spilling muck over the sides. \"Theilul!\"\nLifts-Her-Tail deftly picked up a jug that seemed to be made from a single insect's carapace, uncorked it, and poured some brown liquor down the old lizard-man's throat. \"Go!\" she hissed, pointing toward the door. \"Do as he says! Now!\"\n\tI turned, ran out of the room, down the ramp, out the door, and back to the Imperial City."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/racial-motifs-10-imperial-cyrods": {"series": "Crafting Motifs", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/racial-motifs-10-imperial-cyrods", "author": "Various", "title": "Crafting Motif 10: Imperial Style", "description": "Styles and materials used by the cultures of Tamriel. Also the author's meandering travelogue.", "text": "The Imperial City. I used to love it here. When I was young my native town of Skingrad seemed hopelessly provincial to me, and I looked forward all year long to going along with mother on her annual trip to the Heartland. For me, the capital was the epitome of learning, of culture, of everything I held dear.\nI walk the avenues now, from district to district. And I look. Skingrad seemed provincial, yes, but it was Colovian: direct, forthright, with clean lines and a certain spare, ascetic look to it. And its people are much the same way.\nThe Imperial City, except for the walls and the Tower, which are Ayleid, is \u2026 Nibenese. Refined. Decorative. Subtle. Nuanced.\nDecadent. Corrupt.\nLike its people. And the people it attracts.\nI was too late.\nMorian is gone. With the help of Divayth, cursed Divayth, he fulfilled his dream and traveled to Oblivion. According to Seif-ij, he went to Moonshadow as planned, but he didn't stay there. He went on, to Ashpit, to Coldharbour, to Quagmire. To Apocrypha.\nAnd there, in Apocrypha, he stayed.\nSeif-ij told me, emotion quivering even in his flat reptilian voice, of how once he entered Oblivion Morian seemed to become more reckless, more enraptured, with each portal to a new plane. How he ignored his assistant's pleas to return. How Apocrypha \u2026 entranced him.\nSeif-ij Hidja was beside himself, holding his head with its drooping spines, clearly at his wit's-end. It was up to me. I ran to Divayth's room, though Seif-ij said he was gone, hoping he'd left some way to get in touch with him, hoping he would respond to my appeals for help.\nI found only a book, open on his desk, a book titled \"Fragmentae Abyssum Hermaeus Morus.\" It was open to what seemed to be a summoning ritual for the Daedric Prince Hermaeus Mora, specifying that \"whatever price is named shall be met.\"\nA ritual to Hermaeus Mora. The Lord of Apocrypha.\nI ran to Morian's laboratory. It was looted, ransacked. The only thing of interest was a crumpled note. It read, \"When thou enterest into Oblivion, Oblivion entereth into thee.\"\nMorian is gone. Gone to Apocrypha. Where he stays.\nAnd so I walk, from district to district. Wondering. What price had the Lord of Apocrypha named to Divayth Fyr? What price for the entrancement, the captivity of Morian Zenas?\nI walk the streets, the avenues and alleys. Wondering.\nWondering when I, too, will be ready to pay the price."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/racial-motifs-11-ancient-elves": {"series": "Crafting Motifs", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/racial-motifs-11-ancient-elves", "author": "Various", "title": "Crafting Motif 11: Ancient Elf Style", "description": "Styles and materials used by the cultures of Tamriel. Also the author's meandering travelogue.", "text": "The master\u2014I mean the Professor, Morian Zenas\u2014is gone. So is Lady Alfidia, though I always addressed her as Doctor Lupus. So, for that matter, is the Telvanni, but he, at least, will not be missed\u2014nasty mer, always making caustic comments about \"the scaleskin help\" whenever the Professor wasn't around.\nNo, I am glad the Telvanni is gone. But the others \u2026 well.\nI will stay on here as long as I may, keeping the Professor's town house in order, organizing his notes and his reagents, dusting his beloved books. I still hope for his return. For now, the University has him listed as \"On Sabbatical,\" and sends his stipend to me so I can maintain his residence and arcane workshop.\nIt was while in the study, straightening the Professor's desk, that I came across a stack of notes in Lady Alfidia's elegant handwriting, unfinished studies of clothing, arms, and armor in several cultural styles. The river flows slowly these days, so I have decided to organize these style notes in a fashion that (I hope) approximates how the lady doctor would have done so herself.\nThough notes about the styles of the leading Elven societies of current-day Tamriel have already been compiled, there is more to say, as the mer, who revere their ancestors and ancestry, have a special regard for the history of Aldmeri culture. The Merethic Era, when Elves first conquered and colonized Tamriel, they regard as a golden age to be emulated. As a result the clothing and armor of that period never really goes out of style, and many Elves still affect the styles and manners of the ancient Aldmeri. It is not at all unusual, even on continental Tamriel, to encounter a High Elf or Dark Elf dressed like an ancient Ayleid or Chimer. The Elves call this practice \"draping Ehlnofic,\" but the rest of us just call it \"Ancient Elven\" and leave it at that.\n(I will add here to the absent lady's notes that I myself, though having lived in the Imperial capital for many long years, have never seen a Wood Elf sporting this Ancient Elven style. But the Bosmer, like we Argonians, seem to prefer to live in the Aurbic Now, showing relatively little regard for the ways of former ages.)\nAncient Elven is different from Elven styles favored by modern artisans of Summerset and Morrowind in that it is somewhat more organic, and yet at the same time more abstract. Flowing floral motifs are common, usually tapering to a sharp point or end, as in the sharp-peaked arches so familiar to the inhabitants of Cyrodiil from our ubiquitous Ayleid ruins. Circles, semi-circles, and arcs abound, often containing the organic tapering tendrils, much as the Aedra (whom the Elves claim as ancestors) were constrained by the creation of the Mundus.\n(What? What's that? \u2026It is as if I heard my lady whisper in my ear, \"How pretentious, Seif-ij!\")"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/racial-motifs-12-barbaric": {"series": "Crafting Motifs", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/racial-motifs-12-barbaric", "author": "Various", "title": "Crafting Motif 12: Barbaric Style", "description": "Styles and materials used by the cultures of Tamriel. Also the author's meandering travelogue.", "text": "Continuing my compilation of Doctor Alfidia Lupus' notes for studies of clothing, arms, and armor in diverse cultural styles\u2026.\nDespite the civilizing influence of our noble Second Empire, Tamriel still has its backwaters and hinterlands inhabited by barbarous tribes. Probably the most familiar to us Cyrodilics are the savage clans of the Reachmen, who dwell in the wild mountains between Skyrim and High Rock, and whose raiders have been seen on the outskirts of Bruma within living memory. But there are also the Ashlanders of Morrowind, the fierce Kothringi of Black Marsh, the Ket Keptu of central Hammerfell, and many others.\nIt is a strange but undeniable fact that these tribes, farflung across the continent though they are, have strikingly similar tastes in apparel. Why this should be is fodder for another ethnographic study more speculative than this one, which is merely descriptive. (Therefore, on to the description.)\nThis clannish or tribal style, though commonly known as \"Barbaric,\" is really no less sophisticated than that of other cultures. The so-called barbaric tribes simply disdain all ideas of tasteful restraint, preferring the lurid and bizarre. Bright colors are favored, and materials may be lacquered to almost any hue. Typical accouterments include skulls, antlers, feathers, strings of teeth, accents of beaten copper, and weapons ostentatious in size and number.\n(I feel the need to interject here that much of this description could also apply to the styles of my native Black Marsh, a region that could scarcely be described as \"barbaric\"! Pfui. I shall return to this cultural style another day.)"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/racial-motifs-13-primal": {"series": "Crafting Motifs", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/racial-motifs-13-primal", "author": "Various", "title": "Crafting Motif 13: Primal Style ", "description": "Styles and materials used by the cultures of Tamriel. Also the author's meandering travelogue.", "text": "Continuing my compilation of Doctor Alfidia Lupus' notes for studies of clothing, arms, and armor in diverse cultural styles\u2026.\nYou might look at the gear sported by a fully-equipped Goblin warchief and think, \"What a mismatched conglomeration of primitive paraphernalia.\" But you would be wrong. Each item that warchief is wearing was carefully selected for its proven utility, and represents a decision backed by millennia of tradition. This is a style of arms and armor we ethnographers call the \"Primal,\" and it is as distinctive and recognizable as any other culture set.\nGoblins and other folk who have adopted the Primal style are typically superb scavengers and looters. They seem to have a special sense for where to find the sort of cast-off yet serviceable, even exceptional equipment that will fit the Primal esthetic. And they are as proud of their turn-out as any Imperial centurion.\nRecent scholarship by Doctor Intricatus of Gwylim University confirms this, and adds some new information that shows that \"primal\" is, indeed, the optimal label for this style. His study of the fifty-seven Primal ensembles worn by the massacred Knife-Biter Goblin tribe showed that many of the items found on the corpses were hundreds, if not thousands of years old. Some of the greaves and cuirasses appeared to date from the early First Era, and represented ancient forging techniques that have since been lost to history. Did the Goblins loot these from ancient Cyrodilic ruins, as they've been known to do? Or did they actually pass them down, generation by generation, since time immemorial?\nYes, Professor Zenas, that IS how you spell \"immemorial.\" Wait \u2026 what? Professor? Is that your voice?"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/racial-motifs-14-daedric": {"series": "Crafting Motifs", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/racial-motifs-14-daedric", "author": "Various", "title": "Crafting Motif 14: Daedric Style", "description": "Styles and materials used by the cultures of Tamriel. Also the author's meandering travelogue.", "text": "Continuing my compilation of Doctor Alfidia Lupus' notes for studies of clothing, arms, and armor in diverse cultural styles\u2026.\nIt is entirely appropriate that this last entry in Doctor Lupus' \"Racial Motifs\" series should be about Daedric arms and armor, as it is my belief that the absent Lady Alfidia has somehow journeyed to the Daedric planes of Oblivion in pursuit of my lost Professor Morian Zenas. And as I can now hear the Professor's voice whispering in my ear almost constantly, it is time to conclude these notes and move on to telling the story of his travels through the doors of Oblivion.\nThe Daedra, as the Professor has so often remarked, are creatures of chaos, entities of great energy and force but entirely lacking in originality. They can imitate, they can exaggerate, and they can corrupt, but they cannot create anything new. That is a capability inherent only in the Aedra, and in we mortals of Nirn, to whom they gave it as a gift. (In Black Marsh we see such things differently, of course, but these are the beliefs of the Professor and Lady Alfidia.)\nThus the armor and weapons of such Daedra as the Dremora, Xivilai, and Golden Saints\u2014what Doctor Lupus calls the \"humanoid\" Daedra\u2014consist of familiar Tamriel-style cuisses, breastplates, and pauldrons, swords, spears, and bows. They may to our eyes be ornamented with outlandish spikes and melodramatic flourishes, but look inside a suit of Daedric armor and you'll find the familiar padding and straps that enable it to be worn by anyone of conventional shape. Pick up a Daedric sword, and despite its bizarre shape you will find the grip comfortable, the heft well-balanced. Indeed, it is said that the famous Artifacts of the Daedric Princes, such as the Mace of Molag Bal, were mostly made by mortal artisans who were enticed or forced to create them.\nYes, Professor, I believe that is enough\u2014for now, at least. I have done my duty to the good doctor. I am sitting in your study, and I am listening. Tell me again of Moonshadow."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/racial-motifs-15-dwemer": {"series": "Crafting Motifs", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/racial-motifs-15-dwemer", "author": "Various", "title": "Crafting Motif 15: Dwemer Style", "description": "Styles and materials used by the cultures of Tamriel. Also the author's meandering travelogue.", "text": "Kireth says I should write down what I've learned about Dwemer artisans and the styles and motifs of their lost civilization.\u00a0She also says that organizing this study into an alphabetical listing of classes of relics is weird and detail-obsessive, but that's just evidence of her muddled and haphazard way of thinking.\nDwemeri axe designs reflect the wheels, gears, and cogs that are central to so many devices of the Deep Elves. The haft is surmounted by a round disk resembling the hub of a wheel, from which spokes radiate to the blade or blades, which are like portions of a wheel's outer ring. The blades maintain an edge remarkably well, considering their great age.\nDwarven belts are typically made of overlapping metal links of a repeated geometric shape, such as squares or circles. Their length is easily adjusted by the addition or subtraction of a few links. The tensile strength of such a belt is without peer, many times that of an equivalent length of steel chain.\nDwarven boots are sturdy, but not as heavy as they look. Though they have accents of Dwarven metal, they are mainly constructed of a flexible material that resembles leather, but either it is some sort of manufactured imitation, or the Dwemer had beasts with incredibly smooth and homogenous hide. Knee-high Dwarven boots often incorporate built-in greaves over the shins.\nDwarven recurved bows are powerful and can drive an arrow through an oaken board. Though they appear to made of metal, they are not; the strong yet flexible material they are made from is otherwise unknown, and cannot be duplicated by modern bowyers.\nAll Dwarven chest armor consists of metal plates of various sizes affixed to a leather cuirass\u2014thin, flexible leather with a few small plates in the case of light armor, the leather becoming thicker and the plates larger and more numerous as the armor gets heavier. The plates are typically geometric in shape and ornamentation.\nA Dwarven dagger typically has a broad and heavy triangular blade, as suitable for chopping as for stabbing. In fact, they resemble tools as much as they do weapons.\nDwarven gloves were always made of fine and flexible leather or pseudo-leather, reflecting their wearers' need for fine manipulation of their devices. Only the heaviest gauntlets sported metal ribs, typically tessellated splints protecting the back of the hands.\nDwarven helmets of all kinds famously cover the entire face with a face-shaped visor, curiously bisected down the center by a sort of metal keel. This keel reappears atop the helmet as a crest, which may be modest or bizarrely exaggerated. A line of Dwemer troops, all wearing helmets with identical, impassive visages, must have struck terror into the Deep Elves' enemies.\nThe leg protection of the Dwemer typically consisted of geometric plates or cylinders of metal, mounted on the same thick yet flexible material used for their boots. The armor was particularly thick over the knee.\nDwarven maces have heavy and blunt geometrcal heads, without flanges, spikes, or pointed finials. The two-handed maces are outweighed only by Orcish skull-crushers, and can bend and batter plate armor as if it was foil.\nDwarven shields come in many shapes, but all echo the geometric forms seen on Dwemer armor, albeit writ large. They are formed from relatively thin plates of Dwarven metal, and are much lighter and wieldier than they appear.\nDwarven shoulder pauldrons were usually made of thick and inflexible metal, mounted on cops of heavy \"leather.\" The pauldrons of heavier armor sometimes sported metal keels echoing the crests seen atop their helmets.\nEven the most elaborate Dwarven staff has a utilitarian look about it, as if it was going to be used with a paddle to draw a loaf of bread from an oven. The haft is made of some close-grained substance that looks like wood but is not, circled with rings of Dwarven metal. The finials are circular or fan-shaped, and usually modest in size.\nDwarven swords look like mere extensions of their daggers, featuring the same broad, triangular blades with both point and edge. Their cross-guards are slender to almost nonexistent, which argues that Dwemer swordplay did not rely much on thrusting."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/racial-motifs-16-glass": {"series": "Crafting Motifs", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/racial-motifs-16-glass", "author": "Various", "title": "Crafting Motif 16: Glass Style", "description": "Styles and materials used by the cultures of Tamriel. Also the author's meandering travelogue.", "text": "By Vandalion Brightsteel, Armorsmith Peerless of Vulkhel Guard\nDuring the recent strife in Firsthold, certain reference works were lost from the great library, so His Excellency Kinlord Rilis has asked the leading experts of Auridon to replace them with new accounts. For the definitive description of the Glass crafting style, naturally our wise sovereign turned to me.\nThe avian motif typically of the Glass style is particularly prominent in the axe designs, where the glass-edged blades are crafted to resemble the wings of a bird of prey. The blades' feathered appearance is strictly cosmetic; the scoring that produces the feathered look is too shallow to weaken the blade, but is deep enough to create blood gutters.\nThe belt on a suit of glass armor is usually a single cincture of some exotic leather, adorned with glass bosses in rhomboid or pentagonal shapes. Geometrical tassets depend from either hip, and there may be a chevron-shaped fauld in front to protect the groin.\nElegant footwear indeed! These vary from sturdy leather moccasins with glass toe-guards with light armor, up to steel-and-glass sabatons with heavy armor. Flexibility is paramount, as Elven soldiers favor agility over thickness of plate.\nGlass-style bows are compound and recurved, with a wooden grip and limbs of horn. The front of the curve and back of the recurve are faced with glass for maximum power. Non-glass parts of the bow are often painted with a metallic lacquer, so that a flash of reflected sunlight ripples along the line as a troop of archers raises their bows for a volley.\nThe downward-pointing chevrons on Glass cuirasses evoke the deep-muscled chests of great flying creatures, and indeed the chest plates are often adorned with images of eagles, dragons, or cliff racers. They are constructed of leather, steel, and glass, with as much additional glass trim as the buyer can afford.\nA Summerset glass dagger is the finest fighting knife there is. The glass on a Glass-style dagger is usually confined to the point and edge, with accents on the pommel; the tang, guard, and core of the blade are of steel. They are capable weapons, equally useful for slashing, stabbing, or parrying.\nGlass-style gauntlets typically feature thin, flexible leather gloves, with glass strips protecting the back of the hand and the forearms. The elbows are covered by triangular glass-faced cowters that echo the shape of the pauldrons above.\nGlass-style headpieces extend the winged motif of the cuirasses and pauldrons upward; they often have armored crests, cheek-wings, and winged cranium caps. Glass, polished to a glossy sheen, trims every edge. A fine glass helmet is a sight to behold.\nWhether light, medium, or heavy, all greaves in this magnificent style are constructed of sturdy but flexible leather faced with glass. The main difference is the amount and thickness of the glass banding, and the size of the shield-shaped glass poleyns that protect the knees.\nGlass-style maces and hammers feature elegant but heavy steel heads with glass-tipped studs and spikes. The hafts are made of a dense but flexible wood such as ash, faced with steel languets and ending in a steel roundel heavy enough to partially offset the weight of the head. That enables these long-hafted weapons to be whirled almost like quarterstaves.\nFor a shield that is nearly all metal, glass shields are remarkably light, precisely because they're mostly glass plates held in a slender matrix of steel. Two broad glass wings, usually avian-themed, flare out from central steel ribs to broad \"feathered\" edges.\nThe Glass-style pauldrons are integrated with the shapes of the chest pieces, extending the winged motif onto the shoulders and down into the upper-arm rerebraces. The marine version of this style resembles breaking waves rather than wings.\nA staff in the Glass style is many a wizard's proudest possession. The long wooden shaft, sheathed in steel languets to protect it while parrying, is simple enough; it's the elaborate winged finial that is the glory of a glass staff. The steel head, often set with large turquoises, unfolds on either side into a pair of exquisite glass wings, evoking birds, bats, or Dragons. The entire finial seems to glow with inner fire.\nA Glass sword is a cunning combination of steel core and tang with a glass point and edges. The blade may be quite broad near the tip, and even \"feathered\" with shallow blood gutters. Despite their size, the blades are light, favored by sword-fighters for their ease of use and battlefield durability\u2014for a glass sword will hold its edge long after a steel or alloy sword has gone dull."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-17-xivkyn-style": {"series": "Crafting Motifs", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-17-xivkyn-style", "author": "Various", "title": "Crafting Motif 17: Xivkyn Style", "description": "Styles and materials used by the cultures of Tamriel. Also the author's meandering travelogue.", "text": "By Denogorath, Dread Archivist and Promulgator of Mandatory Doctrine\nThe Master's new Xivkyn Honor Guard must be outfitted in a manner that will bring glory to mighty Molag Bal and fear to his enemies. The following stylistic requirements must be adhered to without deviation! See to it, or face the consequences in the scathe-rings.\nA Xivkyn's one-handed axe shall have a blade like a headsman's axe and a narrow back spike with a slight downward curve. The two-handed axe shall have two headsman's blades. Both shall have metal spike-wings clustered just below the head or heads.\nA Xivkyn's belt shall have a geometric abdominal buckle large enough to cause discomfort when the Daedra bends forward. The medium and heavy girdles shall have sharp, interlocking diamond-shaped plates, so as to cause pain when the belts are used to bind captives.\nA Xivkyn's boots shall have heavy metal toes to optimize the brutal kicking of downed opponents. These plates shall be articulated to allow the feet to flex without compromising protection or weaponization.\nA Xivkyn bow shall be faced with flaring metal spike-wings to enable the archer to parry blows. A Xivkyn archer's quiver shall be protected by thin armor plates held on with an excessive quantity of rivets, because who doesn't like lots of rivets?\nA Xivkyn's chest armor shall bear a pattern of overlapping metal scales, said pattern to evoke the general awe-inspiring shape of our Dread Lord's mighty skull without actually depicting it. The cuirass will give an impression of great weight, to convey the power and physical strength of the wearer.\nThe Xivkyn's dagger shall have a broad blade, so as to inflict wide wounds that shed blood copiously. Their hilts shall be flaring spike-wings, and their pommels shall be sharp so that at need the Xivkyn can stab back-handedly.\nThe Xivkyn's gauntlets shall have articulated metal sheaths to protect the fingers, augmented by steel talons that extend the reach of the warrior's claws. One size shall fit all.\nA Xivkyn's helm shall protect the warrior's cheeks as well as her crown. It shall be studded and horned, and yet its visage shall evoke a terrible death-mask in the eyes of Molag Bal's enemies.\nA Xivkyn's greaves shall appear to be a continuation of the articulated plates on the warrior's boots, with spiked poleyns to protect the knees.\nA Xivkyn's mace shall have a heavy octagonal head, with sharp, spiked flanges protruding from its faces. It shall look as if it had but to drop on an enemy's skull to crush it in.\nA Xivkyn's shield shall be roughly kite-shaped, but with a flaring spike-wing design on its face. It shall have cut-outs for thrusting on the upper corners on both sides, for convenience of both the left- and right-handed. Once again, do not stint on the rivets.\nA Xivkyn's pauldrons or spaulders shall flare both upward and downward, to protect both the shoulders and the sides of the neck. They shall be accented with a dull red the color of mortals' dried blood.\nSpellcasting Xivkyn shall be provided with staves with finials like flared spike-wings; they shall look as if the mage could use them to disembowel an opponent if necessary. Within the three spike-wings, each finial shall have a central pointed metallic stone that will emit the staff's spell-energy. At a pinch, a Xivkyn staff can be placed in a floor-stand and used as a convenient torchiere.\nLike the dagger, a Xivkyn's sword shall have a broad blade, so as to inflict terrible wounds on those insolent enough to defy the will of Molag Bal. This double-edged blade shall be kept razor sharp at all times. Flaring spike-wings shall cluster around the hilt."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-18-akaviri": {"series": "Crafting Motifs", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-18-akaviri", "author": "Various", "title": "Crafting Motif 18: Akaviri", "description": "Styles and materials used by the cultures of Tamriel. Also the author's meandering travelogue.", "text": "King Jorunn wants a description of the Akaviri styles of arms and armor written by someone who knows them. I don't think anyone killed more Akaviri than I did during the recent invasion from Kamal, so I guess that makes me an expert in their wares of war. Besides, who else was I going to get to write this? Rigurt?\nKamal, the region of Akavir where the recent invaders hail from, is said to be icy and snow-covered, so it's no surprise that Kamali axes resemble those made by us Nords of Skyrim. The one-handed weapons, in particular, are clearly descended from the kind of ice-axes we use when crossing glaciers or scaling icy peaks.\nAn Akaviri belt usually sports a prominent boss on its buckle, with an abstract sigil that's probably clan-related. These symbols are always symmetrical, and usually made of interwoven flowing designs. For several years I wore one taken from an officer I slew, and it was strong and well-made.\nBoots of the northern Akaviri tend to be simple and utilitarian, for trudging through the deep snows of Kamal. Those of the southern Tsaesci are more elaborate and decorative, with shoes and greaves that look like Imperial sandals, though armored with thick leather or small metal plates.\nThe Akaviri use composite bows with recurved ends made of horn. Though painted with metallic lacquer, don't be fooled: their bows are not made of metal, nor do the Akaviri have the giant's-strength it would take to bend them if they were.\nAkaviri chest armor is worked or forged from familiar materials\u2014padding, leather, steel\u2014and usually decorated with a triangular or pyramidal shape, point toward the gorget.\nAkaviri daggers are pretty, but don't be fooled: they're made for killing, and if you get downed on the battlefield, expect to feel one of these in your armpit or groin. As with the swords, the curved ones are Tsaesci, and the straight ones are from Kamal.\nAkaviri weapons usually have narrow guards, which leaves hand protection up to their gauntlets. These usually have thick armor on the back of the hand, while leaving the fingers free and open for a solid grip on weapon and shield.\nThe Tsaesci helmets I've seen in museums, or imitated by Fighters Guild warriors, sport layered neck and side armor, and often have elaborate double crests like horns or antlers. Kamali helmets, in contrast, tend to be simpler, though they also cover the back and sides. Lots of Akaviri helmets of both kinds include visors or some other form of partial face coverage. The troops found some of these unsettling, even creepy.\nAkaviri greaves always look like extensions of their sandal-like boots. I could never tell where one ends and the other starts.\nKamali maces usually have rectangular heads, while those of the Tsaesci are round. Both kinds are studded all round with wicked spikes. They're going to hurt you, even if you're wearing heavy armor.\nShields from Kamal tend to be metal-edged wood from the northern forests, while shields from southern Tsaesci are more likely to be curved sheets of steel. These often sport symbols echoing the crests on the warriors' helms.\nUnlike the triangular designs on their chest armor, Akaviri pauldrons and shoulder cops are always articulated rectangular or square plates. Why? Who knows?\nAn Akaviri mage prizes his spell staff, and they are often splendid and lavishly decorated, trimmed in gold leaf and sporting great red gems. The hafts of these staves are made of a dense, flexible wood unknown in Tamriel, able to deflect even a great axe.\nThe Akaviri seem to love their swords almost as much as the Redguards; their long blades are among the finest I've ever seen. When you heft one of the curved Tsaesci swords, you can just feel how it could shear right through a soldier's limbs. And the straight blades of Kamal are no less dangerous.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/racial-motifs-19-mercenary": {"series": "Crafting Motifs", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/racial-motifs-19-mercenary", "author": "Various", "title": "Crafting Motif 19: Mercenary Style", "description": "Styles and materials used by the cultures of Tamriel. Also the author's meandering travelogue.", "text": "By Gaspard Esmery, Captain of Gaspard's Stalkers\nMercenary companies got a bad reputation during Potentate Versidue-Shaie's War of Subjugation, when paid troops of Imperial vassals went rogue, pillaging their way across the provinces until the Legions brought them down. But with the rise of the Three Alliances and the return of general warfare across Tamriel, our services are once again in high demand. The mercenaries are back!\nMercenary axes are heavy, and made with only one purpose in mind: smashing or slashing through armor. The haft below the head is sheathed in a cylindrical steel languet, to protect it from being severed and to enable parrying. The lower portion of the haft is often bone, ending in a pointed steel ferrule.\nA mercenary's waist cincture is wide, often sporting two or three parallel straps of thick leather, each with its own buckles. The boss at the front may display the sigil of the mercenary's company.\nA mercenary's boots are simple and utilitarian, both durable and comfortable, as a mercenary must be able to march for leagues and then charge right into battle.\nMercenary bows are powerful engines, able to drive steel-tipped arrows through all but the heaviest armor. Their limbs are of recurved horn, with small metal shield-plates bolted onto the backs, so the bow can serve as an expedient buckler in the left hand, while the archer draws her short sword with the right.\nA mercenary's chest armor is constructed of thick leather, often faced with steel scales or plates. This cuirass is crisscrossed by leather bandoliers for carrying gear or secondary weapons.\nThe mercenary's broad-bladed dagger is nearly as long as a short sword, made for punching or hacking through the weak spots in a downed opponent's armor. They are not balanced for throwing, but are heavy enough to deliver a solid blow if hurled.\nMost mercenary weapons lack crossguards, as mercenaries prefer an active, thrusting parry. Hand and forearm protection are provided by thick gauntlets, overlapped by articulated plates extending down from the vambraces on the forearms.\nMercenary helmets are typically crafted to resemble stylized death's-heads, with fangs and a central \\\"horn\\\"\u2014though some insist that the forehead spike represents the single-digit salute mercenaries give their opponents just before coming to grips.\nOverlapping plates protect the front of a mercenary's legs, with flexible leather at the back. The poleyn that protects the knee often features a vertical spike that echoes the \"horn\" on the helmet.\nMercenary maces have heavy cylindrical heads studded with angular spikes for punching through armor. Like the axes, the maces' upper hafts are sheathed in steel languets, while the lower hafts end in spiked metal ferrules.\nMercenary's shields are shaped like Nords' kite shields, and are almost as large. They are faced with steel and bronze, which few mercenaries bother to lacquer or paint\u2014these aren't ornamental objects, they're working armor pieces, designed to take blows. Why waste paint on them?\nA mercenary's pauldrons and rerebraces are thicker on the soldier's main arm, where the most protection is needed. Bandoliers and baldrics are usually belted beneath the pauldrons.\nFor a spellcasting mercenary, the staff serves as both weapon and shield, and both ends of the haft are often sheathed in cylindrical steel to enable parrying. More than just an ornament, the staff's finial ends in one or more sharp spikes, enabling the staff to be used as a half-pike in a pinch.\nA mercenary's sword is broad and heavy, like a falchion, designed as much for battering as for slashing. Only the forward edge is sharpened; the back edge is designed to take blows, or to deliver a thrusting parry."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-20-yokudan-style": {"series": "Crafting Motifs", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-20-yokudan-style", "author": "Various", "title": "Crafting Motif 20: Yokudan Style ", "description": "Styles and materials used by the cultures of Tamriel. Also the author's meandering travelogue.", "text": "Stored here in the Seeker's Archive are much of the lost history and wisdom of Yokuda, in books and scrolls brought here by the first of the Ra Gada. It will take many lifetimes to catalogue it all, so we shall start simply, with references to the characteristics that make the Yokudan motifs unique and distinctive, such as the so-called \"broad arrowhead\" design.\nThough the Yokudans were dedicated to the sword above all, they recognized the utility of other weapons as well; their axes, for example, were both beautiful and formidable. They often had long, curved cutting edges, giving them some of the virtues of swords.\nYokudan belts tended not to be elaborate, because what mattered was what hung from them: the all-important sword or other weapon, as well as tassets for hip protection. The buckle was usually a strong and simple geometric design.\nYokudan boots were made for combat, of heavy leather with strategically-placed metal plates for protection. But they were also flexible and rugged for marching across the harsh Yokudan terrain.\nThe Yokudans had little esteem for archery, deeming it less honorable than melee combat, and their gallants and grandees left it to the common foot soldier. A Yokudan archer or light skirmisher was usually armed with a simple self bow adorned with modest metal facings.\nFor Yokudans, the art of weapon combat was profoundly athletic, so while their cuirasses offered solid central protection for the chest and back, the arm, shoulder, and waist areas were covered with flexible leather for maximum agility.\nA Yokudan dagger just looks like a smaller version of a Yokudan sword, and indeed they tended to be large, approaching short swords in size. A large dagger in the off hand was a common choice for Yokudan dual wielders.\nYokudan warriors emphasized sword fighting above all other weapon styles, and in swordplay the hands are always under threat, so Yokudan gauntlets were heavy and multi-layered, with flaring upper sleeves to protect the forearms.\nYokudan helm designs are clearly descended from the turbaned hats of ancient pastoral nomads. They typically had aventails to protect the back of the neck, full visors covering the face, and even horns on the forehead or crest.\nYokudan chausses were strong to protect against low cuts in swordplay, often with metal plates covering both the shin in front and the calves in back, to prevent hamstringing attacks. Pointed knee poleyns were common as well.\nThe Yokudans were so attached to the idea of edged blades that they even mounted them on the heads of their maces, where you might find spikes or flanges in another crafting style. Some of these edged blades even came to points in the \"broad arrowhead\" design.\nYokudan shields might be round, oval, or kite-shaped, but all were fitted with blade-turning metal plates around their edges, and round central bosses featuring geometric designs. They appeared to be entirely metal, but were actually made of metallic plates riveted to wooden frames.\nThough the shoulders themselves were sheathed in flexible leather to enable acrobatic swordplay, above that the joints were protected by sharp and often elaborate pauldrons, cops that flared at the top to guard the side of the neck.\nThe rare Yokudan war-wizards employed staves designed to resemble melee weapons to borrow some of the prestige of hand-to-hand combat. Their metallic finials might be round, flared, or pointed in the \"broad arrowhead\" design.\nThough the curved Yokudan swords weren't elaborately embellished, they nonetheless represented the apogee of Yokudan weapon-making, having been forged and re-forged in a long process designed to make them unbreakable and invincible. Yokudan warriors regarded their swords as extensions of their essential selves."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/racial-motifs-21-ancient-orc": {"series": "Crafting Motifs", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/racial-motifs-21-ancient-orc", "author": "Various", "title": "Crafting Motif 21: Ancient Orc Style", "description": "Styles and materials used by the cultures of Tamriel. Also the author's meandering travelogue.", "text": "By Curator Umutha of the House of Orsimer Glories\nHere in Orsinium's museum of Orcish history, we are proud to display arms and armor created in the style of our ancient ancestors! Feel free to handle the items labeled \"reproduction,\" but please admire the original relics in the display cases with your eyes only.\nAn Ancient Orc axe is a thing of simple beauty, its broad curved blade worked with traditional geometric patterns, utilitarian but deadly. The two-handed axe has two blades mounted on its longer haft. Can you not imagine this lovely weapon taking the head right off a skulking Diagna assassin?\nThe Ancient Orc's waist cincture is constructed of square or rectangular links, with a large belly buckle inscribed with an abstract clan sigil. Like all Orcish gear from the period, it is even stronger than it looks.\nAs you would expect from seeing other items made in the Ancient Orc style, even the boots are tough, practical, and unexpectedly beautiful. After our lovely tusks, what defines an Orsimer more than our shapely calves? And what could protect and yet display them better than Ancient Orc boots?\nSimple and elegant, the appearance of the Ancient Orc longbow conveys one quality above all others: strength! This is the bow of a people whose muscles were thickened and hardened working in the forge, who can draw a bow powerful enough to drive a steel-tipped arrow through even the best non-Orcish armor!\nWhether it's leather, brigantine, or plate steel, the Ancient Orc cuirass is formed of interlocking and overlapping elements that provide multiple layers of protection without compromising flexibility. And, of course, their intricate geometry is a joy to the eye!\nWhen it came to weapons, the Ancient Orcs knew that size matters! Their daggers were almost the size of short swords, with a single edge and a slight curve just below the point. Lethal and lovely!\nAs you might expect, the war-gloves of the Ancient Orcs are clearly descendants of the blacksmith's protective gauntlets, providing coverage nearly to the elbow, and crafted of thick material that nonetheless does not compromise the warrior's all-important flexibility. In other words: nice gloves!\nWith Ancient Orc helmets, we see the broad variety that is a hallmark of Orsimer inventiveness: we go from simple hoods that are little more than arming caps, all the way to heavy horned helms faced with a fierce full-visage tusked mask!\nAn Ancient Orc's greaves are a natural extension of the Old Orsimer's lovely boots -- in fact, it's hard to tell where one ends and the other begins! They exemplify the perfect marriage of form with function! You can't get more Orcish than that.\nThe Ancient Orcs knew how to make armor -- and they also knew how to make weapons to get through it! Their maces featured a spike on one side for perforating leather and chain mail, and a heavy flanged head on the other for bashing plate armor. And all of it as beautiful as it is deadly!\nAn Ancient Orc's shield is kite-shaped, of dense hardwood bolstered by overlapping and interlocking strips of metal -- but not too much, because a shield that's too heavy to move rapidly is no use in a melee!\nAncient Orc pauldrons extend the design of the helmet cheek-pieces into layers that protect the shoulders, while simultaneously echoing the shape and ornamentation of the warrior's shield. These are pauldrons I could look at all day long.\nA wonder of the magical sculptor's craft, the Ancient Orc mage's staff is tipped with a metallic finial that resembles a fierce Orsimer sorcerer, tusked and horned, mouth half open as if in the midst of uttering a Destruction spell. So intimidating!\nAn Ancient Orc's sword looks like a slim single-edged axe-blade attached at two points to a long tang, with a slight curve just below the point. The entire weapon is ornamented with interwoven geometric patterns to create an object of breathtaking beauty."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motifs-22-trinimac-cult": {"series": "Crafting Motifs", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motifs-22-trinimac-cult", "author": "Various", "title": "Crafting Motif 22: Trinimac", "description": "Styles and materials used by the cultures of Tamriel. Also the author's meandering travelogue.", "text": "By the Venerable Uugus, Priest of Trinimac\nThe Elves have forgotten the warrior ideals of Trinimac, but we Orsimer keep them alive! As the Children of Trinimac, we embody his stoic courage and bold audacity. The arms we bear and the armor we wear shine with gold, in remembrance of Trinimac's golden skin. And they are accented with polished ebony, in token of Lorkhan's blood when Trinimac tore out his heart.\nThe axes of the Trinimac Cult are notched to evoke the hero Avalian's axe, that was damaged when it cracked the heart of the fire mountain. The blades are embossed with Vaia's Golden Ash, symbol of strength and unity of the Orcs.\nFor the worshiper of Trinimac, the belt symbolizes the faith in the Golden Champion that binds the Orsimer together. Its buckle evokes the Champion's golden helmet, surrounding a quartz crystal that represents the clarity of Trinimac's vision.\nThe Children of Trinimac are warriors, so our shoes are sabatons, armored boots with metal-shod toes, gleaming with the light of the Golden Champion.\nOur bows are crafted to emulate that of Elsarel, the Orsimer hero who slew the colossal Daedroth Zetthax with a single arrow through the eye. It is said Elsarel did honor to the Golden Champion by practicing with the bow for 20 hours out of every 24.\nThe cuirasses of the Cult of Trinimac are the highest expression of the cult's devotion to the perfection of artistic labor: intricate, ornate, rife with symbolism, and yet supremely crafted to perform their function of protecting the warrior in battle. In garb the warrior of Trinimac is ever resplendent!\nOur daggers are forged of the finest steel, bifurcated into twin thrusting blades to represent the dual nature of Trinimac, the Golden Champion who is both slayer and protector.\nThe followers of Trinimac wear gloves of softest leather to enable fine manipulation, but cover their backs with articulated gauntlets of gilded splints.\nThe warriors of Trinimac wear gilded helms in emulation of the Champion's helmet, often with golden full-face visors to evoke Trinimac's stern features.\nFull greaves, gilded and with knee poleyns, protect the legs of the warriors who fight for Trinimac, seamlessly overlapping the sabatons on the feet.\nThose who follow the way of Trinimac call their rounded maces the \"fists of Usunok,\" after the Orsimer hero who could down a full-sized mammoth with a single punch. The cylindrical head encloses a lead ball that rolls outward as the weapon is swung, adding force to the blow.\nThe shield of a Trinimac warrior is embossed with Vaia's Golden Ash, the tree from which she carved out the shield that repelled the blow of Rhogar the Destroyer, and which symbolizes the strength, heritage, and unity of the Orsimer people.\nThe pauldrons of a warrior of Trinimac soar like the wings of Zylvara, the great eagle that bore the Golden Champion to his reckoning with the man-demon Quarvish.\nEbony is said to be the solidified blood of Lorkhan, spilled across Tamriel when Trinimac ripped out his heart with more than hands. Therefore, in the Cult of Trinimac, we adorn our spellcasters' staves with knobs and insets of polished ebony.\nThe sword of a warrior of Trinimac gleams like lightning forged into steel. The one-handed swords are bifurcated like the daggers, but the greatswords are long, single blades, straight and without a taper until just short of the point."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motifs-23-malacath-cult": {"series": "Crafting Motifs", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motifs-23-malacath-cult", "author": "Various", "title": "Crafting Motif 23: Malacath Style", "description": "Styles and materials used by the cultures of Tamriel. Also the author's meandering travelogue.", "text": "Listen up, smiths! We don't pound hot metal around here just because it's fun. We forge for the glory of Malacath! Shoddy work will not be tolerated. You don't want to craft anything you'll have to apologize to the Orc-Father for when you get to the Ashpit. You want to make items in the Malacath Cult style? Well, there's only one right way to do it, and that's to use the Tilted Square, the symbol of instability. So pay attention!\nA Malacath axe blade is large, of course, because with blades, bigger is better. And it's covered with chevrons and tilted squares, because that's the Malacath Way. Axes are all about chopping things down and making them fall over, so naturally we cover them with symbols of instability. Any questions? Didn't think so.\nWe like to keep our belts simple and not too broad, because most of us have enough trouble bending over as it is. Ha! But we make them of the finest possible materials, such as top-grade mammoth leather, and we craft them to the highest standards. Because Malacath demands it!\nWhether you encounter snow or ice, rock or ash, Malacath expects you to keep going. Our boots are crafted from the finest hide and soled with small cleats for traction. And because we must trust our boots to keep us stable on any surface, we decorate them, not with the tilted square, but with the chevron: upright for stability, or inverted for grip.\nMelee, hand to hand and chest to chest, honors Malacath. Sticking an arrow in someone from a distance does not. For Malacath, a bow is a hunter's tool, not a warrior's weapon. So bows in the Malacath Cult style are lighter and simpler than the other weapons in our armory.\nIn battle, the Orc-Father calls for a layered defense, with Orcs supporting their fellow warriors left and right and before and behind. Everyone has an equal chance to bring honor to Malacath. Likewise, the warriors of Malacath wear cuirasses layered of fur and stiffened armor, usually with a great cowl-gorget extending across the chest and upper back.\nThe daggers of Malacath are versatile weapons, strongly made, slightly curved\u00e2\u20ac\u201dand with an edge on both sides of the blade, because sometimes we must reverse to stab those who attack us from behind. Treachery is everywhere.\nThe gauntlets of the Cult of Malacath reach all the way to the elbow and are adorned with chevrons, the symbol of deflection, for we are taught to parry, at need, with the forearm. We also know that when attacked from behind by so-called friends, the best defense is a half-turn and a savage backhanded blow.\nOur helms and hoods are layered, like our cuirasses, and likewise ornamented with Malacath's tilted square. They are sturdy but not too heavy: since betrayal is inevitable, Orcs must be constantly looking askance.\nMalacath teaches us that, just as our enemies speak fair before they act foul, it is the way of our enemies to feint high and then attack low. Therefore we take special care with our greaves.\nMalacath! Forge-Founder! Smith-Father! We honor you in battle by wielding the hammer, pounding your foes the same way we hammer out hot steel! Heavy are our hammers, ever ready to smite with the power of the Tilted Square!\nThe kite-shaped shields of the Cult of Malacath sport the sacred chevron and the Tilted Square. What is not obvious to the eye is that they are many-layered, of folded steel over laminates of hardwood. Our shields are light, but nigh-impenetrable.\nIn battle Malacath decrees a layered defense, and so it is with our armor, our pauldrons, faulds, cowters, and poleyns adding layers to our base armor, all adorned with the holy geometries. The pauldron that covers the off-shoulder often sports a knob or boss, to protect the arm of defense.\nAs spellcasters of the Cult of Malacath devote their energies to the downfall of our duplicitous enemies, so their spell-staves are tipped with the sacred Tilted Square, that their Destruction spells may bring collapse and confusion to their targets. Hail Malacath, He Who Speaks Sideways!\nMalacath teaches us that, when the Orcs are surrounded by enemies, that is when it is best to turn to slashing our way out. The swords of our cult are the tools to that end, long, curved, and wickedly edged on both sides. Those who think they have trapped us will be surprised... when the prey becomes the hunter!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motifs-24-outlaw-style": {"series": "Crafting Motifs", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motifs-24-outlaw-style", "author": "Various", "title": "Crafting Motif 24: Outlaw Style", "description": "Styles and materials used by the cultures of Tamriel. Also the author's meandering travelogue.", "text": "By the Red Asp, Hallin's Stand Thieves Guild\nWe Outlaws may not be very organized, but we have our ways of recognizing each other, no matter where we come from - our symbols, like the three-bladed dagger, or code phrases such as - actually, I don't think I'll write those down in a book. However, since we're all involved in the same illicit business, you'll see there's a common style to our arms and armor.\nWhere possible, we Outlaws like our weapons to have a secondary function as tools - because frankly, if we have to use them as weapons, the job's already gone wrong. All of our axes have hooked lower blades, which enables them to serve at need as climbing axes or grappling hooks. Up and over!\nWhen you're on a job, trying to stay stealthy, there's nothing worse than having your gear suddenly swing loose and clang into something. For this reason, an Outlaw usually wears a sturdy double belt, just to be extra-sure everything's trussed up good and proper.\nEven when going armored, an Outlaw likes to tread lightly, so our boots and shoes are flexible and soft-soled. Oh, and well-oiled into the bargain: no creaky shoes for us!\nAs much as we Outlaws prefer simple, utilitarian weapons, we are quite fond of our bows, and lavish them with extra care and ornamentation. After all, any weapon that enables us to take down an enemy without getting into a stand-up fight is a good thing, right?\nWhen stealth is paramount, and clanking is out of the question, you craft your armor from many layers of tough but flexible material. Metal splints or plates are embedded in leather housings, and all the joints are muffled so your armor stays quiet even when you're moving fast.\nBlades: keep them simple, keep them straight, put an edge on both sides, and that's all you need. When it comes to putting a hand's-length of steel into someone's back, trust me, a straight dagger is just the ticket. I call mine \"Kidney Tickler.\"\nWhen your fingers are your fortune, you house them in fine kid leather so your skills at fine manipulation aren't compromised - and then you protect their backs with stiffened material that can turn the blade of a trap or a guard.\nFeature-concealing hoods are the Outlaws' signature headgear, often stiffened with leather or hide. The eyes are left uncovered, so we can keep a sharp lookout when on the job. Can't be too careful.\nOnce again, the key words for Outlaws' armor are speed and flexibility, which is why our greaves are mostly just straps and flaps. However, we often wear substantial poleyns over our knees, as much to ease crawling through tight spaces as to protect those joints in a fight.\nThe typical bludgeoning weapon of the Outlaw is a hammer, because it's probably going to see more use as a tool than as a melee weapon. Whether you're breaking and entering, or spiking a door shut behind you to foil pursuit, a hammer is an Outlaw's best friend.\nFor an Outlaw, having to don your shield means your job has taken a nasty turn for the worse - but that's when you're glad you crafted a sturdy one, with a riveted steel edge to turn a guard or constable's weapon. We usually display the Outlaws' three-bladed dagger on the boss, because if you have to show your shield, the cat, as they say, is already out of the bag.\nAn Outlaw's pauldrons are layered and durable but don't project far from the shoulders - you don't want to get caught in a tight place because you're wearing fancy winged shoulder cops, after all.\nWhen the social fabric is frayed by war and catastrophe, even spellcasters turn to the Outlaw life, adorning the finials of their magic staves with the three-bladed symbol of our defiance. Plus, having a pointed end on your staff is handy when keeping guard dogs at bay.\nLike their daggers, Outlaws' swords tends to be straight, simple, and edged on both sides of the blade. If it comes to swords, then Daedra take it: get the job done, get out, and live to heist another day. At least you'll have a good story to tell in the Refuge."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-25-aldmeri-dominion-style": {"series": "Crafting Motifs", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-25-aldmeri-dominion-style", "author": "Various", "title": "Crafting Motif 25: Aldmeri Dominion Style", "description": "Styles and materials used by the cultures of Tamriel. Also the author's meandering travelogue.", "text": "By Aicantar of Shimmerene, Sapiarch of Indoctrination\nAttention smiths, forgers, weapon-masters, and arms crafters: the following are the specifications for all work to be done for the Aldmeri Dominion military. We expect the finest workmanship in every piece, for those of Aldmeri heritage can do no less, but deviation from these norms is not acceptable. I have heard some commentary to the effect that the Aldmeri Eagle is overused in these designs. Such remarks are contrary to Praxis.\nDo it right. Do it well. Do it to honor the Ancestors.\nWhat could be more natural than that the unfurled wings of the Aldmeri Eagle should become the razor-sharp blades of our warriors' axes? Long may they lop, and ever may they sever!\nMany pieces of a Dominion warrior's armor are intricately embellished, but the cincture that supports the soldier's weapons and tasset-plates has too much humble work to do to carry much in the way of decoration. A simple Aldmeri Eagle belt-buckle will suffice.\nThe toes of Dominion soldiers, the most elegant in Tamriel, are protected by reinforced points on the Aldmeri trooper's sabatons. At need, our warriors' very boots can serve as weapons!\nThe Dominion longbow may look too slender to be able to drive an arrow through armor, but look again: its winged limbs are forged of a supple alloy known as Lillandril Steel, as durable as it is ductile. Our enemies have learned to fear these bows' deadly darts!\nAs an eagle's plumage has layers, from down to flight feathers, so are our cuirasses made of layers of metal plate over a leather aketon both thick and flexible. On the plastron, the Aldmeri Eagle soars over an abstract world below.\nA Dominion dagger is essentially smaller versions of our sword: a double-edged blade that broadens toward the tip before it narrows to a point, with the wings of the Aldmeri Eagle as serving as the crossguard.\nDominion gauntlets are of soft kid leather, so as not to compromise our nimble Aldmeri fingers. For protection our warriors rely on broad vambraces that shield the forearm, and also provide a prominent place for military unit insignia.\nAldmeri flesh can be sensitive to overexposure to sunlight, so it's as well that we wear full helms with full-face visors. Our helmets' steel caps are surmounted by golden eagles' wings, the very symbol of the Dominion!\nA Dominion soldier's greaves are worked in metallic patterns that represent the flow of wings under the wings of a soaring eagle. Actual Aldmeri Eagles should not appear on the poleyns that protect the knees, as it is not appropriate for a warrior to kneel upon the sacred symbol of our alliance.\nA Dominion warrior's mace has a tripartite head of three heavy eagle's wings: one for each of the Aldmeri races in our alliance! The sharpened wings can slash as well as bludgeon, and as they are made of a dense ebony-steel alloy, they are heavier than they appear.\nThe shining shield of the Dominion is worked with an intricate design that combines both the eagle of Summerset and the graht-tree of Valenwood, thus commemorating the historic alliance between our two Elven races!\nThe eagle-winged pauldrons of Dominion armor not only provide practical protection to our warriors' shoulders, they also provide a convenient location for insignia of rank.\nWith their flaring winged heads, the weapons of Dominion spellcasters almost look more like pole-axes than magical staves\u2014and indeed, many an arcane warrior has used them as such when in a tight spot.\nDominion swords are long, straight, and powerful, edged on either side, and with a blade that widens toward the tip before ending in a point. The eagle's-wing crossguards are sturdy enough to trap an opponent's blade on a parry and, with a twist, perform a disarming maneuver."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-26-daggerfall-covenant-style": {"series": "Crafting Motifs", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-26-daggerfall-covenant-style", "author": "Various", "title": "Crafting Motif 26: Daggerfall Covenant Style", "description": "Styles and materials used by the cultures of Tamriel. Also the author's meandering travelogue.", "text": "Yes, we based the Daggerfall Covenant arms and armor on classic Second Empire designs, and we're unapologetic about it. In fact, we're proud! The Covenant represents the continuing ideals of Reman's Imperium, the uncontested height of Tamrielic civilization, when everyone, even the Orcs, were included in history's greatest confederation. Insofar as we seek to restore those lost glories, we deliberately hark back to them in our designs and symbolism.\nOur axes are adorned with the lion rampant of the Daggerfall Covenant, so our enemies feel the lion's bite with every swing! Solid, sturdy, sharp, and heavy\u2014we learned that from the Orcs. Yes, we can even teach the Imperials a trick or two.\nThe Covenant belt is strong and solid, made of square links but fronted with a round buckle. The buckle's abstract design is meant to represent the entire world of Nirn, of which Tamriel is the center. It stands for a Tamriel reunited under the Remanic ideals exemplified by our king, Emeric.\nSteel sabatons, simple and utilitarian: the warriors of the Covenant are shod with the boots they need for the long march to Cyrodiil\u2014and beyond. Our knights may ride sturdy mounts, but in battle they mostly dismount and fight on foot, alongside the infantry and archers.\nThe Covenant bow gives our lions' claws a fearsomely long reach! In the Daggerfall Covenant, we choose our archers for strength, the muscles needed to draw a bow powerful enough to drive an arrow through the thickest armor.\nThe cuirasses of Daggerfall Covenant troops are unabashedly Imperial in design and outline, but unmistakably Covenant in adornment, with the lion rampant prominent on the chest. King Emeric chose well when he selected that as they symbol of our alliance!\nOur Covenant daggers, wide yet pointed for thrusting, are definitely based on the short stabbing swords of the Second Empire's Imperial Legions. If it was good enough for the soldiers who followed Emperor Reman, it's good enough for us!\nThough the Reman Imperials wore only braces for hand and forearm protection, in the Covenant forces we feel the need for a bit more protection in modern melee warfare. We keep the hands relatively unencumbered, but have added strong upper gauntlets for forearm defense.\nOur chest pieces may be based on Imperial designs, but when it comes to helmets the Covenant draws its inspiration from the armor of High Rock's knightly orders. We go for a full helm, complete with visor, and an aventail to protect the neck.\nCovenant greaves are plain but thick and rigid, for maximum protection of the troops' vulnerable lower legs. The design draws from both Breton knightly armor and Orcish forge-wear.\nDaggerfall Covenant maces are standardized on a heavy round head with spikes on all sides. This is a time-honored and eminently practical Orcish design: when your bludgeon is the same no matter how you hold it, you never have to wonder in the heat of combat if you've got the head facing the right way.\nCovenant soldiers march into battle protected by kite-shaped shields embossed with the proud symbol of the lion rampant, the seal of our alliance personally selected by our monarch, His Majesty King Emeric! Forward, the Daggers!\nCovenant shoulder cops are derived from the practical pauldrons typical to the armor worn by Breton knightly orders. Sometimes we ornament them with snarling lion faces as a reminder that we are fierce and mighty.\nWhen it comes to magic, it's the Bretons who are the most naturally talented of the Covenant allies, and the High Rock spellcasters are proud to wield staves tipped with the lion rampant of Emeric, our High King. The wrought-metal lion typically rears atop a facet-cut focusing crystal of some sort.\nDaggerfall Covenant troops are armed with swords that harken back to those of the Second Empire: broad, straight blades edged on both sides, designed for both slashing and thrusting, with a strong crossguard above the hilt to enable vigorous parrying in the heat of melee."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-27-ebonheart-pact-style": {"series": "Crafting Motifs", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-27-ebonheart-pact-style", "author": "Various", "title": "Crafting Motif 27: Ebonheart Pact Style", "description": "Styles and materials used by the cultures of Tamriel. Also the author's meandering travelogue.", "text": "I'm no writer, Jhunal knows, but here I am, taking up the quill again at the behest of King Jorunn\u2014or his advisors, anyway. I haven't seen that young rascal of a monarch in days. Wonder what he's getting up to?\nAnyway: I'm supposed to summarize what our alliance arms and armor should look like, so the smiths and armorers all make them to uniform standards. I guess I can do that\u2014by Shor's stones, I've seen enough of them!\nWe arm our Pact soldiers with axes based on traditional, proven Nord designs, only with Dragons stamped on them, because we stamp Dragons on everything in this alliance. Not that I'm complaining\u2014can't think of a better symbol for something you'd better not mess with than a Dragon!\nI like a nice, sturdy belt, without a whole lot of fiddly decorations on it that might snag your weapon's hilt when you try to draw it, understand? If you're a soldier for the Pact, that's the kind of belt we give you. You want to get fancy, look to your chest piece and pauldrons.\nPersonally, I like the Pact military boots: plain steel-toed sabatons, practical and easy to keep clean. Like Nords, really, except for the easy-to-keep-clean part. (Just kidding, Your Majesty!) But seriously, these are fine boots, though I admit they could be improved with a touch of fur.\nFor our Pact archers, we took a Dark Elf composite bow and added a couple of grinning metal Dragon heads on the forward facing. They look great, and enable the archers to use the limbs of the bow to parry with, if necessary.\nAll right, here's where we get fancy, with embossed Dragons and Argonian nature-designs and Dunmeri what-have-you, I don't know what those things are, but they look good. But don't be fooled by all the spangles and trim, these cuirasses aren't just for show: that's some solid steel and leatherwork, there.\nWhen it came to choosing a design for our Pact daggers, we turned to the Dark Elves, because when it comes to sticking somebody in the back\u2014no, maybe I shouldn't say that. Anyway, you'll see the crossguard is adapted from Tribunal symbology, though we did slap a Dragon on it.\nI wanted some serious Nord gauntlets for our Pact soldiers, but the Dunmer and Argonians said they wanted their hands kept pretty free, so I got overruled on that one. They're good gloves, though, with some decent mail on the back of the heavier versions.\nI must say, we outdid ourselves on the Pact helms, which have some proper flaring wings and horns to them. Warms an old Nord's heart just to look at them. They're solid, too, let me tell you, good protection all around, with full visors. Good headgear.\nThe front plates on the Pact greaves are nice and solid, and with enough trim to look good on dress parade, too. And I like the pointy poleyns on top\u2014you want those when you're kneeing some milk-drinker in his stones. You do that to an opponent, you don't want him getting up again for a payback.\nI like the one-handed Pact mace, it's a good, basic Argonian design: spikes, heavy round head, what more do you need? I think we went a little overboard on the two-hander, though, what with its three roaring Dragon heads and all. Harder for the smiths to craft, and it won't knock your brains out any better than its simpler little brother.\nPact shields take a basic Nord oval kite shape, and then add a bunch of spikes around the outside because, I don't know, the Dunmer and the Lizardfolk like lots of spikes. Oh, and we put a pair of big Dragons on the front just to remind our enemies which alliance is about to bash the crap out of them.\nThe Dark Elves from House Redoran insisted on big, flaring pauldrons, so that's what we gave them. And I have to hand it to them, they look good. Sometimes those fellows know what they're talking about.\nBy now you know what our alliance symbol is, right? So I'll give you one guess as to what we put on the heads of the staves of our Pact spellcasters. If you said \"roaring metal Dragons,\" give yourself a pat on the back. If you said anything else, soldier, you're standing guard duty tonight, because you're too dumb to be allowed to go into town.\nLike I said, we adapted a Dark Elf design for our Pact daggers, and it looked so good we just up-scaled it for our warriors' swords. Same straight blade, same semi-barbed point, same Tribunal-inspired crossguard with a Dragon stamped on it. Nice sword. Nothing like a good sword."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motifs-28-ra-gada-style": {"series": "Crafting Motifs", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motifs-28-ra-gada-style", "author": "Various", "title": "Crafting Motif 28: Ra Gada Style", "description": "Styles and materials used by the cultures of Tamriel. Also the author's meandering travelogue.", "text": "The Ra Gada or \"Warrior Wave\" of settlers from Yokuda actually occurred in four successive waves in the First Era's ninth century. This catalogue focuses on the second, or \"Tavan\" wave, so-called because it was spearheaded by the Hattu Metropoles brigade, which revered holy Tava, Lady of the Air. Thus the Tavans' arms and armor are replete with bird imagery. This second wave primarily settled on the southern coast of Hammerfell, and almost three millennia later their structures can still be found jutting from the coastal dunes. And one doesn't have to look far to see the influence of these ancient settlers on modern Redguard society.\nAxe-wielders among the Tavans were taught with an emphasis on the \"Singular Cleave\" attack, intended to cleave a target in twain with a single blow. That's why these Ra Gada axes feature one large, heavy blade.\nThe belt is the central cincture of a much broader girdle, which provided an extra layer of protection to the Ra Gada's abdomen and lower back. The large, round buckle is embossed with air-current symbols.\nRa Gadan boots are cobbled from heavy leather, usually camel hide, with thick soles as insulation against hot sand and stones. The traditional turned-up toes conceal metal caps to protect the soldier's vulnerable feet.\nAggressively avian in design, the bow of the Ra Gada is faced with two brazen ibis-heads that can be employed as parrying edges in the heat of melee. It's a compound bow, and the entire front is faced with horn, often painted a metallic color.\nThe Ra Gada were sword-fighters, and their cuirasses were solid and sturdy to enable their wearers to withstand blows in close melee. They are covered with swirling air-current symbols, and most feature the distinctive Tavan bird-wing back banners.\nThe daggers of the Tavan Ra Gada echo the scimitar-like curve of the second-wave sword blades. The Tavans didn't use daggers for parrying, preferring to use shields on their off-arms, so their daggers lack crossguards. They are, however, weighted for throwing.\nRa Gada warriors, particularly those wielding two-handed weapons, were trained to parry with their heavily-armored forearms rather than with their weapons' crossguards. Their gloves, therefore, are basically reinforced upper gauntlets that leave the fingers free for deft weapon manipulation.\nThe Tavan Redguards' headgear was typically a turban wound around a sturdy steel cap, usually embossed with the near-universal wind-current symbols. Most of the face was concealed by mouth and cheek guards, as much to intimidate foes as to keep out blowing dust and sand.\nStiff and sturdy armor to protect the front of the lower legs was standard gear for the second-wave Ra Gada, echoing the form and function of the reinforced gauntlets on the forearms. Layers of heavy hide covered the back of the calves.\nRa Gada maces were made to deal with well-armored opponents, their heads heavy and spiked for crushing and puncturing their targets. The weight of these bludgeons necessitated development of the \"Terminal Blow\" style, similar to the \"Singular Cleave\" used by Tavan axe-wielders.\nRa Gada shields were wide and heavy to provide maximum coverage, not just to the bearer but also, at need, to his nearest ally. Besides the usual embossed wind-current symbols, the bottom of the shield was wrought to resemble a hawk's broad tail.\nThe so-called \"pagoda pauldrons\" of the Ra Gada are quite distinctive, but the three layers of cops are not as rigid as they appear: they are articulated underneath, allowing the cops to swivel to follow the warrior's arm movements.\nRa Gada spellcasters often tipped their staves will finials in the shape of Tu'whacca's sacred ibis, as the Tricky God was (and is) the patron of mages. Nowadays being suspicious of magic is regarded as a hallmark of Redguard culture, but this was not always so pronounced.\nThe Tavans came from the Yokudan sword tradition that called for edging only one side of the blade, so the backing can be thicker and stronger. This gives the curved Ra Gada swords, both one- and two-handed, the weight to hack through a target in one slash - and single-move attacks have always been celebrated by Redguards as the epitome of fencing elegance."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-29-soul-shriven-style": {"series": "Crafting Motifs", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-29-soul-shriven-style", "author": "Various", "title": "Crafting Motif 29: Soul-Shriven Style ", "description": "Styles and materials used by the cultures of Tamriel. Also the author's meandering travelogue.", "text": "By Sir Cadwell the Undaunted, Knight of the Court of Coldharbour, Champion of Chivalry, Defender of the Defenseless, Shepherd to the Soul-Shriven\nHere in Coldharbour we have people who've come from every corner of Tamriel. And who can blame them? This realm is a virtual paradise! And also, now that I think of it, a victual paradox. I mean, we Soul-Shriven live, but we do not eat. I can't remember the last time I've felt even a bit peckish. Curious, isn't it? I wonder how that works?\nBut never mind that. On to the matter at hand: style! Soul-Shriven style, to be precise. It's the style that has no style, because it draws from every style! It's got the best of everything, doesn't it?\nI mean, just look at our weapons! A veritable bounty of battle-ready accoutrements [sic] and pointed pain-sticks. The dagger: a wavy kris from Soul-Shriven Khajiit! The mace: a clonking good morning-star, all spiky and everything, from freshly Soul-Shriven Orcs! The swords: real katanas from real Akaviri, those snaky Tsaesci, not those chilly Kamali with their silly straight swords! And the axes: nasty-looking things with scythe-blades \u2026 genuine scythe-blades from \u2026 well, truth be told, I've no idea where they come from, but someplace fun, almost certainly!\nAnd have a look at our armor! Go on! I've never seen its like, but I like what I see. It's all \u2026 how should I say it? Rather mixed up and confusticating, isn't it? Cobbled together with bits and bobs from all over\u2014a bit like a flesh atronach, but far more comfortable to wear, and not nearly as pungent.\nSo, if you give a tinker's damn about style, why not consider crafting Soul-Shriven weapons and armor for all of your madcap adventuring needs? They're quite fetching, and not at all dodgy. Not too dodgy, at any rate."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-30-morag-tong-style": {"series": "Crafting Motifs", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-30-morag-tong-style", "author": "Various", "title": "Crafting Motif 30: Morag Tong Style", "description": "Styles and materials used by the cultures of Tamriel. Also the author's meandering travelogue.", "text": "Guild Memo to the Recondite Forge\nI've been asked to convey to you the Exalted Master's dissatisfaction with your recent work for the Tong. The Sun's Dusk shipment was unacceptable, not up to standard either in quality or style. We're going to give you one opportunity to redeem yourselves. Don't fail. In the interest of your \u2026 rehabilitation \u2026 I'll summarize our requirements for you below.\n- Naryu Virian, Knower\nNote the broad, heavy crescent blade with the signature \"double bite\" inset edges at the center. These wide serrations result in particularly savage wounds that look like they were inflicted by some forest predator. (And what does \"Morag Tong\" mean in ancient parlance but \"Forest Guild\"?) Axe blades: double bite. Got it?\nThe Morag Tong are like woods hunters, except people are our prey. Our belts are of simple stout leather, like a forester's, occasionally ornamented with dreugh or mudcrab chitin\u2014but don't get too fancy. Save that for the cuirass and pauldrons.\nThe toes and uppers of Morag Tong shoes are protected by plates of chitin, but the sides and soles are of flexible leather, tough but quiet. The goal is to make sure our writ-targets never even hear us coming. Can you manage that? For your sake, I hope you can.\nMorag Tong archers wield composite bows of hardwood and horn, constructed on fundamental principles that haven't changed for millennia. For flourish, add metallic parry-crescents just above and below the central grip, with spider-web supports to honor the Webspinner. (Don't pretend you don't know of whom I speak.)\nA Morag Tong cuirass is designed to intimidate as well as to protect. The base arming coat shall be of dark, heavy leather, ideally Bull Netch, accented or (in heavier sets) layered with irregular plates of chitin. The effect should be monstrous, as if the wearer were more crustacean than person. Be imaginative! We have a reputation to maintain.\nThe blade on a Morag Tong dagger should be an offset demi-crescent, with a hook or barb on the point so the dagger can double as a corpse meat-hook. The hook must be able to drag a body without bending or slipping out\u2014which is what happened with that last batch you sent us. Don't you even test your work before you call it done?\nIn the last batch of gauntlets you sent us, you got the leather quality and the chitin plate on the back of the hand right, but you blundered by giving the gloves full fingers instead of half-coverage. We do delicate work, all right? We need the ends of our fingers free for things like picking locks and twisting garottes around victims' necks. Gauntlets with half-fingers. Got it?\nYou did a relatively good job with our flanged chitin helmets, but the visor goggles were a complete failure. The heavy glass lenses were rippled, distorting the wearer's vision and making everything viewed appear slightly off-center. We can't be going in to cut a writ-target's throat and hit them instead on the shoulder. Whatever source you've been using for lenses, change it.\nThese should be heavy leather\u2014once again, Bull Netch if possible\u2014with a top layer of chitin plates. That's chitin, like from dreugh or mudcrabs, NOT bone. We don't wear bone. Also, the sharp poleyns on the heavier armor should jut out to the side rather than the front, because that's weirder and looks more dangerous.\nFor the Tong maces, we use a pretty traditional Chimer warhammer design, with two heavy cylindrical heads. Sheath the haft below the head with metal for parrying purposes. And make sure it's not too shiny: we don't want our weapons to compromise stealth.\nI know the shield design looks like chitin, but it's actually ashwood faced with metal. It only looks like layered chitin so as to be thematically compatible with the Morag Tong armor, which is made of actual chitin. Is this too confusing? Read it through several times slowly until you've got it. Then do it right.\nGetting the shoulders right is very important to maintaining the Morag Tong armor's distinctive silhouette, so pay attention. The pauldrons are layers of articulated chitin plates, like the cuirass, but the upper plates need to have short curved spikes mounted on them. Use dreugh or shalk shell spurs for this.\nThere are only a few real spellcasters in the Tong, and I'm not one of them, so I can't comment on where the design for our spell staves comes from, or why it's so important we stick to it. I think the finial looks like a heavy brass Dwarven fish, but that's just me. What matters to you is that you follow the design as closely as you can.\nMorag Tong swords have one sharp edge, with a curve toward the point, which ends in a back-barb like the dagger, and for the same reason: so it can double as a corpse meat-hook. Put some irregular curved points on the sword's spine, just so it looks nastier."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-31-skinchanger-style": {"series": "Crafting Motifs", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-31-skinchanger-style", "author": "Various", "title": "Crafting Motif 31: Skinchanger Style", "description": "Styles and materials used by the cultures of Tamriel. Also the author's meandering travelogue.", "text": "Would you live among the wild of the northern woods, and perhaps be wild yourself? Would you worship Hircine in his aspects of Alrabeg the Hunter, or Storihbeg the Skinchanger? Would you seek for the Beast Within, so it may be released to seek its blood prey? Then let your arms and armor bespeak these things of you, for at times your speech may be naught more than a growl. Hearken, Manbeast:\nWoodsman you may have been, but though you bear an axe, you are woodsman no more. For you shall turn your axe from hewing wood to spilling blood. Broad shall be the fore-blade, and narrow the hind, but the hind-blade shall sport three claws, that you may scrape the mark of the beast into the flesh of your prey.\nYou shall make your belt from the hide of your prey, tan it and tool it and bedeck it with teeth, so all shall know that you fear no bite. And your belt shall be broad, and from it shall depend tassets of thick hide, the better to protect your midsection when the prey turns at bay.\nYour boots shall be of tanned hide, thick and well-oiled, for you will hunt your prey up streams and through swamps. Take care the soles are thick and be-ridged, for you must be sure of foot when the surface is uncertain. Even the best hunters fall to their prey when they slip and stumble.\nYour bow shall be of heartwood and antler, for to shoot true in the forest, the archer's tools must be of the forest. The limbs of your bow shall be clawed, like the limbs of your prey, for like calls to like. And your quiver shall show the face of a beast.\nYour cuirass shall be many-layered and tough, and the breastplate shall be a beastplate, with the glaring eyes and wrinkled nose of a predator hard on the trail of its prey. And this is not strange, for beneath your cuirass beats the heart of a hunter, pumping the blood of a beast.\nYou shall bear a dirk like a long, curved claw, a steel talon with which to gut your prey and skin its hide. It shall be deadly, yet simple and unadorned, for does the bear paint its claws, or the falcon gild its talons? They do not. So say I, and who shall contradict me?\nYour gauntlets shall be a mighty protection for your forearms, for the biting beasts will try to grip your forelimbs with their fangs and wrestle you to their level, and you must deny them this. Stud your gauntlet backs with metal spikes to give them fangs of their own, but leave the fingers free, nimble to grasp for arrows or dirk.\nWhen the beasts look upon you, they will see another beast looking back, for your helm shall be a wolf's-head of steel. And this is as Storihbeg would have it, for the Manbeast within shall manifest without, and the hunter shall be exalted.\nTo protect your legs your greaves shall be of the densest hide, and they shall be studded with metal rivets, that they may turn the fangs of serpents and blunt the tusks of boars. For while you are Beast you are also Man, and must stay upright except when in form most feral.\nYour mace shall be heavy and spiked, like the fist of a kwama warrior, but you shall strike twice as hard with it, for you are at once both Beast and Man, and none who are of single nature shall stand before you.\nThe beast-face on your chest and your helm shall be repeated on your shield, of great size and feral aspect, so as to strike fear into your enemies from a distance. Then you may smite them from afar, or close and savage them by hand, as best suits your way of doing honor to Hircine.\nYour pauldrons shall be as you will, whether metal, leather, or fur, so long as they are strong and solid to turn both blows and fangs. For your shoulder is anchor to the arm that brings your weapon down upon your prey.\nEvery spell you cast from your staff shall do honor unto Lord Hircine, in both his Princely form and in his aspect as Alrabeg. For your staff shall be crowned with antlers like unto the Lord of the Hunt, and your spells shall emit therefrom. This is the way, and no other!\nYour sword shall be long and curved, a great talon to extend the reach of your mighty arm, and it shall have an edge that shall slash like the tusks of a great boar. But it shall end in a point, for when your prey has finished fighting for its life, you shall take that life quickly and cleanly with a thrust to the heart. See to it.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-32-abahs-watch-style": {"series": "Crafting Motifs", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-32-abahs-watch-style", "author": "Various", "title": "Crafting Motif 32: Abah's Watch Style", "description": "Styles and materials used by the cultures of Tamriel. Also the author's meandering travelogue.", "text": "I just sold that Iron Wheel outfit a load of first-quality arms and armor\u2014good enough that our own Abah's Landing guards are going to look shabby in comparison, and that's not going to do. We need to show a united front to the Wheel, with a standardized look to our guards. Based on what we've got in the warehouses, let's equip them as indicated below.\n\t\u2014Merchant Lord Orahan at-Addin\nWe have a number of those axes with the double-crescent blades down in the water-level warehouse. They're very similar to what I sold the Iron Wheel; let's equip our own axe-wielders with those arms.\nThat shipment of heavy wool sashes we got from Rihad will do fine as belts: just put a round metal boss on front to cinch it through, and hang metal tassets at the hips for the more heavily-armored guards.\nThe basic goat-leather boots shipped in from Senchal ought to do fine: we have plenty of them, and nobody looks at a guard's feet anyway. But make sure they have good quality straps at the ankle to attach to the bottom of the greaves.\nWe're arming town guards here: they don't need to shoot arrows at battlefield ranges, so there's no point in giving them powerful (and expensive) composite bows. Simple self bows will do fine\u2014and as a matter of fact we just got a ship load of those from Velyn Harbor!\nIt was smart to buy out that entire shipment of mix-and-match layered cuirass pieces from that forge that went out of business in Satakalaam. We sold most of them to the Iron Wheel, but there are enough pieces left over to equip our own Abah's Watch guards.\nRedguard blades\u2014swords and daggers\u2014are just the best, even simple, relatively plain stabbers like those crates of used weapons we got from the school at Leki's Blade. They may have been forged as practice blades, but they're none the less lethal for that. Make sure every one of our guards has one of those simple curved daggers.\nWhen we bought those Satakalaam cuirasses, I got them to throw in two crates of matching gauntlets constructed along similar lines: a sturdy leather base that supports layers of mix-and-match plates mounted on top. Those are good combat gloves; it's almost a shame not to sell them. But the guards must have gauntlets!\nWe sold the Iron Wheel three crates of those turbaned conical helmets from Gilane. I think we have one crate left, so let's issue those to the Abah's Watch guards. If we run out of the conical helms, give them metal skullcaps to wear under the turbans.\nThe greaves we're using follow the same design principle as the gauntlets and cuirass: they're heavy top-grain leather lined with strap-points for buckling on layered metal plates. Leave off the metal plates for the guards working beats on the docks\u2014if they fall in the harbor, we want them to be able to get out again.\nWe got the maces from the same forge as the axes and shields, and they have that same double-crescent motif, in this case as the shape of the sharp flanges on the maces' heads. That double crescent: I wonder what it means?\nEven after equipping the Iron Wheel, we still have a lot of those round shields faced with the double-crescent design. Put a slightly different tint on them and issue those to our guards.\nWe have a fair number of sets of pauldrons from Satakalaam that match the cuirass and gauntlets\u2014heavy leather with attachments for overlapping metal plates. In for a copper, in for a drake: might as well give those to the Landing guards as well.\nIn the warehouse at the outer harbor you'll find a round dozen spell-staves topped with double-crescent finials. That ought to be enough to equip our spellcasting officers, and as a bonus they match the design on the axes, maces, and shields.\nWe got both one-handed and two-handed swords from the school at Leki's Blade, and from their quality and condition you'd never know they'd been used as practice blades by students for years. Redguards take care of their swords like nobody else."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-33-thieves-guild": {"series": "Crafting Motifs", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-33-thieves-guild", "author": "Various", "title": "Crafting Motif 33: Thieves Guild", "description": "Styles and materials used by the cultures of Tamriel. Also the author's meandering travelogue.", "text": "Do you know what's a good way to waste money? \u2026Actually, you probably know a lot of ways to waste money. Let me rephrase that: do you know a good way to save money? I'll tell you\u2014buy in bulk, and have any manufactured goods made to specific standards. Economy: that's the reason Thieves Guild arms and armor need to follow the specifications below.\nThieves Guild axes are sturdy, made to open up both armored opponents and reluctant doors. Also, note the way our axes have hooked blades so they can act as prying tools when necessary. The Guild triple-dagger symbol appears in the center of the head.\nActually, the Guild is not all that finicky about belts, so long as they're strong and made of top-grain hide, whether from cattle, welwa, or kagouti. Design of the metal buckle is less important than the fact that it shouldn't be shiny.\nGuild boots should be of sturdy leather, with stiff uppers but soft and flexible soles. Get a pair from the supplier and test them yourself: if they creak or rustle when you walk, they're not suitable for the Thieves Guild.\nA Thieves Guild bow should be of dense but springy ash or yew, powerful enough to drop a guard at medium range. The front of the limbs should be faced with (dull) metal sheathing for parrying purposes. Arrowheads should be steel, but once again, not shiny: you don't want a glint from your arrow to betray your position as your [sic] draw down on your target.\nOur cuirasses are constructed of overlapping layers of articulated tooled leather, well-oiled to keep the armor both flexible and silent. Heavier versions will be faced with light steel plates to protect critical areas, but the metal must be matte and dullish. A round boss with the three-bladed Guild symbol is to appear on both chest and upper back.\nThe official Guild dagger is a double-edged stabbing weapon with a broad blade\u2014almost a short sword. The flaring three-bladed Guild symbol at the hilt serves as a crossguard.\nThieves Guild gloves may look like warrior's gauntlets above the wrist, but the fingers must be sheathed in soft kid or chamois so as not to interfere with the delicate manipulation so critical to thieving.\nWe're thieves, so we don't wear steel pots on our heads: metal helmets are noisy, shiny, and would impair our vision. We want a nice, flexible, dark leather cowl, with a feature-concealing mask covering the lower half of the face.\nGuild greaves are nothing fancy, just gaiters of dark oiled leather with attachment points for dull steel overplates. As with the rest of the armor, they mustn't creak during movement.\nA Thieves Guild warhammer doubles as both weapon and tool: the heavy, flat head is backed with a spike that can also serve as a crowbar. The three-bladed Guild symbol should appear on both sides of the hammer head.\nDeciding to encumber oneself with a shield can be a difficult decision for a thief, so we allow a fair amount of variation is both shape and size: anything from a medium round shield up to a full kite shield is acceptable. The Guild symbol should appear in the center on a (rather large) round boss.\nThe fact is, thieves often run away, and when you're running away you tend to get hit on the shoulders. So for us, shoulder armor is not a good place to economize. We want multiple layers of thick, articulated leather on our pauldrons, with buckle points for adding additional layers of non-shiny metal. Don't skimp.\nThieves Guild spell staves are pretty low profile, of dark hardwood with a finial in the shape of our familiar three-bladed symbol. It's a good idea to add metal prongs to the foot so the staff can help add stability when thieving on uncertain surfaces.\nA thief doesn't really want to close with an opponent (except by surprise), so our Thieves Guild swords are broad, double-edged affairs made for slashing so as to keep an enemy at bay. As with the daggers, our flaring three-bladed Guild symbol provides a crossguard at the haft."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-34-assassins-league-style": {"series": "Crafting Motifs", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-34-assassins-league-style", "author": "Various", "title": "Crafting Motif 34: Assassins League Style", "description": "Styles and materials used by the cultures of Tamriel. Also the author's meandering travelogue.", "text": "The \"Dark Brotherhood\"? Utter nonsense. The Brotherhood is a myth. A legend. A lie. Death comes to us all, and murder is merely a matter of mundane craft\u2014there's no need to invoke the Void, or its, ahem, mother.\nAh, but a secret society of assassins, a guild of killers for hire\u2014now that makes sense. That's just good business. And like every good business, we have standards. You wish to join us, and dress like one of our league? Then follow the instructions below. And one day, if you are found worthy, you may be invited to learn some actual secrets.\nThe hallmark of Assassins' weapons is that they are both nimble and effective, striving for that sweet spot between the heavy arms of soldiers and the supple but over-subtle weapons of duelists. Our axes, for example, feature a single, broad blade, with no more than a short slicing crescent on the backside for ripostes.\nYou'll notice that all Assassins wear dual belts, one above the other, with weapons and tassets depending from the lower strap. Why is that? Because sometimes a job goes wrong and you need to make a sudden escape, in which case you can drop the bottom belt and everything on it, losing all that extra encumbrance.\nBoots? An Assassin's footwear will be more like a dancer's shoes than a warrior's sabatons: light, flexible, and above all quiet. The best leather for soles is guar hide, which is limber but provides good traction on uncertain surfaces.\nIf someone should say unto you, \"Oh, I see your bow has death's-heads on it, so I guess I should be really afraid, since you must be some kind of assassin or something, right?\" \u2026You are authorized by the League to kill such a person, and take their head. Full-sized skulls make good decorations for ballistas.\nRemember, Assassin, you are not a soldier\u2014it may be your job to kill, but wholesale slaughter is not your task: you kill once, and escape to kill again. So League-standard armor, even your cuirass, is to be relatively lightweight and flexible, with plenty of attach-points for tools and weapons.\nFor the League Assassin, the primary function of the dagger is as a weapon for surprise attack from behind, to either slice the windpipe or plunge into the lower back. It must be small enough to be nimble but big enough to kill, and razor-sharp on both edge and point. A barb behind the point comes in handy when manipulating a body, whether living or dead.\nKeeping your hands nimble and free is of critical importance in all phases of assassination. When lightly armored, we forego gloves entirely below the forearm; even when more heavily armored, our gloves are so light and supple as to be barely there at all.\nExecutioners don't wear helmets, they wear hoods\u2014and so do we. To be quite accurate, we wear leather coifs, layered underneath, in the heavier versions, with skullcaps and flexible mail. The value of a buffe that conceals the lower features is obvious in our profession.\nAs often as not, a League Assassin travels on all four limbs, leaping and climbing, clambering and crawling. For such activities, rigid greaves are a liability, so with leg armor, as elsewhere, the watchwords are resilience and ease of motion. Modest knee poleyns are useful when crawling or kneeling to shoot.\nFor bludgeoning, we use a square-headed warhammer backed with a metal spike deliberately curved to evoke the look of a raptor's talon. It's also useful for prying open any doors or windows you might encounter between you and your target.\nFor the League, a shield usually comes into play on two-person missions, where one assassin is using it to cover a second killer who's picking a lock or lining up a shot. So the shield must be large enough to crouch behind, but with cutouts to left and right so one can stab or shoot around it.\nWhile flaring pauldrons may make a fashionable silhouette for a warrior, they are counterproductive for an Assassin, who can't risk getting hung up in the scenery in the middle of a stalk. Shoulder protection is important, but so is keeping a low profile.\nWhen we assign an Assassin a target, we say, \"Pass over them with the Hand of Death.\" Thus we use a stylized iron hand as the finial on our spellcasters' magic staves. It is acceptable to place a round-cut precious stone on the back of the hand to represent the all-seeing eye of the League.\nA League Assassin's sword is a tool of death, long and strong, sharp-edged and sharp-pointed, with a barb behind the tip of the slightly-curving blade. It designed to be fearsome to behold, its very look calculated to paralyze an opponent who sees it come gleaming from the shadows."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-35-dro-mathra-style": {"series": "Crafting Motifs", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-35-dro-mathra-style", "author": "Various", "title": "Crafting Motif 35: Dro-m'Athra Style", "description": "Styles and materials used by the cultures of Tamriel. Also the author's meandering travelogue.", "text": "Somewhere, deep in the Dark Behind the World, there are grim forges and bent benches where Lost Cats arm and armor themselves. On those dire times when they appear among us, their outfitting is much alike, implying they are made to certain standards. This one shall sing the song of these standards below. Because all knowledge is useful, no? If only to know what to stay away from.\nMany times dro-m'Athra weapons and armor show the \"waning crescent\" symbol\u2014waning because evil is strongest in the dark of the moons. Thus the Lost Cat axes show two waning crescents, one for Jode and one for Jone. But diminishing, yes?\nMany tassets! On the buckle of the dro-m'Athra belt we see waning crescents lengthened into two long, curving fangs, often below a sort of \"dark eye\" sigil. Full meaning of latter is obscure, and perhaps that is for the best. Who would know all that Namiira knows?\nDro-m'Athra boots have enclosed toes, a curious exception to usual Khajiiti practice; it brings to mind this ancient song: \"One foote Jone, one foote Jode, Lost Cattes be most straungely toed.\" Are the enclosed toes hiding some sort of hind-paw disfigurement?\nThe waning crescent motif is very pronounced on dro-m'Athra bows, which feature two pairs of sickle moons, one pair on the face bracketing the grip, and another, smaller pair at the ends of the limbs. Such a bow may shoot more than mere arrows, alas.\nThe cuirasses of dro-m'Athra warriors have a central boss of double waning crescents, surrounded by the jagged patterns of what I call \"blue claw marks,\" the distinctive slashes of blue lightning so common in Lost Cat imagery.\nThe dro-m'Athra dagger is a short stabbing weapon, with a so-much-curved crossguard that must assist when parrying. Curiously, this means dagger has but a single \"waning crescent moon,\" where most Lost Cat weapons display two. Is missing moon symbolic of Ghost Moon? This one does not know.\nGauntlets protect hands from blows, of course, but also it is cold, very cold in Dark Behind the World, so wear gloves. Fingertips are covered\u2014where are Khajiiti claws? On forearm, blue claw marks, but on hands, no claws. Very disturbing.\nCat-face doubled, one atop another\u2014so eerie! But dro-m'Athra face is hidden, which is a Good Thing. Crowned with double waning crescent, yes. False ears, but teeth are real, or at least real sharp. No gorget!\nDro-m'Athra greaves almost normal, mundane. Must guard lower limbs just like Top-of-World greaves, yes? Darkening moons on shins, pointed down, emptying out all life. Sing me a song of shinbalds, turning 'round and walking away!\nWith blows of mace, Lost Cats beat out rhythm of the Bent Dance. See, dro-m'Athra mace head is shaped like shield, and yet dro-m'Athra shield is not shaped like mace! Who can sing the answer to this riddle? Not this one, no.\nDouble-waning-crescent shield, Jode to right, Jone to left, with gaps in moon-sickles for stab-stabbing from behind it. See the blue lightning? Very dangerous: beware.\nSo clawsome, the pauldrons! And laced with blue claw marks, yes. High collars help make up for lacking of gorget and aventail. Sharp and sharp: do not touch them, for they touch back. This one is quite serious.\nWhat a staff it is! Two down-turned waning crescents emptying the head, while above is crescent Ghost Moon, rampant, ready to funnel forth spells of Destruction. No need to guess why Lost Cat Sorcerer is most feared dro-m'Athra of all. No, not a bit.\nHeavy at end, Lost Cat sword would be awkward wielding for any but muscle-cat dro-m'Athra! Weight of sword drives sharp-sharp edge through body and bone. Crosshilt is waning-double-crescent, but by now you guess this twice over. Avoid! Evade! Will you be wise, and heed Adara'hai? Who can say? Var var var."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-36-dark-brotherhood-style": {"series": "Crafting Motifs", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-36-dark-brotherhood-style", "author": "Various", "title": "Crafting Motif 36: Dark Brotherhood Style", "description": "Styles and materials used by the cultures of Tamriel. Also the author's meandering travelogue.", "text": "Heed me, Initiates: we are not soldiers, and do not wear a uniform\u2014it would be a difficult thing indeed to do our jobs if we had to wear gear that identified us as members of an order of assassins. But just because we don't typically use uniforms when on assignment doesn't mean we don't have them: we do. When it is necessary for you to represent the Dark Brotherhood in a manner that leaves no doubt as to our involvement in an affair, you will wear guild armor and wield guild arms as described below.\nYour axe blades, Initiate, are shaped like those of meat cleavers, and for much the same reason. While the blade may not be heavy enough to decapitate a target with the first blow, if wielded with care it will still go halfway through your target's neck, and that usually suffices.\nAn initiate's belt shall be leather that is broad and strong, to keep armor cinched tight and weapons secure. It shall display the Brotherhood's gray steel dart design, either toward the buckle or away from it. Hip tassets shall be broad and display the steel dart wrought large.\nAn Initiate's boots shall be of flexible leather for maximum mobility. The uppers shall bear the broad steel dart, toe-ward, for protection of the instep. The sole shall be ridged for traction.\nThe Brotherhood bow is simple and utilitarian in appearance, but strong enough to drive a clothyard shaft through the heaviest breastplate. Double-chevron plates shall protect the facing, and enable the Initiate to parry. The quiver shall be blazoned with either the black or the bloody hand.\nThe Initiate's cuirass shall be of dark leather accented with divers steel dart and chevron designs. There shall be extra straps for easy carriage of tools and spare daggers. And on the sternum shall be blazoned the black hand of dark knowledge.\nFor assassinations, Initiate, your dagger will often be your primary weapon. The Brotherhood dagger is heavy, single-edged, and slightly curved, with a serrated back. If plunged hilt-deep between a target's ribs, the serrations may make quick removal difficult, so carry several daggers in the event you are forced to leave one in your target's corpse.\nAn initiate's gloves shall be of the finest kid leather, supremely flexible, with metal dart studs to protect the knuckles and back of the hand. The palms and insides of the fingers shall be textured to hold and apply the black soot of dark knowledge.\nThe Initiate's headgear shall be a thick leather cowl accented by matte steel studs, with a lower half-mask to conceal the wearer's features. The cowl shall be of generous length so as to drape full to the shoulders.\nThe Initiate's greaves shall be of sturdy boiled leather, supplemented by metal dart-and-chevron plates in the heavier variations. They shall extend over the top of the boot for protection of the Initiate's ankles. Calf-straps shall be adjustable so as to provide room for stowage of hideout daggers.\nThe standard Brotherhood bludgeoning weapon is a square-headed warhammer, flanged on the corners for collateral laceration. The two-handed hammer is double headed, but the head on the one-handed variation is backed with a curved spike, useful as a tool for dragging cadavers into the shadows to hide them.\nThe Initiate's shield shall be of oval kite-shape and large enough to protect a co-assassin as she plies her bow or spell staff. Upon the central boss shall be blazoned either the black or bloody hand.\nThe Initiate's pauldrons shall likewise be of sturdy boiled leather, surmounted by double-chevroned metal plates to turn blows from above. The elbows may sport cowters of matching design. All metal shall be matte to prevent glinting and reflection.\nThe Brotherhood spellcaster's staff ends in such a heavy flanged head that it almost resembles a two-handed mace\u2014and may be used in that capacity in extremity. Make your staff strong enough that it can be used as a pry bar when breaking and entering, or as a rod to hold a door open or jam it shut.\nYour sword, Initiate, should be a long, curved single-edged blade, with an unevenly serrated back. This latter detail has little practical purpose, serving more as an indicator of your ferocity, potentially paralyzing with fright a target who sees it. There is little difference between the one- and two-handed versions other than size."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-37-ebony-style": {"series": "Crafting Motifs", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-37-ebony-style", "author": "Various", "title": "Crafting Motif 37: Ebony Style", "description": "Styles and materials used by the cultures of Tamriel. Also the author's meandering travelogue.", "text": "By Frikkhild Coldheart of The Anvil & Pauldron\nThe Ebony style of arms and armor: so striking, so strange, so distinctive that there's no mistaking it. But how are we to account for its bizarre admixture of stylistic forms, Dunmer, Nord, and even Daedric? Where does it come from, and who established it? I have spent years seeking the answers to these questions, and all I have for my pains are a few names and terms that may (or may not) apply. Mackkan. Caldera. Fickledire. \"Glorious Upheaval.\" I wish I knew what these words mean, but I do not. I only know that the Ebony style is ancient, and can be defined as described below.\nThe Ebony-style axe is notable for its oversized single blade, twice as long below the axle as above it. There is a spike opposite the blade, and another one, curved, at the ferrule.\nThe Ebony belt is surprisingly simple, considering how ornate the rest of the armor set can be. It's constructed of black leather with metal rivets, and a shield-shaped buckle at the front.\nThe boots of Ebony armor are articulated metal sabatons, with overlapping chevron-shaped plates similar to those on other pieces of the set. The toes are pointed, but the heels are flat, and can be equipped with spurs.\nThe Ebony bow is of heavy compound composition, dark springy hardwoods faced with ebony in the set's chevron pattern. It features inward-curving metal spikes above and below the central grip. The quiver, in contrast, is of supple black leather, holding arrows whose points have a slight, wicked curve.\nThe cuirass is constructed of overlapping ebony plates atop leather or chainmail, articulated so the wearer can bend freely. The breastplate is shield-shaped, above double-chevron bands that protect the abdomen. They may be embossed with jagged flame symbols of Daedric inspiration.\nThe Ebony dagger has a long, slender blade with a slight S-curve to it, reminiscent of the dark rocky Coldharbour spikes that accompany incursions of the Planemeld. Its crossguard is minimal: it's a dagger for thrusting, not parrying.\nEbony gauntlets are of black leather with thin, articulated plates protecting the backs of the hand and fingers. Pointed metal flanges protect the forearms on the heavier variations.\nEbony helms resemble those worn by Dremora, with full visors, crests, and flaring wing-shaped prongs over the ears. The eye-slits are narrow and deliberately sinister in aspect.\nThe greaves are constructed to the same design as the rest of the armor set, with overlapping chevron-shaped plates, and shield-shaped poleyns at the knees.\nThe Ebony warhammer is a decidedly nasty affair, with a heavy flanged head and a curved back spike. The haft is partly sheathed in metal for parrying purposes, while the ferrule sports the same curved spike seen on the bottom of the axe handles.\nThe Ebony shield clearly shows the armor set's mixed stylistic heritage: though kite-shaped like a heavy Nord shield, its bulbous central forms resemble Dunmeri bug-armor, all inscribed with unknown runes that look like Daedric script\u2014but aren't.\nThe pauldrons on Ebony armor are sharp and shield-shaped, with an extra chevron-shaped plate flaring out over the upper arms. There is a layer of thick leather, or even chainmail, beneath the over-plates.\nCompared to the ornate detailing on the armor, Ebony spell staves are relatively simple in design, consisting of a shaft of dark hardwood, sheathed in metal toward the top, with a finial of down-flaring crescent wings. The ferrule is equipped with the same curved spike as other hafted Ebony weapons.\nEbony-style swords are definitely Daedric in inspiration, with crinkled, asymmetrical handles topped by twisted guards, from which sprout single-edged blades with disturbing curves. The sides of the blades are etched with runes that, though traditional to the Ebony style, are of unknown origin."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-38-draugr-style": {"series": "Crafting Motifs", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-38-draugr-style", "author": "Various", "title": "Crafting Motif 38: Draugr Style", "description": "Styles and materials used by the cultures of Tamriel. Also the author's meandering travelogue.", "text": "By Narsis Dren\u2014Treasure Hunter\nSo, you want to be able to pass yourself off as a Draugr? That makes perfect sense! Done it myself, and more than once! Just follow my instructions below, and you'll have gear so Draugr-y not even a Dragon Priest's mother could tell it from the real thing! After all, if you're going to imitate my exploits recovering relics from ancient Nord tombs, in theory it will go much easier if it looks like you belong there!\nAnyway, that's the theory.\nDraugr-style weapons have three characteristics: they're old-fashioned Nord in design, they're typically high-caste or high-quality, and they look like they've been in a tomb for centuries. Draugr axes exhibit all of these traits.\nDraugr all wear those big, broad Nord belts of thick leather, with great, round metal buckles\u2014but the buckles should be rusty, as should any metal rivets or edgings on the tassets that hang from the belts. And rub grave dirt into every crack.\nTake a pair of Nord boots, you know the kind: simple, but thick and sturdy. Leave them next to your stove or forge for a month, making sure to spray them with water once or twice a day. When the metal is spotted with rust, and the leather is cracked and flaking, you're done.\nHow Draugr bows maintain their flexibility and functionality after rotting in a vault for a thousand years is a mystery, even to me\u2014but they work just fine, and I've got the arrow-scars to prove it. However, if you don't want your \"new\" Draugr bow to snap in half when you draw it, I advise using fresh materials. Just antique it appropriately for that musty from-the-catacombs look.\nGet one of those Nord cuirasses that shows a lot of skin, the kind that says, \"I'm too tough to care about the weather.\" Then weather it: dry out the leather, spot the steel with rust, rip chunks out of any fur, and finally scar up every visible surface with a chisel. There you have it: authentic Draugr armor!\nWhy does a Draugr dagger look so creepy? I mean, it's just an ancient Nord fighting knife that's been buried with an undead warrior for a millennium. If you want the same look for your dagger, you can't go wrong with rust spots and spider webs.\nAcquire a pair of medium-grade Nord gauntlets, with good coverage of the lower forearms. Then Draugr-ize them by tying them to a cord and dragging them behind your mount for a few weeks.\nDon't get mere helmets, get full Nord helms that cover the entire head, and ideally have prominent horns. Don't skimp on this: the horned helm is very important to achieving that classic Draugr silhouette. Scar the leather parts with a cleaver, ding up the metal with a hammer, and rub rust and grave dirt into every surface.\nStart with a pair of basic cylindrical greaves of Nord design, then \"Draugr them up\" by burying them in a dung heap for two weeks. You can add verisimilitude by nicking them with a chisel if you like, but after the dung treatment nobody's really going to look at them all that closely.\nA Draugr's mace may look old and rickety, but I assure you, it's strong, solid, and will crush your skull in a heartbeat if you're careless. Make sure your Draugr warhammer is made of sturdy materials underneath its coating of dust, rust, and cobwebs.\nThe ancient Nords bore large shields, and so do their revenants. Use modern oak and steel, but craft your Draugr shield to an old pattern, then use a heavy axe to nick its face and edges as if it's survived a hundred battles. I use a heavy lumberjack's tool for this purpose\u2014no points for subtlety!\nTake a pair of classic Nord shield-shaped pauldrons, and then abuse them by tying them to the rim of a servant's wagon wheel for a week. Your servants may complain that this makes the wagon's ride intolerably bumpy, but just tell them you're following Narsis Dren's advice. That will silence them!\nDraugr revenants schooled in \"the clever art\" don't cast a lot of happy healing and light spells, so for authenticity, make sure your Draugr staff has a dark and sinister look to it. You can't go wrong with dried bloodstains on the head and haft, in my experience.\nThe ancient Nords liked their swords large and heavy enough to kill at a single blow, so avoid light, dueling-style blades for your Draugr-style swords. And no matter how nicked and dented it is, your sword's edge should still be razor-sharp."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-39-minotaur-style": {"series": "Crafting Motifs", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-39-minotaur-style", "author": "Various", "title": "Crafting Motif 39: Minotaur Style", "description": "Styles and materials used by the cultures of Tamriel. Also the author's meandering travelogue.", "text": "By Nonus Caprenius, Temporarily Unaffiliated Scholar of Imperial Antiquities\nWould you do honor to the noble and all-but-forgotten race of Minotaurs, those mighty man-beasts who symbolized the Empire of yore? Do you believe in the legends of their greatness, as I do? Listen, then, and I shall teach you how to craft a set of arms and armor that will pay appropriate tribute to these nigh-extinct avatars of ancient Alessia!\nThe typical Minotaur's axe resembles nothing so much as a great cleaver modified for combat\u2014and could anything be more ironic, considering the fate of most Cyrodilic beef cattle? The two-handed version features a small blade mounted at the heel of the haft for backhand remise attacks, which Minotaur warriors excel at, despite their false reputation as clumsy brutes.\nThe Minotaur's belt is so broad, it would be more correct to refer to it as a war-girdle, a wide triple-layered cincture with a great round buckle-placket in front, as background to a large metal boss that serves as the actual buckle. Thick tassets hang from this war-girdle all around its circumference.\nThe footwear of the Minotaur style, especially on heavy armor, consists of sandals made to emulate the Minotaur's great hooves. Though the uppers are light, the soles are thick, and scored to enhance traction.\nThe Minotaur-style bow is made of darkest yew, stiffened, not surprisingly, by horn, and faced with spiked rivets. Morihaus the Winged Bull was said to be the finest archer of his era, and the finely-fletched arrows of the Minotaurs pay him due tribute.\nThe Minotaur's chest armor seems to take its inspiration from that of arena gladiators, crisscrossed by heavy straps, and with exposed skin on all but the heavy armor variations, so the wearer can more easily bear the heavy weight of the style's massive helm, arm, and shoulder armor.\nThe Minotaur's dagger is a simple spike-poniard with a triangular blade, usually wielded in the left hand to deliver the coup-de-grace following a mortal blow from the main weapon in the man-bull's right. Not fancy\u2014just deadly.\nLike arena gladiators, Minotaur-style warriors have the strong forearm protection of military gauntlets, but the hands are left entirely free. I would speculate the origin of this tradition lies in the difficulty of finding gloves that would actually fit a Minotaur's massive hands.\nInsofar as a Minotaur can be simplistically described as having a humanoid body with the head of a bull, it's no surprise that the Minotaur-style helmet simulates a bull's head, in boiled leather or steel. Actual bull's horns are typically affixed to the helmet's brows.\nThe thick greaves and cuisses of Minotaur leg armor emulate the powerful and muscular lower limbs of the Minotaurs themselves. They are usually decorated with simple repeating designs; some take this as an indication that Minotaurs are simple-minded, but I reject this as mere racialist presumption.\nThe Minotaur's mace sports a heavy cylindrical head studded with sharp rivets. These heads are often lead-filled when wielded by the mighty man-bulls, but ordinary mortals find that too unwieldy, and instead settle for mere iron or steel. The two-handed version features an iron spike on the butt end.\nThe shield of the Minotaurs has a diamond shape for its central boss, but one should expect such Imperial iconography on the arms of a race so deeply linked to the early history of Cyrodiil. It's an all-metal shield, and thus heavy\u2014if one isn't a Minotaur. Ordinary mortals may make them thinner and lighter.\nThe mighty and muscular shoulders of the Minotaurs are simulated by heavy pauldrons that rise almost to the neck, and overlap the gorgets on the over-armored right arms. Here again we see the influence of the armor of arena gladiators, which begs the question: did the Minotaurs imitate the gladiators, or vice-versa?\nWhat could be more appropriate as the finial of a Minotaur spellcaster's staff than a pair of broad horns? The haft below the head is metal-wrapped so the staff can serve as a parrying implement, or a means of condign chastisement for erring lesser mortals.\nLike the dagger, the Minotaur's sword is a simple triangular blade, sharp and double-edged, with an Imperial diamond at the curved crosstree. These blades are thick and heavy, easily lopping limbs from smaller or poorly-armored opponents. Wield them with care."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-40-order-hour-style": {"series": "Crafting Motifs", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-40-order-hour-style", "author": "Various", "title": "Crafting Motif 40: Order of the Hour Style", "description": "Styles and materials used by the cultures of Tamriel. Also the author's meandering travelogue.", "text": "By Amminus Entius, First Quartermaster of the Order\nThe Order of the Hour is the defensive arm of the Chantry of Akatosh, and as well-disciplined knights of the Order, you must at all times properly represent the dignity and glory of the ancient Imperial worship of the Dragon God of Time. Though the Order is not technically a part of the Imperial hierarchy, we nonetheless embody the virtues of the old Empire\u2014and our equipment must reflect those virtues as well.\nThe Order's axe, whether one-handed or two, is a weapon not overlarge, but rather well-balanced and wieldy, for use in both military melee and civilian riots. The long axe-head is as useful for prying as it is for chopping, and it's backed by a strong spike that can be used to dismount opponents or dismantle barricades.\nThe belts worn with Order armor blend in with the cuirass above and the tassets below, seemingly part of the greater armor set rather than a separate garment\u2014much as every Knight of the Order sets aside his or her personal agenda to become a living embodiment of the will of the Primate. The buckle may display the hourglass symbol of the Akatosh Chantry.\nOur knightly footwear is adapted from the standard sandals of the Imperial legionaries, and pays tribute to the Empire by displaying a Cyrodilic diamond on the instep. In the heavier armor variations, the entire foot is wrapped in flexible leather for protection.\nKnights of the Order of the Hour stress the skill of mounted or hand-to-hand melee combat, and place little emphasis on ranged attacks. Our bows, therefore, are relatively simple implements of yew or ash, decorated just enough to do honor to the dignity of our position in the Colovian community.\nOur cuirasses are based on Imperial Legionary armor of the Reman period, but ornamented with swirling designs representing the roiling mists of time, optionally supplemented by Imperial diamonds or the hourglass symbol of the Akatosh Chantry.\nThe Order's dagger is a broad, triangular stabbing blade, a smaller version of the Imperial gladius, or short sword. It is edged on both sides, and narrows to a razor-sharp needle point. The quillion is barely broader than the base of the blade, and may be ornamented with a diamond or hourglass symbol.\nA rigid upper gauntlet protects the forearms of Knights of the Order of the Hour, ornamented with swirling time mists, and perhaps an Imperial diamond or Akatosh hourglass. The gloves that cover the hand are made of supple kid leather, to facilitate the grip of our weapons.\nThe design of an Hour Knight's helm harkens back to the officer's helmets of the Imperial Legions of the Second Empire, with a proud and noble crest above, and nasal and cheek plates to protect the face. No knight should fear getting embroiled in close melee because his or her face is unprotected.\nThe standard leg armor worn by Knights of the Order is faced in front with rigid kite-shaped greaves to protect the shins, ornamented as desired with time-swirls, Imperial diamonds, or the Akatosh hourglass. A small hourglass may even be inset within a large diamond.\nThe Hour Knight's mace has a heavy spherical head, studded with pointed spikes. This is a weapon for killing, not crowd control, and is used only in military affairs where the enemy is to be given no quarter. The upper haft is sheathed in metal to enable parrying.\nThe shield of the Order of the Hour is distinctive, so that all may know whom they oppose. It is large and rectangular in design, and made of good steel, though to keep the weight down the metal is thick only at the edges and in the center. Its chief symbol is a great hourglass, showing a double twist that represents our devotion to duty and the right.\nLike our cuirasses, an Hour Knight's pauldrons are based on the armor of the Second Empire, with two or three curved, overlapping plates, rising toward a vertical gardbrace that protects the side of the neck.\nThe staves of the Order's spellcasters are truly magnificent, with finials like great hourglasses crowned with the wings of the Dragon God of Time. The ferrule at the end of the haft is a pointed steel spike, and the haft itself is decorated with designs that evoke the swirling mists of time.\nA Knight of the Order of the Hour bears a sword with a long, broad, triangular blade, edged on both sides and pointed for thrusting. The crosstree is narrow, as our melee doctrine emphasizes active parrying, rather than letting the opponent's blade slide to the pommel, which is just sloppy."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-41-celestial-style": {"series": "Crafting Motifs", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-41-celestial-style", "author": "Various", "title": "Crafting Motif 41: Celestial Style", "description": "Styles and materials used by the cultures of Tamriel. Also the author's meandering travelogue.", "text": "As above, so below. This was ever our creed. And thus, O Celestial below, as thou craftest thy arms and thy armor, thou shalt follow ever the guidance and model of ye Constellations that wheel above.\nWho wieldeth the axe? The Warrior, of Last Seed. Like the Warrior, make thy axes strong and sharp of edge. Their blades shall be like crescent moons, aglow in the light of ye Warrior's stars.\nWho circles ye zodiac, and crawleth where it will? The Serpent, of unstars and no moons. Thy belt shall be thus strong as wyrm and long as a twelve-month, when ye head shall meet ye tail. See to it.\nWho hurrieth across the sky, bearing night from dusk till dawn? The Steed, ye noble mount. Thus shalt thou make boots to bear thee withal like the bearing of ye Steed, to support all in their celestial journeys.\nWho striketh from a distance, all heart afire with sympathy? The Lady, who bends bowing in the firmament, as it's meant thy firm bow shall bend like a lady whose darts speed true. Mark these words, Celestial.\nWho protecteth Nirn from roguish particles, ye ill from on high? The Aurora, curtain of light that wrappeth the globe in its folds. Like the Aurora thou shalt make thy cuirass, that it may wrap thee and ward thee particularly 'gainst weaponry.\nWho wieldeth the dagger as the surgeon doth his scalpel? The Thief, who cometh in ye dark of Evening Star. As thy knife is thy luck, make thou thy dagger of fortune, so thou mayest make fortune from thy dagger.\nWho draweth off her gloves when the season of safety is nigh? The Lover, who covers all till Sun's Dawn, then covers none. Glover, follow the Lover, and make therefore gloves for thy hands clingsome and supple, protection in peril, yet lovely when undonned.\nWho watcheth all with glowing eye in the face of space? The Ritual, of Morning Star, whose eye is seen but whose visage is hidden. Be ye then like the Ritual, and hide thy visage beneath cap and behind visor, seeing but not seen, unknown until thy actions make thee known.\nWho supports ye master, and does all needful and minor-magical? The Apprentice, right behind thee, to hold thee up to Sun's Height if thou falleth. Make thus thy greaves as supportful as ye Apprentice, and with a right good will.\nWho bludgeons the sky with magical might? The Atronach, ye golem, who rolls like juggernaut twixt night and day. Make then thy mace like the Atronach's mighty arm, to smite thy foes even as rocks that fall from ye sky.\nWhat protecteth ye Celestials e'en as it supports the very world? The Tower, that both opens and closes the Way. Make therefore thy shield so it be strong as the Tower, closing the way to the weapons of thy foes, yet opening when thou smitest on thine own account.\nWho hideth beneath the Second Seed, uncovering only to strike from below? The Shadow, unseen although seen, shadowing the sky's every move. Make then thy pauldrons to be like ye Shadow, to follow thy form, faithful and silent, and protect betimes ye striketh.\nWho wieldeth ye staff as the mightiest of armaments? The Mage, of Rain's Hand, whose hand raineth magicka by rod and by staff. Make then thy staves in emulation of ye Mage, with star-disk at finial for faster stellar spellcaster.\nWho wieldeth both sword and plowshare, planting both seeds and foes? The Lord, master of sword and harrow, from First Seed to all. Make then thy sword as straight as a Lord, and wield it justly, in high law and low."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-42-hollowjack-style": {"series": "Crafting Motifs", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-42-hollowjack-style", "author": "Various", "title": "Crafting Motif 42: Hollowjack Style", "description": "Styles and materials used by the cultures of Tamriel. Also the author's meandering travelogue.", "text": "Conjure, conjure, jill and jack\n\tHarvest arms and armor tack\n\tPumpkin drear and black hawthorn\n\tWrought into grim garments worn\nCur-ved blade and wicked point\n\tVictim disembowel and joint\n\tChop and amputate and hack\n\tHappy work for Hollowjack\nCincture hold our raiment tight\n\tSure and secure to prowl the night\n\tStraps to hold our weapons near\n\tReady all for time of fear\nSoles of rind and pointed toes\n\tShall surprise unwary foes\n\tHollowjack shall ever tread\n\tOn the corpses of the dead\nThorn-tree wood, bend and release\n\tThor-ned arrow, mark decease\n\tFlet-ched dart, twist and fly\n\tTaking target through the eye\nCuirass of enduring rind\n\tGuarding torso fore and hind\n\tTurn all weapons, point and edge\n\tLike impenetrable hedge\nBodkin blade dig inward deep\n\tTween yon ribs and organs creep\n\tLike vine of orange jack-all fruit\n\tA pumpkin knife of ill repute\nThor-ned night-black gauntlets planned\n\tTo cover Hollowjacky hand\n\tBut flexible so hands can strangle\n\tThrottle, eye-gouge, tear, and mangle\nGrinning Hollowjack must laugh\n\tDismember, threshing, wheat from chaff\n\tNow inner anger embers show\n\tAs lambent eye-slits ever glow\nRind and bark are intersected\n\tLower limbs shall be protected\n\tWeapons swung and darts projected\n\tShall be tur-ned or deflected\nPointed hammer made to puncture\n\tMail and armor at their juncture\n\tHollowjack fair grins with glee\n\tMurd'ring on a killing spree\nHawthorn bark and twisted limb\n\tWard with visage gaunt and grim\n\tDespite what weapon foe will wield\n\tNone shall penetrate this shield\nSummon pauldrons, shoulder plate\n\tDeadly damage shall abate\n\tRind be tough and vine be long\n\tHollowjack be armor strong\nSummon segments, mirthful medley\n\tHollowjack staff long and deadly\n\tCasting spells good and malign\n\tPumpkin daemon knows the sign\nSword to cut, a blade to sever\n\tCrafting a condign endeavor\n\tPoint to pommel, edge to back\n\tScimitar for Hollowjack"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-43-grim-harlequin-style": {"series": "Crafting Motifs", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-43-grim-harlequin-style", "author": "Various", "title": "Crafting Motif 43: Grim Harlequin Style", "description": "Styles and materials used by the cultures of Tamriel. Also the author's meandering travelogue.", "text": "My Lord Sheogorath has directed me to compile a guide for those seeking to create \"Grim Harlequin\" arms and armor, so that the Mad God's mortal servants may have a way to make all their equipment look the same. Of course, this standardization runs counter to all other cult practices, and is insane on the face of it. (Ahem.) Milord has probably already forgotten he asked me to do it, but what better do I have to do with my time than write manuals for mortals?\nActually, almost anything, now that I think about it.\nCurved crescent axe blades are specified, with edges of varying depth, and a complicated cluster of sharp, curved \u2026 somethings \u2026 at the haft. You know: what-you-may-call-ems. Also, grinning skulls. Put those on everything.\nThe belt shall be made of one, two, three, or four leather straps, of tanned Human or Elf skin, where possible. A grinning skull for the buckle, of course. Hip tassets may also sport skulls, wearing fool's caps and with tongues extended. The extended tongue is very important\u2014a stylistic hallmark, really.\nPointed toes are required. This is not negotiable. Uppers may be of dark quilted motley, as you like. But nobody will be looking past the pointed toes: do that right, and the rest is gravy. Note: not actual gravy. Gravy may be implied, but is never stated.\nNow isn't this a pretty thing: seed pearls on the facing, and swooping recurved limbs that terminate in finials curled 'round large, lovely milk pearls. An instrument of death, but ornamented with nacreous excretions: simply splendid. Don't you think?\nStraps, straps, straps, and many layers\u2014but not too rigid, not t0o confining, we do not wish to make it impossible to somersault. A Grim Harlequin must somersault, after all. As appropriate. (You'll know when.) Also: grinning skull sternum cameo. Very important!\nWhat we want here is more or less a curved poniard. Pointed, of course, but with a definite crescent edge, so it matches the swords and axes. The serrated back edge is handy for cleaning fish or grating cheese. A bastard to keep clean, though.\nHis Derangment has decreed that the fashion in Grim Harlequin gauntlets this season shall be for half-fingered gloves\u2014the upper half. The lower digits shall remain nimble and free, so they can, as Milord Madness puts it, \"Dance like little rabbits from blade to bow and back again.\" The metaphor is strained, but you get the point, do you not?\nLet your headgear be a cunning cowl that simultaneously evokes both a fool's cap and an executioner's hood\u2014jolly but gruesome is the goal here, mortal. And there's nothing to lose by adding a mummy-wrap bandit's mask to the lighter sets, or a skull visor to the heavy.\nThese should match the boots. I suppose. Just between you and me, to be quite candid, I have had no instructions from The Avuncular One in the matter of greaves or schynbalds. Not a peep. It's as if he didn't care what you put on your lower legs. Make of that what you will.\nThe Grim Harlequin mace head is a grinning skull (naturally) wearing a fool's cap, with a long extended tongue that wraps right 'round the top of the haft. It's quite cunning, really. If I were a mortal, I'd want both the one-handed and the two-handed versions. But I'm not.\nGrinning skulls, fool's-capped jester faces, diamond quilting, those curving sharp what-you-may-call-em motifs: the Grim Harlequin shield has it all, really. Strap this on your off-arm, and they'll get out of your way in the grocery store, believe me.\nFor your left pauldron? A grinning, grimacing jester-face with an upturned spade beard, of course. Oh, and another one on the right. Assuming symmetry is your goal. Who knows\u2014it might be!\nI already effused about the fool's-capped grinning skull on the mace head; doing so again about the same motif on the finial of the Grim Harlequin staff would be just rather tedious. I would prefer not to.\nThe swords should be long, curved single-edged blades\u2014almost scimitars, really. The crossguard is another one of those clusters of curving overlapping sharp whatevers, you'll recognize it when you see it. And there, that's the Grim Harlequin guide, for what it's worth, which fortunately is not up to me."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-44-silken-ring-style": {"series": "Crafting Motifs", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-44-silken-ring-style", "author": "Various", "title": "Crafting Motif 44: Silken Ring Style", "description": "Styles and materials used by the cultures of Tamriel. Also the author's meandering travelogue.", "text": "By Bathed-in-Steel, First Armorer of Stormhold'\nFirst of all, a warning: do not be so careless as to allow these instructions to fall into the wrong hands! If the authorities in Stormhold knew I was hiring out-of-work smiths to create arms and armor for the Silken Ring, my head would soon be adorning a pike on the Big Bridge!\nSecond of all: follow these instructions to the letter. You don't want a secret society of assassins irritated at you because you made them squeaky boots. Pay attention, hatchling, and we'll all profit.\nIf you expected to stamp out a few hundred daggers for some easy gold, disabuse yourself of that notion right now. The Silken Ring collects killers of all kinds, and they are particular about their methods. Hand axes are to have a single shallow crescent extending well above the haft. The blade is to come to a sturdy point to facilitate stabbing as well as slashing. Two-handed variations require a second blade of this design and may be employed as a man-catcher .\nThe Silken Ring Prefer their belts to be woven from leather or silk to allow for greater flexibility and fastened by a sturdy silver buckle. The large buckle must include a hidden compartment and unfasten quickly using only one hand.\nFlexibility and grip are of utmost importance, so stick to cloth or supple leather. Hardened leather may be used for shin guards and capped with silver plate. Soles must be tough leather, ridged for traction. Alit hide would be ideal.\nA simple wooden recurve bow is preferred by these assassins. Draw strength and accuracy are to be prioritized over durability as the bow may well be abandoned after a single use.\nThe signature identifying feature of a Silken Ring uniform, aside from their creepy masks, is a wide band of silver (not silk, don't ask me) that encircles the collar. This may be layered or permanently affixed, but should prominently feature the curved \"tangled web\" embossing that the Silken Ring prefers for embellishment.\nMore a short sword, the Silken Ring's blades will need to be on the thick side to compensate for the softer silver coating the blade. Mount them with a full tang into a thick rounded hilt. The daggers will need to be twisted free with ease and you'd better hope the blade comes out along with the hilt.\nMore so than the boots, the gloves must accommodate dexterity even at the cost of protection. Fine leathers only. Bracers may incorporate hardened leathers and silver plate, but be mindful of added weight and keep them separate pieces. Affix with braided leather or cloth.\nThe hallmark of the Silken Ring are their silver masks. They resemble a human head with no mouth, narrow squinting eyes, and symmetrical crescent horns rising high off the skull. The incorporation of hair into the design of the head is strongly encouraged. DO NOT USE ANIMAL HAIR.\nThe Silken Ring favors knee length skirts over constricting legwear. Thick leather may be used, but the cut must not impede range of motion. Banded leather tassets may be hung from the belt or cuirass, but mobility is an assassin's best defense, apparently.\nAs you might expect, an assassin's wants for a mace involve puncturing heavy armor more than messy bashing. Keep the striking point narrow with minimal protrusions. More a hammer with a thick dagger for a head than anything else I could compare it to. The two-hander is more a conventional post maul with upward sloped spikes on the business ends.\nPerhaps the most challenging pieces will be the shields. They need to be lightweight, but sturdy and full sized. Don't bring me any bucklers. I recommend a layered, cross-grain core of light wood, backed in silver with a thicker face. The embossing should look good winding through the frame's layers.\nWhile the Silken Ring prefer to keep their arms bare, they do not forgo shoulder pads. Thick silvered plate may be employed either by itself, or affixed to leather. Add one or two secondary metal bands as protruding elements for ornamentation.\nAs you might have guessed, harnessing the Destruction school is of greatest interest to the Silken Ring. The staff heads will be spear-like but blunt, and sprouting curls of silver similar to the embossing found throughout their designs. Why it isn't a literal spearhead, I don't know, but I'm not the mage here.\nMuch like the daggers, Silken Ring swords are thick single-edged blades meant for hacking. Long serrated curves along the blade are more visually intimidating than functional, but they'll split a neck cleanly all the same."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-45-mazzatun": {"series": "Crafting Motifs", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-45-mazzatun", "author": "Various", "title": "Crafting Motif 45: Mazzatun", "description": "Styles and materials used by the cultures of Tamriel. Also the author's meandering travelogue.", "text": "Armsman Omeeta, Stormhold Fighters Guildhall\nI try to catalogue the arms and equipment of all the deep marsh tribes\u2014it helps our fighters identify who and what we're up against. This Mazzatun gear, with its panoply of plumes and avian and reptilian skulls, is particularly garish. That's fine by me: it makes identifying it all the easier. What follows are brief descriptions of arms and armor of Mazzatun origin, both for the record and for the use of guild fighters in the field.\nMuch like the ruined city's stone, the war axes of Mazzatun tend to be made from reclaimed detritus. Often they are nothing more than the repurposed splinter of a sword lashed to a hewn branch by leather straps. Crude, but effective enough for butchering unarmored combatants and rebellious captives.\nBelts range from sashes of cloth and fur, to intricately woven and braided leather or fibers. One thing is consistent, if not make or material: the spiraling path sigil of Mazzatun is featured prominently at the navel. If there's any significance to that, I'm sure there are eight books on the subject you can reference at the Mages Guild.\nFootwear is light, if worn at all. Sandals are the preferred dress of warriors, soled in thick hide or bark. Bone, shell, or other inflexible materials are sometimes strapped around the ankles and shins for protection, but I'd say they're still fair game for a hobbling strike.\nMazzatun missile weapons are mostly thrown, but simple recurved bows are favored by their most keen-eyed warriors. Most are made from flexible swamp reeds, but be on the lookout for plumed wooden bows. They are a sign of distinction among tribal archers and a good indicator to take cover.\nThe primary protective material of Mazzatun gear is bone, and while it might not seem like much, it's deceptively effective. Layers of bone splints offer protection and flexibility nearly as good as steel scale mail, and thick horns, tusks, etc. will stop even a forceful strike. Mazzatun armorers appear to lack the means to adequately protect the abdomen, so their warriors are most vulnerable at their bellies.\nProper daggers are rare and appear to serve mostly ceremonial purposes. The short blades most likely to be seen in the hands of a warrior are machetes meant for clearing vines and scrub. But I have seen one hack into a sword arm through a steel vambrace, so overextend your guard at your own risk.\nA combination of leather bracers and armlets do the heavy lifting for arm protection. These are often reinforced with thick plates of bone and steel bands, but even the lightest armor will add wraps of stone beads for rigidity. They sometimes contain flint used to ignite alchemical concoctions and oil.\nA basic leather hood is the foundation of most Mazzatun headgear. Beyond that, the functionality of the helmet falls away in favor of grand displays of personal status based on how many ostentatious layers of skull and plume can be mounted to it. Occasionally these ornamental features happen to serve to protect the skull beneath it all.\nLeg protection is minimal, as the inhabitants of Mazzatun favor loincloths as their primary dress. Occasionally a warrior will hang bone plates from their belt or strapped to the front of their knees, but for the most part they leave their legs bare. Take advantage when you can: they move fast over this mucky terrain.\nFor its simplicity, I can't argue with the design of a Mazzatun mace: a simple hardwood sphere mounted to a wooden shaft and studded with steel. The whole thing vaguely resembles a bird with bright plumes on the back of its head and a steel-spiked \"beak\" on its face.\nShields are elaborate affairs, combining wood, reed, stone, bone, cloth, feathers, and steel. The face is primarily bone plate stitched together around a central stone stud. The reed construction is light, and durability is questionable. Keep hammering and the whole thing will fall apart eventually. Mind the horns on the rim, or you'll find one jutting into your throat.\nI don't know why the Mazzatun gear puts so much emphasis on protecting the collar, but the bulkiest bones tend to find themselves strapped around the neck and shoulder. Sometimes you'll find the entire jaw of a large beast draped there. Maybe a collar is just the easiest thing to wear when you lack modern armoring techniques.\nI have yet to identify a meaningful difference between a ceremonial staff and a battle staff among the Mazzatun inhabitants. They typically seem to carve them from fallen branches of their tribe's Hist tree. Animal\u2014and other\u2014skulls are the usual ornamentation for the head of the staff. Usually the skull selected bears some significance to the wielder.\nLittle of the Mazzatun warriors' weapons and armor contain worked metals, with swords being the primary exception. Obviously they're a favorite for combat, but they also pull double duty as tools. These oversized machetes can hack through most vegetation, and the teeth on the back edge make a passable saw. Between those and the scale-like carving along the flat of the blade, I think the blades are supposed to resemble the native Wamasu."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-46-frostcaster-style": {"series": "Crafting Motifs", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-46-frostcaster-style", "author": "Various", "title": "Crafting Motif 46: Frostcaster Style", "description": "Styles and materials used by the cultures of Tamriel. Also the author's meandering travelogue.", "text": "By Doctor Alfidia Lupus, Imperial Ethnographer\nSTALHRIM FROSTCASTER STYLE\n(Previously unpublished notes by Doctor Alfidia Lupus, Imperial Ethnographer)\n\u2026After meeting King Logrolf, I took the time to examine a display of clothing from the many subcultures of Skyrim, which it seems is home to other peoples than just those mainstream Nords so well-known across northern Tamriel. Some of these cultures still wallow in barbarism, such as the clans of the Reachmen, famous\u2014or rather infamous\u2014for their savage raids over the northern borders. But I also came across the clothing of a culture previously unknown to me, that of the Skaal, who inhabit an island in the Sea of Ghosts named Solstheim (I hope I've spelled that right\u2014my notes were taken in haste).\nUnlike the Reachmen, racially the Skaal are Nords, but they differ from their continental cousins, who were among the first foreigners to adopt the worship of the Eight Divines, in that the Skaal still cling to a primitive monotheism, venerating a single creator they call \"the All-Maker.\" At least some of the shamans of this ancient faith specialize in Frost Magic, and are called \"Frostcasters.\" (All this is according to the information inscribed on a tablet next to the clothing display.)\nThe most curious aspect of this Frostcaster clothing was its extensive use of an unfamiliar translucent blue-white material labeled \"Stalhrim,\" a sort of crystalline metal unlike anything I've ever seen. It was so strange that, after checking to make sure no one was paying any attention to what I was doing, I laid hands upon it, rubbing and tapping. It was rigid, faceted yet smooth, and gave off a distinct chill, despite the heat from the Embassy's roaring log fires. I was fascinated, and went so far as to try to scratch this Stahlrim [sic] with a nail file from my clutch\u2014to no effect whatsoever. And this gave me pause: for could a culture described as being \"barbaric\" have produced an armor material that even steel couldn't scratch?"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-47-buoyant-armiger-style": {"series": "Crafting Motifs", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-47-buoyant-armiger-style", "author": "Various", "title": "Crafting Motif 47: Buoyant Armiger Style", "description": "Styles and materials used by the cultures of Tamriel. Also the author's meandering travelogue.", "text": "Vivec smiled at those brave souls around him and summoned celebration demons to cleave unto the victors. There was a great display of love and duty around the netted monster, and Vivec was at the center with a headdress made of mating bones. He laughed and told mystical jokes and made the heads of the three houses marry and become a new order. \"You shall forever be now my Buoyant Armigers,\" he said.\n\"So to quiet his mind the Hortator chose from the Fight Racks an axe. He named it and moved on to the first moon.\" And the edge of the blade of the axe of the Armiger shall be rippled like a hanging curtain, a tapestry for cutting.\n\"A scavenger cannot acquire a silk sash and expect to discover the greater systems of its predecessor: perfect happiness is embraced only by the weeping.\" And the belt of the tassets and the arms of the Armiger shall be fore and aft a chevron, and descend in the places of generation.\n\"Six are the walking ways, from enigma to enemy to teacher.\" And the boots of the walking feet of the Armiger shall have rigid uppers and spines, like a dreugh that clothes the pedal appendage.\n\"Out of their fortresses they came with golden ballistae that walked and mighty atronachs and things that spat flame and things that made killing songs.\" To afflict enemies from afar with singing darts, the Armiger must have a bow of chitin and verdigris, doubly recurved.\n\"The mystics began by wrapping one of their sages in the shells, a series of flourishes by two supra numerates, one hormonally tall and the other just under his arms.\" The carapace of the cuirass is a sacred shell to contain the Armiger's soft hot heart of truth, as the volcano contains the lava.\n\"At which he stabbed the heart of City-Face with the Ethos Knife, which is to say RKHT AI AE ALTADOON AI, the short blade of proper commerce.\" And the Armiger's blade shall be green as a leaf, but sharp and supple as a thorn that pierces between the sixth and seventh rib of eventuality.\n\"'For I have crushed a world with my left hand,' he will say, 'but in my right hand is how it could have won against me.'\" And the gauntlets that house the Armiger's digits shall grasp and hold like sharp-shelled lampreys, but cleansed of all ordure.\n\"CHEMUA, the Running Hunger, who appeared as a mounted soldier with full helm, had the powers of Heart Roaring and of sky sickening.\" And who shall be crowned like the Buoyant Armiger, with verdant flares of solid flame?\n\"He sat with his legs in the ocean and with a troubled look on his face.\" And the greaves and cuisses of the Armiger shall be like pillars and columns of manifest argument, with heavenward chevrons all akimbo.\n\"Truth is like my husband: instructed to smash, filled with procedure and noise, hammering, weighty, heaviness made schematic, lessons learned only by a mace.\" And the terrible truncheon the Armiger bears shall be like the scepter of a king unforeseen and unreckoned.\n\"The ruling king is to stand against me and then before me.\" And the shield of the Armiger shall be like the shell of the Emperor, for what is a monarch but a shield to his people?\n\"The ruling king is armored head to toe in brilliant flame.\" And the shoulders of an Armiger shall flare up and out like a blazon of fire, broad-bearing the burden of bastion against the words-like-knives.\n\"He attempted to attach them and form a staff but Vivec would not let him, saying, 'It is not the time for that.'\" And thus the spell staff of the Armiger Magical shall be shaft-singular, and speak only contradictions.\n\"The true sword is able to cut chains of generations, which is to say, the creation myths of your enemies.\" And therefore behold the Armiger's sword, by which I mean the sensible, by which I mean the first night, for which I mean the dual nature, preceded by a sigh."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-48-ashlander-style": {"series": "Crafting Motifs", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-48-ashlander-style", "author": "Various", "title": "Crafting Motif 48: Ashlander Style", "description": "Styles and materials used by the cultures of Tamriel. Also the author's meandering travelogue.", "text": "By Sannemmu Khamishi, Wise Woman of the Erabenimsun Tribe\nSo, Clanfriend, you are curious about our clothing? You wonder how such simple, nomadic barbarians can come to have such elaborate and sophisticated garments and tools? Then learn this: for the Ashlander, simplicity is a choice, not a necessity. We follow the precepts of the Good Daedra, and our practices and preferences are in accord with their teachings. We have other, deeper secrets which I will not reveal now, but the making of our apparel and arms are not among them.\nThe crescent moon is an ancient and holy symbol for us, used sparingly but with significance. Our axe blades are edged crescents, though incomplete at top; our tales say that, should certain prophesied events occur, the crescents shall be full once more, and our axes will be wielded in a time of hardship and glory. It may yet be so.\nOur belts are always several, fashioned of strong leather and crossing each other on the diagonal, the better to support our tools, arms, and tassets of chitin. The buckles are ornamental rather than symbolic, decorated at the wearer's choice, and may be of chitin, carapace, or even metal, if one leans to the ostentatious.\nOur boots are of supple leather, usually guar, but with chitin knobs and plates to protect the toe, instep, and shin. This chitin is affixed to the leather beneath with a powerful and permanent adhesive we derive by boiling kwama cuttle and (when we can get them) horse's hooves. The rest of the horse goes into the stew pot.\nOur composite bows are constructed of limbs of ash willow and trama trunk laminated together with cuttle glue, and faced with chitin or claws from mudcrabs or, if possible, dreugh. Our arrows are fletched with gristlewing or racer plumes.\nAshlanders armor their torsos with layers or bands of guar leather, augmented with chitin, carapace, horn, bone, or even vvardvark shell. The bands are sewn together with twisted thread made of kresh or roobrush fibers, often waxed with desiccated scrib jelly or dreugh wax. Colorful enamels may be applied to display tribal or cult affiliation.\nThe sacred crescent appears again in the wavy blade of the Ashlander kris. For us the kris is both a stabbing weapon and a handy tool, with a strong point for prying and thick-backed edges for scraping. The hilt is of heartwood from trama or fungus trunk.\nOur gloves are thick, of several layers of hide, for we live in a volcanic land and must protect our hands from burning stone and boiling liquid. On war gauntlets, the forearms are protected by chitin plates, affixed to the gloves' leather by cuttle glue. These plates may have spikes or flanges.\nOur hoods and helms cover the entire head, for safety in the harsh environment of the Ashlands, particularly when Red Mountain's mood is ugly. A mask or filtered visor keeps ash from nose and mouth, and goggles protect the eyes from soot, embers, and fume. The skull is protected by overlapping bands of rigid chitin, sometimes knobbed or crested.\nLike our cuirasses, Ashlander greaves are made of bands of guar leather sewn together with waxed and twisted thread made of kresh or roobrush fibers. Chitin or carapace poleyns may be attached at the knees. In this way our legs are protected not just from weapons, but also from thorns, scathecraw, and jagged volcanic rocks.\nWe tip our maces with heavy heads flanked by dual edged crescents, creating weapons that can both cut and crush. The long trama-trunk hafts are wrapped diagonally with leather strips to provide a sure grip. The base of the haft ends in a pointed ferrule of metal or bone.\nAn Ashlander shield is made of several large pieces of light but rigid carapace cuttle-glued into a single unit, and studded with spikes of chitin. The edge is lined around the back with a metal rim that prevents chopping blows from splitting the shield.\nWe Ashlanders make our shoulder cops from half-cones of thick guar leather boiled for stiffness. In the heavier weights of armor, small or even large plates of chitin may be affixed to the leather with cuttle glue. Such plates may sport sharp knobs or spikes.\nAn Ashlander spell staff is not only a magical weapon, but a ceremonial crosier, and thus its decoration is fraught with symbolism\u2014at least for us. Each staff is tipped with one, two, or even three symbols of the Good Daedra, surrounded by a double crescent of chitin and bone. The haft ends in a pointed ferrule like that of the mace.\nOur swords have sinuous blades, with edges that curve and snake like crescent serpents or razor-edged frozen flame. There is a full crescent on each side of the crossguard, and the tang is seated in a hilt of heartwood from trama or fungus trunk. Baring a blade is a significant act, and an Ashlander will rarely return a sword to its sheath without using it first.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-49-militant-ordinator-style": {"series": "Crafting Motifs", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-49-militant-ordinator-style", "author": "Various", "title": "Crafting Motif 49: Militant Ordinator Style", "description": "Styles and materials used by the cultures of Tamriel. Also the author's meandering travelogue.", "text": "By Vermethys Indoril, High Ordinator of the Order of War\nJustice never sleeps: three gods, One True Faith. And one true uniform for each Order of Ordination, which must be correct and proper in every detail. As High Ordinator of the Order of War, known also as the Militant Ordinators, it is one of my many duties to ensure that our arms and armor conform to Temple directives. So heed these words, Citizen Armorer, and go about your business. But I'm watching you.\nAs the crests on our helmets are curved and sharp as the blade of an axe, so are the blades of our axes sharp and curved like the crests on our helmets. Like fungusjacks fell the mushroom forests, so we with our axes fell the enemies of the Tribunal. They cannot escape the righteous.\nOur belts are simple and strong, like our faith in and loyalty to ALMSIVI. Strong tassets depend from our cinctures, and the buckle is a triple rhombus (do not say diamond!), representing our triple devotion to justice, retribution, and the Three Most High.\nThe boots of a Militant Ordinator are strong boots, for the march of justice is eternal and we must be prepared to go wherever heresy needs to be eradicated. Across the instep of each boot shall be a golden band embossed with the Triple Rhombus of our threefold devotion.\nThe bow of the Order of War shall be faced with sharpened crests pointing forward, as the crests on our helms point the way to righteous mayhem. And the quiver shall sport overlapping plates in wide descending chevrons like those on our shields. The points of the arrows shall be brazen.\nThe cuirasses of the Militant Ordinators are to be brazen or bronze, patterned with elaborate filigree and richly decorated to do honor to our lieges the Tribunal, and to impress the impressionable with the Order's majesty and might.\nThe dagger of the Ordinator of the Order of War is to be a broad dirk, single-edged and slightly curved, the better to carve heresy from the hearts of the schismatic and apostate. No crossbar is needed at the hilt, for what Ordinator would parry when they can attack?\nThough our gauntlets protect our forearms with overlapping plates, our fingers remain at all times unencumbered, so that we may wrap our hands around the neck of heresy and strangle it until it breathes no more.\nJustice wears but one face, and so the stern visage of Temple justice is stamped upon the faceplate of every Militant Ordinator helm. Above is our soaring forward crest, pointing toward heresy, which we always attack and from which we never retreat. Three Gods, One True Faith.\nOur greaves and cuisses are of thrice-cured leather, from hides of kagouti or alit, dense enough to turn a blade or deflect a blow, but flexible: a Militant Ordinator must move without hindrance, for heresy cannot escape the righteous.\nThe maces of our siblings of the Order of the Watch are more blunt, like truncheons, in accord with their function of maintaining order among the citizens. We, however, are the Order of War, and our maces are flanged and edged, to slash as well as smash. We are the Militant Ordinators, and no heresy shall survive us.\nOur shields are large, for we are charged with defending the Truth of the Three against all threats and doubts. Broad descending chevrons they show, for deflecting the blows of the unfaithful, and they may also display the Triple Rhombus of our threefold devotion.\nEach pauldron shall be two plates, rigid like our devotion to the Three, pointed like the arguments of our swords, and patterned with elaborate filigree to do full honor to our masters.\nThe staff of a Militant Ordinator spell-caster is surmounted with dual sweeping crests like those on our helms, pointed and parallel for the aim and guidance of our righteous magical onslaughts. A spell-staff can also serve horizontally as a barrier to entry when on sentry duty at door or portal.\nThe Temple's Order of War wields single-edged swords with razor-sharp points, for with these do we chop logic with heretics. Militant Ordinators keep their swords near their hands at all times, for at any moment we may encounter apostasy or error that must be condignly corrected."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-50-telvanni-style": {"series": "Crafting Motifs", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-50-telvanni-style", "author": "Various", "title": "Crafting Motif 50: Telvanni Style", "description": "Styles and materials used by the cultures of Tamriel. Also the author's meandering travelogue.", "text": "By Ivela Telvanni, Vivec City\nSo, good-looking, you wish to show your allegiance to House Telvanni? Then you must dress the part, dear thing. You know what we say: \"The powerful define the standards of virtue.\" And so our House Council has appointed me their Mouth Costumier in order to define our standards of virtue in cloth and clothing, in arms and armor. And I hereby define and decree the look of House Telvanni to be both distinctive and awe-inspiring.\nThe blades of our axes resemble sharp-edged shelf or bracket fungi, and in fact, they may be made of forge-hardened ferrofungus if metallic ore is unavailable. The blades are no bigger than they need to be: Telvanni warriors wield their weapons with precision and finesse, and instill proper awe by their use rather than mere appearance.\nTelvanni war-girdles are thick and strong, and distinguished mainly by the overlapping plates they support at front and rear, protecting the abdomen and small of the back. These flexible plates are shaped like the woody fruiting bodies of bracket fungi, displaying radiant patterns of spore gills.\nThe terrain of the Telvanni lands is rugged, so the soles of our boots must be thick, albeit with flexible uppers. For the heavier armors, where the boots are actually sabatons, overlapping metal plates protect the instep, the forward ends pointed upward. This echoes the upward-pointing shape of the pauldrons, as well as evoking the pointy-toed shoes of our Master Wizards.\nThough magic is of course the Telvanni range weapon of choice, House thralls may be armed with bows, so it's just as well to specify their appearance. We provide our archers with simple recurved bows faced with protective metal in overlapping mushroom-cap shapes. Quivers are decorated to match.\nTelvanni chest armor is layered, of flexible leather topped with stylish overlapping plates of chitin, ferrofungus, or metal, in shapes inspired by shelf fungi or toadstool caps, and scored with spore gill lines. Lacquer overpainting is optional, but can be used to express your inner kagouti.\nOur dagger is like a long, curved athame, albeit with the hooked end that makes it distinctively, deliciously Telvanni. The swirling patterns on the metal tang between hilt and blade resemble both an unfolding spell and our glorious House symbol.\nOur gauntlets display the same contrasting nature as the rest of our garments: guar hide covers the hand and fingers, leather sufficiently thin and pliable so dexterity isn't compromised, while the back of the hand and forearm are protected by rigid plates with the shape and spore gill lines of shelf fungus.\nTelvanni helmets cover the entire head, and come in two distinct variations: hoods of mail fronted by rigid faceplates for lighter armor, and the \"mushroom-mask\" full helms, with their unmistakable toadstool silhouette, to accompany heavy armor. I, for one, can't look at the helm of a Telvanni heavy trooper without feeling a proud shiver of awe!\nInstead of cuisses, a Telvanni warrior's legs are protected by kilts of mail that fall from hip to knee. Inspired by our Wizard Lords' robes, these are both stylish and practical\u2014and frankly, I find them exciting. A Dark Elf in a kilt? Yes, please!\nThe mushroom-cap maces borne by Telvanni sentries resemble the fungal scepters of our House Councilors, though larger, and with a head heavy enough to crack an escaped slave's skull like an eggshell!\nOur heart-shaped shields are constructed of overlapping plates of chitin or ferrofungus, with a brazen central boss displaying the sorcerous symbol of House Telvanni. Rigid but light, their edges are reinforced with steel for added protection.\nThe overlapping plates of our pauldrons contribute the points of their upwardly-flared ends to the distinctive silhouette of our Telvanni armor, particularly at the heavier weights. Oh, those broad-shouldered Telvanni troopers! I'll take two.\nThe finial of a Telvanni spell staff is surmounted by our House symbol wrought in gilded silver, so that even when one of our mages isn't wearing the Telvanni uniform, there's no need to guess which House the wizard belongs to. Enchanting!\nA Telvanni sword has one long curved edge, its point backed by a hook or barb useful for dismounting riders or toppling heavy knights. Traditional Telvanni swordplay emphasizes the cut over the thrust, so the point isn't used much. As with the dagger, there are swirling spell patterns on the metal tang between hilt and blade."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-51-hlaalu-style": {"series": "Crafting Motifs", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-51-hlaalu-style", "author": "Various", "title": "Crafting Motif 51: Hlaalu Style", "description": "Styles and materials used by the cultures of Tamriel. Also the author's meandering travelogue.", "text": "By Mastercraft Mediator Rolis Hlaalu\nTrade makes the world go 'round, and in trade, reputation is everything, so maintaining House Hlaalu's reputation for reliability is critical to our continued pre-eminence in mercantile affairs. The arms and armor of our House guards and marines must adhere to strict standards in quality and appearance, exemplifying that dependability expected from us by our trading partners. Where possible, we adorn our items with the stylized merchant-scale sigil that symbolizes the source of our power.\nThe Hlaalu axe has a single heavy curved blade, backed on the opposite side of the haft by a narrow spike for grabbing opponents or punching through their armor. For parrying purposes, most of the haft is sheathed in a cylinder of metal, and there is a heavy, pointed ferrule at the base.\nOur belts are made of double-tanned guar hide, strong and thick, to support tassets, weapons, and of course money pouches. The buckle in front may display a Hlaalu House symbol or a personal family crest.\nOur boots are rather heavy, and though narrow below, they widen as they rise up the shins toward the knee. Toes are steel-shod except in the lightest armors; shin plating extends around the back of the leg to protect against hamstringing.\nHlaalu House bows are made of imported ash or yew wood, which is superior for this purpose to our native funguswoods. Quivers are of guar leather, adorned with our House symbol, the long double-scales version.\nHlaalu cuirasses are constructed of overlapping plates of traditional worked bonemold, or of metal plates cast to resemble bonemold. The House scales-symbol is prominently displayed on the chest and abdomen.\nOur daggers are primarily parrying weapons, double-edged, broad and straight, with that distinctive curve-hooked tip design they share with Hlaalu swords. The wide crossguards resemble the wings of cliff striders, but are edged and pointed for backhand attacks.\nHlaalu gauntlets are of flexible leather over the fingers and hands, with the forearms and back of the hands protected by flaring plates of bonemold (or metal cast to resemble it). The leather at the fingertips must be supple enough not to impair the rapid counting of coins.\nOur House helms (and in light armor, hoods) cover the entire head, with a full face visor for protection against environmental dangers no matter where our trading takes us. They are of bonemold, or metal crafted to resemble it, bulbous in shape, and elongated toward the back of the skull to protect the traditional cranial coin stash.\nHlaalu cuisses and jambes are constructed of flaring bonemold (or bonemoldesque) plates, protecting the legs at front, sides, and rear. Knee poleyns may display the House scale symbol or a personal family crest.\nThe Hlaalu mace is tipped with a trio of curved flanges, heavy for crushing and edged for slashing. As with the axes, mace hafts are sheathed in metal for most of their length to enable parrying, and footed with heavy, pointed ferrules.\nThe large, kite-shaped Hlaalu shield was traditionally crafted of bonemold, but these days is just as often made of metal plated over funguswood. Our bold House scales-symbol is prominently displayed on the front.\nHlaalu pauldrons are constructed of overlapping triangular bonemold or bonemoldesque plates, flaring at the top to help protect the side of the neck. Their designs may be abstract, or inscribed with House symbols.\nA Hlaalu mage's spell staff sports a finial in the shape of our House double-scales symbol, proudly displaying the wielder's affiliation with the world-famous Morrowind mercantile masters. The foot is sheathed in metal, with a heavy ferrule, and can serve as defensive weaponry at need.\nThe Hlaalu swords are long and straight, like our reputation for fair dealing, and double-edged, like our contracts. They sport the distinctive curve-hooked tip design they share with Hlaalu daggers. The quillions resemble broad wings that protect the hands of the wielders."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-52-redoran-style": {"series": "Crafting Motifs", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-52-redoran-style", "author": "Various", "title": "Crafting Motif 52: Redoran Style", "description": "Styles and materials used by the cultures of Tamriel. Also the author's meandering travelogue.", "text": "By Vindamea Redoran, House Procurement Sister, Vivec City\nShould any non-Redoran ask you why our arms and armor are inspired by the claws and chitin of gigantic arthropods, just ask them if they've seen any Emperor Crabs lately\u2014you know, those cathedral-sized crustaceans that once roamed the ashlands of Vvardenfell. Where did those go?\nWe killed them. We, the warriors of House Redoran.\nDuty, gravity, and piety: these are our watchwords. We are the wartime defenders of the House Dunmer of Morrowind. Follow the guidelines graven below for crafting in the Redoran style, and do not cut corners, for that would be unworthy of our House.\nThe double-edged blades of our Redoran axes evoke the claws and mandibles of the mammoth Morrowind insects whose fierceness we embody. Though accented with bronze, the blades themselves should be of the most durable metal available, ideally carbon steel.\nOur belts are strong but simple and relatively unadorned, though the buckles may be of ornamental chitin. If available, the leather should be tanned kagouti hide, though premium guar leather may be substituted at a pinch.\nHouse Redoran boots are made of the toughest available leather, with thick soles for protection against our land's rugged terrain. Each instep is protected by two overlapping plates of rigid, pointed chitin.\nThe classic Redoran bow is a composite of native funguswood and springy leg-chitin, faced with chitin plates on the limbs as they radiate from the grip. The quiver is of light chitin plates accented with bronze; arrows have broad, barbed heads.\nOur House Redoran cuirasses are of flexible leather covered in layers of medium-sized overlapping chitin (or chitin-looking) plates, embossed and filigreed with ornamentation that may include our sacred scarab symbol.\nThe Redoran dagger has a broad and relatively short blade that ends in two diverging prongs that can inflict savage wounds on an unarmored opponent. Our House blade-fighting style emphasizes cutting over thrusting, so the twin prongs are no liability against armor.\nTo facilitate grasping and grappling, even in the heaviest armor sets House Redoran gauntlets eschew rigid components over the hands and fingers, mounting overlapping chitin plates only on the forearms. These gauntlet-plates are typically pointed as an enhanced danger to enemies who get too close.\nInasmuch as Redoran warriors are encouraged to get close and personal with their enemies, our helmets are designed to provide maximum protection for the head, with thick cranial domes and full face visors. The helmet's crown is ornamented with tall horns that resemble the mandibles of shalk.\nRedoran greaves are of heavy but flexible leather, with overlapping chitin (or chitin-appearing) plates fastened in front to protect the wearer's shins. These plates should match those mounted on the insteps of the outfit's boots.\nThe Redoran mace has a heavy head that sprouts sharply edged flanges on all sides, curved like insect claws. Though accented with bronze, the mace head should be of heavy iron or steel\u2014or even Dwarven metal, if available.\nThe large, kite-shaped Redoran shield appears to be fashioned from the overlapping chitin plates of a gigantic scarab, and indeed our House scarab symbol often adorns the shield's central boss. The shield-face is topped with an open network of spiked bug-limbs that provide protection without blocking the wielder's vision.\nA Redoran pauldron is usually a single curved, flaring chitin (or chitin-looking) plate embossed with ornamental filigree, the whole mounted on the shoulder in such a way as to enable full, free movement of the shoulder and arm joints.\nThe finial of a Redoran mage's spell staff echoes the shalk-mandible horns of our helmets. To keep these twin prongs from getting entangled with enemy armor in close combat, they are designed to easily break away without damage, and fit back onto the staff's shaft when the battle is over.\nThe sword of a warrior of House Redoran is broad, straight, and double-edged, with a murderous flaring double prong at the tip. Crossguards are narrow, as the Redoran swordfighter is trained to parry with the blade's forte, a hand's-width above the grip."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-53-tsaesci-style": {"series": "Crafting Motifs", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-53-tsaesci-style", "author": "Various", "title": "Crafting Motif 53: Tsaesci Style", "description": "Styles and materials used by the cultures of Tamriel. Also the author's meandering travelogue.", "text": "By Kiasa-Veda, the Chronicler of Blades, Dir-Tonenaka\nWhat does \"Akaviri\" mean? For many generations after the coming of my ancestors to Tamriel in the late First Era, Akaviri meant the people and heritage of the Tsaesci, the most refined and sophisticated civilization on the remote eastern continent of Akavir. As every schoolchild knows, at the beginning of the twenty-eighth century of the First Era, the Tsaesci sent a large and well-armed Fortified Embassage to Tamriel for reasons of mythic import that are not for discussion in a venue such as this. This Tsaesci force met General Reman of Cyrodiil first as an antagonist, and then as an ally. Thereafter General Reman became Emperor Reman I, and the Second Empire was born.\nMy ancestors were among that Tsaesci force, and indeed, many Imperials could now claim some measure of Akaviri descent, and might well do so\u2014were the name \"Akaviri\" not tarnished by the recent invasion of the Kamali barbarians, so ill-advised, so abominably led, so resoundingly defeated. But we will speak no more of them.\nWe will speak, instead, of what may be spoken of the Tsaesci. Much may not be shared outside the true bloodlines, but this was never true of our artisanship, of the Serpentine Ways of Making. These my ancestors freely shared with the People of Reman, and though over time the old styles have become diluted and debased, still pristine examples of the Serpentine Ways can be seen in the Tonenaka at Rimmen, where I am honored to labor as Chronicler.\nSee our traditional armor, painstakingly crafted of many small rigid plates laced or wired together to form a flexible blade-proof fabric. Note how the most vulnerable areas are protected by several overlapping layers, all hinged to move as the body moves.\nNotice our masked helms, each a fierce scowling visage crowned with horns or flaring crests to create an imposing and intimidating silhouette, as of an unstoppable demon warrior.\nAdmire our katanas in three lengths, dagger, sword, and two-handed sword, narrow blades with a slight curve away from their single edge, superbly designed for quick cutting, though with a point for when a thrust is needed.\nWonder at the beauty of our shields, which, though we rarely use them in combat, are still made and decorated to the most exacting standards passed down from one generation of artisans to the next.\nAnd fear our snake-headed bows, striped red-and-tan to represent the duality of life-and-death and how close to each other the two always are and must be. Even the fletching of our arrows is meticulous.\nWould you follow the Serpentine Ways of Making? Then here, armorer, are your models."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-54-bloodforge-style": {"series": "Crafting Motifs", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-54-bloodforge-style", "author": "Various", "title": "Crafting Motif 54: Bloodforge Style", "description": "Styles and materials used by the cultures of Tamriel. Also the author's meandering travelogue.", "text": "Clanfellows, in the name of the Hunt-Father, whom I invoke in his aspect as Alrabeg the Hunter, take now to heart these sacred schema that define the trappings of we who work the Bloodroot Forge. For it is as Bloodforge Smiths that we shall hammer the Nords upon the anvil of our rage and hatred, until all bend the knee before the Hunters of Hircine. Fellihboh!\nForge the axe, fine the work, broad the blade, filigree, wrap the haft, leatherly.\nBroad the belt, interweave, strongly girt, buckle wide, cinch the sash, mammoth-hide.\nLeather and stud, foot defense, kick and stomp, on offense, chase the prey, forward hence.\nStrong recurved, simple bow, hurling darts, at the foe, quiver bulge, with swift arrow.\nBloodforged breast, tied to back, intricate, weave and tack, flexible, for the hunt.\nStraight and broad, guard and blade, tang in hilt, Bloodforge made, cut and thrust, Hunter's knife.\nGauntlets tough, fingers free, forearms wrapped, guarding thews, Hunter's hand, grips and hews.\nAntlers sprout , from helmet brow, casque is thick, cradling head, enemy sees, enemy's fled.\nSerpentine, interweave, on front plate, of the greave, strap to calf, above the boot.\nHeavy sledge, crushing arm, pounds the prey, deadly harm, weapon true, of Bloodforge.\nKeyhole shape, writhing cord, brazen boss, five more round, Hunter praise, Hircine lord.\nOblong cops, curved at crest, metal plate, steel is best, forged in blood, fringed in fur.\nMagic staff, tipped with horns, sharp and ringed, potent thorns, oaken haft, battle bred.\nDouble edged, long and strong, point for thrust, edge for slash, death in steel, doesn't rhyme."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-55-dreadhorn-style": {"series": "Crafting Motifs", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-55-dreadhorn-style", "author": "Various", "title": "Crafting Motif 55: Dreadhorn Style", "description": "Styles and materials used by the cultures of Tamriel. Also the author's meandering travelogue.", "text": "By Gherig Bullblood of the Dreadhorn Clan [Notes by Rena Hammerhands]\nWayward sons and daughters, set aside your old ways and embrace the Hunt-Father's terrible champion Domihaus! Henceforth, his ways shall be our ways! Listen to these, the new precepts for crafting our arms and armor, and set to work to outfit our reborn clan\u2014as the Dreadhorn!\n[Found this in the Forge, instructions for scum on how to make scum-work. Who knew those barbarians could read, let alone write?]\nHew down the trees of Falkreath Hold as you would the Nords who have taken root. Flense the skin until it is ripe and raw as bone. Lash to steel as angular and sharp as the Jerall Mountains and mark it with the creeping vines of the Bloodroot Forge so that it may share your thirst.\n[Fit only for brutes, but dangerous enough with some muscle behind it.]\nBind tight your guts with the thick hide and hair of the minotaur and they will not be easily spilled. Pin the girdle with an icon of Domihaus at your core and his great power will stoke your hunger for battle.\n[What a load of stinking bull manure! Fool superstitions won't stop pike nor pick, but that suits me just fine.]\nThough our feet have been hardened by the pitiless stone of the Jerall Mountains, we will clad them in the unshorn skins of the bulls to keep our blood running hot and ready to stampede alongside the chosen.\n[Until they trip over all the loose straps.]\nUse the horns of our allies as your guide as you shape the timber of our bows, so they too are shown the Hunt-Father's favor. Twist the fibers of Bloodroot vines tightly to string your bows with their hungry veins. Sharpen the skin of the mountain to give it teeth, and unleash them like the Hounds toward your quarry.\n[Stone arrows aren't the match of Nord Steel, but get pelted with enough and their cowardly pecking may strike true.]\nAlways guard your precious heart with the fruits of the Forge, for that is where it belongs. Remind yourself of this truth with glyphs of curling vines upon the steel. Beneath these Forge gifts, entrust your flesh to the hide, hair, and horn of the bull.\n[Their hearts were black and empty before they started replacing them with stone.]\nWhen we offer our prey to the Hunt-Father, it's work best left to a butcher's blade: hefty, to split bone, but kept short and sharp to twist through the joints of your kill. To this end, leave a blunt notch at the base of the blade to hook a finger.\n[Some fool knife this is. Too fat for proper skinning. No wonder Reachman leathers look like dog-chewed pizzle.]\nWhether the Nirncrux beats in your chest or lays inked in your skin, let the Nords see its power coursing through your sword arms. Bracers of leather, haired hide, and the steel icons of our clan are all the protection you need.\n[We'll see how they feel after the might of a true Nord prunes their limbs to the trunk.]\nThe Hunt-Father has shown us his champion! We shall honor this pact by taking on the visage of the chosen! Hammer a new skull of steel in the likeness of our bull brothers. Adorn it with stud and cap and band, as you would mark your own head, for in battle this shall be your face.\n[If I were a filthy, feckless Reach-dog, I'd want to pretend I was something more impressive too.]\nWe will shield our legs and loins with kilts of leather as has been our tradition, but wear upon them only emblems of the bull and the coiled vine. We are all Dreadhorn now. The old clan colors and glyphs are things of the past.\n[Turn enough of these bulls to steers in the fields and they'll soon change their tune about their precious milkmaid skirts.]\nThe iron hides of the Nords may not be easily cut, but their inner softness can be battered and burst. Waste not your efforts on fanciful construction. A cudgel of four faces delivers a sturdy strike from any angle and its corners will crack even the toughest forged shell.\n[Simple design to cover for their lack of skill. Good enough for their berserk flailing.]\nJust as the bulls lower their heads for the charge, so too will we raise shields forged in their likeness and take their power as our own. Brand its face in brass and mark it with the glyphs of the Horned Lord's chosen.\n[A solid chunk of crude steel can block a fine blade, but that won't matter once they're too tired to bring it to bear.]\nCombined with our helms, our pauldrons help shape us into the visage of the broad shouldered beasts we march alongside. Craft them of leather or steel, but do not neglect to present the haired hide as your mantle.\n[If these savages worshiped wolves he'd be telling them to walk on all fours too.]\nDomihaus speaks for this land. Brandish an effigy of the Bloody-Horned and it will have no choice but to obey. Take the branches of our plundered home. Nail to it the face of the Hunt-Father's chosen rendered in steel and this icon will command the elements as he does.\n[I don't know what Daedra-bothering creature he's yammering about, but I'd like to put its head on the end of a stick myself.]\nThe fangs and claws of the Forge are meant to taste blood! Tame the hot metal into a single broad blade with a snarling tooth at its point. Wrap the hilt in leather, and where you see fit to hold the blade, but never forget its thirst when you grasp the reins.\n[It's true. The blades crave Reachmen blood as much as ours. Remember that.]"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-56-apostle-style": {"series": "Crafting Motifs", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-56-apostle-style", "author": "Various", "title": "Crafting Motif 56: Apostle Style", "description": "Styles and materials used by the cultures of Tamriel. Also the author's meandering travelogue.", "text": "So, you say you want to craft arms and armor in the Clockwork Apostle style? Well, don't just stand there spinning your gears! Tune your mnemonics to what I've got to say, and follow every diagram, schematic, and sequence-plaque to the letter. We'll get all your cogs and cams whirring in sync in no time. No time at all! Let's begin!\nApostle axes lean heavily upon the Law of Circles, or the winding-wheel method. Just a fancy way of saying the heads are round. Most feature a handy thread-fastener on the haft that lets the owner swap out axe-heads when they become too dull or tarnished. We're great at replacing things!\nMost outsiders consider Apostle belts unremarkable because most outsiders are fools! The flexible fabric binding is impressive in its own right, but what truly sets these belts apart are their masterfully crafted spin-fasteners. Rotating the central swivel tightens the belt to the ideal circumference without clumsy buckles or unsightly knots!\nThe harsh conditions of the Radius make sturdy footwear indispensable. Apostle boots eschew lacing and pliable leathers for solid, water-tight seals and accordion gaskets at the ankles. It can get a bit sweaty in there: all the more reason to replace those fleshy feet with metal ones!\nI honestly have no idea how archers manage outside the Clockwork City\u2014plucking their silly wooden bows with their wobbly feathered arrows. Where's the creativity? The trick to Apostle bows is combining rigid limbs with an elaborate pulley system. The result is a bow that can put holes in solid steel.\nApostle cuirasses are marvels of anatomical precision. The sturdy brass shell conforms to the ribs and abdomen like a glove, while pliable filaments allow for full range of motion, including chest expansion for breathing (for the silly people who still do that sort of thing). They're almost always covered in Sothic filigrees, but you can barely tell under all those white robes. What a waste!\nApostle daggers excel at both slashing and stabbing\u2014a product of their curved edge and hollow guard. The grip, wrapped in alchemically-treated fabricant skin, never slips; not even when covered in oil and blood!\nI pity the exodromals, with their clumsy metal mittens and thick leather gloves. As practically everyone knows, the sense of touch is of paramount importance when conducting experiments\u2014doubly so when fighting off verminous fabricants! The engineered filaments at the palms and fingertips protect the digits while preserving vital sensation.\nFirst and foremost, the Clockwork Apostles must honor the Clockwork God. What better way to honor him than to imitate him? Apostle helms always feature a central crest that mimics the shape and motifs of Lord Seht's blessed mask. Some are more ostentatious than others, but what's the point of a crest if you're not going to flaunt it?\nApostles rarely sit down. So much to do! To accommodate their busy lifestyle, our brilliant predecessors invented pneumatic support girders that connect to the cuisses and extend from the waist to the calf\u2014allowing the wearer to walk for as long as they wish without tiring. The quiet hissing of the compressors can grate on the nerves after a while, but all progress requires sacrifice!\nSmithing the Apostle mace requires a well-oiled mind and very steady hands. Unlike the clumsy mauls and clubs warriors wield in Tamriel Above, the circular flanges on this weapon orbit a perfect sphere. And I do mean perfect! Even slight miscalculations in the weight or orientation of the head can result in tiny dents, minor dings, and other totally unacceptable imperfections.\nThe circular Apostle shield combines clockwork motifs with flawless parabolic angles to create an indestructible barrier! The brilliant aperture design redistributes the force of impacts to the outer ring in a perfect spiral pattern. It also produces a really tremendous clanging noise that can make your teeth rattle! I suggest replacing them with brass teeth.\nWhat heroic proctor's silhouette would be complete without ornate pauldrons? Like the Father of Mysteries himself, the Clockwork Apostles adorn themselves with beautifully engraved shoulder armor. The hollows ensure it is both light and flexible, and the reinforced brass makes them nearly indestructible.\nLike the Apostle mace, our staves feature a perfect brass sphere as the focus. Unlike the Apostle mace, this sphere rotates on a central axle, making it even more difficult to balance. Flawless rotation reflects the perfection of Lord Seht, and stabilizes the magical energies channeled through the brass. Spinning it also provides hours of pleasant, idle distraction for children and pets!\nThe Apostle swords bear a strong visual resemblance to the Apostle daggers, but their composition is far more complex. Alchemical additives make the brass lighter and more flexible. This reduces the efficacy of thrusts, but radically increases the damage they inflict through slashing attacks!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-57-ebonshadow-style": {"series": "Crafting Motifs", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-57-ebonshadow-style", "author": "Various", "title": "Crafting Motif 57: Ebonshadow Style", "description": "Styles and materials used by the cultures of Tamriel. Also the author's meandering travelogue.", "text": "You want to be beautiful. Beautiful, and whispering. Whispering, and dark. Dark, and beautiful, and whispering\u2014with claws, such claws. You shall be cold, and sharp, and dark. You will be Ebonshadow.\nYou cannot rest, you can never rest, so you might as well craft. Craft arms for Her will; craft armor for Her machinations. You are filled with dark nothingness, filled until you spill it into that which you shall make. And for that time of making, though you do it alone, that time alone will have Meaning.\nDo you see an axe? No, it is a claw, a glorious claw, a claw curved like the night sky. With a claw like this you can open them up, wide open, and let the purple and blue come out. It wants to come out. Pick, pick the axe like a pick-axe, pick and let the darkness spill. And it shall spill.\nIt wraps around you, secure, never letting go. Holds you in its dark embrace, like Her embrace. You're bound within it, but it's yours! You created it! Within your hands you have created this darkness, this shadow, this black belt that binds you. Holds you.\nYou're already sinking into the shadows, up past your feet, up your legs. But it will not devour you, no. You've shaped the darkness. You've shaped, and strapped, and it has become a part of you. Boots which allow you to walk between the shadows, between the worlds.\nIt's cold to the touch, isn't it? Black ice. But your fingers don't slip. You grasp tight upon its ebony grip, and let the arrow fly. Piercing. It pierces through the night, true. Quick. It pierces your enemy's flesh, and hot blood pours out. Hot against the icy arrow. Hot, but you remain cold.\nYou gasp, and gasp, but you cannot breathe. The weight of the darkness consumes you, pressing against the lungs, but now. Now you've crafted armor to protect you. Wrapped around your chest, against your dully-beating heart. It will stop the weight. It will protect you from that crushing weight.\nHer crows that laugh, and caw, and peck and peck. You must peck too. So you forge daggers from the darkness, small, light, sharp. Sharp, a deadly point. They must pierce the hot flesh. Feel the blood against your fingers, hot, but your hands are still cold. Watch the steam rise into the night.\nYour hands are ice, cold, numb to all touch, but still you try to keep them warm. Thread the shadows, forge it to do your bidding. They wrap around your fingers, enticing, feels almost safe. They move your hands for Her dark will, but it's a comfort. It's almost warm. Almost alive.\nYour head is full of secrets. Dark omens, Her will, the cawing of crows. Your mind is slipping, floating, must keep it. Safe. A helmet, yes, craft a helmet. It binds the broken pieces of your consciousness. Let your mind know only Her. Her will. She will love those broken pieces. She still has uses for them.\nYou're broken, aren't you? Pieces missing, something missing. This! Yes! This will make you complete. Whole. This will bind you together. The shadows bind us together. Create this and be one. Forge this and be one. Finally, be one with Her shadows. You are not broken. You are complete. I am complete.\nSmash them open. Her enemies, they're warm inside. See? See the colors, running down. You have no colors, but you can still see. You've forged Her will within this mace. Use its force against all others. They are warm, but you are cold. Feel nothing. Shadows do not feel, after all.\nThe light will try to take you, melt you away. Their light. Their swords, their daggers, their maces. They'll poke and pierce. Try to end you, but you are shadow. Never ending. Let this shield block their light. It shall keep you in the safety of Her darkness. In Her everlasting embrace.\nHer will presses against your shoulders, heavy, unbearable. But you can forge the darkness now. Your broken pieces are held together by the shadows, a tar that binds you. Become Her will. Then your shoulders have no weight, no burdens, nothing. A numb nothing, save Her.\nYour magic once was color, was warmth and delight. No longer. You gave that to Her. My Mistress has your color, but has given you a power. A cold stave. A crow sits upon it, watching. Judging. Watching as your enemies fall, as you fall into the darkness. Deeper, deeper, the deepest shadow.\nA blade of black, elegant, deadly. Like Her words which filled your ears one night. The edge is sharp, unforgiving. It's hungry, don't you hear it? It calls for warmth. For blood. Those who dare defy Her shall feed it. Hungry, like her crows are hungry, like you're always hungry. For warmth. For death."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-58-fang-lair-style": {"series": "Crafting Motifs", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-58-fang-lair-style", "author": "Various", "title": "Crafting Motif 58: Fang Lair Style", "description": "Styles and materials used by the cultures of Tamriel. Also the author's meandering travelogue.", "text": "For too long the magical discipline of Necromancy has been disregarded as a mere subset of Conjuration, or worse, dismissed outright because it is \"evil.\" But our efforts in Fang Lair will impress all Tamriel with the importance of Necromancy! As such, it is critical that you lesser members of the Blackmarrow make an impressive showing; therefore, when crafting your arms and armor, you will follow these instructions to the letter. Unless you'd prefer, of course, to serve as a subject of experimentation. Hmm?\nFor thematic reasons that should be obvious to even the dimmest intelligence, our axes look like great razor-sharp cleavers on poles, with our hallmark \"fang\" on the end of each blade. A person threatened by a Fang Lair axe will have no choice but to imagine what it will do to their flesh and bone if they do not instantly yield.\nWhile in principle the ideal material for our Fang Lair belts would be tanned human skin, in practice human-hide just isn't thick or durable enough for our needs, so you may substitute cattle or horse-hide leather. A skull-shaped belt buckle will get our point across just as well.\nOur experience among the narrow-minded of Tamriel has taught us to be quick on our feet and ready to relocate, so our shoes are a relatively light element of our apparel. They may even be as simple as sandals, especially when paired with light armor.\nAny style with \"Fang\" in its name implies it will look sharp and dangerous, and that's certainly the case with our Blackmarrow bows. Even the quivers that carry our broad-headed arrows are adorned with sharp motifs and even sharper edges. (Wear gloves when arming yourselves, fools.)\nThough we haven't been able to provide them yet for every member, eventually all of you will proudly wear our Fang Lair tattoos and body markings. These marks are a tribute to your fervent commitment to the Blackmarrow cause, and to show them off our cuirasses leave the less-critical parts of your torsos exposed.\nLike much of our equipment, our daggers derive from proven Redguard designs: curved, single-edged blades, sharp pointed, and with our signature \"fang\" in the barbed hook behind the point.\nYou will agree\u2014for you must\u2014that for both conjuring and combat, it's best to have the fingers free of the confinement of cumbersome gloves; however, above the hands you can trust our flaring gauntlets to protect the wrists and forearms.\nThe Blackmarrow wear close-fitting metal skullcaps with upper-face visors covered by tight-turbaned hoods that extend to our shoulders. If you are wise, you will wear an additional mail coif under the hood to protect your neck.\nWe rely on leather, supple but many-layered, to protect our legs. Our fighting style dictates the primacy of mobility, in which attacks to the legs are mainly avoided or turned aside before a blade can ever contact our greaves or chausses.\nA mace is the preferred weapon for an order with necromantic ambitions, because a body struck down by a mace is more useful for reanimation than a corpse with severed limbs. Thus our maces are heavy and functional, so that you may defeat an adversary with the least number of blows, leaving behind a body ripe for necromancy.\nThe broad oval shield of the Blackmarrow, rimmed with overlapping metal plates, has one purpose and one purpose only: to protect your body in combat. Those who fail to employ it properly may, upon death, be reanimated and assigned to menial and even humiliating tasks. So use it wisely.\nThe symbolism behind crafting our pauldrons to resemble grinning abstract metallic skulls should be obvious to even our least-sophisticated cult members. Remember: in Necromancy, there are no points for subtlety.\nThe focal finial of our spellcasters' magic staves features a mystic crescent between two bony, taloned fingers. It has been pointed out to me that this symbology appears nowhere else on our gear, but as a Master Necromancer I am above such a small-minded emphasis on consistency. It looks impressive, and that's good enough.\nOur swords fundamentally hearken back to Redguard roots, though the austere descendants of the Ansei would shy away from the baroque and spiky improvements we've made to their overly simple designs. The fools! Soon, they, too, will acknowledge our greatness and kneel before us."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-59-scalecaller-style": {"series": "Crafting Motifs", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-59-scalecaller-style", "author": "Various", "title": "Crafting Motif 59: Scalecaller Style", "description": "Styles and materials used by the cultures of Tamriel. Also the author's meandering travelogue.", "text": "By Jorvuld Davaux, Dragon Priest Historian\nThere is considerable evidence that orthodox Dragon Priests had their armor crafted from genuine remains of the great creatures, using actual Dragonscale and Dragonbone (rare materials indeed). The followers of the renegade Dragon Priest, Zaan, outfitted themselves like the greater clergy in replica Dragon Priest armor made of more common materials: metal forged to resemble Dragonscale and bonemold crafted to resemble Dragonbone. The details are described below.\nScalecaller axes follow barbaric early-Nord designs, but with highly abstract Dragon Cult claw-crescents at the finial. The upper part of the haft, just below the blade (or blades for the two-handed version), is clad in metal that resembles overlapping Dragon scales.\nThe cult's belts are relatively simple and utilitarian, as the followers of Scalecaller preferred to display their ornamentation elsewhere. Leather from almost any source is acceptable; the surface may be pebbled to resemble reptilian hide.\nThese Scalecaller sabatons look like they're made from great overlapping Dragon scales, but actually the material is tough leather, except for the toes on boots made for heavy armor, which are always rigid bonemold. The ankles are protected by abstract forged Dragon-mouth uppers.\nThe cult's bows are adorned by an exaggerated Dragonscale motif on the weapon's limbs just above and below the grip. The ends of the limbs sport stylized Dragon heads, while the quivers are wrapped in reptilian wing motifs.\nFor the cuirasses, bonemold is formed to resemble plates of rigid Dragonbone, accented by tooled leather, with the arms clad in metal mail that resembles Dragonscales. These chest pieces are so sturdy they have endured for centuries with almost no evidence of rot or rust.\nThe blades crafted by Zaan's folk are fairly standard Dragon Cult weapons, blades that start out straight and then, after a broadened forte, curve toward the sharp point, resembling nothing so much as elongated Dragon claws. Only the outside of the curve has an edge.\nThe cult wears full gauntlets of flexible leather, but backed by splints and plates of bonemold fashioned to resemble Dragonbone. Flaring bracers, similarly ornamented, protect the wrists and forearms.\nThe full helms worn by the followers of the renegade Zaan feature face visors of bonemold formed to resemble the masks of legendary Dragon Priests\u2014attire that would be blasphemous if worn by orthodox low-level Dragon cultists. It shows just how far the Scalecaller cult had deviated from the norm.\nOther than having Dragon-mouth poleyns at the knee, the cult's leg armor is relatively unadorned, though it may exhibit bonemold plates atop the leather chausses crafted to look like large overlapping Dragon scales.\nThese Scalecaller maces terminate in heavy cylindrical heads studded with wicked fanged abstract Dragon heads. The hafts are clad in the same overlapping metallic Dragon scales as the axe handles.\nThe central oval of the cult's shield is adorned with a coiling snaky Dragon that evokes the Prince Peryite as much as it does the Dovah the Nords' ancestors revered. The shield's rim is protected by thick bonemold plates that resemble great Dragon scales, and echo the armor's pauldrons.\nScalecaller cult pauldrons are elaborate and fanciful, a double tier of flaring plates crafted in both bonemold and metal scale, surmounted by an abstract roaring Dragon head, the whole giving the Scalecaller warrior a very distinctive silhouette.\nThe spell staff of the Scalecaller spellcaster is perhaps the single most emblematic design in the entire Zaan Dragon / Peryite visual lexicon: an oaken staff inscribed with mystic runes, ornamented with overlapping scales, and topped by an open-mouthed serpentine Dragon head. It's awe-inspiring.\nThe swords of the renegade Scalecaller cult are nonetheless recognizably weapons of Dragon worshipers, single-edged blades that start out straight and then, after a broadened forte, curve toward a sharp point, looking very much like elongated Dragon claws."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-60-worm-cult": {"series": "Crafting Motifs", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-60-worm-cult", "author": "Various", "title": "Crafting Motif 60: Worm Cult", "description": "Styles and materials used by the cultures of Tamriel. Also the author's meandering travelogue.", "text": "In death is life, reanimation\n\tA sacred and a dark vocation\n\tOur Order's garb all shall recall\n\tTheir final sight before they fall\nWorm axe blade's like a severed ear\n\tRestored to life as metal hacker\n\tA mighty arm that all must fear\n\tGlint of steel and gleam of lacquer\nEchoes of Coldharbour see\n\tIn cinctures, sashes, belts\n\tOn each hip are tassets three\n\tWith hooks for scalps or pelts\nEach sabaton is lapping, plated\n\tLike those of Bal's dark legions\n\tOur troops corpses reanimated\n\tReturned from deathly regions\nFrom bones defleshed we craft our bows\n\tThey loose with bony rattle\n\tThe skeletal dart Worm archer throws\n\tSlays men like so much cattle\nWorm armor's plates are tributes all\n\tTo our Lord of the Undead\n\tThe skin and form of Molag Bal\n\tTo steel and iron wed\nLike jagged fangs, our daggers curve\n\tSerrated edge and point\n\tGrim armaments, they also serve\n\tTo sever and disjoint\nOur gauntlets guard forearms and hands\n\tEnabling fists to grip\n\tWith fingers clad in bony bands\n\tEnsuring hafts don't slip\nLike metal skull of Daedric beast\n\tWorm helm enwraps your head\n\tOverlapping, layered, creased\n\tMarch leading our undead\nChausses echo chest design\n\tColdharbour inspiration\n\tDaedric chevron, curving line\n\tOf Lord of Domination\nWhen slaying foes to animate\n\tThe mace has many charms\n\tWe want a corpse in wholesome state\n\tWith all its legs and arms\nOn Worm Cult shield the horns of Bal\n\tAdorn o'erlapping plates\n\tFor undeath is the fate of all\n\tWho pass Coldharbour's gates\nPauldrons sharp as fang\u00e9d skulls\n\tAdorn Worm Cultists' shoulders\n\tMortals rise as Black Worm thralls\n\tOr in their graves shall molder\nWith spellstaff horned like Bal himself\n\tDark mages focus magic\n\tThus mortals\u2014human, beast, or Elf\n\tAll meet their endings tragic\nSwords serrated, pointed, edged\n\tTo twist in mortals' entrails\n\tMarch forth, Worm Cultist fully-fledged\n\tCause adversaries' wails"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-61-psijic-style": {"series": "Crafting Motifs", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-61-psijic-style", "author": "Various", "title": "Crafting Motif 61: Psijic Style", "description": "Styles and materials used by the cultures of Tamriel. Also the author's meandering travelogue.", "text": "The Psijic Order eschews combat, regarding all violence as a failure of negotiation and diplomacy, which are the highest of the non-magical arts. Our garb, therefore, lacks the martial look and feel of most \"armor\"\u2014but that doesn't mean it's any less protective than clanking suits of metal, for powerful protective runes are woven into the very substance of our robes.\nPsijic weapons are esthetically pleasing, as most of the time their function is merely decorative, but all of our arms are fully functional when necessary. Our axes, for example, though filigreed with gold and ornamented with turquoise, are nonetheless superbly balanced and razor-sharp.\nPsijic cinctures are usually simple leather girdles embossed with defensive runes and sporting buckles studded with turquoise or lapis lazuli. They may support broad tassets displaying runes for Deflection and Absorption.\nIn the order, we wear boots of leather with reinforced toes, the whole enhanced by protective runes embossed and sewn in on top, front, sides, and back. For durability and softness, the hide of Psijic Domino Pigs is preferred.\nJust above and below the handgrip, Psijic bows are adorned with Mundial Globes that represent our order's equal commitment to the defense of all mortals that walk the surface of Nirn. The three turquoise discs arranged vertically on the quiver represent the Three Kinetic Forces embodied in archery.\nThough a Psijic cuirass is light and flexible, its defensive enchantments are such that it will turn a blow or a blade as well as a much heavier chest piece of metal or chitin. The Psijic may choose to wear a lapis Scrying Eye medallion over the sternum.\nThe appearance of Psijic daggers echoes that of the Athames, or ritual knives, that we use in certain spells, for example when cutting off the intrusive scrying of outsiders. Their crossguards are wrapped in runes of defense.\nAs hands are often extended when spellcasting, our Psijic gauntlets feature strong protection over backhands and forearms. However, the ends of the fingers are exposed so as not to interfere with the intricate gestures some magic requires.\nOur headwear is a hood, because what else would the members of a monastic order wear? However, woven into the warp and weft of its gleaming material are runes of protection and mystic phrases of focus and concentration.\nPsijic greaves, crafted from the finest domino hog's-hide, are slender and flexible, yet enchanted so as to provide a measure of protection equal to that of far heavier materials.\nBy design, a Psijic mace is also a sceptre, depicting a Mundial Globe enwrapped in the order's protective spells of Balance, Envelopment, and Contemplation\u2014the three Middle Forces of the Eleven. It's also a blunt object heavy enough to knock a welwa to its knees.\nPsijic shields are light metal plate, heavily reinforced by defensive runes, and adorned by three horizontal turquoises that represent the Three Middle Forces: Balance, Envelopment, and Contemplation.\nOur shoulder cops are relatively unobtrusive, and may be constructed of leather or even light metal. What doesn't vary is the embossed Deflection rune that appears prominently on each pauldron.\nOne might think that since a Psijic's temporal power is mainly expressed through wizardry, our spell staves would therefore be elaborate rune-encrusted objects, but not so: their relatively simple design reflects the truth that a staff is merely a focus of power, not a source of power itself.\nEach Psijic sword is elegant, beautifully embellished, and when forged, it's blessed with an orison praying it need never be drawn in anger. For at need, the straight, double-edged Psijic sword can cut a terrible swath, though its use may always be regretted."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-62-sapiarch-style": {"series": "Crafting Motifs", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-62-sapiarch-style", "author": "Various", "title": "Crafting Motif 62: Sapiarch Style", "description": "Styles and materials used by the cultures of Tamriel. Also the author's meandering travelogue.", "text": "By Artuudawen Thousand-Shoes, Sapiarch of Apparel Analysis\nThe distinctive style of the robes of the Sapiarchs has not been designed so much as it's been refined, the style distilling the clothing choices of a hundred generations of the Wise. Every detail has its own deep history, all memorialized, of course, in the Apparel Archives of the Crystal Tower. The lighter styles of robes are for research in controlled environments, while the heavier, armored robes provide protection when a Sapiarch must do research in the field.\nThough the bearing of weapons is usually delegated to research assistants, and their main function is as symbolic representations of authority, our arms are also supremely practical as weapons. Take, for example, our majestic eagle-claw axe, with its razor-sharp three-pointed blade. Most effective.\nOur belts are simple, the most pragmatic item of clothing we wear, because what matters to a Sapiarch is not how a belt holds their garments together at the waist, but what accessories and scholarly implements it can carry. This varies a great deal depending on the sage's specialty, but writing pouches and scroll travel-tubes belong in every Sapiarch's equipage.\nMy favorite subject! Sapiarch boots are calf-high leather with turned-down tops, often patterned with metal studs that serve the dual purposes of ornamentation and protection. The same is true of the boots' metal toe-caps, which are often wrought in shapes that evoke the flow of Magicka.\nThe Sapiarch's composite bow is made of horn, bone, and Summerset yew, carefully crafted to rigorous design standards formulated and refined by centuries of Altmeri bowmer. The fletching on the arrows isn't feathers, but rather thin, aerodynamically-curved pieces of chitin from coral mudcrabs.\nUpon accession to a Seat of Knowledge a Sapiarch is invested with their formal robe, its yoke and placket adorned with mystic symbols of knowledge, wisdom, and Elven heritage. Of course, beneath this robe may be a layer of enchanted chainmail, depending on the dangers of the Sapiarch's researches.\nFor most Sapiarchs, a dagger is the only weapon they'll ever need carry, and even then its function is mainly ornamental and ceremonial, so our daggers are justifiably ornamental and impressive. Of course, we leave the major weaponry to our defensive assistants, whom we trust to handle martial affairs when they come up.\nFor both spellcasting and fine laboratory work, it's of paramount importance that a Sapiarch's fingers be unencumbered, so we wear only fingerless demi-gauntlets that protect the back of the hands and the wrists. The armored versions may be crafted of lobstered steel.\nThe hood is the universal headwear of the scholar or sage, so naturally our light robes are topped with embroidered hoods of the finest material. However, when engaged in perilous studies, we don't scruple to wear a skullcap under the hood, or even replace it with a full visored helm. (Why do you think we're known as \"the Wise\"?)\nThough hidden by long robes, our legs don't go unprotected, and are sheathed above our tall boots in cuisses of leather or light mail, with metal poleyns at the knee. The fabric of the lower robe is also some defense, especially when inscribed or embroidered with warding runes.\nThe end of a Sapiarch's mace is a globe, representing the acknowledged fact that a Sapiarch is the leading sage and scholar in all Nirn in their field of expertise. The spherical mace head is also studded with eight diamond-shaped spikes to augment its menace as a weapon.\nSapiarchic shields are light metal plate, heavily reinforced by defensive runes, and decorated with elegant shapes that evoke the flow of Magicka. The central boss recalls the Resolute Diamonds that are the keys to the gates of the Crystal Tower.\nThe yokes of our upper robes extend over our shoulders, beneath which we wear sturdy but unobtrusive spaulders of leather, chitin, or metal. Heavily-armored robes may have additional plates atop the shoulder yokes.\nThe upper ends of our spellcasters' staves specifically echo the shape of our symbolic home, the Crystal Tower, surmounted by Magicka-flow brackets holding a finial Nirn-globe, representing our global leadership in all the arts of scholarship and knowledge. The sphere also serves as a focusing lens for magical projection.\nSapiarchic swords are elegant, straight, and tall, like the Altmer themselves, with superb ornamentation that is both refined and restrained. Our sword has two edges, for all questions must be looked at from more than one angle, but a single point, for in the end one answer is most correct. Such is our creed."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-63-dremora": {"series": "Crafting Motifs", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-63-dremora", "author": "Various", "title": "Crafting Motif 63: Dremora", "description": "Styles and materials used by the cultures of Tamriel. Also the author's meandering travelogue.", "text": "When possible variations in physical appearance are unlimited, it is an act of supreme will and discipline to confine oneself to a uniform semblance. For we proud Dremora, who regard all other Daedra with well-earned disdain, self-expression is nothing but vulgar self-indulgence. Heed these regulations, kynfolk, and don't disgrace your clanmates with unauthorized variations\u2014or it's the scathe-rings for you, and don't think otherwise.\nLike all weaponry of those who proudly serve the Prince of Domination, our axes evoke Molag Bal's physical presence, echoing his dread features and extravagant ridged horns. It's said that after the mace, our Prince's favorite weapon is the axe, since it is the tool of the headsman. Perhaps it is so; who would dare ask?\nOur belts are layered of several straps and strands, overlapped to provide reliable support for our many tassets, faulds, weapon loops, scabbards, and tool pouches. By preference our cinctures are made of thrice-tanned human hide, but the pelts of other mortals are an acceptable substitute if manskin is unavailable.\nDremora sabatons are tough and soled with thick treads, for we stride the surfaces of worlds uncounted, regardless of the ruggedness of their terrain. Our toes and arches are protected by shields of filigreed dark-metal, but our boots' insteps and uppers are of finest Argonian hide\u2014a lesson learned on Nirn, for not all mortal ideas should be disdained.\nThe Coldharbour Dremora's bow is a composite weapon assembled from horn from various sources, including the prongs and spurs of our own honored dead. Quivers are adorned with motifs that evoke the Prince of Domination.\nOur many-layered dark-metal cuirasses are embossed with the swirling curlicues that represent the flow of chaotic creatia, shown in its state before it is hardened into martial permanence by the sheer willpower of the Daedra. Thus we honor the Prince of Domination, who makes every reality submit to his insatiable desires.\nThe daggers of Coldharbour Dremora have triangular blades designed for both parrying and punch-stabbing, leaving wounds that close poorly in the flesh of mortals unless they are particularly skilled with Restoration magic.\nWe wear the gauntlets of warriors, battle gloves of mortalhide under curved plates and lames of metal, all embossed with symbols of chaotic creatia, to protect our forearms and weapon-gripping hands from the ill-aimed blows of our pathetic opponents. Dread Lord, with these we raise our fists to salute you!\nWe wear, forged in metal, horrific horned visages of resolution and terror, designed to paralyze our enemies into fear and indecision. Frozen, they gasp, \"What nightmare is this that confronts me?\" as our weapons, unheeded, scythe them down, a harvest of death we offer to the Prince of Domination.\nGreaves of grievance, we craft our cuisses from the tanned skins of our defeated foes, defending our hides with the hides that did not defend them. Fine-worked poleyns protect our knees, not for kneeling in submission, but to enhance sudden, vicious blows in close combat.\nThe mace, of course, is the symbol of our Dread Lord Molag Bal, and so the martial mace of the Coldharbour Dremora must pay homage to that symbol without crossing the line into blasphemous imitation. Therefore, follow our guidelines without deviation, kynworms!\nDremora shields are of heavy metal, for we are strong, and replete with sharp points, for we are dangerous. Embossed symbols depict the flow of chaotic creatia as it appears before Daedric will imposes order upon it.\nThe Xivilai think our flaring and pointed pauldrons are ostentatious and extreme\u2014and they're right, for thus do we achieve the distinctive angular silhouette that evokes the concept of \"skeir-gallyn,\" or discorporation-by-geometry. For what is a Dremora if not a belligerent collision of acute hyper-angles?\nAs proud servants of the Prince of Domination, the heads of our spellcasters' staves symbolically evoke our Dread Lord's ridged horns, with his awe-inspiring features depicted expressionistically beneath. The staff's haft ends in a point like a curved metal talon.\nIf, as you were trained, you impale our enemies so that they die slowly, their long final moments will be spent staring in horrified disbelief at the intricate scrollwork on your sword's upper tang and crossbar. It behooves you to follow our forging designs closely so that our Dread Lord will be honored by his enemies' dying contemplations.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-64-pyandonean-style": {"series": "Crafting Motifs", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-64-pyandonean-style", "author": "Various", "title": "Crafting Motif 64: Pyandonean Style", "description": "Styles and materials used by the cultures of Tamriel. Also the author's meandering travelogue.", "text": "Some of my peers dismiss our nautical neighbors the Maormer as mere Elven pirates, seafaring bandits with no more sophistication than Gold Coast highway robbers, but this is a mistake: though over time some breakaway clans have descended into near-barbarism, the core clans loyal to King Orgnum are organized and well-disciplined martial forces it would be a mistake to underestimate. I will try below to describe their typical arms and armor turnout.\nPyandonean axes are double-bladed, even the one-handed weapons, great edged crescents like the wings of rays. They sport a shell motif where the tang goes into the haft, which features an edged and pointed ferrule at its base. For their size, the weapons are marvelously light, a hallmark of Sea Elf design.\nPyandonean belts are made of the same thick, overlapping leather strips as their light and medium armor, and made from the same source: triple-tanned hide of porpoise, creatures the Sea Elves slaughter on sight out of sheer hatred for the blissful creatures' exuberance and joy.\nIn line with the Pyandoneans' obsession with survivability should they end up in the water, their boots are light affairs made of (what else?) porpoise hide, and easily kicked off before they can drag their wounded wearers down into the depths.\nSea Elf bows are at core simple self bows of Pyandonean yew, though they are often elaborately decorated with sculpted sea serpents wrapping the bow's limbs above and below the grip. Their quivers are fanciful, shaped like great barbed fins, the arrows fletched with seabird plumage.\nThe armored area of Pyandonean chest pieces is largely confined to protecting the chest, back, and abdomen, with the arms left lightly covered or free to enable swimming. (Note to self: do the Sea Elves have a particular fear of drowning? Worth researching.) Light and medium armor are of overlapping strips of porpoise leather, but heavy armor is of orgnium.\nPyandonean daggers exhibit the same scimitar-like curve as their swords, with a barbed hook behind the point that the Sea Elves use to wicked effect in close combat. The cross-guards at the hilt are forged in the shape of the heads of sea serpents, and can be used to trap and even break a blade in parrying.\nGloves inhibit both swimming and climbing in ships' rigging, so they are not popular among the Pyandoneans, whose gauntlets consist mostly of bracers to protect their wearers' forearms.\nLike their boots, a key aspect of Pyandonean headgear is that it's easily doffed in the event the wearer goes overboard. The light armor coifs are just hoods, but the medium and heavy helms seem intended to intimidate by presenting a nonhuman visage, either some sort of crustacean or a spiny deep-sea predator.\nThough their outfits are usually kilted, underneath them the Pyandonean marine wears greaves of overlapping porpoise leather, tightly wound so as not to interfere with swimming or the climbing of ships' rigging.\nIn line with the idea that Pyandonean marines' gear shouldn't be heavy enough to drag them under if they go overboard, the heads of their maces are relatively light, relying on points and flanges to do damage rather than bludgeoning weight. They're also comparatively short in the haft.\nPyandonean shields are basically kite-shaped, but smaller than most kite-shaped shields, possibly as a way of mitigating their weight. They're forged of a light but durable metal, with radiant shell designs at top and bottom, and usually depicting at center the raised or embossed figure of a sea serpent.\nThe shell-shaped Pyandonean pauldrons are constructed of stiffened porpoise-leather often capped by a covering of orgnium, the mysterious light metal the Sea Elves use for their heavier arms and armor. Symbols of rank are typically affixed to shoulder armor for the easy identification of officers.\nThe finial on top of a Pyandonean staff is, of course, sculpted in the shape of a sea serpent. Curiously, it's made of orgnium, the same light metal used so extensively in Sea Elven armor. Whether it's imbued with magical properties to assist in the focusing of spells is unknown, but seems likely.\nPyandonean swords are curved like scimitars, but with a dogleg just above the quillion, and a barb behind the point that enables the weapon to be used somewhat like a boathook, snagging enemies and dragging them overboard or into off-hand thrusts. They are ornamented rather simply except for the quillions, which take the shape of a two-headed looping sea serpent."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-65-huntsman": {"series": "Crafting Motifs", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-65-huntsman", "author": "Various", "title": "Crafting Motif 65: Huntsman", "description": "Styles and materials used by the cultures of Tamriel. Also the author's meandering travelogue.", "text": "By Uraccanach the Witchman (as transcribed by Juno Procillus, Academy of Chorrol)\nFor those who would honor Hircine the Hunter, it is right and proper to adopt the apparel and arms of his Huntsmen, those spear-shakers, fewterers, and whippers-in of the Lord of the Hunting Grounds. Just as his Huntsmen evoke Hircine's Aspects by their appearance, we honor him by emulating our prince's Huntsmen. All hail the Great Hunter! Even his curses are blessings! It is so, for I have said it.\nHeavy of blade is the Huntsman's axe, for it has but one sacred task: to behead the Prey once it is run to ground and sore wounded. Adorned with antlers, the axe evokes Uricanbeg the Stag, whose hooves drum the Blood Summons. Stamp for the Stag!\nThe Huntsman's belt is typically made from the hide of mighty beasts such as mammoths or brown bears, and usually tanned with the fur or bristles left on. The Hunting Grounds is a land of woods and fields, not cities of cold brick and stone, so Hircine and his Hunters always show a touch of the wild about them.\nOur boots are of flexible hide with felted uppers, studded in the heavier versions. They are based on the boots worn by our lord as depicted in his aspect of Alrabeg the Hunter and seen on traditional blankets and hunting lodge wall hangings. Praise be to Alrabeg, who finds the worthiest Prey! Gibber, manlings, and dance to his name!\nThe Huntsman's bow is a composite of wood, horn, antler, and hide, and is the standard weapon of the stalkers and hunters who bring down the Prey. The bow is decorated with wolf's-heads at the angle of its limbs to honor Storihbeg, the Wolf Aspect of Hircine. Howl for Storihbeg!\nA chest plate of cuir bouilli atop a leathern jack is all the body armor a Huntsman needs, even against the fiercest of Prey\u2014for a hunter must be nimble to avoid a beast's fangs and talons, or a mortal's dagger and glaive.\nThe large hunting knives of Hircine's Hounds serve many purposes, of which \"weapon\" is only one: skinning knife, pointer-of-stakes, and trimmer of net cords are among the others. The blade has but a single edge, but it's forged of heavy steel and balanced for both chopping and thrusting. It's a clever tool, and thus dedicated to Gulibeg the Quick Fox.\nLeather vambraces protect the Hunstsman's forearms, extending down even over the back of the hands, but fingered gloves are never worn. For does Gulibeg the Quick Fox wreathe his wise and wandering fingers in swaddles of fabric? Never!\nAffixed to their stiff skullcaps of boiled leather, Huntsmen wear the antlers and horns of fallen Prey, for who should respect the Hunted more than the Hunter? And when we wear beast's clothing we are akin to Storihbeg the Skinshifter, and honor him thereby. Howl again, and stomp your heels like hooves!\nIs any Daedric Prince more active and more athletic than mighty Lord Hircine? I will answer for you to avoid foolish error: NO! And so his Huntsmen, and we who emulate them, must be quick and nimble, which is why we put little stock in leg armor. Does Uricanbeg the Great Stag armor his legs? No! Does Gulibeg the Quick Fox? \u2014At this point, Uraccanach thinks he can let you answer it yourself.\nThe Huntsman's mace is a bone-breaker, its heavy metal head fittingly studded with bone, horn, and antlers. Though it can deliver the coup de grace when needed, it's usually employed to shatter a Prey's leg before it is beheaded with an axe. Wielding the mace calls for strength, for which we pray to Hrokkibeg the Mighty Bear!\nThe Huntsman's kite-shaped shield is large and of thick boiled hide, nearly as strong as metal but much lighter. It bears the antlered visage of Uricanbeg the Great Stag, and is surmounted and bordered with actual stag antlers, lashed to the shield with strips of hart leather. Beat your weapon against it to drum like the Great Stag's hooves!\nThough Huntsmen in general favor relatively light armor choices, there is no harm in a good pair of pauldrons\u2014I tell you this as a Witchman from five generations of Witchmen! Pauldrons, they are all right. And they give us one more place to wear horns and spikes, so that is all to the good.\nOur spellcasters' staves are topped with the skull-and-antlers totem of Uricanbeg, Lord Hircine's aspect of the Great Stag. Rows of focusing claws line both the staff's lower head and the base of its haft, for as Destruction magic is cast from the front end, so Restoration is cast from the hind.\nSometimes the Prey requires a coup de grace of a thrust to the heart rather than a beheading, and for that task the Huntsman uses the sword. Though the Huntsman's blade is forged of the finest available steel, crossguard and haft are of claws and leather-wrapped bone, more serviceable than ornamental."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-66-silver-dawn": {"series": "Crafting Motifs", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-66-silver-dawn", "author": "Various", "title": "Crafting Motif 66: Silver Dawn", "description": "Styles and materials used by the cultures of Tamriel. Also the author's meandering travelogue.", "text": "As I wait (oh, so impatiently) for permission to enact my plan for the final eradication of all lycanthropes, I find my mind turning to the history of our glorious order, its heritage and traditions. I shall try to describe our traditional arms and armor as briefly and clearly as possible for the benefit of future werewolf hunters. By the gleam of silver shall we slay!\nThe brazen blades of Silver Dawn axes have hewn many a werewolf asunder, and may their butchery ever continue! We wield a simple but effective single-bladed axe with a long, curved edge, its haft chased with silver, our favorite ornamentation.\nA Silver Dawn warrior's belt looks like a simple leather affair designed to hold up its wearer's gear and weaponry, but it's actually far less mundane than it appears. For each Silver Dawn belt is crafted of tanned werewolf-hide, butchered from the beast's inner leg to get pieces of proper length. Strewth!\nThe footwear of the Order of the Silver Dawn are always warriors' sabatons of heavy hide and plate, the better to protect the feet of our beast-slayers as they put the boot into wounded lycanthropes. \"That's right!\" we shout. \"Give it another!\"\nThe elegant bows of our Silver Dawn archers send their winged darts arcing into the pelts and soft underbellies of the horrid abominations we are sworn to slay. Our greatest archer, the legendary Sir Brancas, once drove his arrows through the eyes of nine werewolves in succession. Oh, to have been there to see it!\nThe Silver Dawn cuirass is constructed of overlapping bands of heavy leather, thick but flexible, for we must be nimble when contending with our fierce and feral enemies. Woe betide the werewolf who tries his teeth on the boiled leather of a Silver Dawn chest piece!\nA Silver Dawn's dagger is a short but sturdy stabbing blade with two edges and a silvered crosspiece for parrying. A warrior keeps one always at their belt for delivering the coup de grace to a mortally wounded man-beast\u2014usually right in its abominable guts!\nMany martial traditions prefer gauntlets that protect the hand and forearm but leave the fingers and thumb bare, the better to grip their weaponry\u2014but their opponents aren't lycanthropes, whose bite brings a curse. For this reason all Silver Dawn gauntlets are full-fingered, even with light armor, as we dare not fight with bare skin exposed.\nIn most cases we Silver Dawn stalwarts wear helms that cover the entire head, for the same reason we wear full gauntlets: we dare not show exposed skin in combat with beasts whose bite brings a curse. We prefer headgear of tough, boiled leather\u2014werewolf hide, if we can get enough of it!\nWerewolves: it's always said that they go for the throat, but we who fight them know they're just as likely to target the legs, as that's how their wild cousins bring down their prey. And that's why we spare no expense on Silver Dawn greaves, making them strong, durable, and of overlapping layers.\nSilver Dawn's mace is a thing of terrible beauty, topped with a heavy brazen ball studded with two dozen silvered spikes. As you can imagine, a werewolf's skull that has been battered with one of these lovelies is barely recognizable!\nSilver Dawn shields are tall, oblong affairs crafted of durable hardwood, thin but dense, and all but impervious to the claws and fangs of our atrocious opponents, may the Divines ever aid us in striking them down! From behind these shields we hammer those bestial monsters with abandon.\nTo strike fear into the cowardly hearts of our wicked foes, the Silver Dawn warriors wear on their shoulders, not stiff pauldrons or shoulder cops, but instead the pelts and severed heads of wolves and man-wolves, their eyes replaced by silver spheres. For by the gleam of silver shall we slay!\nA Silver Dawn spell staff is surmounted with golden wings of victory unfurled around a finial bearing the silvered image of a severed wolf's-head. How I love to watch one of our staves glow with refulgent death before spitting its message of destruction at some wretched lycanthrope!\nThe swords of the Order of the Silver Dawn are straight, strong, and double-edged, like the pack-slaughtering knights who wield them. There's nothing like watching a howling man-beast go down under the flashing blades of half a dozen Silver Dawn warriors. Glorious!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-67-welkynar": {"series": "Crafting Motifs", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-67-welkynar", "author": "Various", "title": "Crafting Motif 67: Welkynar", "description": "Styles and materials used by the cultures of Tamriel. Also the author's meandering travelogue.", "text": "By Sir Relequen, Wing Captain of the Welkynars\nThough the Knightly Order of the Welkynars numbers no more than four members at a time, each of those knights needs a broad array of equipment, including armor of all weights as well as a complete array of weapons. This gear must be made to exact specifications of the very best materials, adhering strictly to the guidelines stated below. Only equipment that is well and properly made will be accepted into the Welkynar Armory.\nWelkynar axe heads are adorned with stylized golden gryphons, because what else would be on them? The blades themselves are of dark carbon steel, mounted on a long haft of studded ash wood ending in a hooked metal ferrule.\nThe Welkynar's plumed war girdle supports gilded metal tassets and is cinched in the front by a buckle in the shape of a stylized gryphon's head. As an aerial order, we must avoid accruing undue weight wherever possible, so metallic materials must be both durable and, above all, light.\nThough gilded sandals are sufficient protection to accompany light armor, for heavier load-outs we must have the traditional Golden Gryphon-Talon Sabatons. Copies of the cobbler pattern for these distinctive martial boots may be checked out of the Armory in Cloudrest.\nThe bows wielded by the Knights of the Welkynar Order are among the most beautiful arms ever created by High Elves, bar none. Each beaked limb ends in an exquisite sweep of carved golden feathers\u2014artful, and yet these are deadly weapons that shoot lethally barbed arrows. It's an irony that reflects the core esthetics of the order.\nAs an aerial order that has to think about flight weight, most of our equipment looks heavier than it is. Welkynar cuirasses are a case in point: though they appear to be forged of weighty metal, most of those elements are actually lighter materials such as flexible scale maille or gilded cuir bouilli\u2014boiled leather, if you can believe it! Wing banners attach to the shoulder blades\nA Welkynar's dagger is made of dark carbon steel and is doubly edged, but it's really a punching dagger so it's the needle-sharp point that counts. The crossguard evokes gryphon wings, forged thicker and more solid than they appear to enable the dagger to be used as a parrying weapon.\nA Welkynar's substantial but intricate gauntlets may be the knight's proudest belongings, since they are among the first items of gear issued to a squire-in-training. If you give any thought to the practical issues of training spirited gryphon mounts, with their powerful, snapping beaks, you'll understand the need for sturdy gauntlets and vambraces!\nOur helmets have been rightly described as \"magnificent confections of plumes and gilt,\" with avian motifs such as cheek pieces that resemble gryphon wings, and a forepeak like a gryphon's pointed bill. They were designed by Mornyalemar the Battle-Hardy generations ago, and we see no reason to change them now.\nOur resplendent metal poleyns, adorned with gilded wing symbols, certainly draw attention from the rest of our leg armor, cuisses that are functional though less spectacular than our knee bosses. Welkynar greaves consist of light overlapping plates backed by flexible flaxen fabric.\nWhen a Welkynar's mace strikes, with its heavy business end forged in the shape of four beaked gryphon heads, it's as if the entire Aerie of the Order smites its opponent at once! Though the gilded gryphon heads look delicate, they're actually crafted of carbon steel surrounding a solid lead core.\nThe Welkynar's shield, with its overlapping plumage rendered in carbon steel, brass, and copper, represents the inescapable wings of Elven justice and Altmeri martial prowess. Let evildoers who threaten Summerset beware! This land is under Welkynar protection.\nWelkynars never tire of avian symbology, so of course our flaring pauldrons evoke the wings of great raptors. Their edges are even feathered with genuine gryphon plumage! (Don't even think of substituting raven feathers.)\nA Welkynar's spell staff is topped (of course) with stylized gryphon wings, in this case pointed and parallel like those of a knight's flying mount when put into a power dive, a shape that also evokes the focus of a spellcaster's will. The long ash-wood haft ends in sharp ferrule.\nThe swords of the Knights of the Order of the Welkynar are as straight as our commitment to justice and as long as our heritage of heroism. Inscribed with runes of efficacy and balance, let our enemies beware when these noble weapons are drawn in defense of the Altmer!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-68-honor-guard-style": {"series": "Crafting Motifs", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-68-honor-guard-style", "author": "Various", "title": "Crafting Motif 68: Honor Guard Style", "description": "Styles and materials used by the cultures of Tamriel. Also the author's meandering travelogue.", "text": "By Kiasa-Veda, Chronicler of Blades, Dir-Tonenaka\nTo make gear rightly,\n\tOne must follow the old rules;\n\tError, dishonor\nAxe is made to cut;\n\tThe long edge slices open,\n\tThen weight drives it through\nWarrior carries\n\tWeight of weapons and honor;\n\tA belt must know strength\nFeet must feel the ground\n\tYet boot soles push it away;\n\tPlace your feet with care\nArchery reveals\n\tRelation of heart and mind;\n\tAim with the whole self\nArmor frees fighter\n\tTo think solely of attack;\n\tIt must be strong yet light\nKnife trades reach for speed;\n\tYet it must be forged as well\n\tAs a longer blade\nGauntlets defend hands,\n\tYet hands are the source of blows;\n\tFind the right balance\nA well-guarded head\n\tMay wear a fearsome aspect;\n\tFight with the mind, too\nIntelligent foes\n\tWill strike at a fighter's legs;\n\tGood greaves forestall them\nA blow from a mace\n\tCan settle any debate;\n\tWield strong arguments\nA shield is the face\n\tThat your foe sees from afar;\n\tWear a grim visage\nStrong pauldron deflects\n\tThe unseen flanking attack;\n\tMake it durable\nA spell is a tale,\n\tA staff a storyteller;\n\t\"Once upon a time\u2026\"\nAkaviri swords\n\tOften have slightly curved blades;\n\tBut Honor Guards' are straight"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-69-dead-water-style": {"series": "Crafting Motifs", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-69-dead-water-style", "author": "Various", "title": "Crafting Motif 69: Dead-Water Style", "description": "Styles and materials used by the cultures of Tamriel. Also the author's meandering travelogue.", "text": "By Bolu, Reel-Ka of the Dead-Water Tribe\nMy quill will write the truth words. Dead-Water warriors defend the tribe in both life and death. Many travelers find this tradition morbid. They speak of defiling our fallen kin. It is not so. To craft a weapon from the skin and bones of our warriors, this is honoring.\nA proper axe requires a leg bone. This, the Dead-Water know. It is the only bone long and thick enough to support the axe head. Male bones are best for this because of their thickness. Female bones are too flexible, better suited for blades. By wielding this axe with strength, we honor a fallen warrior.\nDead-Water Tribe is not renowned for beautiful creations. This is known. Still, our leatherworkers decorate the belts of our warriors. They carve intricate buckles from amber and stone. I nod in admittance. This is not necessary, but still, it is nice.\nThe mightiest Dead-Water warriors line their boots with sharp spikes. Useful in close combat. With every kick, we hope to pierce the hide of our foes. My egg-mother was able to behead her enemies with one swift kick. This is why I carry her bones in my weapons. I hope to carry her fighting spirit.\nDead-Water quivers are made from the hardened hide of our fallen. Our bows are lined with their fangs, and our arrowheads created from their bones. After battle, we will salvage what arrows we can. Many will keep broken arrowheads in remembrance.\nThe Dead-Water bound our warrior hearts in the skin of our fallen. Atop this, we wear hardened scales from lurking beasts: haj mota, wamasu, hackwing. Our hunters have slayed, our leatherworkers have skinned. And now our warriors proudly wear.\nDead-Water daggers are made from bones of the arm or shin. When finally the blade wears, they are used for eating. I regularly eat with a dagger made from the shin of my egg-sire's egg-sire. He has lasted through many seasons. I do not share this with travelers I meet. They do not understand such things.\nI flex my hands. Gloves must be supple. I look upon the metal hands of outsiders with questioning. A Dead-Water warrior must strike quickly. And, should all else fail, we will use our claws to rip and tear. To cover our fingers would be to take away such weapons.\nI bow my head, displaying a helmet covered in long horns. It strikes fear into the heart of my foes. Dead-Water warriors must always be prepared for battle. So we place horns upon our helmets. This way, we continually display the spine of aggression. A display that all of Murkmire knows to fear.\nTo the front, hardened scale. Behind, supple leather. Dead-Water leg greaves allow for quick movement during battle. Useful in a swamp where the land itself will swallow you whole. This also enables quiet movement. Useful for sneaking towards our enemies. Again, I eye the metal of travelers with distrust.\nDead-Water maces have rounded, curved edges. This was not always so. In my egg-mother's time, skulls were used. They proved far too brittle. Now we place sharp bones atop the heads. Still we honor our ancestors, but now the maces are more durable for battle.\nDead-Water warriors protect in life and death. Their spirits have returned to the Hist. Flesh and bone remain to aid us in battle. I bow my head in respect. We show this most clearly with our shields. The skin of our fallen are stretched across the wood. Their bones decorate the sides.\nOur shoulders proudly display spikes of bone. Should the wamasu try to crush us? Should our foes crash against us? The Dead-Water will drop their shoulders, bringing them up for a mighty blow. With skill, a bone will crack or sinew will tear. I will confess, such spikes also add awe to the look of our armor.\nDead-Water staff is as dangerous as our blades. Its amber gem is soaked in the sap of the Hist. From this, its power is absorbed. Only the bones of our fallen mages will create such weapons. By this, they lend their magical essence to another. Or so it is believed.\nDead-Water swords are only held by our most cunning of warriors. Its jagged back can easily cut its wielder, should they not be careful. I bow in reverence. My blade is a most prized possession. Crafted from the leg bone of my egg-mother. Even still she fights by my side."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-70-elder-argonian-style": {"series": "Crafting Motifs", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-70-elder-argonian-style", "author": "Various", "title": "Crafting Motif 70: Elder Argonian Style", "description": "Styles and materials used by the cultures of Tamriel. Also the author's meandering travelogue.", "text": "I am proud to present, on behalf of Cyrodilic Collections, my findings on pre-Duskfall Argonian raiment and adornment. The similarity of designs and motifs found during our expeditions across Black Marsh suggest that the Argonians once may have had a more unified civilization, or perhaps simply traded more widely.\nThe only elder axes we have recovered were clearly weapons of war, leading me to believe that mere tools might not have been created with the same care and grade of material. These war axes consist of one or two large shards of volcanic glass mounted in a brassy alloy and adorned with feathers, dyed yarns, and gold. This degree of metalwork is almost nonexistent in contemporary Black Marsh.\nBelts were almost entirely decorative, consisting of expertly woven cloth sashes sometimes adorned with gold chains, rings, or colorful cord. Warriors would employ sturdier reptile hide belts over these sashes as an anchor for arms and armor. Emblems, worn at what would be our navel, often bore Sithis iconography.\nElder Argonians used more footwear than many modern tribes, though they still favored open designs that allowed them to keep their feet immersed. Rubber-soled sandals were uniform among all walks of life, though fringed leg wraps, anklets, and shin guards were frequent accompaniments for those of high status.\nWe still know little about the elder Argonians' relationship with the Hist, but I believe that the bows we've recovered were made from Hist wood. Perhaps they regarded the arrow as an extension of the Hist's will, like some fatal decree, though it might have been just the most readily available source of wood.\nElder Argonians preferred light sashes and wraps over tunics. This might have been to keep their frills and spines uncovered for communication. Armor was almost entirely constructed from bronze splints and mostly covered the shoulders and abdomen, suggesting that their own scales were expected to protect the exposed flanks and back.\nRegardless of length, elder Argonian blades were made from a series of volcanic glass shards set in a beaten bronze channel. The prevalence of volcanic glass in so many weapons was quite surprising, given that there isn't any known volcanic activity within Black Marsh itself. That suggests the Argonians may have regularly ventured into what we now call Morrowind.\nMuch like their descendants, elder Argonians found gloves impractical. They either used a fingerless mitt that hooked upon the thumb, or hand wraps like those favored by pit fighters. Cloth or leather bracers were commonly worn for decoration and protection, some of the latter mounting rigid metal splints for war. Frilled bands around upper arms were also nearly universal adornments.\nA simple circlet or headband acted as the base upon which many styles of headwear could be built. Most had prominent ornamentation above the face and employed feather plumes, jewels, and great brass icons as decoration. Impractical as it may seem, these headdresses were even worn into battle over leather hoods.\nWhere a simple loincloth is one of the more widely preferred pieces of legwear among tribal Argonians now, their ancestors swaddled themselves in elaborate layers. Knee- and ankle-length skirts and pants were often layered with other frilled skirts and dangling drapery. Warriors favored a top layer of rigid leather or woven reeds reinforced by bronze and bone.\nWar bludgeons we recovered from a sunken foundry were impressive. Made largely of bronze, these weapons must have been wielded by warriors of great stature. Though it is the striking ends that are the most interesting features. Usually styled after Argonian heads, the designs were angular\u2014almost geometric\u2014and familiar, as was the metal it was cast from.\nMaybe it was the way the glass teeth along the rim reminded me of a cog, or the orange tinge of the shield's face, or the boxy scrollwork, but the answer to the nagging familiarity I felt with elder Argonian metalwork struck me like one of their maces: Dwarven influence. Black Marsh may not always have been as insular a province as it is these days.\nUsually a combination of leather and bronze, shoulder guards consisted of nothing more than a simple curved pad and a strap to loop through the pit of the arm. Rather than being shaped to fit over the shoulder, many simply projected upward\u2014some as high as the wearer's jaw, making them something of a neck-guard as well.\nStaves were primarily instruments of the priesthood of Sithis. Many of these bronze rods were capped with icons and symbols of the Great Serpent to whom the priests made their sacrifices, but some bore razor-sharp, glass teeth intended to spill blood in many of their ceremonies. All evidence points toward Sithis playing a more central role in ancient Argonian worship than in modern day, at least among most tribes.\nWe didn't understand why volcanic glass was preferred for blades when the ancient Argonians already possessed the capacity for metalwork. In testing one of the glass swords, we quickly learned that the brutal sharpness was frightening for as long as the glass remained intact. It's also easy to replace in the field and lighter than metal sharpening equipment."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-71-coldsnap-style": {"series": "Crafting Motifs", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-71-coldsnap-style", "author": "Various", "title": "Crafting Motif 71: Coldsnap Style", "description": "Styles and materials used by the cultures of Tamriel. Also the author's meandering travelogue.", "text": "By Landal Gevont, Scholar of Goblins, Invisible College of Daggerfall\nThe Coldsnap Goblins who inhabit the Frostvault and neighboring subterranean regions are definitely related to the other Goblinkin tribes of Skyrim, such as the Riekr Goblins of Wrothgar or their diminutive relatives, the Rieklings of Solstheim. But their arms and armor are unique, displaying a rudely dynamic barbarism that expresses their fierce pride and, it must be said, decided bloodthirstiness. I shall try to describe their defining characteristics in terms even common readers can easily understand.\nI came to observe the Coldsnap tribe during a formative period in their cultural development: the discovery of the Dwarven ruin that they began to inhabit. The humble axe was their first foray into becoming a metalworking culture. It was a simple design employing sheets of jagged scrap metal affixed to a wood or bone handle.\nThe Coldsnap's sparse tundral habitat leave them few resources, so they have developed into adept scavengers. Many of their belts are made from scavenged hide, mostly gathered from their own durzogs as the beasts have a nasty habit of killing each other at the slightest provocation.\nColdsnap resourcefulness might best be embodied by their footwear. Despite being a mish mash of whatever hide scraps lay at hand, their boots are always snug fitting and sturdy. A testament to the tribe's knowledge of stitch work.\nThe traditional Coldsnap bow is of roughhewn hardwood, like black alder, strung with spun durzog gut. In their post-Dwarven period they have begun to adorn their bows and quivers with scrap metal with no functional purpose.\nMost Coldsnap bodywear is an amalgam of scrap hide, with layering being the main method of increasing protection, though bone ribbing and splints aren't uncommon. Bear, ogre, and troll fur are often used for warmth.\nDaggers were the first legitimate attempt by the Coldsnap to shape metal themselves. While they had not yet developed a method for smelting, the tribe began fusing scrap together in open fires and beating it into a rough blade form.\nBracers are almost ubiquitous among the Coldsnap and range from simple wraps of fur to bone and metal reinforced hide. Gloves are almost non-existent, apart from durzog handlers whose thick hide gauntlets are plated along the wrists and fingers.\nPrior to Dwarven influence, helmets were either hide or bone, with a troll crest being most prized. After recognizing the superiority of metal, however, the Goblins now widely employ a horned skullcap reminiscent of a troll. A sign of the tribe's superiority over their rivals.\nIn the frigid conditions they live in, pants are a luxury reserved for Goblins of higher station, warriors mostly. Lesser drudges are expected to make do with simple skirts. I believe this is also a method of population control, as strong warriors are often the only Goblins in any condition to mate.\nMostly unchanged in the tribe's post-Dwarven period, blunt weapons remain entirely made from the leg bones of ogres. Some might consider this proof of their primitive nature, but I recognize that the clever Coldsnap won't waste their limited resources when they already have a perfectly effective tool.\nShields are where the Coldsnap's ingenuity really comes to the fore. Though the tribe still lacks the understanding to work Dwarven metals, they have begun to embed animunculus scrap into layers of baser metals greatly increasing the strength of their defense.\nUsually a hide base, reinforced with metal and sometimes adorned with fur. Coldsnap warriors often display the teeth and horns of their most fearsome foes on their shoulders to give themselves a more frightening silhouette.\nThe Coldsnap mystics have replaced the fir branches of their staves with salvaged rods found in the Frostvault, though they have retained the animal skull fetishes. It's unclear to me if the Dwarven metal has improved their magical abilities, but they break bones quite readily.\nAs the Coldsnap craftsmen's confidence grew, so did the size of their works, a natural extension of their experimenting with daggers and knives. Though unwieldy, the fused metal swords of the tribe are incredibly solid and surprisingly sharp."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-72-meridian-style": {"series": "Crafting Motifs", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-72-meridian-style", "author": "Various", "title": "Crafting Motif 72: Meridian Style", "description": "Styles and materials used by the cultures of Tamriel. Also the author's meandering travelogue.", "text": "From ancient times till the present, the Cult of Meridia, no matter how often suppressed, always rebounds and reappears. Perhaps this is due to the fact that, for a Daedric Prince, the Lady of Infinite Energies rarely requires genuinely terrible behavior from her worshippers, though she can be severe on those she considers enemies. Mortals who revere her often honor her by adopting an armor style inspired by that of the Aurorans, Meridia's Daedric warriors. This look is so consistent among her cultists in every place and time that one can legitimately say there is a \"Meridian\" style.\nFor a combination of versatility and lethality in close combat, followers of Meridia wield two-bladed axes. Each blade is ornamented with symbolic waves of energy, and crystals on the haft and pommel catch the light.\nBelts give a nod to the symbolic representation of energy, though they vary from a graceful flow to something resembling flames. Other artistic touches include the scales from scale armor as well as stylized feathers.\nFollowers of Meridia favor metals even in the lightest armor, as their boots show. With the familiar touches of energy symbolism, these boots are not so much made for stealth as they are designed to withstand blows from necromancers and other typical enemies of Meridia.\nThe quiver and bow of the Meridian style emulate those seen on Meridian statues in Tamriel. Feathered wings, though soft-seeming in the realm of ideas, come to deadly points on the bow, making movement from ranged to melee combat more fluid.\nThe imagery of energy dominates the artistically wrought metalwork of the chest armor of Meridia's adherents, which also utilizes scale armor. Tassets both protect cultists and allow them to use their bodies to unbalance opponents.\nThe daggers Meridian cultists use are especially valuable for catching the blades of their foes, tangling them temporarily and potentially even disarming them.\nThe gloves worn by those revering Meridia enable them to block both blade and arrow, ensuring that they can move into and out of close-range combat with minimized risk\u2014a preferred tactic. As the light ebbs and flows each day, so too do cultists of Meridia in combat.\nAs evidenced by the metal rays emanating from the headgear worn by Meridian cultists, those fighting in her name are not afraid to threaten to eviscerate their foes with their heads.\nMastery of motion is a cornerstone in the fighting techniques of those revering Meridia, thus the primary material used in leg armor is supple leather. Metal augments the protective nature of this armor to some degree, but only mildly so.\nDue to necromancers and their minions being a common enemy of Meridia, the maces of Meridian cultists are crafted primarily to splinter the bones of skeletons and sweep away less limber undead. Of course, these weapons also deal the ultimate punishment to those practicing necromancy, too.\nWings, rays of energy, and the flow of light decorate the shields of those following Meridia. Multiple sharp edges on these shields also allow Meridian cultists to make particularly gory shield bashes.\nMetal provides a perfect medium for artistic touches such as flowing lines that represent the energy of Meridia. Even the lightest armored adherent of Meridia can use the metal shoulder armor to enhance the impact of full-body moves to overwhelm a foe.\nMeridia's true form\u2014that of light and vibration\u2014are represented best by the use of crystals in her followers' weapons, such as the three present in staves. As noted in an otherwise incoherent Meridian cultist's journal: \"Light and vibration affect crystals, so carrying crystals into battle allows Meridia to bless our moves directly.\"\nThe design of Meridian swords allows them to better parry their foes' attacks. Cultists often use this tactic when first wading into close combat with foes. When fighting against skeletons and the like, the swords can even snap bones with a simple quick twist."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-73-anequina-style": {"series": "Crafting Motifs", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-73-anequina-style", "author": "Various", "title": "Crafting Motif 73: Anequina Style", "description": "Styles and materials used by the cultures of Tamriel. Also the author's meandering travelogue.", "text": "By Captain Nala-do, Northern Elsweyr Defense Force\nThis one is determined to record the traditional appearance of Anequine arms and armor despite the attempts of Euraxia the Usurper Queen to replace them with new, inferior designs. Our martial traditions in the North date back to the time of Darloc Brae, and though nowadays we no longer employ his savage methods, one must confess that the Golden Beast had a truly Khajiiti sense of style in arms and armor.\nA good axe must have the heft needed to cleave your enemies, yes, but also the balance to be handled nimbly. Similarly to the style's swords and daggers, Anequine axes use lightweight lacquered wood and elegantly curved metals to ensure this is so. Using graceful arcs and wide sweeps, soldiers are able to carve their foes from a distance while still maintaining their strength for long combat durations.\nAnequine belts, as it is with most Khajiiti fashion, are both stylish and practical. After all, it would not do for warriors in the midst of battle to have their leggings fall down. Sleek and sturdy, these leather belts have proven themselves against the stress of combat time and time again.\nIn the desperation of combat, the Khajiit consider all possible attacks. Sometimes such desperation comes down to fighting fang and claw. With this in mind, the open toes of Anequine boots allow swift kicks to become piercing slashes. The style also allows relief in the hot climate of Elsweyr, giving our armies an edge against heavily armored invaders who quickly overheat.\nThe Wood Elves claim their bows to be the finest in all of Tamriel. This one does not place much faith in such claims, given that she has held an Anequine bow. Like all fine Khajiiti weapons, the balance of this lacquered bow is impeccable. Each arrow flies straight and true, striking with more force than a Pahmar's paw.\nAnequine chest pieces are as bold and sturdy as Nala-do's people. Each piece of armor is meticulously carved with symbols of the Moons, showing our reverence to their divine grace. The lacquered wood is sturdy enough to withstand the blow of a blade, yet light enough to allow for quick, silent movements. No other armor so greatly compliments the martial prowess of the Khajiit.\nIt is rare to catch a Khajiit without a dagger somewhere on their person, whether it be their weapon of choice or a last resort. Hidden in a boot, a dagger can help spring a surprise attack. With a surprise blow, it can kill your enemy instantly. It is of little wonder that the Anequine dagger is created with such care, from its sturdy blade to its deftly balanced handle.\nTo ask a Khajiit to cover their claws is like asking a warrior to sheath their blade; there is a time and place to do so, and that is not on the battlefield. Each pair of Anequine gloves allow for uncovered claws and dexterous hand movements, ensuring that Khajiiti warriors can never truly be disarmed.\nIn days past, only the mightiest Khajiiti warriors would earn the right to wear the most fearsome of Anequine helmets. The faces of these helmets were said to be so grotesque that even fellow soldiers would shudder at the sight of them. It is a point of pride for Nala-do's people that we continue this tradition with fearsome masks of our own.\nThe greatest strength of Khajiiti martial arts is its quick movements. This is why Anequine leg greaves are lightweight with many independent parts, allowing warriors to maintain their flexibility. By the time our enemies move one step, we have already sprinted behind them and struck from behind.\nOnly the strongest and boldest Khajiit choose to wield a mace. Given the weapon's heft and size, the usual Khajiiti martial skills of quick strikes and deft dodges are unable to be fully utilized. And so the Anequine mace is solid and heavy, good for bashing in the skulls of enemies with strong, precise strikes.\nAnequine shields are adorned with gemstones, each carved to represent a phase of the moon. Khajiit who commission such shields will often request specific phases that represent important events in their lives; their birth, the death of a loved one, even the night of their first kill. When you receive such a shield, remember that there is a story carved into its gemstones.\nYes, the Khajiiti are a practical people, but Nala-do can justifiably claim that we have a certain sense of style as well. This can be most easily seen in the design of Anequine shoulder armor. Though these pieces are sturdy and lightweight, as all other pieces of Anequine armor are, this one is proud to note how beautifully carved they are as well.\nOnly a fool underestimates the Khajiit who wields an Anequine staff. In the paws of a mage, these elegant staves produce powerful spells and evocations. In a claw-dancer's paws, it can be used to strike quick and lethal blows. Whomever the user, you can expect this beautifully balanced and sturdy staff to help its wielder outlast many difficult battles.\nThere are few sights more awe-inspiring than a claw-dancer under the Moons, their curved blade twirling through the air like ripples of moonlight. And there is no finer blade than those found on an Anequine sword, perfectly balanced and deadly sharp. Even in the hands of the most novice of warriors, this weapon can cleave through armor and flesh alike."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-74-pellitine-style": {"series": "Crafting Motifs", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-74-pellitine-style", "author": "Various", "title": "Crafting Motif 74: Pellitine Style", "description": "Styles and materials used by the cultures of Tamriel. Also the author's meandering travelogue.", "text": "By Cashia Khrasaat-Plume, Envoy of the Mane, Torval\nWhile it is an overstatement of the ignorant to characterize we Khajiit as flighty and superficial, it is true that not all of us, like this one, have the gift of precision in speech and writing. It is a worse mistake, but all too common among Tamrielic Men and Mer, to regard Khajiiti civilization as something shallow and recent. This is particularly false as regards the seven kingdoms that became the Federation of Pellitine, a land with a history long and deep. This Servant of the Mane hopes, in the few lines that follow, to cast some light our Southern Elsweyr military traditions.\nUnlike the crude axes of northern barbarians, Pellitine cleavers combine style and martial efficacy, making each weapon a work of art. The sumptuous curve of the axe head, accented by sleek, fang-like prongs allow the attacker to both cleave and stab with every swing.\nIn Pellitine, fit is of paramount importance. Metal buckles can only approximate the wearer's girth, resulting in a slouching and unsightly waistline fit only for a city vagrant or a cane-farmer. Our braided leather belts guarantee a perfect cinch every time.\nA Khajiit's graceful feet should never suffer the indignity of a close-toed boot. Without the freedom to flex and retract, our claws grow dull and useless. And dull-clawed Khajiit can hardly call themselves children of Alkosh! Alas, the boots' leather padding still covers the shapely calves and ankles, but complex lacing helps the leg retain a pleasing shape.\nSince time out of memory, man, mer, and beast have all suffered death and defeat at the point of Pellitine arrows. The Wood Elves fancy themselves Tamriel's greatest marksmen, but their wooden pauper-bows cannot match the range or precision of their Khajiiti counterparts. A flexible metal frame, senche-gut bow-strings, and peerless styling make the Pellitine bow the envy of archers everywhere.\nTorval's damp climate and our distaste for restrictive clothing make metal armor very unpopular here in Southern Elsweyr. Leave heavy iron hauberks to the hoary Nords and flat-footed Bretons, yes? A Pellitine cuirass, by contrast, is typically made of durable boiled leather, shaped, stamped, and tailored to fit the wearer's torso like a glove.\nNo shape is more distinctive to the Khajiiti people than the curve. The rounded crescents of Jone and Jode and the natural flexure of our fangs and claws are both given voice in the Pellitine dagger. The whorled guard and roaring pommel likewise reflect the frightful mysteries of Khajiiti culture!\nA Khajiiti glove must do two things well: protect the forearms, and leave the fingers bare. Pellitine gloves boast perfection on both counts. The stylish leather vambraces deflect all but the strongest blows. But more importantly, these gloves leave the claws completely unrestricted, allowing the wearer to slash and stab to their heart's content.\nThere is no greater weapon on the battlefield than fear. When an enemy's eyes widen and their jaw falls slack with terror, the contest is already decided. To that end, Pellitine helmets all bear the terrifying aspect of a snarling cat-demon.\nAs Khibazi the Whirlwind once said, \"All fights begin at the thighs.\" Tailored silken pants provide ample flexibility and protection at the knees, while molded leather greaves protect the upper-legs. Like all elements of the Pellitine panoply, these greaves feature ornate crescents and swirling contours that complement the wearer's inherent grace.\nThe defining features of foreign maces are their simplicity and tremendous weight. No surprise, then, that Pellitine maces are both light and beautiful. Their lacquered wooden construction and hooked shape allow for swift and brutal strikes that put the crude, loping swings of barbarian maulers to shame.\nNorthern barbarians are often surprised by the comparative lightness of the Pellitine aegis. Rather than try to lift a heavy iron heater shield, Khajiiti warriors of Southern Elsweyr rely on hardened leather affixed to a sturdy bronze frame\u2014an arrangement that provides maneuverability and protection in equal measure.\nNothing enhances a warrior's imposing silhouette quite like a set of sturdy pauldrons. These protective shoulder-coverings feature subtle curves and sharpened leather prongs that are impossible to miss.\nWhen it comes to martial refinement, the Pellitine staff is a weapon without peer. While the haft is almost always fashioned out of stout Tenmar oak, the headpiece is a bronzesmith's masterpiece. Fragile lotus blossoms and grand chandeliers rest atop the staff like a king's crown, making even the most boorish wielder look like royalty.\nMuch like the Pellitine dagger, the swords of Southern Elsweyr evince the regal and deadly nature of the Khajiiti people. The grand, curved blade often features ornate, swirling designs that complement the guard's rounded contours. In skilled hands, this weapon can kill practically anything, from the clumsiest Goblin to the most fearsome dro-m'Athra."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-75-sunspire-style": {"series": "Crafting Motifs", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-75-sunspire-style", "author": "Various", "title": "Crafting Motif 75: Sunspire Style", "description": "Styles and materials used by the cultures of Tamriel. Also the author's meandering travelogue.", "text": "By Azin-jo, Esteemed Bishop of Sunspire\nRejoice, children of Alkosh! After many lean years, the Dragon King of Cats has returned to guide us to glory. We Khajiit are magnificent, yes, with our glistening fangs and silky fur. But to truly honor Alkosh, we must adorn ourselves with a fitting panoply\u2014armor and weapons that give voice to both Khajiit and Dragon! Therefore, the smith-adepts of Sunspire have created this collection of arms and armor. Each piece bears the First Cat's blessing.\nOur mighty axes honor Alkosh, yes, but Jone and Jode also. Smith-adepts affix weighted disks to the axe heads to add great heft to every swing. On each disk, the faces of the moons\u2014their waxing and waning\u2014shine like the Topal waters on a cloudless night. A weapon as beautiful as it is deadly!\nAny avowed Khajiit, from highest curate to lowliest novitiate, can tell you that prayer begins at the belly. We do not mutter our mantras to blessed Alkosh with our mouths alone. No! We summon them up from the stomach. No surprise then that we protect our stomachs with woven cloth and metals of the highest quality.\nWhile many Khajiit insist that all footwear should leave the toes bare, there is something to be said for a snug leather sole\u2014particularly when wandering the frigid peaks and searing depths of Sunspire. Whether boot, shoe, or sandal, our footwear provides ample protection from the elements and the foes of blessed Alkosh.\nThe bowyers of Sunspire are right to boast when demonstrating the strength of their arms. Wood cured in the sacred heat of the Shrine of Jode flexes like a young Dagi, but launches arrows that strike with a Senche-raht's strength!\nOur Dragon-father, Alkosh, made us strong, while our mother, Azurah, made us lithe and swift. The snug tunics and sturdy breastplates of Sunspire reflect the will of both! No true Khajiit would suffer inside a stuffy metal shell. So, even our heaviest hauberks leave room to flex and bend.\nOf all the weapons our smith-adepts forge, the daggers are the most distinctive. Some say they resemble the fangs of mighty Alkosh; others say that their crescent blades match the curves of Jone and Jode. Both are true, I think. In the hands of a pious warrior, these twin blades are deadly indeed!\nOur boots may shield our toes from the elements, but even the most pious Khajiit with the most cautious heart cannot keep all their claws restrained. Sunspire gloves are little more than masterfully crafted bracers; they protect the wrists, but leave our birth-weapons free to slash and rend the enemies of Alkosh!\nA child of the Dragon King of Cats must be more than a simple Khajiit. They must find their truest heart, where the Dragon within resides. Our helmets' design serves as a constant reminder of our true nature. We are both cat and Dragon. The cat's silhouette crowned by the snarling aspect of blessed Alkosh makes that truth manifest!\nA Sunspire adept spends many long hours on their knees in solemn prayer. As such, our pants and leg greaves are both lightweight and smartly tailored. Neither cold stone nor faithless weapons can inflict injury on an adept wearing this garment.\nA Sunspire mace features a perfect, striated sphere at the striking end that mimics the forms of Jone and Jode. Like Alkosh himself, these weapons strike with perfect force\u2014leaving flesh intact while pulverizing the bone and sinew beneath.\nA Sunspire adept knows the value of quickness, but sometimes even the swiftest paws are not enough. In those times, we might reach for one of our flawless shields. Smith-adepts affix multiple plates to a central aegis, then lace it with prayer cords to create a sturdy, but visually pleasing work of art!\nAll Sunspire shoulder armor, from the simplest epaulets to the strongest pauldrons, honor Alkosh with prayerful motifs and woven prayer cords. Our arms may not bear the sublime weight of a Dragon's wings, but we must protect them nonetheless!\nAh, old age! It is a curse, it's true. In the days before Alkosh's return, I often leaned on cedarwood walking sticks and the like. Now, though? Now I steady myself on one of our mighty staves\u2014proud weapons that bear the phases of Jone and Jode emblazoned on precious metal disks. Great power swirls within their headpieces. With Alkosh's blessing, we shall use that power to lead the Khajiit to enlightenment!\nOur Sunspire swords are like the mighty claws of Alkosh himself\u2014beautiful, intimidating, and razor-sharp. While these blades honor our beloved First Cat above all other deities, the blessed crescents of Jone and Jode appear on the crossguard, the pommel, and the blade itself. Truly, there is no holier weapon in all of Elsweyr."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-76-dragonguard-style": {"series": "Crafting Motifs", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-76-dragonguard-style", "author": "Various", "title": "Crafting Motif 76: Dragonguard Style", "description": "Styles and materials used by the cultures of Tamriel. Also the author's meandering travelogue.", "text": "By Sidura, Navigator of the Perfect Pounce\nThis one notes that she received permission to look for equipment before she dragged out all the Dragonguard gear on Tideholm. In no way did she gain these items through ill-advised means. Then Sidura spent some time updating and repairing them, with the help of some skilled volunteers. They turned out nicely, yes? Old Dragonguard mixed with new! Dashing and functional!\nSidura is not one for axes, but if she had to choose? She'd pick the Dragonguard axes. Well-balanced, with ornamental touches picking up on the Dragonguard symbol. Two blades on the two-handed one, and one blade with a sharp poll on the one-handed axe. Poke out a Dragon's eye with that poll!\nOh, the detail on the waist gear! Graceful and airy, to Sidura's mind. Protective, too, especially for those midriff swipes. Dragon claw attacks are serious, yes, and better the claw catches on this armor than inside your gut.\nOld Dragonguard used a range of light and heavy materials to protect their feet. Sidura made sure to keep those sensibilities intact while enhancing the decorative elements. Don't worry about ankle slices with this footwear\u2014we added extra protection there due to cultists.\nSidura likes bows to work in close combat as well as melee, which is why the original Dragonguard bows, with her crew's enhancements, are slick. Smash the bow into your foe's forehead if they get too close! This one made sure it won't break anything but your opponent's skull!\nThis one had to replace much of the fabric and leather elements of the armor pieces, and used the Dragonguard symbol as inspiration for fine-tuning the decorative elements. Sidura also wanted drama, so she added fabric touches to the chest, which will flow majestically as you fight!\nWhether you use one or two daggers when fighting, the Dragonguard dagger allows you to easily catch a foe's weapons or turn away a claw thanks to the quillon's design. Sidura has tested these daggers herself and finds them to be her favorite of all daggers!\nUse flexible gloves for nimble fighting or choose metal gauntlets to help stop blows from landing! We restored the hand armor we found with an eye toward ensuring you could continue to grasp your weapon while dealing with Dragon shouts. Sidura thinks the old Dragonguard would approve.\nElements of the Dragonguard symbol embellish the headgear, along with horsehair crests. At least, Sidura thinks they are horsehair. Yet, wouldn't horsehair have disintegrated by now? Perhaps the crests aren't horsehair. A mystery!\nThe Dragonguard knew that you had to be nimble while fighting Dragons, so their leg armor takes that into account. You might not like tucking and rolling to avoid a Dragon's attack, but you won't die because your greaves prevent it! Sidura approves!\nSidura recommends you handle the maces with care. The flanges on the two-handed versions are large, but even the one-handed flanges can bite. This one appreciates their ability to penetrate Dragon scale and hide, yet does not appreciate the cut she nurses currently due to these sharp flanges.\nAh, the shields! They show off the Dragonguard symbol exquisitely well! Duck behind one to protect yourself from Dragon breath! And you can smash in someone's face with them. Or a Dragon's snout. They do call them snouts, yes? Forgive me. Sidura is new to Dragon fighting.\nSidura once took a shoulder slice, so she knows well the value of protecting your shoulders. These pieces match the rest of the armor, though this one added some more embellishment. The arm cops and pauldrons even feature a fabric accent. Sweet, yes?\nSidura is not a staff fighter, but this staff tempts her. It looks impressive. This one loves the red gems they used. Draws the eye, yes? Just do not sleep with this staff next to you if you have a mane. The ornate head on this staff tangles badly with longer hair.\nLooking at the sword made Sidura wonder: Why the serrations near the guard? What does this say about the Dragonguard fighting style? Is there a part of a Dragon you can entrap? Then Sidura realized: Dragonguard warriors must have had to fight people with weapons, too! So versatile!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-77-stags-zen-style": {"series": "Crafting Motifs", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-77-stags-zen-style", "author": "Various", "title": "Crafting Motif 77: Stags of Z'en Style", "description": "Styles and materials used by the cultures of Tamriel. Also the author's meandering travelogue.", "text": "By Gwaerelos, Greenblessed Master of Arms, Elden Root\nThe Spinners will tell you that all the world is a tree. Evils burrow under the bark like weevils and drink the goodness out of life. The Green's warriors search the boughs, plucking vices from their hiding places and devouring them with relish. Transgression and consequence. Wickedness and payment in kind. We Stags exact that punishment. We claim that payment in blood. Z'en, god of toil and vengeance, demands nothing less.\nLike all right-thinking Wood Elves, we observe the Green Pact gladly. Let no tree suffer the axe; only enemies should feel the cleaver's bite. The Stags' great axe-heads feature multiple prongs and cutting edges to ensure every wound we inflict is grievous and irreparable.\nIn Valenwood, a loose fit spells death. Razor-sharp thorns, snare-like vines, and the grasping claws of great beasts always seek to drag us to an early grave. Our sturdy leather belts cinch tight as a river-boa's coils, keeping our profile lean and our midriffs protected.\nAll too often, the raking briars and venomous snakes of Valenwood make a meal of unprotected shins and calves. A Stag's boiled leather and beetle-chitin boots afford the wearer the same protection as iron greaves at half the weight.\nWooden bows, no matter their origin, carry the stink of filthy loggers and woodland-oppressors. A Stag's bow relies on flexible root-beetle chitin extracted at the very moment the imago emerges from its husk. Of all the weapons we Wood Elves carry into battle, this one does Y'ffre and Z'en the most homage.\nWe Wood Elves excel at all crafts, but butchering monstrous beetles remains one of our most time-honored traditions. Crafting a Stag brigandine requires hundreds of delicate cuts to create a flexible garment. Affixing the chitin plates to a leather jack can take many long hours, but the results speak for themselves.\nFew weapons embody the virtues of their wielder as completely as the Stag dagger. Fashioned out of chitin and steel, the blade resembles a serrated leaf. What could suit a servant of the Green finer than a lethal frond?\nTight leather wraps and expertly cut chitin plates make Stag gloves the envy of woodland warriors everywhere. Weapons can rarely find purchase on the slick surface of beetle-hide, making these vambraces the perfect armor for a slippery duelist.\nA true Stag of Z'en should inspire more than fear. The transgressor must see the face of cold, dispassionate justice. We do not extract the toll on behalf of ourselves\u2014we claim it in Z'en's name. So we hide our faces behind the mandibles and mask of a predatory insect. Insects do nothing needlessly. They lead their life of violence with an eerie calmness. As do we.\nFlexible chitin plates laid over rugged leather trousers allow us to remain protected while moving swiftly from foe to foe. For a Wood Elf, speed and safety are one and the same. In these armored leggings, we can move very swiftly indeed.\nThe head of a Stag mace closely resembles a flower preparing to bloom. But the petals are far from delicate. Heavy, spiked chitin wrapped around a prodigious iron weight make this the most brutal weapon south of the Strid River.\nSometimes chitin needs no alteration. Take the Stag shield, for instance. Z'en's aegis is little more than a beetle's thoracic carapace affixed to a rugged leather base. Y'ffre, in his wisdom, set the beetle in a shield-like shell. What fool would alter what is already perfect?\nThe shoulder is the steady root of the arm, and like all roots, it needs protecting. Stag armorsmiths devised perfect shoulder cops that feature spiked chitin plates and imposing mandibles to enhance our already terrifying silhouette.\nThe staff of a Stag mage reflects the Green's sublime power with fearsome mandibles and sharpened leaf motifs. Any spell channeled through such a weapon carries the full blessing of Z'en. Should you face off with hostile mages, this staff ensures that you pay their bloodshed back in kind.\nLike our daggers, the swords of a Stag reflect the beauty and terror of the Green through sharpened chitin and leaf-like motifs. Despite their size, these weapons enjoy a remarkable lightness. For every enemy sword-stroke, we can reply with two of our own. Under such an onslaught, even the hardiest Nord will fall in short order."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-78-moongrave-fane-style": {"series": "Crafting Motifs", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-78-moongrave-fane-style", "author": "Various", "title": "Crafting Motif 78: Moongrave Fane Style", "description": "Styles and materials used by the cultures of Tamriel. Also the author's meandering travelogue.", "text": "As decreed by Clan Mother Nisaazda\nChildren, you came to me seeking something greater than the life you were given. This one promised you power beyond your imagining. Through her blood, she has given you only a taste. Soon Nisaazda will show you the heights we can reach. All we must do is follow her chosen Devourer and claim the greatest prey this world has to offer: Dragons. To prepare for this hunt we will learn from the Dragonguard and outfit ourselves accordingly. The trappings of a Hollowfang Dragon hunter are outline herein.\nWe will lord over the night with crescent blades of hardened steel, gleaming as the two moons do in the darkness. Follow Dro'zakar's example and no quarry will escape you.\nLike the Akaviri we will wrap our waists in sturdy garments, but where they wore ornamental silks, we will bind our spines in leather and gird our loins as Sangiin does before a tempestuous night.\nShod your feet in blackened, studded booths and bolster them in burnished bronze, as the Dragonguard do, but where their hobnailed toes turn downward, ours will rise like the dunes of our ancestors.\nIn our hunt for Dragon blood, our bows will be our fangs. Hew them from the mightiest of Tenmar hardwoods.\nWe shall clad ourselves in black and red to honor the Blood Cat on our hunts. Even our lightest cuirasses must be made in the rigid Akaviri style if they are to resist a Dragon's claws. Fashion our bronze as the Dragonguard did, but do not weigh yourself down with excess plates. We are Khajiit, we must remain nimble.\nLike with any other hunter, a Dragon hunters knife must be a flawless tool. They must be sharp enough to cut through Dragon hide and thin enough to slip between the beast's scales.\nBrace your forearms in blackened leather as you see fit but leave your claws free and sharp like a true five-clawed warrior, or at least give your gloves claws befitting a true predator.\nAs the Akaviri wore fearsome masks upon their faces, so shall we. Let the Dragons' final moments be of our snarling teeth craving their blood.\nForget the bulky plate of the Devourer. Khajiit must be swift and agile. More swift and agile than a Dragon! Studded leather should suffice. A splint mail skirt at most. Those who don't heed will find themselves in Dragons' teeth.\nThe Devourer has shown us the design of the Dragonguard's scalebreakers. These half-moon faced maces focus their power into a single prominent spike, to pierce and shatter a Dragon's scales.\nOur shields shall bear the hallmarks of the Akaviri and Khajiit traditions in perfect unison. They shall be our emblem, representing the evolution of our clan.\nWhat is a Khajiit without a mane? A dull-clawed scavenger. Just as our armor bears our claws and fangs, so too should our collars and shoulders bear our fur. Drape them in the fur of what worthy prey you find among our former kin.\nThough the Dragons are our prey, their strength is to be respected. We hunt them because we aspire to be them. Adorn your staves with symbols of their wings, flames, and claws to remind you of this.\nThe curved blades of the Akaviri are deceptively strong for their lightness. We do not possess the materials to recreate them, but we can borrow some of their traits to improve our own formidable scimitars."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-82-icereach-coven-style": {"series": "Crafting Motifs", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-82-icereach-coven-style", "author": "Various", "title": "Crafting Motif 82: Icereach Coven Style", "description": "Styles and materials used by the cultures of Tamriel. Also the author's meandering travelogue.", "text": "By Svarrid Snow-Seer, Guard of Windhelm\nWhen the Icereach Coven returned to Skyrim, they did so in force. They bolstered their numbers with Reachmen, lured innocents to their cause and plunged this land into chaos. Little is known about the witches that make up this sinister faction, and even less is known about the kind of weapons and armor they adorn themselves with. It is my duty to report on these aspects of the Icereach Coven as best I can so that we may learn more about our enemy.\nAXES\nI have seen too many of the Icereach Coven's gnarled axes for one lifetime. They truly are a sight to behold, each like a mangled hand, with blood dripping from pointed fingernails. At first glance, the craftsmanship looks slipshod, but the design is quite clever. The splayed, knotted blades cleave through bone and tear near everything to pieces.\nBELTS\nThe coven's belts are made of animal hide and have several small pouches hanging from them on either side. From corpses, we have been able to determine that the contents of these pouches varies and often depends on the witch. For the sturdier support, more tightly woven belts and reinforced leather serve to clasp about the waist and provide stability.\nBOOTS\nI dislike the Icereach Coven's boots most of all. My fellow soldiers despise the freakish masks well enough, but there is something truly unsettling about the sight of the three-pointed toes on the battlefield. Our foe becomes something unnatural and primal rather than an enemy we can understand and fight. It is a small thing, but with people turning into monsters and raging storms collecting in the sky, even the tiny details can inspire terror.\nBOWS\nThe coven's bows are made of twisted, hard branches that make them light as air. Strange woven heads made from hay and twine decorate above and below the grip, as if their twin beaks might swallow the wielder's hand.\nCHEST PIECES\nLike most of the coven's armor, there is no structural metal to be found across the chests of their fighters. The heathens are probably incapable. The witchmen cover their torsos with a blend of boiled leather, animal hide and furs. It is not uncommon, however, for them to decorate their chests with small bird skulls and talons.\nDAGGERS\nI have too many friends who met their ends with a witch's dagger in their heart. The Icereach Coven uses daggers made of jagged, split metal. The guard is wrapped in fur and the grip roughly covered in uneven leather. It is a fearsome weapon, and often unsuspecting. The colors blend into the coven's armor, so that you might not ever see it coming.\nGLOVES\nAlmost every member of the Icereach Coven we've encountered thus far has hand, or forearm protection. The material is much like the rest of their armor, insulated with thick furs and bound with either leather or sinew. Occasionally, the Reach-scum adorn their fingertips with sharp metal, not unlike a hagraven claw. And certainly just as deadly.\nHELMETS\nIt seems odd to call the Icereach Coven's head pieces helmets, since I, for one, believe they are more for show than protection. The headwear seems to have a common theme in that they are all horrible, twisted masks, styled like birds. Hooked beaks protrude over mouths guarded with wicker and string. Some masks sport horns and dark, soot-colored feathers. Others are merely chaotic heaps of twigs and bark. Each face seems more sinister than the last.\nLEG GREAVES\nFrom what I have been able to discern, the Icereach Coven's armorers fashion their greaves from hardy fabric that is reinforced with patchwork leather. The material seems stiff and heavy, which one would think would slow their movement. Perhaps the lack of metal grants them agility.\nMACES\nThe witches wield horrifying maces. The damage is twofold, with one side splayed out with bones and bark that have been sharpened into hard points for piercing through thick armor. The other side of the head looks like maces we're used to, though made from a stone-hard wood. Not many who encounter these weapons survive the experience.\nSHIELDS\nJust as unsavory as the rest of their implements, the Icereach Coven's shields are no exception to the rule. Outfitted with a jagged piece of flat bone at the front, the rest of the shield is made of curved wood, sharpened into points. The shape gives the illusion of a crow's plumage, fashioned from wooden daggers.\nSHOULDER ARMOR\nThe shoulder armor of the coven is simple, but effective. Though the level of protection varies, Reach armorers reinforce these leather cops with either tough bark or a collection of bones. I have witnessed some that look truly like bird skulls from a distance. Upon closer inspection, they are wrought from twigs and hay instead, but it does not make them any less terrifying.\nSTAVES\nThe coven's staves are deceptively simple. The witches carve and bind gnarled lengths of wood into eerie shapes like lurking crows and twisted fingers. Menacing spikes unfurl from the neck before twisting down into a staff fashioned from merely bone and string. Do not let the simplicity of the materials fool you. These are as deadly as any other, and the coven uses them with exacting, terrible proficiency.\nSWORDS\nJagged pieces of bone adorn the hilt of the Icereach Coven's greatswords, formed into sharp beaks that seem to eat the blade itself. The metal is mottled and uneven, as if the weapon were forged in a storm. There is something barbaric and wicked about them."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-83-pyre-watch-style": {"series": "Crafting Motifs", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-83-pyre-watch-style", "author": "Various", "title": "Crafting Motif 83: Pyre Watch Style", "description": "Styles and materials used by the cultures of Tamriel. Also the author's meandering travelogue.", "text": "By Tazheq at-Rajd, Honored Scribe of Histories for the Pyre Watch\nDeath must be the end. The Pyre Watch requires each of its warriors uphold this demand. Those who come after may see piles of ash and bone in our charge and believe the task beneath them. \"What danger,\" they may ask, \"poses this dust?\" But we who witnessed the horde of blood ghouls and man-beasts march upon the gates of Bangkorai remember. A horror rests within this Unhallowed Grave. Know well our order's arms and armor that give us the strength to defend the living. Because, the Gray Host shall not wake. Death must be the end.\nAXES\nAlthough our people more commonly use swords in battle, a brutal axe offers unique advantages to those who wield them. Weighted blades carry the axes through wide cutting arcs. When beset on all sides by fiends, the ability to bring them low with a single swing may determine whether you fall then or at the next battle.\nBELTS\nThe Gray Host did not fight at a distance. Their army fought us hand-to-claw, eye to bloody eye. Any warrior caught by the long talons of some undead beast did not stand for long. Cinch your belts tight; fluttering cloth provides an opportunity. And bear boldly the Pyre Watch sigil on your buckle, so those you meet know your sacrifice.\nBOOTS\nThe Pyre Watch stands vigil to assure no one enters the Unhallowed Grave, and nothing leaves. We demand our warriors stay alert for any disturbance in the remains of our enemy. Focusing on the pain in your feet might distract at a crucial moment. And so, we craft our boots from supple leather to ensure prolonged comfort.\nBOWS\nWhen the Gray Host came to Bangkorai, I stared frozen in despair as a clot of vile ghouls ran at me. If not for the alacrity of our archers, my death was certain. Waves of arrows rained down, felling enough of the enemy for me to regain my nerve. Our bows' superior speed and power determine how many brethren stand or fall.\nCHESTS\nWhile heavy metals can provide protection against blade or arrow, they slow down their wearer. When the enemy are preternaturally quick undead, speed matters more. We craft our chest armor with tight-fitting, supple leather to keep our response times fast. If the vampires and wolves reach us, metal armor won't stop their claws.\nDAGGER\nDeadly, quick, and perfectly balanced in every way. These qualities define the Pyre Watch daggers. The blade's gentle curve reflects an elegant sleekness of all Bangkorai design. We keep them hidden but always at the ready, much like ourselves.\nGLOVES\nWe of the Pyre Watch serve as weapons against the darkness. Just as a blade must respond to its wielder's whim, so should our bodies deftly answer the commands of Tu'whacca. The gloves we wear provide ultimate flexibility and grip so that we may honor the Tricky God and not lose our steel in times of battle.\nHELMET\nAs members of the Pyre Watch, we forego our pasts in service of a higher purpose. Our former lives must end to remove anything that may distract from our purpose. By covering our faces, we remove our identity and demonstrate our total commitment to the cause.\nLEGS\nEven now, I feel certain that villains plot to resurrect our buried foes. Pants and skirts of flexible horse leather with minimal plating allows us to spring into action at the sign of any threat. If you must run, spin, or leap to end a threat, this legwear will not interfere.\nMACES\nIf you require more than a single swing of a weapon to bring down a foe, then you invite your own death. The heft of our hammers, when properly applied, ensure their target shall not move again. Even vampires pose no threat with a crushed skull.\nSHIELD\nThe Gray Host served darkness. And in darkness their ashes shall remain. And though the Pyre Watch holds vigil in the black, we stand for the light. Our shields of burnished silver and gold reminds any who meet you in the Grave who you serve.\nSHOULDER\nDefend your shoulders well. Even a shallow gash from a claw can make your arms unusable. Pliant, yet thick leather allows for range of movement. And added tiered metal plating protects those who fight face to fang.\nSTAVES\nThe Gray Host moves at great speed on the field of battle. Mages at range often found themselves engaging up close. Although crafted from fine Mournoth timber, the Pyre Watch reinforces our staves with metal plating for added strength. They shall not splinter when struck across a ghoul's face.\nSWORDS\nThe tales of great swordfighters among our people could fill libraries. Every sword we craft must honor that legacy. The intricate designs embossed in the blade and its perfect balance are the culmination of generations of the finest metalworkers."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-84-blackreach-vanguard-style": {"series": "Crafting Motifs", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-84-blackreach-vanguard-style", "author": "Various", "title": "Crafting Motif 84: Blackreach Vanguard Style", "description": "Styles and materials used by the cultures of Tamriel. Also the author's meandering travelogue.", "text": "By Captain Thromkir of the Blackreach Vanguard of Dusktown\nThe few brave enough to venture to Blackreach found themselves in need of specialized protection early on. While this place remains unpredictable, it has a wealth of resources that are easily harvested and can be turned against it. Much of the process is still trial and error, but it's been refined to a point where I believe it's pertinent to take record of. I imagine the longer people exist in Blackreach, the more nuanced these practices will become.\nAXES\nThe overall design of the Blackreach Vanguard's axes isn't much different than the axes from the surface. It certainly has hints of Nord design evident in its creation. The engravings and special touches, however, make it distinctly Blackreach. The chitin plating on the underside of the metal is purely decorative. I think the blacksmiths just like to show off how proficient they are at working with the material.\nBELTS\nOur belts provide ample space for holding weapons, and necessary pouches vital to survival in the wilds of Blackreach. The harnesses strap down over the hips for extra stability and support around the waist. The belts provide ample opportunity for stowing weapons and potions one might need while adventuring. Blackreach is a treacherous, volatile place. The key to surviving it is going out prepared.\nBOOTS\nThere's a lot you don't want to step on in Blackreach. You'd think that most of the things down here that want to take a bite out of you are easy to spot. Not the case! It gets so dark that the nasty things that skitter along the ground go by unnoticed. If you don't have proper footwear, you're bound to step on something that'll kill you.\nBOWS\nBlackreach provides unique opportunities for improving bows' heft and accuracy. Sharp chitin plates adorn the upper and lower limbs as well as the arrow tips. This sharp, near indestructible material provides stability to the weapon while lessening the overall weight of it.\nCHESTS\nChaurus chitin features heavily in most of the chest pieces of the Blackreach Vanguard. Adult Chaurus are not easy prey, but their natural armor is an incredibly valuable resource. A full piece would be difficult to maneuver in, so we opt for covering the heart.\nDAGGER\nMost of the time, you won't notice something sneaking up on you until it's too late. In that case, there's little time to draw a larger weapon, so a dagger is a versatile, efficient thing to have on hand. Blackreach-mined metal will bite through anything, whether it's armor or chaurus shells.\nGLOVES\nThough Blackreach is mild in temperature, our gloves cover the whole hand and go up to the elbow. With the amount of strange flora and fauna here, touching anything you're unfamiliar with is just asking for trouble. Our gloves are made with thin Vale deer leather to keep them flexible and allow us to use weaponry while still protecting ourselves from the elements.\nHELMET\nMost of us aren't headbutting our foes down here, but a sturdy piece of Chaurus chitin on the front of our helmets offers a substantial amount of protection in case anyone gets any ideas. We keep the face open to get as much opportunity to see what's ahead of us as possible. \\n\\nLEGS\\nVale deer are abundant, despite being easy prey for the local fauna. Their numbers dwindle by the day, unfortunately, but for now there are enough to provide us with material. Many of the greaves worn by the Blackreach Vanguard are made from their hides. The leather makes for heavy, tough protection that tends to be flexible enough for quick movement and traversing the uneven terrain. \\n\\nMACES\\nThe best defense against some of these crawlies is a big hunk of metal to the face! We take a lot of inspiration from Nord maces that were brought down with us from the surface for the actual head of the weapon itself. We use our own special flair when it comes to the decorations along the metal, and the top of the shaft is adorned with thick sheets of Chaurus chitin.\nSHIELD\nOur shields aren't much different than a Skyrim guard's. The wood gets brought down from the surface, but the metal and reinforcements are made from resources exclusively gathered from Blackreach. Ridges made from the backs of Chaurus protrude from the face of the shield to provide additional strength.\nSHOULDER\nWe make good use of Chaurus in Blackreach. Especially when it comes to the shoulders of our armor. Depending on the kind of fighter, we vary the type of chitin used. Those who may be more directly in the fray have more pointed pieces that make it easier to deflect attacks. Others are molded flatter to provide maximum protection.\nSTAVES\nA fierce barb of metal tops each Blackreach Vanguard's staff. It's fused together with a single plate of Chaurus chitin to reinforce the apex of the weapon. The chitin is often carved with runes and into a three-pointed shape pressed flush against the metal. Leather wraps the staff, and each end is secured with a decorative sheaf of metal.\nSWORDS\nThe metal mined from Blackreach tends to be incredibly sturdy even when thinned. This allows the blade to be worked until it's razor sharp without sacrificing the integrity. These are lightweight weapons, making it easier for the wielder to move about. The leather from the hilt comes from Vale deer and the guard is made from a metal foundation with an adult Chaurus chitin finish."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-87-ancestral-nord-style": {"series": "Crafting Motifs", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-87-ancestral-nord-style", "author": "Various", "title": "Crafting Motif 87: Ancestral Nord Style", "description": "Styles and materials used by the cultures of Tamriel. Also the author's meandering travelogue.", "text": "Twas the year one hundred and forty-three of the First Era when Harald, thirteenth in the line of Ysgramor, did relinquish all claims to the holdings of his storied line in the land of his birth and, by birth and by conquest, did assume the mantle of high king to found his own kingdom in Tamriel: the Kingdom of Skyrim. To commemorate the vanquishing of the Elves and the unification of Men under his banner, Harald commissioned every craftsworker in his new land to outfit his warriors and forge the first army of Nords.\nAXES\nThough the first Nords wished to distinguish themselves from the their forebears, they were still fiercely proud of their Atmoran heritage, and there is no more revered weapon in our storied history than the battle axe. Though uniformity would mean not every warrior could wield their own Wuuthrad, the high standards of Harald would ensure that each would receive a sturdy, steel weapon of war.\nBELTS\nWhile a sturdy leather cinch would suffice for most, Harald's warriors were equipped with fur-lined and studded belts as a sign of distinction from common rabble. Soldiers were permitted to bear any insignia upon the buckle and many proudly displayed their family crests as such.\nBOOTS\nConcessions were made during the initial outfitting of Harald's army to avoid a surplus of ill-fitting boots, so rigid armor of hardened leather, steel, and brass was designed to be strapped around the shins and knees over a warrior's own footwear. Korm No-Toes famously wore them over his bare legs.\nBOWS\nWith Skyrim seeing its first domestic peace for some time, many palisades and other temporary fortifications were torn down and repurposed. Much of that tough, native ash was rendered into recurve bows and arrows.\nCHEST PIECES\nHarald's steel supply was limited in the early days of his reign, so hardened leather, chain link, and bronze plate or scale mail made up the bulk of the army's cuirasses. Despite this, the royal insignia medallion emblazoned on the chest was always minted in steel.\nDAGGERS\nMost Nords kept their own knives for utilitarian purposes, so the short blades borne by the army were more akin to swords than their diminutive cousins. Wide of blade, stout of heft, and better suited to chopping than thrusting.\nGLOVES\nDespite claims that freezing sweat from a bare-hand grip would keep a weapon firmly in hand, Harald's army elected to provide insulated gloves for his warriors, as well as bracers of reinforced leather or metal to fend off more than the cold.\nHELMETS\nWhile not all Nord helms bear horns, nor was Harald the first to suggest adding them, it was his army's uniform that codified the tradition and fixed the image in the mind's eye as solidly as stone. Though what size and shape of horns caused the least impediment in battle had yet to be determined.\nLEG GREAVES\nFull greaves were not in common use among early Nord warriors until Harald's decree declared them a fundamental part of the kit. Though his soldiers might have complained of the bulkiness, they were surely appreciative of the thick, bear fur undergarments during bitter, winter campaigning.\nMACES\nHarald did have a clever answer for outfitting an army far beyond the numbers of those that came before: fittings would be made that could be shared among armaments. While the broad, square faces of Nord warhammers bear little resemblance to the crescent blades of their axes, nigh on everything else between them is identical in make.\nSHIELDS\nThough most Atmoran longboats had long since been turned to longhouses, their influence lived on in the heavy, Nord shields carried by thick-armed warriors no longer shackled by concerns of drowning. Where once sturdy timber was braced in bands of iron, now only steel-clad bulwarks remained.\nSHOULDERS\nWhile the size of these large, fur-lined plates did supplement the protection of a cuirass, their bulk was exaggerated to present a stockier, more imposing frame.\nSTAVES\nThough not as rare as they seem today, clever men and women were an uncommon sight in Skyrim's army. Battlemages were distinguished by their great, steel staves bearing the Dragon masthead that Harald claimed as his sigil.\nSWORDS\nThe long blades of Harald's army sprouted like towering oaks from hilts the shape of troll horns, ready to come down on the heads of his enemies with all the force of a felled tree. And so they did, as his armies continued to expand the boundaries of Skyrim's holds."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-88-ancestral-orc-style": {"series": "Crafting Motifs", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-88-ancestral-orc-style", "author": "Various", "title": "Crafting Motif 88: Ancestral Orc Style", "description": "Styles and materials used by the cultures of Tamriel. Also the author's meandering travelogue.", "text": "By Armelle Menant, Historian of Glenumbra\nThe Orcs are a proud people, a race supposedly birthed from the strongest of the Elven Divines after he was corrupted by the Daedric Prince, Boethiah. Feared outcasts for most of their history, Orcs\u2014and their mark upon Tamriel\u2014is one that we ignore at our peril! We cannot discuss their history without observing the evolution of Orsinium throughout time. The first iteration came in the First Era when it became a refuge for Orcs under the chieftain Torug gro-Igron. A civilization flourished, and the master smiths of this new nation outfitted their warriors in armor worthy of their strength.\nAXES\nThe Orcs were in a land rich with mining opportunities, which afforded them access to sturdy, workable metals. Their blacksmiths fashioned heavy axes with bits carved into a point rather than a curve\u2014a true indicator of Orcish smith's bloody intentions.\nBELTS\nMade of tough leather and reinforced metal, the Orcs' armor acted as both support and abdominal protection. The waistband extended upward as far as the ribs and encircled the wearer in rigid material. A furious Orc's visage made up the buckle, skillfully and fiercely carved into the metal.\nBOOTS\nThe Orcs of old made boots from overlapping plates of thick metal. Orcish smiths sharpened the toes of the boots until they were as cutting and lethal as blades. Thick fur lined the inside of the boots to keep the metal from biting into flesh.\nBOWS\nThe early Orcs coated even their quiver with metal, making them heavier to carry, but near impenetrable as a tradeoff. The visage of Torug adorned the metal at the base of the quiver and the design extended to the limbs of the bows themselves. Pointed metal embellishments protruded from the ends of the bow, not unlike tusks.\nCHEST PIECES\nShimmering bronze metal featured heavily in Orcish breastplates. Thin plates of metal laid against the wearer's chest, tight to the body and tapered. A menacing depiction of Turog gro-Igron glowered on the front, striking fear into the heart of any who dared oppose the wearer.\nDAGGERS\nA snarling face roars with Orcish fury at the hilt of even the smallest daggers. The blade curves at a menacing angle, making it an efficient weapon for cleaving through enemies. Subtlety did not factor into these weapons. The Orcs of old had no need for such practices. They sheathed these daggers proudly at the waist as a challenge to friend and foe alike.\nGLOVES\nAncient Nedic artwork indicates that the earliest Orcs reveled in cruelty and lived by savage law. Whether that's entirely true, we know from their plated metal gloves that they placed great emphasis on brutal efficiency. An Orc without a weapon still made quite the formidable opponent with gloves like these. One punch from a metal-clad fist could crush someone's face.\nHELMETS\nFew elements of the Orcish panoply match the distinctive aesthetic of these early warriors' helms. Carved with impressive attention to detail, the Orcs depicted callous faces in the metalwork. Pointed bronze tusks served no practical purpose other than to remind enemies who exactly they were dealing with. An army of dark, seething faces surely inspired a great deal of fear.\nLEG GREAVES\nThese early Orcish warriors continued to use their skill as blacksmiths and metalworkers when it came to the legs of their armor. Finely linked chainmail protected their flesh from even the sharpest blades. On any other race, such heavy greaves would slow a warrior to the point of absurdity. But an Orcish soldier does not need to be swift to be deadly.\nMACES\nA ruggedly-etched depiction of Turog gro-Igron featured on the broad faces of the warrior's maces as well. The sheer heft of these bludgeons speaks to the natural strength of an Orcish warrior. The pointed metal made for a catastrophic impact, no matter the target. These were bone-breakers for certain.\nSHIELDS\nPerhaps the most awe-inspiring display of Orcish metalcraft exists in their shields. For all those who say these Orcs were savage and barbaric, they clearly have never seen the fine carving work they were capable of. A strong Orc helm, complete with a pair of striking horns, features on the face of the shield itself.\nSHOULDERS\nAs most of us know, Orcs are a formidable people. They stand taller and wider than most races in Tamriel. Even so, it seems this was not enough for these warriors. Orcish smiths wrought their shoulder pauldrons out of gleaming metal and angled them upward to give the impression of being larger than they were. For an already prodigious race, this effect must have shaken their enemies to the core.\nSTAVES\nIt makes this researcher chuckle to know that the staves of the Orcs looked suspiciously close to their maces. Though not quite as deadly, the most commonly used staff still had a hefty metal block at its apex. Much design work went into the carving of the Orcish face at the base of this block, and though it was small, I imagine it must have been quite terrifying to see one towering above a group and finding you in its silvery gaze.\nSWORDS\nThe Orcs of old seemed to wield far larger swords than average at that time in history. Whether it was because they were strong enough to wield longer, thicker weapons or that they simply enjoyed the look and feel is a matter of vigorous debate. What we know for sure, however, is that Turog gro-Igron's face featured on the hilt as well\u2014a symbol of how the strong Orc people rose to power despite all the odds."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-89-ancestral-high-elf-style": {"series": "Crafting Motifs", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-motif-89-ancestral-high-elf-style", "author": "Various", "title": "Crafting Motif 89: Ancestral High Elf Style", "description": "Styles and materials used by the cultures of Tamriel. Also the author's meandering travelogue.", "text": "With the need for armed combatants to fight against the Alessian Empire, armor and weapon artisans like yourselves craft tirelessly. Unfortunately, your varied artistic visions rob the army of a cohesive aesthetic. As every Elf knows, war without grace is the province of men. I, for one, cannot abide such a comparison. Therefore, all smiths must henceforth adhere to the specific style, outlined below, when fashioning arms and armor.\n\u2014Raven Direnni\nAXES\nThose wielding axes among our forces deserve more than a logger's implement, but one mustn't overlook utility when in the field. All axes must curve in a manner that emulates the wing (or wings, in the case of the two-handed axe) of an eagle in flight. Wood smoothed with sanded paper sourced from Summerset makes up the haft, which should be bound in supple, interwoven straps of leather.\nBELTS\nThink of the most graceful avian majestically leaping into the air. Our belts should take that image and translate it into metal and leather. Pay special attention to the detail of the stylized feathers on the belt. Note that the buckle's size must be tasteful and unobtrusive. We are not \"those of the needlessly large buckle\" as some of our past foes have been, now, are we?\nBOOTS\nThis may sound trite, but it's true: an army moves not only on its stomach, but also on its feet. To that end, soldiers need sturdy footwear to enhance the native swiftness of our birthright. A snug fit and pliable leather at the ankles are essential.\nBOWS\nAfter last year's debacle, we must prioritize function over form with our bows and quivers. The metal guards of Auri-El's eagle on the upper and lower limbs should appear graceful, but must not interfere with the weapon's draw. These guards should also provide archers with a means to dispatch melee foes. The quiver should take the form of a bird's wing, crafted in matching metal.\nCHEST PIECES\nThe fully glory of flight dominates every piece of chest gear. Our soldiers may wade through muck and viscera to face certain death on the battlefield, but when they look upon each other, they need to be reminded of who they fight for, and what they fight for. Make their hearts soar! And let us hope that the gear protects their literal hearts from the primitive fury of Men.\nDAGGERS\nWhen any look upon our daggers, they should be reminded of our sharp minds, our deadly prowess, and our elegance. But only for a brief moment. Then? They should be dead or wounded, as the wielder wishes. Continue to use the swoop of a bird's wing in your crafting of these deadliest of small war-pieces, and ensure that a bird's head graces the pommel.\nGLOVES\nSoldiers must perform many functions with ease while in the field. Work to provide as much articulation within gloves, without sacrificing protection. None should complain of chafing, inability to fully perform their favored killing move, and so on.\nHELMETS\nOur troops contain multitudes, and each performs a specific role. Those working in light armor may prefer a more subtle means of destruction, so a simple hood should suffice. With our other troops, form the stylistic visage of a noble eagle with metal and leather, with a hint of a beak for our more heavily armed warriors.\nLEG GREAVES\nThe stylistic choices made in the other pieces of armor are tied together by the leg armor. The flow of the armor depends on this piece, even as the strength and agility of a soldier depend on their legs. Though protection is key, keep the knee flexible so that our troops can dodge both sword and magic on the field of battle.\nMACES\nYes, flanges can take many forms, and ours should once again draw upon the symbols of Auri-El. To wit, craft each flange's blade to resemble a wing. The knob, formed from the same metal as the blade, shows our reverence to the Eagle, as ever.\nSHIELDS\nMade of metal, our shields integrate feathering and eagle head styles, expressing our reverence for Auri-El as well as acknowledging the tenacity and freedom of our people. Make them heavy enough to lay low any foes unfortunate enough to receive a blow from one, but light enough to not drag the wings of our troops!\nSHOULDERS\nThe arms of our soldiers are their wings. Remember that when crafting shoulder armor. Each piece should incorporate the idea of feathers and flight even as they provide defense.\nSTAVES\nTwo gracefully curved blades come to points over a middle prong, almost looking as if the staff itself wants to take to the air. Or so that is what you should strive for in your work for our mages and healers. The metal on the staff's end can also serve to help them move over rougher terrain.\nSWORDS\nWhether two-handed or not, swords serve as the staple weapon in our forces. As such, the pommel provides another opportunity to use our emblematic eagle's head, and the guard should bring an ascending eagle to mind."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/page-1-0": {"series": "Dalaneth's Journal", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/page-1-0", "author": "Dalaneth", "title": "Page 1", "description": "Dalaneth follows a tale from the Spinners to discover secrets of the past", "text": "3rd First Seed\nFather led us to the site the spinner described. All I see are shrines to Mauloch, and it looks like the Drublog have lived here for decades. But if the spinner proclaimed this the site of our forefathers, then we'll make do.\n\tThe Orcs said other Bosmer used a cavern beneath the village as their shrine. I wonder what other Bosmer lived here? Not much is left of them.\nI've been helping Spinner Sandaerion write down our history. He doesn't write, but I learned when we were at the harbor for a time. Scribble, scribble, scribble! That's all I do now!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/page-2-0": {"series": "Dalaneth's Journal", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/page-2-0", "author": "Dalaneth", "title": "Page 2", "description": "Dalaneth follows a tale from the Spinners to discover secrets of the past", "text": "10th First Seed\nMet an interesting Orc. He'd been awkwardly looking away when I've seen him in the past few days. Orcs are usually so rough, but I noticed he carried a book, and asked him about it. After that, he forgot his shyness and we talked like old friends.\nWe shared a meal, and he told me his name. I'm not sure how to spell it, though.\nHe promised to bring me copies of their shaman's writings. Spinner Sandaerion will be pleased! I might give my new friend the glass blade I've been shaping."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/page-3-1": {"series": "Dalaneth's Journal", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/page-3-1", "author": "Dalaneth", "title": "Page 3", "description": "Dalaneth follows a tale from the Spinners to discover secrets of the past", "text": "22nd Rain's Hand\nUlagush's been teaching me so much about the Orcs. I never knew his clan moves as much as mine does. We were discussing the differences between Mauloch and Y'ffre, when Yarnag (their shaman) came in. He said there's no comparing Mauloch to any of our gods, and slapped me. Ulagush hit him back, and that's when I found out Ulagush's mother is their clan chieftain.\nChief Ulukhaz is furious and has called for a meeting with my father. They won't understand any of this."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/directions-cure-first-clue": {"series": "Directions to Cure", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/directions-cure-first-clue", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Directions to Cure, First Clue", "description": "", "text": "Follow the old road above.\nGo south until you reach the crystal sconce.\nTake a left at the arch.\nFind the platform by the lake."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/directions-cure-second-clue": {"series": "Directions to Cure", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/directions-cure-second-clue", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Directions to Cure, Second Clue", "description": "", "text": "Swim north between the two pillars.\nTurn right to the beach."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/directions-cure-final-clue": {"series": "Directions to Cure", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/directions-cure-final-clue", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Directions to Cure, Final Clue", "description": "", "text": "Unearth the key from the right most mound.\nEnter the door at the end of the lake."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/drakeeh-unchaineds-journal-page-12": {"series": "Drakeeh the Unchained's Journal", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/drakeeh-unchaineds-journal-page-12", "author": "Drakeeh the Unchained", "title": "Drakeeh the Unchained's Journal, Page 12", "description": "The journal of a Blackheart bandit leader tells of their hierarchy and a betrayal", "text": "For too long we fought with only our egg-siblings alongside us. Warriors of merit, yes, but few in number. Our power was limited, our scope miniscule; forced to crawl along the shadows like insects. We had degraded to become nothing more than bandits. A hindrance, nothing more.\nIt was I that saw the wisdom in change. To grow our numbers, to grow our influence, we needed allies. I allowed dryskins into our ranks, inviting them to add their strength to ours. And so the Blackguards grew, like a mighty storm, like a crashing wave.\nBut many clouded eyes looked out among our ranks. They questioned my leadership, blinded as they were by the old ways. They cried out in angry voices, rising louder and louder. I looked upon them calmly, for Sithis has taught me that change always leads to chaos, just as chaos leads to blood.\nAnd so my gauntlet was born. Any who questioned my decision would have their chance to test the combat prowess of our dryskin allies. And the very few who were able to succeed in such a challenge? They would face me. After all, it was my orders that they were questioning, my strength as a leader.\nLike Sithis before me, I became both destroyer and creator, slaughtering those who questioned and strengthening all who followed. And thus was the rebirth of the Blackguards."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/drakeeh-unchaineds-journal-page-17": {"series": "Drakeeh the Unchained's Journal", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/drakeeh-unchaineds-journal-page-17", "author": "Drakeeh the Unchained", "title": "Drakeeh the Unchained's Journal, Page 17", "description": "The journal of a Blackheart bandit leader tells of their hierarchy and a betrayal", "text": "It is not often that someone escapes us. Within the Blackguards, there is loyalty and there is death. So when someone manages to slip from my grasp, I tend not to forget.\nHe calls himself Seeks-the-Dark now, but I knew him to be Pimaxi-Taeed. Once he was egg-brother, warrior, Blackguard. Now he hides away in a den of thieves. Why he chose to return to Murkmire, I do not know. But I will make sure that he regrets such a decision, most adamantly.\nI had planned to force him to fight within my gauntlet. I relished in the idea of seeing him die before me, battered and broken. But when my scouts told me that his companion was seen lurking about my fortress, I knew what must be done.\nThough watching Pimaxi-Taeed die a slow, agonizing death would be satisfying, I feel that he and this Wood Elf must share a bond. So first, I will kill his heart. I will watch as the misery wells up within his eyes, knowing that he caused the death of one who obviously cares so deeply for him.\nDeath can come later. For now, I will write a letter and offer the Wood Elf a choice. Only then can my revenge be complete."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/drakeeh-unchaineds-journal-page-3": {"series": "Drakeeh the Unchained's Journal", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/drakeeh-unchaineds-journal-page-3", "author": "Drakeeh the Unchained", "title": "Drakeeh the Unchained's Journal, Page 3", "description": "The journal of a Blackheart bandit leader tells of their hierarchy and a betrayal", "text": "My grand-sire was chained within these very walls. He spoke a sharper tongue than I, but his heart was filled with the same venom. Taken from his home, the Imperials tried to bend him to their will. To break the unbreakable spirit of a Naga warrior.\nThey failed. Every insult hardened his resolve. Every lash of their whips sharpened his claws. Every chain they shackled upon him only added to his strength. He gathered his egg-siblings, and he sang a warrior's song into their hearts. Together, they took Blackrose Prison from the very Imperial scum who had wrapped them in chains.\nBut when the other tribes heard such a warrior song, they shrank back in fear. They looked upon the venom in my grand-sire's heart, and they thought him poisoned. They bid him to forget his anger, to forget the Imperial's transgressions. To dance once more beneath the leaves of the Hist, content to only gaze longingly at the horizon.\nMy grand-sire saw this for the foolishness it was. He had become raj-kaal, the war chief of a new tribe. He reclaimed the tools of those who oppressed them. Reclaimed the dryskins' prison to be his fortress, their weapons to be his strength, their armor to be his protection. And so the Blackguards were born, wielding the very chains that once confined them."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/drovos-research-notes-1": {"series": "Drovos Research Notes", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/drovos-research-notes-1", "author": "Drovos Nelvayn", "title": "Drovos Research Notes 1", "description": "", "text": "After many professional setbacks, I now believe I've found my calling to become, of all things, a kwama breeder. Still, this uncharted ground holds many possibilities. The science behind this field is pitiful, ineffective at worst and slow at best. My kwama breed must be stronger, healthier, longer lived. With my intellect I strive to create what will be, effectively, an entirely new race. A superior kwama, the likes of which Vvardenfell has never seen.\nI've set up my research in the Matus-Akin Egg Mine, owned by grasping House Hlaalu. They'll accept any proposal that promises to earn them more gold. Myself, I have little interest in wealth. Gold is easy to come by, but it's a legacy I mean to build. My name will be remembered and revered by all when my research is complete."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/drovos-research-notes-2": {"series": "Drovos Research Notes", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/drovos-research-notes-2", "author": "Drovos Nelvayn", "title": "Drovos Research Notes 2", "description": "", "text": "My current employers have seen fit to tether a leash to my neck. It takes the form of Ridena Devani. This so called \"sub-Tamrielic naturalist\" sees only danger where I see innovation. She cowers behind morals and ethics, like a child hiding behind her mother's skirts. She's already set on holding back my progress. I will have to think of a way to protect my research and my already evolving subjects.\nMy subjects. They come along excellently! Through mundane breeding methods and my brilliant alchemical creations, they've become hardier and more resolute than any other kwama. An unfortunate side effect causes an increase in aggression, but nothing is ever perfect. I've developed a scent for myself and the workers in order to keep them calm, but still Devani worries that they've become too violent. I'll have to find a way to get rid of her nagging, sooner rather than later."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/drovos-research-notes-2-0": {"series": "Drovos Research Notes", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/drovos-research-notes-2-0", "author": "Drovos Nelvayn", "title": "Drovos Research Notes 2", "description": "", "text": "My subjects have never been stronger, and there are still ways to prefect them. They shall be immune to every illness, live twice as long as their lesser kin. And my crowning achievement, the queen. Oh, yes, the queen I've developed will manifest all of the vitality of her colony and yield twice the eggs of any of her peers. No, she has no peers! This breed will be without equal in all of Vvardenfell, in all of Tamriel!\nThe mercenaries I've hired do not make for pleasant company, but they do grant me the security I need to ensure my research continues. I've already gotten rid of Devani, forcing her from the mines. She's taken to writing notes, turning my soldiers into carriers. I believe I will grant her request and allow her one last conversation."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ealcils-notes-page-1": {"series": "Ealcil's Notes", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ealcils-notes-page-1", "author": "Ealcil", "title": "Ealcil's Notes, Page 1", "description": "", "text": "Something's building\u2014something big. The air in Cat's Eye Quay positively crackles. It's nothing like the ancient energies at the Temple of the Mourning Springs. This is fresh, nearly bursting at the edges!\nThe carvings on these bodies clearly has something to do with it. Ritual magic, perhaps? I must investigate further."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ealcils-notes-page-2": {"series": "Ealcil's Notes", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ealcils-notes-page-2", "author": "Ealcil", "title": "Ealcil's Notes, Page 2", "description": "", "text": "It's no use. The rune-carvings are too deep into the subjects. None survive the process. Only the Maormer can tell me why these carvings matter, and they've proven somewhat resistant to my questioning.\nThe energies seem to flow toward the cave mouth at the end of Cat's Eye Quay. Could there be a connection with those serpent-shaped totems? I must learn their secrets!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ealcils-notes-page-3": {"series": "Ealcil's Notes", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ealcils-notes-page-3", "author": "Ealcil", "title": "Ealcil's Notes, Page 3", "description": "", "text": "Exhilarating! The howling, the lightning\u2014it's all energy drawn to the \"Storm Totems\" in that cave. But when I tried to enter, those fool Maormer collapsed the entrance!\nTo any Dominion personnel who find the addled skooma-smuggler with these orders, I seek another way into the cave complex. Approach if you see me about the quay so I may requisition your services in my search.\n\u2014 Ealcil"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/elsweyr-my-love-page-1": {"series": "Elsweyr My Love", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/elsweyr-my-love-page-1", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Elsweyr My Love, Page 1", "description": "A lecherous Imperial commander, a conflicted soldier, and a dancer caught in the middle", "text": "Elsweyr My Love: A Play\nCast of Characters\n\tJulius Cruilius, an Imperial Commander\n\tTigerius Falco, a noble Imperial Soldier\n\tShashara, a beautiful green-eyed Khajiit dancer\nAct 1, Senchal Palace\nJulius Cruilius [commanding]: \"Bid the green-eyed one come to me!\" [sips wine]\nShashara [bowing gracefully, her silken scarves fluttering delicately]: \"What does the illustrious commander of the Imperial forces want of this humble Khajiit dancer?\"\nJulius Cruilius: \"You are fair and graceful. Pity you were born of cat stock and not Imperial.\"\nShashara: [keeping her eyes downcast]: \"This one thanks you for... a compliment?\"\nJulius Cruilius: \"Indeed. You will keep me company. You may even sit at my feet.\" [Shashara sits gracefully, keeping her eyes averted]"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/elsweyr-my-love-page-5": {"series": "Elsweyr My Love", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/elsweyr-my-love-page-5", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Elsweyr My Love, Page 5", "description": "A lecherous Imperial commander, a conflicted soldier, and a dancer caught in the middle", "text": "Julius Cruilius: [boasting and inebriated]\"... and that is how I, Julius Cruilius, earned my current promotion to Imperial commander!\"\nShashara: [stifling a yawn] \"A very dramatic tale of the engagement, commander. Oh, I think I hear the bard tuning their lute. We should rejoin the crowd in the main room.\"\nJulius Cruilius: [leering as he finishes his wine and reaches for Shashara's arm] \"Now it is time for a different engagement.\"\nShashara: [gracefully eluding Cruilius's grasping hand] \"This one is not that kind of Khajiit, commander. You insult me.\"\nJulius Cruilius: [belligerent] \"Insult you? Do you know who I am?\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/elsweyr-my-love-page-9": {"series": "Elsweyr My Love", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/elsweyr-my-love-page-9", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Elsweyr My Love, Page 9", "description": "A lecherous Imperial commander, a conflicted soldier, and a dancer caught in the middle", "text": "Shashara: [bravely] \"Shashara is no camp trollop, to be ordered about by the likes of you. Unhand me, commander!\"\nJulius Cruilius: \"Ha! You cats! You pretend to be aloof and haughty, but no woman, even a cat woman, can resist me, Julius Cruilius!\n[Julius Cruilius tries to kiss Shashara, who hisses, scratches his face, and pushes him away]\nJulius Cruilius: \"Ha! Fiesty!\"\n[Shashara smashes a bottle of fine wine over Julius Cruilius's head, who staggers, stunned, into the crowded tavern, which erupts into laughter as Shashara flees out the back]\nJulius Cruilius: \"How dare you laugh at Julius Cruilius!\n[Crowd laughs harder as Cruilius exits, his anger and embarrassment both rising]"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/elsweyr-my-love-page-16": {"series": "Elsweyr My Love", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/elsweyr-my-love-page-16", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Elsweyr My Love, Page 16", "description": "A lecherous Imperial commander, a conflicted soldier, and a dancer caught in the middle", "text": "Tigerius Falco: \"Shashara? I came by the tavern earlier. I brought you the book that we discussed the other day. I thought you might wish for a copy of your own.\"\nShashara: \"This one is grateful for your kindness, Tigerius. Shashara cannot take your gift. This one... [breaks off, nearly sobbing, and exits.]\nTigerius Falco: [concerned, to himself] \"Whatever could be wrong with the lovely Shashara? Usually she likes to talk about books. She's so pretty, and smart, too.\nTigerius Falco: [calling out as he exits] \"Shashara, wait for me!\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/elsweyr-my-love-page-19": {"series": "Elsweyr My Love", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/elsweyr-my-love-page-19", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Elsweyr My Love, Page 19", "description": "A lecherous Imperial commander, a conflicted soldier, and a dancer caught in the middle", "text": "Tigerius Falco: [kneeling heroically] \"My dearest, soft-furred Shashara, your tears break my heart. And my heart is yours.\"\nShashara: [cries harder]\nTigerius Falco: [stands sadly] \"I understand. One as lovely as you should not waste her time on a lowly Imperial soldier. Please forgive me for blurting out my love for you.\"\nShashara: [reaches out with a graceful gesture to stop him from leaving]: \"No, my sweet Tigerius! Your words bring both sadness and joy to Shashara. Stay with this one, please.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/elsweyr-my-love-page-26": {"series": "Elsweyr My Love", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/elsweyr-my-love-page-26", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Elsweyr My Love, Page 26", "description": "A lecherous Imperial commander, a conflicted soldier, and a dancer caught in the middle", "text": "Tigerius Falco: \"Shashara, your green eyes are so green... like green-colored gems!\"\nShashara: \"Sweet Tigerious, this one wishes we never have to part.\"\nTigerius Falco: \"Your grace is a gift from the Divines, Shashara. I would do anything for you.\"\nShashara: \"Except leave the Imperial army.\"\nTigerius Falco: [shifts nervously] \"The army has been good to me. Took me in when I was an orphan on the streets of the Imperial City.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/elsweyr-my-love-page-36": {"series": "Elsweyr My Love", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/elsweyr-my-love-page-36", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Elsweyr My Love, Page 36", "description": "A lecherous Imperial commander, a conflicted soldier, and a dancer caught in the middle", "text": "Julius Cruilius: [stern and cold] \"Go now, Tigerius. Burn the town. Especially the tavern.\"\nTigerius Falco: \"Sir, if I may ask... the town and inhabitants have caused no trouble. Why are we burning it?\"\nJulius Cruilius: \"You are a soldier under my command. Do not question my orders!\"\nTigerius Falco: [saluting] \"As you command.\"\n[Tigerius leaves, a concerned look darkening his handsome face.]"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/elsweyr-my-love-page-42": {"series": "Elsweyr My Love", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/elsweyr-my-love-page-42", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Elsweyr My Love, Page 42", "description": "A lecherous Imperial commander, a conflicted soldier, and a dancer caught in the middle", "text": "Shashara: \"Tigerius! What are you doing here? Why do you have a torch?\"\nTigerius Falco: \"My commander ordered me to burn the town. Especially the tavern. I am so sorry, I know you work there.\"\nShashara: [with a dramatic sob] \"Julius Cruilius ordered you to harm the innocent people of this town? It is because of Shashara. This one did not welcome his lusty intentions. Shashara must warn her friends!\n[Shashara runs off.]"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/elsweyr-my-love-page-44": {"series": "Elsweyr My Love", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/elsweyr-my-love-page-44", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Elsweyr My Love, Page 44", "description": "A lecherous Imperial commander, a conflicted soldier, and a dancer caught in the middle", "text": "Tigerius Falco: [soliloquy] \"To follow orders or disobey them? A soldier's dilemma.\"\nTigerius Falco: [soliloquy, continued] \"If I follow my heart and save Shashara and the town, I must go against the orders of my commander. That will mean my execution.\"\nTigerius Falco: [soliloquy, continued] \"If I follow my orders, like the Imperial soldier that I am, it will mean the loss of Shashara. Shashara's regard and love mean the world to me. But my honor as a soldier is also pretty important.\"\nTigerius Falco: [soliloquy, continued] \"Yet where was Julius Cruilius's honor when he importuned the lovely Shashara? Is it more honorable to reject the commander's orders, since they in no way benefit the Empire?\"\nTigerius Falco: [soliloquy, continued] \"My head hurts.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/elsweyr-my-love-page-52": {"series": "Elsweyr My Love", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/elsweyr-my-love-page-52", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Elsweyr My Love, Page 52", "description": "A lecherous Imperial commander, a conflicted soldier, and a dancer caught in the middle", "text": "Julius Cruilius: \"Tigerius Falco, you did not follow my orders, but you will follow this one. I order you to be executed!\"\nTigerius Falco: [tied and bound] \"I did the right thing. You ordered the town burned because you were spur\u2014\"\nJulius Cruilius: [shouting over Tigerius] \"Archers! At the ready... and loose your arrows!\"\nShashara: [runs in and leaps in front of Tigerious]: \"Nooo!\"\n[Arrows pepper Shashara and she collapses at Tigerious's feet.]\nTigerius Falco: [in horror] \"Shasharrrra!\"\n[Tigerius drops to his knees next to Shashara.]\nShashara: [pained] \"It was not... our fate... to be together. Perhaps another time... or elsewhere, my love.\"\n[Shashara dies.]\nTigerius Falco:\"Noooooooooo!\"\nJulius Cruilius: \"Archers! Another volley!\"\n[Arrows strike Tigerius Falco, who collapses, dead.]"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/epistle-spirits-amun-dro-vol-1": {"series": "Epistle on the Spirits of Amun-dro", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/epistle-spirits-amun-dro-vol-1", "author": "Thava-ko", "title": "Epistle on the Spirits of Amun-dro Vol 1", "description": "A priest's refutation of an ancient, heretical text", "text": "Thava-ko sings now a song of Riddle'Thar. Let its sweetest truth rest upon Thava-ko's tongue.\nHear Thava-ko's voice, children of the Two-Moons Dance. Word reaches us in the Torval Curiata that an ancient book\u2014a pre-ri'Datta catalog of spirits, assembled by an ancient priest named Amun-dro\u2014has captured the imaginations of Khajiit throughout Pellitine. Our people seem taken with its colorful and otherworldly descriptions of powerful spirits, both good and evil. Adepts from far and wide have come to Thava-ko with curious hearts and twitching tails, asking why they were not taught these old scriptures. We Khajiit are a curious and playful people, but some subjects carry great risk. We cannot, in good conscience, allow this heretical document to fester in the minds of light-minded ja'Khajiit. For that reason, Thava-ko and her fellow priests publish this refutation. Spread this far and wide, faithful litter of Rid-Thar-ri'Datta.\nIn the dark times before the First Mane's revelation, our forebears held scattered beliefs\u2014sixteen faiths that tumbled and scratched their way through history, competing for the souls of all Khajiit. This spiritual chaos led us down many paths, all of which carried great risk. You need only look upon our bent kin, the dro-m'Athra, to find the proof of these perils. This book of profanities is the product of those dark times. Shall we return to the era of sixteen wars, and hunter-fiefs, and pitiless famine? No, and no, and no again! In the truth of Riddle'Thar, we find more than spiritual fulfillment. We find a rock to build upon\u2014an end to the shifting sands of old. We find a better path through peace and order.\nThis old text carries greater danger because it hides its blasphemies under a shroud of truth. Many of its attestations walk paw-in-paw with Riddle'Thar, such as its praise for the Moons, and its deference to the blessed spirits: Khenarthi, S'rendarr, and others. But its darker fables lay hidden like snares. Take, for instance, its account of the Moon Beast, Lorkhaj.\nWho knows noisy Lorkhaj's darkness better than the Khajiit? We all suffer the call to the Dark at some point in our lives. Who among us has not heard the beating drum of the Dark Heart in our moments of deepest sorrow or most anguished regret? To lift up the first dro-m'Athra as a hero of our people defies both faith and reason. How many adepts shall fall to Namiira on account of this document? How many ja'khajiit will call on the Moon Beast, intent on reviving his true spirit, only to be swallowed by his eternal curse? Any thief can tell you that the surest path to a victim's purse starts with a smile. A smiling Lorkhaj is too dangerous to contemplate."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/epistle-spirits-amun-dro-vol-2": {"series": "Epistle on the Spirits of Amun-dro", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/epistle-spirits-amun-dro-vol-2", "author": "Thava-ko", "title": "Epistle on the Spirits of Amun-dro Vol 2", "description": "A priest's refutation of an ancient, heretical text", "text": "Thava-ko sings now a song of Riddle'Thar. Let its sweetest truth rest upon Thava-ko's tongue.\nOne of our people's greatest strengths lies in our flexibility. We do not jail free-thinkers as Dark Elves do. We do not decry salads as a blasphemy like the stubby acorn-worshipers of Valenwood. We do not pledge our souls only to eight dusty myths like the furless litters of long-dead Alessia. To be a Khajiit is to be free\u2014free of cruel dogma, and free of bitter self-denial. Riddle'Thar does not kneel and mumble, it dances and sings! Ours is a faith rooted in joy, and faithful indulgence, and grinning charity. Alas, this strength often slides into shrugging disregard. We let our claws slip from the truth and wonder if \"truth\" even matters. Worship and transaction fall into eclipse. Well-earned relaxation gives way to a kitten's indolence. Our spirits grow poor. And a spirit so afflicted makes itself the perfect prey for the dro-m'Athra.\nAmun-dro's catalogue of spirits preys on the worst aspects of our carefree natures. Take the inclusion of Mafala, the Eight-Clawed. Were the bloody horrors of the Sinner Suicides not proof enough of her dark nature? Consider also the Tide-King, Hermorah. This document would have us believe that Azurah walks the dampened halls of his dark library as friend. If our distant mother does this, should we not do the same? No! For Khajiit who call on Hermorah's counsel risk a fate worse than death. Mumbles from the sea will tear a mind asunder as surely as the most potent skooma. His briny \"truths\" shred our sense of reality and set us adrift\u2014far from ja-Kha'jay.\nWe must also consider who this catalog of spirits excludes. These books offer the rosiest descriptions of malevolent beings, but what of loving Mara and noble S'rendarr? This ancient zealot, Amun-dro, fails even to mention their names. And why? Because his aged theology offers no refuge for simple virtues like charity, humility, and love. Our beloved Rid-Thar-ri'Datta offered us more than Clan Mother tales\u2014he offered us grace. In a world so crowded by great spirits and grand cosmic plans, where does the simple Khajiit rest his weary paws? The Two-Moons Dance speaks plainly. It has no need for ancient conflicts\u2014only simple precepts that lead to a life well-lived. In the end, a joyful life is the greatest gift of the Riddle'Thar."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/epistle-spirits-amun-dro-vol-3": {"series": "Epistle on the Spirits of Amun-dro", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/epistle-spirits-amun-dro-vol-3", "author": "Thava-ko", "title": "Epistle on the Spirits of Amun-dro Vol 3", "description": "A priest's refutation of an ancient, heretical text", "text": "Thava-ko sings now a song of Riddle'Thar. Let its sweetest truth rest upon Thava-ko's tongue.\nNow Thava-ko thinks on the Path.\nThe ancient Amun-dro's catalog of spirits offers us little more than vagaries when it comes to moral action. This comes as no surprise. In truth, the First Mane's epiphany had little to do with the aged stories of kingdoms past. Before Riddle'Thar, priests and adepts busied themselves deciphering the arcane ramblings of ancient prophets\u2014gleaning precious little from vast and crumbling archives. How like pearl divers they were! Prying open countless ugly shells in the vain hope of finding some tiny treasure within.\nYou must ask yourselves, what profits a Khajiit to puzzle over such a text? You who wield the scythe. You who drive the wagons. You who work the forge. Do these tales of cosmic import bring you solace in your darkest moments? When you turn to thievery to feed a sick child, or watch your father whip your brother for a sin you committed, or struggle under the heel of a foreign oppressor, what guidance can you find in these old myths? They speak of \"paths\" and \"laws,\" but Amun-dro's path is little more than this: obedience. Slavish devotion to our distant mother, Azurah. Deference and respect for darkest spirits of Oblivion. Tangled, contradictory virtues that threaten to send one tumbling whisker-first into the gaping maw of Lorkhaj. Amun-dro's world is a world of woe\u2014a swirling gyre of fate and darkness where the Khajiit have no voice beyond hymns of worship or screams of terror.\nWhat of Llesw'er? What of joy, and good food, and honest labor? Riddle'Thar, as described by our blessed First Man, offers a true path. Better yet, it is a path you already know. The Two-Moons Dance whirls and reels in your heart, just as it always has since the moment of your birth. You needn't look to the distant past. Look to the now, and the road ahead\u2014tread clean by the paws of faithful pilgrims. Nirni's bounty and the Sands of paradise are your birthright, Moon-child. Cast aside Amun-dro's morbid tales and live a joyful life worthy of the Sugar God!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/page-1-1": {"series": "Everfull Flagon Journal", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/page-1-1", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Page 1", "description": "The personal journal of the Flagon proprieter", "text": "Business is dismal. Today I poured two mugs of mead. Just two. And one of the mugs was for me.\nWhy did I open a tavern in this tiny, lonely village? I thought that after a hard day's labor, people would want to drink and sing. But even the smith, who must work up a thirst, rarely comes in.\nI would pray for a miracle, but who would listen to the prayers of a simple tavern owner who's down on his luck?"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/page-2-1": {"series": "Everfull Flagon Journal", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/page-2-1", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Page 2", "description": "The personal journal of the Flagon proprieter", "text": "An interesting fellow stopped by today. A mage of some sort, I think. Sat in a corner, kept his hood drawn over his features. At first, he was grim and kept to himself. After a mead, however, he asked about the village and my tavern. I confess, it felt good to unburden myself.The fellow listened sympathetically and indicated there might be a way to improve my situation.\nHe said he might know how to turn things around. To get customers in the door and make them stay for a while. He said he would return after he thought about the problem and consulted his books.\nI can't wait to hear what he comes up with. I'd give anything to make this tavern successful."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/page-3-2": {"series": "Everfull Flagon Journal", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/page-3-2", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Page 3", "description": "The personal journal of the Flagon proprieter", "text": "I made the bargain.\n\tThe Special Blend is as popular as promised.\n\tBusiness is booming, but at what cost?\n\tWhat have I done?"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/famia-merciuss-journal-part-1": {"series": "Famia Mercius's Journal", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/famia-merciuss-journal-part-1", "author": "Famia Mercius", "title": "Famia Mercius's Journal, Part 1", "description": "The main quest giver for Murkmire tells the DLC's story and gushes about the player", "text": "I can scarcely believe my luck! After soliciting adventurers every day for a month, I finally found a genuine hero! I do mean that in the classical sense. In the short period I've known them, this warrior has displayed boundless cunning, bravery, and strength. Truthfully, I would probably be thoroughly dissolved if I hadn't made their acquaintance when I did!\nWe finally mounted our long-delayed expedition into the Ixtaxh xanmeer, you see. Things took a turn for the dire almost immediately. Luckily, our hero and I managed to navigate the ruin's many perils and recover the Kajin-Jat Crystal! I think I saw Kassandra smile when she placed it in her display case. A rare sight indeed!\nOf course, our joy is tempered by recent developments with the Blackguards. Somehow, those ruffians learned about our search for the Remnant of Argon. They even went so far as to kidnap members of our organization! Luckily, our newest member, my dear friend, Xukas, and a Dead-Water warrior named Jaxsik-Orrn managed to rescue them. I'm relieved to have my friends back safe, but remain very concerned about how much progress those Blackguard scallywags have made toward locating the Remnant. Hopefully, this new hero can give us the edge we need to find it first!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/famia-merciuss-journal-part-2": {"series": "Famia Mercius's Journal", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/famia-merciuss-journal-part-2", "author": "Famia Mercius", "title": "Famia Mercius's Journal, Part 2", "description": "The main quest giver for Murkmire tells the DLC's story and gushes about the player", "text": "So much has happened since my last journal entry! As I scribble down these words, Kassandra's riverboat ferries me, Xukas, Jaxsik-Orrn, Kassandra, and Whiptail to the Ree-An-Wo, or \"Swallowed Grove\"! Mara's heart, I'm getting ahead of myself again.\nOnce again, Cyrodilic Collections' newest member proved instrumental. Acting in concert with Xukas and Jaxsik-Orrn, they discovered that essential information about the Remnant of Argon was tucked away in ancient relics belonging to the Bright-Throat and Dead-Water Tribes. Each tribal relic provided one half of a riddle\u2014a riddle I managed to solve! From what I can tell, we must travel to the Swallowed Grove and conduct something called a \"dream-wallow\" ritual. I have no idea what this ritual will teach us. I can only hope that it directs us to the Remnant itself. We'll learn soon enough, I guess. I can hardly wait!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/famia-merciuss-journal-part-3": {"series": "Famia Mercius's Journal", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/famia-merciuss-journal-part-3", "author": "Famia Mercius", "title": "Famia Mercius's Journal, Part 3", "description": "The main quest giver for Murkmire tells the DLC's story and gushes about the player", "text": "At long last, a moment to write! So much has transpired since our journey into the Swallowed Grove, I hardly know where to begin.\nXukas and Jaxsik-Orrn's dream-wallow ritual certainly lived up to the fantastical anecdotes they told me. After inhaling a potent alchemical smoke, our new friend drifted into vivid visions of the past and learned that the Remnant was actually the creation of a lost Argonian tribe. Long ago, a band of Barsaebic Ayleids raided the tribe's village, threatening to wipe out the Argonians who dwelt there, and consume their souls for good measure! Fortunately, the Argonian elders managed to create a vessel to store and protect the souls of their tribe\u2014the Remnant of Argon.\nNo sooner had we learned this truth, than Kassandra betrayed us! She filched a magic staff that manifested during the ritual, and ran off (with me in tow!)\nThe next few hours were pure horror. Her spooky henchman, Whiptail, proved even worse than I thought. He even tried to sacrifice me to Sithis! Thank goodness, my new friend intervened just in time, and rescued me from that Blackguard brute.\nAfter a number of unexpected turns, and a lengthy chase, my friend and I caught up with Kassandra. Alas, too late to save her from herself. She touched the Remnant, and found herself bound to a massive Mireguant. She gained control of the creature for a time, but our hero still managed to defeat her. I remain dreadfully conflicted about the whole thing. Kassandra clearly had to be stopped, but I can't help but feel that I failed her in some way. Had I only recognized her madness beforehand, she might still be alive. It's a sad business.\nIn any event, once Kassandra fell, I took up the Remnant and urged Xukas, Jaxsik-Orrn, and our hero to reach inside it. Truthfully, I barely remember it. Something in the Hist took hold of me. It was not painful, but nor was it comfortable. A person like me isn't meant to hold something like that for long!\nI wasn't privy to all that happened inside the Remnant, and I'm still reeling from the loss of a friend. But it buoys my spirits to know that their sacrifice was not in vain. The Root-Whisper Hist just burst into full bloom, and a new tribe gathered beneath its branches. A new beginning\u2014even for me. Without Kassandra's support and leadership, Cyrodilic Collections will not be what it was. But after all I've seen and been through, I'm more confident than ever that we can make it something even greater than before. I can't wait for our next adventure!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fire-and-darkness-brotherhoods-death-part-1": {"series": "Fire and Darkness", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fire-and-darkness-brotherhoods-death-part-1", "author": "Ynir Gorming", "title": " Fire and Darkness: The Brotherhoods of Death, Part 1", "description": "A history of the Dark Brotherhood and the Morag Tong in two parts", "text": "\"Brother, I still call you brother for we share our bonds of blood, tested but unbroken by hatred. Even if I am murdered, which seems inevitable now, know that, brother. You and I are not innocents, so our benedictions of mutual enmity is not tragedy, but horror. This state of silent, shadowed war, of secret poisons and sleeping men strangled in their beds, of the sudden arrow and the artful dagger, has no end that I can see. No possibility for peace. I see the shadows in the room move though the flame of my candle is steady. I know the signs that I \u2026\"\nThis note was found where it had fallen beneath the floorboards of an abandoned house in the Nord village of Jallenheim in the 358th year of the Second Era. It was said that a quiet cobbler lived in the house, whispered by some to be a member of the dread Morag Tong, the assassin's guild outlawed throughout Tamriel thirty-four years previously. The house itself was perfectly in order, as if the cobbler had simply vanished. There was a single drop of blood on the note.\nThe Dark Brotherhood had paid a call.\nThis note and others like it are rare. Both the Morag Tong and its hated child, the Dark Brotherhood, are scrupulous about leaving no evidence behind\u2014their members know that to divulge secrets of their orders is a lethal infraction. This obviously makes the job of the historian seeking to trace their histories very difficult.\nThe Morag Tong, according to most scholars, had been a facet of the culture of Morrowind almost since its beginning. After all, the history of Resdayn, the ancient name of Morrowind, is rife with assassination, blood sacrifice, and religious zealotry, hallmarks of the order. It is commonly said that the Morag Tong then as now murdered for the glory of the Daedra Prince Mephala, but common assumptions are rarely completely accurate. It is my contention that the earliest form of the Tong additionally worshiped an even older and more malevolent deity than Mephala. As terrifying as that Prince of Oblivion is, they had and have reverence for a far greater evil.\nWrits of assassination from the first era offer rare glimpses into the Morag Tong's earliest philosophy. They are as matter of fact as current day writs, but many contain snatches of poetry which have perplexed our scholars for hundreds of years. \"Lisping sibilant hisses,\" \"Ether's sweet sway,\" \"Rancid kiss of passing sin,\" and other strange, almost insane insertions into the writs were codes for the name of the person to be assassinated, his or her location, and the time at which death was to come.\n\tThey were also direct references to the divine spirit called Sithis."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fire-and-darkness-brotherhoods-death-part-2": {"series": "Fire and Darkness", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fire-and-darkness-brotherhoods-death-part-2", "author": "Ynir Gorming", "title": " Fire and Darkness: The Brotherhoods of Death, Part 2", "description": "A history of the Dark Brotherhood and the Morag Tong in two parts", "text": "Evidence of the Morag Tong's expertise in assassination seems scarcely necessary. The few instances of someone escaping a murder attempt by them are always remarkable and rare, proving that they were and are patient, capable murderers who use their tools well. A fragment of a letter found among the effects of a well-known armorer has been sealed in our vaults for some time. It was likely penned by an unknown Tong assassin ordering weapons for his order, and offers some illumination into what they looked for in their blades, as well the mention of Vounoura, the island where the Tong sent its agents in retirement\u2014\n\"I congratulate you on your artistry, and the balance and heft of your daggers. The knife blade is whisper thin, elegantly wrought, but impractical. It must have a bolder edge, for arteries, when cut, have a tendency to self-seal, preventing adequate blood loss. I will be leaving Vounoura in two weeks' time to inspect your new tools, hoping they will be more satisfactory.\"\nThe Morag Tong spread quietly throughout Tamriel in the early years of the Second Era, worshiping Mephala and Sithis with blood, as they had always done.\nWhen the Morag Tong assassinated the Emperor Reman in the year 2920 of the First Era, and his successor, Potentate Versidue-Shae in the 324th year of the Second Era, the assassins so long in the shadows were suddenly thrust into the light. They had become brazen, drunk with murder, literally painting the words \"MORAG TONG\" on the wall in the Potentate's blood.\nThe Morag Tong was instantly and unanimously outlawed in all corners of Tamriel, with the exception of its home province of Morrowind. There they continued to operate with the blessings of the Houses, apparently cutting off all contact with their satellite brothers to the west. There they continue their quasi-legal existence, accepting black writs and murdering with impunity.\nMost scholars believe that the birth of the Dark Brotherhood, the secular, murder-for-profit order of assassins, was as a result of a religious schism in the Morag Tong. Given the secrecy of both cults, it is difficult to divine the exact nature of it, but certain logical assumptions can be made.\nIn order to exist, the Morag Tong must have appealed to the highest power in Morrowind, which at that time, the Second Era, could only have been the Tribunal of Almalexia, Sotha Sil, and Vivec. Mephala, whom the Tong worshipped with Sithis, was said to have been the Anticipation of Vivec. Is it not logical to assume that in exchange for toleration of their continued existence, the Tong would have ceased their worship of Mephala in exchange for the worship of Vivec?\nThe Morag Tong continues, as we know, to worship Sithis. The Dark Brotherhood is not considered a religious order by most, merely a secular organization, offering murder for gold. I have seen, however, proof positive in the form of writs to the Brotherhood that Sithis is still revered above all.\nSo where, the reader, asks, is the cause for the schism? How could a silent war have begun, when both groups are so close? Both assassin's guilds, after all, worship Sithis. And yet, a figure emerges from history who should give those with this assumption pause.\nThe Night Mother.\nWho the Night Mother is, where she came from, what her functions are, no one knows. Carlovac Townway in his generally well-researched historical fiction 2920: The Last Year of the First Era tries to make her the leader of the Morag Tong. But she is never historically associated with the Tong, only the Dark Brotherhood.\nThe Night Mother, my dear friend, is Mephala. The Dark Brotherhood of the west, unfettered by the orders of the Tribunal, continue to worship Mephala. They may not call her by her name, but the Daedra of murder, sex, and secrets is their leader still. And they did not, and still do not, to this day, forgive their brethren for casting her aside.\nThe cobbler who met his end in the Second Era, who saw no end in the war between the Brotherhood and the Tong, was correct. In the shadows of the Empire, the Brothers of Death remain locked in combat, and they will likely remain that way forever."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gjarmas-orders-supplies": {"series": "Gjarma's Orders", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gjarmas-orders-supplies", "author": "Gjarma Raven-Hair", "title": "Gjarma's Orders: Supplies", "description": "Cultists prepare for a ritual", "text": "Let your lot fill their pouches, but the necromancers will need bodies for the plan to work. Ten cart-loads should be enough.\n\tAnd look for bodies in the streets before you go about making any new ones. If the people of Haven see us bashing down their doors and dragging out corpses, they'll find courage beneath their fear.\n\u2014 Gjarma Raven-Hair"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gjarmas-orders-wamasu": {"series": "Gjarma's Orders", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gjarmas-orders-wamasu", "author": "Gjarma Raven-Hair", "title": "Gjarma's Orders: Wamasu", "description": "Cultists prepare for a ritual", "text": "I don't care how, but I want that drugged wamasu out of the hold and under Haven. It should fit through the old Imperial aquifer outside the city walls. If we can't secure our escape route before the ritual completes, we're sunk.\nAnd don't jostle it! If it wakes angry, it starts melting support columns. We don't want the city to come down until after we're gone.\n\u2014 Gjarma Raven-Hair"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gjarmas-orders-yngold": {"series": "Gjarma's Orders", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gjarmas-orders-yngold", "author": "Gjarma Raven-Hair", "title": "Gjarma's Orders: Yngold", "description": "Cultists prepare for a ritual", "text": "I understand your concern about lack of supplies for the ritual. But you're forgetting there's a local Mages Guild to raid for stores.\nOnce you confirm they have the goods, send me word so we know to proceed.\n\u2014 Gjarma Raven-Hair"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gold-coast-guide-part-one": {"series": "Gold Coast Guide", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gold-coast-guide-part-one", "author": "Astinia Isauricus", "title": "Gold Coast Guide, Part One", "description": "A guide to western Cyrodiil, aimed at tourists, set in the tI'm of Emperor Leovic", "text": "The Gold Coast serves as a wonderful destination for travelers that seek the most interesting sights in Cyrodiil and enjoy the fine weather and sandy yellow beaches of Anvil. While caution is always warranted whenever traveling abroad, the visionary polices and leadership of Emperor Leovic have dramatically increased safety across our shores. The Emperor himself often vacations with us, and there is no better time than now to take that trip you've always desired to the temperate Gold Coast.\nWith bright sun and clear waves, the Gold Coast enjoys a pleasant climate fueled by warmer currents from the Abecean Sea. We offer a verdant paradise perfect for a hearty sort looking for true adventure on a reasonable budget. The Imperial Navy, tasked by our great Emperor with patrolling the Abecean Sea and ensuring safety and security across the region, makes its home port in Anvil, and no pirate dares challenge our Emperor's might. His capable, well-armed navy and accomplished soldiers ensure your safety.\nThis guide will familiarize you with the Gold Coast's history and its many wonderful travel destinations.\n* * *\nA Fertile Land Bound by Two Great Rivers\nTwo rivers of significant size border the Gold Coast. To the north, the Brena River separates Cyrodiil from Hammerfell, and to the south, the Strid River marks the border with Valenwood. Both rivers are crucial trade routes to the interior of the continent. In years past, numerous pirate clans laid claim to both rivers, but the presence of the Imperial Navy has put an end to such activities.\nTo truly appreciate the scale of our great rivers, one must witness the bustle of good-laden galleons sailing up and down the Brena and the Strid at the peak of trade season. While we welcome you to sail our rivers in summer, we advise against winter visits. In those months, humidity and fog make the rivers most unpleasant.\n* * *\nThe Beauty and Mystery of the Western Uplands\nMuch of the Gold Coast interior consists of rocky highlands and low mountains dotted with trees, including dense oak, beech, and ash forests in the foothills. These areas make for perfect hiking tours or guided expeditions to our many ancient ruins, which are of particular interest to scholars and historians. As much of Colovia's wealth comes from logging, our lumber magnates maintain operations across the Gold Coast. Colovian wood remains in great demand for construction and weaponry.\nOur highlands are also prone to heavy seasonal fog, which has sparked a number of superstitions, including tales of \"bull men\" stalking our ruins! While these are merely rumors spread by bandits inhabiting the highlands, we do suggest you carry weapons or travel with an armed escort. In the Gold Coast, your safety is our paramount concern, and we work hard to make your stay as pleasant and enjoyable as possible."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gold-coast-guide-part-two": {"series": "Gold Coast Guide", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gold-coast-guide-part-two", "author": "Astinia Isauricus", "title": "Gold Coast Guide, Part Two", "description": "A guide to western Cyrodiil, aimed at tourists, set in the tI'm of Emperor Leovic", "text": "The Historic City of Kvatch\nThe hilltop city of Kvatch is one of the oldest Colovian cities in Cyrodiil, with a rich history and vibrant tradition. The inhabitants of Kvatch enjoy a reputation for being well-read and pleasant, as well as conservative and pious. For those devout travelers who wish to commune with or learn more about the Divines, the priests of Kvatch welcome pilgrims for devotions and worship with open arms.\nThe legendary Great Cathedral of Akatosh dominates Kvatch's skyline, with an awe-inspiring profile and elegant interior. With shrines to each of the Divines, the Cathedral draws visitors from far and wide to gaze upon its majesty and beauty.The venerable Order of the Hour, protectors of the Primate of Akatosh and the Cathedral, can often be seen going about their duties in and around the Cathedral. They supplement the efforts of the Kvatch Warders, who have kept watch over the city for generations. Between the two groups, Kvatch remains one of the safest places in all of the Empire.\nBut don't think Kvatch serves only as a destination for worship and reflection. It also hosts one of the oldest fighting pits in Tamriel - the legendary Kvatch Arena. While no arena can rival the one in Imperial City, many of that arena's best fighters got their start right here on the Gold Coast. Enjoying a match at the Kvatch Arena provides a great opportunity to see novice fighters before they earn a place in Imperial City.\n* * *\nThe Cosmopolitan Paradise of Anvil\nThe port of call when journeying to the Gold Coast, Anvil is the crown jewel of the Abecean Sea!\nAs the Gold Coast's finest port city, Anvil hosts retreats for royalty and dignitaries from across Cyrodiil and beyond. The wise and noble Count Ephrem Benirus bears the title of Imperial Prefect and governs this fine city at the pleasure of the Emperor, who often visits during the summer months. A lucky visitor may witness our great Emperor Leovic waving to his loyal subjects from the balcony of Anvil Castle.\nTravelers from all over come to take advantage of the wonderful open air markets, filled with curiosities and delicacies from across Tamriel. Others come to dine at the many fine eateries. Still others frolic on the sandy beaches and swim the clear waters of the Abecean Sea. While the city has many luxurious accommodations for noble families and those of means, some of the citizenry also cater to visitors with a smaller purse, offering guest rooms in their own cozy, beach-front cottages.\nUltimately, there is no more desirable travel destination than the temperate and beautiful Gold Coast. Whether you come on a pilgrimage to the Great Cathedral of Akatosh, stay to enjoy the exciting fights at the Kvatch Arena, delve into our ancient ruins, or take in the metropolitan splendor of Anvil, you will find the luxuries and adventures you seek on the edge of the Abecean Sea. Come soon. We look forward to seeing you!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gorlars-journal-part-one": {"series": "Gorlar's Journal", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gorlars-journal-part-one", "author": "Gorlar the Dark", "title": "Gorlar's Journal, Part One", "description": "A would-be necromancer's journal", "text": "I have reached the fabled ruins known as Thukhozod's Sanctum. Soon, my dream of becoming as great and immortal a necromancer as Thukhozod will come to pass. The Great One will see my talent and recognize my desire. He will know that I am a kindred spirit yearning to learn the secrets of the dead.\nAs required by the ancient traditions, I sent a zombie of my own creation into the ruins to present myself and offer my petition for apprenticeship. That was yesterday, and still no word from the ruins. Have I somehow offended the Great One? Was my creation inferior in some way?\nEnough waiting! No one ignores Gorlar the Dark, not even the powerful Thukhozod! I'm going to break protocol and enter the ruins without an invitation. Then the Great One will have to confront me. We'll see who ignores whom when I'm face to face with the legend."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gorlars-journal-part-two": {"series": "Gorlar's Journal", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/gorlars-journal-part-two", "author": "Gorlar the Dark", "title": "Gorlar's Journal, Part Two", "description": "A would-be necromancer's journal", "text": "The great and powerful Thukhozod? Ha! He's a fraud, an illusion without form or substance. Here I was, ready to meet the legendary Thukhozod, the immortal necromancer who is feared throughout the land, and you cannot imagine my utter disappointment. There is no Thukhozod, there is only Gorlar!\nThe so-called immortal was nothing more than a sickly old Orc, frail and wasted from age and disease. He had no more power than an insolent child and instead of holding me in awe and terror, he was clearly afraid of me! It took hardly any effort on my part to wrest control of his undead horde and claim possession of the sanctum. Unfortunately, in my anger and disappointment, I wound up killing the fragile old Orc. If he had any secrets left to teach me, he took them with him to the Ashen Forge.\nUnless\u2014\nI wonder if I can determine a method for not only raising his dead form but extracting the knowledge he possessed in life? At least, the process will keep me busy.\nInteresting. A young Orc just arrived. Apparently, he's also come in search of Thukhozod. Well, Gorlar the Dark doesn't want to share the spoils with anyone. I'll have my skeletons take care of this while I continue my work."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/page-3-3": {"series": "Hadmal's Journal", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/page-3-3", "author": "Hadmal Lastblood", "title": "Page 3", "description": "Fragments from Hadmal's journal", "text": "\u2014But I ended it. I buried them all. In different places. Made sure they'd never be together again.\nThe firstborn, Jolinne. I laid her to rest in her favorite place to play as a child. I still remember her playing tag with her sisters in that alleyway. She'd hide behind the strange stones and surprise anyone who walked by.\nThey'd be mad at first, but then they'd see her smile and move on, headed for the Sober Nord or Merchant's Row. She was such a playful child before\u2014"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/page-7-1": {"series": "Hadmal's Journal", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/page-7-1", "author": "Hadmal Lastblood", "title": "Page 7", "description": "Fragments from Hadmal's journal", "text": "\u2014The second-born, Fjorna. I laid her to rest in the shrine dedicated to the things she grew up dreaming about.\nDragons. Whenever we visited the springs at Wittestadr, Fjorna would insist that we stop at the nearby ruins to pay our respects to the fabled creatures. She said she could sense their presence. She'd run off to the same spot every time. A smalI clearing behind a strange, curved slab of stone. She liked that spot. I hope she'll be at peace there.\nIf only her mother\u2014"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/page-12-1": {"series": "Hadmal's Journal", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/page-12-1", "author": "Hadmal Lastblood", "title": "Page 12", "description": "Fragments from Hadmal's journal", "text": "\u2014before this had ever been so hard.\nThe third-born, Valdia. My little girl. My darling. For her, the only place that would suit was where I took her each year on her day of birth. To ride the horses at a little place in southern Eastmarch. The stablemaster would always welcome her, and my Valdia would be so happy. She'd sit by the small pond near the house and she'd pick those beautiful red flowers. She loved it there and horses were her favorite animals in the world. Which is why I wa\u2014"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/heetzasis-journal-page-1": {"series": "Heetzasi's Journal", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/heetzasis-journal-page-1", "author": "Heetzasi", "title": "Heetzasi's Journal, Page 1", "description": "", "text": "More money getting thrown around, looking for the R.\nBetter chance of finding Sanguine's arse in a temple of Mara.\nHe's getting pushy again. I stand my ground, but I've heard things about him. Dark things. Wish I could sort things out with Kassandra."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/heetzasis-journal-page-2": {"series": "Heetzasi's Journal", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/heetzasis-journal-page-2", "author": "Heetzasi", "title": "Heetzasi's Journal, Page 2", "description": "", "text": "More poking around. Scars to prove it.\nLocals don't \"know\" about R. Not information they pass down. It's all Hist-knowledge. Instinct. Nothing concrete. Makes my job harder. I hate working hard.\nBlackguards have the right idea. Take things from tribes\u2014things they use to talk to their Hist. Try to find the R that way. But they're crazy to try it on the Dead-Water. Those Nagas won't stand for them stealing relics and such. Their funeral, I guess.\nHe's coming by again today. Says he needs to make introductions."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/heetzasis-journal-page-3": {"series": "Heetzasi's Journal", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/heetzasis-journal-page-3", "author": "Heetzasi", "title": "Heetzasi's Journal, Page 3", "description": "", "text": "Beelishalus ... 5 gold\nCarga Flavonius ... 7 gold\nHihup ... 3 gold, 2 fishing nets (why?)\nThat Orc with the Harelip (name?) ... 18 gold"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/house-reveries-history": {"series": "House of Reveries", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/house-reveries-history", "author": "Quill", "title": "House of Reveries: The History", "description": "A primer for those wishing to join the House of Reveries", "text": "A Primer for Hopeful Recruits\n\tBy Quill, House of Reveries Archivist\nWelcome, dear heart, to the House of Reveries, home of the greatest players in Summerset! Perhaps aspirations of fame brought you here, or dreams of fortune. Perhaps mere curiosity or a need to belong. Nonetheless, before you undergo the extensive audition process to join our grand troupe, you must understand our order. And like all great plays, the best place to start is always at the beginning.\nA High Elf of noble intentions, and more than likely noble heritage, founded the House of Reveries. Grand Maestro Ingress was a leader of extraordinary vision and significant wealth, and it's she that sets the prelude to our great story. Though there are many plays, poems, and songs dedicated to her honor, all tell the same tale of her dedication and passion to the art of performance. But rather than stemming from a need to create something new, our first Grand Maestro's dedication grew from a distaste of the old.\nBefore she was ever a Grand Maestro, our founder was but a simple mer of great passion. Many say her father nurtured her ever-growing love for performance. She appreciated all forms of the beloved art, whether it was the drama of a great monologue of old or the merriment of a simple juggling act. Yes, she felt kinship toward all of her fellow performers, from the humblest backgrounds to the greatest of names. And for a time she was happy.\nAlas, she grew older, and with age came a dark wisdom. She gazed into the heart of her fellow performers and found few who held true love for their craft. She began to realize that these mer saw the arts as a\u00a0 stepping-stone, a path that would eventually lead to notoriety and power. A way to elevate their names to the highest rank, to become privileged and renowned. The poor soul grew more isolated as she encountered fewer kindred souls and soon withdrew from the world of performance, though it pained her greatly to do so.\nIt was during this time of isolation that she reflected on what she could do to change this troubling trend. Determined to make a difference, she did the unthinkable. She cast aside her own name, burning down her old identity. From those ashes she rose as the Grand Maestro Ingress, and swore to create a group of like-minded companions. And thus the House of Reveries was born.\nAll members of our troupe would live for their passion and their passion alone. To keep this manifesto in mind, Grand Maestro Ingress declared that all her players would wear masks and take up new names. They would never reveal their original identities, for it was the prominence of names that had turned so many of her fellow performers bitter and joyless. All who joined the House of Reveries would do so only for the love of the craft, the thrill of the performance. The only thing her players would crave was the resounding applause of the crowd.\nAnd so we come to you, dear heart, to determine what you wish to be. Who you wish to be. Have you come upon our doorsteps hoping for mere fame and fortune, or are you ready to cast off such selfish chains and live for the art? If you wish to join us, know that you shall never be you again. You'll be something brighter, something beautiful. You'll gain a thousand faces, but shall never show your own.\nWill you wear the mask?"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/house-reveries-audition": {"series": "House of Reveries", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/house-reveries-audition", "author": "Quill", "title": "House of Reveries: The Audition", "description": "A primer for those wishing to join the House of Reveries", "text": "A Primer for Hopeful Recruits\n\tBy Quill, House of Reveries Archivist\nSo you wish to join in our reveries, my dear heart? I'm afraid it's not quite as simple as possessing a mere resolve and paying some modest dues. No, we have quite the indoctrination process. But you've memorized your lines and sang your parts, haven't you? You've honed your skill, whether it be the daring talent of swallowing swords or the intricate movements of dance. And so it is time for the audition.\nWe announce open auditions every season, which last for a scant few weeks. You simply need to find the courage to hop up on stage and impress us with your talent! One of the players of our troupe will speak to you after your dazzling performance and tell you if you're worthy to become one of our Hopefuls. If not, better luck next season!\nNow, let's not confuse a Hopeful for anything more than what it is. As a Hopeful, you're permitted to enter our Manor of Masques in order to hone your craft and learn from the best. We shall even present you with a mask of your very own, as well as a new name. But you haven't joined the House of Reveries just yet, dear heart. No, this is only the first step of your path. For all Hopefuls must pass the final audition.\nThough this may be a harrowing journey, you'll not travel it alone. A mentor guides all Hopefuls, a senior member of the troupe who helps prepare you for that oh-so-important final audition. This mentor serves as as a fountain\u00a0 of wisdom from which you may drink. Take their words to heart and follow their example. Your mentor is key to entering into our troupe. It's not merely enough to learn the steps and memorize the words. Within you must burn the passion of a true artist. Your mentor can kindle the flame, but it's up to you to stoke it into the raging fire it must become.\nYour fellow Hopefuls will be your steadfast companions during this time, and you are fully encouraged to befriend them! After all, these may soon be your fellow players. Let not fear or jealousy sink you to bitterness, for you do not compete for a single spot. There have been seasons where every Hopeful was invited join, and there have been seasons where all were rejected. But you will have to rely on your own talent during the final audition. Depend not on the mistakes of others, but be wary of your own.\nThough I tell you to befriend your fellow Hopefuls, always remember that your identity is no longer your own. You are expected to wear your mask at all times and never speak your old name. This is the beginning of your training, after all. You must act as a current member of our troupe, and that means beginning your life of privacy and intrigue. Your old name should only be known to yourself, your mentor, and the Grand Maestro. And then it should be forgotten.\nThe final audition comes upon you quicker than you can imagine. Here, you stand before the Grand Maestro, the ring leader of our merry circus, the conductor of our great symphony, the director of this play of reveries. The Grand Maestro shall decide your ultimate fate.\nYour final performance must be the greatest show of renown, of desire, of expertise that you have ever demonstrated. Everything, your entire being, must fill this performance. And that is when we'll know if you're ready, dear heart. That is when we'll finally know if you're willing to cast aside everything\u2014your name, your family, your entire life\u2014and join us as a member of the House of Reveries."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/house-reveries-troupe": {"series": "House of Reveries", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/house-reveries-troupe", "author": "Quill", "title": "House of Reveries: The Troupe", "description": "A primer for those wishing to join the House of Reveries", "text": "A Primer for Hopeful Recruits\n\tBy Quill, House of Reveries Archivist\nSo you've joined us for a life of reveries, of intrigue and drama and joy! I'm so proud of you, dear heart, so very proud. Let me be the first among us to welcome you home.\nNow begins your transformation. Yes, you've chosen a name and donned a new mask, but that's only the beginning. Learn to change your voice, adopt new mannerisms, dye your hair bright colors. Learn to tell a thousand boasts but never a hint of the truth. You'll be tested, again and again. After all, there's no greater romance than the allure of intrigue. Stay strong and stay silent. Your very place within our troupe hinges upon your discretion.\nThere's more to learn, dear heart. So you've mastered the gentle plucks of the lute? Pick up a sword and learn theatrical fencing! The best and brightest performers that Summerset has to offer now surround you. Don't waste this opportunity trying to protect your silly pride. Fall flat on your face, warble out a shaky note, and never stop growing. Every new skill you learn strengthens the entirety of our troupe. There's no such thing as a perfect performance, but we all damn well try our best to get there.\nThough Rellenthil may be our base of operations, the Manor of Masques cannot hold every member of our dear troupe. Besides, Summerset is a large island. How can we expect every adored member of our audience to make the trek to us? No, you'll be expected to live most of your days on the open road, lending a helping hand as needed. We fully expect every member to pull their own weight. You'll brush down the horses, oil creaky wagon wheels, cook supper, and dig out latrines. And remember, complaining will only earn you naught but more chores for your trouble.\nEvery traveling troupe is led by a Maestro, a senior member who has proven worthy of such a majestic title. It wasn't too long ago that I was making my first trip around Summerset with my Maestro, a rather taciturn mer that went by the name of Baritone. It seemed we were doomed to dislike each other from our first meeting, for I thought myself silver-tongued and quick-footed. Maestro Baritone instantly saw through my act and gave me the longest, driest, and most monotone monologue I had ever read to memorize for my first performance.\nI nearly cried when I read it, for I thought it nothing short of sabotage. I would toss and turn at night, imagining the disapproving faces of my audience. Daily I begged Maestro Baritone to give me another part, but to no prevail. He simply shook his head and told me to get back to it. Painstakingly, I memorized every line of that cursed monologue, every dry and boring second of it. It was only when I memorized it without fail, without hesitation, that Maestro Baritone gave my next direction.\n\"Now, Quill,\" he told me with one of his rare smiles, \"I want you to make it your own.\"\nI was stunned. Despite my hatred for the accursed monologue, I found myself arguing. This was a piece of history! Written by our ancestors of old, renowned enough to survive through the centuries. How could I change it? Defile it? I felt no end of bafflement, as the Maestro had always been an absolute stickler for rules and regulations.\n\"You've honored this piece already,\" he told me. \"You've read it again and again. You know every name, every place, every detail, but you also know it has no heart. I believe in you, Quill. You're the one to give it that heart.\"\nI was transformed that day. The name I seemed to so casually bequeath upon myself truly became who I was. I was a quill, ready to create, eager to write the words again. Anew. Even to this day I find no greater pleasure than breathing life into a stagnant work of old. And my Maestro, the mer who I so adamantly disliked upon our very first meeting, was the one who showed me that. Never would I have guessed such a thing, that first teary night.\nLearn. Listen. Create. You've said but your first line, sung but your first note. You have such a long, difficult, tiring, wondrous journey before you, dear heart. Love every minute of that great production. The curtains open, you step upon the stage. We all simply cannot wait to see your performance."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/indirims-report-part-1": {"series": "Indirim's Report", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/indirims-report-part-1", "author": "Indirim's Report", "title": "Indirim's Report, Part 1", "description": "Evidence of Sea Sload activity in Summerset", "text": "Definite evidence of Sea Sload incursion on Summerset. We're tracking one of the vile creatures along the coast to the west of Alinor, near the vicinity of Welenkin Cove.\n* * *\n\tWe ran into a phenomenon that seemed to be not entirely natural in origin. A geyser sprang up, but instead of just spouting water, it also unleashed the terrible sea creatures that have been reported near Shimmerene and other parts of the island, the yaghra. Worse, there were also undead monstrosities among the unleashed horde.\n* * *\n\tWe need to confirm my findings, but I have come to the conclusion that the yaghra and the undead have been set upon us by some sort of Sea Sload magic."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/indirims-report-part-2": {"series": "Indirim's Report", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/indirims-report-part-2", "author": "Indirim's Report", "title": "Indirim's Report, Part 2", "description": "Evidence of Sea Sload activity in Summerset", "text": "At the center of the strange geyser, we discovered one of the sea gems the Sapiarchs have named \"abyssal pearls.\" It radiated a foul magic that not only appeared to anchor the geyser, but seemed to serve as a lure of sorts for the yaghra. Upon destroying the pearl, the terrible event came to an abrupt end.\n* * *\n\tWe tracked the Sea Sload to its hiding spot in Welenkin Cove. The creature called itself B'Korgen as it addressed its yaghra servants with a combination of its guttural verbal language and by speaking directly into their minds. If we got close enough, the mind magic seeped into our own heads. It was a strange and defiling experience.\n* * *\n\tB'Korgen appeared to be tending to a bed of growing abyssal pearls. It drew strange sigils in the water around the pearls and even upon their lustrous surfaces, and added alchemical mixtures to the water that made the sea glow with an arcane light. I'm sure this is the source of each pearl's magic."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/indirims-report-part-3": {"series": "Indirim's Report", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/indirims-report-part-3", "author": "Indirim's Report", "title": "Indirim's Report, Part 3", "description": "Evidence of Sea Sload activity in Summerset", "text": "A cloaked and hooded High Elf paid a clandestine visit to the Sea Sload in Welenkin Cove while we made our observations. The figure spoke softly, but a few words reached us on the seaborne breeze. It seems that B'Korgen is one of a small number of Sea Sload currently active in Summerset's shadows. They call themselves \"the Abyssal Cabal\" and they appear to have partnered with a group of High Elves that calls itself \"the Court of Bedlam.\" The Battlereeve will want to find out more about this subversive group.\n* * *\n\tFrom what I could glean of the conversation, the geysers are just part of a larger plan to wreck havoc across Summerset and eventually sink the island so the Sea Sload can reclaim it."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/indirims-report-part-4": {"series": "Indirim's Report", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/indirims-report-part-4", "author": "Indirim's Report", "title": "Indirim's Report, Part 4", "description": "Evidence of Sea Sload activity in Summerset", "text": "I took a chance and slipped closer to try to get a better look at the sigils, the pearls, and the cloaked and hooded figure. B'Korgen is definitely combining magic and alchemy to alter the nature of the abyssal pearls. I wish I had more time to study the creature's techniques. I heard the Sea Sload tell the hooded figure not to worry. \"K'Tora accomplished his role in the mission, and while his death is regrettable, it doesn't change the overall plan.\"\n* * *\n\tThe hooded figure slipped away and Miriya and the Captain decided not to give chase. Better to return to Alinor with what we've learned and let the Battlereeve decide our next move."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/indirims-report-part-5": {"series": "Indirim's Report", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/indirims-report-part-5", "author": "Indirim's Report", "title": "Indirim's Report, Part 5", "description": "Evidence of Sea Sload activity in Summerset", "text": "From what we've been able to learn, Summerset is not being invaded by an overwhelming force of Sload. Instead, a small cabal of Sea Sload\u2014what started out as four, now reduced to three due to the death of one called K'Tora\u2014has infiltrated the island in order to unleash the destructive abyssal geysers and hordes of yaghra and undead. And they appear to be working in conjunction with a group of High Elves that calls itself \"the Court of Bedlam.\"\n* * *\n\tMarine Saruwy slipped on a wet stone and revealed our presence to the Sea Sload. It ordered its yaghra servants to dispatch us. Time to make a run for it. We need to get this report and everything we learned to the Battlereeve."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/investigating-our-allies-part-1": {"series": "Investigating Our Allies", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/investigating-our-allies-part-1", "author": "Felinwoin", "title": "Investigating Our Allies, Part 1", "description": "Two outraged pamphlets about Khajiit and Bosmer integrating into Summerset society", "text": "By Felinwoin, Summerset's Leading Chronicler\nI have heard your cries, your pleas, your demands for the truth. And, just as always, Feliwoin is here to deliver. Bringing you nothing but the latest and most relevant news, I knew exactly what role I must play in this new proclamation. I am of course talking about the new laws that allow our Dominion allies access to the shores of Summerset. Many are concerned about the impacts of such an event, with good reason. Are our streets safe? Are our homes secure?\nReaders, I made it my mission to find out.\nI started with Alinor, home to our royal court and most regal Proxy Queen Alwinarwe, may long she live and reign gloriously in these most troubling of times. Walking the streets, I made sure to disguise myself in garb as common as I could possibly find. Not a soul knew who I was, and that was just the way I wanted it. Crawling through the common rabble would allow me access to our new so-called-allies.\nMy first encounter involved a rather brusque Khajiit making a purchase at the grocery. I observed from the sides, ever vigilant toward any case of sticky paws, given their propensity toward thievery. I was unable to observe any theft, but was there to bear witness a rather astonishing exchange. This Khajiit went up to the store clerk, put his items on the counter, and simply asked, \"How much?\"\nNo, you did not read that wrong dear readers! No greeting, not so much as an honor or a praise! Apparently, our allies are too good for even basic, common manners. Oh, Auri-El above, I was simply staggered. I watched in horror as the poor clerk tried her best to respond in a far more befitting way as this brutish Khajiit continuously rebuked all words of politeness. After a few moments of cringing, I simply could not bear the weight of such impropriety and had to leave the store, my pulse drumming from what I had witnessed.\nMy next sighting occurred while stopping at one of Alinor's many opulent fountains. Soon after taking my seat on a nearby bench, I witnessed a hoard of little Khajiits run to the fountain. My, there must have been at least ten of them! Without any sense of control, all at once they plunged into the crystal waters of the once tranquil fountain, splashing about in the most barbaric of fashions. Their mother came up from behind, clucking her tongue like a mad chicken. One by one, her children slowly stepped out from the fountain, talking excitedly all the while.\nI had of course heard that Khajiit gave birth to litters, but I never thought they would have so many children of the same age! I can see the population rising among our furred allies tenfold every decade, what with such ... tendencies. Not to mention the control these mothers seem to have on their children, apparently not thinking to teach them a modicum of manners.\nIt was while I was sitting in shock, mouth agape, that the most perplexing interaction occurred. Perhaps it was my blatant observation of his kind, but a young Khajiit standing near decided to strike up conversation. I will not do you disservice by writing this cretin's dialogue here, but I will tell you that it involved the creation of children and how he would be willing to render his \"services\" for such an activity. I turned ruby red as, in face of such lewdness, I left at once.\nI of course need not remind my dear readers of the other reputations that I, being a lawful citizen of Summerset, am not able to observe. Surely, had I been able to risk my safety to observe more unsavory sections of the city, I would have seen a rise in skooma trades and black-market deals. Yes, I only have rumors to guide these claims, but the Khajiit are known for their inclination toward the illegal. I have no doubt that crime statistics will continuously rise, given their habitation of our beloved homeland.\nLet us hope that our leaders will soon see the error of their ways. Perhaps these allies are necessary in the war effort, but we're fighting a battle here on the very shores of our beloved island! A battle against brutish, lewd, and often miscreant Khajiits who threaten to rot our society from the inside out. With just one day's worth of observation, I can safely say that all citizens have every right to be anxious!\nWe must all rise together and petition for the return of our peaceful seclusion. Appeal to our local leaders, inform your fellow citizens, and keep an eye out for those who have already invaded our homelands. Keep a tight hold of both your purses and children as you travel our once safe streets. Don't allow apologists to sway you, dear readers. Know the truth, written by my own, trusted hand!\nMy next issue will continue my investigation, this time into the habits and culture of the Wood Elves, our lesser kin. Be sure to purchase it so I can continue my important work!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/investigating-our-allies-part-2": {"series": "Investigating Our Allies", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/investigating-our-allies-part-2", "author": "Felinwoin", "title": "Investigating Our Allies, Part 2", "description": "Two outraged pamphlets about Khajiit and Bosmer integrating into Summerset society", "text": "By Felinwoin, Summerset's Leading Chronicler\nSince the fall of our reverent ancestors, we know that not all mer are created equal. We High Elves chose to walk within the glorious footsteps of those who went before us. We are the golden, the powerful, the just. Others, like the Dark Elves, betrayed our ways and were cursed for their impunity. They pray to their false gods and muck about in the ash.\nAnd then there are our current allies, the Wood Elves. Well, what is there to say about the Wood Elves? It is true that they follow our gods, however lightly, given their clear preference for Y'ffre. That, and their pointed ears, are where my comparisons must stop. Everything else about them, from their culture to their stature, is far removed from our level of perfection.\nStill, do we have anything to fear from our primitive cousins? I made it my mission to find out.\nThe stars were keen for me to complete this particular assignment, for it was just as I set my mind to investigate that I was invited to an exclusive engagement. The details, of course, shall remain anonymous (though I can say it was within the abode of a rather high-ranking member of our royalty), but it gave me the opportunity I had been seeking. Among those on the invitation list, which I of course perused before sending my acceptance, were several Wood Elves.\nHere I could see our allies attempt to socialize with some of the most prestigious members of Summerset society. What an opportunity to witness how well they fit into our culture. With notebook in hand and wearing one of my many gorgeous dresses, I eagerly traveled to the abode of my host.\nI could barely contain my excitement as I made my way to the dining table. There, clustered together in a little clan of their own, were the Wood Elves who would be the focus of my investigation. I was quickly told by a fellow acquaintance that they were followers of the Green Pact, a lucky coincidence if ever I saw one. It was exactly this barbaric belief that many feared would clash so fiercely against Summerset's pristine principles.\nThe first strangeness occurred when the meals were served to them. As we know, the Green Pact does not allow for the use or consumption of plant material. As such, our most gracious host saw fit to serve these Wood Elves nothing but the finest cuts of Summerset meat. They ate their meal with what can only be described as ravenous gusto, with not one care for the proper use of their silverware. Why, one even scooped up the juices upon her plate with a dessert spoon!\nAs I watched this small tribe devour its meal, I could only imagine a legion of Wood Elves arriving to consume our local fauna. With that being their only sustenance, can we truly trust our little cousins to restrain themselves? There may come a day when no cow, chicken, pig, or even cat will grace our tranquil island. Can we truly allow for such a future?\nStill, I was determined to engage with these guests. After dinner I made my way to one, my decorum as impeccable as always, and asked what brought him to our island.\n\"I'm 'ere on be'alf of the king,\" he told me, his rather thick accent marring each syllable. \"Gotta' show you 'igh Elfs that we're civilized like.\"\nEach word he muttered, of course, led me farther from that conclusion. Still, I politely inquired what he believed Wood Elves would bring to the glory of Summerset. What contribution could his people make for the betterment of all the High Elves who called our isle home?\nI'm afraid he got rather coarse after that simple question. His wording was such that one might assume ignorance, but the vulgarity of his word choice showed outright hostility. I'm afraid to say he dared to call into question my pure intentions by asking such a question, adding more than a few choice descriptions about my person!\nI was simply flabbergasted. Quickly, one of his companions apologized to me and whisked him away. Still, the damage was done. I had seen quite enough of the manners and propriety of those we had chosen to welcome into our borders.\nI also remind you, my dear readers, the cultural differences that may prove quite perilous to our way of life. Cannibalism, blatant thievery, trees that walk about! How can we trust the Wood Elves to live properly alongside us, rather than running around in their little bone huts? From all that I've witnessed, I cannot believe such a thing is possible.\nI urge you, dear readers, to protest. Raise your voices against the moderate tide! Allow not a step more to be taken. Instead, push back. We must return Summerset to the glory of the past, and once again make it a home for High Elves and High Elves only.\nWill you join me in that cause?"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/investigation-notes-nicholas-1": {"series": "Investigation Notes - Nicholas", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/investigation-notes-nicholas-1", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Investigation Notes - Nicholas [1]", "description": "Notes on finding Nicholas", "text": "I have evidence that he laid low in Marbruk for a while. One stray rumor says he was heading for Grahtwood, in the company of either a High Elf or perhaps it was a Wood Elf. Source was not entirely sober, and it is possible it was another Imperial entirely, but it is the best I have to go on at the moment.\nMost likely Grahtwood location, I think, would be Haven. Port town, easy to blend in perhaps? Lots of coastline - maybe means he's hiding out in caves.\nElden Root is also a possibility, but my guess is that Haven would feel more like Abah's Landing, ships, trade, plenty of opportunity to set up again. Striped senche don't lose their stripes. Great, now I sound like that bumbling fool,\" Silver Claws.\nI've seen that nosy gossip Bellulor in here cadging drinks. I am sure he's a pcikpocket as well. I lost him twice trying to follow him back to wherever it is he and those of his ilk do business. Just need to be more patient."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/investigation-notes-nicholas-2": {"series": "Investigation Notes - Nicholas", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/investigation-notes-nicholas-2", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Investigation Notes - Nicholas [2]", "description": "Notes on finding Nicholas", "text": "I have evidence that he laid low in here in Shornhelm for a while. One rumor says he was heading for Alik'r, in the company of either a High Elf or perhaps it was a Breton? Source was not entirely sober, and it is possible it was another Imperial entirely, but it is the best I have to go on at the moment.\nMost likely Alik'r location, I think, would be Sentinel. Larger city,\u00a0 easy to blend in perhaps? It would appeal to that bastard to hide in plain sight. Right under my noise. If I were in Sentinel. Which I wish I were.\nStill maybe Bergama is also a possibility, but my guess is that the area around Sentinel would provide more places to go to ground.\u00a0 I think I should try to find out more about the woman, perhaps that is a better avenue to information.\nI've seen that nosy gossip Bellulor in here cadging drinks, I imagine he might know something. I am sure he's a pcikpocket as well. I lost him twice trying to follow him back to wherever it is he and those of his ilk do business. Just need to be more patient."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/investigation-notes-nicholas-3": {"series": "Investigation Notes - Nicholas", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/investigation-notes-nicholas-3", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Investigation Notes - Nicholas [3]", "description": "Notes on finding Nicholas", "text": "I have evidence that he laid low in here in Stormhaven. Had several witnesses describing an imperial that fit his description. One woman says he was heading for Deshaan of all places. In the company of either a High Elf or perhaps it was another Imperial? Source was not entirely sober, and it is possible it was another fellow.\u00a0 Still the timeframe fits and it is the best I have to go on at the moment.\nAlthough he might consider Mournhold, I think the vigilance of the Ordinators would give a rogue pause. I might consider going to Tal'Deic. I could look up Ragna Stormcrag. Last I heard she was stationed there. Haven't seen or had a drink with her in years. She might be able to help. Besides, those Redorans she works with are stiff with honor. They'd be interested in finding a thief.\nI've seen that nosy gossip Bellulor in here cadging drinks, I imagine he might know something that may help me. I am sure he's a pcikpocket as well. I lost him twice trying to follow him back to wherever it is he and those of his ilk do business. Just need to be more patient."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/investigator-vale-retinue-shambles-part-1": {"series": "Investigator Vale: Retinue of Shambles", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/investigator-vale-retinue-shambles-part-1", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Investigator Vale: Retinue of Shambles, Part 1", "description": "The famous detective meets a Dominion spy and breaks up a Daedric plot", "text": "The Wood Elf sprawled across the bed in the pristine cabin, a dagger protruding from his chest and a pool of blood spreading beneath him. \"Murder, Vale?\" said Nemdalan, High Elf captain of the Silver Swan sailing ship, obviously hoping she would change her declaration to something less sinister. \"Are you absolutely certain?\"\nInvestigator Vale sighed. \"Do you think he accidentally plunged the blade into his own heart, Captain Nemdalan? I suppose it could be possible, but I find it highly unlikely.\"\nFirrinor, a Wood Elf brew master looking to take advantage of Queen Ayrenn's proclamation that opened the borders of Summerset, would have been one of the first of the new immigrants to step foot upon the High Elf homeland. Now, he was nothing more than a memory in Valenwood and a guest at Y'ffre's campfire. The investigator bent closer to examine the hilt and pommel protruding from the brewer's chest.\n\"It had to be one of those high-and-mighty High Elves, yes?\" said Zaraki, the Khajiit clothier. \"Despite Queen Ayrenn's promises, they don't want the likes of us to sully their pristine island.\"\n\"Perhaps,\" said Vale, using the light of a candle to better study the intricate carvings that decorated the handle of the murder weapon. \"But I find the use of a ceremonial dagger rather significant. Daedric, I believe. I don't recognize all of these symbols, though the pattern suggests the adoration of multiple Princes. Intriguing.\"\n\"So what are you saying, Vale? We're scheduled to dock in Shimmerene tomorrow morning!\" Captain Nemdalan sputtered.\n\"I'm saying, my dear captain, that you have not only a murderer aboard your vessel\u2014you have a murderer who's also a Daedric cultist, and those tend to be the most intriguing kind,\" Vale said, hardly bothering to hide her enthusiasm. \"Now this voyage is finally getting interesting!\"\n* * *\nVale and the Khajiit clothier searched the ship's deepest hold, exploring the narrow spaces between the crates, kegs, and barrels piled from deck to ceiling. \"You didn't have to accompany me, Zaraki,\" the investigator said, bemused. \"I'm quite capable of taking care of myself, you know.\"\"\n\"Zar meant no disrespect, investigator,\" Zaraki replied as he brushed cobwebs from his tawny fur. \"But this one didn't feel right allowing you to descend into the bowels of this ship all by yourself. Not with a murderer on the loose. Why the captain and his cowardly crew didn't volunteer to help you, only Jode and Jone know for sure!\"\nVale squeezed through the gap between two stacks of crates and led the way into a small clearing in the middle of the forest of cargo. She noticed that one of the stacks was balanced precariously, as the bindings supporting it had come loose during the voyage. She stepped gingerly past the unstable stack to stand in the center of the cleared space.\n\"Precisely where I expected to find it,\" she said triumphantly, pointing to a makeshift shrine to one of the Daedric Princes. \"The god of pledges and promises, if I remember my lessons with the headmaster of Daedric studies at the University of Gwylim.\"\nZaraki circled the rune-covered deck and the Daedric symbol rising from its center cautiously. \"You attended the university?\"\n\"Well, let's just say I audited a few private lessons with the headmaster,\" Vale said slyly. \"She learned as much from me as I learned from her, I'm proud to admit.\"\nAs the Khajiit reached a furred hand toward the skull-topped wooden plinth surrounded by vile runes, the investigator slapped it away and motioned him to be quiet. Footsteps were approaching the hidden shrine. Vale and Zaraki pressed into the shadows cast by the close-packed crates and waited. A moment passed, and then a tall High Elf in noble garb emerged from a gap between the stacks.\n\"I take it you're our Daedric cultist?\" Vale asked as she stepped into the surprised High Elf's path.\n\"Lord of Trickery take you!\" he shouted as he drew a wickedly curved dagger from his belt. \"You should have never gotten involved in the affairs of the Retinue of Shambles, Breton tramp!\"\nBefore Vale could respond, Zaraki leaped into action. The clothier brandished a sword from who knew where and blocked the cultist's dagger thrust. \"That is no way to treat a lady!\"\nThe cultist pointed his dagger at the Khajiit and began to cast a spell. Not waiting for him to finish, Vale planted her expensive leather boot into the small of the High Elf's back. The kick knocked him sideways, into the unsecured stack of crates. The crates clattered to the deck, crushing the cultist beneath them.\n\"Damn!\" Vale said, blowing a loose strand of hair out of her eyes. \"I didn't think the entire pile was going to come down! I can't get answers out of a dead man!\"\n\"At least that will be an end to the murders, yes?\" Zaraki said.\n\"He mentioned the Retinue of Shambles,\" Vale replied. \"I have a feeling this was just the beginning.\" Investigator Vale paused, looking the Khajiit over appraisingly. \"And something tells me you aren't a simple clothier, Zar.\"\n\"I'm not? This one has no idea what you're implying, investigator.\"\nVale scowled. \"A mystery, Zaraki. Haven't you heard? Investigator Vale solves mysteries. But I'll deal with that later. Right now, I think we could both use a drink. Shall we go and inform the captain that he has a mess to clean up below decks?\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/investigator-vale-retinue-shambles-part-2": {"series": "Investigator Vale: Retinue of Shambles", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/investigator-vale-retinue-shambles-part-2", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Investigator Vale: Retinue of Shambles, Part 2", "description": "The famous detective meets a Dominion spy and breaks up a Daedric plot", "text": "Investigator Vale sat at a small table in the intoxicant lounge, sipping golden wine from an ornate flute of glistening glass. The lounge window looked out upon one of Shimmerene's main streets, allowing her to watch the High Elves saunter past as she contemplated the events that occurred aboard the Silver Swan. These cultists calling themselves the Retinue of Shambles concerned her more than she had let on, especially considering that the group appeared to consist of multiple Daedric factions come together for some sinister purpose\u2014a purpose, she realized, that threatened not only Summerset but perhaps the entire world.\nThis was definitely not the sort of thing that Vale usually dealt with, but she didn't see anyone else in the vicinity who was volunteering to step forward. And she thought her trip to Summerset was going to be mostly uneventful and relaxing.\nThe Khajiit who claimed to be a simple clothier strode over and deposited himself in the empty chair across from Vale. \"Zaraki sees that you have started without him,\" Zaraki said as he poured wine into his own flute. \"This one shall endeavor to catch up, quick, quick!\"\nVale clinked her glass to his and took a long drink of the effervescent wine. \"I hate to admit it, but I'm out of my element in this foreign land,\" she said. \"All of my usual contacts and avenues of research are across the sea and far away. I need to figure out how to find out more about this so-called Retinue of Shambles.\"\n\"Do not worry, pretty lady,\" Zaraki said jovially. \"This one might know a person or two who can help us with this situation.\"\n\"Us?\" asked Vale suspiciously. \"That brings me back to my original question. Just who in Oblivion are you really, Zaraki-dar?\"\n\"This one is offended by your accusing tone, investigator, but also pleased by your use of the honorific at the end of my name. Zar thinks it sounds very, very good. But there are cultists to deal with, yes?\"\n\"Oh, very well,\" Vale said grudgingly, \"Take me to your contacts here in Summerset. I'm quite certain your cloth provider and button merchant can tell us all about Daedric cult activity on the island.\"\n\"You'd be surprised what you can learn when you ask the right questions of the right people, pretty lady. Stay close and let Zar show you how it's done!\"\n* * *\nFour hours later, after following Zaraki into every storefront, tavern, and back alley in Shimmerene, Vale had to admit that the Khajiit knew how to get people to talk. He was charming and disarming, but also scary and threatening, depending on who we were dealing with and what was called for to get them to open up. She wasn't going to stroke his fur, but she was impressed by his technique. Still, other than some vague rumors and a few outrageous claims, they weren't any closer to finding the Retinue of Shambles. Then they stepped into an unassuming shop filled with scrolls, manuscripts, and extremely old books.\n\"Lentelfan!\" Zar called into the quiet stacks of paper. \"It is your old friend, Zaraki, come for a visit!\"\nSomeone stepped out from behind one of the high shelves. It was a High Elf woman with long, dark hair, dressed in a noble's finery. A medallion hung from a chain around her neck. It depicted a spider spinning a web. It was a beautiful design, but for some reason it set Vale's teeth on edge.\n\"Lentelfan no longer owns this fine establishment,\" the High Elf said. \"Perhaps there's something I can help you with, though I sincerely doubt it. I don't usually trade with people of your caliber.\"\n\"Listen here, you self-important\u2014\" Vale snapped as she moved to confront the woman, but Zaraki's strong arm held her back.\n\"Your mangy cat knows his place, Breton,\" the High Elf sneered. \"You would do well to learn yours.\"\n\"A thousand pardons, esteemed one,\" Zaraki purred, bowing low to the High Elf as he stepped between the two women. He continued to lay on a thick and intricate apology as Vale fell back and used the opportunity to better survey the area.\nInvestigator Vale's gaze fell upon a small desk buried under stacks of parchment and dozens of rolled scrolls. One sheet in particular caught Vale's attention. It appeared to be a list of names and locations, a few of which she recognized from her studies of Summerset maps when she was preparing for her trip. The sheet also contained symbols that Vale couldn't decipher. She made sure that Zaraki was blocking the High Elf's line of sight as she slipped the parchment sheet into the inner pocket of her long coat.\n\"I'm bored, Zar,\" Vale said, tossing her long raven hair and setting her full lips into a pout. \"You promised me dinner and a fine bottle of wine, and this doesn't look at all like the restaurants we have back in Daggerfall.\"\nThe two companions exited the shop quickly, serendipitously glancing back to make sure the High Elf wasn't following.\n\"Do you know who you almost picked a fight with, Vale?\"\" Zaraki asked.\n\"Judging from the medallion, a high priest of Mephala,\" Vale said. \"And a remarkably rude one at that. But I found something that might give us some insight into what's going on around here, provided you know someone who can read Daedric script.\"\n\"This one knows a great many experts in a great many things.\"\nVale smiled at the Khajiit and took his paw in her hand. \"I think I may be beginning to like you, Zaraki-dar.\" She heard him purr at the mention of the honorific.\nNeither of them noticed the tiny spiders following in their wake."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/investigator-vale-retinue-shambles-part-3": {"series": "Investigator Vale: Retinue of Shambles", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/investigator-vale-retinue-shambles-part-3", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Investigator Vale: Retinue of Shambles, Part 3", "description": "The famous detective meets a Dominion spy and breaks up a Daedric plot", "text": "Investigator Vale tapped her foot impatiently, waiting for the High Elf to finish translating the sheet of parchment she removed from the old book shop. Zaraki gave her a look, but she ignored him and tapped even more furiously.\nGalaadil, Assistant Sapiarch of Daedric Studies, leaned back and rubbed his eyes. \"You were right to bring this to me, Agent Za\u2014\"\n\"Please, my friend,\" Zaraki interrupted, noticing how Vale raised an eyebrow when Galaadil addressed him, \"we're all friends here. There's no need to be so formal. Just call me Zaraki. Or Zar, if you prefer. But you were saying ...\"\n\"The names are prominent members of High Elf society, each linked to a specific location in Summerset,\" Galaadil explained. \"As for the Daedric symbols, they revere three different Daedric Princes and refer to powerful relics I assume are somehow related to the people and places. It's really quite fascinating! Where did you say you got this?\"\n\"We didn't,\" Vale said, scooping up the parchment as she turned to leave.\n\"Where are you going in such a rush, pretty lady?\" Zaraki asked as he stood to accompany her.\n\"I don't think a simple Khajiit clothier would care about my business,\" Vale said lightly, \"but I wouldn't turn down the help of Agent Zaraki-dar of the Queen's Ears.\"\n\"What? Who said\u2014? This one isn't\u2014,\" Zar sputtered. Then he said quietly, \"When did you figure it out?\"\n\"Really, Zar?\" Vale teased. \"The tales of Zaraki-dar, Ear of the Queen, have reached even High Rock's less-than-civilized shores. I knew it was you the moment I laid eyes on your tawny, furry, well-rounded ... head. Well, maybe the second moment. Now let's go stop the Retinue of Shambles.\"\n\"People always tell Zar how much they appreciate his furry, well-rounded ... head,\" Zaraki mused as he hurried to catch up with Investigator Vale.\nAs they walked side-by-side, they didn't see the tiny spider clinging to the back of Vale's long coat.\n* * *\nVale and Zaraki-dar made their way cautiously into the coral forest outside Shimmerene as dusk began to creep across the sky. The dense collection of petrified coral created a strange, labyrinthine landscape along the island's eastern shore. Clues on the parchment sheet had led them here. A few steps into the area and they could hear ominous chanting echoing off the coral protrusions closing in around them. The unknown words had a sharp edge to them that made Vale's skin crawl and Zaraki's fur stand on end.\nThey walked deeper into the coral maze, eyes alert and searching. Flickering firelight danced behind one of the coral pillars, so Vale proceeded in that direction. Zaraki rested a paw on her shoulder, silently urging caution. She nodded and peered around the pillar.\nIn a clearing at the center of the coral forest, the High Elf wearing the Mephala medallion they encountered in the old book shop stood before an abstract yet disturbingly asymmetrical three-sided shrine that bore Daedric symbols associated with three different Princes. She gazed into the fires burning in the three braziers as she chanted the same phrase over and over. Behind her, the air shimmered and glowed with a strange, unnatural light. Something was coming! Before Vale could act, a tiny spider scurried off her back and rushed toward the cultist, growing larger until it was about the size of a cat when it climbed onto her shoulder.\n\"You're just in time,\" the High Elf said with obvious disdain. \"You can be the first of the lesser races to experience the majesty and power of the Altmer reborn!\"\n\"Hey, Zaraki-dar,\" Vale asked, \"you have any idea what this overblown, pointed-eared, Daedra-loving idiot is talking about?\"\n\"Not a clue, pretty lady,\" Zar replied. \"This one doesn't like the looks of that shrine, though. Zar does not believe it is strictly legal.\"\n\"Well, then,\" Vale said, and she took two steps forward and kicked the makeshift shrine with her heavy leather boot. It shattered, scattering the three small braziers and extinguishing two of the three small fires.\nThe cultist screamed in rage as the glow behind her faded and the air stopped shimmering. She drew a long, curved dagger from her robe as the spider on her shoulder reared up and clacked its mandibles.\n\"None of that Daedric nonsense from you,\" Zaraki-dar said as he drew his own sword and stepped in front of Vale. \"By order of the Queen, this one accepts your surrender!\"\nWith that, a dozen Dominion soldiers rushed into the clearing to surround the cultist, each brandishing a weapon. The cultist and the spider looked around, then she dropped her dagger and the spider settled back down.\n\"This isn't over, cat,\" the High Elf cultist spat.\n\"Oh, I think it is,\" Vale countered cheerfully, \"at least as far as you're concerned.\"\n* * *\nVale leaned back against her pillow, looking up into the dark room above the inn. \"Do you think there are more of them out there, Zar?\"\nZaraki-dar, one hand holding up his head as the other stroked Vale's naked thigh. \"There are always more, pretty lady. That's why the queen keeps me around.\"\n\"Well, then, I won't worry about it right now. I'd much rather have another go at your tawny, furry...\nZar kissed her, cutting off Vale's words. She returned the favor."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/iron-wheel-precept-15": {"series": "Iron Wheel Precepts", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/iron-wheel-precept-15", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Iron Wheel Precept 15", "description": "", "text": "Do not pity the lawbreaker.\n\tTheir fate is the inevitability\n\tOf your solemn duty\u2014\n\tA ring of iron around them."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/iron-wheel-precept-21": {"series": "Iron Wheel Precepts", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/iron-wheel-precept-21", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Iron Wheel Precept 21", "description": "", "text": "What of the unrepentant lawbreaker?\n\tWhen shackles fail, take up the brand.\n\tAll who meet them cannot deny\u2014\n\tWe burn our truth upon their canvas."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/iron-wheel-precept-38": {"series": "Iron Wheel Precepts", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/iron-wheel-precept-38", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Iron Wheel Precept 38", "description": "", "text": "The lawbreaker can deny truth,\n\tBut can never deny fate.\n\tWe shall reveal the greatest truth\u2014\n\tThe Wheel turns ever onward."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ixtaxh-explorers-journal-page-1": {"series": "Ixtaxh Explorer's Journal", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ixtaxh-explorers-journal-page-1", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Ixtaxh Explorer's Journal, Page 1", "description": "", "text": "It seems my companions were right. Nothing can prepare someone for a journey into the Ixtaxh xanmeer. I entered the ruin scant minutes ago, and already find myself utterly lost. What's more, I've found almost nothing of value! Had I come here seeking brittle bones and cracked pottery, I would not be disappointed. Alas, I came seeking treasure.\nPerhaps I have not ventured deep enough. I know I should seek some means of escape, but I find the idea of leaving empty-handed totally unacceptable. I must find something, however small.\nI've heard rumors of some crystal tucked away in the bowels of this place. The Kuju-Jas, or Kajip-Xat, or some other (similarly unpronounceable) crystal. Finding something like that might make this entire misadventure worthwhile."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ixtaxh-explorers-journal-page-2": {"series": "Ixtaxh Explorer's Journal", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ixtaxh-explorers-journal-page-2", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Ixtaxh Explorer's Journal, Page 2", "description": "", "text": "Hours flutter away into the darkness, and I find myself no closer to this illusive crystal. I've taken to scattering the pages of my journal\u2014a breadcrumb trail, as it were. I'm no architect, but I'm willing to wager that whoever designed this place was similarly unqualified. Doors and staircases routinely lead to nowhere. Nigh bottomless pits appear with unsettling frequency. And then there's these damned statues; stylized Argonian faces with mouths contorted into ghastly sneers. I can't help but detect a smugness in their expression. Unsettling to say the least.\nThere's one corridor I haven't explored yet\u2014the dankest and most foul-smelling. I suppose I have no choice but to see where it leads. Mara help me."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ixtaxh-explorers-journal-page-3": {"series": "Ixtaxh Explorer's Journal", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ixtaxh-explorers-journal-page-3", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Ixtaxh Explorer's Journal, Page 3", "description": "", "text": "A breakthrough at last! After nimbly skirting past a brood of spiders and traps without end, I found a massive vault. I see something glimmering at the base of a massive statue. Part of me wants to run directly toward it, but something feels off. There's a sound in there\u2014an odd sort of gurgle\u2014that sends a shiver up my spine. Then again, nothing ventured, nothing gained! Time to snatch up this treasure and be on my way!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ixtaxh-explorers-journal-page-4": {"series": "Ixtaxh Explorer's Journal", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ixtaxh-explorers-journal-page-4", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Ixtaxh Explorer's Journal, Page 4", "description": "", "text": "Something hidden in the walls. Writhing around in there! Traps everywhere. If anyone finds this, don't make my mistake. Go! Just\u2014\n[The remaining text is illegible.]"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/jewelry-crafting-survey-alikr-desert": {"series": "Jewelry Crafting Survey", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/jewelry-crafting-survey-alikr-desert", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Jewelry Crafting Survey: Alik'r Desert", "description": "Information on where one might find various resources required for jewelrycrafting", "text": "Resource cache uncovered: In a granite lith, south of Satakalaam, between the Thief and Yldzuun.\nSurveying so close to a hazardous ruin and a clutch of murderous harpies was nerve-wracking, I should say. I may be many things - scholar, explorer, tradesperson \u2014 but an adventurer I am not, and the guide and escort I had hired lost his way and presumably died horribly more than a day prior to finding this location.\nThankfully, I'm fairly canny, and prepared myself with numerous trinkets and distractions to cover my escape. I don't know if any harpies noticed me prior to setting out decoys and bombing my escape route, but they CERTAINLY didn't see me as I fled. And flee I did, I'm not too proud to say!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/jewelry-crafting-survey-auridon": {"series": "Jewelry Crafting Survey", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/jewelry-crafting-survey-auridon", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Jewelry Crafting Survey: Auridon", "description": "Information on where one might find various resources required for jewelrycrafting", "text": "Resource cache uncovered: Between two seaside columns, on the coast far west of Mathiisen, between Smuggler's Cove and Tanzelwil, below Glister Vale.\nIgnore my success. Why would anyone send a surveyor to the coast for a precious metal? The softness of the material practically ensures sand and grit will grate it out into the sea.\n\tWhat mad reasoning brought me to this place? Why must I endure the rank stench of the sea, picking my way through driftwood?\n\tThis coast dazzlingly features mudcrabs. Terrible creatures! Normally, I avoid them whenever possible - their boorish behavior and foul bouquet guarantees it - but, here I am, among the crabs.\nPerhaps, someday, I will be killed by a mudcrab falling from the sky. Perhaps that might be today."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/jewelry-crafting-survey-bangkorai": {"series": "Jewelry Crafting Survey", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/jewelry-crafting-survey-bangkorai", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Jewelry Crafting Survey: Bangkorai", "description": "Information on where one might find various resources required for jewelrycrafting", "text": "Resource cache uncovered: South of Yanurah's Respite, between the Qharroa Ruins and Damar Farmstead.\nIf I could think a single thought to burn every wasp out of the air, I would. Otherwise, lower Bangkorai is quite nice. Between the fascinating ruins and broadly striated natural stone formations, there's much to take in and all beautiful.\nUpper Bangkorai, on the other hand, is not. It's all old damp forest out-crowding the delightful natural stone. I suppose the river's nice. I'm reasonably sure I heard a werewolf cry at some point during the night. So I suppose it's either werewolves or wasps, and you have to choose."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/jewelry-crafting-survey-coldharbour-i": {"series": "Jewelry Crafting Survey", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/jewelry-crafting-survey-coldharbour-i", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Jewelry Crafting Survey: Coldharbour I", "description": "Information on where one might find various resources required for jewelrycrafting", "text": "Resource cache uncovered: Overlooking the abyss, west of the Vile Laboratory, east of the bridge between the Hollow City and Cadwell's Hovel.\nThe last thing I remember, I was striking camp when a storm struck and a hole opened in the sky. What's happened to me? This doesn't seem like the world I know. Is this a dream?\nAnd if it is a dream, why am I finding myself admiring the stone of this horrid, floating world, and uncovering precious metals? Can't I conjure up some strapping, shirtless Khajiit to carry me around? What an awful dream."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/jewelry-crafting-survey-coldharbour-ii": {"series": "Jewelry Crafting Survey", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/jewelry-crafting-survey-coldharbour-ii", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Jewelry Crafting Survey: Coldharbour II", "description": "Information on where one might find various resources required for jewelrycrafting", "text": "Resource cache uncovered: Under a large, sharp canopy of stone spikes, below a great tree, behind another jut of stone, equidistant between the Grotto of Depravity and Font of Schemes.\nI find the water here interesting - there's an energy to it I don't quite understand. Why am I here? Between the floating bits of jagged rock and the surplus of daedra, I'd wager I have found myself somewhere in Oblivion.\nSurviving's been a trial. I've been able to catch some strange fish that have only made me mostly ill. Perhaps this is yet a dream, a long nightmare from which I've yet to wake? If so \u2014 whomever governs this dream \u2014 I'd prefer handsomer pursuers, thank you."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/jewelry-crafting-survey-craglorn-i": {"series": "Jewelry Crafting Survey", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/jewelry-crafting-survey-craglorn-i", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Jewelry Crafting Survey: Craglorn I", "description": "Information on where one might find various resources required for jewelrycrafting", "text": "Resource cache uncovered: Under a large, sharp canopy of stone spikes, below a great tree, behind another jut of stone, equidistant between the Grotto of Depravity and Font of Schemes.\nI find the water here interesting - there's an energy to it I don't quite understand. Why am I here? Between the floating bits of jagged rock and the surplus of daedra, I'd wager I have found myself somewhere in Oblivion.\nSurviving's been a trial. I've been able to catch some strange fish that have only made me mostly ill. Perhaps this is yet a dream, a long nightmare from which I've yet to wake? If so \u2014 whomever governs this dream \u2014 I'd prefer handsomer pursuers, thank you."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/jewelry-crafting-survey-craglorn-ii": {"series": "Jewelry Crafting Survey", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/jewelry-crafting-survey-craglorn-ii", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Jewelry Crafting Survey: Craglorn II", "description": "Information on where one might find various resources required for jewelrycrafting", "text": "Resource cache uncovered: In a cliffside cranny, southeast of Chiselshriek Mine, north of Inazzur's Hold\nSomething's gone strange in Craglorn. Since I got here, some of the constellations aren't present in the sky. I'm also seeing strange lights on the horizon, so \u2014 naturally \u2014 I've been exercising more caution than usual.\nAfter all, if something's blotting out the stars, it's clearly large enough to eat me without even realizing it's done so. I'd rather not attract the attention of any such thing."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/jewelry-crafting-survey-craglorn-iii": {"series": "Jewelry Crafting Survey", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/jewelry-crafting-survey-craglorn-iii", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Jewelry Crafting Survey: Craglorn III", "description": "Information on where one might find various resources required for jewelrycrafting", "text": "Resource cache uncovered: On a rocky cliff overlooking a lake island, west of the Seeker's Archive, south of Anka-Ra's Avowal, with an only slightly occluded view of a local waterfall.\nI spied a group of adventurers engaging in some amount of adventure recently. Without my guide, surveying the region's been quite peaceful, so this was a bit of a shock.\nAnyway - as is my particular habit, naturally - I avoided them entirely. As I crept away, there were a number of explosions, some screaming monsters, and a lot of shouting. Bothersome, to be sure. I wish adventurers would stop in their adventures periodically to consider how much they disrupt peoples' lives."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/jewelry-crafting-survey-deshaan": {"series": "Jewelry Crafting Survey", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/jewelry-crafting-survey-deshaan", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Jewelry Crafting Survey: Deshaan", "description": "Information on where one might find various resources required for jewelrycrafting", "text": "Resource cache uncovered: On a bluff overlooking the road south of Mournhold, between the Shrine to Saint Rilms and Deepcrag Den, opposite the road from a Dres plantation.\nThe Dunmeri heartland. Do you know the smell of netch? I certainly do, for it will never, ever leave my clothing.\nIf you were expecting anything more from me, you shan't have it. It smells terrible here and I can't get it off my mind."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/jewelry-crafting-survey-eastmarch": {"series": "Jewelry Crafting Survey", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/jewelry-crafting-survey-eastmarch", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Jewelry Crafting Survey: Eastmarch", "description": "Information on where one might find various resources required for jewelrycrafting", "text": "Resource cache uncovered: South and east of Dragon's Hollow, in the cliffs.\nWhy would anyone live somewhere so cold? Even here, south of the permafrost, my spines tingle in the cold air. I look at mammoths and bears and feel only fur-envy and a deep need to not remember their odor.\nI guess it could be worse. I could have frozen to death. But it could be better, too: I could have an actual cartographer working with me, rather than needing to take extensive notes on every location I visit. Why do I do this, again?"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/jewelry-crafting-survey-elsweyr": {"series": "Jewelry Crafting Survey", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/jewelry-crafting-survey-elsweyr", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Jewelry Crafting Survey: Elsweyr", "description": "Information on where one might find various resources required for jewelrycrafting", "text": "Resource cache uncovered: Northeast of the Tenmar wayshrine, pass through a stone archway leading behind a massive lith, against the southeastern plateau. Be ready for a hike.\nWhy do I always find myself in an active warzone? I was led to believe Elsweyr would be like a vacation - I'd be able to enjoy the warm sun, the diverse geography, the interesting plantlife, and the acrobatic locals during this trip.\nAlas! Dragons are REAL and DETERMINED TO RUIN MY FUN. I may never stop screaming. Never!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/jewelry-crafting-survey-glenumbra": {"series": "Jewelry Crafting Survey", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/jewelry-crafting-survey-glenumbra", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Jewelry Crafting Survey: Glenumbra", "description": "Information on where one might find various resources required for jewelrycrafting", "text": "Resource cache uncovered: On an island west of the Wyrd Tree, between Farwatch and the Shrieking Scar, on the coast.\nI will be frank: I can take more credit than usual for this. Lightning struck a supply of kindlepitch I had been ferrying with me on the survey (coastal surveys being particularly foolhardy) and exposed the precious metals recorded above.\nWhy did I have kindlepitch with me? I HAD planned a violent cordon for my encampment in the event any mudcrab dared approach my provisions. Alas."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/jewelry-crafting-survey-grahtwood": {"series": "Jewelry Crafting Survey", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/jewelry-crafting-survey-grahtwood", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Jewelry Crafting Survey: Grahtwood", "description": "Information on where one might find various resources required for jewelrycrafting", "text": "Resource cache uncovered: In a recess at the base of a cliff, opposite the Temple of the Eight, up-grade from the Gil-Var-Delle wayshrine. Not far from a suspiciously friendly hag.\nGrahtwood's natural beauty is subject to interpretation. For every towering graht-oak, the dense forest features some score or more horrible thing wishing to rip you open and eat your stuffing. Trolls, hags, stranglers, hoarvors \u2014 all frankly disgusting and unfortunately common.\nI would say \"at least the mudcrabs have the common decency to remain on the coast,\" but the hoarvors are everywhere. They may actually be worse, as their hindquarters jiggle when excited. Disgusting."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/jewelry-crafting-survey-greenshade": {"series": "Jewelry Crafting Survey", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/jewelry-crafting-survey-greenshade", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Jewelry Crafting Survey: Greenshade", "description": "Information on where one might find various resources required for jewelrycrafting", "text": "Resource cache uncovered: In a cleft between two great stones, on the shore behind shipwreck debris, south of Seaside Sanctuary's docks, west of the Underroot.\nBe wary of crocodiles. And fleshflies, for that matter.\n\tWhile not contending for my life with lusty crocodiles, I found the view quite nice.\nAll the same, I'd remain on my toes. No great vista or precious metal is worth becoming some creature's dinner."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/jewelry-crafting-survey-malabal-tor": {"series": "Jewelry Crafting Survey", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/jewelry-crafting-survey-malabal-tor", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Jewelry Crafting Survey: Malabal Tor", "description": "Information on where one might find various resources required for jewelrycrafting", "text": "Resource cache uncovered: In an unmarked prospector's cavern, between the Tomb of the Apostates and Bone Grappler's Nest, southwest of Tanglehaven.\nImagine my surprise at discovering an actual, proper lode! Granted, it features the dusty bones of a long-dead prospector, and a very intimate family of hoarvors, but it remains a pleasant surprise all the same.\nYet, it remains a gem buried in the rank, foetid heart of Valenwood. Alas."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/jewelry-crafting-survey-reapers-march": {"series": "Jewelry Crafting Survey", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/jewelry-crafting-survey-reapers-march", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Jewelry Crafting Survey: Reaper's March", "description": "Information on where one might find various resources required for jewelrycrafting", "text": "Resource cache uncovered: Nestled into a cliffside nook, far but due west of Rawl'kha, between Deathsong Cleft and the Do'Krin Monastery,\\n\\nI would love Reaper's March, intimately, if it were not already so well-travelled. There are roads everywhere here; the Khajiit and Imperials and Bosmer have all done an excellent job \u2014 top-notch, really \u2014 of exploring this boundary territory to the fullest.\nThe climate is perfect, really. Plenty of sun, not too hot, not cold at all. The terrain is delightful, of course; everywhere I've been has been a gorgeous vista.\nIt's just a shame about all these people. If I could buy the province and evict them all, I would."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/jewelry-crafting-survey-rivenspire": {"series": "Jewelry Crafting Survey", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/jewelry-crafting-survey-rivenspire", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Jewelry Crafting Survey: Rivenspire", "description": "Information on where one might find various resources required for jewelrycrafting", "text": "Resource cache uncovered: On the western shore of an oddly sonorous island northwest of Northsalt Village and Northpoint, in a natural recess visible from Westwind Lighthouse.\nThis island is blessedly free of mudcrabs. With the suspicious volume of shipwrecks nearby, there's ample resources to (perhaps) build a modest cottage here, though I find the curious singing sound the wind makes unnerving.\nI'm frankly not sure why some enterprising hermit hasn't thrown a home together here yet. It's a nice place \u2014 you're close enough to the shore to be able to fling stones at crabs from the island, and far enough to where you can really drink in the scenery.\nIt's also a bit cozy! I really don't feel like I'm alone."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/jewelry-crafting-survey-shadowfen": {"series": "Jewelry Crafting Survey", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/jewelry-crafting-survey-shadowfen", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Jewelry Crafting Survey: Shadowfen", "description": "Information on where one might find various resources required for jewelrycrafting", "text": "Resource cache uncovered: In the foothills, east bank of the river, behind a large rock abutment, southeast of the wreck of the Graceful Dominator, east of Percolating Mire.\nI'm from Shadowfen. I'd hoped to never come back, but thankfully my close familiarity with the marsh's various waterways has given me free ability to avoid everything I hate that lives here.\nHoarvors, stranglers, close relatives, I've ducked them all. I'll be leaving as soon as I can, before I am roped into some sap-drinking family reunion."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/jewelry-crafting-survey-stonefalls": {"series": "Jewelry Crafting Survey", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/jewelry-crafting-survey-stonefalls", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Jewelry Crafting Survey: Stonefalls", "description": "Information on where one might find various resources required for jewelrycrafting", "text": "Resource cache uncovered: High in the foothills, between Fort Arand and Othrenis, due south of Ash Mountain, behind the area's lone tree.\nI would like to remind us all that the Velothi chose to live surrounded by volcanoes. This was deliberate, and a choice. This was what they wanted.\n\tI have a great deal of respect for a culture that assessed its needs and concluded it never wanted friends. This place is terrible; it's hot, the ash stings my eyes, there are hostile kwama and spiders and shalk and beetles everywhere.\nI think I'm starting to like it. Haven't seen a mudcrab yet."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/jewelry-crafting-survey-stormhaven": {"series": "Jewelry Crafting Survey", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/jewelry-crafting-survey-stormhaven", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Jewelry Crafting Survey: Stormhaven", "description": "Information on where one might find various resources required for jewelrycrafting", "text": "Resource cache uncovered: In a cleft between two rocks, near a waterfall, east of Nightmare Crag, west of Bonesnap Ruins. A pace north of Steelheart Moorings.\nI'm increasingly frustrated with our inability to find a cartographer of merit.\n\"Insufficient funding,\" they tell me. What miserable fiction!\nInstead of having a mapper \u2014 a professional! \u2014 with me with some knowledge of the area, I instead have to (for example) contend with roadway bandits, escape them into the arms of a cadre of friendly cultists working some manner of idiot ritual at a stone circle, give THEM the slip and tumble into a very alarmed doe and then \u2014 and then! \u2014 run WITH HER through an equally (violently) confused pack of wolves before happening upon our precious metals. It's fine. This is fine."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/jewelry-crafting-survey-rift": {"series": "Jewelry Crafting Survey", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/jewelry-crafting-survey-rift", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Jewelry Crafting Survey: The Rift", "description": "Information on where one might find various resources required for jewelrycrafting", "text": "Resource cache uncovered: Nestled into the cliffs, northeast of Riften, opposite a camp of giants, north of the Lost Prospect.\nPerhaps it has something to do with all of the mammothcheese aging up the butte from me as I write this, but this area of Riften is rank with sulphur and urea. I just thought you might like to know.\nThat aside, The Rift is certainly one of the more hospitable regions of Skyrim. Climate-wise, that is. Beautiful countryside, though a bit cold for my tastes. And ripe."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/jewelry-crafting-survey-vvardenfell": {"series": "Jewelry Crafting Survey", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/jewelry-crafting-survey-vvardenfell", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Jewelry Crafting Survey: Vvardenfell", "description": "Information on where one might find various resources required for jewelrycrafting", "text": "Resource cache uncovered: On a damp island southwest of Gnisis or, more specifically, its wayshrine.\nMy best decision in coming to Vvardenfell was in trading for a good ash mask from some clever Zainab Ashlander. I can see just fine and \u2014 more importantly \u2014 am coughing far less often.\nMore importantly, I'm very much looking forward to being done with everything and heading back to Suran. I shan't say why, but would recommend a visit to nearly anyone."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/jewelry-crafting-survey-wrothgar-i": {"series": "Jewelry Crafting Survey", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/jewelry-crafting-survey-wrothgar-i", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Jewelry Crafting Survey: Wrothgar I", "description": "Information on where one might find various resources required for jewelrycrafting", "text": "Resource cache uncovered: Just northeast of Coldperch Cavern, along the bluffs on the way to a great statue of Malacath, behind a fallen tree, southeast of the Shatul Range.\nI thought I understood cold, snow, and winter. I was so, so disastrously wrong. I'm wearing the pelts of six different animals and still freezing my scales off.\nI can barely write, I'm so cold. This is awful."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/jewelry-crafting-survey-wrothgar-ii": {"series": "Jewelry Crafting Survey", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/jewelry-crafting-survey-wrothgar-ii", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Jewelry Crafting Survey: Wrothgar II", "description": "Information on where one might find various resources required for jewelrycrafting", "text": "Resource cache uncovered: Between the Exile's Barrow and Accursed Nursery, due south of the Morkul Plain Wayshrine, at the foot of a great butte.\nCame up with a system of shorthand to make recording my notes easier. Inconveniently, descending from the mountains made Wrothgar incredibly more bearable.\nIt's still cold, but my breath doesn't freeze onto my nose immediately, and I can write more ably. So, I suppose I have shorthand for any such time I find myself short of time or in another frozen wasteland. Great."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/jewelry-crafting-survey-wrothgar-iii": {"series": "Jewelry Crafting Survey", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/jewelry-crafting-survey-wrothgar-iii", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Jewelry Crafting Survey: Wrothgar III", "description": "Information on where one might find various resources required for jewelrycrafting", "text": "Resource cache uncovered: Just down the cliff from the path to Old Orsinium, as it curves above a view of the sea.\nThe trees around here leave their needles everywhere. They also leave a dusty film of disgusting tree waste everywhere. I have fir pollen in places I never, ever wanted trees to know I have.\nWhen I get back to Orsinium, I'm going to spend some time steaming in that delightful underground bathhouse. I'd say I've earned it, after experiencing what the Orcs call \"countryside.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/jorunn-skald-king-original": {"series": "Jorunn the Skald-King", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/jorunn-skald-king-original", "author": "Helgreir Lute-Voice", "title": "Jorunn the Skald-King (Original)", "description": "King Jorunn's birth and his rise to power during the Second Akaviri Invasion.", "text": "Born in 2E 546 to Queen Mabjaarn Flame-Hair, Prince Jorunn grew up knowing that his elder sister, Nurnhilde, was fated to take the throne. A singer of rare talent in a culture that reveres the power of the human voice, Jorunn studied at Skald's Retreat on the Isle of Gold outside Riften. There he learned all that could be taught by the most renowned bards of the Eastern Kingdom. He was dubbed the \u201cSkald Prince\u201d of Skyrim.\nJorunn spent most of his youth in artistic and philosophical pursuits, cultivating a broad array of artists, artisans, and performers throughout Eastern Skyrim and beyond. He spent time in Mournhold, Stormhold, Sutch, Elinhir, and is even reputed to have visited Solitude,the capital of Western Skyrim, in disguise. Though he claimed to have no interest in politics or the business of rule, his natural leadership qualities made him the unofficial leader of the creative community wherever he found himself. Though he received little formal schooling in the arts of arms and warfare \u2013 as little as a prince of the Nords could manage, anyway \u2013 traveling across Tamriel was always a dangerous activity. His travels taught him less orthodox ways of dealing with trouble.\nJorunn was in Riften when the Akaviri of Dir-Kamal assaulted the northeast coast of Skyrim in 2E 572. Jorunn and his closest comrades, the \u201cPack of Bards,\u201d fought their way up the coast to Windhelm, arriving just in time to see its gates breached by the Akaviri.\nJorunn hurled himself into the fray, street-fighting being something he had experience with, but was unable to prevent the fall of the city and the slaying of Queen Mabjaarn and the Princess Nurnhilde, who both went down fighting.\nWounded and devastated, Jorunn barely escaped the sack of Windhelm alive. Feeling for the first time the responsibility of his royal birth, he decided to appeal to the Greybeards for aid, and so made his way, stealthily but quickly, to High Hrothgar. For reasons that have not been divulged, the Greybeards summoned a hero from Sovngarde, Wulfharth the Ash-King, to fight at Jorunn's side.\nTogether Wulfharth and Jorunn, now claiming the title Skald King, rallied the Nords of Eastern Skyrim, mustering an army from the Rift and the outer regions of Eastmarch, then fortifying Riften. Dir-Kamal, moving south from Windhelm, found Riften defended by angry Nords inspired by the presence of Wulfharth and eager to fight. So Dir-Kamal bypassed Riften and marched on Mournhold, the Akaviri leader assuming that the Nords would be glad to see him go.\nThat choice was a fatal mistake. Jorunn and Wulfharth led their army in pursuit of the Akaviri force, and a Nordic army entered Morrowind for the first time since the Battle of Red Mountain. The Akaviri army was caught at Stonefalls between the Nords and a Dunmer legion led by Almalexia, but the outcome of the great battle hung in the balance -- until a surprise intervention from a phalanx of Argonian shellbacks, led by a trio of reptilianbattlemages. The Akaviri line was broken and they were driven into the sea, where they drowned by the thousands.\nThe Ash King, his purpose fulfilled, returned to Sovngarde. In Windhelm, three weeks later, Jorunn was crowned High King in the throne room of the Palace of Kings."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/journal-tsona-ei-part-one": {"series": "Journal of Tsona-Ei", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/journal-tsona-ei-part-one", "author": "Tsona-Ei", "title": "Journal of Tsona-Ei, Part One", "description": "Tsona-Ei recounts the conflict between the All-Flags Navy and the Sload of Thras", "text": "Herein find the memoirs of Tsona-Ei, Argonian sailor and First Mate of the fine sailing ship, the Golden Era.\nI have never been one to keep a log, but these are exciting times and the gravity of current events compels me to put quill to parchment. I have been a sailor for a long time, but I've never seen a gathering of ships the likes of which the Emperor has assembled.\nThe Sload, loathed as they are by all the peoples of Tamriel, moved his majesty to action because of the terrible toll their plague has taken upon every port in the west. Every land fears this plague born of Thras by the slugs and their vile necromancy. When the call to arms was sounded, it was answered from across the empire: Colovian galleys, Redguard corsairs, Breton warships, Aldmeri cutters\u2014even Black Marsh freebooters like me and much of our crew. Never have I known such a force to set sail together.\nThe All-Flags Navy, they call it, a mixed fleet under the command of Baron-Admiral Bendu Olo. We sail to Thras together. Woe betide the Sload! They have brought this great and terrible fleet down upon themselves."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/journal-tsona-ei-part-two": {"series": "Journal of Tsona-Ei", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/journal-tsona-ei-part-two", "author": "Tsona-Ei", "title": "Journal of Tsona-Ei, Part Two", "description": "Tsona-Ei recounts the conflict between the All-Flags Navy and the Sload of Thras", "text": "We have left the Abecean Sea behind and entered the Sea of Pearls, the waters that surround the Thrassian Archipelago. Never was a sea so ill-named as this one: the enthusiasm of my earlier entry ends here.\nFor two days we have been wracked by storms more foul and terrible than any I have ever seen. They seem to grow worse as we approach Thras. The crew talks of terrible whispers on the air and glimpses of rotting things moving in the water. I myself have been too sick to see or hear anything other than my own illness. In all my years, I've never suffered the sickness of the rolling sea before. That doesn't bode well for the rest of this trip.\nWe were a mighty fleet with sails as numerous as the trees of my native Alten Corimont. Now I cannot know our number. The fog, with its stench of rot and terrible foulness, obscures our vision and makes it hard to see beyond two lengths of the mast. We passed rocks as we approached that were only a few paces from our hull. We hear the cracks and screams that indicate our sister ships were not so lucky.\nThe fog ended today. We emerged from what appeared to be a solid wall of cloud that extended in an unbroken circle around the islands of the Sloads. Our first view of the largest island was awe-inspiring: a tower, taller than any I have ever seen and made of blood-red coral, reached into the sky. A terrible blue light flickered at its apex like an strange bud upon the tower's stalk."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/journal-tsona-ei-part-three": {"series": "Journal of Tsona-Ei", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/journal-tsona-ei-part-three", "author": "Tsona-Ei", "title": "Journal of Tsona-Ei, Part Three", "description": "Tsona-Ei recounts the conflict between the All-Flags Navy and the Sload of Thras", "text": "Other ships followed us through the fog. One by one they emerged. Some were battered, some were missing, but many remained. We formed up and sailed toward the main island.\nThrough the terrible storms that battered us on our way, the captain stood firm. Many in the crew wished to abandon our cause, but the captain cursed them and would not hear of it. His cabin is directly above mine and at night I swear I could hear demonic whispers and see eerie lights. The captain I knew slipped away in the fog to be replaced by spectre of anger and hate.\nA projection of Baron-Admiral Olo appeared on our deck. He spoke as if he could not see us\u2014I assume this was some sort of magical broadcast to the fleet. He ordered us to take boats and men to sack the big island and lay siege to the tower by land as his remaining Imperial ships bombarded it from a distance. We armed ourselves with swords and bows, and the captain ordered us to the longboats.\nWhen we set foot on shore I think we were the first to arrive. We were not the last. The Sloads are powerful necromancers, but they are poor hand-to-hand fighters and our numbers dwarfed theirs. Still, they fought, and they died as we conquered their island. They whispered curses to their Daedric Lord with their dying breaths are we took their gold, their goods, and their lives.\nThe blue light atop the coral tower began to pulse and bleed energy into the clouded sky. When the ground beneath our feet began to quake and tremble, no one had to tell us to run. The island began to crack and sink. The sea around Thras boiled as we rowed for our lives back to the Golden Era.\nWe were hauled back on deck in time to watch the Coral Tower collapse into the sea. We noticed too late the current that pulled us towards it. As the eye of blue light atop the tower dipped into the sea it began to spin like a great wheel, and when it met the waves it formed a monstrous whirlpool. Half the fleet was drawn into it, our ship included."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/journal-tsona-ei-part-four": {"series": "Journal of Tsona-Ei", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/journal-tsona-ei-part-four", "author": "Tsona-Ei", "title": "Journal of Tsona-Ei, Part Four", "description": "Tsona-Ei recounts the conflict between the All-Flags Navy and the Sload of Thras", "text": "I remember thinking, as we slid into the massive whirlpool, that my mates and I would never see Alten Corimont again. I was right, but not in the way I thought. The truth was even worse.\nAs we were sucked into the pulsing blue light beneath the maelstrom, I felt water rush over my scales. Before the sea could consume me, a gale of cold wind exploded from below. We were no longer sinking\u2014we were falling! As I clung to the deck, I saw that the whirling wall of water had been replaced by a dark, haunted sky and an infinite expanse of cold, dead earth. And it was rushing to meet us as we fell.\nI blacked out, waking up some time later on the deck. I remember seeing the Captain talking to what appeared to be a great beast. I remember the beast handing the Captain something and then I blacked out again.\nWhen I awoke, I was transformed. My scales and skin were gone\u2014I was nought but bones. The Captain was now the Admiral, and whatever he commanded we could not refuse. More ships fell from the sky, and our Lost Fleet grew. We put the Era back together, dug tunnels, and constructed a town from the wreckage of the other ships, all at the Admiral's command.\nWe hate him, but we cannot disobey him. It's that crown he wears. I pray that one day someone who can resist the Admiral finds this journal. This journal, and the key I have hidden within its pages."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/keshu-travels-beyond-village": {"series": "Keshu", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/keshu-travels-beyond-village", "author": "Peek-Ereel", "title": "Keshu: Travels Beyond the Village", "description": "Multi-volume biography of Keshu the Black Fin, war hero and founder of the movement for an advanced Saxhleel society.", "text": "One of the first things Keshu the Black Fin, war hero and founder of the movement for an advanced Saxhleel society, decided after completing her rites of maturity and earning her place as a Saxhleel adult was to undertake a journey to learn more about the world beyond our tiny village. With sly Tee-Wan, mighty Vos-Huruk, crafty Xocin, and myself beside her, Keshu said farewell to the village and our teacher, the raj-deelith, Drameencin, and set off to see the wonders that waited beyond the familiar confines of Tadulpa.\nWe headed north, stopping at each village along the way to visit friends and family members as we made our way toward the legendary city of Stormhold. In the village of Zurook, we were warned to avoid the Dark Elf enclaves in Stormhold, as they were notorious for capturing lone Saxhleel and shipping them off to serve as slaves back in Morrowind. We had heard rumors about Dark Elf slavers as we were growing up, but we never quite believed the tales in our secluded part of the greater marsh.\nWe arrived in Stormhold with the rest of the throng of visitors\u2014traders, mercenaries, crafters, and the most diverse group of people we had ever seen. In addition to the obviously citified Saxhleel (who we learned were called Argonians by the other races), we gaped in wonder at the giant Nords, the fair-skinned High Elves, the flamboyant Bretons, the brooding Dark Elves, and even the few Khajiit and Wood Elves wandering the squares.\nThey were all strange and exotic to us, and we saw first-hand how some of our egg-brothers and egg-sisters were treated by the outsiders. Some, like the powerful and dignified city-dwellers, were bowed down to and venerated. While others, obviously weaker and poorer, were ordered about, denigrated, and even beaten, depending upon the whims of their masters. We were shocked and appalled, but Keshu ordered us to remain calm. \"We can't change the course of this river,\" she said. \"At least, not this day.\"\nDuring our exploration of the city, we happened upon a group of young Nords and their charismatic leader, the bard named Jorunn. We listened to Jorunn perform, fascinated by the stories he told and captivated by his clear and expressive voice. He noticed our intense interest, particularly that of Keshu, and invited us to join him and his companions for the evening meal. Keshu and Jorunn became fast friends, speaking of many things long into the night. It turns out, he and his companions weren't much older than we were and they were also traveling to see the world before the responsibilities of adulthood caught up with them. While we taught Jorunn and his friends how to eat and drink traditional Saxhleel fare, they exposed us to the Nord delicacies that were available at the inn.\nI didn't listen to everything that Jorunn and Keshu discussed that night, but I heard some of it. Jorunn spoke of his family, the wonders of Skyrim, and his hope to someday be a famous bard. He explained that his sister was going to be Queen of the Nords, but I assumed that was just another one of his fanciful stories. I'm not sure what Keshu believed. For her part, Keshu told Jorunn about life in the marsh, what it meant to be a Saxhleel, and how our people had once commanded a much more advanced civilization. He appeared to be genuinely fascinated by everything she said. As the fire in the hearth burned down to embers and the tankards of Nord mead and Saxhleel bile beer were finally emptied, Tee-Wan came rushing in. \"Xocin,\" he said, his voice cracking with fear and sorrow, \"he's been taken by the slavers.\"\nKeshu never hesitated. She rose and ordered us to action. She had no intention of allowing the Dark Elves to take our egg-brother away in chains. Before we could gather our weapons and head out, Jorunn stood. \"Friends don't let friends rush off to battle by themselves,\" the big Nord declared. \"Besides, we haven't gotten into a good brawl since last Turdas. My companions get cranky when they go too long without a good brawl.\"\nOur visit to Stormhold had taken a bad turn, like a sudden storm appearing on an otherwise sunny day. Xocin and Tee-Wan had decided to explore the city on their own while Keshu, Vos-Huruk, and I spent the evening with our new Nord friends. When Tee-Wan returned, he was alone. He explained that Dark Elf slavers had taken Xocin captive. Keshu, of course, planned to rescue him. And, much to our surprise, Jorunn the bard, leader of our new Nord friends, wanted to assist us. \"Nothing gets the blood running like busting a few Dark Elf heads for a good cause,\" he proclaimed in his deep, booming voice.\nKeshu and Jorunn led the way to the Dark Elf enclave on the edge of the city. \"House Dres,\" Jorunn said, but it came out more as a curse than a name. \"I should have known.\" We scouted the enclave, taking note of where guards were positioned and how they moved about the encampment. We determined where the newly acquired slaves were being held and began to formulate a plan for setting them free. Keshu led the discussion on strategy and Jorunn listened carefully, interjecting a suggestion every so often but otherwise agreeing with her plan. Just as the sun began to rise in the sky, four Saxhleel and five Nords went to war with the House Dres slaver's enclave. And the battle was glorious!\nLaunching a surprise attack on an overconfident and unprepared enemy is easier than you might imagine. Especially when you have a handful of overeager, half-drunk Nords at your side. Keshu and Jorunn fought like whirlwinds, carving a path to the slave pen while the rest of us dealt with arriving reinforcements. It took the Dark Elves more time than we expected to get their defenses together. The late hour and the unexpected assault seemed to have totally flummoxed the slavers' usual routine. Jorunn explained that they were used to defending their caravans in the wild, but no one had ever had the audacity to strike at the heart of a Dres enclave. \"And that's why your plan is going to succeed,\" he said to Keshu.\nWith relative ease, Keshu dispatched the guards trying to protect the gate to the slave pen. Jorunn stepped into the opening she created and smashed off the pen's lock with a single swipe of his massive battle-axe. Xocin emerged from the pen, leading a band of disheveled Saxhleel out of the confined space. By this time, the Dark Elves had rallied and were advancing on our position. \"We're about to have company, Black Fin,\" Vos-Huruk warned. \"And they have magic users with them,\" I added. Keshu began giving orders, ready to fight to the last of us if that was what was required. But Jorunn had a different idea.\n\"Not every battle needs to be to the death, my Argonian friend,\" the big Nord said with a twinkle in his eyes. \"Take your people and make your escape. My companion and I will keep the puny Elves occupied while you slip away.\" Keshu thanked him and promised to return the favor someday. \"I may just hold you to that promise,\" Jorunn laughed as he turned to face the oncoming slavers. \"Someday.\"\nKeshu led us and the newly released slaves into the marsh as Jorunn and his companions took up our defense. The Nords fought with gusto, and we could hear them laughing and singing battle songs as we disappeared into the swamp. After we had run for nearly as long as it took the sun to reach the top of the sky, Keshu called for us to halt. She asked me to return to the city and make sure the Nords had survived the assault on the slavers' enclave. Tee-Wan, skilled at stealth and deception, offered to accompany me. We set out immediately while Keshu talked to the now-freed slaves.\nWe slipped back into Stormhold as quietly and unobtrusively as we could. The enclave was sealed up tight and a large contingent of guards had arrived to bolster its defenses. Tee-Wan and I made our way back to the inn. We found Jorunn and his companions there, appearing no worse for the morning's battle. He thanked us for showing concern and coming to check on him, but he told us not to linger. \"The House Dres leader is very upset about losing his slaves,\" Jorunn said. \"We're even getting ready to leave this place\u2014after we finish our meal and our mead. Tell Keshu I look forward to our next encounter.\"\nAnd with that, Tee-Wan and I left the city of Stormhold. We never even glanced back once as we made our way to Keshu and the others.\nMy tale of the younger days of Keshu, war hero and founder of the movement for an advanced Saxhleel society, continues. Our travels beyond the village of Tadulpa, the village where we grew up, proceeded, with Keshu determining every step we took through the greater marsh. Our company had grown from the five of us to a group of more than a dozen. Most of the slaves we freed from the House Dres enclave in Stormhold had departed, seeking to make their way back to homes and families. But not all of them had something to return to. And, it seemed, Keshu was developing into as charismatic and popular a leader as Jorunn the Nord, who we met in Stormhold.\nKeshu had always been fascinated by the tales of an advanced Saxhleel society that supposedly thrived in the distant past. For this part of our journey, she was determined to visit the site of one of these ancient cities. We followed clues contained in an old book she had borrowed from our teacher, the raj-deelith, Drameencin, and traveled deeper into the marsh. We moved through a portion of the swamp that was as dangerous to Saxhleel as it was to scaleless outsiders. In addition to strange predators and clouds of noxious poison that drifted casually on the breeze, we also had to contend with meat-eating plants, ambulatory mounds of flesh-dissolving mud, and swarms of hungry insects. But we were adult Saxhleel, tested and proven strong (well, except for me, who still had to complete my rites of maturity), and the great and powerful Black Fin was our leader. The swamp never stood a chance.\nWe wandered for a time, trying to locate a specific landmark in the bleakness of the deep marsh. According to Keshu's book, we were looking for two huge shining cypress trees, their trunks twisted by age and proximity so that they were intertwined like a thick, knotted rope. It was Tee-Wan who eventually found the tangled trees, calling out his discovery with a mix of excitement and dread. For beyond the trees, looming like a mountain from the murky water of the swamp, was the ancient stone ruins of the advanced Saxhleel civilization.The ruins waited before us, consisting of equal parts oppressive stone and dark shadows. Most of us were wary if not outright fearful of approaching the place. How could Saxhleel have tolerated living in such a structure? But Keshu displayed not a hint of the fear the rest of us were feeling. In fact, her face shone with wonder and excitement. Before any of us could stop her, she was racing up the stone steps toward the top of the pyramid, anxious to discover the secrets of the lost civilization. When she saw that the rest of us were hanging back, she returned and addressed our group.\n\"Vos-Huruk,\" Keshu said, \"lead the group back to Tadulpa. I will follow and meet you there shortly.\" We were worried about Keshu remaining among the ruins by herself, but we were also eager to return to our village. \"What will you do out here?\" I asked. Keshu erected the spine of compassion and simply replied, \"Learn whatever I can.\"\nWe had been back in the village for almost the entire cycle of the moons when Keshu emerged from the swamp and returned to Tadulpa. She received a hero's welcome, for the stories of our adventures had grown with each telling, and Keshu was considered to be the greatest of us all. She never encouraged the accolades, never sought glory. She greeted us each in turn, asked about the welfare of the freed slaves who had accompanied us, and then went to seek the counsel of the teacher, Drameencin. She found our old mentor in his mud hut, seeking solace from the heat of the day. \"Welcome home, student,\" he said, raising the spine of greeting.\n\"Raj-deelith,\" Keshu began, \"let me tell you what I found in the place of the Old Ones.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/keshu-egg-adolescence": {"series": "Keshu", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/keshu-egg-adolescence", "author": "Peek-Ereel", "title": "Keshu: From Egg to Adolescence", "description": "Multi-volume biography of Keshu the Black Fin, war hero and founder of the movement for an advanced Saxhleel society.", "text": "By Peek-Ereel, Friend and Confidant to Keshu the Black Fin\nKeshu the Black Fin, war hero and founder of the movement for an advanced Saxhleel society, started out as just another one of my many egg-brothers and egg-sisters. There wasn't anything overtly special about her when we were growing up in the village of Tadulpa. Not that I could see, anyway. She played traditional games, ate traditional food, and learned to hunt and track and fight. I guess if Keshu exceled at anything, it was tracking and fighting. She took to these activities like a shap takes to water, out-performing the rest of us with an ease that was almost supernatural.\nKeshu and I became friends almost from the moment we emerged from our eggs. We were inseparable. We played together, did our chores together, and attended our lessons together, growing up as all Saxhleel do. I suppose I began to notice something different about Keshu during this period. She had a passion about history that went beyond memorizing facts and numbers. She wanted to know everything she could find out about the once-great Saxhleel civilization that existed before Duskfall. In this matter, she was an individual, much more independent and more free-thinking than the rest of her egg-siblings. In some ways, her fiery individualism frightened me.\nI guess the Hist saw the same things that I noticed, for when she licked the Hist on our Naming Day, she was awarded with the name \"Keshu,\" which literally means \"Stands Apart.\" It was a strong name, a good name. The name of a crocodile in a lake of shap. Keshu accepted the name with dignity and honor. It fit her well.\nTo demonstrate that Keshu wasn't all dull history and fighting, let me tell you about an event from our early childhood. The egg-tender Julan-Nah was forever scolding us and dispelling us from the Xal-Uxith, the Sacred Nest, even though Keshu loved to play among the developing eggs. To teach the egg-tender a lesson, Keshu tracked and captured a young wamasu. She released it into the nest, assuming it would scare the egg-tender and provide us all with a good laugh. It did the trick, all right, but it also cracked three innocent and helpless eggs. Keshu was so mortified by the damage she had caused that she volunteered to assist the egg-tender for the entire cycle of the calendar.\nNear the end of that cycle, the raj-deelith (literally, the elder teacher), Drameencin, arrived to instruct us in preparation for our rites of maturity. It was during this intensive period of lessons and training that Keshu's companions gathered around her. In addition to myself, Keshu attracted the attention of the powerful Vos-Huruk, the sly Tee-Wan, and the clever Xocin. Vos-Huruk was a mountain of a woman who was almost Keshu's equal in battle. Tee-Wan would grow to become a thief and a spy. Xocin, on the other hand, enjoyed mixing alchemical tinctures and would go on to become a powerful mage. All would follow Keshu to war. All except me.\nThroughout that season, our friendships deepened and Drameencin did everything in his power to prepare us for our maturity rites. But that is another tale entirely."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/keshu-rites-maturity": {"series": "Keshu", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/keshu-rites-maturity", "author": "Peek-Ereel", "title": "Keshu: The Rites of Maturity", "description": "Multi-volume biography of Keshu the Black Fin, war hero and founder of the movement for an advanced Saxhleel society.", "text": "I remember our rites of maturity as though we took them yesterday. Keshu the Black Fin, war hero and founder of the movement for an advanced Saxhleel society, earned her sobriquet completing these tests\u2014and she began to build her reputation and solidify her relationship with the companions at this time as well. All of the companions exceled in the tests: Keshu, Vos-Huruk, Tee-Wan, Xocin, and even me (at least until the final test). Yes, we accomplished great things, but much of the credit has to go to our instructor and mentor, the raj-deelith, Drameencin.\nThe elder teacher was ancient. Supposedly, he was old when our egg-parents hatched from the communal nest. But age didn't seem to slow Drameencin. More like a fine mold or a fermented ooze, he just got better with every passing season. By the time we became his students, he was at the top of his craft and we were poised to become his masterpieces. He followed the usual methods of instructing young Saxhleel, making sure we conformed to the needs and requirements of the community and teaching us advanced techniques for hunting and tracking and crafting. But he took us beyond the source of the river to also enhance our peculiar talents. We weren't just interchangeable eggs in a basket to Drameencin. We were individuals, and Keshu especially thrived under his tutelage.\nThe Saxhleel rites of maturity consist of multiple tests of skill and bravery over the course of multiple days. Some of the tests are set, used by every Saxhleel community throughout the greater marsh. Others change, depending on location, time of season, or the specific tastes of a community's raj-nassa (the elder leaders). Our rites included three difficult tests. How Keshu performed at these tests showed what kind of person she was blossoming into.\nThe first of these tests was \"The Trial of the Lost Centipede.\" We were each directed to reach into a barrel and pull forth a single marsh centipede. If you've never seen a marsh centipede, they are excellent specimens of great size and nasty temperament. The average marsh centipede is as long as the span of your outstretched fingers and as thick as your wrist. The centipede selected is decorated with a distinctive mark to identify it. Then they are given to runners who race into the wilderness and release them. Our test was to track our specific marsh centipede, capture it, and return it to the raj-nassa alive and well. Now, tracking a specific centipede through an overgrown marsh is no simple task. It takes skill, patience, and even a bit of luck.\nXocin recovered his centipede first, but in doing so he disturbed a haj mota. In order to elude the hidden hunter, he was forced to wade into a deadly patch of quicksand. Keshu, who happened to be passing by at the time, distracted the haj mota and sent it scrambling in the opposite direction. Then she circled back and rescued Xocin from the sucking embrace of the pool of mud and sand.\nBy the time Keshu tracked down her centipede, it had gotten itself into a terrible situation. A trio of hostile nagas was hunting the plump, many-legged creature, hoping to make a meal out of it. To complete this part of the maturity rites, Keshu could not allow that to happen. Without hesitation, she slipped into the dark water and swam toward the trio, submerged and hidden from view as she made her approach. Vos-Huruk, who was returning to the village after collecting her own centipede, happened upon the scene and watched as the event played out. She reported what happened and now I am writing it down for posterity's sake.\nAs the naga hunters circled and closed in on their prey, Keshu silently rose from the dark water like a black fin on the prowl, a vicious dagger in each hand and a look of determination in her eyes. She dispatched the first two nagas with quick slashes of her blades, advancing toward the third before her initial kills had barely sunk below the surface of the marsh. By the time the last naga realized that death was fast-approaching, it was too late to defend himself. He fell without providing even a token resistance to the single-minded Keshu. She scooped up her centipede and followed Vos-Huruk back to the raj-nassa.\n\nThe first of our three difficult tests completed, it was now time to begin our second rite of maturity. This was \"The Trial of the Perfect Bowl.\" It was as much a test of our crafting skill as it was a test of humility and confidence. The goal, we would discover later, was not necessarily to make the most ornate and complicated bowl we could devise, but to demonstrate that simple and utilitarian could also reveal perfection.\nThe test consisted of three parts. First, we had to acquire the components necessary to craft our bowls. Then we had to locate the hidden crafting stations that had been set up in dangerous parts of the marsh for just this specific purpose. Finally, we had to craft our bowls and present them to the raj-nassa for judgment\u2014before the crafting stations succumbed to the dangerous locations they were placed in.\nEach of us was provided with a specific material our bowls had to be constructed from. For example, Tee-Wan had to secure the shell of a rare three-clawed mudcrab, while I had to acquire the husk of a krona nut and Xocin needed to find the perfect branch from a dragon's tongue tree. While each of these presented a particular challenge, we were afraid for Keshu when we heard what her primary component had to be. She needed to steal an egg from a haj mota nest! Not only were haj motas extremely protective of their nests, the brittle shells of the haj mota egg were notoriously difficult to work with. More often than not, the shells crack when not worked with the utmost care and expertise.\nKeshu, now called \"the Black Fin\" as the tale of her success in the first rite spread throughout the village, headed out to locate a haj mota nest. Since she had met one of the massive creatures during the previous trial, she decided to return to that area to start her quest. She spent an entire day watching the marsh, observing the comings and goings of the haj mota. It soon became evident that the creature was a doe and that it had a full nest somewhere nearby. Of course, there are few creatures as dangerous as a mother haj mota protecting its eggs, and Keshu would have to tread carefully to successfully complete this part of the trial, let alone survive to finish the entire rite.\nNow, Keshu wanted to steal an egg from the nest, but she didn't want to harm any of the remaining eggs or injure the haj mota in the process. She believed in making as little mark as possible on the world as she passed through it. So once again she set out to distract the haj mota and lead it away from its nest. In this way, she hoped she could acquire an egg without having to face the creature's wrath. This time, she gathered a bundle of orange-grass and marsh roots\u2014a combination that few haj motas can resist\u2014and used the intoxicating aroma (at least to the haj mota) to draw the creature away from its nest. Then she tied the bundle to a water lizard and sent it scurrying into the deeper marsh. The haj mota followed after it, leaving Keshu's path to the nest clear.\nThere were three eggs in the nest. Keshu didn't select the largest egg, or the egg with the thickest shell. She took the smallest egg, because its mottled shell looked smooth and perfect to her crafter's eyes. She saw the bowl within it, waiting to emerge. What she hadn't seen, not until the last possible moment, was the male haj mota stalking out of the marsh and heading for the nest. She barely had enough time to slip away before the male reached the nest and noticed that an egg was missing. She listened to its roar, a mix of anger and loss, as she made her way to her crafting station.\nKeshu's crafting station was set atop a log platform above a massive patch of deadly quicksand. She had to craft her bowl before the entire station sank into the marsh. She worked quickly yet carefully, expertly removing the very top of the egg to use as the basis for her bowl. She cleaned it, polished it, and added the reagents that would strengthen the shell and make it suitable for use as a vessel or container. She wrapped up her work and bounded off the platform just as the mud sloshed over the top and began to pull it completely into the marsh.\nAs the raj-nassa examined each of our offerings in turn, we were able to look upon some truly impressive feats of crafting. But it was evident that Keshu had overtaken the field this season. Her bowl, crafted from the simplest haj mota shell, was elegant in its modesty and beautiful in its purity. It needed nothing but to be true to its natural form, and Keshu masterfully let that natural form shine forth\u2014even as she turned it from a brittle shell into a strong, unbreakable bowl.\n\nOur third and final trial on the way to complete our rites of maturity was \"The Trial of the Stalking Hackwing.\" In some ways, this was the most dangerous of the rites we had to participate in to earn a place in adult society. Each of us was placed in a cage with a single, huge hackwing. The predatory bird was a vicious creature, strong and confident, every bit as capable a hunter as any of us\u2014and it had the ability to fly. We had to allow the giant bird to attack us and draw blood. If we knew what we were doing, we let it strike so as to bloody us but not incapacitate us. Then the hackwing was released. Our goal: catch and kill the hackwing that marked us before it could do the same to us.\nVos-Huruk and Xocin each took a beak strike to the leg. Both wounds were superficial, drawing blood but not ripping muscle or breaking bone. Tee-Wan allowed the hackwing to pierce his left arm, cutting a long but shallow line from his elbow to his shoulder. Keshu miscalculated a leap back and allowed her bird to cut her across the temple, just above her right eye. But I failed this part of the trial completely. I let the hackwing drive its sharp beak directly into my chest. The healers said it barely missed my heart. Even so, I was injured too badly to continue, and I would have to wait for another season to complete my rites of maturity.\nKeshu wanted to check on me, make sure I was going to be all right. The raj-nassa wouldn't hear of it, however, and ordered her to continue with her trial\u2014until either the Black Fin or the hackwing was dead. So with a final glance to make sure the healer was assisting me, Keshu wiped blood out of her eyes and ran into the wilderness. As was traditional, she had no weapon or armor. Just her body and her wits. It was time for the hunter to survive the hunt.\nHave you ever been stalked by a hungry hackwing? The experience can be disconcerting and more than a little frightening. Often, you only hear the beating of wings and the rush of air overheard. Sometimes you notice a shadow pass by. Rarely, you catch a brief glimpse of a wing or a talon. And, if you show the slightest weakness, the hackwing dives in and attempts to wound you. Then it simply waits and follows until you collapse from loss of blood. In the case of the rite, we were already bloodied by the hunting birds. They were going to come after us\u2014one way or another. The trick was going to be in anticipating the attack and countering it with an attack of our own.\n(I keep saying \"our,\" but realize I was effectively out of the test. I was injured and weak and barely conscious for most of the remaining portion of the trial, only learning what happened later, after I was healed and the rites were finished for the season.)\nKeshu led her hackwing into a portion of the marsh where open sky was at a premium. She wanted to use the tree trunks and canopy to her advantage, cutting off all but the most direct paths between the hackwing and her present location. She moved deeper into the trees, flattening out the approach so that when the hackwing finally attacked, it would have to come for her not from above but from a horizontal direction at more or less ground level.\nAs Keshu waited for her predator and her prey, she broke a sturdy branch from one of the trees at a steep angle, creating a makeshift spear with a ragged yet pointed edge. She braced the spear and her back against the tree trunk behind her and positioned the point so she could raise it quickly when the hackwing appeared. She didn't have to wait long. Thinking that its prey had finally succumbed to blood loss and stopped to die within the cluster of trees, the hackwing swooped down and flew toward Keshu along the exact path she had planned. At the very last moment, Keshu angled the spear up and let the hackwing's speed and trajectory do all the work.\nThe hunt was over. Keshu was victorious. She had completed her rites of maturity and was ready to take her place as an adult member of the community. And the first thing she did was rush back to make sure I was still alive."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/khunzar-ri-and-demons-part-1": {"series": "Khunzar-ri and the Demons", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/khunzar-ri-and-demons-part-1", "author": "Moon-Singer Mizbin, Moon-Singer Satarri", "title": "Khunzar-ri and the Demons", "description": "The legend of how a Khajiiti hero, and his multicultural companions, drove the dragons from Elsweyr.", "text": "A Moon-Singer Story of the Hero Khunzar-ri.\nIn the time before time, when the sixteen kingdoms were barely more than sixteen tribes, the great hero Khunzar-ri met a demon on the border of Elsweyr.\nThe demon, whose name was Kaalgrontiid, proclaimed in a powerful voice, \"My brothers and I shall take this land. Its treasures and even the moons above will be ours!\"\n\"I do not think so, foul demon,\" Khunzar-ri said. \"Elsweyr and all it contains, even the moons above, are under my protection.\"\nThe demon laughed. \"You cannot stop us, little cat-thing! You are nothing but soft flesh and fur, while we are scales and teeth and claws!\"\nKhunzar-ri thought for a moment. \"Perhaps you are right, oh massive demon. You are certainly too much for even my prodigious strength.\" Then he thought to himself, \"That is why I shall gather a Kra'Jun, a company of heroes. Together, we will find a way to stop you, foul demon!\"\nSo, while the demons ravaged Elsweyr and chased the moons through the sky, Khunzar-ri went on a quest to form his Kra'Jun. He gathered the greatest champions of the age and convinced them to do what they had never done before \u2014 work together. He called to his side the Altmer, Nurarion the Perfect, who wielded the Subtle Blade. He coerced Flinthild Demon-Hunter to leave her castle in the far north. He used sweet words and flattered Anequina Sharp-Tongue, queen and moon-priest of the Ne Quin-al pride, until she agreed to stand beside him. Finally, Khunzar-ri asked he who would become the Betrayer to lend him his sword, for there was no finer warrior in all the land.\nWith the Kra'Jun assembled, Khunzar-ri and his companions set forth to defeat Kaalgrontiid and his demon brothers. For forty-one days and forty-one nights, great and terrible battles raged across Elsweyr. The Kra'Jun won some of these battles and they lost some of these battles, but they could not find a way to kill or drive off the demons. It was he who would become the Betrayer who eventually made the suggestion. \"The demons seek to consume the moons. Why not let them have them? Or, to be more precise, let them think we have surrendered and acquiesced to their plans.\"\n\"A brilliant idea!\" Khunzar-ri concurred. \"But instead of consuming the moons, we let the moons steal the life from them!\"\nAnequina the moon-priest nodded in understanding. \"This one can do that. This one can talk to Jone and Jode and ask them to consume the demons.\"\nThen, Khunzar-ri used every bit of guile and charm he possessed to convince the demons that the Kra'Jun was now willing to help them. He told them where to meet, at a moon temple of renown, and waited while Anequina communed with the moons. \"It is not in the nature of Jone and Jode to fully consume the demons,\" Anequina said, \"but Jode will take enough of their life force to weaken them. That should allow us to contain them.\"\n\"I know just the place,\" proclaimed Nurarion the Perfect. \"An ancient place of power, forgotten and long abandoned. We can trap the demons there.\"\nKhunzar-ri was proud of the wisdom of his Kra'Jun, but he needed a way to lure the weakened demons into the trap. They had to enter the place of their own accord, for even weakened demons were too dangerous for the Kra'Jun to deal with. So Anequina and Flinthild put their heads together and devised a plan. They told Khunzar-ri, and he smiled and twitched his tail. \"Fragrant!\" he said.\nSo the demons arrived at the moon temple and Anequina, acting as moon-priest instead of queen, opened a connection between Nirn and Jode in the form of a shaft of moonlight. The demons, greedy and hungry for lunar power, eagerly stepped into the moonlight, but immediately realized they had been tricked. They roared in pain as a portion of their life force was drawn away by Jode. It took Kaalgrontiid every bit of his remaining strength, but he resisted and rallied his brothers. They broke free of the shaft of treacherous moonlight and fled into the wilderness.\nAnequina then deposited a sliver of the demon-infused moonlight in an urn and gave it to Flinthild. Flinthild and the Kra'Jun took the urn to the ancient place of power, while Khunzar-ri went to do what he did best: convince the demons to follow the lure and walk into the trap of their own free will. And that is what he did, before the Betrayer earned his name. As you shall hear.\nThese are the words, and the words are true."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/khunzar-ri-and-demon-part-two": {"series": "Khunzar-ri and the Demons", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/khunzar-ri-and-demon-part-two", "author": "Moon-Singer Mizbin, Moon-Singer Satarri", "title": "Khunzar-ri and the Demon: Part Two", "description": "The legend of how a Khajiiti hero, and his multicultural companions, drove the dragons from Elsweyr.", "text": "An ancient Khajiiti myth as recorded by Moon-Singer Mizbina\nIn the time before time, when the sixteen kingdoms were young and like kittens at play, the great hero Khunzar-ri gathered a company of champions to combat the demon and his brothers. They had come to Elsweyr to steal the moons from the sky.\nWith Nurarion already at his side, Khunzar-ri turned his attention to the next champion he planned to recruit. \"The power of the moons will be ours, little cat-thing,\" taunted the demon. \"How can two possibly hope to stop many?\nKhunzar-ri said, \"Because two shall become three, annoying demon. As soon as this one rescues Flinthild Demon-Hunter from the Ayleid lair of creeping ebony plants.\"\nThese are the words, and the words are true."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/khunzar-ri-and-demon-part-three": {"series": "Khunzar-ri and the Demons", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/khunzar-ri-and-demon-part-three", "author": "Moon-Singer Mizbin, Moon-Singer Satarri", "title": "Khunzar-ri and the Demon: Part Three", "description": "The legend of how a Khajiiti hero, and his multicultural companions, drove the dragons from Elsweyr.", "text": "An ancient Khajiiti myth as recorded by Moon-Singer Satarri.\nIn the time before time, when the sixteen kingdoms roamed with wild abandon, the hero Khunzar-ri gathered champions to deal with a terrible demon and his horde. With Nurarion the Perfect and Flinthild Demon-Hunter, he sought a third companion.\nThe demon said, \"Oh, little cat-thing, you amuse us! How can three tiny morsels ever stand against us?\" Khunzar-ri laughed, \"We may be tiny, but we are persistent! And tricky, too, as you will see.\"\nThen Khunzar-ri turned to his Kra'Jun. \"One more we need, a Khajiiti queen of renown. Anequina Sharp-Tongue, who loves to bask in the glow of the Big Moon when she reflects and thinks deep thoughts.\"\nThese are the words and the words are true."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/khunzar-ri-sayings-verse-one": {"series": "Khunzar-ri Sayings", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/khunzar-ri-sayings-verse-one", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Khunzar-ri Sayings, Verse One", "description": "Khajiiti aphorisms", "text": "Khunzar-ri says\nWar is like the two Moons\nAlways there\nBut not always seen"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/khunzar-ri-sayings-verse-two": {"series": "Khunzar-ri Sayings", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/khunzar-ri-sayings-verse-two", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Khunzar-ri Sayings, Verse Two", "description": "Khajiiti aphorisms", "text": "Khunzar-ri says\nIn the spring, when\nMoon-sugar shoots are young and tender,\nKhajiit must learn to step carefully\nAnd leave no trace of their passage\nThis is the way of the Silent Paw"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/khunzar-ri-sayings-verse-three": {"series": "Khunzar-ri Sayings", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/khunzar-ri-sayings-verse-three", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Khunzar-ri Sayings, Verse Three", "description": "Khajiiti aphorisms", "text": "Khunzar-ri says\nIf Khajiit has much gold\nBut no claws\nThey have no wealth\nOnly shiny objects"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/khunzar-ri-sayings-verse-four": {"series": "Khunzar-ri Sayings", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/khunzar-ri-sayings-verse-four", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Khunzar-ri Sayings, Verse Four", "description": "Khajiiti aphorisms", "text": "Khunzar-ri says\nWalk silent and unseen\nTo your enemy's back and\nSlide a dagger in their ribs\nBefore disappearing in the night\nThat is the Khajiit way"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/khunzar-ri-tales-one": {"series": "Khunzar-ri: Tales", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/khunzar-ri-tales-one", "author": "Aneshi (transcriber)", "title": "Khunzar-ri: Tales, One", "description": "Two legends of the hero Khunzar-ri", "text": "Khunzar-ri and the Twelve Ogres\nTranscribed by Aneshi, Keeper of Legends for the 16 Kingdoms\nOne day Khunzar-ri stopped by an adeptorium near Dune hoping to find shelter and sustenance after a long and tiring journey. Unfortunately, the adeptorium was overrun by a dozen drooling ogres.\n\"This isn't good,\" Khunzar-ri said as he watched the gluttonous ogres as they ransacked the premises from a nearby hill. He was particularly concerned when he saw them break into the stores of moon-sugar double rum. He was especially looking forward to the adepts' potent beverage. Then Khunzar-ri had an idea.\n\"Oh, brave and mighty ogres,\" Khunzar-ri called out. \"Those barrels you found. Can't you tell the rum has spoiled? I can smell that the liquid has gone bad from way over here!\"\n\"Spoiled?\" asked the largest ogre dubiously. \"You can't know that. We haven't even cracked open a barrel yet!\"\n\"Am I not Khajiit?\" Khunzar-ri asked with all sincerity. \"And aren't Khajiit known for their most excellent sense of smell?\"\n\"That is true,\" said another ogre. \"Everyone knows about cats and smell.\"\n\"But I am thirsty!\" complained the largest ogre. \"I do not want to drink spoiled rum!\"\n\"I have a suggestion,\" said Khunzar-ri. \"There is a Nedic fort a short distance from here. They have an entire warehouse full of rum and other spirits, and I did not smell a hint of spoilage when I passed by. To the contrary, it all smelled delicious!\"\nHappy to hear it, the largest ogre ran toward the Nedic fort, the adepts' rum forgotten. With nary a pause, the other eleven ogres followed.\n\"Now,\" said Khunzar-ri, \"let us open that barrel and have a drink!\"\n\"What about the ogres?\" asked one of the adepts.\n\"What about them? They are the Nedes problem now.\" And with that Khunzar-ri proceeded to drink the entire barrel, one mug at a time."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/khunzar-ri-tales-two": {"series": "Khunzar-ri: Tales", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/khunzar-ri-tales-two", "author": "Aneshi (transcriber)", "title": "Khunzar-ri: Tales, Two", "description": "Two legends of the hero Khunzar-ri", "text": "One of the Times Anequina Saved Khunzar-ri\nTranscribed by Aneshi, Keeper of Legends for the 16 Kingdoms\nNe Quin-al Rass-Le, called Anequina Sharp-Tongue in the common language of Cyrodiil, wandered the land for many Moons as Khunzar-ri's boon companion. Some called them lovers, which they were at times. Others called them heroes, for they certainly accomplished heroic deeds. One such deed involved the Maormer. During their travels together, Khunzar-ri and Anequina visited the island of Khenarthi's Roost. The Sea Elves and the Cat-folk co-existed on the island, sometimes on friendly terms, sometimes not. This particular event occurred during one of the latter periods.\nThere are several versions of this tale. Some focus on how Khunzar-ri saved the day, but the one I like best paints a picture of a different hero. Here is that version of the story.\n* * *\nOne of the Sea Elf captains, a brute by the name of Linvalor, kidnapped the daughter of a Moon-Priest and refused all efforts of negotiation for her release. Anequina said she had an idea, but Khunzar-ri rushed off to save the Moon-Priest's daughter before she could stop him. As crafty and powerful as Khunzar-ri was, he could also be reckless. This recklessness allowed Linvalor and his crew of Maormer cutthroats to capture the would-be hero without too much fuss or bother.\nNow it fell to Anequina to rescue both the Moon-Priest's daughter and Khunzar-ri. \"How can you succeed when even the great Khunzar-ri failed?\" asked the Moon-Priest. \"Hrrm,\" Anequina purred, \"This one will simply do what she does best. The Sea Elf doesn't stand a chance.\"\nSo Anequina walked bravely into Linvalor's camp, ignoring the many sword-wielding pirates to stride directly to where the Sea Elf captain was gambling with his officers. They were involved in a close game of Deceiver's Disks, also called Swords and Shields, and didn't even notice her until she was right on top of them and said, \"Hrrm, that looks like an interesting game. Can anyone play or do you only accept gold from wet-earred Elves?\"\nIntrigued and attracted to Anequina's poise and confidence, Linvalor offered her a seat and dismissed the rest of his crew. \"We will play,\" Linvalor said, \"but not for gold. If I win, then you will sail with me for thirty days and thirty nights as my slave and companion.\" Anequina feigned shock at such a proclamation. \"And if this one wins?\" she asked slyly. Linvalor laughed. \"No cat, especially no female cat, has ever bested me in anything! So, name your price, cat, and let us play!\"\n\"Very well,\" Anequina said. \"If this one wins, then all three of us\u2013the Moon-Priest's daughter, Khunzar-ri, and me\u2013walk away, free and clear.\" Captain Linvalor, confident that his victory was assured and eager to get the beguiling cat-woman into his bed, agreed.\nThe match that followed was intense, with Linvalor bluffing and bellowing his way through every round of play while Anequina pretended ignorance of the rules and fear of every rattle of the disk tumbler. Both were expert players, however, and after many rounds and the consumption of an inordinate amount of wine, it all came down to this. Linvalor had two disks remaining, while Anequina had only one.\nThe opponents rattled their remaining disks in their respective tumblers. Then, with much deliberation, they smacked the tumblers down to set the disks so that either their \"sword\" side or \"shield\" side was face up under the container. Linvalor lifted the tumbler slightly and took a quick peek underneath\u2013one each of a sword and shield\u2013before covering his two disks again. Anequina simply smiled, not bothering to look at all. Linvalor knew there were two of one symbol between them. He just had to accurately guess whether it was two swords or two shields. \"Two ... he started, trying to glean anything from Anequina's calm expression....shields,\" he finished, but it came out more like a question than a statement.\n\"Oh, you are such a deceiver, captain,\" Anequina said, lifting her tumbler to reveal her disk. A sword. Linvalor wiped sweat from his brow as he plucked one of his disks and set it aside. \"Last toss of the disks, captain,\" she said as they each added their single remaining disk to their tumblers and started shaking them. Anequina blew the Sea Elf a kiss as she slammed her tumbler down. With a growl, he did the same.\nLinvalor lifted his tumbler just enough to check. His disk was shield side up. Once again, Anequina refused to check on her disk, so without bothering to check, she said, \"Two shields, since it is obvious that between the two of us, neither of us has a sword.\" They each lifted their tumblers to reveal ... they each tossed a shield.\n\"Cheater!\" Linvalor bellowed as he stood, scattering the game components and spilling what remained of the wine. \"Now, now, captain,\" Anequina scolded, \"this one has heard that, if nothing else, Sea Elves were as good as their word. Let us go and Anequina will return in a year and a day for another game.\" Reluctantly, the captain agreed. \"Next time, the outcome will be different, cat.\" \"This one looks forward to it,\" she purred.\nAs they departed with the Moon-Priest's daughter between them, Khunzar-ri asked, \"You cheated, yes?\" Anequina gave him an innocent look. \"And do you really plan to play him again?\" Anequina laughed, \"Of course! How else will this one get one of those sleek pirate ships?\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kireths-journal-page-3": {"series": "Kireth's Journal", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kireths-journal-page-3", "author": "Kireth", "title": "Kireth's Journal, Page 3", "description": "Kireth describes a lengthy foray into a Dwemer ruin", "text": "Raynor and I are actually getting paid for this delve! That's a step up, as far as I'm concerned.\n\tAfter Bthanual, who needs the Academy? We're ready for the big time! Bring on the Mages Guild!\nBut we really need to find something good to impress the Guild. Sometimes it feels like they're just humoring us.\nRaynor thinks that with the backing of the King of Skyrim, though, we have a better chance to get in. I hope he's ri"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kireths-journal-page-7": {"series": "Kireth's Journal", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kireths-journal-page-7", "author": "Kireth", "title": "Kireth's Journal, Page 7", "description": "Kireth describes a lengthy foray into a Dwemer ruin", "text": "This place is full of traps! I've never seen so many interesting or dangerous contraptions in one place. I wonder what the Dwarves were hiding in here that needed so much protection? I'll wager that whatever it is, it would certainly impress those stuffed robes in the Guild.\nThere are so many locked doors and passageways. I wish I could explore them all! But one thing at a time. Raynor says I have a tendency to overcomplicate things. Like he should talk!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kireths-journal-page-10": {"series": "Kireth's Journal", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kireths-journal-page-10", "author": "Kireth", "title": "Kireth's Journal, Page 10", "description": "Kireth describes a lengthy foray into a Dwemer ruin", "text": "I wish I could spend more time in here. I see evidence of some kind of massive machine, but I don't have time to pry open all the doors and look for it.\nStupid journal binding! Why do my pages keep falling out?\nYou know, it's a pain locating these ancient ruins. They're always in the most inconvenient places.\nOnce you find them, though, exploring is so worth the effort. I'd give up the Mages Guild entirely if I knew where all the ruins were. Then I could spend all my time exploring."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kireths-journal-page-12": {"series": "Kireth's Journal", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kireths-journal-page-12", "author": "Kireth", "title": "Kireth's Journal, Page 12", "description": "Kireth describes a lengthy foray into a Dwemer ruin", "text": "Raynor's magic device works pretty well. I'm practically invisible to Dwarven constructs. It does flicker every three and a half minutes, though. I've got to make sure nothing's nearby when I finish counting to two hundred and ten.\nI had a few close calls before I determined the time between each misfire, but since I figured that out I haven't had any problems.\nRaynor got the idea for this device while studying the light crystals at Bthanual. Amazing\u2014one of his devices actually serves a useful purpose!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kireths-journal-page-14": {"series": "Kireth's Journal", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kireths-journal-page-14", "author": "Kireth", "title": "Kireth's Journal, Page 14", "description": "Kireth describes a lengthy foray into a Dwemer ruin", "text": "A lot of Mzulft is pristine. It's abandoned, like all of the Dwemer ruins we've explored. And it's empty, except for the constructs. But everything still works. It's eerie to see glowing lights on the wall and hear the pipes steaming. It's like the place is waiting for someone, like the occupants just stepped out and will return at any moment.\nI wish I could just explore these ruins. Every ruin tells another story, and if I don't get to crawl into every corner, that story is just half-told. Raynor would laugh if he heard me say that. You'd better not read this, brother!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kireths-journal-page-16": {"series": "Kireth's Journal", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kireths-journal-page-16", "author": "Kireth", "title": "Kireth's Journal, Page 16", "description": "Kireth describes a lengthy foray into a Dwemer ruin", "text": "Someone else has been in here, and I'm not talking about the ancient Dwarves! I found a bridge, obviously not of Dwemer origin, and I see numerous signs that other explorers recently visited this ruin.\nI wonder what they found? They better not have taken all the best stuff!\nWait a moment. What if they weren't as fast and clever as me? What if a trap or a construct got them?\nI really don't want to come across their horribly mutilated bodies. That would be gross."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kireths-journal-page-19": {"series": "Kireth's Journal", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kireths-journal-page-19", "author": "Kireth", "title": "Kireth's Journal, Page 19", "description": "Kireth describes a lengthy foray into a Dwemer ruin", "text": "Curse the luck! Stupid, cheap journal binding! Some of my best entries have fallen out! Oh, well.\nThis whole place rumbles every so often. As I get deeper into the ruins, Mzulft feels more and more unstable. It's like the entire structure is about to collapse or something. That would be bad.\nI came across spots where the walls and ceiling have fallen in, letting in snow and sunshine. And I feel a cold breeze blowing from deeper in. I hope the passage I'm looking for isn't buried.\nDamn! The wind took another page!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kireths-journal-page-22": {"series": "Kireth's Journal", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kireths-journal-page-22", "author": "Kireth", "title": "Kireth's Journal, Page 22", "description": "Kireth describes a lengthy foray into a Dwemer ruin", "text": "I found it! I'm sure this is the vault where the Dwemer kept all their best lore and stuff. There was even this weird crystal mechanism, but I need a key to activate it.\nAnd now this stupid device that Raynor gave me is really starting to act up. I don't think it's going to last long enough to get me past these constructs. I'd better find a place to hide until I can figure out what to do next."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kireths-journal-page-24": {"series": "Kireth's Journal", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kireths-journal-page-24", "author": "Kireth", "title": "Kireth's Journal, Page 24", "description": "Kireth describes a lengthy foray into a Dwemer ruin", "text": "Raynor will be so proud of me! I documented my entire exploration of the ruins (even though this stupid journal keeps falling apart) and I found the Dwemer vault.\nBut without Raynor's device, how will I avoid the constructs to find the key? Danger is only fun to boast about later."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kireths-journal-page-25": {"series": "Kireth's Journal", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kireths-journal-page-25", "author": "Kireth", "title": "Kireth's Journal, Page 25", "description": "Kireth describes a lengthy foray into a Dwemer ruin", "text": "Oh, this isn't good. Not good at all. The constructs seem to know I'm here and they keep looking for me. Where's my useless brother when I really need him?\nI hope someone comes looking for me soon. I can't get out of here without attracting more constructs. And now I'm hungry.\nThis is bad! This is worse than when Raynor built that thing that turned all the clothes in town invisible for a day and a half. Vivec, was Elder Aro mad about that!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kireths-journal-page-29": {"series": "Kireth's Journal", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kireths-journal-page-29", "author": "Kireth", "title": "Kireth's Journal, Page 29", "description": "Kireth describes a lengthy foray into a Dwemer ruin", "text": "The lock on the Dwemer mechanism is far more complex than any I've dealt with before.\nAll of my lockpicks have snapped.\nNote to Self: Find some Dwemer metal I can use to craft new lockpicks.\nNote to Raynor: Stop letting me get myself into these predicaments!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kireths-journal-page-30": {"series": "Kireth's Journal", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kireths-journal-page-30", "author": "Kireth", "title": "Kireth's Journal, Page 30", "description": "Kireth describes a lengthy foray into a Dwemer ruin", "text": "Had a few too many close calls trying to salvage some metal to make new lockpicks. I'm not terribly interested in getting impaled on a spike. And every time I stop to dig around for the key, the constructs swarm after me.\nI'll need to invent something protective when I manage to get out of here. Maybe some kind of special boots. Or a hat."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kireths-journal-page-33": {"series": "Kireth's Journal", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kireths-journal-page-33", "author": "Kireth", "title": "Kireth's Journal, Page 33", "description": "Kireth describes a lengthy foray into a Dwemer ruin", "text": "Been reading \"The Art of Love and Swordplay\" by the bard Fjokki. I don't get it. Why is this stupid book so popular?\nI'm pretty sure half of the things described aren't even possible. Or legal. Oh, wait a minute\u2014this one sounds kind of interesting."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kireths-notebook-page-1": {"series": "Kireth's Notebook", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kireths-notebook-page-1", "author": "Kireth Vanos", "title": "Kireth's Notebook, Page 1", "description": "", "text": "This notebook belongs to Kireth Vanos, dungeon-delver extraordinaire and somewhat experienced explorer of ancient Dwemer ruins.\nNow that that's out of the way, I can't wait to write all about me and my brother Raynor's latest adventure. When we received the notice asking for experts to come to Wrothgar to help the Orc nation, we jumped at the chance. I love poking around in ancient ruins and Raynor loves to tinker with Dwarven relics.\nWe set out for the location we were provided with bright and early on the day after we arrived in Orsinium. It didn't take us long to determine that the ruins were indeed Dwarven in nature. Raynor is pretty sure this is the ancient site known as Zthenganaz.\nWe were surveying the ruin exterior, getting a lay of the land as it were, when I, um, decided to leap into the ruins and look around. All right, all right. I promised never to lie to my notebook. Truth is, I slipped. Fell in and landed right on my arse! It would have been hilarious if it hadn't hurt so much. But at least the snow broke my fall."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kireths-notebook-page-5": {"series": "Kireth's Notebook", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kireths-notebook-page-5", "author": "Kireth Vanos", "title": "Kireth's Notebook, Page 5", "description": "", "text": "This place is amazing! Unlike a lot of the ruins we've poked around in, this place actually has working apparatuses and ancient guardians and everything. I better watch my step. Wouldn't want to attract the attention of a spider construct or one of those rolling ball things. And those centurions! I wouldn't want to meet one of them in a dark and scary ruin. Oh, wait a moment.\nHey, I just noticed that I lost the first two pages of my notebook. I hate it when that happens! Raynor says I'm too hard on my equipment, but I think that merchant in Orsinium just sold me an inferior bit of merchandise. Look at this binding! It's already cracked and fraying! Sturdy as a stronghold wall my arse!\nOh, I know what will make falling into this ruin worthwhile and keep Raynor from giving me any grief. I need to find him a Dwarven power core. He loves to collect old things like that. And maybe he won't blow this one up quite as quickly as the last time."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kireths-notebook-page-11": {"series": "Kireth's Notebook", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kireths-notebook-page-11", "author": "Kireth Vanos", "title": "Kireth's Notebook, Page 11", "description": "", "text": "Is that\u2014yes, I think it is! There's a Dwarven power core in that chamber! I should march right in there and grab it. Raynor will be so pleased. I can't wait to see his face when I hand this to him.\nOn second thought, I need to come up with a new plan. The direct approach, which usually serves me so well, might not be the best approach to this particular problem. Not only is that chamber crawling with Dwarven constructs, but there's a mean-looking centurion called a Ztheng Guardian standing near the power core. I'm going to look around some more and see if I can come up with a way to sneak off with that power core."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kireths-notebook-page-17": {"series": "Kireth's Notebook", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/kireths-notebook-page-17", "author": "Kireth Vanos", "title": "Kireth's Notebook, Page 17", "description": "", "text": "My brother is going to be so jealous that he missed this! I know he hates crawling around in dark, dangerous places, but that's where I find all the best stuff for him to tinker around with. I'm always saying, \"Raynor, you can't have nice Dwemer things if I don't go down into the Dwarven ruins.\" Anyway, I'm taking lots of notes, just like he taught me, so he can study them later.Damn it all to Oblivion and back! This notebook loses pages the way a Nord belches while drinking mead\u2014often and at the worst possible moments! I hope I didn't lose anything important.\nOh, that looks interesting! What an amazing bit of Dwarven engineering and craftsmanship! Look at all the circles! Kind of like wheels within wheels all spinning around a central globe. Well, I imagine they used to spin around the globe. When it was working, that is.\nI wonder if Raynor knows what this used to do? Speaking of which, where is my brother? If he really cared about me, he'd get over his fear of mechanical spiders and come down here and rescue me! Or, at the very least, toss me a rope!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/krisandra-edralds-journal-volume-1": {"series": "Krisandra Edrald's Journal", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/krisandra-edralds-journal-volume-1", "author": "Krisandra Edrald", "title": "Krisandra Edrald's Journal, Volume 1", "description": "A spiteful mother forms a dark pact with a Daedric Prince", "text": "My daughter has become quite maudlin since Federic left for Wayrest. I have assured her that all will be right when he returns, but she remains quite dour.\nI have taken the liberty of sending to Fell's Run for a cask of tawny port. Such is hard to come by with the growing trouble in the region, and spirits from the arbors of Summerset are always a welcome reprieve from our local distillations. Surely, their bright and sunny notes will bring her aught but cheer!\n- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -\n\tArlie came to me this evening in tears. It would seem Dulkhi, simpleton that she is, has managed to cause her no end of distress. While I can understand how it might be difficult for her to fathom that she does harm with her attentions, that is no excuse.\nIf only Federic were here. His constant company has always comforted our dearest daughter. What I wouldn't give for him to return on the morrow.\n- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -\n\tNo matter how strongly I word my arguments, Allan seems unconcerned. He's rather attached to the that servant girl. Doesn't he see what's at stake here?\nIf Dulkhi is allowed to interfere with our daughter's wedding, it could ruin us all! Such self-indulgence is abominable! I'll not allow her to continue this harassment."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/krisandra-edralds-journal-volume-2": {"series": "Krisandra Edrald's Journal", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/krisandra-edralds-journal-volume-2", "author": "Krisandra Edrald", "title": "Krisandra Edrald's Journal, Volume 2", "description": "A spiteful mother forms a dark pact with a Daedric Prince", "text": "Allan continues to believe this association between our daughter and Dulkhi is but a passing fancy, that we should allow it to play out. He hasn't had to look into her eyes and see the terrible divide it has created within her.\nShe is torn with herself, and I will not watch her rent asunder while we stand helplessly by. If he will not do anything about it, I shall take matters into my own hands!.\n- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -\n\tWent to talk with the Constable today only to find her in her cups. It would seem our estate is not alone in its troubles\u2014there has been a power shift in Fell's Run.\nHer replacement was not helpful nor was he forthcoming as to why. It would seem the town will no longer bother itself with our affairs nor ensure our protection! The nerve of the man. When this business with Dulkhi is settled, I will have strong words for his superiors in Shornhelm!\n- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -\n\tOpened the Undercroft for the first time in ages. When we locked it up after Allan's mother died, I had hoped we would never open it again, but it is my only hope now.\n- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -\n\tI've found it! A ragged old book detailing what is necessary to contact Mehrunes Dagon, Daedric Prince of change! If any can alter our fate, it will be him. The ritual seems simple enough, though I know dabbling with even the simplest of conjurations can prove dangerous. Still, what choice do I have?\nI've dispatched a courier to Shornhelm for the necessary components. We will have to be discreet about it, but I trust Alison to be discreet."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/krisandra-edralds-journal-volume-3": {"series": "Krisandra Edrald's Journal", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/krisandra-edralds-journal-volume-3", "author": "Krisandra Edrald", "title": "Krisandra Edrald's Journal, Volume 3", "description": "A spiteful mother forms a dark pact with a Daedric Prince", "text": "As the eve of Federic's return approaches, Arlie continues to withdraw into herself. The power Dulkhi has over her is overwhelming, and even my motherly attentions lose their effectiveness before her constant presence.\n- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -\n\tAllan has confronted Dulkhi at last, though I fear it was to no avail. The brute has had time to prepare her arguments, and from the look on my husband's face they are quite formidable.\nHe should not have allowed himself to become so attached to the lass! I knew the moment we took her in that no good would come of it.\n- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -\n\tDespite the difficulties in acquiring the necessary materials, everything has been laid out and prepared. Allan is as nervous as I am about what might come. Somehow Dulkhi has managed to quail even his brave heart. No matter. I am certain justice will prevail in the end.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lady-cistern-andarris-theory": {"series": "Lady in the Cistern", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lady-cistern-andarris-theory", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Lady in the Cistern: Andarri's Theory", "description": "A collection of theories regarding the statue in the Hew's Bane Thieves Guild", "text": "There's a statue of some lady in the middle of our Thieves Den. She was here when we got here, and nobody seems to know who she is or why she's there. Can anybody tell me who this is supposed to be?\nI think she's the Lucky Old Lady. I saw her statue in Bravil, once - I can't put my claw on it, but it feels as though she's the same person. And it makes sense why the matron of fortune would be here, blessing the only consistent source of clean water in Hew's Bane.\nWhat do the rest of you think? Who is the lady in the cistern?\nAndarri"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lady-cistern-quens-theory": {"series": "Lady in the Cistern", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lady-cistern-quens-theory", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Lady in the Cistern: Quen's Theory", "description": "A collection of theories regarding the statue in the Hew's Bane Thieves Guild", "text": "We read translations of old Yokudan texts at my academy. I think the lady in the cistern is a depiction of Hazadiyya Sea-Queen. She was well-known and respected amongst her people's descendants, and Prince Hew may have read her Lost Islands of Old Yokuda. Also, the creature wrapped around her is a sea serpent. This means the \"queen of the sea\" watches over the water supply for the only free port of Hew's Bane, as though it were a colony of Old Yokuda itself. Pompous symbolism - worthy of Prince Hew himself.\n-Quen\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lady-cistern-silver-claws-theory": {"series": "Lady in the Cistern", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lady-cistern-silver-claws-theory", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Lady in the Cistern: Silver-Claw's Theory", "description": "A collection of theories regarding the statue in the Hew's Bane Thieves Guild", "text": "I do not know who the lady in the cistern used to be. But truly, it no longer matters who the statue was.\nYou see, I believe the statue now represents Zeira. Without her guidance, this strange little family of which I now proudly call myself a part would no longer exist. So for me, the Lady in the Cistern is your guildmaster.\n-Silver-Claw"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lady-cistern-thrags-theory": {"series": "Lady in the Cistern", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lady-cistern-thrags-theory", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Lady in the Cistern: Thrag's Theory", "description": "A collection of theories regarding the statue in the Hew's Bane Thieves Guild", "text": "The lady in the cistern is clearly Nocturnal. Take a look at the statue - the face somewhat obscured, cloaked in an all-concealing robe, and hidden in a cistern that was once bricked off behind another cistern. Who hides water? Nocturnal cultists, that's who.\nNot that I was ever in a Nocturnal cult.\n-Thrag"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lady-cistern-velsas-theory": {"series": "Lady in the Cistern", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lady-cistern-velsas-theory", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Lady in the Cistern: Velsa's Theory", "description": "A collection of theories regarding the statue in the Hew's Bane Thieves Guild", "text": "The statue is the Night Mother. Her right hand is open because She Knows. There's a snake wrapped around her. The snake represents Sithis.\nIt's clear as the night sky that you're all idiots.\n-Velsa"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lady-cistern-walks-softlys-theory": {"series": "Lady in the Cistern", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lady-cistern-walks-softlys-theory", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Lady in the Cistern: Walks-Softly's Theory", "description": "A collection of theories regarding the statue in the Hew's Bane Thieves Guild", "text": "Those who live in the alleys of Abah's Landing are often without food, but it is rare to hear of any who suffer from lack of water. Have you never asked yourself why the lowliest are graced with such plenty?\nThe statue must be Zeqqi, the Madonna of Tears. Though her father Zeht forsakes this land, preventing most food from growing here, the water goddess takes pity on the lost souls who call Abah's Landing their home. The statue recognizes the sacrifices she makes to sustain us, hidden from the gaze of her disapproving father.\n-Walks-Softly"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lady-cistern-zeiras-theory": {"series": "Lady in the Cistern", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lady-cistern-zeiras-theory", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Lady in the Cistern: Zeira's Theory", "description": "A collection of theories regarding the statue in the Hew's Bane Thieves Guild", "text": "Silver-Claw - I'm flattered, but the Thieves Guild is more than one person. [Player Name] is proof enough of that.\nAnd the rest of you are wrong - it's Leki, administering her Ephemeral Feint - as sculptors used to depict it, in Hubalajad's time. The statue's left hand is curled, as though to hold a sword. Perhaps it did, long ago, though if it were not stolen it must have long since rusted away.\nNote the similarities to the massive statue of Hubalajad just south of the Abah's Landing's harbor. He commissioned a colossal, idealized sculpture of himself, embraced by a sep adder. Enormous, ridiculous, and (for some reason) shirtless, as though nothing can harm him.\nYet the sculptor who hid Leki away in this cistern refuted him. The robes conceal intention, allowing her to strike with little warning. The Saint of the Spirit Sword accomplished so much more than Prince Hew, yet doesn't need to be taller than a ship's mast to prove it. Even more, she does not need to declare herself to the entire town. She is content to do what she must from the shadows.\nAnd the sep adder sash is delightful. A real thumb in the eye to Prince Hew.\n-Zeira"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lost-tales-famed-explorer-fragment-i": {"series": "Lost Tales of the Famed Explorer", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lost-tales-famed-explorer-fragment-i", "author": "Solis Aduro", "title": "Lost Tales of the Famed Explorer: Fragment I", "description": "A deadly expedition to find the mythical Golden Stair of Black Marsh", "text": "\"Only three,\" Matius protested. Three was barely a scouting party, much less a suitable expedition force. \"I was promised nine at minimum.\"\nTana put her feet up on her desk loudly. \"Best I could do, Matius. Your name doesn't hold the weight it used to.\"\nMatius knew it was true, but this was the first time one of his own friends had said as much. He noticed how cold Tana had become toward him since he told her he intended to continue his mission. Ten years gone he had been at the head of an Imperial-sanctioned excursion to properly chart the province of Black Marsh. The borders had been defined well enough, but information about the heart of the swamp was scarce and unverifiable. Even the established description disseminated by the Empire to citizens was a stitched together narrative from numerous questionable accounts.\nThe venture was considered a failure. His crew had dwindled one by one as the expedition stretched on, either through death or desertion. Tana had been the only one to stay with him, but she contracted a disease that made her delirious and unable to remember the last days of their journey.\nAnd so, when Matius had returned to the college speaking of lost cities and ancient civilizations, he found himself against a wall of skepticism with no other witness to verify his claims. His relationship with Tana was never the same after that. The marsh had changed both of them, and the aftermath had not been easy either. He had hoped they could mend old wounds and return together, but Tana had flatly refused him saying she would never return to Black Marsh. She did offer to help him put together a crew, and Matius knew he should be grateful that anyone would help him at all.\n\"At least tell me they're seasoned.\" He had to hope for that, if little else.\n\"You're in luck,\" Tana said, glancing over some papers. \"Well, assuming you can get along with a High Elf. She's a battlemage, so I'm sure you'll find a way. Salara is her name. Never heard of her.\"\nMatius raised a brow. He would be pleased to have such a skilled companion, but something told him to be wary. \"Why would a battlemage join me?\"\nTana shrugged. \"It isn't a sanctioned mission as far as I can tell. My contacts don't know anything about her either. Maybe she wants to go for her own reasons. We can't exactly be particular in this case.\"\nMatius nodded. He would have to keep an eye on this Elf. \"And the others?\"\n\"Riffen, a runaway slave. He's a young Nord, but eager. You know how important that will be. Before you argue, he can read and write, and has some skill in hunting and foraging. He survived on his own this long, after all. Give him a chance.\"\nAn extra pair of hands was never bad, and the crew would be small enough that the young man couldn't get in the way. Still, Matius felt bad knowing how hard the journey would be on someone unprepared for it. \"And the third? You still haven't mentioned a guide. We won't get anywhere without a willing Argonian. You remember that much at least.\" Matius regretted saying that, but Tana ignored it.\n\"River-Gills,\" she said. \"An experienced Argonian guide, just like you asked for. And with only one catch.\"\n\"There's a catch?\" Matius sighed. \"You offered him the sum I promised?\"\n\"I did. Try to let me finish.\" Tana paused, seemingly just to make him wait. \"River-Gills will take you part way, at which point he promises to introduce you to someone who can get you where you want to go in half the time.\"\nA sensible person would walk away from this, Matius thought, but he knew he couldn't. He had waited a decade for another chance, slim as it might be. Matius had heard there were more secretive tribes in the swamp that knew hidden paths, and the idea of making safe contact with them was enticing enough to embolden him.\n\"Very well,\" Matius said. \"Thank you, Tana.\" He turned to leave, but stopped short of the door. \"Is there truly nothing I can say to make you come with me? It should be the both of us.\"\n\"I told you. I wouldn't return to Black Marsh for all the gold in all the known worlds, Matius. And I wish there was something I could say to make you stay.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lost-tales-famed-explorer-fragment-ii": {"series": "Lost Tales of the Famed Explorer", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lost-tales-famed-explorer-fragment-ii", "author": "Solis Aduro", "title": "Lost Tales of the Famed Explorer: Fragment II", "description": "A deadly expedition to find the mythical Golden Stair of Black Marsh", "text": "The sun was still high as they at last reached a suitable clearing for a camp. They could continue on, but many an expedition had become lost thinking they could chase the last bit of light. Early morning was the best time to travel. The swamp was sleepy and full come dawn. Matius set to gathering what he would need for a fire, taking care to stay near his companions. He decided to look for sticks and ferns as well. They could be used to hide the light, which Matius knew was a wise thing to do this deep in the marsh. He chose to say nothing of this to his new companions, who were as tired as they were bored.\n\"They say the ancient Argonians had golden scales that could blind lowly men and mer.\" Matius hoped reminding the crew of the significance of their mission would raise their spirits. And the embellished version always made for a better campfire tale. \"They built their greatest city higher and higher until they reached the sun.\"\n\"What happened then?\" young Riffen asked.\nMatius had to admit he enjoyed the young man's curiosity. He intentionally held his answer, half-hoping River-Gills would volunteer his own. Everything Matius knew of these legends had been the work of other Imperial explorers and scholars. He had never managed to get an Argonian to speak of it.\nRiver-Gills simply sat basking in the sun as if he wasn't listening at all. As far as Matius could tell, the Argonian was asleep.\n\"Some say it destroyed them,\" Matius continued, dropping off a bundle of sticks. \"Others say they cracked it open like an egg and became gods.\"\nThe Elf Salara scoffed. \"That's ridiculous,\" she said. \"Everyone knows the sun isn't an egg.\" Thus far Matius had learned little of the battlemage other than she was wholly committed to her own beliefs, most of which he recognized came from Guild teachings.\n\"What is it then?\" Riffen asked.\n\"A hole.\"\nRiffen scrunched his nose and looked up. \"That's supposed to be a hole?\"\n\"Don't stare at it.\" Matius sighed.\n\"Do you not believe in the golden city, Lady Salara?\" Riffen asked. \"A sailor told me it was just a story.\"\n\"She needs to be sure,\" Matius offered. Salara had refused to give her personal reasons for joining the expedition, so he guessed.\nSalara turned away from them and stared into the brush. She took out a broken compass and held it tightly.\n\"I expect something of value could still be learned,\" Salara answered. \"Even if everything they believed is wrong.\"\nRiver-Gills opened his eyes."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lost-tales-famed-explorer-fragment-iii": {"series": "Lost Tales of the Famed Explorer", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lost-tales-famed-explorer-fragment-iii", "author": "Solis Aduro", "title": "Lost Tales of the Famed Explorer: Fragment III", "description": "A deadly expedition to find the mythical Golden Stair of Black Marsh", "text": "For three days they traveled by water, and at night River-Gills would show them where it was safe to stop and rest.\nOn the first day, River-Gills made them stop under a rocky outcropping on the river bank for several hours without ever saying why. Matius passed the time teaching Riffen about many of the strange plants and animals that occupied the swamp. He was far more interested in those he could not name, but he would not let himself be distracted by thoughts of trapping them for study. There were many-colored birds, giant beetles with shells the size of boulders, and scaled hounds that roamed in packs and fed on the carcasses of gray behemoths. Matius could think of no names for any of them.\nBy the time they resumed the journey, night was falling. River-Gills assured them this was the time to travel despite protests from the rest of the group. Matius made the call to trust their Argonian guide, and so down the river they continued. Even Salara joined them in gazing into the swamp, as it was now alight with strange luminescent jellies that passed mournfully through the trees.\nOn the second day, Riffen spotted something and called out, \"Look!\"\nSalara gasped. Matius turned to look and was stricken as speechless as the others. Rising from the mire were great wings of metal, like the wings of a moth. Even through the moss and muck, Matius could make out the twin domes of layered glass eyes. He wondered how magnificent such a thing must have looked whole, whatever it was.\nRiver-Gills did not turn his gaze from the winding river before them. The fins on his head vibrated so quickly they made a low hum.\n\"We have to stop. I must see this.\" Salara's voice carried a tremor. She held a hand out to River-Gills.\n\"We cannot stop,\" River-Gills said patiently. \"A leviathan has been trailing us for some time now.\"\nSalara paused for only a moment, and then jumped from the raft, causing the rest of them to struggle to keep their footing.\n\"Salara!\" Matius yelled out as he tried to shift his weight and balance the raft. \"River-Gills, slow us down.\"\n\"We cannot stop,\" said River-Gills.\nSalara moved as quickly as she could through the muck, ignoring the protests of the crew. She unfastened her cloak and let it fly free so she could move more easily. She flailed and splashed as she made for the strange moth.\n\"Lady Salara! Come back!\" Riffen yelled.\nShe trudged slowly now, struggling in the mire. She stopped and began to whisper words of power Matius assumed would aid her movement. He saw she had the broken compass in her hand.\nSuddenly, it was as if the swamp itself dragged her down and swallowed her up. She disappeared without making a sound and never resurfaced. Matius could just barely make out the shape of something huge moving through the water. He noticed that even the insects had gone quiet.\nSalara's cloak drifted listlessly, the clasp of her order the only thing remaining of her story.\n\"We cannot stop,\" said River-Gills.\nNo one argued. In fact, they did not speak again that day. At night, they slept in a tree the size of a village.\nThe next morning, Matius woke to find Riffen was gone. He had left a note saying he had seen the torchlight of a nearby settlement from and was going to see if they could help him get back to civilization. He apologized for abandoning them. Matius knew the young man was already dead. River-Gills made no comment when Matius said they were now simply two.\nThat day they finally returned to hiking, and though it was difficult terrain Matius found he preferred it. Still, his thoughts were troubled by memories of his previous expedition as they traveled. River-Gills would not take him much further, and Matius had no idea what to expect from the next guide. He remembered what it was like to be afraid and alone in Black Marsh.\nOn the third night River-Gills expanded his fins and began to hiss, and then bade Matius to take shelter in a cave.\nRiver-Gills remained outside, and for the remainder of the night Matius could not sleep. All through the night he swore he could hear chanting and the hissing of snakes. The Argonian reappeared in the morning as if nothing had happened.\n\"N'buta will see you now,\" River-Gills said, and when he left he never returned."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lost-tales-famed-explorer-fragment-iv": {"series": "Lost Tales of the Famed Explorer", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lost-tales-famed-explorer-fragment-iv", "author": "Solis Aduro", "title": "Lost Tales of the Famed Explorer: Fragment IV", "description": "A deadly expedition to find the mythical Golden Stair of Black Marsh", "text": "Gloop Gloop.\nThere was the sound again. Matius waved his torch fruitlessly. He could see nothing in the choking mist. He held his cloak to his mouth with his free hand and ran deeper into the cave.\nGloop Gloop.\nHe caught sight of the creature's shadow, massive and bulbous. It was following him. He ran on and on, gasping for breath.\nGloop Gloop.\nHe heard an echo of belching laughter. It went on until Matius thought he must be going mad. Then he heard the crunch of bones under his feet. The mist cleared and he found himself standing in a chamber lined with skulls of all shapes and sizes. Bones of things he didn't recognize littered the floor. He thought of the vile voriplasm, said to eat creatures whole and spit out their bones. \"That will be my end,\" he breathed. He should have known the Argonian was lying.\nGloop.\nMatius felt the air in the chamber change. There came a stench so foul that it burned his nostrils.\nA voice bellowed. \"Another fleshling come to deal with N'buta? Speak in whole before I swallow.\"\nIn the dim torchlight Matius could just barely make out the grotesque creature's form. This was no plasm, though it glistened with a disgusting wetness. It was some kind of giant toad with a rotund belly and a squished, slug-like face. The eyes were the worst of all, and in them Matius saw forbidden knowledge and boundless horrors. He steeled himself as the creature's throat bulged. Forbidden knowledge was why he came to this decrepit place, after all. The creature swallowed, and suddenly it was looming over him. Nauseating fumes trailed from its nostrils.\n\"I seek the path to the golden stair,\" Matius spat out. He was not proud of how his voice cracked.\nThe creature reared back and either choked or laughed. It belched after, Matius knew, for he nearly fainted.\n\"I can show you,\" the slug-thing croaked. \"For a price.\"\n\"Of course, good Lord of Muck,\" Matius said, wishing he hadn't. He knew better than to think he could appease this thing with flattery. Best to just stick to business. \"What will this information cost me?\"\nFat arms reached into a pocket. Matius had not even noticed the creature was wearing tattered robes of green and brown. Nubby wet fingers produced a sparkling yellow gem set into an ornate golden amulet. It was flawless and gleaming, but Matius was no novice to cursed relics or strange gems. He drew his sword and waited. His heart raced, though whether with fear or excitement he couldn't tell. Was this a relic of old Argonia? The creature's chin wiggled grossly as it laughed.\nIt draped the amulet across the horned skull of some ancient beast, leaving it dangling there, glinting in the torchlight. \"You will take this to the golden city for N'buta. That is the price.\"\nMatius furrowed his brow. \"And what am I to do with it once I get there?\"\n\"You will know,\" N'buta whispered. Matius's skin crawled at the way the words tickled the inside of his ear. \"Just before you die.\"\nFor a moment Matius thought the creature was right beside him, but he blinked and saw it had not moved. \"Tell me the way,\" he managed to say.\n\"You cannot get there from here,\" said the Lord of Muck. \"You must go as deep as the roots-in-water, down and around and between places even your gods have never seen.\" Matius found himself unable to speak as the creature burped and finished. \"I will take you as far as Xul-Axith.\"\nMatius breathed despite the stench and sheathed his blade. He stepped forward and picked up the golden amulet. It felt warm. \"I don't plan on dying,\" he said, slipping the amulet into his pack. \"I hope that won't disappoint you.\"\nThe creature's belching laughter echoed until Matius found himself standing alone, the light of his torch nearly burnt out."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lost-tales-famed-explorer-fragment-v": {"series": "Lost Tales of the Famed Explorer", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lost-tales-famed-explorer-fragment-v", "author": "Solis Aduro", "title": "Lost Tales of the Famed Explorer: Fragment V", "description": "A deadly expedition to find the mythical Golden Stair of Black Marsh", "text": "Matius retched, either from the stench of his traveling companion or from slipping upside down through the marsh again.\nThe slug-thing N'buta laughed. \"Now you see, little fleshling. This realm is deeper than it is wide.\"\nMatius didn't see at all. It was the third time they had slipped into the river, as N'buta called it, and each trip only made him more disoriented. This last time he could have sworn he was watching himself drown.\n\"It felt like I was dreaming,\" Matius said. He coughed up a mouthful of sticky water.\n\"You were.\"\nThe Lord of Muck offered nothing more, just pointed a stubby finger. Matius followed it and saw an archway of black stone above a clear path through the surrounding swamp. The archway was carved with the image of snakes and roots twisting around each other, and at its top was a skull with a forked tongue. He realized he would have to continue the journey alone from here, and his guide was unlikely to give him further aid. They reached the gates of Xul-Axith. He feared it wouldn't prove close enough.\nMatius had an idea. He took out the golden amulet N'buta had given him. \"You have honored your word, Lord of Muck,\" Matius said. \"And I will keep mine. I will see this gem returned to the golden city, if I ever find my way.\"\nN'buta burped and growled. Its strange eyes considered the amulet for a moment. \"Stay on the path until you see a temple that bleeds shadows. It is a place of death. Do not enter it. When you stand before it, find the sun in the sky and walk that way. You will know when you are there.\"\nMatius was about to protest when the Lord of Muck suddenly slithered back into the river and was gone. For a moment, Matius felt panic grip his chest. His companions had deserted the journey one by one, and suddenly he wondered if they had been right. He considered abandoning his mission for the briefest of moments before realizing his only path forward was the one of black stone. The river had dried up under his feet.\nMatius gathered his courage. The amulet was warm in his hand. He stepped under the archway and onto the path."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lost-tales-famed-explorer-fragment-vi": {"series": "Lost Tales of the Famed Explorer", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lost-tales-famed-explorer-fragment-vi", "author": "Solis Aduro", "title": "Lost Tales of the Famed Explorer: Fragment VI", "description": "A deadly expedition to find the mythical Golden Stair of Black Marsh", "text": "The ancient Argonian strode toward Matius then, screeching in some guttural tongue. It was two heads taller than an average Saxhleel, with golden scales, bright feathers of red and purple and green, and great curving horns. Over its head was a mask of gold carved in the visage of a bird. It wore feathered robes and golden bangles, and when it spread its arms it appeared to have wings. Matius could hardly tell where the creature ended and its ornamentation began.\nHe had no time to ponder it, as the golden terror raked at him with painted talons. It roared a curse, though Matius could only translate three of its words: Sun, Fire, Death.\nMatius staggered back, unable to draw his sword as the creature bore down on him. It was clawing desperately at the yellow gemstone around his neck. Matius fell backward and managed to pull out his sword just as the bird-lizard fell atop him, screeching. He stabbed blindly at it with one hand while pressing against the creature's throat with the other, trying desperately to keep its claws from shredding him. Again and again it scratched at the amulet, trying to tear it from his neck.\nMatius heard the gemstone break. Yellow dust floated through the air.\nThe Argonian was very still then. Matius breathed a sigh of relief that he had killed it at last. His arm was tired.\nSuddenly, it moved again with blinding speed. Clawed hands shot out and cupped his face. He half expected to hear the snapping of his own neck, but it just held him in a vice grip. The golden mask slipped from one side of the creature's face.\nNow it was not a bird or a lizard, but a snake. He saw that its scales were not gold but painted, and the mask had worn away some of the paint. The scales were black and white and mottled, falling away from a dead thing. Its eyes were hollow sockets, but the dust flowed into them until they were yellow.\nOut of fear or courage, Matius struck once more, plunging his sword into the snake. At the same time, the golden mask slipped off and clanged to the floor. There was blood on the inside. Matius saw the snake's face was changing over and over again. Twelve times it changed before it was a snake again.\nHe had forgotten about killing this creature, forgotten about fighting for his own life, even forgotten why he had come to Black Marsh in the first place. All Matius knew then was terror.\nHe was falling, then flying. The world rushed up to meet him, all fire and glory and madness. He felt a current on wings he did not remember having and he soared. He flew over cities of gold and cities of black stone. They were endless, like the Hist that cradled them. The sky was aflame and the sun was a pit. Still he flew, for he had not the strength to do more than let the current carry him.\nHe came upon a tower. It was tall and vast and many trees grew from its many layers of marsh. Creatures lived and died without ever knowing of a world outside the tower. At its top was a tree that bled fire. Other winged things that looked like him circled it. They cried out in words he understood but didn't know. He felt a deep sadness as the tower fell away.\nHe looked up and saw other worlds and other towers. They were spinning wheels and they crashed into each other, and their spokes got tangled up and they broke each other. And he saw that his world was breaking, too, but quick as a snake a shadow came and swallowed up the roots of the tower so they would not break.\nStill he flew. There was only fire and darkness then, and so much noise, but he was too tired to be afraid. And so Matius slept, and drifted away into a black sun."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/2nd-manifesto-kinlord-rilis-xii": {"series": "Manifestos of Kinlord Rilis XII", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/2nd-manifesto-kinlord-rilis-xii", "author": "Kinlord Rilis XII", "title": "2nd Manifesto of Kinlord Rilis XII", "description": "", "text": "12th Sun's Dawn\nI guessed their purpose when a half-dozen guards led me down here at the points of their swords; these were members of my personal guard, who have protected me all my life, and they would see that I live the rest of my days under the dirt.\nVolraine, perhaps the kindest of my caretakers in my youth, put a hand to my shoulder as we walked that long flight of stairs down to the Banished Cells. I was beside myself, quivering, and he believed I was afraid.\nHe was mistaken. It was rage that overtook me, not fear, and as I stepped off the last stair, their swords still to my back, I spun around and released that rage.\nVolraine died almost instantly, engulfed in a cloud of flame, his scream muted by the roar of my destruction spell. As the next guard leapt over Volraine's burning remains, I turned his sword away with a bolt of lightning to the throat, and the weapon slid neatly into the chest of a third guard. It stunned me how warm the blood was. Suddenly my hands were covered in it, and I marveled at the balmy fluid. It was like wearing the finest velvet gloves in the land, and it amused me to no end. For the first time since my capture, I laughed. I roared.\nEventually, they sent another contingent of guards to search for the first. By then, I had decided I would stay\u2014for a little while, at least. I wanted to see the looks on their faces when they found the bodies of their comrades."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/3rd-manifesto-kinlord-rilis-xii": {"series": "Manifestos of Kinlord Rilis XII", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/3rd-manifesto-kinlord-rilis-xii", "author": "Kinlord Rilis XII", "title": "3rd Manifesto of Kinlord Rilis XII", "description": "", "text": "9th, First Seed\nThe nobles who orchestrated my capture refuse to have me slain. Why do they lack the stomach for such work? They would take me from my family and the vocation granted me by my lineage, but they refuse to release me from this banal existence.\nI have asked them. Oh, how I've asked them. I've demanded, I've threatened, I've begged, for an end.\nThey will do nothing for me. And in my distress, I turn to the only person who's ever truly cared. I hear the master's voice incessantly now, and while I don't understand everything he says, I know he has my best interests at heart.\nAnd his advice? He wants me to become better. A better High Kinlord. He teaches me, and through him I've learned spells that will open a way to the master. So that my subjects can meet him, can be made better."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/4th-manifesto-kinlord-rilis-xii": {"series": "Manifestos of Kinlord Rilis XII", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/4th-manifesto-kinlord-rilis-xii", "author": "Kinlord Rilis XII", "title": "4th Manifesto of Kinlord Rilis XII", "description": "", "text": "22nd, Frostfall\nAs the decades go by, guards give way to new guards, and soon, all guards will give way to a new order of \"Keepers,\" trained in magics to keep me bound here. The death I have so often begged for has finally come to claim me, and the nobles must know that my Pact will see that I walk through death unscathed.\nBut I don't despair at living, as I would have years ago. As my mortal body fades, Oblivion seeps in, to replace it with a new form. An eternal form.\nThey say the Altmeri are long-lived compared to the lesser races. Soon, I will be a race unto myself, and I will outlive the Altmer.\nThe master tells me that, ages from now, he will free me from this prison, so that I might bask in his presence, the first of his new Elven people, and be complete. That will be a day of reckoning for my Keepers\u2014for all of Tamriel."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/maormer-correspondence-vol-1": {"series": "Maormer Correspondence", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/maormer-correspondence-vol-1", "author": "Angalmo", "title": "Maormer Correspondence Vol. 1", "description": "Information about Tempest Island and its various weather phenomena", "text": "Bring this to the attention of Stormreeve Neidir. The following is a copy of an Altmer text regarding Tempest Island, written by esteemed geographer, Angalmo. The Island is close enough to Malabal Tor for our needs, and considering its history of bizarrely inclement weather, it's a perfect launching point for our assault. The Dominion will never see us coming:\nAngalmo's Travels: The Island of Storms Volume 1\nThe shrouded islands off the coast of Malabal Tor are as treacherous as they are beautiful. None more so than the Island of Storms, which some have come to call Tempest Island. The island is beautiful, but holds a secret that none have been able to decipher. Violent storms and gale winds have originated from the island for years\u2014extremely unusual weather for the region\u2014and scholars have risked its shores only to be stranded or killed on its storm-wracked coast.\nI have seen these storms first-hand; I was with one such expedition, and spent a month on Tempest Island when my ship, the Summerset Blade, was smashed to splinters by a black storm that seemed to appear from nowhere. I had misgivings about the stories before, but what explanation could there be besides magic to conjure such a swift tempest out of calm seas? Rescue eventually came, as a second crew of surveyors came to look for my party, but I pledged never to sail anywhere near the Island again.\nIt's a promise I intend to keep."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/maormer-correspondence-vol-2": {"series": "Maormer Correspondence", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/maormer-correspondence-vol-2", "author": "Angalmo", "title": "Maormer Correspondence Vol. 2", "description": "Information about Tempest Island and its various weather phenomena", "text": "This is another volume to bring to Stormreeve Neidir's attention. The following is a copy of an Altmer text regarding Tempest Island, written by esteemed geographer, Angalmo. The Island is close enough to Malabal Tor for our needs, and considering its history of bizarrely inclement weather, it's a perfect cover for our assault. The Dominion will never see us coming:\nAngalmo's Travels: The Island of Storms Volume 2\nI will never forget my experience at Tempest Island, where I nearly lost my life in the wake of one of the Island's infamous storms. My ship was destroyed and I was left landlocked for an entire month. I lived on ship's rations in the relative safety of the Island's cave network before rescue came for me.\nDuring that time, I found no signs of the Island's rumored magical properties, though obviously there were the unexplained storms to account for it. I swear that these storms are like none that I have ever seen\u2014swifter, fiercer, and manifesting in a region known for much milder conditions.\nIt's said that no scholar or mage has ever been able to discern the cause of this weather, but the Island has been thought to be the source of multiple phenomena, such as the Flood of the Era, as well as the storm that preceded the Lamia Invasion of 435. Both incidents have fostered interest in the Island over the years by researchers and academics, though none could find a cause for the storms.\nFor all the scholars can tell, Tempest Island simply sits in a swath of sea that's prone to extreme weather\u2014nothing more nor less."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/memory-stone-makela-leki-pt-1": {"series": "Memory Stone of Makela Leki", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/memory-stone-makela-leki-pt-1", "author": "Makela Leki (presumed)", "title": "Memory Stone of Makela Leki, pt. 1", "description": "The biography and final thoughts of a Redguard hero", "text": "This is a faithful reproduction of the thoughts recorded in Makela Leki's memory stone, found in the Bangkorai Pass, in the year of reckoning 1E 973. Seven years before the fall of Orsinium due to the combined efforts of the armies of Daggerfall, Sentinel, and the Order of Diagna.\nAlmost all of this is in the first person, as Makela was unfamiliar with the protocols and scholarly formalities of recording herself into a memory stone. None the less, her heroism and heroic deeds live on, her memories fresh in the stone for all to feel and hear.\n\" . . . Muuu uhh, I wonder if this will really work?\n\"That mage took me for 25,000 gold crowns if it doesn't. Imagine? This stone will record my thoughts? What did they say? Just unwrap it from the silver foil and leather bag and as soon as it touches my flesh it will begin to record.\n\"Ahhhh, the pain, I must block it out, no one would want to hold my stone and hear my thoughts if I let it record my pain. Thank the training I received in The Hall of the Virtues of War. I CAN block out this pain. Ummm just, ah, there, it's walled off.\n\"Yes, I can still see it there just beyond my consciousness lurking like a hungry wolf\u2014a wolf that will soon consume me. I see also my inevitable death from these damned wounds. No potions left, the healing crystal and ring are used up, and me, with not even magic enough to light a candle. Oh, but the gods did give me other gifts, the gift of sword singing, the thrill of battle, Frandar Hunding's Book of Circles, THE WAY OF THE SWORD. Ah, but then, that is my story, I get ahead of myself.\n\"I am Makela Leki: a warrior, a sword-singer, a second level Ansei. In my cradle I could form the Shehai, the spirit sword\u2014the mystical blade, mine formed of pure thought serpents intertwined with vines of roses to form the blade, as beautiful as \u2026.\n\"Ah, but I'm about to tell you all about that, to tell you my story, a story of valiant battle, of my loves, of my wars, of betrayal and of this last glorious victory. To tell you of how I came to this distant lonely pass, me and five companions, to fight these men and monsters, to defeat the army that would fall on my people like cowards in the night \u2014 but again, I get ahead of myself.\n\"I am a simple warrior. I grew up as a Maiden of the Spirit Blade. As early as I can remember I wanted to be a Singer, to feel the hunger of the blade in my hands, to feel it come alive and take my enemies. I am told our people were artisans and poets long ago in our desert homes. Here in the new home now known as Hammerfell, many of us have returned to those ancient ways, but to me there is but ONE WAY. THE WAY of the SWORD.\n\"Ah, this is hard to tell. I grew up in my noble family, the only one of three brothers and two sisters that felt the calling, the Song of the Sword. Father understood, for he too had felt the call. He had become a master and Ansei long before settling down at our estate to raise a family. At eleven, I entered the Hall of the Virtues of War and joined the Maidens of the Spirit Sword. In my band there were six of us. Daring Julia, solid Patia, big Kati, svelte Cegila, wise Zell, and me\u2014all are gone now, save me, and soon I will join them \u2026 join them in the halls of the unknown gods of war.\n\"We drank together, we fought, we wept, we grew in the way of the sword. We joined in our learnings in the Hall with our Brothers of the Blade. Learning from each other, we all sat at the feet of the Hall Master striving to learn the depths of the Shehai\u2014making the spirit blade into a real weapon as Frandar Hunding had. Only a few have the purity of heart and virtue to be able to take the step and learn the mysteries of Ansei. Sword Sainthood.\n\"Somehow, of all the Brothers and the Maidens, I only possessed the unique qualities, the faint but strong enough flicker of magicka to call forth the Shehai. Many times I called it, seldom would it become substantial enough to be a weapon. To be an Ansei of the first level you just need to be able to call it, and that I could, so I became the first Ansei from our local hall in two generations.\n\t\"Oh I have so much to tell, so many memories, so many treasures to share with you, my unknown companion. How do I start?\n\"Umhhh, the pain is still out there lurking hungrily, slowly consuming what's left of me. I guess I had better tell of the final battle, the one that has left me here, and then if I have the will left tell you of my life, of my love Raliph. Oh, what a lad he was. What times we shared \u2026 forgive me, my mind wanders \u2026 let me go to the Final Battle.\n\"Umm to start, in the middle humm. Yes. We Maidens grew, learned, and mastered the Way upon completing the Walkabout. To you who are not Singers, this is a wilderness trek emulating the times of Frandar Hunding\u2014where we each wander the countryside righting wrongs, defeating monsters, performing quests in the name of virtue. Some of us in our Hall took years to finish. Always there is danger\u2014we six Maidens each returned in our own good time, but many are they who do not live to return from the Walkabout.\n\"We returned, each to our own lives, to meet in the hall once a week to tell our stories to the new Maidens and Brothers, and to perform as instructors in the Way of the sword. All was well till the night of the Midyear Festival.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/memory-stone-makela-leki-pt-2": {"series": "Memory Stone of Makela Leki", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/memory-stone-makela-leki-pt-2", "author": "Makela Leki (presumed)", "title": "Memory Stone of Makela Leki, pt. 2", "description": "The biography and final thoughts of a Redguard hero", "text": "\"We returned, each to our own lives, to meet in the hall once a week to tell our stories to the new Maidens and Brothers, and to perform as instructors in the Way of the sword. All was well till the night of the Midyear Festival.\n\"All our people were reveling and \u2026 excuse \u2026 enjoying the repast, but for we six Maidens. It happened that the festival day fell on our day of meeting in the hall, our day of prayer and fasting and honor to the Way of the Sword.\n\"As we met, late into the night, a knocking rang on our door. When I opened it, there was a guardian from the Bangkorai Pass, wounded and near death \u2026 He told us of betrayal from the north, an invasion sponsored by High Rock, led by King Joile of Daggerfall\u2014our ally in the war with Orsinium!\n\"Quickly we used up a crystal of healing in restoring him to vitality. We sent him on to the king, while we six grabbed our weapons and armor of power, and as many potions, marks, and crystals and rings as we could carry.\n\"We flew to the pass hoping upon hope that we would not be too late. Our journey was not in vain, for we arrived just at the very point where the last three guardians were overwhelmed by the horde. Into the pass we ran forming the old battle line, six abreast.\n\"OH did we FIGHT.\n\"The Song of the Sword was a joyous noise slicing through the ranks of evil. We fought for hours. Julia was the first to fall, a cowardly poisoned dagger finding a rent in her armor. Then one by one all fell, save me.\n\"\u2026 Oh cruel fate \u2026 Then my beloved sword, the sword of my father, the one with the serpent's crest, fashioned by the master swordsmith Singer Tansal broke in my hands. All was lost, our six lives spent in vain. Now, many many of them would pour through the pass. I would be easy prey for them, like a newborn child. I wept in frustration.\n\"Then I remembered the hearth in our home\u2014the book. Frandar Hunding's Book of Circles, the Way of Strategy. I reached for Shehai, the spirit sword, that which I could never reliably form when I needed it, and behold \u2026 it was alive. Alive with fire. It formed in my hand. Ablaze with power\u2014oh, I slew mightily, right and left, like a scythe through wheat. All the way to the Lord of Daggerfall I fought. With one blow I cut his magical armor asunder, one more took his head.\n\"But to do that deed cost me dearly, wounds by the dozen, for although I had magical armor, it was not formed of spirit like my blade, it was not as invincible as my blade or my own spirit, and I was sorely wounded.\n\t\"With the felling of King Joile, his army crumbled. They fled before my wrath. All ran back through the pass not even pausing to collect their dead and wounded. All who could stand ran for their lives, and I slew all I could reach, but my breath was coming short, and the pain \u2026.\n\"Finally I rested, on this rock where you find me now. I don't know why I chanced to bring this stone along. I bought it on a whim really, with the loot from \u2026 ah, well, I guess I need to really stop and tell my story in order. I feel able to go on to tell you more \u2026 the eternal night is descending more slowly than I thought.\n\"Not just yet am I ready to compose my death poem. A little sip of water and \u2026 well, I think I will go back and tell you of my life, maybe some details about the battle. And, oh, yes. About Raliph and our children, humm where will I start.\n\"\u2026 Oh \u2026 rrr \u2026.\n\"I am \u2026 a simple warrior \u2026 I grew up as a, a Maiden of the Spirit Blade \u2026 As early \u2026 as early as I can \u2026 remember \u2026\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/my-kwama-journal-page-1": {"series": "My Kwama Journal (2)", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/my-kwama-journal-page-1", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "My Kwama Journal, Page 1", "description": "One Dunmer admires Kwama", "text": "Although my father mocked my desire to study the kwama, I know that I have chosen well. I can't believe he called these fascinating creatures mere insects.\nThe Great Houses might be scandalized to be compared to thriving kwama colonies, but these elegant creatures certainly remind me of the best of the Houses. They work in harmony. They share common goals.\nThey have ranks and status, much as House operatives do. All their efforts reflect upon their queen, as House retainers and kinsmen reflect on their Grandmaster.\nI hope to catch a glimpse of a kwama queen before too long."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/my-kwama-journal-page-2": {"series": "My Kwama Journal (2)", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/my-kwama-journal-page-2", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "My Kwama Journal, Page 2", "description": "One Dunmer admires Kwama", "text": "I acclimated, as kwama miners do, and these wonderful creatures have accepted me into the hive. I observe their behavior and even try to move like a kwama.\nYesterday I sat quietly and a scrib sat next to me, letting me stroke it. The moment was interrupted by Harvyn, who scooped up the scrib and hurried off. He gave me a nasty glare.\nI know the miners find my habits strange, but I feel it is important to try to be a kwama so that I can fully understand them. My hope is to be so accepted by them so I can safely visit the queen."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/naliaras-notes-day-2": {"series": "Naliara's Notes", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/naliaras-notes-day-2", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Naliara's Notes, Day 2", "description": "", "text": "Notes taken by Mehdze the Maestro's scribe, recording his journey through the Summerset Isles.\nJust begun and we've already landed a solid lead. We stopped at the cottage of an Academy sponsor\u2014some connection of Mehdze's\u2014and when he heard Mehdze's proposal for his performance our host lead us to a very curious monument in his collection.\n\u2014\nIt was a weathered coral monolith from King's Haven Pass, about waist high, inscribed with Elven script. Our host said it was a waymarker used by Elves many centuries ago.\n\u2014\nMehdze nearly frothed at the mouth when he saw it\u2014he could see the Elven word for \"Goblin\" as clear as day. I'm excited as well\u2014it's a good omen for our journey.\n\u2014\nMehdze complained upon retiring that our host's mattresses\u2014fine things, stuffed with down\u2014were too firm. How is he going to fare in the crags?"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/naliaras-notes-day-8": {"series": "Naliara's Notes", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/naliaras-notes-day-8", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Naliara's Notes, Day 8", "description": "", "text": "Notes taken by Mehdze the Maestro\u2019s scribe, recording his journey through the Summerset Isles.\nTrekking through the foothills of King's Haven Pass, we've come across several hermits claiming to know the best sites for our research. Sadly, they're leagues apart from one another.\n\u2014\nMehdze continues to press closer to Goblin territory - he's convinced that he might be able to find some undiscovered history in their lands. More likely he'll find a spear in his chest, but he continues to downplay the danger.\n\u2014\nI'm starting to understand why I was the only volunteer for this assignment."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/naliaras-notes-day-13": {"series": "Naliara's Notes", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/naliaras-notes-day-13", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Naliara's Notes, Day 13", "description": "", "text": "Notes taken by Mehdze the Maestro's scribe, recording his journey through the Summerset Isles.\nThe sites we visited indicated a larger structure built into the loam of King's Haven Pass, and shored up with the mountains stone. We're making our way there presently.\n\u2014\nIf this research is correct, it could be a location of substatial archaeological importance. Maybe I was right to take this job!\n\u2014\nCaught Mehdze eating cairnberries again. He insists he isn't allergic, but his rash still hasn't cleared and his odor grows worse. Just need to focus on the goal..."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/naliaras-notes-day-18": {"series": "Naliara's Notes", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/naliaras-notes-day-18", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Naliara's Notes, Day 18", "description": "", "text": "Notes taken by Mehdze the Maestro's scribe, recording his journey through the Summerset Isles.\nRotten luck. We're deep in Goblin-held territory, and still several leagues from where the ruin is said to hide.\nMehdze insists on pressing forward, regardless of the danger.\n\u2014\nI feel like we're being watched now. I don't believe I'd have trouble evading Goblin scouts if it came to it, but I don't have the same confidence in Mehdze. If anything, it'll be his mistake that does me in. I suppose that loud mouth of his would make a fair distraction for a getaway, at least."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/neramos-journal-page-1": {"series": "Neramo's Journal", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/neramos-journal-page-1", "author": "Neramo", "title": "Neramo's Journal, Page 1", "description": "Journal of the scholar/explorer Neramo", "text": "Perhaps it is true what they say, that success is misery to the successful and death to the unsuccessful. I fear my pride and vanity have led me to an unfortunate turn in the tangled web of fate.\nThe Orcs, though stubborn and suspicious as is their wont, were nothing but good to me, and how have I repaid them? By releasing a wave of destruction on their people and their quarry.\nDiligently they dug at their quarry extracting rock for the building of their great city, and each block of precious greystone brought me closer to my goal and my undoing. For it had been my intent all along to guide them toward the ruin I knew must be lying beneath\u2014the fabled Dwemer Tonal Quarry. Entranced by its secrets, I could not fathom the doom that waited just below the earth.\nNo sooner had we found the entrance to the ruin there among the rocks, but the defenses, still functional after all these years, activated, blanketing the quarry in thick, noxious fog. Then came the automata.\nSo many cries! So much confusion. I survived only because of the control rod I acquired, with the aid of that mysterious and courageous stranger, in Bthzark on the isle of Stros M'Kai. I believe I am the only one to have made it out alive.\nEven so, it seems I am incapable of learning my lesson. The wisdom that is said to accompany experience eludes me. My curiosity burns hotter then ever, and I feel I must journey ever inward, deeper into the quarry."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/neramos-journal-page-2": {"series": "Neramo's Journal", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/neramos-journal-page-2", "author": "Neramo", "title": "Neramo's Journal, Page 2", "description": "Journal of the scholar/explorer Neramo", "text": "I have resolved to leave these pages as a trail to my body, in the inevitability of my death in this desolate hole beneath the earth!\nI am wracked with guilt and ashamed\u2014that I unwittingly let the good Orcs of the quarry clan to their deaths, but also that I feel a little thrill each time I discover something new about this ruin. It is wrong that I should take such pleasure from these explorations, knowing what they have cost.\nMy only consolation is that I believe I shall soon meet my end. Though my control rod works to keep the automata from attacking me, it does no more than that. Surely I will soon encounter some Dwemer guardian that will defy even the control rod's neutralizing powers \u2026."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/neramos-journal-page-3": {"series": "Neramo's Journal", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/neramos-journal-page-3", "author": "Neramo", "title": "Neramo's Journal, Page 3", "description": "Journal of the scholar/explorer Neramo", "text": "Further and further. I have heard terrible shrieking coming from deep within this ruin. My worst fears are confirmed: something has taken shelter here, from beyond time, immortal and deadly.\nTo whomever finds this, know that I have died pursuing my own folly, which is a better end than most. And give my deepest regrets and most sincere regards to my brother, to whom I leave all my worldly possessions."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/neramos-journal-page-4": {"series": "Neramo's Journal", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/neramos-journal-page-4", "author": "Neramo", "title": "Neramo's Journal, Page 4", "description": "Journal of the scholar/explorer Neramo", "text": "As I sit and contemplate on what is surely my last day of living, I cannot help but be in awe of what the Dwemer built. I like to think I have dedicated my life to understanding their secrets, not in some vain pursuit of an unknowable past, but in order to harness the technologies they left in the present.\nThe air in here is dry and my lips are parched, but I have vowed to press ahead. Perhaps I will find an exit. Perhaps I will find a control room for the defenses. Perhaps I will die of thirst in this desolate place. Whatever the case, I am prepared. It will be a grand adventure, and I will face it with my eyes open!\n[There are a few drops of blood at the bottom of the page.]"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nolonirs-journal-page-6": {"series": "Nolonir's Journal", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nolonirs-journal-page-6", "author": "Nolonir", "title": "Nolonir's Journal, Page 6", "description": "Journal of a Necromancer", "text": "I know it's forbidden, but I think that's what makes this so exciting. I almost giggled the first time I made a corpse rise from the ground and follow me around.\nAh, Father. What would you think of your \"serious little boy\" now, I wonder? If Mother hadn't cremated your body when you died, maybe I'd wake you up and ask you."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nolonirs-journal-page-17": {"series": "Nolonir's Journal", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nolonirs-journal-page-17", "author": "Nolonir", "title": "Nolonir's Journal, Page 17", "description": "Journal of a Necromancer", "text": "I can't believe my luck. I've stumbled across the ruins of a place called Wansalen.\nThe unfortunates that built the place apparently didn't make it out alive.\nNow, though, they all walk the halls of Wansalen again. I wonder if their souls missed this place? Stubborn skeletons, they still won't answer when I talk to them!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nolonirs-journal-page-29": {"series": "Nolonir's Journal", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/nolonirs-journal-page-29", "author": "Nolonir", "title": "Nolonir's Journal, Page 29", "description": "Journal of a Necromancer", "text": "Idiots! Don't they know not to come here? Not to disturb me?\nA pack of fools stumbled into my sanctuary today. My pets made quick work of them, of course, but what if more come to see what happened to the first?\nI need to to protect myself, if that happens.\nI'm going to meditate now. Perhaps I'll figure out a way to scare them all off.\nAnd be blessedly alone with my research here in Wansalen!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/oleens-first-dowry-reminder": {"series": "Oleen's Dowry Reminders", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/oleens-first-dowry-reminder", "author": "Oleen", "title": "Oleen's First Dowry Reminder", "description": "A series of salty riddles", "text": "Hello, you crook-clawed rapscallions. I've had just about enough of you helping yourselves to whatever you please and throwing off my inventory counts. If you're so determined to waste my time, then I'll be sure to waste yours! I'll even give you a fighting chance. Start in the goods-pavilion and remember this:\nWhere do we hide things a Root-House might seize?\nInside an eye that never sees!\nOleen"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/oleens-second-dowry-reminder": {"series": "Oleen's Dowry Reminders", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/oleens-second-dowry-reminder", "author": "Oleen", "title": "Oleen's Second Dowry Reminder", "description": "A series of salty riddles", "text": "Well, well, well. You managed to finally hit the bulls-eye. Sure it wasn't luck? Might want to give up now before you've piddled away your day banging the flint-rocks between your ears for a spark of genius. If you intend to be stubborn, make your way to the corral and remember these words:\nThis blade finds use on fields of war,\nBut only for those who can wield it no more.\n-Oleen"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/oleens-third-dowry-reminder": {"series": "Oleen's Dowry Reminders", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/oleens-third-dowry-reminder", "author": "Oleen", "title": "Oleen's Third Dowry Reminder", "description": "A series of salty riddles", "text": "Every time I get a little down about this trip, I just imagine you up to your elbows in guar dung trying to find your \"dowry,\" but I guess you finally managed to get your hands on this clue. Did you just jam your hands into anything you could find until you got what you wanted? Might need to use salamander traps next time.\nIf you think you're getting closer to your prize, go to the watchtower and think on these words:\nI wear a skin that isn't mine.\nWith others' hands I help keep time.\n-Oleen\nAlso, take a bath before the bonding you feckless heathen."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/oleens-final-dowry-reminder": {"series": "Oleen's Dowry Reminders", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/oleens-final-dowry-reminder", "author": "Oleen", "title": "Oleen's Final Dowry Reminder", "description": "A series of salty riddles", "text": "Cheesh-Nassa,\nYou'll find that \"dowry\" I hid tucked in the false bottom of your favorite crate. The one you don't think I know about. I had to move your collection to make room. From now on, keep those in your room. That's not what the storehouse is for.\n-Oleen"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tel-var-stones-volume-1": {"series": "On the Tel Var Stones", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tel-var-stones-volume-1", "author": "Herminius Sophus", "title": "On the Tel Var Stones: Volume 1", "description": "How to work with Tel Var stones in an alchemical setting", "text": "To the Imperial Academy of Alchemists:\nFirst, a warning to fellow alchemists: this recipe was developed under my careful scrutiny\u2014the product of countless hours of study and experimentation. While the credit is unquestionably mine, I would be remiss if I didn't acknowledge my unschooled but gentle servant, Azei at-Owynok. While a capable student, Azei suffers from some foolish notions about Tel Var stones. He repeatedly warned me against destroying these objects, citing some ridiculous connection to the Divines, or to Creation itself. Such speculation is rubbish, clearly unfounded, and should not color anyone's experimentation on these stones.\nAs to the recipe itself, it is imperative that all steps are heeded without deviation. I am certain of their outcome only when performed by one of my immaculate brilliance. If incompetent hands attempt this, the outcome may be unstable. Such are the risks in our estimable profession!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tel-var-stones-volume-2": {"series": "On the Tel Var Stones", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tel-var-stones-volume-2", "author": "Herminius Sophus", "title": "On the Tel Var Stones: Volume 2", "description": "How to work with Tel Var stones in an alchemical setting", "text": "To the Imperial Academy of Alchemists:\nThe preparation of the Tel Var Stones shall be performed thusly:\nGrind a Tel Var Stone in any mortar and pestle in whatever quantity you please. Add filtered water and distill it in an alembic of expert and scholarly make, separating the vapor for separate study. Pour the powdery soup into a calcinator of inferior quality, and only such, as the natural vugginess of the ramekin made from simple materials will prevent the entire mixture from turning to ash. Stir and clear it with an iron ladle, gathering together the whitish curds that swim at the top like rendered fat. When the color of the water is clear no longer (and, in fact, emits a rather odd glow) strew upon it auripigmentum powder equivalent to the initial quantity of the Tel Var Stone powder, plus about as much realgar as will lie upon a half Dwemer coin piece of eighteen or twenty pebble weight. After the auripigmentum and realgar have wed, stir in a capsule of crimson nirnroot powder as well. The powder will flash and glow. When the glow subsides, take out the now iridescent curds with a ladle having a lip or notch in the brim for regimented measurement, and release precisely half of the mixture into a master alchemist retort. Extract a few small drops of the remaining liquid and allow it to trickle out of the dropper into a separate phial of purified water. Please note: if these driblets are round and without tails, then there is not enough Tel Var within\u2014likely due to insufficient heat. If this indeed the case, the recipe is lost, and the magicka held in stasis has been released without study.\n(Note that if your assistant is of simple and superstitious mind, this failure may evoke a gentle weeping, as they may believe that some of the essence of Creation has been lost. This is, of course, not the case. You should give your assistant a stern rebuke, as any tolerance of this belief will only foster further ignorance.)"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tel-var-stones-volume-3": {"series": "On the Tel Var Stones", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tel-var-stones-volume-3", "author": "Herminius Sophus", "title": "On the Tel Var Stones: Volume 3", "description": "How to work with Tel Var stones in an alchemical setting", "text": "An Observation of Tel Var Stones and the Schools of Magic:\nI am certain that all true alchemists will agree that the quality of the prepared Tel Var paste yielded from the rendering process outlined in Volume II of this treatise is of the highest caliber ever studied. Even the most benighted novice must conclude that the Ayleidoon conglomerate rendered by this experiment contains a unique and powerful form of raw magicka. With this assertion firmly established as fact, we shall proceed to the specific properties of the Tel Var slurry.\nThe most apparent (and seemingly unsettling to the less educated) property is the enduring warmth of the paste and the steady blush of brilliantly pure light from each granular crystal. This, of course, suggests strong connections to both illusion and restoration. When the now sullied water has been filtered from the thick suspension, the nature of its power can also be made manifest by placing a piece of Orichalcum upon its surface. The mineral will appear to levitate\u2014a clear indication of alteration potential. If examined closely, one should take note that the water has become a solution of a great number of minute white crystals. These particulates often clump together in clots that vibrate in the same manner as conjuring stones. If the slurry itself is combined with any other alchemical property, it may cause localized slowness and weakness to all manner of elemental impairments; an undeniable display of destructive power. Finally, if the Tel Var vapor removed from the alembic in the preceding recipe is examined separately with a single, taut blast of any Destruction spell, the vapor itself seems to reflect this simple affront; a clear property of mysticism. This leads us to the undeniable conclusion that all elements of Magical practice reside within these stones.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tel-var-stones-volume-4": {"series": "On the Tel Var Stones", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tel-var-stones-volume-4", "author": "Herminius Sophus", "title": "On the Tel Var Stones: Volume 4", "description": "How to work with Tel Var stones in an alchemical setting", "text": "The Conclusive Nature of Tel Var Stones:\nThe first thing to be gleaned from this weighty work, is a keen grasp of the connection between the Tel Var Stones themselves and the many unique applications of Magic. Physically, they appear to be unblemished stones of undeniable magical radiance\u2014but when examined by an an educated mind, it is clear that they are somehow imbued with more magical power than any other such objects that have yet been studied. One could speculate that the Ayleids could not produce such power themselves, so perhaps they mined these stones without substantial modification from a long emptied quarry of magical concentrate. Or perhaps they tapped into a nexus of interwoven magical threads from beyond Nirn. Or perhaps they created this material from the works, or even corpuses, of long deceased scholars. All of these hypotheses are just that, and should not be considered fact without further evidence. The methods described within Volume 2 are but one way of discovering the effluvia of Magic mixt with the Stone. There may still be others. Dwemer contraptions designed to investigate such magical phenomena are known to have once existed. An instrument of such technological sophistication might yield more data concerning the origin of these Tel Var Stones, and ultimately how these Stones may be useful for further academic experimentation."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ordinator-edict-mandate-seven": {"series": "Ordinator Edicts", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ordinator-edict-mandate-seven", "author": "Inquisitor Nivos Uveran", "title": "Ordinator Edict: Mandate Seven", "description": "List of Ordinator Mandates.", "text": "Let it be known:\nThe Order of Inquisition has received reports of outsiders wearing the holy Ordinator's Regalia, to wit, the Golden Mask of Devotion and Robes of Triune Faith. This is a clear breach of the Seventeenth Dictum of Piety. Any member of the Dunmer laity who wears the Regalia shall be subject to swift and merciless sanction. Any non-Dunmer seen wearing the Regalia shall be killed on sight. Such is the price of blasphemy.\nYou are hereby warned.\nVictory for the Three,\nInquisitor Nivos Uveran"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ordinator-edict-mandate-sixteen": {"series": "Ordinator Edicts", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ordinator-edict-mandate-sixteen", "author": "Inquisitor Nivos Uveran", "title": "Ordinator Edict: Mandate Sixteen", "description": "List of Ordinator Mandates.", "text": "Let it be known:\nHeterodox religious practice is hereby banned within the city limits of Vivec. This includes, but is not limited to, veneration of the Eight Apostasies, Hist sap or moon-sugar rituals, devotional Malacathian bloodsport, and Daedric rites of communion. Any citizen who takes part in such ceremonies shall be jailed and subjected to corporal reeducation. Any non-citizen who takes part in such ceremonies shall be banished or executed, depending on the severity of the infraction and the judgment of the attending Ordinator. In either case, all devotional materials and literature shall be seized and burned in the Pyres of Purification. Such is the price of blasphemy.\nKeep to the Tribunal or keep silent.\nVictory for the Three,\nInquisitor Nivos Uveran"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ordinator-edict-mandate-twenty-one": {"series": "Ordinator Edicts", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ordinator-edict-mandate-twenty-one", "author": "Inquisitor Nivos Uveran", "title": "Ordinator Edict: Mandate Twenty-One", "description": "List of Ordinator Mandates.", "text": "Let it be known:\nCreatures cataloged in the Sacred Register of Unclean Beasts are not permitted within city limits. This list includes many milk-producing beasts, owls, tailless apes, dreugh larvae, and egg-laden crustaceans. A comprehensive list of all banned animals is available in the Tribunal Temple's Library of Doctrine.\nAll meat intended for sale in the marketplace must be inspected by a Temple-appointed Dreni'urolan, or Deputy Curate of Triune Permissions, in accordance with the thirty-fourth Dictum of Piety. Failure to submit meat for inspection shall result in the forfeiture of any Writs of Divine Sanction, fines, and possible corporal reeducation. Such is the price of blasphemy.\nVictory for the Three,\nInquisitor Nivos Uveran"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ordinator-edict-mandate-twenty-seven": {"series": "Ordinator Edicts", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ordinator-edict-mandate-twenty-seven", "author": "Inquisitor Nivos Uveran", "title": "Ordinator Edict: Mandate Twenty-Seven", "description": "List of Ordinator Mandates.", "text": "Let it be known:\nAll bardic song and verse intended for public performance must first be approved by the Ministry of Doctrine and Ordination. Any work that is deemed heretical shall be confiscated and destroyed in the Pyres of Purification. Failure to submit said work for inspection shall result in fines and possible corporal reeducation. Such is the price of blasphemy.\nVictory for the Three,\nInquisitor Nivos Uveran"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ordinator-edict-mandate-thirty-four": {"series": "Ordinator Edicts", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ordinator-edict-mandate-thirty-four", "author": "Inquisitor Nivos Uveran", "title": "Ordinator Edict: Mandate Thirty-Four", "description": "List of Ordinator Mandates.", "text": "Let it be known:\nDestroying, moving, or otherwise vandalizing Temple property is a grievous sin. Temple icons and structures serve as extensions of the Tribunal's divine authority. Any assault on said icons and structures is considered an assault on the Tribunal's divine personages. Such an assault carries a penalty of death, followed by Rites of Forgetting and disposal of remains in the Pyres of Purification. Behold the price of blasphemy.\nVictory for the Three,\nInquisitor Nivos Uveran"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/outsider-observation-report-log-1": {"series": "Outsider Observation Report", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/outsider-observation-report-log-1", "author": "Rosalind Frenrick", "title": "Outsider Observation Report - Log 1", "description": "A stranded mage's report on the Clockwork City", "text": "By Rosalind Frenrick, Stranded Mage\nSo. This organization called the Clockwork Apostles has asked me to record my thoughts about the Clockwork City? Apparently I'm the latest person to show up in about a hundred or some such years. I told them, \"Wow, not a big tourist town huh?\" They didn't really laugh at that one. Or any of the jokes I've told so far, if I'm being honest. But hey, rambling on about something I barely know about? Now that's something I can do.\nThey suggested I start with observations. Said that was the most \"objective\" viewpoint I could give. Huh, well, not really sure what they're getting at there, but I'm going to ignore that bit of advice because I think that I should start with myself. After all, who gives a skeevers arse about what I have to think if you don't know who I am? That's what I always thought, you know, reading stories.\nWell, a little about myself. I'm your typical mage, I suppose, in how typical the ability to summon fireballs and teleport around is. Not particularly powerful or anything, which the Apostles sure were disappointed about, let me tell you. I get the feeling that they only care about folks who have a real hand at magic, or good with the contraptions they've cooked up here. I already know a few apostles who told me that they were simply very, very skilled at working the machines here, and that was sort of an in for them. Not that I really want to join a bunch of Dark Elves who worship Sotha Sil, mind you.\nHow did I end up here? Now, I'd really like to know that myself. See, I was apprenticed with a Telvanni mage just recently, an unconventional character who had a tough time keeping apprentices around. Now this mer, I'll tell you, real big Clockwork City aficionado. Really big on getting here too. I mean, talk about an obsession, he would just lecture us all nonstop about the \"wonders of the omni-axle\" and all that. Not that he really knew what exactly those wonders were, but hey, he knew they were here.\nLong story short though, he wasn't wrong. And he would have gotten his wish, had I not been a beef-wit and stepped into the portal first. Well, I mean, more like tripped. I keep hoping he'll show up, but from what I could tell it was a one way trip? Something about the movements of the planes or something like that. Prime conditions that aren't likely to pop up again. Just my luck, that.\nNow that I'm here though, well, not so sure my old boss would be particularly keen on this place. I mean first off, it's pretty much a wasteland. Smells like I'm trapped in a tin cup. Heck, everything is metal. The trees, the creatures, the people! They have metal limbs, and from what I can gather they just do it for some sort of fashion trend. Gives me goosebumps.\nAll right, my caretakers here are telling me I'm out of time. They're going to perform some more tests on me, I think. Take bits of my hair and spit for \"analysis.\" I'm guessing they'll keep asking me to write down my thoughts though. Unless one of the factotums can read my mind? Huh. Wouldn't be surprised."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/outsider-observation-report-log-2": {"series": "Outsider Observation Report", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/outsider-observation-report-log-2", "author": "Rosalind Frenrick", "title": "Outsider Observation Report - Log 2", "description": "A stranded mage's report on the Clockwork City", "text": "By Rosalind Frenrick, Stranded Mage\nHere I am again, writing down my thoughts on the Clockwork City. If I had to hazard a guess, the Clockwork Apostles weren't too keen on my last report. But you know, I don't think they're really keen on me period. So to keep in their good graces, and out of the Radius, I thought I'd share some more \"objective\" observations.\nI'm currently living in this city called the Brass Fortress. It really does look like a fortress from the outside, with high walls and big gates. There is no getting in unless you're invited, but it isn't really needed for things like war parties or bandits. There's no one here that isn't registered. I mean, perhaps there's some poor souls lost in the wastelands that surround the Brass Fortress, known as the Radius. I'm guessing they're not registered or anything, but I'm not rightfully sure. Least I'm safe here.\nWell, all right, truthfully? Not everywhere in Brass Fortress is safe. In fact there are quite a few \"off-limits\" areas here filled with rather nasty fabricants and these rather testy factotums. Fabricants by the way are these strange creatures that are a mixture of metal and flesh. Gave me nightmares the first time I saw one. From what I can understand they were created by Sotha Sil? Not sure why. They scare the ever living daylights out of me though.\nAnd the factotums, well, they're like metal people. They got heads and arms and everything, but they're simpler than living folk. They have tasks they do and they just do them. They'll answer questions sometimes? It's odd, because they act like people. Well, like very devoted servants. Who only think and talk about serving. And they're very keen on completing whatever task they've been set to do. They're interesting enough, I suppose.\nYou know, the Clockwork Apostles are pretty simple too in their interests. They really enjoy inventing oddities and discovering odd bits of information. They're real keen on Sotha Sil and everything he does. Got a giant statue of him right in the square. They quote his sermons a whole awful lot to. Doesn't make much sense to me, but at least they're not cultists or anything.\nNow here's a funny thing that I'm still wrapping my head around. These seemingly very reason driven individuals believe that the Princes and Daedra don't rightfully exist. Right. I mean, I've seen a clannfear rip men apart. Pretty sure it was real. I guess it's a little easier to believe that though, given that there doesn't seem to be any Daedra here. Not sure why? I guess Sotha Sil is just particularly vigilant about keeping them out.\nNow it isn't all Apostles this and Sotha Sil that here in Brass Fortress. In fact, most of the citizens are just normal folk like myself. Well, as normal as anyone can be growing up in this strange land. There's the merchants and the craftsmen, blacksmiths and chefs. They even have their own slums, though that came as a surprise. They call the folks there Tarnished, unwanted vagabonds and whatnot. I've talked to a few though and they seem a decent lot. Then again, most of the poor folk I've met are.\nI can tell you that no matter your lot in this city you never go hungry. You see they got this gruel here called nutrient paste. Consistency of porridge, and taste of - well, not much taste to speak of. You can add spices or toppings to make it a bit more palatable, but given that everything is made of metal here, that's a bit hard to come by.\nGot to cut it short here. More tests. Hopefully they won't make me run so much in this one. I'll make sure to keep writing down my thoughts. Helps me make sense of everything that's happening."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/outsider-observation-report-log-3": {"series": "Outsider Observation Report", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/outsider-observation-report-log-3", "author": "Rosalind Frenrick", "title": "Outsider Observation Report - Log 3", "description": "A stranded mage's report on the Clockwork City", "text": "By Rosalind Frenrick, Stranded Mage\nSo I've been told that my observations have been too ... colorful? I suppose is the way I'd put it. I guess after growing up in a world that's just different shades of brown, a bit of color can be confusing. Still, they told me to write my observations, and I'll be damned if I can do that any way but how I know how. So they'll just have to \"analyze\" a bit harder.\nI thought I'd write about other places in Clockwork City that I've visited so far. I've talked about the Brass Fortress and the general Radius, but there are some other locations around here that I've been taken to. Some of them seemed a tad more practical than others, but then again, I'm not really sure I can compare my definition of practical with the God of Mystery's.\nFirst they took me to the Mnemonic Planisphere. Well, more like we walked by it, because I wasn't allowed to go inside. I was told it was sort of like a storehouse for Sotha Sil's memories. Yeah, you read right. His memories! He's apparently got so many of them that he likes to keep them all organized in a giant building. I tell you, it's almost as big as a castle. And they look like stars? How you turn memories into stars, I'm not sure, but then again I'm not a god.\nThe next stop was far more practical of a place, called the Halls of Regulation. Now, I had been wondering where all the fresh water came from, because the rivers and lakes here are filled with oil of all things! Apparently this place somehow cleans it all up. Sure, they tried to explain it to me. Talked about the water cycle and evaporation and all these fancy terms. But hey, it gives me fresh water, so I can't complain even if I barely understand it.\nThe inside was a bit less spruced up than I expected. A lot of pipes, a lot of steam, and a lot of factotums. Couldn't help but feel nervous around them all. I was told that they help maintain the Halls of Regulation, all by themselves. I was shocked, since the whole operation sounded a bit high maintenance. Wasn't there an apostle there to give them orders and make sure everything was running smoothly? And then they started talking about Sotha Sil and how he sets everything in \"perfect regulation\" and honestly I started to lose track of the conversation from then on.\nWe then went up north to the Everwound Wellspring, which was my favorite stop because they had actual food there! I've never been more happy to eat an apple in my life. After weeks of tasteless gruel, it was the most delicious thing I've ever tasted. Ma was right, hunger is truly the best seasoning. And all the plants were green! I never thought I'd miss green as much as I do.\nDespite my excitement though, I couldn't help but feel that something was off about the place. The mer running it was nice enough, but after talking to him I could tell he had a few screws loose. All that stress really must have really gotten to him. I suppose he's under a lot of pressure though, especially since he took up the project after Sotha Sil got bored of it.\nWell, they're telling me to complete this observation report best I can now. I don't think they need any more observations from me, so I guess this is it. Right, so my overall impression is that Clockwork City - well, it's one of the most dangerous places I've ever set foot in. I can't really believe someone who calls himself a god would really let his followers live here. It's more made for machines than any living creature.\nStill, it has an odd beauty about it. The metal leaves in the trees that glitter in the sun are particularly nice. Guess I'll just have to get use to it, since this seems to be a one way trip. No one but Sotha Sil gets to leave Clockwork City. Honestly, I hope I'm the last beef-wit who gets stuck here. I wouldn't wish this life on anyone else."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/proctor-lucianas-journal-vol-1": {"series": "Proctor Luciana's Journal", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/proctor-lucianas-journal-vol-1", "author": "Proctor Luciana", "title": "Proctor Luciana's Journal, Vol 1", "description": "A mother, her son, and faith in the Clockwork God", "text": "Date: (Month and day unknown) 1E 2712 (?)\nI write this with an unsteady hand. The factotums tell me that I'll regain full control of my new fingers soon enough. I have my doubts.\nI've never kept a journal. It always seemed like an act of vanity - putting all your life's pursuits to paper. As if anyone would want to read them. But given the circumstances, I think it's worth the effort. I find myself in a very strange place - the Clockwork City.\nIt was not an easy trip. I don't remember much. There were trees. Valenwood, I think. I remember striking something with a summoned blade, then a flash of light. The rest? Nothing but whispers and pain.\nWhen I came to, I found myself suspended in a glass sphere - submerged in some kind of viscous fluid. Polished metal clamps kept my shattered limbs in place, while tiny mechanical creatures stitched the flesh to new brass appendages. To my great surprise, I felt no need to breathe - just a deep thirst, and a dreamy state of mind. I saw a tall Elf gazing at me from the other side of the glass, his face warped by the curve of the sphere. He identified himself as Sotha Sil, and told me that I would live. He also told me that I had a son.\nThis came a surprise. I had no idea I was even pregnant. Apparently, the factotums discovered the tiny, barely viable child while they rushed to stabilize my ruined body. In Tamriel his severe prematurity would have been a death sentence, but here the impossible seems effortless.\nI never had any intention of having a baby. Toting a child around while making war on the Akaviri hardly seemed practical. But time and circumstance make fools of us all.\nI named him Marius - after my paternal grandfather. I hope this journal will serve him well if I succumb to these injuries. He should know something of his heritage at the very least.\nDate: 15 Sun's Dusk, 1E 2712 (?)\nThe more I learn about the Clockwork City, the more it appeals to me. The Brass Fortress provides few comforts. It's a dry and hard place - full of strange machines and stranger people. Dark Elves mostly. I've met Dunmer before, of course, but these Clockwork Apostles seem like a breed apart. They revere logic and innovation above almost anything else. Can you imagine? My fellow battlemages always mocked me for my dedication to cold reason. \"Where's your fire, Luciana?\" As if there's no fire in rigorous thought.\nSotha Sil still checks in on me from time to time. I've never met another person like him. The apostles worship him as a god, but I get the sense that it makes him uncomfortable. He only occasionally makes eye contact -\n not out of timidity, though. He's just always focused on something else. A device, or a book, or some other clockwork oddity. I ask him questions whenever the opportunity presents itself - questions about the nature of this place, his motives, his history. I never get straight answers. Nonetheless, he seems to enjoy the back and forth. I get the sense that even here, surrounded by worshipers and loyal machines, he remains profoundly alone.\nThe apostles keep telling me that blasphemy is acceptable here - even encouraged. But it seems like a belief without a backbone. My caretaker, Lector Marilia, was aghast when I told her about my conversations with the \"Clockwork God.\" For example, I asked Sotha Sil about those persistent rumors - the ones about how he and the other Tribunes murdered Indoril Nerevar, the Dark Elf king. According to Marilia, the topic is strictly taboo. Even so, Sotha Sil answered my questions with a quiet grace that surprised even me.\n\"Why do you think things happen?\" he asked. I told him I didn't understand the question.\n\"Why are we sitting here talking? Why does young Marius exist? Why do I reign over this place, while you convalesce within it?\"\nI sat quiet for a moment, then replied: \"Because that's just the way it is.\"\nHis cold face melted into one of his solemn half-smiles. \"Exactly.\"\nI can't be sure, but it seemed like relief in his voice. His shoulders relaxed, his tone shifted - he had the look of a man at peace with his sins. Soon afterward, he thanked me for the conversation and left the room in silence.\nI looked down at Marius, sleeping soundly in his brass crib. In that moment, things seemed to make sense. The Clockwork City finally started to feel like home."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/proctor-lucianas-journal-vol-2": {"series": "Proctor Luciana's Journal", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/proctor-lucianas-journal-vol-2", "author": "Proctor Luciana", "title": "Proctor Luciana's Journal, Vol 2", "description": "A mother, her son, and faith in the Clockwork God", "text": "Date: 12 Evening Star, 1E 2713 (?)\nAfter a year of contemplation, I've decided to take my place in the ranks of the Clockwork Apostles. At least I think it's been a year - time moves so strangely here.\nIt wasn't an easy decision. In my heart, I've never stopped serving my liege, Reman Cyrodiil. But the conflicts of Tamriel seem far away now. Akavir, Valenwood, Colovia; they all feel so distant - so detached from everything that matters here. In the Clockwork City, labors matter. Logic matters. Order matters. As an apostle of Lord Seht, I can make a real contribution. And I can honestly say, if anyone is worthy of supplanting Reman Cyrodiil in my heart, it's Sotha Sil.\nI struggled with the thought of worshiping him, initially -\n mostly because he seems so uncomfortable with the idea. I worried that our conversations would cease, or that he would think less of me. Luckily, he seemed pleased when I told him the news.\n\"I can think of none better.\" he said. Then he knelt down beside Marius, and took his tiny hand. For a moment, he seemed very distant - mournful almost. Eventually he whispered, \"Your mother is both mighty and wise. I am glad I found the two of you.\"\nI don't know why, but I blurted out, \"\"Why did you save us, anyway?\"\nSeht paused for a moment, then whispered, \"Because one day you will shine a light.\"\nBefore I could ask him what he meant, he vanished. Marius laughed at that. He never gets tired of seeing Sotha Sil dissolve in light. For my part, I felt a sense of unease. I hope I didn't offend him.\nDate: 26 First Seed, 1E 2721 (?)\nSomething is wrong. Marius collapsed again. According to the monitoring factotum, he grew weak and short of breath, then fell down just outside the Cloisters. This is the third time in as many weeks.\nAt first I thought he just pushed himself too hard. Nine year-old boys have a tendency to overexert, and he's always been a bit frail. But when I found him in his room, his face was pallid and there was a rattle in his voice. He asked me what was wrong. I told him I honestly didn't know. I'll take him to see the Factotum Medica tomorrow.\nDate: 9 Rain's Hand, 1E 2721 (?)\nAfter days of tests, the factotums and clinicians finally gave Marius a diagnosis: birth-related heart defect. Apparently, the circumstances of his birth (my ruined body, his severe prematurity, and the journey through the veil) caused some kind of hemorrhage, or twisting of the arteries. In Tamriel, he'd likely be dead already. Or rather, dead a second time.\nI asked for a prognosis, but the factotums refused to offer one, citing a wide range of potential outcomes. He could see thirty or he could die tomorrow. In either case, his life will be difficult and brief. I remain (uncharacteristically) optimistic. Lord Seht has mended worse injuries and brought people within a breath of passing back to life. Here in the Clockwork City, a defect like his can't possibly be terminal. I will petition Sotha Sil as soon as he emerges from seclusion."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/proctor-lucianas-journal-vol-3": {"series": "Proctor Luciana's Journal", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/proctor-lucianas-journal-vol-3", "author": "Proctor Luciana", "title": "Proctor Luciana's Journal, Vol 3", "description": "A mother, her son, and faith in the Clockwork God", "text": "Date: 16 Sun's Height, 1E 2722 (?)\nIt's been over a year, and Sotha Sil still hasn't returned from the Cogitum Centralis. Marius's health continues to deteriorate. He spends most days in his room, studying or conducting his alchemical experiments. I'm pleased to report he has a rare gift when it comes to potions and tinctures. He loves to forage for reagents. Of course, finding living ingredients can prove difficult in the Radius. I restrict his adventures in herbalism to an hour a day. He resents me for it, but he's smart enough to know why he can't remain outside the walls of the fortress for long.\nThe Factotums tell me that each passing day makes Marius's condition more serious. I hope that Lord Seht emerges soon.\nDate: 5 Second Seed, 1E 2724 (?)\nThree years and still no sign of Sotha Sil. The other Clockwork Apostles tell me it could be decades or even centuries before he returns. Obviously, Marius and I don't have that kind of time.\nWe've settled into a comfortable routine nonetheless. While I attend to matters in the fortress and help tame portions of the Radius, Marius tinkers away with his flasks and alembics - laboring for the glory of Sotha Sil. He keeps pestering me about limb replacement, saying that a brass hand could help increase accuracy during sensitive measurements. I keep telling him \"maybe next year,\" but I'm not sure how much longer that will work. He's strong-willed. Bull-headed even. Can't imagine where he gets that from.\nHis experiments continue to astound. To everyone's surprise, he invented a palliative that reduces his heartbeat to a quarter of its natural tempo without any obvious side effects. The factotums estimate it might increase his life expectancy at a commensurate rate. But again, nothing's certain. Direct intervention by Sotha Sil remains his best chance for recovery. If the Clockwork God doesn't come out of seclusion soon, I may have to take matters into my own hands.\nDate: 14 Sun's Dusk, 1E 2728 (?)\nMarius turned sixteen today. At least I think it's sixteen. Time inside the Clockwork City moves in mysterious ways. We celebrated with a trip to the top of the Clockwork Basilica. I had to carry him most of the way, as he doesn't have the stamina for long walks anymore.\nI'd never actually been to the top of the tower before. Sweeping vistas are meant for poets and lovers - I am neither. I spend my days in the dusty streets and the lantern-lit hallways of the basilica - shielded from the raw immensity of the city. But as I watched Marius marvel at Seht's bands sliding along the glass of the Celestiodrome, and the harsh desert of the Radius stretched out below, something moved inside me. I saw that this city truly is my home - more of a home than Cyrodiil ever was. I see now that I will never return to Tamriel. I will live and die here in the Clockwork City.\nDate: 22 Second Seed, 1E 2730 (?)\nThings move quickly now. I found Marius slumped next to his alchemy table this morning - barely responsive. I moved him to his bed, summoned one of our foremost clinicians and a handful of factotums to watch over him, and prepared for my journey into the Cogitum.\nThe more senior apostles urged me to reconsider, but patience is a luxury I can no longer afford. Only Sotha Sil can save Marius. If I can wake Lord Seht from his dreams, I know he'll do what's necessary to save my son. May Seht bless these honest labors. Time to go."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/proctor-lucianas-journal-vol-4": {"series": "Proctor Luciana's Journal", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/proctor-lucianas-journal-vol-4", "author": "Proctor Luciana", "title": "Proctor Luciana's Journal, Vol 4", "description": "A mother, her son, and faith in the Clockwork God", "text": "Date: 31 Last Seed, 1E 2750 (?)\nI'm not sure why I'm writing this. I kept this journal for Marius's benefit, but he's gone now. Twenty years gone. Time supposedly makes things easier - dulls the pain. But my grief is deeper now than it's ever been.\nBusyness. Order. These things help. I threw myself into my work - marshaling the apostles into a stronger, leaner, more effective order. I cracked down on crime, published a treatise on Marius's alchemical experiments, focused on my spellcraft; but none of these accomplishments come close to filling gaping hole my son left behind.\nI never told anyone what took place in the Cogitum all those years ago. People are rightly afraid to broach the topic. Even now, twenty years later, my anger glows white-hot.\nBetrayal - that's the only word I can think of. I forded through the Centralis as quickly as I could, destroying any hostile factotum, fabricant, and mechanical trap that stood between me and Lord Seht. When I reached the Throne Aligned, I found Sotha Sil sitting on the stairs leading to his seat of power. He didn't even look up.\n\"I know why you're here,\" he said.\nI was so naive then, I smiled and rushed toward him like a child. \"Good!\" I cried. \"We have to move quickly. Marius is near to passing.\"\nBut Sotha Sil didn't stand up. He didn't even look me in the eye. \"I am sorry,\" he said. \"I cannot give you what you seek.\"\nI stumbled over my words, trying to understand what he was saying. I just repeated myself like an idiot, thinking perhaps that he hadn't heard me. \"Marius is dying. We have to get back to him as soon as possible!\"\nHe stood up and pursed his lips before speaking. \"I'm sorry,\" was his only reply.\nWe stood there in silence for what felt like an eternity. Eventually, I shook my head and whispered, \"I don't understand. My body was ruined and you healed me. It's only Marius's heart that needs mending.\"\nSeht approached, placed a brass hand on my shoulder and said, \"You misunderstand. It is within my power to heal Marius, but circumstances make it impossible. I grieve with you, Luciana.\"\nI looked up and there were tears in his eyes. I felt a great rage rise up within me. I reached for my hammer, and lifted it above my head just before Seht whispered a banishing word and sent me hurtling back toward the surface.\nMarius died two days later. Sotha Sil remains in the Cogitum Centralis to this day.\nThe other apostles offered the same trite consolations I used to give to the grieving parents of men who died under my command in the Imperial Legion. \"It was his time.\" \"He lived a good and honorable life.\" On and on. But in my heart, I will never forgive Sotha Sil. Never. I will remain a proctor of the apostles. I will always safeguard the city I love, and uphold the laws and traditions of the order. But my adoration for the Clockwork God has shriveled and starved.\nThis is my final entry. For any who choose to read this journal, know only this: Sotha Sil gives and takes without consultation or mercy. Do not mistake his interest for empathy. Do not mistake assistance for authentic acts of kindness. Some are saved, others are sacrificed. That's just the way of things in the Clockwork City."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rakhajins-journal-page-3": {"series": "Ra'khajin's Journal", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rakhajins-journal-page-3", "author": "Ra'khajin", "title": "Ra'khajin's Journal, Page 3", "description": "A champion of Alkosh decides to abandon his calling and found a new order", "text": "I always knew that I was destined for great things. While my peers sat and prayed for Alkosh's divine grace, I was a beacon of it. A champion of his natural order. Born under eclipsed Moons, born for greatness.\nI am a warrior of the Pride of Alkosh.\nBut the Clan Mother warns me that a danger lurks in my blood. The Moons call to me stronger than all others, but I must strengthen my will to resist that call. I cannot allow the darkness of Lorkhaj to darken my heart, as it once darkened the heart of our blessed founder.\nBut I do not fear such darkness. My resolve is strong, my cause is just. I shall learn all I can from the Moon-Priests of Pridehome. Then I shall await my time to protect Elsweyr. As is my duty. As is my birthright."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rakhajins-journal-page-12": {"series": "Ra'khajin's Journal", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rakhajins-journal-page-12", "author": "Ra'khajin", "title": "Ra'khajin's Journal, Page 12", "description": "A champion of Alkosh decides to abandon his calling and found a new order", "text": "I begin to find my studies tiresome. The same verses, repeated by the same voices. They wish for Alkosh's wisdom to collect in my heart like sand at the bottom of an hourglass, but they do not understand. It already has! From the first moment I learned of my destiny, I accepted it!\nBut the Clan Mother does not trust my words. She looks upon me with troubled eyes and continues her sermons.\nTo be honest, I feel her words border on condescension. She still sees me as the sobbing cub who entered her temple all those years ago, and I fear she will never see me as the proud warrior I have become.\nWill the Clan Mother ever fully trust me with the secrets my birthrights entitle me to?\nI must reach her and make her understand. Force her to understand that I am now more than the cub she raised. I am a warrior, a champion of Alkosh. And she must treat me as such."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rakhajins-journal-page-25": {"series": "Ra'khajin's Journal", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rakhajins-journal-page-25", "author": "Ra'khajin", "title": "Ra'khajin's Journal, Page 25", "description": "A champion of Alkosh decides to abandon his calling and found a new order", "text": "The time has come to leave Pridehome. I have learned all there is to know about the guardian Alkosh, but too little of the truth of my birth. Too little of my place in this world and what comes after. Too little about why we now deceive our own people with riddles and lies.\nI begin to see it is all a game. A game played by she who has always sat above us, glowering down with Moons-lit eyes. Azurah. What do you want from me? Or is it simply this? For me to finally know that I am nothing except what you made me?\nI reject it. I have learned all there is to know about Alkosh, including his breaking. If such as he can be overthrown, then Azurah's shackles can be shattered too.\nI renounce you. I have learned all there is to know about Alkosh, and the many spirits that followed after him. They are old and powerful, like you. But they are not all gone. Not yet.\nIt is long past time for the Khajiit to crown a new leader. Soon you will see."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ralions-journal-day-132": {"series": "Ralion's Journal", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ralions-journal-day-132", "author": "Ralion", "title": "Ralion's Journal: Day 132", "description": "", "text": "\u2026 wolf near the ruins. It watched us a while before retreating into the woods. Thinking about it gives me the chills. I've never felt so vulnerable in my life!\nWere that not enough, Lowindor died today in a bad spot of luck. Fell into a ditch and landed on his pick. A damned pity. He was our expert from the Mages Guild. He will be missed.\nMarafi found a pendant today. Some kind of bone carving. Only a few years old, if I guess right. The reverse is inscribed, but we can't make out any of the symbols. I set it aside it for further study. Maybe they'll have better luck deciphering it in Elden Root.\nHave to remember to requisition more candles. Someone keeps forgetting to extinguish \u2026"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ralions-journal-day-147": {"series": "Ralion's Journal", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ralions-journal-day-147", "author": "Ralion", "title": "Ralion's Journal: Day 147", "description": "", "text": "... came back today, staring at Marafi like a slab of ripe mammoth. When it left, he followed it. Madness!\nHe's been on edge since he returned. Can't say I blame him. Those eyes bore right into you. Sometimes I dream about them, watching the camp, watching me. If what they say about this place is true ....\nSomeone dug up Lowindor's grave. The body's gone. Maybe that wolf's to blame, but it's the strangest thing. There were finger marks in the dirt. If I believed it were possible, I'd say he dug his way out.\nMarafi is giving Nilaendril a hard time again. I need to find a way to separate those two."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ralions-journal-day-149": {"series": "Ralion's Journal", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ralions-journal-day-149", "author": "Ralion", "title": "Ralion's Journal: Day 149", "description": "", "text": "Marafi picked a fight with one of the workers today. When I broke it up, he stormed off into the forest. He's always been high strung, but lately he's been intolerable.\nHe better come back soon. It's getting dark and the forest is too quiet. The stories people tell about this place are little more than nursery rhymes, but on nights like this, I can see why.\nOne of the workers swears he saw Lowindor stumbling about the edge of camp last night. Lowindor's dead. How is that possible? A drunken nightmare? That's what Nilaendril says. I'm not so sure.\nI never thought I'd believe in ghosts."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ralions-journal-day-151": {"series": "Ralion's Journal", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ralions-journal-day-151", "author": "Ralion", "title": "Ralion's Journal: Day 151", "description": "", "text": "... and the search party's been missing nearly two days. I can't send another one out. Since Marafi disappeared, the forest seems darker. Menacing, even.\nI'm not sure how to explain it. The shadows move in the corner of my eye. Nilaendril says I need sleep. He's one to talk, the hours he keeps! Suppose it doesn't make him wrong. But every time I close my eyes, I see Marafi, still out there in the woods.\nFists of Thalmor will be here the day after next. Worse comes to worst we'll get them to find our missing people."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rasirs-journal-page-2": {"series": "Rasir's Journal", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rasirs-journal-page-2", "author": "Rasir", "title": "Rasir's Journal, Page 2", "description": "", "text": "How fortuitous that all the ingredients for the cure are right here in Blackreach! I suppose it makes sense \u2014an affliction born from this strange place would have an antidote hiding in its natural flora.\nThe key was to find a Blackreach morel in its fruiting variety. This renders the cure far more potent. Though, to be sure of its success, I require a test subject."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rasirs-journal-page-5": {"series": "Rasir's Journal", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rasirs-journal-page-5", "author": "Rasir", "title": "Rasir's Journal, Page 5", "description": "", "text": "A test subject has presented itself.\nThere's an afflicted in one of the caves along the main path. But there's no telling how this will go. The infected are incredibly violent. I do this at great risk to my own life.\nTherefore, I will hide the majority of the cure before I enter. If I don't survive this test, someone else will have to take on the responsibility."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rasirs-journal-page-8": {"series": "Rasir's Journal", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rasirs-journal-page-8", "author": "Rasir", "title": "Rasir's Journal, Page 8", "description": "", "text": "I've prepared the rare mushroom.\nThe cure is ready, or as ready as it will ever be.\nI am headed to the small cavern northeast of the grotto to perform the test.\nWith luck, this will not be my last journal entry."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/redfur-journal-v-1": {"series": "Redfur Journal", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/redfur-journal-v-1", "author": "Redfur", "title": "Redfur Journal, v. 1", "description": "", "text": "23 Second Seed\n\tPassage from Summerset was a sordid affair. Never thought I'd be involved in piracy, but when one's ship pulls up alongside a cog and arrows fly, one does what one can.\nThe captain was quite impressed with my affinity for\u2014what was the phrase he used?\u2014\"scudding to broadside?\" He offered me some recompense for my services; I declined.\n27 Second Seed\n\tContracted porters in Southpoint. We set out tomorrow. The lead porter is a bit of a ruffian, but his bluster died when I offered him pay. I doubt even he believes his services are worth so much coin. The politics of discretion.\n8 Mid Year\n\tWaylaid by the most dim-witted assortment of bandits this side of Hammerfell. They attacked despite a most reasonable offer that doubtless contained more gold than any of them could have hoped to see in a lifetime.\nWe lost several Mer to the scuffle and can no longer carry my full complement of accoutrements. I will not miss their prattling ignorance, but my calcinator \u2026 that will be sorely missed.\n11 Mid Year\n\tAt last, the Reliquary is in our sights."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/redfur-journal-vol-2": {"series": "Redfur Journal", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/redfur-journal-vol-2", "author": "Redfur", "title": "Redfur Journal, vol. 2", "description": "", "text": "13 Mid Year\n\tThe business of unloading my equipment has been completed, and I have sent the porters on their way. They will return on the first of Sun's Height with supplies, but I am finally alone with my thoughts.\n14 Mid Year\n\tFrom what I can discern, reports of the ruins' dormancy have not been exaggerated. It has all the aesthetic appeal of an ancestor tomb without the company of necromantic constructs sweeping the halls clean of filth.\nReally, the state of these ruins is appalling. It's as though my predecessors made no effort to sift through the filth! I will set to work at once.\n20 Mid Year\n\tHappened across several enchanted tomes today. Unfortunately, I have been unable to open them. If I had my calcinator, I might be able to analyze their enchantments more closely by taking a sample and breaking it down. Unfortunately, those twice-cursed bandits have made that impossible.\nNot to be deterred, I sought to pry up the bindings of one of the books. When I did this, it heated up measurably until it seared my fingertips. Further study will have to await my return to the Crystal Tower.\n23 Mid Year\n\tWhile sifting through the remains of some remarkably well preserved flesh monstrosity, I felt a breeze issuing from the stacks. It was steady and warm, like the breathing of some great beast.\nDoubtless it is the ingress to some hidden passage, but its means of access are impeccably obscured.\n27 Mid Year\n\tSuccess! I was able to effect the opening of the passageway through careful application of alteration spells! Such a clever solution will surely draw the admiration of my peers in Summerset, but for the moment, true discovery awaits! It is time to discover what secrets this Reliquary holds!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/research-nathien-mortieu-vol-1": {"series": "Research of Nathien Mortieu", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/research-nathien-mortieu-vol-1", "author": "Nathien Mortieu", "title": "Research of Nathien Mortieu, Vol. 1", "description": "A cultist of Peryite experiments with concocting the perfect plauge", "text": "What a delight this temple has turned out to be. Yes, these colder conditions are positively wondrous for my mixtures. And there's no nasty guards to question us. No eyes that look upon our blessing with ignorant distaste. Many questioned my decision, but oh, they simply saw what was ahead. Not beyond, not as I do.\nMy research with the ogres in the caverns has produced ... admittedly mixed results. They were easy enough to infect. Predictable patterns and slow wits make for lovely test subjects. We saw early signs of the physical manifestations of the disease, yes, oh yes. Lovely, absolutely lovely. These disgusting creatures became beautiful under my guidance. Oh, how lucky they were, to be the first embraced by such a loving illness.\nBut then it turned all wrong! They turned out all wrong, all wrong! The way they've begun to act, you wouldn't even think they were sick. Nasty, stupid creatures won't even die! They just became ... angry. Stronger. Downright mean! They started attacking my researchers. I'm afraid we lost quite a few just last night. Hopefully we can still remain on schedule, but I can see quite a delay already.\nThough it pains me to leave such research behind, I simply must conclude that these ogres are too beast like. We'll need more human subjects if we wish to continue our research. We simply have no time for our usual procedures, given how isolated this mountain is. Many have proposed the giants may prove to be useful. Dangerous, dangerous, but what is discovery without a few deaths?\nOn a personal note, my other ear has finally rotted off. There's still a bit more to go, but the current state shows promise. Everyday I become more beautiful, more perfect. More blessed."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/research-nathien-mortieu-vol-2": {"series": "Research of Nathien Mortieu", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/research-nathien-mortieu-vol-2", "author": "Nathien Mortieu", "title": "Research of Nathien Mortieu, Vol. 2", "description": "A cultist of Peryite experiments with concocting the perfect plauge", "text": "I'm simply atwitter with excitement at our latest developments. Our lovely plague has come together nicely, so nicely. Yes, I dare say at this point it's nigh incurable! We had some initial troubles with creating a delay in symptoms. Burn out the subject too quickly, and, well, there's no time for it to spread. No, we want to keep them up and about, spreading our blessing to as many as possible. How ... reverent.\nAnd when the symptoms do come, oh, well\u2014it goes beyond description. I could wax poetic about the succulent pus, those all-spreading rashes. Boils, nearly translucent, they become so overfilled. The mere sight of that lovely, sickening shade of green sends pleasant shivers throughout my body. Have you ever seen something so beautiful? I've always had pride in my work, but this borders on adoration.\nThe giants have proved useful, just as the ogres, but still their reaction is just ... wrong! They've turned my poor creation into something different, something unexpected. The heathens! Just like the ogres, it's turned them stronger, even more aggressive. They simply aren't human enough. Not right! The majority of them should be dead by now, but here they are, sturdier than ever. It makes me sick, and not in the good way!\nWe've lost a handful of researchers already, and I simply can't afford to lose more. The giant's matriarch has become particularly aggressive. And she just started to look so lovely, too. What a shame. I had hoped to sketch her in my spare time. Well, the path to discovery always tends to be tricky terrain. A few deaths are just unavoidable if we ever hope to reach our goal.\nSpeaking of our goal ... oh, yes, yes, yes! She's begun to wake up. I feel it in my bones. Such a sleepy head, that one is. I hear her though. Oh, I hear her! She whispers to me of our glorious plans, how we will usher in a new age. I know we will. We must keep her safe, for the time being. And then she will become the shepherd.\nI'm hoping to look my best when we finally meet. My nose has begun to rot, but the progress is slow. I'm half tempted to chop it off myself! But no. No, no, it would just look all wrong. I must be patient, in all things. My blessed beauty will come in time."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/research-nathien-mortieu-vol-3": {"series": "Research of Nathien Mortieu", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/research-nathien-mortieu-vol-3", "author": "Nathien Mortieu", "title": "Research of Nathien Mortieu, Vol. 3", "description": "A cultist of Peryite experiments with concocting the perfect plauge", "text": "They laughed at us. Mocked us. Even my own mother never understood me. She wanted me to follow the family tradition. \"Join a respectable cult,\" she told me, but Vaermina was but a chaotic lie. My Lord is the perfect truth of order. Why don't they learn to listen? They never listen! But they will have to hear us now. They shall all learn to heed the name of Peryite.\nOur blessing is now ready. It shall spread, an all-consuming plague which will bury this world in corpses. This nasty, imperfect world, with no order, no respect. All will belong to my Lord, to his order. Their laughing will be drowned out by coughs, their impertinent words choking in their throat as bile builds. I'll make them beautiful, perfect. And then they shall die, lying in their own filth. My heart flutters just imagining the sight.\nI've begun to allow my fellow researchers to gain the blessing we have created. Oh, how they craved it, as do I, but we must be careful. Should we follow the whims of our hearts, our entire operation may fall apart. I simply cannot let that happen, not when we are so close to true natural order.\nWe'll start small. There's a village nearby, tiny, perfectly suited for our needs. We'll wipe them out first, let the rumors spread. Let the fear fester in their hearts. My creation will be on the tongue of every citizen of Tamriel. And then, well, I'll make sure those tongues rot off.\nBut as for her .... Oh, what a grumpy, nasty woman. She cares nothing for our experiment, for our plans. She merely stares at me. What is she thinking? I cannot see her face, for she refuses to remove that unsightly mask. I fear she still holds an attachment for her former master. Nasty, nasty!\nOf course, I do not question Lord Peryite's will! I do not! He knows I have been loyal. Faithful. I see the vision of his ordered world, and I revel in it. A land filled with corpses, rotting, resplendent. A new age shall come, a new order will come! All under my Lord's banner. Mother will regret the day she spurned me.\\n\\nI wish to keep recording, of course, but it's getting a bit trickier to write since my third finger fell off. I fear this may be my last entry, but what shall it matter? I can see no way our plan can fail. No one can overcome the will of the Prince of Pestilence! And all shall know his blessing."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rurelions-observation-1": {"series": "Rurelion's Observation", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rurelions-observation-1", "author": "Rurelion", "title": "Rurelion's Observation # 1", "description": "Scholarly observations of the Temple of Mourning Springs", "text": "Temple of the Mourning Springs\nObservation #1\nThis catacomb is filled with corpses, and not one of them a Khajiit. Each appears to have died in battle, yet special attention and care was provided in preparing their bodies. Whoever constructed this place must respect death immensely\u2014even that of their enemies.\n\u2014Rurelion\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rurelions-observation-2": {"series": "Rurelion's Observation", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rurelions-observation-2", "author": "Rurelion", "title": "Rurelion's Observation # 2", "description": "Scholarly observations of the Temple of Mourning Springs", "text": "Temple of the Mourning Springs\nObservation #2\nWe've found the water's source: something locals call the Mourning Stone. It's a wondrous orb, rippling with elemental power. I can sense its connection to the water rushing beneath our feet, surging to the central ruins. I hope Ealcil understands why we must proceed with caution.\n\u2014Rurelion"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rurelions-observation-3": {"series": "Rurelion's Observation", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/rurelions-observation-3", "author": "Rurelion", "title": "Rurelion's Observation # 3", "description": "Scholarly observations of the Temple of Mourning Springs", "text": "Temple of the Mourning Springs\nObservation #3\nWhy do the dead need all this water? Spikes array below the floorplates in this chamber. Are they intended to keep visitors out, or do they have some other purpose?\nSomething lingers in the dark. I must step lightly.\n\u2014Rurelion"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/savior-altmer-part-1": {"series": "Savior of the Altmer", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/savior-altmer-part-1", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Savior of the Altmer, part 1", "description": "An Altmer mage attempts to end the Alliance War", "text": "Let it be known that what I have done here, in Elden Hollow, I do for the Altmer, though they refuse to help themselves.\nWhat follows is a memoir of sorts, for the Thalmor will no doubt feel they have been betrayed. But I am the only Canonreeve working towards a greater good\u2014towards a better existence for the Altmer.\n12th of Morning Star\n\tI have seen the numbers. The Aldmeri Dominion loses hundreds of soldiers every fortnight in this accursed war\u2014and we have a long road ahead of us.\nWhen all is finished, we will have lost an entire generation of Altmer. Teachers, scholars, and mages march off to fiery death and the Thalmor are happy to give them up. It's heinous.\nI can understand that the Khajiiti leaders (with less than five of their number in the Thalmor!) and the Bosmeri Treethanes would be eager to offer Altmeri blood to end this conflict. But my fellow Canonreeves are equally willing, and I cannot abide by it.\n8th of Mid Year\n\tMonths have passed and the Thalmor continue to pass Altmeri youth through the Dominion war machine like they're an inexhaustible resource. We possess the greatest military minds in Tamriel and all we can do is tear our best and brightest from their lives to fight like savages in far-off lands.\n9th of Last Seed\n\tI was a fiery mage in my youth, and I've retained a lesson or two since then. If I cannot get support from the Thalmor to bring a more expedient end to this war, then I will bring about the end for them."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/savior-altmer-part-2": {"series": "Savior of the Altmer", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/savior-altmer-part-2", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Savior of the Altmer, part 2", "description": "An Altmer mage attempts to end the Alliance War", "text": "11th of Frostfall\n\tMy career as a mage ended abruptly when I realized the manipulation of people and policy was infinitely more satisfying than collecting animal feces to spark a fire.\nHowever, I am forced to admit that perhaps Oraneth the Master-Wizard could end this war much more quickly than Canonreeve Oraneth is able to.\n23rd Sun's Dusk\n\tI can think of a hundred ways to finish this war \u2026 none of which a mage of my stature could accomplish. The Guilds offer no solace. I saw that grinning fool Bakkhara again. At least I believe she was grinning. I can never tell with the Khajiit.\nI have but one recourse."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/savior-altmer-part-3": {"series": "Savior of the Altmer", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/savior-altmer-part-3", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Savior of the Altmer, part 3", "description": "An Altmer mage attempts to end the Alliance War", "text": "1st of Morning Star\n\tThe pact is made. I fear even my ancestors would frown on me, or hunt me in the streets for this. I do not doubt the Thalmor will be displeased.\nBut it is necessary. I have taken a sabbatical from my position as Canonreeve these last months in my effort to conclude this war, but I have been reviewing the field reports. This conflict is claiming double the Altmeri lives as were being lost when I embarked on my journey.\nThe choice I made was the correct one.\nMy new master, and the army he has promised, will ensure this war is finished before the year's end."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/secret-dwemer-origins-pt-1": {"series": "Secret Dwemer Origins", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/secret-dwemer-origins-pt-1", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Secret Dwemer Origins, Pt 1", "description": "These ramblings aledge that the Dwemer were time travelers from the future.", "text": "Gods, I have seen the visions you have given me. I have embraced it wholly. I have followed it here to the cave of Revelations! I have given it the name Zthgnthaz. It is the Dwemeris acronym for time-wizard!\nThey LAUGHED at me WELL NO MORE. Now I have PROOF."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/secret-dwemer-origins-pt-2": {"series": "Secret Dwemer Origins", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/secret-dwemer-origins-pt-2", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Secret Dwemer Origins, Pt 2", "description": "These ramblings aledge that the Dwemer were time travelers from the future.", "text": "It all makes perfect sense. Everything in here is brass. Brass is the color of time. It is the same way forwards and backwards. When you transpose it into Aldmeris it's spelled zathaganathaz. ZTHGNTHAZ.\nTHE TRUTH WILL NOT BE DENIED."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/secret-dwemer-origins-pt-3": {"series": "Secret Dwemer Origins", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/secret-dwemer-origins-pt-3", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Secret Dwemer Origins, Pt 3", "description": "These ramblings aledge that the Dwemer were time travelers from the future.", "text": "Zthgnthaz. Brass Time Wizard. I can hear the music right now. The notes spell out the mystery. The three alliance leaders are just puppets. Molag Bal was a distraction designed to divert our attention from the TRUTH.\nI just need to find some crystals!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/secret-dwemer-origins-pt-4": {"series": "Secret Dwemer Origins", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/secret-dwemer-origins-pt-4", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Secret Dwemer Origins, Pt 4", "description": "These ramblings aledge that the Dwemer were time travelers from the future.", "text": "It's all here. All the proof I need. The Dwemer were time-visitors from the future. These ruins are impenetrable because they have not been built yet. They disappeared because something happened that caused them not to be born.\nBut I have discovered it, and I will set time on the right course again. I will bring them back!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/skyreach-explorer-volume-one": {"series": "Skyreach Explorer", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/skyreach-explorer-volume-one", "author": "Reginus Buca, Verita Numida", "title": "Skyreach Explorer, Volume One", "description": "Two historians explore Skyreach, an ancient Nedic ruin in Hammerfell", "text": "By Reginus Buca, Historian, University of Gwylim\nWith an equal measure of excitement and trepidation, I begin this series of journals that will one day form the basis of a scholarly work on Skyreach and the ancient Nedic people. The University of Gwylim has generously funded this expedition, in exchange for the exclusive rights to publish at least two books related to the subject at hand.\nNote, however, that these journals are not the finished published work. They contain my observations, theories, and general musings on everything I encounter throughout this trip. The journals will also contain asides by my scholarly partner Verita Numida, whose theories are usually wildly opposite of anything I propose. I like to think that our differing points of view help to create a more complete picture of the past, but I will admit here, within these pages, that she often drives me into an intellectual rage. Without her support and the addition of her lofty credentials alongside my own, however, I'm not sure this expedition would have come to fruition.\nWhy Skyreach? These ancient ruins, we believe, hold the answers to the question that has intrigued us both since we first started looking into Cyrodiil's past. Namely, who were the ancient Nedes, the people who eventually gave rise to the mighty Imperials? I always imagined them to be uncivilized brutes that were as likely to fight each other as they were their enemies, but Verita has constantly insisted that they had to have a more advanced culture than I gave them credit for. Perhaps deep within the ruins of Skyreach, we will settle our argument once and for all.\n* * *\n\tRemarkable! The city of Skyreach appears to extend not only around the Dragontail Mountains, but through them and even beneath them. What an amazing feat of engineering went into the crafting of the place. It appears I have lost at least one argument with Verita. The ancient Nedes were certainly not simply uncivilized brutes. But beyond that, these monoliths have yet to tell us exactly who they were.\nWe have begun our investigation in a section of the ruined city we have decided to call \"The Hold.\" Our first goal is to explore the area and come to some conclusions about what daily life must have been like in this Nedic metropolis. Did they utilize both the exterior and interior spaces, or were they primarily dwelling within the space carved from the very heart of the mountain? Perhaps the intricate carvings will provide some clue.\nOn first inspection, I theorize that the Nedes built this massive living structure as a private estate for one of their vaunted High Kings. Perhaps it was even the final residence of Durac, the High King that presided over the fall of the Nedes.\nVerita, as usual, disagrees. She posits that the commonfolk lived and worked both inside and outside these now-ruined buildings. The evidence we see for what appear to be areas converted into living spaces, she claims, lend credence to the theory that the Nedes retreated into the mountain as a result of the Yokudan invasion. Her theory may be more sound, on further consideration, but I am not yet ready to concede to her on this. Not yet."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/skyreach-explorer-volume-two": {"series": "Skyreach Explorer", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/skyreach-explorer-volume-two", "author": "Reginus Buca, Verita Numida", "title": "Skyreach Explorer, Volume Two", "description": "Two historians explore Skyreach, an ancient Nedic ruin in Hammerfell", "text": "By Reginus Buca, Historian, University of Gwylim\nAs we saw in the other parts of the city we have already explored, the same odd figures appear throughout the Nedic architecture. Clearly, a serpentine motif is depicted everywhere. I contend that this is proof positive that the Nedes worshipped some sort of serpent god and were so enamored of this deity that they wanted to see him wherever they looked.\nVerita says my theory has merit, and I thank her for that. But she insists on offering an alternate opinion. She says it's to make sure all avenues of possibility are explored, but I contend she just wants to be contrary. She does enjoy disagreeing with me at every chance she gets. Her theory is that the snake was simply a popular figure in Nedic culture, not unlike the Friendly Netch, the Brave Little Squib, or the Gift-Giving Guar of our own popular legends.\nWe must agree to disagree, as the other popular saying goes.\nOther images we have spotted over and over again in the stonework include an odd, Orcish face, a stag-skull sort of creature, and a winged serpent, which could be related to the other snake images. Gods? Popular story characters? Simple decorative elements without higher meaning? I believe we are looking upon the Nedic pantheon, for I can't imagine going to all this trouble just to depict imaginary creatures from camp-fire tales.\n* * *\n\tWe now believe that the catacombs were originally used as the city of Skyreach's graveyard. We have found evidence that the interred came from all walks of life, from commoners to crafters, nobles to royals. We have also developed conflicting theories about why the confines of these catacombs have disturbed us so profoundly.\nI believe that it is shared illusion, given substance by lingering legends and fueled by our own fears. We just need to rely on our intellects and strength of will then everything will be fine. Besides, illusions cannot hurt us. Of that, I am fairly certain.\nVerita, of course,\u00a0 has a differing opinion. She believes that the legends concerning Virmaril the Betrayer, who we know of only through the remains of a text now called the Perenaal Fragment,have at least a grain of truth to them. It is her belief that Virmaril was indeed a necromancer, and that somehow he has defied the laws of nature and still exists in one form or another somewhere deep within this labyrinth. I say balderdash, but as I agreed to let her join this expedition, I feel somewhat obligated to allow her to express her theories - no matter how outlandish they may be.\nIt is Verita's contention that Virmaril has been asleep these long aeons, and we have somehow begun the process of awakening him from his eternal slumber. Just to be on the safe side, we have decided to cut our exploration of the catacombs short and move on to the next site in the complex. Perhaps we shall return to these ruins at a later time, after our heads have cleared."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/skyreach-explorer-volume-three": {"series": "Skyreach Explorer", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/skyreach-explorer-volume-three", "author": "Reginus Buca, Verita Numida", "title": "Skyreach Explorer, Volume Three", "description": "Two historians explore Skyreach, an ancient Nedic ruin in Hammerfell", "text": "By Reginus Buca, Historian, University of Gwylim\nToday we made our first foray into the undercroft known as Skyreach Catacombs. It is evident that the dead of the Nedic city were interred within this vast labyrinth. However, we have not yet been able to determine if all classes of citizens were allowed to make use of these facilities or if it was just a place for the rich and powerful. We will begin examining a sampling of the graves at once. Who knows what relics we might find buried with each Nedic corpse?\nSome of the guards and workers in our party have begun to complain about this place. They say these catacombs are haunted. One of my students actually reminded me of the legend of Virmaril the Betrayer. I usually don't hold with such nonsense, but I must admit that a feeling of dread has settled over me. And like some of the others, I imagine I'm hearing a voice whose words are spoken just low enough that I can't make them out. Perhaps we're just frightening each other with these wild tales. Still, the faster we complete our study, the faster we can exit this dismal place.\n(I've taken up the quill again, as Reginus appears to be almost frozen with fear at the moment. We haven't actually seen any spirits or walking dead yet, but more and more of our crew are complaining about the strange voices in their heads. I'm going to ignore them for the moment and talk about the amazing chamber we just came across. This must have been where the legendary meeting of the Nedic kings took place! Each of the kings appear as they must have looked in their last moments of life, sitting in their thrones as if about to enter into a grand debate.-Verita N.)\nI don't know what came over me, but I have shaken off the feeling of doom and retrieved my quill from our fanciful Verita. I must document the position of each of these ancient kings so that our record of this discovery is complete. Though their names have been lost to history, we know the titles of each of the kings spread out around the High King Durac. They include such luminaries as the Forest King, the Spirit King, and the Frost King. We don't know why they carried these titles, but I'm sure it had something to do with the region of the Nedic realm they ruled. Or perhaps it had something to do with their own personal portfolios of power.\n(Give me that quill! Who cares what they were called. I think this chamber demonstrates the true state of Virmaril the Betrayer's mind. I don't think he was trying to raise an undead army. I think he was more of a collector. I think this place is now his collection! It makes a certain amount of sense if you look at the evidence before us. -Verita N.)\nNonsense! Virmaril is nothing more than a legend. And ghost stories do nothing to advance the cause of knowledge and history. Let's move on before we all succumb to these imaginary voices."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/skyreach-explorer-volume-four": {"series": "Skyreach Explorer", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/skyreach-explorer-volume-four", "author": "Reginus Buca, Verita Numida", "title": "Skyreach Explorer, Volume Four", "description": "Two historians explore Skyreach, an ancient Nedic ruin in Hammerfell", "text": "By Reginus Buca, Historian, University of Gwylim\nSupplemental Notes by Verita Numida, Ancientist, University of Gwylim\nReginus needed a rest and some juniper tea so I've taken up ink and quill to continue the record of our exploration of Skyreach Hold. (I love how he hates that I have a more friendly and exciting writing style than he does! Smashing!)\nI'm coming more and more to the certainty that the Nedes possessed an advanced society. Perhaps even more advanced than our own in certain ways. The engineering skills that were required to construct these massive spaces within the mountain are almost too much to fathom. I'm not sure if our best engineers and crafters wouldn't be hard-pressed to duplicate the effort. The intricate gardens, the vaulted ceilings, the ingenious waterways and fountains - it all points to a level of sophistication and aesthetic that rivals or exceeds the best Cyrodiil has to offer.\nI think that the overall skill and craftsmanship demonstrated in the stonework that surrounds us clearly shows that the Nedes were much more than war-loving savages. I'm sorry, Reginus, but I have to record it as I see it. The architecture demonstrates that they treated stonework and masonry as an art form. The carvings are more than simple decoration. They tell a story of a proud and powerful people, of a culture reaching for the stars that was then cut short by jealous invaders. Even in ruins, there is a grandeur here that leaves me breathless.\nEven more impressive are the spaces that are open to the sky. These open ceilings let in fresh air and sunshine, and were perfect for observing the night sky - a practice we know the Nedes were fond of thanks to ancient texts and tablets such as the Perenaal Fragment and others. I believe that the Nedic obsession with the stars isn't simply because they worshipped or had some other deep connection to the Celestials. I believe that the Nedes were somehow involved in the very creation of the whole concept of the Celestials. I plan to find proof of this during our explorations of this space and the neighboring ruins.\nOf course, Reginus strongly disagrees with my proposition. He even demands that I return the quill to him. Historian, indeed! He wouldn't know a fact from a fantasy if it walked up and said \"hello.\" Oh, very well. My hand was beginning to cramp, anyway."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/skyreach-explorer-volume-five": {"series": "Skyreach Explorer", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/skyreach-explorer-volume-five", "author": "Reginus Buca, Verita Numida", "title": "Skyreach Explorer, Volume Five", "description": "Two historians explore Skyreach, an ancient Nedic ruin in Hammerfell", "text": "By Reginus Buca, Historian, University of Gwylim\nSupplemental Notes by Verita Numida, Ancientist, University of Gwylim\nReginus stepped into a crack in the stone walkway and sprained his ankle. He's currently resting at the base camp with a cup of hot juniper tea. He reluctantly agreed to allow me to explore the pinnacle ruins without him, as we can't afford to waste time waiting for his ankle to heal to complete our examination of the Skyreach complex.\nHere I am, inside the highest accessible point within the Skyreach ruins. A long, winding corridor leads deeper into the structure, though I have yet to see any evidence that would allow me to formulate a theory about the purpose of this place. I do have the unnerving feeling that I'm not alone in here. Well, in addition to my guards and research assistants. I wonder if it has something to do with the faces staring out from the carvings in the pillars and walls?\nAnyway, the corridor into the ruins appears to have seen damage in the past. Parts of the walls have fallen away, and sections of the approach appear to consist of natural cave instead of worked stone. Perhaps an earthquake caused the damage and even opened natural passages through the ruins? And it still feels as though I could turn around and look into the face of an ancient Nede - or something even stranger - at any moment.\nAs I reached the end of the corridor and it opened into a vast, finished chamber, I wondered whether or not the passage I entered the ruins by was ever meant as an original accessway. It appeared to bisect the main chamber almost as an afterthought, as though someone or something dug their way into this section of the ruins at some point after the fall of Skyreach and I was now following the path of previous explorers or tomb robbers.\nI need to think about that a bit before I write any additional comments."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/skyreach-explorer-volume-six": {"series": "Skyreach Explorer", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/skyreach-explorer-volume-six", "author": "Reginus Buca, Verita Numida", "title": "Skyreach Explorer, Volume Six", "description": "Two historians explore Skyreach, an ancient Nedic ruin in Hammerfell", "text": "By Reginus Buca, Historian, University of Gwylim\nSupplemental Notes by Verita Numida, Ancientist, University of Gwylim\nI continue my commentary on my exploration of Skyreach Pinnacle while Reginus lounges around back at the base camp, nursing an injured ankle and cursing his bad run of luck on this expedition. But now that I think about it, maybe he was just getting tired of crawling around in dusty, old ruins and decided he needed a break. I wouldn't put it past him to have me do all of the work around here.\nI've reached the main chamber of this portion of the ruins. It was obviously a ceremonial room of some sort, perhaps associated with the Nedic religion or arcane practices. Four summoning circles or ritual stones of some sort occupy key positions around the room. I'm not an expert on arcane rituals by any means, but I wouldn't be surprised if these stone platforms were wards of some sort. I'll make etchings of the stones and see what Reginus thinks they represent.\nThe center of the chamber appears to be decorated with an engraved ritual circle that seems to depict an alien visage of some kind. Is it another of the supposed Nedic gods that we have yet to fully identify? I'll put that it the definite \"maybe\" category. I do get a sense of foreboding in this ancient space, as though something of great consequence took place here. I wish I could find a text or something that would just explain everything to me, but then I guess I'd have no work to do for the university, would I?\nThe raised platform at the far end of the chamber contains two interesting and noteworthy features. First, a fifth summoning circle (ward stone?) is embedded in the floor of the platform. Second, a huge opening in the wall provides a view into the night sky. Could this have been an astronomical tool of some sort? Does a particular pattern of stars appear in this portion of the sky on a given day? I'll need to see how I can research that avenue of study, but in the meantime, I really don't like the sense I'm getting in this chamber. The place feels angry. Like a hornet's nest of dark emotions waiting to explode.\nYes I'm done here. Let's see if Reginus can make any sense of what we've discovered here."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/stitching-flesh-part-1": {"series": "Stitching Flesh", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/stitching-flesh-part-1", "author": "Apprentice Veriasa", "title": "Stitching Flesh, Part 1", "description": "Journal of an Imperial City necromancer", "text": "3rd of Rain's Hand\n\t\"There is no such thing as life and death; there is only flesh and fluid.\"\nToday we begin our work, dissecting corpses from the Imperial Prisons. My master insists that samples be taken from each. I'm to begin with the eyeballs, and then proceed to cutting off chunks of back-fat for further examination.\n26th of Rain's Hand\n\t\"Day in and day out, the flesh weakens or becomes diseased, and eventually it loses its ability to contain and channel fluids. At this point, it becomes necrotic \u2026.\"\nMy master feels we've made a landmark discovery. It seems that what we consider to be dead flesh has merely become more porous. The implication is that if we could restore the impermeability of the tissue, the possibilities are endless \u2026.\n1st of Second Seed\n\t\"Do you see? This tissue has vascularity. It's been restored \u2026.\"\nMy master has begun dissecting the soggy remains of a Ra-Netu that was shipped here from Sentinel just for her. It looks like a zombie to me. She believes this specimen may give us the answers we seek \u2026."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/stitching-flesh-part-2": {"series": "Stitching Flesh", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/stitching-flesh-part-2", "author": "Apprentice Veriasa", "title": "Stitching Flesh, Part 2", "description": "Journal of an Imperial City necromancer", "text": "6th of Second Seed\n\t\"The study of necrotic flesh has yielded few revelations, but the mechanisms of undeath hold great promise \u2026.\"\nOur efforts to restore the tissue's vascular integrity have come to naught, but Master Shadakul is unwilling to give up. We've been working without sleep for days, but she believes we're close \u2026.\n17th of Mid Year\n\t\"Sacks. Necrotic sacks. The Flesh Colossi have the secrets that we seek.\"\nHordes of Daedra and undead have descended upon the city, and my master says this is our opportunity. Gods help us, we're going to the Arboretum District.\nApprentice Veriasa"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sumirils-book-passage-1": {"series": "Sumiril's Book", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sumirils-book-passage-1", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Sumiril's Book, Passage 1", "description": "A story of a boy and the land", "text": "This is the story of a boy. This is the story of the land. This is the story of how the boy and the land came to be.\nThe boy's name was Ostion. He had the power to shape the land. He whispered his instructions and the land willingly obeyed. But the boy was alone."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sumirils-book-passage-2": {"series": "Sumiril's Book", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sumirils-book-passage-2", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Sumiril's Book, Passage 2", "description": "A story of a boy and the land", "text": "Soon powerful people learned about the boy, and how he could shape the land. They did not understand that what he had was a gift. They saw only the power in it. They wanted to conquer.\nThey decided to test the boy."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sumirils-book-passage-3": {"series": "Sumiril's Book", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sumirils-book-passage-3", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Sumiril's Book, Passage 3", "description": "A story of a boy and the land", "text": "The powerful sent Ostion to Valenwood. They told him to shape Valenwood and build a great city there. They sent builders to help. But Valenwood was not like the land where Ostion grew up. Valenwood was wild and angry and when the boy asked it to move, it said \"No.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sumirils-book-passage-4": {"series": "Sumiril's Book", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sumirils-book-passage-4", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Sumiril's Book, Passage 4", "description": "A story of a boy and the land", "text": "Ostion and Valenwood fought with each other. Ostion commanded the land again and again to move, and Valenwood refused again and again. In their struggle they forgot everything else. Ostion forgot the builders who had been sent with him and Valenwood forgot the peoples that lived in its midst."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sumirils-book-passage-5": {"series": "Sumiril's Book", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sumirils-book-passage-5", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Sumiril's Book, Passage 5", "description": "A story of a boy and the land", "text": "The boy and the land came to love the struggle. Both had been lonely and now neither was alone. But in the process, the builders were injured and killed, even Sumiril who had once been kind to the boy.\nAnd suddenly Ostion remembered who he was and what he had been sent to do. And he found Sumiril's body and asked the land to help him raise Sumiril from the dead."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sumirils-book-passage-6": {"series": "Sumiril's Book", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/sumirils-book-passage-6", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Sumiril's Book, Passage 6", "description": "A story of a boy and the land", "text": "And for once, Valenwood listened. And Ostion and the Valenwood became one. Together, we are the Wilderking, Ostion and I. Sumiril is our first creation, our hollow man, whom we raised from the dead.\nThis is the truth of our existence."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tharayyas-journal-entry-1": {"series": "Tharayya's Journal", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tharayyas-journal-entry-1", "author": "Tharayya", "title": "Tharayya's Journal, Entry 1", "description": "Chronicles a researcher's search for a Dwemer artifact known as the Guardian's Eye", "text": "It has been a long journey, but finally I am on the right path. Today I found the first mention of the Guardian's Eye in some of the old Dwemer inscriptions here.\nI haven't even begun to sift through the writings yet. Surely there is something here that will get me closer to the Eye.\nI've already sent word to my husband. As if that fool deserved any of the credit\u2014I wish he would hurry. Quintus \"the Quick,\" he calls himself. Quick my arse."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tharayyas-journal-entry-2": {"series": "Tharayya's Journal", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tharayyas-journal-entry-2", "author": "Tharayya", "title": "Tharayya's Journal, Entry 2", "description": "Chronicles a researcher's search for a Dwemer artifact known as the Guardian's Eye", "text": "Though some of the initial excitement has faded, we're still confident we're closer to finding the Guardian's Eye than any Dwemer researchers before us. I would kill to get my hands on an ancient artifact of that repute. But I'm better at research, honestly.\nThere was a setback today. As far as I can make out, one of the old Dwemer logs indicates the Eye was here only briefly to be worked on (the logs mention some sort of maintenance or cleaning), and then was transported to another Dwemer mine.\nAs near as I can tell, the ruins referenced are those of Aldunz."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tharayyas-journal-entry-7": {"series": "Tharayya's Journal", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tharayyas-journal-entry-7", "author": "Tharayya", "title": "Tharayya's Journal, Entry 7", "description": "Chronicles a researcher's search for a Dwemer artifact known as the Guardian's Eye", "text": "We've made it safely to Aldunz. There are dozens of active Dwemer devices here. It's a bit eerie. I've never seen so many of them at once.\nI've tripped over one of the spiders already, spraining my ankle. I'm told it'll heal, but I wrote Quintus to let him know. The fool couldn't do anything about it even if he were here \u2026.\nWe have yet to find mention of the Guardian's Eye here, but I haven't given up hope. We can't lose the trail now."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tharayyas-journal-entry-15": {"series": "Tharayya's Journal", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tharayyas-journal-entry-15", "author": "Tharayya", "title": "Tharayya's Journal, Entry 15", "description": "Chronicles a researcher's search for a Dwemer artifact known as the Guardian's Eye", "text": "There was a plethora of leads here. Nothing closer to hinting at the Guardian Eye's true nature, but we can figure that out once we find it.\nHowever, all our clues point to Volenfell, the famed Dwemer ruins, as the Eye's final resting place\u2014and Volenfell's location has been lost for generations. The only thing experts can tell, myself included, is that Volenfell is hidden somewhere under the sands of the Alik'r Desert.\nShould be no problem for me and my team to cover its vastness and find those ruins.\nRight.\nThat's sarcasm, in case posterity bothers with this journal."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tharayyas-journal-entry-16": {"series": "Tharayya's Journal", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tharayyas-journal-entry-16", "author": "Tharayya", "title": "Tharayya's Journal, Entry 16", "description": "Chronicles a researcher's search for a Dwemer artifact known as the Guardian's Eye", "text": "Dwemer records I've found might be able to help us locate Volenfell's actual location. If that was not luck enough, rumor has reached my team that unexplored Dwemer ruins may have been unearthed by changing winds here in the desert.\nIf these new ruins match up with my records, we may yet find the Guardian's Eye."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tharayyas-journal-entry-19": {"series": "Tharayya's Journal", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tharayyas-journal-entry-19", "author": "Tharayya", "title": "Tharayya's Journal, Entry 19", "description": "Chronicles a researcher's search for a Dwemer artifact known as the Guardian's Eye", "text": "After all this time we may have found it.\nI wrote my husband several days ago to say that I may now know where the Guardian's Eye is, and he showed up this evening with, of course, his band of hooligan \"researchers.\" That lot came with salted meats and wine to \"celebrate.\"\nThe team is elated for the interruption, but we haven't found the Eye yet.\nDear husband Quintus doesn't seem to understand this and insisted that I tell him all I know of the Guardian's Eye, Volenfell, and its location. I don't like the look of his merry band. Always whispering to each other in the corner. It's a shame, but I don't trust my husband. I'll need the labor he provides, though.\nI'm exhausted. Haven't slept in days. My team needs a good meal and a good night's sleep, and so do I.\nI've left the Volenfell location with this entry in case you're reading this, Abnaf. Yes, I know you read my journal, you eccentric misfit. And I know you'll be too drunk tomorrow to keep up with the team at dawn. Follow as you can."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/art-crafting-basics": {"series": "The Art of Crafting", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/art-crafting-basics", "author": "Defessus Lector", "title": "The Art of Crafting: The Basics", "description": "Overview of the basics principles of tradecraft", "text": "Bardus,\n\tYour father still hasn't forgiven you for destroying his prized beehives when you decided to use them as practice targets for your sword thrusts. If I remember correctly, the incident required you to spend three days in the healer's tent. And still you didn't learn a thing.\nYour mother, likewise, hasn't forgotten the episode with the serving maid and the love potion. The poor lass has to shave her back every full moon.\nSo, martial and magical training are out of the question. Your parents have now charged me to educate you in the virtues of tradecraft. They hope that with this basic knowledge (and a large honorarium) they can apprentice you to a master crafter. I have written this primer to reinforce today's lesson and to provide you with something you can review at your leisure.\nAll tradecrafts follow the same fundamental principles. Whether you intend to bake a pie, forge a sword, or craft and enchantment, the methodology is the same.\nIn any tradecraft, you combine two or more ingredients to create a single superior product. This is not like the time you tried to smash two pony guar together to make a larger pack guar. You must combine the correct ingredients and use the correct tools: a hammer and anvil, mortar and pestle, or cauldron and fire, depending on the craft. Only then can you succeed.\nMost crafted items require at least two ingredients. For example, a sword needs smelted iron for the blade and tanned leather for the hilt. Potions require dried flowers and pure water. Enchantments need gems and setting materials.\nYou must gather the raw ingredients from the wilderness or, knowing your approach to everything you do, find them in an unattended crate.\nNext, the raw ingredients must be refined. Smelt the ore into ingots, spin the raw cotton into cloth, and cut and polish the gems. Then, at your workbench, you can create something your father might actually be proud of.\nWith basic ingredients you can craft basic items. You can create improved items by increasing the quantity and quality of ingredients. As you discovered last year, a ten-pound sledge is more effective in smashing your mother's urns than a one-pound hammer -- though, as you learned, the ten-pound sledge is also more difficult to control.\nTo solve this problem, tradecrafters infuse their ingredients with additives. Resins and oils make wood more supple and strong. A dash of Imp Stool makes a health potion more effective. (Wipe that smirk from you face. You know I was talking about the mushroom, young man.)\nAdditives also interact with each other to imbue a crafter item with magical properties. It requires three different additives for a magical effect to take hold. What combinations of additives produce what effects we shall save for another lesson.\n(Note to Self: Edit this before delivering it to the young master.)"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/art-crafting-research-and-learning": {"series": "The Art of Crafting", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/art-crafting-research-and-learning", "author": "Defessus Lector", "title": "The Art of Crafting: Research and Learning", "description": "Overview of the basics principles of tradecraft", "text": "Bardus,\nYou are, no doubt, celebrating my sudden turn to ill health. I don't believe that you purposefully poisoned me with that sweet roll you made, only because I don't believe you have the skill to make anything on purpose.\nNever-the-less this brush with death has brought one element of your education to the fore. An element that I have avoided to broach because, to be frank, my lack of success in teaching you has provided me a well paying job, courtesy of your parents.\nI speak of how to improve yourself in your chosen skill.\nIn the end it is the responsibility of each crafter to train themselves. Most craftmasters just allow their apprentices to use their tools in exchange for work. They do not share their secrets. So what to do once I am gone? Well the traditional way is to make something and then test it until it falls apart. Then you see where the item failed and the next time you make it avoid that mistake.\nOf course making the same thing over and over, only to destroy it, really doesn't improve your skill very much. It also fills the store room with broken iron daggers.\nThe key is to gain examples of other's works, and see how they made them. See their points of failure and compare them to how you make the same item. And then make them better.\nThat is how you learn, both in crafting and in life. Study and research your failures and the failures of others. Take those lessons to heart and apply them the next time you craft something or solve a problem.\nAnd of course this philosophy fits in well with your own destructive personality. I am sure you will do well."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-tempers-and-tannins": {"series": "The Art of Crafting", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/crafting-tempers-and-tannins", "author": "Defessus Lector", "title": "Crafting: Tempers and Tannins", "description": "Overview of the basics principles of tradecraft", "text": "Bardus,\nToday's lesson is about the tempers and tannins used by armorers and weaponsmiths. As you have noticed while hiding from the nightwatch in your father's armory, each race has its own style of arms and armor: for example, Redguard swords are curved, while Dunmeri leathers are smoky blue. These different styles are achieved by the use of tempers and tannins.\nTempers and tannins are used by the crafter to balance hardness and resilience in armor and weapons. A hardened sword can hold a sharper edge, but might shatter when struck. A flexible blade will bend rather than break but cannot hold much of an edge. Thus weaponsmiths use tempters in their quenching troughs to strike a balance between the two.\nLikewise a leather chestpiece can be treated to be as rigid as a board, able to turn an assassin's knife -- but if it is too rigid, the wearer is unable to turn his body. Thus, armorers use tannins on leathers and fabrics to strike a balance between stiffness and flexibility.\nWhat does this have to do with the look of a Redguard sword or Dunmeri leather? If only you had asked that question in your lessons rather than daydreaming about impressing the scullery maid with that wisp of a mustache.\nThe tempers and tannins used by each race also imbue them with basic properties that are characteristic of the race's gear. The flexibility that must be forge into the curve Redguard swords is achieved by adding Yokudan sands to the smith's quenching trough. Likewise the distinctive bluish sheen of Dunmeri leather is achieved by using Volcanic Ash-based tannin.\nThe only race that does not employ tempers and tannins is the Argonian. Culturally they cling to their ancient methods of crafting armor and weapons. Before they were enslaved by the Dark Elves, Argonians used flints and feathers to enhance their obsidian axes and padded armors, rather than metals and leathers. When the first Argonian flint axe shattered on the iron breastplate of a Dunmeri warrior, they started to change. Their adoption of modern methods came too late to stop the enslavement of their race, by change they eventually did.\nArgonian weapons and armor now use traditional metals, leathers and cloth as their bases. But Argonian smiths decorate them with ancient materials, such as flints and feathers, to honor their ancestors. The Wood Elves of Valenwood also decorate their armor with bone for the same reason, but they have always used iron and other metals in their weapons and armor, which explains why their tribes avoid the enslavement visited on the Lizard-Folk."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/black-fin-goes-war-part-1": {"series": "The Black Fin Goes to War", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/black-fin-goes-war-part-1", "author": "Peek-Ereel", "title": "The Black Fin Goes to War, Part 1", "description": "The Argonian hero forms a band to fight House Dres slavers, and then helps establish the Ebonheart Pact", "text": "In the season following Keshu the Black Fin's return from the ruins of the Old Ones (as she referred to the so-called advanced Saxhleel who lived in the distant past), we were extremely busy, breathing life into Keshu's hopes and desires. In addition to learning some small amount about the way the Old Ones lived, Keshu's time of contemplation among the ruins saw the development of new ways of thinking for our leader and life-long friend. She came back to us with a dream.\nSome will tell you that from the moment she returned from the ruins, Keshu wanted to bring about the resurrection of the advanced Saxhleel society. Now, while she was definitely interested in learning more about that ancient time, her initial dream was much simpler. She wanted to defend the Saxhleel from the threat of outsiders. When Xocin was captured by the Dark Elf slavers, I think it affected Keshu on a profound level. And when she freed Xocin and the other Saxhleel captives, I think her destiny was set in motion.\nKeshu decided to create an army. She called for volunteers from across the greater marsh, and a surprising number answered that call. The village elders, tree-minders, and sap-speakers were of mixed minds about her actions, but in the end they decided to sit back and let the Hist sort it out. As with all things in Saxhleel life, if Keshu succeeded then her plans were meant to come to fruition. And if she failed? Then she would disappear into the swamp and never be heard from again. That was the way things happened in Black Marsh. But whatever Keshu's ultimate fate was to be, in the beginning she was unstoppable.\nThe initial band\u2014informally known as the Black Fin's Legion\u2014was more than two dozen strong. Keshu and Vos-Huruk at first served as instructors and trainers for the small gathering of warriors, but soon other notable fighters had rallied to her banner, including the battle mage known as Fire-From-Nowhere and the Saxhleel freedom fighter called Elf-Slayer. They provided expertise and helped with the training to reduce the burden on our beloved leader. When Keshu determined that we were at last ready to be tested, she decided on a target and pointed her newly honed weapon at it. We were going to attack a House Dres slave caravan and set the captives free.\nWe planned and trained for weeks, preparing for every contingency Keshu and her most-trusted advisors could think of. We scouted the House Dres enclave. We reconnoitered the most probable paths from Stormhold toward Morrowind. We watched. We waited. And then we made our move.\nThe House Dres slave caravan departed from Stormhold on a rainy morning with little fanfare. A line of Saxhleel slaves consisting of more than fifty of our egg-brothers and egg-sisters were chained together and forced to march between two massive wagons, each pulled by a team of guar. House Dres guards rode atop the wagons, marched on each side of the line of slaves, and ranged around the caravan atop horses and other riding beasts. In all, there were about thirty Dark Elf warriors guarding the caravan. For this exercise, Keshu led a force of twenty-six Black Fin Legionnaires to liberate the slaves.\nOur warriors were nervous. For the majority of them, this would be their first real battle, and though they were well trained and committed to Keshu's cause, they still suffered from the usual fears associated with entering a life-or-death situation. Keshu and her officers remained visible, displaying confidence and determination that went a long way toward calming our troops. We set up to ambush the caravan as it made its way through a narrow passage a few hundred strides from the border of Morrowind. Keshu gave the signal as she rushed forward to meet the enemy. We followed, spilling from our hiding places like wood ants emerging from a rotten log. If we were still nervous, it didn't show as we fell upon the Dark Elves like waves crashing into the shore.\nKeshu's strategy worked perfectly. When the battle was over, the Dark Elf guards were either dead or had surrendered, and though we had suffered a few minor wounds, none of the Black Fin Legion had fallen. The mission went off flawlessly and Keshu's reputation grew with every Saxhleel captive we set free."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/black-fin-goes-war-part-2": {"series": "The Black Fin Goes to War", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/black-fin-goes-war-part-2", "author": "Peek-Ereel", "title": "The Black Fin Goes to War, Part 2", "description": "The Argonian hero forms a band to fight House Dres slavers, and then helps establish the Ebonheart Pact", "text": "Keshu's war against the House Dres slavers continued for a number of seasons, and with every victory the Black Fin Legion notched, her army of loyal Saxhleel expanded. They came from far and wide to pledge themselves to her banner: slaves liberated from Dark Elf holdings; adventurous Saxhleel from widely separated villages; even a few citified Argonians from Stormhold and locations beyond the influence of the Hist.\nI had finally completed my rites of maturity and was now considered a full-fledged adult in the eyes of the tribe. I was trying to decide what I wanted to do with the rest of my existence. As much as I loved Keshu and believed in her cause, I did not want to be a soldier or a freedom fighter. I wanted a simpler life, something in service to the Hist or the Xal-Uxith. I was destined to become a sap-speaker or an egg-tender, or so I believed at the time. So I decided to let Keshu know my desires and withdraw from the Black Fin Legion.\nKeshu understood my situation and agreed to release me from my obligation. I was still with the Legion, however, when Tee-Wan returned to camp. He was Keshu's spy-master now, ranging into the field for days or weeks at a time to gather information for the Black Fin Legion to use against the forces of House Dres. The news he brought back with him this time, however, dealt with a much larger, more dangerous foe. \"Outsiders from across the far ocean have invaded the land of Skyrim,\" Tee-Wan explained. \"I bring a message for you from the Nord who helped us in Stormhold, Jorunn the bard.\"\nJorunn's message explained that an enemy called the Akaviri had laid siege to the city of Windhelm and was now marching toward Mournhold. Jorunn's sister had fallen and he had temporarily taken command of the Nord forces. \"I go to aid the Dark Elves and try to stop this vile invasion,\" Jorunn had written. \"I would not mind in the slightest if you decided to return that favor you owe me and join us in Morrowind. Your Argonian shell-backs would certainly help turn the tide of this conflict.\"\nI could tell by the look in Keshu's eyes that she had already decided to go to Jorunn's aid. \"Vos-Huruk, Fire-From-Nothing,\" Keshu called to her chief lieutenants, \"rally the troops. Today, the Black Fin Legion goes to war.\"\nI wished Keshu and the others cool breezes and clear water, but I wasn't going to join them on this adventure. I was going home, back to Tadulpa. I assumed they would be back after the moons had moved through a few of their cycles, but I was wrong. I would not see Keshu again for more than ten cycles of the calendar, and by that time she would be much changed.\nBut word would reach us even in isolated Tadulpa. We heard that the Akaviri were defeated, thanks to the combined efforts of the Nords and Dark Elves\u2014and the timely intervention of a phalanx of Argonian warriors. On that day, the Ebonheart Pact was born. Keshu and her legion stayed in allied lands after the Akaviri threat was dealt with, helping to establish the parameters of the newly formed alliance and securing the freedom of Saxhleel for as long as the Pact survived. She spent time touring Skyrim and Morrowind, helped crush rebellions, and defended the borders from competing alliances before eventually taking up arms in the Three Banners War.\nDo I regret not joining Keshu on that mighty adventure? Sometimes. But I would not trade my time in Tadulpa as an egg-tender for anything\u2014not even to fight at Keshu's side once more."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/black-fin-foreign-adventures-part-1": {"series": "The Black Fin: Foreign Adventures", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/black-fin-foreign-adventures-part-1", "author": "Mee-see", "title": "The Black Fin: Foreign Adventures, Part 1", "description": "How Keshu the Black Fin helps to start the Ebonheart Pact", "text": "I started out as a simple ka in service to the mighty Keshu the Black Fin. In the Saxhleel tongue, ka roughly translates as apprentice, but it doesn't necessarily carry the responsibilities and obligations that such a position among the Nords or Dark Elves does. Later, as Keshu began to adopt some of the customs of our allies, I was named as squire to the Black Fin. When Peek-Ereel decided to leave the legion, I also inherited the duty of recording significant events as they happened in the life of the mighty Keshu. Now, understand, this wasn't a specific duty related to my role as ka. This was an obligation passed on to me by Peek-Ereel herself without the express knowledge of Keshu, and it was an obligation I readily accepted.\nSo, where to begin? I think I'll start with the day the alliance began to take shape. The three nations (well, I find it difficult to actually refer to our people as a nation, but the reference makes the Nords and Dark Elves more comfortable, so there you have it) had met on the field of battle and come together to finally defeat the Akaviri invaders. After the Akaviri finished sacking Windhelm, it turned its attention to the south and east and began to march against Morrowind. As the Akaviri invasion force cut a path toward Mournhold, the Dark Elf army\u2014led by Almalexia of the Tribunal\u2014established a defensive line to halt their progress. Jorunn and the Nords, meantime, rallied their own forces and followed after the Akaviri, catching them from behind. The Akaviri, caught between two powerful armies, nevertheless was able to withstand the two-pronged attack. They may even have been able to eventually win the day, but that might just be speculation on my part. In any case, they never had the chance to try.\nKeshu's force, a phalanx of Saxhleel shellbacks and swamp warriors, hit the Akaviri from the south, providing the last element needed to end this period of invasion. Our troops, seasoned from fighting the Dark Elf slavers in Black Marsh, were the final ingredient required to overwhelm the invaders, and we fell upon them with wild abandon. Keshu wanted to help her friend Jorunn, but she also had an ulterior motive for marching our legion out of the swamp and into the heart of Morrowind. She wanted the other nations to recognize the value and veracity of the Saxhleel\u2014the Argonians. We were more than primitive savages. We were more than slaves. We were the equals of the others, and we were here to save them from alien invaders.\nI won't say that the victory was totally due to the intervention of Keshu's legion, but we certainly played our part. We fought valiantly alongside the ferocious Nords and the cunning Dark Elves, slaughtering Akaviri soldiers with every step of our advance. When the fighting finally ended near the city of Ebonheart and victory was ours, Keshu hurried to meet with the leaders of the other two factions. I, as her loyal squire, followed in her wake.\nI had never been in the presence of so many powerful and important people before! I had heard stories about Jorunn the Nord Bard, but I never imagined he was really that big! And Almalexia\u2014who the Dark Elves worshipped as a god\u2014was cold and beautiful, for a scaleless Elf without a tail. Jorunn stepped forward and greeted Keshu like an old friend. \"We owe you a great debt, Black Fin,\" Jorunn said in his loud, booming voice. \"What can the Nords and the Dark Elves offer you for your invaluable assistance this day?\"\nKeshu was silent for a few long moments, looking intently at Jorunn first, and then turning her attention to Almalexia. With her eyes locked upon the Mother of Morrowind, she finally replied, \"No more Argonian slaves. Set my people free.\"\nAlmalexia and Jorunn exchanged a look of their own, and the large Nord's gaze never wavered. After a time, the Dark Elf leader made a slight nod of her head and said, \"A reasonable request. And one the Dark Elves shall honor\u2014with one provision. The Argonians must join the Dark Elves and the Nords in a mutual pact of cooperation and defense. In that way, all three of our nations will remain free.\"\nThus began a series of negotiations that lasted well into the next day and ended with the formation of the Ebonheart Pact. Keshu agreed to keep her forces in the north to help bolster the defense of her new allies, but not before she sent runners to Stormhold to inform our people of the news: slavery was abolished and the Argonians were now allies with the Nords and the Dark Elves. Since we had no government, at least not in the sense that our new allies did, Keshu determined to remain in Nord and Dark Elf territory to solidify the Saxhleel position and make sure the various agreements were adhered to. In the meantime, she sent Xocin back to Black Marsh to find ambassadors to serve in the capital cities of the alliance.\nAnd that was how the Argonians joined the Ebonheart Pact."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/black-fin-foreign-adventures-part-2": {"series": "The Black Fin: Foreign Adventures", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/black-fin-foreign-adventures-part-2", "author": "Mee-see", "title": "The Black Fin: Foreign Adventures, Part 2", "description": "How Keshu the Black Fin helps to start the Ebonheart Pact", "text": "Now, the declaration of the formation of the Ebonheart Pact and the abolition of Argonian slavery didn't result in the immediate cessation of all Dark Elf slaver activity. It would take almost a full year for every Dark Elf province and holding to comply with the order of the Tribunal, and even then there would always be slavers who refused to adhere to the new accords. This resulted in a few awkward situations for Keshu and her Black Fin Legion as it toured the land of Morrowind as the initial Argonian representatives to the alliance.\nWe met with a good amount of fear and hatred during those early days of the alliance. Some Dark Elves became very uncomfortable when a heavily armed force of Argonians approached their town or village. At these, we were turned away at best or attacked by settlements with sizable militias. Others, though, having heard the story of the Battle of Ebonheart, appeared grateful for our help and were happy to welcome us into their homes. While such treatment is much more common now, back then it was nearly unheard of, and we were both surprised and thankful for every friendly face we encountered.\nWe spent that first year of the alliance in Dark Elf territory, making our presence known and working to make sure that all of the tenets of the agreement were adhered to. We also took in many of the newly freed Argonians, giving the ones who decided not to return to Black Marsh or try to make a go of it as a free Saxhleel in Morrowind an immediate purpose and a place to belong. In this way, the Black Legion continued to grow even as it traveled throughout Morrowind.\nEventually, we arrived at Mournhold as guests of the Tribunal. We spent nearly a month camped outside the city and regularly meeting with Almalexia and other important Dark Elf and Nord officials. Keshu participated in discussions to bolster the defense of the Pact by forming an \"army of the alliance,\" which would include forces donated by each of the member nations. As we were looking for a purpose, Keshu volunteered the Black Fin Legion to serve as the backbone of the new allied army. In time, Keshu would become not only a war hero, but one of the foremost generals leading Pact forces.\nBefore that initial year had ended, Keshu and the Black Legion would prove their worth to the Pact by once again saving the day. This time, it was to deal with raiders crossing the mountains from the west. Rumors abounded that the raiders were either funded by the Daggerfall Covenant or were Covenant soldiers in disguise, but we were never able to prove that. But when reports of a large band of raiders attacking Dark Elf settlements in western Morrowind reached Mournhold, Keshu offered to take the Pact army on a hunting expedition.\nKeshu's force consisted of mostly Black Fin legionnaires, bolstered by a contingent of Nord soldiers and a squadron of Dark Elf mages and healers. We moved quickly, following the path of destruction left by the raiders until we finally caught them at Indrano Pass. Keshu divided our forces, sending half of our contingent around to cut off the raiders' escape path into the mountains, while the rest of our troops formed an arrowhead and advanced on the raiders' position. Instead of holding fast, the raiders decided to turn and run. That's when our troops swarmed out of the rocky foothills and we caught the raiders between us. After all the trouble they caused, we expected them to put up more of a fight."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/black-fin-foreign-adventures-part-3": {"series": "The Black Fin: Foreign Adventures", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/black-fin-foreign-adventures-part-3", "author": "Mee-see", "title": "The Black Fin: Foreign Adventures, Part 3", "description": "How Keshu the Black Fin helps to start the Ebonheart Pact", "text": "It was well into the second year after the formation of the Ebonheart Pact, and Keshu and the Black Fin Legion (minus the troops we left behind as part of the Pact army in Morrowind) were now touring the Nordic lands of Skyrim. Our first stop after crossing into Nord territory was the town of Riften, where we were treated to a typical Nord celebration that included lots of food, lots of mead, and a number of good-natured brawls that seem to be a common pastime in the colder climes. While there, we helped fortify some of the town's defenses, which Keshu insisted we do wherever we went to show our willingness to provide whatever assistance we could during our visits.\nAfter more than a week in Riften, we began our trek north through Eastmarch toward the city of Windhelm and Keshu's reunion with Jorunn\u2014who was now Jorunn the Skald-King, if you can believe that! Apparently, the big Nord was a prince or some such, and was now the leader of the entire Nord nation! And Windhelm, what a city! It was as large and as impressive in its own way as Mournhold, but where the Dark Elf metropolis was a reflection of its people, Windhelm was clearly and undeniably a reflection of the Nords. Repairs were still underway to deal with the damage inflicted by the Akaviri siege, but that did nothing to detract from the sheer grandeur of the Nord city.\nJorunn met us at the gates, grabbed Keshu up in an enormous hug, and then invited us all to enjoy the hospitality of his home and city. The celebration lasted for a week and a day! The Nords certainly love to throw a good party, and they seem to look for any excuse to have one. During the celebration, we were treated to the best mead and ale the Nords produced, exquisite delicacies such as rabbit meatballs, and some of the most ribald drinking songs I had ever heard\u2014all sung extremely loudly and with a lot of clinking of mugs and goblets.\nWhen the mead casks were finally empty and the rabbit meatballs had run out, the celebration came to an abrupt end. Then the work began. We stayed in Windhelm for the better part of a month, helping repair the outer walls of the city and providing whatever other aid the Nords were comfortable allowing us to deal with. And whenever they could both spare the time, Keshu and the Skald-King huddled in a corner and spoke at length about a variety of topics. No one was allowed to join them during these discussions, but I always got the sense that they were sharing their thoughts on leadership, the alliance, and the future of our nations.\nThe Black Fin Legion, as we had come to know it, came to an end in Skyrim, as well. Our soldiers were divided into small teams and sent to serve with Pact troops of mixed nationality, fighting alongside Nords and Dark Elves in the same cohorts. I stayed with Keshu, of course, and I was there when the Skald-King offered her a unique honor. \"I want you to command the Pact forces in Skyrim, Black Fin,\" Jorunn proclaimed. \"Will you accept this charge?\" To no one's surprise, Keshu agreed. And through her efforts over the next seven years, the tactics and strategies of the Pact's military might were developed and set in place.\nWhich is why the Pact was prepared when the War of the Three Banners began."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/black-fin-foreign-adventures-part-4": {"series": "The Black Fin: Foreign Adventures", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/black-fin-foreign-adventures-part-4", "author": "Mee-see", "title": "The Black Fin: Foreign Adventures, Part 4", "description": "How Keshu the Black Fin helps to start the Ebonheart Pact", "text": "In the midst of General Keshu's continued build-up and improvement of the Ebonheart Pact allied forces, the Black Fin received a summons from Jorunn the Skald-King. We had been training with combined troops near Riften when the runner arrived with the sealed letter. The meeting would take place at Fort Amol, in Eastmarch, in two-day's time. Keshu began to make preparations to depart at once.\nKeshu the Black Fin decided to travel light and fast, taking only a small contingent with her to meet with the Skald-King. I accompanied the General, of course, along with Tee-Wan, Xocin, and the Nord warrior, Kora Greatstorm. Vos-Huruk remained behind to command the troops and continue the training exercises. As our small group approached Fort Amol, we were met a good distance outside the settlement and led in through a hidden trail that bypassed the main roads into and out of the town. We were hurriedly escorted to the jarl's manor and taken to a secret meeting room within the large estate. There, standing behind a large table, was Jorunn the Skald-King.\nI sensed immediately that something was very different from our previous meetings with Jorunn. For one thing, he didn't rush to scoop up Keshu in a tremendous hug, and he wasn't his usual loud and boisterous self. To be fair, the weight of the crown had taken a toll on the bard-turned-ruler, but he appeared more grave and serious than I had ever seen him. \"The Tribunal has sent a dire warning, Black Fin,\" Jorunn began. \"Almalexia has had a vision. Or maybe it was Vivec? Who can say? In any case, they warn that a threat to the Ebonheart Pact is developing and we need to be ready. So, everything you've been doing? Now you must triple your efforts and prepare us for war.\"\nThe new war effort was placed in the hands of three generals, one from each member nation of the Pact. Keshu represented the Argonians, Kora Greatstorm represented the Nords, and Yeveth Noramil represented the Dark Elves. These were the generals that would, together, bolster and prepare the Pact's offensive and defensive capabilities for the coming years. And, thanks to the preparations that the Black Fin had already begun, the foundation was in place for the arms buildup to reach the next level in a relatively short amount of time. Before we departed that secret room in the jarl's manor, Jorunn had one last nugget of wisdom to pass on to Keshu. \"Peace is a fragile, precious thing, Black Fin,\" the Skald-King said in a weary voice. \"Cherish the time you have with it, for it never lasts long.\"\nOver the next two years, the expanding Pact army faced a number of small tests, including skirmishes with Imperial legions and Daggerfall troops, and it acquitted itself admirably. In many ways, these small encounters led to the War of the Three Banners. When the three separate alliances finally declared war against each other, Keshu led the Pact army into the field. The land of Cyrodiil became the battlefield, and the sound of war echoed throughout the land.\nFor the better part of a year, General Keshu and the Pact army gained ground, lost ground, and gained it back again. We couldn't claim victory, as the war continued, but we won many significant battles\u2014much to the chagrin of the Covenant and the Dominion. Then, at the height of her power and popularity, the Black Fin made a decision that surprised us all. \"We've done all we can for the Pact,\" Keshu explained. \"It's time for us to go home.\"\nAnd that was how the Black Fin's foreign adventures came to an abrupt end."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/blackwater-war-volume-1": {"series": "The Blackwater War", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/blackwater-war-volume-1", "author": "Valenca Arvina", "title": "The Blackwater War, Volume 1", "description": "A history of the invasion of Black Marsh in the late 1st era", "text": "When the invasion of Black Marsh began in 1E 2811, the Imperial Legion was confident of victory. Imperial forces had won a great and decisive victory in the Battle of Argonia, as well as in several other clashes. These battles were one-sided affairs, with Argonians suffering significant casualties and Imperials hardly getting winded. By First Seed 1E 2811, the Lizard-Folk were in full retreat\u2014taking refuge in the shadowy depths of the region's interior. The Empire decided to press the advantage and mount a full-scale invasion before the Argonians could regroup.\nThe column was led by a young and charismatic commander named Augurius Bucco. Bucco was a popular figure in Cyrodiil. His good looks and practiced oratory catapulted him through the ranks of the Legion hierarchy with unprecedented speed. By the time he was twenty-five he was already wearing the General's Diamond. Upon receiving his generalship he was offered legions in practically every corner of Cyrodiil. He chose the Fourth Legion of Black Marsh as his command.\nOther historians have offered countless theories as to why he would choose such a bleak and dangerous post. As for me, I would propose that simple pride was the determining factor. Rumors of the Legion's successes along the Black Marsh border had reached the inns and alleys of Imperial City as early as Rain's Hand, 1E 2811. Seeing the swamp's conquest as his ticket to Grand Marshal, Bucco greedily took on the mantle of Fourth Legion commander, convinced the war for Black Marsh would be a quick and glorious affair. He could not have been more wrong."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/blackwater-war-volume-2": {"series": "The Blackwater War", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/blackwater-war-volume-2", "author": "Valenca Arvina", "title": "The Blackwater War, Volume 2", "description": "A history of the invasion of Black Marsh in the late 1st era", "text": "The early years of the Blackwater War were not kind to the Imperial Legion. The army which had claimed hundreds of victories on the rolling fields of Cyrodiil was utterly unprepared to deal with the fetid bogs of Black Marsh.\nTo begin with, the Legion's gear was ill-suited for such an environment. Their armor, for instance, was heavy and prone to rust in the moist climate. Legionnaires spent hours scraping the mud from their boots and shields\u2014desperately trying to lighten the load they carried into battle. By the end of the second year, legionnaires had abandoned their cuirasses and greaves entirely, preferring to die comfortably rather than drenched in sweat inside a metal suit.\nThe battle tactics the Imperials had developed over the centuries were just as useless as their armor in this inhospitable place. Their system of cohort deployment and rigid line organization was impossible to implement in the swampy interior. The thick cypress growth and sloppy terrain consistently fragmented the group, resulting in a tangled mass of small skirmishes that the Argonians routinely won. The chain of command deteriorated quickly in such conditions. This rapidly gave way to rampant insubordination and morale-draining power struggles among the troops.\nFinally, the marsh itself seemed to devour whole cohorts time and time again. Rumors and half-truths constantly swirled around Legion campfires. Some assumed that the missing cohorts became lost and disoriented, dying of hunger and thirst before finding their way back to a safe location. Others blamed the greatly feared \"Ghost Warriors,\" pale and hideous Argonians of gruesome reputation. There were even whisperings about some dark and malevolent creature lurking under the swamp that ate whole phalanxes in a single bite. Such rumors were clearly false, but had a significant impact on troop morale.\nThis complication of setbacks and cercumstances set the stage for years of calamitous warfare. Thousands of soldiers would die before the end of hostilities finally came to Black Marsh."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/blackwater-war-volume-3": {"series": "The Blackwater War", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/blackwater-war-volume-3", "author": "Valenca Arvina", "title": "The Blackwater War, Volume 3", "description": "A history of the invasion of Black Marsh in the late 1st era", "text": "By 1E 2816, General Bucco's legion had been depleted to a mere six cohorts\u2014none of which were at full fighting strength as the campaign pressed on. Endless raids, disease, and mysterious disappearances were compounding on each other, creating a culture of utter hopelessness and cynicism.\nSeeing that the cause would be lost without reinforcements, Bucco called for an additional legion to be deployed to Black Marsh. Rather than shifting these fresh troops to the front to relieve his beleaguered force, he set them to work building the \"Reman Way\" (later known as the Swamp Road). Almost no one knew where the road went or what purpose it would serve in future conflicts, but Bucco was convinced that a well-paved and well-defended road would aid the war effort and turn the tides of battle in the legion's favor.\nIn theory, the road should have been a boon to the Imperials. Lack of supplies had long been a thorn in the legion's side. A secure supply train would mean more frequent troop rotation and an uninterrupted flow of food, water, and equipment. Alas, the road would never be completed.\nThe Reman Way fell under attack almost as soon as the work began. Waves of Argonians crashed upon the workers day in and day out. Troopers who should have been armed with shield and spear were forced to defend themselves with shovels and lengths of chain. Soldiers also routinely succumbed to exhaustion and swamp fever. The road made it only half-way to the front lines before construction was abandoned. The Swamp Road project would long be remembered after the Black Marsh campaign came to a bitter end as \"Bucco's Folly.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/blackwater-war-volume-4": {"series": "The Blackwater War", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/blackwater-war-volume-4", "author": "Valenca Arvina", "title": "The Blackwater War, Volume 4", "description": "A history of the invasion of Black Marsh in the late 1st era", "text": "By 1E 2820, General Bucco's fourth legion was utterly decimated. What few troops remained were completely unable to defend themselves. After a near mutiny almost saw Bucco ousted from his own command, he finally ordered his remaining soldiers to retreat and exit the Marsh's interior. His prevailing assumption was that if the legion left the swamp, the Argonians would not follow.\nAfter a withering ten-day withdrawal, what was left of the legion rallied at the foot of an ancient Argonian pyramid known as \"Xi-tsei.\" The force consisted of barely three-hundred-and-fifty swords by that point. Bucco hoped that after a brief respite in the shadow of the pyramid, his remaining forces could fall back to the relative safety of Cyrodiil. This wish went unfulfilled. On the night of Last Seed 14, 1E 2820, what remained of Bucco's proud Fourth Legion was annihilated.\nThe specifics of the Xi-tsei massacre are a matter of much debate in the historical community. While there is broad agreement that Bucco's remaining forces were destroyed by a massive Argonian war party, the evidence supporting such a conclusion is spotty at best. Archaeological excavations around the pyramid found hundreds of bodies and discarded weapons, but the remains of at least one-hundred legionnaires were never recovered. This, of course, begs the question: what happened to those soldiers? There is no evidence that they were able to make it back to Cyrodiil, which leads to the possibility that they were taken prisoner. But excavations around known war camps have found no evidence of legionnaire prisoners, either. This is just another in a series of mysterious disappearances that occurred during the conflict. Argonians may know more, but none have volunteered the information to any historians.\nThis crushing defeat in Black Marsh was the last embarrassment that the Imperial Council could stand. Other hostile forces looked to Black Marsh and became emboldened by the apparent weakness of the once-dreaded Legion. In response to this, the Council reconstituted the Fourth Legion under the command of General Regulus Sardecus and began the second campaign of the Blackwater War."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/blackwater-war-volume-5": {"series": "The Blackwater War", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/blackwater-war-volume-5", "author": "Valenca Arvina", "title": "The Blackwater War, Volume 5", "description": "A history of the invasion of Black Marsh in the late 1st era", "text": "General Sardecus was a near-legendary figure in the Imperial military. A veteran of countless campaigns, Sardecus had distinguished himself on many occasions as both a soldier and a general.\nSardecus (or Sardecus the Rock) was everything that the missing and assumed slain General Bucco was not. Eyewitness accounts depict him as a stout and humorless man with sharp, hawk-like features. He walked with a limp (a lingering injury from the Battle of Argonia) and spoke in short, gravely sentences that commanded obedience. He eschewed all formal dress and regalia, preferring to wear a simple centurion's panoply with a white crest to signify his station.\nSardecus and the reconstituted Fourth Legion wasted no time resuming the war effort. By 1E 2823, they had regained all the territory lost when Bucco retreated. Military scholars attribute this success to Sardecus' adaptability and tactical creativity. For instance, Sardecus ordered that all legionnaires abandon their metal armor in favor of padded leather jackets. Imperial quartermasters coordinated with Argonian irregulars and scouts\u2014learning how to subsist on food procured from the swamp alone. Also, centurions and legates were given additional authority such that they could fight independently when the legion became fractured. Allowing cohorts and maniples to function independently had a surprisingly positive effect on soldier morale. For the first time, legionnaires were able to see their primary commanders and could follow them into battle personally. Of course, much depended on the proficiency and leadership capabilities of the legates. But Sardecus was a notoriously demanding commander and would not hesitate to strip a soldier of rank if he or she fell short of expectations.\nSardecus' greatest success, however, was in the diplomatic arena. Early in the conflict, he reached out to disenfranchised Argonian tribes and offered them rewards for joining the war effort on the side of the Empire. The fallen Bucco (and many of his contemporaries) viewed the Lizard-Folk as a singular bloc of barbarians, united by low breeding and savage tempers. Sardecus saw through this deception almost immediately. He secured solid alliances with several influential tribes, including the treacherous Archeins and Shoss-kaleel. Suddenly his forces were nearly tripled. The war for Black Marsh was finally swinging in the Empire's favor."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/blackwater-war-volume-6": {"series": "The Blackwater War", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/blackwater-war-volume-6", "author": "Valenca Arvina", "title": "The Blackwater War, Volume 6", "description": "A history of the invasion of Black Marsh in the late 1st era", "text": "Sardecus' command strategy hinged on one fundamental principle\u2014the swamp was the true enemy, not the Argonians. Disease accounted for roughly half of all fatalities in the first campaign, followed closely by mysterious disappearances. By his estimation, Argonian raids stood at a distant third. With these facts in mind, he created a new war doctrine and disseminated it to all of his officers. The crux of the strategy was simple: the only way to conquer Black Marsh was to destroy it.\nSardecus deployed entire cohorts of engineers and sappers to the front lines. While legionnaires launched punishing raids on border villages, the supporting troops drained swamps, salted rice paddies, and felled hundreds of trees. The most well-known event of this portion of the war was the \"Great Burn\" of 1E 2828.\nRecords indicate that in early Rain's Hand 1E 2828, Elissia Mallicius (one of Sardecus' most-trusted legates) ordered a unit of sappers to set fire to a peat bog outside of Stormhold. The sappers did as they were told, not knowing that the bog was just one part of a massive underground network. Months passed before legionnaires started reporting random fires as far away as Soulrest and Gideon. It took several more months before the Legion realized that the entire region was on fire.\nAn inferno of burning peat and detritus raged underfoot for more than three years. The already deadly Marsh became so dangerous that the Legion was forced to give ground for the first time in the better part of a decade. Choking fumes and thundering eruptions of burning swamp gas made the area nearly uninhabitable, even for Argonians. Hundreds of species of unique flora and fauna were rendered extinct, and entire tribes of Argonians were lost. Even the Legion suffered significant casualties. Hundreds of soldiers were lost to \"swamp lung\" and gas explosions before they escaped the scalding heat of the fire. It was a devastating blow to both the Legion and the Argonians. This marked the end of the second campaign, and the end of Sardecus' tenure as general. Soon after the legion's retreat, he fell ill and passed to Aetherius before making it back to Imperial City. The official diagnosis was acute infection from a wound he sustained on the way out of the Marsh. The soldiers of the Legion weren't so sure.\nThe true circumstances of Sardecus' death are still a matter of historical debate. As for me, I do not rule out Shadowscale involvement. While we know next to nothing about their organization or methodology, I think that we can safely assume they played some role in the conflict. The mysterious death of a high-ranking general directly following a disaster like the Great Burn \u2026. If my study of history has taught me anything, it's that there is no such thing as coincidence."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/blackwater-war-volume-7": {"series": "The Blackwater War", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/blackwater-war-volume-7", "author": "Valenca Arvina", "title": "The Blackwater War, Volume 7", "description": "A history of the invasion of Black Marsh in the late 1st era", "text": "Historians often refer to the Blackwater War as a single conflict that spanned twenty-six years. While the primary combatants were essentially the same, the first, second, and third campaigns had almost nothing in common with one another. By the year 1E 2833, the Imperial strategy had been so heavily revised that it was barely recognizable as Imperial. While \"Sardecus' Reforms\" had reorganized the Legion, the \"Falco Doctrine\" was the true catalyst that drove the war's endgame.\nGeneral Lucinia Falco took command of the Legion shortly after Sardecus' passing. She was the natural choice: a close confidant of Sardecus; strong, fiercely loyal to the Empire; and utterly ruthless. She received her officer's commission shortly after the Battle of Argonia, which meant that her entire military career had been shaped by the Blackwater War. Unlike her predecessors, she knew that the battle could not be won on a single front. She urged the Empire to offer letters of marque and temporary commissions to the countless pirates off the coast of Lilmoth and Archon. Working in conjunction with a legion of Diamond Marines, this force succeeded in taking vast swaths of territory in the southeastern marshes and even parts of the interior swamp.\nUsing Gideon as her base of operations, Falco launched the second prong in the region-wide attack. Rather than sending out a full legion as her predecessors had done, she broke her force into hundreds of compact, highly lethal units. These expeditionary platoons (later referred to as \"redbelts\") were led by grizzled swamp veterans\u2014some of which had been serving since the inception of the second campaign.\nThe redbelts met with a great deal of success early on, claiming most of western Black Marsh before finally grinding to a halt outside the thick bogs and eerie silence of the region's core. Unfortunately, given each unit's size, they could not hold what they took for long. What began as a battle of two nations became a protracted and complex guerrilla war, replete with all the horrors associated with such a conflict. 1E 2834 to 2836 was a dark time for both sides. The Argonians and the Imperials each conducted campaigns of intimidation and terror. It was only the tribal infighting on the part of the Argonians that finally brought the war to a close. Rather than an official armistice, the war seemed to simply end in late 1E 2836. Argonians who had been fighting Imperials for decades abruptly buried their weapons and went back to farming, fishing, and weaving without rendering a formal surrender. The Empire wasted no time in officially claiming the region in 1E 2837. At long last, the Blackwater War came to a sudden and inexplicable end.\nThe Argonians' abrupt cessation of hostilities is just another in a long series of mysteries associated with this conflict. The prevailing assumption is that their bizarre tree-worshipping tradition had something to do with it, but we may never know why they actually laid down their weapons. As a historian, it's a vexing situation, but mysteries born in the deep murk of Black Marsh are seldom solved. At least, they are seldom solved to a satisfying conclusion."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/book-circles-forging-maximx": {"series": "The Book of Circles", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/book-circles-forging-maximx", "author": "Frandar Hunding", "title": "The Book of Circles, Forging Maximx", "description": "Various sayings about battle", "text": "In the clay smelter you shall build a charcoal fire, of a heat to blacken teeth.\nYou shall add a layer of iron-sand upon the charcoal.\nAfter six yarbans you shall add a layer of charcoal atop the iron.\nYou shall repeat this process, layering iron-sand over charcoal, for three days.\nAfter cooling, you shall separate the low-carbon steel from the high-carbon steel.\nYou shall use the low-carbon steel to form the core of the sword.\nYou shall use the high-carbon steel to form the skin of the sword.\nYou shall forge-weld, fold, and forge-weld anselim the skin of the sword, until it attains its needful kotu-ajcea.\nYou shall sharpen the sword-skin until it may shave an egg without breaking it.\nYou shall speak the Oblation to Onsi, then drink of the Purifying Beverage of Kotu.\nThen, anselim."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/book-circles-loredas-maxims": {"series": "The Book of Circles", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/book-circles-loredas-maxims", "author": "Frandar Hunding", "title": "The Book of Circles, Loredas Maxims", "description": "Various sayings about battle", "text": "Thus on Loredas, Faithful Ones, do we consider these maxims of the Master:\n\"Train your opponent to make the wrong response.\"\n\"The worst action executed with vigor is superior to the best action executed timidly.\"\n\"A thrust is elegant, and a cut is powerful, but sometimes the right action is a head-butt.\"\n\"The high guard is most suitable for feints and crossovers, but mind your nether limbs.\"\n\"Your opponent's sword is not your enemy. Watch your opponent, not his sword.\"\n\"Perfection in the eight basic cuts is critical\u2014though you will never use them in battle.\"\n\"A closed line is not open.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/book-circles-sundas-maxims": {"series": "The Book of Circles", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/book-circles-sundas-maxims", "author": "Frandar Hunding", "title": "The Book of Circles, Sundas Maxims", "description": "Various sayings about battle", "text": "Thus on Sundas, Faithful Ones, do we consider these maxims of the Master:\n\"Be as dawn to your ally, and set dusk upon your foe.\"\n\"The Four-Hundred and Fifth Strike: the serpent's right fang as it pierces the eye.\"\n\"When swarmed by flies, favor the flat over the edge.\"\n\"Anger is a crack in the hull that sinks the ship.\"\n\"First blood matters less than last breath.\"\n\"Journey many and many miles, but do not leave the Hall of the Virtues of War.\"\n\"Discover your foe's habits and discard your own.\"\n\"Do not lose the melody in the rapture of one triumphant note.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/book-circles-tirdas-maxims": {"series": "The Book of Circles", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/book-circles-tirdas-maxims", "author": "Frandar Hunding", "title": "The Book of Circles, Tirdas Maxims", "description": "Various sayings about battle", "text": "Thus on Tirdas, Faithful Ones, do we consider these maxims of the Master:\n\"The sword is the self. Its edge is the mind.\"\n\"To shed the mantle of fear is to cast it upon your enemy.\"\n\"Shouting to halt the sands' shifting only leaves you hoarse.\"\n\"Prepare to pay for victory in blood, but do not waste a drop.\"\n\"The victor's tempo grasps his opponent's and devours it.\"\n\"The Seventy-Ninth Strike: the spear of the fisherman sharpened at daybreak.\"\n\"Live and die in every moment of battle.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/children-stars-i": {"series": "The Children of the Stars", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/children-stars-i", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Children of the Stars I", "description": "Four virtues valued by the children of the Warrior", "text": "The First Child: Pride\nThose who call themselves the children of the Warrior must first acknowledge the true virtues of this chosen path.\nThe first son, born under the light of the blue moon, called himself Pride.\nHe understood the value of self-worth, and valued himself for what he achieved."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/children-stars-ii": {"series": "The Children of the Stars", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/children-stars-ii", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Children of the Stars II", "description": "Four virtues valued by the children of the Warrior", "text": "The Second Child: Valor\nThose who call themselves the children of the Warrior must first acknowledge the true virtues of this chosen path.\nThe second child\u2014she too was born under the blue moon's light. She called herself Valor.\nShe understood that in the face of danger, one must show great courage."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/children-stars-iii": {"series": "The Children of the Stars", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/children-stars-iii", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Children of the Stars III", "description": "Four virtues valued by the children of the Warrior", "text": "The Third Child: Honor\nThose who call themselves the children of the Warrior must first acknowledge the true virtues of this chosen path.\nThe second child, Honor\u2014she was born on a colorless night.\nShe respected her opponents and knew that any moment could be her last."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/children-stars-iv": {"series": "The Children of the Stars", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/children-stars-iv", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Children of the Stars IV", "description": "Four virtues valued by the children of the Warrior", "text": "The Fourth Child: Vengeance\nThose who call themselves the children of the Warrior must first acknowledge the true virtues of this chosen path.\nThe fourth child, Vengence\u2014he was born under the fiery yellow sun.\nThose who wronged him regretted it. Those who bore ill will against him quickly learned that one does not cross Vengeance."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/children-stars-v": {"series": "The Children of the Stars", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/children-stars-v", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Children of the Stars V", "description": "Four virtues valued by the children of the Warrior", "text": "The Fifth Child: Patience\nThose who call themselves the children of the Warrior must first acknowledge the true virtues of this chosen path.\nThe fifth and final child, the one who would always come last but did not care, Patience\u2014he was born under the colorless sky.\nHe did not rush into battle first, nor last. He waited precisely for his turn. For a fool rushes into battle, but one with Patience waits for their time."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/chronicles-king-kurog-book-i": {"series": "The Chronicles of King Kurog", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/chronicles-king-kurog-book-i", "author": "Zephrine Frey", "title": "The Chronicles of King Kurog, Book I", "description": "", "text": "I first met Kurog gro-Bagrakh in the wilds of Elsweyr. I was there pretending to be a scholar from Wayrest, but my true purpose was to watch, listen, and report back to King Emeric of Wayrest about events in the Khajiiti homeland. It was in this capacity as a spy that I originally encountered the boisterous and charismatic Orc warrior. He was newly arrived from Wrothgar, busy establishing himself in the mercenary group known as Gaspard's Stalkers. From all reports, he was brave, competent, and of unmatched physical prowess. He certainly looked the part to me.\nThe Breton mercenary leader, Gaspard Esmery, opened his ranks to any and all races. As long as you were willing to follow orders and fight with all your strength, Gaspard had a place for you in his unit. Kurog brought along a handful of powerful Orcs who also happened to be extremely loyal to the young warrior. Soon, they were the most-prominent members of the Stalkers, getting the most-dangerous missions and the ogre's share of the loot.\nI was able to get close to Kurog on a number of occasions. He enjoyed being flirted with, especially by an attentive Breton woman who enjoyed sampling Khajiiti delicacies as much as he did. During these moments when we met for food and drink, he let down his guard and told me things I'm sure he wouldn't have revealed to any of his male acquaintances. It was during one such rendezvous, in a dark and seedy tavern in the city of Orcrest, that I learned about the Orc warrior's past and his dreams for the future.\nWe have all heard the horrible stories of life in the Orc strongholds. Kurog told me of his younger days as part of a clan in distant Wrothgar. He was the best and the brightest of a new crop of younglings\u2014stronger, faster, and in many ways more brilliant than either his contemporaries or most of his elders. But he was unsatisfied with life in the clan. He wanted to prove himself in battle. He wanted to see the world. And both he and his clan chief knew that if he remained in the stronghold much longer, one of them was going to die. That was the way of life for the Orcs.\nInstead of pushing the issue and challenging the chief, Kurog rallied his bosom companions and signed on with a recruiter for Gaspard's Stalkers mercenary company. After lending his talents to help win skirmishes across Hammerfell and Cyrodiil, the company had made its way to Elsweyr. Kurog seemed to be having a grand old time seeing the sights, eating the food, bedding the wenches (his words, not mine), and winning battle after battle. I offered Kurog a spoonful of honey pudding, my other hand resting on his powerful arm, and asked in all innocence, \"But what about the future, my powerful friend?\"\n\"The future?\" Kurog laughed. \"I'm going to go home, kill the old chief, and take command of my clan!\"\nKurog said all this matter-of-factly. He wasn't boasting. He wasn't trying to impress me. He was simply telling me what he believed. And you know what? I believed it, too. This was definitely an Orc that King Emeric was going to want to keep an eye on, mark my words."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/chronicles-king-kurog-book-ii": {"series": "The Chronicles of King Kurog", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/chronicles-king-kurog-book-ii", "author": "Zephrine Frey", "title": "The Chronicles of King Kurog, Book II", "description": "", "text": "I had the pleasure of introducing Kurog to King Emeric when the Orc mercenary visited Wayrest. He was in the company of his Orc companions. They had recently resigned their commissions in Gaspard's Stalkers mercenary company and were making their way back to the wilds of Wrothgar. Thanks to the friendship I had fostered with Kurog during our time together in Elsweyr, he contacted me in the hope of visiting with me when they arrived in Wayrest. I readily agreed and offered to play tour guide while he was in the city.\nAfter spending a few days showing Kurog around the city and introducing him to the many tastes of Breton society (Kurog certainly does love to eat!), I surprised him with a clandestine visit to Wayrest Castle. I must admit that I was slightly worried about how the meeting was going to turn out. Kurog can be loud and crass, and he knows very little of the social graces. In retrospect, I shouldn't have been concerned. King Emeric and Kurog got along smashingly! They seemed to share similar opinions about politics and warfare, and they took great pleasure in trying to make the other laugh out loud. At the end of the evening, Kurog admitted to the king that he was returning to Wrothgar to claim his rightful place as chief of his clan.\n\"Should I be worried?\" King Emeric asked with a smile.\n\"Of course you should be worried,\" Kurog laughed. \"But I like you, King Emeric. I think I will seek to rebuild Yashnag's kingdom in Falkreath before I turn my attention toward High Rock.\"\nThe two men shook hands and a shiver ran down my spine. I had a feeling that I was witnessing something important, even if I never imagined just how monumental this moment would actually prove to be. As Kurog started to take his leave, King Emeric had one more surprise to add to the evening's already long list of amazing occurrences. \"My friend,\" Emeric said, \"I have a request. Allow Lady Zephrine to accompany you back to Wrothgar. She has been my eyes and ears in distant lands, and I certainly want to know how your ambitions play out.\"\nKurog laughed again. It was an infectious sound. \"You want me to take your spy to Wrothgar?\" Again, Kurog demonstrated he wasn't quite as thick-headed as most people believed about Orcs. I wonder how long ago he guessed as to my true nature. \"Damn it all, why not? She's amusing, she knows how to eat and drink, and she's more than pleasant to look at. Pack your bags, my lady. And bring something warm. The weather in Wrothgar can be a bit nippy.\"\nAnd with that, I accompanied Kurog to the land of the Orcs."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/chronicles-king-kurog-book-iii": {"series": "The Chronicles of King Kurog", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/chronicles-king-kurog-book-iii", "author": "Zephrine Frey", "title": "The Chronicles of King Kurog, Book III", "description": "", "text": "The journey to Wrothgar turned out to be more pleasant than I expected. Kurog continued to be a fun and exciting companion. If anything, his mood grew even lighter the closer we got to the land of his birth. Along the way, we talked of many things, including Kurog's hopes to change some of the more oppressive and restrictive traditions of his people. \"We should build great cities, cosmopolitan communities with places of learning and culture,\" Kurog said. \"And cuisine. Lots and lots of cuisine. It's so much better than food.\"\nWhen we finally crossed the border into Wrothgar, the mood among Kurog's company of Orcs turned somber and more serious. They knew the stakes of siding with Kurog against their clan chief and were prepared to deal with those consequences, but that didn't make marching toward possible doom any easier. Kurog, on the other hand, maintained a jovial, even childlike, glee. He had prepared for this moment his entire life, and he was ready to leap head-first into his destiny. I was afraid for him, but I was also honored to call him my friend. And, if I may be so bold, just watching Kurog riding tall and proud atop his horse made my heart beat a little faster. I guess I was a bit smitten with the charismatic Orc warrior.\nAt some point Kurog must have noticed that I was staring at him. He gave me a dazzling Orc smile, winked, and said, \"Once I become chief, you could be one of my wives. Consider that an open invitation.\" I turned away, hoping he didn't see how flush my face had become. I didn't know if I should laugh or scream in angry mortification at such a ludicrous idea. But by the time I gathered my thoughts and turned back to confront him, Kurog was holding up one gauntleted hand. \"From here,\" he said, \"I go on alone.\"\nChief Bolazgar waited for Kurog. Four large, hulking Orc warriors stand beside the chief, their angry gazes locked on the younger Orc. And beyond them, it seemed to me like the entire clan had come out to see what was about to occur. \"Are you going to grovel before your chief and beg my forgiveness, Kurog?\" Bolazgar sneered. \"No, not today,\" Kurog replied cheerfully. \"Today, I challenge you for leadership of the clan.\"\nEven from a distance, I could see that Chief Bolazgar was shaking with rage. \"How dare you?\" he bellowed. \"Do you think you can best me in fair combat? Do you?\"\nKurog shrugged. \"As a matter of fact, I know I can best you. You've grown fat and weak while I've been fighting wars in distant lands,\" Kurog proclaimed. \"In fact, I'm not sure there's going to be anything fair about this combat.\"\nWith a scream of pure hatred, Bolazgar drew his weapon and charged. In stark contrast, Kurog calmly unsheathed his sword and stood his ground. Then, with an economy of motion, he blocked the clan chief's initial, clumsy attack, and followed that with a single, devastating swipe. Bolazgar's head bounced three times before it came to rest against the boot of one of his honor guards.\nThe field was silent for a long moment. Then the first call went out, \"Long live Chief Kurog.\" The rest of the clan took up the chant as each member, in turn, dropped to one knee before the powerful Kurog. He smiled. \"Today begins a new day for the Orsimer!\" Kurog proclaimed. \"I will lead you to glory! On this, you have my word!\"\nAnd it was clear that I wasn't the only one who believed him."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/chronicles-king-kurog-book-iv": {"series": "The Chronicles of King Kurog", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/chronicles-king-kurog-book-iv", "author": "Zephrine Frey", "title": "The Chronicles of King Kurog, Book IV", "description": "", "text": "As the years went by, I was often used as an intermediary between King Emeric and Chief Kurog. Because of this, and due to my ongoing friendship with the chief, I was privy to many of the most significant events in Kurog's life. And not only to the events, but also to Kurog's thoughts and feelings, because he continued to trust me and utilize me as a confidant, even writing to me when we were in different parts of the continent. (But, sadly, no. I never took him up on his offer to become one of his wives. Indeed, Kurog didn't take a wife at all until later in his chiefdom, but that's a tale for another day.)\nKurog spent a few years consolidating his power, growing his clan and forming alliances with clan chiefs that were willing to support his goals and ideals. It was about this time that Kurog revealed the details of his grand vision. \"I will follow in the footsteps of mighty Yashnag and march into Skyrim,\" he wrote to me. \"I will restore the Orcish kingdom in Falkreath and create an Orcish city to rival the wondrous Wayrest.\" While Kurog was busy to the north, King Emeric was dealing with issues in central High Rock. King Ranser of Shornhelm had declared war against Wayrest. After a clandestine meeting with the king, I decided I had to make one more trip to stand at Kurog's side.\nI caught up with Kurog near Dragonstar, as his forces were accumulating in the mountains of western Skyrim. They were having a more difficult time of it than Kurog had anticipated. The Nords, wracked as they were by civil war, nonetheless proved to be capable and courageous fighters. The path to Falkreath was long and arduous, and the rock and snow were going to be bathed in the blood of warriors from both sides before this campaign was done. I sat with Kurog one night, watching the roaring fire, when the clan chief opened up as he did during our times together back in Elsweyr.\n\"These damn Nords,\" Kurog said, \"if they had a shred of decency they'd put down their weapons and get out of our way. But no. The clans that aren't fighting us are trying to bribe us to aid their cause. They don't see us as conquerors. They think we're mercenaries! I'm beginning to think that my Falkreath dream is going to be crushed by all this snow and ice. Damn the Nords and damn their foul mead!\"\nI placed a hand on Kurog's knee and said softly, \"What if I offered you a different, better dream? And the authority to make that dream a reality?\" Kurog looked at me for a long time. Then he stood, towering over me, and demanded to know what I was talking about. Instead, I reached into my traveling cloak, withdrew a leather document pouch, and handed it to him. He read the contents by the light of the fire. Read it again. And a third time. Then he asked me if this was some sort of trick. I assured him that it wasn't a trick. It was an offer. \"You help King Emeric, and King Emeric helps you,\" I said, and the two of us talked long into the deepening night.\nIn the morning, Kurog had a list of demands for me to take back to Wayrest. I was impressed. He was driving a hard bargain, but he was also offering King Emeric the power necessary to end Ranser's War in one fell stroke. I told him I would get the documents to King Emeric as quickly as possible. In return, he promised that his army would be ready and waiting for Emeric's signal\u2014but they would not make a move until the signed documents were in Kurog's hands.\nAnd that was how the Orcs joined the Daggerfall Covenant and Kurog became the King of Wrothgar."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/chronicles-king-kurog-book-v": {"series": "The Chronicles of King Kurog", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/chronicles-king-kurog-book-v", "author": "Zephrine Frey", "title": "The Chronicles of King Kurog, Book V", "description": "", "text": "Let's talk about the wives of King Kurog of Wrothgar. He began collecting wives shortly after he returned to Wrothgar and defeated Bolazgar to become chief of his clan. His first selections were purely political, taking wives to shore up his alliances with other clans. It was about this time that I became aware of Kurog's mother, Alga. He had mentioned her a few times in conversations we had over the years, but she never seemed to be a major influence in his life. At least, she wasn't prominent in his life as a mercenary.\nNow that Kurog was chief of his clan, his mother had stepped in to fill a need he never knew he had. She took the title of Grand Forge-Mother and immediately set out to negotiate marriages for her son. For those of you not intimately familiar with Orc traditions, you must understand that the only male in a clan allowed to take wives is the chief. He functions sort of like the primary male in a pride of lions, lording over all until someone younger and stronger comes along to take his crown. Just as Kurog did with Bolazgar. The chief's wives become the highest-ranking people in the village, taking charge of important clan functions while the chief supervises everything from a distance. The only activity the chief personally takes charge of is war, whether leading raids or actually taking his clan into battle against a hated enemy.\nThe most-influential and powerful of the chief's wives is the hunt-wife, and this was the first marriage that Alga worked to secure. Rumors abound that more than a dozen young hopefuls were vying for the position, but Alga and Kurog had a specific goal in mind. In the end, a powerful daughter from the Shatul clan, famed hunters of the Wrothgar highlands, was selected to solidify the alliance between the clans. Noroga pledged her loyalty and the loyalty of her clan, taking her place as Kurog's hunt-wife.\nWhen it came time to find Kurog a forge-wife to oversee blacksmithing and mining for the clan, Alga looked no further than the famed weapon and armor smiths of the Morkul clan. The obvious choice was the Morkul chief's eldest daughter, a powerful Orc maiden named Grugha. But Alga was more interested in the younger Tugha, who had traveled abroad for two years to study with the blacksmiths of western Skyrim. Her experiences, modern attitudes, and obvious intelligence won her the position of forge-wife for Kurog and his clan.\nIf there was a requirement other than bringing another powerful clan under Kurog's banner, the role of hearth-wife demanded not only a brilliant household administrator but a talent for cooking that went beyond the usual skills of a mountain-bear hash-slinger. Kurog, as I've mentioned in previous volumes of this chronicle, relished food with a passion. Between fighting and eating, I'd be hard-pressed to determine which activity Kurog enjoyed more. Be that as it may, it would take years to find someone of Orcish grace and exceptional talent to fill this marital role. A great competition was eventually staged while Kurog was off aiding King Emeric at the end of Ranser's War.\nWhile Kurog was away, at least according to my sources, Grand Forge-Mother Alga invited the most eligible Orc maidens from the most powerful clans not yet allied with Kurog to compete for the title of hearth-wife. She made them engage in a culinary battle that was as violent and bloody as any skirmish Kurog himself had ever undertaken. The women had to track, kill, and clean their own ingredients. They had to fight each other to secure spices from distant lands. And then they had to present their finished meals before time ran out. Alga and Kurog's first wives, Noroga and Tugha, would judge the worth of each contestant's offering. Bumzal won the day, as much for her physical strength (it is said she killed a mountain bear with her bare hands) as her deft use of delicate spices.\nKurog has many and varied lesser wives, most of who I have no real knowledge of, as they work behind the scenes and rarely make their presence known. Two, however, are always at Kurog's side. These are his protectors, the shield-wives. Two powerful fighters currently fill these roles in Kurog's household, the warrior-sisters Oshgatha and Razbela. The sisters are as loyal to each other as they are to the king, ready to lay down their lives to defend him should the need arise. Even Noroga and Tugha remain on best behavior when the shield-wives are present."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/chronicles-king-kurog-book-vi": {"series": "The Chronicles of King Kurog", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/chronicles-king-kurog-book-vi", "author": "Zephrine Frey", "title": "The Chronicles of King Kurog, Book VI", "description": "", "text": "Now I want to take a few pages to record King Kurog's grand vision for Wrothgar and the Orc nation. I listened to his plan develop over the years from a nebulous dream, to a kernel of an idea, to the strategy that now inspires the re-building of Orsinium.\nDuring one of our first rendezvous, Kurog imbibed an astonishing amount of moon-sugar double rum. This had the effect of making him both introspective and extremely talkative. With a few smiles, a well-placed giggle, and an occasional compliment or question, I was able to get Kurog to open up about a great many things. But as the evening wore on, he began to tell me about his dream for the Orsimer\u2014his name for the people we call Orcs.\n\"The strongholds,\" Kurog said. \"They've served the Orsimer well for generations. But our traditions, for all they aid and guide us, they also hold us back. They mire us in outdated notions and meaningless restrictions.\" There was more, of course. While he understood the need for violence and was extremely good at it, he hated that everything in the strongholds was solved by beating or killing someone or another. \"It makes it very hard to have a civil discourse on anything of substance,\" he bemoaned, \"because sooner or later someone reaches for something heavy or sharp to use to punctuate their particular point of view. Something needs to change.\"\nThe next time the subject came up, we were drinking treacle tea and watching the sun set over the Tenmar Forest. It was obvious that Kurog had given the topic much thought since we had last discussed it. In addition to just making life better for the Orsimer, now he also wanted to elevate his people on the political level as well. \"The other kingdoms will never take us seriously as long as we remain trapped in our old traditions,\" he said, a trace of bitterness evident in his voice. \"We must develop a modern society if we are ever to stand shoulder to shoulder with the other races as equals. We need to build Orsimer towns and cities that can sustain diplomacy and trade while not looking like ancient and restrictive fortresses. A little fear in your contemporaries is all well and good. I find that it helps immensely in negotiations. But attitudes and mannerisms that invoke terror? Those should be locked away and reserved for your enemies, not left on constant display to frighten friends and foes alike.\"\nIt was my final day in Elsweyr. I was preparing to return to Wayrest after what I assumed was going to be my last extended stay in the Khajiiti countryside, when Kurog invited me to join him for dinner. He had reserved a private room at the local inn and paid the establishment's chef to prepare a farewell feast for the two of us to share. As we munched on dried sugarmeat and caramelized sweetcakes, Kurog picked up his ongoing narrative of how he was going to return home and help his people. \"I plan to rebuild our past glory, perhaps by reestablishing Yashnag's ancient Orsimer kingdom in Falkreath or maybe even raising the ruins of Orsinium itself.\"\nKurog's dream had become goal, a challenge he had placed upon himself to test his mettle and his strength of spirit. It would begin with Kurog's return to Wrothgar to wrest the chiefdom of his clan from the \"insolent leader\" (his words, not mine) who banished him. Then he would gather other clan leaders to his banner, forming a nation of independent states that was large enough and powerful enough to carve a kingdom for the Orcs\u2014a kingdom that would see Kurog as its king. \"Tell Emeric that the next time we meet, it will be as equals or it will be as enemies!\" Kurog said. \"Under my rule, Orsimer will have every right and opportunity afforded to the citizens of Wayrest or Windhelm. The old ways will fall away, and a new age will dawn for the Orsimer people. This I so pledge!\"\nI won't deny it. Kurog's words, his passion, they moved me. I wanted to believe that he would succeed, that the Orcs would rise up and prosper under his benign rule. I would never forget what he described to me. Later, when King Emeric was in desperate need of allies, I would remember Kurog and whisper into Emeric's ear. And that is how alliances are born."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/folly-isolation-part-1": {"series": "The Folly of Isolation", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/folly-isolation-part-1", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Folly of Isolation, Part 1", "description": "A satirical play lambasting the political factions", "text": "A fool, believing he knows better than the dashing main character, enters stage left. Before him stands the imposing sight of Heartholdhelm. Within, the three bloodthirsty races of the Ebonheart Pact await. The fool strides forward, facing certain dismemberment by angry swamp lizards and berserk barbarians \u2026."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/folly-isolation-part-3": {"series": "The Folly of Isolation", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/folly-isolation-part-3", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Folly of Isolation, Part 3", "description": "A satirical play lambasting the political factions", "text": "A harried-looking High Elven woman sits at a table, surrounded by books. Her eyes are locked on the horizon, starting at nothing. Only the most perceptive would notice that a thin line of drool is sliding from the side of her mouth. Before her sits a massive tome, inscribed with the most intricate of runes \u2026."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/folly-isolation-part-6": {"series": "The Folly of Isolation", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/folly-isolation-part-6", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Folly of Isolation, Part 6", "description": "A satirical play lambasting the political factions", "text": "A noble High Elf looks imperiously down her nose at the assembled Mages.\nRAZUM-DAR: These Mages would depart our borders with critical information, My Queen. They say they seek \u2026 isolation.\nQUEEN AYRENN: Truly? Perhaps you do not understand the meaning of loyalty, little magelings!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/folly-isolation-part-7": {"series": "The Folly of Isolation", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/folly-isolation-part-7", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Folly of Isolation, Part 7", "description": "A satirical play lambasting the political factions", "text": "Herein, the scene where the Hero kills their mother as she kills their father as he kills their uncle (see references at the bottom for subtext)."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/folly-isolation-part-8": {"series": "The Folly of Isolation", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/folly-isolation-part-8", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Folly of Isolation, Part 8", "description": "A satirical play lambasting the political factions", "text": "Herein, find Act Three, where we have a speech about Covenants. Namely, the covenant a Daedric Prince has with his wedge of cheese \u2026."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/folly-isolation-part-last": {"series": "The Folly of Isolation", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/folly-isolation-part-last", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Folly of Isolation, Part the Last", "description": "A satirical play lambasting the political factions", "text": "A noble High Elf looks imperiously over her nose at the assembled Mages.\nRAZUM-DAR: These Mages would depart our borders with critical information, My Queen. They say they seek \u2026 isolation.\nQUEEN AYRENN: Truly? Perhaps you do not understand the meaning of loyalty, little magelings!\nRAZUM-DAR: Where have I heard that before?"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ivory-lord-hero-born-v-1": {"series": "The Ivory Lord: A Hero Born", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ivory-lord-hero-born-v-1", "author": "Anonymous", "title": " The Ivory Lord: A Hero Born, V. 1", "description": "The short career of a Breton hero", "text": "The soldier waited with bated breath. His hand gripped the blade haft tightly, turning his knuckles ashen white. His sword arm shook nervously as he stood behind the others, waiting for his chance to strike. Any moment now, the Alessian patrol would pass by. He had to wonder, though, what exactly had he gotten himself into?\nHis name was Erric Deleyn, and even he didn't know where his part in all of this began. An innkeeper's son barely of age, his family tree was literally dripping with proud horse breeders, farm hands, and\u2014like his father\u2014cooks. He had as much warrior's blood flowing through his body as he did muscles in his arms and back. Which is to say, almost none. Yet here he stood, armor hanging loosely on his thin frame, holding a sword he barely knew how to use.\nErric wished he could say that he had joined the militia to gain revenge or honor. That his father and mother had been slain in an Alessian attack. Or that the love of his life was taken to the slave camps of the evil Alessians. By the Eight, he would have settled for any excuse in which the Alessians wronged his family.\nBut, no. Erric's family was safe and sound. His pleasantly plump parents happily ran an inn in one of the small towns that dotted High Rock. And the love of his life? Well, there was none. He had never felt the embrace of a damsel or tasted the kiss of serving wench. So why did he want to fight the Alessians? Well, he had heard bad things about them, but as far as he was concerned it was all rumors and innuendo. He had lived a sheltered life.\nNo, the reason Erric stood next to Kish'na the fierce Khajiiti maiden and Calinden the handsome Ayleid knight wasn't quite so lofty. It was more mere chance and accident that had led him to this time and place. He had been sneaking off into the woods at night to practice the same fighting techniques he'd seen the city guard practice. He wanted to learn how to fight, but he didn't want anyone to see him doing it. There was too much of a chance someone would make fun of him. After all, he was just a cook's son. So every night Erric would grab his rusty sword and mismatched armor and head into the woods to train.\nBut tonight would be different. There would be no more practice.\nAs Erric ran through back alleys to reach the hole in the wall he knew so well, he turned a corner and almost ran right into them. His breath caught in his throat when he saw them. A handful of men and women from different cultures all huddled together, whispering. They wore impressive uniforms and carried even more impressive weapons.\nCautiously he approached them, but Erric had little skill or grace. He tripped over his own feet and landed in a puddle with a loud splash. The warriors turned as one, weapons drawn and eyes hard. But they saw his armor and weapon and assumed he was there to meet them. Being too afraid to say otherwise, Erric was welcomed into their group.\nIt was simply a case of mistaken identity. Later, he might have called it fate.\n\tBut tonight? Tonight was the night Erric Deleyn was going to die. And that event would change the world around him forever."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ivory-lord-hero-born-v-2": {"series": "The Ivory Lord: A Hero Born", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ivory-lord-hero-born-v-2", "author": "Anonymous", "title": " The Ivory Lord: A Hero Born, V. 2", "description": "The short career of a Breton hero", "text": "The sound of clanking armor and approaching footsteps echoed through the dark streets. It was obvious that the marchers didn't care if they were heard. In fact, it sounded like they were trying to make more noise than was necessary.\nErric Deleyn closed his eyes and listened. He tried to count how many armor-clad boots were pounding toward them. Not that the numbers mattered. If there were two Alessians or ten, Erric knew it would how this was going to end. \"Someone's going to stick a blade right through my head,\" he thought.\nErric felt a hand touch his shoulder and he opened his eyes. Calinden, the mercenary Ayleid knight with the long-flowing golden hair squeezed his shoulder reassuringly. \"Stick close to me,\" Calinden said.\nA sense of calm came over Erric as he nodded in response. It was as if the Ayleid knight knew exactly what Erric was thinking. Erric would have taken more comfort in that thought if the sounds of the footsteps weren't getting closer and louder.\nKish'na, a Khajiiti warrior on Erric's other side, pulled two blades from their sheaths and held one up. She wanted them to hold for her signal. The other mercenaries in the alley shifted back and forth, excitement and fear shining in their eyes as they waited for the order to attack.\n\tMore steps. Louder. Louder. And then silence.\nErric looked around in surprise. Why had the unseen marchers stopped? The rest of the mercenary band seemed as confused as he was. Except for Kish'na and Calinden. Kish'na's raised blade did not move.\nErric would later learn that what happened next is what usually happens when you hire people willing to stab other people with swords and daggers. The mercenaries grow impatient and become eager to spill blood so they can collect their gold. Usually, this break in discipline brings such hired soldiers to their end that much quicker. And, unfortunately, it was Erric's group that broke first.\n\"Kill those bastards!\"\nThe yell rang out from someone behind and to the left of where Erric was standing. Suddenly they were rushing forward, more a tangled mass than a fighting formation. Erric was pushed to the side as weapon waving mercenaries shoved past him.\n\"What are those idiots doing?\" Kish'na demanded as the mercenaries left the cover of the alley. She shook her head in frustration but run out after them, her twin blades drawn and ready.\nCalinden turned to Erric. \"Remember what I said.\" And with that, the Elf pulled the large blade from the sheath on his back and ran to join the fray.\nErric felt panic overwhelm him and he stood frozen in place. The clang of weapons and shield. The roars of battle. The screams of pain. Everything sounded muffled to Erric's ears. His feet felt stuck to the cobbled street. The war had arrived, and Erric could only watch it unfold before him.\nAfter an eternity that really only lasted a few seconds, Erric was finally able to move. He lifted one foot and placed in front of the other. Slowly, deliberately, he repeated this action until he reached the edge of the alley wall. Erric took a steadying breath. Then he peered around the wall."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ivory-lord-hero-born-v-3": {"series": "The Ivory Lord: A Hero Born", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ivory-lord-hero-born-v-3", "author": "Anonymous", "title": " The Ivory Lord: A Hero Born, V. 3", "description": "The short career of a Breton hero", "text": "Everywhere Erric looked, he saw white armor and Alessian banners. It wasn't a scouting party that the mercenaries attacked\u2014it was an entire cohort of Alessian soldiers.\nThe mercenaries fought hard, but they were undisciplined. They lunged at the wall of armored soldiers like drunks in a tavern brawl. They were cut down, one after another, with relative ease. The Alessians simply blocked and parried each attack, taunting their foolish foes before cutting them down.\nThe only members of the mercenary band that appeared to be having anything close to success were Calinden and Kish'na. The Ayleid knight Calinden's massive two-handed sword sliced through armor, flesh, and bone with equal ease, while the Khajiit Kish'na's twin blades twirled around her in an exotic dance of death.\nErric watched in awe as the battle played out in front of him. He knew that if he charged in to help the mercenaries, he would be cut down before he could so much as scratch an Alessian shield with his rusted sword. But if he turned and ran, and if any of the mercenaries survived, he would be remembered as a coward and a fake. They might even come after him, looking for revenge. All these thoughts and more bounced around and collided inside his head, leaving him frozen with indecision and fear.\nBut nothing brings clarity of mind like a sharp blade cutting through the air in front of you and rushing toward your face. Erric barely dodged out of the way, just as an Alessian soldier backed into him and knocked him to the ground. The rusty blade that Erric had been holding so tightly flew from his hand as he landed on his back. His helmet slammed into the wall he had been standing next to, and for a moment everything went black.\n\tThe next thing Erric knew, Calinden was standing beside him and lifting him to his feet. The street around him was littered with Alessian corpses. The Ayleid knight said nothing. He simply turned and walked back into battle.\nErric had seen enough. He couldn't take it anymore. With growing frenzy, he looked for a path of escape. He could count the number of remaining mercenaries on one hand, but the sea of Alessians seemed as wide and deep as the waves that crashed along the Daggerfall coast. At that moment, Erric knew that he didn't want to die. He picked a direction and started to run\u2014right past the most frantic and bloody fighting.\nAs Erric's legs carried him past the combatants, he reached down and grabbed a sword lying near one of the many corpses. Drawing on reserves he didn't know he had, he increased his speed. He focused on reaching the nearest open doorway or getting around the next corner. He knew that he could lose himself in the back streets if he could just get away from the fighting. He was close. He was going to make it.\nAs Erric turned the corner to make his escape, the sword he carried before him slid into something soft and wet. He was staring into the face of an Alessian officer who looked as surprised as he was. The officer wore multiple badges of honor, but not one of them had been enough to save him. Erric's blade had slid into the space between where the officer's armor connected front to back, slicing between ribs and puncturing a lung. The officer gasped as his eyes rolled back and his knees buckled.\nAs the officer dropped to the ground, he let go of the ivory horn he had been holding. It rolled to a stop next to Erric's right foot. Erric stared at the horn for a moment, then he picked it up and stowed it in his belt. He had no idea what he was going to do with it, but it seemed like a good idea at the time.\nThat's when the arrow buried itself in Erric's back. He stumbled forward as pain radiated from the point of impact. Already, his vision was starting to blur. He saw the Khajiit and the Elf run toward him. He saw an army of Alessians chasing after them. He tried to breathe but that made everything hurt even more.\nAnd then everything faded and Erric saw nothing at all."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/march-explored-chapter-i": {"series": "The March Explored", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/march-explored-chapter-i", "author": "Fenlil the Wayfarer", "title": "The March Explored, Chapter I", "description": "Fragmented guide to Reaper's March", "text": "Gentle reader, welcome. Welcome to open skies and red earth. To the fields of grass and savage landscape of Elsweyr. Welcome, reader, to the end of the world. To the Reaper's March.\nHerein, find an undedited journal of observations. Thoughts jotted down during my first trip across this stark landscape. Some of the hidden gems of the land, some of the most striking locales, will see description in these pages.\nFrom I, your humble guide. Enjoy!\n\u2014Fenlil the Wayfarer\n<The rest of the pages have been torn out.>"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/march-explored-chapter-iii": {"series": "The March Explored", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/march-explored-chapter-iii", "author": "Fenlil the Wayfarer", "title": "The March Explored, Chapter III", "description": "Fragmented guide to Reaper's March", "text": "The March marks the eastern boundary of Valenwood, and thus a boundary of the Ancient diaspora. While the rare pile of stones can be found deep into Elsweyr, the ruins of the March provide some of the most interesting insights into Ayleid psychology."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/march-explored-chapter-vi": {"series": "The March Explored", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/march-explored-chapter-vi", "author": "Fenlil the Wayfarer", "title": "The March Explored, Chapter VI", "description": "Fragmented guide to Reaper's March", "text": "\u2026 there's no truth to the rumors of dark cults in the March. I can assure you, gentle reader. Bandits may take your goods and threaten your life, but the fell Princes of Oblivion hold no sway in this savage land."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/march-explored-chapter-vii": {"series": "The March Explored", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/march-explored-chapter-vii", "author": "Fenlil the Wayfarer", "title": "The March Explored, Chapter VII", "description": "Fragmented guide to Reaper's March", "text": "I will say this for the Khajiit, their architecture is wholly unique on the continent of Tamriel. The beauty of their temples is awe-inspiring to behold. The House of the Dance in Rawl'kha is a wonder.\nIt's a shame, then, that so many of their greatest monuments are decayed and ruined. So many fine places fallen to disrepair.\nIt seems to be a theme across the face of Nirn, does it not reader? Beauty and splendor fallen into ruin over time \u2026."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/march-explored-chapter-ix": {"series": "The March Explored", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/march-explored-chapter-ix", "author": "Fenlil the Wayfarer", "title": "The March Explored, Chapter IX", "description": "Fragmented guide to Reaper's March", "text": "\u2026 and I must confess, I don't understand it at all. I've spent six seasons in the March, all told, and the lunar religion of the Khajiit makes just as much sense to me now as it did when I first arrived.\nSomething about the pull of the moons on the waters of your mind. I don't know. Thank Auri-El we High Elves have a finer, cleaner sensibiilty to our religious studies \u2026."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/red-curse-volume-1": {"series": "The Red Curse", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/red-curse-volume-1", "author": "Dettethor Pantenne", "title": "The Red Curse, Volume 1", "description": "A Breton noble becomes obsessed with resurrecting the Red Eagle", "text": "As a child, I was sickly and morose, a feeble stripling confined to a bed. The greater world came to me primarily through the windows of my room, high in the relative safety of my family's expansive manor. The vivid flashes of light and color that entered my room via its large windows served only to heighten the anxiety and fear of the outside world I had carefully cultivated in my bed rest. With the physical world become a place of fear and tension for my weakened frame, I retreated into the solace of the written word, and plumbed the deep mysteries of Nirn.\nWhile I lived many lives, and learned many things in this way, one particular legend, that of Red Eagle, the king of the Reachmen, lodged itself most firmly in my mind. Though I was the scion of a family of proud Bretons, I contrived a connection between myself and the King of the Reach, Faolan. With this lie embedded in my heart, I turned my studies to the dark arts, wishing to find a way to fulfill Red Eagle's oath, and return him to life. He would, by my machinations, rule The Reach, his flaming sword in one hand, and I at the other, his trusted and beloved vizier.\nAs I grew, my maladies passed, leaving me weak, but no longer bed-ridden, and the largesse of my family afforded me the ability to discreetly expand my research. My peculiar eccentricities were accepted due to my rank, and the near complete isolation of my youth.\nInevitably, my studies led me to the Daedra. Late at night, in the darkness, deep within my family's manor, I would conduct ancient rituals in unfamiliar tongues, raising the foul demons and trapping them, plying them with questions. Often they would ignore my entreaties, promising me great power or wealth if only I would release them from their magical bonds. Though weak of flesh, my mind was stalwart; I resisted their honeyed words, and eventually they would accept that the only path to freedom lay in acquiescence.\nAgain and again, this story played out, and in fits and starts I collected the information I desired, but it was never enough. Slowly, their poisoned promises bore fruit, and I convinced myself that perhaps I could outsmart these Oblivion-cursed souls. It was my own hubris that led me to believe I could accept their gifts and yet control the terms.\nHow naive I was then, and how haunted I am by the truths I know now. The fear of the outside world returned tenfold, I have again taken solace in the solitude of my ancestral manse. Though I search feverishly for an escape, I know in my heart that none will rear its head. There is a darkness that lives in the roots of Nirn, and once envisaged, it can never be escaped."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/red-curse-volume-2": {"series": "The Red Curse", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/red-curse-volume-2", "author": "Dettethor Pantenne", "title": "The Red Curse, Volume 2", "description": "A Breton noble becomes obsessed with resurrecting the Red Eagle", "text": "I shivered and wrapped my cloak tighter around myself, following the pointing, gnarled finger of the toothless old Reachman, his words croaking out between hearty chuckles at my discomfort. My eyes followed the path into the hills, resting finally on a distant cave entrance, barely visible through the stinging snow, and I steeled myself for the coming trek. Though my physical and mental reserves were nearly spent, I knew that my ambitions were closer than ever to being fulfilled, and despite the lateness of the day and the biting cold, I resolved to reach Red Eagle's tomb on that very night.\nThough the powers granted to me by my Daedric benefactors are great, intestinal fortitude was not on the list, and when I reached the mouth of the cave I collapsed, exhausted. As I lay there, without even the vigor to drag myself inside, I began to hear the flittering whispers and distant horns, calling me forth to destiny. With this ghostly music in my ears, I crawled into the mouth of the cave, wrapped all that I had around my frame, and dropped into black, dreamless sleep.\nI awoke to the sound of birds and light - things still, as in my youth, repugnant to my senses. I retreated quickly into the darkness of the cave. I knew that my goal was below in the depths. A warm breath pulsed from the interior of the cave, drawing me inward, the thrumming horns seeming to echo from somewhere deep below. I felt a tightness in my chest as I followed these guides, hoping to soon reach my much maligned ancestor.\nThe traps set to dissuade intruders and grave robbers were child's play for my intellect, and ever cautious I made my way deeper into the crypt. The cave walls pressed in, and gradually the rough, rippled rock walls gave way to hewn stone and chiseled murals. My fingers traced the images, caressing Red Eagle's sword as it cut swathes through a thousand men. The whispering voices and alien horns grew louder, increasing the pressure in my head - my senses lulled, but my mind alert, I knew that soon, after years of research, my ascension was at hand.\nI turned one last corner and found myself in Red Eagle's tomb. Simple and unadorned, a sarcophagus sat on a dais in the center of the chamber. Lying near it on a pedestal was Red Eagle's Bane, his magnificent blade. In a burst I ran to it, and hovered over it. My was breath heavy and quick, the voices and music silenced, replaced by an all-encompassing, heavy, ragged, expectant breath.\nMy hand hovered above the hilt, my fingers grasping and flexing, fear mingling with excitement. Carefully, I reached down and grasped the blade, lifting it up before me and staring, transfixed by the sight.\nWhat came next, my mind almost completely refuses to recall, as memories of such horror must be locked away, lest the brain that contains them be driven mad."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/red-curse-volume-3": {"series": "The Red Curse", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/red-curse-volume-3", "author": "Dettethor Pantenne", "title": "The Red Curse, Volume 3", "description": "A Breton noble becomes obsessed with resurrecting the Red Eagle", "text": "Red Eagle's voice, like velvet, pulled me toward the sarcophagus. He urged me to place the blade in the sarcophagus alongside his body. Like my Daedric benefactors, he whispered of power beyond belief, and filled my head with images of us ruling together as I had always imagined. The room continued to press inward, and I felt cushioned and buoyed along as I laid the blade carefully on the ground and grunted through the effort of removing the lid of Red Eagle's tomb.\nI gazed down at the skeletal remains, the dank smell of the tomb wafting up to my nostrils was intoxicating. Here was the moment I had long dreamt of, and the voice of Red Eagle gently urging me on, which all came crashing down the moment I laid the blade in his grave.\nMy head was immediately wracked with a blinding pain, and I fell to the ground, my vision filled with a pulsing red light. I could hear, somewhere in the distance, the creaking skeleton of Red Eagle climbing from the grave. I saw visions of burning cities, my own flesh melting from the bone as I was consumed in flames. The voice of Red Eagle cackled, now in the room, and he circled behind, \"foolish child,\" he scratched in his inhuman voice, \"you are no kin of mine-\".\nIn a rush I charged Red Eagle and managed to knock the blade from his hand, picking it up I charged from the room, his menacing laughter, turning to roars of anger. Somewhere in my rush to escape, more animal than man, I lost the blade, but must have brought it far enough to trigger some sort of mechanism, as I heard stone doors grinding shut behind me, and the pursuit of Red Eagle was cut off.\nAnd that is why I now live in fear, locked away in my study, hoping to find some way to destroy the horror I have unleashed on the world. Though trapped, at any time, another man, foolish as myself may set him free, and I pity the world when that time comes. I fear for us all."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/true-told-tale-hallin-pt-1": {"series": "The True-Told Tale of Hallin", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/true-told-tale-hallin-pt-1", "author": "Prince Fahara'jad", "title": "The True-Told Tale of Hallin, PT. 1", "description": "", "text": "Know then, O Prince, that after the Ra Gada had swept across Hammerfell, driving all the tusk-folk before it, a time of peace befell whereupon the people who were once Yokudans were able to lay down the sword and take up the shovel and trowel. And for three spans of a person's life all the Redguards did delve and build, and many were the Great Works that were erected above the sands. And few did study the Way of the Sword, for all were constructing monuments to the greatness of our people.\nNow east of the Alik'r and south of the Pass of Bangkorai the ever-laudable Queen Ojwa did cause to have built a city of splendor, all white stone and fluted columns, and the city was named Ojwambu, after its thrice-eminent monarch. And its streets and broad avenues were replete with houses and halls devoted to all the arts, both mercantile and inspirational. The people strolled the streets bedecked in fine garments and bedizened with bright jewels, and partaking of delicate viands and hearkening to tunes both rousing and restful. And all was pleasing thereby.\nIn an unconsidered corner in the shadow of the walls stood the city's Hall of the Virtues of War, and there did the worthy Hallin, being the Last of the Ansei, teach such of Ojwambu's youth as were yet so inclined the Way of the Sword. Now these youths were few, and though they suffered raillery and unkind badinage from their peers, they found the aging Hallin an inspiration nonetheless, and learned the Way of the Sword until they became true Redguard warriors. And this was well, as you shall see.\nFor in the mountain range called Dragon's-Tail the tusk-folk still lurked, beating their breasts and rending their ragged garments in rage and grievance against the Redguards. And among them was a great Goblin Warlord who had escaped the Curse of Divad through a chicanery, and thus had not been diminished. This giant Goblin was possessed of both slyness and sinew, and long he worked among the tribes of Dragon's-Tail, until one day he awoke to find himself Warlord of all the tusk-folk therein. And his name was Mahgzoor Rockhand. So Mahgzoor raised his great blade Bone-Hewer, and roared in a mighty voice like an earthquake, and declared that the day of vengeance at last was at hand.\nThen Mahgzoor led his Endwise Army down from the Dragon's-Tail, and it swept into Hammerfell like a great sandstorm, and none could stand before it. The people of the Fallen Waste fled before the fury of the tusk-folk, and many and many were those who sought refuge behind the walls of Ojwambu, until the city was overfilled thereby. The citizens cried out in distress and apprehension, saying, \"Who will fight for us, O Queen Ojwa? For we have become artisans and pleasance-wrights, and have forgotten the Way of the Sword.\"\nAnd Queen Ojwa spake, saying, \"Are there none among us who remember the Way of the Sword?\" Then venerable Hallin stepped forward and bowed before his monarch, saying, \"I remember the Way of the Sword, O My Queen, or at least as much as I may, for I am the Last Ansei. What I can do, I shall.\"\nHallin's students then stepped forward as well, and laid their swords at the feet of their queen. But the thrice-eminent Ojwa was dismayed by their fewness, and spake distraught, saying, \"How shall we repel the Endwise Army with so few blades? For the tusk-folk are as numberless as the sand in the dunes.\"\nBut Hallin was nowise deterred, and said boldly, \"Take heart, O Illustrious Majesty. For your people are Redguards, which means they come easily to the Way of the Sword, and once they have their hands once again on the hilts of blades, and learn to quote once more from the Book of Circles, they will be a match for any folk in all the round world, be they ever so numberless.\"\n\"Be that as it may, venerable Ansei,\" replied Queen Ojwa, \"but even Redguards need time to learn the Way of the Sword, and of time we have but little.\"\n\"Then you must have more. Finding you a store of time shall be my task, the culmination of the work of my life, and I swear upon Onsi's bright blade you shall have it.\" And he drew his blade, yea, even in the presence of the queen, and swore an oath upon the Brotherhood and Sisterhood of the Blade. And behold, Hallin seemed to grow to the stature of a giant, and a light shone from his blade's sharp edge, and all were obliged to avert their gaze.\nYet when they were able to look once more, they saw naught but the venerable Hallin, smiling and sheathing his blade. And the Last Ansei raised his hands, as if to embrace all the people of Ojwambu, and said, \"Fellow Redguards, to you I bequeath the knowledge of the Book of Circles, which we have guarded long and well, that you may be equal to all threats whatsoever. These my students shall teach you their learning, and in good time you will all know once more the Way of the Sword.\"\nHe turned then to Queen Ojwa and said, \"Now lead your people, O Mighty Monarch, for that is what you do best. Take them to the west, and spread the word of the Way of the Sword, that Hammerfell might make itself ready for the Endwise Army. I shall abide here in your city, which I and the other Ansei shall defend so long as we may, until our people are ready to fight for themselves.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/true-told-tale-hallin-pt-2": {"series": "The True-Told Tale of Hallin", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/true-told-tale-hallin-pt-2", "author": "Prince Fahara'jad", "title": "The True-Told Tale of Hallin, PT. 2", "description": "", "text": "So Queen Ojwa took the venerable Hallin at his word and forthwith ordered her people to march west toward Alik'r, while daily drilling from the Book of Circles. But Queen Ojwa did more: as she was a wise queen she was an Owl-Friend, and had decreed that all owls were to be honored and none slain. And in return the owls did many a favor for her. So the queen did call the Father of Owls, and asked him to bide in Ojwambu and observe Hallin's defense. \"For I would learn,\" she said, \"how one man shall defend a city entire.\"\nEven as the last of the people of Ojwambu departed from her gates to take the secret ways to Alik'r, the scouts of the tusk-folk appeared in the east, where they were noted by Hallin, for though he was old, his eyes were keen.\nThen Hallin spake, though there was none to hear but the Father of Owls, saying, \"As the snake sheds its skin, so shall the Ansei rise anew from the husks of the past.\" He raised his sword and cried, \"Sisters! Brothers! I summon you to the succor of your people, for time folds upon itself, and then-time is now.\"\nAnd he gestured with his blade to the left, and all along the battlements to the north there was a rustling as of snakeskins, and lo: there arose along the parapets the shadows of a legion. And there stood the semblances of all the female Ansei who ever were, and they turned to Hallin and saluted. So Hallin gestured likewise to the right, and along the battlements to the south there was a rustling, and lo: there arose the semblances of all the male Ansei who ever were. And they likewise saluted Hallin, and then all, north and south, drew their bright blades, and stood on the battlements awaiting.\nThe scouts of the tusk-folk stopped forthwith to observe the defenses of Ojwambu. Surprised were they to see the battlements lined with goodly warriors, for they had been told that the folk of the city had forgot the Way of the Sword. So they did consult among themselves as to who would carry this news to Warlord Mahzgoor, and quarrel and quibble, for they feared the bearer of such news would have his head struck off. But finally the smallest, with many blows, was made to carry the report back to the Warlord.\nSo the scout reported to Mahzgoor that, unaccountably, the walls of Ojwambu were lined with many goodly defenders. Of an instant the Rockhand struck off the scout's head, but then he took thought, for he was possessed of both slyness and sinew. And his thoughts were, \"What matter? We are as numberless as the sand in the dunes. We shall surround this Ojwambu, leaving neither entry nor egress. We shall despoil their fields of its provender, and stop up the streams of their flow, until no one within shall have to eat or to drink. And thus the city shall fall.\"\nSo Mahzgoor ordered, and so it came to pass. The tusk-folk took their leisure among the spoils of the outworks, casting jeers and taunts at the defenders on the walls. But the defenders replied naught. So Mahzgoor and his army waited, amusing themselves most abominably at the expense of their prisoners, secure that in time the defenders of Ojwambu must wither and dwindle.\nBut it was not so. Even long after when the Warlord's bone-counters calculated there must be no more to eat or to drink within the city, the defenders stood still stalwart and saying naught. So Mahzgoor summoned his shamans, saying, \"Shamans! Have we been befooled by the perfidious Redguards? Are these goodly warriors we see lining the battlements, or are they but shadows?\"\nSo the shamans cast the portents, and sacrificed twin infants, and sent a scullion to the East Gate whom Hallin did spear from above. And they returned and said, \"Nay, mighty Mahzgoor, we are not befooled, for these are goodly warriors we see lining the battlements. But how they may stand when they have not to eat or to drink, this we cannot tell.\"\nOf an instant Mahzgoor struck off the shamans' heads, then raised bloody Bone-Hewer and cried, \"To arms! Form ranks! For tonight we drink the blood of the defenders of Ojwambu!\"\nOf that battle, no living Redguard survived to tell the tale. But nonetheless did wise Queen Ojwa hear of it in full, for the Father of Owls did bear the tale to her ear. He told of how Hallin and his Ansei withstood the assault, yea, for seventeen days. But though they were goodly warriors, over time the Ansei did dwindle, though each left behind only a husk like unto a snakeskin. Finally only Hallin stood at the East Gate, which was burst open by Warlord Mahzgoor with Bone-Hewer held high. And Hallin did seem to grow to match him in size, and the two met sword to sword.\nLong and long their blades clashed, until finally as the moons rose the Rockhand smote Hallin such a blow that he was struck to the ground. But even as he fell Hallin, who knew the cuts and thrusts of the Book of Circles, yea, each and every one, swung his sword and struck off the head of the Warlord Mahzgoor. Then both were dead, but in death only one was smiling and serene.\nQueen Ojwa nodded to hear this news, and said, \"It is well.\" And she turned to her mighty army of Redguard warriors, each of which knew the cuts and thrusts of the Book of Circles, yea, each and every one, and said, \"Redguards! March we now to retake our lands from the tusk-folk. And when we have regained our splendid city once more, we shall rename it Hallin's Stand. And so it shall be.\"\nAnd so it has been, ever after."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/truth-sequence-volume-1": {"series": "The Truth in Sequence", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/truth-sequence-volume-1", "author": "Deldrise Morvayn", "title": "The Truth in Sequence: Volume 1", "description": "The divine lessons of Sotha Sil, concerning the world and our place in it", "text": "Taken from the sermons of Deldrise Morvayn, Fourth Tourbillon to the Mainspring Ever-Wound.\nBy the word, I wind the gears.\nHow does one come to know the Clockwork God and Father of Mysteries? Our Lord Vivec and the Lady of Mercy, Almalexia, are known to us. Their faces are known to us. Their words are known to us. But what of Sotha Sil? He who is distant in both position and intent. Ever watchful, but seldom seen. Ever worshiped, but seldom heard. He is the Mainspring Ever-Wound - the unmoved mover, hidden within His Clockwork City, whose voice is the Divine Metronome. As Tourbillon, I speak His truth as I know it. I say the words in sequence so they can be known by the people. The sequence is but a shadow of the truth, but minds such as ours cannot bear the ordered unsequence. Minds such as ours cannot truly know themselves. Not yet.\nThe First Truth of the Mainspring Ever-Wound is the truth of Nirn. The soul of Nirn has two faces. The first is known to us - the Nirn-Prior, or the Nirn of Many Parts. It is a Nirn in pieces, assembled by the unsteady hand that has yet to find itself. Its oscillations irregular, its going train disrupted by fear and delusion. Its faults are not in its parts, but in its assembly. Each gear is a god. Each spring is a thought. But a mechanism built by many hands cannot know the precision of the master craftsman. The et'Ada Gears cannot bring forth a true Nirn, because they know only its parts. They cannot see the whole. The Eye of Sotha Sil ignores such division. Where the broken gods see only pieces, our Father Sotha Sil sees the whole. He sees the Second Nirn.\nThe Second Nirn. The inchoate Nirn-Ensuing. The thought-form that anticipates the world to come: Tamriel Final. Anuvanna'si. Only Sotha Sil knows its shape. Its nature lies forgotten in the before-time when Anu broke itself for wisdom's sake. Our lessers know the Source as two forms: Anu and Padomay, but this binary is without merit. One of the Lorkhan's Great Lies, meant to sunder us from the truth of Anuic unity. Our father, Sotha Sil, would have us know the truth: there is no Padomay. Padomay is the absence of value. The lack. A ghost that vanishes at first light. A Nothing. There is only Anu, sundered and known by many names, possessing many faces. The one.\nWhen Anu broke itself, it did so to understand its nature. In its sundering, the values that swam in its vastness thought to know themselves. The et'Ada Gears gave themselves many names and set their will to building. Alas, they heeded the counsel of Lorkhan and forgot the face of Anu. They thought themselves distinct and whole. And so, many hands assembled the world, each with separate intention and selfish purpose. The Nirn of Many Parts was the result. A broken and leaking steam-ship that lists ever wind-ward.\nBut rejoice, children of the Tribunal! In His wisdom, the Mainspring Ever-Wound seeks to reclaim our lost heritage. His heart is oiled and calibrated, pumping dark truth as blood. His mind is the God-Mortar where the fractured values of Anuic nature are ground and weighed - unified through His will alone. From this great labor, a new Nirn will be born. Tamriel Final. Anuvanna'si. I pray that we see the fruit of His labor - a perfect world, without et'Ada Gears. Without the illusion of change. Water-tight and everlasting.\nBy the word, I wind the gears."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/truth-sequence-volume-2": {"series": "The Truth in Sequence", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/truth-sequence-volume-2", "author": "Deldrise Morvayn", "title": "The Truth in Sequence: Volume 2", "description": "The divine lessons of Sotha Sil, concerning the world and our place in it", "text": "Taken from the sermons of Deldrise Morvayn, Fourth Tourbillon to the Mainspring Ever-Wound.\nBy the word, I wind the gears.\nThe will of Sotha Sil is the chrononymic will. The Nameless Will. For what is \"Name?\" The Divine Metronome tells us that \"Name\" is the wedge that pries gear from pinion. The residue of Lorkhan's Great Lie that loosens the wheel chain and corrodes the frame. The et'Ada Gears named each and each, in their way. Our lessers see this as a kindness, but the Mainspring Ever-Wound calls it a curse, rooted in selfish pride. To name is to cleave one from another. It is the death of Anuic convergence and the Nirn-Ensuin - the misassembled dragon that breathes dry falsehood and whose name is \"Multitude.\"\nThere is only one name that is not Name. Seht, the convergent Clockwork God, whose will pumps like a piston into both \"then\" and \"after.\" Sotha Sil, Father of Mystery, whose heart drives the Wheels Eternal and whose blood oils the All-Axle. Si, the Divine Engine, whose mind merges \"they\" and \"we\" and births the Nirn-Ensuing. Lesser wills are wisps of smoke, born and lost in a sea of endless sky. Lost children whose freedom is death.\nFor what is freedom, child of the Tribunal? The counter-lever to slavery? No. Have you not heard the words in sequence? The chrononymic will is the pendulum that swings only once. It cannot do otherwise. To swing twice would break one intention from another and prove the blasphemy of two. As Padomay is illusion, so too is the named will. For what is \"choice\" if not chaos? What is \"free will\" if not the lack of order, vulgar and triumphant? The true wheels spin clockwise, ever clockwise. In the unity of Nirn-Ensuing, each belongs to all, and all belong to none - save Tamriel Final. Anuvanna'si. So lay down your cheap burdens, child. \"Shall I do thus?\" Such \"choice\" is delusion. Give yourself to the pursuit of unity, for in the end, you cannot do otherwise.\nBy the word, I wind the gears."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/truth-sequence-volume-3": {"series": "The Truth in Sequence", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/truth-sequence-volume-3", "author": "Deldrise Morvayn", "title": "The Truth in Sequence: Volume 3", "description": "The divine lessons of Sotha Sil, concerning the world and our place in it", "text": "Taken from the sermons of Deldrise Morvayn, Fourth Tourbillon to the Mainspring Ever-Wound.\nBy the word, I wind the gears.\nThe Third Truth of the Mainspring Ever-Wound is the truth of the Daedra. In the days before the First Ignition, the Chimer people bent their knees to the False Princes: The Webspinner, the Prince of Plots, and the Queen of Dawn and Dusk. I do not use their names, as Name cleaves one from another. You know them well, child of the Tribunal, for every time you bear false witness, or make foolish boasts, you do so in their name. Their words corrode and weaken the heart. Their threats loosen the fasteners and break the seals. They are the Anti-Gears that turn counter to the Nameless Will. Servants of the Padomaic untruth whose nature is void. Of the Daedra, only the Gray Prince of Order knew his nature, and he went mad in the knowing.\nThe Daedra fear wisdom and order, you see? And thus do they fear the Clockwork God above all others. Where others see dark crowns numbered ten and six, Sotha Sil sees shadows and nothing more. For the Daedra are the lie that creation tells itself. Like their father, Padomay, they are Nothing. And in the Tamriel Final, Nothing shall hold no sway. Anuvanna'si. Their black mountain called \"Oblivion\" shall sink into the Furnace of Forgotten Numbers, where all lies burn and brittle multitudes turn to slag.\nI hear you ask: If the Daedra are of the Nothing, how do they lurk on our threshold? How do they lurk at all? Hear the words in sequence, child of the Tribunal! In the clumsily built Nirn-Prior, the et'Ada Gears left gaps and crevices where Nothing could take root. Imperfections born from Lorkhan's Great Lie and the selfishness of fractured creation. In the glorious Anuic convergence of the Nirn-Ensuing, all gaps will be sealed. All crevices will be welded. The creaking and rattling of the machine shall retreat to a whisper, and the reckless chaos born from the et'Ada Gears' folly shall shrivel and starve.\nBy the word, I wind the gears."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/truth-sequence-volume-4": {"series": "The Truth in Sequence", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/truth-sequence-volume-4", "author": "Deldrise Morvayn", "title": "The Truth in Sequence: Volume 4", "description": "The divine lessons of Sotha Sil, concerning the world and our place in it", "text": "Taken from the sermons of Deldrise Morvayn, Fourth Tourbillon to the Mainspring Ever-Wound.\nBy the word, I wind the gears.\nNow I speak to you of Sotha Sil's silence. The children of ash sometimes ask, \"Where is our Clockwork God? Why does only the Tourbillon speak His truth in mortal sequence?\" They ask in hushed tones, with brows creased by fear. Do not flee from such questions, child of the Tribunal. These are the little blasphemies that lead to wisdom - the faultless flame that turns ignorance to steam. For the Mainspring Ever-Wound is the Father of Curiosity, and curiosity is the joyful destroyer. Only in sundering can things be made whole. Only the disassembled engine can be scrubbed and made clean. So, smash the old machines! Topple your mind's idols! And from the wreckage, assemble new truths - flawless and water-tight.\nDo you see now, child of the Tribunal? It is the silence of Sotha Sil that gives birth to the intrepid mind. Knowledge must be found - and to find a thing, it must be hidden. It is not enough to be told. The whirr of the machine is as silence to the one who lives within it. A turbine ever-oiled does not know the lack of oil - does not know the purpose of oil. And so it is with truth.\nNow, you must know that curiosity is not without cost. ALM forgive this heresy! VI forgive this heresy! I speak the words in sequence only. Pay heed to the laws of golden masks, but know also their limits. Pay heed to the songs of dancing glass, but know also the boundaries of their scale. Their truth is the truth of inertia. Of gravity. Their hearts are vessels filled with liquid brass - resistant to harm, but incapable of movement. The Mainspring Ever-Wound spurns that which does not move. In the Nirn-Ensuing, that which does not move shall be fed to the Kiln-Amaranthine where Seht's quiet wrath burns like the sun, and broken cogs are made whole. The Wheels Eternal must spin. The Tamriel Final must tick and tock. Anuvanna'si. Each and each must take its place in the whole. For if even one piece is missing, the whole is not whole.\nBy the word, I wind the gears."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/truth-sequence-volume-5": {"series": "The Truth in Sequence", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/truth-sequence-volume-5", "author": "Deldrise Morvayn", "title": "The Truth in Sequence: Volume 5", "description": "The divine lessons of Sotha Sil, concerning the world and our place in it", "text": "Taken from the sermons of Deldrise Morvayn, Fourth Tourbillon to the Mainspring Ever-Wound.\nBy the word, I wind the gears.\nSpeak not of Dwarves, child of the Tribunal. The simple clockworks of the Dwemer pale before the sublime machinery of Sotha Sil. Let Dumac's lament be a silent one. Let his hissing tombs stay buried. Let his automata rust and crumble. For his was the greatest failure - driven by Lorkhan's Great Lie and churlish pride. His is a tale of woe and terror, and those that pursue his ugly maths shall pay a great price in blood.\n\"But, was Dumac not a creator?\" you ask? \"Were the brass-child's hands not covered in oil? Did they not speak the words of Making, and set wheel to axle?\" Hear the words in sequence, followers of Seht. Intention dictates the worth of a machine. Where the Mainspring Ever-Wound seeks the convergence of the Nirn-Ensuing, the ghosts of the Dwemer cry out: \"Multitudes! Multitudes!\" Mer and machine, parted. Wisdom and ambition, parted. Made and Unmade, parted. And from those sunderings, a thousand thousand skittering machines are made - left to wander forgotten halls, aimless and profligate. One may twist a knob left in preparation for another to twist the same knob right. One may loosen a pipe so that another may tighten it. They exist only to maintain the brass-childrens' folly, and so they are redundant and profane in the Eye of Sotha Sil.\nBut most profane is this: the walking horror that bears the Name, NM. The Brass Tower of Vanity. The mindless guardian of the Nirn-Prior. The Antipodal-God-Thing that reigns on the darkest pole of the sacred Nirn-Sphere. Of all the threats to Tamriel Final, NM is the greatest. Anuvanna'si. The Daedra can be banished in thought, but NM must be sundered on Nirn. It is the welded knot at the center of Anu that must be untied. The God-Puzzle. The Mainspring Ever-Wound remains silent on this point. And where there is silence, there is great wisdom.\nBy the word, I wind the gears."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/truth-sequence-volume-6": {"series": "The Truth in Sequence", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/truth-sequence-volume-6", "author": "Deldrise Morvayn", "title": "The Truth in Sequence: Volume 6", "description": "The divine lessons of Sotha Sil, concerning the world and our place in it", "text": "Taken from the sermons of Deldrise Morvayn, Fourth Tourbillon to the Mainspring Ever-Wound.\nBy the word, I wind the gears.\nBehold, the Clockwork City! The Throne Aligned! The Omni-Axle! The Brass-Throat Herald of Joyful Destruction! The Oil-Slick Tower of Seamless Assembly! Rejoice! Rejoice!\nListen, child of the Tribunal! Do you not hear the whirr of the gears? The hiss of the pistons? It is the voice of Sotha Sil, calling you to the Nirn-Ensuing. To the Tamriel Final. Anuvanna'si. Cast down your worldly maths. Loosen the chains of your selfish pursuits. Shall I describe it to you? Shall I guide your eyes to the future of Nirn? Hear the words in sequence, dark child. Close your eyes and awaken!\nGaze up to behold a crystal sky, girded and bound by Seht's bright bands. Look down to behold the black stone of His will, and His imagination made clay. Drink His truth, thick as blood, from the broad black rivers. Feel His breath on your skin - let its dreamy redolence fill your nostrils and sting your eyes. You stand at the center of the wheel. The home of the Mainspring Ever-Wound.\nObsidian towers stretch ever skyward, festooned with polished brass and godly filigrees. Great turbines drive memory through a thousand thousand pipes that stretch out like tangled veins, or the golden roots of an ageless tree. And wandering amidst the humming and hissing paradise are His second-children. The Fabri'siraynosim. The merged-ones. Birthed of the unsequence, and bound to the Nirn-Ensuing. They cry out in one voice: \"Death to Multitudes! Woe and terror! Let the fragments melt in the Boiler of Unknown Angles! Let the falsehoods burn in the Furnace of Forgotten Numbers! Disassemble and cleanse! Dismantle and make whole!\" They are the guardians - the ever-wound key-lords. Only the Nameless heart avoids their wrath. Their hatred of discord knows no limits. For the road to Tamriel Final is not a bloodless one, child of the Tribunal. Anuvanna'si. Contemplate this with a pious heart. Seek a clean and well-oiled soul. It shall serve you well in His truth-to-come.\nSo you see the Clockwork City is like Sotha Sil Himself - rich in beauty for the faithful, and alight with sublime terror for the servants of chaos. In which Clockwork City would you reside? Commit your small blasphemies and think on this.\nBy the word, I wind the gears."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/truth-sequence-volume-7": {"series": "The Truth in Sequence", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/truth-sequence-volume-7", "author": "Deldrise Morvayn", "title": "The Truth in Sequence: Volume 7", "description": "The divine lessons of Sotha Sil, concerning the world and our place in it", "text": "Taken from the sermons of Deldrise Morvayn, Fourth Tourbillon to the Mainspring Ever-Wound.\nBy the word, I wind the gears.\nThink now on the wheel. To all things it appertains.\nIs there anything so sacred as the wheel? Like Tamriel Final, the wheel both moves and does not move. Anuvanna'si. The axle sleeps, while the spokes make haste - round and round in reflective circles. Now, here dwells a Nameless secret, child of the Tribunal: does a thing move when it moves in circles?\nMotion lies at the heart of the Nirn Ensuing, but not all motion is Nameless. Not all movement earns His blessing.\nThe Divine Metronome calls the first motion \"The Motion of Lines.\" Line-motion is the motion of simple minds - the motion of weak wills and scholars' vanity. \"Forward!\" it cries! Forward to the fruits of cheap ambition. Forward to the promise of everlasting kingdoms. Forward to the mirage that the sages call \"progress.\" These misguided pioneers venture out into their wild tomorrows, and the tomorrows after that, certain of their worth - their virtue. But what profits a man or mer to gaze deep into a single future? The aims of mortals are narrow, far too narrow! To move forward is to ignore infinite angles in favor of one. It is the act of a beast or a child. The Clockwork God spurns vanity in the guise of courage. These explorers' travels only lead them farther from Tamriel Final. Anuvanna'si.\nSeht speaks of the second motion only in whispers. \"The Pendulum\" or \"Named Oscillation\" is the tic-tock motion - the motion of entropy and false hope. None but the Clockwork God may claim its dark power. With each wide swing it shouts Lorkhan's lie. \"Hail, intentions divided! Hail, cursed multitudes!\" Do not stand in the Pendulum's path, ash-child. Only the Mainspring Ever-Wound may bear its weight.\nLast is the reciprocating motion. \"The Sublime Piston.\" The lover's embrace. Like the Father of Mystery, it gives and takes in equal measure. As the bow upon the strings, it calls forth the sublime. As the carpenter's saw, it wrenches back and forth, sundering the Named pursuits of lesser mer. Only a Nameless heart may harness its strength. The artist, the star-counter, and the engineer call it \"muse.\" The truth-blind multitudes call it \"destroyer.\"\nDo you see now, child of the Tribunal? Every movement hides intent. To stray from the wheel is to abandon the Clockwork God. In the Tamriel Final, all shall spin, and only spin. Anuvanna'si.\nBy the word, I wind the gears."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/truth-sequence-volume-8": {"series": "The Truth in Sequence", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/truth-sequence-volume-8", "author": "Deldrise Morvayn", "title": "The Truth in Sequence: Volume 8", "description": "The divine lessons of Sotha Sil, concerning the world and our place in it", "text": "Taken from the sermons of Deldrise Morvayn, Fourth Tourbillon to the Mainspring Ever-Wound.\nBy the word, I wind the gears.\nBlessed Father of Mystery, place your oil upon my tongue that I might tell the true tale of Mournhold. Behold the strength of untold calculation! Behold the power of the Mainspring Ever-Wound!\nEvery Nameless soul must confess the truth of Mournhold, for many lessons hide in its ashes. Sing now the hymn of anguish and horror, child of Seht! Behold, Mehrunes Dagon, Sovereign of Destruction! Mehrunes Dagon, the Flame Tyrant! Mehrunes Dagon, Father of Cataclysm! Recall how he marched upon Almalexia's jewel! Do you remember how his Will burned like kiln-fire, and hot pitch fell from his lips? Aloft, he held four great razors. Each sang a screeching paean to glorify him. Torrents of flame fell upon the innocent and wicked alike, shearing flesh from bone; belching forth widows and orphans in gouts of frothing screams.\n\"Who dares to face me, draped as I am in fire and blood?\" roared Dagon. The dark Prince beat his breast and howled long-forgotten curses. The dead burst forth from their tombs, shrieking for mercy. Geysers of black liquid-sin erupted from below, flooding ruined homes with torrid lies and conspiracy. And everywhere, flames - an inferno that turned all souls to ash.\nAlmalexia, Mother of Mercy, cast her eyes upon the ruins of her gemmed city and wept. To see such love burned and squandered turned her heart to molten brass. Our Clockwork God took note of her fury, sealing the memory away in his great mnemonic planisphere - a reminder of her love's high price.\nRising from the ground like foundry-smoke, the Tribunes confronted the Prince of Disasters. Ayem's voice like a screeching steam-whistle, and Sotha Sil's like a lurching engine.\n\"ERAM VAR AE ALTADOON!\" they cried, rending their garments and donning their killing masks. Ayem drew her bright Hopesfire and skipped over the flames like a river-stone. With a mighty scream, she plunged the blade deep into Dagon's breast and turned it like a jailer's key. Scorching blood spewed out of the wound, scalding her hands and face. As she fell, the Divine Metronome chiseled a thought-rune of infinite angles. Do you remember how the veins of tin, copper, and orichalc erupted from the depths to break our mother's Fall? Through His will alone, Mighty Seht wound the veins into god-bronze whips, and lashed the Prince pitilessly. Dagon hissed and tumbled backward. His otherworldly flesh fell like chaff before the scythe. Alas, a Sarmissonays'um ghoul-thing emerged from every chunk.\nA multitude of the creatures gathered around Ayem, fiery tar oozing from their mouths and open sores. They groaned and retched, speaking only Dagon's name as they fell upon her. The Warden hissed thrice, took up her blessed sword, and smote the beasts by the score. She severed head from neck and arm from shoulder, cleaving sin from virtue and shouting old-oaths of banishing. Do you remember how the beasts fell To her on that red day?\nYou must recall the howls of Madness! How Dagon foamed and snarled beneath the lash of Sotha Sil! \"Behold!\" cried the Divine Metronome as He smashed the Prince to splinters. \"Behold the wrath of lost Ald Sotha! Know death at my hands, false-son of a false-father! KAER PADOHME VIE ALTADOON!\"\nEven then, at the end, the Prince of Destruction did not relent. With the last of his four great arms, Dagon dragged the last of his four great razors across the Watchmaker's jaw. Tasting the blood on His tongue, our Father of Mysteries whispered a final chrononymic death-word, and Dagon exploded throughout all time. The earthbones quaked and the All-Axle shook. From this word of sundering, Truth took root.\nMehrunes's ruin slithered between the cracks of Nirn and Oblivion, shrieking curses like a petulant child. The Mainspring Ever-Wound tightened His brass-wrought fist and slammed the gap shut - another small step toward Tamriel Final. Anuvanna'si. So ends the true account of Mournhold's fall. Remember this tale always.\nBy the word, I wind the gears."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/truth-sequence-volume-9": {"series": "The Truth in Sequence", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/truth-sequence-volume-9", "author": "Deldrise Morvayn", "title": "The Truth in Sequence: Volume 9", "description": "The divine lessons of Sotha Sil, concerning the world and our place in it", "text": "Taken from the sermons of Deldrise Morvayn, Fourth Tourbillon to the Mainspring Ever-Wound.\nBy the word, I wind the gears.\nThe Mainspring Ever-Wound values craft above all things. She who shapes and assembles, he who conceives and creates - these are the true children of the Clockwork God.\nYour labors need not whirr and hiss like the sublime clockworks of Sotha Sil. The brush, the auger, the tongs, the needle - each and each may honor the Father of Mysteries, so long as they speak His truth. And what is His truth, child of Seht? Perfection only? No. Hear the words in sequence! Simple precision is naught but the shadow of virtue. Even a faithless smith may fashion the blade with the keenest edge. The perfect sphere, the clearest glass, the truest angle - all fall short of His favor. Only through the purest incongruities and greatest doubts do we earn His blessing. You must think with the thrice-folded mind. You must gaze upon the unsequence.\nNo mortal may grasp the unsequence fully. We see the edges only - the liminal truths. For some, the unsequence\u00a0 brings despair. Others look upon it with a child's bewilderment. But for the precious few, the Nameless explorers, this thin ray of understanding may serve as the Bridge of Infinite Curve. The Walking Wheel.\nKnow this, ash-child: only the intrepid mind may walk this path. For you see, the Nameless soul is the tightrope walker that strides in circles only. Below and aside, waits the gaping maw of Sheogorath's lie. Ahead and above, waits Tamriel Final. Anuvanna'si.\nI hear your cries, child of Seht! \"How does one walk the wheel?\" you ask. Here lies a Nameless truth. Just as no wrench fits all bolts, no walk fits all souls. For the sculptor, it may mean an angle inverted, or a form transposed - an abandonment of the Named resemblance and an embrace of the abstract. For the scholar of maths, it could require half-mad theorems - rooms of cubic numbers and functions only imagined. For the inventor, it may demand a tool without any known use, or an answer-machine that prints only questions.\nCraft perfected, and use obscure: this is the surest path to Tamriel Final. Anuvanna'si.\nBy the word, I wind the gears."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/truth-sequence-volume-10": {"series": "The Truth in Sequence", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/truth-sequence-volume-10", "author": "Deldrise Morvayn", "title": "The Truth in Sequence: Volume 10", "description": "The divine lessons of Sotha Sil, concerning the world and our place in it", "text": "Taken from the sermons of Deldrise Morvayn, Fourth Tourbillon to the Mainspring Ever-Wound.\nBy the word, I wind the gears.\nBeware blind reverence for The Old, child of Seht. The oil of antiquity often fuels the future. Those who ignore the counsel of our blessed ancestors do so at their peril. But not all ruins hide wisdom within their shattered halls. Some ruins are dark and barren places - unsteady graves for lies and curses. Resting places for bent axles, stripped bolts, and the bitter silence of inertia.\nIn the time before our Father's rise, old and feeble knowledge ruled the hearts of Mer. The children of ash entered their ancestral tombs not in search of truth, but in search of truth's corpse. They saw their forebears not as proud and vigorous guides, but as wheezing, toothless ghosts - guardians of the musty and derelict engines that fools call deep wisdom. You must smash these old machines, child of Seht! The past does not rust upon the scrap pile. It hurtles toward the Mainspring Ever-Wound's glorious and multi-angled future, whipped by the scorching tongues of our honored forebears! Ever do their words and deeds grease the wheels of the Nirn-Ensuing! Ever do they weld the seams of Tamriel Final! Anuvanna'si.\nBut alas! Even now, stewards of The Old feed aged truth to those who would listen. They are the daughters and sons of PSJJJJ who crouch like gargoyles over musty tomes, faces hidden beneath frayed and graying robes. They counsel caution, temperance, and equanimity - ancient virtues of the fading Nirn-prior. Even so, the Father of Curiosity calls them friends. With a god's patience, He teaches them. With a father's love, He guides them; all in the hopes that one day they may see the deepest truth of The Old: that we must banish our feeble ghosts and give their memory new life through the thrice-folded mind. Toothless gears cannot be repaired - they must be melted and reforged. So it is with our people's truth.\nNone will deny that the daughters and sons of PSJJJJ wield great power. Like our Clockwork City, their isle of Artaeum glides between what is and what may be. Like our Clockwork Apostles, they study, strive, and create. But power without an infinite future's courage is like an empty boiler - infused with fierce heat but producing no steam. Woe upon those who recoil from Tamriel Final! Anuvanna'si. The will of the Clockwork God turns such cowardice to slag. But rejoice! The Father of Mysteries' affection proves the PSJJJ's worth. One day these lost spellweavers will heed the words of the Divine Metronome and seek the true and noble change - the aratagnithir. On that day we shall embrace them not as friends, but as brothers and sisters.\nBy the word, I wind the gears."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/truth-sequence-volume-11": {"series": "The Truth in Sequence", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/truth-sequence-volume-11", "author": "Deldrise Morvayn", "title": "The Truth in Sequence: Volume 11", "description": "The divine lessons of Sotha Sil, concerning the world and our place in it", "text": "Taken from the sermons of Deldrise Morvayn, Fourth Tourbillon to the Mainspring Ever-Wound.\nBy the word, I wind the gears.\nI hear your whispers - your puerile laments.\u00a0 Even here in the Clockwork City, bathed in the oil of His divine wisdom, you cry out, \"Where are the soft grasses and babbling creeks? Where are the heady wines and rich fruits?\u00a0 Where are the gentle rains, and sighing boughs, and swaying mushrooms?\" Like hungry babes you weep, \"Where is the Real?\" Ease your bellows and steady your gears. You must gaze now upon the brass-wrought truth. See the Real of Tamriel Final. Anuvanna'si.\nWhat makes a thing real? Is it the blood, or the sap, or the beating heart? Is it the shrieking trauma of an infant's birth? The low roar of the tides? The root's thirst for water or the lazy drift of distant clouds? No, child of Seht! Hear the words in sequence! Can you not see that your fears spring from Lorkhan's lie? Those soft forms and gentle comforts you covet are naught but corroded lies - fractured creation's panacea that deadens the soul's forgotten pain.\n\"But is Sotha Sil's sacred city not a replication?\" you ask, \"A Nirn in miniature?\" Hear this, ash-child: the Clockwork City is no mere simulacrum. The copper leaves and sculpted hills are not Nirn's resemblance, but Nirn's refinement - worldly forms made whole by the steady hand of the Mainspring Ever-Wound. The glorious unity of Tamriel Final demands convergence. Anuvanna'si. Mer and machine made whole. Nature and engineering made whole. The past and the future made whole. In time, all of Nirn shall be pressed and fired in this forge of Seht's blessed imaginings - weighed and measured upon the Nameless Scales! Is this not the Real? Is this not the redemption of the et'Ada's sins? Do you see now the impoverished forms of the Nirn-Prior? The cheap and hollow falsehoods that masquerade as nature's splendor?\nSeek out the dry, hard places, child of Seht. Anoint your tongue with His oil. Fill your stomach with His nourishing grain. Cast out what was and fix your eyes upon the Nirn-to-come - upon Tamriel Final. Anuvanna'si.\nBy the word, I wind the gears."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/truth-sequence-volume-12": {"series": "The Truth in Sequence", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/truth-sequence-volume-12", "author": "Deldrise Morvayn", "title": "The Truth in Sequence: Volume 12", "description": "The divine lessons of Sotha Sil, concerning the world and our place in it", "text": "Taken from the sermons of Deldrise Morvayn, Fourth Tourbillon to the Mainspring Ever-Wound.\nBy the word, I wind the gears.\nI have spoken the words in sequence, child of Seht. I have guided your eyes to the glorious Nirn-Ensuing - to the inevitable grandeur of Tamriel Final. Anuvanna'si. I have shouted my grave admonitions and whispered the secrets of the infinite curve. Now, as my engine fails, I bestow upon you my final blessing. You who sing the song of making and set your wheels to axles - you intrepid star-counters who shatter the old machines and smelt new truths from the crude and forgotten ores of the Aurbis - you must hear this ultimate lesson.\nTamriel Final shall change you in ways both grand and terrifying. Anuvanna'si. Just as molten brass cools in its mold, so too will your body take on a new and hardened shape. Just as water changes from liquid to steam, so too will the cheap preoccupations of your mind disperse and fade. Just as oil ignites and powers the engine, so too will your soul glow bright and drive the Wheels Eternal. The unity of Tamriel Final must wash away our selfish pursuits and jealous will, ash-child. Anuvanna'si. In the glorious Nirn-Ensuing, we must exorcise that grinning apparition we call \"I.\" Only then can we know the sublime truth of the Mainspring Ever-Wound. We must walk change's road if we seek the end of disorder - and like all roads worth walking, it fills our hearts with joy and terror.\nHow like the et'Ada gears we are - content to live our lives in vain and sequestered sorrow, all the while oblivious to the anguished cries of our fractured souls!\u00a0 Look upon the lonely shore of Nirn. What do you see, with your broken eyes? One beach? One sea? Deceit and vanity! The Named illusion! For what is a \"beach\" if not a desperate agglomeration of isolated grains? What is a \"sea\" if not a churning mass of solitary tears? Separate! Broken! Arrogant and futile!\nEven after meditating upon these sermons, there are some among you who cling to the Nirn-Prior. You fear the loss of your thin and impoverished \"self.\" You must cast aside these childish fears! What good is a \"self\" if it burns away at the threshold of what waits beyond time? Do you not see that the Father of Mysteries seeks to usher our world through the End? To protect us from the lies-made-flesh who seek to destroy us? If you remember only one thing, let it be this: our blessed Clockwork God loves you with a fierce and awesome heart. What he does, he does for you and for all who would follow his divine example.\nLasting joy. The peace of unity. The sublime satisfaction of perfect rhythm; these are the product of our honest labors - the spokes of our blessed wheel that spins eternal. The Mainspring Ever-Wound offers perfection, child of Seht. You have but to gaze within. Stoke your coals. Add fresh water to your boilers. Tighten your bolts, and believe. Tamriel Final awaits. Anuvanna'si.\nBy the word, I wind the gears."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/truth-hunter-pt-1": {"series": "The Truth of the Hunter", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/truth-hunter-pt-1", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Truth of the Hunter, Pt. 1", "description": "A tale of a hunter", "text": "Selliel slowly moved through the open grove, keeping her head low in the tall grass. The grove reminded her of the time she'd spent climbing the bluffs in Malabal Tor\u2014it was impossible to see open sky in parts of that jungle. Those who dreamed of the moons and the stars could only find refuge atop the highest bluffs.\nShe spotted the buck at the edge of the grove. It was grazing on figs and berries. It had the tallest rack of antlers she'd ever seen.\nSelliel readied an arrow. Bow drawn, arrow nocked. She stilled her breath and let loose at the count of three. Then she loosed the arrow.\nThe buck startled. The arrow hissed through the air, slicing the tallest blades of grass. The buck bolted. The arrow struck the tree behind where it once grazed.\nSelliel rushed into the woods. She lost sight of her prey, but kept her nostrils flared. She caught a pungent scent from a nearby cliff face.\nSelliel made her way to the cliff and began to climb."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/truth-hunter-pt-2": {"series": "The Truth of the Hunter", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/truth-hunter-pt-2", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Truth of the Hunter, Pt. 2", "description": "A tale of a hunter", "text": "Selliel's hands moved cautiously from rock to rock. She knew she had to find the buck quickly. Once at the top, she could spot her prey and cut off its escape.\nShe grabbed at a root, hoisting herself to the next outcropping, but it gave way under her weight. As she fell, Selliel grabbed her hunting knife and thrust it into the earth wall.\nThe knife slowed her descent, but not enough. She slammed hard against a protruding rock, then half-bounced, half-slid into a small crevice cut into the cliffside. Stunned, Selliel smeared bloody hands against her breeches. Too much time had passed. The buck was certainly lost to her.\nSelliel growled and spat upon the stone. Cautiously she regained her footing and once more began to climb. Handhold to handhold she went, always looking to the sky. Her path up the cliff face was soon marked with bloody handprints.\nShe finally crested the cliff and collapsed, gasping for breath. A quiet, bitter laugh escaped her as she rolled onto her side. Then she noticed the pair of yellow eyes in the brush, not twenty paces away.\n\tSelliel sat up, never looking away from the wolf. It growled and lunged. She leapt aside and slashed with her knife, roaring in defiance. She would be no easy prey.\nThe wolf spun and bared its teeth, but hesitated. Selliel did not. She threw her knife. The blade slammed between the wolf's eyes. It fell lifeless to the ground.\nSelliel breathed. She pulled her knife from the wolf and looked to the forest, seeking any sign of her prey. Movement, to the east. Antlers. She could still catch it.\nShe rushed into the forest."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/truth-hunter-pt-3": {"series": "The Truth of the Hunter", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/truth-hunter-pt-3", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Truth of the Hunter, Pt. 3", "description": "A tale of a hunter", "text": "Selliel kept low as she moved through the forest. She watched for signs of the buck she sought as prey. Did minutes pass, or hours? She did not know. Soon, there was only the chase.\nIt was only when Selliel stumbled across the stream that she realized how weary she was. Her earlier skirmish with the lone wolf had taken more from her than she thought. She dipped her hands into the cool water and began to drink. She closed her eyes for a moment.\nAfter a few long sips she opened her eyes once more. The buck she had stalked for hours stood five paces away, drinking from the very same stream. Selliel froze.\n\tThe buck seemed to stare at Selliel for a moment. Then it reared into the air and slammed its hooves into the ground.\nSelliel leapt back. Bow drawn, arrow nocked. The buck reared again. Selliel stilled her breath. It towered over her, its eyes locked on hers. Selliel counted one, two, three\u2014\nThe buck lowered its hooves and turned its body. Selliel saw the three tiny does behind him. She froze. Then the buck walked calmly toward her and nudged the bow away.\nSelliel hesitantly put her hand out. The buck licked her palm gently. Then it snorted and walked back to the forest. The does followed the buck. Selliel did not.\n*****\n\tShe returned to the cliff top. The wolf was where she had left it, untouched by scavengers. She skinned it, harvested its meat, and stuffed it into her pack. Then she began the long walk home."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/voyages-il-am-hakim-vol-3": {"series": "The Voyages of Il-Am-Hakim", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/voyages-il-am-hakim-vol-3", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Voyages of Il-Am-Hakim, vol. 3", "description": "The incomplete adventures of a pirate", "text": "Defying the evil spirits of contrary winds, the gallant Il-Am-Hakim directed his vessel through to the deserted isle. The crew lay half dead from sun-sickness, having exhausted their supplies more than a fortnight before. Il-Am-Hakim looked to the officer at his right hand, who anxiously searched the shore for some sign of habitation.\n\"None to be seen,\" she announced, both relieved and disappointed.\n\"Strike the bells, then. Rouse those who still can stand.\" To be crippled and unmanned would mean the end of their voyage. He would return with their cargo, or he would return not at all.\nSoon, all had left the bare decks and fled to the open shores of the island. The trees yielded fruit, and the men, drunk from those heady sugars, fell into a stupor not unlike death.\nIl-Am-Hakim took no comfort in the rich nectars as he kept watch over his vessel. The very air shivered with anticipation.\n\"Sir, you must rest.\" A hand fell on his spyglass, drawing it away. He nodded, and took to a pauper's bed in the sand. But a moment after his eyes closed, he heard the familiar sound of oars upon the waves.\n\"We are set upon!\" he cried, drawing his sword from its sheath. All eyes turned toward him, the midday sun signaling a new day. The sand coursed out of his beard like so much water.\n\"I thought it best not to wake you.\" The officer looked away, unwilling to allow him to see her smirk. That did not stop the workers rowing back provisions from a starting a raucous din. Il-Am-Hakim could not begrudge them that."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/voyages-il-am-hakim-vol-7": {"series": "The Voyages of Il-Am-Hakim", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/voyages-il-am-hakim-vol-7", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Voyages of Il-Am-Hakim, vol. 7", "description": "The incomplete adventures of a pirate", "text": "The Gallant Il-Am-Hakim stood upon the breast of his ship, a new covenant in one hand and his spyglass in another. The sea spat saltspray, but he only smiled in return.\n\"Shall we beat to quarters, sir?\" He nodded, and stepped down from his vantage point. His prize would not escape him this time.\nAllowing a moment of weakness, he slipped into his cabin to confront his prisoner. Though she seemed nothing but a delicate flower, he knew her words to be poison.\nHe cleared his throat. \"Madam, do you hear the drums? We have found your brother, and he will soon pay for his crimes.\"\nThe Dark Elf raised her head from her hands. \"You think this concerns me? You are a fool.\" Her face, streaked with salt, turned away from Il-Am-Hakim. \"My brother would see me dead for my betrayal. His death means my freedom.\"\nThe captain frowned at her remarks. He could not help but wonder if this was the way of royalty from other lands as well as his own. Would his patron think of him as disdainfully, when his ship next set port?\nHe turned on his heel and shut the cabin door behind him. But not before he saw the glint of sharpened steel from the Dark Elf's hand."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/whisperers-song-verse-1": {"series": "The Whisperer's Song", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/whisperers-song-verse-1", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Whisperer's Song, Verse 1", "description": "", "text": "Do you fear me, dear intruder?\n\tWill you listen when I speak?\n\tDo you want to hear my story?\n\tKnow the terror that I wreak?\n\tFollow silken webs through darkness,\n\tand you'll find just what you seek."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/whisperers-song-verse-2": {"series": "The Whisperer's Song", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/whisperers-song-verse-2", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Whisperer's Song, Verse 2", "description": "", "text": "For moons and more\n\tthe words I bore\n\twere whispering to the meek.\n\tTheir hearts and minds\n\tbecame all mine,\n\tsurrendered without a squeak!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/whisperers-song-verse-3": {"series": "The Whisperer's Song", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/whisperers-song-verse-3", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Whisperer's Song, Verse 3", "description": "", "text": "\"But why?\" they cry, inside their minds,\n\tunable to even speak.\n\tI mock their woe, for those who know,\n\thave perished, deranged and weak!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tips-khajiit-summerset-v-1": {"series": "Tips for a Khajiit in Summerset", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tips-khajiit-summerset-v-1", "author": "Bezumi", "title": "Tips for a Khajiit in Summerset V. 1", "description": "Advice for winning over the High Elves, including a history lesson on the Thrassian Plauge", "text": "By Bezumi, Khajiiti Ambassador to Summerset\nThe High Elves are a particularly proud people, this we know. Their eyes always seem to hold a look of disgust, as if we are a flea upon their bottom. Normally quick words and quicker claws answer such insults, but we have come upon their land now. Walker, we are outnumbered and overpowered here upon the shores of Summerset. It's time to adapt.\nA clever tongue will not do you as much good here as it did in our homeland. These High Elves, well, they hold no laughter in their belly. They ignore their guts and think only with their heads. Foolish, of course, but you can no more change the mind of a High Elf than the turn of the tide. Let us then be the cunning ones, as we always have.\nWe shall start with history. A High Elf expects that a Khajiit know nothing, and this one has found no greater delight than proving those jekosiits wrong. They will think us ignorant of even the most basic knowledge. We shall disappoint them then, yes?\nThe Thrassian Plague seems but a faded scar next to the still bleeding cut of the Knahaten Flu, but it holds a deep importance to the mer of Summerset. Bezumi thinks this has much to do with the involvement of their god-ancestor Syrabane, also known as the Warlock's God. A mage so powerful that he ascended into godhood, well, is that not the High Elf ideal?\nThe Thrassian Plague was not a natural illness, but rather the work of a vile race known as the Sload. Fat, slow, repugnant, the Sload worked dark magic upon the sea to push this sickness upon much of Tamriel. It spread quickly and fiercely, destroying towns, cities, entire civilizations. But as with most great tragedies, heroes began to emerge. Syrabane is just the one most honored by the High Elves.\nThough Syrabane was known to be an archmage of great power, he did not work his magic alone, for he possessed a most powerful enchanted ring. With this, he was able to save countless lives from the plague. Many say that it was he alone who stopped this devastating illness from engulfing all of Tamriel. Often Bezumi feels that the archmage is more revered for the power of such a feat, rather than his compassion for those he saved, but she holds her tongue with that one.\nArchmage Syrabane did not stop there, of course. He joined forces with the Colovian King of Anvil, Baron-Admiral Bendu Olo, and went to stop the plague at its source. Together they banded together the All Flags Navy, composed of ships filled with not only mer but also Colovians, Redguards, Bretons, and even Argonians. These races put aside their differences and sacrificed many in their assault of Thras, the homeland of the Sload. And amazingly, despite heavy losses, they won. They sank the Coral Kingdoms, and put the Sload into their rightful place deep beneath the waves.\nI find this story particularly useful for a few reasons. I have mentioned before, we must put a swift end to the misconception that we Khajiit are a race ignorant of our allies. Indeed, I hope to publish several more journals on the history and culture of the High Elves. But that is not the only reason. Bezumi chose to start her collection with this particular history because it shows the importance of allies. Of us.\nWithout the military might each race brought to that battle, the victory of the All Flags Navy would have been impossible. Yes, Syrabane was a powerful mage with a useful ring, but he could not have won that fight alone. He had to rely on many others to accomplish such a victory.\nWhen a High Elf turns up his nose as you start to speak? When a mother pulls her child close as you walk by? Remember what Bezumi has told you, walker. Remind them that this is not the first time that the all-mighty Summerset was in need of friends. Remind them that they need us, just as much as we need them."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/khajiit-summerset-v-2": {"series": "Tips for a Khajiit in Summerset", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/khajiit-summerset-v-2", "author": "Bezumi", "title": "A Khajiit in Summerset V. 2", "description": "Advice for winning over the High Elves, including a history lesson on the Thrassian Plauge", "text": "By Bezumi, Khajiiti Ambassador to Summerset\nThis one need not tell you of High Elf pride and vanity. We have all seen it, no? The disdain in their eyes, shining as bright as a counterfeit coin. You have heard the condescension that drips from their tongue like honeyed venom. Our tall allies think so little of us Khajiit. Time to prove them wrong, walker. Let us beat them at their own game.\nIf you have read my first volume of this series, you'll already have a good idea of the importance that High Elves place on their history. We know this, yes, but even this pride tends to pale next to the vanity the mer hold for their familial past. Most know the name, occupation, and supposed greatness of their ancestors dating back centuries. And they will be most keen to tell you of them, this one assures you of that.\nFamily is everything to the High Elves, but do not take that to be sentiment. It is chains that they bind themselves with, a title that is set in stone. Only great feats can elevate them, and so they crave each day for that moment of their apotheosis. Many choose to prove themselves through arcane feats, as magic runs strong and often within their veins. Others throw themselves within their art, hoping to paint a masterpiece of produce a melody glorious enough to rise their status.\nYes, the High Elves create great walls before themselves. Climb, they say! But the way is often hard. Never have I seen such malice as that between fellow artists here in Summerset. I've met thieves and assassins with more curtesy towards their rivals! The mages look down upon all, but quickly grow envious of their peers' power. Even among each other, the High Elves seek to look from above.\nThey care not for you, walker, nor your family. To them, we have but one title. Khajiit. And thus we are lower, and thus we are useful only to be used. This we know. To elevate yourself in the eyes of a High Elf, well, it is not an easy feat. You must prove your worth, again and again. Exhausting work for even the most diligent, but still, we must try.\nBezumi has found many High Elves to be irresistible to challenges of skill. Dangle a chance to prove themselves better, and always they will bite. We know though, the honor that a cunning win still brings. Always make sure to stock the odds within your favor, yes?\nWinning a challenge against a High Elf has always proven to have ... mixed results. Some will demand a rematch, so wounded is their pride. Others will throw a most vivid tantrum and storm off, declaring you a cheat. But there will be an honorable few who shall bow their head and concede defeat. Within them will alight a small flame of respect. Let us fan those flames.\nDespite this one's advice and encouragement, she knows that not every High Elf can be won over. Many have become blind and deaf to all but their own opinion. Do not let them dishearten you, walker. Do not let them win. Let them come at us with their venom, with their ignorance. We must be the ones to change, yes, but into something better. Into something greater."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tribes-murkmire-black-tongues": {"series": "Tribes of Murkmire", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tribes-murkmire-black-tongues", "author": "Emmanubeth Hurrent", "title": "Tribes of Murkmire: Black-Tongues", "description": "An ethnographer's overview of some of the tribes of Argonia's interior", "text": "Today we came across an unusual sight, a mound of empty flasks set against the base of a phossa tree. Our guide explained, \"The Black-Tongues have tapped this tree.\" He then went on to explain that the \"Kota-Vimleel,\" or the \"Black-Tongues,\" is another one of the many tribes of Argonians living in the Murkmire region of Black Marsh. Unlike the belligerent Tum-Tahleel or the eerie Veeskhleel, the Black Tongues tend to be polite and soft-spoken\u2014under the right circumstances. If caught off-guard, however, they react uniformly hostile and have been known to kill those trespassing upon their territory without hesitation or mercy. Accomplished alchemists, they often leave flasks and other alchemical tools out in the open as a warning to outsiders marking their territory.\nThe Black-Tongues are ardent Sithis worshippers. As such, they dedicate almost all their resources to producing as many Shadowscales as possible. What is a Shadowscale, you ask? I wish I knew. Most locals simply refuse to discuss the very notion with outsiders. Argonian commoners revere them with what appears to be a combination of awe and terror, and even mentioning the name out loud seems to be a cultural taboo. A few of the less-superstitious Argonians I've met did share a few facts with, however.\nApparently, the Shadowscales are members of a bizarre monastic order of highly trained assassins. Any Argonian born under the sign of the Shadow is given to the order and raised as one of these mysterious murderers. I was aghast. \"Surely it's just the hostile tribes that follow this barbaric practice?\" I asked. But no. This appears to be a completely ubiquitous practice. Even the amiable Bright-Throats and wise Miredancers participate in this tradition.\nThe Black-Tongues take the obligation very seriously, however. They use their encyclopedic knowledge of swamp vegetation and wildlife to craft a powerful contraceptive called \"Gloom Nectar.\" Drinking the potion allows the tribe to synchronize their egg-laying cycle, thus guaranteeing a huge crop of new Argonians born under the Shadow sign every year.\nTheir alchemical prowess serves the Shadow-born well in their future professions as assassins. Black-Tongues are known to craft some of the deadliest potions in all of Tamriel. Even the Gloom Nectar will kill\u2014if ingested by non-Argonians. And this is just more proof that almost anything found in Black Marsh will kill you under the right circumstances.\nWhile I would love to meet one of the Kota-Vimleel in person and find out more about their alchemical skills and their ties to the mysterious Shadowscales, lingering in their territory without an invitation is not a wise practice. I'd just as soon not have Viper's Bite slipped into my morning tea."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tribes-murkmire-bright-throats": {"series": "Tribes of Murkmire", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tribes-murkmire-bright-throats", "author": "Emmanubeth Hurrent", "title": "Tribes of Murkmire: Bright-Throats", "description": "An ethnographer's overview of some of the tribes of Argonia's interior", "text": "A few months ago, I asked a Miredancer elder how many tribes resided in the swamps of Black Marsh. He sat quietly for a long time (as Argonians often do) then pointed behind me. I looked back to see hundreds of torchbugs flitting between the cypress trees, piercing the gloom with flares of green and yellow light. \"As many as the lights,\" he said.\nI could scarcely believe such a claim. Argonians are prone to hyperbole, so I dismissed the elder's proclamation as exaggeration. After spending more time among the natives, however, I'm starting to believe that the elder's count might be closer to accurate than I originally estimated. I have discovered at least twelve distinct tribal groups in Murkmire alone, and I'm convinced that scores more exist. Many of the local tribes are hostile, so direct contact with them is next to impossible. But I've seen far too much evidence of their existence to write them off as myth or legend. These journals will serve as a record of my discoveries as I explore the wilds of Murkmire. I shall begin with the tribe most outsiders meet first.\nMost outsiders who spend any time in Gideon will likely interact with several of the border tribes. The most noteworthy, however, are the \"Wasseek-haleel,\" or \"Bright-Throats.\" By and large, the tribe is composed of cheerful artisans who have enjoyed a fruitful relationship with both outsiders and deep-swamp Argonians. The Bright-Throats are famous for their rich music and dance tradition, as well as their preternatural talent as woodcarvers. While they make countless items, including musical instruments, kitchenware, armor, and weapons, they are most respected for their \"xeech'kis,\" or \"seed dolls.\" These figurines vary in size\u2014sometimes as large as a Orc's fist, sometimes as small as a single grain of rice. They almost always depict local animals, but they also carve the seed dolls to resemble eggs or tiny Argonians.\nSeed dolls are highly sought after\u2014both as protective talismans and works of native art. Cheap imitations are regularly produced by rival border tribes, but a genuine xeech-ki is easy to identify after handling the genuine article. I have purchased several in my time here. My favorite is a small turtle with amber inlays. The carver told me that the turtle is a powerful but unruly totem. I never thought of turtles as particularly unruly, but the locals would know, I suppose. I plan to purchase several more before returning to Bangkorai and eventually to my home in Wayrest."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tribes-murkmire-ghost-people": {"series": "Tribes of Murkmire", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tribes-murkmire-ghost-people", "author": "Emmanubeth Hurrent", "title": "Tribes of Murkmire: Ghost People", "description": "An ethnographer's overview of some of the tribes of Argonia's interior", "text": "I write these words by candlelight. My entourage was on its way to Stormhold when our guide suddenly ordered us to stop. Apparently we strayed too close to \"Veeskhleel-Tzel,\" the home of the so-called \"Ghost People.\" Who or what are the Ghost People? Well, it took a lot of interviewing and questioning, and I had to trade more of my possessions than I would have hoped, but I finally got an answer. The Ghost People are a local tribe of Nagas, and they appear to have a rather horrid reputation, as far as I can tell. I've never actually seen a Naga, mind you, so my knowledge is fairly limited. I can, however, relate the stories I've gathered from local Argonians who were willing to talk about these strange creatures.\nApparently, the Naga are an offshoot of the \"Saxhleel\" (this is what the Argonians actually call themselves!). They are regarded as distant cousins at best, or abominations at worst, depending on who you talk to. Descriptions vary considerably. Some say that that Nagas resemble serpents, while others describe them as frog-like humanoids of varying shapes and sizes. One of our guides even compared them to cuddlefish. They tend to be taller and leaner than most Argonians, from what I could ascertain. And some supposedly stand a head above the tallest High Elf, or so I have heard it claimed! This could all be more of the typical Argonian exaggeration, though.\nSo, what does this all have to do with the Ghost People? Well, from what I could piece together, the Veeskhleel are unique among the Nagas in that their flesh is pale to the point of almost translucence. It sounds profoundly disturbing, but I really wish to see one of these Ghost People now!\nAfter all was said and done, here's what I learned about the Veeskhleel. The Ghost People are a reclusive and mysterious group that prefer to dwell in the bleakest and most forbidding bogs of Murkmire. They have a sour reputation as \"dead stealers\" and kidnappers. I asked our guide why anyone would want to steal corpses. His accent was very thick, so I only caught the gist of his explanation. Apparently, his tribe reveres the dead as vessels to the next incarnation of life. The Ghost People, on the other hand, use these stolen bodies as fertilizer for their Hists\u2014thus robbing the afflicted tribe of the return of a future family member.\nThe Ghost People's fascination with corpses has also spawned widespread rumors about the Naga tribe. In particular, they are accused of being practitioners of necromancy and other dark magicks. While I haven't seen any zombies in the marsh yet, I have no trouble imagining them rising out of the shallow water, covered in mud and ready to do some dark sorcerer's bidding. Now I'm anxious to leave this part of the swamp. It has an ill look to it. We should be setting out early tomorrow morning\u2014hopefully without meeting any zombies\u2014or Ghost People."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tribes-murkmire-miredancers": {"series": "Tribes of Murkmire", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tribes-murkmire-miredancers", "author": "Emmanubeth Hurrent", "title": "Tribes of Murkmire: Miredancers", "description": "An ethnographer's overview of some of the tribes of Argonia's interior", "text": "I've had the privilege to speak to two different Miredancer elders now, and I've learned a great deal from both of these conversations. The \"Gee-Rusleel,\" as they call themselves, are among the most introspective Argonians I've met in my travels. They also tend to be the most pleasant. For all their reclusiveness and wariness, I've never met a people more willing to share a meal or a game of Shells and Stones. They are skilled crafters, with a particular knack for working with Hist amber and egg shells. They are also peerless navigators, guiding their flat-bottom boats effortlessly through the swamp, master weavers, and skilled cartographers.\nThe most defining characteristic of the Miredancer tribe, however, is piety. This deep reverence for the Hist has earned them the right to name a \"Sap-Speaker\" for countless generations.\nAccording to the elders I spoke with, the Sap-Speaker is the Hist's direct intermediary. (This is, of course, subject to debate. Many tribes boast unique methods of communion with the Hist. But as far as I have seen, the Miredancers make the most compelling case for the methods they use.) Sap-Speakers often go into seclusion for days or even weeks on end, venturing either down into the roots or high into the canopy of leaves in the uppermost branches. Here, they commune with the Hist. Indeed, the word that one of the elders used was \"journey.\"\nThese journeys into the Hist tax the Sap-Speakers, but are thoroughly private affairs. After days by themselves, the Sap-Speakers emerge to hide away with old books, scrolls, and tablets. I asked after the purpose of these periods of seclusion, and this is what the elders told me. \"The Sap-Speaker enters the embrace of the Hist to learn from the great tree,\" one elder said. \"While in close contact with the roots and branches, the Sap-Speaker receives visions and other forms of communication that neither you nor I would understand.\"\nThe other elder continued. \"Even the Sap-Speaker finds some of what is shown to be mystifying and confusing. I have heard that a Sap-Speaker is treated to ancient metaphors, arcane secrets, and visions that make little sense to creatures so far removed from sap and pulp.\" Apparently, the second period of seclusion allows the Sap-Speaker time to reflect on what he or she was shown, as well as time to consult with the ancient writings of Sap-Speakers who came before. After a suitable period of study and reflection, the Sap-Speaker emerges to reveal the Hist's will to the tribe.\nI attempted to get more information about what happens while the Sap-Speaker meditates among the roots or branches, but I'm not sure the elders knew much more. They did tell me that the only nourishment the Sap-Speaker receives during these periods of seclusion is provided by the Hist itself in the form of sap, leaves, and the otherwise forbidden fruit of the tree.\nThere is a price to pay for the gift of Hist communion, however. Ingesting large quantities of Hist sap is a dangerous affair, even for Argonians. Sap-Speakers routinely suffer the effects of sap-poisoning, including \"gold tongue\" (permanent change of mouth pigmentation to a golden hue), unbidden hallucinations, \"bark-scale\" (thickening and darkening of surface scales), and other maladies they were reticent to talk about. The current Sap-Speaker, Thumarz, was in seclusion during my visit to the tribal village. I hope to meet him someday. If he's half as wise as the elders I interacted with, I'd no doubt learn a great deal from him.\nDespite their deeply religious nature, the Miredancers also seem to have an obsession with games of all types. They are particularly fond of the games Nine-Shells and Shells and Stones, as well as sports such as the popular \"teeba-hatsei\" (also known as \"hip and tail ball.\") In addition to lovingly explaining their own games, they wanted to know everything I could tell them about the games we play back in Wayrest. I must admit, their enthusiasm was quite infectious! And I found it highly amusing to watch them try to re-create Deceiver's Bones from the vague description I provided.\nThe Miredancers are also inveterate gamblers, but they often forget to collect their winnings. Unlike the games of men and mer, Miredancer competitions appear to be completely devoid of malice or injured pride. Victory and defeat seem more like afterthoughts than objectives, due in no small part to their phlegmatic disposition. As in most things, their focus is strictly on the moment\u2014the now. It pains me to leave their village, but I still have many more tribes to study. I doubt any of them will be as fascinating or as friendly as the Miredancers."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tribes-murkmire-root-house-people": {"series": "Tribes of Murkmire", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tribes-murkmire-root-house-people", "author": "Emmanubeth Hurrent", "title": "Tribes of Murkmire: Root-House People", "description": "An ethnographer's overview of some of the tribes of Argonia's interior", "text": "We had another close call today. Despite strenuous protests from our native guide, the expedition elected to cross the Keel-Sakka River by bridge. One of our guides (a bright-scaled Argonian named Reelus) urged us to ford the river farther downstream and avoid the bridge. (For the record, I argued in favor of this plan, as Reelus has never steered us wrong.) But there are many scholars in our group who are unaccustomed to hard work and hostile environments. We very nearly paid for their comfort with our lives.\nIt turns out that the bridge is \"owned\" by a tribe called the \"Tum-Taleel,\" or the \"Root House People\" in the common tongue. They are a belligerent and warlike people\u2014quick to anger and known throughout the swamp for their brutal and subjugating ways. They make a practice of attacking peaceful villages and killing or driving off the inhabitants. Then they settle into the now-vacant huts and exhaust all of the village's resources. Other Saxhleel often compare them to \"burglar crabs\"\u2014creatures that eat snails and smaller crabs, and afterwards move into the empty shells.\nSeveral members of the tribe appeared in front of our caravan as soon as we crossed onto the bridge. I knew we were in danger as soon as I saw them. The Tum-Taleel are significantly larger than other Argonians I've encountered, with broad shoulders, narrow eyes, and wide, powerful jaws. They wore nothing but loin cloths and war-paint, and they wielded huge wooden clubs bedecked in feathers and splattered with dry blood.\nReelus quickly stepped to the front of the caravan and began speaking in urgent croaks and hisses. I have no idea what she was saying, but the Tum-Taleel seemed to consider her words for a moment. The leader pointed at us and growled something in a low, rumbling voice. Reelus seemed disturbed by this and turned to face us.\n\"He wants the horses,\" she said.\nIt was very clear that we had no choice but to acquiesce. We cut the horses free of their tethers, four in all. The Root-House People took three of the horses, and led them off the road and into the swamp. The leader of the brigands led the fourth horse to the middle of the bridge, stepped back a few paces, and then brought down his club on the animal's skull with a sickening thud. The poor beast's head was pulped. I've never seen anything so ghastly! One of my compatriots retched over the side of the cart. Reelus wasted no time gathering the strongest of our party to push the carts to the end of the bridge. Luckily, the next village is only a half-day's push away. I think everyone will heed Reelus from now on."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tribes-murkmire-tribal-connections": {"series": "Tribes of Murkmire", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tribes-murkmire-tribal-connections", "author": "Emmanubeth Hurrent", "title": "Tribes of Murkmire: Tribal Connections", "description": "An ethnographer's overview of some of the tribes of Argonia's interior", "text": "While I have learned a tremendous amount about individual tribes, I feel that I'm still missing some crucial insights on inter-tribal relations. There is a bizarre kind of fraternity here that contradicts almost everything I've seen. Despite the violent raids, the dead-stealing, and the poaching, the Argonians still look upon one another as egg-brothers and egg-sisters. For example, just the other day I saw a family of Miredancers playing teeba-hatsei with a handful of Tum-Taleel raiders. This was only a few hours after a violent clash claimed the life of one of the Tum-Taleel. I've never seen the like. It's as though there's an enforced forgetfulness, or a culture of exceptional forgiveness that defines all inter-tribal relationships.\nAt least some of this fraternal behavior must be rooted in their shared racial narrative. The tribes of Black Marsh have had to set aside their differences on countless occasions to repel invaders from Morrowind and Cyrodiil. They also seem to understand how much they rely upon one another\u2014far better than most men or mer I've met. The Tum-Taleel recognize that they need other tribes to create homes and goods for them to steal. The Miredancers know that they need the Tum-Taleel to defend their borders and fend off the larger swamp predators. The Black-Tongues know that they need the Hee-Tepsleel to raise the crops they use in their alchemical brews. The Bright-Throats know that they need the Black-Tongues' Shadowscales to enforce \"swamp law\" upon crooked outsiders who disrupt honest trade. And on and on it goes.\nReligion also plays a role. I asked my friend, Eutei, how they could be so forgiving. He made specific reference to their nebulous belief in reincarnation.\n\"We are all people of the root,\" he explained. \"A Black-Tongue may become a Miredancer in the fullness of time\u2014and a Miredancer a Black-Tongue. Only the Hist knows such things. To hate each other is to hate ourselves. And what profits a Saxhleel to hate himself? Better to forget and move on.\"\nAfter some contemplation, I can't help but think that we could all use a little forgetfulness every now and again."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/triumphs-monarch-ch-3": {"series": "Triumphs of a Monarch", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/triumphs-monarch-ch-3", "author": "King Emeric", "title": "Triumphs of a Monarch, CH. 3", "description": "A self-congratulatory autobiography of Emeric, the King of Wayrest", "text": "For a dozen years after the Battle of Granden Tor, the kingdoms of High Rock were at peace, and the merchant ships of Wayrest, Daggerfall, and Sentinel traded near and far to all the ports of Tamriel. In my father's hall of business in Wayrest I learned of the tracking of shipments, the balancing of accounts, and the fluctuation of currencies, but Pierric of Cumberland knew the nature of the world, and he was not content to have his son learn only of the ways of peace and trade. Every morning I sparred with the Cumberland Master of Arms, and every afternoon the weather permitted I rode a warhorse, exercising with the Menevia Heavy Dragoons. It wasn't just practice: for two months every summer, I traveled as lieutenant of the mounted escort of the Evermore Caravan, and a half-dozen times we fought off hill bandits, Goblin raiders, and Reachman war bands.\nI was fortunate to have spent so much time with a hilt in my hand, for in 2E 541, when I was but twenty, Durcorach the Black Drake spread his wings in the Reach and mustered his feral tribesmen to war. Erupting from their mountain lairs like ants from a kicked anthill, the Reachmen howled down into Bangkorai, burning and looting. After only three days' siege, Evermore fell to this horde. The land was pillaged and its people massacred. Hallin's Stand held out longer, but eventually it was also overrun by the heathen swarm. Within days, they were across the Bjoulsae and bearing down upon Wayrest.\nThen all were grateful that King Gardner had built new walls and battlements around Wayrest, for the town had grown so that it had burst the bounds of the old walls. Throngs of people swarmed in from the countryside, and soon it seemed that all Menevia, Gavaudon, and Alcaire were within the city walls. But when the Reachman storm burst upon Wayrest, the crowded conditions seemed a small price to pay for protection from the fury of those Daedra-loving heathens.\nThus began the epic Siege of Wayrest, when for fifty-seven days and nights the Bretons of Stormhaven manned the walls and repulsed the savage assaults of our terrible opponents. The Reachmen, lacking siege engines, were unable to breach our new walls and take the city by storm, and lacking ships they were unable to blockade our harbor and reduce the city by starvation. Stalemate: was Durcorach's invasion of High Rock at an end?\nIndeed, no: your Reachman warrior, though fearless and fierce, is not as a rule very patient. The Black Drake left enough troops in the revetments around our walls to keep us bottled up inside and simply marched off west into Glenumbra. Taken by surprise, the newly-independent city-state of Camlorn fell and was sacked. And then Durcorach turned his eyes south, toward Daggerfall.\nFortunately, King Gardner heeded my advice to use our merchant ships as transports for the Heavy Dragoons. That was how I found myself at the head of the lances of Wayrest's finest as we charged into the rear of the Reachmen massed before Daggerfall's city gates. All Bretons know how the Black Drake's warriors were caught completely by surprise, how I smote Durcorach and tore down his Unholy Banner. They know of the sortie of the Knights of Daggerfall in which King Bergamot finished the work we'd begun, scattering the broken army of heathens like autumn leaves before a gale.\nOnly one fortnight after that I watched, head bowed, as the kings of Daggerfall, Camlorn, Shornhelm, Evermore, and Wayrest signed the first Daggerfall Covenant."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/triumphs-monarch-ch-6": {"series": "Triumphs of a Monarch", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/triumphs-monarch-ch-6", "author": "King Emeric", "title": "Triumphs of a Monarch, CH. 6", "description": "A self-congratulatory autobiography of Emeric, the King of Wayrest", "text": "Ever since my accession to the throne of Wayrest in that momentous year of 2E 563, the question of who should become my queen consort was ever on my\u2014and my advisors'\u2014minds. King Ranser of Shornhelm had a goodly daughter, Princess Rayelle, and her hand was offered to me by my brother of Shornhelm both early and often. Indeed, my mind was almost made up to accept the Princess of Shornhelm when, on a visit to Sentinel, my eyes first beheld the Princess Maraya, daughter of King Fahara'jad. From that moment, I swore that Wayrest would have no queen but Maraya. Of course, there was another unexpected benefit: as her dowry, she brought a trade agreement between our two states that resulted in great prosperity for all.\nKing Ranser, alas, was wroth that I had not accepted the hand of his daughter, and he withdrew his ambassador from the court of Wayrest. Although Ranser was invited to my wedding to Maraya in the spring of 566, like the other kings of the Covenant, he stayed, seething, in Shornhelm.\nI should perhaps have paid more attention to Ranser's choler, but I was so taken with my new bride and trade issues around the Iliac Bay that mountainous Shornhelm seemed distant and irrelevant. That mistake almost cost me my throne.\nFor over a year, Ranser had been quietly mustering his troops and emptying his treasury to hire mercenaries. In Last Seed of 2E 566, he led his army out of Shornhelm in a lightning strike to the south. Ranser had marched through Alcaire and Menevia almost before we were aware of his approach. The Shornhelm advance guard reached the gates of Wayrest while the local militias we had quickly mustered were still filing through them. This was a moment when history trembled upon a cusp: if the attacking Oldgate Lancers scattered our militia and took the gate, Wayrest could fall to her attackers within the hour.\nFortunately, I was personally present at the gate, along with my Cumberland Guard. Recognizing the gravity of the situation, I had my bannerman sound the charge. I led the gate guards and my household troops out against the Oldgate Lancers. My men wore full armor, and I, though unarmored, bore at my side the mighty Orichalc Scalpel, an enchanted broadsword of many virtues. The Scalpel, drawn for the first time in anger, flashed and hummed like a blade in a sawmill as we hurled ourselves upon the Lancers. Our enemies, who suddenly found themselves opposed by armored veterans rather than panicky irregulars, were further confounded by the sudden onset of a thunderstorm. Lashed by hail, their horses terrified by lightning, faced with the Orichalc Scalpel scything through their necks and limbs, the vaunted Oldgate Lancers hesitated, then broke and ran, pell-mell, from the gate.\nBy the time Ranser's main forces arrived on the scene, our troops were all within the walls. The gates were shut up tight, but the King of Shornhelm was undeterred. The city of Wayrest found itself once more under siege, and Ranser, with more craft and foresight than the Reachman Durcorach, had come with siege engines in his train.\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/triumphs-monarch-ch-10": {"series": "Triumphs of a Monarch", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/triumphs-monarch-ch-10", "author": "King Emeric", "title": "Triumphs of a Monarch, CH. 10", "description": "A self-congratulatory autobiography of Emeric, the King of Wayrest", "text": "And that, dear reader, is my story. You have read now of my carefree youth in Cumberland House, how my father Lord Pierric saw to my training in the crafts of trade, of war, and of state, of my first great victory over Durcorach at the gates of Daggerfall, and of the vast Orichalcum lode our family struck in the Cumberland Mine. You have heard of the tragic coming of the Knahaten Flu, how it took both my father and the entire royal family of Wayrest, leaving our kingdom leaderless in a time of chaos. You now know with what reluctance I was persuaded to assume the throne of Wayrest. You know of the Halo of Gold that outlined the Sun on the day of my coronation. That omen of approval by the Divines dispelled all my doubts and converted even my most envious rivals into heartfelt allies.\nYou have now learned the true history of Ranser's War, and how it led to the Second, or Greater, Daggerfall Covenant, embracing the Redguards of Hammerfell as well as the Orcs of Orsinium, who came to our aid in our hour of direst need. The free peoples of northwest Tamriel vowed to stand together against all threats, be they from within or without.\nWe were soon tested: in 2E 578 the Emperor Varen, with whom I had concluded a treaty, disappeared from the Imperial City, and Cyrodiil once again fell under the pall of the Daedric Cabal. In Varen's unexplained absence the \"Empress\" Clivia\u2014a descendant of the savage Reachmen\u2014assumed the Ruby Throne. Since then, the heart of the Empire has fallen into madness, murder, and decay. It is fortunate for our peoples\u2014indeed, for all the peoples of Tamriel\u2014that the true flame of the Empire of Man still burns in the Daggerfall Covenant. These are terrible times, but our destiny lies before us as straight and true as the Reman roads: we must march on Cyrodiil, overthrow the false empress and all her brood, and restore the Empire of Tamriel. Then once more peace and justice will rule the provinces, rather than blood and fire."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/valamuurs-notes-volume-i": {"series": "Valamuur's Notes", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/valamuurs-notes-volume-i", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Valamuur's Notes, Volume I", "description": "Notes on the literal growing of a town", "text": "7th Evening Star 2E 291\nArandore believes he's found a solution.\nIf this works, we won't have to build Root Sunder\u2014we can plant it, and direct its growth to our exact designs.\nIf this works, we'll have innovated the architectural technique of the Era."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/valamuurs-notes-volume-ii": {"series": "Valamuur's Notes", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/valamuurs-notes-volume-ii", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Valamuur's Notes, Volume II", "description": "Notes on the literal growing of a town", "text": "6th Morning Star 2E 292\nArandore was right!\nManipulating the stone is a matter of casting an appropriate Conjuration spell. Construction of the city can begin in earnest.\n8th Sun's Dawn\nThe wildlife in the jungle has grown nettled\u2014perhaps understandably so, due to the work. We'll need to move faster. The sooner we complete colonization of this region, the better."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/valamuurs-notes-volume-iii": {"series": "Valamuur's Notes", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/valamuurs-notes-volume-iii", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Valamuur's Notes, Volume III", "description": "Notes on the literal growing of a town", "text": "2nd First Seed 2E 292\nArandore disappeared this morning. He's been prone to nocturnal tirades, lately\u2014too much wine, I think\u2014but I don't begrudge him the drink. The jungle wildlife has grown decidedly unpleasant over time, going so far as to attack our builders. I hope Arandore is safe.\n7th Rain's Hand\nArandore is gone. More builders go missing with every passing week. Progress has slowed to a crawl. I'm the only conjurer left fit to work. Won't give up. For the sake of those vanished, I'll complete our work.\n8th Second Seed\nI'm all that's left of our venture, and I must be going mad. I could swear I saw Arandore this evening, standing amongst the vines. I called to him, if it was him, but he didn't seem to notice. I thought I saw him retreat to the lower chambers, among the first of Root Sunder that we built. There aren't any more attendants to send\u2014there isn't anyone left. I'll have to investigate on my own."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/vastaries-notes-page-4": {"series": "Vastarie's Notes", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/vastaries-notes-page-4", "author": "Vastarie", "title": "Vastarie's Notes - Page 4", "description": "Study of tablets meant to summon a Daedra", "text": "With the assistance of several apprentices, I was able to make a closer study of the wards surrounding the tablet. They are certainly a summoner's binding, but there is something else.\nWhere traditional summoning spells afford the caster complete control of the daedra subjected to them, the bindings of this particular enchantment appear to summon only.\nThey do not afford the caster protection from the daedra itself, nor do they compel the beast to obey commands.\nWhile it is unlikely any daedra affiliated with Azura would be outwardly violent to mortal summoners, they are fickle creatures.\nWe would be wise to take precautions if we are to summon it here.\n\u2014 Vastarie"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/vastaries-notes-0": {"series": "Vastarie's Notes", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/vastaries-notes-0", "author": "Vastarie", "title": "Vastarie's Notes", "description": "Study of tablets meant to summon a Daedra", "text": "Like many relics left by the Ayleidoon, the tablet's secrets are confused by illusory wards and laced with enough destructive cantrips to make even the slightest divination an exercise in mortal danger.\nEven so, with effort \u2014 and no small amount of magicka \u2014 I have managed a transcription:\n\"Epevoy an anyadena av <<1>>e pado an sunnand.\nCan an canomora racuvarima.\nArctane va ceye av <<1>>e.\nMalatu ye nemalatuis shauta ry relle asva relleis.\"\nUnfortunately, my understanding of Ayleid is limited to the books available to me. My translation is woefully incomplete:\n\"\u2014 the life-treaty of \u2014 before the blessed-stone.\nCall the Daedric herald who was \u2014.\nAccept the shadow of \u2014.\n\u2014 and not \u2014 come as water within many-waters.\"\nEven so, my efforts provide enough information to act upon. One word, '<<1>>e,' appears twice in the script.\nActing on a hunch, I cross-referenced it with a history of known daedra and their inclinations.\n'<<1>>,' one of the Winged Twilights, appears several times in service to Azura. If this is the same creature, it would appear the Ayleidoon had some manner of accord with the beast.\nIndeed, it appears likely the stone bears a ritual designed to summon it forth!\nI will act upon this knowledge at first light on the morrow.\n\u2014 Vastarie"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/veyas-private-thoughts-part-1": {"series": "Veya's Private Thoughts", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/veyas-private-thoughts-part-1", "author": "Veya", "title": "Veya's Private Thoughts, Part 1", "description": "Exiled from Morrowind, this former Morag Tong aspirant finds a new purpose with the Daedra", "text": "Leaving Morrowind\nFor the first time in my life, I'm alone. I've felt loneliness before, but what I feel now is a crushing weight that smothers me. It fills my every thought. Clouds my every judgment.\nShould I be angry? Sad? Relieved? I'm getting a new start. My mentor, Naryu, guaranteed that. I'm to report to a Khajiit who I am assured will look after me. Someone who will continue to train me, though in a very different way from the Morag Tong. My past will be wiped away.\nBut is this what I want? Another person to tell me what I can and cannot do? To forget where I came from and the pain I felt from my own family's actions? That's what made me who I am. What shapes me.\nCan I really forget all that and leave Morrowind behind me?"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/veyas-private-thoughts-part-2": {"series": "Veya's Private Thoughts", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/veyas-private-thoughts-part-2", "author": "Veya", "title": "Veya's Private Thoughts, Part 2", "description": "Exiled from Morrowind, this former Morag Tong aspirant finds a new purpose with the Daedra", "text": "At Sea\nWhen you're a passenger on a ship that must travel an immense distance, your boredom increases with each passing day. In a way, this boredom has allowed me to process my thoughts. To try to understand the events that transpired and how I now find myself heading to Summerset.\nBut what do I reflect on? Why, the circumstances that brought me to this point, of course. How my brother was taken from me. How my family and their damn honor were to blame. I avenged my brother, even though that meant taking the life of my father. My former master tried to help me. She spirited me out of Morrowind, put me on this ship to a distant, foreign land. Even if she refused to listen to my arguments and pleas to stay, her intentions were good. At least, I keep telling myself that. She had to lie to so many people\u2014her organization, her allies, and her loved ones\u2014all to ensure that I got out of there safely.\nCan I really forget that she tried to kill me, though? That she tried to stop me from doing the very thing that I had to do? Her and the other one. The one I thought was my friend. I'm still alive. I guess that's something.\nI know I did the right thing. And I'd kill my father again. It's this world. All the politics and pride. The pursuit of gold and power. It causes nothing but death, death, and more death. I'd do anything to put an end to it all."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/veyas-private-thoughts-part-3": {"series": "Veya's Private Thoughts", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/veyas-private-thoughts-part-3", "author": "Veya", "title": "Veya's Private Thoughts, Part 3", "description": "Exiled from Morrowind, this former Morag Tong aspirant finds a new purpose with the Daedra", "text": "A Voice in the Dark\nWe're nearing the end of our journey to Summerset, and I swear I'm going insane. It started when I noticed that some of the other passengers never strayed from the shadows. They kept to the lower levels and the darkest corners of the vessel. After I noticed them, they noticed me. They started talking to me. Telling me to listen to the darkness all around me. To hear the voice of the Mother of Shadows.\nI have half a mind to put my blade through their creepy hooded heads and dump their bodies into the ocean. At least I know I'd sleep better at night. Something has stayed my hand, though. Maybe they're starting to grow on me. Or I've been more lonely than I thought so that even creepy, crazy shadow crawlers are beginning to make good companions. I suppose they have their uses. But this new thing? A voice in the darkness? That's really starting to disturb me.\nNow, it's not like I'm actually hearing voices. Not exactly. But I do find myself talking to myself. And sometimes it feels like someone is listening to me. And, as weird as it is to write this down, sometimes that makes me feel better.\nMaybe I just miss my mother and I'm imagining that I'm talking to her. She was innocent in all of this. I wonder where she is now? I couldn't bear to face her after I killed my father. She had already been through so much, and I didn't want to see the pain my actions\u2014justified though they may have been\u2014had caused her.\n* * *\nNo, I'm not crazy. I've been having dreams. Dreams filled with talking crows and shadowy creatures. With towers stretching to the stars. These are dreams of darkness and change. Of a chance for a new world.\nWhen I read these words, it seems like I should be afraid, but I'm not. There's a comfort to it all, as strange as that sounds. I think it's the Lady of Shadows. She's kind to me. She listens to me when I speak to her in my dreams. She holds me when I cry. She comforts me.\nThis woman, she is more of a mother to me than my own mother ever was. And she's promised me we're going to fix the world so no one ever suffers again or loses someone they love."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/veyas-private-thoughts-part-4": {"series": "Veya's Private Thoughts", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/veyas-private-thoughts-part-4", "author": "Veya", "title": "Veya's Private Thoughts, Part 4", "description": "Exiled from Morrowind, this former Morag Tong aspirant finds a new purpose with the Daedra", "text": "Reaching Summerset\nI am reborn.\nMother has made it clear to me that the path I followed was not my own. That I'd be a slave to this world's rules and laws. That I'd be forced to walk the steps of another. I should be free, and free is what I shall become.\nFrom the darkness, a new dawn is about to break over this world. With the coming of this dawn, hatred, greed, and death will be wiped away. I am so ready for this to occur and I've never been more sure about the part I want to play.\nMother has offered me a position in the Court of Bedlam, a group dedicated to bring this new world into existence. But Mother's plans go well beyond even this prestigious group.\nMother has given me a new name. A new goal. Blood will be spilled. Lives will be lost. But in the end, the world itself shall change. No more pain. No more loss.\nNo longer am I daughter of House Redoran. Now I am a daughter of Nocturnal.\nMy name is Tundilwen, and I will burn the world so that a better one may rise from the ashes."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/vine-tongues-introduction": {"series": "Vine-Tongues", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/vine-tongues-introduction", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Vine-Tongues: Introduction", "description": "How to take care of these critters", "text": "So you want your own vine-tongue to tame and do your bidding? You have a tiny sprout and you need to know what to do next with your own little piece of shrubbery. Soon, with the help of my detailed instructions, you too will have a fully grown and tamed vine-tongue to bring joy into your life.\nWhile savages like the Argonians of Murkmire may use these wonderful plants for barbaric means, I've learned how to train them to be something so much more\u2014a true and faithful friend.\nSo follow my instructions, and remember, a vine-tongue isn't just part of your home. It's a part of your heart."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/vine-tongues-preparations": {"series": "Vine-Tongues", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/vine-tongues-preparations", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Vine-Tongues: Preparations", "description": "How to take care of these critters", "text": "When you're ready to bring a vine-tongue into your life, you must make sure that you're completely prepared. While these little vines of joy provide great happiness, they also demand lots of work and an extreme amount of patience!\nTalk to your partner, your friends, and your family. Let them know what to expect ahead of time. Tell them to expect late-night feedings, constant soil changing, and the occasional blood ritual so they won't be alarmed or perturbed by the strange schedule.\nSurprises can be fun, but the howling screams of a hungry vine-tongue breaking the silence of the middle of night can cause much consternation. So, prepare yourself, prepare your friends and family, and prepare your neighbors. A little inconvenience is a small price to pay for a lifetime of happiness!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/vine-tongues-happy-plants": {"series": "Vine-Tongues", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/vine-tongues-happy-plants", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Vine-Tongues: Happy Plants", "description": "How to take care of these critters", "text": "You have a vine-tongue sapling in a tiny pot, ready to install in your new home. Now what? Simple! Now you do everything in your power to make and keep your little plant happy!\nEach vine-tongue is as different as you and I, so some experimentation will be needed to ascertain the best approach to raising your little sapling. In general, you'll need a long rake, a watering can, and a broadsword\u2014they can get a little testy every now and again!\nWith these three basic tools, you can water your sapling, scratch its back, and make sure to dissuade them when they attempt to devour your neighbor's cat or the local children. Keep these tools on hand for the long and joyful years ahead for you and your vine-tongue!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/vine-tongues-nourishment": {"series": "Vine-Tongues", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/vine-tongues-nourishment", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Vine-Tongues: Nourishment", "description": "How to take care of these critters", "text": "Are you happy when you're hungry? I think not! The same can be said for your new friend, the vine-tongue. Now you're probably wondering, what exactly do you feed such an amazing and wondrous plant? Have no fear, I've got you covered!\nVine-tongues require water, of course. By the bucket load! A well-hydrated plant is a happy plant!\nWhile water is all well and good and necessary, vine-tongues also require more substantive fare. Meat, to be precise. Raw if necessary, alive and wiggling when at all possible.If it's squirming, it's worth serving, I always say.\nAs a sapling, feed your vine-tongue worms, insects, small fish, or even the occasional rodent or two. As the plant grows, increase the amount and size of the particular food your vine-tongue prefers to keep it healthy and to help it reach its full potential. But don't overfeed your vine-tongue! An overweight vine-tongue becomes moody, unhappy, and is prone to try to eat inappropriate things\u2014like household pets or its master's limbs."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/vine-tongues-happy-home": {"series": "Vine-Tongues", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/vine-tongues-happy-home", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Vine-Tongues: A Happy Home", "description": "How to take care of these critters", "text": "When you return home after a long and grueling journey, you want a nice warm bed and a hot meal. The same is true of your vine-tongue! Well, except for the hot meal. They prefer their food raw and somewhat wiggly. Your vine-tongue deserves the best, and it's your job to provide it for them.\nFor maximum comfort, your vine-tongue prefers a humid climate on a patch of soil surrounded by standing water. In addition, the area you designate as your vine-tongue's lair needs to appeal to wandering creatures. Once your beloved plant gets big enough, it will want to supplement the delicious diet you provide with prey that it catches on its own. Not only does this give your plant a sense of accomplishment, it helps keep your home free of vermin.\nDid you realize that vine-tongues make excellent sentries? Put them up high where they can observe their surroundings and admire the sights. If anyone tries to come near your property, your new friend will greet them appropriately. Just be sure to restrain your vine-tongue before friends and family come to visit in order to avoid any unfortunate misunderstandings."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/vine-tongues-common-mistakes": {"series": "Vine-Tongues", "game": ["TES: Online"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/vine-tongues-common-mistakes", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Vine-Tongues: Common Mistakes", "description": "How to take care of these critters", "text": "There's a lovable little vine-tongue sapling in your home. You know what to feed it, where it likes to live, and how best to keep it entertained. To avoid any mishaps and to reduce chaos in your life, here are three important lessons I learned while raising my own vine-tongues.\n1) Remove other household pets until you have fully trained your vine-tongue. Give them over into the care of friends or distant family so as not to find a hug or a cuddle turn into an inadvertent meal for your precocious little vine-tongue. While affectionate, vine-tongues also tend to be in a constant ravenous state. Take precautions and little Mixie will survive to purr another day!\n2) Ignore the naysayers. Many people will tell you that keeping a vine-tongue is dangerous. That carnivorous plants can't be trained or trusted. Balderdash, I say! Tamed vine-tongues are sweet and misunderstood. Yes, they can be dangerous, but so can eating lunch. It's possible to choke on your next bite of rabbit meatballs, but no one is going to tell you not to eat!\n3) Even when fully trained, you need to maintain dominance over your vine-tongue. These plants have a temper and can easily be offended, but if you show even a modicum of hesitation or fear, they might pounce and treat you like prey. They seek love and affection, so keep that in mind and everything will work out fine. I'm almost positive!"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/auriels-bow-0": {"series": "Artifact Dialog", "game": ["Arena"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/auriels-bow-0", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Auriel's Bow", "description": "A collection of dialog concerning the legendary artifacts of Tamriel", "text": "Description\nAuriel's Bow appears as a modest Elven Longbow, but it one of the mightiest weapons ever to exist in Tamriel's history. Allegedly created and used, like its sister Auriel's Shield, by the great Elvish demi-god, the Bow can turn any arrow into a missile of death and any wielder invulnerable to any lesser attacks. Without Auriel's power behind it, however, the bow uses its own store of energy for its power. Once exhausted of this energy, the bow will vanish and reappear where ever chance puts it. Its most recent appearances have been subject of gossip for hundreds of years.\nRumors\nAuriel's Bow is the news, young [race]. Ever heard of it? Well, there's a chap just [direction] of here who swears he knows exactly how to find it. He's asking for a bit more than the local [tavern name] boys are interested in paying. Maybe you could talk him down a bit, if you're interested in the ultimate bow in Tamriel.\nAnother of Auriel's artifacts has turned up, at least according to this gentleman over at the [tavern name], just [direction] of here. He says he knows who has the map to Auriel's Bow, which legend says never misses. If you have the sort of money he's looking for, you should pay a visit. But you better hurry over. I don't know if he'll be at the [tavern name] for long.\nNothing much going on I can think of. Unless you count that weird guy I saw here a few minutes ago, trying to sell me information on buying Auriel's Bow for more gold pieces than I care to spend on a rumor. I told him he might try the locals at the [tavern name], so headed off [direction]. If you're interested, you can find him there.\nFancy yourself a bit of an archer? My name's [Name] and I think I can help you find that Bow. In fact, I know I can, if you've got [amount] gold for my information. Only fair, right? Might sound like a lot, but you're getting exclusive knowledge about the wherebouts of one of the greatest lost artifacts of Tamriel. So we have an agreement, [race]?\nSomeone must've told you I'd be here, he says, his voice slurred with drink. Everyone in [province] knows if you want to find Auriel's Bow, [Name]'s the man you should talk to, and that's me. Maybe if someone else knew what I do, he'd try and get the bow himself or make himself rich, but, you know, my needs are modest. Everything I know about finding the bow can be bought for [amount] gold pieces. Interested?\nGood day to you. I'm [Name], at your service. I'm the fellow you should speak with if you're interested in Auriel's Bow. In the hands of an accomplished archer, as you no doubt are, the Bow could very well be the deadliest weapon in Tamriel. Perfect, don't you think? Anyhow, all I ask is [amount] gold to show you exactly how the bow may be yours. Sound good to you?\nTavern Encounters\n\"Fancy yourself a bit of an archer?\" The man in the next seat turn to you, unsmiling. \"My name's [Name] and I think I can help you find that Bow. In fact, I know I can, if you've got [amount] gold for my information. Only fair, right? Might sound like a lot, but you're getting exclusive knowledge about the wherebouts of one of the greatest lost artifacts of Tamriel. So we have an agreement, [race]?\"\nThe man behind you taps your shoulder the moment you mention Auriel's bow. \"Someone must've told you I'd be here,\" he says, his voice slurred with drink. \"Everyone in [province] knows if you want to find Auriel's Bow, [Name]'s the man you should talk to, and that's me. Maybe if someone else knew what I do, he'd try and get the bow himself or make himself rich, but, you know, my needs are modest. Everything I know about finding the bow can be bought for [amount] gold pieces. Interested?\"\n\"Good day to you,\" a man to your right greets you. \"I'm [Name], at your service. I'm the fellow you should speak with if you're interested in Auriel's Bow. In the hands of an accomplished archer, as you no doubt are, the Bow could very well be the deadliest weapon in Tamriel. Perfect, don't you think? Anyhow, all I ask is [amount] gold to show you exactly how the bow may be yours. Sound good to you?\"\nLocation\n\"Yeah, okay, that works for me. So listen up, %pcf. You might've heard tales about Auriel's Bow, famed by all archers as the most powerful bow to ever exist. You're going to have to voyage to Valenwood, and find the map that leads to this Elven artifact. I have gleaned the information on its whereabouts from an ancient text given to me by the Elven Lord Alendis. The place is called the [dungeon name], and I will inscribe it onto your map of the continent. If you can find the map, it should point out where Auriel's Bow has resurfaced...\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/auriels-shield-0": {"series": "Artifact Dialog", "game": ["Arena"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/auriels-shield-0", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Auriel's Shield", "description": "A collection of dialog concerning the legendary artifacts of Tamriel", "text": "Description\nAuriel's Shield, an Ebony shield said to have once belonged to the quasi-mythical Elvish deity Auriel, can make its wielder nigh invulnerable. In its resistance to fire and magick, Auriel's Shield is unsurpassed. To defend its wielder from any attacks it cannot absorb, the Shield lends him or her health. Like many artifacts of Tamriel, the Shield has life and personality of its own, and does not feel bound to its user. A popular fable tells the tale of it abandoning one wielder in her greatest hour of need, but this is perhaps, apocryphal.\nRumors\nWere you ever told stories about Auriel when you were a little [race]? There's this guy [direction] of here at the [tavern name] who says he knows how to get Auriel's Shield, which apparently gives you some of Auriel's powers to resist spells and heal. He wants a few hundred gold pieces more than I have for his information, but if you have the money, you really shouldn't pass up this opportunity.\nJust between the two of us, I know how to get Auriel's Shield. Actually, I know how to get to the guy who can sell you information about where to go to find the map to find the shield, if you follow me. He's a little [direction] of here, in a tavern called the [tavern name]. Tell him I sent you, and bring plenty of gold. He's not giving his information away.\nSomebody ought to open up an Auriel Shoppe for tourists, he'd make a million. Now there's some chap [direction] of here who says for a couple hundred gold, he'll tell you how to find the map to the new locale of Auriel's Shield. If he's honest, it's the find of the year. If not, he's just one more con man in the [tavern name]. I wouldn't risk it.\n#0226 You don't look like a museum curator. You must have a practical interest in Auriel's Shield. My name is [Name], if you want to know. You probably know the story of how Cormelik made a map of all of his expeditions to the Shield, right? Well, I know where one of his maps is, and so can you for a mere [amount] gold pieces. Do we have a deal?\nYou're an ambitious [race], ain't you? I like that. You can call me [Name]. I was one of Cormelik's followers years ago, when he was tracking all of the returning points of Auriel's Shield, and I know where he put one of his maps. I'd go get it myself and sell it, but then I'd be asking a lot more than [amount] gold pieces. Surely you can afford that much to recover Auriel's Shield?\nI overheard you mention Auriel's Shield, [race]. If you're serious, I should introduce myself, [Name], former follower of Cormelik the Elder, the man who prophesized all the Shield's returning points. You've heard he was unable to enter the true place himself, mighty a warrior as he was? So do not think it is enough to get the map I know of. In addition, I need [amount] gold to justify telling you how to find the map itself. Do we understand one another?\nTavern Encounters\n\"You don't look like a museum curator,\" says the man next to you. \"You must have a practical interest in Auriel's Shield. My name is [Name], if you want to know. You probably know the story of how Cormelik made a map of all of his expeditions to the Shield, right? Well, I know where one of his maps is, and so can you for a mere [amount] gold pieces. Do we have a deal?\"\n\"You're an ambitious [race], ain't you?\" says a voice behind you. You turn to see a figure, his thick [province] accent low and conspiratorial. \"I like that. You can call me [Name]: I was one of Cormelik's followers years ago, when he was tracking all of the returning points of Auriel's Shield, and I know where he put one of his maps. I'd go get it myself and sell it, but then I'd be asking a lot more than [amount] gold pieces. Surely you can afford that much to recover Auriel's Shield?\"\nA shady-looking character leaves his table and joins you at the bar. \"I overheard you mention Auriel's Shield, [race]. If you're serious, I should introduce myself, [Name], former follower of Cormelik the Elder, the man who prophesized all the Shield's returning points. You've heard he was unable to enter the true place himself, mighty a warrior as he was? So do not think it is enough to get the map I know of. In addition, I need [amount] gold to justify telling you how to find the map itself. Do we understand one another?\"\nLocation\n\"Ah, I hope you know what fortune you've found today. It is in the nature of people not to know how lucky they are. Take the case of a small group of acolytes who journeyed across the province of High Rock. They stumbled upon a cave that seemed to lead to deeper, darker depths. One of them read an inscription in the entracne which indicated this place as the new resting place for a map to Auriel's Shield. Imagine still their greater surprise when they told me, hoping that as a follower of Cormelik the Elder, I could answer their neophytical questions. I answered them indeed. Their blood now adornes this city's sewers, as does their silence. I have no need of something such as this Shield, said to be able to protect the user from any attack. You have provided me with the money I require for arcane activities. Still, a deal is a deal. The cave is called the [dungeon name]. Here, I have inscribed it onto your map of the continent. Within its depths should be the map that will lead you to Auriel's Shield. I wish you well on your journey...\"\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/chrysamere": {"series": "Artifact Dialog", "game": ["Arena"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/chrysamere", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Chrysamere", "description": "A collection of dialog concerning the legendary artifacts of Tamriel", "text": "Description\nChrysamere, the Paladin's Blade and Sword of Heroes, is an ancient claymore with offensive capabilities only surpassed by its defenses. It lends the wielder health, protects him or her from fire, and reflects any deletory spells cast against the wielder back to the caster. Seldom has Chrysamere been wielded by any bladesman for any length of time, for it chooses not to favor one champion.\nRumors\nThere's yet another rumor going around about Chrysamere, you know, the Paladin's Blade. Well, this guy at the [tavern name], a little tavern just [direction] of here, is telling everyone he has information about where Chrysamere is. He sounded sincere, I guess. Maybe if I had the gold to pay for the information, I'd go after Chrysamere myself.\nYou've heard of the Chrysamere Blade, of course? Who hasn't? Well, some shadylooking character [direction] of here at the [tavern name] is saying he'll sell information regarding its location for a price. Apparently, his price is pretty steep. If you've got the money and the inclination, you should pay a visit to the [tavern name].\nNothing much. Some drunk's offering to sell what he knows about the location of Chrysamere at the [tavern name] [direction] of here, as if he'd really know where the Paladin's Blade is. And he has the nerve to ask for hundreds of gold pieces in exchange. Maybe it's true, I don't know. If you're the trusting sort, you might want to visit the [tavern name].\nI am [Name], and I know how to find the holy Sword of the Paladin, Chrysamere. I'm a businessman and my information doesn't exactly come cheap, [race]. You'll know everything I know about Chrysamere for [amount] gold pieces. Are we agreed on price?\nGood [race], allow me to introduce myself, [Name] at your service. I couldn't help overhearing your mention of the Blade of Blades, the Sword of the Paladin, Chrysamere. As a matter of fact, I happen to know where the map to Chrysamere's most recent hiding place has been all this time. I just turned down a chap willing to pay [amount] gold for my information, but for you, I think I'd agree to that price. Do we have a deal?\nPerhaps it is not so wise to mention Chrysamere so brazenly. There are few who would not kill to gain the information I have on its wherebouts. I could guide you on your way to recover the Sword of the Paladin, but not for less than [amount] gold pieces - not an unfair price, I think you agree. Are you prepared to pay that much?\nTavern Encounters\n\"Keep your voice down,\" a sinister figure grips you by the arm. \"I am [Name], and I know how to find the holy Sword of the Paladin, Chrysamere. I'm a businessman and my information doesn't exactly come cheap, [race]. You'll know everything I know about Chrysamere for [amount] gold pieces. Are we agreed on price?\"\nUpon mentioning the sword Chrysamere, you are immediately joined by a young man. \"Good [race], allow me to introduce myself, [Name] at your service. I couldn't help overhearing your mention of the Blade of Blades, the Sword of the Paladin, Chrysamere. As a matter of fact, I happen to know where the map to Chrysamere's most recent hiding place has been all this time. I just turned down a chap willing to pay [amount] gold for my information, but for you, I think I'd agree to that price. Do we have a deal?\"\nA cloaked figure appears at your side. He speaks in a low whisper. \"Perhaps it is not so wise to mention Chrysamere so brazenly. There are few who would not kill to gain the information I have on its wherebouts. I could guide you on your way to recover the Sword of the Paladin, but not for less than [amount] gold pieces - not an unfair price, I think you agree. Are you prepared to pay that much?\"\nLocation\n\"I knew the moment you walked in, we'd make a good deal. My information comes from my brother, a scribe in Alabaster, a port city in Elsweyr. He does occasional work with the archivists of the city. A rumor grew that Chrysamere, the Sword of Heroes, had resurfaced into the known world. He delved deeper and found that it had indeed risen again. The location was said to be inscribed on a tablet in a place called the [dungeon name]. I have inscribed the location of that tablet on your map of the continent. Neither my brother or I care much for adventure. The money you have given us will allow him to complete his studies and I to raise a family. Take care in your quest. Both the map you seek and Chrysamere are sure to be guarded...\"\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ebony-blade": {"series": "Artifact Dialog", "game": ["Arena"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ebony-blade", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Ebony Blade", "description": "A collection of dialog concerning the legendary artifacts of Tamriel", "text": "Description\nThe Ebony Blade, sometimes called the Vampire or the Leech, resembles an ebony katana, but its power is very dark indeed. Every time the Ebony Blade strikes an opponent, part of the damage inflicted flows into the wielder as raw power. The Blade itself may not be any more evil than those who have used it, but at some point in its long existence, a charm was cast on it so it would not remain with one bladesman. The wizard who cast this charm sought to save the souls of any too infatuated by the Blade, and perhaps he was right...\nRumors\nThe moral climate of the %ct is plunging, I tell you. I was just solicited in a reputable tavern [direction] of here, the [tavern name], by a scary-looking fellow who offered to sell me information concerning the Ebony Blade. When I asked him what the Ebony Blade is, he said it's this sword that gives the wielder the victim's strength, sort of like a vampire! Can you imagine? [exclamation]!\nWell, do you want to hear a sign of the times? There's a gentleman over at the [tavern name], that's a good-sized tavern to the [direction], who says he knows where the map leading to the Ebony Blade is. If he really does, that's the sort of information one would only sell to the richest city-state Kings or the Emperor. But here he is in a [city name] inn, practically giving it away.\n[exclamation], I know where you need to be, [race]. There's a tavern a bit [direction] by name of the [tavern name] where you'll find a peculiar character selling information about the Ebony Blade. It is said that he who wields the Blade grows mightier each time his foe grows weaker. Might be a nice thing to have if you're anticipating a fight, eh?\n#0228 Watch your tongue, foolish [race]. Many have been murdered merely for mentioning the Blade, and, according to some, their souls have been forever damned. If you are willing risk the odds and become the new possessor of the Ebony Blade, I can tell you all you need to know about recovering it. The current price for information is [amount] gold. Do we have a deal?\nI think we can help each other, young [race]. I'm [Name], and I happen to know how to find the Ebony Blade itself, the sword that can give the wielder all the energy it sucked from its victim. Not very pretty, but perfect for frequent combatants. You can help me by giving me [amount] gold pieces. I find myself penniless here in [city name] and I'm used to living better. Are we agreed, my friend?\nThe Ebony Blade? Call me [Name]. I know of this sword that draws your curiousity. Maybe you've heard that it called the Leech or the Vampire, for every time its wielder's enemies are hurt, he grows stronger. Perhaps that's morally wrong, perhaps not. I can tell you how to find where this wicked blade is hidden, but it will cost you [amount] gold. Do you agree to pay this?\nTavern Encounters\n\"Watch your tongue, foolish [race],\" growls the man next to you, barely looking into your face. \"Many have been murdered merely for mentioning the Blade, and, according to some, their souls have been forever damned. If you are willing risk the odds and become the new possessor of the Ebony Blade, I can tell you all you need to know about recovering it. The current price for information is [amount] gold. Do we have a deal?\" \"I think we can help each other, young [race].\"\nA young man comes up from behind you. \"I'm [Name], and I happen to know how to find the Ebony Blade itself, the sword that can give the wielder all the energy it sucked from its victim. Not very pretty, but perfect for frequent combatants. You can help me by giving me [amount] gold pieces. I find myself penniless here in [city name] and I'm used to living better. Are we agreed, my friend?\"\n\"The Ebony Blade?\" You are approached by a gentleman, his voice unconnected, much older than his face. He shakes your hand. \"Call me [Name]. I know of this sword that draws your curiousity. Maybe you've heard that it called the Leech or the Vampire, for every time its wielder's enemies are hurt, he grows stronger. Perhaps that's morally wrong, perhaps not. I can tell you how to find where this wicked blade is hidden, but it will cost you [amount] gold. Do you agree to pay this?\"\nLocation\n\"You seek a dire weapon indeed, [race]. The Ebony Blade sucks the very soul from a person, transfering that lifeforce to you. I think you will be consigning your everlasting soul to oblivion. It is your choice however. The map to the Ebony Blade can be found in a place called the [dungeon name]. I have inscribed its location onto your map of the continent. I wish you well on your quest. If you find this map, it will lead you the Ebony Blade. Good luck, [race]. You'll need it...\"\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ebony-mail": {"series": "Artifact Dialog", "game": ["Arena"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ebony-mail", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Ebony Mail", "description": "A collection of dialog concerning the legendary artifacts of Tamriel", "text": "Description\nThe Ebony Mail is an artifact created before recorded history, according to legend, by the Dark Elven goddess Boethiah. It is she who determines who should possess the Mail and for how long a time. If judged worthy, its power grants the wearer invulnerability to all common magical attacks that drain talents and health. It is Boethiah alone who determines when a person is ineligible to bear the Ebony Mail any longer, and the goddess can be very capricious...\nRumors\nIf you have aspirations toward going far, %pcf, you need to talk to a man I know who has information about getting the Ebony Mail. Go a bit [direction] to the [tavern name] if you want to see him, but remember to bring plenty of gold. He's not giving it away for nothing, that's for certain.\n[exclamation], I know about something you'd be interested in, young [race]. Over to the [direction] in an inn called the [tavern name], you'll find a gentleman with a certain inside story about the Ebony Mail. I'm sure you've heard about the Mail? Makes you tougher than a troll, stronger, faster. Might have some use, you know?\nNow, keep this under your hat, [race], but I know someone who knows how to get the Ebony Mail, really I do. He's [direction] of here in the [tavern name]. If I were you, I get all the gold I have for payment and get there right away, before all the battle-hardies of [city name] and [city name]2 are at the [tavern name] looking for this guy.\nGood news travels fast, eh, [race]? I was wondering how long it would take before every adventurer in [province] showed up to beg me to tell them the location of the Ebony Mail. Who wouldn't want to wear armor that makes you gives you such power, power no spell can take away from you? Well, you can bet I'm not going to divulge my secret for free. My current price is [amount] gold pieces. Take it or leave it.\nYou're not the first person to come here asking about the Ebony Mail, he says. Lots of people like the idea of getting a legendary item that gives them such power, but few have even almost the [amount] gold pieces I need to tell the secret location. Do you have it?\nYou can call me [Name], [race]. I'm the one who knows how to find the Ebony Mail, the lost armor of the Drow that could make even you a hero. Right now, I'm asking for [amount] gold for my information - a preposterously low price, but still more than most people in the [tavern name] are able to pay, it seems.\nTavern Encounters\n\"Good news travels fast, eh, [race]?\" The brawny man on the next chair looks at you humorlessly. \"I was wondering how long it would take before every adventurer in [province] showed up to beg me to tell them the location of the Ebony Mail. Who wouldn't want to wear armor that makes you gives you such power, power no spell can take away from you? Well, you can bet I'm not going to divulge my secret for free. My current price is [amount] gold pieces. Take it or leave it.\" \"Hey, [Name]!\" the innkeeper yells, \"This [race] wants to talk to you about the Ebony Mail!\"\nYou are joined by a sober young man. \"You're not the first person to come here asking about the Ebony Mail,\" he says. \"Lots of people like the idea of getting a legendary item that gives them such power, but few have even almost the [amount] gold pieces I need to tell the secret location. Do you have it?\"\nA distinguished-looking man two seats away from you at the bar rises and joins you, his voice a low growl. \"You can call me [Name], [race]. I'm the one who knows how to find the Ebony Mail, the lost armor of the Drow that could make even you a hero. Right now, I'm asking for [amount] gold for my information - a preposterously low price, but still more than most people in the [tavern name] are able to pay, it seems.\"\nLocation\n\"Exactly what I hoped you'd say. The bad news is you'll have to go to Black Marsh to find the Mail, to a nasty little place called the [dungeon name]. There lies the map to the spirit-forsaken dungeon holding the Ebony Mail. You'll find that the map points out the place where the Dark Elven goddess Boethiah hid the Mail after she took it from Helath Stormbinder, a warrior she no longer favored. Rather like Kynareth and Morihaus, but that's another story. I will inscribe the location of the [dungeon name] onto your map of the continent. The map that will lead you to the Ebony Mail lies there. I doubt if Boethiah even cares after all this time, but I'll wish you luck anyhow. Goodbye.\"\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/king-orghums-coffer": {"series": "Artifact Dialog", "game": ["Arena"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/king-orghums-coffer", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "King Orghum's Coffer", "description": "A collection of dialog concerning the legendary artifacts of Tamriel", "text": "Description\nKing Orghum's Coffer is a small-sized chest, ordinary in appearance. It is remarkably light, almost weightless, which offers clue to its true magic. Once a day, the Coffer will create gold from naught. When King Orghum himself possessed the Coffer, the supply within was limitless. Those who have found it since report that the Coffer eventually disappears after having dispersed enough gold to shame even the wealthiest of merchants. Where and why it vanishes is still a mystery.\nRumors\nWell, if you're able to spend some gold in order to make a lot of gold, I have a deal for you. There's a chap a bit to the [direction] in the [tavern name] who knows how to get to King Orgnum's Coffer. If you've never heard about the coffer, it's the magical item that keeps on giving. Head toward the [tavern name] right away because I don't know how long this guy will be there.\nSome chap [direction] of here in the [tavern name] is making a profit that would make King Orgnum himself proud. He says he knows where Orgnum's magical coffer is, but he needs several hundred gold pieces to say. Despicable, in my opinion.\nIt never ceases to amuse me how much money people will spend to get rich quick. If you want to see what I mean, go [direction] to the [tavern name]. If he hasn't left yet, there's a man there willing to tell you how to find King Orgnum's Coffer, the key to a lifetime of wealth - for a price. Don't bring any money with you if you go or he'll talking you out of it all.\nWell, I won't ask you how you knew who to question about King Orgnum's Coffer. Someone on the street must have told you where [Name] was conducting his business. He or she probably doubted my authenticity, given the suspicious nature of the [city name] citizenry. I assure you that if you follow my advice, you will be a very rich [race]. All I ask is [amount] gold - a small advance on your forthcoming salary.\nOf course, everyone wants to know if King Orgnum's Coffer is a fact or a myth. But if they knew the Coffer existed and where it is, how many would be brave enough to go after them? Most people wish for a magic box always full of money, but are too lazy or frightened to follow their dream. My name is [Name] and if you have the will and [amount] gold pieces, I will tell you how to find King Orgnum's Coffer.\nI am [Name]. I know how you may find King Orgnum's Coffer and I will tell you, for a price, of course. [amount] gold pieces, to be exact. This may seem like a lot of money, but with the Coffer, you will have a daily income most people in [city name] dream of making annually. I think the price is fair. Your reply, [race]?\nTavern Encounters\n\"Well, I won't ask you how you knew who to question about King Orghum's Coffer.\" A tall gentleman turns to you and shakes your hand. \"Someone on the street must have told you where [Name] was conducting his business. He or she probably doubted my authenticity, given the suspicious nature of the [city name] citizenry. I assure you that if you follow my advice, you will be a very rich [race]. All I ask is [amount] gold - a small advance on your forthcoming salary.\"\nYou hear a snort of derisive laughter behind you. \"Of course, everyone wants to know if King Orghum's Coffer is a fact or a myth. But if they knew the Coffer existed and where it is, how many would be brave enough to go after them? Most people wish for a magic box always full of money, but are too lazy or frightened to follow their dream. My name is [Name] and if you have the will and [amount] gold pieces, I will tell you how to find King Orghum's Coffer.\"\nThe man to your right looks at you strangely after you mention the coffer, as if to analyse your intentions. \"I am [Name]. I know how you may find King Orghum's Coffer and I will tell you, for a price, of course. [amount] gold pieces, to be exact. This may seem like a lot of money, but with the Coffer, you will have a daily income most people in [city name] dream of making annually. I think the price is fair. Your reply, [race]?\"\nLocation\n\"Thank you very much, [race]. The gold will come in handy. I hope you can make equally good use of my information. King Orghum lost his Coffer eighty or more years ago, during one of the marine battles with the Emperor of Tamriel, who was then Antiochus Septim. After the loss, Orghum's island kingdom of Pyandonea ceased to be a world power - probably because the King could no longer afford as great a fleet as before. The Coffer washed ashore on Summurset Isle, where it was an elusive presence. If I were you, I'd go to a place called the [dungeon name], and see if you can find the map that leads to the Coffer. I'll inscribe its location onto your map of the continent. I wish you good luck.\"\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/necromancers-amuletrobes": {"series": "Artifact Dialog", "game": ["Arena"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/necromancers-amuletrobes", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Necromancer's Amulet/Robes", "description": "A collection of dialog concerning the legendary artifacts of Tamriel", "text": "Description\nThe legendary Necromancer's Amulet, the last surviving relic of the mad sorceror Mannimarco, grants any spellcaster who wears it the ability to absorb magical energy and regenerate from injury. The Amulet is mystically fortified to give the person wearing it an armor rating equivalent to plate armor, without the weight and restriction of movement. This makes the artifact popular amongst thieves and mages alike. It is the one flaw of the Amulet that it is unstable in this world - forever doomed to fade in and out of existence, reappearing at locations distant from that of its disappearance.\nTavern Encounters\nThe man next to you shakes your hand eagerly, \"You want some information about the Necromancer's Robes? Glad to meet you, I'm [Name]. I know this isn't a good way to begin negotiating, but I've been trying to sell the information I have on their location all day long and hardly anyone will talk to me. I think the Mages Guild in [city name] must be afraid. Well, they have caused me to lower my price. I'll tell you how to find the most powerful magical relic in Tamriel for [amount] gold. Do we have a deal?\"\n\"Glad to hear you bring it up, [race],\" says a young man next to you. \"I'm [Name] and I was just beginning to assume that no one in [city name] has ever heard of Mannimarco and his Necromancer's Robes. So you're in luck, [race]. My new price for telling you exactly how to find the robes that will make any trickster into an archmage is [amount] gold pieces. As they say, take it or leave it.\"\nA man strolls across the room to your side at the mention of the Necromancer's Robes. He looks you over carefully before speaking. \"You may have heard about me, [race]? Well, at least you've heard of Mannimarco, the wizard whose robes you wish to possess. You have needs and I have needs, mine being [amount] gold. Being impecunious in [city name] is so tiresome, don't you know? Does this deal please you?\"\nRumors\nIf go [direction] a little and to a little tavern called the [tavern name], you'll find this shady character who says he knows how to find some old relic, the legendary Necromancer's Amulet or something. Suppose he's telling the truth: the Amulet is supposed to regenerate any mage's power, and to give the user protection better than plate mail without the weight. If I had time, I'd be the first in line.\n[Exclamation], if you know a mage interested in having his power regenerated, you might want to make a small investment over at the [tavern name], that's a tavern [direction] of here. Look for a shady looking chap, you can't miss him, and ask him about the Necromancer's Amulet. Heard of it? Well, he'll probably tell you all you need to know.\n[exclamation], you'd think mages would be too logical to get involved in quests for mythical relics that'll supposedly make them incredibly powerful. I saw two mages over at the [tavern name], a respectable inn [direction] of here, bartering with this guy over the Necromancer's Amulet. They didn't have enough money for the information he had, lucky for them.\nReally? You want some information about the Necromancer's Amulet? Glad to meet you, I'm [Name]. I know this isn't a good sales technique, but I've been trying to sell the information I have on its location all day long and hardly anyone will talk to me. I think the Mages Guild in [city name] must be afraid. Well, they have caused me to lower my price. I'll tell you how to find the most powerful magical relic in Tamriel for [amount] gold. Do we have a deal?\nGlad to hear you bring it up, [race]. I'm [Name] and I was just beginning to assume that no one in [city name] has ever heard of Mannimarco and his Amulet. So you're in luck, [race]. My new price for telling you exactly how to find the Amulet that will make any trickster into an Archmage is [amount] gold pieces. As they say, take it or leave it.\nYou may have heard about me, [race]? Well, at least you've heard of Mannimarco, the wizard whose Amulet you wish to possess. You have needs and I have needs, mine being [amount] gold. Being impecunious in [city name] is so tiresome, don't you know? Does this deal please you?\nLocation\nExcellent, [Player Name], happy to do business with you. Now then, here is what I know. I may not look like it, but I am of noble blood, a member of one of the first families of High Rock. For century upon century, my family has been involved in the politics of Arena. Most of the rulers in the family have been servants for the good of the people, but occasionally a bad egg turns up like my great uncle. When my father took the rulership from him, he found that my uncle had a vast storeroom of items confiscated from travelers, including a map to the place where the Necromancer's Amulet is supposed to be now. Most of this he returned to the rightful owners, but this map was lost in a place called the [dungeon name]. If you go there, you should be able to find the map again, and use it to locate the Amulet. Now I must leave you. Good luck, [race]."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ring-phynaster": {"series": "Artifact Dialog", "game": ["Arena"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ring-phynaster", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Ring of Phynaster", "description": "A collection of dialog concerning the legendary artifacts of Tamriel", "text": "Description\nThe Ring of Phynaster was made hundreds of years ago by a person who needed good defenses to survive his adventurous life. Thanks to the Ring, Phynaster lived for hundreds of years, and since then it has passed from person to person. The ring improves its wearer's overall resistance to damage and grants total immunity to poison, spells, and electricity. Still, Phynaster was cunning and said to have cursed the Ring. It eventually disappears from its holder's possessions and returns to another resting place, uncontent to stay anywhere but with Phynaster himself.\nRumors\nYou know who Phynaster was, don't you? He was a [race], like yourself, with a marvelous ring that allowed him invulnerability to magic and poison. Rumor is there's a gentleman in the [tavern name] - that's [direction] of here - who says he knows how to get to this ring. He's in it for the money, make no mistake. You want his information, you better have gold.\nCan't say I've ever heard of him, but some guy named Phynaster apparently lost his ring and another guy [direction] of here in the [tavern name] knows how to get it back. Must be something special about that ring, [race], because he's asking for a lot of money for his information. Enough gold to buy a modest-sized palace, actually. But if you're interested, there you are.\nJust more rumors about the Ring of Phynaster, this time from a man to the [direction], at the [tavern name] actually. Chap says he'll tell you exactly how to get the Ring if the price is right. Not for me, [race]. I don't need total invulnerability to magic and poison.\nToday's your lucky day, [race]. I'm [Name], and not only can I tell you whatever you want to know about the Ring of Phynaster, I can show you just how you can find it. All I'm asking for this wealth of information is [amount] gold. A pretty modest sum considering that soon you'll have nothing to fear from magic, or poison. Are you willing?\nGood to meet you, %pcf. I go by the name of [Name], and I'm just the man you want to speak to if you want to find the lost Ring of Phynaster. It's not lost at all, you see. There's a map that... well, why spoil the surprise? For a mere [amount] gold pieces, I'll finish my last sentence. Is it a deal?\nThere was a time when I'd be suspicious of a young [race] wandering in to the [tavern name] and asking about the commodity I'm selling. The Wharf Rats would rather have me dead than divulging the secret location of the Ring of Phynaster. I can help you, if you're willing to part with [amount] of your hard-earned gold pieces. Before responding, just think of how much more you can earn after the Ring has made you invulnerable to nearly anything a mage or a thief can throw at you. Do we have a deal?\nTavern Encounters\n\"Today's your lucky day, [race],\" a young man appears at your side the moment you mention the Ring of Phynaster. \"I'm [Name], and not only can I tell you whatever you want to know about the Ring of Phynaster, I can show you just how you can find it. All I'm asking for this wealth of information is [amount] gold. A pretty modest sum considering that soon you'll have nothing to fear from magic, or poison. Are you willing?\"\nThe innkeeper looks at you doubtfully and then signals to a young man seated at the far end of the bar. He meanders over and shakes your hand. \"Good to meet you, %pcf. I go by the name of [Name], and I'm just the man you want to speak to if you want to find the lost Ring of Phynaster. It's not lost at all, you see. There's a map that... well, why spoil the surprise? For a mere [amount] gold pieces, I'll finish my last sentence. Is it a deal?\"\n\"There was a time when I'd be suspicious of a young [race] wandering in to the [tavern name] and asking about the commodity I'm selling,\" the young man next to you says gloomily. \"The Wharf Rats would rather have me dead than divulging the secret location of the Ring of Phynaster. I can help you, if you're willing to part with [amount] of your hard-earned gold pieces. Before responding, just think of how much more you can earn after the Ring has made you invulnerable to nearly anything a mage or a thief can throw at you. Do we have a deal?\"\nLocation\n\"Very good, for now we can do business. You know that Phynaster was killed by the Wharf Rats for his Ring? It's true. He was buried somewhere in the Forest of Elborn and the Ring has ever since been stored in one of their hundreds of underground headquarters. Even should the Ring be taken by thieves, a charm has been cast on it so it will eventually return to one of the Rats' sanctuaries. The faction of the Rats decided that the best place to hide the map to the Ring's most recent resting place was in the a place called the [dungeon name], in the Summurset Isle. I will inscribe the location onto your map of the continent. If you can find the map, it will lead you to the Ring of Phynaster...\"\n"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ring-khajiit": {"series": "Artifact Dialog", "game": ["Arena"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/ring-khajiit", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Ring of the Khajiit", "description": "A collection of dialog concerning the legendary artifacts of Tamriel", "text": "Description\nThe Ring of the Khajiiti is an ancient relic, hundreds of years older than Rajhin, the thief who made the Ring famous. It was Rajhin who used the Ring's powers to make himself as invisible, silent, and quick as a breath of wind. Using the Ring he became the most successful burglar in Elsweyr's history. Rajhin's eventual fate is a mystery, but according to legend, the Ring rebelled against such constant use and disappeared, leaving Rajhin helpless before his enemies...\nRumors\nI don't know what to make of him, but there's a gent over at the [tavern name] who swears he knows how to find the Ring of the Khajiiti. Now how someone could know where the ring is and not have it is beyond me. Everyone could find a use for the Ring, you know. Well, if you're curious, you'll find the [tavern name] a bit [direction] of here.\nEver heard of Rajhin, the great Khajiiti thief? Possibly not, for he stole much more than he was ever blamed for. Partly that was his skill, partly his magical ring. Rumor has it there's a chap [direction] of here at the [tavern name] who knows how to find where the ring has resurfaced if you have the time to investigate and the money to pay him for his information.\nYou know that ring, the Ring of the Khajiiti that's supposed to turn anyone who wears it invisible? Well, I was talking to a gentleman who's staying just [direction] of here at the [tavern name] and he says he knows where the Ring is. Or, maybe he said he knew where to get to the map. He wanted more money for his information that I have, but you might be interested.\nSo, you've heard of the Ring, have you, [race]? Well, let me tell you all the legends about Rajhin and his Ring of the Khajiit are absolutely true. There does exist such a Ring that endows its wearer with many powers, including invisibility, and there is even a map to its recent hiding place! I am [Name], one of the few who know of its location. Regretfully, I must sell the knowledge I have, but it won't be cheap. [amount] gold pieces is the minimum price I'll accept.\nAnother hero like Rajhin in training, eh? Hoping to use the power of the Ring of the Khajiit to rob the citizens of [city name] or take advantage of opponents, perhaps? Good for you, [race]. I am [Name] of [narby city name] and I can show you how you may find the Ring and win the power of invisibility. I will require [amount] gold of you to prove your seriousness in this matter. How does that sound to you?\nDo you even know what the Ring of the Khajiit is, [race]? You know it turns the wearer invisible, but are you aware of the responsibility and power given to the Ring bearer? There was a time when I would sooner die that give up the secret given to me by the spirit of Rajhin himself. [Name] is not without honor. I will require no less than [amount] gold pieces to betray my friend and divulge the location.\nTavern Encounters\n\"So, you've heard of the Ring, have you, [race]?\" the man next to you nods his head. \"Well, let me tell you all the legends about Rajhin and his Ring of the Khajiit are absolutely true. There does exist such a Ring that endows its wearer with many powers, including invisibility, and there is even a map to its recent hiding place! I am [Name], one of the few who know of its location. Regretfully, I must sell the knowledge I have, but it won't be cheap. [amount] gold pieces is the minimum price I'll accept.\"\n\"Another hero like Rajhin in training, eh? Hoping to use the power of the Ring of the Khajiit to rob the citizens of [city name] or take advantage of opponents, perhaps? Good for you, [race].\" The man to your left very nearly smiles, but it is obviously an unnatural expression for him. \"I am [Name] of [city name]2 and I can show you how you may find the Ring and win the power of invisibility. I will require [amount] gold of you to prove your seriousness in this matter. How does that sound to you?\"\n\"Do you even know what the Ring of the Khajiit is, [race]?\" the big man in a black robe to your right mutters. \"You know it turns the wearer invisible, but are you aware of the responsibility and power given to the Ring bearer? There was a time when I would sooner die that give up the secret given to me by the spirit of Rajhin himself. [Name] is not without honor. I will require no less than [amount] gold pieces to betray my friend and divulge the location.\"\nLocation\nWell, yeah, I suppose we can do business on that. You might've guessed, but I knew Rajhin myself. He was my friend. For months after he disappeared, I spoke to a spiritualist, attempting to ascertain his condition. It all came to naught, until a few weeks ago, when his spirit appeared before me. He told me he was bound to appear and tell of the Ring of Khajiit, as long as it was missing from the land. I know it lies in a dank abyss where it had been hidden by the Underking. He also told me that a map exists to that crypt. The map is in the [dungeon name], somewhere in Black Marsh. I will inscribe its location onto your map of the continent. Fare thee well, [race]."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/spell-breaker": {"series": "Artifact Dialog", "game": ["Arena"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/spell-breaker", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Spell Breaker", "description": "A collection of dialog concerning the legendary artifacts of Tamriel", "text": "Description\nSpell Breaker, superficially a Dwarven tower shield, is one of the most prized ancient relics of Tamriel. Aside from its historic importance dating from the Battle of Rourken-Shalidor, the Spell Breaker protects its wielder almost completely from any spellcaster, either by dispelling magicks or silencing any mage about to cast a spell. It is said that the Spell Breaker still searches for its original owner, and will not remain the property of any one else for long. For most, possessing Spell Breaker for any time is power enough.\nRumors\n[exclamation], I wish I were a few hundred gold pieces richer. If I were, I would've give it to this guy I was just talking to. He said he had information about Spell Breaker, that shield that dispells spells. You know, we have those reckless battlemages here in [city name] throwing fireballs around. If you're interested, he was heading [direction] toward the [tavern name].\nI know every other person has a theory about where the Spell Breaker shield has resurfaced, but there's a guy right here in [city name] who says he definitely knows how to get it. He's going to want some gold for his information, but if you're interested, I saw him [direction] of here in a tavern called the [tavern name].\nThere's another chap trying to get people to pay him for his so called insider information about the newest wherebouts of Spell Breaker. I'm sure he makes a good living, selling phony stories to people who want to believe in a shield that can destroy spells! Last I saw of him, he was [direction] of here, bothering the people at the [tavern name]. [exclamation], there ought to be a law.\nWho sent you? My apologies, friend. I am [Name] and I'm trying to avoid the agents of the Necromancers, who want the information I have about the shield Spell Breaker. If you're interested in a shield that would make any mage powerless against you, I can direct you for a mere [amount] gold. I need to be leaving [city name] soon, so do we have a deal?\nAh, you're looking for Spell Breaker, are you? Came to the right inn and asked the right man, you did. They call me [Name], and I can show you exactly where Spell Breaker is hidden. A mere [amount] gold and you've bought all my knowledge the shield's wherebouts. What do you think?\nAnticipating a big fight with a magus, kid? It's [Name] at your service. I know how you can find out where the Spell Breaker is, but I ain't going to tell you for free. I'd find it myself, but I'd rather have [amount] gold and leave the questing to you. What do you say, [race]? Do we have a deal?\nTavern Encounters\n\"Who sent you?\" the young man to your right hisses, his pale face contrasted in shadow and light. He examines your [race] features and calms. \"My apologies, friend. I am [Name] and I'm trying to avoid the agents of the Necromancers, who want the information I have about the shield Spell Breaker. If you're interested in a shield that would make any mage powerless against you, I can direct you for a mere [amount] gold. I need to be leaving [city name] soon, so do we have a deal?\"\n\"Ah, you're looking for Spell Breaker, are you?\" A young man behind you in a black cloak approaches and shakes your hand. \"Came to the right inn and asked the right man, you did. They call me [Name], and I can show you exactly where Spell Breaker is hidden. A mere [amount] gold and you've bought all my knowledge the shield's wherebouts. What do you think?\"\n\"Anticipating a big fight with a magus, kid?\" The man to your left nudges you and then drops his voice to a whisper. \"It's [Name] at your service. I know how you can find out where the Spell Breaker is, but I ain't going to tell you for free. I'd find it myself, but I'd rather have [amount] gold and leave the questing to you. What do you say, [race]? Do we have a deal?\"\nLocation\nIt seems you seek the shield, Spell Breaker, in earnest then. Well my good, [race], you would be one of many to find that which can negate even the most powerful of magics. You do not need to seek far. King Rourken, last of the Dwarven Kings had Spell Breaker fashioned for him in his war against the Wizard Shalidor. It was lost in the final battle, and from time to time has reappeared in the land. The clue to where it now lies seems to be in the Hammerfell province. In my travels I stumbled upon an ancient text that speaks of a place called the [dungeon name]. I quickly wrote down the location, then destroyed the text. I have inscribed that location onto your map of the continent. It is there that you will find a map to lead you to Spell Breaker. I wish you well on your quest..."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/staff-magnus": {"series": "Artifact Dialog", "game": ["Arena"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/staff-magnus", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Staff of Magnus", "description": "A collection of dialog concerning the legendary artifacts of Tamriel", "text": "Description\nThe Staff of Magnus, one of the elder artifacts of Tamriel, was a metaphysical battery of sorts for its creator, the Arch-Mage Magnus. When used, it regenerates both a mage's health and mystical energy at remarkable rates. In time, the Staff will abandon the mage who wields it before he or she becomes too powerful and upsets the mystical balance it is sworn to protect.\nRumors\nWell, I've been talking to this fellow at the [tavern name] [direction] of here, and he was telling me he knows something about the location of the Staff of Magnus. I don't know if he's telling the truth, but he had the nerve to ask for hundreds of gold pieces in return for the information. If I had the money I think I'd take him up on it.\nThis %ct's getting crazier and crazier, that's what's up. For example, you know the [tavern name] just [direction] of here? Perfectly respectable tavern, but apparently some lunatic is hanging around there, bothering everyone, telling them he knows how to find the Staff of Magnus. He should know anyone who's ever heard of the Staff is too senile to go after it anyhow.\nEver hear of the Staff of Magnus? No offense, very few [race] kids your age have. It's this ancient relic that legend says can absorb a spell cast at it and give the spell's power to whoever holds it. I know someone who knows how to get the Staff, and he'll tell you for a price if you get to him today. He's at the [tavern name], just [direction] of here.\nBe quiet, [race] fool, the Necromancers would not think at all about killing you just for mentioning the Staff of Magnus. Their most powerful mages are children compared to its power, and if they could possess it, surely they would rule [city name]. I would be willing to tell you how to find the Staff, but it will cost you [amount] gold in return. Agreed?\nThe Staff of Magnus? It must surely be fate that brought us two together. I am [Name] and I can direct you on your way to find this most ancient and powerful of relics. Pity the poor mage who tries to battle with you once it is in your possession, eh? All I ask in return for my information is a pittance, [amount] gold pieces. Shall we get down to business?\nI like your arrogance, kid. Strolling into the [tavern name], asking about the Staff of Magnus like it was a new brand of ale. The Necromancers of [city name] have been offering me thousands of gold pieces to tell them how to find it, but I shudder to think what would become of [province] if they had that power. For you, I make the offer of [amount] gold, a very good price. Do we have a deal?\nTavern Encounters\n\"Be quiet, [race] fool,\" the man next to you grabs your arm and speaks in a low, conspiratorial tone. \"The Necromancers would not think at all about killing you just for mentioning the Staff of Magnus. Their most powerful mages are children compared to its power, and if they could possess it, surely they would rule [city name]. I would be willing to tell you how to find the Staff, but it will cost you [amount] gold in return. Agreed?\"\nA young man comes to your side and shakes your hand. \"The Staff of Magnus? It must surely be fate that brought us two together. I am [Name] and I can direct you on your way to find this most ancient and powerful of relics. Pity the poor mage who tries to battle with you once it is in your possession, eh? All I ask in return for my information is a pittance, [amount] gold pieces. Shall we get down to business?\"\n\"I like your arrogance, kid,\" a dark figure slithers across the tavern to your side, his face emotionless as a mask. \"Strolling into the [tavern name], asking about the Staff of Magnus like it was a new brand of ale. The Necromancers of [city name] have been offering me thousands of gold pieces to tell them how to find it, but I shudder to think what would become of [province] if they had that power. For you, I make the offer of [amount] gold, a very good price. Do we have a deal?\"\nLocation\n\"Thank you for the gold. Now listen carefully. Just before the Sorceror-King Magnus died, he trusted the only map to the location of the Staff of Magnus to the Blades, a secret society of warriors. I heard that one of their number sought the map that led to the Staff's current location. He journeyed to a place called the [dungeon name], in the Elsweyr province, but never returned. I would never dare to go where a Bladesman met his end, but somewhere in that dungeon is the map to the location of the Staff of Magnus. For the money you've paid, you obviously think better of your chances. I wish you luck in your quest. I've inscribed its location onto your map of the continent. Good luck, [race]. I wish you well...\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lords-mail": {"series": "Artifact Dialog", "game": ["Arena"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/lords-mail", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Lord's Mail", "description": "A collection of dialog concerning the legendary artifacts of Tamriel", "text": "Description\nThe Lord's Mail, sometimes called the Armor of Morihaus, the Gift of Kynareth, is an ancient cuirass of unsurpassable quality. It grants the wearer the power to regenerate lost health, resist the effects of spells, and cure oneself of poison when used. It is said that whenever Kynareth deigns the wearer unworthy, the Lord's Mail will be taken away and hidden for the next chosen one.\nRumors\nEver hear word of the Armor of Morihaus? That's what the old timers call the Lord's Mail. Well, anyhow, there's someone over in the [tavern name] whispering around about the Armor of Morihaus. Sure, he might've just been some drunk talking and about old legends, but if there's a chance of getting the armor that regenerates the person who wears it, well...\nListen, some guy over at the [tavern name], that inn to the [direction], told me he knew not only that the Lord's Mail of Morihaus is real, but how to find it. He said he was willing to sell the information, but I'm more than a little broke. You ought to head up that way if you've got a couple hundred gold, and are willing to trust a stranger.\nActually, I have heard something interesting lately. Ever heard the legend of Morihaus? Well, this guy over to the [direction] in the [tavern name] says he knows where Morihaus' armor, the Lord's Mail is. I don't know if it's even half true, but I know he wants money for his information. If you've got the gold, this is an opportunity I'd take advantage of.\nCouldn't help overhearing you, mate. You can call me [Name]. I happen to know how to find Morihaus' armor, the bane of trolls everywhere. A [race] like you could use a little help. I'm willing to tell you everything I know for [amount] gold. Agreed?\nIt can't be coincidence that brings you and I to the [tavern name] at the same time. Best armor ever created, make you more than a match for anyone. I like you enough to offer a mere [amount] gold pieces for my invaluable information. Do we have a deal?\nI've got the sort of information wars have been waged over. You know for his arrogance Morihaus had the Lord's Mail taken from him by the spirit Kynareth. I do not suffer from the same sin of arrogance. For [amount] gold, I will tell how to find the place where Kynareth has sequestered the Lord's Mail. Shall we do business, [race]?\nTavern Encounters\nAs soon as you mention the Lord's Mail, a man you didn't see when you entered seats himself by you at the bar. \"Couldn't help overhearing you, mate. You can call me [Name]. I happen to know how to find Morihaus' armor, the bane of trolls everywhere. A [race] like you could use a little help. I'm willing to tell you everything I know for [amount] gold. Agreed?\"\n\"It can't be coincidence that brings you and I to the [tavern name] at the same time,\" a young man seats himself next to you. \"A [race] looking for the Lord's Mail, and a man who knows just where to find it. Best armor ever created, you know. Make you more than a match for anyone. I like you enough to offer a mere [amount] gold pieces for my invaluable information. Do we have a deal?\"\nThe bartender signals to a man in the back of the inn. The young man stands up and joins you at the counter. \"I've got the sort of information wars have been waged over. You know for his arrogance Morihaus had the Lord's Mail taken from him by the spirit Kynareth. I do not suffer from the same sin of arrogance. For [amount] gold, I will tell how to find the place where Kynareth has sequestered the Lord's Mail. Shall we do business, [race]?\"\nLocation\n\"Very good, I accept your gold. Listen to me carefully. In the province of Skyrim, there is a dungeon called the [dungeon name], said to be the actual burial crypt of Kynareth herself! Before her death it is said that she foresaw many needs coming to the land. To aid any person who would take such a need upon their shoulders Kynareth created the Lord's Mail, said to be able to cure its wearer of any injury. To guard this artifact from those who would plunder her crypt, she secreted it in a location known only to her. Whenever a great need appears upon the land, so does the Lord's Mail. That's how that warrior, Morihaus, got it first. It's location, and the crypt of Kynareth are always different. In the ancient libraries of Tholgamis I stumbled upon the secret to the location of Kynareth's crypt as it has appeared this time. I have no desire to be a hero. A full purse is enough to keep me happy! If you fashion yourself a hero, and wish to win the Lord's Mail, journey to Kynareth's crypt and get the map, good [race]. I have inscribed her resting place on your map of the continent. I wish you well on your journey...\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/oghma-infinium-0": {"series": "Artifact Dialog", "game": ["Arena"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/oghma-infinium-0", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Oghma Infinium", "description": "A collection of dialog concerning the legendary artifacts of Tamriel", "text": "Description\nThe Oghma Infinium is a tome of knowledge written by the Ageless One, the wizard-sage Xarses. All who read the Infinium are filled with the energy of the artifact which can be manipulated to raise one's abilities to near demi-god proportions. Once used, legend has it, the Infinium will disappear from its wielder.\nRumors\nWell, there is a interesting little story I heard a few minutes ago from some chap in a tavern just [direction] of here called the [tavern name]. He said there was this book of incredible power called the Oglmethlum, uh... the Utherlzninium... the Uglonmth... the Oghma Infinium, that's it. Anyhow, he knows how to get to this book, but he wants some gold in return.\nEver heard of Xarses, the sorceror who created the tome, the Oghma Infinium? Well, there's a guy in the [tavern name], just [direction] of here, who swears he knows someone who knew the great, great granduncle of this maid who used to clean up for Xarses' sister-in-law, and he says he knows how to find the Infinium. But he's going to want gold to talk.\nSome guy at the [tavern name] was telling anyone who'd listen that he knows how to get this book, the Oghma Infinium, that supposedly will make you twice the [race] you are now. If you're interested, he's probably still there, just [direction] of here. Personally, I think he was just drunk.\nRather a strange thing for someone to ask about. The Oghma Infinium does not roll of one's tongue accidentally. Perhaps you have heard one of the [city name] folk mention [Name] - that's me. I do know how to find the Tome of Power, only occasionally seen since Xarses' death centuries ago. I regret the necessity of asking [amount] gold for my information. You do agree it's a reasonable request for such a powerful relic?\nMy name is [Name]. Sorry for interrupting, but you mentioned the Oghma Infinium, and I have information that could lead to its recovery. You know knowledge doesn't come without its price. Mine is [amount] gold pieces. Are you willing to go on?\nDid I hear correctly? You're looking for the Tome of Power, the Librum of Knowledge, the Oghma Infinium of Xarses itself? I, [Name], admire ambition, so I will tell you exactly how you can get the Infinium for a mere [amount] gold. Agreed?\nTavern Encounters\n\"Rather a strange thing for someone to ask about,\" a young man of aristocratic bearing joins you at the bar. \"The Oghma Infinium does not roll off one's tongue accidentally. Perhaps you have heard one of the [city name] folk mention [Name] - that's me. I do know how to find the Tome of Power, only occasionally seen since Xarses' death centuries ago. I regret the necessity of asking [amount] gold for my information. You do agree it's a reasonable request for such a powerful relic?\"\nA man sits next to you at the bar. The innkeeper looks at him suspiciously and moves to his other customers. \"My name is [Name]. Sorry for interrupting,\" he says, his voice like a blade sliding from its sheath. \"But you mentioned the Oghma Infinium, and I have information that could lead to its recovery. You know knowledge doesn't come without its price. Mine is [amount] gold pieces. Are you willing to go on?\"\nThe moment you mentioned the Oghma Infinium, you are joined by a man you did not even notice in the tavern before. He immediately starts his sell with a friendly smile. \"Did I hear correctly? You're looking for the Tome of Power, the Librum of Knowledge, the Oghma Infinium of Xarses itself? I, [Name], admire ambition, so I will tell you exactly how you can get the Infinium for a mere [amount] gold. Agreed?\"\nLocation\n\"Excellent. In the province of Skyrim lies an ancient tomb. I found it quite by accident while escaping Reavers of the frozen wastes who sought to enslave me. Falling into this forsaken place I found tablets and scrolls which all pointed to the location of the Oghma Infinium, said to increase the reader's innate attributes to god-like proportions. I have no need of such attention, for I would rather be rich and anonymous. I have however inscribed the location of that tomb onto your map of the continent. It's called the [dungeon name]. Journey there and you can recover those maps for yourself. They will show you where the Oghma Infinium now lies. Be warned, these things of power seldom grant their gifts without a price. The Infinium has appeared many times through the ages. I wish you luck on recovering it as it appears now...\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/skeletons-key": {"series": "Artifact Dialog", "game": ["Arena"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/skeletons-key", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "The Skeleton's Key", "description": "A collection of dialog concerning the legendary artifacts of Tamriel", "text": "Description\nThe power of the Skeleton's Key is very simple, indeed. With it, any non-magically locked door or chest is instantly accessible to even the clumsiest of lockpickers. A particularly skillful lockpicker may even open some magically barred doors with the Key. The two limitations placed on the Key by wizards who sought to protect their storehouses were that the Key could only be used once a day and it would never be the property of one thief for too long. Some of those who have possessed the Key have made themselves rich before it disappeared, others have broken into places they never should have entered ...\nRumors\n[Exclamation], some character just asked me if I were willing to pay for information regarding the wherebouts of the Skeleton's Key. As if I'd like it to be found! You want my opinion, a key capable of opening any lock or portal would make all [province] unsafe. I told him to get lost and he headed over [direction] to the [tavern name]. I hope no one takes his offer.\nYeah, this was a little odd. My grandmother told me stories when I was young about a magical key called the Skeleton's Key with which one could open anything. I never believed her, but just today, [direction] of here, this man offered to sell me information to the location of the Skeleton's Key. He was over in the [tavern name].\nI don't know if I believe it, but there's a gentleman in [city name] who says he knows how to find the magical key of Arrovan, the master thief. He wants money for the information - a lot of money - but if you'd like to be able to break into anything you might want to head [direction] to the [tavern name] and talk to him.\nWhat kind of [race] are you? You a thief or just thinking about becoming one? Doesn't matter to me anyhow. The Skeleton's Key is not easy to find, mate, but the right person with the right information will be able to do it. I don't know if you're good enough for it, but I can sell you the right information for [amount] gold. What do you say?\nName's [Name], [race]. No one wants the Skeleton's Key to be found, except maybe a few loner thieves. Nothing would be safe from the clutches of the person who holds the key, you understand. I don't care, myself. All I need is [amount] gold to tell you exactly how to get the key yourself.\nI make it my business to know where things are. I can tell you how to get the Skeleton's Key yourself. I won't ask why you wish to have the power to open any lock or portal you're probably no more nosy and covetous than I. In this case, I'll only ask for [amount] gold for the information that will lead to the the Skeleton Key. You have that much money to spare, eh?\nTavern Encounters\n\"What kind of [race] are you?\" snorts the man to your left. \"You a thief or just thinking about becoming one? Doesn't matter to me anyhow. The Skeleton's Key is not easy to find, mate, but the right person with the right information will be able to do it. I don't know if you're good enough for it, but I can sell you the right information for [amount] gold. What do you say?\"\nThe bartender looks at you suspiciously and then motions to a man in the shadowed corner of the [tavern name], who steps forward. He is a young gentleman dressed in dark clothing. \"Name's [Name], [race]. No one wants the Skeleton's Key to be found, except maybe a few loner thieves. Nothing would be safe from the clutches of the person who holds the key, you understand. I don't care, myself. All I need is [amount] gold to tell you exactly how to get the key yourself.\"\n\"I make it my business to know where things are,\" the young man to your left turns to you, his breath stinking of many ales. \"And I can tell you how to get the Skeleton's Key yourself. I won't ask why you wish to have the power to open any lock or portal you're probably no more nosy and covetous than I. In this case, I'll only ask for [amount] gold for the information that will lead to the the Skeleton Key. You have that much money to spare, eh?\"\nLocation\n\"Ah, yes, my purse likes the sound of that. You'll find the Skeleton's Key in a particularly unpleasant dungeon. Of course, no one except a few know where it is, for the Key always chooses inaccessible places to hide. For benefit of the historians, the first holder of the Key, Arrovan, made a map to each of the Key's resting places, but for many years no one could find this one. My contacts say the map is in a place called the [dungeon name]. I have inscribed the location onto your map of the continent. I must leave you. Good luck, my [race] friend...\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/volendrung": {"series": "Artifact Dialog", "game": ["Arena"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/volendrung", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Volendrung", "description": "A collection of dialog concerning the legendary artifacts of Tamriel", "text": "Description\nThe Hammer of Might, Volendrung is said to have been created by the Dwarves of the now abandoned clan of Rourken, hundreds of years before they disappeared from the world of Tamriel. It has the ability to grant health to its wielder, but it is best known for the paralyzing and strength leeching effects it has when cast at an enemy. Like the Dwarves who created it, Volendrung is prone to disappearing suddenly, resurfacing sometimes in days, sometimes in eons.\nRumors\nMaybe your father told you stories of Volendrung, [race]? The Hammer of the Dwarves of Rourken? There's some guy a few inns from here who claims to know its location. Times being tough in [city name], he's over at the [tavern name], a tavern just [direction] of here, selling the information he knows. You ought to look into it.\nCrazy %ct this [city name]. Saw a guy skulking around, whispering 'Volendrung, volendrung', whatever that means. I chased him off, the crazy bastard. He headed [direction] toward the [tavern name], thank God. See what I mean, this %ct's just getting crazier.\nThere's this guy just [direction] of here, in a tavern called the [tavern name], selling information about Volendrung. If he's telling the truth, he knows how to get the Hammer of Might so I guess he's justified in asking hundreds of gold pieces for the information. A hammer that can turn a man to stone, imagine...\nDid you say 'Volendrung,' my friend? Assuming you're asking about the Dwarven Hammer of Might, I am [Name], the man you want to speak to. Perhaps you have a friend who has met a Medusa, or an enemy who ought to. Volendrung's the hammer for you then, kid. Just give me [amount] gold to get the business end out of the way, and I'll tell you how to find the Hammer.\nI knew the moment you walked in, you were the [race] I wanted to do business with. You want Volendrung, the Hammer of Might: a testimony to your knowledge and good taste. I know how you can get Volendrung. All we need is to get the little question of price out of the way. For my assistance in getting you to the Hammer, I'm only asking for [amount] gold pieces. I assume that's fine with you?\nYou must have heard I was here, offering people information for recovering the lost Dwarven Hammer of Might. Well, you're a lucky [race]. Turns out the folk in the [tavern name] aren't as rich as I thought they'd be, and I need gold more than adventure. So for [amount] pieces of gold, I'll tell you exactly how to recover Volendrung. Will you take advantage of my generosity?\nTavern Encounters\n\"Did you say, 'Volendrung' my friend?\" The monkey-faced man next to you reaches over and shakes your hand. \"Assuming you're asking about the Dwarven Hammer of Might, I am [Name], the man you want to speak to. Perhaps you have a friend who has met a Medusa, or an enemy who ought to. Volendrung's the hammer for you then, kid. Just give me [amount] gold to get the business end out of the way, and I'll tell you how to find the Hammer.\"\n\"I knew the moment you walked in, you were the [race] I wanted to do business with,\" a young man you didn't notice before joins you at the bar eagerly. \"You want Volendrung, the Hammer of Might: a testimony to your knowledge and good taste. I know how you can get Volendrung. All we need is to get the little question of price out of the way. For my assistance in getting you to the Hammer, I'm only asking for [amount] gold pieces. I assume that's fine with you?\"\nA young man cloaked in appears at your side at the mention of Volendrung. \"You must have heard I was here, offering people information for recovering the lost Dwarven Hammer of Might. Well, you're a lucky [race]. Turns out the folk in the [tavern name] aren't as rich as I thought they'd be, and I need gold more than adventure. So for [amount] pieces of gold, I'll tell you exactly how to recover Volendrung. Will you take advantage of my generosity?\"\nLocation\n\"I accept your gold. I won't repeat any of this, so listen carefully. You must journey to Hammerfell, to a place called the [dungeon name], to find the Dwarven Hammer of Might. In this dire place lies the secret of Volendrung's reincarnation. Do not question how I came about this information. The price was more dear than you can imagine. If you can survive the depths of the [dungeon name], you will find a map. On this map is inscribed the location of Volendrung. No thanks are needed, nor are they appreciated. Your gold has spoken enough. One warning will I give. Volendrung is a potent weapon, and will attract the attention of equally potent beings. Such attention is not something I would desire greatly...\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/warlocks-ring": {"series": "Artifact Dialog", "game": ["Arena"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/warlocks-ring", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Warlock's Ring", "description": "A collection of dialog concerning the legendary artifacts of Tamriel", "text": "Description\nThe Warlock's Ring of the Arch-Mage Syrabane is one of the most popular relics of myth and fable. In Tamriel's ancient history, Syrabane saved all of the continent by judicious use of his Ring, and ever since, it has helped adventurers with less lofty goals. It is best known for its ability to reflect spells cast at its wearer and to improve his or her speed and health, though it may have additional powers. No adventurer can wear the Warlock's Ring for long, for it is said the Ring is Syrabane's alone to command.\nRumors\nI've heard that there's some guy in town who knows the newest wherebouts of one of the surviving relics of the Arch-Warlock Syrabane, a ring or something. I bet he's going to ask for a lot of money in exchange for the information, but the Warlock's Ring is supposed to be quite powerful. He's in the [tavern name] to the [direction], if you're interested.\nIf the Mages Guild or the Necromancers knew he was here, his life wouldn't be worth a copper, but over to the [direction] at the [tavern name] you'll find a chap who knows how to find the lost Ring of the Warlock. I'm certain he'll want some money for his information, but I couldn't say exactly how much. Whatever amount, it's worth it.\nEver hear tale of the Arch-Warlock Syrabane who once saved [province], in fact, all of Tamriel? Well, there's a gent over [direction] at the [tavern name] who says he knows how to find Syrabane's ring. If he's telling the truth, any amount of gold is worth his information. The Ring of the Warlock has all the defensive power of Syrabane if you can wield it.\nYou want to know about the Warlock's Ring, kid? Name's [Name]. I can see from that look in your eye you're interested in power. Well, the Ring has all the defensive power of its maker, the Arch-Warlock Syrabane. Whether you can control it or not isn't my concern. All I can do is show you how to find the Ring, and I'm going to need [amount] gold for that.\nI don't know what good it'll do you, kid. From the looks of you, you ain't no Syrabane. It'll protect ya from certain things, but folks are known to get a bit foolhardy with that power. Might be dangerous. Still, I'll tell you exactly how to find it if you're interested. And because I like your guts, I'll only ask for [amount] gold. What do you think?\nYou'll want to talk to me about that then, [race]. His dark eyes lose their humor. In the hands of the Arch-Warlock Syrabane that Ring saved all Tamriel. In your hands, perhaps it will be nothing more than a good defense against an aggressive Battlemage or Nightblade. Still, I am in no position to chose to whom I wish to share my information about the Ring's location. If you have [amount] gold for me, all my knowledge is yours. Agreed?\nTavern Encounters\n\"You want to know about the Warlock's Ring, kid?\" The man to your left quaffs his ale and turns to you, his eyes red from fatigue. \"Name's [Name]. I can see from that look in your eye you're interested in power. Well, the Ring has all the defensive power of its maker, the Arch-Warlock Syrabane. Whether you can control it or not isn't my concern. All I can do is show you how to find the Ring, and I'm going to need [amount] gold for that.\"\n\"I don't know what good it'll do you, kid,\" replies a deep [province] voice behind you. You turn to see a figure standing in the shadows of the [tavern name]. \"From the looks of you, you ain't no Syrabane. It'll protect ya from certain things, but folks are known to get a bit foolhardy with that power. Might be dangerous. Still, I'll tell you exactly how to find it if you're interested. And because I like your guts, I'll only ask for [amount] gold. What do you think?\"\nThe man next to you laughs when you mention the Warlock's Ring. \"You'll want to talk to me about that then, [race].\" His dark eyes lose their humor. \"In the hands of the Arch-Warlock Syrabane that Ring saved all Tamriel. In your hands, perhaps it will be nothing more than a good defense against an aggressive Battlemage or Nightblade. Still, I am in no position to chose to whom I wish to share my information about the Ring's location. If you have [amount] gold for me, all my knowledge is yours. Agreed?\"\nLocation\n\"All right, I suppose we can do business then. The secret of Syrabane is in the province of Morrowind, in a place called the [dungeon name]. You will find a map there to the dungeons where the Warlock's Ring is said to return by Syrabane's post-mortal magic. I have inscribed the location of this map onto your continental map. I hope you use the Warlock's Ring wisely. It is a powerful aid in reflecting spells...\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/daggerfall-brief-history-empire-part-i": {"series": "A Brief History of the Empire", "game": ["Daggerfall"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/daggerfall-brief-history-empire-part-i", "author": "Stronach", "title": "A Brief History of the Empire, Part I", "description": "A nice account, covers the whole 3rd Era, from the conquests of Tiber Septim to the reign of Uriel VII. Retells the storyline of TES: Arena. The composition and the tone of this work reminded me of \"Annals of Kings and Rulers\".", "text": "Before the day of Tiber Septim, all Tamriel was chaos. The poet Tracizis called that era \"the days and nights of blood and venom.\" The kings were a petty lot of grasping tyrants, who fought Tiber's attempts to bring order to the land. But they were as disorganized as they were dissolute, and the strong hand of Septim brought peace forcibly to Tamriel. The year was 2E 896. The following year, the Emperor declared the beginning of a new era, so we began the 3rd Era, year aught.\nFor thirty-eight years, the Emperor Tiber reigned: a just, pious, and glorious age, when justice was known to one and all, from serf to king. It rained for a fortnight after as if the land of Tamriel itself was weeping.\nThe Emperor's eldest living son, Pelagius came to the throne. Though his reign was short, he was as strong and resolute as his father had been, and we could have enjoyed a continuation of the Golden Age. Alas, an unknown enemy of the Septims hired the cursed organization of cutthroats, the Dark Brotherhood, to kill the Emperor Pelagius I as he knelt at prayer at the Temple of the One in the Imperial City. Pelagius I's reign lasted less than three years.\nPelagius had no living children, so the crown of the Empire passed to his first cousin, the daughter of Tiber's brother Agnorith. So did Kintyra, former Queen of Silvenar, assume the throne. Kintyra I was blessed with a time of prosperity and good harvests, and was an avid patroness of art, music, and dance.\nKintyra's son was crowned after her death, the first Emperor of Tamriel to use the imperial name Uriel. The Emperor Uriel I was the great lawmaker of the Septim Dynasty, and a promoter of independent organizations and guilds. Under his kind hand, the Fighters Guild and the Mages Guild increased in prominence throughout Tamriel.\nHis son Uriel II reigned for eighteen years, from the death Uriel I in 3E 64 to 3E 82. Tragically, the rule of Uriel II was cursed with blights, plagues, and insurrections. His tenderheartedness inherited from his father did not serve Tamriel well, and little justice was done.\nPelagius II inherited not only the throne from his father, but the debt from the poor financial and judicial management. Pelagius dismissed all of the old Elder Council, and allowed only those willing to pay great sums to return. He encouraged similiar acts of his vassals, the kings of Tamriel, and by the end of his seventeen year reign, Tamriel had returned to prosperity. His critics, however, have suggested that any advisor of wisdom, but without gold had been forcibly ousted. This may have led to some of the trouble his son Antiochus faced when he became Emperor.\nAntiochus was certainly one of the most flamboyant of the usually austere Septim family. He had many mistresses and nearly as many wives, and was renowned for his grandness of dress and good humor. Unfortunately, his reign was rife with civil wars, surpassing even that of his grandfather Uriel II. The War of the Isle in 3E 110, twelve years after Antiochus assumed the throne, nearly took the province of Sumurset Isle away from Tamriel. The united alliance of the kings of Sumurset and Antiochus only managed to defeat King Orgnum of the island-kingdom of Pyandonea due to a freak storm. Legend credits the Psijic Order of the Isle of Artaeum with the magic behind the storm.\nThe story of Kintyra II, heiress of her father's throne, is certainly one of the saddest tales in modern history. Her first cousin Uriel, son of Queen Potena of Solitude, accused Kintyra of being a bastard, alluding to the famous decadence of the Imperial City during her father's reign. When this accusation failed to stop her coronation, Uriel bought the support of several disgrunted kings of High Rock, Skyrim, and Morrowind, and, with Queen Potena's assistance, coordinated three attacks on the Septim Empire.\nThe first attack occured in the Iliac Bay that separates High Rock and Hammerfell. Kintyra's entourage was destroyed and the Emperess was taken captive. For two years, Kintyra II languished in an Imperial prison believed to be somewhere in Glenpoint or Glenmoril Wyrd before she was slain in her cell.\nThe second attack was on a series of Imperial garrisons along the coastal Morrowind islands. The Emperess' consort Kontin Arynx died defending the forts.\nThe third attack was a siege of the Imperial City itself, occuring after the Elder Council had divided the army to attack western High Rock and eastern Morrowind. The much weakened government had little defense against Uriel's attack, and surrendered after only a fortnight of resistance. Uriel took the throne that night and proclaimed himself Uriel III, Emperor of Tamriel. The year was 3E 121.\nThus begins the War of the Red Diamond, described in Volume II of this series."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/daggerfall-brief-history-empire-part-ii": {"series": "A Brief History of the Empire", "game": ["Daggerfall"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/daggerfall-brief-history-empire-part-ii", "author": "Stronach", "title": "A Brief History of the Empire, Part II", "description": "A nice account, covers the whole 3rd Era, from the conquests of Tiber Septim to the reign of Uriel VII. Retells the storyline of TES: Arena. The composition and the tone of this work reminded me of \"Annals of Kings and Rulers\".", "text": "Volume I of this series described in brief the lives of the first eight Emperors of the Septim Dynasty, beginning with the forebear Tiber Septim and ending with his great great great great grandniece Kintyra II. Kintyra's murder in Glenpoint, while in captivity, is considered by some to be the end of the pure strain of Septim blood. Certainly, it marks the end of something.\nUriel III not only proclaimed himself Emperor of Tamriel, but also proclaimed himself Uriel Septim III, taking a surname as a title. In truth, his surname was Uriel Mantiarco from his father. In time, Uriel III was deposed and his crimes reviled, but the tradition of taking the name Septim as a title for the Emperor of Tamriel did not die with him.\nFor six years, the War of the Red Diamond tore apart the Empire. The combatants were the three surviving children of Pelagius II, Potema, Cephorus, and Magnus, and their offspring. Potema, of course, supported her son Uriel III, and had the support of all of Skyrim and northern Morrowind. With the efforts of Cephorus and Magnus, High Rock turned. Hammerfell, Sumurset Isle, Valenwood, Elsweyr, and Black Marsh were divided, but most kings supported Cephorus and Magnus.\nIn 3E 127, Uriel III was captured at the Battle of Ichidag in Hammerfell. En route to his trial in the Imperial City, a mob overtook his carriage and burned him alive within it. His captor and uncle continued on to the Imperial City, and by common acclaim, was proclaimed Cephorus I, Emperor of Tamriel.\nCephorus' reign is marked by nothing but war. By all accounts, he was a kind and intelligent man, but what Tamriel needed was a great warrior, and he was that. It took an additional ten years of constant warfare for him to defeat his sister Potema. The so-called wolf queen of Solitude died in the siege of her city-state in the year 137. Cephorus only survived his sister by three years.\nCephorus never had the time during the war years to marry, so it was his brother, the fourth child of Pelagius II, who assumed the throne. The Emperor Magnus was elderly, and the business of punishing the traitorous kings of the War of the Red Diamond drained much of his health. Legend also accuses Magnus' son and heir Pelagius III of murder, but that seems very unlikely. For no other reason, Pelagius was King of Solitude, following the death of Potema, and seldom visited the Imperial City.\nPelagius III, sometimes called Pelagius the Mad, was proclaimed Emperor in the 145th year of the 3rd Era. Almost from the start, his eccentricities of behavior was noted. He embarassed dignitaries, offended his vassal kings, and, on one occasion, marked the end of a grand ball by attempting to hang himself. His long-suffering wife was finally awarding the regency of Tamriel and Pelagius III was sent to a series of healers and asylums until his death in 3E 153 at the age of thirty-four.\nThe Emperess Regent of Tamriel was proclaimed Emperess Katariah I upon the death of her husband. Some who do not mark the end of the Septim bloodline with the death of Kintyra II consider the accendancy of this dark elf woman as the true mark. Her defenders assert that though Katariah was not descended from Tiber, the son she had with Pelagius, was, so the chain does continue.\nDespite the racist assertations to the contrary, Katariah's forty-six year reign was one of the most glorious in Tamriel's history. Uncomfortable in the Imperial City, Katariah travelled extensively throughout the Empire, such as no Emperor ever had since Tiber's day. She repaired much of the damage the broken alliances and bungled diplomacy had created. The people of Tamriel came to love their Emperess far more than the nobility did. Katariah's death in a minor skirmish in Black Marsh is a favorite source for conspiracy-minded historians. The sage Montalius' discovery of a disenfranchised branch of the Septim family's involvement with the skirmish was a revelation indeed.\nWhen Cassynder assumed the throne at the death of his mother, he was already middle-aged. Only half-elven, he aged like a Breton. In fact, he had left the rule of Wayrest to his half-brother Uriel due to poor health. Nevertheless, as the only true blood relation of Pelagius, and thus Tiber, he was pressed into accepting the throne. To no one's surprise, the Emperor Cassynder's reign did not last long. In two years, he was dead.\nUriel Lariat, Cassynder's half-brother, the child of Katariah I and her Imperial consort Lariat, left the kingdom of Wayrest to reign as Uriel IV. Legally, Uriel IV was a Septim: Cassynder had adopted him into the family when he had become King of Wayrest. Nevertheless, to the Council and the people of Tamriel, he was a bastard child of Katariah. Uriel did not possess the dynamism of his mother, and his long forty-three year reign was a hotbed of sedition.\nUriel IV's story is told in the third volume of this series."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/daggerfall-brief-history-empire-part-iii": {"series": "A Brief History of the Empire", "game": ["Daggerfall"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/daggerfall-brief-history-empire-part-iii", "author": "Stronach", "title": "A Brief History of the Empire, Part III", "description": "A nice account, covers the whole 3rd Era, from the conquests of Tiber Septim to the reign of Uriel VII. Retells the storyline of TES: Arena. The composition and the tone of this work reminded me of \"Annals of Kings and Rulers\".", "text": "The first volume of this series tells in brief the story of the succession of the first eight emperors of the Septim Dynasty, from Tiber I to Kintyra II. The second volume described the War of the Red Diamond and the six emperors that followed its aftermath, Uriel III to Cassynder I. At the end of that volume, I described how the Emperor Cassynder's half-brother, Uriel IV assumed the throne of the Empire of Tamriel.\nIt will be recalled that Uriel IV was not a Septim by birth. His mother, though she reigned as Emperess for many years, was a Dark Elf married to a true Septim Emperor, Pelagius III. His father was Katariah I's consort after Pelagius' death and during her reign, a Breton nobleman named Gallivere Lariat. Before taking the throne of Empire, Cassynder I had ruled the kingdom of Wayrest, but poor health had forced him to retire. Cassynder had no children, so he legally adopted his half-brother Uriel and gave him the kingdom. Seven years later, Cassynder inherited the Empire at the death of his mother. Three years after that, Uriel found himself the recipient of Cassynder's inheritance once again.\nUriel IV's reign was difficult and long one. Despite being a legally adopted member of the Septim family, and despite the Lariat family's high position -- indeed, they were distant cousins of the Septims -- few of the Elder Council could be persuaded to accept him fully as a blood relation of Tiber. The Council had assumed much responsibility during Katariah I's long reign and Cassynder I's short reign, and a strong-willed alien monarch like Uriel IV found it impossible to hold their unswerving fealty. Time and time again, the Council and Emperor were at odds; and time and time again, the Council won the battles. Since the days of Pelagius II, the Elder Council had consisted of the wealthiest men and women in the Empire, and the power they wielded was ultimate.\nThe Council's last victory over Uriel IV was posthumous. Andorak, Uriel IV's son, was disinherited by vote of Council, and a cousin more closely related to the original Septim line was proclaimed Cephorus II in 3E 268. Cephorus had been a Nordic king of For the first nine years of Cephorus II's reign, those loyal to Andorak battled the Imperial forces. In an act that the sage Eraintine called \"Tiber Septim's heart beating no more,\" the Council granted Andorak the High Rock kingdom of Shornhelm to end the war. Andorak's descendants still rule that land.\nOf course, Cephorus II had foes that demanded more of his attention than Andorak. \"From out of a nightmare,\" in the words of Eraintine, a man who called himself the Camoran Usurper had led an army of daedra and undead warriors on a rampage through Valenwood, conquering kingdom after kingdom. None could resist his onslaughts, and as month turned to bloody month in the year 3E 249, fewer even tried. Cephorus II sent more and more mercenaries into Hammerfell to stop the Usurper's northward march, but they were bribed, turned into undead, or slaughtered.\nThe story of the Camoran Usurper does deserve a book of its own. I recommend the reader find Palaux Illthre's \"The Fall of the Usurper\" for more detail. In short, the destruction of the forces of the Usurper had little do with efforts of the Emperor. The results was a great regional victory and an increase in hostility toward the seemingly inefficious Empire.\nUriel V turned opinion back toward the potential power of the Empire. Turning the attention of Tamriel away from internal strife, Uriel V embarked on a series of invasions beginning almost from the moment he took the throne in 3E 268. Uriel V conquered Roscrea in 271, Cathnoquey in 276, Yneslea in 279, and Esroniet in 284. In 3E 288, he embarked on his most ambitious enterprise, the invasion of the continent kingdom of Akavir. This was ultimately a failure, for two years later Uriel V was killed in Akavir on the battlefield of Ionith. Nevertheless, Uriel V holds a reputation second only to Tiber as the great warrior emperor of Tamriel.\nThe last four Emperors, beginning with Uriel V's infant son, are described in the fourth and final volume of the series."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/daggerfall-brief-history-empire-part-iv": {"series": "A Brief History of the Empire", "game": ["Daggerfall"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/daggerfall-brief-history-empire-part-iv", "author": "Stronach", "title": "A Brief History of the Empire, Part IV", "description": "A nice account, covers the whole 3rd Era, from the conquests of Tiber Septim to the reign of Uriel VII. Retells the storyline of TES: Arena. The composition and the tone of this work reminded me of \"Annals of Kings and Rulers\".", "text": "The first book of this series described, in brief, the first eight emperors of the Septim Dynasty beginning with Tiber I.\nThe second volume described the War of the Red Diamond and the six emperors who followed. The third volume describes the troubles of the next three emperors, the frustrated Uriel IV, the ineffectual Cephorus II, and the the heroic Uriel V.\nAt Uriel V's death across the sea in distant hostile Akavir, Uriel VI was but five years old. In fact, Uriel VI was born only shortly before his father left for Akavir. Uriel V's only other progeny, by a different woman, were the twins Morihatha and Eloisa, who had been born a month after Uriel V left. Uriel VI was coronated in the 290th year of the third era. The consort Thonica as the boy's mother was given a restricted Regency until Uriel VI reached his minority. The Council retained the real power, as they had ever since the days of Katariah I.\nThe Council so enjoyed its unlimited and unrestricted freedom to make laws (and profits), Uriel VI was not given full license to rule until 307, when he was 22 years old. He had been slowly assuming positions of responsibility for years, but both the Council and his mother, who enjoyed even her limited regency, were loath to give him reign. By the time he came to the throne, the mechanisms of government gave him little power, but the power to veto.\nThis power he regularly exercised. By 313, Uriel VI could boast with conviction that he truly did rule Tamriel. He utilized defunct spy networks and guard units to bully and coerce the difficult members of the Elder Council. His sister was his usual ally, after her marriage to Baron Ulfe Gersen of Winterhold brought her considerable wealth and influence. As the sage Ugaridge said, \"Uriel V conquered Esroniet, but Uriel VI conquered the Elder Council.\"\nWhen Uriel VI fell from his horse and could not be saved by the finest Imperial healers, his beloved sister Morihatha took the throne. At 25 years of age, she had been described by (admittedly self-serving) diplomats as the most beautiful creature in Tamriel. She was certainly well-learned, vivacious, athletic, and a well-practiced politician. She brought the Archmagister of Skyrim to the Imperial City and created the second Imperial Battlemage since the days of Tiber Septim.\nMorihatha finished the job her brother had begun, and made the Imperial Province truly a government under the Emperess. Outside the Imperial Province, however, the Empire had been slowly disintegrating. Open revolutions and civil wars had raged unchallenged since the days of her grandfather Cephorus II. Carefully coordinating her counterattacks, Morihatha slowly took back her rebellious vassals, always avoiding overextending herself.\nThough Morihatha's military campaigns were remarkable successful, the Council was often frustrated by her deliberate pace. One Councilman, an Argonian named Thoricles Romus, furious at her refusal to send troops to his troubled lands, is believed to be the man who hired the assassins who claimed her life in 3E 339. Romus was tried and executed, though he protested his innocence.\nMorihatha had no surviving children, and Eloisa had died of a fever four years before. Eloisa's 25-year-old son Pelagius was crowned Pelagius IV.\nPelagius IV continued his aunt's work, slowly bringing back the seditious kingdoms of his Empire. He had Morihatha's patience and deliberate pace in his endeavors, but, alas, he did not have her success. The kingdoms had been free of constraints for so long, even a benign Imperial presence was odious. Nevertheless, when Pelagius died, after an astonishing forty-nine year reign, Tamriel was closer to unity than it had been since the days of Uriel I.\nOur current Emperor, his Awesome and Terrible Majesty, Uriel Septim VII, son of Pelagius IV, has the diligence of his great aunt Morihatha, the political skill of his great uncle Uriel VI, and the military prowess of his great grand-uncle Uriel V. For twenty-one years he reigned and brought justice and order to Tamriel. In the year 3E 389, his Imperial Battlemage Jagar Tharn betrayed him.\nUriel VII was imprisoned in a dimension of Tharn's creation, and Tharn used his magic of illusion to assume the Emperor's aspect. For the next ten years, Tharn used Imperial priveleges, but did not continue Uriel VII's schedule of reconquest. It is not entirely known yet what Tharn's goals and personal accomplishments were during the ten years he imitated his liege lord. In 3E 399, a mysterious champion defeated the Battlemage in the dungeons of the Imperial Palace and freed Uriel VII from his other dimensional cell.\nSince his release, Uriel VII has worked diligently to renew the battle to reunite Tamriel. Tharn's interference broke the momentuum, but the years since then have proven that the glorious golden age of Tiber Septim may be visited on Tamriel once again."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tale-kieran-part-i": {"series": "A Tale of Kieran", "game": ["Daggerfall"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tale-kieran-part-i", "author": "Vegepythicus, editor", "title": "A Tale of Kieran, Part I", "description": "", "text": "Kieran was on the road from Wren to Fairtree, when he grew weary from the midday sun. His boots were tight and he thought to remove them for a bit in the shade of a nearby oak (oaks being a favourite of bards). This particular oak was venerable and gnarled, with sturdy branches that dipped and swooped, nearly touching the ground in spots. From its shade Kieran watched the forest creatures playing in the warm sun. But for the rustling of leaves, high above, the only sounds were of butterfly wings and birdsong.\n\"What a peaceful day,\" Kieran thought as he watched a butterfly drift by, \"What a beautiful day! In truth, since bards first told tales, has there ever been a day more peaceful and beautiful than this?\"\nHe drank from his waterskin and, taking his lute from its sack, cleared his throat and began to sing:\n\"Oh, the maidens of Wren are passing fair ...\n...with breasts like melons, and flaxen hair ...\"\nHe had just taken a deep breath to bellow the lusty chorus when a small, feminine voice said, \"Kind sir ...\"\nHe leaped to his stockinged feet, his face flaming red. \"Who's there?\" he cried.\nThe small voice repeated, \"Please, sir, if you will be so kind ...\"\nKieran looked about but saw no person or creature addressing him.\n\"Pray thee,\" he cried. \"Show thyself or have cause to fear my dagger.\" (He tried desperately to remember where he had last seen it.) \"Whether thee be friend or foe, pray thee show thyself now.\"\nThe small voice replied from above him, \"Kind sir, thou hast no cause to fear me, and I am in need of help. Can thou find it in thy heart to aid me?\"\nHe looked up and saw naught but a small robin's nest, three branches above him. Climbing swiftly, he found a robin with three tiny robinlings, their mouths open wide.\n\"Good mother robin,\" he asked, \"Can it be thee who addresses me thus?\"\n\"Kind sir,\" she replied, \"I have hurt my wing and it will be at least a day before I might fly. If my children do not eat soon, they will die. Would you be so kind as to bring a fat, juicy meal? Would you find a caterpillar or earthworm or grub for my children?\"\nNow, Kieran was kind of heart and it was not within him to refuse a plea such as this, so off he went into the forest. Searching under some mulberry leaves, he soon found a small green caterpillar. It seemed a perfect meal for young robins.\nPlucking it from the leaf upon which it fed, he prepared to hurry back to the oak when he heard a tiny voice. He opened his hand and the caterpillar looked up at him with her big brown eyes wide with fear. \"Kind sir,\" she said, \"wouldst thou kill me so thoughtlessly?\"\nKieran scratched his head in puzzlement and the caterpillar continued: \"When thou cooled thy feet beneath the oak, didst thou not find joy in my parents' beauty as they danced before thee in the sun? I, too, am soon to change. Wouldst thou deny thy successors the joy of my dancing? And if I do not live to have children, how will thine own children find such joy? Please, sir, would not an earthworm serve the needs of the robinlings just as well?\nKieran looked into the eyes of the caterpillar and knew that he could not feed her to the robins. Carefully, he placed her beneath her mulberry bush and continued his search.\nNear a rushing brook, Kieran found a flat stone that, when moved, revealed a juicy earthworm enjoying the cool moist earth. \"Aha.\" he thought. \"As nice as the caterpillar may have been, this truly seems a more fitting meal for young robins.\"\nHe had no sooner plucked the earthworm from it's cool abode (where it had been frantically trying to burrow away from him), when he heard a voice so faint he might have imagined it:\n\"Kind sir,\" he thought he heard, and Kieran looked in his hand. The worm continued: \"I am but a lowly creature, it's true, but might I plead such case that I have?\"\nKieran rolled his eyes skyward as the worm sat up and seized its chance. \"I am not a lowborn worm like others you might find. No, I am a prince among earthworms. I come from an ancient lineage. My ancestors burrowed the earth when fires belched from black pits throughout these lands. I command millions like myself. Were it not for my loyal followers, you, good sir, would be up to your neck in leaves, tree trunks and mouldy carcasses. I'll make a bargain with you. If you release me and choose, instead, a pathetic grub for the robinlings, I will dispatch an entire clan of earthworms to keep your foreyard clean and sweet-smelling for as long as ye shall live.\" The earthworm looked hopefully at Kieran (while calculating the distance to the ground). \"Good sir, what say ye?\"\nKieran was beginning to lose his patience, but, seeing the value of the earthworm's offer, decided that a grub would, indeed, make a tasty morsel for the young robins. He returned the earthworm to its moist haven and carefully replaced the flat stone above it. And, true to his desire, a short while later, in a forest glade, beneath a wide slab of discarded bark, Kieran chanced upon that which he sought: a fat white grub that would grow the robinlings into beautiful songsters. He plucked it from its hiding place and set forth. It was a beautiful day, indeed."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tale-kieran-part-ii": {"series": "A Tale of Kieran", "game": ["Daggerfall"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tale-kieran-part-ii", "author": "Vegepythicus, editor", "title": "A Tale of Kieran, Part II", "description": "", "text": "Nearby, in stately Trowbridge, King Caladan did live with his lovely daughter, Einlea. The princess was the apple of the old man's eye and the crown jewel of his small kingdom. He looked upon her with the blind pride of a doting father, and she, for her part, did naught but bask and flourish in his bounty.\nTrowbridge was quiet now, the chief sounds being the clatter of cart wheels and the cries of street vendors, but it was not always so. Three years earlier there had been trouble with Carthan to the west. It was not much, a border dispute, but the king persuaded a wizard named Loziard to come to Trowbridge in his employ, to aid him in the contest. Loziard was unknown by all in Trowbridge and kept to himself within the palace, coming and going as he pleased. When Trowbridge prevailed, with almost no loss of life, there was joyous celebration for days and weeks thereafter. Time passed, yet Loziard remained. The King, not wanting to seem ungrateful, said nothing, but became increasingly discomforted with the wizard's presence and wished for his departure.\nOn Einlea's twentieth birthday, King Caladan called for a celebration and holiday through all his land. Unknown to his subjects, he intended to proclaim his retirement and the transference of his crown to his beautiful daughter. Out of politeness, and nothing more, he invited the wizard Loziard to aid him in devising a proper speech.\nLoziard was furious. He paced his chamber, his black brows knitted with intensity that would have soured any cow's milk. \"Why,\" he cried aloud, \"am I treated so unjustly by the old buffoon? Were it not for my skills, the border contest, mayhaps even the kingdom itself, might have been lost. I deserve more. I deserve the crown. To give it to that primping simpering daughter of his, who thinks naught of more than her own whim, is a slap more stinging than that of gauntlet. I will have justice. I will demonstrate, amply, for all to see, wherein lies true power.\"\nThereupon, Loziard made his preparations.\nPrincess Einlea's birthday came on a summer morning. Everyone within the city, and from the farms without, gathered to the palace for the festival. Banners waved from every rooftop. Fiddlers fiddled and dancers danced. Bakers baked wonderful sweets for the occasion. It was a day long to be remembered.\nAt noon, precisely, King Caladan and Princess Einlea emerged onto the main balcony to the cheers of the kingdom. \"Good citizens of Trowbridge,\" called the King, \"We are but a tiny kingdom, but we prosper, do we not?\"\nLoud hails (mostly) erupted from the crowd below. Encouraged, Caladan continued, \"But now I am an old man. The day has arrived when younger blood can better attend to the needs and events of the kingdom. My subjects ... My loyal subjects and friends ... It is with honour ...and pride ...and the greatest of expectations ...that I transfer my kingdom and my crown to my loving daughter. To one and all, I give you\" (a long pause here) \"Einlea.\"\nAs cheers filled the air, Caladan made a grand, sweeping gesture with his arm, intending to make the presentation as spectacular as the pride that filled him. His robe went \"swoooosh\" and his hand pointed to ... nobody. What was this? Where had she gone? Where Einlea had been, moments earlier, there now was naught but vacant air.\n\"Er ...Einlea ...?\" he called, uncertainly. But there was no response. Silence fell over park and courtyard. People glanced at each other nervously.\nOld Loziard clapped his hands in glee. He danced. He hugged himself with uncontained laughter. \"How wonderful ...\" he cried. \"What a breathtakingly stunning and talented a wizard I am..\" For what he had done, of course, was to rid himself of Einlea for once and for all. With one stroke, crafty and evil, he had removed the vain creature from the palace. Nought else remained between him and that which he desired.\nNow, magic is a tricky thing. Like all forces in the world, it must be kept in balance. As surely as day balances night and summer balances winter, so too must positive magic balance negative. For every hurtful or destructive spell, there must be an act of equal goodness or charity lest trouble overflow into the world. For every black wizard, there must be a white. For every spell of combat destruction, there must be healing. Know ye this ...if all who practice magic cast naught but healing or protective spells, dark, horrible forces would build up until chaos and ruin would burst forth and rain our doom down upon us. Thus may spells of healing be broken by harm, and the worst of spells be broken by charity.\nKnowing this, Loziard planned well his act of vengeance. To permanently rid himself of Einlea (short of killing her outright) he must devise a spell so cunning that no act of kindness would ever break it. He was pulling lice out of his long beard, late one evening, when he burst into laughter. He would make her into something ...disgusting.\n\"I will make her into a frog.\" he laughed, then frowned. No ... that had been done. People might expect it and go around, like mindless idiots, seeking frogs, hoping to earn a kings ransom.\nAnd then, a brilliant plan occurred to him.\n\"I will make her into a bug, an insect, a WORM ...\" He almost choked on his wine. \"Oh. How perfect.. I will make her into something so truly loathsome that she will spend the rest of her little bug life in terror of being squashed by the first person who sees her.\" He squealed and his rings jangled and his fat jiggled and he snorted wine out his nose in laughter. \"Oh, how absolutely delicious ...\"\nAnd that's exactly what he did. While King Caladan and his subjects scratched their heads in puzzlement, nobody saw a small fat white tree grub plop to the cobblestones beneath the main balcony and immediately curl up, glistening and quivering."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tale-kieran-part-iii": {"series": "A Tale of Kieran", "game": ["Daggerfall"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tale-kieran-part-iii", "author": "Vegepythicus, editor", "title": "A Tale of Kieran, Part III", "description": "", "text": "Einlea was terrified. What had happened? Well, she had seen enough of Loziard's magic to know what had happened. But why? Why would he do this to her? She didn't have long to ponder the question. A huge black hound, hundreds of times her size, ran to the cobblestone where she lay, and almost gobbled her with one slurp of his tongue. From somewhere, she found the wherewithal to roll out of his way and into the crevice between the stones. His HUGE slurpy tongue followed her, drooling and panting great hurricanes of hot awful breath down at her. But just as the tongue was about to lick her into the waiting stomach, the hound's owner yanked his massive chain and pulled the beast toward home.\nIt is true that Einlea, in her life as a human, was self indulgent and not inclined to effort or resource, but that was merely because she had no need of either. In the following days, she had cause to discover plenty of both within her. After the incident with the hound, she knew she must go far away from people and dogs. And she knew what kinds of creatures dined on grubs, too. She slept out of sight under leaves, in places where grubs would not likely be sought.\nEven so, Einlea's days were filled with terror and adventure. There were circling hawks by day and owls by night. A bear, tearing at a rotting tree trunk, gobbled grubs, indistinguishable from Einlea, by the hundreds, as she watched in horror from behind a nearby rock. The smallest stream was now an enormous, gushing torrent, to be crossed in a nutshell under the greatest of peril. Einlea passed these tests, along with many others, and she passed them well.\nIt was on her tenth such day that a clumsy boot kicked aside the piece of bark under which she had sought shelter from the sun. Blinded by the sudden light, she heard an exclamation from high above. Then, before she could react, two fingers dropped from the sky and plucked her up and deposited her firmly inside a huge fist.\nTen days ago, Einlea would have been paralysed with terror. But that was ten days ago. Her mind raced. \"Who is this clumsy idiot, anyway??\" she thought, \"and what on earth does he want with a tree grub? At least he didn't squash me on the spot. That's encouraging, isn't it? So he must be here to rescue me..\"\nShe wriggled and squirmed in his fist until she could see his face, high above her, between two of his fingers. \"Ugh. A beard. If I'm going to be rescued, why can't it be by a fine young prince?\" But it then occurred to her that she was speaking from old habit. \"I wonder how many of those foppish boys could have survived these past ten days?\" She laughed, thinking of them. \"Not many, I bet. Those who wouldn't have curled up and died immediately would, by now, be whimpering and crying for their mothers.\" She looked at Kieran again. \"Well ... maybe he would look better if I wasn't looking straight up his nostrils. Ouch.. Why isn't he more careful with me??\"\nAnd then it occurred to Einlea that, if this oaf were truly rescuing her, he probably would have said something to her.\n\"Uh-oh.\" Einlea's heart raced and she started wriggling furiously , imagining the worst of all possible deaths. \"He must be going fishing.\"\nEinlea couldn't do much in her current state, but she could spit. And spit she did. In quantities unimaginable for so small a grub. She spit and spit and spit until her tiny grub mouth was too dry to spit another drop. She felt Kieran's hand squirming and thought, \"It's working..\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tale-kieran-part-iv": {"series": "A Tale of Kieran", "game": ["Daggerfall"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/tale-kieran-part-iv", "author": "Vegepythicus, editor", "title": "A Tale of Kieran, Part IV", "description": "", "text": "Kieran was fair disgusted. Twas bad enough that he had to touch the slimy thing, but now it was oozing something and becoming truly revolting. Finally, just before he reached the robin's oak, he could take it no longer. He stopped and examined the creature in his hand. White and plump and glistening, it was, in truth, a repellent creature. Yet the poor thing was obviously terrified. It gazed up at him with what he imagined to be minuscule grub eyes, pleading. Kieran thought of the caterpillar and the earthworm, and his heart gave in. Heaving a great resigned sigh, he found a nice clean root and placed the grub upon it.\nAnd thus was Loziard's spell broken.\nNone could have been more astonished than Einlea when she unexpectedly grew to her former size, except, perhaps for Kieran, who nearly died of fright. He was no more than catching his breath when Einlea regained her wits. Raising her index finger, warning Kieran not to say even ONE word, Einlea snatched Kieran's coat to cover herself. Then, with fire in her eyes, and as much dignity as she could muster, she was off to Trowbridge, leaving Kieran to stare, open-mouthed, at her departing figure.\nEinlea knew she could not simply enter the city and confront Loziard. The moment he saw her, he would but cast another enchantment upon her. So, disguising herself as a shepherd, she found an abandoned house on the moors and began to make her plans. What happened next is a tale worth hearing. But it is a tale for another evening. Indeed, it is a tale to be told over many an evening, and many a good pot of ale.\nAnd what of the baby robins? Having no alternative, Kieran climbed the tree and took from his pack his last piece of fatty mutton. Tearing it into small shreds, he gave it to the grateful mother robin, who fed it to her family.\nUpon returning to the ground, Kieran looked first toward Fairtree, his former destination, then, grinning, set off after the most surprising young lady, for whom he now had many questions. \"Who knows ...\" he called back to the robins, \"It may be fate. And besides, I need my coat.\"\nHe was heard, late that evening, far down the road, singing:\n\"Oh, the maidens of Trowbridge are passing fair ...\n...with breasts like melons, and flaxen hair ...\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/biography-queen-barenziah-volume-i": {"series": "Biography of Queen Barenziah", "game": ["Daggerfall"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/biography-queen-barenziah-volume-i", "author": "Stem Gamboge", "title": "Biography of Queen Barenziah, Volume I", "description": "An \"official\" version of Queen Barenziah's early years. Approach this book only after reading \"The Real Barenziah\".", "text": "Late in the Second Era an heir, a girl child, Barenziah, was born to the rulers of Mournhold in Morrowind. She was reared in all the luxury and security befitting a royal dark elf child until she reached five years of age. At that time, His Excellency Tiber Septim demanded that the decadent rulers of Morrowind yield to him and institute Imperial reforms. Trusting to their vaunted magic, they impudently refused and much of Morrowind was laid waste in the conflict that ensued.\nThe little Princess Barenziah and her nurse were found among the wreckage. General Symmachus, himself a dark elf and born in Mournhold, suggested to His Excellency that the child might someday be valuable, and she was placed with a loyal supporter who had recently retired from the Imperial army. On retirement, Sven Advensen had been made Baron of Blackmoor, a small town in central Skyrim. Baron Sven and his wife reared her as their own daughter, saw to it that she was educated appropriately, and more importantly, was taught the Imperial virtues and piety. In short, she was made fit to take her place as a member of the new ruling class of Morrowind.\nThe girl Barenziah grew in beauty, grace, and intelligence. She was very sweet-tempered, a joy to her adoptive parents and their five young sons, who loved her as their elder sister. Other than her appearance, she differed from young girls of her class only in that she had a strong empathy for the woods and fields, and was wont to escape her household duties to wander there.\nBarenziah was happy and content until her sixteenth year, when a wicked orphan stable boy whom she had befriended out of pity told her that he had overheard a conspiracy of her dear guardian. Baron Sven, said the boy, had dealt with a Redguard visitor to sell her as a concubine in Rihad, as no Nord or Breton would marry her on account of her black skin, and no dark elf would have her because of her foreign upbringing.\n\"Whatever shall I do?\" the poor girl wept, trembling, for she had been brought up in innocence and trust, and it never occured to her that her friend would lie to her.\nThe wicked boy, who was called Straw, said she must run away if she valued her virtue, but he would come with her and protect her. Sorrowfully, Barenziah agreed to this plan and that very night, Barenziah disguised herself as a boy and the pair escaped to the nearby city of Whiterun. After a few days there, they managed to get places as guards in a disreputable merchant caravan. The caravan was heading east by side roads in a dishonest attempt to elude the lawful tolls charged on the highway. Thus they eluded pursuit until they reached the city of Rifton, where they ceased their travels. They felt safe in Rifton, close as they were to the Morrowind border so dark elves were commonly seen.\nThe story of how Barenziah finally came to the throne of Mournhold after this fitful start is told in Volume II of the Biography of Queen Barenziah."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/biography-queen-barenziah-volume-ii": {"series": "Biography of Queen Barenziah", "game": ["Daggerfall"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/biography-queen-barenziah-volume-ii", "author": "Stem Gamboge", "title": "Biography of Queen Barenziah, Volume II", "description": "An \"official\" version of Queen Barenziah's early years. Approach this book only after reading \"The Real Barenziah\".", "text": "The first volume of this series told the story of Barenziah's origin, heiress of the throne of Mournhold until her father king rebelled against His Excellency Tiber Septim and brought ruin to the province of Morrowind. Due to the benevolence of the Emperor, the child Barenziah was not destroyed with her parents, but reared by the Baron Sven of Blackmoor. She grew beautiful, pious, and trusting in his care. This trust was exploited by a wicked orphan stable boy at Baron Sven's estate, who with lies, tricked her into fleeing Blackmoor with him. After many adventures on the road, they settled in Rifton, a Skyrim city on the border of Morrowind.\nThe stable boy Straw was not altogether evil. He did love Barenziah in his own selfish fashion, and the lie was the only way he could think of that he might have her. She, of course, felt only friendship for him, but he was hopeful that she would change her mind. He wanted to buy a small farm and settle down in marriage, but his earnings were barely enough to feed and shelter them.\nAfter only a short time in Rifton, Straw fell in with a bold villian of a Khajiit thief named Therris, who proposed that they rob the Imperial commandant's house. Therris said that he had a client, a traitor to the Empire, who would pay well for the information they would find there. Barenziah happened to overhear this plan and was appalled. She stole from their rooms and walked the streets of Rifton in desperation, torn between loyalty to the Empire and to her friend.\nIn the end, loyalty to the Empire prevailed over personal friendship, and she approached the commandant's house, revealed her true identity and warned him of her friends' plan. The commandant listened to her tale, praised her courage and assured her that no harm would come to her.\nGeneral Symmachus had been scouring the countryside in search of her since her disappearance had just arrived in Rifton, hot in pursuit. He took her into his custody, and informed her that, far from being sold, she was to be instated as Queen of Mournhold as soon as she turned eighteen. Until that time, she was to live with the Imperial family in the new Imperial City, where she would learn something of Imperial government and make the acquaintance of people of importance.\nAnd so it came to pass. In the Imperial City, Barenziah became great friends with Tiber Septim during the last years of his reign; Tiber's heir Pelagius also came to love her as a sister. The ballads of the day praised her beauty, chastity, wit, and learning. On her eighteenth birthday, the entire Imperial City turned out to watch her procession back to Mournhold. Sorrowful as they were at her departure, all knew that she was ready to be the glorious sovereign of the new kingdom of Mournhold."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/biography-queen-barenziah-volume-iii": {"series": "Biography of Queen Barenziah", "game": ["Daggerfall"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/biography-queen-barenziah-volume-iii", "author": "Stem Gamboge", "title": "Biography of Queen Barenziah, Volume III", "description": "An \"official\" version of Queen Barenziah's early years. Approach this book only after reading \"The Real Barenziah\".", "text": "Barenziah was welcomed kindly by the Emperor Tiber Septim and his family, who treated her like a daughter during her stay in the newly built Imperial City. After several happy months there learning her duties as a regent under the Empire, Symmachus escorted her to Mournhold where she took up her duties as Queen of her people, under his wise guidance. Gradually they came to love one another and were married and crowned in a splendid ceremony at which the Emperor himself officiated.\nAfter several hundred years of marriage a son, Helseth, was born to the royal couple, amid rejoicing and prayers to the goddess who had at last blessed their marriage. Although it was not known at the time, it was shortly before this blessed event that the Staff of Chaos was stolen from its hiding place deep in the Mournhold mines by a clever bard known only as Nightingale.\nEight years after Helseth's birth, Barenziah bore a daughter, Morgiah, named for Symmachus' mother and the royal couple's joy was complete. Alas, shortly after that, relations with the Empire mysteriously deteriorated, leading to much civil unrest in Mournhold. After fruitless inquiries and attempts at reconciliation, in desperation Barenziah took her young children and travelled to Imperial City herself to seek the Emperor's ear. Symmachus remained in Mournhold. During her audience with the Emperor, Barenziah, through her magical arts, came to realize, to her horror and dismay, that the so-called Emperor was an imposter, none other than the Bard Nightingale who had stolen the Staff of Chaos. Exercising great self control she concealed this realization from him. That evening news came that Symmachus had been killed in battle and that Mournhold had been taken by the rebels. Barenziah knew not where to seek help, when a knock sounded at her door. It was Eadwyre, King of Wayrest, and an old friend of Uriel Septim and Symmachus. He comforted her, pledged his friendship and confirmed her suspicions that the Emperor was indeed an impostor, and none other than Jagar Tharn, the Imperial Battlemage. Tharn had supposedly retired from public work and put his assistant, Ria Silmane, in his stead. As it seemed, Tharn had never left the Imperial City. Ria was indeed dead, but her ghost had appeared in Eadwyre's dreams and revealed that the true Emperor had been kidnapped by Tharn and imprisoned in an alternate plane. Tharn had then used the Staff of Chaos to kill her when she attempted to warn the Council of his nefarious plot.\nTogether, Eadwyre and Barenziah plotted to gain the imposter's confidence and unmask him with the help of another friend of Ria's, who was currently in prison, but to whose dreams she had access, and who possessed great, albeit untapped, potential. Barenziah charmed and befriended the fake Emperor. By reading his secret diary she learned that he had broken the Staff into eight pieces and hidden them. She managed to obtain a copy of the key to Ria's friend's cell and bribed a guard to leave it within the cell, as if by accident. Their Champion, whose name was unknown even to Barenziah and Eadwyre, made his escape through a shift gate Ria had openned in a dark rat infested corner of the prison where the cowardly goblin guards feared to venture. It took Barenziah several months to learn the hiding places of all eight staff pieces through snatches of overheard conversation and rare glimpses of the diary. Once she had the vital information, she and Eadwyre fled to Wayrest where they managed to stave off the sporadic efforts of Tharn's henchmen to obtain revenge. Tharn, whatever else might be said of him, was no one's fool save perhaps Barenziah's, and he concentrated most of his efforts in tracking down and destroying the great Champion.\nAs all now know, the brave, tireless, and forever nameless Champion was successful in reuniting the Staff of Chaos. With it, he destroyed Tharn and rescued the true Emperor, Uriel Septim VII. Following the Restoration, a grand state memorial service was held for Symmachus in the Imperial City, befitting the man who had served the Septim family so long and so well. Barenziah and good King Eadwyre had come to care deeply for one another, and had married in the year after their flight from Imperial City. Her children remained with her and a regent was appointed to rule Mournhold in her absence. She planned to return after Eadwyre's death. He was elderly when they wed so she knew that event, alas, could not be far off as the elves reckon time."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fools-ebony-part-oneth": {"series": "Fools' Ebony", "game": ["Daggerfall"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fools-ebony-part-oneth", "author": "Frincheps", "title": "Fools' Ebony, Part The Oneth", "description": "An interesting, somewhat funny reading. Contains some lewd hints, but nothing explicit. Rather long.", "text": "Concerning Priests and Nackles As related at length by two Priests of Akatosh to the Adventurer, who at the time was not having an adventure, and had nothing better to do. In which some (probably unwanted) light is shed upon the Priesthood and its members, and upon an old peasant myth of some significance, especially common in High Rock. And in which the mysterious Fools' Ebony appears, that strange material that could bring either drastic cultural change for the many, or just great profit for a few, or death for a bunch, or have no result whatsoever.\nDaggerfall and Environs in the Doldrums of the 3rd Era\nEarly in the month of Frostfall. The Dead Daedra Inn. Enter Prologue\nPROLOGUE: Our poor players will try and remember their lines and not trip over our meager set. I beg you, the audience, not to heckle, badger, or throw rotten foodstuffs. You will only make this short play last longer. The Guild of Playwrites, Actors, and Dramatists wish any of you who are sensitive or allergic to rambling dialogue, wooden acting, incomprehensible exposition, or unsatisfying endings that leave one confused and unhappy to exit the theatre immediately. Your gold will, alas, not be refunded. As a saving grace, this series of vignettes contains gratuitous references to all pleasures of the flesh. You may enjoy it. Ah, here comes our hero, the roguish Dark Elf called the Adventurer. It is time for Prologue to trip merrily away.\nExit Prologue\nEnter the ADVENTURER\nADVENTURER: What an odd conversation I just heard between those two mages. It is best not to speak of such matters next to privy hedges.\nEnter 2 Priests of Akatosh (LHEBAN, KOMON)\nLHEBAN: Mind if we join you, fellow? ... Good, need some company ourselves. I am named Lheban, my fellow priest here is Komon. We both serve Akatosh, all in our own ways, of course ...\nADVENTURER: Make yourselves at home, it's not my bench. But I thought that priests ... didn't go to ... er ... places like this, Inns. I mean ... unless on duty?\nLHEBAN: Oh, we're not on duty. Got to regenerate our internal vital energies, so we can go on blessing and curing ...\nKOMON: We often come here, hike up our robes, kick up our heels, as it were. Fill up with some bottled energy ...\n(Komon snickers)\nLHEBAN: Looking for those in need of comfort and blessing, of course ...\nKOMON: Oh, yes, Oh yes ... like that young girl outside the other evening ...\n(Lheban kicks Komon)\nKOMON: ... and anyway our High Priest told us to get lost...\nLHEBAN: He means told us to get some air. We've been having visions, you see...\nKOMON: Yes, sort of weird, really ... and we hadn't even been taking any of that ...\n(Lheban kicks Komon)\nLHEBAN: Both of us been having the same visions - real odd.\nADVENTURER: Do tell, I'm not going anywhere in a hurry.\nLHEBAN: Well, we've both been hearing sort of ... words ... for a start. Like 'Sir Nich' or 'Sain Nack' ...\nADVENTURER: You said 'Nick' or 'Nack'? Just a minute ... let me have a swig from your bottle, Brother ... Ah! That's better - high-class stuff you fellows drink! Yes, I recall - some story or old legend about an elf, name of Nuckle, I think -- from Morrowind?\nLHEBAN: You know, maybe you're on to something there -- there is a old legend around these parts, comes from deep in High Rock I think ... hmmmm ... Nackles, that's it!\nADVENTURER: Nackles, eh! Seems that several Dark Elves use that name ... particularly the ... more peculiar ones...\nKOMON: Yes, I guess that the bad ones are into all that weapons magicka stuff ... very nasty fellows ...\nLHEBAN: (to Komon) Komon! This fellow's got pointy ears and red eyes ...\nKOMON: Pardon me, friend ... it's sort of dark, and I didn't ... uh ...\nADVENTURER: Oh, that's fine. These are strange times. You know, live and let live -- or die -- as the case may be. Now ... suppose you tell me about this Nackles myth? Here, let me help you with that bottle ... Ah! Thanks.\nLHEBAN: Er ... sure, if you want to put it that way ... Here, have another swig! Sure, we've got the time, and I recall it clearly now.\nKOMON: Yes, we've a couple hours 'til that little blonde shows up at her lamp...\n(Lheban kicks Komon)\nLHEBAN: (to Komon) Quiet! Remember, we had to tell the High Priest her address, so she won't be around for a while!\n(to all) Very well, here's the story, best as I can recall it. This is a tale the peasants up in High Rock tell their kids to scare them into being good for a while, I guess. They tell it, let me see ... either on Tales and Tallows, or is it Witches' Festival? -- just before the kids are sent out to the barn or pigsty to sleep.\nKOMON: Nasty cruel peasants! But then, I'd send them all out to the midden ...\nLHEBAN: Really, Komon! Remember, those poor souls need our compassion and blessing, we are their salvation!\nKOMON: Now who's in Old High Mucky-Mucks' study?\nLHEBAN: Er ... anyway. It goes a bit like this. If the kids have been real good during the year -- filched enough in the market, mucked out the stables every day, not gone playing with goblins, left the sheep alone, and so on. If they have been real good, they've nothing to worry about. But if they haven't been real good then there is this nasty, horrid Dark Elf spirit called Nackles. Doesn't look like your typical Dark Elf -- thinner, taller. Pasty white face, long as your arm. Walks like his knees and elbows bend the wrong way. Snickers like when you drag your fingernails across slate. Wears a tight black suit (not Khajiit, more like a formal suit with buttons) but too tight and small. He visits the bad girls and --\nKOMON: Why are you talking about Old High Mucky again, Lheban?\n(Komon hiccoughs) (Lheban kicks Komon)\nLHEBAN: You really must excuse Komon here: overwork, you know. Too many curings and conversions ... Anyway, Old Nasty Nackles is supposed to wander under our Tamriel, in dirty deep dark dwarven tunnels. Everywhere under the lands, if you can believe that! Rides in a rusty squeaky old mine cart, on old mine tracks ...\nADVENTURER: I saw some of those in Fang Lair once, down in Hammerfell a long long while ago ...\nKOMON: (to Lheban) What the Sheogorath was he doing in Fang Lair!?\nLHEBAN: (to Komon) Hush! If he's who I think he is, you do not want to know! (to all) Um, yes. Well, Nackles gets pulled all around these deep tunnels by goblins -- not your usual dirty yellow ones, but nasty black things. Anyway, they pull Nackles round and through these dark tunnels, and then, late at night, he stops below each and every bad child's hovel or house or castle - makes no difference. Then he slides up the drainage pipes ...\nKOMON: Creeps up cracks ... crawls through holes ...\nLHEBAN: Oozes up oubliettes ...\nKOMON: Climbs giggling up garderobes ...\nLHEBAN: Right into the kid's place! Then, if the kid's only been sort of bad, Nackles will just mess things up in general, so the kid gets blamed. Make greasy dirty marks everywhere (more than usual, anyway), break some things, steal some things, so on and so forth. Maybe take the sugar sweets, leave some lumps of fools' ebony instead ...\nADVENTURER: Fools' Ebony - what's that? Heard mention of that, oh, a few hours ago ... Some Mages ...\nLHEBAN: You did now? Interesting ... Very ... Well, lets talk of that in a bit ... just let me finish this Nackles thing. Where was I -- Oh yes ... Now, if the little brat has been real bad -- then all the little brat's toys get taken. The copper dagger, the wooden sword, the little whip, and so on. All the usual favorite kids things.\nKOMON: Whips? I like those.\n(Komon hiccoughs) (Lheban kicks Komon)\nLHEBAN: Now if that little brat has been very, very bad then Nackles grabs the brat. Pops him or her in his dirty great sack. Hauls the sack off down the holes and cracks, down to his rusty old mine cart! And away they go!\nKOMON: Hope he leaves some bad little girls behind.\n(Lheban kicks Komon)\nLHEBAN: Er ... so we can save them, of course, friend ... Well. Sometimes, so I've heard tell, the brat never comes back. No great loss, I guess, peasants just breed another.\nKOMON: Know 'bout that, I do, I do ...\n(Lheban pinches Komon's nose)\nLHEBAN: But, as the story goes round here anyway, often the brat is just put to work, digging out lumps of Fools' Ebony, shoveling dirt, bagging it. Extending the tunnels of the Nackles. After a while, Brat is pushed back up to where it came from. Seems that Brat might think it's spent a year down there, but only a day has passed up top ... Brat comes back real thin and dirty though, covered in black mess ... You know, come to think of it -- on the day past Witches' Festival, I've often seen some little brats, scrawny, real dirty black mess on them, looking terrified, too. Parents drag them into Temples to get blessed and cured, if they have the gold. By the Beard of Sheogorath, the wailing and noise! Enough to drive a priest to ... er ... well, never mind ... that's our problem ...\nKOMON: Nah ... it's a problem with our suppliers, I tell you ...\n(Lheben throws Komon through a screen)\nLHEBAN: Anyway, that's the short of it, this Nackles legend up around here. I recall now, it's widespread all over Tamriel ... and knowing the place, probably more than a grain of truth in the tale, much, much more ...\nADVENTURER: So, I guess some of the ... er, darker Dark Elves sort of identify with this Nackles. Take on the persona, so to say ...\nLHEBAN: Yeah, that sort of sums it up, I guess ... though we don't see those types hauling off brats in sacks, now do we?\nKOMON: Nah, that's wot we does, girly brats anyway, isn't it not?\n(Komon hiccoughs) (Lheban breaks a bottle over Komon's head)\n(Komon falls unconscious)\nADVENTURER: Thats a very interesting tale, gentlemen. Say, let me repay you with another bottle -- what's that you're drinking? Ah, thought so - Innkeep! More holy wine for these holy men!\nLHEBAN: A blessing on you for that kind gesture, friend.\nADVENTURER: I thank you, I sure could use one or three ... Anyway, this 'Fools' Ebony', I've heard mutters and murmurs about that of late -- mostly eavesdropping ... pardon me ... listening ... to Mages and the like. What's with this stuff? Here, have another swig ... good!\nLHEBAN: Well, we're not supposed to tell outsiders ... but then, you seem to know something already. And if you have been hearing Mage gossip ... Why, maybe we can do some business. Profit all round! Well ... for the Akatosh Chantry, of course, and your fee, good Sir.\nADVENTURER: More and more interesting -- tell on, I pray you.\n(Komon staggers to feet) (Komon hiccoughs)\nKOMON: Time for me to go convert that little lamppost girl ... no, no, no - not last nights one, but the blonde ...\n(Exit Komon) (Female squeals from offstage)\nLHEBAN: Friend, you'll have to excuse Komon. He's a bit ... you know strange ... Got these ...\nADVENTURER: Oh, that's all right, we've all got our own...\n(Exeunt Lheben and the Adventurer) (Enter EPILOGUE)\nEPILOGUE: Our apologies for the quality of this drama so far. If those of you still present will wait for a few minutes while our bard plays \"Silence Implies Consent,\" we will change the set for the next act, Part the Twoth. Please don't forget to tip your wench. Do you believe there's such a thing as Fools' Ebony? Maybe we'll find out in Part the Twoth. Or maybe not.\n(Flourish) (Exit Epilogue)\nEnd of Part the Oneth, Being Mostly Concerned with The Legend of Nackles."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fools-ebony-part-twoth": {"series": "Fools' Ebony", "game": ["Daggerfall"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fools-ebony-part-twoth", "author": "Frincheps", "title": "Fools' Ebony, Part The Twoth", "description": "An interesting, somewhat funny reading. Contains some lewd hints, but nothing explicit. Rather long.", "text": "Bearing Mostly on Fools' Ebony and Temples\nSame place, same Inn, A bottle or two later. Enter Prologue, the Adventurer, and Lheben\nPROLOGUE: Little has occured so far in our comedic drama. The Adventurer, our Dark Elf rascal, has bought drinks for two priests of Akatosh. All have drunk considerably. One of the priests has rushed off in pursuit of his lamp girl. And, unless I've forgotten something or something happened when I was paying attention to something else, that's a complete synopsis of Part the Oneth. Ah, here come two more priests. Humble Prologue must depart.\n(Enter RAIC and STETE)\nRAIC: Evening Lheban! Evening stranger. My fellow priest here is Stete, I am Raic. We are honored to serve Julianos.\nADVENTURER: What is this, anyway - Priests night out? And ... I thought that your Temples - Akatosh, Julianos, the rest ... I thought them all cut-throat competitors. In theology and gold, if you will forgive my bluntness. Yet you all seem the best of friends ..? Come to think of it, didn't I have words with Stete earlier, you said you were of the Temple of Stendarr?\nRAIC: A common misconception, friend ...\nLHEBAN: ... but one that we ... encourage ...\nRAIC: Really, we all work together closely, move between the Temples as needs dictate ...\nLHEBAN: ... exchange information ...\nRAIC: ... share funds ...\nSTETE: ... swap our sisters ...\n(Lheben kicks Stete) (Enter Prologue)\nPROLOGUE: Sorry to interrupt the merry slapstick, but I neglected to mention earlier that the Fools' Gold saga -- if that is the word -- contains gratuitous reference to priestly misdeeds and sexual excess. I hope those of you in the audience of peevish, prudish, sullen, frumpy, or grumpy demeanors are not offended. Now then, on with the entertainment.\n(Exit Prologue)\nLHEBAN: ... and all that ...\nRAIC: But it helps in our ... holy work, if we are perceived as separate and, uh, competitive...\nLHEBAN: Mind you, there are one or two, er ... religious organizations ... well, sort of ... that we do not have anything to do with ...\nRAIC: Nothing at all, nothing at all ... animals, just animals ...\nADVENTURER: Such as ..?\nLHEBAN: Weeell -- the Dark Brotherhood for one ... nasty bunch of thugs ... and then there's the Afterdark Society ...\n(aside to Raic)\nThis fellow, seems a decent sort of chap ... seems to know something about Mages and Fools' Ebony ...\nRAIC: (aside to Lheban) Really now ... how interesting...\n(to all) Hey fellow, have another bottle -- this will bless you throat. My, my, yes indeed it will...\nADVENTURER: Thanks Raic, don't mind a bit ...\nLHEBAN: But let me continue -- I was explaining about this Fools' Ebony to you ...\nRAIC: Yes, Fools' Ebony ...\nLHEBAN: Well. Fools' Ebony now. Well, you know about ordinary Ebony, how it's rare, only some dwarven clans dig it and sell it. And not too many, these days and times ...\nSTETE: How's that popular song go ..? (singing)\nWhere have all the Old Dwarves gone, Long time ago ...\n(Lheben throws Innkeep at Stete) (Raic breaks chair on Innkeep and Stete) (Innkeep loses consciousness)\n\nLHEBAN: There's a pile of real ebony up in the Wrothgarians somewhere north, I hear tell. You know how that dullish black ebony gets worked over by Mages, by some skilled armorers, made into all kinds of potent weapons, amulets, belts, what have you. All fetch a huge price, when you can find any. And how the best was made long ago, by those old dwarves ...\n(Stete rises to his feet) (Lheban kicks Stete back down) (The Adventurer loosens his tunic)\nLHEBAN: Oh my! Oh, my apologies, friend, Sir! I see you have -- what's that? An ebony torc? Oh my, and an ebony katana! Oh My! Oh My, My! So, of course, you know all that, sir.\nADVENTURER: Oh, that's all right, you didn't know. Here, have another bottle ...\nLHEBAN: Many thanks, kind Sir. Well, then you know how every adventurer, even snotty kids, all the dungeon-delvers, are always looking for ebony artifacts, weapons, whatnot. But what you may not know, some of the more experienced delvers hunt for raw ebony lodes, piles, dwarven leavings. That stuff, the raw ebony, is far more valuable.\nADVENTURER: The raw unshaped material that provides work ... and power ... for so few? Apparently just loaded with negative magicka?\nRAIC: Right, right!\nLHEBAN: Yes, right so! Quite so! Well, Fools' Ebony now. Looks just about like the real raw stuff. Runs in veins in the deep rocks. Feels the same, smells almost the same. But the big difference: it's not real ebony. No power at all. If you pick some up, it gets you hands a bit dirty. Softer too, by all accounts. But sort of shiny too. But who can tell all that, deep in some old mine, maybe a ghoul breathing down your neck! So it's just grab and run, I guess, down in those nasty holes. So the fools, the kids, the crazy delvers, are always hauling up a bag, a sack, of Fools' Ebony. And getting laughed at by the merchants, dealers, mages, us ... hence the Fools' part. Stuff just gets thrown into the Bay ...\nADVENTURER: Yeah, that's sort of what I ... er ... heard from some Mages. But I heard something else, too ...\nLHEBAN: And just what was that, friend ... if you want to tell us, of course ... Sir.\nADVENTURER: Oh, of course! I think that we can come to ... er ... an arrangement?\nLHEBAN and RAIC (Together): Certainly, Oh Yes!\nADVENTURER: So, yeah, so these mages -- Shub and Shub, they are always called Shub, aren't they? -- anyway, these old guys were saying how this Fools' Ebony can burn. Not magically, but like an ordinary piece of wood. But the flame lasts far longer, gives off lots more heat, makes no smoke to speak of, no noise ... very interesting ... Mages were saying as how the alchemists want it, to heat the retorts and flasks ... How the Mages Guild wants it, to make and sell ... er ... fake amulets and the like ... rotten trick that! And especially the Armorers, they want it bad, for their forges, I guess. And the Alchemists, for their alembics ...\nLHEBAN: Precisely my information! Now... gets cold up here in the winter, doesn't it? And everyone is cutting down all those trees, making siege engines, boats, all that evil war machinery! All those rich royals and merchants got to heat their great big piles of homes. So their Contessas can run around in next to nothing, instead of furs...\nSTETE: ... just like my sister ...\n(Lheben bites Stete's arm) (Stete shreiks and falls unconscious)\nADVENTURER: All those armorers got to keep their hearths and furnaces running...\nLHEBAN: ... All the Mages got to keep their familiars warm ...\nRAIC: ... All those royals got to keep the contessas running ...\nLHEBAN: ... All those peasants got to keep their animals warm ...\nADVENTURER: And To Sheogorath with the wife and kids, right? Ha! And, I guess, its sort of hard for you Priests to give blessings and cures, when your fingers are all cold and stiff ..? Makes getting corks out a tad hard, to say nothing of opening those little twists of parchment ..?\nRAIC: You speak truly, indeed!\nLHEBAN: A man of wisdom, indeed! Yes!\nADVENTURER: So, where do we find this Fools' Ebony -- in quantity?\nLHEBAN: You put your finger (you have six, I note -- oh, excuse me, Sir) on the crux of the matter. I have heard rumors, just rumors, mind you, that there are huge enormous veins of this stuff, at one place on the surface, far up in the Wrothgarians. Bad, bad place to go. But, if you can get there and back, cartloads of the stuff!\nADVENTURER: Thats just what I overheard from those Mages -- far up there in the Wrothgarians -- orcs, dragonlings, daedra, Sheogorath only knows what ... Those Mages seemed to know the spot, though. Mages wanted someone to ...\nRAIC: You didn't ... talk ... to the Mages. I mean, you haven't ...\nADVENTURER: Oh no. They didn't even know I was there...\n(aside) Not yet, anyway...\nLHEBAN: Good, good - can't trust those Mages, you know ... old fossils would turn their own mothers into sludge-toads, just for a bit of gold! Gold-mad, power-mad, Mad-mad, the whole rotten lot of them! But then they don't have mothers!\nRAIC: Excellent. Seems to me, friend -- or, can we call you partner? Yes? Excellent. Seems tome, partner, that my brother priests and you should do some digging and poking around - see if we can get to those veins, those deposits, eh!\nADVENTURER: Yes indeed, partners! But it would cost a fair pile of gold to get up there -- weapons, spells, women, clothing, carts and horses, women, food, potions ... Best go well-prepared, up there.\nLHEBAN: No problem, partner. Our Temples have ... certain resources, such that if we were guaranteed ... sole access, sole knowledge of the location, then we could finance someone ... someone with the requisite skills, such as yourself? Just by happenstance, I am Keeper of the Books ... you see the opportunity?\nADVENTURER: Oh yes! Oh yes! Well -- lets split a last bottle, and shake on an agreement?\nLHEBAN: Indeed, let us! We first need information -- who knows about the site up there, where it is, how to reach it ... Why don't we meet back here in, say, a week, to the hour. And see what we can learn, meanwhile?\nRAIC: We need to find a merchant, too. Someone who can handle it for us ... warehouses, distribution ...\nLHEBAN: And keep a shut mouth!\nADVENTURER: I'll make some inquiries about merchants ... got a contact or two ... Trouble is -- well, you know how these things go -- few golds here, few there, before you know it you've bribed half the town, or so it seems. Now, as luck would have it, I don't have much -- got swindled by a wretched Mage, some town south of here, and lost most of my belongings in a shipwreck ...\nLHEBAN: Ah Yes! You need some ... seed money as it were.\nRAIC: (To Lheban) Let me lift old Stete's purse, he made a lot renting out his sister last week ...\nLHEBAN: Thank you, Raic. Here, about 100 gold -- enough ?\nADVENTURER: Oh yes, more than enough for a start, Gentlemen. Good, good, good ... so we have a deal?\nADVENTURER: Yes! It's agreed. One week!\n(Exit Lheban, Raic dragging Stete) (Exit the Adventurer)\n(Enter Epilogue)\nEPILOGUE: Ah, things are happening now, I doubt it not. Patrons, I request that you recall that this is a work of fiction created by one of the finest writers of the asylum, Frincheps, Archprince of All Sumurset. There is no such thing as Fools' Ebony. Furthermore, Ebony is not mined as the priests have described the process. Grasp that please. If you can still enjoy the play as a rude work of fiction, stay with us for Part the Threeth. If you can't, farewell. And don't forget to tip the wenches.\nAnd so endeth Part the Twoth"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fools-ebony-part-threeth": {"series": "Fools' Ebony", "game": ["Daggerfall"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fools-ebony-part-threeth", "author": "Frincheps", "title": "Fools' Ebony, Part The Threeth", "description": "An interesting, somewhat funny reading. Contains some lewd hints, but nothing explicit. Rather long.", "text": "In The Mages' Guild, One to Three Days Later\n(Enter Prologue)\nPROLOGUE: We are now at the halfway point of our disjointed epic. If you are just arriving, you have missed little. The Adventurer, our rogue Dark Elf, has joined with a quadripartite (that's a triumvirate plus one) of priests intent on discovering a burning metal called Fools' Ebony and becoming wealthy. The priests have given our hero some gold for bribing merchants, but the only people who know where the Fools' Ebony is are the mages of the Mages' Guild. As the Epilogue pointed out at the end of Part the Twoth, there is no such thing as Fools' Ebony and real Ebony is not mined. Something our playwrite apparently did not research. Well, accept it as high fantasy, if you will. Or whatever. Hark, here comes our hero now. Imagine the miasma (if that's the word I want) of magical elixirs, bubbling cauldrons, hovering balls of sparkling whatnot. And now, the Prologue must depart.\n(Enter the Adventurer and SHUB)\nADVENTURER: Ho! Anyone around?\nSHUB: Over here, young man, in the corner ...\nADVENTURER: Morning. Do I call you ... Shub ..?\nSHUB: Oh yes, Shub is my name, Shub it is ... How on Tamriel did you know?\nADVENTURER: Can we have some ... privacy ... I have a somewhat ... er ... delicate matter to discuss..?\nSHUB: No need for privacy here! We Mages do not hide anything!\nADVENTURER: Fools' Ebony?\nSHUB: Quick through this door ..! Turn right ... Turn left ... Ah ... just let me throw a privacy spell around us ...\n(Loud zap sounds) (Enter SHUB)\nGood! Now Sir -- Oh, by the way, meet my fellow Mage, Shub.\nSHUB: Mmmm.\nSHUB: Now, you mentioned Fools' Ebony ..?\nADVENTURER: Well, I fancy myself a bit of an expert in ebony. Had quite a bit come and go through my hands in my time, I have ...\nSHUB: We notice that you have an ebony amulet, and an ebony katana -- Of Lightning, no less! And an ebony belt ... ...mmmm...\nADVENTURER: Hands off the toys, gentlemen, please!\nSHUB: Forgive us -- but we so appreciate such fine items ...\nSHUB: ... collect them too ...\nADVENTURER: Well, the other day, just by chance of course, I just happened to hear two priests of the Temple of ... er ... Stendarr, I think it was ... They were a bit high in their cups, I think, a bit loud, and never noticed me skulking -- I mean, standing -- there. They were going on about this Fools' Ebony - stuff like the real thing, only no magicka at all. None. But it burns like wood, only longer, hotter, no smoke, nice even heat.\nSHUB: Yes ... we have heard similar rumors. Seen a bit of that stuff -- lumps from a sack or two that some crazed delver dragged up, that kind of thing. Right, Shub?\nSHUB: Oh - Oh yes, right, that kind of thing ... right ...\n(aside) I must remember to keep the secret, whatever it is.\nADVENTURER: Well, these fool priests seemed to talk as if they knew a location for lots, I mean piles, of that stuff -- somewhere up in the Wrothgarians ...\nSHUB and SHUB (Together): Where! Who! Did they say? How? When? Where?\nSHUB: You didn't let them know you were listening, did you?\nADVENTURER: Of course not! What do you take me for, a priest lover?\nSHUB: Calm yourself, my lord ... that's better...just don't go fiddling with that katana so much. Makes us nervous.\nSHUB: Yes, nervous, very ...\nSHUB: Here, sit down. There. Want some mulled wine? No? Oh well, just have to finish it myself.\nSHUB: So they seemed to know the location.\n(aside) Hmmmm. This means we have to act fast, quickly, speedily, and with great rapidity.\nADVENTURER: Oh yes! They were talking like they were going to get a load in a few weeks or so ...\nSHUB: Oh My! Oh Dear Me! Ohhh...\nSHUB: Now then. Seems you know a fair amount about this Fools' Ebony. And you realize the potential -- just think, big warm fires in all our study rooms ...\nSHUB and SHUB (Together): ... Selling it to the Palace... selling it to those stupid Alchemists ... the Armorer's Guild would be good for a lot ... ...keep out familiars nice and warm ... ... and our posteriors ..! ... just think how Daedra Seducers love a nice warm fire ... Giving smoldering lumps to the peasants to warm their hovels with - in return for some gold, of course ...\nSHUB: ...just think of all that gold...\nSHUB: Trouble is, son - we would like to get that stuff by the cartload, bring it down here ...\nSHUB: Have some trustworthy merchant ...\nSHUB: Put a spell on him!\nSHUB: ... Have some merchant act as sort of, middleman, for us ...\nADVENTURER: But ... then why the delay, gentlemen?\nSHUB: You seem like an honest fellow. We'll tell you -- mind you, you let out a word of this, and there will be a Fire Daedra in your bed ... but no threats between gentlemen, right!\nADVENTURER: Very well -- I shall be the very soul of discretion.\nSHUB: You see, we know where the stuff it, cartloads and cartloads of it. But we can't get there and back ...\nSHUB: We are not the outdoorsy types.\nSHUB: Far safer here in town.\nSHUB: Much warmer too.\nSHUB: Think of all the supplies we would have to take.\nSHUB: All those nasty things out there.\nSHUB: Did you know that seducers won't come to us in the wilderness?\nSHUB: We'd have to hire guards, to keep those awful priests away.\nSHUB: And the strain of dealing with all those coarse types ... the Merchants.\nSHUB: The Armorers.\nSHUB: The Royals.\nADVENTURER: Mmm. I think I comprehend. You want some -- experienced explorer-hero type, someone used to the wilderness - to go get it for you, set up a supply line, so on ..?\nSHUB: Exactly. And find us a nice, useable merchant. Someone we can control.\nSHUB: With a big, big warehouse, delivery service, that kind of thing ...\nADVENTURER: Well, gentlemen. Let me volunteer my services! I have always admired you Mage gentlemen -- so clever, so sharp. No fooling you in anything, is there?\nSHUB: No, no fooling us ...\n(Enter Prologue)\nPROLOGUE: This, ladies and gentlemen, is irony.\n(Exit Prologue)\nADVENTURER: Tell you what, I can probably arrange a suitable merchant or you. Take some gold though -- those thieves know the value of a gold piece! As luck would have it, my last gold was swindled off me by a thieving priest, in some little town south of here. And I lost a lot of good stuff in a shipwreck just before that ...\nSHUB: Well ... since you have agreed to help us ... we can spare some gold from the treasury, can't we, Shub?\nSHUB: Oh! Oh yes, lots there ... always make more ...\nADVENTURER: Now, I do need to know roughly where this site is, got to pick the right breed of horse, calculate my supplies to the last drop, figure out what weapons I might need ... supplies, like food, little things like that ... diameter of the cart wheels in square yurts ... ambush points for the priests, in case they try to get up there ... mmmmm ...\nSHUB: Tell you what - here is 500 gold. Go get things started.\nSHUB: Yes ... we can always make some more.\nSHUB: (aside, to Shub) Shut up!\n(Shub fires a spell at Shub that burns him to a cinder and then reconstitutes him)\n(to all) Excuse us ... where was I ... Oh ... get a merchant, guards, carts, whatever you think it will take. Come back if you need more.\nSHUB: But what about those priests?\nADVENTURER: I've an idea or two there. Let me get friendly with them - maybe hire a couple of good lamppost girls, lay in a few cases of holy wine ... I'll have them eating out of my hand in no time. And if you show me where this Fools' Ebony is ... why, I can misdirect them, send them straight into an trolls' den or something.\nSHUB: You're the expert! Here, let me show you on a map ... and I don't need to mention Fire Daedras, do I?\nADVENTURER: So ... seems to be ... hmmmm ... only thirty days there, this time of year. Maybe forty back, with the loads. Let me study this a bit more ...\nSHUB: Can't take it with you, of course ... don't want this getting out now ...\nADVENTURER: Oh no. That's fine. Look, let me have a bit more gold. Going to need some heavy-duty carts. See here, this section ... cut by all these washes ... hmmmm ... the flummox there will be something terrible ... Oh, and these ruins, full of ghosts, I bet ... hmmmm ... and this pass, just full of willies too ...\nSHUB: If you say so ... My, seems that we picked the right man, right, Shub!\nSHUB: Oh yes, indeed.\nADVENTURER: So -- why don't I make arrangements, get back to you in ... er ... say a week? Say -- sure that you don't want to come with me. After all, there's nothing like the wilderness life. Waking up with the sun, shaking off the frost. Catching an orc for breakfast - ever have orc guts fried over stinkwood? Oh, that's a treat! Checking each stream for dead giant spiders - or live ones! Imp jerky for lunch! Scanning the ridges for dragonlings! Standing guard against Ice Daedra in a blinding snowstorm! Oh, what a life!\nSHUB and SHUB (Together): No, no ... we, we better stay here at the Guild. Got our duties after all ... someones got to mind the store ... someones got to get the word out to selected customers ... No, thank you kind Sir, it does sound such a lovely life, but I think we best be here ... yes, indeed ...\nADVENTURER: A pity, gentlemen. Well, I'll be about it then. And don't worry if you see me with those priests -- got to mislead and misdirect them, haven't I!\nSHUB: One week, then!\n(Exeunt Shub, the Adventurer, and Shub) (Enter Epilogue)\nEPILOGUE: Shub and Shub, ladies and gentlemen. Implausibly retarded mages, yes, but perhaps there's something more to them than this act suggests. Do you think so, maybe? Well, if you are not in the theater for Part the Fourth, you won't know for certain, will you? Don't forget to tip your wenches and think on that while we change the set.\nSo Endeth Part the Three"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fools-ebony-part-fourth": {"series": "Fools' Ebony", "game": ["Daggerfall"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fools-ebony-part-fourth", "author": "Frincheps", "title": "Fools' Ebony, Part The Fourth", "description": "An interesting, somewhat funny reading. Contains some lewd hints, but nothing explicit. Rather long.", "text": "Mercantile Dealings, The Armorers Involve Themselves. After some general discussion and verbal dancing around, finally the topic of Fools' Ebony is explored ...\nSomewhere near the market, in the back of a store called \"Nephron's General Mercantile\".\nThe day after.\n(Enter Prologue, the Adventurer, and NEPHRON)\nPROLOGUE: Whilst the actors playing the Adventurer and the merchant Nephron dramatically move their mouths to pantomime a conversation, it is on poor Prologue's shoulders to update the audience on the play's actions in its first three acts. The Adventurer, a rogue of a Dark Elf, has been hired two different groups -- four inebriated priests and two greedy mages -- to delay the other group, and find the lost cache of Fools' Ebony in the Wrothgarian Mountains. Now, picture this clownishly decorated set as the back room at a prosperous merchant's shop. And before the Adventurer and Nephron develop lockjaw, Prologue will leave you thus.\nADVENTURER: So you see, friend Nephron, just what an opportunity we have here. We have this new commodity, for which you agree there will be a huge demand.\nNEPHRON: Especially from the Royals -- once one of them has something new, they all want it, of course.\nADVENTURER: And do not forget the Armorers for their forges, and the Alchemists for their retorts and whatnots...\nNEPHRON: You seem to have the Mages lined up nicely, got their location, memorized the access map, and so on - you know, we merchants have had a suspicion for quite some time that those old twits had some deep dark secret of interest to us... Now, the priests - the School of Julianos we already work well with, hand and glove, you might say. But of course we shall cut them out of the major profits -- maybe let them distribute some to their flocks? And their Temples make good, how can I say? -- storehouses? But the Akatosh Chantry is a problem, always running off and doing things on their own initiative, no cooperation, just crazy people ... we really need to do something about them, to ... er ... ensure their cooperation ...\nADVENTURER: I have a suggestion that might help ... you recall how old Komon left and apparently dragged off some little blonde lamppost girl ... just suppose, that just by chance, in his state of ... befuddlement ... he dragged off someone important by mistake..? Might be a lot of trouble for the Chantry, if word got out?\nNEPHRON: Hmmm. Indeed ... there's this silly little blonde Royal who's all excited by the 'real life' down in these parts of town. Disguises herself (or so she thinks), comes on down here and plays at being poor. Stupid little twit ... Komon is still in hiding with his blonde, right?\nADVENTURER: Yes, in that 'retreat' the Priests have, down near the waterfront.\nNEPHRON: Oh yes, I know that place - often sell them some 'spiritual powders' and so on ... Good ... you see, just imagine what would happen if Komon, by mistake, had grabbed this slumming little Contessa ... Akatosh Chantry would have no end of trouble from the palace if something nasty happened to her ... and then we could move in, offer to 'help' the Chantry during their hard times ... Hmmm. Yes! Leave it to me, I shall contact a few of my ... er ... business associates, as it were ... make some arrangements.\nADVENTURER: And I'll keep up chatting with the priests, get them to support our little business venture?\nNEPHRON: Right! And I should introduce you to some of the more senior members of our Brotherhood ... excuse me, Guild. Let me contact you in a few days, when everything is all set. You are here every evening?\nADVENTURER: Yes, not particularly safe outside after dark these days.\nNEPHRON: I see. We shall have to arrange some ... protection for you. Well, in a few days, then.\n(Exit Nephron, inconspicuously) (Enter FIVE ARMORERS)\n(Armorers and the Adventurer fight) (The Adventurer falls)\n(The Armorers tie the Adventurer up and then wake him up)\nARMORER 1: OK, fellow. Lets not spriggen-foot around! We know about this Fools' Ebony thing. And about the Mages who apparently discovered the location. And we have been watching you dance around with the Priests, the Mages, the Merchants. Just about everyone with two feet!\nARMORER 2: And how you are really working with Nephron.\nARMORER 3: And how you are double-crossing the Priests and Mages ...\nARMORER 2: You and Nephron are really doing a good job on the Akatosh Chantry, we must admit.\nARMORER 1: But now, we want that Fool's Ebony supply. We need it to increase our production, our quality -- and our prices. We can work with Nephron and his gang, we need warehouses and distribution anyway.\nARMORER 4: We could torture it out of you ...\nARMORER 3: We could let the Priests know about your plans -- they would throw you to the Afterdark Society in a flash!\nARMORER 5: We could let the Mages know -- they would send you to Oblivion for a very, very long time!\nARMORER 1: But we would rather you 'joined' our Guild. We cannot afford to leave Daggerfall for some hairy wilderness trip. Too much demand these days, for our services.\nARMORER 2: But we can send a group of our apprentices along to keep you company.\nARMORER 4: Our apprentices usually test all our products ... and will be just itching to test out there.\nADVENTURER: Gentlemen, gentlemen! Please - I really was going to give the whole deal to you, once I had gotten gold from everyone else.\n(Armorer 5 slaps the Adventurer with a hot poker)\nOhhh ... well, I thought of it...\nARMORER 5: Sure! And I'm a Nymph!\nADVENTURER: Yes, Yes, Yes, you are very persuasive. I would welcome an ... er ... escort and guard of such tough gentlemen. Be very handy out there.\nARMORER 1: Good. Thought you would see it our way! Some of our other members are presently having a little ... chat with Nephron. We can handle him. And from now on, two of our bigger apprentices will always be close at hand. Protection, of course - this town can be quite dangerous at night ...\nARMORER 3: So continue with your arrangements, work with Nephron. You can always leave word about your departure date with any weapons shop. And about any problems you may have ...\nADVENTURER: Certainly, gentlemen. Yes, you are indeed very persuasive. I shall keep you up to date. And, er...thanks for the protection.\n(Enter ORTHO, the very large apprentice) (The Adventurer is untied) (Exeunt Five Armorers)\nADVENTURER: Hello, who are you?\nORTHO: Me am Ortho!\nADVENTURER: My ... protection?\nORTHO: Me am Ortho!\nADVENTURER: You look very familiar to me for some reason. Have you every been to Morrowind?\nORTHO: Me am Ortho!\nADVENTURER: Fine then. (aside) My old man used to say the very worst thing that can happen to a fellow is an evening spent in the company of an earnest politician. This, I think, is a close second.\n(Exeunt the Adventurer and Ortho) (Enter Epilogue)\nEPILOGUE: Our play has six parts, and we've just finished the fourth. It's interesting I think that the Lusty Contessa has not made an appearance yet. You don't suppose our playwrite forgot he put her in the Dramatis Personae, do you? Well, you'll only know if you come back for The Fools' Ebony, Part the Fiveth. And if your neighbor decides not to return, don't tell him what happened. We actors have to make a living too, you know. Don't forget to tip your wenches while we change the scene.\n(Exit Epilogue)\nSo Endeth Part The Fourth"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fools-ebony-part-fiveth": {"series": "Fools' Ebony", "game": ["Daggerfall"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fools-ebony-part-fiveth", "author": "Frincheps", "title": "Fools' Ebony, Part The Fiveth", "description": "An interesting, somewhat funny reading. Contains some lewd hints, but nothing explicit. Rather long.", "text": "Back With The Priests, Final Plans, and a Killing or Two is Reported...\nNearer the middle of the Month of Frostfall, The Inn of the Pink Nymph.\n(Enter Prologue, the Adventurer, Ortho, Nephron, the Five Armorers, and Prologue)\nPROLOGUE: Our roguish Dark Elf, the Adventurer has plummeted before our stunned eyes, from the king of the spider web of intrigue to a pathetic, crawling lump of Argonian excrement. In the quest for Fools' Ebony, that substance that all would kill for, the Adventurer attempted to play Mage against Priest with the help of the merchant Nephron. Alas, that is to say, alackaday, the five armorers have trapped Nephron and the Adventurer and taken over their scheme. The hulking Ortho now watches the Adventurer's every move. But I get the feeling -- to be honest, don't you? -- that beneath the Adventurer's defeated quivering jelly lurks a jungle cat of such cunning and resource to shatter all his enemies when the time is right. Of course, I could be wrong. Ah, I see one of the priests of Akatosh who believes himself a friend of the Adventurer. I, Prologue must away.\n(Exit Prologue) (Enter Lheban, a Priest of Akatosh.)\nLHEBAN: Evening there, mind if I join you?\nADVENTURER: Well ... since you already have - no. And where is our esteemed brother Komon this chill evening?\nLHEBAN: You mean you haven't heard -- Oh, I guess you have been busy with the ... preparations?\nADVENTURER: Right, right, very busy...\nLHEBAN: Then let me tell you -- Oh, what a bad business. What trouble ... Oh Dear ... Well ... you doubtless recall that poor Komon had this ... er ... problem -- overwork of course!\nADVENTURER: Oh yes -- you fellows do work exceeding hard, seems to me.\nLHEBAN: Well ... recall how Komon left, somewhat erratically as it were, and ... er ... made off with that young blondie under the lamppost outside? Well -- in his ... er ... state of confusion - he grabbed the wrong blondie - Oh My, indeed the wrong one ...\nADVENTURER: They all look pretty much the same to me, but of course, I do not look too hard!\nLHEBAN: Oh My! Well, to cut a short tale to the bone, old Komon grabbed a Contessa, who had thought to 'disguise herself.' Oh Dear!\nADVENTURER: Well -- did she get away? Did they catch Komon? What happened?\nLHEBAN: Well, old Komon, tipsy as he was, was quick as spit in a gale. Eluded all pursuit, took the lady to a small private ... retreat house that we have. Oh Dear Me! Well, the City Guards, Palace guards, half a dozen Royals, all caught up with Komon 3 days later. One day too late for the poor Contessa -- I hear that they had a hard time locating all the ... er ... bits and pieces. Komon was there, passed out cold. And another body, some common blond lamppost girl. And by now he is cold -- permanently, most likely at the bottom of the Bay.\nADVENTURER: Oh well. Serves the Contessa right, coming down to this area. But I suppose that there are repercussions?\n(Enter two more Priests, Raic and Stete of Julianos, and four armed City Guards.)\nRAIC: Evening, Lheban. Evening, Adventurer. And --\nORTHO: Me am Ortho.\nRAIC: Yesss. Charmed. And Lheban, you indeed have my sympathies ... if there is anything we can do to help -- our Temple of Julianos, that is ..? But really, you should have kept Komon on a tighter leash - or preferably a noose!\nADVENTURER: Hello Raic. And hello to you, Stete - how's your sister?\nSTETE: Oh, she's great.\n(Raic sets Stete on fire, but it goes out)\nLHEBAN: Yes, I know I know. Oh the repercussions! Do you know that the Priests of Akatosh to Daggerfall Castle, Wayrest Palace and just about everywhere else have all been thrown out? That the Royal tax exemption for the Chantry has been revoked? That the Akatosh Chantry has just received a 'past due taxes' bill? Oh My!\nADVENTURER: Well ... I suppose that we could help somewhat, maybe? Maybe a small loan from Julianos for that tax bill? With, say, a Temple as security? Oh -- are not the taxes based on the number of the Priests of Akatosh? So, maybe ... the School of Julianos could take over a ... significant number? Reduce your tax bill? You realize that this is not the best time for this -- just as we need a lot of funds for that expedition that I am arranging for you.\nLHEBAN: Oh, I am so sorry about Komon! But, yes, maybe if good brother Raic could -- I hate to say this -- take over a greater share of the financial burden ..? In return, of course, for ... er ... considerations ..?\nRAIC: Hmm. Like a good number of 'permanently' loaned priests? A long look at your books? At your cellar? Your name-lists? A Temple as security on our loan? And, of course, a bigger cut in the proceeds of this ... expedition? Names of your ... er ... suppliers ..?\nLHEBAN: Oh. I foresaw something like this, talked a bit about it with old Mucky-Muck - livid, he was. But, as I am a Senior Brother, he finally authorized me to 'take care of it.' Those weren't his exact words, mind you, which were quite a bit ...longer, more explicit ... but the gist, at least.\nADVENTURER: Of course, Lheban. If -- and note I say 'if' -- if we are successful, why then you can easily get back into good graces at the Palace. Merely sell them the goods, as a good low rate! With first refusal on any shipment you have? What's one Contessa to them, anyway?\nLHEBAN: Yes, yes! That could work! Worth a try. But how? Royals will not talk to anyone from the Akatosh Chantry now.\nADVENTURER: Leave that to me, I can make ... approaches to certain ones. Yes, I can probably persuade them to let up on the Chantry, in return for... future favors ...\nLHEBAN: Oh, Oh how can I thank you?\nADVENTURER: Well, I need a fair amount of gold to finish setting up my little trip. Maybe 10,000? Special horses, reinforced carts, cartiers, guards ... the list goes on and on. And the cost of keeping our little trip quiet is really quite high.\nLHEBAN: Well, yes, we can afford it, I guess -- you do have the map now, don't you? I know we can afford 8,000 gold. Given the potential profits ...\nADVENTURER: Rest easy! - it's all here in my cloak -- show you in a bit. I've also managed to ... hire some good young hefty fellows, like old Ortho here, to manage the carts, dig and load, act as guards, and so on ...\nLHEBAN: Good, good - I can relax a bit. Oh my, the fellows back at the Chantry will be so relieved. We really owe you, the Brotherhood does -- Oh, I mean the Akatosh Chantry, of course!\nSTETE: Brotherhood ..? What about our sisterhood, eh?\n\n(Raic grapples Stete, allowing Lheban to hit Stete with a large mallet)\nADVENTURER: Well, Raic, what about you and the School? How much are you good for, the extra 2000? And maybe some more - always lots of last minute expenses on a trip like this, you know.\nRAIC: Well now. Since we seem to getting a whole extra sect of Priests, and ... other considerations ... Certainly!\nADVENTURER: Well, gentlemen -- Oh, and Stete -- here it is!\n(The Adventurer pulls out a map, gives it to Raic)\nOh, by the Arms of Zenithar, did I ever have to work hard for this! Those cagey Mages! But, in the end, just greedy old fools! ... Oh, just in case you or your, er, Head Priest, hasn't seen the goods -- here's a sample. Play with it.\n\n(The Adventurer hands Raic a small leather bag)\nRAIC: Thank you, thank you. I must admit, I had some ... well, some doubts. You know - dealing with a stranger, so on ... No more. Partner!\nADVENTURER: Good, good!\n(Stete hiccoughs)\nSTETE: Say, you fellows ever hear this one -- what's a Priest keep under his robe? Haha -- His sister! Haheheha!\n(The Adventurer, Lheban, and Raic beat Stete into unconsciousness)\nRAIC: You know, I fear that we really have to do something about young Stete here ... his sister thing ... ugh!\nADVENTURER: Yes, he could be another Komon -- just what don't need!\nLHEBAN: Hmmmm. This sister of his -- does she really -- exist?\nRAIC: Oh yes. My. Oh yes. We know her well - I mean, we have often seen her ...\nLHEBAN: I think, Brother, that she should be made to see the errors of her ways. So she is no longer an influence on Stete ...\nRAIC: Yes, most certainly ... Hmmm ...\nLHEBAN: A somewhat Dibelytical theological point -- Oh, please excuse the technical discussion here - Raic, if we are to make her see the errors -- well, how shall I put it -- we first have to know just what the ... ways ... are, correct?\nRAIC: Indeed, an astute observation! Hmmm ... so you are suggesting that ... in a nut, we should first determine her ... ways, so as to be able to then show her the ... er ... errors?\nLHEBAN: Precisely! Mind you, a difficult, ardous, tiring project, I fear. One that will take all our ... will and energy.\nRAIC: Hmmm, true. But challenging, eh? Take all our time - but then, we shall have some time, while friend the Adventurer here is off hauling and carting.\nLHEBAN: And ... I personally, would feel far safer if we were ... in retreat maybe. Studying the ways ..?\nADVENTURER: Yeah -- be a good idea for you two to, maybe, disappear? For a while, of course. Cut down on the chances of a ... rival faction catching on? Or catching you?\nRAIC: Very well! Lheban, why don't you and I take his sister off with us on a ... theological retreat, as it were? Study the ways in details, and so on ...\nLHEBAN: We could go to that unused little Temple, up on that shoulder of Edward's Mountain ... out of the way, quiet ...\nRAIC: Door has locks ...\nLHEBAN: Thick walls ...\nRAIC: A big cellar ...\nLHEBAN: Good! It's settled then. A theological retreat! Oh goody!\nRAIC: Of course, once we know the ... er ... ways in detail, we can of course tell old High Mucky-Muck, and let him take care of the ... er ... showing of the errors ..? Yes, that would improve his mood quite a bit ...\nLHEBAN: Then it's agreed. Let's start, say, day after tomorrow?\nRAIC: Yes! Adventurer, why don't I meet you at, oh, that horrid ugly statue of ... what on Tamriel is it? - a harpy and a gargoyle? Called something silly like 'Vendigao and Her Lover' or some such? Up in the north west corner of the town. Oh, and can I keep the map?\nADVENTURER: Sure, keep it, I have a copy. And you will pass me a small bag, there at that nasty statue?\nRAIC: Have it all ready for you -- say, ten o'clock sharp? Oh, Lheban, another thought about young Stete here. He really needs some ... seasoning in the field, one might say ...?\nLHEBAN: Hmmm. Good point ... I know! The priest who handles field assignments is coming by tomorrow. We could arrange an ... educational ...assignment for Stete?\nRAIC: Very good! But where ... hmmm ... Winter's coming soon now. There's a vacancy up in Solitude, far north Skyrim, I believe. Night collections at street corners, or some such. Very Good! Come on, Lheban. We have accounts to work on. Good night to you then, Adventurer. Ten tomorrow morning! (Lheban, Raic rise to leave, picking up Stete)\nLheban and Raic (Together): ... have to arrange some supplies ... ... leather, rope ... holy wine .... ... lots of that pink powder ... I prefer the green, myself ...\n(Exeunt Lheban, Raic dragging Stete, and City Guard)\nNEPHRON: Well?\nADVENTURER: Excellent. Went just as I said it would. Got 5000 gold from them. And, thanks to your work with that Contessa ... we have the screws on the Chantry. And the School of Julianos is going to be ... otherwise engaged ... on a theological retreat. More like a Sanguine retreat!\nNEPHRON: And those Mages Shub and Shub seem to have disappeared ...\nADVENTURER: So we are set?\nNEPHRON: Yes, you can come by my warehouse tomorrow afternoon. Have the heavy carts waiting.\nORTHO: And Ortho ...\nNEPHRON: Oh yes, must not forget you fellows. How kind of you to ... volunteer your services ...\nADVENTURER: Tomorrow, then!\n(Exeunt omnes) (Last person to leave looks just like a Royal in disguise ...) (Enter Epilogue)\nEPILOGUE: Well, we only have one part left to this play and I've run out counting the number of loose strings. Either Part the Sixth is going to be eight hours long, or we're going to leave some parts unsolved. I for one hope that they don't chose to drop the character of the Wanton Contessa. For Jephre's sake, she's been on the Dramatis Personae since Part the Oneth. Ah, well. Nobody leave your seat. Your gold will not be refunded. Any gold you can spare to tip your friendly wenches will be greatly appreciated. We just have a quick costume change and a set to put together and we'll be back. In the meanwhile, enjoy our bard's rendition of the Nordic classic \"Alas, The Fleeting Years Glide By.\"\nSo Endeth Part The Five"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fools-ebony-part-sixth": {"series": "Fools' Ebony", "game": ["Daggerfall"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/fools-ebony-part-sixth", "author": "Frincheps", "title": "Fools' Ebony, Part the Sixth", "description": "An interesting, somewhat funny reading. Contains some lewd hints, but nothing explicit. Rather long.", "text": "Daggerfall and Environs in the Doldrums of the 3rd Era\nScene 1: In The Adventurer's suite at the Dead Daedra Inn.\n(Enter Prologue, the Adventurer, and Ortho. Ortho climbs into bed.)\nPROLOGUE: Thank you for allowing us the time to change the meager set, while our bard sang that old favorite, \"Hail and Farewell.\" Now then, imagine, if you will, the luxuriant and langorous suite of that Dark Elven rogue, the Adventurer, at the Dead Daedra Inn. The time is shortly after the last scene, which if you've forgotten, ended with our hero and his partner-in-crime, Nephron, making some arrangements to swindle from the mages, priests, and armorers. All are interested in getting their hands on a lode of Fools' Ebony, a miraculous burning mineral, and the priests and mages each consider the Adventurer their ally. The Armorers know better and have assigned one of their apprentices, Ortho, to watch the Adventurer's movements. Now, as Ortho slumbers, the Adventurer has his first moment of peace in days. I should mention that in the interest of common decency, this scene has been abbreviated from the original by order of the Guild of Playwrites, Actors, and Dramatists. It now contains little material of relevance. A full copy may be obtained from the playwrite after the show for a mere 50 g.p. copying fee. Now is the time for poor Prologue to shuffle away.\n(Exit Prologue) (The Adventurer begins to get undressed)\n(Tap-tap at the door. Adventurer jumps, startled) (Snore from Ortho)\nADVENTURER: Who's there? I'm coming!\n(Opens door - carefully) (Enter CONTESSA)\nADVENTURER: Er, well ... er ... Come In! Please.\n(The Adventuer steps back, tripping over his trousers around his ankles ...)\nCONTESSA: So sorry to surprise you, but I thought that we might find something in common ... Oh! You poor man, you have a wound! Here, let me fix that bandage ... it looks very fresh.\n(Fixing bandage, properly this time)\nADVENTURER: Well, I ... just opened it up again. Evening exercises, calisthenics, so on...\nCONTESSA: How did you get this cut - if you do not mind me asking?\nADVENTURER: No, not at all. I was ... in a fight, earlier. These three crazy people jumped me.\nCONTESSA: Really? This cloth looks like part of a Mage's robe.\nADVENTURER: Well, yes, two of them were Mages.\nCONTESSA: Oh My! You must have been very good, to defeat them.\nADVENTURER: Oh, ah, well, I've been in one or two fights. Not to be rude, but who are you?\nCONTESSA: Oh, I am so sorry, I quite forgot the proper introductions. I am the Contessa Aveet Videspreed -- call me Ave. From the Court at Daggerfall.\nADVENTURER (aside): By Oblivion, what now?\nCONTESSA: Here, help me off with this robe, these inn rooms are always ... so hot. And let me check that bandage again, poor man. Ooh, you are wearing an ebony belt of stamina, and bracers of strength. Ooh, a bracelet of endurance. This is my lucky night.\nADVENTURER (aside): Help.\nCONTESSA: Here, let me help you off with that old shirt - got to check you for any more cuts - they can go bad so easily, you know.\nADVENTURER (aside): Well, its not the Armorers this time. Maybe my luck has turned.\nCONTESSA: Well, everything seems all right...very all right, in fact...\nADVENTURER: Er...well, Ave - tell me about ... er ... yourself.\nCONTESSA: If you want - just for a bit -\nADVENTURER: Here, have some wine ...\n(Enter Prologue)\nPROLOGUE: Here our worthy playwrite's speech has been heavily edited by the Guild of Playwrites, Actors, and Dramatists. I will endeavor to fill in those removed passages. I should first mention that the Contessa is not meant to be a relative of any noble currently in Castle Daggerfall. The Contessa Aveet regales the Adventurer with tales of the peculiar and hearty members of her royal family. She has many brothers and sisters. They are all very -- close.\nCONTESSA: I think I must have been a bastard. I was the only one with red hair, and an affinity for magicka. Everyone else tried to hide this skill of mine. I remember one spanking very well ...\nPROLOGUE: The Contessa relates further differences between her siblings.\nCONTESSA: While my sisters were learning to curtsey in ten different modes, and my brothers were learning flower-arranging, I used to sneak off into the woods or town. I soon learnt how to get what I wanted, from just about anyone. Just for example, there was this merchant who had three sons ...\nPROLOGUE: The Contessa goes into detail about her training.\nCONTESSA: I became quite good at the school of illusion. You never noticed me, downstairs, did you?. I also learned how to use some weapons. Let me tell you how I learned hand-to-hand ...\nPROLOGUE: The Contessa relates an amusing anecdote, and then continues.\nCONTESSA: And on bad days, I used to dig in my father's library. He had a marvelous collection of old texts. I was fascinated by Old Dwarvish, managed to learn it quite well, I think. Of course, no one has seen or spoken to one in years and years. So its probably perfectly useless knowledge. But I've always had an interest in collecting new knowledge. At the Mages Guild, they taught me an old High Elven tradition. You spread this potion all over your body...\nPROLOGUE: The Contessa relates her current state of boredom.\nCONTESSA: The life up at the Palace bores me so. My sisters ...\nPROLOGUE: The Contessa's sisters are entertaining some visitors.\nCONTESSA: And my brothers are now studying Advanced Floral Theory, so I come down here, do a little ... er ... business. I keep all my relations supplied with their favorite vices -- so I can blackmail the whole rotten lot.\nADVENTURER: But isn't it dangerous, down here? Did I not hear that some young Contessa got killed, recently?\nCONTESSA: That little twit was my cousin, and as far as I'm concerned, she got what she deserved. She thought she could just borrow a maids dress, muss up her hair, and pass for commoner. She was spotted the first minute she left the Palace gates. Now, I use illusion, craft, guile -- and I carry weaponry. By the way, that was a neat scheme you and Neph cooked up.\nADVENTURER: Well, lets change the subject, can we? ... Just what do you carry? I can't see anything ... like a weapon, I mean ...\nCONTESSA: Here, let me show you ...\nADVENTURER: Oh my, those are nice ... knives...\nCONTESSA: And there're more ...\nADVENTURER: Oh yes...\nCONTESSA: But we don't need these silly nasty weapons now, do we?\nADVENTURER: My, my -- now those are what I call weapons ... Oh yes ... heavy duty, high class ones too, my ...\nCONTESSA: I think its time that we put that ebony to the test ... to say nothing of your Mages Staff ...\nPROLOGUE: At this point, extensive material has been removed. However, please remember that any scholar who truly wishes to peruse this material can obtain a copy for only 50 g.p. - hand-drawn illustrations are of course extra. The Contessa, after a bit of fun, volunteers to be a part of the Adventurer's party to find the fools' ebony lode. I know, I know. It didn't make much sense in the original draft either, if you want to know the truth.\n(Exit Prologue)\nADVENTURER: Sure you want to go out there in the wilds?\nCONTESSA: Oh, yes. I am so bored here. Well, not right here and now, but generally. And I can really be of assistance. I'm pretty good with woods survival, knife work, hand-to-hand ... and it gets cold out there at night, even for big ebony-wearing men like you ...\nADVENTURER: All right, then. Do you know where and why we are going?\nCONTESSA: Oh, of course. It's all over Daggerfall. Everyone is watching and waiting to see what happens. There is even a lottery or two running ...\nADVENTURER: On what ..?\nCONTESSA: Oh, your life.\nADVENTURER: Oh dear Oh dear! Oh my!\nCONTESSA: Look, don't worry -- I know all about the double-dealings with mages, priests, merchants, those crude armorers. And I intend that we come out on top. I love being on top. With the goods and the profits. I'll have yet another vice to sell to my stupid relatives in their boring palaces.\nADVENTURER: But won't it be us two against hordes?\nCONTESSA: Oh no. Most everyone is waiting here in town to see what and who comes back. And I will have a surprise arranged for our 'escorts' - Ortho included. Out in the wilderness, they can be dealt with easily.\n(Ortho snores)\nADVENTURER: Tell me more.\nCONTESSA: Certainly. But first ... lets see how many uses you have left in that ebony. Mmm, your Mages' Staff is in good shape ...\n(Enter Prologue)\nPROLOGUE: Exactly. Sorry to interrupt again, but we're going to have to stop this scene right here. After a frenzied night comes the placid dawn, tripping onto the sky like a budding rose. And then another day doth dawn, and then another. Ten dawns and ten frenzied nights pass as our wily Adventurer, the wanton Contessa, the clever and naughty Nephron, the loutish Ortho, and an assemblage of randy armorers and backsliding maidens take to the road. Imagine now that we are in the wildy wilderness of High Rock near the Wrothgarian Mountains.\nScene 2\n(Enter Nephron and assorted lads and lasses) (Exit Prologue)\nCONTESSA: I do so love a bucolic frolic.\nADVENTURER: It's getting pretty wild now. I guess the dangerous part is coming up tomorrow...?\nCONTESSA: Yes, one last stop tonight, at that old inn up here -- Minnie's Inn.\nADVENTURER: Minnie's Inn? Oh, those two old scholars who gave it all up, came to run the inn out here. they must get all of two customers a year.\nCONTESSA: I think they like the solitude. It gives them time to study. They know a lot about old Dwarvish stuff - get them started on that, they will wear you ears out.\nADVENTURER: Er ... when does your surprise happen? I should probably know.\nCONTESSA: Don't fret, dear. At the Inn tonight. Just sit back and enjoy the show.\n(Enter Prologue)\nPROLOGUE: Time passes, the carts roll, things happen in the backs of the carts. And there are strange furtive movements unnoticed by all, on the high ridges around. When next we see our players, they are at Minnie's Inn, home of Minnie and Crunn, the philosopher- innkeeps. Imagine, if you will, the rather dusty dining room of Minnie's Inn.\n(Enter MINNIE, CRUNN, and GURNSEY) (Exit Prologue) (Gurnsey goes to Orthos' table with more ale for him. She sits down suddenly. She stares into Orthos' eyes, Ortho stares into hers. Mouths drop open.)\n\nMINNIE: ... er ... Crunn ...\nCRUNN: ... yes ... Minnie ...\nMINNIE: ... I was thinking ...\nCRUNN: ... yes, you were thinking, Minnie ...\nMINNIE: ... er .... thinking ...\nCRUNN: ... yes ...so was I ....\nMINNIE: ... can't remember now ...\nCRUNN: ... yes, Minnie ... Minnie ...\nMINNIE: ... Yes ..?\nCRUNN: ... Shut up ...\nGURNSEY and ORTHO (Together): Moo ... oooh ... moo.\nADVENTURER: Moo?\nCONTESSA: See, Adventurer, Ortho's fixed.\nADVENTURER: Is he?\nCONTESSA: You just watch.\nADVENTURER: And what about the other armorers?\nCONTESSA: Any minute now.\n(Ortho and serving girl arise, approach Adventurers' table. The floor shakes.)\nORTHO: This Gurnsey. Ortho love Gurnsey, oooh.\nGURNSEY: Gurnsey love Ortho ... moo ...\nORTHO: We go get marry, we is.\nADVENTURER: Well, congratulations! And that was a fine long speech, Ortho!\nORTHO: We go raise piggies.\nGURNSEY: Grows animals too, farmers be we.\n(Exit Ortho and Gurnsey)\nADVENTURER: Extraordinary. Ave, I think that you must have been up here before.\nCONTESSA: Oh yes. I often come up here to get away from the Palace and talk dwarves with Minnie and Crunn.\nADVENTURER: You mean that these two ancient ... er, Scholar-InnKeeps can actually talk and about dwarves?\n(All but Adventurer, Contessa, Minnie, and Crunn fall asleep in their meat pies.)\nCONTESSA: Oh yes, you must just be very patient. But look over at our other escorts ...\nADVENTURER: By the Lady!\nCONTESSA: Minnie was an Alchemist before she met Crunn, and knows a lot of old forgotten Dwarvish potions.\nADVENTURER: But what do we do with the bodies?\nCONTESSA: Wait ...\n(Enter MAJOR)\nCONTESSA: Adventurer, meet Major Bloodnok, head of my own ...private little bodyguard. He's been with me since I was a mere girl. Served me very well, haven't you, Major?\nMAJOR: We give our all, milady.\nADVENTURER: Pleased to meet you, Major.\nCONTESSA: How are my other men?\nADVENTURER: (aside) Other men?\n(Enter Other Men in Khajiit suits)\nMAJOR: All present and accounted for, milady. Had a spot of bother with what looked like a party of Merchants following you. But they are out of the picture now, down a ravine. Only one thing.\nCONTESSA: Yes?\nMAJOR: Me and my men, we've been noticing sort of furtive movements, up on cliffs, on ridges -- always just out of the corners of our eyes. And we keep getting this feeling of being watched. Now, me and my men, we're the best but there's something out there. Don't like it, not one bit.\nCONTESSA: Oh Dear - and just when it was getting to be fun.\nMAJOR: Its not anything human. Not Mages, Armorers, Priests. And its not the usual werewolves, harpies, orcs, daedra. Nothing like that, not at all.\nMINNIE: Dwarves!\nCRUNN: Where? ... oh ... Minnie ... you mean ... up ... there ... here ...\nMINNIE: ... Dwarves, up there ...\nCRUNN: ... How exciting ... mmmm ...\nMINNIE: ... There, there, Crunn, calm down ... just dwarves ... I knew that one day they would ...\nCRUNN: ... Wake up ..?\nMINNIE: ... Come back ...\nCRUNN: ... But ... I didn't go anywhere ...\nMINNIE: ... The dwarves, Crunn ...\nCRUNN: ... Oooh ... Back ... So excited ... Dwarves! ... oooh ...\nCONTESSA: Well Major, is it possible?\nMAJOR: Anything's possible, especially up here. Dwarves? I don't know. Me and my men, we'll get rid of this lot. There's a good deep mine shaft out back.\n(Exit All, but the Adventurer and Contessa)\nADVENTURER: Dwarves, Ave! Is that trouble? I mean, they sort of own all the ebony down here, don't they?\nCONTESSA: Maybe. I guess we just have to push on, see what develops. I can try to talk to them, maybe? Oh, and Adventurer, you'll have to drive the first cart. I'll take old Nephron's. We'll leave the other here -- Spares for later.\nADVENTURER: What, no more bucolic frolics?\nCONTESSA: Sorry, but we've got to get to the site and out again before the weather goes bad.\nADVENTURER: Can't your Major and his men, handle the carts?\nCONTESSA: Oh, no. They will cover us from all sides and make certain there are no surprises.\nADVENTURER: Oh well. All good things end, I guess.\nCONTESSA: Not quite. If you have any charges left in your bracelets of endurance, we can go upstairs and see what develops.\n(Enter Prologue)\nPROLOGUE: Well, I guess we all saw that coming. Scene 3 takes place some time later at the site. Flanked by the Major's men, the Adventurer and the Wanton Contessa successfully follow the map of the dear, departed mages. Imagine great veins of glistening ebonyesque material piercing the surface of the ground, and a nice warm fire of Fools Ebony where the Adventurer and the Contessa sprawl. To the west are signs that the weather is turning and the first major snowstorm of the year is coming. For some time, they have been mining and the Adventurer is beginning to feel the strain of actual labor.\n(Exit Prologue)\nScene 3\nADVENTURER: I've got blisters on my hands from shovelling that black rot, blisters on my rear from that cart bench, and we are running out of ale. My bracelet is running down and my fingers are getting frostbite.\nCONTESSA: What, your bracelet is running down? Oh, now that is serious.\n(Enter Major, running)\nMAJOR: Dwarves! Milady, dwarves, dozens of the little buggers caught my men! I'm sorry, milady.\n(The Contessa jumps to her feet)\nCONTESSA: Major, get out of here now. If you get away, you can maybe help us later. I'll try to talk to them.\n(Exit Major) (Enter DWARVES)\nCONTESSA: Hhjgys jjvvu klpss Jjqqx zzyzx.\nDWARVES (Together): Jjpoo Kalagloo gashnoo bibloo franoo Xxnadoo\nCONTESSA: Jnik? Balpo?\nDWARVES (Together) :Gabloo! Wazzikoo! Eppapupu!\nCONTESSA: Glooky, glooky, glooky.\nADVENTURER: Ave, whats going on?\nCONTESSA: Relax. I think I've impressed them by talking their language. I don't understand everything, but it seems that they have only just 'woken up' or something. And that they will not let us take any of this Fool's Ebony -- it's somehow related to the real stuff or something. And it really belongs to the Lords of Oblivion -- the Dwarves are just care or something.\nADVENTURER: Very interesting. Now, what about us?\nCONTESSA: I made a deal with them the only way I could see. I told them about Minnie and Crunn, how those two old ones know lots of dwarven tales and legends. The dwarves tells me that, having just 'woken up' or something, they want three things -- ale, women, and us to leave the Fools' Ebony alone.\nADVENTURER: Ah, flog my log.\nCONTESSA: Well, I told them about all the ale down at Minnie's Inn. And about the 2 redheads there. They are going there, leaving right now. We may take one empty cart, 2 horses. And they will keep us guarded all the way there. They also said that they will -- I don't know how -- destroy all the Fool's Ebony here. It shouldn't be on the surface like this, they say. (aside) Dwarvish is a remarkably compact language.\nADVENTURER: By the great roaring buttocks of Sheogorath! All these blisters and backache for nothing! Ah well. At least we are still alive. For now ...\n(Exeunt) (Enter Prologue)\nPROLOGUE: Farnoo Lickety Kanoo Gadfloo. Oh, I'm terribly sorry. As Scene 4 begins, we are back at Minnie's Inn, where the dwarves appear to be on holiday.\n(Enter the Adventurer, the Wanton Contessa, Minnie, Crunn, and Dwarves)\n\n(Exit Prologue)\nScene 4\nMINNIE: ... ga ... sszx ... spnoo? ...\nCRUNN: ... glurky ...\nDWARVES (Together): Jotcha potchka lazzo lanni joopy hoopy qui me amat, amat et canem meam\nADVENTURER: Ave, any ideas? I can't seem to work my magical items. And when the ale runs out ...\nCONTESSA: Your ebony material is useless against them. Dwarves fashion the ebony, so I guess they can suppress it or something. Don't worry - just think, these dwarves have been asleep or something for hundreds of years. And Minnie has a huge stock of ale. Not many customers come this way, and she knows how to salt the ale just right to keep from spoiling for decades.\nADVENTURER: Oh, that's why my tongue always looks like a chunk of leather after a pint or two.\nCONTESSA: Dwarves apparently love ale. I expect them all to pass out in an hour or so.\n(Dwarves fall into comas)\nCONTESSA: If not sooner. Come on, Adventurer. Grab a sack and start collecting! When the dwarves wake up, they'll finish the ale, and then us.\n(The Wanton Contessa and Adventurer pillage the dwarves)\nADVENTURER: South, as fast as our horses will take us in this weather.\nCONTESSA: If we make enough distance before they wake up, we'll be all right - I don't think that they will leave their precious mountains. I hope not.\n(Enter Prologue)\nPROLOGUE: The wailing wintery wind whirls wickedly, wafts whipping, wading waist-high, oh never mind. The Adventurer and the Contessa get lost in the snow storm. Several days later, we find them desperate for warmth and exhausted.\n(Exit Prologue)\nADVENTURER: The horses have had it. They can't go another step and its going to snow again. No ale left, and just one loaf.\nCONTESSA: It will have to do.\n(Suddenly, a party of giants leaps on our hero and heroine. But after some quick work with Bracers of Firestorm, really dead giants lie around in heaps)\nADVENTURER: Anything left, Ave?\nCONTESSA: No, no more fire anything - just my daggers\nADVENTURER: Same here, just a common shortsword. Curse Sheogorath for those dwarves! Those oafs chewed up our horses! Do you think the Major made it out?\nCONTESSA: If anyone can, it's him. Guess we'll find out in town. Interesting thought just occured to me. Don't giants hunt in several groups? Is that more I hear?\n\n(sound of grumbling and gargling offstage)\nADVENTURER: Yes, there are more giants out there. Quick, Ave. Help me with this one.\n(The Adventurer starts to disembowel a giant's body)\nCONTESSA: What on Tamriel are you doing? This is not the time for studying anatomy!\nADVENTURER: Don't argue, climb inside!\nCONTESSA: Poppydash and Baldercock! Inside that smelly dead giant? My dear Adventurer, I'm a Lady.\nADVENTURER: It's our only hope! The giant smell will hide our scent, and live giants never touch dead ones. Quick!\n(The Adventurer and the Contessa climb inside the steaming giant's body)\nADVENTURER: Here, help me pull the skin shut - and try not to throw up. Don't make a sound.\n(Enter Prologue)\nPROLOGUE: A few hour pass.\n(Exit Prologue) (The Adventurer and the Wanton Contessa poke their heads out of the giant's belly.)\nADVENTURER: They've all left, but it's snowing hard. Definitely getting real cold. We better stay here.\nCONTESSA: It indeed is warm.\nADVENTURER: It will keep us warm, safe from the storm and giants, for a day or so if we can stand the smell. Here, want some bread?\n(The Contessa falls victim to nausea)\n(Enter Prologue)\nPROLOGUE: For this, the last scene of the play, please forgive us, but we need to change the set. Remove the \"giant corpses\" and whatnot. Please be patient while our bard performs the timeless classic \"Whither Goest Thou?\"\n(Bard plays \"Whither Goest Thou?\" If the scenarists take too long, he also plays \"For Further Consideration.\")\nPROLOGUE: Ah, here we are, back at the Dead Daedra Inn. The Contessa and the Adventurer made it, after all. They had to pay three times the normal rate, for they were very dirty and stinky. Now poor Prologue will bid you farewell, goodly people.\nScene 6\nCONTESSA: Thank the Gods for hot water and soap! I thought I would smell like a giant forever.\nADVENTURER: Me too. Where did you go while I was bathing? And why no mages, priests, armorers, or merchants outside yelling for our blood?\nCONTESSA: I took a quick trip to the Palace. I've fixed it so some cousins have told the armorers and merchants that we don't have cartloads of the Fools' Ebony.\nADVENTURER: Pity that that's actually true.\nCONTESSA: But at least no one's interested in us anymore. Seems that some priests turned up dead in an old temple, up on Edward's Mountain. They were found with some girl, all dead from 'bad green powder' or something. And some old mages named Shub have gone missing ...\nADVENTURER: Now then, what did you stuff in those sacks thats so important?\nCONTESSA: Here, dump them out, take a look.\nADVENTURER: By the Gods, just look at that!\nCONTESSA: Yes, those dwarves were just loaded with ebony. Look. Rings, torcs, bracers, belts, helms All solid old ebony.\nADVENTURER: And this stuff feels just loaded with magicka. Why, I bet that this ring alone has a thousand uses... whatever it does.\nCONTESSA: Ooh! Look! Bracers of Extreme Endurance and a Belt of Strength! Put them on, Adventurer, let's celebrate!\nADVENTURER (aside): Help!\n(Enter Epilogue)\nEPILOGUE: As I feared, all the loose threads of the play were ended by wholesale slaughter. More of the adventures of the Adventurer will follow, unless, of course, they don't. We thank you for your tempered patience. Don't forget to tip your worthy wenches on your way out this evening, and enjoy our bard's rendition of the Khajiiti classic, \"It's A Matter of Luck.\" Goodnight.\n(Flourish)\n(Exeunt Omnes)"}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/king-edward-part-i": {"series": "King Edward", "game": ["Daggerfall"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/king-edward-part-i", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "King Edward, Part I", "description": "", "text": "Chapter One: Departure from Daggerfall\nLong, long ago, when the world was in its springtime, before the Redguards came and the glorious Septim Empire was formed, but after the goblins had driven the dwarves out of Hammerfell, a son, Edward, was born to King Corcyr I of Daggerfall and his Queen, Aliera of Wayrest.\nThe young boy lay drowsing in the palace orchard, high on a breezy hill overlooking the deep blue bay of Daggerfall. The constant autumn fog of Daggerfall had blown away for the nonce and the sky was a deep endless blue. Moments like this were rare for young Prince Edward; this afternoon was the result of days of scheming, for he craved solitude as the other nobles he knew craved companionship. Now his tutor believed him engaged in extra arms practice, the master of arms believed him to be chasing deer with the huntmaster, who thought he was studying Elvish. His father had no idea where he was and didn't care, being occupied with his young wife and their sons and other pleasures of noble life.\nAt the plop of an apple barely missing his head, he opened his pale grey eyes; there was a sweet rotten smell in his nostrils. He sighed and stared up into the blue. Why should things fall down instead of up? If you stared at the sky long enough you could feel as if you were falling into it his eyes glazed and the pupils grew huge as the dark-ringed irises dilated. He was weightless, drifting another apple fell, grazing his ear, and he thudded to earth, crying out as first his rump struck and then his head. A silvery laugh sounded. Edward sat up abruptly and stared around, jaw hanging slack.\nTwo mounted men stood ten feet away, still as if they were carved from stone, regarding him intently. Princes are not easily intimidated, not even the gentle souled kind, but Edward had never seen or imagined anything like this pair. One had golden skin and eyes, was clad in white cloth trimmed with gold and rode a (Edward blinked. It is was still there) a unicorn! Beside the unicorn was a golden dragon, wings neatly folded. And on his back was a man clad in dark chain mail, a long sword at his side. He was bareheaded; his eyes glowed red in his dark face and his pointed ears \"You're elves! What!\"\n\"He's a clever child.\" The dark elf's voice was sardonic. He spoke perfect Bretic, Edward noticed, his mind still working, although something seemed to have gone wrong with the rest of him.\n\"So it would seem. He did that mostly of himself. Remarkable for an untrained child. I merely helped him to concentrate.\" The high elf also spoke Bretic, but hesitantly and with a slight singing accent. Edward's tutor said that elves were incapable of human speech.\nEdward's gaze shifted rapidly over the four beings in front of him, unable to find a comfortable resting place. He hoped briefly, fervently, that he was dreaming. His mind seethed with questions and demands, then quite suddenly his tongue came unstuck. \"But I wasn't concentrating at all! My masters all say I'm incapable.\" Edward clamped his jaw down hard, suddenly realizing that it might be unwise to argue with beings such as these.\nBut the golden elf smiled broadly, showing perfect white teeth, \"Exactly.\" He radiated such warm approval, that Edward felt his skin tingle pleasantly. It was a feeling that he'd only known with his long-gone mother. But the other elf's face was expressionless; the red eyes bored into Edward as if they would pierce his soul.\n\"Moraelyn! You're Moraelyn! The witch-king!\" He jumped to his feet and faced the dark elf. \"You stole my mother! My father will kill you.\"\n\"I am. I did. Will he? Shall we call him and find out?\" The dark elf straightened and his eyes glowed deeper. A tiny puff of steam escaped the dragon's nostrils. A glowing aura appeared around his companion. Edward knew he wasn't going to call the guard. Why should they be slaughtered? These two looked capable of anything. Quite suddenly he was no longer afraid. If they were here to hurt him, they'd have done it by now. But a feeling of impotent rage remained. They'd taken his mother. And now.\n\"Why are you here?\" he demanded.\n\"Edward, will you come with us?\" The high elf spoke. Hearing him was like hearing a harp, cool as a breeze, warm as a fireside.\nThe boy stood very still. He wanted very much to say yes, to his own amazement. He wanted to ask if he would see his mother, but instead: \"My father...\" he croaked.\n\"Will miss you no doubt.\" The irony was back in Moraelyn's voice, a voice that make Edward think of icicles sparkling and dripping in winter sun. But there was a sort of hunger in his glowing eyes, a longing?\nHis father wouldn't miss him and he knew it. Shame ran through the boy, but he looked up at the broad-shouldered elf defiantly. \"Are you my father?\" Edward had meant the question to match the elf's sarcasm, but his hand crept to his ear as if of itself. He wasn't anything like his short-tempered, hearty, red-haired father and Roane often said he had an elfin look.\nThere was a heavy silence and Edward sensed that Moraelyn was taking the question at face value but that truth had nothing to do with what Moraelyn would say next. He would give the expedient answer. Still.\n\"No.\" It came reluctantly. He might be lying, of course, but Edward felt a deep wave of relief.\n\"Does my mother have other sons?\" Suddenly Edward knew she did not and that the question would hurt the dark elf. And was glad.\n\"Your mother might be dead, for all you know. Or care, it seems.\" The dark elf's narrow nostrils twitched as if Edward stank, and the lines around his mouth deepened. She was not dead. Edward would have known. The bitter injustice of Moraelyn's contempt stung. \"Did she send you to me?\"\n\"Do you take me for an errand boy!\" he snapped, and spoke to his companion: \"Let us take him now and be gone; we may discuss it at leisure.\"\nThe golden elf held up his hand, \"Patience, my cousin.\" and, to Edward, \"Well, youngling, will you come?\"\nDark tales were told of human children kidnapped by elves, who hungered for young humans\n\"I don't know your name,\" Edward temporized.\n\"Do you love your life here so much?\"\nEdward looked at the palace in the distance, the banners floating lazily above the town below, the sparkling bay, the distant mountains. \"I love Daggerfall.\"\n\"Ah. And you shall return to hold it, Prince Edward. I, I'ric Harad Egun the ArchMagister, swear it to you.\" Moraelyn swung about, protesting sharply in Elvish. The dragon spat a bit of flame, but the unicorn did not move; its golden eyes regarded Edward steadily. \"Unicorns do not abide any sort of falsity.\" The words floated through his mind in his mother's voice.\n\"I'ric Harad Egun the ArchMagister, I will come with you.\"\n\"You must ride with Moraelyn. The Lord Akatosh has consented to this--necessity. The elf made a sweeping gesture toward the dragon.\"\nHe wasn't fit to touch a unicorn, of course. \"Very well, then. I...I don't suppose I could bring my dog?\" Where was he? Shag was always with him. Asleep in the grass! Shag, the ever-alert? Edward knelt to touch him. A heated discussion in Elvish ensued, during which the dragon scorched the grass. Moraelyn swung down and picked Shag up with distaste. \"Very well, then, but I warn you that Akatosh is at the limit of his patience. Mount, then.\"\n\"Lord Akatosh, I am most deeply obliged by your indulgence. If ever I may repay it.\"\n\"You will,\" Moraelyn interrupted; he seized Edward by the belt and tossed him up onto the dragon. Edward settled himself between the dragon's neck and wings and the sleeping Shag was draped limply in front of him. \"There isn't room for...\" Edward began, and jerked in astonishment as the dragon shifted beneath him and grew larger. Much, much, much larger. Moraelyn vaulted up behind with a prodigious leap for one in armor. The unicorn jumped the nine foot wall, clearing it neatly. The dragon's great wings stretched; he crouched, then leapt into the air. His riders swayed wildly. The dark elf muttered something Edward couldn't understand in elvish and they steadied. The wings beat strongly and the dragon circled low over the Keep, gaining altitude slowly. People were running about now, shouting and pointing. Edward saw his old nurse and waved and shouted, \"Goodbye! Goodbye! I'll be back sometime...\" Arrows flew through the air as bowmen shot, while the nurse screamed and clutched at the arms of those nearest. King Corcyr ran naked onto the battlements, screaming and waving his fists. \"Child of a demon, come back and I'll thrash you within an inch of your worthless life. Moraelyn, come down and fight, like the man you aren't.\"\nMoraelyn's loud laughter rang clear as temple bells, cascading over the Keep. He shouted, \"Be glad I don't, little King of the Small Cock!\" The dragon circled almost lazily and let out a huge gout of flame. Arrows clinked harmlessly off his golden scales. \"I'm off to see my mother!\" Edward screamed down, noting the upturned faces of his stepmother and her red-haired sons. Roane had a fur-trimmed robe clutched round her, but her long hair floated wildly. Four pairs of eyes fastened on him, not Moraelyn, glittering with fury and hatred. Edward stopped waving and clutched Shag tightly with both hands. Moraelyn's mail clad arm was securely about his waist. Edward slumped against him, feeling quite safe for the first time in a very long while. The bowmen had stopped shooting; most of them were looking at the royal family. The king danced with rage. The great dragon's wings beat harder now and they headed due south out over the water.\n\"Aren't we going to Ebonheart?\" the boy twisted round and looked up at Moraelyn. \"Your mother awaits you at Firsthold in Sumurset, little Prince.\"\n\"Why did you wait so long to fetch me?\"\n\"Querulous child, do you think dragons and unicorns do the bidding of elves or men? Your mother came to me full willing, but she could not bring you; you were too closely guarded by your father's men. Would you have had us lay waste your land to take you by force? She thought you would be safe and cared for and she was desperate. No, this was the dragon's plan.\"\nOf all the astonishing events of the afternoon, this was the most surprising: the notion that a dragon should take an interest in him, when not even his own family did. But, willing, the elf said, full willing!\n\"You are the focus of large events, youngling. Your task is to prepare yourself to be a king; a king such as your people have never known. Our task is to aid you. Sleep now.\"\nWaves of sleep assaulted Edward's mind, one after another. \"But...\" he meant to ask Moraelyn about his mother, but the last wave was too big; it crashed right over him and he slipped into dark fireshot dreams."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/king-edward-part-ii": {"series": "King Edward", "game": ["Daggerfall"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/king-edward-part-ii", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "King Edward, Part II", "description": "", "text": "Chapter 2: Reunion at Firsthold\nEdward woke to a red sky. The sun was just peeking over the western mountains. They were nearing a glittering tower, fire flashing from every facet. The dragon veered to fly nearer and shot a long blast of flame. A light flashed several times from the tower's top as they dropped suddenly. Edward's stomach felt very peculiar. He sighed and stirred and felt Moraelyn shift so that his right arm now held Edward. He stretched and yawned.\n\"Not much longer now. It's several days by horse from the Crystal Tower to Firsthold but I judge that Akatosh will have us there within the hour.\"\n\"We're not stopping at the Tower? I'ric...\"\n\"Do not use that name so lightly, not even to me. The ArchMagister will not return for days yet. Unicorns are brothers to the wind and travel as fast, even burdened, but not as fast as dragons fly. You see the Elven homeland at dawn from the back of a dragon. Count yourself fortunate among men.\"\nEdward's gaze roamed the deep green woods and rugged hills. There was no sign of habitation. \"It's lovely,\" he said politely, \"but not so beautiful as High Rock,\" he added out of loyalty and truth. \"Are there no towns or villages or farms?\"\n\"The Firstborn live nestled deep in the trees. And they do not tear up the earth and plant anew, but take gladly what Auriel offers, and make return. Ahhh, the green smell of growing things.\"\nIndeed, the air was as heady as the wine Edward used to sip from his father's cup, before... \"I'm hungry.\"\n\"I expect so.\" A bit of shifting and Moraelyn's left hand produced a small leaf-wrapped package. The dusky hand was large and strong and looked neither human nor animal. Edward stared at it with revulsion, then took the package gingerly so as not to touch the hand. He felt Moraelyn stiffen and the hand that held Edward relaxed its grasp a bit. Edward felt ashamed of his reaction. It was neither kind nor wise to give offense in the circumstances. Moraelyn could quite easily drop him overboard. \"I need to bathe, but so do you,\" he said stiffly. Moraelyn was deliberately misinterpreting the reaction, Edward knew. \"Yes, I'm very dirty,\" Edward bit into the cake which proved much better than it looked. \"My lady mother's used to seeing me like this, at least she used to be. But perhaps I should bathe first?\"\n\"I think you will not be offered that choice. Ah, at last!\" The dragon spread his wings, sent a huge gout of flame soaring skyward and dropped to earth in a large clearing. The landing was abrupt and jarring. Elves appeared quite suddenly and arms reached up to take him and Shag, who woke at last, ran frantically in circles, and then sat panting at Edward's feet.\nA tall elf with fiery hair like copper greeted them formally. \"Greetings, my lord King. Your lady wife awaits you. Prince Edward, I welcome you to the land of the Firstborn on behalf of all its people. May your stay here prove pleasant and productive.\"\nMoraelyn nodded deferentially. \"Thank you, my host. My Queen has waited long enough; we will go to her now.\" Moraelyn's hand on his shoulder steered Edward toward the largest tree he'd ever seen. The trunk was hollow; steps inside led up; openings gave out onto more steps and bridges along and among the mighty branches. They proceeded along these until they reached a large canopied platform, furnished with seats and chests as if it were a room. A golden skinned woman smiled at them and waved them in, then left. A tall slender, pale-skinned, dark-haired human woman paced toward them, her eyes on Edward. Only Edward.\n\"Why did you leave us!\" The cry came from deep inside, ringing through him. It stopped her several paces from him. Now her eyes lifted to Moraelyn, who said in a harsher tone than Edward had yet heard from him. \"Thou wilt address thy Mother with respect, cub!\" A glancing blow made his eyes water.\nAliera crossed quickly to Moraelyn and placed her hands on his chest. \"Greeting, my husband. All praise to Notorgo for bringing you and my son safely to me.\"\n\"Thank also the Lord of the Dragons and the Bandit, who could not have lifted the boy more neatly himself. The ArchMagister had somewhat to do with it as well.\" Moraelyn's dusky hands came up to hold her bare arms lightly and tenderly. He laughed, looking relaxed and happy. But the hands against his chest formed a barrier as much as a caress.\n\"I am blessed indeed. But it has been long since my son and I have spoken. We may find words more easily if we seek them alone together.\"\nMoraelyn's smile vanished instantly. \"Are words then a thing which two can find more easily than three? Well. Perhaps. At times. Wife.\" He turned on his heel and left. The bridge swung and creaked, but his feet made no sound at all.\nAliera watched after him, but he did not look back. Edward felt again the curious mix of satisfaction and regret that came with giving pain to his enemy. \"Edward, my son, come and sit by me.\"\nEdward stood where he was, \"Madam mother, I have waited many years and travelled many leagues to have an answer. I will wait no longer, nor go one step further.\"\n\"What have you been told?\"\n\"That you were most treacherously kidnapped by night with the aid of magic, while my father slept, trusting in the honor of his guest.\"\n\"Your father told you that. And Moraelyn?\"\n\"Said that you came full willing. I would hear what you say.\"\n\"Would you hear why I left your father or why I did not take you with me, having chosen to go.\"\nEdward paused, thinking, \"Madam, I would hear the truth, therefore I must give the truth. I would hear why you left me behind. The other, I think I know, as much as I can or would know, unless you wish to tell me more or other.\"\n\"The truth? Truth is not a single thing existing apart from those who apprehend it. But I will tell you my truth and perhaps then you may arrive at your truth.\nAliera walked back to a softly pillowed chair and composed herself. Nearby a small ruby colored bird settled on a branch and trilled an accompaniment to her soft voice.\n\"My parents arranged my marriage as is the custom of our homeland. I did not love Corcyr, but in the beginning I respected him and tried to be a good wife. He did not care for me, nor did he take care. And so he lost my respect and I died a little each day, withering like an untended plant. I was happy only with you, but Corcyr thought I was making you too soft. \"Womanish,\" he said, and so, after your third birthday I was allowed to spend only an hour each day with you. I listened to your cries and sat weeping, without heart for anything. Finally, you ceased crying and asking for me, and my heart was left empty. I formed the habit of walking and riding much of the time, alone save for a guard or two. Then Moraelyn came. He wanted to mine for ebony in the Wrothgarian Mountains. The land he wanted to use was part of my dowry. He was willing to train our people in the arts of its use and even to give them weapons of Dark Elf making. In return our people were to aid him in keeping the goblins away, and allow him to form a colony of his people in High Rock. Corcyr had no use for the land and he wanted the weapons very much indeed -- there are none better -- so he favored the proposal. There were many details to be discussed and arranged and it fell to me to conduct these negotiations. Corcyr despises Dark Elves and he was jealous of Moraelyn, who was already famed as the finest fighter in all Tamriel.\n\"But Moraelyn is more than a skilled fighter; he's well-read and interested in everything under the sun. He sang and played as if taught by Jeh Free and Jhim Sei both. He was a companion such as I'd only dreamed of...that and no more, I swear. We both love to be outside, so our discussions took place while riding and walking, but always accompanied by his men and Corcyr's. When all was arranged, Corcyr gave a great feast to celebrate the treaty. All of High Rock nobility came and many from other provinces. At the end Corcyr was deep in his cups and let fall an insult that could only be washed out in blood. I had long since retired with the other ladies so I know not what it was, but I'd heard enough in private to know that Corcyr had a store of such to choose from. Moraelyn gave the challenge and gave Corcyr until noon, that he might recover such wits as he had.\n\"Then Moraelyn came to me, alone in my chamber, and told me what had befallen. 'Milady, I think he will choose your brother as his champion; in any case there will be a river of blood between us that may not be crossed in this life or any other. I can live without your love, but I would not have your enmity. Come with me now, as wife or honored guest, as you choose. And you shall serve as blood price in stead of your kith or kin.'\n\"And there, in the moonlight, in my terror, with my ladies sleeping about me, I knew I loved him. Doubted that I could live without him. And yet, I loved you more! 'My son,' I whispered. 'I can't'. 'Milady, you must choose. I am sorry.' You see, don't you, Edward? If I stayed, it meant my brother's death his innocent young blood. Or your father's! Or possibly that of the man I loved, though I counted that most unlikely. Moraelyn's fighting skills alone were supreme, and in an affair of this sort he would be entitled to call on magic aid as well. 'We could take him with us.' But Moraelyn shook his head sadly, 'That I will not do. It would go against my honor to part father and son.'\"\n\"Leaving love alone, I am trained to duty\", Aliera said proudly. \"Should I have robbed you of your father or your loving uncle? And I thought it likely that Corcyr, should he survive, would somehow blame me for the affair and use it as an excuse to put me away. I thought that Corcyr would be pleased to have me gone. I knew he wanted the weapons very much. I could trade them for time with you, I thought.\" All this passed through my mind while Moraelyn stood waiting, not looking at me.\n\"Lady Mara, help me to choose wisely, I prayed. 'You truly want me as wife? I could bring you nothing but trouble.'\"\n\"'Aliera, I would have you to wife. And I want nothing but yourself.' He shed his cloak and wrapped it round my body, pulling the bedclothes away.\"\n\"'Moraelyn, wait is this right, what I do?'\"\n\"'Milady, if I thought this wrong, I should not be standing here! Of the choices you are given, this one seems to me most right.' He swung me up in his arms and carried me to his horse. And so I left your father's house, clad only in his cloak and riding before him. And wild joy mixed with my sorrow, so that I scarce knew how I felt. That is my truth.\"\nEdward said quietly, \"But he has parted my father and me in the end.\"\n\"With great reluctance. And only because the dragon says that you and your father were in truth already parted in heart. It is only a matter of more leagues. Which provide a measure of safety for you. Moraelyn insisted that you should freely consent to come. You are as free to return any time you wish.\"\n\"Moraelyn would have just taken me! It was I'r...I mean, the ArchMagister, who insisted that I must consent.\"\n\"He's not a patient man by nature. And he is anxious to do Corcyr no harm. Doubtless he felt the discussion could be carried on as well elsewhere.\"\n\"He called him King of the Small Cock. And laughed. Why? Are Daggerfall cockerels smaller than Ebonheart birds? And what does it matter, anyway? My father was very angry; I think he would have liked to fight. But it's true he hates me. I knew that, but I didn't want to know, so I pretended not to. I don't suppose Moraelyn would do that.\"\n\"No.\"\n\"He'd lie, though. He thought about telling me he was my father. I could see it.\"\nAliera threw back her head and laughed her pretty rippling laugh; he remembered it from long ago, and it sent shivers down his back. \"He must have wanted to claim it very badly indeed if he let you see it; he's usually quicker than that. And he does not lie under oath, or to hurt those he loves.\"\n\"He doesn't love me; he doesn't even like me.\"\n\"But I do, my dear son. You...\" Edward thought she was going to say he'd grown; adults always remarked on his growth, even if he'd just seen them a week ago. Very strange, since he was small for his age. Instead she said, \"You're just as I thought you'd be,\" with deep maternal satisfaction.\n\"And he loves you. But he said he was no one's errand boy. Yet you dismissed him as if he were.\"\nAliera's face and neck burned a deep crimson.\n\"Nay, though I am reduced to serving man, it seems.\" Moraelyn had entered silently, bearing a huge tray piled high with food. \"Get me a stool, boy, you can play page if I can play server. You must be famished and I thought I'd best return before my wife gets round to the rest of my faults. Could take her most of the day listing them.\" He'd shed the mail and bathed and dressed in fresh black jerkin and hose with a silvery sash tied round his narrow waist. But the black sword still swung by his side.\n\"Mara help us, you've enough food for a small army. And I've broken my fast.\" Aliera's small hand reached for the elf's arm, slid down it caressingly, then clasped his hand and squeezed it, lifting it to her still hot cheek, brushing it with her lips. Edward looked away quickly, discomforted by the sight of his dusky skin against her fairness.\n\"This's for me, and a bit for the boy. But pray join us, my dear. You've grown thin. Pining for me, no doubt.\" He wrapped a lock of her dark curly hair around a finger and tugged at it, grinning, then fell on the food like a starving wolf, attacking it with small silvery weapons instead of eating with his fingers as humans did. The food was wonderful. Edward ate until he could eat no more.\n\"Eavesdropping,\" he murmured thoughtfully. He'd been mulling over a list of Moraelyn's faults while he ate, and realized too late that he'd spoken aloud.\n\"By Zenithar, boy, if you humans will shout your privy conversation all over the tree, d'ye\nexpect me to shut my ears with wool?\" He tapped one of his large pointed ears. Edward hurriedly tried to remember what they'd said. What he'd said. Lying. Oh dear. Maybe he hadn't heard.\n\"So I'm a liar, am I, boy?\" Vir Gil help him, Edward felt he was drowning. Could the Elf read minds? He hoped that wasn't the insult his father had used! \"I...I meant I thought that you were thinking about it. You did hesitate,\" Edward gulped. He was making matters worse.\n\"Possibly, I was trying to remember.\" the sardonic tone was back.\n\"You don't even like me!\" Edward burst out.\n\"That doesn't seem to have stopped your true father from claiming you.\"\n\"Moraelyn! Don't!\" Aliera interrupted, but the Elf held up his hand to quiet her.\n\"I'm not so sure.\" Edward flashed.\n\"Why do you say that?\"\n\"I don't know...Roane says...things...and I'm not at all like him. Everyone remarks on it. And then stops talking.\"\n\"What things? Speak, boy!\"\n\"About how fond Mother was of her brother when they were young. How sad and angry he was when she was carried off. More like a lover, she said, than a brother. She says it very sweetly, but like she means something by it. Something too dirty to say. Other times she talks about how elfin I look. And how quickly after marriage I came. Not as quickly as her first son, though.\"\nMoraelyn leaped up. \"By the Avenger, I will go back and wring the vixen's neck! The human\", he bit off the insult, but his red eyes flamed rage; his muscles swelled and his hair stood on end. \"You do not look half-elven. I never met your mother until four years after your conception. Roane, it seems, cannot decide which lie she wishes to use. But incest! May Kel strike her down if I may not.\" The tall elf paced furiously about the room, lithe as a Khajiit, hand fondling his sword hilt. The platform swayed and dipped.\n\"She's ambitious for her sons, at Edward's expense. The question is, how many will believe her. Not enough if she was planning to have him killed instead.\" Aliera's smooth brow wrinkled a bit.\n\"I never disliked her, you know. Nor she me. She wanted my place and I was glad enough to let her have it save for Edward.\"\n\"You want me to be king so I'll let you have the ebon mines.\" Edward had just worked out the puzzle.\n\"Oh, devil take the ebon, which he probably will. I've a better chance of getting co-operation from Roane's boys once your father's dead. They'd have reason for gratitude and the bargain's a good one. Although the chances they could keep a civil tongue long enough to sign a contract seem poor, given their parentage.\"\n\"Then why? You don't even like me.\"\n\"Mara, help me! 'Liking' a person is a human concept. One day they like you, the next day they don't. On Tirdas they're back to liking you again. My own wife does this to me, but claims to love me even when she doesn't like me. Except of course on the days when she doesn't do either, and talks about joining the Order of Riana. Fortunately that only happens once a year or so. I go hunting until she comes to her senses.\"\n\"You exaggerate; that only happened once, and well you know it.\"\n\"I remember enjoying the recovery period. Maybe it should happen more often.\" They grinned at each other.\n\"But why do you want me to be King?\" Edward persisted.\n\"I told you; it's Akatosh's notion. And the ArchMagister's. I just came along for the ride. Ask them.\"\n\"I shall ask the ArchMagister when I see him.\"\n\"An excellent plan. You'll spend a few weeks at the Tower before heading north with us.\"\n\"Only that?\"\n\"Does the prospect of spending the winter with your mother and me displease you so much?\"\n\"No...no, sir. But I agreed to go with I'ric.\" Not you. The words hung unsaid between them.\n\"You will, in time. A few weeks there now will fit you to begin your training in magic; I can teach you spells. But you need hardening; your body must catch up to your mind. It is the ArchMagister's will.\"\n\"Fighting magic? I want to learn other things. How to call beasts. How to heal. And float...\"\n\"You'll learn that, I doubt not. And d'ye think a fighter can't Heal? It's the first spell you'll learn. But a King must know how to fight.\"\n\"I'm not good at it.\"\n\"Dragon's Teeth, boy! Exactly why you must learn!\"\n\"If I cannot?\"\n\"You've courage and a clear head and the potential to learn magic; that's more than most people ever have. I can teach you the rest.\"\nEdward's head whirled with the unaccustomed praise. \"I do? I have? You can?\"\n\"D'ye think any of your father's fool court would stand naked before a dragon, a unicorn, the ArchMagister, and the Champion of Tamriel and demand justice of them? Justice! Faced with such, they might have managed to beg for mercy, if they could speak at all, which is doubtful.\"\n\"I did that? I did, didn't I?\" Edward was astonished; he wanted to add that he hadn't known, hadn't thought about it.\n\"Aye, you did. And it's a deed that shall be sung from here to Morrowwind; I'll compose the ballad myself--as soon as I have a nap. I don't sleep as sound as some on dragon's backs.\"\n\"You enchanted me and Shag asleep!\"\n\"And the rest of the castle, with the help of my friends.\"\n\"Ooooohhhh. Can you levitate? Will you show me?\"\n\"Not so fast. I kept a holding spell on us all night to keep us on the dragon's back. Until I'm rested I couldn't light a candle with the aid of a match.\"\n\"Oh. Well, I'd still rather be like the ArchMagister than be a fighter.\"\n\"Hah! It'll be news to the ArchMagister that he cannot fight! I hope he'll find time to show you how to wield a staff. No better weapon for early training. And no better trainer. Now, of the four you saw before you, which would you say could best the others?\"\nEdward thought carefully for several minutes. \"Sir, my judgement is poor indeed, but if you would still have my answer, it would seem that the one who claims the title Champion of Tamriel must be the best. Yet must not the ArchMagister be your master in magic? And trained to arms as well, it seems. So which should prevail? Could any mortal stand against the dragon's fire and claws and teeth? And I know naught of the unicorn, save that it is fleet and has a very sharp horn, and hooves as well. So I will guess the unicorn; it had the mildest manner. And since you asked the question it seems the unlikely answer may be correct.\"\n\"Well answered, youngling! The unicorn would win easily in any single close combat. No mortal or even dragon can move quickly enough to land a blow and it cannot be burned or touched by any magic or elemental power. It's hooves are deadly and a single touch of its horn will kill any enemy, although the horn itself will burn away. The most powerful can regenerate it within moments, however.\"\n\"And of the four the Champion of Tamriel would probably be the loser against any of the others, although the title is no idle boast!\" Moraelyn is not accustomed to being so outclassed. \"My manners may have suffered in consequence.\"\n\"Milord King, I am most deeply in your debt. You have done me great honor and service. If ever\nI can repay you, I will. Forgive my brash words and ill manners. I have dwelt among the rude and boorish. And it seems I have no father, unless I may call you so?\" The elf held his hands out to the boy, who placed his own in them. Edward's feeling of distaste was quite gone as if by magic the thought drifted through his mind and then he released his hands and clasped Moraelyn about his waist. The elf's hands stroked the dark hair and clasped the thin shoulders.\n\"I thank you, my wife. After only five years of marriage, you have presented me with a fine son, nine years of age. Remarkable. In fact...magical.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/king-edward-part-iii": {"series": "King Edward", "game": ["Daggerfall"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/king-edward-part-iii", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "King Edward, Part III", "description": "", "text": "Chapter 3: Lessons\nThe golden days passed swiftly. Edward spent most of his time in the company of his parents. He saw few other children. None at all lived in 'their' tree, only their wood elf host and Moraelyn's six Companions, an oddly assorted, cheerful lot. Disrespectful, Edward thought. None of the Daggerfall court or servants would dared have addressed his father as these did Moraelyn and Aliera with their constant raillery. But these weren't servants or courtiers. Just Companions. Only one was a Dark Elf. There were a Khajiit woman, two wood elves, brother and sister, a Nordic man, even bigger than Moraelyn and a strange looking lizardlike man, who spoke with such a hissing accent that Edward couldn't understand him at all. The Nord man was called \"Slave of Moraelyn\" or just \"Slave\" for short, although Moraelyn usually called him \"Mats\" of \"My-slave.\" Mats tended the group's weapons and gathered wood for the evening fires. But it wasn't unusual for the others to bring wood; Moraelyn himself often borrowed Mats' axe and fetched and split wood if there was need, or if he just felt like it.\nThey spent much of their time roaming the woods and fields, hunting and gathering produce, in twos and threes. Usually Moraelyn, Aliera and Edward and Shade went off together. They carried bows for hunting. When Edward asked Moraelyn to teach him to shoot better, he was told to ask his mother, as she was the better shot. And it was Aliera's arrow that brought down a handsome buck, although both arrows had struck, and they quarrelled over who's arrow had killed as they ran toward the buck.\n\"Bah!\" Moraelyn exclaimed as he pulled his black fletched arrow from the hindquarters. \"I don't know how I managed to feed myself before I married you.\"\n\"You had the Companions.\"\n\"Aye. Mats, Mith and I starved together, before we met Beech and Willow.\" Moraelyn pulled out his black dagger, Tooth, and began to skin the animal's body, calling Edward to come and watch. \"You want to learn about animals, don't you?\"\n\"Live ones.\" Edward said with distaste. His dainty mother was ripping the skin away with enthusiasm.\n\"Such make tough eating,\" the dark elf said. \"Give me your cloak; I'll make a package for you to carry.\"\n\"I am a Prince, not a pack horse!\"\n\"You'll carry your share or you'll be a hungry prince this night.\" The elf had lost his good humor.\n\"I won't. I don't want any. You can't make me.\"\nMoraelyn stood erect and appeared to think this over. \"Can't I?\" he taunted.\n\"Edward, please...\" Aliera appealed to him.\n\"Tell me, Lord Prince, how then does one get the meat to one's table if one may not carry it. If Princes may not carry meat then certainly Kings and Queens may not, or do Princes grow out of the incapacity when they become Kings?\"\n\"They have servants!\"\n\"Serve ants? What a clever idea. Only a human could think of that! Ants are excellent at carrying, I have noted, although I have not the trick of commanding them. Perhaps you can teach me.\"\n\"Servants! Like Mats here,\" Edward shouted. He hated being teased. Mats and the other companions had come up, having heard their shouts over the kill.\n\"Mats? You think I cannot make you carry deer meat, yet I could command Mats to do so?\" Moraelyn stared up at the blond giant. \"Well, one never knows until one tries. Mats, carry the deer.\"\nThe blond scratched his head and jaw thoughtfully. \"Highness, nothing would please me more but it is a large deer and my old wound is troubling my back, perhaps if you kill a smaller one.\"\n\"Well, Prince, what now?\"\n\"You beat him.\"\n\"At what? I can outrun him. Mats, if I reach that oak first, will you carry the deer.\" Mats shook his head slowly.\n\"You beat him with a stick!\" Edward yelled.\n\"What promise you show as a Healer, my Prince. You will forgive me if I refrain from consulting you until you have further training. It is my judgement that beating with a stick will not improve Mats' back. Of course, I may be in error.\n\"Silk, you carry the deer.\"\n\"Me, milord? I am sorry, but I have just remembered that I am fourth cousin to the fifth house of Dibella, Queen of Heaven. My dignity forbids that I carry anything at all.\"\nWillow and Beech claimed that a mage had forbidden either of them from carrying any part of an animal while the moon Jone was risen.\n\"Prince, are you truly certain about this rule? It seems to make life most inconvenient. We could bring the wood to the deer, which will take many hours and leave us benighted here. We could consume the meat raw on the spot, but I own my belly is not yet empty enough to make that option attractive. Aliera, can you help us? How do the High Rock folk get meat to table?\"\n\"Milord, when I lived there it was my firm belief that it appeared by magic. There were servants, but they were an irritating, lazy lot, more trouble than they were worth. Edward, my son, is it possible that this rule applies only in High Rock?\"\n\"I suppose so...\"\nEdward carried a share of meat that bent his back, but he did not complain. And so it was settled, and the meal that night was a merry one. But for several days after, if the Companions caught him carrying anything at all they would inquire anxiously as to whether a High Rock Prince might do so.\n\"If Mats is not a servant, then why do they call him 'Moraelyn's Slave'?\" Edward asked one drowsy afternoon.\n\"Well, he is my slave. I paid gold for him, all that Mith and I had. We came on a man beating him near Reich Parthkeep. He looked near death; when Mith and I tried to stop the beating, the man said Mats was a runaway slave, and he'd do as he liked with him. So I threw down the gold and told him he could take it and leave, else I would kill him out of hand. He chose the latter, so I told Mats to take the gold as his master's heir and go where he would. He chose to come with us, so we buried the gold with his master and Mats has been with us since.\"\n\"Could he leave if he wanted to?\"\n\"Of course.\"\n\"May I go pick some of those berries over there?\" Edward asked, and Moraelyn nodded.\nAliera was sleeping curled on her side. Moraelyn sat next to her, leaning back against a tree, his hand playing with her long dark curls. His eyes and skin were sensitive to the bright sun. Shade slept stretched in the sun nearby, his dark fur glinting with silver in the light. Edward wandered over to the bushes and picked the bright glowberries, so called because they glowed at night, although right now they were a rather dull gray. But they tasted very good. If he ate enough, would he glow at night, he wondered. Or if he smashed them and collected the juice, the bushes caught at him, then he found a sort of tunnel through them and trotted along it, wondering where it led.\nIt ended in a small clearing before a pile of rocks. There was a hole and something in it. Edward stepped back, making a small noise in his throat. The something heaved and presented a tusky snarling face and hooves that pawed at the earth.\nThe boy backed away slowly. The beast's head went down, the shoulders heaved and the immense bulk lumbered into a charge. Edward tried to throw himself into the bushes - there was no room - and then, incredibly, Moraelyn was in front of him, between him and the beast. There was a flash and a crash, and the elf seemed to leap backwards for several feet, landing crouched just in front of Edward's face. The air whistled as his blade seemed to jump out of the sheath of its own accord. There was a sparkle in the air around him, and a burnt smell. Silence.\n\"Get out of here, boy! Now!\"\nEdward fled, yelling for his mother, who was running toward the bushes and calling him. She clasped him to her, and began shouting for Moraelyn instead. There was no answer, then, somehow the elf was there, unharmed, his blade sheathed again. But he was breathing hard.\n\"Did you kill it? Are you hurt?\"\n\"No and no. I was shielded. Barely. You disturbed a sow in her den with her litter. Fortunately, she thought she'd had enough after the first impact. I daresay she's unaccustomed to finding her enemies still standing afterwards.\"\n\"Why didn't you kill her?\" Edward demanded, feeling bloodthirsty after his fright.\n\"A katana, even the Ebony Blade, is not the weapon I'd choose against a mother sow. A spear, maybe. The longer the better. Besides, if we leave her be, there'll be six pigs here next year, with luck.\"\n\"You made a magic shield,\" Edward said, wide-eyed.\n\"Aye, barring the shield, she'd have left a few marks even on a tough old dark elf.\"\n\"Edward, it would be gracious to thank your rescuer.\" His mother prompted.\n\"Thank you,\" Edward said automatically, his mind busy with more questions. How had the elf known of his danger? How did he get there so quickly?\n\"There is scarcely need to thank me for saving my son's life. Thank Shade,\" Moraelyn said. \"The cat told me there was trouble.\"\nEdward knelt and hugged the smug purring cat. \"Good old Shade. I can always count on him.\"\n\"My son\". \"Our son\". The words rang proudly out at the least excuse. Edward puzzled over this for awhile; it wanted an explanation. The one he favored was that Moraelyn simply didn't know him very well yet, and was prone to give the benefit of the doubt to strangers. Eventually, but in the meantime he might as well enjoy it. It was nice. Having a father that was proud of you, that liked being with you, took you places, talked to you, listened to you. And most remarkably of all, let you alone when you needed to be. Moraelyn only really liked being alone when he was composing a ballad.\nEdward told Beech and Willow about the mother pig. \"I ran when he told me to. Would you? Because he said to. I couldn't think of any way to help, but...\" Willow and Beech listened carefully, exchanged glances, and said they'd think about the problem.\nAfter supper around the evening fire, Willow took up her small harp and began to sing about the joys of an autumn afternoon and berries...except that Moraelyn sent the boy off to pick berries. They'd got that part wrong. Moraelyn sat up sharply and looked around, but the others had slipped away into the darkness and Willow wasn't looking at him.\nMith strolled into the firelight, taking mincing steps, picking pantomime berries and eating them noisily. Moraelyn put his head down and groaned. Mith pantomimed finding something then skipped along in delight. Mats' head and shoulders lurched into the firelight. Mith reached a hand to pat him, then leapt back with a squeal as Mats tried to rip him with a tusk. Huge tusks and a pig nose adorned his face. Mith crouched, hands to his face in exaggerated horror. And Silk, clad in black, leaped between Mith and Mats with a shower of sparks, jerkin backwards, hose about its knees, shoeless. It reached for its sword, but Mats charged and knocked it flying; it spun out of sight. Mats, scrambling on all fours, missed Mith, but tore his hose. Mith scampered around the fire with Mats after him. Silk, sword in one hand, the other tugging at the hose chased after Mats, beating him with the sword.\nAnother figure appeared, clad in Aliera's blue gown with Beech's head sticking out above wearing a long dark wig. Mith cowered behind her skirts. She glared at Mats and he froze. Silk tripped and sprawled behind him. Beech tossed his hair back, patted Mith reassuringly on the head, wet one finger and smoothed an eyebrow, then leisurely picked up his bow, aimed and twanged.\nMats leaped backwards, collapsing on top of Silk with a very realistic death rattle. Beech and Mith embraced, ignoring Silk, still flat beneath Mats.\nMoraelyn had begun laughing when Silk first leaped out. Aliera had waited for Beech's appearance. Now tears were running down her cheeks. Moraelyn was doubled over, pounding his fist against a tree. Ripples and giggles of silvery laughter sounded all around and showers of gold coins fell into the circle. The Companions gathered themselves together and bowed, as humans did.\n\"Again, do it again!\"\n\"Nooooo!\" Moraelyn gasped, still laughing. \"Ah, you came nearer killing me than the sow did! I beg mercy!\"\n\"Another night, gentle persons...our king has had a very long day. We thank you all.\"\n\"Gods, had the entire town seen?\" Edward stared behind him, but they were all melting away into the dark. \"That's not what happened.\" he yelled. \"You were a hero. They made fun of you.\"\n\"Yes, yes and yes. Especially the last. By Jephre himself, that was funny!\"\n\"They all saw that! And you're going to let them do it again?\" Edward was scandalized. They had all looked ridiculous.\n\"Let them? It'll be done all over Tamriel for centuries to come, I doubt not. But never again so well.\"\n\"But it didn't happen like that at all.\"\n\"It would have if Mats...I mean the sow had charged again. Ariana's bow would have been far more effective than my poor blade. And she'd have seen Moraelyn leap like a khajiit!\" His finger smoothed an eyebrow in a gesture typical of Aliera and he went off again into a long laugh. \"Aye, she'd have slain the beast with a look, if she couldn't find an arrow. Mats, you were more like the sow than she like herself. Bigger, too, I swear! Mith, you old rogue, only you could look so innocent.\"\n\"Buuut, it's not true!\" Edward protested.\n\"Boy, you think there's only one truth? Was what you saw today truth? Did you see all the truth? Even of what did happen? What you saw here tonight will light up truths unseen, if you allow it, you could spend a lifetime reflecting on it and yet not see it whole, for it goes ever further and deeper, spreading like ripples in a pool, beyond us all and out into the deep stillness of forever. What happens is only a tiny part of truth...maybe the least part. And what you see is smaller yet.\"\nEdward still thought that a king really ought to have more dignity. But he didn't say so."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/king-edward-part-iv": {"series": "King Edward", "game": ["Daggerfall"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/king-edward-part-iv", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "King Edward, Part IV", "description": "", "text": "Chapter 4: Stories\nEdward faced his mother defiantly. \"I'm not sick and I'm not a baby. I can stay here by myself. I don't need Mith.\" There was a dangerous glint in Moraelyn's eyes. Aliera's lips thinned. \"You will mind him, Edward.\"\n\"Yes, madam,\" Edward said sulkily.\n\"Come on, wife. Mith knows how to deal with princes who don't want his company.\" The three adults laughed a bit in their irritating way at a joke he didn't understand.\nThe weather was drizzly and Edward had the sniffles. His mother had decided that he shouldn't go out, even though they were only going visiting. Moraelyn had taken his side, but threw out his hands and raised his brows at Edward in a helpless gesture when Aliera insisted that he stay behind. Mith, whom Edward liked the least of the Companions, had volunteered to stay with him. Even Ssa'ass would have been better. Mith was scruffy looking. Like a stableboy. And cheeky, even for a Companion. Edward sulked silently for awhile longer. Mith had fetched a broom and was sweeping the house out, brushing dirt from the room above into the room Edward was in. What on earth was the use of staying in when there wasn't really any 'in' to stay in? Edward got tired of sulking, fetched a broom and went up to help sweep.\n\"Mith\", Edward said. \"have you ever been to the Crystal Tower?\"\n\"I have. It's an unchancy place at first, but you'll grow used to it.\" Mith was applying his broom with energy and whistling. \"Sweeping was kind of fun here. There weren't any sides to the platforms so all you had to do was brush the dirt and leaves over the side. You started at the top and worked your way down.\"\n\"You're quick with the broom, Mith. I haven't half finished my side yet. Will there be others there like me?\"\n\"Oh, some children, I'd think. Most'll be somewhat older. I should be quick with a broom. My father had me sweeping out the king's stables when I was your age. I used to dream and talk too much like you; he beat me for it. So I learned to be quick.\"\nEdward swept faster, stirring up dust. \"Not like that, boy. Watch me. Anyway, there's no hurry; it's just habit with me. Moraelyn'd serve me my head on a platter if I touched you. My father, heh, he was always...well, he was a hard man to please. He was a Nord.\"\n\"Your father?\" Edward stared at Mith, but Mith looked much like the other Dark Elves he'd seen. Not many. Dark elves didn't come to Daggerfall; Gerald had banned them. But he'd seen some on his rare trips to other courts. And there were some in Firsthold besides Moraelyn and Mith. \"Did he have red hair?\" Mith's hair was a dark red. Gerald had red hair. \"He tended the stables for Moraelyn?\" No wonder Mith looked like a stableboy. But Edward kept his tone polite. Mith had a sharp tongue...and Edward knew that neither of his parents would be sympathetic if he complained that Mith had been impertinent.\n\"He did have red hair. Maybe I got mine from him...but mostly mixed elf and human children come out dark elf. No, Moraelyn wasn't a king then or expecting to be...'sides this was in Blacklight, where I was born. Moraelyn's brother was king in Ebonheart in those days. He came up to visit our King and brought Moraelyn along. To keep him out of trouble, he said.\" Mith grinned. \"I grinned when I heard him say that, and I saw the boy looking at me out of the tail of his eye, but he wouldn't take notice. Like I was the dirt or something worse. His brother tossed him a pouch and told him to go into town and get his knife mended. Jerked his thumb at me and told me to show him the way.\"\n\"Moraelyn said he didn't need an escort to find a store and stalked off like princes do.\" Mith grinned knowingly at Edward. But the grin wasn't unfriendly. Edward smiled back a bit, and Mith went on. \"Our king eyeballed me, so I took off after him. Moraelyn didn't spare me so much as a glance. Went four blocks out of his way, down by the wharfs, and when I tried to tell him where the store was he shoved me right off the pier. I could Levitate, of course, but he caught me by surprise and I went in with a big splash, and everyone laughing like jackasses. I got myself out and went straight to the store and waited for him - but not so he could see me - and when he finally showed up, I lifted the pouch right off him. He didn't even know it was gone. So in he goes and tosses the knife on the counter and tells the smith to fix it right off. Which he does. Only then Moraelyn can't pay him, tells the smith he's the King of Ebonheart's brother, the smith just laughs and says, 'And I'm the Archmagister.' Then the smith calls the guard and three of them show up. Well, Moraelyn wasn't what he is now - three guards wouldn't even warm him up nowadays - but he was even faster then. He was out of there so fast he nearly knocked me over at the door. He lost the guards pretty quick; all that armor slows 'em down. I found him crouching in one of those hedge mazes in the park. He was doubled over out of breath but still I stood a good ways off while I asked him real nasty if he needed an escort back to the Palace. Not that I was planning to go back! I was gonna take the money and run and never look back, I tell you! But I had to have the last word. I wasn't born high but I was born proud.\"\n\"He glared at me for a minute or so, catching his breath, then he just rolled over and started to laugh that laugh of his. Prince or no, I started to like him then. When we'd finished laughing, more or less, we started talking. I told him I didn't want to go back. Nor dared to. 'Princes don't get blamed, Prince,' I said, 'Stableboys do.' He said that wasn't entirely the case, but he saw my point. Then he said that as I was his escort then he must obey his brother and come with me. And that his name was Moraelyn, not Prince. We've been together ever since....more or less.\"\nEdward smiled politely. He could see why Mith had run away, but not why Moraelyn had gone with him. Unless he was afraid to face his brother about the stolen money. Edward tried to imagine Moraelyn being afraid to face anyone and failed. \"I wish I was brave. Like you and Moraelyn.\"\n\"Why, you are brave. And your courage will grow with the rest of you.\"\n\"Are there only High Elf boys at the Tower?\"\n\"There'll be other sorts, too, most likely. A few Dark Elves, for sure. D'ye miss your own kind?\"\nEdward shook his head. \"Human boys don't like me much anyway. Nor High Elf boys...\" His eyes filled suddenly and he turned his head away. But Mith's voice was unexpectedly gentle. \"I thought you wanted to go to the Tower.\"\n\"I do. But...\"\n\"You'll be lonely.\"\nEdward nodded.\n\"That's a hard thing to face.\"\n\"Did you go there alone, Mith?\"\n\"No. Moraelyn did, but he was older than you, by a good bit. A grown man, in fact. They didn't take any but High Elf students in those days, you know. But Moraelyn heard of them and said he wanted to go there. We were together already, the seven of us, save for Aliera, and a handy bunch in a fight. Moraelyn had already gotten that Dragon's Blade he wears, and the Dragon's Tooth to go with it - remind me to tell you about that sometime - and he was a famous fighter already. And the rest of us aren't slackers. But he thought we could be better at the spellcasting and the Tower was the place to learn that. Well, no one goes near the Tower without an invitation. No one! No one would even tell you where it was. But they'd tell you where NOT to go. So he went there. Alone. One morning he was gone and there a note saying for us to wait for him. So we did, here in Firsthold. He was gone two weeks, then he came back one night, rowing across with the tide. He just said they'd accepted him, but he couldn't say anything more about it. But he asked me to come back with him.\"\n\"'They want me?' 'Well, they've accepted one Dark Elf,' he said. 'One more shouldn't bother them too much.' So we go there, and bless me if the Archmagister himself didn't meet us at the door and demand to know the meaning of this. I wanted to turn myself into a rock! I was wishing hard that I was stable dung! And figured I was like to get my wish soon. But Moraelyn speaks up real polite that this is the friend he'd mentioned and the Archmagister had expressed an interest in his abilities, and naturally he'd want to see for himself.\"\n\"But the Archmagister was real interested. See, they don't wear armor or carry anything but a staff and a dagger. They think it interferes with their spellcasting, all that metal. But Moraelyn could cast pretty well even with chain and with any one-hand weapon at all. And I could cast wearing leather and as much as a saber, though it's an unwieldy weapon; I like my short sword better. Truth, they didn't think that much of me, but Moraelyn...he'd camped outside their door. And when they tried to move him he just sat there! They threw all the spells they had at him, the troll guards, everything. Nothing. He laid the trolls out flat and left 'em to regenerate. If they tried to beat him with their staffs he'd ward them off with his blade and the spells didn't turn him a hair.\"\nEdward's mouth gaped open. \"How'd he do that!?!\" He said.\n\"Well, it was a trick, in a way. He'd picked up something that came natural to Willow. See, Willow is different.\"\n\"I didn't know Willow could cast!\"\n\"Well, she doesn't have any mana, ordinarily....but she can absorb it if you cast a spell at her, see. O'course it wasn't much use to her, since she'd never been able to learn what t'do with it once she got it. Couldn't get it back once it was gone, so she couldn't practice. Until Morelyn got hold of her and trained her. Well, Moraelyn had figured out pretty much how Willow did what she did....though it cost Moraelyn mana to do what came natural to Willow. So Moraelyn sat there absorbing everything they threw at him and burning it off into a big shield. Drove 'em wild.\"\n\"He said the Archmagister could best him, though.\" Edward suspected that Mith was making up the whole story.\n\"Well, so he did, when he finally came. But all the rest of 'em together couldn't do it. And all Moraelyn wanted was to study with them. We were a sight, the two of us dark elves in our battle gear among all that white and gold. I felt like a fish out of water, but Moraelyn was interested in what they had to say....and you can bet they hung on every word he said. Not too many words at first. After a fortnight or so, he told me one night to tell the Archmagister that he'd be back in a couple of days. And he shows up with Silk! 'Course he'd been telling 'em about the Khajiits...and they'd been asking questions.\"\n\"The Archmagister's no fool. He just stared at Silk, and she purred real loud and rubbed up against him and asked 'How ya doin', Archmagister, baby?' The Archmagister kinda pushes Silk away and says in a whisper, 'How many more?'\"\n\"'Just two, sir.'\"\n\"'What are they?'\"\n\"'Wood elves, sir.'\"\n\"'Just wood elves. Plain ordinary wood elves. No horns, hooves or tails.'\"\n\"'Yes sir. Ah, one of them has an extraordinary Absorb ability with some very unusual features. The other's just a Bard.'\"\n\"'Very well. You may bring the one with the Absorb. We don't want a Bard! They are not true mages.'\"\n\"'Well, that's most generous of you, sir, but the Bard's her brother, sir and I swore to their parents that I wouldn't separate them. So it'll just be the three of us.'\"\n\"'Her brother.'\"\n\"'Aye, a pair of twins.'\"\n\"'You may bring them both.'\"\n\"So three days later he's back with the twins AND Ssa'ass AND Slave. The Archmagister looks at them and sort of bobs up and down, but he speaks real quiet. 'Dark Elf, by pair of twins, did you mean TWO SETS of twins? Are you going to tell me that these...these are twins???' Well, I could see that Moraelyn was kinda sorry he hadn't thought of trying that, but he said, 'No sir, the twins are Beech and Willow. The Argonian and the Nord are not prospective initiates. They are specimens. For your collection. You don't have any like them so I thought...'\"\n\"'You thought. I do not have a dragon either! Are you going to think to bring me that next?'\"\n\"'Oh, aye, I could. Would you like one?'\"\n\"'Tell me you are not serious.'\"\n\"'Well, I couldn't promise. And it would take quite a long time, a year maybe, but...'\"\n\"The Archmagister's eyes rolled up toward heaven. 'Thank you, All-Mother, I have at least a year to prepare.' he whispered.\"\n\"I don't think Mats and Ssa'ass should have been made specimens. They're people. Even if they aren't elves.\"\n\"Oh, they made Ssa'ass an initiate when they found out that he had some interesting Heal spells.\"\n\"But Mats?\"\n\"Mats never minds anything. He hasn't a bit of magic; he couldn't be an initiate. Anyway he'd have hated it. He spent his time gaming with the guards. When he wasn't being studied. Seems he has some interesting magic resistances. Anyway, since then, the initiates aren't just High Elves. And they don't all follow the Mage way.\"\n\"I shall. I shall be just like the Archmagister.\"\n\"Oh, aye, exactly,\" Moraelyn's voice sounded lightly behind him. \"I'll cut the ears off a donkey for thee and dye thy skin with saffron. Bleach thy hair white and stretch thee a foot\" Moraelyn swung him high. \"Art well, son? I told thee so, Aliera. He's not ill at all. Good, because the Archmagister's returned. We go to the Tower tomorrow.\"\n'We' was just Moraelyn and Edward. Aliera had caught Edward's cold and they took some pleasure in insisting she remain in bed. Moraelyn rowed them across the river in a small boat and they walked for most of the day, resting a little at midday. It was evening when they reached the tower and the setting sun was glinting off it. Even the sea far below looked red. There was a hush over the countryside.\n\"It's tall, isn't it?\" Edward paused to look.\n\"Towers generally are.\"\n\"Did you really...\" Edward broke off. Questions starting in that fashion did not draw satisfactory answers from the elf.\n\"Has Mith been telling thee tales? He's had ten years to polish that one. I doubt not it glistens like the Tower.\"\n\"He told me how you met, too.\"\n\"I thought he would.\"\n\"I didn't understand why you went off with him? He was a thief and a stableboy and you were a prince.\"\n\"You have just named three excellent reasons, Prince.\"\n\"You never give me serious answers.\"\n\"A serious charge. Very well, then. I saw myself through Mith's eyes and misliked what I saw: a callous bully and a coward, fit to be neither boy nor man nor prince. Why did you run off, Prince?\"\nEdward hung his head mutely. \"Nay, I do not require answers. Come, it grows late.\" Moraelyn reached his hand for Edward's, but Edward shook him off. If Moraelyn was a coward what did that make Edward? He looked at the Tower door where Moraelyn had demanded and won entrance, though all would shut him out. Edward could never do anything like that, but at least he could walk in on his own as an invited guest."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/king-edward-part-v": {"series": "King Edward", "game": ["Daggerfall"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/king-edward-part-v", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "King Edward, Part V", "description": "", "text": "Chapter 5: In the Crystal Tower\nInside the Tower, Edward's first impression was of whiteness. Floors, walls, ceiling, all were white and radiated light. Their footsteps made soft crunching noises on the rough floor surface. Except for that, it was very still, with occasional soft, unrecognizable far-off sounds. Moraelyn moved confidently through winding halls and long rooms. He seemed very black in all that white. They passed long pools of water with fountains that sparkled in the light.\n\"Where is everyone?\" Edward whispered.\n\"At table, I hope. I'm hungry. Aren't you?\"\n\"No.\" Abruptly a big, broad ugly shape appeared in front of them and roared a challenge. Edward grabbed for Moraelyn's arm with both hands. Moraelyn shook him off irritably. \"Gods, boy, don't grab my sword arm if ever you do spot a monster. Stay clear!\" But Moraelyn didn't reach for his blade. He stood still while the monster wrapped its long arms around him and pounded on his back, still roaring. Moraelyn roared back and pounded on the monster's chest. Then he introduced Edward to the Captain of the Archmagister's guard.\n\"Don't hug him,\" Moraelyn warned the troll, who grinned at Edward showing pointy teeth. \"He'll break.\"\n\"I thought trolls were dangerous!\" Edward gasped as they ascended a long winding stairway.\n\"They are. I'll have bruises for a fortnight. I'd have shielded, but I didn't like to hurt his feelings.\"\n\"He likes you?!\"\n\"Oh, aye, it can be done, you see.\"\n\"Why does the Archmagister keep troll guards?\"\n\"They keep the rats down.\"\nMore trolls, but these paid them little heed. Another long stairway. More corridors. A sort of guardroom where three trolls appeared to be gaming with bones. One of them shambled to his feet and led them down a shadowy passage. A row of cages with huge rats, then some with small odd creatures that looked rather like elves seen in a badly distorted mirror (though Edward kept this observation to himself). They gobbled and squeaked as the elf and boy paced quickly by.\n\"Goblins,\" Moraelyn said with distaste. They turned a corner and went past two cages that held only large stone statues. There seemed to be more cages off down other hallways. The troll unlocked a huge black metal door. It clanged shut behind them. A very large green and yellow hooved creature sat man-like in one corner. Its unwinking eyes didn't flicker as they passed quickly and climbed still another stair. More white halls. These were patrolled by huge black dogs that sniffed at them as they passed. Edward stretched a hand to pet one, but it snarled at him.\n\"I wouldn't.\" Moraelyn said.\n\"Yes Sir.\"\nThey came to another massive black metal door. A voice sounded. \"What is black and white, has one body, two heads, four arms, four legs, two red eyes and two brown?\"\n\"That's disgusting!\" Moraelyn yelled at the door, hands on hips.\n\"You are correct, mortal. You may pass.\" The door swung slowly open, creaking. There was no one behind it, just a narrow stairway that wound sharply. It seemed dark above. Moraelyn raced up the stairs, leaving Edward clinging to the bottom rail, shaking. There was not a thing to do but follow.\n\"Welcome, Edward.\" The Archmagister stood white and gold in the center of a large dim room. Huge windows looked out on the purple twilit sea below. \"Come here, child. Give me your hands.\"\nEdward put his hands in the Archmagister's who smiled down at him. Edward's fatigue and fear vanished instantly. He smiled back at the Archmagister, who said softly. \"It is well. You may go,\" to the furious dark elf who stood glowering to one side. Edward was barely aware of him, his whole attention occupied by the Archmagister.\n\"Goodbye, Edward.\"\n\"Bye.\" Edward didn't take his eyes off the Archmagister. From far away he heard the dark elf go down the stairs.\n\"He calls you son,\" the Archmagister said.\n\"Yes sir. I asked him if I might call him father.\"\n\"But you are not entirely comfortable about it.\"\nEdward sighed. \"No sir.\"\n\"That may be as well. You will return to Daggerfall one day. And then you must be Corcyr's son. So let the claim be on Moraelyn's side.\" The Archmagister moved companionably to the windows with him. The dusk was fast gathering as Edward stared out over the hill through which they'd journeyed. A dark figure appeared below and strode swiftly off into the night.\n\"That's Moraelyn! I thought he was going to stay the night. It's dangerous out there alone in the dark. There are evil things out there. Can't you...\"\n\"Dangerous for any evil that meets Moraelyn in his present mood. He will go safely, I promise you.\"\n\"Oh. But I haven't thanked him. He's been very kind, really. Why was he so angry about the door? It was just a silly question. The answer was him and my mother, when they're asleep and I'm not there. How do you make a door talk? Is it an illusion?\"\n\"That's three questions. Which of them do you want answered? Aren't you hungry? Would you like a bowl of stew?\"\n\"Yes, please. I'd like to hear about the door, please.\"\n\"Ah. You think the talking door may prove more comprehensible than a surly dark elf? More interesting? Or safer?\" The Archmagister's large golden eyes regarded the boy thoughtfully.\n\"I don't know if I, uh, like him. Sometimes I think I...and then other times I...do you understand about liking? He said he didn't.\"\n\"You would be more comfortable if you felt the same way about him at all times, yet you do not.\"\n\"Yes, that's it, exactly. You do understand.\"\n\"Moraelyn is not a comfortable man.\"\n\"Well, I don't mean that exactly. Sometimes he is. Like when we rode the dragon.\"\nThe Archmagister laughed aloud. His laughter reminded Edward of chimes. \"Yes, yes. I find comfort myself in having Moraelyn near at hand when dragons are about.\"\nA young high elf brought in a bowl of stew and set it down on the table. Edward felt a bit disappointed that the stew had come in such an ordinary way. Until he remembered that the Archmagister hadn't sent for the stew.\n\"The priest at home in Daggerfall said it was a mark of evil things, that they cannot bear the light,\" Edward said between mouthfuls. \"Moraelyn doesn't like sunlight. And he's black.\"\n\"I see. Do you know what evil is?\"\n\"Um, well, if you do bad things, then you're evil?\"\n\"I see. If the cook had burnt the stew, would he then be evil?\"\nEdward grinned. \"No, just a bad cook. But if he did it on purpose, then I guess he'd have done an evil thing...but maybe he wouldn't be altogether evil. Maybe he was just angry about something.\"\n\"Or perhaps the sort of person who is pleased by spoiling others' pleasure?\"\n\"I guess that'd make my little brothers evil. They sure like to spoil my fun.\"\n\"And you?\"\nEdward felt his face redden. \"I don't take any notice of them,\" he said quickly. The Archmagister's large golden eyes regarded him steadily. To his own dismay, Edward began to cry. He bawled like a baby. \"I don't know what's wrong with me,\" he gasped. \"I never cry, really, I don't...hardly ever...\"\n\"Why ever not?\" Edward looked up. His tears had blurred his sight, but there seemed to be tears on the Archmagister's face. His hand reached up to feel the wetness. \"You have been very alone, have you not?\" the Archmagister said.\n\"Yes. Until you brought the unicorn for me, I was all alone. They endure no evil,\" Edward sighed with satisfaction, feeling relaxed and comfortable. The Archmagister was wonderful.\n\"We summoned the unicorn, Moraelyn and the dragon and I and others. It's a great magic and one no single man or woman may command. But don't trouble yourself overmuch with judging good and evil. That's a human notion. Life is complex; I know of nothing that is wholly good or wholly evil. Not even the unicorn.\"\nEdward's time in the Tower passed quickly. There were few other novices and the youngest of these was several years older than Edward. The boy spent several hours each day with the Archmagister. He learned to cast a few spells and to open his mind so that he could renew his magicka quickly while he slept. But often they just talked. Sometimes Edward was given a book to read. Other times he was allowed to choose one from the thousands in the library. He usually tired of them quickly. He didn't read Elvish script easily; his tutor had taught him the letters, but their few books were in Bretic.\nSpellcasting was more fun. Fire spells came easily to him and he learned to shield himself readily, but to his chagrin, he couldn't Heal at all. He invariably made things worse for the unlucky rats he was allowed to practice on.\n\"I don't know what I'm doing wrong!\" Edward cried out in frustration. He sent a dart of fire at the writhing rat and it turned into a charred corpse.\n\"Edward, it will be well if you let the Heal spells wait awhile yet.\"\n\"Moraelyn said Light Heal is the first spell anybody learns,\" Edward said sulkily.\n\"Did he? Well, he is a practitioner of magic, not a theorist. Even I would hesitate to say what a Breton might or might not learn, and when he might learn it. You are the first of your people with whom I have worked. Certainly Moraelyn has had no experience with your race, except for your mother, of course.\"\n\"My mother can't do magic.\"\n\"No, but we think the ability lies within her. She has not been able to learn to master it, possibly because she was too old when she first tried. If you want my opinion it is your thoughts and not your hands which are causing your difficulty. Weeping might help.\"\n\"I don't feel like crying,\" Edward said rather sullenly. He felt more like kicking something, although incinerating the rat had helped relieve some of that.\n\"Meditation might help, then.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/king-edward-part-vi": {"series": "King Edward", "game": ["Daggerfall"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/king-edward-part-vi", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "King Edward, Part VI", "description": "", "text": "Chapter 6: Training\nThe day Edward was to leave the Archmagister summoned him, presented him with a mithril staff and bade him farewell.\nBack in his small cell Edward removed his novitiate robe and donned the grey shirt, black pants and red sash he'd worn to the Tower. He fingered the sash lovingly. His mother had purchased the shirt and pants, saying they looked sturdy and maybe wouldn't show the dirt from the journey. Moraelyn had given him the silk sash with its embroidery of twined leaves and flowers, birds and butterflies in mithril, dwarven and elven metallic threads. But he'd waited until they were across the channel. Aliera had said it cost too dear; she'd suggested cutting down one of Moraelyn's old ones to fit, but the elf had adamantly refused to let her have any of them. Edward smiled, remembering, and wrapped the sash twice round his waist then knotted the ends carefully. He took the staff and ran down to meet his parents.\nHe'd meant to fling himself at them, but Moraelyn was alone and Edward stopped still. \"Where's my mother? Is she...?\"\n\"She wanted to stay and choose a horse for you. Didn't trust it to Beech.\"\n\"A horse? For me! Really?\"\n\"Of course. You can't walk all the way to Morrowind.\"\n\"I thought I'd have to ride behind...someone. Look, the Archmagister gave me...my staff! Isn't it beautiful?\"\nThe elf took it and hefted it, trying a few swings and feints. \"Good balance and weight for thee, I think. Light for me. Show me how you use it. Suppose I attack you.\" He used his bare hands and Edward fell into a defensive position, blocked him, then thrust the staff toward Moraelyn's ribs. He danced easily aside, but praised the boy.\n\"A mage should have a dagger, too. I thought you might like to have Tooth here.\" Edward's eye popped. Tooth had an ebony blade and a hilt made from a real dragon's tooth. The elf slid it from its sheath and handed it to Edward who took it carefully. The blade had a wicked point and the edge was sharp enough to shave with. Mats borrowed it sometimes. He'd carved the hilt, too.\n\"Are you sure Mats doesn't mind?\"\n\"Quite sure.\" Moraelyn unbuckled his belt and slid the sheath off it. There was a new belt for\nEdward of snakeskin, soft and pliable and a buckle with the black rose of Morrowind on it, just like Moraelyn's. \"It's from the Companions.\" He knelt to fit the belt and dagger and the sash over it properly, and Edward threw his arms about his neck. \"It's wonderful. I do thank thee and them, too! And oh, I've missed all of thee so much.\"\n\"We missed you, too, son. Let's go or we'll miss our tide.\"\n\"I wouldn't want to worry mother,\" he said, trying to sound casual about having a mother that would worry about him.\n\"No fear; I told her not to look for us until tomorrow night....just in case. But we'll surprise her.\"\n\"Good thinking.\"\nThey made good speed and reached the inlet before the tide was full.\n\"Shall I show you how to use Tooth, or would you rather rest?\"\n\"Tooth! I can rest in the boat while you work.\"\nMoraelyn shielded himself and Edward too, saying that Tooth's bite was no joke. \"I could have shielded myself,\" Edward said proudly. \"I'm good at that. But my Heals go all wrong.\"\n\"It'll come. Give it time.\"\nEvidently Tooth wanted time too. Try as he might, he couldn't get near the elf with the blade, even though Moraelyn kept his feet planted and simply swerved his body, ducking and weaving...and laughing. Frustrated, Edward sheathed Tooth and picked up the staff and whacked at him, swinging it with both hands. It wasn't doing any harm, but it made satisfying sounds as it thwacked against the spell shield. Moraelyn let him hit, but stopped the staff easily when the spell had been used up. Edward threw it on the ground and turned away; the elf reached for him in consolation. Edward snatched Tooth from the sheath and thrust it straight at the elf's heart. The blade was knocked spinning from his hand. Edward had braced to stop the thrust and hold it and he felt the shock even through his shield. Then Moraelyn was kneeling before him, nursing his left hand across his right knee, his face grey with shock and disbelief. Blood was gushing from his wrist like a fountain. \"Give me thy sash!\"\n\"I...I didn't...\" Edward's teeth were rattling in his head. He felt sick and dizzy. Bile washed up in his mouth. \"D-d-didn't--m-m-mean.\" So much blood.\n\"Boy, don't faint now. I need thy aid. The sash. Now, Edward! Pack it into the wound. Gods, what a mess!\" The hand was half severed at the wrist. Edward sat down abruptly, shaking all over, but his hands packed the sash into the open wound, then he wrapped the rest round the hand and wrist.\n\"Take my sash and make a sling.\" Moraelyn eased the injured limb into the sling and then released his other hand. He took the water bottle from his belt and drank it down. \"I need more water. Where's thy staff? There's a well two miles back. Where's Tooth? Go find it and don't cut yourself on it.\"\n\"I don't want it.\"\n\"Not many blades have bathed in Moraelyn's blood. 'Twill bring you luck. Do as I say.\"\n\"The tide's in.\"\n\"Aye and Firsthold could be on Jone for all the good it does us. I can't row one handed.\"\n\"I could...\"\n\"No, you cannot. You haven't the strength. The current's swift here. I prefer to die on land. Edward, we cannot stay here. The blood smell will draw beasts. If I faint, get well away and climb a tree. And pray.\" He climbed to his feet and leaned on the staff, breathing hard. \"Stay close, but don't grab at me, no matter what happens.\" He took a small step, then another.\n\"I'm sorry.\"\n\"Doubtless. You picked a poor time and place to turn assassin. A good assassin always has an escape planned.\"\n\"Yessir.\" Edward sniffed back his tears. \"Sir, I cannot Heal you, but I can restore some vigor.\"\n\"Can you? 'T'would be of great help.\" The spell Edward cast shook the elf; he gasped, but stood straighter and firmer after the shock wore off. \"I can do it again,\" Edward offered eagerly.\n\"Nay. You have plenty of power but want finesse. But 'tis much better, now.\"\nMoraelyn was walking better; he sounded better too. Edward tried to blot the picture of the injury out of his mind. They moved slowly, Moraelyn leaning against a tree from time to time to rest. Nothing molested them. After an interminable time of silent travelling they reached the old well. Moraelyn drained the first bottle and Edward refilled it, drank himself, then filled it yet again.\n\"We'll spend the night in there.\" 'There' was a large ramshackle building, apparently deserted. The elf kicked the locked door open. Inside it was pitch dark. \"Light?\" Edward offered.\n\"Nay. I can see. Save your power and stay by me.\" There was a skittering noise. Rats! Edward shielded them both without thinking, pulled Tooth out, and placed his back to the elf's. A rat leaped and drove itself onto the blade. Moraelyn swung the staff and laid out two more. Others scurried off.\n\"Well done, lad!\" They found a small windowless room and shut the door behind them. There\nseemed to be some wood about; probably it had been some sort of storage room off the kitchen. Moraelyn sat down against the wall.\n\"So. You can use a knife. Was all that pretense? To put me off my guard?\"\nEdward was appalled. He burst into tears, protesting that he'd never harm Moraelyn willingly. \"I meant it for jest; I thought it'd make you laugh...I was angry, at first, but at myself, my clumsiness, not you...it was a sudden thought....I love you dear!\"\nThe elf reached out with his good arm and pulled Edward down to him. \"That's worth a hand, then, any day.\"\nEdward sobbed against his shoulder while Moraelyn soothed him with pats. \"You are my real father.\"\n\"Edward, I am not...\"\n\"Nay, thou art. Thee puts my well-being ahead of thine and loves me when I least deserve it. Thee's been kind and generous and never asked anything of me save to my own profit. Thee'd give thy very life for mine. That's what real fathers do. And I've given thee naught but pain. He who sired me despises me and my mother because we are unlike him. We are not like you either, and yet you love us well. I will do better by you, dear Father.\"\n\"I gave thee cause enough for offense. I took thy mother from thee.\"\n\"You risked losing her because you would not part me from my father. You did not know me and my father was your bitter enemy. And yet you took thought for us. You could not know how unnatural he is. It isn't in you.\"\n\"Granted. And yet the offense and your anger at it remain.\"\n\"I love you!\" Edward protested. But he heard an angry edge in his voice.\n\"And hate me.\" Moraelyn's voice was so calm and quiet that they might have been discussing the weather.\n\"I can't do both....can I?\"\n\"Can you?\"\n\"I didn't mean to hurt you.\"\n\"I believe you.\"\n\"Am I...am I, evil? I was sorry; I'd give anything if it hadn't happened, but...I..\".\n\"Took some measure of satisfaction in it.\"\nEdward's throat was choked with sobs; he couldn't speak, but nodded into Moraelyn's shoulder. The elf's hand stroked him gently.\n\"Did I'ric tell you of the Daedra?\"\n\"The demons? No. Is it a demon makes me do such things? I am evil, then.\"\n\"No, you are not. But the daedra feed on actions such as that. They encourage them. And your anger draws them. But they can't make you do anything. And they or it's not inside you. But it is connected to you.\"\n\"I don't want it. I want it to go away. How can I make it go away?\"\n\"Why don't you want it? You draw power from it. That's what let you shield us both with the rats attacked.\"\n\"Mana? That doesn't come from demons.\"\n\"No, but the ability to use it can. Look, some of your deeds feed the daedra. But you draw power from it at the same time. Then the power's yours, to use as you choose.\"\n\"Do you have a daedra?\"\n\"I do and it's a big one, too, but I think everyone has one or more. Some are stronger than others, that's all. But don't go around asking after them. It's not polite.\"\n\"I want mine to go away!\" Edward wailed.\n\"So you say. But pretending it isn't there will not accomplish that. Having a daedra is a bit like riding a horse. You must keep control. The daedra do not care for you. It would as lief feed off your pain or injury or death as any other, and find a new host. They do not think or plan as we can and I do not think they experience time as we do. So acts that feed the daedra take place in the moment and while you are caught up in them, past and future cease to exist for you too. It is an intensely pleasurable experience, but it can also be very dangerous. And very addictive, so that you begin to think only of feeding your daedra. You cease to think of the gods and those you love and even yourself. When you have walked too far along that path, you lose the will to choose another.\"\n\"How terrible! What must I do then?\"\n\"It is terrible, the worst that can befall a person. Remember this night. How you felt. Learn to recognize the daedra's hunger for what it is, and think about what you do. You are young and this is heavy for you, but you are at risk. Ah!\" The elf's body stiffened and he caught his breath. Edward guessed that the wound was paining him.\nMoraelyn said that he must sleep a bit, and could Edward keep watch and wake him in an hour's time. Then he could set a lock on the door and they could both rest.\n\"Aye, sir...and I might do somewhat more. I cannot set a lock, but...\" The door would not latch, nor would it stay open, but would swing nearly shut. Edward felt about near the wall behind it and found a wedge. He shut the door and drove the wedge home with a chunk of wood. \"I thought so. 'Tis awkward to pass such a door with both arms full of wood. We have such at ho...in Gerald's palace. Now anything trying to come in will rouse you; you can use your power to cast heal instead of lock.\"\n\"Why, well thought of, indeed.\" He freed his blade and laid it on the floor beside him. \"We may as well both sleep then.\"\nThey slept fitfully. There were often scrabblings at the door and in the walls, but nothing entered their small closet. Moraelyn cast Heal several time during the night. By morning he pronounced himself as fit \"as a one-handed man can be.\" He unwrapped the sash-bandage and inspected the wound. The bleeding was stopped; the hand was still warm to the touch; it no longer hurt him nor was it swollen or discolored. But the wound was still open and the hand useless. Nerves and muscles had been severed and some of the small bones broken. Such repair was beyond his skill. Edward, feeling the daedra feed on the sight, turned quickly away.\nMoraelyn grinned. \"You may as well let it feed; it's a harmless sort of feeding. The damage is done.\"\n\"I mean to starve it,\" Edward said firmly.\n\"You can try to do that or you can learn to control it instead, and still walk with the gods. I think we'd best go back to the Tower.\"\n\"Aye, they'll be able to heal you there, will they not?\"\n\"I know not. At the least they'll be able to attach it more firmly than it is at present. Ah, do not look so downcast. The skill to mend it is somewhere, if not in the Tower. Ssa'ass is good with battle injuries and there are Temples which know more of the healing arts than the Tower mages. Besides, it's only my left hand.\" He held up the wadded sash, stiff with his dried blood. \"The color's more practical than thy mother thought. Let's see if we can wash it out a bit. Never have I come so ill-equipped on a journey. I might have been strolling down the main street in Ebonheart. Thy mother will kill me.\"\n\"Right after she kills me,\" Edward sighed. \"At least returning to the Tower will delay that.\" They came out into the bright courtyard. The morning sun was already high in the western sky.\n\"Not so. Edward, the Companions are coming now! I hear them. Mara, let me think of a real good lie!\"\nMith trotted into the courtyard. \"Here they are!\" he called back to the others. \"By Torgo, you ARE injured. Let me see that. We thought to row across to meet you; we saw the blood on the shore and tracked you here. What attacked you?\"\n\"A demon.\"\n\"A demon! What!? In the open like that in daylight? Gods, what was it carrying, an ebony dai-katana?\" Mith whistled as he inspected the injury. Aliera and the others ran up. She hugged Edward, \"Are you all right, darling? I was worried.\" then paled as she saw her husband's hand.\n\"You must be slowing down. How'd you let a demon do that to you?\" Mith demanded.\n\"It was the boy...he grabbed at my arm in fright and my shield spell failed. It wasn't his fault; it was an accident. Ali, don't look at it. Edward, why don't you take thy mother to see the rat you killed?\"\n\"I want to watch Ssa'ass,\" Edward objected, then remembered that it would feed his daedra. But he might learn something about healing if he watched, which would be a good thing. This was going to be more complicated than he'd thought.\n\"Oh, Edward,\" Aliera said. \"You must keep clear in a fight.\"\n\"He killed a rat in the old inn there, after. Did right well. Kept his head, put his back to mine, shielded us both. Anyone's apt to panic in his first fight. Especially if he isn't expecting it.\"\nSsa'ass came up last, as usual, elbowed the others aside and inspected the injury, hissing. \"I cann fixxxx thissss. It'ss cleann.\" He looked it over carefully, bending the hand back to open the wound. Then he brought the hand forward, so that the edges of the tissue met. He was very particular about getting it aligned just so. Then he had Mats hold it in place while he cast spells over it. All outer traces of the injury vanished, leaving not even a scar. Moraelyn swung it with satisfaction, twitching his fingers. \"Thanks, Ssa'ass. It's stiff, but...\"\n\"Tomorrow, I ffinissshhh.\"\n\"My poor baby,\" Aliera fussed over Edward. \"You must have been so frightened. And you spent the whole night in that awful house?\"\n\"I'm not a baby. I wasn't afraid; my father was there.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/king-edward-part-vii": {"series": "King Edward", "game": ["Daggerfall"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/king-edward-part-vii", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "King Edward, Part VII", "description": "", "text": "Chapter 7: Dragon\n\"So you saw a demon? And killed a rat with Tooth? That's a fine ebony dagger, Tooth is. They're rare so you want to take real good care of it,\" Mith said. \"I can't tell you about the blade except it came from Moraelyn's father. It's the one his brother sent him to repair just before we ran away. Would you like to hear about how they got the dragon's tooth that Mats carved the hilt from?\"\nEdward nodded, caressing the curved hilt with its lightly carved intertwined roses, thorns and leaves. It was well after supper and everyone but him and Mith had left the fire for one reason or another. Aliera and Moraelyn had gone for a walk hand in hand, Aliera holding Moraelyn's newly healed left hand in both of hers. They'd laughed and shaken their heads when he'd offered to come along, \"Not tonight,\" Aliera had said. \"Go to sleep soon. We'll be leaving before dawn.\" Willow had gone to visit a High Elf friend. Beech, Ssa'ass, Mats and the Khajiit woman, Silk, had also gone off together, laughing. They'd invited Mith to come along, but Mith had declined.\n\"Khajiits! They're all turning into a bunch of shameless Khajiits,\" Mith said. The short Dark Elf sat close to the glowing embers, knees to chest. His hair and eyes glowed in the dim light. \"If you're going to pair, you should pair, not turn it into an tourney. They'll be selling tickets next. But each to his own. Khajiits think we're weird because we like eating as a group. Silk says it put her right off her food at first, listening to everybody chew. Well, having a bunch of watchers puts me off. I s'pose you're too young for this kind of talk.\"\nEdward shrugged. It was a beautiful night, crisply cool, no moon, but the stars were very large and bright.\n\"Anyway, it was just a few months after Mats had joined up with us. We were up in Skyrim, travelling from town to town. Just three kids seeing the country a bit, picking up odd jobs where we could. Moraelyn entered tournaments if we heard about them, but he wasn't winning that much...just about enough to cover healing him up afterwards. You can get beat up pretty bad fighting Skyrim style - that's without shielding spells, or any other spells for that matter, no magic allowed - even if it isn't to the death. And he drew a few types that didn't mind seeing a little dark elf blood spilled in the sand. Or a lot. And the crowds were against him at first. It can get pretty lonely in the arena, especially if you're beating the home town favorite. And it's even worse if he's beating you. \"Mats and me 'ud be the only ones for him, and sometimes we didn't dare cheer too loud. They'd look real funny at a Nord boy cheering a Dark Elf back then. 'Course Mats was so big, not many wanted to start anything with him. That was a long time ago. Moraelyn's the favorite now if things get tough. 'Course the crowds will cheer for a good match, but hardly anyone really wants to see him lose now. They like seeing the best, even if it comes wrapped in a dark elf hide. And when he walks into an arena you know you're seeing the best. Not but what they'd like seeing a Nord that's better. And Mats may get there soon. He doesn't fight his best against Moraelyn, though. Maybe he doesn't want to, or maybe Moraelyn just knows him too well. Oh, well, you want to hear about the dragon...\"\n\"So Moraelyn was gambling with this Nord in a tavern one night, trying to pick up a little easy gold. The pot's pretty big, and the man can't match his bet, so he says he'll put this map on the pile and tap Moraelyn. Says it's a map to the hiding place of the best blade ever made. Says there's a spell on it so that if you hit your opponent, you get as much heal as he gets hurt. That some Mage hid it just before he died so's only someone worthy of it can get to it.\"\n\"'And you think I look worthy?' Moraelyn says, grinning. We were young and dumb, but not all that dumb.\"\n\"The Nord grins back and says 'I saw you fight in Falcreath, kid. You look like you'd take a chance.'\"\n\"'Why not? The story alone is worth the gold. You ought to be a Bard.' So anyway Moraelyn wins the pot and tosses the man enough back to keep his throat wet all evening. Just for laughs we look at the map. It showed the Dragon's Teeth Mountains down in Hammerfell. Real wild country. And there's an 'X' and some writing saying 'Fang Lair'. Mats gets excited and says he's heard of the place, but he'd never known just where it was.\"\n\"'And you still don't,' I say. 'Any fool can draw a map, just as any fool can look at one. I could do as much myself.'\"\n\"Mats says Fang Lair is an old dwarf mine, but there's supposed to be a dragon there now, and the dwarves are gone. Moraelyn looks real interested at the mention of a mine, and asks what they mined there. Mats says mithril and gold.\"\n\"Moraelyn says, 'Hmmmmm.'\"\n\"The mithril had him interested. We couldn't afford really good weapons. And mithril's scarce, but it's light to carry for its worth, and easy to mine and work if you know how; and he did. He didn't believe in the magic blade or the dragon, but he thought the mine might be real. Mining's in his blood, as it is in all the R'Aathim, the royal Kin of Ebonheart.\"\n\"It took us a couple of months to get there. We couldn't afford horses. We never would have found it without the map. It's tricky country, full of canyons and hidden valleys. We sure never expected what we saw when we did get there. You could see the towers from the canyon mouth, way back in there. Dark elves live right in caverns if they mine, but the dwarves had built a hall over the top of their mines. It's a pretty thing on the outside. Narrow towers, and arched bridges between them. Delicate looking; you wouldn't expect work like that from Dwarves. Merged right into the rocks too. And there was a big stone dragon mounted above the gate.\"\n\"'There's your dragon, Mats,' I said. The inside wasn't much to look at, just rock wall. The doorway was enormous, but the doors were gone. There was a balcony running right around a big open pit, probably the start of the mine, turned into a hall. And right in the middle was more treasure than you can imagine piled up almost like a haystack that'd been flattened out. And what had flattened it was a golden dragon curled right over it; we didn't even see him at first, 'cause he blended with the rest of the gold. Well, we just froze in place. We hadn't seen a sign of live dragon outside. The place smelled of brimstone, but most mines do. And there that dragon was, just lying there. And it's gotta be two miles to any kind of shelter.\"\n\"'I told you there was a dragon,' Mats whispers.\"\n\"'Shhhhh,' Moraelyn says. 'Look what's in front of his nose.'\"\n\"I'd been busy looking at his nose, believe you me. But there was a sword lying right there naked, sure enough...and the blade was dark metal that looked just like his dagger.\"\n\"'You two start back,' Moraelyn says, 'I'm going to try for that blade, anyway. If that's not ebony, I'm a wood elf. Maybe the dragon's dead, or asleep for the winter, or maybe it's not alive at all. Just something the dwarves made to guard their treasure. Like the scarecrows the Nord farmers put in their grain fields. At worst, I'll distract him long enough for you to get clear.'\"\n\"I'd a mind to take him up on it, but Mats just shook his head, and I was kinda ashamed to go back alone.\"\n\"'Let's all just clear out,' I said. That thing looked real enough to scare me away. But Moraelyn casts Invisibility and heads on down the stair, not making a sound that even I could hear. I could see Mats hated letting him go down alone, but Mats couldn't sneak past a blind, deaf beggar in a fish market. So we strung our bows and figured we could try to get off a couple of shots and maybe get lucky and take out the eyes if the dragon woke up and went for Moraelyn. Mats and I move around to where we can get onto a tower stair fast if we have to, figuring the dragon can't get in there. Then we scrunch down and peer between the railings. Not that there was anything to see except the dragon lying there. Which really is a lot to see, at that.\"\n\"Then those dragon eyes popped open and my heart gave one big jump and then seemed to quit entirely.\"\n\"'Ahhhhh! Dinner comes to me today,' the dragon says. 'Take a good look at my hoard, dark elf. You will not steal it nor even view it long, but your bones will keep it company...forever.'\"\n\"'I don't want your hoard, dragon, just the sword you guard. I'll trade you mine for it; mine's bigger.' I couldn't see Moraelyn, but his voice was coming from right near where the sword was. Which was practically in the dragon's mouth!\"\n\"'I get a meal and both swords. Why should I settle for just your poor sword?'\"\n\"'Let me pass and I'll get you more gold from below.'\"\n\"'I have gold enough.' The dragon yawned and I thought he was going to swallow Moraelyn right then, but he turned his head away, away from us, too. Mats was looking to get a shot, but it was really dark in there for Nord eyes and he was scared of hitting Moraelyn, since he couldn't locate him that well by sound. 'Course Moraelyn's too smart to get between us and the dragon, but Mats wasn't smart enough then to think that far along. Slavery dulls the wits in some ways, Mats says, and he hadn't been free very long. I could see well enough, and I could tell by sound exactly where Moraelyn was, but the shot was clean out of my range.\"\n\"The dragon goes on, 'But there is something you can do for me, elf, and prolong your life a few more minutes.'\"\n\"'A few more minutes sound pretty good just now, dragon. What would you ask of me?' Moraelyn's voice sounded as calm and easy as if he was asking if there would be rain tomorrow. He can keep his head in a tight spot, I'll give him that.\"\n\"'I have a toothache. It's too far back for me to reach it with my claws. Canst see it, elf?' The dragon gapes his jaws to bare his teeth.\"\n\"Moraelyn's invisiblity spell wore off about then, and I could see him standing there staring up into that cavern of a mouth. 'Lower your head a bit so I can get a good look.' He puts out his hand and pulls the upper lip aside, cool as you please, and examines the inner gum carefully. Damndest thing I ever saw.\"\n\"'It's abcessed. Thy gum wants lancing, and the tooth should come out. I can lance it if you trust me in there with a sword.'\"\n\"'And why should I trust you, dark elf? I hear no good of your kind.'\"\n\"'You must be spending too much time with Nords, then. I wouldn't be able to kill you before you killed me. Why should I even try? Listen, I have some friends up above. Suppose they hunt you up a nice fat deer. I'll lance your gum and you can let me go and eat the deer. Else you can just eat me now, toothache and all.'\"\n\"'Hssssssss. What makes you think your friends will return once they're away?'\"\n\"'They're not very smart. I think for them. They'd be lost without me. Good hunting, guys! Uh, if they can't find a deer, is there anything else you'd like? Pig, maybe? A few rabbits? Nuts? Berries? Hurry up, will you?' But we had hand signals and his hands said to get out of there and stay out! I'd a been glad to; I mean I'm fond of Moraelyn but I didn't see my dying alongside would bring him any comfort. I'd a been glad to see him clear if it was me that was on the menu, and I figured he felt the same way. But that thick-skulled Nord wouldn't listen to me! Said if dying beside him was all we could do, then that's what we'd do. Nord nonsense. Sounds good in a song, though.\"\n\"So we took a couple hours getting a deer and headed back with it. I figured Moraelyn was filling the dragon's belly by now, and the dragon would be happy to add a deer, another Dark Elf and a Nord to round out his day's rations. But Moraelyn was still sitting there, chatting with the dragon. He didn't look that pleased to see us, either. Told us to leave the deer and go and he'd lance the abcess once we're away. But Mats says he's been thinking. Oh, brother, I thought. Mats doesn't think too often, and that's a good thing, really. He's decided he can get a chain round that bad tooth, fasten down the end to the floor, and then the dragon can give it a good yank himself.\"\n\"The dragon likes the idea, so Moraelyn lances that abcess to take the swelling down to where the dragon can gulp the deer with some comfort. And then they rig up a chain and get that tooth out. Made a hell of a mess, that. Blood and pus everywhere. And Moraelyn's got us casting Heal spells on this dragon to stop the bleeding and close up the wound.\"\n\"'Ah, hum, good, very good. All right, Moraelyn, you've proven yourself. Take the sword and go.'\"\n\"Moraelyn looks at him. 'You mean this was some kind of test?' he says. 'How long have you had that toothache?'\"\n\"'Long indeed, as you measure time, mortal, yet not very long at all for dragonkind. Hear my story then: a scraggly young mage came along, hoping to steal my gold. I caught him at it; we had increasingly harsh words, and he attempted a spell aimed at me. His pitiful spell affected me little, and I killed him. But ummmm...' The dragon looked away briefly, then resumed his tale. 'The little runt had apparently cast a home-made Curse spell upon himself, and when I crunched him...' The dragon scowled fiercely, remembering, then continued, 'Anyway, the ache only came on bad when someone came along to try for the sword. The sharpest pain went away if I ate the intruder...but I usually didn't, though I've singed a few in self-defense; heh, waft a bit of fire and most of them fled. Deer are plentiful; there is something er, ah, unpleasant about eating someone you've talked to. That greasy mage gave me indigestion for days. Cramps and runny bowels and too much gas, even for a dragon. So that toothache never did completely go away. And the people who've come along haven't been very pleasant either...all in all one of the most unpleasant stretches in my life. I couldn't stay away from the vicinity of the sword for very long of course. Part of the curse.'\"\n\"'We could stay on for awhile, if you like. We're good company. I'm Moraelyn; my red-headed friend is Mith, and the big guy is Mats. I'd still like to look for mithril below and I've never had a dragon friend before.'\"\n\"'I might like that. You have good friends, and even though you have said that you must do the thinking for them. I think that they can do some thinking on their own, and it would appear that they have decided that you are a worthwhile fellow,' The dragon hesitated for a second and actually managed to look shy! 'You can call me Akatosh.'\"\n\"So we stayed for a couple of weeks. Hunted with the dragon; now that's an experience! Searched the mines...didn't find much down there. But the dragon gave us the jewels from his hoard. Said he only needed the metal; they absorb it into their scales while they lie on it. So we did pretty well out of it after all. Moraelyn tried to give Mats the sword. Claimed that he'd have sure tried to kill that dragon if we hadn't come back, and would have been toasted. But Mats wouldn't take it. Said the dragon gave it to Moraelyn so that was clearly who was supposed to get it. Mats took the tooth, but he made the hilt you've got now and gave Moraelyn that, too. Told me he'd never had anything worth giving before, and it made him feel good. He's real pleased Moraelyn chose to give it to you.\"\n\"I think Mats should have got the sword,\" Edward said. \"He didn't try to steal anything. It was really brave of him to come back, even when he didn't think it'd do any good. Moraelyn tried to steal, got caught and then just tried to talk his way out of it. You could all have been killed because of him.\"\n\"That's just what Moraelyn said. Ah, well, Mats likes that big axe of his better than a blade anyway.\"\nEdward sighed. \"I wish I was brave like Mats. I guess I'm more like you.\"\n\"Aye,\" Moraelyn's voice sounded behind him, startling the boy. \"Tart tongued, like Mith. No matter. I'll be well pleased if you're as brave as Mith. And if once I'm gone they say no more of me than 'he did what he had to do', my spirit will be at peace.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/king-edward-part-viii": {"series": "King Edward", "game": ["Daggerfall"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/king-edward-part-viii", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "King Edward, Part VIII", "description": "", "text": "Chapter 8: Wilderland\nThe journey through Valenwood was pleasant. The weather held fair for the most part, with sunny days and cool nights. Bright leaves of scarlet, crimson, gold and green drifted down to form a carpet beneath their horses' feet. Valenwood was very different from the somber, steep forests of High Rock. When they reached the northern border, Edward, looking back, saw that the trees were mostly bare, shorn of their glory. Before them lay a wide green land of rolling hills with only a few stands of trees. It seemed to spread on forever.\n\"This is Wilderland, Edward,\" Moraelyn said. \"Be on your guard. It seems a pleasant land, but no king's writ runs here. Each man's hand is against every other's and there are worse than men. All the races of Tamriel meet here, and clash, save thine, perhaps.\"\nThey journeyed for some days more with small incident, save one for a band of Khajiit raiders that crept up on their camp by night. These were easily repelled. Silk slew one and the rest ran off yowling. The gentle wood elf girl, Willow, lobbed fireballs after them. There were no roads, just small paths that criss-crossed one another and seemingly led nowhere.\nAfter two weeks of steady riding they came to a bowl shaped place in the hills where the land was tilled. The fields looked fair and were stacked with harvest, but the folk were dispirited, ragged, and unfriendly. Questions about inns got only shrugs and puzzled looks. Armed bands challenged them at times and demanded to know their business. When Moraelyn said they were bound for Morrowind, they were told to pass through quickly and mind they stole nothing.\n\"Passage is all we wish,\" Moraelyn said quietly.\n\"Someone should teach these folk manners,\" the usually placid Mats growled.\n\"Thou mayst stay and open a school of etiquette, if it pleases thee,\" Moraelyn said, \"I fear my life's too short to teach the lessons these villains require. Still, I like not the look of the sky; it looks even more evil than the folk. I think we'll try our luck in the town.\"\nThe town was surrounded by a palisade of wood and had a stout gate. Guards looked them over and refused them entrance. \"None but humans enter here, elf. Take thy rabble and begone.\"\n\"I see. Ali, Mats, Edward, thou seemst to qualify for the hospitality here. The rest of us will shelter elsewhere.\"\nAliera announced that she would see them all blown back to Firsthold by the storm before she'd step within these gates. So they circled the town, passing a moat with stone walls within and a keep of some sort within that. A track north took them past a small house with a large barn nearby. Both looked in poor repair, but Moraelyn sent Aliera and Edward to knock at the door and ask if they might sleep in the barn. The rest waited in the road.\nAn elderly woman answered their knock; she looked pleased to see them. \"Stay? Aye, I'd be glad of the company. No need to sleep in the barn, though, lady. I've a room to spare. My name's Ora Engelsdottir.\" Aliera gestured toward the waiting Companions. The woman squinted toward them. \"Thy man's there and some friends? Aye, we'll all squeeze together then. T'will be warmer so. I've a pot of soup on the fire; made it to last me a week but you're welcome to it. I can make more.\"\n\"My husband's an elf.\"\n\"Is he so? He looks to take good care of thee and thy son. Thou's fat as pigs. Bring them in. I wish my grand-daughter had such a one to care for her.\"\nOra refused payment, saying she was not yet at such a pass that her guests must pay for her hospitality. She said tales and song and an evening's merriment would be payment enough. Pots and dishes were set out to catch the worst of the leaks; she knew them all well. They gathered around the hearth and made very merry while the storm raged, banging the shutters and doors and threatening to blow the roof away altogether.\n\"Tell me, my lady,\" Ora whispered apart to Aliera, \"He's truly good to thee? He's so big and so black.\"\n\"Truly good,\" Aliera said keeping her mouth serious while her eyes laughed.\n\"Aye, 'tis well, then. He put me a bit in mind of our baron, who's big and dark...oh, not so dark as thy elf. He took my grand-daughter, Caron, and he does not treat her well. He...he hurts her, my lady. And she dare not run away. Where would she go?\" Tears gathered in Ora's eyes and followed worn familiar tracks down her cheeks.\nWhen their hostess had gone to sleep in her own room, Aliera repeated what she had been told.\n\"Let's rescue the girl,\" Beech said, \"we grow stale with inaction.\"\n\"Aye!\" said Silk and Willow at once.\nMats growled an agreement. Mith and Ssa'ass looked interested.\nMoraelyn looked doubtful. \"We cannot right every wrong in Tamriel. This baron offers his folk shelter of a kind. They could leave if they liked it better outside.\"\n\"Aye,\" Mith said, \"he keeps the bandits off so he may rob the folk at leisure.\"\n\"And we pull him down? There'll be another to take his place. Or else the outside will come in and there'll be nothing left at all.\"\n\"Nothing would be better than this filthy something,\" Mats said.\n\"There's that.\" The storm seemed to have moved away. Aliera went to the door and stared up into the sky where clouds raced past the eastern moon. A single large brilliant blue star hung near the moon. \"Zenithar hangs near Tamriel tonight. Moraelyn?\"\n\"I'd thought to mend her roofs tomorrow if it's fair,\" he said as she returned to the fireside. \"We'll do so much at least. As for the rest, Aliera?\"\n\"She asked for my help, in a way and I...I think I hear Zenithar's voice in the wind and feel his hand in the rain on this night.\"\n\"Thy quest, then, wife.\"\nAliera nodded, unsmiling. She curled up with Moraelyn in the chimney corner and they whispered and laughed together for awhile. Edward fell asleep. In the morning he was sent up on the roof to help Beech and Willow place new shingles. Moraelyn wrote a letter which he gave to Mats, telling him to take it to the baron, to arrive at the castle around dinnertime and to go afoot.\n\"You're going to challenge him for the girl!\" Edward grinned. \"But will he fight? And wouldn't he take her back again once we're gone?\"\n\"Mmm. Since he wouldn't let me in his town, thy mother thought to invite him to our house instead.\" Moraelyn stamped the letter with his sealing ring and handed it to Mats.\n\"Oh. It's a long way to your house still, isn't it?\" Edward felt a bit of disappointment that no rescue seemed imminent, but he supposed it really was not reasonable to expect eight people to take a keep, even if they were Moraelyn's Companions. Probably the songs exaggerated their deeds.\nMoraelyn grinned, ruffled Edward's hair and told him to cease his questions, get up on the roof, and mind his mother. Moraelyn and Mith set off together on foot. Aliera said they were going hunting. They did not return even at suppertime. Aliera told Edward not to worry; they'd meet later.\nIt was well after sundown when she bid their hostess farewell. They took all the horses with them and left them in a grove near the north wall of the keep. Aliera asked Edward if he wanted to wait for them with the horses. Edward asked where they were going.\n\"We have to enter the keep to get Ora's grandchild out. No questions, Edward. If you're coming, then stay with me and do exactly as I say. Levitate across the moat: I must swim. Once across we'll scale the wall. Once inside, just follow me and be as silent as you can.\"\nEdward gaped at his mother and the other Companions. How could the six of them possibly storm a keep? Three women, two men and a boy? There would be guards up on the wall and a lot more inside. Mats would be inside too, though, he guessed. But where were Moraelyn and Mith?\nThere were fearsome things in the moat. Edward began a protest, then thought better of it. Ssa'ass slid into the moat first. There was some splashing and hissing, then the water went quiet. Aliera entered the water. The others levitated.\n\"Here's the ropes,\" Beech said, feeling along the wall. There were three ropes. Edward, Beech and Ssa'ass went up first; Aliera, Willow and Silk followed. Moraelyn and Mith were waiting above. Two guards were snoring softly in a heap.\n\"How...\" Edward began, and found his mother's hand clapped over his mouth. A guard from another wall section called out and Edward's heart stopped beating. Mith called something back to him and tramping footsteps moved away.\nThe Companions went silently down the stairs and slipped across the yard like shadows. There was no guard on the door to the keep itself. Inside the passages were eerily quiet. They stopped at an imposing door and flattened themselves against the wall beside it. They could hear voices within. A thin chilling wail sounded and died away. Moraelyn whistled a snatch of song into the silence that followed. The door swung open and they raced inside, falling on the startled guards like furies.\nEdward was last inside, Tooth in his hand; he stabbed the nearest guard in the side, and Beech finished him with a blow to the head. Mats had been inside; it was he who had opened the door. His axe clove the head of one guard, then swung against the inner door. Aliera and Willow had barred the strong outer door. Moraelyn's opponent was a very young man. He'd taken one look at the big dark elf, dropped his sword and fallen to his knees, praying for mercy.\nMoraelyn eyed him with disgust and said, \"Greet Zenithar for me; tell him Moraelyn of Ebonheart commends you to his mercy. I have none for such as you.\" He slashed the young guard's throat. Blood sprayed over Moraelyn's leathers. His victim fell over, gurgling horribly. A burning acid rose in Edward's throat; he swallowed hard and looked away.\nThe guards inside the anteroom had been dispatched, but outside the door shouts and footfalls thundered and there was pounding on the door. Edward followed his mother into the inner chamber, which was empty save for a naked girl tied spreadeagle on the enormous bed, her eyes starting from her head.\nThe Companions cut her free while Aliera caught her shoulders. \"Thy grandmother sent us, child. Where's the baron?\"\nThe girl pointed at a bookcase, then clung to Aliera. She was no bigger than Edward and seemed not much older. Her breasts were just beginning. She was covered with welts and blood and purple-yellow bruises. Aliera flung her own cloak over the girl. Beech picked her up. Mith's fingers were feeling over the bookcase; there was a click and a section slid aside. He went through cautiously. The others followed and the secret door closed after them.\n\"I think it's just a bolt hole,\" Mith said, \"but there'll be traps, no doubt.\"\n\"Go warily, then, friend,\" Aliera said. \"There's no hurry. I think the baron plans to show his departing guests the door, as a good host should.\"\nA narrow passage opened to the left. Mith sent a bolt of light down it. The floor was littered with bones. Human bones. Small skulls stared eyelessly. \"I'm going to enjoy killing him,\" Moraelyn said.\n\"No!\" Aliera protested. \"My quest, my kill!\"\nMoraelyn swung to face her. \"Aliera...\"\n\"I want it sung that he died by Aliera's hand! I claim my right to face him, king.\"\n\"Leave him to me and we'll sing it your way! He's twice your size. D'you want to fight me for the right?\" The elf leaned over her, a full head taller.\n\"If I must.\" Aliera brushed past him, slinging her shield on her arm, and drawing her short sword as she ran. Moraelyn grabbed at her, missed, and ran after her. His size hampered him in the low, narrow passage. Sparks flew from his spell shield as he caroomed recklessly off the walls.\n\"Come on, you two,\" Mith yelled from ahead. \"I'm not promising to save him for you.\"\n\"Moraelyn,\" Edward gasped, running after him. \"You're not going to let her!\"\n\"Let her! How d'ye propose I stop her? I'm open to suggestions, short of actually fighting her myself.\" He seemed half-angry, half-amused.\n\"M-maybe he's gone by now.\"\n\"Nay, he's locked in here with us; we found the exit earlier from the other side and Mith set a lock the baron will not undo.\"\n\"Well, paralyze her. You can carry her.\"\n\"She's activated her shield; it reflects spells, among other things. I'd only paralyze myself and I'd be inconvenient to carry. She'll be all right. It's an excellent shield. It casts a very powerful protective spell. I'ric himself devised it.\"\n\"Having a spot of trouble with your locks tonight, baron?\" Mith's voice came clearly from ahead. They emerged into a larger space where the baron had been clawing vainly at switches beside a massive door. \"Shoddy work. You should get another smith.\"\n\"He won't be needing one,\" Aliera snarled. The Companions spread around her in a semi-circle. The baron set his back to the door and set himself in a fighting stance. He was a big man, as big as Mats, and he was holding an axe as big as the one Mats wielded, and wearing a breastplate and helm. He addressed Moraelyn.\n\"Nine against one. I'd expect odds like that from you black devils,\" Moraelyn was at the back of the group, yet the baron had singled him out as the leader. People did, somehow.\n\"You prefer the advantage of weight, do you not? But my wife wants you to herself. She cannot resist your charms it seems. Nor can I; I could not wait for you to respond to my invitation, so I came to you instead.\"\n\"I beat her and the rest of you kill me? Hah! It might be worth it at that,\" he added, staring at Aliera with cold dark eyes.\nAliera smiled a terrible smile. Her dark hair swung free about her shoulders and she seemed to glow. \"You will not beat this woman, baron, but if you do, then you go free. You are mine alone tonight. Swear it all, by Zenithar! If he haps to kill me, my ghost will hound him to his grave and beyond.\" She sounded rather pleased at the prospect. Edward began to shiver.\n\"By Zenithar!\"\nThe baron laughed, \"I don't believe you, but one last female for my collection then. Are you so wearied of her, elf?\"\n\"Are you so afraid of her that you'd rather face me instead?\" Somewhere deep in his mind Edward realized that the elf was right. Despite the baron's bravado, he was afraid of Aliera. Edward hadn't sworn with the others. He clutched his staff tightly but his feet seemed rooted to the floor.\nThe baron laughed again and swung a mighty blow at Aliera in answer, but it deflected harmlessly off her shield. His eyes widened as he realized she was spell shielded. Aliera danced aside and cut his arm. She was nimble, but he managed to land many blows. If her shield went...Edward did not finish the thought.\nBut he was leaving himself somewhat open in the hope of wearing her shield down and she was scoring hits against his limbs. She kept her blows low, trying to cost him the use of his legs and drain him of blood. All the while she taunted him about his manhood, saying she would geld him ere he died. A great blow knocked her back; her shield flashed and was gone.\nThe baron raised his axe high to cleave her skull with a single blow. Her arm drew back and she threw her slender short sword straight into her enemy's eye. He dropped the axe and fell screaming to his knees, hands clawing at his face. Aliera stepped forward and thrust the sword home, piercing deep within the brain. The body fell over, twitching and jerking.\n\"Well fought, wife!\"\n\"I had a master trainer, and a better armorer!\" Aliera laughed, then she threw back her head and shouted wordlessly in triumph, raising her arms, fists clenched.\n\"That you did!\" Moraelyn grabbed Silk in a rough hug and kissed her noisily. \"It's a neat trick you taught her, Silk.\"\n\"I'll thank you to cease flirting with my trainer, husband!\" Aliera said, wiping her slender adamantium blade carefully.\n\"Me flirt? Not while thy blood's up, and thy shield's still charged. I'm just thanking her. I'll kiss I'ric too when next I see him.\"\n\"Is he truly dead?\" Caron had clung to Beech throughout the fight with her eyes closed. Now she regarded Aliera with Awe, Edward thought was the right word. Edward felt something of the same, although it was akin to horror.\n\"Dead enough,\" Aliera said, regarding the still faintly twitching form, with satisfaction. The girl drew closer, then knelt beside him. She picked up a stone and smashed it into the face again and again, sobbing. When she had done, Ssa'ass cast some healing spells on her. Mith unlocked the door. They'd come out quite near to where they had left the horses.\nThey took the girl back to her mother's house and left her there, instructing her to tell anyone that ventured to molest her, that Zenithar's servants would return if she were harmed. The bewildered old woman clasped her granddaughter to her. As she bade them farewell, she whispered to Aliera to look after that man of hers.\n\"Oh, I do,\" Aliera said. \"I do.\"\n* * * * * * * *\nWhen they stopped for rest Aliera came over to Edward to talk to him, but he protested that he was very tired and just wanted to sleep. Moraelyn tugged her away, saying that if her son did not need her then she could see to her man, who did. They moved out of the circle of firelight. Edward lay wakeful, listening to their small, stifled sounds. That was not unusual. It had troubled him at first. \"I can't sleep; you're too noisy,\" he'd protested one night. \"What are you doing, anyway?\" That had drawn giggles from the Companions. \"Can't you at least pretend you're sleeping?\" Moraelyn had asked plaintively. \"Now I know why dark elves seldom have more than one child. What I do not understand is how humans manage to get so many.\" Moraelyn and Aliera had come back to lie by him that night, but after that he had pretended to sleep, like the others.\nAnd the noises were too familiar now to keep images of the night's adventures from flashing through his mind, as vivid as if they were happening again in truth. He could feel his daedra feeding and could not stop it. It just wasn't fair, he thought, but now he was beginning to see what Moraelyn meant by feeding his daedra and yet walking with the gods. With Zenithar.\nMoraelyn came back, carrying Aliera. He set her gently down, then stretched himself out between Edward and her.\n\"It must be difficult, being a woman,\" he said softly. \"It was hard, watching her. Just watching.\"\nEdward nodded.\n\"I've asked it often enough, of her,\" Moraelyn continued. \"She told me how hard it is, but I never knew until tonight. I knew she'd win. Zenithar was with her, and all the baron had was his daedra. And still it was very hard to watch. She makes that cast nine tries out of ten, and there were more uses on the shield if she missed, he'd have dropped of exhaustion before he wore it out entirely.\"\n\"I keep thinking about it, too...and the guard you...he asked for mercy?\"\n\"I know. And yet, he listened to that night after night. And still he remained the baron's man.\"\n\"Most men are not as strong as you are. Maybe he couldn't help himself?\" Why was he pleading for a man already dead? His mind kept replaying the night's events as if they might yet come out differently, for better or for worse.\n\"Even to witness evil such as that corrupts the soul. To watch and do nothing, Mats would have stayed my hand had there been anything there worth keeping. And it's worse for the young; I am sorry you had to pass through this night.\"\n\"Is my soul corrupted now?\"\n\"You feel the acid's bite, as do we all, but you'll heal.\"\n\"Can you Heal me now?\"\n\"Aye.\" Moraelyn gathered the boy in his arms, then rolled over so that Edward lay between his parents. Aliera put her arms around him without really waking. Her strong woman smell mingled with Moraelyn's musky dark spice odor in Edward's nostrils.\n\"She was so angry,\" Edward whispered. He'd wondered if he would ever really feel the same toward her again and yet her arms were still as comforting as before. Maybe Moraelyn too had needed that reassurance and had been wise enough to ask for it.\n\"She's a woman. That sort of injury to another touches her near,\" he said.\nHow near? The boy looked the question he dared not put.\n\"Thy father's not a monster. But she was wed to a man who did not care for her, and she could not leave him. It's common enough among thy race, which makes it none the easier to bear, I think.\"\n\"She has a daedra, too, then?\" Edward asked sadly.\n\"You must speak with her about that.\"\n\"It wasn't really a fair fight, her shielded and not him.\"\n\"Fair fighting's for the arena, boy. Would you fight a wolf or hell hound without weapons, spells and armor, though they have none? I would not.\"\n\"What will become of Caron and Ora? And the other folk, now that the baron's dead?\"\n\"Do I look like the prophet Marukh? How should I know? We can stop here in the spring and see what's been planted in the field we burned tonight. I've no mind to stay and plow it. I've my own fields to tend, listen to me, I sound like a Nord farmer. Mines to dig is more like it.\" He yawned.\n\"The others didn't think about afterwards. You did.\"\n\"I'm a king; it's what we do.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/king-edward-part-ix": {"series": "King Edward", "game": ["Daggerfall"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/king-edward-part-ix", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "King Edward, Part IX", "description": "", "text": "Chapter 9: Luck\nEdward knelt behind Moraelyn, leaning over his shoulder so that he could see the cards the elf held. He was sitting away from the fire, so it was dark for human eyes, but Moraelyn was the only one of the group who would allow Edward to see his hand. The other players, Beech, Mith and Mats said Edward brought them bad luck. Moraelyn said that it was not really a question of luck, but that their hands were reflected in Edward's face for those that had the eyes to see such images. It was too dark for Beech and Mats to see Edward now, and Moraelyn blocked him from Mith's view. And yet, the pile of coins in front of Moraelyn had grown smaller since Edward had taken a place behind him. But this time he had been dealt a good hand. Edward could see that. It was Mats' turn. He was cogitating.\n\"You're shivering, son,\" Moraelyn said, \"Have you no warmer clothing? We must find something for you. Here, come share my cloak, then. You can hold the cards if you like.\" The wind was chill; there was a bite to it now that they were farther north and the year had grown older. Edward accepted the shelter of Moraelyn's arm and warm fur cloak and sat close against his side.\n\"I think I'll just play the cards I hold,\" Mats said at last, and pushed a pile of coins into the pot, then with sudden resolve, added a few more. \"There.\"\n\"Throw the hand down, Edward, we're through.\"\n\"But there aren't many better hands than what we've got!\" Edward protested.\n\"Edward!\" Moraelyn growled.\n\"Well, how'm I s'posed to learn?\" Mats didn't have to show his cards unless they matched his bet.\n\"By watching. Silently. Oh, very well. No one ever told me that fatherhood came cheaply.\" He shoved most of his coins into the pot to match Mats' bet and Edward laid the hand down.\n\"Ah,\" Mats said, \"you needn't do that, my friend. I'll show the boy my cards for free.\"\n\"You filthy Nord,\" Moraelyn said in disgust, \"put down your cards and take my gold, if you can beat my hand. Let's see if I'm the one who needs educating on how to play this game.\"\n\"You don't,\" Mats grinned. \"Except that you could have accepted my generous offer instead of throwing an insult at me.\" Mats laid down the perfect hand called The Ladies.\n\"A taunt like that rates an insult. Mats, that hand is almost worth the viewing price. Five beautiful Ladies! You don't see them together every day; they're not that fond of one another's company.\"\n\"How'd you know?\" Edward demanded.\n\"Ah, that'd be telling,\" Moraelyn grinned. \"Some things you're supposed to learn for yourself. That's part of the game. But remember that a good hand's worthless if someone else holds a better.\"\n\"I'm sorry.\" Edward looked ruefully at the few remaining coins.\n\"No matter. It's foolish to play with Mats on those nights when the God of Luck himself stands at his shoulder and all I have at mine is a runaway Breton prince who should be in his bed. He'd have had that money off me i' the end. This way we'll get a bit of sleep.\"\n\"Spoilsport,\" Mats grumped. \"It's not every night Sai visits me and I do enjoy his presence.\"\n\"He can leave as quickly as he comes. Sai's not someone you want to get overfond of, Mats.\"\n\"Who should know that better than I? Nay, do not apologize. I appreciate your concern for me, my friend. It's not altogether unwarranted, but I am mindful of the temptation. I know how undependable Sai's favor is, and how capricious. I play only among my friends, whom I do trust.\"\n\"Goodnight, then.\" Moraelyn and Mith went off to join those who were already asleep, leaving Mats and Beech and Edward by the fire. The dark elves' natural sleep pattern was a period of five or six hours during the day, and a short nap of two or three hours after midnight. Now that they were travelling, they were sleeping only at night, which was a difficult adjustment for Mith and Moraelyn, who had to use spells to cope with it. Edward had slept a bit as soon as they had stopped for the night, while the others prepared supper. In consequence he was now wide awake. Beech was yawning. Mats seemed to require less sleep than the rest.\n\"Tell me about Sai, Mats. I've never heard of him before. I didn't know there was a god of luck. I thought luck just happened.\"\n\"Being as you're Breton, I can understand that. Bretons like things explained, clear and\nreasonable, in sequence, so one thing follows from another, and you know where you are. Most gods are like that. They lay down rules and if you obey them and pay homage to the god, why then he or she grants you favor. And the better you keep the rules and the more you worship the god, the higher you rise in his favor. Those rules aren't always easy to keep, and one god's rules may require you to violate another's but you know where you are. Well, Sai's not like that. He's not a daedra, but he's got a daedric side to him, for sure. One thing, if you worship him too much, he'll abandon you altogether. They call it 'Sai's Affliction'. It's an overwhelming desire for the god's constant presence. My father suffered from it, poor man. The disease is more than just a desire for the god's presence. The sufferers require continual proof of the god's favor. So they gamble incessantly. Not to win, for all they do with winnings is keep on gambling until they lose. Then they do what they must to raise a stake so they can gamble again.\n\"Oh, it's a terrible thing. Terrible. My father sold me as a slave because of it. Later he sold my oldest sister. Then, when he was in debt yet again, he killed himself in one of his rare lucid moments when he could see what was happening to him. What he was doing to his family, himself. 'Course I was just a kid when I was sold. I didn't understand. I thought it was because of some fault of mine that I'd been sent away, laziness or stupidity or disobedience, and that if I'd only been a better son it wouldn't a happened. That's Auriel's way. It's intended that children should respect their parents and learn from them, but some parents aren't deserving of respect. Well, it was a sickness in him, so my mother says. I don't know that he should be blamed for it, any more than if he had red plague or leprosy. I believe her, yet sometimes I still feel it was my fault. Well, that was bad luck you might say. But Sai sent me Moraelyn and that was a lucky day indeed.\n\"What other god would put it into his head to stop one human from beating on another? Any other elf in Tamriel would have turned away in disgust or stopped to watch and laugh at the stupid humans. Two dark elf kids against four grown Nords, and for all they knew I deserved what I was getting. I could have been a thief or murderer. I suppose I was a thief. I'd stolen myself, so to speak.\"\n\"Moraelyn can't say himself why he did it. He says he was spoiling for a fight that day and seeing slavecatchers on Morrowind soil did nothing to ease his temper. That's why I say: it was Sai. But it was Moraelyn that listened to the god.\n\"There's no doubt it's a grand thing to feel Sai's hand on your shoulder. It's like riding the finest horse, like love itself. You're one with the world, and everything goes your way, everything's on your side, instead of being the constant struggle that life really is. You don't have to be smart or handsome or kind or witty. Things just go your way. If you do something dumb it doesn't matter. It'll turn out to be the right thing to have done. Lucky. Some folks do seem to be born lucky, others unlucky. I don't know why. Most everyone feels Sai's presence sometimes, I guess. You have, haven't you?\"\nEdward shook his head. He'd no idea what Mats was talking about.\n\"Well, it's a kind of greed, I guess, this Sai's Affliction. You see, there's only so much luck to spread around, and if a few folks got it all, there'd be none left for the rest. Like tonight, I won that last pot, but the others had to lose it. Everyone can't win with Sai. That's not true with other gods, not necessarily. You still don't understand, do you? Would you like to hear a story about Sai?\"\nEdward nodded. Mats was a good-natured fellow, but usually quite silent. Edward had thought him rather stupid. Mats' luck at cards seemed to have loosened his tongue, and now Edward saw that he thought a lot more than he talked.\n* * * * * * * *\nLong, long ago, when people were fewer and wolves more numerous than now a young widow named Josea lived smack in the middle of what is now the province of Skyrim. She was an ordinary sort of woman, neither plain nor pretty. She had smooth brown hair, warm brown eyes, a short nose, a full round face, and body to match. She'd been born the only child of peasant farmers. Her parents had been carried off by typhoid when she was seventeen. Shortly afterwards she had married Tom, a strong young woodcutter with a cheerful disposition and a roving eye. He'd gotten her pregnant quickly, then turned his attentions elsewhere. Shortly before the babe was due he'd been killed by the local goldsmith who'd come home unexpectedly, found the handsome woodcutter in bed with his wife, and stuck a knife in his back.\nTom's death had occurred on Heart's Day. The babe, a boy, was born four months later during Mid Year. Two neighbor women came to help her birth him and one stayed a few days. After that she was left to cope with caring for child and smallholding as best she could.\nOne evening in the next Morningstar, Josea went out to the small barn to do the evening chores, leaving the babe asleep in his crib. The wind was howling. She had to clutch her cloak tightly around her. She milked and fed the cow, fed the pigs and chickens. When she left the barn she walked out into a fierce blizzard. The wind had risen so that the barn door was wrenched from her hand and slammed back against the side of the barn. She couldn't even see the house, which was near the road, and some little distance from the barn, but she set off toward it with confidence.\nShe'd lived here all her life and knew every inch of ground, although she'd never seen a storm quite this fierce and sudden. Already there were two inches of snow beneath her feet. She struggled against the wind for some time, until at last she realized that she must somehow have gone past the house. She turned back and tried to follow her own footprints, reasoning that at least she'd warm herself in the barn before setting out again. But the snow was falling so thickly that her footprints vanished before her eyes, and she was quite lost, and cold.\nJosea struggled on, hoping to come across something recognizable, a boulder or a tree or the road if not house or barn. Her hands and feet were wet and numb. She hadn't dressed heavily and was now chilled to the bone, with ice forming on her eyebrows and lashes.\n\"Timmy! Tiimmmeee!\" She cried her child's name, hoping against hope that the babe would wake and cry and that she might follow the sound to him. She stood and listened, gasping the cold air into her lungs, but there was only the howling of the wind. The wind, or something more? A grey shape took form in front of her, staring at her with slitted yellow eyes. A great grey wolf.\nHer heart seemed to stop. Her eyes filled with tears as she thought of her child lying helpless in the house alone, and his mother dead outside. How unlucky, to die so close to shelter! Unlucky. But she had always been unlucky, the unluckiest woman she knew. It might be days before any thought to visit her. She sank down to her knees, exhausted. The wolf sat before her, threw back its head and voiced its dreadful howl.\nHer frozen hands scrabbled in the snow, looking for stone or stick, anything with which to defend herself against the pack. Another dark shadow appeared from the whirling white snow. She scrambled backwards in a panic. This one was also gray, but tall and two-legged, gray cloaked and hooded. Its gloved hand reached for the wolf's head and patted it. Her scream died in her throat.\n\"No need to fear, lass. We'll not bring you harm, nay quite otherwise. Be you the mother of yon child?\"\nShe nodded dumbly. His voice was deep and kind, clear in the high whistling of the wind,\nbut her eyes went to his dread companion.\n\"No need to fear,\" he repeated. \"My friend Grellan here will lead us back to safety. Unless\nyou indeed do wish to spend the night here.\" His hands reached for hers and pulled her up, and she leaned on his arm and hobbled alongside him.\nWhen at last they reached her door, he said, \"I stopped here hoping for shelter from the storm. I hope you don't mind?\"\nHow could she refuse? Men too could be wolves, but if he were it wasn't likely he'd take no for an answer anyway. \"P-p-please come in. I l-left the k-kettle on the boil but I expect it's empty by now,\" she said inanely.\n\"I did go in, when there was no response to my knock, and found the babe asleep and alone, and the kettle boiling away. I took the kettle from the fire, but left the babe be. I knew his mother would not be far, and sent Grellan to find you. Lucky for you, but then I have always brought luck to those around me.\"\nHe threw back his hood and she saw that he was tall and pale, with silver hair and eyes, but a young face. His countenance was grim, but the silver eyes were kind and his mouth gentle. \"My horse too will want shelter on this night. Have you a shed to offer him?\"\nWhile he stabled his horse she changed out of her wet clothing and fixed a bit of supper for them: soup and bread and cheese, and elmroot tea. As she dished it up she apologized meekly for the meager fare.\n\"Why, 'tis a feast compared to my efforts!\" He smiled, and fell to, hungrily. Grellan lay by the fire, his eyes fixed on his master, who occasionally flung him a morsel. \"He ate well yesterday, luckily for your chickens, else I'd have to buy one from you.\"\n\"Nay, nay,\" she protested. \"I'm deep in your debt and glad to share anything I have with you.\" The babe stirred and cried then, and she picked him up, changed his wet diaper, and put him to her breast.\n\"Where's your husband, lady?\"\nShe hesitated a moment - the thought flashed that she should not tell this stranger how alone and unprotected she was - then told him the truth.\n\"A sad tale, truly,\" he said, \"but he's left you a handsome child, and you seem quite comfortable here.\" His eyes went round the humble one room cottage, crib and feather bed at one end, covered with a quilt of her mother's making, and stone hearth at the other, table and chairs made by her father in the middle. A ladder led to the loft where she'd slept as a child. Suddenly the simple room seemed a palace to her. They were warm and dry and well fed, and indeed what could be better?\n\"Why, you're right, stranger. I am lucky after all. Now, will you tell me something of yourself?\"\n\"I am less fortunate than you in some ways. I am a wanderer, and born to wanderers, a tinker by trade, though I can turn my hand to most things. I have never been married and have no children, nor have I ever had a home other than the wagon my horse pulls. I've never stayed long in one place. My parents named me Sai, but most folks call me Lucky.\"\n\"Lucky is what I will call you then, for you have indeed been lucky for me.\"\nHe stood and stretched, and began clearing the remnants of their meal from the table. He poured water from the copper kettle into the basin and washed and dried the dishes, something she had never seen a man do before. After the babe was fed they played with him on the hearthrug while he told her of some of the odd and wonderful places and peoples he had met with on his journeys, and once again her life seemed very narrow and dull. After an hour or two the babe grew tired and cranky, and she took him on her lap and sang to him until he fell asleep. She laid him in his crib and wrapped him warmly in a rabbit fur bunting.\nWhen she went back to the fire, Lucky reached for her hand and held it for a moment, without a word, then they were in one another's arms and kissing hungrily. They shed their clothing and lay together shamelessly, enjoying each others bodies in the flickering rosy firelight. He loved the roundness of her breasts and thighs, belly and buttocks, and said she was as juicy as an apple. His bleached lean muscular body and silken hair fascinated her as much. She had loved Tom and known pleasant moments with him, but nothing like she felt with this stranger.\nShe woke in bed in the morning, to the baby's crying as usual. Lucky wasn't there and she thought he must have been a vivid dream. Then the door opened and shut, and he was striding toward her, fully dressed, and motioning her to stay where she was. He kissed her lips, then brought the babe to her and stood watching as he suckled. \"What a pity that we remember not the pleasure we once knew.\"\n\"Yet we have pleasures still that we will remember,\" she said, and felt her cheeks redden at her boldness. What a wanton he must think her!\n\"Indeed,\" he said, and laid his cold hand against her hot cheek.\nThe storm had stopped during the night, but the snow was deep on the road, and it was clear that it would be days before the horse could pull Lucky's small wagon along the road. That wagon was brightly painted with leaves and vines and flowers in red and blue and green and yellow. The wheels were red with yellow spokes. It had a canvas top, also painted, blue with white fleecy clouds. Josea loved the wagon but it sorted oddly with Lucky's quiet greyness.\nLucky did small jobs for her, mending tools, hinges, and utensils. He cut more wood for her, saying that if she did not need it this year, there would be another. He stayed a week and a thaw came and then a freeze, and the road was rutted but fit for travel. They looked at one another in the morning light, and he said that it couldn't hurt to stay another day, or maybe two, if she was not yet tired of him. She wasn't.\nAfter another week, Lucky asked her if she would come with him. Her heart leaped at the question, but she looked around the little house where she'd spent all her life, thought of her land and village and her babe, and said, \"I can't go. I've no desire to travel, and I don't want to bring my babe up as a homeless waif.\"\nPain flashed across Lucky's pale face, but he only nodded, harnessed up his horse, and kissed her goodbye. Tears clouded her eyes and blurred the gay wagon colors.\nSun's Dawn passed very slowly, with rain and sleet and snow, but nothing like the storm that had brought Lucky to her. Occasionally there was a knock at her door, which started her heart pounding, but always it was just a villager, come to buy the dried herbs she sold. Then, on the first night of First Seed, she heard the creak of a wagon and knew. She flew to the door, her face alight and flung herself into his arms.\n\"I can't stay,\" he said. \"I'm just passing through...\" and that was all the talking they did for quite awhile.\nSpring came and crocuses poked their noses up through the snow. Lucky spaded up her garden. Curious neighbors came to call, but found out no more about him than she knew. She sold them eggs - her chickens were laying very well - and dried herbs and an elixir she made from her grandmother's recipe, which was sovereign for headache and rheumatism. They hired Lucky for odd jobs, despite their suspicion of him.\nLucky continued to come and go, never saying where or when he'd be back, but he seldom stayed away more than a few days. He spoke no words of love, but loved her fiercely all the same. Josea's round belly grew rounder, and she weaned Timmy to cow's milk. Lucky's trips became shorter and less frequent. All around the land prospered. Even the oldest could not recall a better harvest. In Hearthfire Josea birthed a beautiful baby girl with silver hair, but eyes of cornflower blue. Lucky held his child and joy radiated from him, so that he seemed to burn with a white fire."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/king-edward-part-x": {"series": "King Edward", "game": ["Daggerfall"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/king-edward-part-x", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "King Edward, Part X", "description": "", "text": "Chapter 10: Josea and Lucky, Part II\nMats continued his story of Lucky and Josea.\n* * * * * * * *\nThe years passed, twenty of them. More children came. Timmy took a bride. The land continued to prosper. Few died, so there were many people now, and much of the forest was cleared for farms. Others became soldiers or sailors. Their voyages and battles all prospered, and they returned home laden with booty. The gods were with them, people said, for they were virtuous and deserving folk. Skyrim was united now under King Vrage the Gifted, second and noblest son of the legendary Harald of Ysgramoor, thus Josea's king was high king of all Skyrim. The Nords under Vrage's leadership spread into Morrowind and High Rock, conquering some of the sly and thievish dark elves and the weak and superstitious Bretons.\nJosea and Lucky had opened a store and built a fine big house for their family. One night Josea awoke alone, and heard voices in the hall. She left her bed and crept to see. The voices sounded angry!\nLucky was standing there in his nightshirt; the passing years had changed him little. He looked no older, but he had grown leaner and paler, and somehow less substantial. Standing with him were a tall matronly woman, dark haired, and clad in a fine blue robe, a knight in black armor, carrying a black sword and a handsome blond man, greenclad, with a bow. Two elves were there as well, one fair and one with golden skin; one had a harp, the other a lute. Elves had not been seen in Skyrim in years! How did quiet simple Lucky come to know such grand people?\n\"Is this how you keep your pact with us? Did we not make the rules clear to you?\"\nThe woman was shouting at Lucky, who only muttered, \"Lady Mara, I didn't realize it had been so long. It was only for a few days, and then a few days more. And then there were the children and Josea needed me. I thought no harm. Things seemed to go well for everyone. It hasn't been so long. Tamriel did well enough without me before.\" Lucky spoke softly, yet his face was set and Josea knew how stubborn he could be.\n\"Everyone! What of the Bretons? What of the dark elves? And the wood elves. Of the ice elves I say nothing. They are gone, gone altogether and forever.\"\n\"Such shy folk...I tried,\" Lucky faltered. \"I did try. The ice elves were very hard to find, and not that friendly when I did find them.\"\n\"Are all the elves to follow them, and the Bretons, and then the other races?\"\n\"I'll go; I will go. But High Rock and Morrowind are so far from here. And how can I leave my children? Surely, I am entitled to children? And my woman...\"\n\"You could have arranged matters as I did,\" said the green clad ranger. \"Now it's too late for that. Matters have gone too far. We trusted you. It was a simple assignment. Yet we should have watched him.\" This last sentence was addressed to the black knight.\n\"I did watch him,\" the knight snapped, waving his sword, which Josea now saw was actually a part of his arm. \"Yet alone I could do nothing! I'd few devotees in either High Rock or Morrowind. Once I realized I knew I had to find the rest of you; alone I could do little. What I could, I did. They're halted for now, yet the damage must be repaired, and he who caused it must do the fixing, Tinker! It won't be easy. You'll have to avoid the Skyrim folk altogether for a couple of hundred years, I think.\"\n\"No! My Lord Ebonarm, no!\" The cry was wrenched from Lucky's heart. \"I cannot. I implore you. Do not ask it of me...leave me something of my own! Why must I always give it all to others? I'm tired of it! You promised me a life, and what you gave me, that endless wandering, was not a life!\" The black knight Ebonarm scowled back at Lucky.\n\"We are a gentle folk,\" the wood elf bard said in his musical voice, \"yet Zenithar can no longer be restrained. And if he wars against you, the other elven gods stand with him! If the gods war, Tamriel itself may be destroyed. You may find daedra to stand with you; they love chaos. But I think you will find that not even Springseed, Ebonarm and Mara will fight for you if you defy them further.\"\n\"Jephre speaks truth, as ever. Let us not speak of war among ourselves, my friend. We wished your folk no ill. We deeply regret what has happened and will labor to repair our fault. I regret our long absence, yet it was necessary. Raen and I were needed...elsewhere.\" Mara said. \"And not even a god, or a goddess, can be everywhere at once.\"\n\"As for you, Sai,\" she said, turning to Lucky, \"One night a year with your woman and your children I will grant you. But not in the flesh. The temptations are too strong for you, I see. It was a mistake to let you hold the flesh so long. I apologize to the rest of you. Now, go and make your farewells. You are dismissed.\"\nThe knight and ranger vanished, but the elves remained. The golden skinned one spoke to Mara, \"Watch these new folk of yours more carefully, Lady Mara. We are a patient people, and kindly disposed to other sentient races, yet there are limits to our patience. Take warning.\" Then the elves too were gone.\nLucky fell to his knees, clutching at Mara's robe, his face a mask of anguish, \"Lady, wait! I implore you. Am I never to feel again? Never? It is more than I can bear. The rest of you can assume mortal form on occasion. Better I should have died naturally, and gone to rest,\" he added bitterly.\nMara considered, frowning. \"Others have paid dearly for the life you have stolen. Their spirits are not at rest; they too will exact payment. And yet...very well. If you will labor to repair the damage you have done, then you may on occasion assume bodily form, but not as human. Wolf shape shall be yours, in return for the kindness you showed Grellan.\"\nAnd she was gone, leaving Lucky standing alone, barefoot. Josea ran to him and clasped him...oh, how thin and cold he was!\n\"What is it, dearest? Who were they? What does it mean? Oh, don't leave us!\"\n\"I must,\" he said, shivering. \"I have stayed far too long. My dearest, I am Luck itself. I was born with the talent, though mortal as yourself. My lord took me for a soldier. I was killed in my first battle, even as the battle was won. I ever brought luck to others, never to myself, never. Ebonarm appeared to me, said I had an interesting talent and offered me immortality if I would agree to spread my luck about.\"\n\"He said the gods were overworked, seeing to events, and constantly quarreling over what should happen. He thought that I could balance things out naturally with my inborn talent. I was young. I'd barely lived. I didn't want to die, so I agreed, and Ebonarm said that I could keep my body for a time. I wouldn't age or die, but I would fade slowly, as you have seen. I am nearly eighty now. I did as he bade for many years. Then I met you, and found myself trapped by your need, I think. I was your Luck, you see, what you needed. And truth is, I needed you, too, my dear love.\n\"Yet while I've stayed here, my luck has spread like ripples, strongest in the center, weak along the edges until there's none at all in Morrowind and High Rock and the Wilderness to the south, and the folk are dead or chained in slavery. Also I've brought luck only to the Nords among whom I've lived, so that the wood elves have fled and the ice elves have died. Now I must go, and bring Luck back to them and redress the balance, as it should have been.\"\nHe went to the children's rooms and kissed them as they slept, while his tears fell on them. Then he said, \"I'll be with you one night each year, though you will not see me. Yet you will\nfeel my presence, dearest. Oh, and I could never speak of love or marriage...but know I love you, as no man or god loved woman.\" Then he kissed her one last time, and was gone.\n* * * * * * * *\nMats stopped talking at last. The fire had burned down to ashes. Edward drew a long breath.\n\"That's some story,\" Edward said. \"Is it true?\"\n\"Are you calling my grandmother a liar? I know she used to leave a bit of food and a bowl of milk out on winter nights. 'For the Wolf,' she said. And we Nords hold it very unlucky to attack a wolf unless it attacks you. It just might be Sai!\n\"My grandmother said she got the tale from her great-grandmother, and her great was Josea herself. So she said. Or maybe it was her great-great-grandmother. I get lost there. Anyway it happened during the reign of King Vrage the Gifted, like I said, when the Nords invaded Morrowind and High Rock. It took Sai a hundred and fifty years to get things set right again, and he needed a lot of help. From Moraelyn's brothers and father, among others. The dark elves and Bretons have been lucky to get their lands back, you see, and it's been hard times for Skyrim folk, although once your luck builds up the way theirs did, it takes a long time to really run out altogether. And Sai didn't make the same mistake again. He's been spreading luck around ever since. Otherwise folk get arrogant and start thinking they're entitled to more than others. Yet he's kept his promise. You see, I'm his descendant and once a year I feel his presence. That was tonight.\"\n\"I thought being a god means you can do just as you please,\" Edward said.\n\"Well, they can, you see. Sai did, for awhile, but he and his fellow gods weren't pleased with the results. There's rules to being a god, it seems, just as there are rules to being a man or a boy.\"\n\"Who makes the rules then?\" Edward demanded.\nMats laughed. \"Best save that question up for the Archmagister. It's much too deep for me! Well, I don't know about you, but I'm going to have a drink. I'm parched after so much talking and then rouse Mith, so I can sleep myself.\"\n\"Mats, I was taught that Moraelyn's father and brothers were just raiders and that the Nords were the real owners of the lands they took. That the dark elves come up out of the ground and raid for meanness and profit.\"\n\"Moraelyn's father, Kronin, and his brothers, Cruethys and Ephen, took to raiding after the Nords drove them out of Ebonheart. Guerilla warfare isn't pretty, but neither is losing your homeland. Human memories of that time are faded hand-me-downs, but there's a fair number of dark elves who lived through it still around. Moraelyn's aunt Yoriss for one, she who rules in Kragenmoor. Oh, there's some dark elves still, along the borderland in Blacklight, who are just thieves and kidnappers, no question. They have holds up in the mountain caverns and raid farms and villages in east Skyrim. But Moraelyn's folk have naught to do with them, leastways not since they regained their own lands in Morrowind. Moraelyn hates the raiding. He'd stop it if he could.\" Mats sighed.\n\"Why can't he?\"\nMats yawned widely. \"That's a matter of politics and power, boy. You ask him about it, and you'll likely get more answer than you want, for once. Me, I'm off to bed. Good night.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/king-edward-part-xi": {"series": "King Edward", "game": ["Daggerfall"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/king-edward-part-xi", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "King Edward, Part XI", "description": "", "text": "The Companions stayed the night at a crude but comfortable inn at a tiny village that called itself Raven Spring, located in the foothills of the Wrothgarian Mountains. The next morning they resumed their journey eastward, moving through rolling hills towards the Skyrim and Hammerfell borders, and camping the next two nights under clear early summer skies. When they resumed traveling the third morning, Moraelyn told everyone to watch the slopes north of the road for a notch opening to a high meadow that faced to the southwest. Shortly afterward everyone spotted it almost simultaneously when the group completed a bend around a rocky outcrop.\nSilk and Beech went ahead to scout a good route, and to look for a campsite for the evening ahead. By dusk they had covered most of the distance to the meadow, but still faced some stiff climbing the next morning. They agreed that it was time to camp once again, but happily a lunchtime picnic seemed very likely the next day.\nBy mid-day the next day, which was Loredas the 5th of Mid Year, the Companions were sprawled across a grassy slope within the Dragon Village, having been joined by Akatosh and one other dragon. This second dragon was smaller than Akatosh, and seemed to be a female, although characteristically Akatosh had just introduced the dragon as Debudjen, with no further explanations being forthcoming. The two dragons politely chatted with the humanoids as they enjoyed their repast, though Debudjen flew off afterwards, to arc gracefully above, and then swoop down upon a steer in a grassy field some distance away.\nAkatosh had been watching Edward's reaction to this, and asked: \"Why did you flinch, Edward? Debudjen had not eaten recently, and really behaved no differently than you just have.\"\nEdward replied with a small smile, \"I don't think that our meal was quite that violent in nature.\"\nAkatosh returned the smile, but then responded. \"A good reminder then, that we are only similar, rather than the same.\"\nEdward paused, squinting into the mid-afternoon sun, and then turned to the golden dragon: \"Akatosh, why did you choose this spot for your village?\"\n\"Well, it was high enough up into the mountains to suit us, but flat enough for raising the cattle with trees for the deer and it is very defensible for all of us. There is plenty of room for the humans to build their ranches and farms, and the elves are quite comfortable in the dense trees along the cliff edges. The adits in the surrounding cliff faces provide us the access to our lairs, which we have located within the mining tunnel system. All in all, an ideal site for such an experiment involving this many races of beings. It even opens to the southwest, providing reasonable warmth for the smaller beings, with some protection from the elements during the colder months.\"\nEdward responded, \"It is difficult for me to get used to the notion of a village without some central concentration of buildings, but perhaps these will be developed in the future; at least, a few buildings for meetings and socializing. And, I suppose that there are also some beautiful sunsets to be seen.\"\nThe dragon smiled again, but replied \"Quite so, but I am the only one of the dragonkind to show any interest, and that was not a legitimate consideration when we chose this site.\" Then wistfully: \"I wish that I could assemble the words to describe some of them. I have attempted this many, many times, but the results just are not...very admirable.\" More briskly: \"And by the way, we do intend to erect a meeting hall for the humanoids, and also some stores for barter and other exchanges of goods.\"\nMoraelyn had wandered over and seated himself, and he asked, with a notable absence of the usual humanoid respect for dragons, \"Whatever possessed you to attempt such a crazy experiment, Akatosh?\"\nThe dragon paused thoughtfully, and then replied \"As is my wont I had been analyzing, in this case one might say the history of dragon behavior. Clearly our lengthy contest of resistance to these new Aurielian gods was futile, but it took many of our generations for us to realize and accept this. Then, our next pattern was to isolate ourselves, even from each other, and to resist intrusion from any and all beings. The exception of course was to mate among ourselves and procreate our race. However, aside from that one activity, we fought any and all for our precious privacy, and really for no good reason except that we can be an especially stubborn race.\"\nEdward said, \"Then you maintained a pattern of behavior long after the reason for it was gone?\"\nAkatosh looked a bit embarrassed. He said stiffly, \"I believe that is what I just said. We are not the only sentient race to fall prey to that.\"\nEdward said, \"The Archmagister has told me that much behavior is inborn.\"\nMoraelyn smiled at him, \"And inborn behavior patterns are a particular problem for long-lived species who change slowly as conditions change. We elves suffer from it even more than you short-lived humans, which is why we like to keep things as they are, though life is change and to resist it utterly is death. Dragons live far, far longer than even elves, and, in consequence, breed even more slowly. Still, who can say what alterations being born into a social setting may produce, for good or ill, in dragon behavior.\"\nAliera had by this time joined the conversation, and observed: \"The Daedra must have been long pleased with dragon behavior.\"\nAkatosh responded, \"Perhaps so, but I approached our queen with this suggestion moreso because it seemed clear to me that as a race we had fallen into a stasis, and we needed to break this shell in order to invigorate ourselves. She didn't quite agree with me, but, perhaps because of my reputation, she told me to go ahead and make this attempt.\"\nBy this point, all of the Companions were sitting within hearing range, and Mats asked: \"Did you have to get your queen's permission? And have there been many difficulties among the various races?\"\n\"Permission is not quite accurate in this case, Mats; being the beings that we are, it was moreso that I was obliged to tell her of this so that she would have the information. For example, other dragons regularly come to me with potential military intelligence, following this same philosophy of preparedness.\"\nMats grinned and said, \"You mean 'just in case', right? But what about these elves and humans?\"\n\"Ah, our humanoid Lord and Lady do set a most remarkable example of tolerance and respect for differing shapes and customs. I owe a debt of gratitude to Moraelyn for the loan of his smiths and miners, who have been most generous in sharing their knowledge and skills with the Bretons that my young friend Edward and I have, ah, persuaded to attempt settlement here. It is my experience that Bretons, well, many Bretons, will do virtually anything so long as it is profitable and they gain skill and knowledge from it. The Nordic lust for individual honor and glory makes the mithril armor and weapons produced here extremely profitable - t'was sheer genius that inspired Aliera to insist that we sell only to the nobility while the delving opens new tunnels and provides access to - that which we dragons require.\" Akatosh smiled a little slyly. He was very reticent on the subject of exactly what dragons required. \"Beech and Willow have made it known among their people that wood elves are welcome here, so those who have long missed their ancient High Rock homes have returned to these hills.\"\n\"Fortunate for me that I'm now a Duke, and thus qualified to wear and carry mithril. If only I could afford more than a piece or two! But for the cost I might retire.\" Mats said.\n\"If you retired you would not require the mithril,\" Moraelyn pointed out.\n\"And what of my son and daughter? Thinkst thou I will beg from thee for them?\" Mats said indignantly. \"My knees and wind may not be what once they were, I grant you. I'fact I'm somewhat tempted to remain up here, now I am here, yet I can still swing my axe with any!\"\nMith grinned delightedly, \"Nords can't count. It's why they seek honor and glory, not profit. Honor and glory are not amenable to enumeration much past what one can tally on the fingers. Mats, if thou art but thirty-nine, thou wert the largest ten year old humanoid I ever met or hope to meet!\"\n\"But what then are these benefits to those who neither delve nor smith?\" Mats persisted, ignoring his old friend. \"I would think that many would be terrified to live so close to such... formidable beings\" Mats spoke the last of this with a sly grin.\n\"Well, on the other hand, the presence of the 'formidable beings' means that they are certainly well-protected. And this area is surprisingly fertile, so the crops seem to be growing well, and although they provide the meat for us, we allocate one fifth of each herd to them for their own consumption. We've also been finding out what I have long suspected - the three sets of races, when combined, fight much more effectively than the sum of each when considered in isolation - that is, each race covers or cancels weaknesses of the others. At least it is certainly true that the local goblin population has been drastically reduced in a very short period of time.\"\n\"Aye,\" Edward responded, \"so Moraelyn proved in Morrowind.\"\n\"With a bit of help from his friends,\" Moraelyn acknowledged. \"I reap the praise, but in truth I'm little more than the standard they wave -- and at times I feel more like the target they set up!\"\nA wave of laughter greeted this remark. Edward persisted, \"With you and the others up here, Akatosh, I feel my borders are well guarded, should Skyrim ever feel the urge to move its borders west again.\"\nAliera asked: \"Was it easy to convince the other dragons to move to here?\"\n\"Actually, the most difficult part of that was moving our hoards to our new lairs\" Akatosh responded with a lazy smile, \"although once it was known that we had no use for the metals, gems and jewelry that we accumulate, everything went much more smoothly.\" But then more seriously: \"Essentially I had to approach each dragon personally, and convince them that this idea had merit. Again, once I had persuaded a couple of our especially independent specimens, things went much more smoothly. However, there are only nine of us living in this area and there is really only room for two or three more of us. We shall have to see what develops hereafter.\"\nAliera now observed: \"I think that now the gods and goddesses might look very favorably indeed on dragon behavior.\"\n\"That may be so, Aliera, but again that was not really why this was done. Besides, they still may remember and resent our long opposition to them.\"\nBeech asked deferentially \"But what is the name of this village?\"\nAkatosh sighed, and then responded \"I fear that we shall never reach a decision, since each race has decided opinions in that regard. Perhaps once the initial building phase is completed, we will able to be more contemplative about such matters.\"\nBeech replied \"That just doesn't seem right; everywhere should have a name, shouldn't it?\"\nWillow chuckled and then said \"Perhaps to us this is so, but who knows how dragons think; and I'm sure that the humans and elves will squabble over the style of the name, besides the specifics of it.\"\nMoraelyn interrupted with great drama, \"Surely you don't mean to imply that an elf can be overly stubborn!?\" and the discussion dissolved into a period of laughter and teasing amongst the group.\nPresently, Akatosh said, \"I favor the name 'Section 22.'\"\nBeech stared at him, \"Akatosh, I see what thou dost mean about thy difficulties with the poetic. If you will allow my frank opinion? That is the single worst village name I have ever heard.\"\nAkatosh sighed gustily, then pardoned himself hastily to Beech - humanoids found dragon sighs quite unpleasant and sometimes actually hazardous. \"Then thou seest what I mean by differences. To me, it is very meaningful, and most appropriate. Is 'Section 16' any better as a name? Not? Then is it the word 'Section' that offends you? In what way is it inferior to 'Keep' or 'Reich' or 'Glen' or 'Hold'?\"\nEdward said, \"But Akatosh, a name should make some sense. At least humans think so. You should have 21 other sections first, if you're going to name this place '22'.\"\n\"Really?\" Akatosh said, \"Why is that? Are not all numbers equally valid? They serve well to distinguish one place from another. There could be many 'Greenvales' for instance. I myself know of four such villages. The number 'Twenty-two' does appeal to me....aesthetically, as well as possessing some 'sense' - at least to me,\" he smiled secretively.\nMoraelyn said, \"I think Lord Akatosh is enjoying what some call an 'in-joke'. Were I so rash as to instruct a dragon in manners.\"\n\"Who,\" Silk said, \"would e'er accuse Moraelyn of being rash?\"\nA bit later, Edward asked Akatosh: \"Do you think that we could play a game or two of Battle? I brought the board and playing pieces with me.\"\nMoraelyn interrupted \"I'm afraid that Akatosh and I must discuss some matters this evening - and you'd only lose again anyway\" he added with a fond smile.\nEdward replied \"But I can beat everyone else. Akatosh, will I ever win a game with you?\"\n\"No, Edward, you won't\", and Akatosh was slightly bemused by Edward's startled expression, and then the hearty laugh that quickly followed it.\n\"That wasn't very diplomatic of you, Akatosh. But why won't I ever win?\"\n\"Because I have been playing for much longer than you have Edward, and so long as I continue to play, you will not be able to catch up to me. Besides, this game is what I am starting to think of as a 'bounded problem', and that sort is most easily dealt with.\"\n\"What do you mean by 'a bounded problem', Akatosh?\" asked Mats.\n\"That is a problem that has a countable number of possible actions and results, Mats. There are only 81 squares on the board, and each side has exactly 27 playing pieces, each piece moves in a specific way, and so on.\"\n\"But the game is like a real battle, isn't it?\" asked Ssa'ass.\n\"No, it is very good practice for learning, and for thinking about how to execute a battle - but my Elven Archers never become tired or demoralized, and my Master Mage always does what I want. Such things seldom happen in a real battle.\"\nMoraelyn nodded in agreement, and asked with mock slyness \"Then what is an example of an unbounded problem?\"\n\"Certainly a real battle...but also, to me a poem is an unbounded problem\"\n\"But any poem can be analyzed, Akatosh\" Aliera said chidingly.\n\"Of course - but only after it is written. I am unable to define, or bound, the act of writing it, though...that is, the act of creating it. If I start to write a poem...there are so many possibilities\" and then wryly \"I never get beyond the first line, because I start imagining all the things that I could put into the beginning and....\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/king-edward-part-xii": {"series": "King Edward", "game": ["Daggerfall"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/king-edward-part-xii", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "King Edward, Part XII", "description": "", "text": "The dragon had paused, so Edward interjected, \"Mother and I have been discussing the nature of the gods recently, Akatosh, and she thinks that poetry would be a godly activity. What do you think about that notion?\"\n\"I am not so certain that one can attribute anything to the gods, Edward. They are another example of an unbounded problem, of course, but also, their characteristics are just not very well known to us.\"\n\"But surely one can determine things about any being that is a god?\"\nAkatosh replied, \"I do not think that we can, at present; they are not like the Daedra, who have a nature that is with them at their birth. That is, the Daedra capabilities are inherent in them, and not are the result of any changes that have occurred to them.\"\nWillow interrupted: \"Akatosh, we can determine that the gods have a few basic characteristics, can't we?\"\nEdward added \"Of course, Akatosh - they are powerful beings who can perform acts that are incomprehensible to us. That in itself must signify their difference.\"\nAkatosh nodded and replied \"I understand your point of view, but to a farming community on Tamriel in our southern lands, that could also describe how they would perceive me. Perhaps this is attributable to the fact that they seldom see a dragon nowadays, but it also does not mean that I am a god ... neither does it mean that I am not a god.\"\nWillow giggled, and said \"Of course you're not a god, Akatosh\" and Edward, smiling, nodded agreement.\nAkatosh replied \"How do you know, Willow? I can understand that you would guess that I am not a god, particularly since I am a dragon.\" He grinned, and then continued \"But how can you know that I am not a god?\"\nEdward scoffingly replied \"Well, I know that I'm not a god anyway. And I've certainly never seen you perform any godly acts, Akatosh - you also don't seem to have any worshippers about either.\"\nThe Companions were smiling and generally agreeing with this, but Akatosh responded \"But that does not mean that I have no worshippers, nor does it mean that I cannot perform any godly acts - it just means that you have not seen either of these. I am not yet certain that gods and goddesses require worshippers to maintain their existence. And as I said, I can perform magic that would look like 'godly acts' to many Tamrielians.\"\n\"But the gods must have worshippers, Akatosh\" said Aliera, \"That's how they get their ... sustenance, or whatever it is that allows them to continue ... to be godly. Husband, you must know more about this subject. After all, you made a god of your brother S'ephen.\"\n\"I did no such thing!\" Moraelyn responded, with a touch of indignation. \"His godhood is between him and his worshippers, among whom I am numbered. I did establish a temple cult in his memory. Anyone with the worldly means could do as much for anyone, living or dead. That alone is not enough. Maybe it helps -- facilitate matters, but I think it's not really necessary. I know no more of it, but if you want my opinion--\" he paused politely for confirmation that it was indeed still solicited, as elven etiquette demanded if one were giving opinion at length.\nHe continued. \"There must be something, well, godly, in the person's soul or essence or whatever part it is that does not die with the body. I know not whether that capacity is innate in the person, from birth or conception, or quickening ... whene'er it is that soul and body are wedded for a life span, or whether great deeds and great generosity might breed it, enlarging the soul and transmuting it, so to speak. We all change and grow with each passing day, with every breath, some more than others. What else is life about?\"\nHe went on without pausing for an answer to his rhetorical question, probably for fear that he might get one. \"In other cases, gods seem to arise from a locality, a mountain, or a spring, or wood, or a collection of localities, such as Tamriel itself. Places, like persons have souls, some greater than others. This place might produce a god or a daedra -- or maybe it already has one or more. As it changes, so do its gods and daedra, I think. Maybe they can choose to resist the change or aid it, if propitiated.\"\nHe looked at Akatosh inquiringly. The dragon had stopped fighting the new gods, he said, but would he go so far as to worship them? \"That speaks to the question of whence gods arise, but source is not nature: of that I know as little as the rest of you, maybe less, since the question does not truly interest me. The gods are; my worship of them benefits me and mine. It is sufficient.\"\nAkatosh did not respond immediately and Aliera refused to be distracted, \"But suppose such a cult were established and worshippers provided for one of small and mean spirit. Would that spirit not become a god?\"\n\"I suppose it might be done, if one were determined enough and had a sufficiency of means to pay worshippers to perform rituals without -- spirit -- behind them. Maybe that's where small, mean gods come from, wife. Or maybe daedra? Maybe I'll raise a cult to thee and see what happens.\"\n\"Are you calling my spirit small and mean?\" Ali glared at him.\n\"Only by comparison -- you don't fancy yourself a goddess, do you? You might make a daedra,\nthough. The experiment might be a bit too chancy. Could I just mourn you for a century or two instead?\"\n\"Mm. I'll think on it. What about you? You've deeds enough already to qualify for godhood, surely ... although if you plan on many more such you may not outlive me.\"\n\"I'm doomed to be R'Aathim, living and dead. It's godhood of a sort, but what a sort! Don't begrudge me my long life span. Think of me doomed to eternity in the gloomy Ebonheart council chamber listening to the eternal wrangles ... small wonder the dead R'Aathim pulled the place down on the live ones twenty years ago, thus causing my brother and my mother to join their number. The dead R'Aathim must have welcomed the century and a half of respite while the Nords held Ebonheart.\"\n\"But your brother S'ephen was killed too, as well as your brother King Cruethys, and S'ephen wasn't R'Aathim, being your mother's son and not your father's, if I have the story straight -- that's why he got his own temple,\" Edward said. \"So why did they kill him, too? The story sounds very daedric to me.\"\n\"You'd have me justify the ways of the gods to you, would you? I think they act for ends we cannot see, and slay the just and the unjust together -- not that I'd label any of my Kin as either -- not altogether. We see only the means -- how can we judge? Gods too face choices; I do not think their power supreme. They can overrule nature on occasion, as can any Mage, yet they, like Mages, are in the end bound by it -- and their overrule must answer other rules still -- and in those rules, whate'er they be, I think lies the answer to your questions. I think it's not something men and women may know while living.\"\nAkatosh smiled and replied \"It is not so easy to describe the gods, is it? This is true even though, myself included, each of us thinks that we have a mental picture of what godliness means. On the other hand, the gods and goddesses certainly do exist - and I also believe that there is a connection of some sort between them and the Daedra, and another connection between these entities and the power associated with performing magic.\"\n\"The priests of Julianos have been calling this power 'Magicka'\" said a stranger who had joined the group.\nAkatosh replied \"Greetings bard. Please allow me to introduce ... Geoffrey, a ... wandering poet who has been visiting our village for these last few days.\" The Companions greeted the wood elf newcomer, some rising to their feet to do so according to their individual customs, and then all resumed sitting (actually sprawling about) and conversing.\n\"A number of priests are theorizing that the gods and goddesses live on another plane, as do the Daedra - there is some debate amongst these priests as to whether they share the same plane of existence, or whether each has their own. And some of the Alessian priests are claiming that we can visit these alternate planes in our nightly dreams\" added Beech.\nEdward asked \"Why doesn't someone just ask a goddess or a Daedra about this?\"\nGeoffrey chuckled and replied \"Most of us are not able to be so thoughtful when confronted by one of these beings, Edward. Also, there is a common belief that the gods and Daedra are as reluctant to discuss their own natures as dragons are to reveal anyone's True Name.\"\nEdward looked quizzically at Akatosh, but Beech stated to Geoffrey \"Well said, Bard\" ... and that pair shared the slightest of smiles.\nBeech then said, \"Do you know what the Resolutions of Zenithar has been saying about the gods and magic? This magic power, or Magicka, is just the power generated by the existence of, well, existance itself. When it becomes focused by living beings through natural processes, then it becomes accessible to the gods and goddesses as worship power, which is the next level of Magicka. After receiving some from their worshippers, the gods can then concentrate it up to god-level power - the true Magicka. The gods themselves can't generate the mid-level Magicka, since they are dependent on it for their own existence, but they can 'convert it' to Magicka, which can then be used by mortals to cast spells. This Magicka is usually dispersed widely across the planes but there are areas of greater and lesser concentration due to interferences with the dispersion process.\"\n\"When a goddess loses worshippers, her inflow of mid-level Magicka is decreased, so she in turn produces less god-level Magicka. With less Magicka under her control (for providing to worshippers, or dispersion), her influence is decreased in the mortal planes - of course the converse is also true. In the extreme, she receives nothing, and is relegated to a state of Stasis, barely existing from the ordinary Magicka generated by her few remaining Consecrated lands, zones of influence, and so on.\"\nBeech continued, \"On the other hand, Daedra receive very specific, or 'modified' mid-level Magicka from a few mortals with specific areas of interest, and these Daedra are normally tied to very specific circumstances. Because of their nature, they gain much more power from their small worship base, but the gods, with their much broader base, generally have greater overall power, even though the amount of concentrated worship that they receive from any one source is much less than a Daedra's. Most of the Magicka that the gods 'process' is dispersed into and throughout the universe, no longer under their control, thereby making it available for everyone. It's not really something they do consciously, but as a natural process that happens automatically - in other words ... just because they are divine.\"\nAliera said, \"I would think that Magicka is simply available to sentient beings, although the gods and Daedra could facilitate its usage. I would think that the gods and Daedra have other influences on us as well, because not everyone has spellcasting ability! Maybe in those 'alternate planes' it's actually existance, and not sentient entities, that radiates Magicka, just as the stars give off light in our dimension. I just assume that Magicka is 'out there' in the ether, or maybe sentient consciousnesses automatically tap into an alternate plane as they sleep. I think that everyone has some supply of Magicka, but most don't know how to use it very well, or else they adopt a way of life that inhibits or forbids its use. Maybe certain gods and Daedra serve as facilitators for the entire process; that is, both obtaining and using Magicka? But how do priests heal and cure and bless? Is Magicka involved at all or do they invoke their goddesses directly?\"\nSsa'ass said, \"I am not ssssure that Magicka isss usssed; perhapss there isss yet another capability involved here. Thisss capability would be unknown at thisss time, and maybe even unsssenssssed... but I feel fairly certain that sssomehow it is a godly 'force' that they are employing.\"\nThen Geoffrey responded: \"Ssa'ass, I believe that Magicka fills the universe of planes. All things are infused with Magicka to one extent or another. In this regard Magicka is attracted to some people and things over others, and some people with talent or training can control and even release Magicka in new forms. There may be other sources of Magicka available by tapping into alternate and otherworldly planes. There is also the possibility of alternate planes that are entirely void of Magicka. Regardless, certain beings of great power, such as the gods and Daedra, can not only control Magicka, but can see, absorb, and transfuse Magicka to and from objects and people. By employing this ability, worshippers of these beings are sometimes capable of greater acts of Magic than they could accomplish otherwise. Also in this way, some items sacred to powerful beings can be said to be holy, with additional amounts of directed Magicka provided by gods or goddesses.\"\n\"Magic items fall into two main categories by definition. Items that draw on the surrounding Magicka to create spell-like effects, and items that hold Magicka in reserve for their own internal effects. Normally magic items which absorb Magicka, giving increased abilities to their wielders, only affect themselves and are considered to use internal Magicka. In some areas where great amounts of Magicka have been used, the surroundings may be completely devoid of it. This of course negates the ability of beings to produce magic effects in these areas, although gods and Daedra carry their own supplies of Magicka, as do magic items that do not depend on the use of surrounding Magicka.\"\nAliera said, \"We've been investigating some rumors and stories concerning something that might be called anti-Magicka. I think the presence of a powerful Daedra with whom you weren't in 'tune' could cause interference with spellcasting - maybe even cancel out existing spells. Perhaps particular Daedra simply favor thief or warrior types. Or some goddesses, and their priests, might frown on 'competing' magic in certain areas, for example in locations dedicated to them. So then unauthorized spells could interfere with their rituals.\"\nWillow asked, \"Can Daedra supply Magicka? And how about both a god and a Daedra being nearby? - wouldn't they sort of nullify each other's powers? This might be the cause of the anti-Magicka effect.\"\n\"I've experienced an anti-Magicka zone myself\" inserted Mith. \"It felt a lot like the effect of casting a spell like Dispel Magicka. At the time, I thought that a truly powerful spellcaster could still effectively cast spells, but their resulting power would have been much reduced. I didn't get a chance to test this out though\" added Mith with a smile.\n\"We can also assume that certain powerful spells, creatures and even magic items might actually drain the surrounding area of Magicka,\" replied Geoffrey. \"This could be extended to places where great amounts of magic energy were once gathered and expended, for example in ancient temples where great spells were cast, or battlefields where powerful mages contested. Perhaps certain metals or stones could act as absorbers of Magicka, allowing for whole structures of anti-Magicka zones. If so, you might be able to wear a amulet made out of anti-Magicka material and gain a good advantage against spellcasters. Perhaps the purity of the material used would allow for better and better magic resistance\".\nAkatosh spoke: \"Dragons have long been interested in the anti-Magicka effect, naturally enough. We have found some amulets that appear to act as Magicka absorbers. They might contain something like Negative Magicka, in which case they would attract any 'stray' Magicka floating free in the local area. They are made of a stone, or mineral, resembling marble - it is very rare, but could be extracted, and shaped by skilled craftsmen. For example, I'm sure that the dwarves could have worked with this material. They might have made these amulets - or even that statue that I once saw ... it was taller than any of you humanoids. Regardless, in these mountains we have found deposits scattered throughout the halls and tunnels at random, sometimes deep within the walls. Consequently, one appears to go in and out of these anti-Magicka zones of varying intensities, with little or no warning. I have been imagining that this material works almost automatically; it seems to 'reflexively' absorb Magicka if given a chance to. However, we cannot rule out the possibility that they have been magically charged somehow - perhaps this happened long ago, but the charge has somehow remained.\"\nMoraelyn asked, \"Would the amulet affect its wearer, or would he be immune?\"\n\"Maybe a blocking spell could be developed, and then cast, to shield the wearer from the effects of the substance.\"\nMoraelyn then asked, \"But Akatosh, getting back to our earlier discussions - what do you think of the speculations concerning the connections between the gods and goddesses, Daedra and Magicka?\"\nAkatosh replied, \"I think that there are many truths that we do not know, and perhaps there are some truths that we are not meant to know.\"\nMoraelyn asked with a smile, \"All right then, I've always wanted to know this - considering the shape of your mouth and teeth, how do dragons manage to speak the humanoid languages so clearly?\"\nAkatosh paused, and then carefully responded, \"Why, in much the same way that we can fly, even though our wings are not naturally strong enough to support such heavy torsos.\"\n\"Speaking of dragon flight and sunsets...\" Mith said, rising to his feet and squinting into the red-gold eastern sky, \"We have a vistor, Dragon Lord. That's not a bird.\"\nAkatosh's head came up and he too scanned the sky. Tension grew in him, and one by one the Companions rose, watching as the distant dot grew nearer and resolved itself into the largest dragon they'd seen yet.\n\"Ma-Tylda!\" Akatosh exclaimed, \"She deigns to bestow her presence on us!\" His wings lifted and unfurled, and the Companions broke and ran for cover as he took flight. The two dragons wheeled through the sky, spouting great gouts of flame against the purpling sky.\n\"They're fighting,\" Edward cried, \"what does it mean. Who is Ma-Tylda?\"\n\"I don't know who she is, son,\" Moraelyn replied, \"but they do not fight. You behold a dragon greeting ceremony.\" The pair alit beyond a rock outcropping out of sight.\n\"Should we go greet the stranger, too?\" Edward asked.\n\"Nay,\" Mith said. \"They'll let us know if our presence is wanted -- look, even the other dragons stay away.\" It was true. Dragon heads had poked from the caverns to witness the event, but none of them had taken wing, and now they were retreating to their hoards within.\nThe Companions ambled back into the meadow together and built a fire as a chill wind had sprung up. The elves sang an evening hymn to the stars, deftly weaving the dark elf version with the wood elf form. Aliera added her voice to theirs, but Mats and Edward and Silk and Ssa'ass sat listening silently. They couldn't manage elven music of this kind. Geoffrey had a particularly clear sweet voice, Edward thought.\nAkatosh returned presently, smiling in satisfaction. \"Ma-Tylda's going to join us here, at least for awhile,\" he said. He was actually glowing in the dusk, each scale giving off a golden radiance.\n\"Is she your queen?\" Edward asked, feeling very small and human.\n\"She -- just is. Maybe she'll want to meet you all some day. I hope so. Until then, well, I don't talk about other dragons, you know.\"\nTo which Edward blinked in surprise and then surmise, and the discussion dissolved into jokes and songs for the remainder of that clear and beautiful evening."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/real-barenziah-part-1": {"series": "The Real Barenziah (Complete)", "game": ["Daggerfall"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/real-barenziah-part-1", "author": "Plitinius Mero (uncredited)", "title": "The Real Barenziah, Part 1", "description": "A must read! Very long. Pretty raunchy in some places. Contains a prehistory to the plot of TES:Arena. Features Tiber Septim.", "text": "Five hundred years ago in Mournhold, city of gems, there lived a blind widow woman and her only child, a strapping young man. He was a miner, as was his father before him, a common laborer in the king's mines, for his magicka ability was but small. The work was honorable, but poorly paid. His mother made and sold small wildenberry cakes in the market to help make out their living. They did well enough, his mother said. They had enough to fill their bellies, no one could wear more than one suit of clothing at a time and the roof only leaked when it rained. Symmachus would have liked more. He hoped for a lucky strike in the mines, which would garner him a large bonus. In his free hours he enjoyed hoisting a glass of ale in the tavern with his friends, and gambling with them at cards, and he drew the eyes and sighs of more than one pretty elven girl, although none held his interest for long. In short, Symmachus was a typical young dark elf man, remarkable only for his size. It was rumored that he had a bit of Nord blood in him.\nIn Symmachus' thirtieth year there was great rejoicing in Mournhold for a girl child was born to their lord and his lady. A queen, the people sang, a queen is born to us! For among the people of Mournhold, the birth of a female heir is a sure sign of peace and prosperity to come.\nWhen the time came for royal child's Rite of Naming, the mines were closed and Symmachus rushed home to bathe and dress in his best.\n\"I'll come straight home and tell you all about it,\" he promised his mother, who was not to attend. She had been ailing; besides, there would be a great crush of people as all Mournhold would be there, and being blind she would be unable to see anything anyway.\n\"My son,\" she said. \"Go, fetch me a priest or healer, else I may pass from the mortal plane when you return.\"\nSymmachus crossed to her bed at once and noted anxiously that her head was very hot and her breathing shallow. He pried up the loose floorboard where their small hoard of savings was kept. There wasn't nearly enough to pay a priest for healing. He would have to give what they had and owe the rest. Symmachus snatched up his cloak and rushed away. The streets were full of folk hurrying to the sacred grove, but the mage guild and the temples were locked and barred. \"Closed for the ceremony\" read the signs. Symmachus elbowed his way through the crowd and managed to overtake a brown-robed monk.\n\"After the rite, brother,\" the monk said, \"if you have gold I shall gladly to attend your mother. My lord has bade all clerics to attend and I shall not offend him.\"\n\"My mother's desperately ill,\" Symmachus pled. \"Surely, my lord will not miss just one lowly monk.\"\n\"The father abbot will,\" the monk said nervously, tearing his robe loose from Symmachus' grip and vanishing into the crowd.\nSymmachus tried other monks and mages, too, but with no better result. Armored guards came through the street and pushed him aside with their lances and Symmachus realized that the royal procession was approaching. As the royal carriage drew abreast, Symmachus rushed out from the crowd and shouted, \"My lord, my mother's dying--\"\n\"I forbid her to do so on this glorious night!\" the lord shouted, laughing and scattering coin into the throng. Symmachus was close enough to smell wine on the royal breath. On the other side of the carriage his lady clutched her babe to her breast, and stared wide-eyed at Symmachus, her nostrils flared in disdain.\n\"Guards!\" she cried. \"Remove this oaf.\" Rough hands seized Symmachus. He was beaten and left dazed by the side of the road.\nSymmachus, head aching, followed in the wake of the crowd and watched the Rite of Naming from the top of the hill. He could see the brown robed clerics and blue robed mages gathered near the royal folk far below.\nBarenziah. The name came dim to Symmachus ears as the High Priest lifted the naked babe and showed her to the twin moons on either side of the horizon: Jone rising, Jode setting. \"Behold the Lady Barenziah, born to the rule of Mournhold! Grant her thy blessings and thy counsel ever that she rule to Mournhold's weal.\"\n\"Blessings, blessings...\" all the people murmured with their lord and lady, hands upraised. Only Symmachus stood silent, head bowed, knowing in his heart that his dear mother was gone. And in his silence he swore a mighty oath, that he should be his lord's bane and in vengeance for his mother's needless death, the child Barenziah he would have as his own bride, that his mother's grandchildren should be born to rule Mournhold.\nAfter the ceremony he watched impassively as the royal procession returned to the palace. He saw the monk to whom he'd spoken first. The man came gladly enough now in return for the gold Symmachus had and a promise of more later.\nThey found his mother dead, as he had feared. The monk sighed and tucked the bag away. \"I'm sorry, brother. Well, you can forget the rest of the gold, as there's naught I can do here. Likely--\"\n\"Give me back my gold!\" Symmachus snarled. \"You've done naught to earn it!\" He lifted his right arm threateningly. The priest backed away, beginning a curse, but Symmachus struck him before more than three words had left his mouth. He went down heavily, striking his head sharply on one of the stones that formed the firepit. He died instantly.\nSymmachus took the gold back and fled the city, muttering the name \"Barenziah\"."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/real-barenziah-part-2": {"series": "The Real Barenziah (Complete)", "game": ["Daggerfall"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/real-barenziah-part-2", "author": "Plitinius Mero (uncredited)", "title": "The Real Barenziah, Part 2", "description": "A must read! Very long. Pretty raunchy in some places. Contains a prehistory to the plot of TES:Arena. Features Tiber Septim.", "text": "The child Barenziah stood on the upper balcony of the palace, staring down into the courtyard where soldiers milled, splendid in their armor. Presently they formed into ordered ranks and cheered as her parents, the lord and lady emerged from the palace, clad head to toe in ebony armor, long purple-dyed fur cloaks flowing behind. Splendidly caparisoned shining black horses were brought for them and they mounted and rode to the courtyard gates, then turned to salute her.\n\"Barenziah!\" they cried. \"Barenziah, farewell!\"\nThe little girl blinked back tears and waved bravely with one hand, her favorite stuffed toy animal, a gray wolf cub she called Wuffen, clutched to her breast with the other. She had never been parted from her parents before and had no idea what it meant, save that there was war in the west and the names Tiber Septim and Symmachus were on everyone's lips, spoken with hate and dread.\n\"Barenziah!\" The soldiers cried, lifting their lances and swords and bows. Then her dear parents turned and rode away, soldiers trailing in their wake until the palace was near emptied.\nSome time after came a day when Barenziah was shaken awake by her nurse, dressed hurriedly and carried from the palace. All she remembered of that dreadful time was seeing a huge shadow with burning eyes that filled the sky.\nShe was passed from hand to hand. Foreign soldiers appeared. Her nurse vanished and was replaced by strangers, some more strange than others. There were days, or was it weeks?, of travel. One morning she woke to step from the coach into a cold place with a large gray stone house set amid endless empty gray-green and hills patchily covered with gray-white snow. She clutched Wuffen to her breast with both hands and stood blinking and shivering in the gray dawn, feeling very small and very black in all this endless space gray-white space.\nA large gray-white woman was staring at her with dreadful bright blue eyes. \"She's very -- black, isn't she?\" the woman remarked to her companion, a brown skinned, black-haired woman named Hana who had been travelling with Barenziah for several days. \"I've never seen a dark elf before.\"\n\"I don't know much about them myself,\" Hana said. \"This one's got red hair and a temper to match, I can tell you that. Take care. She bites. And worse.\"\n\"I'll soon train her out of that,\" the other woman sniffed, \"And what's that filthy thing she's got? Ugh!\" The woman snatched Wuffen away and cast him into the fire blazing in the hearth. Barenziah shrieked and would have flung herself into the fire after him, but was forcibly restrained, despite her attempts to bite and claw her oppressors while poor Wuffen was reduced to a little heap of charred ash."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/real-barenziah-part-3": {"series": "The Real Barenziah (Complete)", "game": ["Daggerfall"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/real-barenziah-part-3", "author": "Plitinius Mero (uncredited)", "title": "The Real Barenziah, Part 3", "description": "A must read! Very long. Pretty raunchy in some places. Contains a prehistory to the plot of TES:Arena. Features Tiber Septim.", "text": "Barenziah grew like a weed transplanted to a Skyrim garden, a ward of Count Sven and his wife Lady Inga. Outwardly she thrived but there was a cold and empty place within.\n\"I've raised her as my own daughter,\" Lady Inga was wont to sigh when she sat gossiping with neighboring ladies come to visit, \"But she's a dark elf. What can you expect?\"\nBarenziah was not meant to overhear these words. At least she thought she was not. Her hearing was far keener than that of her Nord hosts. Other, less desirable dark elf traits included pilfering, lying and a little magic, just a small fire spell and a little levitation. And, as she grew older, a keen interest in boys and men, who could provide very pleasant sensations and, to her astonishment, gifts as well. Inga disapproved of this activity for reasons incomprehensible to Barenziah, so she was careful to keep it as secret as possible.\n\"She's wonderful with the children,\" Inga added, meaning her five sons, all younger than Barenziah. \"She'd never see them come to harm.\"\nA tutor was hired when Jonny was six and Barenziah eight, and she studied academic lessons along with him. She would have liked arms training as well, but the very idea of a girl training to arms scandalized Inga and Sven. Barenziah was given a bow and allowed to practice target shooting with the boys. She watched them at arms practice when she could, practiced with them when no grown folk were about, and knew she was as good or better than they.\n\"She's very proud, isn't she?\" the neighbor ladies would whisper, and Barenziah, pretending not to hear, would nod in agreement. She could not help but feel superior to the Count and Countess. There was something about them that encouraged this disdain in her.\nShe grew to learn that Sven and Inga were distant cousins of the last rulers of Darkmoon, and then she began to understand. They were poseurs, imposters, not rulers at all. At least, they were not raised to rule. This thought made her strangely furious at them, a good clean hatred detached from resentment. Barenziah came to see them as disgusting and corrupted insects who could be despised, but never feared.\nOnce a month a courier came from the emperor, bringing a small bag of gold for Inga and Sven and a large bag of dried mushrooms from Morrowind for Barenziah's consumption. She was always made presentable, as presentable as a skinny dark elf girl could be made to look in Inga's eyes, and summoned into the courier's presence for a brief interview. The same courier seldom came twice, but all looked her over rather as a farmer looks over a pig he's readying for market. In the spring of her sixteenth year Barenziah thought the courier looked as if she were at last ready for market.\nUpon reflection Barenziah decided that she did not wish to be marketed. The stable-boy, Straw, a big blond boy, clumsy, gentle, affectionate and rather simple, had been urging her to run off with him for some weeks. Barenziah stole the bag of gold the courier had left, took the mushrooms from the storeroom, dressed herself as a boy in some of twelve year old Timmy's casual clothing, and one fine spring night they took the two best horses and rode hard through the night toward Whiterun, the nearest city of any size, which was where Straw wanted to go.\nBut Morrowind also lay east and it drew Barenziah as a lodestone does iron. In the morning they abandoned the horses at Barenziah's insistence. She knew they would be missed and tracked, and she hoped to throw pursuers off the trail. They continued afoot until late afternoon, keeping to side roads, then slept for several hours in an abandoned hut. They went on at dusk and came to the Whiterun city gates just before dawn.\nBarenziah had prepared a pass for Straw, stating an errand to a temple in the city for a local village lord. She herself sneaked over the wall with the help of her levitation spell. She had reasoned that by now the gate guards would have been alerted to look for a young dark elf and a Nord boy traveling together, but country boys like Straw were common enough. Alone and with papers, he would be unlikely to draw their attention.\nHer simple plan went smoothly. She met Straw at the temple, which was not far from the gate. She had been to Whiterun on a few previous occasions. Straw, however, had never been more than a few miles from Sven's estate, his birthplace. Together they made their way to a run-down inn in the poor quarter of Whiterun. Gloved, cloaked and hooded against the chill of the morning, her dark skin and red eyes were not apparent and no one paid any attention to them. They entered the inn separately. Sven paid the host for a single room, a large meal and a jug of ale, and Barenziah sneaked in a few minutes later. They ate and drank together gleefully, celebrating their escape, made love vigorously on the narrow bed, then fell into an exhausted sleep.\nThey stayed a week in Whiterun. Straw earned a bit of money running errands and Barenziah robbed a few houses at night. Barenziah continued to dress as a boy. She cut her hair short and dyed her flame-red tresses jet black as a further disguise, and kept out of sight as much as possible for there were few dark elves in Whiterun. Then Straw got them places as guards for a merchant caravan that was traveling east. The sergeant looked her over dubiously.\n\"Heh,\" he chuckled, \"dark elf, ain'tcha? Like setting a wolf to guard the sheep, that is. Still, I need arms, and we ain't going near enough to Morrowind that ye can betray us to yer brothers. Our home-grown bandits will as lief cut yer throat as mine.\"\nThe sergeant gave Straw an appraising look, then abruptly spun back to Barenziah, whipping out his short sword. But she had her knife out and was in a defensive stance. Straw drew his own knife and circled to the man's rear. The sergeant dropped his blade and chuckled again, \"Not bad, kids, not bad. How are ye with that bow, dark elf?\" Barenziah demonstrated her prowess. \"Aye, not bad, not bad a'tall. And ye'll be keen of eye by night and of hearing at all times. A trusty dark elf makes as good a fightin' man as any could ask for. I know. I served under Symmachus himself before I lost this arm and got invalided out of the Emperor's forces.\"\n\"We could betray them. I know folk who'd pay well,\" Straw said later, as they bedded down for their last night in the old inn, \"Or rob them ourselves. They're very rich, those merchants are, Berry.\"\nBarenziah chuckled, \"What ever would we do with so much money? And we need their protection for traveling quite as much as they need ours.\"\n\"We could buy a little farm and settle down.\"\nPeasant! Barenziah thought scornfully. Straw was a peasant and had peasant dreams. But all she said was, \"Not here, Straw, we're too close to Darkmoor still. We'll have more chances farther east.\"\nThe caravan went only as far east as Sunguard. Tiber Septim had done much in the way of building relatively safe patrolled highways, but his tolls were steep, and this particular caravan kept to the side roads as much as possible to avoid them. This exposed them to the hazards of robber barons, both human and orcish, and roving bands of brigands of various races, but such were the perils of trade and profit.\nThey had two such encounters before reaching Sunguard, an ambush which Barenziah's keen ears detected in plenty of time for them to circle about and surprise the lurkers, and a night attack by a mixed band of Khajiiti, humans and wood elves. The latter were a skilled band and even Barenziah did not hear them sneaking up in time to give much warning.\nThe fighting was fierce. The attackers were driven off, but two of the caravan's guards were killed, and Straw got a nasty cut on his thigh before he and Barenziah killed his Khajiit assailant.\nBarenziah rather enjoyed the life. The garrulous sergeant had taken a liking to her, and she spent most of her evenings sitting around a campfire listening to his tales of campaigning in Morrowind with Tiber Septim and Symmachus. Symmachus had been made a general after Mournhold fell, the sergeant said. \"He's a fine soldier, Symmachus is, but there was more than soldiery involved in Morrowind, if you take my drift. Well, you know about that, I expect.\"\n\"I don't remember,\" Barenziah said, \"I've mostly lived in Skyrim. My mother married a Skyrim man. They're both dead, though. What happened to the lord and lady of Mournhold?\"\nThe sergeant shrugged, \"I never heard. Dead, I expect. All Morrowind's under military rule now. It's pretty quiet. Maybe too quiet. Like a calm before a storm. You going back there?\"\n\"Maybe,\" Barenziah said. The truth was that she was drawn to Morrowind like a magnet. Straw sensed it and was unhappy about it. He was unhappy anyway, since they could not bed together, as she was supposed to be a boy. Barenziah rather missed it too, but not as much as Straw did, seemingly. The sergeant wanted them to sign on for the return trip, but gave them a bonus when they parted and letters of recommendation.\nStraw wanted to settle permanently near Sunguard, but Barenziah insisted on continuing to travel east. \"I'm the queen of Mournhold by rights,\" she said, unsure whether it was true, or it was a story she had made up as a child. \"I want to go home. I need to go home.\"\nThat at least was true. She had run out of mushrooms and was very hungry for them. She found a few for sale in the Sunguard marketplace, but they were not as good or satisfying as the ones the courier had brought. After a few weeks they managed to get places in a caravan heading east.\nBy early winter, they were in Riften, and near the Morrowind border, but the weather had grown severe and they were told no merchant caravans would set forth until mid-spring.\nBarenziah stood atop the city walls and stared across the deep gorge that separated Riften from the snow-clad mountain wall of Morrowind beyond. \"Berry,\" Straw said gently, \"Mournhold's a long way off yet, nearly as far as we've come already, and the lands between are wild, full of wolves and bandits and orcs and still worse creatures. We'll have to wait for spring.\"\n\"There's Silgrod Tower,\" Berry said, referring to the Dark Elf town that had grown up around the ancient tower that guarded the border between Skyrim and Morrowind.\n\"The bridge guards won't let me across, Berry. They're crack Imperial troops. They can't be bribed. If you go, you go alone. I won't try to stop you. But what will you do? Silgrod Tower is full of Imperial troops. Will you become a washerwoman for them? A camp follower?\"\n\"No,\" Barenziah said thoughtfully. Actually the idea was not entirely unappealing. She was sure that she could earn a modest living by sleeping with the soldiers for money. She'd had a few adventures of that sort as they crossed Skyrim, when she'd dressed as a woman and slipped away from Straw. She'd only been looking for a bit of variety. Straw was sweet but dull. She'd been startled, but pleased when the men she picked up offered her money afterwards.\nStraw had been unhappy about it though and would shout for awhile, then sulk for days afterwards if he caught her at it. He was very jealous. He'd even threatened to leave her.\nBut the Imperial Guards were a tough and brutal lot by all accounts and Barenziah had heard some very ugly stories during her travels. The ugliest stories had come from the lips of ex-veterans around the caravan campfire and were proudly recounted. They'd been trying to shock her and Straw, she realized, but she also realized that there was some truth behind the wild tales. Straw hated that kind of talk and hated having her hear it, but there was a part of him that was fascinated by it.\nBarenziah had encouraged Straw to seek out other women, but he said he didn't want anyone but her. She told him she didn't feel that way, but she did like him better than anyone else.\n\"Then why do you go with other men?\"\n\"I don't know, dear.\"\nStraw sighed. \"They say dark elf women are like that.\"\nBarenziah smiled and shrugged. \"I know. I guess that's all the explanation there is.\""}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/real-barenziah-part-4": {"series": "The Real Barenziah (Complete)", "game": ["Daggerfall"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/real-barenziah-part-4", "author": "Plitinius Mero (uncredited)", "title": "The Real Barenziah, Part 4", "description": "A must read! Very long. Pretty raunchy in some places. Contains a prehistory to the plot of TES:Arena. Features Tiber Septim.", "text": "They settled into Rifton for the winter, taking a cheap room in the slums. Barenziah joined the Thieves' Guild, knowing there would be trouble if she were caught free-lancing. One day in the barroom she caught the eye of a known member of the guild, a bold young Khajiit named Therris. She offered to bed with him if he would sponsor her for membership. He looked her over, grinning, and agreed, but said she'd still have to pass a test.\n\"What sort of test?\"\n\"Ah,\" Therris said. \"Payment first, sweet thing.\" He put an arm around her, leaned over and kissed her, thrusting his tongue deep into her mouth and his free hand into her shirt.\n\"Nice,\" he said presently, withdrawing his tongue, but not his hand. His other hand slid down inside her waistband and fondled her buttocks.\n\"Let's go upstairs. We can use my room,\" Barenziah felt both embarassed and excited by his boldness.\nTherris grinned insolently. \"Why bother? You want me, don't you? I'll bet you'd pay me, wouldn't you?\"\n\"No,\" Barenziah said. She did want him, but not that badly.\n\"No? Well, a bargain's a bargain and Therris keeps his word. But here. Now.\" He hiked her skirt up and pulled her onto his lap so she sat astride, facing him. He opened her shirt and pulled it down on her shoulders so that her breasts were exposed.\n\"Nice pair, kid.\" She was facing the wall but she could feel the stares of the other patrons. A hush had fallen over the place. Even the bard had stilled. She felt both nausea and a hot burning desire. Her hands released his turgid penis and then it was inside her and she was screaming in both pain and ecstasy. Then everything went black.\nWhen she came to herself again she was sitting beside Therris, who was buttoning her shirt. \"That hurt!\" she said indignantly.\n\"Always does, kid. Didn't anyone ever tell you about Khajiit men? It hurts good though, now doesn't it?\" Barenziah scowled at him. She was still smarting. His penis had tiny little barbs on it.\n\"Well, the deal's off, if you like,\" he shrugged.\n\"No, I didn't say that. Only I prefer privacy, and I want to wait awhile, like a day or so before the next time.\"\nTherris laughed. \"You're OK, kid.\"\nStraw was going to kill her, and maybe Therris too. What in Tamriel had possessed her to do such a thing? She cast an anxious look around the room, but the other patrons had lost interest and gone back to their own business. She did not recognize any of them; this wasn't the inn where she lived. With luck it'd be awhile, or never, before Straw found out. But Therris was by far the most exciting and attractive man she'd yet met.\nHe not only told her about the skills needed to be a member of the Thieves' Guild, but trained her in them himself or introduced her to people who could teach her. Among these was a Nord woman who knew something about magic. Katisha was plump and matronly. She was married to a smith, had two teen aged children and was perfectly ordinary and respectable except that she was very fond of cats, had a gift for certain kinds of magic, and cultivated rather odd friends.\nShe taught Barenziah an Invisibility spell and trained her in other forms of stealth and disguise. Katisha mingled magical and non-magical talents freely, using one to enhance the other. She was not a member of the Thieves' Guild but was fond of Therris in a motherly sort of fashion.\nBarenziah warmed to her as she never had to any woman, and over the next few weeks she told Katisha all about herself. She brought Straw there, too. Straw approved of Katisha but not of Therris. Therris found Straw amusing and suggested to Barenziah that they arrange what he called a threesome.\n\"Indeed not,\" Barenziah said, grateful that Therris had broached the subject in private. \"He wouldn't like it. I wouldn't like it!\"\nTherris smiled his charming triangular cat-smile and sprawled lazily back in his chair, curling his tail. \"You might both be surprised. Pairing is so boring. Well, would you mind if I brought a friend?\"\n\"Yes. If you're bored with me you and your friend can find someone else.\" She was a member of the Thieves' Guild now. She found Therris useful but not essential. Maybe she was a bit bored with him, too.\nShe talked to Katisha about her men problems. Katisha shook her head and told her she was looking for love, not sex, that she'd know the right man when she found him, and that neither Straw nor Therris was the right one for her.\nBarenziah cocked her head to one side quizzically. \"They say dark elf women are pro- pro- something. Prostitutes?\"\n\"You mean promiscuous, although some do become prostitutes, I suppose. Elf women are promiscuous when they're young. You'll outgrow it. Perhaps you're beginning to already,\" Katisha said hopefully. \"You ought to meet some nice elven boys, though. If you keep on keeping company with Khajiits and humans you'll find yourself pregnant soon.\"\nBarenziah smiled involuntarily at the thought. \"I'd like that. But it would be inconvenient, wouldn't it? Babies are a lot of trouble, and I don't even have a home yet.\"\n\"How old are you? Seventeen? Well, you've a year or two yet before you'll be fertile, unless you're very unlucky. Elves don't have children readily with other elves even after that, so you'll be all right if you stick with them.\"\n\"Straw wants to buy a farm and marry me.\"\n\"Is that what you want?\"\n\"No. Not yet. Maybe some day, if I can't be a queen.\"\n\"I think Straw will be a very old man before \"some day\" comes, Berry. Elves live a very long time.\" Katisha's face briefly wore the wistful look humans got when contemplating the thousand year life span that elves were entitled to by nature. True, few ever actually lived that long, as disease and violence took a toll, but they could.\n\"I like old men, too,\" Berry said."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/real-barenziah-part-5": {"series": "The Real Barenziah (Complete)", "game": ["Daggerfall"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/real-barenziah-part-5", "author": "Plitinius Mero (uncredited)", "title": "The Real Barenziah, Part 5", "description": "A must read! Very long. Pretty raunchy in some places. Contains a prehistory to the plot of TES:Arena. Features Tiber Septim.", "text": "Barenziah fidgeted impatiently while Therris sorted through the papers in the desk. He was being meticulous and methodical, careful to replace everything just as he'd found it. They'd entered a nobleman's house, leaving Straw outside as a lookout. Therris had said it was a simple job but very secret. He hadn't even wanted to bring any other Guild members along. He said he knew he could trust Berry and Straw.\n\"Tell me what you're looking for and I'll find it,\" Berry whispered. Therris' night sight wasn't as good as hers and he didn't want to make a light. Berry had never been in such a luxurious place. She gazed around with wonder as they'd made their way through the huge echoing downstairs rooms, but Therris didn't seem interested in anything but the desk in the small book-lined study on the upper floor.\n\"Ssss't,\" he hissed angrily.\n\"Someone's coming!\" Berry said, a moment before the door opened and two dark figures appeared. Therris gave her a violent shove toward them and sprang away toward the window. Barenziah's muscles went rigid; she couldn't move or even speak. She watched helplessly as a dark figure leaped after Therris. There were two quick, silent blue flares of light, then Therris folded in a still heap. Outside the study the house had come alive with footsteps and voices calling and the clank of armor.\nThe big man, a dark elf, half lifted, half dragged Therris to the door and thrust him into waiting arms. A jerk of the elf's head sent his robed companion after him. The elf came over to inspect Barenziah, who was once again able to move, although her head throbbed maddeningly when she did so.\n\"Open your shirt, Barenziah,\" the elf said.\nBarenziah gaped at him and clutched it closed.\n\"You are a girl, aren't you, Berry?\" he said softly. \"You should have stopped dressing as a boy a few months ago, you know. You were only drawing attention to yourself. And calling yourself Berry! Is your friend Straw too stupid to remember anything else?\"\n\"It's a common elf name,\" Barenziah defended herself.\nThe man shook his head sadly. \"Not among dark elves it isn't, my dear, but you really don't know much about dark elves, do you? I regret that, but it couldn't be helped. No matter. I'll remedy it.\"\n\"Who are you?\" Barenziah demanded.\n\"So much for fame,\" the man shrugged, smiling wryly. \"I am Symmachus, my lady, and it's a merry chase you've led me, although I'd guessed you'd head for Morrowind. You had a bit of luck. A body was found in Whiterun that was thought to be Straw's so we stopped looking for the pair. That was careless of me, yet I'd not have thought you'd have stayed together this long.\"\n\"Where is he? Is he all right?\"\n\"Oh, he's fine for now. In custody, of course. You -- care for him, then?\" he stared at her with curiosity out of red eyes that were so strange to her, except in her own seldom-seen image.\n\"He's my friend,\" Barenziah said. The words came in a tone that sounded dull and hopeless in her own ears. Symmachus! A general in the Imperial Army, said to have the friendship and the ear of Tiber Septim himself.\n\"Ai. You seem to have several unsuitable friends, if you'll forgive my saying so, my lady.\" As they talked the bustle and flurry in the house had died away, although she could hear people, presumably the residents, whispering together not far off. The tall elf seated himself on a corner of the desk. He seemed quite relaxed and prepared to stay awhile.\nSeveral? \"W-what's going to happen to them? To me?\"\n\"Ah. As you know this house belongs to the commander of the Imperial troops in this area.\" Barenziah gasped and Symmachus looked up sharply. \"You didn't know? You are rash, even for seventeen. You must always know what it is you do.\"\n\"B-but the G-guild w-wouldn't -- \" Barenziah was trembling. The Thieves' Guild would never have attempted a mission that involved Imperial policies. No one dared oppose Tiber Septim, at least no one she knew of.\n\"I daresay. It's unlikely that Therris had Guild approval for this job. I wonder--\" Symmachus examined the desk carefully, pulling out its drawers. He selected one, placed its contents on the desk top and removed the false bottom. There was a folded sheet of paper inside. It seemed to be a map of some sort. Barenziah edged closer to see it. Symmachus held it away from her, laughing. \"Rash indeed!\" He glanced it over, then folded and replaced it.\n\"You advised me to seek knowledge.\"\n\"So I did, so I did.\" Suddenly he seemed to be in high good humor. \"We must be going, my dear lady.\"\nHe shepherded her to the door, down the stairs and out into the night air. No one was about. Barenziah's eyes darted to the shadows. She wondered if she could outrun him, or elude him somehow.\n\"You're not thinking of attempting to escape, are you? Don't you want to hear what my plans for you are first?\" He sounded a bit hurt.\n\"Yes.\"\n\"Perhaps you'd rather hear about your friends first.\"\n\"No.\" He looked pleased. It was the answer he wanted, but it was also the truth. While Barenziah was concerned for her friends, especially Straw, she was far more concerned for herself.\n\"You will take your rightful place as Queen of Mournhold.\"\nHer heart leapt. It was really true then!\nSymamchus explained that this had been his, and Tiber Septim's plan for her all along. That Mournhold, which had been under military rule for the dozen years since she had left was to be returned, gradually, to civilian government, under Imperial guidance, of course, and as a part of the Imperial Province of Morrowind.\n\"But why was I sent to Darkmoor.\"\n\"For safekeeping. Why did you run away?\"\nBarenziah shrugged. \"I saw no reason to stay. I should have been told.\"\n\"You would have been by now. I had in fact sent for you to be removed to Imperial City to spend some time as a part of the Emperor's household. As for your destiny, it should have been obvious to you. Tiber Septim does not keep those he has no use for, and what else could you be that is of use to him?\"\n\"I know nothing of him or you.\"\n\"Then know this: Tiber Septim rewards friend and foe alike according to their deserts.\"\nBarenziah chewed on that for a few moments. \"Straw has deserved well of me and has never done anyone any harm. He is not a member of the Thieves' Guild. He came along to protect me. He earns our keep by running errands, and--\"\nSymmachus waved her to silence. \"I know all about Straw,\" he said, \"and about Therris. So? What would you?\"\n\"Straw wants a little farm. If I'm to be rich, then I would give that to him.\"\n\"Very well. He shall have it. And Therris?\"\n\"He betrayed me,\" Barenziah said in a low voice. Therris should have told her the risks the job entailed. Further, he'd pushed her right into their foes' arms in an attempt to save himself.\n\"Yes. And?\"\n\"Well, he should be made to suffer for it, shouldn't he?\"\n\"That seems reasonable. What form should the suffering take?\"\nBarenziah balled her hands into fists. She'd like to beat and claw at the Khajiit herself, but that didn't seem very queenly. \"A whipping. Would twenty stripes be too many do you think? I don't want to do him any permanent injury.\"\n\"I shall arrange it.\"\nBarenziah spent two days in Symmachus' apartment during which she was kept very busy. There was a dark elf woman named Drelliane who saw to their needs, although she did not seem to be exactly a servant as she took her meals with them. Nor was she his wife. Drelliane seemed amused when Barenziah asked her about that. She simply said she was in Symmachus' employ and did whatever he asked of her.\nWith Drelliane's assistance several fine gowns and pairs of shoes were ordered for her, plus a riding habit and boots, along with other small necessities. Barenziah was given a room to herself. Symmachus was out a great deal. She saw him at most meals, but he said little about himself or what he had been doing, although he was cordial and polite, was quite willing to converse on most subjects, and seemed interested in anything she had to say. Drelliane was much the same. Barenziah found them pleasant enough, but hard to get to know, as Katisha would have put it. She felt an odd disappointment. These were the first dark elves with whom she'd associated closely. She had expected to feel comfortable with them, to feel, at last, that this was where she belonged. Instead she found herself yearning for her Nord friends, Katisha and Straw. When Symmachus told her they were to set out for Imperial City on the morrow, she asked if she could say goodbye to her friends.\n\"Katisha?\" he asked. \"Well enough. I suppose I owe her something. She it was who led me to you by telling me of a lonely dark elf girl named Berry who need elven friends -- and sometimes dressed as a boy. She has no association with the Thieves' Guild. And no one associated with the Thieves' Guild seems to know your true identity, save Therris. That is well. I prefer that your former Guild membership not be made public knowledge. You will speak of it to no one. It does not become an Imperial queen.\"\n\"No one knows but Straw and Therris. They won't tell anyone.\"\n\"No, they won't.\" He didn't know that Katisha knew then!\nStraw came to their apartment the morning of their departure, and they were left alone in the parlor, although Barenziah knew that the other elves were well within hearing. Straw looked drawn and pale. They hugged one another silently for a few minutes. Straw's shoulders were shaking and tears were rolling down his cheeks, but he said nothing.\nBarenziah tried a smile. \"So we both get what we want. I'm to be Queen of Mournhold and you'll be king of your own farm. I'll write you. You must find a scribe so you can write me, too.\" Straw shook his head sadly, and when Barenziah persisted, he opened his mouth and pointed inside, making an inarticulate noise. His tongue was gone! Barenziah collapsed onto a chair and wept noisily.\n\"Why?\" she demanded of Symmachus, when Straw had been ushered away. \"Why?\"\nSymmachus shrugged. \"He knows too much of you. He could be dangerous. At least he's alive, and he won't need his tongue to farm.\"\n\"I hate you!\" Barenziah screamed at him, then leaned over and vomited on the floor. She continued to revile him between intermittent bouts of nausea. He listened stolidly for some time, while Drelliane cleaned up after her. Finally, he told her to cease or he would gag her for the journey.\nThey stopped at Katisha's house. Symmachus and Drelliane didn't dismount. All seemed normal but Barenziah was frightened as she knocked on the door. Katisha answered her knock. She'd obviously been weeping, but she embraced Barenziah.\n\"Why are you crying?\" Barenziah asked.\n\"For Therris, of course. You haven't heard? He's dead. He was caught stealing from the commandant's house. Poor fellow, but it was so foolish of him. Oh, Barenziah, he was drawn and quartered this very dawn by the commandant's order. I went; he asked for me. It was terrible; he suffered so before he died. I'll never forget it. I looked for you and Straw but no one knew where you'd got to. That's Symmachus you're with, isn't it? You know, the moment I saw him, I thought, this is the one for Barenziah! I told him about you, you know.\"\n\"Yes,\" Barenziah said. \"Katisha, I love you, but please don't ever tell anyone else anything about me. Ever. Swear you won't. Especially not Symmachus. And look after poor Straw for me.\" Katisha promised, puzzled but willing. \"Berry, it wasn't somehow because of me that Therris was caught? I never said anything about Therris to Symmachus.\"\nBarenziah assured her that it wasn't, that an informer had told of the Imperial Guard of Therris' plans, which was probably a lie, but Katisha badly needed some kind of comfort.\n\"Oh, I'm glad of that, if I can be glad of anything just now. I'd hate to think-- but how could I have known? And Symmachus is very handsome, don't you think? And charming.\"\n\"I don't know,\" Barenziah said. \"I haven't really thought about it. There hasn't been time.\" She explained about being Queen of Mournhold and going to live in Imperial City for awhile first. \"He was looking for me. I don't think he thinks of me as a woman at all. He said I didn't look like a boy, though,\" she added in the face of Katisha's incredulity. She knew that Barenziah evaluated every male she saw in terms of sexual desirability. \"I suppose it's the shock of finding out that I really am a queen,\" she added, and Katisha agreed that that must be something of a shock, although one there was no likelihood of her experiencing first hand.\nTheir party left Rifton by the great south gate. Once through Symmachus tapped her shoulder and pointed back to the gate. \"I thought you might want to say good-bye to Therris, too,\" he said. Barenziah stared briefly but steadily at the head impaled on a spike above the gate. The birds were at it, but the face was still recognizable.\n\"I think he will not hear me,\" she said. \"Let's be on our way, shall we?\"\nSymmachus was clearly disappointed by her lack of reaction. \"You heard of this from Katisha?\"\n\"Of course. She attended the execution.\" Barenziah said casually. If he didn't know already, he'd find out soon enough; she was sure of that.\n\"Did she know Therris belonged to the Guild?\"\n\"Everyone knew that. It's only lower ranking members like me who are supposed to keep their membership secret. The ranking officers are well known. But you know all that, don't you?\" She smiled archly at him.\n\"So you told her who you were and whence you'd come, but not about the Guild.\"\n\"The Guild membership was not my secret to tell. The other was. There is a difference. Besides, Katisha is a very honest person. Had I told her it would have lessened me in her eyes. She was always after Therris to take up a more honest line of work. I value her good opinion. She also thought I'd be happier if I'd settle down with just one man friend, one of my own race. You, in fact. Isn't it odd how wishes come true sometimes, but not the way you want them to?\"\n\"Yes. Very odd.\" Something about the way he said it made her think that she herself was one of his wishes that had come true in a way that wasn't altogether to his liking."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/real-barenziah-part-6": {"series": "The Real Barenziah (Complete)", "game": ["Daggerfall"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/real-barenziah-part-6", "author": "Plitinius Mero (uncredited)", "title": "The Real Barenziah, Part 6", "description": "A must read! Very long. Pretty raunchy in some places. Contains a prehistory to the plot of TES:Arena. Features Tiber Septim.", "text": "Barenziah felt the weight of sorrow for several days, but by the third day out her spirits had begun to rise a bit. She found that she enjoyed being on the road again, although she missed Straw's companionship more than she would have thought. They were escorted by a troop of Redguard knights, with whom she felt comfortable, although these were much more disciplined than the guards of the merchant caravans. They were cordial but respectful towards her despite her attempts to flirt with the men. Symmachus scolded her privately, saying a queen must maintain a royal dignity at all times.\n\"You mean I'm never to have any fun?\"\n\"Not with such as these. They are beneath you. Graciousness is to be desired in those in authority. Familiarity is not. You will remain chaste and modest while you are in Imperial City.\"\nBarenziah screwed up her face. \"I might as well be back in Black Moor. Elves are promiscuous by nature. Everyone says so.\"\n\"'Everyone' is wrong, then. Some are, some aren't. The emperor -- and I -- expect you to show both discrimination and discretion. Let me remind you that you will hold the throne of Mournhold not by right of blood but solely at the pleasure of Tiber Septim. If he judges you unsuitable your reign will end ere it begins. He requires intelligence, obedience, discretion and total loyalty in all his appointees, and he favors chastity and modesty in women. I suggest you model your deportment after Drelliane.\"\n\"I'd liefer be back in Black Moor,\" Barenziah said indignantly.\n\"That is not an option. If you are of no use to Tiber Septim he will see to it that you are of no use to his enemies either,\" Symmachus said coldly. \"If you would keep your head upon your shoulders take warning. Let me add that power offers pleasures other than those of carnality and low company.\" He spoke of art, literature, drama, music, and grand balls. Barenziah listened with interest spurred by his threats, but after asked if she might continue her study of spellcasting while in Imperial City. Symmachus seemed pleased and promised to arrange it. Pleased with this she then said that she noted that three of their knights were women, and asked if she might train a little in combat with them, just for the sake of exercise. Symmachus looked less than pleased, but agreed she might, although only with the women.\nThe late winter weather held fair but cold for their journey, so that they travelled quickly over firm roads. On the last day, spring seemed to come at last for there was a thaw, and the road grew sloppy underfoot, and everywhere one could faintly hear the sound of water trickling and dripping.\nThey came to the great bridge that crossed into Imperial City at sunset. The rosy glow turned all the stark white marble buildings a delicate pink. It all looked very new and grand and immaculate. A broad avenue led straight north to the Palace. There was a crowd of people of all sorts in the streets. Lights winked out in the shops and on in the inns as dusk fell and the stars came out one by one. Even the side streets were broad and brightly lit. Near the palace the towers of a grand Mage Guild reared to the east while westward the stained glass windows of a great temple glittered.\nSymmachus had an apartment in a great house two blocks from the palace, past the Temple, the Temple of the One, he said, as they passed it, an ancient Nordic cult which Tiber Septim had revived. He said that Barenziah would be expected to become a member, should she prove acceptable to the Emperor.\nSymmachus' apartment was very grand, although little to Barenziah's liking. The walls and furnishings were stark white, relieved only by touches of bright gold, the floors of gleaming black marble. Barenziah's eyes ached for color and shadow.\nIn the morning Symmachus and Drelliane escorted her to the Imperial Palace. Barenziah noted that everyone they met greeted Symmachus with a deferential respect which in some cases bordered on obsequiousness. He took it quite for granted. She and Symmachus were ushered directly into the Imperial presence.\nMorning sun flooded the small room through a large window with tiny panes, washing over the breakfast table and the single man who sat there, dark against the light. He leapt to his feet as they entered and hurried toward them, \"Ah, Symmachus, my friend, I welcome thy return most gladly.\" His hands touched Symmachus shoulders briefly, fondly, interrupting the deep bow the elf had begun. Barenziah curtsied as Tiber Septim turned to her.\n\"Barenziah, my naughty little runaway, how do you, child? Here, let me have a look at you. Why, Symmachus, she's charming, absolutely charming. Why have you hidden her from us all these years? Is the light too much? Shall I draw the hangings? Yes, of course.\" He waved aside Symmachus protests and drew the curtains himself, not troubling to summon a servant. \"You will pardon me for this discourtesy to my guests. I've much to think of, but that's scant excuse for inhospitality -- ah, pray join me. There's some excellent fruit from the Black Marsh.\"\nThey settled themselves at the table. Barenziah was astonished. Tiber Septim was nothing like the grim grey giant warrior she'd pictured. He was only of middle height, half a head shorter than tall Symmachus, although he was well knit of figure and lithe in movement. He had a winning smile, bright, indeed piercing, blue eyes, and a full head of stark white hair above a lined and weathered face. He might have been of any age from forty to sixty.\nHe pressed food and drink upon them, then repeated his question: why had she left her home? Had her guardians been unkind to her?\n\"No, excellency,\" Barenziah replied, \"in truth, no, although I fancied so at times.\" Symmachus had made up a lie for her and Barenziah told it, although with misgivings. The stableboy, Straw, had convinced her that her guardians, unable to find a suitable husband for her, meant to sell her as a concubine in Rihad, and when a Redguard had indeed come, she had panicked and fled with him. Tiber Septim seemed fascinated and listened raptly as she provided details of her life as a merchant caravan guard.\n\"Why, 'tis like a ballad,\" he said. \"By the One, I'll have the court bard set it to music. What a charming boy you must have made.\"\n\"Symmachus said--\" Barenziah stopped in some confusion, \"he said, well, that I no longer look much like a boy. I have grown in the past few months.\" She lowered her gaze in what she hoped looked like maiden modesty.\n\"He's a very discerning fellow, is my friend Symmachus.\"\n\"I know I've been a very foolish girl. I must crave thy pardon, and that of my kind guardians. I -- I realized that some time ago, but I was too ashamed to go home. And I do long for Morrowind. My soul pines for my own country.\"\n\"My dear. You shall go home, I promise you, but I pray you remain with us a little longer, that you may prepare yourself for the stern task with which I shall charge you.\" Barenziah gazed at him earnestly, heart beating hard. It was all working just as Symmachus had said it would. She felt a warm flush of gratitude toward him, but was careful to keep her attention focused on the Emperor. \"I am honored, Excellency, and wish most earnestly to serve you and this great Empire you have forged in any way I can.\" It was the politic thing to say, but Barenziah really meant it. She was awed by the magnificence of the city and the discipline and order everywhere evident, and was excited at the prospect of being a part of it all. Plus she felt quite drawn to Tiber Septim.\nAfter a few days Symmachus left for Mournhold to take up his duties as governor until Barenziah was ready to assume the throne, after which he would become her Prime Minister. Barenziah, with Drelliane as chaperone, took up residence in a suite at the Palace. Several tutors were provided for her. During this time she became deeply interested in the magical arts, but she found the study of history and politics not at all to her taste.\nOn occasion she met Tiber Septim in the Palace gardens and he would unfailingly inquire politely as to her progress, and chide her, although with a smile, over her disinterest in matters of state. However, he was always happy to instruct her on fine points of magic, and he could make even history and politics seem interesting after all. \"They're people, child, not dry facts in a dusty book,\" he said. As her understanding broadened their discussions became longer, deeper and more frequent. He spoke to her of his vision of a united Tamriel, each race separate and distinct but with shared ideals and goals, all contributing to the common weal.\n\"Some things are universal, shared by all sentient folk of good will,\" he said. \"So the One teaches us. We must unite against the malicious and the brutish, the mis-created, the orcs, trolls, goblins and other worse creataures, not strive 'gainst one another.\"\nHis blue eyes would light as he stared into his dream, and Barenziah was delighted just to sit and listen to him. If he drew close to her, the side of her body next to him would glow as if he were a fire. If their hands met she would tingle all over as if his body were charged with a small shock spell. One day, quite unexpectedly, he took her face in his hands and kissed her gently on the mouth. She drew back after a few moments, astonished by the violence of her feelings, and he apologized instantly. \"I didn't mean to do that. It's just -- you are so beautiful, my dear. So very beautiful.\" He was looking at her with a hopeless yearning in his face. She turned away, tears streaming down her face. \"Are you angry with me? Talk to me.\"\nBarenziah shook her head. \"I could never be angry with you. I love you. I know it's wrong, but I can't help it.\"\n\"I have a wife,\" he said. \"She is a good and virtuous woman, and the mother of my children. I could never put her aside, yet there is nothing between us, no sharing of the spirit. She would have had me be other than what I am. I am the most powerful man in all Tamriel, and, Barenziah, I think I am the most lonely as well. Power!\" he said with contempt. \"I'd trade a goodly share of it for youth and love if the gods allowed it.\"\n\"But you are strong and vigorous and vital, more than any man I've ever known.\"\nHe shook his head. \"Today, perhaps. Yet I am less than I was yesterday, last year, ten years ago. I feel the sting of my mortality and it is painful.\"\n\"If I can ease thy pain, let me do so.\" Barenziah moved towards him, hands outstretched.\n\"I would not take thy innocence from thee.\"\n\"I'm not that innocent.\"\n\"How so?\" Tiber Septim's voice grated harshly, his brow knitted. Barenziah's mouth went dry. What had she done?\n\"There was Straw,\" she faltered. \"I -- I was lonely, too. Am lonely. And not so strong as you.\" She cast her eyes down in embarassment. \"I'm not worthy--\"\n\"No, no, not so. Barenziah, it cannot last for long. You have a duty in Mournhold. I must tend my Empire. Shall we share what we may and pray the One forgives us our frailty?\"\nTiber Septim held out his arms and, wordlessly, Barenziah stepped into his embrace."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/real-barenziah-part-7": {"series": "The Real Barenziah (Complete)", "game": ["Daggerfall"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/real-barenziah-part-7", "author": "Plitinius Mero (uncredited)", "title": "The Real Barenziah, Part 7", "description": "A must read! Very long. Pretty raunchy in some places. Contains a prehistory to the plot of TES:Arena. Features Tiber Septim.", "text": "\"You dance on the edge of a volcano, child,\" Drelliane scolded, as Barenziah admired the emerald ring her lover had given her to celebrate their one month anniversary.\n\"How so? We make one another happy. We harm no one. Symmachus bade me to be discriminate and discreet. Who better could I choose? And we've been most discreet. He treats me as a daughter in public.\" Tiber Septim's nightly visits were made through a secret passage.\n\"He slavers over you like a dog his dinner. Have you not noticed the coolness of the Empress and her son toward you?\"\nBarenziah shrugged. Even before she and Septim had become lovers she'd had no more from his family than bare civility. Threadbare civility. \"What matter? It is Tiber who holds power.\"\n\"It is his son who holds the future. Do not hold his mother up to public scorn, I beg you.\"\n\"Can I help it if that dry stick of a woman cannot hold her husband's interest even in conversation at dinner?\"\n\"Have less to say in public. That is all I ask. She matters little, save that her children love her, and you do not want them as enemies. Tiber Septim has not long to live. I mean,\" Drelliane amended quickly, at Barenziah's scowl, \"Humans are all short-lived. Temporary, as we elves say. They come and go as the seasons do, but the families of the powerful live on for a time. You must be a family friend if you would see lasting profit from your relationship. Ah, how can I make you truly see, you who are so young and human-bred as well! If you take care you and Mournhold are like to live to see the fall of Septim's dynasty, if indeed he has founded one, as you have seen its rise. It is the way of human history. They ebb and flow like the tides. Their cities and even their empires bloom like spring flowers, only to wither and die in the summer sun.\"\nBarenziah just laughed. She knew that rumors abounded about her and Tiber Septim. She enjoyed the attention for all save the Empress and her son seemed captivated by her. Bards sang of her dark beauty and her charming ways. She was in fashion and in love and if it was temporary, well, what was not? She was happy for the first time she could remember, each day filled with joy and pleasure, and the nights yet better.\n\"What is wrong with me?\" Barenziah lamented. \"Look, not one of my skirts fit? What's become of my waist? Am I getting fat?\" Barenziah regarded her thin arms and legs and her undeniably thickened waist in the mirror with displeasure.\nDrelliane shrugged. \"You appear to be with child, young as you are. Constant pairing with a human has brought you early to fertility. I see no choice but for you to speak with him about it. You are in his power. It would be best, I think, for you to go directly to Mournhold if he will agree, and bear the child there.\"\n\"Alone?\" Barenziah placed her hands on her swollen belly, tears forming in her eyes. Everything in her yearned to share the fruit of her love with her lover. \"He'll ne'er agree to that. He won't be parted from me now. You'll see.\"\nDrelliane shook her gray head. Although she said no more, a look of sympathy and sorrow had replaced her usual cool scorn.\nThat night Barenziah told Tiber Septim of it when he came to her.\n\"With child?\" He looked shocked. Stunned. \"You're sure of it? I was told elves do not bear so young.\"\nBarenziah summoned a smile. \"How can I be sure? I've never --\"\n\"I'll fetch my healer.\"\nThe healer, a high elf of middle years, confirmed that Barenziah was indeed pregnant and that such a thing had never before been known to happen. It was a testimony to His Excellency's potency, the healer said sycophantically. Tiber Septim snarled at him. \"This must not be,\" he said. \"Undo it.\"\n\"Sire,\" the healer gaped at him. \"I cannot--.\"\n\"Of course you can,\" he snapped. \"I command you do so.\"\nBarenziah, wide-eyed with sudden terror, sat up in the bed. \"No!\" she screamed. \"No! What are you saying?\"\n\"My dear child,\" Tiber Septim sat down beside her with his winning smile. \"I'm so sorry. Truly. But this cannot be. Your child could be a threat to my son and his sons. I will put it no more plainly than that.\"\n\"The child I bear is your child!\" she wailed.\n\"No. It's but a possibility, a might be, not yet gifted with a soul or quickened into life. I will not have it so.\" He gave the healer another hard stare and the elf began to tremble.\n\"It is her child. Children are few among elves. No woman conceives more than four and that is very rare. Two is the allotted number. Some bear none, some only one. If I take this one from her, she may not conceive again.\"\n\"You told me she would not bear to me. I've little faith in your prognostications.\"\nBarenziah scrambled naked from her bed, and ran for the door, not knowing where she was going, only that she could not stay. She never reached the door for blackness took her.\nBarenziah awoke to pain and emptiness. Drelliane was there to soothe the pain and clean the blood that pooled between her legs, but there was nothing to fill the emptiness. Tiber Septim sent gifts and flowers, and came for short visits, always well attended. Barenziah received these visits with pleasure, but he came no more at night nor did she wish for him. After a week, when she was physically recovered, it was announced that Symmachus had requested she come to Mournhold earlier than planned, and that she would leave forthwith. She was given a splendid retinue, a wardrobe befitting a queen and a ceremonial departure from the gates of Imperial City.\n\"Everything I have ever loved I have lost,\" Barenziah thought, looking over the mounted knights behind and ahead, the tirewomen near her in a carriage, \"yet have I gained a measure of wealth and power, and the promise of more to come. Dearly have I bought it. Now do I better understand Tiber Septim's love of it, if he has oft paid such prices, for surely worth is measured by the price one pays.\" Barenziah, by her wish, rode mounted on a shining black mare, clad as a warrior in shining chain mail of dark elf making.\nAs the slow days slipped by and her train rode a winding road eastward into the setting sun, around her rose the steep-sided mountain slopes of Morrowind. The air was thin and a chill late autumn wind blew constantly, but it was also rich with the sweet spice smell of the late-blooming black rose, which grew in every shadowy nook and crevice, finding nourishment even in the stoniest slopes. In small villages and towns, ragged dark elf folk gathered along the road to cry her name or simply gape. Most of her knightly escort were Redguards with a few dark elves, Nords and Bretons scattered among them. As they wove their way into the heart of Morrowind, these grew increasingly uncomfortable and clung together. Even the dark elf knights seemed somewhat uneasy. Barenziah felt at home, felt the welcome extended to her by this land.\nSymmachus met her at the Mournhold borders with an escort of knights, about half of whom were dark elf in Imperial battle dress, she noted. There was a grand parade into the city and speeches of welcome from elders.\n\"I've had the queen's suite refurbished for you,\" he said, \"but you can change anything not to your taste, of course.\" He went on about details of the coronation ceremony which was to be held in a week. He was his old commanding self, but she sensed something else as well. He was eager for her approval of the arrangements. He asked her nothing about her stay in Imperial City or Tiber Septim, although Barenziah was certain that Drelliane had told him everything in detail.\nThe ceremony itself, like so much else, was a mixture of old and new, parts of it dictated by Imperial format, as she was sworn to service of the Empire and Tiber Septim, as well as to the land of Mournhold and its people. She then accepted fealty from the people and the council. The council was composed of a mixture of Imperial representatives, advisors they were called, and native representatives of the people. These latter were mostly elders, in accordance with elven custom. Barenziah found that much of her time was occupied in attempting to reconcile these two forces. And the elders were expected to do most of the conciliating in the name of the reforms introduced by the Empire, such as land ownership and surface farming, which went clean against dark elven tradition, as laid down by their ancient gods and goddesses. Now, Tiber Septim, in the name of the One had decreed a new tradition, and the gods and goddesses themselves were expected to obey.\nBarenziah threw herself into work and study. She was through with love and men for a long, long time, if not forever. There were other pleasures, she discovered, as Symmachus had promised, those of the mind, of power. She developed a love for dark elf history and legend, a hunger to know the people from whom she sprang, proud warriors and craftsmen."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/real-barenziah-part-8": {"series": "The Real Barenziah (Complete)", "game": ["Daggerfall"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/real-barenziah-part-8", "author": "Plitinius Mero (uncredited)", "title": "The Real Barenziah, Part 8", "description": "A must read! Very long. Pretty raunchy in some places. Contains a prehistory to the plot of TES:Arena. Features Tiber Septim.", "text": "Tiber Septim lived another half century, during which she saw him on a few occasions, as she was bidden to Imperial City for one reason or another. He greeted her with warmth on these occasions and they had long talks together about events. He seemed to have quite forgotten that there had ever been anything more between them. He changed little over the years. Rumor said that his mages had found spells to extend his vitality, and even that the One had granted him immortality. Then one day a messenger came with the news that he was dead, and his son was now Emperor in his place.\nThey'd heard the news in private, she and Symmachus. He took it stoically, as he took everything.\n\"It doesn't seem possible,\" Barenziah said.\n\"I told you. It's the way of humans. They are a short-lived race. It doesn't really matter. His power lives on, and his son now wields it.\"\n\"You called him your friend. Do you feel nothing?\"\nHe shrugged. \"There was a time when you called him somewhat more. What do you feel, Barenziah?\"\n\"Emptiness. Loneliness,\" she said, then she too shrugged. \"That's not new.\"\n\"I know,\" he said, taking her hand. \"Barenziah, let me try to fill that lonely place.\" He turned her face up and kissed her. It filled her with astonishment. She couldn't remember his ever touching her before. She'd never thought of him in that way, and yet, undeniably, an old familiar warmth spread through her. She'd forgotten how good it was, that warmth. Not the burning heat she'd felt with Tiber Septim, but the warmth she associated with, with Straw! Straw, poor Straw. She hadn't thought of him in so long. He'd be middle-aged now if he still lived. Probably married with a dozen children, she hoped, and a wife who could talk for two.\n\"Marry me, Barenziah,\" he was saying, \"I've worked and toiled and waited long enough, haven't I?\"\nMarriage. \"A peasant with peasant dreams.\" The words appeared in her mind, as if from long ago. And yet, why not? If not him, who? The great noble families had been destroyed in the war and its aftermath. Dark elf rule had been restored, but not the old nobility. Most of them were upstarts, like Symmachus and not as good as he was. He'd fought to keep Mournhold whole and healthy when their so-called advisors would have picked their bones, sucked them dry as Ebonheart had been sucked dry. He'd fought for Mournhold, fought for her, while she and it grew. She felt a sudden rush of gratitude, and, undeniably, affection. He was steady and reliable. He'd served her well. \"Why not?\" she said, smiling.\nThe union was a good one, both in its political and personal aspects. While Tiber Septim's son viewed her with a jaundiced eye, his trust in his father's old friend was absolute. Symmachus, however, was still viewed with suspicion by Morrowind's stiff-necked folk, suspicious of his peasant ancestry, his close ties to the Empire, while she was quite popular. \"The Lady's one of our own in her heart,\" it was whispered, \"held captive as we are.\" Barenziah felt content. There was work and pleasure and what more could one ask of life? The years passed swiftly, with crises to be dealt with, storms and famines and failures and successes and plots to be foiled. Mournhold prospered well enough. Her people were secure and fed, her mines and farms productive. All was well save that the marriage produced no children. No heirs.\nNow elven children are slow to come, and most demanding of their welcome, noble children more so than others, thus many decades had passed before they grew concerned.\n\"The fault lies with me, husband. I am damaged goods.\" Barenziah said bitterly. \"If you want to take another...\"\n\"I want no other,\" Symmachus snapped, \"nor do I know the fault to be thine. Perhaps it is mine. Whichever, we will seek a cure. If there is damage, surely it may be repaired?\"\n\"How so? When we dare not entrust anyone with my true story? Healer's oaths do not always hold.\"\n\"It won't matter if we change the time and circumstances a bit. Whate'er we say or fail to say Jephre never rests. His inventive mind and quick tongue are ever busy spreading gossip and rumor.\"\nPriests and Healers came and went, but all their prayers, potions and other efforts produced not even a period of bloom, let alone a single fruit. Eventually, they put it from their minds and left it in the gods' hands. They were yet young, with centuries ahead of them. There was time. Elves always have time."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/real-barenziah-part-9": {"series": "The Real Barenziah (Complete)", "game": ["Daggerfall"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/real-barenziah-part-9", "author": "Plitinius Mero (uncredited)", "title": "The Real Barenziah, Part 9", "description": "A must read! Very long. Pretty raunchy in some places. Contains a prehistory to the plot of TES:Arena. Features Tiber Septim.", "text": "Barenziah sat in the hall at dinner, pushing her food about on her plate, feeling bored and restless. Symmachus was away, having been summoned to Imperial City by Tiber Septim's great-great grandson, Uriel Septim. Or was it his great-great-great grandson? She'd lost count, she realized. Their faces seemed to blur into one another. Perhaps she should have gone with him, but there'd been the delegation from Tear on a tiresome matter that required delicate handling.\nA bard was singing, but Barenziah hadn't been listening. Lately all the songs seemed the same to her, whether new or old. Now a turn of phrase caught her attention. He was singing of freedom, of adventure, of freeing Morrowind from its chains. How dare he! Barenziah sat up straight and turned to glare at him and worse, then realized that he was singing of some ancient war with Skyrim Nords, praising the heroism of King Moraelyn and his brave Companions. That tale was old enough, yet the song was new ... and the meaning...Barenziah wasn't sure. A bold fellow, but with a good voice and an ear for poetry and music. Rather handsome, too, in a raffish way. He didn't look exactly prosperous, nor was he all that young. Certainly he wasn't under a century of age. Why hadn't she heard him before, or at least heard of him?\n\"Who is he?\" she whispered to her dinner companion, who shrugged and said, \"Calls himself Nightingale. No one seems to know anything about him.\"\n\"Bid him speak with me when he has done.\"\nNightingale came to her, thanked her for the honor and the purse she handed him. His manner wasn't bold, rather quiet and unassuming. He was quick enough with gossip about others, but she learned nothing about him, for he turned all questions away with a joking answer or a wild tale, yet one given so charmingly that it was impossible to take offense. \"My true name? Milady, I am no one. No, no, my parents named me Know Wan, or was it, No Buddy? What doth it matter? How can parents give name to that which they know not? Ah, I believe that was the name, No Not. I have been Nighingale for so long I do not quite remember, oh, since last month at the very least, or was it last week? All my memory goes into song and tales, you see. I've none left for myself. I'm really quite boring. Where was I born? Why, Knoweyr. I plan to settle in Dunroman when I get there, but I'm in no hurry.\"\n\"I see. And will you then marry Atleshur?\"\n\"Very perceptive of you, milady. Perhaps, although I find Inaste quite charming, too, at whiles.\"\n\"Ah, you are fickle, then?\"\n\"Like the wind, milady, I blow hither and yon and hot and cold.\"\n\"Stay with us awhile, then, if you will.\"\n\"As you wish, milady.\"\nBarenziah found her interest in life rekindled. All that had seemed stale seemed fresh and new again. She greeted each day with zest, looking forward to conversation and song with Nightingale. Unlike other bards he never sang her praises, nor other women's but only of high adventure and bold deeds. When she asked him about this, he merely said, \"What greater praise of thy charm couldst thou ask, than what thy own mirror gives thee? And if words thou wouldst have, thou hast those of the greatest bards of the land? How should I vie with them, I who was born but a week gone by?\" For once they spoke privately, for Barenziah, unable to sleep, had bidden him come to her chamber that his music might soothe her.\n\"Thou art lazy and a coward, else I hold no charm for thee.\"\n\"Milady, to praise thee I must know thee and thy spirit is wrapped in clouds of enchantment.\"\n\"Not so, 'tis thy words that weave enchantment, and thy eyes. Know me if thou wilt, and if thou dare'st.\" He came to her; they lay close, kissed and embraced. \"Not even Barenziah truly knows herself,\" he whispered softly. \"How can I? Barenziah, thou seekest and know it not, nor yet for what. What would you have, that you have not?\"\n\"Passion,\" she whispered, \"passion. And children born of it.\"\n\"And for thy children, what? What birthright will you give them?\"\n\"Freedom,\" she whispered, \"freedom to be what they are. Where can I find these things?\"\n\"They lie beside you and beneath you if you dare stretch out your hand to take them.\"\n\"But Symmachus...\"\n\"I tell you, in me lies the answer to part of your quest and below us in these very mines, lies that which will grant us the power to fulfill achieve it. That which Moraelyn and Edward between them used to free High Rock from Nord domination of their spirit. Properly used, none can stand against it, not e'en that power which the Emperor controls. Freedom, Barenziah, freedom from the chains that bind you. Think on it, Barenziah.\" He kissed her again, softly, and withdrew.\n\"You're not going?\" she cried out, for her body yearned for him.\n\"For now,\" he said. \"Pleasures of the flesh are nothing beside what we might have together. I would have you think on it.\"\n\"I don't need to think. What must we do? What preparation must we make?\"\n\"Why, none. You can enter the mines freely. Once below I can guide you to where this thing lies and lift it from its resting place.\"\n\"The Horn of Summoning,\" she whispered. \"Is it true? How do you know? 'Tis said it's buried 'neath Daggerfall itself.\"\n\"Nay, long have I studied this matter. Before his death King Edward gave the horn for safekeeping into the hand of his old friend King Moraelyn, who secreted it here in Mournhold, under the guardianship of the god Ephen, whose birthplace this is. Now thou know'st what it hath cost me many long years and weary miles to learn.\"\n\"But the god?\"\n\"Trust me, dear heart. All will be well.\" Laughing, he blew her a last kiss and was gone.\nOn the morrow they passed the guards at the great doors that led below. Barenziah made her usual tour of inspection but instead of leaving afterwards, she and Nightingale entered a long-sealed door that led to an ancient part of the workings, long abandoned. The going was treacherous, for some of the old passages had collapsed and they had to clear a passage or find a way around. Vicious rats and huge spiders scurried here and there and sometimes attacked them.\n\"We've been gone too long,\" Barenziah said. \"They'll be looking for us. What will I tell them?\"\n\"Whate'er you please,\" Nightingale laughed. \"You are the queen, aren't you?\"\n\"Symmachus--\"\n\"That peasant obeys whoever holds power. Always has, always will. We shall hold the power, love.\" His lips were the sweetest wine, every touch of fire and lightning.\n\"Now,\" she said, \"take me now. I'm ready.\" Her body seemed to hum, every nerve and muscle taut.\n\"Not yet. Not here, not like this.\" He waved around at the ancient dusty rubble and grim rock walls. \"Just a little longer.\"\n\"Here,\" he said at last, pausing before a blank wall. \"Here it lies.\" His hands wove a spell and the wall dissolved to reveal the entrance to an ancient shrine. In the midst stood a statue of the god, hammer in hand, poised above an adamantium anvil.\n\"By my blood, Ephen, I bid you wake! Moraelyn's heir of Ebonheart am I, last of the royal kin, sharer of thy blood. At Morrowind's last need, with all elvendom in peril of their souls, release to me that which thou guardst! Now do I bid thee strike!\"\nAt his words the statue stirred and quickened, and the blank stone eyes glowed red. The massive head nodded, and the hammer smote the anvil, which split asunder with a thunderous crash, and the stone god himself crumbled. Barenziah clapped her hands over her ears and crouched down, crying aloud. Nightingale strode boldly forward and clasped what lay among the ruins with a cry of ecstasy, lifting it high.\n\"Someone's coming!\" Barenziah cried. \"Wait, that's not the Horn, it -- it's a staff!\"\n\"Indeed, my dear, you see truly, at last!\" Nightingale laughed aloud, then -- \"I'm sorry, my darling, that I must leave you now. Perhaps we'll meet again one day. Until then -- ah, until then, Symmachus,\" he said to the mail clad figure who'd appeared behind them, \"she's yours.\"\n\"No!\" Barenziah sprang up and ran toward him, but he was gone -- winked out of existence -- just as Symmachus, sword drawn, reached him. His blade cleaved a single stroke through empty air, then he stood as still as if he'd taken the stone god's place. Barenziah said nothing, nothing, nothing...\nSymmachus told the half dozen elves who had accompanied him to say only that Nightingale and the queen had lost their way, and had been set upon by spiders. Nightingale had fallen into a deep crevice that closed upon him. His body could not be recovered. The queen had been badly shaken by the encounter and deeply mourned the loss of the friend, who had fallen in her defense. Such was his power of command that the slack-jawed soldiers, none of whom had caught more than a glimpse of the event, were half-convinced that it was true.\nBarenziah was escorted above and taken to her chamber where she dismissed her servants and sat stunned, too shaken even to weep. Symmachus stood watching her.\n\"Do you have any idea what you have done?\" he said finally.\n\"You should have told me,\" Barenziah whispered, \"The Staff of Unity and Chaos! I never dreamed it lay here. He said--\" A mewling moan escaped her lips and she doubled over in agony. \"What have I done? What now? What's to become of me?\"\n\"You loved him?\"\n\"Yes, yes, yes. Oh, may the gods have mercy on me, I did love him.\"\nSymmachus hard-lined face softened slightly and his eyes glittered with a new light, and he sighed softly. \"Ahhh, that's something then. You will become a mother if it's within my power. As for the rest, my dear, I expect you have loosed a storm upon the land. It'll be awhile yet in the brewing. When it comes we'll weather it together.\" He stripped her clothing from her and carried her to the bed. Out of grief and longing, her body responded to his as never before, pouring forth all that Nightingale had woken in her. She was emptied, and then filled, for a child was planted and grew within her. As the babe grew in her womb, so did her feeling for patient faithful Symmachus, rooted in long friendship and affection, now at last ripen into the fullness of true love. Eight years later their love was blessed again with a little daughter.\nDirectly after Nighingale's theft of the staff Symmachus had sent secret messages to Uriel Septim of the matter, but had not gone himself, choosing rather to stay with Barenziah during her fertile period and father the child upon her. For this, and for the theft, he suffered Uriel Septim's disfavor and suspicion. Spies were sent in search of the thief but Nighingale seemed to have vanished whence he'd come, wherever that was.\n\"Dark elf, in part, perhaps,\" said Barenziah, \"but part human, too, I think, in disguise, else would I not have come so quickly to fertility.\"\n\"Part dark elf, for sure, of ancient R'Aathim lineage, else he could not have freed the staff,\" Symmachus reasoned, \"and I think he would have lain with thee. As elf he did not dare, for then he would not have been able to part with thee. He knew the Staff lay there, not the Horn, and that he must teleport to safety, for the Staff is not a weapon that would have seen him clear, unlike the horn. Praise the gods he hath not that! It seems all was as he expected, yet how did he know? I placed it there myself, with the aid of the rag-tail end of the R'Aathim clan who now sits king in Ebonheart as a reward. Tiber Septim claimed the Horn, but left the Staff for safe-keeping. Nightingale can use the Staff to sow seeds of strife and dissension, if he wishes, yet that alone will not gain him power. That lies with the Horn and the ability to use it.\"\n\"I'm not so sure it's power that Nightingale seeks,\" Barenziah said.\n\"All seek power,\" Symmachus retorted, \"each in our own way.\"\n\"I have found what I sought,\" Barenziah said."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/real-barenziah-part-10": {"series": "The Real Barenziah (Complete)", "game": ["Daggerfall"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/real-barenziah-part-10", "author": "Plitinius Mero (uncredited)", "title": "The Real Barenziah, Part 10", "description": "A must read! Very long. Pretty raunchy in some places. Contains a prehistory to the plot of TES:Arena. Features Tiber Septim.", "text": "As Symmachus had predicted, the theft of the Staff of Chaos had few short term consequences. The current emperor, Uriel Septim, sent some rather stiff messages expressing shock and displeasure at the staff's disappearance and urging that Symmachus make every effort to locate its whereabouts and communicate this to the newly appointed Imperial BattleMage, Jagar Tharn, in whose hands the matter had been placed.\n\"Tharn!\" Symmachus snarled in disgust and frustration, as he paced about the small chamber where Barenziah, now some months pregnant, was sitting serenely, knitting a baby blanket. \"Jagar Tharn, indeed. I wouldn't give him directions for crossing the street.\"\n\"What have you against this person, husband?\"\n\"I just don't trust that mongrel elf. Part wood elf, part dark elf and part only the gods know what. All the worst qualities of all his combined races. No one knows much about him. Claims he was born in Valenwood, of a wood elf mother. Seems to have been everywhere since--\"\nBarenziah, sunk in the contentment of pregnancy had only been humoring Symmachus thus far, but this piqued her interest. \"Nightingale? Could he have been this Jagar Tharn, disguised?\"\n\"Nay. Human blood seems to be the one missing component in Tharn's ancestry.\" To Symmachus, Barenziah knew, that was a flaw. Symmachus despised wood elves as lazy thieves and high elves as effete intellectuals, but he admired humans, especially Bretons, for their combination of pragmatism, intelligence and energy.\n\"Nightingale's of Ebonheart, of the House of Mora, I'll be bound -- that house has had human blood since her time. Ebonheart was jealous that the Staff was laid here when Tiber Septim took the Horn from us.\"\nBarenziah sighed a little. The rivalry between Ebonheart and Mournhold reached back almost to the dawn of history. Once the two had been one, all the mines within held by Clan R'Aathim, whose royal house held the High Kingship of Morrowind. Ebonheart had split into two separate city states, Ebonheart and Mournhold, when Queen Lian's twin sons, Moraelyn's grandsons, had been left as the heirs. At the same time the office of High King had been vacated in favor of a temporary War Leader to be named by a council in times of provincial emergency. Still, Ebonheart remained jealous of her prerogatives as the eldest city state of Morrowind, still first among equals, and claimed that guardianship of the Horn should rightfully be entrusted to the elder. Mournhold responded that Moraelyn himself had placed the Horn in the keeping of the god Ephen, and Mournhold was unarguably the god's birthplace.\n\"Why not tell Jagar Tharn of your suspicions then? Let him recover the thing. As long as it's safe, what does it matter where it lies?\"\nSymmachus stared at her without comprehension. \"It matters,\" he said softly, \"but not that much,\" he added. \"Certainly not enough for you to concern yourself further over it. You just tend to your -- knitting.\"\nIn a few more months Barenziah produced a fine son, whom they named Helseth. Nothing more was heard of the Staff or \"Nightingale.\" If Ebonheart held it, certainly they did not boast of it. The years passed swiftly and happily. Helseth grew tall and strong. He was much like his father, whom he worshipped. When Helseth was eight years old Barenziah bore a second child, a daughter, to Symmachus' great delight. Helseth was his pride, yet little Morgiah held his heart.\nShortly after Morgiah's birth word came that a plot against the Emperor had been unmasked and that the chief co-conspirators Jagar Tharn and Ria Silmane were dead. Symmachus rejoiced at this news. \"I told you so,\" he crowed. Yet thereafter relations with the Empire slowly deteriorated, for no apparent reason. Taxes were raised and quotas increased with each passing year. Symmachus felt that the Emperor suspected him of having had a hand in the plot and sought to prove his loyalty by making every effort to comply with the increasing demands. He lengthened working hours and raised taxes and even made up some of the difference from both crown funds and their own private holdings. Yet still the demands increased and commoners and nobles alike grew restless.\n\"I want you to take the children and journey yourself to Imperial City,\" Symmachus at last said in desperation. \"You must make the Emperor listen, else all Mournhold will be in revolt come spring. You have a way with men, you always did.\" He forced a smile.\nBarenziah forced a smile of her own. \"Even you.\"\n\"Yes, even me,\" he said dully.\n\"Both children?\" Barenziah looked over toward the corner windows where Helseth was strumming a lute and singing a duet with his little sister. Helseth was fifteen, Morgiah just eight.\n\"Perhaps they'll soften his heart. Besides, it's time that Helseth was presented at the Imperial Court.\"\n\"Perhaps, but that's not your true reason. You do not think you can keep them safe here. If that's the case, then you're not safe here either. Come with us,\" Barenziah urged.\nHe took her hands in his. \"Barenziah. Love. Heart of my heart, if I leave now, there'll be nothing for us to return to. I'll be all right. I can take care of myself, and I can do it better if I need not fear for you and our children.\"\nBarenziah laid her head against his chest. \"Just remember that we need you. We can do without the rest if we have each other. Empty hands and empty bellies are easier to bear than an empty heart. My foolishness has brought us to this pass.\"\n\"If so, 'tis not that so a place to be.\" His eyes rested fondly on their carefree children. \"And none of us shall go without. I cost you everything once, Barenziah, I and Tiber Septim. Without my aid the Septim dynasty would never have begun. I helped its rise. I can bring about its fall. You may tell Uriel Septim that, and that my patience is bounded.\"\nBarenziah gasped. Symmachus was not given to empty threats. She'd no more imagined that he would ever turn against the Empire than that the old house wolf lying by the hearth would turn on her.\n\"How?\" she demanded, but he shook his head. \"Better that you know not,\" he said. \"Just tell him that, if he prove recalcitrant, and do not fear. He's Septim enough that he will not kill the messengers.\"\nThe late winter journey to Imperial City was an easy one. One of the things the Septim Empire had accomplished was the building and maintenance of good highways throughout Tamriel."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/real-barenziah-part-11": {"series": "The Real Barenziah (Complete)", "game": ["Daggerfall"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/real-barenziah-part-11", "author": "Plitinius Mero (uncredited)", "title": "The Real Barenziah, Part 11", "description": "A must read! Very long. Pretty raunchy in some places. Contains a prehistory to the plot of TES:Arena. Features Tiber Septim.", "text": "Barenziah stood before the Emperor's throne, explaining Mournhold's straits. She'd waited weeks for an audience with Uriel Septim, fobbed off on pretext or another. \"His Excellency is indisposed.\" \"An urgent matter demands his attention.\" \"I am sorry, your Highness, there must be some mistake. Your appointment is for next week. No, see...\" And now it was not going well. He did not even seem to be listening to her. He hadn't invited her to sit, nor had he dismissed the children. Helseth stood still as a carved statue, but little Morgiah had begun to fidget.\nHe had first greeted the three of them with a too-bright smile of welcome that did not reach his eyes. Then, as she presented her children, he had gazed at them with a fixed attention that was real, yet inappropriate. Barenziah had been dealing with humans for nearly five hundred years now and had developed skill at reading their expressions and movement that was far beyond that any human ever learned. Try as the Emperor might to conceal it, there was a hunger in his eyes, and something more. Regret. Why? He had several fine children of his own. Why covet hers? And why look at her with an intense, though, brief yearning? Ah, well, perhaps he was tired of his Lady. Humans were fickle minded. But after that one long, burning glance, his gaze had shifted away as she began to speak of her mission, and he sat still as stone.\nPuzzled, Barenziah stared into the pale set face, looking for some trace of the Septims she'd known. She hadn't known Uriel Septim well, having met him only once when he was still a child and then at his coronation twenty years before. He'd been stern and dignified then, yet not icily remote as this man was. Despite the physical resemblance, he didn't seem to be the same man at all. Not the same, yet something about him was familiar to her, more familiar than it should be, some trick of posture or gesture ... Suddenly she felt very warm, as if lava had been poured over her. Illusion! She had studied well the arts of illusion since Nightingale had fooled her so badly. She had learned to detect it and she felt it now, as certainly as a blind man could feel the sun on his face.\nIllusion, but why? Her mind worked furiously even as her mouth went on reciting details about the Mournhold economy. Vanity? Humans were oft as ashamed of the signs of age as elves were proud of them. Yet the face Uriel Septim wore seemed consistent with his age. Barenziah dared use none of her magic arts. Even petty nobles had means of detecting, if not shielding themselves from these in their halls. The use of magic here would bring down his wrath as surely as drawing a knife would. Magic. Illusion.\nSuddenly she thought of Nightingale and briefly he sat before her, only saddened. Trapped. And then that vision faded and another man sat there, like Nightingale and yet unlike. Pale skin, red eyes and elven ears and about him a fierce glow of concentration, an aura of energy, a shrinking horror. This man was capable of anything! And then, once again she beheld the face of Uriel Septim. How could she be sure she wasn't imagining things? Perhaps her mind was playing tricks on her. She felt a sudden vast weariness, as if she'd been carrying a heavy burden too long and too far.\n\"Do you remember, Excellency, Symmachus and I had dinner with your family shortly after your father's coronation. You were no older than little Morgiah here. We were greatly honored to be the only guests that evening, except for your best friend Justin, of course.\"\n\"Ah, yes,\" the Emperor said. \"I believe I do recall that.\"\n\"You and Justin were such friends. I was told he died not long after. A great pity.\"\n\"Indeed. I still do not like to speak of him.\" His eyes were wary. \"Ah, as for your request, my lady, we shall take it under advisement and let you know.\"\nBarenziah bowed, as did her children. A nod dismissed them, and they backed away from the presence. Barenziah took a deep breath. \"Justin\" had been an imaginary friend, although Uriel had insisted that a place be set for Justin at every meal! Not only that, \"Justin\" had been a girl, despite the boy name. Symmachus had kept up the family joke long after \"Justin\" had gone wherever such childhood friends go, inquiring seriously after Justin's well-being whenever he and Uriel Septim met, and being responded to as seriously. The last Barenziah had heard \"Justin\", after an adventurous youth, had married a high elf and settled in Lilandril. The man occupying the Emperor's chair was not Uriel Septim! Nightingale! A chord of recognition rang through her and Barenziah knew that she was right. It was he, indeed! Symmachus had been wrong, so wrong ...\nWhat now, she wondered. What had become of Uriel Septim, and, more to the point, what did it mean for her and Symmachus and Mournhold? Thinking back, Barenziah guessed that their troubles were due to this false emperor, Nightingale, or whoever he really was. He must have taken Uriel Septim's place shortly before the unreasonable demands on Mournhold had begun. That would explain why relations had deteriorated so long (as humans judged time) after her offense. Nightingale knew of Symmachus' famed loyalty to, and knowledge of, the Septims and was making a pre-emptive strike. If that were indeed the case they were all in terrible danger. She and the children were under his hand here in Imperial City and Symmachus left alone to face the troubles of Nightingale's brewing.\nWhat must she do? Barenziah urged the children ahead of her, a hand on each shoulder, her womanservant and guards trailing behind. They had reached their waiting carriage -- even though their apartment was only a few blocks from the Palace, royal dignity forbade their walking, and for once, Barenziah was glad of that. Even the carriage seemed a kind of sanctuary now, false as she knew that feeling to be.\nA boy dashed up to one of the guards and handed him a letter, then pointed towards the carriage. The guard brought it to her. The boy waited, eyes wide. The letter was brief and complimentary and simply asked if King Eadwyre of Wayrest, High Rock, might be granted an audience with her, as he had heard much of her, and would be pleased to make her acquaintance. Barenziah's first impulse was to refuse. She wanted only to leave this city! Certainly she had no inclination for any dalliances with a dazzled human. She looked up frowning and one of the guard said, \"The boy says his master awaits your reply yonder.\" She looked in the direction indicated and saw a handsome elderly man on horseback, surrounded by a half-dozen courtiers and guards. He caught her eye and bowed respectfully, removing his plumed hat.\n\"Very well,\" Barenziah said to the boy, on impulse. \"Tell your master he may call on me tonight, after the dinner hour.\" The man looked polite and grave, and rather worried, but not in the least lovesick."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/real-barenziah-part-12": {"series": "The Real Barenziah (Complete)", "game": ["Daggerfall"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/real-barenziah-part-12", "author": "Plitinius Mero (uncredited)", "title": "The Real Barenziah, Part 12", "description": "A must read! Very long. Pretty raunchy in some places. Contains a prehistory to the plot of TES:Arena. Features Tiber Septim.", "text": "Barenziah stood at the open tower window, waiting. She could sense her familiar's nearness, but though the night sky was clear as day to her eyes she could not yet see him. Then suddenly he was there, a swift moving dot beneath the wispy night clouds. A few more minutes and the great nighthawk was there, wings folded, talons reaching for her thick leather armband. She carried the bird to its perch where it waited, panting, while her impatient fingers felt for the message secured in a capsule on one leg. It drank, then ruffled its feathers and began to preen, secure in her presence. A tiny part of her consciousness shared its satisfaction with a job well done, rest earned ... yet beneath that was an unease. Things were not right, even to its bird mind.\nHer fingers shook as she unfolded the thin sheet and pored over the sheet of cramped writing. Not Symmachus' bold hand! Barenziah sat, slowly, fingers smoothing the document while she prepared her mind and body to accept disaster calmly.\nThe Imperial Guards had deserted Symmachus and joined the rebels. The loyal troops had suffered a decisive defeat. The rebel leader had been recognized as king of Morrowind by the Emperor. Symmachus was dead. Barenziah and the children had been declared traitors of the Empire and a price set on their heads.\n\"My lady?\" Barenziah jumped, startled at her servant's approach. \"The Breton is here. King Eadwyre,\" the woman added helpfully, noting Barenziah's puzzlement. \"Is there news, my lady?\" she said, nodding at the nighthawk.\n\"Nothing that will not wait,\" Barenziah said quickly. \"See to the bird.\"\nKing Eadwyre greeted her gravely and courteously, if rather fulsomely. He claimed to be a great admirer of Symmachus, who figured prominently in his family legends. Gradually he turned the conversation to her business with the Emperor. Finding her noncommittal, he suddenly blurted out, \"My Lady Queen, you must believe me. The man posing as the Emperor is an impostor! I know it sounds mad, but I -- \"\n\"No,\" Barenziah said, with sudden decisiveness. \"You are correct. I know.\"\nEadwyre relaxed back into his seat for the first time, eyes shrewd. \"You know? You're not just humoring a madman? My lady I -- we -- need your aid.\"\nBarenziah smiled grimly at the irony. \"Of what assistance might I be, my lord?\"\nQuickly he outlined a plot. The Imperial Sorceress Ria Silmane had been killed and declared a traitor by the false emperor, yet she retained a bit of her power and could yet contact a few of those she had known well on the mortal plane. She had chosen a Champion who would undertake to assemble the missing staff pieces and use the staff's power to destroy Jagar Tharn, who was otherwise invulnerable, and rescue the true Emperor, who was being held prisoner in another plane. However, the chosen Champion languished now in the Imperial Dungeons. Tharn's attention must be diverted while he freed himself with Ria's help. Barenziah had Tharn's ear and eye. Could she provide the necessary distraction?\n\"I suppose I could obtain another audience with him. Would that be sufficient? What do you mean, his eye?\"\nEadwyre looked uncomfortable. \"It was whispered among the servants that Jagar Tharn kept your likeness in a sort of shrine in his chambers. That surprises you?\"\n\"Yes. And no.\"\n\"Our chosen one may need a few days to escape.\"\n\"You trust me in this? Why?\"\n\"We are desperate, my lady. We have no choice. But yes, I do trust you. Symmachus -- \"\n\"Is dead.\" Barenziah explained quickly and coolly.\n\"My Lady. What dreadful news!\" For the first time Eadwyre's urbane poise was shaken. \"Under the circumstances, we can hardly ask -- \"\n\"Nay, my lord king. Under the circumstances I must do what I may to avenge myself upon the murderer of my childrens' father. In return I ask only that you protect my orphaned children as you may.\"\n\"Most willingly do I so pledge, most brave and noble lady!\"\nOld fool, Barenziah thought. She did not sleep that night, but sat in a chair beside her bed, hands folded in her lap, thinking long deep thoughts. She would not tell the children, not yet, not until she must.\nShe had no need to seek another audience with the \"Emperor\" for a summons came in the morning. She told the children she expected to be gone a few days, bade them give the servants no trouble and kissed them goodbye. Morgiah whimpered a bit, for she was bored and lonely in Imperial City. Helseth looked dour but said nothing. He was very like his father.\nAt the palace, Barenziah was escorted not into the great hall, but to a small parlor where the Emperor sat at a solitary breakfast. He nodded a greeting, and waved his hand at the window. \"Splendid view, isn't it?\"\nBarenziah stared out over the towers of the great city. It dawned on her that this was the very chamber where she'd first met Tiber Septim and a strong wave of inchoate feeling swept over her. When she turned back at last Uriel Septim had vanished and Nightingale sat in his place, laughing.\n\"You knew,\" he said accusingly, scanning her face. \"I wanted to surprise you. You might at least pretend.\"\nBarenziah spread her arms, \"I'm afraid my skills at pretense are no match for yours, my liege.\"\n\"You're angry with me.\" He pretended to pout.\n\"Just a little,\" she said icily. \"I do find betrayal offensive.\"\n\"How human of you.\"\n\"What do you want of me?\"\nHe wiped his mouth and stood erect. \"Now you are pretending. You know what I want of you, my love.\"\n\"You want to tantalize and torment me. Go ahead. I'm in your power.\"\n\"No, no, no. I don't want that at all, Barenziah.\" He came near, speaking low in the old caressing voice that sent shivers over her body. \"Don't you see? This was the only way.\" His hands closed on her arms.\n\"You could have taken me with you!\" Tears gathered in her eyes.\nHe shook his head. \"I didn't have the power. Ah, but now, now I have it all. Mine to have, mine to share -- with you.\" He waved his hand toward the window and the city beyond. \"All Tamriel to lay at your feet -- and that is only the beginning.\"\n\"It's too late. Too late. You left me to him.\"\n\"He's dead. A scant few years...what does it matter?\"\n\"The children -- \"\n\"I'll adopt them. We'll have others together, Barenziah. I have powers you do not dream of!\" He moved to kiss her but she slipped his grasp and turned away.\n\"I don't believe you.\"\n\"You do, you know. You're still angry, that's all.\" His smile did not reach his eyes. \"What do you want?\"\nShe shrugged. \"A walk in the garden. A song or two.\"\n\"Ah. You want to be courted.\"\n\"Why not? You do it so well. It's been long since I've had the pleasure.\"\nAnd so they spent their days in courtship, walking, talking, singing and laughing together, while the Empire's business was left to underlings.\n\"I'd like to see the staff,\" Barenziah said idly one day. \"I only had a glimpse of it.\"\n\"Nothing would give me greater pleasure, heart's delight, but that's impossible.\"\n\"You don't trust me,\" Barenziah pouted, but she softened her lips for his kiss.\n\"Nonsense, love. It isn't here. In fact, it isn't anywhere.\" He laughed and kissed her again, softly.\n\"Now you're talking in riddles again. I want to see it. You can't have destroyed it.\"\n\"Ah, you've gained in wisdom, since last we met.\"\n\"You piqued my interest somewhat. The staff can't be destroyed and it can't be removed from Tamriel, not without the direst consequences to the land itself.\"\n\"Ahhh. All true. And yet, as a I said, it isn't anywhere. Can you solve the riddle?\" He pulled her to him and she leaned into his embrace. \"Here's a greater riddle still,\" he whispered, \"how to make one of two. That I can and will show you.\" Their bodies merged, limbs tangled together. Later, when they'd drawn a bit apart and dozed, she thought, sleepily. \"One of two, two of one, three of two...what cannot be destroyed or banished might be split apart, perhaps...\"\nNightingale kept a diary. He scribbled entries in it each night after quick reports from his underlings. It was locked but the lock was a simple one, so Barenziah managed to sneak quick looks at it while he was occupied in toileting himself. She discovered that the first staff piece was hidden in an ancient dwarven mine called Fang Lair, although its location was given only in vague terms. The diary was crammed with jotted events in an odd shorthand, and was very hard to decipher.\nAll Tamriel, she thought, in his hands and mine, and more perhaps, and yet ... For all his surface charm there was a cold emptiness where his heart should have been, an emptiness of which he was quite unaware, she thought. One could glimpse it now and then, when his eyes would go blank and hard. Peasant dreams, Barenziah thought, and Straw flashed before her eyes, looking sad, and then Therris, with a mocking smile and empty eye sockets. Symmachus, who did what must be done, quietly and efficiently. Nightingale. Nightingale, who would rule all, and more, and yet spread chaos in the name of control.\nBarenziah got reluctant leave from Nightingale to go to her children, who had to be told of their father's death and of the emperor's offer of his protection to them. Eadwyre called on them while she was there, and she told him what she had discovered so far, and explained that she must remain awhile yet and learn more as she could.\nNightingale teased her about her elderly admirer. He was quite aware of Eadwyre's suspicion, although as he said, no one took the old fool seriously. Barenziah managed to arrange a reconciliation of sorts between them. Eadwyre publicly recanted his suspicions and his \"old friend\" forgave him. Thus he was invited to dine with them at least once a week. The children liked Eadwyre, even Helseth, who disapproved of his mother's liaison with the \"Emperor\" and consequently detested Nightingale. He had become surly and temperamental and frequently quarreled with both of them.\nEadwyre was not happy either and Nightingale delighted in publicly displaying his affection for Barenziah. They could not marry, of course, for Uriel Septim was already married. He had exiled the true Empress shortly after taking Septim's place, but had not dared to harm her. She was held by the Temple of the One. It had been given out publicly that she was in ill health, and rumors had been circulated that she had mental problems. The Emperor's children had also been dispatched to various prisons disguised as \"schools\".\n\"She'll grow worse in time,\" Nightingale said carelessly, eying Barenziah's swollen breasts and belly with satisfaction. \"As for his children ... well, life is full of hazards, isn't it? We'll be married. Your child will be my true heir.\" He did want the child. Barenziah was sure of that. She was far less sure of his feelings for her. They quarrelled, often violently, usually about Helseth, whom he wanted to send away to school. Barenziah made no effort to avoid these quarrels. Nightingale had no interest in a peaceful life and he thoroughly enjoyed making up afterwards. Occasionally Barenziah would take the children and retreat to their old apartment, declaring she wanted no more to do with him.\nShe was six months pregnant before she finally deciphered the location of the last staff piece -- an easy one, since every dark elf knew where Dagoth-Ur was. When next she quarrelled with Nightingale she simply left the city with Eadwyre and they rode hard for High Rock and Wayrest.\nNightingale was furious, but there was little he could do. His assassins were rather inept, and he dared not leave his seat of power to pursue them in person, nor could he openly declare war on Wayrest. He had no legitimate claim on her on her unborn child. The nobility had disapproved of his liaison with Barenziah and were glad that she had gone. Wayrest was equally disapproving and distrustful of her, but Eadwyre was much beloved by his prosperous little city, and allowances were readily made for his eccentricities.\nBarenziah and Eadwyre were married a year after the birth of her son by Jagar Tharn. Eadwyre doted on her. She did not love him, but she was fond of him, and that was something. It was nice to have someone, and Wayrest was a very pleasant place, a good place for children to grow up, while they waited, and hoped, and prayed for their Champion's success in his long mission."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/vampires-iliac-bay-part-i": {"series": "Vampires of the Iliac Bay", "game": ["Daggerfall"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/vampires-iliac-bay-part-i", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Vampires of the Iliac Bay, Part I", "description": "Like \"On Lycantropy\", it's a players' guide to being a vampire.", "text": "There are over one hundred distinct kinds of vampire in Tamriel. The Iliac Bay region alone has nine variations with unique powers and abilities. I have this information not only because I have been researching this blight of the world for the last ten years of my life, but because for the seven years before that, I was one of the creatures.\nVampirism is a disease, like brain rot or cholera, but far, far more insidious. One can become a vampire through certain magical items or by the curse of a powerful wizard, but the most common cause is the bite or scratch of a vampire. There are no symptoms of vampirism except this -- if the victim sleeps after the attack but before he becomes a vampire, his sleep will be plagued with nightmares.\nDuring this two to four day period, when the disease has been spread but the victim is still mortal, most any temple healer can remove the curse of vampirism. There will be no further warning.\nI do not remember dying. I had been a scout for an order of knights which shall go nameless for this. A daughter of a local nobleman had been kidnapped by a mysterious character, and my captain had located his hideout. Deep in the dank underground chambers, I searched until I found the girl. Or what remained of her, a corpse the color of snow, drained of every drop of blood. I knew what the mystery man was right then, but he found me before I found the exit out. He took a good sized hunk out of my fighting arm before I managed to outrun him. I figured I was lucky to be alive. Some luck.\nMy trip back to the knightly order was a five day journey. I decided to get some rest early to get my arm in better shape in case I found any more trouble. I can't remember the dreams I had that night -- only that I was doing something horrible and I couldn't stop myself. I woke up screaming. The next night, at an inn a little closer to my destination, my sleep was deep and dreamless. On the third night, I died.\nOf course, I didn't know that I died. I had gone to sleep in a nice warm feathered bed and I woke on a cold wet stone mortuary slab. Dazed, I opened the door to the masoleum I was in, which I think must have been locked. I was in a cemetary not far from a town I knew, so I wandered in. It was late at night, so there were precious few souls in the streets. I paused to read a public notice and noticed the date. The date was two weeks later than I thought it must have been.\nAs I puzzled over that, I saw a girl, a wench at my favorite tavern in that town, wandering toward me. I hailed her. She ignored me. I called her by her name, and she turned to me, smiling, but with an expression that told me she did not know who I was. I had visited her tavern on my way over to the mystery man's hideout, but she didn't know me!\nI told her my name. She angrily told me that it was a very poor joke, that I looked nothing like the brave knight who used to visit the town, and that if I didn't know he was dead.\nMy emotions were a tangled skein. I could tell she was not joking, that I looked nothing like myself. I was touched by her sorrow at my death, and horrified by the idea dawning on me of what I had become. Suddenly, an overriding instinct overcame all my thoughts -- hunger. Without even thinking about what I was doing, I reached out and tore her throat open. I drained her until she looked like the corpse in the mystery man's dungeon.\nThe rest of my story is told in Vampires of the Bay, Chapter II."}, "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/vampires-iliac-bay-part-ii": {"series": "Vampires of the Iliac Bay", "game": ["Daggerfall"], "url": "https://www.imperial-library.info/content/vampires-iliac-bay-part-ii", "author": "Anonymous", "title": "Vampires of the Iliac Bay, Part II", "description": "Like \"On Lycantropy\", it's a players' guide to being a vampire.", "text": "I told in the first chapter of my story how I became a vampire and of my first kill. While it might (and, indeed, should) horrify the reader that my first victim was a friend of the mortal I used to be, it is my understanding that they are not uncommon first kills.\nI left the snow white corpse in the alley and ran to the only place I felt perversely safe, the masoleum. For the first couple days of my undeath, I starved myself while I considered my fate. I relearned what I was capable of doing, and found that I was stronger, faster, tougher, and more agile than before. I had powers that as a knight I had only seen powerful mages wield. Later, I discovered additional abilities, such as a total immunity to disease. Helpful when descending on a plague-stricken city like a jackal.\nI also found my weaknesses. I could no longer stand the light of the sun -- exposure to it for longer than a few seconds burned me terribly. It also pained me to enter temples and other places of worship. The worst effect, of course, had to be my blood lust. If I did not kill a warm blooded creature once a night and drink its blood, my hunger would gnaw at me, and any wounds I suffered would not heal no matter how much I rested.\nIs this the moment for me to admit that there was a time I loved being a bloodsucking creature of the night? It is not impossible to live only at night, merely occasionally inconvenient. And I wouldn't have to kill humans every night, merely warm-blooded creatures. Orcs have a delicious, rich brothy blood; rats are a little sweet for the only meal of the night; werewolves are a real treat, almost decadent the tincture between human and beast. A real gourmet's delight.\nAbout a month after I died, I was having the best time of my life. One night, I received a letter from someone who said he was \"family.\" Curious, I went to visit him at his tavern, and was told about the tribe of vampires to which I belonged -- the Montalion. In return for me performing certain duties for the \"family,\" the man at the inn would train my in my vampiric abilities and skills.\nThough I never got very much detail, I surmised that the two main differences between the different vampire clans is geography and powers. Montalion alone have the gift for teleportation, but the other eight have powers of their own.\nMy mentor (that is the title he used) would congratulate me after each mission I performed, and came to trust me more and more. If asked, he would tell me about the Montalion's newest alliances, who they were manipulating, who they were stalking. It was then I started to become frightened at last. They, and all of their rival clans, were draining the blood of Tamriel itself.\nI panicked. I had to find a cure. But nowhere could I find any book or rumor suggesting that vampirism is anything but permanent. So I resolved to kill myself, but I wanted to bring the Montalion down with me. I joined guilds they opposed, and failed any mission given to me spectacularly. I thought my mentor would turn against me, but he only became quieter, less forthcoming with information, never violent. He was not concerned. He had probably seen vampires like me before.\nHere's why he never attacked me: immortals can afford to be eternally patient.\nAt last, he refused to give me any further missions. He wouldn't even talk with me, but he never left his tavern. I could come and go, and he'd watch but never talk. That's when I got another letter.\nThere are several of us, you see, former vampires who know what to look for. We're patient too: we learned it in our unlife. We watch and listen, and anonymously contact the vampires we know wish to end the curse.\nEnding the curse is possible, but only just. It is very dangerous, but when you are cursed, the only real danger is no escape."}}